#i'll write a proper event post soon !!

[unrequitedhero]

".. oh dear."

"Is this.. normal for the island?"

[scarapanna]

The main premise and events in the Intertwined Opposites AU

It's finally here!!!

I've managed to finally make a proper info post for my personal take on this silly possession AU craze as I've planned to do for a while since I'm totally normal about this concept (lie) /silly

Before proceeding, keep in mind that this post is gonna be pretty long as I'll be diving into important story events troughout the first half of it, so it gets the read more treatment as usual!!

There will be no crk spoilers here (except for the beast-yeast episodes), just a ""prologue" to current narrative events in the AU

[[Little edit but there now are some ref sheets for both Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla!!! They can be found here]]

•The beginning•

Everything starts in beast-yeast, once peace has been returned to the fairie kingdom

Now that the area is mostly free from danger with the silver tree's seal being properly mended, the crowd decides to start repairs and preparations to further celebrate everyone's victory for the remainder of the day.

However, as everyone starts to leave the area, something starts creeping out from the shadows created by the tree's roots

Turns out that Shadow Milk, now severely weakened from the blow taken in battle, has managed to flee from being forced back into his prison once more.

During Lily's blast of magic, he essentially "split" and discarded part of his own power as a last resort, separating what was already being sucked into the renewed seal from himself to avoid getting dragged into containment once more.

Unfortunately for the beast, both his panicked and sloppy procedure combined with the added strenght of the new guardian's spell left him with a very poor amount of strenght, with it not being enough for anything useful.

Needless to say, his mind is filled with hatred and anger as soon as he emerges

he can't really do much with this state, and thus lingers on formulating a plan to get what he wanted from the start, but how?

How would he get back on track, rid himself of the guardian, and break the seal once more like this?

The answer eventually comes to him, just right on top of a bridge alongside the one who restored his prison.

His souljam, the one he was once the owner of

Now "purified" and held by Pure Vanilla, it binds the two together with the virtue of knowledge, split in the lights of truth and deceit during the purification process.

These lights are owned by the beast, and the figure by the bridge in front of him, yet come from the same thing.

Shadow Milk has finally decided on a proper plan.

◆ What comes after and what it leads to ◆

Days pass, turning into a few weeks and ending with a trip back home to take a break and write down what happened during the beast-yeast expedition.

Everything seems to have gone well in the end, yet something still feels..wrong?

It's not the best term for it, but does the job well enough.

The vanilla kingdom is peaceful, and Pure Vanilla's return safe and sound brings back some joy to the citizens.

Yet it just doesn't feel right, he doesn't know what precisely, but the ancient is riddled with an odd feeling almost like being watched.

He might not realise it for now, but he had been right. Someone has been following him inside the castle for the entire duration of the trip.

Pure Vanilla slowly grows more wary as days pass, and his doubts are confirmed as Shadow Milk's idea is proven successful.

In the void Pure Vanilla is confronted by Shadow Milk cookie, he spills everything he's done without esitating twice, as there's no reason to hide it anymore.

Shadow Milk had always been there ever since the re-sealing of the tree, following Pure Vanilla and draining magic at a slow enough rate to not be noticed, until it was enough to take over his body without trouble.

Now that he had a "vessel" to work with, he could keep recharging power and be finally able to do his bidding.

He's questioned multiple times by Pure Vanilla, but he wouldn't budge, and the ancient manages to gather only their location and a few loose details.

This was not a void, this was a ""mind space"" where he was bound to stay while shadow milk used his body as a disguise, and he could not use magic to fight back against the beast.

Being out of options, Pure Vanilla quickly tries to think over what to do, and lingers over the situation to come up with something.

Shadow Milk proposes an idea to Pure Vanilla, sharing the vessel that both are confined in, to be sure he doesn't get caught.

This is only to one condition: the ancient must work in favour of the beast under it's watchful sight at all times

The Ancient complies, and a deal is sealed.

It's not a loss nor a victory, only a beginning

◆The current situation◆

Now that the main prologue is set, what happens precisely to both?

So, Shadow Milk cookie is essentially ""possessing"" Pure Vanilla, but not completely.

The two switch up control of the ancient's body in certain times of the day and night, sometimes Pure Vanilla is granted the lead and when he's not needed Shadow Milk takes it. He's pretty much using the ancient as a puppet, a disguise and a tool for his own gain, assigning him certain tasks so that his plan will work as intended.

Whenever one of them is not in control of their shared ""vessel"", they're send in the mindspace until the shift of control takes place and so on. Shadow milk never gives Pure Vanilla full "freedom" or personal space, having control of the shifts in lead and constantly keeping the ancient under watch trough mirrors and reflective surfaces (The only moments in which he's given alone time is when the beast is asleep in the mind space to retain magic).

The ancient, on the other hand, accepted Shadow Milk's offer right away without esitation, but for a much different reason.

Pure vanilla is trying to get the best out of his situation, and thus feels forced to go against his own morality to keep cookies safe and attempt to alarm them trough hints and hidden messages scattered in the kingdom.

Even if he doesn't like the means, what else could he do to keep everyone safe?

The difficulty of his situation causes him great stress and paranoia, which worsens as time goes on and Shadow Milk regains his powers bit by bit, making his actions more difficult to get away with unnoticed.

Here's some more info regarding the effects of sharing a vessel in two:

• Pure Vanilla and Shadow Milk's connection by souljam makes sharing a body possible, otherwise it would be fatal to most cookies (As they're not made to be vessels).

• The slit in the souljam is a shared element which hints at Shadow milk's presence in both, during control shifts it flickers in different shades of gray.

• Remaining on the topic, control shifts are not plesant in the slightest to both parties involved, being defined by acute physical pain on the area covered by the souljam. This is inflicted on the current cookie in charge of the vessel during the shift, fading away only when back in the mindspace.

•The two can see eachother and comunicate trough reflective surfaces, with them displaying the current entity in the mindspace instead of the one leading the vessel.

• Pure Vanilla's voice sounds somewhat overlapped or distorted when shadow milk is in charge of his body, he can't change this aspect unfortunately for him.

• Certain factors like hunger and thirst are shared between the two due to their predicament, they can sometimes be heard debate over what to eat and when during the day.

• Sleep in the traditional sense is the only factor distinct to the two instead of being shared, as it's strictly based on "individual energy" rather than "shared energy"

[putschki1969]

FictionJunction Radio vol.#22 ~ About Kalafina's Reunion and Yuki's Official Statement

A couple of days ago, Yuki announced that there would be a new FJS Radio broadcast coming up soon so fan club members were asked to submit questions. It was all done in quite a rush and fans only had one day to send their messages. Obviously, everyone (including myself) was thinking that Yuki would use that opportunity to do some further "damage control" after her official statement regarding Kalafina's reunion concert went viral and caused quite a lot of turmoil among fans. HERE's my translation of her statement. It reflects pretty badly not only on the organisers of the event but also the members of Kalafina which has led to many fans seeing this project as a sort of betrayal from Wakana, Keiko and Hikaru. It has since been very quiet on the social media front and there have been no updates from either Keiko or Hikaru.

Today, the new radio episode was posted on the fan club site and yes, Yuki is dedicating a large portion of it to this topic. Bless her! The latest mail magazine also includes a brief message from Yuki Kajiura. I'll go through some of the important parts of that before I tackle the broadcast. Please note that I will not be providing full translations. This will be more of a round-up of all the highlights.

Regarding the statement I posted on X the other day (I apologise to those who have not seen the post. A proper explanation is provided on the radio broadcast.) I tried my best to convey everything to FJS members as honestly as possible. This is a decision I made after much deliberation, I was worried about whether or not I could be causing further distress by repeating all of it again. It goes without saying that everything I am talking about in the broadcast is true, but to be honest, there were some questions that I intentionally chose not to address. However, this was not because of "adult matters" but because I wanted to avoid hurting anyone more than necessary, so I hope you will understand.

I think I've said everything I wanted and felt like I needed to say about this matter on the radio episode. I'm grateful that so many wonderful musicians and singers have been involved in the music I've created up until now. Even if we are not always on the same stage, I always hope that each and every one of them will continue to make music in a bright, fun, interesting, and cheerful way, in their own way and on the path they have chosen.

Once again, I apologise for causing you all trouble and concern.

Yuki Kajiura

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──────────

FJS Radio Vol.#22 »»—— CLICK ME 🎁 CLICK ME ——««

❗This is Fan Club EXCLUSIVE content❗ ❗PERSONAL USE ONLY❗ ❗Do NOT SHARE on other sites❗

At around 24:00, Yuki starts talking about all the questions she has received regarding her statement in response to the Kalafina Reunion Live announcement. Yuki appreciates that everyone was very careful/kind in their phrasing and clearly tried to not step on her toes. To clear up some confusion and in order to answer a few questions, Yuki is doing a more in-depth discussion of the situation. Initially, she just wanted to write a short text for the fan club mail magazine but she didn't feel like it was enough so it ended up becoming a main topic of the radio episode. This way, it was easier to eliminate uncertainties. 

When she first saw the announcement, her reaction was to ask herself "why??". She was basically in shock. After all, she had not been informed of the project so it was complete news to her. Soon after, it got very awkward for her when she started to receive a lot of inquiries and messages of fans congratulating her on Kalafina's comeback. Naturally, this made her feel very uncomfortable since she had nothing to do with it. Additionally, there was some confusion among fans about the extent of Yuki's involvement because the official announcement from Kalafina Staff did not mention her name at all but both Keiko and Hikaru mentioned her in their statements. For these reasons, Yuki felt like she had no choice but to make her own statement in order to clarify a few things.

She still does not know all the details, for example the exact reasons behind the secrecy and why the members were not able to talk about this to her in advance. Or if this is going to be a one-time thing or if Kalafina will resume their activities.

Yuki says that her statement might have been perceived as quite "angry" because of her usage of certain "strict" phrases (like Kalafina-san, ございます/gozaimasu", etc) but she wants to clarify that she is really not the type to be angry, it was more a sense of shock that made her write like this and the fact that she wanted to stick to very precise/formal language in this "official statement". She wasn't angry or trying to scold anyone. The main focus was actually supposed to be on the latter half of her statement but due to her phrasing, everyone was focusing on that first part (to a point where people were starting to draw false conclusions). She thinks that even the Kalafina members themselves must have been quite taken aback when they read the statement. It was never her intention to create so much backlash for the project/the Kalafina members and she doesn’t approve of it. To avoid further misunderstandings, she posted some follow-up tweets and ultimately decided to record the radio episode. Yuki wants us to know that the sentiment she was trying to convey was fundamentally positive. She does wish the members of Kalafina all the best and she knows that they will do an amazing job. She repeats this several times.

Of course she would have wanted to do a live concert together with Kalafina, it was always a dream she pursued and something she had discussed with Keiko and Hikaru during their activities together. But there were a lot of hurdles and it was going to take a long time. There was no way of knowing if it was ever going to happen (especially with Wakana still being signed under Space Craft) so she completely understands that the girls would look at different options just to somehow make this concert happen. They were undoubtedly presented with a good opportunity so it would have been unwise of them to not take that chance, especially since it offered a faster solution. With an appealing offer like that, it's only natural that the Kalafina members would have agreed to the project. Despite feeling sad, Yuki knows that sometimes things like this happen in life. When things don't work out one way, you need to try other options. She doesn't fault the members for going down a different path. In fact, she wishes nothing but luck to the girls. She supports them all the way and highlights their splendor as singers (especially Keiko who she admires for her discipline). They all continue to have a good relationship and Yuki will always see them as her "music nakamas".

She is also looking forward to working with Keiko and Hikaru in the upcoming Asia tour. She is sure they will have fun together so there is no need to worry. The same applies for the summer tour next year.

Yuki then goes on to talk a bit about Satoshi Takebe who she highly respects as "senior/senpai". He actually reached out to Yuki after this whole debacle and they talked about how he kinda ended up bearing the brunt of fan hatred which Yuki found very uncalled-for. She is sure he will do a great job as music director for the concert. And it's not a matter of him stepping in to replace her as producer because his role as music director is not the same as what Yuki did in her role as producer. He is just doing his job. And he always wants to do the best he can so he will make sure to make Yuki's music shine.

Last but not least, Yuki actually addresses the infamous BLOG that I wrote about HERE. She read through it and she wants us to know that all the "supposed facts" are fabrications, complete fantasies, especially all the conspiracy theories regarding Sony wanting to get rid of her and trying to control her.

All right, this was really insightful. Love that Yuki is pretty frank. I think this is her basically clearing up the tension and offering an olive branch to the members of Kalafina (and Satoshi Takebe). She is putting out all the stops to convey a positive message and she is using every opportunity to hype up this project. Her fondness for the girls is also very apparent, she uses the chan suffix almost all the time when she refers to them and she praises them frequently throughout the entire episode. So there is no doubt that they are still on good terms with each other. There has been no falling out or anything!

Now is honestly the best time for the three of them to become active on social media again and release some genuine and heartfelt statement. I feel like this is the only way to salvage this current disaster of a situation. I mean, they can't let this drag on forever. I am actually a little sad that it seems like the girls haven't already talked the whole thing through with Yuki but now is their chance.

They all have events and concerts coming up and the general lottery for the reunion live is about to start soon so they need to come out of their hiding place asap.

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ��─────────

PS: There's no need for people to bombard me with tons of messages about stuff like this. Of course I have seen it! Of course I've read/listened to it! Of course I'm going to post about it! Of course I will be providing all the info! Rest assured that I will always try my best to keep everyone updated. But please, give me some time!! I have a real life with a full-time job. Running this blog is not the only thing I do in life so I can't always post about everything right away (even though I would like to).

[husbandograveyard]

Part of my Loving touches collection. Prompt: Lifting someone up out of excitement Characters: Kyojuro Rengoku x reader

2nd person. GN reader. [A/n]: this is it, the final part of Loving Touches! Very happy with the collection, and it helped me get back into writing proper. Now this one is finished, I'll be focusing on other events and stuff for a bit, but I'll debut a new drabble collection soon (although probably not demon slayer). An updated version of the Masterlist will be added soon as well, but since this is a queued post, I can only do so after this one is posted. Enjoy!!

There were so many reasons why you loved Kyojuro. The man was practically a walking green flag, from the way he managed to find good in almost any situation without making a joke out of it, to the way he seemed to live life to the fullest. The quirky way he enjoyed his meals and the way he managed to leave a lasting -and positive- impression on about everyone he met made him uniquely him and you loved every last bit of it.

On top of that, he was a fantastic partner. The way he would make your days brighter, even when you weren’t feeling great, the way he would take care of you if you were sick, the way he would boast your confidence and general mood, just by being his amazing and encouraging self, it never ceased to amaze you. 

He was also your biggest cheerleader, ready to support you in whatever you wanted to do with your life. There was no judgment about your dreams at all. If it was something you wanted to do, something that would make you happy, then who was he to stop you from working towards it? Sometimes it would feel as if he was even more excited about you reaching goals than you yourself were. He’d ask about your progress, hear you out whenever you wanted to talk, or even vent about it. And whenever you were feeling really proud, he’d just hold you with the most perfect, tightest hug. Depending on your enthusiasm, he’d sometimes just lift you up and spin you around a couple of times, he just couldn’t contain the happiness he was feeling for you. It made your head spin and your heart overflow, holding tight onto the man you loved more than anything else in life. 

[ryuichirou]

Replies

As many as I can write in 30 minutes let’s go!

Starting with a couple of asks about our post from yesterday.

Anonymous asked:

I'm guessing the bunny is because of Deuce's hometown event and the fox is because of Ace dealing with Fellow.

Yes and no! It’s one of the reasons, but these two also have pretty strong vibes of these animals, especially Ace. He is such a sly little fox pup sometimes lol

Anonymous asked:

That recent Ace/Deuce post had my mind absolutely working overtime with ideas.

But they all just kept coming back to the White Rabbit Fest, even when it didn't really fit a fox Ace kinda thing.

Anyway, besides that, I really love Ace/Deuce ship stuff, so seeing you do art of them is an absolute treat!

Thank you so much, Anon! <3 I am very happy that you like it!

They couldn’t allow Ace-the-fox to enter the rabbit arena lol poor foxy.

I really like this theme for these two. Should draw it again at some point…

Anonymous asked:

Hi! Have any of you considered posting fanfics (novels)? 👀 Love your work as always btw, take care

Hi, Anon! Thank you for your kind words :)

I am not really a writer, so I haven’t considered it. I love coming up with headcanons and I think I am pretty good with dialogues for our comics, but writing a proper story (even a very short one) is just way too difficult for me. I can’t even write these replies fast enough… so I’ll stick to what I do best and keep drawing <3 Out of the two of us, Katsu is the writer, but Katsu’s main focus right now is Nebula. To be completely honest, fanfics in general aren’t our cup of tea… (That being said, Katsu did write a couple of fanfics before, albeit not twst-related)

eh-nonnie-mouse asked:

Do you have a Cara account or is it only bluesky?

Only bluesky for now :(

It seems like Cara is mainly a portfolio app, which is good (especially if it’s AI free), but right now we don’t really see the point in posting there – it’s not for art of yaoi boys kissing, which is the majority of things I draw. Things could change of course, but right now we’re sticking to bsky.

unofficialwheatdog asked:

The the way you draw Fellow Honest

My husband

it makes him so much more handsome like I have to kiss him the second he's on screen

How dare you worsen my obsession/j

(jkjk I love your art and if it's ok with you, I very much want to save the fellow honest image just so I can stare at it for five hours pls and thank you)

I am so happy you like how he looks in my style!! Especially if it worsens your obsession lol

Of course, feel free to save it and look at it; enjoy your fluffy husband lol

blackbutlerfandomnerddomain asked:

FELLOW AND GIDEL ARE HERE!!! They look so good in your style!!

Thank you so much!

Anonymous asked:

Just saw your recent replies and IT MAKES ME SOOO HAPPY!

Let's GOOOOO fellow (heh) Top!Gidel x Bottom!Fellow likers!!!

And reading your replies about their ship! UGH👌👌👌 Ryu such good taste you have! Oh dear.. I love it all!

I am honestly (..heh) looking forward if you have more art of them specially the shippy ones 👀 I'll be on the lookout. Also thank you for the food! 🙏

Hehe I am happy you’re happy Anon!!

Thank you so much for being so excited, I hope we’ll post a lot of stuff with these two in the nearest future…! <3

Anonymous asked:

OOOOH I SAW MOBS BOSSES X FELLOW ADDED TO THE LIST.... I do rly like the idea of fellow & gidel, but mob bosses x fellow is soooo juicy for art and hcs...... thoughts? plans?? plz plz plz this is living in my head RENT FREE... 😍

Thank you so much, Anon!! <3

Well we do have a lot of sketches with Fellow and his bosses (nsfw ones)… and we do have an ask with hcs about them, so if everything goes well, you’ll get more juicy stuff soon. Let’s hope! 💪

[pale-opal]

So

What writing projects do you have in the works?

👀

!!!

I am so glad that you asked this question! I honestly have a lot of ideas, and I have been wanting an excuse to talk about them for a while. So if you don't mind me rambling for a little bit:

So the first thing that I've been working on is a sequel to the first fic that I uploaded for this MMX rewrite that I've been working on (an AU called Collision Course). I'm trying to get a backlog of 30 chapters together before I release the second part, and I'm on Chapter 20 right now. I wanted to have it released well before this time, but I kept hitting walls with some of the chapters that came before the current one. However, I think I should be good once I reach Chapter 21 (the story will start to reach a point that I've been really excited to work on). I'm hoping to have it out before the end of the month.

@crystalclear365 and I have started planning for this one fic that we decided to write together - I won't go too far into it because we both want it to be a surprise, so all I will say is that I hope you like cooking shows. >:)

I also like to write essays sometimes, and there's been one that's been sitting in my drafts for way too long. I want to have that out by the end of the month, too (it's been a blast working on it, but I want it gone). I have other ideas for essays past that, but I think it would be best if I finally finished this one first.

I also have a bunch of AUs that I've been mentally workshopping for good while. Here are a few that I want to talk about:

There's a slice of life human + modern AU that involves Shadow Man being neighbors with the Wily family, along with shenanigans such as Bass skipping school on a near regular basis, Piano and Waltz (cut characters from the Megamix manga and the Dreamwave comics respectively) being in girl scouts, Snake Man trying to set Shadow up with Berkana, Star Man being a community theater teacher, Wily being a deadbeat (if there's anything most of my AUs have in common, it's that Wily is a terrible father and Shadow Man will adopt nearly all of Wily's kids if you let him), Zero and X being lab partners, Blues being a runaway... there's a lot going on. I'm definitely going to have to make a proper post explaining this one at some point (and not just because I feel like I'll implode if I don't write something for it soon).

I also have a human + zombie AU that has a bunch of lore, so I can't talk about it too much without giving it its own post - so to sum it up, a bunch of the characters from the Mega Man series got turned into zombies during the apocalypse, got found by some scientists that are being led by Gate, got experimented on, got some of their sentience back while losing some of their zombie-tendencies, and escaped. Now it's everyone else's problem. It features events such as Red learning how to love and be less selfish after half-zombie Axl looks at him one day and goes "Yup. that's my dad now.", Shadow Man adopting half-zombie Zero (because of course he does), Snake Man slowly succumbing to the infection because he took too long to amputate his bite (oof), and Lunime trying to convince all the other former infected to rise up against the humans. And the half-zombies can speak to those that are fully infected, while all the humans get to stand around watching like this:🧍‍♂️

I have a vampire AU I haven't put much thought into. I do have a few details though: Red is Axl's biological father in this one, and Axl is half-vampire (Red is human, though. And an ex-vampire hunter. So he's going through it). Blues is a vampire hunter who is really good at his job, but hates doing it. Shadow Man's family act like rejects from the Addams family. Dr. Light is a retired hunter. I want to write a oneshot for Mouthwashing at some point (I saw a playthrough of it not too long ago and I may never be the same (/pos)), but I'm still working out the main plot beats. There's also a bunch of lore I have for my OCs, but to talk about that would take hours (seriously). I have some other oneshot ideas for the Mega Man franchise as well, but I'm saving those for special occasions (one of them I am saving for April Fool's Day. It is November. Bear with me). But uh... yeah! That's about it. Thank you again for asking! I hope I didn't talk too much. 😅

[tacticalhimbo]

WRITING REQUESTS OPEN!

Howdy everyone!

Remaking this post since it's overdue, but I've joined the writer's portion of the @ficsforgaza initiative to help encourage fundraising for the Palestinian cause!

For more details / information about this initiative, please check out the blog's GUIDE ON PARTICIPATION and their FAQ links.

Likewise, I encourage you to check out the list of OTHER WRITERS TAKING REQUESTS if you don't see a fandom of yours on here, or you want to support multiple creators/fundraisers!

I WILL WRITE: Safe for Work (SFW) content, OC x OC, OC x Canon, Self-Ship / x Reader, Canon x Canon, Romantic, Platonic, Familial, pretty much any dynamic or theme goes!

This includes, given the nature of some fandoms on the following list, violence, explorations of mental health, and so on.

I WILL NOT WRITE: Not Safe for Work (NSFW) content, Darkfic / Proship / other "taboo" topics and themes.

This includes in-depth writings of things such as: racism, xenophobia, antisemitism, islamophobia, anti-LGBTQIA+ sentiment, misogyny, ableism, pedophilia/zoophilia, incest, glorifying eating disorders, and so forth.

I WRITE FOR...

Cyberpunk (Edgerunners & 2077)

Disco Elysium

Dragon Age

Faith: The Unholy Trinity

Fallout

Far Cry

Hitman (World of Assassination Trilogy)

Metal Gear

Outer Worlds

Rainbow Six Siege

Red Dead Redemption 2

Reflect Studios franchise (Welcome to the Game, Scrutinized, Dead Signal, etc)

Resident Evil

Skyrim

Splinter Cell (games only)

MY WORKS...

Want to see the type of content I've written? Then check out my NEOCITIES PAGE to find all of my writings.

Here you can find meta analyses, custom timelines, and fanfictions written for both events and personal interest alike!

WHAT YOU DO

To get a custom fic(let) from me, all you have to do is:

Donate to any of the VETTED FUNDRAISERS found on the blog, or those I've shared under #FREE PALESTINE.

Likewise, you can also pick from the VETTED GAZA EVACUATION FUNDRAISER LIST or the GAZA FAMILIES SPREADSHEET.

Send me an ask and / or DM with your request AND proof of donation. I will not fulfill anonymous requests at this time.

Make sure to redact any personal/private information such as your name, payment info, email address, etc. Keep the fundraiser information (e.g., recipient name) visible, and provide a link to the fundraiser!

Not sure how to word a request like that? No worries! Here's an example:

hey jay! i donated to the palestine childrens' relief fund and would like a fic featuring [character] and [character] with [prompt]. here's proof of my donation! [attached image]

And that's all! Once you do that, I'll get to your request ASAP :}

MISC. INFORMATION

I will try to publish requests as soon as possible! I've luckily got a decent bit of free time, but I am also chronically ill and have a life outside of Tumblr!

There is no real deadline with these things, as the main goal is (again) helping people and families in need. That should take precedence above all else.

Please don't feel pressured to donate! I know things are rough for everyone across the board when it comes to finances! If you happen to have the extra money and would like to contribute to this cause, then please do so!

This applies even to those who may not want something out of it. I've shared many fundraisers and resources, as have countless others, and there are proper channels to help people out 🫶

Reblogs are appreciated, and TYVM to the people hosting this and to all who have donated / will donate in the future!

[dennydraws]

Happy October! Autumn is here! \o/

Which isn't super happy to me, Romancing SaGaRS announced EoS and I've been playing for about 4 years, 3 and something ;u; I'm so very heartbroken as a SaGa fan this was my source of delicious lore.

As a last hurrah I will probably clear the 2 pending super difficulty fights now that they gave access to all styles and just going to take screenshots of my favorite pixel people. While I kept referring to myself as casual player (and my RS friends bonk me on the head - no, Denny you are not!) I did always clear the hard content on release - safe for the last couple of months when the powercreep became too much for me too.

I have such fond memories of clearing World Tower... :') it was a big event at the time and it required so many characters and I got to use some I never thought I'd use before.

I remember clearing Spiral Tower every time new floor got released except the more recent ones. I always pulled for my faves and occasionally for the recommended. I got so many new SaGa characters as favorites and I will treasure the moments and the memeires I posted on Reddit. Best treasure was the friends I made on the way really! :D I do hope we'll get a new SaGa gatcha game some day and Global isn't shafted :D;;; but... all things come to an end. This was my first and only gatcha game and I don't plan on playing anything on my phone. I only played RS because I'm a SaGa fan.

But Romacing SaGa 2 Remake is coming out at the end of the month!! I've slapped preorder as soon as it was available so that's something I'm looking forward to!! RS2 has my favorite lore so I'm super looking forward to it :> I was thinking to do some countdown illustrations... but I don't think I'll have the spoons for that.

Especially because... FanFyria comic books have arrived!! \o/ (sorry for potato phone quality, the books are not potato quality haha)

I'll be making a better/proper post about it soon to grab info on whoever is interested in purchasing a copy! :> I look forward to the watercolor pieces that I'll be adding as bonus! They're always so much fun to do. The idea of my friends having a little something from me sparks joy!

And until then... I'm slowly but surely Dawning the Trail... :D;;; Oh gosh, this expac hasn't been clicking with me but I'm also at level 94 quests so maybe it will over time. I have nothing to vent or rant or anything really, it just haven't been clicking with me :D;;;; which I think is okay, we all have different vibes! I do hope I finish DT before RS2R though. I appreciate that mama Hydaelyn taught us well though!

Other than that? I've been feeling in a bit of a writing mood, funny enough :D;; and I've been sketching a lot of fluffy arts lately so more may pop on the dash from me... maybe!

Whew! Long post xD Thank you for stopping by and reading this far! I hope you have great rest of the day, dear web traveler!

[manonamora-if]

July Check-In

Welp... I'm late. Also it's already the half-year mark and I don't have my usual Mid-Year recap review, so we're doing this for now, and we'll see if I can squeeze a proper MYR later this month.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I FORGOT LAST MONTH????

Celebrating my 3-year anniversary of publishing Meeting the Parents, my first IF game ever. I wanted to do something special and then... I FORGORRRRRR ; _ ; I'm buuuuumbed about it :((((

Anyway... Onto the usual index:

Recap of last month’s progress

Plan for the next month

The mega to-do-list tm that hasn't really changed.

Still long post under the break. If you want a mini version, head on over to itch.io as usual!

May Progress

Pulling out THE LIST from last month and checking the progress:

Play more games ✅

Well, that's always a check, because there's no month without a @neointeractives jam lol. Anyway, June was Neo-Twiny Jam month, so was mainly that (unfinished thread). And of course, I finished the REALLY BAD IF jam (Review Thread and Ranking). But, I didn't manage to play more than that.... :(((

Almost 700 reviewwwwssssss. Dang.

Code Chapter 6/Endings❌

I've done another round of comment with MelS, but we're still missing a branch before I can code it. But I'm not too worried about that bit, since Chapter 6 will have pretty basic coding.

Fixing an older games. ❌

Lololol, listen... I tried, but only managed 1/3rd of the Tomato game to be done.

Write the next Chapter/Scene of a WIP❌

Lololol pt2 The writing of Exquisite Cadaver stalled this month. But I picked it up again.

What else happened this month????

Wayyyy too many distractions this month. First IRL (which is good). But also... events.

This months, we had the Neo-Twiny Jam (@neo-twiny-jam) which we are wrapping up, and I've been reviewing, and also participating in. There was also the Nouvim3000 (so I don't forget how to write in French), and a bunch of smaller jams which I jammed into some entries.

So, what does it look link in terms of releases:

The Lady with the Camellias (NTJ - Infrom 7 - prototype)

L’Incombustible 3000 (Nouvim/Marmelade - Twine -FR)

machina caerulea (4 jams - Twine)

Bon Dieu ! Et une lessive aussi ? (NTJ - Moiki - FR)

I've been looking back at previous releases of mine, feeling a bit nostalgic. Thinking of writing some stuff (post-mortem) about them. I don't know...

So... I didn't stick TO THE PLAN AT ALL. Which is a big bummer... because the stuff I wanted to do in July will need to get postponed again. I'm not happy with myself about that. Even if I think I made some killer tiny games this month and played some hella dope stuff... But, it's done. I can't change the past... So I'll try to do better in July instead.

Also, I did have some great relaxing days where I essentially napped or walked outside all day, and just... not being online. That was v nice!

The PLANtm for July

Obviously first is to wrap up the NTJ properly (admin), and start off the SingleChoice Jam and the SeedComp! again. The Anti-Romance Jam is ending soon as well, and the IFComp has just started. So, you'll probably see me on the IntFiction Forum more this month for all of that. And the next two weeks I still have some IRL obligations.

BUT, here's THE plan for the month:

Play more games: Which will be done v easily: 30+ NTJ entries left to review, the Anti-Romance Jam, Love/Violence Jam, the Nouvim, and the ParserComp also just ended. So that's a bunch!

Code Chapter 6/Endings: I don't think we'll be able to code that last chapter, because MelS's July is packed, but if we can manage another round of edits, it would be great!

Fixing an older games. I'm 1/3rd to 1/2 done with Tomato Tomato. I'm trying to finish fixing it for the FIX IT JAM. And if I can manage some proper progress for Exquisite Cadaver, I'll be ECSTATIC!

Write the next Chapter/Scene of a WIP. And if I could manage to write one more game round for EC, I'm buying myself some cake!

I may or may not have sent an intent for the IntroComp... So I might send something. Puzzly probably.

Progress... I can do that... I think... I hope... We'll see/

~

The 2024 To-Do List:

LOLOLOL June just decided to avoid all this.

The hopefully maybe easy to handle To-Do:

fix the bugs in EDOC (FR waiting for Adventuron)

fix the bugs of TRNT + find a way to add the missing pieces

fixing the interface of LPM and the popups + check animal interactions

figure out the One-Button JavaScrip/jQuery issue...

edit the loading screens of the completed tiny games to include the program/format logo at least.

The 'Need a Bunch of Content to update but it's planned!' To-Do:

Update my website (bunch new title - also I don't think the logo clicky thing work...) + redo my itch page (un-stricking cause I need to update it)

Finish TTATEH (MelS dependent)

Finish Exquisite Cadaver (half-way mark by this summer - manif)

Finish P-Rix - Space Trucker (main path at least)

Update CRWL (it's been almost two years... I'm ashamed)

The Unlikely But it Would be Dope To-Do

Finish The Dinner as it was planned (and translate)

Finish In the Blink of an Eye as it was planned (and retranslate)

Finish The Rye in the Dark City

Fixing TTTT (at least fixing, maybe try adding some storylets)

And finally The 'It's impossible, but one can wish' TO-DO:

Remaster SPS IH (if I managed to start this after completing the rest... I'm going to eat a whole sheet cake).

Start the IFComp project (I think ST 2025)

[tqmies]

FIRST OFF, thank you so much for 1k followers! I know I said it a few days ago but I wanted to put in a proper thanks! I love all of you <3 te quiero mucho :D

!! So I'll be running this drabble event for a week and a half! I know it's a short span but I have so many long wip I want to get out too! So in order to get everything out, this will have to be a bit smaller, though my thanks for you is huge!

☆☆ ☆ Below are a list of Au's and Dialogue prompts! Send in an ask with a member of your choice, an AU, and a Dialogue prompt! Please note if you'd like it SFW or NSFW! - And yes, you may send multiple!

☆ I write for all current members of NCT, Ateez, TXT, and TBZ!

☆ Enhypen and P1harmony legal members only!

☆ This event is over! Masterlist will be posted soon, thank you for all the requests!

Remember! Minors DNI :)

AU's ☆

College

Meet-Ugly

Fake Dating

Royalty

Assassins

Roommate

Enemies to Lovers

Rivals to Lovers

Exes to Lovers

Lawyers

Office Romance

Secret Relationship / Hiding

Soulmate

Coworkers

Teachers

FWB

Frat Boy!

Rock Band

Arranged Marriage

Idol Au

Superhero / Supervillian

Airport meeting

Vacation

Angsty Breakup

Friends to Lovers

Mutual Pining

-

Dialogue prompts ☆

“I was never a morning person, but then I started waking up to your face and you know… Maybe mornings aren’t that bad, after all.” 

“Why are you mad?” “I’m not mad, I just think you can choose better people to kiss.” 

“I fucking hate you.” “No you don’t. Take that back right now.” 

“You know I’d do anything to have you stay by my side, right? Anything.”  

“Oh, fuck. Do that again.” 

“You look stupid as all hell right now.”

“I want to believe you, but I don’t know if I can.” 

“You’ve given me so many reasons to walk away.” “Then why don’t you walk away? It’s not like I’m keeping you hostage here.” “You still don’t get it, do you? It’s because I love you.” 

“…Damn it all to hell, if I don’t get to have you tonight then I’m never going to be able to have you.” 

“Let me call you mine, just for tonight.”

“I think you and I make an amazingly stupid pair.” “I know! Our two brain cells combined together make for quality entertainment and a unique kind of stupidity.” 

“I’m going to have so much fun with you.”

“Oh God, yes, right there— oh my God, just like that, please don’t stop.” “…Can you stop that? You’re making it sound like we’re in a porno and now I’m getting kinda hard.” 

“Bet you they don’t make you sound like that, do they?” 

“Fuck, you’re such a wreck, and because of me, too.” 

“Can you stop moaning? I’m trying to help you relax but you’re making it hard for me to concentrate.” “Sorry, your hands just work a little too good.” “I’m going to pay for a masseuse next time if you keep doing this.” 

“You are driving me insane and I’m this close to losing my shit because of you.”

“Is hating me your only personality trait?”

“Never scare me like that again!” 

“Oh, don’t worry. I have every plan to make you submit to me.”

“I’m not even gonna lie, I’m just so fucking obsessed with you.” 

“That could be us.” “That is us.”

“Was it worth it?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got you— slow down, you’ll get what you want soon enough.”

“I want you to remember every single second of this.” 

“Bet you they can’t make you feel the way I do.” “Bet’s on.” “Wait, what? That was not my intention—”

“Hm, but I think I like having you spread out like this. Such a gorgeous sight.” 

“Come and get your fix.”

“…You’re an addiction I never want to quit.” 

“I had nothing to live for, but then you came into my life. So thank you.” 

“Why’d you— why’d you do that?” “B-Because I promised you I’d do anything to keep you safe.” 

“I swear if we get caught then I’m actually going to kill you.” 

“You think I wanted this to happen?!”

“Just when I was about to give up…”

“I trusted you with my life.” “Well, I’m sorry but you’re clearly very gullible.”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t feel the same as I do, then I’ll leave you alone.” 

“You know, maybe you should bet on something else the next time instead of betting on someone’s fucking feelings.” 

“You’re such a dork.” “Yeah, no wonder you’re so in love with me.”

“Does me doing all these things not account for anything?” “I never asked you to do those things for me, though, did I?”

“You nearly foiled our plan, you idiot!”

“I… I think I’m happy.” “You think? So you’re not one hundred percent certain?”

“Who’s laughing now?” “…Clearly not you. You’re crying, dear God.” 

“I’m tired of being on the sidelines.” 

“You actually came back.”

“Christ on a fucking bike, I could kiss you right now.”

“That was a bold move.”

“We’re going to be late, all because you couldn’t stop scrolling through that damn phone of yours while taking your damn sweet time to shit!” 

"What are we?" "Probably stupid."

"You could punch me in the face and I'd still want you, not gonna lie."

"They just gave you the key to my house?" "Well no.. I asked for it!"

"You can kiss me, you know?"

"Will you just stay still?" "What, why?" "I'm trying to hold your hand, you idiot!"

"Hey, you haven't come out of your room in like two days...I'm not worried or anything but the dishes are piling up and i need you to be alive so you can take care of them, so..."

Smut Prompts ☆

54. "Can you feel how much I want you?"

55. "I can never get enough of your taste."

56. "Let's try something new tonight."

57. "We don't even have to take our clothes off."

58. "I want to ruin you."

59. "Yes, please, do it!"

60. "Your tongue is truly extraordinary."

61. "I have seen you naked before."

62. "No bed needed."

63. "Sleep is overrated. I have better ideas."

64. "You know me so well. You always find the right spot."

65. "Please, don't ever stop!"

66. "Our bodies fit so well together."

67. "I could do this all day. And definitely all night."

[voxofthevoid]

April Anniversary Project: Final Report

Tis over, folks!

That was one hell of an experience on my end. This is definitely a once-in-a-decade event. Well, maybe once in five years, but given that pulling it off requires just the right combination of immense inspiration, significant reader engagement, sufficient free time, and consistent work, who knows if I'll ever do something like this again. So thank you, JJK fandom 💗

Also, I know I was bitching and moaning about the word count excess in most of my reports, but I genuinely enjoyed this whole thing. It was exhausting, but in a good way—like a workout for the brain.

Converting my existing ideas into coherent oneshots was the toughest challenge, and I've done a lot of condensing and restructuring that will keep most of these parts from being reused if I tackle the ideas properly, but all things considered, I'd say that's a good thing. With the exception of #15, which I've decided to write in full, the rest are all actual standalone fics I'd feel comfortable posting to Ao3 (without expecting people to read a mini-thesis' worth of context on my Tumblr, y'know?).

So that's Goal 1, oneshot coherence, achieved! As for Goal 2...

56357—that's the total word count of this project, and I'm not even counting Chapter 2 and onward of #15. I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd manage to stick to the 1k limit fully or even mostly, but I also didn't think I'd go over 30k or so. Sure wasn't expecting a word count better suited to nanowrimo.

I do find it hilarious that 11.1k of it is the Kenjaku/Yuuji fic though. And the next biggest is Higuruma/Yuuji at 5.7k (again excluding #15). Ships I've never touched in my fucking life 😂

Now, who wants spreadsheets?

The total word count, the planned posting schedule, and the month-wise split, in order

These sheets are the result of me tearing out my hair trying to balance these fics across the two months. I'll post a proper posting schedule soon. The dates aren't set in stone, but I'll try to meet them!

[jenareuter]

Hey hey, I've been quiet the last while, dealing with several life curve balls. Most have been stressful - but some truly pleasant - so I'm spending my energy navigating it all.

The lowdown:

Currently in the process of finding roommates for a move, as soon as possible.

Was organising a variety of events (not my strong suit!) – from friends dropping by from overseas and interstate to my birthday party and a personal retreat post-Xmas.

Expensive car issues reared their heads, and the quest for a reliable mechanic.

Back in therapy for a proper diagnosis and treatment. Turns out, neither I nor the social situation around me is as "fine" as my first therapist insisted.

Getting through my Hateship game project in tiny steps despite it all.

I'll be keeping things on the down-low until my move is locked down and happening for real. I have a solid support system and the tools I need. But being lively and affable online while all this is going is beyond me.

When I do resurface to share my art and projects, I want to be excited to bring you into my worlds again. During this whole endeavor, I learned the most powerful creative tool, and it's staying with me now: a little bit every day is still progress.

If I don't get around to making a more topical post in time: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Keep trying, whatever it is that keeps getting in your way currently. You'll find a way through it.

I'm grateful for your understanding and support~

P.S. the one place I do keep up to date once a month is my newsletter. It's one of the best places to support me, and tbh it's one of the funnest things to read... because I have fun writing for it.

[alagaesia-headcanons]

I'm back to share my progress on my writing!

I know I've been pretty quiet lately- my focus and mental health have had some ups and downs- but I've still been working away. I'm done with my recent stint of planning/ note taking/ story development and I'm very excited I can say I'm now in Go Mode.

I've accomplished what I was aiming for in my last update, namely writing a proper character arc for Thorn and deciding how to integrate it into the story, and filling in the aspects of Murtagh's character arc I felt were underdeveloped. It took a lot longer than I expected it too, which is the story of my life, but I also accomplished more than I initially set out to do. For one, fixing Murtagh's arc demanded a lot more attention than I thought it needed, and now both he and Thorn feel fully realized.

Along with that, hammering out their arcs and connecting them with Orrin's pushed me to consider the plot line much more intently. Creating the events and plot structure that moves the story forward is by far the hardest part of writing for me. I did have a plot when I started this story, but it was a bit flimsy. I thought I might struggle with it throughout the whole process, but while working on the characters, I was able to make a lot of decisions and adjustments regarding the plot because it motivated me to better establish the framework I was building on. I'm really proud of how much more substantial and refined it is now; it has new strength and I have a lot more confidence in it.

I'm also quite confident that this will be the last time I have to take a long break from the actual writing to plan ahead. I've solved a ton of my unknown variables. There's only one characterization element that I'm still pretty unsure of, and it's not nearly as pivotal as what I've been wrestling with. And of course there's plenty of nitty gritty plot details I haven't decided on yet, but I'm not really worried about any of them and I think most will fall into place while I'm writing. I honestly feel like I'm in go mode. There's a ton left to write, but I don't expect anything to hold me back from making progress on the actual writing from here on.

I have put down my notebook and I've started writing the next section, and it feels great. For as necessary and successful as that planning period was, it was starting to drive me a bit crazy lmao. I'll consider some ways to share stuff with you guys while it's still a wip. Thank you to everyone who's encouraged me 💕!

I also have some general ic thoughts I want to post about soon. Life has been distracting, but I miss rambling and sharing ideas with you guys! I'll be doing some more of that soon

[anitalianfrie]

i'm curious about any commentary you have about this is a love story 👀

beside the like,literal hours i spent trying to code that fucking thing, i realized after the first article and maybe, three posts that i needed a plot. or at least, a resemblance of a plot. a sequence of events that would happen and that then had to be filtered through the social media lens and through the eyes of the characters. I had to build the reconciliation organically, i couldn't just write ten posts on them and call it a day because then it wouldn't have worked.

Luckily our community was of great aid in this, and a lot of the posts i put in it, like reblogs or quotes, were directly taken from my dash around the days i wrote that specific section of the story. Like, when we where having the collective leatherboys breakdown, i decided to put it in the story. or the motogpconfession one, i think i wrote it the day after adora unearthed those posts.

i had a piece of paper on which i wrote down all the events i wanted to happen and then i assigned a race/time period to it. I ended up sending vale to like, eight or nine races in the process but i think i was able to cut it down to seven in the fic. Also i refused to check any of the wec races because it could have ruined everything (and it would have, because i'm pretty sure he will race the same weekend as sepang). i was already going crazy reworking the instagram skin, the wec schedule was not going to be my problem.

one of the most difficult things to write was the rockstar au (that now i love very dearly) because. i didn't know what to write about. I knew i needed to put an au in the story, simply because our community is so profilic in writing them, but i had literally zero ideas. i swear to god, i went on an alternate universe generator site and cliked generate about a thousand times before i got this idea.

the non-text most difficult thing i did was enea's gifs because i used my phone and the app sucked majorly. 0/10 do not recommend that's the reason he's the only one i giffed and then simply reblogged repsol-ariel.

also, all the posts i took from tumblr, so reblogs and such, are actually from the blog with the username i wrote in the fic. in some cases their pfp is also the one of their blogs (this ended pretty soon tho because i was about to kill myself so i simply got random pictures on pinterest)

the easiest article to write was gogue's, even if it was the longest and more complex, because i'll be honest i'm really not made for dry sport journalism. I'm quite proud of it, actually. Describing him talking about Valentino was one of my favourite things, but also I loved the possibility to write glimps of his relationship with Alex.

also: i wrote vale's interview for skyITA after marc and bez's incident in italian and then translated it. i started writing it in english, but then i realized it wouldn't have worked, because i was thinking with the english sentence structure. So i thought: what could valentino say? and wrote it as if he was talking, pauses and not-ended sentences. then i took that and translated it the same way i do when i translate proper interviews or videos, changing the phrasing as little as possible. It was quite fun to do.

(also: cuntress-supreme's username was actually inspired by your username :)) )

[lettalady]

Word prompt: birthday

oooh another for the Word Prompt Challenge! [ Send me a word (or phrase) and I'll write a story ]

Let's see what stirs. We've seen an Unsettled birthday, as well as something from the world of bodyguard!Tom. Hmm what other birthdays have we seen? Oh yes, we got to see our girl's birthday in YOJA (C37/38). There's not one but two very eventful birthdays that happen in Kept but I've not yet started posting that story from the Art of Villainy world so...

Why did LJH just kick me in the shins?

You round the countertop to see if changing the angle of approach will make any bit of difference. It doesn’t. Frustration fires out of you as you route back to the original starting point and carry on trying to light the many many many candles you’ve stuck into the top of the cake. 

“Ow. Ow. Oh!” You curse as the heat from some of the ones you’re having to reach over kisses the underside of your forearm. Adjusting your reach only helps so much. You’re on a time constraint – some of Heida’s relatives have relayed the alert that they’ve seen Bucky on the approach. 

Nobody to blame here but yourself, admittedly, in choosing individual candles rather than simply picking out the three otherwise needed to indicate age. One – hundred – and – eight. 

Perhaps you should have practiced this rushed moment. You didn’t anticipate how long it would take to light them all. 

Only two thirds of the way through, Bucky’s key turns the door’s lock. 

Caught. “Um… Happy birthday?!” Red handed with a match burning quickly towards your fingertips, you pause to watch his reaction to finding a cake with candles partially aflame. 

Bucky’s initial wide-eyed surprise bleeds into amusement, that bright smile that melts you every time it lands surfacing as he laughs, “You trying to set the building on fire? Guess I got home just in time.” 

The first of the candles you’d lit are burning all too quickly for you to get the whole cake alight on your own. Even as he moves further into the apartment, heading towards your position in the kitchen, you drop the depleted match and pick up another to light off one of the burning candles, “Hang on, hang on. Wait wait. Let me light them before you make a wish.” 

“Yes ma’am.” His laughter is infectious – and he doesn’t stand around waiting. He plucks one of the unlit candles from the top of the cake and starts helping with the process. 

As soon as the cake is fully alight, the first of the candles nearly drips of wax, he leans to blow and extinguish the lot. No songs for Bucky, then. Or perhaps he’s heard too many renditions today to care for another. 

He also doesn’t seem intent on cutting and trying any of the cake. “Now that the fire’s out….” 

He muffles any response you might have to his teasing by scooping you to him to receive a proper welcome home. Yes. Very good thing that the candles are no longer burning rapidly towards the icing atop the cake. You don’t want cake either after he’s through kissing you. 

“Gift time.” 

Your brain is buzzing, whole body alight with desires that have little to do with watching him unwrap anything and everything to do with climbing him and seeing where he’ll land the pair of you. But he’s walking over to the sofa and pushing it forward, reaching behind it to hand you a box. “Wh– Bucky. You do remember that it’s your birthday.” 

Those blue eyes burn bright as he hands over the small package, “I know it. Open the box.” 

A peek under the lid illuminates his intentions. He’s got one present he means to unwrap on his birthday: you, wrapped in red lingerie. The silk ribbon tied into a bow across the chest. Crotchless panties. Ah. A gift for you that is actually a gift for him. “Mm. To try on now? Forget the cake?” 

“Yup. Forget the cake. Till later. Might want to lick icing from my girl at some point tonight, too.”

[flydotnet]

Bad Things Happen Bingo! The event where I give myself stupidly niche requests according to this marvelous card… or something. It’s been three years dawg. (Red cross is the completed prompt, character headshots are prompts I’ve already filled).

Besides, if I didn't mess up in the first place, this wouldn't have happened.

This fic is quite a long time in the making. I started working on it last year, before I even had the idea for Rice Vinegar, a previous entry in this bingo card series. I was reading/catching up to the absolute banging series that is Brimstone in my Garden, Roses set on Fire by @inkblackorchid. I was on my yearly YGO kick, this time mostly 5D's-related (it's either 5D's or Arc-V, I've come to notice) and reading Snapping Jaws and Piercing Horns (which you absolutely should read, btw, but I have a sneaking suspicion that, if you're reading this, then you've at least heard of SJPH), when the idea for this fic came to me. I really like the friendship between Aki and Crow that the series sets up during the WRGP arc, because it's got my two favourite 5D's characters involved and also it's got canonical whump material linked to it and I'm a sucker for that stuff. Everything was here for success; I was unemployed at the time so I had a bunch of free time on my hands, the inspiration was crisp and I could fuck around and find out with writing new characters I hadn't before. Issue: I hated what I was actually writing.

Since I was reading InkBlackOrchid's works, I was like "God, I need it to be as good as hers". Problem is, I don't have her writing style at all, all the while I was somehow attempting to pastiche how she writes Aki's POV. The result was a very spiteful narration that doesn't even fit Aki at this point of her character development or even the story I was trying to tell in the first place, and a lot of clumsy descriptions. It was bad, y'all. Now, that was the first draft. I had abandonned it at first, thinking I'd just never do anything with it nor with the idea I had, but I just happened to look at my AO3 subscriptions, remembered the banger 5D's fic series, and finally went on InkBlackOrchid's Tumblr. Reading her Autopsy of Crow series of posts reminded me of my WIP and made me want to finish it so I could throw my two cents in the 5D's fight.

I mention Brimstone in my Garden, Roses set on Fire this much because my love for this series is a genuine explanation for some elements of this fic. I like its version of canon so much I wrote established Faithship into this fic as if they were actually dating by this time of the series, forgetting that actually didn't happen in 5D's proper. Sorry not sorry on that front, btw, I've always shipped them and I don't think I'll stop anytime soon. The very first version of this idea wasn't even going to delve into Aki losing her powers after her crash pre-Team Catastrophe (my very own guilty pleasure of a duel, I actually really like it lol), but since I was so inspired by something that did, I figured I had to tackle the question as well. I hope it doesn't fall flat on its face. Be Careful what you Wish for had me by the gametes.

Wow, I had a lot of things to say for something that's kind of just whump I decided to write on a whim like a year ago, huh. I don't even know if my characters sound right (as in, I think my Aki is OOC, she's too open if that makes sense?), it's my first rodeo and it's scary but hey, getting out of your comfort zone is how you improve, ain't it? I don't know if this story is good, I didn't really rewatch 5D's before writing it, just pantsed it out based on memory and what I rewatched earlier this year (I think it was this year? I remember writing a post for my side Tumblr back then mentioning Max Verstappen out of all people and I wasn't into F1 until late 2023. Anyway).

-------------------------------

Outside the Comfort Zone

Summary: Aki passes by Yusei and Co.'s living quarters to retrieve a copybook. Crow makes it way harder than it has any right to be. (or: a recently-ish powerless Aki finds herself having to care for a very stubborn, unwell Crow, and it goes as well as you'd expect.)

Fandom: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's (set during the WRGP arc)

Word Count: 4K words

AO3 version available here.

Event run by @badthingshappenbingo

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There’s something off with the garage of Poppo’s Time, today.

Oh, of course, most of it is obvious: the air’s still, there’s a distinct lack of mechanical clicking and Yusei isn’t here. It’s a minutia of various little details that, added together, make the entire place tilt forty-five degrees to the left.

It’s, unfortunately, not just these which make her feel this way. Frankly, if it was, Aki would’ve already gone out the door and back home. She’s just here to recover a copybook and it should’ve only taken her mere minutes to do that; yet there she is, ten minutes after stepping on the other side of the door, still without her biology copybook, still in a home that isn’t hers, and unsure of where to take the situation next.

The reason might just be the odd-looking Crow that’s standing in the way between her copybook and her.

Is she friends with said Crow? Yes? Maybe? “Friends” sounds a bit strong for their relationship, she’d say; there are no strangers to each other, and she likes sharing a room with him enough to consider them on friendly terms, but they don’t share enough emotional intimacy for them to be friends. At least, that’s how she sees it – maybe he sees it another way.

(Or maybe they’re already friends, and she’s just too afraid of rejection to admit it to herself – better be safe than sorry, even around the most transparent person she knows).

Whatever their relationship is, what Aki knows without much doubt is that Crow isn’t looking like himself. His stance is slouched and unsteady, his hand is holding the doorway just a little too tight for comfort and his eyes look mussed. It’s like his gaze, while explicitly trying to focus on her, is instead looking at something right behind her – as if seeing through her, which is a thought Aki truly has no time to unpack.

“Oh, hi Aki,” he tells her with an indignant wave, head bobbing along with the sway of his hand.

“Goo – good afternoon.”

His smile turns into a puzzled expression, which doesn’t help the impression she’s gotten so far. He looks around, his left eye twitching and his brow furrowed, then looks back at her when it seems like he hasn’t found what he wanted.

“You not hangin’ out with Yusei?”

Aki almost freezes.

“What do you mean?” She asks back, a shiver going down her spine.

Crow’s brow furrows even further, finally pointing her in the direction of the dark rings under his eyes.

“What do you mean, what do you mean? You come here to hang with Yusei, right?”

“He’s… He’s not here, Crow,” her voice staggers against her will. “He’s in Peru with Jack. I just came her to get a copybook I forgot here.”

The reminder, as useless as it should’ve been, seems to have confused him even further.

“Why the fuck would they go to Peru?” Crow asks, anger sipping in his tone. “That’s on the other side of the damn planet!”

He then hacks a lung out, prompting Aki to jump out. It’s harsh, not unlike the coughs she’d get when she was ill as a child and it seemed like the world was melting around her, psychic powers mixing in with the fever – the powers who, like so many people before, have abandoned her.

The silence is too heavy. She can’t let herself falter now. She may be in danger – scratch that, she’s fine, Crow is the one who needs help as far as she’s concerned. They’re friends, or as close as it gets, and she needs to step up now that his foster brothers aren’t here.

“They’re there to follow on a lead Bommer gave them.”

Her heart sinks a little further when all she sees is confusion. In fact, anything she says seems to result in confusion.

“How? That guy’s dead, y’know,” he gulps with a wince. “I know. I watched it happen. And, like, the dead don’t send emails.”

It’s an understandably difficult thing to swallow, she’ll give it to him. To this day, and despite her (former) psychic powers and links to the extrasensory through her Signer’s Mark, she still has little idea how Carly or Misty have managed to rise from the dead. It’s beyond either of their comprehension.

What shouldn’t be for Crow, however, is the whole travel thing. He was there when Yusei and Jack announced they were going. He must’ve been there to fret over them and their budget like Jack likes to complain about. So how come he cannot remember any of this? Why is he so—

“What time is it already?” Crow asks out of the blue.

It takes her aback, but she looks over her phone screen anyway.

“It’s fifteen to six in the evening.”

His face gets splattered in surprise.

“Shit! I’ve got a shift to attend to!”

“What shi—”

His hand lets go of the doorway.

“Sorry to leave this quick, Aki, I’m in a hurry—”

He walks past her, but before he can make it past her, he folds in half into another coughing fit. Fearing the worst, Aki runs to catch him with her arms, the click of her heels almost hiding the harsh sound of his cough. Heat sips through his clothes and through her gloves, ringing the final alarm that finally allows her to deduce what it was that bothered her so much about his appearance.

Despite the audible pain in his breath and the grimace on his face when he moves his arms, Crow still tries rising to his feet on his own. He weakly bats her away with his hands, but he has to lean against the nearest wall to stay upright. It’s an unreal sight, knowing how stubborn and enduring he truly is. Where is the man who was driving with an injured shoulder mere weeks ago?

“Is this shift really that urgent?” She makes no attempt at hiding her ever-growing concern. “You don’t seem like in any state to go to work…”

“What day of the week are we on?” is all he says back to her.

“It’s… Wednesday? Why?”

Crow’s face finally lights up.

“Oh! I’ve got some time ahead of me then.” He chuckles, but it dissolves into a cough, and she can’t keep her grimace to herself. “I thought we were Monday, for some reason?”

“You honestly seem very out of it,” she ends up bluntly stating instead of going along. “I really don’t think you should go work today.” Or tomorrow.

“Can’t afford not to,” he croaks back, but it lacks any sort of sting.

What looks to her like a dizzy spell ends up taking his resolution out, his whole body pitching forward. Once more, almost in rhythm, her body moves on its own as a result, her arms catching him in his fall.

Heat lingers on her hands even after she has finished bringing him to his room.

Unlike most of Team 5Ds, Aki has never had to care for someone else. She has none of Yusei’s instinct for help nor Crow’s experience with dealing with children. Usually, when faced with this sort of situations, she’d entrust the person in need of care to someone with a lot more ease in this domain – as it turns out, most of the time, it’s asking Jack’s childhood friends to handle his problems, much to his protests. As such, she’s never had to play nursemaid before, and nobody has trusted her with such a role until Yusei came along, and for once, she hadn’t wanted that to change (except for Yusei, but this is a situation that’s unrelated to her current predicament).

Whatever she’s used to, unfortunately, is now out of the realm of possibility. The two people she could ask about it on any other occasion where the need could rise up are respectively currently in Peru with terrible reception and too busy refusing to stay in bed for much longer than a minute to give her a precious hand.

And, you know, you don’t usually ask someone who’s sick to take care of themselves, let alone help you in the process.

Very much to her misfortune, this is all without taking into account that Crow is as stubborn as a patient as he is in every other thing. It was to be expected, of course, and Crow is nothing if not stubborn; but it hasn’t made anything easier. If anything, she should’ve seen it coming as soon as he was too beyond himself to know where his housemates were and why.

Still, it doesn’t mean she shouldn’t try her best in this situation. What friend would she be if she left a comrade in need on his own, harmful to himself? (And she craves for empathy, a part of her whispers, the part of her who misses her powers for the bond she enjoyed having with Black Rose).

Despite a losing battle against his own voice and the way his limbs tremble whenever he tries holding himself out of bed, Crow is insisting that, no, he’s fine to go work, and she has no reason to worry, because it’s not his first rodeo… or something along those lines. Admittedly, it’s difficult to understand everything when he’s struggling to push the sentence out of his throat to begin with, let alone articulate his thoughts.

All that ends up doing as a result is annoying her, because this is oh so similar to Yusei but in all the wrong ways, but that’s once more beside the point. She isn’t here to lash out her annoyance at Crow being an idiot, she’s here to make sure he doesn’t die an idiot.

“I’m tellin’ you, I’m fine,” he whines, a hand already back at gripping the edge of the blanket.

“Why are you so insistent on pretending you are?”

(She doubts it’s because of a martyr syndrome like Yusei’s).

“I’m not pretendin’ anythin’. I’m actually fine.”

His voice is feeble, his words tremble out of his mouth.

“Crow, I know you’re not. Please stop making this harder than it has to be.”

He deflates with a single, wheezing sigh.

“It’s Satellite nature, I guess,” he shrugs with a slight smile. “Both Yusei and Jack got it too, y’know.”

“Speaking of Yusei, right now you’re just like him in that regard.” She lets herself sigh. “Pretending like you’re fine when all signs point to the contrary.”

“Yeah, it’s… Y’know, when you were sick in Satellite, unless you had someone to shelter you and cover your back, ‘t was like signin’ your death certificate.” He coughs again, and it keeps dragging on, worsening, and it pangs at her heart every single time. “Guess that never went away, even now.”

“Even for something like a work shift?”

“Especially for a work shift. Do y’know how tight our finances are? Jack sure don’t seem to, that asshole!” A barking cough interrupts him. “Fuck this shit, I could be literally anywhere else but here. Plus…” He turns to her, and despite the evident weariness on his face and in his eyes, his gaze is sharp. “You should be doin’ better things with your time than watching over me, though.”

Aki rises an eyebrow.

“Such as?”

He shrugs again as a response.

“I dunno. Studyin’. Playin’ cards. Drivin’ a D-Wheel. Tryin’ to… sort through what mess that must’ve been for you, these past few weeks.”

The last bit hits her a lot harder than the previous ones. Having to replace Crow in haste due to a mysterious crash, the conflicting sentiment of her first race as a member of Team 5Ds, her own crash, and now, having to grapple with the sudden and unexplained disappearance of her powers… It’s been a lot of turmoil. Too much, in fact.

Despite all of the pain, it’s somewhat heartwarming to have someone genuinely worry for her, even if it tugs at an uncomfortable heartstring. It means she has the company she so desperately looked for and thought to have found in Divine, now truthful and actually what she needed. Yet, she feels uneasy when she has to show vulnerability in front of them, afraid of what they could take advantage of, of hidden intentions that may be hiding beneath a smile. Letting go of her masks has been terrifying, even if it’s the right thing to do.

For the longest time, she could protect herself with her powers. They were her curse, they were her blessing. They made her unlike the others but allowed her to connect with Black Rose and all of her deck. She misses them even now as she’s within the warmth of Team 5Ds; who don’t judge her for them like the others. Who care for her, like Yusei has ever since meeting her, like Crow is at the moment. Even in pain, they care.

The least she can do is pay them back now that gets the chance to. Now that her powers have left her more vulnerable than ever and created a void she can’t seem to fill on her own.

“I’ll be fine not brooding about it for a while,” is all she tells him in response.

Because it’s the truth. Sometimes, letting the dark clouds consume you is worse. It’ll always be worse, no matter how easy it looks.

“You sure? Because watching over an ill guy gets boring real fast.” He gives her a small smile. “I’d know, I’m usually the one doing the watching.”

She replies with a smile of her own.

“A bit of calm would do the both of us some good, I believe, after all that happened.”

He closes his eyes with a deep sigh.

“Can’t go against that, I guess.”

“Take some rest. I’ll be here by the time you wake up.”

It’s not intended to be a lie to make him feel better about sleeping.

“If you’re lookin’ for it, the medicine is in the cabinet in the bathroom. Pretty sure we got the right stuff at least.”

“I’ll go get it.”

That, and a basin of water, and everything she can remember from hazy memories of childhood illnesses.

Yusei once told her to write down thoughts that were confusing to her, as a way to at least alleviate the black clouds in her mind. He helped her pick a cute-looking notebook for it too, just the size of her uniform pockets, red with an embroidered rose on top of it. It seemed too fitting not to pick it, and Yusei seemed even happier about it than she was. She isn’t sure if what she’s writing in it right now makes sense, but it feels nice to have a place where to dump all of the thoughts that’d usually fester and poison her mind nonetheless.

The loss of her powers continues to leave her at a loss. The best way she can describe the feeling is a bittersweet void it’s left behind: she’s finally normal, like she wished for so long when pretending to be a witch, yet now that she is, it’s like this life wasn’t for her. She misses the bond she had with her Monsters, now that she can’t caress Black Rose Dragon like she could for so long. It makes her feel lonelier in a way that’s wrong to her. It’s like she never knew what she actually wanted out of life, out of the world.

Writing down this loss, this void and this coldness is what’s helping her process some of it. It onsets the way the melancholy would’ve taken ahead of her before she met Yusei and the others. It allows her some lookback and to keep her head out of the water until she can find a solution or get used to a new situation. It feels… soothing, at times, despite it just being scribbles on paper.

A hand strangles her arm, her hands lets go of her pen, her notebook falls to the ground.

“What—”

“Who the hell are you?!”

Shaken, she stares back at her assailant – a frazzled-looking Crow, his eyes glazed over and his pupils dilated. His breathing is erratic, coming out in little wheezes, his teeth gritting.

“I…”

Aki has no idea what to do. A stranger attacking her is no surprise, but a friend? Clearly, something is very wrong with Crow, and she has trouble connecting the dots as to why he’s in such a state. Did she not look after him hard enough? Is she just as neglectful as she was when she was isolated and lost, manipulated, used as a weapon? Is this retribution for that, to be forgotten by those she cherishes?

He lets go of her arm, seemingly against his will – it seems like he doesn’t have enough strength left to actually fight her. She can hardly breathe normally, every gasp of air coming quicker than the last, but she has to compose herself back anyway. She’s the one who’s supposed to fix things here, and now, she doesn’t want to destroy anyone further. Perhaps she can still find redemption.

“What’re you doin’ here?!”

Crow’s voice is unsteady, made all the worse by the cough that’s dried it into being hoarse, and his words slur together, making him very difficult to understand. Aki wishes she knew what do say back, but…

“I’m – I’m looking after you,” she explains back, because calming him down seems like a good idea.

He cocks an eyebrow at her, doubt just barely readable in his half-closed eyes.

“Who’re you?”

“I’m Aki. I’m Yusei’s girl… I’m his friend. I’m your friend.”

His hands grab at her shoulders.

“What’s tellin’ me you are, huh?!”

She looks around the room, trying to ignore how uncomfortable the pressure from his knuckles on his shoulders are, and the heat sipping from them almost right into her skin, before finding a sign of reassurance.

“See this basin of water?” She points it with her finger, he follows it to the bottom of the chair where she sits. “It’s mine. I was trying to keep your fever in check.” That sounded like a good idea, at the time. “I’m admittedly… not great at it, unlike you are, but I’m trying.”

His gaze slightly clears up – and then his eyes flutter close and don’t open up, leaving him in her arms once more.

It’s sort of a wake-up call for Aki, as she puts him back to bed. She should’ve kept a keener eye, but instead got lost in thoughts. She was so sure she had done all of the right things already, yet there she is, only realizing after the fact she wasn’t careful by being attacked by a delirious guy who mistook her for the enemy. Talk about failing at the mission you assigned yourself.

She takes off her gloves and puts a hand on his forehead – his fever has gone back up when she wasn’t looking. It makes sense, miserably so. But this is no time to mop for herself, she must be more like Yusei. She must help out her friend even if she has her own issues. She can’t do anything about her powers, but she can do something so Crow doesn’t have to see things that aren’t there.

So she picks up the washcloth that fell onto his lap and twists it cold again, determined to correct her mistakes.

Aki is staring at Crow when he finally opens his eyes again. They’re clear, able to follow the way her hair sways when she backs up from the bed and back into the chair. Her back is trying to make her pay for the unnatural positions she made it endure, but it’ll have to bear through it for a bit. She’s not letting him down now.

“Hey,” he tells her, stifling a cough.

“Glad to see you awake again,” she confesses. “How are you?”

“Erh… Sore. Sick. You know the deal.” He sits up with the help of the headboard of the bed. “How long was I asleep for?”

“I’d say… an hour or so.”

“And you’re still here?” He chuckles, even if it dissolves yet again into a coughing fit. “Gah, forgot how much that sucked.”

“I… I didn’t want to leave you alone like this.”

“Don’t worry, I went through worse. I’m a big bird, I can deal with it on my own.”

The way she’s staring back at him must’ve looked suspicious, because he looks concerned, now, and it’s like cold water seeping through her socks.

“Hey… Did something happen?”

“No, nothing. It’s… it’s not important.”

“Tch, you’re like Yusei. ‘Not important’ my ass.”

“I don’t think I should tell you about it.”

“You’re not makin’ your case any easier. Shoot ahead anyway.”

Aki looks at her hands on her lap, her knuckles almost white. Her skin looks slightly red, especially without her gloves.

“You weren’t yourself earlier,” she manages to get out, “and you thought I was some sort of enemy.”

She can’t bring herself to look up and see what his reaction to that is. Her head’s weighing heavily on her neck.

“Shit, did… I did something to you, right?”

“You… You tried to attack me, yes,” and she realizes how bad that sounds, “but it’s nothing. You weren’t yourself and it wasn’t a big deal. I’m fine.”

“You don’t sound like you are, though… Shit, I’m so sorry, Aki…”

She rises a careful eye, only to see pain distort Crow’s pallid face.

“It shouldn’t have happened,” she replies. “I should’ve done a better job.”

“Hey. Look at me, Aki.”

Hesitantly, she does – and finds no anger, no disappointment in Crow’s eyes, only compassion.

“You didn’t have to put up with my shit, and I was trying to push you away, but you did it anyway. Attacking you was wrong no matter what. You’ve got a lot to deal with at the moment and none of this is me. Don’t beat yourself up for not handlin’ everythin’ perfectly.” He smiles. “So, thanks, Aki. Don’t worry about good ol’ me, I’ll handle myself from now on.”

Silence follows.

“Though I get why you’d doubt that. We don’t really have a good track record when it comes to that stuff, do we.”

“Not really, no,” she manages to chuckle. “But friends need to trust each other.”

“You catch on quick!” He coughs into his elbow. “I’m sure it’s starting to get late, your parents may be worried. You should head home.”

“Can I… Can I stay here for a little longer? At least until Bruno comes back from whatever errand he may be running. I’d… feel better if I knew someone could watch you over.” Like she’d like it if she was as vulnerable as Crow is right now. “It keeps me occupied too.”

He gives her a sympathetic look from which she wants to recoil, but stops herself from doing.

“Make yourself a home, then. Yusei’s bedroom should be available.”

He winks, right in time for her face to warm up.

“Thank you, Crow.”

“If you need an ear to talk to and I ain’t sleepin’, don’t hesitate, okay? I promise I won’t bite your head off this time.”

“I’ll keep it in mind, thanks.”

She doubts she’ll bother him with this when all she’s tried to make him do today was resting, but she very much appreciates the reminder. It’s always nice to know she’s not only accepted, but also cared for by people whose honest intentions she can be sure of.

It’s making her feel welcome, and just for that, she’s more thankful – her and her missing powers, her and her conflicting feelings it, her and her past that she’s just now feeling comfortable with disclosing anything about. Her and the ghost that may continue pursuing her in the future, but which are leaving her mostly unscathed for now.

Perhaps that’s what home is – and it may just take the shape of a friend’s bedroom, or of a garage.