#i won B) my power grows

[pyrosomatic-metamorphosis]

uhhhhhh he;s in my brain

criminal

[angelicbeaut]

Decide.

I remember when I started my journey learning of myself and my power, I was very insecure in my ability, which by the way is totally normal. It didn’t seem natural for me to just decide what I wanted and have it, it seemed too easy, because a lot of us did not grow up having things so easily so there can be some resistance within us to accept our desires. Again, normal.

However, we have to understand that there are infinite realities, infinite scenarios, infinite lives that we can live. It doesn’t have to come with emotion, it doesn’t even have to feel real at first, but you yourself have the power to choose who you will be. That is the point of life, and if you have discovered this, congrats you have won.

There are many things I have decided over the years. At one point in life I decided I was ugly, and I experienced nothing but that. However the lovely part about deciding is that you can always change your mind. As of now, I have made several decisions that have completely altered my life:

I decided my mom was going to mom into a new house in a wealthy neighborhood by a park I grew up going to but could never afford to live close by to. She called me last week and told me about a house, in the wealthy neighborhood, by the exact park that she is buying this month.

I decided that I was beautiful, and that every person I like is obsessed with me and from that point forward I have randomly manifested love interests I haven’t even spoken to in years calling me wanting a chance, flowers, dates, compliments, secret admirers, and more.

I decided when I was around 16 that I was going to be a rich housewife. Now this is more of a in the future thing, but I have no doubt I will live that life because I have decided. I can see it so clearly in my mind that I have quite frankly already been there, and I know it to be true. So much so that everyone in my life has told me they don’t see me in any other type of relationship when I get married except one of that nature. Right now I’m preoccupied with just being a girl, but again, I KNOW it is going to happen, and my life is aligning every second of the day for me to get exactly what I want.

I decided in high school that no matter what happened during the year, I never ended with less than a B. missing assignments, things turned in late, missing class, whatever it was, didn’t matter and doesn’t matter, and to this day, I have never received less than a B, even in college. It’s something I’ve always believed and it’s never failed me.

These are just a few things, but most importantly, once you decide. STAY STEADFAST IN YOUR DECISION. You need to understand that things are always happening, things are shifting every second in your favor when you hold on to your belief. They quite literally have no choice. EVERYTHING IS YOU, EVERYTHING MOVES ACCORDING TO YOU!

If you decide you can’t manifest, you won’t. If you decide this is fake, it has no choice but to be fake. You will forever be stuck in a loop unless YOU choose otherwise.

So sweets, what’re you going to decide today?

luv, che 🌷

[tyresw]

Okay so here is what I'm thinking for Wind and Truth. The stormfather will allow himself to become a blade for Dalinar, which will kill him and the storm along with him We know the death of the Stormfather was a concern raised in Lasting Integrity so it seems this would be an expected result. And once this is done, it would provide a capstone for The Stormfather's arc of learning to change and be something other than himself when he is bonded with Dalinar.

The as the storm die, we see a brilliant flash of light, rays seeming to reach in every direction as it is peered up at from the top of Urithiru. The largest piece of Honor's shard is now in the world waiting to take shape or find a bearer. Dalinar and Odium's fight continues as the night is plunged into darkness as the stormlight of the splintered shard retreats.

For this next part I am going to reference a few death rattles that I will paste here:

(A)Light grows so distant. The storm never stops. I am broken, and all around me have died. I weep for the end of all things. He has won. Oh, he has beaten us.

(B) The darkness becomes a palace. Let it rule! Let it rule!

(C) The day was ours, but they took it. Stormfather! You cannot have it. The day is ours. They come, rasping, and the lights fail. Oh, Stormfather!

(D) So the night will reign, for the choice of honor is life...

(E) I'm cold. Mother, I'm cold. Mother? Why can I still hear the rain? Will it stop?

(F) He must pick it up, the fallen title! The tower, the crown, and the spear! 

(G)The death is my life, the strength becomes my weakness, the journey has ended.

(H) Three of sixteen ruled, but now the Broken One reigns

So in killing the stormfather, Dalinar may be playing out (G) by sacrificing the stormfather before he swears himself over to Odium after having lost the contest. This may keep that power of Honor away from Odium for a time, making it so it can't immediately be shattered beyond repair. It already alludes to the fact that the contest of champions will end in a loss in (C).

The death rattles in (A) (B) (C) and (D) all reference darkness and light going into/the storms dying. It seems clear to me this is connected to the fate of the stormfather. Additionally, the death rattles in (A) and (E) tell us that after the light fades, the storm remains, now mundane and cruel in its mundanity. This poises the Radiants at a new low, without a way to Invest and retaliate as Odium is poised to claim his victory and turn Dalinar into a Cognitive Shadow.

Now the scene continues with Dalinar finally losing and going over to pledge himself to Odium. Kaladin cannot stand by and watch this happen and speaks the 5th ideal, trying to draw enough power in a world now devoid of stormlight to protect the one lighteye who showed him honor. I imagine he either engages with Odium's champion or Dalinar himself and as his huge influx of stormlight runs low, Navani is watching and uses Adhesion to bind Kaladin with the one source of light still visible, the splinter released by the death of the stormfather. In this moment, in the liminal moment created by speaking the 5th ideal, Kaladin take the windspren rushing through the air around him and reforges them along with the stormfathers splinter into Honor. He is now bound to this power and becomes the vessel of Honor. This may reflect death rattle (F) where the fallen title is that of Honor and the three nouns reference those present in this moment, the tower (Navani), the crown (Dalinar), and the spear (Kaladin). I know that this death rattle is commonly expected to refer to Renarin assuming the mantle of his father but it the inclusion of spear in that list is super conspicuous and wouldn't make sense without Kaladin in the context. While it isn't necessarily super pertinant, the way characters here are described through symbolic description feel very reminiscent of the Sleepless who writes the info provided on the back of the books, perhaps implying the perspective of that death rattle comes from a Sleepless observing a very important moment.

Unsure what comes after all this by I was just stoked to think through this theory

[nevernonline]

✧.* grow as we go; svt smau.

entry #17; happy trails.  

synopsis: over the past ten years you’ve fallen in love many times. one day someone happens to stumble across your journal sitting out on your nightstand and started posting your entries online. after all of your secrets are leaked it’s clear things would ever be the same again.

𐦍 paring: svt members x afab! reader.

𐦍 feat: non-idol! svt

𐦍 genre/s: reader is super angsty low-key, fluffy, sexual themes.

𐦍 content: swearing, bullying, crazy ex’s, mentions of sexual relations, some drinking& mary jane 🍃

word count: 3.2k

note: a fully written chapter for my baddies. 🖤

masterlist ▸ 016 the part we play. ▸ 018 damage control.

Keys are jingling in her face as Joshua stands inches above her head. Smiling down at her still trying to buckle the torture device women call heels. 

"Are we ready yet, princess?" 

Y/n didn't respond with words but a big sigh meaning no. Packing her purse frantically while she runs around the apartment in search of lipstick to match the red of her dress. 

“Y/n, you’ll be fine. I would say trust me but I feel like we're beyond that.”

Running back and forth between rooms she still didn’t know what to say to Joshua, she  decided to let the tensions between the two of them go away for the night as they tackle the bigger fish. 

“Josh. I know. Minghao texted me that he’s going to pretend to be on Mimi’s side. He said we have to be careful. I’m just not sure why.” 

“We’re like seven against one. It will be fine.” 

“Will it? Who knows what she’s capable of, she's very capable of taking all of you down to get to me. She proves it all the time. Maybe I just shouldn’t go. This is stupid even entertaining her.” 

“Do you still care about me and Minnie? Even if you don't, you do care about Minghao. I know for a fact if you don’t show up she will blackmail us forever. I also have a feeling she’ll go for Seokmin somehow, she knows he’s weak. If she can’t take you down, she will definitely take him down.” 

“Then let’s end this once and for all, please.” 

Locking her front door, feeling fire in her gut to take down the girl who had done everything in her power to hurt y/n, she couldn’t help but feel like there was something brewing that she wouldn’t be able to come back from. 

With the air around her full of pressure, she sat in silence in the back of the uber next to a friend who used to be her entire world and now was barely a part of it. 

Something about the ride to Mingyu’s bar felt like it was going to be the last time she saw herself like this, full of anxiety about the days going forward, worried that the other shoe will drop. 

When the two of them finally arrived they were met with an obnoxious banner outside the front door, that the bar was closed for an ‘exclusive’ event. 

Seokmin was standing off to the right, clutching his phone in his hand, looking obviously nervous waiting for y/n to arrive. 

She quickly jumped out of the car with a thank you and ran into his arms, holding onto him for dear life before you went inside. 

“You look beautiful, y/n. Perfect revenge dress.” 

“Thank you for being here to help me.” 

“Where else would I be? Hi, Josh.” 

“Hey, Seok. Where are.. You know.” 

“Out back, they parked Won’s car in the staff lot and are waiting back there.” 

“Okay. Cool. Let them know we’ll give them a signal to come in.” 

Walking through the front door, still sticking Seokmin on her arm. Feeling his physical touch to put y/n at ease following behind Joshua. 

There was a table set up at the front, small bags designed for everyone's phones at coat check, the security guard asked to confiscate everything on them including  their bags. 

Getting a deep wondering look in her eyes, Joshua was asking for permission if it's okay, though she was apprehensive to hand over the items that could be useful for her escape if needed she knew but she also knew she had to do it. 

Seokmin told the guard he just had to send a final message, assuming it was to the nerd back in the parking lot, you just sent him a small smile. 

After hanging over the personal items, the three piece crew, much smaller than normal, were handed numbered masks, assumingly part of Mimi’s plan to know who is who. 

“Guys, please stay close. Okay?” 

“We’re not going to leave you, y/n. We promise. 

“Good.” 

Placing their masks over their eyes, Seokmin in something that looked like a green dragon, Joshua a white jester, and y/n a black sparkly mask with two small horns placed over her eyebrows. 

“I see she still has a sense of humor.” 

“I’m not sure if I think this is very funny, y/n.” 

“Humor keeps me living, Shua.” 

“Clever.” 

Walking through the black velvet curtain, there were swarms of people everywhere, some holding trays with champagne and other clear liquids, a parade of dancers on tables, and some party goers looking at the three of them, trying to suss out who they were. 

“How the fuck are we going to find her in here?” 

Y/n leaned into Seokmin’s ear and whispered the things Minghao had told her before she gave up her phone. 

Minghao was supposedly the only male guest in some type of red mask and knowing Mimi it had something to do with the devil. 

“Guys, I’m going to go grab us some drinks, don’t take anything from anyone if they offer you something. She may have spiked a drink since I’m sure she knows you’ve arrived.” 

Joshua was right, y/n hadn’t even thought about the possibility of Mimi doing something dirty to take her out and make her embarrass herself. 

Y/n pulled Seokmin along to the bathroom that was sitting next to the bar, locking them both inside for a moment to talk before their night. 

“Look. Let’s not drink anything, okay? And we can’t eat either. Joshua reminded me of something from that video of me that Mimi had put out at Minghao’s event. She said she could get us some stuff to have a fun night and to loosen me up more so I could go over to Joshuas and lose my virginity.” 

“She’s so sick. Y/n I'm so sorry.” 

“It’s fine. I just don’t want anything to happen to you, because if i-” 

With a small scream from Seokmin and y/n from a small knock on the door, she just yelled out they’d only be a minute, but the knocking persisted. 

“Y/n? It’s Minnie. Let me in.” 

“Uhh, Seokmin is having a bit of a bathroom emergency. Just one second.” 

“Guys. I know you’re lying, just let me in. I know you don’t want to see me. But, please.” 

Unlocking the door and letting Minnie slide through the crack, you noticed her mask as something to be aware of. It was some sort of bunny with pink crusted jewels all around it. 

“What do you want, Minnie?” 

“Seokmin, just let me talk okay?” 

“Fine.” 

“I know you guys don’t want to see me, I’m sure Joshua explained a little bit of what was going on considering you came with him here willingly. Just know I didn’t do it to hurt you, I did it to save myself. I was being selfish. Mimi knew stuff that I have never told anyone, not even the two of you, she was threatening telling my parents and I couldn’t come back from that, they’d nev-” 

“Minnie? We don’t care right now, why did you want to come in here?” 

“Because, I have an idea.” 

“Which is?” 

“Let me trade places with you tonight. Give me your dress and mask. That way whatever she tries to do to you, it’ll be me instead.” 

“But, our hair is different, they took my bag so I don’t have the matching lipstick for you to wear.” 

“Mingyu is doing work in his office, you can go hide in there with him. I have an overnight bag with some stuff in it that you can put on. I think it’ll be better if we're both not out there.” 

“What about Seokmin? And wouldn’t she be suspicious if you’re not out there?” 

“No. When I came to set up, I told her I wasn’t feeling well and that I wanted to go home early. She doesn’t even know he and I are still here.” 

“How do I know this isn’t part of her plan?” 

“Because I didn’t tell her about your friends waiting for you outside and about you and Minghao being friends still? Other than that you just will have to find it in your gut to believe me even if I betrayed you.” 

“Okay.” 

“Y/n are yo-” 

“Seokmin, I’m sure.” 

“Aright. We’ve been in here too long hurry up and change, Joshua is probably confused.” 

“Follow me to the office, we'll swap there.” 

Minnie led y/n and Seokmin down to the end of the hall holding her eagle eye on the room full of party go-ers looking for Mimi before making a clear getaway into the room Mingyu was held up in. 

Unlocking the key to his office door. Minnie swooped her former best friend into the room where Mingyu was sitting at his desk, airpods in his ears, sipping on a beer. 

“Hey.” 

“Hi, Gyu.” 

“Long time no see, y/n. Seokmin.” 

“We miss you, big dog.” 

“I know, Seoky.” 

“Mingyu, y/n is going to stay in here with you while me and Seokmin go around the party. Okay? Keep her safe.” 

“What about Seokmin?” 

“Why does everyone keep asking about me?” 

“Because, you’re the glue.” 

“Aw, Mingyu.” 

“Guys. Turn around so we can change.” 

“Why it’s not li-”

“Mingyu.” 

Y/n giggled at the interaction between Mingyu and Minnie, still unsure if they’re officially together or not, but she had hoped they were. 

Slipping out of their dresses, y/n changed into Minnie's casual clothes, a pair of grey sweatpants and hoodie as Minnie slid into the red dress that fit like a glove. 

“I have makeup wipes and other stuff in my bag, feel free to use it.” 

“Okay.” 

“Ready, Seok?” 

“I think so, but what about Minghao? And the guys?” 

“I can call them for you, I still have my phone.” 

“But, how will you know when?” 

“Cameras.” 

“Wow, no shit. Okay. Be safe.” 

“Seokmin?” 

“Yeah, y/n?” 

“If you see Minghao.” 

“Don’t worry.” 

As y/n was peeling her makeup off, Minnie and Seokmin slipped back out the door they came in from and back into the party hoping to uncover truths for their friends as she was stuck in an office with her old flame, in secret once again. 

“Want a beer?” 

“Please.” 

Mingyu handed over a glass bottle as he popped the top off swiftly, y/n chugged at the golden liquid hoping it would settle her stomach slightly. 

“Minghao, huh?” 

“What?” 

“You guys, are uh? Dating? Friends?” 

“We’re just friends.” 

“For now.” 

“What?” 

“You like him.” 

“I did. I don’t even know anymore.” 

“You do. You just don’t trust him.” 

“Not fully, no. Not yet. I really only trust Seokmin and the guys. Which is sad.” 

“Not even me?” 

“I’ll be honest, I thought you had something to do with it for a while.” 

“Y/n, come on.” 

“I just wasn’t sure. Joshua told me everything. I know you didn’t. I’m sorry I doubted you I guess.” 

“Do you think if all of this never happened things would’ve been different between us?” 

“Maybe. How are you and Minnie?” 

“The same. I think she has a lot of stuff to work out before anything would ever be able to happen seriously.” 

“Like?” 

“A lot of things she should tell you herself, but I don’t like that she hurt you.” 

“Mingyu, you know-” 

“No. I know. It’s silly I still like you after you made it clear to me your feelings, but I can’t help it. I’m competing with your childhood crush and your knight in shining armor I get-” 

“No. Mingyu.” 

Y/n pointed to the screen, watching Minnie approach who y/n thought was maybe Mimi, watching their interaction carefully. Mimi ran her hand over Minnie's masked face and took Seokmin’s hand in hers, jumping a little bit off the ground. Holding her hands out to show them the work she had put in for y/n's birthday. 

“Do you think she knows?” 

“That it’s not you? Maybe. She is a good liar.” 

“She definitely is.” 

Y/n noticed to their side seated at a table was Minghao, something about his demeanor and watchful stance, plus the hint of the red mask, let her into the detail. 

“That’s Hao.” 

“In the red? Where’s Josh?” 

“To the left. White mask.” 

“What do you think they're talking about?” 

“No clue.” 

Mimi handed Seokmin and Minnie drinks off the tray that were brought over and cheered them on as she went to take her spot on the stage to introduce the DJ for the evening and also thank the guests for coming, a sign the party was officially in full swing. 

Y/n and Mingyu kept watching on as Seokmin and Minnie sipped their drinks, when he suddenly stopped her from putting the cup to her lips and swapped their drinks without letting Mimi onto what he was doing. 

“Do you really think she’d drug your or Minnie, but your drinks?” 

“I do. I told Seokmin to be careful. Joshua was the one actually who told me.” 

“Why do you think she hates you so much?” 

“Because I’m the only person who never put up with her shit.” 

“And you’re the only person who can get what she wants but can't have?” 

“Not true.” 

“It is. She wanted Josh, she got him, but really he wanted you. She got Minghao to fall for you unintentionally even though she had him first and wanted him to do her dirty work by lying. She hates you because you’re everything she isn't. Kind and Honest.” 

“I don’t feel that way. I never tell people what I want. Even Seokmin. I don’t know how to tell people my true and honest feelings. I just skirt around them. I act like I’m okay and I’m not. I’m not okay. I sometimes feel like she’s onto something. Maybe she’s helping me go after things I need.” 

“See.” 

“What?” 

“Even though she’s fucking with your life you have compassion enough to say maybe she’s helping you. You’re a good person, y/n.” 

“Maybe.” 

“Trust me. That’s why I fell in love with you.” 

“Don’t. Mingyu, please. Not now.” 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Don’t be.” 

As the pair was sitting and drinking at Mingyu’s desk, they entirely missed Mimi’s devious actions in spiking the drink that belonged to one of their friends.

“Wait. Why is she on stage?” 

“She’s talking.” 

“Do you have sound on your cameras?”

“Yeah, one second.” 

Mingyu unmuted his laptop and watched as Mimi paraded around the stage. 

“Hello, everyone. I’m Mimi, of course. I know you can’t tell under my mask. But, I’m here to celebrate the birthday girl, y/n. She has been in my life for a long time, we were such good friends as kids. Did you know y/n stole my boyfriend? It’s funny, she’s always doing things people don’t expect. I want to bring her up here tonight to let her tell you her story for herself as she turns another year older. y/n? Can you please come to the stage?” 

Seokmin nudged Minnie who was looking unwell, the girl on his side pretending to be someone she wasn’t slinked onto the stage next to Mimi, clearly inebriated. 

Mimi smirked and handed her the microphone, letting her know it was time for a speech. 

“Uh, Hi. Sorry, I’m not feeling well.” 

The crowd of people they may or may not have known the girl who stepped on the stage wasn’t the girl of honor, y/n and Mingyu watched in disbelief holding eachothers hands without realizing it. 

Minnie fell to her knees which prompted Seokmin and other masked guests including Joshua and Minghao to run to her side as the microphone cracked loudly over the speakers. 

Mingyu tugged tightly on y/n’s hand before she forced him to run out to the girl left on the small stage who had fainted. 

Y/n was sitting and watching everything go down when all of the sudden the lights cut out, following the last bit of light from the computer screen. 

“Y/n?” 

“Hello? Who is it?” 

“Aw, are you scared?” 

“Mimi?” 

“Who else?” 

“What's wrong with Minnie?” 

“Oh she’ll be fine. You should know better than to cross me. Bold of you both to go against what I actually had planned, but she meant well. I can't fault her for that."

“What do you want?” 

Y/n felt Mimi’s presence beside her, her breathing slowing more in the faint black room. 

“You. Well, for you to go away.” 

“If I agree to what you want, will you leave my friends alone?” 

“Yeah. I need you to do something for me first.” 

“What is that?” 

“Lie for me.” 

“Why?” 

A flashlight suddenly lit up the room, illuminating both of the girls' faces, Mimi had a sinister smile on her face. 

“Because you owe me.” 

“What do I need to do? And before I agree you have to promise me all of them will be okay.” 

“I promise.” 

"So?"

“I need you to go, I need you to find somewhere out of the city. I’ll tell your friends the rest. I put a bag in my car out front. It has everything, your phone, your wallet. Just get in and drive. I don’t care where you go, but just know if you show back up or contact them. I’ll find you. I’ll handle everything else.” 

“How do I know I can trust you?” 

“Hm. I’ll give you this.” 

Mimi handed y/n a small pink zip drive hooked onto her key unit. Something for her to hold onto. She took it in the palm of her hand and shoved it inside the pocket of Minnie’s sweats. 

“Can I ask you a favor if I do this?” 

“I guess. What is it?” 

“Take care of Seokmin and Jun. Even if you don’t get too close to them, just make sure they are alright. Everyone else can handle themselves. I just need to know the two of them will be okay.” 

“Yes, y/n. Your bitch boys will be well taken care of.” 

“Okay.” 

Y/n took the keys from the top of Mingyu’s desk, ready to make her exit as the tears welled up in her eyes. 

“Y/n?” 

“What?” 

“Aw, don't cry. I just need you to sign this letter I wrote. So they think it's from you.” 

Y/n took the pen from Mimi, only reading the first few words of the fake letter meant for her friends and signed her name at the bottom. Maybe it wasn’t right, but she knew if she ever got the chance to apologize they’d understand. 

“Actually can I ask you for one more thing before I go, Mimi?” 

“Yep.” 

“Why does it have to be like this?” 

“Well because I know if I don’t force you out I’ll never get what I want. Good luck, y/n. You’ll need it.” 

“Thanks. I guess.” 

Y/n slipped out the back door of Mingyu’s bar for what she thought would be the last time. She took a deep exhale watching her breath follow the wind as she walked to Mimi’s car and slammed the door shut behind her. Finally letting the tears fall from her face before she started it and drove away. 

She made a promise to herself as she left, just minutes until she became a year older. That somehow she’d find her way back, even though she may be picking up the pieces of what she left behind.

note: my girl y/n going thru it?? everyone going thru it?? ik she's not a text chapter but I hope u enjoy!! (also fully writing my author note low-key drunk?) anyway! after the next two chapter + the epi my big gawg is ending (sad?) but I hope u all will enjoy my pfd fic etc sorry it took me so long to get her up I wanted her to be good! ok! (steam nct dream smoothie ?? or unknown the whole album hits ily??)

taglist: @sun-daddy-yoriichi@hipsdofangirl@kissesfrmwonwoo@minhui896@wonwooz1@porridgesblog@jasssy051@soonyoungblr@saucegirlreads@musingsofananxiouspotato@young-adult-summer@punkhazardlaw@bibs-world@the-swageyama-tobiyolo@wonuulvr@woozixo@k-drama-adict@90s-belladonna@blaycke@dnylwoo@to-mi-yo, @nonononranghaee

[penny-the-pissed-poltergeist]

Jaunedice arc rewatch time time, Let's get this over with

.One of the worst parts about early Jaune is that he's too incompetent to any cool choreography in his fights

.They real did just give the characters video game health bars

.Oh no! Jaune lost to the guy who can casually bully people multiple school years above him, how surprising

.Ren, how the fuck would you know Nora's dream better than her... that makes no sense

.Really hope Ruby had something before or alongside cookies for lunch, that ain't good for you girl

.Velvet really needs to grow a fucking spine but that doesn't make everyone going "Oh he's so bad, it must be so hard for her" while doing nothing any less bad

... Why is Menagerie called that

.I think it would have been neat to make Oobleck a Faunus because his intro is him talking about Faunus lore and it would make him going asking Faunus in his class to publicly talk about their probably traumatic and sensitive experiences with discrimination a lot less invasive (It'd also be nice to a Faunus in power who isn't a traitor)

.The Faunus won the war but nobody ever fuckin acts like they did

.God I love Oobleck

.if Jaune told canon Pyrrha to kill someone, do you think she'd do it. She's 100% down to break Cardins legs

.Why is a Jaune quip the one suicide related thing in this series that actually lands for me?

.Did Cardin know they would be there or does he just like letting the wind in?

.You think a combat school would have good enough background checks to stop some guy from sneaking in but Jaune must have the best counterfeiting skills on remnant. even then you'd think his parents would at least be suspicious sense he had no proper combat training

."I can't do this on my own, what good am I?" You are already training as a part of school dude, stop being a stubborn loser

now on to Forever Fall....

.Ruby dropping the advice that destroys herself later (It's not always bad advice but god it became so toxic to herself)

.Cardin asking for some fuck bees, but not those bees

.Forever fall looking a bit cooler in the Black trailer but I still really like it here

."Professor Peach" Is expanded on in the books apparently but I'm point that out because there's a weapon's teacher called Herold Mulberry who's also only from the books so Ruby herself can't interact with him goddamn it.

.I will give Jaune one thing, He can SOMETIMES be funny, sometimes.

.Cardin's teammates haven't had a single line yet because they an 8th of a personalty each

.How is Nora slurping the sap that fast?

.Cardin calling Jaune "Jonny boy" gives me Maximilian Pegasus vibes

.How did Jaune's aura do that, we don't see Aura or the Aura amp do anything like that again

.Just send two more people away instead of letting them help you fight a giant ass bear because Yang and Blake totally can't deal with some grimm on their own

.Jaune has weirdly low endurance for the amount of aura he supposedly has

.People already say Jaune is "the real main character" but the problem of everyone but team RWBY feeling like the protag is something that crops up with both him and lots of other characters throughout the series.

.Remember kids if you want someone to stop bullying you, just save them from the fucking B E A R

.If someone is just watching the show without outside material, this is the first time anyone says the word semblance, no how short the episodes are doesn't negate how stupid this. Imagine if the first time hear the word mutation in an X-Man show was 8 episodes in, this is just brain meltingly dumb

.Pyrrha, all keeping that from Jaune is going to do is make him over estimate himself

.Oh yeah Jaune will never be a jerk again after this, he definitely learned his lesson. /S

[nishayuro]

Obey me! How the characters spend their valentines with you 

Part 1- Lucifer, Mammon. Leviathan

Part 2- Satan, Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Belphegor

Genre: Fluff

GN!MC

Lucifer: 

Even though its valentines, he still has work T.T

Even though he has work, he will ask for you to keep him company in his office.

Gifts you a necklace with some of his powers infused in it for protection.

Will book reservations for Ristorante Six for dinner, so dress fancy MC!

Will let you order whatever u want on the menu (Beel is jealous of your rn) 

When you both get back home, will play one of his records in his room as you both chill on the couch having tea and just chatting about stuff.

When it's time for bed, will hold you close and whisper words of praise towards you as you drift to sleep. 

“You know, Luci, if I told young me that when I grow up I’ll be brought to hell for education to help bridge three worlds AND fall in love with a demon, let alone the strongest Avatar of sin, younger me would think I lost it.” you said, resting your head on your lover’s shoulder. He gave you a light chuckle, sipping from his tea cup. “I think that’s both of us. If I told my past self that I'd be with a human, I would have laughed at myself. But look at me now, I can’t see myself with anyone else other than you, my love.” He says, pure love oozing out of his voice. 

Mammon: 

Prepared for this day!! 

From the start of the day, he rushed into your room and woke you up, saying he has a lot planned for you today! 

He gave you one gift first, it was a matching bracelet with grimm charms

He then told you to get dressed because you’re going to Madame Screams on a date

When you both get there, anything you want is his treat!

After Madame Screams, he will take you shopping around

When you get back home to the House of Lamentation, He gives you the rest of the gifts he has,  he sets up a movie date in his room with you, cuddling on the couch with popcorn and all. 

At night, he will take you on a midnight drive around devildom.

When it's time for bed, will cuddle up to you, head on your chest and tell you how much he loves you. 

“Rise n’ Shine, MC!! It’s a special day!!” Mammon shouted, entering your room and shaking you awake. “Mhmm, five more minutes please” you whined, “nuh, uh, no can do!” he said, dragging your blanket away. You tug on his arm and pull him into bed with you. “Five more minutes please” you whispered, hugging him close. “B-but It’s Valentine's day and I have a whole plan for us two” he said, but hugging you back too. “Mhmm, but I wanna spend some time with you like this” you murmured into his chest. “W-wha… u gotta stop saying stuff like that, it’s not good for my heart y’know” He stammered. “Love you…” u said, he sighed and hugged you tighter, “love you too, babe” he whispered into your hair giving you a kiss. 

Leviathan: 

He gave you a framed glass painting of a picture of both of you in anime style. 

He will surprisingly leave his room and ask you to go outside with him

But that's because he wants to buy snacks for today’s activities

Isn’t it obvious? Game day!!

But not just any game, no no

This demon MADE you a game to play with him 

It’s a two player romance game and you gotta work together to complete tasks.

After the game, he boots up an anime that you both really wanted to watch but couldn’t find the time to because of more animes to watch lmao

Cuddles with you, he’s blushing so much

When it’s time for bed, you’re laid above him (cause that bathtub is too cramped to sleep in any other way) his arms encircling you as you listen to his heartbeat beating fast.

“And…LET'S GO!! WE BEAT THE LAST BOSS!” You exclaimed, throwing your hands around Levi. “Yeah!! Good job, MC!” He replied, hugging you back. “Oh. there’s more dialogue” you sat back down and read through it. 

“We won! And it’s all thanks to our teamwork!” - his character

“Yeah! It was tough but we managed!” - your character

“I…MC, I promised myself I’d tell you this when we win” - his character

“Oh? What is it, Levi?” - your character

“Well…” - his character

You pressed the next button, and it read “look at me, mc”, which prompted you to look at the real Levi sitting next to you, you found that he was already looking at you. 

“W-well, okay here goes nothing.” he stammered, he took a deep breath, held your hands and looked you in the eyes. “MC, out of all the gacha games and raffles I play and win, nothing beats the happiness of when I won your love… Out of all the anime, nothing beats the excitement of seeing how our story goes, And out of everyone, I’m grateful that you became the Henry to my Lord of Shadows. I-I LOVE YOU, MC!” He confessed, closing his eyes. “I love you too, Leviathan. So, so much” You replied, pulling him into a hug followed by a kiss which made the otaku red as a tomato. 

masterlist

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[dee-writes-anime]

Genya x serious!reader, reader is like super composed and strong and genya just finds it so attractive? It can just be some teen romance fluff <3

The Solace of Silence

FEATURING Genya Shinazugawa x Reader

SUMMARY Genya looks up to you, how could he not? Sure, you were quiet and took your job seriously. but didn't everyone? (thank you for the wonderful request, anon!)

CONTENT WARNINGS cutesy tootsies just hanging out unknowingly in love with each other, nothing else to see here! :)

AUTHORS NOTE I am glad to know that I don't stand alone in my desperate, carnal need for Genya. When I first started the series, I never would've guessed that I would like him so much, but he has become one of my favorite characters.

The sun had shifted lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the training grounds as the warm light of late afternoon began to soften. Genya found himself standing at the edge of the field again, leaning casually against a tree, his arms folded over his chest. His eyes, however, were locked on the center of the training grounds, where you had just stepped forward to spar.

It wasn’t unusual to see you in a match, but today felt different somehow. Maybe it was the way you moved with such ease, or maybe it was how the others, too, seemed to fall quiet, drawn into the calm yet fierce energy you exuded. Genya wasn’t immune to it either. He watched as you squared off against your opponent, another skilled slayer, but someone who didn’t carry the same composed intensity you did.

The sparring began with the clang of blades, and you moved with precision, every strike and block controlled. There was no wasted energy in your movements, nothing overly dramatic or flashy. You didn’t need to overwhelm your opponent with sheer force or speed. Instead, you stayed steady, analyzing each of his movements and responding with a quiet, calculated strength that Genya had always found remarkable.

He didn’t even realize he was staring, caught up in the way you fought—not with arrogance or aggression, but with an unwavering confidence that was far more powerful. You made each step, each swing of your blade look effortless, like you’d already mapped out every possibility before the match even began. Your opponent, on the other hand, was growing more frantic, trying to break through your calm defenses, but it wasn’t working. You parried each strike with ease, your eyes sharp and focused, as if nothing could shake your concentration.

Genya’s brow furrowed slightly as he watched. It wasn’t admiration in the way most people would describe it. He wasn’t standing there awestruck or swooning. No, it was something quieter. He respected the way you fought, the way you carried yourself—strong, silent, unyielding. And in that respect, there was something else, something deeper that he wasn’t sure how to name.

But for now, it was enough to watch.

The match continued for a while longer, your opponent growing more frustrated with each passing minute. He was faster, trying to outmaneuver you with sudden bursts of speed, but you didn’t flinch. You simply sidestepped his attacks, always staying one step ahead, always maintaining control.

Genya found himself holding his breath for a moment as you finally moved in for the finishing blow. It wasn’t flashy, not the kind of dramatic ending most fighters aimed for. Instead, it was precise—a single, sharp strike that knocked your opponent’s weapon from his hand and left him frozen in place, staring at you in disbelief.

The match was over. You had won, just as everyone knew you would.

You stepped back, offering a small nod of acknowledgment to your opponent, who seemed to accept his defeat with a sigh of resignation. As the crowd began to murmur again, people going back to their own training routines, Genya continued to watch you in the fading light, a small, almost invisible smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

You hadn’t even broken a sweat.

He didn’t know if you noticed him standing there, still watching, but he didn’t care. It wasn’t about that. It was about the quiet respect he felt every time he saw you in action—the way you fought, the way you carried yourself, the way you never had to prove anything to anyone.

You began walking off the field, your composure unchanged, and Genya, without thinking much of it, stepped forward. It wasn’t that he needed to say anything. Maybe it was just habit at this point, being near you whenever he could.

“You were holding back,” he said as you approached him, his voice low but direct.

You glanced at him, your eyes calm, the faintest trace of a smile on your lips. “Not everyone needs the full fight.”

Genya huffed softly, leaning his shoulder against the tree as you came to a stop next to him. “Guess not,” he muttered, his tone casual but laced with something that might have been respect.

You wiped the sweat off your forehead with the back of your hand, though there was little there to clean. Genya noticed the way you carried yourself after the fight—still relaxed, still composed, as if you hadn’t just dismantled your opponent with such ease. It was like the fight hadn’t even fazed you, hadn’t taken anything out of you at all.

He liked that.

You turned to him, your gaze lingering on his face for a moment, as if studying him. But you didn’t ask any questions, didn’t pry into why he was watching or what he thought of your fight. Instead, you simply raised an eyebrow, your expression unreadable but not unkind.

“Not planning to train today?” you asked, the question direct but free of judgment.

Genya shrugged, his posture loose but his eyes sharp as they met yours. “Didn’t feel like it,” he answered, his voice steady.

You didn’t press him further. That was something else Genya liked about you—you didn’t push him to explain himself or dig into things that weren’t your business. You just accepted his answer, nodding once before turning your gaze back to the training grounds, watching as others continued their own routines.

The silence that stretched between you was comfortable, the kind that Genya had come to appreciate. There was no pressure to keep talking, no need to fill the quiet with unnecessary words. He knew you didn’t expect that from him, just as you knew he didn’t expect it from you. You both existed in that space, side by side, quietly watching the world move around you.

After a while, you turned to him again, your expression still calm but with a hint of something in your eyes that Genya couldn’t quite place. “You’re improving,” you said, the words simple but genuine.

Genya blinked, caught off guard. He wasn’t used to getting praise, especially not from someone like you. But there was no smugness in your tone, no condescension. Just a quiet observation, like you were stating a fact.

He cleared his throat, not sure how to respond. “Yeah, well… still got a long way to go.”

You didn’t argue. You just nodded, your gaze softening slightly before you turned back to the others sparring nearby.

And for the first time that day, Genya felt a small sense of pride well up in his chest. Not because of what he had done, but because of what you had said. It wasn’t much—just a simple comment—but coming from you, it felt like it meant more. Like it carried a weight that no one else’s words could.

He stayed by your side as the sun continued to sink lower, content in the quiet, in the shared space of two people who didn’t need to speak to understand each other.

TAGLIST

@surielstea

[liu-shubao]

"I heard their final moments, calling their mentor in vain!" - Liu Er

🐉:AUGH!!

*She takes in shaky breaths that become haggard and in pain before collapsing to her knees.*

I-

*She winces and coughs.*

I...know you can't hear me...knowing her. B-But...knowing you, you'll find out and blame yourself.

*She takes another inhale, trying to gather what little strength she had left to force out these last few words from her tongue.*

...

Liu Er, none of it's your fault...You are my best friend and I...love you. I h-hope...you know that.

*Her eyelids get heavier and heavier before closing for the last time.*

🥀: P-Please, I don't want to die...

*Her voice cracks as her eyes begin to well with cold tears.*

I-I wanna see my parents.

*She feels herself getting colder and colder before becoming numb as she slips away.*

🌊: L-Liu Er! Can't you hear me?? I need help!! You were right about her! Now she's sent two demons to kill me! I've restrained the moth and I've reduced the other to seemingly sludge.

B-But I need your help, the moth injured me and I can't move all that well.

Where are you?? Are you lost somewhere? Are you hurt?

PLEASE Liu Er please hear me, I need help-

*...it rolls right off her shoulders and makes an ominous quiet thud when it hits the dirt ground, followed by the rest of her going limp.*

🏹: *She leans against the wall and sinks to the floor. The sound of fighting still rings around her but she seems unbothered, though she's clearly gravely injured from her voice sounds rough and was filled with small pauses and quiet groans.*

I've done it...it's finished. I won...

I know they'll want to kill and will say I'm the greater evil...but I don't care. I know I did what was right. That's all I need.

I'm not going to ask you to save me. You can't do that, it's not in your power. No, I just want you to take me back to my home. Don't worry about anything else, just leave me be. Let me become one with the grass.

*She almost slips into unconsciousness before snapping awake to mumble out one last key detail.*

And Hara...she's okay...take care of her...for me, my friend. Until...next time.

🪙: You...You! YOU!! Y-OU STUPID, ARROGANT, ASSHOLE!! JUST TAKE THE HINT AND DIE ALREADY OR AT LEAST LEAVE MY PRESENCE!

You are a FAILURE in every sense of the word and in everything you do!! As a demon! As a warrior! And ESPECIALLY as a mentor! If you REALLY cared you'd get out of my life!! Especially right now!

*He growled and raised his sword.*

Now...stay still sO I CAN KILL YOU-

*Something crashes through the wall at lightning speed and rams into Mingtao, there's the sound of a loud mix between a thick crunch and a gooey squish before it's replaced by the sound of scattering metal and a human body being rammed into the nearest wall and furniture.*

🐟: Don't be sad...Manyu is happy...Got everything I wanted...happy ending. Manyu can't wait to see friend again...

*The massive serpentine creature leans its off the bed frame by a few inches to further reach their friend before having to depart.*

Manyu...loves Liu Er. You are...my bestest friend ever...so smart...so ah-may-zing!

*Their glossy eyes seem to grow duller, their speech grows halted with small pauses as their volume dampens.*

Liu Er...hold Manyu...hold real close... and real tight. Manyu want...the biggest hug...there ever was ^^

🏴‍☠️: *A voice tries speaking out amongst a chorus of thunderous clouds and crashing waves, their head barely being able to stay above the rushing water. They're exasperated but almost seemingly happy.*

HaHAHAHA! I FIGURED IT ALL OUT! ME! THAT'S THE BEST PART! IT WASN'T THE ALL HEARING, ALL KNOWING SIX EARED MACAQUE! IT WAS ME!

Hahahaha, even if you kill me now. I win. Because if I can figure it out, someone will do the same eventually, and again, and again, and AGAIN! >:)

You've already lost. So go ahead, let me go down a legend.

*He lets out one last victorious laugh.*

Oh Liu Er I can't wait for you to hear this all someday.

*With that, a wave as tall as a moment crashed on him sending him into the inky dark depths of the sea along with his broken ship, never to be seen again.*

🧣: WHY!?

*He chokes out while he tries to cry but his body has no tears to shed. He lays on the ground while his limbs shake at keeping him up.*

WHY DON'T YOU CARE!? WHAT DID I DO WRONG?! WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE T H I S!?!?

*He lets out another dry sob as his voice becomes gravely and almost crackled.*

Whyyyy??? Why can't I have ONE good thing? Why don't you care about me!? I was told I'd be cared for and loved!!

*His sadness shifts to anger as he screeches at him.*

But no...

Instead all you did was either hurt me or ignore me!! You made me a weapon! I wish I never met you!! I hate you!! I HATE YOU!!

*The angry and venom filled declarations of hate continued before dying off, with the sounds of weak sobbing replacing them entirely. They sounded almost like that of a weak, helpless child; crying for a home that they know they can never go back to.*

[ridreamir]

Ignoring the Netflix Canon when I feel like it (Crack Reader Insert Post)

[Mild Umbrella Academy Spoilers!]

Hello and welcome to the Umbrella Academy! The....Sparrow Academy...? Oh wait no, wrong one. It says here you're a part of the bullshit academy. Yayyyyy!!! You're special! You have a superpower! Now....

Imagine being ruthlessly stalked by the biggest nightmare of a Commission Assassin only to find out that it's:

A: Alternate universe 5. Wearing a mask. B: Someone Commission Founder 5 planned to send after you. C: All the above. And a secret third option.

He's trying to fucking kill you, which is why it's all the more surprising when he cocks a gun at you and shoots one bullet, only for it to sail right past your head. Why he purposely missed eludes you, but haunts you for many days and nights. Then, the apocalypse hits. You just narrowly escape with your life. Thanks to your 'power', you're privy to obscure knowledge. Knowledge no one in this multiverse should have about its history, inter-workings, and potential future outcomes.

Good thing you're practically the most useless idiot on the planet aside from that, because wow. Talk about multiversal anomaly threat.

(Hey, you show that you could have been capable of intelligent thought! Had you been raised properly. News flash: YOU WEREN'T.) So now you're cozy in your little New Yurk apartment which doesn't cost a billion francs per month because that's a different timeline. Isn't this lovely? Isn't world peace amazing? It's too bad, really, that you live next to gay and gayer. And bitch. Brothers, Viktor, Klaus, and Ben. They're fine enough, really, if not for the screaming matches fuck boy Viktor gets into with his multiple gfs on a daily basis and the sheer amount of drug dust that wafts in every time Klaus even breathes in your direction. They're normal. Just a couple of young adults trying to make it in the big city after presumably running away from daddy. (Mid 20s?)

That's... right. You see, you recognize these three. You haven't seen the others around yet, nor is there any guarantee that they even still live in this city anymore, but after the last 'pocalypse you sneezed yourself out of, you landed yourself here, right in the heart of it all. Why? Because they're your brothers.

In this timeline, Canada won back in 1812. Ooooooh. Bummer.

See, none of this would be a problem, if not for the sudden appearance of a highly intoxicated and mildly injured smelly boy man on your couch. He's sobbing. He just shot at you the last timeline ago!!! "Auuuuggghhhh uhuhu, waaahhhh!!!!" He cries under the mask. "Why'd you fuck up our timeline(s) *hic*, now I have to uhuhu~~ Kill youuuuuuaaaaa aaaaaaaawhuhu!!~~"

That's right! After isekai'ing into a near identical Umbrella Academy to that of the hit Netfix show of the same name, you were nearly forced to grow up just as traumatized as the rest of your seven pseudo siblings as you recovered your memories and sense of identity! Then your 'brother' went on to go found the fucking same corporation that wants to kill you! And now he's pretending he's a field agent when he's really the fucking founder!

"I don't wanna do it, Eight! I don't want to have to, to huurrrrtt youuuuu aaaaawwwhuhuhu!!~~" He sniffles, ripping off the mask. "Just... just stay with me, okay? Just, we'll hide you in the thirty sixth floor of my tower just, just staawwpp running uhuhuuuuuuuuu!!!~~~~"

Well this is news to you that he actually has some semblance of care for you, actually. When the little bitch is sober he's usually trying to lodge a bullet in your skull! Or apparently only pretending to. Reginald. What in the fucking world did you do to this man(baby). Why is he acting like this. He's usually so terrible and cold and uncaring and not nice (and smart) but right now he's absolutely fucking pathetic! You know you're in deep shit when a tentacle bursts through your wall. "Hey!!" Ben yells, not having any concept that this is his brother 5 that died on a mission when they were children. "Shut that frignart up, fuckshit!"

Ah yes. Gen kthulu slang.

"Aww is that habibi? Tell 'em I said hii~" "Fuck you." Ben hisses at Klaus.

When Five starts to dry heave on your couch from choking on his own crying, you know you have a problem.

Dear god. Please let the next universe be normal.

[seamayweed]

Sea! I have read the kisaeng!seonho fic and i am enjoying it lots

Could you share some tips on how you do plotting? I'm really struggling with plots and making plots. I feel it has a lot to do with character motivations but at the same time i am at a loss

Also please do you mind telling me what's your writing process 🥹

aaaaaa godot, thank you so much for letting me know that you are enjoying my concubine!seon-ho fic and for expressing interest in my plotting/writing 😭 you are such a good (incredible) writer yourself and honestly i feel very flattered and am squealing a bit inside <333

1. plotting

you are very right that it has everything to do with character motivations! the key word here is ‘conflict’ since that’s what’s going to generate your plot. the questions you want to ask are: (a) what is the goal of your protagonist? (b) what is the goal of the other characters/antagonist(s)? (c ) how does the protagonist achieve their goal and how does the antagonist get in the way of the protagonist’s goal? (d) what do you want this plot to reveal about your protagonist and the other characters/antagonist(s)?

let’s play the above questions through on my fic as an example (mainly the seon-ho vs. bang-won (and bang-gan) conflict):

(a) what is my protagonist's goal?

seon-ho’s goal is to gain political power to make his mother’s dream come true and make the world a fairer, better place for bastards and slaves etc. he also believes that creating a country of subjects (the goal of nam jeon and his faction) will help him achieve that goal.

(b) what is the goal of the other characters/antagonist(s)?

his goal conflicts with bang-won’s and many others’ anti-bastard sentiments. bang-won wants to become the king and disenfranchize bastards. he believes that the king should be the one with all the power instead of subjects.

(c ) how does seon-ho achieve his goal?

by becoming a royal concubine and the king’s sword and using that power to free slaves and help baekjeong and start a small revolution, by gaining the people’s support and mythologizing himself as the river-blessed sukui and becoming a symbol of hope for them, by growing close to the queen and saving her, by forcing his father’s faction to side with him and make him their figurehead, by trying to bear the king a son - all for his plan to eventually become the queen, the highest, most powerful position he could work his way up to in order to build the country his mother envisioned.

(cc) how do the other characters achieve their own goals / foil his plans?

they try to stop him/take that power from him, i.e. they try to find justification to depose and execute him. bang-won is the one who is the most prominent and vocal in opposing him in court, using reasons such as seon-ho causing unrest in the country or poisoning the queen, while the actual mastermind behind this poisoning/framing plot is bang-gan. bang-gan tries to poison seon-ho too to make him infertile so he can’t bear the king a son and become queen.

the antagonists' actions and the protagonist's reactions or vice versa are what generate the plot: seon-ho becoming a royal concubine and gaining power makes the antagonists feel threatened and retaliate. bang-gan trying to frame seon-ho so he’ll be deposed/executed and can’t become the queen backfires since seon-ho managed to find the ‘culprit’ and save the queen, leading to him being celebrated by the common folk as a hero instead. bang-won and his faction calling for seon-ho’s deposition/execution + bang-won’s own obsession with him are exactly what seon-ho needed to pressure and scare his father’s faction into supporting him and making him their figurehead since he’s their best defense against bang-won right now, therefore bringing him closer to his goal of becoming queen.

(but then hwi betrays him like in canon, leading to his fall right as he was soaring high and taking important steps towards achieving his goal etc. etc.)

after the first rise and fall arc, i’m now in the middle of writing the next arc which is about the rape in ihwaru and its fallout which i intend to conclude in the next 2-3 chapters (about two thirds done). this, too, is only part of bang-won & bang-gan's retaliation against seon-ho, a way to kick him while he's already down and break him to make sure he can never rise again. the ball is in seon-ho's court now and the next chapters are going to explore how he's going to handle this and what actions he's going to take in turn. as you can see, plot generates more plot, and the motivations/goals of seon-ho vs. bang-won or bang-gan are what continuously drives them on. they keep thinking up new ways to achieve their own goals / foil the other’s plans in this violent, bloody power struggle.

(d) what do i want this plot to reveal about my protagonist and the other characters/antagonist(s)?

there are a million things i wanted to reveal about seon-ho with this plot, but to keep it short: i wanted to show that he is very much a political player too and a competent one at that, that he can make elaborate plans and execute them, that he may use his father's/seong-gye's methods but is not like them in the ways that matter, that he cares about his mother's dream and is willing to do anything to make it come true, that he can go toe to toe with bang-won, prove himself his equal/match and earn his grudging respect. i wanted to show bang-won's growing obsession, how he wants seon-ho, to possess him, as much as he wants to crush him. i wanted to show that bang-gan is like bang-won, but also different from him, jealous of his brother for having the spotlight while sticking to the shadows and using more underhanded tactics like poison, not caring if innocents get hurt in the process etc.

like dialogue and sex, plot can be characterization too, the characters' actions and reactions and inactions revealing who they are and what they think/feel.

though of course this is first and foremost an extremely self-indulgent fic and all of these plots are strongly influenced by my own preferences too: for one, i really wanted to see seon-ho have more power than in canon as a royal concubine. for another, i wanted to write all the noncon too - for the politics and the sex to be inextricably entwined; for it to be a political battle waged not only in court but also on seon-ho’s body.

2. my writing process

(a) daydreaming, research, brainstorming with or without a friend etc.

(b) basic notes/outline: i just basically word vomit all the random scenes, bits of dialogue, plots, twists and turns etc. in a doc. sometimes the vision is so powerful that i just need to get it all written down at once. then i sort the notes, arranging them chronologically. since i’m a sucker for symbolism or items having meaning and playing an important role later on even if it’s not that apparent at first, i try to incorporate those too. it’s where i also think of elements that i want to plant in the first few chapters that are going to play a role for the ending since i really love bookends. this becomes my outline for the story that i try to stick to.

(c ) chapter notes: i copy and paste the relevant basic notes into the chapter i’m working on and start to refine them, make them more precise, add to them, until they start to resemble the bare bones of a chapter. all that’s left is to flesh it out/write the scenes out.

i like to begin with dialogue. actions/motions/gestures and descriptions can come later. i always try to boil it down to its essence so i can avoid getting bored/stuck on a scene and so i can move on to the next story beat faster. if i feel inspired, i splurge on the description. if i don’t, i don’t force it. i used to be a wordier writer, but nowadays i prefer a cleaner, more precise style.

(d) cutting board: this is where the sentences and paragraphs that don’t fit go when i don’t have the heart to delete them or think i might be able to use them later in a different scene or chapter. it helps me write more freely without being scared of deleting/losing good bits.

(e) EDITING, EDITING, EDITING!!! i’m the type that obsessively rewrites/edits a chapter until my eyes fall out. in some rare cases a chapter is already perfect as is (happens more often when i’m on a writing roll) and only needs minimal editing before posting, but this is the exception and not the rule. 

(f) chapter title and summary: though this isn’t always the last step. sometimes i already know what the title and summary are going to be from the start.

(g) rinse and repeat of steps (c) - (f) for each new chapter, with some research in-between, adding more ideas as they come and the story advances. if i start to get too lost in the details, i can always go back to the basic notes/outline to reorient myself and see what comes next.

the result looks like this in my gdoc (‘COMMENTS’ is where i put the screenshot of comments and reply to them):

thank you so much for this very nice ask!! hope this reply didn't hit you over the head with how long it is and that i could help a little 💙💙💙

[douchebagbrainwaves]

WORK ETHIC AND DIFFERENCE

If you don't know that number, they're successful for that week. Founders understand their companies better than investors, and it also tends to make startups more pliable in negotiations, since they're usually short of money. Third, Pantel and Lin do, but I haven't tried that yet. By obstructing that process, Apple is making them do bad work, and indignant readers will send you references to all the papers you should have cited. If you write software to teach English to Chinese speakers, however, tell A who B is. You have to decide what to do next. Seeing a painting they recognize from reproductions is so overwhelming that their response to it as a way to generate deal flow for series A rounds, the investors won't take as much equity as VCs do now. The second will be easier.

Would it make the painting better if I changed that part? I heard about after the Slashdot article was Bill Yerazunis' CRM114. It would be a crapshoot. If good art is that it makes you more confident, and an investors' opinion of you is the opinion of other investors. They could grow the company on its own revenues, but the extra money and help supplied by VCs will let them grow even faster. It makes a better story that a company won because its founders were so smart. Why should anyone care about a startup making $3000 a month? There are four main reasons: Moore's law has made hardware cheap; open source has made software free; the web has made marketing and distribution free; and more powerful programming languages mean development teams can be smaller.

Would it make the painting better if I changed that part? 9999 free! So this alternative device probably couldn't win on general appeal. Well, not quite. But ultimately the reason these delays exist is that they're more prestigious. I think he really wishes he'd listened. Instead everyone is just supposed to explore their own personal vision. At least one startup from the most recent summer cycle may not even be an accurate measure of the bugs in my implementation than some intrinsic false positive rate of Bayesian filtering. Once you start talking about audiences, you don't have x.

Here are the alternatives considered if the filter sees FREE! When one investor wants to invest in startups, and in those the first word is a verb. That difference is why there's a distinct word, startup, for companies designed to grow fast, I mean it in two senses. In fact, one of the reasons taste is subjective found such a receptive audience is that, historically, the things people have said about good taste have generally been such nonsense. When I was in art school, we were looking one day at a slide of some great fifteenth century painting, and one of the reasons artists in fifteenth century Florence to explain in person to Leonardo & Co. Is the future of venture funding will be like, just ask: how would founders like it to be? They're so attracted to the iPhone that they can't leave. Which is of course a recipe for deadlock, and delay is the thing a startup can least afford. The investors who invested when you had no money were taking more risk, and are entitled to higher returns. It would feel unnatural to him to behave any other way. Another wrote: I believe that they think their approval process helps users by ensuring quality.

In a traditional series A round. Startups are increasingly raising money on convertible notes, and convertible notes have not valuations but at most valuation caps: caps on what the effective valuation will be when the debt converts to equity in a later round, or upon acquisition if that happens first. When the economy bounces back in a few unusual cases. One of the mistakes novice pilots make is overcontrolling the aircraft: applying corrections too vigorously, so the aircraft oscillates about the desired configuration instead of approaching it asymptotically. Worse for Apple, these apps work just fine on other platforms that have immediate approval processes. If they decide to grow at 7% a week and they hit that number, they're successful for that week. And open and good is what Macs are again, finally. One way to deal with this is to treat some as more interesting than others. Now the good news: investors may actually make more money as a result. One is the type that pretends to be an old and buggy one. When you notice a whiff of dishonesty coming from some kind of art, stop and figure out what it's doing.

One of our axioms at Y Combinator is not to compile a complete list, just to show that there's some solid ground here. Startups hate this as well, partly because there was a widespread feeling among potential founders. If we assume the average startup runs for 6 years and a partner can bear to be on the board to help a startup. In this case the super-angel, who operates like an angel, but using other people's money, like a VC. There will continue to be lead investors in the attitudes of existing startups we've funded. Roughly, it's something done with contempt for the audience. Now for the really shocking news: during that same one-month period I got three false positives. Millions of companies are started every year in the US. I'm optimistic about are ones that calculate probabilities based on each individual user's mail.

I called a huge, unexploited opportunity in startup funding: the growing disconnect between VCs, whose current business model requires them to invest large amounts, and a party reminder from Evite. In a sufficiently connected and unpredictable world, you can't seem good without actually being good. How could they go ahead with the deal? VCs who try to compete with angels by doing more, smaller deals will probably find they have to take less equity to do it is to get the best deals, the way to do it is to get the first commitment, because much of the company they do now. Maybe the only answer is a central list of domains advertised in spams. Apple is trying to be with the App Store? This pattern is repeated over and over. If you had, surely you'd be just as attached to that name as you are to your current one. 03% false positives. And someone has to argue with you except yourself. But that might not be necessary.

A rapidly growing company is not merely valuable but dangerous too. If you start to get far along the track toward an offer with one firm, it will make the spammers' optimization loop, what programmers would call their edit-compile-test cycle, appallingly slow. That isn't happening this time, and part of the money. Or to put it more prosaically, they're the people who are genuinely good. It comes with a lot of time trying to learn how to predict which startups will succeed. This is the fourth way in which offers beget offers. Most people don't know how ambitious to be, especially when they're young. If you cared about design, you could buy a Thinkpad, which was still then a quasi-government entity. I just mentioned.

[coquetteriddle]

Okay I’m the birds of a feather ask, and I need to rant about all the songs that remind me of tomarry I just have to. A lot of these songs are going to be Taylor swift songs I can’t help it 😔

Coney Island by Taylor swift: this is from evermore and is not a very well liked song in the fandom unfortunately but as soon as I heard it in dec 2020 it reminded me of tomarry. Like immediately. It reminds me of a very specific subset of tomarry fanfics where Tom’s ambition drives them apart when they’re young- but it also fits a general theme of tom’s awful shit driving Harry away. some lyrics to drive my point home:

Break my soul in two Looking for you but you're right here If I can't relate to you anymore Then who am I related to? And if this is the long haul How'd we get here so soon? Did I close my fist around something delicate? Did I shatter you?

And I'm sitting on a bench in Coney Island wondering where did my baby go? The fast times, the bright lights, the merry go Sorry for not making you my centerfold

Over and over Lost again with no surprises Disappointments, close your eyes And it gets colder and colder When the sun goes down

like…UGHHH?????? Break my soul looking for you but you’re right here??? Tom making horcruxes against Harry’s will so that he can stay for forever with Harry but in the process he loses the humanity that made Harry love him??? Did I close my fist around something delicate, did I shatter you??? Tom being too controlling, too possessive, ruining his relationship with Harry in the process??? I could go on and on for each lyric honestly.

Better man by Taylor swift: literally just going to post some lyrics here. Not the full song fits but like. Cmon. I’m not even going to spend time justifying this one.

And I see the permanent damage you did to me Never again, I just wish I could forget when it was magic

I wish it wasn't 4 a.m., standing in the mirror Saying to myself, you know you had to do it I know the bravest thing I ever did was run

Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man

like. Like. Like. Like. Like- when I heard better man in 2021 for the first time immediately I thought ‘tomarry. Tomarry. Tomarry’

Meant to be yours from the heathers musical: I’m so surprised that I don’t see this song that much in tomarry spaces and playlists cause this is like FULLY a tomarry song. Like the full fucking thing. The singer is literally this maniac murderer telling his ex girlfriend that he’s going to kill off everyone except her so that they can be together. The way he sings ‘I was meant to be yours, we were meant to be one’ is so imploring and yet it feels incredibly dangerous to witness even in audio form. This is a tomarry song. I prefer the west end version.

Can’t catch me now by Olivia Rodrigo: this is another ‘the full song. The full song fits’. I think it’s way more harrymort coded than tomarry tbh. This song feels like voldemort won and realised Harry was a horcrux kind of fic. The idea of voldy being haunted by Harry for ages after Harry’s escape/death ( cause honestly, while voldy may grow to feel something towards Harry and stop being abjectly cruel towards him in this au, it would never be anything that would keep Harry there with voldemort or alive in the first place ). Some lyrics that feel extra coded:

There's snow fallin' over the city You thought that it would wash away The bitter taste of my fury And all of the messes you made Yeah, you think that you got away

But I'm in the trees, I'm in the breeze My footsteps on the ground You'll see my face in every place But you can't catch me now Through wading grass, the months will pass You'll feel it all around I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere But you can't catch me now No, you can't catch me now

You can't, you can't catch me now I'm comin' like a storm into your town You can't, you can't catch me now I'm higher than the hopes that you brought down

power and control by marina: okay this is kind of tomarry coded but it’s mostly tom riddle coded. This is how I feel he’d view love or anything of the sort in AUs where he weaponises attraction or love for personal gain. There’s this incredibly cinematic part of the song where the singer sings ‘love will always be a human vulnerability, doesn’t mean that I am weak’ but she keeps repeating I am weak again and again until you realise that’s the whole point of the song. Anyone who thinks like this is weak. Tom, despite what he thinks of himself, is a weak man.

Tear in my heart by twenty one pilots: so many sad tomarry songs, this is another birds of a feather kind of song where I feel like this is a happier tomarry in a relationship song, from tom’s pov. It’s not as peaceful as birds of a feather, but there’s this theme in the song of love, wild and bright and almost violent, making the singer feel alive. He never says he loves the person he’s singing about, but you feel it all over. This feels like it’s right before they hit a more peaceful point in their relationship

there’s so many more songs I could rant about but I need to study 😔 I will put in some honorary mentions tho!

don’t blame me by Taylor swift, Mx sinister by idkHOW, the last time by Taylor swift, teeth by 5sos. The last time specifically feels like it was made for ‘what he grows to be’

Very sorry for how ramble-y this whole thing is. I just want to rant about tomarry instead of wrestling with electrostatics.

HIIIII this was such a fun ask to answer <3 thank u. also real i have a fair amount of taylor swift songs in my tomarry playlist too

coney island- REALLLL REAL WAIT. they loved each other so much but in the end tom couldnt give it up, he couldnt stop reaching for power and immortality and he lost harry in the process. EATS.

better man - AAAAHHH so breakup coded for them. i think abt that a lot, that if they broke up it would be soooo so fucking messy

meant to be yours - REAL i have this one in my tomarry playlist. i actually have a lot of heathers songs in there: fight for me, our love is god, meant to be yours, and dead girl walking (reprise). i think dgw is a super tomarry song like "i wish your mom had been stronger/i wish your dad were good/i wish we'd met before they convinced you life is war"???? ate. when will someone make the heathers au we need

cant catch me now - YESSS this is such a tomarry song. theyre so lucy gray coriolanus snow coded.

power and control - OHHH this is good!! i think a lott of marina songs can fit with tom in general but i never rly considered this one. tomarry is very electra heart coded to me tho, i have radioactive and evol in my playlist for them

tear in my heart - AWWW. yeah that is them :)

dont blame me and teeth - YES i have both of these in my playlist. and omg i never finished what he grows to be....i need to its literally like a hallmark of tomarry fics

this was so fun thank u!!! i may or may not post my tomarry playlist one day but here are some songs i think are very them coded:

also good luck w studying!!

[luckloveandwaterfalls]

thoughts on the grieve family pls and thanks

Oh I have many, you have no idea!

So the Grieves are in a completely horrific position, where not one of their champions has won over eight hundred years. Understandably, this—along with the public opinion of them—is discouraging. Every twenty years, they send one of their kids to die. Usually right away too, so there's little hope that any of the Grieves would survive. This is an unambiguously bad situation.

By AoUV, the Grieves have given up. It's so obvious. They have zero involvement in Gavin's life and don't even include him in family photos, accepting that he is going to die at seventeen. His parents clearly aren't happy with their marriage, but they don't do anything about it. They drink and scream at each other, and ignore Gavin, and drink some more.

The problem isn't even that they've given up expecting to win the tournament. They've also completely given up on their kids (and I'm using the plural intentionally). Almost immediately after the tournament begins, Gavin's parents get rid of all of his possessions and leave his room bare. I can't even find words to describe how fucked up this is. They don't even wait. They don't even hold out hope for his survival. It's like he's already dead, like he's been dead his whole life.

To a lesser extent, they behave this way at Callista's wedding too, which I find super interesting. Her father kind of shoves her at the groom once he walks her down the aisle, like he's disgusted, like she's dead to him. Like he's saying that Roland Payne can have her, the Grieves don't want her anymore. Callista's great crime is...not wanting to be associated with the Grieves. Not wanting anything to do with that reputation and name.

Which...okay? I don't like how she treats Gavin, but this is peculiar because Gavin remarks that Fergus is their parents' favorite because he isn't old enough to be ashamed of his family. Callista, therefore, is both old enough and ashamed of them. Rightfully so, and not because they don't win the tournament. But her parents are ashamed, too. They don't take any pride in being Grieves because they literally don't try anymore, so it makes me think that it's less of disgrace and more bitterness. Like none of them are happy, so they resent Callista for verbalizing it and actually breaking away.

That's pure extrapolation, but it seems plausible considering the bizarre way everyone is acting at Callista's wedding. Truly wtf levels of family dysfunction.

So back to Gavin, the issue is that they have given up on him. They gave up on him years ago. Good parents in their position would look back at the centuries of dying Grieves and do everything in their power to make Gavin strong enough. They would help him train, get him access to advanced spellwork, find quality sponsorships that would help him succeed. They would take an active interest in making sure their kid doesn't die. I feel justified in saying that this is a) the bare minimum and b) the reasonable thing for a parent to do.

But they gave up on Gavin as a champion, and they gave up on Gavin as a child. That scene in All of Our Demise when he's remembering having nightmares as a kid and all he can hear is his parents yelling? It broke my heart. It's such a lonely position for a kid to be in, and then for Callista to shut the door in his face is even worse.

The relationship between Gavin and Callista is so complicated and real that I might make a separate post about it. To summarize: their parents suck, which gave them no good options. Callista shouldn't have been put in the position of a parental figure when she didn’t even have one, and she shouldn’t have been there for Fergus but not Gavin when they needed her. Gavin shouldn’t have been left in the lurch when he desperately needed validation and support as a child. Gavin shouldn’t have had to look after his younger brother because no one else would. Fergus shouldn’t have had to grow up in such a hostile, turbulent environment with an ostracized sister and a brother who was expected to die.

The banquet scene in AoUV boils my blood. Even if the Grieves didn't have such an abysmal track record with the tournament, even if everyone had equal odds of winning, that's a 1 in 7 chance you'll see your kid alive again. And the Grieves, historically, have much lower odds. And Gavin's parents go off to get drunk and don't say a word to him the whole time.

So, to reiterate, it isn't just that the Grieves have given up on getting high magick. They've completely given up on their son, and by extension on being a parent. They don't know a single thing about Gavin, his interests, his goals, his abilities, because they just don't care. They've never tried to care. They've never tried to get attached to a boy that they're throwing away, and they've never even considered trying to help him survive. To them, it's a waste. It's like he's just an inconvenient necessity to buy them another twenty years.

In summary: I can't hate Callista because of the situation she was thrust into, but my god she could have handled it better. Fergus is a sweetheart who thankfully has a good relationship with his brother. Gavin is going to need a lot of therapy to deal with the shit his parents put him through. And the Grieves are a different brand of fucked-up than the rest of the families, not because they're trying so hard to win that they become despicable, but because of how thoroughly they've given up.

[aevyk-ing]

Rambling about The Dragon Prince

Just finished watching The Dragon Prince and this was... interesting? But yeah, it has problems. This time, I’m not only expressing my opinions, but also using my experience as a fantasy writer to explain which things I’ve have done differently. Let’s dive in!

I was intrigued from the beginning, but I also felt as if I was missing out. I needed more information! I’ve already bought the first novel, so I hope that expands it enough for me. The first season is fine. It has to present a lot of characters and places and I enjoy quests or just stories where a group has to travel. 

The second season is my favorite so far. I really liked the direction some characters took (I’ll explain it later) and the dream sequence was fantastic.

The third season was weird. The worldbuilding had been a little generic until then but it was forgivable (trust me, I know how difficult it is to create something that looks original). Now, they’re just in Pandora and visiting Lórien. Also, the writing took a more childish turn and the love story came out of nowhere.

The fourth season... was rough. Lots of decisions I don’t understand, too many references or just uninspired stuff and... the time-skip wasn’t needed. Like at all.

My main issue is that the episodes are a tad too long. So it feels like they had to pad some of them with problems or scenes that could have been solved in less minutes. The pace just drags a lot sometimes. I liked the animation. Sure, it was a little stiff in the first seasons but I think it’s an interesting mix of 2D and 3D. Would love to see my own characters animated that way! Overall, the voice acting was nice, I just had one little issue. Let’s talk about characters:

Callum

Most of my problems with the main characters (especially Callum and Rayla) is that they don’t seem to have just one personality. So, for Callum, I enjoyed him more when he was just an insecure teen. But then, he’d start being sarcastic and feeling like a completely different character. I think his VA is a good actor, but it feels like a) They just let him do his own thing or b) Asked him to be more like Sokka. 

That being said, he’s okay. I really like his design (the first one better than the second, that hairstyle is weird) and I love stories about people discovering their magic powers. 

Rayla

Season 1 Rayla? Nice. Season 2 Rayla? Even better. Love her when she’s happy and she was a delight in the second season. Season 3 Rayla? Weird. Season 4 Rayla? Don’t get it.

Once again, a character with two personalities. I was hoping her to be a badass who becomes softer, just like Astrid, and it seemed she was going to grow a lot. Then, they made her disappear and go back to square one but acting as if nothing had happened or she hadn’t done anything wrong. 

Now, for the elephant in the room: I knew she was going to be Callum’s love interest. I was actually excited to see how their relationship would evolve, especially since Callum liked Claudia at first. But then, it just happened. They started blushing and saying good things about each other and... BUM, together. I would have loved to see more little hints or gestures. I really wanted to like this characters and their relationship, but I can’t. Maybe if they had started dating in s4, after missing each other and realizing they’re in love? 

Also, didn’t like her s4 design. It’s the spiky bun. And the monkey.

Ezran

I still can’t believe the kid become my favorite character, but here we are. Next to the ever-changing Callum and Rayla, we got sweet, wise Ezran. Smart kids can be annoying, but he just has that soft smile and spark in his eyes. And a cool pet. Bait won me over with the “ba-bum” at the intro.

I didn’t like much his s4 design because he sounded too childish, but he was still the same character, so I just got used to it. Also, he looks good with a ponytail.

Zym

Can we talk about the cutest dragon since Toothless? Because he is. I really enjoyed his friendship with Ezran (he totally deserves to have a dragon) and he makes the most adorable noises. Would have liked him to talk in s4, though. 

Viren

Started out as a decaffeinated Strickler for me, but got more interesting as he worked with Aaravos and even more after he was back from death.

Claudia

The character I wasn’t expecting to like that much. I’m sure someone discovered little girls liked Claudia more than Rayla, so they gave her a quirkier personality and jokes about body functions. Well, it didn’t work. Claudia is great, I love bubbly characters who are also powerful. 

Soren

Another surprise. Yeah, he’s a himbo, but he has a big heart and he’s not that dumb. He’s so funny he improves any scene he’s in. He also has the best lines. 

Others

Love Amaya. She’s the best. Her interpreter is also great. Really like his design and Aaravos’, even though the later’s voice is too deep and doesn’t match his appearance. Also, the caterpillar/bug pal thing was really cool. I hate bugs, so that part was a little hard for me to watch, but it was worth it. The King was great, would’ve loved to see more of him. The rest? Okay. Just okay. Except for Terry. He’s great.

So, would I recommend these series? Yes, but go with an open mind and don’t try to think much. It’s a good story that could have been better and it hasn’t even ended yet. Hopefully, things will improve again in the next season, and I’ll be watching it for sure. 

[gozaimachi]

i’ve been thinking about this, that both of these people have a massive and growing audience. sure not all people are their audience. but one thing for sure, they possess a kind of power to influence people in such a way. like, whatever they bake, people would eat that cake.

sometimes people don’t like the cake, sometimes it takes people to eat the cake a few times to realize the cake is so good, and most of the time, there are these people who love the cake at the first bite. note that just because some of these people don’t like the cake, they’re pretty loyal because these bakers—in their pov—are trusted. they don’t like a certain cake the bakers made, but that doesn’t mean the other cakes they’ve baked are awful.

it do be like that.

i wonder, how can they engage a massive audience like that?

so here are my observations:

a. they started from bottom.

nolan’s directorial debut, following (1998), was produced with a tight budget. he never went to film school. his uncle was an actor, but even with that, it didn’t help him to climb the ladder. the second movie, memento (2000) his first oscar nomination along with his lil bro.

taylor’s parents gotta sell their farm so they can move to nashville. she never went to music school, but she got her guitar. she was noticed by SB and (trapped) signed in his record label. her second album, fearless was a boom.

and i think the year where both finally got their first reputation to build a solid base for their career—which also grow throughout the years—was 2008.

the dark knight & fearless.

b. writer

i always believe in the power of writer and their words. as we know, taylor wrote her own songs—whether she co-wrote it or not.

same goes with nolan, he wrote all his movies (and also had collaborated with other writers) except for insomnia (2002) which i think, has the weakest storytelling among his other movies.

c. powerful storyteller

all can be a writer, but not all of them can be a storyteller, especially a powerful one.

this is the power they possess. that’s not something easy to do. you have to be trusted, to be smart, but most importantly, to get close to audience’s emotions. you have to be personal. hits like home.

and they nail it.

d. distinctive

they are just like other musician and filmmaker, but they are different. you just can tell.

they’re not different that makes others feel alienated, but they’re not the same.

this is a formula that i don’t understand.

but if you watch their interviews or speech, you would catch different sentence but one meaning: believe in yourself.

they know what they’re doing. they allow themselves to be disliked. but they never let those things bring them down.

they keep reinventing themselves.

taylor? she’s working on re-recording her albums. she’s not the first singer to do this, BUT to be able to outsold yourself is not easy. she also directed her music. her directorial debut, all too well short film won grammy.

nolan? he was the pioneer for filmmakers to use imax camera which was used for the first time for the dark knight. oppenheimer script was written from the first point of view of the main lead aka oppenheimer himself.

they trust themselves and not focusing on result, but process. that’s what people called as determination.

these people are the ones i look up to.

p. s. this is just for fun fact: they’re both fire sign.

@taylorswift

[diminuel]

Hello!  For the fic question game: 1, 4 for To Walk With You Again, and 5 for For So Bare Is My Heart!

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

That depends on whether I want to lean into the fact that my most used additional tags are apparently A/B/O, Mpreg and Fluff (see here), because then I would probably suggest Looking for: Alpha to Match Swimsuit.

If I want to lean into the angst a bit more, I would recommend Half a Heart to Keep which features two of my favourite things: dangerous arranged marriages and an (over)abundance of traveling through unfamiliar landscape.

And for a totally "normal" fic (because I also greatly enjoy writing things that pick up on canon elements) I'd recommend Huntercorp’s Rehabilitation Clinic for the Supernaturally Afflicted since that introduces readers to a) my odd sense of humor and b) my enjoyment of playing with canon elements :D

And I suppose giving three answers was cheating. If anyone has read my work and has a different entry fic, let me know ;D

4. What detail in To Walk With You Again are you really proud of?

I think I like the atmosphere the most, especially when they are kids. While I initially thought that it wasn't going to work, choosing to tell the majority of the story from the POV of a child gradually growing and then contrasting it with what the world looks like when they’re grown up was interesting. Cas and Dean aren't able to understand a lot of the politics and machinations going on all around them but are deeply impacted by them anyway. From a "hihihi angst" kind of perspective, I enjoyed the narrative noose gradually closing around Cas' neck while he is catching on to what is happening and the danger he is in. And even though Dean and Cas try to save the day, they are still just teens and ultimately have to fail. I think I enjoyed that. (And of course I enjoyed the description of places, the looming presence of Carver's End especially :D)

(I am less proud of how I had to rush the middle part and the very end. I simply ran out of time since this story was on a DCBB deadline. I have started writing the part though so it will be added eventually!)

5. What do you wish someone would ask you about For So Bare Is My Heart? Answer it now!

There is no question in particular, but the thing I would like to talk about the most is the editing history. There are a couple of fics that have inspired readers to send me comments about how horrible the main character is and how the other character should never forgive them.This is one of them.

The thing is, as a fell creature from the angsty abysses who doesn't reflect too much on how horrible a situation in a fic would be if it happened in real life, I liked to go very dark. The fics in my previous fandom had a tendency towards horror and tragic endings and while I've aged out of the tragic endings, I have not gotten rid of my penchant for tragic beginnings.

The harder the start, the more rewarding the journey, the harder won and more satisfying the end, yes? (At least that would be the idea, but I'm not particularly good at writing endings. Yet.)

So, the fic started out very dark - a cruel king Dean with no regard for angels as they stood by and watched as Dean lost people. Which, of course, is no good reason to wage war and take one of them as a prisoner and then get upset once his trophy isn't appreciative.

Anyway, the darkest parts stayed in the draft and I rewrote them. And then, following beta and reader reactions I continued to edit. To make Dean less cruel, to make Cas less passive. And every round of editing tries to give Dean's wrath and cruelty depth or at least soften it down, as well as giving Cas a bit more spite, a bit more power, evening them out.

(Side note, maybe I wouldn’t need to do this. I don't have to write wholesome characters, they can be flawed beyond redemption and the narrative might even reward them for it anyway ;3 But I think it suits the story I want to tell better to work on it.)

In any case, this is the fic I keep editing every time I'm reading it until I get to that point where I'm satisfied. I don't think I've fiddled with any fic that much after it was published.

Wow, that was long! Thanks for your questions! My ego definitely likes talking about my own writing X'D

(Ask game)