#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).

[jung-koook]

I think it’s funny when people (media.) are like “will they actually come back together.” “BTS future uncertain” (I don’t actually read bts news, unless bts announces it themselves. But I’ve seen clickbait titles like that. I don’t trust anyone but bts to share bts news. And I most definitely don’t trust media)

When they’ve all said they want to. And they talk about it on their lives. Those men are a family.

I just kind of hope they push it to the second half of 2026 soonest. At least tour wise. So they have proper time to rest and adjust. Not just be physically ready, but mentally too. I can’t stop how many albums they want to drop or wrote already or will write. But tours are so taxing on the body, mentally, emotionally and physically. So I really do want them to at least consider not doing it all fast. I STILL think Jin went back to work too quickly (but it’s what he wanted so I can’t fight him about it just have to support). It’s totally okay for them to rest first. I (we/us) will still be here supporting them.

I agree with you but sometimes unfortunately, we need to know about some news in other places, like for example about jin. there are armys who don't even know that he released a liquor last month because bighit will not post about it and jin hasn't posted about it yet. we found out about igin unfortunately through the media and he's already even doing pop-up store events for his drink.

but for most of the news we just have to trust bangtan and no one else.

korean media is being miserable, wanting to exclude yoongi, but that's not going to happen. the level at which they're still treating yoongi accident i so absurd! there are literally CRIMINALS making a name for themselves in their country and they don't care.

I'll always be excited about what they release and share with us, but I'm also not comfortable with the rush of having to release some work as soon as they come back. I am totally against this mentality that you have to live for your work and that makes me very uncomfortable. as soon as yoongi did his tour, rumors started that hobi would also do a tour when he returned home. I imagine if that really happens, how exhausting it will be for him to do two tours in such a short time. I really hope that even the album comes out in 2026. for me they could start working only in 2026 as a group. I miss new bangtan music and etc so much but I have always prioritized their health and well-being first.

[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. 

[crosbyce]

So, since I am mostly responsible for this, I feel obligated to respond (and maybe rant), so things are cleared up. So here's a response from me to the anonymous asker of @confession-of-the-heart

Buckle on, this will be a long post:

I've been a Kairi fan since KH1 came out. In fact, she's the sole reason I went through 20+ years of KH chaos. She had an aura unlike any other KH characters. And although I might hate KH with passion and sheer anger, I will continue to endorses any Kairi-related content (as long as they respect her)

That's where the problem comes. Her character is written so poorly ever since KH2 ended. In KH1, the character story made sense since the main theme reflected a classic Disney formula (Prince saves princess). In that game, Kairi had a great personality, gave reasons for both Sora and Riku to care for her, and had her shining moment where she brings Sora back.

In KH2, Kairi showed more initiative to find Sora and she even held the Keyblade to fight along with her friends. In fact, I consider KH2 Kairi to be the best. With Manga adaptation, it was a perfect Kairi that her fans asked for. Then again, KH2 also had problems. It's just that Nomura is a dumb shit and can't write female characters properly.

Well, let me rephrase, he cannot write KAIRI PROPERLY.

All other female KH characters had a great character writing. But Kairi? She had almost no role in DDD. Then more years pass by until KH3 comes out. She might have gotten a new clothes and her keyblade. But guess what? She was kidnapped and killed off without a proper fight. Her downfall was so huge that KH3 might as well as be the worst KH game of all time. It was clear Nomura's hatred and negligence against Kairi was shown in full scale in KH3.

Here's one thing people need to understand. Kairi's fighting segment in Re:Mind is no build-up. It's simply a damage control to fight off fire from Kairi fan backlash. As soon as her moment was done, she had no role again in the rest of the DLC.

Finally, in MoM, her fight against memory Xehanort was written so sloppy. And them she got shafted AGAIN by Riku and poor story writing.

The reality is that Nomura clearly hates Kairi and whatever that slop does to her character arc is simply a damage control. But honestly, at this point, he just wants to show off how he's done with Kairi's development. I can guarantee Kairi will have no development again in KH4. She'll be thrown off to cutscenes or suffer a worst fate such as becoming evil or KH3 treatment all over again.

Now I can hear you saying, "You're just hating, you don't know KH4 plots, stop saying stupid stuff". But HEAR. ME. OUT. The reason I rant is because history repeats itself and Kairi's demise has indeed been repeated. My claims are based on "pattern recognition". It means that certain events are aligned perfectly and shown clearly, it forms patterns of what could and would eventually happen. From my experience of KH3 and MoM, not to mention Nomura's incompetence, it's safe to assume Kairi will be mistreated again in KH4. If you count all those factors in, the assumption is no longer an outrageous baffling. It's a proven fact.

I also had people saying that I make premature and immature assumptions. To that, I'll say this. There's an old saying "don't judge books by their covers". But that's easier said than done in real life. Many media and entertainment are judged by their frontal presentations. That's same for Kairi. So far, her downfall heavily outweighed her positive outcomes. And it's been 20+ years since she came out in KH1. While EVERY other character in KH had their characters developed well, Kairi was maliciously abused again and again. If Nomura wanted to show her development and her triumph, it's too late now. It should have been shown off in KH3. Why build her hype in KH2 just to kill it off in KH3 and MoM? And since KH4 won't be released any time soon, Kairi fans are right to give their hopes up. There's nothing right done to Kairi since KH2 ended. If Nomura wanted to show Kairi's growth, it should have been highlighted explicitly with her actually defeating big villains and merging out victorious. Again, PRESENTATION MATTERS. Kairi fans, including me, are starving and waiting to see her development and victory. But we haven't seen it yet. I doubt we ever will.

Don't get me wrong. I've been positive and hopeful as a Kairi fan. I've been let down constantly. I've grown up. I'm done with toxic positivity. Now I'm going with systematical and cynical negativity. I'll keep bashing Kingdom Hearts and Nomura for trashing Kairi for 20+ years since I KNOW she will never be as important as she was back in KH1 and KH2.

And for the last point, I'll say this and I'm not sorry at all. I should be more harsh toward Nomura and its KH Fandom minions. I should be throwing slursand calling them out for spreading malicious ideology. But that's for another time. I'm filled with nothing but apathy. I lost hope as a Kairi fan. And if Kairi has any glimpse of chance for redemption and development, I will doubt it. It's a con-man bait switch to pull Kairi fans it just to let them down. I stand by my points and I will be proven right when KH4 comes out.

Thanks for reading my response/rant.

[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! 💪

[thebutterflyeffectjwcc]

Hi there and welcome to our blog!

I'm Cali! They/Them! I'm writing the first and the third story in our tetralogy. This all stemmed from a whumptober story that my partner and I fell in love with, and every day I look forward to posting those chapters! My main is @imma-potatoo and I'll be using 🦖 as my sign off!

I'm Remus ! It/Its pronouns and I'm gonna be writing the second and final part of the story, Be Prepared !! I can't wait to write and post everything ! My Main is @sof-ingtired , I hope y'all enjoy our story! I'll be using 🐺 as my sign off,

Our ask box is open please feel free to ask any questions!

The Butterfly Effect is our story, told over four books. One event leading to a drastically different future The Nublar Six could have never predicted. Dancing with Death and the thin line it weaves in their lives surviving on an island full of unpredictability. They dance the line, wavering and waning, when any moment any of them could be lost.

The Island is in a delicate balance, but so is life. It gives and takes. The Nublar Six are used to taking from the island, taking and learning from life, how to survive, how to live. Could they survive this delicate balance when the balance is tipped and threatens to take something, someone, from them?

Chapters will be released soon, we'll be posting on Ao3 with links here and a weekly posting schedule since we're currently bulk writing. We're very excited to start posting but please note that our story does contain very mature scenes that are not meant for all audiences.

We will mark chapters where these themes are present and give proper trigger warnings each time they appear, sex scenes in the later books will be skippable as well!

We'll look forward to bringing our story to life

Dividers by @thecutestgrotto

[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