#ill share a preview in a bit

[arabaka]

ʚ｡ﾟ☁︎｡ɞ｡ HEY GAMERS we staying up late tonight what's everybody up to

[felassan]

Some info from Caitie of GhilDirthalen on the coming days:

"Some (no spoiler!) details about the DAV preview event- from someone who went- to help you navigate the 19th and beyond: About 140 creators went to the event- this ranges from small time content creators (melol), large creators, and journalists. We had about 7 hours to play, however roughly 3 hours of that was content we are not allowed to share, even after embargo lifts. What will be free game is largely what was covered in the IGN and GI articles already. Honestly, IGN got more game time than we did. HOWEVER There was a few things included in what we could show that I- the lore nerd- would consider spoilers that sucks to see without the context given. I dont know if people who arent ass deep would know, and might just end up using it as B-roll. Definitely proceed with caution, and if you have not already, have plans and tags muted for the 19th. (And remember a lot of creators arent DA nerds- they dont know which tags to use!) But if you do get spoiled- I hope i can at least add the comfort that its all early game (what is now being called Act 1). On the 19th, ill be starting a mega thread with a bunch of ‘no spoilers’ content from people who went, so that you all can gather the info you want without fear! With that said- PLEASE feel free to tag me with a link to vids and ill do my best to add it to the thread and give it a spoiler rating! I dont know everyone who went, so i have no idea whats going up on the 19th! Good luck, and hope we can all rejoice in the CC reveals! Oh- one more bit- creators were able to get interviews with various devs. I believe most had 20 minutes for interviews- even I got to sit with Epler and pepper him with lore questions- so keep an eye out for those as well!" [thread source link]

[tamberella]

Congratulations on your author debut, I'm so excited for your book!! 😇💕

Would you consider talking about the whole process of becoming a book illustrator /children's book author?

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it!! And I'd be happy to share the process!

It all started for me with my 3dTotal artbook. 3dTotal is a small publisher in the UK, and they mainly focus on collections of artists' work. They use Kickstarter to fund each book, and my agent (the amazing Seth Fishman at Gernert) discovered me through the Kickstarter for my artbook Windows to Worlds!

He asked if I had any interest in working on graphic novels or picture books, and I had already been thinking about picture books! He found me my first picture book project with Penguin Workshop, Mother of Sharks, written by the awesome Melissa Cristina Márquez, which came out last year!

While I was working on Mother of Sharks, I was also talking with him about developing The Bakery Dragon, based of course on this painting, which was (and is) one of my proudest artistic moments.

For a little background on the painting, I painted it right after a really challenging couple of months medically - I was dealing with medical complications from my chronic illness for about 6 months, and I wasn't able to finish a single painting the whole time, I was just too exhausted from hospital visits and being in pain. That painting was the first piece I was able to actually complete (both emotionally and literally) in about half a year. So it always held a really special place in my heart, and I really wanted to keep living in that little world. I think there's something in it that is very special to me, about being outside in the cold, seeing warmth and love through a glass barrier, and wanting desperately to reach it.

With Seth's guidance, over a couple months, I developed a pitch for it. The script developed slowly alongside the designs for characters, locations, etc.

(Early version of Ember above! He has changed a bit!)

I thought I had already read a lot of picture books, I've always loved them, but I read hundreds and hundreds during this process. There is something uniquely fun and challenging about telling a complete narrative in 48 pages (which is already a long picture book, many are 32!) My book also pulls some elements from comics, such as speech bubbles, which I found to be incredible assets for humor and character development.

My pitch included designs, some early example spreads, and a rough script with story beats and jokes! My agent took it out into the world, and the publisher we ended up going forward with was Knopf, an imprint of Penguin Random House! I absolutely love the Knopf team and the beautiful books they put out! My editor, Katherine Harrison, really understood what I wanted to accomplish and has been so incredibly helpful in her guidance!

And from there... through rewrites, dialog adjustments, and lots and lots of drawings, it became a book! I'm happy to answer questions about the process! I'll leave you guys with a little preview from the interior of the book! (And of course you can pre-order it here, gotta learn the author skill of always including that link haha!)

[cemeterypet]

cemeterypet commissions: OPEN

furry commissions from as low as $11 !!!

https://ko-fi.com/cemeterypet/commissions

hey all, im opening my commissions back up after a brief hiatus because i am in a bit of a difficult situation. i wont get too into it, but my check engine light came on in my car, leading to a ~$5000 repair bill for me to face. besides getting a second job, i figured opening art commissions would be a good way to help get this bill paid. at this point, i need to make $300 a week to pay this debt off. i have raised my commission prices by a dollar each due to this, but please consider checking my ko-fi if you have the means to. or consider sharing this post! let me draw for you, anything helps!!! you can see previews of my art using the #cemeterypet tag! furries only please, other than that ill draw pretty much anything!

https://ko-fi.com/cemeterypet/commissions

[okay-babe]

Dottie!! I just saw your post about preview requests and I'm frothing at the mouth excited rn :))))

Is there any chance you've got a preview to share of that southern gothic inspired fic you've talked a little bit about? I've been excited about it since you ran the poll for it weeks ago!

Ahh! Tysm, I am in love with ur writing!!!

The Hard Part - An Alastor x Reader Series Preview

synopsis: Sometimes, the decisions we make in life come back to haunt us even in death, and in this series, our reader learns the hard way that deals made with a beating heart must be tended to, even when the flesh has long since grown cold... tags: alastor x fem! reader, established relationship, alastor and reader are married, angst, childhood friends to lovers to wannabe strangers to ?, mentions of illness, mentions of discomfort note: Oh my gosh, Anon 😭 catch me openly weeping over how sweet this ask is, you're too cute! I have so much in store for this southern gothic series I'm doing (though we won't be able to get into that vibe too much until around part 2, unfortunately) and am so so excited to share it with everyone soon! Here's a little taste of what we've got going on so far :) For anyone who has an interest in learning more about this fic, feel free to check out some of the info about it here.

With a start, you shot up in your bed, hand clutched tightly to your chest.

From the depths of your stomach, you felt bile rise, nails digging into your flesh to help fight off the sensation of stifling nausea and chills.

This was hell. Literally and figuratively.

All around you, the air felt stifling and almost impossible to breathe, your lungs wheezing with effort at each futile attempt at an inhale.

"Everythin' alright in there, sweetheart?" A familiar voice called out to you from behind your bedroom door, the cheery tone unsuccessfully hiding the edge of concern that could be heard there.

You gasped around the growing lump in your throat, the strangled sound that followed just loud enough to be heard beyond your walls in spite of how hard you tried to keep yourself quiet.

You hated this part, the helplessness and anguish of it all always made worse by the fact that you were almost never allowed to just go it alone.

There was always a witness to your suffering, someone to see you crumble to pieces before their very eyes.

Your heart lurched uncomfortably within your chest as the door flew open just as you knew it would, the small woman standing on the other side standing there with shadowed and fearful eyes.

She hated this part just as much as you did, but you supposed in a few ways she might have even had it worse.

What in hell would she do if you died under her less than watchful eye?

How could she move on?

What would she ever tell your husband?

"Aw shit, doll..."

She muttered under her breath, the panic in her expression enough to make you wish it were possible to console her around the choking mass in your lungs.

She hadn't signed up for all of this, at least not entirely willingly.

It broke your heart to see her so very afraid for you, your life half clasped within her own typically careless hands.

"It's gonna be alright, I'm here."

[curio-queries]

I saw Jungkook's documentary this weekend and have just a few thoughts. If you're avoiding spoilers, don't click the cut!

The Hybe Documentary Format

So...as a reminder to you all, I do not have professional expertise in the film industry. I'm just a very discerning consumer. I also haven't seen Hobi's documentary and I watched Road to D-Day while I was quite ill last year so I only vaguely remember some bits. (I'll definitely be getting back to those sooner rather than later though as research for a series of posts I'm developing.) That being said, I think we have enough data points to state that Hybe has absolutely no interest in filmmaking techniques outside of music videos.

I did mostly enjoy my experience seeing this film yesterday and I'm always grateful for any amount of footage the members are willing to share with us but this 'documentary ' was worse than Jimin's Production Diary. Any of you that managed to make it through my rambling review will know how dissatisfied I was with that.

I Am Still is not a documentary, it's a mixture of showcase footage and behind-the-scenes clips, most of which has already been divulged in the various episodes and shooting sketches on YouTube. Honestly, if you're not able to see the film, just go rewatch all of the bangtantv content for JKs solo period and the showcase and you'll be up to speed with 85% of what was in the documentary.

There are definitely some expansions to the storylines featured in the bangtantv content; mostly being anything that wasn't overtly optimistic. For example, we learn a little bit more about just how sick JK was during the Seven/3D promotions. That content likely was pulled from the bangtantv edit because it would have put a damper on the promotions and given certain 'fans' a focus to fixate their vitriol. But overall, it feels more like an extended version of existing content rather than a new work. At least JPD didn't continually feed us footage we'd seen before.

I'm someone who gets completely bothered by previews spoiling content so I didn't watch any of the promos until after I saw it and I am so glad I skipped them because most of the 'original' scenes of the film were featured in least one of them. Alas, that's a separate issue of which I'm definitely in the minority.

Was There No Structure?

Kinda. Like JPD, there is a semblance of a structure: Attempting to follow the chronology of release activities for JKs GOLDEN album through the lens of JKs staement trying to prove that he is still worthy of everything he was being hailed as during the BTS group activities but I don't feel this was successfully executed. It jumps round enough and isn't very successful in explaining the events if you didn't already know about them. The film starts with the SEVEN performance at GMA and footage that we've already seen of JK recording SEVEN, not mentioning anything about the music video or really how JK got involved with the song in the first place. The rest of the story beats have similar missing points.

They have a vague narrative with the 'I Am Still' points but that's mostly carried by subs and a couple of moments that JK mentions himself. I'm not saying it's not true or wasn't top-of-mind for JK during this process but it's not the main point of many of the moment/messages he shared with us during this time period so it feels a little disingenuous since everything else jn this film really only makes sense if you've already seen quite a lot of behind-the-scenes content.

Honestly, it makes me question the intended audience. Obviously, they know that ARMY will shell out whatever we need to when there's new content from our members but most of us will have already seen all of the bangtantv content so we are already familiar with the most of the footage in this film. I genuinely don't think this was produced in such a way to be palatable for audiences not familiar with BTS so who does that leave? Our friends and family that are peripherally aware of the content but haven't learned the basics of JKs album? ARMY with short term memories only?

But again, it seems this film was compiled by an editing team and not lead by a director with experience in crafting a documentary. The only new footage that Ican guarantee was captured with the express purpose of being included in this film was the few clips of JK talking in the practice room with the albums displayed by him. But we all know that's where all of the promo clips were gathered as well. I have issues with that approach as well but I'll leave this point alone for now unless anyone is interested.

Suffice it to say, all of these suppositions over the past year about how JKs documentary was getting special treatment or even questioning about investment in a project up front are dead. This was a product assembled with bits of what they already had completely in-house which was sold for distribution.

So, Did We Learn NOTHING?

No, there are a few Golden nuggets (see what I did there?). I can't recall everything having only seen it once (and having a rather disruptive audience - I swear there were only dozen or so ppl in my theater but I forget how obnoxious teenagers can be. I'm glad they're enjoying and supporting but we really didn't need light sticks flashing during a film and how many times does one person need to get up to answer their phone during this runtime? Three according to the row in front of mine.)

Anyway, something I thought was interesting to learn was that Standing Next To You was initially recorded the day after JK heard it for the first time. And hearing a little more about how JK yearned to perform that song definitelygot me thinking a little more about it. We can't reach any conclusions just with this little nugget but it does open the door to some theories. Like perhaps they were initially planning to have JK record two separate albums? SEVEN and 3D would be the singles of the first and JK would perform them as we saw but perhaps STNY was originally planned to be the single of the 2nd album that would release while he was in the military and thus be unable to perform it? Maybe JK loved STNY so much that everything was grouped into one album and Never Let Go was the only track held back for ms? Definitely some theorizing space to be had now.

Final thoughts?

Similar to my thoughts on the GCF: Budapest (which I feel would have had a much better reception if it had been labeled as a bangtan episode rather than a GCF), I AM Still should not have purported to be a documentary. It was much more similar to the annual Memories compilations. But the general public would not have shelled out the $25 to go to a theater to watch a Memories DVD so alas, we have our content packaged as a ~documentary~...

Did my view on the music change at all? Not because of the documentary. We're coming up on the year anniversary of GOLDEN and it's still definitely not my favorite. I completely understand why some people like it but it's just not to my taste. The overall impact falls a little flat for me. Too much breadth and not enough depth. I came into my musical soul during the 00s emo phase and will always be a sucker for music that absolutely drips in an emotional way rather than catchy songs vaguely referencing heartache and love. Again, just a matter of viewpoint.

I do think most of these songs stand much better being shuffled amongst other artists in a Playlist and several of them are significantly better when JK sang them live but I still won't be listening to them regularly. I wholeheartedly believe JK completed his task of proving himself as an extremely dedicated and versatile singer and performer. He's definitely got some solid points added to his resume after this project.

[idrellegames]

Wayfarer Dev Log 2023.03.06

Hi friends!

It’s been a while since my last proper update in January. I am recovered from illness and mostly back to normal; with the days getting longer and actually having sunlight now, it’s easier to stay focused than it was in the winter. A lot of developments have happened in the interim, so I’m hoping this dev log will serve to get you caught up on things I’ve been keeping under wraps until now.

✦ New Blog Reveal

My blog’s desktop theme has been redesigned and updated! Huge thank you to @ethereal-themes for taking this on, I am in love with the new look.

Desktop theme

About

Navigation (with updated tags!)

FAQ

Character Roster (updated with Episode 2 characters + sortable, including by romance type)

These pages cannot be viewed in the tumblr mobile app, but they can be viewed by inputting the link into your mobile browser. Mobile versions of the updated FAQ information and tag list are forthcoming.

Many thanks to @memaidraws for my new blog portrait of Alexia. 💕

Additionally, I am no longer tracking the tag "wayfarer" for community content. The tag has become overrun with bots that makes it very difficult to filter. If you've created something you'd like me to see, please use the "wayfarer if" tag or tag my blog!

✦ The Public Build

A new patch should be coming sometime in March to fix lingering bugs and issues in Episode 2. This patch will require a full restart of the game. Once it releases, you should not use old saves otherwise you may encounter continuity errors and bugs in later episodes.

✦ The Alpha Build

Work on the next alpha update is progressing. I am still writing slower than I usually do, but I am coming up on the end of a major branch. There should be a new alpha release later in March that will cover one half of Episode 3 Part 1.

Even though not all possible routes will be included, the update will add over 300,000 words of new playable content to the game.

✦ Development Changes

Until recently, Wayfarer was planned to be a free game. This is no longer the case. Though I am not ready to announce the full details yet, the game will be eventually be moving to a free demo + paid full game model later in its development cycle.

Act 1 (which includes the Prologue and Episodes 1-3) will remain free to play. Future pricing for non-Patreon early access to later episodes while the game is in development is TBD.

Because this change impacts some behind-the-scenes things, I am need to gauge how much of Wayfarer’s playerbase plays the game on their phone versus a computer.

If you would like to help me out, check out this poll here and let me know what device you regularly play on!

✦ Wayfarer 2023 Pin-Up Calendar

The Wayfarer Calendar is now closed! A huge thank you to our contributing artists and everyone who donated. Altogether, we raised $1094.54 USD. These proceeds were donated today to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice.

I am so honoured that the calendar was a huge hit. On behalf of our organizers, I would like to thank everyone for their passion and excitement for this project. It’s too soon to announce whether we will do something like this again for next year, but there may be another calendar on the horizon…

If you’ve enjoyed Wayfarer, used my tutorials, or would like to support my work, please consider supporting me on Patreon. Patrons receive access to the alpha build, a private Discord server, exclusive previews, bonus content, side stories, and other benefits.

(Please note that if you are pledging solely for access to the alpha build, the alpha and the public build currently contain the same content.)

Wayfarer is a passion project and creating it is a full-time commitment. Any little bit goes a long way to help me bring it to fruition.

If you aren’t in a position to support financially, reblogs, shares, ratings and comments, and spreading the word about the game are much appreciated and do a lot to help me out! 💕

[splendsay]

ACOTAR FF // Azriel x F!Reader // Shade Cerulean

happy chewsday my dearies, hope ur safe and dry and warm <3

pls enjoy

..................................................................

..................................................................

Shade Cerulean // Chapter 3: Deconstruction

!!MDNI!!

Chapters: 3/? Content Warnings: Explicit language (a/o Ch.3) Pairing: Azriel (ACOTAR) x Reader (You) Chapter Preview:

When Azriel reappears -- hours later -- the violet-eyed man is with him, just as elegant and imposing as before, though he's changed clothes. His new obsidian attire is crisp, freshly pressed. He looks regal -- terrifying, if beautiful. Dark power emanates off him, sending a shudder of fear down your spine. 

Azriel backs into the gloom, ever content in his reticence, allowing his...boss, you guess, to step forward in the dim light. The beasts below rumble in welcome. 

You stifle a growl as you glare up at him, chin tucked. The corner of his mouth twitches ever so slightly.

Hello Cerulean.

You flinch, the low purr of the violet-eyed man's voice reverberating in your head. You'd fucking known it. Bender. Mind Bender. You shoot daggers out your eyes, sharp as you can make them. Bastard. His own eyes twinkle with tiny glittering stars, though the rest of him remains stoic. Impassive.

You only know one Mind Bender from home, and she is inarguably one of the worst people you've ever had the displeasure of sharing air with. Mistera. But...she had forcibly trained you, and the others in the Guild, on how to manipulate a Bender -- and protect your mental valuables. It had been grueling. Highly unpleasant. And you'd griped the whole time -- you don't even work in the field, you're just a weapons mistress, and how the hells is this even applicable to you in the first place.

Well. If you ever see her again, you'll volunteer yourself to eat your words. 

Hello man whose name I do not know.

He raises a brow -- just one. I am not a man.

You blink. What are you then?

In this world, men are human. I am a male.

You scrunch your nose. Seems like semantics to me.

He chuckles. In your head. It's unnerving. Be that as it may...

I still don't know your name.

He pauses, considering you for a moment. You may call me Rhysand.

Rhysand. You repeat it back to him, and he nods. 

This is not the first time you've spoken mind-to-mind. It's an observation. A statement. But he almost says it like a question. 

Afraid not.

He chuckles again, aloud this time, and cuts a glance to Azriel whose stony expression betrays nothing. 

A shiver rocks through you -- the cell is cold. And you've been sitting here long enough that the chill has reached your bones. Maybe if you're extra cooperative they'll let you back above ground.

You're here to see the monster.

Rhysand turns his gaze back to you. If you'll allow it.

I didn't actually see it, you know. 

I'd like to know what you did see.

And that's all you want to see?

Another gracious nod. That's all. 

You narrow your eyes. Lie.

He holds up two hands, placating. I will not pry. Promise.

Like hells do you believe him. But maybe he can help...Azriel seemed to realize something -- something important enough to draw this Rhysand down here -- he who is clearly the leader of them all. You wonder as to what exactly it is he's the leader of. Certainly more than the people you met. A city maybe? Country?

You'd Navigated away to find help. You needed it. Your home world had been woefully unprepared for an invasion of magic-eating monsters. You don't even know what you'll return to. If...if you can. You feel ill at that thought. That you might not be able to go back. 

You shake your head. Clear the fear. Stay alive. 

But maybe...maybe the gods guided you here. Maybe you landed here for a reason. 

You sigh.

Alright. Go on, then.

He sketches a modest bow of thanks, though it feels a bit like he's mocking you. 

Cool, dark talons caress the walls of your mind -- a request. You resist the urge to cringe away from them. 

With Mistera's militant guidance, you've managed to build a veritable fortress around your memories -- fortified with electrified fencing and a moat full of mythical, scaled beasts. Energy crackles along the perimeter, snapping and hissing with arcs of white. 

It flares and pops against his mental touch, but he doesn't shy away. You merely hear another chuckle rumble through your head. You subdue a scowl. 

Slowly, you open the gate, just barely, and allow him to pass through unharmed, hauling a specific memory forward and shoving it at him with everything in your power. It's the only one you can spare. You hope it's enough -- and that he keeps his promise. 

It's...hell to relive. You only have flashes -- vibrant and vivid and startling. You shiver as they crash through you, one snippet pulling free from the others -- its contents the most telling, anyway. 

A deep, guttural roar breaks the night, a demon belched from the furthest reaches of the hells screeching with hate and malice and hunger. Wet, squelching steps lumber after you as you sprint down a Ground-level alley, Greer keeping a frantic pace next to you. Her cherry red hair, whipped around her face by the frigid sea wind, is wild and unruly, as untethered as her silver eyes -- now dark with shadows. 

Those same shadows seem to carry you, slithering and whispering beneath your feet, accelerating your already electric pace over ancient cobblestones. Greer slips her pistol from the holster at her hip, turning back without slowing, firing once, twice at the beast on your tail. It wails in defiance -- harsh and sharp and horrifying -- but doesn't give up its chase. 

"You need to jump!" she cries out suddenly. Your head snaps toward her, but your feet don't abate. A spectrum of blue and green lights from the Upper Tiers above halo your vision, disorienting you. 

"What?!"

"JUMP!"

"I can't leave you!"

You'd already left Bastian. He'd told you to -- screamed it, much like his sister was doing now. 

It had ripped you in two -- to leave him that way, agonized and bleeding, despite all he'd done to you. And to everyone else you loved, Greer included. But still, he --

Greer's pace flags. "You have to," she pants. "You have to go."

You take in those eyes -- take in the intention there. Your heart sinks to your hips as you slow your sprint to a disbelieving, horrified jog.

"Greer, no," you breathe. 

It all happens faster than should be possible.

Her face darkens -- blades of obsidian mist writhe and twist and seethe along her body, creeping vines all the way up her legs and around her arms. They close in on her throat, winding tighter and tighter until she gasps for air. Her veins bulge and deepen in color as the whites of her eyes slowly bleed to pools of ink. 

She doesn't stop running. Neither do you.

"I don't have a choice," she says. Only it isn't her voice anymore. It's the voice of hundreds.

"Greer," you sob. But she's already done it -- torn a rift in the Veil. They'll pour through any second. And you can't be here when they do. 

"NOW!" the voices wail.

You scream. There's a flash of ultramarine light, then tearing, ripping, excruciating, agonizing pain -- then nothing.

..................................................................... Links to:

Spotify Playlist Full Fic

[cambriancrew]

So I just want to tackle this: (click on the image to see it clearly, idk why it's blurry in the Tumblr preview thingee)

This is a quote from an interview we did with radio journalist Laura Klivens.

We are also mentally ill - depression, anxiety, PTSD/C-PTSD.

We struggle to take care of ourselves sometimes because of our mental illnesses, particularly the depression and food-related PTSD.

When we were talking with Laura, we discussed that, though those bits didn't make it to the final paper.

We weren't making a broad statement that all people with mental illnesses are completely utterly incapable of ever taking care of themselves.

We were talking about how if it's a mental illness, it must cause some level of distress and/or dysfunction. It must make it harder to function. NOT that it's always 100% impossible. This quote, taken out of the context of the full discussion, certainly sounds like we're saying people with mental illnesses are all always too bad off to take care of themselves. But that's not what we meant, and we obviously didn't mean it that way given that we're mentally ill ourselves. And the interview even discusses our depression in depth! So obviously we didn't mean it the way that sysmedsaresexist is saying.

Also, you can be a Tibetan Buddhist but not be from Tibet nor speak Tibetan. And imho if we're talking about the harm the word "tulpa" does to the people from Tibet, I prefer listening to people from Tibet over people who aren't even from the same part of the world as Tibet nor do they even share a border with Tibet.

Green: SE Asia.

Circled in red: Tibet. (Roughly, hard to get it accurate on mobile but it's close enough.)

[pixelatedraindrops]

RainCode Sickfic (Sequel 3) preview!

(RainCode Endgame Spoilers!)

Behind the mask…lies the pain you’ve kept hidden all this time…

So as I’ve briefly mentioned multiple times, over winter break I will be writing a new fic, aka the third and final part to my RainCode sickfic trilogy. I call the it the “Sickfics of the Heart” series~ :)

The final fic I write will take place in the post game. Where former Number One, Yuma decides to visit Kanai Ward to check on his homunculus Makoto before the year ends as a break. But he finds out he’s not in good shape health-wise and decides to try to look after him.

I will be making multiple references to my first fic “Home is Where the Heart is” so be sure to read that fic first!

This fic will also contain more angst. (that I will make super fluffy in return :3)

Here is the summary of what I have planned.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: A Heartwarming Reunion

With his memories back, Former Number One, now Independent Detective Yuma Kokohead has recently solved yet another case. One more step towards his goal of eradicating all the world’s mysteries. He finds himself a little tired and realized that it was getting close to the end of the year. He thinks maybe it’s a good opportunity to take a small vacation to recuperate.

New Years is usually a time best spent with family. Sadly, Yuma didn’t have any blood relatives. His secondary family was the Nocturnal Detective Agency, but with the master detectives off doing their own thing, and the chief deceased (or rather wandering aimlessly as an undead homunculus zombie) he couldn’t be selfish and take up their time.

But as he thought back to his time spent in Kanai Ward's city of endless rain as an amnesiac, one person crossed his mind. The person who shared his face, his mind and his build. The homunculus clone he had to battle to solve the city’s mystery. (Though he could not remember what exactly happened) The CEO and now Leader of the clouded city of rain full of homunculi like him. Makoto Kagutsuchi.

Yuma thought to himself that even if they were previously enemies, Makoto was probably the closest thing to a blood relative he had left. So he decides to return to Kanai Ward to pay him a visit, to see how the city is fairing and hoping he had some time off to talk and catch up. And as the city’s leader, he was usually alone. He wouldn’t mind a little surprise visit from his original …would he?

Little did Yuma know, that Makoto may have needed his help more than he originally expected. He overhears rumors in the city that speak concerns of Makoto pushing himself too hard. It turns out their city’s leader was ill, and he had only gotten worse due to his days of continuous overworking and trying to brush it off, by hiding it using his mask.

Yuma is about to experience being a caretaker for the first time in his life, and to his own double. He has a bit of trouble at first, but he has a little bit of help from his heartwarming memories of his previous found family, the Nocturnal Detective Agency. He also finds out more about Makoto in the process. Realizing that he’s been in a lot of pain…that he’s kept masked all this time, all alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Also yes this edit is terrible... x'D Makoto's sprite art makes it difficult to edit into his body... I tried okay? x-x;

Anyway, I hope you will look forward to it! I will try to get it done by either Christmas or...the end of the year :3c

Also this will likely be a multi-chapter fic.

[akirameta84]

idk when or if ill finish this and ive had a habit of sharing my unfinished wip fics lately so heres the sequel to the werewolf au oneshot i wrote (and that i also shared the first part of months before i finished and posted it to ao3 lol)

id say its a bit under halfway done? idk. it follows directly after the last oneshot and may be confusing without it. and its an unfinished fic so you wont be missing anything if you just wait for it to eventually be finished and published (even if it might be a year rip)

but yeah. this is the first half or so wip of "Howling Harassment" sequel to the kubosai werewolf oneshot "Lycanthropic Liasons"

has not been edited or proofread obviously cause its not even done

its 5.3k words, and warning for vomiting mentions. if you want to skip the mini scene where kusuo is sick (he doesnt puke in the scene but talks about having done so) ive bolded the start and end of it. you wont be missing any plot details with it, but this wip preview does end shortly after it with just a paragraph so if you plan to skip that scene you can just stop reading at the first bolded part and be fine

enjoy i guess

also my italics didnt copy over so :shrug: place them where you think they go

Kusuo had been enjoying a very nice nap, relaxing peacefully and soaking in some warm sunshine, when the feeling of something wet dripping onto him slowly roused him from his slumber.

He blearily opened one eye but then immediately snapped both open when he caught sight of the tan wolf, shockingly with a normal looking chin, leaning over him and drooling all over his face. Recoiling and lurching to his paws in the same beat, he stumbled a good few meters away from Nendou, standing tensely in the grass.

They were right outside the makeshift and, honestly, poorly constructed hideout of Kaidou and Aren’s, and Kusuo had thought that if he took a nap outside he could both enjoy the sun on his fur and separate himself from Nendou, since the idiot would likely be enthralled by Kaidou and Aren attempting to play card games with paws.

Apparently Kusuo had been very very wrong. He sat down hard into the dirt and reached a back leg to scratch painfully at his head, like it would help get all the saliva off of him even though he knew it wouldn’t.

Nendou had been staring at him the whole time until a deep bark from the hideout entrance sounded, calling his attention. Aren’s deep purple and very furry but scarred head stuck out from the door made of blankets and glared at Nendou, having heard Kusuo’s mental distress. Nendou whimpered but strutted over to the entrance and headed inside.

In regards to the werewolf telepathy, since they were unsure if Nendou could hear them, attempting verbal communication without the ability to speak words was necessary to try and talk to the idiot who had also found himself lycanthropic by unknown means. At least they knew where he was now and Kusuo could fix any problems his disappearance has started to cause.

Kusuo was slightly worried as well that, due to the fact that he was missing all of the last week, Nendou couldn’t turn back like Kaidou and Aren had at first. Kusuo had been able to teach them by just instructing them through how he usually activated his shape-shifting, and it had thankfully done the trick.

He was still hoping that Nendou could hear their trains of thought even if they were blocked from his. He’d shown no signs of it, but this was Nendou. He could be hearing everything and not give a single clue.

Either way, it was still absolutely bizarre to have someone (Or up to three someones) reading his mind for a change, even if the fact that he didn’t have to bother with proper communication as much was pleasant.

‘It’s still bizarre to me that you’ve heard all of our thoughts up to now from when you met us, Kusuo.’

Yeah. That was fair. Kusuo lifted his head and gazed at the darkening sky that was many shades of orange and pink as the sun gradually lowered into the horizon. It was rather pretty and almost soothing to stare at. It’d been decently bright and blue when he’d gone to sleep, so he’d gotten a good few hours in.

That was good. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep once he went back home and dealt with what would be waiting for him. There was no way his brother had already gone from England to Japan in under twelve hours, even if their mom calling about limiter issues was fairly serious, but he’d still get harassed via television video call from his brother and either wait in dread for his brother to fly over or just teleport himself and get it over with.

Both sucked.

‘I think you’re over reacting. Surely your brother didn’t literally create something that turns people into werewolves. That sounds impossible. To be fair, so does being born an esper, but still.’

‘…B-but how else did it get…created?’

Kaidou was very bad at hiding his excitement at the concept of a mad scientist making something like lycanthropy, even if he posed his question as.

And also how he wondered if Kusuo’s brother could make him into a vampire instead, because when he watched a movie series called- ‘Hey stop stop sto-’

Kusuo snorted but obliged and cut that train of thought off, standing up and padding over to the hideout entrance.

Regardless, the answer was very much no to Kaidou, there really was no other potential source, and yes to Aren. Kuusuke was most certainly behind this and Kusuo was either going to make him fix it or commit fratricide.

‘…Can you…m-maybe-’

‘If he makes a cure I’m not letting you stay like this, Kaidou.’

Kusuo arrived at the blanket covering and stepped inside right on cue to see Kaidou’s best attempt at a canine frown and puppy eyes…the latter of which was quite a lot more effective in a literal dog form than it normally was for the boy seated on a pillow in the very corner of the hideout, front paws splayed over a bunch of cards on the carpeted ground in front of him.

He looked away before the eyes could take effect. He was getting far too soft and was not about to consider willingly keeping one of his friends a goddamn werewolf when he could reverse it.

When. Not if. Kusuo kept making sure he left no room for doubt in his mind. That way it would be easier to kill Kuusuke if he failed to make a totally guaranteed cure.

Aren was padding back over to the light blue wolf, a sulking Nendou in tow, and though Kusuo’s thoughts had already spelled out for the two of them that he was about to go home and get the confrontation or whatever over with, he still had one more pressing issue to attempt to solve beforehand.

‘Nendou,’ He projected outwards, staring at him as if it would help get his message across, taking a few more steps on the frankly uncomfortably textured carpet.

To his slight shock, the tan wolf spun his head around so quickly he feared Nendou would break his neck (A familiar sight, Nendou did that far too much, even if it had less of an impact without the…mildly disturbing human face), tongue lolling out of his mouth as he watched Kusuo expectantly.

Aren and Kaidou looked up, intrigued, their minds similarly surprised that Nendou could hear their minds just fine.

…Could he? There was a chance that had been Kusuo’s own inherent telepathy as it was hard to tell the two versions apart, unlike the ease at which he could separate the lycanthropic ability and his own shape-shifting.

If it was his own and the idiot couldn’t hear Kaidou or Aren that wasn’t that much of an issue. Kusuo was the one who needed to help him turn back, after all.

(Considering the fact that Nendou didn’t visibly react to any of Kusuo’s ambient thoughts about that, actually, Nendou was not connected to the werewolf telepathy. He can only hear projected thoughts from Kusuo’s. Kaidou seemed utterly fascinated by that, while Aren was just mildly annoyed at how it was so complicated. Kusuo was in agreement with his boyfriend, and not just because of that status).

Nendou’s head tilted after the good few moments of staring, and Kusuo realized he should probably elaborate on why he got his attention before he was licked or pounced on again.

‘Do you want me to show you how to turn back tomorrow?’

He almost offered to do it right now but remembered, bitterly, that they were all stuck like this for a good while longer thanks to the moon cycle.

To his surprise, Nendou responded by shaking his head no, slobber flailing from his tongue as he did so. He heard Kaidou yelp as a drop landing in his eye, according to his thoughts.

That was…not the expected or desired answer at all. Kusuo wished he could just ask why straight up, but he would just go through the options instead.

Aren had sat down facing the two of them, even though Nendou was still turned away from Kusuo and looking back with his head, face far too amused to be anything but smug.

‘I bet he’s going to already know how to-’

‘You’re jumping ahead in the narrative, shut up.’

‘…I’m what?’

Kusuo firmly decided to ignore him. Kaidou could probably use some help putting all the playing cards away, he not so subtly thought of but didn’t directly project as he looked over and saw the small wolf in question pushing around the cards with his paws to try and get them all in a small stack again.

Aren just rolled his eyes but turned away to assist, and Kusuo gave his attention back to the ever still and rapt Nendou.

Seriously, he kind of wished that Nendou had lost interest in their one-sided conversation during the decently sized breaks in it. That would be less creepy.

‘Are you saying no because you already know how?’ He asked next, using purely his own deductive reasoning and nothing else.

‘You are really something special, babe.’

Kusuo shifted in place, annoyed, as Nendou nodded. There was no bothering with asking why the fuck he had stayed like this a week when there wouldn’t be a reply. He just huffed out a breath of air and asked one last question.

‘Will you please turn back and be human again by tomorrow?’

Nendou unflinchingly nodded at the downright angry tone of Kusuo’s, finally spinning around fulling and raising a front paw up, curling it and uncurling it awkwardly.

Was that supposed to be a thumbs up? Probably. He could only guess that it was because the idiot tended to give so many of those normally.

Kusuo nodded to himself and walked away, putting as much space between him and Nendou as he could in the small hideout, ending up next to the other two slightly less idiotic wolves.

‘Slightly!? It’s more than just slightly!’

Aren just chortled.

‘Do you want help getting home before I go, Kaidou? I can teleport you and then make your family perceive you as human if they happen to see you before you’re able to change back. And, of course, make your disappearance today nonexistent.’

There was a worrying hesitation before Kaidou replied, his snout twisting awkwardly as if he were trying to bite at his lip, and he paused in gently nudging a few cards to the side and merging them with the growing stack. Kusuo used his telekinesis to grab them all and order them neatly into a stack, floating them straight into the box.

Kaidou blinked at him, startled but grateful, but refocused his mind quickly.

‘A-actually I want to. Uh…t-tell them. I don’t want to hide it forever and it would just be…easier. To tell them.’

Huh. Kusuo had heard Kaidou’s mind dance on that possibility, but it had been thought about so little that he hadn’t expected the boy to actually decide on that course of action in the end.

‘…I hope it goes well, then. Do you still want help getting home right now or will you wait?’

‘I’ll w-wait with Aren. Get some nerves out. And go home when we’re back.’

‘Very well.’

Kaidou and Aren had taken to keeping spare clothes in the hideout, so that plan would work just fine for them. Kusuo had no need, he could just teleport freely around those two since his secret wasn’t secret between them. And, in all honesty…it felt nice to have have a friend closer than Aiura or Toritsuka know, as well as someone even closer but not family.

But for now he also was definitely not telling any other friends. Not until he was ready to actually do it on his own terms for once.

Kusuo turned around and walked towards the exit of the hideout despite not needing to in order to head home, but it somehow felt more polite to leave this way and then teleport.

‘I’ll see you guys tomorrow, then.’

Kaidou and Aren seemed baffled that he’d said farewell which was rather fair since he never gave those or said hello much at all, but responded in kind themselves.

Before he could make it all the way out, though, footsteps sprinted towards him, and he didn’t have much time to react before Aren shoved his face against Kusuo’s, rubbing them together like he was a cat instead of a wolf.

Aren’s expression was far too innocent afterwards as he drew back and somehow grinned, and Kusuo rolled his eyes and turned away, keeping his body but most importantly his stupid tail with a mind of its own still as warmth bloomed in his chest, grateful his face couldn’t flush like this.

He continued walking moments after, only not doing something to be polite and reciprocate because he needed to leave and not because the prospect of doing so like this was embarrassing.

He briefly wanted to strangle Aren when he heard his mental chuckle at his denial.

As soon as he had fully crossed through the blanketed doorway, tail and all, Kusuo gathered his energy and teleported to his bedroom, a location so familiar he didn’t even need to conjure the image in his head to travel to it.

And, as soon as all four of his legs landed on his bedroom floor, his television turned on and his brother’s ugly face filled the screen, telepathy canceler adorning his long blonde hair, some of it covering his left eye and the rest of it in a ponytail, despite Kusuo being nowhere close enough to read his mind. He bared his teeth at the image and intentionally raised his hackles.

It took less than a second of being home for his brother to make an entrance.

Fifty six milliseconds, to be precise.

Kuusuke sniffled, feigning sadness as his tinny voice sounded through the speakers, “I can’t believe my own baby brother is so angry at me paying him a pseudo visit. How upsetting, after mom called me so worried about you and everything…”

Kusuo just sat on his floor and glared at the television, making eye contact not with Kuusuke’s image, but with the camera perched very visibly on top of the television.

His brother knew he’d be slaughtered if he had cameras permanently installed in Kusuo’s or their parent’s bedrooms. But he’d been barely spared when he added one to his TV that only activated when he was video calling, and the living and dining rooms got actual full-time cameras.

“Hmph, no response? Not even a rude comment?” His brother paused purposefully and smugly, “Oh, wait, you can’t respond! Without your telepathy, since even with my lovely canceler I’m still far out of range, you can’t speak like that.”

A teasing glint entered his brother’s visible eye as Kusuo continued to glare, unimpressed, “Or can you? Come on, can you speak, Kusuo? Speak? Like a good dog?”

He had to put physical effort into swallowing his growl, because that would have almost given Kuusuke exactly what he wanted. His bedroom sat in silence as they had an impromptu, or really, with his brother, expected competition to see who’s resolve gave first.

Kuusuke didn’t bother to try very hard, giving up with a shrug quickly because as much as he liked to make fun of his brother and attempt to win at every little thing, proper competition or not, they shared the same trait of impatience.

Kusuo’s patience was better overall, though. It had to be, growing up with his powers and all.

“I will say, it is a lot harder to decipher what you want to say like this. I’ve mastered your blank human expression, obviously, but I am very much not a canine person. Maybe I should have made werecats instead…”

Kusuo didn’t even bother to hide his growl that time, narrowing his eyes and translating his words clearly enough that his brother was easily able to garner the meaning when given more information than an empty glare.

“Oh? Am I responsible for you and your friend’s predicament? Obviously. To be completely truthful, though, you were never supposed to find out, and you were especially not supposed get infected yourself.”

Kusuo tilted his head to the side, keeping his eyes narrowed to hopefully keep his skepticism clear.

His brother laughed at first, “Aw, you look adorable like that. It barely looks like you’re angry,” Kusuo snapped his head back up instantly, “But no, I am not lying. That’s why I kidnapped and gave the virus to your brainless friend initially, so you wouldn’t hear any thoughts about it.”

Kuusuke paused to wave a hand dismissively at the question Kusuo didn’t even try to ask, anticipating the obvious.

“I never left London and your friend never left Japan, either. I had robots kidnap and inject him with the serum I had mailed to a private lab I own in the area beforehand. It was easier and I had no risk of getting infected myself. What I failed to realize is that your little pet idiot could break out of a room made of solid steel walls and take off the tracking collar in the process.”

The screen briefly flickered to an image of, presumably, the room Nendou had been held in. There was a large hole in one of the gray, metal walls, opening straight into the outside, and the image barely lasted a few seconds before his brother was back in view.

Ah. Kusuo didn’t think that was possible either, but this was Nendou they were talking about, who has done countless other inhuman feats like his stunt in the school marathon. If Kusuo didn’t know any better, he’d say that Nendou also had psychic abilities.

“Anyways, I’m sure you’re wanting my help with this…issue of yours?” Kuusuke questioned, not leaving room for Kusuo to respond before continuing.

Not that Kusuo would have replied anyways, but the implications were still rude.

“Why don’t you teleport over here right away and let me have a look? I have to admit, much to my shame… I have no way of making a cure without seeing the biological structure of the transformed state first. Otherwise I might be reverting things that are actually a part of your human body.”

That was the biggest pile of bullshit Kusuo had ever heard, and his eye roll only conveyed a tiny fraction of how pissed he was.

“Ah, you’re too smart for that, huh, Kusuo? Yeah, I actually don’t know if I can revert the lycanthropy at all, haha! I never planned to in the first place.”

…Sometimes, the truth hurt significantly more than the lie he had tried to get fed. Kusuo sighed, quite displeased, and stood with a stretch, walking right past his television and heading for the door of his bedroom, which he swung open telekinetically.

He couldn’t see his brother anymore, but he could, unfortunately, still hear him, “Cold shoulder, huh? I never said I wouldn’t try, Kusuo,” He paused mid-step, body halfway out of the door, “Teleport over tomorrow before school, since I really don’t think you’ll get anywhere near me transformed and you’re stuck like this until around six in the morning tomorrow, and I’ll see what I can think of. I won’t keep you anymore, mom’s about to call you down for dinner. Goodbye!”

Kusuo heard his television forcefully shut off with a faint click at the same time his mom’s thoughts grew in volume as they targeted him with ‘Ku-chan, dinner’s ready!’

He’d known dinner was ready. That was why he’d teleported home at this time and had started leaving the conversation when he had. Hmph. Maybe it was a little bit of intentional cold shoulder, sure, but it was mostly dinner.

Or at least that was what he’d tell his mom if Kuusuke whined to her about Kusuo being mean, because he was just being mean for the fun of it. It wasn’t like his brother didn’t deserve it. Sure, he said he was going to genuinely try and fix the whole stupid werewolf thing, but it was his fault in the first place so the effort overall amounted to nothing.

…Did Kuusuke say six in the morning? That probably meant the initial shift had been at six this morning, which added up. That was utterly ridiculous. It was from sunrise to sunrise on the day and night with the fullest moon. How irritating. Kusuo was very good at tuning out Kaidou and Aren’s train of dialogue at this point, helped by his seventeen years of experience tuning out telepathy in general, so much so that he could even forget about them, but their exclamations of horror at that time-frame brought them back into the forefront for a moment.

They’re going to be waiting in that hideout much longer than anticipated… Kusuo sent them a brief condolence. He sent himself a reminder to set an alarm for tomorrow morning so he could shift back promptly.

Abruptly done, Kusuo turned back into his room instead of stepping all the way out, finding and grabbing his dinner telekinetically and bringing it straight to himself, ignoring the silverware for obvious reasons. Upon seeing his plate float away from his table, his mom’s thoughts became rather worried, but he reassured her that he was fine, just still. Having issues.

“…And I’ll be going to see Kuusuke early tomorrow,” He tacked on as well, rolling his eyes at how that statement fully calmed her down in the end.

Setting the plate down on his desk, Kusuo did his best to hop onto his desk chair, grumbling as he landed and the chair teetered precariously before balancing. Doing that was much easier as a cat, considering he weighed around ten pounds as one compared to now in which he was probably a good bit over a hundred.

Mildly annoyed, he huffed again tonight, and started eating (And being a bit disheartened at how dull the normally delicious tonkatsu tasted. He didn’t have anywhere near as many taste buds as a human did, so it was like the flavor was distant and sad), debating on if even trying to sleep when he felt wild awake and irritated was even worth it.

Well, even just lying restfully in his bed would be nice, and Kusuo decided listlessly relaxing was how he’d spend the rest of the night. School tomorrow would probably be a pain after having to deal with his brother, and a mental break would be necessary.

If only he had his germanium ring to truly relax in silence, properly removing both forms of telepathy. As much as he was fond of his nuisances, it was socially draining to always be either in a conversation or hearing one, as the werewolf telepathy was louder than his.

‘Are you telling us to shut up?’

‘Of course not. I’m complaining to myself, not you.’

‘…Right.’

Back on track, even if he could wear a ring on paws, it was no longer functional. The initial transformation had taken his ring with it, just like his clothes, and it’d been warped and broken beyond repair due to Kusuo’s innate strength. If it hadn’t, he likely would’ve tied it to a string and placed it on his neck.

As it stood, it was one wrong tap from Kusuo away from shattering, which wasn’t good when one weak tap from Kusuo could kill a person.

At least in the fading hours of daylight as dusk transitioned to night, people were settling down; and while most people weren’t going to sleep, they were going from a busy day to a mellow night routine, and their minds quieted as a result.

Finishing his meal and barely stopping himself from zoning out and letting his brain decide to lick the rest of the plate clean, he squinted at the empty dish and activated his clairvoyance to see if he had any coffee jelly of equal value in the fridge.

Fantastically, he did. Thank god his parents didn’t splurge on fancy dishes and silverware. This cheap ceramic plate had the same value of a slightly high in value convenience store coffee jelly, and so he apported the two of them, not caring at all that his empty plate was now in the refrigerator.

Kusuo could put it up later, before his parents noticed. Probably.

The lack of hands was making Kusuo actually appreciative of the full scale of his ESP for once, as ripping the seal off of the cup of jelly was as simple as a flex of his mind.

His tail thumped against the side of chair from where it dangled downwards as he shoved his snout straight into the cup. The taste may be watered down and nowhere close to how divine it was normally, but there was still enough of it present for him to enjoy it blissfully.

When he finished it and licked the entire inside completely clean he apported the empty cup for a significantly cheaper but still good brand of coffee jelly, since eating the contents regrettably lowered the value.

He deserved two for this whole ordeal. Maybe three…

…Perhaps not three, actually, since it wouldn’t do if he ate too much coffee jelly while being unable to truly enjoy its delectable flavor…yeah, two would suffice. That reason was why he had avoided his favorite treat even when dealing with being miserable and shape-shifted against his will, but a whole day stuck as a dog warranted it.

----

Kusuo should not have eaten any coffee jelly.

His head and stomach burned fiercely but, at the very least, he heard little to no mental voices due to it being the middle of the night. Even Kaidou and Aren were fast asleep, evidently, since there was no trace of them in his mind. So he did get the reprieve of his headache was significantly less than it could have been in this moment.

His mom rubbed his back (Basically petting him but the comfort was something he would have gotten the exact same way in a human form, so whatever), kneeling down on the floor to be next to him as he sat on the same, chilly, bathroom tile, right in front of the toilet.

Caffeine was toxic to canines, as well as most other animals. Technically it was still toxic to humans but that was irrelevant due to humans having the constitution for it.

Wolves did not have the constitution for it. It made them very ill instead.

Yes, he’d known that, but he’s eaten coffee jelly in his cat form with no repercussions despite his biology being just as altered as it was now…but, on retrospect, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever spent the next few hours after those moments remaining in a cat form and letting that body start to digest it, instead turning back before that could happen.

His mom’s mind was frantic with distress which was fair considering she’d found her normally invulnerable son still transformed and heaving the contents of his stomach into the toilet in the middle of the night after waking up from the noise of him teleporting and landing loudly into the bathtub at first because he’d been disoriented and nauseous, but she’d refused to let her mind come up with and ask questions until she was sure Kusuo was going to be alright.

She was a godsend, and so he decided to explain of his own free will so she wouldn’t start crying, which she was far too close to for comfort, flicking his gaze to the side so that it met hers.

“I’m okay. Or getting there. Dogs can’t have coffee or they get sick. I ate two cups of coffee jelly after dinner…I think I forgot to take the plate I apported into the fridge back out as well. Sorry.”

“Kusuo…” The use of his actual name was usually a bad sign, but now it was more out of exasperation and worry than anything of the scolding variety, “Can you still not turn back?”

He just shook his head, not wanting to explain that he wouldn’t be able to until a time frame that was far too specific for what he was still pretending was a power malfunction.

Kurumi just hummed sadly at that, continuing to stroke his back even as his scooted a bit away from the toilet. His stomach was still rolling queasily, but Kusuo was fairly sure that his body was done being absolutely disgusting.

He almost shuddered remembering how it had felt. He was beyond glad his ESP made him neigh immune to disease, because vomiting was the most unpleasant thing he’d ever experienced so far in life.

As he continued to pull himself back together, staring blearily at the white bathroom floor tiles, his mom asked him another question, “Would medicine help?”

“Even if it did, given my powers, I can’t take it like this. Human medication is a very big no-no for animals,” He sighed mentally and slowly raised himself off the ground, taking shaky steps past his mom and towards the open bathroom door. It was dark in the house, and so the hallway outside looked pitch in contrast to the illuminated bathroom, even with his ability to see in the dark.

The bathroom was, fortunately, rather close to his bedroom, so he decided against teleporting and padded slowly back to his room, pausing as his mom rushed ahead to open the door for him, leaving the bathroom light on in the process.

That was sweet of her, even if he probably could have used his telekinesis fine. He sent a quiet thanks to her and closed the gap to his bed agonizingly slowly, as his stomach lurched ominously whenever he tried to speed up more than a tiny bit.

Kusuo had actually managed to drift asleep briefly before this incident, lulled sufficiently by soft mental voices as he laid on his bed, and now he was even sleepier feeling. It seemed like getting sick had actually assisted in granting him some much needed rest.

He didn’t bother to shut his bedroom door, nosing under the covers of his bed until he was completely buried and comfortable, wondering faintly where his mom had gone when he heard her footsteps go downstairs, but overall not that concerned about it.

It was only when he had nearly fallen asleep again that his heightened hearing noticed her approaching his bed, and she called for him as she approached the lump of covers he’d become, “Ku-chan?”

He stuck his head out from under his blankets, the rest of his body curled up tightly behind him, looking curiously at his mom as she held a bowl full of water out at him, setting it down on his end table once she’d confirmed that he knew of its presence.

“If you feel up to it, you should make sure to drink some water, okay? Otherwise you’ll get dehydrated, since you just threw up,” She reached a hand down and stroked his head gently, and Kusuo nodded both to signify that he heard her and to dislodge it politely.

He knew that. He just hadn’t felt like getting himself water when he would have survived the night regardless. But, now that it had been brought to him, he crawled up on his bed until he could stick his muzzle into the bowl and drink as his mom turned to leave, wishing him a good rest of the night that he almost forgot to return.

Drinking from a bowl like this was mildly demeaning, but it was significantly less of a hassle than using telekinesis to drink from a cup was. So, since he was feeling very icky and wanted to exert as little energy as possible right now, he decided he didn’t care, tucking his head right back under his blanket once he’d had enough to satiate his thirst.

----

Waking up to an alarm at six in the morning when he didn’t have to be at school until closer to nine would usually be a miserable experience, but for once, Kusuo was downright filled with joy when he remembered why he was startled out of a deep sleep so early.

[kassandras-one-braincell]

hi!! i was wondering if you have any general advice for someone who wants to start posting their work on ao3? or i guess if you would advice me to do that at all lol! i saw your recent post about it in relation to the ai stuff and found it so useful since i don't usually see people talk about that, thank you for sharing <33

Hi love! Please don't let the current AI situation on AO3 dissuade you from joining the platform. In all honesty, I think the scrape was a cheap attempt at obtaining credentials for identity theft using the illegitimate DMCA forms, rather than something done for software training purposes. I'm pretty sure Cloudflare, its hosting platform, has taken action against it.

My humble advice is contained below the cut, because it's quite long, but there's a bit of a learning curve with the posting page and a couple of unspoken customs:

The bulk of everything you need to know about posting on AO3 is contained in the ToS, which hopefully will help you navigate the "post" menu. If you're unsure whether a warning applies, select "Creator Chose Not to Use Archive Warnings" just in case.

There's no algorithm, so all that readers have to go by is the (excellent) tagging system and the summary you provide.

If you struggle with summaries - most of us do - then a snippet of the work is perfectly sufficient. Ultimately, the summary is a preview of your writing, and if you opt for the excerpt approach, your style, which is your only chance to attract readers.

Tagging is a little bit intimidating the first few times as a writer, but you'll get the hang of it soon enough! Asides from central characters and pairings, this is the place to disclose the genre of the work, any key/polarising themes and/or triggers. You're not obligated by ToS to disclose these, but it's a gesture of goodwill if you know it might upset someone. If there is a disturbing theme present, include the tag "Dead Dove Do Not Eat" - this is the colloquial indicator for the reader to very carefully reread the tags, because they're to be taken literally.

When you begin to type a tag, you'll be given suggestions of the most widely used tags that match what you've typed. If the shoe fits, use these. It makes the site easier to navigate for readers. If you're spawning a tag into existence though, it will begin to appear in that little drop down after there are three works on the archive containing the tag. I know this because I was the first (and second, third and fourth lmao send help) person to upload "Soma (Assassin's Creed)/Reader" to AO3 :)

You have the option of uploading your work in the designated editor as Rich Text or HTML. The only significant difference between them is how page and paragraph breaks are formatted. If you're copy-pasting from a word processor, slap it in Rich Text, and then if you want to do anything fancy after that outside of the scope of the Rich Text editor, you'll be able to make adjustments in HTML.

While you can save a draft, the text editor is not designed to be a substitute for word processing software. There is no editing history or backup feature, so it's ill-advised to develop your work directly on the platform.

Finally, with all the technical stuff put to one side, try not to fret over metrics like hits and kudos. It's lovely to receive kudos and comments, but smaller numbers aren't indicative of your work in any way, shape or form. There are so many factors at play there, and sometimes just the time of publication can have a huge impact on reader engagement, precisely because there's no algorithm to bolster or suppress.

Take pride in your work, and keep the dopamine as isolated as possible from the thought of big numbers. I promise you, it will keep the passion alive for longer :)

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[parttimepuff]

PARTY TIME? I brought those soft cookies people say they all hate but actually like and also king fu panda let’s get unreasonable and use your new citizenships to get formally charged with disturbing the peace WOOOOOOOOOOO

">I’ll take that movie-" Lor announced, a port on her console opening up for it to be placed in. "Yesssss, a classic." Gremlin happily took the film, bringing it over so the AI could play it. Beep found herself more intrigued by the cookies, not having tried this sort before. "Oh, nice! Now we've got more choice for treats!" Luna exclaimed, having set her own creation on a table with a bunch of other snacks.

Already holding some beeper bites, Beep picked up and took a bite of a lofthouse cookie. Her eye widened. "Pretty good, huh?" Reverie prompted. The Matter answered with a low frequency buzzing sound as Lor got the movie playing. "Glad you like 'em!" Her father chuckled. Though not able to entirely understand her first language, he was at least getting the gist.

'Yeah!! Super good!!' Orbee chimed in, munching on a beeper bite as they eyed the other snacks. "Aww, thanks!" Luna beamed, glad her cookies were still well liked. Turning from the screen to the others as it went through very old movie previews, Gremlin grinned. "You guys are gonna love the movie, promise." He insisted, excited to be sharing it with them.

Glancing around the bridge, Beep found herself smiling wide with the rest of them. This was what she'd been working so hard for, what they all had been. "I got the popcorn!!!" Magolor shouted, the large bowl held high over his head like a trophy. "Awesome!!!" Gremlin cheered, shifting their snack table around so they had room for it. "Movie, snacks, family. This is how to party!" His niece exclaimed.

'Yeah!! I love parties!!!' Orbee agreed, bumping into her affectionately. "And I-agh-love you!" Beep reciprocated despite the high positivity starting to make her feel ill. Something that didn't go unnoticed. "Ah… Just let us know if we need to calm down, ok? OR if you need space, we all totally get it." Reverie reminded her, Magolor nodding and taking it to heart himself. He already had a bit off space between himself and the rest.

"But if I do, then I’ll miss the MOVIE." Beep protested. "We can pause whenever, don't worry about it." Gremlin offered. None of that was enough to dissuade her, holding Orbee like a pillow, clearly hyped on sugar. "Mooooovie." The Matter insisted. 'Movie!!' Her sibling echoed. The previews, having run their course, finally gave way to the film itself. "Heh, movie it is." Reverie relented. Though silent and in the corner away from the rest, Hermit watched on, a cookie in one hand, as the movie began.

[howwekeepcriptime]

Here is a little bit about my in-progress graphic novel to go with the call for participation I'm sharing.

Adagio is a story about a sick transsexual drummer named Lucky who is transitioning into crip time. The story takes place over two intertwining timelines in the drummer’s life, and spans across two fictionalized port cities. In the not-so-distant future, a late-twenties Lucky is navigating a potentially regrettable solo trip to his hometown for a one-night-only show - his first since the onset of his illness; while in the not-so-distant past, a teenage Lucky is discovering the venue for the first time in the midst of a transition of his own. 

As I start to select participants for How We Keep Crip Time, I will share some previews of the story it will live alongside 👨🏻‍🦼💨

[keepyourstyle]

Finally started on my phoenixflare fic! Here’s a preview to tide people over until I’m motivated enough to eventually write the rest of it.

Joshua couldn't sleep.

It was something he was used to; a childhood of various ailments and illnesses followed by the capture of Ultima causing a variety of aches and pains didn't make for a good night's sleep. Combined with the fact that after almost twenty years of sharing a room with Jote, Joshua suddenly had a room of his own, his sleeping quarters too small for a second bed. He wasn't too concerned about the lack of protection, the various fighters and Cursebreakers doing an excellent job of making sure the hideout was safe, but the presence of another person was something he had grown accustomed to.

Despite the fact Joshua hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since he was a child, he still wanted to be well rested for the upcoming battle against Origin. However, after tossing and turning for almost an hour, Joshua decided to give up on some shuteye and go for a walk.

The wooden door creaked as Joshua opened it, but to his relief, no one came to investigate. With soft footsteps he made his way down the dormitory hallway and belatedly remembered the hideout contained a sparring room, along with a variety of training weapons.

Changing direction, Joshua tried to remember where exactly said training room was, wishing he had taken the opportunity to explore the structure his brother called home a bit more thoroughly. A few wrong turns later, Joshua eventually found it, and to his surprise, discovered the room already lit up. The sound of a weapon cutting through the air, followed by a grunt as it hit a training dummy, is heard through the open crack of the door.

He peeked in, not wanting to alert the other person using the room to his presence, and his breath caught in his chest when he realized it was Dion. Joshua’s eyes took in the other man and the way he handled his training lance, the grace of Dion’s movements, the grim expression on his face as he landed a hit at the center of the dummy’s target.

For a brief moment, Joshua wondered what it would be like to have those hands handle him in a similar way.

[ppopinjaysworld]

My Eyes and Your Eyes

I realise I have not posted fanfic on this account before but I wrote something for Masamune recently! It's a wholesome little story about some events I imagined from his childhood.

This is just a preview, read the rest on Ao3!

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Summary: “Sometimes our closest friends are the ones we don’t expect.” Kojuurou poured a steaming cup of water from a kettle, handing it to the young master. “Life has its strange ways of bringing people together.”

After losing his eye, Bontenmaru is shunned and looked upon with disdain, feeling abandoned by the cruel world he has been thrown into. Life looks bleak, and his future uncertain, but perhaps all he needs is someone who shares his pain and shows him that he is worthy of love and happiness again.

Note: Most of this story is set during Masamune’s childhood, so Masamune goes by his childhood name, Bontenmaru, and his younger brother Masamichi appears with the name Jikumaru. 

This story might have been a bit too emo at the start, but I wanted to explore Bontenmaru’s inner conflict while growing up, as well as his emotions. Enjoy!  

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“You’re so slow! I’m gonna win for sure!” 

Bontenmaru sneered, swinging a large stick down onto his younger brother, who parried the blow just in time with another stick. 

Jikumaru grinned, his cheeks round with puppy fat. “I’m not going to lose! I’ll become the strongest samurai!”

“Fat chance!” Bontenmaru struck again, finally hitting his brother who remained unguarded, in the arm. “I win!”

Jikumaru flopped down onto the soft grass of the garden, squealing as his older brother dragged him along the grass, not caring for the grass and soil that clung to his hakama — it was dark blue, anyway. The cherry blossoms had just started blooming again after a brutal winter; the wind scattered their petals, like a pink and white storm in the garden; the birds and animals had just returned from their winter slumber, and their activity around the garden promised lovely spring weather ahead. Likewise, Bontenmaru’s quarantine for his illness had just been lifted, and he was once more free to roam around the garden, making mischief like he always did.

The garden in front of the castle’s main house was loveliest in the spring, with the perfect temperature for playing outside, and the right amount of rain for the plants to thrive. Spring also meant more animals, especially the stray cats that the castle’s residents had come to adore.

The two boys didn’t hear the soundless footsteps on the wooden engawa behind them. Light footsteps matching her willowy figure, a tall young woman perched herself there, her delicate shoulders wrapped in a thick woollen shawl over her exquisite kimono.

She stretched out a bony hand. “Jikumaru! Come here! Your clothes are all dirty now.”

Tiny bare feet plod along the ground as the younger boy sprinted across the garden, towards the engawa. “Mum! I’m hungry,” he whined.

“Oh, I’ll ask the maids to bring you a snack,” she cooed, wiping Jikumaru’s sweat with a handkerchief. 

Bontenmaru hid a small yellow bloom behind his back, an artless grin lighting up his childish face as he approached his mother, who was busy fussing over Jikumaru’s dirty clothes. He hadn’t seen his mother in weeks. It had definitely been more than a month since he was quarantined for his illness, the reason his right eye was covered in white bandages.

“Mum!” He cried, “I got something—”

“Go away.” Yoshihime’s long black hair fell over her eyes, casting a shadow over them — she looked like something between a ghoul and a woman. “I don’t want to see that… that eye of yours.” 

“Mum?” What was happening? Why would his dear mother say that? Bontenmaru stood in silence, jaw gaping.

“Don’t stare at me like that!” Yoshihime’s fair visage scrunched up, lips upturned as though she had just stepped on an insect. “You’re hideous! I don’t want to look at a one-eyed monster like you.” She hugged Jikumaru close to her, almost as if shielding him from his own brother. 

Almost as if he was really a monster. 

Sliding open the shoji, she ushered Jikumaru back into the main house, his pleas to stay outside falling on deaf ears, and he took one last sorrowful look at his older brother before Yoshihime sent him away.

Bontenmaru let the flower fall to his hands, and unknowingly crushed its dainty petals and stalk under his foot as he took a step back. As she retreated back into the main house with her other son, Bontenmaru looked down — the remains of the little plant stared back up at him, yellow petals torn and scattered on the grass. Destroyed. 

It was only fair, he thought. What his mother had just done to him was no different. 

They said boys didn’t cry, so why did his good eye feel wet, blurring his vision?

The shoji slammed shut.

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