#oh yeah while we're at it i'll put this here too. idk if i'll post it anywhere else bc its so short but?

[sundial-bee-scribbles]

has this been done before

[jinnie-ret]

If ur taking rq still can I rq a skz x 15 year old girl in training (like that protection gic you wrote ) and how they react to her being good at producing, singing, rapping and dancing but they didnt know she could do all that until they keep running into her or maybe look for her because they ordered fkkd for her too eat with them and they see her in her rehearsals and in her dance practice room learning like idk an itzy choreo or sum by herself and they see shes improved since they last saw her do everything? Ig like a little Ace if u would like to put It that way!

It's ok if u don't want to or can't do this tho! Love ur writing💕

ace of hearts

stray kids x reader (platonic)

genre: fluff

content warnings: none

word count: 1.1k

summary: stray kids have nothing but good things to say about the upcoming ace of jyp.

I hope you enjoy! There's a small excerpt of a song Y/N has written herself which I actually wrote (it's a hobby of mine hehe) so if you want me to post the whole thing I'll do so, maybe as a poem haha

My asks are currently shut but if you want to be added to my taglist, do let me know! And if you liked it, please reblog and like! :)

MAIN MASTERLIST

Shoulder shimmying had never been so hard, but Y/N seemed to have finally gotten down the choreo to ITZY's 'Wannabe', the members of Stray Kids seeming to think so too. They had just been looking around for a room to practice in when they came across their young trainee friend, who they hadn't seen for a while due to their busy schedule.

A small applause sounded from behind Y/N, making her jump as she saw the door open and Stray Kids clapping for her.

"Ah! Hello sunbaenims!" Y/N blushed and bowed politely. She wasn't expecting to see them there, so absorbed into practising for her next showcase.

"Hi there!"

"Annyeong!"

"Wow!"

They all let out greetings as they walked over excitedly to Y/N.

"How has everything been? It's been a while since we saw you," Jeongin smiled widely at Y/N, trying to ease the obvious nerves he saw from her.

"Have you been practicing regularly? Your dancing has improved a lot," Changbin nodded his head in approval.

"Ah, you really think I've improved?! Yeah I've been practising a lot these days..." Y/N bashfully admitted, rubbing her sweaty palms on her leggings. Was it from exercising or from nerves? She wasn't quite so sure herself.

"We can see that. You're better at dancing and freestyling than us now," Lee Know laughed, praising the younger girl jokingly, but there was still a hint of seriousness to it that showed Y/N he was proud of her, and that helped her relax more.

"Maybe one day even Jisung will be jealous of your dancing skills," Felix laughed, causing the quokka like man to look over at him with a mock appalled face.

"Haha maybe I'll take his place as the ace," Y/N smirked, feeling comfortable enough to joke around with them. It wasn't a regular occurrence that she saw the boys but everytime she did, she was soon able to fall back into a relaxed state where it felt like she had known them forever.

"No way! You will never be as talented as me!" Jisung smirked back, yet he couldn't help but goofily smile back at her as he ruffled her hair.

"Well, we're glad you're practicing so hard. Would you like to have some fried chicken with us?" Seungmin piped up, his eagle eyes noticing that she only seemed to have some water in the room with her. Plus, he remembered what it was like being a trainee, and an offer of fried chicken would not be one to be turned down.

"Oh sure! If there's enough to go around!" Y/N clasped her hands together excitedly.

"Of course there's enough food! We're so proud of all your progress by the way, we can tell how hard you've been working, Y/Nnie," Chan praised her, as they all sat down together on the floor.

"Here, eat up," Hyunjin passed over a box of fried chicken to Y/N from the bags of fast food they had.

"Just remember to take a lot of rest too," Jisung commented genuinely, yet anyone could tell he, as well as the other members were very much so enthralled with the heaven sent food in front of them.

"Don't worry I do!" Y/N rushed out, before taking a bite of the fried chicken and wiggling slightly as she did a happy dance.

"You're so cute when you're excited!" Felix giggled as he saw her.

"That's exactly what Channie hyung does," Seungmin laughed along.

There was a moment of peaceful eating before Chan kept up the conversation.

"Oh yeah, we wanted to ask you something! Are you good at rapping?" Chan wondered, wiping his hands on a napkin.

"Well, I don't want to brag but I think I'm pretty good," Y/N shrugged, she had practiced enough and knew she was at JYP for a reason, and her talents certainly didn't go to waste when it came to rapping.

"Oh yeah? You actually rap too? I had no idea. Have you tried writing your own lyrics before?" Changbin got excited at the prospect of hearing Y/N rap.

"I'm not as confident in writing rap lyrics as I am in singing them if that makes sense?" Y/N explained, hoping it was understandable.

"I get what you mean. You must be very talented though since you can sing so well," Lee Know wondered.

"Do you happen to write your own songs too or do you learn songs from other artists?" Chan asked, interested in what her identity as a future artist would be.

"Oh I like to write my own songs too!" Y/N beamed. Now that, was an area she was proud of herself for.

"Really? Can you play one of your original songs for us?" Hyunjin said in a shocked tone, head tilting slightly in disbelief but wanting to hear her sing nonetheless.

The boys all stared at her in anticipation.

"Oh, sure... If you really want me to," Y/N became nervous again, because this was Stray Kids! Yes they felt like her friends but to sing her own personal works in front of them was still nerve wracking.

"Yes, we really want you to!" Jeongin encouraged her, offering that same reassuring smile as he did earlier.

All of the members were now eagerly waiting for her.

"Ok, here's a chorus I wrote recently," Y/N finally nodded, making the boys even more excited as she began to sing.

"Oh it's in my bones.

Hereditarily alone.

Surrounded by people,

But that gives no meaning.

It's in my bones."

The boys stared in in wonder, thinking the words were so beautiful and they loved the emotion she put into it even for such a small snippet of the song.

"Her voice is amazing..." Hyunjin was in awe.

"Yeah, you have a really good vocal tone!" Jisung clapped.

"And you wrote that yourself?" Chan smiled like a proud dad.

"Can we hear more?" Changbin said hopefully, nudging Y/N playfully.

"Well, I think I should now that I've sang a teaser for you," Y/N beamed, and for the next couple of minutes she sang the rest of the song to the boys. She even played a small backing track which consisted of an acoustic guitar, simple but sweet, building up towards the end of the song.

"I can't wait to see you debut!" Felix clapped with the other boys.

"You really will steal everyone's hearts, Y/N, you'll go far," Chan said, a big smile adorning his face as everyone offered their comments and praises to Y/N.

"Just don't let it get to your head," Lee Know joked, causing his members to whack him playfully and tell Y/N to not listen to him anymore.

"Thank you guys, it really means a lot."

tagged: @skz-streamer @kiraisastay @hannahhbahng @backintomykpopphaseagain @sakufilms @arloo00 @dunno-wut-to-do @splat00z @hanjiquokkaaa

[lynn-tged-posting]

tged webtoon ep 169 spoilers and thoughts that i'm incredibly late on because finals are coming up but it's okay we ball and more below the cut

.

.

.

two little creatures,,, i really like this little panel,,, why is he crouch like that,,, heehee silly guy

nothing too drastic happened in this ep but there's a lot to talk about (and a ton of thoughts i have abt the execution of it) sooo ya here we go!!!!

the expressions and the art in this ep were all REALLY good i really liked these HAHAHAA hes so fucking menacing,,,

JAVIER WAS ALSO FUN I LOVE WHEN HE PLAYS THE STRAIGHTMAN HAHAHAHA

javier ilysm "i have so many things to say,,, but i wont,,," LOL

the heavenly demon kings were cool too! though very short-lived,,, i will have more to say on that,,, their designs are pretty varied and i like that a lot!!! tho seriously why are there eight of them what happened to warrant eight LMFAO

ALSO LLOYD IMMEDIATELY SUBDUING THE DEMON KINGS BY SINGING LMFAOOOOOOOOOO he's got a weapon he's gonna fucking use it LAKJFDLSJKDF

zero hesitation he just blasted them,,, it's like taking an airhorn and firing it immediately in someone's ear,,, how evil,,, lloyd u bastard /aff

AND ARTANIS ARTANIS WAAAAHHH SHES SOOO PRETTY i love characters with horns like that ive had my fair share of OCs with those horns and together w her hair and expression and eyes i love her a lot <3 i hope she gets more sillies

it seems like she's the only one with mind reading abilities maybe its a demon king thing? javier did mention that she has a LOT more power than she lets on so maybe theres more to it? her introduction and her request for help came VERY quick she was quick to cry and while it absolutely makes sense that its bc her people really, REALLY need help, im also wondering if there's something more to it,,, she was very fast to trust lloyd; what else does her mind reading let her see, to what extent? not saying that she's an antagonist or anything, i do believe that she wants to help her people i'm just curious at how. fast this is. though it may just be because of a pacing issue thats causing this confusion in me,,, which i will talk about later below cause i wanna get thru these panels heehee

and lastly, OUR FIRST LOOK AT THE FORMER/FIRST DEMON KING CREDOS!!! and apparently he just. stopped invading and focused on farming!!!

one) i love collecting little bits of lore like this it makes me go heehee yay worldbuilding

and two) THIS IS WHAT BRIDGES TGED TO THE NEW PREQUEL THAT THE AUTHOR IS WRITING!!! AAAHH YESSS YES YEEESS I LOVE THAT A LOT

if you didn't already know, the author is currently publishing another webnovel set in Lorasia, and it's supposed to take place when tyrannus was a kid, basically a long LONG time ago

AND ISN'T THAT FAMILIAR? A DEMON KING WHO STOPPED INVADING AND WENT FARMING,,, THATS THE BITCH!!!

(it says here there were four heavenly demon kings here tho i wonder why they doubled HAHA)

i love love LOVE that the pieces were set up like this, idk if credos is mentioned in the novel at all but little building blocks that create bridges (however small) between works in the same universe are my favorite thing ever i like collecting those it's my favorite kind of worldbuilding thing bc it's like putting pieces together heehoo

i'll ABSOLUTELY be making a post yapping about this prequel and the Everything that is Lorasia soon, so i'll leave this off here for now :3 but just know IM VERY EXCITED/HAPPY ABOUT THIS LITTLE LORE BIT IN PARTICULAR

ok that's all the panels i wanted to talk about ,,, i was gonna dive into worldbuild yapping/speculations but again i wanna make a separate post dedicated to that

now,,, about the pacing of this episode,,, as aforementioned, it feels really, REALLY fast! it feels like we're speedrunning the build-up part of the journey, like within the episode it's like "oh we got new characters, we get to know them- oh okay yeah they're not bad people actually - oh new powerful character let's work together okay cool moving on"

and it's a shame because i really really like the art and gags for this ep, i think they're really silly and i think i could have really come to like these new characters with more time, but because we're going through this process so fast it's like,,, the setup is barely there, which makes the punchlines just short of satisfying,,,

i wanted more out of this episode, i expected something else. i haven't read the novel so i couldn't tell you how i'd adapt it or what the something i expected was but,, idk it feels like the pacing is off,,, lloyd was quick to piece together the status of the overworld demons based on their attire and behavior but i really wish it went about in a different way. i wish we could have had more time with the heavenly eight demon kings before they were just. subdued? and the two children too, are we gonna see them again? with how fast they were introduced and how fast they were set aside, i'm worried they won't show up again

i also kind of wish artanis' reveal was,,, more. i don't know how to explain what that means. maybe more ominous? more mysterious? just a little more, more hints to her character or her relationship with other characters or something,,, though maybe this is too soon and we'll see more of her later and i'll be more satisfied? i'm not totally sure

this episode just didn't hit the same, and that really upsets me because i really wanted to like this episode! i've read more manhwa than novel currently so even with it's flaws i still really like the manhwa, and i want to be able to continue liking the manhwa,,, i really hope that this pacing thing and these fast-paced bits is just within this one episode and that it'll be okay as we go forward. i really want to continue enjoying reading this!!!

it could be that the adapter is experiencing some kind of burnout, it has been quite a long time since the start of tged. i really hope they take their time with adapting the rest, i really wouldn't mind another break. if another hiatus is needed for the adapter to pace the story and the artist to draw the panels in a way that feels better or less rushed, i'd accept the hiatus fully

anyway that's all i have to say right now,,, ep 170 really feels like a gamble right now and im praying that it goes well, if i have more thoughts ill probably rb with more yapping idk

i'll see y'all next week (aka tmrw) (because this post is a lil bit late LOL) im praying im praying,,, manifesting that this ep was just a lil awkward and that everything else is fine,,, please,,,

[perpetuallypottytraining]

(im the anon that said regression is not nsfw)

oh okay i get it kind of :thumbs_up:

do u talk abt potty training stuff on ur main age regression acc too or is it just this one? cuz if u do i might follow idk hehe

okay, I thiiiink these are the same person? Probably? Unclear. I'll answer both here, for clarity.

1 - No, I don't talk about potty training stuff on my main, not anymore. I moved those posts here a couple of years ago. The only content that's there are maybe some reblogs from other regressors.

2 - Okay, first of all, age regressors did NOT come up with those terms, nor do they have exclusive rights to use them. Those terms have been used by people for, like, ever. Parents calling their kids "little ones", family members calling out "littles, come over here!" to refer to any younger members, the obvious origins of "mom" and "dad" and their variants, and "caregivers" being tied to both people who care for babies, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities.

If anything, age players have more rights to the terms "littles" and "caregiver" in the context that we're using on this site. They're the ones who originated/popularized them. I know this because I was here, on this site, in 2016, when age regressors decided to split off from the sfw age play community, and there was legitimately tons of discourse about who had the "right" to those terms.

(who here remembers the chire and the other handful of communities that attempted to exclude anyone who liked the parental nicknames and the usage of the word "little" in their regression? I do. god, do I remember. this is the main reason that a lot of old regression blogs specify that they're "community free regression")

Second, I... don't? Tag anything here as ageplay? Everything here is just tagged with omo tags, then with assorted organizational tags - there is nothing here tagged with agere or ageplay - just posts that use the very vague term of "little" and the other term of "caregiver" within the post itself.

(which, I just feel the need to repeat, is a word that even normies use!! my own parents, aunts, and uncles call me and my cousins littles!!! Outside of that, "Littles" is a shared community term!! Littles and Caregivers, as we use them, originated from Dominant Daddy/Mommy and Little Boy/Little Girl - it's the gender neutral version!! Cg/L! Regressors are the ones who decided to keep it!! Because it's vague!! That's intentional!!)

But, yeah, you're allowed to feel your feelings, and, honestly, the fact that you're uncomfortable with the "playing grown-up" tag is something that I anticipated when I made that tag - that it might make people uncomfortable! But, I've been working on making my own boundaries and enforcing them, while not immediately catering to make other people comfortable at the detriment of my own comfort/space.

This is my blog. People didn't like when I put non-sexual omo on my agere blog because it helped me regress. That's okay, and even I became uncomfortable with it after a while, so! I made this blog! It's not my agere blog. It's my soft omo blog. It's nsfw and for adults only. And, only just recently, I decided to take advantage of those two facts and put some other nsfw posts here. I do not want to make yet another sideblog for the handful of "icky" posts I'd like to reblog, especially when this blog is already here.

A nice thing about Tumblr is that tags are now blockable, so if, for some reason, you wanted to follow me still, you'd still be able too view all my other posts while excluding that specific tag. Or you can block me, if you wanted to - you curate your own online experience, and I'll hold no ill will towards you for making sure that you're comfortable and safe.

As for saying thats someone can't be both an age regressor and an age player? Literally what are you talking out????? Huh???? Do you think that adults can't age regress and slip into the mindset of a child while also being capable of, while in adult headspace, in a consensual relationship, roleplay as a child for sexual gratification??? Those are two different things!!! Ageplay is roleplay, and as such, one is capable of adult things! Agere is someone slipping into the headspace of a child!! Healthy communication with one's partner makes it clear what's okay in one headspace and what's okay in the other!!!

I'm not even an ageplayer and even I know that it's possible to do both 😭😭😭 and I just read fanfiction and people's actual blogs!!

As for your sign off, um. Okay? I don't even interact with a.geredips posts and blogs.... even if they're very relevant to me and my regression! Not even with my main!! (I'm also very shy and timid and a bit scared to interact) And, on my main, if people who follow me start breaking people's DNI, I literally softblock or block them - if they can't follow people's boundaries, then they can't interact! I'm just one blog, and I doubt that if anyone wanted to demonize age regressors, they need any help from me - people who deliberately mistag are probably more than enough tbh.

Ageplay and age regression, like it or not, was cut from the same cloth - a cloth made out of a gradient from black to white, with shades of grey all in between. Like a baby blanket! Black/ageplay and ABDL on one side, white/agere on the other, with you and me and my friends and mutuals somewhere in the middle, all spread out across!

Plenty of adults don't think anyone should return to the comfort of childhood things, and look at the whole blanket with scorn and disgust. Cutting off more and more of the blanket, because you think that my grey isn't as palatable as your grey, is not going to change these people's minds. Both of us live in the grey zone, and I personally think that by accepting more of the grey, our baby blanket will be strong enough to handle anything - even and especially people who think our blanket should be torn to shreds.

[sunny-haven]

One thing I've always wanted since I got into hypnosis in middle school is to be hypnotized to see myself as some sort of furry creature (and as of 2020, to see myself as my fursona, my dragon!). And while I don't see that happening for me anytime soon, one way I like to live that dream vicariously is through some of my subjects.

There's a decent amount of subjects out there who have imposition/phantom touch so it's always lovely to give them attention, pets, cuddles, all that stuff. Sometimes I'll have them feel me purr. But there are a few subjects out there who are able to not only feel but see things with hypnosis too, and that's where I have the most fun, because I'll just have them see my fursona like I'm right there!

She looks like this, by the way:

Gosh, the sheer amount of things I do with those kind of subjects, I wouldn't be able to list them all. But definitely lots of cuddles, wrapping them up in my tail, having them feel me purr against them, telling them about my lavender scent and how calming it is. With one subject, I'll often snuggle with him while we're vibing in a call, sit on his lap or have him sit on mine. Haha, there was a time where he was having trouble going to bed consistently so I'd have my dragon self drag him to bed at a certain time each night (and I still do it once in a while when he's stubborn). I like to joke about the fact that my sona's basically a big cat inside of a dragon's body so sometimes I'll lick the top of people's heads like I'm a momma cat. I've been experimenting with biting and choking people with my tail as well. Lotta paw worshipping. Like a loooott lol. Spiral eyes as well, and lately I've given my sona a lavender mist she can breathe out that's super hypnotic. It's great honestly. Oh and lots of more not-safe-for-Tumblr stuff as well, you can bet haha.

It's also honestly helped a lot with my gender expression! It took me a while to come up with the form I express myself as now, but I was able to experiment a lot because a couple of close subjects were able to see my sona in whatever way I wanted present her as! Idk if it'd be a good idea to post the NSFT ref sheet on here but she's a gynomorph, I believe? Think a male body but with breasts, and you can use whatever the term for that is.

I am like suuuper jealous of those friends who are able to see my ideal self so easily, haha, but at the same time it's really nice because they talk about how calming it is for them and it helps them feel a lot happier. (and if they don't outright say it, I can definitely see it!)

but yeah, I just wanted to put that out there into the wild, it's pretty cool. :3

[lazy-cat13]

day 7: Future (finale)

There will be a few time skips, journal entries, and a few more things that you'll see!

Ash also knows the union leaders a bit more.

And this is also in first person POV (unfinished accidentally posted? Idk)

Black= Ash

Red= Brain

Green=Ventus

Blue= Ephemer

Orange= Chir

Pink= Lauriam

Purple= Skuld

~After the Keyblade war, about a month before Daybreak Towns destruction~

Things have been strange lately, I keep hearing static noises and it gives me a headache, I keep having nightmares about something that seems in the past but I don't remember. . . I sometimes see glitches in the sky, but I think that's from my lack of sleep lately. Maybe I'll talk about it to Brain at some point.

I walk into fountain square to see two familiar faces .

A young boy with blonde hair, he's around 10 it seems like, his name is Ven.

And someone a few years older, around me and Brains age, he has fluffy hair that looks like a dandelion. And his name is Ephemer.

"Ash! Nice to see you!" Ephemer waves, sitting on the fountain.

"Ash!" The young blonde runs up to me in excitement.

"Hi Eph! Heya Ven!" I ruffle Vens hair while he pouts in embarrassment. "Have either of you seen Brain?"

"He's reading right now in the meeting room. He's been reading that for a few weeks now, it's almost impossible to get him away! We have to convince him by giving him food!"

"Sounds like Brain to me."

He chuckles "Why? You wanna talk to him?"

"yeah, but he's busy right now, so when you see him next would you mind giving him this? Please don't read it." I walk up to Ephemer handing him a small paper with Ven following me.

"Sure! I'll get it to him as soon as possible!" He tucks the note away.

"Thanks."

"What does it say?"

"dude. What did I just say?"

"But I wanna know!"

"No, I'm not telling you."

"why not?" Great he's starting to pout more now.

"Cause it's private! Brains eyes only!" I put my hand on my hips.

"awwww , does somebody have a crush?" Ephemer chimed in

"What? No. What makes you think that?" I glare at Eph

"nuthin. Well, the way you're acting I guess." He shrugs

"I- dude! We're just friends!"

"alright, calm down! I was just joking! I'll be sure to get it to him."

"Thanks."

"Well, we'll be on our way, see ya! C'mon Ven!" He starts walking away

"Coming! See ya Ash!" The blonde catches up to Ephemer, waving goodbye

I start walking back to my apartment, putting on my headphones and music. Walking through the town sun setting, other keyblade weilders running by, laughing, enjoying life. things I wish I can do, constant stress isn't helping, well, there are a few times that I let loose, like earlier with Eph and Ven. And times with Brain.

I make it to my apartment and unlock the door.

"Chir! I'm home!"

Chiri appears and brings me into a hug.

"Ash! Hoi! What's for dinner?!"

"well I didn't really think about that. . . Ramen sound good?"

"Yeah!!"

I start to get a pot of water boiling and a sharp static sound strikes my ears and I instantly grab around my ears losing my balance a bit.

"woah! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah! I'm fine chir! don't worry about it!"

"Uhhh huhh. . ."

I finish making the ramen and they set two bowls on the table.

"Eennjoy!"

"thank you!!"

"no problem!"

I hand Chir a spoon, and we both cheers, but a knock interrupts us.

"op- one moment! 'Scuse me Chir."

I run to answer the door and it's Brain.

"Oh, hi."

"hi. . . You wanted to talk to me?"

"yeah, wanna come in? We got some ramen I just made." I point inside

"Why not."

"cool, come on in, sit at the table while I get you a bowl."

They walk in guiding Brain.

"Feel free to hang your hat."

"damn, I don't think I've been here before, it's nice."

"Thanks, sorry for the mess. . ."

"don't worry about it. . ..hey chiri" he takes a seat

"Hiya Brain!"

"here. Enjoy" I put a bowl in front of him

"thanks"

"Don't mention it." I sit down too taking a bite of my food

"are. . . You alright, you seem more tired. . ."

"uh? Yeah, I'm fine!" I wave my hand

"why do you always do this?"

"do what?"

"whenever I notice something is wrong, you brush it off. Why do you wanna keep things from me?!"

"cause I think you're already stressed enough!!"

"that doesn't mean you just can't tell me! You're also a main priority! You're my best friend! Please, just. . . Tell me. . ."

". . ." I'm at a loss of words, I know what to say, but I can't say it.

"I've. . .been having strange thoughts and occurrences lately, static noises keep giving me a headache and I swear I keep seeing these glitches! And I've been having a dream that's constant, a war between unions."

Now Brains at a loss for words

"and it's been months since I've last saw you! I get it because of the leader stuff you have to do! But still take a break!"

"*sigh* you're right. . . I'll take the day off some point. . . Sorry."

I just nod, unsure what to talk about now we finish our food.

"when was the last time you got some sleep?"

"I could say the same to you."

"hm, seriously though, you have bags under your eyes, and it sounds like you've been struggling sleeping due to those nightmares."

"and why do you have bags under your eyes? Reading too much?" I put my hands on my hips

"you know it."

". . .do you have anything going on tonight?"

"Don't think so, why?"

"well, since we have the chance. . . Maybe we could do a sleepover? been a while since we've done that."

"we're going to actually sleep this time, right?"

"yeah, I've got spare pajamas you can use since we're about the same size."

"sure, appreciate it."

"yup, be right back!"

~We both get changed quickly.~

I gather a lot of fluffy blankets, gotta be comfy

"why. . . Do you have like 20 blankets?"

"3 reasons, one, I get cold easily, two, it's comfortable, three, enough for the two of us."

"alright then."

" I wanted to ask, was there another reason you wanted to talk?"

"hm. Oh, right, one moment." I finish setting up the blankets and pillows.

"so. . . This may be kinda awkward but. . . This is kinda difficult to put into words. . . I want to be in a more Queer Platonic Relationship, be there for each other more often than usual, something like a romantic relationship, but without the romance!"

"I'm keen to that! We could be there for each other more often, well, we can try. . . And you gotta be more open alright?"

"fine, I'll try my best."

"just know we'll be here for you if you have another nightmare."

"Alright. . ."

Little did we know whats to come next. . .

~1 month later~

Log entry-

Everything has gone to hell it seems like, the town is being destroyed, I'm not sure why, but I'm off to help Brain and the others, turns out that Ven wasn't supposed to be a union leader, it was Strelitzia, the girl I remember writing about, lost that journal though.

Something tells me. . . That this will be the last time I write in hear, not sure why, gut feeling I guess. Let's hope it's not though..

--------------------------------------------------------------

"Brain! What's happening?!" I barge into a large room to my horror, Lauriam and Ven are knocked out on the ground, while Eph, Skuld and Brain are fighting darkness, struggling.

"crap!" I run in summoning my Keyblade "Fira!"

Everyone moves aside while I run and jump for an attack.

"raaaahhhh!!!"

"woaholy crap!"

"ack!"

"Ahhh! Where did-?!"

I jump back catching myself, "got room for one more?"

"Ash!"

"sup! Stay sharp!" Everyone nods

We keep fighting for 10, 15, 20 minutes until Skuld is knocked down.

"Skuld- gah!" I was next, left on the floor lightheaded. For the next two minutes it was just Brain and Ephemer.

"nnng" brain falls down while ephemer is completely exhausted. oh this isn't good. . . I get up, legs shaking, summoning my Keyblade again and throw it at the darkness, failing to catch it when it comes back, and I collapse from exhaustion, still being able to hear what's going on .

-its over.-

"yeah. . ." He breathes in shakingly "but I can't take you down alone, I'm not even sure we can wear you down."

"fair point ."

-shall we call it done then?-

"oh? So you surrender?"

Brain chuckles "you claimed you aren't after anything, but I'm not buying it."

-what?-

"you seem pretty desperate to get in our way like this, I don't know whether its pride or fear, but there's a reason you're still here."

-....... Infection -

"infection?" I push myself off the ground.

"meaning?"

-data transfer requires a signal -

If teleports in front of Ephemer

-the same goes for the hearts and minds of you humans-

Eph tries attacking but it goes away

- you underestimate how easily the darkness rides on those signals. . . And spreads though this place-

"is that why you wormed your way into the data world?"

Data world...?

"but why hide inside of Ven?"

Could that be why vens unconscious?

-i told you, cause it was decided.-

"that's enough." Skuld gets back up again

"Skuld! You're alright!"

"jeez, is all you ever do rant?"

"welcome back Ash!"

"you're saying because it was written in the book of prophecies, it was meant to be? Well I don't care! You hijacked Ven and attacked lariams sister!" She summons her keyblade "and now you're gonna pay for it!"

"that's right!" Now brain summons his Keyblade

"man, I'm just hearing this now? I would've gone way harder on ya!"I summon my Keyblade again.

-we are many and we are one, but to be one requires will,- it teleports behind Ven and Lauriam -through him we can divide darkness and light. . . Willful and distincted, it was a sacrifice needed to be made-

"so, Ven didn't attack Strelitzia, you did. . ."

"lariam!"

"Laur!"

Then, I hear an ear ringing that blocks everything out , I can't focus and the next thing I know we're in combat again, but with someone I've never met before . . . But now, my side is in the most pain. . . And. . . I'm using brain for support, Ven is glowing and I don't know what's going on, then I think I blacked out. . .

I woke up on a bed that isn't mine, unsure of what happened after Lauriam was awake again. I sat up to just see brain and a dark room

"nng... What happened ?"

"you were hit pretty badly. . ."

"what about Ven and the others?"

"Eph and Skuld are talking to ___(whatever you're Ux character name is) vens unconscious, and Lauriam is talking to his friend. We're gonna head to the arcs, you should come."

"...''

" do you need help walking?"

"yes please"

We both walk to where the arcs are. And everyone discusses what they're doing

"I'll stay behind. . . I'll help Eph and Skuld. . ."

"what? No! You're injured!"

"I'll be fine brain, you, Ven, Lauriam and Elrena are already taking enough."

He pulls me into a hug

"see you soon?"

"see you soon. . ."

Everything went hazy again , but I remember hearing Eph and Skuld cry, and a talk about the darkness. . .

"Ash! Ash!"

Chiri?

"Ash!" Chiri brings me into a hug, crying.

What happened?

"you perished, struck by the darkness. . ."

Oh, is it just you and me?

"well for now. . ."

Ah, ok. . . Man I'm tired. And I drift off. . .

-------------epilogue---------------

I woke up at a beach of scala as caelum, unsure on what was happening, there's this boy, his name is brain, he seems to taken an interest in me. . . I don't know why. He seems familiar, I'm not sure why, whenever i would hang out by Ephemers fountain, he would bring croissants, I'm not sure why, but it's a nice gesture. He's the only person I've really talked to here. . .

[dashielldeveron]

Hi Dash! I hope you're doing well. I'm writing this ask literally 1 hour before I need to leave for one of my sem finals (which I'll be fine at hopefully, since I studied). But while I was anxiously awaiting purgatory, I read one of my favourite of your works again - Monoma's route in Soulmate Trope. Istg I am not exaggerating, no writing has made me laugh harder than that single scene where he just... wordlessly pulled down his pants. I laughed so hard that my roommate had to come check on me. And the word "cum gutter" had dealt irreversible psychic damage to my brain. Sometimes while doing some mundane stuff, I think back about that scene, or countless other scenes from the book and had to remind myself I'm in public. I've only watched MHA up till season 3 and a bit into 4 but I was kinda already spoiled about the ending, so I'm so in love with the world you build there. I've always kinda wanted to try writing my own work because I sometimes have a budding idea that had me go, 'oh I think that'd make an interesting story', but then I realised I suck at writing. Writing just 1000 words took me an hour or more, I don't know how you wrote 60k words for 1 chapter!! That's absolutely insane. Also also, because your writing is so hilarious, when you get emotional, it hits so hard. "and i've gotta crow" is absolutely one of my all time favourite fan work, though idk what the title means. My writing, just after the first few paragraphs, feels like sandpaper to read. But your work really inspired me to want to at least try, even if I don't post anything. Especially after my finals, I'm going to try shitting this one idea out of my head in the summer (oh I'm in Australia so my summer is almost here). So yeah thank you for making me laughed so hard and also fingerbanged my heart. If you have nothing better to do, would you mind sharing your general writing process with me? As in, is there a forbidden jutsu move that amazing authors use when writing? For me, I feel like I'm typing and deleting and retyping until it forms a coherent sentence, but after putting them together it's dryer than my chicken breast that I forgot for 30 minutes in the oven. If not it's okay too, I hope you have a wonderful day!

yes.......YES.........let the monoma adoration flow through you!!!! we need more people in our monoma coterie!!! it's now you, me, 📌 anon, and like, two other anons i believe???? we are officially a Club, i say!!!

writing discussion/advice/process under the cut

okay, who told you you suck at writing? and why do they think so??? odds are you don't. odds are, you're overthinking your own work too much. when i look at stuff i've written, i see the writing process in every sentence, and odds are, you might, too. seeing the process takes away parts of being able to immerse yourself in the writing. so, your stuff probably isn't bad; it's just that you know all about how it was made!!!

writing takes me a long time! mostly bc i have academic/work writing to do all the time, so writing fic as my breaks from work isn't always efficient and fun. and i'm pretty sure some people may get frustrated with me for taking so long to update, but that's just how my life is rn. it's ultimately perfectly fine if you take a long time, though, because this is a hobby. we're not getting paid for this. we're providing art for free.

anyway......my process.....hmm. well. step one is to be haunted by visions.

step one is actually to think about that first idea you have to spark the fic. doesn't matter if it's in the middle or end, or anything. and you want to consider what kind of people would get in this situation (helps define what kind of character reader will be) and what could possibly lead up to it. it's okay if it seems like a bunch of disjointed ideas at first.

i am a big outliner, but i always allow seredipity during the writing process. as in, if something starts happening that's cool that i didn't plan, i'm cool with it, so long as it makes sense for the characters.

so, if i start a fic, i will start with an outline that's just a list of things i want to happen in the fic. sometimes it's specific events, and sometimes, it's something like "and they get romantically closer here through some tragic accident." put those events in an order that makes sense for the emotional progression of your characters.

i also keep running lists of hot lines of dialogue that i come up with, sexy outfits to put people in, sexy gestures, domestic things that would ruin me, or other fic-specific lists--like for tenko's soulmate route, i kept a running list of weird facts that reader could bring up. not many ended up going in the fic, but still.

like, this is a screenshot of a working outline/list from aizawa's route:

not all of this happened!! and more scenes got way fleshed out!!! i plan for Large Events and Emotional Resonance, but i am open to strange directions that just happen while writing the scene itself, so long as i get to where i need to go eventually. like.....the only one bed stuff on the undercover mission never happened, because suddenly, the club scene got super detailed, and aizawa would probably be too exhausted to spend the proper time having the argument, let alone sex, with reader that night.

but basically, i always want to know where i'll end up, even if i don't know how i'm going to get there. because the process of the characters getting there is where fun, detailed, character work happens. bc if your characters are distinct enough, they'll drive the story more than whatever plot you have.

i'm not every writer ever (obviously), so i know that more thorough outlining or not planning at all works better for other people!!! maybe try experimenting with completely planning and completely pantsing some shorter stories to see what works better for you.

i don't have a daily routine for writing bc i am Busy All the Time, but i carry a notebook in my purse if i am struck with visions, and when i type on my computer, i usually turn on an ambient mix from ambient.mix.com to block out other stuff. usually, i can find an ambience to fit the mood of the scene i'm writing, too lol, which doesn't necessary help but makes things more fun.

i honestly think i spend more time daydreaming about the story than writing it?? i am a big advocate for daydreaming. it's important that you spend time thinking about everything that could go wrong, bc it often makes for a better story if it's fucked up, somehow. idk it may also be bc of work that i'm away from a computer so often. i like writing in the notebook by hand bc it's less pressure to make it "good," and so i can edit as i type it in a word doc later.

and editing is, of course a huge part of the writing process!!! i would say it'd be weirder to write a sentence just right the first time, as opposed to deleting and rephrasing repeatedly! you're doing just fine!

but i wouldn't say there's any secret besides doing it a lot!!!! i know i'm not a great writer, but i know i'm okay, and that's the result of working and practising it for about two decades now. i just have practise, read a lot, and spend a lot of time, academically, discussing written stories.

so!!! if you're feeling like your stuff isn't as good as you want it to be, you just need to start allowing yourself to suck!!! nothing is perfect the first time!!! and eventually, you can edit your sucky stuff into stuff that's compelling.

good luck with your semi finals and finals!!! and thaaaaaank you for 1) valuing my advice as an artist (gosh!!!!!) and for 2) saying such nice things about the silly little stories i write!!!! it means a lot to me!!! you're so kind!!!!! i hope any of this helped at all!!!! and i hope your day is peaceful!!!! xx.

[siriuslysatorusimping]

Kiko I hope you had a great first day at your new job!!!! And I hope the shit weather we're getting in Louisiana isn't hitting your part of your state cuz boy am I not having fun anymore lol. I have 2 things to bug you with on this Tuesday morning- I do have a teeny tiny lil Goinko ask: I am so curious to hear Gojo's inner dialogue when he's watching Rinko fight. Like the genuine sorta oh shit she's tough, oh shit she aint weak, Jesus what a badass... I'm gonna fuck her xD The second- I have been toying with the idea of writing my own fanfic with my own OC and um... I can't seem to start. I have a decent idea of the general plot, no clue how it will end, but I open up Word, type two words, and then close the program. Idk if I need advice or encouragement lol but I look up to you a lot as a writer so I decided to make it your problem too 😅

RAI, HELLO! 💕

I did have a great first day! It was long and exhausting, but in a good way! 😊

The weather has just been kinda cold and foggy. Like, my drive home today was very foggy. Could barely see at all. But other than that, it. hasn't been too bad!!

YOU ARE NOT BUGGING ME BUT I WILL PLAY ALONG 😂

My answers are below the cut!!

Gojo's inner monologue when he sees Rinko fighting? 🤔🤔

In a few situations, he's super smug that she's doing so well because he knows she doesn't even realize or acknowledge how strong she actually is. So when she's just destroying something, he's all cocky and proud of her. It reminds him how much he loves her because she can take care of herself. One of the things he's always appreciated about her is that she doesn't let her insecurities or pride get her into situations that are too much for her to take. She's not arrogant. She doesn't show off. She's just there to get the job done. But that's what makes it so sexy to him.

So when he sees Rinko fighting, he's literally just like, 'That's my girl. So sexy and strong. I love her so much. Ass looks incredible, too. And she needs to hurry because as soon as she wraps this up, she's mine. Wonder how pissed she'll be if I just take her here-' because he's a horny boi who always wants to be inside her 😂😂

Advice for how to start with your fic?

Don't try to start from the beginning. Start somewhere in the middle, and work from there. The ending doesn't have to be established right away, either. That can develop as you figure out the story! But as for how and where to start, anywhere. Have a random bit of dialogue? Start with that. It doesn't have to stay in the end, but having something there will really help you. Write nonsense. Write ideas. Concepts. Anything to get those juices flowing. Because nothing is more daunting than a blank page.

Two things I saw recently made me realize that I already did these things most of the time:

Writing choppy, maybe cheesy or dumb dialogue. You can fill in the rest later, or not at all. You can change it up or edit it, but cutting and editing, or even re-writing, is easier than getting yourself to write the initial draft.

"You look like shit." "Sure know how to charm a girl, huh?" "You'd be more pissed if I lied to you." "True." "Still look awful, though." "Fuck off."

You don't have to put markers or indicators because it's a first draft. First draft and final draft are rarely going to match, and that's okay. Preferred most of the time, actually. But yeah, just toss that dialogue down to help you get started and then go from there!

Start with notes or random shit about what you want to happen. Some people put it in brackets to describe the setting, scene, or character's actions so that they can continue writing without being bogged down by the pressure to figure out the rest perfectly.

I'll provide an example or two from a WIP of the lockout key idea dump I posted a while ago. (I make no promises that I'll ever finish or post this, but it's the best example I could find that doesn't spoil a bunch of stuff for the other stories)

[he comes to ask for a key even though he's already maxed out his number of lockout keys. he ends up trying to lean in closer and she shoves a cookie in his mouth instead] - this one is a general idea and one thing I definitely want to happen in that scene/snippet

[fire drill in the middle of the night forcing everyone outside until the alarm stops going off. he forgets his key because he had to rush out while he was half-asleep.] - this one is describing the primary setting for the scene/snippet: they're outside, he's very sleepy, and he forgot his key.

All in all, don't be afraid of being random and choppy for your first draft!

I hope this advice helped, Rai! I'm afraid I might have babbled a bit... 🙃

IT WAS GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU. I HOPE YOU'RE WELL!! 💕💕💕💕

[raeygina-george]

Every third remaining ask from the game

ill just answer the whole thing in one. LONG ASS POST GUYS

💖Favourite thing to draw

WAVY HAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

💯Favourite piece(s)

you get a sneak peek of the art project im working on yay. the perks of putting up with my bullshit <3

some of these i like more than others but as of rn these are the pieces i show people who haven't seen my art. my makeshift portfolio, i guess

🌈Favourite colour palette(s)

i think this is obvious enough if you look at my previous answer, but pinks, oranges, purples, and blues!

🤴Favourite OC(s) to draw

oooh yikes. to DRAW???? i never draw my ocs... i really like kyrie's design but i've never drawn her outside of that so i feel like she'd be really hard to get right..... idk i mean i guess saturn????????

🎨Favourite artist(s)

i dont have a lot of these, but i like hanacue, aidairo, and milkie2's art styles (these r just what i could think of off the top of my head)

✒Favourite medium 

i like gouache cause im a whore bitch

📏Medium you’d like to work with more

gouache because im not typically a traditional artist and every time i sit down to paint i just end up suffering for like an hour before i finally accept the fact that i cannot save this little kitty from its fate of looking like a vaguely animal-shaped blob. such interactions further repel me from the world of traditional art. im taking a painting class soon though so i'll just get my act together then

💭Go-to subject matter

humans?? usually just like. smiling. not doing anything too interesting

💜Drawing staples

i don't know exactly what this means but if it's an art piece of mine, it's got pink in it

💬What you’d like to draw more of

i'd like to draw more like backgrounds and animals? there's a shit ton of stuff i wanna improve with my humans but idk i've been wanting to branch out a bit more for a while i just haven't had the time or energy to draw more than like 1 of my blorbos a month

😂 Funniest drawing

i play tee k o with my family (you) so i draw stuff for that that's silly. WAIT HANG ON

this isn't my funniest drawing but it's what i have

❓Weirdest drawing/drawing with a weird process

im doing an art telephone w my friends that i might post when we're done? i can't post it now cause that would ruin the fun but yeah

🕑Drawing(s) that took the longest

uhhhh i mean earlier in my drawing journey i took forever to draw and i really hated drawing bc i took a super long time to draw and i didn't like anything i made and no one else liked anything i made so it was just like wow i spent all that time for nothing. still glad i did it though bc that era was still an important step in my art development. anyways as for more recent pieces uhh. my piece for the yorknew auction took a while, mostly because i had 0 time or energy and it was a really involved piece

👑Favourite fictional character(s) to draw

as you will see, i really like drawing lust from fmab

👿Least favourite fictional character(s) to draw

i've found out that unfortunately drawing olivier is not very fun for me. so sad cause i really like her

👔Design process for [x] character 

oh my god guys ask me about my magical girl designs and i will go insane i will type up a whole essay. i'll talk about kyrie cause i like her a lot

here's the design! so she drowned (or rather, was drowned by someone else) at 16 after being stalked for a couple months and eventually kidnapped. not exactly the lightest story, but bc it was so traumatic her brain erased the memories, and she doesn't find out the real cause of death until much later in the story, when kye comes across a guy who lived in kyrie's town and gets the full story.

her outfit is themed after ophelia for. obvious reasons. i looked up paintings/common interpretations of ophelia and found that she was commonly depicted in a white and gold dress with reddish-brown hair half up. oh, and flowers. so i ran with that. the white streaks in her hair were actually not part of the initial plan, but when i was using the bucket tool it left blank streaks and i just thought it looked nice.

for the flowers i chose forget-me-nots because she loses her memory, and then the hands on the skirt represent her fight to stay alive (both while drowning and before) and how she reached out for help in the months leading up to her death but no one answered. she's also, in a way, reaching for her lost memories, who she used to be, etc etc. the blue thingy in the back was initially supposed to be a mermaid tail as like. a single callback to the little mermaid (and the fact that she was a really good swimmer, so it's ironic that she drowned), but i took the mermaid aspect out & added in the two eyes.

the eyes are like. the feeling of being watched. the eye at the front will always look at kyrie no matter what, and the eye in the back will look at anyone else it can find, as if pleading for help. i just noticed the bracelet? not sure why that's there. probably just for fun. anyways the ring with the star on it is from a play called 'the princess who had no name', which is about a princess with amnesia who's trying to find out who she is and where she came from.

and finally, the weapon! it's meant to be a sparkler, like the little fireworks yk? it's a callback to the very first draft of her character from like 2 years ago, back when the kyries shared the name lylie instead & i had written absolutely nothing about her character. but i was reading through the old plot/character info a while ago and i found out she apparently really liked fireworks??? that was like my only piece of info about her. i figured since she'd changed so much it was only fair i put a little something from her roots. but the sparkler can also represent how 'bright' she appears to be; people are drawn towards her, for better or worse.

📆Earliest fandom you did fanart for/first fanart

the first fandom i remember like really being hyperfixated on was.... miraculous ladybug................. BUT i didn't make any fanart for it, so instead you get the very first real piece of art i ever made on my computer :)

shoutout to me for drawing those wings by hand. i didn't know how to use the flip tool so i just spent like 4 hours trying to make them symmetrical. and now i can't even remember how to draw butterfly wings. smh

HOLY SHIT WAIT I JUST REMEMBERED. BACK WHEN YOU FIRST SHOWED ME FAIRY TAIL I DREW HAPPY A COUPLE TIMES. I DONT HAVE ANY PICS BUT THAT'S DEFINITELY EARLIER THAN THIS. oh my god and don't even get me started on my warriors phase. wow i guess i've been making fanart since forever lol

📖Sketches 

this post is already too long. no

📝Process for [x] drawing 

my general art process is idea > rough sketch > real sketch > lineart (if applicable) > coloring > rendering > SHADE THE FUCK OUT OF THAT THING > send it to my friends and say 'anything else i should add 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺' > add a little more shading > done. you can ask me for more detailed instructions, i'd be happy to give a more in-depth tutorial about something specific

✨Inspiration for [x] drawing 

uh idk i do a lot of redraws. lately i've been doing redraws + asking friends for cool poses + looking at stock images for inspiration

💚Things you like about [x] drawing

i'll go with that aubrey piece from one of the earliest questions. i like how the emotions came across in both her expression and the coloring, and how much more fluid the pose is. i think the shading & rendering is neat. overall it's a big improvement from the piece i was redrawing so im really proud of that & it's nice to see how far i've come in a relatively short amount of time

⏳Things you’d do differently with [x] drawing

using the same drawing, uhh... idk there's some stuff with the proportions that like. sometimes looks fine to me and sometimes looks off? i really just eyeball anatomy and stuff so it's not always particularly Good. i like the colors i have here but they're not the colors i was intending to use. i didn't really know how to draw the jacket and everything i did with the top just looked strange so they're not As Detailed or 'good' as they probably could be? there's parts where i got lazy and all that but all in all i really like this drawing and nothing big really jumps out at me, these are all just nitpicks

💌Some favourite feedback on art

hmmmmmmm i really like the few like. paragraph responses i've gotten. i appreciate every single comment i get but like when people rave to you about your art???? that's so nice. i can't really pick out a critique i've heard that super super helped me off of the top of my head, but there's power in knowing what you can do better next time

[coffeecupandcorgi]

on repeat

i'm not great at doing tag games ahhh, but @dirigibleplumbing tagged me, so i'll give this a go -

Rules: shuffle yr "on repeat" playlist from spotify or etc. and post the first 10 tracks.

Manilla Road, "Necropolis" - the Seek & Destroy DJ Tanner must really dig this one because I've head him play it a few times now. K says the vocals sound like a sports announcer calling the Kentucky Derby lolol BUT i think they're cool. i mean, c'mon, they're absolutely giving severian in nessus in gene wolfe's shadow of the torturer-

Entombed in time without decay Never thought it would be like this It feels like I'm living inside a dream But my mind tells me I'm Lost in Necropolis, lost in Necropolis

-but also giving that couple making out in the pit of skulls, lost in an endless cemetery going slowly insane in the iron rose (1973)?? plus this album is from '83 & i feel like eddie munson definitely liked it.

2. Dio, "Holy Diver" - yeah, classic, guess this one is pretty self-explanatory... I did just read what's currently my all time fav ST fic, this time loop fic star of the masquerade by glorious_spoon, and eddie's fav track there is holy diver.

3. Steely & Clevie, Righteous Flames, "I Was Born To Be Loved" - idk I just freaking love this dancehall track from 92, heard it on the radio a while back and put it on my 'seattle wip' playlist, which I was listening to while noodling around with a post-u mich kj/owen story that alas has not materialized beyond a set up and a few scenes. it's always gonna be a kj and owen mood for me. :')

4. Kate Bush, "Running Up That Hill" - for a while in college @dirigibleplumbing played "wuthering heights" like everyday BUT somehow i never heard/took in "running up that hill" until i started watching Pose last year - when it plays at the end of the pilot !!! while that man is picking up angel !!! I just !!!! stay away from her, get a job !!!! anyway, also, max gender, is there a more gender-y song?

5. Afsky, "Tyende Sang" - more metal. first track i heard on Seek & Destroy that gave me a fanfiction oh. moment. like, we are no longer just doing fic research, we go here now.

6. HAAi, "Baby, We're Ascending" - this song is fine/fun, i threw it on a recent playlist so i'm hearing it a lot, but i loved loved loved HAAi's recent Resident Advisor mix & listened to it a bunch. tried to put it on during a philly wedding afterparty last spring but then it was TOO LOUD and we had to leave to the hotel. :(

7. Built to Spill, "Car" - I think this is my favorite track from their early 90s album There's Nothing Wrong With Love, an all time album which i also loved as a teen. good to sing along to.

I want specifics on the general idea I want to think what I should know Want you to do me what you show

gotta just absolutely belt it out. those lyrics are all caps in my head.

8. Sevana, "Lowe Mi" - this has been playing all the time on KEXP's saturday morning reggae show. it's super catchy.

9. Leonard Cohen, "The Partisan" - as previously discussed i love a good time loop story - it's maybe one of my favorite tropes?? the melancholy and bittersweet yearning can be so exquisite, it fully KOs me - anyway, this track is used so well in Palm Springs, under that slow-mo close up on Sarah while Nyles realizes he is big time in love and needs to get his shit together -

10. Florence + The Machine, "Morning Elvis" - this is my Grey's end of season 2 song for Izzy and Denny :((((( I guess 'cause "we are trying to make it through the devastation" vibes + Denny is from Memphis.

idk idk @katiewont, @rostovs, @zombiesassy, if u wanna-

[boldtint]

Well, since I started the SC2 character hate train - why stop here. Let's talk about Sarah Kerrigan and while we're here also talk about "fridging" for a bit.

Well, if you don't know what "fridging" is then you're just like me from around a day ago. To put it simply it's inclusion of a character that basically serves no purpose, other than creating basic motivation for another character. It's named like that because of one specific instance, where a main character's love interest basically contributes nothing, up until the point they get put in a fridge after someone kills them. Sounds weird af btw, I probably should check that. Then again - if I was any competent I'd probably check that out before writing all that. Oh well.

Well, how does Sarah fit into all that? Isn't she a major character and basically the main antagonist in the first one?

Well, yeah, she is. But she is also barely anything, but motivation for Jim in Wings of Liberty. Just like Arcturus (check my post about him btw) she basically does nothing, has little to no presence for the most part, and really just kinda exists so that Jim has some reason to take up on some weird space jobs and raid Zerg home planet (or at least I think it is? Not sure tbh, too lazy to check at the moment) with a nice bonus for devs to have a "fuck this, I'm not making new alien design, cover her in fleshy armor" moment.

"Well, ok, Mr smartypants, maybe she is an example of fridging in Wings of Liberty, but she's literally the main character of Heart of the Swarm!"

Yes. She is. But do you wanna know the funny part? Jim Raynor becomes her fridging example.

No, I am not joking, they basically swap roles in this part of the story, and not just in a gameplay sense. Jim full-on becomes a mix of a "damsel in distress" and a "fridge" character. He mostly does nothing in her campaign and is literally a reason for her to suddenly do stupid stuff because "oh nyo, I love Jim!"

Also, can we talk about her writing in general? She feels like she's two or three separate characters at once that switch each other out at random. One moment she's a ruthless murderer, a Zerg queen, the Queen of Blades, the other she's suddenly self-conscious about all the harm she's bringing to people that don't deserve it, and at some points she's dumb as a brick, only acting because of her love interest basically existing. And the worst part is, even when I can see someone naturally shift between these "states" - it's done in such a poor way that it doesn't work. It's honestly really distracting, it feels like she's been a victim of having too many cooks in the kitchen.

Well, since I'm here to not only criticise stuff, but also try to fix it - what would I do to fix Sarah?

This one is a bit tricky, tbh. I never really liked her character, probably partially because of the "separate characters" problem I talked about in this post, but I'll try.

The first option, where we keep most of her character would be to make it a little more sensible, make her sorta "evolve" as a character, since I can't really call that growth.

Make her conscious and scaredy at first, when she's not really a part of the Swarm anymore, yet has some powers to control Zerg. It'd make sense, since she's just out of a facility that tried to unzerg her. It's like being forced to do drugs you've just stopped taking for good and you know it's not good for you. Then, as we progress through the story make her more blatant, more evil-ish, more Zerg, yet keep some of that consciousness in the back. While she's fine with some additional casualties - she won't outright just start killing people again. Maybe let her go further a little bit, maybe a bit too far with it, yet have her keep some kind of humanity in her. Maybe even use some of that "I gotta be good or Jim won't love me" cheesy stuff to motivate her from going full-on Queen of Blades again or something, idk, I'm cooking with what I've got, ok?

Or. Or.

Option 2 - throw all of that out the window. Make her go full Zerg again. Let her lose control of herself again and go on a rampage. It's not like she'll lose all that much in terms of motivation, to be honest, even the ending would kinda work, except without the whole lovey-dovey accent. It'd totally be a much more bleak ending in terms of outcomes for the humanity in the series, sure, but to me it makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE.

TL;DR: Kerrigan could be better, let her out of that fridge, idk, I don't have a good joke here sadly.

[juicenet]

top 10 gayest h2o episodes: a definitive ranking

i'm back with another ranking, but this time it's a little different! today, i'll be ranking the top 10 gayest episodes of h2o: just add water. (in MY opinion. i realize that this show has no canonically LGBT+ characters, but come on, the subtext. also, i write sapphic h2o fanfiction, what did you expect?) anyway, please don't take this too seriously, it's just for fun.

ranking below the cut!

honorable mention: 1x05 "something fishy"

i'm just going to link this post and let it speak for itself.

10. 1x26 "a twist in the tail"

the episode where the girls are "outed" (the official h2o jaw youtube channel uses this term, no joke) to dr. denman, zane, his father, and nearly the world. thankfully they're able to avert exposure with advice from their gay mermaid mentor/queer elder, miss chatham. however, they begrudgingly have to give up their tails (temporarily, though they don't know this). even with the challenges that being gay a mermaid poses, they've still come to love what they are.

9. 2x11 "in over our heads"

rikki almost dies trying to retrieve a deep-sea treasure and emma cradles rikki's head in her arms while trying to save her. so... yeah. emma also shows hostility towards rikki's boyfriend, zane... and i get that he was a mermaid hunter last season, but this also reads like emma is jealous of his relationship with rikki. but on the flipside, zikki is kind of like a het relationship for gay people. idk. there's a lot going on here.

8. 3x21 "the jewel thief"

rikki and bella's moon crystal necklaces gravitate towards each other and cause a city-wide electrical blackout. this is gay, please don't make me explain. oh, cleo also gets a matching crystal necklace in this episode and the girls all wear them to symbolize their "friendship" (or are they just in a throuple? nobody knows).

7. 1x18 "bad moon rising"

mainly put this episode here because of emma's iconic line to rikki: "if we're going somewhere we're going together" and then their smoldering gazes that follow. but, generally, the subtext is off-the-wall. when rikki loses control of her powers, she thinks she's a danger to society and tries to isolate herself—just like how gay people have been told for thousands of years that we're destructive to society. this one is kinda sad actually :(

6. 1x07 "moon spell"

not only are we introduced to camp gay miss chatham, but there's something really queercoded about embarrassing your family at a party (as emma does in this episode). she also calls rikki "rikki baby" and now i'm realizing that this ranking is pretty much a love letter to rikma.

5. 2x04 "fire and ice"

sometimes i think the writers just forgot who rikki's canon love interest was at the time?? half of these season 2 episodes frame rikki and emma as girlfriends. anyway, emma's desire to be rebellious and wild reads like a baby gay trying to be something they're not after coming out. in the b plot, nate tells lewis he's not "manly" enough and the latter struggles with this. maybe it was unintentional, but some lines make it seem like the show is queercoding lewis. i'm here for it, either way.

4. 2x17 "moonstruck"

a moonstruck rikki and cleo try to expose emma as a mermaid to ash, but without context, you'd think they're trying to tell him that emma's a lesbian and that's why she's been so secretive and distant with him. another mermaid=gay allegory? no one knows for sure, but sources (me) say yes!

3. 2x06 "pressure cooker"

ah, yes... another episode where the writers forgot that rikki and emma weren't dating, included multiple scenes of them on an actual date, and hoped we wouldn't notice. plus, we see that rikki is emma's phone wallpaper. cleo and charlotte also could've had an enemies-to-lovers moment here, but what do i know?

2. 1x01 "metamorphosis"

three teenage girls discover something life-altering about themselves and must stay closeted keep the secret from the rest of society. in the process, they become much closer to one another but also feel isolated from their families and other girls their age. are we reeeally certain that this isn't an allegory? sure, a lot of this applies to the rest of the show, but "metamorphosis" is the episode that started it all, so...

1. 2x18 "the heat is on"

this episode is actually the reason i made this ranking. not only does rikma's homoerotic feud cause a thunderstorm, but they (+ cleo) ditch their boyfriends at the juicenet to celebrate their "anniversary" of becoming mermaids. okay, straighties! bonus points for zane and ash's UST during that game of pool.

end notes

it doesn't surprise me that this list consists mostly of season 2 episodes, because rikma was probably at its peak (imo) in the first half of season 2. it also doesn't surprise me that only a single season 3 episode is here. i'm not sure why that is—maybe it's emma's absence, maybe it's the way the tone of the show shifted considerably from the end of season 2 to the beginning of season 3. anyway, hope you enjoyed this :-)

[mrcspectr]

OH. Oh I just had a thought. I was just looking at Marvel timelines, and … Multiverse of Madness takes place in November 2024 (after Halloween that year), and Werewolf By Night takes place after MoM (according to the recent Marvel Updates tweet), but presumably around Halloween time… That could mean that it’s set a year later in October 2025. Which would mean that it takes place after the events of Moon Knight, which are set in early 2025.

Could that mean… Is that why in the FYC interview, Mohamed said “very soon” and Oscar said “yeah” and then had to backtrack with a shrug… Maybe Marvel is just playing fast and loose with their timelines, and Werewolf is set in 2024. Maybe I’m just being way too literal, and reading too much into things, and I’m completely off the rails…

I’m whispering this very quietly in case Marvel hears me and kills my dreams but…

(If there is a Moon Knight reference in Werewolf By Night … could it possibly be Jake who’s in the Moon Knight suit??)

My brain is now spinning in circles.

Okay but why is the Marvel timeline like this, honestly I'd have to have a goddamn murderboard put together with red string just to keep it all straight??

I might do that, actually. Anyway.

This.. does make sense because then Hawkeye was right before Christmas in 2024, Moon Knight at the beginning of 2025. And the thing is, if there did happen to be a Moon Knight appearance in Werewolf by Night, and we're correct in figuring our timeline here.. And we'd have to be, if they've already confirmed it's post MoM?

I'M GOING INSANE THOUGH HOLD ON. I can't believe I'm doing this rn. Spoilers for the Werewolf by Night rumor under the read more:

I'm literally freaking out about a rumored mention of Moon Knight on the news in a completely different show so if that's really all we get, whatever like it's not even an APPEARANCE. BUT. BUUUUT. I'll accept this because there are IMPLICATIONS. TWO OPTIONS.

This is Jake Lockley. I mean, both options involve him somehow and I'm NOT just saying that because of who I am as a person lskdgjslkgjs. BUT as far as who'd be fronting in that news clip, this very much would almost have to be Jake if we see nothing new between now and then. I don't think he'd have his own suit yet, unless they play around with what his might look like and give him something completely different then what we're all expecting. I don't think they'll do that though, I think they'll be pretty dead set on the black and white armor for post. I don't know what to call it, revelations, maybe? Post meeting? To give him a certain level of independence and distinction between Marc and Steven while wearing the armor.

This is all of them, coconscious, deciding on one person's armor. All three present, doing what they do best; saving people. While this would actually make my heart so full, I'm.. not leaning towards this one at all just because we'd have to get through a LOT of story to get to that point. And I'd be pretty upset if we didn't get to see that journey between the three of them, it's kind of the whole point, you know?

IDK MAN I AM JUST. Squinting at Diab's "very soon" comment that seemed a little too quick and completely out of the blue compared to everything else they've said. And Oscar's suspicious eyebrows every time someone asks. In the meantime, I'm gonna continue to look like this:

[enhypia]

SN ; bestfriends

bestfriends answers questions with the choice of drinking instead of answering

pairings: kim sunoo x gn!reader

genre: fluff

words: roughly 1.3k

masterlist ⸺ series masterlist

~guides and warnings~

italics - reader speaking

bold - sunoo speaking

[enclosed] - interviewer speaking

italicized bold- both reader and sunoo speaking

[enclosed bold or italics] - question (depends on who's speaking)

heavily inspired by: rec.create lie detector games, cut truth or drink

warning: contains and mentions of !!! drinking and swearing

i don't promote underage drinking, save your livers

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

hi i'm sunoo!

and i'm (y/n)

and we're bestfriends~

[okay, you guys were invited here today as bestfriends for a fun little drinking game, you guys aware of that right?]

yup!

we'll probably answer everything honestly

but we're still drinking

*they high-five

[how long have you guys been bestfriends?]

for about 5 years now?

6 years if you include our dead period

*sunoo laughs

[dead period?]

it was a time where our label as 'bestfriends' was basically dead

it was a year where we weren't in the same class and both of us found new friend groups

we still talked but i could count all the times we hang out that year in one hand

honestly we still considered each other bestfriends, we just didn't look and feel like bestfriends

then the 'dead period' joke was born

[did you guys fight during the 'dead period'?]

there was just tension at first but then we talked about it

like the mature adults we are

*sunoo rolls his eyes

it was a period of growth too, so we didn't fight, we just understood each other better

yeah if it happened years earlier, we would probably hate each other right now

[how did you guys become bestfriends?]

*both burst out laughing

i'm not sure if we can say that on video

no we're not cowards, we can say it

*they have the classic bestfriend eye conversation

we shared the same dislike towards a person

*(y/n) laughs

dislike is putting it mildly

shhh *sunoo does the shush gesture

so that was the main reason and then we just got to know each other better and here we are

still hating on the same people

shhh *this time (y/n) shushes sunoo

don't expose us too much

*both laugh

[how about we officially start the q&a between you guys?]

*both nod and played rock paper and scissors to determine who gets to ask first, (y/n) wins

let's see *(y/n) picks up a card and laughs after reading it

[if your significant other and i don't like each other, will you be on my side?]

you better choose carefully kim sunoo

first of all,

*sunoo drinks

okay, friendship over i guess 😒

let me finish, gosh 🙄

first of all, why would i even date them in the first place if you didn't like them?

very true, but still, you know i won't hold you back from a person just because i don't like them

yeah but i'd be on your side if ever that happens

*(y/n) grins

*sunoo picks up a card to read

i already know the answer to this one

[if i got arrested and needed 10M won, would you pay for it?]

HELL NO ?!?

*both burst out laughing

that's like 8,500 dollars? i could buy a car with that

i wouldn't bail you out too honestly

bestfriend who? idk them

*they take a shot for fun

[did you like me when you first met me?]

probably ?

i didn't like you when i first met you

who asked?

*they roll their eyes at each other

[why didn't you like him?]

because he was so bright and sunshine-y ?? and i'm always sus of nice people

they have bad history with fake nice people

but i eventually learned that he wasn't like that

awwww

his halo is held up by thorns

*sunoo's mouth drops in shock while (y/n) laughs at his reaction

*(y/n) pats sunoo's head as he pouts

it's okay i accept you for who you are

yah~ !

[have you ever considered to stop being friends with me?]

nope

*sunoo does a heart to (y/n)

you know too much about me

*sunoo is shocked again

i would never release anything you shared to me even if we stop being friends !!!

*he is pouting your honor, don't tease him

*(y/n) laughs at sunoo's cuteness

i know, i know, i'm just kidding, i'll stop now.

[is there something that i could change to be a better friend?]

*sunoo drinks as revenge

*(y/n) :OO

if you stopped teasing me 24/7 then maybe i'd think you're a better friend

yah! you act like you don't do the same to me

once he-

*sunoo cuts (y/n) off by clamping their mouth with his hand

let's drink to that bestie, cheers!

*he removes his hand from (y/n)'s mouth and basically forces them to drink with him

i told you, halo held up by horns

*sunoo grins widely as if he was innocent.

[would you slap me for 10M won?]

do i even have to answer that?

let's use the 10M won to travel

let's go to paris

and then i'd slap you as well so we both have 10M won

i like the way you think

*they high five and takes a shot together

[regardless of sexual orientation, will you ever date me?]

*awkward silence

aha ha haha

*both reach for a shot, they even clink their glasses together

*after, they just smiled at the camera

[if we're still single by 30, would you agree to marry me?]

man would we even reach 30?

that's what i was thinking

if we're both single, i might think about it

let's get married and enjoy the benefits from various marriage laws

what if we end up like in those crime documentaries where you get life insurance

then you kill the partner for the money

... .. .

no murder in this household please

*they burst out laughing

[question for both: what's something you want to say to each other?]

do i go first or?

yeah, you first

okay but don't look at me

*sunoo rolls his eyes but looks away anyways

we rarely talk about our friendship because once one starts, the other teases

*sunoo laughs while nodding his head in agreement

okay uhm, you know i would never say this on a normal day but i really am thankful that you gave me the chance to get to know you, despite my initial slight hostility towards you. thank you for being by my side no matter what. and even if we constantly clown the word "bestfriend" there's no one i'd really call my bestfriend other than you.

*sunoo smiles softly

your turn. *(y/n) looks away as well, purely because they will combust if sunoo looks at them with that soft loving look

just like you said, there's no one else i'd give the title of bestfriend other than you. thank you for giving me the chance as well and for trusting me. i'm not one to talk much about what's going on with my life but you're always there to make sure i don't pile it all up and explode. thank you for being my rock.

*both eyes are glassy

don't cry, if you cry, you'll pay for my food for a whole week

don't ruin the mood, (y/n)

*they both laugh, instantly lightening up the air around them

oh wait that was the last question

we still have alcohol left

can we take this home? *(y/n) holds up the bottle of alcohol

*the crew laughs

[we'd allow it, if you answer one more question}

okay! let's go~

[was there a time where you felt just the tiniest bit of butterflies because of each other?]

*sunoo and (y/n) look at each other, both holding in laughs

*they reach for their glasses and take a shot

and that's the end!

bye~ thanks for having us!

»————-　♡　————-«

bonus: youtube comments

masterlist ⸺ series masterlist

a/n: for this one i wanted to keep the feelings for each other thing kind of open?? like the vagueness in those moments are up to you guys if you want to give it meaning or not. you guys are free to think if you want those feelings to be romantic or platonic.

also!!! this series is about to end omg :(( i can't believe we're down to one post before it ends aaak. thank you so much for all the love so far!! ni-ki's will be uploaded next! please look forward to it~

[tsukishimashoyo]

that's it am oozing out sho-chan

so i took mtime searching for a song that might or should???what...help you idk... fluff fluff fluffffff.

ask: when r u gonna write fluff?

Yeahh sorry about not posting fluff stories so here it is 😊😊 hope you like it

———

Tsukishima Kei: Feel the Beat

You're left alone in your classroom because you're assigned as a cleaner and your partner is absent so you're alone cleaning.

You're wearing your headphone while cleaning and listening to this song.

You saw that there's a wallet - a dino printed wallet "cute" that left behind, so you just put it on the teachers desk - deciding that you'll tell it to the teacher after you finished cleaning.

While listening and also cleaning, your like banging your head slightly to the rhythm of the song, and you're lip syncing using the broom as your mic —not paying attention to your surroundings.

You're enjoying what you were doing until —

_ Tsukishima's POV _

I'm walking with yamaguchi and were not that far from the school when I suddenly remembered my wallet.

" What the - my wallet!" shoot, I need to get it right now.

" Maybe it's in the classroom, let's go back and then ask y/n, she's the cleaner so maybe she saw it" Yamaguchi said.

" Y/n is the cleaner, oh shoot - stay here, I'll get it alone, wait here" I said while running - to go to the classroom.

* At the classroom *

He saw all what you are doing.

(back to y/n)

You're nearly done cleaning so you turn around facing the door of the classroom and sing the part

" There's gotta be some butterflies somewhere, wanna share?

'Cause I like you

But that's not enough

So if you will

Please fall in love with me" with your eyes closed and also with stretched arm directly facing to the door.

" You sure about that?" you heard someone speak.

You opened your eyes — shocked.

You saw Tsukishima standing there—leaning.

" *clears throat* Uhm why did you come back?" not paying attention to what he said because of being embarrassed.

" Oh yeah I forgot about that because I enjoyed watching your concert here *chuckles* ehem did you saw a wallet here" he said while his hand are on his mouth.

" Uh yeah, is it the dino wallet? Cute, I didn't know your into kind of cute things" you said teasing him and gave him the wallet.

" Yeah and I didn't know you have a nice voice that you did a concert" he said also teasing you.

" Hmp, I'm done here so let's go out now, I'll lock the door" you said.

" Do you wanna go out with me?" he ask out of the blue.

" Yeah" you said not really paying attention to what he said and just answered.

" Really?" he said surprisingly.

" Huh? Yeah, we're going out now, because I need to close the door" you said plainly.

" Wha- *he looked at you with a serious expression* you didn't understand what I said stupid, I asked you if you wanna go out with me - like date" he said while his hands are on your both shoulders.

" Ehhh!? Uhm well- uhh sure" you said and blushed intensely.

" Good, cause' I like you too, do you like me too? " he smiled at you sweetly that no one ever saw it before.

" Yeah, that song is meant for you" you said while looking at your feet.

Annndd you're now red as a tomato~

---END---

[kindahoping4forever]

2021 Writing Self Evaluation

Thanks to Jess (@daydadahlias) for thinking to tag me for this!

1. Number of stories posted

15 (more than I expected tbh, given the year I had smh)

2. Word count posted for the year

84,210 solo, 109,210 counting my collab with Cass

3. Fandoms I wrote for

5SOS

4. Main pairings

Ashton/You (13), Calum/You (2)

(I struggled what to call these pairings lol. I absolutely hate calling my stories 'reader insert' or "yn" fic just because I choose to write in 2nd person - I work hard to make all of my POV characters and relationships defined and different from story to story! But Ashton/Original Reader Character sounded pretentious so idk what to call it smh 😂🥸)

5. Story with the most kudos/bookmarks/comments

My 2021 output isn't entirely on AO3 yet so of what I do have posted there, Come In With The Rain takes the prize. On Tumblr, the honor goes to either Feedback or Don't Wanna Wait On It. (Feedback has the higher note count but was posted at the height of the staff bot era so I'm sure the count is greatly inflated so I always take that number with a grain of salt 👀😅)

6. Work I'm most proud of (and why)

Honestly I could put a few different stories here, without sounding too cocky, I genuinely feel like I wrote some beautiful stories this year. But the one I keep coming back to, the one I think might actually be my favorite of all time is Come In With The Rain. It feels the closest to what I saw in my mind when I envisioned writing it and it's the story that I think most accurately conveys the emotions I wanted to make my readers feel. (Like a cozy clown deeply in love 😌) I'm also ridiculously proud of When The Sun Came Up, my collab with Cass, I think we crafted a story that was equal parts thoughtful, heartbreaking and sexy.

7. Work I'm least proud of (and why)

I truly did love everything I posted this year. If I have to pick something for this question, I'd probably go with my most recent, Threw Out Our Cloaks & Daggers Because It's Morning Now. It sets the stage for an arc I've been wrestling to write for almost a year now and while I feel like it's a necessary piece of the puzzle, I'm still not sure how effective it is as a standalone or if it feels like it truly belongs in my Gardener Ash series. I struggled to write it for months and ended up combining it with another fic I had completed but abandoned because I felt it was lacking. It mostly works and I think when I finish the rest of the arc, I'll appreciate it more but for right now, I feel like I could've done better, even if I'm not sure how. (It also flopped which shouldn't skew my view of it but it does tbh 😬)

8. Share or describe a favorite review you received

Comments and reviews matter so fucking much to me, you guys. I can't believe whenever I hear that someone goes out of their way to check for updates or reads my fics multiple times. I love when I get comments telling me something in everyday life reminded someone of one of my stories, like happened a lot with A Little Bit Scandalous ("the Invisible House story") or Handprints ("the mirror story"). But probably my most favorite type of feedback is hearing that my stories felt realistic or reminiscent of an actual experience the reader had. I always want my stories to toe the line between being dreamy and fantasy based while still seeming plausible, attainable even. So hearing I've achieved that sends me to the moon. 🥰

9. A time when writing was really, really hard

I'll be honest, I can't think of a moment this year when writing wasn't really, really hard. Many of you know I live with a number of chronic illnesses and in addition to managing those, this year I've managed to add some to the list. (Cluster headaches for a month straight! Unexplained back and pelvic pain going on 8 months!) Oh yeah, and I'm still unemployed and we're still in a pandemic. On a good day, my mind is still probably 65% clouded with stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue so the fact that I wrote over 100k words? Is NUTS to me. I fought hard for every single one of them and the frustration was absolutely worth it.

10. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you

Stage!Ash was never meant to be a series nor a love story. I truly just wanted to clown over sweaty, beardy Ash being back on stage but couldn't find a hook I found interesting enough to pursue and Cass, genius that she is, suggested the "first time seeing him drum" angle, which I loved and that led me to framing Encore as a new relationship. As I wrote it, it became sweeter and softer than I ever imagined it would and by the time I was finished, I was fully invested. I've never written a "falling in love" couple before, I'm used to "still in love" established couples so it's been a fun challenge and I'm glad people encouraged me to continue it as a series.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing

I'm gonna be self-indulgent and highlight two passages 😅First, like I said, I'm really pleased with Come In With The Rain's ability to let the audience live in the characters' headspace for a while. This excerpt isn't anything fancy, isn't even the most poetic of the piece, but the narrative stillness is something new for me and painting this picture of quiet domesticity and loving familiarity was one of my favorite tasks of the year 🥰 (And if you're familiar with the fic, the scene that follows is def my fav smut I wrote this year, possibly ever tbh 😌)

You take your time washing up, enjoying the contrast of the warm water against the cool air of the kitchen and appreciating the sounds of Ashton absentmindedly singing along to his album of choice while he sits on the couch, scrolling away on his iPad. You finish and go to join him, guffawing at the sight of him clapping giddily when he sees you entering the room bearing a fresh cup of coffee for each of you.

You curl up next to him, tucking your feet under his thigh for warmth, much to his chagrin. You relax and sip your drink, watching the wind blow the trees outside the window, being entertained by Ash switching back and forth between reading you interesting soundbites from the articles he’s reading to singing along to the music in varying degrees of seriousness.

“Kinda feel like smokin’ something but honestly I don’t feel like getting up to get our shit. How’s that for lazy?” He muses with a grin.

A couple hours pass, maybe more; time really has no meaning on a day like this. The rain has ceased for the moment but the sky is still threateningly overcast, casting a dreamlike haze over the room. Ashton keeps insisting that “after this song” he’s going to get up and check the heater but he started saying that at least three albums ago.

You’ve ended up sprawled out on the couch, your head in his lap; it’s your job to change the record when it’s time but you’ve still managed to doze off here and there, so cozy and comfortable with Ash quietly singing above you, hands occasionally running through your hair or over your shoulder.

You sleepily turn over on your side, gazing at him through hooded eyes; after one too many jabs from you, he’s lost the iPad and as he sits there, one hand scrolling his phone, the other pensively scratching at his beard while humming under his breath, you feel an overwhelming flood of feelings. Love. Happiness. Peace. Desire.

You reach your hand out and caress the tops of his thighs, wanting to feel more of him underneath you, wanting to remind him you’re there. Your heart swells when you see a fond smile paint his face and he instinctively brings a hand down to rub over your arm, continuing the silent but appreciative conversation between your bodies.

This second excerpt, from To Love Him Is To Need Him Everywhere, is similar to the first - a quiet moment of reverent appreciation between partners. I've just always loved it because it follows an absurdly filthy section of the fic and then takes a sharp turn towards some of the softest, most flowery writing I'd done at that time. I feel like that duality became a trademark for me this year (for the Swift-literate, Cass has repeatedly declared this my "Lover era" 😅) and it really encapsulates what I find appealing about exploring relationships in fic (or in life tbqh).

He lays behind you, wrapping his arms around you and breathing a soft sigh of your name against your hair. The two of you lay in loving silence, basking in the contrast between the cool breeze blowing across your skin and the warmth of your lover’s body on you.

Ash is such a large presence, literally and figuratively, you love the firmness and safety of being enveloped by him. But after a few minutes, you find yourself needing more and you turn over to face him. His eyes are closed and you stop to study him, taking in every detail: how long his lashes are, how much you love the shape of his nose, how structured but soft his cheeks are, how kissable his lips always seem to look, how his sharp jawline still makes your stomach drop after all this time.

You notice the dimples that you love so much starting to form as he smiles at the feel of your stare. He opens his eyes and with a single look, he’s able to read your energy and know exactly what you’re needing. He fits his hand under your jaw and slowly kisses you, letting you lead the way, inviting your tongue to take and taste all you need from him.

He waits for you to be the one to break the kiss and then he’s gently pushing you onto your back so he can lay his head on your chest. You stroke your fingers through his hair while he uses his to trace designs on your bare stomach.

“I don’t know that I’ve ever been more grateful to be sharing a moment with someone,” Ashton says quietly, the thought still formulating in his mind. You look down to see his hazel eyes gazing fondly at you. “I’m glad it’s with you.”

12. How did you grow as a writer this year

I'm really proud of myself for writing for me in 2021. I wrote ridiculously long pieces when they felt right, I wrote PWP when I had a good concept I just wanted to get out into the world. I started writing in 2020 and was fortunate enough to have a solid audience from the get-go (again, thanks to Cass) but as much as I love what I wrote that first year, I can admit now that there was probably too much consideration given to what I thought other people wanted to see from me (or didn't want to see! I toned down a lot of pieces back then tbh) whereas now I aim for my priority to be what I want to spend my time thinking about.

13. How do you hope to grow next year

There's more than a few things I need to work on: I need to stop caring so much about feedback (it's my favorite part of the process but shouldn't determine the value of a fic!), I need to trust my instincts more (taking an hour to write a paragraph because I rewrite each sentence 10 times is like, not fun or practical) and I need to more efficiently manage my time. The pandemic effectively decimated my attention span so it's hard for me to sit and write without picking up my phone every few minutes, especially when the band is in an active phase since I live a double life as a fic blog/update account and I'm always itching to find content. All these things I mentioned make writing a lot more frustrating than it needs to be and I'd like to remedy that so I can enjoy the process as much as I possibly can.

14. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc)

The answer to this question is always going to be @cal-puddies. My best ideas come from talking to Cass, my best drafts are the ones she actively challenges me on and I probably would've quit on about half of my fics from this year if she hadn't kept encouraging me and cheering me on to finish them. I said I wrote for me this year but really I wrote for us. 🦦🦦

15. Anything from your real-life show up in your writing this year?

I definitely drew inspiration from my real life camping experience when writing To Love Him Is To Need Him Everywhere. I do in fact, have a certain fondness for rainy days. I actually went to the Global Citizen concert and honestly that made writing Stay Here, Honey more difficult because my brain refused to accept if I had to change a detail for logistics/creative license lmao. Beyond that, there's been a few times I've wondered if I've accidentally exposed myself by writing certain kinks one too many times but I won't go into specifics. 😂

16. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers?

No idea is too niche - if you've thought about it, someone else definitely has and will love your story. (I legit wrote a fic about getting high and dry humping in a backyard and someone called it "romantic". Your fic will find its audience lmao.)

17. Any projects you're looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year

I'll go ahead and spill, honestly if you've read this far, you deserve a scoop: Gardener!Ash is getting pegged in 2022, if it's the last thing I do. (I've been trying to plot this arc for A YEAR but I want to do it right and dammit, I will get there!) Also, I am about 25k words deep into a Poly!Cashton series that I'm very excited about (and have also been writing/plotting for well over a year) and can't wait to share.

18. Tag some writers whose answers you'd like to read

If they feel like it, I'd love to see what @cal-puddies @talkfastromance4 @suchalonelysunflower @villainorigincal and @littledrummeraussie have to say!