#and I think they shortened it since the last update too

[99hook]

Casual

“Casual. You throw that word around a lot, but at this point, I don’t even think you know what it means.”

18+

There was a comfortable silence that tended to take over whenever the two of you ran out of things to talk about, but it was never awkward or tense.

He was sitting next to you on your couch, stuffing some Japanese food in his mouth while you sifted through your rice to find pieces still doused in sauce.

“So you’re staying the night?” You asked, glancing up from your to-go plate to see if he made any sort of notable reaction.

He didn’t. He simply nodded, eyes still focused on his food, “Mhm” he hummed, then looked over at you. “Unless you don’t want me to.” He added with a crooked smirk.

“I mean, as long as you don’t take up all the hot water again, I don’t care.” You teased, half meaning it.

“Guess you’ll be showering with me then.”

His dimple deepened with that lopsided smirk that seemed to be contagious. You looked down to hide your blush, but he noticed it.

You heard him set his plate down on the coffee table and felt the shift in the cushions when he slid closer to you. His arm snaked around your shoulder, and you closed your box and placed it next to his.

Leaning back, you snuggled closer to him, bringing your legs up to drape across his lap, and he instinctively started running his fingers down them.

“Update me. I know you want to.” He smirks as he rests his head back against the cushion, looking down at you with eyes desperate for sleep, but refusing to waste this time.

“Let me think.” You sighed. It’s been close to a month since the last time you saw each other, and you were sure a lot has happened since then, but your mind was too preoccupied by the feel of his fingertips slowly roaming up and down your leg.

He saw the thoughtful expression and tried to jog your memory for you, reverting back to the texts and phone calls you’d exchanged over the last month. Shortened details of bigger stories he was curious to learn in person.

“Work? Your asshole boss? Coworkers still suck?” He listed off, earning a chuckle from you.

“Oh yeah, nothing new there. Everyone still sucks and I’m still ready to leave that place. I’m pretty sure my boss is the devil incarnated and my coworkers are his spawns.”

“And you’re just an angel, huh?” He smirked. You could hear the sarcasm dripping in his voice and rolled your eyes.

“Never said that.”

“Nah but from what you’ve told me, they all sound pretty shitty. Except that one girl. I forget her name but whoever the one is that helps you out a lot.”

“Kelsey.” You nod. “Yeah, I love her. Everyone else, not so much.”

He nods slowly. He’s genuinely listening, but his eyes are also roaming over every inch of your face. In truth, he’s just admiring you, but it always makes you feel a little self conscious.

When you can’t hold his gaze, you look down at your hand resting against his chest.

“You always do that.” He says before you feel his finger curl beneath your chin, lifting your gaze back to his. “Why?”

“Why what?” You tried to play dumb, but the look he shot told you that he knew you that was bullshit.

“Well, you stare at me a lot.” You shrug.

“You’re beautiful.” He easily retorts.

You felt the heat creeping up to your cheeks. You were sure he could plainly see the velvet shades casting over your skin from the simple compliment.

It was always like this. He made you feel every emotion in the book, even though none of it was ever meant to form into anything more than what it was.

Casual. That’s what you both labeled it the first time you emerged from the post-orgasm daze and had to figure out what you were doing in the first place before he had to be somewhere else.

It was an easily understood title. Basically like no strings attached, or at least that’s what you concluded. Situationship sounded a little better to you, but with that there was an indication that there was the possibility of a future relationship, and with this, you knew there wasn’t.

“You’re a charmer by nature.” You rolled your eyes, and he was unfazed by that.

“Don’t you like it when I compliment you?” He asked genuinely. You could tell it was a serious question by the way his brows knitted together slightly.

You liked it, yeah. The feelings that erupted from it? No.

“I like it when you shut up and kiss me.” You retaliated. It was a defense mechanism on your part. You just wanted to feel like you had some sort of control here, because Tyler seemed to be ever so collected inside and out.

You on the other hand, spent hours upon hours each night trying to fight back the feelings you got when he did something as simple as send you a heart emoji.

But he didn’t object. He let out a small chuckle and you felt the vibration underneath your palm, just before he leaned in and pressed his lips softly to yours.

The smell of his cologne overtook your senses first. A scent that lingers on your pillows weeks after he’s gone. You felt like you could pinpoint it anywhere, and just know it as him.

One of his hands cups your cheek while the other slowly slides higher up your thigh. You feel the neediness for him begin to take hold somewhere deep within. Somewhere only he could ever reach.

You feel yourself slowly reclining back against the cushions, and him shifting smoothly until he’s laying between your thighs.

“Take this off.” You breathe between leisure kisses, tugging at his shirt. You felt him smirk against your lips before he breaks the kiss to grab the end of the shirt with his free hand, easily pulling it over his head and discarding it somewhere on the living room floor.

Your eyes trail down to his chest. Something about it always gains your attention. Whether it’s the sculpted muscles that you loved to feel beneath your hands, or the tattoos you loved to trace with your fingertips.

He watches as you run your palms from his chest to his torso, and then hooking two fingers in the hem of his sweatpants.

“These too.” You say, tugging at them.

“Yes ma’am.” He obliges before he gets on his knees and slides them down.

You take that time to pull your shirt and shorts off. He keeps his eyes on you, watching your every move with an insatiable hunger he couldn’t hide for the life of him.

When you’re left in just your bra, he stops you before you can unlatch it yourself. His lips find your neck as his fingers work on the clasp until you feel the straps loosen and slide down your arms.

He pulls them down the rest of the way and tosses your bra somewhere amongst the rest of your discarded clothes, before he grabs your hips and pulls you back down so that you’re laying beneath him again.

You instinctively spread your thighs for him, glancing down at the gap between your bodies that’s soon to be closed like you want.

“Ready?” He always asks. His eyes glance up at your face, and you can see that he’s doing his best to be slow and patient, but he’s dying for more.

You nod immediately, twisting the ends of his hair with your fingertips as you eagerly pull him down to your lips.

The kiss a few minutes ago was just a build up. Slow, leisure and delicate. This one was full of desire, anticipation, the eagerness neither of you could hide if you wanted to.

In the midst of it, you felt him completely fill you. Stretching you to your limits in a way that had become the only thing you’ve ever been truly addicted to.

A sharp gasp escaped your lips and a deep, guttural groan ripped through his chest. He held himself still for a couple of seconds, until he felt you relaxing around him.

Slowly, he pulls almost all the way out, and slowly; he pushes back into you again. It stays like this until you can’t take it anymore, and a smirk slips across his lips when you start to thrust your hips up in a desperate attempt for more.

He doesn’t object, though. Truthfully, he may be on top but he’s following your lead. Whatever you want, however you want it, that’s what he wants. It might be taking every last ounce of strength within him to keep things slow and steady, but if that’s how you want it then he’ll do it all night long.

But thankfully he picked up on the cues your body was giving and he could finally pick up the pace.

When you felt his hand tightly grip your hip and pin you in place, you knew what you were in for.

He leaned up some, the ends of his hair fluttering against your cheek as his hot, short breaths lingered against your skin. You felt him sneak a few delicate kisses against your jaw but you had to act like it never happened, or else that’s all you’d be thinking about for the next month.

His name effortlessly flew past your lips when he relentlessly crashed into you, hard, fast and unforgiving, just like the first time when he was obviously trying to prove to you that he was good in bed.

Your nails dug into his back as he repeatedly hit that one special spot that in truth, only he ever did before.

You couldn’t contain the high moans, the wildly breathy gasps and whimpers that spilled out of you with every thrust of his hips.

He was in the same boat, though. You know you heard him muttering a multitude of fucks and goddamns.

His fingers tangled up in your hair as he rocked into you. You could hardly hold on at this point, even though you wanted this to last as long as humanly possible. It was impossible.

He knew you were close when you wrapped your legs tightly around him, and the sounds you made got a hell of a lot higher than before.

He coaxed you silently. Using his lips in one way instead of another.

He latched them to your neck, boldly sucking a spot that he realized after the first time, must’ve been a weakness for you.

He felt pride swelling in his chest at the sound of you coming completely and utterly undone. Just the way your back arched and your breasts pressed against his chest was enough for him, but he was holding back waiting for you.

His teeth gently scraped your skin, but it was enough to send shivers skating rapidly down your spine. You couldn’t control it, even if you wanted to.

Within moments, that warm sensation that was begging to run wild through your body, finally got the permission to do it.

You came with a relieved, blissful gasp that morphed into a drawn out moan, and his low groans and raspily muttered curses intermingled in the air.

Breathless and utterly spent, the two of you laid on that couch for at least ten minutes before he finally pulled out of you.

The second he got up, the sweat that smeared your skin didn’t mix well with the room temperature, and a chill shot through you.

Tyler grabbed your clothes first. They were inside out, so he fixed them before he handed them to you.

You watched as he slid on his sweatpants and draped his shirt over his shoulder, sitting back down next to you.

You hadn’t put your clothes back on, instead just let them lay in your lap as you stared down at them.

“What’s wrong?” He asks after a moment. You shake your head, but you don’t look at him.

Again, his finger hooks underneath your chin and raises your gaze so that you’re matched with his. Something that always gives you butterflies, but you won’t tell him that.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?”

You wanted to say it, but not as much as you didn’t want to ruin everything the two of you had. You knew from the beginning that this was casual. You knew it and you had no right to feel some type of way about it now.

The heart was just stupid sometimes, you realized that when just the feel of his shoulder brushing against yours could make your stomach erupt with butterflies.

“Nothing.” You lied again. “Wanna shower with me?”

He eyed you for a moment. He knew you weren’t being honest but he also suspected why, and it was a conversation he knew he wanted to have, but he always second guessed if it was the right time to have it.

He contemplated pressing the subject, but the risk that came along with that kept his mouth shut. Instead, he just nodded and got up from the couch, extending his hand for you to take, and lead you through your room where the bathroom was.

He started the water, and as his back was turned, you took a moment to study yourself in the mirror.

The purple marks he left on your neck would be there for a while. Of course you needed to cover them up for work but you didn’t mind them as much as you would if anyone else were to leave them on you.

Your lips were puffy and a little swollen, and they were tender to the touch, but you liked it.

You could faintly see the redness that his fingerprints left on your hip, and that’s when his hand snaked around your stomach and he pressed a kiss to your temple, eyeing you in the mirror along with you.

You turned in his arms and offered a smile before you walked past him, letting him get undressed himself while you stepped in and felt the scolding hot droplets somehow relax every one of your tense nerves.

He stepped in behind you, his hands snaking around your waist and chin resting on your shoulder as he swayed you side to side.

You leaned your head back, the water drenching every inch of you, but you weren’t sure it was the temperature of it, or if he was the reason you felt like you were nearly on fire.

“You know something?” You hear him whisper, his breath lingering against the shell of your ear.

“Hm?”

“I’m comfortable with you.” He says. It was a simple admission, but the way he said it sounded almost as if it was a revelation to him. A shock, even.

“Yeah?” You tried to act casual. Key word for everything here, you assumed.

“Yeah.” He continued swaying. “Everything feels…” He trailed off, and the first word that popped into your head was, right. Everything feels right.

But the word he chose wasn’t that.

“Easy.” He decided on. “Everything’s just real easy with you.”

You felt a pang in your heart, but you fought against it. You nodded like you agreed, and started lathering body wash all over yourself.

He helped, rubbing the suds all over your skin, then reaching behind him to grab the shampoo and pouring some in his hand.

You felt his hands lathering it through your hair, pausing for a second cause the gesture made your heart flutter, but you then reminded yourself that you shouldn’t feel like that.

You let him shampoo your hair, then turned around, facing him as you rinsed it all out. He watched you with exhausted eyes and a crooked smirk, then grabbed your hips and pulled you into him.

“You wanna go out tomorrow before I leave?” He asks. Of course the first thing you thought was, like a date? Of course you didn’t ask that question though.

“Sure.” You agreed like it wasn’t making your heart hammer against your rib cage. “But aren’t you worried about being spotted with your casual?”

You didn’t mean to add the bitter undertone, but that’s how it came out. You thought he noticed, but the way his lips tipped up slightly made you unsure.

“I don’t care what anyone thinks. You know this already.”

“Even if it gets plastered all over social media? You know how fast rumors spread.”

“There’s no rumor to be spread.” He shrugs coolly. “People don’t know me like they think they do, and they don’t know us especially. Let them think whatever they want. I just want to show you a good time somewhere other than your bed.”

You bit back your smile, looking down to hide it, but once again, that finger curled under your chin and you had to look into his eyes. Couldn’t hide that grin if your life depended on it.

“And Casual. You throw that word around a lot, but at this point, I don’t even think you know what it means.” He smirks, and you felt your brows knitting together in confusion.

“That’s what we agreed on.” You shrugged.

“Yeah, and that’s not what we turned out being.” He copied your shrug.

You opened your mouth to speak but there were no words able to be formed at that moment. You simply stared up at him, feeling like all the things you’ve felt might’ve actually been mutual afterall.

“This isn’t a conversation for right now. I think we’re both tired and probably still loopy from that fire ass sex we just had, but tomorrow, I think we have a lot to talk about.”

You nodded easily, and before you could say anything back, his hands cupped your cheeks and he made sure you were looking intently into his eyes, hanging onto every word he said.

“But if you were just casual, i’d never kiss you like this.” He says before he presses his lips to yours with a purpose that makes your head spin.

You instantly melt into him, arms wrapping around the back of his neck, bodies flush as you were rendered absolutely breathless.

Breaking apart, there were no words left to be said. He simply leaned down and cut off the water, opened the shower door and grabbed two towels. He wrapped one around you and one around his waist before he took your hand and placed a kiss to your knuckles.

“movie, round two or sleep?” He smirked. A coy smirk that made you feel weak in the knees all over again.

“All three, in that order.”

———

taglist: @madhatterbri @730hook @multi-fandom-things730 @willowgreens @shawtys-things @justdamnpeachy @wickedval l @730bliss @theworldofotps @madds-97 97 @gethooked @benjaminka @5secondsofmoxley @cypherpart15 @legit9thlunaticwarrior @littlemissbliss06

lmk if you wanna be added/removed

[normalaboutjungkook]

do you have a fav delulu taekook theory that's you think is actually maybe not so delulu

imma just share my own theory cuz i can't recall any by other taekookers atm

(I will preface this by saying I've played overwatch for years and it was ultimately the last game I played on my old console until it died💥 because of the missions update which my crappy console couldn't handle. so I know what I'm talking about)

anyway my theory is all about taekook & overwatch

1. taehyung being a d.va main maybeee because she has some parallels to jungkook (btw to be a "main" is to play one character exclusively)

2. maybeeee taekook found comfort in overwatch for having canon queer characters

alright let me connect the dots now

okay so jungkook reveals to us that taehyung is master's rank as d.va (it would take a lot of gameplay hours to reach that rank). and not any other character either, just d.va so he obviously mains her

anyway why do I think d.va is similar to JK? well let's see. this is her character description (she is from busan too btw)

and this is her. huge eyes and a bunny mascot that sorta looks like bt21 cooky

kinda random but JK literally has the stinger gun from d.va's bee skin/outfit (b.va) irl lol

now I'm gonna discuss why I think taekook may have found comfort in the game having queer characters

I mean the game itself is not lore heavy you kinda just "point and shoot". but anyone can read the lore if they want to, and there's sometimes in game references to the lore via character interactions & so on. if u play the game as much as taekook did, the queerness of certain characters will definitely become apparent. tracer (canon lesbian since 2016) literally has an in-game voice line referencing her girlfriend. there's an in-game spray of Soldier 76 (canon gay man since 2019) with his ex-boyfriend. and so on. even homophobic players noticed this and began harassing other players for choosing characters like Soldier 76 (his pick rate went down as a result during that year 💔)

JK stopped sharing overwatch highlights for a while but in the same year Soldier 76 was confirmed to be canonically gay, JK posted a new highlight reel with the caption "After a while". I mean what a perfect year to start playing/sharing again if that's a coincidence... bcoz the soldier 76 thing was actually not lost on anyone in the overwatch community like I already stated. so I think that soldier 76's infamous lore maybeee could have motivated him to play/post about overwatch again

also here's some interesting words from a gay soldier 76 main... some things they said

btw I fought very hard to not info dump every little thing I know about taekook and overwatch... I shortened this a lot

[strangepetscomicbooksbat]

Chapter Update

Hunger is So Heavy Chapter 20: Then You Need To Leave

A chapter in which Madison's brother overstays his welcome, and Eurylochus isn't gonna let him talk to her like that. Link is above, Chapter is below the cut for anybody who can't use ao3 rn

Madison doesn’t understand why their brother has that look on his face. He’s all pale and stuff. They aren’t sure if it’s just been a while since he’s been out in the sun, or if they need to be worried. 

“Why don’t we go sit down first? Just me and you?” 

…well, that doesn’t sound great. Madison frowned, glancing between Eurylochus and Tom. They aren’t super eager to have some awkward conversation without Eury’s emotional support. But at the same time, would it be rude to ask for Eury to be there? This felt.. like a problem. They just felt awkward asking that of their brother. So, unfortunately, they nod along. 

“Uh.. sure, I guess. Want to talk on the couch? Eury was making lunch, but..” 

Their friend looks about as uneasy as they feel. They aren’t sure why he squints his eyes the way he does, but he half grunts his words, “I’ll be in the kitchen. Set the table when you’re ready?” 

That felt easy enough. The kitchen and living room were separated by one measly wall. What’s the worst that could happen? 

The two siblings started to shuffle to the living room together. Idly, Madison wonders if later Eurylochus would be amicable to scheduling an eye appointment. They aren’t really sure if anything can be done about his hurt eye, but it can’t possibly hurt to check, could it? Sure, usually stuff like that needs insurance, but maybe they could circumvent papers and bullshit if they paid cash? One of the best lessons their dad taught them was the way throwing money around could shorten processes and alleviate problems. 

Distantly, Madison hears Eurylochus starting to run the tap, presumably to start washing up what few dishes got used in the course of making lunch. And the dishes from last night too, now that they think about it. 

Odysseus was lazing on the middle of the couch, and Madison chose to sit to the cat’s left side, leaving the exact opposite side of the couch open for their brother. They couldn’t be more grateful for their fluffy friend, acting as a sort of barrier for distance. And as a distraction. Never once has Madison ever wanted to look someone in the eyes while having a serious conversation, hell no. 

Tom, once again, gave them a weird look. 

“I thought Selina was allergic to cats?” he questioned, even as he sank onto the couch. He ran his fingers over the fluffy blanket that was draped over the arm of the couch, something Madison often used to calm themself too. 

“Yeah, mom is allergic to cats. But I’m not. I’ve kind of always wanted one, actually. Eury and I saw one of those shelter booths at the mall, and we just gravitated towards this one. He’s like our therapy cat. Eury insists his name is Odysseus, but I refer to him as his middle name, Spinch.” They rambled on before realizing that they aren’t really the one who should be avoiding the topic that needs to be discussed. If anybody, they think Tom should be the anxious one. The one who actually knows what’s going on. 

“So.. what’s up with Alex? Did he just like, get really busy? I mean, apparently so busy that he stopped texting you, and not just me.” They had a feeling he wasn’t just busy. But hey, a girl has to hope, right? 

Tom looked conflicted. Madison isn’t a fan of conflicted. He looks at the cat, who is rolling over onto his belly invitingly for belly rubs. “Well.. the thing is,” he starts ominously, moving to try and scritch the cat. Rookie mistake. Tom flinches back when Odysseus goes in for a nibble, escaping with what seems like just a scratch along the back of his hand. “Alex’s friend helped him answer the phone yesterday. He has sarcoma.”

Madison knows what that is. Of course they know what that is; they’re getting a Public Health degree. But “sarcoma” is really fucking broad of a diagnosis, so they push aside the stinging in the back of their throat to ask, “what..? I- Tommy, where? Like, soft tissue? Is it a skin cancer, is it..?” they trail off, the stinging only growing stronger. 

Tommy starts looking guilty, which they really don’t like. And then he opens his stupid mouth, “I don’t entirely get all the specifics. You know me, I’m not a super scientific guy. Apparently, it’s in his esophagus. Or like, it started in his esophagus, and now it’s also in other places.” 

Madison felt their head and neck getting really hot. Spreading. They know that term. Metastasis. This was in their flashcards once. It doesn’t mean anything good. “Are you telling me Alex has stage four cancer and nobody told me?” 

They weren’t expecting Tommy to look so resigned. They kind of wanted him to convey.. more. He should at least have the decency to look guilty or something. Instead, he says, “Apparently he’s been doing chemo for a while.” 

“Is he getting better?” It felt useless to ask. They know Alex. He doesn’t ever go to the doctor unless someone wrangles him there. They’d be willing to bet that he didn’t even catch it until it was too late because he waved it off as a sore throat or something. 

What little hope they had was squished pretty quickly. Tommy wasn’t looking at them. If he was gonna be the bearer of bad news, he could at least look at them. It doesn’t have to be eye contact, but they wanted him to look sorry. 

“I don’t think so, no.” he answered instead, sitting with his legs apart, fucking manspreading on Madison’s couch, hands on his knees and head bowed. “He said he moved into a hospice place. Wanted me to start moving stuff from his place into storage, so there’s no opportunity for the vultures to ransack his place when he passes.” 

They all know what their extended family is like when someone dies. Stories of their great-grandmother’s passing and the ensuing feeding frenzy were legendary, passed from their grandmother to their mother to them. Similar things happened when their Pawpaw passed on their dad’s side of the family. 

Madison was going to suggest that they move his stuff back into his old room, but they are beat to the point of speaking by Tommy. “You have uh, first dibs. He said you might want some of his big hoodies, and his cologne?” 

First dibs? First dibs? Madison doesn’t want first dibs, they want to talk to their brother! Why would he hide this from them? Didn’t he want to spend time with family before he went? They should have been there. Mom and dad should have been there, Vicky should have been there, why was Tommy acting like everything was fine and normal? 

The sob that wrenches itself out of their throat is just unavoidable. Distantly, they hear the water stop running in the kitchen. Their vision gets all blurry, and Tommy sets a hand on their thigh. It makes their skin crawl, and they have to mumble, “please don’t touch my legs.” 

Tommy lifted his hand like he had been burned, “I’m sorry. I know this is really hard. I’m gonna try and take on whatever I can. Alex doesn’t want any big funeral stuff. He’s gonna be a tissue donor. Apparently, his skin and eyes and stuff are fine for that. And whatever is left, he wants us to do some green burial thing. You don’t worry about that, that part is my job.” 

“How are you just breezing past this? Don’t you care? Alex is dying and you’re talking about this like you’re making a fucking dinner reservation,” this felt mean again. But it felt justified. He is! He’s talking about what they’re gonna do with their big brother’s body like he’s talking about flushing a goldfish down the toilet! “Don’t mom and dad have anything to say about this? Do they even know?” 

Tom’s face hardened, and he started to rear up like he used to when they were little. “Of course I care. But this is a big deal. Right now, I need to be calm about this. Selina and Paul aren’t gonna be helpful for this. And plus, Alex hates them, bunny. I don’t get how you’re so attached to them, when the rest of us know they don’t give a shit! If we tell Selina, Alex’s cancer is gonna be all about her. Do you seriously want to do that to him?” 

Heavy footsteps were making their way to the steadily rising voices, and Madison hiccuped as they raised their hands, rubbing at their eyes with the heels of their palms. “She’s our mom, why won’t you call her that?! She’s our mom, and her son is dying, and nobody is telling her! Mom deserves to know. Dad deserves to know. I should have known sooner, and they should have known sooner too!” 

Spinch’s fur is raising on his back, and his fluffy little back is starting to arch too. It makes Madison feel really fucking bad. 

Tommy is yelling at them now, “God, this isn’t about you! Fuck, you’re acting just like her! I don’t care if you think Selina and Paul should know. This isn’t about you, this is about Alex. And Alex doesn’t want them to know, so we aren’t going to fucking tell them. God, why are you like this?!” 

Eurylochus came into the room to get an eyeful of bad impressions. Madison sitting on the couch, tears dripping down their face, Tom standing over them now and shouting. The shouting isn’t new, he used to shout all the time. They just forgot how scary it used to be. 

Tom points a finger at their friend, going on now, “And seriously, who the hell is this? I thought you were living alone in our parents’ house! Why the fuck do you have a roommate, and why are you rooming with some middle aged fucking man?!” 

Eurylochus stalked closer, not quite the muscular soldier he once was, but not the malnourished thin figure he came to Madison as either. “You need to leave,” his voice boomed, projecting in a way Madison hadn’t heard before. “If you can not be..” he faltered for a moment, but started back up within seconds, “respectful, then you need to leave.” 

Tom looked between the two of them, asking incredulously, “What are you, her boyfriend? That’s disgusting. I’m not just gonna look the other way when my little sister is living alone with some grown-ass man-” 

“I’m not a child!” Madison was crying like one. This had gone off the rails so fast. They were looking forward to this visit. They made soup for this visit. They haven’t seen their brother in person in six years, and they’re already fighting. But Madison can’t let him talk to their friend like that. “Eury is right. If you can’t respect me enough to trust my judgement, to respect my life choices, and to know who I spend my time with, then you need to go. Eurylochus has been here for longer than you, he’s taken care of me more than you ever have, and if you can’t speak nicely, then you need to go.” 

Tom’s face was as red as theirs felt. He was clenching and unclenching his fists, and it was making Madison somehow even more uneasy. He starts arguing again, “You can’t be serious. How am I supposed to feel when my little sister is living with some guy twice her age, huh? Seriously, answer me, what are you two to each other?” 

The implication that they were dating made Madison feel oddly sick to their stomach. “God, you’re such a jerk! We aren’t dating, he isn’t a creep, and I’m upset you’d even try to say he could be. Tom, leave.” 

“You said I could stay-” 

“You don’t get to stay in Alex’s old room anymore. Go get a hotel or something, we live in a huge city. Get a hotel, or an Airbnb, or something, but you aren’t staying here.” They’ve never put their foot down like this before. It felt bad. But Eurylochus apparently had way fewer qualms about getting their brother out of the house than they did. 

Spinch pawed at Madison’s lap with a pathetic meow while Eurylochus started strong-arming Tom out of the house. This felt ridiculous. How did so many things go so wrong in so little time? 

Madison was still crying when Eurylochus sat down next to them on the couch, front door locked behind him. His eyes were big and sympathetic as he pulled his smaller, weeping friend into his lap. They were quick to shove their face into his neck, pulling Spinch into their own lap. 

“..are you okay?” Eurylochus asked, one of his hands moving through Madison’s hair. 

“No.” They answered plainly, still hiccupping occasionally as they tried to calm themself. The whole deep breath thing never worked for them. But they still try it every time. Eurylochus stopped petting their hair to gently hold one of their hands, bringing it to his chest where he took in his own exaggerated breath. Madison mimics him, still being interrupted by hiccupping cries. 

“Do you wish to talk about it?” 

Fuck no. 

“..maybe after dinner.” 

[legal-poppy]

tuesday 4.22.2025. i am somehow overwhelmed and panicking and totally relaxed all at the same time. the joys of the week before finals. i got through a good chunk of my sales outline today--managed to shorten from 35 to 24 pages so far! since i only have morning classes tmr i think i'll be able to smash the rest of this outline and finish some last updates to my employment law final project. in fun news, my kindle case arrived today!! cute raspberry matchy-match moment bc the case is almost the same color :3 i need to sort through my stickers to cutesify it though. i got the 3 months of free kindle unlimited too so pls give me ku recs for when finals are over!!

total study time- 8 hours 45 minutes (consistency queen)

4 hours in class

1 hour semi-outlining and semi-watching an end-of-year professor game show competition

30 minutes on a practice exam for legislation

3 hours 15 minutes outlining sales

personal accomplishments

more yoga to keep me sane and somewhat less tense hopefully

read the next book in an amateur sleuth series i started a while ago

[bardofavon]

Sorry for the long text ahead !

At the beginning of January, I finally started my definitive reread of A Good Myth Is Hard to Kill, which also meant, for the first time, reading the ending (the last 100 pages or so).

I had been postponing it for so long, waiting for the right moment, wanting to give it the attention and space it deserved. In the end, I decided it would be the first book I read this year. I spent hours formatting it into a proper book-style document so I could upload it to my reading app, to highlight passages, and annotate freely. By the time I was done, it came out to exactly 1,000 pages.

It’s strange to think about who I was when I first started this fic in 2021 and who I am now, reaching its conclusion. I am not the same person, and yet, in so many ways, this story has been a constant—a touchstone, something I kept returning to, something that has shaped me in ways I couldn’t have anticipated.

When I finally reached the end, finished reading—completely by coincidence—in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, I had made 235 annotations and highlights. Some of them are just a single word, scrawled out in a desperate attempt to capture the moment. Some are paragraphs, as if I could hold onto a feeling by dissecting it. Some are just exclamation points or keyboard smashes. I don’t think I’ve ever needed to react to something so much. After following this work since 2021, it was almost surreal to finally arrive at its conclusion.

I hesitated before writing this because no words could ever fully capture what this story has meant to me. I remember so vividly the thrill of waiting for updates, the way I completely lost my mind when I first read Chapter 20—barely minutes after it had been uploaded. So many moments from my previous readings remained etched in my memory, and yet, this time, everything felt different. I laughed, I chuckled, I cried—not just from sadness but from sheer distress. I genuinely don’t think I had ever cried out of stress because of a book before. Probably the most I’ve ever felt while reading anything, honestly.

I read it, kind of, alongside with a friend—someone who had known about this fic for a long time because I’ve talked about it to literally anyone who matters. Reading it with her meant sending live reading reactions, screenshots of paragraphs or even entire pages, voice messages of me losing my mind at varying levels of intensity. Without her, my number of annotations would have been soooo much higher. It was incredible to have someone to share this with. She quite literally knows A Good Myth inside and out because of me without having ever actually opened the fanfic on AO3. We talk about A Good Myth Is Hard to Kill Kaz more than we talk about canon Kaz—we even call him A Good Myth Kaz, as if it’s his actual name. We reference the fic so often that we’ve shortened it to just A Good Myth. Somehow, she ended up joining me in this experience despite being a very firm Darkling hater (who we, infamously, only ever referred to as “the man”—or, in Spanish, el sujeto—throughout the entire reading).

But my point is this: this fic means so much to me that I had to share it with someone—otherwise, I think I would have exploded. I’m usually more reserved about the things I love, especially for fear of coming on too strong, but at this point, I genuinely don’t care. I am unapologetically obsessed with A Good Myth Is Hard to Kill. It truly—and I say this with no exaggeration—changed my life in ways I don’t even know how to put into words.

Kaz Brekker from A Good Myth means more to me than I can possibly express. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so attached or seen by a character before. This fic helped me understand so much about myself, forced me to confront things I hadn’t before. I feel like I owe your Kaz so much, and by extension, I owe you so much.

I don’t think I’ll ever find the right words to express just how grateful I am for having found this fic. I genuinely can’t imagine what my life would have been like without it. I think about it every single day—and that is not an exaggeration. It is, without a doubt, one of the most impactful things I have ever read. I will never forget it.

You are a brilliant writer.

Thank you for, quite literally, changing my life.

I know I’m a writer but I feel like even if I tried all morning I wouldn’t be able to perfectly encapsulate how this makes me feel or what it means to me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. 

People always say “oh write for yourself write for yourself” and I do— to a certain extent, but do think most writers really dream of being able to have any sort of impact with the things that they want. 

Some mornings it’s harder to get up than others, especially when the weather gets cold, so thank you for reminding me this morning that I have a purpose and the things I do matter. Thank you for loving this story like I love it, for sharing it with others, and for sharing with ME how it made you feel. 

Also, if you ever WERE inclined to share those annotations I’d sell my kidney to see them. But no pressure though 😂 

[wings-of-ink]

First Devlog?

Hello everyone...boy, there are a lot of you already, still trying to digest that...

So, I gather that I should do these logs on occasion. I do not know how often, perhaps just when I have a few things to say. I will try not to ramble too much, but my fingies like to talk.

Anyway, I am working on chapter 3 right now. There’s some fun moments so far in it that I hope you’ll like, and we’ll get to meet Zahn, Duri'naan, and then Rundis. I’m trying not to rush because there are some exciting scenes that I’m eager to get to. I’ve outlined them to tide myself over until I get that far. There’s some quiet moments you’ll get to have as well, and right now I feel like that’s what I’m struggling with. Those areas of my story are like bridges to the next, more exciting, parts and sometimes I feel like they fall a little flat. But, I’m trying to keep in mind this is my first draft. I’ll go through it another time or two to perk things up. Those moments are still important for letting the MC get to know each RO.

My mind has been in a million directions lately too, and I’ve had a lot of ‘duh’ moments. I’ve done so much world building since I started this last year (around August/September I think), that I have pockets of important details that I kinda just forgot! So, I plan to re-read all the notes I’ve made and try to also put them into one place. I have some in my phone, in a notebook, and in no less than three folders on my laptop. It’s a wonder I have survived this many years…

What you can expect for coming updates…

-A couple fixes, of course – thank you to those who found some of those pesky buggy bois for me.

-A nicer front page, instead of being slapped with my ramblings, I’d like to actually have a nice start page. I’ll figure it out eventually, lol.

-I’ll be adding a name bank to the MC’s Nameday scene that will also show you what each name means, so if that is important to you, it’ll save you the internet search. If it tickles your fancy, the name selection will correspond in some way to the marks (names meaning "night" or "storm," etc.) so you can theme your MC a bit.

-Extra coding in case you decide to shorten MC’s given name to just “Ravi.” I did not once consider that anyone would do this, and my first play-tester – my own spouse – did….He told me about it since it made some dialog with Oswin make zero sense, and then I published the story without fixing it because I completely forgot about it.

-Different contrast color for dark mode links. I feel like I have drastically improved this with a new gold color. In retrospect, I don’t know why I didn’t use the gold before. I love it as an accent, I use it all over! The blue never felt 100% right, but my brain shut down after thinking about it too long. Here’s a sample and a (M) Zahn tease:

When can you expect an update?

I’d like to make my next update during the Amare Games Festival, ideally containing both chapters 3 and 4 since they go pretty tightly together. This will also insure that you meet the rest of the posse. It’s a tall order for both chapters to be submitted on time, and I don’t want to rush them either, but I’m going to try really really hard, lol. I will focus first on polishing chapter 3, so that no matter what, I can at least get it out in time.

Here’s a link to the post about it:

And this is the submission time frame: open from March 31st 2024 at 11:00 PM to May 1st 2024 at 12:00 AM

As a side message, should you want to read on…

I also wanted to give you all a big, like really big, heartfelt thank you. I have received so many kind messages and comments that I just can’t believe it. I am so happy (and honestly, genuinely shocked) that you’re enjoying my IF, and I’m motivated to work hard so you also enjoy each new chapter of your journey. There’s so many secrets I want to share with you about the world, and I am struggling to be patient myself, lol.

I am not usually a very open or social person, and I was scared for a long time to share anything I wrote. I reached a point in my personal life in the last few years where I just needed to embrace what I loved to do and share it with a community that shares in that love. I encourage you to do the same whether there is a story in your heart, music on your lips, or a paintbrush in your hands. Life is NOT about your 8-5. We may not be able to survive without it, but whatever moment you can, do what you actually love. Put away the those things that don’t matter, the things that stress you - including people, and make time for who you are.

Thank you all and take care!

~Lunan

[forzafe44ari]

Hello, here's my shortened reactions to this chapter: wow

I love you charles leclerc and I absolutely adore your support and protection over lewis, tell him king.

So happy that Lewis's next heat is gonna be healthy and hopefully not with all those pain.

I hate Jos verstapen and red bull and Christian horner(he didn't do anything in this chapter but it doesn't mean that he wouldn't if you gave him any chance). Fuck them all.

Oh lewis the mama's boy:(( Everybody shower my boy with love and adoration and reassurance:((

I'm really enjoying living in Lewis's brain, he's got such an interesting character and I want to know every single thought. But I'm so glad that you would share some of other characters' pov too. Love to know how they think of lewis other than what they show and say.

I love and believe in pussy eater Sebastian Vettel supremacy. HOW WAS HE SO HOT DOING IT? And it was just so sudden but surprisingly in sync that you'd doubt they haven't done it before?! So sewis, they're made for each other. (And I'm completely sane that lewis was completely naked while seb was completely dressed qsqaswadwdwaad- actually good for my sweet Angela's sake)

Lewis always surprises me and he still did in the last. Although that's relatable to his character, it doesn't make me not to feel bad for seb:( He flew all that way to support you, lewis:( Umm and you gave him the best appreciation, so yeah there is no problem baby^^ I'm so excited to see how you'll navigate their next moves.

I'm very curious to see how lewis will face the challenges of being in a relationship with an alpha, i hope we get to those parts. (Cause you know some slow-burn fics would immediately finish when the couple are finally together, i love your fic nonetheless)

I'm looking forward to the next updates, queen.😌

it's been some time since i posted the chapter and got this ask, but i wanted to be thoughtful so i took some time to write this.

thank you so much for reading this chapter, i appreciate it!

charles and lewis are so…interesting to me. like both narratively and irl. like my favorite thing about their relationship is actually how they’re both sore losers lol. like that’s funny.

i hate jos verstappen and christian horner too (both in this fic and irl, they both fucking suck!)

living in lewis’ brain for this fic is so fascinating because he is a mess of beautiful contradictions that come together into a lovely picture. i’m really enjoy writing that. every single one of his relationships functions differently as he reaches for a control that is always just out of reach and that’s really fun and interesting for me to write, particularly with both charles and sebastian. we will be getting this fic to the end of the season. when and where and if sebastian and lewis get together will or will not happen BEFORE the end of the season, if that makes sense. so we will get some really interesting things.

just remember this is a fic, that isn’t so much a romance though there’s LOTS of that, but more of a bildungsroman, a coming of age story, which doesn’t end when a couple gets together, unlike a romance. So there’s still more story to tell, I promise.

p.s. i very much believe sebastian vettel is an eater, and eaters are always hot, when they’re good. also them being in sync and it feeling natural was a choice, and i plan to write about that soon so :)

[theteablogger]

From Andy’s talk about his new name as mentioned in the timeline update it sounds like he knew Andrew Blake was the name of a porn director when he chose it. Since identity-hopping seemed to be a ploy to get away from his past (he’d already become known as a man as “Jordan”, it wasn’t like changing his first and last name was novel!), do you have any idea if that was chosen on purpose—sharing a name with a real person which, if googled, would bring a celebrity (and for that matter, porn) up first—including if you added terns like “Hollywood”, “California,” etc? Point being, searches lead to a guy who is obviously not Andy (born in 1948), the domain “andrewblake.com” is the filmmaker’s website, he’s famous enough that he’s won awards…

It’s still the case that if you search his name on tumblr instead of “thanfiction” porn clips/stills are the first thing to come up and I can only imagine it must’ve been worse when tumblr allowed NSFW content.

There’s a semi-known Andrew Blake who’s a scientist at Cambridge too but iirc in the timeline it said that Andy Thanfiction knew who the porn guy was. Is there anything more there or is it just tinhat stuff?

Andy and Abbey were still together when Andy legally changed his name. She has said that he started going by Andy when he took on the "duplicate soul" of Orlando Bloom, and that Blake was a shortened form of Blakewell, the last name of the "real" Pevensie children from the Chronicles of Narnia.

Having said that, there was a museum of erotica on Hollywood Boulevard from 2004-2006, and it's possible that Andy visited it and saw the name Andrew Blake there, but I believe Abbey's version of events. I think the fact that he shares a name with a famous porn director is just a coincidence.

[zwy01]

Millennium AU!

Hi everyone!!! After three years I finally updated+upgraded my Millennium AU lineup! Now I have a total of 15 ocs for this AU instead of the previous 10! This is probably my magnum opus as a noblesse fanart/fan-content creator lol.

For context, this is an alternate universe where Razark is alive, it’s 1000+ years in the future, and everyone has kids.

Important note: this is not a happy AU. There are happy moments, but with the general settings of characters and their relationships with one another, and the way Lukedonia is defined by Lord Raskreia… not very optimistic. It’s angsty. I’ll explain more as this post goes, and you’ll see why.

On how nobles have kids in my headcanon: nobles reproduce asexually. To be precise, children are born from soul fragments. Soul fragments can be extracted at the cost of some of the parent’s own lifespan. Two soul fragments create a new soul, aka the child. Because how this entire process has lifespan shortening qualities, children are usually proof of true love or repaying a major favor/debt to someone. It’s a huge deal for nobles, so it is never taken lightly. If a clan’s last clan leader/pureblood dies without an heir, a new heir/child/soul is born from the mystic energy that the air/ground of Lukedonia emits. Kind of like a thin-air baby appearing out of nowhere.

How to read this lineup:

White text: character name

Blue text: parents’ names, if any.

Ring + heart: parents are in love & married.

Heart: parents are in love & not married.

Green diamond: parents are not in love. Soul fragment donation as debt repayment. Children do not carry their donor’s surname.

Eldest to the left, youngest to the right.

Now introducing the characters!

Alois Elenor: Male. First child of Ludis Mergas and Rozaria Elenor. Name means “famous warrior”. An introvert. Nicknames: Al, the hair guy, magic boy. Relationship with family: Ludis (father, good), Rozaria (mother, good), Susanna (sister, good)

Alois is the first born of the entire nextgen cast. He is very very shy, and almost never talks, and if he does it’s when he thinks it’s necessary. He doesn’t like eye contact with virtually anyone who isn’t family, so he usually has his eyes and face covered with his bright red hair. If you try to brush his hair aside to see his eyes, he WILL freak out and turn you into a frog. That’s reserved for his family and his crush, sorry. He’s usually calm, but has an anxious side to him that shows when he feels stressed out. He’s also quite sensitive, but people usually have no idea about what he’s thinking since he doesn’t talk, and they can’t see his face. His younger sister Susanna can always tell, though. She reads him like a book. Alois is a very big family-oriented guy and will do anything to make his family happy. The four of them have an extremely close relationship, and make a happy family unit. Though Alois being the only introvert in his family means that sometimes he gets overwhelmed by their excess energy. He may not show it in the way his family does, but he’s very very happy to receive their love. Dotes on his younger sister Susanna. Has a major crush on Luzia Tradio. Super big fan of Kei Ru, idolizes him.

Luzia Tradio: Female. First child of Kei Ru and Claudia Tradio. Name means “light of the day”. An introvert. Nicknames: Lucy, Cici, witch queen. Relationship with family: Kei (father, not very good), Claudia (mother, good), Jia (sister, bad)

Luzia Tradio is never seen to smile, and she always wears a frown on her face. She is a bit grumpy and standoffish. If you look at her with the wrong expression she might give you the death stare… or so it seems. You see, she has a history of casting curses on people and making them vomit maggots for hours, but hey it’s for a good reason. They annoy her too much. Just don’t get too close to her, or ask too many questions. She has inherited her grandfather Lagus’ talent, and is the most powerful in the entire nextgen cast. But what most people don’t know is that she is trying to recover Lagus’ legacy… specifically his research, creations, and abilities. Due to the Lagus’ traitor history, doing so has been banned by none other than Lord Raskreia. And even if it weren’t banned, Luzia trying to chase after Lagus’ research would make mommy dearest drop dead in anxiety. Luzia won’t actually try to take over Lukedonia; in fact she’s not interested in any of it. She just genuinely enjoys doing the same creepy/shady/illegal stuff gramps did. So she has an underground lab where she pursues Lagus’ legacy and conducts her… err, research. Just evil edgy witch stuff. No one needs to know. Hah. She has a great relationship with her mother Claudia and swears to protect her. She can’t stand her father Kei and sister Jia for… complicated reasons, so she avoids them and shuts them out. They try to reach out to her, though their attempts almost always fail. May or may not like Alois back… welp, she’s in denial. Likes candy.

Aretis Verja Di Reiner: Male. Only child of Razark and Erga Kenesis Di Raskreia. Name means “the deciding warrior that defends virtue”. An extrovert. Nicknames: N/A. Relationship with family: Razark (father, good), Raskreia (mother, very very bad)

Reiner is Raskreia’s heir and the next lord. Reiner’ story is a complex one. He is naturally very charismatic and shines in his own way, but that gets affected by his upbringing and now he’s just majorly depressed and too tired to care about anything. You see, his mother Raskreia isn’t the best at expressing her emotions as she is naturally stoic.. and has her sense of pride, even when it comes to loving her son. She believes her duties as Lord comes before anything else, even if it’s her family. So, she makes it to clear to young Reiner that he is her heir and subject before he is her son. Welp, that’s certainly very…reassuring to hear from your mom-lord. So even when Raskreia and Razark love each other very much, Reiner was raised almost entirely by his father Razark, whom he shares a good relationship with. Reiner has a very strong sense of justice and seeing how Raskreia’s ways are stubborn, archaic, even borderline tyrannical and how she is headed towards failing Lukedonia, he protests againsts her ways and seeks to abolish their system altogether in favor of a democracy. Reiner fails and proceeds to leave Lukedonia out of anger and helplessness and decides to never become Lord, though he had already made this decision long ago when he cracked under pressure to become the perfect prince. Raskreia sees his act as a rebellion, and deems him a traitor. Uh oh, his own mom-lord might be after his head. Time to run. He’d probably be way happier to stay away from all the trouble at home and work as a cashier in the human world. Sigh. Give him a pat on the shoulder and tell him good work. Too depressed to like anyone.

Jia Ru: Female. Second child of Kei Ru and Claudia Tradio. Name means “auspicious”. An extrovert. Nicknames: little tigress, bedrock annihilator, them muscles. Relationship with family: Kei (father, good), Claudia (mother, good), Luzia (sister, neutral)

Jia is an excellent martial artist, just like her father Kei, whom she absolutely adores. She enjoys sparring with others, often running out of people to challenge just because she does it so often and they’re all tired and want to rest. What do you mean you wanna rest, it’s only been the 8th spar of the day! Ugh, y’all don’t exercise enough. She has sharp canines that show in a toothy grin when she’s happy. She is on good terms with most of her peers though sometimes she may or may not offend others with her bluntless. She doesn’t mean any harm, she just doesn’t really have a filter and says whatever’s on her mind…even around their Lord. Whoops. Luckily Raskreia wasn’t too pissed. Be careful next time. She does get extremely shy around Alois though, whom she has a huge crush on. Her hair accessories (set of golden hoops) are gifts from her mother Claudia. Claudia wears the other pair. Kei isn’t the best with expressing love and he mostly only gives combat-related compliments that roughly translate into “I love you”. He does call his daughter “little tigress” when they are alone; it’s a nickname he gave to her as a child. Jia knows Kei loves her, and he knows she loves him, and they’re happy. She doesn’t like sweet food, and loves meat.

Susanna Mergas: Female. Second child of Ludis Mergas and Rozaria Elenor. Name means “to be joyful/graceful lily”. An ultra extrovert. Nicknames: Susa, teacup, cupcake. Relationship with family: Ludis (father, good), Rozaria (mother, good), Alois (brother, good)

Susanna might be the shortest and tiniest of the bunch, but she is jam-packed with raw energy. Fun energy. Chaotic energy. Loud energy. Just pure energy. She’s the ultimate definition of a social butterly. As long as something moves, she’ll want to befriend it. Hey you! You can be her 278th best friend! Seriously. She’ll love it and so will you. What do you mean you can live for tens of thousands of years and still haven’t memorized everyone’s names? That’s impossible! Lol. She loves hanging out with people and finding fun things to do. Tea parties is one of her absolute favorites, and she too has mastered the art of tea parties under the guidance and apprenticeship of her beloved daddy and the master of human traditions, Ludis. A day is never dull with her and her family. They just love partying. As loud and energetic as she is, she is actually quite good at picking up very very subtle cues of how other people are feeling, and will quiet down and approach you differently if you need it. Smothers her brother in affection, and loves being doted on by him. Arya’s girlfriend.

Kaelestis Blerster: Male. Only child of Karias Blerster and Rael Kertia. Name means “of the sky, heavenly”. An extraverted-introvert. Nicknames: Kaekae, dad, the no-fun guy. Relationship with family: Karias (father, good), Rael (donor, good) Raegyn & Arya (half-siblings, good)

Kaelestis is the most mature out of the bunch. Unlike his eccentric father Karias, he is very proper and does not engage in the former’s speech and actions. In fact, he’s probably closer to being the parent than the other way around. He often calls out Karias for his behavior and does not hesitate to reprimand his father for his inappropriateness. Karias just laughs, does a fake dramatic flop down the floor, whines to his son about how he’s just no fun at alllll. Kaelestis just shakes his head and sighs. Kaelestis actually got his nickname Kaekae from Karias because Karias gets okay’d by his son all the time. ��Okay Clan Leader, time to act maturely like a proper noble”, etc. Even his friends call him “dad” as a joke. The only time he’s ever acted “improper” was when he called Raskreia “auntie”… but that’s because Karias lied to his son and told him daddy’s Lord’s brother. And Kaekae believed it. Never again for those petty tricks. Kaelestis is also an excellent painter and architect, and is responsible for Lukedonia’s artistic projects. His personality may not be romantic, but his crafts certainly are. Just breathtakingly beautiful and you won’t see talent like this anywhere else. Likes Izar.

Raegyn Kertia: Male. First child of Regis K. Landegre and Rael Kertia. Name means “little king/impulsive”. An extrovert. Nicknames: Ray, the genius, mr. Celebrity. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good), Rael (father, good), Arya (sister, good), Kaelestis, Garyth & Alethea (half-siblings, good)

Raegyn is a surprisingly good diplomat, as he is the smartest of the entire nextgen cast. Though, he is seen as a good diplomat and loved by all not because he truly is that way. He is just very, very smart and knows how to get things… and people to be the way he wants. At his level manipulation is quite easy, though usually he doesn’t need to do so as his natural charm does the job for him. He’s already everyone’s favorite guy #1. He’s snarky and witty. Sometimes, he might come off as arrogant because he expects people to understand things without needing him to explain and gets frustrated when they don’t. He doesn’t show this side easily, but he’s secretly very apathetic and loves dark humor. By human standards sometimes you’d wanna call him lil’ shit. Damn, it’s just lonely to be at the top. He has a good relationship with his fathers, and Rael often comes to his son for advice. They have casual debates sometimes and Rael always loses. So proud of my son. He’s the smartest. Yaaaaa. Likes Umbra.

Arya K. Landegre: Female. Second child of Regis K. Landegre and Rael Kertia. Name means “noble/air song”. An extrovert. Nicknames: Ari, Yaya. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good), Rael (father, good), Raegyn (brother, good), Kaelestis, Garyth & Alethea (half siblings, good)

Arya is the opposite of everything elegant. She’s actually quite cringy, in a good way. She’s loud, fidgety, and cheerful. If you brought all these kids to a fast food restaurant, she’ll be the one throwing fries around like confetti and convincing everyone else to join in. If it weren’t for the black stripes in her hair, you would’ve never guessed that she’s a Landegre because she doesn’t act like one at all. Truth be told, part of it is a show. She is sad to see Lukedonia so somber, and tries to cheer up others by putting on an act, thinking she can try to get others to feel a bit happier, if she pretends to be happy too. But mostly it’s for making her clan leader and father Regis happy to know that she’s “happy”, now that he has a really shortened lifespan and they don’t have too much time together. A not-so-healthy coping mechanism for her soon-to-be grief. Someone get this girl an oscar and some therapy. Susanna’s girlfriend.

Garyth J. Loyard: Male. First child of Regis K. Landegre and Seira J. Loyard. Name means “honest/tender person”. An introvert. Nicknames: Gary, angel, starlight. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good ), Seira (mother, good), Alethea (sister, good), Raegyn & Arya (half siblings, it’s complicated)

Garyth is the most beautiful child in the entire nextgen cast. You’d take one look at his face, and you’ll want to throw chocolates and diamonds at him. He has super long eyelashes that seem to flutter like feathers in the wind. He also has an angelic voice, and is an excellent singer. You’d get distracted and walk face first into a pole if you happen to stumble upon him singing. He is also the great-grandchild that resembles Gejutel the most out of the four that exist, despite being the Loyard heir. His mannerisms are also very Landegre. He’s very obsessed with being elegant, and while he is very dignified, he can engage in playful banter just like how Regis does it. Susanna probably handed him a sharpie once and told him to “color his hair” since Gary is just so obsessed with the Landegre side of himself. Smooth one, Susa. Gary is super embarrassed. Garyth does have a lingering sadness inside once he learns of his mother Seira’s trauma and past. He loves her very much and will do anything for her. For that reason, he absolutely hates Rael’s guts for his history of stalking and harassing Seira. He loves Regis very much too but is confused why Regis forgave his former nemesis and even married him. He avoids his half siblings for the same reason, since they remind him of Rael. Confused Garyth harbors a deep resentment and sadness inside for not being able to help. His sister Alethea knows of it, but wonders why her brother never talks about it. Has a lil’ thing for Reiner.

Alethea J. Loyard: Female. Second child of Regis K. Landegre and Seira J. Loyard. Name means “truth”. An introvert. Nicknames: Thea, bunny. Relationship with family: Regis (father, good ), Seira (mother, good), Garyth (brother, good), Raegyn & Arya (half siblings, good)

Alethea resembles her mother Seira so much, she could very much be her. Seira’s little clone basically. If you put her side-by-side with her mother’s younger self, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them. Seira nicknames her daughter “bunny”, and Alethea blushes when her mother calls her that. Alethea is quiet and reserved, though not entirely due to being an introvert. She suffers from low self esteem. Being Seira’s second child she won’t get a soul weapon nor will she become clan leader, and she is fine with that. Her low self esteem stems from her feeling extremely out of place in this world. Everything feels so foreign even though she’s experiencing everything in her own skin. She just never feels like she belongs here, and often zones out because of this. She suffers from a lack of purpose. She is just observing this world, and prefers to not partake in it. She is very empathetic though, and shares a close bond with her family. She doesn’t avoid her half siblings like her brother Garyth does. Prefers to hang out with great grandfather Gejutel, just the two of them, in his library. That’s where she feels most at home. Nice safe space. Likes peace and quiet.

Bellona: Female. Gradeus’ clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “goddess of war”. An extrovert. Nicknames: Belle, Nana. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

Bellona was born to be Gradeus clan’s heir. Gejutel names her in good will, hoping that she becomes a good leader, should she choose to use her powers in battle. Interestingly, Bellona channels her energy into dancing. She is a skilled fighter, though she prefers to let her energy out by dancing and her dance moves mimic those of battle. Intense and passionate. Fiery. A berserker of a different kind. She can feel it in her muscles, in her bones, in her soul. Dancing is her life. She’s that person who tells you working out will help with feeling sad. Often drags Reiner around and forces him to dance, much to his annoyance and Raegyn’s amusement. C’mon, it’s gotta help! Just shake the tension off. Feel your feet on the ground, and forget the thoughts in your head. Good friends with Cordelia Kravei. Ps she sometimes summons Messad and swings it around as dancing prop, because hey it looks pretty damn cool. Likes Garyth.

Izar Siriana: Male. Siriana clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “star”. An extraverted-introvert. Nicknames: Izzy, bookworm. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

To Gejutel, Zarga just… seemed bit lost. So in hopes that this his heir finds a passion in life and shines brightly, he names this boy Izar. Just as his name suggests, he develops a love for astronomy and the maths. Most nobles nowadays arent too concerned with being empirical aside from a few who also have an interest in these subject matters, but Izar takes it to another level. Having a passion that grounds him to the earth while he stares into the sky makes him happy. A neet. By human standards you’d be questioning how long he hasn’t showered. He’s not shy though, just prefers to live with his books. One day hopes to discover alternate universes and conquer the black hole, probably. At least he jokes so. Vomited maggots many times from Lucy’s curses from being too annoying and pestering her nonstop for a possible “research buddy”. Lucy doesn’t care for hot burning elemental cores or numbers. Leave her alone. Has a super smart pet ferret named Charles who acts like an assistant and helps him fetch his books and papers. Drinks coffee not because he needs it, but because it’s fashionable and trendy scientists do so. Right? That’s what you call them… scientists!! He even got himself some round glasses to complete his look. Sooo cool. Maybe he’ll ask Lucy for some of her eyeshadow to give himself dark eye circles. …You really wanna vomit maggots again? Likes Jia.

Asa Drosia: Male. Drosia clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “healer/morning”. An introverted-extrovert. Nicknames: N/A. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

Edian had suffered from multiple unfortunate events prior to her death, so Gejutel names her heir Asa, hoping that he lives a peaceful, hopeful life. Asa is surprisingly good at talking and is quite diplomatic. Unlike Raegyn who only pretends to care and seems like nice guy thanks to his charm, Asa is genuinely nice. He is calm, and mentally and emotionally stable. He’s basically the local therapist kind of guy. He never judges anyone for their circumstances and is accepting of everyone. If you even just look at him in the eyes and see him smile, you’ll feel an uncontrollable urge to cry. Everyone (excluding funny Lord Rask) truly loves him and he’s glad to help. He’s pretty much the only dude in the entire cast not affected by depression. Just like how his SW is a pair of sharp rapiers, he’s good at pinpointing issues and digging them out from the source… though sometimes it hurts to bring out those old scars, even just to talk about them. Which is why Reiner even avoids him because. Cant hide anything from this guy. Ugh. Reiner’s pride. It’s okay, Asa won’t judge you. He has a collection of scented candles, and likes to do knitting in his free time. Likes Bellona.

Umbra Agvain: Female. Agvain clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “shadow/shade”. An introvert. Nicknames: Umbie, firecracker. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

In contrast to Urokai’s character, Gejutel names her in hopes that she’d be calm and collected, with shadow in her name also meaning she’d protect the ones she loves…instead of the opposite. Unfortunately, she isn’t calm at all. Just like her predecessor, she is quite explosive, but for a different reason. She isn’t angry, nor is she jealous. She is frustrated. She feels and senses everything much stronger than everyone else. If she loves something, she loves it to death. If she hates something, she hates it to death. Everything comes so strongly, she only ever eats plain food, and uses her powers to suppress light and sound around her. Avoids people. It’s just too much for her. Cries and screams often when she is alone from the overwhelming sensations and feelings. Ironically, her hobby is cooking and makes great food. Stress cooks. Doesn’t eat any of it though. Susa’s more than happy to help herself to Umbra’s cooking. Likes Asa.

Cordelia Kravei: Female. Kravei clan’s heir. No parents, born from thin air. Name means “heart/jewel of the sea”. An introvert. Nicknames: Del, Lili, fish girl. Relationship with family: Gejutel (caretaker, good)

Cordelia is the last one to be born in the entire nextgen cast, which means she’s the youngest. Since Lukedonia is surrounded by the sea, Gejutel names her Cordelia in hopes that her heart and soul feels at home. Cordelia is a great illusionist and magician. Not magic in the sense of Elenor and Tradio, but as in tricks and visual effects. She spends a good amount of time by the sea and teaches herself to manipulate aura into various shapes and forms outside of battle usage. She can conjure beautiful illusions of both marine animals and mythical sea creatures, and often works with her best friend Bellona, giving a great show of illusions while Bellona dances. She’s good friends with Kaelestis, with Kaelestis often getting inspiration for his paintings from Cordelia. A pretty chill person in general. Likes Alethea.

Annd that’s it! For a little end note, yes Gejutel raises the last five. Why? Because of bad examples. The Previous Lord kept dumping stuff on Gejutel without explanation. Raskreia observes her father’s doings, and concludes that that’s the way to go when she doesn’t know how to approach something. Just hand it to Gejutel. So when the five thin air babies appear…. Yup, she just assigns Gejutel to them and yolos. Not my business. They’re the traitor clans’ new heirs, and back then Gejutel took good care of Claudia and her clan so he can manage five more right?? Right?? And as of now she doesn’t want to associate with them so… good luck Gejutel. Sorry. Ehh maybe not sorry. Anyways grandpa vomits blood and says goodbye to retirement. But he does follow her orders. Now he has 5 more kids to raise. Ugh. Btw Gejutel names all of them too cuz Rask being the negligent paranoid Lord she is, she doesn’t bother with it either. Gejutel raises them and has a good relationship with all five.

[sopuu]

So you know how Radar said something about Aiden wanting to redeem himself and how there was another letter saying "WATCH OUT" or something like that and it had the initials of W.P. On it?

Well 2 questions

1, If Aiden, Maya and Gill showed up to Beacontown to redeem themselves, how do you think everyone would react?

2, How do you think Cassie managed to get out of the hole she was in?

(in my opinion, I feel like Mevia and Hadrian had something to do with Cassie escaping.)

honestly? i don't think aiden and his gang would head back to beacontown, not on their own terms at least. as someone who's been tormenting jesse for god knows how long, to the point where he's willing to terrorise a city and commit murder if it means getting jesse out of the frame, i don't think it's his place to determine when he should show his face in front of him again (and i feel like aiden would understand that after he's done some growing and thinking of his own). redeeming can come in different ways- and he's definitely got a city's worth of mistakes to fix and atone for before heading home.

despite that, i imagine he'd occasionally send letters to jesse throughout the years post sky city, giving updates on the city's development on new land, how isa and milo are doing, complaining (jokingly) about how much of a bother community service is and most importantly assuring that they're working hard to redeem themselves there. he'd also make sure to drop in a subtle message saying he'd be willing to talk if jesse ever decides to come visit.

but if we do follow the hypothetical scenario, uhh i mean they probably wouldn't be getting much of a warm welcome considering where they all last left off lol. jesse, olivia and axel would definitely be more...skeptical, but if aiden and his gang were really genuine with their apology jesse would be the type to give them a second chance. after all these years he'd have matured himself too- he's seen the rise, falls, guilt and redemptions of even the most corrupted so he'd know if they're sincere about wanting to better themselves.

and lukas? oh this can be a whole post on its own bc i have so much to say on this. to shorten it though, he would not want to talk to them, especially aiden. ever. and rightfully so imo. it's a lot more personal to him than anyone else, because in my eyes they were once the best of friends, maybe even grew up together, and had genuinely great memories. if even after YEARS of that, aiden's jealousy of jesse grew to the point where he was willing (and even eager) to throw all that away -- was that really all their friendship meant to him? sure, he and the gang are more than apologetic for what they've done now. but if there hadn't been any water when lukas fell, or if he didn't make it into the lake, that's...it. there'd be no one to apologise to. and aiden kicked him off there knowing that full well. so yeah, lukas gets to not forgive in my book

as for cassie! tbh i don't have many thoughts on this lol, and i do like the idea that hadrian and mevia helped her out since it's implied she's an old builder too, plus they all have some sort of vendetta against jesse. or if we're going the more technical minecraft route she could've just. done a skyblock strat?? take the block behind the one she's on, place it in front, stand on that block, rinse and repeat till she's outta there fhdgks

[misogynisticmediatournament]

I think the warrior cats and warriors in your submission list are the same thing,btw do you have reccomendations of like. anything that writes woman well

Ah, you might be right; I think I skimmed that entry's propaganda, and it was very specific to whatever series it was about without dropping the full series name, and I was like "Maybe this is Warrior Cats? I feel lazy, I'm not going to look heavily into it."

So, as a reminder: use the full but common name for the series! For example, Miraculous Ladybug (this seems to be the most common title despite being a shortened version), Warrior Cats, BBC Sherlock, etc. And check that you don't have a space after the title's entry, as that counts as a different entry than the title without the space when using the UNIQUE function in Google sheets (which is how I count the unique entries).

As for recommendations, this is hard because I watch a lot of trash, especially recently, but:

- You can never go wrong with Revolutionary Girl Utena. Note: this show (and start with the show, not the movie) has a lot of potentially triggering stuff, so check out those warnings before you start if you have any triggers at all. It uses the triggering stuff very well and to tell its story and explore its themes, not just for, like, titillation though. Indeed, it is, I would argue, necessary for the story and themes the show seeks to explore. It is legally free on Youtube in...I want to say 480p, and in better resolution on Crunchyroll and Funimation (yes, Funimation's site is still up; I find it superior to Crunchyroll's since it actually includes closed captions for dubs, although it doesn't include newer anime from after the two companies merged). Also, you want to watch the sub for this. I'm normally not one to say "the dub is bad" and stuff and be a purist about it—in fact I normally go to bat for dubs—but, uh... yeah, the dub is bad this time. Crispin Freeman and Dan Green are delightful in it though, I'll give it that.

- Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood uses its female characters well. Maybe it could be better, I've seen some people in these tournaments have beef with it, but it's a pretty perfectly told story, like solid A+, with a lot of really great female characters who I find very satisfying so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. This is on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and I believe Amazon Prime?

- Don't let the title fool you: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is a fantastic show with great female characters who are complex and human, have compelling arcs, and are vital to the story. The relationship between Rebecca and Paula is central to the show and SO good, especially as the show goes on. The title is because it explores the trope of the crazy ex-girlfriend in a very humanizing way, and the title/opening song even mentions how the title is a sexist term, but it's a lot more nuanced than that. Also, it's a musical with very good original songs every episode. But check trigger warnings for this show too though. The show is streaming on Netflix last I checked.

- Uhh... maybe the first two seasons of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic? It's a kid's show, but it's good. I haven't seen it in years and years though, so I don't know if I can still fully vouch for it. I believe it is streaming on Netflix?

- Revue Starlight? I haven't thought about it heavily, but I had no beef watching it. This is streaming on HiDive.

- I've heard good things about Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, but I can't vouch for it personally. It's streaming on Crunchyroll.

UPDATE: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is also legally on youtube!

Honestly, I know more imperfect shows that I'm satisfied with, like I give it a B+ to A- at least, but that I haven't thought heavily about than stuff where I'm like, "Oh, yeah, definitely, definitely, nothing I'd pick out there as a problem." For example, Baccano! is probably imperfect (as well as not streaming legally anywhere), but I don't remember being, like, struck by a bunch of problems there. So, I'm not the best for recs that I can give a 100% guarantee for.

[palettepainter]

Hired Sparky update

Feels like it's been a while since I've posted an update on Hired Sparky

I have some drawings in the works which I can hopefully show off soon, drawings which show off some stuff that happens in the earlier chapters but nothing too spoiler heavy. The side characters line up chart is one character away from being completed, I'm really struggling with said characters design so this one will potentially take the longest to post

As for the chapters of the story themselves, I'm confident in like the first 5 chapters of the story are to my liking, but there's a possibility I may have to re-write a decent chunk of one chapter.

So far I have nine chapters written out for Hired Sparky, but with how much I still have left to write in order to reach the ending, there could be another 3 chapters I have to write, bringing the total chapter count to 12.

The chapters are each around 8000-12000 words in length, which I personally I think is a long enough chapter length to keep my focus without getting bored. However with the last few chapters still being written, I may extended or shorten that word count to try and cut down the amount of chapters I need to write. Out of curiosity which do you lot prefer?

[mahuhumaling]

if i wrote a fix-it fic for our skyy x bbs x atots,

this would probably be some of my changes. half-unserious 💃🏽

(making this into an incoherent spur-of-the-moment bulleted list because i've had recurring thoughts since the dawn of time a.k.a. the release of the episodes itself + i don't have the time to actually write it. will update when i remember something.)

would tie pat's hair into a korn ponytail in the entire first episode except for the "lying down, looking at the stars" scene. very girlypop of him to have his hair down when it's time for bed ❤️ only in the BBS only episode though, because his hair length and style in Pha Pun Dao is noticeably different (ahem since obviously ohmnanon filmed those scenes secretly first, then bad buddy weeks later ahem). it's shorter and better looking

patpran would've kissed in all of the first three interrupted scenes (deepa wrote about one of it btw and i'm accepting this as headcanon now thank you) and wouldn't have the kiss in the ATOTS only episode of the crossover

for instance: when pat pecks pran on the lips in the mosquito net scene, pran doesn't aggressively push him away and scold him. instead, he breaks the kiss off by putting his hands on pat and pulls away from him slightly, does his Episode 12 Eye Rolling™️ fond facial expression, snorts, and says, "Not you, idiot." i'll keep the fact that pat plays it off and claims that he got carried away, but pran remains standing there by the corner with a challenging and smug look on his face. it takes pat approximately 3 seconds before realizing: oh? pat smirks and kisses him right there—

would've removed the shirtless phuphapat scene or shortened it because the joke was getting too long to the point where it was uncomfortable and it felt objectifying

while finding pran and tian, phupha stops pat from stepping on a snail as a more subtle 1000 stars callback. pat finds that behavior cute and soft which is yes. absolute yes. tsundere phupha supremacy. this idea >>>>> pat sniffing trees (courtesy of @pranpats) (listen listen listen. there are ridiculous jokes and then there was whatever that was.)

pran comes out of this tent with multiple hickies. pat, too. tian teases him about it and he flushes because he didn't notice. pran glares at pat who's just grinning ear to ear and while pran tries to cover it up, pat just walks around flaunting it.

they don't get lost in the woods because phupha is a forest ranger who has known his way around for nearly/over a decade

okay ik it was integral to the plot though so this has saving grace. alternatively, they get lost in the woods but only once and here is where tian and pran / pat and phupha get to Talk. (broke: pran = tian, pat = phupha. WOKE: pran = phupha, pat = tian.) we explore a layer of phupha's characterization here that was not explored much in the original 10 eps of 1000stars since they don't get together until the last ending, so pat providing phupha a tian-esque clarity of recklessness + raw honesty + insufferable youth behavior and making him learn how other couples' situations operate and how that relates to how he's been behaving. in other words, phupha discovers patpran's family rivalry (a great segue as to how 1000stars fans who have never watched bbs can briefly learn about the story just like how they introduced the play for bbs fans who have never watched 1000stars. the lack of reciprocation felt really one-sided 🙁) because pat is a chatterbox. not to be reductive, but patpran's sort of secrecy could really shake phupha because "phuphatian have it a little easier. they're different." bla bla bla phupha learns communication better,,,,, meanwhile pran has an epiphany from tian about compromises and reflects on his own behavior from there.

i thought they were going with that route so it was a bit disappointing to see that it wasn't explored enough

there was genuinely a very sweet vibe/aura around here. objectively speaking i think it would've been great if there was kiss here. conveys sincerity that pran cannot vocalize enough, reassures pat's secret insecurities. also it's overall a visually pretty and romantic scene. something tells me in my gut that... lmao nevermind.

also pat puts on pran's watch instead of pran putting it on himself

gASPPP imagine that before this ^ scene, there will be a scene of patpran waking up together that parallels the beginning of episode 2 of them waking up separately and doing their morning routine in their dorms. they do another morning routine montage except now they're side by side. well, almost. pran gets out of bed and turns off the alarm... while pat doesn't. pran goes back to him a couple of times to wake him up but he just grumbles. pran considers kicking him awake but slyly yells "okay i'm gonna go take a bath~!" pat is just "mmm. 'kay." pran pauses and goes, "hm? kay? you don't want to join me?" pat springs up from the mat.

more general stuff

would've lessened the references to the original episodes or made them more subtle. it was too much and they kept repeating even the same ones like the numbering system after sex 😭 pls make it stop

tian wouldn't have felt like such a damsel in distress with everyone constantly taking care of him. we know he's reckless and constantly forgets to take his meds, but to the point of not keeping at least one on him is a little much

(this isn't for people who don't like that other fans disliked the special btw, especially 1000stars fans. because tbh if it weren't for the proposal, we felt really screwed over. :DD good for some bbs fans that they liked the crossover, really hashtag blessed for them, but i'm all for the to each their own here.)

[foulfirerebel]

Do you have any complaints About rwby? Or at last something you think could’ve been done better?

A lot,of fellow rwby fans seem to agree the white fang storyline wasn’t handled very well. But at the same time I keep seeing those same people acting like ghira did nothing wrong, that Blake is some badass rebel when canon doesn’t seem to support that currently, etc.

Oh boy. Strap in for this one.

So, I thought as much as I could focus on this since I've had the flu for the past three weeks. And I realize my complaints and thoughts are very small when it comes to this particular subject. But, if you're curious, read on below the cut.

Spoilers for RWBY V1-V9, the books, and games.

So, let's just get one thing out of the way first: I loved Monty Oum's fight scenes but they hurt my eyes to watch now. And I'm not sure why. To preempt a long rant, I'll say this. I prefer the fight scenes we have in V4-V9 to the ones in V1-V3. They contain more narrative tension to me then the earlier ones (Except for the train fights in V2, and the entirety of the Fall of Beacon in V3).

I'm not a huge fan that Yang doesn't get much in V1, with a bulk of her character starting in V2. I'm even less of a fan of the fact that Weiss' racism toward Blake in V1 felt a little swept aside instead of one of the many facets of her character that evolved over time. Ice Queendom, to me, helped this a lot but there's a lot that could be said there too.

As everyone seems to hate the Jaundice part of V1, I will also throw my two cents in: it went by fast for me given V7 was my first "live" volume and I binged all the others. It could've been shortened, made way for Yang characterization or otherwise. Cardin can get yeeted into the sun for all I care.

Now, of course, there's the White Fang part of the Faunus plot. For the record, I don't think it's the WORST racism storyline or allegory attempted (See: Overwatch, Detroit: Become Human, and others for worse) but it definitely needed more polishing. Give Sienna Khan more screentime and more of a presence, show more of the distinction between Ghira, Sienna, and Adam and either 1) Make Sienna's death a full-blown fight scene and last stand, 2) A sneak attack rigged heavily in Adam's favor that gets exposed later on and causes the White Fang to disown him, or 3) Have Sienna live and aid Blake and the Faunus militia afterward.

There are other changes too, mind you, like having the White Fang under Adam express doubt in what they're doing only for Adam or Cinder to silence them or something like that. We got that with Ilia, and I love her story, but we needed some more like that.

The following are going to be under the "just bugs me" complaints, nothing too huge or rant filled and I can elaborate if needed:

I wish we got more Happy Huntresses stuff, because I find the Ace Ops/Happy Huntresses ratio in V7/V8 to be...unevenly weighted toward the Ace Ops. Understandable, but still.

I'm sure we'll get this in V10, but I'd like an update on the rest of the world's current situations. Vale, Mistral, Menagerie, the changes that occurred, etc.

I'll be happy when Penny returns or is confirmed officially to be truly dead. If the latter, I'll be complaining more about "wasted potential". If the former, I'd like to see how she'd be revived.

Summer Rose. I need more answers.

Just something fandom related: Stop going after Ghira and Tai Yang for the love of all that is holy. If you'd like examples of awful parentage, Jacques, Marcus Black, Cinder's wicked Stepmom, Neo's parents, Roman and Nora's unnamed mothers, Raven Branwen and even Lil Miss are right there. Also, Jax and Gill's guardian too.

Grimm Eclipse was fun but...wow, Arrowfell was better as a video game in a lot of ways. Told a better story than GE too.

The only thing I can complain about in the books is not giving much to Sage of Team SSSN, though given "Before the Dawn" had to juggle so many characters I'm cutting it some slack.

Obviously the obligatory "Rooster Teeth isn't a good company"/"The Upper Management are terrible" and all that jazz, please support all the staff and former who have Patreons, Kofis, Twitch Streams, etc.

That's about all I can think of. Again, I'm still addled by the flu and medication I'm taking for it.

TLDR: I just think RWBY needs...well, more of it. More time and budget and space to fully flesh out everything. What we got is superb, especially for starting so small, but I always find more better than less.

[loremonster]

Hello! I've been browsing through the South Park fanfic corner and stumbled upon your New Kid Stories....well.....stories. Gotta say, I'm in love with it but noticed your last update was 2020.

I can understand if you've been busy, but I'd just like to ask what happened to the NKS episodes and it's latest, the Holiday Special? Are you still working on it? Have you dropped it? I'm very curious and have grown to love the fanfic and its writing so I hope that you're still working on it. If not, then it's a shame but it was a nice read either way.

Hello dear reader!

So! The current project with NKS is porting it over to Ao3 while doing some editing, rewording unclear narration, shortening info dumps to get to the point, and add illustrations when the mood so takes me.

The Holiday Special is intended to be my victory lap after the other eight 'Episodes' have been moved over. With so much time to think about it, I wanna rework the plot a bit.

There is also intention to write a second season of NKS. I have several stories outlined, pages of notes, and I'm really invested in Dee and their adventures, as well as the shinanigans Eric and the gang get up to.

THAT SAID I'm also trying to build more deliberate rest time into my daily habits, so the ETA on everything is I'll Get There When I Am Well Enough To Enjoy The Writing. That's happening more often, but I don't wanna go back to the burnt out place I was in where just reading over the last chapter I'd written was too big an ask for my exhausted brainmeats. So I'm taking it one day at a time, minimizing obligations and deadlines, and prioritizing my health... mainly because not doing that sent me to the ER twice between 2020 and 2022. Then I spent a year afraid to show my face anywhere, and unwilling to make anything for fear that people who were mad at me would come running to yell at me for not working on the last project I suddenly dropped out of... because of the mentioned ER visits and a full on meltdown.

I've been feeling a little braver lately. More and more I can't focus on whatever YouTube I'm watching because I have a scene playing out in my head ( that started up last month ) and I've been sketching occasionally as well. Slowly, I can feel the Drive building up again, yknow?

Dee ain't the only one who will sprint to the point of exhaustion XDDD I just do it creatively... but its no less of a destructive habit. Rest. Is. Required.

Thank you so much for messaging in and telling me how much you enjoyed reading the stories. I loved writing them. That love is why I wanna improve them during the move to Ao3, in hopes of making it more readable, and adding my artistic flare now that I'm on a platform where I can. :3

Also shout out to @obstinate-nocturna who has been super supportive since I've withdrawn. She is an amazing hooman who has an entire AU she writes where Lyssie has a twin sister which we call the ButtTwin universe. There is some fic to read and art to squee at over at @twonewkidsonesouthpark

Again, thank you for writing in, it was a great thing to come back to when I finally logged back into Tumblr 🥰

~Lore

[radsunny]

CHURL - PUBLIC VERSION 1.0!

The end! The end is here! CHURL is finished! BEED is dead? What now?

Well, for now, that is how it all ends…

I wrote about this during the last update, but I have had this ending written since last summer. Mitski’s new album came out and I listened to “I’m Your Man” way too much. The screenplay came to life on a blisteringly hot summer day spent napping with my cat. It is now February, it is -20 Celsius on a Saturday, and all that feels like a fading memory from a different time.

I had a lot of fun writing the GRENDEL THE RULE-BREAKER portions, I think his character design is some of my best artistic work so far. I wanted him to look fucked up and silly. The digression he causes in the overall narrative needed to feel somewhat antagonistic but ultimately fruitful to the project. Grendel’s request to be helped needed to feel understandable, to engender some kind of sympathy for him and his mother. Why? I just think Grendel and his mom are cool.

On the real, I kept telling people that I had the entire narrative of CHURL figured out before I started designing it and that’s partly true or it is a white lie or it was mostly delusion because I knew how it needed to end but I had no idea how I was going to get there with the shortened timeline for the thesis submission in April. So, I had to improvise a huge chunk of Month 2’s back end. GRENDEL THE RULE-BREAKER’s arc was written almost entirely in Twine while putting the passages together.

The only sort-of sketch I had was this batch of Sticky Notes:

"I avenged them all, so that none of Grendel’s tribe needs to boast anywhere on earth of that uproar at dawn, whoever lives longest of that loathsome kind, enveloped in foul evil." (direct quote from Beowulf)

"WE HEARD THAT HE FELT SO CONFIDENT IN HIS FIGHT AGAINST THE SEA-WORM BECAUSE HE MANAGED TO DEFEAT US A HUNDRED HALF-WINTERS AGO..."

Grendel's pouch - he mentions it as his way of eating people. And????

"SO WHAT IF WE HAD A GIANT HORSE-LEATHERED POUCH THAT WE MAINLY USED TO COLLECT VICTIMS TO EAT LATER ... ... ... WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING WITHOUT OFFENDING LAND-WALKERS' SENSIBILITIES APPARENTLY"

Beowulf is given seven thousand hides of land by the Geat King - and does what with it?! Different names for Beowulf: Prince of The Weders, Joy-Giver of the Geatish People, War-King, Shepherd of the Geat Kingdom, [King Beowulf, of All The Kings of the World, The Mildest of Men and the Most Gentle, The Kindest to his Folk, and The Most Eager for Fame].

propaganda poster: BEOWULF, WHO SOLD HIS PEOPLE FOR A GOLDEN CUP, BUILDS BARROW INSTEAD OF PROTECTING HIS BELOVED PEOPLEc …

A cup is stolen from the dragon's hoard - Wiglaf, Weohstan's son, Swede and Waegmunding, his father fought for the Swedes in their feuds w Geats but he is Beowulf's most trusted thane. Propaganda poster attacks him for it.

Beowulf's Barrow is built, and The Swedes are ransacking it, mocking it

BEED has no idea that Beowulf fought the dragon and built the barrow, asking to see the gold one last time.

It breaks her.

The problem I realized I have with “outlining” is that I think of funny bits (the Grendel pouch, the quote from Beowulf) and then treat them like big set pieces that should be part of the outline. They’re very clearly not. But I’m like, I need this bit to be REALLY fleshed out dude. I spent a whole day making the RAT EXCHANGE PROGRAM page. Unclear how to fix having terminal bit commitment disease (BCD).

The main point though is this: I knew BEED was going to eventually get hit with a setback that destroys her will to continue the project. Mimicking the pattern from Month 1, I built up her confidence with obsessing over the remains of kings, lords, warriors + sending the boys out to find burials. In turn, the chapter draft is focused on her imagining what horrors plagued Heorot before Beowulf single-handedly ended Grendel’s life. In small pinches (commentary on the draft, deleted posts, hidden glitches), throughout the month’s posts, the research bibliography brings in seeds of doubt that BEED has attempted to delete (literally and figuratively) from her sight/site.

When Grendel snatches the TYPEWRITER, I wanted him to take over the site aesthetically as well. His voice is so distinctively loud and different from the main characters that his presence should be felt throughout the entire blog. So, naturally…I thought: he’s hacking BEED’s blogge!!!

This question of polyvocality in my RQ, the argument I am trying to make about Beowulf being open to fragmentation and nonlinearity, really gets to be center stage when I pull control away from BEED. The more the narrative slips away from what BEED wants to write about, say, research, or really…do in general, the more the voices surrounding the blog shift the game’s “objectives” from the rigid structure set by her.

One of the reasons I really wanted to implement the sidebar is because I love the idea of meticulous (AND DATE-STAMPED!) note-taking in CHURL, an interactive fiction game that genuinely feels overwhelming and batshit insane almost on a page-to-page basis. It can lead to so many different playstyles – in one feedback session, one person told me that they used the notes a lot and found them super helpful, and another just completely ignored the sidebar function entirely.

In that vein, I also acknowledge that I have not talked enough about close reading as gameplay which is supposedly the main thing I’m trying to prove with CHURL. Well… I tried my best with this final push to complete the writing process and design the ‘final’ choice tree of the game:

Selfishly, I will always choose to LIE and hide BEED’s last post from the world. It is my preferred option, and I purposefully wrote the TRUTH ending to be more punishing. I don’t know how much I want to get into that right now.

In any case, the ending is built up to with the assumption that players have perused through at least one month before heading into the last month of content (it’s why I added that mouse-over tooltip on SUMER MONTH TWO warning players to save their progress, kind of a “you are headed into the final battle” thing). And that the abrupt way in which BEED’s site collapses, her ranting last blog post revealing what has happened over the last few months, would shock players into really caring about the breakdown of THE ARCHIVE and BEED’s site. Because players have looked into every nook and cranny of BEED’S RESEARCH DISPATCH and analyzed the content, the structural collapse is both inviting and terrifying.

So, when the game asks you to choose what to do with the remains, salvaging or disposing of them, I want that final choice to be informed by players having done the act of close reading throughout the game – I tried my best to encourage this practice by emphasizing it in the tutorial section, implementing the sidebar function, and re-formulating the EOM data logs after I got feedback about adding guiding questions.

The DATA LOGS, in previous versions, would just give you a text box to describe what happens in every week of the month without any other suggestions from Prof. Hagard. In this build, I decided to scratch those weekly sections and just go with some overall guiding questions addressing the 4 main aspects of the site/game:

WHAT HAS BEED POSTED ON THE MAIN PAGE? HOW IS THE PROJECT GOING ACCORDING TO HER AND THE CHAT?

HAVE ANY NEW DRAFTS / CHAPTERS / NOTES BEEN ADDED TO THE RESEARCH PROJECT? WHAT ANGLE OF BEOWULF'S LIFE IS BEED WORKING ON FIGURING OUT?

WHAT ARE THE DISPATCHES ABOUT? FROM WHAT LOCATION ARE THEY BEING SENT?

IS THERE ANY CONNECTIVE THREAD BETWEEN THE HIDDEN / DELETED / BROKEN PAGES THIS MONTH?

I think these work for now, but I am still unsatisfied with how these are worded. I don’t know how well these sections address the issues brought up by past playtests about the EOM reports, but conceptually, the questions still focus on re-centering the player’s mindset on mining the text for meaning, themes, symbols, characterizations…elements of literary close reading practices that will make the end-choice more meaningful.

I talked to Yeager a few days before finishing the game about CHURL as an adaptation of Beowulf and though I think it definitely belongs in that category, it also feels like its own thing existing at the edges: the edges of interactive fiction games, poetry, speculative fiction, and adaptation. BEED’s descent into madness and subsequent self-made funeral pyre death are representative of a certain kind of dedication to close reading of Beowulf, but pushed to a degree that creates a feedback loop between her and the text.

I dug back into my thesis archives for some of the research I did to get into the INDI program and start making CHURL what it is today, and Nicholas Howe’s chapter in The Postmodern Beowulf was one of the first sources I saw in there, especially what Howe says about the transference of Beowulf to readers (or listeners!):

“[They] could not imitate him by slaying mythical monsters, but they could approach that feeling by transferring his story to other settings or languages” (63).

One of the few instances in which I quote Beowulf directly in the game is the final dispatch WORLD sends before BEED goes silent for months, and it is a series of titles, superlatives that Beowulf is referred to as throughout – the longest title being the last line of the poem.

I know its cliché and boring to say this, but that last line in WORLD’s dispatch about the encroaching and growing presence of Geats, priests, and other actors in Denmark on the same day as BEED writes her “On legacy…” main blog post is what I hope players keep in the back of their minds as the game forces them to choose between TRUTH + LIE:

Prince of The Weders, Joy-Giver of the Geatish People, War-King, Shepherd of the Geat Kingdom, [King Beowulf, of All The Kings of the World, The Mildest of Men and the Most Gentle, The Kindest to his Folk, and The Most Eager for Fame] ------------------------------------------- what does fifty winters of peace look like to a warlord? what does fifty winters of peace look like to a warlord? what does fifty winters of peace look like to a warlord? ------------------------------------------- “the will as disposition may be good or bad, but choice, the endpoint of any process of the will, is the action in the world” (scroll 16).