#and the last few scenes are pretty dark so i'll explain:

[slashergirlnancy]

stancy + The Hunger Games AU (mentor!Nancy and tribute!Steve)

[slutforfictionalwomen]

New things

Kinktober day 16

Wanda M x Natasha R x Fem Reader

Main kinks: Bondage, hypno kink.

Word count: 1,7K

Summary: You've been in a dom/sub relationship with two dominant women for a year, when they decide they want to level things up a bit.

Warnings: Smut, dom/sub, bdsm, bondage, pet names, hypnosis, cunnilingus, strap on use, use of vibrator, playroom, rough sex, hair pulling.

A/N: This is not the accurate representation of hypnosis. This is more like a mix with Wanda's power.

Your dominant Natasha doesn't often invite you to her office. But yesterday, she told you there was something she and your other dominatrix, Wanda, wanted to speak to you about. Since it was a bit secretive, it sparked excitement in you. You know they love you too much to dump you, so it can't really be anything bad that is going to happen.

You got dressed in the dark purple dress Wanda picked out for you. You probably wouldn't have chosen it for yourself, but when you tried it on for Wanda, you thought it suited you. Wanda put a bit on top of that, saying you looked like the cutest little plaything in it, only for her and Natasha.

You put on the expensive Docs Natasha insisted on buying you. You once said you thought they were pretty, then you saw the price tag and immediately said they were way too expensive. Natasha said she didn't mind the price, but you didn't want her to spend all that money on you. She then bought them after threatening to punish you if you kept up the back talk.

You look at your final outfit in the mirror. You put on some eyeliner and mascara earlier, but that's it. You know your girlfriends prefer you without any concealer or foundation, your unclear skin makes you look more youthful, which they somehow like. You decide that you look fine. It's time to meet them.

~

You receive a tight 'yes' when you knock on the door of Natasha's office. You walk in to see your partners sitting at Natasha's desk, Wanda has her usual tea and Natasha her coffee. "Hey," you greet them with a smile whilst sitting down.

"Good evening, pretty girl," Wanda says, pushing a few documents over to you and gently grazing your fingers when she can.

"We've been in this relationship and dynamic for a year today, we thought it was about time to renew the contract we made to keep boundaries clear," your other dominant speaks. She speaks less flirty than Wanda, as usual, but she gives you the sweetest smile.

You take a second to look at them in awe, both of them in their work suits, and you in your pretty little dress. "Okay, so I just.. fill this in?" Immediately after asking, you receive a nod from both. You pic up the pen they put down for you and start thoroughly reading and filling in the documents.

~

You're almost done, but at the last one, you start questioning it. Hypnosis. Last time, you said no. It was your first time being in this type of relationship and put hypnosis as a hard limit. This time, you're curious. You want to experiment.

Wanda seems to notice your struggle. "What's wrong, dear?" She gives you a kind smile, willing to explain anything to you.

"What do you mean by hypnosis exactly?" You look up at them and point at the word. Wanda and Natasha share a quick look, then Natasha starts speaking.

"Hypnosis is often used in the bdsm scene for multiple reasons. Wanda has the ability to hypnotise people very easily, which makes this one we are very interested in trying. Would you like to try?" Natasha quickly explains it.

You look at them, then back at the paper, then back at them. Wanda gives you the sweetest smile. She would never hurt you. You trust her. "I'll try it."

~

At Halloween night, when the kids have stopped coming by the door and have probably all gone to bed, Natasha in her cop costume puts her handcuffs on you after randjmly asking if you could. You then realise they are not the usual handcuffs for a cop costume, but your actual own leather playroom handcuffs.

"What is this all about?" You ask Natasha as she guides you to the play room, where she and Wanda have all the tools. When you think of Wanda, you come to the thought that you don't know where she has gone.

"It's all part of the plan, baby." Natasha gets you on the bed, facing up. She clicks the handcuffs to the special designed headboard, and you naturally start tugging on it.

Wanda comes in, still wearing her witchy costume, though she always dresses a bit witchy. Your black cat costume, which they picked out for you, finishes it all off.

"Okay baby, I want to hypnotise you, but you have to fully consent to it. You also have to do what I say for me to be able to put you under hypnosis in the first place. What do you say to that?" Wanda kisses your forehead, another sign that you are safe with her.

"That's okay, mommy. I like the idea and I will listen." You reply in the best way possible, trying not to seem nervous.

"That's a good girl, just do what I say. First relax, get into a comfortable position, and close your eyes." You do exactly what she says, allowing for this to begin.

~

It took a lot of listening and relaxing, but Wanda finally got you into a hypnotised state. You instantly love the feeling of fully giving up control in a literal way. It feels somehow hazy.

Natasha takes off your handcuffs, so you are basically free to go, but you aren't. Something is holding you back. Something is between the signals from your brain to your arms, which means you are not putting them down next to you.

"Put your arms down, love," Wanda says, and immediately, you are able to put them down beside you. "Now get up and strip."

Again, you do what she says. You try resisting a bit, but you really can't. You take off your top, then your skirt and thights.

"Make her sit down and take her underwear off, then spread her legs to show us her wet pussy." Natasha is standing behind Wanda, her hands on the other woman's waist and her mouth by her ear.

Wanda visibly shivers but goes through with it. "You heard her, sit down. First your bra, then your pretty undies."

Said and done. You sit down to give them the show they want. Your pussy is dripping wet, Natasha audibly moans at the sight, coming to get a closer look.

"I'm having too much fun with this, Natty." Wanda looks at Natasha, pouting. She then turns her attention back to you. "Let's try something. On the floor. Ten sit-ups, I want to see your legs wide."

You didn't know what to expect, but it most certainly wasn't this. You don't want to do this. It's humiliating. You can't resist the force, and so you start doing the sit-ups she told you to do.

After doing ten, you see Wanda and Natasha looking at your pussy with amused expressions. It makes you blush.

"Wands, I can't wait any longer." Natasha poles Wanda, then starts taking off her outfit, only keeping on her black lingerie.

You feel the force to get up before Wanda speaks. "Sit down on that bench, legs wide." When you sit down like she told you to, she sits down on your side and starts kissing you.

Captured in the kiss, you didn't notice Natasha kneeling down to start licking your pussy. She starts off with kitten licks but soon goes into a pattern of sucking and licking and sometimes nibbling. You can tell she enjoys it from her noises.

Wanda chuckles when she notices your effort to try and close your legs around your mistresses head, but obviously failing due to the hypnosis. Natasha starts to add pushing her tongue into your aching hole to the rhythm, which makes you even more desperate and loud into your snogging session with Wanda.

When you are really close and almost there, Natasha pulls away, and the hypnosis is being lifted. Wanda also stops kissing you, delivering a soft kiss to your forehead.

"Whyyyy," you whine out in frustration. Wanda is now leading you back to the bed. Natasha again accompanies her. She is now wearing your favourite strap and back to putting handcuffs on you. This time, you get pushed onto the bed facing the mattress, and the clip of the handcuffs is detached to the headboard.

"Because this is part of the plan. Ass up," Natasha commands you. When you disobey, because you can now that you're out of hypnosis, you receive a hard smack.

When you do as Natasha says, Wanda lies down beside you in a way that she has a view on your pussy. You can see her bringing up a wand vibrator, the only warning before it's being turned on and pressed against your dripping cunt.

After a minute of Wanda drawing moans from you with the wand vibrator, Natasha joins in, thrusting her strap into you. Your mistress immediately goes deep, setting up a nice pace.

When you mewl at the intensity, Natasha decides you grab your hair and pull your head back, fucking into you harder. She chuckles at the cat eats you're still wearing from the costume, and her hand goes to wander over your bare tits. You're gorgeous, just their plaything. Even without the hypnosis, you do anything they tell you to do.

"Mommy!" You suddenly scream out when Wanda turns up the vibrator to the highest level. Natasha sees this as a sign to pound into you even harder.

"Are you close yet?" Wanda asks in the most seductive voice you have ever heard from her. You had been close for what felt like ages, but you somehow didn't care to say it.

"Yes, mommy. So close." You whine out. Your legs start to tremble. You have to try hard to keep yourself up.

"Do you want to cum for us, sweety?" Natasha's voice is dark as always, the most sadistic one of the two. Her pace keeps going up, and when you think she can't speed up anymore, she picks up the pace only last time.

"Yes, please mistress. Please let me cum!" You try to pull back from her thrusts to avoid coming without permission, but that behaviour is noticed as Natasha delivers a smack to your butt.

"Go ahead, cum for us." You don't even recognise who said the words when the hardest orgasm you've ever had races through you. One moment, you were cumming hard. The next, you went completely black.

[ebonysplendor]

There's Something Wrong With Sunny Day Jack (Demo) Review🌤️

TL;DR: Sunny days, keeping the clouds awaaaaaay~! ... Okay, but like what if our cloud is the "sunny day", and it won't go away? Do we even want it to at this point...?

Game Link: https://snaccpop-studios.itch.io/sunny-day-jack

Game Link (classic): https://snaccpop-studios.itch.io/sdj-classic

Notable Features: Gender Neutral language, Self-Insert, Yandere LI, Voice Acting, Create a cup of froyo ... yo Spiciness: 5.5/5 -- Let me tell you! It's a whole scene going down in this thing, okay?! FULLY delivered. The literal only thing that would've made this any spicier is if you saw it. You kinda do, but it's just out of frame. LI Red Flags: 3/5 -- Manipulation, possessive, lowkey obsessive, implied violence and possession, but like, I'm pretty sure I can fix him, so whatever, ya know?

Wanna know more? Lmao naaah. Not if you aren't at least 18, and I mean that. There is a WHOLE spicy scene in here. This one's for the adulty adults. Anyways, if you don't care about my yapping and/or you're in the 18+ club, let's get into it!

Okay, okay, okay, I know, yeah, I know, but listen...I'm only getting around to making the review now.

Okay, okay, okay, wait, stop, listen. I know that this game is damn near two years old, but I didn't start getting into reading visual novels until last year, and I didn't start taking the plunge to make reviews until this year so... :P

ANYWAYS! I do have news that you may not know yet! When I was looking for exactly how old this game is, I stumbled upon a little news~

As of me typing this (which was on the 28 August at about 9:30pm, but who knows when I'll actually post this review lmao), the game was updated an hour ago. I'm talking this shit is fresh out of the box! So, naturally, I went scouring for a download button...but then it occurred to me that that message said that it was for the $12+ tier of their patreon supporters. Not gonna lie, the spicy scene in that damn game has got a girl tempted, okay? But the way my bills are set up...

Okay, anyways, getting back on track because I've started yappin'. I'm going to go ahead and jump into this thing because, let me tell you, if you're like me, and you're late to this game, you've gotta hear about it! Granted, the download to the version that I'm talking about isn't available anymore (at least for the public/non $12 patrons), but the classic version is! I don't know how different it is though ^^;

Admittedly, because this game is almost two years old and because there's not a download link available currently, I might spoil it just a little so that you're not left too much in the dark about the game, especially since, again, the download link isn't available. That being said, it may still be spoiler friendly because habit lol.

But you get it by this point. Let's stop talking and start summarizing. Let's get into it!

So boom.

Basically, we're being...haunted?, we guess?...by this very attractive, but frankly super cheesy, children's TV show host. How'd it happened? We aren't really sure. We just remembered that we got some weird tape and was like "Huh...okay", watched it, and boom, here he is. Speaking of "he" and "here he is", here he is!

Everyone, this is the bae, Sunny Day Jack, but he doesn't mind being called just "Jack", so refer to him as such.

Jack has kind've been rocking with us for a few months at this point, and admittedly, it was very poor but really great timing. The reason why that is the case is because we had experienced something pretty tragic, and we were having a really hard time getting over it, but honestly? Jack's child-like explanation of working through problems and explaining emotions actually came in clutch, because we were lowkey able to get this far because of him. That being said...our relationship with him is getting a little blurred -- more than a little.

Ya see, things kind've...escalated between us, and we honestly aren't sure if we're glad that we got called into work or if we're pissed about it. Like, the undertones have been there for a while, but it was only today that those undertones became more pronounced and obvious. I mean, the man had his tongue-- ANYWAYS!

So, we go into work where our asshole manager ditches us because apparently the things that he has to do is way more important than us having a day off from babysitting and picking up the slack of our lazy ass co-workers. The only upside to this is that the day is likely to be slow because of the rain and that we're alone, meaning that we can openly talk to Jack.

Oh, now that I think about it, I forgot something super crucial -- we can see and hear Jack. More specifically, we can touch him, feel him, smell him, fuck him, the works, but, for whatever reason, others can't do the same. I guess it's like...medium privileges or being a ghost's host perks or something? Anyways, I'm getting off track. Gonna stop it there before I start spouting some stupid shit.

We kind've flashback to what happened right before our boss called, and whoo boi, does that steamy feeling come back full force. It's weird, because it's like Jack can read our mind about how we felt so comfortable and so safe and so protected and, frankly, so curious about him and what all went down in that moment. Jack basically reassures us that the feelings that we have are okay, and what would be best described as "love". Oh...oh, haha, uh...

"Nah, dawg, it's not love."

"Well...do you love me?"

AYO? I beg your finest pardon, sir!? Like, he's just gonna come out the woodwork with that shit?!

Regardless, he's still reassuring us that, "It's okay if you see me as bae" and we're just "We're roommates, dude, and seeing someone as bae is way more complicated than you're making it sound!" He pretty much just laughs it off and is like "Well, either way, I'll be here. Always. I'm not going anywhere. Ever. I'll be anything and everything that you need". Oof, that is...a bold ass claim, and one that we're not so entirely sure we should trust...but damn does it feel good to hear those words and have some support...anyways.

Our work day continues, we run into this awkwardly cute guy (I'll explain more later), our whore of an ex-boyfriend called and ruined our fucking mood, Jack lays down some more heavy words of reassurance, and the day goes onto the next.

Unfortunately, we land ourselves back at work, but fortunately without the "un-", we are alone and can freely talk to Jack again. Like mentioned, the guy is a ghost, but he's so very real, just not to others, which can be super disorienting sometimes; this is one of those sometimes. Jack wanted us to make him a yogurt and...oof, his reaction was...

...less than thrilled. Disgusted, even. Horrified.

Now, this doesn't sound like a huge detail or issue, but he actually got a bit scary here because, what is this shit that he's spouting about us "not being that type of person anymore" and "being better than that, now"? Like, when I say that this man -- clown? ghost? -- had a full shift in personality, and it was just...fear in his eyes, desperation in his voice? Like, he looked and sounded absolutely haunted and terrified of something. Like, this was beyond the horror in a cup that we apparently made him experience; it only triggered it.

Thankfully, although awkward, he easily moves past this saying that the combination of flavors just threw him off, and a customer walks in to provide a diversion for an extra layer of safety.

Oh! It's that awkward but polite cutie from the other day!

When we see him, or rather when we hear the door, we say our awkward ass, lame ass greeting, and it's kind've an opener for him to start some super brief small talk. He eventually takes the plunge and shoots his shot. Now, personally, I think the guy is damned adorbs, but at the same time, it's just...it's too soon. That mixed with this whole thing we've got going on with Jack...

We're pretty conflicted on how to answer, un-- Wait, huh? What did...?

Did-- Wait, Jack wants us to tell him that we have a boyfriend? And what does he mean that "it doesn't even have to be a lie"? ... He said the thing again, too. That thing about being whatever he wants us to be.

This is so anxiety inducing, too, because it's like, first off, we weren't expecting to hear him talking to us, and second, we can't acknowledge him in any shape, way, or form. Jack is quite literally looming right behind us, whispering in our ear, and we cannot so much as look his way without the guy in front of us thinking that we've completely lost our shit. Even still, our feelings for Jack have been complicated lately. Should we even take that plunge? Something about doing that doesn't seem right, though...

...We tell the guy that we don't have a boyfriend. Before he gets his hopes up too much, though, we tell him that we aren't really looking for anything right now, either. The guy leaves. The store is quiet, and we're left with alone with Jack with that awkwardness from earlier back in the air at full force; he's the first one to speak.

He apologizes and starts asking if he's pushed anything onto us that we didn't want. Before we can really answer though, he apologizes again. He explains that he thought that he was speaking in terms of what we wanted, but he keeps going back and forth like he's trying to find the right words but also figure out where he misunderstood; better yet, and more accurately, he's trying to figure out why he misunderstood in the first place. The poor guy is honestly so pitiful at this point, and we try to stop him from rambling and reach out for him... but our hand falls right through him.

Obviously, we start panicking, and Jack explains to us that he doesn't want to do anything that we don't want him to do nor feel comfortable with, and if it's him that we don't feel comfortable with and it's him that we don't want...this is what happens.

Okay, now, we're past the point of panicking; we're on the verge of tears because had we known us saying "No, I don't have a boyfriend" meant that Jack would start questioning if we actually wanted him around and fading away, we would've never said it. True to his optimistic nature, Jack reassures us that he's not "fading away" or "disappearing", and we're just like "Dude, piss off with that. Now, is not the time" because it's like, bro, this isn't a joke or us not wanting to get up for work; this is serious.

Jack chills with the reassurance and explains that he understands that we're serious, but that this isn't an issue that he can fix himself. Jack basically said that our words -- better yet our acceptance or denial of him -- are very weighted and that the only way to fix what's going on right then and there is to reaffirm that we accept him being there and truly meaning it, and that's only because he doesn't want to do anything that we don't want or need from him.

Even still, do we really trust him fully enough to do this? He's not the kind of guy to hurt us, is he? I mean, it's Sunny Day Jack. Then again, we also thought the same about---

"Hey."

"Yeah, Jack?"

"I know it's scary, I honestly do, but you can trust me. All I want is to be with you, protect you, and make you happy; that's what I'm here for."

All of that sounds so nice, too nice, but...

Can we trust him so easily...?

We really shouldn't...

But that horrible, heartbreaking moment...

That pain that Jack somehow made bearable, took away even...

That companionship he gave us in the place of loneliness...

His comfort...

His gaze...

What's wrong with feeling good? Why doubt him, and why feel like this unique and irreplicable connection is a bad thing? It's like Jack said: these feelings are okay; it's normal. There's nothing wrong with this.

...Right?

Y'all. You all. Guys. Gays. Theys. People. Friends. MY friends. SQUAD. (all right, enough...)

Hot and bothered, bothered and hot. Like, please allow me like 3 - 5 sentences of degeneracy. Between Jack and Ren (iykyk) ... Ren still laid down the pipe better but Jack?? Jack was a damned close second. Like, did you see the way that man was looking in our eyes and holding us? Then he's so big and masculine looking and ahhhhh~! That is BAE right there!

Anyways, getting back on track, when I had to go back and get those screenshots, what should've taken me like 5 - 10 minutes took me like 30+ minutes because I had to relive these moments. I had to relive this story! Like I mentioned earlier, the game is damn near two years old, but it reads like new, you feel me? The story, the implications, the art style, the scenes, the drama -- ahhh! I LIVE. I ASCEND. Like, when these developers hit the mark, they hit the damned mark with such precision!

I'm pretty sure that it's been mentioned at this point, but do you know what I loved the most about this visual novel (degeneracy aside, of course lol)? The subtle but oddly specific ass details that you're sure to miss or gloss over if you're not paying attention. I'm talking those details that you probably wouldn't catch until you've already read it once, seen how things have panned out, and then read through it again. Like, how it described us feeling cold whenever we thought about Jack leaving or fading away from us, or how the air would feel like syrup or cotton candy whenever he spoke to us, or how we'd get all warm in the most literal sense whenever Jack was near, or feel full, or completed, or -- the list honestly goes on. Like, there's a lot of allusion to being slowly corrupted/possessed by Jack, because this guy is a ghost, remember? Yeah, I had lowkey forgot, too.

Those specifically subtle details really made the story come together, and once I caught onto what was going on, I was just like, bro, the signs were there! I'd have to say that my absolute favorite "subtle" sign was when Jack always seemed to know exactly what we were thinking, almost like he was able to read our thoughts, but as soon as we started to "reject" him, all of a sudden he wasn't exactly sure what we thought. He went from responding to our thoughts to questioning what we may have been thinking about. Like, what? Go the eff off SnaccPop!

I love this visual novel, I love this visual novel, I love this visual novel, I love this frickin visual novel. I could ramble and geek way more but I'm gonna start wrapping it up before I start yappin' too, too much. Just allow me a few more sentences, a paragraph or two, please.

I. Cannot. Wait! For the full and official release! I am so excited to see how the team is going to mold this story and how things are going to pan out. I'm excited to see how and if we're able to get away from Jack because, at this point, he has a damned strong hold on us, but I'm speculating that our horror movie fanatic and director friend is going to come in clutch for this one.

If it was not obvious (and honestly, if you were somehow later to this game than I was) 100/10 would recommend, and I am recommending. It is so good, and I really hope that I'm not over hyping it, because the foundation that has been built for this story is so damned solid. Like I mentioned way earlier, unfortunately, you can't play the (free) updated demo anymore, but you can still play the classic one; I just don't know how different it is compared to the new version. Either way, I'll give you the link to both just in case (Update | OG). If you're able, definitely give them that monetary support and play the updated version. Hell, tell ME how it is because...I really don't want to put off my bills but, at this point, Jack has me in a fucking chokehold all over again. What's an extra, unplanned $12 at this point? Also, if able, visit the game's page and give SnaccPop that ever so encouraging but thirsty "NEED. MOAR. I mean, you take your time because perfection can't be rushed, and I know you all are people with a life and other responsibilities and such, BUT I NEED. MOAR. IT'S SO GOOD. STAND AND DELIEVER. ...please UwU I beg OTL"

Meh, that was highkey three paragraphs, but I'm not gonna split it so it can still be the two paragraphs that I requested. Lol sorry for pushing it there, but I'm done now! Promise. No more yappin'. The yap has been concluded, and I'm gonna go ahead and head out.

Big preesh for getting this far, and please, remember to drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack (Updated; download not available to public)

Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack (Classic; download available)

[drbtinglecannon]

Hello, friend!!! I hope things have gotten at least a little better for you 💖

Meanwhile, for the fanfic writing asks: 1, 7, 10, 22, 29, 37, 72 (the questions are truly so good, haha, stopping now)

Thanks pal, I had a couple days off which was nice! Unfortunately I had to go to the vet again lol

(there are so many good questions haha!)

1. Do you daydream a lot before you write, or go for it as soon as the idea strikes?

I do both, but I will say going for it as soon as the idea strikes yields more finished projects than when I spend a lot of time daydreaming about it because sometimes it's like, so vivid I end up not writing anything because I got to "read" the fic already haha

7. Post a snippet from a wip

I gotta be honest all the wips I've been working on the last couple weeks are smut lol, but I did really enjoy this bit! (completely sfw)

The man had a pep to his step as he kicked the door shut behind them and led Genshin into the messy living space, knowingly stepping over every pile of miscellaneous items littering the floor without sparing any of them a passing glance.

Mikotoba had the patience of an angel to deal with such clutter.

“You can lay him down here," Sholmes gestured to a pink chaise lounge. It had a dark stain on one cushion and singe marks down the front legs. “Coffee, and a tiny – nay, miniscule – fire, neither a thing to worry about." Sholmes explained without prompting while gesturing with wide hand movements the entire time.

10. Do you work on multiple wips or stick to one fic at a time?

I typically jump around between ideas, but if I'm trying really hard to focus on something I will only work on it for as long as I can until it's finished or I get distracted

22. Do you title your fics before, during, or after the writing process? How do you come up with titles?

This one really fluctuates and is partially dependent on if I have a brand new document open or if I'm just adding onto a LONG document full of miscellaneous ideas and wips. It's so chaotic but that's usually what I do when I first get into something so I can just pump out all my thoughts as quickly as possible and focus on the ideas I really like haha. Brand new documents I need to title otherwise it annoys me to see "untitled document" in my list

Sometimes I have the title before I have anything written (and sometimes that results in the title changing), sometimes I come with it while writing and immediately title the document/section of long ass document as such, and sometimes I'm staring at the AO3 page like "oh yeah I forgot to come up with a title"

Fic titles aren't difficult for me tho, I really love coming up with them! They are usually play on words around the fic premise, or just puns or references haha, and occasionally I'll do song lyrics titles. But yeah titling fics is no problem for me, it's titling original content that I can never think of anything

29. What's something about your writing that you're proud of?

37. What fic has been the hardest for you to write?

Honestly I'm just proud of ever writing at all haha. For the most part I really enjoy rereading my own writing and it's just a nice sense of accomplishment when I finish an idea since honestly I finish like <5% of my wips. So many ideas end up just being a title/summary/a few paragraphs written down before it's unfortunately abandoned for presumably forever haha

So yeah I'm proud of ever finishing stuff

Definitely "The extension of your soul in my unworthy hands" oh man writing fight scenes is difficult lol. I was pretty proud of that fic at the time despite the difficulties writing, but I haven't reread it in a while so idk how well it held up to my standards

72. What's your favorite writing compliment you've gotten?

I have been lucky to receive a lot of beautiful and sweet comments on my writing (that I unfortunately am. So bad at responding to and I'm looking at the timestamps screaming from how long they've been....) but one that stands out was a mutual telling me that my prose is straightforward and emotional but doesn't linger for longer than usual and I about died receiving such a professional critique.

I.. want to respond to old comments so so badly but I'm afraid haha, especially since I'll have to apologize in all of them oTL

[mikecardenmpreg]

so real quick i need to explain something about warped tour 2008 before i get into this story. bloodsource (you know, the blood donation place) had this thing where if you were 18 or older, signed up beforehand to give blood at warped tour, and then actually showed up and gave blood, you would be given a wristband that allowed you full access to the parking lot where all the artists parked their buses. this a crazy gimmick and i hope it's something that isn't revive with the new generation of warped tour because, as i'll get into, it wasn't executed very well.

so anyway when i was 15 years old, i went to warped tour 2008 with an 18 year old who was on that list. she had signed up with a different friend who was 18 but that friend bailed on her so she took me instead. first thing we did when we met up was head for the bloodsource tent to get our wristbands. my friend swore to the bloodsource lady that we would 100% come back to give blood, knowing we wouldn't be able to because i didn't have ID that matched the name on the list and i wasn't old enough to give blood anyway. the bloodsource lady was skeptical (and rightly so) but gave us the wristbands anyway (does anyone else see the problem with not IDing us? because an underage girl was just given an all access pass to all the musicians on warped tour). after receiving our wristbands, we immediately made our way to the buses. my friend was in love with william, so that's who we were looking for. we didn't find him (we never did, actually), but we did find tai...'s bus. we knew what it looked like because they kept showing it in episodes of taitv (maybe they shouldn't have done that?). andy was hanging out so we said hi and got pictures. really nice guy. we decided to come back later, because there were a few sets we wanted to catch and we wanted to check out the merch.

fast forward to later that evening. we ended up out by the buses again around dusk. this is where i'd like to pause and mention that in this bus lot, there was no security whatsoever and hardly any lights set up. super unsafe, super sketch. the only security was set up outside of the gates and only to check badges and wristbands. once you were inside, you were shit out of luck if something happened to you. idk if this was just a thing at this particular amphitheater or a massive oversight with this bloodsource gimmick in general, but whatever. it's not like there was (and still is) a huge problem with grown ass men sexually assaulting literal children in the scene or anything.

ANYWAY we went back to tai...'s bus to once again look for william. and once again he was not there. but you know who was? mike. and he was literally standing all by himself in the near dark, doing nothing. he wasn't drinking or smoking or seemingly waiting for anything. the man was literally alone outside just standing there. now it had been less than a year since the last time i met him and made a fool out of myself (i was 14 and awkward and in love!!!) and i was pretty anxious about word vomiting at him again so i kind of stayed quiet. and most unfortunately for my friend, mike also decided to stay very quiet and kinda just said single word sentences at us. not in a rude or mean way, just in an awkward, probably high out of his mind way. there was a lot of awkward silences and stares. but nothing weird, mean, or inappropriate. in his defense, we had caught him off guard, in the growing dark, on what was essentially his front porch, and one of us wasn't talking. so whatever, he was weird, we were weird, we took pictures, thanked him, and left.

we were a few buses away when i felt like i was being watched, so i turned around and there was mike again, attempting to hide himself behind the bus but absolutely failing to because i could fully see him. it's too hard to describe what i saw so here's a rough approximation

(except he was not smiling, he had that classic dead eye mike carden stare on his face)

and the thing is, we made eye contact. so he knew i saw him. and i was like well ok that's totally normal and i turned back around and whispered to my friend "so...he's watching us" and she said "he is not" and i said "ok but he is" and she turned around and you know what? he was still there. and she nervously laughed and grabbed my arm and we kinda hauled ass out of there.

now i do not really have any explanation for this, similar to having no explanation as to why william standing in my hallway in his underwear. i have to assume he was simply confused about our presence in the bus lot, but also incredibly stoned, so not able to make quick judgements and act like a normal person. but who really knows what's going on in that dude's noggin. im just glad he's way more normal now.

[alicelufenia]

In celebration of the BG3 anniversary, I thought I'd relive some memories from my first run

Last thing done in act 1. In hindsight I could have at least arrived earlier, and gotten to meet the dream visitor a few times before everything goes down, but hey.

Heeey Dream Visitor Crystal Exarch! (and yes she would)

I think the likeness is pretty good all things considered. For Durge!Alice run I'm doing something different, but this proved to be real funny later.

I know I'm not the only one to notice this, right? Anyway I'll definitely be using this detail in my fanfic... Especially since Durge!Alice wakes up in the Nautiloid with her oath broken, and no memory of even what it was, so any bond she can share with a fellow paladin over oaths lost, of course I'm gonna delve into that!

Speaking of Oathbreaker...

Hahaha! Silly Tav!Alice. This is why you break your oath BEFORE agreeing to raid the grove! Choking like that in front of the raid leader, embarrassing. I expected better of my FFXIV main.

Dark Knight unlocked.

^ The backup save I made before deciding whether to go through with the raid or not.

The original plan was for Alice to fight on the grove's side after restoring her oath, with a level of Shadow Sorcerer to represent the darkness that seeped into her heart.

Instead:

"You're mad. How did I not see it...?"

Told ya it would be funny.

Listen, past Alice: Yes. Yes it was all worth it and you'll do it again.

For some reason she has her eyes open here, I'm pretty sure that changes in a future patch (maybe the one where her intro cutscene changes too? I don't remember)

I had just gotten the Dream Visitor scene where they explain the True Souls are being controlled right before this, so the continuity really helped this scene.

oh nuuuuuu

🗡️Find me a more iconic shot of Minthara than this, you wont🗡️

The game just loves to keep giving the Evil-aligned characters the wettest puppy eyes, it's genuinely much appreciated.

Yeah I said it, Tavs/Durges who raid the grove are Evil-aligned, at least at the time, I'm not delusional and never said it was a bad thing either :p

Wow that was a journey. There's a reason it's still one of, if not my favorite questline in the game.

HahaHAA! Oh you poor naive girl, you had no idea didn't you

Seriously though, imagine going on to kill her after all that. Unhinged behavior imo, can't relate

Yeaaaah no, fuck that noise, fuck them druids, and fuck them tieflings too. I'm ride or die now.

It would take me another 2 weeks before finally continuing though, during which I started and halted three other playthroughs on different characters, and none of it stuck. I knew I had to see where this would take me.

Thus, my journey would continue with Alice, and the rest is now history.

[morningmask27]

Ivypool's heart rant under the cut lol

WHISTLEPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW, my little Whis is important, WHISTLEPAW is a big part of the story (hopefully). Oh boy, I hope they won't do Whis too wrong with this book or I'll go fight the Erins myself.

this little scene was very funny to me. Whistlepaw is a shit fighter confirmed

we also get descriptions for the new children, FINALLY. Don't think anyone expected Branchkit to be fully white, but the Erins like being chaotic with their pelt colors, so whatevz. I've already played with fully white kits in this family, Branchkit is deaf now.

Anyways, I am pretty okay with Ivypool and Rootspring hanging out to mourn Bristlefrost. It's touching in a way that they bond over this shared grief (also impressed they mentioned Antpelt. They do remember things from time to time. Impressive)

The way they made Wrenflight have a crush on Rootspring does annoy me just a bit. Crush shenanigans will obviously annoy me personally more, but they truly couldn't find anything better to do and they had to make A Girl fall for Root? (Also I don't know my SkyClan family tree that well surprisingly enough, so I don't have the ability to immediately say if these two are closely related. It seems okay, but who knows). They also made her a

whoopsies </3

However I truly don't feel like Ivypool should be deputy at all in such a situation. It's stated multiple times that she hasn't done a good job at her tasks or even Be On Time and I do wonder why Squirrelstar never immediately choose Cinderheart to be her deputy (also girlpower <3). I am slightly aggravated with Ivypool's worries that she'd be replaced on the long term by Cinder, who in two phrases looks to be such a better deputy than Ivy, so that weird entitlement was a bit annoying tbh. Hope it gets addressed, but I assume it won't.

Fernsong is a nothing character and that doesn't change all that much. He's ~moved on~ with Bristlefrost's death and it does characterize him a bit, but goddamn I didn't know who I found more annoying when he and Ivy were talking. Thriftear and Flipclaw look like they'll be completely forgotten by the story after their one Obligatory Scene and it's a bit disappointing. Fernsong did mention multiple times specifically taking care of the kits, but in such vague terms that it just sounds stupid. Why are the Erins still so wishy-washy about having Fern live up to his earlier promise?

God, just get a divorce if you're not going to talk at this point. Wdym The Father of the kit you just lost doesn't understand the grief you're going through. Okay he's a cardboard made to feel whatever's necessary, but still, this is dumb

*chanting* divorce divorce divorce divorce

Anywaaaaaaays. Harestar gets one emergency gathering, as a treat <3

That was Whistlepaw's little sister, so obviously that would be traumatic (I will bite the Erins if they forget in the rest of the book) and

Whistlepaw does not like public speaking. Whis already had a same-ish reaction last time in Thunder when lying about Frostpaw's death, so this is a funky character trait.

Anyways, Whis <3 (they also don't let Whis finish explaining that damned dream. Constantly interrupting with useless comments. Goddamnit, you don't help a cat that doesn't like public speaking already by constantly speaking up and stopping the story)

And as I yelled in another post, Cloverfoot gets a few good lines here. Not a lot, but she's rational

Whistlepaw gets two free mom's

I find the group of cats so funny to. Ivypool, deputy of ThunderClan and hero of the dark forest, Dovewing, one of The Three super powered cats that saved the Clans, Rootspring, light in the mist, helped to defeat Ashfur and has sister powers, Icewing (joins a bit later), senior warrior of RiverClan, trained in the dark forest too and then there's Whistlepaw, apprentice with a dream. (This will make for a funny daily Whis drawing lol)

[il-predestinato]

Elle, you are actually writing a Hogwarts AU???? 🙈🙈🙈 When is it set timeline wise? What year are they in? Houses I think I know, but the rest???

Hi Pi! Oooh, I mostly have notes on this one and not much written! Except for this little snippet (probably a cut scene rather than part of the fic). I'll share another super short snippet and then some rambling answers to your questions: 😁

Before Max could blink the sleepiness out of his eyes, he was already soberly aware that he was - most unfortunately - alone in bed. After a disgruntled rub across his eyelids, he was able to crack open enough of a slit to glare at the empty pillow beside his own. A head-shaped indent stared back at him mockingly. A torn piece of parchment sat neatly at the centre of the indent.

He snatched it up and frowned at Charles’ offending penmanship:

‘Had to take care of a secret Slytherin thing something’ followed by a creepy scribble of a smiling niffler (or perhaps a Dementor - Max couldn’t be certain, no matter how long he squinted at the poorly drawn lines; no one would ever accuse Charles of possessing artistic talent).

‘Meet in the Prefect's bathroom at 0800!’

“Maybe I won’t,” grumbled Max as he crumpled up the piece of paper. Of course you will, he can almost hear Charles’ self-assured, scoffing rebuttal.

He grabbed his wand from under his pillow and casted a silent “Incendio.” The Silencing Charm that Charles cast around Max’s four poster bed from the previous evening had likely worn off by now. He couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face as he watched as small embers transformed the parchment into ash. While Charles may be uniquely gifted at wandless magic, Max still had him beat in nonverbal spells - much to the chagrin of his Slytherin rival (sometimes friend always thorn in the side occasional bedmate).

-

Some notes:

Timeline wise: 2013-ish because they are 15 (fifth years)

Both are still born in 1997 (kind of cool that canonically both would be born at the height of the second wizarding war)

Max is a Gryffindor and Charles is a Slytherin

Story is a long-ish one shot. Title is "Unforgivable"

My base storyline is borrowed from a quest in the Hogwarts Legacy game (minor spoiler alert):

Charles has a sick family member at St. Mungo's who is suffering from a blood curse and is basically beyond all magical help. There is a secret Slytherin spell book hidden in the Scriptorium (think Chamber of Secrets, but a different room) rumoured to lead to a spell/artifact that cures dark curses, so Charles wants to retrieve it. Max is ... not a fan of this idea, because Slytherin was a pretty dark wizard and all around bad guy, so nothing good can possibly come out of this. But it's Charles so of course he chooses to help and goes down to the Scriptorium with him. There are a few tests (e.g. puzzles, speaking Parseltongue, etc.), each unlocking a set of gates, but you can't turn back because the gates lock behind you as well. At the last gate, there are a bunch of creepy skeletons (because people died here after getting stuck) and tortured faces on the gate/the world "Crucio" engraved on the floor. Max and Charles figure out that in order to pass the final test and not starve/die down there, they must successfully cast Crucio. And that's really the climax of the story. Who is going to cast it on who? Also, as Bellatrix explained in the books, you must have intent and truly want to cause pain and suffering to succeed in casting it... In the Hogwarts Legacy game, three characters are involved in the story: Sebastian Sallow, Ominis Gaunt, and Y/N [aka. player character] (yes, don't worry, I'm laughing at myself for using this term given my well known 'love' for uh... imagines 🤢). Ominis refuses to cast Crucio. It comes down between Y/N vs. Sebastian. In my fic, Charles would be loosely based on Sebastian, and Max is a combo of Ominis and Y/N (sorry, I can't keep a straight face whenever I type this.) Let's just say I have an entirely DIFFERENT idea as to how this plays out between Max and Charles (can anyone guess?) compared to the game.

Other super random details from my notes:

Charles and Max have a fierce quidditch rivalry (yes, there was an inchident with a puddle, because the puddle is a universal constant, a fixed point in time and space if you will).

Both are Chasers (but they do like challenging each other to one-on-one seeker games).

Max made the Gryffindor team in his first year (just like the Boy Who Lived) which irks Charles (who made the Slytherin team in his second year).

Charles' Slytherin teammates include George (beater), Lando (chaser), and their new seeker (Oscar).

Max's teammates include Carlos (chaser, Head Boy) and used to include Lewis (chaser, graduated).

Max really likes the grass flavour of Bertie Bott's every flavour beans and one time, Charles bought like - 200 boxes of every flavour beans and spent all night picking out all the grass flavoured ones to put into one box to gift to Max.

Charles is better at wandless magic - raw and uncontrolled power - but Max is better at nonverbal magic - precision and controlled power.

Charles is great at Charms and [hilariously] Divination (umm... he IS called 'il predestinato'), Max is great at Transfiguration and Potions. Both are excellent at Arithmancy (math nerds) and DADA.

Max's wand is vine, 12 ¾ inches, phoenix feather, reasonably supple. Charles's wand is yew, 12 ½ inches, dragon heartstring, fairly stiff. And yes, I spent like 30 minutes reading up on wandlore until I was happy with the choices. 🤣

[wanderlust-in-my-soul]

Currently Watching - February

Because I love a good little list - in alphabetical order! 😊

Regularly updated during the month, latest update 28.02.2023

This may contain spoilers!

1. Bed Friend (2/8 on iQiyi)

The trauma is strong in this one! As is the tension and longing looks of King. Do you have feelings for me? Should ask yourself, buddy. But it is interesting and the first episode was promising.

2. Bokura no Micro na Shuumatsu aka The End Of the World With You (5/8 on Gaga or Viki)

This feels depressing and heartbreaking and I love it! Done right this can become a little sad gem. This is way more explicit than I thought...and there are so many plot twists! Now we have the supernatural element and the boy can influence the weather? What else is there to come?

3. Boyband (1/6 on Youtube)

And so they decided it is no longer free with subs on youtube...why starting with the first epsiode, when you can't keep up with it?

4. Chains of Heart (2/10 on iQiyi)

Cinematography and scenery - stunning! Really pretty and dark and atmospheric. The plot - I don't get it yet? I really have no clue who some of those people are and what is going on. The acting? Everything between okay and cringy. And there are some scenes which are so damn fucking long! Unnecessary long!

5. History 5 (9/10 on Viki)

I hate it here.

5. Island Part 2 (2/6)

It starts where part one ended and I really appreciate we got to see something from their past! There was so much to explain and they finally did it. Great first two episodes.

6. Moonlight Chicken (6/8 on Youtube)

I love EarthMix so much and I missed them and now I am just so happy they are back and damn they are fine! I felt so shy watching the first episode. Let me just sit here with a huge grin on my face. I won't be normal for the next few weeks...and GeminiFourth are so lovely too and took over the whole show for me! Oh this series is so good.

7. Tin Tem Jai (1/10 on Gaga)

I don't know when I am going to drop it, but the first episode was...not that good. I have no idea what is happening and why this little girl is everywhere...I just...I don't know...And Park looks annoyed like everytime he is on screen...

8. Utsukushii Kare Season 2 (3/4 on Gaga and Viki)

Yeah, I like it. And today my heart broke together with Kiyoi's.

Finished in February

Series

1. The New Employee (7/7 on Viki)

I thought it would be 8 episodes, but apparently there are only 7. Fine by me. I liked this one a lot. It felt mature and they did great with the communication. It is Woo Seung Hyun's first relationship, so of course he is sometimes a little bit overwhelmed and shy, but he learns and trusts and Kim Jong Chan helps him and also learns so much in the progress and they both are just so perfect for each other. It is a 8,5 out of 10 for me.

2. Love at the End of the World (9/9 on Gaga)

What the actual fuck have I just watched...I left my best friend 20!!! voice messages while watching this. Some scenes left me speechless, some depressed and some I couldn't take serious. I don't know why it had to be this graphic, but okay. The end of the world is near and we accompany four different couples through their last days on earth. And those last days are fucked up, just as this movie and its plot twists are. It is a 6,5 out of 10 for me, because sometimes I just like a fucked up story.

3. It's okay not to be okay (16/16 on Netflix - no bl)

I am not okay and that is totally okay...the moment Kim Soo-hyun smiled it blew me away and the acting and the story hit me with all its force and I am in love with this series. I love it so fucking much! I don't know how to get on from it right now. This series has such powerful messages and I love all the characters and all the ups and downs and all my painful tears and happy tears I shed, I love every moment, every single emotion I felt while watching it. So fucking good. If I could, I would give this 100/10, and yes, this is my blog and I can do what I want, but let's keep it real, I'll stick to my rating: This is clearly a 10 out of 10 for me.

4. Work from heart (7/7 on Youtube)

Well, this one was...cringy and boring? And the pacing was something else. I liked the chemistry between the main, but everything felt a little bit rushed. The ending was unexpected heated. The ex was a big red flag and really annoying at some point. 5,5 out of 10 for me

5. Individual Circumstances (8/8 on Viki)

After years spending their lives apart from each other an almost worn out movie director and a famous writer meet again. The past has to be processed and the writer deals with their history and present in one of his stories. It started strong and overall I like it, but what was that kiss in the end? Korea you can do better, we know that! It is a 7 out of 10 for me.

6. Ameiro Paradox (8/8 on Gaga)

Well it had its moments, but sometimes there was just no progress. It started in a good way, but I just lost interest halfway through. But it is not a bad series, just a little bit boring from time to time. A 6 out of 10 for me.

7. I Will Knock You (12/12 on Gaga)

Not gonna lie, I had my problems with this one. I can understand where people come from when they say it is good, because I get the message and that is a really beautiful one. Don't judge people without knowing anything about them. To change is not always bad. Some people can bring out the best in you and love doesn't judge and I guess some more, I can't think of right now. I enjoyed the second half of the series. But till the end, I didn't like the characters that much. So for me this is a 7 out of 10.

8. Sh**ting Stars (16/16 on Viki - no bl)

This is one of those dramas that put a huge smile on my face. I really liked it! It is funny and cute and Gong Tae Sung is the biggest, softest puppy in love out there! He is just so awwww! It is a good 9,5 out of 10 for me.

9. Lonely Connections (6/6 on Gaga)

This series left a feeling of solitude in my soul. I have to let you go, so you can be with the one who loves you. This series shows different kinds of romantic and sexual relationships, the different types of love and desire. Does it mean I love you when I have sex with you? Can I love someone and still desire someone else? At some point it is very explicit, so not for everyone. I liked the tone of the series. It is very artsy. Overall 7,5 out of 10 for me.

10. The Love that Dare Not Speak Its Name (6/6 on Gaga)

Well this was a quick one with a runtime of round about 15 minutes in total! But it told a whole story. The acting was a bit stiff and the dialogues were not that good. It is the story of two roommates who become friends and best friends and one day, out of the blue, one of them confesses. Well yeah...I really like the titel! 5,5 out of 10 for me.

11. Move to Heaven (10/10 on Netflix - non bl)

This is such a little gem. I have cried for like 8 hours straight. Such a fucking good and touching story! I want a second season! Now! But it is really a beautiful drama about growth and family and love and grief. One of the easiest 10 out of 10 ever!

12. Physical: 100 (9/9 on Netflix, non bl)

Well this was fun. Most of the fun came from watching with my best friend, but still. My last favorite came in third, so I am not that dissappointed 😅 and damn all of the contestens were strong af! I won't rate it, because, I don't know how 😅

13. Red Balloon (8/8 on Gaga)

Gaga is going to kick out a bunch of movies and series, among others also this series, so I took time today to watch it. It was sweet and heartbreaking and brutal and sad. It deals with a bunch of homophobia and mobbing and that was difficult to watch, especially because non of the teachers would really help...that was so frustrating. 7,5 out of 10 for me.

14. My School President (12/12 on Youtube)

It hurts so much to put it in my completed folder. This was such a wholesome series. There were no unnecessary cliffhangers, no unnecessary drama. The communication was superb! The characters were so well written and the character growth is just chef's kiss. I love every singel second of this series and I will come back to it, if I need something to comfort me. Because it is just wholesme and lovely and healing. And Tinn is the biggest, cutest green flag walking in bl-land. I adore him. I give it 20 out of 10, because that is what its deserve.

15. Never let me go (12/12 on Youtube)

I like this one. Yes, there were plotlines I don't understand. Palm, why did you have to leave, again? Just stay together, because alone both of you are unhappy! The best part of this one was definitive the chemistry between Pond and Phuwin. Those two did a really great job! 8 out of 10 for me

Short Film

1. Table Manner (on Gaga)

This one...I don't like it that much. It was a little bis boring. There was a sweet kiss, but the story was just not that interesting. 5,5 out of 10 for me

2. Plus Minus (on Gaga)

Not to be msitaken with the taiwanese Plus & Minus, this one is a Pinoy short film with a confusing plot. The time line is not linear and most of the times I didn't know when the scene took place. 5 out of 10 for me.

3. Firsts (on Gaga)

For everything there is a first time. Problems occure when you can't deny your desires anymore, when there is no going back for you. Then you have to be true to yourself. You can't pretend forever and you have to make a choice. A great short film that displays the intimacy and vulnerability really good through words and actions. 8 out of 10 for me

4. Pure Vanilla (on Youtube)

Such a sweet short film, just as the titel promised. Two coworkers who have feelings for each other, but don't know if the other person feels the same. Really cute. 9 out of 10 for me

5. One Afternoon (on Gaga)

It is a quiet short film with not much talking, but nevertheless is it quite intense. It is a different point of view than we usually get. We see most of the film through the eyes of the younger brother and how he deals with discovering that his brother loves another man. 7 out of 10 points.

Movie

1. Tinted with you (Viki)

A historical drama with time travelling and some really nice scenery. It is always difficult to tell a good time travel story. At some point I just had to stop thinking about all the problems which could come with the things they did, but okay. It is not a bad bl, but a little bit boring. For me it is a 6,5 out of 10.

Dropped/On Hold in February

1. Cutie Pie 2: You (2/4 on Youtube)

Oh this is so boring! I couldn't bring myself to watch any further, even though it only has four episodes and I watched with double speed...I was in love with the first season, before it lost me on the way with its sugary, lovey dovey washed story and this second one is just...no. I can do so much more with my time...

Looking forward to in February

Moonlight Chicken (Feb 8th)

Utsukushii Kare Season 2 (Feb 8th)

Marry My Dead Body (Feb 10th)

Egoist (Feb 10th)

Moments of Love (Feb 14th)

Boyband (Feb 16th)

Jack Frost (Feb 17th)

Bed Friend (Feb 18th)

Chains Of Heart (Feb 18th)

Island Season 2 (Feb 24th)

Tin Tem Jai (Feb 27th)

Café in Love

A Shoulder To Cry On (-Viki and Youtube page were created)

The Luminous Solution

Future

[kindlystrawberry]

Comfortable Intimacy Prompt!

Let's go with [ injury ] sender cleans receiver's wound and patches it up. (I'm always so weak for a little wound care)

Can't pick a ship tho, so I'll let you pick who you think fits best with it.

PROMPTS FOR COMFORTABLE INTIMACY (accepting!) THANK YOU for this prompt, I'm also weak for wound care so this was an absolute joy to write. I think I may have written a slightly similar scene in Blue, but oh well, my heart yearns for it. Also, please suspend your disbelief a little at why they didn't just cast 'Return' to get home and drag Frey to the clinic. Let's say they were worried about moving her or something. AO3 link

! Content warning for some mildly gory injury descriptions in this one !

The ice is chilled beneath Frey’s hands, where her fingers curl into the ground to try and stifle the pain shooting up her leg. Still, there’s a layer of softness before it’s just sheets of ice and rock, likely from the fresh snowfall the night before. 

Despite the rest of the crummy nature of the afternoon, the soft snow is a nice texture, at least.

She sits with her legs sprawled out in front of her, and the sun shining in her eyes as it rests uselessly over the border between the Sechs and Selphia. In front of her kneels Arthur, who is dutifully tending to the injuries sprawling up the length of Frey’s left leg. 

Despite the sun, she’s shivering quite thoroughly, though absently Frey wonders how much of that is the weather and how much of that is the blood loss… 

Either way, she’s grateful for where her lover had laid both his heavy cloak and his button-up coat around her shoulders, even if she’s worried about how he’s doing.

“The weather is helping coagulate the blood, at least,” Arthur murmurs, seemingly more to himself as his utmost attention is focused with clinical intensity on her leg. It isn’t a pretty sight, as dark red globs of crimson stain deep into the snow.

Thankfully, the princess isn’t too squeamish. It would be hard to be, after all the adventures and battles that her time in Selphia has taken her through, and all the (albeit, temporary) injuries she’s suffered in the meantime. 

Still, this injury is particularly… not great.

It’s far from the worst that she’s gotten, but the great gashes of bite marks ooze blood in severe amounts.

“I need to disinfect it before performing any healing magic,” Arthur explains, voice lacking any of the ease of conversation that it usually carries. He pulls out some cloth from his bag and a bottle of clear liquid. “Otherwise the healing may close the infection inside the wound, which would not be ideal.” 

“It’s good you came prepared,” Frey adds with a forced laugh, as her eyes trail from Arthur’s downcast face to his bag full of supplies.

He simply says, “Yes, it is,” before beginning to clean down her leg.

It hurts like absolute hells, of course, and the antiseptic that Arthur is applying adds to the overall pain. Regardless, Frey does her best not to wince or groan too much. She’s handled worse. 

And, well… She doesn’t want to draw too much attention to herself right now.

For the last few minutes as the hurried haze of battle wares off, and as Arthur had quickly ran to where she collapsed and started performing first aid, Frey has had the sneaking suspicion that the blonde might be mad at her.

Even through its sheen of focus, Arthur’s face is pinched with displeasure in a way that it rarely ever is. His shoulders are stiff (so much so that they’re not even really shivering despite Arthur being in his undershirt), and his voice is curt whenever he has to ask her to move a certain way, or brace her for the next step he’s about to do. 

She could attest all of these things to him simply focusing of course, as well as to being concerned, but even though Frey’s sure those are true, she’s convinced there’s something else too.

His face is less polite than his usual expressions almost always are; she wonders if it’s the cold environment, or maybe the adrenaline of a difficult battle leaving them both dazed, but Arthur almost seems more raw around the edges than normal. 

His composure, almost always polished to perfection, now looks frayed, like rope on the verge of snapping.

And Frey thinks it might be her fault.

“Listen, Arthur,” she says carefully, unable to stand the silence any longer. Silences with Arthur are supposed to be comforting, relieving, romantic. Not tense and horribly awkward like they are now. He doesn’t lift his eyes, but she knows he’s listening. “I’m sorry that today didn’t go all that well, but everything’s going to be—“ she has to fight back a hiss of pain as he cleans a particularly deep gash— “f-fine. I’ve had worse, and—”

His curtain of blonde hair is blocking most of his expression from Frey’s sight, but she can hear that lance of something in his voice hot and clear now as he snaps, “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” 

“I—” Frey’s eyes widen in shock. “What?” 

“Knowing that the person I love has been hurt even worse than this is meant to be a comfort to me?” His voice cracks like a whip, not particularly loud but wound tightly like he can barely keep it under control. His hands don’t pause in what they’re doing, but when Arthur looks up at her his crimson eyes flash with a mix of pain and anger.

Ah. Yup. She knew it. 

Somehow, the confirmation doesn’t make Frey feel better. It also doesn’t make Arthur’s anger go away.

Still, she finds that she can’t do much more than gape at the unusual shock of his outburst.    

“I would hope,” he continues, voice more controlled now but still tense and simmering, “that at the very least your other injuries weren’t for reasons as careless as this one.”

“‘Careless?’” Now it’s Frey’s turn to sound upset, her voice turning indignant. “I knew what I was doing, it’s not my fault that the wolves ambushed—”

“You were being foolish.”

“I was protecting you!”

For the first time since Frey’s known him, Arthur’s voice raises to a shout. “And you shouldn’t have!”

The sound rings out across the mountainous caverns of ice and rock. Immediately Frey and Arthur freeze, both turning their heads to take stock of their surroundings. Thankfully, the alcove of rock they found seems to still be well-hidden enough from the main road, and there also doesn’t seem to be much activity on the border anymore. That, of course, was why Frey had thought it would be fine to let Arthur tag along while she foraged for materials today, but…

In front of her Arthur sighs, drawing her attention back to him. 

His expression is pinched again, though this time more with regret than anything else. “I apologize.” His voice is still a little too stiffly formal, which Frey has always thought is one of the (admittedly few) tells that Arthur isn’t in a good mood. “I should not have raised my voice at you like that. And of course, I know you are not to blame for what happened today with the sudden monsters, but…” 

He lifts his head, and once again the raw emotion in his eyes shocks Frey to her core. This time, however, they’re flooded with pained concern. For the first time, she realizes that Arthur is trembling now, but she’s not sure if it’s the cold or something else. 

“Arthur…”

He casts his eyes down, focusing on her leg again. Having set the cloth and bottle aside, he spreads his palms wide and a green glow of magic dances beneath them. The relief is immediate, pain slowly starting to fade as magic aids Frey’s leg in stitching itself back together.

“If something were to happen to you—” Arthur cuts himself off as a tremor threatens to rise in his voice. He takes a deep breath, magic glowing stronger, and purses his lips. His voice is calmer when he starts again. “I loathe the idea of anything hurting you, in any capacity. If something awful were to happen, and even more so if it’s due to an effort to protect me then I… I don’t know if I could forgive myself.” 

Despite the fact that Arthur’s speaking almost at a whisper now, and despite the icy winds howling in the distance, Frey catches every word. 

She raises a hand to cup his cheek, and her heart aches at the way he leans into it. “Arthur… I feel the same way about you. And don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I want to get hurt, but… I just can’t help it. When I see you in danger like that, of course I’m going to throw myself in front of you.” Here her voice drops to the utmost sincerity. “I would do anything to protect you.”

Arthur finally smiles at that, as small and wry a thing as it is. “Of course, your selflessness is one of the things I love most about you, Frey. And yet… I can’t help but wish that sometimes you were a bit more selfish. At least when it comes to taking care of yourself.” A pause. A self-deprecating chuckle. “I do realize this sounds quite a bit hypocritical, coming from me.”

“Yeah, a bit.” A bubble of laughter passes through Frey’s lips, and her heart delights in how Arthur’s smile grows minutely.

With one last bright flash of green, Arthur’s magic goes out, leaving Frey’s leg almost completely healed. There’s still some scarring and scabbing here and there, but nothing that either Jones can’t fix or that she doesn’t already have somewhere else on her body. 

“How does that feel?” Arthur asks, sitting back. His face is pale from exertion, and there’s sweat pooling on his brow, but otherwise he looks much calmer than he did a few minutes ago.

Frey shifts her leg, trying to put some weight on her ankle at this angle to test it. “Pretty good! Let me see if I can…” she starts to stand, though Arthur is quicker to jump to his feet and offer his hand in assistance. “Thanks,” she says, with a fond smile and something of a blush, even at the smallness of the gesture.

Arthur’s cloak and coat fall off her shoulders, but she is able to stand and put weight on the leg with only a lingering weight behind it.

“Practically good as new,” she says, turning a bright smile on him as they both bend down to pick up his fallen clothes. “But if you don’t at least put your coat back on, you’re going to die of hypothermia before we make it back to Selphia Plains.”

A wry smile lightly touches Arthur’s lips. “Alright, but I insist you keep the cloak. If you don’t wear something over that dress in this cold then I might just die of worry first.”

They both laugh at that, picking up their bags and things, and as easily as ripples form in a lake their hands drift towards each other, fingers intertwining. 

“I apologize again for raising my voice like that,” Arthur says regretfully, as they start to make their way back the way they came. “I shouldn’t have added to your pain, when you are already injured.”

“I forgive you. And I’m sorry for worrying you like that. And…” She takes her bottom lip between her teeth, gnawing a bit at the cold, chapped skin. “I can’t promise it won’t happen again, but… I promise to try and be more careful.” She whirls on him, pointing a finger at his chest. “If you promise to, too!”

Arthur’s smile grows. He grabs the hand that’s pointing at him and raises it to his lips, pressing a cold but tender kiss against her knuckles. “I promise. I love you, Frey.”

“I love you too.”

[light-wynd]

Rambling About Menthe and Elphane

(Alternatively: My Exams Got Postponed But I'm Still In Too Much Pain to Draw, So Here I Am, Going On About My Favorite Melusines For Entirely Too Long)

Yeah. I think about these two in particular a lot, and just wanted to talk about... basically everything I could think of that I felt was worth mentioning regarding them (and a bit about Aeval too) to take my mind off of feeling like shit, along with a few general thoughts and speculations based on what we know about them.

Putting this under the cut, not because it's got story spoilers or anything (I don't think it does anyway), but because it's longer than anything I've posted before.

Does this qualify as a character analysis? Idk man I'm not a writer, I'm not confident enough to call it that.

Think I'll just begin with Menthe since I have the biggest soft spot for her - I honestly relate to her a lot more than I like to admit, and just... really want to give her a hug, she could probably use one. All we ever really see her do is stand there sighing to herself at Arouet's café, drinking tea and coffee just to keep herself awake. It's a stark contrast from how we see the other Melusines act, to say the least - not to mention how much trouble she seems to be having with adjusting to human society in comparison to them too. She's really bothered by how large everything in the city is (and that everything that is actually her size was made for young children). She's struggling with her job in the Gardiennage and thinking about finding a different one, even if there aren't a lot of options she's suited for when it comes to "human work". She even wishes her body was more humanoid like Sigewinne's if it could make these things any easier, and there's just something heartbreaking about that - not to mention her constant exhaustion. Yeah, poor thing's not doing great. The fact that she says she was initially very enthusiastic to integrate into human society makes it all even sadder - all these difficulties must have hit her particularly hard.

For this next point, I feel like I should include this screenshot from the café's message board (there's a couple more entries about her, but this is the most relevant one):

The thing about that is, all the other Melusines working for the Gardiennage must've encountered pretty similarly disturbing things just by the nature of the job, investigating crime scenes and all that - and yet only Menthe seems to be affected by it this deeply, judging by how cheerful the others act and how casually they talk about their work. This makes me think that she's either had some sort of traumatic experience that's unique to her (especially from the wording of "unfathomable darkness"), or that it all just gets to her more than the others for some reason. Either way, it would certainly explain why she'd like to change jobs - and I genuinely hope she manages to one day, for the sake of her well-being. Maybe she really will end up working in the infirmary together with Sigewinne despite her worries about the inmates not taking kindly to her, who knows. (Also I gotta say, when I first saw her "maybe I should just go underwater" line, I thought she meant she was thinking about giving up on human society and going back to Merusea Village - but of course she's talking about the infirmary in the Fortress of Meropide. Still, it does kind of sound like that is the last option she can think of when it comes to work she could do, which is a bit worrying in its own way.)

As for the adorably grumpy Elphane... can't really talk about her without bringing up Aeval too, they're a package deal after all. Most folks seem to assume that Aeval is the newer tour guide of the two, considering how enthusiastic she is, but funnily enough it's actually the opposite! (Probably just by a few days at most, but still.) It's easy to miss this since their aquabus dialogues seem pretty randomized and there's a lot of them, but these two both used to work for the Gardiennage as well - and apparently, Elphane was "the ace up the Marechaussee Phantom's sleeve", while Aeval on the other hand presumably didn't do so great (according to Talochard's quest, being assigned as a tour guide is what happens to a Melusine who's bad at being an investigator - and yeah, honestly I can see how that would be the case here). So first, Aeval got "promoted" to the aquabus (in her own words... guess nobody had the heart to tell her otherwise), which upset Elphane so much that she just quit her job - while on track to a high-paying promotion to the Opera Epiclese, mind you -, put on a new uniform and got on the aquabus with Aeval. Of course, they ultimately ended up assigned to separate lines, but at least they're colleagues again. It's pretty clear that Elphane isn't enjoying this job whatsoever, but she keeps doing it anyway for Aeval, and is still fairly skilled at it in her own way.

So yeah, Elphane is actually incredibly sweet and caring... when it comes to Aeval anyway. Hell, she even recommends that you visit Aeval's line at any chance she gets - whether it's for better commentary, a friendlier guide or just a more photo-ready aquabus, she directs you there. She genuinely seems to look up to her, and maybe even wishes she could do a better job as a guide like her deep down. Something that could point to this is that she gets very flustered by compliments, which might indicate that - unlike Aeval - she doesn't get a lot of positive feedback, so she's not quite sure how to handle it. Aeval looks up to her quite a lot too, and they seem to do pretty much everything together when they're off work (including shopping for cute clothes, which Elphane vehemently denies her interest in, ahahah) - I'm not sure what their relationship is, they just refer to each other as colleagues and Elphane being Aeval's senior, but they're clearly very close and it's absolutely precious. This is even reflected in their designs: they both have a very similar pink-blue color scheme too, just with Elphane being predominantly pink with blue accents and Aeval being the other way around - their uniforms included - and even their eyes are complementary colors to each other. Really cute way to show both their connection while also highlighting their personalities being pretty much opposites.

One last thing I want to point out is that both Menthe and Elphane struggle with their jobs in their own way, and seem to be among the few Melusines to really do so to this extent in the current time - but probably the biggest difference is that while Elphane doesn't show all that much enthusiasm or effort towards her work, it's kind of implied that Menthe on the other hand is overworking herself, judging by Arouet's comments on her constant mental and physical exhaustion. Of course, it could also be that she just has no energy because of how depressed she is - but in any case, she's doing her best to keep it together and power through it despite everything.

Aaand that would be all for... whatever this was. If even a single soul has actually read this whole thing, thank you so much, that alone makes having posted this feel worth it! And if anyone wants to talk Melusines, I'd be more than happy to ^^

[sincerely-sofie]

Check-in for October 24, 2023

I'm planning on doing regular check-ins that peeps can read or skip as much as they please. If you want to see behind the scenes of my projects or get to know me a bit better, feel free to peek below the cut! If not, just look at this color palette I made for my web dev class and admire it:

I know green and pink are my favorite colors, so I may be just a tad biased, but look!!! Look at how pretty it is!!!

I plan to use the palette for a website that is basically a guided tour of a fictional town that's populated by bug people, and while the colors used in the initial character sketches are still my preference, I don't think they look too bad in this proof of concept image! They definitely need some tweaking, and some details in the art itself need correcting, but all around it's not too shabby :>

I also made the logo for the website which, while uninspired, doesn't look that bad. I'm not in a logo design course, so I can't be too upset about that. I made two versions--- a light and dark one--- so that I could have it appear on most colors of background.

Also, I've printed off tons of art and stuck it on my walls over the past few days to inspire me. The art wall has been very successful in beautifying my space, but I've been a bit too worn out to draw much other than the start of a project where I draw individual generations of pokemon by memory. Venusaur looks exactly like I remembered it, but also nothing like that at all. Charizard's line only looks halfway decent by virtue of Twig existing.

I must say, though, that I am charmed by these drawings' doofy lil grins. Just look at Bulbasaur. He is raring to go! Charmander is ready to shake your hand! Look at these lads!!

I've been trying to learn Clip Studio Paint by drawing a new The Present is a Gift comic in it, but I cannot begin to explain to you all how intimidating of a program it is for me. I'm a Procreate gal, y'all. I have a conniption whenever I look at the Photoshop interface. When I look at this:

I am desperate for the cozy white space of this:

I spent over an hour struggling to draw a simple piece for Instagram, admittedly while desperately trying to get OBS to not give out on me while I recorded my screen, but I think that I'm slowly learning how to not faint whenever the Paint window boots up.

Anyhoo--- enjoy the WIP teaser for the upcoming comic featuring a chat between Dusknoir (piloting a KO'd Twig) and Darkrai amidst a cave-in. If I am found dead, know that said comic worked alongside Clip Studio Paint to kill me.

As an update for The Present is a Gift in terms of the fanfic, I recently broke 6,000 words for the first draft. I haven't been writing too regularly--- when I do, it's usually to just sit down for 30 minutes max to try and get a little bit of a head start on NaNoWriMo coming up--- but whenever I do, the words come in batches of 400-700+ at a time. My dudes, I used to take a week to reach the lower end of that amount. I've been beating perfectionism back with a stick while sobbing "Quantity begets quality! Quantity begets quality!", but since I've set myself a challenge to write as many garbage words as possible without editing them until the first draft is done, I've been writing--- and enjoying the process of writing--- more than I have in my entire life.

I've been trying to win NaNoWriMo, a challenge where you write 50k words in November, for the last 7 years. I resigned myself to being a NaNo rebel and trying to write just 15k words next month. But if I keep cranking out 1,500 words in under two writing sprints per day--- without properly trying to eliminate distractions--- I think I could actually win for once??? I didn't think Pokemon Mystery Dungeon fanfiction would be what gave me a fighting chance at winning NaNoWriMo, but here I am. PMD brainrot truly is a miraculous thing, but I'll have to see exactly miraculous it is on the 1st of November.

So... yep! I probably should have figured out a way to sign off on check-in posts before deciding to publish this. Oops. Welp. Um. Thanks for reading?

Sincerely, Sofie

[sweet-beezus]

I was excited to start working on this prompt for @khoc-week as soon as the prompts dropped, specifically due to an AU RP group called Army of the Roses (started by @/pig-warship, sorry boo didn't want to ping you to death-) I've been involved in since 2019!!

To all my homies that are/were involved I love y'all this fun ditty is dedicated to you!! :)

If you've seen a bunch of my art in the Kingdom Hearts OC tags as of late, about 99% of it tends to be tagged with the name of the group, as to me it is like a brain eating amoeba that's Iliana (And Penna and Mando-) shaped (affectionate).

But before I delve too deep, let's get into the prompt!

Day 4 - Alternative Universes

I'm not gonna go too far into the lore of the AU because we'd be here all day, but I'll give a sprinkling for context!

The AU takes place hundreds of years after the events of Kingdom Hearts in a time where names like Sora and Xehanort have mostly been forgotten, but the events are still at least remembered to some degree. Places best known as hubs have also long since been abandoned and forgotten, turned to rubble under the weight of centuries of dwindling population. Traverse Town, even, is no longer the temporary sanctuary it once was.

Sora's Power of Waking kinda screwed up some fabric of reality stuff to the point where it opened a rift between universes, so there's a new (not very new by this point, anyway, unless you're a native to universe Alpha with no interaction beyond your world) universe with all sorts of places to explore!!

It's in this new universe where most of Iliana's character development is taking place, so buckle in for that.

Iliana's journey into the unknown follows the exact same story beats as her canon-compliant timeline, however she doesn't make ties with any canon characters this go around (because they're all long dead), so she mostly has to face the current state of affairs alone... ish.

Traverse Town is pretty much a ghost town at this point, with her uncle Russell being one of the very few remaining there, so her stay this time around feels a bit isolated. She starts off being a bit more closed off than she already was, which definitely will not have wonderful development later, no siree!

Her spontaneous journey to find her home is the same, but her chase through space ends a bit differently. Igni's Heartless (we didn't know it was her Heartless yet, well "we" being everyone but me) murks her in Traverse Town this time, her uncle manages to fight the beast off by himself, unfortunately paying witness to his niece's demise at the same time (sorry king), and instead of becoming Reixen she actually has her own Nobody named Anilxia, which I will explain why in due time.

[Reusing older doodles because I ran out of steam-]

Anilxia was a grimy, very hostile shadow of her former self, fevered by rage, spite, and insomnia. She was almost a danger to Russell, yet he still treated her with tolerant kindness and respect. Like a rehomed, antisocial feral cat.

Frankly, to him this was much better than having her dead and gone like the rest of his family seemed to be, she was their last hope essentially. He had no idea what to do without her, really. So he started working behind the scenes to figure out how to get her back, while making sure to keep her close and in check. Did he go so far as to ground her from going anywhere without him? Absolutely. You can't trust a moody Nobody-

She stayed for (less than?) a year with Russell in this form, in the meantime piecing things together she had noticed were super suspicious about the few memories she was regaining. It all festered into tons of internal darkness that was feeding her own Heartless, which she eventually found skulking around town wherever she went.

Knowing she might be met with some end soon, and in a desperate attempt to preserve what she found out before it could be taken from her again, she wrote her notes down in a... weirdly magical journal, then persued her Heartless through a rift that led them both to the other universe where she recompleted herself... and immediately got hit by a city bus- Jk jk... unless?

She was taken in briefly by a kind stranger who~ I think I wrote to be this universe's reborn Alto! In an AU-canon-compliant diary, anyway- Then she, not knowing how to get back home from here, and with nothing but the clothes on her back and a few weird misc. items, decided to stay in this new city until she could find her own answers to things that were plaguing her. Memories she couldn't, well, remember and all that.

Her only company for a month was Iris and Irene, who in this timeline were... suspiciously much more hostile, and absent at times. She assumed the memory wipe was affecting them as well, so she thought her best bet was to pick up the pace on her personal research both into her world and her memories. She had to juggle some awful jobs at the same time, so suffice to say she was having an awful time.

An answer came to her in the form of a flyer for a mercenary group named, you guessed it, the Army of the Roses, so she packed up her awful little apartment, sold her lease for pretty cheap, and moved to their home base! With some surprising encouragement from Iris and Irene as well, hmm...

In the jump between universes, and probably even before that with her death, she lost her ability to use her Keyblade. That didn't stop it from reforming as a clunky scythe, however, so no need to worry about that... Wait, it's not her Keyblade why is this thing orange and feathery- She picked up using it pretty well, so what harm does a little cosmetic aesthetic change do?

She seemed to fit in perfectly with all the wackos (affectionate) that live there, however...

She started off as a total shut-in, stayed in her room most of the time, barely spoke to the team unless she almost got caught speaking to Iris and Irene or had to actively contribute to missions, lurked in the kitchen at night to avoid interacting... But eventually after a few months of being there she came out of her shell enough to disclose her ongoing problem with her missing home world to one of the leaders.

Of course, that was a backburner issue. They were dealing with bigger things at the time, so one measly personal problem could wait, right?

At one point, that same leader took her and (her new lil bro) another teammate to search for clues, turning up with at least something. She was just having trouble putting it together, like someone didn't want her to figure it all out... Days of almost getting there but coming up short with her memory out of wack did a number on her confidence, so to her dismay she still needed extra help.

With the, some reluctant some voluntary, assitance of the leaders, they managed to, after some harsh poking, confront the now revealed main concern, Igni, and found the leads they needed to bring it back from the brink of disappearance. (The leads were boobytrapped, obvi, if they weren't then it'd be too easy-) From here on, though, Iris and Irene fall suspiciously silent.

Now, I had the absolute pleasure to be at the forefront of Iliana's Character Chapter, a special event where she could (almost) wrap up her character arc and I could make everyone cry! :)

I mentioned it a bit in my KHOC Week posts about Igni in 2021, as it was in progress at the time when I was making them! I thought it would add some nice flavor to her posts and add context for my reasons to talk about her, but it was all very vague so I wouldn't spoil much about the CC itself, so it may have been a... rough read-

We've long since moved on from it as a whole, but it was really fun to host and is forever one of my favorite things I've ever gotten to contribute!!

So, contrary to the canon-compliant timeline where I'm quite a ways away from ever reaching the grand end of her personal story, here we finally got to experience it in motion, but... good golly gee my pals really bent it beyond repair, thank goodness I am pretty decent at improv-

To summarize: They sure did find the Hills of Progress! Y'know the journal I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it was sealed in that.

Along the way they met some interesting faces, relived some horrendous relationships, immediately adopted a very good frog obsessed boy, and backhanded a twink who deserved it (my favorite part tbh). Things happened early and in the strangest ways possible, someone almost died (3 different people at 3 different times, it was a mess) and one nose was broken (Iliana got punched super hard at supersonic speeds so Igni would get out of the driver's seat, my 2nd fav part tbh).

But the important turning point (aside from a hug and a later interaction before Igni got Galeem'd 2: Electric Boogaloo) I wanted to talk about was when they crossed the threshold into Iliana's heart. They were there specifically to confront Igni and hopefully remove her permanently, but she was making it virtually impossible to find her. She's annoying like that.

They turned to their next best bet: Iliana's "heart parasites," Iris and Irene. They hoped the two would be more than helpful in finding Igni, but to their dismay... they were not. In fact, they refused and stalled for time, arguing with the leaders and outing themselves for what they really were in what was probably the most heart wrenching betrayal the whole CC...

♡♡♡

"They never existed."

"We're just figments of an active imagination here only to mentor where one couldn't succeed on her own."

-

"Igni made us simply to keep an eye on her, making us as real as possible only kept up the illusion she wasn't alone."

"If our purpose was to protect her, perhaps we would have done more to be kind, perhaps even try to defend her."

"But that was never our purpose, so it never happened."

♡♡♡

In turn both of them raised their weapons to [leader], defective copies of a Keyblade long forgotten.

[Quotes taken directly from the event! I went hard on that ngl-]

♡♡♡

They were never real to begin with, just illusions made up by Igni to keep tabs on and steer Iliana in the right direction. Visages she stole from the lifetimes she lived, people that did exist but don't anymore. Mere façades of what she thought a lonely child needed like the countless others she observed before, instead turned to a reminder that she can and will be disposed of eventually, to keep her in line.

Her whole life was revealed to be a lie right then and there, and that crack in her heart is gonna be very hard to repair. Time may not be able to heal all wounds on this one. Her trust? Shattered.

It also charted her course way differently, and with them being fake she was 100% herself when her Nobody stepped into the limited limelight. She was, in fact, truly alone the whole time. Well... Aside from Igni, but she doesn't count.

You can imagine Igni's defeat was bittersweet that day, she ticked off one too many people so it was time to get rid of her for good. She became Igni goo and was Baja/Biden/Flavor blasted to kingdom come, it was GREAT!!! Finally, a deserved win, since they had gone through so much in a span of two days, it was a relief!

Iliana's memories of Iris and Irene in this timeline are forever soiled, and because of it her already existing trust issues are much worse, but (to her dismay) her new found family is there to help work her through it!

The other downside is that she's got some guilt to work through, as well as her personal family problems and her now worsened Igni Disease™ (it has a name, I just think calling it that is funnier-).

And of course her being her you can try to pry these issues out of her and into the open, it may just take a crowbar and a lot of elbow grease. Or a bribe... or perhaps just a moment of vulnerability, of which she has few... Or her brother disclosing her personal life for the nth time. Either way, I wish you luck-

On the bright side of this whole mess, she has her Keyblade back in a more ethical way thanks to her new dad/big bro figure so HA, suck on that Igni-

Ahem.

Anyway-

The Keyblade part is not really a win in her eyes, but perhaps she'll warm up more to the idea when her self esteem repairs itself.

Not gonna lie, that self doubt of hers is strong enough to be a source of weird funky happenings...

But that's a thought for later!

What is a win is that she has her lil' bro back!!! And while she doesn't make it obvious, she has never been happier about an outcome in her entire life, that entire nightmare was WORTH IT-

Now she gets to teach him the magic of self defense, and the two can journey together just like she had promised him forever ago.

And with that~!

This was a long one! If you made it this far, you have earned my gratitude and a dash more of my respect!

I have a lot of passion and love stored in this AU and the people I collaborate with, especially the admins, so it only felt right to go on about it to great length! It's very fun to participate in, so you can see why my brainworms are specifically tailored to this.

Again, thank you to my buds in the server for the amazing opportunity to make this nightmare happen, and allowing me to have something to backread when I want to relive probably one of my favorite things I've gotten to host!! We all hate Igni in this house, yet her ghost still haunts us to this day... In one way or another-

Anyway, I hope y'all had fun!! I'll see y'all again for Day 5!!

[titanicfreija]

"Look--OH!"

The few guardians on the platform looked up to see Nimbus rolling gracefully to their feet and racing over to a figure lying on the ground--with their sky board sticking out of his back.

The guardians, at first, disregarded the scene but Nimbus cried out in distress. The guardian's ghost 'matted into view. "It's fine," it promised. "He did the same thing on a fence in the EDZ yesterday-- this is much easier to clean up."

Nimbus tried to dislodge the board from the guardian's back, biting their lips and trying to shrink into their shoulders. "I didn't mean to."

Two of the witnesses trotted over to guide Nimbus away from the mess and let them sit down. The ghost hummed as it lifted the guardian and the sky board from the ground, placed the Titan on his feet, and let the board land gently nearby.

The guardian woke up with a start, planting his feet and swiveling his head wildly. A nearby Hunter laughed at him and pointed indicatively at Nimbus. The awakened guardian followed her finger, then looked back and cocked his head, pointing at them quizzically. The third pointed at the board on the ground. The guardian rocked back with realization and ran over.

Poor Nimbus patted his back without looking, then leapt to their feet and picked the Titan up by the armpits to examine for injury. "I'm so sorry!" They cried, and they put the guardian down to brush him off. "I didn't mean to hit you!"

The guardian let his helmet down, revealing a dark brown human in black face paint, still laughing. "I've had worse! Took me right out, it normally takes more than that!"

If Nimbus heard, it didn't help. "I'm so sorry! You guys are usually pretty good about watching out, and I guess I wasn't paying enough attention to the right part of my landing--"

The Hunter, an Awoken woman with black hair, took her helmet off to tuck under an arm. "Seriously, if Xavier goes a month without getting impaled, we start taking bets on how long it'll last."

The Warlocks next to them nodded fervently.

Nimbus sat heavily amongst the fireteam, gray and gaunt. "I'm glad it's okay," they said uneasily, "but I really don't want to do that again."

"Good luck," remarked the Hunter with a smirk. One of the still-helmeted, a warlock, went the platform where Nimbus usually dropped in, and used a flaming dagger to singe an oblong ring on the ground. The Warlock's ghost said, "It's your usual landing spot, the circle is to let us know to stay clear. And it's still our faults if we wind up hurt near it. Too many people need to learn their radar awareness."

The Hunter and Xavier laughed, but Nimbus only stretched their neck to see before they curled back up.

Xavier rubbed Nimbus's back kindly. "Wanna go for a patrol with me or something? No hard feelings, I know it was an accident. Our sixth fireteammate kills me on purpose a lot, you're still not even the worst friendly fire incident I've been victim to in the last year." Nimbus's bottom lip trembled as they looked up at Xavier, and the Titan tried not to laugh. "It's really not a big deal."

"To you," they replied wetly, putting their arms over their head. "I've never killed anyone on accident before." They heaved a shuddering sigh but sounded steady when they said, "I'll be okay."

"Aw, don't be like that. We're sorry, that probably was pretty freaky to you." The Hunter sat next to Nimbus, then stood back up to put an arm over their shoulder.

"You're sorry," Nimbus echoed with a wry smirk. "You're sorry I killed your friend." They didn't see the Hunter aggressively gesturing at Xavier to comfort them.

"Eh, sorry we're not taking you seriously because it's not serious to us, but we should," she explained. "That was rough."

~~

Not great but that picture inspired

[cosmicjellies]

no one cares but here is another long and disorganised dark shadows update from my serializd:

finished the werewolf + quentin's ghost storylines! what a nice round number to finish on for now.

keep being tricked into watching more- i remember when i first started this show it was primarily for Vampire Research so i wasn't sure i'd watch beyond that, then i continued with adam, then i thought "oh ill keep going until 700 maybe ill finally know who quentin is". except it turns out i do not actually know who quentin is and have not even heard him speak yet. so i HAVE to continue ig. was looking thru the storylines again thinking ok i think ill slowly keep going until i finish the leviathans, i'm not that interested in the parallel universes. but who knows maybe by the time i get there i'll be compelled to continue.

anyway back to these storylines: it took me forever to realise they were doing "the turn of the screw" with david and amy so i might be stupid. i love that book and i love the idea of it here too, but was not that into the execution. for one there was just too much going on at the same time so i couldn't concentrate, and it didn't spend enough time on it to patiently develop it like i think it needed to. also, so much of the story so obviously reflects child (sexual) abuse and they were obviously not actually interested in exploring that, so i found that kind of jarring. i liked when david tried to kill roger, pretty iconic.

werewolf story also did not always work for me, mostly bc i don't really care about chris. introducing new characters has worked well for them in the past, it obviously worked extremely well with barnabas, but there comes a point where i wish they would stop bringing in new people and focus on the ones we already have. after carolyn was attacked/scratched i did think for a second she would be a werewolf (too unfeminine for the 60s?), and i did wish she or someone else in the family was- i already care about them! i don't care about chris! (i also remember she was a werewolf in the bad tim burton movie but we won't speak about that). suddenly including that chris and sabrina flashback in one of the most recent episodes was very weird to me- have we ever had a flashback like that before? have we ever left collinsport? it feels like they are breaking their own rules and in a bad way.

for both stories i do not understand how we are kind of done with them. i get that barnabas is searching the past for answers connected to both stories but i still feel like we are very abruptly switching gears, when both of those stories needed more time to develop. how are we going to spend 200 episodes in the past, then come back and deal with the leviathans, and somehow resolve those things along the way?? i am guessing we will not.

miscellaneous thoughts not really connected to any of this:

-found it kind of hilarious how elizabeth KEPT "dying"- it happened like three times. she also had explained exactly how it was going to happen and yet each time everyone was surprised. this storyline was not always comedic to me- at times i emphasised with her- but like come on. and this is not new but julia is such a terrible doctor; she examines elizabeth after she has been buried for a few weeks and is like no she is definitely dead case closed- no mention of the fact she has not decayed at all in all that time? love this about her tho i think it is cool that women can be terrible doctors too <3.

-at one point there was a scene in which barnabas and maggie were very casually interacting and i suddenly remembered all of the kidnapping and torture- god!! maggie!! barnabas did all of that to her and remembers all of it and just carries on with his life!! and she does not remember any of it!! going insane.

-i only just realised tony peterson's last ever episode was 578 and i will never see him again :(( hot communist lawyer accusing the collinses (correctly) of all being incestuous i miss you.

-every time it is revealed they own yet another piece of property or have yet another wing of the house they don't use i scream how big is it how many houses do they own!! they all deserve to be this haunted.

anyway i am EITHER watching episodes 1-209 next or watching the 90s remake, i will do both before 700+ but i haven't decided the order. thoughts?

[the-acid-pear]

My dream tonight was fucking insane. I'll just write bullet points.

First off all the baki anime was getting rebooted so this time they'd fucking made Baki a furry. Not as in he was anthro, no, he had to put on a fucking suit (it was a cute big cat :) ) and i was so maaad about this change because the old outfit was iconic enough and this was being made to appeal to a larger audience or something.

Also i think they killed off Jack Hanma or something i was mad about that too

Next thing i remember I was outside, in some hike. I always dream about being outside.

I don't remember shit i did except for the fact when i was tired i decided to lay down in the middle of the fucking field for no reason and i threw a pillow and a blanket and it was a wide thick blanket this magenta color, close to this one,and i laid down i started seeing in the horizon with the clouds all going down one was coming over which very clearly brought rain and i knew rain at night while i sleep on the grassy ground was like a death sentence but i just didn't feel like moving to the house a few blocks by where other people lived because i'd fumbled it pretty hard before.

My death wish wasn't granted however because one woman and some maybe male pal of hers came over. She was blonde and had an eyepatch. I pretended to be fast asleep so she wouldnt try to move me. She didn't, instead, she covered myself with a plastic wrap (head to toe btw i got scared for a second about it but decided to just trust her y'know?)

Lady said i looked cute and retold a story about one time i helped her, something related to her eye prob. I think her name was "one-eyed Jackie" btw. Also, i didnt feel like an adult in this dream, i felt like a kid, put a pin on that.

Now cozy and safe i decided to quote a poem from memory to sleep a poem which does not exist and of which i dont remember enough to write it down but the main theme was about holding on against the unstoppable crushing pressure and this was all illustrated on a comic in a dark pool where the character (fucking PG btw idk how he didnt short circuit also im really normal yes thanks for asking) started floating but then there was no water and he was just gripping the edge to not fall and he never did but the poem ended with the repetition about gripping on. It was a somber one but bc my loving nature i just wanted to save him tm and i kept (no pun intended with that last one) thinking of two people walking across different landscapes like a documentary montage. It was nice.

Unfortunately i was almost ran the fuck over while i was trying to dream in peace.

I jumped to the side and avoided the truck but my devices were there and i told to Jackie "My phone is there :( " and she was like no they retrieved it now stop worrying about that are you ok?!

I think it was then when it fully transformed into a movie, or perhaps the earlier scene with Jackie was, either way, i am now no longer me and im instead L.L.

And for dear life I'd not explain to you what happened in this movie although i think they mentioned Sam Raimi made it? It did have some horror things like uh, a fucking werewolf. Like out of our pals, he was just a werewolf and he'd transform each part whenever he wanted. It was nuts, hilarious too.

There was a big bad and his team too at one point they set our little clown shack (bc it was the size of a letrine yet like 8 people were inside it) on fire.

The ending was nutty too actually papyrus fucking died i just remembered. There was this giant freezing mechanism and he (who btw didnt look like paps he was naked his head was very rectangular and cartoony and bigger than his arms, also he was my height) was like "i'll just wait for them to come back to talk this out! :) and i was like PAPYRUS NO! but then it was too late he was head to toe frozen with a smile still on his face....... tried to whipe the moisture from his face maybe w some heat we'd save him but a girl in my team just was like cmon we need to go so i had to leave him.

And then we faced the big bad who was literally just some guy who kinda looked like uh. Hang on. Well i cant find his name but the guy from bg3 who looks like a fucking clown and people love to hate or something. Except w longer crazier hair. And he did fucking kil my epic werewolf bestie but we managed to get rid of him locking him up Somewhere i guess for him to die.

and then we were all coming back from the intensity of it all and the girl from before is like "you gotta admit, that was the best terrible movie ever" and i didnt dare to say i actually loved it

also i forgot if i mentioned this but this movie had a fandom and fanart and somoene had drawn my wolfy pal (who my brain keeps insisting on calling trevor but im pretty sure that's an unrelated werewolf. Also this guy i remembered his looks, his fur was grey and black but he was pale and blonde w short hair sticking up, like, platinum blonde) like "yeah im a werewolf despite that never being explained ¯\_(ツ)_/¯" which is why when it happened i didnt question it, ironically.

anyway i think i brought up the poem and this is when you take off that pin because now one of my childhood friends from primary school (or a representation of her) started talking about how she wrote a following poem or maybe i was talking about a different one idk but she talked about how it opened doors in her life and she annoyed me so i went to sit somehwere else.

And i remember this scene where someone went to sleep so we were told to be silent and a friend was looking thru my drawings adn they were all things i never drew of characters that dont exist and it had this tangible mischevious energy like we were two kids trying to not laugh annoying each other who might get in trouble.

Then i finally sat down in a corner with a friend, could have been my childhood friend (only one i still talk to who's male) or my platonic partner (eye, if you're reading this, hi! ^_^) and we just started talking about friendship, with him mentioning i'd go talk to the rest in the main table instead of lingering here alone but i conter argued i'd eventually do it, it'd just take me a long time. After all, it did take me quite a bit to get close to him, did it not? this was fine.

I woke up so groggy i wouldnt have been able to tell you my own name if you asked me but that whole thing just felt like, such a peaceful story. So fun ! Sad i couldnt save the wolf but you cant save everyone out there tbh