#i just love sharing the process. it's fun to look back on own decisions

[eddsworld-the-masquerade]

Next addition to the original music roster, this time it's Matt. No lyrics again, but it's more of a realized choice than just me being lazy haha. Rambling about the song under the cut.

If I were to list inspirations, that would be "Elysia" Honkai Impact OST, Jigoku Shoujo's 3rd season ending "Ichinuke", and Beethoven. Namely "Fur Elise" (lol this name again) and "Moonlight Sonata", first movement. Fur Elise has a bit of a special connection with Matt - I even featured its music sheets in his character art (it's the texture in the background).

I guess I could also call Alice: Madness Returns an inspiration, since my brain ended up sneaking in reference to it in the backing parts. I'm not sure how noticeable it is in full audio so I rendered the bit by itself and placed it next to music in question

It was totally unconscious XD But I kept it there even after realizing. Can't say it doesn't fit though.

Like Tord's theme, there was a totally different first draft that I ended up scrapping. It sounded more jazzy and noir-ish, which I guess is closer to Matt's theme from the old AU but not what fits him NOW, exactly.

In terms of instruments used. Aside from the piano which is established as being Matt's signature instrument, it also features violin, organ and music box. Violin and strings in general always give me Victorian England vibes (again blame AMR). Organ and church bells represent Matt's outward appearance as well as a part of his backstory. The music box has most symbolic importance tied with the backstory though.

Percussion noises that sound like cutlery. I was trying to make an impression of some posh dinner party, one of the many Matt had to attend I imagine.

Generally speaking I wanted something soft and somber with some "aristocratic" vibe and I think it succeeds in this.

[yuutasdream]

how would yuuta be when he realizes hes fallen in love with u ⁉️⁉️

: ̗̀➛𝕬𝖒 𝕴 𝕱𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊 ꨄ︎

Yuta and you started off as friends, your bond growing stronger with each passing day. You shared laughs, inside jokes, and countless memories, forming a connection that felt unbreakable. Yet, you couldn't shake off the growing feelings you had for Yuta.

One day, unable to contain your emotions any longer, you mustered up the courage to confess your feelings to Yuta. Heart pounding, palms sweating, you poured your heart out, laying bare the depth of your affection. "Yuta, I... I have something to tell you," you stammered, trying to find the right words. "I've developed feelings for you. I really care about you, more than just as a friend." you held out a chocolate as a gesture to show appreciation.

Yuta's expression softened as he listened, his eyes reflecting surprise and perhaps a hint of uncertainty. "I... I appreciate your honesty," he replied, his voice gentle yet conflicted. "But I need some time to think about this. I value our friendship so much, and I don't want to do anything to ruin it."

With those words, Yuta's response hung in the air, leaving you with a mix of hope and trepidation. Though his rejection stung, you respected his need for time to process his feelings. “also... I'm leaving the next week..” yuta noted adding salt on the scar. “oh it's okay... Have fun at your trip” you both parted away each one on his own.

Yet even after all or that yuta kept in touch with you even after what happened not wanting to make things awkward nor break the friendship he loved the most. The friendship between you and him.

As Yuta continued his journey, he couldn't shake off the growing feeling of emptiness without you by his side. He missed the jokes and your vibes. The picturesque landscapes and exciting adventures seemed to lose their luster in your absence. Each passing day felt like a struggle, a constant reminder of how much he longed to share these moments with you.

Then came the fateful day when he received the message from his best friend toge telling him about your broken phone. It hit him like a wave, leaving him feeling stranded and disconnected. Suddenly, the simple act of hearing your voice or seeing your messages became a distant dream, leaving a void in his heart that nothing else could fill.

Days turned into nights filled with restless thoughts of you, of the conversations he could have had, the jokes you could have shared. It was in those moments of solitude that Yuta realized just how much you meant to him, how your presence had become an important part of his life.

Unable to bear the separation any longer, Yuta made a spontaneous decision to cut his trip short and return back to jujutsu high. The place he knew that he'll find you there. The journey back felt like an eternity, each passing mile fueling his determination to see you again.

Arriving at your dorm's door unexpectedly, his heart pounded with a mix of nerves and excitement. When you opened the door, surprise etched across your face, Yuta's breath caught in his throat. But as he looked into your eyes, all his fears melted away, replaced by a sense of purpose.

"I missed you," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper, yet filled with raw emotion. “miss me..? It's been only a couple of days” you said flattered not knowing how to express your feelings looking at all of the souvenirs he got you to express his love.

You welcomed him inside, and as you sat together, Yuta poured his heart out. "Being away from you made me realize how much you mean to me," he admitted, his gaze never wavering from yours. "I can't imagine my life without you, and I just had to come back and tell you... I love you." the way the words poured out of his mouth you were still in shock.

Tears welled up in your eyes as you listened to his heartfelt words, feeling the weight of his love enveloping you. "I love you too, Yuta," you whispered, a smile breaking through the tears wrapping your arms around him. You were really happy that he finally realized his feelings and got certain about it. “next time I promise to book you a flight with me..” he said giggling, “I want nothing to break us apart”

In that moment, surrounded by the warmth of your embrace, Yuta knew that no distance or obstacle could ever diminish the love he felt for you. And as he held you close, he knew that home wasn't a place—it was wherever you were, in your arms.

[melzula]

North and South

part three

pairing: zuko x princess!reader

notes: we’re finally at the end! i hope you guys like some of the changes i made to the original comic storyline :)

summary: with Gilak in jail and the Northerners gone you assume the worst is over, but the festival incident was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how far the man is willing to go

~ part of the fire lilies series ~

You don’t understand how everything has gotten so out of control.

What was meant to be a wonderful celebration of your friends’ return home had quickly been ruined Gilak’s ambush, and if not for Katara’s ability to heal Hakoda woukd have lost his life tonight. Tensions are high in the South, and you find yourself overwhelmed with worry for the future of the Water Tribe. If your people can’t even get along with each other, how will you ever be able to connect with the other nations?

“I don’t know what to do,” you admit in defeat as Zuko watches you pace back and forth from his place on your bed. “I know Gilak doesn’t speak for everyone, and for the most part everyone has been onboard with the changes we’ve made to the South, but there are still some Southerners who share his sentiment, and I don’t know how to fix it so that everyone is happy.”

“That’s the thing, y/n,” Zuko corrects you gently, being sure to phrase his words carefully so as to not upset you, “you can’t make everyone happy. It’s impossible. As leader you have to do what’s best for the majority, even if it means not everyone will like it. Just look at the New Ozai Society. They’ll never be happy no matter what I do as Fire Lord, but I don’t let their dislike for my decisions influence how I lead the Fire Nation.”

“I suppose you’re right,” you relent with a dejected sigh, flopping down beside him in defeat and sprawling out onto the blankets. “I just can’t help but feel like I should be doing more as Chief. I didn’t know about Gilak and his army, and I certainly didn’t know about Maliq’s ulterior motives regarding the oil refinery. Shouldn’t I have known?”

“You can’t be everywhere at once. You have to remember you’ve been busy rebuilding an entire tribe from the ground up while also trying to restore a part of your culture that was almost lost forever. You’re doing more than enough, and your people are grateful for all you do,” he assures you with a careful smile as he gently pushes back the hair from your face. “Maliq and his crew are leaving by morning and Gilak is in jail. Tomorrow will be better.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” you express earnestly as you pull yourself up and press a kiss to his cheek. “I don’t know how I’d get through all of this without you.”

“Well it’s a good thing you don’t have to,” he smiles before sweetly brushing his nose against your own. After the chaos of the day, it’s nice to finally have a moment to settle down with your boyfriend, and you’re appreciative of the comfort Zuko always manages to bring you no matter how stressful the situation.

“Did you at least have fun at the festival? You know, before the whole drill incident,” you ask with a sheepish smile as you begin to carefully remove the braids you’d styled into Zuko’s hair for the party.

“I did,” he breathes out in a laugh, immediately melting at the sensation of your careful fingers combing through his hair. “It was a wonderful festival.”

He says nothing more as you continue to brush through his locks; it’s gotten longer since the last time you’ve seen him, and you enjoy the change. You’ve always loved his hair, and you appreciate the fact that he allows you the intimacy of brushing it for him.

“Do you think the conference will go well tomorrow? I’m afraid it might be too soon to start our work with the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation if we can’t even seem to get along with the North.”

“You can’t wait for progress,” Zuko notes thoughtfully. “Making connections will only improve the South’s rebuilding process.”

You hum thoughtfully in response, but your mind begins to wander. You’re trying to see things from an open perspective, making changes that will benefit your people without forgetting about their past, but you haven’t been completely open to Hakoda’s suggestions. You were quick to shut down the idea of the oil rig despite its benefits, and though you’d been proven right about the problems such a project could cause, you also knew that not using available resources would also stunt the tribe’s growth. Zuko says you can’t wait for progress, but how do you know when the time is right?

“We should rest,” you suggest after finishing your work. “We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

“I guess you’re right,” he relents with a sigh before rising from his seat on your bed. “I’ll see you in the morning?”

“You will,” you assure him before gifting him a kiss goodnight and watching him exit your room. Now alone, you collapse back onto your bed with an exhausted sigh.

“Tomorrow will be better,” you try to remind yourself.

But you’re not sure if you entirely believe that.

~~~

The day is calmer now that the construction crew is gone and Gilak is locked away. There are a handful of protestors outside the palace gates who demand that all foreigners leave the South, but they don’t seem to speak for the majority of your people, and for that you are grateful. Sokka and Toph manage crowd control while you prepare for the arrival of King Kue and the conference that is to take place today. Things are normal for the most part and your plans are back on track, so you try to remain positive and focused on the tasks at hand.

“Are you sure this conference is a good idea, y/n?” Katara asks after pulling you aside to express her concerns with you privately, the uncertainty clear on her features. “After everything that’s happened maybe the South just needs to handle things on its own first before starting to work with other nations.”

“I understand your concern, but with most of the Northerners gone we basically are on our own now. There are just some things the South can’t do by itself, so collaborating with other countries will not only give us connections but possible resources as well. I have to look at the bigger picture here.”

Katara is silent for a moment as she digests your words, but after a few moments of contemplation she finally gives you a nod. “I trust you’ll do what’s best for the tribe. I just don’t want us to end up becoming a cheap imitation of the North or lose our identity by inviting other Nations into our home.”

“Do you remember the conflict that arose during the Harmony Restoration Movement when the Earth King tried to separate the colonies?” You ask her with a faint smile, continuing when she gives you a puzzled yes as an answer. “We realized keeping the Fire and Earth people apart would do more harm than good for the future of the world and decided we needed to work together to build peace. Our entire friend group is composed of different nations, and our relationships too. My future with Zuko is dependent on our homes working together, on our people connecting with one another, and so I ask that you try to view this situation the same way you viewed it then.”

“I guess I never thought of it that way,” the water bender admits guiltily, your words obviously having struck a nerve with her. Who was she to pick and choose who got to work together and who didn’t? You had a point, and it was making her question how she truly felt about the changes occurring in her home.

“Chief y/n,” Hakoda calls from the doorway, promptly ending your discussion with Katara, “King Kue has arrived.”

The Earth King enters the meeting room with a look of awe as he observes the interior of the chamber and admires the Southern architecture of the building, and you promptly bow in respect in his presence before offering him your hand to shake.

“King Kue, it’s my honor to have you here in the South. We greatly appreciate you taking the time to attend this conference.”

“I’ve been wanting to visit the South Pole for years since meeting you all! It’s wonderful albeit freezing,” he admits with a sheepish chuckle while taking your hand.

“We’re happy to have you here, and after the conference I’d be glad to give you a tour,” you sincerely assure him before guiding him to his seat.

With all of your friends and the king present, you’re able to begin your presentation alongside Hakoda. You let him and Malina take the reins for the first half as they detail their plans to create an updated harbor for the South. They explain the logistics and the benefits of the project before allowing you to take over and explain the diplomatic prospects.

“Our hope is that this harbor will give the world a chance to visit our home and partake in our commerce as well as educate themselves on our history. Through outreach we hope to build stronger connections with our neighboring nations and establish an era of harmony and peace,” you explain with a pleased smile, eager to convey your ideas for the other leaders to hear. This is definitely the biggest thing you’ve done as Chief so far, and you briefly wonder if your father would be proud to see how far you’ve come.

“Chief y/n also came up with the idea of establishing embassies in both of your nations as well as allowing you to do the same here to further outreach between our people. However, as advisor I must note we don’t necessarily have the funds to enact this plan,” Hakoda states plainly, exchanging glances with you before looking to Zuko and Kue, “and that is why we’ve invited you here. We would be thrilled to have your partnership to make this vision a reality and strengthen the bond between our homes.”

You hopefully scan the room to gauge their reactions, and for the most part everyone seems to be open to your plan- well, everyone but Katara. It isn’t easy to ignore the subtle disapproval on her features and her obvious hesitance to opening up the South to the world, and it diminishes your optimistic mood. You recall what Zuko had said about not being to make everyone happy, but it’s hard to do when it’s one of your closest friends that seems to disapprove of your choices.

“You can count the Fire Nation in,” Zuko says proudly while directing his gaze from Hakoda to you. “Your people have suffered so much destruction at our hands, and we are grateful for the opportunity to help you rebuild.”

“Thank you, Fire Lord Zuko. Your efforts are greatly appreciated,” you express sincerely, taking extra care to be professional when speaking to your boyfriend in front of your peers.

“I’m sorry that the Earth Kingdom can’t offer our support so readily. We have so many of our own needs at home,” King Kue states sullenly with obvious disappointment clear in his tone. “But if I could show my advisers that the Southern Water Tribe is going to make measurable, concrete progress toward civilization-“

“Excuse me?!” Katara butts in harshly. The offense is clear in her tone, and her outburst takes everyone by surprise.

“Oh dear, please forgive the clumsiness of my words, Katara! I should have phrased it differently,” he quickly interjects in a panic. “We would simply want you to achieve a higher form where the South becomes a cleaner, safer, nicer-“

“King Kue,” you interrupt gently as you do your best to remain calm despite your displeasure at his words, “please be mindful when speaking about our home. You are a guest here, and just as we treat you with respect we expect the same.”

“Of course! What I meant to say was-“

“Chief y/n!” A voice interrupts as one of your guards bursts into the room. His tone and features are full of urgency as he approaches. “We’ve just received an alert from the prison! Gilak and his army-“

You cry out in horror as the man is swiftly knocked unconscious by a boomerang, and all your friends quickly jump up from the table in preparation to defend themselves from the oncoming threat. Zuko is by your side in an instant, guarding your figure with his own so that you’re kept away from the danger. He knows you can handle yourself, but after what happened with Koa he isn’t taking any chances this time.

Gilak and his men flood through the doorway, his malicious gaze focused on Hakoda who stands in the center of the room and protectively shields Malina from the group.

“Look at you, Hakoda. So eager to sell our tribe to foreign masters! And you,” he says in disdain as he points his boomerang in your direction, “so easy to be brainwashed by your advisor and your ash maker boyfriend. So easy to manipulate and fool. Perhaps Koa was right about you, y/n. What does a little girl know about running a tribe?”

“You watch your mouth!” Sokka cries out harshly in defense of you and his father.

“You watch it, boy. We’re taking over this meeting.”

“For the tribe!” Gilak’s soldiers cry out before all chaos breaks loose. Two of his men charge towards you only for Zuko to shoot flames towards them in retaliation.

“Stay back!” He commands fiercely, but your own safety is the least of your worries at the moment.

“Protect the Earth King!” You call out as you send a blast of snow into the gut of an attacker before they can reach Kue. Another soldier tries to strike you from behind, but you’re able to quickly dodge their attack before encasing their feet in ice so they can longer attempt an attack on you or your friends. “You swore an oath to serve the royal family and the people of this tribe! How dare you turn against me?!”

“It’s not us you should be worrying about, Chief,” the woman glowers scornfully. “It’s that no good Hakoda and your Fire Lord boyfriend you should be looking out for. They’ve made you forget who you are.”

“I know who I am,” you utter lowly before raising your hands to lift the ice so it encases her entire body. “Maybe you should think about who you are while you wait for the ice to melt.”

Your attention is pulled away from the guard at the sound of a loud crash, and you barely manage to catch a glimpse of Gilak narrowly missing Zuko as he brings his whale tooth blade down into the table. Gasping, you quickly maneuver the water around your arms to form tentacles that wrap around the man’s torso and lift him into the air before slamming him back down again. The impact is forceful enough to disable him of his weapon, and Zuko quickly kicks it away from his grasp.

“Thank you,” he breathes out in relief, clearly overwhelmed from the sudden chaos. You don’t have time to reply as more of Gilak’s army begin to break through the windows and wreak havoc on the palace. You’re completely surrounded, and despite your best efforts to fight them off you can’t ignore the fact that you’re outnumbered. You briefly remember to thank the spirits for the fact that your mother is out visiting Kanna and Pakku and not here in the midst of the danger.

Gilak gets a hold of Hakoda while the rest of you are distracted fighting his warriors, and your friends are quick to rush out after him. You follow in suit only to hesitate when you realize someone must stay behind to guard Kue. You trust in your group’s ability to handle Gilak on their own, but you don’t exactly trust the King to take care of himself. Without anyone noticing, you slip back into the meeting room in search of the monarch.

“Your highness! Your highness, we have to get you out of here!” You call out while frantically scanning the room for him. The chamber is dead silent and questioningly empty considering it had just been teeming with invaders, and there isn’t a single sign of Kue.

You hear the crunching of glass behind you and quickly pivot your body towards the noise, and the sound is enough of a distraction for you to be ambushed by chi-blockers who quickly disarm you of your bending and let your body fall to the floor with a thud.

“Not so high and mighty now, are you, ‘Chief’?” One of them taunts before moving out of the way so another can scoop your limp figure off the ground.

“Where is King Kue?!” You demand as you your eyes look around the room in a panicked hunt for the man.

“Relax, that oaf is fine,” the girl brushes you off with a dismissive wave of her hands. “He’s hiding in a closet somewhere like the coward he is. Besides, it was never about him. We knew you’d be stupid enough to come back for him, and you took the bait.”

“What do you mean?” You say in disbelief as they begin to sneak you out through one of the hallways before your friends can notice.

“You’re the problem with this place, you’re the one who let the outsiders in. We need someone new in charge, but we can’t do that until we get rid of you and Hakoda first.”

Dread fills your stomach at her explanation, and you’re able to do nothing but hang limply over the man’s shoulder as they take you to their hideout. For the sake of the tribe you hope Hakoda and your friends are okay, and you hope they can find you before it’s too late.

Outside of the palace, Gilak and his men have vanished and Hakoda has been returned safely to his children. It seems the chaos is over until Zuko looks to his side and notices his Princess is nowhere to be seen. Panic immediately fills his gut as he rushes back into the palace and begins his feverish search for her.

“Y/n! My love, where are you?!” He calls out, and after finding no sign of you anywhere his worry begins to morph into anger. “No… No!”

“What’s wrong, Zuko?” Toph demands after hearing his enraged roars. The group looks to Zuko with concern in their gazes as he lets out a vengeful blast of flames from his mouth. The Fire Lord is seething, and there’s only one cause for his fury.

“They took y/n.”

~~~

You sit in an empty room tied to a chair with Gilak as your only form of company. For a long while neither of you speak, both of you locked into a staring contest as his eyes of contempt meet your own indignant ones.

“It didn’t have to be this way,” he finally says to break the silence, slowly beginning to circle around your chair like a shark. “I tried to get you to see things from our perspective, but you were just too stubborn. You didn’t want to see the danger in front of you, and even when Maliq disrespected you in front of the entire tribe you still went ahead and invited outsiders into the South.”

“What is so wrong about working with others?” You demand fruitlessly, unable to comprehend how he can be filled with so much hatred. “Not every outsider is bad, but you’re too full of resentment to see that! We’ve been able to accomplish great things because of the help of our sister tribe, and with the help of the Fire Nation-“

“The Fire Nation?!” Gilak bellows angrily, and you can’t help but to flinch in fear at his outburst. “They burned down our outer villages, desecrated our water benders, took our Chief from us! They are the reason we must rebuild in the first place! And yet you invite the Fire Lord onto our land simply because you let your love for him blind you of his true nature.”

“The Fire Nation did horrible things, yes. But Zuko is trying to right the wrongs of the past. There is good in his heart as there is in the hearts of other Fire Nation citizens. I’ve witnessed it firsthand. We cannot remain stuck in the past if we wish to build a future.”

“There is no future for the Southern Water Tribe with you and Hakoda in charge, and that’s why I’m taking matters into my own hands,” he says menacingly before signaling for two of his guards to remove you from the chair and bind your limbs together so you can be transported out of the tunnels.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ve sent a letter to Hakoda asking him to meet me at the Bridge of No Return. He’s under the impression he’ll be trading his life for yours, but once he sets foot on that bridge and meets you in the center I’ll cut the line before either of you can make it safely across.”

“No…” you utter in disbelief, panic beginning to settle in your gut.

“The South will finally be rid of its problem, and then we can truly begin to strengthen our tribe.”

You’re able to say nothing more as a cloth is tied around your mouth to keep you from speaking. The last thing they want is for you to try and warn the others of their plan once you get to the bridge.

The guards carry you away, and you desperately try to come up with a plan of escape before it’s too late.

~~~

Zuko is anxious as he makes his way up the mountains. While fruitlessly searching endless tunnels hadn’t brought you back to him, receiving the letter from Gilak detailing your whereabouts didn’t exactly ease his nerves either. You were in danger, and if for some reason Sokka’s plan failed your life could be lost tonight. The thought almost sends him reeling, but he reminds himself to stay focused on the task at hand. He needs to be at his best if he plans to get you back safely- he promised your distraught mother he’d return you to her alive, and that’s what he planned to do.

“There she is!” Sokka exclaims as he points to your sullen figure across the way. Your arms are completely bound and a cloth is wrapped around your mouth to keep you quiet, and the sight has Zuko fuming. How dare they treat you so disrespectfully? He begins to rush forward only for Sokka to halt his efforts. “Hold on, buddy. I know you want her back safe but we can’t make any rash decisions or this plan won’t work.”

Zuko falters, huffing out a breath of smoke through his nose in protest before backing off. His eyes meet your desperate ones from across the way and his chest aches at the sight. He’d failed to protect you, and now you were a captive being used as bait for Gilak’s plan. He shouldn’t have left you behind, he shouldn’t have taken his eyes off of you, and he shouldn’t have let this happen.

You watch helplessly from across the way as Gilak sends his chi-blockers towards your friends and wince on their behalf as they receive the paralyzing blows. You let out a muffled cry of alarm as one by one they collapse to the ground, but you’re unable to do anything as the man gives you a harsh shove from behind.

“Get moving, Princess. Your time is up.”

You stumble forward onto the rickety bridge and take cautious steps in fear the wood falling out from beneath you. Hakoda meets you halfway before carefully pulling down the cloth from your mouth. Your features are frantic as you immediately utter jumbled pleas for him to leave.

“Hakoda, they’re going to cut the bridge! You have to get off,” you urge him desperately, tears welling in your eyes as you try to shove him back. The man rests his hands upon your shoulders to stop your movements before reaching down to remove your binds.

“I know,” he says softly as he gives you a reassuring smile before looking across the way. “I promise you we’re going to be okay.”

You follow his gaze to see Malina using her bending to stop Gilak from cutting the bridge. On the other side, your friends have risen from the ground and are busy taking out his army of soldiers. His plan has failed, and Hakoda quickly begins to usher you across the unstable structure.

The bridge begin to tremble as more weight is added onto it, and behind you Gilak angrily chases after you and Hakoda with a torch in hand. He doesn’t plan to give up so easily, so consumed by hatred that it’s made him crazed.

“I’m not letting either of you get away with this! You need to be punished for what you’ve done!” He roars angrily before charging at you both. “I’m going to take you down even if it means I have to go with you.”

“Are you mad?!” Hakoda cries before shoving you behind him to keep you out of Gilak’s reach. Another jolt shoots through the structure as Malina attempts to stop your attacker, but her efforts only cause him to involuntarily light the bridge aflame with his torch. As the two struggle for control over one another, Zuko dashes onto the bridge and uses his bending to put the fire before it can spread.

“Zuko!” You cry out in relief at the sight of him, only wanting his comfort after everything you’ve been through in the last twenty four hours. He meets your eyes and smiles in relief at the fact that you’re okay, but his features quickly morph into ones of dread as the burnt rope snaps and the bridge collapses. Your stomach drops as your feet lose contact with the ground beneath you, but the Fire Lord is quick to reach out and capture you by the wrist before you can fall.

“Hold on tight!” He tells you, making sure your hold on his forearm is secure before he propels the two of you upward using the streams of flames he releases from his feet. You land safely on the fresh snow below you, and you’re more than grateful to finally feel the ground beneath you again.

“Oh, Zuko!” You breathe out in relief before throwing yourself into his arms and holding him tight. His warmth soothes the chill in your bones from being so close to death, and he’s quick to return your embrace.

“I’m here,” he assures you as he carefully strokes your back. “I’ve got you.”

“Where’s King Kue?” You ask as you rapidly scan the area in search of the man. “Is he alright?”

“He’s fine, Pakku and your mother are looking after him. Are you okay?” He reiterates before pulling out of the hug to get a look at you. Indents have been left behind on your cheeks from the cloth that had been tightly wrapped around your head, and Zuko carefully looks you over for any other signs of hurt.

“I’m okay,” you promise him with a quick nod. “The chi-blocking wore off, I just feel tingly from being tied up is all.”

“They tied you up?!” Zuko exclaims angrily only to calm down when he sees the abashed look on your face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. It just makes me so upset to think that someone would want to hurt you. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you.”

“It’s not your fault, Zuko,” you correct him with a slight frown. “If it weren’t for you I would have fallen of that bridge.”

“Speaking of which,” Sokka interrupts urgently as he directs your attention to the collapsing structure, “it’s about to give! How are we gonna get them back up here!”

“I can go back down and get them,” Zuko insists only for Sokka to wave him off.

“Your weight would make it collapse before we could save anyone.”

“I’ll try to keep it stable!” Toph offers as she uses her earth bending to support the structure. “You guys are gonna have to work fast, I’m not sure how long this will hold.”

You watch as Katara and Aang spring into action to gather the others, and the Avatar is able to grab hold of them right as the bridge finally falls apart. He struggles to bring them up, and you watch anxiously as he flies his guider back towards the cliff top. Gilak isn’t making it an easy task he makes a last ditch attempt to lash at Hakoda, but the man only succeeds in losing his grip in the process and falling towards the bottom of the cliff.

“Gilak!” You cry out in horror, turning away so you don’t have to watch the man plummet to his death. Despite all he’s done, you’d never wish for death on anyone, and so you’re torn at the fact that this is how the conflict will end.

“There was nothing Aang could do,” Zuko says in an attempt to comfort you, but you’re not sure if it helps. Hakoda and Malina are brought to safety, and you’re left to deal with the aftermath of all that’s occurred.

“How did you all overcome the chi-blocking?” You ask as your mind begins to process all that’s occurred. You couldn’t compute how your friends hadn’t been susceptible to the blocks like you had.

“Metal armor!” Sokka explains proudly while showcasing you his invention. “It was my idea, but Toph made it a reality.”

“Sokka, you genius!” You laugh, throwing your arms around him in a hug full of gratitude for his help. “I can always count on you to figure out a solution to every problem.”

“Thank you, y/n, I am a genius.”

“Please don’t make his ego any bigger than it needs to be,” Katara teases before taking your hands in her own and giving them a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you’re okay, and I’ve been thinking about what you said, about changing my perspective. I think you’re right.”

“I’m happy you see it that way,” you tell her with a careful smile before looking to her father and Malina. “And I think it’s time I did the same. If you both can come up with a revised proposal for an ecofriendly oil refinery that will benefit the South, I’d be happy to give it another look.”

“Thank you, Chief y/n,” Hakoda says gratefully, sharing an excited glance with Malina, “we appreciate your openness.”

“We need to get you back to the palace,” Zuko tells you while resting a careful hand on your back. “Your mother is probably worried sick waiting for you, and I promised I’d bring you home safely.”

“Spirits, you’re right,” your murmur fretfully before taking hold of his hand and quickly beginning your descent down the mountain.

“They’re good for each other, aren’t they?” Hakoda notes to your friends as he watches your figures disappear over the hill.

“They are,” Katara agrees with a faint smile, her mind beginning to imagine what your future will look like. The embassies will provide a good foundation for the relationship of the Water Tribe and Fire Nation, and the project will be a testament to what you and Zuko had proved long ago.

The fate of the nations are in good hands.

~~~

The South has settled back into its normal routine. With the death of Gilak and arrests of his army came the end of the protests, and reconstruction was able to resume without the threat of unrest or discontent among your people.

You stand inside the museum with Zuko by your side, your hands interlocked as you stare at the wall before you. You’re in the hall of royal families, an area full of photos and relics of all the people from the past and present. You’d ventured into the Princess exhibit and were now staring at your wanted poster hanging on the wall of your section. You’d swiped the scroll from a Fire Nation market place while in disguise with the Avatar and his friends, and you felt it was an important piece of history to include in your exhibit.

“That’s the prettiest wanted poster I’ve seen,” Zuko comments with a small smile. “It’s strange to think how much has changed since this poster was made.”

“The past is a strange place,” you agree quietly before looking to your boyfriend. “Now that the war is over, do you ever find yourself thinking about the future?”

“Always,” he says, a familiar spark in his eyes as he stares down at you.

“We’re living proof that a strong connection between nations is possible. We always have been, and yet it scares people like Gilak.”

“People like Gilak fear change,” he murmurs lowly, the mere mention of the main leaving a bad taste in his mouth. “They fear going against tradition, and we are far from being a traditional couple.”

“Yeah, but I like it that way,” you say with a smile before reaching up to press a tender kiss to his lips. Zuko’s hands find their place on your hips as he pulls you in close to savor the feeling.

With peace in the South having been reestablished, you now have a good feeling about what awaits you in the future. It’s going to be complicated, there’s no arguing that, but you’re willing to face whatever challenges arise if it means getting to be with the boy you love.

You and Zuko are the hope for the future of your nations, and if your relationship has been able to withstand all the difficulties and heartaches that have come over the years, then there’s no doubt in your mind that your people will be able to do the same.

Water and fire are opposing elements, and yet you both work so well together. You’re two halves of a whole, and no one will ever be able to break you apart again.

| zuko tags: @ilovespideyyy @yiyibetch @eridanuswave @lammello @a-monsters-love @taeeemin @livelaughlovekuni @lovialy

| fire lilies tags: @emberislandplayers @kikaninchen-2 @music-geek19 @thia-aep @thyunnamed @haylaansmi @nataliahaslosthershit @idkdude776 @aangsupremacy @thirstyforsometea @ihaveaproblem98 @brown-eyed-thang @xapham @misnmatchedsox @chewymoustachio @that-bucket-hat-gal @chilifrylizard2 @kyomihann @kaylove12 @kiwihoee @freggietale @moon-spirit-yue @bubblegum-bee-otch @cipheress-to-k-pop @potato87123

| atla tags: @sirkekselord @niktwazny303

[meelkiewee]

Hello!

As a first post i wanted to share my favourite bubbies and since tumblr seems more text oriented than the other socials I have, I'd like to explain what was going on in my head while doing their character redesigns~ [BOOKS SPOILERS MENTIONED]

INTRODUCTION

These character designs were made back in winter 2022 for a sort of animation thesis. Many things didn't go according to plan in that school year so for lack of time and motivation I've never really finished the animatic but I will include a wip at the end of this post. The animatic was about my interpretation of their story, finding a person to call home while in a crude and terrible world.

XIE LIAN

Xie Lian is the first of the two I made, his character design was very clear in my mind since the start. It's not largely distant from your official usual XL but I thought it already fitted very well.

The three main colors for XL are white, black and golden yellow. The prevalence of black and white colors was inspired by two main factors:

I personally see XL as a heavily dichotomy based character, not only in the association to the White Clothed Calamity but also in the way he's described as pretty as a flower but skillful with the sword, following a chaste path but mingling with a ghost king, all kind smiles to others but struggling with his own hope, etcetera, etcetera. He is in a constant struggle to find a third option that is better than simply bad or good, mostly in his early God's days, and also later on with ‘not knowing whether to laugh or cry’. So in here, black and white represent the reality of human nature, where you have bad and good qualities alike, a concept I think XL struggled with a lot since he was brought up as the perfect and pure prince that can do no wrong.

According to my research of the meaning behind colors in the chinese culture I discovered black and white can symbolize many things, some of which I found quite fitting for where I wanted to go with my character design. Black can stand for sadness and bad luck. White represents brightness, purity and innocence. In some instances, however, white is also associated with death and is a color commonly worn at funerals. Moreover in my own culture black and white, along with deep blue, are very elegant colors to wear. Simple and elegant is what my XL wants to look like.

Another important part of my XL character design is his bamboo hat.

Following some good old christian imagery I used his hat as an halo. Most of the time I even ignored perspective to make sure his head is always framed in this golden saintly circle In my animatic storyline specifically it represents XL perfection. Soon the hat is lost in the mud and brought back later on by HC with a new meaning of finding yourself in a safe environment with safe people. 

For most of the other design choices I took decisions based on pure aesthetics such as giving him a very elegant mole under the eye, very long and lucious hair and a very very long hanfu with some very very long sleeves. Yes, I wanted him to be very very everything because I very very love him!

Here are some other very very outfits i drew him in for fun and didn’t need for the animatic:

_____________________________________

HUA CHENG

As a premise to my HC character design I want to say I am very amused at people’s different reactions to it. They are usually neatly split in two: either they hate it with a passion or just fall head over heels in love with it, no in between. I personally am in the ‘love it’ side (duh of course I am, I designed it lol) but I also understand if your first thought is “WHO TF IS THAT?”, so let me explain my thought process here.

Firstly, hot take: official HC character is made to be your perfect cool-hot-mysterious-boyfriend™ that has it more together than you do and we don’t like that in this household, at least not always. Yes he is XL’s most devoted believer, yes he is a very powerful supreme, yes he’s always there for his Gege but in the end he’s also a very traumatized person that has had a crush for a guy for 800+ years.

What I’m saying is I wanted him to be a little more relatable and goofy than what books show us so I integrated some of his personality hidden away in E’Ming. From here I got the puffy messy hair, the big round eye and the doubtful expression.

Next up let’s talk about the palette. He also has, like XL, three main colors:

Blue. Mostly of the time he spends around XL he does it in his true form, wich is the form of a dead person (even dead more than once;;). This is pretty self explanatory, when someone dies the hue of their skin goes to blue and also ghosts in general are frequently represented pale blue or white in color. As a little side note to this, I really enjoyed the blue demons HuaLian episode in donghua S2, it made me feel less alone in my smurf choice lol.

Red. This is canonically HC’s color and rightfully so! Red is widely recognized as China's color of good fortune, and in my culture, it is frequently used as a symbol of passion and the color of blood. There is really nothing better than red for Mr. Crimson Rain!

Lilac. Although I'm not sure about my research on this color in Chinese culture, I've read that it modernly represents love or romance. However, growing up in my hometown, purple (and all its shades) was always associated with ugliness and was thought to be a bad omen if worn. Whoever had the nerve to wear it was regarded as a distasteful and ominous weirdo. I think it fitted perfectly with how every other Heaven Official other than XL sees HC; someone who makes blood rain for fun and a potential and actual threat to the Heavenly Court.

As for XL, other choices I made serve a mostly aesthetic purpose. HC’s boxy build, pointy ears and the opened robe to see tiddies(🤩) are some of the notable ones.

HC would not be complete without E’Ming, obviously. After comparing some different blades and trying to integrate a butterfly in the design, I opted for keeping it simple and I ended up with this wobbly shaped hilt made to resemble HC’s bang. The fact that now E’Ming looks like it has a big nose is just an added charm honestly.

CONCLUSION

Thanks for reading until this point I hope you enjoyed my yap and make sure to have a nice day/night! <33

I'll leave the link to my animatic wip here, please note once again that it is not finished in the slightes and there are also some funky expressions that don't really fit the mood lol enjoyyy!

-Sole

[raainberry]

Commonality

« The fact of sharing interests, experiences, or other characteristics with someone or something. »

Mina x gn!reader

Fluff

synopsis - a small argument opened your weekend with Mina, but that doesn’t mean it’s ruined

wordcount - 1.8K

T/W - Food

A/N - i have such a soft spot for mina… so long overdue that it was requested, i love mina and i hope you’ll like this one, enjoy!

Waking up on the couch at your own apartment had you confused. You never fell asleep there, it made no sense when a perfect bed and comfortable mattress waited for you to return every night.

So you looked around for clues about the decisions that could have lead you there, and it all came back to you when your eyes landed on the unfinished puzzle on the coffee table.

A sigh, followed by a soft chuckle pushed past your lips as you recalled the argument that puzzle had started between you and your girlfriend Mina.

It was supposed to be a relaxing night, tiring your minds out a little bit in order to fall asleep quicker later on. The two of you were used to building legos together, but never tried puzzles yet so you decided it would be fun to expand the fun.

Both consisted of building and solving stuff, how difficult could it be? It wasn’t, but it sure ended up being very different.

A small but messy difference emerged when Mina started building the puzzle’s frame and you heped in an… unusual way. At least not the way she expected you to. In hindsight, the fact that you kept grabbing random pieces and building parts of the inner picture first instead of helping her wasn’t that big of a deal.

She wasn’t one to get mad often, but something about your thought process angered her in the moment. She couldn’t even tell you what now that the sun was back and her mind rested, but it was enough to make you sleep on the couch apparently.

Despite the feeling of having Mina upset with you, the situation kept pulling a smile out of your lips. You thought about it the whole time as you freshened yourself up before breakfast, her last words to you looping in the back of your mind.

When she told you to sleep on the couch after some back and forth, you naturally asked why, to which she simply uttered “because of your nonsense.” before storming off to your bedroom.

You remember her frown as she tried to understand why you were doing such a thing, all while you tried to understand what was so wrong about it. It escalated quickly, both of you defending your point of view in the most gentle argument ever. There was no screaming, no harsh words, just confusion, frustration and fatigue.

The whole thing was just silly, and you had a feeling Mina thought the same when she appeared in the kitchen, all shy and avoident.

You could tell she wanted to make up already, but didn’t know how to. Knowing her, you knew she somehow blamed herself and felt as though she was the one that had to take the first step.

Her odd behavior put a smile on your face as you watched her feet stutter around the kitchen. Her busy mind rendered her oblivious to the breakfast you’d already cooked for her, waiting in front of the empty chair next to you.

“I already made some for you.” You finally spoke up before she took out a bowl and started making a third one.

Your voice startled her, but hearing it brought a sense of comfort she desperately needed.

“Oh.” She muttered, sparing you a glance before focusing on the food. “Thank you.”

By the time she sat down, you got the last of your own food down but the dishes could wait. You had a girlfriend to kiss and make up with.

Mina dug around her food for a few. It looked delicious, she knew it was, but she couldn’t ignore your eyes on her. They were insistant, and when she finally acknowledged you, she found they were also amused.

Hers became busy switching from your eyes to your lips as she pressed her own together. “Did you sleep well?”

Your laugh wasn’t exactly what she expected, but how could you not when her words came out so blunt.

Her words could seem loaded to anyone unfamiliar with the amount of love she felt for you. It was a bit of a petty question, yes, but she genuinely cared about your answer. She wanted it to be positive, she wanted you to feel rested, you needed it lately.

“Not the best sleep I’ve had.” You said truthfully, causing Mina to pull her hand into her sleeves.

“I’m sorry.” She pouted, finally releasing the guilt she felt all night, regretting her decision ever since she slipped into the cold sheets of your bed. “I don’t know what got into me, it was so mean.”

“It’s okay,” you giggled, “I still love you.”

Leaning closer, you looked for her lips on yours and she gladly gave them to you. They lingered there, basking in your familiarity and appreciating your love for as long as she could before you pulled them away.

“Building puzzles from the inside is crazy though, I truly believe you’re built upside down.” She said, a soft laugh following her own words.

“Why does everyone say that?” You whined, but it only made her laugh harder.

“Because it might be true, but there’s nothing wrong with that. I love that you’re upside down.” She mumbled almost to herself before lifting a spoon to her mouth.

The weekend had a tough start, but you weren’t going to let it stain the rest of it. Mina proposed to actually finish the puzzle and although you were hesitant and not in the mood, she managed to bribe you with a few kisses.

Worked like a charm every time, but who could blame your weakness when Mina was the cause.

That puzzle didn’t last long either, and turned out fairly easy to solve thanks to your mixed techniques. You made sure to rub it in her face, but a single glare had you stopping before ending up on the couch again.

“I think I want to hang it.” You said, after placing a redeeming kiss on her cheek.

“Where?” She asked, looking around at the various posters and art pieces hanging on the walls.

“Well, not here. In my bedroom.” You clarified, glancing back the finished puzzle. “It’s a really nice picture, it matches the color palette I have going on there. It would be so pretty and I’d love to remember the time we spent on it whenever I look at it.”

“You want to remember our argument?” She chuckled, and you laughed.

“No, I wanna remember you and how happy you were while solving it.”

Mina pouted at your clarification. You were too sweet to handle at times, she just wanted to wrap you up in her arms and keep you close to her in order to give you back all the love you’ve been giving her.

Despite you assuring her that she didn’t have to, that you knew how much she cared about you, she felt as though she didn’t express enough of her feelings. They were abundant, all so different and so beautiful she felt overwhelmed at times, preventing her from doing most things she’d like.

All the words she didn’t tell you, all the hugs she held back on, the kisses she passed on from how shy she felt facing that intimidating love.

She was forever thankful for your patience and how brave you could be for the both of them despite your own fears surrounding this relationship.

“I’ll help you.” She smiled, and you recognized her love. In how soft her voice came out, in the way she smiled and looked at you. In the warmth of her hands, through the stolen kisses and hidden caresses of her thumb against yours.

The two of you walked through the aisles of the nearest supply store, hand in hand and eyes wandering all over random items you didn’t come for nor need. A few laughs were shared over silly jokes about them, and by the time you checked out, it was time for lunch.

Both your stomachs were craving different things, and you spent the whole way back bickering over what to cook before settling on a genius idea: going to the pc bang down your street.

Gaming was another hobby you shared with Mina, and when she learned you lived near such a place… She basically decided your apartment was also hers.

You never complained, (until she made you sleep on your own couch under your own roof) she was the only one you’d willingly share that space with so often.

The owner of that pc bang liked the two of you very much, probably because of the amount of money you poured into the business, but it was a nice contact to have. The free meals were a very nice perk.

You ended up spending the entire afternoon there, sharing games, snacks, wins, losses and kisses before going back out into the late autumn cold.

Mina had only brought a small jacket, failing to anticipate the evening’s drop in temperatures. Her arms wrapped around herself as soon as she stepped out, desperately clinging onto the bit of warmth her jacket had trapped. If it weren’t for your arm pulling her closer to you, she would have started shivering like a cartoon character.

The proximity made her smile into her scarf, a good hideout for the way you made her feel. You were oblivious to the way her heart started to beat a little faster, but not to her eyes lingering on the bunch of lego sets exposed on the other side of the street you were on.

You stopped in your tracks to face the shop window from afar. A few sets seemed interesting from your spot, some more extravagant than others and you couldn’t help but wonder what could be hiding inside that shop.

“Are you thinking the same thing?” Mina asked, searching for your eyes. When you met hers, it only took a second for you to race each other across the street.

You opted for a rendition of Hokusai’s ‘The Great Wave’, a few thousand pieces that would keep you busy for the rest of the weekend.

“Promise you won’t make me sleep on the couch for no reason?” You asked, taking a seat on the ground next to her while she emptied the Lego box.

“As long as you don’t give me one.” She answered, making you pout.

The pout on your lips was only acknowledged by her when she turned her attention away from the Legos as she found the silence to be stretching a little longer than normal. The sight of your sulking made her giggle and she decided to let go of her inhibition once more.

She held her pinky out for yours to link with, and the offer made your eyebrows furrow together. Confusion didn’t hold you back from blindly agreeing to whatever she had in mind though.

Could have been anything, Mina was hard to predict, but something about the smile that pulled on her lips when your fingers intertwined comforted you.

This was just another wholesome, silly Mina thing.

And you were right.

“I promise.”

[genderkoolaid]

On April 27, 2023, an armed security guard shot and killed a Black trans man named Banko Brown outside of a San Francisco Walgreens. Brown’s killing sparked outrage. But San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins decided not to charge the security guard who shot him, saying that he acted in self-defense. And just last Friday, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office announced that it supported that decision.  This announcement has crushed Banko Brown’s loved ones, including those who say that his killing was an example of the conditions that unhoused transgender people face in San Francisco. KQED reporter Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez sits down with Brown’s chosen family, to discuss life as a homeless queer person in San Francisco, and Banko’s life before his death. [...]

Kazani Kalani Finao: [...] We just had amazing, great conversations. Just always sparring with each other, bouncing back with, like, fun ideas. He uses a bright, outgoing apartment. Conversation was always immaculate, always amazing. Of he was a visionary. The struggle not only brought us together, but like I was able to, like, really build a relation with him based on, like, his gifts. He was very creative, his swag, his drip, like he was a trendsetter to me. He’s definitely inspirational to me to like, you know, him, me younger to me, like I always share with him. Like, bro, you give me so much confidence, you give me so much courage for me to be me. He didn’t even know it. But again, he was just natural at that. Whatever I remember of him is his drips, sauce, smile, hugs, goofiness. [...]

Xavier Davenport: Banko never had a space of his own. Banko had been in and out of shelter, in and out of people’s homes, sometimes even some people’s own [SROs]. So let’s really break down what that really looks like when you are living in a one room space with another individual. You do not have privacy. Nine times out of ten, being a transmasculine identif[ied] person, especially being black, you have to render some type of services to stay there, whether it be sexual, whether it be drugs. So when we talk about black men and being fetishized, Banko dealt with a lot of that. And so those people would be the people to take him in. [...]

Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez: And can we talk a little bit about Banko in terms of the safety? You know, obviously Banko went through the least safe thing you could imagine with the most terrible outcome you can imagine. What was Banko experiencing in terms of safety during this whole process? Xavier Davenport: Banko was actually experiencing a lot of issues with violence happening in some of the places that he was trying to stay at. Nobody’s perfect, you know, especially when we’re talking about community, right? People have all kinds of issues and trauma that they are that they’re trying to live through as well. I definitely know that there were a few times where, you know, he was upset from violent experiences that had taken place. And what we all do, right, we get upset, we want to do something about it. So, you know, really trying to calm him down to, like, see a different side of it, for him to just move through the trauma that he was experiencing. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez: Yeah. And I don’t know how much you all followed kind of the public discussion of what happened to Banko afterwards. A lot of what I heard was a kind of a questioning of like, what did [Banko]’s trans identity or black trans identity have to do with the shooting, especially when the security guard themselves was was black. I wonder if you could talk a bit about for people who don’t understand what does [Banko]’s black trans identity have to do with what brought him there that day and what happened? [...] Xavier Davenport: [...] What what that all has to do with is when you are a young, black, transmasculine identified person, people see that he walks in, he’s dark skinned, he has a hat on a t shirt, he has a little bit of a, like a goatee or, you know, something growing in. And as another black man or being another man, there is a fight for power for who is the man. [F]or Banko, you know, the thought process is, you look like a little boy or you’re trying to pretend to be a little boy. Because let’s be clear, Banko had not had, you know, top surgery. He had not been going through that part of of medical transitioning. So you have a masculine person with visible breast coming at you. You are going to now struggle for your manhood. I’m going to show you who’s boss is something that for people that are even lesbians who are more masculine looking, [t]here is a struggle between men and any form of masculinity that they can see to them isn’t necessarily real. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez: So it’s a it’s like a challenge. Xavier Davenport: It is a challenge. It very much is a challenge. I know this first experience. I have dealt with this my entire life. JuJu Pikes-Prince: And if I can just highlight that it’s true. And these are cases that’s not getting covered [...] of Black Trans Men getting killed. [...]

Xavier Davenport: [...] I would say what needs to change is the systems in how they construct homelessness. There needs to be shelters specific for transmasculine folks. There needs to be shelters for trans people, period. But trans men need their own space. There needs to be more black, trans masculine leaders. There’s nobody else that can speak about black transness except for black trans people. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez: And how about the joy? What is your joy look like right now? Xavier Davenport: My joy looks like, you know, the rest of the work that I do. The Bay Area Transmasculine calendar is doing a second premiere of a calendar that we started last year with a group of Transmasculine folks to continue to ensure that Transmasculine folks are seen and can receive joy in seeing and having representation of themselves in all bodies, in all forms of trans masculine bodies, and in all forms of trans masculine and different cultures and ethnicities. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez: That’s beautiful. JuJu Pikes-Prince: [F]iguring out the funding, figuring out where money can go to. I definitely believe that there should be more programs for black trans men, even from our community. My [femme queens, my dolls]. We need to serve our [kings], our [trans kings.] [Sorry], I’m getting emotional. And it’s because I’m thinking about the joy part. [L]iving and finding purpose. Picking up someone else’s purpose when they couldn’t find their purpose. And knowing that I’m here and I can also at least set some type of story for someone [...] and hopefully help another next person, next generation to continue to do this advocacy work.

[celestialtarot11]

What is Your Soul Up to in the Spirit Realm? 🤍☁️

Hi friends! ⭐️💗 welcome back to another reading. We’re looking at what your soul is up to in the 5D or the spirit realm! In terms of healing, upcoming plans, manifestations, and any messages! Please like, comment and reblog to support 💌❤️

Pile 1: 4 of wands • 3 of wands

Hi there pile 1’s! 💗🤗 Welcome! I see your soul is up to some new and fun stuff 👀 out here partying! There’s a celebration coming up in your physical space, with a job, college acceptance, graduation, wedding, or a party of some kind that’ll help you connect with others better. I feel this event will help open your eyes to your future and whats possible for you. It’ll help renew your faith in your plans especially if you felt down recently! There’s so much incoming abundance in terms of relationships, family, friends, and any future goals are prospering soon! For some of ya’ll who are close to spirit guides, maybe you picked up a new spirit guide will be joining your team for this part of life, they are not staying forever, just to help you with transitioning and growing into this new you 💗🤗 so beautiful! I feel this spirit guide is celebratory and will be a guiding force in helping you make empowered decisions. On a personal level you’ll feel like you’re winning, you’ll feel alive, and open to hearing your souls truth moving forward 🤍⭐️ I also feel there is a lot of luck associated with this time of your life, so if you look at your solar return chart maybe Jupiter is prominent, or making a big aspect to your personal planets. Maybe its sitting in an angular house (1st, 7th, and 10th house) in your SR return chart. If you are not very spiritual its possible you could explore the 5D and the beautiful connections that are there for you in terms of spirit guides! If you work with deities you could be expanding to work with more! I also lots of travel! This will help you a lot to foster an open mind and have new opportunities come your way 🫶 thank you so much pile 1! Please like, comment and reblog to share the love ❤️💗🤍 have a great one!

Pile 2: 10 of pentacles • Page of wands

Hi there pile 2’s! Welcome to your reading 💗⭐️🤗 For you I see your soul is gathering long term opportunities to build a better future! This could mean a better job, bonus, higher position, or a career path is becoming clear to you! Your soul is wanting you to master something here as well in regard to your physical and material world. Finances especially, and matters of the home. But more so the emotional aspects of home life. Its possible ya’ll have been saving up to move out into your own place and now the opportunity is here! Your soul is wanting to help you gain your footing physically, and start a legacy of some kind 💗🤗🤍 this could even be your own solo business! Or continuing a family business, but in your own way. So maybe you’re changing some rules to the game, adding your own, and taking away when needed 💌 we love that! Independence 💅🏻 More so, your soul is wanting you to have a beautiful chance at a stable home life and stable position in a job, where you feel you are thriving and not living paycheck to paycheck. Your soul is also going to present this opportunity to gather stability soon! Its coming in real hot. And it may take some time to make a decision, or to think of the long term investment when it does arrive, but thats okay! Its all part of the process because your soul wants you to start thinking long term now 💗🤗 how can you be successful in your future? This can also be in regards to your health, wanting to build a better connection with your body if it was injured or hurt in some kind of way. Healing and nurturing yourself! Thank you pile 2’s! Please like, comment and reblog to share the love ☁️🤍 have a great day/night!

Pile 3: 6 of pentacles • Judgement

Alright hi pile 3’s! ❤️💗⭐️ I do want to say I love this card combo we got for you 😂 chefs kiss! Your soul is working through past karma related to giving/receiving. Maybe there was an imbalance in your relationship where you over gave and people did not meet the bare minimum. So your soul is learning from that and implementing changes! Your soul is wanting to bring forward to you the awareness of change, and inner security. You may have to release these people who hurt you and could not give you more than the bare minimum, but it’s important for your growth. I also heard all in due time, so it seems that maybe you knew you’d have to let them go soon. Or maybe you got the feeling these types of people couldn’t linger anymore, they’d have to go. But it’s been hard for you to let them go, which is why your soul is wanting you to realize these kinds of experiences can end. You have the power to end holding onto these patterns and people. This is a major point in growth for you and important to your souls missions. Its part of your soul to move towards stability, calm and balance. Let go of what imbalances you. I also heard your soul is not afraid to rock boats so it can do what it needs to do, especially what it set out to do from the beginning. Powerful message! ⭐️💌 I feel like your soul is a bad bitch and came here to slay 💅🏻🚨 but truthfully, your soul knows these types of patterns and people are only limiting you and your potential to create. If you’ve been in jobs where its been unfair, tumultuous, chaotic, your soul is arranging opportunities in which you receive better but only when you realize you are worthy of that! 🤗💗 thank you pile 3’s! Please like, comment and reblog to share the love ☮️💗☁️

Pile 4: Ace of pentacles • 10 of cups

Hi there pile 4’s! 💗🤗 last but not least ☮️⭐️ I see your soul is arranging a soul family meeting 👀🫶 you’ll be meeting people who are closest to your heart and those who understand you greatly! Soul twins 😂💗 you’ll be shocked at how much these people value you especially if you’ve been in past relationships where people breadcrumbed you. Your soul wants shiny, better, and luxurious partnerships 😍💗 no playing around! Your soul wants you to have the best of the best. And here it is! I feel its been a long time coming and now you’re ready to receive this opportunity. Its possible you could meet them in the form of co-workers! Someone may be of high status here as well, and share that with you. If you’re desiring a partner, they will be of high status and position, and share their finances with you 💗☁️ they also want this commitment just as much as you do. Brighter days are ahead! Your soul definitely wants to feel comfortable on its own in a community, not where it has to abandon itself to keep others happy. This is the kind of community where you’ll be satisfied and at peace. If you’ve been wanting to provide or have a family of your own, your soul is also taking that into account and arranging opportunities where you receive help to make this come true 💗🤗☁️ better job opportunities, bonuses, your partner may have a stable financial income, you’ll be having another stream of income as well this year! Your soul is definitely wanting to thrive 🫶😍 if anyone is wanting kids here your soul is also supporting your dreams and aspirations 🤗💗 if anyone is wanting a home too, this year and moving forward is time to start saving up! Thank you pile 4’s! Please like, comment and reblog to share the love ☮️🤍💌 have a great one!

Thank you everyone for all of the support 💗🤗☮️ I hope this resonated!

Paid readings ☮️💗

[bsverryin]

: ̗̀➛ Rizz-ing up genshin men

PART. 1

Who?

╰┈➤ Ayato, Zhongli, Diluc, Xiao, Cyno

plot?

╰┈➤ how you became friends to lovers from rizzing them up.

✎ possible warning ⚠️ mention of alcohol. Fluff/wholesome how you became their friend, lover after. HEAD CANNONS ONLY !! I don't know if it's character accurate enough but I tried my best, again I can't assure you of PERFECT grammar, enjoy!

(DMS are open)

: ̗̀➛ AYATO

Ayato is just too serious and busy all the time that you can't find the right timing to rizz him up, so most of the time you find yourself the one starting to start a conversation with him.

He doesn't need such cheesy rizz because the man himself has the most unspoken rizz, he really doesn't have to do much to make other people fall for him, he's too beautiful and majestic people.

You meet him whenever you and ayaka hangout, it feels like heaven whenever you meet, he deeply cares about his sister too and one day ayaka left you with him so she can buy something outside, you tell her that you'd go with her but she wanted to make it a surprise so she left you with his brother which wasn't so bad.

You struggled to talk with him because he was just too indimidating and looks busy. So whenever he tries to glare at you, you give him a small smile and to forget the awkward tension you decide to talk to him.

"I've heard a lot of you from ayaka, you really are a good brother. I hope I have a brother like you." You said with a light tone.

"I can treat you like a sister too." He chuckled and smiled at you back.

Well, he didn't treat you as his sister because you kept sending him rizz messages, he doesn't find them annoying and got used to it. He loved your attention and you both got used to each other so sometimes when he has his free time he goes around with you and ayaka, then finally you both were alone together.

"Umm, it was nice hanging out with you and ayaka!" You said enthusiastically, smiling at him.

"It is a pleasure to hang out with you, apologies if I couldn't treat you like my own sister. I just find myself loving your company, would you allow me to treat you more than that, Y/n?"

: ̗̀➛ ZHONGLI

Zhongli doesn't understand your rizz-es most of the time, however he doesn't mind. He may have asked you couple of times if you liked him more than a friend but you deny it by saying you just loved rizz-ing him up for fun. You were helping around Xinyue Kiosk, He was a regular costumer. He's always alone yet he doesn't mind. You always see him and he looked really elegant to you, one day you just decided to go talk and be friends with him. It doesn't cost any harm so why not try? It was one of the best decision that you've ever made because you became friends and sometimes he wants you to join to have a meal with him, he told you a lot of times to stop speaking formalities with him but the more he says that the more he speaks formality, he was just born formal and you didn't understand and that's where you start rizz-ing him up whenever you message him, hoping he'd be comfortable and be less formal with you but then again it's just how he was. "What do you think of the geo archon?" Zhongli asked out of nowhere while you both are having an afternoon meal together. "I think the geo archon is really cool! The geo archon did a really good job protecting the Liyue and if I ever meet him, I will praise him as much as I can until there's no words left to describe how awesome and thankful I am." He smiled at your words, he was expecting that but he didn't expect that much Well sooner, you found out zhongli was the GEO ARCHON, You couldn't get yourself to look at him but he assured you many times that it was okay in-fact it made him really happy that you think that way, but you're just too embarrassed you weren't expecting that the geo archon was the one you were rizz-ing up and even sharing a meal with. It took you weeks to process that information but sooner you accepted it and praise him more than usual, the first person who confessed? It was Zhongli, he hears your praise every single day however it was different whenever you say those words to him. He loved you in any way. "I'm happy to hear those words from you, Y/n. I appreciate you as a person and more than a friend"

: ̗̀➛ DILUC

As expected, Diluc has left you on read again but it wasn't on purpose because in reality he just doesn't know what to respond after you rizz-ing him up. He stared at your message for awhile thinking what to say but completely forgets about it because the tavern is getting filled up with drunkards. You, were one of them. You liked drinking but it's not a habit, it only happens when you're lonely and doesn't know what to do next in life. Whenever you're helpless. It was the reason why you're friends with diluc, you had too much to drink and couldn't control yourself properly, you became drunk and started flirting with diluc, he was annoyed at first but he's letting you say what you had to say because he couldn't control you either, that night you gave diluc your number and he accompanied you to your house. He left immediately and morning afterwards you couldn't remember what happened but see a message from an unknown number asking if you're alright It was diluc telling you to pay for the damages you cause in the tavern, you broke a glass and a wine.. but you still couldn't remember anything so you had no choice but to go to that tavern again. You begged diluc to let you go because it really wasn't on purpose, you were drunk and most of all.. You didn't have any money so you promised to repay him by working at the tavern, angel's share. "Alright then please do so, we are short in employee's after all." Was all that he can say and that's where you started working. He was a rich man and you're a helpless lady but you had this rich man's number it won't be that bad talk to message him sometimes right? but sometimes turned into everyday's you both became friends and you started rizz-ing him up out of nowhere but you know you'll be left on read again, if not on read then he will respond with question marks and fake haha laugh messages. Who confessed first? Of course, it's you. You told him that you'd respect his time always and be a good girl for him but what you didn't know was this man loved you the way you do, He was just good at hiding it. "Hey, Y/n.. Did anyone told you before how gorgeous you truly are?"

: ̗̀➛ CYNO

Cyno is the scary general mahamatra, yet you can't stop yourself from rizz-ing him up, he didn't look that scary to you and above of that he also rizz-es you back but it's not a flirty rizz but a funny rizz, in your perspective you both are totally made for each other. You and cyno are childhood friends, but it's not like other where you both are very close to each other and play with each other. You both were friends because he's the most closest in your house. You can't really leave your house because of your young age before You, both as young kids were talking from your windows, throwing papers to each other windows and tease each other. That's your wholesome relationship with cyno You had to leave sumeru for many years, you stayed on Liyue with your parents and when you grew older you forget about cyno but then you had to comeback to sumeru for your grandparents. You found out that your neighbor was the scariest general mahamatra, it didn't stop you from talking to him though, you found out he plays TCG and you both became friendly rivals after playing for awhile and cyno asked for your number whenever you play again and then there's where you start from messaging him to rizz him up. "I'll definitely win this time!" You said while you roll the dice and you going first. "and I'll definitely make you cry!" Cyno said teasingly as you both played for awhile. This time, you won and started jumping around laughing at cyno. You spent those days on the sumeru spending time with cyno. You both got closer than before, sometimes you find yourselves talking about the old time when you were exchanging and throwing notes to each other's window, he's glad to see you back. Cyno confessed first, You thought that he was joking around because there was no way he will like you but then realize sooner that he was serious, You couldn't believe it because you liked him too. "Let's play another round, if I win you'll let me kiss you."

: ̗̀➛ XIAO

Rizz-ing up xiao, is the bravest thing to do. He doesn't understand, he doesn't want to. He didn't mind you rizz-ing him up but sometimes he gets annoyed where he almost blocks you. You loved cooking that you almost cook everywhere you go, Wangshu inn was your favorite place to cook in, It has unlimited ingredients that Ms. Verr assigns you to cook for xiao and surprisingly xiao loved your cooking better than anyone else. You asked for his number so that he can easily call you or message you when he wanted to eat something other than almond tofu, he didn't know how to use a phone so you taught him how to message and call someone, then there's where you started rizz-ing him up. If it wasn't for your cooking then he might have blocked you long time ago, but still he replies than to left you on read. "Can you cook me something other than almond tofu, tomorrow?" He said while you gave him his usual almond tofu, you stared at him to think what else to cook and a better food other than almond tofu but he took it in a wrong way. "Tsk, just tell me if you don't want to." He said as he took the almond tofu on your hands. "No, no! I would love to well then get ready to eat the most delicious food tomorrow!" You gave him an excited smile while he looked at you curiously. You cooked a lot of different meal for him everyday because he loved and wanted to try everything that you cook. Which made you feel appreciated as a person and a chef. He would often message you to cook him something but of course you rizz him up first before doing his request. Sometimes he'd let you stay so you guys can talk about foods and what it feels conquering demons. You confessed first, you told him you loved the way he appreciates your food better than anyone else. He smiled at you and kissed you after eating the food you cooked for him. "That's good to know, Y/n. I love your cooking and you too."

[stationintern]

Ah, yes. My abandoned careerfest fic. Thank you to @teledild0nix for the tag! I’m glad to finally have an excuse to share some of the pettiness in this (in a way)WIP. For context, the prompt was Wedding Officiant/Wedding Planner.

Next came Potter, the ever-present thorn in his side and the ex-boyfriend of Bride 2.

He was awaiting Draco at his first appointment, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his jeans, wild hair tucked into a black hoodie, looking murderous and tan and stupid as ever. It made Draco feel a bit better about his tattered jumper and khakis–one of the two pairs of trousers he owned.

Pansy conveniently forgot to tell him that Potter would not only be officiating the wedding (Everyone loves a bit of blasphemy, Draco! Who better to act as our priest than the Savior of the world?) he would also be advising Draco regarding Ginevra’s taste during the planning process.

They argued many, many times, about everything aside from the things that truly mattered.

They argued at the florists because Draco thought gardenias would be the most tasteful choice, but lilies were Ginevra’s favorite flower—not once did it occur to either of them to put them in a bouquet together—until the elderly Muggle woman running the place screamed at them and threatened to call the poll lease if they kept going at it, whatever that was.

“You always have to be right, don’t you, Malfoy?” Potter screamed from across the street, the two of them divided by the flow of traffic lest their words turn to fists. His next insults were muffled by a passing tour bus, but Draco assumed they were something along the lines of, ‘Same stupid git,’ and ‘Fucking gardenias. You would pick those, you prick,’ and ‘I’m just angry because you’re devastatingly handsome in ways that I’m not.’

“Do you always plan your ex-girlfriend’s weddings?” Draco yelled back, loving the chance to be petty after being around Muggles for so long, where all he felt was repentant.

“No, do you?” Potter replied, because Draco conveniently forgot about that period where he and Pansy thought shagging would ignite some sort of spark between them, when all it did was make them extremely uncomfortable talking about sex in front of one another.

Prying questions were the source of most of the conflicts between him and Potter. Draco was insecure about his lack of a wand whenever Potter took his out. When Draco asked Potter why he and Ginevra had broken up in the first place, all Potter said was, “Wouldn’t you like to know,” before running off with his metaphorical tail between his legs.

They argued at the caterers, during the venue tour, at the card-maker, the linen shop, and nearly resorted to fisticuffs at the second florist. If the place had good acoustics, they fought. But, they also got things done.

“There’s no way in hell anyone is going to eat a fucking lemon cake. There will be children at this wedding.” Potter raged in that icy way of his, arms crossed in the corner of the shop like the hypothetical, lemon-hating children he was defending, “You tried the honey-vanilla cake. That one was clearly the winner here.”

“Lemon is refined. Lemon is refreshing. Lemon won’t leave you clutching your stomach on the dance floor. Case and point.” Draco shot back.

“Boys, boys!” Cassandra, the baker, held up her hands, effectively silencing the room, “Harry, now, you want a classic cake, yes? Sweet, palatable to all? And Draco, you want something light-weight and fresh. I can do a vanilla cake, to appease the masses, and we can make a nice, fruity frosting. Strawberry, raspberry, passion fruit. Anything like that.”

Draco and Potter stared at her, waiting for her to stop talking, so they could continue arguing, because that was a lot more fun than finding solutions.

Cassandra just sighed, rolled her eyes, and seemed to make the decision for them, “Vanilla and raspberry, then.”

Turns out, two people with very loud opinions about what they wanted spurred strangers to suggest a resolution—or threaten to call the police, which Potter explained were Muggle Aurors—and the end result turned out pretty great.

With Ginevra’s salary as a star Quidditch rookie, the couple could afford a pretty lavish affair. Draco and his sidekick (“Don’t call me that,”) found the loveliest venue: a converted art gallery now being used as an event space, with high, arched ceilings and glittering chandeliers, their reflection sending gold shimmers across the walls. It would be easy to rearrange the chairs from the ceremony in order to use the same space for the reception, which was convenient, and there was a trendy cocktail bar right next door in case anyone wanted to keep the party going elsewhere.

Pansy was ecstatic, Ginevra was happy that Pansy was happy, and Draco and Potter were just thankful it was over.

Id like to tag @mallstars @the-starryknight and @lemonlimelea! Sorry if you’ve already been tagged.

[9800sblog]

How are the ateez members currently feeling? Are they happy? Stressed? Etc. <3

based on tarot!!

how are ateez feeling? 🤨

do I have their energy permission to do and share this reading? the world

group energy

9 of wands, 5 of wands reversed, 9 of pentacles reversed, 7 of pentacles reversed, (bottom of the deck) 3 of cups

happy to have returned to each other, strong sense of friendship and familiarity. these guys are tired tho and there's a shared feeling of hesitancy and instability, this may be for many different reasons, but overall, they're working really hard, they're feeling protective and they're definitely preparing something for fans. they got each other's backs! above everything, they are friends and they're happy to be in each other's lives. they probably bring each other a sense of constancy and community, of understanding, they're each other's happiness, I think.

seonghwa

the star, the moon reversed, king of wands reversed, (bottom of the deck) judgement reversed

this is someone who sees a clear path ahead of him, which he's not sure if he wants to follow. he feels that he doesn't have independence, he can't act upon his desires or passions. it's like he's recently had a knock of reality, someone who feels that he doesn't have space to dream. he may have been put in a position of power somehow, which he doesn't appreciate? he has to shine his own light, instead of reflecting others’s but he may not be sure how to do that!

hongjoong

10 of pentacles reversed, queen of wands reversed, justice, (bottom of the deck) ace of wands reversed

trying to balance work and personal life is not easy, balance logic and passion, what you want and what you're meant to do. he's trying to stay self composed because there are many people counting on him, but he feels a lack of enthusiasm or energy. he's tired for sure, he was the only member who didn't get to be with his family during break, it seems like he misses them.

yunho

page of swords, hanged man reversed, 4 of pentacles, (bottom of the deck) the sun

nurturing his inner child, a change of perspective, renewed energy, dude feels strong and open-minded, like a kid excited to go to school. he's interested in his work these days, moving his body and letting what doesn't serve him go. he's in a pretty lighthearted mood! back to his old energizer, vitamin yun role >< he feels positive

yeosang

3 of cups, justice, king of pentacles, (bottom of the deck) the magician reversed

almost everything is perfect for yeosang, he's got stability, good friends, independence, but he wants more than what he's accomplished and given. he's a perfectionist, there's something he doesn't feel confident about, he may not be expressing himself as much as he should. he may like to lie to get what he wants 😭☝️ (like we see him act all innocent for members to do stuff for him)

san

temperance reversed, 9 of swords, 7 of pentacles, (bottom of the deck) 2 of cups

everything looks awful for san but he's in such a good mood? he has an incredible connection with someone who makes him feel safe and nurtured, this energy just so sweet and full of love. he feels impatient too, a little anxious, but nothing matters to him when he's in this energy.

mingi

page of pentacles, knight of wands, queen of cups reversed, (bottom of the deck) strength

mingi doesn't have much control of his feelings and emotions lately, everything is heightened, but lucky for him, things are going pretty well. he feels determined, confident, he knows what he wants and he's going after it. he's having much fun and seems excited about work and life in general, learning a lot and feeling comfortable.

wooyoung

4 of cups, page of wands, the empress, 7 of cups reversed

wooyoung is just so confused, so conflicted! there's a choice he needs to make, he's looking from a place of comfort which does help his decision-making process but he's tense, overwhelmed by having too many things to look after. he may be choosing the easier path, which may turn out well for him! overall, he's comfortable and pure, having fun, excited!

jongho

2 of pentacles, the world, knight of wands, (bottom of the deck) the hermit

getting his ducks in a row, he feels in control, prepared, balanced, he's just chill. doesn't have many worries, I think. he's just good, all cards are very positive and I don't get any different vibes, neutral to good!

[starakex]

Warden Ingo Cosplay Build Log

Hey Legends Arceus / Submas / Pokémon fans ! I spent two months last year making a Warden Ingo costume because the game made me fall in love with the franchise all over again (and because I love sad amnesia uncle, of course). I'm pretty proud of it, so I thought it'd be fun to share the process here in painstaking details. I've been cosplaying for over a decade now and I learned a bunch from so many defunct cosplay tutorials on this website, so I thought I'd give back. This isn't a guide, persay, but rather a dive into the methods and decisions I picked to complete this project. Any pre-made items or patterns that are available online will be linked! I'll be splitting down each piece of the costume into its own section for easier reading. This is gonna be a long one with a bunch of pictures, so I'd suggest viewing on the blog directly! Without further ado, all aboard!

Station 0: The Guidelines

Before getting into the build itself, I wanted to preface this wall of text with the guidelines I set myself for this project.These core pillars inform a lot of the decision-making, and some people might feel like using this log as reference for their own cosplays, so I thought it'd be good to put them here to explain why I did some stuff the way I did. Comfort first: I knew I was gonna wear it in the summer, and stand around all day at a convention, so it needed to be lightweight and comfortable. (well, as much as a cosplay can be, anyways.) Realism: Ok, that's kinda weird to associate "realism" to a Pokémon costume (unless you're Detective Pikachu I guess), but I wanted to look more natural instead of translating a shiny fancy 3D model straight to real life (nothing against that, it just wasn't my goal). This meant adapting certain elements that only really worked in stylized Pokémon graphics. Be a huge cheapskate: I didn't wanna break the bank with this one, so if I could save money thrifting or reusing stuff I had lying around, I was going to do it. Whenever you see me pull some material out of my ass that wasn't entirely fit for the job, that's why. After putting these down, jotted down a battle plan for the project (basically just a huge compartmentalized list of all the material I expected to need and the steps to complete the costume), and then it was time to get to work.

Station 1: Thrift Shop Pit Stop

I like starting every project with a quick trip to the local thrift stores to see what I can find. I hate sewing pants with a passion, so my priority was to grab some navy suit pants to match the coat's fabric to later. I also found a long sleeve black shirt for Ingo's undershirt, a belt I ended up not using, and lucked out with some excellent clown shoes with removeable insoles. After slapping in my own insoles, replacing the shoelaces and fixing up the pants' button, we were good to go on every element that could be done without any extra work on my end. Moving on.

Station 2: Three Refined Metals For A Hat

I'll be honest here: when I initially planned out the entire project in my notebook, the hat was scary as hell. I had no clear idea how I was going to do it; I didn't really want to buy a similar pre-made hat cause roughing it up would've been stupid hard to get to look right. I figured I could probably make it out of EVA Foam (a certified cosplay classic), but I've never patterned a shape this complex before. Turns out Kamui Cosplay made a foam pattern for the same kinda hat. Score! I purchased the pattern and assembled the hat using 6mm EVA Foam and Contact Cement according to the instructions. I then destroyed some poor polyester cord trim from the bottom of my scrap bin and glued it into the base for the... sticky-outies? The damaged bits. Y'know.

With the base finished, I drafted a pattern for the fabric covering, cut my pieces out of navy twill, sewed it up and slid it over the hat. I did the same for the inside with some cheap black muslin leftovers from another project, glued it all to the base in strategic spots, and then patterned, sewed and glued the band on. Finally, I took my seam ripper and scissors and opened up the seams where the little piles of sad polyester scraps were lining up to free them. With the main part of the hat complete, I cut up a disc of 10mm EVA foam for the insignia, scored the design on with a hobby knife and heated it up to form a bit of a curve. It was then sealed with flexbond, painted and sealed with a clear coat, and glued on! All that was left after this was weathering the hat. It's a little hard to photograph this piece properly, so I'll show the weathering process when we get to the coat.

I apologize for basically pulling a "rest of the fucking owl" here, but honestly a lot of the process was improvising and somehow not destroying the entirety of my progress, so I have no pictures of the hat building process beyond this.

Station 3: Sneasels Ripped My Coat

Ingo's coat started with a heavily modified version of a commercial pattern. Specifically, it's the D Coat from Simplicity's 4789. I could've probably found a pattern closer to the Subway Bosses' coat design, but this one had already been in my pile of "patterns I bought for an abandonned project and will totally use someday, I swear" and it was close enough, so I used it. Modifications included extending the collar, making the coat a little longer in proportion to my body, the sleeves wider at the ends, and adding inner pockets (a cosplayer's best friend). Oh, and the white bias tape on the edges and the orange stripes, of course. You may have noticed I'm not showing the pattern with all the modifications here. That's because as part of the Cheapskate Protocol, I really wanted to use this old Simplicity pattern to save money. A pattern I bought when I was a teen way back when. the misses sized pattern enveloppe. So I had to size up the entire damn thing. The biggest size on this pattern was like 7 inches off my measurements. It's a paper Frankenstein golem. It looks godawful. The actual adjustments to make the pattern Submas-ready are incomprehensible in there. But hey, I saved like 10 dollars! I started by assembling the base coat (undamaged) out of navy twill. I added heavy interfacing in the collar to help it stay up. I considered adding a lining to it to really sell the fact this used to be a modern machine-assembled piece of clothing, but it wouldn't have looked as good with the rips and tears later on. As a bonus, it's one layer less in the fight against heat exhaustion! However, if I were to make this coat for Pre-Eeby-Deebied Ingo, I'd definitively do a lining.

Next step was the stripes! I used some double fold white bias tape to finish the edges of the coat and topstitched the ones on the back of the coat on. I then used the same orange cotton as the hat band for the three orange stripes,which were topstitched on. Cheapskate Protocol made me buy barely enough orange cotton this time around because I was tired of building up the pile in the fabric scrap bin, so I had to improvise to make it work by snipping the bands in strategic spots in order to cover to whole coat properly. It's not like the parts that would be cut off later for the damage would need them, anyways. ✨Optimization✨

After rolling my rock up the hill of a Hell of my own creation, I booted up the game, dragged my avatar to the Ingo enclosure and marveled at the magnificent creature to see where the coat was ripped. I traced a loose guide of the tear designs with washable fabric chalk and crudely cut up the bottom edge, sleeves and collar to have the basic shape down.

All that was left was to add the armband and the buttons. Turns out the only metal buttonsI could find that were big enough were those buttons kits to cover with fabric. Since I wanted to go for realism here (and be able to throw the whole thing in the wash after sweating in it all day), I wanted to avoid crafting them myself. With the main construction done, it was time to do the weathering! ... ... ... OH GOD I FORGOT TO ADD POCKETS

Behold, the world's most awful pockets. Two stupid little bags sewn in such a way you hopefully can't tell from the outside that I completely forgot that I wanted these. They literally only exist so I can have my phone handy at a convention. There's a buttonhole to close it too, I guess. They're shamefully hidden with all my lining-less, raw seam sins. Ok now we can destroy the coat

Station 4: Stinky And Dirty

I mentionned earlier during the hat section that I was going to get back to the weathering process. This is happening now. For the sake of Realism™️, I wanted the damage to look natural in real life, so I had to make it look believable. Luckily this wasn't my first rodeo with the Dirt, so I had plenty of weathering experience under my belt. To break up the awkward scissor cuts from earlier on the edges and fray everything up, I pulled out the sandpaper and started... Sanding the fabric. Might sound weird to some, but a lot of costume makers swear by it. It's also great for ripped jeans (if those are still popular today) and general natural wear. I also refined the shape along the way with scissor to break up any long straight cuts before fraying the edges. I took care to reinforce any newly destroyed seams with a sneaky staystitch so it doesn't unravel in the future. I then mixed up a bunch of different shades of brownish grime with fabric paints (I had black, brown, yellow, orange and green on hand) to dirty the whole thing up. This doesn't look as realistic as some other methods like weathering powders and Just Using Real Dirt, but as mentionned earlier I wanted to be able to just throw it in the washing machine at the end of the day to sanitize it. (If you're interested in actually learning how to weather a costume, this guide is where I started my journey.) I prioritized the ripped edges and any spots where grime would realistically accumulate in over time, like under the edge of the hat band. Paint was dabbed, stippled and rubbed on with whatever garbage tools I could find, which in my case were some old crusty brushes, sponges and toothbrushes I could get really violent with. (brushes were harmed in the making of this costume, but not my good brushes.)

The whole thing was then sealed with heat using a flat iron as per the fabric paint instructions. With the coat done, all of Ingo's old Subway Boss uniform was complete!

Station 5: A Warden's Garb

Next step on the list was making the Pearl Clan uniform. Thankfully, there's a fun little piece of concept art that shows Ingo without his signature coat, so from it we can confirm that his clan outfit has short sleeves (good for the comfort goal) and consists of two pieces: a tunic and some kind of hip sash. I omitted the hood on the tunic because I was realistically never going to wear it up and it would have just bunched up under the coat anyways. Now you'll be painfully aware of that terrible corner cutting truth whenever you scroll down and see photos of the costume. Sorry. I drafted out a quick pattern for both pieces of the clan garb through the power of math for the sash (a couple half circles with another piece for the border) and tracing over a tunic in my wardrobe for the shirt. I assembled a test version out of scrap muslin to make sure it worked properly, then set the pattern aside so I could prepare the fabric. In order to have all of the tunic elements match together, I picked up a bunch of white stretch knit fabric and a bottle of purple synthetic dye so I could reach the shade of dusty lavender I wanted. I measured out two squares of fabric based on the pattern. One square was for the darker border on the waist sash, while the rest was the lighter color for the whole outfit. I boiled water according to the dye instruction and worked on my Fabric Soup.

With the fabric dyed and washed, I cut my pattern pieces out and assembled everything together. Nothing special happened there since the pattern had been tested and adjusted prior to sewing the real deal. Ok, one thing happened actually. My sewing machine absolutely hated how thin this fabric was and kept trying to eat my costume. By the end I was about ready to throw the machine out the window, but things worked out.

It's pretty sneaky and totally not visible on the outside, but the sash is held closed with two snap buttons on the front. It's easily the single jankiest piece of the costume due to the aforementioned attempt by my sewing machine to have fabric dinner. But hey, it works and the jank isn't visible so who caaaares (I care)

Final step for the Pearl Clan outfit was adding the logo on the front. I wasn't sure how I wanted to do this, at first, but to keep the fabric's stretch and keep with the idea that this is a hand-sewn garment from old Hisui, I decided to go with hand embroidery. I grabbed some scrap white cotton, dyed it purple, then cut it out in the shape of the logo. It was then painstakingly applique'd to the tunic by hand with embroidery floss.

With that done, the tunic was completed! It looks absolutely depressing on a coat hanger, but when worn with a belt it's all nice and cozy. As a bonus, it layers with the coat well enough that I don't have to wear a binder under everything to hide obvious boob shapes. Another win for the Comfort team! 👏 With all the sewing done, all that's left is the Warden bracelet and the hair.

Station 6: Noble Sneasler's Cool Bling

Ingo's got a bestie bracelet of his best pal Sneasler, so we gotta make that. The build should be pretty standard to anyone that's made anything out of EVA Foam for a cosplay. I drafted the pieces by referencing the in-game model, cut them out of different thicknesses of the material to create some depth, and glued everything together with contact cement and hot glue. (The main bracelet is 6mm foam, the details are 2mm foam and the black parts for the base of the head and the gem are 4mm foam.) I added an elastic on the wrist to keep the bangle secured to my arm while still being able to easily slip it on and off.

The whole thing was then sealed with flexbond, painted and then sealed with a spray clear coat. Honestly, it was the simplest part of the build and it actually went without a hitch this time around.

With the accessories done, it was now time to get to what I am convinced is every Submas cosplayer's worst nightmare: The Goddamn Hair.

Station 7: The Goddamn Hair

There's a lot of artists credited as character designers in the credits of Pokémon Black & White (2010). This means I can't figure out who to blame for Ingo and Emmet's stupid sideburns that make absolutely no sense in the real world. Instead we're just going to scream at the heavens and find a solution to the geometric flaps. Another fun fact: I'm awful at wigs. Like absolutely awful. I understand the methods involved, but I'm stupid bad at applying that knowledge on an expensive mop of plastic hair I don't want to ruin. So I did some research to figure out how people were making the twins' hair on their own cosplay. Everyone did a great job, but it wasn't really the effect I was looking for, so I decided to start from scratch. Because, you see, I was going to completely avoid styling a wig. I've always interpreted the art as them having some sick sideburns/muttonchops. (This art piece by waltias on twitter was posted like a week after I finished my cosplay and I felt so so validated in my interpretation) I also love Makeup FXs, so I thought "hey, I can look up beard makeup tutorials." I ended up with two ideas: either I could buy crepe wool hair in grey and glue the fibers to my face individually every time I put the costume on, or I could make a reuseable prosthetic. I'm a lazy piece of garbage that likes doing things once so prosthetic it was. I mean, I know how to ventilate wig lace. It'll be reusable and take 4 minutes to apply. Smart! I got the Jett in Light Grey from Arda Wigs, a ventilating hook, matching wefts and the lace. I had a plan, I was ready, it was going to look great. And then I spent 40 hours tying individual strands of plastic hair on a wig lace mesh. For a total surface area of maybe 3 square inch.

(Pictured above: A Fool.) It was hell. I might've incurred a stress injury from the process and then had to let it rest for a week because I did it all over a couple days. Would I recommend doing it? If you're patient, sure. I love the result. But this was, by far, the worst part of the entire project. 40 hours. The entire coat took me like 6 hours. 40 fucking hours.

After painstakingly tying individual hairs to a mesh and realizing I might've reached the Ninth Circle of Hell along the way, I took my couple squares of ventilated wefts and trimmed them to the proper length. The result was awesome, and I don't regret it at all. It looks exactly how I pictured the idea of sideburns would look like. But it also took 40 hours of me just tying some fucking hair to a mesh. Maybe there was a better solution, but there's so little ressources about the process online that I just went with the methods I could find, really. I pray someone starts offering squares of pre-ventilated wig lace someday so no one else has to suffer like I did. As a sidenote, I didn't even bother with the balding hair since I wasn't gonna go through all the effort of heavily modifying a wig and wearing a bald cap if I wasn't even gonna take the hat off.

40 hours.

Station 8: Bits And Bobs From Under the Subway Bench

Honestly, after the absolute nightmare I went through making the sideburns and goatee, The final touches were a cakewalk. After all, the costume is complete! What's next? Warden Ingo uses Pokéballs like a cool guy, so I wanted one. I usually make pretty much everything myself for costumes because it's fun, but after the ventilating adventure I just wanted to rest. I'd been following NisuzCraft's work for a while now, and I loved the wood grain effect on their Hisuian Pokéballs. I wholeheartedly recommend them, their work is awesome.

As a final touch, I grabbed some red cord I had lying around from a previous project to craft a little loop to hook my convention badge onto. I don't really like having the badge show up on photos, so it was a clean way to have it easily accessible while having it be easy to slide out of sight. I based the idea off of the knotted ropes the Galaxy Team member hang their Pokéballs from on their uniforms.

Lastly, though it's not necessarily part of the costume itself, I made an overly indulgent ita bag panel for the first con I took Warden Ingo out to. The collection's grown since then, but here it is:

Chandelure: JellyBearDesigns Ingo & Lady Sneasler: AstroTeenyArts Warden Ingo, Emmet&Ingo Duo: Cynniarts Ingo & Emmet with fingers crossed, Hanging Ingo, Emmet & Warden Ingo: Zhampip Rubber Straps: Official Pokémon Mate Merch Go show them some love!

Terminus: You Have Reached Hisui Station

So, first con wearing Warden Ingo came and went. What's the verdict? Pretty great experience, honestly. It was relatively comfortable to wear despite record heat in the middle of summer. The only real issue was that having a wig and a hat together trapped heat real bad, therefore some wig breaks were needed. I also initially used spirit gum to stick the facial hair on, and I struggled to remove the residue afterwards from the lace mesh, so now I just use body tape to keep it on. Nothing broke, nothing hurt, so I'd say it was a success! I haven't had to modify or repair anything for the future, so I'm very proud of the results. To anyone who read this Build Log to the very end, thank you so, so much for your interest. I hope this may have given you some insight into the process; especially if this helps your in future cosplay projects! If you don't cosplay, I hope it was still an entertaining read.

Hoping to see more wonderful Submas cosplays in the future!

[gilded-glitter]

Writer Interview Game

thanks for tagging me @eraserspiral and @dalgursbate! This was fun!

When did you start writing?

I started writing seriously in high school, kept up the practice in college, and then took a long break. I've been easing back into it for a bit.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I love a good hard sci-fi but I don't have the patience/science chops to write one with accuracy.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I admire so many writers: Toni Morrison, Ursula K. Le Guin, Octavia E. Butler, Madeline Miller, Susanna Clarke, and many more come to mind.

I don't know if emulate is the right word. But one thing all these writers have in common is that they're not afraid to Get Weird, and I take inspiration from that.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I get a lot of leverage from the notes app on my phone, so I can be anywhere. I used to write a lot at work that way lmao.

My home desktop setup is a bit cluttered because half of the desk is dedicated to my cat. But I always have a glass of water and my trusty tarot deck by my left hand.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

When I'm intentionally seeking creative juice, I'll look at art that evokes the same emotion I'm trying to get at with my writing. Same deal with music!

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Grief, Appalachian hillbilly shit, the destructive power of fire, standing on the cliff of a disastrous decision and being pulled back. None too surprising!

What is your reason for writing?

Sometimes I write to process, and no one else sees that work.

If I write something to share, it's a bid for connection. Kind of like, "Hey, are you all seeing this shit, too?" Or the way the dumb protagonist shouts "Hello!?" when they're alone in the scary house.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Basically any comment is like jet fuel to me. Just be nice :)

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

That I am just a person, a silly little guy even. And I inspire them to make art also.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I think I'm pretty good at creating sticky turns of phrase. One consistent piece of feedback I get is, "I still remember x 5 words from that thing you described."

How do you feel about your own writing?

I'm way too precious about it

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

I write for my own tastes because if I don't think it's neat, I will hate writing it and probably just won't do it.

I don't know who has been tagged yet, so here are some no-pressure tags for @amoremagnificentbastard, @lyzelky, @atsadi-shenanigans

[winterandwords]

🌞 Writeblr positivity tag

Tagged by @reneesbooks. Thanks, friend!

1. What motivates you to write?

World's simplest answer, but enjoyment. I just really, really enjoy writing and couldn't imagine not doing it.

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

This bit from November Breaks (you can read and download the whole thing for free at @novemberbreaksbywintersimpson!) will forever make me feel fizzy about my wordstuff...

Hovering above the boundary between potential and decision, I am opaque. He holds me at the edge of the void and I become transparent. I wrap my bravado in ribbons of tendons and bruise-kissed skin, and even that is not enough of an offering.

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

All of them! If I absolutely have to pick one, probably Brett from November Breaks and Spin Cylinder. He's a terrible bastard, but he's so much fun. He's reckless, self-centred, manipulative, and usually high on something. He's a very "That's a terrible idea. We should do it immediately" kind of person with no conscience and enough charisma to turn most situations in the direction of his choosing. Not someone I'd be friends with in real life, but a great dude to have living in my head.

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

Editing. Specifically line editing. Like final draft level line editing. Obsessing over the tiny details with the guts of the hard work already done.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Dialogue, maybe? I write a lot in first person, so maybe that should be monologue. I hear character's voices really clearly in my head, so I always feel like I'm just writing down something someone else is dictating to me.

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

The level of support and pure hype. How people will go absolutely feral over each other's writing. It's fucking beautiful. Also, I don't feel like the only fucked up weirdo here, so that's nice.

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

I recently discovered LivingWriter and I'm in love. I adored Scrivener, but I need to be able to access my writing on my phone as well as my laptop and Google Docs didn't have the structure I crave. LW looks like how the inside of my brain feels.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

The psychoactive frequencies in Bridge From Ashes and Project Aria are fun. I've always wished it was possible to get the effect of drugs or adrenaline-junkie experiences without the potential consequences, so I made a fictional way for that to happen.

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

TAKE A BREAK. No, seriously. If you're feeling burned out, exhausted or lacking in motivation, let yourself rest and recharge. We're all so conditioned to push through and often the best thing to do is just chill, switch off or switch gears for a bit, and let the muse kick back in when it's ready.

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

@kaiusvnoir, @indecentpause, @thegreatobsesso, @manathen, @nanashi23, @elbritch-kit, @reeseweston, @drabbleitout, @diphthongsfordays, @i-can-even-burn-salad (I feel like I'm forgetting people because there are so many amazing folks on here and I'm endlessly grateful for you all)

Tagging @cherrybombfangirlwrites, @clairelsonao3, @daisywords and @diphthongsfordays if they'd like to do it, with an open tag for anyone else who wants to take part. Blank questions are under the cut 💜

1. What motivates you to write?

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

3. Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

4. What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

6. What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

10. Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest supporters

[justimajin]

In the Imajining of: The Profit & Love Statement

It’s time again to share the Imajining process! I really missed doing these. 

I’ll talk about the entire series, broken up into these parts: 

The Initial Idea 

The Characters

Tidbits about the Story 

The Overall Series

Alright, let’s get it! 

Word Count: 1.6k

1. The Initial Idea

There were a lot of small components that surfaced into creating The Profit & Love Statement. 

First of all, the au. Previously in the making of Doctor Blues, I shared how I originally wanted to make the series into an office au. That idea fell apart when I instead opted out for a doctor au, but I still kept the idea of writing an office au in the back of my mind and decided to implement it into this story. 

Secondly, I really wanted to write something for Jin. Looking at my masterlist, I realized him and Hoseok had the least amount of works and for someone that is Jin biased, I felt pretty bad. When it comes down to writing about the members, I usually just attach whichever au/story I feel suits them best. So it made me want to write something solely for him, rather than the other way around. 

Ps. This also means Hoseok’s on my radar, so fear not Hobi stans. He’ll get more writing. 

So I knew what I wanted – a Jin office au. But of course, that’s not enough for a whole entire story. So I started brainstorming and came across the CEO au, which was an au I wrote before (The Treasured Thief/Suspended Soul), but never fully fleshed out. I also thought it would be perfect to write a story of Jin becoming CEO, so I stuck with the idea. 

Now, I was caught in bit of a dilemma. I wanted to write a CEO au, but it felt too…straightforward to me. For the longest amount of time, I was stuck on the idea of writing Jin as CEO and Y/N being his secretary. He would be really extra and dramatic all while Y/N would be very annoyed at his antics. Unfortunately, I didn’t like this idea much, as I felt there were similar stories already out there and I wanted Y/N to have her own goals and ambitions instead of being too hyper-focused on Jin’s as his secretary. 

So I debated over it and thought – Hey, why don’t I make a mentoring relationship instead? Where Jin is just a regular employee and has to be taught to become CEO? 

I like this idea better because of how interactive Jin could be with everyone and also thought it would be a good way to build the relationship between the two. It still retains that dynamic I originally wanted, but in this way Jin would grow to be CEO rather than just be one. It also gave me the chance to establish some concrete goals for Y/N too. 

After I had a good handle of what the story was going to become, I was ready to do some character work. 

2. The Characters

There were two dynamics I really wanted to focus on in the main relationship and that was: the poor girl meets rich guy trope and the couple that bickers like crazy. This is reflected in how I created their characters: 

> Seokjin: Jin was the first character I tried to develop, since he’s essentially the root of the entire situation. In regards to him becoming CEO, I didn’t want his desire to only stem from him not wanting to do it. Instead, there’s more layers as to why and I wanted his progress throughout the series to be like small steps. In the sense he would have moments of trying to push forward, but have moments of going backwards at times as well. With this, I wanted his official decision to become CEO to be impactful, as he only chooses to do it when he’s completely sure he wants to. 

Additionally, in order for him to bicker with Y/N constantly, I wrote him to be very dramatic and sassy. He has an attitude, but it’s like an endearing attitude (lmao). It was also something that was a lot of fun to write because I’ve typically written him as being very caring and nice in stories revolving around him (which I still include), but I really wanted to do more with his character this time around. 

> Y/N: When brainstorming about Y/N, I realized I needed a really strong character. Because she would essentially be going against Jin’s big personality and I wanted those bickering moments to shine. However, my biggest fear for her character throughout the entire series was that she would come across as too harsh. I even thought about toning her down at some points or making her be nicer, but after creating her backstory and personality, I felt like it was a disservice to her. She’s been through a lot, and it felt justified in leaving her the way I originally perceived. 

>> Fun fact: Y/N and Jin’s chemistry is by far my favorite. Their relationship came out better than my expectations and I liked writing their dynamic a lot. 

> Side characters: When it came to developing side characters this time around, I really wanted to create a friend group that was within the same age range, but experiencing very different stages of life. So Y/N was single (soon to be with Jin) but was a caretaker for someone, Hoseok lived with his mom but wanted to find someone, Yoongi was married with kids, Taehyung was staying away from his parents and Jungkook was focused on his career. Through this, I wanted to convey that despite being older, there was no ‘timeline’ followed – everyone was acting according to what they wanted in their lives, less of what was expected of them at that point. 

I also wanted to expand side characters a bit more around this time, so I would drop hints surrounding their own stories here and there. 

For Y/N’s core friends I chose Hoseok, Yoongi and Taehyung. I split them into various departments so there was a chance to see how each one operated differently. Hoseok was meant to be the kind but emotionally supportive friend, Yoongi was the one giving brutal life advice (lol) and Taehyung lightened up the atmosphere – all of which I felt Y/N needed around her. I used Jungkook to showcase Y/N’s connections outside of the workplace, as well as to demonstrate that both of them had to work different jobs just to make end’s meat. 

Jimin and Namjoon don’t show up until later in the series and for different reasons. I wanted Jimin to showcase the negative parts of the workplace, since not everything is sunshine and rainbows, and Namjoon to be someone Seokjin could confide in (let’s go namjin feels).

Yuna was added as a relationship idea I had for a while. Lately, I’ve been thinking that I want to integrate other platonic relationships into my stories. I focus a lot on friendship (it’s the power of friendship!) because I value it myself a lot, but I wanted to add more sibling and family bonds. Yuna also ties a lot into Y/N’s goals, as not only is she trying her hardest financially, but Y/N has someone to protect amongst all that. Their unfortunate circumstance was also important in emphasizing this, because the two of them rely on each other a lot and Y/N wouldn't be so ambiguous if it wasn’t for Yuna.

3. Tidbits about the Story 

This section is just for extra fun tidbits I can share about the chapters:

Chapter 3 – When Y/N questions if they’ve met before, Jin does remember and internally panics. He tries to brush it off and makes Y/N focus on his looks instead. I never got a chance to write this specific scene in his perspective, but thought it’d be fun to share here :3 

Chapter 8 and 12 had me a bit worried. They were both chapters that would essentially mark significant turning points for Y/N and Jin’s relationship and I was doubting how that would progress. These chapters are where they transition from mentor-mentee to actually being friends and I knew those chapters had to be it for them. Luckily, I was pretty satisfied with the end results. 

Chapter 16 is long. Although it’s a culmination of Jin’s feelings coming to light, I was worried people wouldn’t like the slow progress and would want the relationship to speed up. I was thoroughly shocked to find out that this chapter was actually really well-liked (a moment I was very glad to be wrong). 

I could barely write Chapter 17 without laughing every couple of seconds.

4. The Overall Series 

There were many, many difficult parts in writing this story. It’s my longest one till date and that made the planning process quite challenging. During its posting, I kept pushing myself to continue writing all the remaining chapters because I really did not want to leave the story unfinished. In addition to all this, this was also my first series after my long break, which made me very nervous to be writing after so long. 

However, despite all my hurdles and doubts, I am very happy that I wrote it. I just remember staring at the whole story when I finished and feeling a mixture of being both overwhelmed and overjoyed. I felt like I still had it in me, that I could still write and enjoy it like I once used to. 

[alegator]

hiii everyone :D i miss tumblr so bad and the ability to make long form blog posts ugh twitter is not the same plus the site and app are literally so shit. even though the tumblr app is not much better sometimes!! ive decided i want to post more on here to continue my little virtual diary…. I love the tagging system and most of all, love being able to look back and read my own updates!!! it’s crazy how it can help me recall the exact feeling of that moment… it feels special :) Twitter is great for quick fleeting thoughts so i wanna make lengthy life posts on here as a little time capsule, so i can have fun looking back and reading all my posts 10 years from now (if this site still exists. but i joined in 2011 and its still here so who knows). plus ive been posting my entire life on here for YEARS so who cares i will be vulnerable and over share and shit!!!!!! as is tumblr tradition… fuck it if youre my cousin on my homestuck side you can have my SSN.

moving on, here are fun life updates:

- celebrated my 11th anniversary on Feb 14th with the love of my life, Tenma!!!! i have been affectionately calling it the 7/11 anniversary since it’s been 11 years together, but also 7 years married 🤯 it actually fucks me up so bad that 2017 was 7 years ago like. genuinely lol FUCKKK HOOWWW 2017 should’ve been like 3 years ago. we choose to get married on the same day Tenma asked me out, which is also Valentine’s Day, and it was the best decision of all time for SO many reasons. maybe i will make a fun big post detailing those thoughts that another time!! we spent our anniversary day trying out a new coffee spot (so cute and SO pink omg), taking photo booth pictures at a new spot, exploring cute shops, and having an insanely delicious set menu i think maybe 6 courses? at a very fancy restaurant. i think 3 years ago we tried a new restaurant on our anniversary w their set Valentine’s Day menu course and it was so good, fun, and the best way to try out new foods so we’ve kept it going and i LOVE IT!!!!! i am already excited to see what tenma picks out for next year lol. finished the night by watching In The Mood For Love at our favorite local movie theater and i LOVED the movie, the whole end until bedtime we were just talking about it and dissecting it together. i love our life!!!!!!!!!

-tenma and i went to disneyland at the end of February for our anniversary trip!! ive gone before but they haven’t. IT WAS SO FUCKING FUN i am not a Disney fan at all but i love disneyland idk it’s just fun as fuck… um my feet were fucked afterwards lol but so worth it. one day at disneyland and the next at California aventure i wanna go back already but most importantly, tenma was already talking about wanting to go back and that makes me so happy bc it means they really enjoyed it!!! yay!!!! they even went on rides they thought were really scary just so we could try them together just once and that filled my heart with joy. then we also got to meet my online friend and had hotpot together. DELICIOUS i want to go back and explore LA next time and see more friends!!!! we are maybe planning a trip to San Fran in a few months though as the consulate is there to get my passport so that will take priority over any other trips☝🏼

-I GOT MY GREENCARD YEAGHHRHRHFJF!!!!!!!! ok actually i got it last year lol i wasn’t sure if i should put that on here but actually im so happy so fuck it!!! and then we celebrated by having a fancy dinner and I shared the news w the waiter who said he also did the same process w his wife! and yes i cried when i got my greencard idc i am HAPPY! crazy bc i got DACA for the first time in 2013 and then in 2023 i got my greencard… it’s been a fucking rollercoaster. and tenmas been there literally every step of the way…. Tenma is my rock I love them so much im crying typing this bc of how much i love them and how much they always support me and augnfngnfmg

-concerts this year have been Sonic symphony, kikuo/bo en/gus, Hannah Diamond, and hatsune miku (mikuexpo 2024)!!!!!!!! i loved all of the concerts genuinely so fun and next month i am taking my youngest sibling to a concert of a guy I don’t know but they love him so we will go and have a blast 🫡 idk if I’ll buy more tickets to more concerts but even if I don’t, it’s been a really really good year concert wise and i got to experience so many fun shows i never thought i would see live before!!

-spent time with lovely friends and celebrated old friendships and new ones yaaaay i love my friends and im blessed to have a good support system and I can’t wait to see what new friends I make in the future….

-I have a cold rn and took nighttime meds and unfortunately they are starting to hit so it’s time to say goodnight to tumblr…

If you read this far ummm ok weirdo… lol just kidding but i will try and post my lil life updates and pics more often so that not all my posts are like. months worth of writing… or maybe I won’t and the next time I make a post will be in a year idk!!!! this site is full of so many memories both good and bad and it’s dear to my lil heart, even if the feel isn’t the same since everyone mass migrated to Twitter, I want to come back here more often and make new memories whenever I can. goodnight 💤

[simonambroise]

I've been tagged by @palebdot. I intend to talk about my work.

QnA under the cut or whatever.

1)What motivates you to write?

I love reading my writing when its good, because I can write the story I want to read with gay people in it. There is also my dearest friend Sahara Wheatbrick, a tumblrless follower whomst knoweth where I live, so... Fear and joy in equal measure.

2) A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

Oh there's the scene I wrote from Lara's perspective (Lara is an alien called a Ruquati which is bipedal humanoid, typically red, orange or yellow with four arms) when she is first interacting with Taylor, a human child. Lara's internal processes are so fun to write, because she manages to be a space alien and yet so human. I will admit I took some inspiration from the whole humans are weird thing, but I feel the world building and characterization is the best I've ever done. I want to shove the entire chapter in here... But it isn't really a short snippet, yk? Tho its my post and I can do what I want..... Ill spare you the chapter but you'll get the whole scene.

Sorry for rambling tho haha

Lara had been working on a blanket when the larva stumbled in- a simple repetitive task. A useful task. Not the task she had been born for, but a task. Dip into the last row, grab the yarn, pull through. Dip into the last row, grab the yarn, pull through. Dip, grab, pull. She barely registered the door swinging open, but she did notice when little hands with one too many fingers tugged at her transparent sleeve. Lara looked down at the Terran, and blinked slowly. Such a small larva would not have the instincts that said eye contact was a threat, but it was more for her sake. To her surprise, the little Terran blinked back before clambering up to tuck themselves between her lower shoulders and the couch. Their skin was warm, surprisingly so- every reminder that the species could maintain a perfect temperature so well was like a bucket of cold water. A shocking reminder that Terrans were alien in every sense of the word. Another glance at the Terran larva, wide eyes completely unfamiliar on such a tiny face. Ruquatin larva didn’t have eyes, or legs, or much of anything. They only really began looking like adults as pupa, but even when Terran larva first hatched- or rather, ripped their way out of the adult’s stomach like some sort of parasite- they still resembled Terrans. Even inside the adult’s stomach, which Lara assumed was fairly similar to the egg stage, they had arms and legs and… eyes. Well, most of the time. Mistakes happen when you decide to build your descendants inside of your body. It was just poor decision making. A complete lack of planning. How were you supposed to get them out of there if something went wrong? If there were mites or worms or parasites? It was a miracle they even made it to space, Lara thought as the larva tucked close to her. They were warm, as all Terrans were. Radiating heat like the sun. Why they felt the need to head off into the great dark was a mystery. Terrans were a new species by most standards, never mind ancient Ruquatin standards. Their entrance to the galaxy was the catalyst to the fall of the Empire, and Lara could not bring herself to give a single damn. The Empress got what was coming for her. The colony Lara had been born into was gone, and she had been accepted into another. Greta was the Nurse, the healer who stopped what would have been death in it’s tracks. Gabriel was a Architect, a Peacemaker. A planner and mediator, calm and collected. And Piper was the Builder, the Greenie, the Grub, the Cleaner, and the Queen. The one who grew food, the protector, a Queen that ruled over her little colony the same as she cleaned the kitchen sink. She Built their hive with her own hands and Lara could never understand the complete disregard Terrans had for a caste system. Her hive was everything, and Lara was a Diplomat. The one who went outside and made deals, the one who was shunned so the others may remain safe. The larva at her side had begun making little rhythmic growling noises that Piper had referred to as ‘snoring’. It was a behavior, she explained, that some Terrans did while sleeping. Lara was the Diplomat of her colony, the only one. And by Ragaitor she would do her job. For the Queen. For the colony. For the hive.

3) Which OC makes you smile every time you think/talk about them and what are they like?

I don't believe I've mentioned my all time favorite OC on this, but -surprise- its a character I project onto heavily! He's a blond trans guy who's a little goblin and loves embroidery. He's an absolute piece of shit and the most loveable goofball.

Now, for Captain of the Blue Opal, it has got to be Clive. In theory, he's a bad guy. In practice, he's just some guy. Cherry is bullied relentlessly by his crew members for his name, which I believe is entirely unfair to Clay. I mean, Clyde is trying his best. (Sorry to all the Clowns out there. Your name ie valid)

4) What process of writing do you enjoy the most?

First draft, every time. Once I get into the swing of things, words flow and its easy. Its made easier if I plot things out but I find that duller than getting right to it!

5) What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Oh no I need to talk about myself. Uhhhhhh... I'm really bad at that lmao. I think I'm good at dialogue. I've never had the issue where I had to figure out what a character was going to say in a given situation, because they just said that. I suppose that goes hand in hand with characterization but I've exceeded my one self-compliment yearly limit.

6) What is something in the writeblr community is most enjoyable?

Its an excuse to talk about my book to people who might actually listen. What's not to love?

7) A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

Reedsy, Reedsy, Reedsy. Its a double edged sword, but its the sort of website that works super well with my nurodivergent brain. It lets you set goals and reminds you of said goals- both short term and long term. It's divided up into chapters and lets you put fancy scene breakers in. On the other hand, exporting your book in reedsy format is hell. You just can't do it easily. You want o take your book out so you can send it off to a publisher? Haha, if you're not going through Reedsy they're going to make it difficult.

8) A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

My Ruquati space alien culture. Their social structure is similar to hive insects, they have a strict caste system. Typically they are warm colors-- red and orange, though there are two exceptions. Greenies, who are in charge of tending to the plants. Their skin color is green because of a chemical they secrete- sort of a pesticide/sun lotion in one yk. Then of course we have blue Ruquati, which are typically seen as bad luck. Blue Ruquati aren't confined to a specific caste like Greenies. Any level could be born blue, at which point they'd be set at the bottom of their particular caste. Unfortunately for Lara, she got the quadruple middle finger (which is weird since Ruquati don't have a middle finger) from genetics, so she's a diplomat (lowest caste) AND blue.

Im trying to keep this short but then I realized if people got bored they'd have left by now... So here's a brief overview of the Ruquati social structure!!!

At the top is The Empress, the chief of hive minds and supreme ruler of the Ruquatin Empire. Hive minds, you might ask, simon, where did the hive minds come from?

Well, my dear friend, the hive mind is made up entirely by Queens, all controlled remotely by the Empress. They are capable of individual actions, just so the Empress doesn't have to waste thought on day to day matters of the colonies.

Architects are a bit harder to explain. In canon there isn't a lot of information on their behavior, seeing as if you get close enough to catch them, you've killed the hive. Architects die with their hive. Because I am the author, I can tell you they are the strategists, the military commanders. They plan battles and the size of the Ruquati Empire was entirely dependent on them. They are often referred to as the Peacemakers, not in the sense they will solve their problems diplomatically but in the sense they'll order the deaths of anyone who may "disturb the peace".

Beneath the Architects are the Builders, a job that is fairly self-explanatory. These Ruquati expand and repair the colony under orders from their Queen. In a warlike species who's only goals is expansion (gross oversimplification but i won't subject you to politics) the architects of that expansion are valued highly.

Then, of course, the Nurses. Unlike human nurses, who fix injuries, these Ruquati watch over the eggs, larva, and pupa of of the colony. Young Ruquati are entirely dependent upon the Nurses for their survival. Medics aren't so much a thing as it's very difficult to injure a Ruquati. Once an injury occurs, however, they are, for lack of a better term, absolutely screwed.

Next up, we've got Grubs, the soldiers. They can be sorted into three categories.

Queen's Guard

This is the one position a Ruquati is not born into. The strongest of all Grubs (common and others) are pulled aside for extra training to become the Guards for the Queen. The Queen's Guard. The guards that protect the Queen. Highest ranked of all Grubs, though still below everyone above. They eat a special specialized diet that makes them more aggressive, more territorial, and larger than the average Grub.

2. Grubs

These are the soldiers who fight foreign wars, sometimes halfway across the galaxy. They leave the hive so that the hive may remain strong, sacrificing so much for the colony. Least territorial, but incredibly aggressive.

3. Common Grubs

Common Grubs are the soldiers who stay behind to defend the colony. They are less aggressive then their mobile counterparts but much more territorial, bordering on Queen's Guard levels of territorial.

Then we've got "The Green Ones" or Greenies. They are distinguished from their fellow workers by the green tint to their skin. They are farmers growing a bioluminescent mushroom. Once harvested, it is the main food source for the Ruquati people. Before harvesting, however, they release deadly spores that can and will grow in Ruquati lung equivalents. The Greenies are immune to the spores because their bodies secrete a mucus the ensures spores do not enter the lungs. This mucus has a habit of dying Ruquati skin green, hence Greenies.

General Workers, another fairly self explanatory title. These people do the stuff higher ups can't be bothered with.

Cleaners, the ones who do the dirty work. They do the small, annoying tasks that nobody else will. They are respected, but are definitely considered lesser.

Drones are here to fuck and then they die. I can't elaborate beyond that because that's what they are. They are all about instant gratification (since they're going to die soon anyways) so they often make stupid impulsive decisions that endanger or even destroy the hive. Its happened too many times for Drones to be put into positions of power.

Now, for Diplomats. Yet another self-explanatory title Simon, love the creativity. They are considered the lowest of the low, because they are sent in when winning a war is not possible. For the most part, that doesn't happen. As a result, Diplomats have a tendency to be seen as useless cowards in Ruquati society. Ah, culture traumatizing those it deems unnecessary. How original! Diplomats are an evolutionary holdover from Before the Empress' Hivemind. Back then, warring queens often fought dirty, and fought dirty often. This all changed when the Empress created her hive mind, but this is veering dangerously close to political territory and I'd need several hours to properly explain the politics of Pre-Empress Ruquati Empire, Empress' Ruquati Empire, and Post-Empress Ruquati Empire. Which isn't actually relevant to my story haha. It be boring for everyone involved.

NOTES:

-Blue Ruquati are considered cursed and get sent to rock bottom of the caste they're already in. If a Queen is blue, she will be considered lesser than the other queens, though still above Builders. As a diplomat AND a blue Ruquati, Lara got the short end of all the sticks.

-Drones are technically lower than diplomats but Ruquati society at least recognizes them as having a use. Still, they are regarded with much suspicion. They attempt to seduce whatever Queen is nearby, have sex and then die. What a life.

-Castes were ranked in order of importance to Ruquati society. They value expansion, war and consider themselves superior to other species. (once again, gross oversimplification but c'est la vie or whatever)

-Most Ruquati stay in the hive their entire lives, except for diplomats, Queens, Queen's Guards and Grubs.

9) What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

For me, my blocks are mental. I have the time to write. Theoretically I have the ability to focus on the writing. If I just started, I'd be fine.

Sit down with the computer. Just open it up to your word processor of choice and sit in front of it. Listen to music, sit there, and stare at that document. Eventually you'll get bored enough to start writing.

Another tip that helped me: for your first draft, set word count goals. I'm not talking 1,000, 2,000 words every day, because even people with writing as their full time job can't do that. I'm talking sit down with the intent to write one sentence. One word, on bad days.

10) Tag some people whose works you love/have been your biggest

ohhhhhhh uh most of the people who inspire me are irl, but i'll mention them anyways. Pseudonyms obviously.

So, to my dearest Dad-Husband-Son-Family-Dog-And-Unlicensed-Nurse-Practitioner (one person), Sahara Wheatbrick, Luigi, Indigo, Duffin Dagels and of course, @coatlsaviator, thanks for the inspiration and support, as well as putting up with my insane rants.

Now for the Tumblr people, of which there are two (three if you count Mike' N' Ike, which I do.) haha. I'm not rlly integrated into the Tumblr ecosystem yet, but part of that is my unwillingness to talk to anyone and Good Old Fashioned Social Anxiety™

I would @ palebdot again but I think that's bad form on Tumblr and i don't want to sent them two notifs for the same post so... Thrilled to see where they're going.

And the Other Writers I Follow Who Seem Cool And Unapproachable to my Social Anxiety Whomst I Wish To Include In The QnA but Do Not Demand A Response From:

@caxycreations @sithbelle

You are mysterious and unknowable friends, Keep Up The Good Work