#another older piece post oops

[plantskiddo]

best girl !!!

[chromatic-lamina]

ももも

Chapter 1117 Spoilers

Ahhh. I'm quivering. We don't get Law, but we get!

Bepo and Bepo is thinking about Captain (so he's not dead, and neither is Bepo...All patched up with his little bandage). Not too distraught, so I'm trusting the Hearts are okay, AND

Will of D. <3

The scans say that the Japanese ends with mo (も), which can be a conjunction similar to 'and' (or is it a particle? I don't know). BUT, could also be the beginning of a name or noun (Momonosuke). Or extra thing (more...)

BUT, it's interesting that all are named or shown, bar Law. Bepo of course is a representative, but where is Law? Also, I don't think the navy knows about Law's status (so I don't know if Vegapunk did), BUT intriguing. Where is Jaguar D. Saul? (maybe Oda forgot him, or there will be another reveal).

Honorable mention to this D. too!

Vivi! Shown, but not named. (Interesting that the Wiki lists her as a D. by the way, but not Law's family. I think it's an oversight for Law).

Ah, Robin and Law must be champing at the bit. I'm hoping Law's not part of SWORD, but I'll roll with it if he is (just looking at those backgrounds). Bepo's is similar to the marines featured. Also, I hope that Law's listening in!

Ay-oop! look who washed up on the soar! Heh-heh. Shore. Our favourite ancient zoan, Drake. So, he saved Garp and Co? I wasn't sure which Captain Kujaku was referring to here (below)).

It doesn't seem very Garp-like to want space. I am betting that Hibari is Akainu's granddaughter rather than daughter in the way that Kujaku is Tsuru's granddaughter, and Luffy is Garp's grandson, because it makes sense (generation-wise), and ties into the "It's our turn to step up" line from Kujaku. Interesting!

Anyway, just popping in to drop a bit of excitement. It seems the iron giant got blitzed, but I'd say it's its own form of ancient weapon, so it might not be over and out yet. I wanted to repost what Sandman said on Twitter last week, and which I also thought:

The Japanese has 'tanoshimi' (enjoy, fun, etc.) in quotation marks, which strikes me as maybe Rayleigh being sarcastic. For example, what knowledge has the older generation withheld from the younger? and is that withholding a benefit to them, or does it just make it that much harder for them to find the truth? (and increase their chances of being in danger?)

Speaking of which, do you think Rayleigh will survive? Does he know too much? Knowing Oda, he will, but it's curious that there are remnants of the crew out there with all the answers that others are seeking.

Of course, the true history and Will of D. and One Piece are not necessarily of equal weight, but man, Oda's not discounting any of them either!

Just rambling. Also, link to Sandman's post.

OOH, I almost forgot. Talk about gritty characters (even if they're made of smoke)

Smoker!!! It's been too long. Good to see ya'! (where there's Smoke there's Law...maybe? Heh-heh. Just joshing. They look good together, though).

Another also bit! It's way at the end of my post but at the beginning of the manga: Pearl's look has always reminded me of the Pearl Diving bells (or the helmets divers wore), so I think it's clever of Oda to place him at the section where they're talking about exploring below the sea.

[takingthehobbitswhere]

fivefourthree.

Summary: Jason Todd getting feelings for someone he just met. In a flower shop of course.

Word count: ~2840

A/N: Well, well look who finally posted another piece. I am so sorry. Might be sort of character accurate, might not be - all I know is I'm doing this instead of a speech I'm supposed to be writing. Oops.

Warnings: strong hints of spice

jason todd x f!reader

The door had barely creaked open when the bells tied to the entryway alerted you to a new presence. A stifled sneeze made you look up from the bouquet you were cutting, towards a head of curly black hair glowering as he wiped his nose. Keeping him on the edges of your vision, you leaned back down to your flowers as he started to mill about, gently fingering the colorful blooms. After crossing in front of your workspace for what was at least the fourth time you sighed, cleared your throat and spoke. “May I help you?”

The boy spun around, hands in the air, and sauntered over, placing his hands on the counter. “Yes.” He looked at you intently, eyes almost seeming to shift from blue to green and back. “What kind of flowers scream I hate you, and I don’t plan on forgiving or forgetting any time soon?”

You tried to fight a smile as you turned to evaluate your stock, nodding. “Sounds serious. Let’s see what I have here. Ah, petunias, orange lillies, butterfly weed-”

“I’ll take all of them.”

“Do you have an hour?”

The boy looked down at his watch, then up at the flowers, back down, then at you. “Yeah, yeah I got time.”

You hummed in response, already in motion. Choose. Cut. Prepare. Working in near silence, a tinny speaker letting out strains of a somber piano was the only accompaniment. He watched you as ten minutes ticked by before uttering a single word. You had expected him to leave, but you had to admit you appreciated the company.

“How long have you been doing this?” He asked, leaning over the counter.

“Almost four years now. I learned from a older lady in my building when I first moved, and haven’t looked back.”

“Well, your arrangements out front look incredible.”

You looked up, finding him staring at you with something that resembled a smile on his face.

“I'm Jason.”

“[Name].”

Greenery. Focal. Fill. The space filled with silence again, but ever so slowly, over the next forty-five minutes, you found yourself opening up to each other, laughing the most you have in months, telling the safe pieces of your stories, until begrudgingly, it was time to hand off the bouquet. The time, however fleeting, was refreshing. Wrap. Finish.

“Well, here you are.” You pick up the flowers, extending them to Jason, a shy grin on your face as your eyes meet. His fingers brushed your hand, startlingly cold. “I hope whoever’s getting them is properly accursed for their wrongdoing.”

“I’ll make sure to tell my brother that. Just for insurance purposes, I’m going to need your number. Can’t leave you without an update can I?” He grinned cheekily, ripping off a small piece of the bouquet’s wrap paper and slid it across the counter.

With a sigh, you picked up your pen, tapping your chin.

“And collateral, for the allergies,” He whispered.

A small chuckle escaped, and with a flourish, you handed the paper back to him, number, name, and all. “Don’t keep me waiting.”

Almost out the door, bells ringing again, Jason paused, lifting his hand in a wave. “See you tonight!” he called. Before you had a chance to react, he was gone.

It rang through your head the rest of your shift, a reoccurring distraction as you gathered arrangements, watered flowers, and helped customers. A timer rang somewhere in the back, shaking you out of your reverie, a violent reminder to start closing the shop. Finally.

Humid evening air greeted you, clouds parted for the summer evening. The walk home was pleasant for once, the smell of the city no longer trapped in the now-absent layer of grey, the sun’s glow casting a spell on everything it touched. The light framed in your apartment window warmed a spot on the wood floor, and gladly you sunk down, curled into it. The shorter, colder days always came too quickly for your liking. Peace settled into your bones, your eyes growing heavy.

A phone somewhere vibrated. Again. Closer this time. The buzzing danced along the floor til it reached you, waking you up. A hand, your hand, brushed the edge of the vibrating box, yours. Oh. OH. You became alert, fingers scrambling to grab the phone, hoping the call wouldn’t be missed. Unknown number.

“Hello?”

“Hey, this is Jason.”

“Long time, no see.”

“I don’t know if you’re free tonight, but I highly suggest you make it so because I’m inviting you to my favorite dive bar where you can enjoy some live music, my company, and most likely a free drink or two. And if that’s not enough, just know I’m extremely stubborn.” His voice came through tinny, but just enough you could hear the tease in his voice.

A beat passed. You bit your lip. “Okay. Count me in.”

“Great. See you there. Seven.” And with that, he hung up, leaving you once again in silence. Dang. It’s a date.

30 minutes later, you found yourself seated in front of your closet, practically every article of clothing you owned on the floor. By the time you grabbed your keys, you had settled for something slightly more than what you'd usually wear. Your phone buzzed again with an address. It was just a short walk. You weren’t worried. Living in Gotham for almost all your life greatly shifted your classification of dangerous.

The bar was in an older building, dilapidated in a sophisticated sense. You could see the orange glow through the windows, shadows moving about to the light thrum of music. Your nerves stirred in your abdomen, slowly climbing into your throat. Just open the door and step in. Inhale, exhale. In you went. The wood paneled interior gave warmth to the space, various stained glass lights hanging about the space. Booths and few tables decorated the space about the bar, a constant buzz of conversation barely discernible above the live band playing from a corner stage. A saxophone caught your attention, crooning as the drumset hissed in response. Everyone seemed in their own world. Watching the music so closely, you didn't notice the someone coming up behind you until they had placed their hands on your shoulders, bracing as you flinched.

"Hello, [name]," the voice, Jason's, whispered into your ear. A knot forming in your stomach as he barely brushed the back of your hair. Shifting, an arm was slung across your shoulders as he steered you gently towards an empty pair of barstools. Seated, you were able to look him up and down for the first time that night. He had changed, but He looked good. A simple black tee, arms tensed, the rest of his clothes the same.  An appreciative look on his face as he took in what you were wearing.

"So, what'll it be for you two?"

"An old fashioned for me, and for her.."

"Wine. Red, please."

The bartender nodded, drifting to a waving patron, leaving you two staring at the counter. Jason shifted towards you, leaning onto his leg, a conspiratorial gleam in his eye. "Loser of the pool game gets the first round."

So there you were, in a hidden corner away from the din of the bar, lining up your break. It had been awhile since you played a game, and you knew he let you go first to size up his competition. Five, four, three, two, on one you let the cue fly, the chain reaction hitting the triangle of balls into a thousand different directions. A striped ball made its way into the pocket, leaving the cue ball in a compromising position. Huffing, you took a sip of your wine, and leaned, ball ricocheting off the side of the table, knocking into stripes and solids with a clack. His move.

Jason paced around the table until he found an ideal angle, testing his shot, eyes peering through his shaggy hair. With the utmost precision, his target found its way into the same pocket you landed your ball in. Clack, another one off the felt. "What can I say? Beginner's luck."

You bumped him forcefully, rolling your eyes. "In your dreams."

He was always one up on you, an aggravating dance of hope and loss, and the table was looking bare. Focus. A brief moment of consultation opened a possible shot, one you had to take. Practicing with your cue, you stared the no. 13 ball down. Line it up, pull back, and release.. It sailed into the pocket, the cue ball aligned beautifully with another striped one. Jason looked on approvingly as you hit another into the pocket. The eight ball was all that was left. Your cue slipped, scratching the felt, causing you to hit it from the side, barely moving.  Jason's turn. 

Jason's smile was burning through your back; you didn't even have to turn around to know he was already celebrating. Or so you thought until he slipped his arms around yours, adjusting your hands until your shot was perfectly positioned. His breath tickled your ear as he said something about your almost victory. He was steady, still as he played the shot through in his mind. You felt him shift, drawing the cue back, and as you both exhaled, the tension released, the ball rolled neatly into the corner, disappearing from view. Nobody dared move, staring at where the white ball remained. Jason's arms seemed to twitch, tightening around you as he whispered, "I owe you a drink."

Nodding was the only command your brain seemed to transmit as you were released from his grasp, his hands retreating, leaving a trail of goosebumps on your skin. He came back, another drink in hand, another smirk on his face. Giving it to you, he gently grabbed your arm with his free hand, leading you toward the band you saw earlier. The space was hazier, the lights dimmer, and it was harder to keep your balance, even ignoring the wine you had already consumed. His grip transferred to your hand as you approached the throng of dancers, pulling you into it, disappearing into the thick of bodies.

Surfacing in the middle of the mass, fresh air was a welcome commodity amongst the sickly-sweet mix of sweat and alcohol. Jason didn't seem to be perturbed, wholly focused on you, the music swelling back into existence. You stared right back at him, the red lighting bouncing off your surroundings, casting a soft glow on his face, transfixed. His hand extended, and once again, he pulled you, this time into a dance.

Back nestled into his chest, your hand was around his, resting on your hip, his fingers barely brushing under your shirt. A compromising position, but oh, it felt so good. The buzz was starting to hit you, and it heightened everything. Swaying, you fell into rhythm amongst the others around you, a steady pulse from the bass seemingly keeping time to your pounding heart, trying to ignore how he pressed into you, lips floating over your shoulder, the crowd moving around you.

Jason seemed to respond immediately to your growing tenseness, his hands hovering over your skin, forehead leaning into the back of your skull. The song ends right on cue, and in the resulting silence to applause, he turned you around, looking directly into your soul. His tone dips softly as a new riff fills the air. “Are you okay?”

A beat passed, and you finally found the courage to return his gaze. “Yeah- I just needed a moment.” Breathing deep, gathering a smile, normalcy returns. You tugged him into a spin, and in response, he dipped you, a squeal escaping from your throat.

The hours passed in a liquid haze, the end dancing closer and closer, until finally, you stumbled onto the street, the cool air shocking sobriety into your system. A glance was shared through the neon haze, another look, nothing was said, but a conversation, a dialogue, deeper than either of you were aware, had just begun.

Fingers slipped through yours, drawing you in a direction you didn’t want to go. Your place was closer. Your place was safer. Let’s go there. A gentle pull from you was all that was needed, and there you stood, in front of your door. No memory was formed of entering the building, standing in the elevator, walking down the hall, but none was needed. He was here, in front of you, and that was all that mattered; the quiet want in his eyes as he crept closer and closer, the struggle with the door handle as he pressed his lips to yours, the tumble into the entryway as the door gave, and the catch as his hands stabilized your bodies against the nearest wall.

The hunger built, space was no longer a concept. One of you ended where the other began, feeding into each other, caresses turning to grabs, mumbles turning into gasps, never staying in one place for long. The agony, the ecstasy of it all. A single thought lingered, questioning the sanity of this decision, but you pushed it back, trapped it in a box, and simply gave in.

Coming up for air, chests heaving, you had tucked into Jason’s arm, oblivious as he slowly surveyed your apartment, taking in the 400 foot studio you called home, warm light filling every inch of the space from a corner lamp, a portable chess set on a nearby table. It wasn’t much, but he could tell you had poured your heart into making it comfortable, safe. It was an abrupt, welcome change of scene from what the man laying beside you knew. This could be his safe place.

Your breath evened out, and he just listened, occasionally shifting his gaze to your figure, back to the ceiling, reaching out to trace a path down your sheets. With his heart keeping steady, with the rhythm of your inhales, he felt his eyes growing heavy for the first time in a long, long time.

Jason shot upright, head pounding, struggling to focus in on the unfamiliar room around him. Oh. His eyes shot to where you lay, peaceful and still, relieved the outburst was ineffective. What am I doing here? Shifting to the edge of the bed, he ran his hands through his hair, exhaling firmly, forcing himself to reprocess the events of yesterday. Maybe he was flirting with this girl, maybe he saw a friend, but all Jason knew was he didn’t know what he needed. Not a relationship. Anything, anything, but that. He dared to look back at you again. You would hurt and suffer for his actions, and that would be irreparable.

With practiced stealth, he picked up his scattered clothes and slipped them on, not daring to use the bathroom, minimizing his presence. He hoped you would forgive him. Then forget. That was best. Cramming on his shoes, he took one last look at the space he would think about for many more nights in the next sequence of life and quietly closed the door behind him.

The boy’s mind was already whirring, solving the next problem before it could happen. The entire house would ride his ass for this. He was sure he looked ridiculous, for sure jogging back to his car. And running up his front steps. And trying to inconspicuously unlock the side door. He was halfway to his room when-

“Jason!”

As slow as humanly possible, he turned around, peering over the stair rail at a one, very interested Dick Grayson.

“Dude, did you actually hang out with a girl? Wait ‘til Bruce gets a load of this.”

Before Dick could take another step, Jason was flying down the stairs, grabbing his shoulders, staring him dead in the eyes. “Do not mention this to anybody. I know where you sleep.”

“Master Jason, you’re home-” Alfred stops in his tracks, analyzing the situation before him, deciding a simple nod and a dismissive bow would be sufficient for pretending he never set eyes on the situation in the first place.

Waiting until Alfred finished rounding the corner, Jason finally let go of his brother, firmly dusting Dick’s shoulders. “Sorry.”

Dick sighed, looking at him suspiciously. “I won’t let it slip if you tell me the details of your outing. Scout’s honor.”

“That’s– illegitimate. You? A boy scout?”

“Ha, ha. Very funny. Okay, I’ve changed my terms. Just make me a sandwich.”

“Fine.”

Dinner that night proceeded to be filled with Dick offhandedly chuckling to himself while everyone just offered questioning looks at Jason, afraid to ask. The scraping of cutlery was the only noise in the dining room, as he ignored them, stuffing another bite of chicken into his mouth. Every so often, a lighthearted comment was exchanged, but his heart wasn’t in it. All he kept coming back to was you as he stared at the bouquet on the table. His mind had convinced himself you would be fine, but his heart was telling him otherwise.

He knew he had to see you again.

[chthonicgodling]

(the next) ✨Elysium Drama Update!

starring! Tory! Maci!… NOT Loki :(((( and cameos by: Gany, Cinthy, Neo, Vali, Nari, Eisa, Einmyria…. aaaand one of EeL’s fucking CLONE PROJECTIONS 🙄

[you are: one • here • three • four • five • six • seven • eight • nine • ten • eleven • twelve • thirteen • fourteen (the end!) ]

• yeah buckle up this Elysium’verse Canon Storyline of TaKi Fuego RP events is all I’ll be drawing and posting for the foreseeable future rn🥰 okay❤️ yay❤️

• To recap prev— in a moment of TYPICAL CHARACTERISTIC WEAKNESS PANIC, EeL (carrying their baby!) has broken all his promises to pseudo-partners Maci & Tory and has just FULLY bolted on them. Where did he go?!?! Will he come back?!! Has anyone even noticed ‘cause he’s been hiding WITH TORY AND MACI for months anyway?? As a bridge between longform comics, here’s some Canon Convo glimpses of Tory’s quick and secret search-party!

• …. aka a moment for me to cameo some other palace residents, primarily lol .. but ending wIth OOPS— one half of the big secret is finally out! At least they don’t know yet who the other parent is!! & At least the kids can rule out Tory, since the last time Tory and Loki had a baby the palace had erupted in chaos so cross him off the list right………HAHA.,, NERVOUS LAUGHTER…..

• Okay I’m cutting these Convos to pieces bc tragically I physically cannot draw everything I desperately want to and I do want to draw EVERYTHING but these will have to do. The biggest loss is the reveal that some of the LokiKids suspected this was what was going on and Vali and Nari have now lost a bet to their older brother Fjöer, who bet “armfuls of coins” that EeL was pregnant this whole time rip lmao. (Tory’s baffled response, cut for time here— “What the fuck does Fjöer need money for??”)

✨Once again special thanks to Elysium’s better half , tumblr hiatus’d @fenixethekid - piloting Tory & responsible for all his spectacular dialogue (AND HIS AWFUL POKER FACE AMONGST THE CHILDREN OF THE GOD OF LIES OOPS OOPS), here and that which is yet to still come 🥹 everyone on here who’s not Tory is mine, actually, lol, and all bubbles except for his :-) that’s easy!

WELL LOKI GOD OF CHAOS HAS MACI AND TORY IN A STATE OF INCREASING PANIC-CHAOS FOR SURE AAHHH— stay tuned for the next Update! it will probably be another long comic so bear with me ahahhh…. mwah

[mixelation]

In your last ask about Tori being reborn into Naruto, one of the tags mentions the akatsuki being reborn? Do you mind going into that? As in the akatsuki being reborn into different villages after they die?

no, the premise is more like a time travel fic where the time travelers end up in their younger bodies. so the akatsuki are still themselves but now they have.... Future Knowledge(tm). i've been going back and forth a lot on how this would change their decision making processes because obviously some of them could have huge effects on the canon plot. kakuzu, for example, is old enough he could probably prevent any ninja village from being founded in he played his cards right.

some ideas:

i am intrigued by the idea of kakuzu killing hashirama and preventing konoha from ever happening, but also this isn't the story to explore that. instead he decides to fuck off and be a missing-nin earlier, because he doesn't want to fuck with his village any more than he has to

hidan makes zero changes to his life. good job, hidan

sasori still makes himself a puppet, but maybe does it when he's older? like i feel like when i was 16 i was like "yeah, being a teenager forever is a good idea" but as an adult i'm like "but sasori would be so hot if he actually looked 35?" also he might get taller. so i think with the wisdom of age he might wait a bit. i also feel like he might have the motivation/ability to interfere in how the war that killed his parents went (i think it was the second one?) but that's another moving piece i'm still rotating

i haven't decided how this is going to play out in plasticity, but for this AU let's say konan and pein understand zetsu/obito's roles in ruining the world. they preemptively murder obito, oops. depending on how they do this (and how aware minato is of how obito died), it means ame's relationship with konoha could look REAL different. also not 100% sure what i want to do with yahiko/ame in general. still rotating this part

konan and pein's intervention does mean minato & kushina are still alive and kicking. itachi is confused but he's going with this. danzo's still a slimeball but the massacre isn't really on the table anymore. i'm also leaning towards a scenario where itachi is really, really bad at pretending to be A Normal Child and ends up in ANBU even earlier and is confused about why he's unhappy with this

without obito around to brainwash the mizukage, kiri is more stable and kisame is just chugging along there (although he's firmer about turning down some missions--- and good enough no one can really argue with him)

Deidara's origin story in Plasticity is that his family is just some farmers with proto-mouth hands and Iwa is paying them to churn out a bunch of children to see if they can make a new bloodline limit. Some of the gamete donors are likely ninja, but Deidara was born on a farm and not slorped up into the Iwa system never to see his family again until he was Academy age. Post time travel, Deidara remembers family never paid much attention to him, and he has no reason to want to go back to Iwa, so he just runs away at like age 5

The crux of all this is that none of them actually knows the entire akatsuki has time traveled. Like Nagato and Konan obviously know the other one time traveled and everyone is aware this timeline is Different, but it hasn't occurred to anyone to seek out other members and they don't bump into each other organically because they're all in very different parts of the world. Since she's the main character, obviously Tori gets to the catalyst for people running into each and pointing like the spiderman meme

Since Tori doesn't HAVE a family in Ninjaland to be reborn into, she's brought up as an orphan in a ninja clan that unaffiliated with any village. I just like the idea that there's still some of these kicking around. Since she's not a real part of the family, she gets treated like shit and doesn't really get formal ninja training. B U T the family heads are entering Cahoots with Orochimaru and he's like: what's this? Spare orphans???

Orochimaru obviously eventually completely fucks over the family (maybe they have some interesting kekkai genkai/jutsu he just runs off with while their home burns), but Tori knows exactly what to say and how to act to get into his good graces. But ALSO she's acutely aware she's playing a very dangerous game and abandons ship a few years later, preferably in a very dramatic way where she screws over Orochimaru as much as she can.

(Revenge? She's not worried about that. This is only endearing herself to him.)

I'm going back and forth on what her ~abilities~ are, but I want to keep that she has no elemental affinity. I also can't see her as someone whose gut reaction to a situation would be "I can fight my way out of this" even if she's technically been trained to be competent at it. What she DOES have is a new and creative ways to push the field of fuinjutsu forward. Also toyed around with the idea of misappropriating medical jutsu to fuck shit up? she is not a taijutsu specialist but you should not fight her hand-to-hand, oops

(also, yes, she can throw knives now)

Tori is right between Deidara and Itachi in age so I was thinking while she's wandering around as a 12 year old feral ninja or whatever she is, she somehow runs into Deidara? And then something goes EXTREMELY WEIRD and they both end up in Konoha. This Deidara is technically affiliated with Iwa, but he was never one of them and he's obviously a genius, so I think most of Konha leadership would be like :EYES EMOJI: at him? Tori was affiliated with Konoha's scariest missing-nin, so.... that's suspicious, but also something something she's deidara one friend and that kid needs someone else's braincell.

so, my EXTREMELY convoluted and cracktastic take was then: Minato needs to do something super sneaky at a Chunin Exam for some reason. He wants to send in a fake genin team as entrants, but he'd prefer to use younger shinobi so there's less suspicion. Kushina has been bugging him for a genin team for years. He gives her the extra super special DISASTER team of Itachi, Deidara and Tori*

*tbh i don't super like kushina but i like the idea of her as tori's mentor. their personalities are VERY different but i think kushina would ave a lot of sympathy for a young girl trying to settle into a foreign village, oh and also do you want to do something wild with yogurt

[happilychaengs]

Nayeon - Tapes

a/n: had a spark of inspiration. this entire thing is from nayeon's pov. this took a lot of courage to even try and i don't know if this was worth posting or not but i tried doing something new, plot wise and writing wise. didn't proofread so it may have some errors.

word count: 1,219

angst

nayeon x gender neutral reader

When the doorbell rang, I almost couldn't bring myself to stand up and answer it. Not until I heard your name.

"Package for Y/N!" I... couldn't believe it. My chest was tight. My head hurt.

When I saw a box with your name signed on it at my doorstep, everything I've held back finally burst through the floodgates. I cried and cried, each tear staining the cardboard box even more than the last.

I almost didn't have the courage to bring it in but something in me needed to know what it was. There were so many tapes inside, each labeled with different dates. Now I know why you got me a VHS player all those months ago.

Tape 1 - 9/25/21

There you were with a happy smile. As happy as you could have been when you were in a hospital gown, all those syringes pinned inside your arm. You sat down in front of a white wall and yet your eyes were still so bright, almost somehow filling the entire screen with color. You looked so hopeful.

"Hi Nayeon!" You waved directly to the camera with a bright smile and almost for a second, I feel like I'm with you again. Like I'm standing in front of you just having a conversation like any ordinary day with you.

You say all the right things to make me smile despite it all. "I miss you tons already, Nayeon. All these doctors have just been feeding me so much medicine and it's all so disgusting!" You stick your tongue out playfully in disgust, a habit you've picked up from your older sister.

"And all the nurses have been side eyeing me lately for some reason. Maybe it was because I ate another sandwich when they told me not to... oops!" You laugh again and it rings in my ears so clearly. I loved your hearty laugh. The way it always made me laugh too and you'd tease me for it saying I shouldn't be laughing at you.

"I didn't want to sit in my bed all day and watch old people television so I asked for some favors and here I am now before you! Your great protector Y/N!" A nickname you gave yourself when you once killed a cockroach that crawled into my shoes.

"I also know I've been out of tune with the trends lately but I learned this from Jeongyeon when she visited earlier!" Then you dabbed like it wasn't a dead trend for years already, you giggling to yourself as you did it. God, you and Jeongyeon were such dorks together. I wish you knew she misses you a lot too.

Then a person, maybe a doctor or a nurse, was heard outside your room. Something about you going to get your treatment. You just nodded at them as you looked back to the camera, your smile still on your face.

"That's all for now, Nay! But don't worry! I'll be back!" You said in that annoying terminator impression of yours that I secretly loved. I wish I told you.

Tape 2 - 10/01/21

"Happy Anniversary, darling!" You shouted as you pulled on a small confetti popper. "I'm really sorry that we can't celebrate our anniversary together because of me but I wanted to record this to tell you how much I love you!"

You pulled out a small piece of paper which I could definitely recognize as a poem. You always did that on our anniversaries. Something new and original every year albeit sometimes they didn't make sense because you wanted to rhyme but that didn't matter. I loved them all.

Clearing your throat, you read it aloud with a stupid accent you say is 'just like Shakespeare!'

"Like a sunshine to the horizon, you were bound to light up my world.

Like water to the ocean, I feel like we're inseparable.

Whatever I say is true, I give you my word.

You're my one true love, irreplaceable.

Even when I sit here surrounded by death,

The thought of you gives me life.

I wish to love you till my very last breath,

So someday I may call you my wife."

You folded up the paper and set it down, staring directly at the camera with your ever bright smile. "Well! I hope you liked it! I really tried hard for that one since you know... can't take you out anywhere right now." And if only you knew how much that poem meant to me right now.

Tape 3 - 10/11/21

"Hey Nay!" You still haven't lost the glow in your eyes yet as you coddled the small teddy bear I gave you that day. "I know you just visited me but I couldn't help but want to sit down and record another tape for you in secret! I really miss you a lot but I'm glad I can have Mr. Cuddles by my side." I felt a small smile at my lips as I finally figured out what you named that bear that came along with the tapes.

"I also made a new friend here that I didn't tell you last time! I became friends with one of the nurses and now they sometimes give me extra food but don't tell anyone! It's our little secret..." You whispered.

I missed those parts of you. The social butterfly that could become friends with anyone even when you were bed ridden and that sort of free spirit you possessed. Not bound by anything. I wished those parts of you I could try to imitate at least but you really are irreplaceable.

You spoke up again as you tried peering out of your rooms windows and into the hallway. "I think I got to go but I'll definitely come back, Nayeon. Promise." I wish you kept it. Why'd you have to be so bad with promises?

Tape 4 - 12/15/21

"Nayeon. You heard the doctors." Your eyes were filled with such despair, the colors missing now. An apparent void in you. "I've... decided that these tapes will only make it to you if I..." you choked out, "if I die. If you ever see these then... I'm sorry for not being strong enough. For not fighting harder for you."

I wish you didn't say that. I should have been there for you. I should have fought harder with you. Water pooled in my eyes as my hands faltered on the remote, wanting to pause it and forget about it all but how could I ever forget? I love you.

"Nayeon. If I'm really gone, I... want you to move on if you haven't already by the time you're watching this. I know how stubborn you are. If we were really meant for each other then... I'll find you in our next life but for now please move on. For me." Maybe the only thing you could've asked me that I can't do.

"For the rest of my time, I'll record some more tapes for you just to cheer you up if I really am gone but I'm sorry if I sound a little... sad. It comes with the diagnosis." You let out a low chuckle as you reached over to the camera and shut it off, leaving me alone again.

[ironladders]

so i had a thought about ashrah and syzoth and i really dont know how to feel about it so i want your input. and keep in mind i am still new to MK lore and dont understand the ins and outs of it like most other people do. but i read that in past timelines at least, demons of the netherrealm were dead bodies reanimated by quan chi. so i was wondering, how do you feel about the idea of ashrah having been syzoths wife in her past life, probably unbeknownst to her. does it make sense, the implications of it, etc.

hi sorry i was in figure drawing when i got this ask & that class lasts 6 hours 🫠 art school was a mistake

anyways: this is so good and yet evil oh my god??????? it probably wouldn't work in canon unless stuff got retconned, but the implications here are so interesting to me regardless and you could do so much stuff character-wise (especially for ashrah) with this concept.....

first off, don't worry about not knowing extensive details about mk lore. it's bound to be confusing for someone new to the franchise, and even then plenty of us who've been here for a while don't entirely know what's going on either. i had to look up half the shit i mention in this post just to make sure i'm not off by a bunch

syzoth would have the biggest mental breakdown ever if this were a thing. poor guy can't catch a break

this would be a lot for ashrah, if she were to find out or otherwise put the pieces together. i mean, her whole thing is wanting to be fully human, and yet in this idea, she's not aware that she once already was human. that would be absolutely wild and 100% turn her entire world upside-down if she were to ever find out that truth.

the angst in this idea would go crazy. I LOVE IT. i think that syzoth would be reluctant to get close in any way with ashrah (at least initially) because, even if he doesn't know about how some demons are dead people brought back to life, ashrah physically resembling + sounding like his dead wife would mess with his head SO much.

poor ashrah, too; she's trying to learn what it means to be human and make friends with all these new people, and everyone in the good-guys group seems to be willing to be open with her--except for syzoth. and she has zero clue why. of course, because of their similar pasts and common struggles, they'd probably be drawn to each other anyways, but it'd be 10x more depressing than in canon

i imagine in this concept, shang killed her and then gave her corpse to quan chi. i don't think shang tsung would've given syzoth's family the dignity of dying in the living forest, tbh, i personally believe he dragged them off somewhere far away to die (which is also how i imagine syzoth went so long without knowing they were dead in the first place. easier to keep him in the dark about his family's fate if he's not aware of where they are). alternatively, ashrah could be put in a similar boat to old-timeline hanzo, who was a vengeful spirit of the netherrealm after being killed by bi-han, and then continuously manipulated by quan chi. i guess she would have to be somehow turned from a spectre to a demon, but i'm sure they can figure it out with magic lmfao

you're sort of right about the reanimated/reincarnation thing, it just doesn't apply to every type of demon. (more lore explanation under the cut bc i rambled a lot and it got a bit long oops) (if you read up on all this already and this information is useless to you i sincerely apologize in advance)

the lots of different demon types in mortal kombat: imps, oni, the enenera, cambions, and other miscellaneous ones. iirc there was also gonna be another class called "elder demons" (like elder gods but not really???? i guess???) in an older game but that was scrapped.

there’s technically a difference between the oni and other demons, because quan chi in the old timeline was an oni before he turned into a demon after mastering sorcery. so i guess oni are like… lower than demons??? or something?????? i’m not actually sure what the difference is between the two tbh 😓

we know that the enenra are created from the souls of slain mortals, so they'd be an example of an undead person coming back as a demon, as mentioned in this very sad scenario. the only enenra that we've actually met in canon is smoke, who was explained to be one after dying as a child via his mk9 ending

it's really fucked up lol, some cult kidnapped & sacrificed him when he just a kid

so that would be one example of how in this au/scenario/thing, ashrah could've had a human life once and not be aware of it. this tracks pretty well with mk9 smoke not remembering his previous life or death, until his early memories came back to him after so long.

the only issue is that smoke was reborn as an enenra right after he was killed, and after he took out his revenge on the cultists, he woke back up in his human body with no memories of his previous life. so i assume this would apply to any other enenra: they die, come back and do their thing, then go back to their original bodies right where they died with no memories of their old lives. they don't minecraft respawn in the netherrealm, which is where ashrah is from. but if pre-death ashrah in this au was dragged to the netherrealm and then killed, then brought back as a demon that's further manipulated by quan chi's dark magic, i guess it could work?????

(speaking of the enenra: in one of his mk1 intros with ashrah, smoke mentions dreaming of the enenra. so either tomas already died in this new timeline & just isn't aware of it, OR he's gonna kick the bucket soon and come back as an enenra. either way, we should probably prepare his funeral in advance lmfao).

there have also been demons that aren’t enenra, but are still dead people reincarnated by quan chi, as you mentioned. they're really obscure characters -- i had to look them up to make sure i wasn't making this up in my head lmfao -- but in the show mortal kombat: conquest there's siann, mika, and sora. they're undead corpses of the netherrealm that were brought back to life as demons via quan chi's magic

they lived they served cunt they died

from my understanding (i haven't watched mk:c, i just read their wiki page) they were basically being forced to work for quan chi otherwise he threatened take away their living forms, which sucks. also mika might have a crush on quan chi….. for some reason???

the difference between these three and the enenra, though, is that they seem to actually be aware that they're undead lol. but maybe that's just because quan chi keeps threatening them with being corpses again if they don't follow his orders (again, haven't watched mk:c). who knows! their wiki page isn’t that long and doesn’t give me much info so i don’t have much to go off of 🤷🏻‍♂️

ashrah in mk1 does have a canonical demon type; she mentions that her and her sisters are cambions in an intro with kitana, hence how sareena can seamlessly change between her human-ish and demon form. i don’t thiiiink cambions are “reborn”/undead the same way the enenra would be? in irl folklore “cambion” is used to refer to either a changeling — which makes sense given sareena — or a demon-human hybrid. i really doubt ashrah’s the latter, though, so i suppose she just... spawned into existence as a cambion one day. or maybe she has demon parents running around somewhere. idk bro

i guess what i’m trying to tie together here is that in the “ashrah is a reborn dead person but doesnt know it and unfortunately said dead person is syzoth’s dead wife” nightmare scenario you’ve presented to my inbox, it could go a few ways:

she’s an enenra

same situation as the mk:c girls

hanzo-esque situation (although he's not a demon so. idk)

the second one is probably more in line with what you're thinking of, except that unlike the mk:c girls, ashrah would be kept in the dark that she's a reanimated corpse of a human woman.

and, i said this earlier, but i'll say it again: this would be a wild twist for ashrah character-wise. imagine: she’s fighting for her absolution, fighting to be a human and rid herself of her demonic nature, and then it turns out all along that at one point, there was a time ashrah was human. she had a human life and appearance once, and it was all ripped from her one day and she had no idea. even if her previous life wasn’t related to syzoth or anyone else on the roster, that would still suck. but on the other hand, i think it would give her even more incentive to purify her soul & finally kill quan chi. she'd be hurt, angry, want vengeance for the human woman she once was. the woman that was wrongfully murdered for a sorcerer's selfish gains. the possibilities are endless!!!

i dunno what else to put here or how to end this off, but i've got so many thoughts now... oughh

[chromatix-wastaken]

Some older artworks I made but forgot to post here, oops!

Not really sure what else to say because I mean I’m not the most active on Tumblr XD

Anyways

This below drawing was a late Earth day post from my object show Last Lifeline. Featuring one of the contestants Red Ink Pen, who despite his emo-ish nature is a surprising fan of nature. Thus, he fit the bill to be put into this drawing. It was made on April 25th.

Now, let’s go the complete opposite direction.

The next day (April 26th), I made an artwork that shows the destruction of nature. But this is not to go against the idea of Earth Day!! Rather, it was inspired by a canonical event that occurred in the camp that Last Lifeline is based off of. Another LL contestant, Chess Piece, had actually caused the volcano to erupt holy shit.

But not through any OP means!! It was done using some leftover explosives (from the prior challenge) and exploiting the thin rock layer on the top of the volcano.

Regardless, there’s only one thing you should do: RUN.

Yeah this was just a double post. Tank you!!

[m3r1m4r5u333]

Sometimes it's a mind-fuck to be a non-native English speaker. I am quite used to asking, respecting, and following the insights of native English speakers when it comes to the truest meaning of a word or another... to double check, so that I don't understand or use the language incorrectly.

But now and then the odd thought pops into my mind: actually, if I already know the word, why shouldn't my opinion count, too? Don't my observations of how certain common, yet obscure words are actually used... count at all?

No, I am not a native speaker, but I wonder... Don't we all learn to speak a language the same way - piece by piece, from different people?

We learn by being told what a word means,

by observing how words are used,

by noticing when they're used,

by whom - by noting what sort of person uses them,

how frequently...

We learn from context,

from older text,

we learn from our studies,

we learn from the reactions of other speakers.

And English is a global, ever-changing language. It's slightly different everywhere in the world, even within smaller communities. The same word can have a different meaning to different speakers.

So... Why wouldn't my opinion count?

Because I wasn't taught by my parents? You are right. I didn't learn English at home, I wasn't a toddler, I started learning it at school, but you know what? The learning didn't stop there.

Almost right away I expanded my exposure to the language. I've talked and kept talking with native speakers, non-native speakers, people from all over the world. For years, actually decades now... I've used English daily. I use it to read, to write, to communicate, to enjoy art, to consume media of all sorts - news, documentaries, brainless entertaintment, I use it to talk with native and non-native speakers.

I use English daily, both online and face to face with people I know. Often I think in English. English influences me when I'm trying to speak my native language. Often I need to discard the first word that pops into my mind because oops, that word was English, not my native language. Sometimes I find that my pen is forming words in English when I actually meant to take notes in my native language. Occasionally I dream in English.

So I'm just thinking. It is true, my first words weren't in English... but if I count the age of my language skills, from the day I first started my lessons?

Well then, my English is actually 26 years old, turning 27 this year. And no, it isn't perfect, I will likely never use it without making errors... This post will most likely have them, too!

And no, I am not even a scholar, how embarrassing to talk about this then! Indeed, I am just a regular person using this language to communicate. But so are most native speakers, aren't they? Yet only their opinions appear to count. Why so?

Really, who even speaks any language perfectly? I am actually unable to create flawless grammar even in my native language... Even though I was one of the top students in my class, year after year.

So yeah. I do kinda consider my English to be an adult these days. It's 26 years old. I wonder, will it ever get to vote? Or must I always fold when a native speaker corrects me about the true meaning of a word?

Why are my own impressions so insignificant, and easily dismissed? I've had plenty of time and exposure to build my impressions, too, have I not? Why are only their insights true?

[kazeharuhime]

Thanks to @authoroflight for the original template! (Though I might have customized it beyond recognizability ksdjgnsd)

2023... I got a lot of art done this year compared to past years! Though the year started out slow, between trades and commissions, the first quarter of the year somehow managed to have at least one good drawing a month, even if March's old-sketch-paintover looks a little strange next to all the creatures. XD; May and June continued the theme of painting over old, though June's original was considerably newer than May's. It also took me forever to find it!! Several of the ones I'd been going to put for June turned out to be from different months (no date on them so was going by modified date at first, oops!). And in July of course there was the Clysmia comic, August with the Choco 'comic'. September was another low but I managed to churn out another paintover. October of course had my annual flower-drawing saga with the last one featured here, and in November I got bored and drew Comet, and December held a delightful surprise in the form of a book-illustrating commission. :3 Gonna keep that one to just a preview since it's part of something that'll be published.

But! Let's go through all the rest. Keep reading for more on the rest of the pieces.

January - This was a secret santa for my good friend @toothpaste-dragon of her OC Baz! Love this grumpy crust of an alien. :D You can view the full pic here.

February - This was a commission from @dreagonarchives of her guy Guido! Full pic: x

March - Paintover I did of my character Sleepi from Torn Apart! Since it was done over an older pic the style looks a little incongruent from my current style 😅 But this was also almost a year a go now, so, y'know.

April - My half of a design trade with @chrystallink! Doggos are a bit of a challenge for me, but it was a fun one! Full pic: x

May - A fittingly sunny pic of my character Nola. This was another one that I think had started from a paintover and just went places from there. Still a little strange-looking, but oh well. Plus a photo of some sunflowers in the background. XD

June: Progress pic of an absolute freak. An attempt was made to sketch out a hand to keep it from hiding, but I never did get back to this pic... 😂

July: As mentioned above, a comic for my good friend Dia featuring her gal Clysmia!

August: The tail end of a final ArtFight attack against Chocobir! I had so much fun putting in on the Easter eggs, and Choco is so cute!

September: The suave business lizard himself, it's Nell! Another one that's painted over an older sketch. Overall I think I improved the face shape a bit since the sketch? Maybe?

October: The final flower from Floratober 2023! I had a lot of fun and it was so great getting so much feedback this year. The wonders of posting on places other than Tumblr! lol.

November: Comet from Cosmic Baton Girl Comet-san! Whenever I need to get away and draw, Comet is there as my comfort anime. :) It's been a while since I've drawn the girl and watched the last bundle of episodes!

December: And of course, December's art! From a very fittingly snowy-themed project. :) I don't know yet how much I'll be able to talk about it, but it's certainly going to keep me busy for a while!

[elizabethplaid]

daily notes - sept 25, 2024

Accidentally unfolloed someone on tumblr, oops. This has happened before and will happen again - a casualty of the touch screen interface, alas.

It's been in the low 60s F today, with rain expected tomorrow. I put another blanket on my bed, just for my feet. I'm still throwing off the covers at random. And like I said earlier, I can tolerate the sheets better than clothing. But yeah, it's been just a sheet, a summer quilt, and the duvet cover (empty, because the quilt won't fit).

I stayed in the kitchen for a few hours this afternoon. Didn't want to stay in bed, and I got to chat with my dad. Had my first cup of hot chocolate of the season. Need to stop using the tall mug; it cools off before I can finish it.

I don't quite recognize myself in the mirror lately, though I admire the dark circles and bags under my eyes. My personality doesn't shine through the fatigue. I got used to "seeing myself" when seeing myself, so it's weird to go back to how it was during the depressed years.

It's not a negative observation, mind you. I acknowledge I'm in metaphoric pain, emotional pain, as I sort through things. It's just that my expression is "resting bitch face", and there isn't another emotion overriding that currently.

My face shows more pain than I am consciously able to sense. A few years ago, one of my goals with counseling was to be better able to sense and evaluate emotions and physical things. I -am- better, but there's still room for improvement. Might be connected to how it's sometimes tough to vent sorrow and pain through tears. It's far easier to have tears of joy in the past 5 years, certainly.

I am working to undo the years of trauma responses. Hyper-vigilance, dissociating from body and emotions, skin picking (self harm), using food as a stim, blocking out memories, seeking validation through intimacy, people pleasing (fawning), etc. Everything is very tangled and interconnected.

For now, my main purpose in life is to work towards healing. Doing the fun and creative things is part of that work. I'm getting older, am not planning to have kids, and am not easily employable. I've made enough of an impact on the world that I'm not worried about fulfilling an external purpose.

When I eventually pass, many years from now, I want to have healed from a lot of my pain. I've reached out for help on and off for the last 25 years. I only started making consistent progress in the last 15. And just the last 5 have been the most remarkable, especially this past year.

This post has been my pep talk for myself. I'm happy and grateful to be alive and feel so loved. And I look forward to continuing this work with mental health. I'm embracing the challenge, still, even as it wears on me.

After all these years, I am a smooth piece of sea glass. Lots of symbolism in that, but I need to put down my phone and nap.

[marshallpupfan]

Marshall Merchandise Update!

I sometimes wonder if I should number these merchandise update posts, but I'm honestly not sure how many I've made since I first started doing this. Let's just pick a number at random and say it's #23.

In any case, I managed to add a few new items to my Marshall collection today. Nothing too big, but they're still pretty cool, imo.

Okay, so... I made a post last night about how I was lamenting the lack of holiday-themed PAW Patrol merchandise this year. Well, as it turns out... I'm a dummy, because I completely forgot about buying this thing a few weeks ago. I didn't show it off at the time because I wanted to have a few other items to show off with it.

Actually, when I first seen this thing on Ebay, I thought it was an older ornament. I'd never seen one like it before, and when I Google-searched it, the results came up empty. I thought I found another rare ornament, so I quickly snatched it up! You can imagine my surprise when I got it and, upon inspecting the tag... it said "2023". Oops. lol

In any case, this ornament's from "Primark". The tag even says it's hand-painted (you can kind of tell, honestly). Strangely, it's not listed on their site, unless I'm just looking in the wrong place. Only one has appeared on Ebay so far, and I haven't seen it anywhere else at all yet. Well, there's some store out there selling them, but I know not which one... all I know is I'm happy to have one. :)

Next, a "Slow-Rise Squishies". They also come in Chase and Skye, too.

Unless I'm mistaken, you can't find these in the USA right now. Yup, this is another imported item! From Canada, in fact (thankfully, the shipping was low). Admittedly, the likeness is pretty spot on, not to mention it's bigger than I expected it to be. I think it's pretty cool!

Last.... er... this thing. It's just something I randomly found on Ebay one day, so I decided to bid on it. Admittedly, it's also bigger than I expected (around 4 inches tall - the Squishies is slightly taller, at 4.75). Sadly, it's not in the best condition, but I can't say I'm too surprised. I'm honestly lucky to find any previously-owned item in good condition, especially given the age group these toys are meant for.

I'm not sure, but I suspect this thing may not be official. Typically, each item, even if it's a small piece in a set, has some sort of number or information on it. I've posted a few examples above, just to show you what I mean. This item, however, doesn't seem to have any such thing. Maybe there are exceptions, but chances are, it's an imitation you can find cheap somewhere. Despite that, I think it matches the character close enough, so I've no problem including it in my collection. It wouldn't be the first counterfeit in there (and likely won't be the last, since I still have my eye on a few I'd like to buy someday).

That's all for now! I can't say if I'll find too much more by the end of the year, so this'll probably be it for 2023. Chances are, the next items I show off will be the Jungle Pups toys, unless something unexpected pops up between then. Maybe I'll get lucky and find some of those Canadian-exclusive items... but I wouldn't bet money on that. lol

[sflow-er]

🎁 💛 🎨 for the writers asks if you’re still doing them.

(If you’ve already answered any of these, replace with one you were hoping someone would ask!)

Hi! Yeah, I'm still doing them!

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

Well...sure! Here's an angsty snippet from the next chapter of my WIP, The real deal. I was actually hoping to get the chapter out this week, but I've been kind of swamped with other stuff, so I guess any readers hoping for an update may appreciate this.

[Context: Henry has just joined the Society. Walter is not happy about it.]

Walter has to stop there to quell the desperation that has not so much crept as it has rushed into his voice. He screws his eyes shut and hugs himself for comfort, trying to make it look like he’s just crossing his arms in frustration. The true meaning of the gesture isn’t lost on Henry, who soon reaches out to put his hand on Walter’s upper arm. “Hey. Are you okay?” Walter opens his mouth to say yes. What comes out is, “No. I’m really not.” Henry rubs Walter’s arm through the sleeve and hesitates a little before asking, “Would you like a hug?” “I’m not…in a hugging kind of place right now.”

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?

Man, this is a tough one! There's always more to learn, and also so many things I have "learned" but not really taken to heart (such as "use a placeholder when you get stuck" haha).

I'd say maybe 'think of your readers as people, not numbers'. The writing itself has to be for me, because the worth of the story or my worth as a writer should not be determined by what anyone else makes of my writing. But I still think it's okay to acknowledge that I wouldn't be posting the stories anywhere if I didn't want to connect with people through them. The important part is not to think about it in terms of hits or even the number of kudos or comments, because that just leads to all kinds of self-doubt if the fic/chapter doesn't reach that many people (I am a niche writer in a small fandom, after all). I find it much more useful and joyful to think about it in terms of the actual human beings on the other side of the screen who have taken an interest in the story and let me share it with them.

🎨 - I already answered this one here. But since you suggested picking another one, let's do this (I tried to pick one of the yellow ones to at least match the colour):

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

I write what I want to read, so I do reread my fics every now and then. Some more than others, but a couple of months ago I actually reread one that I had not revisited in ages, and I'm glad I did because it was better than I remembered.

Sometimes I reread for no particular reason, other times after a nice comment on an older fic. Or when I need to check something - just the other day, I went to check a minor detail in my magnum opus for my WIP (which is a prequel), and I ended up rereading the last five chapters... Oops.

(Sadly, rereading does often reveal typos or other little errors and fixing those does take me out of the story a bit, but I still enjoy it!)

Thank you again, @gulliblelemon! These were fun 💜

[Ask list for reference]

[corduroyserpent]

20 questions writer meme.

thanks @monroeknoxwrites for the tag! 💖

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

81

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

362,928

3. What fandoms do you write for?

mainly danmei – svsss, tgcf, mdzs (on occasion)

i used to only write for one piece but clearly i've branched out lmao

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

there's a CHILD in my shrine?? WTF!! – hualian adopts wwx crossover, 2k words, 2.9k kudos

When I Was Older – post-canon xie lian swaps places with his book 4/volume 6 counterpart, 67.5k words, 2.7k kudos

i shine only with the light you gave me – tianlang-jun brings zhuzhi-lang back to life but oops his nephew is now a toddler, 48k words (and counting), 1.9k kudos

Out of Your Mind – mobei-jun gets hit with a mysterious pollen that allows him to hear shang qinghua's thoughts, 1.9k words, 1.8k kudos

i'd wanna be held by you, felled by you – hua cheng allows xie lian to see beneath his eyepatch (this was baby's first hualian fic), 1.6k words, 1.6k kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i try to respond to every comment (sorry if it's annoying 😆) because it's fun! there's no deeper reason

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

uhhh probably for lack of words because it's canonverse maigu ridge zzl pov so...you can imagine how that ends

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

So Much for Stardust has a classic everyone gets together fairy tale ending so probably that one

8. Do you get hate on fics?

yeah sometimes 😖 if you've ever wondered why i haven't updated something in a year, or enabled comment moderation on a fic that didn't previously have it, that's why. but it's okay! we stay silly

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

i sure do! and all kinds i guess, idk i just have fun 💕

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i write about wen ning and zhuzhi-lang kissing. so yeah. i do write crossovers

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yup some of my fics have been translated into russian which is very cool!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

no but i've co-written a series with my bestie

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

i can't answer this afgdhkjls i ship too many things!!

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

sigh. the fic i was writing for that one hualian zine that ended up imploding 😔 the vibes surrounding the wip are just too rancid for me to get back to it

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue, characterization

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

description

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

like entire lines/scenes? i've never done that so i suppose my thoughts are neutral

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i'm pretty sure it was percy jackson asdfghjkl i was 11

20. Favorite fic you've written?

ohhh in pursuit of warmth my beloved zhuzhi-lang introspective 💚

Tagging: @luukeskywalker, @breadandblankets, @peerlessbellbird, and anyone else who wants to do it!

[ratgingi]

smth smth oc rambles

murr is almost constantly swaying a little bit, think like a cartoon character does when theyre in love or smth. its not super noticable unless youre like actively watching him

outis plays with his necklace a lot, especially while he talks. also speaking of the necklace it was a present from his dad, the very first time he ever went to the beach with his parents he was way too scared of going anywhere near the water, and his dad got him the shell while diving and had ot turned into a necklace for him

also outis has had to be hospitalized twice because of his allergy, once when he was 5 (it was the first time they found out it was a problem) and once when he was 10 (went out to eat with family and everyone forgot to double check that the food was safe). his dad makes a joke every time he his a 5th year that its 'time for another scare'. outis does not think this joke is very funny but yk how parents are

xander (who i havent . talked abt hardly at all despite them being the most notable nonedatable from vinnies route oops) is 20 and genderfluid (any pronouns with no preference) and is probably gonna be the person who sets you up with vinnie methinks. he likes vintage and old time-y devices and has a weird fascination with medieval weaponry/torture . shes relatively normal xe just thinks its really cool

addy used to give free food to randy when he was living in the dumpster. juniper used to threaten to beat him up so he would give her that food while she was on the streets. addy caught her during one of these harassment moments and with margo's assistance helped her get her current job to get her back on her feet

oopsie does not like roe or murr and treats them both similarly to how she treats gingi. when asked she just says they creep her out and have bad vibes and make her feel like shes in danger so she avoids them (however if she had to pick between those two or gingi she would go to them for protection)

kara still has her old trophy head, she got it changed shortly before coming to town and keeps the trophy in her room in oakey's place. not as an ego boost so much as a humbling kind of thing, she looks at it whenever she feels homesick to remind herself why she left in the first place. the blue ribbon she wears was the first blue ribbon she ever won, and she won it for a singing performance. THAT one she uses as motivation

jackson had an older model smartphone as a head when he was little, when he was a teenager (like 16/17 or so) his parents paid to replace it with a newer one since his old friend group's parents were all doing it and they didnt want him to stick out. one of said friends got the rainbow headcase for him as a joke but hes just never stopped wearing it

when talking to charlie the first time he mentions that lillith is mute and offers to give the player a little sorta book with basic conversational asl instructions so they might understand lillith better. the player would be able to refuse this either saying they already know it or saying they just dont need it and if you say its because you know it already some of the things lillith 'says' wont make sense to represent misunderstanding their gestures, if the player says they just dont need it lillith's text just flat out wouldnt show and youd have to go back to charlie to get the book

both charlie and lilliths heads are damaged (his screen is shattered, their clipboard head has a piece broken off of the corner), neither will disclose how either of the damages happened

in outis' route youd be able to meet up with stop in the laundremat and the two of you would work together to help him for a bit. i havent decided if you meet it normally or if you meet them post them getting hit by a car (a very common occurance for her dont worry)

similar to murr roe is not super picky about pronounce or gender things bc when youre around for long enough you sort of decide being picky about gender is not worth it. smth smth "im nonbinary now this shit is getting ridiculous" type beat

[braveclxrke]

Fanfic origin story

thank you for the tag @ravens-words 🖤

What was your first fandom (reading and/or writing)?

Reading: i believe that it was teen wolf and Spn

Writing: The first three fics I posted were Teen wolf, then Shadowhunters and then Spn

What was the first story you ever wrote?

It was a Teen wolf AU, i wrote it back in 2015 and never finished it (oops and apologies to the person who commented the other month asking if it will ever be updated…unfortunately not)

What's a piece of advice you would give your younger fic writing self? 

From looking back at my old work - separate your paragraphs lol, i have some massive blocks of writing.

But also, just write - even if it's not perfect and there are errors, just find your writing style and keep writing.

What's an early fandom interaction that stuck with you (be it a nice comment, a friend you made, a fic that got a lot of fedback)? 

There are so many people that have influenced my tumblr/fandom experience, i have to give a shout-out to two of the most important

EJ @ravens-words, my dearest and bestie, you have beta read soooo many of my fics and have pushed me to write when I couldn’t, you listen to my chaotic rambles that turn into the fics and are always there to brainstorm and help with ideas, most of my tarlos/malex fics wouldn’t be here without you.

Ashley @bellamyblakru - my amazing co-admin, from your sassanach sister across the sea, I can 1000% say i wouldn’t be writing Merthyr fics without you, you brought me into that fandom and have ALWAYS, supported my fics, no matter what fandom it's for and even for shows you don’t watch, I hope you know how much that means to me! in summary; these two amazing people are the reason I write/post and I love them 💛💖

Post a sentence or two from an older fic and a sentence or two from a newer one (if you want)

Your heart knows the truth

Merlin felt his lip quiver. For as long as he had known Arthur, he had never wished the man didn’t care for Merlin, he'd never wished that Arthur didn’t feel the same as he did.  But today he did. He wished with all his heart that Arthur just saw Merlin as some servant, someone who could be replaced.  Merlin closed his eyes, another tear escaping. For the first time, Merlin wished that Arthur didn’t love him like he loved Arthur.

False hope is a terrible thing, if it's the only thing keeping you alive you'll be dead by dawn.

TK glanced down at the phone next to him, “No word from Carlos?” She asked, her voice gentle. The Adam's apple in his throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, the wood of the chopstick creaking from his tight grip. “No,” He lamented. TK went to take a bite of food, pausing as he found his appetite was gone. TK let them fall back into the box, TK sticking the chops in and placing the food on the table. TK rested his elbows on his thighs, his hands clasped together as his chin rested on them, “I fucked up,” He confessed.

tagging: @morganaspendragonss @marwani-strickland @lire-casander @tailoredshirt @bluenet13 @howlingsaturn🧡