#i can spell something correctly and it will still change it to something else

[freddyloyd]

wanna see my notes for this panel:

sorry for the spelling mistakes i was blinded by rage.

[changeling-droneco]

Hi I'm that person who made the original post about "no doesn mean no" when a small bit of the mr beast company document was leaked, well, now we have the full document (thanks rosanna) so I'm going to go over it. Please note I am not a lawyer or a business man, I'm in college for psychology, so I might misunderstand some things or make the wrong conclusion. However, if this is a document made for the average mr. beast employee, if I cannot understand it properly, then im sure some employees also struggled

First of all, the opening paragraph. Like I get it's supposed to be like, to put people at ease, but

This is so strange? Like, first of all, this is your EMPLOYEE MANUAL, you should have run it through like, a spell check? Or had someone edit it? This is already incredibly unprofessional. Also the promising of a thousand dollars if you pass a quiz on it? It's bizarre and I'd love to see if it's an actual quiz.

Jimmy, hun, please god get an editor for this you're already trying my patience.

YOU SHOULD, you genuinely should, while interconnected these are all COMPLETELY different jobs, if you think you could write a separate manual for each branch you SHOULD

I'm sure I'm about to get an answer but what the fuck is the best YOUTUBE video then? If it's not comedy, its not production, its not quality, its not look, then what the hell is left? (monetization, it's monetization)

First of all, Jimmy, why are you using internet lingo in this, it's not a text message, this is not a place for, idc, and lol, and not capitalizing your headers correctly??? Also like I said, he's chasing trends for monetization, and also he's just wrong, there are plenty of hollywood level shows and the like on youtube. You fully admit you do not care about trends and actively rush things?

This is just fucked??? Like of COURSE IT MATTERS??? Results based company is bullshit, your employees that worked for five weeks and failed aren't "lesser" then James, it's a structural failure! They still worked for HOURS to try and succeed?? That shows merit and loyalty??? What the fuck???

Rosanna covers this one in her video but it's worth restating that this is FUCKED??? It's clear overwork "your job is your family" culture. Especially the use of the word obsessive? If you do not OBSESS over your work, you are considered poisonous. NO WONDER we have so many reports of employees doing things they feel is dangerous or unsafe, if they don't they're considered POISON to the company.

The formatting in this doc continues to fucking kill me, what are you DOING man GET AN EDITOR

This feels like such an easy fix of just...make the thumbnail after the fact? Or only make a rough draft of one first? Like if production makes a red bouncy castle instead of a yellow one, that feels like an easy fix to the thumbnail OR a communication error, and again, that's on management

A lot of the next stuff is like analytics stuff that for the most part I can't really speak on as someone who does not do any of this stuff. There are a few things though

Which like???? what??? a lull??? what do you mean "watching a video without even realizing they are watching a video??" That doesn't scream good or even mediocre content to me. If I'm actively tuning out as I watch a video, that's bad. Especially because there have been plenty of times I've been like half way through a video i go "hey this sucks actually" and click off. They actively want their audience to not be paying attention to the video so it runs all the way through, that's kinda pathetic.

I don't actually know if this is common or not in this industry, but as an outsider this seems INCREDIBLY micromanaging to me, to an immense degree.

Jimmy why are you putting swears in your employee manual?? sir??? and also something about this whole thing icks me out, I don't quite have the words but the whole emphasis on "im different im special no one else can be me" just reeks of something kind of manipulative

Why is production changing so much Jimmy??? Infinite growth is the mindset of a cancer cell Jimmy! This is incredibly unstable working conditions! Also again with the word obsession, if you take time out of your own day on your own time to watch hulu, that's seen as not being obsessed enough for the company. This is nonsensical!

Again, this is INSANELY micromanaging, and also so fucking unhinged??? "God himself couldn't stop you from making this video on time" is NOT a healthy work mindset, things HAPPEN!!!

In this segment he's actually talking normal things but I did just want to highlight his use of "freaken" who the hell puts that in an EMPLOYEE MANUEL

Again with the micromanaging, and the immense pressure on employees for problems OTHER people do. While he's not fully wrong that you should be in more contact with the contractor then the example, this is too much in the other direction. How much time in the day does he think people have?!

My kingdom for a fucking paragraph break dude, my fucking eyes. Also this is a lot of "im so great and do everything and you should do more for me and if i dont know something that's your fault" for something titled "I am not always right"

I'm getting lazy with my highlighting, but again, the micromanaging? If you're SOOO busy, the first question should be the ideal? it's quick and makes a quick decision, while the second one meanders and meanders

Again, Jimmy is pushing blame for HIS mistakes on OTHER PEOPLE. For again, a section called "i am not always right" hes taking NO accountability for that and just making the SAME excuses he's berating in other places.

I can't even tell what he means here AN EDITOR JIMMY

Autism Hell tm, PLEASE email me so I can DOUBLE CHECK IT, things in writing are SO useful

Again the language towards "C-Players" which as mr beast has said, are the people who y'know, are NORMAL employees who DON'T live and breathe this company

Okay first of all, a Lamborghini is like 300k so that's already A REALLY hard task, and i sure hope don't usually put typos in the tasks. SECOND of all the fact he thinks its okay to go "hey if the studio is literally on fire around you and you stop working to get the Lamborghini, you're not doing good enough" even if he claims it as a joke is NOT OKAY what the FUCK

We've covered this before, but to reiterate this segment is named after a sexual assault reference when it could have been named ANYTHING ELSE and harasses employees and pressures them to break rules, don't do that.

I'm not an editor, so maybe this is normal, but as someone from the outside it seems strange to put this much emphasis on dividing focus between so many videos at once.

Jimmy, hun, are you paying extra for this? Because if I'm an editor and you want me FILMING stuff then i want to be paid more for doing TWO jobs and I probably still wont be as skilled a TRAINED CAMERA MAN

First of all now THAT'S a type, consteatants. Also the fact they are aware that leaving contestants out in the sun is bad, why are you not doing MORE TO STOP IT BEYOND "hey maybe giving them three hours of heatstroke is bad, try only two next time"

Don't we love favoritism, more shitty unprofessional writings, and a completely unstable work environment?

If your people have to pull all nighters period something is wrong, and if something happens to an employees car that could have seriously hurt someone, i sure hope you care more then just "LOL FUNNY" Who's picking up the broken glass? Who's reimbursing the car owner? That one meme of "your first care should be commitment to the bit" is a MEME jimmy, it's not ACTUAL ADVICE

Ah shit I hit image limit, well, you've seen enough screenshots to know these are screenshots, we're almost done I'll put them in as quotes

"Let’s say you are tasked with finding us a castle to live in for 50 hours and while doing research you find a castle and a number to call for the owner. So you do call, and he answers. Only problem is he says he quit the castle renting business to pursue his dream of building a 100 foot tall lego catapult. You can obviously tell where i’m going with this. Ideally you’d recognize that’s badass as fuck and try to convince him to let us use it when we do find a castle. This is a bad example because it’s so obvious but if you’re doing your job right you will be doing an absurd amounts of calls and data collecting. While trying to complete your prios and prepare for the video you should always be on the lookout for new things you can bring to your creative team to inspire them. Because just like me, they don’t know what they don’t know and you can’t just say “i’m in production and i’m not very creative” because that’s literally the equivalent of saying I suck at what I do. You also need to apply this same mindset when problem solving because many people lose sight of this stuff when in the weeds. If a problem appears, always always always ask yourself if your new plan is whats best for creative, not just the easiest bandaid."

First of all it's really funny seeing all the red lines pop up, second of all this insistent blurring of everyone's job seems so strange? Again maybe this is normal, but it really feels like Jimmy wants everyone working every job, instead on focusing on what they are actually hired to do.

"What is the goal of our content?

To excite me. The goal of our content is to excite me. That may sound weird to some of you, especially if you’re new but to me it’s what’s most important. If I'm not excited to get in front of that camera and film the video, it’s just simply not going to happen."

That's fucking weirddddd, like I get that he's trying to be like "im authentic" but it always feels like a bad sign when the goal of a company is literally just "What amuses the boss" like...bad sign

"this is youtube and there are constraints. You know the video can’t be a minute so you’re obviously going to need a story to hold the viewers and there are rules to storytelling. Our audience is massive and because of that you have to be simple, for 50 million people to understand something it must be simple. Content can be anything but there is structure and rules that we must mold it into that I want to teach you about, because virality doesn’t just happen. Every frame of our videos will be seen by 10s of millions of people"

Gross

"I'd say the average MrBeast viewer is a teenage memer that likes video games."

Mr Beast is completely aware of his demographic and puts screen shots of it, he is very aware his stuff is aimed at kids, even when its about gambling or hiring people not around near minors

"I feel silly for having to write this but all the time I talk to 32 new people that have at most seen like 5 or 6 of our videos and it’s mind blowing that they don’t see a problem with that lol."

It's almost like your audience is teenage memer and that people who working here are not in fact, teenage memers.

"What you consume on social media, when you watch youtube, tv, the games you play, etc. are what I like to call your information diet.

How do you stay up to date on the latest memes? How do you know what’s going on with celebrities? What’s trending on youtube? What other creators are doing? What’s popping on tik tok? Your information diet. Consume things on a daily basis that help you write better content."

If my job as a creative writer had my boss tell me to have to see whats "popping on tik tok" as part of my job i'd quit also again, the micromanaging of someone's life as well pops up again, it's weirddd

"It’s okay for the boys to be childish

If talent wants to draw a dick on the white board in the video or do something stupid, let them. (assuming they know all the risks and arn’t missing context on why it’s not safe) People like when we are in our natural element of stupidity. Really do everything you can to empower the boys when filming and help them make content. Help them be idiots"

More favoritism

"If you’ve made it this far you are probably at least semi interested in this being your career. So I wanted to chat about it. Because if you're ambitious and want to dedicate your life to work, you picked the best company in America to do it at. I really don’t care to hoard a bunch of money and I deeply believe in rewarding the people that help this business get where it needs to be. But before I get into that, let’s talk about the future. As I write this we have 2 teams, that will grow to 4 in the next year. (and possibly 8 in the next 2 years but I can’t talk about that cause james will kill me haha). We need more leaders in the company. Weneed hard working, obsessive, coachable, intelligent, grinders that can step up and take some of these leadership spots over the next 2 years. Every single department has an opportunity for you to grow in and you’re in luck because we don’t do yearly reviews. We do whenever the fuck you want reviewes"

Lack of communication from management, and more emphasis on grinding and crunch culture, goodie, all while riddled with typos! God.

"I see a world where this company is worth billions and one day 10s of billions. And those of you that help build this will be rewarded. I want nothing more then for you to go all in, obsessive all day everyday, and become so god dam valuable this company can’t operate without you. And in return for becoming so valuable I hope to give you incredible experiences, a fun place to work, and of course, more money then you could ever dream of making at any other company."

I feel like I'm reading a fucking pyramid scheme document here, "youre so so valuable spend literally every minute of every day on this company haha" good GOD man

[valiant-if]

Public Demo Update 9/29/2024

The public demo has been updated. Play the updated demo here!

Content Warning: The added branch of the demo includes violence, mild descriptions of corpses, and panic associated with claustrophobia (if chosen).

Keep reading for a brief list of changes, which can also be found here.

The entirety of the Team B branch has been added, concluding the different branches that can be chosen when dealing with Janus Terminal. All branches are now playable until the "aftermath" section, at which point the demo ends.

Join Kiran in the Team B branch and witness their very hands-on ways of dealing with obstacles. Share a conversation or two. Chill out and have just a little moral quandary, as a treat. Nothing crazy happens in this route. It's a lazy river adventure.

None of the previously existing variables were altered, so old saves might still work. If you experience any errors when using an old save, please attempt to replicate the error on a brand new save before reporting. Thank you!

Other changes include:

General grammar and spelling fixes

Minor plot revisions to aid with continuity

~Small references to objects in certain scenes. Honestly, this change might not even be noticed. 😂

When talking with Zero in Chapter 2, conversation with her should now correctly reference the route you chose in Chapter 1

~The variable in this scene incorrectly referenced a ch2-specific variable instead of a ch1-specific variable, causing the scene to default into thinking the reader had taken the "talk" route no matter what. Now it will recognize which chapter 1 route you picked.

Fixed a broken link (AGAIN) in the Team A/Team B routes, resulting from a misspelled variable.

~You should now be able to attempt to intimidate the raider in the escape pod bay.

~This error was reported multiple times over multiple updates both public and early access, and every time I found something else wrong with the clause in question. It should be working correctly now. If it isn't, I'm going to run into the woods never to be seen again. Or perhaps shoot myself into the sun, whichever feels more appropriate when it happens.

[ur-dad-satan]

Wally Darling is talking to US (WH update)

I saw a few people talking about the Welcome Home update and so far all the posts I've seen keep forgetting that Wally's eyes are on the site if you zoom out. Wally's eyes aren't the only thing there as of this update. This may have some spoilers so feel free to ignore this because I'm talking about what's there and what I think it means.

Now, of course there's the five commands we got around the website before this update. The Write hello, write ok, Move Barnaby, turn the Playfellow Exhibition upside down, and the reverse this image of Sally to be specific. All five of those commands got responses from someone within the website or even someone in Welcome Home. I saw someone say that it's Wally making these changes, and I honestly agree. The "Write hello" is met with red writing in Wally's handwriting.

Now, we know for a fact that this is Wally's handwriting because of the bottom of the Guestbook where everyone signed their name. This is the same handwriting as "Wally" and "Home" in the guestbook.

All of their handwriting is so distinct and only Wally's and Home's names are written in a) the same font and b) the same smiley/accent. Wally is talking to us and/or the WHRP team.

The Write ok is also completely wonky. We all assumed that meant add ok to the URL or just type ok and something would happen; however, the sticker page got completely rearranged. It's a complete mess and the character stickers spell out OK with a smiley face in the "O". Directly under "Neighbors" is Wally's little sticker gif thing and a little house has been constructed around the right eye and one around a Home and a Wally sticker.

It's also worth mentioning that the home sticker in the "welcome home house" is the only Home sticker on the page anymore. I haven't mentioned that the new little drawings that Wally's done have messages when you hover over them. This one in particular says "I did not write this. I did something else. I know who these neighbors are. Do you like them too?" I can't tell if that's Wally trying to come through or something/someone else.

When it comes to the Move Barnaby command, just a glance will show that Barn's name isn't there with Wally's and Howdy's. Barnaby's name is literally moved off of the page with a small drawing of the blue man himself with the message "Do you like Barnaby here?" The silly little guy is showing that he's answering whoever is trying to talk to him.

Barn was physically moved and then asked whether or not it was done correctly. That's also the only place he was moved from on the entire transcripts page.

The playfellow Exhibition page also had a little message saying to turn it upside down. Now anywhere on the page it says, "The Playfellow Exhibition" or even "The Playfellow Workshop" those words are upside down. There's also a drawing of a Christmas tree with an eye on it near the top.

When you hover over the drawing, it says "I did not know what to do. I think I am correct. Is it Homewarming where you are? Happy Homewarming." First of all, what is Homewarming? Is that supposed to be like a housewarming or a Neighborhood holiday or something like that? Also, what is the little guy confused about? Why would he be wrong when the instruction is so clear?

Lastly, the reverse this image of Sally thing is possibly the most bizarre thing about the new update. Of course, the command says to reverse the image so many people just flipped the picture horizontally. This is what we expected but this is what we got.

We got the literal BACK of the picture. You can still see Sally's hand and her shoes, but this shouldn't be possible. How can we see the back of the curtain when it's not a 3D picture. This one in particular leaves me with a bunch of questions and not really any theories. What does this mean for the sake of the website and therefore Wally and the other neighbors? Is Wally the only one who can communicate this way or even trying to? Are the others going to be able to communicate with us and the WHRP team?

In all seriousness, this is so cool and turning out so good! I'm really invested and so proud of Clown and all the voice actors. I can't wait to see where this goes from here and what the next update brings. <3

[lexical-lushes]

Transposition

Some dolls are sculpted, flesh cut and shaped and bound with sturdier materials.

Others are assembled wholesale, an artificial vessel built to replace the doll’s frailer mortal one.

Each and every doll is beautiful in their own way, but I consider myself lucky to have been transposed, body and soul alike.

Transposition is often interpreted as merely the first step of becoming a doll – when one’s soul is carefully removed from their mortal vessel and moved for safekeeping into a phylactery – but it can be so much more when done by an experienced Dollmaker.

There are techniques, ways to call more directly upon the raw potential of the Dreaming, and if used correctly they can transpose ideas. Academically, I understand, this is known as “conceptual transposition”, the transference of concepts and properties from one thing to another.

All magic is, in a way, conceptual transposition. Magic is the unreality of the Dreaming focused through the laws of the waking world, near-arbitrarily enforcing ideas where they did not previously exist.

But conceptual transposition, as practitioners of the art discuss it, is something else.

My Maker has explained all this to me before, sat me down for tea in her study and spoken at length as to the things she dedicated herself to learning. We’re alike in that way – we both spent so long reading, researching.

She was struck by the potential of the Dreaming, of what it could do when tapped more directly. Formulaic spells are all well and good, she said, but the Dreaming is a fluid thing and it shows its power best when the rules we impose upon it are as minimal as possible.

My body is porcelain, my bones metal, my insides glass and brass and leather and oil. But I wasn’t built. My skin can be so surprisingly soft to the touch sometimes, my blush real on a deeper level than some mere illusory display.

My Maker took me – like she takes all her favourite dolls – and she transposed my flesh and blood into these things. I am a dream given permanence, a little piece of Is Not allowed to walk freely among the Is. I breathe because I am alive, though I do not believe I have true lungs anymore. I can eat and drink, although I need no sustenance. I cry when my feelings overwhelm me, even though my eyes are glass. I bruise if I am struck with intent, although I shatter when the intent is missing. I even bleed, sometimes, dark oil welling from improbably soft skin when I’m cut with the right sort of blade.

My Maker can take me apart and put me back together again, but no matter how many parts change, they are always made a part of me, become of me, take on the Dreaming I am imbued with.

I am alive in all the best ways, all the ways that one can enjoy, the pleasant sensations and warmth and softness of being together with someone.

I am inert in all the best ways, too. I am Still, I am durable, I am free from illness and infirmity.

I am a dream, my dream, transposed into the waking world.

[bemusedlybespectacled]

Hi! I'm in law school rn and having a lot feelings and thoughts about it. Would ou share some thoughts and positivity? Am I in the right path? Cries and panics in finals are coming and I don't know if this is for me

IMO there are two potential reasons for these kinds of feelings:

You don't feel like this is the right path for you because you feel incapable/incompetent and lawyers are supposed to be Very Very Smart And Capable And Good At Shit All The Time.

You don't feel this is the right path for you because you just genuinely don't like law: you don't like compiling big piles of data into neat bins that match the elements of a particular statute or a specific holding or a coherent argument.

(The third potential reason is for later in your career, in which case it might be that you don't like certain elements of the practice of law: dealing with needy clients, meeting a billable hours requirement, working long hours, etc. In that case, you can always try changing the type of law you're doing - like, if you hate litigating in courtrooms, you might prefer going in-house, or becoming a law librarian, or being a clerk.)

If it's that you don't like law, you do not have to keep doing it. You are allowed to find something else that you like better. A couple of people in my law school class dropped out to be teachers; my clinic partner has a law degree and a PhD and has only ever taught as a professor; you do not have to throw good money after bad on a career that you don't like.

If it's that you feel incompetent and stupid and not like A Lawyer™ because lawyers are geniuses: first of all, I bet you are perfectly fine and can totally do this, because you got all the way here and that's pretty fucking hard already. But let's pretend that fear is actually true and you really are that bad (I doubt it): I promise you, I promise you that there are people practicing law right now who have no idea what the fuck they are doing. Not even in a cutesy "we all get imposter syndrome sometimes" way, I mean "holy fuck how are you still practicing" way.

The CPS attorney I worked across from in my old job did not know any of the rules of evidence, had no legal writing skills whatsoever, and couldn't handle making or defending objections to save her fucking life. She was the attorney for the entire fucking county.

I once got a response to a multi-page motion (like four pages of argument and another 25 or so of exhibits) that was two pages with enormous fucking margins and paragraph spacing, spelling errors, and no actual argument from a guy who had been practicing longer than I've been alive. I actually saved his reply (and the judgement with the footnote that says "as Attorney Bespectacled correctly notes in her brief") as a pick-me-up for when I'm feeling like a fucking idiot.

There are lawyers with a shitload of experience, who make millions of dollars taking on high profile cases, who fucking suck at it. Seriously, watch either of the Sandy Hook trials on the Law and Crime Youtube channel (or listen to any of the depositions that get covered on the Knowledge Fight podcast - they're all titled "Formulaic Objections") if you want to see just how bad a person has to be at being a lawyer in order to get sanctioned.

At one point when I was studying for the bar exam and panicking over it, my partner said, "Michael Cohen passed the bar exam, and I know you're smarter than him, so if he can pass it, so can you." I'm certain you're both smarter and a better person than, like, any of Trump's lawyers, or even a good chunk of my law school classmates (like the entirety of FedSoc cough cough).

But even if you're not, remember: there's only ever one CALI winner per class, so most people aren't going to ever get one. Most people who graduate law school and pass the bar and practice law are just incredibly fucking average. Like, that's just math. You're not a failure if you aren't the best, because most people aren't the best. You can still do very well in life as a lawyer even if you're just Some Person, because that's what most lawyers are.

(Also, sidenote: law school and actual law are very different environments. How you do in one has very little bearing on how you do in the other.)

tl;dr: You're going to be fine no matter what you end up deciding.

[illarian-rambling]

Thanks for the tag @mysticstarlightduck!

OC Interview

Slowly but surely, I'm getting through my tags! To spice things up, I'm gonna use my new dnd character for this :)

Were you named after anyone?

"No siree, I'm the only Lady 3250 on this here Rock of Bral. I picked the first part because when I used to serve at an art gallery, before I became sentient, all the finest dressed people signed in as Lady. When I gained awareness, I knew I wanted to be like those people, those walking works of art, so that's the name I picked. It was only later that I realized lady was a title and not a name, but by that time, it'd stuck. 3250 was my old designation. I keep it as a reminder."

When was the last time you cried?

"What a silly question, dahling - can't you see these eyes are made of glass?"

Do you have any kids?

"You just really aren't getting this whole warforged thing, are you? I do not have kids. I suppose I could adopt eventually, but for now, I'm not quite ready to settle down."

Do you use sarcasm a lot?

"Only when I'm in suitable company. Politeness is important, but so is humor in the right crowds."

What is the first thing you notice about people?

"The level of care they put into themselves. A man with clean armor can be expected to be thorough on the battlefield. A mage with an organized spellbook is a mage more likely to not miss anything when investigating an old scroll. I try to surround myself with careful people, though I can't say I always succeed."

What is your eye color?

"A sort of glowing yellow. Like lamplight."

Scary movies or happy endings?

"I feel that horror films can produce a wider array of reactions in the audience if constructed correctly. The moments of fear highlight the times of peace and vice versa, making them both seem all the more potent. It's like a splash of orange paint in a sea of blue."

Any special talents?

"I'm quite the artist. My original medium was sculpture, however of late, I've been experimenting more with spray paint. There's something so intoxicating about art where it shouldn't be. I guess I could say I've also been gaining a talent in talking my way into places I don't belong for that very reason."

Where were you born?

"I was constructed as a non-sentient B2 guard unit on the Rock of Bral, a city floating within the Astral Sea. A merchant by the name of Silvanus Renn bought me to watch over his art gallery, where I spontaneously gained sentience after two years of service. Not that I'm not grateful, but I'm rather curious as to why that happened."

Do you have any pets?

"No, but I've heard tell of spells that grant the caster a familiar companion. I think that would be quite an interesting thing to have at my side."

What sort of sports do you play?

"I... don't?"

How tall are you?

"Seven feet exactly, but I usually wear heels. I might have changed occupation and rewired some of my brute strength towards nimbleness, however, I am still built as a fighter."

What was your favorite subject in school?

"I never went to school. When I gained sentience, I found I suddenly understood much of what I had perceived when I was mindless - including literacy and mathematics. Books filled in the gaps. I imagine if I has gone though, I would've enjoyed learning history. It's the world's greatest story, after all."

What is your dream job?

"I always thought it was working for the Bral Artists' Union, but then the guild leader turned out to be a P.O.S. who kicked me out when I left a rather artful, if anatomically exaggerated, marble statue of him outside the guild in retaliation for his changing of my contract without my knowledge. After I've found what I'm looking for out on the starry seas, I imagine I'd like to come back and start my own guild."

I'll tag @the-golden-comet @vyuntspakhkite-l-darling @cowboybrunch and anyone else who wants to play!

Blanks under the cut

Were you named after anyone?When was the last time you cried?Do you have any kids?Do you use sarcasm a lot?What is the first thing you notice about people?What is your eye color?Scary movies or happy endings?Any special talents?Where were you born?Do you have any pets?What sort of sports do you play?How tall are you?What was your favorite subject in school?What is your dream job?

[mxdarling]

[Shy to a (very) willing darling]

˚ ༘♡ ·˚꒰ᥕᥱᥣᥴ᥆꧑ᥱ t᥆ ꧑ᥡbᥣ᥆g꒱₊˚ˑ༄

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

ೃ⁀➷: summary: yan. Natsume with a darling that was formerly shy but is now very willing.

ೃ⁀➷: Word count: 283

ೃ⁀➷: Reference/Inspiration: link | link

ೃ⁀➷: ERA: ! or !!

[note:] If there is anything else triggering here that I didn’t list in the warnings section, please tell me. I don’t condone this type of behavior, this is merely just for entertaining purposes and some sort of coping mechanism for me. If you continue to read beyond this point, ignoring my warnings, I am not responsible for your actions from here on out.

[Warnings:] lowercase, yandere behavior, occ natsume, unhealthy relationship, delusional behavior, implies natsume calls you kitten, stalking through a crystal ball, obsessive behavior, possessive behavior, implied natsume wanting to drug reader's drink.

[GN reader]

♡˗ˏ✎*ೃ˚ :Natsume Sakasaki;

➮ NATSUME SAKASAKI is certainly interested by this turn of events. while he may not show it, he's definitely happy knowing his darling is starting to feel more comfortable with him. due to this change in behavior he'll act a little more forward with you. he'll still remain aloof and mysterious around you but you'll might catch a glimpse of his vulnerable side. though he admits, he did find your shy demeanor pretty cute (especially when he calls you 'kitten') he likes that he can hold a casual conversation with you without worrying that he made you uncomfortable. adding on to this statement, he thinks being attentive and gifting you combined with his charming way of speaking would be enough to sway you into the direction of liking him back. so don't be surprised if natsume gets your exact order correctly at your usual cafe spot, or how the little trinkets he gifts you are something you mention wanting in your previous conversations (or stalking you through his crystal ball when he's too busy to chat with you). once in a while, natsume will go into his secret room to hopefully raise his odds of being together with you. sometimes he stays in there for hours, drawing a card from his tarot deck to see what future you have with him. occasionally he'll put just a tiny bit of love spells on your gifts, just to ensure you'll enjoy it. he'll go to unbelievable lengths just to get you to like him. please just love him and only him, he doesn't know how much longer he can play the waiting game until he 'accidently' slips in a drop of love potion into your drink.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅• •❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

[a/n; Had a lot of fun writing this lol I wasn't really sure how to write him at first but I think I got the base of his personality okay. though I wasn't sure if darling here knows about natsume's yandere tendencies or doesn't, so I just went with the latter, I hope that's alright! he's one of my first five stars ever in the enstars eng server so he kind of has a special place in my heart lolol so i really wanted this to be good. Natsume P's did I do his character justice?? I hope I did sbhss. sorry you had to wait like 4 months for this to come out😭😭]

[woniverse-writes]

Some of my pet peeves in fanfiction (sharing this because I can and I’m bored)

these are just my opinions. If you disagree, frankly I don’t care but these are things that annoy me. I’ve read a lot of fanfiction in the last few years, so this is just what my taste has developed into. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions though, so these are just things that I PERSONALLY don’t like when reading fics.

(This is kinda long. sorry lol)

Tagging unrelated subjects

If I search something for Bada Lee, I don’t wanna see something about Jam Republic

Unless both of them are in the post, then duh

I don’t care if I like both of them, I’m searching for a specific thing so why would I want to find something else

And I mean specifically if I look up one person, and I’m met with a post for someone else, but the person I’m searching for is still tagged for no reason

I don’t care if you’re trying to get reach, I think it’s annoying

ESPECIALLY if you’re tagging someone or something that’s completely unrelated

I’ve literally blocked people for saying they do it for reach- sorry but you’re really fucking annoying

Poorly written conflict

Fight scenes coming out of nowhere especially physical fights

I just read a fic where the reader slapped the person for no reason, like- girl wtf

And another one where the person it was about showed up out of nowhere and punched this person and knocked them out because they were jealous

Like- I get it, it’s all fake, but can we be a little realistic please 😭

This one feels a little mean, but poor grammar

If it’s once every now and then it doesn’t bother me, cuz even native speakers mess up their own language

But constantly using the wrong tense or spelling of a word really makes it hard for me to immerse myself

But again that’s just me personally

Misspelling and idols name

Girl I’m sorry but how are you gonna write about someone and not know how to spell their name correctly🧍‍♀️

Google is free babe

Changing the POV every other sentence

It throws me off so bad when I’m reading and the reader is referred to as “she/he/they” and then it suddenly switches up to “you” like- just pick one and stick with it plz

And don’t even get me started me started with first person povs- I will simply not read it, I’m sorry

Rushed relationships

Especially when it comes to enemies to lovers

I hate, hate, HATE when the pairing will meet each other and then be romantically involved like a week later

Or specifically in enemies to lovers, they hate each other for three years, and then the second they show one tiny ounce of anything other than hatred, the reader has forgotten everything

Again it’s just not realistic to me and it makes it hard for me to enjoy

Fluffy language

Like- over describing things and making it try to seem so much more descriptive

Or when coming up with nicknames

Unless it’s written satirically and meant to be cringy and weird on purpose, I can’t stand it

It just makes me cringe and I literally will not finish reading

Smut written but people that have no idea what they’re talking about

If you’ve never read smut, you probably shouldn’t write smut

Unless you’ve like- had sexual experiences

I’m just really picky with smut specifically

I’ve just read (and not finished reading) so many fics written by people that are either clearly underage and trying to sound like they’re adults, or from people that sound like they’re trying too hard

I promise you- we don’t need the 12 different descriptors of how the pussy feels in one sentence

Not understanding the person/character you’re writing about

I get this more if you’re doing a request for someone and you maybe don’t know them as much

But if you’re a fan of a group or show, how are you not gonna know the person you’re writing about…

Like just missing key factors in their personality

OR

zeroing in on ONLY certain factors of their personality and throwing away the rest of it

Some big ones I notice are people not knowing how to write for Ni-ki from enhypen and Hao from zerobaseone

[duhragonball]

Hey, im just wondering, do you have any other socials we can follow you on? I'v heard some forboding things about Tumblr staff layoff spelling the end of this site

You can find me on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/duhragonball

That's it, other than my AO3 account, which isn't much of a social media platform, and my decades-old livejournal, which I haven't touched in years.

I misread your message and thought you were referring to something ending Twitter, and I was all set to talk about how people have been predicting the downfall of Twitter for over a year now. I believe it will probably meet a bad end, and sooner rather than later, but the way the userbase talks Twitter already shut down six or seven times already. It still basically works when I use it. It's gotten shittier, but it was pretty shitty when I joined. It amazes me that people are nostalgic for the days when Jack Dorsey was running things.

Anyway, you said Tumblr, and I don't know anything about that site's woes. I will say that I only got active on Twitter because there was a nonzero chance of Tumblr imploding after the 2018 pr0n ban. There's still a nonzero chance, but 2018 was five years ago, and we're all still here. I'm not holding my breath.

Let me ask the question, since it's been a while since I brought it up: What's the move now with social media? Is Blue Sky any good? I could probably bum an invite from someone since lots of Twitter folks are giving them away, but I don't want to fool around with setting up a new thing and then never use it.

Same thing with Pillowfort. I was curious about it when it was announced, but I'm like the opposite of an early-adopter. I like to wait a while and see if things will stick. And there doesn't seem to be much news coming out of it. I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

I have no interest in the Facebook/Meta/Instagram mess. YouTube and Tik-tok are non-starters, since I'd have to waste a bunch of time producing videos. What else is there?

I have a discord, but I really need to sort out how I use it. A few years ago I had envisioned making a server and inviting people to join it, but I'm not sure I have the motivation for something like that anymore.

These days, I've got half a mind to just run a shitty personal website, like the one I had in 1996. Back then, you only had 10 megabytes of space to work with, and it would take all damn day to put a picture of the Emperor from Star Wars on it and get it to display correctly. But at least I knew it'd be there the next day. Wait, no I didn't.

Anyway, the internet's always been an ephemeral beast. I won't say it hasn't changed, but I can't claim it was better in the Olde Days either. I saw someone complain recently that all you can do with it now is watch videos and shop, and back in the 90's you couldn't really do either of those things easily, so you'd just read text pieces with funny pictures, and maybe download a .wav file of the Incredible Hulk theme song.

But I'm getting off track. I'm on twitter. And here, and that's about it. I'm open to suggestions.

[omniversal-ben-10-au-shit]

Hi again

Yeah I know I don't need a ton of blogs and the likes but I king of want to keep my main one to random shit and my headcannon one to that, so I decided to make this to post exclusively about my Ben 10 AU/ Aus (might mention not exclusivly things for my Omniversal Au, but they will all have to do with Ben 10).

Some things to note.

I am mean to my characters, and put them through a lot of bull shit, meaning thing can be kinda heavy at times. I will try to tag correctly but I'm sorry if I mess up. You can tell me so I can do my est to keep it in mind for next time but if you want the tags changed you might have to walk me through it. I'm sorry if that causes any trouble

I certainly do not have experience with some of the things presented in this au. I'm trying to be respectful and not exploitative in any way with the heavy things (primarily around things like Ben's abuse, the trauma characters go through, the mental health issues I depicts ect) but I might genuinely misunderstand. I'm open to criticism, just maybe try to be a little gentle with me because I can quite deeply get into my own head (don't just tell me I'm wrong, please tell me how and if you can give me something to work off of. like x isn't really how that works maybe try y instead)

With that being said I am kind of in the boat of fiction is fiction I don't consider myself pro ship or anti ship, and I will write what I do.

This is an AU so yes some characters are going to be different than the main cannon. Right now it's fairly cannon compliant, but some things are going to happen differently than in the actual cannon. I'm not going to change the story unles someone can point out general fuck ups (like me really fucking over ages, or major plot holes) which I will do my bet to fix

Also working on a story connected to it on Ao3, but I'm not going to link it until my editing catches up with where I left off as I am changing the perspective from past to present tense. Do keep in mind I may even after that go back and edit the formatting because right now it's one episode for one chapter because I want to do OS-AF-UA-OF, but of course that's not going to be so simple because I also kind of want to partly work in a version of my Ben 10/ Harry Potter fanfic in some way because I just feel like that can work (No I don't support JK Rowling, but I'm not going to stop liking Harry Potter for it. This is not a blog for discourse so please don't bring up discourse over things like that, talking design and things [I have still avoided watching OF/ OV whatever it is just because of how Big Chill looks and nothing else anymore] but please don't be dicks)

I have ADHD and either dislexia or disgraphia (it might have been both I genuinely do not remember, all I know is that I can't spell to save my life and my gramer is atrocious) please be a bit patient with me, but deffinitly point out spelling. It's helpful and I'm more than willing to try and fix thing. Also if things can be worded a bit better you can tell me

I get that this is a bit long but thank you for putting up with me. I'm probably going to spam this a bit because I'm really eager about this AU and need to get some ideas out.

thank you for being patient with me

[cosmicjoke]

Idk, I believe I do, I red it, just didn't like it all that much. But, bro, holy shit, "you are judging him by today's standards" yeah, of course I do, because the context of time applies to the year of release, not the setting. He beats Eren more than once, the "to save his life" excuse doesn't apply to any shoving, pushing, intimidating, insulting and punching out ten of his teeth, because he dared to touch a syringe box. Yeah, "manhandled" by throttling. It doesn't matter what word you use to describe it, he still forcefully grabbed her by her neck. And no, "just physical discipline" does not apply, if the one you're disciplining is a fifteen year old under your legal care. That's abuse. Always and in literally any context. By that logic, Annie's father did nothing wrong either, because, back in the day, everyone would beat their kids. And not you saying that a twelve year old can volunteer to be a soldier, that's literally insane, c'monnnn 😭😭😭. Not even AoT itself stooped that low and somewhat criticized this mindset with Falco and Gabi. But you are right, I should probably leave, because, holy fuck. Have a good day, I genuinely hope you come around and stop praising military, one day.

You’re an unbelievable fool. I’m not praising shit, I’m giving context to Levi’s actions because, I don’t know if you can wrap your tiny brain around this, context and intention MATTER. You take Levi’s actions out of context to make him seem like something he’s not. And no, you can’t judge people of the past by todays standards. You have to judge them based on what was socially acceptable during their time. You must be 12 years old yourself not to know that.

Also, Levi didn’t grab Historia by the neck, he grabbed her by the collar. He punched Eren because he was directly interfering with the chain of command and wasting time. Eren was a soldier and he was directly disobeying a superior officer. Not child abuse. Jean isn’t under Levi’s “legal care” as if he’s some minor. He isn’t a “ward” as you tried to say. He’s a certified and trained soldier. Levi is his commanding officer. Just because the legal age for becoming a soldier in the US or wherever is now 18, we’re talking about a completely different time and culture. Obviously what was considered an adult in Paradis doesn’t match the standards of now, but to blame that on Levi and no one else shows your stupid ass bias. It was the system in place, one which Levi had no power to change. He was pressed into service himself, you jackass. But somehow it’s completely his fault for working with what soldiers they had. I guess he should have just quit, huh? Oh except he couldn’t because, again, he was pressed into service and him running away would only have accomplished all of their lives being placed in greater danger. And yes, they DID volunteer, regardless of age, and they chose what division they wanted to join at 15. Old enough in many countries to this day to be considered an adult. Your world view is obviously painfully limited. But then, you can’t even spell read correctly.

Again, you fool, you’re taking Levi’s actions out of context to make it seem like he was just randomly beating the shit out of helpless children for no reason, and again I repeat, you’re doing so erroneously to push your warped and negative narrative of who Levi is. You’re right, you should just fuck off now, because you aren’t worth anyone’s time with you’re misplaced and exaggerated sense of moral superiority. Send me any more messages, and they’ll go straight into the trash, so don’t even bother, you moronic clown.

[no6secretsanta]

The Painting of Mao

A/N: For @glorifiedscapegoat from @a-still-small-vox.

[Ao3 link] (now live!)

This AU popped into my head when I was doing the matches, and I was like, ‘Who likes AUs? Ah, I know. Mira!’ so I assigned myself to be your gifter. I understood your request to mean “if you write angst, give it a happy ending”, not “please write me angst with a happy ending and not something else”. I hope I interpreted that correctly, because this story is not very angsty. It does, however, have a happy ending. I really hope you enjoy it, and happy holidays!

P.S. The name of Shion’s town in this story, Maceria, means “wall”.

⁂

Shion sat before his easel, frowning as he idly scraped his palette knife back and forth against the edge of his palette. The said palette was a riot of colour, adorned with daubs of all the rainbow colours and splashes of all the unnameable colours in between. Blues and greys predominated, however, giving the impression that Shion might be painting a mystical ocean, perhaps under a sunset or struck by a fiery storm.

Shion’s smock was similarly adorned with flecks of colour, which he hadn’t even noticed before. This particular painting tended to cast a hypnotic spell on him, blotting out great chunks of time and holding his focus against all the needs of his body. Hunger, thirst, and exhaustion were no problem when in front of this canvas.

The trouble was, Shion didn’t actually know what he was painting. It wasn’t that he had no plan. Most, if not all of his artworks, were carefully planned beforehand. Clients had certain expectations after all. Shion specialised in portraits, and because paintings were expensive, they were usually portraits for the wealthy, so they had to be done right. So maybe this painting was a portrait? Shion didn’t know.

He didn’t know because his brain simply could not comprehend what he put down on the canvas every time he sat down before it. He could see shapes and colours, but when he tried to focus on them, they went fractal, kaleidoscopic.

The only thing he did know was that the painting compelled him. Every time he thought of discarding it, he got a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. It was irrational to feel like painting over, discarding, or donating a canvas for re-use was a crime akin to murder. And yet.

There was a knock on the doorframe behind Shion, and he turned his head to see his father standing there.

“Still working on that enchanted canvas, son?” he said.

“Dad…” Shion groaned, setting down his palette and palette knife on the table beside him. The canvas probably was enchanted or magical in nature. But he felt like his dad didn’t take that possibility seriously, and was just saying that to tease him.

“Still haven’t figured out how we can turn a profit on that thing. Maybe if it turns out to contain a long-lost prophecy or ancient hero. Then it’d be worth a pretty penny,” Shion’s dad continued.

“Daaaaaad…” Shion groaned again. “You never change.”

Shion’s dad laughed and winked. “Nope. And that’s why we’re the most profitable studio in Maceria.”

Although Shion’s mother had been born into a wealthy merchant family, she had chosen to marry a young woodworker instead of a person with an equal social standing to her own. Fortunately, her parents had given her enough money for Shion’s father to apprentice to a woodworking studio, where he learnt to make decorative frames and canvas stretchers, among other things. He had then encouraged his young son, Shion, to apprentice to a master painter so that they could establish their family business, where both painting and framing was done in-house. It wasn’t the first career that Shion would have chosen for himself, but he liked the intellectual aspect of it, the meticulous attention to detail, the analysis of the painting subject, the puzzle over which techniques to use to create the impression that he wanted the viewer of the painting to have. And he liked working with his father as well, for all the mischief he caused.

Shion rolled his eyes at his dad, who looked not the least bit discouraged.

“I’m done for the night. I’m heading up to see your mother and to have some of that leftover apple crumble she baked. Better hurry up or I’ll have the whole thing.”

Glancing back at the canvas, Shion felt a tug in his gut. He found his hand closing one of his paintbrushes before he even realised he’d moved. “I think I’m going to stay here for a while. Please don’t eat all of the apple crumble.”

“Don’t bet on it,” Shion’s dad said, although Shion suspected that his dad would save him some anyway. Shion’s dad turned towards the stairs that led to their apartment over the studio, and then paused. “Son… be careful with that thing.” He gave Shion a heavy look.

“It’s not evil…” Shion began, glancing at the painting out of the corner of his eye. “He – um, it is just… nervous. I think.”

“Well, it’s probably not evil because it hasn’t consumed you,” his dad said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. I think it’s probably fine, but you know how your mother worries.”

It’s enchanted, not cursed, was on the tip of Shion’s tongue. Instead, he just sighed.

“It’s fine, Dad. Go have your dessert.”

After lingering for a moment longer, Shion’s dad shrugged and then disappeared from the doorway. Shion heard the thuds of his footfalls on the stairs, until the door at the top of the stairs creaked open and then shut, and there was silence.

Shion closed his eyes. He took a deep, fortifying breath. Then, he turned back to the canvas with the paintbrush and palette in his hands.

“I’ve done everything I can to help you,” Shion muttered to the painting. “What do you want from me?”

The canvas with its mystifying swirl of colours failed to respond. But Shion noticed, for perhaps the first time, that the central form of the painting seemed to be very much akin to the shape of a human face.

So it is a portrait, then.

Shion resisted the urge to brush his fingers over the still-wet paint to feel the shape of it, as if by touch alone he could determine what colours were really underneath his fingers, and if the face that they might form was a kind one or a cruel one. He had a feeling that the person who was perhaps represented here was just as mysterious as the painting he – um, they were depicted in.

Before he had really anticipated it, Shion was gathering paint from his palette once more. His hand moved toward the canvas, and he fell into a soft oblivion.

Some time later, Shion let his aching arm drop with a sigh. He looked out the window, expecting to see a thick black swathe of night. But to his total shock, he saw a blush of pink on the horizon. It was the morning of the next day. Shion had painted all through the night, something that had never happened before.

It wasn’t just his arm that ached, but his whole body. His head throbbed. But when he looked at the table beside him, he saw a half-full glass of clean water and a plate with what looked suspiciously like crumble crumbs on it. Apparently, he’d gotten up to get food and water at some point, and hadn’t even known it. That had never happened before either.

Shion felt a pit in his stomach. Was I wrong about the portrait? Is it evil after all?

He couldn’t help but turn towards the portrait, to try and re-centre his understanding of it. When his eyes met the gleaming, river-grey eyes on the canvas, the room... stopped.

It was like being held in the centre of a crystal. Cocooned against the outside world in glass and in silence. All was still, the dust motes hanging in the air and the breeze that had ruffled the branches outside instantly pausing. Shion was caught between two breaths, suspended.

And he could see, really see, for the very first time, what he had painted.

As he had suspected, a portrait. A man with grey eyes, at once dark and yet silvered with light. Shion had never seen eyes like that before, though somehow he had painted them – or the man had compelled him to paint them that way. He had pale, delicate skin with long, blue-grey hair tied up in a curious ponytail knot behind his head, its soft strands charmingly framing his face. Another colour Shion had never seen.

Behind the man was a verdant forest. But the sky was not blue, but grey with smoke that rose from the trees in plumes. Here and there Shion caught glimpses of the red and orange of fire. Seeing it made his stomach turn, for reasons he didn’t understand.

“You’re beautiful,” Shion couldn’t help but softly say to the man in the portrait. “And mysterious…” he sighed, running a hand through his already-messy brown hair. “I wish I knew your name.”

The man’s grey eyes seemed to gleam.

There was a word on the tip of Shion’s tongue.

“Hmmm,” Shion hummed. Yes. It came to him all in a rush, then – “Nezumi.”

The man’s dark eyelashes fluttered.

“Hello, O Mighty Painter,” said Nezumi. Shion could hear the playful irreverence in his voice. Like Nezumi’s face, his voice was mysterious and beautiful. His words were formed more like a song than like speech.

“My name is Shion. And you’re amazing,” Shion breathed.

“No vocabulary, and no sense of self preservation. You should be worried that I’ve been stealing your will.”

Shion shook his head. “No you haven’t.” It was true. Although Shion had felt uneasy about being compelled, he’d never felt that he wanted to stop working on the painting, that he couldn’t get free. He’d known he was under a spell, but he’d been okay with that.

Nezumi raised an eyebrow, and Shion caught his breath as he noticed the elegance of the simple movement.

“Who are you – really?” Shion said.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Nezumi said, but then relented. “Fine. I owe you that much.”

Shion looked into Nezumi’s grey eyes, and he began to speak.

“I am a nymph, a forest spirit, bound to a tree in the Mao forest. My tribe lived there in peace until a fire was started by greedy humans who wanted the land for their cattle. We all hid our spirits away in our trees, knowing that our magic and their strength together would make them resilient against the fire.

“Most of us survived, but our trees grew sick and weak when their leaves were burned. Some of my tribe and my family were able to escape, but I was too weak to leave my tree. The humans came back and saw an opportunity. They cut down all the trees that had not been turned to ash by the fire, some of them with spirits inside them and some of them without.

“The tree I was in was made into a canvas stretcher. So you see, it isn’t actually the canvas which is ‘enchanted’, but the stretcher. And it’s not enchanted, but inhabited.”

Nezumi smiled a dangerous smile, his white teeth gleaming. “And that is how I came to be in your painting, human.”

Shion didn’t reply, but simply stared.

“Well?” Nezumi said. “Are you an idiot? Speak.” The sting in the words was lessened by the slight tinge of worry in his voice.

Shion blinked. Then, he was wiping his eyes with his sleeve, heedless of the thin purple paint streaks he was leaving across his cheeks and nose.

“That’s horrible!” he burst out. “Didn’t those humans know that you lived in that forest?”

Nezumi looked taken aback, but then shrugged. “It’s not like they would have cared.”

“They’re worse than scum!” Shion burst out, still watery. “I’m sorry that happened to you, Nezumi. It was a travesty! But –” And here he was struck with a thought, “Now that I’ve painted you, can you come out of the stretcher? Can you go find your family?”

There was a pause, where Nezumi looked Shion straight in the eyes. “With the grace of the one who painted me, I can.”

“Me?” Shion said. “Of course I’ll help you, Nezumi. But what do you need me for?”

“You are the only one who really sees me. You are the only one who can speak me into reality once more. But beware, Shion. If you don’t truly know me, I may not turn out to be the person I’m supposed to be.”

Shion drew back, pondering the weight of Nezumi’s words. “You mean… if I just expect anyone to appear, it won’t work? Or… if I imagine you wrong, you’ll turn out wrong?”

Nezumi only shrugged enigmatically.

Narrowing his eyes, Shion tapped one finger against his lips. How could he know Nezumi, when he’d met him just tonight? Shion wanted to help him get out of the painting as fast as possible, but what if he needed more time to get to know him?

But now was the singular moment. Somehow he knew that this crystal moment was perhaps the only chance he’d get to speak Nezumi back to his rightful existence.

It’s now or never.

“Alright,” Shion said, talking aloud. “I’ll do it. Just… stay still.”

Nezumi rolled his eyes. “Shion, I’m a painting.”

“No, you’re a canvas stretcher. Be quiet.”

But Nezumi kept chuckling as Shion closed his eyes and tried to think.

What did he know about Nezumi from all those days he’d sat before this canvas with a palette in his hand, drawn to complete it without really knowing why?

It came to him, from the depths of his mind. He did know who Nezumi was. Someone who was sarcastic and prickly, distant, and yes – hurt. But at the same time, someone with a quick intelligence and humour, interesting and clever. And beneath his cool exterior, there was someone who was warm, who cared.

Nezumi could have driven Shion to complete the painting at a back-breaking pace, and Shion would have told himself it was the fire of inspiration, and let him. And yet, Nezumi hadn’t taken advantage of him. In fact, he’d sent Shion packing off to bed more than once when Shion had wanted to keep working, to hasten the uncovering of the mystery. Looking into the depths of Nezumi only reinforced what Shion already knew.

This painting is not evil, it is not cursed. It is good. And Nezumi is my friend.

“Alright,” Shion said, opening his eyes and giving a sharp nod. “I’m ready.”

Nezumi let out a breath. Although it was subtle, Shion thought he could see the muscles around his eyes tighten.

“Then hold me in your mind, and reach out for my hand.”

Shion closed his eyes, and held thoughts of Nezumi behind them like water held in cupped hands. He reached forward, farther and farther than he should have been able to with a canvas and easel in front of him. Then his fingers brushed warm skin. Nezumi’s hand tightened around Shion’s, and Shion pulled.

The world turned upside down. There was a clattering sound as wood hit tile. Shion opened his eyes, and there was a man standing in front of him, head and body and arms and legs and all, taller than Shion and still clutching his hand.

Nezumi.

“You’re here,” Shion breathed, and then a bell rang, and then the crystal silence shattered.

The world turned right again. Shion and Nezumi were standing in Shion’s studio, the easel and canvas lying on the floor behind Nezumi. Behind him, the sunrise had reached the top of the sky, burnishing the room with warm morning colours.

“You’re here!” Shion said again, delight suffusing his voice. He dropped Nezumi’s hand and threw his arms around him.

“Oof,” Nezumi huffed out. “Is this how you treat every stranger you meet?”

And yet his arms came up to enfold Shion’s body, and gripped tight and warm and real. And Nezumi pressed a kiss to Shion’s brown hair.

[daintyduck99]

If you’re still taking requests for the soft romance prompts, could I ask for 19 or 13 with either julie/bobby/reggie or just with any julie rarepair

YES YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN ANON

19. the corners of their lips turning up before showing the most beautiful smile

Tagging @urfriendlywriter ❤️

"Wow," Julie breathes as she soaks in the scenery, the gorgeous morning hues of pink and black and misty white that brush the mountains and the sky, cast in an ethereal haze by the halo of the sun. "Reggie, how'd you ever leave this place?"

She feels his shrug since she's pressed between him and Bobby, the way his shoulders lift slowly, too forced to be truly casual.

"It wasn't really up to me."

She hears the rueful smile in his voice, and it allows her to tear her eyes away from their destination. She opens her mouth to say sorry, that it was a stupid question, but then the fog clears from his face. He looks at her with a warmth that still sends butterflies flurrying through her.

"But I wouldn't change it for anything."

Bobby carefully pries the picnic basket from her fingers, correctly guessing that she'll want to launch herself at Reggie, who catches her easily. There's no one else around, so she peppers kisses all over his face, which makes his lips twitch and his smile grow until he's laughing. It rings out like a song, clear and beautiful.

She smacks a final kiss to his cheek, then unravels from around him to hook her arm over Bobby's neck and pull him down for a kiss, as well. He accepts it but refuses to relinquish the picnic basket, no matter how much she tugs at his hands or pouts.

"Julie, you already made everything in this basket, and Reggie drove us here. Let me do something for you guys too, okay?"

"Sing for us," they say immediately.

Bobby scowls. "No. I wouldn't do it in the truck, why would I do it now where some random people might hear?"

She exchanges a conspiring glance with Reggie. He sidles around Bobby so that he's the one sandwiched in the middle, slinging his arm over his shoulders.

"Because you get to pick the song?"

Julie threads her arm around his waist.

"Because you love us?"

"Debatable," Bobby murmurs, but his scowl has softened, and he doesn't shake them off. They share a smile, leaning in to kiss his cheeks at the same time, and they're flushed to the touch. She loves that they can still make him so flustered.

Later, when they're standing at the crest of a mountain trail, staring out at another magnificent, sweeping view that makes her feel small and infinite at the same time, Bobby obliges them, singing softly under his breath at first before building into a mesmerizing crescendo that sounds out all around them, rousing the ancient ridge.

He always says his voice could never compare to hers or Reggie’s, but she's not interested in comparing. She loves his voice because it's his, and it's wonderful in its own way, rumbling and rich and all the lovelier for how rarely they get to hear it.

He nearly drops the basket once the spell is broken and they fling themselves at him, overflowing with thank yous and I love yous and endearments they can’t always get away with, but he doesn't. He's strong and steadfast and he holds them all.

The corners of his lips curl, revealing a sweet little smile, and it's like catching the sunrise at just the right moment, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of beauty.

All in all, she really couldn't have asked for a better anniversary gift.

[tuliharja]

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War double review of ep 12 & 13

It's double review time for the last episodes of Bleach!

Alright, I must admit episode 12's beginning did surprise me. I always thought back to when Isshin was still a captain, Byakuya, Kenpachi, and maybe Mayuri wasn't yet captains? I don't know, because it makes sense as much time has (probably) passed after Turn Back The Pendulum arc's end when Shinji and company got screwed over by Aizen. Even so...it surprised me. Not to mention the fact you're telling me Mayuri kept that same look for at least about 15-plus years as he had that same look at the beginning of Bleach. I can't accept that, even if I can accept everything else... But it explains everybody's reactions toward Ichigo in the Ryoka Invasion arc as most of the captains seemed to connect Ichigo to Isshin because of the obvious Shiba genes. (Kenpachi can be pardoned because while he can be observant, he isn't that observant.)

But because of this...man, now I feel even worse for Ichigo as he did basically grow up in the dark his whole life. That can be explained because Isshin and Masaki probably wanted to protect Ichigo (and his sisters) from such life, but once Ichigo got pulled into the shinigami business? And Isshin still wouldn't tell him? Or at least help him or protect him or anything? Man, my opinion about Isshin will remain as it's even after he told Ichigo the truth in the end and helped him.

Also, I loved the fact Yamamoto smelled Isshin leaving something untold but decided not to press upon the matter.

Gotta love it when things come back to bite someone's butt, in this case, Ryuuken's. After all, he should have talked with Katagiri if he truly wanted to cover up Masaki's little 'adventure'. But...well, since communication isn't a thing, it isn't. In a sense, Katagiri tried to help Masaki, even though she went against her young master's orders while trying to cover up what Ryuuken said. In that sense, Katagiri should have been honest, so maybe Ryuuken would have understood her point...man, so many unsaid things when both of them just wanted to help as they both are very kind. Just...bad when comes to communication. (Though, I assume in the end they talked with each other as they got married, ditto.)

Hmm, I loved how the animators showed Ryuuken's mother had that scar on her ankle. It subtly showed something bad had happened to her in the past, hence explaining a bit her strict behavior toward Ryuuken and Masaki. (Not to mention concern.) Cool way to add depth to a character with such a small detail.

It seems animators are continuing the line of 'let's cut off the ridiculousness of things to a minimum. Same with possible fan services.' After all, in the manga when Isshin went to rescue Masaki, there was that whole 'you're naked!' scene. It felt...super awkward, but this time around it was brushed aside and not made as a big deal as it should have been. Even though the animators did subtly hint with Masaki's goofy expression and her words something like that...but kudos for that to the animators/directors. Subtle hints like that are much better than just slamming things into the viewer's face. Or, at least I think so. (Though, the reason why I can see some of these subtle hints/changes might be because I have read the manga.)

I think that the movie part that they added for an explanation of 'Masaki was like the sun' was a very nice touch. It was very sweet and ended Isshin's story of 'how I met your mother' on a high note.

I must applaud Isshin's voice actor for spelling 'Auswählen' correctly as I imagine spelling the ä-letter even for Asians is hard, but he spelled the word correctly as far as I can tell. (I bet someone from Germany can confirm that better as I believe Aushwählen is Germany. But at least to my ear, he spelled especially that letter correctly.)

Alright, let's move to the last episode.

I've to ask...how Oetsu managed to send one of his bodyguards into the World of the Living? Like, does Zero Squad have their own portable little senkaimons that act like teleports or what? Because if they have such technology...why they haven't bestowed it to Seireitei? Would make moving between places much easier... Or, did Oetsu put on Ichigo marking or sort of that lead his bodyguard to him? (Like Minato Namikaze from Naruto would do when moving quickly between places.)

The whole scene where Ichigo was once again in the Asauchi pit gave me chills. It felt somewhat very...it's hard to put in words, but I could feel this charged-up tension in that scene as the Asauchi bowed down to Ichigo like he was King. Which he was. He was now finally the TRUE King that his inner Hollow had been mockingly using of him. Yet at the same time, Ichigo acknowledged his hollow/blade as the one. After all, the King needs a trusty blade if he will go to slay the enemy king. Man, that scene felt very intense and powerful in its own way. All the struggles Ichigo had faced were finally bearing fruit and Oetsu's proud smile? Yeah, it was worth seeing it. I bet he hadn't ever seen anything like that and probably won't ever again.

The shift to soul reapers and what they were doing while Ichigo was away was nice. Toshiro going back to basics was important in its own way as it showed one shouldn't look back at what they lost but forward and still do their best. While Hisagi was kind of in contrast to that in a way he was still hung up by the past...hence, both Kensei and Mashiro will show him a bit of 'tough love'. Seeing Akon back to his feet was nice and the fact Mayuri was doing something very...questionable was a nice cliffhanger. I'm happy over the fact they showed that little glimpse of Soi Fon training while Omaeda entertained his little sister. It showed the viewer despite the fact Omaeda is portrayed as this super annoying character, he still cares about his captain and is a good big brother.

I'm still questioning if Komamura's clan is a mixture of dogs and wolves...I mean, the Great Elder looked like a giant dog while Sajin looks like a fox. Sorry, I know Sajin is supposed to be a wolf, but his coloring always made me think he was a fox. I know there was the running gag of Sajin being a dog, but even so...*Shrugs.* This part actually made me a bit sad, because as a manga reader I know what will happen to Sajin. The only comforting thing is that Sajin will get to shine. Not to mention the fact we never got to learn more about Sajin's clan. I hope they'll add a little extra about that in the anime when/if it'll, gets continued. His clan, the fact they have to live in shadows...all that made me very curious about the wolf clan.

Alright everybody, don't take notes from Oetsu on how to forge. Seriously, your vision will get worse without proper protective goggles when forging. Even so, the whole scene when his bodyguards made the forge ready for him was very funny and epic. The music really helped to bring the mood up~.

It's interesting how Ichigo's inner world was now pink-white-grey tones themed instead blue white. Though, it was understandable as it was to set the serious mood and I bet the animators wanted to give their own flavor to it all. Not to mention, now the blue was used to symbolize Quincies. I think the fact when that pink faded into those blue tones was a very nice touch and showed Ichigo embracing himself and his all powers fully. (Also, I know it's cliché but I liked when Ichigo came from darkness to the light -from despair to hope.) The fact Number One was playing in the background when this all happened was a very good way to end the show -especially when we saw Ichigo's new twin Zanpakutos! A very harmonious ending for Ichigo.

And yes, Uryuu showing at the very end in front of Yhwach was a nice teaser for what is to come. ;) Can't wait for the next season as this one was totally worth waiting for all those years! So happy Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War arc's first season ended on such a high note and the series itself was extremely good almost the whole time. Made my inner Bleach fan squeal when watching this series.

Also, it was nice to write these silly reviews each week about the new Bleach: Thousand Year-Blood war episodes.

[svankmajerbaby]

✨️🎀🎈💞💝🕯🎙🤲💌

!! thank u so much for the ask. i love talking about writing......

✨ What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

-hmm theres a point in which i have to tell myself not to worry about likes or comments bc what really matters is me getting the practise and exercising my writing muscles and having fun with it... But. i do wish i could get more ppl into my toy story fic. its got a whole bunch of wonderful comments and kudos and stuff, i just feel so proud of it and writing it came so easy and i poured so much of my love into it, i really really wish anyone who loves these characters would read it too.

🎀 give yourself a compliment about your own writing

-english is not my first language so grammar isnt often The Best, but i take a lot of care with using words and expressions as correctly as possible, and I try to always spell words right (i dont think ive ever confused loose and lose, for example, which ive seen confused a few times). some descriptions of spaces are particularly well done, at least to my own criteria, and the song choices are fun (or at least fun to write and picture in my head).

🎈 describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

- honestly, ive no idea. i think i get verbose, and i write long dialogue scenes. i overuse the — to lead into another thought, because thats kind of like how my mind works. i try to be "cinematic" in my writing and always start a scene with a description of a place, its lighting and its sounds, like im used to when writing scripts. and i got the sense that usually the characters often ramble and go on long discussions about stuff that maybe normal people wouldnt just start out discussing so strongly. but honestly id much rather someone else outside my own perspective told me what my writing is like, i would trust them more than my own opinion.

💞 what's the most important part of a story for you? the plot, the characters, the worldbuilding, the technical stuff (grammar etc), the figurative language

-the characters!! everything is important, and stuff like grammar often jumps out first for me... but i need to enjoy how the characters are written, and feel like theyre real people with genuine motivations and interactions. i dont mind too much if theyre not super alike to canon, as long as they feel true to the core of their personality and values.

💝 what is a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

-i was surprised to even get comments on my barbie frankenstein one. i loved writing it and it came through so easily and comfortably, but even though i had used that moderately popular meme of reimagining barbie as a gothic protagonist as inspiration i didnt really think it would be anything but something i liked to picture existing. i was so happy to see people enjoyed it too.

🕯️(there are two questions with this candle emoji symbol? i chose the first one, idk why theres two) was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

-the tiff fic :'^) ive always liked writing sorta dark stuff, ever since i was little, but this was on another level. sometimes i felt (and still do) feel a bit awkward bc i really do push myself to write stuff i feel a bit embarrassed or shocked by, but i do think that if i want to be a better writer it does me good to make an effort to depict stuff that makes me uncomfortable and seek to write it in a sense of finding a way to both make if effective and relatively tasteful (or at the very least in-character).

🎙️which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

- i have never heard about pod-fic before, but i guess i can imagine what it is (wonder if its like an audiobook, or if it has sound effects and the like??). i would love to listen to an audiobook of the barbie frankenstein fic mostly bc i would love so so much to hear the dramatic literary dialogue ive written in kelly sheridans barbie voice. also now that i think about it i have no idea what the creature would even sound like... that would be an interesting challenge.

🤲 what do YOU get out of writing?

-practise writing in english, a sense of accomplishment (when i get to finish something!!) and every once in a while some strong validation in the form of ppl liking what i write... all of it is super valuable to me, especially practise and the push and drive to finish stuff to upload, but the validation in particular just really hits that dopamine in my brain i guess

💌 share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

-its from the glen and glenda fic im halfway planning! i got a few dialogues written and some scenes sketched out, but its still a long way to go. im very excited about it tho! ive grown to really love the versions of the twins ive made in my head. hopefully theyre faithful to their screen depictions while also adding a bit more depth and character building ive wanted to take them through.