#acacia’s ramblings no one asked for lol

[acacia-may]

So…it’s no secret I am a little bit feral about Kelbrey (it’s an ongoing struggle), so here’s some unsolicited baseball bat thoughts:

After everything that happened before and during the course of OMORI, would Kel and especially Aubrey most likely have a better chance at a healthy, functional romantic relationship if they just paired off with random people who aren’t entangled in the trauma and/or that we aren’t introduced to in the game than with each other? Probably.

But…there’s just something about the idea of them together.

Yes, they bicker and banter and they don’t always see eye to eye, and it’s easy to see them as just a hot-head and goofball who butt heads. But I think underlying all of that is a genuine affection and friendship. They do have a respect and admiration for each other and their differences. Kel admires that Aubrey is strong, honest, and brave. He clashes with her stubbornness, but ultimately I think he respects that she is unafraid to speak her mind and to stick up for what’s important to her and admires that she doesn’t care what anybody thinks about her. Meanwhile, Aubrey admires that Kel is big-hearted, generous, resilient, and loyal. His incessant talking and constant energy can annoy her at times, but she genuinely admires his ability to see the good in people and look on the bright side and respects how outgoing and friendly he is and how easy it is for him to build others up.

They went through an (understandably) very rough time in their relationship, but it seems (at least in my interpretation) more hurt than angry, as if they are both more upset about the loss of their friendship which was so important to them than they are actually mad at each other. This is only made more obvious by how they manage to reach an understanding and start to rebuild that friendship within just a couple of days after (presumably) years of a strained relationship.

If they continue to rebuild their friendship and communicate with each other, I could imagine their relationship and understanding deepening, perhaps even becoming something more than friendship. And because I do think that friendship is built on a strong basis of mutual respect and admiration, I think (at least under these specific circumstances) a romantic relationship between them could be healthy and functional too. Kel could encourage Aubrey to have fun every now and again whereas Aubrey could encourage Kel to be a little more serious when the situation called for it. I can imagine that she’d tell him it’s okay for him to express his feelings (even the negative ones) and promise she’d never judge him for it and would always care about him regardless of how he felt, and he’d make her laugh on her worst days and promise her he’d always be there for her. I can see them really, genuinely supporting each other even if they liked to tease and banter with each other too.

At the end of the day, I think because of their deep friendship, Kel and Aubrey could really have the kind of relationship where they truly know and understand each other—really see both the strengths and weaknesses in each other without any idealism or misgivings—but choose each other and choose to love each other in spite of or, in some ways, perhaps even because of all that. 🩷🧡

[iamatriangle]

Hi there, friend! I'd love to hear you ramble about two of my favorite Black Clover pairings Langris x Finesse and Finral x Vanessa, if you don't mind? Also, can I hear your Duck x Fakir from Princess Tutu opinions as well please? The awesome fanart you've been reblogging of them recently has given me life! Cheers!! 💖

Hi Acacia, thank you so much for the ask!! 💕 I’m having a horrifically busy semester, so I greatly appreciate the chance to sit down and talk about some of my favorite characters. This is SO EXCITING, prepare for a very lengthy post 😅

💛💙 Duck x Fakir (Starting with these two because they are my everything right now.)

My roommate convinced me to watch Princess Tutu a few weeks ago and I totally fell in love with it! The character arcs are so spectacular. I actually thought about asking you if you had seen it, as it seemed like something you might like based on the other shows you post about (But then I had already pitched it to everyone I knew irl so I figured I should just relax 😆).

But getting back to Duck and Fakir, I think they’re absolutely perfect for each other. Personally, it makes sense and compels me. I believe it’s canon that they have feelings for each other, or at least it’s strongly implied? Either way, Duck inspires Fakir and Fakir believes in Duck, which i think is so sweet, and I feel like Duck and Fakir bring out the best in each other. Also, the way they change together throughout the story is so beautiful! They both end up in way more mature and healthy places than when they started and were a big part of the other person’s growth. I think the best ships are the ones where the narrative weaves their stories together in that way.

This is just me ranting, but I need to mention how beautiful it is that Fakir loves Duck not as Princess Tutu, just as Duck. In Mytho’s case, he thought of Duck as a friend and he was very kind to her, but he didn’t love Duck, he loved princess Tutu. For Fakir to love the real her ties in SO WELL with how she grows from her insecurities and confusion about her identity. I could also scream for a very long time about the fact that Fakir would stay with her forever, even if she was only a duck. The love they have for each other is so mature, but also so sweet and innocent at the same time. They’re perfect!

That’s why the conclusion of their arc broke my heart so much, because they were perfect for each other and would have made each other so happy. It’s so bittersweet. I wouldn’t change it for anything, but I’m a sucker for the fics on ao3 where Fakir writes her back to being a girl. I can envision them having such a happy future together.

🩵🖤 Langris x Finesse

Im so excited to get the chance to talk about these two. They’re one of my all time favorite pairings and they’ve been on my mind recently! In my opinion, they make sense and are super compelling.

I sort of feel like at this point, I’ve thought about them so much that they’re more like my headcanon characters than a faithful representation of the actual characters in the show (I tend to do that lol😅). But even if I try my hardest to separate all of that from what is officially canon, I personally think that Langris and Finesse make more sense than Finesse and Finral. I could see those two being good together under different circumstances even if they aren’t my favorite ship, but I’m really not on board with the way the show is handling it. I’m not gonna open the can of worms that is Finral returning to his abusive household right now, but that is very unhealthy (and it seems like the show is encouraging it??) Even beyond that, I feel like Finral isn’t in the right headspace right now for a healthy relationship. He’s trying his best and I wholeheartedly believe that he cares about Finesse. But he’s been using romance and idealizing girls as a coping mechanism for a very long time, and from what we see on the show I feel like he’s romanticizing Finesse to a degree that wouldn’t be healthy in the long term. She’s his childhood crush and dream girl, and he feels like if he becomes “good enough” for her he can “win her heart.” I don’t know if I’m explaining this right at all, but in my opinion he’s not really treating her like a partner, as much he’s treating her like an ideal to someday be good enough to achieve, which is more tied in with his own self worth than actually seeing her and loving her for all she is. (Although I would totally see them together under different circumstances if he takes time to work on himself!)

Anyways getting back on track, we don’t see that kind of idealization with Langris. He seems to see her and what she wants more clearly, and loves her enough to accept that she is more interested in Finral and step aside. I feel like they so compatible as well, because neither of them are very passionate people like Finral or Vanessa are. I feel like they would have a beautiful, more subdued kind of love and would be able to fit neatly into each other’s lives.

I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the time period before Langris was possessed when they were engaged. My heart always breaks when I think about the fact that Langris truly believed Finesse hated him. I think he always felt that she would rather marry Finral, and that he was never able to be really open with her because of this, and even that he resented her for it. I think it’s so compelling that all of this is essentially a misunderstanding, because Finesse does like him, and clearly cares about him and trusts him because even after he went crazy at the royal knights exam she tried to defend and protect him and wasn’t afraid of him (I love Finesse, she has such a beautiful heart). I think that after some character development on Langris’s end, they would be good for each other.

💚🩷 Finral x Vanessa

Vanessa and Finral my darlings!! They have such a sweet canon friendship and seem to support each other so well. For me they make sense and are compelling.

I love how on Vanessa’s end, she is gentle with him when he needs support, but she also isn’t afraid to speak her mind to him in the early seasons when he’s being a sleaze. She keeps him in line, both in the sense that she helps him be a better person and also that she pulls him back to reality when he’s spiraling and feeling insecure. And since I mentioned Finral’s idealization of girls before, I should say that I personally can’t see this happening with Vanessa because they’ve been friends for so long and have both seen each other at their worst. He knows her so well that he couldn’t idealize her if he tried. If he falls in love with her, it’s because he truly sees her and loves her for all her faults. I think they would work so well in a relationship together in a hypothetical future when Finral has decided that going back to House Vaude isn’t the right choice and has gotten over Finesse.

Also on the topic of the future, I see them being incredible parents. They are both passionate and caring people, and I believe they would fully devote themselves to not repeating their parent’s mistakes. It would need to be a slow burn and they would both be very cautious because they value their friendship so much. But I think they make so much sense together!

Thanks again for the ask, I had so much fun with this!!

[delirious-donna]

Donna, dear, I haven’t been able to get this question out of my head (though don’t ask me why I’ve even been thinking on it… I don’t have a clue 🙈) so I thought I’d pose it to you (please don’t feel you need to answer though lol)… Who’s the better kisser: Finral or Langris?

I imagine it would depend on how one wants to be kissed… And perhaps not objectively comparable? [Is there anyone who would even know, definitively? You would, perhaps, if you were in universe and had the opportunity? 😉 Poor Finesse (though she’d never compare them, I’m sure. She’s too nice for that & likely embarrassed)? Vanessa is some wild AU that involved *lots* of drinking and perhaps a rebellious version of Langris who sings sea shanties in bars…? 😏 Some random castle-town girl they both happened to go out with by chance without her realising they were related…? Please ignore my ramblings…😂] Or is it: Magna wins? That’s the answer!! (Even though he wasn’t included in the question) 😎

My dearest Acacia, I dropped literally everything to answer this. I’m rubbing my hands with glee, cause this - this - is my wheelhouse. Putting a cut here cause damn, this got long!!!

Okay then, let’s start by saying that both Finral and Langris are good kissers. They only improve with confidence and time. Neither are particularly easy, despite the nonsense that Finral tries to portray.

I’m gonna jump to a point where we aren’t talking about those initial kisses because let’s face it, Finral was so shy, full of unfounded nerves and with rather sweaty palms that although your first kiss was sweet, it was also nerve-wracking! As for Langris, he was potentially more hesitant than Finral (if such a feat is possible) and had to be repeatedly coerced that you did want to do this, and yes, with him!

Finral is a playful kisser, he likes to spread affection all over your face, neck and shoulders until you’re giggling and pulling him down to properly find his lips. For him, kissing is a way to remind himself how lucky he is and he enjoys spending moments in the early morning light simply indulging that passion. Finral often lets you lead the kiss, wishing to give you control and more of the power. He trusts you, adores you and wants to give you the world. Easily succumbs to his desires, not much effort is needed to take things further and that is when those sweet kisses turn deeper, longer and more breathless. Finral still lets you lead to a point but don't test him, he is more than able to turn the tables on you if he is worked up enough. Bite his lip one more time and see what happens... Ahem, sorry! That got spicier than intended... I’ll leave that particular thought right there.

Langris is a passionate kisser. They happen less frequently because he puts his entire soul behind each and every kiss. Yes, he will peck your cheek in greeting and he’ll kiss the back of your knuckles but real, true kisses are sacred. Langris is in control the majority of the time, and things start slow with those leisurely, soft kisses where you sigh into each other's mouth and everything mingles together. He likes to press himself firmly against your lips and his favoured move is to lick very gently against the seam of your lower lip. Eye contact is important and Langris likes to rub his nose along yours, gauging your reactions and ensuring you're happy to continue. You'll never doubt his love for you, that's for sure.

Both brothers love very deeply, they simply show it in different ways. If it were me personally, I’d pick Finral as the best. He fits my personality better and I enjoy lighthearted, funny moments with a partner so Finral rules over the Vaude brothers. However, Langris I believe to be the better lover of the two, but that's an entirely different thought!

As for who would be able to judge such a contest other than me (oh my ego is inflating), Finesse would never dare comment on such intimate matters, she’d blush and possibly feel rather faint if even asked. Vanessa... I could see a very specific scenario involving all three of them, copious amounts of alcohol and a night that would remain a fiercely guarded secret. 🤭

Alina (my OC for all those keeping tabs on this) is also screaming in my head, yes, Magna is the best. She doesn't wanna hear about her cousins kissing, that's just ick, but her darling Magna? Oh, he kisses like a man possessed. I'm gonna stop before I say too much because this is long already.

[writingonesdreams]

Hello! I have perhaps a dumb question, but I'm going to ask it anyway! How are The 5th Magic, Stormkeeper, and Summer Storms connected? Are they a trilogy? Sorry if the answer is staring me in the face and I'm just...missing it, lol.

Also take this as an open invitation to just go off and ramble about anything about them, because I am deeply curious! The magic system fascinates me!! Pulsers, Aurals, different levels, it's really cool!!

Hello and haha no worries, makes sense it looks confusing😁.

They are pretty much all separate stories with the same characters. I always start with characters and I have had Acacia, Kyler and Wes for a while with some other regulars swapping here and there. It's like AUs for the characters all the time, except these three wips are large enough as projects, with snippets and finished outlines and lots of notes they could make their own books.

5th Magic was the first one and almost a year long fascination. Acacia there started as a confident rebel leader, Kyler as her enemy from the rival army and Wes as a ghostly god fascinated by humans and developing his own human form. I have immensely enjoyed writing their dynamic and change from enemies to friends as Kye and Acacia got to know each other, but I had trouble with the beginning and with writing Kyler's pov before his change.😂 There were actually 4 magic types here with a 5th one that combined the knowledge of all of them (hence the name), and gave Acacia an awesome advantage with unforeseen costs. This one also spanned the most characters, the concept of the main villain's clones as an army and a brutal tournament between them to choose the successor.

Stormkeeper has been around for a long time too and has gone through numerous versions from high fantasy with kingdoms to urban fantasy from university tournaments to supernatural agencies until school gangs. The curious thing about these changes was that no matter the setting, the character arcs and core plot points stayed pretty much the same, just the details and side characters mixed and changed. Acacia was more of a hermit in these versions, alone and wanting to be, while Wes has become a younger brother to Kyler with very rare and powerful magic that put a target on his back for other magicians. Another prominent element with Stormkeeper were the Phantoms, magical manifestations of negative emotions that hunted the mages and needed to be fought and the theme of the three various magics needing to be combined at the final to defeat them for good. Kyler and Acacia were also not open enemies, but more of colleagues working together with clashing mindsets and believes that expanded their horizons.

Summer Storms is the newest addition, that starts from a bit different concept. In a way it feels like a sequel to the others, because instead of the slow burn development of enemies to lovers between Kyler and Acacia, their relationship is established here from the beginning with the history of them hating each other. Wes here left them after an argument and Kyler not being able to accept the different magic he choose for himself. His return back and estrangement play a big role in the story. A big addition here is the character of Jonah, a recycled old version from a character from way back of my wip Where the worlds cross, who with his willpower, determination and relaxed self-aware cheerfulness makes a good foil to the overthinking and passive Acacia and Kyler's cold pride and Wes's immaturity and spoiler sheltered selfishness. This version also doesn't span whole countries and kingdoms and concentrates on the core characters the most, with emphasis on healing and hurt/comfort scenes. The magic here is also sentient, with the magic types Pulsor, Aural and Sensor being ways how to communicate and access it.

I'm glad you like the magic system!😁 I love playing with it, making up whole value systems and cultures behind them, with the different levels and costs and now even personality for the sentient magic in Summer storms. I also like it enough to mostly have carried it over in all versions, since it's too cool to pass up.😁

Thanks for the question and the opportunity to ramble 😂 one always finds some new things in talking over writing projects.

[terramythos]

My reread commentary on October Daye #8, "The Winter Long" or "more shit goes down in this book than the first 7 combined, holy shit".

I apologize to anyone who reads these cause I literally hit the length limit on this post and had to pare it down lmao 

-Good start: Under the Acknowledgements section: "Everything I have done with October's world to this point has been for the sake of getting here". Sooo basically the first 7 books? Setup for this one. We're in for a Ride.

I want to emphasize some of the best meta foreshadowing I've seen:

FOR REFERENCE, Rosemary and Rue is the title of book 1. It's also the only book whose opening Shakespeare quote (from Hamlet) doesn't really match the title. If you know your Shakespeare, you probably would have caught that and figured out that it was from The Winter's Tale instead. Plenty of conclusions you can draw just from that. Since then the series has been chock full of hidden identities, and this book has two BIG ones coming into play. Foreshadowing was here from the very fucking beginning, and it is some next level shit. Very well done.

-If you skipped book 1 you are SO fucked, btw.

- we're going to great lengths to describe Sylvester's physical appearance. Gee I wonder why. I'm sure it's not relevant

- yes Sylvester has FOX COLORED HAIR and YELLOW EYES and his magic smells like DAFFODILS and DOGWOOD FLOWERS. He is Toby's LEIGE and FATHER FIGURE.

Me on a first read: oh it's just beginning book exposition, they all do this

Me on a second read: god fucking damn it

- toby: I should have known Sylvester would never disappoint me.

Me: oh sweetie. Oh honey.

- "He smelled like smoke and rotten oranges.

This man wasn't Sylvester Torquill."

Anyone who read book 1: OHSHIT.AVI

Welcome back, Simon! You know, Sylvester's evil twin? You know, the big bad (so far) of the series? The the one responsible for turning Toby into a fish for 14 years?

-Yet he seems kinda... off, huh? Comments about how he didnt know the spell would last 14 years, how he hates to upset October's mom, of all people? Whatever could he mean? :)))

-New toby power: spell reflection? Hell yeah? Also spell BREAKING, but to be fair she did do that one other time. In, you guessed it, book 1.

- "When I tried to picture Sylvester's face, I kept seeing Simon's instead" ow oof

- Simon calling Amandine "Amy", which we've established is an affectionate nickname (it being what, you know, THE LUIDAEG calls her). Why would Simon, of all people, call her that?

... oh.

-That sure explains a LOT, huh? That sure was set up... this whole time, huh?

-Little "fuck you" lines like "I didn't know Sylvester had a niece" in book 2. Talking about January. Well, uh, he has several actually! You're one of them!

-Explanation for why Sylvester had any inclination to be October's mentor... eventually becoming her liege and father figure... even giving her the Changeling's Choice (something family is supposed to do). It seems mighty convenient that a random noble was involved in the life of a changeling to such an extent. BUT, if he was her uncle, and knew his brother wouldn't step up? Well...

-This isn't even the biggest reveal of the book. Like, we're only a handful of chapters in and this bomb gets dropped.

-Sylvester, every 10 minutes: oh boy I cant wait to see my brother so I can like, completely eviscerate him!

Everyone else: uh,

- Tybalt: and here I thought I was going to have to ask Sylvester for his blessing. Now I technically have to ask SIMON?

Toby: uwotm8

Tybalt: oh god uhh I'm joking yeah uhh I'm just trying to distract you from all this stress :)) yeah (nailed it!)!

-And now we begin the "wow Sylvester is actually not a great person" slide. It's been hinted at that he's pretty unstable and has shitty priorities regarding people he cares about. But Toby glossed over a lot of it because she adored him. Welp.

- It's also an interesting aside that Etienne was kind of a dick to Toby for a reason in the earlier books. He legit thought she had been knighted because she was family, not that she had earned the post. And after the last few books he clearly knows now that that's not the case and they've actually become friends. That's interesting hidden character development.

- ok so The Gang finds out that Simon was telling the truth when he said turning Toby into a fish for 14 years was to save her. Because he had actually been hired to KILL her and didn't want to do it. So it was a loophole-- everyone thought she was dead, and then (as established in book 1) pretty much everyone forgot she existed until the spell broke.

-BUT Simon is bound by a geas (where have we seen that before) and cannot divulge his employer's name. But who had such a grudge against Toby and/or her mom to order a hit on her AND forcibly bind everyone to secrecy?

-who knows? Not toby. So they go to The Luidaeg to maybe get a lead, and she establishes right away that she is ALSO bound under a geas and can't say who did it. So we play some 20 questions, and then...

ULTRA DISTRESSING LUIDAEG LORE :((((

-additional: another month name just came into play. August. Toby's half sister, missing for a century. WHAT IS WITH THE MONTH NAMES

- "please don't mistake villainy for evil." That's an.. interesting quote re:Simon.

- Simon's way of protecting toby from the impending threat is "well maybe you turn into a tree for a few centuries but like. You're safe, right? Why are you mad?"

- The Luidaeg: *is straight up dead*

Toby: hey tybalt remember that time in book 2 when I Resurrected the Dead

Tybalt: yeah, it was fucking terrifying and I didnt speak to you for 6 months

Toby: *finger guns* guess whaaaaaat

-The Luidaeg: *says just. A bunch of Lore*

Toby: Luidaeg dont you dare drop that cryptic shit on me then pass out

Luidaeg: nap time

-"If you so much as whisper the first word of a transformation spell, I'll have your larynx in my hand before the second word can form." DAMN, Tybalt.

-Simon: I am VERY sorry for my bullshit earlier. I can't tell you who my employer is, but I CAN give you this BOUQUET of ICE COLD ROSES. Ice cold, like winter. Winter Roses, if you will. Yeah. Uh have a nice life, bye!

Everyone: well this sure is a mystery

-Simon is definitely a morally grey character. Has done really awful shit, is built up as a major villain... but turns out he had relatively little control over his actions. He does the wrong thing a lot but it's usually not for a truly evil end? If the context is to be believed he got stuck in the geas contract with Unnamed Employer to save his daughter, which explains the bad shit he did that we know of. Which then inadvertently kicked off like the whole series. He seems to genuinely care about Toby in a warped way? It would be so easy to write him off as an evil stepdad or whatever and there's plenty of canon to support that stance (she's an illegitimate CHANGELING child) but he seems like he wants to just be her dad. I hope we explore his character more, is what I'm saying.

-And not to keep rambling about it but Toby is an established unreliable narrator and a horrible (initial) judge of character. So it's not like this is an asspull or off base at all.

Twist of the fucking century here.

-You know... the character who set off the events of the series? The character who was murdered in book 1 and bound October to a geas forcing her to find the culprit or die? Evening fucking Winterrose?

-There were hints, most very subtle unlike the other big twists, but probably the biggest one is SHE NEVER SHOWS UP AS A NIGHT HAUNT. And they're in the story quite a bit, and they ALWAYS feature killed off characters. Except Evening.

-My favorite hints were the ones just piled in book 1. Comments like "no one knows who Evening really is" said with zero self awareness. Because we are actually about to find out who she is... 7 goddamn books later.

-dead meme but "surprise, bitch. Bet you thought you saw the last of me."

-God she's so awful lol

-Toby thinking Quentin died then calling him THE SON SHE NEVER HAD is a BIG OOF right to the HEART. ;-;

-The book also points out that The Luidaeg through the series has ALWAYS referred to Evening in present tense. Even though she "died" in book 1.

-The Luidaeg ALSO never refers to her as Evening. It's always "The Winterrose". You know, a title. Which we have heavily emphasized is something the Firstborn use in place of their true names.

*jazz hands* Surprise!

-We also (finally) have a canon explanation for the... rather remarkable coincidence that Quentin, the fucking Crown Prince (from TORONTO), is in San Francisco at all. It was always weird he got sent to Shadowed Hills, and it's been commented on multiple times... Evening arranged it, of course! For reasons we don't quite know. But as the Daoine Sidhe Firstborn, her descendants couldn't exactly say no. Even though they didn't know who she really was.

-We really are falling all over Firstborn in this series? It sure is.. an odd coincidence, huh?

We got:

The Luidaeg: Roane/Selkie

Amandine: Dochas Sidhe

Acacia: Blodynbryd

Evening: Daoine Sidhe

Blind Michael: ... uh actually I don't think we ever learn what race he's Firstborn of. All his "children" are kidnapping victims forcibly twisted into monsters. Well, except for Luna, but we only know the Blodynbryd side.

But it's weird that for being so rare that we've run into 5 of them in 8 books. There's gotta be a reason for it.. but what?

-Luna starts the series as Toby's Surrogate Mom and is now just straight up an enemy huh

-I made this observation in my book 1 notes, but I find it very interesting that all of Toby's initial friends and allies... aren't by this point. Whereas her current allies are either former enemies or people she initially disliked or distrusted.

Starter allies: Sylvester? Was lying to her the whole time. Luna? Pretty much tried to sacrifice her (+above). Evening? Uhh this whole damn book. Devin? Tried to kill her for personal gain. Lily/Connor? Both killed off for real.

Current allies: Tybalt? Literal former enemy turned lover. Quentin? Kind of a snotty, vaguely racist kid she whips into shape. The Luidaeg? Extremely powerful witch who Toby assumes is True Neutral and wouldn't hesitate to kill her. May? Literal personal walking death omen.

It's just a cool reversal. There's so much really excellent character development in this series and I love it.

-Simon still is a pretty major bastard but.. less outright mustache twirling evil than we were led to believe up to this book. You learn his Backstory and while it really doesn't justify his actions it does...explain them.

-Blink and you miss it Lore: August is missing because she entered a contract with the Luidaeg. She's holding the candle from book 3 :)))

I'm starting to realize I stan The Luidaeg so hard I just have to take a picture every time she shows up and does stuff lmfao. (Best character).

-But... nothing like your inconceivably ancient and powerful aunt suddenly owing you a life debt, I guess???

-Toby. You know, just an ordinary weak changeling who has somehow managed to KILL A FIRSTBORN and RAISE THE DEAD. yikes.

I'm just putting this here cause it's funny as shit. Tybalt really is just... a cat

This book: I heard you like distressing Luidaeg lore??

Me: oh thanks I don't need to feel things

-God Evening is awful. Like, if you didn't know that already, see above.

-It says something about The Luidaeg that despite all that shit their Firstborn did to her she ends up becoming such good friends with Quentin, a Daoine Sidhe?

-BIG LORE with The Luidaeg talking to Maeve??? And Maeve "responding" kind of? This series damn well better explore what the fuck happened to those three it's been built up all series

-Omg the showdown with Evening and The Luidaeg. And Toby managing to break free and realize she deserves so much more than Evening-- all without magic. And Simon showing up for a last minute redemption trying to hit Evening with elf shot? I mean he gets shot in the process, but...

-We now have like, 3 or 4 characters just... asleep indefinitely thanks to elf shot. that's gonna be a Thing isnt it. Rayseline, Evening, Simon, Arden's brother...

WE DID IT BOYS

-This is the last full one I've already read. Most of my reactions in 9-12 are gonna be new. So.

[dear-chaton]

An Afternoon in the Acacia Garden

For @miraculousstorytelling​ and the @miraculousexchange spring exchange

This was super fun to write, I really hope you enjoy this because I totally squealed when I read this prompt seeing that I work in a flower shop and I thought of all the flower puns that I could possibly use, which unfortunately never made it into the final draft lol

Fun fact! Acacia means secret love and you know I had to with Ladrien ;)

Ao3

                 Or the one where Ladybug takes her favorite boy out

On the list of things he needed to do that day, getting whisked away by his lady in red was a nice change in his hectic schedule. Adrien had just gotten home from a particularly tiring morning photo shoot, no matter if Nino had decided to come that day and see what was all the fuss about modeling. Or that he was suddenly a better model than his best bud, he still felt dead on his feet as he shuffled to his room without a word to Nathalie.

All he wanted to do was curl up with a mountain of blankets, his favorite pastry within reach and just die in peace. It would seem however that the universe had other plans. 

A soft knock sounded on his windows, causing him to shift his head to see who it was.

With another knock and a quick flash of red, Adrien jumped from his bed and watched as Ladybug swung into his room.

❝Adrien?❞ She called out, securing her yo-yo on her hip. He groaned in response and flopped back onto his bed. As much as he wanted to be alone, he still felt giddy knowing that she took time out of her busy day to come and visit him.

And especially after the whole accidental reveal last week, knowing it was Marinette under that mask, and that she /didn't/ hate him was very relieving. Hell, just knowing that it was her did not help that he had been crushing on the same girl twice, his stunning partner in crime and the crazy talented designer was one in the same.

Adrien felt his ears burn. Sounds of her footsteps padded closer to him, as he rolled his shoulders and listened for the telltale sound of joints popping before sitting up to face her.

❝Rough day kitty?❞ Her gloved hand ran through his already golden locks, coaxing a small sigh out of him. She gazed down at him as his heart skipped a beat. It was a miracle she couldn't hear it right now because it was the loudest thing he'd ever heard. Still, her stare was almost too intense to bare, glancing away at the last second, blushing.

A bright flash of pink and suddenly Marinette was sitting on his bed with him, humming with content. She continued to mess with his hair, simply feeling energized just by being in her presence. If only she knew how he really felt.

❝Do you want to talk about it?❞ He had never shaken his head so fast, Adrien almost fell off his bed while Marinette laughed at him.

❝Well then, I'll tell you about my day.❞ And that launched her into this whole spiel about how she was looking for a specific fabric for a commission and everywhere she looked, they were sold out.

❝I'm this close to walking in as Ladybug just to get the damn thing.❞ Adrien chuckled, leaning his head onto her shoulder.

❝As much as it is frowned upon to use your powers for personal reasons, you know you can always ask me if you need a fabric Mari.❞

❝Adrien, as much as I appreciate your offer, I really would want to do this myself.❞ He understood her reasoning, but he still wanted to help her, give her everything she deserved and more. He stifled a groan, why couldn't he just tell her the truth that he possibly was just a bit in love with her.

❝What's on your mind kitten?❞ Adrien blinks and sees Marinette staring at him concerned. Instead of answering her, he diverts the conversation.

❝Don't you think it would be cool if there was a greenhouse around here?❞

❝Oh I found one when we were fighting Arachne last week.❞ He shudders at the moment of the spider themed Akuma of the week. It had been a seamstress who designs' had been stolen and passed on as their own. The woman had been hellbent on trapped everyone she saw in her beautiful tapestries.

It was not fun fighting her, the number of times he was thrown into the Seine during the course of the fight, Adrien was just surprised he hadn't come down with something. Especially since he had to hold the damn Akuma underwater until Ladybug got the cursed item, a spider belt buckle, off her to purify it.

At the time, when she had called the reversal phrase and everything had gone back to normal, she had raised her hands in surrender while he glared at her. It was her idea, but both of them knew that getting dragged into the water wasn't part of the plan.

But then again he was the expandable one, Adrien just hated to think what would happen if he didn't do the things he did to protect Marinette.

❝Want to come see it? It's really pretty. Think of it as an extra apology for last week Chaton.❞

❝Deal, just let me change and I'll transform.❞

❝No! I mean you look just fine like that, not that you don't always look fine as fuck... I mean when aren't you ever fine? It's pretty hard to spot you looking like a mess, I mean.❞ Marinette rambled on, eventually her voice softening into a whisper and surrendering finally into the nook of his neck.

He chuckled, patting her head and mentally noting how cute she was and took her word for it.

Without much hesitation, and a promise to Plagg to properly feed him later on, he transformed into Chat Noir while Marinette became Ladybug. All too soon the familiar feeling of power coursed through his veins, as they raced over the rooftops to the garden. He followed Ladybug's lead, as she led them to a closed off garden on the outskirts of the city.

❝Wow,❞ he breathed when they touched down, Ladybug laughing softly as she led him inside and a burst of wonderful smells attack his senses. Being Chat Noir enhanced everything, it was too overwhelming so he released his transformation at once.

Either Ladybug noticed or she didn't, but she never said a word as she disappeared withing the rows of flowers and trees.

❝Adrien there's a gardenia tree here!❞ He heard her call and her squeal of delight. He knew of the sweet smelling flower, but he knew of something, rather someone who smelled far sweeter than anything he had come across so far.

He sighed to himself, following her trail of squeals and laughter, eventually catching up to her and coming to a halt at the sight of a dinner table with a few candles whose light was just enough to see her figure in the darkness.

He almost wished he was still transformed but also was confused.

❝Uh,❞

❝Oh I didn't see you there, you probably already had lunch or dinner or something but I wanted to do something special since I know you've been tired and working hard lately and yeah.❞ She smiled at him, and wow was it hot in the greenhouse was it just him. She looked at him for a response and he walked towards her, taking her hands and kissing her forehead.

It had been the first time since the reveal that he had done such a thing, sure he was still scared and he still wanted to tell her how he felt, but Adrien knew this was enough for now.

❝Shall we take a seat My Lady?❞ She giggled, pushing him away with a gentle shove as he pulled out a chair for her to sit.

It was far from the first date he had always imagined with her if this could even be considered a first date, but since it was with the girl of his dreams, it was just alright with him.

[acacia-may]

Hi Acacia! 💕

For your 100 writer's ask game what about 2, 16, 31 and 78?

Thank you so much for the ask, Lola and for playing the ask game for fic writers! I'd love to answer these for you. Sorry my responses got so rambly 😅🙈 I've gone ahead and put them under the cut.

2. Talk about a notable time a narrative or character has looked you dead in the eyes and said “f*** your plan, here’s what we’re actually doing.”

So in my very first big fanfiction project ever (which thankfully was never posted to the internet & we can all just forget about...or we could if I just never brought it up lol), I had an OC completely change his personality from what was in my head in the minute I started writing him. He was supposed to be serious, principled, driven, and intense, but when I put him in the scene, he just kept cracking jokes and was charismatic, outgoing, and kind of goofy. I was stunned but kept going with the draft not really knowing what to do and thinking I'd just fix it later, and when I gave the draft of the chapter to my friend (irl) who was Beta-reading for me, I shared my frustrations with how this character wasn't anything like I imagined in my head and she said, "Acacia, he is my new favorite character, and if you change his personality from what it is now, I will stop reading this and never talk to you again" so he stayed lol 😂 (And eventually became one of my favorites too!)

That's probably the most dramatic example I can think of, but as an extensive plotter, I have definitely had my fair share of scenarios where my stories take a turn during the actual writing process that I wasn't expecting and I have to readjust (which is never fun but I think is often for the best). For instance, in my role-reversal/magic-swap Astelle fic "Broken Angel" Liebe just randomly showed up towards the end when Noelle tapped into her Anti-Magic and that was nowhere in any draft, outline, or even a thought I had had about the story before he just appeared there, but I think getting to explore the connection between him and Noelle was an important addition to that story in the end. It can be good to deviate from our original plans sometimes, even though I do struggle to stay flexible & tend to get frustrated when it happens. 😅

16. Where is your favorite place to write?

I write in my room more often than not [or sometimes I'll write while I'm undergoing medical treatment because there's nothing else to do 😅], BUT my favorite place to plot & walk through scenes in my head is outside in my yard or on my porch swing. Not sure why but I just always feel really creative there, especially when I listen to music.

31. Tell us about one of your characters who’s an absolute joy to write

One of my characters...like an OC? 😳 I mean I'm pretty biased but I have an absolute blast writing Zoey. She's so dry and quick-witted (at least I hope she comes off that way) and writing her bantering with the other characters is just so much fun for me to write, especially when she's such a foil to the POV character (Hero) who is so reserved and sincere. That said, we get to see in the canon that he likes to tease to show affection to his friends & family too--he's just shy about it so I like to think the two of them can play off each other really well, especially when they become closer friends and feel more comfortable teasing each other, like in "Under the Weather" which is the self-indulgent story I wrote for my birthday.

Apologies but I'll allow myself an excerpt here just to show you what I'm talking about. I had way too much fun writing all these jokes about Hero's "grandpa pajamas" (which he actually wears for a big portion of the actual game/canon 😂) and having the two of them banter about it. (A/N: this story is a sick fic & he has the flu which is why he is in pajamas in the first place):

"It’s just…that’s not what I meant. I was just…embarrassed. I mean you’ve already had to see me in my pajamas.” Hero stared down at his pajama shirt and pulled on the collar as his face burned and not just from the fever. “Your grandpa pajamas?” Zoey teased dryly. His face flushed, but he nodded. Chuckling lightly, Zoey shook her head. “You do realize I’ve seen Kyle in his underwear more times than I’d care to admit, right? This is nothing. And besides, I’ve already seen them before.” “You’ve”—Hero’s voice cracked—“seen my pajamas?” “Well not in person, but Sunny drew me a picture of you in them.” “Sunny drew you a picture of me in my pajamas?” Hero repeated incredulously in a disbelieving, hoarse voice. Zoey shrugged but answered matter-of-factly. “He only draws you in your pajamas. He draws everybody in pajamas. You know, the last time I saw him he asked me about my pajamas so he could draw me in pajamas too.” “Why—?” Hero’s voice hitched—cut off by an awkward laugh and wheezy coughing. “Why would he do that?” “No idea. You tell me.” She paused, but Hero could only shrug his shoulders. Sunny was a talented artist, but Hero would be lying if he said he understood a lot of his abstract pieces or the reasoning behind them. Zoey’s guess as to why Sunny wanted to draw everyone in pajamas was as good as his, he supposed. “But I’m pretty sure he always draws you in these exact pajamas—long sleeves, button down shirt, stripes. I remember thinking ‘why does Sunny think Hero wears grandpa pajamas?’ but clearly it’s because you do.” Hero chuckled lightly but tilted his head at her. “What’s wrong with my pajamas?” “Nothing—if you’re over the age of 70,” bantered Zoey.

78. How do you choose where to end a chapter?

I'll admit I struggle a lot with endings, especially in the chapters of a multi-chapter fic. I usually know how the story or chapter will end in a general, vague sense, but it's always a struggle to decide what exact sentence or sentiment to end with. Sometimes I'll accidentally stumble into writing the perfect ending sentence which is always such a relief or I will have those "last words" in mind from the time I start writing. But most of the time it's more of a struggle to determine that cut-off point and I'll just start rambling until I find something I like. More so than anything else, endings are probably what I rewrite the most between drafts before posting. Some stories will have the ending written 4 or 5 times before I finally find something I like.

I hope I manage to write some poignant endings. I think the ending of "Tell Me Where It Hurts" is probably the one I'm most proud of, but that was a one shot. I think ending chapters of an ongoing story is a lot harder because you have to wrap up the main ideas of the chapter while also setting up the next one. I'll admit I get a little overwhelming by how daunting that is sometimes. I don't have a lot of multi-chapter works to choose examples from, but I think my favorite ending to any chapter in "When Sun Shines Again" so far was this one from Chapter 6 because it got really deep & philosophical (A/N: I don't think there are any big/specific OMORI spoilers in here, but uh...if you know, you know I guess...):

His chest ached—hollow and panging with a pain that would never really go away. He almost wanted to say that all of his experiences with the butterfly effect had been negative, painful…but then he thought about Kel…thought about him knocking on Sunny’s door three days before he was supposed to move away. He thought about Sunny opening it for him and venturing outside for the first time in four years. He thought about Aubrey suggesting they all stay at Basil’s house on Sunny’s last night in Faraway Town. And venturing deep into his memories of that long, distant past that often felt like nothing but a dream now, Hero thought about Mari again—her insistence that they help Aubrey when she was just a crying little girl who lost her shoe or that they take care of Basil and his garden. Or long, long before that…he thought about his dad buying a potted cactus and suggesting they take it over to their new neighbors. People never seemed to think of the impact of their smallest decisions. Hero certainly hadn’t before, and even now, he wasn’t really thinking of it, wasn’t really expecting Kyle’s assertions to be anything more than impassioned attempts to get him out of the house and to play ‘designated driver.’ But as it turned out, years later, whenever Hero would mentally list those seemingly insignificant but life-altering decisions, he would always throw in this moment when his mouth twitched into a conceding smile and he sighed, “Alright, Kyle. Just let me go change my clothes first; then we’ll head out.”