#learn! grow! have fun! go forth and create!!

[snarkspawn]

Hi, I absolutely adore your art! I love how diverse all your faces are in particular! I'm a beginner artist myself and I was wondering if you have any resources that you think might be particularly useful for a beginner? Any drawing book recommendations? Thank you so much for your time!

Hey, and thank you so much! I do love drawing all kinds of faces so I'm glad you think so ♥

I'll admit I don't really have any resources like that on hand, I'd have to go and google for something like 'beginner art tutorials' and I think you can probably do that yourself haha you also know better where you're at right now and what exactly you're looking for. But!! the advice I can give you is to not give up even if art can (and will) seem like an uphill battle sometimes, and to just keep drawing. As much and as often as you can! It's worth it to keep at it (if it's something you enjoy doing anyway). And whenever you find an artist you like, try to take a closer look at their art. What exactly do you like about it? How do you think they did it? Is it something you can maybe try to incorporate into your own process? Experiment a lot, and have fun with it! :D

Also, there is a really great twitter thread making the rounds at the moment with artists of all stages sharing tips and tricks that helped them a lot in their own development. There's honestly a lot of amazing resources there that can make any artists' life easier if you want to scroll throgh the replies and quote retweets

[pha55ed]

I'll Be Home || F1/F2

type :: fluff

tw/cw :: none

contains :: carlos, charles, lando, oscar, ollie, paul, pepe

summary :: you introduce him to your family, he's terrified by he still pulls through

xmas celly here! || f1 masterlist || f2 masterlist

Carlos Sainz | 55

When you told Carlos to come to your family's party, he instantly accepted with glee. Except, right after he began to panic and process the preparation needed to go into this. It was sweet to see his smile drop so quickly, meaning he put his thinking mode on.

Despite Carlos being loved by so many, he's still so nervous. You both sit in the car for almost 5 minutes just chatting to help calm him down. He's fidgeting with his hands, pushing his hair back and forth to perfect it, and he's doing his best to remember the ice-breakers he learned online.

"I promise, they'll love you no matter what." You say, grabbing his hands to stop his constant fidgeting. "You're going to do great!"

You knew he was going to try and "but" you so you quickly jumped outside the car. Which made his jaw drop, since he swore to forever open every door for you, no matter what. Instantly, he runs outside of the car and before you can even step 2 feet away from the car, he gently pushes you back into the car and shut the door.

He's saying something outside of the door, definitely complaining about losing his streak. By the time he opens the door for you, gently reaching for your hand to bring you inside, you can see most of your family outside ready to greet you.

Carlos is embarrassed, terrified that he just seemed like a controlling monster. But you knew your family, and you knew they would have adored his commitment to treating you like a princess. And you were right, they greeted him with welcome arms and loved his gesture.

Charles Leclerc | 16

He was well prepared for this day. It was like he was training to be in the military. The day you invited him to your family dinner, he's been grinding day and night to create the most perfect answers and conversation starters. He had his outfit ready and steamed, shoes cleaned, and even did an intense night routine to prepare.

So when he comes to your family's house, he's well prepared. You can't help but try to hold your laugh back at how serious he's taking this all. All your effort to hold back the laugh instantly comes out the second Charles begin to speak to them, because his chill-rich-nonchalant act came apart so quickly.

Your family brings up anything and instantly Charles is unable to hold back a fun fact he knows. Even something as random as a bananas then turned into: "Did you know if you add them to smoothies, it actually ruins the vitamins of the other fruits? I also dressed up as one on stream haha! Look!"

He's also unable to hold the touch guy persona with the kids. They instantly melt him, making stupid jokes with them. He's severely behind on trends though... Mentioning whips and nae-naes, the troll face, and G-mod. But that's fine, it makes the kids giggle at his old knowledge.

He's even acting like a fool with the dog. Trying to get the dogs to sit, roll over, and failing miserably. It makes everyone laugh and chuckle at him. But it's not at his expense, but instead at the pure energy he has to become part of this family. Which makes him instantly accepted by everyone in your family, including the dogs.

Lando Norris | 04

Before his fuck-boy reputation, there was rookie-Lando. The sweet boy who didn't grow pubes yet,,, somehow... And although you met Lando in his new era, filled with confidence and sass, you saw the real him behind his persona.

His palms were sweating, his voice was slightly higher, and his smile was flashing every second out of nerves. Anyone could tell he was nervous, he looked like a high schooler about to give a presentation. You two sat in the car, about to leave but he gently asked you:

"Can we stay in here for a minute?" He asks, turning to you as he fixes his sweater.

You were confused slightly. It was normal when you asked to stay in the car for a minute to redo your lip combo, since he usually ate it off of you. But Lando doesn't have a lip combo, or any makeup at all.

"I'm just," He could tell you were puzzled, "Nervous.. I wanna just talk to you, get the nerves out."

You smile at his words, he looked so cute being so nervous to meet your family of weirdos. "Lando, you'll do great! I know for a fact that they're going to love-"

"No no. I don't need reassurance or anything, thank you though love." He cuts you off. "I just, jus' want to talk to you. You calm me down."

"Talk about what?" You ask.

"Anything." He shrugs. "You just, calm me down." He says, making you smile from his simple yet impactful words. "You're like a walking vape."

"Oh shut up!" You smack him playfully, "You ruined a good moment!" Chuckling at his comment. But your chuckle brought a smile to his face, but this time it was a genuine smile.

Not out of nervousness or fear, but a real smile. Your laugh was able to brighten him up within a split second. And that's all he needed. Because truthfully, he didn't care too much of what your family thought of him. Of course he wanted them to like him, but he's able to accept other's opinions. All he really cared for was that you loved him, and he knew you did.

Oscar Piastri | 81

"Should I wear my midnight blue tie or navy blue tie?" Oscar asks, holding both up for you to look at. He was sweating bullets at the idea of meeting your entire family for the first time. Even though you reassured him endlessly that your family would love him, he wasn't certain on it.

"Either works, love" You say, trying your best to multi-task answering his stupid questions while getting ready yourself. You knew he wasn't trying to be annoying. It was cute to you that he was so nervous, despite him being on the verge of a breakdown.

"Okay what about white or black socks?" You told him white. "What length though? Above or below the ankle???" You told him above. "Okay, but should I pick the ones with a logo or no logo-"

"Oscar." You said firmly. He gulped, he knew he should have picked the no logo socks, what a stupid question! But that wasn't what you were going to say. "I promise you'll be perfectly fine. They don't care what you wear, how you sound, or even what you like."

"I know, I know, but I don't want to disappoint them." He says before remembering, "Oh shit! We need to leave soon! I need to pick up the bouquets I ordered for your family on the way there-"

You couldn't help but laugh at him. Every question he asked was just further proof that would be perfectly fine meeting them all. You had no doubts that your family would adore him: which they did.

Oliver Bearman | 87

The second Ollie stepped foot into your family's party, he was bombarded with questions. Bringing a tall, handsome, and talented young man into your family automatically made him lovable. They almost forgot about the fact that the only reason he was there was because of you.

He can't escape the grandmas and aunties fawning over how cute he is and all the uncles can't stop bothering him with questions about cars. Even your little cousins love him, asking him annoying questions that he handled really well.

Before you know it, he's carrying your baby cousin in one arm, holding a paper plate filled to the brim with food, wearing your uncle's hat that he insisted suited Ollie more, and being forced to tell everyone his facebook so they can stalk him.

The night lasted hours, but thankfully all your family got drunk or sleepy. Meaning you two were able to escape from the party. The second you're in the car, he sighs. It confused you, was he tired? Relieved to leave? Sad???

"Do you think they liked me?" He asks you. Which you instantly want to slam his head into the window.

"Yes Ollie, they liked you." You say with a smile, giving him a kiss on his cheek. "They loved you."

Paul Aron | 17

You've met Paul's family many times due to them being extremely present in his life. His sister always makes sure to check on him, taking you out for little gossip coffee dates. His brother is constantly calling Paul, making sure to tease him endlessly. And his parents are always there to encourage you two and take you on their family vacations.

So now that it's Paul's turn to be part of your family, he feels so nervous. He's ruffling up his hair for the 100th time, mumbling the lines he practiced to say. It's just a small get together for the holiday season, but Paul insisted that he should still be dressed nicely.

Once you arrive, you're on time... By 10 minutes. Despite you insisting that no one ever comes early to a family party, he doesn't care. He'd much rather be early and help set up than be late and risk ruining his first impression. Besides, if there's less people, then he can make sure he talks to every single family member.

And his plan worked really well. He's helping set up the plates and utensils while chatting with your aunt about how he loves her decor. Making her feel appreciated, finally someone saw the effort she put into picking the perfect width of a fork handle!

He helps your uncle prepare the back yard by opening all the lounge chairs. Which lets him make small talk with him, where they both find out that they love Star Wars. Now your uncle loves him because he can finally talk to someone who's as passionate as him.

Paul keeps doing this with every family member that arrives, being able to talk to them each one on one in order to create a bond. Because in group settings, Paul tends to get a tad bit nervous. He doesn't know when to jump in or what to say instantly.

By doing this, you both return home with every single family member loving him. And each of them remembering him from the little facts he shared with them. He was so respectful, engaged, and sweet the entire day. You couldn't help but just want to shower him in kisses for putting in so much effort and energy into your family.

Pepe Marti | 21

"Tall and tan and young and lovely," are lyrics dedicated to a girl but they perfectly fit Pepe. Because he instantly charms the entire family with his sweet smile and handsome looks. You're worried that he might get stolen from you by the end of the night.

He's just a future uncle in training. Making all the aunts laugh with quick jokes and then heading outside to sip on a beer while helping light a fire. He's even forced to help clean the grill and get a new gas tank to light it up.

You feel so much more mature now, no longer feeling part of the cousin crew but instead a future auntie in the making. He makes you feel so domestic, so warm and nurtured that the only thing you want to do is share the love of being cared for.

And you can't help but just fall for him deeper. And the same goes for him.

Despite being assigned random tasks to complete, he always makes sure to check up on you. Giving you a quick peck on the cheek as he walks back and forth from the kitchen to the yard. Making sure to shut down any rude comments from your aunts by turning it into a joke. Squeezing your hand three times under the dinner table to remind you that he loves you.

He couldn't have been more perfect.

[forgingtheblade]

DID YOU KNOW THAT MINECRAFT HAS LOOMS???, aka, THE WEAVING WRITEUP

part 1: prep work—did you know how much you have to do before even touching a loom? me either

part 2 part 3

all the way back in october of last year, I was in a weaving class and was tasked with conceptualizing a project for my final using some of the techniques we had been learning through the semester. being the person i am, my immediate first thought was what if i recreated a minecraft banner on a real floor loom? wouldn’t that be fucking cool?

thus was borne what eventually spiraled into this project!

i figured out how wide i wanted it to be, what weight of yarn i wanted to use, and did all of the weaving math to figure out exactly how much yardage i’d need. i took that to a local weaver’s studio who was selling yarn, and came looking for just about any undyed wool she had to offer.

i specifically wanted wool because, well, that’s what the minecraft weavings are made of!

i remember digging through stacks upon stacks of old cones of yarn before finding a couple bags of a caked wool yarn that was, admittedly pretty rough. after using a tool not unlike this one, we figured it was roughly 3000 yards of yarn, and i bought the lot for about 30 bucks.

photo courtesy of Miekle’s Fiber Arts

this thing is so nifty btw, you cut a specific length of yarn and figure out where it balances which is then multiplied by something to figure out the yardage—i’ve only used one this one time, but i think they’re cool!

after getting this yarn came the question of getting the colors i wanted. i’m very lucky to be studying at an institution that grows our own indigo plants, and ferments those plants into our own living indigo vats, so I thought it would be a travesty to not take advantage of the utterly beautiful blues that vat produces.

i divided up my yarns based on how long i needed each of my warp sections to be using a yarn winder measuring to roughly one yard per rotation to make skeins of the right length.

after running some test swatches i figured out how long to dip each skein into the indigo vat for to achieve the colors i wanted, and i wish i knew exactly how i did it but i don’t think i wrote it down anywhere, and its been , yknow, almost a year.

afterwards i had to turn those skeins back into cakes and let me just tell you.

i forgot to use a swift on the first one. i did not forget again.

untangling that first dark blue skein was a multi hour endeavor.

photo courtesy of . an amazon listing

this is a swift and a ball winder. the swift holds the big loop of yarn that is the skein taut and spins freely while you crank the ball winder to make those super orderly and useable cakes. without the swift, trying to wind a cake turns a nice skein of yarn into a nightmare tangle. it was not fun

ALL THAT ASIDE. after successfully detangling and caking my yarn, it was time to wind my warp on a warping board!

a warping board is used to measure out how long your threads running vertically through the loom are going to be. your warp, as it were. because i knew i wanted to weave two banners, and i wanted them to be about a yard long each, plus accounting for tying on to the loom, waste material at the start and end, and leaving a long enough gap between them to create tassels, i started with a three and a half yard long warp. each cross back and forth the board is about a yard of length.

only once i had used the warping board to measure out all 200 threads of width i was putting on the loom was i able to actually start tying the yarn on to the loom and threading it—but this post is already long enough as is, so that will be the next thing I post about!

stay tuned for prepping the loom and weaving the banners :3 here’s a little sneak peek

[cupcakeslushie]

Do you have any tips on for people starting a comic and wanting to post to tumblr? Like pacing ect. Or well any experience you’ve had with your comics? Love your content as well ❤️

If it’s simply for fun, and you’re just trying to gain experience, my biggest advice would be to just START. Don’t worry about it looking perfect. Don’t worry about comparing it to other’s comics. Just try something, and if you find it’s not working, you can always change things up. I have gone through several styles and page layouts since starting. Do I wish those first pages of EW looked just like what I’m doing now? Yes, but if I’d waited around for perfection I would have never started. And I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun creating it! If people like it, that’s great, but your art is for you. If you’re growing and learning and having fun, then you’ve accomplished something!

Now for some less preachy advice 😂…

—If your comic is gonna be hosted on Tumblr specifically, I would say, make sure you keep the 10 image limit in the back of your mind when you’re pacing things. That can definitely cause some headaches down the line. If you don’t plan ahead, and end up hitting it, you’ll have a sudden cut in your flow. This last update I knew it was gonna be long, so while I did plan, but I could’ve planned better.

—Variety is key!!!!!

Composition changes keep your viewers from getting bored. Sometimes I’ll find myself falling back into the bad habit of just doing the simple back and forth with two characters talking straight on, but changing the camera angle, making establishing shots when you change locations, and over the shoulder shots, etc etc…All these will make for a more interesting viewing. You may think a character needs to be in every single panel to make it interesting, but if you have a lot of dialogue, a simple plain shot—either in top of a solid background, or just over something boring, like a glance at the set, etc—this will let people focus on the words rather than splitting their focus.

Variety applies to shading as well—whether you’re using color or black/white. Variety in values are SO important for comics. You’re shoving a ton of information in a limited space, so try to keep your values different for items that are close together….it can make things very confusing and turn your line work into indistinguishable blobs if you shade without this in mind.

(Using this panel as an example….)

The top two panels have a variety of darker values and a halftone background—so the next two with Venus, I kept rather simple. I could’ve colored the buildings behind her, but then, she might’ve gotten lost amidst all the grey. There’s not really any trick or solid rule to this, but once you develop your creative eye, you’ll make these choices without even thinking about it.

A few links to helpful tools (they’re all procreate centered I’m afraid 😅)

Outline brush — a free tutorial for Procreate users. This brush kinda mimics the CPS feature that lets you create panels with a nice black outline. I used this brush very often, and it really gives your panels a professional look. Fair warning, it can be glitchy, but it’s free…

Manero Comic Bubbles and sfx — These brushes are not free, so I would recommend maybe getting in your groove before you try them out. They’re by no means necessary, but I’ve just started using them, and they save me so much time. There’s a HUGE selection of shapes, and they go on with a solid white background, so you don’t have to worry about coloring around your dialogue balloons.

[sozzledjuja]

me ranting about what i need to see in season 3

(yeah, it's pretty long)

The important/plot twists/character development

Iris and Praxina being the focal points of the season

Remember, Praxina was created to be an anti-Iris, so there’s no better season than this one to explore that. 

Main conflict: Praxina is convinced Iris is responsible for Mephisto’s death (Iris didn’t kill Mephisto, it was a culmination of events that led to it, but Praxina needs a scapegoat, someone to dump her anger and grief on, because she can’t cope with loss in a healthy, non-destructive way). So, she is set on making Iris lose the people she cares about (Nathaniel, and also probably her friends), to make her feel the way she does.

The vision I have for these two in season 3 is that their actions will be correlated, each making the other do unspeakable things over accumulated resentment and hurt and grief, in a vicious cycle. Then somewhat meet in the middle at the end. Maybe…

Iris becoming more and more paranoid

Iris getting nervous everytime she sees a butterfly, for example. Very worried that she’s going to lose Nathaniel, her friends, her parents, or Ellira, at any moment. Makes her sometimes not be very rational. 

Maybe it will affect her relationship with Nathaniel too. Maybe she’ll think that in order to keep him safe from Praxina, she has to distance herself from him.

BECAUSE I WANT THIS GIRL TO GET SOME ARC TOO. Allow her to be angry, do questionable things, be flawed, be scared.

Guilt over Mephisto’s death

This one is for both Iris and Praxina. 

Because while Iris doesn’t have much to do with Mephisto’s death, I don’t doubt that part of her will start doubting it, wondering if everything that’s happening is, in fact, her fault. 

And Praxina, who didn’t appreciate her brother while he was right there next to her, finally realizing how much she actually needed him. You know what they say, you only truly appreciate someone after you lose them. AND THE GUILT-

More interactions between Iris and her parents

I just really really want this. And to learn more about the King and Queen of Ephedia. Because it has so much potential for added inner conflict inside Iris’ head. 

Because if you really think about it, the King and Queen of Ephedia are just strangers to her, who just so happened to be her birth parents. But weren’t the ones who raised her, who were there for her her whole life. Ellira was.

Not that it’s their fault. Not at all. They made a sacrifice to keep her safe. I know they would’ve done anything to see their little girl grow up. And Iris knows this, and I think, for a while, she’s going to feel a bit guilty for seeing Ellira as more of a parental figure than them. 

Also, I feel like Iris’ parents would never resent Ellira for this, but I do think they will be a little hurt. 

Iris attempting and failing to balance her Earth life with her Ephidean one

Because she will definitely be going back and forth between the two worlds, trying to keep everything balanced. Her social life with her friends on Earth, her relationship with Nathaniel, the band, her princess duties, the rebuilding of Ephedia, royal ceremonies, etc…

And if she had trouble before, I can’t imagine now.

Iris not being sure if she wants to become the future queen of Ephidea

Let’s face it. It was all really pretty and fun while they had the goal to defeat Gramorr and free Ephidea. No need to think about what would happen next, because even that was a big “if”. 

Now, Iris is finally gonna have to come to terms with the fact that she is THE future heir to the throne, But is she even fit to lead a whole kingdom? Does she even want to? Won’t that mean she’ll have to leave her Earth life behind? Nathaniel?

The King and Queen not approving of Iris’ relationship with Nathaniel

Not because they dislike him, or simply because he is human (they don’t seem like that kind of people), but because they want to protect their daughter from getting hurt. Not from him. But from having to inevitably let him go eventually. Again, she is the future queen. She has responsibilities on Ephidea, not on Earth.

Also, there’s this whole question line of “do ephideans live longer than earthlings?”. Because I feel like that's also relevant to this point.

Praxina slowly descending into madness (bonus points if physical corruption)

Her madness trip should be a linear thing, getting worse and worse each episode. 

More towards the end PLEASE fuck up her face a bit. Not necessarily permanently but like- I wanna see this girl with one side of her face corrupted with dark magic (we saw Gramorr underneath the mask), eyes red, going full eldritch abomination mode.

Her crying while laughing hysterically and maniacally AT LEAST ONCE please please.

Also, not to be that person, but she’s gonna be so hot that season, istg I’m not prepared.

What the fuck is up with those butterflies?????

Imma be real rn. I’m begging for the creators NOT to pull a Hawkmoth on Praxina. Let the butterflies be spies only, there’s no need for much else. If they make the butterflies mind control people, I'm gonna lose it. This isn’t miraculous 2.0.

Iris’ Shanilla form going batshit on Praxina/Big Final Battle

Because if Praxina does manage to kill someone or several people Iris loves, even if only temporarily (yall know this show is for kids, no one's dying permanently - though it would be cool to see a darker narrative), Iris is gonna lose it, and I expect a full dark shanilla mode. Going absolutely off the rails on Praxina, and then having an “oh shit, what am I doing?” moment.

Banes being shady and the true mastermind aka Final Boss

I want to see the build up to this, how he stays in Praxina’s shadow and “helps” her, making her feel like she’s in control, when she’s not.

And I fully believe Banes had his eye on her even before Gramorr was defeated. Not long before, but when there was only one gem left to complete the crown of Ephedia, and he started to suspect Gramorr’s chances at winning were slim, he definitely started to plot his next “puppet”.

Zenavion/Banes?????

Zenavion was mentioned once, but whyyyy??? My guess is that Banes is Zenavion. Or belonged to Zenavion/was his creation. But I’m leaning more towards the first one. Maybe he got himself turned into an entity of dark magic after years of meddling with power he shouldn’t have, leaving him stuck in that feline form with only a fraction of the power he once had? Sounds super interesting and would make for a great Final Boss.

What is his goal? Maybe to return to his full power and autonomy? Maybe he needed the power of the crown of Ephedia for that. 

That would explain why he picked Gramorr, who was in the same circles as the royal family, at the time.

Also Praxina blaming Iris, the princess of Ephedia, and future heir to the throne, for her brother’s death, and blaming her for it? Also very convenient that she was a young girl who had just lost her only support, and was completely alone and vulnerable. Easy to manipulate.

Gramorr’s backstory

I need it. For someone who was the main villain for two whole seasons, he sure got no depth at all. Which was kinda disappointing. Hope this season clears everything up. 

Perhaps Banes manipulated him and he never realized it? What were his initial motivations? His past? Also what was the deal with him and the royal family? With Morgane? I bet all those people have a lot to say and explain about him.

The mask

I’m sure Zenavion created it, centuries ago. I want to know how it works, how much it controls the user, how fast it corrupts them, why it was created in the first place, and how it ended up in Gramorr’s hands in the first place.

Also wouldn’t it be so cool if the current user of the mask had access to the memories of the previous users??? That way we could get Gramorr’s backstory through Praxina, like YES.

The yellow gem thingie????

The gem in Gramorr’s hand that was pierced by Iris in the finale, is now on Praxina’s chest. Do with that information what you will.

Big Betrayal moment between Banes and Praxina

Gramorr/Praxina parallels

Cause it’s inevitably gonna happen. Maybe he promises her a way to bring Mephisto back. But it’s all a ploy to get her to do horrible things for him, to allow him to return to his true form, and has nothing to do with Mephisto.

Girl is gonna be played big time. 

Because now they’re kinda connected, with Praxina being manipulated by Banes the same way Gramorr probably was, in the past. And both ultimately got betrayed by him.

Praxina getting a long deserved reality-check

Because as much as I love her, she needs someone to spew some hard truths on her. It IS her fault. She IS a bad person, and a bad sister. And in order to get redeemed, she needs to confront that.

Izira’s medallion????

Anyone remember how the one object with immense power and the ability to TURN BACK TIME literally fell down a cliff during the final battle with Gramorr? Because I sure do. 

And this could be a super irrelevant thing, but I do think it’s interesting that it fell in roughly the same place where Mephisto would have (hypothetically wink wink). 

Don’t know what they’d do with this necessarily, but it has the potential to be a very important plot point.

Mephisto being alive (duhhhh)

As long as it’s not shown from the beginning. I feel like Praxina’s whole arc would be much more satisfactory if he was only revealed to be alive, halfway through the season or later, in the very end. Note that when I say “revealed to be alive���, I mean, to us, the people watching the show, not to Praxina. She should only know this at the end of the season. For the plot.

Mephisto donning the scars and maybe some type of disfiguration on the side of his body that took the blast. It would make sense for him to be able to teleport, but the half of his body that was leaning more towards the energy source took most of the blow).

Mephisto having his own mini character arc, away from the main conflict

He probably needs to heal from the blast, and that would be hard for him, both physically and mentally. If part of his face/body gets “burned” by the blast, my boy is definitely not gonna take it like a champ at first.

Also, I’ve said this before, but I don’t think he’d go look for Praxina immediately after he’s doing better. Not because he doesn’t care about her, or doesn’t miss her, but because he thinks she doesn’t need him and is better off without him.

Iris (finally) telling Nathaniel the truth

I’d like to see him struggle with something like this, maybe meet some new characters and form connections with other people. It’s a great opportunity for him to mature and learn who he really is, outside of Gramorr’s or his sister’s shadow. An opportunity to atone for his mistakes, and make up for it. He was, and a lot of people forget, a war criminal.

Sibling reunion

I want tears and a proper hug, and Praxina completely falling apart. Bonus points if she doesnt want to believe it's actually him at first, because that would be too good to be true. They're both fucked up, both physically and mentally, but they're together at last.

And him NOT forgetting it right afterwards.

Everything that is important but isn’t necessary for the plot

THE TWINS’ BACKSTORY

We all know this is the one thing that actually matters. And I will lose my shit when it does. 

Gimme them happy flashbacks followed by the deadly pain.

And this needs to be a WHOLE episode worth of flashbacks. Like a whole flashback episode. They deserve that much.

Also who the hell is Pappy?

Mephisto’s staff!!!

Unimportant but uhh, if it’s so powerful, a lot could be done with it. And it’s probably still in the cave hideout. Praxina could get her hands on it.

Also how did he get it in the first place?

Explanation of the magic system

Worldbuilding/Ephidea lore

I want this so badly. I wanna meet more kingdoms, see how they look, what other colors represent them, the cultures, the people, etc…

I’m a sucker for this, and no one can deny that they got confused as fuck when the supposed “voice-based” powers, only actually matter in the first episode and then got dropped completely. Yeah, I know, the writers probably forgot. But please just make up a convenient connection to fill in that plot hole. This show needs to fix these damn plot holes.

Ephidea still very much being in shambles, and in need of rebuilding

Cause it can’t be that easy to put a whole planet back on track after a 15+ year old war, neither physically nor politically.

I wanna see meetings between all kingdom leaders, discussions on how to proceed, the release of war prisoners, etc… 

Oh, and the imprisonment and persecution of any of Gramorr’s former associates.

Backstory on how Talia and Auriana first met

I need it. And also an explanation on why they were the ones chosen to go to Earth, and find and train Iris, and WHO chose them for that mission exactly. 

Also, how did they even know Iris was on Earth? Fix these plot holes fr.

More of Auriana’s family

HELL YEAH 32 SISTERS. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, CHARACTER DESIGNERS. 

No, because I really need to meet them, and see what their dynamic is like. Also more of Jodan please. And their parents.

Also, the 34 children cannot be all fully blood related, can they? CAN THEY?

What happened to Talia’s parents? 

We haven’t seen them ever, so I’m assuming they’re dead.

More Izira

I just need more of her in general.

Also, she’s the heir to the throne of Xeris, and if her parents are dead, she is gonna have to fill it.

I fully expect an Izira coronation episode. Just imagine, new outfits for everyone.

The less important/cameos/things i wanna see just for funsies

New daily outfits

And I mean this in a “completely drop the old ones” kinda way. Not because I don’t like them, but because I feel that, with all that’s changing in the show, now that the same formulaic plot has finally broken, the outfits should also change. To indicate a new era of sorts.

New songs/new concert outfits, etc…

Me like it.

Talia’s ghost powers

They just dropped this plot point like; whatt????

I just want a little more light in this. Some Talia backstory as well, because we know she was bullied for it when she was a kid.

Also, I wanna meet the only other princess with this ability.

Have Talia and Praxina met before the start of the show???

It’s been pointed out several times that Praxina seems to know an awful lot about Xeris, and even possesses some Xerian artifacts and scrolls. Why and how did she get her hands on it? And it would make sense if Mephisto also seemed to know these things, but he doesn’t.

Also, they seem to have some underlying tension. Which could be simply because- well, they’re on opposite sides and hate each other?? Would be perfectly plausible. Or maybe they’ve met each other before. How and when? I wouldn’t know.

A musical episode???

Because wdym you have all these talented voice actors that sang in My Little Pony, and fucking BARBIE (don’t forget Praxina IS Barbie. They have the same voice actress), and never once have we heard ANY of them sing with their actual voices. 

Also it would be so fun for a change. Please, just one, I’m begging you.

A little more of Carissa and Lyna

Hear me? A little. Not a lot. 

I know a lot of people love them, and so do I, but I really don’t want them to join the gang permanently. Definitely not join the band. This ain’t winx club.

Jk, but actually I’m not.

Still, I do want to learn a bit more about them, some backstory insights, their families, how they met each other, etc…

What happened to Lev?

Is he actually dead? Or did he manage to escape and joined the resistance? I just need some confirmation.

Because if he is alive, he’s gonna be helping rebuild Ephidea for sure. It's gonna be interesting to see the dynamic he’s gonna have with Iris, in this scenario.

But just like with Lyna and Carissa, to me, personally, he is not a priority.

I would love for these characters to be explored more if there was a fourth season, but I just feel like, in season 3, there are just so many more important things to touch upon, and so many new things happening, that too many unnecessary details would make it lose impact.

A “Raffle Daffle” twins’ cameo

Just a small one. For funsies. They kinda just disappeared after that one episode (and thank god for that, because I hated them)

Kyle (blergh)

Please make him disappear. Or at least end things between them. Or end whatever there is between them. I’m not even asking for a big dramatic moment, just a “oh, this isn’t gonna work out” blah blah blah.

Or, you know, just him not showing up at all and everyone forgetting about him.

[dipplinduo]

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Sweet & Sour Dipplins!!! CHAPTER 24 IS HERE ❤️

Fun fact: did you know the anniversary date of this fic is Christmas Day? :) It's true! And as of today, Sweet & Sour Dipplins is officially a year old. 🥳

This fic initially started as a fun little idea - an enemies to lovers romance retelling of the Indigo Disk DLC with a toxic chain theory twist. It was a fanatical whim based on what is now my favorite pokemon game, and it was a blind attempt at creating something bigger than what I could initially picture. I loved romance and writing, but I was no writer - and certainty no fiction writer at that. I fully expected what I was doing to be a phase, where I quietly threw out a couple of half-baked chapters of into an empty void before it inevitably fizzed out with me moving on.

But then you all came along. The love that I have received and felt has been indescribable. I have been completely and utterly blown away by all of it: the number of readers, the playful and thought-provoking comments, the fun back and forth and theorizing in my ask box, the ART and the suggestions and the headcanons and the feedback?! It kept growing, and growing, and growing. And a year later, even as the fandom is a little quieter, it's all still here. You’re all still here.

My little ideas became a whole "au" (see, I've learned! xD). My “writing activity” that I was too modest to claim as a “hobby” became an identity that you all reinforced. I went on to not only write over a book’s worth for this story, but multiple books’ worth for others. In a very demanding, tumultuous, and tiring year in my personal life. Before writing this current chapter, I actually went back and re-read the entirety that is Sweet & Sour Dipplins. As the writer, there were a lot of ups and downs for me, and I don't speak as much about the downs. I could tell which chapters I wrote with pride and which ones felt rushed. Slowly but surely, I worried more and more about it being "interesting enough" as my audience grew. I worried about my motifs becoming “lost” in the inflation. I asked myself: Does it deserve the hits? Do people still care about this story the more the Earth rotates? And then I wondered: What is the true heart that is Sweet & Sour Dipplins? What actually pulls people to read this story?  What compelled ME to write this story?

And as I experienced it all as a reader myself, I think I began to see its soul in yet another light.

I remembered the visions I had as I was writing. I saw some things I didn’t see before, too, and even had moments where I went “Hey, you know what, I could probably write that even better now”, and it’s all thanks to you all for encouraging me to keep going.

But above all: I got the spark back. And I am excited to keep expanding the heart of this story as I share more of it with you.  

So without further ado, here’s Chapter 24 of Sweet & Sour Dipplins.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

With love,

dipplinduo

[jasper-pagan-witch]

hi! sorry to bother you, but i would like to get into pop culture paganism and am intimidated by all the.. everything people are talking about that i dont understand. do you have the most basic, "explain it like im four" crash course for learning PCP? [i feel the need to specify, i dont think im interested in being a witch at this time, i just have a pop culture deity id like to venerate] [i think thats the right word? worship? work with? idk]

thank you very much!

I'll happily help, anon.

WARNING! This post is a very, very basic introduction to Pop Culture Paganism, and I'm writing from my own perspective. There's no way I can cover everything. Please let me rest.

Let's start with some abbreviations:

PCM = Pop Culture Magic, the usage of elements of pop culture in one's magical or spiritual practice

PCP = Pop Culture Paganism, the usage of elements of pop culture (including but not limited to pop culture deities or characters-as-deities) in or as one's religious practice

PCD = Pop Culture Deity, an entity who is worshiped as or is a deity in their source material

PCE = Pop Culture Entity, any entity from a pop culture source (any PCD is a PCE, but not all PCEs are PCDs)

And some of my own definitions (yours may not be the same!):

Veneration/worship = including a figure in your religious practice

Work = creating an agreement with a figure in a magical or spiritual practice, which may or may not be religious in nature

Devotion = worshiping one deity above all others, that deity becoming your patron

All of these have been greatly simplified for ease of use in this guide.

PCP can be done in addition to or in place of other religions. Due to the nature of the phrase "paganism", a polytheist approach is implied but ultimately isn't necessary - there are plenty of pop culture pagans who only worship one PCD/PCE. I practice both PCP and """mainstream""" polytheism.

PCP can be done in addition to PCM, but the two can also be mutually exclusive. I, personally, practice both PCP and PCM.

The primary appeal of PCP is that it is deeply personal. Many people who engage in PCP find that starting their religious practice from the ground up, or in using familiar religious practices from their culture that they're used to, is a lot of fun. Others love the source material(s) that they're drawing from so much that practicing PCP is just a natural way to continue expressing their love for it. There are a thousand reasons to practice PCP.

Some of the """mainstream""" polytheism issues appear in PCP, too. Gatekeeping, cliques, the insistence that deities have to "choose" you...a lot of toxic ideas tend to show up, just because of how online spaces work nowadays.

"That's great, Jasper, but how do we actually do this?" I'm getting there, dear readers, I promise.

Decide your approach. What pop culture source are you drawing from? A video game? Music? A book series, or even a standalone book?

Outreach. Do you build an altar or shrine? Make an offering? Write a poem or invitation? Pray? Wait for the PCD/PCE to reach out first? Do you create them yourself?

Set expectations. What are you going to do? What do you expect? Do you want to communicate back and forth, or just pray and not expect a direct answer? Figure out what you want.

Continue developing. Your PCP practice will likely not remain the same as time goes on. Let it grow, and let yourself grow with it.

Hopefully this is a very beginner-friendly 101 style post! For further resources, please check out my Pop Culture Magic/Paganism Resources Masterpost.

~Jasper

[skeedelvee]

Carry On Countdown Day 2 - Chosen

For this year's COC I've decided to put together daily fic rec lists! Let me know if you find any new favorite reads from these <3

For todays prompt I've gone with fics that involve Simon being the chosen one

Not Really by @sorbriquette

Rated T, 67,592 words

Enemies to friends to lovers. This is a really extensive and excellent take on it

After learning of the growing distance between the Mage and his heir, the Families decide that they'd rather make an ally of Simon Snow than kill him. Snow is nothing if not loyal though, so turning him is going to need a little more than a good deal. New loyalties must be created and who better to do that than Snow's roommate and soon to be ex-archnemesis, Baz Pitch. Basically, an AU where the Families get Baz to befriend Simon and try to flip him. Then it develops into something more.

Hang the Moon by @captain-aralias

Rated T, 29,171 words

Arranged marriage as a way to end the war with the old families. Oh so good!

Fighting one war is bad enough; three is almost impossible. That’s why, when the Old Families offer the Mage a deal that will put an end to their conflict, he accepts. Simon hates everything about the deal. (And his life. And he definitely hates Baz.) He’s only going along with his part in it because he’s the Mage’s Heir and he has to. There definitely aren’t any other reasons. Or at least, if there are, Simon doesn’t know them. Yet.

Your Fragile Bones Are Mine by @artsyunderstudy

Rated E, 40,581 words

Great use of time in its storytelling, I love the way the story goes back and forth in its timeline. Excellent angst and going off scenes

The grounds around the gates of Watford are burnt. The dining hall stinks of magick. It's three months since the tumultuous end of seventh year—one lonely summer, and six more weeks in a lonelier room—and Baz is finally back. And Simon needs to know why.

Keep Calm by @captain-aralias

Rated T, 68,943 words

What would happen if the Mage actually shepherded Simon away for eighth year. Great humdrum attack scenes

The kidnapping attempt fails, but it’s not the Mage’s only scheme. Eighth year begins. Tyrannus Basilton Pitch returns for the start of term – and finds his roommate missing.

Magic in the Midnight Sun by Coldskin

Rated T, 9,279 words

Baz has to save Simon with a true love’s kiss after he gets cursed by the humdrum. Great getting together story

Simon is struck with a fairytale curse.

There's No Place Like Home by @annabellelux

Rated E, 15,650 words

Simon’s magic teleports him to Baz when he’s in danger. Really fun, lots of barging in at in opportune times

Simon got away from the Humdrum at the end of 7th year by teleporting back to Watford—which Simon thought was all well and good, until he started teleporting to Baz over the summer at the most awkward possible times.

✨Gratuitous self rec✨

Masquerade by me! @skeedelvee

Rated E, 4,191 words

Simon and Baz work together to fight off a Humdrum attack at the end of this one!

Watford is throwing a masquerade ball for its students. With everyone in disguise, who knows what will happen?

If you have any recs that fit the prompt that I've missed, feel free to leave them in the comments! There's plenty of gaps in my reading so there's a good chance I may not have read it.

Also I've had a hard time finding if some people are here on Tumblr, so if you know someone who hasn't been tagged, feel free to leave that in the comments as well <3

@carryon-countdown

[lieslab]

If I am killed simply for living, let death be kinder than man

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

Pairing: Changbin X gn reader

Summary: You're a ruthless mafia leader, but when you fall for Changbin, you force yourself to let go.

Genre: Angst without a happy ending

Word Count: 1.9K

Trigger warning: Blood and gore.

_ _ _

He didn’t know it yet, but every step was a step closer to his doom. Behind you, Changbin’s fingers curled around yours. With a pep in each step, he happily chatted, unaware of the growing tension in your heart. Every heartstring was about to snap and no matter how much it’d kill you, it had to be done. 

He was a fly stuck in your web and spiders never cared for bugs. They wrap them and silk and sink their venom into them. As a fly buzzes and begs for mercy in its own way, it’s never granted. At the end of the day, spiders have to eat too. 

You were so gullible and so stupid. When Changbin asked you out on a date, you should have said no. You should have stuck to your guns and told him you weren’t interested. Perhaps, you weren’t as strong as you once thought you were. 

Doing this, this was a coward’s way out of the chaos you created, but what other choice did you have? You were too selfish to truly cut ties and after all these months, you knew Changbin. You knew how he’d go to the ends of the earth to discover the truth and you couldn’t have it. 

You wouldn’t idly stand by and watch him learn the truth of your world. You wouldn’t corrupt him and throw him to the wolves. You were living in a dangerous world and playing a dangerous game. The only way to truly escape it was death. He’d already been involved too far now. 

Enemies were starting to take notice of the man you had been spending more and more time with. You were doing this out of what little kindness was left in your heart. You were doing this because there was no other way out, but through. 

Behind you, Changbin remained unaware. A grin appeared on his rounded face and he lightly swung your hand back and forth as he guessed what you picked for your date night. That’s what you called it. Date night was easier than what it really was. 

“Is it a picnic at a park? You mentioned that you wanted to do that once. Oh! I bet you made cute little finger sandwiches and you cut up fruit into fun shapes!” 

“Good guess,” your voice rang hollow, “but no.” 

“Really? Hmm.” He frowned and cocked his head. It took a moment, but his face lit up again. “Oh, I know! What about an arcade? I think it was last week that I mentioned how much I like-” 

“Nope.” 

He sighed and continued after you. “You’re making this really tricky for me. Can you give me a hint? Is this taking place inside or outside?” 

You forced yourself to swallow the growing lump in your throat. “Outside.” You continued to pull him through the maze of abandoned buildings. Of course, you picked one of the towns that was mainly abandoned. The town’s momentum collapsed years ago and only a handful of residents remained. 

“Paintball tag?” 

“No.” 

“Hide and seek?” 

“Nope.” 

“Some kind of sport?” 

“Something like that, I guess.” 

“If that’s the case, you better hope you win. I’ve been working on this body for so long.” He reached up to curl a bicep. “I’m about to dominate the playing field. 

You stayed quiet and kept walking. Above, the sun was starting to set and radiating golden waves. Light blues and pinks chased each other while the darkness began to shadow along the other side of the sky. At least, the sky was on his side. 

Changbin wasn’t like you or your gang. He was a breath of fresh air to your tainted lungs. Where particles of ash and bone resided, Changbin was an oxygen mask that cleared it up. The only problem was that you'd grown used to your world. Fresh air caused you to choke on the only thing you had known. 

It wasn’t easy to live this life and you knew that. You vowed to never get close to anyone, but when Changbin showed up, how could you say no? You were heading out on a mission and he bumped into you along the way. The moment your eyes met, you fell head first into sweet pools of syrup. With an addictive and sweet personality, you couldn’t get enough. 

So you exchange your names right there on the street. You exchanged numbers and when you came home speckled with blood and matted hair, you were defeated until you looked at your phone. 

“Hi! I’m the guy you gave your number to tonight. I’m Changbin! Maybe this is too soon and too fast, but would you like to go out somewhere this week? Maybe we could catch a movie or go to a cafe?” 

You forgot about the blood. You forgot about the leaking gash across your forehead. You forgot about the world of terror and destruction that you lived in. You forgot about everything you once knew, but you remembered the sweetened pools of syrup and the way the sun kissed his golden skin. You were doomed from the start and it was all your fault. 

You dragged him further and further through buildings. You stepped over cracks and avoided chunks of rubble. Up above, your most trusted sniper sat back in the darkness of one of the buildings. All you had to do was throw the signal and he’d shoot. 

Your feet were as heavy as your heart. Changbin continued to chatter behind you. He dressed casually for this. Black adidas sweatpants and a simple white compression shirt. A black Nike hat sat atop his curls and he kept lightly rubbing his thumb across the back of your hand. 

He picked up on your nervous energy. Even though he didn’t say anything about it, he was hoping that his touch would soothe you more. He kept his pace even with yours and let you lead him. 

You were different from anyone he met before. There was a lull of mystery and uncertainty to you, but you were confident. You acted without hesitation and you dived headfirst through life, rather than let the waves push you back from your goals. 

After another five minutes of walking, you lightly tugged him in front of you and dropped his hand. Behind him, the brick building was crumbling. Mortar cracked and pieces chipped off in every direction. The flat cement around made the sunset easier to observe. 

His eyes scanned the concrete area and he glanced back at you. “You said sports, so where is-” 

You were supposed to stay quiet. Give the signal and let the sniper’s bullet fly. His body would go straight into shock and that would be that. Another bullet, if needed; one that’d pierce the back of his skull and continue to scramble his brain. The last thing he’d ever see was you. 

“I’m sorry,” you weakly uttered. You were supposed to be strong. You were supposed to shut up. This would only make it worse and he’d know the end was coming, but you loved him. Truly and within whatever toxic fumes were in you, you loved him. 

You loved the way that sunlight caught his eyes. The way he ran a hand through his black curls when he was stressed. The way that he pointed at you when the two of you were working out and called out “this one’s for you, babe!” Before he’d bench his weights. 

His arms were the safe haven you never had. Soft lips set your soul on fire and for once, you felt okay. It was as if you weren’t evil anymore. Despite your wicked ways and flaws, you were loveable and someone cared about you. 

Your kill count was over a hundred. Families fell apart because of you. Mothers wept over their dead sons and father’s coddled the mangled remains of their daughters. Their heartbroken tears would never bring them back. When kids shrieked and screamed as they shook their limp parents, their souls were never coming back. 

You were a walking devil and Changbin had no idea. When you rubbed the aching knot in his back, he didn’t know that those same hands had once upon a time snapped necks. When you cupped his face and planted a kiss, he didn’t realize that those same lips were stained with blood during the darkness of a cloudy night. 

The facade you put up, it was a lie. Everything about your relationship was a lie. He’d never understand what you truly were. He was a bug and you were the closing jaws of a venus fly trap. It wasn’t much longer until he’d be dead. 

His face scrunched up in confusion and he took a step towards you. With an outstretched hand, he gently cupped your face. “For what? What do you mean? If you couldn’t think of a date, we cou-” 

Your head shook and your eyes squeezed shut. Your brain screamed at you to stop, but your heart was bursting at the seams. “You don’t really know me, Changbin.” 

“Sweetie, what are you talking about?” 

“I’m a monster.” 

“No, you’re not.” 

“I’ve killed people!” 

His eyebrows scrunched and his face fell. He opened his mouth, but then shook his head. “No, it’s not true. You haven’t killed people and you haven’t hurt anyone. How could you-” 

“And now-” For the first time in a long time, tears streamed down your cheeks. They blurred your vision and Changbin’s face muddled. Those kind eyes and that smile that made your heart melt, you couldn’t breathe. “I-I have to kill you.” 

His blood turned to ice. He stared at your breaking down face, but words didn’t come out. You raised your hand and curled your shaking fingers into a fist. His eyes widened and that’s when the sniper pulled the trigger. 

Bang!

The screech that clawed its way from your throat was animalistic. Your sobs fell as his knees buckled. The entire thing happened in slow motion as his eyes rolled back and his body dropped. 

You screamed his name and dived beside him. Dark blood spread out like spilled ink. It stained the concrete and it oozed like crazy. In a desperate attempt to save him, your hands cradled the back of his head. Viscous blood churned your stomach, but you couldn’t stop the blood. No matter how hard you pressed, you’d never be able to replace the splintered sections of what used to be his skull. 

Warm brain matter twitched and pulsed. You screamed his name louder, but he couldn’t hear you. Changbin was dead and it was all your fault. Cruelty was always in your blood and it always would be. 

You started to scream up at the building. Your sniper appeared over the edge of the window and threw you a look of pity. He too knew that this had to be done. 

“Shoot me! Shoot me! SHOOT ME! JUST FUCKING SHOOT ME!” 

He replaced the safety latch on his gun without a word. He took his time descending the cracked stairs and making his way back to you. The worst part was yet to come. He knew he’d have to drag your bloody figure off of him. 

You jerked on his white shirt. When your desperation peaked, you shoved two hands against his chest. Over and over and over, you pushed. Your fists locked and you performed CPR, but it didn’t work. 

When it finally set in, you curled your body beside his. Your chest went to where his heart used to normally pulse. Your eyes drooped and you wrapped your arms around him. “I love you.” 

For the first time in a year and a half, he didn’t say it back. 

| ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ |

Taglist: @lina-linny @straykidsstanforeverandever @seungnishi @stellasays45

Masterlist

Taglist and inbox rules

Ko-fi

[jade-parcels]

Fatherly Instincts 2

Back by popular demand, one year later, we’ll once again look into how genshin men would be as dads! Since classes and projects are taking up a majority of my time, I haven’t been very active…but this was so fun to write in the time I have during break! Thank you for your patience! 🐦

Fatherly Instincts <3 With: Albedo, Tighnari, Neuvillette, and Itto <3

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

Albedo isn’t the best at showing emotion in his facial expressions. He keeps a blank face most of the time but for his child, he’ll smile more frequently- though this ‘smile’ is just the slightest upturn of his lips. Your kiddo quickly took a liking to your special kamera from Fontaine and has loved posing for pictures! Bedo has become a victim to the camera phase himself because his sweet little baby has learned ‘cheese’. He hears “Pa! Cheese!” about ten times a day and every time, he’ll smile for his kid. Does he like smiling with his teeth? Not really. Does he think he looks silly in the photos? For sure. However, he knows that imaginative play and loving, parental interaction is integral for his child’s development. So if that means he has to smile, he will smile. And when he finds his kiddo’s stash of photos of you and him… he can’t help but get sentimental. He sees himself from his kid’s perspective :’)

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

“See? I told you not to run ahead. This is what happens when you don’t look where you’re going” Tighnari shakes his head, kneeling down in the dirt with his bawling toddler. His ears twitch with the loud screeches but he isn’t bothered. Before he gets to work dressing the wound (it’s hardly a scratch at all) he holds his kiddo close until they stop crying. Tighnari’s dad senses kicked in when he started caring for Collei and he uses that prior experience now. He’s a natural at healing wounds and caring for those in need. Before his kiddo was able to SPRINT ahead of him in the woods, he was able to prevent accidents by baby proofing your shared home. All corners are covered with foam, all dangerous objects locked away, all hunting gear kept on high shelves. His quick, fox reflexes helped him catch his baby when they first where learning to walk! But now that they’re extremely mobile, he has to kiss a lot of scraped knees and make a lot of ‘healing pudding’ aka, a simple sweet treat to help them forget about their boo-boo :) oldest trick in the book.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

Though he has dozens of daughters already, he still finds parenthood difficult at times. Neuvillette felt out of his depth when he held your baby for the first time. Melusines are not born this small, this fragile… This…. Fussy. The two of you quickly found out that this baby simply does not want to sleep at night. Neuvillette, the gentleman that he is, insists that you stay in bed while he tends to the baby during these late nights. One night, He felt a sense of sadness, it flowed slowly into his chest like a rising tide. Perhaps he felt bad for you, felt inadequate as a father, he couldn’t really place the emotion. In his own restlessness, it began to rain. While any other time he would worry about creating a storm, it seems that this one was a blessing in disguise. After hours of fussing and crying, the baby stopped. The low rumble of thunder, soft patter of rain on the windows… it soothes his child. Since that day, he will bring forth light rain during the night to ensure a peaceful rest for his family. And when the newspapers start to report on this strange weather phenomenon? He pretends he doesn’t know a thing about it. One day they will grow out of needing the rain but for now, he enjoys being able to provide for the child he loves so dearly.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

Itto is known for his loud laughter and goofy personality. He can be forgetful at times or too-over the-top but he knows when to be calm. His poor children, half oni as they are, start to grow their horns at a young age. Their horns start out as bumps on their foreheads and as they get older, the horns break through the skin much like teeth do when they grow in for the first time. You don’t have any experience in this field, all you can do is ice their heads and offer warm hugs. During days where their horns hurt, Itto steps in to cheer them up. With ice packs in hand, he wraps their heads with colorful ribbons and bandages, making a crown of sorts. He compliments their new headgear, telling them how royal they look! Soon enough, the horn pain is forgotten and the kiddos toddle off to play once again as their headaches dissipate. You don’t miss the look of fondness in your oni husband’s eyes. He hesitates before wrapping the remaining ribbon around your head “Well… Gotta deck you out in some sick headgear too right babe?” what a dork oh jeeeez.

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

🐦You can find part one here <3

-..-..-..-..-..-..-..

[be-compromised]

Promptathon 2024 Masterlist

Promptathon 2024 has come to an end! With an impressive grand total of 35 fills, and 535 comments at last check. Thank you to everyone who prompted, created, beta read, commented, cheered, and took part. We hope you had fun! Watch this space for Secret Santa 2o24 sign ups coming VERY soon and maybe a little fun for Halloween…

A promptathon masterlist is now available below and on dreamwidth. If there’s any incorrect or missing information please let me know in a comment to the dreamwidth post and I'll make sure it gets updated. (Our Username Database is a handy way to keep us up to date with your online handles for crossposted masterlists.)

The main links for the masterlist go to the original dreamwidth promptathon comments for archiving, but I've tried my best to also include links to AO3 where I've spotted crossposting. Please feel free to post/share your fills elsewhere! If you're using AO3 we have a handy Be_Compromised Promptathon Collection and you can tag works as be_compromised promptathon and community: be_compromised.

If you still have prompt fills that you’re working on, or feel inspired by prompts now or in the future from any of our community events, please do keep creating. Now that promptathon is over they won’t be included as part of the event or masterlist, but they will always be appreciated :)

And on to the main event…

5 Times Clint and Natasha Cursed the Rain and 1 Time They Didn't | AO3 by @cassiesinsanity (PG; no warnings) Prompt: Tokyo wasn't their first time together in an alley in the rain

After The Threesome | AO3 by @inkvoices (Mature; sex) Prompt: After The Threesome They Both Take You Home by Sue Hyon Bae (poem here)

ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? | AO3 by @quidnunc-life (Teen; no warnings apply) Prompt: Outsider POV or threesome: Woken up 3:45 by voices yelling outside my window. Turned out to be a couple in formal wear, literally standing in the road, who continued to yell back and forth at each other for quite some time, including [one] with, 'I love you!' and [the other] going back with, 'No, you don't!' Very sad that they can't make it work, but could they please have that conversation not outside our open windows at 4am?!

a masterpiece of a mess | AO3 by @cassiesinsanity (Mature; no warnings apply; Clint/Bucky with past Natasha/Clint and Natasha/Bucky) Prompt:Maybe if he was a little less fuckable we wouldn’t be in this mess.

a masterpiece of a mess (remix edition) | AO3 by @cassiesinsanity (Mature; no warnings apply; Clint/Darcy/Natasha) Prompt:Maybe if he was a little less fuckable we wouldn’t be in this mess.

Another String To Her Bow | AO3 by ultra_fic (G/K; no warnings apply) Prompt: Clint learns Natasha can shoot a bow.

Blank Slate | AO3 by @firlalaith (Teen; a little angsty but nothing bad) Prompt: One of them is de-aged. They can't be turned back, so they're going to have to grow up again the long way. (Your choice as to if they still have their memories or are completely de-aged as in they can’t remember any of their past.) The other has to choose whether to also be de-aged and grow up with them, be their friend (and maybe more if history repeats), or stay an adult and protect them (which might have to be from a distance?). Because they both know all too well how vulnerable children are, and had shitty childhoods, and want better for the person they love this time around.

Blindside | AO3 by @cloud--atlas (Teen; no warnings) Prompt: I'm so obsessed with your ex

Butterflies in Iowa | AO3 by @firlalaith (Teen; Character Death, Depiction of a Suicide, Vormir) Prompt: Lila sees Clint during the test run and the consequences

Daughter of Goose by @alphaflyer (G; no warnings apply) Prompt: In which Liho (or Lucky) turns out to be a Flerken.

desirable (and other adjectives) | AO3 by @cassiesinsanity (G; weight gain) Prompt: Clint refers to it as a bulk cycle. Natasha simply calls it getting fat.

Don't Touch Lola | AO3 by @firlalaith (Teen; no warnings apply) Prompt: Endgame AU/fix-it: when Clint and Natasha show up to fetch the Soul Stone it's not there, it turns out at this point in time that someone else already has it.

Every Hawkeye has a Widow | AO3 by @firlalaith (G) Prompt: (615): Your sister reminds me of me at her age. Stop her while you can.

Get by with a little from our friends by @quietlyimplode (Teen/PG13; no warnings apply) Prompt: I can do it with a broken heart

history be rhyming | AO3 by @firlalaith (Teen; no warnings apply) Prompt: “He’s dead. Again.”

Hope in the Rain | AO3 by @quietlyimplode (Teen/PG13; Angst(?)/ Canonical Violence?) Prompt: Tokyo wasn't their first time together in an alley in the rain

I Get By… | AO3 by ultra_fic (G/K; no warnings necessary) Prompt: Kate notices the Black Widow tattoo on Clint's arm

I must have turned bright red (I liked what I saw) | AO3 by @icantopenwaterbottlecaps (Teen; no warnings) Prompt:An adult Natasha signs up to work at a summer camp, as part of her own healing and to give back. Enter Clint Barton, who's been a volunteer there already for a while (or may have similarly been originally ordered to work there like Nat). Everyone knows him, everyone gets on with him, he trains kids in archery and teaches them how to swim and grow in confidence, and he’s just. too. damn. Nice.

In Our Professional Opinion | AO3 by @alphaflyer (Mature; no warnings apply) Prompt: Rating SHIELD safehouses

It Might Be Worth It | AO3 by ultra_fic (Teen; no warnings apply) Prompt: In a world of boys, he's a gentleman

lingering doubts | AO3 by fadedwings (Teen; swearing, nightmares, insomnia, and some angst with a side of cuddling) Prompt: Clint never actually broke entirely free from Loki's control / still had lingering issues until Loki died. Or until the stone that powered the tesseract was destroyed.

Not Another Moment to Waste | AO3 by ultra_fic (Teen; no warnings apply) Prompt: You took the words right out of my mouth (it must’ve been while you were kissing me).

not just another mission | AO3 by fadedwings (Teen; adult language) Prompt: You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi

Out On the Moonlit Floor | AO3 by ultra_fic (G/K; no warnings necessary) Prompt: This is a love story. It must be; it's got kissing in it.

"Paradise Lost" | AO3 by chaed (T; no warnings) Prompt: Superior Iron Man enlists the services of nefarious assassin duo Black Widow and Hawkeye (dark!Clintasha).

Progress | AO3 by @inkvoices (Teen; a character having some anxiety in crowds and being the centre of attention) Prompt: our mutual friend has been talking us up to the other and when we finally meet, we have to tell them that we’ve been in a feud for the last six years

red light | AO3 by @quidnunc-life (Teen) Prompt: Sex work AU

(REMIX: Red Light / Little Red Lies | AO3 by @icantopenwaterbottlecaps  (Teen; no warnings) Prompt: Sex work AU

REMIX: red light / Little Red Lies / ran the red | AO3 by @asterarchers (G; no warnings) Prompt: Sex work AU

she’s gone by @quietlyimplode (Teen; angst) Prompt: When you hold me, it holds me together And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

The Ties That Bind by @alphaflyer (Teen; no warnings) Prompt: Clint and Natasha are having the most incredible, amazing first date - what could go wrong?

the words of another | AO3 by @quietlyimplode (Teen/PG13; discussion of mental states) Prompt: Early SHIELD. Natasha hacks into the system and reads what is in her evaluation (Psychologists, Fury, Clint, etc.)

Untitled Fill (100 Word Drabble) by @quietlyimplode  (Teen; angst) Prompt: Non sexual (physical) intimacy

what we do to each other by @poppypickle (T; beginningsofcomplicatedfeelings!fic) Prompt: Don't know what to call this situation, but I know I can't call you mine

you've been calling my bluff on all my usual tricks | AO3 by @asterarchers  (Teen and Up; no warnings apply) Prompt: Gentle Ways To Let Him Know You're Dating Each Other

[amynchan]

How is a show for babies and toddlers so popular with people that are much older?

Gonna take this question in good faith and answer in good faith.

My instinctual answer is because the show is made with the parents who are minding the children in mind.  A lot of children’s shows do exactly what’s on the tin and no more:  show children how to begin to integrate into a world that is much bigger than themselves.  Share, act kindly, think about what you want to say, be good, sometimes rules are there for a reason, etc, etc.  However, Bluey has stuff that’s just for the adults that goes a little beyond crude humor (which, this isn’t a dig.  It’s just that it’s been done so much that I think a lot of people either expect it as a given or are tired of it).

People will point to episodes like Sleepytime, and Cricket is becoming a fan favorite, but I personally enjoy Chest and Stickbird.  Those resonate with me.

For kids, Chest is about Bandit being silly when it comes to trying to teach Bluey how to play chess.  It ends in a victory for the kids because they do not want to play chess, and they end up playing on the floor with their newfound pieces who are “not dead” because they’re in charge of the rules now.

For adults, Chest is about Bandit trying to teach Bluey--and by extension, Bingo--a game that should help them grow more intelligent as they grow older.  This action, which is taken by many fathers (including my own when he taught me how to navigate a computer and how to begin looking into code when I was 11 or so back in 2006?) is called out and analyzed by his wife, Chili.  Chili goes into a monologue about why Bandit wants to teach the girls chess, how he’s doing it because he is actually a good father who wants his children to be able to take care of themselves once he can’t do it anymore, and about how it’s not necessary when Bluey and Bingo are 6 and 4 respectively.  “Work on their heads later.  For now, just hearts.”

Chest is a sneaky rule-bending fun time for the kids, and it’s a lesson in parenting for the adults.  There’s even something for young adults with the line “[I’m] a lousy chess player.” “And you turned out fine” between Chili and Bandit.  It’s a bit of a gentle reassurance that I think a lot of people need sometimes, and it made me feel a little better about myself.  It even helps me a little bit in my role as an instructor since I teach at a transitional part of my students’ lives and I have to remember that while the content I teach would be easy in isolation, I do have to also take care of what they consider important to them.  It’s important to me as a person given where I’m at in life.

Stickbird is different in that it gives the same lesson to children and adults alike because it’s timeless, and we adults tend to forget it as we grow up.

For kids, stickbird is a fun day at the beach where Bluey and Bingo learn to throw.  Chili, their mom, teaches them, and Bandit, their dad, is in a funk.  It’s not really important.  What’s important to kids is that Bingo, the youngest, wants to throw more sticks and so drags Bandit along with her.  Along the way, they find a Really Neat Stick and create a sand bird out of it.  Fun times!  Then they go get more sticks.  Then--uh oh!--some other kids at the beach take the stickbird’s head, which upsets Bingo.  Bingo spends some time upset and angry, which she states very firmly when Bluey succeeds in learning how to throw and is excited to show Bingo.  When Bluey learns that Bingo is upset--not really why, just that she is--she offers a trick shown to her by her friend.  Bluey, in true kid fashion, “gathers the upset and angry...from your neck...and your belly...and behind your ears” and then asks Bingo if she wants to keep it.  Bingo thinks about it, as all kids do, and says “no.”  There’s a funny back-and-forth about giving the angry and upset to either Bluey or Bandit, and neither of them want it, so Bingo asks what to do with it, and Bluey tells her to “throw it away...really far” using the lesson that Chili gave them both.  So, Bingo does, and she feels better, and there’s a hooray moment before the girls race each other on the beach, giggling.  And that’s where it ends for the kids.

For adults, our focus is immediately drawn by Bandit, the typically excitable and playful father who is in a serious funk.  Chili draws attention to it towards the beginning by saying “let it go, babe.  You’re missing it.”  Throughout the episode, while the kids are watching Bingo and her lack of emotional regulation, we’re watching Bandit and how he, an adult who has learned how to compartmentalize and regulate emotions, is dealing with his own upset.  He’s too quiet, and it’s honestly a bit unsettling if you know him as a character.  He stands off to the side and interacts a little bit while Bluey explains to Bingo how to deal with her “angry and upset,” and after the girls run off and the kids celebrate, the camera stays with Bandit.  He doesn’t say anything.  He just starts miming what his children just did, takes a deep breath, and throws the camera itself far into the ocean.  Before the perspective plops in the water (in a shot that is honestly gorgeous and made me beam with a joy only being thrown as a kid can elicit), we see a return of normal Bandit, loud and excitable and ready to play with his kids.

Stickbird is about handling life’s shit, and that’s a timeless lesson.  The lesson is outlined boldly for the kids, but there’s a reminder that we as adults sometimes need to throw the little problems away in order to live our best lives.

To me, it’s kind of like how Phineas and Ferb was jam-packed with so many good things despite each episode being 15 minutes.  PnF has 3 simultaneous storylines (the boys and their adventures, Candace and her adventures, and Perry and Doofenshmirtz), and Bluey has 2 (something kid-centric and something adult-centric) jam-packed into 7 minutes a pop.  Bluey also has a tendency of bringing back childlike wonder without being condescending or demeaning to the audience, which can be an unintended side effect for many children’s shows when they’re trying to explain big concepts to minds that want to absorb things but have a difficult time parsing fact from fiction.  (Seriously, it’s just a developmental stage that those shows are trying to cater to.)

So, yeah, I’m 27, childless, and enjoy Bluey.  There are so many teenagers who enjoy it as well.  And, of course, parents and their babies enjoy it, too.  Some like the healing aspect of it, some enjoy the silly games, and some just enjoy it for being what it is.  I can’t tell anyone to love it or anything.  All I can say is that it’s a good idea to give some of the episodes a chance and judge for yourself whether you, as a person, like it or not.  If you do, then welcome!  I hope you find an episode that you really, REALLY enjoy!  If you don’t, then I hope you enjoy the fandoms that you, as a person, enjoy while I do the same.

[scoundrels-in-love]

30 Years Old Achievement Unlocked!

Usually, I had a Follow Forever post ready for my birthday, as a thank you for filling my dash and heart with blorbos and fun this year, but today I decided to have a bit more introspective one, looking over the last decade offline and almost same time that I've had on Tumblr. As a reminder for myself and maybe it can give some encouragement to others that are going through the slog of their twenties.

But first, yes, a thank you to people that have deeply shaped this decade, with their presence and sometimes, their absence. I can't ping the person I miss the most, it doesn't reach across the fog that clouds the way beyond the final goodbye, the parting that cannot be spoken, but I can ping the people who helped me stay on this side of the mist, in the aftermath. (In vague alphabetic order.) Thank you for everything, for being there for me through thick and thin, however you're capable, thank you for being you.

@aviss @bienchanter @binary5tar @carrot--cube @cup-ah-jho @deenakahara @fiovske @firesign23 @it-may-be-dull-but-im-determined @justdontevenknow @kdramaxoxo @lostindramas @mesoperi @sdwolfpup @spacepandar @tazzmanien @youholdthewater @zigackly

Also a special thank you, you are amazing and have done for me more than I can explain, to wonderful people of Trigun fandom. You made this year bearable, you pushed me to create more than I have in ages not with violence, but your love for what I had to share. And many of you have become friends I hope to keep for the forthcoming decade!

@aluvian @cosmixseerart @chickiefoo @dingusttmax @fionnrose @ladymaliwan @needle-noggins @noaafishfieldguide @kiaraalazulu @koontyme @madnessmadness @tardisready @zeearts @zillychu

I am definitely forgetting someone in these pings and I will blame it on my old age (just 3% of my entire lifespan, though!) and I am sending all the lovely people I talk with, who interact with my posts and so forth, people I follow, so much love (and Irish coffee cream cake).

Now, onto some loving achievements of the decade:

Survived and accepted my neurodivergence, began to start to accomodate for it and seek help for doing so.

Began participating in fandom.

Published over 170k words for various fandoms.

Learned to gif.

Realized I have checked the box 'No' on sexual & romantic attraction and gender starter package slip.

Conceptualized designs for my tattoos.

Dyed and bleached my hair for the first time. Figured out I like it short.

Continued to develop my style and grow more comfortable with my body and appearance.

Got Wolverine arm implants after I broke it badly.

Left my country and saw a band I love live.

Saw my internet friends in person for the first time.

Sailed on a boat and stood on the edge of sea at midnight, crying from happiness.

Finished education and kept job despite health issues.

Started playing DnD and even DMd a little.

Made my friends laugh so often I lost count.

Laughed often myself.

Took so many photos of things I love.

Learned so many cool animal facts.

Heard new favorite songs and continued to love old ones.

Read things that changed something in my very soul.

Wrote something that inspired a fanart and podfic.

And more and more and more. There is always more, more things that you and I can ever predict, more sorrows, yes, but more joys as well. And I think, looking back at 20 year old me, I'd say... It was worth sticking around for.

So, for the next life year and decade I want to say I'll try to:

Continue learning being kinder to myself, accept my limitations and accomodate them.

Write, write, write.

Take so much more photos.

Laugh until I cry more often.

Make people wheeze.

Travel more and especially to the seaside.

There always will be more to do, but I like these goals.

Thank you again, for everything, and here's to the next year, next decade and next lifetime.

[rudycomics]

Rudy Recs: Witch Watch (and its bittersweet love story)

I've written in the past before about some of the things I've been reading in shonen jump, You and I are Polar Opposites as an example, and the current generation of manga in their lineup right now has some interesting stuff going on. Somehow, Witch Watch is not one of the manga I hear other people talking about as often as the others and I think that's a real shame!

Kenta Shinohara has 2 award winning manga under his belt and even though his concepts don't have this really intense fantastical hook and his art isn't clamoring for attention in the ways things like Chainsaw Man or Dandadan do, I think Witch Watch has incredible range. It's part romance, part slapstick comedy/gag manga, and part shonen battle manga all together, bouncing back and forth between these different styles each chapter.

I always felt like it was just really solidly put together and consistently entertaining (except for when the story focuses on some side characters writing fan doujinshi which bores me to DEATH), but the thing that made me feel like I needed to write about it was the way the series handles the romance between the two main characters, Nico, the witch given a prophesized control over every type of magic, and Morihito, her childhood friend and chosen protector because he happens to be one of the last Ogres in the world.

I'm going to be talking spoilers for things that happened in recent chapters, so be warned!

I will put a warning when I get to it, but I like writing about these things because I personally think getting someone to gush about specific instances of well executed craft gets me more interested in checking out new things than anything else.

The basic setup to their romance is that Nico has a crush on Morihito (which she calls Moi and I'll use this nickname for convenience) and she begins living with him as her mother received a prophecy that some evil force will try to use Nico and her unnatural powers for evil purposes that will ultimately bring her harm in the process. Moi is chosen to be Nico's familiar to protect her from whatever this vague danger may end up being, but we see their personalities clash right away. She's very aware of him and he seems very stone-walled and closed off, despite their being some sort of connection between them from childhood.

The two get into a lot of wacky situations as Nico attends school and continuously uses her powers to try to help classmates with their personal troubles and they make some new friends along the way with their own special powers. The household of just the two of them grows into a house of 4 boys and Nico, with two other girls making frequent appearances. We learn about all these characters and their quirks and see how they are all invested in helping Nico try to form a relationship with Moi. It's not until a good handful of chapters later that we learn that in typical Nico fashion, she had somehow ended up putting a curse on Moi when they were children that locked Moi into being "best friends forever" with Nico, essentially kneecapping any romantic growth from sprouting from Moi.

It's not that important to what I wanted to talk about, but I do think this is such a fun story device because it completely fits in line with everything we've learned about Nico and what every wacky situation stems from in this series: Nico somehow uses her magic in ways that challenge the intuitive way the powers would seem to work and creating unintended effects on top of what the power is supposed to do. Nico's bond with Moi ever since they were children has also become the reason that nothing will ever happen between them.

EXCEPT... All of their new friends have sussed the situation out and form a plan to break through the curse and free Moi to accept the feelings that are actually blocked off inside his heart that they all know are there. They even have this fun visual metaphor of a heart with a valve leaking romantic feelings that gets repeated all through this arc.

They try some things to get Moi to over flow with feelings faster than the curse can repress them which is fun but ultimately fruitless, only for Moi to accidentally being able to listen in to Nico tell everyone that she loves him because of all his flaws that are center to his insecurities that make him close up. It's a beautiful moment that caps it off with using that visual metaphor again to really push emotion to the reader and I thought this was so effective!

From here on, I think what I want to talk about is spoilery enough that I should put a marker here for people that don't want to see anymore before reading:

**SPOILER WARNING!!**

The two both have feelings for each other at this point and Moi wants to confess to Nico now, but tragedy strikes as the big bad makes his move to attack Nico and friends which ends up costing Moi his life as he gets shot in the chest with a gun. Nico uses her powers to heal him at the cost of something of her own and what she ends up giving up is her time, which includes her memories, and turns back into a 5 year old.

The group find out that Nico can be restored to her natural state by collecting these magic butterflies that escaped from her body during her spell, and here is where I think this series does something that really grabbed me.

I read a LOT of manga. Like, scouring for new stuff to read every day. Comics are my primary source of entertainment and I read a LOT of romance stories. One of the things that I feel like authors have to consider when writing compelling romance is how to get readers to connect with characters enough to also want to see those characters get into a relationship. In general, I think a lot of this connection buildup happens AFTER characters get together and you have to just get accept the weak initial romantic beginning (like Galaxy Next Door for example), OR the story spends its whole lifetime creating their bonds slowly and ends right as they get together which annoys me, personally (hoping this one doesn't do that, but we will have to see).

What I think Witch Watch does here is so striking and unique; Nico and the gang put in so much effort in between their escapades to get these two characters together so that they can be happy. Right when things lock into place, it all comes to a halt and resets, but what doesn't get reset is the readers' understanding and connections to these characters. We're already invested in Nico and Moi and we get a second chance to see these characters form a loving connection in a really unique way that feels unpredictable as Nico slowly regains her age and memories back. It's got a bittersweet tone to it as Moi doesn't get to express his love in the way that he wants to, but we get to see such a complex form of love develop as he takes the role of a caretaker for little Nico. Love is more than romance or attraction and getting a chance to put that trope away for a bit to do something different is so refreshing. It really builds out something so much more complete and more befitting of a seinen maybe, rather than a shonen with fight scenes and mythical characters.

This current arc is the beginning of part 2 of Witch Watch, with the big bad leaving the group alone because Nico is useless to him as a child with no control over magic. We know this peace will come to an end when Nico is restored to her proper age, but we get to see the characters all get up to their silly antics again with child Nico in the mix now. It's a really cool shakeup that adds new life to the slapstick comedy bits that make up most of the story, putting the action in the back seat again for now. This is the most recent chapter at the time of me writing this (chapter 133), and seeing Moi's perspective as the point of view in contrast to Nico's experiences so far is really gripping to me. This final page of the chapter is what did it for me:

It hurts, but it's love. The pain is temporary, all for the goal of being together when it's all over, with a connection deeper than anything that they would have formed otherwise.

Please go give Witch Watch a read! It's really fun!!

[richincolor]

Book Review: True Love and Other Impossible Odds by Christina Li

Summary: College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. So she follows a predictable routine: Attend class, study, go home and visit her dad every weekend. She doesn’t leave any room in her life for outliers or anomalies.

Then, Grace comes up with an algorithm for her statistics class to pair students with their perfect romantic partners. Though some people are skeptical, like Julia, Grace’s prickly coworker, Grace is confident that her program will take all the drama out of relationships. That’s why she keeps trying to make things work with her match, a guy named Jamie. But as the semester goes on and she grows closer to Julia, Grace starts to question who she’s really attracted to.

In award-winning author Christina Li’s YA debut, Grace will have to make a choice between the tidy equations she knows will protect her from heartbreak or the possibility that true love doesn’t follow any formula.

My Thoughts: Can love be predicted with logic and numbers? It's an interesting question that Grace and her fellow math classmates are wrestling with for their project. Science and math can do a lot of things for us so why not finding matches for people? It's a fun topic to explore or at least watch characters attempt to do so.

Grace learns a lot about herself as she and her math partners implement their program. Why some people click and others don't has them questioning their algorithm, but also themselves. The friends and other students that Grace is interacting with have opinions about the project, but the farther they get into it, the more questions arise. 

The story bounces back and forth between her college freshman year and the time when her mother was still alive and before a rift with Grace's best friend. She's grieving both losses and is only beginning to venture into new relationships both romantic and otherwise. She stumbles around a bit, but the book feels like a hug as she finds some connections, learns about herself, and begins to heal.

Seeing her muddle her way through new relationships was a little like watching a young horse start walking. It's a lovely coming of age story as Grace really delve into her feelings and discovers more about herself. She creates new bonds and takes a good look at how she has interacted with her father and her previous best friend. 

I loved the snowy ski excursions and it made me realize I haven't seen skiing in many young adult books. Grace and Julia have that common interest which really helps them get to know each other and it adds to the cozy feeling of the book. This book would be great with a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket.  

Recommendation: Get it soon especially if you enjoy seeing characters discover more about themselves and like a sweet bit of romance. 

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

Pages: 389

Review Copy: Final copy via publisher

Availability: On sale May 14, 2024

[desceros]

How do you feel so motivated to write all the time? I have a fic of my own that I’ve been working on for a few months and have been posting but I’ve lost all the momentum I once had for it and only have 3 chapters left that I need to write. Whenever I sit down to write it I can never seem to put more than a few words down before I either work on something newer or just give up for the day. Sorry for the small vent I’m just trying to find ways to get back to it 💜💜💜💜

oh, that's easy—i don't! i have really, really bad adhd. motivation isn't something i can count on for, uh, literally anything lmao. which is bad for, like, eating and sleeping with any sense of regularity, but good in terms of me having learned how to do stuff i wanna do without motivation!

the first thing is consistency. i try really really hard to write every day, even if it's only a little. i have a folder in my icloud for daily exercises, and that's where i write little 500-1000 word snippets if i don't have a proper fic or novel that i'm working on. it's just a single scenario, single blip kind of thing. This has made it so that my brain expects me to write, every day, even when i'm not particularly motivated by one plot or another. though don't beat yourself up if you don't write in a day. that's pretty hard for me, but it's very important!

second, kind of part of the first, is that i have a time set aside every day to write. it's actually first thing in the morning when i wake up, because i'm super excited to do it and it gets me out of bed like nothing else!! i don't check my phone, i don't think about work, none of that. i just roll out of bed and sit down at my computer and start writing. because i have a specific time for it, it's very easy for me to go oh. well this is my writing time. the time for writing. i shall go and write now.

third is to have lots of different things that you're very excited about. i'll usually have three or four ideas bouncing around in my head at one time, because it makes me think 'oh i need to finish x so i can get to y', just in case x ever gets too boring for me. but also—don't be afraid to switch projects! if something isn't meshing, don't force it. you'll grow to resent it, and yourself for not being able to create, and that negativity isn't conducive to a fun time. i like to have at least two things that i'm actively working on that are very different in tone. this way, i can bounce back and forth as needed if something isn't vibing one day for whatever reason.

fourth is to kinda... trick yourself a little. if i'm working on a long project and i need to stop for anything longer than getting another cup of coffee, i stop in the middle of a scene—but, very specifically, a scene in which i know what the next step is going to be. sometimes, i'll even go down a line and put what the next action is, if it's really gonna be a while. that way, the next time i come back to it, i reread the scene, and by the time i get to the place where i'm supposed to start writing again, the flow is there. it's much easier to pick up in media res vs having to start a new section.

so yeah. motivation is fake, don't ever trust it, come up with a system that makes it so you never have to count on it ever again!