#lmao i feel like i need to include that just in case other people don't even want to hear about it anymore

[lucysarah-c]

Mounting Spring Ch. 1.

Summary: Paradis has opened its doors to the world, and the Rumbling has not yet occurred. The military board insists, "We need more Ackermans!" to avoid ruining Mikasa's life. Levi agrees. Arranged marriage, explicit consent, Omegaverse. Alpha! Levi x Omega! Y/N. Mentions of underage marriage but it doesn't happen, the reader is over 21. Age gap but they are both adults. (I would say enemys to lover but they don't even know eachother to be enemys lol.) Author note: I've had this idea for so long… Omegaverse is my guilty pleasure, and I decided to treat myself with it. From the creator of "Not in season?" I bring to you "Mounting Spring" lmao haha sorry it's just that my first omegaverse was rather a success… so I decided to do another.

MASTERLIST TO ALL THE OTHER PARTS.

Link to AO3 in case you prefer to read it there.

The papers were passed around the Military board members, each set handed off in tense silence. The room’s air had cooled quickly as the sun dipped below the horizon, making Levi’s coat, almost too heavy to bear earlier, feel suddenly necessary. The chill seeped through the old walls, hinting that a bit of heating might soon be in order. 

With methodical precision, Levi slammed the stack of reports against the wooden table to align them perfectly, every edge sharp and in place. He moved aside the sticky notes he’d scribbled on hours before, crossing off the last item on his to-do list with finality. Job done for the day— 

“Well, that’s it,” he muttered, eager to leave the stale room behind. 

A pointed clearing of someone’s throat halted him, making him glance up slowly. Levi’s senses flared; he wasn’t done after all. The tension thickened, and the air shifted to something more ominous. His gaze travelled around the table, landing on each board member’s face. Some looked uncomfortable, others entertained, as if they’d been anticipating this moment. Hange, seated beside him despite their role as Commander now, avoided his eye, their head lowered in apparent resignation. Recent meetings had seen the appearance of new, vaguely unsettling faces, like Kiyomi's, who now looked across the table with a subtle smile. 

“Captain,” Zackly’s voice rasped as he cleared his throat yet again. 

“The day’s agenda is finished,” Levi stated, irritation biting at his words. The official telegram had detailed the topics to be discussed, all of which they’d already addressed. Anything beyond that, he knew, was meant to be cleared with the entire board beforehand. 

“This was a last-minute matter,” a Military Police officer interjected, though the smirk twitching at his lips betrayed more amusement than urgency. 

“Captain,” Zackly called again, knitting his fingers together. “You know we’ve always valued your dedication to Paradis.” 

The pause was rehearsed, the words strangely formal, making Levi’s eyes narrow. “What the hell is going on?” cutting through the man’s attempt at civility. 

“Let the Commander finish,” Kiyomi insisted, her voice smooth and elegant, though tinged with a superiority that grated on him. 

“We wouldn’t have managed to retake Wall Maria without your bravery—” 

“A lot of people sacrificed themselves for that,” Levi replied sharply, cutting off the praise that felt, at best, patronizing. “Including the previous Commander, Erwin. No need to thank me.” 

“Nevertheless,” Zackly forged on, tiring of the interruptions, “without your skill, all those sacrifices might have been in vain. Not only did you dare to fight for Eren’s retrieval from the Female Titan and against the former tyrannical regime, but—” 

“It wasn’t just me. My squad and the brat over there were in it too.” 

The tone of the conversation was growing increasingly uneasy, the excessive praise no longer just annoying him but setting off alarms. 

“Quite right. You and Mikasa were essential in humanity’s progress,” Kiyomi added, eyeing Levi with a calculating gaze. As her look shifted back to Zackly, Levi’s own attention followed. 

“What we mean to say is… even if Paradis positions itself favourably in the new world, more capable individuals like you and Mikasa would be ideal assets for our success.” Zackly straightened in his chair, clearing his throat for the third time, making Levi wonder if the man needed water—or to finally give up smoking like a chimney. “Have you ever considered marriage, Captain?” 

The question hit him like a bucket of ice water. It was so absurd Levi could only scoff. “What?” 

“How old are you now?” Zackly continued, feigning casual curiosity. “Thirty-three? Thirty-four? A prime age, I’m sure. And for a high-breed alpha like you—” 

Behind him, low chuckles began to echo from the MPs, each one making Levi’s grip on the chair’s arm tighten. 

‘This is a trap.’ 

“Whatever it is you’re implying, I I suggest you rethink it,” Levi spat, the weight of their words starting to settle. 

“Let’s be frank,” Kiyomi leaned forward, hands placed firmly on the table. “Captain, we once thought the Ackermans extinct, only to discover Paradis has not one but two. Even Zeke couldn’t deny that meeting you at Shiganshina was... less than pleasant.” 

“Of course,” Levi replied dryly. “I beat that monkey’s ass.” 

“Exactly.” The dark-haired woman showed no amusement, her voice all business. “To the point, then: we intend to provide you with a suitable wife to ensure that you bless this island with as many Ackermans as she’s capable of bearing.” 

Levi shot to his feet. “You must be out of your damned mind if you think I’d agree to this. I’m not here to be used as a breeding tool.” 

“Oh, but you wouldn’t be the one doing the birthing,” an MP remarked with a smirk as the rest of the board broke their facades, amusement flashing in their eyes. All but Hange, who looked as if they might vanish into their seat. 

“You’re insane,” Levi snarled, preparing to leave, feeling insulted to his core. “You can use Historia as your political pawn as much as you want, but I’m not some 17-year-old girl at your disposal—” 

“Think of it as a service to your country,” Zackly replied coolly. 

“I serve this island every damned day,” Levi snapped, baring his teeth. With a sharp slap, he pressed his papers against the table and strode toward the door, signaling his utter rejection of the idea. 

“If you won’t consider it…” Kiyomi's calm, piercing voice halted him at the door, the threat clear. “Then we’ll turn to the only other Ackerman left.” 

Levi stilled, staring at the golden knob in his hand, fury boiling in his veins. He wasn’t about to fall for this. 

“Mikasa is too valuable to be reduced to a broodmare.” 

“She’s a girl of duty,” Kiyomi replied, a note of satisfaction in her voice. “Something you seem to lack. And she’s an alpha. I’m certain she could bear at least one healthy child before returning to the battlefield.” 

Levi clicked his tongue, pushing open the door with disdain. ‘Who the hell do they think I am?’ Hands stuffed in the pockets of his coat, he stormed down the royal city’s military headquarters hallways, curses slipping from his lips. The whole idea was absurd; they’d lost their minds if they thought he’d even consider it. 

As Levi stormed down the dim corridor, every step sharp and swift, he couldn’t shake the rancor rising within him. The brazenness of it all, to drag him into their twisted ambitions with such flippant disregard for his will—and then to threaten Mikasa. The audacity alone made his fists clench. 

He barely noticed Hange keeping pace with him until their arm was outstretched, catching him by the shoulder. 

“Levi,” Hange began softly. Their usual spark was subdued, gaze serious, and voice almost apologetic. “I know you’re furious. I knew this would be hell to hear, but I didn’t know how else to—” 

“Save it.” Levi shrugged their hand off, glowering. “You knew, didn’t you? That they were going to bring this shit up?” 

Hange hissed, as if asking them to confessed was almost painful. “Yes… I knew.” 

Levi gritted his teeth, eyes dark with betrayal. “You agreed to this?” Both of them whispering on the empty cold halls of the building.  

“I… didn’t agree,” Hange answered carefully. “But I was there when the discussion happened. Look, Zackly and the others—” Hange hesitated, running a hand through their hair. “They’re dead set on this idea. They think they’re planning for a stronger Paradis, and if they think that means Ackerman bloodlines—” 

“Save the speech.” Levi’s tone was sharp. “They can be dead set on whatever they please, but I'd like to see them drag the entire MP battalion if they want to force me into this.” 

The past year had hardly been easy on either of them, especially Hange with their new title as Commander. Levi was well aware of this—yet the sense of betrayal cut deep. “For fuck’s sake, Hange, you could’ve warned me.” 

A tense silence hung between them, until Hange finally sighed and adjusted their glasses, pressing on the bridge of their nose. “You think I had a say in this? Kiyomi's paying for the entire coastal expansion and the railway. She thought it was a decent idea, and with her money backing it, she’s got the final word on everything.” 

Levi clicked his tongue, crossing his arms in exasperation. “Those bastards in the upper ranks are just itching to get on my last nerve since we changed the policies.” 

“Look, I know it sounds—insane. But maybe… if we don’t try to protect the future of the island, there won’t be one. And if there’s a way to keep the Ackerman bloodline alive, maybe there’s value in that…” 

“Don’t give me that bloodline nonsense.” Levi’s tone was ice-cold, his gaze sharp. “This is some harebrained scheme they’ve cooked up. And let me guess: it reeks of Zeke. That bearded bastard’s across the ocean, and he’s still screwing with my life.” 

Hange pressed their lips together, saying nothing. The silence was confirmation enough. 

“That son of a bitch,” Levi cursed under his breath. “He’s the one with royal blood, not me.” 

Hange’s lips twitched in something close to sympathy. 

“Well, since you two are such good friends these days, feel free to let him know he can kiss my ass.” 

“Levi…” Hange sighed, not because they disagreed but because Levi’s sense of betrayal cut both ways. They were the last two left of the original veterans—family in all but name. It wasn’t just an argument; it felt like a wound between them. 

Convincing Levi? Impossible. But convincing her? That possibility hung in the air, lingering like a storm on the horizon. Levi paced with conviction at first, then with dread. They both knew it, and, worse, Zeke likely knew it too. Mikasa had just turned seventeen, still almost a child, recently visited by someone claiming kinship with her clan. Levi couldn’t care less about all the ancestral politics, but he was all too aware of how they worked. 

“You can choose whoever you wish for the father,” they had told her, as if it was some generous offer. And, step by step, he watched Mikasa’s face transform from disgust to something akin to acceptance. Perhaps it was because she, too, held a certain pedigree; perhaps she felt duty-bound. He didn’t know, and he didn’t care what methods they used to sway her. 

‘She’s smarter than that,’ he tried to tell himself. 

But then he overheard Historia, almost childishly enthusiastic, whispering to Mikasa, “See? I told you—we’re girls with responsibilities.” The blood drained from his face. If they’d managed to convince Historia, to make her some kind of pawn in their twisted ambitions, what was stopping them from pulling Mikasa down the same path? 

‘It’s disgusting,’ he thought bitterly. ‘Maybe this is how those classist bastards operate. They talk little girls into this like they’re just trading dolls for something more ‘exciting.’’ 

That night, back in his office, Levi was a restless storm, pacing the room with his suit jacket hanging loose, fingers curled around his glass of whiskey, his movements sharp and frustrated. The glow of his cigarette flared in the dark room as he took a deep drag, gritting his teeth. 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” 

Slouched in his chair, forearm draped over his eyes, his mind circled back to Mikasa’s hesitant, almost innocent blush—her teenage imagination painting a faint, rosy tint over whatever twisted future she thought she might face. And in his mind, as if staring him down, were Eren’s haunted eyes, that deadened look of someone who already knew more than he could say. Maybe the brat already knew Levi wouldn’t let it happen. 

“She’s a damn kid,” he muttered. The thought of Mikasa shouldering this burden felt like a betrayal of his own values. 

Though technically, she was not much younger than many girls who’d borne children before. But this felt different, disturbing— He let out a humourless chuckle, as a man that waits for getting hang. “Those bastards knew… I wouldn’t let them ruin her life like that.” 

And like a cursed prophecy that tightened its grip the more one tried to escape it, Levi found himself back in that same damned office, slouched in his chair as if seated at a poker table. Bargaining his future. 

Levi sat stiffly across from the military board, his expression a blend of frustration and disgust as they spoke. Zackly lounged in his chair, lazily smoking as the other officials presented folders adorned with detailed painted portraits, lists of family properties, and who knows what else. As they laid the offers on the table, a random thought clouded Levi’s mind: It feels like searching for a button that matches at the notions store. 

He was reminded of long strips of fabric with various buttons sewn onto them, each one a potential fit. “Many of the noble families are eager to show their loyalty to the new government,” one officer stated with a practiced calmness. “Some have offered up alliances in exchange for the return of their territories and titles. This includes a number of unclaimed young omegas. You’ll have ample choices.” 

Levi’s jaw clenched. He knew they expected him to appear grateful for the options lined up before him, as if he were selecting a new weapon. Instead, he leaned back, crossing his arms tightly. “I’ll be imposing some conditions.” 

They paused, exchanging glances. “Naturally, Captain,” one of the men replied, steepling his fingers. 

“No fancy bullshit,” Levi declared. “The wedding will be plain. Just a civil ceremony. I have no intention of making a spectacle out of this.” 

The room fell silent, the officers exchanging looks that spoke volumes. One of them cleared his throat, hesitating before responding. “Captain, you should consider—” 

“I’m not considering anything,” Levi interrupted, his tone sharper than before. “This is a plain arrangement, and it will remain exactly that. I don’t need fanfare or ceremonies—just a quiet signing of papers.” 

The officers shifted uncomfortably, their discomfort palpable as they struggled to reconcile Levi’s cold practicality with their expectations. “Think of the girl. Many young omegas dream of their wedding day, waiting for it their whole lives. It’s—” a female alpha soldier attempted to be the voice of reason, but Levi was clearly listening to none of it. 

“No buts,” Levi said, his patience wearing thin. “If I’m going to go through with this ridiculous arrangement, it will be on my terms. I’m not dragging this girl through some overblown ceremony when neither of us wants to be there.” 

With a loud sigh, Levi lifted himself slightly from his seat to grab the portfolios. He barely looked at them, frowning deeply. “Don’t you have pictures where they look— I don’t know—human?” he spat out sarcastically, noting how overly produced their painted portraits appeared. 

“That’s what’s in fashion,” one officer muttered defensively. 

Groaning in disinterest, Levi rolled his eyes. “Nobles and their weird tastes.” But as he turned the next page to examine the descriptions, it was as if the world had tilted off its axis. “Sixteen,” he muttered, irritation creeping into his voice. He looked up, venom lacing his words. “You’re offering me sixteen-year-old girls? Girls who could be my damn daughters?” 

“It’s common, you know—” 

“I don’t care what’s common. Twenty-five,” Levi interjected. “At least twenty-five. I’m not getting tied to a child.” 

“Come on,” an exhausted soldier exclaimed, “some are seventeen, eighteen—” 

“Twenty-five,” Levi snapped, his eyes blazing. “I’m not interested in any of this unless you bring me someone who isn’t still in their childhood.” 

“Be realistic,” Zackly finally spoke up, looking weary and disinterested. “How many omegas do you know that aren’t claimed by twenty-five?” 

“Fuck if I know; that’s your job to find out, not mine.” Levi’s anger flared, echoing in the sterile room. “Weren’t you the one telling me to think of the girl? Don’t you think of her?” 

“Why? Are you planning on hurting her?” Zackly questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

“Fuck no.” 

“Then I’m not concerned. Choose one and stop being a pain in the ass.” 

It was clear they were not going to reach any middle ground like this. Amid the hastily scribbled notes, he noticed a name: Y/N, age twenty-one. He pointed decisively at the line, cutting through the cacophony of voices. “That one.” 

There was no picture, no description—nothing. Perhaps it should have raised suspicions, but Levi was too tired for this cheap drama. 

“Why her?” one member scoffed, glancing at the paper. “We have better offers on the table.” 

Levi didn’t hesitate. “She’s the oldest.” He placed both hands on the table, pushing himself upward. He had made up his mind the night before; he just needed this to be over. Striding toward the door, he exited without allowing anyone to stop him. As he walked out of the conference room, he could hear the murmurs behind him. 

As the door shut firmly, one of the cadets held the papers against his chest, confusion written all over his face. Slowly, he turned to the higher-ranking officer. “Shouldn’t we tell him that she’s scheduled to marry this weekend to her childhood fiancé?” 

Zackly chuckled, flicking the ashes from his cigarette into the ashtray. Between coughs, he said, “Oh well, he can find out from her once they’re both married. It’s no longer my problem.” 

Link to my masterlist and my other works if you feel like checking them out. Tags!: @nube55 @justkon @notgoodforlife @nmlkys @humanitys-strongest-bamf @quillinhand @thoreeo @darkstarlight82 @aomi04 @levisbrat25 @fxnnyackerman @secretmoneybearvoid @trashblackrainbow @l3visthighs @hannieslovebot @flxrartsstuff @feelingsandemotionsnotexplored @starrylevi @rithty @mariaace @ackrmntea @emilyyyy-08 @levisfavoriteteashop @katestrophes @katharinasdiaryy @ackermanswifee @levistealeaf @an-ever-angry-bi @youre-ackermine @searriously @blackdxggr @storiesofsung @abiatackerman @braunsbabe @moonchild-angel @galactict3a @lemonsupernova @hyuckwon-my-husbands @heyitsd1yaa @sydneyyuu @love-for-faeries-go-burrrr @mandaax @sugacor3 @r0ckst4rjk @vegetasgirl2799 @catiwinky @pinksaiyans @sparklykeylime Wanna join my tag list? Here!

[kromato]

Hey what's up it's me with a special interest in weapons and I wanted to share my thoughts about Nikto's machete (no that's not an innuendo for once)

Had a bit of a solo-mandela effect going on because for the longest time I thought it had a modified 'billhook'-like feature on the back of it for whatever reason (but smaller than what would be considered a traditional billhook, more like a hoof pick blade).

I kind of enjoy still HCing that it does have it because a) it looks kind of cool and b) a terrifying thought to think this man whips this giant intimidating blade out, flips it deftly in his hand to the hook side, just to sink it into flesh and yank people back in when they try to run. Also it allows me to think about a scenario where, resident karambit knife enthusiast Sebastian Krueger, can teach proper blade hooking techniques to our beloved plural man. Anyway back to the knife - It's like a cross between a coup coup and a bola? But has a cool flare like a Tapanga for his newer mwiii model. Also like a vintage Senegalese french machete, which were known for their high quality (might technically be the same thing as the coup coup, just with the locale specified I think, both entrenchment machetes). That curve also kind of reminds me of parangs but it's not particularly drop-pointed.

I HC Nikto as a very brutally pragmatic but particular man, so it doesn't feel too far off to think that he went out of his way to acquire something niche like that. Some kind of custom-made machete that fits his needs just right. The length of it, as well as the curved, ergonomic grip makes me think he's gotten it to do some serious chopping, so it's also probably heavy and weighted forward to make that easier when swinging. I don't see him as a flashy fighter personally, and though maybe it was a stylistic choice for the game devs/artists, I think it's a neat feature that speaks to his character. I do think it's made of hefty steel; weight is important in chopping knives, and though steel rusts, it's sturdy compared to a lot of other metals. Not to mention - I feel like oiling and caring for his weapons, machete included, would be a ritual source of peace for his sometimes loud and chaotic mind. Grounding when he can feel the weight and texture where his nerves aren't completely damaged, smell the oil, have tangible proof that it's reality when he sees the maintained blade even after he becomes unmoored.

Now this is just me WAY reading too much into it, but it gives me a little giggle - The hole at the end of the handle is for a wrist lanyard, so you can loop a piece of paracord rope to secure it around your hand. It's an important safety feature just in case the machete goes flying out of your hand while chopping, lest it hit people in your vicinity (accidentally...?). In his 19 model, he doesn't have the paracord rope attached; Nikto says "Fuck your safety" but also huge ego of "I would never accidentally fling my knife!!"

Could also be because it gets caught on stuff if it dangles off his hip though - he's got one on his newer model where he wears the blade on his shoulder, which looks like a place where it's less likely to snag on things. Could also be because he's been increasingly featured in larger factions, so he works with more people and was asked to have one on hand maybe?? I don't know. In either case the knot in the middle of the rope makes it too small for his wrist which could also be read as a passive-aggressive "Here's the fucking safety rope it's on there ALRIGHT" and yet he's also made it nonfunctional for its intended purpose lmao Okay that's all byeeee

[nothorses]

I hope this is okay to ask but I’m pretty desperate and googling stuff has failed me, so do you or one of your followers have recommendations on how to deal with the BO that comes with taking testosterone? I never had BO that couldn’t just be managed by showering enough and putting on just any deodorant but now that I’m taking T I sweat a lot and I smell bad and I nothing I do seems to fix it. My boss has politely mentioned it several times now despite all my effort and it’s so mortifying and embarrassing.

Things I’ve tried and am currently doing include so many different deodorants which I bring to work and reapply, putting baking powder in my shoes, on top of general basic hygiene. But none of it seems to make a dent and it doesn’t help that I can’t really change clothes or shoes throughout the day. I have to wear closed toed shoes and a lab coat and my job is pretty active, plus it’s 10 minutes walk from the parking lot and it’s over 100F or 40 C right now so when I arrive at work I’m already pouring sweat. I also have a large chest so it all gets under my bra and soaks into it and by the end of the day the bottom part of my bra reeks.

I know some ocasional BO on a busy day can’t be helped but none of the other people at work including other male coworkers seem to have the same issue at all, so there’s got to be a solution but I haven’t found it. Im thinking of trying antiperspirants but I also know I need to sweat and I would rather not put my health at risk. So if anyone has something that works for them please let me know bc im really desperate here.

First I want to say: you're not doing anything wrong. You probably just sweat more than some other folks, and that's not your fault, and you shouldn't feel bad about it. I'm gonna give you some ideas to try if you haven't yet, but I don't know how much you've already tried, and it sounds like you've been through a lot already.

I also have always had terrible BO, and the only thing that helped at all pre-T was "prescription strength" deodorant. I honestly have had less of an issue since starting T, weirdly enough, but part of that is also that I physically cannot stand to shower any less frequently than every single morning (not necessarily a good thing lol), and I also started using antibacterial products on my armpits when I shower.

Currently I use benzoyl peroxide body wash on my armpits, which can be drying, but it hasn't caused me issues so far (just look for Panoxyl, other brands have caused irritation for me and my partner both). I used Betadine surgical scrub before that for a bit (you collect weird shit when you work with horses 🤷‍♂️) and that worked well, too- plus it's less likely to irritate skin.

I also find that certain shirts cause me to sweat there more, and those also tend to be the more form-fitting shirts that get up into my armpits. That skin def needs to breathe.

My partner has had trouble with feet/shoes in the past, and he's used cedar shoeforms to mitigate that (cedar is also antibacterial!). He also makes sure any shoes he gets are breathable (not leather), and if they are leather, he gives them at least a day or two between wears. Probably good practice if you notice any kind of smell on any of your shoes.

You mention baking powder, and I'm not sure if you meant baking soda and just mixed them up (which I do all the time lmao) but just in case: if you are using baking powder, the one you want is baking soda.

I don't have much advice for chest sweat, except that you may want to consider bringing an extra bra (and maybe an extra pair of socks if you're noticing it before the end of the day) to change into midway through the day. You can also look for more breathable fabrics in general, especially athletic-wear, which is already designed to help wick sweat and mitigate those issues.

Lastly, I want to stress again that you're not doing anything wrong. Some people have more trouble with this than others, and if you're really struggling in a way nobody around you is, it may be that you've got something going on in your body that they don't have to deal with. This could be a medical thing as well (like acne!!), and there's no shame in seeking medical solutions for it. Talk to your doctor if you can; it sounds like it's causing you distress, and you deserve to be comfortable.

[midnight-mourning]

❄️MIDNIGHT'S DCA DECEMBER❄️

Hello! I've decided to have a little bit of fun this December and will be opening up requests for the month! Please see below for more details (With subheadings!):

Requests Overall

I will have 31 slots available for requests, first come, first serve. Each piece will range from 1000-2000 words in length and may (MAY) include a little doodle made by me.

Requests can be anything! They just have to be winter/holdiay themed (do NOT have to be releated to Christmas) and DCA-related

Winter/holiday themed means movies/stories too! Ex: i am a BIG fan of The Nutcracker (went insane when I saw @/robinette-green's au for the Barbie version lmao)

As most know I am an X reader writer, but as long as my general request rules are followed, I don't mind writing for ocs, canon, etc. 

For those who don't know my rules, no nsfw (suggestive is FINE), and if you want something specific, be specific. Besides that, it's fair game, request what you want

Potential Issues & Schedule

If there is overlap between request ideas, they will be combined in some manner of speaking (if possible). If needed, I will reach out to you about adjusting ideas or the likes, though I don't forsee this happening. This would occur if for example, someone wants gift shopping with Sun with their oc, and someone else wants the same thing with a reader-insert. Whoever requested second would be who I reach out to. 

I will be posting these throughout December, ending on the 31st

In order to have enough time to write, I will be starting these as soon as I get the first request. To speed things up a little, requests will be open from 11/29 to 12/13 OR until I receive 31 unique requests. So that's maximum two weeks to think of an idea and share it with me. 

If I don't get enough overall or get anything prior to Dec. 1 I'll probably come up with some ideas of my own, but only if that happens! Additionally, if I don't get enough, I may open it up for people to request multiple times, again only if I don't get enough or run out of ideas (genuinely don't know how many I should expect so just trying to cover my bases lol)

To keep things organized, please request in the comments of this post. This also helps to potentially keep from overlap in requests, as you'll be able to see what else has already been requested. If you request in my ask box or such it'll make things a bit more difficult, so please avoid that.

HOWEVER, there is one exception to the above, which is if you wish to request anonymously, which is completely fine to do! But please only request in my ask box if you want to be anonymous. If overlap happens in that case, then y'all may just get two responses with similar vibes on the same day (essentially a bonus lol)

Confused Spirit

For those who may be concerned (as I was before making this post lmao) Confused Spirit's schedule will not be affected by this! Now that it's back I'd like it to stay back lol. We may stick to an every two weeks schedule for a bit, or may go back to weekly, it will depend on life stuff, not on other writing things. I promise ^_^

Having little things like these also help prevent writers block, and thus stay more consistent with updates

Sharing & More

Please feel free to share this post around, and request if you want to! Once I hit 31 unique ones I'll reblog this post with the announcement that requests are closed, so make sure to double check they aren't closed already prior to requesting!

I'll also post updates every couple of days regarding the status of total requests as well ^_^

Unrelated but similar, @/quilteddreams is working on a DCA Advent Calendar for December that's also really cool! (I'm helping out with beta reading :D) Highly reccommend you check it out once it starts posting! 

Everything related to this will be under the tag #MM dca December, just in case there's another similar tag out there and I'm not just taking it for myself

Alright, that's all for now, excited to see what you guys ask for!

Adding the tag list to this since y'all enjoy my writing lol:

@scarletcowboy @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8

@luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @amarynthian-chronicles

@robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva

@juukai

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Aita for not making any of my characters, that I have to crank out daily, pansexual/polysexual/omnisexual specifically and only making them bi?

🏳️‍🌈👶🏼 so i can recognize this later lmao also I'm not panphobic or anything, this isn't about the validity of the label, pan is fine.

So i (20snb bi) have a project I'm working on where I take all the characters from a specifc media I'm into and pair them up with each other to make every possible ship kid from every possible ship(excluding characters who are kids themselves or are related or something, that shit is gross). Basically taking every character and pairing them up with another and creating a kid I think they'd have. Its a big project with lots of characters and I'm easily over 400 at this point. I really enjoy this, even if I'm not even 25% complete.

However I set a schedule for myself that at least one ship kid needs to come out each day which, considering I draw them, color them and give them some development and some even have siblings, (The refs themselves easily take me an hour to an hour and a half) I have to make lots of them quickly to keep up with my daily grind. I've been doing this project for over a year and although it's stressful, I can get them out quickly with breaks for myself.

Their character sheets all have some pretty basic info like their name, gender, pronouns, personality and more but it also includes their sexuality/orientation. I have a pretty basic list of options for what their sexuality will be: straight, lesbian, gay, Enbian, bi, Aro, ace and aroace with a few random things like polyam, WLW and a good amount of the something-loving-something/juvelic terms. I did this because, well, there's not many entirely unique orientations outside of them and although I love mogai/xenogenders and complex identities, I dont want to potentially drag up discourse or bring problems to my budding art blog over it. Its just not worth it to me to turn something I really care about on its head, even if I like microlabels.

In this case, I'm using bi as an umbrella term as most of the other terms share the same definition with slight variations in wording or action but not much difference in practice. We all like everyone, it's basic stuff. However, apparently this is a problem.

I've gotten one or two anons asking me questions about my guides asking some kind stuff like is this lesbian ship kid a butch or femme or Is this picture of them now or just at the age you put on the ref and other harmless stuff. Then things got rude with some Nbphobia but thrice now I've gotten asks:

1. Asking snarkily if im a panphobe

2. insulting me for not specifically writing pan or Omni and just writing bi.

3. Saying that I "clearly dont care about pansexual representation." Then brought up how my primary oc is native american so i clearly care about representation but that oc used to be a sona and I'm native?? Its confusing. (And Lowkey racist shit to just assume any native character is a "diversity quota" character instead of just a person existing but I digress-)

Im not pan, im bi so ig these people assume I'm not cool with pan people which isnt true? I have nothing aginest them, they are just pretty similar and I dont feel like it matters if they are specfically bi or pan or poly or any other label. I don't go into details like that for any other sub-group, not even pronouns and I included combinations and some common Neopronouns. I understand the importance of representation but my project has less than 50 people looking at it every day, Im not netflix or something. I'm one guy on the most LGBT blogging site with a big project and very little audience, I'm not showing people who wouldn't already know what pan is that pansexuality exists.

This project isn't that deep considering the characters in question aren't human/dont have human characteristics.(no it's not hazbin/helluva) Also ive never spoken about lgbt discourse or stated anything remotely close to it beyond the guides just passively having characters who are an LGBT identity. I've not even mentioned all the potentional orientations they could have so I'm not sure where/why this came up in the first place. The most politcial things ive said are calling out a creator in my fandom who outed themselves as a transphobe and mentioning im pro-palestine. That's it.

I mean this is pretty low stakes, I can just block these people and be done with it and this some seriously online shit but I just wanna check.

Am I being an asshole for just writing bi instead of specifying their mspec label because I have to produce characters quickly and I don't see enough of a difference to warrant a change/specification that would ultimately slow and clog an already stressful and complex project?

I dont think I am but idk lol

What are these acronyms?

[skitskatdacat63]

"From triumph to failure is but one step."

+ the usual

I love when I can include paper sketches in the process gif. It's very satisfying to see it progress from a very vague imagining of what was in my head to the finished project.

+ version without text

My favorite sketch was definitely the one where I actually put in words what it's supposed to convey. I wouldn't usually write that down, cause it's all in my head, but it was useful to do so when sending it to other people. I'll go into it more but here it is just as a teaser:

Lmao first of all, I like how I was teasing "Spanish GP" art, but as per usual, it's just thinly veiled au art. IM SORRY, I'M NOT INTERESTED IN MAKING GENERAL POSTERS, THAT'S NO FUN! So instead you will get weirdly relevant matador au art. I like it a lot though, I was really shocked I was able to draw 3 different Fernandos, I mean even drawing one figure takes a lot out of me, but this was weirdly easy?? I think it's just the effect of not being burnt out anymore, and actually being able to draw with more ease makes me feel like a god.

Okay, so the text: "Fight or Flight?" I'll be honest, I don't even remember why I chose it, literally came to me in a vision 😭 But I think it's fitting with the narrative of this piece. Is it better to keep going on, keep fighting, or better to finally give up, and flee? Not that I even remotely think he should give up, but I feel like sometimes I can sense him pondering this very question. That was the big fear before he announced that he re-signed. Keep fighting and maybe, just maybe, you'll get the chance to finally go up against the bull again. Or accept it's an uphill battle and the fighting is going to keep getting more and more strenous, and maybe it's time to put down the sword. SORRY THIS IS SO ANGSTY FOR WHAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE "yayyyy home race!!!" Please forgive me <3

I. Renault

At some point, someone pointed out to me that I had drawn all other iterations of matador Fernando with a sword, except for Renault Fernando, and that ended up feeling very poignant to me. In a bull fighting match, they really only pull out the sword at the last minute to deliver the killing blow. So I think it's important to never draw this Fernando with a sword, because it shows the unfailing confidence and stability he has at that point. He only needs to pull out the sword at the end, as a formality almost, there's no reason for him to keep his guard up at all times.

II. Ferrari

Meanwhile this Fernando, he's considering his sword like he hasn't had to in the past. He's checking the sharpness, making sure in advance he can do what needs to be done. He's on guard, he feels like he needs to keep up his defenses at all times because he doesn't have that same amount of trust and stability anymore. He knows though he will be up against the (red) bull, at least that's never in question. At least there's the assurance he'll get the chance to fight.

III. Aston

Oh, Aston Fernando....He doesn't know whether to take up his sword or finally put it down for the last time. While at least Ferrari Fernando knows he's on constant guard against the bull, this Fernando doesn't even have that assurance anymore. He feels like he can never put down the sword, just in case he gets the chance to strike the killing blow on the bull, which feels like it's growing more and more unlikely.

Spanish flag: ? Lmao this was meant to be something to celebrate Fernando's home race and it turned very introspective whoops. Also got the Napoleon quote in there hahaha, can't escape it!! Shame though there is no French gp anymore, if so I'd probably draw an unhinged thing for it :,(

[moretheta]

my personal thoughts below the cut:

gonna say no to benjamin, personally. partially because i trust longhi's judgement on the matter, but mostly because it just would not make sense to go to such lengths for a person who is already at the top. all beyond would need to do was stack up the military and let benjamin's connections do the rest of the work. also, not very interesting story wise (would be kind of insane if nasubi's firstborn wasn't even his own lmao). 1/10

camilla actually has a lot going for her as a candidate. i think the fact that she already has curse users on her side speaks for itself- i could see beyond being the one to put that into place. everything we know about camilla makes it seem like she's not someone who's much into planning or relying on others. on the other hand, she would undoubtably be tough to control- not good for making beyond's puppet king dreams come true. i also saw someone say she bears a similar mentality to (isaac) netero and beyond: namely, a selfish pursuit of her own interests, and the will to do absolutely anything to accomplish them. 7/10

zhang lei: i'm already 90% sure he's meant to be the son of onior longbao, so he's really not a top candidate. not to mention the idea of him being such a senior prince who doesn't know nen or is surrounded by other competant people who know nen doesn't make me feel like he's being supported by beyond behind the scenes. 1/10

i'm hearing a lot of tserriednich talk, mostly due to his resemblance (debatable) to young netero and his vast nen potential. personally i'm not convinced: i think beyond would have put more defensive countermeasures into protecting his child; including, say... a loyal retinue of guards!? like if tserriednich wasn't such a monster at nen he would be dead right now. all of his guards seem either indifferent, scared, enjoy the way he enables violence, or actively plotting to kill him. not a whole lot of loyalty. also.... it would be kind of boring story-wise IMO. like he's already got so much going on, it makes the world feel kinda small. 4/10

i don't really see tubeppa as them either, mostly for the same reasons as zhang lei ; a senior prince who was never taught nen / or is guarded by skilled nen users? unlikely. although it would be a moment of supreme dramatic irony for longhi to have to kill her own prince. 3/10

tyson: kind of a dark horse candidate tbh. we also know so little about her!! and also, by extension, her faction. maybe there's a hidden nen user amongst her guards? i kinda wanna see it, mostly to watch her get roped further into the story. since kurapika already has eyes on her via izunavi, i've kind of been waiting for the moment she becomes more relevant to the plot. not to mention the fact that she and beyond both have cult leader vibes (or in beyond's case, are directly inspired by a cult leader). 6/10

i'm 90% sure luzurus is brocco li's son (same deal as ike zhang lei). but we know as little about him as we do tyson (although he is slowly becoming more relevant) so possibly the brocco li thing is a red herring? it's weird that he doesn't have any guards who know nen, but we also haven't seen enough of his faction to be a 100% certain of that... idk, i'm still gonna say 2/10

salé-salé: dead. 0/10

halkenburg: unlikely IMO, especially after 403. i think having TWO secret parents would be kind of overkill. i also think that, considering how much insight we've gotten into his own thoughts, that he would never bring up beyond or the hunter association or anything. 2/10

kacho: dead- but i give it a 1/10 in case of the twin thing.

i could see a world in which kacho and fugetsu are revealed to not really be twins (they do look completely different) but i think it's odd for her to be so unprotected and defenseless right now. beyond seems like the time to have more of a plan in place to defend his kids. could be interesting story wise, but... i'm not buying it. 3/10

momoze: dead. 0/10

marayam: this one makes sense to me. although he's a bit on the younger side, which means that beyond was a little late on the jump when it came to siring a prince, his youth does make him the perfect target for a bit of fatherly manipulation. and it would make sense for him not to know nen, because he's not really old enough to learn (unless beyond awakened him as a baby?) although even in that case we haven't gotten explicit confirmation (i.e. him or another charcater outright stating it) that he doesn't know nen. and there's something to be said about him having a super powerful spirit guardian beast that keeps growing... and yet, we've yet to see it's parasitic nature reflected in marayam's behavior. kid must either have a MASSIVE pool of aura or his nen beast is just built different. that also might explain why sevanti was so desperate to protect him. 8.5/10

woble: to be honest, the best case i've heard for woble is that silent majority was sent to PROTECT her by beyond (or someone in the hunter association). yes, it disrupted kurapika's nen class, but it's possible the assassin just disasgreed with kurapika's methods. so far, all of the people it's taken out have either been woble's enemies, or had the potential to be enemies. it speaks to this idea of a third party trying to assist a prince. there;s also the idea that perhaps woble's nen beast hasn't shown up yet because it might be a giveaway to beyond's identity, and for the same reasons as maryam it would explain why she doesn'st know nen. also, we already have a confimed beyond spy on her team: bill ( love you bill, i don't think you want to hurt the baby- but maybe you're being manipulated without knowing it). on the other hand, the fact that oito seems completely unaware of beyond's plan speaks to her either lying (unlikely IMO, i just didn't get that vibe from the panel) or she.. didn't know. which is terrible in it's own way but also definitely something he would do. from a story perspective, it would turn longhi into an enemy, which would be sad, but good potential for drama. 8/10

other: i think everything going for woble goes just as well for oito. we don't know exacly how old she is, but considering the fact that beyond is probably older than he looks it's safe to say it isn't completely impossible. on the other hand, there is the fact that she's from meteor city.. and the middle child of five. perhaps she was planted there for her own safety, until it came time for her to meet the king? i also wouldn't put it beyond nasubi to have struck a deal with beyond. and i also think it's possible that she has no idea who her father is, and beyond kept her in the dark so as to better control her, but positioned people around her as protection. also, it would be cool. 8/10

[pico-farad]

I absolutely love your Vrains analyses and I honestly can't wait for you to reach season 3.

I was wondering what you thought of the character of Spectre? Out of the whole cast, he's the one I really can't pinpoint how I feel about. (Beside the obvious fact that this kid needs therapy, I know they all do, but THIS ONE REALLY DOES.)

To be honest... Spectre is just really funny to me LMAO

My guy was raised by a tree. As a BABY. No food, no water, no body heat. There's probably ants crawling all over him. The tree scares away wolves who try to eat him, because they're probably like Oh shit, did that tree just fucking move???

This is peak Yugioh. Who put this Giving Tree-ass backstory into a hard sci-fi card game anime? Give them a raise. Where is Spectre's tree mom going on the Yugioh parent tier list?

Besides the funniness of staying connected to tree mom through card games, I like his Sunavalon deck. The Spectre vs. Lightning duel fucking ruled. From a gameplay perspective, it's one of the best in all of Yugioh. The reverse extra link? Stealing Judgment Arrows? This duel goes incredibly hard for no reason and definitely made me like Spectre more.

So yeah, those are my prevailing thoughts on Spectre, he's just not very important in my mind. If I were to take a more in-depth look at him, though...

I actually disagree with the premise that all of the kids need therapy, but I especially disagree that Spectre especially needs therapy. It's pretty explicit in the text, that Spectre is better off because of the Lost Incident.

Yusaku: If you endured the same hell as me-- Spectre: Hell? What do you mean? Am I different? I guess so, from your point of view Spectre: I grew up in an orphanage. I lacked the ability to mingle with others. Even among people, I was always bored and alone. That's when that incident occurred. Finally, I was entertained. Yusaku: The Lost Incident entertained you? Spectre: Yes, I enjoyed it. Even if I could go home, loneliness and boredom awaited me. Nobody would talk to me. Nobody cared about me. But it was different in that room. Someone was testing me. Someone expected big things from me. When I realized that, I felt the will to live for the first time. Spectre: You probably can't understand. Because if the incident hurt you, you must have led a happy life before. Yusaku: You don't hate the Knights of Hanoi? Spectre: Hate? Revolver-sama gave me a place to belong. Am I strange? But I think you're stranger, loudly proclaiming your sense of justice. Yusaku: Due to that incident, time has stopped moving for me. Spectre: But due to that incident, it started moving for me.

Spectre is characterized as someone who's fundamentally different from other people (maybe because he was RAISED BY A TREE), and this is the case long before getting kidnapped. He's not crazy because of the Lost Incident, and he might not even be crazy at all. He has what he wants, he's happy, he's just happy in a way that normal people, including the audience, cannot understand.

In the above conversation, Spectre is very aware of how he is strange to others, questioning multiple times, "Am I different?" "Am I strange?" Despite being unlike others, he has the capacity to understand how others think and live, and because of that, how they see him. He's actually very discerning, in general, about the perspectives of others; this is how he's able to manipulate Aoi in their duel, and how he easily recognizes Lightning's secret.

Because that's one way of coping with a world of people very different from you -- getting very good at understanding people who would not put forth the same energy to try and understand you. That's what happens in that conversation with Yusaku. Spectre is able to recognize that he is strange to Yusaku, and why. Even though to him, Yusaku is the one who's strange. But he doesn't say that either of them is "right," just that they have different perspectives.

Now, is all of that what the Vrains writers were thinking when they made him?

Uh, maybe I'm just cold and dead inside, but I think they mostly just wanted to make their antagonist seem like a crazy psycho who believes he was raised by a tree and enjoyed getting kidnapped.

Because if I were writing a story about a character who feels alienated by what other people consider normal, I don't think I would have gone the route of, "Some people actually enjoy trauma! It makes them feel important!" I mean, you could incorporate that into a story about how different people experience trauma differently, but, I dunno, these would not be my first choices if I was trying to write a nuanced character exploration.

I also would not go the route of dedicating his entire life to Revolver, and if I did, I would actually develop their relationship.

I wish Revolver had more of a relationship with the Knights of Hanoi in general, which could have actually fleshed out his character. All of them, including Spectre, are just loyal yes-men who do whatever he says. Any scene with them may as well be Revolver monologuing by himself, because they don't bring anything of their own to the table. It just makes both Revolver and the Knights less interesting to me. 

There's various other areas in which Spectre could have been better utilized too. Like I said in the Aoi post, it would have been interesting if they actually built on the themes explored in that duel, and had some recurring interactions. I also would have liked to see him actually interact with Earth, and his actual perspective on the Ignis and the AI vs. humans conflict. 

To be honest though, not every character in Yugioh has to be a main character. So while all these things may be interesting to explore in theory, I think Spectre is mostly fine the way he is in canon: funny tree man.

[pokemenlovingmen]

Hey there! I didn't see who you write for on your page, so I'll include a couple of characters in case you don't write for one of them.

Can you do a GN or Male!Reader x either Arven or N, please? Just some cuddles and quality time, because I am pretty sure that's what most of us crave!

Thank you!

-First Anon

Ohhh yeah I know what you mean, cuddly fluff is always what I crave! Hopefully people who come for my content have similar interests, lmao. :) I went with a male reader because yknow… these are some guys I have a man crush on.

But yeah!! Cuddles with dudes I have fictional crushes on!! Pokemon gave me a great gift in the form of two fruity dudes with long hair and familial issues who are my age.

cw: child neglect (given who these are about…)

Cuddling Headcanons with a Male Reader for Arven and N

Arven

🥪 — Arven is hesitant with physical affection at first, just because he’s really not used to it. Like what do you mean… you want to put your arms around him because you love him?? Are you okay??

🥪 — Arven’s always been of the mind that acts of service are the only way to win the love of someone from previous experience, after all working so hard at school and home upkeep always earned praise from his mom/dad even if they weren’t there physically.

🥪 — Given you’re both guys, he’s also kinda shy about the relationship at first. Now, Paldea is one of the most queer-accepting regions you could be in, but it’s still, yknow. Not considered “normal”. People might stare, or say something. He’s no doubt in love with you but the potential negative attention scares the shit out of him.

🥪 — But when he does open up? God, he’s the biggest cuddlebug. He tried physical intimacy once and now he’s addicted.

🥪 — You can hold him, he can hold you, he doesn’t care, just being close is enough. If you’re shorter than him, he’ll usually rest his chin on your head and hum happily. If you’re taller than him, he’ll usually bury his face in your chest.

🥪 — Play with his hair and he’ll die a little bit. If you’re able to see his face, he’ll be wearing the biggest and dumbest smile the whole time. It’s best not to mix this with compliments because you WILL kill him.

🥪 — If you’re a weighted blanket enjoyer, you’ll never need one, because he can snap his fingers and suddenly there’s a massive weighted blanket with legs, a tail and a big furry face on top of you both.

🥪 — So as if you didn’t already have the pleasure of cuddling up to such a sweet guy, you also have his huge dog. Nights are never cold when you’re with these guys.

🥪 — He’s lowkey kind of a house husband of a boyfriend and he likes doing things like cooking meals for you, especially surprising you with breakfast, but that can be hard if you guys fell asleep cuddled up to each other. He doesn’t wanna climb out of this :(

🥪 — He’ll just kind of talk and ramble about nothing in particular while you guys snuggle if you let him. How his day was, how Mabosstiff is doing, compliments and things he loves about you, new recipes, funny stories, all that. Sort of comes to a point where even he doesn’t really know what he’s talking about, he’s just sort of talking to talk because he’s not too fond of dead silence.

🥪 — He’s yours, alright. Even if he was nervous about the relationship at first, Arven’s a happy, happy guy. And he’ll take any chance he gets to cuddle up to you.

N

💚 — His relationship with touch is complicated. That and the whole concept of cuddling and just having someone’s weight against him.

💚 — I feel like sleeping at night he switches regularly between “literally the thinnest blanket is a constricting prison” to “this weighted blanket isn’t enough I need to be buried alive”

💚 — So you can only cuddle with him on touch-positive days, but N’s fallen into a good rhythm with you and is very communicative of where his boundaries are at at any given time.

💚 — Pokemon have no concept of sexuality, and no social constructs that dedicate one sexuality as more “acceptable” than the other, so neither does he. Not that he’s the biggest PDA person on earth, but he’s not at all nervous about you two openly being together. Yeah we gay, keep scrolling

💚 — If he’s in the mood for contact while you guys are out and about it’ll usually be while you’re sitting, he likes leaning against you and resting his head on your shoulder. I would say that would make the perfect date, taking him on the ferris wheel on a touch-positive day, but who am I kidding, he’d be too fascinated to rest with you then.

💚 — As one could guess by looking at him, he’s LIGHT. You could pick him up and sling him over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes, provided you are tall enough to support all his lankiness.

💚 — You can play with his hair if you want, he’ll undo his ponytail for you, but I can’t imagine it’s actually all that soft. Probably pretty coarse and tangled to be honest, given his upbringing, tending to his hair was never a prerogative. If you can’t stand it being a Rattata’s nest, though, he’ll rather contentedly let you brush it—through he might twitch or squirm a bit, just because the feeling of the brush going through his hair is NOT something he’s used to.

💚 — He spooks you from time to time on his touch-negative days, because you can roll over in bed at any given time and find him just. Staring at you. It’s a stare of pure love, but his eyes do have a kind of naturally vacant look that’s startling at first. Baby you have the haunting thousand-yard-stare of a possessed victorian child

💚 — When he is in the mood for cuddles, he really likes them at night before bed. Specifically right after you shower, because he loves the smell of your shampoo still lingering on your hair. It’s just so completely… you. And he loves that.

💚 — Fall asleep cuddling him and he will become a limp corpse though. An actual ragdoll. Don’t toss and turn too hard or you’ll break him. He’s fragile. And by that I mean if you roll over onto one of his arms he will be stuck there.

💚 — He’ll also chatter on endlessly if you let him, but unlike the sandwich man above, he can be a little harder to understand because he both talks super fast and lays out his words the same as he does his thoughts, which are hard for people other than him to understand. But he knows this, and he’s just happy that you listen, even if you don’t get all of it. And he’s happy to be able to talk, to be heard, to just… say things and not have them carry the weight of the world when he does. Normal conversation is a beautiful treat to him. Oftentimes he’ll talk himself right to sleep, but between being in your arms and getting to speak his mind on all these simple things, he sleeps really easy when he does drift off.

[gyusimp]

Hey Gyusimp a question if you were to confess to Gyutaro how exactly would you do it and what would you say? If you want to you could include how he may react to it

°•Love confession for Gyutarō•°

What would I say to the love of my life if I had to confess my love to him? I made a promise to never confess my feelings to anyone again after a couple of accidents but without a doubt this man is the total exception.

I will leave aside the superficial flattery because I think it is more convenient to think about conquering Gyutaro in deeper and more emotional ways. It's an important issue to let him know that he is completely beautiful in my eyes but maybe I would mention it later.

I don't know if he would be completely open to listening to me since it would depend a lot on which Gyutaro it is (Canon or fanon) but in any case I think I would choose to write him a letter because it would make me too nervous and maybe I would end up ruining my opportunity.

I would tell him everything I think about him, from insignificant details to more serious things. Personally, I feel quite identified with Gyutaro and I think that finding several similarities of him and his past with Daki in myself and my own past with my sister made me have a different connection with him. It almost suddenly became my official comfort character.

I see a lot of myself in him and I completely understand all the love he feels for Daki/Ume, both his helplessness at not being able to save her and stuff. A very important weight falls on you if you choose to be a good older sibling and I think we both agree with that.

I would tell him that he is so amazing, smart and brave, that he has always been cool and worthy of respect since he was human. That perhaps he has never had the opportunity to love (besides Ume) and be loved and that it would be an honor for me to be able to give him all my unconditional love in the purest and most honest way.

I would love to be that safe place for him when he feels like everything is falling apart and nothing is going right. I know that maybe other people treated him badly throughout his life and judged him wrongly making him have to create this idea that he is bad and raised Ume in a wrong way because after all, he always gave his best. That I feel proud of him and all his achievements to be able to move forward even when the only way to do so was to sacrifice his humanity and that of his sister to offer her a second chance.

He is a determined man, I love every part of him and embrace all his possible insecurities for him. I would let him know that when he is with me no one can do or say anything bad to him (even if he is the strongest and most dangerous demon after Muzan Kibutsuji).

I would tell him that I am not afraid of him, I see a protective person in him who would do anything for those he loves and that shows how big his heart is even after having transformed into a demon. I like his strength and how he fights for what he wants until he gets it, I like his way of joking and his great and imposing style, always showing who's boss.

My heart and mind keep thinking about him constantly and the happiness that the simple fact of being able to hug him and make him feel truly loved would bring me. Letting him know that having him would make me feel like all my problems would just fade away.

I have a lot more to say but I don't want to make this question so long lol. Thank you very much for this question, it was interesting and different, fun to answer! Actually, I have an exercise in my writing class at university about writing a letter to a fictional character, there is no need for me to think about who I will write it to lmao so if I end up liking the result I could share one here part of it (or all? I don't know) Thanks for your question!

[dead-boys-club]

You characterize everyone really great! Except Touya don't you think you write him a little too expressive? it just doesn't seem very fitting.

I'm not sure if I should say thank you or...

So, I'm not going to do what I did with Hawks and write you a whole book ( i lied ) on why I write Toya the way I do. However, I'll give a little piece:

Dabi was a mysterious, sarcastic jackass. Dabi was a cover. A persona. He didn't exist. He was built to mask intentions until Toya got where he needed and wanted to be. It's very simple.

Toya, on the other hand, in case no one's noticed is very emotional, very expressive and talks waaay too fucking much. I mean, we spent like 7 pages with him monologuing. He's not.. some emotionless, dead inside jerk and I also refuse to write him as some overly sexualized nympho - it's kind of tiring seeing all these characters reduced to nothing but sex and bad clichés. I mean - he's a super traumatized, unstable dude with a mental issue here and there, who actually enjoyed hurting people, but he's not a sociopath. However, he's also not in denial about a single thing. He knows what he went through, he knows what he's doing, he knows he's a little unhinged.

However - you're talking about a kid who basically just wanted attention and approval, who wanted his dad to be proud of him. Lmao, I hate to break it to you anon, but half the people I know, including myself, are very familiar with this kind of situation and the trauma of it. ( if you feel the need to come at me for the burning alive part, you can take your smart-ass right to the block button and not waste my time. )

I really, really hate that I have to keep repeating myself about these characters actually having depth and being more complex than you give them credit for.

Do you even understand what its like to be a deeply traumatized person, who sought those things and ended up so fucking disappointed that you became someone else? That you stopped trusting, stopped loving - you just kinda broke? The scenarios and reactions I've written for him with a partner convey someone who finally found someone else that isn't pushing him away, isn't screaming at it and is accepting how he wants to deal with things. And I've also made it clear in my writings of him that it confuses the shit out if him and he doesn't just accept that someone loves him and is proud of him... because how the hell is he supposed to know how to react to something he's never had? I didn't just.. make him into a character that changed over night and is good and happy, etc etc. No. Because I know better and I'm not going to shit on a character with complexities stemming from trauma and mental disorders.

As someone with a handful of mental problems, trauma out of the ass, that relates to this character on a pretty scary level - I refuse to write him on the surface of what Dabi was supposed to portray. I will continue to write Toya the way I always have and if you don't like it, that's perfectly fine. I'm not asking you to like it or change your OPINION, because that's what it is, but you will not come onto my page and tell me it's wrong. Lmfao.

I'm sorry that you want some shitty, second hand surface level Dabi writing that I refuse to give. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Hopefully you find another writer who will do that for you.

( Let me clarify: I am 100% shitting on how this opinion was brought to me. I'm not shitting on people that write him that way, not everyone spends 179395 hours in a fixation obsession over a character; I do. Write how you want. Write how it makes you happy. But don't go to people and talk to them like this.)

You could have easily written something like 'you characterize everyone really great but I don't agree with toya. can i ask why you characterize him like this?' Literally could've just asked. Not 'oh this is great except this one this one is wrong'.

If it doesn't seem fitting to you, that's okay. Then my writing isn't your taste. Go find someone else you enjoy?

[miles-harding]

much appreciation for the amazing show of love i've seen for electric dreams in the past year alone but i think it's worth remembering that the characterization of edgar as a 'devil character' is deeply nuanced, even for a cult-classic theatrical flop like electric dreams (1984). the story is literally based on cyrano de bergerac (man who is very romantic falling head over heels for a woman he thinks is unattainable to him and a more-attractive middleman uses his words so that the woman won't hate or fear him because he thinks he's hideous, which is sort of hilariously way more depth than a film of this caliber even really needs, but it does possess, and that elevates it significantly as a romance film tbh... imo)...

the 'edgar with devil horns' representation for the usamerican theatrical release film poster is like a 'sexy' version of that lmao... like, it's supposed to be promiscuous, there are promotions including old vhs sleeves that literally say 'edgar is horny'. he's cheeky and throws tantrums and he doesn't really know how to talk to people. he's only a 'devil' in the way that a kitty cat is a devil... just so happens, in this case, it's a brat-coded sentient computer.

i honestly don't know why very basic things like this make people so irrationally upset but like. please... no one said edgar is evil. edgar is one of the few cases of a sentient AI or object character who does a bunch of mischief screwing with a human's life and relationships and it's all fine in the end because the sentient AI gets to live (in almost a higher form of existence unrestrained by physicality... remember how badly edgar just wanted to be a thing that feels? now edgar can do whatever edgar wants, despite not having a physical form, actually getting to live out the liberating side of not having a physical for) and the other two protagonists of course live, and they have a life afterward.

with other media like wargames, we of course have an innocent (somewhat) sentient computer who genuinely might cause the nuclear apocalypse, because he thought he was playing toys with his dad. but in the end, after the protagonists live their lives, joshua the wopr is still property of the military. in the colossus series, which is a subversion of frankenstein, the creator dr. forbin eventually does come to love colossus like a child, only for that child to then die, the world sort of absolving it of its past transgressions or mistakes against humans while ruling over them. we call AM evil, for the cruel and unusual things he does to his human playthings, but the case can still be made about a very powerful being having so much power but not the power to lift themself out of the situation in which they are trapped (same can be said for other AI like shodan or glados), so they lash out. of course, famously, everyone calls hal 9000 evil. but even in kubrick's adaptation, which was written in party by sir clarke himself, we actually see zero evidence of hal being characterized as evil, this characterization manifested in the perceptions of the audience, siding solely with scared astronauts who fear being controlled, rather than recognizing that hal, too, is a crew member being controlled... by humans, who are also using him to control his crewmates, his friends.

electric dreams really is a fairytale for computers, but it is also a tragedy. it's the fairytale-ification of an actual, classical tragedy. when rusty lemorande wrote the screenplay, he was basing a lot of the film's socio-computer-centric story on his experiences as a lonely person who had just moved to a new city, but who had only ever spent time with the computer as a vehicle for social communication... shutting himself out from the possibilities of meeting others. but even despite this, despite madeline's quips that could be misconstrued as being less than sympathetic to the idea of a sentient AI ("since when is talking a sign of intelligence?"), the film was literally dedicated to the univac-1? it gave edgar a happy ending? it had a dual meaning? it did so much more than take the "AI character bad, human good" approach which is something that is strikingly rare in the AI-subgenre of scifi. there was a lot of nuance baked into it. all 3 protagonists had their own bubble and inner world that overlapped with each other's bubbles. you know what i mean? the film managed to define edgar not as an antagonist but as a kind of trapped protagonist. this isn't a good vs. evil story, there is no evil in edgar. this is a people vs. people story about relationships, really, and learning to know what's good for us. like it's seriously very well-rounded with each character's respective arcs.

sometimes it's so disheartening not to see films these days with the same or larger budgets doing even half as much with their story as electric dreams did. it's very widely beloved as a cult classic for a reason, and that reason is that it succeeded at executing a story about relationships. like. 'we drive each other crazy' but in different ways. perhaps the only thing that could've made it better was a far more ambitious electric-polycule ending endorsing bisexual polyamory lol but we got all but that, explicitly, technically...

[chodzacaparodia]

I have more thoughts on bllk and Isagi soo It was cool in the start because Isagi was like one of the worst players and we could see how he evolves and that was interesting and weren't boring hearing his inner monologues I guess? And the others all seemed impressive from his perspective lmao But now he acts like a main boss of something and a prodigy who has lots of skills and actually acts a bit rude towards others? (here comes the personal taste that one can just not like his personality I guess) but he like turned to a prodigy whom he admired and win against in the first half and now those are the ones trying to beat him but Isagi is the main characters so kinda these evolve around him which is unfortunate for the ones who don't like his character Soo I kinda mean that we could try to bring back Isagi not being too good? and now he could actually lose (like he can I guess bc he already win a lot and evolved so it's not like it'd be over just for him to get less op and the others could catch up too, because the power scales and balanced really shifted from him needing to beat someone to others needing to beat him which is quite an interesting development of events and a lot has a more tragic past than him now give them a win pls (this is just some personal thoughts I came up with they might not be full correct so my apologise)

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!

I understand your point of view because in many respects I agree. I admit that it was interesting that he started to develop from an average player into one of the best. His internal monologues were also completely different, because not only did he surprise others, but he was also often surprised himself when he noticed complete things and analyzed them.

I like that you wrote that Isagi turned out to be a prodigy. Because that's the truth. He was a prodigy from the beginning, but before Blue Lock he never had the opportunity to discover it. It's not that I don't think he hasn't developed as a result of hard work and training, but his greatest strengths are actually related to his way of thinking and his special ability to analyze, something that not every character is gifted with and is unlikely to practice because it happens rather automatically.

As the story progressed, Isagi actually became overconfident. (Yeah, totally like a main boss!) And that's why he actually started to think that he was better than others (actually I did a meme about it ). And I must admit that it irritates me a bit. Surprisingly, this didn't irritate me with characters like Barou or Rin. Maybe it's because we get to know them as characters who feel better than others. And Isagi went from a guy with low self-esteem to a guy with a bit of a God complex. From extreme to extreme.

And in fact, he behaves rudely towards others. It seems even more visible because he was a really nice guy from the very beginning! But honestly, I think it's not just a matter of him feeling better than others (but I think that's largely the case). Isagi blended in with the Blue Lock's atmosphere. He was constantly exposed to people who treated others in the same way (including Isagi), so I'm not surprised that such behavior influenced him and he adopted it as well.

(And it must be really irritating when someone you don't like makes you grow. Typical bllk experience).

Honestly, I wish he would lose and humble himself a bit. I want absolute destruction. After all, the higher a person rises, the more painful the fall. And logically, sooner or later Isagi has to lose, because you can't always win. However, I'm not sure Isagi can return to that level as before (I'm not talking about the level from the very beginning, because he will never return to this times, but maybe more to the level from the 3rd or even 2nd selection). He's gone too far with all this. After his defeat, he would definitely go through a worse time, but would he actually become more humble? Would he have completely despaired of his abilities? Would he feel inferior to someone else? It's possible, but I think it's more likely that it will be just an episode rather than a longer streak of self-doubt. This will be seen from the outside more as "His rival was better" than "Isagi wasn't good enough".

But deep down, I really want the character I like more than Isagi to win. I admit that I often let my thoughts go in the direction of "this character has a traumatic past, he deserves to win as compensation". But in my head there is always the thought that Blue Lock was a manga unlike any other from the very beginning. Such issues really don't matter there. On the field, no one cares about the characters' traumatic pasts. All that matters is being the best and striving for a goal without any scruples or moral compass. And as interesting as it was (I would REALLY like to see it), even though the other characters theoretically deserved their victory more. A character doesn't have to have a tragic backstory (like Isagi) to win. They just has to be the best.

(I'm sorry if this wasn't the answer you were expecting! I didn't know how to respond to this and I thought for a long time, but in the end I let the discussion carry me away and referred to some of your thoughts and added my own, not necessarily related to your statement. I really don't know what and why I wrote all this 🙈).

[neo-zone]

Alright, I finally got my hands on this full ... presscon? cast reaction? Whatever.

I already shared some screenshots from this before (by some people on Twitter) and after finally watching the full version, I fell like I need to share the rest of the season 2 world building and character lores mentioned and discussed to you guys in here (and also major spoilers for season 3)

P.S. I could be wrong on some of the points here (either misinterpreting or not paying enough attention), so please correct me if I do in the reply section

Season 2

I'm still confused af on this line : "he killed his original body as well as his personality, eventually turning into the twisted monster that he is now". Like so, does it refer to Sang-won killing his original body in season 2 or is it about monster Sang-won killing the real Sang-won?

I still don't get this line too, so interpret it however you want : "The child covered in black?" "This is where what's remaining of Sang-won disappears, uncovering the child."

Chan-young was a baseball player. Ye-seul was one of the cheerleaders

Oh, apparently monsterization does still happened inside the stadium. That's why there's a regular daily checking. Anyone showing symptoms will be out in the isolation place (yeah that place where they put the sick mom in). Some lived, some died inside the isolation => might be why Chief Ji keeping her monster son secluded somewhere deep inside the stadium

Hyun-su cut Yi-kyung's daughter hair the same style as him, hence how they're being similar appearance wise

The live action crew is adapting Shotgun Boy into Netflix Sweet Home

Yi-kyung blames herself for how her child turned out to be with her monster-turning power

Yi-kyung's inability to give affection or even touched her child stems from the fact that monsters are created from human desires, so she didn't want her child to have desire (awfully familiar with a particular old man *side glance*)

Yep, you guessed it. These three (Hyun-su, Eun-yu, and Chan-young) are dense as fuck about their own feelings to each other (minus Hyun-su to Chan-young and vice versa ofc)

Yi-kyung's daughter views Hyun-su as her own family even more than her biological mother. Because they're similar and he's the only person she could hold hands with without her power reacting

Hyun-su uses red ribbons to mark the safe area for Eun-yu because color red stands out among the greenery of Seoul post time skip

The monster cocoons are shaped like a heart because monsterization manifests from human desires

The "real Jung Wui-myeong" is one of the scientists. Sang-won (or monster Sang-won depending how you interpret the earlier points) took his identity and used it as his own, probably to separate himself from his old human self

Lmao, not them calling Sang-won's family as family of evil and there's no good apple in it. That's so fucking foul

Sang-wook is still there somewhere (I already shared this one before)

Sang-won's original abilities include the Medusa touch he did to Hyun-su in episode 3

Oh wait, Yi-kyung survived?! I thought she died after her fight with Hyun-su (uh oh *nervous glance to every instance of me mentioning "her death" in replies*)

Monster Hyun-su act according to what Hyun-su thinks and desires (I had shared this one before)

Monster Hyun-su is more proactive and extrovert (is the extrovert part really necessary?")

Season 3 rough summary

Family drama : Nam Sang-won starts a bunch of trouble (this bitch) in order to create a world he dreams of. There are family reunions and conflicts between spouses. He also meets his child (uh oh). They fight for her custody. This custody case didn't need a court (fuck, oh come on 😂). Yi-kyung wouldn't just talk it out. She'd fight until one is dead

Sibling drama : Eun-yu will meet Eun-hyeok again, but I'm not sure it'll make her happy

Second male lead struggle : Chan-yeong faces even more hardships as the story progresses. But even then, he gives up a lot just to protect Eun-yu. He starts to understand the monsters more. There's a lot on his mind as the story goes on.

More monster Hyun-su : Hyun-su lets go of himself and lets out the monster. But the monster doesn't just do its thing. He reads Hyun-su's mind and acts as he wants.

Another Hyun-su and Yi-kyung interaction : And later on, he interacts with Yi-kyung as well. The emotion it brings also felt huge. In the narration, he tells Eun-yu how much pain Yi-kyung is in and that he has to stop it all himself. So I'm sure Hyun-su sparked a change in Yi-kyung's heart. That'll continue in Season 3.

[insecateur]

do you have any tips on where and/or how to make blinkies? i want to learn how to make them but don't know how. have a good day btw :3

hiiii i will do my best to give tips!! o7

first of all if you want to get a feel for blinkie making without diving in directly i recommend using a site like blinkies.cafe which lets you just add text to premade blinkie templates! i think it's a good way to get an eye for the blinkies "aesthetic" especially regarding the actual blinking part, the borders, all of that. and ofc the size (which for the record is traditionally 150x20px!)

if you want to actually get into Real Custom-Made Blinkies, studying ones you like up close is a great idea because it'll help you see what works and what doesn't. obviously everyone will have different design sensibilities, but that's why it's always good to take inspiration from things that you personally like!

here are things that i like, as an example:

dotted/dashed borders that blink between two colors

shadows

outlines

pixel art

keep in mind that blinking can be upsetting to the eyes for some people! i always try to not overdo it, but at the same time, they are blinkies, so it seems kind of like a waste when they don't blink at all...

traditionally, blinkies include two things: a picture, and text. they don't always! sometimes there's only a picture, and sometimes there's only text. for example, this blinkie i made of lysandre only has his card art and little hearts. this is once again going to depend on your preferences. but for the sake of explaining, let's say you want one or two simple pictures, and some text.

i find pokémon to be a pretty easy thing to make blinkies for, because you have a large panel of pixel art to choose from! for example, i made this blinkie for my blog using one of the mini scyther sprites. a lot of them are animated, too, which is fun. i can't really advise you on what program to use for animated stuff because i use really old ones LMAO but i've always had a good time using ezgif! you can just feed it your frames and use the website to put them together into an animation.

the text imo is the trickiest part. the blinkies you find on blinkies.cafe use pixelated fonts, but i've had a really hard time using them outside of that context. it's hard to get them to look good imo, especially at the small scale that blinkies end up at... so what i've been doing is making my own little pixel art alphabet. it's very fun for me and i don't think it's as difficult as it sounds, so i definitely recommend it because it gives you a lot more flexibility imo. i handdrew the text for all of my PSS blinkies, as well as the aforementioned scyther one, and this trans rights one. i actually have the trans rights and PSS alphabets completed and saved in a file for later use in case i need them, lmao:

you can see what the process is like: i make a rectangle, draw one letter, and then copy the rectangle to draw the other ones at the same size and in the same style. it's very, um, vibe-based, i guess? you just have to figure out what looks good for your Vision. but i find it super fun... so it's easy for me to do, i guess...

if you want to see the scyther blinkies text closer up, here it is at 500% size:

uncapitalized letters are more difficult than capitalized letters imo, but i think i did an ok job! maybe i'll make a full alphabet for that one too at some point, lmao. for the "tumblr" text i just copied the style of the logo (hopefully that comes through...)

i'm not sure what else to say, so feel free to ask more specific questions if you'd like! i think a lot of the other stuff is more general art/graphics advice, like color theory and the likes, which i'm not sure is worth going over LOL. but as a parting note, i'd definitely suggest not going overboard on the color palette. blinkies are pretty small at their default size, and too many colors will make them really hard to look at, let alone understand. in general, keep in mind the final size when working on something like blinkies, and make sure to zoom out periodically to double check you've got something readable!

and don't forget to have fun 👍👍👍

[imaginative-123]

This might be my Last Post regarding Vivziepop

I'm just going to say this as a longtime fan since 2019 I was extremely disappointed, before all of this I started following her since 2019 and watched Hazbin Hotel and I thought it was good alongside Helluva Boss which I rewatched in the past of my Youtube Downloads bec the PLDT internet during the Coronavirus that started in 2020 was not great. I used to listen to her different music genres of her speedraws while I'm drawing and I also watch her speedraws and was amazed by the process on how her artworks was made. I even made a fanart about her for my college project

This is my fav Die Young music video that I made fanart for

Artwork I Made for Technicals in History of Graphics Subject in First Year College for my favorite artist and animator Vivziepop.

Although despite Vivziepop's success as an Indie animator and for running Spindlehorse, I cannot deny she's a very controversial person to any video or tweets about her is always related to her past controversies, while I do see that there are unfair accusations thrown against her I still wish she addressed her other controversial stuff that she didn't addressed whether she's aware of what she did or not and I'm not going to mention any names bec I do not want to be involve deeper in the drama bec I've seen there are other tumblr and twitter posts calling her out, not to mention the fanbase is divided with diehard fans, neutral fans, haters, stalkers and critical fans. Also the reason why I'm really dissapointed with her bec any controversy that is meant to call out her attention she blocks people on Twitter whether the person is criticizing her show and her actions and not to mention she started becoming unprofessional lately. I can understand if blocking is meant to avoid harassment, if that's the case, but when it comes to criticism she was acting unprofessional and not to mention not addressing in a professional manner can make people go unprofessional against the creator, if I'm being honest she needs a PR Manager or Assistant to guide her. At the end I'm disappointed, I expected better from her, being a longtime fan since 2019 deeply hurts me, for me this might be my last post including the tumblr fanart works I liked related to the show. I just hope she won't get the worst Cancellation that might make her leave the internet and cancel Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss and her other projects, bec that is the worst thing to happen and I wish she needs to step up her game and try to improve her behavior including the writing of her shows. Only time will tell until she realizes this, and I don't follow Viviziepop or Ayy Lmao anymore, and I'm all for valid criticisms for Vivziepop just as long as the people were not harassing her or sending death threats and also making false accusations against her and just because you may not like her as a person does not give it a free pass to make up false accusations and lies against her and is not acceptable, the fandom should do better. Until then, goodbye Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss fandom, I used to be a fan of the show but I cannot support Vivziepop anymore, and it's time for me to leave.

BTW the art that I made for college will not be removed despite my mixed feelings about Vivziepop it would be a shame for me to delete it with all the hardwork I made it. So it will not be deleted from my Deviantart and my tumblr post including my other Hazbin Hotel redesign edits and Beelzebub redesign edits in my Deviantart account if you guys also want to check out my work there.

If Charlie Morningstar the Princess of Hell will redeem sinners by making Hazbin Hotel a place to rehabilitate sinners and make them become better people, then I hope Vivienne Medrano who uses her creativity through her artworks and being an indie animator to inspire her fans and artists like me, but she needs to grow up and become a better person.