#im so glad to be done w this chapter im so burned out

[hr-twink]

Summary: The year is 1459 and the Wars of the Roses are being intermittently fought throughout England. The Lancastrians believe that King Henry VI is the rightful ruler of England, while the Yorkists believe that it should be Richard, Duke of York. King Henry is kinda crazy though, so he is kinda absent either when he's being crazy or when he's being captured and held prisoner by the Duke of York (on-and-off Lord Protector). Because of the constant changing of allegiance, the first cases of espionage and counter-espionage in England begin to show up in historical documents. Agents were placed in noble households to determine where their loyalties lay, and would report back to whomever hired them. Two such agents are sent to meet on a gray day in November...

aftermath/blood below the cut

[menlove]

Dying for the next chapter of I’ve Got You Under My Skin

aaaah i'm glad ! so am i tbh i am really excited to get it out! i just got struck w the Need to get this halloween fic done and then i'll get back to that. i think i honestly just wrote too much too fast and then burned myself out for a min but i'll be back on that sooooon ty all for ur patience (insert heart hands here that im too lazy to paste on desktop)

[rmtndew]

All I’ve Ever Known ~ Chapter 4

Summary: Fiona’s life is a shattered fraction of what it used to be. She’s trying to navigate her new normal when she meets Detective Marshall, who gives her something more to look forward to.

Pairing: Marshall and OFC.

Rating: PG

Warnings: Mentions of death, cancer.

A/N - This was intended as a short drabble but it got out of hand and became a multi-chapter story instead. It’s my first Marshall fic and the first fan fic that I’ve written in over a decade. The title comes from the song ‘All I’ve Ever Known’ from Hadestown: ‘I was alone so long, I didn’t even know that I was lonely. Out in the cold so long, I didn’t even know that I was cold. Turned my collar to the wind, this is how it’s always been. All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own, but now I want to hold you, too.’

Tag list - @hollydaisy23​​, @readings-of-a-cavill-lover​​, @onlyhenrys​​, @omgkatinka​​, @speakerforthedead0-blog​​, @gearhead66​​,  @thethirstyarchive​, @oddsnendsfanfics​, @littlerinoa, @agniavateira​, @aaescritora​,

If you’d like to be added to the tag list, let me know!

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

I woke the next morning ten minutes before my alarm went off. At first I couldn’t figure out why and tried burrowing back into my warm bed to get my last few minutes of sleep back, but then my phone alerted me to a new text and I realized that’s what had woken me up. I sighed. I knew it was Darcy. Sometimes she woke up early with big ideas for her store and texted them to me, asking my opinion. She met me when I was working in interior design and any time she entertained the idea of having a dine in section, she’d send me pictures of what she wanted and ask how feasible it would be. Most of the time they were way too grand to fit into her pre-existing building. Other times she’d talk about a small coffee shop to encourage more people to come in and pick up their own orders and cut back on our deliveries. But I couldn’t see how renovating a portion of the store, buying new equipment and hiring extra employees to run a coffee shop would lower costs just by maybe cutting back on some deliveries. 

I was planning on ignoring the text until after I’d actually gotten up, but when another came through I knew it was best to just go ahead and nip it in the bud before she sent me an entire magazine’s worth of photos. But when I hit the home button on my phone I saw that the texts hadn’t come from Darcy. I had to squint against the brightness of the screen to make sure I saw the name right. Marshall.

I sat up and turned on my lamp, then looked at my phone again, reading the texts from their previews. 

Hey, it’s Marshall. I had a great  time yesterday. Sorry I was falling asleep on you. Can I make it up  to you this weekend?

Sorry. You’re probably sleeping. It might take more than coffee to make it up to you now. Dinner?

I suddenly felt wide awake and was no longer irritated by my few minutes of missed sleep. I would have gladly given up several hours for those texts. I decided not to reply to them right then, though. I wanted to make sure I’d had enough coffee to formulate a comprehensible reply and not look like I was drunk texting him, which I had a history of. My conversations with Darcy at five in the morning were proof of that. 

I got up and went about my morning routine like usual, trying not to wake Mom. When I made my way downstairs, I poured a cup of coffee and sat at the table. I sipped it, thinking about what to say to Marshall. I wrote and rewrote the text half a dozen times before finally having something I felt okay with, then I sent it.

Hey Marshall. I had a great time, too. You don’t have to make up for anything but I’d still like to have dinner with you. What day did you have in mind?

My heart was thudding from nerves and excitement. I was so focused on trying to calm myself down that I almost didn’t hear Mom when she walked in.

“Morning, sweetie,” she said, grabbing a coffee cup.

“Good morning,” I replied, then jumped slightly as my phone vibrated on the table. I tried not to look too enthusiastic as I grabbed it. 

Does Saturday work for you?

“Darcy again?” Mom asked, pouring coffee for herself. 

“Um...no, actually.” I tried biting back a smile but it didn’t work. “It’s Marshall.”

Her eyes went wide and she smiled back. “He’s writing to you at six in the morning?”

“He actually wrote me earlier. He asked if I wanted to have dinner with him Saturday.”

She sat down at the table beside me. “What did you tell him?”

“I haven’t replied yet. I don’t want him to think I’m just waiting by the phone for him.”

She looked at the phone in my hand. “Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing, though?”

“Yes, but he doesn’t have to know it.”

She laughed then blew on her coffee. “I’m glad this whole texting business wasn’t around when I was dating your father.”

“Even if it was, you’re a lot more forward than I am. You wouldn’t have had a single issue with texting Dad first, or answering him right away,” I said. My phone made another sound, reminding me of my unread text and I finally opened it, then replied. 

Saturday is perfect. What time  would you like to meet? 

“Well, there was only room enough for one coy person in our relationship and Rodger called that role,” Mom said after I put my phone down. 

I laughed. “I don’t think ‘coy’ was the right word for Dad. I think socially awkward was more appropriate.”

“He was too smart to be a social butterfly, too. He had to have a couple of flaws.”

“He couldn’t set the timer for the coffee pot, no matter how many times I showed him, and he thought that the Sharknado movies were amazing. He had his flaws,” I joked.

“This coffee pot is confusing.”

“He was an engineer!”

My phone buzzed in my hand and that time I didn’t wait to open the text. I read it right away. 

Would you let me pick you up  instead? Around six?

“Well, what does he say?” Mom asked.

“He wants to pick me up instead of me meeting him.”

“Are you going to let him?” 

I looked at her and she was smiling at me. I shook my head at her, laughing again. “You want him to come here so that you can see him, don’t you?”

She shrugged. “You keep talking about how handsome he is.”

“He is handsome. And it’s an awfully gentlemanly thing to do…” I bit my lip for a moment, pretending to think it over.

“Just tell him yes. We both know you’re going to.”

I gave another laugh. “Fine.”

I would like that, thank you. And  I’m curious, what does Detective  Marshall eat when he’s not eating a  cuban sandwich and plain chips?

I put my phone on the table. “What are your plans for today?” I asked, then took a sip of my coffee. 

She gave me a cheeky grin. “Changing the subject.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not changing the subject. I’m asking what my mother is going to be doing while I’m out earning the bread for this family,” I joked.

She snorted. “You don’t earn the bread, Fi, you just bake it.” She nodded at my arm. “And burn yourself in the process.”

“That’s the first time I’ve burnt myself in a year and a half. I’d say that’s a pretty good record.”

“That’s true,” she said. “And if you must know, I was thinking of going down to Valley and talking to Georgia about starting music lessons again after the new year. I think by then I’ll have recovered enough to be able to teach at least a few days a week.”

“You’re going to put yourself around snot nosed kids in the dead of flu season?” I asked dryly.

“I’ll be teaching teenagers, not little kids, and I’ll wear a mask,” she said. “I’ll make sure to clean everything between students and have them use hand sanitizer when they come in. I’m not going to be immunocompromised forever, and I’m not going to live in a bubble until then, either.” She gave me a smirk. “Besides, I can’t let you be the only one that earns the bread around here.”

I laughed at her but it was cut short when my phone buzzed again. 

Stuff that’s probably not very  good for him. Like Italian.  How does that sound?

Just when I thought I couldn’t be any more attracted to him, he confessed to liking my favorite type of food. I couldn’t stop my train of thought that went to me one day making an Italian dinner for him as a date. But my mind’s eye set up the imaginary dinner in my old apartment and I knew that would never happen. I let that thought go and took a deep breath, trying to focus my attention on the present moment.

That sounds great. I love  Italian food.

I sent it and sat back in my seat. I tried not to let my mind wander too far down the road with Marshall. I’d been on a lot of first dates in my life with guys that I’d thought were great who turned out to be jerks and I knew what that disappointment felt like. And even though I couldn’t imagine Marshall disappointing me in the same way they had - he’d proven at our coffee date that he was far more respectful, even while he was tired - I wanted to remind myself that I needed to take things one step at a time. 

Perfect. I’ll see you  Saturday at six, then.

I must have looked pretty gooey eyed over the whole thing because Mom reached out and touched my wrist gently. When I looked at her, the teasing tone was gone from her face and she was smiling at me. “I’m happy for you, sweetie. I really am.” 

I was a ball of nerves all Saturday morning and afternoon. More than I’d ever been on the day of a first date. But nothing with Marshall fell into my ‘usual’ category. There was something about him that made him different from any other man I’d gone out with. And maybe that was it: He was a man. Not some boy masquerading as one. He was quiet, and fierce, and protective. He thought before he spoke. And even when delivering a threat - like he had to that creep in the bar - he’d done it calmly and with authority. He exuded confidence, not cockiness, and there was honestly nothing more attractive than that. 

I was nearly ready, just zipping up my boots, when I heard a crash downstairs. I rushed down and found Mom in the kitchen, trying to pick up the broken pieces of one of her giant coffee mugs.

“I’m - I’m not sure what happened,” she said. “I just lost my grip.”

“It’s okay.” I took a step towards her, trying to avoid the pile of porcelain. “Let me clean it up.” 

“I can do it,” she said, sounding flustered.

“I know you can but you’re in socks and I’m wearing boots.”

She stood her ground for a moment, then finally sighed and relented, taking a step back. “Okay. I’ll get you the broom.”

“It’s fine. I’ll get it. Just watch your step.”

I went to grab the broom as she threw away the large chunks of her broken cup that she’d been able to pick up with her hands. I could tell she was frustrated. 

“You know, if you didn’t like that mug, you could have just gotten rid of it, you didn’t have to break it,” I joked, taking the broom and dustpan from the broom closet. “Or were you afraid I wouldn’t take the hint and buy you another one if I thought it just went missing?” 

She gave a small laugh but I could tell she was still embarrassed. “I actually liked that coffee mug a lot.”

“I’ll get you a new one.”

“You don’t have to do that. I can -” 

The doorbell rang and she stopped mid-sentence. We both froze, my eyes flicking to the clock on the stove. It was 5:53. Marshall was early. After a moment, Mom took a step towards me, holding out her hand to take the broom from me. I shook my head.

“You’re wearing socks,” I reminded her. “I don’t want you to cut your foot.”

Her eyes grew wide. “So you’re going to clean up after me while I go meet your date?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She brushed her hand over her barely there hair, trying to collect herself, then let out a breath. “Okay, I’ll go let him in.”

“Don’t be too charming. He might have a thing for cougars and I don’t want to have to fight my mom for a guy.”

She smiled for real, the embarrassment of having her daughter clean up after her letting go enough that it was no longer plainly visible. “No promises,” she joked, then left the kitchen to answer the door. 

It didn’t take long to clean up. Even though the cup had shattered pretty good, its bright white color stood out against the dark wood of the floor, making even the tiniest pieces easy to see. After making sure I’d cleaned it all up, I threw away the pieces and put up the broom and dustpan, then went to find Mom and Marshall. 

They were standing in the entryway. Mom was saying something about teaching at Valley and Marshall stood in front of her, his hands clasped behind his back, and a look of sincere focus on his face as she spoke. Mom was a small woman but next to him, she looked comically tiny. 

I paused for a moment, taking him in. His hair looked a bit more controlled than any other time I’d seen him, his curls tighter and not quite as messy. His beard looked like it had been trimmed, giving it a purposeful look instead of the ‘I’m too busy to shave’ vibe that I’d gotten from him previously. He wore a thick blue sweater that made the color of his eyes pop when they drifted over to me. It was brief, maybe less than a second, before concentrating on Mom again. But he had a slight smile and it was enough for her to notice. She turned and looked at me. 

“There she is. I guess I’ll stop talking your ear off and let you two go,” she said. 

Marshall smiled at her, then at me, bigger that time. “I didn’t realize I was early. I apologize.” 

“No, don’t. You’re fine,” I said, moving to grab my coat. “I’m ready, I was just cleaning up a broken cup. I’m basically like Cinderella around here.” 

Mom snorted. “Hardly. Cinderella was made to do chores. You’re the one who won’t let me lift a finger,” she said. “Besides, I think she sang while she worked.”

I raised my eyebrow at her as I put my coat on. “Do you want me to sing?”

She shook her head. “No. No one wants that, sweetie,” she said, making Marshall laugh. She looked at him. “Fi spent a good portion of her teenage years screaming along to music in her room. I didn’t even know you could make ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ sound angry until she proved otherwise. Needless to say, her father and I encouraged her other interests a bit more enthusiastically.”

I grabbed my purse. “I should have let you clean up your own mess and answered the door myself,” I joked before kissing the top of her head. “Bye, Mom.”

Marshall smiled again. “It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Sparks.”

“Likewise, Detective Marshall. You two have fun.”

We left the house and after a few steps down the walkway, he jabbed his thumb back at the door. “She’s funny.”

“She can be,” I agreed. “She’s a spitfire, though, that’s for sure.”

“I like it.”

“Yeah, I like it, too.”

We walked to his truck and he opened the door for me. “You look gorgeous, by the way,” he said as I got in. 

I felt myself blush instantly, caught off guard by the compliment. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, closing the door for me. 

We’d only made it to the driveway and my stomach was already doing somersaults. He made me feel like a teenage girl, all giddy and excited, and I loved it.

He went around the front of the truck, then climbed in the driver’s side. I tried to sneak a look at him while he was putting on his seat belt but he caught me. He smiled as I snapped my head straight ahead. 

“Sorry, I just, I was…” I tried to think of an excuse but I couldn’t think of anything that didn’t sound lame. I let out a sigh. “I was checking you out,” I admitted. “I can’t lie. There’s no point. Sorry.”

“That’s the least offensive thing a woman has ever apologized to me for,” he said with a laugh, starting the truck. He leaned forward enough to catch my eye, making me instinctively turn my head towards him. He grinned. “Did you see anything you like?”

My blush deepened and I couldn’t hold back a giggle. “Maybe.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I mean, that is a nice sweater.” 

“Oh, so you were checking out my jumper?”

I shrugged. “It brings out your eyes.”

“Does it now?”

“It does. And you have very lovely eyes.”

“Thank you,” he said. “But my daughter bought the jumper, so I can’t take credit for it.”

“She did a good job,” I said, forcing my eyes to look up front as we pulled out of the driveway. Even though I’d already admitted to checking him out, there was a difference between looking and leering and I didn’t want to come off as creepy. “I take it that this wasn’t your weekend to have her?”

“It was supposed to be but she was invited to a Halloween party with some of her friends so she asked to do that instead. She’ll be with me tomorrow.”

“What did she dress as? For the party.”

“A cowgirl.” 

“Does she ride horses or did she just like the costume?” 

“No, she rides. She took lessons when she was a bit younger. And she and I go riding some weekends.” 

“So you’re Detective Marshall during the week and cowboy Marshall on the weekends? Does that ever cross over? Do they have mounted police in the homicide unit?”

He shook his head as he laughed. “No, not that I’m aware of.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Is it now?” he asked, and his tone made me blush all over again.

“I’m actually not going to answer that. I’m going to wait until we get a little further from my house to fully embarrass myself so that when you fake an emergency to get rid of me, my ego doesn’t get too crushed.”

“Do you really think I’d do that?”

“I hope not, but I’ve been excited about having dinner with you, so I’m going to try not to mess it up.”

“I think you’d have to try pretty hard to mess it up,” he said as we stopped at the end of my street. He glanced at me. “And I’ve been excited about it, too.”

[aiviloti]

my 2020 fic writer wrap-up!!

this is going to be incredibly long (a total of 1.1k lmao) so imma put a cut here, but basically thank you for being here all throughout my 2020! i appreciate you all very much <3

fav kind of fic to write:

i love writing about mutual pining slow burn process of getting together but i have NEVER WRITTEN ONE IN MY LIFE so i hope to change that in 2021

in 2020 i discovered??? humour??? so i enjoy writing about that and when people tell me i’ve succeeded in making them laugh it’s all 😳😳😳 for me

hardest fic to write but also most proud of:

to write you a song was a fic i struggled with from all of april to june which is very long?? to me??? considering i usually sit down and write things in one seating. fully fleshed ideas don’t usually take me thaaaaaat long to crunch out, but for some reason i struggled bad with this bc I really didn’t know where i was going w it lol

LA LA LAND gets an honorary mention of it’s own simply because it was 44k, and it took me all of july-september, but it’s something i still am proud of! to show how difficult it was to write/plot here’s the spreadsheet i had to use to keep track of the scenes and the chapters djkgfsjdfkjhgd

Shout out to kiroiimye , sweet , sirius and krypt for keeping my sanity intact

easiest fic to write:

this genshin impact fic: The Land Favoured by the Wind but its because ive been thinking about this idea for more than a month lol so the actual writing and editing took me less than 3 hours

there were several others too, bc ideas then to hook themselves to me then refuse to let go fjshlfgdfsg

fav fic to write:

Most definitely this sakuatsu monstrosity here by the name of Miya Atsumu's unwavering love for Sakusa Kiyoomi and an unholy amount of terrible food analogies that should not have the right to Exist lol, I only came up with the idea of Atsumu asking Osamu how to make friends bc I was friendship pining for someone at the time and then proceeded to write the entirety of it in a feverish daze! It’s as of rn my top hit / kudoed / bookmarked fic on ao3 and man, thanks for liking this as much as i did :’D

writing sequence:

i have to write from start to finish lmao i cant move on if the fic isnt chronological? the only exception was la la land bc it was too long and i had help from the spreadsheet so i alr knew where i was going i just had to write it down dfhdsfksfksdfhjg

deleting works:

the only fics i remember deleting are both first chapters of a multichap, bc i dont like having unfinished pieces on ao3, and far less if im not sure if ill finish them/if i dont know where im going w it!

if it’s dark history of shit 15 year old me wrote imma keep it there! it is an archive after all. go on, judge my fics from 5 years ago ahahahaha

best writing advice:

not a general thing and might just apply tome, but i tend to write in very convoluted ways and squish a lot in my sentences, or add to many unnecessary commas, so i received advice recently about being more mindful of the pacing and it’s helped me a lot!

worst writing advice:

none at the top of my head djgfkdsjfh if it’s bs to me i just forget it entirelyyyy

collab:

@actuallyasweetpotato​ (also aforementioned sweet) and i did a thing for bokuaka week!!!! you can find it here:  under my breath and into your scarf

wips:

9 unfinished zine pieces, 3 commissions, 1 exchange piece, about 10 or so other things

fav story of another writer:

favourite things 

manly man falls for manliest man krbk fic!!!

gently, like a winter wind iwaoi birthday fic

sunchaser krbk fic

JUNO atsuhina fic

best review:

dude i cried

and shoutout to tien , sirius for fan art, fan comics, fan animatics of fics ive written, and shoutout to akemiiiii for this song they wrote i am eternaally grateful

worst review:

no negativity today!

prequel/sequel to other people’s fics:

none at the top of my head hm, but if anything probably any of kiro skk stuff 

do i reread my stuff:

yes, but only if they’re old enough for me to go “it’s okay even if i dont like it bc this is old”

published:

hopefully! even though i do take part in zines and i guess they already have been published in a broad sense

fav/least fav chara to write:

no one at the top of my head! it’s instinctive for me to go ahead and think about character motives whenever i come across them, so if i ever write about someone, i usually just put my spin/interpretation of a character in a way that i can comprehend. the pros of this is i can write about many people, and the downside is that these characterisations can come off as out of character to anyone who doesn’t agree w me hehe

deadlines or goals:

if it’s a oneshot that’s under 3k i usually aim to have it done within 24 hours of beginning the fic. even tho i rarely succeed, having that as a goal usually pushes me to get it done faster than i would have if i had no goal altogether! if it’s anything long i aim for 1k a day, tho rn all my deadlines are zine deadlines and on top of that there’s uni, so to say im not stressing about writing would be a lie LOL

fav writers: (am too shy to tag but i swear these people are literal gods)

chonideno (mag): tumblr | twitter | ao3

batman (teesta): twitter | ao3

maplefudge (raei): tumblr | twitter | ao3

trope never written, would like to try:

aforementioned SLOWBURN MUTUAL PINING ANGST W A HAPPY ENDING GETTING TOGETHER!!!

but also royalty au

trope you will never write:

haha loads

how long have you been a writer:

began writing around may of 2014!! it was a horrible piece but im glad i started somewhere

influences:

chonideno/mag is one! maggie stiefvater who wrote the raven boys is also one, among many others

hardest part of writing: 

writing action? writing things that are happening right now, describing people talking, eating

easiest part of writing:

descriptions of people, places, feelings. internal monologues, the like

best part of writing:

sharing how i perceive the world w other people, and discovering other people agree

wip sneak peek:

cw: hanahaki, falling out of love

this was written in a friend’s dms lmao this is why i sound like this

something unique i bring to all my stories

i had a revelation the other day after talking to all my friends and realised i have really pretentious titles

IF YOU’RE HERE

did you know the wc of this thing is 1k words? idk why you stuck through all of that but thank you. i’ll keep writing in 2021, and all the years after that, and i hope i’ll find you doing things you love too :)

[yehet-me-up]

OMG IM IN LITERAL TEARS. I WITNESSED THE LAUNCH OF THE EXO MALL SERIES I CANT BELIEVE WE'RE GETTING AN UPDATE!!!!! thank u so much for still continuing this series and for sharing ur talent with us <3 u have no idea how much comfort ive found in this series!!!! thank u so much i cant wait to see what u have in store for us :') u and ur beautiful writing CHEFS KISS

ALSOOOO !!! im glad u never forced urself to write when u didnt feel like it. its literally one of the worst feelings in the world when ure scrambling to make something when u have no inspiration. ive been burned out so many times bc of this so im glad u didnt feel pressured to do so!!!! i hope ure always happy w the things u do :') and that u do them on ur own terms :') STAY SAFE ALWAYS AND HYDRATE URSELF!!!! <3333

asldk;fjasoidf;jalskdf 🥰😭 you’re so kind oh my GOODNESS. Thank you so much for reading from the beginning, I’m still in denial it was like........ 3.5 years ago. SOUNDS FAKE BUT OK @ universe, @ the passage of time. It’s definitely been something I’ve tried to force myself to hurry up and write in the past so I have not always been this kind to myself 😂 but I’m very happy this next chapter is almost done. It makes my heart so happy that you find comfort in the series, writing it is like a warm blanket fort I get to hide in so I’m always 🥺 that it can bring happiness to others as well. I hope your writing goes well and that you’re gentle with yourself 💕 and that you stay hydrated too!!! XO

[voidselfshipp]

A Heart Of Ashes

Chapter 2

Pt1.

Its around half past eight, jerico wondered if stoker was still in the laboratory.

So she put on her boots and Walked to said laboratory.

Though.. the place was huge, it felt like a maze,and listening to her gut feeling,she got there,after a good fifteen minutes.

--Hey stoker

The british Man stopped mixing two chemicals togheter, and Turned to the door, a smile crossed his lips under his mask,but you could hear it in his tone as he said--Ah...you again...how delightfull, Oh do be careful of the napalm...tricky stuff

--Ill be mindful of that--she Walked right past the unarmed molotov grenades--Watcha working on?

--Just some upgrades for these old girls, oh Grab a pair of goggles and some rubber gloves if you stick around, wouldnt want to cause any accidents

Jeri nodded and snatched the closest of those ítems, she casually hovered over stokers shoulder who finished mixing the two chemicals,only for them to explode into a dark cloud of nothingness.

--Ah horse raddish...

By the way he left both mixing tubes on the table she noticed her companion was frustrated.

She patted his back softly--How about we get something to eat, maybe you need to take some fresh air

Stoker stood there to think about it for a bit, then nodded --Yeah...thatd be wonderfull

--Great,lets go!

During their walk however, Someone stopped them.

--Hey! So youre the New guy huh?

The british Man sighed in annoyance,crossing his arms--Oh do bugger off phantom, we have places to go

--ey ey relax Man, I just want to take a moment to greet our New recruit--phantom Turned to jerico-- heard you were dangerous huh? I like that in a woman

Suddenly, Harold felt his blood boil, as jeri couldnt help but giggle at the cheesy pickup lines.

In a stupid fit of jealousy,he grabbed his lighter and pressed the flame against phantoms pants, who in a matter of seconds lit afire, he then with a mischevious smile Turned to jerico-- tell me....can you smell something Burning...? Oh its probably nothing,lets go dear, im starving

He put an arm around jeri and Walked her away as phantom ran around in circles, blissfully unaware of this sunstorm just shrugged it off.

--Did you just really burnt phantoms pants so he would stop talking to jerico?-- ember asked, arms crossed as both grabbed their food.

--well he was making her unconfortable!

--Dont make excuses for yourself Harold I know you

The Man sighed letting his shoulders fall--okay maybe I have a crush on her what about it....

Ember started to laugh--Thats adorable Harold, I wish you the best of luck --She patted his back.

During dinner Ember politely excused herself,leaving both veterans to talk.

--So--stoker started without a clear topic to talk about--Youre a veteran?

-- I am,Ive seen a lot of fucked up shit I tell you that

He chuckled and nodded in agreement--war, how do the kids put it ,ah yes, fucking sucks

--It really does,you loose Friends, people youre closed...and you never know

--If youll end up coming home to them--both meet eachothers gaze--i know the feeling quite well...

Both smile, and talk softly about their time in the military.

Stoker decided to pack up his little science proyect and walk around the bases courtyard with jerico, the moon shine brightly, and both strolled down calmly.

--I remember this one time, me and my Dad were leaders of two different squadrons,you had to see the soldiers faces when they realize their commander was my dad....it was hilarious,specially because we look nothing alike

--Hmm, May I inquire as to why?

--Dad adopted me when I was a kid, and we really look nothing alike,and well, when training, my old Man is very harsh and strict, I tend to be that one godsend seargeant who cuts some slack on the soldiers, its quite funny really

The brit laughed and nodded--yes it is

--And how about you?, whats your story ?

He took a deep breath,and put his hands behind his neck--Well,I used to be a squadron I had to make a rough decision,and I did it,thankfully nobody had to die that day,except For the bad guys of course

And they spend the night talking about their anecdotes,laughing, and comforting eachother.

--mind if I Scort you to your room?

--Not at all

Stoker giggled and put an arm around jerico,And both Walked into the building in silence, the whole place was quiet, aside from some who spent the night playing videogames and their rage screams could be heard from outside their room

When they arrived though,jeri took Harolds hand--Dont you want to spend the night here?,your room is on the other side of the building

--Oh I dont want to bother

--You dont,come on in

He sighed and nodded, taking off his jacket.

--I have a spare matress under my bed,i can sleep there

--What?,no way, I shoundt Rob You the comforts of your bed...

--Harold just take it

--Ill take the spare matress thats what ill take

Both stared at eachother,before sighing--Sharing?

--Sharing

Without much time wasted they got into the bed,their backs facing eachother.

--You wont take that mask off for sleeping?

--No, I wont

She sighed --You cant sleep like that

--Yes I can

She knew it wasnt her place to Keep demanding--Will you sleep comfortably?

A soft smile appeared on the Mans face--Yes, dont worry about me,now go get some sleep okay?

--You too.....goodnight

--Sweet dreams...

Ember groaned,facepalming.

This needed to stop.

--Oh you look so lovely today--stoker said softly elbowing jerico in the ribs, who then chuckled.

--And you look quite handsome too

Theyve been flirting like this for the entire day, ember was about to knock them both out....she couldnt take more of this mushy crap.

--oh I thought for a moment I found to emeralds....turns out it was just your eyes...--Harold said with his masks cheek resting on his hand.

Jericos cheeks turn baby Pink and both softly chuckle.

--If you two lovebirds are done, the guys at the kitchen need help on the cooler--vera said--its not working....

Both sighed and nodded.

However as both worked on the inside of the industrial Cooler, the door closed leaving them in pure darkness, aside from Jers phone lantern.

--Damnit...--stoker tried to Open the door to no avail...

And so they sat there in darkness.

-- d damn-- Harold said curling into a ball-- its cold here...

Jer, who was a natural heater, sat closer to him--I think I have an idea,but I need you to sit properly

--W what are y you planning to do?--He straightened his legs and his cheeks Turned red as he felt her sit on his lap and hug him-

-Like this we wont loose heat...

She was, oddly warm...how?.

Whatever questions he had, his survival was first so he hugged her, and hugged her tightly, feeling the warmth return to his body.

--Thats a whole lot better...thanks awfully..

--Dont mention it...

And after that day, they couldnt get enough of it ,everywhere was a good place to cuddle, while eating, after training,during briefings.

Everyone was losing their minds over how clingy both were.

Their feelings for eachother were so painfuly obvious...

And now, after a particular rough mission, jerico and stoker were cuddling in his room.

He pressed his mask against her back.

--Im just glad youre okay...--she whispers.

--Im just glad to be with you here--he answers back.

Though she was too tired to even try and comprehend what he said, so she nuzzled closer and smiled..

Soon enough she'll tell him.

She was glad to be by his side, and being able to hold him like that..and Him..well, he was happy to return to her in one piece.

[ziracona]

I reread your bit about rin in the last chapter and oh my god im crying. You did my girl justice. I'm so proud of her and i'm glad she had fun. I love the thought that she's helping him in little ways. ;') and oh my god. i love the myers siblings. Do you mind if I ask for hcs? because oooohhhmygod. need more

Awww thank you so much! I really liked the Adam-Rin segment too. I wanted to talk about Rin, but being an Onryo made it so I just couldn’t feasibly in the bulk of the story. Really glad I still got to give her her moment in the sun. : ) Adam’s such a great dude too, and I’m so happy he found meaning the way he did and keeps up such an active and deep relationship with someone who’s passed on. It’s not an easy thing to do, but I think it’s kind, and meaningful. And sure! I’m not sure if you mean Laurie and Mikey or Judith too since I got a few Judith asks yesterday, but ima assume this is ILM related and you’re looking for post-fic Laurie & Michael (sorry if that’s not the intended ask TuT). I did more but this is already a lot so I didn’t post them all haha. Here you go!

Laurie would be very unlikely to make the first move in a romantic relationship. She’s so used to prioritising survival, even when she’s okay again her brain is always, “keep homeostasis” as her directive, and adding a relationship does not fall under that listing. That said, she definitely still develops feelings, and would want things to happen. But I think it would be slow. I think with Laurie, she’d be going to lunches and having long talks and drinks and staying up and falling asleep on the couch together, in and out like each others’ presence belongs in their respective homes, come to each other for support and with hard days and for life advice, go to the theatre together and let them buy her a drink like they always do without being asked, brought back a nice gift from a trip, she waits up for them to get home to greet them, for like 1-3 years solid before one day they just take her hand and kind of smile and she realises she’s been in a relationship for two years and they just never said it, and maybe they won’t now, maybe not for another two years, but they know it, and she’s so happy.

Michael never cuts his hair short, but does not mind Laurie making him let her give him ponytails when they’re working on something, because it does get in his face.

Laurie softballs Michael for a while, since, well, she’s trying to help him reintegrate into society as a human being after having had a childhood that was basically just a 15 year stretch of psychological trauma, and being kind and supportive is a must. But after a few years, she’s gotten much more comfortable and sibling-ish in her interactions. She’ll definitely still be serious and supportive if anything happens and he needs it, but she’ll also give him shit for eating her food or not getting up off the bed she’s trying to make. He enjoys annoying her and does it for fun. Will hold eye contact and eat the cupcake she was saving just to watch her flip, like a cat batting an orange off a counter (or, you know, a sibling who’s feeling /that/ vibe rn.)

Laurie is 99% of Michael’s impulse control. If he and Quentin do something together without her, it /will/ be a disaster, because where Laurie inflicts neutral levels of chaos on the group w her lawful, Michael will almost instantaneously get Quentin to swap from lawful to chaos if she’s not there. They will both be fine, but there /will/ be something on fire when she gets back.

Laurie, walking into the house and seeing then throwing objects into a burning wastebasket in the living room: I don’t like what I’m seeing. Bring me up to speed.

Quentin: So, we maybe have illegally destroyed a car—but it’s okay! We had a good reason! Plus, we destroyed the evidence. Let me explain. So, this guy-

Laurie: :/

Michael: *gives her a ‘what’s your problem?’ gesture*

Michael and Laurie physically fight for nostalgia’s sake sometimes (for fun-get exasperated and performatively MMA. They would not actually injure each other).

One time, Laurie and Michael were walking home together from a movie and a guy drove by and whistled at Laurie and said something vulgar, and Michael stepped into the road and smashed the front of his car with his foot. It was beautiful. They did have to flee the scene but Laurie was /gleeful/. The dude in the car saw his gd life flash before his eyes and rethought some life choices.

It is a long time before Michael is willing to take any kind of meds for his psychosis (very understandably), but when Quentin eventually graduates Med school, six or so years later (bless u Jake for forging him some credits), he is willing to try a few given by him. It is not a good or easy couple of months, but he does it.

Michael gets along surprisingly well with the survivors. Most of them are pretty intimidated, but he’s genuinely chill, and they’ve been through weirder shit so 🤷🏻‍♀️ it’s like “Welp. This might as well happen.” and accept him in. Meg is a big thot. She’s into Susie and would never cheat and Susie knows this, but Meg will still flirt like crazy with Michael bc it’s her personality, and Michael, who’s never had this ever happen, is /beyond/ confused. Every time she says something stupid like, “Damn you’re tall. If I wasn’t a married woman, I’d climb you like a jungle gym.” He gives her the exact look Sam gives Gollum when he’s dissing potatoes in lotr.

Since she knew his and his family’s whole names and his wife’s face, Laurie tracks down Sujan’s family and tells them everything she can about what happened and how good he was, and what a difference the first person in the realm who was kind to her made.

Michael really enjoys traveling. He’s been cooped up his whole life. Spent 15 years in one little white room, and then 40 in reproductions of Haddonfield in the realm. Really, except for his solo journey from Wisconsin to home, he’s never left the state of Illinois. He goes with the survivor squad on their group trips, once he’s comfortable enough, and is consistently amazed. He’s not a very visibly emotive person, and can’t physically be bc of his psychosis symptoms, but his eyes will get big seeing the northern lights from a platform, and he’ll grab Laurie or Quentin’s wrist & point to make sure they’re seeing it too, and Laurie has never been so happy. After his first trip, he very much looks forward to the annual event.

Dr. Loomis is the only thing Michael as an adult has ever feared. (Obviously all humans feel temporary fear, like if a car comes at you or someone with a gun. But past instantaneous shock-fear, I don’t think Michael has ever been afraid of anyone else). This is based off of canon, because to me Michael reads as scared of him, especially in Halloween 2. He pauses and then retreats from Loomis in the first film, and when he sees Loomis running down streets looking for him in 2, he hides (I actually really love the Michael pov in Halloween 2 in the open. It was very humanising). Then, at the end of 2, when he’s blind and Laurie and Loomis have filled the room with ether, and Loomis tells him it’s over, he stops trying to find and kill Loomis and freezes. I genuinely think because he was scared of Loomis and has been for years (after that treatment constantly in isolation as a child, how could he not be?) and has known since he was 6 Loomis wants to kill him, so when he basically says “I’m about to kill you,” he believes him and it scares him. It’s the axe that’s been waiting to drop since he was a kid.

Laurie goes to cons with Nea, Quentin, & Min occasionally, and has dressed up as all three OG Star Wars protagonists like the lovely huge nerd she is. Has also made Michael sit down and watch all the movies w her.

Michael and Laurie go visit Judith a lot. They’ll pack a picnic lunch and talk with her and about her at her grave. It was very hard the first time they went there, especially for Michael, but after a while, it helps. It’s a way to deal with what was done in the past that makes it seem surmountable. It also helps to deal with the loss of someone they both cared for. When they go, Laurie always gets Michael to tell her something about her older sister she hast heard yet. David tracks down an old high school album from 1963, and is able to get three pictures of Judith colorised and they’re able to have a nice full-color photo of her to hang up in the house.

[comradekyoka]

Fuck your Flowers

Hanahaki AU/ Fantasy AU Katsuki Bakugou x Reader {Deku x reader if u squint} (this is me addressing some of my issues w him and working through them) 

AhHHHH !! okay so thanks to @phantomhive-shadow for reading the first chapter for me and giving me some advice!! (it’ll all be addressed in the future chapters ^^ !!) now that im done w this first part im gonna fix up my blog to be pretty again UwU

You have always been a firm believer in the multiverse theory, the theory that in your case may mean universes that my just include everyone being quirkless, or where beings like dragons and fairies were figments of the imagination, or even one where the hanahaki disease wasn't killing the obnoxious mountain clan leader, the clan leader that was blaming you for his current predicament. Unfortunately, that's not your universe.

Katsuki mother-fucking Bakugou was the bain of your existence, ever since he came crashing into your engagement party throwing up blood and rose petals, dressed in a fashion that was only suitable in the mountains, things have been so much more complex. He came in and told you not to marry that "useless wimp" that your father set you up with and to go with him. And now here you are, kneeling before your father, Bakugou next to you, getting yelled at because of that ass!

"Bakugo, you had no business at a Royal Affair. Especial in such a state. Explain yourself, and do keep in mind that if your explanation is not up to par- I will have your head on a pike." Your father was merciless to all. His voice echoed through the hall, vibrating in your ears, as he glowered at the two of you. You turned your eyes to Bakugou wearily, convinced that this will be the last time you see him alive. The mountain village better be infected and on the verge of war for Bakugou to show up unannounced, now that you think about it, his rudeness will not be helping his plight in the slightest. 

Bakugou lets out a hiss and responds slowly through gritted teeth, "Sir. I had no choice-" you couldn't help but scoff, that was a very conscious choice that he made, he could have turned back at anytime he liked during the two day journey from the village he oversaw. 

"Silence." Your father was growing evermore irate with the two of you.

"Yes sir." You said looking down at the beads sewn intricately into your dress that you were supposed to be wearing at your engagement, but here you are.

"Bakugou, you may continue." Your father bellowed.

"Well, sir," Bakugou shot you a glare, then continued. "Y/N gave me that fucking flower disease and I can't get rid of it. I've tried removing it, and it won't budge, I've tried killing it, and it grows back, I've tried ignoring it, but there is too much pain. I need you to help me, I I don’t want to die." He was shouting at this point but you didn’t care. Your face burns,  you can feel your pulse in your lips, and tears in your eyes. 

"Bullshit Bakugou, I didn't give you anything. Fuck. Off." The audacity of him to accuse you of something like that is unreal.

"It started when we went on that Quest dumbass, the one for that dragon egg." His red eyes burning into the side of my head. At this point, the king was thoroughly pissed off, but it was hard to care anymore. You couldn’t quite tell what direction Bakugou was going for, all you could tell was that you didn’t like it. 

“Why don’t you just go to that oracle that you went to last time? The one from the dragon egg quest?” Your father was shooting questions at him, just as skeptical as you were. You feel a wave of panic and chuckle creep up your throat. Bakugou burned that bridge right after he crossed it. Bakugou was mumbling curse words, which was just enough to convey the message.

“Well,” the king shifted in his throne. ”Why don’t you go find someone else to fix it?”

“There’s only one oracle.”  You saw your father’s eyebrow quirk at this. You knew he had something to say at this.

“Oh really? What makes you say that?  If you think that just because she’s the only known one in the kingdom that she’s the only one then maybe you really deserve to die.” Damn. Bakugou’s eyes widened considerably. I don’t think he expected that. 

“Well how am I supposed to get to these other oracles? I can’t go alone.” Bakugou was as close to groveling as you’ve ever seen, and honestly? It was absolutely pathetic, but it’s hard to not pity him.

“I don’t care, it’s none of my concern. You may leave, and be glad that Im letting you do that much.” Your jaw nearly dropped off your face. Bakugou may have been a prick, but that wasn’t a death warrant. And before you could think a simple sentence that would change your life, and maybe even the course of history left your lips. 

“I’ll escort Bakugou back to the mountains, father.”

[cr-scribbles]

Oh no what's this? It's back again? Yup! Welcome back! It's me the judy, back here with another review! This time you think it's gonna be easier, buT NOPE IT JUST HURTS MORE! The second chapter is my favorite so far just because I get so much feels from these heckies! The third chapter was also good, but I will get there once we're finished with this one. Here is the link to the first part along with the second one too! > https://cr-incorrect-quotes.tumblr.com/post/190279246139/cr-incorrect-quotes-hello-welcome-to-my-first

This post will most likely be the same due to there being so many pages that I want to talk about to the point of not being able to fit everything into one so yeah! Expect a part 2 for Chapter 2! If you want to read the comic, here it is > http://children-rekindled.top/?c=1&p=1 Let's start!

Oh no we all know what this means that little heck is finally back and I was already screaming because of course I would be?? I missed him so much y'all- ALSO DANIEL SOUNDS SO CONFUSED AND THAT HURT CAUSE I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS COMING AND I DON'T WANNA READ IT AGAIN, but surprise! Bon made it worse this time!! I'll get to that later-

EW EW E W EW When I was first reading this and even now, iT'S SO DISGUSTING?? The visual of a soul just having to come out of a mouth of a corpse is gross in all ways omg I wonder if there is a reason behind Freddy having no eyes in the first panel though?? Apart from the fact that it is just creepy, it doesn't show up anymore. Instead, on the same page, it just goes back to the normal eyes. It was probably just a creepy factor put into it to make it look more morbid, but sometimes creators have reasons!

Sometimes I sit here, glad nothing else was shown because I would rather not have to see him climb out of there. aLSO SAMMY HELPS HIM OUT AND THAT MAKES ME UWU! he really needs all the help he can get and I'm glad someone is there for him. Y'all don't know how much I love this blind babey boy

BABEY NOOO IM COMING TO HELP YOUUU This panel is good, bUT SO SAD OMG I WANNA HELP HIM CAUSE HE'S IN A LOT OF PAIN QMQ I don't even wanna know his thoughts right now and how confused he is internally. Does he even consider how he would still be moving around even when suffering this really bad pain? He's probably just in too much shock and denial to wrap his head around it.

SOBBING SOUNDS Daniel freaking out over this hurts me every time omg I just want to hug him?? He just wants to go home and we all know that at this point, he can't even do that anymore.

BIANCAAAAAAAA What was she even doing?? Unlike Daniel, she had somehow already gotten out, but was just staring at the ground?? Was she confused about something and just lost in thought to the point of completely zoning out till Daniel realized she was there? Maybe she wasn't even there for long. She could have been still processing all of this pain(?) ALSO DANIEL'S REALIZATION THAT HIS NAME WAS SAID MAKES ME SOB I LOVE HIM SM

can Bianca hug me like that??? Please???? I want someone to hug me like that one day I'm gonna beg- SHE'S HECKIEING CRYING AND THAT HURTS A LOT IM QWQ I mean of course she would be?? She saw Daniel die right in front of her. Bianca being so worried yet not even questioning how he isn't just dead already due to the severe blood loss makes me really wonder how much denial they are going through at the moment. Although who would wanna think they died and became a ghost? For people who don't even believe in that stuff, it would be hard to even accept. If you're a ghost, that means you're dead. There's no going back. ALSO THE PUPPET STARES INTO MY SOUL AND IS TERRIFYING- everyone thank bon for giving us another terrifying image

AHAHA N E C C the smol good girl is coming very soon and I'm so excited!! I love her sm,,why is she hiding though?? Did she get scared due to all of the screaming and sounds going on around that she just decided to hide behind this big animatronic that could protect her from the dangers out there?

THANKS FOR CALLING HER OUT CAUSE SHE'S SMALL BIANCA- Well Charlie's design is definitely a lot different than the one in the original! She still looks heckieing red and burned up, but doesn't have that weird mouth like last time.

OH NO OH NO NO NO SAMMY WHAT HAVE U DONE- Charlie is already starting to freak out and that hurts. I love the different reactions we get here because Charlie is just in denial, hoping it is a dream while Daniel doesn't even look like he has proceeded it all fully yet till the next page where he is basically having a complete mental breakdown. I really want to know how Bianca feels about this entire thing too.

THERE IS A LOT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT HERE! For one, it might be one of my favorite pages that really hit me hard to the point of being my emotional mess of a self- I feel as though Bon really portrayed them reacting to being dead rather well? Or at least he did with Daniel and it hit in the feels right enough. Being someone who would die for Daniel, it hurt reading this for the first time because I'm sure we all want to do what Bianca does and just give him a tight hug. Did them freaking out happen in the original? I don't remember actually? from what I remember, Bianca was the one reacting the most to all of it- Bianca just crying over how Daniel is having this mental breakdown really hurt because she wants him to be okay and realizing they aren't would just hurt to the point of actually going and comforting him. I REALLY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW SHE FEELS WITH THE SITUATION- Was her breaking down because of Daniel being all sad mixed with her just reacting to the entire thing?? It's also shown in Chapter 3, but Bianca is really caring towards Daniel and most of the time wants to make him feel better in certain situations. If she wasn't able to save or even help him before, this is her chance now.

FRANCIS IS CRYING AGAIN I REPEAT FRANCIS IS CRYING-

Like I said before, the difference in reactions towards all of this is great. It's obvious that he was emotional about it too, but instead of having some sort of mental breakdown, he just "accepted" it and tried to figure out what they can do. It's understandable cause what else are they supposed to do when in front of reality??

OMG POOR BOYO!! HOW IS HE EVEN STANDING AIAUFIAKF for a while, I just thought his side got slashed and he bled out, nOT THAT HIS ENTIRE SIDE JUST GOT RIPPED OUT LIKE WOW OK THAT MUST HURT LIKE HELL- honestly Francis feeling really sorry about not being able to save Charlie just hurts sm?? THESE KIDDOS FEEL BAD CAUSE THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO SAVE ONE ANOTHER AND IT JUST HHH 

OH NO NOT THIS AGAIN DAMMIT- At least this time it's not coming out of a mouth of a corpse, but jeez Sammy pls chill- I love how the black substance just goes along with the mouth so it looks like the inside of the Puppet's mouth is just oil or some black liquid. Speaking of that, I also love how the blood is black!! I forgot the reason for that, but it gives them a cool look!

sammy please chill

they don't even know him yet and he's acting like a complete psychopath. If I was logical, I would think he is! Being there for who knows how long would do something to someone! Especially something would could easily be hinted at here through his insanity even when just getting out. 

I don't trust his cute face, but dammit I love him so much already?? Like he was just acting all crazy a pAGE BEFORE, AND NOW HE LOOKS LIKE A SMOL SQUOFT??? It really shows how much he can switch between personalities. I fear for the future after this experience. 

"Oh, you noticed. Heh." UH YEAH OF COURSE?? IT'S A KNIFE IN YOUR CHEST???

ALSO AHAHAHA FRANCIS'S FACE I CAN'T HANDLE IT

Honestly I feel bad for Daniel because all of this stuff is going on and he can't even see anything?? Like if something really bad just suddenly happened, he would have no idea because all he can get from the situation are the reactions from his friends. I wonder how terrifying it would be when there's so much sound around like during the day?? Big hugs for Daniel y'all 

wow possession! That's really cool, bUT WHAT IS GOING ON NOW OH NO- 

OH HECKIEING BEES THAT'S NOT GOOD- Michael's design was heavily changed from last time, but honestly I adore this design sm?? There is a lot less wires so yay he isn't just a bloody mess like last time!! Okay but I wonder if Michael could still take off his head like last time?? Last time, that was shown through some anger from Francis, but this time it's different and that's not shown!! I wonder if it will ever be though.

MICHAEL NO THAT'S NO WHAT A SANE PERSON SAYS- although I mean?? He does have a point! Even though being dead is a huge hit in general and idk how that would even feel, actually being with friends could have a huge impact on the situation. Imagine if only one died and was stuck there? That would have a completely different impact. I don't think Michael should brush off the fact that they are all dead now, but I do understand why he even mentions that. Trying to stay positive, but maybe try a bit differently babey-

The part I feared the most, but actually turned out really good? Around the beginning at least! In this version, Francis has much more of a reason for actively being really upset at Michael especially due to what he just said. Although maybe he should chill a bit because some things he says are really eh?? Michael never meant it like that and Francis is just freaking out and yelling at him, but like I said, he actually has a reason and I can't stay that mad. I would hate this entire thing too, although I would be a lot more emotional than angry 

OKAY THAT'S REALLY OVER THE LINE FRANCIS HOLY HECK-

Charlie has all the rights to be upset at him because him just saying that iS AWFUL?? LIKE DUDE YOU ALL ARE DEAD AND YOU ARE APOLOGIZING FOR SAVING HIM AND SAYING THAT IF YOU HAD KNOWN, YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST LET THE PERSON KILL HIM?? UH- THAT'S NOT NICE AT ALL PLEASE APOLOGIZE

TELL EM SAMMY!

at least in this version, he gets to the point and it isn't just walls of text aHAIDIAOGKS Sammy please don't blame Daniel though?? He's heCKIEING BLIND WHAT THE HECKIE COULD HE EVEN DO?? wAIT OH NO. IF THIS IS A REBOOT THEN SOME SCENE WITH DANIEL AND SAMMY MIGHT BE REDONE HH IM AFRAID IT'S GONNA EITHER BE MORE FEELS RELATED OR JUST MORE CHILL THAN LAST TIME DUE TO THE PACING?? Sadly it’s time for me to go and make the next part thing to take away from this? This chapter is my favorite so far because of all the feels and there is more so get ready for that!! I'll be back with part 2 eventually! Most of us knows what happens there. Will Sammy find Michael? How will he actually help? Find out next time on aaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[faunusrights]

OFFAL HUNT REMASTER LIVEBLOG // CHAPTER 7

when will one of these chapters start with ‘wow murphy’s gonna love this and rly enjoy themself’ WHEN IT IS. I HAVE TO KNOW.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

okay i am Recognising this chapter so we’re not quite yet in untouched, completely Feral territory which is. nice. thats nice. i like it when i know what im working w/ but who the kell hnows.

Something nagged at her. A forgotten thing. She thought hard, but even so, it took a long moment for her to remember.

me when i go to my room to fetch my dishes for the washing machine but i get sidetracked by my dog being cute and then i forget and go back downstairs and remember the dishes and then i come back up but my dog is still there and i forget again-

i’m just. rly enjoying this glynda. I SAID IT BEFORE BUT IM RLY THRIVING FOR THIS IDIOT WITH ONE BRAINCELL. THE BRAINCELL IS CINDER.

Glynda’s hunting instincts were primed, the only part of her that worked with absolute clarity, even now.

this is why she hasn’t noticed cinder’s flirting, the fool, the blithering idiot,

In the split second before she faded from consciousness, she smelled ash, the foreign Aura within her flaring until she could taste it: burning flesh and steady decay. Then it disappeared, fizzling out.

hm. is it a callout to say this is. romantic. this is kinda romantic. hey is this? gay? i think its gay. im gonna settle on it.

its gay.

When she awoke the next morning, it was like pulling herself from some great void,

H👈A😎H👈

for some reason THAT was the fingergun that made me spill juice all over my keyboard i see how it is

Then she remembered that at Beacon, her blood usually stayed inside her body.

im thriving for this weird observation. you know when you wake up somewhere new like a hotel or smthng and for a moment yr like ‘where am i’ and u figure it out thru like. normal fucking means. like oh thats not my duvet oh thats not my ceiling oh thats not where my window is-

and then glynda has to judge her location by how much blood of hers is spilled in it. this bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE GOT ONE BRAINCELL AND OFFAL HUNT IS THE THESIS TO PROVE IT-

It was the room she’d all but dissembled in after getting her ass kicked and then saved by Cinder Fall.

sorry im going HOG WILD on quotes but these new lines r SO GOOD and im LIVING for them....................... like until now we’ve had glynda goodwitch, terrifying unstoppable woman and occasional dipshit. now shes all dipshit. just 100% pure dipshit. spread her on a field and you couldnt tell her from the manure. a complete buffoon.

that said its nice to see glynda using her Brainmess for once... i mean she still wont be able to put an otherwise fuck-ton of clues together still because that requires, the ability to multitask, which is surely does not have, but finally she’s taking five fuckin minutes to let herself go ‘well THATS weird’.

There had only been a stirring of life along those red-vein tattoos, swirling just along the cut of Cinder’s dress.

im enjoying the new ‘sexey tattoos’ slant we’re seein in this remaster it was a real shame they didnt get primetime attention last time.

also glynda Why Ya Lookin,

Hello,

she’d be a heretic to the Law of Semblances twice-over,

I May Not Know My Semblances, But I Know A Bitch When I See One!

For the first time in years, Glynda wanted to set everything aside and rest.

we stan a sleepy bitch................ ugh im so glad she’s finally realising she needs 2 give herself some mfing slack!!!!!!!!!!!!!! because as much as im enjoying the Dragfest she rly needs to. chill.

When she finally emerged from the bathroom, a towel around her waist and her dirty clothes balled in her hands,

look i didnt make this blog to lie that my first reaction to this was tilting my head and going ‘tiddy out? tiddy? is the tiddy out? tiddy?’

look women look hotter doing all the things guys do and this is fact i wont sit down and i Wont Shut Up

No more rushing ahead and getting herself torn up for nothing.

H👈A😎H👈!

thats a Good One, Glynda,

Winter Schnee had the pale white hair of her bloodline, and the sharp features of the famously reclusive Willow Schnee.

YES BITCH WE ARE IN IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! POP THOSE MFING BOTTLES

i have been WAITING. FOR WEEKS. 7 FUCKING WEEKS I HAVE SAT HERE AND WAITED AND IT FINALLY PAID OFF OH MY GOD MY BITCH IS IN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As Ozpin had said, she was twice the age of the younger Schnee daughter, and her blue eyes held all the acuity that age had brought her.

i made a Sound at this i CAN SEE WHAT YOU DID. I SEE IT. I SEE IT,

A single photo hung on the wall next to a placard detailing some kind of award. Glynda pushed her glasses up on her nose to get a better look. Though it had the appearance of a family photo, only the women of the Schnee family were present, Willow and Weiss flanking a newly ranked Winter.

why am i being targeted directly anyway

safdjhgfsdajgh WINTER,....... im still. im Love w/ this main bitch finally... Finally.... i love winter in offal hunt so fuckign much and im so glad she’s here and that we’re getting more details because AAAAAAAAAAAAAA i love her!!!!!!!!!

also i cant.... say anything because spoilers..... but also............. NNNNNNN this convo has just. so much behind it. SO MUCH CONTEXT. its Killing Me,

A strange expression crossed Winter’s expression. It looked like how bruises felt.

im losing my fucking mind rn diesel and kc are going right to hell and they know it but do they care???????????? no. they already are the devil,

okay i went silent for ages and read ahead because i screamed in discord for like ten minutes and it looked like this

so YEAH theres that, i guess,

Instead, it only filled her with deep unease. Glynda didn't know what Cinder’s game was, but it was becoming clear that it did not align with her own. And the more she thought about it, the less she understood. The less she understood, the more wary she became.

cinder: i wanted to tell this girl i liked her so i wrote her a note that said get out of my desert,

im rly thrivin in this chap i already said it but we’re rly jumping into the meat n bones of the Plot now and its a Good Plot so im excited!!!!!!!!!

“Yes, I think you’ll like her!”

“she’s a lesbian, like you, so maybe her distinguished energy will chill your dysfunctional energies out-”

Glynda pressed her lips; she needed a delicate hand here, needed to carefully choose a response which would divert Ozpin away from the topic. “No reason.”

YES MY FAV LINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this is Big Me and literally this is MAYBE the best and also funniest line in this entire shitshow remembers the Pasta Bit and /sweats

i also rly enjoy glynda n ozs friendship... i mean im out here remembering the glynda/ozpin/cinder fic so i was already sold on all their interactions but its rly good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GLYNDAS BEST FRIEND MAY BE 200 YEARS OLD BUT GOD DAMN IT WHEN WILL YR BFF EVER BE THERE FOR U LIKE THAT,

theres a Bit here im not gonna go into but. honestly once u kno how offal hunt basically ends? Its Sad and Im Sad. i hate how knowing this whole thing just inflects on everything else and everything glynda wants and honestly this whole fic sucks. why am i reading this AGAIN.

“I have faith in you, Glynda. But there are terrible things that can be done to a person even without killing them.”

👈😢👈

we’ve popped the first sad fingerguns but also What The Literal Fuck, Oz,

“Come and catch me, then.”  

im LAUGHING this is much better than the first version because this is SUCH a cinder-brand of shit to say dsfjhgfds she’s SUCH A SHIT-STIRRER but i love her,

“She’s just sent me something. My Scroll is working fine, but I think it’s safe to assume she knows what we’re discussing.”

“What did she send you?”

“An invitation.”

oh finally glynda works out the whole CCT business JHGDSFSDF i wonder if cinder knew shed figure it out or saw her msgs to oz and went ‘ah shit well’

BUT YEAH..... DATE! DATE! DATE! HOT DATE WITH CINDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i am. VERY excited as many of u will remember i made a prime shitpost abt That Chap back in the day and ill have 2 REDRAW IT!!!!!!!!! POPPIN BOTTLES!!!!!!!!!!!!

anyway this chapter sucked and was also very good in equal measure. as it is Wont,

[bronanlynch]

fluff, slow burn, if they lived, secret agent

fluff five things you’re digging right now? 1) I’m gonna hopefully be running a game of scum & villainy for the sff soc rpg oneshot event this saturday and it’s basically be gay do crimes in space: the game

2) I gotta officially pick a dissertation topic soon which means I am back on my bullshit of yelling abt lesbian vikings and I’m like. remembering why I wanted to do this as my thesis bc it’s a good topic actually

3) every arc of ftlcast is extremely good but the most recent one was abt lady demon hunters and was very very good and fun to listen to

4) I just finished an essay on bog bodies which means I now have a spreadsheet of the most important bog bodies and a bunch of info abt them including which ones where staked down and therefore probably vampires (I mostly joking abt the vampire thing but not abt how glad I am that I have this spreadsheet now bc a thing that archaeology as a field could really use is more searchable databases w a bunch of compiled data instead of just. a bunch of individual case studies that u somehow gotta hunt down w like. dark magic or some shit)

5) I’ve been watching the good place and it’s really good actually I am in general not a comedy person bc I don’t. trust most comedy to not be Bad abt Things but it’s genuinely funny and says some cool nuanced things abt like. ethics and redemption arcs and the kind of positive “if there’s no inherent purpose to life why not just try to help each other bc we can” nihilism that appeals to me specifically

slow burn best fictional slow burn couple and what makes it great? the only reason I didn’t talk abt this for the last question is bc I wanna yell abt it here but I’ve been reading mo dao zu shi which is a book abt necromancy in ancient china which is very cool and good but more importantly it took 100 chapters and like 17 years of incredibly fraught mutual pining for the main couple to tell each other that they are in fact really very much in love w each other……. they’re so In Love that everyone has been assuming they’re already together for a long time (including 13 of those years while one of them was literally dead) (it’s ok he gets better he gets like. resurrected in the first chapter it’s a whole Thing) but neither of them believed that the other one actually liked them and Oh Boy I Die…….

(I looked on the wiki to try to find a timeline to figure out exactly how many Years they’ve been pining and it refers to them as husbands which is. technically spoilers bc the translation hasn’t gotten to the end yet but. god. wow I love them)

if they lived  meanest thing an author has ever done to you personally, and how do you plan to exact revenge? I am going to be angry every day of my life that there are some cool+interesting characters in g*me of thr*nes whomst I am still incredibly emotionally invested in despite having extremely strong negative feelings abt so much of the series and my revenge is going to be writing something that’s like. the pieces that I like except actually good and by good I mean. without the sexism/etc. and the whole. grimdark edgy “everything is awful” thing. I am going to personally give sansa stark the happiness she deserves and also a gf

spy/secret agent au what kind of spy would you be? not a very good one probably, I can’t even convince people to let me into places where I’m literally supposed to be, how am I supposed to get them to let me in where I’m not supposed to be

I’d be like. the consultant they bring in to tell them abt some archaeology thing that’s relevant to the mission for some reason. or some sort of filing room intern who accidentally discovers some Important Secret and probably gets killed off before I can tell the main characters

[matt-the-blind-cinnamon-roll]

It makes me rlly happy and relieved that just bc of what happened on critrole it doesnt seem like youve stopped writing widomauk fic. That ship is so important 2 me and so are ur fics, im still rlly looking forward to where trauma cafe goes and i just started Betrothed yesterday, thank you

kj;lkjfadsfadfj oh my god this is one of the best asks I’ve ever gotten! Thank you so much! I’ve done a lot of reading and research for the TC and spoken to a lot of people who live with the topics that I write about. I myself have PTSD from prolonged child abuse so that’s very easy for me write about from Caleb’s point of view, but as for everyone else I’ve had to branch out and try to write as respectfully as I can. TC has only three chapters left, and Betrothed is growing into a shaggy beast of a story, so keep an eye on that! I’m thinking about either a Stoner/Artist/Muse AU or a Beauty and the Beast AU next. 

I’m so glad my stories have helped you cope with things in your own life. 

These two are important to me as well. I doubt I’ll ever stop shipping them. I have my tin hat on and I know that Molly will be back. I know it. I am keeping the light of hope burning because that is my job as a creator. 

Thank you for this ask. Really. 

[sadrien]

wanna chat? pt.21

on ao3 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21

yo whats up. before we start, a few things:

yes, adrien and nino’s kiss was before dark cupidyes, adrien knows that him and marinette kissed during dark cupid. marinette told him in ch15even if it wasn’t i doubt adrien would count dark cupid as his first kiss, seeing that he doesn’t remember it

now that thats done, warning for discussions of like...murder in this chapter? they dont actually kill anyone but theyre just like...casually discussing how you would kill someone with x or y. its mostly just ridiculous but there are a few parts that could be considered kind of gross so, tread carefully if needed. (conversation creds to @agrestenoir​, @breeeliss​, @reyxa​ and a few cameos from @chassecroise​ because i basically stole that wild ride of a conversation we were on)

enjoy?

11:24

nino: im pretty sure chat noir was just flirting with me

ladybugfan2020: get it boy would u break up with me for chat?

nino: … yeah probably

ladybugfan2020: cool same

nino: im glad were on the same page

23:57

mari: Im gonna go murder myself in a bowl of whipped cream. Bye

nino: how

ladybugfan2020: are u gonna drown in whipped cream because that would be the best death tbh

nino: i dont think its murder if you kill yourself

ladybugfan2020: i would get a sibling to do it

mari: Bad news alya

ladybugfan2020: or like……………….a hitman hire a hitman to kill you with a bowl of whipped cream

nino: yo since youre dead you dont have to pay them

mari: I dont think thats how that works

adrien: What did I just walk into??

nino: YO HITMAN HIT ME UP WITH SOME MORE WHIPPED CREAM

ladybugfan2020: how would u kno how it works mari?

mari: Hey adrien Just murdering myself with a bowl of whipped cream

adrien: Not possible

ladybugfan2020: um??? says who

adrien: Prove to me you can die by whipped cream Draw me a diagram

nino: if i had to choose a topping to die by id choose hot fudge probably

mari: Ooo

adrien: If you got a tub of whipped cream And like Just hit a person with it With like…the tub That might Kill you I guess?

nino: bruh

ladybugfan2020: but wouldnt u rather choke on whipped cream

adrien: That’s harder? Like you’d have to get it into their mouth

mari: If anyone says anything about kinks I will leave this groupcaht and terminate all friendships

nino: fucking chri st

alya: IM

adrien: Wait wait Ignore mari and her gutter mind

mari: HEY

adrien: Tell me How to kill a person with whipped cream

nino: why? you got someone you want dead? there are easier ways my dude

adrien: Indulge me

ladybugfan2020: k heres the plan u knock them out with the tub of whipped cream theyr not dead but theyr momentarily unconscious then u stuff a bunch of whipped cream in their mouth and up their nose and when they regain consciousness they choke on the whipped cream and die

adrien: Ok Ok so You take the can And beat them over the head Until unconscious

ladybugfan2020: yes

adrien: BUT You fill their nostrils

nino: apparently

adrien: With whipped cream And their mouths

ladybugfan2020: uh huh

adrien: Let it dry Until they slowly

ladybufan2020: dry??????????

adrien: Just suffocate

nino: no no put them in a freezer let the cream freeze

mari: This is not where I was expecting this conversation to go Wait what????

ladybug2020: no u wait until they regain consciousness does whipped cream dry @mari do u have whipped cream we can test stuff with

mari: Why go through all this trouble when you can just snap someones necK?

nino: put them in th e freezer so the whipped cream freezes and retains its shape

ladybugfan2020: because death by whipped cream is the best way to go

nino: itd be like shoving a throat shaped mold down their throat and they cant breath e around it and they die

ladybugfan2020: y would u do that

adrien: No man

mari: What the fukc

adrien: You’d have to like

nino: ok look you cant breathe around a block of cream in your mouth and nostrils eventually youll pass out from lack of oxygen

ladybugfan2020: ye thats teh point of putting whipped cream in their mouths

mari: But then is it death by whipped cream or just suffocation

adrien: No that’s my point

nino: so freezing it would work the best

adrien: …. Wait

ladybugfan2020: the WHIPPED CREAM is doing the suffocation

adrien: It IS death Wait No

ladybugfan2020: so it IS death by whipped cream

adrien: It’s death by whipped cream The whipped cream Caused it …. Hm

nino: yes

ladybugfan2020: ok but y does that working best matter either way

mari: Mmmm now Im thinking about death by chocolate

ladybugfan2020: they die and its death by whipped cream

adrien: Death by chocolate is more complicated

nino: if you take melted chocolate and insert it into your veins

adrien: You can’t beat someone with a Hershey’s bar

ladybug2020: putting them in the freezer would just be extra @ the freezing the whipped cream

nino: you can poison yourself

adrien: I don’t know I think chocolate is too thick for that

ladybugfan2020: about the beating what about this giant ass ones u can buy online for lots of money i dont have adrien might have to provide the murder weapon for this one

mari: I meant death by chocolate cakes adn stuff but ok Good job team

adrien: Oh

nino: the meter and a half chocolate bar al?

adrien: Just buy like… 10000 chocolate cakes

ladybugfan2020: hell yeah nino

nino: i mean… you can shove cake up their nose?  

adrien: Get a pick up truck

mari: Where the actual fuck is this going

adrien: And then just All at once

ladybug2020: nah nah you could do it the same way as the whipped cream

adrien: Drop the cakes on the person All at once

nino: run them over

adrien: Until they die NO That’s not death by chocolate cake That’s death by getting hit with a truck

mari: Alya whatare you even talkling about

ladybufan2020: u put the cake in their mouth after u knock them cold

adrien: Alya what the hell

nino: put cake over their eyes

adrien: Stop knocking them out!

mari: Why is cake on eyes????

nino: so they can pay the boat man and cross the river styx

mari: Youre spending too much time with Adrien

nino: or just throw them in the freezer

mari: Can we not just eat dessert?????

ladybugfan2020: do u kno how hard it is to put a body in a freezer

nino: not that hard

mari: How the fuck do you know??????

nino: alyas little sisters locked me in a freezer once when i brought them to her moms work it sucked man

ladybug2020: boy that was a body sized freezer

adrien: It’ll be like that scene in Tangled

mari: jfc

ladybugfan2020: u gotta have the strength to lift like,,, a pERSON

adrien: Where Rapunzel tries to put Flynn in the dresser

mari: All my friends are serial killers

ladybufan2020: thats hard bruh

nino: not if you put your back into it fireman carry

adrien: Ok question What do you do AFTER you put it in the freezer? At least if you chop a body up

nino: whoa there sweeney todd

adrien: You just drain the blood

ladybugfan2020: too messy

adrien: Fill a bag with spices Put the parts in And just throw it out

nino: just roast it though???? dude, embrace the sweeney

ladybugfan2020: no but thats not death by whatever sweet you wanna kill them with thats just killing them

nino: like if i throw it in a fire, itll smell like shit, but you can pass it off as burning trash or something

adrien: Where would you even do that? That’s so conspicuous

nino: first of all sweeney todd did it in londo n second like...farmland?

adrien: Yeah Sweeney Todd isn’t real though

ladybug2020: ah yes the farmland in paris

nino: well drive out to the farm with the body

adrien: Who are you going to blame it on when they find a burned body???

nino: theres no one around its farmland theres like 2 people they wont find a burned body

adrien: The suspect list can fit on a post it note Do you know how they identify burned bodies? We’ve watched detective shows together, right? I didn’t hallucinate that???

mari: Didnt this start with me saying I was gonna murder myself in a bowl of whipped cream

adrien: Dental records Nino

nino: just do it at a vacant farm dude

adrien: You’d have to like Pull the teeth out THEN brun them Messy but the job gets done

mari: I needed to know like -2 things I learned tonight This morngn

nino: messy???? YOU CHOPPED THEM UP

mari: This conversation is over 10 minutes long and thats about 9 minutes too long

adrien: And honestly? If you’re going through this? Just dissolve the flesh

ladybugfan2020: gross

nino: ohhh acid bath

adrien: Well you decided to murder someone Al It’s going to be gross

ladybugfan2020: where do u get acid tho cause thats a lot of acid

adrien: I’m sure you could find it somewhere

mari: Ok Im ending this conversation befor esomeone googles something they regret

ladybugfan2020: call up lb and cn we now have a solid plan for defeatin g hawk moth just beat him up with whipped cream

mari: Im going to bed I hate all of you

nino: night dude dont let the bedbugs bite

ladybugfan2020: or the murderers

mari: Fuck off

 2:46

adrien: I’ve been watching so many cop shows I could probably get away with murder

ladybugfan2020: HOW to get away with murder lmao im hilariou s

nino: yo consider this going the fuck to sleep

adrien: One more episode

nino: im gonna show up at your house and force you to go to bed

adrien: What are you going to do cuddle me to sleep?

nino: yes

ladybugfan2020: hi get a room

adrien: </3

 4:19

mari has renamed this conversation to “fuck you all”.

mari: I dreamed about murder and literally had blood all over me I hat e you peopl e

 6:48

nino: nice carrie style

 7:02

adrien has renamed this conversation to “out damned spot”.

 7:14

ladybufan2020: what a nerd

[comicteaparty]

December 3rd-December 9th, 2018 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from December 3rd, 2018 to December 9th, 2018.  The chat focused on JINGKU by DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio).

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on JINGKU by DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)~! (https://globalcomix.com/c/jingku)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until December 9th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Will "Taw" be discovered and revealed to a woman and/or not Shu? What do you think will happen should that come about? Who might be the first to discover it?

QUESTION 4. Do you believe that the Taw clan, especially Mother Mai, will leave the situation as is, or will they intervene to protect "Taw?" Also, do you believe Shu might be discovered wherever he went? If so, what might happen?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Alrighty! Welcome and thank you to Comic Tea Party for hosting this discussion! I am DA-POW!, the creator of JINGKU, and will be participating as well. Feel free to read through the short excerpt above, if you haven't already! Please remember to be kind and respectful of everyone's thoughts. But please don't hold back if you have any burning questions or passions pertaining to JINGKU that you'd like to share! As a starter, I'll go ahead and answer the first two questions here. O w O

So! What has been my favorite scene in the comic so far? I have a number of favorite scenes, but I would say the moments that I've enjoyed drawing the most is the scene where Lee gives Taw his kukaoki. 8^U!!!

And the scene where Lee saves Taw from falling to her death. Q v Olll

These are my favorite scenes because they turned out the closest to how I envisioned them as I drew. And that is always something very satisfying to know when a creator's life is essentially attempting to chase and capture their vision for other's to see. Now who is my favorite character? I have to say, I like each character for different reasons. ; v ; BUT!!! I will share who I enjoy drawing the most-- which is Hur. Since Hur is a character who has a bald cut, if I need to adjust him mid-way through--- there's not a lot of editing I have to do to say... Huatai. Who's hair I almost have to always redraw if I should need to change his position and placement on the page.(edited)

But then again, I also must confess Huatai is very dear to me! He is the only character that was alive before JINGKU's world was molded out from my late teenage years-- meaning he was made before JINGKU existed. He's gone through a lot of changes, but I'm glad that he's found a home in JINGKU. He is very important to the Vavoan afterall. XD I would love to hear what other people's thoughts are on their favorite scene and character from the JINGKU cast. I must confess though!!! As far as I know, Lee is officially the most popular character and if you feel that way-- please tell this silly bean why. (And if not, who's the precious bean you've offered up yer likes to, eh? Confess!) ; V ; When I created Lee, I did not put an inkling of effort to insure his place in anyone's heart and now I'm wondering if my lack of effort has backfired on me. XDDD(edited)

RebelVampire

im surprised you find lee's popularity a semi-mystery given your own chosen fave scenes XD lee is my fave but until i answer more questions tomorrow i will be more objective and less subjective about why i think he is probably the most popular in general. and that would be due to 1) of the characters so far his positive traits have probably been the most focused on 2) of the character so far his positive traits are the ones who have had the most impact on the protagonist, Taw 3) of the characters so far, he is the one who continually does nice things without forseeable self motivation, and selflessness is an extremely endearing trait (keep in mind im talking about as he presents himself. maybe he does have selfish reasoning, but its an unknown factor). 4) although he's stoic, his "negative" traits are the least abrasive in their own way due to the fact he gives Taw some more space. whereas the others are somewhat more social aggressive.

so effort aside hes basically been the most positively painted character

to summarize

actually the fact you claim to have not put effort to get ppl to like him makes him even more endearing because it just means hes angel through and through

lee doesnt even need the kukaoki. hes just gonna fly through the sky using his angel wings

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Rebel dropping dem truth bombs on me. XDDDDD But I must clarify (just for my own mental comfort) that I would have loved the scenes I mentioned whether it was Lee saving Taw, Hur, Voo, or simply a monkey. I was just really happy with how they turned out artistically-- more so than the actual fact that it was Lee or even Taw for that matter. ; W ;/ But OMG Rebel... OMG.... shakes head to self What have I done? It seems I played myself and I can't help but laugh at my own silliness.(edited)

"Lee doesn't even need the kukaoki. He's just gonna fly through the sky using his angel wings." - RebelVampire (Quote of the Year)(edited)

shrimpchipsahoy

Answer 1: One of my favorite scenes is from the first chapter, where Taw says she is like the fence protecting her family. It's difficult for me to explain exactly why it's my favorite, but something about it really resonated with me. (It could be because I'm a wife and mother, idk. Lol) Other than that, I have to say, every scene is meticulously drawn and all the characters are perfect in their own way.

Chillin&Livin

1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it? I find the interaction between Hur and Voo to be my favortie scene. The way they jab each other with insults and nicknames is just hilarious. 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor? I am a bit undecided on choosing my favorite character, so I'm going to wait until there is more material for me to examine who I find the most favorable. 3. Will "Taw" be discovered and revealed to a woman and/or not Shu? What do you think will happen should that come about? Who might be the first to discover it? It's quite difficult for me to decide when Taw's secret will finally be discovered, but if that ever happens I think she will be in big trouble. I think the first one to discover Taw's secret will probably be Hur or Voo since they're the ones mostly close to Taw. 4. Do you believe that the Taw clan, especially Mother Mai, will leave the situation as is, or will they intervene to protect "Taw?" Also, do you believe Shu might be discovered wherever he went? If so, what might happen? I think they'll come back to help Taw in the future and I don't think shu will be discovered.(edited)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Now that @shrimpchipsahoy has mentioned that, I must confess one of my favorite quotes from JINGKU is: "You chose to become a wild animal. And I... For this family... Chose to be the fence."(edited)

But OMG, Shrimp. ;v; Thank you for the kind words~~.

keii4ii

I love that quote too, and not just because it shows her love for her family. There's something poignant about her being a fence ... she's not one of the animals being protected. She is, and is not, part of the family at the same time.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

OMG. O _ O @keii4ii Your wise mind knows no bounds. But yeah!!! Adding on to that, a few readers have talked about the fence being the borderline to what's right and wrong. The pigs being what's right and the wild animal being what's wrong. But as the creator, I didn't intend it that way-- though I won't stop people from discussing it in that sense.(edited)

But it's more so of simply: Protect those inside (and put yourself at risk)? Let others protect you (and put other's at risk)? Or simply protect yourself (and leaves others to their own mechanisms)?(edited)

shrimpchipsahoy

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) I volunteer to be your fence.

Answer 2: I struggled for a long time over picking a favorite character. Just like everyone else, I really like Lee, but all of the characters bring unique qualities to the table that make them special and stand out in their own way. That being said, so far Taw is my number one favorite character. She's very strong and selfless when it comes to protecting the people she loves. I like that her character is flawed and that we get to experience her struggles with her. Also, quick superficial sidenote, but Huatai (and his flawless hair) is a hottie and if we were going solely based on looks that man wins hands down.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

But on the topic of Voo & Hur, one reader of mine did mention that their interaction was "interesting." XDDD Pertaining to what @Chillin&Livin said, I'm happy to hear someone finds the two funny and entertaining! Some of us are probably not aware since they did pop up later to read JINGKU, but the first few drafts of JINGKU posted online actually had Hur's dialogue censored because I was not really sure on the target audience yet. In the end, I ultimately decided that the work would be best left in the hands of older teens and adults instead of children seeing as the topics that JINGKU will discuss would probably be too dark to share with a young audience either way.(edited)

@shrimpchipsahoy BUT OMG SHRIMP!!!!! XDDDDDD(edited)

I've got to agree Huatai's flawless hair is truly something. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Many of my friends have commented about his little twirl, which is essentially the last element that I placed on him before deciding he was ready to take his place in the circle of JINGKU characters.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. Who exactly is the new Huatai? Is the fact he has a Green dialect significant in regards to himself or Shu's lover? What do you think he'll do as Huatai?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

So the fact that we're asking about the Huatai-- it reminded me that a few readers in the past have asked me: what in the world is everyone's actual names? XDDD I have no idea if any of the future questions in this discussion will poke at this, but I do hope to make plans to reveal some of the cast's real name where applicable in the future. Though, I must say that I make no promises. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

AH!!!! But the topic of the Green dialect! Just as a comparison, I would like to mention that the Green dialect is different in say... American English is to British English or Australian English. Which I have mentioned to @- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- at one point. XDDD Even a standard Northern American dialect compared to a deep Southern American one would be a good comparison. Of course, I must mention that I do lean towards a more British one to represent Huatai just because it would give him a more posh impression. ; v ; Though the thought of a deep Southern American one seems quite awesome too now that I've mentioned it. 8^L Example: Do you have a flashlight? (American English) Do you have a torch? (British English) Don't forget the fact that there is slight difference in stress of certain vowels and consonants in the Green dialect just as American English differs a bit to British English if you still need a comparison.(edited)

If anyone has any questions pertaining to cultural or lingual topics of the Hmong ethnicity, please don't be afraid to ask! O v O/ I will do my best to answer!

RebelVampire

1) I'm torn between two scenes so ill just pick both. the first scene i really like is the one with Taw having to get out of bath thing with Hur and Voo. like majority of the time those scenes happen in secretly a girl stories, its really comedic and shenanigan ridden. and while ill love shenanigans, im not a huge fan of the trope because it always feels really forced and logically inconsistent. so i love that in this story taw got out of it no big deal. boundaries were respected and everyone moved on. so i appreciate that scene just for being different and not focusing on it (at least in that specific moment of context). the second scene i really like is the one where lee gives taw his kukaoki and is super patient with taw. it was heartwarming to see the contrast to their arrival cause it shows that rules will be followed and enforced not out of cruelty but because the rules exist and everyone is there for a reason. 2) as i stated Lee be my favorite. i already gave my objective reason why i assume hes the most popular in other spaces. but now my subjective reason. lee hits all the right notes for my favorite guildty pleasure character types. got the grumpy stoicism, the dedication and focus, the immense loyalty, all packed on top of a heart of gold. Lee is just the angel no one deserves. 3) I totally think Taw is gonna get found out. I mean theyre with the Huatai for life. So unless Taw dies a very early death, she's kind of doom. Something is gonna happen eventually that exposes the secret. I'm assuming it's gonna be Lee or Huatai. cause i dont feel Hur or Voo would be understanding enough. Or maybe it's gonna be someone we havent met yet. Maybe that pretty lady who greeted them when they arrived.

4) I think this largely depends on what they know. Like did Taw leave them a note that said "Shu ran away and I'm taking his place?" or was there a note that said "I hate you all I'm running away Shu is best and going to the palace like a good boy." Cause while I might of missed it, that really determines whether they even know to go looking for Taw in the first place. Even if they did know Taw is taking a risk, i'm not sure they'd do anything cause they do have to think of the whole clan. Actually speaking of this, this is why i actually dont view Taw's whole obsession with being the fence as selfless as a lot of others. Cause her actions to try and be the fence, while good intentioned, still have consequences. If she's discovered maybe her whole clan gets punished, for instance. at the very least, ppl are going to miss her im sure and be hurt by her absence. so her actions are not without their downfalls and selfish nuances. not that this is bad, at all, just saying the fence thing makes me side eye a bit sometimes. as for shu, idk. i dont think hes going to be found out unless he wants to be found out. and maybe hell want to be found out. theres no gurantee his relationship will last and like, where else is he gonna go at that point if thinks all go downhill? probably home, cause that is the usual instinct. 5) i think the green dialect might be specific, but i dont have theories as to why because there is much to be seen about the region. i think hes gonna be the best huatai who does all the great things and shows taw why taw should care about the kingdom. i base this on nothing except the huatai is a hottie and that lee trusts him so i feel compelled to trust him. #ShallowReasoningIntensifies

kongli

My favort scene is when taw finds out about shu and his boyfriend. i was really shocked-- I didn't think that any hmong story would include a gay couple because its something we shouldn't talk about. So it was daring to me.

Out of everyone we've seen so far, i think I'm leaning towards is mua. He seems like someone really sly and i like that-- sort of like gin from Bleach.

I'm going to agree with RebelVampire. Taw's going to get found out. i don't think she thought this through. I think she should have told mother mai what happened, and then decide on how to approch the problem.

about Shu though. I think he''s an idiot! I don't care much about who he was with, but how could he betray his family? I actually thought shu was okay at first, but then after he did that to taw I was like no.

i binged through Jingku and I was on a rollercoaster. For every scene that shcoked me, I was upset and also excited.

I just wish shu was more sly then this wouldn't have happened.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

OMG, @RebelVampire . XDDDD Huatai's a hottie and Lee trusts him. That's legit. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)b AH!!! But I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed the scene with Voo and Taw, although I sort of forgot about it in the midst of all the other plot devices I'm juggling. 9v9lll Ah... But I do understand the undercover girl bath scene trope that you speak of. XDDD I do my best to make characters true to their backstory, so every character's reaction to whatever pops up in JINGKU should reflect on them as a person. ; V ; Maybe someday when we get further enough, I'll do little extra installments outside of the canon plot with plot along the lines of the beach episode, the valentines episode, so on and so forth for giggles. (Makes fanfic and fan-comics of my own creations. =v=b) No promises though~~.(edited)

Lee is just the angel no one deserves. GEH. wipes a glittery tear ; W ;

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

For all the feelings that I didn't invest into Lee... Now thinking it over, I'm sort of happy that the readers feel for him. Although as I mentioned, I never intended for this to happen. I guess it's like Bob Ross says... There's no mistake. Just a happy accident. Y v Y

On the topic of Taw though, I will admit-- as a human being and as myself (my background and circumstances)-- I would have never done what Taw did. OvOlll I don't think I'm that... gutsy? Willing to risk so much or gamble with such high stakes? Essentially, in the terms of the pig, fence, wild animal analogy-- I would be the pig. I probably wouldn't be very promising as a character. But as I always say, I think I would make great bacon. =v=b

BUT OMG. XDDD The lack of faith in Shu from my readers is immense! I can only hope that whatever happens, it will be for the better of everyone's life. OvOlll

It's always great to hear that I put readers through a roller coaster of emotions @kongli !!! ; V ; I can only hope you'll continue to stay on the ride till the end!

In all honesty though, I'm surprised to hear that you've already sort of grown attached to Mua (just because he's just barely appeared.) OAO!!! Everyone in the Vavoan are sort of an oddball, so I'm glad they all shine through with their own respective traits.(edited)

kongli

Yeah. i'm going to stick around. (;

I don't really care for lee because he hurt Taw. i don't like the guys that are always talking and don't listen to the girl.

Lee is always assuming everything like he knows it all and it just turns me off. Why dont he think to ask?

But yeah, he is the member thats like doing everything so i understand why people like him.

I also think that because lee is so truthful about everything like from what we know so far like vampire said, he is going to be taken of advantage of easily. taw is kind of different. Like she;s not really a good person, but not really a bad person to the country. From chaptor seven, i think Taw might be the one to do that. I wish the creator told us what taw was thinking though so we know for sure though.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

We'll definitely be learning more about the conclusion Taw came upon from the seventh chapter as we move along the plot for sure, @kongli! I won't simply leave ya'll hanging and say that's all I have to say about her plan so fear not. Ov<b

shrimpchipsahoy

@kongli I like that scene too because I think it gives Taw a chance to shine. We get to see how much she loves her family and is willing to sacrifice for them in action, not just thoughts or words.

kongli

Can't wait for that moment then! (;

i agree with shrimpchip. Taw seems like a person of action not just all talk. i like that she seems to be pretty careful like she thinks about what the other vavoan people say and then decide on what to do instead of just doing whatever.

Chillin&Livin

For me personally, I think there are a lot of actions Lee commits that is questionable, for example, his initiative to take authority over everyone else in the vavoan. According to Hur in chapter 2 the vavoan are supposed to act as merely puppets who serve the Huatai. if a vavoan member were to create a problem then shouldn't it be in the Huatai's place to solve it, not Lee? And I keep wondering, why does Voo consider Lee's assault on Taw a nice thing? Even Taw wonders the same thing. If what Lee did was nice, what's the norm? I seriously want to know. Voo mentions how close Lee and the Huatai are in chapter 3. This is probably a bit out there, but it just occured to me... what if Lee is a bad guy and plans to over throw the Huatai and to do that he decides to create a close relationship with the Huatai to learn more about the Huatai's plan. And that sole reason is why Lee made Taw his target when Lee meets Taw and later forces Taw to join his schemes to kill the Huatai.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

OMG. XDDDDD The theory of Lee turning out to be a bad guy-- now that's really something isn't it? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Though I must say, I think that if it benefited Taw in the long run in order to get back to her family, she would probably take it. Just saying... O3O~~ whistles

shrimpchipsahoy

@Chillin&Livin Interesting points but I feel like, and I'm not the creator so I could totally be wrong lmao, people are misreading the situation with Lee. When I read through it the first time, I just assumed there was a hierarchy to the Vavoan. Obviously Huatai is head bitch in charge but when he's not around, who keeps everyone in line? It's Lee. The fact is, most people can't be trusted to do things independently (I feel bad saying this but it's proven to be true) without leadership or guidance. The other characters have a certain closeness between them, but Lee seems to stand out in a way that makes him feel unreachable despite his moments of kindness.

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) I'd be really happy for Taw if she could find a way home without any repercussions before she is forced to do something she may regret.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

I hope the same thing as well, @shrimpchipsahoy~~. ; V ; We can only hope!

kongli

it'd be cool if Lee was a villain, but i don't think it will happen unless the creator pools a 180 on us. if it did happen, I wouldn't be surprised thuogh. Its sort of like a trope where this character is like all cool and good to a group, like lee is to the country but then later they're like just kidding. That's when shit hits the fan. i'm sure all the Lee fans would be heartbroken for real if it did happen though.

But what shrimpchips said, about heirarchy. i don't really think theres an official like level for everyone. I feel like it really is supposed to be the huatai and then theres the vavoan like chillin said. lee is just the kind of person that will do things before anyone asks him to because he feels like it.

I think that if there was someone that had something to offer to taw though and taw feels like its a good deal that she would take it. like I said I don't think Taw would just sit around waiting for something to work out for her situation.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. What do you think the Huatai and Lee's relationship actually is? Do they have past history, or is something else going on? Why is Lee so dedicated to the Huatai?

- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́-

1. My favourite is when Taw is mad about the their big brother Shu taking a whole day to catch the chicken. Because as a reader that was my reaction too. 2. Hur's rough behavior made me like them instantly. I am always a sucker for rough characters with golden hearts. The interaction with Taw was much like a tsundere HHHH You look like this rice ball. HERE EAT THIS BECAUSE YOU MISSED DINNER. HHHHH 3. I'm very much hoping that Taw's secret will go to their grave. I know thats light thinking but I'm really not wanting to see the reveal, what is the punishment?! Who will try to protect Taw?!? Will Taw become valuable enough to keep in the Vavoan? HHHHH 4. I don't really think Mother Mai will do much of the situation, as I think they would just assume that Taw disappeared and Shu went on their way. If Shu's discovered first that is a different story. I hope Taw gets the best life. ;w; 5. Maybe the Huatai is a replacement to the Huatai. MAYBE ITS AN INCEPTION OF AN INCEPTION. That is why Lee is so much favoured, because Lee was probably close to the Huatai before they were even going to be the Huatai. HHHHH I'm a fake Huatai playing the pretend for the real Huatai, so now I have to actually be the Huatai because the real Huatai went MIA. HELP ME OUT LEE. 6. I think their relationship is that of a newly born chick and a mother hen. Have you seen how many times the Huatai screams out Lee's name? (edited)

RebelVampire

@kongli @shrimpchipsahoy @Chillin&Livin i agree with shrimpchips on the matter of hierarchy. because when theres anything involving large, large groups, theres always a structure of hierarchy. keep in mind also that the huatai is in charge of the whole kingdom basically. so its not just the vavoan under him. theres probably a ton of other branches and people. so while yes, the huatai might be the ultimate leader, that doest mean there arent also ppl in charge directly under him to keep order in various other matters of the kingdom. its kind of like how in an army you have a general at the top but then various other ranks under them who control various army squads and such. those other ranks obviously follow the generals orders, but at the same time they make sure those under them also get those orders fulfilled. now this being said, i do think its debateable on whether lee's position as this secondary leader is official or not. but even if it wasnt official this would be the natural result. someone always has to take charge, because otherwise theres just anarchy. youd wind up with even worse situations then what happened on the bridge cliff thing. instead of just taw falling off the cliff itd probably be like half of the vavoan because thered be no one ordering people around keeping things organized. and as was also pointed out, the huatai cant be there in every situation. so if theres no one in charge, even unofficially, theres going to be problems and will probably lead to the huatai getting offed pretty quickly.

that being said, if lee winds up a villain im okay with this. i will support lee to the end, even if the end is some sort of train derailment into the abyss

6) im getting kind of a sibling relationship? not that i do think theyre siblings, but it kind of feels like lee is the older brother and the huatai is his lazy younger brother who just moved out of home for the first time. i definitely think theres past history here that were going to find out tho. they seem way too super close for them to have just met. as for the dedication, i assume its either that Lee knows something we dont about the Huatai's plans or that Lee is a strong believer in duty. something like that

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- OMG. XDDDD The day Huatai calls someone else's name will probably break Lee's heart. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) @RebelVampire Lee is the older brother and Huatai is his lazy younger brother who just moved out of home for the first time RIP Huatai. XDDDD

kongli

I think lee and Huatai are not sibling because they dont look the same. maybe friends or lovers? or maybe lee owes the huatai something like the Huatai did something for him.

it's kind of like, they might have backstory together.

Just wondering but are you all from webtoon too? i didn't know that the creator put jingku on another site.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@kongli I think the majority came from webtoons though I wouldn't know the exact details of how everyone got invested enough to stay. Surely it was my unrelenting charisma and charm? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) get's killed Though, Rebel was probably obligated to read since they had to prepare questions for this discussion. Whether that was webtoons or globalcomix though, I've no idea. XD But in all seriousness, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on anything you guys! OvOlll(edited)

kongli

I came from webtoon and i stayed because i liked the story and characters. im so tired of always having to read character that dont do anything or like don't have a goal. Its like where in the hell are we going? and Taw is a bit different from the girls i always read. She;s kind of like not a good person who always try to save people that she don't know but she's not bad because shes just tyring to survive.

i also stayed because i liked the art. I really like the pictures you put at the beginning of the chapters.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

GEH. ; W ; Much thankies @kongli!!! <333 I probably should do more color works, but I've been sticking with the black and white plus red illustrations since it rings true to the JingKu aesthetic. OvOb And I've grown very attached to it so look forward to more illustrations with the same style!

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Holy heavens-- now that Kong mentioned about webtoon and globalcomix, if any of us have only read the pages on globalcomix, please jump over to webtoons so that you can read up to the latest page. 9v9lll We should be in the midst of the seventh chapter!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Do you think there is any reason Lee is so nice to "Taw?" Is Lee just a nice guy or is there something else? Will Lee continue to help "Taw," or will Lee give up since "Taw" is years behind everyone else?

RebelVampire

@DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) I read the globalcomix version but I did switch over to webtoons for the last bit. cause i suspected there might be more pages and then lo and behold i was correct. XD

7) I think theres two things going on. first off, i think lee is just genuinely a nice dude. gruff and a stickler for rules, but nice. however, i also think pragmatically speaking its in lee's best interest to make sure taw is up to snuff. because if taw isnt up to snuff, welp, good-bye huatai. so in essence lee's actions may be less nice and more driven by the pragmatic need to have taw not suck at the job. i dont think Lee is gonna give up, but i have a high suspicion it might lead lee to learn that taw is not the taw that was supposed to be sent. or at least theres going to be many lectures. but again, pragmatically not a good idea to leave taw as is. unless theres like...paper pushers in the vavoan. taw can get that nice, comfy desk job in that case.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

AH! Good to hearz! OvQb @RebelVampire But OMG. XDDD Taw getting that desk job would be the dream~.

shrimpchipsahoy

@ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Not to mention the GIVEAWAYS you do on webtoons! hellbent on winning

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@shrimpchipsahoy Webtoons probably the only place I do constant giveaways. >v</ But in all honesty, I'm always at lost when the names drawn don't claim their prizes. Q v O Y u no want prize, commenter friendo? SOBS That's why I started putting the 7 day time limit on the giveaways. RIP winners that disappear into the void.

shrimpchipsahoy

Answer 3: I think it's inevitable that the truth about Taw will be revealed to some extent. cries I can't imagine it would be easy for a woman to hide her identity long term, especially in consideration of baths/toilet time/that time of the month. I've been thinking a lot about who may be the first to discover it, but there are so many variables involved that I can't pin it down. Although I hope whoever discovers her secret helps her escape or fake her death or something (so she can escape without repercussions), I don't think the odds are in our favor. Lol

@ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ i want their prizes changes nickname on webtoons ٩(๑òωó๑)۶

RebelVampire

QUESTION 8. Do you believe that Taw will learn to use Kukaoki? What other talents might Taw discover she has? Do you think Taw will find a way home, or will she be stuck serving the Huatai forever?

RebelVampire

(the archive for the chat on super galaxy knights deluxe r is up! @snuffysam https://comicteaparty.com/post/180885573190/november-26th-december-2nd-2018-ctp-archive)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Speaking of kukaoki! I think I only mentioned this once (like way back when I posted the first draft of JINGKU on webtoons) but when the name kukaoki is broken down, it's defined as: ku = pair / kao = wheel / ki = spin. As a side note, the Hmong language is tonal (8/7 tones or so), meaning these definitions are conditional depending on the tone used when speaking the word. Kind of like how one kanji, though pronounced the same, can mean different things depending on how you depict the character. So don't try to share these meanings without that little bit of salt to add in^ There were a number of names I thought to call the weapon, but recalled that I shouldn't use hard to pronounce Hmong words for the sake of readers. 9v9lll I hope that my efforts pulled through. sweats(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Who do you think attacked the Huatai on the way to the temple? Was it a foreign power, or could it be an inside job? What might this mean for the rest of the story?

RebelVampire

8) I think Taw is gonna learn, and I think she's also gonna learn that strength has advantage too, what with all the farm work. In all honesty, I don't think Taw is gonna go home. I think the inevitable path for Taw is to learn that there is more than one way to be a fence. so instead of just protecting her little family unit shell learn that by protecting the kingdom she also protects her family. or something like that. 9) It was Lee. /shot In all seriousness, I assume it was a foreign power. I don't get the sense that the kingdom is in the most secure of places, and I think it's a sign that these are troubled times that are gonna involved quite a bit of fighting and securing of power.

kongli

Number seven, i don't think lee is going to give up. Hes too stubborn. Number eight, i think taw will learn the kukaoki but she wont be good at it because Yah said that you have to start from when your a kid. I dont know how old Taw is but i think it would be hard for her like when someone learns ballet kind of late. Taw is probably going to try to find a way home but get stuck being with the vavoan for the rest of her lief. i think its going to be like she thought she wanted to go home but after staying with the the vavoan for so long she decides to stay because she likes it there.

for number nine, i think it might be a foreign power like vampire said. I went back to look at the part where they are atacked and i just realized that if huatai didn't get sick he would have been dead because Lee wouldnt' have came to move him from the carriage.

I think that someone in the country betray the country and if they did betray the country they might be working with foreign power.

okay, so i just thought about this but the huatai is supposed to be green right? why is he wearing a girl's shirt? a green shirt would be like the one shu's boyfriend wears or did the creator mess up?

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

O v O!!!! UH....

Okay, so I will confirm that Huatai is indeed wearing a girl's shirt. And I will also confirm that it is NOT a mistake. But that's all I can say about that. 9v9llll @kongli(edited)

And for those who are wondering about Hmong clothes... Essentially, there's a number of designs (its fashion afterall ;v;) but the main thing you should always be aware of is that a girl's shirt typically features an extended collar on the back. Hmong male clothes do not (and should not) have this feature.(edited)

As exemplified below, Taw has an extended collar on the back:(edited)

shrimpchipsahoy

O.O Maybe Huatai is secretly a woman. That would be awesome because s/he could be Taw's greatest ally! Other idea is maybe Huatai wears girls clothes to honor someone they lost (like Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi, who is actually a man but poses as a woman to honor his late sister.)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@shrimpchipsahoy OMG!!! I didn't know that about Nuriko! I never got the chance to finish the series, but I always wondered why he wore girl's clothes. My child brain just thought that it was just out of preference and mentally muted the question. XD

On the topic of Huatai though, we'll definitely be learning more about him as a character in future chapters. O v O Pwease look forward to it ya'll~~~.

shrimpchipsahoy

@ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ Eek! Sorry about the spoilers.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Tis all good, Shrimp~~. XDDDD patpat

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

kongli

i'm looking forward to when taw sees Shu again and kicks him in the butt. I really hope that the creator doesnt stop making jingku because theres like no hmong manga at all with a interesting story that has a lot of stuff in it.

and it was cool getting to talk to you guys about the story. Thank you for inviting me.

(;

keii4ii

Growing up, my family moved around a lot, and I found myself as a transfer student often as a result. (e.g. 1st grade year, I went to 3 different schools) I was also a sickly child and missed school a lot. That combination meant I was often clueless in the class: the material they were covering at a new school was sometimes a little ahead. Or more commonly, I miss 2 days of class and everyone else in the classroom was 2 days ahead of me. Teachers made zero effort to help me catch up. It was all up to me. What I'm trying to say is, I can really relate to Taw being thrown into a situation that she'd never been prepared for, unlike everyone else surrounding her. I'm looking forward to how she deals with all of that. I also hope she can catch a break sometime!

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

So there are a number of things I'm looking forward to for JINGKU and most of them revolves around revealing plot points. XDDD But depending on how the story of JINGKU goes, I'm kind of looking forward to drawing Taw with longer hair in the story. Q v O GEH. Probably just wishful thinking, but hopefully the opportunity reveals itself at some point. (Worry not. If Taw's hair grows, then the men's hair will grow as well. 8^U!!! Gotta trim dem heads!) On another note, I am very grateful to everyone that has taken the time to read the story and drop off their thoughts here in this discussion! ;W; I didn't know how well the week-long discussion would go since the active reader-base is essentially just a handful of people. But seeing how much discussion we did, it's really shocking. O_O!!! Thank you to you awesome peeps and I hope that ya'll will stick around for all the upcoming week discussions as well.(edited)

@kongli Thank you for coming and participating, Kong! ; W ;/ Surely with tangible support from readers, JINGKU will only continue to soar towards completion. But trust me when I say there's a lot of ground I've got to cover, so worry not. OvOlll We're in for a long ride!

@keii4ii If I miss one day of school as a kid, I'm lost for the next month. 9v9lll RIP mah childhood. weeps Ah, but I'm happy to hear that Taw's disconnection is relatable, seeing as its definitely a stressful situation to be in. Taw's always got to be on her toes, that's for sure! Hopefully, things will turn around at some point. ;v;/

- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́-

7. Lee probably had a big family before they left their family to serve the Huatai. Perhaps worrying about others is just innately ingrained into him, as well with the Huatai always comes first. So I believe Lee will help out Taw to become an asset to the Huatai. 8. OF COURSE TAW WILL LEARN TO USE THE KUKAOKI. Taw bby must be the very best that there ever was. Finding a way to get back perhaps will happen if Taw really superemly fails at something which I hope doresn't happen.

9. Well the Huatai's king died recently and it really could be an inside job. The Huatai looks super young. I'm not saying that the Huatai isn't prepared considering the Huatai has a 6 PACK OF A GOD, that means the training they did to learn how to become a Huatai is very evident. The dialect that the Huatai has was probably because of a close tutor who has the same dialect as Shu's lover. Because obviously you are going to pick up the way of speaking of the people you surround yourself around. Judging by the Huatai's behavior shown so far... I don't think the Huatai has many close relations other than Lee. (Because Lee is the ultimate Motehr Hen ) This might mean the Huatai has to lug around the Vavoan around lots of places... considering that they already supposed to be the cream of the crop.

10. I'm looking forward to Taw becoming more badarse. Lee showing more Mother Hen traits.... anDDD FIGHT SCENESE. I am a simple person who loves simple thing so maybe more... ABS. Jingku peaked my interest as I really love the opening. "Fence or Pig?" Taws love of family has a really warped dark side at the same time, and will be showcased more and more as the story progressed. How darker will the pure Taw be tainted in the dark. This isn't a fantasy story so there will be very realistic consequences and much heartbreak in the future. Hopefully I'll get to see some nicely timed comedy from the future.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- OMG. You use the best emojis, Mitsu. XDDDDDD

Taws love of family has a really warped dark side at the same time, and will be showcased more and more as the story progressed. Such a bootiful conclusion, you've made. Hurhurhur. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

On the topic of genre though, YESH. A [] A JingKu is indeed not a fantasy so as Mitsu has mentioned: there will be very realistic consequences and much heartbreak in the future.

A few peeps that have read the story have spoke about JINGKU as if its a fantasy story with tributes to the Hmong ethnicity. JINGKU is a HISTORICAL FICTION/DRAMA. O v Olll(edited)

I'm also hoping we'll get more action scenes because-- boy oh boy, though mah art skillz suffer, I really do love action. GEH. ; v ; (No promises though.) Thank you so much for dropping off yer final thoughts, Mitsu. You're probably one of the few that has been here since near the first draft of JINGKU. XDDD And I'm always grateful that you've stuck around for that long, you awesome bean~~! Mitsu is truly a JINGKU veteran! ; W ;(edited)

RebelVampire

10) I'm looking forward to Lee being Lee some more. But more seriously, I don't really have any specific looking forward to desires. I'm more just interested to see where everything goes in general. This comic has already thrown some curveballs to where I expected it to go, so I don't want to overthink it and stop being surprised.

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

I'm looking forward to Lee being Lee some more. OMG. XDDDD GEH. ;W; But I'm happy that JINGKU has been able to give you some curveballs~~. Whatever's in store for JINGKU, hopefully its' future will not be cut short! @RebelVampire AH!!! OAO!!! But OMG. I'm really surprised that you've taken the story so well, Rebel! I seriously thought that you might just eye JINGKU over for the sake of discussion and simply mod from afar. Thank you for giving your insight and I'm happy to hear you'll continue to root for Lee!(edited)

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

@- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- OMG!!! I don't know how, but my eyes did not catch your answers for the first few questions!!! OAO Probably because everyone is giving such detailed answers, but GEH. GEH. GEH. I laughed so hard at your comment about Hur being a tsundere. MUAHAHAAHA. XDDDDD Pwease cherish that bald babeh!(edited)

Ah... I do have to confess, Shu's excuse on catching a chicken was ridiculous in its own right. But the reality is, my own parents have stories of how animals would sometimes escape or go missing and peeps were forced to search the surrounding mountains for their livestock. RIP peeps chasing after their cows and pigs. Y v Y

DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio)

Okay, so I've no idea if anyone else is going to leave any more comments before 3 am (12 am on PST time) so I'm going to go ahead and toss this here. O W Q @RebelVampire @shrimpchipsahoy @- ̗̀ Mitsu ৫ ̖́- @Chillin&Livin @kongli @keii4ii THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT PARTICIPATED IN THIS JINGKU DISCUSSION!!!!! YA'LL ARE AWESOME BEANS AND HOPE YOU CONTINUE TO STICK WITH THE STORY NO MATTER HOW CRAZY IT GETS! YOSH! (edited)

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about JINGKU this week! Please also give a special thank you to DA-POW! (Yayao Yuying Studio) for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked JINGKU, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: https://globalcomix.com/c/jingku

DA-POW!’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/YayaoYuyingSTU?lang=en

[hadtohavehighhighhopesforaliving]

All That is Gold Does Not Glitter, Chapter 1: Yoo-hoo

I've done a lot in my long life.

Most things I'm not proud of.

Several things I am.

I've taken many hits. I've faced many losses. I've paid my dues. Frank Sinatra's song "My Way" is my anthem.

I live alone in a little white farm house, in a town where no one knows my real name. I spend my days taking walks, feeding the horses, and reading. If I do leave my property, it's only for a Sunday church service. I talk to no one. I know no one. But I love everyone. That's the secret: to care for the welfare of others more than your very self. I did not know that as a child. I had to learn it the hard way.

I suppose it's expected for someone who's held the positions I've held to write a memoir. I never really thought about it, and at first I didn't want to, but an old friend made a house call one afternoon and put a pen in my hand.

"Write," he told me. "Please. If not for your sake, then for ours."

He knew that's all he had to say.

I've found healing in this process. I was scared for decades to re-remember these memories, to re-open those old wounds. I'm glad I did. Because on the opposite of fear lies freedom. And now, I am nothing if not free. I have nothing in this world except my home, my withered body, and the freedom I have fought my whole life for.

J. R.

Part I: 1998

I am seventeen. It's football tryouts. And I'm about to become the first female football player in Truman High history.

Or so I tell myself as I walk onto the field. Cold sweat from the Pepsi-filled Big Gulp leaks down my arm, chilling my throwing hand. Sun-dead grass crunches under my cleats. Though I am shaking, I keep up my power pace to the sidelines.

They never see me coming.

I set the to-go cup on the aluminum bench crowded with gear and sidle up to Calvin. He's got one leg up, foot resting on the bench, bent over, tying his cleat.

"Hey," I say quietly, glancing around.

He looks up.

"Hey!" he smiles. "You finally showed up!" He's been heckling me since freshman year to try out. We used to play together on the middle school team. That, and our assigned seats next to each other in sixth grade, cemented our friendship.

"Yeah, haha," I titter, eyes still roving the competition. "Better late than never." I force a wide, toothy smile that's so fake it's cartoonish. It makes him laugh, just like I'd hoped.

All the usual suspects are here. Some of them are play-wrestling. Some of them are stretching casually. One guy even takes his water bottle, aims it at some dude, and squeezes, firing a stream of water like a firehose. Almost all are laughing.

"Looks like some tough competition this year," I say, dropping my voice to sound masculine. I puff up my chest and broaden my shoulders, flex my arms and clench my hands into fists. "The team's shaping up to be a championship winner. We may even go to state." I'm mocking the coach. He says this every year at the first week of school pep rally. It's total bullshit.

"I'm shaking in my cleats," Calvin chuckles. "Who knows if I'll make the cut?"

Truman High sports teams - especially football - are all walk-ons. We're too damn small to reject any players. And we suck at everything. Everyone knows "tryouts" are a joke; it's really just a euphemistic label given to the first day of practice. No one gets cut. Ever.

"You know Beufort. Football capital of the world," I say. "Don't you realize how many NFL legends came from our town?"

The answer: none. Beufort is a farm-turned-industrial-turned-farm-again town in Northeastern Ohio. Nothing ever happens here. Most kids who are born here stay here until they die. No one ever leaves, and no one ever makes something of themselves. You just get stuck.

Thankfully, I wasn't born here, and stuck is not a place I want to be. I'll get out of here eventually. I just have to get through senior year. Somehow.

The coach blows his whistle.

"Line up at the end zone for relays!" he screams. Everyone lolligags over and forms five messy lines. I slink to the back of my line, hidden by tall, broad-shouldered blokes. They haven't noticed me yet.

My palms are drenched. The late August heat drapes itself across my back. My neck sizzles; I can feel it burning. The B.O. is noxious. My heart's racing. It's difficult to swallow; my throat is thick.

Each guy at the front of each line races down the field to the endzone, tags the ground, and runs back down to high-five the next fella in line. By run, of course, I mean jog, prance, and hustle - no one really books it. They don't put out full effort. They don't care.

I watch Calvin's back as he sprints to the opposite end zone, grass and dirt flying in his wake. The others cheer through cupped hands, unleashing guttural calls in languages only known to Neanderthals.

He sweeps the ground with his hand, pivots, and races back. My stomach clenches.

It's go time.

Everyone will know I'm here now. I don't want them to see me, but there's no time to change my mind and no other option. Dread drops like lead in my gut, weighing me down, slowing me down.

Calvin tags my hand, and I accelerate down the field like a lemon of a car. My lungs burn. Heat rushes to my face. Shouts box my ears.

"What the hell?"

"Who is that?"

"Who let the girl on the field?!"

The brown, dead crust of field runs under my fingers, and I skid into the turn. Completely exposed.

Ponytail swinging, breasts belted in a too-tight sports bra, I face the scowling team. I run at them - maximum effort - and boos are my reception. I knew it would be this way. But preknowledge doesn't stop the sting.

That's when I catch a glimpse of him. A familiar face in the phalanx. My nose scrunches, lips grimace. Clammy hands are on my breasts. I shove the memory away.

Arriving at my line, I push past sweaty, onion-smelling boys in dark-stained sleeveless shirts. I throw elbows and hip-check to make it through, but it's almost like they're pushing back. Jeering.

"Hey. Rogers." A familiar voice. But not Calvin's. A shiver slides down my back. My stomach squirms.

Justin pushes his way through the lines to get to me. He stops a foot and a half away, in the parallel line next to mine. He crosses his arms and pops a hip, looks me up and down. From his frosted tips and solo hoop earring to his man tank and Roos, the boy radiates InSync babe-magnet cockiness.

"Step off," I bristle, throwing him a dead-eyed, I-don't-give-a-shit look. Some of the boys laugh and go "ooooh".

"Salty," Justin grins. It makes my cheek twitch.His stupid Mediterranean blue eyes are hypnotic. "I just wanted to wish you best of luck. With tryouts."

"Mkay?" I narrow my eyes, but to no effect. I think they smell my fear.

He extends a hand to shake, smiling that greasy used-car-salesman smile. I stare at it, repulsed. There's no way I'm touching that thing.

After a beat, he pulls it back and shrugs.

"Okay. Suit yourself." Too casual.

He morphs back into line and attention turns away from me, at least until after push-ups.

Coach blows a whistle, and we all drop to give him twenty. I struggle but push through. Some of the guys can't even make it to ten.

"Tractor! Butt down!" Coach barks at some poor soul.

"I'm tryin', sir," he drawls.

"Yeah, well, try harder!"

When I finish, I collapse on the grass, arms and abs burning. I roll over, bumping into Calvin. He's laying on his stomach, propped up by elbows. I shield my eyes to block out the sun. His tan, freckled face is above mine. He's got hazel eyes and shaggy, sandy blond hair parted down the middle. I've always liked his face shape. It's diamond-shaped. He's got nice cheekbones and a dimple on either side.

"Hey," he murmurs.

"Hey," I reply.

"Don't let 'im get to you. He's just trynna psyche you out."

"I know."

"I'm glad you came." He smiles.

I grin in reply. At least one person is.

A shadow falls over us, a hulking darkness that blocks out the sun. I ab-crunch up, squinting.

"I don't have your papers," the silhouette of Coach Dodson growls. "No papers, no practice."

I sit up all the way.

"What?" I continue to shade my eyes with my hand. I can't see his face, I'm squinting so hard. I know I heard him right. I'm just not believing what I'm hearing.

"No papers. No. Practice." Spit flies on every "p". You can tell Coach used to be a drill sergeant. No joke. The guy was in the Gulf Wars.

He's built like the Hulk: short legs, bulked arms, broad shoulders. Square head, constantly red, with a graying buzz cut.

I can't take him seriously.

"I don't understand," I say. "To which papers are you referring?"

"Your sports physical. Your parental consent form. Your injury waiver. You're a walking liability on this field! You get injured, you could cost the school a lawsuit!"

Wow. For a jarhead, you really know how to keep your cool. I wonder how well you did under fire.

A laugh bursts from my gullet.

"You're kidding! Those freshmen are more of a liability than I am." I glance at a couple of toothpicks attempting to wrestle one another. They've got no body hair, no body fat, and probably come up to my shoulder. "I mean, have they even hit puberty?"

Coach snorts. I'm the matador staring down the bull. All he needs is a nose ring.

"They have their paperwork in. You don't. You can't just show up here and expect us to cater to you."

Cater to me?

I jump to my feet.

"Are you kidding me - ?"

"Coach, I don't have my paperwork in yet. You always give us 'til one week after practice starts to get 'em in. Remember?" Calvin prompts. "But if you want, I'll leave now, too. That way I'm not a liability either." He looks at Coach earnestly. The kid's blessed with an honest face. He could be bald-faced lying, and he'd look so damn truthful you'd believe him.

Coach's eyes shift from Calvin to me and back. Calvin, me, back.

"But you're not - that wouldn't - " he sputters. Calvin, me, back. "No," he finally sighs, relenting. "You can both stay." He turns to walk away, but then adds, as if on second thought. "But this year," he enunciates, as if listening carefully to his own words, studying them as if they hung in midair, "we're having cuts." He nods slowly and roams away.

I look at Calvin, wonderstruck.

"Woah," I breathe, a grin breaking across my face. "That was awesome. Thanks, man. I owe you one."

He waves me off, tries not to smile.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it. What are friends for?"

I owe way too much to that kid. I don't know that I'll ever be able pay him back. How do you pay back a saint? I don't think you can. They'll always have one up on you.

We move on to throwing and catching with a partner, then run some basic plays to test who fits best in what position. A supermajority is lined up for quarterback tryouts.

I shake my head. Justin's already got that position locked down. No one else is gonna get it.

I stand off to the side, roasting in the sun. Which position should I claim? If I were naive, I'd be in the quarterback line with the dandruff-haired freshmen. But I'd never have a prayer, even if I was good.

Lineman? Out of the question. You have to be the size and weight of a brick wall. Guys like that big corn-fed fella, Gunner, get it. Farm boys have the advantage.

Then there's running back - Calvin's position. You gotta be fast to do that. But I won't take it away from him.

Wide receiver? I'm a pretty good catch. Let's see who's in line - Bingo. No one of any particular skill or importance. I got this one bagged.

It's a good thing Truman High football is a joke. You only have to be mildly decent to earn a starting position. Most of these guys never played before high school; the school's so small that it's desperate for players and will take literally anybody. Even Angus. Who also happens to be trying out for wide receiver.

I trod across the crunch-grass field to the receiver line, my T-shirt sticking to my back. My bra is drenched and chaffing. I'll have to grab a new one from the thrift store soon. This one's so old, it's trash.

As soon as I line up behind Angus, I've unwittingly started a conversation with him. That's the way he is.

"H-h-h-hey, Jackson," he stutters. He's a babyfaced, big brown doe-eyed boy with a mop of floppy brown hair, tan skin, and the trace of a pencil-thin mustache that he never shaves.

"Hey, Angus," I say, not really looking at him. He's a sweet kid, don't get me wrong; I just prefer to talk as little as possible.

"I-i-isn't it a g-g-great day for f-f-football? S-so nice out."

"Yeah," I say flatly. "Sure is."

"I think they're gonna-uh gonna-uh make me a s-s-starter this year."

I half-smile.

"That's great," I say. "I hope they do."

I mean it, too. Only, Angus doesn't have a prayer. He's the worst player on the team, hands down. That's just common knowledge - to everyone but him.

"C-c-can you believe it's alr-r-ready senior year?"

I smile bitterly, stare at the ground.

"Couldn't come soon enough," I mumble.

"S-s-some of the guys were s-s-sayin' it's a good thing we have a g-g-girl this year cuz you can bring us-s-s water." He doesn't know what he says. He just repeats what he hears. He doesn't know what it means.

I rake a hand through my ponytail. Let's ignore the fact that I grew up playing flag football on little kid teams, practicing with my dad. Never mind that some of these guys and I were on the same parks and rec teams in middle school, back when I was a foot taller than any of them. Who could remember that I used to be the best player on the team? Eighth grade was a lifetime ago, after all.

"You're up, Parrot!" the last receiver calls as he jogs off the field.

"M-m-my turn!" Angus smiles and says in a sing-song voice. He trots to the line of scrimmage.

They call him Parrot? Those assholes. They give nicknames to everybody. Disguise insults as terms of endearment.

They called me Kansas last year.

I wait on the sidelines for my turn, stuck in torrential thoughts.I think too much. That's my problem; if I didn't have all these racing thoughts, I wouldn't constantly feel like I'm on the razor-thin edge of sanity. And I wouldn't feel the need to go out and do stupid shit like try out for football, fully knowing I'm the most hated person in school. But when you're stuck, alone, late at night, with nagging, biting thoughts, you'll do just about anything to catch a break from them.

"Next!" Coach shouts at me, repeating himself. "Are you deaf? You're up!"

Loud thoughts - see what I mean? They block out even the screams of an irate ex-Marine.

I jog to the huddle of offenders, cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. Their eyes all glare at me. All except Calvin. When I squeeze in beside him, he places an encouraging hand on my shoulder blade.

"Here's the dealio," Justin says, addressing the group. "I'm gonna get the snap, fake a hand-off to Calvin, and then throw a long pass down the field to you, Jackson. Got it? Break." The huddle scatters.

That didn't make any sense. Justin's directions gave me no real information. Did nobody else notice?

"Hey, wait," I say, grabbing Justin's arm and yanking him back to look at me. "You never specified where you want me to go. Left, right, center? Down twenty yards, thirty?" I lock eyes with him so he knows I'm not a pushover. I'm not taking his shit this year.

He puckers, his forehead creased in a frown. Studying me.

"Center," he says finally. "Thirty-five yards down." Then he stalks to his place behind the line.

If that was meant to be a test, I do believe I just passed. But I can't get too excited. That was only a preliminary. The real test is whether or not I can catch.

Bring it on.

I take my place on the far right side and crouch in ready position, listening for Justin to yell "hike". When he does, I take off down the field, outmaneuvering some crappy defenders. I'm thirty yards away when I turn to look for the pass - and realize it's not headed towards me at all, but instead spiraling through the air towards the other wide receiver - who fails to catch it. It slips right through his extended hands.

I throw my hands up. Really? Um. Okay. So go ahead and lie to me.

We get called back into formation for the second down.

"Yo, Justin," I call, an edge to my voice, "What was that about?"

"I don't - " He shrugs and shakes his head, looking at me like I'm loco. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Do I really want to put up with this for a whole season? If I can prove I'm good enough, I won't have to.

"Just throw the ball to me next time," I command. I wear my "fight me" face. He rolls his eyes and we start up the next play.

This time when I run down the field to get open I almost don't expect the pass. Fool me twice, ya know?

But then it comes, and I'm all tensed up to spring and catch it. I leap, feel the rough pigskin slide easily into my hands. I did it.

Then, out of nowhere, BAM. I'm slammed to the ground, a heavy male body on top of me, my shoulder taking the brunt of the impact. It goes numb, and my arm slacks. The ball tumbles from my grip, my fingers unresponsive.

For a moment, my mind reels into panic. I'm in a dark room, forcing a guy with grab-hands to get off me. I'm ready to kick, punch, fight, scream.

Then a whistle blows, and I'm back to the present. The guy gets off of me. My whole arm is now sore. Most of the guys are laughing. They're laughing because I just got sacked.

I stand and massage my shoulder, feeling returning to my hand. It's not dislocated, that's all that matters.

Third down: another chance to prove I can do this. Let's go. C'mon.

"You OK?" Calvin mutters next to me.

"I'm fine," I say, brushing him off.

"You good, Jacks?" Justin asks, feigning sympathy. "D'you think you're still able to play? Or d'you need to stop?"

"Eat my shorts," I reply.

"Oooh!" One of the boys coos. "She got you!"

Justin's face turns to flint. I'm gonna pay for that comment.

"Turner, get ready for the hand-off. You're gonna drive the ball down. Everybody else, make sure you keep the defense off of him. Got it? Let's go."

For the third-down, we crouch in position. "Hike" is yelled, the ball is snapped, and I do what I can to lure some defenders after me, out and away from Turner. But when I look back to find Turner, I hear Justin yell.

"Jacks, get open! Get open!"

"What?!" I call, then notice the brown ball flying through the air just a little too far to my left. I'll never reach it in time. I sprint after it, but it's no use. It hits the ground and bounces several yards ahead of me.

"Where were you?" Justin yells.

"Seriously?!" I snap back, red hot anger rushing to my face.

"Yeah, Jacks, that was all you," Turner mouths off.

"Lay off, man," Calvin speaks up calmly.

"Lay off your mom," Turner retorts.

Coach toots the whistle - several short, sharp blasts in a row.

"That's enough! Roberts, you're done for the day," Jarhead yells.

"What? But - "

"Get off my field. Go home. You're done."

I look around, stunned. Some of the guys are sniggering, trying to hide their laughter behind helmets and hands. They disguise their smug grins with innocuous nose-wipes or elbow coughs.

"C'mon, Coach - " says Calvin.

"I don't want to hear it, McIntyre." He holds up a hand. "I won't have no one causing trouble on my field. She needs to leave."

Capping my inner grammar Nazi, I refrain from correcting the poor bastard. Instead, I silently, calmly, with all eyes on me, tread casually over to the sideline bench, pick up my Big Gulp, grab my board, and as soon as I hit the parking lot, I skate away, tossing the warmed, near-empty soda cup into the trashcan as I roll. A perfect ten outta ten exit, I'd say.

I skate until I hit the 7/11 I stopped by on the way to practice. This is where I go for all my needs.

I grab a glass bottle of Yoo-Hoo chocolate milk from the refrigerator section, slap the exact change on the counter, wave to Denny the cashier, snap the cap open, take a sip, and roll out.

I skate home in the early-evening, late-August fading sun. When I hit my driveway, I step on one end of my skateboard, shooting it up to my hand. I tuck it under my arm and guzzle Yoo-Hoo around to the back of the house, where the stairs to my second-story walk-up apartment are. A limp basketball net is nailed above the garage door. A flat basketball hibernates, weathered, near the garage gutter spout.

I pound up the paint-peeled wooden steps to our front (back) door.

I open the door and am greeted by the sound of belching, the smells of beef stew, sweaty socks, and beer. I lean my board against the wall beside the door.

"Where were you?" Zennen asks, his Belorussian accent thicker than usual. He's been drinking.

I want to say "None of your damn business," but that would evoke the wrath. So I just say, "Around."

"You hear that, Mary Beth?" he says to my mom. He's not even looking at me. His glazed eyes are glued to the TV. "Your daughter's been rolling around town for hours again. You know what I think? Drugs."

"I am not doing drugs," I assure calmly. But it's no use. No one hears me.

"Honey, Zennen and I have been concerned about your behavior."

From where I stand, I have a view of the micro-living room. I have to walk around the wall to my left to see my mom, sitting at the kitchen table, counting her tip money and balancing her checkbook. She's not looking at me, either.

"Take a seat," she says, thumbing bills from one hand to the other.

I don't.

Instead, I pull a bowl out of the cabinet, rinse off a spoon in the sink, grab a box of cereal from the counter - off-brand Lucky Charms, this week - and pour the rest of my Yoo-Hoo with it into the bowl.

"Mom," I say, pausing to eat a spoonful of cereal. "I'm not doing drugs. Seriously. Do I smell like marijuana? No." Another milky, crunchy, sweet spoonful.

"We're just worried because you're always gone. We don't know where you are if you're not at home."

"Well, I could definitely be at work. Or the arcade, or Calvin's. That's pretty much the extent of it." I take another bite, waiting for her to say something.

Her eyes widen. She puts the cash down, organizes it into a neat stack, and recounts. She stops at the end.

"I'm missing twenty. I know I had six-fifty when I left work. There's only six-thirty here." She looks hard at me. I can just hear her mind scream, DRUGS. "We'll talk about this later." She sighs. "I don't know how we're gonna make this month's payment." She puts her head in her hands. You can see the remnants of her beauty queen days, despite her now chronic stress and exhaustion. Gray hairs and crow's feet can't hide her radiance.

I take my bowl and head to my room. It's just a little closet, what once was the long, thin pantry between the stairwell and the kitchen. I take a detour through the living room where my twelve-year-old twin brothers are sitting on the ratty carpet, playing video games?

I ruffle Bowie's hair. "Hey, lamebrains. Where'd you get the Nintendo 64?" There's no way Mom or Zennen got it. We can barely afford to have a telephone.

"Jimmy," Axel and Bowie say in unison.

"Ah." I raise my eyebrows. Jimmy has been their imaginary friend/scapegoat since they were six. He doesn't exist - only, Mom hasn't figured that out yet. She thinks he's their very real, very rich best friend from school.

And she thinks I'm the one who took twenty bucks to pay for drugs.

"Alright. Well. Enjoy your gift from Jimmy," I smile. Then, crouching to their ear level, I whisper under the electronic soundtrack, "This is the last time I cover your asses." My smile resumes, and I stand up, satisfied.

"We love you," the boys reply, eyes never deviating from the screen. The sound of manic electronic pings follows me to my room. I chuckle bitterly. Love. What does it even mean?

My room is just wide enough to fit my twin-sized bed, with no gaps between it and the wall. On the far end, behind my headboard, is a small window. There's about two feet between the foot of my bed and the door, where I keep a knee-high chest of drawers to hold my clothes. To get to my bed, I have to literally climb on top of it.

Along the walls I have various shelves containing stacks of CDs and old little kid football trophies. I also have a rack where I hang my guitar. Then there's all the posters. Mostly bands are plastered to the walls and ceiling, but there are some movies and athletes, too. The only light is a bare bulb with a ratty hanging string directly above my bed. Sometimes if I sit up in bed at night to get some water, I'll forget the string is there and nearly jump out of my skin at the feeling of the long spider thread tickling my nose, face, and hair.

My Discman almost always is hidden under my pillow. That way no one takes it, and I can listen to music as I fall asleep.

And then there's the one chunk of my wall still covered with a map, strings, pushpins, and scraps of paper scribbled with fragmented theories, forgotten ideas, and false-hopes mistaken for evidence.

I oughtta take it down one of these days. It only serves as a useless reminder now.

I sit on my bed for the next few hours, eating cereal, listening to music on my Discman, and watching the world fade to black outside my window.

I figure I'll call Calvin tomorrow after work, go check out the team roster once it's posted outside the athletic director's office. I doubt I made the cut. But they never cut anyone anyway; they can't spare the players. But what am I gonna do if I don't make it? Give in to defeat? Or duke it out?

It'll be alright. I'll make the cut. Everyone always does. Even Angus. No sweat.

I watch the back-porch lights of my neighbors and the stars overhead as I listen to "Iris" by the Goo-Goo Dolls. I inhale the warm summer night and dream of the day I can finally get out of this town.

[seerofmike]

of course i'm going to send the writer the writing asks. 1-10, 15-21, 35-42, 48-52. I'm trying to write to and I just like to hear what authors do and their own ideas. I think it's fun.

i’m glad you think so anon!!!!!!

1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 20, 35, answered here.

19 answered here.

4. Do you have writing habits or rituals?

I have the habit of starting a new thing before I’ve even finished the thing I’m working on lol. 

5. Books or authors that influenced your style the most. 

Rick Riordan big time, uhhhh maybe J.K Rowling sort of? I actually don’t like basing my writing style on other people’s works. But I’d say Rick Riordan influenced my writing style a bit? Or maybe I just think mine is similar to his. The sarcastic kinda way. I’ve been writing for years so I’d like to think I have my own style but idk.

9. Least favorite trope to write.

Not technically a trope but I don’t like writing characters that get together way too fast. I’ve been working on a slow-burn fic for OnS and it’s 16 chapters in and lacus and rene or only BARELY starting to have uh oh maybe sort of romantic feelings????

10. Pick a writer to co-write a book with and tell us what you’d write about.

i’d pick j.k rowling and we’d write a marauder’s novel

15. Where does your inspiration come from?

i will literally ready anything and be in the mood to write

16. Where do you take your motivation from?

if i feel even the slightest bit productive u bet my ass i’ll take full advantage of it and get writing real quick

17. On average, how much writing do you get done in a day?

if i’m a little productive maybe only 3,000 words and if i’m super productive 15,000 words there is no in between

18. What’s your revision or rewriting process like?

no revision we die like men

21. Post the last sentence you wrote in one of your WIP’s.

The girl spoke bluntly. “I’m Tsuyu, by the way.”

36. A spoiler for story _________.

Not specified?? So I’ll just say…spoiler for slow burn ons fic seishiro is in love w/ lacus wow big surprise absolutely nobody saw that one coming

37. Most inspirational quote you’ve ever read or heard that’s still important to you.

When I was in fourth grade and going through some shit the best writing teacher i’ve ever had, mrs ferrier told me

“Today’s going to seem like the worst day ever and tomorrow you’re going to remember today as the worst day ever–and the day after that and the day after that. Until the next worst day ever comes and suddenly today ain’t gonna seem so bad. And in five years, you won’t remember this day at all.”

idk this quote just really stuck with me throughout the years

38. Have you shared your outline of your story ________ with someone? If so, what did they think of it?

I share most of my original story outlines with @kittymagicite and @hey-im-loz and they both usually love them39. Do you base your characters of real people or not? If so, tell us about one.

I have two, actually. Maria who’s like a freakish combination of all the spice girls and Axel who’s some sort of weird lovechild of Markiplier and Robert Downey Jr40. Original Fiction or Fanfiction, and why?

fanfiction is way easier41. How many stories do you work on at one time?

tbh like 842. How do you figure out your characters looks, personality, etc.

I’ll do one of three things–

Design the character first, then think of a personality.

Look through TV tropes, pick a few random ones, design a character based on that.

Or take an object, think about what would happen if it was alive, and I get a personality from that. (this one sounds stupid but i’ve made like four characters this way and I love them.)

48. Favorite genre to write in.

I LOVE MYSTERY/HORROR SO MUCH BUT I HAVENT WRITTEN ANY IN A COUPLE OF YEARS ALSO I LOVE WRITING WITH A REALLY SARCASTIC OR NONSENSICAL NARRATIVE49. What do you find the hardest to write in a story, the beginning, the middle or the end?

Definitely the beginning and how to kickstart it all so things later on will be relevant or useful.

50. Weirdest story idea you’ve ever had.

It was for Maizawa Week. I tend to apply whatever i read to the fandom I’m in to create an AU–which happened to be Magnus Chase. To BNHA. During Maizawa week. And one of the prompts was an AU.

It was so. Sooooo stupid and weird and mostly me being stupid and going “WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF AIZAWA WAS THE SON OF LOKI”

yeah

51. Describe the aesthetic of your story _______ in 5 sentences or words.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,did u not know ur supposed to specify????

52. How did writing change you?

I’ve been writing for years and years and years. I don’t remember when, but I’ve always been writing. I think NOT writing would change me. Lol.