#okay :3c yay!

[mango-mya]

Yes that's Shakespeare please leave me alone

[naenaex0xx]

maybe I'm comfortable with tumblr because I get to say things I don't usually tell anyone

[sysig]

Your Weekly TV Guide

On Monday you can expect:

2:30 PM: Wander Over Yonder - Emperor Awesome

And Tuesday:

2:30 PM: SCII - Paper craft

Wednesday:

2:30 PM: WOY

Thursday:

2:30 PM: WOY

Friday:

2:30 PM: WOY

Saturday:

2:30 PM: WOY

Sunday:

2:30 PM: Just Desserts - True Villainy AU

Thanks for tuning in! (Patreon)

[bakenekobyte]

100%...

[iqmmir]

That was scary. Now im scared

[cha1cedony]

HEY, YOU! 🫵

Are you a Tumblr user? (Yes)

Do you love Grant Wilson? (I should hope so)

Did you listen to this week’s Teen Talk and think, “Hey, that’s me! I’m the Grant angst enjoyer who was unnecessarily sad about him having to kill that chimera despite all the other wacky violence in this podcast!” ????

Well, boy, do I have the fic for you!

Um. You should read my fic Silver Linings 😁 which is now complete!

It’s over 110k words of 13-14 year old Grant angst (yay) set in a normal life AU! Mostly about his relationships (with his parents, his classmates, and his soccer coach Darnell), as well as his queerness and mental health struggles :) I’d say it’s coming-of-age adjacent.

Sound interesting? (Say yes /j) GOOD NEWS! 😎 You can.. go read it! (Wow) But if you’ve already read it, I’m planning two sequels and at least two Darryl-centric spinoff fics. I’m not sure which will start next, but it will either be White Lies or Good as Gold! (first time I’m announcing those titles ^_^ everyone clap. /j again) Thank you for the support and love on this fic!

Okay shameless self-promo over 😁 My AO3 is chalcedony if you’re interested in checking it out! Idk if anyone will see this rn but I’ll probably rb it after the S2 finale or something idk. Okay byeeeeee :3c

[ghost-tings]

while I wait for 15 hours for the votes to be done (I'm impatient I'm trying to be patient it's just 15 hours idc if it isn't on point its technically 15 hours) here are some facts about elio

number one: elio has curly hair, like 3A-3C curly hair depending on if its cared for

number two: elio has no concept of gender (this is due to having been raised on the run)

number three: like how neil upped his age by a year elios age is upped by a year as well (he was orginal born in 2002 the day and month are the same)

number four: between Christmas and January Allison decided to work on elios hair getting it back to its natural state (the sketch/drawing I'm doing has his natural hair so yay)

number five: elio can't swim at all he also has a fear of the water

number six: when elio was a infant (and even now because he's short for his age) neil used to cary neil on his front with one of those baby wrap things under baggy shirts ad sweaters

number seven: before baltimore, the girls had taken elio out with them and he had picked out a yellow dress with sunflowers all over it (letting this kid explore his gender which is more than I can say for all my other kid ocs in general)

number eight: elio did try to take the racoon home with the foxes when it came time to leave the cabins it took about five minutes into the drive for aaron to point out the noise from the boot

number nine: Kevin had tried to get elio into exy but it didn't go over well as elio had just started furiously signing in ASL to the point that even neil struggled to keep up

number ten: the monsters dorm room cupboards have at least about 2 massive tubs of strawberry milk (nesquik cuz I think that was the cheapest at the time, it's basically just the cheapest one okay I'm not good at prices)

[kfkr1ze]

[18TRIP] Brand New Dawn - R1ze FULL VER.

Renga, Yukikaze, Kafka, Ten, Liguang

----

Good morning, hey my bro

Can you do this party yo?

Deep in my chest, I was sleeping

You don’t be blind

Kafka & Liguang : Let’s draw a picture to signal the start of a brand new sunrise

“Come on!”(Come on!) “Where shall we go?” [1] (Go!)

When gold burns at the edge of this blue sea

It’ll be a morning of thanks

Good morning! Morning!

Don’t worry! As you can see,

The night’s already over yay, yeah! (Yay, yeah!)

It’s hard to see what’s in front of you [2]. Yes, there was a light there all along

I feel like dancing, no matter what day it is

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

How about a day that’s less than a birthday or an anniversary?

Please give me a celebration that doesn’t belong to anyone!

A paradise of mutual support

Kafka & Liguang : where no one is left out

Come on! (Come on!) Let’s go get it back (Go!)

Whenever the night stretches on, my tears can’t seem to let up

Keep shining, and the morning will come

Welcome to brand new “Dawn”！！

Kafka & Yukikaze : By making the impossible possible, black ships start to sail [3a.]

Yukikaze & Renga : Divine wind blows away the remaining snow [3b.]

Yukikaze & Renga : And it melts, sending away another ship 

Renga & Liguang : I have no more regrets that I need to bite my fangs at [3c.][4]

Renga & Liguang : Whether that’s north, south, east, or west.

Liguang & Ten : Us 5 together, resounding our gratitude with a song and bow [3d.] [5]

Ten & Kafka : Hoping that the wind in the sky doesn’t come [3e.] [6]

Even so, I’ll be with you forever (Yeah!) Come on, let’s go (Yeah!)

The R1ze of the sun warms my heart

I thought there was no place for me, but it turns out that’s not the case

As I searched for the light, I kept running in the dark

Resistance, mistakes, embarrassment, words that don’t last forever

It’s not enough, it’s not enough, it’s still not enough

We never seem to learn from our mistakes, like idiots

But, I ended up where I’m at now, and it’s the best place to be

Right now is the night of apologies so that

It’ll be a morning of thanks tomorrow

Good morning! Morning!

Yukikaze & Liguang : Don’t worry! Look at the different colors

Kafka & Ten : Please choose the one you like Yay, yeah! (Yay, yeah!)

No matter what I do, there’s nothing strange about this party

But I’m just so happy I could start laughing! Uh Yeah

Good morning! Morning!

Don’t worry! As you can see,

The night’s already over yay, yeah! (Yay, yeah!)

It’s hard to see what’s in front of you. Yes, there was a light there all along

I feel like dancing, no matter what day it is

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

Good morning! It’s our celebration

Good morning! Can’t stop moving, let’s start the party

Notes — ✈︎

There are a LOT of references to Dawn in this one. For example, using their names in the song! I recommend reading the Dawn translation by gyaxa too !

1. The MV for Brand New Dawn translated these lines already, so I kept them as the MV has them

2. The literal translation for this part is “it’s dark under the lighthouse”, which is an idiom that basically means people can’t tell what’s happening right under them. I couldn’t think of a short way to word this so sorry if the line’s a bit long…

3. Okay so this whole rap part has a lot of references to names and stuff so I separated it based on which person they’re referencing

↳ 3a. Kafka’s name is 大黒 可不可 .「Making the impossible possible」 is 「不可能を可能にする」、 having the kanji for Kafka. 「Black ships start to sail」 is 「黒船いざ大出航」、having the kanji for Oguro

↳ 3b. Yukikaze’s name is 神名 雪風 . 「Divine wind blows away the remaining snow」 is 「名残り雪は神風に吹かれ」, the kanji for Yukikaze Kamina

↳ 3c. Renga’s name is 西園 練牙 . 「I have no more regrets that I need to bite my fangs at」 is 「牙噛むような未練はもうない」、 having the kanji for Renga. 「Whether that’s north, south, east, or west」 has a kanji for Nishizono 「東西南北なんのソノ」

↳ 3d. Liguang’s name is 鹿 礼光 . 「Us 5 together, resounding our gratitude with a song and bow」  has Lu and part of Liguang 「華麗に回礼して 響かせる５名の鹿鳴」

↳ 3e. Ten’s name is 叢雲 添. 「Hoping that the wind in the sky doesn’t come」is「月に叢雲花に風」 which has Murakumo, and 「Even so, I’ll be with you forever」 is 「されどいつまでも付き添う」 which has Ten.

4. [SPOILERS FOR THE R1ZE MAIN STORY !!!!] Renga’s name 練牙 has the word 牙 in it. It’s also pronounced “Kiba” which is what Liguang calls the original Renga.

5. Ok I had to research this one. So the part where they said ５名の鹿鳴 confused me, but apparently in the Book of Songs, the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, a deer’s cry (鹿鳴) is a song sung at banquets to entertain guests.

6. 「Hoping that the wind in the sky doesn’t come」 (月に叢雲花に風 , literal translation is “clouds in the moon, wind in the flowers”) is a phrase meaning that things are going well, so you’re hoping that nothing bad happens. Like “all good things must come to an end.”

[lucabyte]

your ocs!!!!! please ramble about them!!!!

i love your art so much

(GRABS YOU) H. CAN DO BOSS.

So ! My ocs. I guess I'll do an overall explainer for the overall groups. If you check out my Toyhouse (LINK!) there's a bunch of folders up top that are how I categorise them. It's primarily by universe except for the folders that are just "misc."

So folder 1: Blatant favouritism:

These are silly little guys that don't fit in any specific wider universe, but I really really like. So I'll spotlight the two important ones before i get real in the weeds with my main universe.

In here are notably, my Fursona (self explanatory), Ali and Pittsburgh Cincinnati. There's also Hauntkit and Clearpelt who are warriorcats ocs that *is dragged away by airport security*

... So, Pittsburgh, lovingly sometimes called pissbug, is a weird little Thing who I made as like, an homage to characters like happy bunny and Sweetypuss. She (and her weird dog) exist to stand next to strange and offputting captions. I love her. No further context. She's just silly. and violent.

Now. Ali.

Ali Alighieri has thoroughly stolen the show, and also ties into the next folder along, Making Your MK.

With over a hundred extra images compared to second place (Sorry, Tabitha). Ali is my fucked up little scrunkly. My little baby guy. They're a shared character of mine and @samhainian's, and is from their Creature Feature setting (A modern fantasy setting wherein Cryptids and Magic are real but in our modern world.) They are as such, a modern human young adult... Who is also a demon + magic user.

Strange little pansexual altersex genderqueer poetry-nerd that they are... The modern setting also means they are literally just a tumblr user. A fellow countryman, so to speak.

HOWEVER.... Ali's true origin was in *Purrgatorio*, a scrapped visual novel of mine set in the MYMK universe! They were simply retrofitted into CF as the joke with Purrgatorio was that a regular human had mysteriously just shown up in MYMK's pure-furry setting.... And then when we scrapped the project we got all attatched to our little not-so-blank-slate protagonist. But I'll put a pin in Purrgatorio for later.

Making Your MK.

(Guest of honour: My super unfinished website <3)

Okay so here's the big one. The setting with.... (looks at spreadsheet) 109 characters not including so-called incidentals. At time of writing.

MYMK is home to... Multiple stories. As you would hope when a setting has 100+ characters. I'd wager each story has about 10-20 relevant characters tops but with a big shared universe like this there gets to be overlap between casts!!! Yay !!! 😊😊😊

MYMK is the name of the main story in the setting. Pronounced "Making your Mark", it is centered around Markus Felidae (The purple one) and their family. It's very action-adventure-y. It's also the plot I'm most secretive about the backend of since I WILL!!!!! Turn it into a nice prose story with pictures SOMEDAY!!!!! But for now tee hee hee secrets secrets. Markus' family is strange and ragtag and is keeping something from them... I can't ramble on too long here unless further prompted in asks about specifics but!!! Everyone in the MYMK folder has a fully furbished little profile with a blurb about them. So if you're curious....

But yeah, I tend to think of the MYMK setting more in terms of its Locations than its Casts, due to the overlapping nature of them all. The Malbranche may be the villains of the main plot, but they're also major players in relation to The Palsgrave who are the antagonists of Moraine, etc etc,

The country everything in MYMK is set in is called New Orphidian, Southern hemisphere little thing, here's a very cartoony map of it.

Um. Cliffside!

Since it's the best map I have... Here's an exclusive sneak peek of a Zine I'll be getting back to once the fandom brain cools down a bit.... :3c

(... I REALLY NEED TO DO A TOUR AROUND THE MINECRAFT CLIFFSIDE SAM AND I BUILT..... IT'S SO CUTE....)

Cliffside is situated on a big ol' Cliff.

A tiny hamlet of a place, it used to have reason to exist, and now does not. It's not even a good tourist locale, as the cliff is much too dangerous compared to the nicer tourist spot of Welkin just a little north. Not to mention nearby Moraine's allure as a tax haven with no labour laws place where a bunch of TV and Movies are filmed!

It's where most of MYMK's main cast reside (except the antagonists from the Big City Varmonte), and is as such a location I have a lot of tiny little worldbuilding thoughts about :)

I won't go into the other locations here just because then this post will SUPER get away from me but... I think most importantly for Cliffside right now...

Is that it's where Purrgatorio is set. Yes, that VN I said got scrapped. It's not dead. It is in fact serving it's original intended purpose as "A (mostly) noncanon exploration of character voice and setting"

It's back and its prose babeyyyyyyy!!! (A BUNCH OF THE EARLY STUFF IS ME BEING SUPER RUSTY ... BE WARNED)

Purrgatorio is currently the most publicly available coherent work I have out of my ocs! It's very low-stakes and serves mostly to bash my toys together and see what character dynamics come out, but you can look if you want to!

(There's also a whole THING on the meta of its Canonicity... It's not canon, but it's also not NOT canon. But if I talk about Metanarrative Timeline Collapse in my normal mundane non-magic setting im gonna sound bonkers ✌)

Ali's dynamics with the MYMK cast are so goddamn funny to me. Like I literally just handed my OCs some ET shit but ET is a sexually repressed tumblr user with a mood disorder.

But yeah I don't think I can coherently string together much more about MYMK without just actually explaining THE WHOLE PLOT.... Though I will absolutely elaborate on any given character's Whole Deal if i'm prompted. (OH MY GOD I DIDNT EVEN TALK ABOUT CHROME AND TABITHA. WAIT. OKAY THERE'S. OK NO IF I TALKED ABOUT THEM IT'D JUST END UP AN ESSAY ,SORRY..)

So here's some bonafide classic images for the road.

(IF TUMBLR BREAKS THE FORMATTING AND JUST PUTS THESE ONE AFTER THE OTHER INSTEAD OF IN A GRID IM SO SORRY LMAOOOOO)

... And as for the other folders on my toyhouse!

Misc and Fandom are what they sound like. Self explanatory,

Then, Ysden is @samhainian's fantasy setting. It's where our DnD games happen to be set but it's also a general fantasy setting :)

and Monster of the Week... Is currently being revamped! It used to be a modern world setting with hidden magic, now it's going to be more... Adventure Time-y. Fantasy world get iphone. Yknow. It has a lower Age Rating than MYMK's "anything goes", as it started as a Pitch Bible Project in my animation class. They're a little neglected but I still love them :) The revamp is extemely recent and not reflected in any of the art/writing yet but I'm workin on it. It still doesn't have a proper title..... OTL

So yeah!! Uh. This wasn't as comprehensive as I was hoping but it turns out I have way, WAY too many thoughts on my guys. And no idea what to do when im actually asked about them so !!!! This was not a very coherent ramble but it was a ramble !

There's things like essays on Chrome and Tabitha (Link) and also The Queer Gender Identities Of The Whole Cast (Link) hiding around on my toyhouse, and once again, Purrgatorio (Link) serves as my sandbox for playing with how these characters act in situations.

But..... ! I did try to make my toyhouse approachable for the average layman. Every character in the MYMK folder (Link) has a *blurb* of information, rather than a giant wall of text explaining everything about them. I want people to be able to understand their general vibe at a glance rather than be overwhelmed.

In any case ???? Uh. Fun game for everyone: If you know your homestuck classpect, every single MYMK character has a classpect and lunar sway. and a birthday. Try and find your andrew-hussie assigned kin! As a Prospitian Witch of Heart, I share my classpect and lunar sway with Chrome. No I don't know what this means. It worries me honestly he's kind of an asshole.

[spoopy-sloth]

trying so hard not to spoil this comic, but it's been a major brain-fog piece, and I am so ready to just! be done with it and get hyped about colors and tones :)

yeeting this comic tomorrow por fin!!!

[jackals-ships]

thinking about manipulative f/os also is so funny bc there's a sliding scale of;

lotor; "oh my bed is so cold...won't you join me in bed my love? my darling Starlight?" "are you trying to seduce me into sleeping" "is it working" ".....yeah"

zinyak; "I mean I did kidnap you. BUT. i think I'm being pretty open about everything" "...girl you wanna explain The Contraptions" "dw about that" "okay <3 yay <3"

aaravos; "ooo you wanna Help me you wanna do fucked up magic" "I'm gonna throw your mirror in the fucking River-" "DONT-"

denathrius; "technically. it wasn't lying if I didn't tell you anything in the first place" "I'm gonna fucking kill you." ":3c ive trained you too well for that my jewel"

prime; has what denathrius WISHES he had, "why would you want to leave when you're safe and cared for here with me my gem?"

ghb; look at what you did. you ruined a perfectly good little guy. now it has homicidal tendencies- well okay it had those already. now it's ACTING on them

honorable mention goes to Loki for "tries to lie. jackal is immune to his bullshit. keeps spraying him with a water bottle. the avengers keep them around Just for that purpose"

and nuada for "TECHNICALLY didn't lie but he's a fae and like. look at him. look at that mf. bastard"

[mudskip-drabbles]

write whatever:3c

one soupmates hold the angst with a happy ending hot off the presses!!

Giovanni didn't know how awesome having a boyfriend would be until he got one, there being a special sort of comfort when cuddling Rick Odi as opposed to any of their other friends. It wasn't that he didn't care for each and every one of them, he cared for them so much, he just...couldn't explain it. Coming home (and wasn't that a nice word: home) to Odi and Molly after a days work, he...didn't think he'd ever been this happy. The best part? He knew Odi was just as happy as he was, loved him just as much, wanted to be around him, attached at the hip every moment they could, all thanks to their 'pact'. It made things easier, knowing what topics, words or actions were a no go, and on the flip side, which ones were welcomed. Odi had been through a lot, and the last thing Gio wanted was to add to all that by saying something stupid. Plus, this way he knew when Odi needed him no matter where he was, it being a bit frustrating not being able to hide such strong emotions they might not wish to share just then, but at the end of the day it was a good thing, being able to talk about what might have stayed bottled up to fester.

As much as he liked the bond, Gio's favorite moments were the ones where it wasn't needed, where they couldn't tell where Odi's love ended and Gio's began, they both felt it so strongly. It most often happened at night when they were cuddled up close, Odi's head on Gio's chest or vice versa as they waited for sleep to claim them.

Sometimes, though, Odi...had a bit of trouble quieting his mind, no matter how comfortable and safe he felt around Giovanni. It was moments like those he would ask Gio to talk about anything and everything, it didn't matter so long as he had the holder of his heart drowning out every bad thought that dared rear it's head when Odi was so happy.

Tonight was one of those nights, Odi's cheek smooshed into Gio's chest, ear pressed to where he could best hear his partner's heartbeat while Gio ran gentle nails over his scalp. It was nice, but it...wasn't enough. So-

"Tell me a story?" Not an unusal request, sometimes it being made even when Odi wasn't teetering on the edges of the deep, dark void of his mind. He liked hearing Giovanni twist his tales, liked how excited he got whenever he came up with something really good. In turn, Gio liked just how much Odi liked his stories, how his eyes lit up in time with the tale. He'd always get a round of applause whenever possible, of which would be met with a bow, as if it had been a grand performance for just the two of them.

It always took a moment for Gio to find a place to start, those fingers never ceasing their pet through Odi's hair as his free hand rubbed at his chin in thought.

"Hmmmmm...Oh! I got it! Okay, our story starts with a wizard-"

"Like me?" Sleepy, but no less excited where Odi grinned up at his partner.

"Exactly like you!" A boop to Odi's nose before he continued on. "So, a wizard; a totally awesome, asskicking, evil wizard, feared through the realm as the slayer of witches and heros alike!" A hand waved across the air above them, as if to reveal the scene.

"Now, for as awesome as this wizard was, he knew the most powerful force in all the world was friendship-"

"Yay, friendship..." Muttered into Gio's chest, just a bit sleepier than before.

"Friendship!! Now, the wizard might be super evil, but he wasn't the evilest in the land, the title of Super Asshole Guy being taken by the king of their seemingly perfect little land. The wizard knew more than anybody that things were far from perfect, and it gave him neverending sadness that friendship couldn't even beat this foe. But! While it couldn't beat the Super Asshole, it could bring comfort to those around him, the wizard forgoing his own wellbeing just to get even the smallest smile from his friends.

Now, as much as his friends appreciated how much the wizard cared for them, it made them just as sad to see their friend hurting, even if it made their own lives easier. So, one day, they came up with a plan, knowing very well that the king loathed the wizard, seeing friendship as an insult to everything Great and Powerful, or so he said. The king was actually afraid of this friendship, knowing that were the wizard to grow too strong, he could be beaten as easily as squishing a big, ugly bug."

A puff of a laugh from Odi, his eyes dropping now as he fought to stay awake for Gio's tale.

"What's th' pl'n?" Slurred, Odi's tongue feeling just as heavy as his eyes now as he nuzzled into Gio's chest.

"The plan! It was the most epic of plans! They were going to do what no one had ever done before: escape the kingdom so the king could never hurt the wizard again! They did this wiiiith..."

"Fr'ndsh'p!" He wasn't even trying to keep his eyes open anymore.

"That's right! Friendship! Waiting until the stroooke of midnighttt oooooo~." That always got a giggle out of Odi. "They put their plan into action, and you know what?"

"Hmnm?"

"It worked." A dramatic whisper, Gio's voice now taking on a lower, less bombastic lilt as he gave Odi a squeeze with the arm that had had a hand through dual locks. "Their friendship was so strong, the wizard escaped from the clutches of the cruel king, knowing deep in his soul that, no matter the distance between them all, his friends would always live in his heart, even when their spell eventually faded in power."

He had meant to continue his story, delving into dragons and witches and gargoyles, but Giovanni was cut off by the soft breathing of a man asleep, Odi having been able to find peace, warm and safe hugged into his love's chest.

With a soft laugh, Gio settled into the cuddle as carefully as he could, as to not wake his sleeping wizard, arms wrapped around him tight as a kiss was pressed to Odi's hair.

"And they all lived happily ever after..."

[seabirdtxt]

Event batch 2

Another round of requests!! thank you so much guys, I'm having a bunch of fun writing these ficlets :3c I'll be closing the request form tomorrow morning, so feel free to check out my event and send in something before the cutoff!

🩵 Check out my 200+ followers request event! 🩵

for @hanasbananas || Kaeya x Reader - Modern AU, college classmates 

for @magica-ren || Fatui!Scaramouche x puppet!reader - Descender/Isekai, reader falls to Teyvat and encounters early-Fatui Scara

for @magica-ren || Wanderer x Reader - reverse-Isekai, Reader handles Wanderer as he figures out how to navigate the modern world

----- ⚘ -----

Study Date

“Kae….” You let out a drawn-out whine, reaching across the table to gently poke your boyfriend’s arm. “I’m bored.”

Kaeya chuckles under his breath and nudges your hand with his elbow. “You’d be less bored if you actually studied, silly,” he says, looking up from the papers he’s grading. “You’re the one who wanted to join me while I do my TA work, remember? Now, you have to sit tight for a bit until these are all checked.”

You grumble and fold your arms over the table, covering your textbook, and drop your head into the crook of your elbows. 

“But I don’t wanna…” 

“You have a test tomorrow, though.”

You groan at the reminder, throwing a small fit on your side of the table and shuffling your notebooks and papers around. With a world-weary sigh, you sit back up and take a survey of the warzone that your workspace became. You pick up your discarded pen, resting the side of your hand against your notebook and staring blankly at the scribbles of notes that you’d taken. None of the information wants to be absorbed, and you sigh again.

You feel a foot nudge yours under the table, and you respond with a lazy kick. 

“Ouch,” Kaeya says teasingly. He brings one hand to his chest, appearing most scandalized. “Is this the way you treat the love of your life? I see how it is.” 

“Studying sucks,” you declare. “I’m moving to the North Pole and becoming a penguin.”

“If you studied more, you would know penguins don’t live in the North Pole.” 

You kick him again, causing him to laugh at your misfortune. “That’s not even the subject, dummy.”

“Tell you what, sweetheart,” Kaeya says, cajoling. “How about you study for the last twenty minutes, so you’ll be ready for your test tomorrow, and when we’re done here we can go get boba? On me, of course.” 

Immediately, you brighten up and give him a wide smile. Endeared, he reaches over the table and pets your head affectionately.

“What are you, a puppy? Does the puppy want a treat for performing the ‘studying’ trick?” he teases, to which you make a bark noise. “Alright, alright, but you have to actually study, promise?”

“Okay!” You reply, giving your notebook a determined look. Without wasting any time, you begin to recopy your notes with added commentary and clarification.

Satisfied, Kaeya gives you a soft smirk and returns to his grading.

Time passes sluggishly, and though you were motivated at first you quickly grow bored again. Only the promise of boba keeps you going, and you chug through the last of your notes just as Kaeya straightens his pile of completed grading, getting up and stretching his arms above his head. You finish your last sentence with a flourish, looking up at your boyfriend with a grin.

“Done? Good puppy!” Kaeya laughs, patting your head again. “Come on, then, let’s go get boba. I’ll even get you a pastry with it, since you finished all your notes.”

“Yay!” You exclaim, jumping up and rushing to put your stuff away. “Come on! We’ve got to get there before there’s no more free tables!”

Kaeya follows you closely as you lead the way to the boba cafe, and quietly considers the study date a success.

----- ⚘ -----

No Strings

The first time you see the puppet, you’d only just crashed into this strange new world. 

Your containment pod had crashed in the middle of the unfamiliar ocean, and it had taken you days to drift to the nearest land. There, washed up and exhausted, you hide behind jagged shore rocks and watch in fear as strangely dressed soldiers shout at each other in a foreign language, carrying the limp form of another person.

As you look closer, you can see the distinctive lines of ball-joints, and you gasp in recognition. Another puppet! 

The soldiers shout again, and two of them pry open the cliff face to reveal a hidden structure. Without further ado, the soldiers carrying the puppet bring it inside and lay it delicately in the bed of red leaves at the foot of a majestic tree. The soldiers exit just as the puppet appears to regain consciousness, and you watch in dread as the puppet rolls itself to its knees, reaching out with a cry toward the soldiers just as the twin stone doors slide shut.

You look down at your own porcelain hands, the imitation of a gulp coming from your throat. Surely, if this land treats puppets this way, then it would be wiser for you to conceal your identity for as long as possible.

With that thought in mind, you begin making plans to find some long-sleeved clothes for yourself, and maybe some gloves.

---

The second time you see the puppet, it’s been a hundred years since your Descent. You’d been learning the language of this strange country, watching and hearing about the political turmoil within the major city. You stay on the small island you’ve stumbled upon, keeping mostly to yourself but occasionally venturing into the small industrial village to pick up supplies.

Tatarasuna’s forge stands tall in the center of the canyon, the villager’s houses dotted along the walls, and workers bustle through the streets and across suspended bridges as they go about their day. You watch on with a tinge of envy, wishing you were still home on the deck of the Space Station you’d been created on, enjoying the atmosphere of space travelers coming and going to distant planets and bringing home fantastic stories.

You shuffle in through the crowd, still amazed at how they can manage despite their lack of technology. You purchase a few rolls of bandages, to wrap your ball-joints, and some thick salve, which you smooth into the seams of your face to facilitate their more natural looking movement. You don’t have the supplies to perform the same maintenance you once did, after all.

When you turn around after making your purchase, you see the puppet working in the forge. He’s hammering a thin strip of metal, following the instruction of his brown-haired mentor. He looks better, more energetic, but there still seems to be an air of melancholy about him. His joints have faded to barely-noticeable lines, you notice with slight bitterness. Whatever magic he’d been made of seems to be aiding him in blending into human society. You wish you had that luck.

With your purchases in hand you turn back to the woods, not noticing how the puppet looks up and watches as you walk away.

---

The third time you see the puppet, you’d been in pretty dire straits for a while. 

You had to leave Inazuma behind, as much as it pained you. You couldn’t stay in one place for too long, unless you wanted someone to realize just how long-lived you are and try to uncover your puppet identity. That’s how you find yourself in the wilderness of Mondstat, scrounging around on the outskirts of the countryside for supplies. 

That’s when you bump into him, literally. 

You’re not paying attention to where you’re going when you collide with a suspiciously hard body. You let out a soft ‘oof’ on impact, extracting yourself from the tangle of limbs and black fabric with apologies already on your lips. They all fall silent when you look up to see the face of the mysterious Inazuman puppet from five hundred years past.

“You’re the-”

“- weird traveler-”

“- sad puppet-”

“- from Tatarasuna!” The two of you blurt out at the same time.

“What?!” He reacts first, scrambling to get you off of him. He backs away with an angry expression, pointing at you accusingly. “How do you know that?!”

“I saw you!” You say, trying to explain this in a way that doesn’t make you sound insane. “Hundreds of years ago, I saw you in Tatarasuna! I used to go there to buy my wrappings!”

You quickly unwind your bandages, showing him your own chipped and stained ball-joints. You’d fallen into disrepair a while ago, not having access to the necessary materials to maintain your body. “Look, see? I’m a puppet too!”

The other puppet stares in awe and confusion, so many questions flitting across his expression. Finally, he looks up at you with a hardened gaze. He snatches his kasa hat off the ground, jamming it onto his head with a jingle of the heavy metal charms tied to it. 

“You look awful,” he says, finally, to which you take offense. 

“Excuse me!” You berate him. “That’s a rude thing to say to a complete stranger! I just haven’t been able to get maintenance, that’s all…”

He looks at you, considering, before seeming to come to a decision. “Come with me, I know somebody who can probably help you. He’s a Doctor.”

The way he says the word has a strange weight to it, but you don’t know enough to question him about it. “Really? I could really use a bit of help, honestly.” You say, tentatively extending your hand to him to shake on it. “I’m glad I ran into another puppet before I completely disintegrate.”

“Sure, glad to help,” he smiles, all teeth. “Come on, what’s your name?”

You tell him yours, a name you haven’t heard in a terribly long time, and certainly not from the mouth of another person.

“Is that so? Well, it’s nice to meet you.” The puppet tips his hat and his sharp periwinkle eyes look at you from the shadow of its brim. “My name is Scaramouche. I think you will be a great help to me in the future, my fellow puppet.”

----- ⚘ -----

Houston, we have a problem

You let out a growl of frustration as you feel another candy hit the back of your head. You whip around to catch the suspect in the act. You glare at him, but Wanderer only snickers as he prepares another candy in the bowl of his spoon.

He launches the candy with his spoon-catapault, hitting your shoulder this time as you get up and stomp over to him, snatching the utensil from his hand as he protests.

“Hey! I was using that!” He tries to grab it back, but you move quickly and put it in the sink, out of his range.

You still aren’t sure why Wanderer appeared in your house so suddenly. You’d been playing Genshin quietly in your room, doing one of the SPiral Abyss floors, when your active character (coincidentally, Wanderer) clipped out of bounds and you could only watch in despair as he fell off the platform and into the surrounding void.

The shock of your life came a few seconds later when his heavy body suddenly appeared above you and crashed into you like a sack of bricks. You still have a bruise from the impact. 

“Would you quit picking on me? I’m trying to look up a way to send you back into the game!” You hiss, trying not to let it show that nothing you’ve googled so far came up with any results. It seems that sudden manifestation of fictional characters is a trait unique to you.

“Why would I want to go back to Teyvat when everything here is so much easier?” Wanderer counters, letting himself slump comfortably into the cushions of your bed. “I don’t have to fight monsters or petty criminals here, and there’s quick access to all kinds of household utilities that people in Teyvat could only dream of. Plus, it’s quiet here. No nagging Travelers or Buer telling me to do my homework.”

“But you don’t belong here!” You protest weakly, not sure how to convince him that he needs to go home. “What if something happens, and you get like… glitched out of existence or something?”

“Sounds like a bonus, to me.”

You reach over and smack the hat off of his head. “Cut it out with the self-deprecating shit for a second,” you scold. “I thought Nahida was beating that habit out of you.”

“She’s too soft to beat anything,” he shrugs and picks his hat back up, resting it against the side of your mattress. “I’m going to get tea.”

He rolls off the bed and heads into the kitchen. You return to your research with a bit of desperation, listening to him exclaim in delight at your electric kettle, boiling the water in record speed, much to his delight. The thought of him being stuck here indefinitely frustrates you, you certainly don’t want to hold him back or inconvenience his story in the game.

Mostly, you’re frustrated at how much you almost don’t want him to go back, too excited at the notion of having your favourite character all to yourself. Not that you’ll tell him that, though.

Back to the drawing board, you guess. 

[basilpaste]

Art sending, take two! I had a whole heartfelt comment here man.... about hwo mcuh I love the fic "See a Friend, Or a Ghost" and Loop realizing that they don't know hwo to read Isabeau. But. augh.

Anyways! comic-ified part of the fic teehee. Hope you enjoy :3c

YAY IT SENT THIS TIME!!!!!

ALSO. OKAY. CRIES?????/ OH MY GOD??????? HOLY SHIT CLOUD???? OH MY GOD?

I ABSOLUTELY ENJOY. OH MY GOD????????

genuinely and truly sorry i dont have anything more insightful to say but im just sitting here staring at this because i am so incredibly and wildly like???? so in awe of this???? that youd make a comic about something i wrote???? i also REALLY enjoy how you did the speech bubbles. paneling and speech bubbles are both so foreign to me since i so rarely do comics, so its always really cool to see someone who gets it more than me do it.

head in handdddds (slash positive). thank you so much?

[batshikns]

Check-up List #30

(Yay!! A whole month of Mission: Getting Better >:3c)

Daily To-Do's:

-Got to school with in a tolerable mood: ✔️

(Got up in a tolerable mood: N/A)

-Laughed and made someone laugh today: ✔️

-Didn't get/make someone mad/upset: ✔️

-Got home in a tolerable mood: ✔️

(Went to bed in a tolerable mood:N/A)

-Showered: ✔️(highscore: 16) (15)

-Took a walk: ❌️

-Planning to go to bed soon: ✔️

-Eat breakfast: ✔️

-Eat lunch: ✔️

-Eat dinner: ✔️

Today's To-Do's:

-Do my work: ✔️

-Cuddle with Mom: ❌️

-Drink water: ✔️

-Try my best at band concert: ✔️

Overall:

12/14

+ XP: Check-in with Dad and Pop: ✔️

+ 2× XP: Spend less time on the computer(phone): ❌️

+ XP: Do a whole month of check-ups

14/14

Notes:

Had a band concert today!! I still... have to... work... on... my slides... but it's okay..! I got to work on my historical fiction lesbian story instead! (totally not procrastinating)

I was kinda hoping to talk with Dad and Pop more today, but I wasn't going to push it(they were probably super tired by the time I was ready to jump into a call).

I took a shower last minute, and, because i was feeling gender dysphoric, i cut my hair(and now my binder is itchy...)

Goals:

-Do your best on the (final) math quiz

-Take a nap

-Drink water

-Cuddle with Mom

-Keep in mind that you're trying, even if Mom, Dad, or even yourself don't realize it yet and urge you to speed up the process

-Extra points: Check-in with Dad and Pop

-Double extra points: Spend less time on the computer(phone)

-Extra 0.5 points: researchers more about Buddhism

[plumadot]

OKAY YEAH YOU'RE RIGHT YOU'RE VIDEOGAME BOY YOU WIN YOU WIN JUST DON'T BE SAD :(((((

yay i did it i won :3c