#ml writers take notes

[wield-the-mighty-pen]

It looks like the official channel has started making their top ship moments compilations

I can't wait until they do Ladr-

Oh 🥺

[fairyhaos]

how seventeen help their mentally tired s/o

requested by @mirxzii : fave writer is back!!!! how ab svt with an s/o whos just like really mentally tired and wants to do nothing but sit and cuddle all day

notes: sorry it took me so long to get to this ml :((( i hope you like it!!

masterlist

seungcheol

he's clearing his day schedule, no questions asked. no gym session or meet up with jeonghan or consultation with the company is more important than him being there with you and helping you when you're at your lowest. does whatever you want him to do and then some, scooping you up in his arms and carrying you back to bed and resting you against his chest, running fingers through your hair and down your back until you feel calmer again, calmed by his presence and his care

jeonghan

ur just like him fr. no but in all honesty, his expression honest-to-god just melts into concern when you tell him quietly that you don't really wanna do anything today, and he just pats your hair affectionately and says that's okay baby, it's totally fine to just spend the day in bed. sends you back to bed instantly, and joins you a few minutes after with two mugs of hot chocolate in his hands, smiling and saying that there's no better way to spend a mentally tired day than in bed with a sweet drink beside the person you love

joshua

he gets worried when the hours tick by and you're still not getting out of bed. by the time midday has come and gone and you still haven't come out of your room, he knocks on your door to find you just sitting in bed, staring up at the ceiling. you haven't even opened the curtains yet, and he smiles softly, coaxing you out of bed and trying to get you to eat something and at least take a walk while the sun is still out because he knows that, even when you're as mentally tired as you are right now, you'll feel terrible if you just do nothing and he knows that a walk is a sure way to make you feel a little better <3

junhui

doesn't get the concept of "lying around and doing nothing", at first. comes into ur room w his arms laden with snacks and his laptop, saying that he's gonna keep you company while u do nothing :D!! it takes a minute but he eventually realises u really wanna just do Nothing at all, and he drops all his things to just curl up next to you, tracing mindless shapes into the palm of your hand, and it makes you smile a little, just how willing and eager he is to do his best to take care of you and be by your side

hoshi

cracks his knuckles and is like "get ready to have the best nothingness-filled day of your entire LIFE." and it makes you smile, but also it really is kind of amazing how it does end up being a really good day despite the fact that you do nothing. his voice is the sole thing that fills the air the entire day, either rambling mindlessly or recounting ridiculous events that have happened to him lately. you don't need to respond, don't need to say a word, and you can't help but watch him with adoring eyes the entire time

wonwoo

is genuinely worried that you've caught some sickness, bc it's not normal to see you walking around the house looking so llistless and exhausted. when you admit to him that you just feel so drained mentally, his brow furrows in concern and is instantly drifting toward you, wrapping his arms around you as you finally break. spends the rest of the day by your side, constantly kissing the top of your head and squeezing your hand. doesn't let you do anything strenuous at all, insisting that you just relax

woozi

he can't exactly tell you off for deciding to camp out in your room for the entire day, bc he's had far too many days where he does the exact same thing in his studio. except for you, you're doing it bc you're feeling down, and that will never do. checks up on you frequently, pressing kisses to the top of your head and while he hesitates when you ask for cuddles, he eventually gives in and clambers into bed next to you, bc he can never, ever refuse your requests. especially if they'll help you feel better. 

minghao

you wanna do nothing??? the whole day??? gets worried and says that that's not a very good way to spend your day, but there are phantom tears brimming in your eyes and he can see that you are so close to breaking, so he relents with a smile and a kiss to your forehead, telling you that's fine, just go back to bed and relax. he's a bit busy that day, so you don't expect to see him, but a few moments later he's knocking on your door and peeking in with a smile, prepared to hug you in bed and do nothing with you all day. nothing's more important than being by your side, after all. 

mingyu

mingyu is ridiculously and scarily in tune with your emotions and your mental state. you don't even have to say a word to him: he already knows that you're feeling burnt out, and he's gonna do everything to make you feel better. makes sure your day is as relaxing and calming as possible to make you feel better and is basically rushing around doing everything he thinks will help, until you catch his hand as he scurries past the sofa, admitting that all you really need are some cuddles with your boyfriend. his face lights up with realisation and he sits down next to you, engulfing you in his arms and you've never felt quite so at peace

dokyeom

builds you a blanket fort. even if you wanna do nothing, he wants to to be able to do nothing in style! and honestly, a blanket fort is the best of the best, in his opinion. buries you under pillows and fluffy blankets and gives you a kiss on the forehead and backs out of your room, fully intending to give you some peace and quiet by yourself. comes back not even an hour later tho, bc he was getting kinda bored and even if you're not doing anything, he's always gonna want to spend his day with u

seungkwan

kind of horrified when you tell him that you don't really wanna do anything today, because that's not like you. even when you're tired, you still try and do something, and so this is how he knows that you're truly at your most exhausted. situates you on the sofa, and just. engulfs you in his arms and doesn't let go. watches trashy tv with you and laughs softly at the ridiculous bits, and it makes you smile sleepily against his chest, grateful for how warm and unquestioning and loving seungkwan always, always is

vernon

when you tell him that you wanna do nothing today bc you're feeling mentally drained, he nods slowly and a little confusedly. even as you curl up on the sofa and do absolutely nothing, you still look so sad and exhausted, and he thinks you need more than just a day of nothingness. so he sits down next to you, tapping you on the shoulder and when you turn to him, he wordlessly wraps his arms around you, one hand around your shoulders and the other cradling the back of your head. it's a protective position, and the affection makes you melt, finally feeling the tension in your head begin to ease.

chan

he's looking over you worriedly the entire time as you tell him over breakfast that you don't feel like doing anything that day. he's constantly hovering in your periphery as you settle onto the couch, swathed in blankets, not even bothering to pick up your phone bc you're just so mentally exhausted. finally decides that he can't take seeing you look so exhausted anymore, and drags you outside to take a walk, and you do look a little better afterwards, but it's not until he pulls you into a tight hug when you get home that you finally, finally relax into him

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[aho-dapa]

Side note, because I'm watching a video essay that's pretty much saying everything I've been thinking about about,

With sjm's writing, what separates it from a typical romantasy not to take seriously is that post ACOTAR, the author suddenly says to take it seriously.

Feyre's Calanmai Hall scene isn't about Feyre not wanting Tamlin's advances, but that she does, she's just doing the typical romantasy protag thing of rejecting what you really desire. Think about how this contrasts with Rhysand's scenes utm, she doesn't want them and its not given enough detail, but this changes after Feyre and Rhysand get together. For example, the CoN scene. The fucking mid air thing. The telepathy sexting that can happen at anytime without true consequence. Very exhibition. Much voyeur.

This is literally sjm's fantasies played out through Feyre and Rhysand, and even through Feyre and Tamlin.

Despite how much I like Tamlin, he only really became a truly nuanced character in hindsight for me because of sjm's unintentional manipulations of her own narrative. In ACOTAR, he's also built around Feyre the same way most characters are in the first book.

He is built to fit into Feyre, he's meant to parallel her acceptance of her own desires, her own beast through him, because submitting to him is submitting to herself. That's why Feyre's themes get mixed up post ACOTAR, she loses that beast like quality to become a star to suit Rhysand. And sjm brings that back in ACOWAR with the Mirror (although it doesn't hit like it once would have because instead to fitting Rhysand to Feyre, sjm wrote Feyre to fit Rhysand).

The thing that's frustrating is that sjm is the one that is saying these are just not her fantasies on page, she's the one that brought mental health into it, brought up abuse and neglect, and handled it all so poorly.

It's this thing where sjm still wants to have the upturned-nose high ground in her books, she wants to be right, she doesn't want Feyre to be questioned or truly be in the wrong because Feyre is her fantasy. sjm likely writes Tamlin to not like human slavery, not want to be like his father, and with a self sacrificing personality while keeping his beast like qualities for the steamy parts. Because he's written to have that middle ground most people looking for that fantasy can still enjoy while not being too disturbing for our modern sensibilities.

That's why some people not looking for this find Tamlin and Rhysand's actions strange and gross, but people who already indulge in those fantasies were okay with it. And there's even people who think that ACOTAR is too vanilla (me). Anyway.

Basically, ACOTAR is not meant to be taken seriously, its literally another romance book with a fancy (?) cover. Post ACOTAR is not tho, so sjm makes a big deal about taking it seriously because she wants that middle ground with Rhysand when honestly, Rhysand could have been a dark romance ML and no one would have batted an eye. But that wouldn't work for the precedent sjm established with the middle ground, she needs that 'he's feral and sexy and toes the consent line but it's fine because xyz' in her books, and that's why the fandom is so divided. We can't decide whether or not to take it seriously or not because sjm switched up.

Her fault as a writer is that she didn't do this well at all.

I mean, this is also coming from the same woman that briefly had another one of her characters entertain their sovereign right to colonization in goodwill, so. This woman should never have been taken seriously. Unfortunately, she insists upon herself. So in order to actually discuss these books, we have to take her silliness seriously.

(Which is why I stopped because it's an endless cycle of saying sjm wrote something silly and because she's saying it's serious, now we gotta be serious about bat birthing or whatever)

Never forget how I saw a bat get birthed just to actualize how stupid the *gets shot*

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

While "the network wants an episodic kids show, the authors want an epic dark complicated narrative" would explain A LOT about ML's problems, I'd still like to note that there are kids' shows that can do both, going full range from "mostly episodic with a sprinkle of narrative" (Kim Possible, MLP), to "heavily narrative but with episodic breather/filler episodes" (Gravity Falls, WITCH, the Owl House), with many variants in-between.

Even the transition from "fully episodic" to "more narratively-connected" that ML attempted to do can be done successfully - the aforementioned Gravity Falls and WITCH were more episodic in season 1 and more narratively driven in season 2.

However, I'd say there are a few other key problems that can be inferred from what we have:

The show tries too many things at once - as you have pointed out repeatedly. Magical girl and rom-com, single-hero, duo and team stories, wacky comedy and serious trauma, even trying to give several characters a redemption and a damnation arc at the same time (and failing with either). Apparently, it's not just TF vs writers: it's writers severely disagreeing with each other (see Thomas and Vincent's opinions on Chloe), and also trying to one-up the fans. Also, simply thinking too much of the work, which leads us to...

ML's total lack of self-awareness. Another famous case of a show that was almost entirely episodic is Phineas and Ferb. They use the same formula (the brothers build, Candace busts, Doof makes an Inator and is thwarted by Perry) over and over for four seasons. And by mid-season 1, the authors have been making fun of the structure, lampshading it, spoofing and twisting it, playing with "What if" episodes and never taking itself too seriously. When ML tries to be self-aware, it becomes either insulting to the fans (Animaestro), horrifically dark (Chat Blanc) or plain cringe (Simpleman). This is exacerbated by Astruc's arrogance and inability to ignore critics.

Is it possible to make a highly complex, genre-busting, yet kid-friendly story and succeed? Yes. But it needs to be better thought-out - if not from the start, then at the moment the network allows one to deviate from the formula.

And if all else fails and the story becomes too complicated and too repetitive at the same time... Well, self-awareness and the ability to make fun of one's own work can turn a sad mess into a hilariously fun disaster.

P. S. Love your posts as always, you are the main reason I'm still in the fandom!

Thank you for the kind words! I'm so glad that you're enjoying my stuff and I agree with all the things you brought up.

A big part of the reason that Miraculous is so fascinating to me is that there ISN'T a single cause of the issues. There are so many valid ways to discuss the show's problems. It's a masterclass in bad writing and what not to do!

It's why I'm able to run this blog. If it was as simple as, "here's the single reason why it's bad and here's how you fix that" or if the show never had any potential, then there wouldn't be much to talk about. But it did have potential and there is no single reason why it's bad. The causes are multitudinous as are the potential fixes! It feels like investigating some complex wreckage or an elaborate murder mystery in order to understand what the hell happened, which is really fun if you like talking about writing.

I find it much harder to discuss writing in an informative way if you only have good examples to draw from because that path risks stifling creativity. Just because a popular story did a thing well doesn't mean that story showed us the only way to do the things or even the best way to do the thing, but that's often the lesson people seem to learn. They see a thing that they like or even just a thing that audiences liked and want to copy it without understanding the full nuance of why they liked it.

A great example of this is Zuko from Avatar the Last Airbender. He was such a well-written and popular character that all these properties started copying him even though the properties in question did NOT have a setup that worked for a Zuko. Praising Zuko won't really tell you all the ways that Zuko could have failed. Meanwhile, a case study of Chloe vs Zuko or even just a general discussion of Chloe lets you actually talk about the various styles of redemption arc and what you have to do to make them feel real. It's also far more interesting than talking how Zuko could have failed because Zuko didn't fail so why are we even talking about this? It's also far more interesting than talking about a bunch of properties that did redemption arcs well because that would require you to have seen all of those properties. But Chloe is from a single property and she did fail and people understandably have wildly different feelings about what the failure was because the writing was so bad, which means that digging into her writing is way more likely to hold your interest and teach you something.

This gif really does sum it up perfectly:

[Image description: scene from the movie Knives Out where the detective Benoit Blanc exclaims "It makes no damn sense! It compels me though" to explain his feelings on an ongoing murder mystery that he's trying to solve]

As does the old adage, "failure is the greatest teacher." Of course, no one ever said that it had to be your failure!

[ilikekidsshows]

In retrospect do you think there were any major red flags in writing up to the S3 finale of ML that foreshadowed its downfall in future seasons or do you think it all started in what you call the retool era (S4&5).

I’d say we’re dealing with a lot of “recurring issues” and some actual red flags. As I’ve stated repeatedly, the New York Special basically has the same Ladynoir break up and get back together plot as season four, and it was bad in the New York Special and absolutely horrid in season four. Also, the show’s worst episodes, ‘Reflekdoll’ and ‘Kwamibuster’ reflect a lot of the writers’ more asinine writing decisions in the future. The New York Special and some season three episodes are, therefore, definitive red flags.

But yeah, the earlier seasons had some warning signs too. Adrien/Cat Noir is presented first and foremost as a lust object of Marinette’s. We don’t see Marinette appreciating Adrien as a person until ‘Origins’; before that point she’s only literally staring slack-jawed and drooling at Adrien’s photoshoots and ads. Marinette is also destructively jealous of Adrien from the point Lila is introduced, and she only escalates with the introduction of Kagami. Marinette’s objectification of Adrien has been in the show since its inception, considering that the original Adrien, thePV Félix, is presented in promotional materials as sullen, rude and unpleasant, meaning Marinette’s infatuation was most likely purely based on his looks. So, like, the sexism of heterosexual romance but the genders are just reversed is part of the show’s DNA.

Another important thing to note about the series is that our only Adrien-focused episodes, that focus on Adrien having some kind of a development arc with his feelings where he gets to be proactive about them instead of the show just showing the audience “oh, he’s upset now” or “oh, he’s happy now” and don’t still give Marinette a lion’s share of the focus and emotional weight, are ‘Copycat’ and ‘Santa Claws’, maybe arguably ‘Gorizilla’, though I suspect the Marinette trying to score a date segment takes up far more time than the important reveal of Adrien’s family problems. The writers have always prioritized Marinette’s feelings over Adrien’s.

Adrien’s contributions on the superhero side of things have also been getting downplayed since the start. He’s the more likely target of slapstick, with the show pilot ‘Stormy Weather’ having him get treated like a ping pong ball. He’s the one getting brainwashed or taken out by the Akumas frequently. And he’s the one the heroes’ shared mentor ignores completely. In ‘Syren’, Fu had to be strongarmed into meeting Adrien once, and then he never made an effort again. This is also the episode where the idea that Adrien shouldn’t complain about being treated as less than and should just patiently wait for whatever scraps he gets as a member of a team is first introduced. However, this episode was easily overlooked at the time, because the episode, in the end, had Fu meeting with Adrien, seemingly setting up Adrien being treated more equally, a promise that was never followed up on.

Now, though, I’d like to say why these things went unnoticed as red flags and just being some recurring issues. The thing about Adrien’s objectification was this: the people watching thought it was a joke and a sign of Marinette’s immaturity. It was presented humorously, and Marinette started being less creepy at Adrien once she became more able to talk to him. This, coupled with other lessons Marinette had about clear communication with her loved ones, like ‘Weredad’ and ‘Befana’, made people believe Marinette was going to have a character arc to grow into a more mature person who’s able to treat Adrien like a human being. This is another promise the writers never followed up on when they then retconned Adrien into a RealDoll and made him Marinette’s therapist to make sure Marinette never has to treat Adrien normally.

As for the lack of Adrien focus, the reason it went unnoticed was actually the lesser focus on other heroes, and the deeper emphasis on the superhero action than in S4-5. There were less heroes and more time spent on Akuma fights, which meant more screen time for Adrien as Cat Noir at least. When Cat Noir is the primary character Ladybug can interact with, he gets to give plenty of input on things and when he’s Ladybug’s only backup, he gets to do more things in battles. And then we add to that the bigger time the earlier seasons spent on Akuma fights, we get more of both of those things. It’s simple math. So, while Adrien didn’t get to contribute decisively a lot, he did get to contribute. Also, they had this thing where Adrien’s eclectic studies would be used to have Cat Noir give Ladybug highly specific but useful information.

Basically, yeah, there were some red flags and other lesser but still worrying stuff too.

[generalluxun]

different anon but if anyone's closer to the Gary Stu/Mary Su type it's Marinette, cause they keep insisting that she's so special (the time she had on all the miraculouses), the best Ladybug ever (Tikki constantly says this despite the fact that she's lost the miraculouses at least two times), and was ultimately the one that beat Hawkmoth on her own (Gabe stole the miraculouses from her AND got his wish, so she didn't actually win). Not to mention all the people who were crushing on her? Nino, Nathaniel, Luka, Zoe, and however many others? Adrien was over there in his white prison room talking about how HE'S not worthy of MARINETTE'S love? Yeah no...

Okay, we need some definitions. For myself I absolutely love what OSP has for this. *Note* I will use the term Mary Sue so I'm not constantly typing both out, but I honestly consider it gender neutral. You can have a Male(or ace, or whichever) Mary Sue, it's a lot easier than bothering with 'Gary Stu'

With this framework we find that people are often talking cross definitions. Some people latch onto the G1 definition of Mary Sue as someone who is 'perfect' and the fact that Thomas/Marinette(Don't hate on Marinette here, Thomas's words in her mouth) declare Adrien is 'perfect', but those aren't the same definitions.

G1 Mary Sue perfect is 'without flaws' Can do everything better and at range, everyone loves them instantly, etc etc.

Thomas means 'a thing to be kept and admired' like a perfect diamond. It's quite clear Adrien has flaws in the series. It would take a heavy level of self-delusion to miss them. I *like* Adrien, I write for him a lot! But yeah, look at Lies, he treated Adrien like garbage and the narrative punished him for it, pretty bog standard.

Now Marinette- She's an interesting case. She didn't START out a G1 Mary Sue, but she has always been a *type* of Mary Sue. You see after the initial blowback to G1 Mary Sues writers began to throw flaws onto their characters to try and dodge the label. Yet, a lot of the FUNCTION of a Mary Sue remained. So a new definition was formed. This one relies simply on the narrative warping power that a Mary Sue possesses. They are the only *real* person in a world of extras. They have flaws, but those flaws are simply backstory or window dressing.

Marinette's Clumsiness is a prime example of this. She's Clumsy! Except... never when it matters. Imagine how much more of a dynamic we would have if she were *actually* clumsy. She's the thinker/leader who is still functional in a fight, but when it comes down to anything precise, she needs her Olympic-Level trained Partner.

When bad things happen to a Mary Sue, it's only for sympathy points, and they come out on top. S3 She had to be the Guardian- And then we get a series of things that were only solvable because she was the guardian. Her ability to make charms is literally 'Just believe you can' Su-Han shows up and she mocks him. etc etc. Gabriel beats her in S5! -and his wish gives her everything she wants. She is tormented in Derision! -And all it does is make Adrien even more on her side, she's already won and they used her 'trauma' for comedy for 4 seasons.

The biggest thing though is how almost nothing ever progresses without Marinette's attention(a little changes in S5, but that's just because Felix is even MORE of a Mary Sue when he shows up, his localized Sueness defeats her general Sueness) Even when you have a protagonist centered story, most narratives will have a world that lives and breathes and side characters with lives outside the main. The world they live in feels alive. With a Mary Sue(and ML) the world stops completely and almost ceases to exist if the Sue is not present to influence things.

Now I'm gonna blow your mind- A Mary Sue isn't always bad! You *can* write a strong narrative around a Mary Sue- as long as you recognize it.

Marinette is a fun character!

If the show ran with 'Marinette is amazing and multi talented and a paragon, capable in every situation' then you know, that works! Your hero can be blessed! People loved *Superman* to pieces for decades while he was basically invincible. Doc Savage was a thing in the Pulp Era.

The problem is they want to try and run this 'normal girl! oh so clumsy. Oh put upon, pity her, poor girl.' Line, and yet... she just wins, and wins, and always wins, and never stops winning. She is always considered morally by the end of every episode. She wins without even trying (her victory vs Lila was handed to her. She got her power upgrades basically out of the blue each time) So these two disparate things don't click. They create cognitive dissonance that aware viewers pick up on, and it makes things far less satisfying.

I just want to reiterate though. A Mary Sue is not who Marinette is, it is how the narrative *handles* her. Don't hate on Marinette. Wish she was in a better executed story.

[scratchybongvt]

The Sidemascots S1 Auditions (Sidemascots 1.0)

Writer’s note: Two innocent people died during the making of this video. Thanks for the demonetization, 14+, and Reader’s discretion is advised. Please don’t block me, Tumblr.

Vinicius: Hi guys and welcome back to our second-ever video of the SIDEMASCOTS!

Sumi: One of the best mascot channels on YouTube!

Vinicius: Apart from Mirelle Does Stuff…

Sumi: What?

Vinicius: Her animations are “amazing”

Sumi: Uhhh…

Vinicius: Even we don’t stand a chance!

Sumi: Uhm, okay. Today is the first step in my new hair-do!

Vinicius: WHAT?!

Sumi: And assembling 10 of the worst- I mean best mascots in the world to form the inaugural SIDEMEN starting lineup!

Vinicius: You mean Sidemascots.

Sumi: Oh, silly me, it’s only a week old.

Vinicius: The final question is, who will make…

THE SIDEMASCOTS!

Sumi: Remember to smash the subscribe and like buttons, we want 50k likes to kick off season 1! And make sure you donate all of your granny’s organs to my Patreon page! Where I’m willing to send you all maple syrup!

Vinicius: It’s time to start…

THE SIDEMASCOTS SEASON 1 AUDITIONS!

(Vini and Sumi chatter in the distance)

Vinicius: Thank god Sumi, not the “off the hook” line this time.

Sumi: Was that in the script?

Vinicius: Yeah, you wrote it so…

Sumi: Whoopsie Daisy!

[The auditions]

Vinicius: We’re so excited to share the auditions with you all. So how about we start with the obvious?

[The auditions]

Sumi: Name and residence into the camera, please!

Miraitowa: Miraitowa, Shinjuku.

Vinicius: Miraitowa, my best friend and default Olympic mascot…

Miraitowa: I heard that!

Vinicius: Why do you want to join…

Vinicius and Sumi: THE SIDEMASCOTS SEASON 1?

Miraitowa: Because no mascot supergroup is finished without me.

Sumi: Ha, now that’s more like it.

Vinicius and Sumi: We’ll be in touch!

[The auditions]

(The following segment was generously converted into a comic strip by @seabunnyprincess, if you want to illustrate or even make a comic strip about the Sidemascots, DM me!)

Vinicius: Name and residence into the camera, please!

Wenlock: Wenlock, Stratford. Originally I didn’t want to join but some Crackhead from Sainsbury’s forced me to.

Sumi: Poor guy.

[The auditions]

Olympic Phryge: Olympic Phr-

Paralympic Phryge: PARALYMPIC PHRYGE FROM PARIS! ALLEZ PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN!

Vinicius: Phryge, please take care of your sister next time.

Olympic Phryge: What Phryge?

Sumi: PHRYGE FROM DESIRE! IN MY DEFENSE I’M TERRIFIED!

Olympic Phryge: I’m serious!

Sumi: Oh…

Vinicius: It’s you.

Olympic Phryge: Oh, my head’s mashed-

Paralympic Phryge: GIRONA IS CRAP BRO!

[The auditions]

Soohorang: Soohorang, Pyongyang- I MEAN PYEONGCHANG!

Vinicius: Is it THAT difficult to separate these names?

Sumi: On the other hand, the dear leader would be proud.

[The auditions]

Sumi: Name and residency into the camera, please!

Someity: …

Vinicius: Name and residency into the camera, please!

Someity: …

Sumi: Hello? Testing!

Someity: Oh, I’m meditating.

Vinicius: Meditating in front of us? Is that the reason why you’re here?

Someity: …

[The auditions]

Burke: Burke, still living in the woods.

Sumi: BURKE?!

Vinicius: We met him 3 days ago in an MLS match in Atlanta.

Sumi: We can’t consider mascot rip-offs!

Burke: I’m the unofficial club mascot of Atlanta United! It’s on my business card!

Sumi: Fine, what are your attributes?

Burke: Shapeshift into a more relevant person?

Vinicius: WE’LL BE IN TOUCH!

Burke: YIPPEE!

Sumi: But-

[The auditions]

Beibei: Beibei from Beij-

Bing Dwen Dwen: BING DWEN DWEN, ALSO FROM BEIJING!

Vinicius: Do you know you just killed her?

Bing Dwen Dwen: Oh…

[The auditions]

Miga: Miga, Vancouver.

Sumi: Not her again…

Miga: PLEASE SUMI! YOU CAN’T FILM YOUR VIDEOS WITHOUT ME! WE’LL BE AN EPIC DUO TOGETHER!

Vinicius: Pfffft…

Sumi: We’ll be in touch I guess!

Miga: YIPPEE!

Sumi: sisters.

Vinicius: Is she your sister?

Sumi: No, but she acts like she is one.

[The auditions]

Tom: Tom, Rio de Janeiro. Promise me you’ll do crazee bonkerz motorsport stunts or deal off!

Vinicius: I’m sorry Tom but bad things must come to an end.

Tom: F**K YOU VINI! I’M GOING TO MAKE MY SIDEMASCOTS RIPOFF!

Sumi: Oh no, not another crap show with Swifty! Brothers…

[The auditions]

Bandabi: Bandabi. And this is our pet Moongcho.

Sumi: Is he okay?

Vinicius: He looks like he’s stoned.

Bandabi: No, but he did watch YouTube Kids.

Vinicius: YOUTUBE KIDS?

Sumi: YouTube Kids is the ultimate destination for BRAINROT!

Bandabi: Yeah, I didn’t have that in mind…

Soohorang: DOES ANYONE FROM ITAEWON HAVE A STOMACH PUMP?!

[The auditions]

Powder: Powder, Salt Lake City, doesn’t like KFC.

Tom: I TOLD YOU TO NOT JOIN THE SIDEMASCOTS!

Vinicius and Sumi: TOM!

Powder: I always… wanted to…

Tom: QUIT THE SIDEMASCOTS OR IT’S THE END OF YOUR LIFE!

Sumi: CALM DOWN TOM, CALM DOWN!

Powder: side-mascots… forever… (dies)

Vinicius and Sumi: HOLY JEREMY SHADA HITTING BELA, SOL, AND VIDA ON THEIR HEADS!

Tom: LONG LIVE ELEVENTH GEAR!

Vinicius: Forget Tina jumping out of the window, we’ll get demonetized!

Coal: Don’t worry! Powder has come back from worse injuries than this!

Vinicius and Sumi: WORSE INJURIES?!

Sumi: She choked!

Coal: Yeah and?

Tom: CHANGE YOUR NAME OR I’LL KILL YOU!

Vinicius: Now I know what it feels like to be involved in Eleventh Gear.

Sumi: Don’t worry Tom… He’s a criminal. He’s. A. Criminal.

[Technical difficulties]

Quatchi: Quatchi! Where’s Vinicius?

Sumi: I’m sorry Quatchi but Vinicius scheduled another therapy session… again.

Quatchi: Oh, haha.

[The auditions]

Sumi: Vini! You’re back!

Vinicius: Yeah, and?

Sumi: Time to audition someone OUTSIDE the Disabled Crew!

Vinicius: *gasps* Really?

[The auditions]

Borobi: Borobi, Queensland. If you want someone with a massive aura only to protect a dying language, I’m your mate!

Vinicius: Oh haha, Aborigines.

Borobi: By the way, are there surfing challenges mate?

Sumi: Unfortunately, most of us don’t know how to surf so no.

Borobi: Aw, mate.

[The auditions]

Chenchen: (plays ukulele) Demonetization… Demonetization…

Vinicius: Bravo, bravo!

Sumi: That sums up our channel perfectly!

Vinicius: What?

[The auditions]

La’eeb: La’eeb from the Mascotverse!

Vinicius: Unfortunately, according to our policies, you must be truthful about your home country.

La’eeb: Don’t worry, the working conditions are very safe in Qatar…

[There was a minute of silence.]

La’eeb: What? It’s not like the media hates us or anything…

[The auditions]

Copper: Copper, from Salt Lake.

Vinicius: Copper, sorry for what Tom has done to your friend…

Copper: …

Sumi: Copper?

Copper: (sobs miserably), I’M DONE! I’M DONE!

Vinicius: Tom is a criminal.

[The auditions]

Sumi: HEY TOM!

Tom: WHAT?!

Sumi: WAR, WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR?

Vinicius: ABSOLUTELY…

Vinicius and Sumi: NOTHING!

Sumi: SAY THAT AGAIN!

Tom: No.

Vinicius: Say that again…

Tom: No.

Sumi: SAY. THAT. AGAIN.

Tom: War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.

Vinicius: Good. Keep that in your mind and stop killing people. Your casualties are the same as the number of casualties in Ukraine, Palestine, Poland, and Vietnam combined!

Tom: NEVER!

Sumi: Oh here we go again…

[The auditions]

Mickey: Mickey Mous-

Sumi: NEXT!

Mickey: What? It’s not like my 1928 self never entered the public domain…

Vinicius: I’m sorry Mickey, but… um… WE’RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME!

Mickey: WHAT?!

Sumi: LATERS!

Mickey: …

THE SIDEMASCOTS SEASON 1 STARTING LINEUP!

Vinicius: After one therapy session, one casualty, and one thoughtful thinking…

Sumi: We’ll reveal the starting lineup!

Vinicius: Atlanta’s #1 United fan, Burke!

Burke: GLORY GLORY AT. UNITED!

Sumi: My pretend sister, Miga!

Miga: THANK YOU SUMI!

Vinicius: On Swifty’s behalf… Copper!

Copper: Rest in peace Powder, it’s nice seeing you…

Coal: Don’t worry…

Vinicius and Sumi: SHUT UP!

Sumi: Default Olympic mascot, Miraitowa!

Miraitowa: Yea- What?

Vinicius: Everyone’s favorite Olympic mascot (and has nothing to do with that Crackhead holding a cricket bat), Wenlock!

Wenlock: COME ON YOU HAMMERS!

Sumi: That surfer in the Gold Coast… Borobi!

Borobi: LONG LIVE THE YUGAMBEH PEOPLE!

Vinicius: Douyin’s #1 ukulele player and apology video maker… Chenchen!

Chenchen: 中华人民共和国审查法万岁！

Vinicius: What are you saying…

Sumi: Last and certainly not least… Soohorang!

Soohorang: For Pyongyang- I MEAN PYEONGCHANG!

Vinicius: They banned YouTube there.

Soohorang: Phew.

Tom: HA! I KNOW THIS LINEUP IS CRAP! LATERS!

Sumi: Oh no. I feel like he’s going to be this season’s villain…

Vinicius: What have you done, Tom?

Sumi: Join us this Sumi Saturday for the first episode of…

Everyone: THE SIDEMASCOTS!

Vinicius: Season 1!

Director: And cut!

Sumi: Oh shoot, we forgot to tell everyone that we need 50k likes!

Vinicius: And our merch!

Sumi: And we need to tell everyone what do they want to see in the first episode!

Vinicius: And a minute of silence in Powder’s memory!

Sumi: And “set the like and subscribe button to cook, or you’re off the hook!”

Vinicius: No, leave it there.

Sumi: Really?

Vinicius: Really.

[goldenstring6123]

Oh ma gawd that fighting with the lnds male leads was written so good, I actually felt the emotions and anger through ur writing 🙈😖

I'm just wondering if u would ever do like a pt 2 of that fic, like the the behind the scenes of how the male leads felt after them and mc ignoring one another and giving each other the cold shoulder? Or like how the male leads and ml made up after?

Like omg for Sylus part I really want to see his reaction after mc send him that break up message 🙉

But of course this isn't like a request or anything, I'm just asking so don't feel obligated for writing it!!! And you're my favorite writer as of rn so pls take care of yourself and remember to stay hydrated! I look forward to your next work 💋💞

Sylus would probably flip Linkon city upside down after seeing that text message (poor luke and kieran, having to clean after their boss' mess). The ending I gave Sylus low-key gives off kidnapping vibes which i'm sure he's capable of doing.

on the side note: AAAAA thank u for complimenting my writing, I'm glad the emotions got through! and don't worry, comfort will be delivered next friday! We all deserve some tender love and consolation after that read <3

Don't forget to take care of yourself as well! See ya on my next post!

[noelle-holi-gay]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

heyyyy I was tagged by @snarky-wallflower for this thingy, and I don't typically do stuff like this but what the heck! This one looks fun, and I need a small break from finals.

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Sixty-six! Nice round satanic number.

2. What’s your total word count?

Uhhh... 1,164,238. I think I broke a million back with Dream Come True. Wild stuff! Guess that's what happens when you do this nonstop for like four years.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mostly Deltarune these days, obviously, but I also had a wonderful time in the Splatoon and DuckTales fandoms, as well as Miraculous Ladybug, My Little Pony, and a ton of smaller ones here and there.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Dare to Dream (Deltarune): A fun little Susie x Noelle romcom that takes place in a divergent chapter 2 timeline where Susie kisseed Noelle on the Ferris Wheel. Also the first fic in my mega-series Dream Come True, a 300,000 word epic that really kind of went off the rails. But don't worry about that! It's just a funny little romcom! Come closer!

F@#!, Marry, or Kill (Miraculous Ladybug): I am so mad that this is up here. This fic sucks. I wrote it when I was fourteen (hence my reluctance to say "fuck" in the title) and it's just the main characters of the show getting caught up in a game of Fuck-Marry-Kill that involves their own superhero identites, but nobody else knows that. It's a good way to leverage the dramatic irony of Miraculous Ladybug, I guess, but I hate that this was my most-kudoed fic for so long. I wrote it over SEVEN years ago. The only reason it got so popular is because back in 2016, the Miraculous Ladybug fandom was a sea of piranhas starved by the seemingly endless will-they won't-they of the show, ravenous for whatever scraps they could get their grimy little teeth on. Perfect example of why popularity doesn't always equate with quality.

People Write Fanfiction About Me? (Miraculous Ladybug): This one is actually good, even if it's also incredibly old. Basically, Marinette finds online RPF of her and her superhero partner that was obviously written by her superhero partner, and they get into a whole meta fanfiction war, and it gets worse from there. I like this one a lot even if it's in an outdated style: I think it's a good take on the identity reveal genre for the ML fandom.

Stealing Kisses (Deltarune): Not much to say on this one! It's a direct continuation of Dare to Dream, still part of the Dream Come True series, though it functions more as a drama than a straight romcom, which is only one of many tone shifts that this series eventually takes. It also contains Locker Biting Challenge (if you know you know), which I think is, to date, one of the funniest bits of situational comedy I've ever written, so it gets special notes for that.

Crossing the Streams (DuckTales): And this is my most popular DuckTales fic, to round out the set! It's a low-stakes / no-magic AU, where instead of going on daring adventures, the DuckTales kids stream FPS video games online, and are, like, famous streamers. I think its popularity was artificially boosted just a tad due to being in-progress when the series finale dropped, but I think it holds up! I had some good fun playing with identity, fame, and hidden relationships.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I--sometimes! Just not very often... Look, if someone asks me a question, or if I have something to actually say in response, or if the comment is particularly touching, I'll reply, but I'm just really bad at taking compliments! It feels very awkward to me to reply to every comment when I would basically just be going "Thanks so much, I'm glad you liked it!" ten times in a row. That's the only reason (<-Definitely doesn't have anxiety)

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don't tend to do unhappy endings. Cold Case for sure, if it were finished, lmao. Although--I guess you could argue Stealing Kisses has a very angsty ending, though it isn't actually an ending since it's just a sequel-bait cliffhanger. But yeah, I'm going to cheat a little and say Cold Case. It should be finished soon, anyway! Hopefully!

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That's hard to say considering the amount of romcoms I've written, but I think I'd actually have to go with the final mainline entry in my Splatoon series, Operation 24, which was The Wedding. It ends on a really sweet and poignant rooftop scene that I think is particularly uplifting, even compared to the endings of my other long-form romance fics.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Very rarely. I've gotten my share of transphobic comments -- welcome to the Internet! -- but thankfully they've been few and far between. I just delete them when they show up.

9. Do you write smut?

Yes, I have; no, you can't see it :p

10. Do you write crossovers?

I have written at least two crossover fics, so yes! I wouldn't exactly call it my genre, though. They're a little too niche and I like attention.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Oh boy. Yes, twice; the first was my Fuck Marry Kill fic for miraculous ladybug, which was ripped off and horribly butchered into a terrible version of the story by someone who IMMEDIATELY abandoned it to Orphan Account. Which is wild to me.

But the real creme of the crop was some kid on WattPad who copied large portions of my Operation 24 series, and then changed small and seemingly arbitrary details throughout to be more...train-centric? Like, all the characters would have strange and OOC dialog about trains in the middle of the romance. And then after a few chapters of that it did a total left-hand veer into a Thomas the Tank Engine / Harry Potter crossover that was utterly wild to behold. This whole saga is probably one of the weirdest things that has ever happened to me in my life and I'm honestly more bewildered than mad about it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Wow, wouldn't that be cool! But no, along with getting a podfic this is one of those big fic-writer experiences that has elude me thusfar.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Nope! I don't really know how to co-write outside of RP, and I haven't ever really done RP. I'm not opposed to the concept of co-writing, but I think it's sort of difficult to make work with my writing style.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

While I'd love to give the PR-friendly answer of Suselle, I think it's gotta go to Miraculous Ladybug's Love Square. That show has haunted me for seven years and is showing no sign of stopping, and the fuckery it does with its main relationship is some utterly unrivaled Shakespearian nonsense. The way the fandom has built around the relationship is also very interesting, especially the way the fanfic scene has shifted as the show develops and its audience grows up.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

If I want to finish a WIP, I will finish that WIP. The only ones that don't get finished are the ones I don't want to finish. This is the power of believing in yourself!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialog for sure--always has been--and also just, like, grammar? I do words good, as they say. I like to think I have a pretty well-rounded writing skillset at this point, though.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Definitely descriptive stuff like setting the scene. I have to really work to make sure my scenes are embodied in physical reality, and sometimes I just forget to describe new locations. It's just a fairly boring part of writing for me, so I don't like doing it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language?

I took six years of Spanish and have forgotten all of it, so this is unlikely at best. Spanish also uses em dashes instead of quotation marks to denote speaker changes, and while that is very linguistically interesting, it is also very confusing to me, specifically.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Uhhh... the first fandom I published was Miraculous Ladybug, but I think the first fandom I wrote for was My Little Pony. My MLP stuff is on a different site, and also pretty freaking bad, but it was my first large-scale fic and it really helped me develop my skills and voice.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Easy: Dream Come True. That was a monumental journey to go on, and seeing my readerbase follow along as that story morphed and twisted and just kept going and going was such a unique and satisfying experience as a writer. It truly feels unreplicable.

I'm not going to tag anyone because I am a coward, and get horribly anxious at the prospect of @ing people. But if you see this and you wanna do it, use me as an excuse! Say I atted you! Live freely!

Okay good bye. I must return to my endless studies...

[jayflrt]

HELLO!! I JUST THOUGHT THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS. you are my favourite most unhinged enha writer (OBVIOUSLY) and I saved new words that I learn from your SMAUS. Specially named that note "Jayflrt😍" and wrote all the funny words + new words that I learned from you, and I'M JUST WAITING FOR THIS JAY SMAU TO FINISH SO I CAN START READING AND I ALWAYS FINISH YOUR SMAUS IN LESS THAN A DAY (depends on how long it is) BUT TAKE YOUR TIME, IM WAITING PATIENTLY TO READ THIS (I've been avoiding all the updates so I don't get any spoilers I'm sorry you deserve to be more recognised andd interactions! MWAAHHH <33)

omg thank you so much ml 🥹🥹 SO GLAD TO BE ABLE TO SHARE MY VOCABULARY (although i thought i was just typing brainrot . Guess not!!! 😁) AND VERY HONORED TO BE PART OF THE SAFE SPACE THAT IS UR NOTES APP <3 omg i totally understand i prefer binge reading too 🤧 but i hope you enjoy it when it's finally completed !! thank you so much for your kind words 🥰💖

[lovieku]

seeing you feel sad about something so normal hurts me- i mean, i literally posted my teaser around A MONTH AGO and im still editing it right now, my point is.. its alright to take your time, sometimes the inspo wears off but comes back, be spontaneous, but if you truly know what you want from the fic then take your time, i think we all as a community know we're gonna love it anyway because youre such a good writer plus we aren't rushing you, just take your time and dont feel guilty bby, i've went through this too and my way of thinking is, its my account, ill do what i want, if they dont like it, so what? i have plenty of others who are rooting for me. its hard to set in the mindset but i know you can do it ml, dont stress or rush, just take your time and be at your own pace.

(count how many times i said "take your time" LMAOO i embarrass myself too much kkekkrkmrkrkrt)

my SWEEEETTTT SWEETEST DOLLI ☹️☹️ these are such precious words that i’ll hold so so tight n close to my heart 🩷 i’m so thankful for the advice and for the time you spent just writing this beautiful note, it means more than you know, i’m genuinely soso grateful that you even sat down and thought of me really 😭😭🫶🏻 thank u for being patient and waiting !

and omg HIII i’m amongst the ones who are rooting for u, i’m actually in first line 😁😁 take your time as well sweetheart and know i’m here for u !!! <3

[baifengxis]

What are some of your fave cdramas that you would highly rec? I’m looking for something to watch and I would be grateful if you can share some. Thank you!!

Oh, thanks so much for this question, I love recommending cdramas haha!

LEGEND OF FEI [2020] Gotta start with the obvious, because I'll recommend this drama forever even to everyone who has started and can't get into it, I'll always be like, please try again lol It's feminist, fun, feel-good but with very nicely done heavy moments every few episodes, important messages about life and about becoming who you want to be, it has my, at this point, favorite cdrama ship ever, yunfei my beloved!! relationship goals! friendships, funny dynamics, siblings, AMAZING characters and...so much more, I won't continue because I'll never stop lmao

UNEXPECTED [2018] Such an underrated Drama! I don't know why it's so underrated, especially because it's made by the same writer as a very popular drama (The Romance of Tiger and Rose) and the stories are very similar, which I know can be boring but they also have differences that make each drama unique, there's just the same premise of a writer traveling into their own story.

I'VE FALLEN FOR YOU [2020] The perfect rom-com historical drama, with a very fun plot and with plot twists you don't expect, such good characters and two amazing ships! Comfort drama for sure!

THE LOVE BY HYPNOTIC [2019] If you love palace romance, arranged marriage turned true love, a few crazy (but very entertaining) villains and a love story for the ages! Even though it has some very heavy moments, it's one of my comfort dramas as well, because it also includes some VERY FUNNY moments, like I just love dramas that can somehow balance comedy, romance and serious moments so well!

THE QUEEN OF ATTACK [2021] There's so many short dramas nowadays and 80% of them have the same plot of someone traveling into a story lol and yes, this is one of them BUT it's such a good drama like it's insane, I'll wish forever it was a normal length one, but it's still so good, the episodes are 9-10 mins each but there are two seasons, and the episodes have been combined, so eventually it's like having a normal drama with 12 normal length episodes (6 for s1 and 6 for s2). It's so worth it and the two actors are so talented and have such good chemistry, plus the story is unique too, yes this premise has been done many times but I think they still made it so unique and different from others.

THE STARRY LOVE [2023] A recent drama and quite popular, but I'll still recommend it always. Other than the last episode that was a bit disappointing and rushed (still a happy-ish ending though), it's my favorite Xianxia and it was just so good, the story, the cinematography, THE OST, the actors, the ships, the friendships, the sisters, ALL THE WOMEN, youqin literally making all other MLs take notes from him on how to be the best ml out there, so many reasons to watch this drama, just ignore the last part and pretend we saw what they forgot to show us lol

LOVE LIKE THE GALAXY [2022] Where do I even begin??? (This is the first Zhao Lusi drama i recommend in this list, but I just wanna mention, I recommend almost all of them.) Anyway, LLTG is by far my favorite political drama, and non wuxia/xianxia historical cdrama. It's so different and unique, there's literally nothing like it. It's a slow paced drama, with very long scenes (you might only have 3-4 scenes in one episode for example) and it's the reason why It got me a while to get to it, but now I'M SO IN LOVE WITH IT!!! There is not an episode I don't enjoy, it's pure art. Cheng Shao Shang is one of my favorite girls ever and her and Ling Buyi???? I'D DIE FOR THEIR LOVE. Their chemistry is so so so good, now Zhao Lusi can have chemistry with a tree, it's true but still, one of the best cdrama ships out there. Even though I never truly watched classic cdramas like Nirvana on Fire and those "older" ones, I think LLTG somehow is the closest to those except it also loves its characters and focuses on romance more than any older political cdrama did but it works so so well.

LIGHTER AND PRINCESS [2022] Favorite modern drama! I gotta be honest I'm not verrrryyyy into modern cdramas, I like a few, even love some, but generally it's hard to find a modern cdrama I'll go crazy over...but L&P changed that. Or well, it's still hard, maybe even harder now, to find something that tops it, but L&P is just so so good. Again, a quite popular drama, maybe it doesn't need the recommendation, but I have to mention it anyway 'cause it's my baby and I just cannot make a favorite cdramas list without it! Some reasons to watch: One of the best love stories out there, with such good angst and just everything you need on a ship, two main characters so unique that you'll definitely relate to (at least in some aspects), one of the best OSTS ever, perfect cinematography, directing and writing and one of my favorite endings on any show ever!

Some more dramas I recommend but I won't dig deeper (I talked a lot already):

Couple of Mirrors [2021]

Who Rules The World [2022]

Love Between Fairy and Devil [2022]

Young Blood [2019 - S2 starts tomorrow!]

Wait, My Youth [2019]

Zhaoyao/The Legends [2019]

Arsenal Military Academy [2019]

There's probably more but I think that's good for now, I hope I helped you find something to watch and I'm always here for more recs if you want :P <3

[historia-vitae-magistras]

AHHHHH drop pea soup recipe pls (if you don't mind)?? or perhaps some tips :) saw lots of pea soup stuff mentions this morning - so I bought me self some split yellow peas and would like to try making some tonight. Should I soak the peas first to soften them and easier to boil?

Made a fresh pot to write this down as I went otherwise its just in my head. I'm not.... entirely sure if I'm a good recipe writer but I tried! I don't usually have the need to soak the peas but def rinse them and reserve the salt until the end to help. I made mine with chopped back bacon carrots, leeks, a turnip and celery but as noted any of the options below will work.

Ideal but optional Stock:

1 ham bone

2-3 carrots, quartered

1-2 ribs celery, quartered

2 medium onions, quartered

4 bay leaves

10-15 whole black peppercorns

1 soup pyramid (optional)

Throw it all in the pot and boil for 2 hrs. Strain and use it for the soup. This is also completely optional. You can just substitute it out for 8-10 cups 2.5 litres of water and a stock cube or bouillon paste in ham, chicken, garlic or vegetable. I wouldn't use beef or fish bouillon.

Actual soup

450-500 g/1 bag dried yellow or green split peas (no need to soak if split)

200-300g/8–10 ounces bacon, ham, back bacon or pancetta, or fuck even turkey bacon for our kosher friends can be done. Diced.

1 yellow onion, 2 large shallots or 1 large leek or about 150 grams of the whites and lights of green onion, finely chopped.

1 rutabaga, large waxy potato, turnip or parsnip, diced.

2 stalks celery or celeriac or turnip, diced

2 -3 carrots or parsnips, diced.

5 garlic cloves, minced.

Kosher salt, black pepper, soup pyramid or 2 bay leaves.

8-10cup/2.5 liters of the ham stock or substitute.

15 ml (1 tbsp) of your acid of choice. I'm a lemon juice girlie but wine vinegar, cider vinegar or plain vinegar will get it done.

Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper to taste

To Make the Soup

Take the biggest pot in the cabinet and slap down your bacon. If not using bacon, tap out a scoop of butter or an oil of choice, sauté the meat and remove before cooking the vegetables.

Remove bacon from its rendered fat or remove the meat from its cooking oil and set aside.

Cook the veg until soft. Add garlic and cook another minute or two.

Add the stock or broth, soup pyramid or bay leaves, and dried peas. Reserve meat if using.

Bring the whole thing to a boil for 1-2 minutes, lower to a simmer.

Cover and stir every 15 minutes until split peas are tender. It will depend on your peas. Mine is usually done in about an hour, but water heat and time may vary.

Check the soup for seasoning and season to taste.

Remove bay leaves or soup pyramid.

Stir in the acid and your reserved meat.

Warm through and serve.

[runariya]

I’m back, angels! 🎉

And guess what? My name’s basically Santa now, coming down the chimney with some news and a sack full of feels (I know it’s not even October, let me be)🎅🏼🎁

First up: As you’ve probably already seen, Da Capo al Fine is officially being sent to the graveyard, as are both versions of Heart’s Revival. Will I ever write/continue them? Maybe. Will I just stare at them and hope they’d decompose into nothing? Also maybe. We’ll see (or not lol)

But now for the exciting part~! 💃

Since ✨WINTER✨ is my absolute favourite season (snow, the cold, romance—basically my personality atp), and because I’m a ~hopeless romantic~, I’ve got a rom-com fic coming your way!

I reckon it’ll be a three-shot, featuring snowboarder Jungkook 🥵 (I’m sorry but this man snowboarding is literally my Roman Empire, I can't stop thinking about it). Hope y’all are as excited for this as I am! Look out for the ML, I’ll upload it soon 💕

On another note, for those who want to know, I’ve been completely burned out after spending four months writing over 250k words, hence the past break.

I’ve come to the conclusion that while improving my writing style as much as I can—and having the urge to make it sound as posh as possible—is something I can’t keep up with without burning out again. Frankly, writing 2k words on average each day is a task I can’t handle any longer too, especially since I’ve been cutting into my sleep, which, surprise surprise, burns me out even more lol

So, if the upcoming updates of my ongoing fics aren’t as ✨fancy✨ as they used to be (more like the last few prompt requests I uploaded some days ago), then that’s why 🫠

Updates for MBV, Auction, and Tribute will unfortunately be slower than before the break (I won’t be able to do a new chapter for each every week, sorry!) The next update will either be an old requested prompt or a new ch for Auction or Tribute. MBV ch8 will be updated after the first part of the rom-com is up.

And before the hate rolls in again: I’m working on every single fic of mine. I’ve got plenty of snippets written, but pulling it all together and making sure it fits the vibe of each story (they’re rather all very different, right?) takes me more time (and the right mood) than I’d like to admit.

The prompt game will be closed until all my ongoing fics are finished, just because I’m trying not to overwork myself and want you to receive content (both my own work and your requests) that’s actually worth reading.

Writing a lot of dark themes (dead dove, etc.) is also something I’m not going to focus on for the most part in the future (though I’m not abandoning it!!!). I’m a very emotional writer, and I tend to absorb the vibes of what I’m working on, and I really don’t want to feel angsty or down all the time because my fics are full of heavy tropes.

I’m really sorry for this ‘change’, it’s just that writing in general, and especially uploading, is still very new to me. These first few months have taught me the hard way what works for me and what I can actually see myself doing long-term without quitting altogether.

I hope you understand and still look forward to my work 💕 ly all sm

[starlightwayfinder]

Are there any fics you'd love to write but just haven't had time to yet? (Or characters you'd love to write about but haven't had the chance?)

On a slightly different note: I also really loved your Thor comic, and I didn't know if you had like...any additional thoughts on it you'd like to share, haha.

My writer’s block has been… bad (but not for lack of trying on my part!)

I wrote 3000 words of a Terra fic, but something was off and I never quite figured it out. It’s still a premise I might come back to eventually, so I won’t give too much away, but I will say it involves him meeting Ansem the Wise. (And now I’m wondering if I could find a way to work Tron into the story too..hmm)

I also have a (mostly-finished) fic about Naminé and Roxas spending time with Hayner, Pence, and Olette post-KH3, but I honestly forgot about it until now..oops. 

I want to write another Halloween story this year, but the inspiration hasn’t hit me yet. We’ll see.

(I hope whatever possessed me after Dark Road’s finale comes back when ML comes out, haha. I’d love to be writing lots of short stories again!)

Yes!! Thor may have started as a joke character, but I have so many thoughts about him and that comic.

Like the Master says, Thor’s existence doesn’t change things too much. He tries to help Baldr after learning Hoder died, but doesn’t understand enough to stop him in time. His death doesn’t change much either, since Baldr fails to take thirteen lives either way. So really there’s just… one more person now. It’s not something the Master has to interfere with, but it’s enough to pique his curiosity. 

As people pointed out, the comic was pretty “meta”. I wouldn’t say the Master knows about us specifically, but he’s figured out that ‘fictional’ and ‘real’ worlds impact each other. Fictional things create emotions in real people, real people create emotions in fictional people. But no one seriously considers that impact, or the consequences of it. (And of course, everyone likes to think their side is the “real” one… In this scenario, it’s relative.)

I also have some random headcanons about Thor:

He sits in the front row next to Hermod, diagonal from Baldr (who would’ve liked to sit next to him, but never found a way to ask.) 

He got Keyblade armor along with the others before departing. His is gold and orange.

Since they were told to go in groups of three, there were some jokes about leaving Eraqus behind. (Eraqus gets very distressed thinking they’re going to go to the outside worlds without him!)

Interestingly, Thor is the only character who never teases Eraqus. It’s a nod to his  kind nature.

Thor and Eraqus are typically the cheeriest characters. When you pick Thor as a party member, the story has a slightly different vibe. 

He’s well liked by all of the other students: Studious enough to get along with Hermod and Urd, but playful enough to be friends with Eraqus and Vor. (And sensitive enough that Baldr and Xehanort don’t mind spending time with him either.) 

Everyone expects the heir is most likely going to be Vidar, Thor, or Eraqus.

The upper classmen try to recruit him, but like Urd, he refuses.

As far as everyone knows (Thor included), he’s been there the whole time. Occasionally Xehanort gets a slightly “off” feeling around him, but it disappears like deja vu and he never thinks much of it.

[generalluxun]

Did you know that there is an Instagram comic writer under the nickname @chlogami, who’s been accused for racism? Here’s one of her comics:

Is that supposed to be the 'racist' thing? If so- it shows people's Media illiteracy. The Chlogami comics have all the characters acting as morons all the time. It's purely a humor comic. Audrey *kills* LB/CN at one point, and they just show up later. Emilie just... wakes up from her sleep. Chloe's died at least once I think. Thomas Astruc shows up more than once. Emilie has a crush on Andre, and Audrey on Gabriel. It's insane and hilarious in all the right ways.

Chloe being ignorant as hell and repeating the stupid stuff she hears from insane right-wing rich adults makes *perfect* sense. It's meant to showcase the idiocy of it.

Chlogami is a freaking Gem in terms of ML content. They understand how to mock the show's foibles without being salty. It's something a few other comic artists could take notes on.