#THIS WAS A POST I MEANT TO MAKE YESTERDAY AND EVERY TIME I LOGGED IN I FORGOT TO GO CHECK THE SHOP LOL

[risingsunresistance]

heart of gold being the name for healer class xp gain... techno playing healer..... you see my vision there's something here

[dallonwrites]

my autistic ass when i would try to explain to my non-autistic writer friends how my ocs don’t just feel like characters/plot devices/narrative tools, they feel like fully fledged people that just live inside my brain who i just have access to for some reason and the stories i write are merely a snapshot into their fully fledged personhood/lives. and that that these feelings don’t mean i’m unaware of my role/agency/responsibility as the writer who has the final say in these characters and how they are written it just means that my writing process feels very intuitive and i can only describe it as “listening” and “getting to know” these people that just live inside my brain in a way that i don’t feel like i can completely elaborate on. and because of this i would actually consider these characters “real” in their own way because the impact and influence they have had on me as a person beyond just my writing is so real and not having them would feel like i’m missing a part of myself 

[thursdayinspace]

20 questions for 20 writers

tagged by @thatfragilecapricorn30 @randomfoggytiger and @baronessblixen thank you!! <3

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 21

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 70.063 -- this is my new AO3, so that's why it's still so low, haha.

3. What fandoms do you write for? Only X-Files now.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? spectacular (glasses sex!), it's the day the world didn't end, from this morning forward (that makes me so happy), got you covered, wild side

5. Do you respond to comments? yes. if I ever don't, I'm sorry, it's not because i didn't love your comment, but i just don't get around to it right away sometimes. but i try to reply to every single one because i love them all.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? ohhh. i don't write super angsty endings . . . I guess mend into pieces bc it's season 2 and they know they're making a mistake, but we all know they'll figure it out eventually, so.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? they pretty much all end happily. i'm going to more or less randomly pick five ways to say i love you. because i loved writing that ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics? so, okay. there are two stories here i want to tell from an old fandom. one is funny. one is kind of great, really?

the funny one: i got a looooong comment on a fic, like several paragraphs long, going into great detail about why the fic sucked and why i sucked and why i had personally offended them by writing fic at all. they obvs meant to comment anonymously but forgot to log out. by the time i got to my computer, they had deleted their entire account. of course i had their name in the ao3 email. i laughed so hard at that.

the kind of amazing one: i got a very rude anon on tumblr, and i responded by saying i'd be happy to discuss their criticism, but i wasn't going to have a conversation with a hockey puck with sunglasses, and asked them to come off anon so we could talk. and they did! they showed up in my dms a short while later. we solved nothing and did not part as friends, but i actually have mad respect for that. wherever they are today, i hope they have taken some anger management classes and are doing well!

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? yeah, i certainly do. idk what kind? the porny kind? lol no i mean it's kind of lame but fun.

10. Do you write crossovers? i wrote a stargate atlantis/firefly crossover centuries ago but that was it. or maybe start trek with sth else, i don't remember.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? i don't think so, no.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes! it's so much fun and i would do it again.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? mulder and scully!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? i plan to finish all of them.

16. What are your writing strengths? it used to be dialogue but i don't think it is anymore. idk? i think i can create an atmosphere?

17. What are your writing weaknesses? i tend to repeat myself a lot and then skip over other things completely. i'm not good with transitions between scenes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? i haven't done it, but if it would make sense for a fic, i might do it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? stargate atlantis. i was very late to the fanfic party.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? it's called 'ellipsis' and is still with the beta. but of the ones i've already posted, either from this morning forward or yesterday's future.

Randomfoggytiger added additional questions:

1. Is writing a hobby or way of life? i mean it's a hobby but it's definitely also a way of life. there isn't ever a time when i don't think about writing and everything all the time connects in some way to a thing i'm writing and i can't imagine what i'd do without writing.

2. A journal full of writing notes or a clean, completed manuscript? completed manuscript! or notes? uhh . . . both?

3. Who (or what) is your writing inspiration? everything. random things. i can't think of one specific thing, it can be literally anything.

4.Which is worse: someone you "idolize" reading your first draft or listening to you sing? both thoughts are equally awful lol

5. Has writing from someone else's POV ever changed your own perspective? yeah, i think so. not in any big way, but about smaller stuff, just the way i look at certain things? yes.

6. Tumblr, AO3, LiveJournal, or FFN? ao3!!! my tinkerbell brain loves the comment section, haha. also it's just so much nicer to read on ao3 and there's the download option, so also as a reader, def ao3.

7. AO3 wordcount, and are you satisfied with it? 70.063 - no, i'm not satisfied with it. i used to write multi-chapters with more words. but it's a new account so yeah starting small again.

8. What movie/book/fic gripped you irrevocably? jasper fforde's 'thursday next' series. it's where i stole my name from. literary detectives? oh man. it's the kind of story where you wish you'd had the idea first. go read it!!!!!

9. What's the highest compliment you could ever be given, and have you been given it? i am really really lucky to have been given so many amazing compliments and i appreciate every single one. i couldn't say what means the most to me . . . probably when it's personal to the commenter? when someone tells me sth i've written touched them in some way. bc that's what i want to achieve.

10. What defines your writing style? lol idek man pretentious purple prose? i think i live somewhere between overuse of metaphors and focus on the rhythm of a text. i love writing in english bc it flows so nicely. idk is trying to make it sound nice a style bc then that's at least what i'm going for.

who hasn't been tagged? no pressure tags for @backintimeforstuff @nachosncheezies @actual-changeling and everybody else who wants to!

[chelleztjs18]

First, how are you today? I hope you have a good day so that you can answer this message without making us start animosity or problem

Secondly, I appreciate your answer, as you understand what I said, but I am afraid that we are on opposite sides here ، I was a former writer myself and my message is not directed at you What I meant by attacking or I will not follow you and I will not recommend you to anyone else (I am not a hostile person the most I can do is say that you are neglectful to your followers)

Thirdly, there is a certain category of authors, I mean they are not busy or who have jobs, etc. I did not mean that some of them log in and publish things and write other requests, and I am like Did you not receive my order or is there something wrong???So I wait weeks and it really pisses me off

I'm ready to wait years, not just months, that's okay, I may understand your situation, but the simplest thing you can do is tell me that at least you'll write it down, or tell me you can't.

Don't make me look stupid, just tell me, that's all I ask I'd be glad if my letter angered at least some of the authors (the intended category) who'd start moving their asses and work on their requests.

have a great day sweetheart

-🌿

I was okay until i read ur ask.

Oh no, anon. I never start problem. The only one who started problem was u.

I will put a pict or link from your previous ask just in case some people missed it from yesterday that you started all this.

So u came to my inbox, n ranted a paragraph about how u r running out of patience or what u think about authors and u act like u weren't the one that started the problem?

How do u expect me to react at what u said yesterday? u said that it wasnt directed to me but u literally show up out of the blue saying all that stuff. Directed to me or not, I don't like what u said, I am an author and i have a lot of other author friends n of course I wasnt gonna stay quite about it.

yes, we r totally on the opposite on this. I'm on the author sides and u sound like one ungrateful bossy follower who r upset because us authors dont write ur requests or dont notify u.

The fact that u r a former writer, it makes u sound a lot worse. U should've understand or even know better that it's not easy to write fics, write requests, all while trying to continue things on ur life.

u say that u r not a hostile person, but telling us that we r neglectful to our followers sounds pretty mentally hostile. u hv no rights to tell that to us. No offense to my lovely n sweet followers, but we owe nobody anything.

most of us write for ourself but we gladly want to share it with other n like i said, taking request from them is one of our way to appreciate them n interact with them. I write to help myself from drowning in my depression but im grateful that people like my writing enough to even send requests n i appreciate every single one of them.

u don't know how our lives is or how our days are so u have no right to judge saying that we r lazy or whatever u wanna say. I dont have a job, i'm a full time mom n it still hard to find time to write.

it's our blog n we can do whatever we want. we can NOT notify u whether we will write ur request or not. like i said, u r on anon, how r we gonna notify u where we dont even know who u r.

I don't reply or notify if im gonna write a request or not because i try not to put people hopes up if i say im gonna write it but i end up dont write it, I dont notify or answer the request until i actually post the requested fic because i like to keep the request in my inbox so i can keep it in track.

we have the right to pick n choose what we r going to write.

n you know what? the way u call ur request to some author as ur "order", i hate it because u r not our boss or leader or king or whatever who order us what to write or when or tell us what to do.

n u have the audicity to say this "I'd be glad if my letter angered at least some of the authors (the intended category) who'd start moving their asses and work on their requests." ? why don't u move ur ass out of my blog and stop sending me entitled demanding narcisstic ask.

"Dont make me look stupid.." no, anon, we didnt make u look stupid. U, urself who make u look stupid by acting like this.

How dare u to come to my blog talking shit n trying to guilt trip me, making it seems im the hostile one or cause problem.

I am asking u nicely to leave my blog n u r more than welcomed to unfollow me or im gonna block u.

P.S: yes u angered us authors n no, it wont make us writing ur request if u act like this.

[moralalee]

21/08/2024 (2)

It is still a Wednesday. Just barely, it’s about 12:30am so technically I’m going to be talking about yesterday.

Woken up by Luca again. Again, a struggle to get out of bed. Some things never change. I got up, fed the baby boy, took my pill and knocked on BF’s door to make sure she was awake. She was meant to have gotten up at 6 but hadn’t managed to. She was supposed to have already gone for a shower. I apologised and told her I had to go for mine and that I always do at the same time every day. She understood.

CW had sent a bunch of long paragraphs to the group chat. He had spent the night hanging out with the girl he likes, who he’s totally not in a situationship with and who had already told him she doesn’t want a relationship. He was ecstatic cause they had been blurring the line between friends and more, and he was surprised when the rest of us told him he was playing with fire. It’s hard to sit back and watch someone do something you know is just going to get them hurt. He says he knows what he’s doing, but I think if he really got it, he wouldn’t put himself in the position he is. He just keeps getting his hopes up and thinking she’s going to change her mind.

Had my shower, got dressed while responding to the group chat. Was feeling pretty awful this morning. Maybe I was just tired or maybe it was due to something else, I don’t know. Got to work early, as per. SC told us that BR is going to be out for two weeks on a sick line. This sent me spiralling a little bit. I know realistically we’ll be fine, but I was feeling so awful at that moment and I knew that this meant I had to hold things together. I can’t be feeling sorry for myself because there’s just too much to be done.

Side note, I just had to get up and check on Luca and he’s randomly so obsessed with the kitchen sink. Doesn’t do anything, just sits and stares at it. And earlier today he started yowling and I went through and he was just sat inside the bathtub. He was totally fine, could jump out himself, it just seemed like he wanted me to see him there.

Back to it, work was uneventful aside from that. Got on with things, felt like I wasn’t pulling my weight enough, CA checked in with me which was nice of him. It’s started raining really heavy today which has made me happy. I love the rain and I feel like we haven’t had any properly in a while. Yesterday (well, Monday) when I drove home from mum & dad’s it was raining hard and I was listening to the Life is Strange soundtrack, it was so nice. I hope we start getting more rain in autumn.

Another side note, Luca just did the tub thing again. Reddit said maybe he just likes the sound of his own voice or maybe he’s thirsty (he has a cat fountain so shouldn’t be really) so I turned on the tap and now he’s just playing in the water. It’s nearly 1am, lmao. He’s now figured out how to turn the tap and moved it so there was tons of water.

In the afternoon at work, I had nothing left to do. I had already finished up my tasks in the morning and the phone was barely ringing. Tried asking SC for more stuff but really there was nothing I was needed for. I had a thought before then with my baking about how it would be fun to sort of log it and keep track of my progress, like vlog or something. And then this afternoon I thought “Maybe I could blog, it would be easier to write things out and I could talk about things I’m interested in too, like if there’s a game I’m into or a topic I’m passionate about.” I thought about different ways I could do that, like Squarespace or whatever but I knew it would be ridiculous to pay for my own website. Then I remembered Tumblr exists. I went to sign up with an email address I assumed I didn’t have an account with already, but it turns out I did. I reset my password, logged in and found all of this. I had nothing to do anyway, so I sat and read my old entries and listened to the music I posted. When I reached the end, I kind of felt like crying (although I had felt pretty weepy today anyway).

I had a whole different life back then. I had so many people I used to think about and be friends with, so many worries, and now everything is different. The crush I wrote about, the pandemic, skiving like half my classes (seriously, pretty much every entry I read had “I skived this class today”).

I considered archiving the old posts and setting the account up fresh for my baking idea, and then I thought I should keep the old posts. They are a part of me and it makes me happy having them here, I want them to exist in the same space as the new posts I make.

When I got home, I yapped away to BF, just blabbering really. I had felt so bored in the afternoon that it felt good to just chat about nothing. She was trying to read though and I didn’t want to interrupt her by watching stuff or anything, so I decided to go nap even though I wasn’t really tired. It gave me a chance to reboot a bit though. I felt better afterwards. Had pizza for dinner and watched Law and Order: SVU. All in all, a pretty typical day. I’m gonna make a little list though of things I want to get done tomorrow, because currently I’ve been feeling so exhausted that I’m getting lazy with it.

• Wash dishes - ridiculous pile there, needs dealt with

• Clean Luca’s litter tray

• Do a partial water change of William’s tank

Luca is being particularly active right now so I’m really hoping he settles now that I’m going to try to sleep. He’s been bouncing about for the half hour I’ve been writing this. Instead of the usual gif, I’ll have our footer be the picture I took of Luca when he decided to sit in the bath. Goodnight!

[boldcompanynews]

“Extraordinarily disappointed” users reckon with the Google-fication of Fitbit - Notice Today Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/extraordinarily-disappointed-users-reckon-with-the-google-fication-of-fitbit/?feed_id=135116&_unique_id=669889e573c7c Enlarge / The Charge 5 (pictured) has been a source of contention for Fitbit customers.Since the acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely meant a reduction in features and a focus from Google on getting people onto the Fitbit app. Long-time users have flocked to Fitbit—sometimes upon Fitbit’s request—to share hundreds of complaints about recent changes. However, Google has been mostly unresponsive to customer feedback.Google News Web app discontinuation angers usersIn June, Google announced it was discontinuing Fitbit.com’s online dashboard. After July 8, users seeking similar features that the web app provided have to download the Fitbit mobile app. On Fitbit’s Community forum, a company representative confirmed that users’ “details and logging for activities, nutrition, sleep, and weight” would remain available via the app. However, the change inconvenienced users who preferred or needed to access such data on a bigger screen than a phone’s. Worse, the app lacks some of the features of the online dashboard, such as food logging.Despite these obvious user drawbacks, the need to Googlize Fitbit seemed to drive the change. Announcing the news on the Community forum, a Fitbit company rep said:Combined with Google’s decades of being the best at making sense of data, it’s our mission to be one combined Fitbit and Google team. Consolidating the Fitbit.com dashboard into the Fitbit app is a part of that mission, and will allow us to focus on features that provide even more valuable insights to our users.Google has invested in the Fitbit app, which includes plans to let premium subscribers test experimental generative AI Fitbit features soon. Google is also developing a large language model for new features for the Fitbit app that users are being forced onto. Google has been pushing users to the Fitbit app for a while; in 2022, Fitbit devices lost the ability to sync with computers.It’s worth mentioning that users disgruntled with Fitbit are more likely to complain online. However, it’s notable that Fitbit’s announcement has been met with 1,523 (as of this writing) mostly negative replies, with new responses still coming in. Another thread on Fitbit’s forum that requests to keep the web dashboard currently has 601 upvotes. You can find outraged users on Reddit, too.The most common complaints are around losing previously available features.“Change is fine. Removing key features is not,” Community member Seymourh86 wrote in June. “Unless you want people to go to competitors …”Comments from this week show that users are not over the change. DebL555, for example, said today that they’re “extremely disappointed and frustrated I cannot access my Dashboard on my PC.” Yesterday, NessWeb dubbed the change “an incredibly bad decision,” adding:It’s particularly awful for anyone with a visual disability or a finger dexterity issue. It’s still bad for everyone else because you just can’t see as much on a 3″ screen as you can see on a real computer …Bring back the web interface!!As has been the case every time there have been problems with Fitbit post-acquisition, theories that Google is making Fitbit worse to push people toward the Pixel Watch run rampant. Others on the Community forum were upset because they felt like Google was ignoring feedback from long-time Fitbit customers.In June, a user going by jessicabilasano wrote:I just hope Fitbit does not end up like any other Google purchase that turns into a nightmare product/company. Google, instead of removing things that users love about Fitbit features, why not improve them? Listen to your customers/consumers.However, a lack of response to public, negative customer feedback has become commonplace for the Fitbit brand lately.

http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/pexels-photo-4683339.jpeg #GLOBAL - BLOGGER Enlarge / The Char... BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[internetcompanynews]

“Extraordinarily disappointed” users reckon with the Google-fication of Fitbit - Notice Today Internet - BLOGGER https://www.merchant-business.com/extraordinarily-disappointed-users-reckon-with-the-google-fication-of-fitbit/?feed_id=135113&_unique_id=669888c3dca87 Enlarge / The Charge 5 (pictured) has been a source of contention for Fitbit customers.Since the acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely meant a reduction in features and a focus from Google on getting people onto the Fitbit app. Long-time users have flocked to Fitbit—sometimes upon Fitbit’s request—to share hundreds of complaints about recent changes. However, Google has been mostly unresponsive to customer feedback.Google News Web app discontinuation angers usersIn June, Google announced it was discontinuing Fitbit.com’s online dashboard. After July 8, users seeking similar features that the web app provided have to download the Fitbit mobile app. On Fitbit’s Community forum, a company representative confirmed that users’ “details and logging for activities, nutrition, sleep, and weight” would remain available via the app. However, the change inconvenienced users who preferred or needed to access such data on a bigger screen than a phone’s. Worse, the app lacks some of the features of the online dashboard, such as food logging.Despite these obvious user drawbacks, the need to Googlize Fitbit seemed to drive the change. Announcing the news on the Community forum, a Fitbit company rep said:Combined with Google’s decades of being the best at making sense of data, it’s our mission to be one combined Fitbit and Google team. Consolidating the Fitbit.com dashboard into the Fitbit app is a part of that mission, and will allow us to focus on features that provide even more valuable insights to our users.Google has invested in the Fitbit app, which includes plans to let premium subscribers test experimental generative AI Fitbit features soon. Google is also developing a large language model for new features for the Fitbit app that users are being forced onto. Google has been pushing users to the Fitbit app for a while; in 2022, Fitbit devices lost the ability to sync with computers.It’s worth mentioning that users disgruntled with Fitbit are more likely to complain online. However, it’s notable that Fitbit’s announcement has been met with 1,523 (as of this writing) mostly negative replies, with new responses still coming in. Another thread on Fitbit’s forum that requests to keep the web dashboard currently has 601 upvotes. You can find outraged users on Reddit, too.The most common complaints are around losing previously available features.“Change is fine. Removing key features is not,” Community member Seymourh86 wrote in June. “Unless you want people to go to competitors …”Comments from this week show that users are not over the change. DebL555, for example, said today that they’re “extremely disappointed and frustrated I cannot access my Dashboard on my PC.” Yesterday, NessWeb dubbed the change “an incredibly bad decision,” adding:It’s particularly awful for anyone with a visual disability or a finger dexterity issue. It’s still bad for everyone else because you just can’t see as much on a 3″ screen as you can see on a real computer …Bring back the web interface!!As has been the case every time there have been problems with Fitbit post-acquisition, theories that Google is making Fitbit worse to push people toward the Pixel Watch run rampant. Others on the Community forum were upset because they felt like Google was ignoring feedback from long-time Fitbit customers.In June, a user going by jessicabilasano wrote:I just hope Fitbit does not end up like any other Google purchase that turns into a nightmare product/company. Google, instead of removing things that users love about Fitbit features, why not improve them? Listen to your customers/consumers.However, a lack of response to public, negative customer feedback has become commonplace for the Fitbit brand lately.

http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/pexels-photo-4683339.jpeg “Extraordinarily disappointed” users reckon with the Google-fication of Fitbit - Notice Today Internet - #GLOBAL BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[formidablecompanynews]

“Extraordinarily disappointed” users reckon with the Google-fication of Fitbit - Notice Today Internet https://www.merchant-business.com/extraordinarily-disappointed-users-reckon-with-the-google-fication-of-fitbit/?feed_id=135112&_unique_id=669888c31505f #GLOBAL - BLOGGER BLOGGER Enlarge / The Charge 5 (pictured) has been a source of contention for Fitbit customers.Since the acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely meant a reduction in features and a focus from Google on getting people onto the Fitbit app. Long-time users have flocked to Fitbit—sometimes upon Fitbit’s request—to share hundreds of complaints about recent changes. However, Google has been mostly unresponsive to customer feedback.Google News Web app discontinuation angers usersIn June, Google announced it was discontinuing Fitbit.com’s online dashboard. After July 8, users seeking similar features that the web app provided have to download the Fitbit mobile app. On Fitbit’s Community forum, a company representative confirmed that users’ “details and logging for activities, nutrition, sleep, and weight” would remain available via the app. However, the change inconvenienced users who preferred or needed to access such data on a bigger screen than a phone’s. Worse, the app lacks some of the features of the online dashboard, such as food logging.Despite these obvious user drawbacks, the need to Googlize Fitbit seemed to drive the change. Announcing the news on the Community forum, a Fitbit company rep said:Combined with Google’s decades of being the best at making sense of data, it’s our mission to be one combined Fitbit and Google team. Consolidating the Fitbit.com dashboard into the Fitbit app is a part of that mission, and will allow us to focus on features that provide even more valuable insights to our users.Google has invested in the Fitbit app, which includes plans to let premium subscribers test experimental generative AI Fitbit features soon. Google is also developing a large language model for new features for the Fitbit app that users are being forced onto. Google has been pushing users to the Fitbit app for a while; in 2022, Fitbit devices lost the ability to sync with computers.It’s worth mentioning that users disgruntled with Fitbit are more likely to complain online. However, it’s notable that Fitbit’s announcement has been met with 1,523 (as of this writing) mostly negative replies, with new responses still coming in. Another thread on Fitbit’s forum that requests to keep the web dashboard currently has 601 upvotes. You can find outraged users on Reddit, too.The most common complaints are around losing previously available features.“Change is fine. Removing key features is not,” Community member Seymourh86 wrote in June. “Unless you want people to go to competitors …”Comments from this week show that users are not over the change. DebL555, for example, said today that they’re “extremely disappointed and frustrated I cannot access my Dashboard on my PC.” Yesterday, NessWeb dubbed the change “an incredibly bad decision,” adding:It’s particularly awful for anyone with a visual disability or a finger dexterity issue. It’s still bad for everyone else because you just can’t see as much on a 3″ screen as you can see on a real computer …Bring back the web interface!!As has been the case every time there have been problems with Fitbit post-acquisition, theories that Google is making Fitbit worse to push people toward the Pixel Watch run rampant. Others on the Community forum were upset because they felt like Google was ignoring feedback from long-time Fitbit customers.In June, a user going by jessicabilasano wrote:I just hope Fitbit does not end up like any other Google purchase that turns into a nightmare product/company. Google, instead of removing things that users love about Fitbit features, why not improve them? Listen to your customers/consumers.However, a lack of response to public, negative customer feedback has become commonplace for the Fitbit brand lately.

http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/pexels-photo-4683339.jpeg Enlarge / The Charge 5 (pictured) has been a source of contention for Fitbit customers. Since the acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely meant a reduction in features and a focus from Google on getting people onto the Fitbit app. Long-time users have flocked to Fitbit—sometimes upon Fitbit’s request—to share hundreds … Read More

[smartcompanynewsweb]

“Extraordinarily disappointed” users reckon with the Google-fication of Fitbit - Notice Today Internet - #GLOBAL https://www.merchant-business.com/extraordinarily-disappointed-users-reckon-with-the-google-fication-of-fitbit/?feed_id=135111&_unique_id=669888c23fb73 Enlarge / The Charge 5 (pictured) has been a source of contention for Fitbit customers.Since the acquisition closed in 2021, the Google-fication of Fitbit has largely meant a reduction in features and a focus from Google on getting people onto the Fitbit app. Long-time users have flocked to Fitbit—sometimes upon Fitbit’s request—to share hundreds of complaints about recent changes. However, Google has been mostly unresponsive to customer feedback.Google News Web app discontinuation angers usersIn June, Google announced it was discontinuing Fitbit.com’s online dashboard. After July 8, users seeking similar features that the web app provided have to download the Fitbit mobile app. On Fitbit’s Community forum, a company representative confirmed that users’ “details and logging for activities, nutrition, sleep, and weight” would remain available via the app. However, the change inconvenienced users who preferred or needed to access such data on a bigger screen than a phone’s. Worse, the app lacks some of the features of the online dashboard, such as food logging.Despite these obvious user drawbacks, the need to Googlize Fitbit seemed to drive the change. Announcing the news on the Community forum, a Fitbit company rep said:Combined with Google’s decades of being the best at making sense of data, it’s our mission to be one combined Fitbit and Google team. Consolidating the Fitbit.com dashboard into the Fitbit app is a part of that mission, and will allow us to focus on features that provide even more valuable insights to our users.Google has invested in the Fitbit app, which includes plans to let premium subscribers test experimental generative AI Fitbit features soon. Google is also developing a large language model for new features for the Fitbit app that users are being forced onto. Google has been pushing users to the Fitbit app for a while; in 2022, Fitbit devices lost the ability to sync with computers.It’s worth mentioning that users disgruntled with Fitbit are more likely to complain online. However, it’s notable that Fitbit’s announcement has been met with 1,523 (as of this writing) mostly negative replies, with new responses still coming in. Another thread on Fitbit’s forum that requests to keep the web dashboard currently has 601 upvotes. You can find outraged users on Reddit, too.The most common complaints are around losing previously available features.“Change is fine. Removing key features is not,” Community member Seymourh86 wrote in June. “Unless you want people to go to competitors …”Comments from this week show that users are not over the change. DebL555, for example, said today that they’re “extremely disappointed and frustrated I cannot access my Dashboard on my PC.” Yesterday, NessWeb dubbed the change “an incredibly bad decision,” adding:It’s particularly awful for anyone with a visual disability or a finger dexterity issue. It’s still bad for everyone else because you just can’t see as much on a 3″ screen as you can see on a real computer …Bring back the web interface!!As has been the case every time there have been problems with Fitbit post-acquisition, theories that Google is making Fitbit worse to push people toward the Pixel Watch run rampant. Others on the Community forum were upset because they felt like Google was ignoring feedback from long-time Fitbit customers.In June, a user going by jessicabilasano wrote:I just hope Fitbit does not end up like any other Google purchase that turns into a nightmare product/company. Google, instead of removing things that users love about Fitbit features, why not improve them? Listen to your customers/consumers.However, a lack of response to public, negative customer feedback has become commonplace for the Fitbit brand lately.

http://109.70.148.72/~merchant29/6network/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/pexels-photo-4683339.jpeg BLOGGER - #GLOBAL

[radiodread]

1: I wrote a "controversial" topic in a multi-chaptered story this year, and for the most part it was well-received and I liked exploring it. But it also garnered a lot of negative attention and has made me less stubborn about always allowing comments from both anonymous people and logged-in users. From now on I will turn off anonymous commenting every now and then if I feel like it.

2: 22 or 23 fics? I think? 4 unpublished/fics that are still WIPs.

3: Can't think of anything that pertains to myself as a writer specifically... skipping this one.

4: Jujutsu Kaisen & Boku no Hero Academia. Pretty equally, I think.

5: See above, plus Given, Zelda (BotW & TotK), KinnPorsche, and NANA.

6: ItaFushi, TodoDeku, Kass/Link (YES).

7: It's always the 'brooding' ones. Megumi (JJK), Shouto (BNHA), Nana Osaki... 😌

8: Yes, I wrote a fic for KinnPorsche (VegasPete)! That was fun.

9: Honestly, the one that meant the most to me was probably the most 'controversial' fic I posted this year. It delved into some topics I've never written about before, it hit kinda close to home at some point. It was very interesting to write.

10: "always you" (Kass/Link) was a delight all the way through to write.

11: For me it's always the longest fics that are the most satisfying to finish because they took so much time and effort. So answering with the same fic as I did in #9.

12: God, I'm boring. Same answer as above, and yes I finished it. While it was interesting and a fun challenge to write, it was challenging at times because I had to imagine characters and their reactions, ways of thinking, and reasoning in situations they haven't even been close to in canon.

13: The easiest fic to write was one that I started and finished yesterday. In a single sitting, like, two sprints, 20 mins each. It hasn't been published yet but sits prettily in my drafts and awaits publishing on January 11th. Hint hint.

14: Shortest is the one I just finished. Longest was "it takes three" (linked in #9) at 53k words.

15: I'll recommend "double trouble"; it was fun to write, I loved the comic it was heavily inspired by, and the pairing is cute.

16: It always depends on the mood I'm writing. I like "Like Spinning Plates" by Radiohead for angstier scenes, I like "Doukyuusei" by Yuuki Ozaki & Koutarou Oshio for fluffier stuff, and I always bawl at "Sakuyume" by King Gnu when writing sad stuff.

17: Usually a fruit or maybe popcorn if I have that around.

18: All of them??? Half-jokes aside, "chasing feathers" was one I remember struggling with for a good while when it came to coming up with the title.

19: "The golden glow of the evening sun illuminates the living room where Izuku has decided that he and Shouto dance." [from here.]

20: "He exchanges a glance with his partner, and Link’s heart sings at the sight of those gorgeous amber eyes looking back at him with the love and adoration that only someone like Kass could express with a single look." (from here.)

21: “It’s your turn,” he hisses. “Go talk to him.”

“What am I gonna say?!”

“I don’t know! Tell him you like his shirt. Or his socks.”

[...]

“Here’s a hot tip,” Katsuki says. “Try actually telling Deku you like him instead of just staring at him like two fuckin’ creeps.”

“We are talking to him, though.”

“Yeah? About his lame fucking socks. How’s that working out for ya?”

22: “We’re all fine now. We’re… we have a good relationship.”

“And I’m so glad you do,” Rei replies. “If you’ll allow me to, I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. To be the mother you deserve.”

Shouto hugs his mother close again, shaking his head once more. “You already are. You always were.”

(I'm a sucker for Shouto & Rei bonding 😭)

23: It might sound a little weird, but I ended up with a “Why?” in response to "I slept with someone else." It was so hard to imagine what person B would say and how he'd react to his partner admitting to infidelity. And it took me a long time and many paces around the apartment until I landed on a shocked, short "Why?"

24: ... nothing I can think of in particular.

25: I use Microsoft Word (yeah I pay for it like a fool but I think it's worth it) for the actual writing, and then I use the notes app on my phone when I'm not at my laptop to write down ideas, as well as a .txt-file I have labelled "ideas" where I write stuff down. I also tend to use a Notepad-doc for writing down sidenotes and stuff for a WIP.

26: Again, finishing my longest fic this year was probably the most satisfying moment. It was a tough one to write, too, so maybe that lent to it.

27: I probably did a little sitting dance?

28: I play video games, watch streams/YT vids, listen to music, that sorta stuff.

29: I would thank the people in one of my Discord servers; most of them tend to participate in writing sprints every now and then, and we also ask for and give each other advice on WIPs. I wouldn't have had nearly as much writing motivation as I've had if it weren't for them. ❤️

30: In 2024 I finally wanna kick off that apocalypse fic I've had on the backburner for MAYBE two years now. I just haven't gotten around to it because it's a little daunting. But maybe next year.

fic writer asks

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

How many fics did you work on this year? (They don’t have to be finished or published!)

What’s something you learned about yourself as a writer?

What piece of media inspired you the most?

What fandom(s) did you write for this year?

What ship(s) captured your heart?

What character(s) captured your heart?

Did you write for a new fandom or ship this year?

What fic meant the most to you to write?

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

What fic was the most difficult to write? Did you finish it?

What fic was the easiest to write?

What were your shortest and longest fics this year?

Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

What were you go-to writing songs?

What were your go-to writing snacks?

What was the hardest fic to title?

Share your favorite opening line

Share your favorite ending line

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

Share an excerpt from your favorite scene

Share the final version of a sentence or paragraph you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out?

What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

What did you use to write? (e.g. writing programs, paper & pen, etc.)

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

How did you recharge between fics?

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

[lordartsy]

March 9, 2022

“In the middle of all that change, there was one thing we all felt. We wanted to continue on like this forever, but we knew that's not possible. That's why we want to focus on living every moment so that we don't have any regrets!

If we've gotten this far, it's because of all the support, love, and solidarity we've had from each other, and from you all. We'll be working our hardest until the final curtain call! Let's treasure each and every moment!

Thank you all!”

Happy birthday, Sakuya! And a last farewell to A3! EN.

I wanted to make some kind of tribute— a goodbye letter, I guess— to this game, but it's.... Very wordy. I'm putting it under the cut so that you guys don't have to read it, just look at the Sakuya if that's what you wanna do.

One of the ways I'd describe this game is that it's hard to believe, in a lot of ways. It's hard to believe the situations the characters get put in. It's hard to believe the way some jokes are translated because it's just so out there. It's hard to believe I've only been playing it for almost seven months, and it's still so, so hard to believe that it's going away.

It's hard to believe that I ever found it in the first place because it all felt like a dream. I remember when I first saw it— a mutual was reblogging posts about it, and I remember thinking, "Huh. That looks interesting." I don't know what I saw in those screenshots that made me feel that way. A3! was the kind of game I didn't actively seek out because it appealed to a specific crowd that I didn't consider myself part of, and yet, there I was. I put it on the back burner, always toying with the idea that one day I might press that install button and see what it might do for me. I stalled around it for a while, but I knew it was inevitable that I'd play it one day.

The year was 2021. My friend talked my ear off about the game for the entirety of spring, and one summer evening, I decided to cave in and throw my hat into the ring. I mean, the game was only like 60 MB, right? It's not like it'd kill me to try, I could just uninstall it if I ended up getting bored by it.

I remember that evening so vividly. It feels like it was just yesterday that I was naming my heroine, experiencing the graphics and interface for the first time, and getting incredibly annoyed by the tutorial walking me through everything when I just wanted to find a way to adjust the text speed. I remember watching Romeo and Julius for the first time with 4/6th of my cast being Sakuya because I thought it was hilarious. I remember wondering why a Halloween event would be running in the middle of summer, and I remember spending too many gems at the July Birthday Scout because I didn't know how the banners in the game worked yet. The gradual end of that summer was my strongest memory from 2021.

And now I have to say goodbye to those memories. I'd barely even started Act 2 when the announcement dropped. There was no outrage or sadness, just... confusion. What the hell was I supposed to do now? All these gems, cards, all these badges I earned— what did it all mean to me now? But even after that, I still played. Infrequently, sure, but I still made sure to log in at least once a week. I'd just make sure to get the badges I wanted, read every backstage story that I still had, and.... who knows. It's a relatively void existence, but at least it still existed.

Then the actual termination of operations was announced— right as I was in the middle of my anniversary run. I didn't even have the energy in me to be upset about it at first. I just kept going about my days like I usually did. Except, at some point, I didn't want to log in to the game anymore, because it meant admitting to a reality I didn't want to face.

A few weeks before the end date, I popped into the game. I thought that the least I could do was make the most of it before it disappeared. I accidentally ended up ranking myself up, and I got 50 gems as a reward. It was kinda funny, actually— how in a normal situation I would be happy at an extra 50 gems, but this just made my heart sink in despair.

I had exactly 145 gems. I had exactly enough for one last ten pull. I thought I would've cried.

I decided to pick a tryout, rolled, and....

..... Nothing. Absolutely nothing special. It was a completely ordinary pull.

Something about it was just so.... innocent to me. It didn't give me a new card to pity me, it just gave me a normal pull. My final ten pull in a game that would soon cease to exist was just a bunch of dupes.

I had to lie down for a while. There's no way I could keep playing. It actually hit me how much I had left to lose when this game goes away. I thought I'd be fine if i just hopped to the japanese server because oh thank god, they're still there, they wont leave yet.

But it's just so different. Reading the prologue again, seeing Sakuya's desperate attempts at acting and keeping the theater alive, even though I've already gone through so many insane journeys with him in a past life— the weight of it all just drowned me under a sea of bittersweet melancholy.

I'll miss those journeys. I'll miss all the jokes that made me laugh, all the scenes that made me cry, all the pulls that made me scream in both rage and joy. I'll miss the cards and badges I earned. I'll miss the memories I've made with this found family, this bundle of fictional characters who've helped me come to terms with a lot of things I've struggled with in reality. I still treat it like a miracle— how I found the game at the exact time in my life when it would resonate with me the most, and the sheer amount of things that it's done for me in the span of less than half a year. Maybe you can call it fate, or maybe you could say that the game found me instead of me finding it first. Or maybe it's just a good old combination of luck and coincidence, like how a lot of things in this game are.

Thank you, A3! EN. Thank you for helping me bloom at the time I needed you most.

[niqhtlord01]

Humans are weird: Video Games Part 8

Alien: Why would communists flee to space? Human: Tim Curry can go wherever he god damn pleases! --------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Why do humans feel a need to constantly augment themselves? Alien: Here you have humans trading their body parts away like trading cards for cybernetic eyes, reinforced bones, and even blades that come out of your arms. Alien: Are you not pleased with your own form? Human: It is part of human nature to always improve on what exists. Human: Each of us has our own personal perfection we reach for that at times is so wild and vastly different from the next that it is impossible to lump us together. Alien: Who’s idea of metal blades in their arms could count as perfection? Human: Never again will I need to go searching for a knife to butter my toast. Alien: What? ---------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: So aliens invade and it’s your job to defend against them? Human: Yup. Alien: How often do you win? Human: Not once. Alien: Wha? Human: Yup; my entire team is usually dead by mission 5. ---------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Why would humans play a life simulator that mimics their own existence? Human: It’s technically a fantasy. Alien: How so? Human: Because you own a home, have a job, and can support yourself and your hobbies. Alien: Can you not do that in real life? Human: Not lately. Alien: Dude……… --------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: So you can create villages and time travel into the future to see how they pan out? Human: Pretty much. Alien: That sounds amazing! Human: I know right? Human: That way you can see if your villagers become assholes or not and get rid of them. Alien: Wait what? ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Is this game a historical game or a learning experience? Human: Both. Alien: What does it teach you of the past? Human: To never ford rivers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Is it true that video games make you violent? Human: Not all games. Alien: But didn’t you punch a hole in the wall over a farming game yesterday? Human: That was unrelated. Alien: You said “So help me if they don’t buy this crop I will burn them down!” Human: But they did buy it so it all worked out in the end. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: So the plot is breaking into someone else’s home to satisfy your own need for investigation? Human: Yup. Alien: And every time you fail he learns how you broke in before and tries to stop you doing the same thing again? Human: Yup. Alien: You do realize you are actively breaking and entering and terrorizing this man, right? Human: I mean he may or may not have kidnapped someone. Alien: Do you ever find out? Human: Sorta? It gets pretty confusing after a while. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Why would anyone want to play a video game about flying? Human: I could think of several reasons; all of them inappropriate and in twisted humor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: What’s the point of the game? Human: Loot, pillage, and troll. Alien: Pardon me? Troll? Human: You ever see the tears of a crew that spent four hours in a dungeon for a special chest only to have it taken from them by someone who logged on five minutes ago? Alien: You are a monster…. Human: Yar! --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: How is that grey blob terrifying? Alien: It looks harmless. Human: You leave it alone long enough and it starts eating entire planets. Alien: Seriously? Human: I’ve seen it eat aliens whole while they still screamed for help…. Human: I’ve seen some real shit…. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Why is everyone so angry in this game? Human: It’s the post apocalypse…. Human: All the comforts of life are gone…. Human: People are eating other people…. Human: And there is no internet. Alien: Ah, that’d do it. -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Why are so many people afraid of these rat men? Alien: They are cowards! Human: They have on multiple occasions brought about near world ending events. Alien: You can’t be serious…. Human: They’ve also brought their god into existence and it serves alongside them on a ruling council. Alien: Wait, what? -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: Why does this game punish you for hurting civilians?! Alien: Do your developers not know what Vikings did? Human: The hero can’t be seen murdering people. Alien: I just saw you push a priest off a cliff and watch their body ragdoll to the river below. Human: The hero can’t be seen murdering “innocent” people is what I meant. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Human: When the monster gets closer the music starts picking up and things start shaking. Alien: Why not escape the building? Human: All the doors are locked and you need to find the keys. Alien: Or you could just smash the giant two story glass window next to the door and escape. Human: ………… Human: This is why I would probably die in a horror movie. --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alien: So you are paid to kill monsters…. Alien: by humans who are even more monstrous than the monsters? Human: Makes you wonder who the real monsters are. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

[dollsonmain]

Long and convoluted gripe like a recipe blog post that takes a while to set up.

So the problem I’m having with That Guy right now is that he’s punishing Son for having bad handwriting by forcing him to write every day, but not actually providing any sort of guidance, prompts, or encouragement, only criticism.

He is a poor teacher in that he expects you to do things his way, but does not give you the means to do so.

Son, really not wanting to do this, is complying maliciously by writing out things that he’s angry about and that’s uncomfortable. That Guy then went on and on about how it doesn’t matter WHAT he writes as long as it’s neat because the whole reason he’s being made to do this is his penmanship. For like 20 minutes he kept repeating this.

Yesterday he came home and Son had written a few lines about things he does every day because he’s having a hard time coming up with stuff to write about. It was ONLY things he does every day (omitting the iPad time he sneaks in the mornings).

That Guy started lecturing him on how that information was incorrect and needed to be correct and there should be notes about how Son plays games and does puzzles and

So I interjected, “Wait, YESTERDAY you said it didn’t matter what he writes...” which really pissed That Guy off to be caught in a lie/contradiction of his own making and turned into a yelling [his idea of] insults event that I anger blogged on the whining blog and will leave there.

-

This morning, I think I’ve come up with an idea that will placate him, and I’m VERY ANGRY that my brain did this without my consent because I don’t WANT to placate him, I am tired of dancing on knives to keep the peace in my own goddamn home, I want him to knock it the fuck off and treat Son and me with some humanity.

When I decided I was going to work on my own handwriting a couple years back because it was illegible (I switched to cursive and that helped a lot), I would log on to the local newspaper’s website and transcribe their articles, errors included.

Monday That Guy brought home the driver’s handbook for Son because Son is now 15 and can learn to drive, soon (he doesn’t want to, he’s scared, That Guy doesn’t care). It’s a magazine sized publication that he said he’ll quiz the boy on and whatever. It’s something Son should know.

I’ll see if Son wants to transcribe paragraphs out of the driver’s handbook.

That Guy will find some way to say this is wrong and not what he’s meant Son to do, maybe because Son wouldn’t be coming up with his own things to write, despite saying the other day that WHAT Son writes doesn’t matter, but I can counter that with “It will help his handwriting AND studying for the permit test.” and maybe he’ll compromise for once.

Maybe.

[itsthemoofacewriting]

It’s heaven in your arms

Well, this is just a clusterfuck of emotions. Let me lead you down the path of grief and mourning only for it to end with a bed sharing trope.

I have no idea if there are even people that like the original trio together romantically, but I was really vibing, so hopefully I can convince some of my regular readers to take the plunge.

If any of my ZoNami readers are here, I’m doing the requests you all sent in – I swear!

I’m not sure what to expect from posting this, so I’ll say this once pre-emptively: if this isn’t your cup of tea, you know where the door is, please leave quietly.  

Summary: It may have been two years since Ace’s death but, for Luffy, sometimes it still felt like just yesterday. Or, sometimes, something beautiful can blossom from a place of hurt. Rating: T

You can also find this on AO3 and FFN.

Nami awoke, eyes burning from lack of sleep and mouth dry. It was still dark outside, and she grumbled to herself at waking up so early, but it was no use. She wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep until she had a glass of water. She swung her feet off the bed, clumsily trying to find her slippers before getting up. It was warm outside, so she didn’t bother with anything other than her pyjama top and shorts.

As annoying as it was to be awake so early, it was peaceful. It was a quick shuffle across the deck and into the kitchen, where she filled her glass hastily, already thinking about getting back into bed.

That last thing she expected when leaving the kitchen was the sight of Luffy sitting on the railing, facing the ocean with his feet kicking over the edge. Reckless as always it seemed.

“If you fell, no one would be around to save you,” She lectured.

His shoulders hunched; she’d surprised him it seemed, but he didn’t react as she’d expected. There was no carefree laughter or beaming grin as he told her not to be a worry wart. Instead, she received a muffled, “You’re up.”

Without looking at his face she didn’t know how to take that but his whole attitude was off, and it had alarm bells going off in her head. The comfort of her bed a distant memory now as she walked over to the railing to join him and settled her glass of water beside herself.

The words on the tip of her tongue vanished into the night air when she finally caught sight of his face. His eyes were red and puffy, his face pale despite his constant tan and drawn. It was an expression she’d never seen on his face. He looked defeated.

He looked tired.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

He shook his head, just as she’d expected him too and uttered out a quiet, “No.”

“That’s okay, but I’m going to sit here,” she told him. He could sit in silence if that was what he wanted, but she wouldn’t leave him, that wasn’t an option.

She took his hand in hers because whilst he may not want to speak, he’d always been a tactile person and she couldn’t just sit here and not do anything when there were tears still running down his face.

They sat in silence, only the sound of the waves hitting the ship could be heard with their thighs pressed snuggly against the others and his hand clasped in hers, a thumb absently roaming over the skin of his wrist. His tears had resided for the time being, only the stray one falling every now.

She felt like she was sitting with a deer, trying not to spook it because it felt like any wrong move would have him scampering away.

Well, that was until he pried his hand from hers and she was going to say something until his head feel heavily against her shoulder and an arm wrapped around her body. That was all she needed to let herself relax, no longer worried about scaring him away as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders to pull him closer.

It was another long moment of them sitting like that until he whispered in her shoulder, “It hurts.”

“What hurts?”

He was silent but the tears were back as she felt them soaking into her pyjama top.

“I had a bad dream.”

“Yeah? What about?” She encouraged softly.

“About him.” His voice cracked as he said it and his shoulders shook.

There was only one him she knew of.

“It played in a loop, and I couldn’t do anything.”

Although she was being fed the information in dribs and drabs, it wasn’t hard to piece it together. She waited for him to continue but the long pause told her he wasn’t going to.

She thought about what she’d want in that moment, if their roles were reversed, what she’d want from the other person sat with her, so she settled on, “I only met him briefly, tell me more about him. What was it like growing up with him?”

He was quiet and for a moment she didn’t think he was going to respond, that maybe that wasn’t what he wanted at all.

“He hated me when we were younger,” he said wetly, fighting through tears to talk. “I caused trouble, couldn’t fight and cried a lot. He called me cry baby all the time.”

“He didn’t when we met him in Alabasta though.” She remembered how he’d looked at Luffy, eyes full of adoration and voice warm as he asked the crew to look after Luffy for him.

He huffed out a laugh at her words, such a stark contrast to his normal boisterous laugh.

He told her everything. How Ace had gone from despising him to accepting him as a brother along with his other brother, Sabo, how they’d caused trouble together and had the best times together. How he’d made Luffy’s childhood a happy one.

It made her ache. Because as he talked, selfishly she thought about her own sister. How devasted she’d be to lose her, someone that felt like her other half since before she could remember, knew her better than anyone else, who she could talk to about anything. It was hard to explain a sibling relationship to someone without one, there was a different feeling to, you felt it in your core.

Mostly, she thought about how hollow she’d feel.

It felt like an unspoken rule that siblings were for life. You knew that parents were older and that they’d pass at some point in your life, but not your sibling. It felt like they were meant to be with you for life, that you’d grow old together and have each other’s backs no matter what to the very end.

She supposed that was part of the grief.

Although she didn’t know the ins and outs, even now Luffy was edging around his dream and what’d happened back then, she knew the key details - how Ace had jumped in front of him to save him. How Ace had died before his eyes. Even if she suspected there was more to that moment than what she knew, it was traumatic enough.

Another tangled chain to unwrap from the knotted ball of necklaces that was grief.

Ultimately, she didn’t need to know what the dream was about or what’d happened back then, because the picture she had in her mind was vivid enough and she knew how he felt. Watching someone slip away before your eyes, helpless as you watched them go and wishing you’d done something different.

Her heart bled for him as he spoke, words blurring into his tears, she could feel her own eyes prickling as sadness overflowed.

Hands clumsily wiped at her face and belatedly she realised Luffy had stopped talking. “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said.

Without thinking, she wiped his face in return. “It’s okay, I’m glad I get to share this with you.”

She cupped his face and she meant it as a soothing gesture, yet it seemed to have the opposite effect. Watching his face crumple before her eyes was so much worse than how she’d imagined it when his face had been buried in her shoulder. He was so expressive all the time that she shouldn’t really be surprised, his lips quivered and those big eyes scrunched as he tried to hold back his tears.

“I know I still have so much, and I should focus on that…”

“But that doesn’t make that little part feel any better?”

“Yeah.”

“I know. It’s not going to either.” He nodded glumly at her words, staying silent and she suspected it was because he couldn’t form words. “You love him. That’s not going to disappear no matter what happens.”

She continued because she needed to say it, to let him know this was okay before she the moment passed, and he locked this all away to deal with another night. “You’re allowed to mourn him, you’re allowed to feel sad without feeling guilty, but when it overwhelms you, tell one of us, okay?” She paused, thinking over her words, before adding, “And even when it doesn’t overwhelm you and you just want company, come find us.”

“Okay.” He sounded choked up, more so than before.

She brought him back into a firm hug, running her hands up and down his back, letting her words sink in and giving him a chance to speak or cry more if he wanted to.

His next words told her they were done for the time being.

“I don’t want to go back to sleep,” he said.

She didn’t have to ask why. She still woke up sometimes in the middle of the night, tears in her eyes as she relived all different versions of Bell-mère’s death, each worse than the last. She knew that he feared having to relive his worst nightmare over again or catching even a whisp of his brother behind closed eyelids, taunting him over the fact that that would be the only way he’d ever be able to see him again.

“I don’t either,” she lied smoothly, “We could raid the fridge-” Sanji would understand- “or I could show you a new card trick or we could go draw on Zoro’s face. He’s probably up in the crow’s nest and he sleeps like a log.”

Luffy grinned, it didn’t reach his eyes like it normally did but that was okay, it was an improvement on the solemn expression from before. “Usopp just bought new markers!”

They both turned at the sound of heavy footsteps and the very person they’d been planning to mess with was stood only a few steps away.

“Why do you two look guilty?” He looked suspiciously at them both.

Neither of them answered, but she saw the moment Zoro noticed Luffy’s face and took in his red, puffy eyes and worn expression. His demeanour changed instantly, he looked serious, and he didn’t say anything more as he joined them on the railing, pressing up to Luffy’s vacant side and taking his other free hand into his- he could probably feel that it was wet from Luffy’s tears.

The ocean lapped silently against the ship and whatever plans her and Luffy had made seemed to be put on hold as he stayed sat on the railing, but that was fine with her, she was happy to sit there with him in silent support.

“It should’ve been me,” Luffy finally spoke, voice sure but only a whisper.

Those were heavy words, she imagined how often that thought circled around in his head and how hard it must have been to finally say it out loud.

“That’s stupid,” Zoro said.

“Zoro,” she hissed. For his blunt words and because Luffy looked on the verge of tears, it made her heart crumble all over again.

“Ace loved you a lot and he didn’t do it for you to think that; he wouldn’t want that. It was his choice and he made it and he’d do it a hundred times over.”

He made a good point, she knew that, but a tough love speech felt too soon.

“Zoro’s not stupid all the time,” Luffy defended weakly, smile wobbly.

Maybe not.

“Oi.”

Nami shook her head, smiling slightly at their antics. “Unfortunately, I have to agree with you. Shall we agree it’s a 10% smart and 90% stupid?”

Zoro tried to look miffed, although it was betrayed by the smirk tugging at his lips. He knew what she was doing, trying to lighten Luffy’s spirits, so he let it slide.

“Well, we can’t draw on Zoro’s face now-” Zoro glowered at her- “but if you want an extra challenge, we could get Usopp or Sanji.” They were light sleepers; she knew he’d be up for the challenge.

Luffy smiled, nodding tiredly and stifled a yawn that had her and Zoro sharing a quick look between them.

“You can sleep with me if you want,” Zoro offered nonchalantly and Luffy perked up at that.

She should leave them to get on with it. They’d made their arrangements already and in the back of her mind, she knew she should, but Luffy’d told her so much, it felt callous to just palm him off. And maybe, somewhere deep down she didn’t like the thought of being left out. Maybe.

The words were out before she’d properly thought them through.

“You can both sleep in my bed.”

“Like a sleepover!” Luffy said and his eyes brightened, a shimmer of what normally resided there returning.

“It’s a one-time offer and no one tells Sanji!” Nami warned even though Luffy looked considerably lighter and Zoro was smirking at her. She didn’t doubt Zoro would store that away to use against Sanji later, but she’d deal with that then. And if he decided to blab, she’d then have the perfect opportunity to charge him, and he wouldn’t be able to say a thing.

The walk to her room was quiet, only the sounds of their shoes thumping against the deck with every step, getting louder and louder as they got closer to her room. She wondered if she’d regret this. What if she’d made it awkward? She should’ve just let Zoro and Luffy bunk together.

Opening the door felt heavy, like something awful would be waiting for her on the other side. Instead, there was just a dark, muted room to greet her and the awkwardness she felt doubled to the point she wondered if the other two felt it too. She wasn’t sure if she was thankful or not that Robin was still asleep, facing away from them.

All those thoughts were put to rest as Zoro and Luffy moved past her, seemingly more than comfortable with this arrangement than her. Zoro shucked off his boots and settled against the far side of the bed so his back faced the wall and Luffy kicked off his flip flops, his hat already sat safely on her bedside unit.

“Absolutely not,” Nami whispered fiercely, hands on hips and they both peered up at her quizzically. “I’m not sleeping on the edge only to wake up on the floor. Zoro, swap.”

“What, so I can wake up on the floor instead?”

“You can sleep anywhere!”

Luffy had snickered at their bickering, watching them go back and forth until he seemingly grew bored of that and stretched his arm out to wrap around her waist. As his arm snapped back, he dragged her with it, she collided with the both of them in her bed. Like a true rubber man, Luffy looked unbothered although she was fairly sure she’d kicked him, but Zoro wheezed behind her as she’d winded him with her elbow.

“That hurt!” Nami moaned.

“Think before you do that!” Zoro grouchily whispered.

“There we go, now we’re all cosy.” He ignored them both, nestling down into the bed as his arm reached across Nami to rest over onto Zoro.

“Luffy!” She squawked, rosy faced. “Move over! You have all that space!”

This was not what she’d had in mind when she’d invited them… into her bed. Although she didn’t have a massive bed, she’d thought they’d at least try to keep their distance, she hadn’t expected this. Luffy was so close she could feel his breath on her face and his hair brushed against her forehead, no doubt mingling in with her own strands. She could feel Zoro spooned behind her, his own arm outstretched across them both and she was only now just considering how appropriate her pyjama shorts were. Which was ridiculous, it was only those two.  

All of this didn’t feel right, they were there for Luffy, he should be the one in the middle not her. He should be the one squashed between them, safe and warm and feeling supported, not her. Yet one look at his face put all of that to rest. You could still tell he’d been crying; the puffiness would take a few hours to go down, but he looked relaxed, the tormented and weight in his expression gone.

He looked content.

And that was enough right now for her brain to shut off, thoughts pushed to the back for another day, and have her burying into the warmth from the two bodies next to her with the knowledge that everything would be okay for now.

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

This was meant to be a one-shot, but it’s now a two parter at no one’s request. I’m writing/editing the second chapter right now; it’s on its way.  

I used to ship LuNami hard when I was younger, but I think I’ve lost my ability to write them romantically nowadays… unless you throw in Zoro and then it’s back on apparently.

I write and edit all my pieces by myself, so if there’s any errors, please excuse them.

Thanks for reading.

[hermannsthumb]

"different young (rebound) hunk on his arm every week…newton geiszler who?" CAN YOU WRITE THIS FIC PLEASE? Hermann as the new heartthrob of the science world, cheekbones that can cut glass, baby gay scientists everywhere using appalling math-related pick-up lines in an attempt to be the booty call of the week. Newton catches a glimpse of him at a fundraiser and the Precursors have to stop him from crying with lust.

so tragically I plotted a whole fic for this and then came back and realized this prompt involves PRU but I liked my idea too much so unfortunately I won’t be filling the PRU part 😔 but I DO love heartthrob hermann sooooooooo. this can be pre-PRU if you want to make it sad actually CW for drinking and mild allusion to not sfw stuff. when will these boys talk about their feelings?

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

Hermann doesn’t like going out to bars at the best of times, least of all after he’s had the sort of exceptionally long day he’s had today (fighting his way through airports and hotel lobbies, fielding interview questions, having not even a minute’s break from Newton), but even he will admit that the one Newton has dragged him along to tonight could be far worse. The sorts of bars Newton fancied throughout their stint at the Hong Kong Shatterdome tended to be far hipper, far more becoming for a man of his (and, admittedly, Hermann’s) age, and likely aimed at tourists: pounding music, dark rooms, neon lighting, overpriced drinks, an inability to navigate through throngs of dancing bodies without bumping into at least half a dozen people. For that reason Hermann’s blood practically ran cold earlier that evening when, fresh out of their latest television interview, Newton insisted that Hermann needed to unwind a little. That Newton would help him unwind a little.

Hermann was pleasantly surprised to find that though the music (a live band) is still loud, and drink prices are still inflated, at least he can see Newton, and at least the few people dancing are dancing far away from them. And, well, perhaps it’s made him more amenable to (mostly) matching Newton drink-for-drink, and to indulging him in knocking back not one, but two rounds of the most disgusting-looking pink shots of all time, and— “Look, dude,” Newton declares, tossing an arm around Hermann’s shoulder. He’s shouting and leaning in too-close to Hermann, not because he’s intoxicated, but rather to be heard over the band, which has launched into a rather enthusiastic cover of some song Hermann’s sure he’s heard blaring from Newton’s iTunes before. His stubble tickles the shell of Hermann’s ear. “Just say it with me. It’s that easy. R-e-t-i-r-e-m—”

“We are thirty-five,” Hermann says. “We can’t just—”

“We absolutely can,” Newton says. He nudges his cocktail glass into Hermann’s chest, sloshing a bit of hot pink Watermelon Crush on his neat button-up. Hermann stifles a sigh; the shirt is brand new, bought just that morning for the interview, and will already be needing a wash. And smelling like liquified hard candy for the rest of the evening. “You and me, lying on a beach somewhere, sleeping in until noon every day, learning how to—to fish, or paint, or whatever the hell we want—”

“Not a beach,” Hermann says immediately. “I’m bloody well sick of beaches. Oceans, lakes, bays—no more."

Indulging Newton’s ridiculous little fantasy, even for a moment, is a mistake: Newton’s face lights up in a grin, and he tucks his arm around Hermann’s shoulder to pull Hermann flush against him. Hermann’s barstool wobbles dangerously. “Okay, no beaches. Far away from any coastline. The mountains, then.” It’d be just their luck, Hermann thinks, if the next Breach reopened far away from the ocean, too. Like it followed them somehow. “Let’s move to Switzerland or something and buy a log cabin or a cave and become weird recluses. I’ll learn how to ski, and you can grow a beard, and we can buy all our furniture at Ikea—” He frowns. “Is Ikea from Switzerland? Sweden? I haven’t been since college.”

“I don’t recall ever agreeing to move anywhere with you in the first place,” Hermann says, “let alone retire to do so. What on earth makes you think I’d follow you to Switzerland? I’ve no interest whatsoever in Switzerland.”

“Uh, because we’re best friends?” Newton says. “Anyway, what else would you do?”

“Anything,” Hermann says. He begins to tick off all the possibilities on his fingers while Newton watches him, unimpressed. “I could stay in Hong Kong—I’m sure they’d appreciate help monitoring what remains of the Breach. Or I could move back to England and resume my old teaching post, if they’d have me.” Hermann knows they’d have him; they’ve already sent him at least a dozen emails practically begging him to accept tenure. “Or back to Germany, with my parents.”

“I could totally do all that, too,” Newton says. “Well—not the Germany thing. No offense, dude, but your parents kinda suck. I don’t think I want them as my roommates.”

Hermann decides not to mention that the odds are very high they would not want Newton as a roommate, either. He’s tempted to ask Newton if he meant what he said about them being best friends—for Hermann can’t recall the last time someone called him their best friend, if ever—but Newton’s arm is slipping from his shoulders, and Newton is pulling out his mobile phone and tapping away frantically at it. Hermann feels strangely bereft without his touch. “Okay,” Newton says, his eyes scanning the screen, “Ikea was founded in Sweden, but they moved headquarters in—”

“Excuse me?”

Hermann and Newton both startle, Newton nearly dropping his phone, and the bartender who’d interrupted them smiles apologetically. He’s holding a pint of what appears to be beer. “Sorry to bother you guys,” he says to them, “but this is from the young man over there in the pink shirt.”

At the sight of the drink Newton brightens and puffs out his chest visibly. Bloody perfect, Hermann thinks. Just want Newton needs—another boost to his ego. “No sweat,” Newton says. He tosses his mobile to the bar counter casually and reaches to accept the glass. “Please tell him I’m super flattered, but—”

“Actually, sir,” the bartender interrupts, and—to Hermann’s surprise—slides the glass away from Newton’s grasp and over to Hermann. Hermann takes it without a word, not quite daring to believe it. Down the bar, out of the corner of his eye, he can see the flash of a bright pink shirt, but he can’t quite make himself turn to acknowledge the mystery admirer. Is that rude of him? No one has ever sent him a drink before. He’s not quite sure of the etiquette. “It’s, um, not for you.”

Newton deflates like a popped balloon. A blush spreads across his cheeks, barely visible beneath his freckles, which have come out again in the spring sunlight now that they’re not spending all their time in the Shatterdome basement. Hermann likes the look of them; he thinks they’re sweet, and that if he traced his fingertip across them they’d make a pattern of some sort, like a constellation. Not that he ever would, of course. Newton would surely ridicule him. "Right, duh,” Newton says.

He waits until the bartender is gone to round on Hermann. “Dude!” he says, almost accusatory, “Fourth time this week!”

“It is not,” Hermann protests. It’s weak to his own ears: even he isn’t thick enough to miss the sudden influx of attention he’s gotten since their first television interview last month. Hermann was never exactly popular, never exactly the sort the drive people wild with lust or romantic longing, yet it seems as if he can’t go anywhere these days without turning a few heads (including mid-twentysomething heads, mortifyingly enough) and getting a few cellular numbers slipped into his hand. Yesterday, a young man on the metro asked Hermann if he might like to see a movie some time. The day before that, another man wearing a jean jacket full of enamel pins stepped up to Hermann in a Starbucks and asked him if he could ­call-cu-later. Last week, a starry-eyed college student stopped Hermann outside a hotel to ask him to sign his Calculus 3 textbook, excitedly telling Hermann he switched degrees to astrophysics not a few days prior after reading an interview with Hermann in a rather obscure pop science magazine, and had blushed when Hermann thanked him. Newton had laughed at that one, and advised the young man to give biology a shot instead. (Newton had gotten very cross when he was promptly ignored, and in referencing the incident later, rather bitterly called the student an annoying little punk.)

This is to say nothing, of course, of the multiple news articles (listicles, as Newton calls them) Newton has forced him to read about himself on something called Buzzfeed, which have apparently helped to cement Hermann’s fifteen minutes of fame. One was called Twelve Times Dr. Hermann Gottlieb Was A Fashion Icon and was accompanied with a rather embarrassing array of candid photos of Hermann. Newton has been particularly incensed over that one.

“It is,” Newton says. “At least third. You know, I think the worst part is that you’re not even getting laid. Dudes are throwing themselves at you left and right—”

“Am I meant to go home with any random stranger who shows me the briefest bit of attention?” Hermann snaps. “I like to think I have somewhat higher standards than that.” I’m not like you, he nearly adds, but decides that it might perhaps be too cruel, especially considering that Newton has not gotten a fraction of the attention Hermann has over the past month. He remembers what it used to be like in the Shatterdome, is all; Newton seemed to like anyone who would give him the time of day. Most of his romances didn’t fare well for that reason.

“I’m just saying you could, and you’re not,” Newton says.

Hermann taps his finger against the pint glass, watching bubbles release from the side and rise to the top. When he finally takes a sip, it makes him wrinkle his nose. He’s not usually much for drinking. “I don’t like IPAs,” he says.

“I’ll take it,” Newton says, and the corner of his mouth hitches up in a grin, “as long as your boyfriend won’t get offended.”

Considering that Newton has only just finished following up his two shots with a cocktail, Hermann questions the decision, but slides him the glass anyway. Newton starts on it at once. Hermann wonders if he’ll need to call them a rideshare back to their hotel tonight; he’s not sure he can manage guiding a intoxicated Newton through the streets of the city on foot, especially not after a day that’s been rather unkind on his hip. “Only I suppose I have trouble believing it,” Hermann admits.

“Believing what?” Newton says.

“That they’re genuinely interested,” Hermann says.

To Hermann’s surprise, Newton snorts. “Nah, dude. You’ve got—” He taps Hermann’s chest, and leaves his hand there. “—sex appeal. You’ve got the, like, soulful eyes, and the movie star eyelashes, and the cheekbones and—” He drags his fingertip along Hermann’s jaw, and Hermann masks his sharp flinch in a cough, hoping Newton can’t feel his face heating up. He doesn’t remember if Newton has ever touched his face before. It feels shockingly intimate. “People think it’s super hot.” He takes another sip of Hermann’s drink. "Plus, you’re so—like—uptight. It makes people wonder what you’re bottling up.”

Hermann arches an eyebrow. “Bottling up?”

“In a sexy way,” Newton clarifies.

He settles his hand back on Hermann’s chest. Hermann licks his lips. Has Newton wondered those sorts of things about him, too? “You’ve had—too much to drink,” he says.

“A little bit,” Newton agrees. “I’m right, though. I like this shirt, by the way, it’s a nice cut on you.” He toys with one of the shirt’s buttons, and when he speaks again it’s in a low voice that makes Hermann’s mouth feel strangely dry. Hermann has never heard it from him before. “Wanna go back to the hotel and rent a movie or something?”

He’s peering at Hermann through his eyelashes, smiling in an odd little way. How terribly close they are to each other, Hermann realizes. He can count every tiny scratch in Newton’s eyeglasses, every fleck of gold in his eyes, every freckle on his cheeks. He wonders if Newton really wants to rent a movie; he wonders what Newton would do if Hermann closed the inch between them, and... “I,” Hermann stammers, gaze fixed on Newton’s mouth (stained pinker from his drink), “er, yes, only—only I feel as if I ought to thank the gentleman who sent me—”

At once, Newton drops away from him. His face hardens. His smile hardens, too. “Oh, right. I forgot,” he says. He inclines his head down the bar. “Pink shirt, right?”

Hermann casts his eyes about, searching for the pink-shirted stranger. When he doesn’t immediately spot him, a small bubble of relief swells within him. Perhaps he left, perhaps he decided he’s not interested in Hermann after all, perhaps Hermann is free to go back to the hotel with Newton and watch a film and argue about retirement and… “Oh, there,” Newton says. A man catches Hermann’s eye and waves timidly. He’s wearing a pink button-up.

“Bugger,” Hermann mutters. His admirer is not unattractive—in fact, he’s the opposite, with curly hair and glasses even thicker than Newton’s—which Newton seems to notice, too. He claps Hermann on the shoulder, hard enough that Hermann sways with it.

“He’s totally cute,” Newton says, “and he’s totally into you. You gotta at least get his number.” He takes another large sip of Hermann’s drink. “Better yet, get yourself laid. You could use it.”

Hermann feels the oddest sense of whiplash. Just a minute prior, he was about to kiss Newton (and he was pretty sure Newton was going to kiss him back), and now Newton is practically throwing him at another man. Hermann does not want to get anyone’s phone number—he wants to fall asleep in his stiff hotel bed to some absolutely awful science-fiction movie Newton picks out. “Newton,” he says, “weren’t we going to—?”

“No biggie, we can do movie night tomorrow instead,” Newton says. He nudges Hermann’s calf with the toe of his boot, and holds out his cane to him. Hermann feels his heart begin to sink. “I won’t wait up for you. Just give me a heads up if he wants to go back to our place, and I’ll make sure to stay out longer.”

“I’m sure it’ll only take a moment,” Hermann says. He’ll make sure it only takes a moment.

“No biggie,” Newton repeats. He raises his glass to Hermann in a mock toast. “Good luck!”

When Hermann looks back over his shoulder, halfway to the man in the pink shirt, it’s to see Newton’s stool vacant, and the back of Newton’s leather jacket swishing out the bar doors.

[takuyakistall]

summary: a mountain deity meets a suspicious eel.

length: 5k+

taku’s notes: ah, I finally posted this. It was meant to be posted for a previous milestone but it was delayed, but here it is now jbhjfb I may have gotten carried away with this when I first thought of the AU;;; also !! special thanks to ghostie and rui for helping me with this. If you see this, ily !! this also a three way collab with sven and @xxunrxvelingxx !! please check out their fics when they post it hehe~ they’ll be making separate fics that will go along with our agreed theme which is legends and myths from our home countries. In my case, this was inspired by the story of Maria Makiling!

 "I have provided you everything the mountain has to offer and yet you greedy humans still want more?“ The thunder boomed, matching your footsteps as you made your way to sit on a log stool. Crossing your legs, you said, “I’ve had enough of you humans trying to steal my valuables.” Rain suddenly started to pour down, soaking the four men standing in front of the mountain deity. 

They were shaking in fear as they saw the look you were giving them, they heard that you were usually a gentle and kind person who had never laid a hand on the village folk who lived on the mountain. They scrambled to their feet, with pitiful expressions on their faces as they desperately tried to run away. You made no effort to chase them as you already knew  there was no way they would make it back alive. This mountain is your domain, surely they would get lost  and stay trapped here forever. 

You were usually a kind being but you would spare no mercy for those who enter the mountain with malicious intentions. The locals knew better than to do that but — unfortunately, those men who tried to steal from you were foreigners.

           Your rage didn’t go away instead, it had gotten stronger. The rain was getting heavier, a flood was ready to form and an earthquake was about to start. There was no room for the village folk inside your head, your rage had overruled every moral you once upheld. It was cruel of you to bring these disasters to  innocent people — however, nobody would dare to cross you ever again. They knew that  angering a deity was never a bright idea, especially if they still had plans to live.

“Hah… Foolish humans..! Always scurrying around, striving to attack me and rob me of my riches. In the end, they’ll just meet their doom.”

There was something off about the man who entered the mountain. It seemed like he was struggling to walk. The rage you felt days ago has now disappeared and you felt the need to help the struggling man. You jumped off a tree branch you were sitting on to get a better look on his face — heterochromic eyes, it was unusual to see those  around here, especially when you had isolated yourself in the mountains. He had teal hair with a darker and longer strand framing the left side of his face. He was beautiful, your breath was taken away the moment you laid your eyes upon him.

Then you finally decide to appear in front of him. His senses did not pick up your presence since he was too busy trying to regain his balance. When he finally looked ahead and saw you, his eyes  widened and  slipped.

“Ah-!” He was about to fall. He still wasn’t used to being able to walk on land, his balance was still sloppy and the way he walked was unnatural. Ever since his tail turned into human legs, he’s been walking aimlessly on land with nothing but a dirty tunic on. He had nobody to teach him about how land folks act or lived, he quickly became an outcast among the villagers by the mountain, which sparked your curiosity. 

“..! Be more careful!” You grabbed his hand before he could fall, pulling him up to safety. He finally got a proper look at his saviour and the sight took his breath away. Were you the mountain deity they talked about back in the village? He kept a straight face while trying to connect the dots in his head. Weren’t you the reason he tried to climb the mountain? The blue haired man couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle, “Forgive me, it seems that I’m still not accustomed to my newly acquired legs.” He spoke in a gentlemanly manner which surprises you. Maybe it was because of his dirty tunic that you thought  he was going to be a bit more rough around the edges. You knew it was bad to judge a book by its cover and yet you still couldn’t help but do it anyway.

           “What’s your name?” The cold tone in your voice sent shivers to the man’s spine, surely you had the aura of a deity! He heard the rumours about the gentle and kind lady up in the mountains, but it seemed like you were still kind of ticked off by the last incident he heard about. The man put his hand by his chest and introduced himself with a smile, “I go by Jade, Jade Leech. Would the lovely lady also do  the honor of giving me her name?” It was faint but you noticed it — he was dangerous. 

It didn’t take long for you to become attached to Jade, he charmed you the moment  you met. Your first meeting consisted of you asking Jade a few questions about himself while walking through the woods. You discovered that Jade originally had no legs, thus his lack of ability to be able to walk properly. You offered him help and thankfully, he was a fast learner when provided with guidance. In less than a day, he had already mastered how to walk with his own two legs. 

You were bound to the mountain, you could never leave because you are its guardian. Shall you ever try to leave, your body would run out of oxygen and pass. It seems like Jade was a little fond of your company as he went back up in the mountains the following day.

He was still wearing the dirty tunic when he came to visit you today, you had seen this coming so you had a nearby pixie fetch you some clothes for the tall man. When you handed the clothes to him, he couldn’t help but let out a small laugh, he was intimidated by your cold demeanor yesterday but today it seemed like you were finally fitting the positive rumours surrounding you. A kind and gentle lady who would often go to the village to give your blessings. “Thank you,” Jade hummed out, straying far from you to change into the clothes you gave him. You felt your cheeks flare up a bit when he gave you a smile. You couldn’t help but wonder how this blooming friendship of yours would end. After all, he’s just a mortal, isn’t he? 

28 days remain.

“Oya, a new mushroom to add my collection.” Jade was delighted as he crouched down to examine the newly found mushrooms on the ground. You mentally compare the current Jade you know to the Jade you first met — it seemed like he was an entirely different person. He picks up land dwellers’ qualities and habits fast and now you wouldn’t even dare think about how this man didn’t know how to walk properly just a week ago!

You tried to introduce him to a lot of things the mountain has to offer and yet somehow, he found himself climbing up the mountain on a daily basis just to see you. The village folk were a bit skeptical due to his odd behavior and at his sudden transformation, but they soon dropped the gossip when someone told them the both of you were lovers. It was a ridiculous thought but you never said anything when you saw how they had treated Jade better. 

The more time you spent with him, the more you felt these complicated feelings, like your heart was tied to a knot. The way he smiled at you made it feel like your heart was being squeezed, and the way his eyes sparkled when he talked about mushrooms was simply too adorable! You noticed all the little things about Jade and it made you wonder about how you were going to label these feelings you have for him. You liked to believe that you know everything about the world, but the world loves proving you wrong. You were still naive, even if you are a deity.

21 days remain.

“You’ve gotten better at acting like a land dweller.” Your cold tone made it clear to Jade that something definitely happened to piss you off while he was away. Perhaps it was another human trying to rob you of your riches? Or to take your head as a trophy? No. Jade shook his head at the thought of someone trying to harm you. After all, it is impossible to do so. 

For the past few weeks, he has somehow grown accustomed to your sudden coldness and harsh tones. The people that heard of the mountain deity’s treasures have increased and were bold enough to challenge themselves against you. They gathered into groups and shouted out insults directed at you. You had neither time nor patience to deal with every pest that was bold enough to threaten you, so you had the mountain itself deal with them. If they entered the mountain, they would surely get lost and never be seen again due to natural reasons. 

The only reason why Jade and a few villagers were able to enter the mountain and get back unharmed is because you let them. The moment you sense malicious intent directed at you — they would be disposed of. You were merciless when it came to matters regarding your life and the state of the mountain. Jade knew that, both of you spent enough time together for him to know these kinds of things. With slow steps, Jade approached you, his usual smile was absent and this surprised you a bit. His expression was serious while cupping your cheek with his bare hands, it was warm. You found yourself rub your cheek against his comforting touch, he knew exactly what you were feeling and this reassured you. Jade pulled back his hand and placed it on your head instead, ruffling your hair a bit, “Have you been resting well?”

Truth be told, you haven’t gotten a wink of sleep ever since the attacks increased. Your guard was always up and a chance to sleep never came. However, when Jade ruffled your hair, every muscle in your body relaxed, you fought the urge to close your eyes. Jade didn’t fail to notice your tired state and sat beside you on the log stool that was big enough to hold the two of you. He made you lean against his broad shoulder while stroking your head, his comforting touch making you go closer and closer to your desired rest. You closed your eyes and drifted into sleep, not hearing Jade’s endearing words “Sleep well, My beloved.”

14 days remain.

“Have you done it yet?” Jade entered his temporary lodging to see a beautiful young woman with long black hair sitting on his bed. Jade’s warm eyes turned cold as he glared at the woman who intruded his home. Jade didn’t bother to put up the gentlemanly act anymore. He lunged forward towards the woman and wrapped his fingers around her neck, lifting her smaller figure up in the air as Jade squeezed her neck. The woman was letting out choked noises as Jade continued to give her a cold glare. “W-Wait!” She managed to let out a word, Jade stopped for a moment. “You still need me, you can’t kill me.” The panicked and pained expression on the woman’s face brought immense pleasure to Jade. Oh how he loathed this woman! Jade was ready to snap her neck, staring coldly into her eyes as he squeezed her neck a bit more before suddenly letting go. The woman fell to the ground, hacking out coughs as she tried to regain oxygen in her system. Jade’s unusual rage has calmed down a bit after thinking rationally, he went into his kitchen and brought out some teacups, “Would you like some tea?”

The sweet aroma filled the cozy house as Jade delicately poured tea into the teacups. The woman sitting across him had a suspicious look, staring at the teacup. “Oh, please go ahead. Don’t be shy.” Jade insisted, an eerily calm smile decorating his face, as though the earlier events hadn’t happened at all. “It’s not poisoned, is it? I know how badly you want me dead but,” the woman pushed away the teacup, crossing her legs and arms as a confident look suddenly decorated her face. “If you still want your precious twin brother to live, I suggest you shouldn’t kill me.” Jade’s gentlemanly smile curled up into a big smirk as he set down his teacup, “And what made you think that I still needed you to do so? You’re basically useless.“ 

For a moment, the woman shot Jade a terrified look. She knew that Jade was capable of killing her at any given time, she had to think of an excuse to stay alive. “You won’t be able to use the deity’s heart to cure Floyd without me.” It was true. Even if Jade has gotten the deity’s heart right in his palms, he wouldn’t be able to use it to treat Floyd’s condition. Jade frowned upon hearing the words ‘deity’s heart’. It was the only reason why Jade approached you, he was skillful in deceiving others and masking his true intentions. Though it seemed like his mask was slowly breaking the more time he spent with you. It was true that he was fond of you — very fond but Jade wouldn’t allow himself to admit the feelings he held for you. 

If he ever admitted to himself that he fell in love with you, it would just pain him more thinking about the cruel acts he was about to commit. “I’m close to obtaining her heart. Once I get my hands on it, we’re going back to the Coral Sea immediately.” His monotonous voice scared the woman a bit, how could he be so calm when he’s about to betray a deity? “Got it, witch?” Jade coldly asked the woman. The said woman snapped out of her daze and refuted, “Don’t call me that, I told you, my name is-" 

"Do I look like I care?”

7 days remain.

“Dancing? When did you learn how to dance, Jade?” Jade only let out a mere chuckle as you gave him a curious glance. You looked better than before — the color of your face was slowly coming back thanks to Jade. His presence soothed you and you couldn’t help but let your guard down — you trust him. It has only been a month since the two of you met but you would already trust him with your life. What is this feeling…? What did humans call it again? Attachment..? Or was it fondness…or love? You didn’t know the answer. The moonlight shined upon both of your figures sitting down on the grass. “Do you underestimate me that much?” A teasing smirk appeared on his face, you panicked for a moment because deep down, you actually did underestimate him a bit. You looked away from him, a light hue of pink dusting your cheeks. Shame rising up from the pit of your stomach.

“Oh my, it seems like I’ve gotten my answer. It’d be a lie if I said I wasn’t disappointed.” Jade faked tears, wiping them away dramatically as you giggled at his actions. Jade stood up from the grass, his polite smile never disappearing from his face. Even though he gave everyone that smile, you couldn’t help but feel like there was an underlying tone of feelings and affection he held for you. Yet, you brushed it off like it was nothing — still denying the fact that you were indeed falling in love with him. Jade outstretched his hand towards you, trying to help you up. At that moment, you couldn’t help but think that you were becoming so helpless around him. 

Hesitantly, you took his hand as he helped you up to your feet. You stumbled forward a bit and lost your footing, almost falling had it not been for Jade who catched you before you fell. “Careful!” He warned you, wrapping his arms around your figure as you steadied your balance. You could feel his heart beating, you closed your eyes and allowed your head to lean into his chest — listening to nothing but the beat of his heart. Is this what it means to fall in love? Jade was taken aback for a moment, he didn’t expect you to suddenly rest your head against his chest while standing up. He let out a sigh as he wrapped his arms tighter around you, his gaze filled with an unexplainable fondness. Oh how he wished this moment lasted forever. 

3 days remain

It was dangerous and weak of you to allow yourself to be comforted by the presence of a mere mortal, even the forest pixies told you this themselves. It was a huge mess in the mountains when Jade wasn’t here. You suddenly felt sad at the thought of the earlier events.

“Lady (Y/N)! Forgive our insolence but we are begging you to cut ties with that mortal.” the pixies bowed down, they didn’t dare to look into your eyes — fear evident in their expressions. The pixie who talked to you, Daphne, was the wisest of the bunch — she had stayed in the mountain for far longer than you have. It was safe to say that she was wiser than you but the one who holds the most power was you — the mountain deity. Daphne didn’t have a single hint of fear on her face as she held her head up high, her blue locks tucked behind her pointed ear as she stared at you. 

Rage coursed through every part of your body as your harmless gaze at them suddenly turned hostile. The gravity suddenly weighed down on all of them, forcing them onto their knees except Daphne. Had it not been for her power she accumulated during the years she had lived, she would be most likely on her knees as well. “What did you just say, Daphne?” Your mind wasn’t in its best state due to the responsibilities you had to fulfill doubled, every living being in the mountain knew that and they could see how stressed you were through the mountain’s state. They noticed how the mountain would flourish a little whenever a certain teal haired mortal decided to visit you, they knew that he was a double edged sword to their deity. Though they knew that he was a potential threat to you, when they saw how happy you looked when you’re with him, they couldn’t help but let the both of you be. 

“That mortal man named Jade- He’s not what you think he is.” Daphne calmly responded, she’d been suspicious of him from the very beginning. Those words made the raging flames in your heart burn stronger. You knew deep inside that she was right. You knew he held ill intent from the moment you first met yet you just- You just blindly ignored it like the fool you were. Yet you were reminded of the way he called you his beloved when he thought you were fast asleep, it was one of your sweetest memories with him. You can’t allow yourself to believe that the gentle fondness in his voice that night was all fake.

“He’s after your heart.” 

Those words pierced you right through the heart, uncontrollable tears suddenly forming at the corner of your eyes. You wanted to tell them that he was a good man, that he loved you. Your gaze dropped down to the ground, unable to say anything. The mountain spoke for you. The flowers were withering at a lightning fast speed and so did the trees. The wild animals, some died and some were dying. The waters were drying up, and the ground was ready to collapse any time soon. You wanted to cry. Memories of last night came flooding back. The way he held you so close to him, when you listened to his heartbeat? It was all an act to get your heart?

Daphne wasn’t telling her the whole story, she just wanted Jade gone. She left out the part about Jade’s brother because she knew that being the lovesick fool you were — you would gladly give up your heart to him. She decided to fan the flames, “I… also saw a black haired woman in his house.” Daphne cringed at herself, she couldn’t believe what she was about to say. She glanced at your forlorn expression before continuing, “I think she might be his lover.” Everything seemed to stop at that very moment. You stopped wasting your tears, the thunder clapped. Daphne knew she messed up when she saw your expression — filled with burning rage. 

“It’s for his dying brother.” A small pixie speaked out, receiving a harsh glare from Daphne when she did.

“Flora! You…!” 

Everything stopped for a moment, you held a confused expression on your face as you signalled the small pixie named Flora to inch closer to you. You had hope that everything wasn’t a lie. There was nothing more you’ve ever wanted. You desperately wanted to believe that Jade wasn’t a cold blooded jerk that only approached you for your heart. “Tell me about his brother.” Your weak commanding tone made Flora’s heart shatter into pieces, she could tell how much pain you were in. Meekly, Flora started to explain to you the things she saw and heard when she went to follow Jade to the village; the black haired woman who was waiting for him at his home, the way how Jade choked her, the hateful expression on his face, the things they discussed over tea, and how Jade needed your heart to cure his poisoned twin brother. Flora didn’t leave out the fact that the woman with Jade was actually the one who poisoned his brother and how there were only a few days left before Jade goes back to his hometown.

You were oddly happy. Happy by the fact that everything might not turn out to be a lie and that the Jade you were so fond of was real. Though you were laughable, you were an idiot in love. Love…? Is this what they call this feeling? You loved Jade to the point that you forgave him. Even if he didn’t confess himself, you were willing to forgive him over and over again. You were a fool. The biggest fool in the whole damn mountain. Though if it was for Jade, the man who taught you love and the first man you ever loved, you didn’t mind being called a lovesick fool who ruined her own life.  

2 days left

Jade was running out of time, he could feel his lungs having difficulty trying to breathe as he climbed the mountain. The potion was wearing off and he needed to get your heart and return to the sea now — but he didn’t want to leave, he didn’t want his time with you to end just yet. He wanted more time with you. However,  his brother comes first before anything else, including you. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he just abandoned Floyd just like that — it would be unacceptable. Jade’s heart was in deep turmoil as he took a step after the other, why didn’t he.. want to leave you? He stopped in his tracks, his hand clutching his chest tightly as he felt like his heart was being squeezed. He didn’t want to admit it — he would never. If he did, he would never be able to go back to the sea. He continued walking towards your usual meeting area. 

The frown on his face immediately lightened up into a small smile when he saw your figure fiddling with a bunch of leaves. As he went closer, he could notice that you were crying. He kneeled down next to you and asked, “…Are you okay?” gently, Jade tried to place his hand on your shoulder as a form of comfort. You flinched, moving back a bit from his touch and accidentally hitting your head against a tree branch in the process. Jade quickly tried to pull you close to him to inspect what might be a wound on your head. Yet you- you desperately tried to avoid any form of contact with him, your lips sealed shut as you walked away from him to sit on a stone stool. Jade’s heart broke a little. 

You were still trying to compose yourself, tomorrow was your last day with him. You could already see him getting paler and weaker, his withdrawals were getting worse. You needed to think of something, anything. You were going to let him go today, he can have more time to go back to the sea. So he can live. Yet a huge part of you is screaming ‘Don’t!’ You felt weak and afraid, you didn’t know what choice to make but deep down you knew what was the right decision. Mustering up enough courage, your breath shaky, you spoke up. “Jade." 

Jade had never heard you sound so helpless, your voice was shaking, eyes brimming with tears. What happened to you? It was a bit of a shock, for you to call out his voice with such a painfully sad expression on your face. He wanted to know how he could make you feel better, he was about to wrap his arms around you again but he quickly retracted his arm when he remembered how you reacted earlier. So he kept his distance. "Yes…?” He anticipated your next words, hands shaking — his body was slowly turning back. He needed water but he forced himself to stay still and endure the painful withdrawal that came with it. 

You clasped your hands together, muttering a short chant under your breath as something in between your hands started to glow. A single shard of what seemed to be like a gemstone — a piece of jade. It was your heart, clearly influenced by your undeniable feelings for this man you met less than a month ago. Your jaded heart, it was what Jade was after all this time. Once it was in your hands, you clasped it tightly one more time before facing Jade. Tears blurring your vision, “Just… take it.”

Jade’s blood went cold, how…? Did you finally figure out his true intentions? Are you mad? Countless questions popped up inside his mind and his heart rate going faster by the second as he tried to make sense of the situation. Will he lie one more time? Or will he grab the golden opportunity in front of him? Before he could make a decision, he abandoned all sense of reason and pulled you into a passionate kiss. You were caught off guard, yet you kissed him back without any hint of hesitation at all. Your faces so close — your tears started to mix and you didn’t want to let go of him. Neither did he. After pulling away from your heated kiss, he finally managed to mutter out the words he was so afraid of saying. 

“I love you.”

1 day remains

The cool breeze caressed Jade’s cheek as he ran through the forest, your heart grasped tightly in his hand as he desperately gasped for air. He needed to get back, now. The black haired woman from the other day was already ahead of him, looking back occasionally at Jade to make sure he wasn’t dead from the withdrawal symptoms. Memories of last night weighed so much in Jade’s mind, he felt like he was choking as he ran — his legs heavy as he started to sweat more than usual. Yet he didn’t stop running, you gave him this chance to let him and his brother live and he was not about to let it go to waste. He ran and ran and ran until he could finally see the sea. 

Jade immediately jumped into the water, taking in the familiar feeling of being submerged in water once again — not once did his grip loosen around your heart. He allowed himself to breathe for a moment, letting the transformation take its place as his legs turned into a tail. He was slowly letting himself sink to the bottom of the sea, nobody could tell that he was crying from the wet environment of the sea. 

One look at Jade and you can immediately tell that he was empty, void of emotion as he stared at your heart — placing a gentle kiss on it as he muttered under his breath, “Perhaps in another life, we could be lovers once again." 

This is a story about how a foolish mountain deity sacrificed her heart, the very core of her being, to a mere mortal. A story about how cruel fate can be, and how it ruined them. The ending? The mountain deity fell into an eternal slumber after giving her heart up to her lover, unable to wake up after hundreds of years. The mortal man cured his brother and lived a somewhat happy life, longing to see his beloved deity once again on land and was killed after multiple attempts of going to land. 

Perhaps things would’ve been different if they made different choices, perhaps they’d be happily living as a couple now but fate is not so nice, no? There is no happy ending for this disastrous pair, only ruin awaits them if they were to ever meet again in their next lives. They were both fools in the end. 

"Eh~? Jade, Jade~! Did you hear about the transfer student coming today?” Floyd made grabby hands at Jade, excitement bubbling up from the pit of his stomach, will he find another person to squeeze? Jade let out a sigh, seemingly uninterested in the topic but decided to entertain Floyd. “Yes, it does make me feel a bit excited, fufu~”

The class silenced down so quickly, your footsteps towards the class stage could be heard.

“Hello everyone, my name is (Y/N) (L/N)! Nice to meet you all!" 

Jade’s eyes gleamed with growing intrigue, why did you seem familiar to him in some way? He didn’t dwell on that for long though, he just decided that if fate decided to make you a part of his life, then so be it. 

And it begins all over again.