#and SO much faster than I thought

[vivacia-18]

After many years, guess who decided to try their hand at bookbinding again?

That's right, me! And of course I chose I giant of a fic, because I am nothing if not ambitious XD. I think it's 3 inches or more thick, and came to a whopping 1088 pages! The fic is Count Your Blessings by @madmothmadame , a Founders Era Tobirama centric fic and I cannot recommend it enough <3 <3 <3

My cover fabric and end paper are pretty simple, one part because I thought it suited the story, one part because I had them on hand, and one part because I'm a raw beginner and that's about as good as I could manage XD

It took a lot of waffling on my part (graphic design is NOT a great skill of mine) but overall I ended up really happy with how the title page came out - if I had the artistic skill to paint/draw it or the supplies to transfer it, this would have gone on the cover as well. Alas, for now it shall remain inside only.

A little detail that gave me some grief, as I waffled on font style and size a bit, but ultimately I'm really pleased with it - I used a plum blossom branch as the scene break throughout the book. If you've read the fic, you probably know why I picked that particular image for this and the title page ;)

I realized after printing that some of my paper had gotten a bit aged, even though it was stored in the printer. I wasn't about to waste the paper, ink and time for a reprint though, so I left it. Since the book is for me, little things like that are no bother. I was just glad I didn't fuck up in the printing or signature sewing order X'D

I included the authors notes from the end of each chapter as a bonus section at the end, so they'd be preserved with the story but not breaking up the flow of reading the book ^_^

Final view, this time from the spine - think I left the gap a little to wide between the cover boards and spine but eh, again this is just for me and only my third binding ever (and certainly the largest! XD) so I'm still really pleased overall.

A very fun experience, and I'm looking forward to my next re-read of the story, where I'll be doing it with my very own chonky boi version held in my hands :3

[transmechanicus]

Polyamory is not inherently bad or toxic, it just has higher demands on time and energy to manage multiple relationships, which means people who would arguably struggle to manage an entirely mono relationship are going to struggle even more in a poly one, and due to the interlocking relationships and elevated public scrutiny, that’s going to be viewed as much messier than it would otherwise.

[ricky-mortis]

They're the best of each other!

[buttercupshands]

rewatched Kurogiri's holiday story from ultra impact (not related to sketch at all)

(but it did inspire me)

on another note

finally!!

[northern-passage]

a little update.. what i'm working on/prologue changes so far:

no prologue! it’s chapter 1 now

removed the option to leave clementine behind. you have to take them with you :3c

removed height options (sorry!)

in general, edited the cc to flow better

combat preferences have been adjusted-- all still the same but i've made it more obvious how each specialty works mechanically which will hopefully make fights more intuitive to win (or lose, if you want)

genderlocked the sibling. officially a Sister

edited a LOT of dialogue; hopefully it's an improvement and feels more natural

restructured the wraith fight so that it's consistent with the fight in blackwater. with the changes made to the combat preferences this should make the combat system overall cohesive now <- i'm still working on this currently but i am HOPING to finish it by the end of this month.

i have pretty much rewritten the entire prologue. wasn't my plan at the start but here we are... so things are quite different. but also the same. i also streamlined a lot of the choices & branches and cut/combined ones that i felt were just excessive.

i plan to update once i've finished making & importing these changes, and i will probably limit the demo to chapter 1 (previously the prologue) until i get through and edit chapter 2 (previously chapter 1) because i really don't want to have the demo be inconsistent for however long it takes me to get through the next edits. hopefully this will not take that long, and then i'll put chapter 2 & and part 1/what's already been published of chapter 3 back up. and then!!! i will move on to finishing chapter 3.

i know this probably isn't the update you all were hoping for but i'm excited for the next steps with tnp :-)

[tblsomedoodles]

The Preferable Alternative - part 14

Start - previous - next

rare 6 pg update! b/c the pacing was better if i stopped the scene there.

Leo: That was weird.......ANYWAYS!

: )

[kazthisnuts]

the shanks + luffy sketches i made got me thinking about my sea glass lu au and how the gomu gomu fruit would actually affect him

small 3-page comic for y'all

[ref] [masterpost]

i was inclined in making luffy an exception to the sea water rule but i eventually went with canon.

he just doesn't drown, since the sea is still his mother (however, he won't be able to stay afloat just like he used to do. sea water does not heal him anymore.......... sweet water does tho!)

yes, shanks does feel guilty

not used to actual comics so this, along with the two i made before, is a first 🙏🙏

[offorestsongs]

Lysander got a New Years outfit too! i love my sad pink hare boy so much

taglist (ask to be added <3): @thehollowwriter @tixdixl @scint1llat3 @s-t-y-x

[gxlden-angels]

I love getting my silly little dose of validation whenever I explain something as small to my childhood as "yea they taught us to be prepared to be soldiers in spiritual warfare between angels and demons from a young age" and having my therapist or a friend respond like

[hiero-green]

I was overcome

[thegreatyin]

this nemesis ambition started out a little slow but I am getting closer to finding that bastard who killed my wife, and I’ll not rest a minute now that im far closer to on his trail

sorry got in character for a second

Anyways fun ambition so far very fucked up though

congratulations on joining the murder club anon!!!! depending on who you ask the name refers to either people who have murdered or people who have witnessed murder. usually both. actually extremely often both. it's a swell time you'll feel right at home (don't mind our collective skyglass knife collection in the back)

[arsenicflame]

ANGELA/SERA FROM THE MARVEL SNAP HERO ANIMATIC

[soulmvtes]

i genuinely feel like my frontal lobe developed when i turned twenty

[shikai-the-storyteller]

Mike talking about how Tuesday should be an international holiday so everyone can watch the hideduo date and then saying he didn't originally ship it but he saw the flame between the two of them last time they hung out is SO cute 😭💕

(And then you have Mine saying "he's writing the best man speech as we speak" LMAO)

[thevoidstaredback]

Hey, hey, hey!

Employees who are friends have a better time on shift together, making them more productive. Stop separating employees who are having fun

[goldeneyedgirl]

snippet

I disappeared again, but for a good reason. We're so close to having a new chapter that I can taste it. I'm not saying you should start watching for the update emails yet, but goddamn it feels good to put things together. It's very exciting.

I also have drafts for almost all my asks, so look for those at the end of the week.

But because it will be a February update instead of a January update, I brought an offering of some more of the Mary-Alice/Feral Jasper section that I posted at Ficmas. The actual plot of this is coming together nicely, and I'm looking forward to sitting down and putting together a few chapters.

Enjoy!

note: this follows on immediately from the ficmas post.

“I take care of myself,” she finally says.

“And me,” Jasper says, studying her. “So that means I get to take care of you.”

She realises that he’s still muddled from the stress of his pending departure, and just agrees to that without pointing out that he’s still not strong enough to win a fight. She can look after both of them just fine. He’s not going to need her forever.

He studies her for a moment longer, reaching out to tuck some of her hair behind her ear.

“They’re good people,” he says, and his fingers graze her cheek. “They could take care of you as well.”

Oh.

Oh.

She wants to laugh at that, at the idea she needs anyone to take care of her. That Jasper seems to want her to spend time with the Cullens.

“You take good care of me,” she says, hoping to distract him. “I don’t need anything else. I will meet them. I promise. We just have to wait until they’re open to the idea. They want to protect you, and they see me as a threat.”

Of course they do; her story is written all over her. She’s a fighter and a killer. Of course they would want her as far away from Jasper as possible; even a year later, she could kill Jasper before he even realised what had happened. Emmett too. She’s not surprised they’d take Jasper and run, honestly. She would have judged them if they hadn’t.

She reaches out and takes his hand between both of hers, and it’s the first time that she’s instigated casual touch with him. It feels so awkward but Jasper’s expression softens the minute she does, and he shifts closer to her - his shoulders drop as he relaxes. Good, that’s what she wanted. She has no idea how to comfort someone, but touch seems to work for Jasper. It makes sense, he’s always encouraging her to get close, and asking to touch her. Well, asking less lately. She wishes he’d ask before touching her face. It makes her nervous.

“You’ll run to Montana,” he finally says and she offers him a small smile, hopefully one that’s reassuring.

“I’ll run to Montana. I plan to get there before you do,” she replies. “But if something changes, like the weather, I might be delayed. That’s okay.”

“That’s okay,” he echoes. “Can you check?”

She nods and closes her eyes to tap into her gift.

Running, running, the oilskin bag lashed tightly to her body. She has to get there before Jasper does, so he doesn’t worry. So that the next time they move, he won’t regress, that he’ll trust her to be where he needs her to be. Emmett gave her the coordinates and directions and showed her on a map. He’ll keep Jasper calm if she’s late but she won’t be.

There’s a tree in a sunken gully, as far from the house as she can stand - downwind, so no one catches on to her presence. Her main dress is destroyed from the run, unwearable. She’s wearing her other dress when Jasper and Emmett come down the path, bickering.

“I beat you to Montana,” she confirms, opening her eyes. She never used to close them to See but Jasper had gotten distressed when he saw her eyes rolling up during a vision. It had taken her the best part of an hour to calm him down, stop the tremors in his hands, and explain it didn’t hurt. It was like her eyes and brain were pulled tight, but not painful. Sometimes her eyes didn’t even roll up. But it was easier to close her eyes than have to watch him suffer. “You should talk to Emmett, tell him the plan.”

Jasper nods and pulls his hand free of hers to pull her close. She tenses up for a moment before forcing herself to relax. Jasper’s never harmed her, never done or said anything to hurt her. He finds holding her like this comforting, and that’s good.

//

“You won’t get any closer,” Emmett warns Esme, motioning out to the ridge. “She’ll see you coming before you know it.”

“Will she…?” Esme begins.

“Not unless she thinks there’s a threat to Jasper or herself. Mainly Jasper,” Emmett replies honestly. “But she’ll want you to think she will.”

Esme balanced carefully as she crept along the ridge to look through a glade miles away. There was only the smallest gap in the tree line where she could see Jasper perched on a branch, looking up at something.

Or someone. A thin girl unfolded herself from the branches above to land gracefully next to Jasper. She’s wearing flowers and leaves in her hair, and wearing the world’s dirtiest rag of a dress. She doesn’t so much as brush against Jasper until he says something to her, and she shuffles closer, his arm going around her thin shoulders.

“Oh,” Esme breathed before carefully making her way back to Emmett. “That… wasn’t what I was expecting.”

“But very, very real,” Emmett said with a tired smile. “She’s getting annoyed about it because it’s upsetting Jasper that everyone thinks he’s gone crazy.”