#marshmallowgoop

[astravis]

Shinichi Deathclock? 👀

This may or may not be something you've seen before because I sent the sketch in the fanfic server. I got stumped on how I want it colored, so it's been untouched for ages.

Something something as time progresses his identity as Shinichi slowly dies.

[standardquip]

Post I'm replying to is here

"Generally speaking, the more hours I devote to [editing] a video, the more I like it and the prouder I am of the results.

I fear that others don't feel the same, though. My second-most popular video on Tumblr is an "older" one of relatively little effort, and I unfortunately can't say that I care much for it myself. It took maybe 20 hours, tops, whereas more recent videos that pushed past the 50-hour mark—and that I'm far more confident in—have garnered maybe half the notes.

[...]

I enjoy edits with lots of clips and effects... but are those kinds of AMVs just "bad"? Or is the way I'm executing them bad? Am I focusing on all the wrong things with my videos?"

- @marshmallowgoop

This is touching on a much larger "issue" in the vidding/editing community than you might realize (although you do seem to recognize it is an issue) but I'm going to try to tackle it in many points.

These are in no particular order.

Your audience doesn't know how long it took to make something.

I know it's hard to come to terms with the fact that sometimes "crappy" things do better than stuff you personally like more, but unfortunately that happens with everyone, all the time. Memes get more traction than well-written anecdotes, headlines get more traction than the actual article, and short vids are often easier to relate to than longer ones with more of a story.

What the internet zeitgeist grabs cannot easily be predicted and is never a judgement of quality. Throw this logic in the garbage, because what goes viral should never have any factor in your self-worth.

Who is your [main] audience for your videos?

If you're making your videos for you, than whatever you like is good. If you like what you end up with, then the video succeeded. If you are making videos to chase audience interaction (which is valid, btw, just not something I personally do), then they need to appeal to a very wide general audience. You'll need to re-assess why the vids aren't getting as much interaction as they used to and adjust your editing style to increase that interaction.

But your past posts don't seem like that's your target. It seems like you make vids for you. So don't think your videos are "bad" because they're not getting likes. They're getting the most important like: Your own.

Of course, it's always nice to be validated by other people. But that's generally not going to happen based on the amount of effort you put into something. It's generally just gonna be with people who vibe with or relate to your content, and if they don't then it won't be shared as much.

Another thing to factor in is where the people who like the stuff you like are located. Maybe your immediate circle is more about conan memes, and you need to go to reddit or something to find the conan romance fans. It could also be timing. Maybe the people who like conan romance aren't online when you post and don't see it. Or maybe it's just luck because the internet and social media are just Like That and totally random. Talk to any artist about trying to play the algorithm to sell more art! 😆

What is the ultimate goal for your videos?

On a per-video basis, you'll generally have a premise for a video.

Things like:

I want to play with new effects

I want to gain as many likes as possible

I want to make an action video

I want to make a character profile that people who have not seen the source video can appreciate

I want to make a good video for a particular song

A "good" video will balance visual entertainment with story, but ultimately, in my experience, it helps to simplify your video down to one goal, and then base all of your following decisions on if those decisions achieve the goal.

As an example, let's say you want to make an action video but your primary interest is the visual effects. This will affect your scene selection, as you should pick scenes that will work better with effects.

Action videos are generally more cohesive when they center around one particular character or duel. If that "plot" were your goal then you'd pick scenes that created a narrative structure aligning with the character or duel's progression.

But since you want to use as much vfx as possible, you may diverge from that cohesiveness by instead injecting a montage of "powering up" scenes with flashy transitions, or maybe you will sidestep the focus on one particular rivalry and include another fight with an unrelated character because that gives more opportunity for better added animation.

This does not make any quality judgements on what is "good" or "bad" when it comes to videos - instead it comes down to whether this particular editing decision advances the ultimate goal of your final video.

Similar to writing, if you're making a persuasive essay, you shouldn't meander onto your own related-but-not-actually-the-topic-of-the-essay rant. The rant might be great, but it's not the purpose of the essay and ultimately just muddies the point you're trying to make (much like this metaphor probably did for my post about video editing, whoops).

"is the way I'm executing [amv effects] bad?"

First of all:

"Good" or "bad" is so subjective, there is no overseer that can definitely say this is good or bad, because it's art, and art is subjective and on and on. Which I'm sure you know, but it bears repeating anyway.

I have tried to be unbiased for this reply so far, but I have to disclaim before I continue that I come from the "school" of "raw editing" - which is to say, trying to stay away from a bunch of effects - so while I am trying to remain unbiased, what I say next will probably be biased despite my efforts.

Even though there is not a definitive "good" or "bad" in vidding (and if you're hanging out with people who are making blanket judgements like this... don't), we can instead look at art, cinematography, and editing fundamentals for the general "laws".

As fan video editors, we are also essentially our own directors and cinematographers. We can choose which scenes we want to use for certain goals and sometimes even make up our own scenes through compositing.

I made this playlist that is about half fundamentals and half random editing guides. I do still add to it, but it's hard to find videos that aren't bloated (and also related to vidding somehow), so updates are few and far between.

Anyway, of note are:

These are both highly valuable as they can help you not only choose which scenes to put together, but how to position them if you're framing your own shots through zooms and motion effects.

I watched all the videos you linked, and I think you are a good editor that makes what you like and that may not appeal to a broad audience.

I'm not a conan fan, but your vids aren't boring. I'm not a heavy vfx editing fan, but your videos don't look like most heavy vfx shorts. You're either making stuff your own (what I assume) or using presets I'm not familiar with.

WARNING I'M GOING TO CRITIQUE SOME OF YOUR VIDS BELOW

(I assumed you might actually want answers to some of those questions; if not, skip this part!)

The school of thought I come from with vidding says that everything should have a purpose. If my goal is to make a plot-driven vid, then what does a particular effect add to the video?

In this video at 0:04, you have this kind of cut in block thing, and I'm wondering what is this for? Why is it there? To me it's distracting and interrupts the flow.

But it could be a callback to Yu-Gi-Oh somehow? Maybe it's to give the video a feel like it needs to buffer load or something?

I'm not familiar with either source mentioned in the description, so I can't say, but as a general audience member, there's just so much stuff happening visually that I have no idea what's supposed to be happening story-wise. Maybe it's a character profile?

I'm sure you could extrapolate effects and decisions for all your other AMVs. But deciding if something works for your video's goal has nearly zero impact on the time it takes to complete.

Meanwhile, I look at this vid, which seems like a standard romance vid and it seems like a good balance between the romance and the effects; I'd only maybe change one or two things. Nearly all the effects work together to advance the story of the romance, so I'm not sure what went "wrong" here (in terms of lack of audience interaction).

END CRITIQUING

Is accessibility a concern?

Many vfx-heavy amvs rely a lot on motion transitions, which can cause motion sickness! I've gotten motion sick from more AMVs than I care to admit LOL.

But even aside from that, there are photosensitive people, and their photosensitivity triggers are far more broad than just flashing lights.

I noticed all your vids have captions and that you participate on ao3, so it seems like you're hanging out with people who also value accessibility.

In this way, by making vfx-heavy videos you are probably limiting your audience to people who are not photosensitive and/or sensitive people willing to "gamble" on a vfx heavy vid.

What you can do to help curb this is by adding content warnings about photosensitive triggers in your videos. On ao3 these are typically called "physical triggers," but 2 years ago I made a whole system called Vidding Photosensitivity Relay (VPR) .

Basically is comes down to describing what visually happens in your video. In most of your videos cases it would be motion transitions, quick cuts, and peripheral text. These relays (I'd hesitate to call them warnings) give people a better idea of what to expect when it comes to the videos they're watching.

With a better informed decision they could know if they can watch the video now, or later in a different setting, or maybe not at all to avoid a days-long migraine or something similar-- I was very surprised just how many people involved in vidding are photosensitive!

So that may be something to look into. You don't have to use VPR as a system, but it at the very least does list potential triggers and examples so you could refer to those.

My somewhat off-topic more of a personal reply here

"But I'm absolutely terrified that I'm only getting worse here—that as I learn more effects and get more comfortable with my program, my work is actually degrading."

(source)

Maybe you're just losing focus? Did you go through a writing phase where you had a massive vocabulary and started inserting all the "big words" into everything? The usage is technically correct but the message gets muddied due to the readers perception?

Maybe it's that.

I think re-assessing what your personal goals are, and deciding for yourself what you want to prioritize - your likes vs other people's likes (for starters) - will help.

There is also a need to decouple internet interaction from self-worth, which I know is MUCH easier said than done. But there are SO MANY great artists, editors, people in general, who don't get much interaction because the algorithm doesn't prefer them and/or they don't market themselves. That doesn't make them worth any less than the people who make it their priority to market themselves instead of create art.

I hope this whole post doesn't come off as patronizing or anything!

I usually just talk into the void and not get actual direct replies LOL.

Also sorry for taking so long to reply! Hope it helps in some way.

[potahun]

that is broadly how i felt about this ep too! the slightly better/renewed self-acceptance (or understanding that being conan, being a kid is not something lesser and he should like himself all the same) is one aspect i really enjoyed in this ep! and another aspect i got was perhaps the subconscious fear he has that he is going to lose something (and that he HAS lost himself as shinichi forever) because of his own arrogance! the last words of the cook in the aquarium really reflect what happened to shinichi when he thought he could handle it in ep1 and got shrunk as a result. the whole ep could have been a subconscious reminder to himself that he has lost things, could lose more things, with that mindset.

full agree that the bit about how one small silly thing can trigger a new wave of self-loathing or negative emotions, felt super real <333 i really wish they’d make more eps of this kind actually. They do not have to be that abstract all the time but it’s sooooo nice to see him DEAL with the mundane parts of his situation on an emotional front. We get the occasional moments of “i wish i could be big again to be with ran in this moment” but it’s refreshing to see the even more mundane bits, dealing with how he feels about himself

Thank YOU for making this beautiful edit and your analysis! Your vid made a spectacular job of highlighting what this ep is about at the core and had me instantly intrigued!

No matter how special it is, a kid's lunch is still just a kid's lunch.

I dunno, I liked "The Genius Restaurant" (Episode 1,089).

Happy (belated) birthday, Jimjam.

[Song link] [YouTube link]

[haidocityzines]

Haido City Zines presents our first release...

Compass: A HeiShin Anthology!

This is a not-for-profit HeiShin anthology project, focusing on the relationship between Hattori Heiji and Kudo Shinichi from Detective Conan. Friendship, romance, canon, AUs, anything goes as long as it's about the Great Detectives of the East and West.

Per our schedule we have reached the free release period, and are now releasing the PDF version for everyone!

DOWNLOAD: https://haidocityzines.itch.io/compass-heishin-anthology

🧭 Contributors

WRITERS (4): caliowl | FeatherDragon | River | MarshmallowGoop ILLUSTRATORS (8): den | froggybones | furekami | jezyan | JWP | Red_Dbl | Shay | Soh Arsquare VIDEO EDITORS (1): MarshmallowGoop MODERATORS (2): KAL黒 | Soh Arsquare

There will be a limited number of physical copies/merch still available for sale in the upcoming months. We have now received our sample book(GORGEOUS holo cover pictured above!) and pre-orders should ship sometime around October-November 2024.

A huge thank you to @heishinevents, a huge thank you to those who helped fund our pre-order production goals, and a huge thank you to everyone who has taken part and helped spread the word.

Thank you to everyone who made this project possible!

[mirrorfalls]

@dcmksecretsanta is proud to present... a gift for @marshmallowgoop!

Surpr... ahhh, who am I kidding, you probably knew it was me from that first minigift. The real surprise is how badly this thing did not want to exist. They threw everything they had at me: last-minute obligations, a sudden weight-loss fad, crippling depression of the "Are we back to pretending you know anything about gifmaking?” persuasion (on top of the regular persuasion), various “Hey, wouldn’t a nice big meta/AMV/Heiji fic be better and easier...?” siren-songs, and to top it all off a total fzzzt of the desktop I originally, lovingly put this together on...

They tried—and they failed, babey. Merry belated Christmas!

(It probably won’t take you five seconds to pinpoint the source for each of these, but I hope the Implications of each character’s assigned piece keeps you up essay-writing for weeks. 🙂)

[conanredraw]

🔎 CONTRIBUTOR LINEUP - PART 7 🔎

New day, new contributors! Now is time to introduce our artists recreating chapter 6!

Check the links to their accounts below ⬇���

gravityfelldown

tea

tokimaeki (Twitter - Tumblr)

Volts (Twitter - Tumblr)

Kusogorzyk

Cartoons by Andie (Tumblr - Instagram)

whalbo (Instagram - Tumblr)

ryuvine

fortune

Ado

Fiera

Citron (Twitter - Tumblr)

Lia (Twitter - Tumblr)

MarshmallowGoop (Tumblr - Twitter)

[circumference-pie]

i was tagged by @prolestari, thank you

why did you choose your url? I wanted “circumference” like my ao3 handle, but it was taken (circumference.tumblr.com is actually a literary mag of translations), so I slapped a “pie” onto it, like cutie-pie. that is definitely the only reason for choosing a word that sounds like “pie”

any sideblogs? @deducingcircumference for dcmk @himboblackdragon for lbfad @miscellaneouswritingstuff for dumping writing advice and resources @off-the-deep-end for my brief 2022 descent into figure skating madness

how long have you been on tumblr? since late 2018. because of guardian

do you have a queue tag? not anymore

why did you start your blog in the first place? to more easily find guardian fanart :D

why did you choose your icon/pfp? it’s liu qianqiao from word of honor! she is badass and probably the character I admired most, and she deserved better than to die with her shitty, shitty ex.

why did you choose your header? I don’t remember anymore. I feel like it had something to do with girl genius

what’s your post with the most notes? gifs of dfqc yelling about gardening on himboblackdragon

how many mutuals do you have? I do not know. maybe like 20-30?

how many followers do you have? maybe around 300-400 across my three main blogs?

how many people do you follow? 145. I used to try to keep it under 100, but I gave up recently

have you ever made a shitpost? gifs of dfqc yelling about gardening was a shitpost

how often do you use tumblr each day? i am basically. always on these days. rip

did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? I have mildly sniped in the notes and then unfollowed

how do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts? usually like I need to reblog it, until they say that. sorry

do you like tag games? some. I’m more likely to do writing-related games than others.

do you like ask games? some!

which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous? i don’t know…maybe @presumenothing or @harocat would come closest

do you have a crush on a mutual? yes and I’ve told them lmao

tags? uh. @intricatecaprice @tockamybeloved @joyburble @intyalote @marshmallowgoop no pressure

[hexfloog]

Starlight - for @marshmallowgoop as part of the DCMK Fanworks Server Halfiversary Exchange! :3c Boy was I excited when I saw the opportunity to explore this relationship teehee

Words and alt crop below the break <3

I deeply admire the Miyano sibling bond and super wish it was explored more in canon. They both clearly loved and cared for each other very much in spite of their situation growing up: not only did Akemi stake her own life on completing an impossible task in order to free her sister, but her death ultimately drove Shiho to attempt to take her own-- if that doesn't speak to sibling devotion then idk what does.

The crumbs we get out of certain episodes and movies (in particular, episode 129 and Countdown to Heaven) showcasing Ai trying to reckon with her grief are so so good and that's what I really wish we got to see more of ;--; That Ai would willingly compromise her safety in order to touch the last vestiges of her sister... bruh

Enjoy!! And now here's the alt crop:

God this could totally be an album cover. HA good joke Hex, you wouldn't, would you...? Unless...

[bearfully]

A Story of Despair and Hope by MarshmallowGoop

I received this WHA edit as part of a Secret (Summer) Santa MMV gift exchange and I just wanna ooh and ahh over it a bunch 🥺

[shinranweek]

Another ShinRan week is officially over. Again we got so many beautiful and talented works to enjoy, so let's thank all creators who participated this year:

Creator names follow:

@ravenclawwitchc @subbe93 @otaku-108 @marshmallowgoop @ellie-tarts @detectivefable @digitallyfanged @wata-kushi @kylee-11 FeatherDragon (AO3) @ueyyuey @lenawin4 @rux363 @marivanilla05 @deducingcircumference @artycreaty You can find a list of the entries by prompt here.

We are keeping the feedback form open till next year, so fill it out if you have a chance.

Thank you for being part of ShinRan Week 2023! We enjoyed the week, and we hope that you did too ❤

[kuroko99]

10 fandoms/10 characters/10 tags

thanks @everyones-least-favorite-bard for the tag (ㅇㅅㅇ)b

im going by most interesting/pivotal character to me which is different from my favorite/who i kin

1. Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint - Yoo Joonghyuk

2. Detective Conan - Haibara Ai

3. Voltron - Takashi Shirogane

4. Pokemon - Ingo

5. Ajin: Demi-human - Sato (im so osrry)

6. Mo Dao Zu Shi - a-Yuan/Lan Sizhui

7. Code Geass - Rolo (Lamperouge)

8. Undertale - Chara

9. Yuri on Ice - Viktor Nikiforov

10. Vocaloid - KAFU

tagged! -> @blenderfullasarcasm @vaeolus @toast-of-eden @thrushsong-kvaris @circumference-pie @magmatickobaian @marshmallowgoop @dragonsorceress22 @dezaki @hehearse

no obligations- man is it hard to search people on this dysfunctional site. (are half of my friends non-searchable or do i just not know their names??)

[astravis]

WIP Ask Game Rules: Post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet and tell us about it!

Thanks for tagging me @marshmallowgoop c:

My List: DP Hallway DP Handy DP MG Shinichi Deathclock TG Sassmon TG AMV TG Comp Things that will never be finished Zine-RealityTrip (needless to say not the same piece in the zine) Technically three of these are pretty barren and haven't moved on to having file names, but shhh.

Tagging: @anguishedlurker @neurotraum @dashing-through-ecto @gamma-radio @letswonderspirit @mrsketchy and anyone else who's up for it! There's too many of you guys making cool stuff

[standardquip]

(they had a whole conversation in the tags of their reblog. I'm going to latch onto the part where they feel they're a slow editor)

It still astounds me that hours spent also has no clear tie to quality of the edit. Two (2) Millennials (a 2min vid) only took 8 hours but practically everyone whose seen it has enjoyed it. I spent nearly 47 hours on Avant Garde (a 1:15 vid), but it completely misses the mark for me. Stockholm Syndrome, a 1 minute video, took 15 hours to make. Meanwhile, Vengeance (4:39), a video I started with the intent of finishing in less than 15 hours turned into a 44 hour project.

It's important to emphasize this part of the original article. Your (goop's) style is very effects-oriented and effects in general do take longer. It is not uncommon to spend several hours on a single second when trying to mask something out, for instance. Like, this is totally a common thing with editors, so don't get self-conscious about that. You will get faster and optimize how you apply your effects over time, with practice and skill development and familiarity with your editing program. Maybe your 30 seconds took 60 hours because you're inexperienced, or maybe your 60 hours came from being a perfectionist about the effects you decided to use. I've been editing since 2002 and I've used the same program for most of that time. If someone asks me how to do a particular thing I could probably do it in less than 5 minutes no matter how complicated it is. But that has no bearing on anything in a fanvid we care about, because knowing how to do something technically is a completely separate skill than any of the myriad of things like:

is this aesthetically pleasing to me

does this convey the message I want in my vid

scene selection of my footage in general

does it even sync to what I want it to sync to

am I feeling especially perfectionist this day? LOL

Most of my videos are "raw" or not very vfx-heavy. Currently, the most time I've ever spent on a video was one that focused heavily on overlays. It is only 2:27 and I spent probably over 100 hours on it - I started tracking it after I had already started the project and there are 97 logged hours. I made that vid in 2019. I don't think you're a particularly slow editor. You just choose to focus on other things, as you already stated in one of your previous tumblr posts. Edit whatever is fun for you! I think you'd also like the other article I wrote "When fun has a time limit" - pretty much a direct sequel to my time tracking one. edit: somehow I changed goop's 30hrs into 60 every time See, you're even a faster editor now! LOL I am sorry

Originally posted 22 June 2022

[blenderfullasarcasm]

WIP ASK GAME

tagged by @batshit-birds

RULES: post the names of the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! tag as many people as you have WIPs

1. no adult supervision

2. my dear devoted delicate

3. for the love of superman can we please meet some more murder suspects already

4. fuck or be moderately inconvenienced (18+)

5. bird boy bird boy where have you gone

6. orv au scenario 2 electric boogaloo (feat yjconan backstory)

7. i am not dead yet

8. haha get SHRUNK idiot (affectionate)

9. hey ghostboy what are your powers (tim: ...that's a good question)

10. what if jon's social skills were actually affected by being trapped in a volcano with only an evil version of his dad to talk to for years

tagging: @marshmallowgoop @yin1se4 @summerbummin @animikachu @kuroko99 @stygianwriter @thrushsong-kvaris @deducingcircumference @beedok and anyone who wants to do it!

[shsl-box-worshipper]

Hi, @marshmallowgoop! I decided to make your gift both a prank fic and a fic full of Miyano angst! I loved the idea of Akemi being a bit of a prankster...but you know me, I also demand tears be involved!

Also serves as a kind of sequel to THE BREACH. So, Enjoy!

ECHO

A little girl walks the lonely road at midnight, the moon her only companion and the clothes on her back the closest thing she has to home. She shivered as the night grew longer and the silvery orb of perpetuatance lit her path forward. Despite this, she did not give. Did not succumb to the cold that surrounded her. Her name is, or rather was, Shiho Miyano. Shiho hasn't interacted with another person proper for several months now. For she was not to exist at all. In one life, she was an unaware and unwilling prisoner and trainee of a group of individuals she came to fear as time grew longer, their black coats filling her sleeping thoughts as replays of horrible things warped and meshed on each other like a distorted film.

However, during that time, she had her sister. Akemi Miyano. The greatest big sister Shiho could've asked for.

Sadly, as Shiho looked to the sky above, she recollected the moments that led to her supposed rebirth.

She was freed from the crows that had toyed with her all her life, but it came at the cost of her sister's life.

13.

Akemi Miyano was just 13 years old. And Shiho was only 10.

Still, as she walked the lonely road, Shiho couldn't help but think of her sister as someone older. Someone wiser than a woman becoming of her age.

Shiho smiled as she thought about her sister in life, reminiscing on her happiest moments with her before it came to a burning and bloody end.

...She was getting tired. Akemi told her to never stop running, and so she did. She constantly hitch-hiked and walked toward one town and the next, doing whatever she could to get food, money, and a place to sleep.

She hasn't seen another car in ages. And she was getting tired.

...She could probably sleep on the grass nearby. It was not like police or the crows came this far out. She had moved across prefecture borders at this point. Anyone searching for a missing little girl of her description at this point would venture this far.

So, knowing she was possibly at her safest at the moment, she stopped her continuous walking, her knees begging to buckle under her.

She turned around and spotted a little grass field marked by a few trees off the side of the road. Finally, something soft.

She walked off the craggly pavement and stepped her holey shoes into lush grasses that tickled at her feet.

Shiho yawned as she promptly sat her behind on the softest patch of grass she could find. She was so tired.

She could barely feel her body as she promptly flopped onto the prairie, not even caring or stirring as the resulting trampled blades of grass rubbed against her skin.

Not even bothering to move from her current position, Shiho looked up to the sky as a light breeze brushed over her, gazing at the sky above as the calming beauty of nature absorbed her.

The chirping of cicadas, the soothing cool winds, the twinkling of the stars above.

?

She could almost swore one of them was moving...as if coming towards her.

For a brief moment, panic right through Shiho as she remained petrified against the grass.

What was-

She then saw it blinking...before slowly disappearing from her view.

...Helicopter.

She couldn't believe a helicopter gave her that much of a jumpscare.

She sighed as her adrenaline immediately subsided. Even as she was getting used to the outside world, she was still often naive when it came to what was and wasn't normal physical phenomena.

...Though it did remind of a memory. A memory of long ago.

Before the world was so cruel. Before she was free from the crows.

Before her cherished sister became just another splatter of blood in humanity's well of hatred.

...Her eyelids were getting heavy. She felt so tired.

Maybe now...is the time to sleep. And with it, Shiho shut out the world as she knew it.

///

"AAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The first thing she heard as came home from school was a bloodcurdling scream. And all at once, her body froze in place. Her breath hitched and everything she had thought of before had left her mind. Shiho recognized the scream. That being the familiar, often calm and soothing voice of her sister.

And with it, she bolted to the living room.

"ONEE-CHAN!"

She didn't even take the chance to drop off her bag or change out of her shoes as she went after her sister's voice. She was scared, terrified even. The sound of her shoes hitting the mats that lined the floor filled the air around her.

And then, she stopped.

Instead of being filled with light, the living room she had so grown accustomed to was dark. The windows were shuttered and the lights were off. It was so dark that she could barely see the outlines of the furniture that filled the room.

Shivers went down her spine as she gulped and took a nervous step forward. Any agency that was left in her had faded at this point, and the only light in the room came from the entrance light bleeding into the living room.

Her footsteps creaked against the tatami mats that covered the floor, her hands gripping the straps of her bag tightly as beads of sweat rolled down her face.

"O-Onee-chan?" she called out in a meek voice.

...But nothing responded.

She continued walking forward regardless.

She stretched out her hand to get a feel for her surroundings. After a few more steps, her hand brushed up against ragged cloth, firm with a rough texture.

She immediately concluded that she was feeling the back of Vermouth's couch, since she could recognize the rough cloth from anywhere.

She sighed with relief for a moment, knowing where she was in the universe putting her mind at ease.

But then, it all came crashing down.

!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHHH!"

Suddenly, something popped up from in front of the couch, screaming at Shiho. Fear flooded her veins as her head snapped up to look at the visage.

Sharp yellow fangs, red eyes, giant horns, black skin, a monstrous visage!

All staring at her and growling with its mouth wide open.

It only took a milisecond for Shiho to join the monster in screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHH!"

It scared her so bad that she fell on her rear, frozen in place by the terror that flooded her veins.

Her heart felt weak as her throat went sore from screaming.

And then, the lights came back on. The monster from the couch was gone.

Still panicked, she looked around for what turned on the lights...only to see Akemi, an amused look on her face as her fingers let go of the light switch.

"Haha, I got you good, didn't I?"

...and on the side of her face...was a monster mask.

Exactly like the monster that had made her jump and scream.

...

It didn't take her long to realize what was going on. And with it, fear turned into outrage.

"Onee-chan, that was NOT funny!"

Meanwhile, Akemi just laughed. Not like the fake laughter that the Miyano sisters had to do to appease the adults around them, but a wholehearted, belliful laugh that was so strong that it caused Akemi to hold her stomach.

"HAHA, wow, look at your face! You looked SO scared, hahaha!"

Meanwhile, Shiho was about to lose her mind. And in that moment, rage pumping through her entire body, she ran at Akemi.

"DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!"

Despite the anger present in her little body, there was always one thing that stuck out to her as she began baby-slapping her guffawing older sister:

Akemi's smile.

Unlike any smile she had seen before or after that day, it was whole, bright, and genuine.

A rare smile in Shiho's life. A smile she only saw on those that she saw as truly happy.

But it was a smile that, despite the emotions she felt at that moment, she carried with her.

Even as this moment became a memory, she knew that smile was special. And she always remembered the face Akemi made when the prank went through.

Because, at the end of the day, despite Shiho's anger, that scare was ironically the safest the Miyano sisters have ever been and ever will be.

But only in her dreams...can Shiho really live through that safety again. For that safety no longer existed in her rebirthed life. For now, that memory only served as an echo of future past.

[cartoonsbyandie]

Tag Game: Ten First Lines

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written less than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

I was tagged by @marshmallowgoop

I'm also interpreting this to mean "most recently worked on" and including WIPs.

“I have a few questions for you. I know you’ve already been read your rights,” he said, shutting the door behind him. [”???”]

It was a blue box truck, the kind made for delivering freight through crowded city streets like Beika, the Isuzu logo plastered proudly on the front grill. [”Look Both Ways,” Bride of Halloween fic]

There had been something haunting them, long before Richard's murder-magnetism had kicked into high gear. [“The View from Makeout Bridge,” KogoMegure one-shot.]

Richard made a mental note that if he ever wanted to win a game of hide-and-seek, he should just pay Division Two a visit. Because that was the last place he’d ever expect to find himself, and he was literally standing here right now. [“Witness Statement,” NakaMouri fic.]

"You didn't beat me yet, Kaiba! I activate Contagion of Madness!" The card was recognized, every shred of confidence draining from Kaiba’s face, illuminated by a blinding light that filled the battlefield. [”Critias the Traitor,” mostly-abandoned Orichalcos!Kaiba AU canon rewrite.]

Kew understood the world of the living for what it wasn’t. [Short story file, original characters.]

I tag: idk whoever hasn’t done it, I was tagged in this forever ago