#i once again reccommend their art

[midnight-mourning]

Snow Fever

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 30❄️❄️

Ahhh this was a lot of fun, never written a creature DCA like this so was a good chance to try my hand at it. This, as stated below, is based on @baby-bloos Last Guardian au! I highly reccommend you check out her art and her fic, i enjoying reading through it and am excited to give it a proper read once i finish requests ^-^ this little story is written as happening after the events of the game/fic, hope you enjoy!

Prompt: I just replayed my favorite game in the world (The Last Guardian) so I’m very much in the mood of my DCA au of it hehe I think it would be super cute for the boys in that au to see snow for the first time, or them giving the reader gifts (or vice versa)

Word Count: 1741

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When you wake up this morning, and feel there's a certain chill to the air, your heart leaps with joy. Hurriedly you scramble out of your bed roll—almost falling over in your wake—and rush to look outside. Sure enough, it's just as you'd hoped; the first snow of the season. 

You'd been waiting all year for this, winter held a special place in your heart. While it was cold and there was always concerns of sickness or starvation, you couldn't help but love it. There was something about the peace that came with snow that you especially enjoyed. 

And this year, you got to spend it with your beloved boys. Your twin Tricos, though different in look, and personality for that matter. A year ago, you'd never imagine yourself calling a pair of Tricos 'yours', but it was amazing sometimes how things could change so quickly. 

It had been months now since the series of events that had brought you together, and while challenging at the time, now you look back on those memories with a certain fondness, and understanding. 

It's still incredibly early, but you don't care. You decide then and there that you have to spend the day together celebrating. 

Quickly, you shove on your coat and tug on your warmest pants, and hurry over to the their home. 

The barn had been built as a result of you begging the chief for some place for the two great beasts to stay. Arguing that they deserved it for not only saving you, but protecting the village after they were accepted into the fold. After a bit of back and forth—and lots of pleading on your part—the chief eventually gave in, and thus, your Tricos had a place of their own. 

It was just behind your house, and you trudge through the growing layer of snow with a small skip in your step. The grin on your face not faltering even in the slightest. You pull open the large doors with a bit of effort, bringing in with you bright light and a gust of cold wind. 

Inside, still sleeping, Sun and Moon rest side by side. Upon feeling the chill, Sun looks up to your blearily. He yawns, then lays back down, eyes closing with a huff.

"Rise and shine sleepyheads!" You say, walking over to them. "Come on, it's a beautiful day and I don't have any chores."

Neither acknowledge you. Moon goes so far as to roll over, turning so he's facing away from the light. 

You scoff, and start pushing on Sun's body to get him to wake up. "Come on. Come on, come on, come on. You guys can't seriously be tired! We did nothing yesterday!"

Your pushing offers up no results and you sigh, going around again to face the Trico head on. 

He peeks an eye open at you, the faker. 

"Sun." You cross your arms. "Get up, right now. Please."

He opens both eyes, and sits up a little, you get your hopes up. 

Then, looking down at you, he licks you once, then takes his paw and brings you in against his chest, lying back down again. 

Trapped, you wiggle against him, protesting fiercely. "Noooo! Not fair. I thought I could trust you."

You keep fighting against him, making a good amount of noise and you hear Moon growl somewhere behind his brother. Sun makes a noise in response, and the two chitter back and forth, leaving you only to guess what they're saying. Just as you're about to give up and accept your—snuggly—fate, Sun release you, standing up and stretching. 

As you're left lying on the floor, he looks down at you as if to say 'Happy now?'. Out of the corner of your eye you see Moon rise as well, turning to face you both, looking displeased. 

You hop to your feet with a grin. "Great! Now let's go! It's the first snow after all."

Without waiting on them, you rush out of the warm barn and back into the crisp cool air. You bend down in the snow, picking up some and tossing it in the air, turning back to face them with a laugh. "Isn't it wonderful?"

Even from here, you can see how both Tricos have a curious look about them, heads tilted opposite directions as they watch you. You stop playing, picking up on their confusion. 

You walk back closer to the barn, standing just outside. "What's wrong? You've seen snow before, haven't you?"

Sun chuffs, shaking his head slightly. He approaches you, and the outside of the barn with caution. He sticks his nose just outside, eyes wide as he takes it all in. Then, a singular snowflake lands on the tip of his nose. He startles, sniffing as he rapidly backs inside the barn, pawing at his snout with urgence. 

It causes Moon to react negatively, growling low as another few flakes fall around and on you.

"No, no, it's okay." You say, putting your hands up. "Look, it's fun. See?" You scoop more up, and toss it in the air around you again. 

This doesn't convince them, still nervous and edging little by little towards the back of the barn. 

You come up with another tactic. Grabbing another handful, you form the snow into a ball, holding it up for them to see when you’re done.

Now that it's something recognizable, both Trico's eyes go from alarmed to excited. The shift makes your giggle. 

You wave the ball slowly back and forth, their heads shifting to follow it. Then, you turn slightly, and toss the ball out into the field. 

Sun immediately leaps after it, bounding out into the snow and pouncing on the spot where the snowball landed. Once he pulls his paws back and sees there's nothing in them though, he whines, digging through the snow to try and find the long-destroyed ball of ice. 

You laugh as he comes back over to you, nudging you with his nose disappointedly. 

"Want me to make you another?"

You assume the huff you get in response means yes. 

You form another snowball, and once again toss it up in the air. This time, Sun jumps up, catching it midair. He scrunches his nose for a moment, then swallows, looking back over to you again once he's recovered from his brain freeze. 

You continue to make him snowballs, tossing them up as he either attempts to eat them—only succeeding sometimes—or bats them with his paws, making bursts of snow go everywhere over you both. 

After a bit, you glance back to Moon and have to slap your hand over your mouth to keep from laughing. 

He's still standing right in the barn's entrance, staring down at the snow with what you can only describe as a vexed look. Every few seconds, he lightly presses his paw to the snow, then lifts it back up again quickly, flicking it to remove the ice. This goes on and on until his ears quirk, noticing how you're barely containing your giggles at him. 

Now caught, you laugh outright as he snorts. It just makes it grow worse, and you end up on the ground from laughing so hard. 

This however, seems to do the trick to get him to commit to coming outside. Through tears you see him ready himself for a pounce, and you start to scramble away frantically, apologizing for laughing at him, even if you aren't the slightest bit sorry. 

Before you know it, you're tumbling through the snow with him, laughing all the while. Once you come to a stop, he stands over you, huffing as you now succumb to just quiet giggles. 

You sigh once you're calmed down, content smile on your face. "Told you it's fun." For good measure, you fling a handful of snow up at his snout, and he shakes his head, snorting once more. 

Before he can retaliate, he's suddenly gone from above you, and you hear thrashing and growling to your left. Sitting up, you see Sun's tackled him, wrestling the other Trico in the snow. He stands up, swatting at his brother with the ice. Moon growls, and does the same. The two of them play back and forth for a while, using the snow to each other's advantage and disadvantage, entertaining you greatly. 

After a bit of watching, you decide there's enough snow to make a snow man, so you begin to construct one. Your Trico become curious once they notice what you're up to, coming over to watch. Once you finish, having found a spare couple of rocks for the face, you step back, hands on your hips as you admire your work. 

Your smile drops into a gape of shock however, when Sun suddenly bends down and bites clean through your masterpiece, leaving nothing but a stump of a snowman behind. He chews through the snow, spitting out the rocks when he comes across them. 

Once he's finished he looks down to you, tilting his head as if to say 'Have any more?'.

You sigh. Well, you did want them to have fun. 

The rest of the day is filled with just as much excitement. You may many more snowballs, sort of, have a fight with the two—resulting in a heavy loss for you, you were freezing by the end of it—and even teach them how to make snow angels. 

It's a lot of fun, more the you were ever expecting, and you don't even regret it a little bit when you wake up sick the next morning. 

You sneeze, shooting pain through your head as your groan. Okay, maybe just a little. 

Sun chitters at you, head nuzzling against your cheek as you reach up and pat him with a weak laugh. "I'll be okay buddy, just a bit of rest is all. Which I wouldn't need if someone had played fair yesterday."

You chance over to Moon, who only snorts and lays his head in your lap. 

"The audacity of you sometimes, I swear." Still, you pet him as well, and lay back against Sun's soft fur, eyes heavy. 

Sure, you'd fallen ill, but it was nothing serious. You'll be just fine after some rest, and what better place to do it than snuggled up with your big scary beasts to keep you company? 

Nowhere, you think. Nowhere at all. 

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Thank you for the super cute prompt @baby-bloos!! Twas a lot of fun and I very much enjoyed writing it ^-^

Thanks for reading!

Masterpost link

Tag list (if you would like added, see this post for more info, you can also dm me!):

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8 @luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @milosmantis @robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva @juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml @divinit3a @amarynthian-chronicles @crystalfay

[greetings-inferiors]

give me manga reccommendations (please)

i think i'm gonna start reading again

i'll start with the classics like tokyo ghoul and black butler and death note because i did already read the first few volumes of them (like 2 yrs ago tho so ill have to reread)

but i want reccommendations :3

Why are you awake at 3am

Anyway my actual recommendations -

Tokyo ghoul and death note are GREAT starting points, two of the best mangas ever written.

The middle of death note does drag a bit, but the ending makes up for it imo. And obviously the first half is some of the best manga ever written. It’s also really short so you may as well, you won’t regret it.

Tokyo ghoul is fantastic, and I really recommend it, ESPECIALLY if you haven’t watched the anime. I wish I read the manga first every day. One of the most beautiful manga I’ve ever read.

I’ve never read black butler but I’ve heard good things.

Now, for my new recommendations (from least to most recommended)

One punch man is gut achingly funny, though I haven’t been keeping up with it

If you get into one piece you won’t run out of entertainment for months, what I’ve read it pretty good and apparently it just keeps getting better.

Spy x family is similarly gut achingly funny, but with a fantastic and gripping plot, especially the newest chapters. It’s one of two mangas I still keep up with for every chapter.

Assassination classroom is hilarious, but heart wrenchingly sad. It’s fantastic. It was my favourite manga for a long time.

And, of course, the big one. Jojo’s bizzare adventure is my favourite manga of all time. It’s one of my favourite pieces of media ever made. There’s genuinely nothing like it. Every part is completely unique, from the martial arts of part 1, to the murder mystery of part 4, to the heists of part 9. I am not kidding when I say that every part is its own genre. It’s also all really good. There’s an argument for all parts to be the best. And the title isn’t lying. In fact, it may be lying by omission. It’s not just bizzare - it’s batshit. In the best possible way. The only problem is that part 1 drags a bit, even though it’s short and imo still really good, so it’s a bit difficult to get into (and you are NOT part skipping, I WILL DISOWN YOU). It’s better than the anime though, so if you’re going to do jojo it’s best to start with the manga (the first three parts are MUCH better as mangas). But once you get to the end of part 1, it’s non stop PEAK. The ending to part 1 is phenomenal. Part 2 has one of the best jojos. Part 3 is a great journey and villain of the week format (along with having the best fight in the entire series). Part 4 is some of the best slice of life I’ve ever read??? Part 5 is basically an anime of the godfather and it’s brilliant. Part 6 is a jailbreak movie, with one of the best endings to anything ever. Part 7 is out of nowhere a literary masterpiece, unironically one of the greatest works of art I’ve ever read (it’s the second highest rated manga of all time for a reason). Part 8 is the pinnacle of Araki as a writer, storyteller, and artist, with a great coming of age (I guess lmao) story. And part 9 is thrilling heists with (imo) the best jojo in the series. The worst part is really fucking good, and the best part is one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written. I truly cannot recommend it enough. It’s not everyone’s thing - the title is NOT lying, it is weird, at times nonsensical, but never uninteresting. Give it a shot, at least the first 3 parts, they’re not long and if you’re not interested by then you’re not human I think (/j). Once you get to 4 and onwards they keep getting longer, and while they do keep getting better and better, if you’re not into the vibe and stands then you don’t want to read 800 ish chapters more. Oh yeah it is long tbf, the first 3 parts aren’t that long, the next 3 parts are decently sized, then the next 2 alone are longer than a lot of the other manga I’ve recommended lmao. But that’s kinda what happens when you release a manga without any major hiatuses for 30+ years. He only started releasing it monthly in about 2008, so it would be way longer lmao. But the monthly releases are worth it, it instantly gets wayyyyyyy better. You’ll notice it in steel ball run (part 7). And once you’re finished you’ll be able to wait with me for part 9, which has been FANTASTIC so far, and I’m really excited to see more.

The only problem is: how do you read it? Answer: I don’t know. Probably mangadex? Don’t read the official translations, they change almost every name in the series due to copyright (every stand and a lot of characters are named after songs and bands) and it a.) works way less and b.) will make communicating with other jojo fans really difficult. I read the first 8 parts using Jojo’s coloured adventure (though I don’t recommend the coloured manga, the black and white is much better), which was an all in one place fan translation, but I don’t think it exists anymore. I recommend researching which translations are the best and then reading them on mangadex. The thing about it is that the translations I read are only for the newly released chapters I’m pretty sure, so giving you their names wouldn’t help at all. I’ve read a few chapters of phantom blood on mangadex and like… it’s alright. The phrasing is a bit clunky, but overall it’s good.

Some last things: the early parts are a bit sexist at times, the women are still really well written like erina, Lisa Lisa, and suzi q, but the first 3 parts have the odd “beaten by a mere woman!!?” And stuff. But even then there’s a lot of subversions of sexism, like Lisa Lisa being really fucking strong (and even then Araki regrets having not written her as more of a main character). But once you get past part 3 it basically stops. Araki is really progressive with his writing, he wanted part 5 to have a female jojo, but his editors didn’t let him, but once part 6 came around he put his foot down and made half of the cast women (and even then he still was forced to change someone to a man). I’m pretty sure he even said the quote “the fact that readers don’t want the jojo to be a woman is exactly why she needs to be a woman” or something similar. Part 8’s best written character is a woman, and in part 9 we’ve got a weird genderqueer thing (I love dragona but it’s really hard to say whether they’re trans or not lmao. Imo they are, but obviously you shouldn’t assume. At the very least they aren’t out yet. Tho they take hrt. Lmao). Basically what I’m saying is it gets a lot better.

Once you’ve caught up I really recommend the anime! The first 3 parts are a downgrade imo (especially part 3, yikes they completely massacred it. The beginning is great and the last fight is phenomenally done though), but part 4 is an upgrade, especially since they had the hindsight of the villain (Araki originally wanted 3 to be the end, so part 4 didn’t really have a plan for the first half of its story) and could sprinkle him throughout. I haven’t watched 5 or 6 yet, but apparently 5 is fantastic and 6 is really good. But I’d definitely recommend reading it first, and then watching it once you’re obsessed.

If anything you should read the first 6 parts as homework for steel ball run. I love the first 6 parts to death, but 7,8, and 9 are so so so good, and steel ball run is, like, a classic manga. It’s the fucking great gatsby of manga. Or maybe to kill a mockingbird? Idk.

Anyway I’m sorry this is long I really really really like Jojo. Like I said, it’s my favourite manga of all time, and one of my favourite media franchises in general. I could gush about it for hours (and I guess I just did whoops lmao).

Also if you read it you’ll get the jojo references (important)

[vyragosa]

Hi Vyra!

I adore your art and I found you a few years ago, when you were the only one who liked Limbo while everyone else hated him. So I was very happy to find another soul who loved him just as I do :)

Since we share the same tastes, I wanted to ask, what are some mangas that you like? I’ve recently picked up The Ghost and the Lady and I LOVED it! And I vaguely remember that you did answer an ask that was a little similar to this but I couldn’t find it and I think my memory could’ve been off.

Thank you and have a great day/night!

🥺

zomg....first of all thank you for such a sweet message and yes

GHOST AND LADY IS THE BEST, ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE THE VOLUMES ON MY DESK LITERALLY IN EYESIGHT CAUSE THAT'S HOW IMPORTANT IT IS

from same author you have, karakuri circus (found family, powerful) and souboutei must be destroyed (can't pinpoint how to describe it other than my friend fucking read all chapters in two day more mere mention, it has it all)

in the same genre of, mystery horror surrealist weird loving emotional focusing on the bonds of people through horror

i will never stop reccommending demon detective nougami neuro, same author as assassination classroom but i'm a purist, it was the first ever manga i read too so it's very important to me in general if familiar you can imagine how this author is comedy horror and bizarre but never strays from the most humane feelings, i will now recommend his newest work and currently published ELUSIVE SAMURAI. it's historical drama this time and fucking honestly, goes just as hard and the research is thorough as well while having the surrealist comedy, real fucking good (+ neuro is without a doubt one of the main inspirations of the Great hasendow)

dorohedoro because it's dorohedoro.

magilumiere co (adult corporate magical girl, really fuckin well done)

daisuke igarashi's saru fucked me up but i'm not sure you can find it easily which sucks, i don't even have the volumes myself

i haven't read much recently actually but that should be it!

[juupitrr]

yall i had to repost this bcs i couldnt see it in the tag art and thought i did it wrong but all the other posts had the tag too so i think i was just stupid uhhhh i dont know how to use tumblr??? this shit confusing

ANYWAY- AGAIN- I BINGE READ TO DIE AND RETRY (an AMAZING ao3 fic by the amazing @i-just-want-to-destroy or ijustwanttodestroy on ao3) (god i hope i tagged that right) AND LET ME TELL YOUUUUUU HONESTLY THE BEST NON-AFO!DEKU I HAVE READ SO FAR!!!!! it actually got me rlly wanting to draw something, and it was surprisingly.. not stressful like?? i didnt feel the need to make everything perfect, render, etc, and it got me trying new things for once. this fic rlly got me thinking and rlly got me emotional too. cried a bit. also high deku is chefs kiss i need to draw that. ANYWAY TOTALLY RECCOMMEND!!!!!! LINK: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21312628/chapters/50753215

[snowflakesnsundry]

Purple wins?

So- as it is now it looks like purple is the color we will be going for as the reader’s signature color!  I’m waiting till friday next week  (27th) to say it’s decided, but in the mean time I decided I wanted to draft up some ideas for the outfits just for the fun of it- so I wanted to share! 

Below the lower bit is some info on how i went about this if you’re interested- but im looking to make 3 or 4 formal outfits, and 3 or 4 more casual outfits. the ones above are in the more formal catagory. The one on the far right um... pushes things a bit (lol) but without the gold chainwork its a bit less.... kinky. curious houw yall feel! 

So, there are a million lovely gowns out there that can be found on Pinterest etc, but I wanted something bespoke for us! Something that would fit naturally in with the MCU vision of Asgard (as much as I can manage lol). So I started off by going through the films, and whatever concept art i could get my hands on so i could collect some ideas on how Asgardian’s dress

And yes, I did sit in front of my screen and take manual pictures of outfits in the movies-because you cant screenshot disney+, your shot just turns out black...

From what I found, it all seems like a mesh of Grecoroman/Asian/Bondage inspired clothing, with a little bit of celtic and norse influence here and there. It was also helpful that ragnarock had some concept art for loki that included a purple color scheme, so I could pull from that a bit. 

Then i ran through and grabbed some ref of concept art i liked and felt fit the world, or that had little elements i wanted to incorperate into the outfits.

Note that the entire upper lefthand corner is just things from Nanihoo- i highly reccommend looking at her Loki/Sygin stuff, its amazing. 

Once i had some solid refs, i grabbed some purple color palates and started in on making these!

On top of everything above, i also wanted to incorperate bits of Loki’s garments into them. He pretty consistantly has the woven leather motif, and gold accents- particularly ones in a sort of “v” shape. So im trying to keep those in as much as possible. 

Again, curious to hear yalls thoughts!!! 

<3 

[oriocookie]

games ive been playing bc im a Gaymer™ (and some thoughts on them)

most recent update: october 20, 2022 added unpacking!!

games i’ve finished are above the cut, games i’m still in progress on are below so any trigger warnings on those are incomplete. please let me know if i missed any TWs on the completed games, and recommend some to me in the notes! if you need to know about a specific trigger for a specific game, send an ask/a dm/comment on this post! i gotchu!

TWs and commentary may contain spoilers. read at your own risk!

- What Remains Of Edith Finch  (completed)

played on xbox

beautiful game 

it’s well done and most textures are fucking flawlessly lit

 my only issue is there are things that don’t come back that feel like they maybe should??? 

like, i was dicking around in front of the garage door before i went in on like my 3rd replay, trying to find things to look at that i missed the first few times, and then something clattered inside the garage and edith said “i heard something moving around inside the garage” 

and like. holy shit?? holy shit. when i went in to look around there was nothing that had fallen over and nobody inside so uhhhh?? 

i Get that it’s a clever thing to make you go inside the garage. 

i know. 

but Still.

anyway wonderful game and its p short so aspiring streamers, this one is for you! its abt an hour nd a half/two hours worth of gameplay

TWs: death, grief, blood visuals, gun visuals, birth visuals(?? this one is more of a just in case), meds, alchohol, possible suicide (there’s no way to Know)

-  Night In The Woods (completed)

played on xbox

this game is one of my favorites of all time 

the characters are likable, the dialogue’s funny, the art style is SO damn cute, it has all these fun minigames,  openly queer characters, catchy songs, a bit that might give you an extistential crisis, the works!! 

it’s a really good game, my issue is there’s really no way to get everything. 

you will Always miss something 

the gameplay took me 12 hours to complete and i had watched playthroughs before so it’s a LONG game

but this is so high on the reccommended list

TWs: death, cultish behavior, christianity (this game is super cool about it tho, the pastor is a woman and she’s very “no matter what people believe in, i will help them”. yknow. like Actual christians), vomit, knives, derealization, depersonalization

- Knights and Bikes (completed)

played on xbox

this game is hella cute and it’s good to play with a friend! i played it once on my own and i’m currently playing it again with my sibling.

an issue with the multiplayer function is that it doesn’t splitscreen, once my sibling got stuck and we couldn’t progress onwards because the game wouldn’t let me walk too far away from her. makes sense i guess

the storyline is so cute and it reminds me of night in the woods(see above) someone in the comments of this post recommended it to me so💜💜💜 thank you.

all the game mechanics and race minigames are so good 10/10.

the artstyle? WONDERFUL. melza and nessie have the cutest little faces. i have a older sibling problem so they are now my younger siblings. i have adopted them.

captain honkers is my siblings favorite and she insists on stopping whatever plot is going on in order to feed and pet the goose.

nessie and melza are written like real kids and i applaud the devs and writers for that.

TWS: money issues, possession, ghosts, cuts and bruises that are kinda graphic but not that bad

look at this book i found!! it’s got cute art and everything!!! it’s a retelling of the story which i understand is not some people’s thing but honestly it’s great so far!

- Slime Rancher (story complete)

played on xbox

literally whoever developed this game went “so how cute can i make this” and then absolutely SMASHED that limit

 i havent even finished the game yet but it’s adorable

 my problem is how EASY it is to fall into the ocean and how confusing the map is

 i keep getting lost so i wish i could put like,,,markers on the map?? or have the map tell me what slimes are in what region?? 

idk maybe i’m just dumb but i am very lost all of the time while playing this game 

also the soundtrack is impeccable and it’s a very good game for chill streams

hey hi update i’ve finished the story part of the game. it ripped out my heart and stomped on it then wrapped it up in a pretty bow and gave it back to me. wtf.

TWs: there are monsters that try to eat you but you can opt out of having those spawn, flashing(dont stand too close to plort or food deposits if this is an issue for you! the little burst of light when you put something in tends to strobe!!!)

- Firewatch (complete)

played on pc

this game is absolutely hilarious

and beautiful!! its not necessarily realistic but everything has a style to it that makes my little gamer heart happy. i set a screenshot i took as my pc background and it looks very pretty

the music also really makes the game. it hardly ever shows up but when it does you notice!

everything is voice acted by the way, which sets up the game very well! i never once felt like they were reading from a script, and it made me laugh a ton, even when i was pretty scared.

this is kind of an extension to the TW list but if you struggle with paranoia and feelings of being watched, don’t play this game!! it relies very heavily on that mechanic to make you scared, which is good for horror but bad for people who deal with that every day of their lives. please be careful!

TWs: dementia, paranoia, death, animal death, corpses, cheating on a spouse (if you choose the right dialogue), fires, (brief) abuse mention 

-emily is away (two storylines complete) 

played on pc

honestly? not a huge fan of this one. 

storyline 1: i chose to like. not stay talking to emily? it ended at 2006 if that makes a difference. 

the entire game was just me going “so what is the most neurotypical answer i could give right now” 

i like movement games so the solely text based game was Not as fun for me. 

but whatever 

ill probably play again and find out why everyone Really likes this game so much

okay storyline 2: i chose all the nastiest answers

wow shes not dating brad shes dating travis. weird. 

also every time i insult her music taste i die a little inside thats so Mean

but its for resarch

i feel so BAD being mean to her wtf :((((

alright thats over and now i feel like a dick. thats enough emily for tonight i think

TWs: romantic breakup

-pikuniku(complete)

played on xbox

ever wanted to play a game where youre a jellybean with legs fighting against capitalism?

thats this

need a friend to take down the evil Sunshine Co.? its co-op! live your dreams of toppling capitalism with your best friend by your side

its pretty fun! if you like to have everything explained to you then this probably isnt right for you but thats ok

its a cute cartoonish style, very simplistic. like a less detailed night in the woods or knights and bikes! and yall know thats my JAM

lots of little side quests to do so enjoy running around the open world doing whatever the hell you want

TWs: at the very beginning the villagers are very prejudiced and scared of you, since youre a different species then the rest of them

-unpacking(complete)

played on xbox

ok this was cute

my little sister begged me to get it so she could watch me play it, since the youtube videos she was watching weren’t getting uploaded to youtube kids fast enough.

very soothing, i put on a youtube playlist as i was unpacking this persons houses throughout their lifetime and it was calming but also very rattling especially the college chapter (since thats a thing for me soon at the time of writing this)

the ending couple chapters i was like trying to puzzle together if the persons lover was a girl or not and results inconclusive, could be a guy very comfortable in his masculinity

ok while checking some stuff for the tws i figured out that its a girl!! yay wlw lets go

TWs: theres a chapter, chapter 2010, that sorta seems like domestic violence? the infamous diploma-under-the-bed chapter, where you can’t put basically any of your stuff anywhere, and after this chapter, lots of the characters things are damaged or missing, as if there was a big fight. could be reading way too much into it tho

- Spiritfarer (incomplete)

played on xbox

this game. this game. ive seen Nobody talk about it but it’s so cute!! 

stella, the player character is ADORABLE, she’s so damn happy to be doing that job and hanging out with her friends! 

its so cute her animations are my favorite thing!! 

this game tackles grief and loss, mourning, death, and fear with stella and her cat, dandelion

its such a cute game and its based in greek mythology, you just get to steer a ship around and help out lost souls!! 

also an adorable game for chill streams

TWs: death, watching loved ones die (heavily implied stella took care of her best friend in her last moments), ghosts, jellyfish(this isnt a typical tw but they feature prominently as someone’s greatest fear in the game so), storms

-Raji: An Ancient Epic (incomplete)

played on xbox

okay i’m not even out of the training stage yet and this game is a FUCKING DELIGHT.

music? 10/10. story? 100/10. graphics? 1000000000000/10.

the cutscenes are all done in this amazing puppetry style and aaaa!!!

if there is one game on this list i really want you to play, it’s raji.

it’s all about hindu mythology, it’s so so easy to follow along(even for me, who admittedly doesn’t know too much about most religions) and i adore it.

listen go download raji right now. i will fucking WAIT. just. please.

it deserves a lot of love and support

TWs: demons

- Journey To The Savage Planet (incomplete)

played on xbox

okay this one is significantly less wholesome than most of the ones here

i have maybe an hour put into this game?? and there have been 3 drug jokes, 4 different swear words, a heavy implication that you are a slave for capitalistic labor, and something that i’m like 90% certain was a sex joke. 

so yeah

t’s a pretty game, but honestly it’s really just a horror game disguised as a survival game

the entire time i’m exploring i just keep singing “🎵i hate souuuuunddddsss, if i round this corner and hear a sound i will dieeeee, all sounds can shut up forever please and thank youuuuuu🎵” 

so if that doesnt give you an example of what my mental state is playing this game idk what will

TWs: uh everything listed above, and also terrifying flying squid

- Oxenfree(incomplete)

played on xbox

i’ve watched a play through of this one already but shhhhhhh we don’t talk about that (also its not like i remember what happens anyway)

anyway i LOVE the art style.

it’s like a more simplistic version of night in the woods and y’all know that game is my Jam.

can you all tell gravity falls is my bread and butter because all my favorite games are about creepy towns and weird creatures

i’m not far into it and so far my only drawback is the clunky dialogue.

it just. it sounds Off. i don’t know how else to put it.

i like the radio function a whole lot though

plus the concept is sick as hell it’s literally the dialogue as the only thing holding this game back and not even by that much!!

TWs: grief? it’s been a while since i played i need to head back

- Hollow Knight (incomplete)

played on xbox

i’m honestly not sure about this one. 

i’m notoriously bad at platforming games, plus i have no idea the story of hollow knight. 

ive played for about 5 hours and i have zero progress. 

this game is one that i would only reccommend to people who Know that they’re good at platformers and also are good at remembering where theyre going. 

i’m still playing this one and struggling

TWs: all the npcs look like cartoonized bugs, and you have to fight your own spirit whenever you die

- Outer Wilds (incomplete)

played on xbox

this game is goooood. 

it’s hard to do, but it’s a space exploration game and it’s Hella fun. 

you do have to respawn alllll the way back at your starting planet and it basically rips away any progress you made, which makes sense for the story but damn it’s annoying. 

the aliens are cute tho

and the soundtrack is still the only game soundtrack i’ve actually spent money on, because it’s good!! 

if you do decide to play this, i wish you luck!!

TWs: none?? none i think?? 

- Unraveled (incomplete)

played on xbox

i’m so ashamed of this game. 

it’s the cutest, most cottagecore-y game in the fucking World, and i rage-quit it

i fucking rage quit unraveled

this is my greatest shame

i’m actually gonna go look up a playthrough as soon as i’m done, because i want to see the rest of this game. 

i’m stuck on like stage 3 

anyway its a good game it’s just another platformer which my fingers do not appreciate

TWs: death, dementia, being alone???

[galaxy-lilies]

MCYT FanFic Recommendations Part 1

Part 1 (you are here) | Part 2 | Part 3

Here are the fics I have saved in my bookmark bar that I have read through and enjoyed more or less and I wanted to create a comprehensive list of these fics so here we are! All of these are on Archive of Our Own and they’re all about different ships and friend groups, but I will try my best to categorize everything. Now without further ado here are the fics:

east of eden: (series) by subwaywalls

An SBI fanfic series where each of the boys have powers and Philza is a deity of sorts. However, the boys assume that Philza is just a normal human who decided to take them in. They try to hide their powers around Philza which creates a somewhat lighthearted and angsty feel to the whole series. Most of the fics in the series are completed. There is a bit of violence, blood, and the mention of death. Heed the tags and warnings as needed.

You Need To Let Go by ExistentialFish

Tommy didn’t make it after the bow fight with Dream. He’s been dead for months yet Wilbur refused to accept it to the point he began to envision Tommy as alive again. Tommy follows him, jokes with him, makes his typical jabs and tangents. Why can’t anyone else see him though? An interesting SBI, “what-if” fanfic retelling the events of the Festival Arc. This fanfic was 11 chapters of p a i n and absolute a n g s t. There’s a lot of major character deaths and violence. Heed the warnings.

lucky charm by sleepytime_cal and persona_kath

George was a simple man who lived a simple life. Nothing really changed in his routine: wake up, eat, feed the chickens, go to town, go back to his home, eat, and sleep. Simple enough. However, his routine changes when he hears a knock on the door right as he is about to go to bed. When he opened the door he expected his routine to remain the same. Little did he know his life was going to change forever. For the better? For the worst? It was up to him to find out. A DNF Royal!George and Knight!Dream fanfic that is incomplete at the moment but g o s h it is so well written. I love the plot and the characterization of the characters, not to mention there’s art to go with it as well! Lots of angst, fluff, drama, etc. It’s a wonderful read I would definitely reccommend.

Flowers by Shock_Value

When you turn 18, you are given a pot and some seeds to go with it. These seeds will grow into plants connected to your soulmates. Sapnap was given a pot and some seeds on his 18th birthday. What he didn’t expect were two other seeds to go with his own plant. A sweet n fluffy Poly!DreamTeam fanfic where Sapnap learns who the other two plants represent. No real warnings here, just a minor hand injury.

Spiderinnit and Into the Innitverse-404 by diapason

Do you like Spiderman? Do you like villain!DreamTeam? Do you like SBI? Well this fanfic is right for you! Join Tommy in his adventures of fighting with the new villainous team dubbed the DreamTeam as he tries to keep his identity a secret from his friends and enemies. Lot’s of fluff, lot’s of angst, lot’s of fun and fighting. This also seems to be a part of a series! Their other fanfic is incomplete at the moment but it focuses on George’s story and motives. Definitely check it out! Once again, heed the warnings and tags!

Protected by Aenqua

Dream is the Prince of Camelot, the one next in line to rule after his father. He has sworn to protect the kingdom from any danger, including any form of magic. George is Dream’s friend as well as his servant...The thing is he has a secret. Another DNF royal fanfic but with Royal!Dream and Servant!George. It’s wonderfully written, the plot is absolutely amazing. There’s a lot of things that happen including violence, character death, and injuries so heed the warnings!

Damn I did not expect to have so many fanfics saved so I will most likely make a part two to this list. This list mainly consists of SBI, Poly!DreamTeam, and Dreamnotfound but the next list will feature more Karlnap and Karlnapity. Hope you enjoy!

[peachcitt]

Hi! You've mentioned on Discord that you read a lot of books, and I was wondering if you could rec some? Either your favourites, or ones that had a big impact on you/your writing 🥺

yes!!! all my favorite books generally affect my writing style, and often after ive finished reading a really good book, i'll write something and end up emulating that book's style (either on accident or on purpose haha). sometimes on my ao3 you'll find in my author's notes me saying what book i just finished, and if you read or know those books, you'll probably see me mimicking certain aspects of style

for other reccommendations/more in depth descriptions of book plots, i also have a reading list that i posted this past winter on my writing blog that you can check out, and im planning on posting another one at the end of the summer!! (in fact ive already started the list lmao)

the list will be structured as follows: book or series name, author, and a couple reasons why i like it. in addition to this, i will put stars by author's names if i have read other books by them and greatly enjoyed them.

without further ado:

The Grishaverse by Leigh Bardugo*

this has got to be my favorite series of all time. i love bardugo's capability to write complex characters and complicated plots, and i really like the way she structures her books. the series is just so artfully done and when i finished it i was so perfectly satisfied and so perfectly sad because i mourned the fact that it was over

I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak*

literally my favorite book. this is the book i tell people is my favorite if anyone asks. i love zusak's casual humor alongside his ability to write such heartbreaking and heavy moments in just little scraps of images. it's a romantic book without being about romance - it's about love and kindness and how powerful those things can be be, and that shit gets me every time. i have reread this book so many times - yearly since i got it, i think, and i got in middle school, i think. im in college now. and every time i reread it, i get something different out of it

The Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness*

i think about these books constantly. these were the first books i read by patrick ness, and, now that ive read some of his other books, i know in classic patrick ness fashion, these books haunt me. patrick ness has this uncanny ability to take genres you think you know and twist and warp them until you're on the edge of your seat trying to figure out what will happen next without the safety net of genre supporting the story. in addition to that, his characters are always wonderfully flawed - he puts real people into fantastical situations, and it's fascinating and always an emotional and satisfying read

The Alex Crow by Andrew Smith*

dude i think about the alex crow so much. i said i normally call i am in the messenger my favorite book, but every so often i'll say this one is because i just love it so much. the alex crow is just so bafflingly weird but the teenage boy main characters are so real and gross and hilarious. andrew smith has the amazing knack for writing weird as hell plot lines and telling stories that are about everything, all at once, while still making it about one thing. that doesn't make sense, but if you read the alex crow (or his other book i've read called Grasshopper Jungle that is actually on my summer list) then you will know what i mean. the alex crow is so many things, and i love all of them

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson*

i used to read a lot of ya romance and, to be honest, the stuff i used to read was not all great, but this book absolutely changed the game and probably made me raise my standards exponentially. the timeline of this book is so creative, and it's done in such a way that it leaves you wondering how the timelines will reconcile. in addition to this, both romances in the book are so interesting and loveable, and the relationship between the two main characters (who are twins) is an amazing thing to see unfold. this is a peak ya romance book, and i can't recommend it enough

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven*

another ya romance, and i have to say the romance in this book is so beautifully done. generally, this is just a really sweet book that gave me butterflies, to be quite honest. i think niven has a really good knack for writing characters that are diverse and a little strange but all have their own distinct personalities that mingle really interestingly with each other.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe By Benjamin Alire Sáenz

this one is an obvious choice, and for good reason. aristotle and dante is just a classic queer novel, and it's earned its place as such. it's a poetic sort of book, and i love the voices of the characters, as well as the pictures of the world we get through ari's voice. this is a visual book written in text - i think a lot about the steady, careful romance of the book and the way sáenz makes ari an unreliable narrator by artfully excluding his feelings from scene descriptions and dialogue tags. it's such a creative and heartbreaking technique that i often find myself wanting to do

The Leviathan Trilogy by Scott Westerfeld

oooohh this trilogy changed me. for starters its such a weird, creative concept - alternate history steampunk and biopunk world war I. like doesn't that sound so interesting?? and this trilogy's main characters are so easy to love - and watching their relationship unfold and develop is so endearing. also, my copies include these wonderful illustrations (which i think might be in all copies?) that really let you put images to the weird fantastical things westerfeld included into the world.

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

this book was actually on my winter book list, and i read it so fast and so obsessively because i wanted so badly to know what was going to happen. the plot absolutely pulled me in, and the first line - "I forgot everything between footsteps" - stuck with me because just look at the way that's written!! it's so artful and intriguing, i was just dying to know what would happen next. the timeline is this amazing maze that as i read i couldn't help but admire how long or how much turton had to plan in order to make everything line up in just the right way. it was a fascinating book with so much to say - im really looking forward to reading it again

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

this book was also on my winter book list, and it just absolutely enraptured me. its witty, quiet sort of voice was amazing to read, and the imagery instilled into every scene made it seem like everything was so real, just right there for me to touch or smell or taste. the plot of a secret huge magic library really roped me in, and i think this is a love story for people who read, people who love stories, people who love the magic of a library.

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero*

cantero's works are just so creatively written - not just by plot or character standards, but by style standards, too. meddling kids is great not just for its complex, loveable characters or for its fantastical, dark, and mysterious plot, but also for the weird and intriguing liberties cantero makes with style. in his other books, too, is the switch between snarkily written prose to stage directions to video or audio transcripts, and it makes for such a visual sort of book - i mean, i could easily see any of cantero's books being made into a film or series because all the material is right there. cantero's creativity with style is so intriguing to me, and because of him, i've become more familiar with playing around in style in an attempt to create something as interesting as his novels

and that's all i'll put down here now!

i mentioned it a little, but probably my biggest style references are leigh bardugo, markus zusak, edgar cantero, and andrew smith for various reasons that i am more than willing to talk more in depth about if anyone is wondering<3

thank you for asking im always willing to talk books :')

[monomonomagines]

Hey! So I was looking at the letters you wrote for the event, and I was wondering...how did you do it? Sorry if it's a really dumb question-

Hey hey, don't worry about sounding dumb or anything! There are no dumb questions in my opinion and I'd be happy to explain how Mod Kokichi and I made the letters during the Love Letter Event. I have a few more to post still so you'll be able to see more examples once those are posted too so if you learn from example like I often do!

As for the letters themselves, I often will just look for images (transparent pngs specifically) of paper. You can look up many different types just using google so if you want more fancy looking stuff just google fancy paper and you'll probably find what you're looking for. Another good search word to use however, is stationary as you can find plenty of cute papers that way as well!

Then once you have the paper you like use an art program whether it's free programs like gimp, firealpaca, pixlr or paid programs like photoshop, paint tool Sai, or ClipStudio (which is what I use) doesn't necessarily matter so long as it has options to add text.

Now before I do edit these I write many different drafts of the letters themselves handwritten so that I can practice what I'd like to say so if you don't have a clear idea of what you want to write I really reccommend doing this first. However, if that's not your thing don't feel pressured to do this because now we're onto the fun part.

Now you download fonts and add them to the art program you're using. For Mac which is what I use for these specifically you can download fonts and add them to your library folders and then they should appear in your program but regardless of what you use there should be plenty of tutorials online to help you out! Plus, even if it takes a while it can be fun to imagine what the a characters' handwriting would look like. The site I used for this was www.1001fonts.com but you can use whatever site you'd like that you know is safe to download fonts from too!

Then once you restart your art program and open up the paper file you had in it you should have the font you need and can begin simply typing what you want onto the page. You may have to make each line a new layer if the text part of the art program you use has difficulty with the spacing like mine does and you may even have to resize the font at different points to make everything fit but once you get it all done you can go crazy with decorating it anyway you want!

I say to use an art program specifically for this step since you can use cute brushes on a new layer to add hearts or glitter If you'd like or you can simply draw doodles on the page and add a paper texture effect over it or adjust the opacity to make it look more like the font you used.

Anyways, I hope that this was concise enough and that this helped you out. If you need anything else please don't worry about bugging me at all and ask away. I'm always happy to help and while I'm no 24 hope customer service line or anything of that sort I'm happy to answer any questions you may have if an online tutorial doesn't really help you out or if any part of this was a bit too confusing. Regardless though, I hope that you have fun if you decide to make letters at all as well since I think it's a lot of fun! I'd personally love to do more of these again one day if I have more time to! :D

[carbonatedjem]

Hey ho folks and people who have a disgust for the word Folks, it's me again displaying my extreme obsession with an Old Anime/Manga! Why? Well becauese it's the most important day of the year! The 19th anniversary of Bo-bobo's start in Shonen Jump is today, and as the person who dedicated tan entire month to drawing nothing but Art for this series, I'd be personally ashamed of myself if I didn't do anything to celebrate it! I've said it time and time again in casual convo or other posts of mine, but Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo has been for many years now, my favorite Anime, Manga, and piece of media in General, consistently, not once under any threat of Challenge. Even One Piece, another manga that I and many others hold in high regards still plays second fiddle to it in terms of my all time favorite Manga. From it's humor, the parody, the great character design which (with some exceptions) sticks with my memory like a lethal adhesive. I just find so many things to love about this Series everytime I think about it, and even in recent years I've come to appreciate it even further thanks to some of the peeps I met on my Tumblr, giving me a whole new outlook on the series, showing me that even today there's so much left in the world to be speculated or built upon. Hell, when I was a kid, and deep into my teens I thought Heppokomaru (Gasser for all ya'll Dub Watchers, good times right?) was the worst character among the OG Cast, one meta blog later and some conversing with cool peeps and I can't see him as anything other than a greatly put together character, albeit a bit underused in the OG Series (I still can't speak for Shinsetsu, one day I'll read it properly but I'm really lazy y'know) This series built parts of me from when I was just a dumb kid watching Toonami every saturday night at my Grandpa's house while eating pizza from the local pizza joint. My sense of Humor, arguably my artstyle and character design, my strong preference for a diverse power system in shonen, god knows what else it probably influenced, but I ain't a psychoanalysis type so I can't confirm anything further on that subject. I'd reccommend it to literally anyone, the manga features more Blood if that's a deciding factors into what version you'd want to partake in, but the whole experience is just a great time, and popping in one of the DVD's (Soon to be Blurays once I have a bit more scratch to spend freely) always puts a smile on my face. I know Yoshio Sawai (Creator of the series) hasn't made a series since like, 2009 according to some sites? But if at anypoint he makes something new, I will not be able to rest till I see it, hell I'm still looking to hopefully see the rest of his works like the Odd Slice of Life(?) Series Fuwari Don Patch. Fingers Crossed that maybe one day soon the series will finally get some more time in the Spotlight! Happy Birthday to my Favorite Thing ever

[trenchcoatkitten]

So I’ve been reading Temperature of the Heart, and you’ve mentioned how you have the whole thing written already. Can you describe what that’s like? What’s your writing process? How long does it take for you to write everything start to finish? Do you plan it all out or just kind of wing it? How long do you sit in an idea before you start?? Sorry about all the questions, I’m just so curious >_

bro!!! are you sure i will scream about writing for days omg

first of all THANK YOU its so freaking cool that you came to ask your questions and that you like my writing, im still sort of getting used to my writing not just being garbage that i read in the dark at 2am and never share with anybody, and i am always excited to answer questions waaaah 

(THIS IS GOING TO BE LONG I APOLOGIZE IM PUTTING A READING BREAK IN CAUSE I WENT OFF BRO, IM THE WOOOOORST) 

my process is pretty weird, it’s kind of all over the place? I’m kind of a halfway planner halfway pantser. I have an idea and usually make some disjointed notes about character and the main idea, in my phone or maybe on a google doc, and then a pinterest board maybe? Something to get excited about, a visualization. I ALWAYS tell myself im going to make an outline first and then i ALWAYS just jump right into writing because I’m too excited/impatient to wait. give me words on a page. give me dialogue. 

Usually when I’m a little bit into the project, when i know that I’m not going to abandon it to the depths off where my WIPs go to die (rip like literally over 300 individual and unique works, this is NOT an exaggeration, you should see my document bank its gross) Ill say “ok fuck you sami its time to actually know where you’re going” and I’ll sit down and make the grossest outline you have EVER seen. like im talking, my outlines are littered with memes, me yelling at myself, actual stuff thats going to end up in the final project, and just general random garbage? its so gross. Ive literally only showed one of my outlines to one person ever (hi akira!) bc im super self conscious of them and hate the way that i write them. making an outline usually sucks up an entire day of writing. they’re pages and pages because some parts will be INCREDIBLY specific and other parts will be so vague you dont even know

From there, when im done with my garbage outline, (after going back through what I’ve written and fixing the shit that was just me going off like a psycho) I usually start writing in earnest. I’ll highlight the parts of the outline that I’ve done and I’ll go back and check it often to make sure im following through on my plans and the character arcs and such, making sure that everything ties in and such. This section is me like. every day getting home from work or whatever and sitting down at the computer and not moving until 2am, this is the section where i forget to eat and I dont sleep enough and i forget to drink water or take my vitamins and I do word sprints with myself and have days where I write 10 thousand words in one sitting. (very not healthy and also terrible i do NOT recommend) this is the section where I’ll handwrite anything i can in the back of classes and at rehearsals because im pouring out words.

during this section I go back and edit ENDLESSLY. i cannot write something and just let it be. I go back to the section I wrote the night before, I go back to the section I just wrote, i go back to the very beginning. I generally dont have to do 1st 2nd 3rd draft this way, but it is much more time consuming as Im just writing. i dont know if i reccommend this its a MESS

THeN once i finish writing the whole thing, i sit down and reread/edit the whole thing once through. this makes sure i have good flow, the paragraphs go together well, the prose feels right to me, timelines make sense. during this time i make ENDLESS paper notes with calendars, section notes, additions, drabbles, thoughts about my own shit. i have notebooks full of just garbage. im not kidding. full notebooks. 

Once I finish that read/edit through I’m usually happy. only once something is completely finished will I consider posting. I go back too much, I add shit, I can’t let go of shit, not until it’s done. While I’m posting - I go through the chapter I’m going to post with a fine tooth comb, try to catch any tiny little mistake, add words here and there, but never change anything large if I can help it. Then i format it on Ao3 (this is literal hell, fuck the HTML editor it wants me to die) and then post it. Deciding to post a chapter to actually hitting ‘post’ usually takes me 1-4 hours, depending on the length, the difficulty of formatting, and how many goddamn links i wanna put in the chapter notes cause im the worst~ (insert jean ralphio voice) 

~~~

LISTEN im probably super extra but I’ve been writing since I was in sixth grade (thats twelve years! time is an enigma and i hate it!) and so I have a bit of practice, i have a bit of experience and while I’m not the best me that I can be, I KNOW myself, and this is just what works best for me. 

As for timing - it depends on the length of the project and how motivated I am. It took me about a month to write Royal (~50k), just a little over a month to write All Might’s All Night Shop Stop (~75k), and just about two months to write Temperature of the Heart (~115k). I try to post every few days, because as a person I hate waiting and I don’t want to do that to my readers! 

~~~

As for the ‘how long do i sit on an idea before writing it’ it really depends. Some things I will receive inspiration or a sliver of an idea and start writing it in the next ten minutes, even if I have to stop working on something I’m already working on, because that was Brain Has Decided. Sometimes I will consider an idea for like. months before actually doing it. I’ve had the idea for FBoW (the newest thing im working on oops? have i told anybody about this NO cause that will make it REAL) since before I started Royal, which was like. Last november. But I just couldnt quite do it for some reason, and it wasn’t pressing. My brain is super broken, and a lot of times I get sick over ideas. I can’t sleep or eat until I’ve written, and I will repeat phrases to myself until i can get them out of my head by writing them down. (Sometimes this is something nice or poetic - “The golden hour lights up the whole world, wiggling its fingers into every nook and cranny, lighting up two people lounging on a bench-swing, someone leaned onto porch stairs with a mug of tea, the space between those walking down a dirt road, a couple of dogs laid out on the deck.” and other times its literally “Ranch Fiddlesticks.” I’m not kidding. i have a note in my phone that says ranch fiddlesticks because I was actually going to Die if i didnt write it down.)

I do wish my brain didn’t do this - but I guess it makes some fun art, doesn’t it? 

WOW OKAY THIS WAS SO LONG im so sorry jesus christ. SOrry i will ALWAYS go off about my process and what it’s like to write. Writing is so so important to me, I LOVE it with every tiny atom of my weak, alcohol-infused, overworked heart. Despite how scary it is sometimes I am very glad to be sharing my work with the world, seeing peoples’ reactions and hearing things about my words, hearing how this little picture in my mind has gone into yours. 

okay jfc im done now im so sorry. thank you again and again and again, a thousand times over, for reading my work and enjoying the worlds that i enjoy building. It makes me feel like I’m worth it. It makes me feel like I’m doing something good. 

ily :’)

[twopoppies]

I always wonder since you read a lot of fics (like me) can you name your top 5 or top 10??? I'm so curious 😣😣

Oh anon, this is so hard for me to answer. I’m always so impressed by people who can just spout off their favorite 5 fics. I don’t think I can narrow it down like that! There are a bunch of the “classics” that I love but I feel like they get reccd so often. So, I’m going  to try and list some fics I’ve read recently that I love and that are by people who are (hopefully) still active in this fandom.  As a side note, almost all of these authors have multiple fics I loved….if you like these, check out the rest of them!

My Recently Read Top 10

Lambing Season by @helloamhere (M, 25k)

“Shut up,” Louis says, an involuntary grin tugging at his mouth. It’s not every boy who will stand in the middle of a cold barn in a suit and play musician trivia. “I’m Louis.”

//lambing season brings sleep deprivation, noisy alarms, cold barns, demanding animals, and warm strangers.

The Road Less Travelled By by @freetheankles (E, 98K)

Louis was a lumberjack happy to be living his life alone in what could qualify as Middle Of Nowhere, Canada.

Every morning, he went out into the woods, cut his logs, then came home at dusk to a scalding hot shower and a good book by the fireplace. Rinse and Repeat. He had a good life, quiet and peaceful; simple. Not a secluded one as Niall annoyingly claimed.

Louis certainly didn’t need some chatty trespasser dropping into his life, his forest, his home. Invading his space, his circle of friends, touching his stuff, asking questions about his husband. His late husband.

A trespasser who wasn’t supposed to crawl under his skin, occupy his thoughts, and steal his heart from where Louis had locked it safely away, only to put it right back on Louis’ sleeve — where it once laid.

No, Louis definitely didn’t need Harry.

just call me inspiration by @hereforlou (E, 52K)

The truth is Louis knows he’s going to hell, if there is such a thing, but it isn’t because he writes erotic fiction for a living. If anything, it’s because his muse, the reason he’s inspired to write about people shagging in increasingly creative ways everyday, is the sweetest, loveliest, most genuine (and completely oblivious) future children-book illustrator in the world.

(Or, the one where Louis is a writer, Harry is an art student, and they inspire each other in very different ways.)

bloodsport by @twofiveohfive (E, 40K)

“You know how our next game is against the Cardinals, right? You remember how vicious those guys can get. I wanted us to come up with some plays, maybe work on a block from the left—”

Louis stops when he hears a chuckle.

He doesn’t think he’s said anything particularly funny, so he turns to Harry, waiting for an explanation.

“‘S funny, ‘s all.” Harry throws his finished bottle somewhere near the other discarded ones. “This is the first time you’re talking to me in eight months, and it’s still about football.”

where your lips land by BriaMaria / @briannamarguerite (E, 12K)

A love story told through Louis’ tattoos.

… or the Tyler Knott Gregson-inspired AU where Louis is a poet who lives in Montana and Harry is a photographer passing through.

From the poem: “I put new ink where your lips have landed/I cover your kisses with reminders” – TKG

Promise in the Sky by Throwthemflowers / @hazzabeeforlou (E, K)

AU in which Harry Styles, a naïve, repressed, socially awkward Midwestern highschooler tries to navigate his fundamentalist evangelical parents and radically progressive older sister. He’s doing an okay job of this until the Tomlinson family starts attending Lakeside Baptist Church and a boy named Louis changes everything. Harry is forced to come to grips with his true self when Louis becomes more than just his best friend; but their relationship opens a can of worms and sends them on the most painful, heartbreaking journey of their young lives. They risk everything and nearly lose, and Harry learns that perhaps only one Bible verse is true: that perfect love casteth out fear.

For Reasons Wretched and Divine by @indiaalphawhiskey (E, 95K)

Ten years ago, Harry Styles was just a nerdy kid with one friend and a debilitating crush on the captain of his school’s football team. He thought the stars were smiling down on him the day he and Louis Tomlinson were paired for their end-of-term Literature project. But because Harry’s life is decidedly not a fairytale, the budding friendship quickly leads to the least happy ending of all time.

Now, Harry Styles is a household name. Barely twenty-seven with two Grammy nominations to his name, the singer-songwriter is poised to take the music industry by storm with his highly anticipated third album. So, what happens when the best producer in the business is also the only person Harry’s vowed never to speak to again?

An AU in two parts. Two boys, two stories, and hopefully, two chances at love.

precious little thing by mercutionotromeo (E, 21K)

Reason #10 - Curiosity

Niall grins deviously and hits “make call”, putting his phone on speaker. They lean in close to peer down at the screen, heads knocking lightly together. Dull rings reverberate quietly around the room and mix with the monotonous buzz of the lights. It rings for a while - maybe six or seven times - then the other line picks up.

There’s a slow, steady inhale, and a low voice purrs, “Hi, sexy.”

Jesus - this guy has barely said two words, and both of them have made Harry’s cock twitch in his jeans. That’s not even getting to what those words are, and why he’s saying them, and how Harry’s stomach is dropping into his shoes at the mere thought of him saying… other words. Words like “cock”, and “please”, and “come”.

Also known as: a university AU featuring phone sex operator Louis, copious amounts of sweet, soft kink discovery, and Louis being Harry’s Daddy.

I’ll Be Your Love Tonight by dinosaursmate / @catfishau

“I don’t know how I’m ever going to walk away from you.”“So don’t.” Harry ran a fingertip over Louis’ thigh. “Stay with me.”-It’s the summer of 1999 and Louis Tomlinson has been abandoned at a house party. A dispute over Smirnoff Ice and several night buses later, Louis is unsure how he’ll ever walk away from this lovely, curly-haired boy.

everything suspended by @louisandthealien

It’s 8:50 when Zayn pops his head around the corner of Harry’s cubicle.

“Dude, I really can’t talk right now. If I don’t finish this report—“

“You hear about that plane crash?”

Harry stops short. “— what?”

“Louis works in that area doesn’t he?”

“What?” Harry’s hand is frozen in midair, halfway towards scratching his neck.

“Yeah, some plane just rammed into one of the Twin Towers, I guess. Ben is—“

Harry’s blood doesn’t run cold and his heart doesn’t skip a beat. The wind isn’t knocked out of him and his stomach doesn’t drop.

He’s mostly just confused.

You can also check my larry fic rec and my fic rec tags to see other fics I reccommend!

[lilacbombs]

3 and 15!

3. list your fandoms and one character from each that you identify with- OOF that’s… impossible considering how much stuff I’ve liked over the years, and I don’t really consider myself apart of “””fandom””” anyway so… I’ll just list some examples from recent ones and let you decide

mob psycho 100- mobu himself. Like one of the reasons I started going “!!!” and really paid attention to this series is cause mob was literally me as a kid. I was constantly worried about inconveniencing others with my emotions, so I just held it in and was often seen as cold or blunt by other people… I really got through it thanks to ssri’s + therapy but like OOF… SHIGEO..

the outer worlds- I’d say captain hawthorne but I feel like that’s cheating so… I guess ellie because she just gives off similar “fun quirky lesbian who once went through some shit in her life but has come out of it pretty ok” energy. like me

fallout 4- that ones a callback OOF… I’d say I relate to Deacon cause he seems like a fun guy trying to make the best out of a really messed up situation. also peak dumbass

15. five most influential books over your lifetime.- (>implying I read books?)

lol just kidding. but most of these are going to be comics tbh because that was always what I related to most.

Blankets - Crag Thompson - This book is PEAK “I was raised in the midwest around a bunch of redneck dickheads and felt really neutral about where to go in my art career cause no one took it seriously” I can’t really relate to being raised evangelical but like. still I feel it. Ntm that it was what made me think “damn, I want to do this someday.” in terms of career. It’s just a incredible peace of story-telling.

Black Brick Road of Oz - Xamag/Daria Yeliseyeva- ok this might be cheating, but if you’ve ever looked at my digital art and thought “woah” you can attribute it entirely to this comic. This comic specifically was what made me think “I want to make a webcomic!!” and “I want to make art like that!!”It mostly started with seeing her art on deviantart, but after reading her comic I was in LOVE with everything, the style, the colors, it immediately made me want to pick up a tablet and understand how it was done. Because I was still at an age (12 I think?) where I didn’t really “get” how digital art was made.So yeah, BBR is basically the only reason I’m a primarily digital artist. and thank christ for it, because without that comic wheel story wouldn’t exist, and I wouldn’t be looking to spend 37,000 dollars at KCAI next year.

Siddhartha - Herman Hesse - This one came after my whole “Get into buddhism” thing which was triggered by sym, but I wanted to put this down instead of the latter because it was a little more stimulating in terms of actual thought and it’s an actual bookIt’s just a story very similar to the story of the buddha, but taking an alternate path where he spirals into desire instead of out of it. Only at the end of his life does Siddhartha truly come to understand himself, along with Govinda his childhood love friend who he marries reunites with at the end in a very touching way. Look this book is gay as hell. It literally opens with stating that Govinda “loves siddhartha more than anyone else”, he regularly calls siddhartha “my dear”… the list goes on. I realize this could just be a case of “is it homoeroticism or does the author just hate women,” but idk. I still think it’s fun to read and relate to it as the story of a man searching for love only to realize he had it all along.I also like contrasting gay romances/stories into religious dialogues and contexts. Because of the trauma I (sorta?) and a lot of other gay people have faced because of religion I think its healing somehow. Like saying our love and our lives are just as spiritual, just as sacred.

I’m cutting this to 4 cause I gotta get back to hw + I genuinely can’t think of a 5th LOL

The Milkman murders - Joe Casey (writing) and Steve Parkhouse (art) - This one was a real reach back because I haven’t read it in years. I’m not much of a horror fan, but I’ve always liked “domestic” horror, and I might even write a story about it someday. The milkman murders is NOT a good, nice story. it’s about an abusive household and the a suburban mom being driven to kill her family. But I think even for how heavy-handed the subject matter can seem, I think it’s an interesting story meditating on how important it is to communicate as a family, how much abuse can change a person, how fucked up seemingly suburban families can be… even if the depiction of some of the characters seem heavy-handed. (It kinda plays into that whole thing of abusers being big villains who enjoy pain as opposed to fucked up people who exhibit behaviors that never get punished. Not that I’m defending abusers but… I think you get it.)Again though, WOULD NOT reccommend this to anyone with a history of abuse/sexual assault, it’s a very dark series with an even darker subject matter.

[god-ihope-iget-it]

Play Reccomendations

Below are a list of plays that I have read/seen that I thoroughly enjoyed and reccommend if you get the chance to experience them yourselves.

1. The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

I saw The Glass Menagerie a couple years ago and absolutely adored it. The set had been painted so that the dream-like aspect came through and I found it completely mesmerizing. It’s such a great dark representation of the memories of a man about his subjective memory. While many often consider this a realism play, I would argue it fits more into a more theatrical category thanks to its clearly subjective point of view and, depending on the interpretation, the non-literal world of the set. 

2. Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl

Eurydice is a quirky little play that has a lot of heart and sadness to it. It’s very short -- reading it will probably take you under an hour -- but very thought-provoking. It has a lot of potential to be realized with utmost creative freedom. The absurdity of the world and the characters make this interpretation of the classic Orpheus and Eurydice myth a unique interpretation.

3. Angels in America by Tony Kushner

Although I sadly never got to see the much-talked-about revival that was staged just a year or two ago, I read the plays in a college course and absolutely fell in love. The characters are drawn beautifully and the language is incredible. Harper will probably be a dream role for me (once I get to be the correct age), and it’s just wonderful. It’s incredible to read and I’m sure even more incredible to watch. The interruptions that pull you out of the play simultaneously intrigue you enough to captivate your attention and forces you to really think about the art you are witnessing. 

4. A Devil Inside by David Lindsay-Abaire

I saw this play in high school. Even in a high school production, this play had some serious appeal to me. It is a dark comedy, and the characters are all quite interesting to watch and observe. Their individuality gives them depth while the hidden web that connects all the characters makes for compelling theatre. The tragedy of the unresolved ending is really quite startling but it is somehow refreshing to not have  a play be tied up with a neat little bow at the end.

5. Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis

I saw a professional production of this play quite recently actually, and it was very interesting. The characters are some of the most real you could hope for. It is a real description of the imperfection of humanity despite our best efforts to be “good.” We do things that are wrong and yet, can still retain a true sense of ourselves. It’s a little bit of a complicated plot but you can follow along pretty well.

6. A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen

I love the ending of this play. It’s just so good. It may be Ibsen and more “classic” but it has some strong feminist themes as you examine Nina and her relationship to her husband. I bought this play at a used book shop and couldn’t be happier that I did. 

7. The Seagull by Anton Chekhov

I’ve used Nina’s monologue from this play twice in auditions (once succesfully, and once not as much) and the story always continues to move me. I have read this play and I love the themes presented through the novel of desire and doing what we feel we must do, even if it is not the best option. It is about the faults of humanity and our pitfalls in our reasoning. It’s some potent stuff and I for one, am a big fan. 

8. You Can’t Take It With You by Kaufman and Hart

I love this play. I read it in High School when we were supposed to put it on and it was so funny I couldn’t get through the first read-through. Even though we never actually produced it, I have a deep love for it and hope to do it again someday soon. The characters are not necessarily charicatures when you really look at them, but the chaos of everything that could go wrong will when all Alice wants is for it to go right. “One Normal Night” as some might say (cough, cough, The Addams Family musical is just the plot of this play but with the Addams family characters and set to music)

9. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard

OOf, I read this as a supplement to Hamlet in my AP Lit class and the first time I read it I was like “oh, cool, that’s funny I guess” but then we had all our class discussions about it and I slowly came to understand how painfully depressing this play is. It is absurd and existential and everything you would want in a play about characters who cannot exist outside of what has been written for them by a larger hand (Shakespeare’s).

[mysteli]

Endless Summer Imperfect - Chapter 2

A/N: Wow! I got this out a lot quicker than I thought I would. If you haven’t read the first chapter! I reccommend you read that first! Hope you enjoy!

Endless Summer Aftermath - Ending 1

Imperfect

Chapter 2 - Fragment of A Memory

Logan

Sean Gayle?! Of all people, why would Diego set Logan up with Sean? Well, there was only one reason. His reputation. Everyone still saw him as a God. A football-playing machine. A heart stealer. The last person that would ever go on a date with shy, sheepish Logan Mercer. Of course, the old Logan would be gawking and drooling at the idea of going out with Sean. Memories of her former self were vague but now and then she would feel an alternate version of certain situations, including this one.

Sean was now what he used to be. He was forced to uphold the image of being everything everyone wanted to be, even if it hurt him that he couldn’t be himself. Logan had known him long enough to know what his true intentions were. What makes Diego think Sean would wanna go on a date with her? Wait, nevermind, he already said YES!

Confused, Logan released a heavy sigh, not sure how to process the Diego’s proposal. She struggled to form words, as she met eyes with Diego, who was staring at her expectantly.

“Why... why?” was all Logan managed to say, almost mentally kicking herself for asking a question she didn’t really want an answer for. All she wanted was the ability to say “No” and move on with her life. Then again, Diego clarified that there wasn’t a choice.

“Why? Isn’t it obvious? You need to get over this Jake guy! And Sean seems like a good place to start.” Diego explained, not being very convincing. Bored, Logan rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Look, he just got out of a relationship as well. You both have a reason to be on this date”

“What made Sean even agree to this?” Logan questioned, with a lost look of disbelief. Diego couldn’t help but chuckle at her lack of belief.

“Actually... he wanted me to set this up.” He revealed, smirking slyly, expecting his words to shock Logan or finally make her smile. However, it didn’t seem to affect her at all. In fact, all she did was roll her eyes. Silent for a moment, she contemplated the idea once more before finally sighing heavily.

“I’m sorry, Diego, but I’m not going on this date.” Logan dismissed the idea completely, folding her arms in frustration and Diego groaned out of boredom but he seemed determined to get Logan to go on this date.

“Listen, if you go on this date...” Diego began, leaning across the table and resting his head on his fist. “I will stop making movie references for a month.”

Logan shook her head dismissively, still in denial.

“Okay, I will replace the camera I broke last week.” Diego tried to convince her again, furrowing his brows.

Once again, however, Logan denied, almost laughing at Diego’s practical begging.

“My dad’s already buying me one.” She replied, smirking devilishly. In response, Diego rolled his eyes.

“Okay then, I’ll help you find Jake.” He muttered. This time he was more hesitant but Logan’s smirk dropped when she heard his words. She searched Diego’s eyes to make sure he wasn’t kidding and he wasn’t. Nothing but solemness and seriousness lingered in them.

“Wait, you’ll help me find the man I’m hooked on in exchange for a date with another man that you want to help me get over the man I’m hooked on.” Logan questioned, using air quotes frequently and her tone almost sounding like she was mocking Diego.

“You don’t have to keep saying hooked on like that. But yeah, I’ll do that.” Diego responded, his expression serious and full of determination.

Logan went silent, realising he would really do this for her. Sure, Diego had made gestures like this before but nothing meant more to her than what he was doing for her now. All she could do was stare at him bewilderedly, sapphire eyes wide.

“Wow.” She whispered, unsure how to thank him, even though she was by going on a date with... Sean Gayle.

“What?” He enquired, chuckling lightly at her disbelieving state.

“It’s just... everyone always called me crazy for wanting to find Jake.” Logan muttered, her voice barely a whisper and her eyes relaxed slightly but the confusion was still obvious.

“I do think you’re crazy, Lo, but I’m gonna help you anyway. Cause you’re my best friend.” Diego assured, a wide grin taking over his features and Logan awed at his words.

This was Classic Diego. Putting others before himself every time. Even setting up this very awkward date was only to make Logan happy. All he wanted for her to be satisfied with her life and the ones who cared about her.

“Who knows, you might even have some fun.” Diego suddenly said, barely hiding his smirk as he took a sip out of his coffee. In return, Logan slapped with a coaster and he flinched, stunned. Both of them burst out into laughter.

This was all Logan wanted. To be with her friends. The difficult part was getting everyone to be together again... to regain that endless friendship.

Bzzzt.

Suddenly, a vibrating sound interrupted the meaningful moment. The echoing of Logan’s phone ringing ran around the coffee house. Rolling her eyes at the interruption, Logan picked up her phone, before shooting Diego an alerting look and disappearing into a deserted part of the coffee house.

Finally, she glanced at who was calling and it turned out to be Zahra, or Annoying Roommate, was her name in Logan’s contacts. She answered reluctantly and idly placed the phone over her ear. Before she could say anything, Zahra started rambling into the phone, louder than intended.

“Hey Mercer! Got something you gonna wanna see!” Zahra began, her tone deafening Logan’s right her. She tried to keep up with Zahra’s fast paced words. But her next words were clearer than anything ever had been. “Your boyfriend’s still in the U.S.”

Oh. My. God. He was alive. Jake was alive. Or so her first thought was. However, doubts starting rolling in. What if Zahra was playing a prank? Of course, she was probably just joking. What if Zahra just wanted to break Logan’s heart even more than it already was? At that moment, it sure seemed like the likely intention.

“You’re not kidding, right?” Logan questioned, arching her eyebrows in disbelief, her voice plastered with uncertainty.

“Why the hell would I be kidding?” Zahra enquired, seeming slightly insulted. Her tone took offence and Logan instantly regretted her too quick of an assumption.

“Then, how do you know?” She asked, which is probably what she should have questioned first. Logan closed her eyes, picturing Jake’s face for a moment. His sandy, fawn hair, long a tousled. His captivating, cerulean eyes that could overshadow any angel any day. Just him. Jake in general. The amazing man he was.

Suddenly, she snapped out of her trance, as Zahra started speaking once more.

“I found this article that talks about a criminal sighting outside of Hartfeld Univeristy.” Zahra began and Logan listened intently, processing every word. “And I looked more into it and turns out that criminal was...”

“Jake McKenzie.” Logan finished the sentence, almost instinctively. She hadn’t said Jake’s full name out loud in a long time. For so long, she forced herself to not think about him, not look for him but now, it seemed that he was looking for her. Why else would he be in the U.S? The most important place where he’s not supposed to be. If he remembered nothing, he’d still be chilling in a hammock in Costa Rica. He’d never jeopardise his entire system of not getting caught.

Wait, what about Mike?

“Does it say anything about Mike Darwin?” Logan questioned, her expression suddenly going solemn, as she doubted if Mike was even alive. Maybe that’s why Jake gave up and came back. Maybe he was grief-stricken and couldn’t handle it any more. Maybe he came here to get caught.

Silence invaded the phone for a moment, as Zahra skimmed over the article once more. Logan waited at the other end very impatiently.

“...No.” She stated simply, releasing a heavy sigh and tears threatened to leave Logan’s hurt eyes. Maybe she was right. Maybe it was just a guilty Jake coming to get caught. But then again, why Hartfeld? Logan spent another minute processing the situation, before sighing softly and clearing her throat.

“I’m coming back. Keep that article up.” Logan clarified, before speaking some final words with Zahra. Finally, she hung up the phone and made her way back to over to Diego.

He greeted her with an expectant gaze, clearly wanting to know who it was.

“I have to go.” Logan stated in a hurried tone, eager to know about Jake’s mysterious and very unusual return. Quickly, she chugged down the rest of her coffee before handing her cup to a nearby waiter. She stuffed her phone in her pocket and looked back at Diego, who glancing at her bewilderedly.

“Where you going?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow at her. She barely caught his words and she forced a smile at him.

“Out.” She muttered before leaving the coffee house, leaving Diego in a lost and oblivious state.

Estela

She eyed the unusual art she’d drawn. The visions Estela had seen were different and unusual than anything she’d ever seen. Dreams and nightmares of times on a mysterious island, where Estela and eleven others fought for their lives repeatedly and formed an ever-lasting friendship. Some of the faces were recognisable and others were complete strangers. Some of the familiar faces were from Estela’s college.

Grace Hall, who Estela had never really spoken to, only seen her sat on her own, reading a book by a bench, at 8am every day. Estela always sees the shy Grace reading on that bench when she goes on her morning jogs, as a way to clear her head. However, Grace isn’t the same person in the visions. In them, she’s confident and she always seems to know what to do. This is the case with a lot of the familiar faces.

For example, Aleister Rourke, the unusual guy with no family. Like Grace, he usually spends his days alone and for some reason, he always looks angry and frustrated. He never seems to talk to anyone. However, in the visions, he co-operated with everything and always suggested interesting points, even if him and his ideas weren’t as appreciated sometimes. He got along with everyone and saved lives occasionally.

And then one of the most interesting characters. Logan Mercer. She was odd, definitely, as her personality was completely in the visions than it was in reality. In the visions, she had a heroic attitude, always putting others before herself and never allowing her friends to be put in danger. She was the main motivation for most of them, including Estela. However, now she was different, lost even. She spent most of her days looking upset and alone.

Once again, Estela scanned the mysterious pictures that she’d drawn, based on some of the events that happened at the La Huerta. One of her fighting a colossal crab and another of her and Logan having a heart to heart. However, there were other weird visions that didn’t revolve around the island. Visions of Estela’s mother.

Her mother had died before she was born, at least that’s that Estela’s adoptive mother said. That’s right. Estela was adopted at two years old, which leaves a lack of memory when it comes to her real mother. Then, she was adopted by a woman called Lila, who gave her home and the normal life that the average kid would want. However, Estela always felt like something was missing and was never satisfied about what she had. Maybe it was her lack of a real mother.

With the thought on her mind, Estela picked up the drawing of her mother. It was a vague assumption on what she assumed her mother would like. Or the person she saw in her visions. And Estela had a rocky relationship with her mother recently. She had even lost the habit of even calling Lila “mother”. What the hell happened?

Suddenly, the door of the dorm room burst open, the sound echoing through the area. Estela swerved around and was met with her roommate, Quinn Kelly. Estela barely caught a glimpse of her before Quinn disappeared into the bathroom, slamming the door shut. A worried look crossed Estela’s face, as the deafening sound of vomiting vibrated through the room.

This had been happening constantly. Since Quinn was chosen to be Estela’s roommate, she would get up in the middle of the night to puke or catch her breath. However, she wouldn’t tell Estela what was going on. She refused to talk about it with anyone. At some point, Estela couldn’t help but think that Quinn was pregnant but it had been going on way to long for that to be a possibility.

Ten minutes passed and Quinn finally exited the bathroom, running her hands through her bright, ginger hair. Sweat creased her forehead, as she made her way over to her bed. She seemed tense, almost shaken up. Curious, Estela furrowed her eyebrows while gazing at Quinn intently.

It took the red head a minute to notice Estela staring at her. A silence overwhelmed them both and neither knew what to say.

“Um... you okay?” Estela questioned, her voice a puny mumble. Quinn barely caught her words and her blue eyes were full of surprise, as if she was stunned by Estela’s concern.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Thanks.” Quinn responded, forcing a weak smile, her eyes shining gratefully but the tears still glistened at the corners. Her response seemed genuine but Estela didn’t believe her.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna tell me what’s going on?” Estela enquired. This was the first time she’d asked for a while and she suspected that Quinn expected it again some time soon. Hearing the question, she released a heavy sigh, a puff of smoke leaving her lips.

“I want to... but I can’t.” Quinn admitted, rubbing her arms sheepishly, a timid look on her face. She almost looked like she was shivering.

“Why?” Estela asked, not seeming to care about being cautious anymore.

“My... parents say it’ll mess everything up.” Quinn confessed, not wanting to hide it anymore but she still kept her answers vague and blunt. Estela sighed, surrendering.

“Well, you know you can talk to me if you need anything, okay?” Estela assured, folding her arms casually while forcing a solemn expression. Grateful, Quinn smiled weakly.

“Thanks.” She whispered, before disappearing into the bathroom once more. With that, Estela sighed once more and glanced back at the art before her, a million thoughts scattered around her head.

Logan

Eventually, she reached her dorm room, clutching the strap of her bag as she ran like she never had before. Her thoughts ran wild in her head and all she could think about was the fact that Jake was back in the U.S. The love of her life had arrived back in town and that only gave her motivation to get back to her dorm room quicker.

She yanked the door knob and threw the door open, her blond hair tousled from the wind outside. But she didn’t care. All she wanted was to find Jake. Out of breath, she scanned the dorm room, her eyes landing on Zahra, who was sat cross-legged on her bed, dark eyes fixed on the laptop screen.

“Hey, Namazi.” Logan greeted Zahra, gaining her attention immediately when she called her by her last name. Slightly insulted, Zahra folded her arms and narrowed her eyes slightly.

“I do something nice for you and you greet me like that?” She complained, the left side of her lips curving up lightly.

“Seriously though, thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.” Logan thanked Zahra, her eyes relaxing as she approached where Zahra was sitting. “Now, show me what you got.”

“Oh yeah.” Zahra began, tilting her laptop so that Logan could see. An article was revealed to her, with a very bold and obvious headline, stating a criminal sighting. Underneath the headline was a picture of Hartfeld University. If you squint, you can see a circled part of the picture, where Logan noticed a familiar face. Blurry but she would recognise that face anywhere.

It was Jake. It was definitely Jake. The blurred image didn’t change how attractive he was. He still wore his usual khaki jacket and his hair was still tacky in the absolute best way. Logan stared at the image in awe, at the way he was “casually” strolling past Hartfeld University. But his cerulean eyes were side-eyeing a stranger beside him. Probably to make sure that no one recognised him. But why was he being so obvious? Does he even still go by Jake?

“Boo.” A deafening voice suddenly spoke, stunning Logan out of her trance. She jumped back slightly and she could hear the faint laughter of Zahra. Annoyed, Logan rolled her eyes and folded her arms in a frustrated manor. However, she shook it off and turned her attention back to the screen.

“I just... can’t believe this. He’s... here. Hell, he’s alive.” Logan admitted, obviously astonished and talking as if she speaking to herself. Zahra raised her eyebrows questioningly but Logan wasn’t paying attention to her. A tear threatened to leave Logan’s eye but she blinked rapidly to stop it from escaping.

“Do you want me to leave you alone with the blurry image?” Zahra joked, a smirk crossing her lips, causing Logan to snap out of her trance. She narrowed her ocean eyes and furrowed an eyebrow at Zahra.

“You had to ruin it, didn’t ya? Trust me, I’m not in the mood.” Logan growled, a solemn look reaching her face, the light in her eyes dying completely. Jake was back and she didn’t care what anyone else thought right now. All she cared about was him.

“Sorry, but I do have to go. I got my last class now.” Zahra stated, closing her laptop and stuffing her phone in her pocket. “I’ll see you later.”

With that, Zahra left, leaving Logan to contemplate about the situation she’s in.

Sean

The next day went by quickly. Quite normally, like usual. The same, average, boring day for Sean. Wake up. Brush teeth and get dressed. Go to the first class. Then go to another class. Hang out with Craig at break. Then go to another class. Have lunch with the football team. Go to the last class. Go to football practise. Then hang out with Craig. Repeat. Again and again and again and again. Throughout each day, act like someone you’re not and always force a smile.

That’s what Sean always tells himself. Never snap at anyone. Always act like the hero you’re not and never deny a favour. Never fail. Never fall and never fly with the wrong crowd. They’re practically rules Sean made up for himself. For ages, he’s been forced to be friends with people he hates and date girls he’s never felt a connection with. Only date them because of their popularity.

Now, a girl he actually is attracted to wants to go on a date with him. Logan Mercer. He’s had his eye on her for a while now, especially because of these visions, or memories, of her he’d been having recently. Visions of her heroic acts on an island and her teaching him that being a hero isn’t always the only option.

Since Michelle, Sean was never able to go on a date with another girl. But now, it’s been three months and it’s time for him to move on with his life. Even if the date doesn’t go well, he’ll be proud that he did this for himself. That’s all he’s asking for.

Sean gazed intently at his well-presented exterior reflected in the mirror. He tightened his tie and fiddled with his suit jacket, hoping that he was ready for this date. Honestly, he was nervous. He never thought Logan would agree to this or that Diego would even suggest it, since they had barely spoken. But Sean knew that this was gonna be good for him. And he was prepared to make this work.

Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he turned away from the mirror, grabbed his phone and exited his dorm room - careful to not wake Craig from his very loud slumber.

Soon enough, he made it outside when a figure jumped in front of him, blocking the path to his car. Stunned, he stumbled back, rubbing his forehead. He focused his attention on the unusual figure, meeting eyes with Michelle. Of course, who else would it be?

“Michelle? What the hell are you doing?” Sean questioned, attempting to get past her but she jumped in front of him once more, narrowing her eyes.

“Heard you were going on a date with Logan Mercer.” Michelle stated, folding her arms in a frustrated manor. She seemed to be putting on an enraged act, as Sean noticed her hands shaking slightly.

“...Are you okay?” He enquired, genuinely concerned, his chocolate brown eyes fixed on her shivering hands. Michelle followed his gaze, realising how obvious her nerves were. Immediately, she threw her hands behind her back.

“I’m fine. Just wanted to tell you something.” She assured, biting her lip awkwardly but Sean didn’t seem fazed by it.

“What is it?” He asked, raising his eyebrows at her in a confused manor.

“I just want you to know that...” Michelle began, stuttering slightly. Suddenly, she paused, seeming to play out her response in her head. Nothing sounded right and Sean couldn’t help but be bewildered. After a long moment of silence, she closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “Never mind.”

That was the last thing she said before running off into the direction of the sunset, the many colours playing across her hair as she darted out of sight. Not sure what just happened, Sean grabbed his car keys out of his pocket and prepared to head to the restaurant that Logan and him agreed to meet at.

Logan

After a long car ride, she finally arrived at the restaurant, a million thoughts crossing her mind. Diego offered to drive her and she couldn’t help but except. He decided to set this up after all. Nerves hit her immediately but it wasn’t because of Sean. Jake was still on her mind. His mysterious return. She wasn’t able to stop thinking about it all day and now that he was in Hartfeld, shouldn’t she be looking for him? Instead of going on this unnecessary date. Then again, she was doing this for Diego.

Forcing a smile, she turned to Diego, while fidgeting with the straps of her red dress. Sean said that the restaurant they were going to was more casual than most but he still told her to dress up. Sitting the other car seat, Diego grinned broadly at Logan, trying to be reassuring.

“You ready?” He asked, knowing what the answer to that was already but Logan could tell he was trying to get her excited for the date.

“Not really but I guess I’m going anyway. Thanks for driving, by the way.” Logan thanked him, giving him a quick hug before stepping out of the car.

“Have fun, but don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” Diego joked, before flashing his best friend a cheesy but goofy smile and driving off.

Logan let out an innocent laugh and started towards the restaurant. Once she entered, she instantly caught sight of Sean, who had his dark eyes fixed on the door, clearly awaiting her arrival. Once he noticed her, his jaw dropped. He was already seated at a table so Logan casually wandered over to him, watching his eyes widen.

“Eyes are up here, Q.B.” Logan joked, slightly saddened by her instinctive use of Jake’s old nickname for Sean. His eyes narrowed in response. It was the same reaction from when Jake first response, except he seemed less irritated by it and more amused by it.

“Sorry, Lo. I just think you look beautiful.” Sean admitted, flashing her his usual, clean smile that was actually genuine instead of forced.

“Thanks.” She thanked him before sitting down opposite him. Curiously, she scanned their surroundings, loving the simple and comfortable vibe of the restaurant. It had a bar, which was always nice and it was plastered with ancient artworks which added a historic feel to it. “You chose a nice place.”

“Thank you. I thought you’d appreciate somewhere a bit more casual.” Sean suggested and Logan nodded affirmatively, impressed by the suitable choice.

“I gotta ask though. You literally barely speak to me and now, all of a sudden, you wanna go on a date with me?” Logan questioned, starting to see the Sean she learned to love coming through. The simple and sweet side of him that always stood out to her. Never romantically but she still loved the more honest side of him.

“I was thinking you’d ask that. Well, when I got out my relationship with Michelle...” Sean continued to answer her question but Logan seemed to stop listening when she caught sight of a familiar figure wandering into the restaurant.

Jake McKenzie.

[prince-raisins-art]

Do you have any tutorials on cutout art, or a list of items you use for art?

okay, hey hi sorry this is such a late reply. ive never made a tutorial in my entire life but im gonna show you how to make a cutout of this hot mike wazowski i drew. at the very least mike, i gave up with the flowers.

okay so first things first, gather all your matierals; an x-acto knife, scissors, a glue stick, a pencil, markers/colored pencils/paint/whatever coloring medium is comf for you, and a cutting mat. as for the actual paper, i stock up on any type i can get my hands on. joanns (my main supplier) usually has a bunch of really nice paper packs, so should any craft store near you. on the other hand, ive stolen half a box of scrap/swatch paper from my caligraphy class and at least two walls of paint swatches from home depot and walmart (i dont reccommend these ones because the color will chip pretty easily. pro tip, works in a pinch for the right color you want, just cut it from the back side of the paper, the color side face down.)

now, print a black and white copy out, 

or if you’re lazy/dont have a printer, lightly trace the image off your computer screen. gently. then, gather up the papers you want to use, and make sure to really consider which colors should go where.

my desk is small and messy im sorry. anyway. take out that pencil and find a light source. someday id like to own one of those neato tracing tables with the back lighting. but im a broke 20 year old who makes do with what they have.

i use a picture frame with my phone turned on under it.

i have it taped like that because every time i had it the other way, the pegs would always colapse under the weight of my meaty fingers. if you dont have a frame on hand, you can use a nearby window or a lamp,

(i cant show you my usual setup, otherwise i wouldnt be able to take the pics so this lamp setup will have to do) 

next, you’re gonna trace the parts of the drawing that pertain to the color paper you’re tracing on. its okay if lines and shapes change a little bit, you can only control so much.

once you have them all traced, you can start carefully cutting them out with your xacto knife. you can either put the pieces in a bowl, or on your computer keyboard like i do, because i could honestly care less if some of my small pieces get lost inside the keys. that was a joke, i actually really hate that. but i am a simple minded woman who simply doesnt learn. 

next, take out your glue stick and something to apply the glue to the pieces. i use a sculpting pick, and in the past ive used my xacto (dont reccommend). you could also use a toothpick

you can start inking certain lines you want to stand out, i used a brown micron pen

glue that shit on there. it also helps to put them together on top of the image so they align correctly. again, dont worry if it doesnt line up with the original

a monster in the making

if you want some extra depth, you can glue a thing of cardboard in between your parts

leg depthhhhhhhhhh

i didnt have any shiny paper for the nails, which i wanted, so i improvised with what i had. we’re on a budget here, people. cut them shits out and slap em on the fingies

horrifying.

okay, for the roses, i honestly just gave up, sorry. however, i wanted to still do the body roses, so i made some wavy cuts like this

rolled them, glued the end, and squished them a bit between my fingers.

here we have, more or less the final product. i started a bit early, but you can add details like shadows and highlights with your colored pencils/markers.

they’re in love.

thats it for this dumpster fire of a tutorial. i hope it wasnt too useless. if you have any other questions please feel free to drop back into my inbox.