#ope this is done took me longer than i expected

[traffytaffy]

OP Men and “confessing”

Ft. Law, Kid, Zoro

Hey! I was not expecting how the last post was going to go. So thank you so much! As promised, i made a follow up. Im sorry it took so long as well….i hit a writers block😙

So consider this part 2 to this post!⤵️

OP Men and being “told” they are in love with you

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Law;

This was an accident. An accident in which he wanted to throw Shachi, Penguin, Ikakku, and Bepo overboard.

You were ordered to organize medical supplies in the closet that was connected to the room he was in. You kept the lights off cause the light of the room Law was in lit up the closet so you could see just fine.

The group barges in.

“Captain, we dont know where your little crush is at. Have you seen them?” Penguin teases while asking curiously.

Law’s face goes cold. His eyes widen and his mouth opens and he does a “knock it off” motion with his hands.

“What? Your hands fell asleep?”

Law sighed.

“They’re right there.” He pointed at the closet door where you slowly walked out, a blush spreading to your ears at what Penguin had said.

Bepo, who was behind the rest slowly backed away. Law scowls at them. They knew where this was going. They have no chance to defend themselves before his fingers go up.

“Shambles”

~

You are left alone with Law. His eyes couldnt dare to meet yours.

“Dont listen to what they sa-“

“Is it true?” You interrupted him with slight hesitation.

His eyes finally met yours. He didnt have to say anything for you to understand what those yellow orbs were saying to you. And most of all, he knew he couldn’t lie to you at this point.

“Yes…” he says softly.

“Like….wise?”

He gasps softly and immediately looks up. His feet move on their own as he was no longer in his chair, but instead right in front of you.

“You mean that?”

You nod. More sure than anything.

Law leans close to you… he didnt know if what he was thinking was the right choice. Every little thing he did was thought for. It all had a plan, no matter how small it was. But there were rare occasions of impulsiveness…this was that occasion…He decided to take that risk.

His hand cups your cheek, your lips were caressed by back and forth swipes of his thumb.

“May I?” He asks, you can hear the boost of confidence in his voice behind the loud beats of your heart.

You don’t hesitate for once and nod. When your lips go crashing into one another, you can feel a few pair of eyes watching at the edge of the doorframe. They had somehow ran all the way from where they were sent so they didn’t miss the show. Law doesn’t pull away from this moment. A moment he waited ages for. But he does lift his hand up.

“Uh oh”

“Shambles”

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Kid;

“Huh?” You raise your eyebrows at his declaration towards Killer. “What did Killer do?”

You had a soft look in your eyes. You were worried that you had done something or that you were unwanted in his workshop right now. “I can leave..”

“No,no. Stay.” Kid said with his usual rough voice but it had a hint of softness in it.

“What did you need me here for?”

“For nothing.” He said bluntly.

His lack of answers and short responses was making you feel stupid. Did he want you here or not? Frankly, you were starting to get a bit annoyed.

“Are you trying to mess with me or something?”

“What? Why would i do that?” He says as he turns back and does sketches for an upcoming design for some new machinery.

“I don’t know. You’re busy right now and killer sends me in here just for you to say you don’t need me! Did you want company?”

“No.”

You scoff. Kid notices his behavior and decides to tone it down.

“I-i mean yes. Company… sure”

You roll your eyes.

“Im leaving.”

But before you can walk off, a calloused and warm hand catches your wrist. A calloused and warm hand lifts your chin to meet his gaze. A calloused and warm hand cups your cheek. A calloused and warm hand goes behind your head and pulls you closer.

He studies your face. Making sure you were aware of what he was going to do. Making sure you were comfortable enough for him to proceed. When you give a slight nod, his red lips crash into yours… it was soft… testing-out-the-waters kind of soft until he decided to really get into it.

It isnt when he pulls away and you look up at him in shock that he gives you a smug smile.

“You can go now.”

You smile and begin to walk away, but before you do, you look at your face in a nearby reflection. Your lips had his lipstick stains and you look back at him.

“Damn. You need some kiss-proof lipstick”

You wipe the red smears off your lip.

“And you need to go to hell.”

But he did what you suggested. He bought kiss-proof lipstick…for you.

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Zoro;

The crew was all gathered at the table for breakfast. A usual routine in the morning. But….everyone was at the table except you and Zoro.

Nami thought she hit jackpot with your late appearances. She leaned over towards Sanji and whispered in his ear. Sanji listened intently and did multiple “uh huh”’s in agreement before his eyes widened.

“HE’S WHAT!? ZORO’S IN LOVE WITH-“ He shouted out in which Nami quickly covered his mouth just in time.

“Shut up idiot! Thats why we’re asking for your help!”

“I’ll do it. Just to see y/n reject him” he smirked devilishly.

Nami face palmed and Robin giggled.

Soon enough, the plan was whispered to the entire table, and as soon as she sat back down, you walked in with Zoro right behind.

You sit down, Zoro right next to you as Sanji served breakfast. But just like Nami’s plan… and a touch of his self. He swooned over you. Every compliment in the book was thrown at you. You couldn’t help but blush and thank him.

Zoro on the other hand? He was fed up.

He could only take so much. But once he saw that Sanji was getting to you? He slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and faced Sanji, face to face.

“You trying to do something cook?”

“Like what? Serve my fellow crewmate?”

“You know damn well-“

“Why are you so mad anyways? You in love or something?” Sanji snapped back with a mocking tone at the end.

“Oh im going to end you!” Zoro unsheathes one of his swords.

“Try me!”

Zoro and Sanji both position themselves to fight each other. You stand up and get in between them.

“Enough! Sanji! Zoro! What has gotten into you?”

Zoro walks out the room with a huff. Everyone is left silent. You look around,a bit embarrassed before dashing out the door to catch up with Zoro. The cool breeze of the wind hits you as your eyes dart around the ship. He wasn’t in the crows nest. Not at the railings. Where was he?

But suddenly you can hear the sounds of knives sharpening. You turn the corner and see the green-haired man you had come to admire and love. You see him sitting in a corner, sharpening his blades. He can feel your presence and he immediately turns away.

You walk up to him and sit down.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“Don’t play dumb”

He sighs, knowing he couldn’t run away from this. He literally couldn’t run away, considering they were in the middle of the ocean and he was too tired to throw himself overboard at this point.

“Why were you so defensive of me over Sanji?”

“Don’t play dumb” he repeats the words you had told him just a minute ago.

He places a hand on his heart and then with that same hand reaches to your chest and touches your heart. He gives you a look that says “do i have to say it out loud?”

Your eyes widen in realization. Was he saying that… he was in love with you? There was no doubt about it.

“Oh i see.”

Your short response made him scoff.

“Just forget it”

You notice that your reaction was getting to him. You had to fix this. You had to let him know that this wasn’t something to easily dismiss. Your hands instinctively reached out to his heart. His shoulder became a resting spot for your head. And his ear was all you needed to voice through to him.

“Im not.”

He softly gasps as he looks down at you. His face revealing a blush of a tomato.

“Shut up”

And all you do is giggle. Cause you..only you knew there was alot more care and heart in those words.

[presidenthades]

Day 1 of HOTD adventures at New York Comic Con 🎉

First thing I did today was run to my photo op with Matt Smith.

He. Is. DELIGHTFUL.

At these conventions, photo ops go super fast because they have huge lines of people to go through. The whole 10-second process is basically step up to the celebrity, smile, and immediately leave so the next person can go.

Matt is hugely popular so it was definitely important that they hurry through his line, but he was still friendly with everybody in the 5 seconds they were standing beside him. Really great energy. My interaction went something like:

Matt: “Hello, glad you’re here!”

Photographer: snaps photo

Matt: “I love Caraxes! 😃”

Me: “Thank you! 😃”

Handlers: usher me away so the next person can go

You can tell that Matt has done a lot of these fan events, and he’s very good at it.

Since my Matt photo op went faster than expected, I was able to go to an earlier TGC autograph session than I was originally planning. (This proved to be a very good decision later.)

Autograph sessions tend to take a little longer than photo ops, because the celebrity generally will exchange a few words with fans while signing. It’s still considered good etiquette not to hog too much time, or else people behind you have to wait even longer. TGC’s line was not super long when I arrived, so lucky me!

TGC also offered selfies at his booth, which was a pleasant surprise. (Not everyone offers it.) He seemed a bit tired (important note for later), but no judgment: conventions are really hard work. The celebrities are taking photos and signing autographs for hundreds of people over multiple hours.

He was VERY polite and nice. When I took out my bookbind for him to sign, he spent a good minute looking at it and complimenting the cover etc. And when he finished signing, he very neatly arranged the ribbon bookmark to mark the page where he signed.

(He was definitely wowed by Debustee’s art too.)

Fabien was in the booth beside Tom’s. Fabien was announced as attending the convention much later than Tom and Matt, so I hadn’t made plans to get photos or autographs with him. Maybe tomorrow if scheduling works out. 👀

Then I went to my pre-reserved photo op with TGC immediately afterwards (different from the selfie). There were dozens of people in line in front of me, and the photo ops go super fast, so we didn’t have a particularly long interaction. But I managed to get Sunfyre in there.

After a lunch break, I went to get in Matt Smith’s autograph line. He was scheduled from 2:20-7:00 with a few short breaks every so often. When I got in line at 2:00, the line was already HUGE.

I waited in line 3 hours 45 minutes to get my autograph. 🙃😤😮‍💨

HOTD was the main reason I was interested in attending the convention in the first place, so I was prepared to wait in lines to do everything I wanted. But in case anyone was wondering: Matt Smith is indeed very very popular in the year Two Thousand and Twenty Four.

While I was in line for Matt, I heard from other people in line that TGC went home about three hours early. So anyone who hadn’t already gotten their autograph that day needed to get a refund (or maybe a transfer to the next day, I’m not sure). He is still scheduled for autographs tomorrow, but it made me extra glad that I was able to get my autograph early.

I had previously been told to always do photos and autographs ASAP because sometimes the celebrity gets ill or has to leave early, etc. Just a tip for anyone who wants to go to a con and do celebrity interactions in the future!

Back to Matt’s line: I was almost to the front when an event handler announced that Matt was no longer doing quotes. With autographs, there’s of course the actual signature, but sometimes you can add-on things like a quote for the celebrity to write. When I was planning my convention trip months ago, I pre-reserved the quote add-on for Matt. At some point in the last few weeks, they removed the quote option because they realized he would be on a time crunch if he wrote too many quotes. But I’d already paid for and reserved my quote, which the event was supposed to honor even if they changed the process later.

Another woman in line who’d paid for a quote was also upset, and I imagine other people were too. But the event handler came back out and clarified that those of us who already paid for quotes would still get them; they just wouldn’t allow anyone else to get a quote.

Here is the autograph and quote I waited almost four hours for. 🥰

I made an updated version of the Handbook’s dust jacket specifically for the convention. The original dust jacket had my author and fic info on the back flap, but I thought it’d be fun to do one where Daemon gets the author bio.

“War was easier than daughters” is actually a Ned Stark quote, which I borrowed for the Handbook Chapter 11’s title. When you get a quote during an autograph signing, you first write down the quote on a slip of paper. Then you give the paper to the celebrity’s manager and tell them where exactly the celebrity should sign. Matt’s manager was a little confused by the quote but rolled with it.

When Matt read the quote, he said, “Huh, I don’t remember saying that. 🤔😄” But he was very amused and good-natured, and he had no problem writing it down. I was holding little Caraxes again, and Matt was happy to see Caraxes again (although I think Matt may have forgotten he’d already seen Caraxes 7 hours earlier—tons of other fans he was interacting with in the meantime).

I managed to accomplish all my Matt Smith and TGC interactions today, which were my top priorities for this convention. I consider today a success, even though I spent a lot of it waiting in line. Tomorrow morning there will be a HOTD panel, which I have a reservation for, so I’m excited to see Matt, Tom, and Fabien onstage. I don’t think we’re supposed to stream or record the event, but I will try to take notes.

Bonus: a baby dragon and egg that I got at the con! 🐉🐣

[writeforfandoms]

Run Wild 5

Find the series masterlist

Your pack insists on making your life both easier and harder, and you're not entirely sure how to feel about things. The situation doesn't improve when you and Horangi go on an op together.

Warnings: Swearing, allusions to animal cruelty, Mink is having a hard time with her emotions, pack dynamics, shifter dynamics, flirting.

Word count: 2.8k

The next few days passed in a blur. You couldn't have recited what you did if someone held you at gunpoint. 

But you didn't spend a lot of time with your pack. The two men. 

You weren't avoiding them, really. Not intentionally. Not really. 

You just…

Your cheeks puffed out as you dropped to the dirt, going through a training exercise with a squad. No König today. No Horangi today. 

Just training exercises.

You just needed to clear your head, that was all. 

Breathing slowly, you focused on your task. Just a little longer and you'd be done for the day. 

At least, that was the plan. 

Until Horangi met you at the end of your exercise, arms crossed loosely over his chest, sunglasses as impenetrable as ever. You blinked at him. 

“Come with me.” He uncrossed his arms, fingers twitching briefly. You nodded, falling in behind him, absently brushing yourself off. 

He led you inside to the offices, though he didn't slow down even as your nose twitched in curiosity. You hadn't been in here often, and you wanted to explore. But Horangi didn't give you any time, just turning down a hallway, expecting you to follow him. 

Which you did. Of course. 

He stepped into a conference room and shut the door after you. König was already there waiting, leaned back against a wall, gaze fixed on the two of you. 

“How are your recon skills?” Horangi turned to you as he asked, removing his sunglasses. The better to watch you, eyes dark and just a little narrowed. 

“Good,” you said slowly, gaze darting between your two packmates. “Better if I can shift.” 

Horangi nodded once, holding your gaze for a long moment before you blinked and looked away. “Good. We'll be going out on recon.” 

“When?” You stood up a little straighter. 

“Tomorrow. Briefing is officially in half an hour.” Horangi took one step closer to you, fingers closing around your wrist gently. “We will be the only two going in.”

“Two?” Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

“I am not as skilled at recon,” König rumbled, faintly embarrassed. “I am too loud.” 

Horangi chuffed, amused and fond. “Two,” he confirmed, still watching you closely. “Will that be a problem?”

“No, sir.” You refocused on your alpha, head tipping slowly to one side. “I can do it.” 

His eyes crinkled the smallest amount, like he was smiling under the mask. “You don't even know what it is yet,” he teased. 

You shrugged. “I can still do it,” you asserted with a brief flash of teeth. “I can do quiet.” 

“Hm.” Horangi nodded again and released your wrist. “Get cleaned up, meet back here in twenty-five.”

You nodded, though for a moment you stood still, just looking at him. His eyes would be covered again for the briefing, you knew. So you soaked in the trust he showed for a moment longer before you stepped around him and left.

You had to clean up, after all. 

But you made it back with two minutes to spare, sinking down into the seat next to Horangi. König was gone, though you didn't have a chance to do more than shoot Horangi a questioning look. 

The briefing was, well, brief. Shorter than you'd expected, actually. You were being sent in to find some information, very quiet. Just you and Horangi, as he'd warned you before. 

You didn't mind. You were good at recon. 

The building was isolated, meaning a trip in a helo, then a drive. The two of you had a few hours before you'd leave, which gave you time to grab a few necessities. 

The knock at your door startled you, and you paused with your hoodie in your hands. But you opened the door after a moment, curiosity winning. 

König stood in the doorway, filling the entire thing, looking even broader than normal. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, seeming uncertain. 

“König?” You blinked up at him. “Can I help you with something?” 

He shook his head, hood shifting with the movement. “Here.” He thrust one hand at you, gloved fingers curled around a piece of fabric. 

You took the fabric carefully, surprised at how soft it was. An old bandana, blue and black. Curious, you lifted your gaze to König again. 

He shrugged, now-empty hand reaching back to rub the back of his neck. “Just in case,” he mumbled, gaze dropping. 

“Thank you.” You pulled it closer, rubbing your thumb against it. “I'll bring it back.”

He shook his head again. “It's yours,” he said, speaking faster now. “A gift.” 

Your lips parted, because that? Was very different from something borrowed. 

“You will be late,” König fussed, taking a step back from the doorway. “Don't keep Horangi waiting.” 

Before you could gather your thoughts to say anything, he was gone, long strides carrying him down the corridor and away from you. 

You blew out a breath, letting your cheeks puff out. Well then. 

He'd given you a gift. Something personal, given how soft the bandana was. And judging by the fact his scent had permeated the fabric entirely, as proven when you lifted it to your nose. 

This was… unexpected. 

But he was right, you didn't want to make Horangi wait. You hurried through getting ready, throwing your hoodie on last. Since this was a recon op, you were dressed down, no longer in uniform. Which suited you just fine. 

Horangi was waiting for you at the helo, dark eyes giving you a swift once-over before he nodded his approval. He motioned you in first, settling next to you for the ride. 

It felt odd to see him without his sunglasses - he wore them constantly, even sometimes in the pack room. 

You only realized you'd been looking too long when one dark eyebrow arched at you. 

“Something on your mind?” The words were almost teasing. 

“Eh. Sort of.” You shrugged, forcing yourself to look away. “Just not used to seeing, y'know, that much of your face.” 

He snorted softly, one hand landing on your knee. “If you spent more time in the pack room you'd see more,” he murmured, definitely amused now. 

You huffed, playing at being indignant. “Yeah, sure.”

He eyed you but didn't push. For once. Instead he kept his hand on your knee for the rest of the flight. 

The drive was a couple hours, and he wordlessly got in the driver's seat, leaving the passenger side for you. You briefly debated laying down for a nap in the back… but gave up on that immediately. You'd rather spend the time with Horangi.

“König gave me a gift,” you blurted, without really meaning to. 

Horangi nodded. “I know.” 

“He told you?” 

“He didn't need to.” 

You eyed him but he didn't look at you, hands steady on the wheel. “Did you talk about it before?”

Horangi hummed softly, gaze flitting to you. “Briefly, yes.” 

You weren't quite sure how to feel about that, and so simply huffed softly. 

“If you came into the pack room more often…” He trailed off.

“You've mentioned.” You blew out a breath. “I guess I'll have to.” 

You almost missed the flicker of his lips into the barest smile. Almost. 

But that humor was nowhere to be found when the two of you reached your destination. Horangi parked the car, and you took a moment to stretch. Dawn was still a few hours off yet, giving the two of you plenty of time to get this op done. As long as things didn't go totally sideways. 

The last section of the journey was on foot, Horangi taking the lead. When he glanced back at you, you could just see the reflection in his eyes, undeniably green. Your lips twitched. What a cat, indeed. 

The smell hit you first, and your nose wrinkled against your will. Filth and waste left to sit too long, the faint tang of rusted metal overlaying it. The animal musk seemed out of place, but then again, this far out from a city any number of critters could be living around the building. The building was long and squat, single story, no lights on. 

“Here.” Horangi stopped at a window that had been left open a crack. “This will be the bathroom.” 

You nodded, recalling the map the two of you had gone over hours earlier. “Ten minutes,” you agreed. 

No more words passed between you as he boosted you up, and you pushed the window the rest of the way open to twist through. It was easier without gear in the way, but also left your shoulders and back tingling with the knowledge that you had nothing but fabric between you and any potential attack. 

But you were good at being quiet and sneaky, as proven when you made your way through the building. Nothing moved around you as you crept down the hallway, checking your doors and corners as you went. 

The smell got worse the further into the building you went. You opened the door at the end of the hallway and paused for a long moment, swallowing hard. 

The big empty room you'd seen in the plans was not empty. Instead it held a dozen or so metal cages, each one housing a small furry critter. A few of them moved as you did, eyes opening and feet shifting. 

Intel had been wrong about this room, and you wished you'd never seen it. But you had to push through to finish your task. 

You swallowed hard and crept around the outside of the room, focusing only on being quiet and avoiding any cameras. You couldn't worry about the animals, not right now. 

The office, at least, was exactly where it was supposed to be. It took moments to find and grab the documents you needed, lips curling. Well. At least Horangi would be pleased with you. 

Doing one more check of the room to be sure you had everything, you turned to go. 

Soft chittering made you stop. 

You couldn't understand the animals in the cages, no more than any human versed in body language could. But you could feel more empathy towards them. 

They didn't deserve this. But you needed to get out without leaving any sign of your passage. 

As much as you wanted to, you couldn't loose the animals in the cages. 

Jaw clenching, you forced your feet to move. Maybe you'd see if Horangi would let you come back and take care of the animals later. That was the best you could do, right now. 

The trip back through the dark building was silent, and you hoisted yourself up to the window, hanging half-out to hand the documents to Horangi. He looked amused when you slithered the rest of the way out. 

“Well done,” he murmured with an approving nod to you. Warmth filled your chest at the simple praise, and you basked in it for a moment. 

“Seemed pretty easy,” you murmured cautiously as the two of you snuck away again. “I mean, for us.” 

Horangi chuckled, dark eyes glancing at you. “Sometimes things are easy,” he murmured. “We're not paying for it.” 

You shrugged. Something still seemed wrong, but if he wasn't concerned, you weren't going to make a fuss about it. 

“You could sleep,” Horangi offered, even as he turned on the car to drive the two of you away. 

“Nah. I'll wait.” You stretched out a little in the seat, head leaning back against the headrest. The sky was just beginning to lighten with the first hints of sunrise, promising more. “Where are we stopping?”

“Safehouse,” Horangi answered, even though you were pretty sure you were supposed to remember that from the briefing. “In case we need to go back.” 

You hummed acknowledgement of that, glancing at him. Time alone with your pack alpha. You weren't entirely sure how to feel about that. 

“Promise I won't bite.” He flashed you a grin with teeth. 

You laughed, quiet but amused. “Ah yes, very reassuring.” 

He smirked, fingers flexing on the wheel. “Nervous?”

“Not particularly.” You grinned. “You had your chance to murder me in the middle of nowhere.”

He chuffed at you, briefly letting go of the wheel to pat your knee. “Won't be my only chance.” 

You laughed as his touch retreated again, leaving you warm and more relaxed than you should be. But you were learning to trust him, to give him bits of yourself. 

It was a heady feeling. 

The safehouse was boring, as most safehouses in your experience were. But it was warmer than outside and had blackout curtains, which would come in handy since the sun was up. 

You left Horangi in the main room to scout the rest of the place. Not that there was much to see - a single bedroom, a bathroom that König would have been absolutely squished in, and a hall closet with spare supplies. Nothing glamorous. But it would do. 

“Get some rest,” Horangi told you, sprawled along the length of the couch like a, well, cat. “I'll be up for a while.” 

You eyed him for a moment, debating how much you could push. “You'll rest soon?”

“Yes.” Far from appearing offended, Horangi smiled, just a little. 

You blinked at him, startled, warmth building in your chest at the sight of that smile. And promptly fled back to the bedroom. 

You absolutely should not like the sight of his smile that much. It wasn't that big a deal. It really wasn't. 

You were still trying to convince yourself of that when you dropped off to sleep. 

You woke before Horangi, sneaking past him to get some water. He'd managed to fall asleep on the couch, legs dangling over one arm, head tipped at an angle and torso twisted into some weird position that only a cat could enjoy. Shaking your head, you twisted the top off a water bottle, guzzling half of it in one go. 

Hopefully the two of you would get to head back to base today. Not that you minded being in a safehouse with him, but… it felt weird. Just the two of you, and no König. 

It was odd to leave a pack member out. 

Which was weird for you - it had been a long time since you'd been part of a pack, and longer since leaving someone out was even an option. All these realizations made you antsy, eager to do something, just so you weren't trapped in your own head. 

“You think too loudly.” 

You absolutely didn't jump at Horangi's voice behind you. You definitely didn't drop your water. “When did you wake up?” You asked him, eyeing him over the back of the couch. He hadn't moved at all. 

“I've been awake.”

“Liar.”

His lips twitched into another smile, small but very much there. You had to look away as heat suffused your face. 

“Any updates this morning?” You cleared your throat, picking up your water bottle and tossing it from hand to hand. 

“Not yet.” Horangi swung his legs around the side, sitting up and cracking his neck. “We'll hang tight a little longer.” 

You shrugged, wandering around the room aimlessly, too restless to settle. 

“Sit.” Horangi patted the couch next to him. “You can answer a few questions for me.” 

Well. That wasn't ominous at all. But you sat anyway. 

“What do you need in the pack room?”

You blinked at him, mouth dropping open a little. That… was not what you'd expected. “What?”

“You heard me.” His lips twitched again, eyes warm with amusement. 

Surprised, you leaned back against the couch, watching him. But he didn't change the question, didn't restate it. Just waited. 

“Not sure,” you settled on, a little cautious. “I don't need much.” 

Horangi made a short, dismissive noise at that. “Everyone needs something,” he insisted, head tipping to one side, gaze fixed on you. 

You blew out a noisy breath. You'd never given it any thought, if you needed anything in the pack room. “I don't… really know,” you admitted slowly. 

Horangi nodded slowly, never looking away from you. “Then we will figure it out.” 

You swallowed hard, the implication that he wasn't going anywhere, that he and König would help, bringing both a rush of joy and trepidation. You honestly weren't sure how to feel, now. 

Fortunately, you didn't have to figure it out. The phone rang. 

You moved away as Horangi made a face, reaching over the couch to grab his pack and the phone. You went back to the window to look outside, only half paying attention to the phone conversation. 

You needed to get your head on straight. Or move. 

“Time to go.” Horangi stood, shouldering his bag. 

You followed him silently back to the car, looking out the window without really seeing anything.

[thatguythatdrawsalot]

Weiss - Atlas Design Critique.

Wow, I’m back to do two things useful with my RWBY Archives, talk about Weiss’ canon look in Atlas, and redesign her. I’m gonna talk about her actual look first, as the character notes on her dedicated page made me… hate the look much more. It was already in my top ten least favorite designs in RWBY but NOW it’s in the top five. RWBY Archives

I’ve been wanting to know why they thought it was a great idea for Weiss to wear a restricting-looking dress in the North Pole. Why does she choose to look like a wealthy princess when she is no longer tied to money or her family? The book gave me an answer I was not expecting… they just wanted to make her look like a wizard. I HATE IT. It’s bad enough that Weiss just summons, but this has to be some animation trick. They didn’t want to animate Weiss fighting like a ballerina anymore, so it was best she stuck to just summoning and only uses Myrenaster as a glorified wand. You might as well dress Weiss in whatever way you want cause all she does is stand and point… and whenever she does try to fight it looks janky as hell.

No way did they think Weiss could fight in a dress, Maria and Cinder could, but no way can I see Weiss fight like THIS anymore. 

Hair

Now I don’t wanna disrespect the modeler cause I’ve seen their Artstation account. They modeled the Gods’ dragon forms, Winter, and Jaune! Models that look good! But the hair… they struggled and the backlash was hard cause they tweaked her hair again for Volume 8. I’m surprised they chose to change it when the people in charge should’ve changed it before Volume 7 even aired. It just tells me their standards are low and don’t give a crap about the product unless they need the fans to say something. The huge mass on top of her hair was so jarring I was convinced Weiss just took Blake’s chopped hair, dyed it, and applied it to hers. 

Primary Color - White?

Blake is wearing more white than her, The Ace Ops are wearing more white than her, and Jacques is wearing more white than her- Weiss’ colors are perfect if she was representing the color blue and her name was something like Azure. The tiny reds don’t make an impact, wouldn’t surprise me if people didn’t know there was red inside of the dress. The super blue for her puffy jacket can’t be found anywhere else to balance that color, and her whites are then covered by grays. It’s like too many colors, what else can I say other than SHOWING what they could’ve done in the choice of color placements.

Positives?

This is gonna sound like an odd positive but I think she looks downright gorgeous in Ever After. The whacky princess look standing next to the Red Prince was amazing. It made me wish Weiss was the ‘Red Queen’ for The Ever After, similar to how Neo was ‘The Mad Hatter’ and Jaune being ‘The White Rabbit.’ It really could’ve tied in well. 

Redesign

I miss redesigning a character; I kept in mind that White is primary, the tiara is no longer a staple to her design since she is no longer tied to wealth or even the heiress, and that her Volume 6 leggings and scarf stay intact. Why make accessories to protect her from the cold, but when she gets to a colder place she ditches them for a boob-window and bare legs that can make anyone freeze to death up in the north??? Side note; It’s not perfect, I’m not saying mine is better than the originals or anyone else’s this is just how I would’ve designed her or at least kept in mind to make a priority for the design. I also wanna say, yes, this outfit does look similar to another redesign of Weiss that someone else has made. I drew the design first before I went to Google to check if the look did look similar to someone else’s and I was like “Oops.” It wasn’t the intention, just coincidence. I didn’t steal.

Conclusion

It looks like the Atlas designs had a very huge backlash by just how BAD they were, as it now affects the girl's presumed Volume 10 looks in Vacuo, they have Weiss in white, ditched the chunky braid, and kept her in a presumed combat skirt than a restricting dress.  Either A.) The original character designer for team RWBY finally took constructive criticism to get the girls back to themselves B.) They no longer design the girls and Viz Media put in a new artist for the team or C.) Vacuo designs were much easier to make than Atlas.

These options can be wrong too these are just my little theories, end of the day we got a design for Weiss that just shouldn’t have made it into the show. A design that didn’t represent white, displays wealth when trying to distance herself from her family/company, a huge animation restriction, and overall one of the worst outfits I’ve seen put on Weiss Schnee.

But of course it’s just my opinion. If you love this design or hate the design, please share your opinion. I’d love to hear it! :D

[sugarpsalms]

ao3 wrapped (writer's edition)

wheeee thanks for the tag @dytabytes , this was super interesting! Putting this under a cut since it's kind of long, though I'll go ahead and tag uhhhhhh @flamboyant-vampire, @allmightskitten, and whoever else sees this and feels like doing it!

How many words have you written this year?

39,593! More fanfic than I thought I'd written, for sure.

2. How many works did you publish this year?

12! Wow! Again, more than I realized. Getting into OP really got me excited about fanfic again

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I think that has to be Kind Friend & Companion. Specifically, chap 2: On The Decryption and Translation of Cipher 3478b. I'm a huge fan of world building, and had a wonderful time playing around with cryptography, codebreaking, and general Marine bureaucracy in this. Also, it was exciting to think of how Doffy would construct a conlang. While I knew this wouldn't be a huge hit with the No Loyalty general audience, I had a blast and that's what matters most :)

4. What work of yours has the most hits?

Quarter, oh Quarter! gets this prize. It's a shuggy roleplaying fic ft. new kink exploration, so not a surprising front runner

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

Unity's Seed, for sure. I wasn't expecting my barely-dodging-the-incest-allegations DQ Bro's AU series opener to be even half as well received 😅

6.Favorite title you used?

The Thief Who Came to Dinner, which is my (not abandoned, but certainly back burner relegated) post-Enies Lobby Paulie/Lucci fic. I'll be returning to it at some point, as I love the premise and really want to finish it, but y'all know how inspo is, haha. It comes and goes

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most?

I do pull titles from songs, but I can't name a specific artist because I generally reference sea shanties/ other types of work songs or often-covered folk tunes

8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year?

Hm. Tricky question. Technically none, as almost all of my fics from this year are Gen. However, if we're counting heavy-handed incest subtext, then the answer is dofcora, hands down

9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

To avoid giving the same answer two questions in a row, let me go with another fic that's currently on the back burner but NOT abandoned. Won't You Come Out Tonight? is a particular brand of joy for me, and I think about it all the time even when I'm not picking at it, so I guess that means my favorite pairing of the year is bartoluffy (despite all evidence to the contrary)

10. What work was the quickest to write?

The first chap of Like a Vine Climbs to Sunlight! If I recall correctly, it was written in just a couple of days.

11. What work took you the longest to write?

The first chap (so, all of the fic that's up currently) of Feed the Living, Bury the Dead took…3? 4 months? Something like that. The next part is promising to take just as long, if not longer. Apologies to everyone who follows my WIPs, lmao

12. How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year?

Lord above, I'd say between 20 and 30. With any luck, I'll get half of them done 😅

13. What’s your longest work of the year?

Quarter, oh Quarter! tops the list again with a WC of 8,003.

14. What’s your shortest work of the year?

'Til All These Things Be Done, My Dear, which sits at a humble but respectable WC of 1,109.

15. What WIP(s) are you taking into next year with you?

No Loyalty (series)

In The Woods Somewhere (series)

For Whom the Skee Ball Rolls (series)

To Azazel, With Love

untitled coralaw caregiving

untitled coralaw period sex

untitled chopperlaw

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

AU - Canon Divergence

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

I think Rosi! I've written him a lot, and I've gotten very comfy with slipping into his POV.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Probably Law. I struggle to get into the right headspace for him, even though I love him dearly. Hoping that a few of my WIPs will strengthen those muscles for me

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Chopperlaw. A friend got me into it recently, and I'm working on something for them to test it out!

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?

I couldn't say for sure, but probably some part of the No Loyalty series. I've written a lot for that the last six months, and definitely revisited

21. How many kudos in total did you get this year?

1,093

22. Which work has the most comments?

Quarter, oh Quarter! comes through with an award again

23. Did you do any collaborative works this year?

Not technically, though a lot of WIPs have been inspired by friend's DMs and convos, which I count as collaboration.

24. Did you write any gifts this year?

Yes! Only one will make it to the posting stage before the year is out, but that just means 2025 will start off strong!!

25. Did you receive any gifts this year?

Not this year! Maybe next one :)

26. What’s your most common category?

Gen! No Loyalty tipped the scales in this category's favor.

27. What do you listen to while writing?

Instrumentals, if anything. Most of my playlists are for the pre-writing stage, like when I'm on the way to my writing spot or working on brainstorming. I love making playlists and finding listening to them very inspiring, but get distracted if I listen to them when actually writing.

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

Oh, hard to say! I love them all uniquely, but what was the most exciting for being a change of pace and setting was probably the titular fic of my drider!law series, In the Woods Somewhere.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Hm, probably this lovey little pining moment from Won't You Come Out Tonight?

The galley cleared out except for Zoro, who got roped into helping with dishes. Everyone else followed Luffy up to the deck. Most of them fell behind and strolled as they talked, but Barto tripped along right behind Luffy, catching his toes on his heels, feeling dreamy and a little unreal again. He slipped the hold Luffy had on his waist when they stood up from the table, but whatever had gotten into him, Luffy wasn’t over it yet. His hand was clamped around Barto’s wrist, fingers threaded all through his coat’s cuff feathers. They were sunk down to the knuckle, worked in deep, and moving. As Luffy petted them—petted him—Barto felt like he was bleeding. “Got a thing for birds, boss?” he tried to joke, but it came out shaky. “Huh?” “My coat. What, you wanna pluck it?” Luffy laughed low in his throat. “That wouldn’t be very nice.” He flexed his hand, grip going incredibly tight. “Hm, can I borrow it, though? Just while we’re on the deck. I wanna… hey, you’re staying, right? For cocoa?” He glanced back, showing Barto a grin. “Sanji makes it the best. See, he grinds the spices up, toasts ‘em, lets the milk steep. And you’d think it’d be cold, right, after an hour, but it’s actually…” And just like that, he was spinning out again, getting further and further away from the question that he hadn’t even given Barto a chance to answer. But Barto knew what he would’ve said, what he would say when Luffy got back around to it. He could borrow it, yeah, sure, please, for as long as he wanted.

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

Probably how much (lead up to, at this point) incest I wrote, haha. It's one of my favorite things to find in something I'm reading, but I've never actually written this much of it before.

[mya-valentine]

Breakthrough and Backlash

Synopsis: After seven grueling months of intense training, Itadori finally lands a hit on Juri, his formidable mentor. Though the punch barely fazes her, it marks a significant milestone for Itadori, who is rewarded with a rare break from training. But his triumph is short-lived. The next day, Juri escalates the intensity, pushing Itadori to his limits and beyond. Her harshness reveals the vast gap between their abilities, but Itadori’s determination only grows stronger. When he shares his achievement with Gojo, it’s clear that Juri’s respect for him is growing, even if she won’t admit it. As Gojo and Juri discuss the situation, it becomes evident that both Itadori and Juri are evolving in ways neither expected.

Seven months. Seven grueling, painful, unforgiving months of training, and Itadori had finally done it. He had finally landed a hit on Juri. It wasn’t much—just a single punch to her side, and she’d shrugged it off like it was nothing—but to him, it was everything.

He stood there, chest heaving, covered in sweat and bruises, but there was a fire in his eyes. For the first time, he had made her falter, even for a split second.

Juri wiped a bit of sweat from her brow, glancing at him with a raised eyebrow. “Huh. Took you long enough,” she said, her usual cold edge softened, just barely.

Itadori couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. Seven months of getting knocked down over and over again, and this tiny victory felt like the world to him.

“Don’t get cocky,” Juri warned, walking over to him. “But I guess you earned this.” She gave him a once-over, her smirk growing. “I’ll let you off the hook today.”

Itadori blinked in surprise, not expecting her to go easy on him, especially after finally landing a hit. “Wait, what?”

“You heard me,” Juri said, crossing her arms. “No training for the rest of the day. I’m not completely heartless.”

Itadori stared at her, still trying to process the fact that she was letting him off so easily. He’d expected some kind of punishment for catching her off guard, but instead, she was… rewarding him? That was new.

“You’re serious?” he asked, still panting from the exertion.

Juri rolled her eyes, turning on her heel. “Do I look like I’m joking?”

“No, no! It’s just…” He scratched the back of his head, still grinning. “Thanks! I mean, I won’t argue with that.”

Juri glanced back over her shoulder, eyeing him for a moment before speaking again. “You’ve worked hard,” she said, her voice quieter than usual. “But don’t get comfortable. This doesn’t mean you’re anywhere close to being on my level.”

Itadori nodded quickly, knowing better than to push his luck. “I know, I know. I’ll keep working hard.”

She gave him a curt nod before heading toward the exit. Itadori watched her go, still feeling the adrenaline pumping through him. He had finally earned a break, and the victory, no matter how small, tasted sweet.

Just as she reached the door, Juri paused, turning slightly toward him. “You did good today, brat.”

Itadori blinked in surprise. That was… almost a compliment. Coming from her, that was like winning the lottery.

Before he could respond, she was gone, the door closing behind her. He stood there for a few moments longer, replaying the entire session in his mind, still grinning like an idiot.

It wasn’t much, but it was progress. And in this line of work, progress meant survival.

With the rest of the day off, Itadori decided he’d make the most of it. After all, who knew when Juri would decide to push him even harder. But for now, he’d take this small victory for what it was—a well-earned reward after seven long months of training.

He had a feeling the next session wouldn’t be as kind.

— — —

The following day, Itadori showed up to the training grounds with a sense of cautious optimism. Yesterday had been a rare moment of triumph—he’d landed a hit on Juri, and she had actually given him the rest of the day off. A small, hard-earned victory.

But as he approached the open space where they usually trained, something felt different. Juri was already there, stretching and preparing, but there was a sharper intensity in the air. She hadn’t even looked at him yet, but the cold focus on her face made his stomach twist.

“Morning!” he greeted, trying to keep his usual upbeat energy, but it faltered when she didn’t respond. She didn’t even acknowledge him, just continued stretching, her movements fluid and precise.

Itadori swallowed, a sense of dread settling in. Maybe this wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

“So, uh… what’s on the agenda today?” he asked hesitantly, stepping closer but keeping his distance. “More sparring, or—”

Juri finally looked at him, her left eye glinting with a dangerous edge. The corner of her mouth twisted into a smirk that sent a shiver down his spine.

“Oh, we’re sparring,” she said, her voice low and sharp. “But we’re kicking it up a notch.”

Itadori’s heart sank. He had a bad feeling about this.

“Yesterday was cute,” Juri continued, cracking her knuckles. “You landing a hit on me? Impressive. But don’t think for a second that means you’ve made it. If anything, it just means you’re ready for the real work.”

Itadori’s eyes widened. Real work? What the hell had he been doing these past seven months if this wasn’t the real work?

Before he could respond, Juri vanished—her speed was blinding. In an instant, she was behind him, her knee slamming into his back with enough force to send him flying forward. He barely managed to twist in mid-air, landing on his feet, but she was already on him again, her fist aimed at his face.

Itadori ducked, narrowly avoiding the blow, but she didn’t let up. Her kicks came fast and sharp, each one crackling with cursed energy as she moved with terrifying precision. It was like she was everywhere at once, her cursed technique amplifying her speed to insane levels.

“Come on, brat!” Juri growled, her voice laced with a sadistic edge. “You wanted to hit me? Now’s your chance!”

Itadori dodged another punch, sweat pouring down his face as he desperately tried to keep up with her. This wasn’t like the training before—this was something else entirely. She was faster, stronger, more relentless. Every movement felt like it was designed to break him, to push him past the point of no return.

“Shit, shit, shit!” Itadori cursed under his breath, barely blocking a kick that nearly knocked the wind out of him. His arms felt like they were on fire from the impact, and Juri wasn’t even close to being done.

“Don’t tell me you’re already regretting yesterday,” Juri taunted, her voice almost mocking. “You wanted to hit me, didn’t you? Well, now you’ve earned my full attention.”

Itadori gritted his teeth, his muscles screaming in protest as he tried to fight back. He threw a punch, but she sidestepped it with ease, countering with a swift elbow to his ribs that sent him stumbling backward.

“You’re too slow,” she snapped, her voice cold and unforgiving. “If you’re going to fight someone like me, you have to be faster. Stronger. Smarter.”

Itadori panted, trying to catch his breath, but there was no time. Juri was on him again, her foot slamming into his chest and sending him crashing to the ground.

“Get up!” she barked, standing over him with a cruel glint in her eye. “I’m not done with you yet.”

Itadori groaned, pushing himself up on shaky arms. He regretted everything. Every single decision that had led him to this moment. But there was no way he was going to quit now. Not after all the work he’d put in. Not after the small victory he’d finally achieved.

But as he looked up at Juri, her stance radiating raw power and intensity, he realized just how much further he had to go. He wasn’t anywhere near her level. Not even close.

“Don’t think you’re special just because you landed one hit,” Juri said, her voice low and dangerous. “I’m still leagues ahead of you. And if you can’t handle this, then maybe you’re not cut out for the kind of fights that are coming.”

Itadori clenched his fists, determination burning in his chest despite the pain coursing through his body. He wasn’t going to back down. He wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing him break.

“Come on,” he muttered to himself, pushing himself up to his feet. “I can do this.”

Juri raised an eyebrow, her lips curving into a predatory smile. “That’s more like it.”

Without another word, she lunged at him again, faster than before. Itadori barely managed to block her strike, but this time, he wasn’t going to just defend. He struck back, throwing everything he had into his punches, his kicks, his cursed energy flaring as he tried to keep up with her.

But no matter how hard he fought, Juri was always one step ahead. Her speed, her strength, her technique—it was all overwhelming.

And yet, despite the beating he was taking, Itadori refused to stop. He wasn’t going to regret hitting her. If anything, he was going to earn the right to hit her again.

Even if it killed him.

— — —

Itadori practically burst into Gojo’s office, his face beaming with pride. “Gojo-sensei!” he called out, his voice brimming with excitement.

Gojo looked up from whatever paperwork he was pretending to work on, one eyebrow raised as he leaned back in his chair. “Well, well. If it isn’t my star pupil. What’s got you so worked up this time?”

“I finally did it!” Itadori declared, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. “I landed a hit on Juri during training! Like, a real hit!”

Gojo’s usual lazy smirk spread across his face, though there was a glint of genuine surprise behind his sunglasses. “Oh? You managed to hit her?” He whistled, clearly impressed. “I’m shocked you’re still standing here to talk about it. That’s no small feat.”

Itadori laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Yeah, well, I thought she’d kill me after. But she actually gave me the rest of the day off! Said I’d earned it or something.”

Gojo chuckled. “That sounds like her. She’s tough, but she respects hard work when she sees it.” He leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. “But tell me, was this a fluke? Or do you actually feel like you’re catching up to her?”

Itadori’s grin faltered slightly as he remembered how quickly Juri had retaliated after the hit. “Well… I wouldn’t say I’m catching up just yet. She… kinda beat the crap out of me afterward.”

Gojo burst out laughing. “Now that sounds like the Juri I know!”

Itadori smiled but there was a hint of determination in his eyes. “I’ll get there, though. I’m not giving up. If I can land one hit, I can land another. And eventually… maybe I’ll even keep up with her.”

Gojo clapped him on the back. “That’s the spirit, Yuji. Keep at it, and who knows? Maybe you’ll be the one giving her a run for her money someday.”

Itadori nodded, still glowing with a sense of accomplishment as he left Gojo’s office. After he was gone, Gojo leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling thoughtfully. It was no small thing for someone like Itadori to land a hit on Juri. It meant two things: Itadori was getting stronger, and Juri had maybe, just maybe, let her guard down.

Later that day, Gojo found Juri leaning against a wall near the training grounds, arms crossed and looking as aloof as ever. He strolled over, his ever-present grin in place.

“Yuji told me he landed a hit on you,” Gojo began, sliding his hands into his pockets. “That’s impressive. Should I be worried that you’re going soft?”

Juri snorted, rolling her eyes. “Hardly.” She glanced at Gojo, her purple left eye glowing faintly. “He got one lucky shot in. That’s all.”

Gojo raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying her nonchalance. “Come on, Juri. A hit from Itadori means more than just luck, especially if you gave him the day off afterward.”

Juri clicked her tongue, annoyed by his probing. “So what if he landed one hit? It took him seven months to do it. I’m still leagues ahead of him, and he knows it.”

Gojo’s grin widened, sensing something deeper in her tone. “Oh, I’m sure he knows. But I also think you’re holding back.”

Juri’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “I don’t hold back.”

“You’re tougher than most, Juri,” Gojo said, his tone still light but with an underlying seriousness. “But even you’ve got layers. And whether you realize it or not, Itadori’s peeling them back. You gave him a break because part of you respected that hit. It’s not like you.”

Juri scowled, the truth of his words hitting a little too close. “I don’t know what you’re getting at, but I don’t care about what that brat thinks. I’m training him because you asked me to. That’s it.”

Gojo chuckled softly, unfazed by her irritation. “Right, right. You’re just doing me a favor. Nothing personal.” He tilted his head, the playful glint never leaving his eyes. “Just keep in mind, Juri, that this training thing? It’s a two-way street. You’re pushing Itadori to get stronger, but don’t forget he’s pushing you too.”

Juri shot him a glare. “You think I don’t know that? I’m still following through on our deal, aren’t I? The second he slacks off, I’ll crush him.”

Gojo shrugged casually, as if her threats didn’t bother him in the slightest. “Of course. But hey, don’t be surprised if one day, that ‘brat’ actually gives you a real fight.”

Juri’s lip curled into a smirk, though there was something more thoughtful in her gaze. “I’m counting on it.” She turned away, dismissing the conversation with a wave of her hand. “Now, if you’re done wasting my time, I’ve got more important things to do.”

Gojo watched her walk away, a knowing smile playing on his lips. He didn’t push any further, but he knew. Juri was changing, just as much as Itadori was. And maybe, just maybe, that was the real victory for both of them.

.

.

.

The Burden of Strength Masterlist

[currentlyfckingurmom]

Her Song part 25

"Momma, I don't wanna go. Please don't make me go," Sydney begs in a whisper as the nurses prepare to take her into surgery.

"I know it's scary and I know you don't want to do this, but I need you to be strong okay? You are the bravest person I know, and when you wake up, I'll be  right there with you holding your hand."

"You promise?"

"I promise. Are you ready?"

"Am I gonna be better after I wake up?"

I hesitate. I can't lie, but I can't tell the truth. "You're gonna feel tired, and you might have a little headache. You'll still be a little sick, but you'll be much closer to getting better. Does that make sense?"

"I guess so."

The nurse unlocks the wheels on the bed and I walk with them as they roll Syd down the hall. When we reach the red line beyond which I cannot stay, we pause to say our temporary goodbyes.

"I love you more than anything, Sydney. I'll see you in a few hours, okay?"

"I love you, Mommy. I'll see you soon." I press a gentle kiss to her forehead and they wheel her away. The tears begin to fall softly, but I don't have the energy or the strength to wipe them away.

I trudge to the waiting room where Florence is waiting for me. I sit down next to her and she pulls me into her side, protectively wrapping an arm around me. "She'll be okay," Flo states quietly. "She has to be."

I say nothing in response.

TWO HOURS IN

Flo leans forward in her chair, resting her elbows on her knees and staring holes in the carpeted floor. I sit next to her, bouncing my knee up and down and constantly checking the screen in the corner for updates.

But there's nothing. I know there won't be, but I keep checking anyway. They said it would take at least four hours, and I've already grown impatient.

There's a loose thread on the chair I sit in. It's pissing me off.

THREE AND A HALF HOURS IN

I'm growing impossibly anxious now, biting my nails as I pace back and forth in front of Florence's chair. She could be done surgery soon. Or she might not. Hell, she might not even make it off the table.

No, I can't think that. That can't happen.

Florence grabs my arm to stop my pacing. She doesn't say anything. She doesn't need to. Her face says it all.

FIVE HOURS IN

I have to know what's happening. Why is it taking so long? Why isn't she done yet? Did something go wrong? Is she going to make it? Is she going to be the same kid she was before?

Why is it taking so long?

My phone vibrates. I was going to ignore it, but it keeps vibrating. It's the group chat.

Lizzie: Are you alive? I haven't heard from you in forever. How are things with Flo? Scarlett: Yeah, seriously Did you fall off the face of the Earth?

Me: Sorry, everything's been hectic lately. I've been at the hospital. Syd has cancer. Florence has been here with me.

The typing bubbles pop up and disappear several times.

Scarlett: What hospital are you at? Me: Why? Lizzie: Just tell us Me: NY Presbyterian

SIX HOURS IN

The door to the waiting room bursts open and my head instinctively snaps up. Scarlett and Lizzie storm in with their faces flushed, as if they had just run a marathon.

Lizzie mutters an 'I'm so sorry' and Scarlett says that everything will be okay, but nobody says anything else. They sit down next to me and we wait in silence.

SEVEN HOURS IN

I rub my temples to try and calm the ache that's built up over the hours. I hear my name called, and I look up to see Dr. Shepherd standing there looking at me.

I jump up and stand in front of her. "Is she okay?"

Dr. Shepherd breathes deeply. "There were a few complications, which is why it took so much longer than expected..." She gently grabs my hand. "We'll need to watch for any speech impairments but she should be awake in a few hours."

"She's alive?" I breathe.

"She's alive. Come on, I'll take you to her."

I let out a watery laugh but hesitate. I turn around, knowing that we won't all be allowed in post-op. I meet Florence's ready eyes and she mouths 'go.'

I nod my head in a silent thank you.

THREE HOURS LATER

Scarlett, Lizzie, Florence, and I sit around Syd's bed in the hospital room, waiting for her to wake up. I hold Florence's hand tightly, and Lizzie smiles slightly when she sees it.

Syd's face scrunches up and she begins to mumble something incoherent. I lean forward and take hold of her hand.

"M...Maman? Où suis-je? J'ai mal à la tête." Mom? Where am I? My head hurts.

"Tu es à l'hôpital. Pourquoi parles-tu français?" You are at the hospital. Why are you speaking French?

"Je ne parle pas français." I'm not speaking French.

"Florence, can you go get the doctor?" I ask quietly.

"I'm going."

Scarlett and Lizzie exchange worried looks as I rub Syd's hand. She looks so small. Her head is wrapped in white bandages. Her eyes are glossy and tired. She continues to mumble to herself, blinking groggily.

Dr. Shepherd walks in with Florence close behind. "What's going on?" Dr. Shepherd asks.

"I don't know. She woke up and started speaking French. She thinks she's speaking English."

Dr. Shepherd checks Syd's pupils and heartbeat as she speaks. "But she understands you? And she's speaking clearly?"

"Yes. But she's speaking French."

"We're obviously not out of the woods yet," she says, looking at me, "but this is good. Better than I expected. Your daughter is a fighter, Y/N."

"Non, je suis sataniste," Syd mumbles. No, I'm a satanist.

~

I hope you know, As I wait, I suffocate

[cutepresea]

Isn't it odd Symphogear didn't get any normal length OAV or movie made, or even on the merch side more nendo or nendo petit made considering how popular it was in Japan? I know the fear was real with prods and manus during the first two seasons because they thought it was a fail project and didn't want to invest but after five seasons and five concerts? I don't know I feel like I'm missing data on why we were given the short stick compared to other popular animes...

Ah, I never really felt like that when it comes to the series (except for figures, but I get to that later in the post. I went on a bit of a tangent and it ended up longer than intended. Oops)

Five whole seasons

Four series of shorts

Enough character songs to have a box of 9 CDs released (doesn't include XDU songs)

Concerts that get released on blu-ray since G's (this one just feels like a bigger deal to me because season 1's in 2012 never got recorded or released)

A mobile game that's been running for 6 years and gets its own albums separate from the aforementioned box (there was another mobile game a decade ago that died pretty fast but nobody remembers that one, shhh...)

And a monthly spinoff manga that has enough content for four volumes so far

...All feels like a miracle to me, especially for an anime not based on an existing manga, game, or light novel

Seriously, I love this series but I have no idea how G was greenlit

I'm still waiting to see what the new project is because there's still a possibility that it could be a movie or something. I just don't expect it anytime soon, whether it be a movie or an OVA, because Kaneko (co-creator and scenario writer for the series) is busy both designing and writing a RPG which he stated was something he wanted to do while not working on Symphogear since he was too busy to work on games while he was doing that (link is Japanese, but it's the interview where he said that)

Which, again, is probably why the new project is dated 20XX

Now if I were to talk about stuff I personally would want?

If it's a movie I'd like it to be completely new content but if they make some lengthier OVAs, I've been asking for an adaptation of 3.5 from XDU for a while since the Alexandria Incident gets mentioned in AXZ.

XDU's service isn't going to last forever and I'd hate to lose a canon side story like that when it does eventually end.

They could also do 4.5 but it isn't as high a priority for me because it serves more as an introduction to Noble Red than anything and outside of the short part between Fine and Enki, it felt weird coming out after XV ended

On a bit of a side note, I've said it before, but I wouldn't be too surprised if any new anime content is by Studio KAI instead of Satelight. A LOT of Symphogear's staff moved over there after XV ended which is why XDU's second OP was done by them.

Now merchandise, oh boy, yeah that subject has stung a bit over the years. The fact the only Nendos are from S1 really is sad

They want their friends to join them

Heck, Chris didn't even get a Figma back then like Hibiki and Tsubasa did

I can't believe it took as long as it did for Kirika, Shirabe, and Maria to get figures. Especially Maria, who didn't have one released until 2022.

And it is an actual crime that Miku still doesn't have one despite being around since season 1. That is Hibiki's Wife Sunshine y'all are ignoring. (Season 1 Miku with green hair when? 🤣)

Hobby Stock's set of scale figures they've been releasing and Good Smile's ACT MODEs are a step in the right direction though. There's also been more plushes in recent years which I personally really love.

One of my wishes is someone going back to G and making figures for that so we can get Black Gungnir Maria or Shenshoujing Gear Miku

The parallel world versions of everyone from XDU would be fun too but I'm not pushing my luck there. The other Hibiki technically already has one but it used an existing Hibiki figure as a base

And yes, I am begging for a game that isn't gacha. I'm a lover of action games and RPGs so I would love something along those lines. I'm not horribly picky about the specific type

[skye-huntress]

MagiRevo Volume 6 Thoughts

Back again with everyone’s favourite royal couple. This time we learn about Lainie’s mother and meet more vampire. There’s also a lot more action compared to previous volumes. And we finally address the inconvenient fact that Euphie and Lainie are effectively immortal, and their lovers are not.

You know the drill, spoilers are below.

Okay, so Ruella, from the prologue, total tsundere. I’m making my prediction now that she is actually into this Tiris girl.

From what we’ve heard, vampires in this world are basically brainwashed into continuing the research of their predecessors. Doesn’t seem like Ruella has ever even questioned why she and the clan should pursue “eternity” for the sake of some dead people.

I’m with Tiris, why seek eternity, when you can make the most of the time you have to do something that is actually meaningful to yourself?

‘Tis a bit of a shame, but I suppose Anis had to grow used to Euphie’s shows of affection sooner or later. She’s even reciprocating them of her own initiative. Even so, I guarantee Euphie is still the top in this relationship.

Why is Tilty gloomier because of the rain? Pretty sure she’s so adverse to being in direct sunlight, it’d make the uninformed question who is the actual vampire of their friend group.

In conclusion, it took only three months for them to make Lainie kind of OP in both swordplay and magic. If all vampires had just as much potential in general, and a lot more than three months to hone their skills, they’d be able to give even Euphie trouble.

We had a good balance in the detached palace. 4 girls, 2 couples. Royal couple attended to by the maid couple. I’m not too eager to see that change.

Interesting to think about, Ilia chose to be as reclusive as Anis and isn’t too fond of bringing in more people.

It’s not something I’m interested in, however I will say there may be a potential ship with Garkie and Navre.

Excited we are getting more Lainie and Tilty, sad that we’re splitting up our couples.

And of course, Euphie threatens Anis with a good time when she gets back.

I see Anis is still not comfortable with PDA, even though compared to Euphie’s coronation, a small peck in front of their friends is nothing.

Lainie’s mother is Tiris from the prologue? The plot thickens.

Tilty’s guess about a disease that affects vampires might have been on the money, but it’s early still.

Wow, Lainie actually went there. The anime touched on it but the novels haven’t really done so yet. The issue of how Euphie is immortal, and Anis isn’t. She was already willing to throw away her humanity in pursuit of magic, so doing so to extend her time with Euphie isn’t a huge leap for her.

As for Lainie, not surprised she’s already thinking about Ilia’s mortality. The considerable age gap aside, Ilia’s close to 30 already, and the average life expectancy in their world is probably shorter than what we take for granted.

Must be nice to at least have the option of extending your life, even if it means throwing away your humanity. In our world without magic or monsters, we just have to make the most of the time we have.

Makes sense that Anis quit adventuring. Now that her work has official support, she no longer needs to acquire her own funding and materials. Plus, her wife would never allow her to continue going off on her own.

Well, I wasn’t expecting this level of horror, not in this series. I’d expect this from some of the other series I’m into, but wasn’t expecting MagiRevo to hit me with this kind of body horror six volumes in.

I came here expecting vampires, and got an abomination that is an amalgamation of countless lifeforms that the vampire apparently consumed. Guess we know where all the monsters and animals in the forest went.

Everything about this encounter feels so messed up. We started with flaming horned guy trying to kill Anis and Garkie, to now mourning him and all he lost. We don’t even know his name!

So Ilia is resistant to the idea of becoming a vampire because then Lainie can’t feed off her blood? Fair point, I can respect that.

I had a guess we’d see Ruella again, but this is far from what I pictured originally.

So what happens after generations of brainwashing and overzealously accumulating knowledge, the vampires inevitably made a monster that is a reflection of how twisted and mad they’ve become.

They called Tiris a heretic and traitor, but she was probably the only sane one among them. However, Ruella did say she was exceptional enough to potentially become the matriarch of the clan, so perhaps Lainie really is OP, not because she is a vampire, but because she inherited her mother’s exceptionalism.

Anis lesbian-ed so hard she made the villainess instantly fall for her. Normally I’d be for this kind of development if Lilana wasn’t all the more determined to devour Anis especially. Nobody makes a meal out of our Anis, except Euphie!

Euphie finally had a chance to show off again, and it started out totally awesome, kind of reminded me of Weiss’ Arma Gigas summon. Then it backfired and we found out this girl can just absorb magic. I call hacks!

Anis did talk about throwing her humanity away to become immortal, but I didn’t think such a change would be forced on her. Guess the dragon’s prophecy was spot on, Anis really did become a dragon, albeit still in human form, with some vampiric powers thrown in for good measure.

Props to Anis for trying to give Lilana an out. I’ve been around the internet enough to know there are indeed people who’d be down for what she’s offering.

And of course for her final move, Lilana decides to turn into a freaking dragon, too. Anis, pretty sure that one’s on you this time.

I’m fine if she and the other vampires like her devour monsters, but leave the poor animals alone!

So Lilana stole Euphie’s move and made it her own, then Anis takes that same improvised move, puts her own spin on it and uses it to finally take down Lilana. Brilliant! Anis beat her at her own game!

Of all the shocks and twists this volume, the biggest might be Anis pulling a Euphie on Euphie herself. She’s certainly gotten bolder but she still doesn’t hold a candle to Euphie. We’re talking about the girl who used her coronation speech to declare her love and made out with Anis in front of all the attendants. We know who’s the top in this relationship and Euphie will no doubt remind Anis of that fact later, and they’ll both enjoy it.

With a battle like that, it almost feels like a finale of sorts but there’s still a lot of loose ends. There’s Ruella and the other vampires. Would also love to get a follow up on if any of the demi-human clans are still around. I do not want to think about the possibility that Acryl is probably the last of her kind.

We also don’t know how Tiris died, which poses an unknown risk to Lainie, Algard, and possibly even Anis.

Also it goes without saying I want to know what’s up with the changes to Anis’ body and what the reactions will be.

Well, at least I know how long I have to wait this time. The official translation for Volume 7 is apparently dropping in late July. So see you all again in about 4 months.

[carlottawllms]

HIYA, OMG HIS IS ALREADY ENDING? I AM NOT READY AT ALL😭

Mason was confused. And worried. OMG TELL ME SHE IS NOT JUST GONE😭

The morning after your surprise party, he’d woken up to an empty and cold bed. Something he hadn’t expected, and it had left him disappointed. Especially, as your behaviour had been off ever since. OMG SHE IS GONE AND COLD, WE DON’T LIKE THIS😩

Having followed you into the hallway after you’d kissed Ellie’s head and told her you’d be back tomorrow, he’d tried to talk to you to find out what was bothering you, but not only had you refused, you’d also not so subtly turned away when he’d tried to hug you goodbye. SHE IS AN ICEBERGGGGG OMG

He hadn't really seen you much since then. Sure, he saw you in the morning when you came to take over and then again in the afternoon, but unlike before, you no longer stayed for dinner or for walks and daily playground dates. You’d done a 180 and withdrawn from his and Ellie's life and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find an explanation for this. OH THIS IS SAD

OH, NO MORE MUMMY FOR Y/N, WHEN WILL IT BE THE NEXT TIME?

The thing was, he’d tried to push the thought away for as long as possible; he hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it because it was a painful one, but after a while he’d eventually accepted the fact that it had to do with him and him only. OH POOR BOY

He’d clearly overstepped and Mason wished desperately he could undo asking you to sleep in the same bed and cuddling you as if you were his. OMG? NOT HIM THINKING HE OVERSTEPPED WHEN SHE IS CONVINCED HE DOESN’T LIKE HERRR

It hurt him. More than he’d thought possible. OMG I AM FEELING SO BAD FOR HIM😩

Mason missed everything from the past couple of months. The chats after a long and exhausting day in training and how you never failed to make him feel better. Your laughter, his favourite sound in the world. Shared dinners. The feeling of being a family. Movie nights and the latest office gossip. He missed it all. But mostly, he missed you. MASON TONY MOUNT, JUST TELL HER HOW YOU FELL, YOU SILLY BOY😭

And after weeks, if not months of being in denial, the whole fucked up situation had led him to finally admitting something to himself. He’d fallen in love with you. Quietly and unnoticed, but head over heels. And he had no idea what to do. OMG FINALLY WE GOT THE OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL CONFIRMATION

HE DOESN’T WANT TO GIVE UP, RIGHT CHOICE MASONNNN🤭

However, that part was a little difficult, because he felt that you had withdrawn not only physically, but also mentally. It sounded crazy, but you were like his source of strength and positivity and now that you’d withdrawn, he felt lost. The emotional support you provided with hugs and small touches and your smile…he missed it. Missed you. THIS IS SO SWEET THO, LIKE HE NEEDS HER TO FEEL BETTER AND CALMER

OMG? SHE SENT HIS MUM? SO SHE WON’T GO AT THE GAME?

The disappointment he’d felt had been immense, especially as he had no idea if that also meant that you wouldn’t attend the game at all. You hadn’t missed a single home game ever since the two of you had become friends and Mason hated the thought of playing without having you there. Y/N…NOT GOING AT THE GAME…GIRLY….

“You look a bit rough, Mase. Is everything okay?” It only took Debbie a few seconds after he’d opened the door to realise that something was wrong with her youngest. MUM DEBBIE KNOWS HER KID

“I erm-”, he ran his hand down his neck. “I’m just a bit tired. Ellie has been a bit of a trouble lately, but it’s fine.” NOT HIM BLAMING POOR ELLIE😂

“It’s the terrible threes soon, dear.”, Debbie laughed. “She’s probably practicing, to figure out what annoys you most. Got that from you, I’ll have you know.” AHAHAHAHAH OPS

He could spot the hint of surprise in Ellie’s little face when she rounded the corner and it wasn’t you waiting for her, but the excitement of seeing her grandma took over rather quickly and she ran over to hug her tightly. OH SHE WAS EXPECTING AUNTIE Y/N…😩

Mason thanked her, genuinely happy his parents supported him in the way they did, but a small part of him couldn’t help but feel sad it wasn’t you wishing him good luck and kissing his cheek. You always did. And missing out on it felt wrong. Incredibly so. Y/NNNN WHERE ARE YOUUUU

? HE NEEDS HIS GOOD LUCK KISS AND HUGGGGG COME HEREEEE

“I’ll see you later, love bug.” He squatted down to her size and squeezed his daughter. “What about a little good-luck-kissy?” “Dood luck, daddy.”, she grinned as she cupped his cheeks and squeezed, causing him to giggle before kissing his cheek. I MIGHT MELT

HE’D BEEN SHIT AT TRAINING BECAUSE HE’S BEEN THINKING OF HER, WATCH ME COMBUST

“Mase bro, is everything okay with Ellie?” Mason’s head whipped around in terror at Luke’s question. The two of them had been warming up next to each other in concentration and silence, both of them just doing their thing and Mason hadn’t expected him to ask something like that. HI LUKEEE, IT’S NOT HIS LITTLE GIRL THE PROBLEM, IS THE BIG ONE

“Just started to worry a little, you know? You’ve been a bit quiet lately so Anouska and I thought it might have to do with the little one.”, Luke explained quietly, trying not to get caught. OH, THAT’S SO SWEET LUKE, TOLD YOU, HIM AND ELLIE HAVE A BIG PERFECT VILLAGE

“I assume it’s y/n then? She’s not here today, is she?” YES, IT'S EXACTLY Y/N

Maybe you were running late?” THE FACT HE IS STILL HOPING TO SEE HER THERE, EVEN IF HE KNOWS

“Have you talked to her about it?” Luke rolled his eyes when his teammate shook his head. “Mate, you’ve been best friends for years. You have to speak to her about it.” LUKE BEING THE VOICE OF REASON, THANK YOU

Why weren't you here? Why had you withdrawn from him? ASK HER, EASY

Sometimes you were so close, it made him 100% believe that you liked him as much as he liked you, but then again, like now, you were suddenly absent and distant and didn’t even show up for his game. THEY ARE BOTH SO BLIND, OMG

After your birthday, when he’d taken the first step and cuddled up to you in bed, he’d thought it had been obvious. But apparently not. Apparently, he was just your best friend after all. SEE, THAT’S THE PROBLEM, SHE IS CONVINCED OF THE SAME THING

OH, HE DIDN’T PLAY AT ALL….

“Look, whatever happens, Mase, Anouska and I will be there for you both, okay? I don’t think you have to be afraid of anything, but in the unlikely event that it goes wrong, we're here for you.” Luke patted him on the back and smiled reassuringly before heading to the showers. THEY HAVE A VILLAGE

You were his rock, his safe haven – the best person in the world and he couldn’t be more grateful to have you by his side if he tried. He couldn’t envision his life without you – didn’t want to in the first place. I MIGHT START CRYING

“Fucking hell.”, Mason ran his hand down his neck. He wanted nothing more than to just pack up and go straight to yours, make you his, but at the same time nothing sounded more terrifying than that. DO IT, PICK EL EL UP AND GO AT HERS, YOU NEED TO WIN YOUR WOMAN/HER MUMMY BACK🤭

“Shut up!”, you exclaimed. “No way! Is that the new training gear?” OMG SHE WAS SO EXCITED?

“Too blue? No Mase, it looks really good, I promise. Makes your eyes and freckles pop.” TRUE

Ever since that moment, he’d worn the blue and orange range any chance he got. And not once had he thought about his former club again – only about how you’d told him he looked good in it. HE IS IN LOVEEEE

OMG HE IS DOING IT

“Daddyyyyy!” Ellie basically jumped out of Debbie’s lap the second he rounded the corner. She bundled over to him and all but crashed into his legs. “Hi princess.”, Mason smiled as soon as he’d picked her up, before kissing her cheek soundly and causing her to giggle. “I missed you.” “Missou too.”, she replied, squishing his face in between her hands. It was one of her favourite things to do and something that had his thoughts wondering back to you. You always giggled when Ellie did this to him – always. And right now that giggle was missing more than anything. I AM SO IN LOVE WITH HER, HE MISSES HE GIGGLES? OMG

“I think she said something about a date, didn’t she Debs?” A WHAT? WITH WHO? WHERE? WHY?

Mason’s heart squeezed painfully in his chest. A date? He couldn’t remember you having mentioned anything about seeing someone and the thought of you with another man had him feeling sick to the stomach. I FEEL SICK TOO MASON

Mason was baffled. Shocked even. Had he misinterpreted everything? Those last weeks, if not months, it had felt like you were a little family. You, him and Ellie. NO MASON, I AM SURE THERE’S AN EXPLANATION

Right now it felt as if he was the one who hadn’t. He should’ve talked to you before, told you how he felt. THAT’S A BIT TRUE

“Mase, you know it’s not like me to get involved, but I only want what’s best for you. I think you should talk to her and be honest, hm?” GO TELL HIM, KICK HIS ASS UNTIL HE GETS AT HERS

“If she doesn’t love you?”, Debbie offered and when her son nodded in defeat she sighed. “That’s impossible, Mase. I’ve seen how you both act around each other. You’re not just friends. She looks at you the same way you look at her; like she hung the moon. Maybe she wasn’t more than your best friend in the beginning, but she fell in love with you as much as you fell in love with her.” THANKS DEBS, YOU’RE A SAVIOR

“It’s never too late, son. Not when you’re both as smitten with each other like you are.”, Tony added, patting his son on the back. “Now c’mon, be the man we taught you to be.” THEY WANT HER AS A DAUGHTER IN LAW SO BAD

“We’ll take Ellie tonight and won’t give her back until you and y/n sorted everything out tomorrow.”, Debbie smiled, already reaching for her granddaughter, who willingly moved into her hold. “Now, say bye to daddy, Ellie.” THEY ARE THE BEST🤭

“Make sure we finally get out perfect daughter in-law, will you?”, Tony joked, but Mason knew that there was a spark of truth in his dad’s words. THEY JUST LOVE HER SO MUCH, I’LL MELT

Sighing, Mason nodded. He was terrified and would probably take the whole night to assemble every bit of courage he could find in himself, but tomorrow morning he’d show up at your door and tell you just how much in love with you he was. OH, HE IS DOING IT IN THE MORNING, MASON, YOU’RE DELUSIONAL, I WAS EXPECTING A LATE NIGHT DRIVE AT HERS

He just hoped that his mum was right and that he wasn't about to fuck up the best thing he’d ever had and turn Ellie's life upside down again in the process. THE FACT HE IS ALWAYS PUTTING ELLIE FIRST, HE IS A GOOD MAN🤭

CARLOTTA

YOU LEFT ME LIKE THIS??? REALLYYY OMG😭

IM SO SAD FOR MASON OMG, AND THE FACT HE FINALLY ADMITTED TO HIMSELF HE IS IN LOVE BROKE MY HEART

I LOVE HOW HE MISSES ALL THE LITTLE THINGS ABOUT HER, THE KISS AMD HIG BEFORE THE GAME, THE LONG TALKS, HER GIGGLES😭

I LOVE HOW LUKE AND HIS PARENTS ARE READY TO HELP HIM, AS I TOLD YOU IN ONE OF THE FIRST FEEDBACKS, MAS9N AND ELLIE HAVE A BIG VILLAGE FULL OF LOVE READY TO STEP UP AND BE BY THEIR SIDE🥹

I LOVE EL EL, CUTIE PIE, CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER AND AUNTIE/MUMMY Y/N FINALLY REUNITED🥹🤭

SHE WAS ON A DATE??? THEY WERE TEASING HIM RIGHT? SHE CAN'T BE ON A DATE

AHHH GIRL YOUR WRITING MAKES ME FALL IN LOVE EVERYTIME A BIT MORE🥹

YOU'VE GIVEN US A WORK OF ART WITH THIS SERIES, YOU SPULD BE SO PROUD OF YOURSELF CAUSE I REALLY AM OF YOU

I DONT KNOW IF IM READY FOR THE NEXT CHAPTERS CAUSE ITLL MEAN THAT THIS JOURNEY GOT TO ITS END

BUT IM ALSO SO EXCITED TO KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN🥹

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS 🩷

LOVE YOU, YOUR WRITING AND YOUR BRAIN🩷

I’m so sorry I had to leave you like this 😭😂 we needed the suspense for the final chapter tho. Can’t be boring can it? 😬

Poor boy really has to go through it to hopefully get his girl 🥺 but it was important for him to finally come to terms with it!

THANK YOU 🥺🥹 im not ready to say goodbye either but all good things come to an end eventually ☹️

We have one more big chapter and then a smaller epilogue before saying goodbye for good 🫶🏼

🩷

[mingos]

❛  why won't you just tell me what i did wrong?  ❜ from little law in his locked room :))

❝ enough. whining. ❞ 

　doflamingo felt like his head was splitting. the sounds burrowed their way through eardrums, scraping at bits of brain and the interior of his skull. or maybe the culprit was his blood pressure, spiked beyond the realm of mortal understandingーso high, he quivered with rage beneath the silhouette of his suit, a mess of grinding teeth & contorting hands. so high, the donquixote didn't need his glasses to know he saw red.

six months. six months was all it took for his brother to taint law like how a toxin whittles away at the human body. to undo the two years of work doflamingo had done and reduce the boy to... this. a repulsive creature he didn't recognize. one that cried when struck, a sense of resolve replaced with meekness, whose eyes were no longer filled with the admiration doflamingo had come to expect. it had taken the man several hours to pinpoint what exactly about this display enraged him so much. then it clicked. rosinante.

six months was all it took for law to embody all of rosinante's worst traits from doflamingo's memories of their childhood. the boy who refused to reprimand slaves for not doing their tasks, sobbing when doflamingo showed him the proper way their uncle taught them. the boy who, no matter how much his brother demanded, refused to identify the specific townspeople that beat himーa misplaced guilt having convinced himself he 'owed it to them' to prioritize their safety & keep it a secret as penance for what their ancestors had done. the boy who, when mother passed from her fever, threw himself at her bedside and wouldn't leave for days. needlessly attached to her corpse. to an object.

rosinante's physical body might be rotting away in the snow of some forgotten ghost town hundreds of miles from here, but none of that mattered when he ensured the worst parts of his spirit lived on through the body of this brat. law was no longer doflamingo's shadow, but instead that man's.

the elder donquixote could have killed him a thousand more times, shot a million more bullets into him, and it still wouldn't be enough to quantify the rage he felt. it would never be enough. the same goes for law.

were he a god of even a fraction less restraint, doflamingo would have decapitated the boy and thrown his corpse into the north blue hours ago. torn open his gut and seized the op op fruit by force. restricting himself to just leaving shallow wounds & bruises now was almost too much mercy for him to bear. he wanted to skin this child alive.

but, regrettably, that was no longer an option. his plans had changed, and his new plan hinged on keeping the boy alive. for now. he couldn't risk losing the fruit again. he couldn't risk potentially wasting another decade searching for the fruit again. not when it was this close. doflamingo simply had to grit his teeth & internalize the fact that law was more valuable to him alive than dead. for now.

　but that didn't mean he couldn't make him suffer in the interim.

　❝ those miserable sounds you keep making were enough to manipulate my brother, but i’ll sooner shove a cracked thermometer down your throat and add mercury poisoning to your list of sicknesses than entertain a second more of it. ❞

[ultra-chrisg]

Happy 4th Birthday!

Got a notification that today was the 4th birthday of the blog, so it seemed like an appropriate time to update it, especially as much has changed.

Following on from the last post, the right knee HTO is well on the way to being fully healed. I'll put a pic up of the plate in place so current status can be seen. Once the ultrasound kicked in, it healed a treat!

However, whilst away for a week in the summer of 2023 the left knee, the original HTO knee, started getting sore again. It's been threatening it for a while, and from spring 2023 I was picking up my walking again, mostly lunchtime stuff but doing about 3 miles in my lunch break. However a sustained week of 5+ miles each day took its toll and I ended up having to make the decision to see the surgeon again to see what could be done with it.

Long story short, an appointment, MRI scan and a few x-rays later and it seems like the original HTO, the starter for this blog, has run its course. What cartilage remained in the medial compartment was gone and bone was rubbing on bone. A meeting with the surgeon had 2 outcomes - depending on the MRI results it would need either a partial or full knee replacement.

Now my surgeon is one of those who actually plans for the future. Giving me a full replacement now, at 52, would make it likely it would reach end of life by the time I retire, or have just retired. A partial should give me at least 10 more years, then a further 20 on top of that for the full replacement (basically I've been given 30 years to live!!). The MRI results dictated a partial was the better option, and this was performed at the end of October 2023.

Now a partial is a whole different kettle of fish from a HTO. More tissue damage - the quads have to be sliced into as well as the ligaments around the knee cap snipped to allow it to be moved out the way, however the impact to bone is minimal. Cutting away arthritic bone, hurty bone, and replacing it with unfeeling metal - well let's just say that after the surgery, the only bit of my knee that DIDN'T hurt was the only bit that hurt beforehand!

Am I pleased with the outcome? To date, I can see no drawbacks. The soft tissue healed very quickly (a bit of dangerous reading on the internet led me to double my protein intake in the first month of healing, and resulted in me having fully range of movement as before the op within 3 weeks), and the bone aches a bit but that's to be expected - the implants go into softer bone that will harden over the next few months to cope with the new way that load is being put through them. To be told at 3 weeks by your surgeon that you're at the 3 month recovery stage, then told at 5 weeks by the physio that you're where he'd expect you to be at 6 months, is very pleasing. The high protein diet, an acceptance of the discomfort and pain BEFORE the op that you'll get when you start bending and stretching your new knee, and most importantly having a positive mental attitude towards your healing and the future are all key to making your recovery better. An anecdote - at 5 weeks I was saying to the physio that I wanted to get back on the rowing machine was met with this comment: "I normally have to work on people to encourage them to do more to help with their recovery. With you, I'm having to hold you back so you don't do too much too soon!"

Being 20 years younger than the average knee replacement recipient does help ;)

But I no longer limp.

I no longer hurt.

I can balance on that leg, and not feel the knee sliding around without the cartilage to hold it in place anymore.

The surgeon once told me that younger, more active men tend to have the worst discerning outcome - as they've likely worn the knee out through activity rather than age (such as me) and want to regain that lifestyle but can't. I've come to accept that I will never take up jogging again, but I can live with that now. There are other ways to stay fit and I'm hoping that once I've got my legs to as strong as they were 5 years ago, I'll be able to start hill walking with my wife in the hills again.

Anyway, I'll put up the post op x-ray of the knee replacement, and for giggles the current state of the right knee. Once the replacement is fully settled, the plate will be coming out of that knee, although to be honest it's not causing me the same discomfort the plate in the left knee did.

[thecurioustale]

The same can also be said of the period that I think we are emerging out of, the "Internet Wild West" or whatever you want to call it. It's something that I and many others have been aware of as far back as the 1990s (and longer for some).

On the early Internet it was understood by all who gave thought to the matter that this wonderful, new, free world we had created and were now beginning to settle would only be able to go so far before it inevitably got tamed. There would be rules. There would be law. The Wild West analogy was very prominent for me.

Where I erred, personally, was twofold: First, and at a more face-value level, I erred in thinking that this taming would come in the form of external regulation by the government. That didn't happen; the government in the US has mostly not been functional in the 21st century on these matters, and has done almost nothing to regulate the Internet in this time. (The few relevant laws they did pass have mostly been dreadful.) Instead, law and order came to the Internet because a handful of companies took control of nearly the entirety of most people's experience as Internet users—i.e., through social media, e-commerce, and streaming services—and, by controlling these services, they control the user experience. The people running these companies are the ones who have brought order to the Internet, not legally but mechanically through the user experience and through the enforcement of their oppressive EULAs and Terms of Service. The Internet wasn't tamed by wise, Enlightenment principles. It was extruded into obedience through a horrifying abasement of human dignity, at the hands of "tech bros" who, in retrospect, are a hell of a lot stupider than most of us thought. Even the smart ones, it turns out, were stupid all along. Most of them, anyway. I was never a fan of Zuckerberg, Page, et al., but I admired what they built—and in my defense what they built was once promising and new. But I was stupid too to believe in it like I did. Or "young" maybe is the fairer word. Hell, maybe you could apply it of some of them as well.

On a more abstract level, I also erred in thinking that the taming of the Internet Wild West would result in a new era of the Internet that was not a clear step down from what it had been in the Wild West years—that the well-ordered future would merely be different. Maybe, with technological improvements, it would even be better! And in some ways it is better: We usually don't have videos getting stuck buffering anymore. Files download faster. Certain activities have become much more convenient (or possible at all), like managing payments and making purchases and having video calls. But, on the whole, the modern Internet use paradigm is way, WAY worse. Because it is dehumanizing, radicalizing, and disinformative. And I didn't expect that. I thought humanity had grown to be smarter than that. I was wrong.

Yes, though, to the OP's thesis: Times of change do not last. With the taming of the Internet we have built a world that is far worse than the one we built ourselves out of. Now we're going to be paying the consequences of that folly for a long time to come. I for one am meeting this new world by gradually becoming so sickened by much of the online experience that I am disengaging from it, presumably permanently. I am increasingly refusing to be a part of it. I flat-out would not be here on Tumblr today if I were not trying to build an audience for my creative work. Not that I don't enjoy plenty of what I see here, and Tumblr is honestly one of the least-offensive social media platforms, but the broader landscape of social media, and the way it has poisoned our society, disgusts me so much nowadays that I almost can't stand it on principle. The Internet had so much potential. And technically it still does, abandoned deep down. But I don't think I'll see most of that neglected potential realized in my lifetime, and it may never happen at all.

As far as the OP's point about the unrealism of fictional settings having "times of change" lasting for long periods of time, I don't care about that at all. If you want to do a Wild West setting that lasts a thousand years, go for it. Every story is allowed to have its gimmicks and its conceits. Yes, some stories concerned with realism, verisimilitude, and internal consistency would be restricted from depicting a transitional period as a long-lasting, "stable" period. (There's really no such thing as a "stable" period; there are only times when change is modest and repetitive enough to be gentle and familiar. Maybe there's some room to argue about this on the basis of the notion that the pace of change has increased steadily throughout human history as our population and technology have increased, but even that wouldn't really be able to make any claims about stability in the past three thousand years, and certainly not in the past fifteen hundred.) But most stories are not going to be encumbered by this limitation, and can do whatever they like.

There are certain very specific, unsustainable periods of history.

The Golden Age of Piracy lasted from the 1650s to the 1730s, and was really three different waves of piracy that all had their own specific causes and characters. My personal favorite has always been the post-Spanish Succession period, when a bunch of sailors and privateers were left unemployed and turned en masse to piracy since those were the skills they'd picked up during the war. This supply of pirates was obviously non-renewable.

The Wild West lasted between 1865 and 1895, depending on who you ask, not even a full human lifetime. It's a very narrow band of time, and of course it wasn't sustainable, there was only so much land to colonize.

There are lots of these times of change, conquest, colonization, and war, particularly in the last three hundred years. I always think they're interesting, mostly in how quickly the course of history moves on to some other relatively more steady state.

There's a thing that speculative fiction does where it stretches specific periods out to extremes, most notably with Medieval Stasis, but I think it's far funnier when applied to these tiny slices of history that have ballooned in the public consciousness. Either it takes heroic feats of worldbuilding to make it make sense, or everyone is just sort of okay with the idea of a Golden Age of Piracy that's implied to have lasted for a millennia.

[benjaminsblog]

Joshua Tree National Park

I had a very short shift today, as the only women’s match being shown was the doubles final*. I knew that this was going to be the case at the start of the tournament, so I was looking forward to rewarding myself with some sightseeing after the hellish start. I earmarked the rest of the day for a trip through the gigantic JTNP, so waited impatiently for the tennis to finish. It took longer than it should have, but as soon as the trophies were lifted, I was swiftly out the door and on the road by 2pm.

I drove 30 minutes to the southern entrance of JT, stopped for a quick photo op, and then proceeded through the park at a leisurely pace, stopping as and when I fancied. In truth, it wasn’t the most photogenic place I’ve visited, but I think the most impressive aspect was the enormity of the place – I looked out across a plain towards what looked like multiple layers of mountains, and could never remember being able to see so far into the distance. It made me wish I had a viewfinder with me to check how far it was!

Not that the views weren't impressive - there were noticeable shifts in the environment as I drove through, with some distinctly green patches that I was not expecting. The sun shone all day and was accompanied by a delightful breeze, making my journey all the more pleasurable. I suddenly found myself passing the 'You are now leaving JNTP' sign 2h30 later, but the scenery kept delivering on my drive back - the San Gorgonio Mountain seemed to loom above/around/in front of me regardless of which direction I was driving in.

As I pootled along on my expedition, I kept catching myself smiling a goofy smile, still not believing four years later that this is my job!

* I often accuse people of not giving doubles its due, so I should give it more of a mention. I covered the doubles final on the penultimate day – Barbora Krejickova (CZE) & Katerina Siniakova (CZE) v Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) & Laura Siegemund (GER) – phew! Barbs & Kat are the World Number 1s, whereas Bea & Laura were playing their first tournament together (although they are both accomplished doubles players).

The Cezchs took the first set before the underdogs won the second through sheer bloody mindedness, but they eventually ran out of steam in the ensuing championship tie break. Given that I was itching to get going, I could have done without the four copy+paste speeches from each player, but I couldn't really begrudge them their moment in the sun.

[moariin]

novel prep tag

tagged by @montevena​ (i don’t remember how long this was but i’m doing now)

tagging: @zielenheil @starshots @ophelia-says @rkmoriyama @songbirdur @rosmiri @themillionthdraft @dotr-rose-love @viciousvenganza + anyone who wants to do these, no pressure!

rules: answer the questions and then tag as many writers as there are questions answered (or as many as you can) to spread the positivity! even if these questions are not explicitly brought up in the novel, they are still good to keep in mind when writing.

i will be doing this for my nano project, heir of the alchemist !

  FIRST LOOK

1. describe your novel in 1-2 sentences (elevator pitch).

a guy just wants to chill but the world doesn’t allow it but did an oopsie when they found out he’s an infected. but didn’t do anything about it and thinks it’s okay to let him roam free

2. How long do you plan for your novel to be? (Is it a novella, single book, book series, etc.)

this is more of a spin off to my main wip, so i’m planning it to be a single book.

3. What is your novel’s aesthetic?

typical southern/midwestern gothic with a dash of baroque and classicsm architecture. it’s lol because the world is based off of german/czech (that is tentative, names are hard). also there’s dark alchemy and paganism/catholic toss into the mix, and of course magic!

4. What other stories inspire your novel?

frankenstein and rebecca are my top inspiration for coming up with this novel. i love the sense of mystery and its intrigue + a little bit of science. you’ll see some similarities like the dollmaker (the main antagonist lol).

another thing is this novel is sort of me wanting to explore one of the side characters from my main wip, more. 

so i’m like hey, would it be nice to make this into a prequel ???

5. Share 3+ images that give a feel for your novel.

 here’s the pinterest for it! more under the cut, btw!

MAIN CHARACTER

6. Who is your protagonist?

my main protagonist is marcel, he’s the one doing hocus pocus on himself and called the darkness, his old friends bc [redacted].

7. Who is their closest ally?

nobody, jk, he feels closer to brother juri even if he’s a little annoying ( a helicopter parent, ope) but marcel sees him as a father figure, growing up and still lost in the place. another person is feliks, and he’s the first one to talk and come close to him, and understands him. and that they’re both weird together.

8. Who is their enemy?

um let’s just say, the diviners are the biggest obstacles, esp when they are practically magical beings and got a secret to hide, so they will do anything to stop marcel and the co. from uncovering the truth...it has to do with the plague. the dollmaker, too, but that’s redacted information

9. What do they want more than anything?

marcel just wants to live his life in peace at the start but he adapted his reasons the more he ventures to search for the mystery behind the plague like who started it and why is it turning people into monstrosity. there, he wants to find more about himself, why he’s different from the rest of the infected and how to use that knowledge to spread the higher sciences,

10. Why can’t they have it?

his refusal to admit to the faith also turns into something he wants the system to change (the ramona thrones and baszceri), moreso a revenge on them but it prove to be difficult since both of the religious sanction wants something from him....and it’s giving him a headache.

11. What do they wrongly believe about themselves?

he believes the world could no longer fear the infected, that they are more like him that evolved from the plague and survive. and that it is his fault that rahel, his sister, is dead because of him

12. Draw your protagonist! (Or share a description)

marcel has thick, black hair, down to his shoulders and it’s wavy. he sometimes had it tied all the time and likes it that way. somewhere between 5′10 range, a moc with dark olive skin with a few spots across his face, mostly around his cheekbones and eyes. angular brows, not too sharp or thin, and double-lidded brown eyes. typically wears a white and black garb (he doesn’t have much choice). a little toned and is healthy looking.

PLOT POINTS

13. What is the internal conflict?

rahel being the biggest conflict, he feels guilt and shame and he’s the reason why it started it all. pretty much some insecurities.

14. What is the external conflict?

drive for knowledge about the sciences and people that want the same thing

15. What is the worst thing that could happen to your protagonist? 

he becomes a plaything or puppet for the ramona thrones, being extorted as much as they want until he dies.

16. What secret will be revealed that changes the course of the story?

spoilers but hmm let’s call her the mother, and she’s close to a certain someone...possibly having a child that would shake the world

17. Do you know how it ends?

hmm i think i have spoil it to someone, can’t remember what their reaction are. but i think it has something to do with connecting universe lol?

BITS AND BOBS

18. What is the theme? 

biggest theme is that it’s okay to let go of your past even if it haunts you, still acknowledge who you are and what you want to be. also face your mistakes, don’t try to hide it. and learn to respect people with different ideas and morals because not everyone is like you or will be you...esp having the freedom to fuck everyone else or get fucked 

19. What is a recurring symbol? 

the ocean and death + the color red

20. Where is the story set? (Share a description!)

the story is set in two different places, the main setting is the white chapel, located in sarcherin. which is a nice place filled with gray and white houses, so the church color matches them and oh it’s on the red cliffs, just a couple yards away from the ocean. it has that southern gothic look as well. the other setting is ramona, a holy city with mostly baroque and classicism architecture. everything is pristine and polished, even the pavement is made out of marbles. except for that daunting prison on the far side of the city, everything is eerie there. 

21. Do you have any images or scenes in your mind already?

i dig this ocean = death imagery, and there’s going to be a lot of these throughout, esp the color red! and this cool fight sequence that i have yet to write, it has some magic and bending going on + horst becoming the infected too

22. What excited you about this story? 

the ending and the revelation in the middle, i love any confrontational moments, it spice things up 

23. Tell us about your usual writing method! 

i usually would get in the mood listening to music and when i’m ready i would write whenever i can (how long or how much i write, idk it’s up to my brain). also most of my notes or cryptic quotes is something i came up with in ungodly hours and i try to figure out where to put it or what it means.

[writingseaslugs]

Heartlabyul "Baby Girl"

Did I write these solely because I wanted to be self-indulgent and thought it was funny? The answer is yes.

Disclaimer: All characters in this series is aged up. For more information about my version of this world and the type of reader you can expect, please do a quick read of THIS post.

Heartslabyul

Calling Them “Baby Girl”

Riddle Rosehearts

“Hey baby girl, whatcha up to?” You said as you draped your arm around Riddle’s shoulder and looked over at the homework he had in front of him. You felt his entire body stiffen under your touch as his face slowly grew red. You couldn’t help the knowing smirk that fell on your lips as you watched his reaction. You could hear Riddle start to stutter out before his head whipped over to look at you. His entire face and neck were completely red and he looked like he could barely breathe, “Pardon?” He finally managed to ask, a few octaves higher than normal. You had to cover your mouth so you wouldn’t laugh at him. “Oh, did I say something weird, baby girl?” That was the nail in the coffin. Next thing you know, he was shouting, “Off with your head!” There was nothing you could do to stop it. You wore that collar with pride for the entire day, and if anyone asked why Riddle had done that to you despite being magicless…well, it was hard not to break out into giggles.

Trey Clover

“That smells amazing, baby girl, can’t wait to try it.” You said, approaching Trey from behind and wrapping your arms around him. His back became stiff before relaxing once he realized it was you. He let out a sigh before turning and letting you hug him properly, your face buried in his chest. “Mind telling me why you called me that?” Trey asked, and you snickered, looking up at him from his chest. He could see the mischievous look in your eyes as they flickered at him and then at whatever he had in the oven. “Calling you what?” You said, making sure not to become too giggly. Trey just shook his head before pulling you up and giving you a kiss. You smiled into it as he parted, and you stared at him with dreamy eyes.

Cater Diamond

“Hey, take a photo with me!” Cater said as he approached you. He grabbed you by the waist and pulled you to his chest, your back hitting it. You snickered at his spontaneous need to have more photos. “Anything for you, baby girl.” You said as soon as he took the photo. You could see his eyes widen as he processed what you said, and you knew the photo had that surprised expression on it. His smile widened as he squeezed you tighter to him, bending over and kissing you on your cheek. “You’re just so full of surprises, ain’t ya?” He said, taking another photo of him kissing you with your cheeks colored a deep flush.

Ace Trappola

“Awe, did my baby girl not do well on his test?” You said, leaning over your desk and looking at Ace’s test scores. He paused before whipping his head over at you, his cheeks turning pink at your comment. Seriously? In the middle of class? His face said it all. “Pfft, what did my henchman call you? Ba-“ Before Grim could finish his question, Ace was slamming the poor monster's head down on the desk. Grim cried out from the sudden abuse while you covered your mouth. Ace glared over at you. “Take that back.” He said, and you just shook your head. “Make me.”

Deuce Spade

“Come on, we’re going to be late,” Deuce said, almost whining as you had managed to keep the two of you in bed far longer than he anticipated. He usually wouldn’t have cared since he enjoyed staying over at Ramshackle, especially curled in your bed. Right now, though? There was an important test for the first period, and he really didn’t want to miss it and lose his chance at being a model student. “No, I wanna cuddle longer with my baby girl.” You murmured, dragging him closer to you. His face was in the crook of your neck, and he felt his face flushing bright red. You could even feel it against your skin as he began stuttering out. “I…what?” He said, and before he could say anything else, the door slammed open, and in came Grim. The angry cat monster looked clearly disturbed at the fact that you two weren’t ready meanwhile he was. For a monster who hates class, he sure hates it more when you guys skip, and he still had to attend. You already knew there was no going back to sleep now that Grim was going to grab you two. You couldn’t help but look at Deuce’s still-flushed face and think he looked adorable like that.