#like i remember vague stuff but none of the specifics

[horsegirlhob]

Made the mistake of watching an episode of Angel before bed now it's 5am and I'm going fucking insane about Wesley Wyndam-Price

[crazy-pages]

I'm going to throw my two cents in to the conversation about why James Somerton didn't get caught earlier. Part of the answer is of course that he did get caught, he just bullied and lied to get away with it for a while, but I know a lot of people still express confusion. And of course he went out of his way to make sure his audience didn't know about other queer history sources other than himself. But still. How could he have so many viewers of his videos and none of them had seen X source material?

Well. To be blunt, most of his videos were pretty basic. He tended to copy the highlights of what he was plagiarizing, not the really advanced stuff. And insofar as he copied the advanced stuff, he had a tendency to chop it up and serve it out of context alongside other plagiarized work. The material he was presenting was revolutionary to an audience unfamiliar with queer history, but like. I'm guessing 'Disney villains are queer coded' is not exactly a new concept to the kind of people who read multiple books about queer coding in film.

Now I'm not a film studies person, I'm a physicist. But you know what I do when I get a video in my YouTube recommendations about some fairly basic physics concept?

I skip it. No shade to the creator, but like. I hit that topic a decade ago and I've added literally thousands of hours of studying and research to my brain since. I'm just going to give it a pass, all right?

These kinds of videos self-select for an audience which isn't going to be familiar with the source material. The people who know it are unlikely to keep listening after the first minute or so.

And you've got to remember how much of this content the experts have consumed! With very few exceptions for weird little things that stuck in my head after all these years, I would probably not notice a physics explanation plagiarized from one of my textbooks! Not because I wasn't intimately acquainted with the textbook, but because I was intimately acquainted with many such textbooks. Spend enough time learning this stuff and it all blurs together a little bit. Does this explanation sound familiar because you've heard it before, or because you've just read books which cover this specific topic seven different times? And does that wording or that example ring a bell because it's plagiarized, or because it's common to the field?

Catching this kind of plagiarism requires having the kind of people who are already familiar with these sources, and therefore uninterested in video summaries on the topic, to watch the video. And among those people who do, it requires them to match Somerton's words to one specific source on the topic out of many, that they probably read quite some time ago. And then you have the filter of how many of those subject matter experts have the source on hand to check, to turn a vague "...hmm" into something solid.

If you know enough about queer history to say that some of his plagiarism was obvious, now that you've watched the video, then you should remember that there is a reason you probably weren't one of the people watching his videos! And because YouTube promotes videos through algorithmic engagement, none of this stuff has to pass the sniff test for any other expert in the field before it gets released. No experts have to like it for it to get published or for it to get good reviews or for it to get a recommendation in, I don't know, the New York Times.

The only people who have to like the videos for them to get traction are people who are just trying to learn introductory queer history and film theory. The exact people who aren't going to notice this. And for those of you who to whom it is obvious, ask yourself. When was the last time you watched a basic level queer history introduction on YouTube?

[yuri-is-online]

Soap Operatic Symphony (A Fyuuture Kid AU ft. Scarabia, Pomefiore, Ignihyde, and Diasomnia)

While camping in the mountains during Camp Vargas, you encounter a monster exactly like the one you fought off with Ace and Deuce at the beginning of the year. While trying to fight it off again, a strange portal opens up in the mine and a person jumps out of it to your rescue. He says he doesn't remember much, but it's clear when you bring him to Crowley that this boy is also from your world, despite being a mage, and until the headmage can think of a better solution, he assigns "Yutu" to your dorm.

Something a certain someone has an opinion about.

notes: yeah I have nothing to say for myself, I have other stuff I am supposed to be writing but this wrote itself ok? ok. Anyway this is a future kid au where your son has come back in time to try and prevent the end of the world but mostly to make sure you don't die. You can see this ask for a detailed explanation of what's up with Yuu and my masterlist for other fic. Oh and the other dorms can be found here.

Scarabia

In general, Jamil is going to be torn between being deeply suspicious of the entire situation and feeling like it's none of his business while Kalim is excited to meet a potential new friend.  How they act on those feelings changes depending on who Yutu is trying to interact with.

Kalim- anyone trying to get close to Kalim has to be watched obsessively by Jamil, and Yutu is no exception.  If anything the surveillance is worse due to the strange way he showed up, and Kalim doesn't like it but he understands.  For Yutu's part he seems really receptive to Kalim's efforts to befriend him, which is the furthest Kalim is going to think about it for a while, but he also notices the strange nostalgia and grief Yutu seems to feel when interacting with you and he really wants to help.  He's sure if Yutu would just talk about it, he could give him some good advice.  They get along really well!  But Yutu seems really reluctant to give out personal information… which Jamil really doesn't like. Kalim's sure he doesn't mean anything by it because of how apologetic he is! But he does sort of wonder if he's done something to make Yutu not feel safe around him... it makes him sort of sad.

Jamil- Once he got a look at that portal, Jamil realized that he didn't actually know what it looked like when you arrived at NRC.  He certainly remembers the mess Grim made, but not much about you beyond how confused you looked.  He'll have to ask about it sometime but for now, he's got questions.  Number one: who the fuck is this guy really?  His name isn't Yutu, he sure as shit isn't from your world, otherwise he couldn't be a mage, and his attitude towards you is just suspicious.  He has got to want something, and Jamil is torn between protectiveness of you and his adamant refusal to give himself anymore work.  It doesn't help that Yutu seems very apologetic to him specifically, he swears the kid seems to be apologizing for his entire existence.  It's weird, and he tells him to knock it off because it's not like he's his dad.  For some reason that just makes it worse.

Pomefiore

Vil- Epel is the one to tell him about the monster attack, the portal, and the strange protectiveness Yutu has towards Yuu.  That last thing doesn't bother him as much as you might expect, as soon as he learns that you're from the same world he thinks it's perfectly natural.  Admirable even.  The fake name and desire for privacy doesn't bother him either, as an actor both things seem normal to him.  What worries him is the idea that something very wrong is happening in the background that he doesn't know about, which he makes very clear to Yutu after sending Rook to distract you.  Yutu seems hesitant to trust him, and only offers vague warnings about making sure Yuu stays safe and keeping an eye on Grim.  Well now, they can both agree on that, and wouldn't it be easier if Yutu cooperated with him?  He's not going to take no for an answer.

Rook- Oh?  Ramshackle Dorm has a new member?  What a charming surprise!  He's sure this will lead to many new beautiful experiences.  And he's right!  Yutu is very beautiful, but there's something oddly familiar and yet… wrong about him.  Like he doesn't quite belong here, and not in the same way that you don't belong here.  He looks haunted, his interactions with you scream that he possesses (or to be more accurate used to possess) a relationship that can only have been built over several years.  But you clearly don't remember him, and there's a painful aura of grief in his interactions with you.  He also notices, with a great deal of joy, that the same grief is present when the little one speaks to him.  Just what could that mean? The hunter is in no rush, he'll find out what that means in time, for now he'll keep dropping in unannounced to test Yutu's reflexes. 

Side note: I don't speak French so I don't know if this would be the correct way to say it, but I like the idea of Rook's nickname for Yutu being Monsieur Caneton (Monsieur Duckling), because of how he follows Yuu around. Floyd's nickname I reserve the right to change depending on who Yutu's father is.

Epel- He starts off a hater, I am not going to lie.  Protecting you is something Epel takes a great deal of pride in; he wants to be seen as manly, as the protector, as someone who you think of as cool and trusts to provide for you.  So for a giant portal to open in the sky and drop a new guy determined to protect you from the monsters?  He hates it, he really does, and that's BEFORE Yutu starts living in Ramshackle Dorm.  He's determined to ignore him and not let him into the friend group, which proves impossible because of how Yutu follows you around so fine.  He can sit with you but ONLY IF he accepts that Epel was there first.  Something he's really surprised to see him do?  He should be more suspicious of why Yutu is constantly asking him for advice or acting like he's cool for being so possessive over you but well.  It's Epel he really wants to be seen as cool so he's just not going to think about it.

Ignihyde

Ortho- Ortho wasn't there to see the portal so he can't analyze it, but he can analyze Yutu!  And he immediately finds the Shroud family curse.  How curious, is this something he should tell his brother immediately?  Or should he skip the line and talk to their parents… decisions decisions but he doesn't have to wait for too long for an explanation.  Yutu explains himself pretty quickly when called out and Ortho is beyond excited to learn he's an uncle.  Less excited to learn about the impending apocalypse but he's sure they can fix it if they work together.  Now to double his efforts to get you and Idia together…

Idia- a second person has been isekaid to the NRC oh no.  Whatever will he do?  Well he intended to do nothing but Ortho isn't letting him.  For some reason he seems really determined to get him to hang out with you, almost like he knows about his crush he's been so good at hiding.  He can't complain too much, talking with you is weirdly soothing and much easier than he'd anticipated.  And Yutu's there too he guesses.  Sometimes they parallel play while Idia hangs out with you and that's nice.  It's sort of weird how in tune Yutu is with him though, sometimes he swears they could be related. A thought that Ortho is weirdly determined to encourage, and refuses to explain why... maybe he should be more worried about what anime little bro has been watching recently.

Diasomnia

Right so dragon biology is weird and our knowledge of half fae is very limited.  From how Sebek looks and how Malleus’s birth is discussed, I assume the eggs produced by love is exclusive to dragon fae and other species just get babies in the normal way.  All of that to say:

Malleus- Yutu is an oddity from the jump.  He looks very young, but insists he's around the same age as Yuu, and Malleus swears he feels his own magic is a part of him.  It's like a precious stone has grown some legs and started walking around and talking back to him.  He's a little bit in love, not the same way he's in love with Yuu, but much like a parent would think of a child… perhaps if they get closer he can offer him the night's blessing.  He does seem to be lacking it and that just won't do, something inside him says that needs to be fixed immediately.  Lilia questions him on whether or not he's jealous of how close the little one is to Yuu, which surprises him greatly.  Why would he be- well.  He does wish he could spend more time with Yuu but that sort of envy applies to everyone, not just Yutu.  And none of those guys are so unafraid of him to have made him a friendship bracelet so there. 

Lilia- a mage?  From Yuu's world?  How exciting!  He's very pleased to see how well he gets along with his boys and takes Sebek’s shouting in stride.  It's inspirational how quick he picks up on how gullible Sebek is and immediately starts telling-  well Lilia supposes he doesn't know they're outright lies but the scolding he gets from Yuu certainly suggests they are.  It's all very cute, and something he really wishes he could be a part of, but he knows his time is limited.  He'll just have to treasure these experiences while he's allowed them, something Yutu is very willing to help him do!  What a good kid, he'll have to tell him how proud his parents must be of him.

Silver- A portal, a monster, and a new mysterious person… it's concerning.  Something dangerous has got to be happening with how worried over you this new person is, his name is Yutu?  Weird but then his name is Silver so who is he to judge.  Anyway he introduces himself to Yutu and he asks why he came through the portal and… isn't really satisfied with his answers.  He doesn't think Yutu is a threat, not to Malleus anyway, but there's just something off about this whole thing and it's his task as a knight to make sure the people he loves are safe.  What's that?  Well of course you are one of those people.  You're very important and- why is Yutu looking at him like that.  He's telling the truth, what does he mean that makes it worse? Is it his face?

Sebek- Oh look another perfectly average human who is ok.  He guesses.  Not that he's thought extensively about you personally, only as a precaution to make sure you aren't disrespecting Lord Malleus, you get that right?  Him cornering Yutu with a strained look on his face and shouting at him about how to properly respect Lord Malleus is something he would do to anybody.  It has nothing to do with him assuming that if this person respects Lord Malleus they will be safe for "that human" to be around.  Unfortunately, Yutu is not just anybody and immediately starts yelling back accusing him of disrespecting you.  It's like there's two of them now, just with different biases, rip everyone's eardrums.

[ixiot-ghostrebel]

Ik this is more on the vague side, but ever since i read ur Irminsul headcannons about the reader in Imposter!SAGAU I got this idea, what if:

The reader could just remove info about themselves in the big tree lol - i mean, Scarab did it before might as well try it, no?

Irminsul itself might let us in without the permission of Nahida so we could go in undetected

Since looking through the memories of Irminsul might be like exploring an endless library, as long as you set your mind to it, you'd be able to find that info, like for example:

Memories about the "Creator"

Now, by now, you already know what I'm getting at, right?

Once reader finally figures out how to erase stuff by trying removing certain minor parts of Irminsul, they try to erase the entire memory of the "Creator" ever existing

Not as in like, they would forget that you were the Creator or that one exists, nor what they look like, but just the horrible memories and basically everything that the "Creator" did/made

But now, one would wonder, what would happen now?

I'd guess that, since the "Creator" is believed to love everyone, why is the one on the throne ruling and acting so... Tyrannical?

In my opinion, I feel like a rebellion would ensue sooner or later

But then, since Scarab lost his own memories when he removed himself from Irminsul, wouldn't that also mean the same thing for the "Creator" themselves?

Anyways, feel free to procrastinate and take your time on my take on reader being able to remove info on Irminsul hehe (bc honestly I'd also do that lmao)

Signing off, 🐱 Anon

WE GOT A 🐱 ANON NOW, BOIS—OPEN THE CURTAINS, OPEN THE LIGHTS! CUE THE CLAPPING AND CHEERING AUDIO TRACKS!—

Alright I'm done making a fuss about that lol—here's the headcanon/jot note version of a oneshot of everything that happens since my motivation was running low on oneshots/short stories.

Disclaimers: N/A

Reader Has Entered Irminsul...

Reader is in their Hunted Arc rn, getting chased by all of Teyvat under the "Creator's" orders. They keep running and running and running...

They're getting tired, and they soon find themselves in a dead end. They think of all the places they haven't been to yet: the desert of Sumeru, Inazuma, Mt. Aocang, Mt. Hulao, Wuwang Hill, irminsul—

Yeah, you guessed it. Just by thinking of irminsul, Reader has made it to the big 'ol Tree of Knowledge :D

Reader is shocked—surprised. But not for long—because they start to panic. They aren't sure if Nahida was on their side or not, like what the sagau fanfics say.

In fact, Reader is mainly scared that she already knows they're here.

That is, before the Reader feels a sudden urge to make it to the Tree of Knowledge. As if irminsul is calling for them specifically. They're weary of what this all means, but at the same time, intrigued.

It was the first time they felt like this. So, naturally, they followed what their gut was telling them, hoping that they won't regret this decision.

Reader gets close to the tree, surprised that they managed to make their way to it without requiring access from Nahida or even getting lost just to navigate the route to get there.

The moment they touch irminsul's trunk, however, the Reader feels a sudden blast of information, as if Teyvat itself is giving them the resources to know what to do.

By the time Nahida feels something from irminsul and she arrives to see what's up, it's too late. The Reader's already made the change.

All tyranny of the "Creator" was erased. None of it happened. Not once, not ever. The Palace of the Creator was never created, the Imposter themself never took on any throne...nothing.

Reader comes back to Mondstadt, hoping that what they did worked.

It did. No one remembers what the Creator looks like. There was no Imposter impersonating them. Reader was free.

They were free! They did it! They could travel the entire world now without risking getting killed! They could finally find a portal home!

Except...they forgot the Traveler existed. But even the Traveler is glad there is no more tyranny.

Andd, that's all I got! Sorry if it's short lol—I ran out of ideas for this :') I hope it's okay for y'all.

See you all around! :D

Ghost Rebel Side Notes: So, as I've been writing this, I'm going to give you guys a little update on something that you all really enjoyed in the past.

So, you know "Forever In My Hold" and "A Path Beyond Hope" oneshots? Yes, this is regarding of the little series that has been created. I have decided that I will be making a Part 3, but it will take a very long while. And it will be the LAST PART of the series. I just can't find the motivation to continue it longer.

Also: Should I do a remake of Live or Die? It's a very old writing of mine, back when I first began this blog. I'm not sure if y'all want to read it, but idk if I want to make a remake. Please let me know :)

[fricc-darn]

More dating B.E.N hcs but sprinkle in some love

(some BEN angst if you squint n slight warning for toxic relationships)

When it comes to BEN and affection it's a tricky situation. It only cares about other moon children in the network. For other people, the concept of love is not on their mind. Due to that, it's not often you'll experience loving moments with them.

Their love is rare and will take time to form as this is reserved for a specific kind of person. Someone who it enjoys the presence of. A person who's a pleasure to mess with but isn't too easy. Someone who keeps things interesting. The perfect toy? In a sense yes! This type of love is genuine. It's truly a weird scenario because BEN continues to be a menace while attempting to be sweet.

Of course, these acts should be appreciated to some degree. At least attempts are being made. Despite how flawed these acts are, it's treatment others don't see. You should feel lucky that you're an exception. The last thing BEN wants is for you to end up dead. Though if you have gotten this far, you'd certainly know to appreciate these moments.

BEN's words of affirmation are just as concise and vague as their regular speech. When it compliments you at worst it's backhanded. At best they come off as someone talking to a beloved pet. Occasionally, it'll complement you in an odd amount of detail. Pointing out quirks that you don't even notice.

Now, if they really like you they have a tendency to info dump. Though they try to keep it at a minimum. They wouldn't want you getting too curious and becoming nosey.

For the most part; simple phrases like "I love you." or "Cute." work fine. It'll take time for you to figure out whether or not BEN is being genuine. Even when you get the hang of it, there's still a nagging uncertainty present. This process would be much easier if they weren't so deceitful. The first time BEN loosely said the words 'I love you' it was out of the blue during a flurry of obsessive messages and threats. They refused to elaborate until much later and took whatever response you had as a yes.

At first, it only communicates with you online or through poltergeist-like activities. They'll even appear in your dreams as individual moon children. These dreams are surprisingly pleasant in comparison to the nightmares. With a substantial amount of trust, you learn more about the spirits as individuals.

Hearing the bits and pieces of what they remember about their past really makes sense of their behavior. Just don't even think about pitying them. Even if its well meaning, the outcome won't be in your favor.

None of them can stand being vulnerable. Especially if they don't have the means to take over the situation. In those almost unthinkable scenarios, it would trigger them into emotional distress. Which isn't something you'd expect from BEN of all people. To avoid that, they lead you to the information with breadcrumbs.

When BEN decides to appear physically, things really get fun!

They aren't too fond of physical affection. You can ask, but it will often result in a no. They have to be the ones to initiate it. There are plenty of reasons but it's mainly for the comfort of each moon child. You'll quickly learn who hates being touched, who doesn't mind, or who enjoys it.

Dealing with BEN is like dealing with a cat with an awful attitude. A spiteful shithead to its core. When they're not toying with your stuff, they'll come up to you whenever they feel like to bother you. From hugging, breathing down your neck, or maybe even biting you. The ladder isn't always ideal since BEN has way too many teeth. When this happens, it doesn't have much of a care for what you're doing or if you want to be bothered. BEN has some major cuteness aggression towards you. They play rough and oddly enough they're pretty strong.

Hugs and hand holding are the most common form of affection you'll get. When you're asleep they might even decide to cuddle with you. Be warned, BEN will take up most of the bed for no good reason. You also have to be prepared for potentially getting scared half to death in the middle of the night. Besides the distorted whispers, it's uncanny generated face will stare at you while you sleep. When you sleep with them it doesn't feel like a person is sleeping next to you. It's more like a general presence. BEN's skin is cold more often than not. Its skin seems to get warm off of your body heat or if there's something going on inside of its head. At least they're soft and squishy.

Can BEN kiss? Sorta. Its kisses are chaste and usually on the cheek. They're a prude, and a super hypocritical one at that. If they happen to kiss you on the lips it's essentially like kissing a mannequin with synthetic skin. It's cold and awkward. They're artificial in almost every sense of the word. Its mouth is the texture of gooey silicone with a long tongue and plenty of teeth. Kissing it is an experience that only you get to have. BEN really tries to be a good kisser but it just doesn't work out. It may be a questionable kisser but it's not sloppy. For that has no appeal, BEN prefers kisses to be simple and clean.

[meanbossart]

A long over-due ask compilation (Art & Music)

It's vaguely based on a short story from the book "The Consumer" by Michael Gira, specifically "The Boss". I think it came up in conversation with a friend or something when I was picking a new username, so that's how we arrived at it - this was almost a decade ago so, my memory on it is a little hazy!

{MORE UNDER THE CUT]

HAHA thank you so much!!! Glad you enjoy what I do 😎🍻

I BELIEVE this little guide I put together over here might be helpful to you, also! I touched on pretty much everything you brought up.

As for reference material when it comes to facial expressions, I have a mirror next to my desk which I glance at often and make weird faces at LOL and for consistency, it's really a matter of learning to dissect and remember facial structure. It's just something you end up developing an eye for when you've done it for long enough! Naturally, if we're talking about drawing existing characters, it's always helpful to just look at some pictures of their mugs and take a minute to define what features about them make their faces recognizable - I touch on this at the link above as well!

I do plan on making a "drowstarion" (love that, by the way LOL) playlist eventually, life's just been kicking my ass and I hardly have the time 😭and when I do, I just wanna draw.

Otherwise I don't have any other playlists floating around at the moment, BUT the one my boyfriend made for his Vellioth comic can be found here, and it might scratch a similar itch!

Thank you! I believe this was in reference to this post. Something like that takes me about... An hour??? If we're talking just the colors, at least. Though that's a really rough estimate because I take a lot of breaks, so my sense of time when I work ends up pretty skewed. Even if the application of the colors themselves took less than 20 minutes I probably spent 2 hours just staring at it LOL.

My friend, I have no idea. I'm in a constant battle between "I want to draw more realistically" and "I want to simplify my art so I can draw more/faster". What you see is the result of that ongoing brain-tug-of-war.

Also, just the way I assume everyone else develops theirs - they see stuff they like and emulate it until their art is Frankensteinish enough to be it's own unique thing!

I'm far from a Type O Negative buff, BUT I'm happy to share some of my favorites with you! They're quite scattered across a couple of their albums so I'm not sure I have a favorite, but I would say October Rust is a good starting point.

In no particular order, these are my most listened tracks of theirs: -Love You to Death -Black N.01 -Haunted -She Burned Me Down -Can't Lose You -I Don't Wanna Be Me -Be My Druidess -September Sun -Tripping A Blind Man

Alas, I was one of those people who was already drawing in kindergarten 😅 though I would say I only started taking it seriously when I was around 15-16 years old. As someone who has tried their hand at several other hobbies since reaching adulthood, I get what you're saying that it can kinda feel like... You missed the wagon? I've felt that way about all kind of things lol

That said, I've seen adults managing to develop their art skills extremely fast and effectively before. Understanding where and how you need to improve, and how to follow lessons/guides best is something that is vastly improved by maturity and knowing how to best hone your time, attention, and resources - and those are skills we completely lack as children. So, I sincerely believe that as long as you commit yourself, you can definitely get to a point that you're happy with in a couple of years if not less.

JUST DO IT BUDDY we are all just people looking through a screen and you won't ever see, talk, or meet 99% of the folks who ever clap eyes on what you post. Whenever you start getting nervous about sharing something, take a minute to ask yourself why you're nervous, and if none of the reasons have any genuine substance besides being afraid of what people "might think", just go ahead and post it. You're no mind-reader after all, and if you are, I doubt you can hear what a guy from Argentina or wherever is thinking about the art you made.

Point is, nobody online can touch you 🤷and if someone doesn't like what you do, they can simply choose to not interact with it, and if they do you can block and move on. There are zero reasons for you to feel "bad" about putting up a doodle when our experiences on the web are so easily curated nowadays.

[illarian-rambling]

@davycoquette with the fun question games again!

Get to Know the Writblr

Gonna put this under a cut because it got long, but feel free to treat this as an open tag if you want to hop on!

On the Tumblr Writing Community:

How long have you had your writing Tumblr/Writeblr?

Since the beginning of the year, maybe? Sometime in February, I think.

What led you to create it?

I was feeling pretty lonely having no one to talk to about my writing. None of my real-life friends are writers and I'm really terrible at expressing my interests verbally, so I figured online might be the place to go. So far, I've been right!

What’s your favorite thing about the Writeblr community?

Oh, the people, for sure. It's incredibly rare that I come across anyone being less than supportive on here. No matter our skill level, I really feel like every writer on here has a sense of being in this shit together.

What’s one thing you’d like your mutuals to know about you?

Hmmm.... I'm pretty open about sharing things about myself, so idk if there's anything major I haven't touched on yet. I wake up at 4am every morning for work, so if you see me posting at an egregious time, that's why. Also, if you ever want martial arts tips for your fight scenes, I'm your gal!

Is there anything you’d like to see more of on your dash?

I love it when people make memes of their ocs. Makes me giggle every time.

What tips/advice do you have for someone who made a Writeblr today?

You gotta interact with people. I know it can be scary, but even a reblog with no tags can make another writer smile. Chances also are, if you leave a nice comment on someone's work, they might check you out and leave a nice comment on yours! A community isn't a community unless you go out and commune :)

WIP it Good:

Which Works-in-Progress (WIPs) or writing projects are you noodling about, lately?

Lately, I've been juggling writing my first draft of Mortal God book 3 (tentatively title being The Machinations of Machine and Man) and going over @kaylinalexanderbooks lovely comments on MG1. My ghost ship project is also on a low simmer in the back of my brain, but I'm trying to leave that until I'm done with MG3.

How long have you been working on them?

Good lord, I started MG1 about... almost two years ago now? Damn, it feels like it's been so much longer. But hey, three book drafts in two years ain't bad! Honor's Outcasts, which is largely written by now, I started about three years ago.

Do you remember what inspired them/what got you started?

The two main characters of MG started as a vague daydream, which then became two important dnd npcs along with MG's main villain. I ended up liking them all so much that I wrote a short story which became *drumroll* three entire books! A lot of my inspiration came from Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and the Foundryside Trilogy of books. I can't think of anyone specifically who inspired the characters, except that Astra was originally based on the archetype of the silent wandering cowboy/samurai as seen in a lot of Kurosawa films and old westerns. For anyone familiar with her, uh, things changed quite a lot.

How much time, in your best estimation, do you spend thinking about them?

At least ten percent of my brain's storage is dedicated to my wips at all times. As for how often I'm actively thinking about them... it's also quite a lot.

When someone asks the dreaded, “What do you write about,” question, what do you usually say?

"Uh, fantasy stuff?" is my go-to.

What do you want to say (if it’s different from what you do say)?

I really wish I had the ability to explain my wips as succinctly with speech as I do with writing, but alas. I would want to give a nice, book jacket blurb that doesn't give away too much of the crazy shit.

Let’s Rotate Blorbos:

Name any characters you created.

I think I'm really good at names, so we're gonna go down the list!

Izjik Meautammera

Sepo Kaiacynthus

Twenari Undetasib/Devaris

Djek Kagura

Astra DuClaire

Mashal Darezsho

Ivander Montane

Elsind Cavernsight

Duchon Avymere Kalaphon Spearsong III

Faalgun Falani

Nyda Burningrock

Kaulakri Ondohuroata

Pashananath

Anarac Fifth-Blood

Who’s the most unhinged?

Unhinged in terms of violence? Sepo for sure. Unhindered in terms of sheer chaos? I'm gonna go with Izjik and Djek as a duo. Between both of their high charismas and low intelligences, along with their combined expertise in fighting and creative uses of magic, they're unbeatable.

Who comes the most naturally for you to write?

Probably Izjik. I've been writing in her POV for the longest.

Do you ever cringe at them?

Sometimes yeah, when they do something real stupid. But, then again, I did make them that way.

How much control do you feel you have over your characters?

I think I know my characters really well and base my plot around their motives, so there really isn't a huge need for control.

Do you enjoy people asking questions about your characters?

PLEASE!!! FEED ME ASKS! I'LL TAKE ANYTHING!

On Writeblr Engagement:

What makes you want to follow another Writeblr account?

Probably creativity. I've read a looooot of fantasy/sci-fi, so if you're doing something I've never seen before, I'll probably give you a follow.

What makes you decide against following?

Any kind of hateful rhetoric or someone who doesn't want 18+ interaction. Other than that, I think it's important to follow people who write different genres or have different methods than me.

Do you interact with non-mutuals often?

I wouldn't say so. I get a little shy doing that.

Do your mutuals’ characters occupy space in your noodle?

The characters of @kaylinalexanderbooks @mk-writes-stuff and @somethingclevermahogony all have a little place in my brain. Favorites from each include Robbie and Akash (not to be separated), Narul and Bop (love me a good living weapon/teddybear of a dude team-up), and Nellie and Stellaris (their earnest kindness makes my heart happy). If you haven't yet, you should go check out their stuff and see for yourself!

And with that, thanks for reading! Go out and have yourself a bitchin day <3

[peggingprowl]

Hi. I've been having Rodimus/Rung thoughts today while at work <3

CW: dubcon/noncon, weird religious stuff

I have a very specific scene in my mind of Rodimus in Rung's office, upset (something bad happened on an away mission? Something 'tramatic' enough for him to be forced by Medical to go)

Regardless, he doesn't want to be there. And he tells Rung just as much. But he feels *very guilty* and insecure about his leadership skills etc. and the LAST thing he wants to do is to *talk to Rung about it*

Rung Does Not Let Him.

He's his favorite after all. He can't leave him like this, so sad and unable to see how brightly he shines. (If I do this right, it should be just a... tad unsettling)

So Rung breaks down those walls. Rodimus tries to bluster and pretend he's perfectly fine, but Rung can see right through him. Rodimus is getting defensive and a bit angry. He gets up to leave, but he's unable to. Next thing he knows, his head on Rung's lap as he soothingly pets him, cooing about how special he is.

And Rodimus is confused, just like, how do you know? What would you know? And Rung gives him a little indulgent smile and tells him that of course he knows. He chose him, after all.

This confuses Rodimus, obviously. But the way Rung is petting him is so nice... And he's practically melting at the praise that Rung is raining down on him. He's never felt so relaxed, it's so nice, he didn't realize he was so tense....

And huh. What do you know. Rung continues to pet him, moving down and soothing him, practically giving him a massage now, and that, combined with the praise he keeps cooing at Rodimus is starting to charge him up.

He feels a bit embarrassed about it, but Rung reassures him that it's okay, he's doing great, he's so beautiful and perfect. He's doing *exactly* what Rung wants. And it feels so, so, nice,and Rodimus is practically floating.

Rung smiles again and asks him something like "Now be my perfect Prime, and open that panel for me. Let me take care of you"

And Rodimus does. In fact, he was only intending to open his interface panels, but whoops, he's opened his chest panel as well and now his spark is showing. He goes to close it, but Rung stops him.

Rung reaches up one hand up to it and remarks about how it's judt as beautiful as he remembers (which, Rodimus doesn't think Rung's ever seen his spark? But then Rung *caresses his spark* and he's completely forgotten about it)

So now Rung is playing with Rodimus' spark at the same time he's slowly fingering Rodimus, all the while he's peppering him with praise. And Rodimus is GONE. He's left orbit. Nothing in his processor except praise and pleasure.

And Rung is *so* delighted. THIS is how his favorite Prime should be, should feel. He's so happy that Rodimus is letting him do this for him. (Is he, really though? Does Rodimus want this? Or has Rung simply forgotten how much his will can influence the world? Does the fact that Rodimus carried the Matrix leave him more susceptible to his influence? Or maybe it's none of these at all.)

Regardless of what the answer actually is, he continues, it doesn't matter in the end when he has Rodimus panting on his lap, overwhelmed with pleasure. And he will gladly lead his precious, favorite Prime into overload. Rodimus has the best, most processor-blowing orgasm of his fucking LIFE. and the last thing he remembers seeing, with how floaty and pleasure-hazy everything was, was Rung smiling above him.

When he next wakes up, he's alone in his berthroom, no evidence of what happened on his frame and uncertain on if it actually happened. The more he wakes up, the less he remembers, until only a vague sense that *something* happened with Rung, possibly? Eh, doesn't matter. what he DOES notice is that he feels... A lot better now? It's like he has a voice in his head whispering his doubts away. It's nice. He's happy, and ready to get into whatever their next adventure is. And when he's racing about the ship, he speeds past Rung, and he takes a moment to wave, his spark skipping at the smile Rung sends back

[elisedonut]

Speaking of PaperSeer

I've been meaning to post all the propaganda i did for them for that Ship Battle separately because I want it be in it's own thing vs hiding in the rbs

None of this is new if you were following those but I like having it all in one place

It's just a bunch of fun concepts or reasons i think they would be cute

Ex-boyfriends older brother? Ex-BFs Older brother!! because that's always so fun and adds some cool drama

OR

on the other hand Dating your crushes little brother specifically because they are related and you have little chance with the older one

They could bond over divination, which has the added effect of Lavender probably not expecting him to like it at all so it's a nice surprise for her when he does.

Could also be used to make a Mentor/Mentee relationship that changes as the years pass

Lavender sending him letters all the time in that first year after he graduates under the guise of wanting help when in reality the poor girl just has a crush.

And Percy is Percy so having someone just want his help with something is just such an easy way for him to become fond of someone.

Something about Lavender I've begun to notice makes me want to pair her with people older than her and while Percy is still close-ish in age his personality would most likely emphasize that gap a bit which is a plus to me

I'm a firm believer in the Percy was very lost after the war concept and in a world where Lavender lives she would be too which also gives them a good jumping point

Like Lavender stays with the Weasley's after the war but with so many people in the burrow there's just too much noise for her because trauma from the war so Percy ends up inviting her to stay with him instead. Which has the added benefit of being good for both of them.

TransGirl!Percy/Lavender would be so much fun I love the concept of TransGirl!Percy with the most high fem girly pop girls I can find and Lavender is no exception to that

Ok so I'm going to add on some extra thoughts to one of the more vague concepts i shared before because its been living rent free in my head

So-

the concept of Lavender ending up staying with Percy for awhile after the war

Maybe she lost everyone in the war (by death or by being abandoned by her family you know either way) Maybe she's just having strong self hatred hours over being scarred and doesn't want them to see her.

Whatever the reason she can't/won't go home.

And Percy lets her stay with him because maybe his family pushes him into it. Maybe he just feels bad about her situation.

if its a Werewolf!Lavender situation where she was abandoned by everyone because of it maybe he just relates to that feeling and invites her because of his feelings of never being able to do enough during the war regardless of how much he had done.

Point is it happens and after a few weeks their able to help each other with things they both struggle with

Percy flat that's been borderline empty since moving in starts filling up with just stuff like obviously you know the normal house stuff he hadn't bothered with.

A couch here. A table there. but also like random stuff. Lamps. Curtains that actually look nice. Rugs. Little things just start filling the place out and Percy realizes more and more that the clutter is nice and is finally making the flat that's been the place he'd slept for years at this point actually feel like a home to him.

How does Lavender get all that stuff? I was mostly thinking odd shops personally like I always envision Percy's flat as in London so despite having not checked for the time frame. I imagine there would be quite a few shops to choose from.

Also having multiple people who are bad at taking care of themselves in general but who are decent at remembering different things in the same house. Means they can help each other with the parts they struggle with more.

In their case I do think a big one would be Percy making sure she's actually eating and Lavender trying to keep him from working to much its basic but i think it works for them.

I think Lavender dives even more into divination post war and that's what she does for like work after awhile. I also think she originally had no intention of going back to Hogwarts to redo her seventh year but Percy manages to convince her too with the promise that she can still stay with him on breaks and after she graduates/

mostly because that being a big catalyst of them realizing they have like feelings feelings after being apart is cute to me

Like Percy comes home from work every day and is just like oh- right like it's for the best and he firmly believes that but he misses the company you know?

Lavender is also having a not great time. She's no coward but that doesn't make returning to Hogwarts after everything that happened in her last year not terrible regardless. She's on high alert the whole time and can barely focus on anything because of it. Even her readings are not going as well. She keeps catching herself thinking about Percy's flat as home.

In the end I think she ends up leaving the school and just like taking her owls at a later date because she just doesn't want to deal with it.

Which also means you get Percy helping her study for it which is really cute

I'll also add all my original, more diverse thoughts I added to their first round below a read more!

We are back to just random thoughts because I don't think I have enough of any specific concept to talk too long

So- Lavender while doing a divination reading seeing that her last love will have red hair and during this time she's still with Ron and as any girl her age just assumes that's who the sight is telling her about

she doesn't really think about it to to much after they break up until she's laying on the cold ground assuming she's not going to make it and then its all

ah- last love because it's my only real chance of it

But then you know in this scenario she does manage to make it somehow

maybe someone is able to stop fast enough to put a statis spell on her or something

Oh a soulmate au where you can save you're soulmate from certain death one single time even if they're technically already gone? that could be fun with them Like maybe as everyone's gathering up the rest of the dead after Voldy's gone and Percy's throwing himself into helping to try not to think about Fred too much and after carrying her for a minute she just wakes up that would really neat

Plus now all i can think about is everyone in the school touching legit everyone that died

you know just in case

just everyone going in a circle and holding every corpses hand for a few moments

could be used as a set up for a lot of interesting ships ngl

Anyway back to the topic at hand

In a scenario where most of the Weasley's hadn't seen much of Lavender after the war just imagine how funny that first time Percy brings her over would be

everyone would be so confused and I think it would be hilarious

[officialgleamstar]

Personal DnDads Pride Headcanons

some of these are simple but most are paragraphs long because of who I am as a person (incapable of saying things concisely), so they're going under a readmore. vaguely organized by age group.

one quick note: feel free to cheer on or rag on any of these that you please, variety in opinion is the spice of fandom life! everyone's headcanons are so real and valid to me, i am a strong believer in having as many contradicting fandom opinions as you want. for this list, i just went with everything that is "default" to my fan content. others' transfem sparrow is shaking hands with my gnc sparrow and yes, i'm listing that one on purpose, because if you make fun of transfem sparrow, you are getting hit by my bat. be fucking nice.

please enjoy!

Season 1 Dads and Spouses

Carol is a lesbian. This is simply canon to me. It’s important that this is first and visible to everyone.

Bi/pan polyamorous Henry and Mercedes is also simply canon to me. Honestly that one might be fully canon based on some of the things that happen in Odyssey

Henry is unlabeled but in the sense that he calls himself ‘queer’, ‘bisexual’, ‘gay’, or ‘pansexual’, fully depending on his mood and the conversation happening

Ron is also unlabeled but in the sense that he has never thought about it in his life and isn’t intending to now

Glenn is bisexual but never talks about it unless someone else mentions it first, and he tries really really hard to never think about his gender once in his life. The queer angst I give Glenn could be a whole post of its own but just know he has issues. He does fuck men though

Darryl still isn’t really sure on his sexuality and probably never will be, but he’s actually explored it a bit, so that’s better than whatever the fuck was going on with him before the show started. Henry likes giving him subtle bear pride flag accessories because Darryl actually wears them a lot. His favorite color is brown, after all.

Jodie, Nicky, and Taylor all are bisexual with a preference for women. Sexuality isn’t genetic but it is for them specifically.

Morgan is also bisexual. Literally none of the season 1 parents are straight except maybe Samantha and even with her, my opinion fully matters on the day and how I’m feeling.

Henry and Lark have definitely had an exchange at some point where Lark asked him how it was to ‘experience twink death’, to which Henry just went ‘get back to me in a few years on that, kid.’ and Lark spent the rest of the week furiously moping because clearly, he’s a twunk, Father- (words of a man who did not take care of himself well enough from the ages of 18-25 to ever be a twunk)

This is my little shipper brain but Jodie only realized he liked men after being stuffed into the Odyssey and being around Ron 24/7 for months on end (and the demon stuff, but he didn’t know that yet for obvious reasons). In his timeline, he had a whole arc about it and now he’s persistently attracted to strange men who don’t make sense as well as women light-years out of his league. He’s still a little miffed that Henry doesn’t remember the very long conversations they had about it, but him and Nicky get to wear matching bi pride bracelets now, so he guesses it’s fine.

Kiddads and Spouses

Lark is bisexual. He has known this since kindergarten when his parents explained what the flag all over their house was and has never thought about it since.

Lark also helped Rebecca realize she was bisexual because she would ask him about it in a class they shared in high school

This is utterly unrelated to LGBT headcanons but I think Veronica and Rebecca grew up in San Dimas with the kiddads, and were friends with them in high school. It just makes sense to me

Unlabeled Terry Junior is something that can be so personal to me. In a general sense, he likes everyone romantically, and identifies enough with the asexual spectrum to wear an ace ring, but he doesn’t really see the point in putting a name on it. He’s just Terry Junior and he’s happy with that.

Him, Lark, and Nicky did have a group chat called ‘bisexuals with an agenda’ in high school though, where they would make plans for pranking or otherwise harassing their fathers during group outings. Terry loves Ron but that does not mean he is above ruining his day. It’s done with affection.

My thoughts on Sparrow could be a full fanfiction but gonna try to keep it simple (retroactive edit: did not keep it simple). Sparrow is the token cishet of the kiddads, but in the queerest way possible. He’s an Oak-Garcia, of course he’s explored himself very thoroughly. At current, he identifies as gender non-confirming cis man, but he has had periods of his life where he transitioned and then detransitioned. In early high school, he identified as non-binary. From senior year up until just before Hero was born, he lived as a trans lesbian. He doesn’t see these periods as phases, just as his identity changing over time. Currently he’s perfectly happy identifying as a man, but wouldn’t be wholly shocked if he transitioned again. Calls himself “cis but gender is obviously, massively, a social construct and so it feels unfair to expect myself to fit into these boxes when identity can be so fluid and-”

Rebecca still calls him her wife, and also a granola lesbian or MILF from time to time because it makes him laugh, and while Nicky was still in his life, he would send Sparrow trans memes a lot. Sparrow also has always liked being seen as non-binary, he sees it as ‘winning at being androgynous’. Competitive to the sense of nonsensical Sparrow my beloved

Sparrow always wears women’s clothing but that’s for autistic reasons. They just fit nicer for his brain. It helps the gender(tm) thing though, he near exclusively wore hand-me-downs from Mercedes throughout all of high school

Sorry for talking so much about Sparrow. He’s my favorite character so he is the focus of many of my thoughts. Anyways

Never been a huge fan of the ‘Grant was outed by his crush in the Forgotten Realms’ headcanon, I think Grant came out about a year beforehand. Long enough where everything about it has settled but it’s still new enough that Darryl forgot for a split second and thought Grant might have a crush on Killa during the Four Knight arc. He’d known he liked boys a while before that, and also his parents kind of figured he was gay most of his life since he had 95% girl friends

Marco is pansexual! He met Grant in college because he worked the front desk of their dorm building and would always wear a bunch of pride pins

Nicky was Grant’s first good friend who was a boy, I like to think that they were childhood friends. Grant announced this to his dad at the age of 10 by going “Nick Close is transgender now, so that means you don’t have to worry about me only talking to girls because he’s a boy.” and Darryl went “…Alright?” and then googled what ‘transgender’ means

Speaking of, Nicky realized he was trans because of Mulan. Both Glenn and Jodie, in their respective timelines, googled ‘How do I know if my daughter is a lesbian’ before he came out because Nicky would rewatch the reflection song so often and also the tomboy-isms. Everyone felt very stupid for being surprised when he cut all of his hair off, cried, and asked to change his name

T4T Nicky and Cassandra is canon and they rubbed it into everyone's faces when they were together, Anthony is just afraid of the truth

Cassandra is trans het. I love trans het people more than anything and I love her so this makes sense to me.

Veronica is non-binary, in the sense of “girl but to the left”. They/she pronouns, calls themself a girlie and a mom but not a woman, dresses in a kickass pantsuit at formal events. I’m also in love with her

Season 2 Teens and Friends

Hero and Normal are both trans. When Hero came out, Sparrow sat Normal down to explain why Hero was now a sister instead of a brother and Normal responded with “Well, that’s not fair. How come Hero can be a girl but I can’t be a boy?!” and Sparrow just stared at him for a really long time before going “You can be a boy, honey.” and they went thrift shopping as a family for new clothes the next day

Normal is stealth trans, mostly because Hero is the same way and he copies her, but also because it doesn’t really occur to him that he passes. He just figures that people knows even though he is on testosterone and binds and presents masculine. It helps that his family presents pretty gender-neutral as a whole, so most people assume he had long hair as a kid because his parents are hippies. They had a son and daughter, both with long hair. They now have a daughter and a son, both with short hair. To the general populace, nothing has changed, they just misremembered which kid was older.

Taylor is a demi-boy and spends every year growing more and more feminine. Definitely calls their gender something like ‘boy with a dash of girl on the side’ with their friends. Growing out his hair was a newer thing and he regrets cutting it, even if it was a super cool sequence and he looked like an anime protagonist, because he liked how it framed his face.

Cassandra has always maintained an openness about her trans identity, so Taylor’s the same way. He’s always got the he/they pronoun pin on (I figure this is normalized by the time of season 2, but he’s just very pleased about it), he has a variety of trans and non-binary pride pins that he cycles through, and they like painting their nails because it’s an easy way for them to feel a little more feminine.

Cassandra’s living room is decorated with a massive trans pride flag and LED lights. The first time the teens walk into Taylor’s home, Scary says “it looks like a Twitch stream in here” at the same time that Normal says “it looks like my sister’s room in here” and they high-five while Taylor yells at them to be nice.

Hermie is genderfluid and uses any pronouns. This is real to me. He has my own teenage trait of gender shifting every three hours and never knowing what to do about it and he will be suffering with this until he exits puberty, at which point he gives up and just sees what gender other people choose for him.

Hermie is also pan/ace! No further thoughts here. She just is.

Erica just goes by queer because she doesn’t think the common passerby deserves to know her rich inner life and she’s right, they don’t

I tend to say a lot that all of the S2 kids are bisexual, and I represent them as such, but I truly believe that Lincoln and Normal both have no idea what’s going on with their sexualities. They say they’re bisexual for bisexual teen squad reasons but Normal is going through a constant crisis of “Am I gay or bisexual?” and Lincoln looks up the definition of aro/ace on a weekly basis. Neither of them will ever express this until Scary goes “maybe I’m not bisexual, actually.”

On that note, Scary is a lesbian but she’s not going to realize that until college. For now, she’s rocking with the bisexuality and pretends it’s not weird that her ‘crushes’ on boys feel wildly different than her crushes on girls. Yes I am projecting. This is not a secret. We project onto Scary here.

[cursedfortune]

Can you list a few words that have the vibe of Mortem? It can be objects, phrases, descriptors, metaphors. I gotta know the symbolism you got in your head for her

@malefikant

To be honest, it gets summed up in Witch. And that's really just specific to my canon and what witches are in it. Despite some grounding similarities people have with witches, I've learned over the years it's very personally perceived what that word means and how it takes shape. I have two friends with witches, them and I all have a lot of similarities and agreements on what it means. But we also have differences in the presentation. Whether that's due to different narratives or different perspectives.

So everything about Mortem is just summed up in Witch. It encapsulates her species, her purpose/duties, her beliefs, her everything.

But because I feel like that's kind of a lame or vague answer, since it means more to me and is hard to explain my perspective on. I'll just like, list some stuff I've drawn in relation to her specifically. Or repeatedly draw attention to.

Readmore because long and an unpleasant mention of things.

Objects/Descriptors?

A shattered sword, kept in a box and regularly taken out to meticulously clean. Only to be sealed back up and rarely see the light of day.

A bag of holding. A shade of blue like the night, with an ever-changing embroidery so none can ever give a description of it.

A lock of dirty blonde hair, tied off in the middle with a black ribbon. From her mother. It sits high in a box atop her kitchen cabinets, along with other personal mementos that belonged to her. As if to watch over this homestead when Mortem is there and especially when she isn't.

An unusual wand from an unusual and broken fae. She never uses it, but she carries it until the day he feels well enough to reclaim it.

The beautifully embroidered tunic of a boy she saw become a king, only to be slain before his prime.

A full set of armor. Fixed up as well as it could be but still it bears the markings of fire. Faintly some claw and sword marks, as well.

Potion bottles hand crafted in the desert she called home for a little while, made by her dear friend at the time. A fellow witch and alchemist.

While it is not in her possession, she remembers still the weight of a golden crown. It wasn't cursed by magic, but by duty. From the first elf to the last of the true elves. She recalls staring into the infant eyes of dragons seated within the crown, like gemstones. It was meant to honor but it instead became a burden upon the one who'd reshape the world as all knew it.

Phrases/Metaphors?

The Love Song by J. Alfred Prurock I draw a lot of inspiration from over the years. I got attached to it as a kid. Some parts of it fits some other stories in this same shared universe as Mortem, but there is a consistent theme of this one passage that affects everyone in my story:

Do I dare Disturb the universe? In a minute there is time For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.

Mortem is one of the main background characters. You actually don't see a lot of her. In the arc of the story that takes place on her world, she's nearly mute and intentionally doesn't draw attention to herself until it's forcibly found out. Which is when she's convicted of treason and exiled. If you want to look for messages in her character, her role would be: Find purpose in life because time won't slow down for you. She has only her purpose, and when everyone else rejects her for it and she's left in isolation for 40k years roughly, she still has to continue and be unyielding to that. The story she is a part of doesn't need to be analyzed as having a message or assigning such roles. I intended for it to just be a story that can be enjoyed as it is. But the concept that started it came from the various forms of suicide ideation and the overarching villain and main protagonist both embody that. Which makes Mortem stand in opposition of both of them and why she tends to be aggressive towards Nestor (protag). The potential of life, life prospering to its fullest, life eventually returning to the cycle of death and whatever comes for them after is her whole deal. The overarching villain feels like a concept she can't understand fully and Nestor has so much fine potential but sets her off repeatedly lmao

When it comes to phrases and metaphors, I just kind of take in things like cycles, spirals, duality, unending forest, feet submerged in shallow water upon the beach - staring out into the ocean, threads and storms (and other natural events) into account. They have a lot of meaning for Mortem and in general, within a lot of history. Even if that's history that's lost on her by the time of her birth. Flowers are also very important. Funnily enough, not lavender. I mentioned it once on the blog as a scent she likes but it seems a lot of people associate her purple hair with it. Mort is just SIGHING. I love it though, I feel like it's a running gag now.

Beyond that, I take in a lot of inspiration from music I associate with her. Which... I need to update her list lmao. So I'll just link the posts I can find of her main jams. I also have the /tunes zone where I send them to, to rot.

Here. Here. Here.

I hope this answer suffices on what you were asking for. It's always nightmare mode to try to explain this even when I see it clearly all the associations I have with her. Thanks for inquiring, tho. <3

[moonlit-tulip]

Recently, for the first time in about two-and-a-half years, I've been playing around on this one gamified-fiction-writing site—4thewords—which I first discovered back in 2018. During the 2018-2021 era, it was the single most useful tool I'd found with which to get myself to Actually Write; but now, after I've done a bunch of hacking to find it easier to get myself to write via pure internal motivation without the need for extrinsic deadlines of the sort it uses... it's still the most useful tool I've found with which to get myself to Actually Write, and has accelerated my progress at writing my current short-story-in-progress from maybe a few hundred to a thousandish words a week up to a few hundred to a couple thousand a day. Because, apparently, even if I'm way ahead of where I was a few years ago internal-writing-motivation-wise, I'm still not so high up that external motivation can't serve as a very high-powered force-multiplier.

This is interesting, because the vast majority of the gamified-productivity platforms out there just sort of straightforwardly don't work for me.

After a bit of introspection, I realized that the big important differentiating factor is: 4thewords, unlike almost every gamified-productivity tool I've tried to use, has actually-vaguely-complex gameplay. It's not, like, actively good, as a game; it's not something I'd play if playing it didn't produce writing as a byproduct; but it has any depth as opposed to no depth. It has, like, monsters which can be fought (by writing a certain number of words within a certain time-limit) and will drop items when defeated, and quests to fight monsters and/or retrieve items, and equipment which increases the effectiveness with which one can engage in this process via multiple different stats and is attainable via a mix of buying-from-shops and crafting-from-materials and getting-from-quest-rewards, and so forth. Plus the more-standard stuff, a daily-streak system and an XP system and a character-portrait-onto-which-one-can-equip-cosmetic-gear and so forth; but none of those things did anything for me on Duolingo, so I don't think they're the active ingredient, more of a side-benefit. But overall: moderately-many interlocking systems, as well-made games tend to have.

And that got me thinking... 4thewords is really not much of an RPG. Its story-writing is unmemorable (to the point where I literally do not remember anything about the plot, after my two-and-a-half year break), its gameplay leans grindy, et cetera. And it's still miles ahead of the more-traditional gamified-productivity platforms—it's the only one that's ever worked for me—just on the basis of trying at all, not entirely phoning things in with a superficial dress of game-themed-ness over an utter lack of functioning gameplay-loop.

And that, in turn, has me thinking: if that's really the operative ingredient, then there's a huge market-niche sitting there just waiting to be taken advantage of. Other, less-specifically-writing-centric, gamified-productivity tools along similar lines, building real gameplay into their gamification rather than just "look, here's an XP meter and a daily streak system, isn't this motivating?".

Possibly there's some reason I'm missing why writing would be particularly amenable to this and extrapolating it to other sorts of productivity-which-people-might-want-to-gamify wouldn't work. Or possibly there are other gamified-productivity tools with real gameplay in this manner, even if I myself have failed to discover them. But, if not, this seems like a very good opportunity, one which I'm even almost tempted to try to pick up myself despite this being in fact probably unwise with how many other higher-priority todos I've got piled up.

[imminent-danger-came]

Yeah, David Breen had to write a tweet when the fan translated version of the Mandarin version of LMK came out. People were freaking out about Wukong being a deadbeat dad and debating on whether it was a d*ck move or Wukong recognizing that he had sh*t mental health and was not in the proper head space to take care of baby MK.

Also that memory? That was a vision MK had in Episode 3. He was helping Tripitaka with magic circle stuff, the vision broke in and interrupted the ritual, and all hell broke loose. It isn't an actual flashback to his childhood.

Thank you to the person who shared the screenshot in my notes! You're a real one. I'll put it here for easy reference:

First, I wanted to clear up that I didn't mean my questions in a "this is why it can't be true" way—cause it is true—but in a "these are the questions I have!" sort of way. I think that's how one person interpreted it and I'm like OH NO. MY QUESTIONS MEAN I'M INTRIGUED/WANT TO KNOW MORE I SWEAR.

Next, the visions in 4x03, 4x04, and 4x05 are different than what I think is a memory:

(4x03 The Great Tang Man) (Sending the curse one because like. what the fuck. what the fuck!)

-

(4x04 Pig Napped)

-

(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robbed Demon)

-

These are the visions of Sun Wukong trying to find MK in the scroll. They're different from what Subodhi presses MK to remember ("Tell me of your childhood, your parents." "You do not remember?" "And what else?"):

See the difference?

Every vision MK has includes the same scenes, except this one. That's why I think it's a memory; that and the way it's framed, with MK closing his eyes in focus. The other visions from 4x03, 4x04, and 4x05 all are unprompted, being forced upon MK. Why make this last "vision" so different from the others? Why show Guan Yin (?) making the stone monkey? That would be because it's a memory—be it MK's, something from the scroll, or a mix of both.

Monkey King not being MK's dad doesn't equate to him not being involved—MK being born from the stone means that he doesn't have any biological parents, it's a weird grey area. I also just can't imagine that Guan Yin (if it was her) made MK on top of flower fruit mountain and that Monkey King was none the wiser (edit: lol it was NOT on top of flower fruit mountain. Anyways, carry on!). I also don't know what other reason Sun Wukong would choose MK to be his "successor".

"Monkey King was ripping his way through memories looking for MK, but kept coming back to the stone. He doesn't know why."

I'll be honest, "he doesn't know why" is SUPER vague (which is good, can't have a writer spoiling the whole show on twitter lol). So, Monkey King doesn't know why he kept going back to the stone...what does that mean exactly? It's vague and up in the air, and it's phrased in such a specific way that I can't help but feel like Breen is being purposely misleading.

Either way, I don't really see the problem with Sun Wukong being a dead beat dad. Like he's not MK's dad, but if he were I don't understand what the issue with that is. Sun Wukong is an interesting character, he means well but he can also hurt others through the distance he builds around himself. In 3x05 Amnesia Rules he literally says "Can you imagine what I would be like if I didn't have friend's? I'd probably turn into a manipulative jerk!" Well, currently all of his past friend's are dead and he is a manipulative jerk. And I love him.

Sun Wukong is nuanced. He doesn't make the right choice all the time. The way he treated the main gang in s3 was fucking shitty ("how could you lead us into this fight without a real plan!?"). But he also doesn't intend to hurt people. He always has his own reasons. And, when he finally realizes the pain he's caused, he tries to make amends and put himself on the line. People "freaking out" about Wukong being a "dick" (which he kinda has been this whole time, he's a little shit and I love him) just reeks of purity culture.

AND THE FUNNY THING IS, WUKONG SPEAKS DIRECTLY AGAINST THAT:

“Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?” (4x01 Familiar Tales)

Wukong makes so many mistakes all the time. I don't know why in this instance it would be one step too far.

There's also just so much we don't know. We don't really know anything about MK's origins, or why he was created, or who created him, or what everyone knows/doesn't know. But I will say, whatever it is I'm excited for it!

[autogeneity]

Hey! I've decided to take up your recommendation of learning a martial art now I'll be in one place for long enough for taking classes there to feel worth it, and I was wondering if you had any advice for how to pick one. I could just stick with taekwondo since I already know some but I feel like trying something new might be more exciting & therefore more motivating. (Also taekwondo probably wasn't the best for me bc I am not very flexible and there were a lot of high kicks, I only picked it bc it was what my school had available)

awesome!!

sadly I know very little about other martial arts. my initial decision-making process looked roughly like googling "martial arts near me" and checking on places with a decent rating to confirm it's not totally bullshit, lol. and then trying out like, two. my current reasoning is that once I have established some level of competence in my current art, only then will I look to expand my horizons.

vaguely remembered impressions: kung fu is probably bullshit. jiu-jitsu is potentially more practical than most, but involves a degree of very close physical contact that freaks me out. a limitation of many striking arts (karate, taekwondo, etc) is that they don't have a lot of stuff for very close combat or ground fighting, which you need irl. but the advantage of that is I don't have anyone's ass on my face every day so I'll gladly accept it

stuff with weapons sounds very exciting tbh but I never looked into it because there's none near me

anyway I would recommend exploring on youtube and reddit, probably. youtube for seeing what they're like and reddit for opinions in relation to various properties you may be interested in (or wish to avoid).

also most places offer a free trial class ime. probably finding a place with a good vibe that you feel (relatively) comfortable in and good instructors (competent but also not dickheads. unfortunately there is a very high prevalence of dickheads) is going to be more important than the specific art. I think a lot of the core skills gained, especially for beginners, are very transferrable.

[cyborg-squid]

saw a video thumbnail, with a picture of Molar Boatwork Ishmael of course cause it's talking about Vellmori's harassment and departure, wih the text "Gender War" over it

like. no. it's no "Gender War" (and it's not about Molar!Ishmael not being "fanservice" enough either), it's violent misogyny pure and simple. and while these Korean instances of it (dating back to well before PMoon was involved) are super shocking to some of us because it may be the first we've heard of the situation over there, it's not like a unique thing either. there's shit like this all over the globe, it's not uniquely Korean or Chinese (see the Black Myth Wukong stuff) or anywhere else, some people are just noticing it in those places when it affects the media (mostly games) from there they consume, but you can find it here in America or in the UK or across Europe, we just tend to be more desensitized to it in our 'homes'. cuz the PMoon thing led me to looking up some of the history prior, and wow, the levels of misogyny in Korea are super high and super scary! and then you can go look at another country, and maybe the forms it takes are different cuz of socio/political/economic/cultural/etc reasons and the ways it manifests may look different, but it's scary bad there too! and you remember that misogyny is a global force that is nowhere near done being fought.

that was a long digression. but anyway it makes me mad when people say that the PMoon situation was part of a "Gender War" when it really was. not. One, things in Korea is not a "War" it is feminists getting beat into the ground (metaphorically and literally) at any sign of resistance and using alternative methods to push back, that is not a "War". and Two. well i almost said that, in the case of the PMoon stuff, misogynist "fans" were jumping at shadows or seeing things where there was none, but that's not the right way to put it actually. it's that some men will find any excuse to use violence against women (and those who associate themselves with them) and if they can't find a "reason", they will make one. because there was no "reason" to go after Vellmori and PMoon, and hell it's even unlikely that any of them knew enough about her to dislike her as a person, and it was not like she was a female in a position of power they were striking at yadda yadda, but they were able to take out their hate for women as a whole on her because she was one they were able to reach, and almost wholesale fabricated "justification" for doing so.

and while i'm willing to cut PMoon a lot of slack, and I truly believe their views and intents are in no ways aligned with the harassers, they really really fucked up with how they handled things. for now i believe what they said about Vell leaving voluntarily, I don't think she was 'fired' and I imagine being on the receiving end of such harassment, specifically because she is more 'visible' as one of PM's artists, would make anyone inclined to leave a position. but then I can also imagine that a legal/PR department/whoever at PM breathed a sigh of relief when she did because "Whew, she's leaving voluntarily, saves us the trouble of firing her". not that they were planning too, idk who knows, but her leaving on her own (IF! IF that is what happened) removes that option from the table. but then any goodwill they could have earned by not!firing goes out the window with their vague statements and long delays and threatening legal action against some fans who just wanted the truth. like i said, i don't think PM was a bad faith actor in this or trying to acquiesce to harasser's demands, i am willing to chalk some of their response up to just. idiot management in a time of crisis, bumbling and focused on appearances but not actively malicious, which is again understandable, but still a really fuckin bad look. and i guess while leaping to Vell's defense and really pushing back against the misogyny would have been the right thing to do, it probably woulda made the harasser crowd even more mad at them, and would confuse more normal fans who hadn't heard about what was happening (which explains a lot of PMoons long silences, "If people don't know, why bring it up?". Roosterteeth did a lot of the same thing and, i mean, it's not a dumb move. just a shitty one)

Anyway. It's not a "Gender War", it makes me mad when people call it that, especially when people Youtubers are only talking about it in respect to their/our vidya games. It is misogyny and violence.

[uriwoos2]

𝗥𝗨𝗟𝗘𝗦 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗥𝗘𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗡𝗚

please read before sending a req!

⊹ requests are CLOSED. (while I slowly work thru ones I have at the moment!!!)

𐙚 who I will write for:

boynextdoor xikers the boyz

𐙚 what I will write:

I'm best at writing fluff and hurt/comfort, but other genres are okay too! pls send all the soft, fluffy thoughts my way!! <3

𐙚 what I won't write:

I won't write nsfw for anyone.

I'm only willing to do slightly suggestive stuff. (none for xikers 05 line and bnd woonhak!!)

hard no's: anything violence related, stalker/abuser/cheater, etc etc... anything that portrays the idols in a negative manner. so don't request such things, please.

but besides these, if I don't feel comfortable writing something, I won't do it.

I'm more likely to do detailed requests first, rather than vague ones, because it's easier. so please, be specific while requesting !

I'd really appreciate feedback on my works! that would help me understand how good I'm doing, and motivate me to write & get better at it! pls don't hesitate to tell me if I've made mistakes, but remember to be respectful <3

disclaimer: updates will be slow! I'm a slow writer, and a uni student, so I ask u to be patient with me.

with love, cream xx