#i personally think this turned out quite pretty but i also think i might've been staring at it for too long

[hollis-art]

t'hy'la

[princeoftheeternalbog]

thinking about izou guys...lets go

I think there's a little bit of insecurity coming off here so i think maybe this could be considered comfort because he's going to worship you�� this just kept going and going btw guys sorry

let me know if the dialogue is confusing and I'll colour code it🤞

I also invented u a bestie idk

ALSO that part where he's thinking about fighting is making me think about sparring headcannons...

- ✧ -

You feel like someone's staring at you.

You've been feeling like that a lot lately actually.

It's not unpleasant, more a hyperaware tingle on the back of your neck as you organise parts of the new supplies.

It's odd, you think, you're not sure why someone would be staring at you of all people.

You look up, trying to get a glimpse of whoevers causing the feeling, but your eyes can't help but drift back to the man in front of you. His head was turned and he was talking to one of the other crew members, someone in his division you think, you weren't exactly looking. No, your focus was on the elegance of his profile, the way his hair looked like liquid silk and framed the muscles of his broad shoulders like water against rock.

At least he wouldn't catch you looking at him since he never seemed to look your way.

You hadn't been on the ship long, 6 months max maybe. You settled quickly into your division, finding companionship easily within the familial feeling of the crew. And while you were more than strong enough to be recruited by the Whitebeard pirates, there's still not really a reason for anyone to stare, especially not Izou. Your strength is the hidden kind, something you only ever use in a fight, and other than that there's nothing really interesting about you.

At least that's what you think.

- ✧ -

Izou strongly disagrees.

He fears he might've gone insane, the level of space you occupy within his mind can't be normal, especially when you'd barely spoken 3 sentences to him(one time you said his lips looked beautiful and he honestly thought he would've proposed if you hadnt walked away).

He just can't help it, he'd first seen you before the crew had attempted to recruit you (on his recommendation of course) and the way you fought was breathtaking. He kind of wanted you to beat him up like that, but that might mess up his hair and he was sure he'd wouldn't be into that nearly as much.

As soon as that fight was over though, he'd seen that transformation into your normal personality and he was hooked from the beginning. The way you went from such a serious, scary, powerhouse to just so-

You.

He couldn't even put it into words.

He can't help but linger around you, sitting near you during celebrations and dinner, swapping chores to put you a bit closer. Not that he talks to you, no no, he's quite nervous if you must know.

You make him feel so many emotions he's never felt before, he's never been nervous around someone he fancys and it makes him feel sick- in a good way, but still sick.

To be honest though, he's more worried about making you uncomfortable, technically you'd be a subordinate to him, he doesn't want to pressure you so he'd much rather keep his attraction to himself.

No matter how much his brothers pushed him to be more open with his feelings.

- ✧ -

It can't be that hard to figure out who it is. Surely someone has a reason to be looking at you, and you'd already asked all of your cabin mates if you had any wardrobe malfunctions or food on your face and there was a unanimous no. Though they were snickering amongst themselves for some reason...

You brushed things like that off though, it didn't seem to be malicious and you and your cabin mates had developed quite a strong bond even in just a few months so you didn't think they would be making fun of you. But regardless they're weren't very helpful, so you decide to ask around.

You had a check up scheduled today so that could be a good place to start, and you had a pretty good relationship with your usual nurse Maren so you're sure she'd tell you if she knew anything.

- ✧ -

Tate was amused. And that's putting it lightly.

She'd noticed the special attention you seemed to be attracting as of late, well most everyone had. Apart from you.

You were so so oblivious. Even when it was staring you right in the face, which is precisely what Izou had been doing to you earlier. Not that you noticed the comical way he whipped his head to the side whenever you looked up. And you didn't even see the flush on his face that was clearly visible to everyone even through the makeup that he tended to favour.

She couldn't help the way her lips twitched upwards when Maren made eye contact with her over your shoulder, as you asked whether they'd noticed anything.

"That's probably Izou"

Your head turns so fast that Maren's hands fly up in a panic, making sure you didnt pull anything.

"What do you mean"

Your voice sounds a bit jittery and you fidget and Tate really grins then,

"What I just said"

"But why would he- like why would he look at me"

She shrugs

"He's attracted to you"

You gape at her, mouth opening and closing like a fish.

"But- what?"

Your voice is rising now, in befuddlement and embarassment and it doesn't help that Tate and Maren look like they're laughing at you.

"Oh hun most people have noticed apart from you...Izou seems to have a little crush on you"

Maren giggles as she finishes her sentence, rubbing your shoulder as she nonchalantly drops this massive revelation.

"I- what."

You sound so flabbergasted that Maren feels a twinge of concern for your self esteem so she barrels on,

"Well you're cute, you're funny, you're crazy strong which is always a bonus, there was that time you complimented his lipstick, oh you should've seen his face as you walked away I thought he was gonna have a stroke-"

"He's constantly near you, even in fights when he should be paying more attention to whats going on in front of him than wherever you are"

Theres a hint of annoyance in Tate's tone but you can recognise it's probably directed towards Izou. Probably. You can never tell with Tate.

"But we've never even really spoke-"

"Well I can assure you he wants to change that"

You'd never really thought about it, I mean obviously you were attracted to him and felt a lot of respect and frankly you would date him if given the opportunity. But you didn't ever think he'd be interested in you, no that would be silly, he's so strong, so composed. You couldn't for the life of you imagine him with a crush and yet here you were being told the crush is on you.

"What...do i do"

"It depends obviously"

She's confusing you now.

"On what?"

Tate rolls her eyes, "On if you reciprocate"

"What does that mean"

Maren butts in again, "On if you want to try dating him silly"

You feel yourself curl in from embarrassment as you say it but you can't stop your mouth,

"Who wouldn't?"

- ✧ -

This was so bizarre.

You're not quite sure you believed the nurses at the start but now that you were looking you could see it. He was so often in the same place that you were, so often making sure you were safe, so often looking at you with a dreamy expression.

And it was kinda...really cute.

Well what can you say, he's quite a serious man, flashy and fashionable but serious nonetheless. Seeing his composure falter was sweet- and hot, really hot.

You'd tried winking at him earlier to see what would happen and he'd choked on his drink in his fluster, while cute, not something you would like to recreate considering how quickly he left after that. You imagine he'd felt embarrassed but you simply felt entertained and very flattered.

You wondered what you were going to do about it. You weren't exactly that experienced and youd certainly never asked the other person out first.

Though....you had some ideas in mind...

The next island you were docking at was famed for it's markets, big bustling things that took up several streets at any given time.

So it was settled.

You were going to woo a commander.

- ✧ -

You didn't think it was going to be this difficult.

You knew what Izou liked, how he wore his clothes, how he did his hair and his makeup.

But nothing was speaking to you, no matter how beautiful or precious it was. It was driving you mad. It didn't help that the people you'd enlisted for help were infact not being very helpful at all.

Maren was simply pointing out things either she wanted or she thought would look good on you, which....could actually be useful later for the aforementioned wooing so you did actually listen to her sometimes.

And then there was Ace, you'd thought he'd be very beneficial in this outing considering he was practically the second division commander already and thus was friends with the majority of the commanders. Well... he was just flirting with every shopkeeper.

You sighed as someone shouldered into you.

Gods this street was so busy it was an absolute nightmare to be in. You'd all taken to tying each others belts together, lest you get lost or worse in a fight. It prevented Ace from wandering off too, scatterbrained that he is.

Maren's sudden gasp had you turning in alarm before she started tapping your arm in excitement.

"Look! Look! Look!"

"What am I looking at" You're squinting but there's too many people to see where she's even pointing.

She sighs, exasperated, before grabbing your head with both her hands and moving it to in front of her own. You stumble as she practically manhandles your body in front of her so your eyes can follow the exact line of site she was looking at.

"....oh"

"YEAH OH!"

You turn to face her,

"Maren I think you're a genius"

"Hey what about me-"

"Shut up Ace" The way you speak simultaneously makes you both giggle.

He doesn't stop pouting as he's dragged over to a frankly shady, tented market stall.

He's not sure why he's here anymore, he feels more like a mascot. Though he doesn't want to go back to the ship just yet, the way Izou had looked when you'd grabbed Ace's hand to drag him off the ship made him shiver.

He hopes you find a good present before Izou finds him.

- ✧ -

He's picking at his nail polish again.

He can't help it- he's so anxious, anxious that you'd been out all day on the island, anxious that you'd went with Ace of all people, anxious that you'd held his hand.

He knew Ace was attractive, many of the younger crew members were quite sweet on him afterall. But you'd never seemed to show any interest and he didn't think you'd go for someone younger than you...unless maybe you would.

He's scowling so much his forehead hurts.

He just doesn't understand.

Why would you want to go and hang out with Ace when you could hang out with him-

Ugh he felt disgusted, being jealous always made him feel dirty, such an ugly, improper emotion to have and yet here he was seething away.

Maybe he should've made a move.

Maybe he can still make one-

No that wouldn't be fair, not if you were going out with Ace.

It must be some divine punishment that he'd be forced to see it though.

- ✧ -

You laughed brightly as you and Ace raced back to the ship, shopping bouncing lightly against your side. Maren had gotten there first, setting off the whole race when you two were distracted the little cheat. She was giggling herself at the top of the gangplank as you and Ace shouldered each other trying to get up it first.

"THERE'S NO WAY I'LL LET YOU WIN"

"MAREN ALREADY WON THIS IS FOR SECOND PLACE IDIOT"

"WELL I'M NOT BEING IT"

"THATS WHAT YOU THINK" You're blowing a raspberry at him as you reach the top when he accidentally knocks your leg and you feel your centre of gravity shift.

You briefly feel panic claw up your throat, even though you'd land in the water, it was still a massive drop, one that you weren't prepared for and one that would potentially ruin the utmost perfect present.

It doesn't last long though, something snatches the side of your holster belt, holding you up like a dog in air prison.

Once you get your eyes to open back up, you see black leather before anything else and then the soft whites and pinks of his kimono print.

"Izou-"

You don't mean to say his name so excitedly but as you look up and he smirks and that little dimple on his left cheek appears, you can't really feel any regret for it.

"Darling you need to be more careful, I might not be there to catch you next time"

"Ah right- sorry" You turn your head in embarrassment, feeling hot. Your gaze meets Maren's and she winks before dragging an apologising Ace back onto the deck.

"Alright let's get you up lovely"

You expect him to reach with his other arm and haul you up back onto the gangplank.

You do not expect him to toss you in the air.

You think your shriek of fear may have disrupted the local ecosystem.

"WHAT THE HELL IZOU?"

The man has the audacity to laugh as he catches you in his arms.

"THAT WAS SO UNNECESSARY-"

"I apologise dear- I just wanted to see your face-"

Your eye twitches

"AND TO THINK I WAS GONNA ASK YOU OUT ON A DATE WELL YOU-"

You smack a hand over your own mouth, hoping it will somehow erase those words from out the air.

You can hear Maren and Ace crying on each other in the background about how 'all of their hard work has been wasted'.

Of course you were going to do it eventually but you'd wanted more time to prepare.

"Is that so?" His voice is lilted, teasing almost.

"Uh well- you know-

...yes"

The end of your sentence is barely audible as you wince. Even though logically you know he'll likely say yes, the embarrassment makes you wish you had fell off the gangplank. And maybe drowned while we're at it.

"Ask me then" When you look at him, he's smirking but you can see the blush steadily rising on his face.

"Uh what"

"Ask me darling, I do have places to be you know"

"Right, right, uh can you maybe like put me down first"

He raises one of those perfectly styled eyebrows before setting you on your feet.

"Okay now turn around"

He looks amused but he turns and you start rooting through your bag until you find the exact item you want.

It had taken a while to find, routing through that little jewellers stall, but it was absolutely perfect. You weren't exactly sure he'd wear something like it but it just felt like it almost embodied his energy.

It was a strange little thing, the stall owner had told you that the carved opal, inlaid into the wood, was found on the shore. He'd crafted the wooden part himself to curve perfectly around the delicate shapes of the crane, creating a moon shaped pendant that took your breathe away almost as much as Izou did. You worried the wood might seem plain to him but to you it felt like it was grounding, tying a feeling of the earth back to a gemstone which felt like glittering starlight.

You cleared your throat gently, holding it out in one palm of your hand.

He turns back towards you but he doesn't look down yet, his eyes are fixed on your face and you feel a bit like you're made of jelly.

"Izou... I've always held a...strong...admiration for you-"

You can see Maren wincing sympathetically behind him and you feel like throwing the pendant at her head.

He's smiling though, so you keeo going on.

"I wanted to ask you if you uh...

ifyoudliketogoonadatewithme"

Your eyes clench shut as you internally cringe and you think that came out as gibberish.

"How sweet"

You risk peeking at him with one eye and he doesn't seem to be making fun of you so you relax a little bit.

"And I...bought this for you...you don't have to keep it. It just reminded me of you"

He finally looks down at the small pendant in your hand and it's like he forgets how to breathe.

"Where did you-"

"You don't have to keep it."

His eyes shoot up to meet yours and then before you even process that he's moving, he's kissing you.

His lips are soft, just like they looked, and you're sure he's transferring his lipstick but you don't really care as you hook an arm around his neck. He's pulled you in by the waist, trapping the arm with the pendant against his body.

He kisses with such a purpose like he's trying to devour you, like he's trying to memorise every part of your mouth.

And he's really good at it.

You feel lightheaded, possibly from lack of air, but more likely because of the devotion you can feel through this kiss. You really hope there's nobody nearby because you kind of want to crawl into his lap and never leave.

He keeps trying to pull you closer, practically pulling you onto your tiptoes as he leans over you, almost like a dip in a dance.

He pulls back slightly for air but each breath is punctuated with a kiss and he's mumbling compliments all the while.

"Sweet, pretty thing"

Kiss

"So clever"

Kiss

"So lovely"

Kiss

You think you might pass out if he keeps focusing this much of his attention on you but you don't exactly want him to stop either.

"OH COME ON GET A ROOM"

Ace being useful for once is surprising enough to be effective at pulling you two apart.

You're gasping as you lean your forehead against his own and he starts talking before you even remember where you were.

"How did you find something like that? How did you know to get it?"

"What do you mean?" Your voice sounds soft and gooey even in your own ears but you can't feel embarrassed when he sounds so grateful.

"It's from home, my home. That opal-"

He's kissing you again as he whispers little thank yous against your mouth.

No wonder it reminded you so much of him.

"WHAT DID I JUST SAY"

Izou finally pulls back as a potato flies past his head. You can't see the look on his face but Ace immediately goes white so you imagine it must be quite impressive. He turns back to you and the adoration that shines on his face makes you feel all flustered.

"Darling I fear I could never give you a gift so precious"

"You...would be enough"

"Ah but then I get you as well, and I believe that means I owe you double, I better get started on that"

He's hoisting you back into his arms before you can reply and then he's whisking you away towards his cabin.

Maren is cheering way too loudly.

[forgeofthenine]

If you're still interested in requests (feel free to ignore, since you've got a lot of 'em!)

How would everyone's favorite tieflings react to their Tav *not* being at the tiefling party, because they've ended up spending the night keeping the tiefling kids entertained in Mol's hideout? Celebrating with them, having fun and goofing off with the kids (and making sure Mol isn't trying to exhtort who she can, by selling firewine around the camp by doing so)

Bonus points if s/o is a bard class~

(2) Asfgghkkkl I was the ask for the s/o/Tav who spent the tiefling party just playing with the kids - I (maybe) forgot to mention that I had the idea of them doing it secretly, or like, getting stuck escorting Mol back because the kids!!! Want to see the hero too!!!

Hi Anon, thank you for the great request! This one was a blast to write and I really enjoyed it, I hope it's what you were after :)

For anyone wondering, this was the WIP referred to as 'adopting all the kids'

The bachelors finding you in the kids cave at the grove instead of at the party

General

The party was just starting to ramp up, making your rounds and catching up with everyone when you see it from the corner of your eye

A small tiefling with a cunning grin and an eye patch sitting on a rock at the edge of the clearing

Sneaking off to the edge of the firelight, with only a sideways glance from Halsin, you finally reach Mol

It really didn't take long for the girl to convince you to leave the party, her threat of upselling stolen firewine was almost enough convincing on its own

The two of you make your way back to the familiar cave that the children like to hide in, cheers being the first thing that meet your ears as Arabella and Mirkon happily rush up to you

The other children stay back but look excited in their own ways, Silfy peeking out behind a blanket wrapped around her, Mattis turning his attention towards you, and Doni letting out a small grunt in greeting

With some light begging from some of the kids (and some egging on from Mol and Mattis) it's not long before you pull out your instrument of choice and start your own party for the group of children

It might've been minutes or hours you were there, you're not sure until you're interrupted

Dammon

Dammon had no intent on going to the party, not only is he not a particularly social person but he also has an entire makeshift forge to pack down

It's when he's stuffing his things into a pack that he sees you and Mol sneaking back through the grove and into your hidey hole

At first he chalks it up to the kids shenanigans but he grows curious at the sound of music emanating from the crack in the wall

Dammon is actually pretty quiet when he starts to make his way down the very tight, very craggy tunnel

That is until he slips and slides the rest of the way down, tumbling out covered in dust and letting out a small cough

The silence is absolutely deafening

"So this is where the real party is? Hope you don't mind me... Dropping in-"

The pun was bad enough for Mol and Mattis to want to kick the blacksmith out but you're quite happy to defend him

Soon he's joined your little group of rascals and you've scrounged him up a drum and the two of you are serenading the kids with a very one of a kind concert

It's only once all of the kids have finally fallen asleep that the two of you clamber your way back out of the cave, Dammon helping to dust you off afterwards

Dammon himself is stuck thinking about how good you were with the kids and how unexpectedly nice the night was, but he knows tomorrow they all get back on the road and he might never see you again

Zevlor

Zevlor, to no one's surprise, had been standing off to the side near Halsin when you left

Ever the wallflower in social situations, he'd seen you sneaking off with Mol

Knowing how much of a handful those kids are, Zevlor decides to go find you both soon after

He's spent this whole time letting the children believe he had absolutely no idea of their secret hiding place, but Zevlor isn't blind

Zevlors careful with making his way down the rocky tunnel, listening to the music that slowly fills the air

The paladin is so quiet in his descent that no one actually realises he's there until he claps at the end of your performance

The kids are all quick to scurry away, except for Mol and Mattis, and it's up to you to try and convince them to let Zevlor stay

It takes a fair bit of convincing but it ends with the two of you regaling the kids with stories of wild adventures

Those stories include musical interludes too at the kids instance

Once all the kids have fallen asleep, curled up around each other or lying on large stones, you and Zevlor make the rounds covering them all with blankets

It's when Zevlor is helping pull you back out of the cave afterwards, feeling the warmth of your hand against his, that he realises how alive you make him feel and how effortless it is to be around you

Rolan

Rolan had spent most of the night drinking and putting on magic shows for his siblings

At some point in the night you'd come and given him applause but the next time he went to look for you, you'd already disappeared

It was Lia that pointed him in the right direction, mentioning you'd gone back to the grove

And so a tipsy, affection-starved wizard decides to stumble his way back to the grove to find you

It's both the sounds of music and the light bleeding through the cracks in the stone that draws him in

And if you think Dammons entrance was grand, Rolans is grander

Accidentally sliding down the last part like a surfer before quickly using his magic to make sure he doesn't fall flat on his face

Of the three bachelors, Rolan is the only one able to convince the kids to let him stay by himself

Showing off a little extra magic helped somewhat

It's then that the kids insist you both entertain them, putting on a join concert/magic show

For Rolan it was like Cal and Lia were little kids again, looking out at the little tiefling faces that are 'ooh'ing and 'aah'ing at the magic firework displays

"Ah, my adoring crowd, if you think that was good then behold this-"

You two made a good duo, bantering between yourselves and some of the kids, and putting on a good show till the early hours of the morning

It's only when the two of you make your way back out of the cave, hauling Mols smuggled wine she was planning on upselling, that you sit at the beach and indulge in a shared bottle

It's then that Rolan looks in your eyes, smiling and fatigued, that he realises how much he wants to kiss you

Whether or not he does is something neither of you can remember in the morning

[princess-of-the-corner]

I'm curious:

What do you think the Miracuclass would have been like with no Chloe? It's a universe where she doesn't exist?

She is such a force of nature, so a LOT would change, even before the main series.

My first thought is that the role of Class Asshole instead goes to Kim, who remains fairly oblivious to what hurts other people's feelings and can take shit way too far.

I'm not convinced Sabrina would be friends with the rest of the Girl Posse, even HC Sabrina. Canon Sabrina has a lot of moments where she does genuinely like being mean, and wouldn't really gel with the rest of the squad if she hadn't mellowed out in response to Chloe getting more intense.

HC Sabrina probably wouldn't have picked up Chloe's bitchy behaviors, but her idea of friendship would still be pretty skewed because of her dad and I think everyone else would be turned off by how hard she goes. They'd find it weird and uncomfortable and wouldn't really have all the right tools or circumstances to have the conversation that Chloe and Sabrina manage to have. I feel like this would actually cause Sabrina to be a weirdo loner outcast or attach herself to a different Andre-esque figure, although I'm not sure who.

In either scenario, the only ones I see Sabrina being chill with are Alix and Nathaniel. I feel like Alix would be the only one who would respond with grace to Sabrina in kind of a "whoa girl, can you chill out for a second. I don't hate you, just calm down" thing. I feel like Nathaniel and Sabrina would have something of an on-again off-again friendship/acquaintanceship where he likes her cuz she likes his art and refuses to quit when he withdraws, and she likes him cuz he keeps accepting her fuckups even if it takes a week of the silent treatment for him to process it.

I don't think Alya and Marinette would have become half as close, or at least not that fast. Without the common enemy to bond over and miraculously have them sit next to each other, I don't think they'd have much time talking one on one. Marinette may also be a lot less inclined to turn a blind eye to the way Alya keeps trying to expose Ladybug and puts herself in risky situations.

Adrien would have NO friends if you don't count Felix, which would have made him EXTRA fucked up. No concept at all for how people care about each other except what's modeled by the adults who can't get their shit together. No social skills. No idea how a lot of things in the world work. Just. So so so sheltered loner rich kid. And probably very sad and lonely. Nino still would have adopted him and taken him under his wing, but Adrien would be waaaayyyy different. I imagine him being chronically online and talking to a lot of people on the internet (think, made friends in an anime fandom), but he's too scared to drop many details about his personal life because he (rightly) assumes they'll treat him different if they know he's rich and a celebrity.

Just my initial thoughts, and I'm curious how you'd spin it.

ohohoho.

Okay so like

Adrien and Sabrina are obvs going to be the focus here.

the rest of the class is somewhat unchanged. Chloé was a bitch but outside of the Derision Retcons she's not really causing major problems. There are other mean kids at school to kinda fill out anyone being bullied (not in a 'i'm bringing in a rando to fill her role' but in a 'the idea that a singular kid is the only bully in school is ridiculous, and anyone who was targeted by Chloé would've been targeted by someone else).

I do think there may be overall butterfly effect(HA!) in a sense of 'Chloé didn't do X, so Y didn't happen'.

I do also think that Mari and Alya may not have hit it off as strongly because there wasn't some bully to save her from. They might've been friends, but not the immediate "oh I'll become a Superhero to save you!!' thing.

Sabrina is in a weird place because to me she's even more of a social chameleon than either Zoé or Lila. She's been taught to see relationships as transactional and unfortunately so has Chloé so they're a match made in Hell. But without A Chloé there's.... so many other options?

the best option is she made friends who taught her better. But it's also likely that she makes friends who, while good people, don't quite get the transactional angle and are accidentally taking advantage. They do care for her, but also whenever they're busy she still freaks out and wonders if she did something wrong.

Speaking of, Sabrina could've leaned into the transactional too hard in that like. A few too many rainchecks and it's 'Oh I'm doing things for you but you're not giving me affection? Guess we aren't friends goodbye.' so she doesn't really have any friends.

On top of everything else said about Adrien and his lonliness: He wouldn't be in public school. Chloé was the root of the reasons he wanted to go(to be with his friend, to experience the things she talks about happening(well. Her half-truths and skewed perspectives but I digress). And Chloé is the one who gets Adrien enrolled in school in the first place!

Without her, Adrien wouldn't have gone. He might not even be Chat Noir because he didn't go out that day.

[heartsoji]

MISINTERPRET

akaashi keiji x reader

summary: akaashi is kind. he's kind to you, but he's also kind to everyone. you need to make sure you don't misinterpret his kindness.

a/n: akaashi getting a quad bc he's abt to hang out with bokuto is so funny to me

you'd always considered yourself an observant person.

you were good at watching people. you picked up on their habits, tendencies, movement style, and hidden traits. you picked up on how they responded to certain comments and the best way to be friends with them. you were on the quieter side, but you were well respected for being eternally considerate and kind.

also due to this nature, you were a very good judge of character. you found that the kindest and most interesting people were typically either very loud or very quiet, occasionally coming in the middle, though that wasn't often.

for example, take bokuto koutaro, the star pin on the team you co-managed. he was one of the loudest, bubbliest, people you had ever met, and also one of the kindest. he had a way of lighting up the room, and the way he cared for everyone you met was always heartwarming to see.

on the other hand, take someone like akaashi keiji, the setter on the same team. he was much like you. quiet, observant, yet one of the kindest, most tender-hearted people you'd ever met. he was a true gentlemen and was always considerate of other people's feelings and their boundaries. he was also in a few of your classes, and he was always so kind and warm. if you were being honest, you'd developed a small crush on him due to that.

you and akaashi were friends. being similar in nature, you two were quite compatible and got along well. you'd often study in the library together, and you took that as a chance to sneak glances at his stupidly handsome face every so often. however, his face wasn't the only part of him you loved. (though it was certainly an added bonus) there was something about him, aside from his kindness and good nature, that made you feel warm. welcomed. seen. you hadn't ever felt that way about anyone before, and you just knew that he was special.

"hey, l/n-san, uh, so for this part, do you think that the main idea of the passage is- l/n-san? l/n-san? are you alright? l/n-san?"

you felt a gentle hand on your shoulder bringing you out of your trance.

"sorry. yes?"

"ah, i was just asking a question about this part."

"oh, i see. so, in my opinion, i think that.."

as you talked, it might've been your imagination, but you felt like he was gazing at you. however, if you glanced away to see if he was, you'd lose your train of thought, so you continued on, your cheeks becoming slightly rosy as you did so.

after you two finished studying, he cleared his throat.

"uhm, l/n-san, would you like to stop by the cafe on the way to the train station with me?"

your eyes widened before a happy smile spread across your face.

"i'd love to!"

you walked with him to the cafe, making lovely conversation along the way. akaashi was kind, patient, and a good listener, too. talking with him was like riding a bike for the first time in a while. you're a bit nervous before you start, but once you do, its easy, relaxing, and fun.

"the leaves are beginning to turn orange." you commented.

"indeed. it's quite beautiful." he replied, a gentle smile on his handsome features.

"right? it's so pretty! it's a shame they'll fall soon." you said, an excited look on your face present before slightly saddening at the thought of bare trees.

he chuckled. "is fall your favorite season?" he asked.

"hmm.. maybe! i like how pretty the leaves are, but i'm not fond of how chilly it can get." you replied. "it's actually pretty cold right now. i probably should've worn a thicker coat or a scarf."

"oh, are you cold?" he asked before quickly removing his scarf. "here, take my scarf."

you felt your cheeks warming up. "no, no, akaashi-san, keep it! i'm really fine." you protested. he really was kind. he immediately tried to offer what was keeping him comfortable to you in order to ensure your own comfort. that selfless nature of his might be one of the sweetest parts of him - the ability to love and care for others, even when at the expense of himself.

"please, l/n-san, i insist. it wouldn't be good if you caught a cold. i'd be worried." your eyes widened slightly. he'd be worried? however, almost immediately after saying that, he gave a small cough. "i mean, the team and i, of course."

of course. he was just being kind. your feelings for him were beginning to make you misinterpret his simple kindness.

you accepted the scarf. "thank you, akaashi-san. i really appreciate it."

he let out a sigh of relief as he handed you the scarf. "of course. also.. you, uhm, don't need to be so formal with me." he started slowly. "i'd... be much.. uh, happier, if you just called me akaashi. we're on the same team, after all. you're the only one who still uses an honorific with my name."

you smiled. "of course, akaashi. that goes for you, too. just l/n is fine."

he returned your smile. "got it. thank you, l/n."

your heart skipped a beat when his voice spoke just your name. akaashi was making you fall harder for him by the minute, but you felt a bit sad knowing that your chances of being with him or him at least slightly reciprocating your feelings were slim to none. after all, akaashi was an extraordinarily skilled athlete whose personality, height, and overall good looks attracted many girls, even ones from different schools. akaashi's a very kind person. don't misinterpret it.

when you arrived at the cafe, akaashi had you order first. you ordered your usual basic latte, but he ordered a quad, something you'd never tried before.

when your drinks came, you noticed that his had a nicer aroma than you were expecting. he noticed you staring at him as he took his first sip and commented on it. "is something the matter?"

"no, no. i was just wondering what four whole shots of espresso could possibly taste like. i've never heard of anyone with that drink order before. and also, why four shots?! isn't that like, a ton of caffeine? you're not gonna be able to sleep tonight!"

he chuckled. "i need the energy. i promised bokuto-san i would set him some balls today, since it's a friday, and i have a feeling that we'll be going for a while. as for the taste, i quite like it, though it's definitely an acquired taste. bokuto-san tried it once, and he spat it at the wall." he said, chuckling at the memory. "i really enjoy the bitterness of the espresso. i think that out of the five flavors, i think that bitterness very well may be the most underrated one. well, it's in my top two, anyways. additionally, espresso contains immune-boosting antioxidants and-" he then stopped himself short, seeming a bit embarrassed all of a sudden. "ah.. i'm sorry for rambling. uh.. would you like a sip?" he offered.

you smiled. "yes, please! i think it sounds very interesting."

you took the cup from his outstretched hand and took a careful sip. you then began trying to register the flavor. however, while you were doing so, although your face remained stoic, you were internally freaking out. you just shared an indirect kiss with your crush, and he had offered it to you without a second thought. you just shared an indirect kiss with the akaashi keiji. you just shared an indirect kiss with him, and you were trying your best not to start smiling and blushing at it.

stop. don't misinterpret it. don't misinterpret his charity, his kindness. you had asked what his drink tasted like and he was explaining it to you before doing the kind thing to do, offer you a taste. he probably wasn't aware of the fact that you two shared an indirect kiss anyway, and it was only you who was thinking about it-

you stopped that thought at the sight of akaashi. at the sight of akaashi clearly trying to avoid staring at the mouth hole of his cup, but failing miserably, a rosy blush dusting his cheeks, and his lips slightly upturned. at the sight of akaashi keiji, nervously trying to ask what you thought of it, clearly still flustered, and still staring at the mouth hole of his cup.

suddenly feeling a bit confident from his reaction, you licked your lips while holding eye contact. "it was good." you said. "it tasted a little like you, too."

you watched as his cheeks turned from rosy to red, averting his eyes nervously while stealing glances at the cup where you two shared your indirect kiss.

huh. you thought to yourself. maybe, just maybe, you weren't misinterpreting, after all.

[changbinsboobs]

i'm curious about the new dorms in pairs! leeknow said they all got to choose who they wanted to live with. is it true and are they satisfied with the member they are with? (i know its not been long since they moved in together). and how do they welcome that change on a personal level? thank you!!

Hi:) so i reformed the question a little bit, since before the reading i felt like the members theyre with was a mutual decision they're all content with. I don't feel like they really had much preferences either. So either way i think most of them would've been pretty content with whoever they ended up with. After all they have lived with everyone once, and more or less have learned to live with each member.

That being said i find the topic intriguing myself, especially after laying the cards so I've prepared a follow up reading going more into details like what was the overall reason the group decided to move. What was each members motivation to want/not want to move. What co-living in each dorm is like, like looks, vibes, routines, dynamic, personal relationship, individual relationship with oneself, changes of before, likes and dislikes etc. so stay tuned🥰✨🙌🏻

*For entertainment purposes only!

How do Skz feel about their new dorm arrangements?

Chan - 5 of Swords, The Fool, 2 of Cups

Out of all Chan seems to be the only one that didn't welcome the change with open hands. I feel he might've had some reservations and maybe feared that the bond between them might weaken or even break if they now spend less time with each other. U know you get used to someone when living together so u get a bit blind about stuff that would annoy you. And by moving out into pairs he might've feared that some members might once again start to bicker (im thinking of han and hyunjin😂) Despite that he kind if gave in or was overpowered by the majority when making that decision and is actually pretty content now with i.n as his roommate.

I.N - 3 of Wands, 2 of Wands

He was so in for the whole change. Very enthusiastic. I think him, hyunjin and leeknow are the most excited and happiest ones. He took a big part in planing and executing the move i feel like. He was definitely very involved. I think now he has way more (mental) space to indulge in things he might've not been able to before now that he has more peace and quite and more space. He's excited for the fruits of it all.

Lee Know - 4 of Wands, Page of Swords

He feels really happy, kind of like he hit the jackpot or something. This might've been something he has awaited for a while and now he finally has it. Other than that i don't see much tbh. I think he's just excited to start his living together with Han and build a closer relationship and create an intertwined life with each other(?).

Han - 9 of Pentacles, 6 of Cups

He feels the whole thing was a big success/jackpot too and is very happy with the move as well. I believe he's excited to have it easier. I see him finally being able to take care of his inner child, and also for his inner child to be taken care of by Leeknow specifically. He feels like he can relax and let himself be cared for and pampered - something he apparently couldn't do and didn't get while in the other dorms. Both of them are very compatiable as in ones needs automatically fulfills the others needs and vice versa. They really do each other good.

Changbin - Queen of Cups, The Empress

Changbin is also very content with the change and i feel like he wants to use this time and newfoudn space and peace to get to know himself better and grow. To care better for himself. To nurture himself more. I feel like he's kind of over the bachelor / youngster life and wants to slowly step into a more adult role and become more autonomous and mature when it comes to life and general. I feel like he kind of steps in a new era and is in a state of a metamorphosis or something, where he turns from a boy to a man, and other stuff begin to interest him slowly and for that he needs to change to. But he can't feel like a reliable man, capable to provide for his partner and eventually his family, if he has lived his whole life with his parents or his other bachelor friends. He wants to take this opportunity to become more "serious" and reliable - build himself and his confidence in his skills to "survive" on his own. Learn what it is to live by yourself (even if he still shares the apartment with hyunjin) and get used to, in advance, of what life with a partner would be like. Kind of like practice for the future and indirect manifesting.

Hyunjin - The Sun, 3 of Pentacles

Hyunjin feels amazing and is really, really happy about the move. He can finally flourish. I think he's that type of introvert where the more people there are around him, the more dampened his energy gets. Now when he shares an apartment just with changbin (who's also very focused on his own thins recently) he can unfold and flourish fully the way he wants to. I think he wants to learn new things and engage even more in his own hobbies and interest and he actually looks forward to when he actually misses the members or human contact. I think in the past years he's been so stifled continuously, feeling slightly suffocated by the amount if people around him that he has forgotten what it is to actually want to see people. To crave human contact. He's happy that now with his newfound peace and space he can enjoy his own company to the point where he will start actually craving other people himself.

Felix - Temperance

Felix's reading wasn't very detailed or colorful. Basically he's just content with the new living arrangements. He would've been fine either way tho:)

Seungmin - Justice, Knight of Pentacles

Fo him imnpt getting anything specific either, i guess he's just indifferent and will continue just living for himself and do his own thing, maybe a tad bit easier now that he shares his space only with one member.

[becauseimanicequeen]

Ming and Joe's Colors in My Stand-In, Part 1: Overview

Part 2: Black and Blue

Part 3: Red and Green

Part 4: Yellow/Gold

Part 5: Brown

Part 6: Random Color Moments

I received an ask a couple of days ago asking me about Joe and Ming's colors (which is something I've been thinking about for a while) and decided to answer that question in a separate post. So, here I am.

I have a feeling I'll have a lot to say about this (because looking at the colors in QLs I love (and I love My Stand-In) is such a nerdy thing for me), so I'm sure I'll break this up into parts. I'll start by looking into what color/colors Joe and Ming are (which I'll do in this post) and then, when I've come to my conclusion about that, I'll dive deeper into their symbolism and meanings in separate posts.

Let's dive in!

My first impression, without having looked very deeply into this, is that Joe is mostly green while Ming is surrounded by/wearing a lot of black.

However, I also feel like they are both bi-colored because I believe Joe is also yellow/gold or blue (or both?) while Ming is also red. And, if this turns out to be possible, then I have them in contrasting colors and I will be screaming about that when I get to it in another post.

Since this is such a nerdy thing for me that I love to explore, I will rewatch every episode we have available now (at double speed because I'm only focusing on the colors and Joe and Ming). So, I'll be back with images and thoughts in a couple of hours.

*speeding through 7 episodes of My Stand-In*

I'm back! That was an interesting experience. (It might've been a second for you, it's two days later for me, lol.) Anyway...

I feel like I got a better sense of Ming and Joe, and I was a bit surprised that my ideas were mainly pretty good.

Before I figure out my thoughts in this post (because writing them down is how I come to conclusions about things I'm unsure about), I want to mention the colors first.

Based on my rewatch:

Ming is black and red.

Joe is blue and green.

Yellow/gold is significant to both.

Brown also has some significance (and this is where I get into nerdy territory with color theory).

(Btw, artists can discuss pink into eternity, but for the sake of simplicity in my posts, I will treat pink as the lightened value of red. So, when I mention red-ish in my posts, this is what I'm referring to. Also, since secondary colors (like orange) sometimes are hard to separate from the primary colors they're created from, because they can include a lot more of one of them, I will sometimes use yellow-ish to refer to yellow hues that might verge towards orange.)

Also, I think it's important to note my approach to Joe before I dive in. I will treat Joe 1.0 and Joe 2.0 as the same person when it comes to the colors unless stated otherwise. I might get into a tangent if I notice that the colors are different depending on the different Joes. But, unless I do, Joe is just Joe (whether 1.0 or 2.0).

Now, let's start with Ming because I feel like he's the most straightforward out of the two.

Ming is definitely associated with black.

He's often surrounded by/wearing black and it fits his moody brooder very well (I'll get into this more in another post in this series).

But Ming is also red.

Red flag jokes aside, the red goes very well with his fiery, passionate, dominant personality.

When it comes to Joe, I feel like green is the most obvious one of his colors.

Green is a color found in nature and it suits the more "grounded" parts of his personality (again, I will develop the symbolism and meanings of the colors in regards to Joe and Ming in other posts in this series).

(That Joe and Ming are green and red means that they use contrasting colors, which is also something I will yell about in another post in this series.)

Then we have blue, which I was a bit unsure about going into my rewatch. However, I feel like it has solidified a bit more since my rewatch, and I'll explain why.

The blue is usually quite subtle around Joe even though it is there. The thing that solidified Joe being blue for me was that Ming is seen surrounded by it a lot the deeper he falls/has fallen for Joe (and let's not forget the blue watch Joe gave Ming).

The blue fits Joe well as he's both caring, loyal, and sad.

I feel like this is pretty accurate and straightforward, so far. So, let's get into more complex territory.

Let's start with yellow/gold, which is a very prominent color in this series together with green and black.

I previously stated in this post that I feel like yellow/gold is significant to both Ming and Joe, and that's because they share this color.

Joe 1.0's home bathes in warm yellow/gold/yellow-ish light, which means he's constantly surrounded by it. It's part of his home, his color palette, his life.

The same goes for Ming, as his family home includes golden details. Also, I feel like the light aspect of things (which I will write more about in a separate post) also has to do with this moment where he has his queer awakening seeing Joe's back on that billboard.

Let's forget that Ming thought it was Tong and just look at those colors. Joe is surrounded by that warm yellow/gold/yellow-ish light, which latches onto Ming out of his devotion and desire for that back.

Ming and Joe both had some aspects of the yellow/gold color before they met, but it deepened the more time they spent together (especially for Ming).

In Ming's case, it started as that little light in the background when he met Tong, became more evident the moment he met Joe, until he's bathing in it every single day in his condo.

That's how affected he was by Joe.

I will probably dive deeper into how Joe is the light in Ming's life and how Ming was the light in Joe's life in another post in this series, but I wanted to mention it here as well. And it's very evident in Ming's case considering how his new place looks so much like Joe's with all that yellow/gold light.

This is the color they share. The color Ming used to mend the broken mugs that represented their life together, their connection, and their relationship.

Honestly, so far, these are the colors I'm most sure about because they show up all the time. And call me crazy if you want (I'm giving you permission to in this particular case), but I'm pretty sure this image sums it all up:

Look at the blue-ish ferris wheel, the green plant, the black sky, the two dots of red light (right underneath the right lamp), and the yellow/gold lamp. That's Ming and Joe's individual colors plus the yellow/gold they both have. Both of their colors are summed up in this one image, which leads into a scene where Joe tells Ming that Ming has made his dream come true while Ming agrees to move in with Joe.

Go on, call me crazy.

And my crazy doesn't stop there. Because then we have brown, which can become a bit complex.

Since I've already used up the image limit (why tumblr, why do you only let me have 30 images per post? This visual artist needs visual aids in her posts, damn it!) I will have to do this part without visual aids. However, I will develop the use of brown in a separate post in this series, which will include images as well.

Anyway...

Let me first get into some brief color theory, because it matters to my view of how they use brown in My Stand-In.

There are two ways that I usually mix brown when painting. The first one (and the simplest) is to mix orange and black. This is pretty interesting considering some of the yellow/gold light that often surrounds both Joe and Ming sometimes verge into the orange (which is why I call it yellow-ish). Mixing that with Ming's black gives us brown.

The other way I usually mix brown hues is by mixing the primary colors: yellow, red, and blue. Does that sound familiar? Yellow is the color they share, red is Ming, and blue is Joe.

So, in my color-deranged mind, brown happens when Ming and Joe's colors are mixed together. And, in Joe and Ming's case, I've noticed that brown has two opposite effects. It either shows up when they feel the most grounded and relaxed or when things become "too much" between them. (I will develop this in a separate post.)

Some of their more explosive scenes actually include brown, but since my image limit is reached, I can't show examples of any of those right now, so I'll leave that for the post where I'll focus on the use of brown in My Stand-In.

Now that I've established all this (which will be the focus of my other posts in this series), it's time to move on to the next part.

Part 2: Black and Blue

Part 3: Red and Green

Part 4: Yellow/Gold

Part 5: Brown

Part 6: Random Color Moments

[korrasamibottles]

Year-End Writer's Roundup: 2024 edition

Thank for tagging me @sweetorangepoptart !! I'm not sure who's been tagged so @ any and all writers who see this and want to participate, consider yourself tagged!!

1. Words written (published or not, WIPs totally count too!!):

18,083?? I can't believe I did that. I can't believe that came out of me. Sounds fake. Also one fic is responsible for like two thirds of that, which also sounds fake.

2. Smut scenes:

Just one, in my Korrasami Week fic Love Bites (So Do I)

3. New things I tried:

Mmm I wrote an AU? Sometimes I have trouble getting into AUs as a reader because I end up missing the established universe, so I never envisioned myself writing one, but that's the fic that wanted to be written! It was a challenge to make the characters feel like themselves (if their personality is molded by their environment and life experiences, and then that environment and set of experiences is tweaked, what happens??) and also make the world feel Legend of Korra-inspired rather than exactly like the real world as it exists except with people named Korra and Asami (not that that's a bad way for an AU to be—it's just not how I wanted this one to be).

I don't want to spoil anything, but there are a number of little details sprinkled in that I hope make the fic feel somewhat rooted in-universe even though it isn't. Anyway overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out? If I had endless patience I might've continued adjusting things, but uhh I don't lmao.

4. Fic I spent the most time on:

Love Bites for sure. It ended up being over twice as long as every other fic I've written, and I'm still shocked by that. I did not think I had 12,438 words in me. (And I almost didn't because I wanted to quit like a dozen times shhh🤫)

5. Fic I spent the least time on:

The Space Between Heartbeats, but not because I didn't care!! Turns out it's just way easier to keep the word count lower and tie everything up relatively quickly (for me. lol. takes me a while to write anything) when it's set in-universe and there isn't any extra world-building to figure out.

6. Favorite thing I wrote: 

You would have me choose❓️🥺 I can't. The two fics I finished are so different from one another, but they're both precious to me and I'm happy with the way they turned out.

7. Favorite thing I read:

Can I tag everyone who participated in Korrasami Week? I've started going through the Korrasami Week Collection on ao3 and there's so much talent in this fandom it's crazy. Shout out to @appalesbian @ozais-lobotomist @kingwuko @madlad-link for writing things that drove me absolutely bonkers.

I also fell hard and fast into Velcinta Madness after watching Andor earlier this year and subsequently spent weeks groaning in agony and rending my clothing (many such cases!) so I want to mention what a knife measures. It packs a powerful punch into a quick read and is beautifully written, as sharp as the title suggests, and has the kind of character dynamics that make me want to pull my hair out (complimentary). I love it.

8. Writing goals for next year: 

Specific goals: Wuko Week approaches......I have a doughy lump of an idea currently rising in a warm, humid location, and soon it will be time to put it in the oven. I also think I can loosely tie it in with an older Korrasami wip (which I really want to finish. and it rhymes with shmibrator shmic.) but I don't want to make any promises because fics always take on a mind of their own at some point and things change. I'm also tempted to try writing something Velcinta-related but idk. Participating in a new fandom is always intimidating. We'll see.

Non-specific goals: I really want to reach a point where my recurring perfectionism/shame-induced writer's block no longer gets the better of me👍

[skimmingmilk]

for your sonic work, what's a plot or theme or trope you've wanted to try out? are there any pieces you've read back and thought, "Dang. I could totally rewrite this. "

here's a ⭐️ too

That's a really good question! One of my favorite tropes is like... when a character time travels to the future, and sees what became of a world where they were presumed dead and has to find their way back to their correct time, even if that means their loved ones need to let them go a second time :') I've had ideas for this particular scenario for Sonic fics, it was actually a contender for last year's big bang, but in the end I chose to write "Relative Dissonance" instead. There's a chance I could still write something like this in the future, but it's pretty low on my list since Relative Dissonance more or less scratched that itch, just with dimensional hopping instead of traveling to the future :)

I guess I'll use the ⭐️ for Relative Dissonance since we're already on that topic! But yeah, when I was brainstorming for the 2024 big bang, it was between Relative Dissonance and this other fic where Tails ends up ten years in the future, in a very similar dystopian setting to what ended up in RD. Eggman has nearly taken over and his friends aren't quite the people he used to know.

In hindsight, that fic might've been easier to write since I could've just used the Chaos Emeralds to yeet Tails into the future xD Instead I had to do so much research on physics and quantum mechanics and engine repair and alternate dimensions and building radios like... I'm not a science or mechanical-minded person. I tried so hard to be good at science in school, but my brain is not on Tails's wavelength at all xD

It was a really fun challenge though and I love how everything turned out. I don't regret choosing Relative Dissonance at all. It's one of my favorite things I've written. But in hindsight, speedrunning worldbuilding an entire alternate universe in about four months was possibly biting off more than I could chew, lol. But who knows, I'm sure a time travel fic would've found a way to kick my butt regardless!

I'm also already going to be dealing with potential time travel stuff in the Picket Fence series, so it felt a little repetitive to do something with that outside of that, too. Not that being a repetitive, one trick pony has ever stopped me before, but you know what I mean :3

To answer your other question though, if I could go back and rewrite something, I think I'd want to rewrite "Severe Conditions Can Lead to Extreme Reactions" just because when I wrote it, I hadn't intended to ever write what happened immediately before it. I think I'd make them a bit more cohesive now with "The Cost of Chaos Can't be Paid in Gold" existing.

It wouldn't be much, just maybe have Sonic feel a bit at odds with the Chaos Emeralds still, or flashback to how Tails was just unconscious for like a week before he got taken out by the Death Egg robot again. Nothing that seems like he's dwelling though, because that isn't what Sonic does. I don't know... I'd have to really go back with the intention of editing it to see what could be improved, but that's the first thing that comes to mind!

Sorry for the super long response xD But thanks so much for asking! These were all fun to think about :)

[kylorengarbagedump]

hi!! i literally just created an account on here to send you a message 😭 lmao

I hope this message finds you well/hope you're doing good!<3

anyways i just had to let you know that your stories have always been a safe space for me & no matter how long i would need to wait, i'd LOVE to read more of DYA someday. Do you know if you'd ever continue the story or would you rather just let it be? Because there are still so so many people out there who love your stories as well. Your fics are literally the only ones i can't stop thinking about. No matter what i read, it just doesn't compare. Your writing style is unique and thats why i hope that someday you find the motivation to pick up DYA again because you ARE ICONIC. And please never ever delete your fics (i noticed FYA is gone from wattpad somehow) because i honestly don't know what i'd do without them. No writer gets Kylo like you do. Honestly. I may sound cheesy or pathetic or whatever but i'm just being honest. Others portray Kylo as this mildly "grumpy" guy who just needs to fall in love in order to be "fluffy" and then he suddenly turns into a completely different person. But only you manage to actually capture his anger, his rage, his turmoil. Your style is unmatched and you have no idea how much i miss reading new things by you! Also the fact that he can read the reader's mind in FYA/DYA.. ahhhh i could go on and on. just love your style and your ideas so much. Hopefully some day i can read a new chapter and until then i will re-read all of the existing chapters for a 10000th time 😭

sending lots of love!! <3

HIIII - really quickly - I actually had no idea FYA had been removed from Wattpad because I haven't logged on to that website in probably 2 years at this point. I assume it was deleted due to mass-reporting. I refuse to delete anything from the internet, pretty much, so anything that's gone now was removed against my will, haha. But, that's why I feel safe on AO3! All of my work is there and I plan to keep it there.

Now onto the rest - you're sincerely SO kind and thoughtful to send me this. I really really appreciate it, and I truly don't ever take any compliment I receive on my writing for granted, and I really do appreciate your encouragement and generosity. I love knowing people resonate with my interpretation of Kylo, because he's very near and dear to my heart and writing him feels very intimate to me.

That being said, regarding DYA... I'm not sure if I will continue it, tbh. I truly HATE to leave a project unfinished, it's very unlike me, but I've encountered something of a 'stuck' spell in my writing in general. It's very hard for me to produce anything nowadays - nothing seems good enough, interesting enough, I feel like I've run out of ideas. With DYA specifically, I feel like I've written myself into a corner and I've already ruined the story I might've told. Not saying ANY of that is true or for sympathy - it's just how I feel. That's not to say it's impossible, but I wouldn't hang your hopes on it. To be very honest, I feel quite down in the dumps and hopeless about my writing these days and I hope that will change in the future. I have considered taking it down or something just because I hate giving people false hope, but like I said, I'm loathe to delete anything from the internet so I haven't and I won't.

Regardless, comments and interactions like these always brighten my day and do make me feel a little bit hopeful, so I'm very grateful you sent it. Thank you so much <3

[jq37]

VINDICATIOOOOOON! We were all completely within our rights to hate KP. Although, at this point the RG's seem to be victims that need help, maybe. Depends on how much getting Rage-vivified leaves your mind free or if they're all enthralled. Their personalities clearly took a turn for the shit end of the scale if Ruben's anything to go by. They could be Thralls that think they have agency. As much as I don't like them (Lucy being the obvious exception) they were just kids that got set up to die by an adult they trusted. Which is pretty fucked. That segues nicely into our new mystery, What is Jayce's deal? How long has he been a Rage acolyte/thrall/insert better word here? Did Ankarna's name getting released help his evil machinations?

Onto more lighthearted topics:

-Damn it, the gamer in me is salivating at what perks maxing out the other tracks gets you.

-Better late than never on those materials Arthur. I wonder if Adaine speaking up earlier might've gotten her this solution right from the start.

-Fabian apologizing to Gertie (the best new character this season) has fully redeemed his character and I now fully approve of his ship with Mazey (the second best new character this season). It can now sail with my blessing. Also, dude really needs to talk to the Kids about how lonely he's been this year. We're getting near the end and he really he needs to communicate his problems better. All of them do TBH.

-I hope Bobby Dawn gets his teeth kicked in before the season wraps up.

Anyway, shorter than expected episode. Hopefully next weeks will be a little meatier. Till then, Honor the Cock at Basrar's.

-I also hope Brennan puts the full downtime mechanics online or something at some point because I wanna know what they didn't get to cause they were too busy concentrating on other stuff.

-I understand why Adaine handled things the way she did--very in character for her--but the whole time I was like girl! Talk to someone! use your resources! Anyway, she's done with school but hopefully there are still some useful goodies in there (and something nice for Fig too).

-And yeah, ditto about Fabian. If Toxic Masculinity is dead and you dance now, tell your friends that you're lonely! But that's not an actual complaint of course. He's handled it in a very in character was as always.

-Bobby Dawn can go to hell. All my homies hate Bobby Dawn.

-We ended on the Jace reveal so hopefully we'll get into that pretty quickly and start to figure out exactly how much culpability we should assign to each party here. Even if I find Kipperlilly insufferable (in a narratively satisfying way), it doesn't mean it's her fault if a trusted adult led her into making a pact with a rage god that cranked all of her already intense personality traits up to 11.

-As I'm sure you know by now, the next ep is gonna be more than 3 hours long so you're getting your wish! And I think the moment that "almost made Brennan quit" is gonna be in this episode so I'm mega pumped!

[the-owl-tree]

Granted, I don't know when Cozy Glow was made, so this might've been impossible- but I truly think whether she is her own character, or simply a disguise of Queen Chrysalis, she would have had more impact had she been introduced in season seven, or even as early as season six if you take the route of her being separate from Chryssie. As it stands in canon, we barely see much of her before her villainous turn- but you could easily build up her friendship with the CMC by having her first meet them through feigning a problem with her cutiemark and gaining their trust- and later having her use them to get into the School of Friendship like canon. By giving her the spotlight as a new "friend" of the CMC or even a new member, we could see her personality and even signs that something isn't quite right with Cozy. Since we know the CMC were personally tutored by Twilight sometimes, this would also be a great reason as to how Cozy Glow became aware of such rare magic draining artifacts- simply have her pretend she's only curious because a pegasi could never wield such power. Hell, you could even have a reformed Starlight think something is wrong, but perhaps she worries that she's projecting her past behavior when she catches sight of Cozy Glow being especially persuasive and brushes it off, not wanting to jump to the wrong conclusion- especially since a filly surely wouldn't have any ulterior motives like she did running Our Town, right? And if she was Chrysalis, you could have the horror of everyone realize she knows even more about them on top of the betrayal. But nope, gotta phone it in for bronies I guess. Although, I've even seen bronies be unhappy about her lack of a backstory, being turned to stone and sent to Tartarus without even an attempt to reform her or figure out what led to everything she did, or motive beyond "I'M EVIL" soooooo

I think the season did do some over the top foreshadowing with her to show that something wasn't quite right, i think her joining the cmc would've been cute too and added to the betrayal. Go with the Chrysalis disguise idea, it makes sense she'd stick to them to get closer to their big sisters and all that.

a pretty lazy character concept altogether, i am glad that her getting turned to stone definitely got some backlash. It just feels like....idk a very weird two-parter choice for the friendship cartoon.

[queenofbaws]

Okay, so I've been thinking nonstop about Ashley having a crush on one Chris Hackett ever since you joked about it, and I think (hope) that I reached the same plane of existance that you did because I'm obsessed now. Cause while the rest of the hacketteers are confused, you know poor Caleb and Kaylee are downright horrified because 'oh my god, that's our dad what is WRONG with you??????' dhdjskshsks

And, just because I think it just makes things even funnier for me, I also like to think that while og Chris is still completely oblivious to the crush she has on him, he manages to clock the one on Mr H in *seconds*. You know that he would spend the entire summer sulking and wondering wtf chackett has that he doesn't and resenting him even more for it. Which makes the whole being terrified that Mr. H is a vision of his future even more confusing cause apparently Ashley is into that? And what the hell does he have Chris doesn't?

Basically it's the most confusing and insane summer that they've ever had. Ashley with the weirdest and most confusing crushes (to anyone else), and Chris with the weirdest and most confusing identity crisis (to himself). Meanwhile, Josh spends the entire summer face planted onto a picnic table wondering what on earth he did to deserve having these two complete absolute morons are his best friends AHDJDLSNSHD

"This is the weirdest fuckin' thing that's ever happened around here," Kaylee said, and without bothering to check whether anyone else was looking her way, she turned and very pointedly caught her brother's eye before adding, "and I'm countin'...everything."

"Oh come on, don't be such a fuddy-duddy," Emma laughed, giving Kaylee's hair a tousle. Her smile faded when she turned back towards the general store, though, turning into something a little closer to a grimace as she continued, "I'm sure...lots of people have crushed on Mr. H in the past! He's..." She tilted her head to the side, trying to get a better (or at least different angle on him), "...non-threatening."

Emily made a noise at that, her eyes coming distressingly close to rolling all the way back into her skull. "That's definitely a word, I'll give you that."

"Yeah!" agreed Abi, nodding maybe less enthusiastically as she might've, had they been talking about...literally anything else. "And I mean, um...I mean...it makes sense, doesn't it? Because...him and Chris are like..."

"The same person?" Echoing Abi's nod, Sam smiled. It didn't quite come off as friendly as she'd meant for it to be, not when she already sensed Josh plotting. "Yeah. Yeah, they are. Sort of. I get the feeling Mr. H wouldn't lie down and die if he found himself lost in the middle of the woods, though. Or, y'know. A public park. Chris might."

"I think you mean would," said Jess. "Chris would die in the middle of the woods. Pretty sure we all freaking saw the proof of that." She held her hands out and, as she'd known they would, the rest of the Blackwood kids nodded and made sounds of agreement, remembering exactly how miserable he'd been during their ill-fated night on the mountain. "But at least he's not always wearing khaki, blech. Like, the 1950s called, Mr. H. They want their whole deal back."

"No one," Kaylee interrupted amid a full-body shudder, pulling her legs up onto the picnic table bench with the rest of her, "not a single person on Earth has ever liked Dad. Ever."

"Bad news, pipsqueak. Guy's got two kids. That means someone liked him once. Someone liked him a whole l - ow!" Jacob whirled around with an indignant "Dude!" but Matt just shook his head, chopping one of his hands across the air in front of his throat to get him to cut it out. "I'm just saying."

It wasn't often Caleb said much, not around the rest of them anyway, but when he did, it usually packed a hell of a punch. This was no exception. "Nah, Kay's right. This is...I don't know what it is, but nah, no one's ever had a crush on Dad. No one except Ryan, maybe."

Kaitlyn choked on her drink, giving Sierra Mist a whole new meaning as she sprayed Jacob with a mouthful of soda. Dylan wasn't much better off, rocking on his seat as though someone had hauled off and slapped him across the face. He recovered quicker than she did, his usual mask of nonchalance slipping back over his face as he snickered, "Uh huh. Sure. Riiight. Because Mr. H is totally Ryan's type."

The laughter that overtook the table - the perplexed, uncertain, uncomfortable, strained laughter - fell to perfect silence when Ryan opened his mouth.

"I mean..." was all he got out.

The table erupted again, though that time, uh, not in laughter. You'd've thought someone had whipped a dead chipmunk out onto the table, so impassioned were the "Oh God!"s and the "No way!"s and the "Holy shit!"s as arms were flung into the air and people stood from where they'd been sitting and hell just sort of genuinely broke loose.

The only one who didn't seem to react much (if at all) was Josh, who continued to sit with his chin in his hand and a glower on his face. He was getting too old for this shit.

(please don't count, this is definitely JUST) six sentence sat(or)sunday!!!

[theninthdoor]

Hello. Can I ask for love reading for exo members? It could be fun as they're all mostly out of military and parents must put pressure on them for grandchildren 😀 thanks

Xiumin || the high priestess, the hanged man: I believe he's single as of right now. Either that or he's taking a break from a relationship. The energy is very calm, so I don't see him worrying or being too sad either way. It's a necessary pause in order for him to connect with himself once more.

Suho || six of pentacles, ten of cups: He's with someone who makes him extremely happy! This feels cosy, very loving, stable and harmonious. Suho might actually be considering them as a potential life-long partner or simply someone with whom he could see himself building a family with.

Lay (I'm pretty sure he's still an EXO member even though he hasn't been promoting with the group, so I'm adding him in anyway.) || the hermit, two of pentacles: Single. He's got plenty of other things to worry about right now; love isn't a priority nor a strong need at the moment.

Baekhyun || death, four of cups: Single as well. He might've been in a short-term relationship/situationship recently, but it just wasn't what he wanted at all. He's quite tired of being single, though, lol.

Chen || justice, the tower rx: There have been some issues in his relationship as of late, but they have managed to work things out just fine. I feel like some rules or boundaries had to be established, and now both parties know what to expect + what they need to provide for the other going forward, so it's truly fair for everyone involved.

Chanyeol || seven of swords, ace of cups, seven of cups: This reads as a fling that he wants to turn into an actual relationship, if they can. However, although he's been pursuing this person for a while now, he has kept his options open in case it doesn't work out.

D.O. || queen of wands, temperance: Dating (a potential fire sign/Sagittarius). The relationship is doing great; there's lots of passion and excitement, but also comfort and great care.

Kai || queen of wands, three of cups: He has been going out with a friend or someone he met just recently through friends. I don't see an actual relationship yet; they're likely still getting to know each other + hanging out casually.

Sehun || wheel of fortune, eight of wands: He's been dating around, just having fun. I don't think he's really looking for a serious relationship right now. He's more focused on the physical aspect of things.

(Disclaimer: All readings are alleged and for entertainment purposes only.)

[oc-aita]

AITA For hospitalizing my ex, who I barely even remember dating?

Really long post. I've got a lot to explain.

I'm (25M) an underground fighter. I've been doing this for about 4-5 years now, and I enjoy it - I like the energy in the crowds, and I get a good workout here and there. I'm pretty good, nothing special, and enjoy the amount of money I make. I got invited to this like primo fighting competition run by some mafia types, or something, I wasn't really paying attention. Anyway, it's supposed to be a big deal, so I went for the street cred.

It's been going pretty good so far, and I even got some young aspirational protege (22M) type following me around, he's a good time. Anyway, since everything gets televised (big deal) apparently an ex (26F) of mine caught wind that I was competing. So, she flies over to Ecuador, busts open the hotel door, and just bodies our table while we're eating breakfast. She then starts airing out our dirty laundry in front of everyone, calling me some "filthy rat" or something, I dunno, I was pretty distracted by the fact that I could not remember this person at all.

Here's the thing: we dated like a decade ago, and for like a week. I was moving away at the time, I made it clear that I was moving away, and that this was always going to be a casual thing for me. It was just supposed to be some quick action before moving to Nova Scotia, but I guess I hurt her feelings or something when I told her "so long and thanks for all the lip." I was always operating under the assumption it was a casual hookup.

But she just does not let up. She kicked my protoge, tumblr, in the balls. What am I supposed to do about that? Apparently she was competing too, and even flashed her little registration card, so now what was supposed to be some kind of "spat" in front of a large group of people is now turning into an honest to god fight. OK, fine, I'm a competitor, I'll compete.

I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: we got our asses kicked. My twinky protege, in addition to CBT, also just got clocked in the jaw and got his knee nearly busted in. She split my forehead open, so I looked like some bleeding dumbass stumbling around trying to learn how to walk. Seriously, she quite literally kicked the shit out of us - I'm willing to admit she's way stronger than I gave her credit for.

Now, I've always had a bit of a problem with anger management, but I'm of the mind that channeling that anger into fighting was a productive use of it - since, yknow, that's literally my job. So I did: While Twink was getting decked on the other end of our people ring, I """borrowed""" my friend's bottle of whiskey and smashed it over her head, then pinned her to the ground and beat her til she stopped fighting back. I didn't knock her out, technically she tapped out first, but I bet if I had kept going it would've been a KO either way.

I'll be upfront with the fact that I might've gotten a little carried away. The organizers had to haul her off on a literal stretcher, she couldn't even sit up. Whatever, we won, right? One more competitor down? Turns out, the kid was watching the entire time, and was... horrified? Maybe just concerned. I still couldn't really see.

I, personally, don't think it's that big of a deal, but our other "teammate" (30F) told me off for "setting a bad example" and being "completely deranged and dangerous." This is a competition! Everybody here signed up willingly! I still feel like I was solidly in fair territory. Some boxer literally dies in the ring and nobody bats an eye, but suddenly I'm the crux of all evil.

Does she have a point? Am I setting a bad example for twinky protege? Am I the asshole here?

[peemanne]

pee-man's yakuza ost review: the original

guess who's obsessing over shirtless guys fighting on rooftops again!!!!!!! so i've been working on a little personal project which naturally involves me typing up a bunch of yakuza related stuff and i usually listen to said soundtrack whenever i write about it because a) it reminds me of my experiences with the games themselves and b) buzz lightyear video game osts video so while i'm doing that i got the idea to do this little thing on the side: i'm gonna review each game's ost as i write about them, keeping things fresh in my mind and to give another shot to tracks i might've missed or forgotten about. when it's all over, i'll do the natural gamer thing and make a Tier List™️ because of course i will plus i haven't listened to most of the japanese only spinoff ost's so i finally get an excuse to fully listen to those too. yippee!!

Naturally we start with the first game: Yakuza for the PS2. (quality for certain tracks can get a little questionable towards their ends: i just listened to them via spotify myself)

The first two PS2 games have a very unique sound to them that the later entries don't really have. A lot of the current composers haven't really gotten on board yet, so Hidenori Shoji's directed and (I think) also composed most of the tracks by himself. What results is a more rough, edged feel to the sound. It's almost grunge-like rock, and I'm definitely a fan of what comes out of it.

My personal top 5 includes: 1) Turning Point, with its sirens and dream-like rhythms 2) Pray Me, with unintelligible English lyrics, unironically my favorite part of it 3) For Whose Sake, conveying so much sorrow 4) son of a gun, if you want reasoning just listen to 1:08-1:20 5) Funk Goes On, which kept me coming back for street fights just to hear it again

Some tracks I appreciated more this time include:

Blow To The City: This is a pretty damn solid panic theme! I love the unease that comes with those piano chords in the middle.

Singin' Bass: Fun little track for the hostess minigame. I dig how laid back it is, and I really like those little touches and whispers of sax.

Coming To My Life: The... uh... noises at the start threw me for a loop when this first came on, but aside from that, another cool laid back song. The vocals are very, how you say, "video game music" like? But yeah, whatever, cool track.

Poison Pill: I honestly didn't even know this track existed. But hey, it sounds awesome, and it's more music, so that's a win. I like the main riffs quite a bit, and of course, that signature PS2kuza siren. I love that siren so much.

You of course have your iconic first appearances of what would be legendary tracks with pretty strong first outings, with what is basically the game's main theme, Receive You, and our favorite one-eyed mad dog's first ever theme, Receive You the Prototype. And, yeah! They're pretty solid tracks, and it's no wonder they've been the basis for so many renditions later down the line. Receive You actually won 2nd place in a little OST bracket on Youtube awhile back: that should speak to it's legacy a lot. I love the other renditions a LOT, but the originals still stand strong as great tracks.

Overall, pretty strong soundtrack! Even in their first outing, RGG had their priorities straight and their music department on fire. While, spoiler alert, I still like Yakuza 2's OST more, there are some really good tracks here, and they do so much to enhance the moment's they're played in, as well as really helping in Yakuza 1's atmosphere, which I'd argue is one of the game's strongest elements. I'd STRONGLY recommend a listen to anyone who's only every heard the Kiwami renditions.