#and then I saw their fucking formatting style and tags

[seethesin]

rotaries and roses

pairing: Tattoo Artist!Corky x Florist!F!Reader

tags/warnings: modern au, tattoo artist/florist trope, first time tattoos, suggestive themes, cursing, teasing

a/n: requested by anonymous here. this was my biggest challenge yet because... this is smut free and i don't have tattoos 😭 i hope you guys don't mind how many liberties i took with this! as there are no gif hunts of gina as corky, this will have a gifless format. enjoy! 🥰

You found yourself at Corky's by the recommendation of a close friend. Every time you mentioned your desire for a tattoo, they would practically beg you to give the tattoo shop a chance before pulling up their Instagram page. The first thing you noticed was the address. The tattoo shop was on the same street as your flower shop; how you hadn't noticed it sooner was beyond you.

Your friend was right. You needed to take your ass over there. And now, there was no excuse not to.

Out of all the artists featured, the owner, Corky, had your favorite designs. Her Neo-Traditional style blew you away, and it was the post featuring a canvas with an array of roses that sealed the deal. They had always been your favorite flower, regardless of the stereotypical label they held. Every bouquet of roses that leaves your shop always receives your special attention. They never fail to bring a smile to your face, regardless of the color, quantity, or occasion. To have them on your body felt right to you and you wanted them in Corky's signature style.

You spent the rest of that evening mulling over what you wanted. It took you a few more days, but finally, you came to a decision. You wanted a ram surrounded by Corky's roses. A ribbon would wind around the portrait of the ram with the phrase: My will is sturdy inscribed on it. The design was perfect and you knew Corky would do your vision justice.

Your consultation was the first time you meant Corky outside of emailing her. A studded leather jacket was haphazardly thrown over her white tank top. You couldn't tell what brand of jeans she wore, but they did wonders for her legs. Her steel-toed boots clicked on the hardwood floor as she came to greet you. You accepted her offered hand into a shake and couldn't stop yourself from memorizing the callouses on her palm within those few, fleeting seconds. Her brown hair was perfectly unkempt and a permanent, knowing smirk was glued onto her face.

"I'm Corky."

She was hot. You were fucked.

After your initial greetings, she brought you to the back where her desk was so you both could work through your design. You found as many references as possible, including the same array of roses you saw on her shop's Instagram page. Corky chuckled fondly as she examined the canvas, lips quirking into a genuine smile.

"This is some of my older work," she mused as if she was warning you. Her gaze flickered through her lashes, brow quirked inquisitively at you.

"It's one of my favorites," you admit and Corky's smile only grows at your confession.

The close proximity allows you to catch onto her scent: fresh smoke and citrus. You want her to tattoo it into your lungs.

"Give me an hour and I'll have something nice for you. I'll call you when I'm finished."

One phone call later and you were back in her shop. Unsure of proper etiquette in the tattooing world, you had brought back coffee for both yourself and Corky. You needed a pick me up and it felt strange not to share with her. Shyly, you offered her a cup which she graciously accepted. Your guess of Corky taking her coffee black was right; you swallow a smile at the thought. She leads you back to her desk so she can present you her work.

It's overwhelming how beautiful Corky's art is. Everything about it is perfect and truly, you can't think of anything else to add, remove, or change. The roses woven through the ram's horns, the brilliant blue outline, and the delicate font she chose for the banner were small details you would have never considered on your own.

Your lack of a verbal response makes Corky laugh, leaning in closer.

"Stunned ya speechless, huh?" she teased and you can't help but laugh with her.

"It's gorgeous, Corky."

There's something on Corky's tongue as she pauses. Silently, you watch her shake whatever thought it was away before refocusing on you.

"Where do you want this?"

You pause to think.

"I think my thigh would be the best. I've read that it's one of the better places to get your first tattoo."

This information slaps a smile back on her face.

"You read right. That works for me."

Soon after, you discuss the rest of the housekeeping tasks regarding your tattoo. Once you put an initial deposit down, you decide on a date a month later. You bid Corky goodbye and return to your flower shop to close up for the night. Before you retire to bed, you start working on a custom rose bouquet for one of your clients.

The roses are beautifully crimson, just like the ones Corky drew for you.

"I'll be with ya in a moment!" A disembodied voice calls from the next room over at the sound of the doorbell. You nod—more to yourself—before shutting the door behind you.

A month blew by quicker than you anticipated. Tonight, you found yourself awkwardly stationed at the front door of Corky’s tattoo shop with a cup of coffee in each hand. On her recommendation, you came well-fed, hydrated, and with eight hours of sleep under your belt. You donned a loose, simple dress, figuring it would make Corky's job tonight easier.

What you didn't realize was that she booked you as her closer tonight. The shop was empty and immediately, you felt yourself sweating. Silently, you asked whatever higher powers existed to refrain from making you out into a fool tonight.

Shifting on your heels, you visibly brighten at the sound of Corky's boots thundering towards you. She appears from the backroom, grinning ear to ear as she walks towards you. She's clad in another plain white tank top and dark jeans, revealing the complex sleeves her leather jacket hid. The most notable tattoo is of a labrys on her upper arm.

"Hey stranger," she greets, raising her brows as you offer her a coffee cup. "You spoil me; thank you."

You don't miss the way her eyes drag down your frame.

Corky's fingers slide against yours as she takes the coffee from you. Her touch is electric and you hold back from shivering. If something so innocuous got to you, you don't know how you'll last tonight.

"My pleasure." You don't mean to sound so breathless, but you were currently recovering from her touch. Corky merely smiles and beckons you to follow her. You do so wordlessly, stepping up and over to her workstation.

She sifts through her desk before pulling out the stencil of your tattoo. Turning on her heel, she presents it to you and you nearly choke on your coffee.

It’s perfect.

Every detail from her initial artwork has been transcribed onto the stencil. You find yourself hypnotized as you lean in closer. It needs to be on your body now.

"Corky," you start and she laughs, gesturing for you to sit in the chair. You do so quickly, placing your belongings on an empty side table out of the way.

"Don't go worshipping me yet," she teases, easily picking up on the dreaminess laced in your voice.

She drags over a small, wheeled cart, completely set up for your session. You're unfamiliar with everything on it, but you watch carefully as she sets up her rotary machine. After checking to make sure you didn't have a latex allergy, Corky puts on a pair of black, single-use gloves.

"I still gotta tattoo it."

Pulling her stool over, her gloved hand goes to your thigh. The edge of her thumb grazes the hem of your dress and tenderly—so tenderly you might faint—she pushes the skirt up. You meet her in the middle, pulling it the rest of the way so it settles just over your hips. Cool air immediately rushes between your thighs and you've never felt more exposed. Corky guides your leg towards her and the thought of her face buried in your cunt flashes in your mind. Swiftly, you shake it away.

You allow her to position you as she sees fit while she preps your skin. Once satisfied, she presses the stencil to your skin to transfer the design. It takes all of your restraint to stay still and on the chair. How were you going to make it through a two hour session?

"Go check it out in the mirror." Corky points her thumb behind her and her voice sucks you back from your reverie.

Holding your dress skirt up, you walk to the wall mirror and examine the design. Turning to her, you hold a thumb up as she stares intensely at the exposed flesh. She hums in approval and you hurry back onto the chair. You get comfortable and again, Corky's hands are on your thigh. She's readjusting you and your teeth dig into the inside of your cheek to keep from moaning.

"Are you ready?"

You nod.

"Let's begin."

The first ten minutes are relatively quiet. The buzz of the rotary is the only thing distracting you from the dull pain in your thigh. Well, that and the fact that her other hand is gripping your thigh in a way that makes your head spin. Corky pipes up first over the noise.

"What do you do?"

You beam; you adore answering this question.

"I'm a florist!" You watch as Corky's brows raise in interest, her gaze intensely fixed on your leg as she works. "I actually own the flower shop just up the street."

The buzzing stops completely and her eyes are glued to your face, lips parted in surprise.

"You own Fern & Flora?"

You nod proudly, practically glowing from the recognition.

"No shit; one of my girls, Sue, is there every two weeks buying flowers for her girlfriend."

Corky's machine whirs back to life and the prickly pain on your thigh returns. You hum to yourself, going over a mental list of your regulars and who could fit the profile Corky described.

"She's always going on about how her girlfriend likes the—"

"Violets." You finish thoughtfully, unable to stop the genuine smile growing across your face. "Margaret's favorite flowers are violets and Sue never lets me forget it."

You watch the way Corky's face softens as you speak. Her thumb presses against your inner thigh and your breath hitches quietly in your throat.

"What's your favorite flower?"

Staring down at her in disbelief, a chuckle pushes from your throat. You gesture to the tattoo she was currently working on, hoping to highlight the array of roses she was getting ready to outline.

"Do you even have to ask?"

Corky's shoulders raise into a shrug, glancing up at you quickly before refocusing on your thigh.

"Hey, forgive me for making small talk." The smile in her voice is evident and you find yourself grinning along with her.

"What's your favorite flower?" You toss the question back to Corky, ready to take her answer and brand it into the back of your mind.

She takes a moment to think about your question. If it wasn't obvious already, you could tell that this was something Corky hadn't previously thought about.

"I think I'm going to have to swing by your shop at some point to answer that question."

You can't help but blush. Was she flirting with you?

"I'd like that," you admit, fiddling with your fingernails.

Corky doesn't respond, instead reabsorbing herself back into her work. But a sly smirk plays on her lips and you have to stare up at the ceiling to keep your thoughts at bay.

"I think you'd like cornflowers." You finally state after a minute of silence. The cool colors and perky petals reminded you of Corky's persona. The bouquets that you crafted with them were some of your favorites so far.

"I think I'd like anything you recommend."

Okay, she's definitely flirting with you. Brazenly, you reply with: "Then I recommend you visit me sooner rather than later."

"Oh yeah?" There's a teasing edge in Corky's voice and you feel the warmth rise to your cheeks. Her voice drops an octave lower and you've completely disregarded the pain in your thigh. "And why's that?"

In that moment, you’ve forgotten everything about yourself. The only things you could comprehend were Corky’s hands groping your flesh and the irritating whizzing of the rotary. You suddenly feel hot and the idea of stripping your dress off grows more attractive with each passing second.

“I want to make a bouquet for you.” The sentence is rushed from your own nervousness, but you mean every word. “The sooner you stop by, the better of a selection I’ll still have for the season.”

Caught off guard, Corky sputters out a cough. However, she doesn’t stop working. The machine is still on as she finishes the outline of your tattoo without issue. You glance down curiously and witness her face flush crimson. A delighted giggle squeezes from your throat and you swear Corky blushes deeper than before.

“I’ll come by tomorrow.”

Your laughter is replaced with a kind smile. “Promise?”

She nods.

The rest of your session goes swiftly. Corky works like a machine: detailed, efficient, and insanely accurate. Your small talk comes and goes in waves, more so that she can focus on her work above all else. With a final wipe of her towel, your tattoo is finished two hours later. She grins eagerly before looking up at you.

"Wanna check it out?"

You don't miss a beat: "Uh, of course!"

You practically spring off the chair, stretching your legs as you scurry over to the mirror. The hem of your dress is still bawled in your fists as you stare at your thigh. You can hear Corky snickering at you while you fawn over her work.

"Holy shit..." You are awestruck and you turn to her, gaping before turning back to the mirror.

"It looks incredible," she agrees, discarding her gloves before pulling the rolling cart over to the side and out of the way. She goes to her workstation, pulls a few documents out, and scribbles something down as you continue to gape and stare at your new tattoo.

You return to Corky's workstation, gathering your belongings as you ready your wallet. She turns to face you again, handing you paperwork and guidance on how to maintain your new tattoo. You listen to her instructions carefully, unable to stop yourself from staring at her chapped lips every few moments.

"Do you have any questions?" You shake your head, averting your gaze to the papers she gave you. It essentially regurgitated what she said aloud, but you were thankful to have something written to refer to. Corky had also included her business card that you examined, noting the handwritten number just below her professional contact information.

"Actually, I do have a question," you start, not looking up from the papers in your hands. "Do you give all of your clients your personal number?"

Turning the documents to Corky, you point at the handwritten digits just below her work email. She flushes briefly before clearing her throat.

"Well no," she starts and a grin is already curling on your lips, watching as she gathers her thoughts. "But I figured it would make sense to give it to you. For tomorrow."

You hum thoughtfully, glancing over at her workstation before looking at her.

"Can I borrow that?" You gesture at a Sharpie marker on the side and she snatches it up before handing it to you.

"Give me your arm."

Corky stares at you, bewildered by your demand, but obediently offers her right arm to you. Your fingers clasp her wrist, outstretching it so that her fingertips just barely graze the top of your chest.

You miss the sharp inhale Corky takes.

Carefully, you jot your phone number down, making sure to avoid writing over the pinup girl tattoo facing you. Once finished, you push the cap back on and place the marker in her open palm.

"For tomorrow," you parrot, giddily watching the flustered look wash over Corky's face. She nods quickly, clutching the marker before stammering for you to follow her so she can take the rest of your payment. You trail behind her, already working out flower combinations in your mind for Corky's bouquet.

Out of all the ones you can think of, cornflowers and roses are the most fitting.

🦇 tag list: @crvptidsmain, @astroph1les, @uraesthete

[destieltropecollection]

Destiel Trope Collection 2024 | Day 18: Amnesia

and the skeletons in both our closets plotted hard to fuck this up | @cassiecasyl Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 2,704 Main Tags/Warnings: Memory Loss, Castiel in the Empty (Supernatural), Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair, Dean Winchester is a mess, Confusion, Dissociation, Dreams vs. Reality, Dean Winchester is Going Through It, Dean Winchester Has Issues, Hopeful Ending, Castiel reaching out to Dean, Dean Winchester Needs Castiel, Castiel Says "I Love You" (Supernatural), Angst, Hurt/Comfort Summary: The skeletons in Dean's closet are divine, but the hole inside his chest sheds feathers, and you know what they say about the thing with feathers.

three card stud | @autisticandroids Rating: Mature Word Count: 4,356 Main Tags/Warnings: Season Six, Script Format, Canon Remix, Pre-Slash, Experimental Style, Dark, Dean-Cas-Lisa Love Triangle, Infidelity Subtext, Mindwipe, Summary: A collection of script excerpts for a version of Season Six that goes a bit differently. Cas and Dean conspire. Lisa is oblivious, and they keep her that way. Dr. Freud always said nightmares were based on wishes, too.

After the Thunderstorm | @verobatto Rating: Explicit Word Count: 4,630 Main Tags/Warnings: Apocalypse AU, angel!Castiel, memory loss, hunter!Dean, enemies to lovers, falling in love, angel grace kink, top!Castiel/bottom!Dean Summary: Thunderstorms are weird in the Apocalyptic World. But they are known as dangerous and deadly. It's one of those nights, and the thunder brings a naked and beautiful man to the Human Resistance Camp. The man doesn't remember his past or who he is. Dean, the leader of the Resistance, will try to help him. They need all the help they can get against the heartless angels.

Remember When | @verobatto Rating: Explicit Word Count: 11,031 Main Tags/Warnings: Season 8, canon divergence, time travel, memory loss, case fic, slow burn Summary: Trying to find the demon tablet in the supernatural auction, Cas and Dean found Toth, an egypcian god of time. He sees the angel is being controlled by Naomi and decides to help him by putting him and Dean to a test. Sending them to England, Regency era. Or… how Dean has to deal with Emmanuel!Castiel, the angelic loss of memories and his wife Daphne again.

Map to Yesterday | @amaranthhiding Rating: Teen & Up Word Count: 23,003 Main Tags/Warnings: Canon Universe, Mass Amnesia on Team Free Will, Mystery, Magic, Road Trips, Angst, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Recovery of Identity, Angel Wings, Rowena Is Part of Team Free Will, DCRB 2022 Summary: Team Free Will wakes up with no memory of where they are, or who they are. Left with nothing but some foggy shreds of their identities, they have to rediscover themselves and each other—and team up to piece together what even happened.

Here We May Be Free | @friendofcarlotta Rating: Explicit Word Count: 39,506 Main Tags/Warnings: Alternate Canon, Mermaid Castiel, Hunter Dean Winchester, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Fluff and Angst, Canon-Typical Suicidal Ideation, Amnesia, Magic, Falling In Love, Misunderstandings, Top Castiel/Bottom Dean Winchester, Bottom Castiel/Top Dean Winchester, Top/Bottom Versatile Castiel/Dean Winchester, Creature Sex/Monsterfucking Summary: When Dean was eleven, he saw something in the ocean: a boy with blue eyes and iridescent scales. Almost twenty years later, a spontaneous detour after a hunt brings Dean and Sam back to the town where that encounter took place. And Dean can’t shake the feeling that Castiel, the owner of the local Mermaid Museum, looks familiar…

Unveil the Splendours of Your Heart | @thefandomsinhalor Rating: Mature Word Count: 68,868 Main Tags/Warnings: Modern AU, Homeless Dean, Famous Model Castiel, Memory Loss, Trauma, Assault, Hurt Dean, Fluff and Angst, Addict Sam, Protective Castiel, Cuddles, Pining Summary: When a reporter asks Dean, a homeless man with a mysterious past, why he exclusively keeps close to the billboards and posters of a specific male model—the one Dean likes to refer to as the angel with spectacular blue eyes—in a moment of weakness, thinking it won’t change anything about his situation, Dean tells him the truth: it’s how he finds comfort and solace. Something that is difficult to come by. That is until the story reaches the ears of Castiel Novak, the model in question.

Two Worlds Apart | @destiel-pirate-in-middleearth Rating: Mature Word Count: 70,329 Main Tags/Warnings: Amnesia au, Past Castiel/Dean Winchester, Starting Over, Amnesiac Dean Winchester, Falling In Love Again, Mutual Pining, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks, Nightmares, Dark fic, Meet cute. Summary: After being injured in a car accident and suffering memory loss, Dean spent the last five years attempting to put his life back together. The majority of his memories return, but something still remains missing—something he can't identify—that everyone is hiding from him, something that always remains unanswered. Dean’s past comes back to haunt him when he visits Sioux falls for a business meeting where he meets a stranger named Castiel. Something about the man seems strange and oddly familiar which makes Dean wonder if he knows him. But the guy always denies that. And that marks the beginning of a quest to solve the mystery of his past hidden in between those recurring dreams which becomes more vivid the more time he spends with Castiel which soon leads to a painful realisation and series of regrets.

[oatmealdaydreams]

The Sides Are Dorks, Part 389534

I was wondering why the Sanders Sides tag was trending earlier, and then I saw. the Video. Anyway, here's my thoughts while watching the new vid (in list format) bc I haven't done this in a while.

[it's gonna be LONG knowing me]

"I would never be caught dead in a bowtie" *cuts to when Janus literally wore a bowtie in canon*

"yeah and I deserve it" -> ha mood

"Wrong, I ate an entire bottle of melatonin gummies" -> Patton. Patton, no.

"I could switch to green tea, and I'll still be a bitch!" -> also mood

hey. hey why you do that. why would you say that. (aka: Roman is offended by the mustache comparison)

"Where is my ruler" -> PLEASE it'd be so fucking funny

Virgil really be like "WRONG! I use the tildas you faker" (/j) (/lh)

Patton starts listing off every appliance that has heat stuff and I cannot. I CANNOT--

^and then there's the fridge. what did Fridge ever do to you? where's the lorreee

"wholesome friendship" // "how many holes we talkin'" -> yeah that makes sense

"No, he's just not worth an attack" -> Logan sounds like he's thought about this before

Roman Unscrews Imaginary Lightbulb, reaction is a family-friendly version of "Listen here, you little shit"

"get him" -> Virgil hates that Anxiety so much

Emile Picani Joins the Ranks of Rat Man by Sleeping in the Buff. it's canon now.

"It's no one's business what bites me" -> Janus. Janus, the implications. Janus--

Patton reveals Logan's secret: Love for Donuts, feat. wiggly fingers

"Which is rude...because I am not young" -> also Sheldon is missing The Tie, which is essential for Serious Smart People (I guess)

Roman likes My Little Pony

"No, I didn't--" // "He did!" // "He definitely did." -> LMAO the Others confirming that Virgil had a meme phase

Ah yes: The Sponsor Section

Patton being like "some cookies are bad??" is funny to me lol

"--vaccuums" // "No" // "ignore that last one" -> goddamnit Patton (/pos)

"There sneaky people out there" *cuts to Janus*

Roman loves Barbie movies. Barbie Movie? whatever, he likes Barbie

"war against the evil cookies" // "wait--" -> haha. this is why I believe in Intruality so much

"I dropped another laptop in the toliet" -> another one?

conclusion: Patton and Remus are both accident-prone. an Intruality win. also they interacted for like, 2 seconds. another Intruality win

Sponsor Ends!

"ACTUALLY it was four times. bitch." (Sleep, basically)

okay but like. when the glasses are on the head, it's like they're invisible. I say as someone who loses their glasses, only to find them in stupidly obvious places. also mood

Virgil DEFINITELTY watched Patton do this for five minutes before he said anything

Roman is in love with his sword, Exhibit D

^(D is for--)

Logititties. that's all

Janus really said "wanna go, bitch?"

also: "I wouldn't be caught dead in a fish fight. I would poison you" -> ah, of course, a snake with style (/j)

"calculator is computer" // "that's technically correct, actually" -> where's the Logicality enjoyers when you need them

Roman Rage Quits at Roblox. also Insecurity

"bitch, I'm not that out there" -> this helps deduce the scale of What The Fuck Is Remus's Normal At

"True...or is it false?" -> he loves fucking with people, doesn't he?

"yeah" -> he sounds so resigned, nooo :(

Endcard Moment: Logan loves jelly-filled donuts

and that's it, folks! This was lovely. Silly gay personality traits.

[sciencelings-writes]

My tLoZ and LU Masterlist

UPDATED 11/19/2023

Of Dubious Sophistication: 6/? posted chapters, Wild meets the chain on a day when he has to act like an important person and decides to fuck with their initial misconceptions of him. Mostly formatted to give each of the Links to come to their own conclusions about Wild, a Compilation of oneshots with a vague overarching plot.

Another Second Chance: 2/? classic Wild gets pulled into the AOC timeline and is tasked to help prevent the calamity. But he looks different enough from his counterpart that he doesn’t reveal his true identity. He accidentally parallels Astor in the whole mysterious sorcerer/ seer vibes as he both knows the future and popped out of nowhere in a dramatic cape and ancient technology. Lots of interaction between Wild and the champions and there is both angst and hijinks. There’s also stuff about the new champions as most of it follows the plot of AOC. Also Wolfie is there because I thought it would be funny for him to bop around the baby egg guardian.

The Silence of the Knight: BOTW pre-calamity fic that’s mostly an introspective fic about why Link went silent and how everyone around him reacts to his lack of outward emotions. I just saw the concept of people seeing him as not quite human because of his refusal to show any emotions and wanting to catch a glimpse of how/ if he reacts when tragedy strikes, just to see if he has the ability to feel anything at all.

Heavy in Your Arms: Wild hated getting his memories back. They could be triggered by seemingly anything, they forced the entire group to stop or have someone stay with him until he got over it, which mostly ended up being Twilight, and he tended to end up feeling terrible. Even the good ones were bittersweet, when he saw glimpses of a family that was long gone or a fleeting moment when his life wasn’t destined to be a nightmare, only to open his eyes a century later having lost everything.He knew it was starting to become a hindrance on their quest and the last thing he wanted to be was a burden. (part of a series focused on the Wolf Trio)

I’ve Seen Hell (But This is a Bit More My Style): BOTW Fem!Link fic focused on how being the first female incarnation of the Heroes Spirit would be treated with a little bit of Zelink as a forbidden relationship. Link is angry and all of her past lives are just as pissed as she is. She’s seen as a harbinger of the calamity rather than the hero sent to stop it. And she’s seen as a mistake of the goddess and proof that the 10,000 years of peace was now at an end. General woman problems you know? (Sequel incorporating LU in progress) also please mind the tags.

Swordcrossed Lovers: Fluffy oneshot of the above au, Link and Zelda go to Gerudo Town and flirt while sword fighting. Zelink Week 2022 prompt: Sparring. 

Champions Possessing Wild Oneshot Collection: The champions possess Wild sometimes, it leads to some shenanigans 

The Unironic Magical Properties of True Love: totk role swap, Zelda find where Link has been hiding since being stuck in the past.

*NEW* Forever Changed: post totk zelink, where they both come back a little differently and have to deal with the immediate aftermath of... everything.

Requests/ short oneshots:

The Idiots of the Wind: Wind makes friends with the spirit of Revali and they team up to mess with Wild, mildly traumatizing him in the process. 

A Waste of Pretty Faces: Wild and Warriors bond over something they didn’t expect (mind the warnings and tags)

To Kill What’s Already Dead: Set after sunset pt.7, Wild deals with not being allowed to see Twilight and with the very real possibility that his mentor is dying.

A Mosaic of Broken Glass: Link has a lot of scars, they don’t like them very much. Zelda is determined to help them work on loving themself. Non-Binary BOTW Link and I accidentally made Zelda asexual.

On Top Of The World: Day 1 prompt for Zelink week 2022- One Last Look, Link and Zelda reunite after the final battle with the calamity. Idk what to say it’s just pure fluff. 

Frightful & Delightful: Wintery LU fic that is Hyrule-centric for a secret santa. Hurt/comfort, but mostly fluff. 

3 Sentence Fics: Lots of short fics in one place, including LU, botw Zelink, and my own AUs!

The Many Duties of the Princesses Appointed Knight: Fluffy pre-calamity zelink hair braiding, not me basing a whole fic off of a vague idea... 

The Caretaker of Holy Things: OC fic made for a zelda creators collab, the Priestess of the Temple of Time remains at the great plateau while the calamity rages around her, unfortunately, she’s due to have visitors. 

Whumptober 2022:

Prompt 2: Nowhere to Run: Aryll from my priestesses AU meets the Fierce Deity for the first time.

Prompt 5: Hypothermia: Link and Zelda from my Golden Priestesses AU journey up to the Temple of Nayru to the spring of wisdom.

Prompt 9: Caught in the Storm: Zelda spends one hundred years fighting the calamity, even though he’s slumbering in the shrine of resurrection, Link still finds a way to help her keep her head above water.

Prompt 10: Whipping: Wild from my Fem!Wild AU has to reveal some things about her past after having a panic attack post-battle. Kind of a rewrite of part of the comic where Wild throws himself in front of Wind during a fight, you know the one. 

Prompt 15: Emotional Damage/ New Scars: Wild visits the forgotten temple after the events of LU, he mourns. 

Zelink Week 2023: 

Day 1: Yearning: All In Good Time: Fem! Zelink AU during the events of LU, Wild misses her Princess. 

Day 2: Forbidden: The Ballad of Frost and Flames: Fem!Zelink AU, pre-calamity while Link is still in hiding, they meet at a masquerade ball. 

Day 4: Hand in Hand: The Fable of the Dragon and the Phoenix: MAJOR TOTK SPOILERS, Zelda makes and eternal choice and Link learns to rise from the ashes.

[leidensygdom]

There is no wrong way to enjoy TTRPGs, as long as everyone at the table is having fun

I just saw a couple of people tagging some of my latest posts with concerns on how they are scared to DM TTRPGs because they can’t do battlemaps, so let me put a quick post together about this:

There is no wrong way to enjoy TTRPGs, as long as everyone at the table is having fun. Fun is the keyword here. Is everyone enjoying the game? Then you’re doing it right. Doesn’t matter how little or how much you want to have at your table. Doesn’t matter which system are you playing. As long as people are enjoying themselves, you’re doing it right.

This means a lot of things. Maybe your group loves playing by-the-book and never homebrews. That’s absolutely right. Or maybe your group has almost developed an entire system of their own after years of homebrewing. That’s also good- If everyone at the table like it and it is fair for everyone, you’re playing the game right!

Some people love super crunchy games filled with numbers and strategy and no RP. If everyone at the table enjoys that, then you’re doing it right. Maybe you like very deadly games and meatgrinders- If people at the table like that, it’s absolutely valid. Or maybe you just want to do RP and develop characters with none of the numbers. If that’s what your group wants, congrats! That’s also valid.

Some people love to painstakingly prepare every little detail and has 10 pages of notes for a session. It takes time, but it makes DMing easier for some. If it works for you, do it! Or maybe you like to go completely improv- If it suits your style and it works for the table, that’s also fantastic

Format-wise, you can play TTRPGs in many ways. Maybe you just want to go full theatre of mind- Absolutely valid. Maybe you don’t want to think about battlemaps but still need a way to make it work- I’ve seen people use emojis on discord to build a semblance of a battlemap. I’ve seen people use excel. People use google sheets. People use drawing software. If it works for your group, it’s good enough. Or maybe you play irl and want to go all in with painted minis and terrain, or the VTT equivalent of having fully animated maps full of spell effects and stuff. That’s also absolutely valid! Why wouldn’t it be?

There has been a lot of talking about the right TTRPGs to enjoy, and how to enjoy them, which has probably risen because of the OGL and people suddenly moving systems or finding new groups, or even people finding out animated spells are a thing. And of course, there’s some people willing to police how others have fun at their tables. Which- Let’s be entirely honest, if you see someone whine about “theatre of the mind sucks you’re just lazy” (or “you don’t need a fancy animated battlemap”, on the contrary) it’s better to just ignore the fuck out of them and move on. If it works for your table, go and enjoy exactly that. That’s what matters.

A lot of times people choose to play TTRPG one way or another to accommodate to their groups needs and their own, and trying to say what is “wrong” can easily fall into a weirdly ableist discourse. For example, I have a speech impediment: It’s gotten better over the years, but lengthy improv descriptions are a struggle. And so, I’d rather either prepare extensive descriptions in my notes, or draw a battlemap that puts my players into what I envision without a 5-minute narration that will burn my mental RAM. Someone with ADHD may need extensive notes to not go off the rails- Or maybe a dyslexic person can’t use notes too well and prefers to rely on improv. Aphantasia is a thing and some people can’t just imagine out of a text description, and they may prefer to see an animation instead of hearing someone describe it. The beauty of TTRPGs is that they’re wildly variable, and people have found endless ways to enjoy them- and adapt them to their needs.

So, for whoever needs to hear this, for whoever found some idiot on the internet telling you how to play your own home game: If your group is having fun the way you play the game, you’re doing it right. Don’t be scared to try out methods that work for you and your group, and adapt it to individual preferences, needs, and use whatever accommodations you need to make your life easier. Having fun is the objective, the way you get there is up to you.

[valeffelees]

An Ask Game for Writers to Procrastinate Working on Your WIP(s)

thank you kindly for tagging me @shrekgogurt @youarenevertooold, and @monbons i've been seeing this game make its rounds on my dash and was really hoping someone would pull me in!

🦈 Tell us the name of one of your WIP(s)

my main three wips at the moment are without sun, ballad of the final sparrow, which is more commonly known as bitverse, and fragile things (and how to break them), but i've also been fucking around a bit the last two or three weeks with a new (terrible, evil, very self-indulgent) wip called god-forbid.

🍄 Describe one of your WIPs in the format of “___ + ___ =___”  

i think i might be dumb bc i don't understand this question at all.

🌍 What tags or warnings will your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it?

bitverse: heavy angst, psychological horror elements, alcohol abuse, allusions to suicide, unhealthy coping mechanisms, dead dove: do not eat.

🧭 An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)?

ballad of the final sparrow -> baz is typing fragile things (and how to break them) -> there's a werewolf in london god-forbid -> the gap between a tragedy and comedy

⚠️ Which WIP you’re most likely to finish or update next?

i have no idea. i mean, you'd think the answer would be without sun since it's the only fic i actually have posted at the moment, but unfortunately i am an untrustworthy villain.

��� What is the document of your WIP called? (Not the story title, but what you’ve saved it as.)

same as the fic title. if i start a new wip and don't know what to call it, i'll pick something at random and add (working title) at the end.

🖍 Post any sentence from your WIP

from without sun:

“You don’t like peppermint,” he says. But maybe she does. Maybe that’s one more thing he can add to his growing list of things he got wrong about Agatha Wellbelove. No. 1 — Dislikes peppermint; actually, she is quite fond of it. No. 2 — Likes Simon Snow; him, not so much.

♻️ A scrapped idea for your current WIP

one of the biggest changes i made to the plot of without sun really early on was penelope's role in the story. i had a clear idea of the story i wanted to tell as soon as i saw the prompt for the fic. without sun was always supposed to be about more than simon and baz. the story is about grief and love, and the space we take up in the lives of the people around us. but n e way, in my orig draft, penny was actually supposed to be able to communicate with simon a bit, and there was gonna be a whole sect of scenes in the middle of the fic where they sat around together trying to break simon's curse what we know and what we don't know style via passing notes. i ended up tossing this idea really quickly tho, and i'm glad i did bc one of my favourite moments i've ever written in any fic happens in chapter two of without sun and it belongs to simon and penny.

🤔 What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

so many. or, well—what counts as "haven't even started"? i hate to let ideas sit around in my head bc it feels like leaving raspberries in the fridge for too long, like that shit is gonna get mould on it, so usually the first thing i do is rough out a few scenes and/or script out a very rough outline of the plot (like this / this / this style) so that i have something to come back to later. i have dozens of zero drafts just lying tf around. but otherwise, yeah, so many. one big idea i have is called heart on fire and it's based on fanart, but i haven't started it yet bc obvs i wanna get permission from the artist first but i've been holding off reaching out to them about it until i've knocked a few of my less intimidating longfics off my wip list bc heart on fire is gonna fucking hefty so i don't wanna give'r until i'm sure i can manage it.

🤡 How many WIPs are you actively working on?

LMFAO

🛠 Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

i'm having a real bitch of a time with agatha's main scene in chapter two of without sun, i've been fighting with it on and off for months, but i can't get it to do what i want it to do.

❤️ Not a question, just a second kudos to send.

cheers!

sorry for any doubles but, tagging: @drowninginships @cosmicalart @that-disabled-princess @fatalfangirl @cutestkilla @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @artsyunderstudy @thewholelemon @roomwithanopenfire @hushed-chorus @blackberrysummerblog @imagineacoolusername @nightimedreamersworld @prettygoododds @confused-bi-queer @mooncello and an open tag for anybody else who wants to procrastinate their wips!

[raitrolling]

Cursed Drabble meta post because i cant help myself sometimes

while i dont think i nailed the vibe for the tumblr reader x celebrity self-insert fan fiction (mainly because i just Could not get through a single fic without dying of cringe. im sorry i do not vibe with this genre in the slightest for reasons that are probably evident in how i wrote that fic) and its probably more wattpad / quotev fanfic tier, i think i did pull off the standard tropes for those sorts of fics

like how the self-insert is supposed to be a blank slate for anyone to, well. self-insert into, but they're always very obviously written to be (cis) women. and the author can't decide if they want their self-insert to be meek and easily smitten, or sassy and genre-aware, as well as simultaneously living the fantasy of having a glamorous lifestyle that people would be jealous of, but she's also totally just an ordinary girl you guys. see, she's got average looks!

and also the combination of fulfilling the fantasy of 'what if my dream man saved me from a scary situation like gross dudes hitting on me', and the fact that the love interest is... often not written that much better than the bad guys lmao. the 'i saw you from across the room and immediately fell in love and wanted to protect you because you are so beautiful' seems to be popular in self-insert fics from what i skimmed through, but a lot of the time the dudes always come across as creepy to me. but in this fic sharle is using french terms of endearment so clearly he is sexy and romantic and not also a weird sleaze, duh

i died the most writing every single piece of sharle's dialogue but also the descriptions talking about how hot he is, btw. the line about the reader imagining his hands choking someone and them smelling his intoxicating scent in his bedsheets both made me want to hurl LMFAO props to people who can write that shit, id rather swan dive off a cliff thanks (tho the hand focus is also due to me listening to that read-through of the foxhole court and the video essayist mentioning how often the characters in that story grabbed each other by the chin. i was just like 'ok yeah i need more hand stuff in this people eat that shit up')

the warnings at the start are there solely because when i was scrolling through the tumblr tags for reader self-inserts i saw quite a few that warned for swearing which i thought was funny since like. this is a 13+ website. you can say the fuck word here and not get in trouble. apart from the cringy dialogue i wouldnt say anything in the fic actually merits a warning, but i felt like i needed to add the other stuff to keep it true to the formatting style that is common for tumblr self-insert fic

the bit with ropikk at the end definitely breaks the illusion and probably turns the fic into some 'lol well that just happened' marvel '''humour''', but tbh i just wanted to include a 'he would not fucking say that' joke and needed to write a palate cleanse LMAO you can pretend that last paragraph doesn't exist if you dont like the immersion-breaking

anyways uh. this was a lot of words i wrote to explain my stupid drabble i wrote as a joke and because people voted for something cursed. you can't say i half-ass anything lmao

[wannaeatramyeon]

You really said that you don't have any plans of writing any other series and then dropped this ✨masterpiece✨ (⁠◍⁠•⁠ᴗ⁠•⁠◍⁠)⁠✧⁠*⁠。

BISHHHH! IT WAS SOOOO GOOD. I WAS SKEPTICAL AT FIRST BUT THEN AGAIN IT WAS YOU WRITING. I LOVED IT 💜💜💜

also can I be 🕊️ anon?

Hope yall don't mind me responding to these in one go. Also please note my anon tagging is terrible but I do remember all my anons! I think I'll probably do this batch format moving forward? I SUCK at conversations through the inbox but also a) don't want to be rude 😅 and b) clog up people's dash.

+ Tip - filter 'ramen asks' tags in your settings if you're just here for the fics.

Non fic-request asks answered: 7 (you might want to check if your asks are here anons!)

🕊️ anon! Thank you for reading! You are being much too kind. I really had no plans to write anything long and uh... the nthis happened. It's ALWAYS good to have a healthy dose of skepticism though haha. I. I just. Idk how I feel about my longer fics at all but I'm glad you're enjoying them!

Anon?! Ah that's so sweet to say and I'm glad my fics are accessible for you!I don't struggle so much with focusing, but there are some formats and fonts that I really find difficult to read. Give me a shout especially with regards to format/font side if things ever deviate with my writing and I'll try to correct it!

Goo brainrot anon, you know who you are with your exquisite taste 🫶

And on my other response that Goo brings out our feral sides, and imo also has the most feral simps... Would be hilarious to watch you guys in a cagematch for Goo's affection. And you KNOW he would love that. 2A style.

I'm sorry this is actually our sweet Ying's/@mymxnfgh hc which you can read here. I don't want to just steam roll ahead with her idea especially if she reads HTF! Hope you understand.

Babe, I'm completely with you. I wrote this about Eli but really to go on about WTF is happening with his character and plot. Fuck 5A man.

Answering this like... a month late but we're still waiting lol. YES THE ADIDAS SAMBAS! I saw the theory too. I'm not 100% sure if Jake fits but I will just take whatever crumbs of my No.1 green flag PTJ will give!

Anon I am so so sorry for my super late response. Have you watched the PTJ video from a while ago where he talks about Samuel's charming chest? I think you may like that.

Anon, your opinion on Vasco is perfectly valid AND CORRECT. Altho our lil cinnamonroll is at least getting a personality lately so I can't be too mad.

[localvoidcat]

I SAW UR FUCKING. POST ABT FMR THATCHER WDYM

WHATS WITH TOUR TAGS SAM

(all positive btw im excited but also scared FUJSJEJDJ)

GLAD YOU NOTICED okay so

fmr - the universe as a whole - only really makes sense in a visual format. there's only so much the writing can portray, and this is where things like The Wolf come in.

you can see mainly in its eyes that its style is slightly different, and the whole thing (if i ever get around to drawing it) is very sketchy. almost think like the spot from spiderverse, its a very sketchy, ink black thing that seems ever-shifting. its teeth are a part of its body, and it moves very abstract in opposition to the human characters.

now. when these manifestations possess their curseholder, some of this is brought into their appearance. for andre, upon possession, he takes on those rapidly-shifting, teeth-everywhere, eyes like fractals type features.

the same, of course, would go for fmr thatcher. but due to his curse being different from andre's in canon, the physical manifestations follow suit, and have different features.

ones which, if you've seen my art of his curse, take on a much more horrifying aspect. in a way, it'll resemble alt thatcher, but with the weirdness amped up a hell of a lot more

[standardlovers]

top movies of the year !! tagged by @sommerregenjuniluft who asked specifically for 10 and i will take any opportunity to talk abt films i watched <3

no pressure tagging: @sugarsnappeases @beaniebaby @casstration @bardofavon

Commentary on the films & honourable mentions below:

A Little Life (2023, dir. Ivo van Hove) this was a live show however i watched it as a movie and i hadnt even read the book bc everyone i saw who read the book was so deeply emotionally distraught that i avoided it BUT someone wanted to see it and i agreed to go with them bc it looked good and i like bonding activities. yeah its SAD AS FUCK. its complicated and devastating and very triggering at times and i recognised two of the cast and focused far too long on why do i know this guy but it definitely hit me hard as part of this years viewing experiences

The Book Thief (2013, dir. Brian Percival) this truly has been the year of sophie nélisse for me she has captivated me so ofc i revisited this and bought the book, both still as devastating as i remember

Talk To Me (2023, dir. Michael & Danny Philippou) HORROR OF THE YEAR EVERYONE!!!!!!!!! oh this did blow me away this was so fun to watch and while some of the symbolism was slightly on the nose it was never overbearing to draw away from the plot it really was engaging and had some amazing cast

The Sound Of Music (1965, dir. Robert Wise) i hadnt seen this despite being on my list for YEARS !!!! but when i did oh i was not ready its fun its sweet its whimsical its political its interesting its sad its a musical

Saw X (2023, dir. Kevin Greutert) HEHEHE SAW !!!!!!!!! MANDY CAME BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT ELSE IS THERE TO SAY !!!!!!

The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007, dir. John Erick Dowdle) this was so interesting !!! many people consider this a very intense horror and i was expecting the worst but i think primarily the fear factor of this is that it is formatted as a documentary discussing the events and tapes although they are real and some of the content is unnerving but ultimately as someone who deeply enjoys horror i did find the format and the approach to this new style of serial killer horror so engaging and creepy, however i wouldnt recommend it for people who arent already into horror

Beautiful Boy (2018, dir. Felix van Groeningen) i actually started this in 2022 but couldnt sit through timothee chalamet reciting poetry so i turned it off and tried again this year but it was very moving and i have like 100 beautiful boy edits in my tiktok folder

All Quiet On The Western Front (2022, dir. Edward Berger) if you are going to watch a war movie: WATCH ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT it is very engaging from the perspective of german soldiers during the end of world war i.

The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008, dir. Mark Waters) Bring Back Fun !!! Bring Back Whimsey !!!!

Take Care Of Maya (2023, dir. Henry Roosevelt) oh this was Intense, this is a documentary about a real life legal case following the Kowalski family who have recently finished their trial against the hospital that put their family and their chronically ill daughter through severe trauma and suffering, it was deeply interesting and very painful but also so necessary for the many people who experience similar cases and circumstances. (Post Film Update/Not shown in the documentary: The Kowalski family has since won their trial and been granted over $250million for their trauma and damages. Maya is now seeking further legal action for other circumstances she endured during this time.)

Honourable Mentions:

[REC] (2007, dir. Jaume Balagueró & Paco Plaza) this was just a GOOD horror it had a slower introduction but once it got into the plot it was so interesting and intense and just a Fun movie which is interesting because its the second to technically include found footage (i have seen people call the poughkeepsie tapes found footage in some ways also) and i dont particularly enjoy found footage but this year it seems to have appealed to me more than i realised!

Uptown Girls (2003, Boaz Yakin) THE BOND BETWEEN A GIRL AND THE MESSY 20 SOMETHING SHE DOESNT WANT TO RELATE TO BUT DOES . "HER AU PAIR CALLED MY NANNY A SLUT BAG WHORE !"

Pamela, A Love Story (2023, dir. Ryan White) which is Pamela Anderson's documentary about her life so far and was very interesting even as someone who didn't know much of anything about her beforehand

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986, dir. John Hughes) which is, as always, a classic and lighthearted experience <3

Totally Killer (2023, dir. Nahnatchka Khan) because it is so good to see a cheesy modern slasher just be Fun again, it doesn't take itself too seriously and that's why it was so enjoyable to watch!

[spinsterennui]

I was tagged by the lovely @archetypewriter ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you so much for thinking of me darling!!! Fair warning, though: you’ve asked *an English lit grad student* to answer questions in a written format. I hope you’ve learned your lesson lol. In my defense, I can’t help being verbose; it’s my nature!!! 😂😭

Tag 9 people you want to get to know better!!!

Last song: XTC “Respectable Street”

Last show: Burn Notice

Currently watching: I always have the tv on in the background bc it reduces anxiety for me, but I’m not necessarily watching; it’s like white noise. The shows I’m actually watching are: Burn Notice, trying to finally finish Lucifer (the second half of season 6), and I’m going to try to get to Lucky Hank either today or tomorrow, despite my having a severe issue with large beards due to traumatic childhood parent issues. I honestly can’t decide if it’s a good thing that Bob has such a terrible beard in this show or not 😭 Like the fact that he’s playing an English professor might have been too indulgent for me without the off-putting facial hair lol.

Currently reading: Unfortunately I don’t read much for pleasure at the moment. A lot of this has to do with being so behind in my dissertation, which causes me to feel like I shouldn’t/can’t read anything that isn’t research; consequently, I end up just not reading. That said, I have been reading bits of Bob’s book A Load of Hooey, which is hilarious and ridiculous but is also easy to pick up and put down because it has a lot of very short parts. Books closer to my research: Killer Apes, Naked Apes & Just Plain Nasty People: The Misuse and Abuse of Science in Political Discourse by professor emeritus of anthropology at St. Lawrence University Richard J. Perry (a history and critique of biological determinism that is written for a non-academic audience — I highly recommend it) and, a more theory-based text, The Age of Scientific Sexism: How Evolutionary Psychology Promotes Gender Profiling and Fans the Battle of the Sexes by feminist/queer theorist and Distinguished Professor of critical theory and gender/sexuality studies at University of Toronto Mari Ruti (also fantastic albeit a bit dated as it’s from 2015 — Ruti has a very interesting writing style, but this book can be challenging for someone unfamiliar with theory and/or reading heavily academic texts).

Current obsession: I mean all apologies for being interminably repetitious, but Burn Notice (as well as Jeffrey Donovan in Burn Notice because a) he’s an incredible actor and b) he is seriously fucking hot in this role). I’m actually rewatching (yes AGAIN), but mainly because I realized that I hadn’t really been paying attention to seasons 1-2 during the rewatch.

When Better Call Saul ended I wasn’t really ready to invest in a totally new show (except for a couple of shorter ones), because it left me a tad despondent I suppose. I’d watched it from day one, back in 2015, after we’d binged Breaking Bad. So I saw that Burn Notice was streaming and thought “low stakes rewatch” because even though I watched the whole series when it originally aired, it ended back in like 2013 I think, and I’d honestly forgotten how good it is. Despite its flaws, it is such an entertaining and satisfying show. It has an incredibly strong and unique female character, and the way Michael and Fiona’s relationship develops (or re-develops) is fun and frustrating and emotionally rewarding at once. They’re both deeply flawed, deeply traumatized characters who love each other more than they love themselves, and slowly they both grow to realize that they can bring out the good in each other while helping to mitigate the bad. They save other people, that’s the sort of formula of the show beyond the burned spy part, but they also save each other, in more ways than one.

I really love shows that, at their core, turn out to be about something more substantial than what appears on the surface, particularly if that something is love in some form. When a show surreptitiously sneaks in a message about love, that show tends to stick with me so much longer and affect me so much more deeply. Better Call Saul, The X-Files, The Americans (admittedly in a fucked up way), The Glory, Lucifer, Leverage (which reminds me that I still need to watch the new one), or even Bates Motel (or ​Buffy/Angel in some ways) all, to one extent or another, have an underlying narrative of love (not just romantic, although that’s a fave for me), as well as related themes of identity (and what it means — like both what you choose and what others assign to you and how that affects your ability to be a fulfilled human), trauma and the aftermath, and family (both blood and found). These themes are quite overt in some of the shows I mentioned and less so in others, but in my opinion the threads run through them all. However, in Burn Notice they each are incorporated into the story incredibly well, which is a big part of what makes the show so compelling for me.

Okay, essay over!!!!! All apologies 😫 Anyway here’s a photo of a special birdie friend on my mantle (the spots are blacked out for privacy bc they are photos of my nephews) ❤️

I’m not going to tag nine people but I am tagging @veyzus @yellowginghamdream @tahiri-veyla @darkskywishes (though I haven’t seen them in a while so I hope all is well) and @nissameta1782 (I always feel weird tagging unless I know someone pretty well, which is weird bc I love being tagged by people I’ve never talked to before lol . . . go figure). Please don’t feel pressured!!! Ignore if you want ❤️

[m1ckeyb3rry]

LMAOO dw it’s just part of your character development that’s honestly really funny (the way that you always find crazy people around you is also kinda crazy LMAO not even kidding you really did get the “it’s for the plot/character development” treatment

So real it’s definitely not ALL animanga but you can tell there’s some that just let the art or style carry actually I think you bring up a really good test though!! Like if you can co very it into a light novel and have it still be good then you know there’s at least some substance beyond just the visual effects…omg the jjk discourse about the female cast fr irks me like guys even maki is NOT developed enough like she fr is always just alluded to as tojis copy so??? Bro angel/hana’s treatment was actually foul I’m ngl I barely even remembered her until I saw her in the second to last chapter and immediately face palmed like bro why…..but yeah jjk is definitely not AWFUL awful but not as peak as everyone screams about

Oh definitely orv cast is developed and actually relevant also yess i love the platonic relationships and dynamics!!! Kdj and hsy are so funny LMAO I love seeing that kinda found family/platonic connection with kdj and co.

LMAOO so real like there’s chronically online but then there’s an even more extreme where it’s really “do you ever see the sun” but speaking of that post you reblogged made me giggle “are you pro or anti ship” “I have a life” LMAOOOOOOOO so real like it’s really not that deep guys

DDHSHS people on wattpad fr cannot handle reader not being the Mary Sue ultimate it girl with a reverse harem also to the people saying it’s perfect except the OCs bro it wouldn’t be the same without the ocs like let’s be real please and yeah like ESPECIALLY since it’s not even a commission of any sorts maybe you were just posting for the sake of being able to read it all through wp formatting and platform too, why people have the audacity to actually spew shit like that is beyond me like ok it’s not your story though??? And you really took the effort of writing out a comment to say this it’s much faster to just click the close tab button?? It’s like they comment thinking that you’ll go back and edit out all instances of your ocs??? Honestly disappearing off wp is such a mood

LMAO yeah I’ll definitely casually watch the anime because at least the animation usually has some cool scenes too but nothing all too serious after knowing what happens (actually I’m excited for the memes to come when the Yuta and cockroach curse get animated HAHA)

SHSGSHSHS it’s ok if you end up converting there’s a good chance that at some point I’d follow suit knowing us but the opposite sides of a war trope is actually so interesting I haven’t read anything with that in awhile?? Just generally not even on tumblr so many possibilities for adding in complexities and depth…wc Kunigami esp with the angst and the whole transformation of wc

REAL when kaneshiro fails yk Mira’s got you….still baffles me how yukis been sidelined (literally) sm WAIT AHAHAHAH im crying if it were otoya instead of yuki fwtkac i can imagine it where instead of reading looking at yukis account during that lunch scene she’s looking at otoyas profile and karasus like “bruh his hair looks like a fucking leek you like this one???” And then he enters the room where they play tag and he’s like “HOLY SHIT ITS THE LEEK DUDE YOU MF” while otoyas trying to think which of the fifty dates he went on karasus referring to

Ok good LMAO ik sometimes when people type on a keyboard they’re wrists get tired which is why the buy wristpads so jic that was you I didn’t wanna be making you type a whole essay response like normal LOL WAIT GAHAHAH the recent one where sae goes “this goal is still lukewarm” and literally has the whole genie looking trail this is too good

LMAO I’m gonna be honest most of the media I consume usually isn’t for the romance factor anyways like I usually watch kdramas after seeing like a cliffhanger betrayal/dramatic moment so I don’t even mind that it’s not super romantic LOL I agree having some crack shenanigans content is good it balances out the angst and romance

LMAOOOO noted I will take this calibration into account in the future o7 but YEAHHHH PURSUIT very hype

- Karasu anon

PLEASEEE i have made so many opps in my life and honestly i know there’s a saying that if you make enemies out of a lot of people you’re the problem but i really don’t think i am?? like i always try to self reflect and i definitely have been villainous in the past as has everyone but there’s a startling amount of people that dislike me for dumb reasons JHSFSD omg it’s so bad

whenever i think of dropping someone i’m like oh was i the bad person in this situation but being objective i hardly am 😭 this girl i think was just really jealous of me and so took the opportunity to put me down at any opportunity (she was also lowkey islamophobic and as almost half of my family is muslim i did not find her jokes terribly funny) and she was also one of the ones that like if i liked a guy she was suddenly OBSESSED with him meanwhile they wouldn’t even know who she was?? like she’d go up and talk to whatever guy i idly said was cute and they’d literally be like “who are you lol” 😰 there’s a lot of weird stuff w her she’s also HUGE into jjk and jjk x readers so i’ve always been terrified she’ll find my account hence why i don’t ever do face reveals or post pictures of things she might recognize (like my dogs…we had already stopped being friends by the time i started riding cloudie so i’m not scared of posting him) she only ever read on ao3 and didn’t try to figure out tumblr + she liked gojo choso and nanami none of whom i’ve written for so i probably would be safe but it’s still a thought in the back of my mind…anyways…

RIGHT like can you make a light novel out of this?? then it’s probably good…i think blue lock is a good counterexample actually where the story is very much so enhanced by the visuals because it’s a sport animanga but i think the sports genre is a little exempt from that test because who wants to read about sports KFHSD idk if that makes sense ANYWAYS everyone always says that jjk’s female cast is good as if not sexualized automatically equals well written…like yes gege did more for them in the sense that they were at least mostly covered up but that’s about where he began and ended 😭 BRO HANA GET BEHIND ME the way everyone hates her too i honestly just wish she got better treatment back when i was into jjk i LOVED her i honestly could write an entire essay about how i would’ve preferred she be written (like i did w kuni and yuki) but tbh the story started going downhill shortly after her introduction so idek where i’d start…suffice to say i would’ve had her be alluded to much earlier, not had her be obsessed with megumi (i think a romance between them could’ve been thematically and visually very lovely but NOT how it was handled and not given the fanbase jjk has), and expanded on the angel vs sukuna beef especially how that might’ve impacted the hana and yuji dynamic 😩 i think gege had the same problem as kaneshiro where there’s just too many characters but unlike bllk, there’s a much more expansive world in jjk too and that would’ve allowed for in depth exploration of more characters without slowing the story terribly if only that was a consideration yk

i don’t think jjk is horrible either!! there are a lot of things i enjoyed about it and i wouldn’t say it’s the worst thing to come out ever — it also suffers from having such a large fanbase that people are going to be disappointed no matter what direction gege goes in, so i have to give him that; however, agree, it’s not as peak as everyone says it is, and i think it’s fanbase would do well to recognize it for what it is (a normal shounen with slightly more gore but also with the regular pitfalls of the genre) sometimes i think the ending wouldn’t have been as disappointing if it hadn’t been hyped into smth beyond what it actually is yk 🤔 and honestly i don’t think it’s a failure of jjk to be that LMAO blue lock is very much so in that category and i still love that!! mostly because it is self aware and doesn’t try to do more than it has the capability for…instead it takes genre conventions and works inside them/expands on them (ego vs teamwork, the backstories of characters like snuffy) to maximize its impact?? idk if that makes sense HAHA like at the end of the day kaneshiro included anri’s hip waist bust measurements in the egoist bible and she’s also the only somewhat main female character so he’s not trying to beat the bad female cast allegations whatsoever he fr just threw chigiri in and called it a day but it works?? because he didn’t sit and say “hm how can we defy everyone’s expectations and astound the world” he was just like “ok soccer manga time”

I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE ARE SO PRESSED ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S SHIPS like i literally do NOT care i ship zero characters it absolutely does not matter to me…only ships that are important are nagimira, miraeita, and tabimira otherwise idgaf /j fr though like how hard is it to just scroll and ignore when you don’t like smth 😰 also the entire school of thought (mostly from 15> year olds) that you should just stop engaging in fandom or liking characters or whatever after the ripe elderly age of 20 is SO FUNNY but also insane like who do you think is writing the fics you enjoy?? i have many thoughts on it that would get me cancelled but to me the line is like “okay if the mangaka/anime studio drew the exact same character and said they were 20 would i believe them?? if so it’s whatever if not that’s a little weird” for example when i was a kid watching indigo league i liked gary oak LMAOOO but now i wouldn’t like him because he very obviously looks like a kid yk?? but there is functionally no difference in the way that megumi, inumaki, and ino from jjk are drawn despite them all being wildly different ages it’s truly just arbitrary and in my experience a lot of shounen is just adults writing stories about other adults and then making them be “in high school” to appeal to their target audience and make their characters be more relatable to high school boys aka the main readers 😭 anyways at the end of the day people like to police stuff like that a lot so i don’t really share my thoughts on it but it really is just live and let live i promise you whatever character you’re defending does NOT care that people are writing fics about them they are literally just lines on a page…

PEOPLE ON WATTPAD ARE INSANEEEE bro (related to the earlier point) it’s the same people that complain about adults liking characters that start spamming the most insanely foul sexual things at the age of thirteen like how do you even know what any of those words mean?? forget about saving yuta okkotsu from anne at accounting who likes to read fics about him after work SAVE HIM FROM THE TWEEN FANGIRLS THAT WOULD GET HIS ASS ARRESTED ‼️ since we’re applying irl morals to fiction and all it very much so is illegal the other way too 😭 anyways yeah they always have smth to complain about like if y/n isn’t a reverse harem lead with every single guy at her feet, every power in the world, cringy “cold” personality where she’s uber strong and tells people to commit, and isn’t lame asf they go insane?? people complain in the early chapters of pomegranate ink that it’s “embarrassing” how reliant the reader is on noritoshi and how she’s always sucking up to him…like hmm…let’s apply some critical thinking here…why would she (who’s been told her entire life that she’s good for nothing but bearing heirs, has been essentially locked in her room for her whole childhood, is considered “worthless” because she didn’t inherit her family’s powers, and was almost married off to NAOYA ZENIN) be grateful to the one man who allowed her to have her own agency and treated her like an equal??? why would she be unsure in herself?? why would she ask for help constantly and think she’s weak??? also when they complain about her being weak omg please this story is 200k words i’m sorry she doesn’t start off strong but that would literally be so boringgggg it’s all about the slow development!! by the end of the story she’s brought someone back to life, is a grade sorcerer, defeats a special grade curse (because lbr she could’ve gone all of the way and killed jogo if it weren’t for plot needing him to be around longer), takes control of her ENTIRE CLAN, talks shit to sukuna’s face and then is instrumental in his defeat COME ONNNN SHE’S NOT WEAK FOREVER GIVE HER TIME she’s been abused for years it’ll take her a sec!! and speaking of abuse don’t get me started on the way they talk about reader’s mother LFKJHSDLKFJ they fr act like she’s the true villain when she’s in no better of a situation than reader 😭 actually things are worse for her because she has no one but her daughter left and her relationship with reader only just starts healing in pomegranate…god forbid we have complex female characters though!!

HELP if i convert to itoshism i’m dragging you down with me i can’t do it alone!! and i think opposite sides of a war necessitates writing a conflict that isn’t black and white (or else one of the characters would be evil and that’s usually looked down upon) hence why most authors steer clear as that can be difficult to do without making any one side into a villain HAHAHA maybe one day i’ll tackle the challenge again!! believe it or not i have done so previously in ship in the harbor and ig i did it well enough people seemed to like it…who knows LMAO

PLEASE THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING like fwtkac reader posts a picture of herself and otoya on a date and karasu swipes up on the story with an entire paragraph about how her new boyfriend is ugly horrendous hideous nasty fresh out of the swamp and whatever other insults fwtkac bestie came up with meanwhile reader is just like ?? your hair can be measured with a protractor ?? LSKFHSDKFJH omg there would fr be no tabieita it would be tabiken and then otoya would just be there because karasu will never forgive the “shrek lookalike” that almost stole his girl…wait that reminds me that according to hiori fwtkac reader is the only girl karasu follows on social media??? idk but that’s making me laugh rn because i think i wrote that he’s friends with all of reader’s friend group but he’s just so loyal to this girl who absolutely despises him that he won’t follow any other females but her 😭 honestly for all of her academic genius looking back fwtkac reader is so dumb because how did she not read between the lines there…

HAHA DW i’m all good!! i’ve recently begun responding to your asks on my ipad instead of my iphone which is why my responses have gotten exponentially longer and less emoji riddled LMAOO so it’s been chill!! responding on my ipad also means no random glitching out since i’m doing it on the website which auto saves drafts iirc so double win fr

LMAOO if you do end up watching it lmk how it goes!! and yeahhh if i’m ever going to go on a long hiatus i’ll make it explicitly clear like you will be able to tell without question that i’m gone otherwise it’s probably just me being silly HAHAH anyways this ended up being a bunch of random unrelated rants i’m sorry 😭

[boltwrites]

Gurl I just saw that you declined the alphabets:( ughhh it’s such a boomer because your writing is the best specially when you write about our favorite bub ( Logan ) I was really looking forward into reading your headcanons because you write him so accurately, although you declined I still encourage you to think about it cause we all want some smt and fluff in our lives ( I’m also not trying to pressure you into doing it but I just wanted to share how sad I was)

💐

i will likely still write some smut and dating headcanons for logan (and probably also wade) in the style of my “nsfw” and “dating” headcanons that i’ve done for several other fandoms (i’ve done them for lok and most of the bad batch, for instance).

i’m not sure why the alphabet has become the standard for those sorts of headcanons honestly. and that’s no shade on the people who request or write it - it’s just a long ass fucking set of headcanons/blurbs and i’m a lazy bitch. i also feel like some of the questions are a bit unnecessary or could have been replaced with better ones if they hadn’t been constrained by the alphabet format.

not to mention how i’ve seen no less than 4 completed alphabets in the tags in the last several days. the fact is that not a lot of people want to read stuff that’s been done before 🤷

[alwek]

Spiders In My Head: what to call it

I've been wanting to do these weekly ramble things more often. I tire of being beholden to the one format of "this started to document my transition" style, and more into train of thought, autobiographical type thing.

Of course, that means changing the name of it to something else. But what? I imagine you know, person maybe reading this, what I've called it. I still have to have the thought.

I fancy myself a philosopher, you see. I used to hate the idea of being something so pretentious, but I saw a three panel comic one day that completely changed my mind on it. In what could barely be called two sentences, and a visual gag, I was taught that philosophy is so much more than pretentious dick fucks arguing about who deserves to live and die.

A few years ago we got it in our head that maybe our thoughts are worth saying. Maybe we could write some kind of book thing that teaches... something. I don't know. What I think life is, I suppose?

In the summer of 2020 i was hospitalized after a mental breakdown. I was under watch for half a year, and came out with a DID diagnosis and a monthly check for being disabled enough (because it's a competition). I met lively, and lovely people there. People with struggles like me. Before one guy that I hung out with most days was discharged, he gave me a plant, in a shitty little hospital bowl that was full of water. I took dirt from the tree in the common room, and let it root.

It nearly died a few times in the months since, from my own neglect. Her leaves left dull and droopy most days, reflecting the vibes of her terrible caretaker. She clearly hated her old bowl now. I got a new pot. I replanted her at my partners house, which I find sort of fitting. We had a very off and on relationship for our early days. Things got steadier around that time.

Charlotte, the plant, started doing better after. Granted, I also started watering her more, and put plant food in the dirt after it got stale. She became so dark, so happy looking. My happy little spider plant.

I used to get small bugs in my room a lot. The door to the room I sleep in leads directly outside, so it was a daily occurrence having to get flys, and months, and beetles, and spider (black widows get smushed) out. I got fed up with it after a while and decided the spiders could stay, thinking maybe they'd eat the more annoying to deal with insects. And well, it worked.

I let certain corners of my room be spider homes now, and I've had less bug bites in my sleep since. Less bugs noticably in my room in general. I even saw a cutie lil jumping spider in Charlotte a couple times.

That made me think "i wish the spiders could eat the bugs in my brain. They deal with the outside ones so good, why can't they eat the brain bugs"

And so, maybe I lied in the beginning when I said you'd know the title of this little rebrand before me. This whole project, i guess you could call it, of mine is my way of trying to get spiders to eat my brain bugs. So I decided before I even started writing this, I'm calling it

Spiders In My Head

(No relation to cage the elephant)

Maybe someone will listen, maybe nobody ever will. But talking to the nothingness helps too. Doing it here, for me, for us. It helps.

[[Abreviated tag for these posts is SIMH]]

[teaandinanity]

So I found a meme template for 'About You: Video Games' which I wanted to do except a) we all know I am incapable of Not Talking, b) the boxes were tall and skinny and that is Not Ideal for shoving game titles into because they generally need width to be legible, and c) what the fuck do you MEAN I can ONLY PICK ONE so I'm converting it into text form. Also I'm rearranging the order because all time fave should not be first that's what you wrap up with c'mon.

I am also hoping other people will steal this formatting and tag me so I can go 'ooh that sounds neat!' about other people's games lists.

[cut because this will probably go long]

1. Childhood Game

Cannot pick.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time still holds a soft and nostalgic spot in my heart. Music! Horseback riding! Puzzles! I was terrible at it and did not beat it but I LOVED it.

Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, which I also did not beat but which also nonetheless did SOMETHING to my id which persists to this very day, because it is fascinatingly batshit.

The Longest Journey has also left imprints on my id; I think it was the first adventure game I managed to beat, maybe the first game I managed to beat at all.I’d tried some of the King’s Quest games but I kept getting myself stuck in unwinnable situations and/or dying which obviously was not that fun. But TLJ wanted you to see the story; as far as I know, it’s impossible to get yourself into an unwinnable worldstate, so outside the sections where you’re beating your head against a puzzle it’s just wonderful.

2. Best Soundtrack

I already mentioned Ocarina but honestly a lot of the games I grew up with had excellent music, perhaps because the system limitations (midi instruments on a shitty tube television) meant the songs really had to be able to stand on their own. Other stand-outs for me include Legend of Mana and Final Fantasy VI, each of which has more than one song I remembered well enough to hunt down the soundtracks more than a decade after I played them. Also obviously there's things like Bastion now, which has amazing music, and Dragon Age: Inquisition has tracks that (between the music itself and the associations) give me Very Large Feelings.

3. Best Art Style

I have to at least mention Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning here. I still can’t believe a game that is this lovely while playing got such unutterably boring box art. Who did that to you, KoA:R, you deserved so much better. It's got the punchy, amped-up kind of color palette you see in World of Warcraft (which I love; gritty realism and unrelenting brown are boring) but with higher-quality textures and better models than an MMO that needs to be able to run on a potato can handle, and honestly the whole thing is just Nice To Look At. 

Also mentioning Legend of Mana again because the art was cute as fuck. A lot of the older pixel stuff had so much charm!

Throwing Winter Voices in, too, because while the game itself is an incomprehensible clusterfuck like 40% of the time, the other 60% it is quite lovely. It remains the only game where the SKILL TREE made me go, 'oh gosh that's so PRETTY.'

4. Relaxing Game

Flow is a good one. Also Stardew Valley. And Spiritfarer. Roots of Pacha.

5. Stressful Game

When I saw this one on the list I was like 'but I hate being stressed' and that is true but also:

Long Live the Queen is HORRIBLY stressful but also kind of neat?

And bits of Scarlet Hollow have stressed me out but I am VERY MUCH having a good time with that. Delightful horror-themed roller coaster of a game; it wants me to be having a good time even when I’m going AAAAAH! and trying to make impossible choices.

6. Tons of Hours Played

Rimworld. We’re not looking at my time played on this. 

Also every MMO I have ever played but especially WoW (which I am emotionally invested in still, WHY) and SWtoR (because if you let me decorate a house I will spend SO MANY HOURS decorating a house).

Also Crusader Kings, which is basically a Telenovella Creator if you’re successfully avoiding combat and is therefore delightful - I usually manage at least two generations of absolute nonsense before someone murders me horribly or I lose against the rebellion my aunt has raised because oops there are too many branches of the family tree and some of them are overly successful and have turned into kudzu and are now here to strangle me to death.

Also The Sims, over the course of all of these games the hours played are definitely horrifying. The hours just on 4 are um. Bad.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has over 100 hours already. Oops.

Dragon Age gets this also although that’s also why I haven’t replayed Inquisition; too much of it is spent schlepping across the Hinterlands  a g a i n.

7. Favorite Protagonist

For more defined characters: The MC in Gilded Shadows. So relatable. So snarky. Love her.

For less defined, I ADORE the Dark Urge route in BG3 - set enough to feel really connected to the world, but still so much freedom for the player to go nuts. Also the things that are set are UNHINGED, it’s fantastic.

8. Favorite Villain

[nervous villainfucker laughter]

Solas probably counts as an antagonist. Manerkol from The Soulstone War. Sarevok specifically in BG2:ToB when you could Found Family/Power of Friendship him into being less of a dick yes this was partly because I thought he was Very Hot shut up it’s not my fault his VA was Like That.

TBH if I find the villain compelling I probably also want to kiss him it is a recurring problem.

9. Favorite Ending

To The Moon made me cry, but like, in a good way.

The ending of Fire Emblem: Awakening was pretty darn satisfying imo.

I liked Tresspasser very much but I’m still a little irked that DAI was like ‘the real ending is DLC.’

10. Favorite Boss Fight

The final conversation in Trespasser. No, shoosh, it counts and I DESPERATELY want to see more climactic conflicts in games that aren't solved with violence. I loved Planescape: Torment and Fallout: New Vegas for letting me circumvent combat with other skills but Trespasser is the only instance I can think of off the top of my head where you just... Do Not Fight the Final Boss. The POINT is that you don’t fight. I love that.

11. Game You Always Come Back To

I have replayed Choice of Romance SO MANY TIMES and 95% of the time it is with the same MC. Ana is now a comfort character.

7KPP, partly for the fandom, which is full of friends <3

12. Guilty Pleasure

This would require me to feel guilty about my games and I generally don’t? I mean, I have admitted to playing the homophobic horse game to people I work with.

That said the homophobic horse game probably counts because I’m constantly like ‘why are you like this’ about the company as a whole and most of the people who work there and also a significant chunk of the player base.

Maybe World of Warcraft also. ActiBlizz as a company is more than a little bit Yikes.

13. All Time Favorite

I think I’m giving this to RimWorld. The base game was solid and fun and I played a zillion hours. The updates have been good. The dev actually listens to the player base about what’s wanted and then builds it into the game. Modding is allowed and adds some awesome stuff too. The expansions are great and add a ton to the game. It creates very compelling little stories. There are a bunch of youtubers with amazing playthroughs. I found a perfect map seed.

Like, my ALL TIME favorite game is the one in my head, that’s like 30% Breath of the Wild, 30% UnReal World, 20% RimWorld, 20% the homophobic horse game, but unfortunately that does not actually exist. Maybe if I win the lottery.

[notinhabited-blog]

me: watching people interacting with a shitty person I know will fuck them over but am just gonna let ‘em learn and avoid drama this time