#is that enough tags or should I add more XD

[victorluvsalice]

So. You know all those various ask games where you can ask someone to explain a current WIP, or write three sentences on a fic they're working on and then share them, or similar? Well, we're doing something like that over here, only I am vastly expanding what is on offer. Because while I generally only ever have two WIPs, I have a whole fucking LOT of ideas. So! Here is my mostly-Valicer-AUs-themed ask game for you all:

Send 💬/[conversation bubble] for me to ramble on about any of the below AUs for a bit

Send 🌈/[rainbow] for me to write three+ sentences of either a real or hypothetical fic for the AU

Your choices:

Actual WIPs

-->Londerland Bloodlines (currently working on "Downtown Queensland," but I'm willing to discuss other installments)

-->Valicer In The Dark (currently working on "Start At The Beginning...Sort Of," though I'm extremely willing to get into the VITD universe as a whole)

Things I Have Previously Discussed On Here

-->Modern AU Valicer (aka the source of most of those Not-Incorrect Quote things I did for a while)

-->Valicer Soulmates AU

-->Ever Ever After (that Four Victorians Riding A Roller Coaster fairytales AU -- yes, I came up with a title for the damn thing)

-->The Hypothetical Valicer Forgotten Vows AU

-->The Three-Player Childhood Friends Valicer In AMA AU (or, frankly, anything related to Smiler's Otherland stuff)

-->Fallout of Darkness (yes, this is actually still around! I am still playing Fallout 4 and making notes on it! I'm up to the point in the main questline where Victor has to hunt down a Courser, which he is doing as he completes the Mechanist questline)

-->This Hypnokinky Fantasy-Medieval Valicer One-Shot From OT3 Week (heed the hypnokinky there! It's not EXPLICIT explicit but it's fairly open about what's about to happen to Victor at the end)

Deranged AUs That Only Lived In My Brain -- UNTIL NOW

-->Dinner For Three, a Valicer AU based on the horror comedy film The Menu (I actually just came up with that title, despite how obvious it is)

-->Infinite Loops-Style Valicer AU (inspired by me finding the TV Tropes page for that series and going "wow, Corpse Bride would have a really short loop if it followed the time period that we saw in the movie...")

-->Valicer Changeling: The Lost AU (I've discussed Valice versions of this waaaay in the past, but this is a new Valicer variant that would be set in the modern day)

-->Some Thoughts On A BITD Smiler In Beneath A Broken Sky (not a full AU since the fic that it's based off of isn't complete yet -- this is just me with some ideas I came up with where a Smiler from a BITD-based world without a local Victor and Alice gets yeeted into the BABS setting -- oh, and the fic itself isn't visible unless you're logged into AO3, just fair warning)

-->The New Severance (Apple TV) AU That Is Strangling My Brain (this is ALL @penny-anna's fault, go read Welcome To The Panopticon, it is FASCINATING and gives me Valicer AU ideas for a show I've never even WATCHED)

There. Choice. Enjoy.

[lilteecupangels]

=============================

This should not be left in the tags XD

#submission #alfred pennyworth #mm how about Desmond as Alfred's Apprentice Butler™? #It would be so fucking funny#Damian aka Robin: growling and foaming like a rabid kitten #Desmond holding him up by the back of his collar: I don't get paid enough for this shit Mr Pennyworth

Tagging my @teecupangel blog so I will remember to add more to this tomorrow XD

[zhemariart]

More Tav for @tav-dex?? More Tav for tav-dex uvu

Cascius is my... experiment child, so to say. The fun about making ocs and playing around with stories for oneself, is being able to change certain aspects of canon if wanting to explore something different C:

Full ramblings and ref under the cut~

Cascius is the older brother of Therai and Alaine, and while all 3 are adopted from different families, then they all came from the same village and share the same history.

Most of his childhood was happy and largely uneventful. Looked up to one of the bigger kids, flipped back and forth between looking after and teasing the smaller kids.

Shit went to hell one night, when he woke up to the village aflame and people getting murdered, including his own parents. He is the one with more vivid memories of that night -screams, flames, smoke... that one kid he looked up to hauling him into a hole for hiding and demanding he stayed hidden, then he never saw that older kid again as he vanished in the flames.

He was adopted and raised by the couple Zailar and Adroushan, alongside Therai and Alaine.

His teen years were full of turmoil as he struggled with finding his path following what had happened, even moreso because there were no answers to who had taken everything away and why. As he grew up and tried to find his path in life, he was this ).( close to take the Oath of Vengeance after all that happened, but having gained a new supporting family that had countless and countless talks to help him find his way and figure out how he wanted his life to be, he instead took the Oath of Devotion.

Random trivia before we challenge canon hours:

Cascius is the calmest among the siblings, and tried to reel in the other two... they just tag-teamed on him instead :B

Rather temperamental during a fight, it's easy to see a lot of his training was done with his Barbarian dad... and if his path had gone just a bit differently, he'd likely have taken the Barbarian path instead.

He ran into Wyll out in the wild shortly after Wyll's banishment from Baldur's Gate. Despite not getting to know the circumstances of why Wyll was banished (due to Wyll not being permitted to say), Cascius was still furious with it as he could feel Wyll was a good kid. He opted to travel with Wyll for some time to make sure Wyll would be good on his own afterwards.

May or may not have silently sworn to be a spiteful thorn in Ulder Ravengard's side if he ever gets the chance. Always gotta follow family tradition of being spiteful to nobles and other title-bearers.

The entire Delmirev family are not religious. All have been through enough shit without ever getting help from the gods, so there's a general "no thanks" attitude among them. Because of this, Cascius has a very complicated relationship with Ilmater, the god that for whatever reason decided to add some extra divine power to Cascius.

Challenge canon hours:

So what if... the Guardian and the Emperor were two separate people?

I never joined Early Access, but I have read a bit about Daisy from it. Read some of people's comments about Daisy compared to the Emperor have forgotten most of it and generally some ideas and wants other people would have liked to see, including some talking about both should have been in the game. Found it intriguing, then I started playing with the idea of "What if the guardian was a separate entity from the Emperor". From there... Cascius story slowly formed.

I will also preface this with I don't see the Emperor as a villain... though I do see them as a dumbass, kthnxbai xD

A series of events tied to that older kid that disappeared in his childhood, resulted in him landing on the nautiloid alongside the others. He does not run into any of them, he is in a different section of it.

During the series of events, he gets a head injury and forgets a chunk of his memories, but far from all.

It's not stated exactly when the Emperor jumps into the prism and opts to stay there. Personally I read it as happening right before/during the crash itself

Prior to the crash, Cascius is among those making it out of his pod. He reaches a point on the nautiloid where he needs to fight mindflayers, does it... the Emperor is the only one where he stops and hesitates, long enough for ~things to happen~. Truce time, the Emperor drags Cascius with him into the prism. An extra hand to fight the honour guard, and a friendly face to talk to the peeps instead of the Emperor needing to conjure something up... can definitely be helpful.

Because of the holes in Cascius' memory, he does recognize his uncle, his siblings, and Wyll, but he don't know why or how exactly he relates to them. Because, funny enough, he don't look like any of them for shit, he does not consider he actually has familial bonds with them. Whenever he appears to the people he knows, he tries to keep the conversations short and not offer them much chance to actually talk.

He agrees the tadpoles need to be wielded, don't agree with consuming more of them

The Emperor has assumed Cascius form in an attempt to encourage the others to consume tadpoles. Cascius has threatened with beating their squishy skull in if they ever do that again.

Xarmir manages to finally confront and reveal their relationship to Cascius when Vlaakith basically gives them the opportunity to enter the prism. This results in Cascius leaving the prism to go help the others outside of it. From here he spends most of his time outside of it, but flipflops a bit back and forth to still help the Emperor inside of it.

After Cascius active exit, the Emperor finds another form to show to the rest of the party, and actively still refuses to admit what they are. Cascius is not amused.

He actively tries to get the Emperor to admit what they are, arguing they would get a lot more trust from the party by telling it on their own, rather than waiting for a moment to get forced to it. He amps up his attempts after the meeting with Omeluum. The Emperor actively refuses. Cascius is still not amused.

Cascius keeps the Emperor's secret because he believes it's for the Emperor to tell, and it'd leave in better standing for the Emperor to tell... of course this then backfires when everything is revealed, and now Cascius also needs to answer for not telling shit. Especially to Lae'zel, because he did well know about Orpheus.

[m4delin]

WIP - Nothing more than codes and digits (let's add to it)

Since it's new years eve, I want to share what was supposed to be my third title for the Treebark Title Swap 2024, but I ran out of time for finishing it and since then it's been sitting in my WIP document. It's my own title I stole so I didn't feel bad for not finishing it.

I aim to actually finish it, but wanted to share what I got so far since I do like what I've written. Just don't mind all the notes in the brackets, you're getting everything here xD

Words: 6.7k Characters: Ren, Martyn, Doc, Tango Tags: datastream defender lore, C.H.E.S.T is evil, it's taking place in the future (at minimum 80 years after pirates smp ended), androids, memorials, brief mention of assissted suicide, pre-relationship treebark, spring is martyn, despite what martyn believes it is the real world, very much utopia

Summary: Having been one of the earliest people "rescued" from the datastream, Ren has helped a lot of people to get used to their new bodies and the new sociaty. Some has trusted him more, some has trusted him less, and Ren can't fault anyone for that.

Spring is proving to be the most distrustful person Ren has met yet.

A whistle from the kettle echoes through the apartment, and it brings Ren out of the drowsiness that always clings to him when he starts up for the day, just enough for him to yawn and stretch before detangling himself from the blanket.

It’s a slow start, really, it takes a good 15 minutes before Ren is finally on his feet, body awake enough to not move in slow motion.

He probably should ask Doc to take a look at him, it’s been a while since the last check up.

He files the thought to his to-do-later list, and instead focuses on his normal morning routine. Remove the still whistling kettle from the stove, take out a couple of bags of nutrients for his plants and mix it with the still hot but cooling water, throw the binder and tablet into his work bag, ignore any paper that doesn’t stick to the binder, and walk around to water the plants with the now cool mixture.

A small orb appears in the corner of Ren’s eyes, and as he looks at it, it turns into a small holographic image of Xisuma, but instead of his voice coming through, it’s a generic robotic voice that reads up the message.

“I’ll be running late, can you drop by the coffee shop on your way in? Thanks.”

Ren chuckles, and shakes his head at the message.

“Reply,” he says and the holograph changes into himself with a speech bubble beside it. “Sure thing, dude, I’ll get the usual. Don’t fall asleep on the bus again. End reply.”

He watches as the speech bubble gets folded into a letter before disappearing together with the holograph. No matter how many years have passed, he still finds it fascinating to watch the small avatars come and go.

Shaking his head, Ren focuses back on his task. He waters the final plant and hurries back to his bedroom to get properly dressed, since he’ll not only take a detour, but also open the museum apparently, he needed to get a move on.

He’s still buttoning up his shirt as he walks out of the apartment, work bag hanging over his shoulder, and the door locks behind him with a soft click.

[small transition for traveling? ]

The coffee shop is busy when Ren arrives, and he flicks an ear backwards in annoyance. Of course he succeeds in hitting rush hour for the morning travelers. Not that he has much of a choice, he realizes, with Xisuma being so late with his request. Normally the director would know way earlier if he was about to run late, but Ren guesses that today must’ve been an emergency. Or he had stayed up way too late again and slept in.

As Ren joins the queue, he decides that that’s what happened.

Surprisingly the line goes by fast and it doesn’t take long until the cashier is looking at Ren expectantly.

“One Cream Coffee and one Radiator to go, please,” he says as he lifts up his wrist, a small section of it lightning up. The cashier hums as they tap on the screen in front of them before lifting the other hand, holding a small square thing above Ren’s wrist. It beeps once and the cashier brings back the device.

“5 minutes,” they say, and waves Ren to move out of the queue. Ren does as instructed and watches the people move around him as he’s waiting for the drinks. [description of humans and androids? Ren receives the drinks, one blue, mentions of him passing breakfast at home?]

The walk from the coffee shop to the museum isn’t a long one, the perks of working in the city center, but it’s long enough for Ren to feel like he properly got to stretch his legs out and having sipped enough of his drink for a third to be gone.

It’s later than it’s supposed to be when Ren finally reaches the employer door to the museum, a showing of his wrists makes the door beep and open, letting him inside.

The building is silent at this time in the morning, even with Ren’s enhanced hearing. Or it usually is, but now one of his ears twist as he hears a high pitched sound from a light somewhere close by, no doubt about to go out during the day. Which he would have to replace.

Ren sighs heavily, and heads towards Xisuma’s office to drop off his coffee in the heat preserving container, before he goes to his own while downing his the rest of his drink.

The door to his office unlocks when he puts his hand on the handle, and opens without a complaint, and Ren is greeted by the sight of papers covering the floor.

Right. The research. He’d forgotten about that, honestly.

Luckily it’s only printouts of different texts that he was trying to decipher, so he’s not exactly careful as he walks over to his desk to put down his back and the now empty cup. He would start cleaning the room up normally, but since Xisuma was running late, and it would just be the two of them today, so not only did he have to change that light bulb, but also prepare the museum to be opened.

Ren isn’t sure if he’s happy or not that he can’t get headaches anymore.

He ignores the chaos that is his office, even adding a little bit more to the pile on the floor by pushing down a couple of more papers from the desk, and heads back out to start preparing the building.

He’s barely closed the door behind him when the small white orb appears in the corner of his eyes again, this time shifting into a goat when he gives it his attention. Instead of it starting to read up a message, the robotic voice let him know it’s an incoming call.

“Answer,” Ren says, and the goat shifts into the upper half of Doc.

“Good morning, Ren,” Doc says, one hand raised in a greeting.

Ren gives him a big smile. “Doc, my dude! Was thinking of you this morning! My body seems slower than usual in the mornings, think you can take a look?” He continues on his way towards the ground keeper’s office, Doc’s hologram floating beside him.

Doc blinks, and looks down into something in his hands. “Perhaps next month then. Been a couple of years since your last check up.” Then he shakes his head. “But that’s not why I called. Can you come by the lab next monday?”

It makes Ren pause in his step, and he looks properly at Doc again. “Have you found-”

“Yes,” Doc cuts him off, “another prisoner. Tango and I are setting up a body for them, and it should be done by the weekend, but I know you like to have your weekends off.”

Ren continues his path to the ground keeper’s office, but with quicker steps than before. “I want to be there when you wake them up, you know this, dude. Got any name on them?”

“No.”

The heavy sigh that accompanies the words makes Ren’s artificial heart sink as he steps into his destination. “Oh.”

“The disk was named though.” And… That’s unusual.

Ren pushes the buttons in the office to activate the cleaning robots, and doesn’t pay enough attention to the screens to see if they’ve been turned on properly. “That makes it sound like it’s not numbered,” he says as he steps out of the room, and continues down the hallway.

“It was titled Spring. Does it ring a bell?” Doc asks, and Ren wishes that it did.

“Hasn’t Tango looked through the police reports on the whole ordeal?”

“He has, and found nothing. But you’re the history expert on C.H.E.S.T, so figured it was worth asking,” Doc says, waving a clipboard around.

Ren frowns, and his ears lay down flat against his skull, and gets behind the front desk. “I’m sorry to disappoint, but I’ve never heard of something called Spring before. I’ll make a deep dive though, see if I can find anything.”

“Appreciated, Ren. I’ll send a message when it’s decided on when we’ll wake them up. Bye,” Doc says, and Ren says his own goodbye before the hologram of Doc turns into a white dot again.

Well. At least now Ren knows what he will spend his free time on til monday arrives.

With thoughts focused on the upcoming research, Ren hurries through the preparation of the museum’s opening for the day.

-----

[small scene that transition into the lab]

It’s easy to find the room where Doc and Tango would wake the prisoner[another name?] up, Ren has been here plenty of times already, and Ren clutches his bag closer to him. [add that he’s carrying a bag of drinks with him]

He’s honestly excited, it’s been a few years since they last discovered a disk that wasn’t broken.

Ren pushes the door leading to the viewing room open, and pauses as he only sees Tango in the room, sitting in front of the big window, and looking through it.

Tango glances away from the window, and smiles when Ren meets his eyes. “Ren! Good to see you, come on in!”

Ren makes sure to close the door behind him, glancing through the window. It’s a view of a spacious room, a wardrobe in one corner, a tv on the wall next to it, and on the opposite is a bed with a table beside it. A bed currently occupied by a generic looking android body that shouldn’t be up and moving, but obviously is. Beside the bed is Doc sitting with a tablet in his hands.

“I thought you would wait to wake them up until I arrived,” Ren says with a pout, ears pressed down against his skull.

Tango shrugs. “We planned to, but when we were preparing the body and inserted the disk, they woke themselves up,” he says, and looks back to the scene in front of them.

The android body is holding a tablet of their own, their head tilted slightly as they’re listening to what Doc is saying.

“That’s unusual. How many years has it been since that happened?” Ren asks as he opens up the paperbag with the drinks. He takes the smallest one out, and hands it to Tango.

Tango takes it, pops out the straw, and takes a sip. “Not in the years I’ve been working here. I think it has happened three times now in total?”

“Four,” Ren corrects as he digs out a larger drink, and puts it on the table behind Tango. “I mean, if you’re counting this dude too.” After digging out a small package of milk and making sure there’s only two drinks left in the bag, Ren returns to Tango’s side.

Tango snorts. “Why are you asking me if you remember that?”

“Years tend to float together after a while, the amount of times it happens are easier to remember,” Ren says with a shrug, before looking towards the second door on the other side of the room. “I’ll head down, and save the poor fella from Doc’s technical ramblings,” he says as he moves towards the door.

Tango giggles behind him. “Sure, old man. Remember to ask Doc for an upgrade in your cache at the next check up!” he shouts behind Ren. Ren just shakes his head as he goes through the door, and down the stairs.

Doc’s voice comes through the moment Ren opens up the door downstairs.

“-o problem at all- oh. Hello, Ren,” Doc says as Ren walks into the room, putting the tablet down into his lap. The android turns their head with slightly narrowed eyes, and Ren gives them both his best smile.

“Hi, dudes! Everything good?” he says as he walks up to the bed. The android is still looking wary, but Ren looks at Doc as Doc nods.

“I’ve given him the rundown of his new body, including a tablet for customization requests that’s not the generic type,” he says, and taps a [tablet pen?] against his own tablet. “Now I need to check more how his fine motor control is working, to make sure everything is in order, and then I need to-”

Ren chuckles. “I’m gonna stop you right there, bud, but one step at a time, yeah? We don’t need to overload his brain right at this moment,” he says as he pats Doc on the shoulder, and gives the android another smile.

“That… would be appreciated,” the android says as he looks between the two.

“With that approval-” Ren begins as he grins at Doc, “-I’m sending you off to the break room. I’ve brought a chocolate[other drink?] to you, it’s up with Tango in the room.”

Doc nods, and gives Ren a smile. “Thank you. I’ll be back later, whenever you’re ready to learn more about how your body functions,” Doc says, and with that he raises up from the chair, and walks through the door Ren had arrived from.

Ren puts all his focus on the patient, and gives him a smile. “Apologies for just switching like this, but Doc tends to get into the technical stuff immediately, and most people find it overwhelming,” he says, and fishes up a third, blue drink from the paper bag as he walks closer to the android.

The android looks between Ren and the drink he’s holding out.

“It’s a drink called ‘Radiator’. It’s a fluid that people like you and me need to have a functioning body, and this one is made into a drink so we can mimic drinking. It’s calming for some people,” Ren explains, and watches as the android slowly takes it into his hands.

Ren gives him a smile when he does take it before he walks over to the chair Doc left, and digs out the fourth and final drink out of the paperbag. He discards the bag beside the chair, and hangs his work bag over the backrest before sitting down.

The patient is looking hesitant at the drink, and Ren knows how weird it is in the beginning, so he takes a gulp out of his own Radiator.

“You said people like us?” the android asks when Ren lowers his drink, and is now obviously glancing at Ren’s ears.

“Yep! People stuffed into an android body,” Ren says, and taps one of his ears, it flicking out of range at the touch, since it has the android’s attention. “These babies are custom made. Had human ears for a good amount of years, until Doc figured out a way to customize bodies without risking us shutting down. Real genius that man!”

The android frowns, and looks down at his drink in his lap.

“Had a tail for a while too, but let me tell you, not worth it! Not only do you have to make custom clothes, especially pants, but they wear[?] out too fast. As good as I am at repairing them myself, there’s only so many times a man has patient to repair his own pants per month,” Ren continues, chuckling at the memory. Yeah, he had to repair way too many pants.

The room falls into silence, just for a moment, as Ren looks at the android and the android is still looking at his drink. The tablet the android had been messing around with earlier is laying in his lap.

“This is a lot, I know,” Ren says with a soft voice, and the android glances up. “If you have any questions, go ahead. Kinda why I’m here, being the social dude so Doc and Tango can focus on making sure your body is functioning correctly.”

The android seems to think for a moment before he lifts up his head properly.

“The doctor said your name was Ren?”

Ren slams a hand on his forehead, and an ear flicks in annoyance. “Introduction is a thing, yes,” he says as he lets the hand fall back down into his lap, properly gripping his drink again. He gives the android a smile.

“Yeah, name’s Ren, he/him, I’m an ex-employee of C.H.E.S.T-”

The difference between normal androids and people with an android body is really fascinating if you ask Ren. Androids often just mimic expressions that humans make in certain situations, while the people have the mini[miniture? miniluscus?] expression change that androids seem incapable to mimic, despite having the same built body. And this is a perfect example of it.

Because the reaction is instantaneous.

Deep rooted fear flashes across the android’s face, as well as his body going rigid, but it’s there barely a second before the android’s face is neutral once again, although his back is much straighter than before.

It tells Ren that this person has dealt with C.H.E.S.T before.[not happy with this line, find alternatives]

Ren clears his throat, and pretends that he didn’t see it. “-I worked in the public and civilian sector, but when I started to investigate the disappearance of some of my colleagues, I ended up as one of their victims as well. They stuffed me into a digital disk, and stayed there until I got woken up by Doc. Don’t remember much of the time I spent being digital that way. Today I work for the Hermit Museum, working on preserving the memories of all of C.H.E.S.T’s victims, giving them a memorial for those we haven’t been able to find and give a new chance on life, as well as making sure that all of C.H.E.S.T’s crimes is known to the world.”

The android seems to still be on guard, and Ren doesn’t blame him. So Ren takes a sip of his drink before giving the android his best smile.

“Before I ask you your name, or any question for that matter, know that you don’t have to answer them. As much as I would love to know who you are, you’re entitled to keep any information to yourself,” he says in hopes to make the man relax just a little bit at least.

The man nods, and makes no attempt to introduce himself.

The next smile Ren gives him is softer. “Is there something I can call you the very least? Can’t call you dude or android the whole time.”

Again, the man doesn’t attempt to speak.

Ren’s shoulders slump forward a bit as his ears twist backwards. “Okay then. I’ll call you Spring until you’ve given me something else to call you,” he says, and watches how the man reacts to the name. There’s no more reaction other than him watching Ren cautiously.

“So. That’s me. Any questions?”

Spring is silent, his mouth in a thigh line, and then-

“I want to be alone.”

Ren sighs, and leans back in the chair, almost tipping it over. “Sorry dude, no can do. Until Doc and Tango have made sure your body is functioning well, and you need an identification number in order to be able to move around in society without getting, like, arrested, you need to have someone with you.”

Spring frowns at that, and stares into his lap again, drink still not touched and tablet seemingly forgotten.

And Ren knows that this feels invasive, especially when you don’t trust the ones who're supposed to look after you. But it’s a rule put in place for a very good reason.

“But,” Ren continues after a little bit of silence, “I can leave the room.”

Spring looks up, confusion written all over his face.

Ren gestures towards the window close to the ceiling, and Spring follows his hand until he sees it. And goes stiff again as he sees Tango and Doc sitting by the window, not looking into it but having their backs to it, seemingly having a conversation between the two of them.

“This room has no cameras, no microphones, no motion detectors. It’s completely soundproof. The only thing that can monitor you is if someone sits behind that glass, and we will until we’re sure your body won’t suddenly break down on you.”

Spring looks back to Ren, and Ren tries to give him a reassuring smile, but it probably ends up looking more sad than anything.

“We won’t keep this strict watch for long, tops two weeks if your body is having troubles. And after you’ve gotten your identification number, you’re free to go wherever. But we want to help you, we really do. We can get you in touch with a therapist, arrange for you to have an apartment, help you get a stable life. Just-” Ren takes a deep breath, hands clenching around his own forgotten drink, “-let us know if you don’t want life anymore. We- no, I- want to bury you in that case. You deserve a funeral, however you want it. You, and your story, deserve to be remembered.”

As excited Ren always is to meet someone new, this is the hardest part of helping them into this modern world.[?]

Offer them a chance to actually die, not simply being suspended in an empty dataspace.

It’s still better than finding out that they ended it by themselves.

Spring is giving Ren a strange look, and to be fair, it is strange to offer to bury someone. Ren doesn’t blame him for it.

“I-” Spring starts, but cuts off himself. He shakes his head and Ren tilts his head to the side, watching as Spring comes to a conclusion.

“I would like to be alone,” Spring repeats, and Ren nods. Without much further aboe[?], Ren gets up from his chair, pulling his work bag over his shoulder with his free hand, and walks over to the door.

But there he pauses, and looks over his shoulder at Spring.

“By the way. Doc and Tango has never been associated with C.H.E.S.T, neither of them was even born when that organization got busted. Even if you don’t trust me, you can trust them.” With that, Ren leaves the room.

“You good?” Tango asks when Ren gets up into the viewing room, and all Ren can do is to let out a deep sigh.

“He got real bad trauma with C.H.E.S.T,” Ren says as he sits down by a chair furthest from the window. While he can’t leave, he will at least try to respect Spring’s privacy when Doc and Tango aren't there to keep watch.

Doc hums, and both he and Tango look through the window. “Isn’t surprising. We’ll take it slow then, try to give him as much privacy as we can,” Doc says as he tips his cup back, and then frowns as he removes it from his face. “Empty,” he grumbles, and places it on the floor.

“I’ll try to get his identification number as soon as possible, should get it at the end of the week if I pull the right strings,” Tango says with a nod.

Ren tunes out his two friends as they talk and plan how to go forward this coming week.

Seems like honesty straight out of the bag wasn’t the way to go this time. But then again, it’s hard to know what to do when you don’t know who will be waking up.

With another sigh, Ren takes a big gulp of his own drink. He’ll just keep watch from a distance then, and help Doc and Tango out whenever they need. It’s not the first time they had to work like this, nor will it be the last.

But he does wish that he would be able to help Spring better than this.

---

A week and a half. That’s what it takes until everything starts to fall into place.

It takes about a week for Doc to calibrate Spring’s body to not stumble when he moves too fast, and to give Spring a general look[?]. And then they just had to wait for the identification number, which Tango pushed hard for.

Ren had visited and invited Spring out for walks whenever Doc and Tango had allowed it, and he had pretended not to see when Spring was looking around and taking in their surroundings in more than just fascination with the scenery. These walks always felt a bit bittersweet to Ren, since Spring never seemed to relax during it, nor afterwards. In all honesty, it probably had to do with Ren himself, which he doesn’t blame Spring for.

But hopefully today would be different.

Ren runs a hand through his hair, and sighs heavily. The plan for today was to take Spring to the museum, both to show him how to use public transportation and how to navigate around the money system. He hopes everything goes well.

Steeling his nerves, Ren pushes open the door to Spring’s room, and smiles at the man when he looks up.

Unlike the first time Ren saw Spring, Spring now looked like an actual human. Instead of looking like a generic android, he now had blond hair pulled into a small ponytail, blue eyes and pale skin, with a hoodie over his torso and jeans on his legs.

“Hey there, Spring!” Ren says as he walks closer to the bed where Spring is sitting, fiddling with a book. Ren gives him a smile, but per usual Spring stays silent and warily watches Ren.

“I have good news for you. Your identification number should arrive very shortly, and thus we shall venture out further than the gardens today!”

Spring raises an eyebrow. “What?”

Ren grins, and pets his shoulder bag. “We’re heading to the museum today! You need to know how to transfer money as you soon will be released from here, and it’s easier if I just show you. And it will be nice to be outside this place, yes?”

That catches Spring’s attention, and he puts down the book on the nightstand. “So… we’re going to the museum so you can show me how to pay?”

“And to show you how society works [fix this?]

Ren glances over his shoulder at Spring, who was looking everywhere but at Ren. There’s a lot to see, considering that this is the first time they’ve been so far away from the facility, so Ren is just happy that Spring is still following him and not trying to bolt the moment he could like Ren thought he would.

There’s so much Ren wants to ask the man, but he bites his tongue as he focuses his eyes forward on the street ahead of them.

Or rather, the opening of the buildings and the street which gives space to a big open area with a lot of different statues lingering about.

“The museum is just ahead,” Ren says with a grin as he speeds up just a bit. As much as he loves helping people out, he has missed the museum and working on his own projects. But he’ll get back to them soon enough, Spring just needed his identification number after all before getting released.

“That’s. A lot of statues,” Spring says, and Ren slows down to walk beside Spring instead of ahead of him. It earns Ren a sideways glance.

“Eyup! The classic ones are on the left,” Ren says as he motions in front of them. “Not easy to see from this angle, I realize. Come on, we’ll see them better when we get on the main path!” Without thinking, Ren grabs Spring’s arm in excitement to drag him with him, but stops when Spring pulls back his arm just as quickly as Ren had grabbed it.

Ren looks back at Spring who’s staring at him with a blank look, arm held close.

“Oh, uh. Sorry, I forgot myself,” Ren says, ears pressed flat backwards in embarrassment.

Spring moves his eyes from Ren to look at something behind Ren, face just as blank as before. “You’re excited for the museum?” He asks, voice carefully [blank? other word]

Ren nods, and motions towards the statue garden in an invitation to start walking again. “Yes,” he begins as Spring starts moving, and he joins Spring, “how can I not be? It’s a great workplace, I have wonderful colleagues and it gives me the best chance to just learn about history! I always love showing off what we have.”

There’s a moment of silence before Spring speaks again. “I thought you worked at the facility?” [check when ren introduces himself]

“Not really,” Ren hums, steering the two of them towards the street that runs in the middle of the statue garden. As they get closer, it becomes more obvious that there are two different sections of statues.

“I mean, I help Doc and Tango out with like. Social stuff like this. Helping people get back into society. But that doesn’t exactly happen enough to be an actual job.” Ren shakes his head. “I’m a [curator?] and researcher at [hermit museum?]. If you want we can go past my exhibition, but honestly, that might not be a good idea.”

Spring glances at Ren before looking in front of them, the two finally entering the main street leading to the museum, statues on both sides of them.

“How come?”

“[I research the damage C.H.E.S.T has done to society and its victims,” Ren says, not reminding Spring that he had already told him this when he introduced himself.]

Spring stays silent, and Ren lest him digest what he just told him, before clearing his throat, and motioning to the left.

“But, yes, the classics! They are just copies of the originals of course, but it’s nice to have something more physical to look at as the guide books tell you about them, rather than a hologram,” Ren says with a grin, and it seems to snap Spring out of his head.

Then Ren motions towards the right. “And that’s modern art. Statues. Eh, yeah, not really my department, but if we bump into Xisuma[? check how many i wrote works here] he will happily tell you all about it. There’s more modern art inside, and more history stuff too.”

Spring nods, but stays silent until they reach the doors of the museum which has been propped open to let the cool summer winds into the building.

Ren waves at the android sitting at the reception desk, who only tilt its head in acknowledgement to his presence, but it gives Spring a smile when it notices him.

“Hi, and welcome to [hermit museum]. Would you like a map, or a recommendation on where to go?” It says, voice a tad flat.

“Oh great, need to tell [groundkeeper] that they need to fix up Lucy’s voice again,” Ren says with a sigh before turning to Spring who has stopped by the desk, hand stretched out for the map that he was offered.

“You don’t need the map if you don’t want it,” Ren says as Spring grabs it, before shrugging when Spring gives him a raised eyebrow. “Again, I work here, I know this museum almost better than Xisuma, and he’s the owner of the place.”

“I think I’ll take it anyway,” Spring mumbles, and tucks it into his hoodie.

“Alright,” Ren says, one ear flicking backwards before turning back. “So, where do you want to start? It’s a big place, and I’ll show you how to interact and activate the holograms, though I’m sure Tango has already given you that lesson.”

Ren smiles as Spring looks at him, and waits patiently as Spring brings out the map to look at instead of asking Ren what places there are.

“Uh. What about here?” Spring says as he points at his map, and Ren leans over to take a look at it.

“Ah,” Ren says with a grin, “the [department]. That’ll be fun. Now! On our way!” This time he refrains from grabbing Spring, and Spring follows after a brief moment just looking at Ren. Again, Ren is very excited.

Two hours goes by, in which more visitors arrived, but it was still a far cry from being crowded. Spring had been looking at some of the holograms, but nothing had really captured his interest for long, so Ren had continued to guide him through the building in hopes that Spring would find something.

Ren is walking backwards, facing Spring, as he talks about [ämne], having entered  his guide mode.

He doesn’t keep track of where Spring’s eyes wander, so when Spring suddenly stops and fixates his gaze in one spot, it takes a moment for Ren to remember where in the building they are.

Ren slows to a stop, and glances towards the big, open archway which reveals some big plaques[?] with a lot of text and pictures on them.

The C.H.E.S.T exhibition.

Ren looks back at Spring who has not looked away from the archway, obviously having seen one of the plaques that has the words C.H.E.S.T on it.

“You want to go and take a look?” Ren says with a soft voice, and to his surprise, Spring nods and doesn’t wait for Ren to move, instead taking the lead properly for the first time this day. Ren follows and stays silent as Spring slowly walks into the exhibition, head constantly turning as if he’s trying to take in everything at once.

Spring stops at the closet plaque, and Ren slides up beside him.

“This part is mostly information about C.H.E.S.T. About who they were, their public front and shadow business, how they were able to trick the public, how it got discovered and its downfall,” Ren says, eyes staring at the C.H.E.S.T logo. Spring glances at him.

“Despite that it’s been [50 years?], there’s a lot we don’t know about this organization. I’m the main researcher on it around here, as the police stopped investigating some years ago, and other people who are researching this are doing so in other countries.” Ren cast his eyes down to the floor, trying to sort his thoughts. He doesn’t want to overwhelm Spring with all of this.

Spring turns his head around, taking in more of the room, before he looks back to the plaque in front of them. Then he reaches out to touch the button that activates the personal hologram.

Ren stays silent as Spring listens to the private hologram, and he follows him when Spring moves to the next.

They spend longer time in here than in any other exhibition. Spring stops at every plaque, and Ren lets him, ready to answer any questions Spring has. [allow ren to talk abt the lore i’ve come up with?]

But Spring doesn’t ask him anything. He simply watches and listens to the holograms, and then he moves on.

Ren doesn’t stop him until they start getting close to a smaller, but more decorated archway.

“Spring,” he says as he holds his hand up, stopping them both. Ren gives him a [soft?] look before motioning towards the archway. “I know you want to listen to the holograms but. Through that archway is the memorial. For all the victims of C.H.E.S.T. And since this will be personal for both you and me, I would like to talk about them,” he continues, bowing his head down. When he looks back up, Spring has a small frown on his face.

“You’re a C.H.E.S.T employee,” he says, and with a tone that indicates that he doesn’t think Ren should be allowed to.

“Ex-employee. And I worked in the public sector, not knowing what was going on.” Ren raises a hand to his own hand, and taps one of his ears that flicks away from the touch. “I’m as much of an android as you. I know you don’t trust me, but please. This is the way I can show these people respect. Please let me talk about them.”

Many emotions seem to cross Spring’s face, until eventually he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. When he opens his eyes, he nods.

“Okay.”

Ren smiles as he straighteners his back. “Thank you,” he says, and takes a step to the side. He motions towards the archway. “Let’s begin.”

Spring takes the lead, but Ren is quick to end up walking beside him.

“These people,” Ren begins as they enter the memorial area, “are people who C.H.E.S.T have one way or another killed. Be it by mercanaries, tasked to take down who they consider enemies, or being forced into the datastream.”

It’s easy for Ren to slip into his [curator] role, and to forget why they’re here to begin with.

“[names] are some of the last victims that C.H.E.S.T caused[?] before the police and government started to crack down on them. In fact, most people here in the beginning section are later victims. Many of which were straight up killed as C.H.E.S.T tried to figure out who had betrayed them, not quite getting that there were too many people who were asking questions at this point. But there were quite a few that they sent into the datastream as well,” Ren says as he continues to slowly walk down the rows of plaques with pictures of different faces.

He stops as Martyn stops by a plaque and just looks at it.

“People who ended up in the datastream are people who we might be able to recover, as long as their data hasn’t been corrupted. Sadly it’s a too common recurrence that the data chips they reside in have been broken or rendered useless, so these are all we have left of them.” Ren looks ahead of them, eyes distant as he remembers waking up for the first time since being put in the datastream.

“Those who we’ve found to still be uncorrupted, we’ve given an android body and given a chance at life again. Most do not wish to be contacted, so please refrain from asking.”

Spring lets out a huff beside him, and Ren gives him a smile. “Apologize, there’s been a lot of people who ask to speak with them, so it just slipped out. Anyway.”

Spring shakes his head, and starts to walk down the row again, to which Ren falls in line with.

[reading up a few names?]

“As said, most people in this part were killed, and this ‘late stage’ started roughly 5 years before C.H.E.S.T was shut down,” Ren says, hands clasped behind his back. “Of course, that’s the official shut down. The police needed to hunt down underground sections for years after, but at least C.H.E.S.T didn’t have control of the public anymore.”

They cross a line on the floor, and Ren unclasps his hands and motions to the closest plaque, now sporting a different color in the background. “These people are more from the ‘middle stage’, for lack of better words, and many of them ended up in the datastream. We know this thanks to documents C.H.E.S.T kept, and we have found plenty of ‘resting chips’ as we have come to call them. Again, most of these are sadly corrupted, so a burial is all we have been able to give them.”

[more names? more walking around?]

As the room opens up [spreading?] into different paths for showing more plaques, Ren takes the lead, looking towards a wall, and slightly raised platform.

“These people,” Ren says as he comes to a halt in front of the display, “were a part of a group[name?] that tried to fight and stop C.H.E.S.T. It was created very early on, and was able to fight off C.H.E.S.T for a good amount of time, but sadly the targeted attacks became more and more intense. Too soon, many of these people disappeared.”

Ren lets his eyes trail over one picture at a time. “[name]. Viktor ‘Doc’ [name]. Martyn Littlewood. [name]. People who, at the time, just vanished to never be seen again.”

[quinloki]

shanks business hours please?

Red-Hair Shanks

Role: Host “the Prince”

Time in the “business”: 18 years

Description (Attire): Shanks has worn it all during business hours, and a few times it’s earned him some harsh scolding from the owners. For the most part he dresses as he “should” – tailored, elegant suits, that show off the sultry lines of a man who has been a host non-stop for 18 years and takes pride in it. His ties never last long, and neither do most of the buttons of his shirt, but those who appreciate the brick red chest chair that acts as a backdrop to the gold chain around his neck aren’t complaining.

The earlier days of the Club were wild, to be blunt, and Shanks bears the scars of those days. When he lost his arm protecting Luffy he almost quit being a host, but the owners convinced him to at least see how it would go. Considering he’s still in the game today, it went well ^_^

Description (vibe): Practically the prince of the club, Shanks is almost flawless in his host duties. His timing never seems to miss, and his words and suggestions always land. It’s almost impossible for anyone new to experience Shanks, as his regulars are numerous enough that he’s often booked out for months in advance. There’s always hearty laughs coming from the man, and the drinks barely seem to slow, with a few exceptions – they’re rare, but Shanks has a couple regulars who prefer the quiet and the man shifts easily into their desires and needs.

Every now and then he’ll have a second host with him, usually a promising new hire, as Shanks is effectively the last mentor during the training course. Hires are brought in democratically – the entire staff, front and back, will rate them, with the owners making the final decision.

Addons: If the club offers it as an add-on, Shanks will do it. From writing sweet messages on the entrees, to providing (or allowing) cheek smooches, he’ll also sing to you, dance with you, massage your hands, feet, or shoulders (this can be done in a more private room, but during business hours the clothes stay on), or any number of things I haven’t yet thought about xD

Tag line: “We should be here for a good time and a long time, so relax. Let’s enjoy each other’s company.”

Host Club AU Head Canon Event

[issialou]

@adreamoverlife : Mutu your tag has really make me cry. Thank you for your nice 😭😭❤️❤️. But yeah, I understand why Tubbo doesn't have put translator cause this is too most expensive, he doesn't wants "stepping on any toes" but the problem it put a really big language barrier for the one aren't native or speak fluently english.

And also, I has the impression if the CCs doesn't come from the big community is the speaker english one, they would be considered like I don't know kinda a second thoughts (and you really feel it when your CCs are french) and for exemple, no one doesn't seems find it strange Etoiles isn't return at the servor since the accident and prefer go on, Cobblemon (and I can undertand perfectly cause at least he's with friends wouldn't thrown at him xenophobic insults just for "joking") or at a big majority of time the servor is at 99% only english and no more international and it could viewers doesn't understand fluently english follow more far away what happens there and all the lore.

Also, I understand perfectly this is Tubbo's servor and he woulds invited in priority his friends but I has thoughts (really certainly naively) since Tubbo has answer at Aypierre for the new year, he woulds be added at the next wave of new comers, like it what happens at Baghera (and also, I found it sad she should have send him a message or we should has still at just 1 french CC). But unfortunately it doesn't seems it was enough and the new wave would be just english speakers CCs (and they are also surely really nice and all but once hello, the big language barrier here). And see Tubbo has said it would be the last additon during a while. It would another one, two or three where I would but still far away what happens there.

Also if he doesn't wants Aypierre on his servor for x reasons, okay it has others french CCs are great and would be an all also add at the servor, like TheGuill, Jimmyboyyy, Mynthos, AvaMind, Angledroit, Horty...

And I would be honest I feel sad and frustrated, cause I has the impression what happens our frenchies or even us like a community does it would still be nothing. And I could make some complain have Aypierre or other french CCs add on the servor, but be honest, I'm no one XD, it was on Twitter or here, it would lead at nothing. And maybe I give up hope for more in this servor and just be like "The chances are now really have other french ccs and it would always be just two frenchies".

And a last thing, thank you at BadBoyHalo cause he's a such has always never forget about the frenchies and this why is so much love by them and by their communities and would always our Bébou he deserves much more❤️(And the ghosties are also sweeties ❤️).

[hotcheetohatredwastaken]

20 questions for fic writers

I was tagged on this by @unexpectedstormy ! I wasn't sure whether I was supposed to respond like it was a chain or make my own post, so I just went for it

1. How many works do you have on A03?

Two. There will be more coming, because Blood Drops on Roses is just arc one of this story, and there's a lot of snippets for Prologue floating around.

Blood Drops on Roses: Linked Universe

BDOR Prologue: The Yiga and The Sheikah

2. What's your total A03 word count?

51,493 words since mid-August, when I finally got an account XD I've been a lurker for YEARS ya'll.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Linked Universe only, so far.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

See above XD I hope to get enough fics out there that I can sort my work like that, but for now it's just those two.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes, I respond as soon as I can, they are like crack to me. Maybe because I'm new to sharing my work or something, but I would die for each and every one of you that leaves even as much as a <3

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

NONE OF MY FICS ARE FINISHED YET AAAAAAAAAA. Arc 1's ending is going to be pretty angsty though.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hm, I see that this questionnaire is not meant for me. There is a Prologue section "The Trap" that I'll be putting out soon through, its ending is pretty sweet I would say.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not yet. I am afraid that it's gonna happen, but so far everyone has been so nice, so I hope not D:

9. Do you write smut?

Nah. Don't really read it either. Just not my thing.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I mean unless you count LU as a crossover between all the Link's respective fandoms, no

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Gosh I hope not. How does one steal a fic?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope. If I ever get good enough at Spanish, I would like to take a crack at translating my own fic once its all published, but it would probably be laughably terrible. Eh, practice is practice.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not yet. Hey @needfantasticstories, I think Clippy Wind and Pug Sky need to go on some adventures together, don't you?

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

Tbh I don't really ship. I do think Malon/Time and Legend/Ravio are cute though. I'm just not really interested in exploring the romantic side of stories, even in published literature.

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Geez I hope that I finish all of Arc 2 at this point. But I may be too early into the game to answer this.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Heck if I know. I had someone say in my comment section that they liked how I characterize people, so we'll go with that.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I write too much and probably in too much detail. Sometimes it would be better to say "They crossed the bridge and set up camp" but nooooooooooo lets add 7,000 words to this already bloated fic.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Italics. I was about to whip out my decade of Latin for part of this fic, but I decided against it because I'm pretentious but not that pretentious. Also because I still don't understand word order at ALL.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I have some fanfic from the dog series of Warrior Cats lurking somewhere that I wrote when I was like 12. Survivors, or something? I should probably go delete it, I'm sure it's trash. I'm scared to even look, it probably hasn't seen the light of day since I wrote it.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Well I've only got one big fic out right now so let's go with BDOR

@needfantasticstories and @somer-writes I'm kicking this your way.

[necrophcge]

NAME:

Lee

PRONOUNS:

he/him

MOST ACTIVE MUSE(S)?

// Meddles here is technically my most active, but I'm doing stuff behind the scenes for my lads Brom ( @of-forossa ), and Samuel Whist ( @fishermcn ) so I'll add them here too lmao.

RP PET PEEVES?

// Ah hell man, probably a lack of progression when it comes to replies? When I'm writing a thread with someone, I do what I can to make sure they have enough from my own to continue the story we're telling together. So getting a reply in return that doesn't move things forward puts me in kind of a bind y'know? Matching or similar length comes with that as well, though I don't expect folks to match me word for word so much as giving as good as they've gotten!

Communication is also key! I know that it can be uncomfortable or a bit daunting to try to chat with folks you haven't gotten to know all that well, but with threads being something we create together we really should be on the same page. Even just a little update or the like is preferable to total radio silence rofl.

EXPERIENCE / HOW MANY YEARS?

// Shoot, it's probably been about twelve, maybe thirteen years now? Been on here the whole time and have bounced around to a few different fandoms before more or less settling down into the soulsborne community.

FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT?

// I'm definitely an angst kinda guy, though usually in the sense that things are going down or conflict is brewing rather than interpersonal drama. I live for fight-writing and the tension that comes with lives being on the line. Fluff is usually reserved for one and done replies rather than threads because I feel it's more impactful thst way, while smut is... well. I'm getting better at it, but it's definitely my weakest writing of the bunch. That, and I admittedly can get a bit nervous posting it out here in the wild for everyone to see (////-\\\\)

PLOTS OR MEMES?

// Both! Plots and plotting are my preferred go-to for our muses to get to know each other and establish what their relationship will be like going ahead, while with memes I'll usually go ham on a single reply with the intent of further fleshing out what we've pieced together for our muses.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES?

// If you've known me on my other blogs you already know I tend to get long winded XD. Short replies never feel like I've said enough honestly, and by taking the time to get in depth with them I reckon it opens the door wider for potential interactions (memes) or it gives the other person more room to reply with (threads). Least amount I'll do is around two to three paragraphs.

TIME TO WRITE?

// I'd love to tell you folks that I'm a responsible, orderly guy who keeps a good sleep schedule and has a set time for writing. Unfortunately I'm little more than an animal who's as likely to bump out an ask or reply at 4:00 in the morning as I am to post something mid-afternoon. Ideally though... I prefer the evenings for it. More privacy, more time to gather my thoughts and less demands for me personally to have to address.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S)?

// I'm a firm believer in the notion that muns typically have something either in common with or identify strongly with their muses in some form or another, and I'm no exception. Meddles might be a conqueror, cruel and malicious, but struggling against a seemingly impossible task and not wanting to be alone in this world... yeah. Yeah, I can relate to that. It helps me put myself in their shoes and understand them better if there's something about them I identify with.

tagged by: @ferinehuntress (much obliged panda :D)

tagging: @yellowfingcr, @hexenjagd, @bcwblade, @rotten-pest, @izar-tarazed, and you!

[kirby-the-gorb]

reply roundup!

I guess vaguely once a month is just how these things work now, I do try to read everyone's tags and replies and stuff but a lot of them I just don't really have anything to reply with sorry! as always I appreciate the supportive words and well wishes and stuff <3

I also love the trifurcation of responses to [go to bed]: one group of people is like "yeah u right I sleep now thanks", one is like "sorry but I can't", and one is just like "no! I refuse!!!" lol

I did get two different "posts that have 10k to me" tags though, on [one] that actually passed 10k and [another] that is still barely triple digits and will probably stay there XD

anyway [chess kirb] was on the radar which is neat

also my birthday is this weekend :)

oh yeah and reminder that I also have a craft blog @sleepy-princess-craftery

on [the last roundup] @sacrasm said: oh the clonk'd is just my queued post tag! thr other one is self explanatory he is little he is pink and i affectionately call things freak sometimes (in combination with other words)

ohhhh that makes sense lol it was the clonk'd that I was baffled by thank you for explaining -u-

on [drowsy] @ceylonsilvergirl said: being laid up sick or injured is terrible, but I think we also need to acknowledge that it’s also boring as hell. can’t do anything fun. boring boring boring

it is!!! it's so boring!!! especially since I'm already baseline sick all the time so I have less options to start with, so to do even less than that is literally nothing!

anonymous asked: Gwah being sick sucks. I wish immune system upon you!

thank you! (I think I actually need less immune system? on account of the immune disorder. but either way I do not have an active infection anymore 👍)

on [tumble] @chefwhatnot said: get chucked idiot

where's that post like "'get (blank)ed idiot' is the funniest joke" cuz they're right

on [mask] @macro-microcosm said: glad you're feeling better! i agree that we should all still be masking up, it bothers me soooo much to see that so many people have stopped

like honestly, scientifically speaking it is way more effective and more accessible than just leaning on vaccines, and it protects people from all kinds of stuff not just covid! but nobody wants to wear masks and even people who think they're being cautious just want to lean on vaccine requirements, which is doubly inaccessible for me personally and probably millions of other people :( stresses me out too.

anonymous asked: Magicking you up some new containers

thanks! they didn't have what I wanted at target but we got some usable stuff from daiso, so at least it's not all still shoved in a ziploc bag.

@thewizardgnome asked: But what if I say bye

I mean yeah you can do that too if you want I guess lol

on [paper] @breathelifeintothatsoul said: Cool! I've always wanted to try and make my own (recycled) paper one time

it's fun! there's a lot of extra steps you can add in if you want to, but the absolute basics of it is just dump a bunch of paper strips into a bin, fill it with water, wait until it breaks up enough for your liking, then dunk some kind of stiff screen into it (horizontally) so you can pull out even layers of pulp to dry somewhere.

on [paper] @hermitfox said: oooo making your own paper is do much fun, I have fond memories from kindergarten doing that. ... actually what stops me from doing that as an adult. I should make paper again

do recommend, making things is fun and also good for you :) also the paper pulp is very Texture (affectionate) (to me) (I'm sure to others it can be very Texture (derogatory) but I like it)

on [yarn] @ceylonsilvergirl said: I am very envy of people who can follow a pattern, I can’t do that. I can do a friend being like “Oh this next one is two one two one’’, i can’t translate abbreviations into an idea in my mind. give me a diagram instead

I'm the opposite tbh, I find the abbreviations really easy to follow but looking at a diagram for knitting and crochet just turns into like, visual noise if it's more complex than like, a single fan stitch or whatever.

@my-life-is-a-bad-sitcom asked: You’re Kirby’s are so cool and I love your art style. Honestly awesome. Giving you a standing ovation. 👍

thank you! I love to draw a little guy

anonymous asked: I saw you on tumblr radar just now!! congrats!! -@secondbeatsongs

woah thanks sbs!

@darkchaogarden-blog asked: Tumblr's doing that dumb thing it's been doing lately where I can't reblog anything, so I'll just write to you personally that your art is excellent! Have a good day!

that sounds like such an irritating bug but thank you! I hope you had a good day too whenever this was :)

on [chess] @shiinteractsif said: dudes at the search thingy image. congrats

oh cool I wondered where the radar posts showed up on mobile!

on [chair] @mads-is-tired said: i’ve never played a kirby game but i desperately want to BECAUSE LOOK AT HIM

honestly so valid, he's basically a character brand to me (like hello kitty or rilakkuma). I'm probably biased, but I feel like the best games to start with are either forgotten land (the one that came out on switch last year) or crystal shards (originally for the n64, also available through the nintendo online vc). I think they're the most visually appealing (aside from epic yarn which is not a mainline game) and while they reward exploration they're not as complex as some of the handheld titles to fully explore, nor are they as hand-holdy as some of the other console titles. a good middle ground of feeling like you did the thing, without being frustrating.

on [soup] @give-soup-please said: ME #soupblogging #fucking same

how delightful that this post managed to find you :) these tags make me happy whenever I think of them

on [soup] @lord-chiopet said: me too bud. you too op hope the weather approved

good news, the weather has improved :) now it is overcast and drizzly, my favorite!

on [chess] @wealmostaneckbeard said: Neither of them know how to play so they made up some rules...

what a cute idea! I hope they are having fun with their new game.

on [baseball] @hutbug said: the teal color is called northwest green and we still wear it all the time!! its beautiful u did an amazing job

thank you for the info! before this season I hadn't really had access to baseball for the past like 8 years or something and a lot has changed lol so I didn't really trust my memory

on [blue] @ceylonsilvergirl [added] "I CAN TRY AGAIN TOMORROW! Or next week! or next month..."

that really is the vibe lately huh.

anonymous asked: Your kirbys bring me daily serotonin

aww good!

[moonlit-orchid]

9 people you'd like to get to know better <3

Tagged by @itsana004, thanks bestie <3

1- Three ships

I don't have much really shippy ships XD so these might actually be my only genuine ships. Highsidershipping (Placido/Yusei qpr), Korokara (Korosensei/Karasuma), and I'm gonna have Don Thousand/Ena as the third (I hc them as Astral's parents). I'm also going to add Rio/Trey because I think that's the only other OTP I have XD

2- First ever ship

I have no idea, my ships have always been rare. I feel like maybe Danger Mouse/Penfold but then again I didn't really ship them (aside from platonically)

3-Last Song

I've had enough by Melina KB 😆 (and then immediately before that are a bunch of theme tunes from 2000s cartoons because I was playing them to annoy my mum and sister and for nostalgia)

4-Last Movie

The fact that I don't remember tells me I need to actually watch movies more often XD. Either it was Legally Blonde (I love that movie) or it was Howl's Moving Castle (I love that even more)

5- Currently reading

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly (trying to annotate it- half the annotations are me calling the characters gay BECAUSE THEY ARE OH MY GOD-) and Death Note (I have a copy of the first four volumes in one). I also have an abandoned read of Jane Eyre I should finish XD

6- Currently watching

Ohhh boyyy. Black Clover, The Apothecary Diaries, Naruto, My Hero Academia, Star Trek the Original Series, technically Yugioh Duel Monsters, and that's all I remember.

7- Currently consuming

Everything BUT the shows I'm watching /j. Okay YouTube videos of either reaction YouTubers like AugusttheDuck, or currently deep dives of frutiger aero, weirdcore, dreamcore,liminal spaces, ect.

8- Currently craving

Not at the moment but I'm sure at some point tonight I'll crave ramen as usual. I just had a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup 😋

9 people to tag

@lavenderr-starrs, @kcuf-ad, @thundermarisol @pinkprimrose05 and I'm not sure who else to tag that hasn't already been tagged by this point 😅 Anyone feel free to join please!

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

10 fandoms, 10 characters, 10 tags

Basic rules: choose 10 fandoms that you are part of/support, and choose a favorite character from each of those. Then, tag ten folks!

Tagged by: @miqojak! Ty! It didn't even take me half a year to get around it this time XD

In no particular order, except for the first one ever since I'm 16. Also finding 10 fandoms is kinda hard because I'm def not that active, or even a passive participant, in so many fandoms so you'll get a glimpse of my younger self instead :'D

And long post ahead so thank you in advance if you've taken the time to go through this list!

Kanon, from Saint Seiya

Look, this is the blorbo and if you see similarities between his backstory and Kazan's, no you don't. Mentioning either him or the manga is enough to get my friends to sigh and groan as they await the inevitable gushing/rant that'll follow (which reminds me that I haven't, actually, gushed about him or ranted about the manga in quite a while now). Which is to say, I love lonely sad villains/antiheroes and if you've ever seen me mentioning the forbidden blorbo, now you know who I'm talking about.

Emet-Selch, from FFXIV

At this point I feel like I should mention that I do not stand in favor of manipulating or killing people as a form of therapy :'D

A bit more seriously though, I think he's the first character I felt so viscerally about in the game? Like I never agreed with his views but going through ShB I really hoped we'd managed to bring him to our side. My tragedy-loving ass won't complain about how ShB ended for him, mind you, but still.

Honorable mention for Thancred too, whom I feel more and more attached to as times passes, and also Y'shtola but in her case it's perhaps more the fact that she's, in terms of behavior, very much My Type.

Madi, from Black Sails

There are many great characters in that TV show and if you haven't seen it, I can only recommend it to you. But really, Madi is my favourite of the lot and definitely the inspiration for Inge if I had to pick one.

Between her cleverness, her dignity, her integrity, her charisma, her dedication to her people and her cause and her curiosity about others, what's not to love about her?

Varric Tethras, from Dragon Age 2 / DA:I

I was hesitating between Isabela and Cullen, but then I remembered the Best Companion Ever and how could I not put Hawke's most loyal friend on the list? I love him, love his loyalty, how he stays compassionate despite all he goes through, his sense of humor, his honesty... Only wish we could have romanced him in DA:I, but on the other end I like his story with Bianca so I'm not too sad about not being able to.

Byakuya Kuchiki, from Bleach

In the spirit of this dash game I'll respect the rules and make a choice, but if I'd filled this list any other day, I might have put Grimmjow there instead :'D

Anyway. I love a stubborn man with a stick up his ass and too many (conflicting) principles despite a rebellious heart who needs to be almost killed to start thinking that perhaps, just perhaps, he could have handle a Situation better.

And I love this character development past that point.

He wasn't an inspiration for Wolfe, but they're very much alike in several aspect. Byakuya is, however, a lot better at keeping a straight face.

Lois Habiba, from Torchwood S3

I haven't watched Torchwood in a long time but I remember her. In fact I remember Lois better than I remember some of the main cast.

She was just a normal young woman who had managed to get a really good job and risked everything to do the right thing and idk. She was just a really solid character that deserved better recognition.

Dean Winchester. Do I need to say from where?

Look, I loved all five seasons of Supernatural. A shame they didn't add more later!

And with Dean it's a bit personal so I'm not gonna go deep in details about it, but let's just say that there's quite a bit of me that I recognized in him and I just want to give that man a hug.

Donna Noble, from Doctor Who

I'm not up to date with the new seasons/episodes so no spoilers please!

But hm, yeah. I think what I loved the most about how Russel T. Davies was directing the show was how real his everyday people turned companion felt, and while I preferred Rose when I was younger, the older I get, the more appreciation I have for Donna.

She's just so full of life and character, so brave and so unapologetic about being herself despite her self-esteem issues, but I think what I love above all else about her is how she always acted as an equal to the Doctor.

I'm gonna repeat myself but really, the older I get, the more I love her. And I really need to catch up :'D

Cain Hargreaves, from the Cain saga

Honestly I don't expect anyone to remember this manga XD It's an old one I read when I was a teenager and one of the few I kept despite not having re-read it in 10+ years. I don't remember that much from it but I do remember the ending quite well.

Anyways. Cain's a young earl with a tragic past, a strong sense of justice, more money than common sense, a love for poisons and a fear of commitment. Truly, what could go wrong with such a character?

Also:

"Have I ever failed a promise to you? - Yes, all the time." after his sister made him swear he'd come back to her alive is just perfect.

Spike, from BtVS

He's devoted, he's cruel, he's romantic, he's brave, he's pathetic, he's capable of taking responsibility for his actions... I love a multifaceted character and I've had a soft spot for Spike ever since I've watched the series for the first time.

I rewatched it not too long ago and it didn't age that well imo, or maybe I'm just more critical than I used to be, but I still think Spike is an awesome character and I love that it was in spite of Whedon's intentions for him.

---

And I believe that brings me at 10 characters for 10 fandoms! It strangely feels more like undressing in front of strangers than actually undressing in front of strangers :'D So obviously I'm gonna tag a few people to do it too:

@under-the-blood-moonlight @merlwybs-wife @voidtekarc @alannah-corvaine @ashenbun @zhauric @biff-adventurer @tea-and-conspiracy and @confusedtia! And frankly anyone else who wants to!

[parallaxistaken]

okay so i have a wild theory about what the final showdown in the animator vs animations series could be…..just as a forewarning i am writing this at a fever pitch at 3 am and i joined the fandom like 2 and some change days ago so, if anything is blatantly wrong i extend my deepest of apologies for not consuming the lore hard enough. anyway ONTO MY CRACKPOT THEORY. (under the cut)

I fully believe that Victim (and im 99.9999999Eipie% sure its him) wants the Chosen One captured in his facility for one of two possible reasons: 1) to persuade him (or coerce him) into helping Vic take down Alan (who still hasn’t reckoned with his earliest crimes against Vic) once and for all, or 2) skip the middle step altogether and just straight up steal the Chosen One’s powers for himself (and possibly his clone army.)

I am leaning toward believing the second, because we’ve already seen that TCO is willing to let bygones be bygones towards Alan. He helped ward off the ViraBot from Alan’s computer, fought TDL with Alan and the others without protest, and didn’t attempt to initiate a fight with Alan’s cursor after everything was said and done. He didn’t even care about Alan when he went to recruit TSC’s help in part VI, so I highly doubt that Vic would be able to turn him against Alan with pure rhetoric or appeal to emotions.

You see, I think Vic is building something in his facility. We can see all his worker bees milling around clearly doing something of importance, what that is exactly, we dont know. And we likely wont know until one or two episodes down the line. But, I will hazard a guess and say that he is building something to extract TCO’s powers. What would be the best way to exact righteous vengeance on Alan and his cohorts? That’s right, by turning The Chosen One’s all powerful abilities against the person who wished life upon him. If he bestowed TCO’s powers unto his hoard of loyal minions? EVEN BETTER. whats worse then a single pissed off Chosen One? A Thousand. Alan couldnt beat 2 of them, so suffice to say, if Vic is planning something even remotely like what i’m suggesting; we should all be supremely terrified of the next arc.

if i realize anything else or forgot to add evidence to this theory then i will add it to the tags, so keep watch on those !! knowing my dumb ass i deffo forgot some key shit for this bad boy

edit: gonna add another thought here. i dont think Vic will want to target the outside Internet like The Dark Lord, because he simply isn’t interested in it. The internet didn’t cause him any harm or emotional damage, but ALAN did. He wants revenge on ALAN, so he may use and abuse the internet as he sees fit to gain whatever edge he can, but his ultimate goal isn’t to invade the internet or destroy it or whatever like TDL, no, his vendetta is more personal, more targeted, more conniving. Also, out of universe, we’ve been seeing more and more of the Stick world, like their cities and grasslands, so I’m gonna assume that Vic’s conflict with Alan and TCO+TSC will continue in that setting. IDK, im rambling at this point XD

edit 2 electric boogaloo: ALSO THE CELL VIC PUTS THE CHOSEN ONE IN IS A BLANK WHITE VOID, LIKE THE WHITE PAGE OF AN ANIMATION SOFTWARE ‼️ dude i am so convinced Vic wants to manipulate him somehow or steal his powers like fr you can’t convince me otherwise atp save for some VERY compelling evidence to the contrary

[marinerainbow]

Hey! So that last comment you tagged me in on that Moony ask got me thinking.

Imagine that Poppy had begin to get mixed up with the Toon Patrol when she was acting. Specifically when she was doing movies with wild, aggressive, dangerous, ferocious Moony and he has an odd wolfie claim over her. Not romantic or sexual (well okay maybe a tiny bit but subconscious), just- that's his co-worker. His protagonist. Poppy's kindof annoying but she's his and the weasels are bad fucken news. She'd be dumb to get mixed up with them. He thinks he needs to keep her away from them. (Fucken weasels)

He acts rude and gruff and dangerous about them and her. She's scared and doesn't understand, Greasy's thinking damn- this chica sure has a terrible boyfriend (he keeps getting threatened and sometimes bit), Smartass is like 'I dont need this.', etc.

What do you think? 😅 Just a dumb little idea. Going on anon cuz I am nervous-

You don't have to answer this XD 😆

- 👠🐊👠

No no no it's not dumb! You get back here we are having a TED TALK-

Um... I think I should probably add a TW for possessive behavior? And/or harmful co-worker relationships? It's not necessarily coming from a place of malicious intent, and it's not Moony's fault that he was drawn to be this aggressive, but still.

Ok ok ok. First off, the thought of Feral Moony having more comprehensive thoughts than people expect him to! Granted, it's not by much; I doubt even he fully realizes his feelings and beiw towards his co-star. Moony was drawn to just be a mindless monster, so the fact that he managed to get this much thought process (*sees the annoying rabbit being around dangerous weasels* *goes into 'keep away' mode*) is pretty surprising in and of itself. And possibly led to the Stein Brothers to come to the conclusion sooner or easier that they need to get rid of this brute they created before he gains enough free will thoughts to go against them.

But, as you said, the way he goes about this is not at all the right way. Moony, at this point in time, only knows how to be an angry beast. He gets irritated at the littlest of things, especially how he's been chasing that rabbit for seemingly years now, but hasn't caught her yet (in some films, he does. But then when the cameras cut, Moony sees Poppy is... Well, not fine, but alive??? He just had his teeth around her neck! And in some films, he's the one who dies- the first time that happened, bro got humbled real fast) So Poppy is a source of frustration for him. But she's still his co-star. It might subconsciously be a 'if anyone is going to finish this chase, it's going to be me' thing for him, along with the fact that she's his protagonist. These giggling weasels can go get their own.

Imagine him coming up when Greasy is flirting with Poppy! Or Psycho is being his usual loony self with her. I can imagine Moony getting particularly aggressive with these two; Psycho because he's another horror villain toon, and he's sneaking up on his protagonist. And Greasy because he doesn't like the way he licks his chops at Pops or looks at her like she's meat (it could also be because out of all the weasels, Poppy would be scared/wary of these two the most at first). Feral Moony hates Smartass, because of his loud and smart mouth. He also doesn't like Wheezy and how God awful he smells. Nor Stupid with how annoying he is like Poppy (Feral Moony didn't like ANYBODY).

Meanwhile, Poppy - she's so damn tired, man. She just wants to move to a beach house and live by the seaside! Yet she's got Moony on her tail constantly, and now these weasels... Well, they seem friendly enough, but if they started their criminal lives at this point in time, then Poppy would still be anxious around them. And this is pre-working-on-herself Poppy; girl is shaking like a chihuahua on a good day. If this was before they were too bad, though. Poppy would have an easier time befriending them (I'm thinking maybe she was nice to one, maybe Stupid since he's the most approachable, and then he went back to the others like "I made a friend!" And soon enough they decided to go see what was up. And now Pops has at least one weasel coming to the studio everyday XD)

Oh my lord. If Poppy ever heard that Greasy at least thought that Moony was her boyfriend, she'd have a stroke. She couldn't ever imagine dating him! She'd be like "Boyfriend?! Wh-Why would y-you say that!?" Girl can't even think about getting that close to anybody right now. Let alone with her beastly co-star.

May I raise you; Moony, after he's worked on himself and is trying to turn around, remembers Poppy and how she's hanging around the patrol. He wants to help her and make sure she's ok, but he also remembers how much he hurt her and doesn't want her to think he's being his old self again. Not to mention the fact that if the weasels remember him, they'll no doubt not take kindly to his presence.

Poppy and him still meet the same way. Though Moony is even more careful now; keeping his voice quiet, crouching down to Poppy's level and hiding his teeth and claws so he doesn't scare her, while explaining that he truly is sorry for their former relationship, and asking if she's doing ok. It might take Poppy a tad longer to trust him in this timeline, since they had a more... For lack of better term, involved relationship. But she'd still be able to see he's not the wolf she was afraid of before.

Oh-ho, boy. Imagine Poppy trying to re-introduce her new boyfriend- her actual boyfriend this time, Greasy- to the same weasels he snapped at before. None of them trust him, for obvious reasons. And Moony understands. He is relieved that at least they don't treat Poppy so bad, but he's still worried about her getting mixed up with this gang.

How do YOU think the weasels would react to all this? (You don't have to reblog and answer if you're too nervous ^^ I'd love to hear your opinion, but you don't have to!)

Wait... If Poppy got to know the weasels during her acting career, when Moony was around, that meant she had them as friends when she started dating Henry and Ben... Oh she's going to be just fine now! :D (well not fine, fine. These assholes are still dicks to her. But she won't have to worry about them for too long >:D)

[yukiakaren]

Kpop title track ranking: Golden Child

In this series I’ll be ranking kpop groups/soloists title tracks based on my taste.

I just went down this rabbit hole of trying to find one GolCha variety show appearance, as it had sat on my things-to-watch list for years, but I couldn't find it anymore. However, that sparked the idea of ranking their title tracks! They do have a bunch that I really like so I thought this would be a fun one. So, here we go!

Wannabe - I can fully admit that before this style change I just did not care for GolCha's music. But then this one came out and I FINALLY had to pay some proper attention to them. Wannabe is a proper banger and it still feels fresh now listening to it.

Burn It - This one is awesome! AND that music video! It should have been a movie or a drama! By a hair I have to give it to Wannabe as I have more nostalgia for it with the changing my mind about GolCha's music and all that. But I can't recommend enough to check out the music video, or the longer version of it, for Burn It!

Ra Pam Pam - Another very cool, movie worthy, music video here! Also, another great song that is hard to rank. Third place today but could easily switch spots with the two above it on another day.

Feel Me - The number 1 surprise for myself is here. I had listened to it before, multiple times in fact, trying to make up my mind on it without being able to do so. But now it clicked with me. It's a great song.

Without You - One that really is stylistically just meant for me to enjoy and I do.

One (Lucid Dream) - Basically this and Without You could be sharing the same spot. They come from very similar places and fill very similar spot for me. Very much my style and I enjoy it.

DamDaDi - Let's start by saying that this is not the type of song I often go for. However, when I am in a mood for a dumb fun song DamDaDi is definitely one of the best options. It really just is fun and for some reason it is the type of fun I find myself going to.

Pump It Up - The newest cutesy one from them. It is unarguably better than most of them but doesn't beat the original dumb fun xD

DDARA - I have to say I have probably only listened to this one once when it came out. It has bunch of potential but something in it leaves me hoping for something more. But I guess it also has potential to grow on me as it is.

Replay - Unexpectedly noisy one from GolCha and I think that's my problem with it. Again, possible grower but not really one that made me fall in love immediately when it came out or now listening to it after a while either.

Let Me - On the better end of the cute song spectrum but not one I would have ever really search out for.

It's U - It's quite the basic one. Not their best and not really for me.

Genie - Welp I did not remember this one being this underwhelming but here we are. I mean it's cute enough and it's not bad but just not interesting either.

Lady - This one confuses me. It's U was the title track of the album but this clearly also got promotions too? So, I decided to include it here. Unfortunately, not very interesting one to me, so maybe it would have better to not include it.

This time all the honorable mentions come from the same album, actually. Fanfare, Spell and Game (by Tag & Jibeom) are all from Game Changer and they all are worth checking out. And overall Game Changer is an album to check out as these are the stand out songs to me but I know that there was some hype over some of the other songs too. I started also going through their songs and it seems that I could possibly add some songs here later on when I have more permanent opinion on them.

[rinseveryday]

Regarding ship tags

@ The anon who let me know about being on the public blocklist, thank you!

Since my pinned post seems to not be clear enough, I'll just reiterate in case anyone was thinking something similar to the person who blocked me (to which I don't mind. Everyone should curate their online experience!) but it's funny because they haven't blocked me? I saw their callout post??

As I've put in my pinned post, I try to keep this blog "shipping neutral" as in I will share non-explicit art for most ships, AS IN if there are two characters in the same picture I will probably tag them as the ship name for those who wish to see those two characters being next to each other and need an easy way to filter out fandom posts. Think of my blog like an archive of posts involving Rin XD since the search function on this site is non existent I do try to keep the blog about the same rating as the original series, which is for teens and up.

If you do not wish to see certain ships (for example, the demon kings), I do tag for it and you should add it to your personal tag blacklist. Everyone is also free to ask me to tag for more things, such as content warnings.

I do not support certain ships more than others. That's for my personal blog. If you see more of a ship, that's because there's more content of that ship in general.

Tl;dr: If you don't wanna see a ship, I tag for it so just block that. Don't read into the meaning behind a reblog too much lmao.

[kpchrs]

Hey!😁I wanna hear about *your* ships now! No pressure.😊💌

Ohohoho.

Almost a year ago, a friend of mine asked about the same thing, but she asked specifically about my controversial ships lol Consider this post an update to that post cus I have more to say after some time.

But your question is about ships in general so, just for fun, let's turn the globe to years and years ago when Kris (aka me) was still very new in fandom.

And this is very, very, very long, btw, I'm sorry lmao I didn't know I was waiting for this day.

Ahem.

Middle-school Kris was a person who didn't understand the fun of shipping and fanfiction outside of canon; crackship, crossover, non-canon ship, or non-canon rareship, you name it. Kris was a canon main couple shipper. She didn't understand the idea of pairing someone who never interacted, like, huh? What? What are you doing? How can that be fun? Weirdos.

So as a result, Kris only shipped main couples. Also, the safe ones. Since this was in her anime era, her ships were like Ichigo x Rukia (Bleach) (my first real ship; still ship it but I have lost interest since it's sunken xD), Soma x Erina (Food Wars) (the story execution sucked so I lost interest but this was the ship that intro'ed me to Tumblr fandom community), Yona x Hak (Yona of the Dawn) (my fav shojo manga, dear to my heart but not in the fandom or read fics like others), and Okabe x Kurisu (Steins;Gate) (nostalgia now but I hugely loved this), and Twilight x Yor (Spy x Family) (fake marriage Mr and Mrs Smith? Just my shit).

They are all canon ships. You get it.

But then October 2022 happened. The exact date it happened is right after my birthday even LOL

As I have said in the Prev Post I linked above, basically I stumbled on the most influential fic of my life because it changed Kris' everything (my dramatics won't go away because that's how it feels lol) It's CORNY as HELL to list what change, but it's, um, the concepts of humans and bad and good people? And how I see fiction? Ask me in private if anyone is curious for details cus I can't bear to list it *shudder*

It's a fic of a non-canon rare ship. Crackship? No idea, but definitely rare.

And I didn't realise I had been following The White Rabbit to Wonderland, and when I realised what had happened, I hadn't tried to get out.

Caulscott (Life is Strange) showed me how fun it is to ship outside the canon. That ship also introduced me to how it feels to ship a controversial ship, since the guy is very hated in the fandom. In my above post, I called it "my descent to darkness" because that, I guess, was my first controversial debut. I really didn't like the public scrutiny of liking a controversial character btw LOL

I don't know what thoughts of mine I should add to this ship, but I was amazed at the creativity of the people who can transform and develop a blank and a totally BLAH character into someone I love. A BLAH character because Nathan is a one-dimensional one, whom previously I'd found a bit annoying. Admittedly, technically I love the character's potential more than the canon character, but my love for the Fanon Nathan still pours into Canon Nathan.

Hundreds of fics since then, this fic is still at the throne of my favourite fic ever. My friend and I called this fic "The Fic" lol

The fandom is only a handful of people now and it's kinda lonely, but they are my dearest mutuals. This ship made me return to Tumblr, actually, because I left after Food Wars lost me lol I will post more Caulscott tag posts when I have the inspo!

When I encountered Hellcheer (Stranger Things), I was very relieved because it's not controversial at all, because I was tired of walking on eggshells (yes, Caulscott, a dying controversial ghost ship was exhausting enough). But of course, as it turned out...not really, but I won't repeat what I said in the Previous Post. From this fandom, I witnessed how a ship of 5-minute screentime can be so powerful. I clocked Hellcheer when I watched the show, but before I processed it she's dead so I just forgot about it. It only clicked in my head because of a fanart. I was drawn to their different aesthetics; girly girl and a metalhead. It's a ship that started as a rareship, but it grew this far (3.5k on AO3 now) because the fandom is so passionate (and fueled by spite)! It amazes me.

Hellcheer is very versatile. Every AU fits them, I feel. It can be the base of every kind of romance drama possible, even the dark ones. But more than that, it's a ship of women's liberation, in every kind of way; liberation in love, in sexuality, and in creativity, also their liberation from abuse, from toxicity, from their caged body, and from societal pressure. This ship's core is woman, in the form of Chrissy. I think that's beautiful and surprisingly deep? I don't think it's deliberate, it's just the way it is because of the people in the community. This ship might only stem from 5 minutes of screentime, but this ship means a lot to many people. People who want to criticise it can gtfo actually hehe! xD

Hellcheer is reminiscent of my ship pattern before Caulscott. I mean, it's a cliché of loser boy / popular girl romance. I still looove clichés.

Then, one day, I heard the news that there would be a Hunger Games' prequel film. I'm a fan of the franchise so I was looking forward to it but I hadn't read the book. I wasn't feeling anything from the trailer ("Ugh, why President Snow is the MC, why he looks like Eminem here?"), since I was still in the chokehold of the original trilogy. But, then I saw posts about "People shouldn't ship Snowbaird! Snow is evil and toxic blah blah blah blah you are condoning blah blah blah blah (basically anti posts)" on Tumblr, I said, "Ha ha ha! Bring it on, bitches!"

I have been trained by Caulscott aka my first controversial ship. I have been living fueld by SPITE. I decided to ship Snowbaird that day to spite the haters. Even if I knew it'd be exhausting, I just wanted to spite the haters. That's a funny origin story lol I bought the book after that.

Because I didn't summarise it in the Prev Post, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes or TBOSAS is the prequel of the trilogy. It's about a teenage boy called Coriolanus Snow who mentors a District 12 tribute in the Hunger Games, Lucy Gray Baird. They save each other, they legitimately end up falling in love with each other, but Coriolanus keeps getting tested by the harsh world to let go of his thirst for power and choose love. Fear defeats him, however, and he hardens himself and gives up on love and humanity. He ends up becoming the future dictator, aka the main enemy of Katniss in the original trilogy.

The funny thing is I relate to the little bitch of Coriolanus Snow's narration SO MUCH. He has this Regina George in his mind he never voices out and, well, I relate to having a little bitch in my mind too, even though not to his extent, I would say. Like at some point in my reading I was like, "Oh, Lord in heaven, if I say that I understand/sympathise with this little bitch, I'll get cancelled, no?"

I hadn't finished the book when I watched it on the theatre and I spent 10 minutes trying not to cry that day, because he could have chosen love. He was sooo close to choosing kindness. And he didn't.

In the Prev Post, I said that I didn't know where to go with this ship. After months, I still don't really know, not gonna lie. This ship is a tragedy because both Coriolanus and Lucy Gray are stubborn ass people who I personally can't see diverging from the path in the book. The story takes that path because Coriolanus and Lucy Gray are the way they are. Don't get me wrong, Lucy Gray did everything right, running from danger. The key here is Coriolanus, and well, he's a stupid ass bitch. More tragedy is I think he just needed a slap to the face and everything wouldn't happen, but alas.

People would say, "Uh, so what, Kris. You have AO3." I know lol I read some fics too, but ironically, considering the next ships, the fics are toxic and I can't see that of them, it actually chokes me. It's 1k fics on AO3 now, but I haven't been around to read more fics. The second reason is because I feel weird with canon divergence, because I really can't see them diverge, but it's a very me problem. I prefer a Modern AU or Our World AU, where I totally can see them not being doomed.

Still love them, of course. The book message further underlined what I learned from Caulscott, about humanity and redemption blah blah blah (sounds cheesy if I write it down lmao) Also, also, the book reminds me of the beauty of literature. I don't read much because my attention span is bad, but I was so happy I found a favourite book.

Snowbaird fandom is not that big now, but it's the first fandom I dare to contribute to the tags and it's such a great experience to interact with a lot of people on your own posts!

[LOTSA SPOILERS FOR BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER BECAUSE I WANNA GUSH]

In Snowbaird Discord circle, one of my mutuals chatted with us about Spuffy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). I'd known its existence since about a year ago because of fanarts (the Spuffy fanart you shared with me is the one that introduced me to BTVS, Far!) and been intrigued for some reason by it, but was discouraged by the number of episodes. She told us about the WORST scene of them (and of my fandom life) and the MOST BEAUTIFUL scene of them (quite possibly the most significant scene of my fandom life too). That beautiful scene made me "OK, I'LL WATCH IT GADDAMMIT".

After my experience with Nathan and Coriolanus, I was like, "Ha, bring it on. How bad could it be? I've been training all my life for this!!!"

Saying that it was a wild ride is a gross understatement. The show is PACKED with cancellable scenes and stories in today's age I was appalled.

I LOVE IT.

THEY SHOWED THOSE SHIT ON TV. I'M ROLLING. I DIED MULTIPLE TIMES. The showrunners and some of the writers were assholes but they didn't hold back, like at all. And I hate them but I'm grateful for it?

Spuffy is an enemies-to-lovers between Buffy, the vampire slayer and Spike, the evil vampire who has killed two vampire slayers throughout the century and is looking to kill Buffy as his third one. So they are the BIGGEST enemies you can get in the narrative.

It's the first time I think I found a real enemies-to-lovers because they are actually equal opposition (well, tho Spike becomes unequal to Buffy later on because of plot reasons). They spend the season they first meet trying to kill each other (and almost succeeded) and the next seasons as reluctant allies who find each other so annoying. They actually become a great fighting partner because no one else in Buffy's team is able to keep up with her. Until one day Spike realises that he falls for her lol

Okay, lore intermission! In Buffyverse, the moment they get turned, vampires lose their "human soul" (in the story, it functions as conscience/moral compass). A demon soul replaces the void and reanimates the corpse with evil. Basically, vampires are superpowered evil undeads stripped into Freudian's Theory of Human Nature: sex and violence. So vampires can eat and massacre a whole city and they won't feel any remorse. They get off on the violence actually. They are believed to be pure evil and thus the vampire slayer, the defender of goodness and humanity, must exterminate them all. Small fact but it is also believed that soullessness means they can't love.

But, Spike does. It's shown since the start that he can. And Spike. does. love. hard.

He hates it actually, falling for Buffy. He thought it was perverse and wrong (lmao Buffy agrees) but he just can't help it and in the end just accepts that he loves the slayer. The soulless love manifests in selfishness, creepiness, and toxicity. And the way he acts on his love is SO CREEPY I don't blame the homegirl at all for being utterly disgusted lmao I don't blame her too that she doesn’t believe that what he feels is love and she spends a loooong time denying that it’s love. Until…he does the most surprising thing of unselfishly protecting her and her family by sacrificing himself to be tortured. It secretly touches her. He does that a lot actually, defying the lore the universe has established. He destroys the lore Buffy and the others have believed. Vampires can't love, but he acts like he really does. Vampires should be violent, but he can be gentle. Vampires should be selfish, but he can be sacrificial. Vampires are dead, but he's the liveliest of all. Vampires only eat blood, but he also enjoys her mum's hot chocolate and marshmallows. Vampires should be evil, but he will fight on the side of good if it’s for her. And it scares her.

You know what? As much as I wanna continue to gush about the brilliant dichotomy of Spike's character, this won't end if I do so I'll stop here.

There is this whole season when Buffy faces the darkest year of her life and thus her dark side. She practically uses Spike for sex (that is unconsciously BDSM, thus very under-negotiable) to cope with her depression, self-hatred, and total numbness. Buffy, the hero, wouldn't sleep with evil, but she can't stop coming to him.

That season is where they are the worst for each other because she takes out her hurt by abusing him physically and, I'd argue, emotionally, and he accepts it all. He can take it all because, well, vampire. Not unfamiliar with mixing sex and violence, he is. He also won't die from non-stake-and-decapitation injuries anyway. And he has been begging for crumbs for so long. If this is the crumb, so be it. As long as he can have a bit of her, even if it's only her body and not her heart.

He lets her because he loves her, while she lets him because she hates herself. By being with Spike, she's punishing herself. It's a maladaptive coping mechanism. Spike is her addiction. Being with him is how she self-harms. She's so in love with death she uses an undead to feel alive in death and death in life. Spike does genuinely love her, but she doesn't want to believe it. She's ashamed. She denies herself of love because she thinks she doesn't deserve love.

(Well, he's still soulless so he tries to pull her into the darkness and entice her to embrace the darkness, because he thinks that's good for her (and good for him because he lives there, maybe he can have her as a whole that way.)

...I love it so much. Like forget about the wild juicy scenes between them that season. I'm grateful for it because Buffy is this superheroine, the epitome of heroism and altruism, the defender of humanity, the symbol of goodness, but she has deep darkness inside her.

I always relate to messy characters. Not messy as in a bad characterisation, but messy as in very human, flawed, insecure, inconsistent, selfish, prideful, hypocrites, making A TON of mistakes, doing bad things to feel better, etc. It's hard to explain why, but feeling seen is a part of it. I'm used to seeing a character doing bad things, then imagining standing inside their shoes and thinking, "Oh, I'd do that too." or "I understand their mindset" In conclusion, I love imperfectness, because I'm less than perfect. I'm grateful for a dark, slumped, lying at a low point Buffy, that she's messy and imperfect and so very human.

Of course, later in that season, there is that WORST SCENE (attempted rape scene, I'll just say it, everyone hates that scene, it was so irresponsible of the showrunners, there are lots of arguments why it shouldn't happen narratively but I won't get into that). (I don't know who will read this post but this is the biggest reason why I always emphasise please ask me for trigger and content warnings if you are interested in watching BTVS.)

Horrified, he goes somewhere to deal with a demon. He wants his soul back. He almost died for it, but he keeps fighting. For her. So he won't hurt the girl anymore. This is supposed to be impossible. No vampire in history has done it. Losing their human soul is liberating for vampires, actually. No conscience, no cage, no rules, you can do whatever you wanna do. But he gets the soul and becomes the only vampire who voluntarily gets his soul back, defying the lore again.

After that season, he is back as tortured because the soul is torturing and haunting him with every evil shit he has done. Of course, he doesn't expect to be saved or accepted, but Buffy helps him anyway. The last season is them becoming actual friends and partners (her right-hand man) and unflinching support for each other. This season is also where the MOST beautiful scene happens and just like how the depiction of Buffy's dark side touches me, this scene touches me too.

I said before that our dark side is human. But trying hard to live and still being kind is also a part of being human. And a person as a whole, even with their dark side, is still worth being loved. I don't know why this scene clings to my ribs until now. I don't know what part of myself is being comforted by it, because as far as I know, I have a very normal and uneventful life? But whatever, the peaceful feeling I get from it is significant. This scene means SO MUCH to me. I'm so very grateful it exists.

What I have written is only a few parts of why I love it, there are a lot more reasons why I love it (their partnership since the start, the way they can understand each other, the way that they are mirrors of each other, them being half light and dark themselves, etc), but I shouldn't write more xD

[END OF SPUFFY]

After Spuffy, I can't say I ship it, but I'm very fond of it. This is the ship why I made that post about ship pattern lol

It's Weslah (Angel the Series) from BTVS Spin-Off; a canon rareship. Lilah, the lady, has been the main face of this evil company, making her an enemy of Angel, the protagonist, and his team, who are again the defenders of goodness. It was established for three seasons that she is evil. Later it's shown that to survive the world as a woman, she has to wear the "evil" mask and trash her conscience. That's her method choice of survival. Meanwhile, Wesley is this British, pathetic guy in Angel's team who toughens up with the experience of fighting alongside Angel.

In Season 3, Wesley makes a big mistake, intended to protect but resulting in harming Angel's family. Angel tries to kill him and Wesley, even if he knows that he made a mistake, is hurt by it. He feels abandoned by Angel, the person who should have been his trusted friend, not giving him the chance to explain. I think it's very human, by the way, converting mixed feelings into bitterness and resentment, even when it's your mistake.

So in Season 4, Wesley and Lilah end up having a physical relationship. Normally, Wesley the White Hat wouldn't sleep with the enemy, like ever, but I think he wants to fill the emptiness. I'm not too clear on why Lilah consents, but I think she's a "Why Not?" woman. She loves Wesley's newfound darkness outside of her company's interest in him and she wants to corrupt him further.

I was like,

In the span of minutes. It is hot indeed.

Somewhere in their relationship, Lilah ends up really liking Wesley. I'd argue that she does love him, but Wesley loves another woman. In this relationship, we see Lilah's mask slipping a lot but she still wears it well, especially masking her hurt when she sees that Wesley doesn't love her like she does him. Wesley does have great affection for her though, I'd also argue he does love her but holds back. Being careful not to fall because, well, as far as he knows he loves another woman and he shouldn't love someone who doesn't want to be on the side of goodness.

Well, this is a doomed romance because it ends with tragedy.

I'd argue again that if Lilah switched to the good side, and they had enough time, they could have been together. But alas. (I know I could turn to AO3, but not many fics are there so yup. "Make one yourself, Kris!" I can't, okay 💀)

And this is a ship pattern because this is kiiiinda just Spuffy but gender reversal and less extreme (since they are both average humans lol) I see Wesley as reminiscent/a parallel of Spike since they are both pathetic British guys (not only that but deep spoilers if I explain), while Lilah and Buffy are the girlbosses, only the good and evil are reversed. Both Buffy and Wesley are on the line between "good" and "evil" in their relationship with Spike and Lilah, thinking that this relationship is wrong. I was disappointed with my predictableness, but this ship is still so very hot.

Okay, so I know I started this...essay with the preface that I didn't understand non-canon ships, when so far I end up shipping canon anyway, except for Causlcott. Well, I think in the end I found that it's still more natural for me to ship the canon ones. The difference is the popular or not (and the toxic or not xD).

But now I understand the fun of every kind of shipping. Truthfully, there are some ships I just don't understand but I really get the search for fun.

Looking back, I can see that my tastes never really change, it just widens into the more dangerous and controversial territory xD

Btw, my ship patterns have "cringefail" and "[gender]failure" too, but it's all the men. It's all the men. The men are the cringefail and manfailure. Oh my predictableness.

Thanks for the ask, Far! Sorry for the VERY VERY VERY late posting. A HUGE writer's block xD