#anyway this is a lovingly made post i am having a lot of fun

[spearxwind]

Actually that last post reminded me of my bf waking me up in his sleep like just nudging me awake in the middle of the fucking night while he was still fully unconscious

[collectorcookie]

Need u to know the yumetron2000 tweet has become a new hit term among me and oomf who recently got into mhyk and is a rutile fan

am i wrong tho

[theriverbeyond]

DEATH FIRST TO VULTURES AND SCAVENGERS

🦴 Harrow, photo editing, bones et al by me! 📸 photo and harrow robe by @trickstercheshi

took these pics like 2? months and then totally forgot to post them here! anyway Harrow currently features 122 hand sculpted bones (86 of which are in the rosary!), not counting the spares I made or the 336 resin teeth I bought & drilled for her bracelets and waist chain.

my central requirement for this cosplay is basically that every bone (except the face/ear jewlery) HAS to be made as close as possible in size and shape to an anatomically accurate human bone, because I am nothing of not committed to the inherent wonder of human anatomy. this means: no bone tits, no sizing bones up or down as convenient for aesthetics, no animal bones. I think it turned out great and I'm soooooo excited to make EVEN MORE bones for when I wear her next >:3

rigcage progress is documented on tumblr here, and under the cut are some extra ramblings & detail photos of her rosary & stole!

the rosary is based off of normal catholic rosaries, altered it to fit Ninth House aesthetics. a normal rosary has 5 sections ("Mysteries") made of 10 beads each.

MY rosary has nine (9!!) sections for the Ninthefold ressurection, with each section being made of 8 bones. specifically, each section is made of carpal bones, and there is one carpal bone per section to represent each populated House. anatomy fun fact! humans have 8 different carpal bones in the body (one set in each wrist) all of which I lovingly sculpted to attempted anatomical accuracy.

phalanges are the "separating" ("Our Father"?) beads, and the hanging centerpiece is a metacarpal articulating with 3 phalanges -- "the knuckle of your great-grandmother that represented the Rock, and the Universe, and God." (HtN p. 118).

I went back and forth on what I wanted the centerpiece to be, because "knuckle" has an original anatomical meaning (the talus bone -- of like, sheep, so not an option here per my central requirement) but it also has several colloquial meanings. I've heard "knuckle" being used to describe both the interphalangeal joints of the fingers and the metacarpalphalangeal joint as well. I actually did end up sculpting a life sized human talus bone to test how it would look as the centerpiece, but rejected it due to it simply looking very goofy due to scale and size (it was too big 😔). I also learned how to do a proper hail mary knot for this!

anyway: behold some more pics

for Harrow's stole, I was inspired by @/thatbonejunky's art here as well as @/bondibee's art here! I really wanted to lean into the religious leader aspect of her character. Harrow as not the Reverend *Daughter*, but the *Reverend* Daughter -- especially as this is, due to my own proclivities, definitely a Butch Harrow™ cosplay. The fabric is this cool celtic pattern from JoAnns and the skull is applique + hand beading! I went back and forth on if I should give her tassles on the bottom or not but honestly it came down to tassels just seeming more dramatic, and Harrow deserves this

phew ok that was a lot of rambling. all bones are made of creative paperclay, an air dry clay, and painted with basic acrylics. did you know you can find hundreds of free 3D models of bones free online on sketchfab or by searching "[bone name] 3D model". what was i saying. anyway. i love bone :)

[snakes-writing-corner]

Mr. Puzzles Fluff Alphabet

Requested by… Me!

Coming out of hibernation ‘cause there is not enough Mr. Puzzles x Reader content out there so I am contributing to the pile because the hyperfixation I have on this man has me in a fucking death-grip.

It is 2 in the morning when I’m posting this so yippie brain-rot!!!

Anyways alphabet under the cut :D

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Very. I mean you are kind of the only person who’s ever bothered to get close to him!

He was extremely clingy when the two of you were just friends, but now that you’re his partner? That’s increased tenfold.

He’s very unpredictable so he’s pretty much a wildcard when it comes to ways he’ll show affection.

Sometimes he’ll gently pull you along by grabbing your wrist, sometimes he’ll nuzzle into your hair or neck, maybe he’ll cup your face like you’re a glass sculpture that might shatter, and sometimes he’ll just pick you up and twirl you around. Honestly? This lovable director will show you any kind of physical affection under the sun.

I do think he particularly would like to hold your hand though. He likes the warmth of your hand in his, and how it’s so small compared to his. It’s like your hand was just made for him to hold!

Overall, any physical affection is fine by him as long as he gets to touch or hold you!

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend?)

I fear having this man as a best friend because that means chaos.

Yes being in a romantic relationship with him would be chaos, but a friendship I feel would be more chaotic somehow???

Will break your door down to get an opinion on a new show he’s been working on, and will absolutely pester you until you comply.

Would probably get you to star in said show and then poke fun at you the entire time. Lovingly of course mind you!

Lots of talk sessions where the two of you just talk shit about other people because this man lives for drama, like wants the tea on everyone.

Would break into your house at 2 in the morning to steal food like a fucking rat (I say this in a loving way).

Anyways being besties with him means say goodbye to your doors because he’s kicking them all down to get your attention.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Cuddling is definitely a must!!! Like he would love to cuddle!!!

This man has no preference to cuddling he just wants to hold you close to him! Definitely big spoon no questions asked, but he also loves having you lay on his chest.

I think his favorite way to cuddle though would be on his side with you snuggled into his chest. You would probably look very small compared to him like his body would basically envelop yours, but hey he’d be very warm at least! Mr. Puzzles would probably just lazily comb through your hair with the goofiest smile on his face, whispering little words of affirmation under his breath as he did so.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they around the house?)

Oh definitely! But, after he becomes all rich and famous! He wants the best life for you after all!

Definitely a housewife though when he’s not busy working on his shows, like this man is a workaholic. I genuinely think he enjoys cleaning and repetitive tasks in general, helps him think.

When working on his shows or stressed? Yeah no the living space can easily become a train-wreck as he gets increasingly more frustrated over whatever he’s working on.

You could probably leave the studio on any given day, and either come back to it spotless or a wreck. There’s like a 50/50 shot whenever you leave.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Nuh-uh, not happening, you are literally stuck with him now, and he is NEVER LETTING YOU GO. :)

Yeah that’s definitely not concerning! Good luck my guy because Mr. Puzzles has some attachment issues, and will not leave you no matter what you do!

But hey! You probably won’t get to leave him either! At least he won’t let you without a fight! (Get this man some therapy or something)

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Very big on commitment honestly part of him wants all of your attention to himself, but he loves you enough to not go that far.

I think he’d be kinda iffy on marriage. On one hand he could throw this big event for the two of you, letting everyone know you’re his.

On the other, he’s fine not getting married at all! As far as he’s concerned as long as you’re completely committed to him romantically there’s not really a reason to get married?

Honestly whether he gets married to you or not would depend on your preference.

Would probably still get you an engagement ring of some kind no matter what your answer is, just so others’ know you’re committed to someone.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Oh my god this man? Gentle as a feather physically. Emotionally? He tries to be as gentle as he can, but that temper gets the better of him sometimes.

He holds you like you are glass about to shatter, like he’s holding the most precious thing in the world.

Cups your face in his gloved hand and just admires you like the most beautiful art piece ever created. Might even lightly bump his screen against your head wondering how he got so lucky.

Most of the time he’s a bit aloof regarding your emotions he likes to tease you after all!

But in serious moments his tone will get noticeably softer as he listens, and tries to help you with whatever you are dealing with in anyway he can.

Now granted, Puzzles gets frustrated easily, and might lash out at you occasionally or straight up manipulate you, but he tries to make up for it.

Just be patient with him.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? What are their hugs like?)

Yes.

Hugs are a constant thing with this man he loves to hug and hold you. Though he will probably pick you up to hold you.

Most of the time he’ll come up from behind, pick you up, spin you around a bit, saying something like “There’s my little angel!”, and then hug you!

Definitely puts his screen to your head and makes a loud “mwah!” sound.

He’s a dork when it comes to hugging he wants to make you smile, that and he just likes having you close to him.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

After you get together?

All. The. Time.

Not in a bad way of course he wants you to know he absolutely adores you! Words of affirmation are part of his love language after all!

Says stuff like “I love you my precious starlight.” or “Gosh you’re just so cute! I truly do love you when you give me that look my dear!”

He is serious every time he says it though, but will not hesitate to fluster you with that phrase.

Can imagine him saying “I love you.” in a low husky voice to make you weak in the knees.

He likes to see you get all red in the face and become a stuttering mess. He’s a tease like that. :)

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Puzzles has attachment issues this man gets extremely jealous very quickly.

If he thinks anyone is getting even a little touchy with you? He’s walking over, putting his arms around you, and talking to the offender with fake enthusiasm and venom in his voice.

The person doesn’t get the hint? Lightly veiled threats start coming out.

Would resort to violence as a last resort.

If it’s a more light version of jealousy he’ll probably dramatically pout in the corner with his arms crossed until you come over and give him attention.

He’s very dramatic with jealously like a dog not getting attention when it wants it.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Uhhhh I mean he has a TV for a head he can’t exactly kiss you per se.

But Puzzles tries to make it work! Most commonly he’ll gently tap his screen to your head or hands with a little electric shock to give the illusion of an actual kiss.

Is not much for you kissing his screen though since he’ll have to clean it afterwards…

But you want to get this man to melt into you? He loves being kissed on the neck, or on the bottom of his TV, might as well send sparks through his entire body. Would definitely love neck bites as well.

Honestly would not care where you kiss him he’s just happy getting your affection.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

I think he’d be pretty good around children at least outwardly.

Probably would be trying to entertain them with cartoons or little puppet shows.

Do not think he’d actively put himself in a situation to be around children though. I don’t think he likes them very much.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Puzzles would get up without waking you, get dressed, get some coffee, and then would make the two of you breakfast.

You typically tend to wake up before he’s finished, but if you aren’t then he’ll gladly give you breakfast in bed!

Would make fun of you for being a sleepyhead though.

Mornings with Puzzles would start off quiet, but get progressively louder as you both wake up a bit.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

I feel like nights go one of two ways.

Either A. Chaotic as hell or B. Actually nice

A chaotic as hell night includes Mr. Puzzles having some sort of mental break which results in him overworking himself and refusing to go to sleep and/or him frantically at a board with a bunch of papers on it trying to come up with ideas.

While this rarely happens it can if his shows aren’t doing as well as he would like or if you’re gone for long periods of time. The best thing to do here is gently talk to him and get him away from his area of work to help him calm down. A nice cup of hot tea or hot cocoa would help as well!

A nice night is more common though since Puzzles does think sleep is important. Probably ends with the two of you winding down by either cuddling in bed or watching TV (an actual TV though not his head he likes being able to hold you) while you two have blankets and/or hot tea to sip on.

Alternatively you two will cuddle in bed and just talk about whatever comes to mind until you two fall asleep.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

He’s pretty open about his past but not so much about what he doesn’t want you to see.

He shares stories from when he was a kid a lot, mainly about his mom, (I get a huge mama’s boy vibe from him) or his struggles making friends and connections until you showed up.

Also talks about his frustrations about getting into directing shows and how no corporate big shot would give him a chance so that’s how he made his own company! Also loves talking about ideas for new shows or really anything that comes to mind this man has no filter and just says what pops in his head.

He does not talk about things he doesn’t want you to know. Mainly that he smokes but he’s also definitely done some fucked up stuff in the past to get where he is today so he keeps that under wraps.

Wouldn’t want his darling angel to worry about those little hiccups~

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

We are literally talking about the person who sang about how ‘patience is a virtue uttered by fools’ this man has close to none.

He gets very frustrated and angry when things don’t go how he planned them to. He also can get frustrated if you don’t tell him things.

While he never tries to direct his anger at you he tends to lash out when frustrated and says things he doesn’t mean. However, he would probably apologize in the end if he really hurt you with his words.

Would never think of getting physically violent with you though he would much rather cut off his own head again than do that.

It would be very odd hot to see the man who holds you so gently be able to so easily make a sizable dent in a metal object.

Definitely has punched many holes in the walls and covered it up with something.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

My guy.

My buddy.

This man will remember every little thing you have told him about anything you like. He has a little notebook dedicated to writing little details about you so he doesn’t forget.

Knows just about everything you’ve either off-handedly mentioned about yourself or straight up told him.

Has various things written down like your favorite color, food, drink, cartoon, etc. Like literally anything you can think of that you could say about yourself he probably has written down.

Also has a page just describing how much he loves your looks down to the littlest detail but that’s not as important.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

When you two officially became partners.

He was so anxious to ask on the inside but kept the outwardly performance up as he was desperately trying to figure out how to go about it.

He broke one night and frantically made a board full of ideas for what he could do, but none of them were good enough! You deserved so much more than-than this!

You just so happened to walk into this scenario but Mr. Puzzles didn’t notice you as he was too focused on his board. You heard him muttering to himself about how “this had to be perfect” and “no, no that wouldn’t-”.

You eventually got concerned and walked up to him, accidentally scaring the living daylights out of him by the way, and as he tried to stutter something out you realized just what the board was about.

You then looked at him as he was still trying to come up with an excuse and just looked at him with wide eyes as you just blurted “And here I was scrambling to figure out a way to ask you out myself.”.

Puzzles just stared at you wide eyes and shouted “Wait really!?”

Anyways that night ended with you two just watching a movie on the couch and you’ve been together ever since.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you?)

Oh very protective.

Like you get scary tall guard dog partner privileges.

Most of the time if you’re with Puzzles no one would really dare to try anything because of how tall your TV man is, but on the off chance some asshole wants to try his luck?

Well Puzzles most definitely has a kill count.

In actuality he’d probably make threats towards the person, never getting outwardly aggressive as he doesn’t like to be the one fighting, but if the aggressor tries to touch you?

All bets are fucking off.

Despite what his personality may suggest to you if it comes down to it this man can pack a punch if need be. He is deceptively strong for how he looks and could easily beat a man to death if he wanted to.

While the fight would not end with the aggressor’s death as Puzzles does not want to kill someone in front of you, there is a good chance that person might end up mysteriously dead with no evidence tracing the murder back to him later down the line.

This man is slightly unhinged when it comes to keeping you safe.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

This is Mr. Puzzles we’re talking about he’s going all out!

Would definitely have a fancy dinner or something equally extravagant. I can see him liking to slow dance with you in a ballroom if given the chance.

If you prefer more casual dates then hey he’s up for that too! He’s paying though no ifs, ands, or buts about it! He loves movie dates and stargazing as date ideas.

Anniversaries are an all out occasion he’s standing his ground on that one because it’s special date and he wants the entire day to be special to the both of you.

Tries to get you gifts he knows you’ll like instead of fancy things though.

Okay maybe one or two pretty rings and such but mainly things you’d actually enjoy or give that big smile at receiving. I think gift giving is one of his love languages after all so expect to have lots of little trinkets.

He tries his best to make you smile everyday so he tries a lot for you.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He has some… unfavorable aspects of himself he doesn’t want you knowing the true extent of.

He does not want you to know he smokes as he thinks it’s an undesirable habit and always deflects any questions about why he might smell like smoke or any cigarettes you might find.

His temper also gets the best of him at times leading to him lashing out and making dumb decisions that he tends to regret if he thinks about it too much. Though he has wrangled it in around you it can be explosive and violent when you aren’t around to witness the full extent of it.

He is also very obsessive with you and he knows it. It’s definitely toxic obsession as well because at his worst moments mentally he has debated keeping you to himself and not letting you leave. He’s also considered sabotaging all of your relationships so you only rely on him and no one else.

A dark part of him wants to keep you all to himself so no one can take you away from him ever.

Thankfully, he respects and loves you too much to act on those thoughts but god rest the poor soul that does anything bad to you because odds are…

Their life is on a very short timer.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Oh my god yes.

Yes he so is.

He wants to look his best around you 24/7 all day every day and somehow does not even have to try for it.

He needs to always look presentable because a good director should always look ready all the time!

Is dramatic as fuck if his shirt gets wrinkled or something like damsel with their hand on their head going “my poor husband” dramatic.

He’s very silly like that and you love him for it.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Yes.

You are the only person who ever really tried to get to know him, who puts up with his silly shenanigans, and who he fell in love with.

Truthfully without you? He’d completely lose it mentally because you are his rock. The one person he knows can pull him back from the darkest corners of his mind.

Not that you’d ever know this but Mr. Puzzles does. He knows that now that he has you he would not be able to live without you and continue to pretend to be even remotely sane.

X = Xtra (Random HC)

Plays his dreams or soft static on his screen when he’s in a deep sleep.

Claps his hands when excited and fidgets with his suspenders a lot.

Also makes tons of motions with his hands while he talks.

Y = You (How would they talk about you?)

This goes one of two ways.

Either he’s all giddy and cheerful like a schoolgirl with a massive crush or sounds very concerning as he talks about you like a follower would a god.

Pick your poison because both are accurate it just depends on how he’s feeling that day.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Will. Not. Let. Go.

Like if you wake up before him you are not getting up because he has the grip of a koala and probably has his arms and legs wrapped all around you.

But sometimes if you wake up before him he ends up in the funniest positions like sprawled out in ways that should break his bones. It can be very funny and disturbing at the same time.

[alotofpockets]

Holiday break | Mary Earps x Reader

Where you enjoy a Barbados holiday with your wife

Woso masterlist | Words: 1k

-----

“Welcome back to another edition of Mazza’s hotel tours!” Mary says as she opens the hotel room door and urges her fans inside, and by her fans she means you holding the phone to upload the video to her TikTok later. 

“A lot of you wonder who films these hotel tour videos and today I would like you to meet the lovely videographer.” She takes the phone from your hands and turns the camera around. “It’s my lovely wife!” You wave at the camera. “Alright love, give that back now please. The people aren’t here to see me, they are here for the legendary Mazza.” The camera captures the way you lovingly look at your wife before she hands you back the phone. 

“And now onto the tour! Welcome to our beautiful room in Barbados.” You follow Mary around as she shows off your hotel room, in each room she mentions something about the decor, and makes it show like she always does. Your wife was known for her TikTok’s and even on holidays the woman did not disappoint. 

On the balcony overlooking the beach Mary finished the video, “Thank you for coming along, and I am sure I will see you again soon!” 

Mary made quick work on editing the video, while she was laying in your arms. A couple minutes of editing and the video was posted. “Alright, do you want to go to the pool or the beach first?” She asked, turning in your arms so she could peck your lips a couple of times after her question. “Wanna go check out the beach first?” 

After a short walk you arrive on the white sand and see the turquoise water up close for the first time. “It’s so beautiful.” Mary smiles at you, “Yeah it is, just like you.” It didn’t matter how many years you had been married to the goalkeeper, she would never stop flirting with you. “Alright flirt, let’s find a spot and enjoy this holiday.”

It didn’t take long before Mary ran into the ocean and dived in instantly. “Baby, come on! It’s so nice.” Who were you to say no to her? You approached the water at a slower pace, but once your feet touched the water, you got to the same level of excitement of your wife. “I can’t believe this place is real.” 

Mary took hold of your hand and pulled you closer to her, “Well believe it baby, and it's our home for the next week.” You grabbed her face with both your hands and kissed her. “This holiday is going to be perfect.”

In her hotel tour video she had said they would see more of her soon, and when Mary saw you peacefully sunbathing on your towel, she had the perfect idea of what to do next. She grabbed her phone and an empty bottle before walking to the water's edge.

“I’ve got probably the worst idea of my life, so I am documenting this in case it will be my final TikTok ever. So, my wife is over there napping in the sun.” She zoomed in on you laying on the beach. “And I have this bottle that I just filled with water from the ocean. I think you all know where my head is at right now. Anyways, if you don’t hear from me again, this is proof that I deserve what’s coming to me.” Mary laughs at the camera before she turns the camera around and approaches you slowly.

The moment the cold water hit your back you shot up, “Oh my god that’s so cold!” You jump up to shake off the cold water and see Mary laughing with the camera on your face. “You’re dead, Earps.” You say before you start chasing after her. The video ends when you tackle your wife to the ground and the two of you roll onto the sand. Mary ended up posting it like that, with your permission of course. You made her think you were even, but you had already thought of your revenge plan, you just had to wait until you were at the pool. 

A plan that came into action the next morning. “Oh baby, I saw this fun trend where people put their phone down and then step over it in one location, and then again in a new location so it looks like they travelled through the phone. Here, let me show you some examples.” You grab your phone and open your saved TikTok’s to show your wife the trend.

Mary loved the trend and asked what you had in mind for the location. “So, I was thinking we start it here, like fully dressed and then we end it at the pool in our swimsuits.” Mary was on board and you set up the shot at the hotel. 

She stepped over the phone first, and you followed. Then you changed into your swimsuits and headed down to the pool. It was still quiet, so you had the pool to yourselves. You set up the phone so the background showed the pool and the beautiful surroundings. Mary jumped over first again and then turned around, waving for you to come too. You jump over and run to hug her, but instead of hugging her, you push her into the pool. “And that is how it’s done.” You say to the camera as you pick it up to walk over to the pool’s edge. 

“What do you have to say to the fans, baby?” You smirk wide at your girlfriend leaning up on the pool’s edge. “If you mess with your wife, she messed with you back?” You nod, “Yeah, remember that people!”

You set the phone away and join Mary in the pool. “How about no more pranks for the rest of the week?” Mary swims towards you, “Hmm, what’s the fun in that?” You roll your eyes, Mary knew you loved pranks just as much as she did.

-----

💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! You can also supporting me by leaving a tip 💗

[tiredsmashbros]

🌿⛅️ HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE !!! 🦌

@rmgkyle 💥

wanna get back into the habit of posting any of my art like i used to, so we gonna start the end of the month strong IYUGJHDW

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KYLE!!!! I SRSLY HOPE U HAD AN AWESOME ONE AND ENJOYED THE BIRTHDAY PARTY EVENT AAAA I GEN HAD A LOT FUN AND GETTING TO TALK BOUT SOUTH PARK GUH... we need to actually do a watch party of that and watch scott pilgrim again yes uwu 💛🍔

my mini sappery essay jajaja go away this is for the deer girl /srs

i've kind of said most of what i've been having in my mind from my response to the bday gift you made for me a bit ago, but i'm going to continue saying them because seriously, getting to find someone else who shares multiples interests and fixations- ESP SOUTH PARK AND SCOTT PILGRIM- has been seriously and incredible joyride, and im so excited to continue to yap about them and so much more!!!

omg i needed to move my foot for a sec and my roommate's cat on my lap left me what a bitch am i right /j /silly ILHKJGFNEDSH

anyways- kyle you genuinely are one of the most sweetest individuals i've met and i get excited to see you pop around in vcs and get excited to see what new masterpieces you got cooking up!!! i hope this birthday had made you realized how much you mean to a lot of people, including myself, and how much we all appreciate you. obviously i can't speak for everyone, butt you've been so joyful to hang and talk with i don't know what happen if your silly little presence wasn't rolling around.

you really do make a difference in folks lives because you did for me. i think i mentioned i've personally encounter bad "kyles" within my lifetime and i meant it how paranoid it made me. but meeting you and getting to know you from these past months have seriously washed away those fears, and those calmed the tides to the horrible memories. something i didn't know could go away. but you made it happened wether you meant to or not. and i thank you wholeheartedly for that. you make me smile and excited to know whats going to happen bc my god any of you sillies shenanigans will be the death of me /j /silly

alas, despite chaos, i've never had such a joyful experience before and i want you to seriously know how much i appreciate you man. yeah maybe i could've ended this gift with just a "happy birthday" and a sketch doodle, but that's not really up my alley, and even more so i wanted to really do my best to try to express how much i care by trying to illustrate you something wholesome, yet lovingly. a piece filled with care and enjoyable company, accompanied with comforting such as clouds, though simple, thats all it really is. its all a straight-forward warm breeze comfort you bring to me and no doubt. to many others. your exciting to be around and a relaxing hotspot to inform myself to never need worries.

you're just so cool man.

please continue staying cool and the sweet silly person that you are

i love you kyle, and i hope we can continue to being friends for many more

happy birthday dude 💛🍔

and im definitely buying lesbian color nail polish on our next sleepover ong you aint gonna catch me slaking /silly iHKJGDCS

[mythals-whore]

idk i’m just feeling the warm and fuzzies today so allow me to be emo for a sec

Back in November (?) I posted my very first fanfic on ao3. I’ve written before, but had never posted because sharing stuff you write is scary. BUT i’d written a lot and i thought it was good and i was going to continue writing it anyway, and i thought it was a shame that there wasn’t enough Davrook content out there, so i pulled the trigger and posted.

In the midst of this I was seeing a lot of discourse on tumblr about a lack of engagement on ao3. So i told myself that was fine and if even one person liked it, that was enough.

But honestly…i was really pleasantly surprised. I was getting kudos! I even got a couple of consistent commenters, which was even cooler. (Hi @elf-trash and if anyone else is here know that you are very important to me) and i guess i don’t know what counts as a normal amount of engagement, but any at all felt really special.

And then, a couple weeks after i posted my first few chapters @thedissonantverses tagged me in a WIP game and forced me (lovingly) to link to my fic here. And at first, that felt really scary. BUT through that i was able to find a really amazing, supportive community that includes lots of other writers/ artists who are also very talented and kind. ( @basedonconjecture @pinayelf @flowersforthemachines i know there are more of you so please know i appreciate you)

So all i want to say is thank you for your support its been really amazing and it’s only made me want to write more. I have at least two more works planned because you guys have made it so much fun. (which isn’t to say i didn’t consider deleting it at least 13 times. I did. But i think that’s normal)

And to any writers/artists who are my new mutuals i am going to keep tagging you in WIP Wednesday and promoting your work because i want everyone to have the same support for their work that I’ve gotten. Fandom is just really cool and i feel like I’m rediscovering joy that i haven’t had since i was like fifteen.

Anyway I’m just feeling really emo today and i want you to know ily okay bye

[crossovershipsandedits]

Please consider looking to see if characters have a canon orientation (like lesbian or gay man) before posting ships of them.

Hello! I hope you're having a wonderful day~

To address this ask, I first pose a question myself; Why?

The point of shipping, or really any fan creation, is to show your love and support for media/a character by expressing yourself, your thoughts and your theories/headcanon's through your work. The reason a lot of characters are loveable and popular is because they are fully capable of allowing fans to see themselves in them and see their versions without destroying the canon.

For example; If we look at Zoro from One Piece. As far as we're aware, bro has little to no romantic inclination. And yet his top ship is with another man on the crew, who happens to be woman loving Sanji. But it isn't something that feels wrong or out of place, because the ambiguity is there and their relationship is prebuilt, fans just need to figure out how it moves to romantic. The ability to see past the initial "Oh, Sanji loves women" and see the potential branches for this path. Yes, it's probably canon he legit loves women like that, but it could also be a trauma reaction based on his back story. Or it could ALSO be possible that he's bi/pan/etc

In short; Just because someone is shown a certain way, doesn't mean that's the only option. As fans we have the freedom to conjure up theories and beliefs based on the information presented to us.

Another good example would be Naruto. He's married to a woman, and yet it's still VERY much suggested that he loves Sasuke the same way. There is no "definite" answer. Assuming there is purely because of the canon relationships is a little closed minded in my opinion.

AND, even if it is stated, people change. We weren't born thinking "Oh heck yeah, dong". We develop our tastes as we grow and learn and experience new things. A great example would be Deadpool for this. He starts off in love with a woman (I'm speaking film wise by the way) and continues to love her, but very much over the course of their relationship begins to experiment and opens up that door for himself. Some people need to find the right person that makes them question themselves before they can confirm anything. Or, on the flip side, they need to see a lot of potential and not react lovingly/sexually to them in order to put the pieces together for aro/ace.

Life is a mystery bag of tags and labels that we as humans made to understand things better, and that's ok. Be who you are and love what/who you love. Be YOU

Anyway, I think I went a bit off tangent haha XD All I'm trying to say is, doors aren't entirely shut because of one thing or another. Fans can and will continue to express themselves and their thoughts through their loved characters, and that's ok. It's healthy even! I know people who use characters to test the waters for themselves because it can't hurt the people around them. It's harmless. A bit of fun, if you will.

I will always say this to these kinds of comments, ones where you should ask yourself "why am I bothering to send this?".

It is easier to keep scrolling past something you don't like, then drawing attention to it, and yourself, by commenting something that could hurt or upset an innocent person, and honestly makes you look like a silly grumpy guts :)

Keep sailing guys, gals and non-binary pals!!

[couldawouldashoulda50]

When the feelings get deeper and more meaningful, I could imagine Loren and Willy doing some cockwarming. Like they say I love you or something.

And I see a breeding link from Willy too. 😜

May I say these asks are making my Sunday a lot more fun and interesting. I tend to do a lot of driving and my mind is constantly wandering to William and Loren and the moments in the future.

The deeper feelings that reside in both of them have long been there, but both William and Loren, in their own right, tried to dampen that fire until they truly knew what they were dealing with when it came to their relationship. But now they have found their rhythm and their place in each other's lives, and there's serenity now between them knowing how they feel about one another. A post-sex cockwarming session happens from time to time - or maybe frequently - it all depends on the moment. William adores the after sex moments, watching Loren floating on her cloud of euphoria, her body's movements are slow and heavy, and her hair splayed across the pillow. I have written it before but he's sure he has never made another woman feel like this before, and the fact that Loren just seems fit him perfectly, it means so much to him. Looking down at her face, her eyes closed, her mouth formed into a slight perma-grin of satisfaction, William has to tell her now. The words are loud inside his head and he just cannot contain them anymore. He presses his mouth against her neck and says "I love you." Lifting his head to gauge her reaction as he smooths her hair from her face, she looks up at him with an adoring wide smile before kissing him deeply. He's waiting for her to say something but she refrains while lovingly stroking his face as she kisses him. Confused, and treading lightly, he eventually asks her why she didn't say it back. She stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Because I want to enjoy sitting with your words. I don't want to diminish how special this second is to me by saying anything." William smiled as he started to understand what she meant. She sometimes had such a different way of looking at things - as did he. William was convinced that is why they just instantly clicked when they first met.

"I mean - you already know I love you, right? I think it's pretty clear at this point, wouldn't you say?" She kissed his mouth repeatedly as she smiled against his lips.

William nodded, and flashed a knowing smile.

"So, when I'm bursting at the seams to tell you, which I often am, you can just enjoy the moment and do what you feel." Loren paused for a moment. "I'll probably be crawling all over you trying to do something naughty anyway...."

In that moment, Loren caught her second wind - a wave of giddiness and desire fueled her as she singlehandedly flipped William onto his back. She spent the next while showing, and telling him, exactly how she felt. --

Oh - the breeding kink. I have an idea for that which might need its own one shot. Stay tuned 😘

Thank you so much, Nonnie!

[atamascolily]

As someone who makes fanvids and AMVs, I spend a lot of time looking at media in unconventional ways--cycling the same clips over and over again, jumping around in a non-linear fashion rather than watching straight through in chronological order, etc, etc. Usually, this is in service of getting shots to line up with the music or finding that one snippet that perfectly illustrates a lyric, but it also means I spend a lot of time engaged with the source material at a level of repetition and detail that most viewers do not indulge in.

I thought nothing would be able to top that level of granularity, but then I started making text post memes by juxtaposing media screenshots with clever and witty posts made by strangers on the Internet. Instead of watching the same clips over and over again, I was now watching specific individual scenes shot by shot, searching for the perfect frame to pause and screenshot. Suddenly, I was engaged with the source material on a whole new level, staring at stills I have never really looked at before, despite having watched them in motion a billion times already.

This was especially true of Madoka Magica and even more true for Rebellion, where the animators had lovingly incorporated whole new levels of detail I had never encountered before--some of them so complex and intricate, they could only be fully appreciated as stills, either because they were only on screen for an instant or because there was so much action/other stuff going on in the foreground that drew my eye when I was watching casually or for plot. (As much as I love subtitles, they did not help with this, since their presence meant my eyes were also naturally drawn to the bottom of the screen as well instead of focusing on the background.)

I started documenting my PMMM observations here on Tumblr, partially because it was low-stress and informal fun, and partially because this site has such excellent and convenient image hosting (for now, anyway) that it's really easy to discuss and compare multiple images at a time, which I think is more effective than reams of text at proving my points.

When I look at a screenshot, I have two major questions in mind:

1) What am I looking at? 2) What does it mean?

The first question is one of observation and identification. This part is usually straightforward, but can be more complicated if the animators are drawing on an element of Japanese culture that I'm not already familiar with. The answers to this question vary considerably depending on context, but they're usually not a source of tremendous controversy among the fandom; they are fairly objective, with a definitive right or wrong answer.

The second question, however, is more complicated and subjective. This is where analysis and interpretation come in--of the shot itself, the scene in which it occurs, and how it fits into the installment/series/franchise as a whole. It's entirely possible for different people to have wildly different takes on this, and multiple readings can and do exist simultaneously.

In my meta writings, I usually attempt to answer both questions: first, by pointing out details that I think are interesting, and then by offering my interpretation of them. Rebellion in particular is so visually dense that it's possible to randomly pause at any scene and find something new; no matter how much I watch it, there is always more to analyze.

To be clear, I don't think that watching Rebellion frame by frame is inherently better than watching the whole thing straight through, just that different perspectives and insights are possible. In this sense, both Madoka Magica TV series and Rebellion are inherently fractal in nature, with meaning multiple levels and layers regardless of scale. Unlike real-life fractals like the Mandelbrot set, however, there is a clearly defined limit to this--I doubt once you zoom into the pixel level there is anything to find, but hey, you never know with SHAFT.

I generally prefer to work with material that has already been released rather than stuff that hasn't, but I try to ground my predictions in my observations as much as possible--by which I mean, consistent with the show's themes and motifs on both a macro and micro level. That in itself doesn't guarantee that they're right, but I like to think they are plausible, which is all you can really hope for with that sort of thing. And of course, all my analyses and predictions tell you as much about me--how I see the world and what I value--as they do the work itself.

I used to joke that I was working on an honorary master's in media studies and Rebellion in particular, but after looking back at my output over the last six months, I'm not so sure that's a joke anymore...

[jamiesfootball]

(Posting here because I know more than a few of you pass around MacGyver stuff)

Did I start watching that MacGyver remake just so I could read fic (*cough* @altschmerzes *cough*) about it? Sure did and I AM HAVING SOME SORT OF THOUGHTS-

It’s giving me Burn Notice it’s giving me CSI Miami it’s giving me 1960s The Man from UNCLE. It’s giving me mid-aughts ‘let’s preemptively shoehorn in how Straight these guys are because they are going to be caring about each other A LOT and we need the audience to buy into the big explosions without wondering if we’re implying anything’.

Should any of these things be given to anyone? I frankly don’t care. There is a level of sincerity here that I miss from a lot of shows these days, which can sometimes be so depressingly meta that watching it turns into an uninspired intellectual exercise meant to suck all the fun out of the world in favor of being right. Meanwhile George Eads is saying something lovingly kind in a southern drawl wearing the worst shirt with the sleeves ripped off look that I’ve seen this side of Sunny, and there’s a little dude that looks like Jared Padalecki and Timothée Chalamet had a blond love child and he has childhood neglect and overachiever written all over him I can already tell he is going to be whump-tastic to me.

Sometimes I do just want to watch a physics-breaking scene of a guy hanging out of an air plane. I will complain about it, but it will be done with an air of grandiose enjoyment. To me, over-the-top procedurals are the new pulp media.

Is it a good show? Irrelevant at this juncture. They just shoehorned in some Tragic Backstory and I am eating it up like a trail of breadcrumbs made out of Hot Pockets.

Now I just need to find out if I’m going to be regular annoying about it or special filing cabinet (sideblog) annoying about. But I am already thinking of naming my special filing cabinet so it may already be decided

For added context, I’m on episode two.

Anyways, back to your regular Ted Lasso programming

[fairyringtaxiservice]

heyy! sorry in advance for my english isn’t my first language so if there r mistakes just look over it please ⭐️

I never wrote something like this to someone so If this will sound weird or something like that sorry for that too!🙏🏻

Anyway this isn’t exactly a question I just wanted to write that ur fanfiction Binary Star is one of my favourites. The characterisations, descriptions, writing, scientific view and story telling is so freaking wonderful I get inspired from it every time (the DNA data storage is so interesting I wrote it down for future myself to research more).

I also understand that writing a story that is scientifically based is hard and I respect you for that! 🫡

And your notes at the end of chapters is something I always waited for while reading the chapters since they r so fun!

Now I found ur Thumblr and ur drawings just bring the pieces even more alive and as a fellow artist I like ur style and lineart. 🫵🏻

This is already long but in shortcut, I wanted to say that I appreciate ur hard work and I am exited for the future of the fanfiction and chapters. 💟

Hey! First of all, thank you so much for sending me such a kind, sweet message! I really appreciate it! I wish I could have responded earlier when I first saw it, but I was at a four day event and couldn’t get to it. Second of all, English is my first language but it’s not my only language, so I can totally understand feeling a little weird about sending a message in a language you’re not as confident in, so don’t even worry about it!

Again, thank you so much for all the compliments! I do try to put a lot of work into characterization to make sure it feels right for those characters and it feels nice that people are telling me that I’m doing a good job. And I’m also just happy people can nerd out with me about the science stuff, because I’m trying to take a page from Dr. Stone itself and hopefully present it in a way that is both interesting and digestible.

(DNA data storage is hella interesting! I’m really excited to see what comes from it! There’s a couple problems with how expensive it is, the errors that can appear during sequencing and synthesis, how long it takes to write, etc, etc, but with how physically difficult it is to build increasingly smaller and smaller electronics compared to how much data can be stored in a gram of DNA, I’m really excited to see where it eventually goes! Absolutely look into it yourself because it’s so interesting and wonderful.)

That’s kind of how I hope all the ‘science dlc’ comes off in Binary Star. Just some really neat stuff that makes you go, “huh, no way!?” (Even some of the more gruesome stuff like rabies and diseases.) And makes you want to think and learn about it a little more. Again, I really liked that about canon, so I can only hope it’s replicated in a somewhat satisfactory way in my own fic.

I also just legitimately enjoy researching things. My friends lovingly tease me about how much research I do.

I have also been hoping that my end notes weren’t annoying or too long, because I always try to make them thoughtful and informative, so I’m glad to hear you look forward to them!

Being in any fandom and posting about OC stuff sometimes feels like ‘ha ha I’m being cringe and everyone can see it,’ but I’m over it!! Thank you for liking my little OC fic and art and telling me about it! It really made my day and I loved hearing your thoughts!

[idyllic-affections]

a letter from aphelion. ♡

a letter to all the people who have made my year in one way or another. there is no particular order to this post, and some of you may find that i don't have much to say, but all of you who are on this post are here because i can recall times i've enjoyed speaking to you or seeing you in my notifs or just existing within the same space as you. i hope you all have only the best year possible next year—it seems like most of us need and deserve a good year, hm? though i regard myself as quite a gentle and sentimental soul, i struggle with putting it into words. it's ironic, considering i am a writer. i mention this because even if the things i say in this post are quite silly and lighthearted, just know that i earnestly mean what i say and each and every one of you has contributed to my year in a memorable way <3 may we all have a good 2024.

       dear @lillonvia,

YOU!!!! YOU!!!!! HELLO. HI. MEETING YOU HAS BEEN SUCH AN HONOR AND SUCH A DELIGHTFUL PART OF MY YEAR!!! i love the little silly conversations we often have—i think it's probably a good thing that we share so many random fandoms. it's as if we lived somewhat similar lives growing up despite growing up in such vastly different environments <3 but anyway, i think the fandoms we share are really helpful in being able to have such fun conversations!! we have many things to talk about!!! despite the vast difference in timezones!!!! please go to sleep at normal hours!!!!!!! /lh

       dear @starryshinyskies,

HI AVERY <3 i was literally always so delighted to see you in my inbox back when you were still ⭐️ anon, and i still feel that kind of joy now! you have so many good and fun thoughts to share with me about things i've written and i love that... i hope moral injury ch. 2 will give you that same kind of brainrot again when it does finally come out!!!! if it doesn't that's okay too HAHA but i always love hearing your thoughts on... literally anything ever!! i have some fics of yours that i've been meaning to reblog btw, so maybe watch out for multiple essays in your notifications in the coming weeks LMAO

       dear @aroacenezha,

MAJI I AM SQUISHING YOU LOVINGLY IN MY HANDS or i can just look at you fondly if you don't want to be squished. i am okay with that too <3 i often think about how we met and i think it's both kind of funny and kind of nice. "baizhu would hate dottore" agreed so real so true that post was so correct in so many ways RAAHHH 🤝 the nice part of the way we met being my baizhu series. despite me having NOT updated it any time recently, has brought a lot of people into my inbox and sometimes into my life and i think it's very cool. i love when people feel seen. and furthermore please always send me your oc thoughts and your blorbo thoughts i love them so much 🙏🙏🙏

       dear @soleillunne,

ALYYY MY LOVE MY BELOVED you are so precious and treasured.... i love what you do, i think your writing is beautiful and has such a poetic quality to it. and i love when you appear in my inbox and notifs!!!! though tumblr is very mean to you and always eats your asks.... you are important to me and so many other people and i hope you always know that. genuinely. you are such a kind and wonderful person and you are always loved.

       dear @heiayen,

YOU. *GRABS YOU* *EVILLY* you. you are so. idk but YOU ARE. can't think of a good word. no words, only vibes. you are vibe-y. /lh you're another moot that has the most top tier responses to things, even non-fanfic posts. you just have Things To Say, and in the best way possible. your thoughts are so fun..... i interact with you rather often—more than some people realize, perhaps—and you are a dearly beloved presence in my life 🫶🫶

       dear @zeldadou,

though we haven't talked too much recently, i still think of you often! i love seeing your art and the way it changes and develops... and i love hearimg your thoughts about things or when you send me fun things you think i would like <33 you are a very kind person in my eyes, whether you realize it or not.

       dear @june-again,

i hope life treats you well, always. you don't deserve anything less. i think of you fondly! your kindness is and was very remarkable and treasured especially when i was first adjusting to tumblr and posting my fics and whatnot..... by the time we met, i was still very new, so i appreciated any kind interactions (i still do of course! it's just a bit different when you're new to a website like this haha)!!

       dear @kaixserzz,

I FUCK WITH YOUR THOUGHTS DUDE YOU SEEM TO COME INTO MY INBOX AT THE MOST RANDOM AND UNEXPECTED OF TIMES AND DROP THE MOST HEARTBREAKING ANGST POSSIBLE??????? HELLO?????????? ARE YOU. DOING OKAY??!???!!!! YOU WAKE UP AND CHOOSE VIOLENCE. ESPECIALLY WITH KAVEH. WTF (me too tbh 😇) /lh please always send me any platonic thoughts you have i will entertain all of them fr 💥💥💥 you have such good thoughts in that brain of yours 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

       dear @archonsbane,

i haven't spoken to you much, so forgive me if this seems or comes off as a sudden or jarring tag, but i do enjoy talking to you. fatui moot <3 you GET IT get it about the harbingers' dynamics. i hope we have more opportunities to speak sometime! (and if that sentiment isn't shared, that is totally fine. i would respect it either way 🫶)

       dear @lesanyanyas,

we only became mutuals recently, but i hope you know that i always thought of you as one of the "blorbo from my notes" kinds of people haha!!! i always saw and recognized you whenever you were in my notifications or my inbox and you always have such delightful and fun things to say <33

       dear @umgatochamadopercyval,

CLARA HIII you are such a remarkable person, you know? you've been nothing but kind and understanding, and you have such fun thoughts and ideas!! i love hearing about them sm. even if my responses are delayed, just know that you are always welcome to ramble in my dms about your ocs or your fic ideas and i will never find it to be annoying or anything. it isn't annoying. it never is.

                                                 sincerely,                                                                           aphelion.

there are people who did not make this list, and to those people, i hope we can become closer in 2024! if you aren't on here, it's truly only because i've hardly spoken to you. so... perhaps that is something we can do next year! i think of all my mutuals very fondly. i don't think of any of you as "less than" just because we haven't spoken mwah mwah <3

[americanrecord]

hey kelsey! i just wanted to say that i still think about the love letters series all the time lol. it’s crazy how much nostalgia can hit me over a fic, but i think that’s just a testament to how well written it was and how much of your heart you poured into it. and obviously, when i started reading it was for axl (unfortunately), but val and jill quickly won me over lol.

i just remember some of the asks you would get would frustrate me so bad because it felt like i was watching some people just reduce the girls to side characters or miss the point entirely. like, you would write something so nuanced and layered and then people would be in your inbox talking about the boys (like no shade ig cause like, yeah, they’re hot and fun, i get it but cmon). but yeah, i can’t imagine how frustrating that was on your end. i feel like that was such a big part of why people couldn’t fully appreciate it for what it was.

anyway, i think it’s really cool that you’re still writing and doing it on your own terms now. law school on top of everything else sounds like hell on earth, so i hope you’re giving yourself credit for even being upright through all of that. and if you do come back (to duffmckagans or wherever), i think a lot of us would be happy just to see you around again — whether you’re posting the fic or literally anything at all. but either way, i’m glad you’re still doing what you love, even if it looks a little different now. you deserve that.

hi! this is so sweet ♡ honestly speaking, the series has been a thought that's been sitting in the back of my mind every day for the last almost five years, but it was a few really kind recent messages and acknowledgments of support (as well as a push to return to writing it from my bad-influence-friends (said lovingly)) that pushed me back toward it on top of my personal motives as detailed in my last ask. it was knowing that i wasn't the only one who cared about it and that there were people out there who missed it or who really wanted to read what did exist of it that had me going: man 😭

which, like, if law school is true and that does come to fruition, who knows how much free time i'll have to even do all of this again. my gut says none. however, it really does make me happy to hear that it can drag up so many happy memories for people, especially when it was always a bit of shit-storm behind the scenes. i think most people started reading for either axl or izzy (or just the gnr boys)—which, btw, i'll never knock anybody for; it's why i started writing—but i do know so deep in my heart that what excited so many people by the end were either the girls/the relationships/the original aspect of it, which i truly am so grateful for. like, seriously. the amount of love the series as a whole got, bad apples aside (ha), is overwhelming and still motivating.

towards the end, long before more band controversy popped up and before i decided to branch off with original things, it really was the asks that started to grate on me. even writing so far in advance, having 30 chapters pre-loaded at any given moment, wasn't enough to deter receiving so many missed-nuance/intentionally cruel "confrontations" over super fake things. like why on earth was i called a cunt over actions of a fictional character! and for what? because people were mad valerie was the main character and always had been? always would be? never-guaranteed-anything-otherwise? it was just so, so frustrating and really leeched the love out of it for me. like, literally every week it went from my excitement (yay! new chapter) to dread (damn it, new chapter) because after seeing people's reactions from the "present" timeline of the fic, it made me fear for what was already written in the "future" of it. it was sign number one that some part of me at least wanted to redirect things to bend to people's will and i did not want the project to turn into anything i didn't want it to be. all else was just a perfect storm to deleting it. i have bounced back, however, and i have learned how to say "fuck you, it's my story," so i do think i could face the interweb with a little more confidence and not get so defensive bc, at the end of the daaaay, this is fanfiction. puuuuuure fanfiction. rpf, arguably the fakest kind. then it just leaves my other difficulties with posting, which i'm trying to iron out.

part of me does think people learned really quickly that i wasn't messing around when that fic got deleted, but like. eh, it was gonna happen anyway. i'm sure non-reader followers to duffmckagans took their first fresh breath of air in like three years.

but, yes! writing originally is still going well. i've written a draft and have it sitting next to my bed awaiting edits, but i've been a little too busy to get my head back into that headspace, whereas i find it's always easy to return to this one and to rewrite old things than it is to generate entirely new ideas. i had to start at the beginning because there were a lot of choices i made along the way i wouldn't make today, to a point where it would've been fruitless to return any other way. (plus, like, the amount of things i forgot?).

and thank you for your support!! i am still moving for right now .... probably firing on all cylinders for way too long now, but i have hope that it will settle soon and that i can find a minute to catch my breath before something else comes knocking. i do think i will be returning to duffmckagans quite soon, so if anybody who jumped ship wants to follow me again over there, regardless of whether or not anything comes of the writing, feel free. i've missed connecting with people very much 🩷

[unwelcome-tagalong]

so listen. i have this Thought i’ve been chewing on for a while. i wanted to wait and gather game screenshots and tiny details from Veilguard to add to this post as supporting evidence.

but this Thought is consuming me, dear readers and beloved followers. i must get it off my chest so i can rest, god help me.

the theme of this Thought is this: the devs and writers for Veilguard have told us the theme they were going for was Regret. but we could have just as easily called it:

Sometimes, There Are No Good Choices

captures the same idea, i think, no? so my Thought is this: when we think of the theme of Veilguard this way, a metaphorical interpretation of this theme arises which centers on the experience of the devs when making this game. i couldn’t presume to know whether or not that was intentional, and in the end, it doesn’t matter. let me tell you what i mean.

(under a cut for length and spoilers! also gonna give a teeny content warning for discussing my grief about the state of the dragon age franchise 💖)

i, like many people in our fandom, have been really shaken by news of the laying off of the entire dragon age team. there are lots of posts out there discussing the ethics of that situation—this is not that post.

this post is more of a love letter. but maybe the “bitter and sweet, like a kiss goodbye” kind. so many people are writing beautiful posts about not wanting to grieve something that isn’t dead—i’m so supportive of that sentiment, and if this is you, this post is probably not going to be your cup of tea. i know dragon age isn’t dead. but i am grieving anyway.

i adore Veilguard for everything that it is: a beautiful game with well-developed and multidimensional characters, rich environments, interesting quests and fun puzzles, and robust, deep lore that connects many elements of the already staggeringly-vibrant world that has been lovingly crafted by many hands for more than fifteen years.

at the same time, i cannot help but see places that cuts were made—expected answers that never came, pieces of a previous world state that should have influenced events and didn’t, cameos we hoped for and in some cases even reasonably expected that we never saw, and places where the lore we were given feels uncharacteristically thin.

we know the development process for this game was hell. we know that studio execs and higher ups cut and sidelined planned story in favor of prioritizing other things. can you imagine what that must have been like? the devs LOVE dragon age, many of them every bit as much as (or more than!!) many of us. i imagine they must have wanted to create a game we would love, and felt hindered in their ability to do so. and i imagine that some of them may have felt a bit trapped—either tell the story Their Way, or don’t tell it at all. can you imagine yourself in that position? what would you have chosen?

so when i have to choose between saving Minrathous or Treviso, knowing full well the consequences after a couple of play throughs, i think of the devs and them possibly being forced to choose between one piece of the story or another. when i have to choose between Davrin and Harding, i think of the devs being forced to choose what pieces of their characterizations they were going to fight for: Taash’s nonbinariness? Bellara’s neurodivergence? Something else that was cut that we never got to see, and now perhaps never will?

and when i walk through the Crossroads, all i can think of is the Vir Dirthara from Trespasser, the Shattered Library, and all the stories and knowledge that must have been lost from its shelves when the Veil came down, never to be told or learned again. but still, there are spirits, and these spirits keep those stories:

Welcome. Listen to the words of those who lived past the fall.

so i don’t know what comes next. no one does, no one can. but we’ve got one thing those spirits i don’t think have. we can make more stories. they are Knowledge, Study, but not Create.

we can be Create.

[taegimood]

(edit: pls send me requests omg give me something legit to write about 💀🙏🏼 help)

ok literally no one asked for this but i’ve been asking my moots these questions, so i figured i might as well answer them myself too lol

which member's type do you think you'd be?

which member is closest to your type (bias or not)?

which member do you think you'd be closest with platonically?

which member do you think you'd be the least close with?

1: i think i’d be closest to yeonjun’s type, at least visually.. my primary fashion is grungy street style so i think we have a lot in common style-wise and would vibe hard tbh :3 (but personality-wise..? idk i haven’t thought that far ahead lmao what do you guys think?? would any of them like me o_o)

2: oh man.. this is hard cuz visually i don’t really have one set type, i’m attracted to several different vibes.. but yeonjun cuz of the fashion and fox features, and soobin because ??? look at him ?? kdrama first love coded, periodt. (but they’re all so stunning that if i saw any of them on the street without knowing who they were i’d definitely want their numbers and also their [redacted])

personality-wise… RAHHHH why are these questions so hard i literally suck at making decisions- i’m the one that made these questions too ffs- ok sometimes yeonjun makes me want to shove my hand into his face and PUSH (lovingly. respectfully.) because he’s so Frat Bro Coded sometimes LMAOO 😭 so i think soobin or beomgyu. gyu is INSANE but i think we’d have so much fun together and he can be soft and serious when the time calls for it. i rlly want someone i can be goofy as hell with and gyu def fits the bill. and soobin……. oh, my sweet soobin……. dream man…. he’s so 💖💕💝💘💗 ……. (not me clowning matcha for being biased for gyu in her response while soobin is living rent free in every single one of my answers 🤡) soobin is the Actual Love Of My Life™ and i think we could fit well together in so many ways but 3 things that DEPRESSINGLY make me wonder if we’d work:

i’m also an introvert so i need someone more extroverted than i am to get me out of my shell 😖 biggest one is he said he doesn’t lead in the relationship and lets the girl make all the decisions (i prefer a guy who leads and wants to make decisions together) and he loves physical touch but only when he’s the one giving it 🤨 IM SUCH A TOUCHY CLINGY BITCH SOOBIN PLS LET ME HOLD YOU-

3: this post is so fckn long for no reason why am i such a verbal processor this one is ALSO hard cuz not to sound like a pick-me but i feel like i could be pretty good friends w any of them?? 😭 maybe gyu ??? i’m an introvert so he definitely might get too overwhelming for me at times but i also become a crackhead when i’m with friends i can be myself with who share my humor, so i think when i’m in the right headspace gyu and i could just go crazy together and be goofy asf lol. we could also game together and i could run him into the ground in victory 🫶🏼

but ok yeonjun and i would be such bros together plus he knows what it’s like to live in america so there’s that and fashion to bond over… i could be total gym buddies with taehyun and we’d bounce that dry humor off of each other… just like soobin and kai, i’m a huge anime and video game nerd (could do show and tell w kai and all our plushies too 🫶🏼) so i could game and binge anime for hours and be totally content especially if i’m bonding over it w someone else o_o SOOOOO i feel like i could be friends with all of them but as for besties? not me wanting to pick soobin again i don’t know 😀

minji do you literally know anything

4: honestly i think taehyun :((( i just think i have the least amount of things in common with him, that’s all !!! no other reason i still love him sm although i’m also a singer actually (fun fact) so i think we could do such pretty covers together 🥺

anyway this is LONG AS ALL HELL for literally no reason other than the fact that i talk too much lmao so here are the answers that no one asked for 😍