#i doubt anyone cares about this which is totally fine but if anyone has questions about him im down lmao

[miasmaghoul]

So I got one particular kink request that mentions maybe needing an OC. I have an idea for this already, but it occurred to me that I've never told you guys about my actual OC. I'm sure most won't care, but I do, soooo...

Everyone, meet my ghouly guy Jasper!

Jasper is an earth ghoul, but more in a rock direction than a plant direction. He was summoned near the end of Terzo's reign, and lives in the depths of the abbey with the other service ghouls. His assigned tasks mostly revolve around building maintenence, and he usually goes unseen due to a preference for working at night. He's not a fan of crowds anyway, so it all works out. The last thing he needs is a gaggle of siblings ogling him while he repairs cracks in the walls with nothing but a palmful of finely crushed stone and a little burst of magic.

He keeps to himself in the off hours too, preferring to hang in his dorm with something immersive; a good book (preferably horror or mystery), a video game (loves single player RPGs and cozy games like Stardew Valley), doing a puzzle (jigsaw, crossword, or really any sort of word game) or listening to music while staring at the ceiling. His dorm sits beneath one of the band's equipment storage rooms, and it's not uncommon for one or two of the band ghouls to hang out and play something every now and then. He has very sharp ears, and if he closes his eyes he can usually tell who's fucking around (or just fucking, let's be real) in there.

If he does need to participate in group activities, he enjoys the company of his fellow earth ghouls. They aren't a rowdy bunch (except for Pebble, though they still get on well enough), so he'll have no problem meeting Mountain in the orchard for a joint and idle chitchat, or having a quiet lunch with Ivy in the rose garden. He also finds himself drawn to air ghouls - he had a huge crush on Zephyr, but their Whole Thing with Mountain told Jasper to keep his distance. They still made great friends though!

His first roommate was Aether, before he was recruited into the band and moved to Dew's room. They got along very well, and Aether taught him a lot about many, many things. The abbey, the world Above, human-shaped vessels and what they can do...many lessons were taught in that cramped dorm room. Jasper has it to himself now, but still he leaves Aether's side clean and organized. Just in case.

Aether tried to teach him to play guitar as well, but never got the hang of it - coordination was an issue, as was the fact that his finger strength kept breaking the higher strings. He prefers to sing anyway, in a voice that could go straight to your bones. The one exception to his 'no crowds' rule comes when it's time for a celebratory mass, where he will don a ceremonial robes and join the choir in worshipful song. Mostly he just sings in the shower though.

He has an extremely dry sense of humor, always heavy handed with sarcasm, but is also able to pull a pun out at the drop of a hat. Loves to banter and tease in his own way, though it can take other ghouls some time to adjust to his mannerisms. But if something hits him just right, really tickles, then he's cackling like a hyena with tears streaming down his cheeks.

Loves to hunt with Mountain; the pair of them have spent many night tracking everything from rabbits to bucks with nothing but claws and fangs, tearing into their prizes with unabashed, feral pleasure. Jasper will take pieces of their pelts and fashion them into little pouches or decorative pieces to store on his one crowded bookshelf. There are a few hand-carved pieces of antler there too, none of anything identifiable, but at least he'd tried!

He eats normal human food too, as most ghouls do, but he has a guilty pleasure - red clay, harvested from the banks of the stream that cuts through the forest. If anyone finds him gathering it he says he's trying his hand at pottery, but in reality he's squirreling it away to dry so he can have a nice crunchy snack afterwards. Aether walked in on him with his mouth covered in clay dust once, and he has yet to live it down.

Now, some rapid-fire physical traits and preferences!

Jasper is intersex, presents on the masc side of androgynous, and uses he/him pronouns (though they/them is okay too). Demiromantic pansexual, far more willing to share his body than his emotions. Kinky as all hell, but he is a ghoul after all.

He is 6'2" (188cm), narrow and lanky.

He's pale, doesn't particularly enjoy being out in the sun, (Mountain call him a cave dweller), but if he does spend a day tilling in the gardens or the orchard it'll bring out the freckles on his face and arms.

Keeps his hair very short, almost shaved, on the sides and back, but shaggier on top. Easy to let flop over his forehead, or to slick back if he needs to look "presentable". It's thick and copper colored, looks redder in the sun, and he's always running his hands through it. If he shaves the sides down, he likes to carve little designs into the remaining fuzz. His horns are stone-like, only a few inches long, starting at his hairline and angled backwards. (When he's unglamoured they become twin rows of stalagmites in all sizes, sharp as anything.)

His face is angular, with sharp cheekbones and a pointed chin. His ears stick out, the left one more than the right. His eyes are steely gray, a touch sunken and perpetually accompanied by dark circles. Has a thin scar that runs down his forehead and through his left eyebrow, from the time he tripped and fell through one of the glass panels of the greenhouse. His nose used to be narrow and straight, but after an evening spent drinking Terra's moonshine his bedroom floor changed that. (He's a clumsy guy, what can I say.) He doesn't mind the crookedness, though he does sometimes wince when he sneezes. Wears glasses for everything except to read.

Piercings: double lobes in both ears, with a helix on the left and a daith on the right. Used to have his septum done before the nose incident, chose not to re-do it after that healed. Nipples (prefers barbells or shields). Bellybutton (blame Aether).

Tattoos: his elemental symbol on the inside of his left wrist. An intricate sigil at the top of his spine, extending down between his shoulder blades. A black and gray snake that wraps around his right calf, it's head on the top of his foot.

Wears a simple silver ring on his right middle finger and a pair of complementary chains around his neck. One holds a cage-style pendant surrounding a piece of raw obsidian, the other small crystalline vial of something that DEFINITELY isn't blood. Enjoys painting his nails, and will keep his claws glamoured just to flash his color of the week. It'll be chipped after two hours, but he doesn't mind.

For clothing, he keeps it simple. Service ghouls all share a uniform - a black tunic, slacks, white-tipped Oxfords and a simple black mask - but in his off time he likes baggy t-shirts and comfy pants. Or no pants, he kinda hates pants. Keeps a few nicer pieces for the rare occasion his uniform isn't formal enough, but they mostly sit unused in the back of his closet.

Finally, he is terrified of spiders. Many spider-related pranks have been, and will continue to be, pulled on him.

Aaaand thats all I've got off the top of my head lmao. I've never written down anything about my weird rock boy, he just lives in my mind and now, maybe, in yours. Will he ever be fully fleshed out? Will he make an appearance in any future fic? Find out next time, on DragonBall Z!

[sunderwight]

Demon Shen Jiu is such a fun idea though.

Especially if he himself doesn't know. Like imagine, Yue Qi finds this abandoned baby and the baby is REALLY OBVIOUSLY not human. But this also enables Shen Jiu to survive being abandoned at such a young age -- a human baby would die without adequate nutrition or care, but demons are a little more resilient. Baby Demon SJ has a way more forgiving digestive system and can move under his own power from a much earlier age. By the time he's a year old he's hunting his own rodents and small birds, and has to be stopped from biting and mauling anyone he doesn't like. Which is most people. Qi-ge develops amazing reflexes.

Why do the slavers tolerate a demon baby hanging around? Maybe it's really not all that uncommon. Demons come across the borderlands from time to time, and are as liable to abandon their kids or die or etc as anyone else. It's maybe an open secret among slavers that demon-blooded kids are a better investment, even, because they can survive for longer on less. The only downside is if they don't ever look human enough to pass as human, because that limits potential buyers, but that's only relevant when the slavers are trying to sell them. For the purposes of having a network of street kids stealing and grifting and spying and etc, it's fine. A lot of the slavers themselves started out as demon-blooded street kids with no other options.

But in SJ's case, he pretty quickly starts passing as human. Mostly because he's quite strong, and he's convinced that he's the same as his Qi-ge, so he makes himself the same. Makes his hands look the same and his teeth look the same and etc. It's largely subconscious, and once he starts doing it, it becomes automatic. SJ forgets that he's a demon in the way that most people don't retain their earliest childhood memories -- although he remembers that some of the slavers were demons.

Then of course there's the question of why didn't the Cang Qiong cultivators notice?

A few options. One is that whatever kind of demon SJ is, it's really good at mimicking humans. Another is that he's only part demon, and like Luo Binghe, fully capable of handling both kinds of cultivation. So once he starts learning spiritual cultivation, even from a heretic like Wu Yanzi, he doesn't seem different from any other recruit with a patchy education on the subject. Anything else odd about him could be easily attributed to his exposure to Wu Yanzi and his wicked practices.

Although full demon SJ is a fascinating idea. (Also, it could contribute to all those qi deviations -- he's trying to cultivate AND "fake" human cultivation at the same time, I doubt Qing Jing's techniques are totally compatible with everything going on there even without the psychological turmoil.) Like I'd imagine Airplane wrote that SJ was abandoned on the streets as a baby, and the system was like "hmm he probably wouldn't survive that?" and then in some nine billionth wife arc, Airplane also creates a variety of demon that can fully pass as human (for some identity conflict with a prospective wife), even to the point of fooling human cultivators and demon-detecting tools. So the system just ties these two disparate pieces of world-building together in order to patch a critical plothole (Airplane doesn't know anything about babies). Which has the side effect that Shang Qinghua doesn't even know that SJ became a demon!

And SJ himself doesn't know. The only person who knows is Yue Qi.

Obviously this wouldn't come up much in PIDW, but it could be pretty funny in the SVSSS timeline. YQY just sitting there through the whole Luo Binghe being a half-demon reveal, wondering if he should say something. Subsequently being the most absolutely chill about the whole demon reveal thing anyway. Like he's definitely not upset that Luo Binghe is a demon, or part demon, and the multiple people who try to make a point about it just run afoul of his impenetrable smile and get nowhere.

Then eventually Yue Qingyuan decides that he should probably tell Bingqiu that Shen Qingqiu is a demon. For like, safety purposes if nothing else. He's kept the secret so long also for safety purposes (even if someone put Shen Qingqiu under a truth compulsion he wouldn't be able to admit to being a demon, because he himself doesn't know!), and he's done tons of stuff to prevent anyone ever finding out (although Xiao Jiu is so talented that he didn't have to do much), but Luo Binghe is the demon emperor. That changes things. If Shen Qingqiu is going to be visiting the demon kingdoms regularly then there's a chance something could reveal the truth unexpectedly, and that would probably be worse.

So Yue Qingyuan sits down and has a very serious discussion with Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe about how Shen Qingqiu is actually a demon, was just the cutest little demon baby in fact, here he drew a picture from memory of what Xiao Jiu used to look like before he learned to look more human, and also how a lot of slave kids and slavers and people who fall through the cracks in society have demon ancestry, some more recent than others, and Shen Qingqiu always retained a certain discomfort around his own kind because of the adult slavers who sold him off, and etc etc.

[soobieedoo]

Formula of Love CH. 14 - we have “chemistry” together (written + smau)

word count: 1,154 (sorry yall i got carried away..)

the clinic was busy today, a saturday night closing shift meant every university student coming to the campus clinic to get medicine for preventing hangovers, condoms, or from time to time people asking if they can get what beomgyu likes to call "fun pills".

usually haechan would be out right now, if he was still at his old school you could always catch him at some kind of party on saturday nights.

but, he’s not even thinking about going to any party. yes he’s stuck at work, but he’s stuck at work with a pretty girl who happens to smell like flowers. why would he trade that for a house that would smell like weed and sweat?

haechan has never been so confident to be at work. after his last shift, he’s convinced that y/n has finally warmed up to him. his thoughts confirmed when she ACTUALLY waved hello to him first. he couldn’t help but smile.

despite hours of being together you haven’t had a chance to talk, he also hasn’t had a chance to ask about the chemistry assignment…which was totally his only intention. In between restocking and dealing with customers. it’s been hard for haechan to get a word in with you. but thankfully, the rush finally went down, everyone going to their respective parties.

side by side packing orders he debates for a few minutes in his head, until he finally asks “hey y/n, i didn’t get to ask how r u today?” last time he asked this question all he got was a quick one word reply. you obviously had wanted to end the conversation quickly, to his surprise this time was different.

you look over at him slightly shocked he’s talking to you after what happened last time, but hey! you promised you wouldn’t ice him out so you reply sincerely “ehh could be better, that rush was crazy.” haechan almost couldn’t believe it, you actually answered…and more than one word.

“it doesn’t help that yesterday i spoke to professor kim, which btw was absolutely useless and a COMPLETE waste of time” he watches as you angrily straighten out any wrinkles that may have formed on your coat “i mean HONESTLY you’re a professor, isn’t it your JOB to help your students?” you scoff.

haechan finds it cute, seems like when you’re angry you rant to anyone without a care in the world.

you seem to realize that you’ve spoken a lot more words than usual to him and quickly apologize “sorry…i got carried away”

“nah you’re fine, feel free to rant about him all you want. why’d you even talk to him?”

“the recent assignment has my brain melting, i talked to him about a question after i finally submitted it and he gave me THE MOST vague answer. i had to retract my submission cause it made me doubt my work so much.” you sigh.

“ahh yeah, that assignment is impossible i swear. i tried to talk to jeno about it but he didn’t give me shit, said to ask other classmates but no one knows either” haechan hears you laugh.

“that’s crazy, i would have thought that having the chemistry TA as your friend has its advantages. i guess not.” haechan smiles

“yeah, he’s useless too.”

haechan can’t believe it, he’s actually having a conversation with you.

haechan hears you sigh, multiple times actually. he looks over to see you hunched over at the counter, working on the assignment you both just talked about. the clinic was dead, the shelves were restocked, and the orders for tomorrow had already been packed. haechan offers to sweep the clinic and you kindly asked him if it would be okay to work on the assignment where he of course, agrees.

he goes over to you and looks at your paper, instantly recognizing the question. its the same one he’s been stuck on for days. “yeah that question has me stumped too”. you jump, having so focused on the assignment you forget for a while that you’re still at work…with haechan.

“its impossible i swear, he’s doing it on purpose so we lose a mark. its like he wants to see his students fail.” you slump down in your seat.

“i’ll be right back.” you watch as haechan goes towards the door and flips over the “OPEN” sign to “CLOSED” shuts the blinds and runs back into the locker room. he comes out with a backpack and a folder in his hand.

he sits next to you and opens up his folder to the same assignment.

“see i have this formula here but it makes zero sense, i have no idea what the next step is and the answer doesn’t match anything at all.” he hands over his paper and you quickly look over it.

you look back at your assignment and realize you have two different formulas “wait let me try something” you take the first part of his formula and second half of your formula, he watches as you scribble down the numbers quickly mumbling to yourself. suddenly, you get up from your seat. “THATS IT!”

haechan is shocked, he’s never heard you this loud before. he watches as you clap almost in tears “HYUCK this is IT i figured it out look!” you sit back down and explain it to him, he can’t focus though, you called him “hyuck” the last time he heard that was the very last time you guys talked on call.

“donghyuck?”

“huh?”

“do you get it?”

“sorry. i blanked out, can you say it again.” he feels embarrassed, one nickname shouldn’t affect him this much. he focuses now, ignoring the memory.

“y/n youre a genius.”

“we both are! without your formula i wouldn’t have figure out what was wrong with mine. so thank you.” you smile at him.

haechan feels like the world has stopped.

“i guess we just have chemistry together” he jokes

your eyes widen, his subtle joke affecting you way more than it should.

“im kidding, cmon dont act so scared! im serious though we could work together on assignments like these, i don’t really know much friends from my chemistry class so it’d be nice to have someone to talk to”

“y-yeah that’d be nice” you scratch your neck, slightly flustered. how is he acting so normal?

“is your number still the same?” he gathers up the strength to ask.

“oh no…i changed it after i lost my phone. here i’ll put it in your contacts! feel free to message me about any chemistry related questions!”

“sounds good thanks y/n, and you too feel free” he once again smiles at you. its quiet for a second, just you two staring at each other, “um we should probably lock up the store, don’t want an angry text about responsibilities from doyoung!”

“right right…really dont want that” haechan shudders as you laugh, both of you quietly cleaning the store together.

note: are we finally making some progress 👀👀

taglist: @bloomyroses @lionzyon @ourbeautifulaffair @yewshi @injunnie-lemon @nessaassen02 @dudekiss3r @jianreadsaus @haechsworld @catpjimin @onlyhyunjin @stqrgr7

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[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Noticed something about zutarians: for people who claim to be "THE femist ship" they spend too much time praising Zuko for doing chores, being empathetic, supporting women and other stuff he didn't really do in canon all that much.

Like, feminists would consider these a basic level that any normal person, man or woman, should do for their own's sake without any praise. Oohing and aahing "look, he spends time with his own child!", "oh, you washed the dishes, my hero!", "where would I have been if you didn't do the laundry, my knight in shining armor, you really are a savior!" is... very sexist, actually! And zutarians do just that. It’s not enough for them to write him doing chores, they have to emphasize this, compare him to Aang/Sokka/anyone else who of course doesn’t do chores (because no one except Katara and Zuko ever does anything chorelike in these fics it seems), or just outright praise him for that.

Of course, zutara never was a feminist ship, so my observation doesn't add anything new. I understand that zutara kinda fits "female gaze" or whatever, though, it's a women's dream about a perfect partner, which is totally fine by itself – it just has nothing to do with Zuko (and, dare I say, Katara – I doubt she would be so ecstatic about a guy doing "women's chores", she is used to dividing the work around camp and takes it for granted). And that's why I cannot read even relatively harmless zutara fluff – it very often is very focused on this exact subject. I like Zuko for who he is and the truth is 1) he's flawed even after his redemption and 2) a huge part of how he sees himself is his prince title. Nothing of it matches zutara fantasy of a male housewife, so they have a whole other character named Zuko to fit into their imagination land, and I just have no interest in that.

I'm still impressed by that one fic (not in English) where Fantara was 100% sure that Fanfic-Firelord-Zuko will never ever "force any hapless woman" to take care of his newborn daughter (as opposed to her awful, awful husband, Fanfic-Aang who can't even feed his son, who's still eating only breast milk, for several days while Fantara decided to be away). Sure, girl, he's a fucking ruler, he has a whole country to think about, tons of very important shit to do every single day, a full palace of servants, of course he will always personally change diapers, no doubt. I bet he'll even do all the breastfeeding by himself, since his wife died at childbirth and forcing other women is out of the question.

I'm bitter now, and maybe taking it too far but what if – just "what if" – there are very few people who actually ship Katara and Zuko? Because it seems that most content creators in zutara fandom actually ship their two OCs who are very loosely based on these two characters (but don't I dare tell it to their faces, haha, they are under impression that their image of Zuko and Katara is somehow the only correct one).

Just one little disagreement: Zutara doesn't fit the Female Gaze because there's no such thing in the first place. There's not a single trope, way to direct a scene, or romance formula that universally appeals to women, and the same thing can appeal to different women for radically different reasons.

"Male Gaze" and "Female Gaze" were supposed to be a way to point out sexism (and sometimes straight up abuse) in film-making, but it honest God became some bullshit gender-essentialism nonsense REALLY fast. We gotta let that "That is for boys, this is for girls" mentality die.

Aang does chores with Katara. That is completely irrelevant to me shipping Kataang. Aang is not sexist. That doesn't even reach my top 50 reasons to love him as a character. Aang does a lot of things that don't match the idea I was raised to have of a "manly man" and I could not give less of fuck about it. It doesn't bother me, but doesn't particularly appeal to me either.

But for lots of people that is HUGE and some of the main reasons why they love his character and his romance with Katara. And notice I said people, not women.

I like plenty of enemies-to-lovers ships - I don't relate to a single meta/analysis I've ever seen of "Why women like bad boys/enemies to lovers/redeemed villains so much." It all rang hollow to me. But to plenty of women it hits the nail right on the head.

Hell, 50 Shades of Grey is a "romance/erotica" full of accidental misogyny, abuse-apologism, and slut-shaming yet the fanbase is 90% women from all kinds of demographics, and the main thing they praise about these goddamn books/movies is that it did NOT make them feel like they should be ashamed of wanting to have kinky sex with a hot guy.

The Female Gaze isn't real.

[all-pacas]

I was going through your spreadsheet and realized that even though cameron confides in and seeks advice from chsse a lot, he doesn't? ever? he never confides in her at all, not even about his father in cursed.

To be fair, this is very much a Chase Problem: he doesn't confide in anyone. House spends most of Cursed trying to manipulate him (House's words) into opening up, too, and Chase does a good enough job ignoring that that House eventually just sits him down for a Conversation.

Which starts with this little exchange:

CHASE: Why does everybody need to know my business? HOUSE: People like talking about people. Makes us feel superior. Makes us feel in control. And sometimes, for some people, knowing some things makes them care. CHASE: I’d tell you my dad left, my mum drank herself to death… you gonna care about me more? [sarcastic] HOUSE: Cameron would. Me, I just like knowing stuff.

(A little earlier:

HOUSE: Yeah, it’s better. I’ll get to see his face when he reads his dad’s obituary. ROWAN: It’s not your business.

)

It's not your business. Chase doesn't care that House wants to know, that Cameron would want to know. His tone is defiant: he knows House wouldn't care more. House implicitly agrees.

But again, this is very much a Chase Thing. We see it again in The Mistake: at any point — when House is yelling at him for not asking Kayla follow up questions, when Stacy is asking questions six months later, when Cuddy reveals Chase is getting sued punitive damages — he could have said honestly, she came in the second I found out my dad died. Instead Chase sat on that for six months. House demands to know why Chase screwed up? Nothing. His job at stake? Nothing. House has to force Chase's hand by telling him he already knows to get Chase to share his business and save his job.

It happens again! By the way! You could make a case that Chase's Boundaries Era is tied to this; he no longer feels like he owes House anything and is keeping his distance. We see it all the way in S8 with Chase, with how Chase refuses to admit he's upset and struggling with stuff, how he brushes off the entire team with stock phrases ("Just knowing you're there for me is enough"). We see it post divorce, as he lies in the break room rubbing his ring finger and then blows off every attempt by his coworkers to talk to him about it, denies he cares, and then punches House.

HOUSE: So you busted my nose to keep people off your back. CHASE: Pretty much. HOUSE: Making people even more worried about you. CHASE: Maybe. But at least they're not talking to me about it.

Chase does not like people in his business.

And, of course, tying it all back to the note that Cameron confides in him but he never does her: this very much goes to Dibala as well. He spends weeks avoiding her, avoiding the ICU, insisting he's fine and nothing is wrong and he has it handled. Chase does have reason to doubt Cameron would support him, but it's also excessive: we do see that she's willing to give him a real shot when she does learn about the murder, and he knows very well she's a good person. Shame is probably a factor. But so is, you know. Chase doesn't talk about stuff. Chase tries (and fails) to handle his own business. He's better at being honest with House, probably because House doesn't care — House doesn't pity him, House is honest and frank and just wants to know, knowledge is a neutral thing. Chase doesn't want people to care about him more, to pity him and feel bad and offer advice. Even when he really, really needs it.

In fact, even some of the rare times he does open up — in S8 — he's sort of resentful of it. He trauma dumps onto Adams, who is appropriately shocked and throws back sympathy ("It must have meant a lot to your mother and sister you were there for them;" "I never knew,"), only for Chase to curtly reply "I know, that's why I told you." He barely manages to admit to Park he was jealous of her family. Chase isn't totally repressed or anything, but when it comes to being vulnerable, with allowing himself to rely on others… he doesn't. He would rather ruin his career and his marriage every time.

He's not totally repressed. He's just fine with most emotions; he's an easy crier (a fun touch for someone as private as him; I bet he finds it embarrassing). He's quite friendly and quite physical, he's able to express himself usually, without much fuss. But every time, when something big enough or scary enough comes along, Chase shuts down completely. He doesn't want people in his business. (You gotta wonder if and when and how he did tell Cameron about his dad.)

And of course, I'm tying this all around: This is why his friendship with Thirteen is so incredible. Because she's the one he opens up to: not all the time, not all the way. But it's her he tries to talk about his divorce with, trying to figure out why Cameron left after weeks of not talking about her at all. Chase and Thirteen have a couple other little conversations about the divorce, actually, like the one he admits he couldn't handle an open marriage, that he was jealous of House for years. Chase tells Thirteen about Dibala, making her the only person he's willingly told besides Cameron. And what took him weeks of guilt and cost him his marriage in one case, he uses to try and comfort and help Thirteen. It's only a few minor examples, but they're all we get. Maybe because Chase and Thirteen have very parallel traumas (and because she also hates opening up and talking about herself), but they're blinding exceptions. Mostly, Chase doesn't want people in his business.

[so-long-soldier-writes]

Flying Monkeys

kai parker x reader | requested by @chocolatepalacecloudhoagie

summary: kai mentions in passing that he can fly a plane. you challenge him to prove it.

tags: based on s06e08: Fade Into You, small drug references, flying / aircrafts, kai being confused by someone caring about him, developing friendships, implied possible future friends to lovers

word count: 2.5k

a/n: i wrote half of this when you sent that ask and totally forgot about it until this afternoon. i have so many requests i need to finish, it's so bad 💀 but i hope this is what you were looking for!!

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true!”

“There’s no freaking way; you’re totally bluffing.”

“I am not! Hey, if you need proof, ask Bonnie.”

You glance over at Bonnie, who’s sitting on the opposite side of the restaurant. She dines with one of her best friends, the both of them desperately needing a drink, they had announced. You originally went with them, but upon spotting Kai at the bar, abandoned their company to talk to the young witch. Damon begged you not to; he wanted you nowhere near him, yet you can’t help your interest in the boy. 

“Why would she know?” You ask instead. 

“‘Cause I flew her from Mystic Falls back to Portland.”

“Willingly?” 

“No, I had drugged her.”

“Kai!”

“She didn’t give me much of a choice! I had to get out of that stupid prison world, and she wasn’t going to let me out unless I manipulated my own way out. Unfortunately, I needed to use her to escape.”

A sigh leaves your lips. As much as you want to hate him for torturing her, you can’t blame his desperate need to get out of that hell. You hadn’t been in the prison world, but by the way the pair describe it, it’s a terrible place to be. To be stuck there for eighteen years, and then denied your only chance at freedom? Not to mention, Kai’s a sociopath who struggles with the way he’s supposed to feel about other people, and he’s insanely lacking in his social skills. What he did isn’t okay - not by a long-shot - though you can understand what drove him to do it. 

“Are you mad at me?” He asks, taking a sip of his drink. 

You cock your head, surprised by the question. “No, I just…”

“Hurting her was never my plan, I just needed to get out.”

Maybe it’s the alcohol talking. Maybe it's the effects of the merge. 

Regardless of which, you take it as a sign that Kai’s warming up to you. In that moment, you decide not to crush his tiny seed of trust. 

“...can’t believe you flew a plane,” you finish, changing the topic. 

Kai smiles. “But I did! It wasn’t a big one, it was a Cessna. One pilot - obviously, since I was the only one flying anything - and not meant for super long distances. Stopped for gas midway.” Then he mutters, “gave her a little more gas, too, so she’d sleep through it.” You ignore that part. “But I can promise you, I know how to fly.”

“You’ll have to prove it to me.”

“Yeah, I doubt anyone’s going to let that happen. I definitely don’t have a legal flying license.”

“We’ll convince Damon to compel someone to let you.”

“Something tells me he won’t support that.”

“All I’m hearing are excuses to keep you out of a cockpit.”

Your challenging tone has him straightening his posture. “You really don’t believe me?”

“Not one bit.”

“Fine. Then I will prove it to you.”

~~~~~

A week later, you’ve successfully convinced Damon to one, let Kai fly a plane short distance from one small airport to another; two, let you ride with him, and three; compel a pilot to let him borrow a plane, as well as compel everyone who would typically be involved to pay no attention to the unattended aircraft that will inhabit two runways and the open sky for roughly thirty minutes total. 

Bonnie, to say the least, is not happy about this plan. When you and Kai first approached their table in the grill to discuss it, she was pissed. Now, as Damon drives the three of you to the airport, she’s still lecturing you on the dangers of not only flying with an unlicensed flier, but for said flier to be Kai Parker, of all people. 

But to her dismay and Kai’s surprise, you shrug her off, promising you’ll be fine. 

“Okay,” Damon says, parking his car. “I’ve secured thirty minutes for you two dumbasses to do this. The flight distance is twenty miles, so your actual time in the sky should only be-”

“-about ten minutes,” Kai interrupts, “I know. I know what I’m doing.”

Damon ignores him and continues, “giving you ten minutes to start up, ten to fly, ten to land. I did some research of my own when you proposed this completely diabolical plan to me.”

“It’s not-”

“Do it quickly,” he ignores again, “and keep her safe.”

“Maybe compel him for that part,” Bonnie says.

“Smart.” Damon puts a hand on Kai’s shoulder. 

Kai shrugs him off. “You don’t need to compel me. I’ll keep her safe, I promise.”

Damon looks over to you.

“I trust him,” you affirm.

The man stares at you like you’ve grown a second head. 

“I’ll be okay,” you tell him, trying to ease his nerves. It doesn’t appear to work, but you don’t try again. “Kai?”

“Hm?”

“Ready?”

“Yep. See you guys in thirty.”

The plane is sitting in the middle of the runway, left alone with the keys, after Damon had compelled its owner away on a “super serious mission,” in which, if the man didn’t run inside and make Bonnie a coffee with specifically one and a half packs of sugar and a dash of peppermint mocha creamer, his new boss would fire him on the spot. Then, by the time he comes back and you and Kai are already in the sky, he’ll compel him to not freak out, but go to the neighboring airport for his plane, because it had been taken over by flying monkeys. 

Damon recites the second part of his plan as the pair of you climb into the plane. Bonnie rolls her eyes at him. None of you comment. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he’s having fun,” Kai says once out of earshot.

“Oh, he definitely is.”

Down below, Bonnie finally mutters, “I don’t even like peppermint mocha.”

“Well then I guess he’ll get fired.”

The girl rolls her eyes again. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“Y/N? With him? Hell no.” He sighs. “The minute our poor, actual, pilot comes back, we’re getting to that airport quickly.”

“Alright,” Kai sits down in the cockpit. You go to the seat beside him. “Put your seatbelt on.”

You fight the urge to giggle as he practically commands you to be safe. It’s so un-Kai-like. Then again, he is taking you five thousand feet into the air. 

“Okay,” he starts pointing to all the little instruments, “this is the speed, this is the altitude, this is the height above sea level, this is the rate of turn, this is the compass, and this is the vertical speed.” 

“How high above sea level are we right now?”

“Five hundred and ninety-four feet.”

“Ah.”

“These controls have a lot of explanation, and I better start so Damon doesn’t yell at me, but I can talk about them another time. Briefly, pedals down here, steering wheel - or yoke, in fancy people terms - here, throttle, and what controls the wings.” He points to the right of all that. “Communication stuff that I don’t use, to talk to other pilots, confirm take-off and landing and weather conditions and all that. Navigational systems.” He points to the left for those. “Ready?”

“Mhm.”

“Are you scared?”

“No.” Just a little. 

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” Hopefully that’s the right choice. 

“Okay. Up we go.”

The boy quiets as he starts up the plane. You can’t help but admire his concentration. 

Kai manages the controls carefully, and before you know it, you’re lifting off the ground. Your hand flies to the side door, gripping the handle bar subconsciously. 

“You okay?” He peeks over at you. He could practically feel you tense up, although he expected you would. 

“Mhm,” you nod.

He’s not entirely convinced, but there’s nothing he can do about it now. He continues gaining altitude, and before you know it, you’re completely in the sky. 

“You still good?”

“Yeah.”

“Need any sleeping pills?”

“Kai!”

“I’m just joking!” 

You look over and playfully roll your eyes at his teasing, dimpled face. He’s glad he’s cute, otherwise there’s no way you would’ve actually gone through with this idea. Thinking about it now, it’s totally crazy - letting a boy you barely know fly you into the sky when he doesn’t even have a license. But for some reason, you trust him, and as he effortlessly controls the plane as it travels through the blue beyond, you’re confident about placing your trust in him.

Although… your friends down below are probably losing their shit…

“How high are we?” You ask, distracting yourself from that thought. No reason to worry about it now.

“You sure you want to know?” He laughs.

“Hit me.”

“Oh, alright,” he checks the meter, “about eight thousand feet up.”

When your eyes go wide, he chuckles. “Scared?”

“I trust you,” you assure both him and yourself. 

That answer seems to relax him. A gentleness settles in his eyes, brightening the usual gray to a color more like that which surrounds you. Your grip on the door handle eases up, and you ride in silence for a while, appreciating the journey. 

After a couple of minutes, he announces, “coming up on the airport.”

“Already?”

“It was only about a ten minute flight.”

“Damn.”

“Do you think we’ll see our unhappy co-conspirators on the ground?”

You snort, then immediately cover your mouth. Kai only smiles. “Definitely. Shaking their heads and rolling their eyes.”

“Surprised I didn’t crash the damn thing.”

“Or kidnap me.” He starts to laugh, but then pauses, unsure if you’re joking. But then you start to laugh at your own joke and he takes it as a sign that he can laugh along with you. “Guess this means I believe you… you really can fly a plane.”

“Don’t praise me yet, we haven’t landed.”

“What?!”

“Easy, I’m kidding. Landing will be just as smooth as take off was. I’ve gotcha.”

And it is. He skillfully lands the plane with minimal roughness, and maintains a good distance away from the distraught-looking pair. When he turns off the engine, he throws you the keys and a wink. 

You barely catch them, then let out a laugh. “I’ll admit, I’m impressed.”

“Why thank you, Y/N.”

“So how did you learn, really?” “Books, manuals, and lots of trial and error.”

“How bad of an error?”

“Died once or twice… or more… but I couldn’t actually die in the prison world, so I’d just crop back up and try again.”

“Ouch.”

He shrugs. “But that’s all over now.”

“You have to be more careful to avoid situations that could get you hurt now.” He narrows his eyes at you, making you confused by his reaction. “No more trial and error anything. If you’re not in the prison world, you’re susceptible to getting hurt, or worse, and I’m not letting that happen on my watch.”

“I’m on your watch now?”

“Well… yeah.” You shrug, “I mean, in terms of reckless behavior, yeah. You’re my friend, and I want you to be able to live now that you’re not stuck in that Groundhog Day world, but in order to do that, you have to be safe and avoid situations where you could get hurt.”

“You consider me a friend?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes,” he answers quickly, “I’ve just… never had a friend before.”

“Well you do now. And your friend is super impressed by your flying skills, but wants you to stay safe, too, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good.”

“But you weren’t scared, right? This wasn’t brought on because you thought I was gonna crash, was it?”

“‘Course not, I had full faith in you the entire time. I only got worried when you said you died trying to learn.”

“Oh.”

“So no more of that, right? You can impress me with all the skills you already know, but no more near-death experiences. Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Thank you. I-” Your next words are cut off by your own scream as someone knocks on the plane door. Looking down, you see Damon reaching up. 

“Get on out of there, you lovebirds. We have to return this plane to its actual pilot.”

“Ugh.” You both roll your eyes, but listen to the man. Kai comes around to your side as soon as he’s out. He puts a stabilizing hand on your shoulders, which comes in handy when you stumble with your first step. 

“You okay?” Both men ask at once.

“Good. I always trip when I leave airplanes, too.”

A few feet away stands an annoyed looking Bonnie. “Glad to see you’re still alive.”

“Glad to see you, too, Bon. Alive and well.”

“You could’ve-”

Her retort is interrupted by the pilot running over for his keys. “Those flying monkeys! Have they returned my plane?!”

Damon tosses the keys to him. “Yep, good as new! Not a scratch!”

“Oh, thank god! Thank god. I was afraid I’d never see it again. If you find those monkeys, can you tell them I’m really upset, and that they need to go away?!”

“Of course I will. You have a good day.” The pilot runs away and Damon turns towards you and Kai. “You heard the man, time to go.” He shuffles you into the car, stuffing you both in the backseat again, Bonnie in the front, and starts the drive back to town. 

The forty minute drive is quiet, everyone too afraid to get on Bonnie’s nerves, but you and Kai text in the back. 

y/n: thank you again for the flight. i enjoyed it very much!

kai: i’m glad you let me show you my skills :)

kai: but i’ll keep your promise, no more dying

y/n: good

kai: thanks for the friendship. i’m glad to have you

y/n: me too

y/n: i knew i was gonna like you the minute damon complained about you

y/n: after he got out of the pw

kai: what did he say??

y/n: that you were talkative and annoying and seemed like just the type of person i would befriend

y/n: appears he was right

y/n: except for the annoying part

kai: huh. the talking doesn’t annoy you?

y/n: no i like hearing you talk, plus i know you were isolated for a long time, and i would like to be a person you’re comfortable talking to

kai: wait, really?

“Why are you smiling?” Damon’s voice cuts through the silence. He eyes Kai through the back mirror.

“Me?”

“Yes, you.”

“Ummm…”

“Because I told him what you said when you got out of the prison world about me befriending him. Seems you were right.”

“I said that as a joke.”

“Yet you hit it right on the nose.”

Damon huffs. “Well I also said he was annoying, and that’s true, too.”

“Maybe, but it just so happens that I like his,” you use quotation marks with your fingers, “‘annoying’ qualities, just as much as I like the rest of him, too.”

“It’s your headache, Y/N.”

You only shrug. 

y/n: yes, i do like hearing you talk, and i do like even the ‘annoying’ parts about you

y/n: they’re kind of endearing, actually

Kai tries to ignore the weird fluttering-like symptom in his stomach and nervously replies, 

kai: thank you

kai: i like you too

[your-phantomfield]

MAI = NATSUME

i .. ii .. iii circa 2198 for @tokufan400

Cooking for Mai Natsume...

I.

Cooking is a great way to take care of your loved ones. A good meal makes anyone happy, there are countless ways you can experiment and personalize your work, you don’t need fancy words or a whole lot of money to express your feelings this way, and learning someone’s favorite foods is like learning more about them as a person! For anyone who enjoys cooking, part of the fun of dating is learning all your partner’s favorite dishes and seeing their eyes light up when you surprise them with one!

Which is why things with Mai are starting to stress you out. She’s a wonderful girl; earnest, hardworking, always kind. But there's something about the subject of food that's causing a bit of a problem in your relationship.

The problem started early on.  When you first brought up that you liked to cook, she seemed to take it fine... but looking back on the memory now, her reaction does seem a little off.  At the time you figured maybe she just wasn’t that much of a foodie, or maybe it was just the typical nervousness of early attraction.

As you started dating, Mai never seemed interested in lunch or dinner dates. It was the one type of date that she always seemed to need to rain check last minute. The times you’ve tried to bring her a treat, she’s always claimed that she just ate, so she’ll have to take the food home and eat it later. She’s reluctant to even try it in front of you!

II.

At first it’s a little heartbreaking- you can’t help but wonder if she’s not interested in you, or trying to hide something, the way she’s being so evasive. You may not want to doubt her, but she’s flat out not acting normal. You start looking for other signs, and things go from upsetting to… outright worrying.

At some point you notice that you never see her eat.  At all.  With you, or with anyone else.  The next time she assures you she already ate before she met up with you, you try to ask her about what she ate.  She seems thrown off- even frightened- by the question.  When she answers, it honestly sounds like she’s making something up.

This pushes things past the point of you being worried about your relationship, and into the realm of you being worried about her. You're becoming more and more convinced that your girlfriend is hiding an eating disorder.

III.

This is where you learn about Mai’s unique condition, and her complicated relationship with food.

Mai Natsume really can’t eat. Well, she can- she still has to, like anyone else- but it isn’t easy for her. There was an… incident, back in her teen years, that messed up her sense of taste really bad. She was in the hospital for a while. Since then, she really can’t taste her food at all.

Instead, she experiences this bizarre sensory overload. She calls it ‘super taste.’ When she puts something in her mouth, the taste is there, but it’s buried under all kinds of other information about what she’s eating. The thoughts and feelings of anyone who cooked the food come rushing into her head, alongside the sentiments of the ingredients themselves. It's like everything in the dish is alive and screaming at her from the inside of her head.

She laughs awkwardly as she tells you the story, almost shaking. She won't look you in the eyes. You are her first relationship, and she didn't want to ruin things like this. She knows how insane this all sounds, and what's worse, she knows how much you like cooking.

She understands that this might be a total deal breaker for you... if you can even believe it in the first place.

IV.

Her story explains her odd behavior, and it addresses some of your concerns, but it also brings on several new ones.  What has she been eating, if eating is so painful for her?  She has to eat something, right???

She's able to reassure you that she does eat, but she's not enthusiastic about it.  When she joined Sector Seven, an entire small team was tasked with attempting to fix her condition.  They failed, in the end, but their experiments did produce the least agonizing way to feed her.

Her daily meals are protein packed rations with all the flavorful appeal of prison food.  All ingredients are synthesized beyond recognition in an attempt to distance them from whatever form of genetic memory Mai's taste picks up on, and packed with neural depressants to try to prevent the sensory overload she experiences.  These meals are bland, tasteless, and they still leave her with headaches, but at least she can eat.

V.

With the truth out in the open, Mai can finally stop avoiding your questions and tell you her favorite foods. The truth is, she doesn’t have one, considering how awful everything is for her. Since her taste changed, there’s only ever been one thing she can eat and actually enjoy… Her mouth is practically watering as she explains that one of her old friends is such an amazing cook, they can make food that Mai can eat, and it even tastes good! Great, actually! She describes it like heaven.

Naturally, this catches your attention. If it’s possible for one person to crack the code on how to make food Mai can eat, then it has to be possible for another person to learn to do the same. You’ve been wanting to cook for Mai since you first fell for her. Learning just how miserable her experience with food is has turned that ‘want’ into a full-on mission.

It’ll be just like learning a new recipe- or, maybe a whole new style of cooking. You’re sure you can do it. People have been fine tuning how they cook and developing whole new menus for people with special dietary needs for centuries! Vegan menus, gluten sensitivities, all KINDS of allergies- what Mai has must be just, like one of those on steroids. And she just confirmed that it’s possible to cater a menu to her needs. Whoever this mythical chef friend of hers is, you need to meet them and start studying with them asap!!!

VI.

This leads into a new problem. Mai hasn’t seen this friend since she left school. She doesn’t know where they are now, and considering her work with Sector Seven, it isn’t entirely safe to go hunting them down. If Mai was comfortable doing that, she would have done it already.

So, you won’t be able to learn directly under this mythical chef. Fine! It’s not going to stop you now that you know a solution is out there. As long as you consider yourself a cook, your girlfriend is not going to be eating bland sensory hell food for the rest of her life!!! Mai is worried about making you go out of your way for her, but even as she tries to tell you you don't have to do this, she's practically jumping out of her seat in her excitement. Your whole relationship you haven't been able to share your love of cooking with her, and now here she is, eyes lighting up and telling stories about foods she wants to try again one day. There is no way you're going to give up now.

VII.

Your first step from there is to talk to the research team behind Mai's meals at Sector Seven. You need to learn what they already know that works, what doesn't, and all the 'safe' ingredients or techniques you can use as a baseline. It's 95% complicated drug names you've never heard of, but you're learning.

You also need to taste what she's eating now. You don't have super taste, you have normal human person taste, but even then, this stuff is gross. You find you hate eating it, even without it beaming a flood of nonsense into your mind and giving you a migraine- you can't imagine how Mai manages to choke it down.

Then it's long talks with the research team to swap ideas. They're a bunch of chemists, not a bunch of chefs, so there have to be things they're missing. Unfortunately, a lot of your early ideas to improve the taste have already been tried and just make things worse for her. The issue for her is stimulation, and adding much flavor or any of the ingredients you'd usually use would bring her back to the hell she experienced before they started making special prescription rations for her.

No matter what you make, it’s going to need to be packed with sedatives. Which makes you feel like some kind of mad scientist, rather than a cook.

VIII.

At the very least, you could do a lot to improve the visuals and atmosphere of her meals. Again, these are a bunch of chemists that are cooking for her. Her meals may still have to taste like muddy dog food until you’ve made some kind of breakthrough, but they sure don’t have to look like it.

It’s an interesting experience for a cook, focusing all your attention on the visuals of her meals rather than the flavor, but it definitely grows your skills in new directions. People have said food can be an art, and plenty of studies have shown that the way a meal looks and smells will impact the way it tastes. Maybe if you can stimulate her taste through her other senses, rather than directly via her tongue, you can avoid triggering her condition.

☆ Bonus ☆

The fun part about all the research and experimenting you have to do is all the time you're able to spend with Mai now. You sit down with her for all her meals, so different from only weeks ago when your girlfriend would disappear into the night at the very mention of dinner. Now you sit with her and brace yourself for the most unappetizing gruel you've ever had the displeasure of dining on, a notebook or a recorder at your side to track the ideas and complaints that come to mind.

You hold her hand and let her squeeze while the pain washes over her, sitting in silent comfort until she's ready to talk- then maybe make a few jokes about the awful meal to get a smile back on her face. You grill her for everything she experiences- taste, thoughts, pain, smell, anything- and the two of you spend an hour or more brainstorming together. You tell her about the foods you love, and steadily she opens up about which ones she wants to try one day, and the meals she misses most from before her taste changed. She hasn't been cured, yet, but being able to share the experience with someone is life changing in its own way.

She doesn't dread when it's time to eat anymore. What's more, alongside the thoughts clouding her mind as she eats, she can feel how much you love her as she eats your cooking.

She can hear the thoughts you had during the hours you worked to make something that wouldn't hurt her, something she could enjoy.

The first time she eats a meal you worked on, using all the weird ingredients from Sector Seven and all the tricks you've learned, she breaks down crying.

You're afraid you may have messed up- that something you did to the food is hurting her.

She's not in pain, though, and she'll tell you that when she can stop crying.

The first words she manages to choke out through a sob are,

"I love you too."

[warpedpuppeteer]

20 Questions for fic writers

Tagged by the ever lovely @scknight05

1-How many works do you have on ao3?

- Only 18 in total. 6 for Buddie.

2-What’s your total ao3 word count?

- 78,631

3-What fandoms do you write for?

Currently just for 911. BTS. I wrote for some anime fandoms back in the days of ffnet.

4-Top 5 fics by kudos?

♡ They're all Buddie fics!

This is Our Happily Ever After

I’ll rearrange the letters of your name to spell love

Lies written in ink (can be facts too)

This is my devotion (you are my prayer)

Traces of your love under my skin

5-Do you respond to comments?

Absolutely. Might take some time but I love getting comments and replying to each one of them 🥺

6-What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None (yet?). I don't like writing angsty endings. Such a huge sucker for happy endings!

7-What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

All of them? 😂 But I guess, without spoiling the ending, this probably counts as the happiest so far.

I’ll rearrange the letters of your name to spell love

8-Do you get hate on your fics?

Not in this fandom no. (I've only received hate once, ever)

9-Do you write smut?

Yes. I've written drabbles but never a full fic because smut fics aren't my thing. I'm not very good at it because I tend to lose patience very fast 😂.

10-Craziest crossover?

None. I've never written crossovers. Generally not a fan of it. But in the future, who knows?

11-Have you ever had a fic stolen?

None that I'm aware of so far. I'm not known enough for this to happen 😂

12-Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone offered to translate one with credits but I don't think it was ever posted 😂

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

Not anything published. I'd love to try once but I'm not sure how that'd work.

14-All time favorite ship?

As someone who can never decide on anything this is the worst question you can ask me 😂. I love too many. Buddie is definitely one of the top ones along with Madney, Henren and Bathena. Others include Merthur, Cherik, Kagakuro, Makoharu, Root/Shaw, Morgwen, Stony, WinterFalcon, McDanno, SNS, WeiLan, Edwin, Stormpilot, TouYuu (my babies), KuroFei.

15-What’s a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

So far none.

16-What are your writing strengths?

Writing fluff probably; I've been told I write a lot of feels inducing fluff? 😂. I really love writing about gentle small acts of love between characters. Just them taking care of each other. Sappy stuff.

17-What are your writing weaknesses?

Time management and actually getting to the writing part 💀. My writing is very muse based, I can't just sit down and start writing like some people. It's truly a struggle 😭

18-Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

Never written any in mine. Read plenty and I'm fine with it. It's only slightly frustrating when the translation is not included because it takes me out of the story when I'm trying to read and translate at the same time.

19-First fandom you wrote in?

Before I even knew what fanfiction was, I had multiple notebooks glued together with the story of an OC in the X-men Evolution universe 😂. The officially published one is either Bleach or Naruto, can't remember.

20-Favorite fic you’ve written?

Listen, I really kind of love all of them. Not because they're good or whatever but because I wrote them you know. Like, I really created something. Every fic good or bad has a little piece of my soul in it so I just love all of them 🥺

And which one I like best differs from moment to moment. Currently it's probably Lies written in ink (can be facts too) because it was a bit of a different writing style for me.

Tagging: @lemotmo @eddiediazismyhusband if you both haven't done this yet. And anyone else who wants to join please do and tag me so that I can read it 🫶🏽.

[whoseafraidofliloleme]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Saw this and decided to do it myself... Obviously no one tagged me. As I carry on procrastinating the final chapter of HYGTG, lemme do this 😂 Also gonna change from AO3 to Tumblr 😊.

1. How many works do you have on Tumblr?

I've got 21 works, majority of them are Enhypen smaus and then there's the few one shots/Imagines. And my longest fanfic which is Invisible a Han Seojun fanfic.

2. What's your total Tumblr word count?

So this is just counting Invisible and the one shots Ive written, 41k... Majority of that is Invisible

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Kpop, specifically the group Enhypen. I add Harry Potter into that.

4. Top five fics by Notes?

Invisible at the top with the masterlist having 649 notes... Ngl seeing this makes me want to rewrite Invisible...

Unexpected Partners has 468 notes. Which makes sense, my Jungwon fics tend to be quite popular.

Peace has 365 notes. This was my first Enha & Harry Potter fic. I do love this one.

You Belong With Me has 337 notes. Another Harry Potter AU with a Jungwon redemption arc...

The Second Choice has 307 notes. Another Jay smau but this one is a Office Au with a toxic bestie.

Honestly apart from Invisible and Unexpected Partners being top 1 and 2, I wasn't expecting any of the other ones on this list.

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yep, I wish I got more comments but I always reply to the comments I do get.

Shout out to @shinkenprincess-oh for always commenting <3

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

I am very much against angsty endings. Happy endings all the way.

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

All my fics have happy endings so I don't even know which one has the happiest ending...

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Havent gotten any yet and I dont want to get hate either please.

9. Do you write smut?

Nope and I never will.

10. Craziest crossover?

I guess constantly mixing Harry Potter with kpop is as crazy as my crossovers get.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully no but I'd like for it to not happen.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope but I am open to it if anyone interested.

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

Nope, that would be interesting to do though.

14. All time favorite ship?

Okay so thats a hard one... I'm gonna go with my top 4.

Harmione {Harry Potter and Hermione Granger}. I am a diehard Harry and Hermione shipper. I just love them so much.

Olicity {Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak}. I was shipping them from the moment Felicity was introduced on the show.

Damianette {Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Damian Wayne}. All my knowledge of DC has come from reading Maribat fics and I do not regret that in the slightest.

Rogan {Rory Gilmore and Logan Huntzberger}. They will forever be my ultimate ship. In my headcanon they ended up together happily ever after.

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

Its more like whats an idea that I actually want to write... Its a hard one cause I have so many ideas running about in my head that very few of them actually make it to being published...

16. What are your writing strengths?

I guess coming up with backstories for my characters? Making people care even though you are only seeing the story through texts and tweets? Character development and growth?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Haha... Everything?

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I think its quite interesting but I would like a translation somewhere so that I at least know whats been said. Unless its important to the plot then its fine.

19. First fandom you wrote in?

Technically it was Pixelberry Choices Mobile Games stories(? dunno what else to call them) specifically I wrote for High School Story and High School Story Class Act. I have since deleted those fics from my tumblr and Wattpad, they are still on AO3 but I've orphaned them.

Invisible my True Beauty fic is the one that I count as the first fandom I wrote in.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

I legitimately cant pick one, so shameless plug for whoever comes across this to check out my Enhypen Masterlist and True Beauty Masterlist.

Whoever wants to do this, go and have fun cause I have no idea who to tag...

[mariana-oconnor]

The Greek Interpreter pt 3

Back to Mr Melas and his mysterious plaster-faced man.

...as he opened the door of our room he gave a start of surprise. Looking over his shoulder, I was equally astonished. His brother Mycroft was sitting smoking in the arm-chair.

Given the fact that it seems as though earth's orbit through space is more erratic than Mycroft's schedule, and easier to divert, this is quite astonishing. Also... didn't they literally just leave him? The man must have moved like the wind.

"Here it is," said he, "written with a J pen on royal cream paper by a middle-aged man with a weak constitution. 'Sir,' he says, 'in answer to your advertisement of to-day's date, I beg to inform you that I know the young lady in question very well. If you should care to call upon me I could give you some particulars as to her painful history. She is living at present at The Myrtles, Beckenham. Yours faithfully, J. Davenport.'"

Is she really living there at present? Mr Davenport? Is she? are you sure she isn't living somewhere else right now?

Also, lol at Mycroft being sure to put in the type of pen and the fact that the writer is middle-aged and has a weak constitution.

It was almost dark before we found ourselves in Pall Mall, at the rooms of Mr Melas. A gentleman had just called for him, and he was gone.

What? The man who was told he would be in grave danger if he told anyone, and then you broadcast the fact he had told people in all the daily papers is missing? I'm sure this is absolutely fine and in no way at all worrying. Definitely not connected to the fact that you broadcast the fact that he had told people the villain's secret in the newspaper.

Mr Melas is totally fine.

"He wasn't a tall, handsome, dark young man?" "Oh, nor, sir. He was a little gentleman, with glasses, thin in the face, but very pleasant in his ways, for he was laughing al the time that he was talking."

Well shucks. Who could have foreseen this? No way to have stopped it. Absolutely unpredictable circumstances here. No one to blame. No one at all. It was impossible to foresee this turn of events.

"He is a man of no physical courage, as they are well aware from their experience the other night. This villain was able to terrorise him the instant that he got into his presence. No doubt they want his professional services, but, having used him, they may be inclined to punish him for what they will regard as his treachery."

Excuse me? 'no physical courage', wtf is that supposed to mean? How is courage physical, for one, and secondly, did we listen to the same story? Where he managed to get information from the prisoner without alerting the bad guys even though he was scared. Then afterwards, rather than staying quiet for his own safety he brought the tale to the attention of people he thought could help? Wtf do you consider courage, Holmes? And then he just went about his day, knowing his life had been threatened? no physical courage?

Gonna have to respectfully disagree on this point.

Also 'they may be inclined to punish him for [...] his treachery'? You think?

So weird that no one seems to have seen this coming. Like, my dudes, you took an ad out in the paper. In the era when everyone (except Holmes) reads the paper. What did you think was going to happen?

On reaching Scotland Yard, however, it was more than an hour before we could get Inspector Gregson and comply with the legal formalities which would enable us to enter the house.

'We can't go in without a search warrant' is an age old complaint, it seems. I love that this is in here.

"You may have observed the same wheel-tracks going the other way. But the outward-bound ones were very much deeper--so much so that we can say for a certainty that there was a very considerable weight on the carriage." "You get a trifle beyond me there," said the inspector, shrugging his shoulder.

Little sad for Gregson that this is 'beyond' him. This is one of the clearest and simplest pieces of evidence we've seen Holmes provide.

"It is a mercy that you are on the side of the force, and not against it, Mr Holmes," remarked the inspector, as he noted the clever way in which my friend had forced back the catch. "Well, I think that under the circumstances we may enter without an invitation."

Yes. Because you got that search warrant... that you mentioned before. Not by name, exactly. But you got legal right to enter the property. So... you can enter the property? Unless you still needed an invitation even with that, but if you had an invitation wouldn't you already have right to enter? Or maybe they were legally only supposed to enter while someone was present.

He dashed up, the inspector and I at his heels, while his brother Mycroft followed as quickly as his great bulk would permit.

Did Watson mention that Mycroft is fat? I'm not sure he did.

Peering in, we could see that the only light in the room came from a dull blue flame which flickered from a small brass tripod in the centre. It threw a livid, unnatural circle upon the floor, while in the shadows beyond we saw the vague loom of two figures which crouched against the wall. From the open door there reeked a horrible poisonous exhalation which set us gasping and coughing.

Well this is horrifying. Slowly gassing people to death. These guys are really horrible. Such a terrible way to kill someone. Are they trying to make it seem like an accident?

"Where is a candle? I doubt if we could strike a match in that atmosphere. Hold the light at the door and we shall get them out, Mycroft, now!"

Because an open flame is... better than a match? I do not understand this logic.

The other, who was secured in a similar fashion, was a tall man in the last stage of emaciation, with several strips of sticking-plaster arranged in a grotesque pattern over his face. He had ceased to moan as we laid him down, and a glance showed me that for him at least our aid had come too late. Mr Melas, however, still lived, and in less than an hour, with the aid of ammonia and brandy I had the satisfaction of seeing him open his eyes, and of knowing that my hand had drawn him back from that dark valley in which all paths meet.

RIP Paul. They really fucked you over with that newspaper ad, didn't they? Your full name just out there in the world, being suspicious. Or maybe you outlived your usefulness to them.

Glad Mr Melas is okay, and it's nice to see Watson using his expertise to save the day a little bit. Even if the circumstances are pretty awful. This story is pretty dark, especially compared to the blue carbuncle goose chase (even with its brief commentary on the prison system) and the yellow face was pretty optimistic, even if I feel like everyone needed a lot of therapy. Here we have a man imprisoned, tortured and then gassed to death. And another almost suffering the same fate.

Watson's poetic turn of phrase softens it a little, but also makes it a bit more melacholy. Bleak, I think is the word I would use for this one.

His visitor, on entering his rooms, had drawn a life-preserver from his sleeve, and had so impressed him with the fear of instant and inevitable death that he had kidnapped him for the second time. Indeed, it was almost mesmeric, the effect which this giggling ruffian had produced upon the unfortunate linguist, for he could not speak of him save with trembling hands and a blanched cheek.

I am informed that a life-preserver is a type of bludgeon. And this little giggling man sounds utterly terrifying. I would absolutely do whatever he said if he threatened to bludgeon me to death. Watson seems surprised that Mr Melas is suffering from trauma. I get that Watson's a little... unhinged? regarding life or death situations, but between this and the lacking physical courage comment from before. Rude. Guy almost dies multiple times and it's definitely partially their fault for not trying to protect him. And they're busy judging him for going along with it.

And now we get a bit of an exposition dump.

...the unfortunate young lady came of a wealthy Grecian family, and that she had been on a visit to some friends in England. While there she had met a young man named Harold Latimer, who had acquired an ascendancy over her and had eventually persuaded her to fly with him. Her friends, shocked at the event, had contented themselves with informing her brother at Athens, and had then washed their hands of the matter.

A+ friends she has there. Wow.

'Acquired an ascendancy over her' is such a poetic turn of phrase for 'manipulated and controlled her'. This whole story is tragic and horrible. And so dark.

The brother, on his arrival in England, had imprudently placed himself in the power of Latimer and of his associate, whose name was Wilson Kemp—that through his ignorance of the language he was helpless in their hands, had kept him a prisoner, and had endeavoured by cruelty and starvation to make him sign away his own and his sister's property.

Seriously, this is horrible. Oh look, these people have no support system and no way to communicate, let's take advantage of them and torture them and no one will care. If it wasn't for Mr Melas, no one would even have thought to look.

...the plaster over the face had been for the purpose of making recognition difficult in case she should ever catch a glimpse of him. Her feminine perception, however, had instantly seen through the disguise when, on the occasion of the interpreter's visit, she had seen him for the first time.

'Her feminine perception'... i.e. the disguise was terrible and she actually knew what her brother looked like. Feminine perception. Maybe I should argue that in the next D&D session 'my character's female so I should get advantage on perception checks, Sherlock Holmes says so.' Lolol. This is made more amusing to me by the fact that I am both female and well-regarded as being one of the least observant people most of my friends and family know. My mother makes a game of it sometimes 'can you tell what's different in this room?'

No. The answer is always no.

Months afterwards a curious newspaper cutting reached us from Buda-Pesth. It told how two Englishmen who had been travelling with a woman had met with a tragic end. They had each been stabbed, it seems, and the Hungarian police were of opinion that they had quarrelled and had inflicted mortal injuries upon each other. Holmes, however, is, I fancy, of a different way of thinking, and holds to this day that, if one could find the Grecian girl, one might learn how the wrongs of herself and her brother came to be avenged.

Fuck yeah, Sophy. Stab them. I hope they knew it was you as they died. There is at least a little satisfaction in that. There's a whole story in those last few sentences which would be an epic revenge tale.

I had genuinely forgotten how many of these stories end with things happening off screen without Holmes or Watson being involved. This is another case where the villains get their justice meted out extra-legally, but this time it at least seems to have been a result of their actions rather than divine intervention. The point of the stories is clearly the method not the resolution.

It's... not satisfying. And like I mentioned before, it's a really dark tale. I didn't not remember it ending so horrifically. Also Sophy's friends are all terrible and should be ashamed of themselves.

I watched Magpie Murders on the BBC this week and the whole thing revolves around the fact that the last chapter of a whodunnit is missing. They say multiple times that it's the most important part of the book, and I don't necessarily disagree, but its strange to see in these stories, which were not the first mystery stories but early in the genre's evolution where the emphasis lies. Whodunnit is important, but the comeuppance clearly isn't. And even the who isn't as important as how Holmes gets there.

The slight mentions of mesmerism are interesting, and could totally be rolled into my 'Holmes but supernatural' alternate universe, where Kemp is accomplished at mind-control. That would make it even darker, if anything though.

This whole thing is just a tragedy from start to end.

Copper Beeches next - and I've read that one many times. Copper Beeches and the Solitary Cyclist used to be my favourites as a kid. I'll be interested to see how much I remember. Also, it'll be interesting to see what current!me makes of past!me's taste.

[kay-elle-cee]

Last day?!? Oh how time flies! Please don’t mind me being late to this, but it’s better late than never, right?

First I wanted to say, Congratulations on this milestone that you received. It just shows how many hearts you’ve touched across the world with your writing and personality! I’m always happy to read your stories, and of course the angsty ones are my absolute favorite, your writing is very addicting. I hope you know that I appreciate all the effort you put into your stories, and behind the scenes takes on the characters. 

It never ceases to amaze me, with the amount of talent and passion you have when you write your stories. Each story you write is special in its own way, and I’ve already told you which are my favorites, and as always IBFIBG will have a special place in my heart, no matter what. If one day you decide to step away from writing for any reason at all, I hope you know the impact that you have not only on myself but also on each and everyone of your followers/subscribers.

 I hope you continue doing what you love to do. You have probably received many congratulations and hopefully receive many more, I just wanted to share how much I appreciate you not only as an author but as a person as well. I feel as though people seem to forget that behind every name there is a person, and your name will always be special and one that I look forward to seeing each time I go on Tumblr or A03. Your writing is truly captivating and I hope you know that even if you are unhappy with your stories for whatever reason, someone out there is falling in love with the stories you chose to share. 

Now for the asks, both game/TSwift

 Getting to know your fic writer:

#61) Why do you continue writing fics? 

#24) Worst writing advice anyone has given you? 

TSwift Song lyric game:

#31) This is me swallowing my pride (Only if you want to of course, no pressure)

Hopefully you’ve been getting enough rest. If not, feel free to hold off on responding to this until you get some much needed r&r. I’m happy to have read one of your Jilymicro fics while I was scrolling through Tumblr. I hope you never doubt your abilities when it comes to writing, because there are a lot of people who care for you, and love seeing you on their dash, including me of course. I wanted to send this before I head off to work, again congrats, you deserve all the recognition that you deserve and then some.

Nena I'm gonna cry over here, you are so lovely and I hope you know how much I enjoy seeing YOU on my tumblr/discord/ao3. <3333

For someone who's written over 200k words this year, I fear I can't find the right ones to fully respond to all your kindness except thank you, I appreciate you, and thank you again <333333. I'm so happy (and baffled) that people continue to read my little scenarios and feel affected by them. I know I've said I've been a little burnt out lately, but I don't plan on stepping away (in a permanent capacity) any time soon. Just need a little R&R (if I could actually make myself stop and rest, that would be GREAT lol).

I know I've already tagged you in your prompt (here on ao3), so now for your questions!

#61) Why do you continue writing fics?  I enjoy it, and I keep. getting. ideas. 😅 I remember when I was finishing up restless waves rise and fall I was like "oh man I only have like 4 other ideas....what happens if I run out?" and let's just say that is 1000% not a problem anymore. Now my problem is "how can I get through all these ideas before something in RL demands my undivided focus?" which might account for why I've been SO active this year.

I talk about how I work in a creative field, and that's true, but I don't get to create from scratch, and fic scratches that itch. And it's totally at my whim! No client briefs to meet, no writing to rigidly fit what other people expect, just....whatever the fuck I want.

#24) Worst writing advice anyone has given you?  "Write what you know." I think that's fine advice to get your feet wet, but if we all did that, I think ao3 would be boring as hell 😅. That's not to say if it works for you, don't do it—if writing what you know is what works, great! But for me, I had to break out of that mindset to really start writing some of my favorite things.

Thank you again, Nena! I appreciate you so much! <3

[rudnitskaia]

oc question time!! but first, we hope ur doing well, rudni <333 OKAYOKAYOKAY

AHEM!

what can you tell us abt the father-daughter relationship augusto has with mau? we wanna know all that we can abt them 🤲‼️

WOAH, DUDES, I'M FINE, BUT LEMME HUG YOU BOTH, MY LOVELY PUMPKINS, I HOPE YOU'RE ALSO DOING WELL AND WILL DO FOREVER AND EVER ✨😭✨

*politely coughs*

So, to your excellent question. :3

I guess, when you imagine a healthy family bond between father and daughter, that will be it.

Augusto may not be a good man, but he is definitely a good father. His parental love and care for Maura are beyond any limits, and he did everything he could to give her a decent life, even if for him that meant to abandon everything he had and to start over from scratch in a totally unfamiliar country. Surprisingly, even with all the life struggles and his own difficult character, he managed to create a perfect balance between parenting and giving Mau enough freedom, so in the end she has grown into a confident and self-reliant young woman. But God forbid anyone hurt his precious daughter... believe me, no one would want to meet furious Augusto Venza. Especially for that kind of reason.

Mau loves her father, too. She has always trusted him and never doubted the statement that "papa will always help", moreover, she never felt bad about the absence of the mother in her life. As I've said, she had enough freedom to explore the world herself and form her own personality, while always feeling herself protected and supported. She also cares for Augusto and makes sure he doesn't forget about himself, which he unintentionally does sometimes.

So, basically, these two are a warm and healthy family.

But the latest circumstances of their lives, when Mau was badly hurt and Augusto, uh, eliminated the factor that hurt her, made Augusto way too overprotective towards Mau and much more paranoidal and hostile to the world around. That created a strain in their relationship. Though Maura understands why everything is the way it is, and why her father acts that way, recently, for the first time in her whole life, she is frustrated by the lack of leeway and personal space and feels herself caged. They discussed it dozens of times, argued much, but to no avail. Until the problem with the syndicate is solved somehow, it is hard to change anything.

However, those two still love each other and, I guess, almost nothing can break their family bond.

Thank you for that question, I'm very-very happy ✨❤️✨

[purplesurveys]

1877

Have you ever bought a YouTuber’s merch? Have I...I don't think so. They make shipping to the Philippines next to impossible anyway, so buying merch isn't even something I've ever had to consider. I went to Fanfest when it was still cool, but that's it.

Do you think oatmeal tastes better when made with water or milk? I had oatmeal for breakfast every single day from the ages of 4 to 10, so I have a silent vow that I'd never have it again lol. That said and to address the question, I don't have a preference.

Have you ever left a note in a library book? Nope, doubt that I have.

What time of day do you prefer to wash your hair? In the morning, just before starting work. It's less hair care reasons and more of a general want to feel clean and fresh for the day.

Has anyone ever spread lies about you? I'm sure this has happened.

Have you ever taken a photograph with a celebrity? If so, did it turn out the way you wanted, or do you wish you could retake it? I do have photos with a few celebrities and athletes; it's part of the job. Tbh they're always taken by a professional photographer haha so the photos always turn out fine – but as for me, personally, I don't like asking for photos. I feel like I'd be a bother.

If you could move out of your home country permanently, would you? If so, where would you go? Nowhere that would be a massive culture shock or would entail a language barrier. I've long thought that moving to a fellow Southeast Asian country would be enough for me – I get the change in scenery, but retain the general culture and way of living. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, or Vietnam would all be good options.

Is there a celebrity that everyone else seems to love, but you find totally overrated? Why is it that you don’t like them? Taylor Swift. Her music doesn't do anything for me.

If you could volunteer for any charity, which one would you choose? Do you think it’s more important to help humans, or are animal and environmental charities equally important? I don't volunteer in the form of hours, but I donate to select animal shelters several times a month. Sometimes for specific cases when an animal situation is really dire; sometimes to shelters as a whole. I'm also not into pitting genuine causes against each other – but for me personally I'd always prioritize animal-related initiatives.

Do you prefer holidays where you relax, or actually do things? I can't imagine spending money on a vacation just to not do anything. My Filipino practicality and frugality will force me to go out, get those 20,000 steps, and get my money's worth lol.

Do you think that after we die our spirit is still alive? I don't believe in spirits. I also don't think that we continue to linger even from another dimension...although that'd be pretty cool. But I don't think that happens.

Has anybody ever told you that you could be a model? I don't get that. Could be because I'm quite short.

Do you use different kinds of moisturizer for different body parts? ie. hand lotion for your hands, face cream for your face. Or do you just use one moisturizer for all body parts? I don't. I'm not very particular about products. I have like BB cream and that's it.

Have you ever felt like you were someone’s rebound? No.

Has anybody ever broken up with you over something really pathetic? What was it? Have you ever been dumped in a disrespectful way? (eg. through text, through a friend..) No.

Did you have a lot of role models as a kid? Didn't have one as a kid. I was too busy surviving on my own and getting the few crumbs of childhood I managed to get...

Do you feel like anyone looks up to you? Why or why not? Doubt it. I don't try to be a role model, so I wouldn't be surprised if I'm not anyone's.

What was the last thing you found offensive? Just another new thing related to the current China-PH dispute that's pissed me off for years.

Who is the nicest person you know? Angela has no bad blood in her. Like at all.

Do you feel safe in your country? I'm literally actively always on red alert for being catcalled or honked at whenever I'm out and if you're in a shady shady area you might get held up or stabbed, so...no not really...

Do you feel safe where you live? Yeah, but this is kind of a cheat because I live in a gated village.

Have you been falsely diagnosed with something by a bad doctor? Kind of, yeah. I feel bad about it because that man is a good family friend, but idk he was wrong lol. I had been sick for over a week, 39ºC fever refusing to go away – we go to him and he gives me these meds that didn't do any fucking thing. I start to panic and Angela's mom steps in to help, gives me a prescription for UTI and my fever literally goes away in half an hour.

Have you ever had a doctor refuse to treat you? As far as I can remember, haven't experienced anything like this.

Name the strangest game you’ve ever played (video game or real game): Butt Ugly Martians was definitely a concept, but I loved that stupid little game nonetheless. WarioWare is also an Experience haha.

Do you know anyone who has been struck by lightning before? Nope.

Which cartoon character would you want to keep as a pet? Gary!

Do you like marshmallows? Dislike dislike dislike.

What is your favorite flavor of candy cane? Not into candy canes.

Have you ever fostered an animal? Haven't.

Do you still take hot showers when it’s hot out? For the most part yes, because I find cold water uncomfortable.

When writing $ sign, do you draw one line through the S or two? I don't really get to write at a lot haha but hm what do I do? I think I do two.

What animal have you always wanted as a pet but couldn’t have? I've always just wanted dogs. Elephants are my other favorite, but never wanted them as a pet.

List three people you’ve had crushes on: A grade school science teacher LOL; a high school science teacher (why were they all teaching science??????); and I say this with 200% shame but there was a Korean tour guide from my trip in Vietnam who looked exactly like SVT Mingyu it was pretty amazing lmao??

Have you ever thrown up from cramps? Nah. My period cramps have thankfully never given me so hard a time that I've had to call in sick or throw up or whatever. Leg cramps that I get from sleeping have been much more merciless.

List three people you had a hard time forgiving. My mom, my brother, my ex.

Who is the most spiritual person you know? This celebrity I follow for work purposes is really into spirit soul crystal yoga other meditation stuff.

Would you ever start a vlog? I'd love to. I've always meant to start, and it would be the non-talking types where I never show my face – like literally just walking logs of my life and how I've experienced it in that moment. No one even has to watch them but me. But I can't bother to spend on vlogging equipment and idk how to edit videos and don't have the time to do it either hahaha.

Are your dreams coming true yet? I think I can get to say that they are, one at a time, yeah!

Do you struggle with depression? I did before.

Are you haunted by your past? I do not let it bother me.

What medical conditions do you have? Just scoliosis.

Do you use a Magic Bullet? Question gave me whiplash for a sec lol, but no I don't.

What does your apron look like? I don't own one.

What are your favorite spicy foods? Angry Chapaguri is the best. I also like spicy ramen, tteokbokki, curry, Bicol express, sisig with chilis...I'm pretty big on spicy.

Which do you like better: being an adult or being a kid? Adult. I enjoy the freedom.

Were you excited to be a teenager on your thirteenth birthday? I was too busy being depressed I'm pretty sure. I don't have memories of most of my birthdays, up until my 18th.

Did you feel insecure in high school? Just the first half. I was able to find my footing and my circle by junior year.

Would you ever be friends with someone who was suicidal? What a complicated question.

Who was the biggest bully in high school? Bullies stopped being a thing in high school, or I at least didn't hang around circles where that could potentially have been a thing.

What was your favorite class in high school? History.

Would you rather have a daughter or a son? Daughter.

Have you ever written to an advice columnist? Nope.

Have you ever had a doctor not believe what you told him? No.

If you’re female, would you feel uncomfortable having a male gynecologist? I imagine so.

Do you like Lisa Frank? I didn't particularly like it, but I just experienced fomo as a kid because the rich kids had Lisa Frank stuff.

What gives you nightmares? What I've observed is that I tend to have bad dreams if I'm currently going through something that is deeply troubling me. Like if a work day went to SHIIIIIIIT shit and it's because of something that was my fault; or if I get into a particularly bad argument with someone and it doesn't get resolved by the end of the day...those are usually the times that I would get bad dreams.

Were you ever hospitalized as a child? Kind of. I was much younger than a child, though. I was a few months old and was super dehydrated and my family couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Turns out I was drinking the wrong milk.

Did you get senior pictures taken? Yes.

What color is your bicycle? I don't have one.

Did you ever have to take home a fake baby in health class? No.

Would you rather wear ivory or white on your wedding day? What color will your bridesmaids wear? White. Beige would look great on them.

Would you rather have a swimming pool or trampoline? Pool.

Do you think babies are cute? Not really. It varies.

Do you dream about the future a lot? Sure.

Do you think about your past a lot? Sometimes, more so in the context of thinking how fast life can pass by you. Like being reminded that Covid was nearly half a decade ago.

How good are you at living in the moment? Extremely good, almost to a fault. I savor the present so much that I, like, forget to memorialize them – I always forget to take photos and videos so when I want to make an album of sorts, I'm always lacking in content hahaha and have little to look back on in general. Just from our recent trip in Vietnam, I had to borrow 75% of the photos from my sister for my IG post hahahaha

Have you ever questioned God’s existence? I did that when I was 10; never looked back since and never regretted it.

Vanilla frosting or chocolate? Chocolate.

What’s your favorite foreign cuisine? Indian, Korean, Malaysian, and Thai.

Have you ever moved to another state? I've moved cities and regions.

Did you do anything productive today? Yes. But I don't want to discuss it since it's all related to work.

Can you say the alphabet backwards? Not in a quick succession haha. I'd get there eventually.

Do you like flowers? Some.

Have you ever thought you were gonna die? Sure.

What kind of mood are you in today? A bit relieved as I am on leave tomorrow, but I hate leaving my team behind so I know I'll do a fake leave anyway.

What are you craving right now? Chapaguri and samgyupsal......................ugh

Is there anyone you would seriously punch right now if you had the chance? Sure.

What is worse, physical or emotional pain? Not fair to compare.

Have you ever walked in on somebody doing something… questionable? Questionable can mean so many things lol, so yeah.

If you were to make videos on YouTube, what would they be of? Non-talking vlogs.

Posting pictures of yourself in a bathing suit on the internet - ok or not? It's fine. I've done it before, would do it again.

Do you typically laugh when somebody falls down? If it ends up having quite the funny effect, I might laugh. Hehehe. Especially if I'm close with the person.

What is the most disturbing movie you’ve ever watched? Eraserhead, Under the Skin (which I don't think I even finished), at least the first half of Full Metal Jacket, and I'm Thinking of Ending Things.

Your opinion of Katy Perry, please? Her older music made up a big part of my growing-up years, so that's something I'd always have a soft spot for. Idrk what she's up to these days though.

If you could say anything to your Mom right now… what would it be? See you tomorrow!

[bylightofdawn]

Seeds Snippet

I STG every time I write Jaster having some wholesome conversation with his men, but especially Jango or Myles or even Arla. I just project so hard how I would want this confident and yet caring father figure to speak to me.

It's prolly totally unrealistic and prolly makes some people roll their eyes so fucking hard in cringe but as someone who pretty much never had a positive male father figure in their life (save for the 7 or 8 years my mom was married to my step-father. And well...my mom is a shitshow of a person so really I had very little positive support growing up) I manifest this energy so god damned hard.

And maybe it does nothing for anyone else but it helps heal something within myself and that's honestly kinda beautiful. I want someone to reach out, grab me by the shoulder and tell me they believe in me. I think that's kinda a universal want everyone has but for people like me who never got that growing up? I guess we gotta water our own emotional crops so to speak. And if I do that healing via fanfiction so be it. And I like to THINK I do have some balance in how I write him. He's not perfect, he fucks up in Seeds plenty of times and makes blunders and is constantly learning but sometimes I write a scene that resonates so hard with me as a reader AND a writer.

So have a little snippet of some Jaster and Myles scmoopy dynamic. I guess the context is Jaster us proposing to Myles that he steps up as leader of the True Mandalorians while he's decommissioned and he use this as a trial run to see if he wants to step up full-time into the position of being Jaster's second in command.

“Well don’t think you’re getting off lightly. I mean, I want you to lead the True Mandalorians in the meantime. Make the important decisions and step up if someone has a concern or a question. Aran and the others will help you so you won’t be completely tossed out there on your own. But consider this a temporary test trial and depending on how things go and how you feel about it, I want you to think about stepping up as my second in command.”

The look of surprise on Myles’s face might have been funny if Jaster hadn’t been so dead serious in his delivery.

His recent conversation with Jango was pretty fresh in his mind so he was quick to tack on. “I don’t want you to feel like I’m putting any pressure or expectation on you. I want you to try it on and see if it fits. Hell, kid, you’ve been helping me run the Company for years. You probably know more about running this Company as much as I do and I think you’d do an amazing job at it. You’re honestly the most logical choice in my eyes, which is why I’m making you the offer.”

Myles found himself at a loss for words initially as a conflicting wash of emotions crashed through him. A part of him wanted to leap at the chance while another was terrified by the responsibility. It was swiftly followed by its ugly twin, self-doubt but hearing Jaster say he thought he would do a great job at it quieted those doubts.

“Alright, I’d be honored, thank you.” The younger man finally managed, voice husky with emotion. There was a sympathetic look of understanding on Jaster’s face as he reached out to touch Myles on the wrist where his fingers sat twisting the bedding into nervous knots.

“It’s scary at first, the enormous responsibility and feeling like you cannot let your fellow soldier down. It does get easier with time and experience. But this is probably the best time for you to take up the reins. We’re in between campaigns at the moment and I’ll be here too. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon hopefully.”

“Kark me, you better not!”

“You’ll do fine, son. You’ve always exceeded my expectations each and every time I put a challenge before you. I know you’ll do the same now.”

[r41nbowrumpusp4rty]

Yeah! We're totally in the same river headed the same way, just in nearby boats instead of the same one. The philosophers in my brain find art particularly interesting & the only way to appease them is to ramble at length in the tags. Invoked so directly, i'm compelled to ramble in the body of the post lol

i'm not positive if there's a single all encompassing definition of art. One i've been thinking about lately is "anything that is interpreted by a human as art".

To point at a sunset & claim it a self portrait is art. To the audience, artist included, the piece can't be pinned to to words or the sky alone. The movement of clouds unswayed. The statement has no weight without the sky, the Art would only be a sunset without the words.

Pushing this definition a bit, a child finds regular rock & imagines a story where it's an archeological find. With how little kids can be sometimes, they genuinely believe it to be an effigy, carved by somebody long ago. The rock is unchanged but it holds real artistic value to the one person who would Never claim they were the artist of it, as that would ruin the status of the find. To me, an omniscient analyst in this situation, the kid in question is the Artist of the piece whatever they think.

This frame however, doesn't cover a lot of the stuff that i without a doubt consider art. Like many of op's examples, but i want to dig into the bath one a bit more. It's an instance where the artist & audience are often the same entity & i would warrant that many people who set up elaborate baths might balk at the idea of it being called art, and only some could be convinced.

Another definition i think about is "intentional expression" with that intention being a vague & nebulous concept, that can cover things like a child imbuing a stone with personal significance or self care.

I keep bringing up Artist & Audience. two sides of the same coin.

i feel like art is most Art while it's being engaged with, witnessed, or reminisced. The latter two's roles prominently audience-esque in nature. An artist can't help being audience to their own work. the relationship between people an the things that speak to them are what elevates them to Art. The role/relationship of Artist/Audience matters to me regardless of informed intention or willingness to engage with their actions as art.

Back to the necessity track, i think the point that unless under extreme duress, people will make art, supports art being a Need. i'm hypothesising that situations where self expression is supressed, but people are otherwise cared for would be gnarly on the psyche. No idea how to test/most relavant data to hunt, instead i offer a free scifi dystopia concept & allegory of the cave fanfic.

So here's torment nexus Eden, where there's free roaming humans, comfortable temperature, no serious predators or dangers, plentiful food, crops watered, skin clear, etc. And most important, all powerful panopticon which uses a laser to deliver a mosquito bite type punisment to anyone doing more than the bare minimum communicating, food preparation, grooming, & so on (concept of bare minimum here is interesting too)

i would personally crumble to a fine dust in less than a week, as a rough guess.

even with the physical necessity for language minimized by the environment, the social species in me would Need to let everyone know what flavor of a nuisance i am & under the iron fist of the panopticon my will would be reduced to rancid pudding.

now to final* tangent town

i think the overlap between language & art makes them impossible to separate. Many mediums invoke language as a tool. Even the wordless elements of different mediums can be analyzed with their own grammers. Works regardless of medium are imortalized & made famous by the careful words of critics. A commonly agreed upon success for a piece of art is to be spoken about, reframed in the words of many.

*final until i inevitably have more thoughts lol

art doesn't have to be good or deep to be Art, is the thing. art can be soulless. marvel movies and SUV ads are Art. they're just bad, shallow art

[meltingpotimagines]

Dating Asano as an E Class Student

Warnings: None

Request: "I would like to see fanfiction from assassination classroom with asano gakushuu, where reader is an e class student but she is with gakushuu (and it's totally normal, i mean he has his personality so it's not easy, but he's not too toxic or anything) and e class find out they are a couple. Maybe also some relationship headcanons (like what his father thinks about it etc.)." - @nemezisi

dating asano

as an e class student

name a bigger challenge i'll wait

y'all definitely had to hide it for a while

but nothing stays hidden forever

especially at that school aksjsks i still can't believe koro wasn't outed

class e was... well, let's just say not exactly happy at first

i mean, dating the enemy? have you lost your m i n d?

they weren't mean to you, but they most definitely questioned why you're dating him

somehow they managed to glare at him even harder after finding out

but eventually they realized that dating managed to mellow him out slightly and he wasn't treating you badly, so they chilled out

(they still don't really like him tho)

now his dad was a different story

he was beyond mad at you two dating

he claimed it was an embarrassment to his name and reputation

harassed nagged gakushuu endlessly

it was fine tho, he was used to ignoring his dad on matters he cared enough about

which in this instance, was you

surprisingly, you were never messed with??

possibly because anything he was capable of doing would affect your entire class

outside of expelling you of course but no way would your bf let that go without major clapback

he is his father's son after all

he mellowed out over you two dating after he finally accepted class e

(just another perk of having koro as your teacher)

asano definitely tutored you on any subjects you weren't good at

after all, how could he possibly date someone with poor marks in school?

(yet he chose to date someone from class e... astounding the way his mind works honestly)

he was def nice about it, but you could tell it was strained

he was used to tutoring students with already much higher marks so the extra amount of time (and patience) he had to take wasn't something he was quite prepared for

but he's learned plenty of self-control, so he never took it out on you

he just gave you lots of breaks

l o t s of breaks

isn't the greatest with affection

i mean, have you s e e n his dad? i doubt there's much in that household

but he still tries somewhat

like quick hugs or pecks on the forehead

be patient with him, he'll adjust eventually

he d o e s however give you compliments fairly frequently

they're not creative, or all that lovey-dovey, but he means them wholeheartedly and that's what matters

honestly, dating him despite your... scholarly differences turned out to be better than anyone in the school thought

after all, he's not bad at his core

just a little misguided

and who better to guide him in the right direction than you?