#figured it was probably time to update things here LMAO

[zonerz]

✨💖Pinned Info!💖✨

Main Tags

#zonezart <- my art and writing!

#askzone <- asks!

While the tags are there to help, with tumblr search's track record, I highly recommend finding my art via my actual Art Blog 👇

✨ @zonezart ✨

Other Sideblogs and Socials

@mcsm-zone <- MCSM sideblog (reconstructing)

@zoniverse <- Potentially oc-centric blog?? (reconstructing)

Twitter!

Ao3!

~~~~~

Thanks for the interest and checking things out here💖✨‼️‼️‼️

[clumsyclifford]

x

[thankskenpenders]

Happy new year, everyone! Welcome to 2024, the year that will mark the 10th anniversary of Thanks Ken Penders. I'd like to go over my plans for the blog for this year.

First of all: in the very near future, I'll have a post with my thoughts on Sonic Dream Team, and I'm sure I'll write one last Sonic Prime review once the final episodes drop on the 11th. I've also been sitting on an unfinished piece about the Sonic LEGO sets. I wanted this to be longer and more detailed piece that not only reviewed the sets but also went into the weird disconnect between homogenized image of Sonic the Brand and the actual fiction it's based off of, but it'll probably end up getting cut down a lot just so I can put something out. Let's just say I did a fun little thing with one of the sets.

Second: yes, I would like to return to regular TKP updates this year. As I've said many times, I wanted to do this in 2023, but I've been suffering from creative burnout after finishing SLARPG and have generally been unable to focus on any of my creative goals this past year. I'm hoping that this year will be better and I'll be able to get back into the swing of covering Archie Sonic issues. Even doing one issue every week or so would be vastly preferable to continuing the hiatus. I'm still only halfway done!! But aside from burnout, my other main hurdle is that I need to reread my own archive to refresh myself on all these things after nearly three years away. This will take some time.

The thing is, though, this year I'll have an extra incentive to go back through my previous writing and brush up on all things Archie Sonic. Because you see...

I've decided that I want to make a video essay about Penders. The comics, the copyright battle, The Lara-Su Chronicles, everything.

The why

I've thought about doing this before, but I never committed to the idea. I was too busy with gamedev, or I thought it'd end up being too long, or I figured that there were already enough videos on the subject, or I just lacked confidence in my ability to put together a video essay. So I told myself it wasn't meant to be, and let the multiple YouTubers who have cited me as a source on their own Penders videos fill that void.

Recently, though, a few things have happened that have convinced me it might be time. For one, YouTube video essays/media retrospectives/etc. are just getting longer and longer. When Quinton Reviews is out here doing 21 hours of videos on Sam & Cat, a subpar Nick sitcom that only lasted one season, I don't feel so crazy for wanting to make a video about several hundred comic books and two lawsuits that'd be at least an hour or two long lmao. Admittedly, I've also been self-conscious about doing a long video essay like this as a trans woman who has yet to do any vocal training. But these days I feel like I see a lot more transfem YouTubers who have done little to no vocal training, and that's given me more confidence on that front.

But the big one was Hbomberguy's recent plagiarism video. As I sat there watching it, I kept thinking about the time I found a CBR article that was just a crude 800 word summary of my two previous articles on Penders, published by a CBR writer who's put out over 4000 articles since 2019. If I've already been plagiarized before, and my writing is so frequently passed around as a go-to source on Archie Sonic drama, then I wouldn't be shocked if there were YouTubers out there straight up just plagiarizing me. I don't watch other peoples' videos on Archie Sonic, so I'd never know! So if people are just gonna paraphrase me when covering these topics anyway, why not take matters into my own hands and make what I would consider to be the definitive video on the subject? If hacks like James Somerton and iilluminaughtii can churn out these shitty video essays and people will still watch them, surely it can't be that impossible to make my own, right? (And also, uh, Hbomb literally told me I should make the video lol. If you're reading this, thanks for the encouragement.)

The what, how, and when

So here's the plan.

Part of this video essay will be an adaptation of my Medium article on the recurring themes of Ken's Archie Sonic run, with its content touched up and expanded upon. There were a few things I skimmed over in the article because I didn't want it to get too long, but again, people are out here watching ten hour videos about bad Nickelodeon sitcoms now. I can get away with elaborating a little more. I can add a few paragraphs talking about the Chaos Knuckles arc, or throw in a little more historical context I've discovered in the years since.

After covering the comics, the back half(-ish?) of the video will be dedicated to the copyright battles and their ensuing controversies, trying to give an accurate picture of what actually went down, the sheer scale of how bad Archie fucked up, and what our takeaways should be. This will have some similarities to my New York Magazine article on the subject, but I'll be rewriting it from scratch. I REALLY had to keep things short for that article because I was already way over the expected word count, and my tone was a little more straight-laced than normal because I was trying to keep things Professional. I can riff more and insert more of my own opinions this time, like I normally would.

I'll inevitably have to touch on some of Ken's Bad Tweets when discussing things that have happened after the lawsuits, but I don't want the video to just devolve into a list of times people got mad at him on Twitter, so I'm gonna try to keep that to a minimum in favor of focusing on his actual work. Things like the Scourge the Speed Demon incident and his continued statements on certain characters' copyright statuses probably warrant mentioning, though. And finally, assuming that the book really does come out this summer, I would like the grand finale of the video to be about those first couple chapters of The Lara-Su Chronicles.

I don't currently know when this video will get done, but it'll probably be in the back half of the year, especially with me waiting for the book to either drop or get delayed yet again. But I've actually already started writing a bit of the script, and will keep chipping away at it for a while.

So, uh, yeah, look forward to that? Wish me luck?

[sen-ya]

Life After Info Post

[Click here to access the Life After Digital Comic Book]

Summary: Two years ago, a viral outbreak rose the dead. Considering how his life had gone up to this point, surgeon Trafalgar Law figured this might as well happen too. When a supply run into the nearby city gets intercepted by a seemingly reckless and impulsive former patient, the dependable routine Law had settled into in this new life shatters. He finds himself exposed — his body out in the infected landscape, his conscious clawing to define what he believes is right, his heart begrudgingly deciding to find a new home on his sleeve. Maybe there’s more than a virus roaming the new world that can bring a dead man back to life.

Content Warnings: Canon typical violence, zombies/body horror (but lbr I am not good at making scary things look scary)

Relationships: Luffy x Law

Update Schedule: New page every Monday/Wednesday/Friday

Page Count: [37 posted | 55 drawn]

Latest Update: [7/21/24] WOWEE did I get myself carried away this morning. I just spent 5 hours organizing my comics and creating the digital comic book pages. I could have spent that time drawing or idk not doing what I do for my job, but I cannot be stopped. Anyway I blocked out 30 pages of this comic last week and they include the most intense action sequence I've ever done in my gotdang life. Wish me luck because I am nervous about tying down all my drawings lmao.

OLD UPDATES:

[6/29/24] HULLO! I'm doing so bad at keeping my masterposts updated lately I am sorry. All pages of life after are tagged life after if you're ever looking between masterpost updates! Also exciting update, I finally have figured out all the different plot points i'm gonna be hitting (yay!). I got hung up on something for awhile that made me not wanna work on this project, but I'm back at it. I think we'll end up with 6-7 parts! I have probably another 80-100 pages to draw lol. Also i got the app Magic Poser and it's AWESOME and I immediately used it to block out sets cuz MAN I hate backgrounds.

[6/10/24] HELLO. I'm sorry I've been shit at updating my masterposts lately. It's easiest to do from my computer, which I rarely use, and life has been happening. I also can't believe I bungled the queue and posted pg19 before pg18 i am very sorry 🤦 Eventually I'll have to turn this into an airtable base I'm sure, but until that day comes where I have like 100 pages of this comic we're stickin to the regular post lmao

[5/26/23] I got real caught up in doing summer of lawlu comics this week and this is the first week since the first week of April I haven't drawn new Life After pages and it feels weird 🙊

[5/19/24] More Luffy backstory comin' this week! :^)

[5/12/24] Updating now so get myself on schedule to update on Sundays like I had been with my other comic master post!

[5/8/24] Thank you to everyone who's liked/reblogged/comment on the first few pages!! It means the world to me that anyone's reading my silly little comics.

[4/28/24] HULLO. It’s happeninnng. I’ve spent the last few weeks working on this comic, and I gotta make this post so I can start queuing pages & link this in them! This is the most like….legit? Comic endeavor I’ve undertaken perhaps….ever. I’m very nervous about committing to how long it will need to be lol. This story is dear to my heart — zombie content is kind of my very favorite. I’ve always found it to be a great backdrop for exploring themes like grief, coping with change, community, and learning to live again. It’ll be a long haul but I hope you’ll ride it out with me!! Tomorrow I’ll be posting the first two pages. After that a page will post every Monday/Wednesday/Friday. As of this post I’ve completed over 20 pages so that I have a good lead on what’s posting and continuing to write, so I’m hopeful that’s a cadence I’ll be able to maintain. I’ll update this post weekly to include the most recent pages the way I do with my main comics master post. All pages will be tagged 'Life After' and I'll tag any pages with zombies in them with 'zombie' for blacklisting etc.

[vacillatingcreator]

Body Swap (part 1)

(reboot! read the original here)

(click/tap image for better quality)

NEXT>>> Ignore any style changes that happen throughout this comic, I'm still figuring things out ACK Anyway, thought I'd actually show HOW Sonic and Shadow body swap this time around instead of just jumping straight into it LMAO This probably won't update very often bc I have a million other things I'm working on- but might as well post what I have done! [Comic dubbers, feel free to dub! Just credit me as the artist] [[I should clarify though, please do NOT use AI generated voices. Please and thank you for your cooperation]]

[fairydares]

loook i get why the idea of riding the "anti/pro" fandom disk horse makes people gag a little in their mouth and try to opt out entirely, but here's why i went from feeling exactly the same way to taking a firm profiction stance. I've been meaning to make this post for a while.

~10 years ago, I posted a fic for the first time and it got its own harassment campaign. The fic wasn't even sexual, and wasn't going to be (it remains incomplete). It was accurately rated T on fanfiction.net. Anyone in the Fairy Tail fandom will understand this: I literally got harassed for writing a "Lucy leaves the guild" fic💀.

After many nice comments, someone left a pretty nasty one. Hurt, I messaged them back. They acted super attacked that I'd responded (lmao) and after we argued, threatened to "rip my shitty story apart in the comments section" if I responded again. I told them "go ahead lol."

They went ahead.

Now know that it was a relatively small harassment campaign, but at the time, it was devastating. Right around then, I wound up in the hospital. After I got out, I went to excitedly check my fic, and found several reviews saying things I wouldn't repeat to my worst enemy. I was suicide-baited more than once, told "thank fuck you finally abandoned this shitty story, dumb cunt," stuff like that.

There were several accounts involved, and I can't say for sure, but I suspect at least a couple different people were involved, though probably at least half of it was one person.

All the other comments were screeching about how I hadn't updated, mostly. "NO UPDAAATEE WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPENS TO MEEEE??!!!" was one that stood out after I'd been miserable in a hospital for an extended period of time.

Idk what people think is going on when FT fic authors write this trope, and frankly I don't give a fuck. Because while I was partly writing the story out of some young, cringe feminist rage, I also did genuinely have a real story I was compelled to tell. I was inspired by another, popular fic I loved which used the trope to talk about how trying to shoulder our burdens alone really just hurts both ourselves and everyone who cares about us.

My own story was ultimately going to have similar themes, with more focus on strength, what it means, and in what contexts earning and having it actually matters. In retrospect, no wonder I wound up in hot water, because at the time "Lucy vs. Strength vs. Misogyny" was the FT fandom's Designated Nonsensically Activist Debate™. But that's partly why i wanted to write about it; engaging with the fandom had gotten me thinking about it 🤷‍♂️

Not too long after that, FFNet oh-so-benevolently granted us the ability to delete comments from our own stories (they never took my reports seriously at all, afaik). I deleted all or most of the harassers' comments (may still be a one or two up, and i'm fairly sure there's a couple comments defending my fic from the harassment) without saving screenshots, which I really regret now. I was just so mortified and full of self-loathing about the whole thing that i wanted to forget it completely. Something that had brought me joy at a very lonely, vulnerable period of my life had turned so negative, and i couldn't even tell the people closest to me about it without being made fun of for writing anime fan fiction.

I didn't understand why this happened at the time, but--after a period of trying to forget/bid out of it all with a slight anti lean (a common approach I see people use, and one which I'm not proud of adopting)--I just had to figure out What the Fuck Even Happened There. And I'm telling you, after years of reflecting, wrestling with both sides, and educating myself, that this "status quo of harassment" culture which pervades fandom goes way deeper than you think and comes out of a way darker well than you probably realize. An astonishing amount of this is, quite literally, TERF shit and evangelical shit.

Trying to be in fandom and take a stance of, "Anti/Pro shit? Ew, I'm Not Touching that," is like swimming in a heavily polluted river and being like, "Poison? Cringe. Not me lol."

You might be lucky enough to be in a less-polluted part of the river (AKA a relatively non-toxic fandom, in which case good for you!)...but tbh this rhetoric and peer-signalling will still seep in.

I can't stress enough that pro-fiction, AKA "proship", is the normal, leftist-about-art-and-sex opinion. Pro-ship is against all the horrible things you're against; in fact, pro-ship isn't trivializing real trauma by equating it with fictional trauma, or trying to apply literal evangelical/radfem solutions--which are proven not to prevent or help. Profiction/proship is literally just saying, "Fiction is fiction, reality is reality, and the two don't have a 1:1 relationship. And historically, trying to censor just things we've decided are bad has done nothing but get LGBTQ+ and POCs censored. Therefore, depictions of illegal things shouldn't be censored." That's it. "Proshippers all ship problematic ships," is a brazen lie. Many of them share other fans' disgust for those ships, they just don't believe in censoring fic authors over it.

It is also taking a stand against harassment because--and I hope my own story has helped drive this home--as with all groups who adopt ingroup/outgroup thinking, antis are defined by their tactics, not actual stances on real, serious issues. What happened to me was absolutely a result of anti, "it's okay to 'bully out' anything I just don't like" mindset pervading fandom. In a way, this was the mindset's final form. They didn't even feel the need to cite a reason the trope was "bad" or "wrong"; it annoyed them, and they viewed their own feelings as a valid enough pathway for policing to go right ahead and do so.

In the interest of offering solutions instead of just bitching about problems, I might make a "how to know if you've bought into these types of views"-type post sometime. Also might come back to this and provide some sources/citation.

[friendly-neighborhood-boricua]

[4] Liam and James Make You A Birthday Gift

Summary: Inspired by his birthday party at school, Liam goes to James for help with your birthday present.

Notes: Marauders modern elementary school AU, kindergarten teacher!James Potter x nurse!reader, mom!reader x son!OC (Liam). Sorta weirdly angsty? Idk how that happened. Vague mention of parental death, grieving.

A/N (27/6/24): Guys just don't believe me when I say I'll update regularly lmao it's never gonna happen. Tried to upload this last night but I literally fell asleep lmao so this is semi edited

Previous Part: Career Fair Next Part: James Takes Liam to School Series Masterlist here

Look.

We all know that James is the best kindergarten teacher at his school.

His students’ test scores always improve through the year

Their standardized test results are exactly where they should be for the grade level, if not higher

And the kids themselves love him

But in order to keep his kids happy and engaged and eager to learn, he sometimes has to … shall we say bend the rules …

Just a teensy weensy bit

A little bit

A tiiiiiiny bit

At the beginning of the year, James told the class that if they were well-behaved by the time that each of their birthdays came around, he would throw a small birthday party for each of them

And let me tell you

The kids were thrilled

James quickly set a few ground rules for the kids (because the admin at his school is stupid and ScHOoL pArTiEs cAnT bE hELd wiThOUt adMiNiStrATivE pErMiSSiOn so he had to be kinda careful)

NUMBER ONE (more for him than them)

James checked each of his students’ allergy records in the school database to figure out what treats he could bring to school 

You know, without sending anyone into anaphylactic shock and probably getting sued in the process

and NUMBER TWO

Everyone must thank Mr. Black at the front desk on the day of each party

(Sirius would help James smuggle treats into his room for these parties, so James figured it’d be nice to have them say thank you)

Honestly, James enjoyed these parties just as much as the kids

Even the planning part was fun for him

About a week before a kid’s birthday, he’d ask them what treat they wanted for their party

Some kids *cough* draco *cough* want a bunch of super-sugary Halloween-type candy

(James gets them reduced sugar and sugar-free knock-off brands for Draco's birthday because he doesn’t think he can handle nineteen sugar-high kids all at once)

Others want to have a pizza party or order from a nearby restaurant

Sweet little Dean just wanted Fig Newtons lmaooo

(James bought an extra pack for her to take home)

But each and every time, no matter what they want, James makes it happen

Liam’s birthday is on January 2nd, which is over winter break

Which is a shame because James was really excited to celebrate it on the day of

Usually with kids who have birthdays in the summer, he celebrates their half-birthday

But that won’t work for Liam obviously bc his half-birthday is in the summer

So James just decides to celebrate Liam’s birthday when they get back from winter break

Before winter break, however, James asks Liam what treat he wants for his party

And Liam

Sweet summer child

Liam says he’d really like some home-made oatmeal raisin cookies

Like

What.

What the fuck kind of answer is that??

For a sIX YEAR OLD

WHAT.

This fucking child is somehow like ninety years old and six at the same fucking time

James’ utter bafflement must have been visible on his face because Liam explains himself pretty quick

And James’ heart breaks when Liam tells him that his grandma died when he was really young but his mom tells him all the time that her mom’s oatmeal raisin cookies were the best thing ever

Apparently every time you try to recreate them for Liam, some disaster happens and you’re unable to finish 

(i.e. you’re called into work and have to take the cookies out of the oven half-baked so the house doesn’t burn down, you and Liam take a nap while the cookies are baking and almost actually burn the house down, Liam accidentally gave you the salt rather than the sugar, etc.)

And Liam just really wants to try good oatmeal raisin cookies

He’s had them from a box from the grocery store before, and they’re not bad (it kinda surprises James that he liked them at all, but then he remembers who exactly he’s talking to lol), but Liam wants to try some good home-made oatmeal raisin cookies

And maybe bring one home for his mom

And FURTHERMORE, Liam is plenty aware that no child in a million years besides him actually enjoys oatmeal raisin cookies

So he asks for chocolate chip for the rest of the class so they get something they’ll actually enjoy

James is just kinda speechless at first

Like you can hear him just blinking down at this sweet, kind, selfless little six-year-old

And slowly he nods, and the bell rings to signify the end of the day (and semester since it’s the last day of school before winter break)

Poor James is practically catatonic as he gets his kids on their busses and in cars home, then packs his own things and finally makes his way to the library to get Remus and Sirius

And they both know something’s up immediately

After some gentle prodding (and Sirius outright refusing to leave the school library until James tells them what was wrong), James tells them what happened

(Remus and Sirius aren’t quite sure what the big deal is until James explains further)

James’ parents died during his second year at university, and he was horribly torn up about it for years after

Still is, sometimes

He was always terribly close with his parents, and they would always do anything—anything—for their James

(Including practically adopt Sirius during high school)

And now, thinking about Liam’s grandmother dying when he was young, all James could think about was you

James couldn’t imagine you’re any older than him, and he’s twenty-four, which means you had Liam young

And if Liam’s grandmother—your mother—had died when Liam was young, that meant you were left to take care of a baby all on your own at—what, twenty years old? Nineteen? All while going to university to become a nurse, and then actually becoming a nurse after that, long shifts and heavy workloads and all

The thought made James’ heart ache terribly in his chest

That night, James spends nearly two hours searching for different oatmeal raisin cookie recipes

He plans to do trials 

A competition of sorts with Sirius and Remus serving as judges

Because James is DETERMINED to bake the best homemade oatmeal raisin cookie Liam will ever have

(He’s sort of nervous for you to eat one, but he figures even if it isn’t as good as your mother’s, it hopefully won’t be awful)

James, Sirius, and Remus’ holiday celebrations only really extend to sleeping over on Christmas Eve at Remus’ mother’s house, which is only a couple blocks away

So James spends every day of winter break baking a new cookie recipe and shoving cookies down Remus’ and Sirius’ throats

But by the beginning of second semester, James has crafted the perfect oatmeal raisin cookie recipe

(It was rather simple, actually, and the “secret ingredient” was more of a secret process than anything; James used only brown sugar rather than a mix of brown and granulated, added some cinnamon, and put the balls of dough in the freezer for twenty minutes before baking so they would be nice and chewy)

James decides to hold Liam’s party at the end of the first week back at school

(Just to make sure the kids know they’ve got to go back to learning)

And Liam’s party goes swimmingly!! (ofc)

James brought chocolate chips, as promised

But he was terribly proud of his oatmeal raisin cookies, so he brought enough for the whole class as well

And holy shit

James never thought it could be done

But EVERY SINGLE KID in that classroom was eating oatmeal raisin cookies like there was no tomorrow

Like

James tried to make sure there was a cookie left at the end for Liam to take home to you

But he couldn’t keep them out of these kids’ grubby little paws and they ended up eating them all :(((((((((

James is really sad when he notices

He hadn’t quite realized just how much he wanted you to try his cookies but now he’s really disappointed

And poor Liam :((((((

Poor baby Liam is also pretty put out by it, James can tell

James apologizes to Liam about it

Liam says it’s fine, but James sees right through it

He gives Liam a big hug at the end of the day as well as another apology

(And a lollipop, but secretly so the other kids don’t ask for one too)

A month passes, and everything’s pretty normal

Until one weekend in early February, James hears knocking on his apartment door

He’d been grading, and Remus and Sirius were over to hang about and chat

James wasn’t expecting anyone else to arrive so he’s pretty confused

But he answers anyway

(Let's be honest here people, James would be the first to be killed in a horror movie)

Thankfully Jason doesn’t murder James on his doorstep

Instead (and very surprisingly) it’s Liam who’s standing anxiously at James’ front door

Immediately, James thinks the worst

Did something happen to Liam? Are you home? Did something happen to you?

James is immediately crouched in front of Liam, eye level, asking him what he needs

And Liam anxiously stutters out that he needs help

With what? you may ask

Well, my dear reader

Liam needs help making homemade oatmeal raisin cookies

For his mom

For her birthday

LIAM ISTG—ASDKFJHLWN

YOUR SON IS SUCH A SWEETHEART

AND JAMES CANNOT GET OVER IT

(He’s also super relieved bc he was real scared for a second that something terrible had happened)

So Liam and James and Remus and Sirius (who Liam knows as Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black from school) all get to work making homemade oatmeal raisin cookies for you for your birthday

Liam explains that you’re working a twelve-hour shift and a couple hours of overtime on top of that, so you set him up with Ms. Hope (Remus’ mom, who watches him often)

Apparently Liam asked her if he could go to James’ apartment to ask if he could bake oatmeal raisin cookies for his mom, and Ms. Hope said yes

(Remus quickly calls his mother to reassure her that Liam arrived safe and sound and is currently baking with them, just so she doesn’t worry herself)

Liam also informs James, Remus, and Sirius that he’s supposed to be staying at Ms. Hope’s house until tomorrow morning, when you’ll pick him up

Ms. Hope insisted that you leave Liam with her and not worry about him, if just for the night

The four boys have a blast for the next three hours or so, baking far too many batches of cookies and then finding a nice gift bag to put them in

James also gets some stray craft supplies (he keeps it around in case he runs out at school) and everyone makes their own birthday cards for you

Harry goes back to Ms. Hope’s just in time for dinner, which James, Sirius, and Remus join them for, much to Ms. Hope’s excitement

The evening is just terribly fun for all of them

Fast forward to the next day and you’re rushing to look semi-presentable to go get Liam from Ms. Hope’s house

The doorbell rings, and you’re cursing internally because you’re already fifteen minutes late

You got home so late at night that it was actually early in the morning, and you’d overslept

And now there’s another thing to deal with at the door

James’ eyebrows raise slightly at the force with which you wrench open the door, and he’s a little concerned that you’ll be displeased at what he’s done

But you realize who it is (Liam) and who he’s with (James) and all the tension in your shoulders melts back

Liam is immediately all over you, wishing you a happy birthday with a big hug and a wet kiss to your cheek and resting his head on your shoulder when you pick him up

You’re completely thrilled to see him

(If immensely confused about why your son's teacher is also on your doorstep with a rather large gift bag)

James smiles sheepishly, but he’s reassured by your smile as you say good morning

So he explains the whoooooole story with you pitching in here and there

Until finally he gets to the fact that he and Liam (and Remus and Sirius ofc) have made you oatmeal raisin cookies

At this point, James is pretty certain that you can’t do much to endear him further to you

But you’ve got the most lovely way of proving him wrong when he begins to think like that because the way your eyes light up at the mention of oatmeal raisin cookies makes James want to keep repeating the words over and over so the look never fades from your face

He hands over the gift bag (with another small explanation about the two extra cards and who exactly Sirius and Remus are), wishes you a happy birthday, and politely excuses himself

As much as James loves to be around you and Liam, he knows his place

At the end of the day, he’s still Liam’s kindergarten teacher, and Liam is still your son

So he leaves you and Liam to celebrate your birthday between the two of you

When he gets back to his flat and locks the door behind him, James feels a strange sort of ache settle over his shoulders and seep deep into the cavity of his chest. He swallows around the strange feeling in his throat and takes a deep breath. It’s fine. Everything’s fine. 

Next Part: James Takes Liam to School

[bonefall]

Do you have a design for Bright Storm? I'm fond of the wise older figure thing you're doing with her

I do NOW

Made her, as well as a revamp of my old Thunder Storm design (I last drew him like a year ago!!) in preparation for some character summaries I plan to bang out after finishing a couple drafts, but Bright in particular gets requested so much (anon you're like the 4th person) that HERE, lady girl and her son be upon ye

I'm thinking about doing the BB!DOTC character summaries in "family" posts, so they're all grouped together the way I plan them to act in the story. Every family is telling a little mini-story of its own, in a way, from the Frost family and their inventing prowess, to the Heart family and how the kits react to Bumble's exile, to the Storm family and how they grapple with Clear Sky's influence.

I wanted to make sure Bright Storm was very large and powerful looking, but in a round, kind of "humble" way. She downplays her strength, her intelligence, and even her better judgement.

So she has these big cheeks, fluffy primordial pouch, poofy tail, keeps her head low-ish. Tends to deny compliments.

I was commiserating with my partner the other day about how intelligent characters aren't allowed to be thick-bodied. So between my fat, beloved Bumble the translator and Bright Storm the wise woman battle strategist I'm feeding us both

I needed to "finalize" their stripe pattern, because I actually plan for TIGERSTAR to have the same one. I'm probably going to update my Tawnypelt and Bramblestar designs to have it too; if they don't look better with Goldenflower's.

I just like the irony and bitterness of it. That these ancient stripes, once so associated with compassion and righteous fury, turn into a "legacy" so divorced from what Thunder Storm and Bright Storm stood for.

Becoming a symbol for the idea of modern ThunderClan and the culture of the new times, not the principles it was founded on.

Also I HAD to do the design thing where Thunder Storm's stripes look like top surgery scars lmao, my beloved transmasc boy

Anyway, I've decided that Thunder Storm was a REALLY dark orange. It bugs me a little, especially in-canon, that he looks nothing like either parent. So in BB he's not too far off color-wise from his mama.

I also removed the old "mane" and replaced it with combination white chest + his father's shoulder burls. The mane is going to become a Forest Cat trait, which is why it's going to get so prominent in ThunderClan.

Instead, Mountain Cats have a REALLY high concentration of ear tufts in their genes. They're also huge and generally hairy.

Funny enough though they're also "oily." They come from the Lake Cat population which was pretty water-resistant because of constantly dealing with the lake, and they haven't lived in the Mountains long enough for natural selection to get rid of it.

It's going to become SUPER advantageous for those who move to the River Kingdom, but become less prominent in the other populations.

But for now, Mountain Cats are kinda... well, naturally 'stinky.' That's not a BAD thing to cats who are animals who LIKE strong smells, but it is a notable trait that I'd like The Wind Runner in particular to comment on.

Thunder Storm: "Well? What did she say?"

Bumble: "Ummmmmm......"

Thunder Storm: "be honest"

Bumble: "she says she smelled you coming when you were upwind. rudely."

99% of the time when I'm changing character eye colors, it's to make them NOT blue because there's too many blue-eyed characters in WC imo. BUT.

I think it was another tiny waste to have the narrative constantly stressing Clear Sky's blue, blue eyes, almost like they're hypnotizing, and then they never really comment on what Thunder's eye color signals to other people.

So I've got an idea; instead of amber, Thunder Storm has ELECTRIC BLUE eyes. Almost green, like his mother's minty ones.

Intense as his father's, but more focused. Sharp. Shocking.

Side note: in my research I actually learned it's easier for tripod cats to RUN than it is for them to walk. They can "canter" like a horse, but when they go slow they have to hop. Taking this into consideration.

I put a splash of white on the little bit of lower limb that Thunder Storm has on the leg, so it sticks out a bit more. I don't want it to be hidden I want it to be prominent

I also figured out a hilarious trick for Bright Storm to pull on Sky's Clan at some point lmao

Thunder's crew is in conflict with Sky's cats and the attacks are getting more and more frequent. They decide they need some extra time to carry out some kind of hunt or diplomatic mission, but Bright Storm only has a small group of cats to pull off a stunt with.

She knows she can't fight them head on, but she NEEDS to buy her son more time, so she hatches a plan.

Clear Sky values his intelligence and his ferocity very much. To a fault, even. He loves to outsmart his opponents and overpower them-- so Bright Storm gets all her cats to build a very large, very tall, nearly impenetrable wall out of briar thorns. There's only one way in; the well-guarded tunnel they've constructed in the front.

It would be a challenge for a lesser cat. But Clear Sky, clever devil he is, realizes they've made a fatal flaw; they've built their camp right next to the trees. His fighters don't need to jump over the wall or push through it, the oaks are their allies!

So, while Thunder's cats are all surely sleeping, he gathers his best men and come through the canopy. In well-trained patrols, they swoop down into the camp and prepare for battle.

and no one is there.

You see, there was only one way in... and only one way out.

And Clear Sky and his best fighters watch with HORROR as the tiny crew of guards seals that entrance up like the neck of a bag. There are no trees to climb INSIDE the wall, and it's too tall to hop out of. It won't hold them forever, but it will hold them JUST LONG ENOUGH.

Bright calls this little plan "Operation Timeout."

[genopaint]

Doesn't get much fresher than this, here's week 50 that I JUST completed!!

Updated it to add today and yesterday's dragon, so it bleeds a little into Week 51. However, the rest of week 51 and week 52 will be combined together in one final post :)

As always you can follow me on twitter where they’re posted daily

And read more info on each of them below the cut

Daily Dragon #350 / #351 - Mega Charizard X & Mega Charizard Y

It's been irking me a little that the yearly Charizard kind of won't count for this challenge. But I figured I can still include my favorite Pokemon on a technicality!

I VERY rarely draw these mega evolutions. But they are both REALLY cool in my opinion. I like Y for being a little more simple and a little more fantasy looking, it has nice shapes. And I like X for being just so edgy and over the top and extra. Mega evolutions genuinely rule imo

Probably won't make it into the challenge but maybe next year I can draw Gigantimax Charizard and potentially even the Terestral Charizard. I've never drawn either of them... Cause they kinda suck imo lmao

Daily Dragon #352 - Snowdragon

A dragon made completely out of snow, stones, and small things the creator used as accessories! Most notably, within it are enchanted gems from a dragon's horde, allowing the Snowdragon to come to life!

This is a slightly less ambitious redraw this time lol. This is a dragon from maybe around 2014-2016ish?? I wanted to wait and see if it would snow irl so I could make a REAL Snowdragon. But it's becoming apparent to me that's not happening lol. So I just redrew this instead :)

Daily Dragon #353 - Damnation

“As there is life, I am death. As there is hope, I am despair. As there is light, I am darkness. I am true hatred incarnate, no power shall stand before me.”

This is Damnation, the Evil God Dragon! This was the big finale to my Monthly Dragon challenge in 2020! They're the grand final boss of your adventure, are you ready??

Here's his original design from 2020!

I tried to unify the color scheme a little bit more cause I thought all the red looked cool? I hope you agree!!

Also this is the other dragon I REALLY wanted to get done during this challenge! Alongside the Fruit Dragon, but they were so complicated I didn't think I'd get it done in time. But I cleaned up the design a bit and while it's hard to tell what's going on imo... Its cool enough

Daily Dragon #354 - Grey Greaver

One more anthro dragon before the challenge ends, why not? Grey works as a Bar Tender. He's very powerful and loves fighting, beating up people who cause problems in his bar!

Daily Dragon #355 - Gorosaur

Large and aggressive monsters that can release powerful blasts of electricity from their bodies! They can concentrate the power through beams from their mouth, or release it as a powerful blast from all over their bodies!

Daily Dragon #356 - Midgardsormr

A dragon I've been meaning to redraw LONG before this challenge. It's finally time to do some Dragalia Lost fanart once again :) This game was so cool and had some wonderful dragons. This was really fun to do!

When Dragalia Lost was just announced (so like 2018?) I drew Brunhilda and Midgardsormr cause I was SO excited for it, of course I was, it had dragons in it. So the redraw was between the two of them, but I went for Midgardsormr cause I have protagonist disease.

Here's how I drew him in 2018!! How time flies...

This game was really cool and I'm still sad it never got a proper console port or anything in Smash Bros. I never finished the story when the game closed so I should sit down and watch it soon. Listening to Cinderella Step while drawing this made me a little emotional lol

Daily Dragon #357 - Heartless Wyvern

I've done a couple of dragons from different RPG series. And it just felt appropriate to do one more that's been left off: Kingdom Hearts! This is my favorite Heartless, and I wanted to do it WAY earlier but really struggled with it until now

Well, to be honest, I still struggled with this a lot. Particularly the head and surprisingly thick meaty legs on these guys. But I think it came out alright. I hope you like it!

Also, this is the last fanart dragon of the Daily Dragon Challenge! Everything from here is original

Daily Dragon #358 - Silver Comet

That's it!! The last popularity poll dragon for the Daily Dragon Challenge! Thank you all SO much for voting not only this month, but every month this year!! Sit back and enjoy the last 8 days!!

Here's the results:

Silver Comet - 4 Votes Snow Dragon - 3 Votes Drupesaurus - 3 Votes Gaia the Dragon God - 2 Votes Grey Greaver - 2 Votes Polaris Dragon - 2 Votes Bahamuknight - 1 Vote Gorosaur - 1 Vote

I'm not surprised Comet ended up winning, but I am surprised with how much people seemed to love them when I posted their art a while back! Thank you for all the love!

He's my favorite of the month too. All the big redraw dragons were my favorite but he came out the best imo

Again thank you all SO much for indulging me and letting me do all this during throughout the year. I know I didn't get a ton of votes every month but I seriously appreciate everyone who participated in ANY of these polls, even if you just voted once.

Tomorrow begins the last 8 days of the year and the finale of the Daily Dragon Challenge. Thank you all so much for your support through this, it's been messy. But I hope you like the last 8 dragons :)

[genericpuff]

Genuinely I would give anything to hear your thoughts or read more critical analysis of yours on other webcomics writing (*slides you Marionetta* I like the webtoon but there are some things in the writing that I'd like to see be discussed critically more often but the fandom focuses way too much on shipping. sighs..)

Anyway, you probably have been asked this before but are there any webtoons in particular you would recommend? :D

Oh lord, you don't know how many times a week I get asks in my inbox asking for my opinions on webtoons they're reading. It's really sweet that people wanna hear me talk about other works outside of LO, but unfortunately I just don't have the time to read as much as I used to, even keeping up on LO lately is getting really difficult 😅 I'm definitely keeping a list though of works to check out!

That said, I try not to read series on the basis of criticizing them because frankly I just... don't want to spend time reading something if people are only looking for me to rag on it? 😆 Of course I know that's not the only reason, I know there's also just the element of seeing me talk extensively about other works the way that I do with LO, but it's not really something I can turn on and off like that, I have to get really into a series to want to talk about it to that extent. So it often comes down to just luck of the draw :'0

Right now the series I'm keeping up the most on (or have completed and would absolutely 100% re-read):

Alfie (18+, it's porn with plot but the plot is REALLY GOOD , I SWEAR LMAO the art is gorgeous, the characterization is IMMACULATE, and it ironically tackles the subject of purity culture way better than LO ever has lol)

Theia Mania (the creator is often in my comment section / neck of the woods, she's been working on an Abduction of Persephone retelling for a long while now and has also tackled other myth retellings in her style! I always love seeing new pages of her work in my feed :' ) <3)

Tales from Alderwood (if you like fantasy and comedy, this one's great, the plot's really starting to get interesting and it's just got this really great sense of humor about it)

The Black Parade (this one's REALLY interesting, it's a comic-stylized version of My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade, using the songs as narration and sometimes even dialogue to tell a visual story, it's really cool and the art matches beautifully with the lyrics and style of MCR!)

A Tale of Two Rulers (this is a Legend of Zelda fancomic that poses the question, "What if Zelda and Ganondorf got married to solve their political crisis?" It updates a lot slower than most of the other comics I follow but the art and writing is so worth it <3)

Dogs of Future Past (and p much all of Lynx's Undertale comics which can be found in the link, seriously, THESE are the comics you wanna read if you wanna get into Undertale fanworks, they are PEAK)

Tamberlane (this one's an anthro comic, I normally don't read anthro but this one actually gripped me by the throat, the art is gorgeous and the character arcs so far have been great!)

The Mafia Nanny (okay it's legit so funny that I'm including this one here but I've been reading it the last couple days after seeing it basically beat out LO at the top of the trending tab for a couple days, so I figured I'd give it a shot, at first I was like "great more tropey shit" but the more I read it the more it's actually started to get pretty good, I'm holding out and hoping to god it stays that way LOL it's not especially deep or anything like that, but it's really fun and cute to read and the shipping of the main character within the narrative isn't too self-absorbed which I can always appreciate, I'd honestly be 100% fine with it if it didn't turn into a romance)

City of Blank (I talk about this one a lot here, but it's one of my favorite Originals right now, the art is super polished and the writing has gotten INTENSE, go check it out if you want some fun action / sci-fi storytelling!)

Time and Time Again (a time-travelling vampire and his werewolf boyfriend get into all kinds of misadventures, what more could you ask for?)

Touch of Divinity (like the Mafia Nanny, this is one I just started reading, it's got a very interesting premise so far and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!)

[devilishmango]

Kenneski [UPDATE 2/10/2024]

Link to main post here Link to demo here

Hey guys! Chapter one is fully complete! 

What you can expect from the update-

Get an ominous message from Sazora

Choose a few appearance options! 

Start working in the prison 

Meet the creepy doctor of Kenneski prison

Either follow voices in a strange corridor or snoop around the doctor’s office

Choose a little bit about your childhood

Get your verdict! [Neph would like to state- THE ‘UNOFFICIAL’ VERDICT]

Have a fun little powwow with Captain Alinar. :) Hey, you get free drugs out of it!! 

Have a strange dream… 

A few things- Not all the codex entries are updated, so if you get to a part where something is mentioned and the codex doesn’t update, that’s why. But, all the relationship stats are up and running! There isn’t a reason you can’t flirt with everyone, though! Have fun with it, the ROs won’t mind all your rizz, I promise. :) Also, I will probably add a few more appearance options and whatnot. I know they are scattered around the chapter, but I THINK there are a few more I will add later on. [Like body size and whatnot] On the note of appearance options- I don’t have a non-hair or any length options at the moment, but it will be added the next time I update the game.  And, if there’s something you want to see in the ‘childhood’ option, just message me and I’ll see if I can add it. 

 Other than that, I don’t think there’s anything else to mention… Other than that it’ll probably be a while until I get chapter 2 ready and done. There’s definitely a lot more coding involved in Kenneski, so it’s taking me longer to get these updates out to you. But I am trying! And I’m still having fun, and you guys are still supportive so that’s all that really matters to me lmao 

Anyway, I'll see you guys next update!

By the way, this is very random but while I was first writing for Captain Alinar, I had a very specific guy in my head and I could not, for the life of me, figure out who it was… Until I recently replayed Dragon Age Inquisition, and remembered… SAMSON!! That is who Captain Alinar is heavily based off of lmao 

CURRENT WORD COUNT:  23,479 30,635 [+7,156]

[stargirlrchive]

hi cutie,

are we able to get a look inside how reader x jake bond after "the invisible strings" chapter.

after all these years it might still be awkward for reader to say they love jake, so she says it VERY sparingly. Jake will be a golden retriever and follow her everywhere and give her constant affirmations to make up for all that lost time and she just sits there and smiles, goes on with what she's doing until he's sick of all the "onesided" affection and he cries for her and asks why she's always so cold to him even when he's telling her she's basically the moon of his life or something.

Honestly foaming at the mouth when you update in your folklore masterlist. You are such a gem. 💕💕💕

folklore drabble: this love ✩ jake sully

masterlist ⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ folklore masterlist

summary: jake sully x female!reader, she's a little angsty, fluffy ending

word count: 1.392

comments: every day i tell myself i am done w folklore but i get a request that i love and here i am lmao but i am working on a mini series, lets see if she gets published + another fic, depending on the time i get that one done, i might post later today if not tmrw! kk bye hope u enjoy this bbys

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

Jake was so patient with you, always going above and beyond to show you just how much you meant to him, doing things most mates didn't do just because he wanted to. He enjoyed spending as much time with you as possible, now not having so many things to worry about, safe in the reefs he was able to make up for lost time. At least that’s what he tried to do but two kids later and it was still so very hard for you to express your love for him. Even though you felt it so deeply, all the time and at any given moment of the day you loved him. But it was difficult, far too real for you to repeat those words back to him.

It was so much easier communicating your feelings with him through physical acts. Like when he had you deep in the privacy of the forest, your body reacted to him so willingly, showing him just how much you yearned for him, just how badly you could not live without him.

He understood your trepidation, but it didn’t stop the sting that burrowed deeper into his chest. He was trailing behind you, Ney’la following closely as you coddled your newest addition to the family. Ozai. 

The little boy babbled in your arms, talking gibberish as you pretended to understand him. “Is that so, little one?”

A loud laugh erupted from Ozai, and it caused your eyes to light up. Ney’la tugging on the end of your tail. A laugh ripped from your throat as you swished it behind you, the four year old giggling loudly as she chased after it. He felt his heart thump to see you so happy, warmth bubbling in his chest as you laughed. Right before you entered Ronal’s mauri, Jake set Ozai down, letting him crawl after his sister as Ney’la ran straight into Ronal’s youngest daughter's arms. He tugged on your hand gently, his fingers tangling with yours as he pulled you into him. “Hm?”

He pressed a kiss to your mouth, it was soft and made your mind go dizzy. “I love you, Yawne.”

You just hummed against his lips, pressing a short kiss to his cheeks as you sent him a smile, walking away from him into the home of your closest friend.

Jake stood there frozen, face pinching in discomfort as you walked away from him. At times he figured your unwillingness to be so overly affectionate was because your kids were around, you had six total, it was nearly impossible to get you alone. But now, when it had just been you two, you still refused to say those three words to him. 

You had said them before, but they were far and few in between, in the past five years he could probably count on two hands how many times you’ve told him you loved him. And he’d still have a few fingers left.

Jake was spiraling, wondering why you couldn’t just say it back. Tears sprung to his eyes, something so unusual for him. He cleared his throat, rubbing roughly at his eyes as he shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He had many things to do with the men of the Clan, he couldn’t dwell on this.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚

But dwell he did, he was distracted, what were normally easy feats were proving very difficult for the Toruk Makto, and everyone noticed it. Jake’s sadness was turning into frustration, evident in the way he roughly pulled the sphere from the water, empty with no catch. Tonowari dropped his hand onto Jake’s shoulder, “JakeSully, the day does not seem to agree with you.” 

The Olo’eyktan was trying to ease his mood, and Jake was appreciative. “Go home to your mate, we will see you tomorrow.”

Jake nodded his head, weakly muttering a goodbye as he made his way back to his mauri. His mind was swirling with insecurities, wondering if something changed in your perspective of him, was it not what you thought it would be? Was he not what you thought he'd be? Was he not doing enough?

He entered your mauri and was surprised to find only you in the home, chopping away at fruits and vegetables, a large fish already skinned and peeled right beside you. “Hello, Ma’Jake.”

You sent him a smile, but quickly turned back to your task, he just hummed to let you know he heard you. “How was your day?”

“Tiresome.”

Your motions stilled for a second at the bite in his tone, ears twitching lightly when you noticed something was wrong with him. Your fingers nervously gripped at the knife in your hand, chopping away quickly. “Did you get a good catch?”

“No.”

You huffed quietly, but decided against asking him anything more. If he did not wish to speak with you, then you were not going to pry. Awkward tension filled your family home, Jake’s frustration melting into sadness. He clamped down on his bottom lip roughly, trying to think of how he can bring up the topic. Your chopping was getting louder, a bit more erratic and he worried you’d accidentally cut yourself at the rate you were going. In a quick movement he was by your side, clamping your hand with the knife in his. You let out a deep breath, snapping out of your turmoil. “Why do you not say you love me?”

Your head snapped up to look at him, shock evident in your eyes. “Jake-”

“Have I done something? Am I-”

He let out a deep breath, his voice thick with hurt, “Am I not doing enough?”

Your eyes scanned over his face, his brows were pinched together, lips turned downward and deep hurt swirling in his eyes. Your silence was answer enough for him, his hand let go of yours, stumbling back. He felt like you had just slapped him across the face.

You instantly knew what he was thinking, you were up quickly, walking towards him. Tears welled your eyes to see him so hurt, your fingers wrapped around his wrist, “Yawne.”

You pulled him towards you but Jake refused to meet your eyes, “Jake-how could you think that?”

He didn’t say anything, still refusing to meet your gaze, “You do so much for me Ma’Jake, I do love you. I am just-scared.”

Your fingers gripped at his jaw lightly, pulling his head down to look at you. There were small streaks of tears on his face, it caused your lip to tremble gently, guilt webbing into your chest as he looked at you. “Scared?”

“Yes-like if I say it too much you will grow tired of me.”

Jake felt like someone had wrenched something deep into his chest, the worried lines on your face melting away as sadness overtook your features. “I-I am scared this will get ripped away from me.”

Jake cupped the back of your neck, pulling you towards him to press a deep kiss onto your lips, gripping you tightly against him. The words falling from your mouth, “I love you so much.”

Jake’s tail thumped harshly, pulling away to nuzzle his face against yours, “I love you.”

You pressed another kiss to his jaw, pulling away from him, “I will do my best to say it more often, Ma’Jake. Just-please understand I wished for this for so long and the thought of you changing your mind-it scares me.”

Your voice was low, just for the two of you to hear, “If I have to bring down the sun for you to understand that I will never change my mind then just say the words. You're stuck with me, Yawne.”

A small laugh fell from your mouth, “Not the sun, maybe a few stars.”

Jake’s chest shook with a laugh, pressing a kiss to your temple as he wrapped his arms around you once again. Your face nuzzled into his chest, pressing a light kiss against his collar bone. 

His arms rubbed down your back, gently pulling you closer as you hummed quietly. “Help me finish the food?”

Jake nodded as you pulled away from him, your fingers tangling with his as you pulled him along. “Just say it one more time.”

You laughed again, your head shaking as you sat down, Jake following after you. “I love you, Ma’Jake.”

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[thesetrashimagines]

You’re a Curse Baby Pt.9

A Jujutsu Kaisen Imagine (reader insert)

Warnings: mentions of suicide/self sacrifice, fighting,

GIF IS NOT MINE!

Pt.8

AN: Hey guys.....so it's been 3 years....my life has completely changed since I started this fic and I'm very sorry to have paused it for so long. But I've had the urge to get back into writing. This will be the last part of the series that follows the OG storyline. I'll be going off-script and into a new timeline written by me😈. Hope y'all are ready for a new chapter (and hopefully not too many slow updates) sorry for the extreme authors note but you deserved to know lmao.

“You still okay back there?” Gojo jostled you, neither of you have spoken for quite awhile. The storm overhead was mostly gone, nothing but an overcast left to show your mood. You wordlessly nodded against his shoulder. “You wanna tell me what’s been going on?” He turned to take the path that led back to the old shrine. “I figured out how to exercise other curses.....along with myself.” The white haired man’s step faltered, “That patchwork curse, he can manipulate souls and since I can touch souls and go through memories, I thought maybe I could also manipulate souls. I was able to make contact with his soul and during our fight I could feel our energies merging so I started to use my energy to exercise him.” Gojo stayed quiet as you spoke, “He had a strong grip on me so I decided it would be best if I killed both of us. It was easy, all I had to do was turn our cursed energy into life energy and then let our souls slowly dwindle.” The older man stepped over pieces of the broken temple. “But you were unsuccessful.” You nodded against his back again.

“Yes he has much more experience with souls then I do, he was able to pull away.” You let one hand go back and rub at your sore eyes, “After the mission my body was weak, probably the weakest it’s ever been. I tried to heal myself and repair my soul at the same time.” Gojo spoke, “That doesn’t sound very smart.” You slumped against his back, “No it wasn’t. My body couldn’t take the constant rise and fall of my energy. Every piece of my soul that came back, my cursed energy doubled, and since I was using it to also heal my wounds, it would fall back down to a low level.” You looked over to the old broken temple, “I thought it would be okay since I knew I’d be here, the less energy the less I’d be detected.” Gojo slowed to a stop and turned his head back to you, “And?” You stared back at his black blindfold, “I pushed everything down, my energy came back tenfold and tore through all of the walls I put up, it made me panic and I ran into the woods outside of the event. I bumped into some low grade curses, they had me trapped and unable to move so I did the only thing I could and let my energy free again. I might’ve accidentally started a fire.” Gojo laughed and placed you on your feet, “From what I seen and heard, you’ve caused a few fires.” You looked at your hands sheepishly, “Yeah...” The sorcerer watched as your eyebrows pinched together, “But that’s not when I lost control.” Your hands shook, “My emotions....that curse said that it was there to kill you and hurt everyone else. I couldn’t stop myself from feeling scared, then I got angry, so angry.” Your voice became small and quiet, “I wanted to kill them. I was so blind with rage I almost-” Your hand smack over your mouth as a sob escaped your lips.

Gojo watched as guilt and shame over took you, your sobs echoed throughout the forest as you crumbled to the floor. It was obvious you felt bad for whatever had happened. “What did you almost do Y/n?” Your hands planted themselves on the ground as you leaned forward, tears fell from your eyes and drop to the soil, little wet patches spotted the dirt. You heaved and hiccupped, Gojo went to your side and sat down, rubbing a hand up and down your back. “I almost- I almost killed Yuji.” Your resolve had completely broken, the storm had come back loud and unforgiving, the rain fell to the Earth in fat droplets and thunder rumbled. To Gojo’s surprise there was no lightning dancing across the sky, had you exhausted yourself? He turned his eyes back to you and saw your hands covering your face as you cried, small purple tentacles played on your skin and hopped from tear drop to tear drop that rolled down your hands and arms. He looked at the hand he had on your back, the little sparks flitted about, halting themselves before getting to close to his skin. He finally understood.

“You’re scared of yourself.” His words caused you to curl further into yourself, “You didn’t kill Yuji, he’s fine.” Your head shook violently, “Gojo I almost killed him!” You finally turned to look at him, your face was wet with tears, eyes almost grey in colour and rimmed red. The blood and dirt on your face was close to being gone from your tears and constant rubbing. “But you didn’t.” Your face scrunched up and your hands lifted into the air, “Don’t you understand?! I almost killed him! I almost took his life away! Again! They were right, I’m a monster, a good for nothing curse!” Your head dropped back into your hands as you continued to ramble,  “He tackled me to the ground and I thought I was getting attacked again, I almost hit him...” You clenched your eyes shut, “His eyes, he looked at me with so much fear, he was scared of me...” The first flash of lightening darted across the sky.

“You didn’t kill him though. You were able to stop yourself.” A hand grabbed onto yours and pulled them away from your face. “And from how I saw the two of you were after the fight, I would guess he understood that you were acting on instincts.” Gojo tilted his head down to try and meet your eyes, “It’s normal to act on instincts, that’s kinda what they’re made for.” When you didn’t react to his little quip, he knew you were still shaken. “What if next time I can’t stop myself?” Your eyes fluttered up to his. “Do you want to hurt Yuji?” Your eyebrows furrowed, “No.” A smile spread on Gojo’s face, “Then you don’t have to worry about that.” He leaned back on his hands, “It’s a good thing I have my infinity on,” You looked up and realized how dry he was compared to you and the surrounding area, “Or I’d look like a wet rat like you.” You sniffled and smirked. A hand came down to your shoulder, “Don’t sell yourself short Y/n, You’re stronger than you think.” He groaned a little as he stood up.

“You may be a curse but there is a streak of humanity in you.” He bent at the waist, “How bout we train after the exchange event? Hm? Just you and me.” A small smile graced your features, “Okay...” He straightened up with a shout, “Alright!” The sun peered back down over the forest, glistening off of the rain drops. Gojo turned and started to walk away, “Come on baby curse, we still have an event to finish!” He put his arms behind his head as he walked forward, you dawdling on behind him like a baby duck. He wasn’t worried you would snap, you were too worried about keeping him and the others safe and happy. He knew why you were constantly trying to please him, you were created on the feelings of abandonment and among many other emotions but he knew you would do anything to stay with him and his students. You were loyal and you would rather die then you break it. Yes you were a ticking bomb at times but nothing like a few words helped you calm down. The bond and trust you had with Gojo and his students was incredible. Gojo knew of your attachment to the them but he’d be lying if he didn’t say he was a little attached to you too.

-----------------------------------------

“So how is it possible that you get along with a gorilla like Todo?” Nobara nibbled on her pizza. “Well the two of us got along but it was like, I mean I do remember everything but it feels like I wasn’t exactly myself at the time.” Megumi looked uninterested in Yuji’s and Nobara’s conversation, his eyes drifted over to you where you sat off to the side staring down at your lap. You haven’t said a word or moved since Gojo came in and placed you in the chair, something was obviously bothering you but Megumi wasn’t sure how to ask.

“What do you mean? Were you drinking?” The girls voice brought him back to reality.

“You seriously believe I could’ve been drinking liquor in a situation like that? That would’ve been insane.” Yuji turned his attention to Megumi, “Anyways I’m just glad your injuries weren’t too serious Fushiguro, to your health and this pizza.” Yuji took a large bite from his slice while Nobara had another small piece. The dark haired boy looked between his friends, “You guys could’ve brought me something easier to digest.”

“No complaining.” Nobara spoke with her mouth open.

“Apparently I got off easier because my cursed was all gone and Ieiri was able to fix me up as soon as the roots were removed.” Megumi saw your ears perk up at the mention of his injuries. “Oh so that’s what happened?” Yuji swallowed his food. “You should know, you fought against them too didn’t you?” The pink haired boy nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “Itadori,” Megumi turned to Yuji who paused with his mouth open midbite, “You know you’ve grown a lot stronger. Before we both said that we stood by our convictions, I still think that’s true. But then on the other hand you could we’re both wrong about all of that.” Out of the corner of his eye, Megumi saw you turn you head slightly towards him, dimly glowing grey lilac eyes watching him. “Some question don’t have any answers,” Nobara placed her face on her palm, “Don’t think so hard, you’ll go bald.” Megumi sighed, “You’re right. I know it’s just a matter of trying to accept it.” He looked down at his bedding, “But why accept something you don’t want, only weak sorcerers do that. So I’ve decided,” His dark eyes met Yuji’s brown ones, “I’ll surpass you.” Yuji let out a laugh, “You never change.” Nobara looked at the two boys annoyed, “Did I get left out of the conversation again?”

“I don’t think it makes you weak.” The trio turned to look at you, “Wouldn’t not knowing the answer make you strong? Since you are constantly looking for it, wouldn’t that make you brave? Or that one word, um...courageous?”

Nobara let out a bit of air, “Why does the curse always sound so wise.” You all laughed a little.

“There you go, that’s my brother and his friends for ya.”

You let out a yelp and fell off your chair, Todo had shown up out of nowhere at the end of Megumi’s bed. Yuji shot out of his seat and ran for the door, Todo hot on his tail. “Wait where are you going brother? Wait hold on!” The two sprinted, “Look I’m grateful for you but come on, give me a break!” Yuji jumped onto the roof.

-----------------------------------------

The sun beat down on you as you sat in the dugout. “I can tell somethings been bothering you.” You tore your eyes off of Yuji and looked at Megumi in surprise, “I mean no one was okay after that fight but it seems like there’s something else going on with you.” You glanced down at the white baseball uniform you were forced to put on, “I feel like I betrayed everyone.” Megumi tried not to let shock cover his face. “Before the exchange event I did something I never thought I could do....I almost exercised my own soul.” Megumi’s eyes widened this time, “What do you m-”

“In the moment I thought it was the best plan. Afterwards though my cursed energy was extremely low, I was barely alive. The healing process was difficult, I was using my cursed energy to heal myself and try to repair the damage I had caused to my essence. I guess the constant use of my energy to heal and for my soul to regenerate was too much for me, it was like being in a tsunami, one minute the tide was low and then the next my senses would flood and every wall I put up was being destroyed.” You took a deep breath, “The days leading up to the exchange event I buried everything down and decided I would try to deal with it later but when I was in those woods...” Your mind wandered back to when you were almost consumed by the flower curse, “I ran into some curses outside of the perimeter and I was trapped. Since I buried everything, I could feel all of it pushing against the blockades, it was like I was the storm this time.” Megumi watched you pick at the fabric of your shorts, “I lost control...” Your fingers gripped the white fabric, “Then I lost it again when I was fighting that curse. I was so angry, so filled with hate, all I felt was kill. Kill, kill ,kill, there wasn’t another thought in my mind. They wanted to hurt you, Gojo, everyone and I couldn’t let that happen.” The dark haired sorcerer stared at you for awhile then ruffled your hair, “You’re okay now, we all are. You were able to pull yourself back and that’s what matters.” You swatted his hand away which made him chuckle. He and Gojo had said the same thing, you were able to snap out of it and that makes you strong. Even with their encouraging words there’s still a looming fear that sits at the back of your mind. What if you can’t stop yourself next time? You never want someone to look at you in fear, like Yuji had, ever again.

“Kugisaki snapped! It’s a free for all!” Yuji’s voice brought you out of your thoughts.

------------------------------------------

You were playing outfield, furthest away and closest to the tree line. The first few plays went well but then there was another home run. Hit straight into the forest behind you, of course you wanted to win so you ran as fast as you could into the woodland. You could just see the ball soaring through the sky, smacking into leaves so hard they detached from the branches and fell to the ground. Your neck strained as you stared up at the flying sphere, you were right underneath it but then your sight was filled with brown then green then blackness. Your foot throbbed just a tiny bit, lifting your head up from the ground you noticed a tree root had tripped you up. Letting out a groan you pushed yourself up, "Stupid tree." Standing you looked around the forest for the ball. There was no sight of the white sphere.

"I lost it..." Pouting, you continued to walk around the trees in search for the baseball. In the distance you could hear leaves rustling, thinking it was someone on your team you called out, "Hey! Did you find it?" Running towards the noise, you pushed some branches out of the way and ended up in a small clearing. The sun peaked through the treetops and shined down on a large mass hunched over. It had large shoulders, the flesh stretched over muscle, the bones of its spine poked out from under it's skin, it's thighs were as large as you were, maybe even bigger, covering it was tattered pieces of a dirtied pink fabric. From where you were standing you couldn't see it's face, it's hunched over form obscured whatever you might've seen of the front of its body.

At the sound to your voice, the creatures head shot up. Long dark brown hair flinging around wildly before settling on the creatures big shoulders. It didn't turn towards you, just sat on its haunches, back stiff straight. A small voice came from the creatures direction, "What's wrong Mama?" A little pale blue boyish face peeked around the creatures large knee. Big round eyes gawked at the sight of you, and just when you made eye contact, the little boy disappeared behind the creature again. "Mama someone's here." The young voice wavered a bit. The long brown hair shifted forward and fell down as the creature looked down at the small boy then the creature let out a chuff and whined. Clenching your hands tight in nervousness, you spoke, "I'm sorry for scaring you, I promise I'm not here to hurt you. I've lost a ball and I need to find it." The large creature flinched at the sound of your voice and curled it's massive arms around, what you could only assume, the little boy in front of it. Despite the grip on the boy, he managed to wriggle to his way above the large forearms and looked at you again. "This ball?" He raised his small hand and in it sat your baseball. You nodded, "Yeah that one! You found it! Could I have it back?" The large round eyes filled with tears, "But I don't wanna give it back." The boy started to cry causing the creature to swaddle him and, for the first time, you saw the creatures face as it threw a glare over it's shoulder at you. She had a light brown eyes, a large brow bone which was furrowed as she glared at you, a button shaped nose, and a pair of pink lips which were set in a deep frown.

You swallowed, "Oh, um....I'm sorry but I need the ball to play my game" The little boys blue image fazed out and reappeared out of the large creatures arms a couple feet away from both of you. The small boy had a giant smile on his face as he let out a laugh and waved the ball in the air, "If you want it, then you're gonna have to catch me!" And with that he turned and sprinted in the direction you came from. You threw a quick glance towards the creature and she stared dumbstruck just like you did, both of you in disbelief over the child's rebellion. You looked back to where the boy once stood and made the realization, "he's running towards everyone..." The creature next to you whipped her head and stared at you wide eyed, she knew what you meant, the boy was running to the field, with all of the humans. In a second she was gone, her large form lumbering through the trees and shaking the ground as she went. You didn't wait too long after before you also took off to catch the boy.

"Wait! Please! They'll see you!" You yelled ahead hoping the creature and the little boy would stop, but neither of them did. If anything, the little boy ran faster. The creature let out a loud vocalization, something between a yell and a grunt, you assumed it was her way to communicate with the boy that he should listen and stop running. "It's dangerous! Please I just want the ball back!"

"No! Your stupid ball is mine!" A childish giggle sung out into the woods.

You groaned and doubled down on your speed. Your body ached a bit from the excessive use it had already been put through, but you knew if this boy or his 'Mama' were seen by any of the sorcerers, they'd be eradicated.

You could see the edge of the treeline coming up quickly, the creature in front of you must've seen it too cause she pushes off her haunches and leeped forward, grabbing the small boy and skidding to a halt. You caught up to them, you and 'Mama' huffing. "Please, please can I have the ball back?" The little boy wriggled and started whining, "No! Mama let me go! I wanna go!" His little feet dangled in the air as the creature held him above the ground. "Its dangerous out here, there's people who'll make you go away, forever. It's not safe to run around in these woods." You tried to reason with the little boy but was not having it. "You're lying! You're just saying that so I give you the ball back!" Once again his corporeal image fazed out of the space, the creature let out a loud yell as she turned 360 for her little blue boy.

"NA NA NA NA YOU CANT CATCH ME!"

Off in the distance, out in the baseball field, stood the child spirit. The cursed creature put a fist into the ground to push herself forward but you were faster.

"There you are Y/n!" Yuji's voice rang out as you broke out the treeline and ran straight towards the boy. Everyone stared as your knees hit the ground and curled your arms around an invisible body. You ignored everyone as you could feel the ground shaking from thundering steps. You let out the tiniest bit of energy to tether the little boy to you.

A loud yell is heard behind you, so close your hair flies about from the air expelled. Mama was not happy. "I've got him! I've got him, look, look" You turn and show the cursed creature the little boy in your hold.

"Y/N!" Multiple foot falls start approaching you. Whipping your head around you see Yuji rushing over to you. "No! Stay back, everything's okay!" The creature raised a fist and slammed it into the ground next to you, the little boy curled further into your arms and started to wail, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just wanted to have fun....I never get to play with anybody!" His little body shook with the tears and 'Mama' only got more angry. Her large fist was raised and ready to strike you, seeing as now you have officially become a threat. But before she's able to strike, Yuji is able to slide between the two of you and punch her. "Yuji don't!" You gasped as the creature stumbled backwards. Yuji advanced, "Don't attack her!" Your arms tightened around the little boy as his cries only grew louder.

"MAMA NO! MAMAAAA!"

You unwrapped one arm from the boy and shot a purple bolt out, aimed at Yuji.

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Hey, how y'all doin'?😗 so ye, here part 9. I'm so sorry if it's shit and not the updated you wanted. I've had a huge change in my life and writing quickly got put on the back burner. I really am hoping I find the motivation to continue and finish this story. Let me know you liked this chapter! Much love <3

[greenfiend]

my older sister is just watching s4 for the first time when her toddler is put to bed. total GA, not a queer audience member, didn't catch up with anything prior to s4 but remembers enough to understand what's going on.

here are her thoughts before she embarks on the final ep!

she's a massive argyle fan - the way he is just making pizza when they're prepping to fight a demon haha

she's 'scared to watch' the finale: "I am scared of the horrible basketball twat to ruin their plan. Hate him"

"I also now feel like I need to rewatch seasons 1 and 2"

"Also. I know this is probably hella unpopular opinion but I really dislike Millie Bobby brown. She’s not a bad actress at all though"

"I love will"

I'll include our exact convo about this:

Sis: Will is in love with Mike right? It’s so adorable and heartbreaking

me: I KNOW. you wouldnt believe how many people didnt pick up on that and still think will is in love with eleven like wtf

sis: WHAT. no way

me: they’re like ‘there werent gay people in the 80s’

sis: omg stop

then she started talking about the hella other things going on. "There’s actually no characters I don’t like apart from the ones you’re supposed to not like." she said there's so many 'bad dads', she HATES papa lmao ('he's so desperate and cringe. "Approve of me even tho I treat you like shit!")

she started by watching while she works in her studio so probs missed all the mike clues, but she's fully focussed now for the finale, and it sounds like she'll be more than thrilled to find byler is requited as she adores will!

i'll update her thoughts post-finale when they come in :) let's see if she picks up on it!

I absolutely love knowing people’s thoughts when they watch ST for the first time. 😃

I think the majority of people who have paid some attention figured out fairly easily that Will is gay and that he loves Mike! My partner figure out he was gay from the very beginning. But with Mike… I tried to make them guess why Mike couldn’t love El and it took a while but finally they guessed correctly. Lol

When it comes to Mike, the clues are there but El is covering them up so to speak. The mere fact that he has a girlfriend is making most people assume that he’s straight. Especially because El is such a focus in the show.

I remember for me as a GA, the thought of Will/Mike was always somewhat of a possibility in my head- just because they are so emotionally intimate. Even though I didn’t know if the writers were going that direction, I definitely never ruled it out.

Overall, I think most of the GA will be satisfied with Will/Mike, especially if it’s all explained explicitly enough for them!

Thanks for the ask!

[villruu]

Fake amnesia Tim/Masky x Jay? Mayhap?

the og prompt got out of hand (i'll probs post it as a separate fic later bc it truly got out of hand lmao) and I decided that Jay being hit by the fake amnesia was way funnier lol. Not exactly Jam, but this is pre-Jam, in this universe at least. This is set just before S3 starts, aka, Jay hasn't found Tim yet.

On AO3

Content warning: Jay has a lot of internalized ableism about his own situation and that reflects on how he thinks of Masky/Masked Tim, and it also reflects on how of an unreliable narrator he is. So yeah lmao

⸻

Jay blinked, dazed.

Something cool is fixed to his face, plastic warmed by skin contact, humid with his breath. It’s, suffice to say, an awful texture, and the only reason Jay doesn’t take it out instantly, is because he is more worried in trying to find where the hell he is.

He had gone to bed, like mostly normal, after updating twitter, telling people his next move would be to look for Tim and then… And that’s as much as he remembers.

He had gone to sleep like normal, and now, here he was, in the middle of the forest, alone in the dead of the night. Thankfully, he is dressed, he would probably be dying from exposure if he were still in his pajamas. With shaky limbs, Jay forces himself up, looking around.

A frantic search revealed that he didn’t have his phone, nor his camera or the keys of his motel room.

All he had was the mask, a half-wasted lighter, some bits of shoelace and a marker. Which was really not comforting, at all. Jay took the mask off, scowling at the black eyes and teeth, the plastic scribbled on carelessly, lines thick and messy.

This wasn’t… Tim’s mask, or at least the one Jay remembered. Nor was it the mask of that hooded figure. But, it seemed familiar, in some way. Maybe it had appeared in a Totheark video before? Jay passes a gloved finger by the teeth, watching the ink be smudged from the high humidity.

With a sigh, Jay looked around some more.

He had absolutely no idea where he was. Maybe Rosswood? He couldn’t be sure, all the trees looked the same to him, especially now in the darkness of the night. Jay thanked all his lucky stars that today was at least a half-moon and the skies were clear, providing him a small amount of light. If it were a new moon, he would be absolutely lost.

…Why was he in the woods, anyways?

Jay didn’t have a… a masked persona, like Tim did. Jay didn’t go out into the night to beat people up, he wasn’t that type of person.

Still… Why the hell was he here?

With a sigh, Jay picked a random direction and started walking, carefully stepping around the loose branches, because if he twisted an ankle now, nobody would be around to help him. After a while, Jay ended up putting the mask on again, the cold too harsh against his face. At least, with the mask, some amount of heat stayed trapped.

Without a phone or wristwatch, Jay had no idea how long he stumbled through the woods. Everything looked the exact same, tall trees that blurred together, with low hanging branches and so many dead leaves on the floor it made it tricky to take a step, the path slippery with water from the rain of previous days.

At some point Jay decided to stop, at least for a few minutes.

It was too cold, and Jay was exhausted to say the least, feet hurting from walking so much. Leaning against a tree, he took the time to look around. The sky was somewhat clearer, but it was still dark enough to know it was early morning. Maybe around four am, if Jay hadn’t lost his ability to guess the time yet.

A few steps to his right made him freeze, and he instantly turned, heart stopping for a second when he saw a white face in the darkness of the forest emerging to his right. 

He calmed, somewhat, when he noticed the black eyes of the face. It wasn’t that thing, thankfully. A faded jacket followed the mask, and Jay realized that perhaps he wasn’t that thankful, as he recognized who was in front of him. Tim, but in that masked state… deal… possession? He didn’t know.

He had been looking for Tim, yes, but he had wanted to find the… normal Tim, so to say. 

Not when he was running around, in a mask, in the middle of the night, doing who knows what in the forest.

Jay looked at Tim (was it truly Tim? Was Tim conscious? or was he being possessed or something?) carefully, very aware of their loud breathing, which seemed to almost echo across the forest, impossibly noisy in the silence surrounding them. Should he run? But to where, Jay had no idea where he was, and from past experience, Tim clearly knew his way around the forest, whether it was day or night.

Tim tilted his head at him, as if trying to decipher what he was seeing.

Jay, in a fit of panic, copied the movement. He was in no state to run, and Tim would easily catch him if he tried to escape. A brief scan of his surroundings told him he wouldn’t find any loose branch or rock to use as an improvised weapon. Tim tilted his head to the other side, Jay quickly copying.

Tim snorted, shoulders suddenly relaxing from his previous stance position, the masked man now looking more non-threateningly as he relaxed.

Jay took a step back when Tim advanced, wary, grateful that the other stopped instantly upon noticing his wariness.

Why was Tim not attacking him? He always attacked him, or tackled him, or, or, or something!

Jay watched, nervous, as Tim took a few step backs and waved him to follow him. He didn’t want to follow Tim anywhere, not like this, without a camera, without a phone, without anything to protect himself. That’s how people died in horror movies, and as much as his life may now look like a goddamn movie, Jay was not ready to go out like that. 

As he wondered if he should just make a break for it, a rustle of leaves to his left made him freeze.

Jay turned to look, heart sinking as he noticed who now emerged from the darkness. The Hooded Figure paused, looking between Jay, who stood with a wary stance ready to bolt, and Tim, who was leaning relaxed against a tree, seemingly trying to understand the situation before joining Tim’s side, looking at Jay with a tilted head.

Jay took half a step back, shoulders hunched as he lowered his head slightly, like a cat being intimidated and bristling in an attempt to appear bigger. God, this has gone from bad to worse.

The Hooded Figure tapped Tim’s wrist, and Tim merely shrugged.

The Hooded figure tapped Tim’s wrist again, Tim shaking his head before tapping his own mask and giving an overexaggerated shudder, while Jay watched with narrowed eyes behind his mask. 

Morse code, perhaps? 

No, it seemed too brief. Maybe a modified code? A lot of his followers theorized that the hooded person was the one behind Totheark, so it would make sense if they knew ciphers. All knowledge Jay had of them was all that he had been forced to learn to decipher the videos.

A step made Jay startle back, so lost in his thoughts he hadn’t noticed the others finish “talking”.

The hooded figure was already disappearing into the darkness of the forest, while Tim waited and waved him forward, a bit impatiently.

…God, Jay was going to get killed, wasn’t he?

With careful steps, Jay approached Tim, freezing when Tim gently nudged him in greeting, as if they knew each other, before grabbing his wrist as tugging him forward gently, in a way Jay had never thought the masked Tim could be possible of.

The masked person tilted his head upon noticing Jay freeze. 

Carefully, telegraphing his move, he tapped his own mask before tapping the edge of Jay’s mask, as if trying to make a connection. 

… Did… Did Tim know who the person who used the mask Jay was using?

Oh no.

Jay followed Tim robotically, as his thoughts spiraled.

Oh no, oh no.

Did Jay steal this mask? Where was the owner? It was clear that both Tim and the hooded figure recognized the mask, in some way. God, where the fuck had Jay gotten the mask? Had he gotten into a fight? It felt somewhat like it, now that he thought about it, his mind a bit too fuzzy, hands hurting in the way that told him he had punched something… or someone.

God, what the fuck was he supposed to do.

Jay could feel himself grimace as Tim continued to guide him forward, probably deeper into the forest.

Okay, just… Go with the flow, Jay, don’t act suspicious, he thought, pretend everything is alright. God, thankfully these people didn’t speak, otherwise they would clearly recognize that Jay was not whoever this mask belonged to.

With a sigh, Jay picked up the pace slightly, watching Tim look back at him seemingly perk up, like a dog seeing his owner in the distance. Jay tried not to react as Tim nudged him again, heads briefly touching, the plastic masks making a quiet clink before Tim tugged him forward again, seemingly more enthusiastic.

Well, Jay thought, he had wanted to find Tim anyways, right?

Another successful investigation, Jay thought ironically to himself, letting himself be guided deeper into the forest.

[nvrsaidiwasinurcloset]

Dude I have SO MANY fics right now that are so close to being completed, but then my dumb anxious brain is like…you’re probably going to get anons in your asks criticizing it. And I just get so in my feels and idk, maybe I’m too anxious to keep doing this, yk? It really bums me out because I love to write, and there’s so many people that like to read the stuff that I post, but anything negative makes me want to jump (I’m kidding, but I have BPD so my brain goes there at every minor inconvenience💀).

I know I didn’t post for a month, but I really feel like moving to a new area and trying to figure out life has been taking its fucking toll on me.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’ll still try to write here and there, but I can’t focus on it like I once did. I’m sure I’ve written close to 100 Ethan fics since the beginning of the year (I NEED to update my master list), but the inspiration isn’t the same as it was, and I’m going to take the time to figure my shit out and I’ll be back eventually.

Seriously, I’m so fucking thankful for those of you that read the things I work so hard on, the ones that have been hyping me up since the beginning, all you sweet babies that have sent in requests. I still have every single one in my ask box if I haven’t written it yet, and I’m sure I’ll get to it when I officially do come back lmao.

Hopefully everyone will still want to read things about Ethan Landry at that point in time💀

Anywayyyyy, I love you guys, and I’ll be back soon-ish💕