#idk what are the tag conventions in this case

[spinaroos-47]

Very healing to finally be able to draw the characters that 11 year old me wanted to draw

I've been meaning to rewatch Yona of the Dawn soon. I actually did watch it from the episode that Shin-ah appeared up to the end of the season last year (which I never finished before), but I want to fully watch it all at once soon

[moe-broey]

LIKE..

[somelazyassartist]

.

[strawbbydraws]

HOLY SHIT YOUR TAGS ABOUT THE RP BLOG REMINDED ME theres a group of ppl in d2 fandom who INSISTTTTT uldren is like. some 6'5 ripped sex god and no matter how many times i showed them the ingame model sizing putting him at like, 5'10 MAX, they FOUGHT ABOUT IT SO HARD

HAHA YEAH I BLOCKED THE CROW AND CAYDE RP BLOGS. You probably know the ones. The ones that were saying they were 6' 2" or 6' 3"? Mighta been 6' 3" and 6' 4". I have no problem with people hcing characters as various heights but I mean, if you're going to actually pretend to be the character,, at least follow what they look like canonically? Joke rp accounts are fine but like you if you're going to take the best blog name and mostly seriously rp you should probably keep to the character as closely as you can if you want to feel convincing. No hate to whoever is running those blogs but come on. you didn't even have proof. you just made Cayde jump in and back Crow up smdh. (Not sure if it's by the same person or not, they might be separate ppl, but still.) yes this is petty. It's honestly a pet peeve of mine when people take characters and try to make them conventionally attractive. No Uldren is not tall. Crow isn't tall. I've seen ppl talk about Crow's ass and how he's got cake and in the photo was like the most average man-ass I've ever laid eyes on (this made me laugh but still). It's okay for a character to not check all the boxes of conventional beauty. And Uldren is quite attractive as is? Uldren is athletic, but he isn't ripped.

As seen here, thanks to his stupidly tight jumpsuit, you can see he’s quite slender and well built- but nothing super shredded. Not to mention his chest plate makes his chest and shoulders appear larger than they actually are. We also have to remember that his design isn’t one of a sexy villain- he really wasn’t supposed to be physically imposing. He was not much more than an annoyance, a snobbish man who turned up his nose at us- and we forgot about him until Forsaken- where once again it wasn’t like he was physically imposing. Everything he did was through his “children” or he finished off their work. (Mind you this is a repurposed design that was initially for a character akin to Han Solo- a gunslinging vagabond type. I can’t imagine a character like that being super tall or insanely muscular. I doubt they would have changed much with his height for his forsaken design either)

It’s just. Odd to me to be in vehement denial. Beyond that it’s a case of do whatever you want forever but yeah… I think part of it is people just don’t seem to realize how tall 6’ 2” and beyond really is if you’re not from the Netherlands or something. They forget what a normal tall person would look like too- like yeah a lot of D2 characters tend to hover around 6 feet so I understand it to a degree- but 6’ 3”? 6’ 4”?? Do you realize what that implies for the characters that are taller?? Hello?? The legs these guys would have?? The world average is what, 5’ 7” for men?

Uldren and Crow have never looked particularly large either … Crow looked quite “small” (and was called skinny quite a bit) compared to a lot of his counterparts- including the guardian. 5’ 10” is not short by any means but it’s obvious that he’s not meant to be a big guy.

It kinda drives me crazy?? Idk man like I love design changes that add more to the character, not ones that shove them into a box for the sake of conventional beauty. I draw Crow/Uldren as shorter (and Crow chunkier) so that might be my bias speaking lol- but idk it just feels like a disservice to the character in a sense to essentially hide away an aspect of them to make them “prettier” that proceeds to just put them into a common design trope. I honestly want more experimentation with Uldren/Crow’s design than what I see but that’s just a me thing

Probably not that deep but I love thinking about my favorite guys’ designs :P

[madderruz]

Do you think in the future you would ever make a four legged falin chimera? Like obviously that would be like a fuck ton of work and if not like,, yeah obviously, but I just keep thinking about it.. like maybe building it like those multiple arm cosplays where the back legs are just tied to the front legs and have tandem movement. it'd be a lot of trunk junk though so I don't know how practical for walking through conventions it'd be (unless they were detachable but idk I'm just on an autism tangent)

I'm making a four legged one now! Check out this tag to see how I'm doing it.

For a TLDR/expansion on that tag though: I'm making a centaur body for the back! Since those are a concept that has been done a few times already in youtube videos, I figured it'd be the best way to just follow along with that.

So the way that it's set up is its basically a PVC rectangular prism, and then PVC back legs. it belts around my waist, and the back legs move along the floor (for most of the centaur builds they're light enough to fully articulate, but in my case its not entirely possible. they'll move, but they wont lift off the ground.) And then you either cardboard or chicken wire around the frame, spray foam it (or whatever other method to get it to be the body shape), and then cover it!

HOWEVER, the way I'm doing mine has a secret third step that throws all of it into difficult range, which is that i'm making WINGS!

Now, the thing with cosplay wings is, 99% of the time you look them up, you're going to find tutorials on how to make ones that you wear like a backpack, over your shoulders. But with the chimera's case, that's not possible! So, my dad and I actually had to engineer a completely new way for the wings to open on the "centaur" body. You can see in this post the mechanism we had to make. I originally wanted the wings to go through a more naturalistic movement involving tilting and such, but because we're doing it manually and neither my dad nor me are engineers, we eventually settled on a two step movement. The wing sits in the way a birds wing would when tucked in. Then, it expands, and it pulls forward to frame around my body.

The most important part to me was that it looks natural when closed, and that when opened it frames around my body, which I wanted for a flourish for the performance aspect of the competition.

ANYWAY the hope with the centaur ass and the legs moving along the ground is that them being on the ground will help kind of keep the weight less on my hips. I mentioned in a previous ask that if it came down to it, there would be a harness coming from the back of the centaur ass near the tail and working around my shoulders, that would help again distribute the weight off my hips and more to my hips and shoulders.

I'm not sure what walking through a convention space is going to be like, but since this is mainly made for competition, the hope is that I won't be anywhere near an overly crowded area like an artists' alley for any length of time. I'm also going to have a handler (my dad lol) to help with maneuvering through the space. It's going to be something that's worn strictly to the competition, and maybe a meetup if there is one. ALSO: currently the entire length of the back half is about 4/5 feet behind me. The body is 3ft and the tails entire length is 5ft, but the tail droops off the back, so it's not a full 8 feet length. I'm going to make sure the tail is detachable just for elevator situations and the like, too.

But I think no matter where you see it, even in the state that it's in now, it's gonna turn some heads.

Thanks for asking, and for letting me ramble on!!

[atrirose]

hi! idk if you were the anon who asked abt tagging you on my latest work but i’m so so sorry i didn’t, i only joined two weeks ago and i’ve never had to tag anyone yet so i didn’t know it was the convention,,,

i promise i didn’t mean to use your idea without credit, i thought linking the original post was the right way of giving credit and that you’d be notified but if that’s not the case i sincerely apologize

as for permission, in a similar vein, i thought liking/reblogging was the way to do so since that’s what moodboard/header creators ask for but i completely get that it could be different for writers

if you’d prefer that i take down what i wrote, just lmk and i will! if you're okay with me keeping it up, i'll tag you as soon as you give me the word — again, i’m really really sorry and i’ll be sure to go about things better when i get inspo from another user

hi babes i have no idea what you are talking about so i checked your page and it seems to me that you linked one of my random thoughts as jay oneshot that you wrote. it’s okay since you are new, it’s completely fine but as far as it goes whenever there was someone on enhablr who wanted to do something similar to me after being inspired by my work have asked me before hand in case im comfortable with it or not and it can be confusing i understand but moodboard creators have it mentioned as to how they want credits which does not apply to everyone here.

secondly it’s alright you can keep it up if you want i mean, i did see your rb under my post but i didn’t think of something you would actually be doing, uhm yeah also if you see someone brainstorming or putting ideas out there please ask them if you can use it or just leave it be as it can be disrespectful to some people (im not saying me but i want you to be careful thats all 😭🫶🏻) anyways so you can have it up dont worry.

as for whether anon(?) is me or not, it’s not me i actually had that anon informing about it too so i think they are the same people. BTW DONT SWEAT IT TAKE IT EASY.

[jaded-of-mara]

LEGENDS CON RETROSPECTIVE

COSPLAY THOUGHTS

I suffer from specialist little boy syndrome. every local con i've gone to, i've been the only mara jade. HOWEVER. i knew that there would be multiple maras at legends con. and i was right

when i saw barbara hambly was going to speak at legends con, i knew i was going to have to cosplay callista. because i suffer from specialist little boy syndrome.

this is my own interpretation of callista, based on a combination of several official art pieces that i just didn't vibe with tbh. i do what i want

BUT in retrospect. if i ever decide to work with this type of vinyl again. please shoot me

anyway. a few people recognized me. i probably shouldve asked for a photo with barbara hambly but i chickened out.

i'm glad fandom is starting to reevaluate callista. because the misogyny present in some of those older fics? woof

also: new definition of hell unlocked: sitting trapped in a lightsaber sales pitch while your wig cap crawls up your head underneath your wig and you have to sit there nodding politely while trapped in a sensory nightmare

CONVENTION THOUGHTS

pretty tight. lotta good panels

got the unofficial guide book for dark horse star wars writers. some stuff thats applicable to fic some stuff not. vv funny to see how many of its rules the new canon violates tho

also some panels that were actually sales pitches

also some panels that couldve used some audience q&a rather than just prepared questions, but who knows what guests stipulate

i recognize that with every con there will always be some panel overlap, but the 15 minute overlap specifically felt a little harsh. day-of it wasn't as much of an issue bc of last-minute reschedulings

artist alley was a little bare, but it was a first con, things can only go up from here. shocking the places that supernatural merch can creep into tho

SOCIALIZATION THOUGHTS

i shouldve come out of my shell more. or cajoled a friend into making the thousand-mile drive with me.

i might have made more friends if i had gone to cantina night but i don't drink so idk what the vibe wouldve been

i did end up meeting a tumblr mutual for breakfast in burbank proper and that was fun

to make up for not making friends day of i have been following everyone whos posted in the legends con tag. from my main which has a cring url so who knows if they know i was there

HOTEL THOUGHTS

i wish i had checked out the hot tub but i didnt see the sign for where it was until i was checking out. i thought the only pool was outdoors and (see photos above) me and outdoor pools don't mix well

this is a very white trash and/or dean-coded thing to say but every hotel room should come with both continental breakfast AND a microwave

staff were vv nice but also i did feel silly walking around in my costume in the fancy lobby during an actual like. work convention

CONCLUSION

one of the organizers informally speculated that the next legends con might not be until spring/summer 2025. if thats the case, good, bc it means my body will have forgotten what it was like driving from green river utah to burbank in one day (do not recommend)

[sweetsuke]

i hate all the discourse around what ship names to use for ships based on who bottoms/who tops. like it's not 2012 on ff.net anymore, we don't have to force people to adhere to a strict tagging system of [topname][bottomname] for ships if they don't want to. esp because in a lot of cases, ships aren't inherently sexual, so that naming convention literally doesn't apply to them!! and i get in other sides of fandoms, such as chinese and japanese, they use that lot because it's important to them to distinguish who's the top and who's the bottom in a relationship. but literally no one has to do that if they want to, whether they're chinese/japanese/etc or not. getting mad at someone for not using the "correct" ship name and expecting them to adhere to rules you made up is honestly so stupid and self-entitled. idk where else i was going with this but basically if i see one more person say "oh if you ship a x b as switches you should use the ship name aba instead of ab or ba because that's not correct" or "hey i noticed you posted art with a topping b but you tagged it as ba, you should tag it as ab instead" im gonna lose it ‼️

[lostcauses-noregrets]

I really want to contribute in the eruri writing fandom but I'm very reluctant about my writing, I write very well in first person and I'm able to describe scenes vividly but idk when I write in third person it's like I'm in front of a brick wall and can't write! I'm not native English so that's why but I really want to know how can one write so well in 3rd perspective without being repetitive with words? Can you give me some advice? I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, u can ignore it <3

Hello Anon, not a stupid question at all! Pretty much every writer I know has struggled with anxiety about their writing, so you are very much not alone. My advice would be start out with what you're comfortable writing. If you know you're good at writing in the first person go with that. There's no law that says that fanfic has to be written in the third person. I've written second person fic from time to time! I haven't come across much first person Eruri fic, but that's no bad thing, there's a niche there that you could fill.

If you do want to branch out into third person you could start out by writing little ficlets, character sketches, or snippets of dialogue. Writing is 90% practice and writing short pieces is a great way to experiment, try out different writings, and build your confidence as a writer. Don't feel pressured to post longer multi-chapter fics, lots of writers post much shorter ficlets. I have a fic called Skin on Skin which is really just a collection of random snippets of writing.

In terms of how to avoid repetition, I'm guessing you mean things like "Erwin said...", "Levi said". If that's the case, don't be afraid of repeating the word "said". As a reader you tend to just parse out dialogue tags like this. Also you can often leave out dialogue tags altogether and just let the dialogue flow.

The main thing to remember is that every writer had to start somewhere, and that every writer is unique. It's far more rewarding to focus on developing your own unique style rather than trying to conform to hypothetical writing conventions that fanfic should adhere to.

I don't know if this helps Anon. If you're interested, I've got some other asks about fic writing on my blog tagged Writing.

Good luck with your writing!

[septembersghost]

you mentioned in a tag how fewer and fewer people who knew him are with us and I think about that too, plus some of the ones who've still been here suck, to say the least, and it's such a sad thing bc idk if the people on the business side care that much. then people hate Priscilla for being involved in the legacy work and they're going to hate Lisa's girls for not being involved in the legacy work. nobody wins.

i do contemplate this a lot, and of course anita's passing has brought this to the forefront of our minds again, and there's still that profound shock and grief from when lisa died. i was talking to a friend earlier about this too, and how lisa should've had so much more time, how she still had things to do and a life she wanted to live again (which is eerily similar to things her dad expressed before he passed as well, it feels cosmically unfair somehow). certain people have been here to run their mouths for decades and he didn't have the opportunity to share in his own words, but as we're losing the direct connections with loved ones, it's just…it has a particular sorrow to it, especially as the estate and graceland become more of that business model, that convention center remove, and less of the home it's always been. it would've been so, so different for the girls if their mom were still here, and i wish she was for every imaginable reason, but as far as graceland goes, they wouldn't have been looking at whether or not they wanted a role in that and what it might be until they were much older (and well into adulthood, in the twins' case).

it's heartbreaking, and of course there's no "winning" in this situation regardless (winning would be not losing him at 42, you know? it would be lisa and benjamin still here. it would be the girls getting to know him, he'd love them so very much), but yeah, there was a living link in lisa that's gone now, and whether or not any of the girls want to be involved closely in the estate/EPE is completely their choice, especially the twins because they have a lot of time before they're adults who even have to consider that. there has been such tragedy in their family and it's potentially a heavy burden that they're not obligated to carry - they should only be involved by their choice and if it makes them happy. priscilla has stated herself that part of why she feels compelled to still go out and give talks is to share her memories while she still can, and there's a poignancy in that. but thinking of graceland being more of a business...i know ultimately it has been that in many respects, along with being a place of pilgrimage to fans, but to lisa it was still home too. i have NOT read good things about joel (and the general tenor of everything at his hand), and i just hope at the end of the day, it remains cherished and its soul is kept intact, no matter who is or isn't running things.

all that said, again that's where his legacy falls to us too, which is why there's a particular beauty to the love we have and the insight we find with him, and what we keep and share with one another. the sense of community with fans matters, and is quite reflective of the bond elvis established with people then that has so brightly carried into the present. fans do a lot to carry that flame, even though many of us never got to even share the same time with him, and that's valuable and an essential reflection of him.

anyway, this:

[where-is-the-angst]

Idk if you’re still wondering about Shakespeare fanfiction but you mysteriously appeared on my dash (following the Twelfth Night tag) and anyways here is my unsolicited advice.

1. Yes, there is Shakespeare fanfiction! Lots of it! Including Toby x Andrew!

2. When it comes to writing Shakespeare fanfic, it’s all about capturing voice, just like any other fanfic! Whatever character you’re writing from the POV of, look over their dialogue and compare it to other characters to see what makes this character’s voice unique. Some things that are easy to look for in Shakespeare— Do they speak in verse? (Do they speak more poetically or casually?) Do they use short or long sentences? Are there particular topics that they revisit often? Are there certain ways in which they repeatedly express their point? (Frequently using metaphors, or puns, or simple similes, or misusing words.) As far as making the language sound more old-timey, my strategy is honestly usually just to look up prose from the period. (Twelfth Night was written early 17th century, so my reference is the King James Bible which came out around the same time. If you want something a little more digestible though, other Shakespeare fanfics can also make good references.) You don’t have to use entirely archaic language. Once you get the sentence structure down it kind of just feels like authentic Shakespearean. However, it’s just for fun, and it’s being interpreted for a modern audience anyways, so you can choose to include as much or as little of Elizabethan writing conventions as you like. And when in doubt, you can always just write a modern AU!

My last bit of advice overall would be to not intimidate yourself over the fact that it’s Shakespeare. Your writing doesn’t have to live up to his, and honestly, fuck him. He’s not untouchable and neither is his writing, and writing fanfiction about his plays is no more or less serious than writing fanfiction about anything else. If you wanna disregard all my advice and just write whatever you think sounds fun, go for it!

Anyways. Idk if you were even being genuine or just joking about writing that Toby x Andrew fanfic. (I know it was like three days ago so idk if you’re even thinking about it anymore.) But when I saw your post I felt it was my solemn duty to give you advice just in case it was genuine. If not, feel free to ignore this and have a nice day! ^-^

thanks so much for the advice; that was really helpful!

that’s a really good point about sort of figuring out the way they talk and mimicking that

tbh i was considering doing a modern au but…. now i might not???

have a nice day to u tooooo 🫶🏻

[apollotronica]

goodness. ok one big ask for all of them

hearts

🤍 - you scare me /pos

💛 - you are like a wet cat

💚 - one million dollars. for you

i'd say red but that's known

artist

4. fav character/subject thats a bitch to draw

9. what are your file name conventions

24. do your references include stock images

27. do you warm up before getting to the good stuff? if so, what is it you draw to warm up with

30. what piece of yours do you think is underrated

specific and unrelated

4. mythical creature you think/believe is real?

7. what animal do you look forward to most when you visit an aquarium

16. thoughts on mint chocolate chip

26. hows your spice tolerance?

get-to-know-me

bamboo - do you change into a different outfit when you get home

sage - what 'medium' of art (poetry, music, fiction, painting, statues, etc) is the most touching to you? why do you think that is

ivy - what are your 'tells' for your emotions and moods? how can someone tell you're happy annoyed upset or tired

chamomile - what kind of things do you like receiving as gifts

aloe vera - what's something (mundane) you really want to experience in life?

taro - if someone called you right now to catch up, what're the things youd tell them about

- 💌

OKAY JESUS HOLD ON these responses are for the heartsI SHOUDLNT SCARE YOU IM SO SWEETS and like you said . a wet cat .norhing to be afraid of . 10 jerbillion dollars for me

these r the attist asks i think

4 - honesltyUMMM i can never get dazais hair right . but hes pretty sinple everywhrr else . i also feel like i draw akutagawas hair inconsistently . all my problems are centered around hair

9 - my file names are whatever ibis paint x decides the file name is . unless i download it on my computer in which case its usually somr dumb shit

24 - SOOOOOMETIMES ???? i go on pinterest and just save and use whatever i need Hold on let me look at my reference folder rq. yeah ol i only have one stock image and its a dude holding a corndog

27 - NOPE my warmup is the sketch and maybe ill draw a couple face expressions on the side if im not in the zone yet . but no indont warm up usually

30 - THAT ONE OF IVLYA (OC) where hes like . almost facing the side .i cant find the image rn just go into my art tag😢

these repwonses r for the . unrelated/specific ones, 4 + 7 answered

16 - i like the mint . not the chocolatw chip . i think i would enjoy a minr chocolate swirl better because i hate chunks

26 - Um . average . i can handle like actual food spice like curry or other . things . but junk food like takis RUUUUUUIN MEEEEEE

these r for da get 2 know me ones ^_^ ivy ans chamomile answered

bamboo - Yeah i hate wearing outside clothes in the comfort of my home . i change into . usually what i slept in

sage - MUSIC AND POETRY i dont seem like a poetry guy i think but holy fucking shit some poems . some of them man. Ugh. and music theres so mucu potential Like . harmonies and shit dude im unwell . Music foreva

aloe vera - i kinda wna tto go on a real date Because like . idk that stuff is so foreign to me im not familiar with aaaany of it . i also want to get into baking

taro - FUCJ IT DEPENDS FROM WHEN HONESTLY i d let them know about my Mental Ailments i think id show off some art and link some of my socials maybe . and id talk about music . and things i got into while they were gone . Maybe attempt to discuss ... shivers . Feelings . i dont know

[wiwinia]

Tag 9 people you’d like to get to know more

Tagged by @celestialspark - Thank you for tagging me ❤️ This came out a little longer than I expected

Last song: According to my YouTube history (I really don’t understand how to use Spotify and I don’t think I ever will at this point), that would be Stranger by The Mechanisms, from Tales To Be Told, Volume II. Idk why, but this song vibrates my brain in exactly the best way. (I feel like that about a lot of songs in this album, especially Lost In The Cosmos, which is honestly weirdly relaxing for a song describing a slow death in painful details, and Pieces, but like, only the chorus)

Show I'm watching: Well, the last show I’ve seen was the newest episode of Helluva Boss, watched it with both of my partners, one of whom knows nothing about this show. It was fun, though, well, don’t want to spoil anything, but I was hoping for something else. Besides that, I intend to watch Stranger Things soon, cause I have read some great fanfics (I wanted to check if any of the authors are on Tumblr, so I could tag them, but for some reason, I can’t open ao3, which is quite concerning considering what happened this month) and decided I might try, even though I am good 7 years late. However, I am not watching it yet, because from what I know so far it feels like the kind of show that will permanently rewire my brain, so I am waiting til I can watch it with my friends, cause I am not going through that alone. If we consider podcasts shows, then I am an active listener of Dracula Daily, the voice acting is great, and I am already swooning and fanning myself like a victorian lady at Quincey P. Morris, which is to be expected, he’s one of my favourite characters. I can’t wait for this year’s holiest love entry tho, I want to see Tumblr go wild for it again. Also, season 2 of Not Quite Dead is coming out in a little more than two weeks (a fair warning to anyone who follows me, I already know I will be insufferable about it ❤️). I binged season 1 in one sitting, I am so excited (there are precisely 0 fanfics for this show on ao3 so far, I am working on changing that, but I’ve been suffering from a serious case of can’t-finish-wips-disease for quite a while now, so we’ll see how it goes)

Book I'm reading: If we’re talking new books, then right now nothing, but the last two I’ve read were: 1 Noce za nocami by Małgorzata Wilk, I loved it, it was exactly what I wanted, and I was so excited to finally get it, I read it on Wattpad back in the day and I preordered it the moment I was able to. It just feels very cozy to me. If you a) know Polish, and b) like gay vampires, I highly recommend it 2 Vampireology from the Ologies book series, cause I’ve never seen it before, I found it at a convention and I may be an adult, but it had vampires and was full of shiny secrets, you can’t possibly expect me to resist that Besides that, I am currently relistening to an audiobook of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, because the first time I listened to it, I was in a really bad place mentally, and this in tandem with some incorrect beliefs I had about this book caused me to miss some important things the first time, so now I am doing better I plan to listen to the whole series again, and I am really enjoying it! I know this series goes into some very dark places, but at the point at which I am currently, it is just full of pure joy of exploration and awe-inspiring discovery and listening to it makes me really, really happy right now

Currently obsessed with: Fandom-wise, The Magnus Archives, closely followed by The Mechanisms, a lot of things mentioned above are either basically obsessions, or very close to becoming that, because I can’t just be normal about things Also, vampires are my obsession that has been a constant part of my life practically since I remember, and I doubt it will ever change at this point. If for whatever reason you want to see me ramble, ask me about my opinions on any vampire-related trope or theme, and you will probably get a pretty substantial essay

Tagging: @suaveotter @laceandsteelgirl @kind-ghost @doofus-and-dragons @fall-festival @katenotbishop @wet-snail @rhymingteelookatme @graceful-not

[moe-broey]

LIKE thinking about it nitpicking my own wording, here. Shedinja isn't really "the former self" -- Nincada would be. Shedinja is just some Thing that spawned in, when Ninjask did. Some kind of haunted husk that got left behind when Nincada hatched into Ninjask, becoming something New. Which is EXACTLY what Mani is, how Mani works.

ALSO @eriisaam eating up these tags on the Shedinja post actually,

LIKE. SO MUCH OF THIS TRIVIA CAN BE APPLIED TO MANI IT'S INSANE. AND HILARIOUS

Like "PMD if you evolve into Ninjask, you also get Shedinja in your roster now. No notice. It just silently appeared there." Exactly what happened with Mani.

THE NAME RATER ONE. ALSO. EXTREMELY MANI-CORE???? Like. Mani doesn't really have a name until Alfonse ends up in Moe's specific dreamscape. When the issue of differentiating the two comes up, Mani names itself. Which absolutely feels like having to go out of your way to apply a nickname to a nameless Pokemon. But ALSO the BDSP example works too...? I'm iffy about it, but there is at least one canon scene where "Moe" is used for Mani.

... Would this make "Moe" its deadname....??????? AN EXTREMELY FUNNY THOUGHT. But I also just don't think Mani has that relationship to Moe as a name, as someone might a deadname. (In fact, it may feel the opposite way. It loves that name. It's... cute.) WHICH is where I get iffy, like... do I want it to be more like a Lif situation, in naming conventions alone...? Where, you see him accept being called Alfonse by Thrasir/Veronica (and he does the same, towards her). But Mani really does feel like its own entity, separate from Moe itself... it's not a case of hidden identity or throwing away an identity you no longer feel deserving of. Literally a whole other guy spawned in. Shedinja style. From the same being, tied to that being. That became its OWN being. And it is important, to both Moe and Mani, that there is a distinction made.

GOD. THE RIBBONS/TITLES TRIVIA TOO??? GOES INSANE. Feels EXTREMELY applicable to Mani. How it's a reflection, more than anything else. And absolutely adjacently feels directly comparable to the beans/poffins lore. That there are very specific ways that Shedinja cannot change. (... except for candy, apparently.) This is maybe more metaphorical, but fits, too.

IDK IDK I JUST. I've always had suuuuch a hard time capturing/expressing what Mani Is, like, logistically speaking. It's literally just a Shedinja. Also bonus points for being genderless when Nincada/Ninjask have/retain their gender. WHICH....... also feels akin to how Moe has a really distinct gender identity/Feelings about it, and Mani just kind of is... null and void. Empty. Hollow, even.

Congratulations on the brain Nincada -> Shedinja/Ninjask, Moe. No idea how it works in an AU setting, but. Works GREAT as a metaphor/example for Mani came into being.

Don't ask how. It just Works 👍

[minefield-of-a-ninja]

CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5

Summary (request from @thesassywallflower​ for @spnfanficpond​ Secret Santa): Donna is horrified to learn that the boys have never had a proper Christmas, so she invites them to her house for the holiday.

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Donna Hanscum

Warnings/tags: explicit (eventually), fluff (? Idk), angst (? light), domestic (can’t get much more domestic)

Chapter WC: 2000

Author’s notes: There will be multiple chapters to this -- at least three, and they will all be written in 3rd person POV, shifting perspective in each section.

Many thanks and love to my dear friend and the very best beta ever @brrose-apothecary​.  Text divider by @talesmaniac89​.

________________________________________________________________

“That’s it,” Donna exclaims, after wiping down her machete and carefully replacing it in its secure case in the bed of her truck. “You two’re comin’ home with me.”

She’s hyper-aware that the Winchesters didn’t have the most conventional upbringing, but, dangit, how many more times will they break her heart with stories about never going to a Christmas party or experiencing the joy of opening gifts on Christmas morning?

“C- coming home with you?” Dean wonders aloud as if he’s testing the words in his mouth. As if she uttered the invitation in Old Norse.

“Yes, Dean. To Stillwater.” Donna turns to face the brothers who both eerily resemble that deer she missed by a hair’s breadth on Highway 95 last week. “Jody and the girls’ll be there, and all’s you need’re the clothes on your backs. We can stop at the dollar store down the street for you two to pick up a couple white elephant gifts.”

“Dollar store?” Dean asks, looking thoroughly bereft of understanding.

“Dean, stop repeating everything that comes out of my mouth. And close yours while you’re at it; you look like a drowning guppy.”

Donna rounds the side of her pickup to stride toward the driver’s side door. The brothers shuffle after her like a couple of 10-year-olds who’d rather be playing Super Mario than endure whatever perceived Hell she’s invited them to.

“Donna...” Sam lets his words hang in the air while both brothers huff and puff condensation into the frigid night air and fidget after her. “We’ve never been to a Christmas party or anything like that.” 

“That’s why you’re coming to mine. No excuses.” She spins on her heel and stares them down as they exchange looks and unspoken words.

Dean’s the one who breaks first. He swings his narrowed gaze back to her.

“Will there be mistletoe?” he asks pointedly.

Donna tries not to think about Dean and mistletoe at the same time. Not that she’s never imagined kissing him, but now is not the time.

She snorts and rolls her eyes. “Of course! What kinda Christmas party would it be without mistletoe?”

Dean grins before slapping his brother on the back. “Well, Sammy, looks like we’re gonna have Christmas after all. Ya know, one without a Wood Nymph.”

“Huh?” Donna furrows her brow in question.

Sam shakes his head. “Never mind, long story,” he mutters. “I guess we’ll follow you?”

Donna claps her hands together as she nods, bouncing on her toes. “You betcha!”

“Can’t believe we almost passed this up,” Dean mutters to Sam as they unpack their bags, making a load of laundry. They each showered in Donna’s guest bathroom and she gave them some old clean sweatpants and t-shirts of her dad’s to wear for the night.

“Yeah, it’s nice,” Sam agrees quietly, tossing his last pair of underwear to the floor. He’s pleased that Dean sees the value here in Donna’s home.

Ever since they defeated Chuck, Sam has tried a dozen different ways to get Dean out of the bunker and into a real house and real jobs. Dean seems frozen in time, though, like he can’t see that they can do just about anything they want now. They’re regular hunters — no angels or demons to battle (Jack and Rowena have seen to that). In fact, most of the monster world has quieted and stays in their own lanes.

“Imagine having this on the regular.” Sam tests the waters. “A washer and dryer from this century?” he chuckles, scooping up the dirty clothes and shaking his damp hair out of his face.

“Yeah, well, I doubt Donna wants a couple salty old hunters camped out in her guest room for the rest of her life.” Dean turns down the covers of his borrowed bed and inspects the pillow. “‘Sides, I like havin’ my own room.”

Sam watches Dean smooth his hands over the bedding, wondering...

He knows how Dean feels about Donna, even though his brother’s never put those feelings into words. Sam’s seen the way Dean looks at her, the way he touches her like she’s made of glass, and the tone of his voice when he says her name. Dean adores Donna, but even more than that, he wants her.

“What if...” Sam starts then pauses, shifting his weight. When Dean turns to face him with a questioning brow and wistful smile, he forges ahead. “What if you could share it with someone like Donna?”

Dean almost rolls his eyes as he slowly straightens his stance. His soft smile twists as he meets his brother’s gaze. Sam worries that he’s pushed Dean too far.

“And now we’re back to Donna deservin’ a lot better than...” Dean shakes his head and motions between himself and his duffle bag.

“Heya,” the woman in question sing-songs as she pokes her head around the door. “How ya doin’ in here? Need anything?”

Dean’s edge immediately smooths at the sight of the sheriff.

“Hey,” he answers with a quick, practiced grin. “We’re good. Better than. Just, uhh...” He reaches for the bundle in Sam’s arms. “Gonna throw this stuff in your washer if that’s okay?”

Sam notices the tiniest flush in Dean’s cheeks, and the sight squeezes his heart in his rib cage. Dean doesn’t think he deserves a life like this.

“Yep,” Donna replies, a bright smile gracing her freshly scrubbed and freckle-dusted face. “Right down the hall.”

“Alrighty then. Lead the way,” Dean says, following Donna to her laundry room.

Sam heaves a sigh before wandering to the small bookshelf in the corner for something to read.

Dean has nightmares almost every time he closes his eyes. Last night, he had a different kind of dream.

Donna was there, her soft blonde waves were piled on top of her head. Her fingers were floured and her big flannel shirt was dusted just the same. She laughed at his jokes and hummed through her smile when he wrapped his arms around her from behind. She smelled like butter and vanilla.

When he wakes, Sam’s already up and out of the room. A low light sneaks through the curtains, and Dean smells coffee. He rolls out of bed, runs his fingers through his hair, and makes his way to the bathroom across the hall.

“Dean, hey.”

Dean cocks his head and squints because it’s too damn early for pleasantries. It’s Kaia, though, and Dean owes that girl a lot of pleasant.

“Hey, kid. When’d you get in?” He turns toward her and she steps into his arms for a hug.

“‘Bout an hour ago,” she replies. “Claire’s in the kitchen.”

“‘Kay,” Dean answers pulling out of the hug with a lopsided smile. “Be there in a minute.”

Kaia nods and shuffles past him. “There’s coffee and french toast.”

“Nice,” Dean grunts, pushing through the bathroom door and switching the light on. When he sees his reflection, he groans. “Christ.”

His eyes are puffy and his hair’s sticking out in nine different directions. He shakes his head and sighs before taking care of business. Dean definitely puts the seat back down, washes his hands, and splashes his face and hair with water.

Before heading to the kitchen, he makes his bed and changes into his own clothes. As he shrugs into his flannel, he realizes it’s the one from his dream. The one Donna was wearing — his shirt and nothing else.

He could feel every dip and curve in his hands. She was so warm and soft. Dean’s thought about a hundred different ways to make her say his name the way she did in his dream. He can still hear her breathy voice in his head as he walks the length of the hallway toward the bright kitchen.

“Mornin’, sunshine,” Donna greets him first, and his skin flushes with heat.

Before he can focus too much on it, Claire sacks him without a word.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmurs, holding her close. He isn’t exactly the picture of emotional growth, but since Cas… well, he’s trying to be more present.

Dean closes his eyes and buries his nose in her messy hair. She’s been smoking, and probably drinking by the looks of it. “Takin’ care of yourself?” He pulls back, gripping her shoulders and looking her in the eyes.

Her smile is crooked, and her blue eyes are shot red and rimmed with black, but she’s still the strong little girl from Illinois whose daddy loved God enough to leave her.

Claire shrugs. “More’r less.”

Dean huffs a wry laugh, squeezing her shoulders before releasing her. “Sounds about right.”

“Heeeyyy.” Jody and Alex round the island to greet him with hugs and Patience isn’t far behind.

“Coffee?” Jody asks.

“Absolutely. I also heard there was french toast. Or did I miss it?” He turns to find Donna extending a plate heaped with carbs, and a steaming cup of joe. “Awesome.”

He accepts the proffered items from Donna with a hearty thanks.

Jody and the girls retreat to the dining room where Sam sits, doing a crossword puzzle. He looks up and Dean nods a good morning to him before sliding onto a stool at the island.

“So, uhh, dollar store, huh?” He digs into his breakfast, trying not to ogle Donna’s ass in her cute little red and white snowflake leggings. The phrase ‘thick thighs save lives’ will be stuck in his head for the rest of his stay here and he isn’t mad about it.

Donna nods as she turns to face him with her own cup of coffee. “And if I give you a list, can you pick up some wine?”

Dean bobs his head as he chews and his eyes roll back. “Oh, yeah... Yes, anything. Holy shit, this is good.” He’s momentarily distracted from objectifying his hostess by the un-fucking-believable french toast.

Donna chuckles, jutting a hip against the island. “Family recipe. Just like the smorgasbord for tonight.” She sips her coffee and watches him devour the rest of the meal in silence but for Dean’s moans and groans of satisfaction.

How many times has Donna thought about this? About Dean Winchester sitting at her kitchen island eating a breakfast and coffee that she made? About him enjoying it?

Experts say that good food and good sex share neural pathways. That a person’s reaction to good food is similar to their reactions to good sex. That theory takes on a whole new level of wow when applied to Dean.

Dean drains his mug and wipes his mouth.

“More... anything?” Donna asks innocently -- or so she thinks.

Until Dean’s gaze flicks to hers for a hot minute. She could write his hesitation off as morning brain, but then he drops his gaze to her mouth. He licks his bottom lip into his mouth then slowly drags it through his teeth.

Donna’s breath catches in her chest and her insides flip.

“Hey, so, we should hit that dollar store, and I think Donna wants us to grab a few bottles of wine, right?”

Sam realizes a beat too late that he’s walked in on something; Dean looks ready to attack and Donna’s cheeks are fuchsia. The younger Winchester’s gaze bounces around the tension between Dean and Donna before he clears his throat.

Dean blinks a couple of times and shakes his head. “Yeah... yeah, uhh...” He draws a deep breath and looks back up at Donna. “Got that list?”

Donna gnaws at the corner of her anxious grin. “Oh, yeah. I’ll text it to ya.”

Dean nods and pushes out of his barstool. The brothers find their boots and coats in the front closet. As they walk out the door, Donna calls from the kitchen.

“Oh, and Dean? When you get back, you need to help me find that mistletoe.”

The screen door slams shut behind them, and Sam laughs.

Chapter Two

Please don’t leave without telling me what you think!

[mynonclicheblog]

An accidental character study of Erin Quinn (and James Maguire)

This post is mostly a thought dump because it's been buzzing around in my brain, but I'm tagging in case anyone... idk... is interested in reading my chaotic analytical thought processes or w/e 😂

Before 3x04, I was confident that if we got a Jerin confession in canon it was going to be James who dropped the bomb first. I've been thinking about this a lot lately in terms of, like, my understanding of James and Erin as individuals and WHY I felt that way (prior to ~that scene), so this is mostly gonna be me laying out my thoughts on Erin's headspace leading up to James's confession + why she wasn't mentally ready to be the one to say anything.

Anyway, my brain is a bit scrambled while writing this so please bear with me. 🐻

So let me just say first, I've got some Derry Girls/Erin POV ficlets saved in my drafts right now and I've never connected more thoroughly with any other character I've written for? Ever? It was like, suddenly I'm inside her brain and she's telling me things about herself that I didn't realize before with absolutely zero effort on my part. Idk man it's been so much fun & unlike anything I've experienced 😂

But anyway - as I stated in my tags on this post, one of the main reasons I felt it would have to be James who bit the bullet first boils down to their rationalized self-perception // the fact that he's more honest with himself than she is. This is consistent with James in pretty much all areas: he is easily able to recognize something, process it, and state it out loud.

His character falls pretty well into the "straight man" trope within the wacky and colorful landscape of Derry natives. He is often a voice of reason amongst the girls (a role he sometimes shares with Clare) despite his rarely being taken seriously by them - he's similar to Gerry in this way. Regardless, James is overall the most grounded and self-aware member of their group. The show hadn't dropped as many obvious nuggets of his crush on Erin imo (compared to the other way around), but that's fair because he isn't the one who needed his feelings to be billboarded in order to self-actualize them. Once James gets something, he gets it. Signed, sealed, delivered.

Erin on the other hand is notoriously delusional - even in situations wherein she's well aware of the reality, she's keen to mentally overwrite that by clinging to a self-imposed narrative which she finds to be more suitable. She's also an incurable romantic with a flair for drama and sweeping love stories - but then, she's stubborn, and not totally honest with herself.

So, how do you determine which side wins out? And if she so loves romance, why would she prefer to keep her crush on her best friend buried rather than take a chance on this potential romcom storyline come to life?

For me the answer is in her current frame of mind: despite her clumsy, awkward, and chaotic ways, Erin is extremely image-conscious. Since season 1 she has been repeatedly concerned with what others think of her (David Donnelly, Charlene Kavanaugh, Ms. De Brun, to name a few).

Putting aside the connotations associated with Anglo-Irish relations, I think Erin's biggest hang-up lies within her immediate circle, like the way she and her friends slag him off all the time. That is comfortable. Slagging off James is normal, familiar. But having to admit that she's actually started to fancy that same boy, the object of her and her friends' endless ridicule... that feels awkward. It's unheard of.

And most importantly - this is the real kicker - it's embarrassing.

To compound this she has a touch of Anne Shirley disease, in that James doesn't fit the 'ideal' mold she thought she wanted (just look at him next to her usual type; the cool, aloof, masculine lads). James is her dorky best friend - not exactly the conventional Love Interest hottie she's always imagined herself with.

I think after 2x05/6 Erin realizes on some level that she has a wee bit of a crush on James, but she's decided to keep a lid on it and pretend it doesn't exist. Why? ->->-> Because it's weird! My friends won't understand. The WORLD won't understand. He's an amazing fella but I'm... I can't date James! That's just- it's ridiculous! Best keep that to myself, then.

She keeps her crush tucked away partially out of ignorance to the weight of it, but that's only because she WANTS to be ignorant of it. She knows it's there but refuses to look right at it.

Whereas James is able to zero in on the feelings and the feelings alone once he has a lightbulb moment (hi James I'll get back to you in a sec), Erin automatically filters those feelings against a bunch of external factors: what will people think of me, an Irish catholic gal, being with an Englishman? Will they think it's weird if I'm dating my sweet friend James and not some absolute ride-o-rama? What will our families, our FRIENDS think??!

Erin's got a rather anxious personality. Right now, while she's young, that manifests as this tendency to hyperfocus on her self-image and the image she projects to the world.

This futile desire to be perceived as 'cool' is something that Erin and James have always had in common, though each in their own way. I think James has shown the most progress getting past that fear as of series 3 as he continues to grow more comfortable with himself and has learned to fit in with his, quite frankly, crazy group of girls.

In the earlier series episodes James was frequently concerned with the judgements and/or assumptions people made about him - he's an English prick, he's gay, he's not much of a man. As time has gone on, we've now seen James proclaim himself to be a Derry Girl. He's performed onstage dressed as Posh Spice. He's no longer seeking approval from other males like he used to.

This isn't meant to sound like a cruel outlook, but I think the constant belittlement he experiences from the girls (affectionate) has aided him in learning to not always take words/opinions to heart. He knows now that it's not always an accurate picture of how people feel, nor is it a reflection of how he should feel about himself. Erin's not quite there yet, but post-kiss I think her mindset regarding her crush on James is going to make a conscious shift.

As of 3x04 she still prioritizes what Michelle thinks, still fears the newness of these feelings she's just finally had to face, and she doesn't want to make waves in the friend group. So she turns him down for now (though the dejection in her apology betrays her attempt at emotional distancing).

Eventually they'll all get older. A more grown-up Erin will realize that these things she's been so worried about re: a relationship with James are trivial, and ultimately inconsequential to the bigger picture.

James and Erin started out in the same place with the same trajectory - fearing judgement, eager to please, desperately craving validation. James's rational personality and experiences happened to boost his maturation ahead a bit, so he was in a position to break the fog sooner than Erin.

The parallels within their development arcs (to say nothing of the peace process symbolism) is really quite beautiful when you think about it.