#maybe it has been the primary thing i have been thinking about this week... whatever

[riggedbones]

videos games fun yay fun video games happy smiler will NOT take over your game and reduce you to nothing... perfectly niceys skull motif

[iloveboysinred]

I won't say I'm in love [Prince Zuko]

pg. 13, fluff | Zuko x gn! reader

synopsis; Zuko had never been one to express himself in the right ways, anger had always been his primary emotion. But, when he meets you, a rouge fire bender helping the Avatar, it becomes hard for him to accept the growing warmth in his chest every time you look at him.

cw; emotionally constipated Zuko, fluff, pining, Clueless Zuko, Zuko doesn’t know how to deal with feelings, awkward turtleduck, light fluff.

Masterlist

Zuko never had time to really sit and think about relationships. After spending his early teenage years on a wild goose chase hunting the avatar, and now having joined the Gaang, with only a week to teach Aang how to firebend so he could face Ozai, he had a lot going on.

However, when he had started to fit in with the gaang better, you had definitely caught his attention.

You were a firebender yourself, highly skilled and light on your feet. You made a formidable opponent in battle, your elegance and lightweight movements almost resembling an air-bender. Zuko couldn’t help but stare as you practiced basic maneuvers, your muscles flexing with every movement, the thin sheen of sweat on your brow, and the fierce look of concentration on your beautiful face. To say Zuko was whipped was an understatement.

You were the last to accept him into the group, having always been a bit of a loner and standoffish, you didnt trust him. Especially with him being the crown prince of the very nation that has caused you nothing but pain. So Zuko worked extra hard to earn your friendship. Doing good deeds like helping Sokka clean up camp, going on water collecting trips with Kitara, helping Toph with her hair, and of course, befriending Aang and teaching him firebending alongside you.

While Zuko was still miles away from getting close to you, he was running out of ideas on how to gain your approval. So, naturally he went to Sokka for advice.

“Its like no matter what i do, y/n still hates me! I dont get it, you guys all like me, you know i’m good now. So whats their problem?” Sokka looked over Zuko’s exasperated face, putting two and two together. Not that it was hard, everyone caught him staring at you like a creep once or twice already. “I dont think y/n hates you, honestly. Thats just the way they are. It took like, 2 months for them to really open up to us.” Sokka shrugged, smoothing his hair down. “If i’m being honest, you’re trying too hard. Seems like you got a thing for them.” Zuko gaped, staring at Sokka like he had grown another head. “What are you talking about!? I dont like them. I just want them to trust me!” But despite his words, the flush on his face betrayed his denial. Sokka raised his eyebrows. “Right. Okay. Why don’t you just talk to them? I mean, obviously what youre doing isnt working. Maybe you should get them a gift or something.” Zuko nodded to himself. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? He quickly stood up, a new objective in mind.

“Thanks Sokka.”

“Anytime, bro. And a word of advice, if you’re trying to make it less obvious that you like them, try not staring so hard. It creeps everyone out.”

“I TOLD YOU I DONT!”

“Yeah, yeah whatever. Get out before you burn my tent down.”

Zuko rolled his eyes, storming off with a deep flush on his cheeks.

The next morning he set out to the village nearby, wearing a cloak to disguise his face. He looked around the market, stopping by a jeweler, who had a whole array of different bracelets, necklaces, and rings. A peculiar necklace stood out to him. It held a beautiful ruby, plated in gold and held on to a thin, gold chain. Before anybody could see, he snatched it up, quickly leaving and heading back to the air temple before anybody could confront him. On the way back he stopped by a patch of fire-Lillies, picking a few to make a messy bouquet. “Y/n will like these.” He muttered to himself, trying to tie them together with an old piece of twine.

When he made his way back to camp, the others stared at him with questioning glances, momo crawling up to sniff at the flowers. “Whats with the flowers? You into gardening or something?” Sokka asked, eyeing the bright fire-lillies in his grasp. “I got these for Y/n” Zuko blushed as he realized how this looked, averting his eyes from Sokka’s teasing gaze. “Aww thats sweet, Zuko. Who knew you were such a softie.” Kitara cooed, fluttering her lashes in a mock swoon. Zuko gritted his teeth, cheeks burning hotter than the sun. “Yeah, maybe you’ll man up and confess. We all know you like them” Toph chided, smirking. “I don’t!” Zuko protested. “You’re lyinggg” Toph hummed, and Zuko cursed her abilities to see with her feet.

“Whats going on?” Zuko froze when he heard your voice, quickly turning towards you, hiding the bouquet behind his back. “Oh nothing, just teasing Zuko about his undying lo-“ Sokka was abruptly cut off by Zuko slapping his hand over his mouth, glaring at him. “What Sokka was trying to say is, we were teasing Zuko’s undying and super obvious crush on you.” Toph stated nonchalantly. The others snickered at Zuko’s panicked expression, his cheeks couldn’t have gotten hotter, wide eyes turned to you. “I dont know what they’re talking about! I don’t have a crush on you! They’re just trying to be funny i swear-“ “uh, Zuko-“ “I just want you to trust me, so i got you these flowers-“ he pulled the bouquet from behind him, presenting it to you. But what he didn’t realize was, he had accidentally set the lilies on fire. He gasped and dropped the bouquet, stomping on the charred flowers to put the fire out. You just gave him a blank look, the others snickering behind you. Zuko had never felt so embarrassed in his life.

“Wow Zuko, that sure was a good way to confess!” Kitara teased, watching as you just threw your hands up, being completely done with… whatever that was, and walking away to your tent. “Yeah Zuko. Maybe try not almost burning the camp down. I think Y/n will like it better if you just told them how you feel!” Aang chirped, just irritating Zuko more with his upbeat attitude. “Whatever, you guys are impossible” he snapped, storming off in a random direction. “And I told you i don’t like them!” Once he was out of earshot, Toph snickered, laying on her back against Appa’s side. “He’s lying again.”

For the rest of the day, Zuko avoided you at all costs. Leaving you to teach Aang by yourself, even sitting a considerable distance away from you during lunch. It was confusing you, but you didn’t say anything. You guessed he was still embarrassed from the spectacle he had made of himself that morning. You couldn’t help but smile to yourself. Zuko was sweet, and if what the others are saying is true, you couldn’t deny that you could start feeling something for him too. You’d observed him ever since he joined the group, and his surprisingly gentle heart had impressed you. You’d watched him teach Aang during your training sessions. Appreciating the way his body moved flawlessly, his dark hair bringing out the gold in his eyes. You had to admit, you weren’t complaining when he would show up to your lessons shirtless. There was no denying he was cute.

So, you decided to approach him, surprising even yourself. You waited for everyone to settle into their tents, then you made your way to his. You stood outside for a second, thinking about how you were going to start this, what you would say. But your thoughts blanked when Zuko crawled out of his tent, now face to face with you. “O-oh hi- Zuko- i, um” you stuttered, lost for words. His eyes widened at the sight of you, sputtering like a nervous wreck. “I just wanted to u-um say, t-that i think the flowers were beautiful and u-um that was very sweet of you” “o-oh” you stood in awkward silence, the ground suddenly very interesting. “Anyways i think i’m gonna go-“ “wait, i-i um, i got you this too.” He quickly handed you the necklace, eyes averting yours and a deep blush on his cheeks. You looked the piece of jewelry over, smiling at him. “It’s beautiful Zuko. Um, thank you?” “You’re uh, you’re welcome..” you don’t know what took over you, but you leaned forward pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. You stared at each other in shock, now it was your turn to blush, face as red as a tomato. “Uh well, its getting late- i’m gonna go back to my tent. G-goodnight” the words came out quicker than you could think, racing off back to your tent. Leaving Zuko standing there, hand on his cheek, feeling how warm the skin was under his palm. His brain short circuited and his heart was beating 400 miles per minute, he swore he was gonna pass out.

Hope you enjoyed :> notes and reblogs are appreciated, comments, asks, and requests are welcomed! 💗

part 2

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

What do you think of the parallels between Peter and Ginny, of being the overlooked one in the friend group? Do you think Ginny could've become a traitor at any point? What would happen if she did?

Thoughts on Peter and why he became a traitor.

It's Not a Parallel

Sorry, anon, the thing is, Ginny is never a part of the gang.

Peter was very clearly one of the four friends and is treated as such by every single character we see talk about that group. Now, McGonagall notes that he was clearly the friend no one liked, that she thought he was just a hanger on that James and Sirius tolerated because they felt bad for him in school, however he was clearly a part of the Marauders.

His name was on the map, he got a nickname, he was in the Order with them, he was a part of the group.

Ginny's a part of what I might call... the B-Team, some call it the Silver Trio. The gang is Ron, Harry, and Hermione. That's it, they don't have room for anyone else, if they're doing anything then that is the first and primary pick of who gets to be involved. They're the ones who are best friends, who hang out together all the time, and Harry has 0 other friends.

Such that in sixth year, when he tries talking to Ginny in school when they first get there, he realizes it's weird and awkward because... oh right, Ginny's not a part of the group and actually has other friends and Harry never hangs out with her, shit this is weird :/

Ron and Hermione are the ones Harry tells everything, they're the ones he turns to for advice, and they're the ones he agrees to take Horcrux hunting.

Where Ginny gets involved is she gets to be girlfriend... for two weeks after which Harry realizes that maybe it's not such a good idea to have a girlfriend. Then she gets told nothing and gets to be sent back to Hogwarts.

Her other moment of participation is that, being one of the most loyal members of the DA, she manages to get involved with the Department of Mysteries fiasco... and that's about it.

Neville, Luna, and Ginny are the B-team, Harry will happily rely on them when he Ron and Hermione need extra help for whatever reason, or else Harry will be proud and glad to be their friend when he finds out they've been fighting the good fight while he's doing something else, but they're not in the gang.

Poor Neville's been trying to get into the gang for years, he ain't in the gang, he'll never be in the gang.

Luna paints a mural of how much she loves her friends and Harry looks at it and thinks "... I didn't think we were that close, this is awkward".

The gang is Ron, Harry, and Hermione, and that's it.

And Ginny is well aware of this, as are Neville and Luna.

Would Ginny Turn Traitor?

No.

She knows she's not a part of the friend group, at the end of the series she isn't even Harry's girlfriend anymore, and before sixth year she had no hope of him being interested at all.

And being bitter over being the friend no one liked isn't the reason Peter turned, at least, not all of it. I think a lot of his motivation was terror and certainty the Dark Lord would win, and that if he was caught hanging out with the Order without explicitly switching sides, then he was fucked.

Ginny, meanwhile, is not the type to sell her grandmother for a bar of soap like Peter, and turning traitor would mean selling out her entire family, all her friends, and Harry Potter. It's something she would never consider, let alone do, she would die a thousand times in horrible battle before she did that.

As shown by her trying to steal the Sword of Gryffindor from Snape's office and then fleeing to the Room of Requirement.

She considers Percy to be a hopeless sellout for having sided with the Ministry, not even Voldemort.

What Would Happen if She Did

They tell themselves she must be under the imperius, because why the hell else would Ginny become a Death Eater.

Harry, too, is convinced, doubly so because Voldemort must have figured out Ginny was his girlfriend/the Weasleys are close to him, and thus is striking a blow to the Weasleys by stealing Ginny and making her do horrible things to her.

Harry's convinced that Stan Shunpike is under the imperius, that he can't possibly be a Death Eater, he'll never accept that Ginny is one.

(And in this case, he's probably right, because I just don't see Ginny doing this.)

[mania-sama]

also!! same anon. any kevneil hcs? 👀 what do u think there relationship would be like?

thanks for sending in another ask!!! i love answering!!!!

I have to really think about this because it's been a while since I've read the books. I needed to refresh my brain a bit!

Since they got together, everyone thinks that they'd push each other to unhealthy heights of Exy obsession. But, that's not the case. Slowly, they are able to coax more interests than Exy out of each other.

With Kevin, it's a lot easier. Neil already knows of Kevin's attempts at having other interests, despite having Exy shoved down his throat since he could talk. So, when the time comes, Neil encourages Kevin to spend time with the things that bring him joy. Such as watching the newest documentary about Ancient Egypt on the History Channel instead of a rerun of a UPenn Exy game, or attending his first Ren Faire dressed to the nines so nobody would recognize him.

Neil tries, too, of course. He picks up 'hobbies' at Kevin's subtle proding, but they always end up as competitions to see who can learn them quicker or better. Instead of being hobbies, they just end up as skills in his set. They learn how to knit together, and Neil is a thousand times better since his hand was never broken; his fingers are more nimble and move at a faster sustainable pace. Kevin sulks at this, obviously. So, when they learn chess, Kevin ensures he always has two wins over Neil.

Exy is still Neil's primary focus, his lifeblood. It's Kevin's, too, but Kevin allows himself a little more freedom. Neil doesn't find as much fun in Renaissance Faires or tours of Native American landscapes as Kevin does, but whatever makes Kevin happy makes Neil happy.

They argue very little at home. Whatever steam they have, they settle it on the Court, either in private sessions or in actual games. They do not hold back. When Neil makes a too-wide pass, Kevin shouts, "Josten! Fix your fucking aim or get off the court!" because he remembers that Neil sucks at putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Likewise, Neil bites back with, "Maybe I wouldn't have done that if you'd get off my ass every once in a while!" because Kevin is always insisting that Neil never does his chores correctly, and perhaps it pisses him off a little.

But, if anything happens to them on the Court, nothing else matters. It could be a good thing; perhaps Kevin made the game-saving goal, or Neil intercepted an important pass. They'll bump shoulders or, if it's appropriate timing, lift each other into the sweetest victory hug. It could be bad. It could be that Kevin's ankle rolls with a sickening crack. Neil drops his racket from whatever corner of the court he's in and rushes to Kevin like his heels are on fire. He pushes everyone away to pull Kevin into his arms, cradling his face as Kevin breaks down, memories of his broken hand crashing in on him. He whispers to Neil, the only person who could truly understand his situation and the only one willing to comfort him, that he's never going to play again. It's all over, he says, over and over again.

Neil tells him it's not true. It's a sprained ankle; it heals in six weeks. Kevin had a right to panic since their lives were reliant on their ability to play Exy, but Neil stayed right by his side the entire time. He shields Kevin from the press, having little patience for their prying questions. He spits out words that he knows Kevin would be horrified by (and so would the US Exy National PR Team). He sits down with Moriyama and explains the injuries and healing time. Moriyama leaves Kevin alone. Neil never lets Kevin get too far into his own head, and at the end of it all, Kevin thanks him in his own way.

Neil is on the receiving end of a lot of things; he finds brand-new running shoes waiting for him on the kitchen counter. There are his favorite protein bars ever from Germany stacked to the brim in the pantry. Kevin tells him, nonchalantly, that they have first-class tickets to watch the best professional Japanese team play in person in a month. It's hard for Kevin to say specific words, but Neil doesn't need them to understand.

But, sometimes, they do come out. At the end of their morning run on a rainy Tuesday, Kevin turns to Neil and says "I love you." Because perhaps that's when he needs to say it - when it's all clogged in his chest and nobody expects him to say it, least of all himself. And Neil will return the affection that night when the sun has set and the fear of nightmares has nestled into his skull. He fears that he has made a mistake letting Kevin so close to his heart, close enough that someone can hurt Neil by taking Kevin away. He turns to Kevin, grabs the nape of his neck, and says "I love you, too."

Because he knows that his fears are inane. That having someone to take care of his heart rather than letting it rot in its bone cage is the best decision he's ever made.

They sleep wrapped in the other's limbs and body. And when one starts shaking from a nightmare, they don't hesitate to pull each other closer. And that's all they need at the end of their long days. Having someone who will worldlessly, unquestioningly support them is enough.

[mrstellmeafuckingsecret]

hihihi

I saw your post abt walburga black and her relationship with Sirius black and I came RUNNING

I loovee hearing people's opinions on siriuss relationship with either of his parents and your ideas are just 🤌

If you don't mind can you give me some of your headcanons abt the noble and most ancient house of black (not necessarily sirius)

I love you ❤️ hope you have a lovely day week month whatever (sorry if this has weird structure english isnt my primary lang and i dont post asks often/at all)

(Also maybe an odd qn but how the hell do u dm someone on tumblr im acc stressed i wanna yap to so many ppl but i cannntttt 😭😭)

AHH I LOVE YOU I LOVE TALKING ABOUT THE BLACKS <33 ALSO IM SORRY THIS IS SO LATE !!

btw you can dm someone by going on their profile and clicking the speech-bubble-thing with the plus sign in it ! it's like upper right corner on phone . youve prbly found this out by now but umm just in case !

umum head canons !! walburga centered because yes <3

tw: infertility, miscarriage, abortion (but she gave it to herself...), baby-trapping, underaged (non-con?) sex, (implied) cosca,

she definitely has OCD. i have another post about this but like she's so OCD to me

also, it isn't a walburga post if i dont mention i hc her with bipolar disorder

was basically the one who raised her brothers and when she grew up she wanted to have kids of her own to spite her father and to prove she would be a better parent

i hc her to be in love with someone before orion, like a first-love kind of thing but i can't figure out who. let's call him Dave for now

okay her and dave started dating when they were thirteen and walburga was very set on baby-trapping him

it didn't work because um. dave didn't want to have sex,,, because he was also thirteen...

but like whatever and walburga loved him anyway and they dated a while more

till walburga psycho sexual family issues came into play and her need need need to get married and start a family got so bad she barely stopped thinking about it

this was around when she was 15-16ish

yeah... the ocd and bipolar and her 49738 mental issues were coming into play

so dave and her separated peak manic episode, sixth year

(her choice, obviously)

and she became very interested in the second year, orion black !!!

and um . well orion was like 12 so he didn't have much of a choice but to go along with whatever she wanted

but um. what she wanted was a child but walburga just. could not get pregant

no matter what she did

but they still got married when orion was 17 !

and orion is just dissociating through this btw

and walburga is veryyy angry through this

and orion hates her

but is way too scared of her to actually say something

and then walburga gets pregnant <333

after. like. years.

after her younger brother (who she raised!!!) has had his first child !!

and well. alphard is there too but he's always been weird and wasn't really expected to do anything great so she's not bothered by him

but um !! she's pregnant and it is literally the best day of her life

orion is blending into the curtains btw

he knows the happy periods don't always last very long

which they don't. because walburga gives herself an abortion in a manic episode

and it's just.

it's so much worse for so long

it happens once more before sirius is born

and then once walburga is actually pregnant with sirius no one let's her out of their sight for very long

rip wizards you would've loved meds,

but ummm once sirius is born she litr loves him sosoossoosososoosoososoosossoso much <333

and um she has another son too something named rufus or rudolph or something

she doesn't give him much attention...

umumum okay this is long enough !!!

this is so dark im sorry !!!

[whentherewerebicycles]

my baby is six months old today!!! he’s been alive for half a year!!!!! it somehow feels both like he's been in my life forever and like i just gave birth days ago. I love him so much it makes me feel a little frantic sometimes. he is down for his first nap now and I can hear him in his crib grumbling to himself about the terrible indignities they subject sweet little babies to these days (chief among them being wrapped in blankets in a soft little sleeping bag in a cozy warm room for a nice restorative nap).

I think I want to journal a bit today—six things about the baby + six thoughts about my experience of parenting thus far. baby first!

well i mean. he is just perfect. he is just the best little guy ever. all babies are the best little guy ever but he is MY best little guy you know? i love him so much. what is his personality like? i would say he has definitely retained something of the watchfulness and slight reserve he had as a newborn. he has these huge dark eyes and he studies things very intently and in general likes to Observe the Situation before wading in. but he is, so far, not especially shy? the stranger danger phase has not set in yet so he enjoys being held by a wide range of people and will warm up to new faces after a bit, especially if they make silly expressions at him or sing to him. he also definitely has His People, who he is not reserved with at all. the second my sister walks in he starts kicking his legs furiously and babbling to her to get her to come over and talk to him. he looooves my mom and is way snugglier with her than anyone else. he adores his primary babysitters (his nanny + liz's husband A) and is sooo chatty with them. he was slow to smile (liz's baby was beaming at everybody from like five weeks on but i don't think O was smiling regularly until about 12 weeks) and he is still pretty selective with them (strangers do NOT get smiles unless they make a very silly surprising noise). but his general temperament is just like… he’s a calm, even-keeled, good-natured little guy who is down for pretty much whatever. this kid can hang.

he is REALLY good at independent play. if he's fed and changed he can pretty much entertain himself for 45-60 min at a time without any input from me. he just kicks around on his mat and plays with his toys. in the morning he wakes up around 6:30 but the family does not get up until 7:20 and he will just hang out in his crib making his hands dance in the air and chattering happily to himself. i think this is probably like 80% inborn temperament... my mom says i was the exact same way as a baby, just like totally content to chill and think and talk to myself. but i think maybe 20% of it is also things i consciously did to encourage this from about four weeks on and i am proud of that! i think one of the qualities i like best in myself is that i have a high tolerance for boredom because i can just get lost in my thoughts/imagination. as long as i have something to think about or some imaginary situation to play out in my head i am content. i really want that for him too! idk more thoughts about this when i journal about parenting lol. but i appreciate that he doesn't have to be entertained 24/7 (at least at this age). he is content to just be on his own or just be in the room watching people do other stuff.

obviously i adored him from the start lol but i would say that four months marked a big turning point in terms of how much fun he was to hang out with. he just started seeming so much more alert and engaged around then. and then this last five to six months span of time has just been SO fun. he's fully a little person. he has preferences and opinions and favorite toys and favorite people and favorite animals (ruthie). he is learning ALL the time. you can see him puzzling things out and beginning to develop a rudimentary understanding of cause and effect. right now, like in the past week or so, he is extremely into TEXTURES. he must scritch-scratch absolutely everything with his little baby nails. he is obsessed with his "baby paper" (crinkly paper) and he is much more open to tummy time now mainly because it allows him to scritch-scratch all the different quilts we use as playmats. he likes to scritch-scratch the glass when i take him to the window in the morning to show him his friends the trees, and if there is any kind of graphic on my t-shirts he MUST scratch the edges of it. and he does all of this with a look of total focus lol this kid is LOCKED IN on scritch-scratching.

he laughs so much these days. he also seems to have figured out that people react positively and often rush over to engage with him when he laughs, so sometimes if i'm on the other side of the room and he wants me to pay attention to him he will just do this "huh-huh-HAH-HA! HA!" belly laugh so i'll come over and make silly faces at him. i do pretty much nonstop funny accents and comedy bits for him and i'd say i get a laugh 50% of the time... the other 50% of the time he just gives me this wide-eyed look that clearly says "ok... this lady is nutso and i seem to be trapped in her care... i need to proceed carefully here..." which is also very funny.

he is really into being gently manhandled right now haha. i think it is probably related to developing proprioception? but he loves to be "flying baby" (where you lift him over your head and zoom him around like an airplane) and he loves being a pendulum in a giant clock (where you hold him under his arms and swing his body back and forth as you lift him up and down) and he REALLY loves it when you wrap him up in your arms and roll into a ball and roll over and over a bunch of times. also it delights him when you play-wrestle with him and tickle him even though he cannot yet really wrestle back lol. bonus points if you also growl at him and pretend you are going to eat him up... that's a big hit right now. when i was a kid my dad would wrestle with us all the time and pretend to be a bear chasing us around the house on all fours and let us ride on his back and stuff and it was so much fun. so far it is also pretty fun for the grownup lol i feel like it's a great way to get some silly energy out. but also i think i need to start lifting weights lol because this kid is already so heavy and i want to be able to keep tossing him around and wrestling with him when he's even bigger!!

on a related note: he is getting much stronger!! he is a big boy (as of today: 75th percentile for weight, 98th percentile for height, and wearing 12 month clothes). some of the physical milestones have been challenging for him because he weighs a lot and has a big ol noggin, so it's a lot of work to lift/maneuver his body. but he is rolling over pretty regularly and happily now, and in the last day or two he's started pushing up on his hands a little when he's on his tummy which was the big tummy time milestone he hadn't hit yet. he can also sit up with hip support and is starting to brace himself on his hands while sitting. the contrast with my nephew has been so funny to watch... my nephew is two and a half months older and is the tiniest, springiest little guy, so it's a lot easier for him to monkey around lol. but my nephew also just has this truly nonstop internal motor that seems to drive him to MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE MOVE at all times. my baby uhh does not have that motor lol. he finds my nephew's frenetic energy a little overwhelming and is like actually i would prefer to lounge around here on my mat scritch-scratching a quilt, thank you. truly my child lol. why "move around" when you could instead sit in one place daydreaming. it's funny to watch them together and just be like ohhh kids are SO different there's such a wide spectrum of normal.

ok there are six things!!! some other rapidfire facts just for my files: he is still quite gloriously bald but he's started getting hair! no eyebrows yet though lol and no sign that they are on the horizon. he loves taking baths with me except maybe "loves" is the wrong word... he takes bathtime deathly seriously because it is Water Kicking Time and he was put on this earth to Kick Water. so bathtimes are training sessions... he does not smile at ALL during baths he is too Locked In, but he screams and screams when you try to take him out because he was STILL TRAINING. his eyes still have a little bit of that newborn dark blue left but are mostly dark brown now with perhaps the barest hint of hazel. he is really into music and will go into a trance state when you sing to him or play instruments for him. he loves to chomp on his toys. he used to "kiss" your cheek but now just wants to nom nom nom on your face. his cheeks get so rosy when he's worked up or chilly or excited. he is transfixed by his own hands. he does this sharp startled little inhale when something surprises him. he can now take his pacifier out of his mouth and sometimes put it back in (i'd say we have a 20% success rate of getting the pacifier back in the right way). he is almost always a perfect sleeper although we had a little rough patch last night so i'm holding my breath hoping he's not about to have some kind of regression. he loves to kvetch and has mastered the fine art of lowgrade grumbling and complaining. he is teething and so there is a lot of drool everywhere all the time. he likes to hold his board books while i read to him i think it makes him feel important and involved lol. he is very soft and warm and smells good. he loves to snuggle in the big bed with mom. he is the best. he is just the best!!! i am the luckiest person in the world. i love him so much and i love being his mom. what a good baby!!!

[inventors-fair]

Masterpieces: Artist spotlight winners!

Our winners this week are @misterstingyjack, @nine-effing-hells and @piccadilly-blue!

@misterstingyjack — Seaborne Stampede

Wonderful little card that we have here, isn't it. Constellation-fall is quite strong in the build, assuming that you don't run out of steam, but even a single body is pretty awesome. Cashing the Stampede in for some unblockability means that this card doesn't overstay its welcome; the conclusion that you're coming to is strong enough that you might not feel the urge to keep turn after turn of creatures—well, that's my vision, anyway. You might not get a fish each turn, which is fine. That ward really is a pain in the butt, isn't it? But not so much that I'm worried about it taking over the board, combined with the fact that the enchantment itself doesn't have much protection.

It really speaks for itself, in my opinion. The power in limited and the power in themed constellation decks means that you're getting yourself a strong board presence with repeatable nonsense that culminates in a potentially game-ending swing, which also assumes that you're not defensively using these fish to block as need be. The open-endedness of this card while having a straightforward face is quite elegant! I can see where the inspiration for the art comes into play, although tit feels like it's representative of the token than the whole scene, perhaps. A stampede is a stampede, though, and what a lovely name to go along with the card. Everything's exactly as it should be: frantically rushing forward onto a terrified beach population.

@nine-effing-hells — Ulvenwald Ambush

Elegance really was the name of the game this week for my winners. It was pointed out in the Fair discussion how many interpretations of this art there were across the colors, and while they were all pretty great, this one had the nuanced POV that's really impressive to me. We see the card from the monster's side of things, but the flavor text being from the traveler adds to the external horror of it all. We don't usually get a first-person perspective on card art, not as much as I can recall, and so the choice to frame the card as you did with that specific textual combo feels intimately horrific, the moment right before the exit. I like that a lot.

And of course, like—c'mon. A bite is a bite, am I right? An early-game potential slug can turn into a late-game slam, and a combat combo means that this three-mana punch can do a lot more work (especially with trample) than some of these spells would ordinarily. The cost reduction feels like a push to uncommon for sure, and it plays right into the flavorful notion of "I'm the new monster and I'm gonna eat you" while maintaining the primary aspect of a limited removal spell first and foremost. What can I say, though, maybe it's even playable in 60-card nonsense with that kind of cost! Flash decks might like it a lot with blue/black, same with reanimator decks, and the massive range of ways that Innistrad has things enter from weird places means that this card really feels flexible around its core without most players even realizing!

@piccadilly-blue — Ashling's Defeat

I think this card is absolutely splendid. Firstly, the art to characterization choice. This reality in which Ashling has been...well, whatever happens, it's not pleasant, but it's necessary by the powers that be. I unfortunately don't have access to the novels but based on wiki-skimming I can say that perhaps this is the more surprising of the possibly outcomes. So! Does that take away from this card at all? Absolutely not. The decision to frame a particular character in this art that bears the resemblance to the canonical character is a bold choice for sure, and not an unwelcome one. For a white piece of hosing and hate, the flavorful tie-in is well beyond what any designer around the time of Lorwyn could probably have envisioned.

I assume of course that you took the wording cue from False Dawn? It's the only card I can see that really plays into that wording space. I think it's also as accurate as can be. Now, when you use this card matters, of course, and it's hard to really explain to new players how/when that works, but this card ain't aimed at them, that's for sure. Popping this at upkeep means that their sources remain that way through the turn, which is awesome. I honestly wonder if the utility could've been different if you had made it a sorcery that stopped the mana production until YOUR next turn, shutting them down for a cycle—but instant-speed exile is still pretty great. Did you imagine making a single {C} no matter how much mana they wanted to spend, as punishment? I'm just envisioning Mana Vault or Elf players (read: me) crying a little as their massive boards get turned into ash... Ech, I'm brainstorming where I don't need to be. This card's a delight, a menace, a historical curiosity, and a brilliant piece of implication.

Painting runners soon... @abelzumi

[ilidaeandquill]

All Is Fair in Death and War - Character Analysis/Notes

The Curse - Depression

“Ilidae the curse isn’t a character.” Yeah I know but I need to take notes on it anyway. "Ilidae that gif isn't the curse-" YEAH I KNOW but we're going to pretend, ok? The first victim of the curse that Lambert actually cares about is an axolotl so that's where the idea came from. And we're going to roll with it. Because. Please.

Alright kids let’s talk about magic cannibalism :)

(Keep reading for analysis/breakdown) First Chapter: All Is Fair in Death and War - Chapter 1 - IlidaeAndQuill - Cult of the Lamb (Video Game) [Archive of Our Own] (Last week this fic was under 1,000 hits, now it's over 1,100 which is insane - thank you!!! New chapter on 3/22 yippee :D)

Primary Motivation: The curse itself has no thoughts, feelings, or ambitions. It is a brainless parasite: it spreads from host to host. It is only able to spread via living bodies of both flora and fauna. It cannot survive in a corpse.

Character Traits: I spent so fucking long cursing followers just to read their thoughts, and you want to know what I got???

“Moan. Groan. Grunt.” “No. No. No.”

That's it. Dude. DUDE.

Theme Song: THIS ONE THIS ONE THIS ONE OMG ALSO THIS ONE HONESTLY ANY SONG FOR THE GLOOM FROM TOTK FITS

Voice Claim: Tumblr is being a doo-doo head and not letting me upload a video of the cursed follower's groans/grunts, so you're going to have to rely on this video for a better grasp on the sounds they make. If I make a second post about the curse containing spoilers (which I detail more about in the section below), I'll add my own video there.

Appearance Inspiration: I rely mainly on the canon appearance of the curse, obviously, but I also took inspiration from Malice (BotW)/Gloom (TotK) (and I've finally gotten around to playing EoW so I might take some inspiration from the rifts/Still World/Null/whatever else it's called), as well as the curse from Princess Mononoke to expand on its appearance/effect.

(I'm pretty sure Nintendo took inspiration from Princess Mononoke for BotW and TotK so uuhhhh I guess it's all inspired by Princess Mononoke. Shoutout to Hayao Miyazaki thank you for changing my life for the millionth time.)

The Curse is the main antagonistic force (NOT ANTAGONIST - THAT'S A DIFFERENT THING) in AIFiDaW, and is the primary representation of the depression stage of grief.

"A sinking sorrow one could not escape, no matter how much they yearned, how long they prayed." (Chapter 6: Ever the Wild Ones)

It is the thing all characters wish to dismantle or destroy, the enemy no one wants to face, yet must somehow conquer to achieve their end goal in the story. Just, uh, typically in the real world, depression via grief doesn't make you eat people.

Random facts/Trivia: - Goatfrey is the only one who is immune to the curse. Everyone else is fucked lmao. - The Curse's first appearance is actually in "I’ll Place My Heart in Your Hands, Swear to Keep It Safe" which I wrote back in September 2024. When I say I've been planning this story for months, I meant it. - That said I don't recommend that story too much, I need to go back and fix the tense. It's very obvious I also used that story to get back into writing after taking a few months off lol. - I might go back and capitalize The Curse in the story idk, what do you think I should do? - The curse is actually HAHA LMAO I can't tell you that. That's a masssiiiveee spoiler. I was thinking about doing a spoiler-only section to this post detailing what the curse is/where it came from. Maybe I'll make a separate post for that, maybe I won't, but for now that information is just going to live in my brain. - As my apology for being unable to spoil what the curse is, please take this clip of Goatfrey bullying Narinder.

Anyway - thank you for reading! These notes were a little tricky to make, especially since there isn't much canon info on the curse/most of the lore I made for the curse contains spoilers for AIFiDaW, but I hope you enjoyed them regardless!

Chapter 8 is coming out this Saturday YIIPPEEE! Ya'll. I'm so excited to start posting those chapters again. We're coming up on the end of the first arc, so things are about to get very intense I'M SO EXCITED TO WRITE IT OMMGG

Speaking of writing... bro. Stop reading this. Go be creative. Draw a picture. Write a story. Stop procrastinating and make something cool (I'm talking to myself here lol).

Theme

The Goat/Goatfrey - Narinder - The Lamb/Lambert - The Curse

Leshy - Heket - Kallamar - Shamura

Jalala - Rinor - Fena - Aym & Baal - The Mystic Seller

[cummodus]

I have seen your tags and I am here to tell you that if it is unhealthy (and for my own part I can say that it is for sure but these emotions need to go somewhere either way), at least we're in this together. I think I need to figure out something happy to patch up the last week which I've dedicated solely to processing the parts of this story that REALLY hurt. We need more Geta enjoying sports. Geta as the primary investor in their gladiators? Watching them train at the ludus, having honeyed nuts and wine in the shade. I don't know what the hell Caracalla likes that isn't blood or sex or drugs but I'm inventing a thing right now: in the film, we don't even get as much of him with Dondus as we do with the script, but they must have been inseparable offscreen.

And just. Imagining them spending time on a courtyard. Picking fruit out of the trees. Napping in the sun.

I'm glad we're all in this together, all collectively torturing ourselves and being devastated together and also fueling the fire with more and more pain zjdjdjdjdjjd

Geta being happy and content, safe and relaxed and having fun is all I want to think about from now on (it's not going to happen I know). I've spent so much time thinking about the endless horror of his circumstances that I've completely forgotten that his days might actually not be filled with stress and agony 24/7 😭 He should definitely watch more sports and make stupid bets and lose more money for the empire, relax in bath houses and get pampered by kind and gentle servants, play games himself as well, maybe he likes board games? Idk which games were invented at that point but maybe he would enjoy some (maybe they would be too boring for him if he enjoys the adrenaline rush of Bigger games or maybe he would find them relaxing). Napping in the sun sounds wonderful besides the sunburn since they are a bit too pale for that but I assume you meant under canopies in the shade while being fanned and being fed grapes like Real Royalty.

One can only speculate what Caracalla would enjoy besides those things but you're right I bet he spends a lot of time with Dondus 😭❤️ ((as a sidenote I wonder if Caracalla has a hard time feeling empathy for anyone except Dondus?)) Caracalla would probably despise boardgames or the like, they require too much concentration but I'm sure he also likes some calmer moments. We're never shown the twins enjoy any hobbies like art and those things probably wouldn't have been encouraged in their childhood (art is messy and music is loud) so I'm not sure if they'd want to pick any of those up in their adulthood but maybe?

Whatever it is the twins enjoy I want them to have a good time and yes Caracalla's illness is in a latent state or gets miraculously cured and they will live (relatively) long (relatively) happy lives together and Caracalla is loved and cared for even if his illness makes him act out ❤️

[secretlythepits]

Leaving

We drive up to Orlando today. His treatment is scheduled for tomorrow. He doesn’t want to end the trial because treatment feels like he’s doing something. My man-of-action struggles in the best of circumstances to sit still and this feels like capitulating to cancer to him.

I read the literature from the trial last night and it says that they remove patients with progressive disease. I do not know if he is even getting treatment tomorrow or if his doctor is going to tell him no. I forgot about the possibility that the treatment could be actually harming him. It’s a phase 1 trial. I honestly don’t think that the case, because the data has been promising and his cancer seems naturally aggressive . I don’t want to mention that possibility to him because that seems like an awful thought to give him.

I wish I would have read this earlier. Maybe I could have pushed to speak to Orlando earlier so we wouldn’t have to go up. However, he didn’t want to and I didn’t push it. I think he needs to see things through. Still, I’m not sure if I should mention the possibility that his doctor might remove him. I don’t want him to be shocked, but I also don’t want him to feel like I’m the messenger of doom and gloom. Besides, I don’t know exactly what will happen.

It’s funny—

I see this all playing out the way a fern unfurls its tippy top curl in a time lapse video. Each moment has its own opening and revealing. But that’s an image of life and this is death.

Same. Same.

His ache has turned to pain. Steroids tamp it down exceptionally well. He finally started taking them again. They are marvelous and give some energy and appetite which consequently feels like a mind game. My husband says he feels fine but is rotting inside.

Whatever happens, the upcoming week will be a doozy. After his clinical trial (fill in the blank) experience, we will return home. I will have to update the kids. The next morning, I meet with my son’s principal and school counselor to basically ask them to coparent with me. I want them to step in and serve like mentors to my son. Let him join the basketball team’s summer practice. Help him get an internship. I want them to help me keep him busy with positive activities and help him see a positive future. The following day is a root canal.

That gets me through Wednesday and I just can’t bear to think what else will come. I think we will be meeting with my husband’s primary oncologist to see if palliative radiation is a possibility. I hope we are setting up hospice too. Oh, kids have a birthday party Friday. And Easter is Sunday so I have to do all of that preparation. That means we have a homeschool Easter party on Thursday. I think I won’t bring anything and will mooch off my friends instead. This sounds and feels like a lot. Too much, but that’s how life goes.

I wonder what my husband’s emotional journey will be this week. His hopes are being dashed. The weeks ahead contain his last Easter, our last anniversary, and our son’s 17th birthday. It will be my last Mother’s Day with him. Father’s Day (the anniversary of my own father’s death) looms too far in the clouded future to count on. Before that is his maybe bucket list trip.

The pace of life is too fast. My brain struggles to stay tethered to the calendar. I really, really need a stretch of calm inactivity. I think the only way I will find that is to look inside myself and connect with the Eternal.

Starting now, I remember this is actually Holy Week. A time of reflection leading to resurrection. I need to settle down into the quiet.

I don’t want to miss the miracle. By miracle I mean: all of it. All of life and death. The unfurling of each leaf. The fading and falling of each leaf.

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞🪞Tell me her name!!!!!!!!! Please!!!!!!!!!!! 🥺

It's Summer!

here's a collection of sentences because we are near the end!

---

“Uh, no,” Eddie says. “Though, okay… Maybe that, too. But… I was thinking, if it’s not too soon, maybe the four of us should… Find a place that fits all of us?”

Buck is about to get emotional again.

“Really?” He asks. 

It feels like something huge honestly. Eddie asking to take the next step. Zero prompting from Buck. No self-doubt or hesitation in his eyes. 

“Really,” Eddie says. “I think it would make us all happy.”

“I would really love that,” Buck says. “Like… That’s kind of the next best possible thing that could have happened today.”

Eddie smiles, cheeks a little rosy. “So… It’s been the perfect day, then?”

“Yeah,” Buck confirms. “It really has.”

vii.

On the day they move in late July, there is a huge, blowout fight about who gets which bedroom. One that annoys Eddie so much Buck thinks he might stroke out, honestly. It’s solved, in the end, by the matter of accessibility for Christopher. So Summer doesn’t get her way. She’s cranky and sour the rest of the day about the whole thing. Buck can’t even bring it to be really miffed about it, truth be told. All he sees is a girl who, just over a year ago, was too afraid to ask for a glass of juice or to say when she needed to use the washroom. Now, she’s comfortable enough to cause a row over bedroom locations. It seems like a win, even if it gives everyone a headache on an already stressful day. He takes the win in whatever form it comes. But he also doesn’t argue Christopher getting the sought-after bedroom.

It takes a few days for things to settle into normalcy. Which is fair enough. Eddie and Christopher have lived in the same house for the better part of a decade, and Chris has never been a big fan of change. Summer is hesitant to leave the only house that was ever home, even if she’s excited for a bigger, fuller one with Eddie and Christopher. So there are bound to be some bumps. But Buck is confident they’ll be old history before long. 

And he’s right. 

Two weeks after they move in, the kids wear them - Eddie - down into buying a pet turtle. With the express condition that Christopher be its primary caregiver. 

“I’m serious, Chris,” Eddie warns on their way to the pet store. “I’m not doing the cleaning or feeding or anything else. And neither is Buck, got it? It’s your responsibility.”

“I’ve got it, Dad,” Chris sighs. “It’s my pet, I know.”

But of course, because it’s a reptile of any sort, Summer is obsessed with it. 

“He’s so cute,” she squeals into the tank at the store. “I love him!” 

“He’s a red eared slider,” the worker explains to her.

“I know!” Summer answers. 

“Do you have a name for him?” The worker asks.

“Chris?” Eddie asks. “You had an idea, right?”

“I thought maybe after one of the ninja turtles,” Chris shrugs. “But I can’t tell which one, yet.”

“Which one is red?” Buck asks. 

“Raphael,” Chris says. 

“That’s a decent turtle name,” Eddie nods.

Summer wrinkles her nose. “I don’t know.”

“Summer,” Buck says patiently. “It’s Christopher’s turtle. He gets to name it, okay?”

“Okay,” she sighs. 

“No, wait,” Chris says. “What would you name him, Summer?”

“Kipo!” Summer announces. 

Ah. Like the cartoon Chris showed her recently. With the pink, post-apocalyptic girl.

“Alright,” Chris shrugs. “We can call him Kipo.”

“Really?” She beams.

“Yeah,” Chris nods. “But that means every once in a while you have to help me with turtle chores.”

“I will! I promise!” 

“Kipo it is then,” Chris says. 

And so his turtle is named after a pink cartoon mutant. Not entirely different than what he’d intended, Buck supposes.

▪️▪️▪️

The interaction sticks with Buck. 

It’s a simple thing. A little thing. The name of a turtle. 

He knocks on Christopher’s door later that evening. He’s alone. Looking into the tank at his new pet with curious, wondering eyes. Seeming somewhat younger, for just a flash, than he has lately. 

“Can I come in?” Buck asks.

“Sure,” Chris says. 

Buck walks in and sits on Christopher’s bed, a few feet away from him. 

“Thanks for picking the name she liked,” Buck says. “You didn’t have to do that, you know?”

“I know,” Chris shrugs. “But I got the better room. And it made her happy. It’s just a turtle name.”

[catchyhuh]

Z. ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE?

NO none of them would hide a zombie bite. yes, they are all not super great people and certainly nobody the average motherfucker would want to be stuck with during the end of the world but they aren’t THAT selfish!

these are kind of more of a bummer than i expected/intended umm i don't think they need any. tws or anything but just. general warning. WARNING: kind of a bummer

lupin:

does not entirely take the reality of the situation seriously at first. i know sometimes i lean too much into silly unbothered-by-it-all lupin, but really, in this situation, he’s going to be so disbelieving in the initial stages that he’d waltz up to one, go “wow! the makeup department is even better this time around!” and nearly get his pinky finger bitten off. THEN he locks down

still a bit more reckless than he should be, but that’s just because honestly he has the skills to back him up. he’s like sitting on top of a building with his legs dangling over the edge, a pack of zombies under him just BARELY missing his dinky little shoes, and when jigen comes over and goes DUDE he’s like WHAT? WHAT’RE THEY GONNA DO

if it’s taking any mental toll on him, beyond the, y’know, WILD AMOUNT OF DEATH AND DECAY SURROUNDING THEM, it’s very muted. his pleasant attitude isn’t really a fabrication, but beyond that, lupin never really lets himself linger on “who could’ve been saved” for his own sanity. there’s always a few examples that hit, not including the times he’s thought his friends have died (but he’s also strangely passive and accepting about their death while grieving in those situations too BUT THAT’S FOR ANOTHER TIME) but more than the weird, isolated feeling an apocalypse brings, if anything is going to keep him up for an hour or two longer than usual once a week, it’s going to be the amount of people disappearing

jigen:

very much the most blunt about it as he is with most things. what this really means though is, while all of them would stare at you flatly if you tried to call them anything BUT zombies, jigen is the only one who will actually lean his head back, his hands covering his face, and groan, “oh my fucking god”

jigen is already a bit of a… kind of “made his peace with it” nihilist, compared to the others. jigen was never into this great cool thief thing because it would get his name in really, this isn’t going to change things up for him too much, as he only really likes less than ten people on planet earth total, most of which he never sees anyway, he’s not really tied down to one spot, he doesn’t seem too bothered with chilling out by himself for a bit, he keeps watch when the others are sleeping anyways, REALLY, THIS ALL LINES UP WITH HIS RESUME PRETTY WELL

REALLY ALL THINGS CONSIDERED A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE GOES ABOUT AS WELL AS IT POSSIBLY CAN FOR A GUY LIKE HIM. even beyond taking the above into account, he’s. the gun guy. he knows how to use almost every kind of gun. the primary, most effective way to take out zombies. like jeez man he’d just be coasting through this

the only thing that could really make this have an effect on him is if one of the others got infected. he’d act irrationally, for once, maybe try to hide them away and figure out where some kinda cure was coming, but if it really was too late, he’d be just as capable of the mercy gunshot to the headTHESE ARE SUCH CHEERFUL HCS

fujiko:

my man this woman is just numb past a point. you think a zombie apocalypse is changing her tuesday plans? well, maybe it will a little, granted that the restaurant she was planning to go to caught fire and exploded but um. MENTALLY, EMOTIONALLY, it’s whatever! like on any given day, her only concern outside of herself is lupin n the gang, because deep down she enjoys the company of these weirdos, and more than that, what’s more miserable than attempting to survive a zombie apocalypse? surviving it by YOURSELF

not to reduce the Girl One to the Girl Traits (god knows tms does that enough!) but joking aside her first response is definitely a muted “eugh. gross.” like let’s be honest everyone is thinking it when they see a guy who’s jaw is hanging off the tendon but only fujiko can say what everybody’s thinking, smelling that rotten skin and just seeing the state of the environment and corpses walkin about. and that thing is “Yuck.”

the whole “self-serving cool one woman band” thing doesn’t totally work in a societal collapse unfortunately, but it does add a necessary layer of realism to the situation. fujiko isn’t hiding a bite. NOT THAT SHE’D MANAGE TO GET BIT LMAO but in the event of she would just look at it, like on her arm, pause, and hold it out for the others to see. no point pretending nothing’s wrong and if the shoe was on the other foot she’d rip a guy limb from limb if they didn’t disclose that information lol

goemon:

somebody is going to have to get used to long range combat really fucking quickly because otherwise things are going to get bad INCREDIBLY FAST. he’s likely never going to pick up a gun even in a situation like this, but maybe he’ll take up throwing axes or some shit. maybe some robin hood shit? anything to stay loyal to the grind

this might be the thing it takes to make goemon really, truly break out of his shell. ISN’T THAT INSANE TO SAY and make no mistake, it’s not a complete 180 on the goemon we know and love, nothing that’d make the others turn around and look him over like ‘what. thing has possessed you’, but suddenly you start to become more talkative and less ambiguous when you realize this could genuinely be the last time you see your best friend. 

yknow what though. those “my grandma said xyz helps with the flu” remedies would probably be pretty damn helpful in this situation. but make no mistake goemon’s first course of action is “raid a walgreens” and THEN we can move onto “mint helps with nausea.” seriously though it really does and i have to imagine 90% of people would be pretty damn nauseous being surrounded by the grossness of a situation like this! get a nice mug get some mint tea and then get to sippin!

hey. not to bring up the sword twice but can zantetsuken-fueled amputation stop the spread of a zombie bite infection. let’s find out! it’d be such a precise, clean job too, very reliable. actually can you fucking imagine being the other person in that situation, getting your arm cut off in a zombie apocalypse, and then the guy calls it “a worthless object.” i’d hop off the table and start shouting

zenigata:

i know i said all of them are assholes and yes this includes him but being completely transparent he’s GOING to die protecting somebody if nobody stops him. you ever see that bit in alcatraz connection where he tells lupin to shoot him through the heart point blank just because it will ALSO take down the bad guy who was holding him captive? you see the way he panics and throws himself in front of just anything when he sees somebody even SLIGHTLY weaker in danger? oh he’s going to die BUT NOT IF OUR OTHER GUYS HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT! BECAUSE LET’S BE HONEST HE IS VALUABLE

he can make all those trinkets and shit, he’s a medical miracle, his voice carries from across HUGE distances, he has an incredible talent for showing up in places he should not at all be able to get into somehow-- there’s lots of plausible deniability to “why did you guys show up” without any of the four flatout admitting that they kind of like him sometimes :) 

again we are locking the FUCK down. you ever marathon part 2 and then get randomly hit with sudden excruciatingly serious zeni. okay imagine that that switch kind of busted and now rather than that being the exception, goofy zeni is the new rare sighting. i know, i know, truly i’m forcing you to imagine dark times. but really man i’m serious if the gang or yata doesn’t get a grip on him first he’s GOING to DIE

anyway speaking of our guy i was going to include yata too and then realized he doesn’t deserve the misery i accidentally placed on these guys. I JUST LIKE ZOMBIE MOVIES I DIDN’T MEAN FOR THIS TO GO SO SOMBER I PROMI

[missellaneousworks]

Pinky Promise [Part 1]

A SDJ OC Drabble

Ella recounts her thoughts on her new roommate.

[Part 1] - HERE! - [Part 2] - Coming soon

A/N: It's been too long since I completed one of my many drafts. This is a drabble this time to practice first person and get into Ella's head about the early days of her new best friend. What could go wrooooong?

Something is Wrong With Sunny Day Jack is a +18 ONLY series. MINORS DNI.

~

November 7, 20XX

Let the record show that it's been almost two weeks since my last entry and I am alive and well!

There haven't been any weird noises in the apartment at odd hours, no demonic possessions to speak of, no flying silverware or furniture, flickering lights, or messages written in blood. All of my electronics work okay --the only thing that doesn't work is the '84 Incident' tape I found at the thrift store.

So to recap from my last entry:

I decided to let Sunny Day Jack stay with me. I know, I know, not exactly the smartest sounding idea. BUT. I genuinely believe he is an actual ghost-clown-man...thing-person? God I hope I'm not crazy He seemed just as confused as I was when he landed in my living room. I might've been a bit startled when I first met him, but I think he needs help. Or at least a place to stay while figuring out how he got inside that tape. He hasn't done anything scary. Not that he could, he's like a big teddy bear!

A six-foot tall, blue mullet, primary-colored teddy bear from the 80's.

Yeah, wow, that's silly written down.

Getting back on track--

Once I determined he didn't appear to be an evil ghost-clown-man, I decided to help him uncover why he was in the tape to begin with. He assured me it wasn't necessary, but my gut tells me it's important. Maybe Jack has family somewhere who wants to know where he is? Or other people who'd like to know what happened to him?

But, unfortunately, any family Jack mentions circles back to a place called Coudy Town, which sounds like a fantasy land of some sort. I've tried researching the names and town locations he gave me, hoping to find SOMETHING but I got nada. Zip. Zero! Whatever child-educational-program-fantasy-world Jack hailed from, is either a fabrication or it's from so long ago that no digital copy exists. Which makes no sense-- Dr. What came out long before the internet and digital media, but I could plug an episode name into the search bar and find 5 different videos and dozens of links, as well as detailed synopses of the show. Maybe it's because Dr. What is so popular and was part of a large TV network, so it was better preserved (despite the fact it nearly flopped when it first aired).

When looking up the name of the town didn't work, I tried looking up some of the names of Jack's friends he mentioned. Cloudy Belle Sue, Rory Rainberry, and Knackadan Drizzle. I think he mentioned having a sister...? Something-Jane? Chitty-chitty-Jane? I can't remember. I have tried asking Jack about his home, but all of his answers are... vague. Not that I think he's lying or withholding information from me, but it hasn't been helpful. He can't give me an exact location of where he came from, and he says some of his memories are on the fuzzy side.

Back at square one, absolutely stumped.

This is a real head-scratcher... I wonder if I'm looking in the wrong place? Or maybe I'm asking the wrong questions? Shaun might have better ideas on where to look. I should give him a call sometime. It's been a while since he's checked in with me, but I know he's busy with wrapping up production. Just a couple more months and I get to have my big ol' cat man back! I missed watching movies with him. He's asked if I'd like to get our streaming channel up and running when he moves back, but if I'm honest I don't know if I have the heart to tell him that I don't I have it in me

I don't know if I'll have the time, with Jack in the picture now.

Jack as a person is... not what I'm used to. He's okay, very nice in fact! I still feel bad that I threw that coffee mug at him when he first appeared in my living room, though I'm happy to say despite bad first impressions we get along pretty well.

Most of the time.

He means well, been nothing but kind and caring since I first met him. I don't know how to explain what's bugging me, he has a knack for popping up in my peripheral when I least expect it, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. The other day I was reviewing my budget and realized I'd probably have to make some insta-noodle meals, which isn't great health-wise. I didn't even say anything and Jack was like, "You know, I worry you don't get enough veggies in your diet. Maybe you could buy some baby broccolis, chop them up, and place them in the noodle packs you like to get! Oh, and I bet it would taste great if you put an egg in it! What do you think? Soft boiled or sunny side up?"

And the day after that I lost my freakin' house key right before I went into work, and Jack said I should check my back pocket. Guess what? It was in my back pocket! How'd he know that?

Some way, somehow, Jack is just always... there.

I don't know how to feel about that.

Maybe it's because I've lived alone for a long time. Also, it might be the fact that sometimes I feel as though I'm being treated as a kid. I don't think he's doing it intentionally, it's not like he talks down to me. He's just really gentle, yet energetic at the same time. He sort of has that -- hot teacher vibes??? -- summer camp counselor I had a crush on thing going on -- nurturing and benevolent nature about him.

Suffice to say, it's been a learning curve to get used to living with someone again. I just hope he doesn't get into anything he's not supposed to. He tried to help me fold my laundry today -- which was super nice of him, of course, but, well, he backed off when he realized I was folding up my intimates.

He probably wants to be helpful since he can't exactly contribute in more conventional ways, like buying groceries or paying his portion of rent. Or maybe he's bored? He knows how to work the TV, but he's pretty clueless trying to activate the streaming apps.

It makes me wonder, what did Jack do in all of that time in the tape? Was it like sleeping? Did he just wake up here? He couldn't possibly have been awake that whole time. Right?

...I almost want to ask him, but something in the back of my mind is stopping me.

Well, until next time diary. I've got to get dinner ready.

P.S. - Try to remember to call Shaun and ask about any archives of lost media.

[dennydraws]

Sometimes checking local bookstores have some rare finds...

And I was most definitely not expecting to find the FF14 Manga there but I take it XD;; I highly doubt it was intentional but having the price sticker over Asahi's face absolutely killed me lol

But this will be a talk about manga books and not specifically about FF14's manga book which was hilarious by the way XD;;

(Press F for Urianger... well, for Thancred really but ya know...)

It may come as a surprise but I'm not exactly a big manga reader. I think it was primary because manga wasn't as available or popular here when I was growing up and when I started spreading I started feeling too old for it. Now looking back, I was mid 20 I wasn't too old lol But also I was not in a financial position to spend on what I considered luxurious hobby materials. I never looked at manga books as anything but forbidden pricey thing that I could do without... even though looking back I could've learned a lot or enriched my art journey but... when you try to graduate university, freelance and cover for struggling and sick family these things are not something you think to spend on... ANYHOWSIES, I did not intend to share sad artist backstory, more like I wanted to explain my relationship with actual manga books has been an odd one XD;

It wasn't until recently that I started to actually go to bookstores during my lunch break and browse manga books and regular books too. However now they are so many that I get overwhelmed. Now that I have my preferences, I don't feel comfortable just grabbing a book on a whim. I still very much hate the idea of blindly spending on things that may not be of use to me. But even so I began to reach out, grab something, try it, see what I can learn from it. I feel like a teenager dipping toes into something they've always looked from behind the shop window but now they can actually afford it! XD;; I tried to start with books whose anime I deeply enjoyed and maybe look over what's around them - surely there will be something similar!

And then to my surprise I started noticing... Artbooks! Usually the ones I am interested in are on the obscure side? Or at least I've never found any of those I was interested in... ever XD

It has always been a lot more art books available here for WoW or LoL or whatever western-ish game franchise which... while I respect them, I just don't really enjoy their art style. And I did grow up surrounded by boys and a bully big brother whom I've always tried to impress or be "cool enough" to hang out with him (I was never cool enough to hang out with him u_u) and as result I had to deny myself a lot of things I was enjoying but I thought they are embarrassing - a lot of typically girly genres things because he'd mock them and if he mocks them then they were bad and I'd never be "cool enough" if I showed interest in them! Oh noes! Now that post turned into more personal down pour XD;

As years went on and after some reflection and years of existing in a healthy friend circle I started to enjoy the things I always wanted to enjoy growing up. I see them in new light now and I appreciate them with the eyes of a grown up while still kind of connect to this lost childhood spark. It's been really nice.

Plus I'm enjoying reading ...well, normal books, a lot more. Some years ago you wouldn't find me able to sit and read but now I do and quite enjoy it!

I don't know where I was going with this post XD I wanted to share I found the FF14 manga in a local store during my lunch break and it escalated to, I've been slowly buying and reading more manga and artbooks as of this year! It's never too late to reconnect with things you wanted to enjoy but couldn't in the past :D;;

Anyhow! Thank you for reading this silly lil ramble post, dear web traveller! I hope you will have great rest of the day and smooth week ahead!

[quinndominion]

Quinn Rambles (but any advice welcome)

Bonus pic cuz I always feel weird posting just text to tumblr. That's a real sim out there amidst the hood deco. Cookies for anyone who can tell who it is!

Okey-dokey. So, I rambled this ramble a week ago and deleted it, since in the process I came full circle. I still expect to end up here, where I am, but...I'm going to write it out anyway. Again.

What's the hold up? Well, I am still pruning pics for one single scene! (Day at the Lands') There are enough there to be its own full chapter, which i think I may have done on purpose (?) since I clearly went back to it. I mean, I know what I wrote so I'm glad I found the pictures, but they weren't even in the same freakin' folder! (That comes from actively triple booting a few years ago between Win7, Win10, and Linux - they're all pointed at the same game files but the screenshots are saved wherever and I'd forgotten about that at first.) And with a backstory, unlike gameplay, I can't whittle it down to 10-15% of the zillion pics I took and still tell the same story. They're all pretty damn deliberate, with only 1 or 2 alternative perspective shots, so I've only shaved off about 50% and who's going to read all that? Especially sandwiched in with the rest. But then who apart from Peni was going to read it anyway and I don't think she minds the length (?) But I have noticed a few more old friends still around so who knows, who knows.

I still fully intend to post the Starrywood thing as one thing (lol), for myself at least, because it is one day. But I was also going to break it up to be more palatable and manageable to anyone who's not me and maybe pop those sliced up posts on my backup Wordpress or something or maybe even...LJ (yikes!) Not tumblr, that's just too much work. I see they've raised the pic limit and all but tumblr is for montages and minisodes only. However, R.E.S.P.E.C.T. is not as big as all that. Though it is more immediately significant to the story as told thus far and there's the crux of my indecision...

So...there are 3-5 major scenes, depending on whether I tally by length or significance. I expected it to be a three act deal. Like, the first covers three days, the next about three weeks, and the last about three months. Conceptually, I like that. Textually, I like that. But the party scene pictures might give me the same amount of trouble as Day at the Lands'. And I just don't want to subdivide any more than that. It would obviously make things easier, but less...I don't know, I've lost my word, but anyway, just don't wanna do it.

Since it can be it's own thing and it's all written and my personal 'let's see if we can actually still do this' deadline has already come and gone, I've been hemming and hawing about just posting it by itself. A peek into the past rather than a full-on gaze backward. It's a familiar cast, it's fun as hell (I think), and it's long as a thoroughgoing slice of Land life but not plot revealing, so...maybe? It's Day Two in that Act One setup (Day One, basically, is the plot. So, no on that one though it's also ready to go.) But it is the anchor scene and if I throw it out there now what's the point of anyone reading it again, in full, in situ, in context?

(Oh, here's where I should probably say that in reality, two or three readers max, but I still think in terms of ideal reader and ideal presentation. Otherwise what's the point? It's a sim story, yes, and I give myself great latitude with that, but if there's someone out there who actually likes it I want to give them the real story, not a compromise. Also, while I am not my ideal reader, no, I am my primary reader, so I myself actually want the story itself and not an approximation. And then, as a general rule, I like to present a layered story that can be approached and appreciated at whatever level any given reader engages. At the level of having zero background knowledge or interest in following along and still having a laugh if you stumble across it. At the level of catching some or most or all of the little details and callbacks and suspected foreshadowing and feeling fully immersed in this little bit of nonsense that we're all playing with. At the level of actually reading this post and knowing wtf I'm on about, lol.)

If I excerpt it out, I probably would remove most of the fun stuff and just do a tumblr montage and...that is not the task I set for myself. Finish and post a chapter of Something. That is the task.

As I'm going along, however, I keep remembering why I set it aside. I said it didn't matter because there is no such thing as 'here' anymore after such a long absence...but it really does not go here. In the timeline such as it is. So I thought, well, if I (finally) unlock the Contrajocques chapters that's enough context. Will eliminate any need to revisit the Garden Party chapter because it covers the same ground, enough to lay out the parallels to the party scene from Act Two that I mentioned. Along with some other things. And if I pace them out a bit it'd give me enough time to link the pics and post Act One, prune Act Two, and maybe write a damn ending and finish shooting Act Three. (Or maybe not.) (And actually much of the hold up there is that I'm 95-99% sure I did sketch out an ending and I can't find it!)

But then I reread the Contrajocques chapters and the reason they weren't posted is because too much is revealed that the Desiderata minisodes were meant to set up. Most of those are ready to go. In drafts here on tumblr so I thought, eh, go ahead. Buy even more time! But the reason they're not posted is because the whole For Always Roaming detour is actually connected in a weird way. Can be overlooked and sidelined to get on with it, but to do so kind of invalidates that whole side story. What's the incentive to get back to it then and where on earth would I randomly stick it? (Also, there's not a Hart to be found in R.E.S.P.E.C.T. They're not in Widespot yet and, frankly, Val got his own freakin' spinoff show, so as he/we said, it was time to get the hell off the stage. For a bit.) And what's the hold up with all of this...yup, of course, it's the Starrywood saga. That nobody asked for and is tangential to the BaCC at best, but it lays some foundations that will be built on in that still open round of the BaCC and beyond. And it's just too big for me to take on right now. Ugh.

So I keep ending up back where I started. Finish and post the thing you said you were going to post and silently stick it where it really goes when you and the story finally catch up to it. And ignore the fact that some of the callbacks are to things that have not yet been shown.

...I guess.

[ivory-lamps]

B01: ep [1] flowers for?

Characters: Toi & Ryui Location: HAMA Summary: Toi and Ryui are trying to make a bouquet for someone. Proofreader: Shay

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ📍 A memory

Toi: ……Hmm……

Ryui: …Have you chosen a flower? I’ll help you pick one if you haven’t.

Toi: Thanks, Ani-sama. But I should take my time to carefully choose one, right…?

Ryui: …Yeah. I think that would be best for him, too.

Toi: Have you already picked one out, Ani-sama?

Ryui: Yep. We’ll start practising how to make bouquets once you’ve picked one.

Toi: Right. I’ll hurry and choose one, then.

Ryui: It’s fine. Take your time.

Toi: Okay…

Ani-sama, don’t leave me behind, okay?

Ryui: You dummy. There’s no way I’d ever leave you behind.

Toi: …Okay.

Ryui: ……

Toi: ……

Ryui: Toi.

Toi: Hm?

Wha… What’s wrong, Ani-sama…?

Ryui: You looked like you wanted me to do this. …Am I wrong?

Toi: …Hehe.

No, you’re right. Ani-sama, you always know what I want.

Ryui: ‘Course, I do. I’m your other half.

Toi: Ah…!

Ryui: Hm?

Toi: I think… I’ll go with this flower. It's looking at me.

Ryui: It’s fitting for you, Toi. I think it’ll make him really happy, too.

Toi: Yeah. I hope this will cheer him up, even if it’s just a little.

Ryui: Alright. Let’s get started on that bouquet for him, then.

Toi: Ani-sama, do you have any scissors?

Ryui: I’ll cut them. I’m worried you might cut yourself.

Toi: I can manage this on my own. …See?

Ryui: Yeah. You’re using the scissors like a pro.

Toi: Hehe!

……

Ryui: ……

Say, Toi… Do you remember the scissors we bought when we started primary school? The handles were pea green.

Toi: Yup, that brings back memories. We bought them separately but we ended up picking the same one.

Ryui: Yeah.

Toi: We didn’t know which one belonged to who, so our teacher labelled them with our names on them.

Ryui: You tore it off, though, saying that we didn’t need something like that.

Toi: You did that, too, Ani-sama.

Ryui: Yeah.

Toi: We’ve always been together, picked out the same things, and spent the same time together, huh.

When I got hurt, you got hurt in the same place and when I wanted to call you, you called me first. We were always matching.

Ryui: And Dad couldn’t even tell us apart when we went to the public bath.

Toi: He dressed us differently to tell us apart, didn’t he? So we always traded places and had fun doing that.

Ryui: …Yeah.

Toi: (We’ve always been the same ever since we were born. Even the colour of our hair was the same before we met Aa-chama…)

I’m glad we’re twins.

Ryui: Yeah. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to have been born alone.

Toi: ……

Ryui: Here. You want me to hold this down so you can tie the ribbon, right?

Toi: Yeah, thanks.

Hmm, I can’t do it right… It just comes loose…

Ryui: How about tying it a bit tighter?

Toi: Okay… I’ll try that.

Ryui: ……

Toi: ……

(Say, Ani-sama. If I get to live for a long time, unlike Father, I wonder if we’ll still be matching, even when we turn old.)

(Does Ani-sama wish for that, too?)

(I want to always match with you, Ani-sama – forever.)

Ryui: Hm? Did you say something?

Toi: No, it’s nothing.

Ryui: You’re just gonna make me curious. Tell me.

Toi: No. I decided not to.

Ryui: ……

(It’s been a few weeks since we came back from Hakodate.)

(Preparations for the first tour or whatever started, and he disappeared during the chaos… So much stuff has happened.)

(I bet I made Toi feel so anxious… He must’ve been worried, wondering if he’d be left all by himself with the Shiramitsu Family.)

(Yeah, as if. We’ll always be together from now on. That’s if Toi wants that…)

Toi: Oh, I think I can do a good job with the ribbon…!

Ryui: I’ll hold the knot down for you. Here, do it one more time.

Toi: Mm… Hmm… Like this…

Ryui: …You’ve tied a granny knot.

Toi: Huh? Oh, you’re right. I’ll start again… Wait… huh…?

It keeps turning into a granny knot.

Ryui: It’s the ribbon’s fault. Pass it here. I’ll make it work.

…Alright, maybe something like this?

Toi: You’re amazing, Ani-sama… What a beautiful bow!

Ryui: Right? I bet I can tie ‘em better than most florists.

Toi: Ehehe, yay!

Ryui: I guess this is pretty much done.

Toi: I think you made the right choice picking dried flowers for the bouquet, Ani-sama. It looks lovely.

Ryui: This is just practice, but I’ll make one for you once I get better. It’ll be way more beautifulthan this.

Toi: Really? I’m so happy! Maybe I should put it in my room? Or maybe the store?

Ryui: …You look like you've cheered up a bit. I’m glad.

Toi: Yeah. Thank you for what you’re always doing for me, Ani-sama. Let’s… make a nice bouquet for the real thing.

I hope our sincere apologies will reach him.

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