#hope the format is okay i had to do some cutting and pasting

[scoobit9]

Stanzine

[angelizs]

Hiii I just wanna request something (Srry if ur not taking requests rn) anyways can you do Ruggie,epel,riddle and lilia with a shy s/o who’s love language is physical touch (aka just hugs and cuddles half the time basically)

HII ANON I'm so sorry for taking so long!! I don't even know if you stuck around tho I hope so! and yes, I do take requests but they aren't my priority right now, as I have many other wips I'm working on, so they take forever, as you can see. still, I'm flattered you like my writing so much you'd make me a request! if you're seeing this, I hope you like it <3 

Summary: Riddle, Ruggie, Epel and Lilia with a shy S/O whose love language is physical touch (lots of hugs and cuddles)!

Notes: gn!reader, mostly fluff with some angst sprinkled in (mentions of overblots, nightmares and past traumas, but nothing too serious don't worry!), headcanons + short scenarios since a format wasn't specified, hope you enjoy it anon!

Riddle

Riddle isn't used to receiving affectionate touches, so it takes some time for him to get used to your habits. Not that he's complaining! Just... give him some warning next time, okay?

The first time it happened it went like this: Riddle, being the busy dorm leader he is, had a meeting with his dorm students to attend. He was helping you out with a subject you didn't understand and, as much as he loved to spend some quality time with you, he really had to go. As he got up, you did the same. Since you're shy, you'd usually just wave him goodbye with a cute smile, so this was quite unusual. He wasn't expecting to receive a farewell hug.

Riddle froze, unsure of what to do. His whole face was as red as Heartslabyul's roses and he was stiff, hand hovering at his side. Every place that you were touching felt like it was on fire, it was very strange. Still, it was... nice. It was very nice. The pressure from your body holding his, the pure affection transferred from such an act, the feeling of being cared for. It was nice.

You quickly let go of him, cheeks burning as well, and stuttered some parting words  before scurrying away. He stood there for some minutes, staring at the spot you had long left, face still red and thoughts running wild.

Riddle wasn't used to this at all, but it was nice, and he couldn't help but crave your touch.

(He was a little out of it during the whole meeting, the scene from earlier repeating on his head. Trey got so worried he ended the meeting halfway through.)

The next times you met, be it on a study date (you'd both deny it was a date though) or a casual hangout, Riddle would expect your farewell hugs, even look forward to them. He made sure to reciprocate them, wrapping his arms around you softly and resting his head against your shoulder, closing his eyes and taking a brief moment to just be there with you and feel loved.

Cuddles would take some more time to happen, since just the hugs were already a huge step for both of you. (Not to mention the casual touches you'd give so freely. A hand on his arms or your head resting against his was enough to make his face burst to flames and his mind be consumed by that single moment). 

It was on one of your late night studies session, you were both at Ramshackle's lounge, cups of tea gone cold on your table and books pilling up on each other. The couch was calling for you and your exhaustion from a long day of classes crashed onto you as you listened to Riddle's calm voice explain some potion's formula. Truly, you wanted to hear what he had to say, but you couldn't help but relax near him.

The weight of your head hitting his shoulder made him stop in his tracks and just stay still as he processed the situation. He normally would feel a tinge of irritation from his lecture being cut short, but he couldn't stay mad at you, specially when he saw how tired you were but insisted on keep trying to get the formula right. 

Riddle could try to clean up your table, but that would make him move too much and disturb your sleep. When he saw how peaceful you looked, completely safe by his side, he couldn't bring himself to wake you up. Thus he adjusted your positions on the couch, making you both lean down to not put a strain on your neck, and wrapped his arms around your torso to make sure you wouldn't fall in the middle of the night. Just a quick nap and he would be back at his dorm.

You both wake up cuddling the next morning. Both your faces burn in embarrassment and you're quick to get up and apologize, offering to make breakfest for him. He accepts the offer, but as you're having tea together, your hair tousled and your eyes drowsy, he thinks on how it was the best sleep he's had in a while.

From then on, you get a bit more bold in your physical touches, the shyness ebbing away bit by bit when you're near him. He still gets caught off guard at times, but he loves it. From someone who never got such things growing up, it means the world to him how you're willing to show your affection in such a way.

He'll always blush, no matter how much time passes. You find it extremely endearing. Throw in a compliment in the mix and you've got the ultimate combo to fluster and please him at the same time.

Ruggie

Ruggie found it adorable how your shyness contrasted his shamelessness. He thought you two made for quite the pair. 

He's used to physical touch, being in Savanaclaw where play fights and roughhousing is pretty common between students, so your occasional touches weren't anything new, though they were gentler than what he was used to, and he didn't give much thought to it.

That changed after Leona's overblot. When the fight was over, the feelings of helplessness came crashing down on him, the fact they'd surely lose the tournament even after all their efforts and that his closest friend (were they even friends? The doubt crept up to him) had betrayed him, uttered the words he hated to hear. The exhaustion and the fact he almost died- his friend- his dorm leader- Leona almost-

Before he could spiral any longer, you came crashing onto him, figure shaking as your arms held him close, tightly as if trying to get your bodies as close together as possible, to feel that he was there and real and alive. He could feel your heart beating like crazy against your chest, mirroring his own. His shoulder, where you were leaning your face on, felt wet. Your hands gripped onto his shirt like a lifeline. You were muttering something, voice breaking, as if saying "we're okay" over and over. 

Ruggie embraced you back, holding on just as tightly, burrying his face on your hair. He never was held like this, like he was something precious, like he truly had worth. In that moment, in your arms, he felt loved.

Ruggie's hunger isn't limited to food. In fact, you'd come to notice that he seems to be hungry to be loved too. Ever since the incident, Ruggie seemed more eager to share little touches with you, letting them linger longer, doing things out of his way to have an excuse for you to touch him, like doing little favours in exchange for a hug and, if you were feeling bold enough, a head rub. 

For him to take time out of his busy schedule to spend it with you in hopes that he'd get your affection back meant a lot to you, so you tried to overcome some of your shyness to be able to show him just how much you appreciated it and all the little things he did, even doing some acts of service on occasion for him as well.

The cuddles came some time later. You knew Ruggie had nightmares at times, some regarding his life before he came to NRC and some about Leona's overblot. He didn't want you to worry about it and waved it off, but you could see when they had an impact on him, his darker eyebags and exhaustion making it clear to you. You'd give him back rubs as he rested his head against yours, letting him decide if he'd like to talk about them or just spend some time in silence when that happened. 

One night, you were woken up by your phone ringing. You answered, still half asleep, and were surprised to hear Ruggie's shaking voice coming from the other side, breath ragged as he murmured something about being at your door. Without missing a beat, you ran down the stairs, not caring about the creaks of the floor or the coldness of it against your bare feet. You opened the door before he could even end the call, hurrying him in to get out of the chilly night air.

He looked like a mess, hands shaking and eyes dropping, chest heaving up and down. As soon as you closed the door, you embraced him, one hand rubbing up and down his back while the other patted his hair, trying to calm him down. The grip he had on you was so tight it could bruise, his voice came out rushed as he explained his nightmare. You decided there was no way you'd leave him alone that night, not when he sounded like that.

You took him to your bedroom, noticing Grim was still sleeping on his side of the room, and proposed to share the bed. You were a bit awkward as you got in a comfortable position, but seeing him in that state made you put the shyness away for a moment, focusing on making sure he was okay. You let him bury his head on your shoulder, arms wrapping around his back and hands playing with his hair until he fell asleep, waiting for his breath to soften. 

Both ended up sleeping in for the next day, but you couldn't bring yourself to feel bad about skipping class when you saw how refreshed he looked in the morning, his usual playful demeanor coming back as he joked with you while he cooked breakfeast. 

You've been showing him more physical affection since then, hugs and cheek kisses getting more common on the times you met with each other in the middle of your busy days. His ears perk up and his tail starts wagging as he offers you a cheeky grin.

As used to it as he is, there's a spot behind his ears that if you rub juuuust right will always fluster him and make him let out little giggles. If you rub it after a long day he'll melt in your arms. You got yourself a happy hyena! 

Epel

Epel is used to touch, living with a big family who'd always show affection with hugs and headpats. Therefore, when you started to show it to him the same way, he reciprocated instantly, going as far to initiate it himself, oftentimes through handshakes, pats on the back and side hugs.

If your shyness stops you from reaching out he'd notice and do it himself, helping you to come out of your shell bit by bit, not making a big deal out of it and letting these interactions be casual. He'd be happy to help someone he cares about! 

The first time you initiated a hug was very special to him. It was after he had another spat with Vil about his behaviour. As much as he pretended these didn't affect him at all, deep down he'd get hurt by the harsh words his dorm leader could direct at him. He knew Vil wanted only his best, but his methods weren't the most effective on someone as headstrong as Epel. 

He was hiding in a corner of the hallways, a secret spot he hoped not even Rook could find him in (if such a thing was even possible), head resting against his knees. His thoughts kept going back to the lecture Vil gave him this time, eyes watering against his will and making him furiously rub his face to get rid of them.

That's when a familiar soft voice was heard, making him look up at you. You had a worried expression as you kneeled over to meet him eye to eye, hand hesitating for a second before you rested it on his shoulder and asked what was wrong. He muttered that you didn't need to worry, it was just the usual routine that came with being part of Pomefiore, refusing to meet your eyes, ashamed you've seen him in such a pathetic state. 

You called his name and he turned around. He couldn't ignore it when you said it like that, with so much care, each letter dripping from your lips like honey. The hand on his shoulder pulled him forward until he met your chest, your other arm coming from behind to support his back. You told him it was okay to feel upset about what happened, that he could come to talk with you whenever he wanted to, that you'd listen to him.

He felt a rush of affection run through him as he noticed how firm your tone was, so certain. You were defending him, taking his side, and that meant a lot to him. It didn't feel patronizing, as it would sometimes happen with other people who felt he needed protection since he was so "small and cute". No, with you, it felt like he wasn't alone, like he had someone to count on to have his back, someone that trusted him and wanted him to trust them back. And of course he did, so he let himself lean into your touch fully, a nonverbal "thank you" both understood.

After that, he started to notice you liked to hug a lot. His side hugs became full ones and his heart oftentimes skipped a beat when he saw your pleased face. It felt good to see how happy he made someone he cared so much about.

The cuddles came in naturally, so much so neither of you noticed it until afterwards. You've gotten so used to each other's touch it wasn't anything novel when, a certain day, Epel rested his head on your lap as you were studying in the courtyard and started to talk about his day, complaining about the extra homework Crewel had given his class and gushing over the next spelldrive club meeting he'd have. You listened on, adding in your own two cents and laughing along, your hand playing with his hair. 

Only at night, once you're about to go to sleep do you think about that moment and notice how you two started cuddling like it was something you've always done. Your face heated up at that and you couldn't catch any sleep, thinking over and over about that. Epel was in a similar position, butterflies in his stomach as he thought about how soft your lap felt or how gentle your fingers were as they treaded through his hair. 

Even if there was a bit of awkwardness the next time you met, you quickly overcame it as you noticed how you were both in the same situation. The cuddling continued to happen more frequently, to the point none of your other first year friends even batted an eye at it. 

He likes it the most when he takes you to a ride on his blastycle and you hug tight onto him, head resting against his back, trusting him to keep you safe, it makes him feel dependable and adrenalin rushes two times more than when he rides alone. If you let him try to carry you he'd also be delighted, wanting to prove that he can (even if you two topple over after taking two steps, at least you're having fun).

Lilia

Lilia has lived for so long, touch isn't anything new to him. He'd seen the bad side of it, the hands that hurt and kill, and the good side, the hands that soothe and protect. He's done both, with his own hands. 

Raising Silver, he came to learn the importance of physical touch as an act of affection. For someone used to the violence of the battlefield, being able to experience touch as a soft thing, as a show of love, had been quite the change. He learnt to love the way fingers can run through another person's hair, the way lips can brush a forehead, the way hands can fit together, the way love can shine through little daily actions, every touch becoming a whisper of "I'm here, I care about you, I love you."

Being quite the extrovert, Lilia has no shame in showing affection for others in a physical way. A pat on their head, a hand on their back, chin resting on their shoulder, it all comes easily to him, and he's delighted when you start doing such gestures with him too! Considering your shy nature, he's happy you felt comfortable enough with him to reciprocate his antics.

Hugs aren't something he usually does, as he prefers more casual types of touches, but he likes it when you start hugging him more often! It's a good change of pace to keep things lively!

It starts small, little hugs as greetings or farewells, and then as thank you's and you're welcome's. It's like a whole language you two share, no words needed when your actions speak louder. 

It's on Halloween that it really hits him just how much these moments mean to you. The two of you decided to go check the other dorms' decorations when he was on break, arms interlocked as you walked around campus and commented on the details and costumes. Whenever a student would appear to jumpscare you, you turned to him in a hug, burrying you head on his neck, trusting him to protect you from anything that might come your way. It was the trust, the comfort, the smile you gave him everytime afterwards that made him realize that that's your way of saying "I love you" without words.

He starts to appreciate these touches even more, giving you hugs more frequently, be it to celebrate a victory or to console your sadness.

These hugs envolve to cuddling, as in one moment you'd find yourself sitting side by side, legs touching, and in the other you'd have your back against his chest as he propped his chin on your shoulder. It usually flustered you, but you've grown used to it enough to be able to relax into it.

One time, a history study session turned into him telling you stories from his past, tales of people long gone that managed to capture your interest, be it because of the enthusiastic way he spoke about them or because it was all new to you, someone who wasn't from this world before. The way your attention was solely on him, eagerly hanging onto every word and even making questions or little sounds of surprise, made him feel elated that his old stories could still entertain. 

When he started to talk about his travels, your eyes shone with excitement, the desire to discover a new world and the possibilities this chance presented. You asked him if he could show you it all someday, from the dunes of the Scalding Sands to the waves of the Coral Sea. This proposal of sharing important moments of your life with him made warmth spread through his body, fondness coloring his voice as he softly agreed.

It's not strange to find the two of you cuddling or stading closely to each other, touching in some way, be it by interwining your hands or leaning on each other. The Diasomnia dorm grew used to the sight of you huddled together on the lounge's couch, even Silver seemed happy that his father had found someone that made him feel loved.

Lilia specially likes when it's just the two of you, cuddling on his bed, and you take his face into your hands, fingers softly rubbing his skin, heavy lidded eyes taking in every detail and reaction. Such an innocent gesture, warm hands holding onto him so gently, makes him feel cared for more than grand declarations ever could. Give him a little kiss on the nose or the forehead and his chest will burst with affection, making him give you little kisses all over your face, your giggles sounding heavenly to him. 

Masterlist

[windchimesgames]

End of Year Recap + Plans for 2024

Hey everyone!

Belated Happy New Year to everyone! I know this is a very late end of year recap 😂Unfortunately, the past week ended up much busier for me than expected, so I could only get around to doing this now that things have calmed down a little.

This is a crosspost of a public post I made on Patreon a few days ago, so if you prefer the formatting there, you can read the post at this link:

PS: I do free monthly devlogs / posts there on Patreon, so consider joining the free tier of the Patreon even if you aren't interested in the paid tiers!

For those who'd rather read the post here, I'll leave the extraordinarily long ramble in a Read More cut below!

Let's start with a quick recap of the highlights / achievements accomplished in 2023!

Okay, this one may be slightly cheating. While Emberfate only launched on Steam in Jan 2023 so the 92 positive reviews came in in the year of 2023, it was up on Itch.io since mid 2022, so not all 383 Itch.io ratings came in in 2023.

Still, I'm pretty proud of these stats! Perhaps the numbers are nothing compared to some other amazing games' out there, but it's still something I'm proud of. It makes me happy that my silly experimental nostalgic little game struck a chord in so many players — much more than I expected given how niche the topic was!

Now, unfortunately, I could not get Emberfate's DLC for Potato's route out by end of 2023 like I had hoped. Porting the game to mobile also ended up much more difficult than I expected because of just how much of the UI I'm going to have to redesign — and hence, programming to be redone — if I wanted to make the game fit a small mobile screen. So both plans are going to have to be postponed to 2024.

The other notable highlight of 2023 is that both Lyrissa's and Kierdan's routes for Reanimation Scheme were released for beta access! That put the game at 3/5 routes complete, with a total of 431,786 words for the script.

I recruited a handful of beta testers to test the three completed routes a few months ago, and so far, the feedback has been positive overall. That's been a huge relief and lifted a massive weight off my chest — due to the controversial reception of the demo, I've been extremely anxious that the game would be hated by the players, and I've done so many rounds of editing and honestly perhaps somewhat unnecessary and obsessive rewriting of the script, but none of it felt good enough 😂 So hearing the positive comments has been a huge motivation / morale booster. Perhaps I should have done beta testing sooner… LOL

There are two more achievements unrelated to a specific game project that I'd like to mention:

2023 is the year that I became more interested in and better at Ren'Py programming! Most of it is thanks to my amazing programmer friend and Ren'Py wizard, Feniks (whom you may know as the programmer for Our Life series), who sparked my interest in programming and helped teach me a LOT. While I'm by no means a professional now at coding, I feel much more comfortable navigating around Ren'Py code and setting up what I need to in the backend of the games I'm developing, which opens up new doors for me for future projects in terms of what kind of features (big or small) that I may be able to include! Though the side effect of that is I looked back at the code I did for Reanimation Scheme from previous years and was immediately horrified by how ugly and inefficient it was. 😂I did redo the backend code of the Gallery and Achievements system a bit, but the rest will just have to stay for now.

I made quite a few new connections within the indie VN dev sphere in 2023! I made a shocking discovery that there's enough number of indie VN developers from Hong Kong to fill half a minibus, and I was lucky enough to connect with them and share our experiences and learn from each other! Due to new project commissions I took on for $$$ (real life financial needs suck), as well as a couple of small game jam projects I joined as programmer to buff up my programming portfolio, I also made some new VN dev friends unexpectedly. It's been really nice, because honestly, solo dev can be a really lonely and isolating endeavor sometimes. I'm super grateful for the new connections I found myself making in 2023!

Looking Ahead: 2024

Okay, that was a lot of rambling for the recap. More than I thought I would write. Now let's move forward to what the future will look like for this studio in 2024 and what goals I'm setting for myself this year!

Priority #1: Finishing Reanimation Scheme

Of course it's Reanimation Scheme. As mentioned above, we're currently at 3 out of 5 routes completed (sans partial voice acting). So the biggest goal for 2024 will be to get the game done. and out. Finally.

I won't be giving a concrete release date until we're like, literally in beta phase for all 5 routes, just so I won't have to announce a delay and let people down. But given the current progress and pace of work, I'd say probably around mid-year — maybe Q3 latest.

I'll be keeping up with the episodic updates of Reanimation Scheme's beta build on Patreon (and Kickstarter) from this month onwards, beginning with Jori's route and then followed by Sebastien's.

The remaining Kickstarter rewards may take a little longer — but ideally, all of them (artbook / lorebook / short stories collections, etc.) will be done by end of the year as well.

Priority #2: Potato's Route DLC for Emberfate

Potato, poor Potato. His DLC had to be put on the sidelines until Reanimation Scheme is done.

Half of the art has already been commissioned and completed by the amazing Remnantation — we're just missing his selfie CG & his MMO character sprite! So the next step would be the script and then the voice acting for the calls part. I won't be able to start on the script until mid-2024 earliest, but given the fact that his route won't be that long if it's parallel in length compared to the existing three routes, it probably won't take too long to do. Perhaps 2-3 months for the development process of the DLC?

I'll likely be releasing his DLC early on Patreon, potentially also episodically as it's completed, like I did with Emberfate. So if you're interested, keep an eye out for it when the time comes!

Something Secretly Brewing in the Shadows?

If you're pledged to this Patreon on $10 tier or above, you'll probably already know what I'm alluding to.

I won't be announcing or talking much about this for now, since I don't know when I'll be able to start working on this project properly (i.e. I need to meet my above two goals first). For all I know, it might end up being not a 2024 thing but a 2025 thing. So I'll only tease it slightly for now here.

Bonus Goal: Market, for the Love of God

If you follow Wind Chimes Games on either Twitter or Tumblr, you'll probably have noticed the sorry state of my social media. I… really do not like marketing or posting on social media. I never know what to post or say. I'm too unfunny and uncreative to meme or write humorous captions that get engagement. 😂It kind of feels like I'm shouting into the void, and nobody really cares about what I have to say on my projects when there's so many cooler and more interesting things out there. So I always try for a brief period of time, and then I give up 😭

This year though, I really really need to take marketing more seriously. With two releases planned for 2024, marketing is going to be important if I want the games to sell more than like 20 copies LOL

So I guess, uh, hold me to it and call me out if I don't start posting regularly after all 🥹

Conclusion

If you've made it this far on this post, thank you so much for listening to me ramble. 🥹 2024 is going to be a very busy year, but hopefully, a productive one that will end with me meeting all of the above listed goals.

Thank you so much for joining me on the wild and bumpy journey that was 2023, and I hope you'll stick around for the exciting things to come this year too! Here's to a great year ahead of all of us!

[wayward-dreamer]

Experimental

Square/s Filled: Sex toys @spnkinkevents / butt plugs @spnaubingo / FREE @anyfandomkinkbingo

Pairing: Dean x Female!Reader

Word count: 795

Summary: As a casual relationship develops into something more, Dean and Y/N find themselves comfortable to express secret desires to each other.

Warnings: Swearing, implied smut: dom/sub elements, rough sex, sex toys, implied anal sex

A/N: I'm trying to get back into the swing of things. It's all been stop/start for me, but I'm hoping that changes soon. Happy reading and enjoy! :)

**A/N 2: After battling formatting for nearly an hour and a half and nothing saving, I've decided to forego tags for this post because it just wouldn't let me do it. I'm beyond frustrated rn, and I need to find a new way to do this, I feel. Probably a library blog, that seems like the most common fix to this issue. So stay tuned for that I guess!!**

Dean didn’t have time for a traditional relationship. Neither did she.

Well, that’s what they told themselves and each other when things started up between them months ago. As time passed, and they spent more time together thanks to his friends embracing her into the group, they got closer. They talked about anything and everything that came to mind, told each other things from their pasts that they hadn’t shared with many people, and shared certain secrets they would never voice to anyone. Some of those secrets were ones that neither of them would ever speak of again, and others were ones that they were both willing to act on if the other was just as keen.

When they started sleeping together, the sex was incredible, to say the least. They explored each other in ways neither of them had properly experienced, and soon it was established that they were both adventurous, wanting to try new things in the bedroom that they hadn’t with other partners.

Dean learnt that there wasn’t much Y/N was opposed to. He had tied her down, blindfolded her on several occasions, used every toy she had on her, spanked her ass raw, choked her, used that incredible mouth of hers, called her every degrading name in his vocabulary (which really drove her insane), and contorted her into every position she could handle. Bringing her pleasure in every sense of the word had been incredibly satisfying, and if he could spend the rest of his life doing that he would.

Y/N learnt that Dean loved giving her the attention she craved, but every now and then he needed something for himself as well. He hadn’t been brave enough to voice those desires, until she finally got it out of him one night exactly what he wanted from her.

It started off simple. Holding him a little closer, a little tighter, running her fingers through his hair, telling him how amazing she felt because of how he fucked her, telling him how good he was. Some days he relinquished control completely, letting her dominate him in ways he had never been comfortable with before, until now. She had tied him down just like he had her, blindfolded him too, exploring parts of his body no one else had. She used her talented fingers, her skilled mouth and tongue, breaching the ring of muscle and sending him over the edge sooner than he was expecting.

It had felt amazing, on a different level, leaving him comfortable enough to ask her for more as time went on and their relationship continued to grow without either of them realizing it.

“You okay?” she asked, her lips lightly pressed against the bare skin of muscular back.

“Yeah,” he answered breathlessly, nodding quickly.

“You know, you don’t have to-” she started to tell him he could back out, but he glanced back at her, his gaze cutting her words off.

“Hey, I’m nothing if not experimental, sweetheart,” he reassured her, wiggling his eyebrows as he smirked. “Let’s do this.”

She smiled briefly before she shifted closer to him. “Okay…”

She brought the item in her hand up to her face, opening her mouth and dragging the length of the plug against her tongue, sucking softly as she continued the slow pace of her fingers in and out of the puckered hole. She pulled it out of her mouth as the same time she removed her fingers, bringing it down between the globes of his ass. She watched him shift against the sheets as she inserted it, gently, giving him time to get used to the feeling until it was completely buried inside.

He groaned, the sound turning into a rough chuckle as he choked. “Fuck.”

“How does it feel?” she asked, softly, worried that he might be regretting the idea to do this.

“It’s uh… it’s different,” he grunted, his eyebrows creased as he looked back at her.

Before she got a chance to speak, his facial expression eased, the initial discomfort giving way to pleasure. His eyes sparkled with a new glint, and she knew they were going to have a great time exploring that.

“Good different?” she questioned, biting her lip as she saw his face.

“Oh yeah,” he whispered, smirking.

She beamed as she shifted back, letting him turn onto his back, a soft growl escaping him as the plug moved within him. She straddled him, her hands pressed into his chest as she leaned down, kissing him sensually. He breathed deeply as she pulled away, their darkened eyes meeting as they smiled at each other. Something was changing between them, and that should’ve been scary, but their complete trust in each other outweighed that.

“This is gonna be so much fun.”

[lornaka]

Thoughts on TBB s2 finale

Spoilers under the cut. Most of this is a compilation of thoughts I’ve previously expressed on twitter and discord so nothing new to some of you perhaps! Disclaimer: I still love the show with my whole heart and greatly respect the hard work of everyone who worked on it, so please don’t hate on the show in replies and comments to this post. Either keep it to relevant constructive criticism of the narrative and thoughtful analysis/discussion, or make your own posts, thanks

Idk I was just left.. hollow after s2 finale of tbb, like, there were no upsides/positive stimulating moments? It didn't leave me with an excited feeling for what's to come, more like "this is very bleak and miserable, I want s3 purely in the hope of it getting better somehow". I really was expecting some sort of catharsis from tbb s2 finale but got the complete opposite. It's a tell that something didn't work for me when I got no inspiration to draw anything tbh. S1 finale was confusing and not all that happy too but it left.. idk, something to be hopeful about, something affirming to it, amidst all destruction and separation.  I wonder what s3 will look like with this sort of a cliffhanger. Unless they somehow resolve it in the first few episodes of the next season, the whole format would have to be changed, no more one-off adventures between the main plot heavy episodes etc. Regarding Hunter and his complete lack of emotionality and motivation outside of his relationship with Omega, at this point I seriously can’t tell if the writers are purposefully writing Hunter in a way that makes him come off as, well, failing as a brother and a leader. All I know is that after each finale, s1 and s2, I’m left with a desire for him to own up to his mistakes to grow. I love Hunter a lot and I enjoy flawed characters with good hearts. But when they mess up, I want the narrative to frame it such, and for them to grow from there. Otherwise it’s just inconsistent writing. At this moment, I feel like Hunter needs a “redemption” arc as much as Crosshair, as far as family drama and letting each other down goes. This is why I was so happy when it seemed like they’d finally go to rescue Crosshair specifically (welp.) They needed to do that imo, Hunter most of all, he needs to own up to leaving his brother behind once and for all and actually *do* smth about it. Was it understandable when they had to flee and couldn’t come back for Cross before they knew about the chips and arguably after? Absolutely. Doesn’t change the fact that Cross was left behind and got hurt, doesn’t make it better. So even if Hunter’s decision is justified, his lack of regret over his brother getting hurt in the process is not. I can see him repressing it all bc that’s Hunter, he is the king of repressing his emotions for the sake of moving forward, but his issues do not excuse him, and I want him to gain awareness and grow past these issues.  And speaking of Crosshair. It’s so weird, structurally if nothing else, how the previous few episodes built up all these emotional stakes over Crosshair, specifically his withstanding intense torture from Hemlock meant to break him just to protect his siblings, only for the finale to completely drop the ball on it. Tech sacrifices himself on a mission he specifically urged Hunter to go on because “Crosshair is still our brother” and then Hunter is like “yeah let’s not waste Tech’s sacrifice and forget all about Crosshair, okay?”. It made no freaking sense.  S1 finale left me confused & unsatisfied with the way characters reactions didn’t fit some of their previously stablished experiences and narrative arcs. S2 put things in perspective for me somewhat, so my best hope is that s3 does the same to resolve my confusion over s2 finale.  When it comes down to basic story break down, the core theme of TBB gotta be either about a family coming together, or it is about a family separating, one way or another. Until s2 finale I was convinced it was about coming together but now.. “We don’t leave our own behind” seemed like a clear set up for the coming together theme. Now it feels almost like a misdirection, an ironic twist to subvert our expectations or mb to explore how old convictions/priorities of these characters crashed against new realities of life.  And now that they’ll never truly be able to be a whole family again (allegedly), my hope for the main theme to circle back to a family coming together in a satisfying way has been critically diminished tbh. I think it could still work with someone dying, but def not like this. Even if everyone else survives and sticks together and Cross comes back, he’ll never have closure over Tech’s absence, for example. There will be no satisfaction for us as the audience in his brother’s sacrifice on a mission to save him, no pay-off. Then what is the point?  A character death is a very powerful tool within the story, so when it happens, it needs to be done extremely right to hit the right emotional chords and not just cause frustration. What frustrates me, personally, is not the factual death of a character in the canon version of the events, but when the presentation and use of it makes no sense to me in the story but the writers are trying to sell it to me as if it should. Then I feel like I’m being emotionally manipulated and nothing makes me feel more betrayed tbh. I can come up with an infinite number of explanations for Tech’s survival. It’s incredibly easy to suspend my disbelief and just say “somehow he survived”. But if the creators themselves actively try to beat me over the head with their insistence that no, it happened and I should be sad over it, nope. That’s telling, not showing. If you want me to feel strong emotion, make me, don’t tell me that I’m supposed to be sad over a character dying just because you decided to kill them to make me sad. As for Tech’s status, the whole Schrodinger Tech situation is exactly the same as Cross’s chip in s1 finale. Everything in the narrative (Hemlock bringing his goggles is sus as hell, 100% reads as hints at him recovering Tech and then lying to Hunter to manipulate him) points to it being one way (Cross’s chip still affecting him, Tech surviving) but knowing the writers, my gut tells me it’s exactly what they say on the surface with their words and he’s gone. I hope I’m wrong because the way this death was handled is meaningless and closes so many possibilities, like I mentioned above with the family coming together in a satisfying way etc. It just doesn’t work for the story beyond cheap emotional shock value imo.  So here we are. I decided to chill until s3 and hope things will make sense as the story progresses and the intentions of the writers become clear. Right now they sure as hell aren’t. 

[seyoonlgc]

CASTING CALL ! (LGC STUDIO 2024 Q3)

Hello, beautiful people! As seen on the manager post, Seyoon was approved for a pre-recorded podcast. More information about the podcast can be found below the cut, but here is a brief summary to catch your attention: Seyoon & his guest of the episode will be telling each other about some of the paranormal encounters they had in the past.

Is your character desperate for fall? Is Hallowe'en their favorite holiday? Have they got great ghost stories that they are dying to share? If so, I NEED YOU.

Four storytellers are needed for this podcast and I would happily write with every single one of my guests. This would be a great opportunity for our characters to get to know each other and bond over some light heebie-jeebies! There'll even be snacks - Seyoonie will fry up some ugly onion rings just for you.

Podcast concept:

need to cool down during the summer? how about listening to some spooky stories that'll surely send chills down your spine? kim seyoon's had some interesting paranormal encounters in the past and he's ready to share them in hopes of entertaining the masses. in each episode, seyoon will prepare a story to tell as the host and ask his guest to do the same. the story should sound like it's based on a real-life experience, told from the storyteller's perspective. for example, the music box my aunt bought me keeps on playing on its own at midnight, but only on rainy nights... (~'o')~

in general, the podcast is meant to give its audience a light scare, not to keep them up at night. the stories should be intriguing and thought-provoking, not overly graphic. the storytelling format is relaxed like two friends chatting in front of a warm fireplace at night. it is okay to interrupt the storytelling with questions and reactions because that adds to the casual vibe. during the storytelling, to add to the ambiance, seyoon may play sound effects like thunder, rain, ghostly wails, etc.

Gig Duration: July - September

Guest info: trainees and any MODELS, ACTORS, or IDOLS with less than 200 notoriety can participate. Please REPLY to this post and I'll hit you up for plotting. I'll do all the starters!

EPISODE ONE: maylin EPISODE TWO: gyuri EPISODE THREE: junkyu EPISODE FOUR: seunghyun

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #34

34. CYPRUS Silia Kapsis - "Liar" 15th place

Decade Ranking: 128/153 [Above Benny, below Reiley]

15th place? Generous. Good floordrops only get you so far if that's the ONLY thing you've got.

Every year there's a few acts that I thought just plain sucked, and yet can't really muster feelings of dislike for. Like, what's the point of putting in the effort of emoting if I can simply choose to focus my attention on better, worthier songs? They're shit, but that's their problem, not mine.

And that awkward little spot where those acts go is also where dear young Sillia lands. "Liar" is bad, I think we all agree? Laurel Barker still hasn't shown her busted face since "Sober" (GOOD.) but her spirit lives on in mediocre, poorly written girlbops with no substance, and this season had multiples of those. "Liar" stood out the worst to me by virtue of, well, not really standing out at all, other than for its horrible libretto.

CUZ YOU'RE A LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR YEAH YEAH YEAH YOU LIE IE IE IE YEAH YEAH YEAH

that THIS is a chorus of a Eurovision FINALIST. 😳 Futhermore the lyrics also rhyme "oolala" with "truth la la" (okay this one is ACTUALLY funny) and present Silia as some sort of... intrusive busybody calling out pther people's adultery and philandering? I suppose it's a little LESS scuffed than have Isaiah Firebrace hone his gaslighting, uglycrying and concern trollery skills at the same age. But if you're going to tweak the narrative in function of her being a minor, and attempt to steer her away from sexualization, then perhaps don't style her in a top that accentuates her cleavage? And don't end with this:

(always a telltale sign of a losing battle when you have to splice THAT into a song/act that doesn't call for it just to get a Q.)

Unlike a Nutsa or a Sarah, you can't quite say that Silia was at the top of the performance game. She was a 17 year old with limited on-stage experience, and it showed. She had memorized her stupid lines and rehearsed her stupid TikTok dances and delivered both as flat and robotic as one does when they go through the motions. The Dance Break lmao what the FUCK was this epileptic seizure:

If you want a true Performative Piece emulating a neurotic disorder, got tho say Il Senso did it better.

"SHARP. BLADES. OF. TIME. CUTS. THE. SPACE. :twitches: " 😍

Silia was in the Reiley zone where nothing she did was particularly bad but also none of the things she did were objectively good, and it balances out in blandness. It was all just a little bit too much "Participation Trophy" material, which is the Cypriot special by now. Btw, did you know it is a Greek hand-me-down? ("Liar" starts at 0:59)

That's right, this was the song that lost to "WHAT THEY SAY" and then tried to fight its loss in court and lost the appeal. This song is so embarrasing it lost in an internal selection to Victor Vernikos.

Ofc behind all of this lay a huge shitstorm of a selection with Cyprus planning to do an NF on Greek soil based on a format ERT had planned and trashed sometime in the past. Greece found out and threatened to blank Cyprus completely if they appropriated their NF concept, which forced Cyprus to recruit another Australian and contact Kontopoulos who still had "Liar" in his folder, with the hopes that the badness would fly under the radar.

But don't worry Cyprus repaid Greece by ranking Eden ahead of Marina in the jury vote. 🙂 I wouldn't blame the Greeks if they invaded and annexed (or bribed the Turks to do it for them) 🙂

So yeah, Cyprus made the final. Unfortunate because it rewards an entry that deliberately plays lowest base on several levels. I suppose I would find Liar's advancement offensive in most cases, but like... it's semi 1. Half of the acts in that shitshow deserved to get the boot including Silia yes, and all five acts that were eliminated, so whatevs. Do we really care which shitty acts made it in, if at least three of them were advancing anyway, idfts. Finland was the only one I wanted to see dead (not literally. i think.) and that was never happening in a full televote from that second half.

Besides, the finale had a much bigger fish to fry, and Cyprus's generous-AF 15th place overall (reminder: this is the same placement Maraaya and Zalagasper got in WORSE finals) feels like such a trifle in comparison. So, I'm FINE with ranking her barely into yellow today. Pray that we're spared more degenerative nonsense from this clown country next year if there's a next yeah and and if Poseidon doesn't make the disrespectful island sink into the sea for its many crimes against Marina Satti.

THE RANKING

[idontplaytrack]

You Don’t Know Me

Capri Donahue x fem! reader

Warnings: coarse language, angst, fluff, mentions + descriptions of disordered eating due to anxiety, fear of choking

In which, reader is stubborn, but Capri was a thousand times worse. They fit perfectly like pieces of a puzzle but still seemed like they were fighting fire with fire

Ngl I wrote this for myself to give myself some closure for what I had to deal with while going through this crap I’m about to share below the cut— inspired by my own experience but not 100%. I ramble a lot & the formatting is terrible so before I fix it, ignore the mess🧍‍♀️ its also very unpolished but thought I’d share anyway

Monday. First day of the week- you felt right as rain. Happily, you got ready for school and drove to Capri’s to pick her up so that the two of you could head to school together. “Good morning!” Capri greeted you cheerfully, smooching you on the cheek when she got into the front with you.

“Hi.” You smiled, starting to drive away from her house.

For the past seven months, this has become the routine. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, you picked her up. Tuesdays and Thursdays, Capri picked you up. None of this was set in stone— or rather, verbally confirmed at all. It just happened and both of you went along with it. And it worked. Of course, on weekends however, it depended on what either of you would’ve planned.

“How’d you sleep?”

“Amazing, actually. Got enough.” You chuckled over your words.

The day zoomed by expectedly, without a hitch. After school, you went to Capri’s and spent the night. You had quite the restless sleep that night, feeling your head begin to hurt. Oh, boy. That wasn’t good.

The next day, though you woke up with a bit of a headache, but you pushed through— keeping it to yourself, though when Capri asked if you were okay. Capri being Capri, didn’t take your word for it and asked again. You insisted and she got pissed off. By lunchtime, the headache worsened, and you started to have a cough. “Still gonna tell me you’re okay?” Capri asks, her brows raised in suspicion.

You ignored her, biting into the dry sandwich on your lunch tray. She does the same, focusing her lunch instead of you. You looked ahead, your eyes losing focus trying to zone out and tune out the chatter of the cafeteria that was definitely worsening your mood and your headache. The school bell tolls eventually, you got rid of your tray and went your separate ways to your respective classes after lunch. You had calc while Capri had bio class— with Darby, who was actually your best friend in school.

You tried to drink more water, hoping it’d alleviate your pain, but it did not. You saw Capri again. And Darby, after calc, in gym class. The teacher made you all run laps as a warm up and admittedly, you felt like you could have passed out, thrown up or both. But you kept together until the last minute, you asked for permission to go to the restroom and just sat inside until it was time to change out of the attire. After that, you ditched. You got to Capri’s and drove your car back home. And once you got back home, you immediately crawled into bed and slept.

Capri obviously couldn’t find you at all, and what did she do? Complained to Darby. “I think she’s more stubborn than you are.” Darby scoffs. “How’s that helpful?”

“Since when did you ask for my help?”

“You’re her best friend- you can’t get through to her?”

“For what? She’s just sick and stubborn.”

“So I’m just supposed to let her ignore it until she faints?”

Darby laughs, “She’s clearly ditched school. Where do you think she’d go? We know she’s coming down with something. She’ll be fine, she knows what to do.”

“Yeah, everything but tell me she’s not feeling well. Is it so bad to have me take care of her?”

“Like you would tell her if you were sick.” Darby cackled.

“Not my point.”

“This is exactly my point. You’re both so damn stubborn but right now, it’s time for you push that aside and be…gentle with her. Once she’s not sick anymore, squabble all you want. If you push her, she’s just going to shove you back. But that’s not what she needs right now and you know it.”

“Damn, thanks.” Capri pondered over Darby’s words.

————

Capri went over to your house after school. Knowing you well enough, she knew you’d be in bed so she trudged upstairs immediately. There you were, wrapped under the covers and asleep. At least you were getting some rest, she thought.

She felt your forehead with the back of her hand, “You’re a little warm.” She was mumbling to herself but you still kinda stirred in your sleep anyway, turning away from her but still wrapped tightly in your blanket, though. Grabbing a face towel from your closet, she ran it under the tap, wrung it dry and folded it small enough so that she could place that on your forehead. Which was hard considering how you were almost sleeping on your side. After making sure that it would stay put, she retrieved the thermometer and carefully placed it in your ear so that she could figure out what your temperature was.

“Go away, I’m fine.” You mumbled in your sleep.

“No, you are not. Please stop fighting me on this. It’s okay to need help.” Capri sighs softly, taking a look at the reading before putting it back in the cupboard. When she returned, you were lying on your back, eyes barely open.

“You don’t have to take care of me.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Capri bit the inside of her cheek, taking a deep breath, “I want to, okay? I don’t mind doing that. Just close your eyes and sleep- don’t let the towel fall off though.”

“It’s fucking cold.” You scoffed.

“Well, it’s either that method or the medication. Take your pick.” Admitting defeat but staying silent, you fell back asleep soon afterwards. Capri took this time to tidy up your room since she had nothing to do other than sit around and wait for you to wake up again. Not that there was much for her to actually tidy up either, but at least it kept her occupied for a bit.

Things were peaceful until it got to dinner. You refused to eat but she forced you. “I don’t want to.”

“You haven’t eaten anything since lunch and we know it.”

“Capri, I don’t know if you remember, but right now, whatever I try to eat or drink makes it feel like I’m getting water up my nose each time.” That was the most ridiculous sounding statement you’ve said all day but it was the truth. It was a problem that you were dealing with for the last month or so and doctor after doctor said nothing was wrong. Typical.

“The doctors said everything was normal, so can you try and eat something for god’s sake?” Capri inhales sharply, losing her patience towards the end. You looked at her, hurt as tears pricked at your eyes. Pursing your lips together, you got off the barstool and went into the backyard.

Capri knew she’d just fucked up, and usually you’d understand her frustration but being sick? You couldn’t think of anything.

She found you quickly, sitting down on the lounge chair next to yours. “I’m sorry.” She apologizes. You simply avoided her, going upstairs next. Capri huffs exasperatedly while you reentered the house. Her mind wanders back to two months ago at a party where the reason for your current struggle took place- you were choking on something and no one really noticed. You could’ve died that day if James didn’t happen to walk up to you to ask if you’d seen Darby anywhere. Where was Capri when it happened? She went to the bathroom and you just sat on the couch to have some snacks, but some asshole decided that it’d be funny to sneak up on you and scare you so that happened.

When Capri returned, you immediately started to bawl, asking to go home. She looked at James, confused and insanely worried. He told her, and she was dumbfounded. But she took you home and that was never brought up again.

Until recently, the issue with getting you to eat came up. Capri’s mind was racing, part of it worried to death about you, another thinking of what she could actually get you to eat— and how. She was harsh and that was a flaw of hers, which she has been trying to change.

You went back to bed that night, hungry and in tears but terrified to eat. Capri spent the night on the couch, wide awake and checking on you every so often. The next day, she decided to give it another shot. She made you plain oatmeal after a night of thinking- no chewing, no surprises, the consistency seemed safe. You stared at the bowl of goop, tempted and starving. But the fear and anxiety still won. You told Capri no again. And apologised for that, and last night. She doesn’t seem upset or angry, and she doesn’t yell or raise her voice.

“y/n, look at me.” She says. And you do, you locked eyes with her, then she continued speaking, “I’m gonna be right beside you, just in case- please try some oatmeal. Just a little bit. It’s plain, okay? No fruit, flavouring, anything.” You’ve never seen her like this, and it made you even more upset. You wanted to cry, but you wanted to eat something even more. You reached out to grab the spoon, and you feel Capri’s eyes on you but it didn’t bother you. You stuck the spoon in your mouth and just swallowed reflexively. The aforementioned sensation was felt, but you ignored that and kept eating.

After several weeks of this hell, Capri’s learnt what foods you were even willing to just take a bite of. And the answer was plain food. Actually plain- white bread, plain toast, plain yogurt, and plain oatmeal. Your parents washed their hands off you and called you crazy for it, but Capri understood— the image of how terrified you were was etched into her mind forever. The doctors say there was nothing wrong. Yes, physically. This was more of a mental block…the fear and anxiety of choking on whatever you were eating or drinking, and now for the past week, also the fear and anxiety of having food or drinks ‘going down the wrong way’. The incident made you a hypochondriac and you hated that. You hated that your life flipped upside down you could no longer enjoy the things you used to love. It made you feel incredibly isolated, too.

“You’re okay, baby. Just let your body do what it needs to do. You’re alright.” She says softly. Wordlessly, she got off the stool and went to get you something to drink. She was debating whether or not to play it safe and just give you water, or a smoothie which would be more filling. Capri went with the latter, warning you that she’d be using the blender so you didn’t get scared. This was arguably the most you’ve eaten since the incident and Capri was so, so proud. She knew how hard it was, for obvious reasons. Not to mentioned relieved.

She looked over her shoulder to see how you were doing. You were fine, sitting there and eating but looking a little zoned out. Which she expected since you were feeling under the weather. “Do you have a headache?” Capri asks while pouring the beverage into a glass, then another one for herself. You nod, swallowing a mouthful of the food. “I’m sorry, I can’t anymore.” You pushed the bowl away from you slightly.

“That’s okay, you did good.” She took it away, pushing the glass closer to you then sat back down. She feels your forehead, telling you that you felt warmer now. Regrettably, she suggested the medication for it and sent you into tears. So it was damage control time. Chiding herself internally for her decision, she held you in her embrace, kissing the top of your head. “We’ll stick to the towel, alright? I’m sorry, baby. I’m sorry. We’ll go get you the liquid kind tomorrow if you still need it.”

————

Several minutes later, you and Capri moved back up to your room. Your head felt like it was getting squeezed, and felt heavy. You felt hot yet was freezing at the same time. You were miserable and definitely needed someone with you and you were glad it was Capri.

You knew people feared her, some looked up to her and even worshipped her like royalty. All for different reasons, but you weren’t afraid of her like they were. That’s what Capri liked about you- your personalities were so similar, though yours was considerably more tamed. Especially in the aspect of being way too truthful. Conversations turned into squabbles and jabs at each other quite a bit, but you knew she loved you and you both were trying to get this habit to die. Laying on your back make your cough worse, and you didn’t feel too comfortable on your side so you got frustrated at climbed out of bed.

“I’m gonna take a shower.” You decided.

“Okay. I’ll be here.”

The shower still felt way too cold for you and you got out of there, fast. Though it felt nice to not be sweaty. You noticed your sheets were changed, and Capri’s just walked into the room. “Are you okay?” She looked at you, hoping you’d be honest about it with her instead of trying to tough it out.

“My head really hurts.” You admit, “I’m fucking congested so my ears are hurting too, I’m coughing like crazy. And that shower, was hot but I was freezing.” She bit back a grin, “Babe, could we both just tell each other if we need some TLC, please?”

You sigh, “I’ll try. I’m just used to not asking for help and grew up learning that I should always be independent.”

“While being independent is a good thing, sometimes depending on someone when you’re down will do wonders.”

“You were right, the doctors were right, my parents are right- it’s all in my head and I need to get over it, but I just- please know I’m tryig.”

“I know you are- I see it but sometimes I still get bitchy which I’m trying to stop doing.”

“You’re the only one who’s believed me all this time since-”

Capri pulls you onto her lap, “Remember that- I’ll always be in your corner. Even when in moments where get bitchy. I want you to know and remember that I care though it may not seem like it at the time.”

Eventually, the cold got too much for you to bear even with a long sleeved top and long pants, so you returned to your cocoon of safety under the covers. “Thank you.” You told her groggily, flinching when she places the cold towel back on your forehead almost too quickly.

“Just rest.” She shushed you.

“You missed school today because of me.” You continued speaking.

“Doesn’t matter.” She assured, her hand on your cheek. “You need the rest, close your eyes and sleep on your side. It should help with the coughing.”

Every day since that night seemed like a fight, some days were worse than others but with Capri by your side, you knew you’d be okay. Slowly but surely.

[kavehsclaymore]

Traces we Left

an 4nemo smau

DISC 1 - Track 5 : A Second Opinion

"Yahoo~!" The hum of the air conditioning is too loud for the studio he's in, but he isn't recording right now, so Kuni ignores it. Jean should have kicked him out of the building by now, but 4nemo's success gives them certain privileges within their agency; Kuni will take advantage of that without a shred of remorse. "Hello, Venti," he says anyways. "You sound... energetic." "Hi!" Venti replies through the speaker. "Yeah, it's morning! I'm full of sunshine!" "Morning bird," Kuni replies. "You say it like it's a bad thing!" Venti laughs. "Anyways... What's up, 'mouchie?" "I need your advice," Kuni responds. "As a professional... And a friend." He ignores Venti's dramatic gasp. "He called me a friend!" "Can you listen to a song?" he asks. Venti gasps again. "Wait... You wrote a song?" He can hear the way Venti's voice takes on a new level of excitement. "Oh, oh!!! You're writing a single!" "An album, actually," Kuni admits. "If someone would actually listen to the first piece so I can move on to the rest." Venti makes a high-pitched noise that sounds embarrassingly like a squeal. "Okay, okay, I'm listening! Go ahead!" They switch to a video call. Kuni props his phone on the table. "The quality'll be shit," he warns, and reaches for the guitar propped against the wall. "Don't care! Sing, 'mouchie!" And he does. Kuni plays the chords and sings the words he's written down for this song. Once he's played through it once, he goes over his ideas for instrumentation and points out the places he thinks need polishing. Venti is silent for a moment when Kuni is done. "You're pouring your whole heart into this," he notes. "I can tell." He smiles. "Now, as for the song itself, it's got a few problems." Kunikuzushi can take criticism at face value. (All the 4nemo's can; it's the only way they've survived for so long in a cut-throat industry.) "What did you hear?" he asks instead, straight to the point. "What do I need to change?" "It isn't that you need to change much, per se. It's all really pretty and appealing, aurally..." Venti twirls a finger around one of his loose teal-dyed locks thoughtfully. "But you're trying to say too many things in one song. I think you should spread those ideas out. Like this part--" he hums part of the song "--that's a whole other melodic idea, you can make it a different song entirely!" Kunikuzushi looks at the sheet music spread out before him, plucking strings absently as he goes, and then reaches for his pencil. He marks the spot Venti means, and then a few more places where that also applies. "So, in this spot, too..." He strums the chords he had written down, humming the melody; Venti joins him. Then he changes the chord qualities and his strumming pattern, and Venti makes a noise of approval. "Ah, I see." "Yeah, that's the spirit!" He taps his chin. "And about the instrumentation... It's your first solo album, and your 5wirlies are more into that introspective stuff, so you can keep it pretty simple if you want to. Whatever you write, it needs to fit your album's narrative, at least loosely." They go back and forth like this for the next hour, until the clock shows that it's past 3am when Kuni looks up next. He begrudgingly tells Venti that he has to get some rest, and after a bit more back and forth, they end the call. Kuni gathers his belongings and heads outside. As he slips into his car and drives home, his mind goes back to what Venti said, over and over again. He knows the advice is solid - Venti's a musical prodigy, and getting a master's in composition, so one would hope he knew what he was talking about - but it sparked a different thought for Kuni altogether. Namely, that his songs can follow the same narrative.

a/n: hello scaranation! some things to note:-pretend that inazuma and mond have totally different timezones ok ok -update: i fixed the link, but it broke the formatting of the pictures and i cannot for the life of me fix it.... sorry :&lt;

Summary: As your final semester in university begins, your childhood friend-turned international idol Kunikuzushi decides to make good on the promise he made to you all those years ago.

He's going to write you a song.

Scaramouche/Wanderer x gn!y/n

ALBUM: Traces we Left

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Credits: Y/N's circle || Kuni's circle

DISC 1:

Track 1 | Track 2 | Track 3 | Track 4 | ▶ Playing Now: Track 5 | Track 6 | Track 7 | Track 8 | Track 9 | Track 10

DISC 2:

Track 11 | Track 12 | Track 13 | Track 14 | Track 15 | Track 16 | Track 17 | loading....

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taglist: @misfireezreal @crowbird @i5yanfei @tjjjrsj @kunikuzushisbeloved @raideneiari @dazaisfavgf @orionicchaos

[sen-no-kotowari]

PGR S Fire Lee Character Profile

Good day! I hope everyone's enjoying the Spiral of Chronos Patch over on JP Servers (*‘ω‘ *) There's so much Lee content popping given that it's July so in a way the Lee enthusiasts are having a buffet field day! (≧▽≦) That said, here is S Fire Lee's Character Profile! I will be posting the translation his Character Version Image Song some time this week as I'm working with a personal project that I may possibly post as well so look forward to it if you're interested. In comparison to the inital release in the CN servers, they re-recorded most of Lee's lines so what you hear on the video link may not necessarily reflect what you hear in-game as of late in the JP servers. You can learn more about the expanded lore on Lee on the cut down below!

Voice Line Data

Motion Voice Lines

Lobby Voice 1

Lee: (Checks gun) ...Can't I stay here even if I don't have any other business with you? I wish to do my gun maintenance in a quiet place. The maintenance room's too crowded.

Lobby Voice 2

Lee: I was worried when I heard that Murray became the Cerberus Unit's leader if he could ever manage those rowdy bunch and all... But it seems like I was worried over nothing. He's all grown up now. However, I think the Gray Raven Unit is okay the way it is. Heh, it's because you won't do a break dance while there's an ongoing meeting... You won't, right...?

Lobby Voice 3

Lee: Humans have long since used an hourglass to measure time. While I can't say it's accurate, it was, however, the most optimal way of showing how time cannot be reversed―that's right, we, who exist in a three-dimensional plane, can't wind back time. Humans can't alter the past even if we come to regret it. ...What about me, you ask? I don't have any regrets. Even if there are countless branch points in each moment, I will surely find my way back to your side.

Raise Affection Level

Lee: Thank you, this is just what I need right now. With this, I can also complete that support robot I promised to finish― ...Huh? This is a present for me? So there's even a fine distinction made when it comes to gifts, huh...

Repetitive Taps

Lee: ...What the- ...To think there's this fully grown troublemaker inside the Raven Unit's base huh. Shall I drag you to the juvenile detention center then?

Log-In

Lee: You're here now. ...If I can never meet you again at some point in the future, I might feel sad from loneliness. ...Forget it. We have a mission to accomplish, let's get going.

Online for a Long Time

Lee: I'll do the remaining ones left, just go rest. Now! I've had enough of looking at how you look like a loitering zombie, you're spoiling the pleasant scene around us.

AFK

Lee: ...Commander, commander? ...(Sigh) You actually fell asleep from exhaustion, huh. You left your combat terminal open, guess you can't settle down without it... Really, I ought to tuck you in somewhere quiet. ...You lost some weight again... How much work did you take on this time...

Shake

Lee: ...Wha— Commander! ...Heh, you sure don't get tired of this same old trick.

Offline for a Long Time

Lee: Where have you been until now?! ...If you had made up your mind to walk out from here, I wish you could've at least said a proper goodbye then. ...No, it doesn't matter now, since you returned here in the end.

Introduction and Formation

Structure Acquired

Lee: Lee of the Gray Raven Unit, reporting. Yes, I'm back now. Other than needing to get along with each other, let's skip the unnecessary greetings and get right down to business, Commander.

Level Up

Lee: What accumulated was just the combat data itself, so I can't say for sure if I've improved. This is still nowhere near the model's limit.

Advancement

Lee: If it's a rise in rank from you, then its meaning also changes. ...Understood, I'll work hard to keep your expectations in check.

Model Improvement

Lee: The peak of evolution means breaking through one's limits as well as knowing there's a realm ahead of us we neither can understand nor have yet to encounter. ...Although taking a step inside that realm would require a significant sacrifice to be paid, I have the determination to see through it all.

Skill Upgrade

Lee: How about giving me some credit? The thrusters are now more responsive and more efficient because of this process. Seems like I'm quite accustomed to this model more than I thought.

Equipment

Lee: Testing auto preset rate, all-green. Measuring microwave distance, all-green. Since this is a highly precise piece of equipment, it's important to check that each module is working fine.

Add in Team

Lee: If you notice some sort of cue mid-battle, get away from my projectile's trajectory ASAP. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Assign as Captain

Lee: Calm down, it's okay to leave everything to me. I'll protect you guys.

Mission Accomplished

Lee: Not bad. You're becoming more efficient.

Daily Small Talks

Voice Line 1

Lee: No, I'm not mad or anything. This is how I usually am.

Voice Line 2

Lee: Rather than forcing them to cooperate, wouldn't it be more efficient to assign people to what they're good at?

Voice Line 3

Lee: ...Excuse me? I don't think it's my fault that the atmosphere became awkward. ...There's something you want to talk about? If it's about the issue on the Science Council's IUO Standard No. 9, I'd oblige to discuss it with you at great lengths though.

Voice Line 4

Lee: I promised that I'd never keep secrets from you ever again so if there's something you want to ask me, feel free to ask me anything.

Voice Line 5

Lee: (Checks gun) ...Can't I stay here even if I don't have any other business with you? I wish to do my gun maintenance in a quiet place. The maintenance room's too crowded.

Voice Line 6

Lee: You want to see the non-combat functions added to the weapon I've modified? Why do you— ...Guess it can't be helped then. I'll only show it to you once so keep your eyes peeled.

Voice Line 7

Lee: If we have nothing else to do today, want to train with me at the base? I still need to make some adjustments to this model, but it'd be challenging to adjust the result calculations without your cooperation.

Voice Line 8

Lee: I knew this part is... it'd be faster if I disassemble it once and reassemble it... Hm? Well, I'm currently doing maintenance on your powered suit. I should just let the guys at the Cosmos Engineer Union handle that...? It's fine if it's just regular maintenance, but they don't know your movement habits. Whenever you draw out your tactical knife from your left side, there's some kind of resistance around this part, right? I've already adjusted that problem.

Voice Line 9

Lee: Even if all of creation would continue to evolve, the collective matter of space will never change for all time—death follows life, and energy is concurrently generated from annihilation. If one wishes to obtain something, one must pay the price for it one day, without exceptions... Commander, behind every "miracle" that happens... correspond a sacrifice greater than you could imagine.

Voice Line 10

Lee: I was worried when I heard that Murray became the Cerberus Unit's leader if he could ever manage those rowdy bunch and all... But it seems like I was worried over nothing. He's all grown up now. However, I think the Gray Raven Unit is okay the way it is. Heh, it's because you won't do a break dance while there's an ongoing meeting... You won't, right...?

Voice Line 11

Lee: Updating the existing tactics, thinking outside the box, and even complying and sympathizing with the enemies... If I'm being honest, I couldn't understand your style of leading us at first. But now, I can have complete faith in all your decisions.

Voice Line 12

Lee: Humans have long since used an hourglass to measure time. While I can't say it's accurate, it was, however, the most optimal way of showing how time cannot be reversed―that's right, we, who exist in a three-dimensional plane, can't wind back time. Humans can't alter the past even if we come to regret it. ...What about me, you ask? I don't have any regrets. Even if there are countless branch points in each moment, I will surely find my way back to your side.

Voice Line 13

Lee: You saw what my real name was in a file? ...Oh, well, it's not something confidential anyway. Besides, I am Lee of the Gray Raven Unit now. What I thought was a temporary code name given to me became a part of who I am today and is something I take great pride in. I plan to fight as "Lee" right until the very end.

Voice Line 14

Lee: Tactical cooperation, huh... That kind of thing doesn't exist back where I used to live. There was only constant betrayal and plunder at that place. Everyone became desperate to cross over that infernal sea, so they pushed others off to the edge and used them as their bridge... But now I don't have to think about it. Even though I repeatedly told myself I don't believe in things like luck, I could say that joining the Gray Raven Unit and crossing paths with you... was the most fortunate thing that ever happened to me.

Voice Line 15

Lee: "You're never alone," huh? ...I think those words are indeed solemn. No... It's exactly because they are important that I don't want to see the person who said those words to me suffer. So "it'd be a lot better than trying to bear everything by myself," hmm... I used to think that way before, but in the end, only an even more tragic end awaits. I get what you're trying to tell me. Commander, we'll support each other from now on and get through this, no matter what.

Raise Affection Level

Voice Line 1

Lee: Since we're all on the same team, there's no need to personally hand out resources to every single member.

Voice Line 2

Lee: Why are you suddenly... Don't you have anything better to do?

Voice Line 3

Lee: Equivalent exchange... I'll never forget the principle behind it. All of the things I've received from you are engraved in my heart.

Voice Line 4

Lee: You're giving this to me? ...Uh, thanks...I guess.

Voice Line 5

Lee: Here, I finished fixing your mini robot. While I'm at it, I've also added a voice memo function to it. Huh? You...want to change the default voice data to my voice? S-stop thinking about those kinds of ideas!

Voice Line 6

Lee: ...Did you give this to other people too?

Voice Line 7

Lee: You've always remained the same even from way back then... Ah, no. I'm not complaining about it. It's... fine for you to stay the same for who you are.

Voice Line 8

Lee: Where the heck do you find these things... Wait a minute, I never said I don't need this, right? The things I've already received are mine now.

Voice Line 9

Lee: You want to try out the new weapon I use? Well, it's still in its prototype stage, so I don't think it's at a level that can be mass-produced though. There's sort of a trick in each of its module settings, do you want me to teach you those tricks? It's complex, but it's quite remarkable as a weapon. I'm the only one who currently has mastered it anyhow.

Voice Line 10

Lee: You don't need to go out of your way... I'll respond to your expectations. ...So long as it's not relatively unreasonable, that is.

Voice Line 11

Lee: So long as I'm here, you don't have to worry. Everything's going to be all right.

Voice Line 12

Lee: Thank you, this is just what I need right now. With this, I can also complete that support robot I promised to finish― ...Huh? This is a present for me? So there's even a fine distinction made when it comes to gifts, huh...

Voice Line 13

Lee: You're expecting me to spew some affectionate words? You better stop expecting then. Well if you're that desperate, let's see what kind of stereotypical lines you'll show me. ...Ack! O-okay, that's enough...! That's plenty enough for an example!

Voice Line 14

Lee: (Sigh) ...Hm? Is there something troubling me, you ask? Not really. The cost of sealed warehouses is currently on the rise, so I'm thinking about what's the best way to store your belongings. ...I-it's nothing, forget it!

Voice Line 15

Lee: While I'm not a person who'd easily make promises, from the very beginning until this day... Rather, until the lasting future ahead of us, I'll live up to my promise that I'd always stay by your side no matter what.

Voice Line 16

Lee: Here you go, my gift in return for everything. It's a mini locator made from the old power core that was extracted when my model was undergoing maintenance. So long as you always have this, you can know my location even if comms get cut off. If you push the button, I'd also know where you are. If you wish for me to be by your side, I'll absolutely come running to your side, no matter how far apart we are from each other. I promise.

AFK

Voice Line 1

Lee: Why are you staring at me? Is the strategic report written on my face or something?

Voice Line 2

Lee: When we were kids, I made this toy called "Sippy Chicken"[1] so I could explain to Murray the principles behind heat energy. ...Why am I suddenly talking about it? That's because you were frequently nodding your head low enough to hit the desk, just like that toy bird.

Voice Line 3

Lee: Commander, about the result of that experiment we did the other day-... Commander? No one's here, huh... Quite likely, considering they're the type of person who can't stay still. ...I guess I should wait for a while then.

Voice Line 4

Lee: Be good and go to sleep already if you're feeling drowsy. ...There aren't any emergency missions right now so it's fine if you don't push yourself too much. ...Just relax and close your eyes now, will you. I'll wake you up when needed.

Voice Line 5

Lee: ...Commander, commander? ...(Sigh) You actually fell asleep from exhaustion, huh. You left your combat terminal open, guess you can't settle down without it... Really, I ought to tuck you in somewhere quiet. ...You lost some weight again... How much work did you take on this time...

Online for a Long Time

Voice Line 1

Lee: Are you attached to that chair or something?

Voice Line 2

Lee: Sure is nice if you could remember one good way to shirk off work.

Voice Line 3

Lee: Seems like I need to attach a system that could pick up mental fatigue from the brain wave activity on that chair, but... If the numbers reach a dangerously low range, it'd immediately force you to sleep― ...hm? You'd like to work for just a bit longer? I trust you know what'd happen if you lied through your teeth then.

Voice Line 4

Lee: I'll do the remaining ones left, just go rest. Now! I've had enough of looking at how you look like a loitering zombie, you're spoiling the pleasant scene around us.

Voice Line 5

Lee: Is this some kind of revenge plan against everyone in the Gray Raven Unit? ...What am I insinuating, you ask? Hah. Are you trying to prove your point that humans could also work for three days straight without any rest like us Structures? ...We promised that we both won't work ourselves to death ever again, so you should also get some rest now.

Log-In

Voice Line 1

Lee: Good morning, you awake now?

Voice Line 2

Lee: That's good, the time you arrived sure is on point. Keep up with that. What time did I arrive? Just a few minutes earlier than you.

Voice Line 3

Lee: I thought I heard a loud, boisterous voice from afar but, don't tell me Kamui dropped by again, did he?

Voice Line 4

Lee: Commander, you came just at the right time. About those prospective experiments I mentioned yesterday, I just thought of one more idea for that.

Voice Line 5

Lee: You're here now. ...If I can never meet you again at some point in the future, I might feel sad from loneliness. ...Forget it. We have a mission to accomplish, let's get going.

Voice Line 6

Lee: I'm not spacing out, I'm just thinking about the Monty Hall problem[2]. If I eliminate the doors that haven't been opened, which of the remaining doors will you show up on... Hm? There's only one door in this room...? .......(clears throat)......

Voice Line 7

Lee: Last night, did you stay up late again? Taking good care of yourself is also one of your responsibilities to your team. I'm sure you know that better since you were an honor student, right? Your average sleeping time as of late is just― ...Huh? Why do I know, you ask? ...Obviously, I learned about it from Laplace's demon[3].

Voice Line 8

Lee: Good morning, did you have a good night's sleep? ...Yeah. Should we try a different greeting for tomorrow since today's greeting was okay? Since I have to greet you every day starting today, I wonder if it'd be better if we decide together on which greeting we both like. So tell me, which do you prefer?

Offline for a Long Time

Lee: Where have you been until now?! ...If you had made up your mind to walk out from here, I wish you could've at least said a proper goodbye then. ...No, it doesn't matter now, since you returned here in the end.

Shake

Voice Line 1

Lee: Graagh... ...No, it's not your fault. My Sea of Consciousness just suddenly went into an overload state. There's no need for you to worry about it... Stay still... Yeah, I'll recover from this in a minute.

Voice Line 2

Lee: ...Wha— Commander! ...Heh, you sure don't get tired of this same old trick.

Voice Line 3

Lee: If you get thrown off balance, I'll reflexively catch you and act as your cushion. ...As if. I'm kidding, let's stop this conversation. Please be more careful so you won't get hurt in the future.

Repetitive Taps

Voice Line 1

Lee: ...What the- ...To think there's this fully grown troublemaker inside the Raven Unit's base huh. Shall I drag you to the juvenile detention center then?

Voice Line 2

Lee: You think I won't fight back from this?

Voice Line 3

Lee: For the times you've poked me, I'll be repaying you exponentially. ...Hmm, so it's at a total number of 133637 times then. Now then, are you prepared to accept some "repayment?"

Activity Task Full

Lee: Activity level's reached the maximum level. We should leave our work progress here for now.

Battle Dialogues

Battle Start/Character Switch

Lee: Simulation complete. Commander, we'll emerge as the victors here.

Voice Line 1

Lee: I'll be the one to reign over your time!

Voice Line 2

Lee: There's no escape from my line of sight!

Voice Line 3

Lee: Your survivability rate's hit zero!

Voice Line 4

Lee: You can't escape now!

Voice Line 5

Lee: This is the end!

Ultimate Skill

Lee: Perish... for all time!

Light Damage

Lee: It's nothing serious, let's stay focused.

Heavy Damage

Lee: Graagh... I won't let it end, not here, not this moment.

Incapacitated

Lee: I'll stand back up if I have to... No matter what...

Friend Support

Lee: You did well holding out, leave the rest to me.

QTE

Lee: Target locked on, fire at max power!

Battle End

Lee: Guh! It's too early to let up your nerves, Commander.

Structure Documentation

Document Detail 1

BPN-06, Attacker-type, Model Name: Hyperreal―an Omega-type Specialized Structure model developed by the Science Council based on Kurono's Inverse Device research as well as the meager information deciphered from the polymerized fragment. All of its functions are fine-tuned to the model's stability, making it impervious to the Punishing's side effects.

Document Detail 2

Both the model's energy distribution capability and the computational capacity modulator are strengthened, allowing the model to perform numerous computations. In addition, to ensure the model's stability, all its external equipment uses synthetic nano-carbon metal tubes, and their thermal conductivity is increased to make the equipment lightweight.

Document Detail 3

Only a person who extensively understands small arms could utilize sophisticated and complex heavy artillery like Lee's composite armament. Although it could adapt to every battlefield, it's difficult to operate and warrants a highly stable model, currently making the Hyperreal model the only one capable of wielding this weapon.

Document Detail 4

Although this model that takes pride in its peerless computational abilities can execute multiple simultaneous high-precision computations, the burden on Lee's Sea of Consciousness constantly reaches its critical point. However, nobody knows the actual situation behind it since Lee never reports it, persuading himself that "the data deviation in his Sea of Consciousness doesn't trigger so it won't cause any impediments to my day-to-day operation."

Document Detail 5

While the development of the Omega-type Specialized Models that centered around Liv progressed, Lee willingly volunteered to participate since Liv's Sea of Consciousness was damaged during the Solaeter's development, stating that his Sea of Consciousness was "far more stable." The first time he learned that he was originally the first choice for the Omega-type Specialized Models was after he had formally participated.

Document Detail 6

Lee couldn't remember the whispers he hears in his dreams or the confusing sceneries he sees. However, if one were to ask him if he could feel the fear and worries looming when one fights alone, he would calmly deny it―because he knows for a fact that there would always be someone who'd light the beacon behind him and illuminate the way back to where he belongs, no matter how far away he is.

Rumors and Secrets

Secret 1 The exterior appearance of Lee's new model is quite different thus far, so several people talked about how the Hyperreal model looks. However, Lee himself never once noticed that he became a hot topic of conversation around him.

Secret 2 Since Lee used to often work late at night back when he was with Kurono, he still has the habit of burning the midnight oil. When he first arrived in Eden, there used to be a rumor circulating that a ghost would appear in the maintenance room when the clock strikes at midnight.

Secret 3 Even though he didn't have any interest in philosophy at first, Lee started reading books about "the concept of time" and "time and sentience" and seems to have been taking notes on the topic ever since he changed to his Hyperreal model.

Secret 4 During his spare time, Lee adjusts the weapons and exoskeleton of the other members of the Gray Raven Unit to match each of their habits. He voluntarily does this kind of work because previously "our equipment's weapon alignment was off-point and because of that, the Commander had a dislocation injury during our practical combat training."

Secret 5 Lee tried to modify his model and hide one reflective part as he failed to understand the design intent behind it. However, one researcher told him "that part regulates heat circulation" and gave up on the idea.

Secret 6 His hobbies are solving numerical puzzle games. Everyone in the Gray Raven Unit tried it once, but the only person who understood the fun behind these logical games is the Commander.

Secret 7 He dislikes having Kurono as the conversation topic. Even though he seemed to just lightly sweep Vera's badgers under the rug, Lee feels bitter about the fact he used to work for them in the past.

Secret 8 He added the Gray Raven's logo on the inner side of the model's coat himself. He hasn't told anyone about it, but everyone noticed the addition when his model underwent modification enhancement.

Secret 9 Even though he preferred his old hair color, the development staff from the Arts Association told him that "they don't have the material for that particular color in stock." Left with the choice of either choosing a different hair color or, as suggested by Asimov, "make a hat-type Inverse Device," Lee chose the former.

Secret 10 Lee modified his right arm to attune himself with his new weapon, but it became difficult for his arm to pass through the right sleeve of his coat post-modification. He had accidentally torn the sleeve apart thrice just by putting strength in his arm, and when he finally had enough, Lee decided to wear the right side over his shoulder instead.

Secret 11 When they were little, he and Murray made a "secret code" only they know about that the two of them use during their transmission with each other. Although Lee hasn't used their secret code in a while, it appears that he used it again in a recent transmission he received from Murray.

Secret 12 The reason why Lee seldom cooks is that the moment he acquires condiments and spices, the whole kitchen turns into a large-scale laboratory―he will only season the food if the condiment is weighed in milligrams. Surprisingly enough, however, it did make him good at brewing coffee because the Commander drinks coffee every morning.

水飲み鳥 (Lit TL: Water Drinking Bird) or Drinking Bird/Dippy Bird/Sippy Chicken is a toy heat engine mimicking the motion of birds drinking from a water source.

The Monty Hall problem is a probability puzzle type of brain teaser named after the host of an old game show titled "Let's Make a Deal."

Laplace's demon is a notable published articulation of causal determinism on a scientific basis written by French scholar Pierre-Simon de Laplace in the 19th Century.

[businesscasualart]

i luv ur work, can I see a smal snippet of any fanfic ur working on👉👈 here’s a treat as payment🧁

AWWWW THANK YOU SM! I've posted so little work, I didn't expect anyone would care too much for my work, art or fanfic, as opposed to just like, my affinity for providing content for obscure characters and ships. <3 You are SO sweet, I'm crying TvT I'd love to share, it'd be an honor, treat or no treat as payment! Thank you for the treat tho XD

Okay, so, context: I've been in fandomless hell for a few months now. I can rely on the fact that I'll be bouncing back to and around the DC fandom every few months, but I'm absolutely directionless rn. The last thing I got working on is yet another Young Justice, Psimon/Devastation fic as always. I DO intend to write something else eventually, but I love Devapsimon <3

A friend requested this one RIGHT before I fell out of the YJ fandom into this period of nothingness. Now...you see...they don't watch YJ, they dislike superhero cartoons. They do know I love YJ tho.

I...don't...like...Omegaverse...BUT YOU SEE, MY FRIEND uh...got pretty big into it...in the Normalest way they could...If you don't know what it is, don't Google it.

My good, dear friend...requested of me...that the third fic I ever write...be a lil Psimon/Devastation Omegaverse fic for them and they PROMISE they'll pay me...somehow...presumably with a fic they'll write bc I KNOW they don't have money. SO FOR LIKE, three months, between fandomless hell, writing what I don't know, and KEEPING THIS THING PG-14...I've been writing that!

Maybe I'll convert it into a sickfic before posting it to Ao3! Bc I am so unsure about writing omegaverse and my abilities doing so. AND IT IS PRETTY MUCH A SICKFIC, I'm taking a very mild-hurt/comfort, mostly nesting, sickfic approach with it! I hope it's still enjoyable despite my long breaks writing it. I have to do some serious editing but rn I'm just trying to get it done! Wish me luck!

So uh

WIP Devapsimon Fic Snippet!

CW: uh, nothing really! There's not even much Omegaverse mention in this part...um...I don't know how to format a fic on Tumblr...there's an abundance of description of RV bunk beds...I can't find a good place to cut off the snippet...THIS IS ALSO VERY LONG FOR A SNIPPET, but this is my longest fic yet.... so uh...long preview! As a treat!

“D…Devastation?” He whispered hesitantly, torn between announcing his presence and not disturbing her rest.

Upon getting no response tried to gently, quietly push past the curtains but the metal curtain rings slowly drug against the metal bar making a screech that resounded in his ears and made him wince. 

He peered into the bunk section. It was darker than the rest of the RV, it took a minute for his eyes to adjust. 

It was honestly shocking how everyone could fit in here, it was a cramped ‘room’. If Baran or Tommy were to walk down the room, both of their shoulders would rub against the bunks lining either wall. Thankfully, the bunks themselves were of a decent size. 

They were built into the wall, like a shelf or cubby. They could hold a thin twin XL size ‘mattress’...well…really more so a foam pad than a mattress. However, the bottom bunk cubbies were decently tall, the larger Onslaught members still can’t really fit lying on their backs or sitting up, but they could fit just fine lying on their sides.

There were exactly six bunks, two on each side of the three-walled room. Additionally, hanging in the middle of the walkway between the two top bunks on the left and the right of the room, was a hammock. Cameron generously set it up when they got the Terror Twins on the team and claimed it for himself. He claims it was to win Tuppence’s favor but Psimon is almost certain it was just regular generosity and self-sacrifice. 

Each bunk had different privacy curtains shielding the inside of the bunks; some decorative, some blackout, some sheer; but a few were left open. 

One such bunk had its curtains open. Thankfully, it was the one with the only small window in the room, on the wall inside the top bunk across from the entrance. It didn’t provide much light, especially since the dusty blinds as well as small curtains on it were drawn. 

There were also string lights lining the room, courtesy of Selinda, to provide a gentle light but they were left off during the day. 

It was relatively clear whose bed was whose. Everyone had a relatively distinct sense of style, or lack thereof. 

Selinda’s was a simple bed with everything in some shade of black and purple. Tuppences lined her walls and ceiling with decor like photos, stickers, and posters. The other mens’ bunks generally looked like the beds had been abandoned for eight years, but Tommy decorated his similarly to Tuppence’s, only simpler; Mammoth’s bed had a king-sized comforter shoved in there and the walls were scratched up; and Cameron’s...well, he had a hammock.

Psimon’s bunk was by far the most organized one but it doesn’t stand out. All neutral colors, made up neatly. He had two pillows, but only really used one. He, like a few others, had small organizers hanging on the walls. He never had many personal, sentimental items to bring on these missions, so he mostly kept business related papers, pens, a tablet for work, and the like up there.

Each set of twins shared the bunks on two walls and Cameron...had a hammock…so Devastation slept in the bunk under Psimon’s.

Her bed was also simple and mostly neutral tones, but messier…usually. She had two or three more blankets and pillows than usual, all strewn about, along with a couple clothing items. It was notably more crowded.

Psimon had no idea how Devastation would be comfortable in that mess, and perhaps she wasn’t, because she wasn’t even in her bed. 

She sat on the filthy, old carpeted floor next to her bed, leaning halfway into the bunk, her face buried in her arms. 

“Devastation!” Psimon gasped, dropping to his knees next to her, nearly dropping the bowl in the process. He set it on the floor next to him, placing a hand on her back and the other on an arm.

Her hair was taken down but not brushed, left messy and tangled. She had also changed into her nightwear, striped shorts and a sleeveless top. They seemed to have been a lavender-type color, but they’ve lightened and grayed out over time, as well as developed a couple of small holes in seams here and there. 

“Oh, Devastation…” Psimon, voice quiet and full of concern, never finished his sentence.

He struggled to pull Devastation upright by her shoulders, pulling her to rest against him so he could see her face. Once he managed it, her weight nearly knocked him back onto the floor but she seemed to regain enough awareness to somewhat support her own weight and not throw it all on him at once.

Her eyes were glazed and distant when they fluttered open. She furrowed her brow and her eyes slowly moved to look at Psimon, in an attempt to figure out what was happening but before she could, he laid his hand over her face. 

He kept moving his hand around her face, to both of her cheeks and to her forehead as if they’d yield different results, but the results were clear. Devastation’s skin was impossibly hot, hotter than before, even in the short time that had passed. It was wet with sweat and flushed all over from her own body temperature. 

Her glassy eyes finally found Psimon’s face, despite his hand’s frantic search for a more reassuring result. Her mouth hung open slightly, as if to speak, but she only took in short, ragged breaths. 

“Oh…Oh Devastation…”

[moonshotpods]

Moonshot Network is opening for YOUR podcast pitches this Friday! But who even ARE we? What does that mean? How do you even send a pitch????

Good news: we’ve made this handy slideshow in order to answer all those questions, and also questions you didn’t even know you had! It’s a condensed version of our official pitch guide, to save you the trouble of clicking through to the GDoc link! You can also find the full plain text below the cut here.

What is Moonshot and why should I pitch you my podcast, anyway?

WHO WE ARE

Moonshot is a podcast network built on creative collaborations and far-out ideas. Some of our work includes: podcast seasons recorded in 24 hours, a dunk tank fundraiser stream, amateur Pokemon competitions, fanfiction actual plays, and deep media analysis of things like Saw, Christmas music, Harlequin romance novels, and the Halo 3 alternate reality game.

Our primary goal  is to be a home for out-there ideas, shorter and seasonal projects, and experiments in the podcast medium that might not fit in anywhere else. We aim to provide the enthusiasm, the structure, and support for our members to work on their dream projects.

Our second goal is giving first-time and early-career creators the tools they need for a successful start. We feel strongly that podcasting should not be a gatekept medium, and aim to support new creators with the funding and guidance to make their show a success.

WHAT WE HOST

Here are some examples of shows currently on our network:

ARGonauts Podcast: Andrew and Marn do deep dives into the niche world of alternate reality games and the people who create them.

Riley Hopkins and Their Amazing Friends: Short-form actual play series and one-offs that focus on transformative fanwork and crossovers of established shows/franchises/characters.

I’ll Be Pod For Castmas: A seasonal podcast released in July and December where Juliet and Katherine pick a piece of holiday pop culture and discuss it through the lens of a piece of topical classic literature.

After School Anime Club: Max, Max, and Stevie take a nostalgia trip back to the anime of their youth, and play game shows about it along the way.

The Podcast Mines: There But For The Grace Of Pod Go We: Riley and Andrew pitch each other podcasts, talk about the medium of podcasting, and sometimes do neither of those things.

WHAT WE OFFER

We offer network members a lot of perks, including:

Coverage of hosting costs, plus access to Pinecast's advanced analytics

A pre-existing community of fans and listeners to introduce your show to

Collaborative network shows with monthly spots for guest hosts

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Assets for streaming, a Twitch channel, and (time permitting) a stream producer

Subscriptions to Soundstripe (royalty-free music ) and Otter.ai (transcription services)

Optional participation in large group charity livestreams

OKAY...HOW DO I PITCH?

If you’re a creator looking to pitch us on a not-yet-published show, send us:

A strong pitch of your idea - what the base premise of the show is, an introduction to the regular hosts, what topics you hope to cover, and anything else that feels relevant. For audio dramas, feel free to send us an outline of the plot alongside the basic pitch!

A recorded and edited pilot episode.

OPTIONAL: More sample episodes, if you’ve already recorded them.

OPTIONAL: More scripted episodes, if you’re making an audio drama.

Examples of your past audio work. If you don’t have any, don’t worry! As long as your pitch is solid, you don’t need to have prior experience.

If you’re a creator looking to pitch an ongoing/established show, you’ll need:

A link to your feed.

Links to 3-5 episodes that exemplify what your show is about, and what it sounds like at its best.

If you’re a creator that has a pitch that is outside of these two options:

3-5 episodes in some format.

A solid pitch for why we should take on your show!

Please send these things to MoonshotNetwork@gmail.com with the subject line PITCH: [Your Podcast Name Here]. The body of your email should include a brief introduction of yourself, your podcast, and any cohosts; followed by links to the above requested content.

If you’re a new creator and have any sort of roadmap for your show, including an outline (for fiction shows) or a list of content you’re going to cover in future episodes (for nonfiction), we’d love to see those too! Please also include links to your and your cohosts’ social media.

Our inbox opens for pitches on November 25th! We hope to see you there!

[echoing--stars]

Hiiiii Woooooorm

So. Consider this. (I totally didn't get this idea from both me writing a kidnapping fic and you getting a kidnapping prompt for Link and Rowan) Link teaching Rowan some super basic but effective self-defense moves

this can be as fluffy or angsty as you want it to be, but personally I think they deserve a little awkward flirting mixed in between repetitions ;)

To make up for missing yesterday, this one got a little long!

Disclaimer - I do a poor job of explaining an actual self-defense move in this. I don't think anyone is going to try and do this after reading a snippet of a fanfic, but I still wanted to say that I did not explain it super accurately. I had a hard time finding a proper reference outside of the two second long video I have of me doing it at the one self defense class I've taken XD

And yes, it can work against someone much bigger and stronger than yourself!

It got long enough to put under a read more line and that I didn't want to bother with the indented formatting, apologies in advance

(If you read this and would like to request a short snippet, see this post!)

__

“Is this really necessary?”

Link looked up from where he was untying the laces on his boots. Rowan stood with his arms crossed, looking nervously around the empty training room. Link had ensured that they wouldn’t be bothered — it was the only way Rowan would have felt comfortable enough to come.

“I would feel more comfortable if I knew that you could defend yourself.”

Rowan sighed as his shoulders slumped. “We live in such a safe neighborhood though. There’s never been a problem at the bakery.”

The words were weak even to Link’s ears. It might be true that no one had ever broken into the bakery or otherwise threatened Rowan, but it had only been a few weeks since Link had been attacked on the street. The threat had been neutralized quickly with the help of a nearby guard and Link had only suffered a small cut on his arm. But after that, he couldn’t help but worry about what would happen if someone tried to go after Rowan.

“It’s always better to be prepared. The hope is that you’ll never have to use this but…”

“Just in case, I get it.”

This was a familiar conversation after the past few weeks, but Rowan had eventually relented. Link brought him to one of the buildings at the army base and led him to a room he knew wasn’t used that often.

The floor of the room was dirt and a crooked ring made up of a thick but ragged rope. There were a few benches around the ring for observers and various supplies along the walls.

Link finished removing his boots and socks and pulled off his tunic. No sense in getting it sweaty.

Rowan had followed his lead and removed his shoes and socks as well, but he kept his shirt on led. Link led him in a series of stretches to warm up and loosen their muscles.

Link walked Rowan through blocking and throwing a punch, how to disarm someone carrying a dagger, where to aim to stun someone.

“Remember, you don’t have to win, just buy enough time to get away or for someone else to come help.”

Rowan slowly gained confidence, at first not putting any strength behind his hits, too worried to hurt Link. Link encouraged and supported and poked at him in turn. Practice didn’t mean anything if you didn’t learn at full strength.

Rowan lashed out with a punch, and Link let it hit him. The impact stung. “That one actually hurt a bit!”

Rowan’s eyes widened and he took a step back, holding his hands up. “I’m sorry!”

“No, that’s a good thing! It means you’re getting more confident.”

Rowan did look convinced. “Okay, but it’s not like I’d have a chance against a skilled fighter. If we were actually fighting, I wouldn’t be any threat.”

Link sighed. There was some truth to that. Someone who’d — thankfully — never had to fight would have a hard time against someone who’d been fighting for years. “Remember, it’s not about winning, or knocking someone out. It’s about buying time.” Link tapped on his chin for a moment. “I have an idea. Turn around.”

Rowan hesitated for only a moment, but after Link gestured, he did as told. Link stepped forward until his chest was against Rowan’s back and reached up to wrap an arm around his throat. It was a bit awkward, considering that Rowan was a few inches taller than Link, but he was still able to hold his arm in place. He was careful not to put any actual pressure against Rowan’s throat, of course.

“What’s your first instinct if this happens?”

They were close enough that Link could feel Rowan’s chest rise and fall as he breathed.

“Grab your arm and try to pull it off?”

“Right, keep the pressure off your throat. Try.”

Rowan wrapped his hands around Link’s forearm. Link tensed his muscles, resisting Rowan’s pull. He put his other hand against Rowan’s shoulder. “Okay, the person is stronger than you, you can’t pull their arm off. In that case, make sure your feet are planted and stable. You’re going to lean forward, pulling me with you, and squat. As you stand back up, pop your hips back so your torso stays parallel to the ground. This should pull me onto your back.”

When Rowan didn’t move, Link nudged at his leg with his foot. “Come on, try. It helps if you move quickly.” Link wasn’t sure if that was true, but if it got Rowan moving, he would take it.

Finally, Rowan did as asked. His movements were a bit shaky, but he was able to pull Link onto his back. Link’s chin was at Rowan’s shoulder now, and Rowan’s hands were warm against his arm.

“Okay, this is where it gets fun. We’re going to do this again, but this time when you stand up from the squat, you’re going to lean your left shoulder — because I’m grabbing you with my left arm — towards the ground. Make sure you have a firm grip on my arm and use your grip to pull me forward. This will flip me over your shoulder so —”

“Link! I’m not throwing you over my shoulder!”

Rowan dropped his hands from Link’s arm and he slid off of Rowan’s back. Rowan spun around, eyes wide. “I don’t think I could even do that if I wanted to.”

Link took a step forward, holding a hand up in a placating gesture. “You can! Believe me, this is something that can work against attackers that are bigger and stronger than you.”

Rowan’s expression shifted and his lips twitched as he tried to hold back a smile. “You would know, right?”

Link snorted and rolled his eyes. “Calling me short, are you? How mature.” But he couldn’t hold back his own smile. Besides, he’d much rather have Rowan teasing him if it meant that he wasn’t worried about hurting Link while learning self-defense.

Rowan laughed. “Sorry, couldn’t help it.”

Link shook his head, still smiling. “Alright, fine. But I promise you will not hurt me. I’ve trained on both sides of this and know how to make myself land safely. The sandy floor helps too. And yes, this does work if the attacker is taller than you.”

“If you’re sure?”

“I am.”

“Let’s do this.”

Rowan turned around and Link wrapped his arm around Rowan’s throat again. He made sure that Rowan had a strong grip on his arm and then coached him through the movement again. They practiced this a few times until Rowan was confident enough to do the full move.

“Ready this time?” Link asked.

“As I’ll ever be.”

This time when Rowan squatted and then stood up, he yanked Link’s arm and tilted so Link rolled off his shoulder. He hit the ground back first, and his breath rushed out of his chest. Link blinked, and then Rowan was looking down at him, eyes wide with apparent panic.

“Are you okay? It seems like you hit the ground hard. I didn’t hurt you, did I?” 

Link drew in a deep breath before moving to sit up. Rowan moved around him until he could reach out a hand.

“I’m fine! That was amazing, Rowan, I knew you could do it!” Link smiled and took Rowan’s outstretched hand. Rowan pulled him up so fast that Link nearly fell against Rowan’s chest.

Rowan laughed and wrapped his arms around Link, pulling him into a tight hug. “I was worried you hit your head or something for a second.”

“I’m fine. And besides, I’ve had worse during training and while working with recruits.”

“That is not reassuring.”

Link grinned and pulled back enough so that he could look up at Rowan. “I don’t know, I think I turned out okay.”

Rowan moved a hand to Link’s cheek. “More than okay, I’d say.”

[sanrielle]

⭐️ - for the directors cut ask <3 hope you’re doing okay!!

I'm doing pretty well, thanks :D Hope you are too! Thanks for the ask :)

So this goes back a bit, but it's related to my smut fic, 'As Long As You Need Me', which was left kind of open-ended (mostly to avoid angst). I had ideas for a non-canon sequel--basically an AU--that would take place 20-25 years later. Rather than letting their issues/jobs get in the way of happiness, Toph and Sokka would end up with some accidental kids over the years and figure things out together.

I never wrote this fic, but I did write a scene. It's formatted as a diary entry from the POV of Suyin, the youngest of five. She has a twin brother named Koda, who is deaf and blind. Her other siblings are Kya (Sokka totally stole the name before Katara could use it lol), Ilia, and Lin. Suyin is meant to be ten in the fic, but she tells a story from when she was a couple years younger.

Anyway, I've dug that scene out of my dusty chest-o-abandoned-WIPs :D

~~~~~

Two years ago, we went to the Lantern Festival and Mom punched a guy in the face!! It was AWESOME.

(Since she started the police force back before Kya was born, she’s good friends with the Chief so she got off with a warning.)

But anyway, here’s what happened:

“We’re going to go find our friends,” Ilia said when we got there. She and Kya always went off on their own.

“Can I go with them??” Lin begged. 

“No way! We’re not here to babysit!”

“It’s not babysitting! I’m not a little kid!”

I just kept quiet while they argued, knowing me and Koda would be staying with Mom and Dad whatever happened.

“Mom, c’mon,” Lin said. “At least let me go find my friends.”

Mom probably would’ve let her go, but Dad interrupted.

“C’mon, Lin. It’ll be fun! Remember last year, how we snuck into the parade?”

“Ugh, that was so embarrassing!”

“Oh, give it a rest,” Mom said. “You loved it.”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little. Mom was right— She and Lin had ‘borrowed’ a dragon costume and run up and down the parade with it. Me and Koda stayed with Dad and climbed onto one of the floats. It was a lot of fun because I got to climb up to the top and wave at people like I was a princess or something.

Anyway, by the time Lin gave up arguing and agreed to come with us, Kya and Ilia were gone. I wished they’d come with us and we could’ve all gone together, but I guess they’re just too grown up to hang out with their parents and siblings :(

We walked around for a little while and played some games, then went to where there were a bunch of food carts by the park and got a little bit of everything. We sat in the grass and pigged out while listening to a band.

Koda was really happy that day. I guess he could feel the beat of the music or something because he got up and started dancing, making excited, happy noises.

He’s never said any words—how would he know them?—so the noises he makes sound a little funny, I guess. He makes different sounds if he’s sad or happy or scared or mad, but I think only people in our family can tell the difference.

Another family walked past and they had a boy about my age. I saw him point at Koda and say something to his dad. I couldn’t hear them but Mom has SUPER hearing and she must’ve heard what the dad said because she got up and stomped over to him all angry. Even though I tried SO hard to listen, I don’t know what she said, but at least I got to see her punch him right in the nose!

It was HILARIOUS! The guy fell right on his BUTT and his face was all bloody! Dad got up real quick and went over there. The guy was yelling and his wife was yelling. Koda was still dancing and making noises, not caring about anything else in the world, so I got up and danced with him. When Mom was done yelling, she and Dad came back and we all danced together—even Lin!

[causenessus]

hi loveliness ! (get it, lovely-ness and you’re loveliness) (oh my god i’m so smart) i hope you’ve eaten today !! how’s your day been? MAKE SURE U EAT i’m so so so sorry for sending this so late in the day i had SUCH a day today and also i realize my asks are getting longer and longer each time like im yapping way too much so ill try to keep this short !

TODAY i hate breakfast then i went to an aquarium with my friend! it was so nice we saw sea lions and SEA OTTERS (otters are my favourite animal) AND IT WAS SO FUN! we saw the sea lions do tricks and the otters were so cute holding the rocks and it was so so so cute overload omg then i went to go have hotpot with my family and my uncle! it was nice to catch up and the food was so yummy we had flan after

ALSO I WAS GIGGLING SO MUCH AT YOUR WORK STORY LIKE i wasn’t laughing that you got yelled at bcuz that was uncool and uncalled for but the way it was formatted with the dialogue was so funny i was like giggling in bed reading it LOL but i will literally hunt down that family because you’re just a girl doing your job like !! lay off !! but i hope you’re okay love you didn’t deserve that and like genuinely some people need to learn how to be decent human beings sometimes because that’s actually CRAZY

BUT I LOVE UR STORY TIMES !!! SO YAP ALL U WANT I WILL READ IT ALL THOROUGHLY !! and once i get back home and back to work i will 100% yap because retail makes my head THROB genuinely throb

also tell me more about your knee omg?? what happened I HOPE YOURE OKAY AND make sure you don’t overwork yourself on your new smaus!! take breaks and always prioritize yourself over anything, i hope work was better than yesterday !! if not i will PERSONALLY fly over to your state and be like your guard dog at work (LOL THATS CRAZY SORRY) but i genuinely hope today went better! i hope you ate too and took care of yourself, always always take care of yourself i will say it infinity times to make sure it’s engraved into your head xoxoxo

LOVELINESS :( i will literally cry THAT IS SO CUTE AND YOU ARE A GENIUS!!!! HELLO MY LOVE <3

PLEASE NEVER WORRY ABOUT YOUR ASKS BEING LONG!!! DO NOT SHORTEN YOURSELF PLEASE YAP AS MUCH AS YOU WANT <3 (i'm going to start putting my answers under cuts so people don't have to fight trying to scroll past my yapping 😭 BUT DW!! TALK AS MUCH AS YOU WANT <3 AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR OTHER ASK TOO!!)

AND ALSO DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR SENDING THIS LATE IN THE DAY!! and i was so unmotivated when i got home from work today to make something for dinner 😭 bc i needed to shower AND i had school earlier in the day and it was 9:30 so i'd be eating a meal at like 10 pm BUT I DID JUST FOR U <33 (and i MEAN THAT!! I AM SO THANKFUL FOR ALL YOUR REMINDERS TO EAT :( YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH IT REALLY MEANS TO ME <3 AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR OTHER ASK AND FOR SENDING ONE IN DESPITE YOUR BUSY DAY WITH THE REMINDER TO EAT <3 I LITERALLY LOVE YOU SO SO SO MUCH) last night my dinner was literally a bagel with almond butter 💀 which I FEEL LIKE wasn't the worst "meal" but definitely not the best <3

AAAAAAAAAA THE AQUARIUM!!!!!!!!!! THAT SOUNDS SO CUTE AND FUN OMG I LOVE SEA LIONS TOO AND THEM BEING YOUR FAV ANIMAL LITERALLY MAKES THEM 10000X CUTER :(((( I HOPE YOU HAD TONS OF FUN!! AND OMG HOTPOT please i want hotpot so bad hold on thank you for reminding me that hot pot exists the MOMENT WE HAVE WEATHER IN THE 60S I'M GETTING HOT POT and i'm glad you could catch up with your family!! that's always fun <3 and FLAN!!!! YOU'RE LIVING THE DREAM AS ALWAYS AND I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!!

and i'm glad you enjoyed my story time LMAOOO I READ IT BACK JUST NOW AND THERE WERE SO MANY GRAMMATICAL MISTAKES MB IT'S ALMOST MIDNIGHT RN SO I'M SURE MY ENGLISH IS NOT SUPER HOT RN EITHER 😭 today i worked again and i literally only got ONE thing done 😭 but it's bc it was a really big order and i lowkey drilled into my finger but it's okay!!!!! 🤠 KNOWING YOU WORK IN RETAIL AGAIN AND WORK THOSE GRUELING OPENING SHIFTS AND DOUBLES ALWAYS GIVES ME THE STRENGTH TO KEEP GOING (but i was soo sleepy today too i was genuinely going to walk up to my coworker and be like "bro. can i please just nap on the floor." BUT WE POWERED THROUGH!!) AND I LOVE YOUR STORY TIMES TOO!! PLEASE SHARE ALL YOU WANT I WILL ALWAYS READ THROUGH IT TOO <3

IF YOU WERE MY GUARD DOG AT WORK I'D CRY /POS <3 I'D FEEL SO SAFE AND HAPPY!! (maybe u should fly here anyway!!! xxx) but DW MY KNEES ARE OKAY LMAO basically i got sent to clean a loft with some people today and because i'm literally a monkey from my tech days i climbed like an entire shelf??? 😭 because we were like reorganizing EVERYTHING (that entire group is so neurodivergent including me like we were told to clean the front but none of us have the power to JUST do the front so this will now be like a month long project pls pray for us it is so hot and dusty in there) and so after we ran out of time i had to jump down from the shelf but like my two guys were BOTH waiting for me (v. weird. one of them makes me slightly uncomfortable BC HE'S VERY NICE BUT TOO NICE AND I'M JUST SCARED OF MEN LIKE HE'S GENUINELY NICE BUT I HAVE ATTACHMENT ISSUES AND I DON'T LIKE OTHER PEOPLE LIKING ME IF THAT MAKES SENSE) so like i was literally rushing it and was like "yeah i can probably just drop down" but the fall was a lot farther than i initially thought 😭 so i dropped to the ground and my knees gave out because of the impact so i fell backwards into a table BUT IT'S OKAY besides the fact i made a giant fool of myself i don't want to talk about it </3 (b/c the OTHER guy i was with OMNFHEJRFKWLNDJJERHOUHJVFEKW i used to like him. ik. very small world i am still around people ik. BUT ANYWAY used to like him -> got the ick bc attachment issues -> hated him but he's still a good friend -> our mutual OLDER friend tried to get us to go to prom together one year -> SO MUCH MORE WE HAVE SUCH A WEIRD DYNAMIC IDEK WHAT HE THINKS OF ME) BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS STORY TIME AS WELL!! LOTS OF NESS LORE DROPS HERE <3 I LOVE SHARING ALL MY DRAMA LMAOAOAO

BUT PLEASE MAKE SURE TO TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF TOO!!! KEEP EATING THE COOLEST THINGS EVER AND LIVING YOUR BEST LIFE <3 (NO PRESSURE) AND DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!

[solipsistful]

director’s cut on automatisms? 👀👀

this took a while to figure out what to even say, but i think i'll go chapter by chapter and say something interesting about each of them

but i'll first say that the very first unfinished draft of Automatisms was actually a NaNo project by Serpent, which i (ace) then took over and rewrote into its current form. so i'll be making this post and seeing if he wants to chime in (not that anyone except me has been particularly talkative lately rip)

XX01: Re-entry

i love that the fic starts (after the pretentious epigraph, im sorry) with a canon line. not only does it temporally set Automatisms as essentially an alternate Acceptance, but i think highlights how it really does follow from Control's canon experiences. like, i could absolutely see an argument that Control canonically just has a dissociative disorder (Authority begins with a dissociative episode, his guides…).

funnily, it wasn't actually any of our idea to go "what if him plural". that was a friend lol.

XX02: Breaching

Finally, a conclusion. Denouement. Control let out the breath he hadn’t intended to hold.

my desire to copy canon's style means hooray narrative (and ghost) metaphors.

XX03: Returning

this chapter has the big freaking problem of being extremely important in canon but not at all changed by Control getting some Lowry commentary. i know one answer would be to just… not follow canon so closely, but shh.

what this means is that it's basically best to read this fic with a very good memory for what happens in Acceptance, which probably isn't great. (i fall into the exact same problem with Doubled)

XX04: Waking

ive mentioned this before, but isn't it fun that Lowry's first time fronting alone occurs off-screen and is never really discussed explicitly? something with Narrative there. (it's also fun how canonically that's just Control having a freeze reaction to the biologist anyway, "playing dead to keep his head")

XX05: The lighthouse

god we had the HARDEST TIME deciding what person and tense Lowry's sections should be in. there's several version of this chapter trying to figure out first vs second vs maybe just third? and present vs past. first person present eventually won out as Special enough, even if i struggle to write it (even more than second person). it also leaves second person for the voice of Area X-as-narrator later, which is probably better.

and then Absolution is just gonna be plain old third person past, boo.

XX06: Somewhere else

just some Control reckoning with wtf is Lowry even doing in his head. i mean, it's an important question, like the most important thing in the world for Control right now, but it's sorta hard coming up with scenes where he can both think/talk about that without just going in circles about how unanswerable it is.

XX07: The tower

i hope this chapter feels as Significant as i intend it to be. this is, after all, the real moment of divergence from canon: Control never goes down the tower!

there are, like chapter 5, versions of this chapter where the "beckoning" is in the first person vs second person, italicized or different fonts or right-aligned or not set apart from the rest of the text at all, etccc. i Care about this formatting stuff okay. (had to go digging into how AO3 work skins work at all in order to get the chapter numbers right, for instance, lol)

XX08: The border

it really strikes me, given what we've seen of Absolution, that Lowry should be way more over-the-top in his reactions here lol. he's not a quiet shut down type like Control; he's over the top and angry and should have, i dunno, punched a tree or something. oh well. maybe he's just relying on not being in the body to give him some distance from basically the worst thing imaginable that could happen to him in this moment.

XX09: The teeth

ok i told myself i wouldn't say this about all the chapters, but i think this chapter in particular should've been longer lol. i mean, it's a Good Chapter, but that's why it should've been longer! there's a lot of implications of things that probably should've been explored more. i'm thinking in particular of Lowry wanting to go retrieve the videos. this is the guy who retrieved the videos from the first expedition, as awful as that must have been. he's abandoning all that and the first expedition overall by leaving the SR building.

ah well.

XX10: The throat

i think im so clever for the "are you real" repeat

XX11: Humanity

after all that kerfuffle over whether Lowry would be in the first/second/third person, we actually hadn't considered what that would look like when Lowry and Control were blurring, whoops. so, good thing that we decided on the first person, because that makes blurring into "we" instead of like. "yall" lmao.

XX12: Exorcism

how do you write hypnosis (especially from the point of view of the hypnotized)

i mean the real point of this chapter is just "look at my theory/interpretation that Lowry's hypnosis is linked to Area X's narrative control and isn't that fun"

XX13: Memory

i don't know what to say about this one. character discussions!

XX14: Disposition

this is simultaneously a filler chapter and also i should've spent longer dealing with things like Lowry having food issues (which is something i had sorta drawn from Acceptance but here is influenced by all the Absolution tidbits in which he's obsessing over eating animals in Area X lol).

but mostly it's a filler chapter because by this point, i knew that the second half of the fic would use all the same chapter titles in reverse, and i have Disposition2 already written so Disposition1 has to exist.

Bonus Sneak Preview: XX15: Escape

obviously a lot of my fic-writing efforts have been spent towards WOE.BEGONE lately, but i think another reason why Automatisms has been going slowly is that this next chapter includes a large change in time and context. so, i'm sorta wanting to think through whether there's anything in the old context that I still want to do before i decide on A Change. but really i should probably just go ahead and do the Change. as hinted above, i have a lot of post-Change stuff written. :>

- ace and no Serpent as it turns out whoops