#perhaps I will actually post my art here for once....

[vitanithepure]

There is a lot of positivity flying around recently and...well, I wanna throw in something from myself. To start let me say sorry for not being around much recently, I will be back to all my RT nonsense once The Flu™ leaves me alone.

With that out of the way, let me first say I feel deep and immense gratitude to all the people in the RT fandom. Everyone, both active, more casual or on hold for now, here or on discord - I appreciate you all.

The creativity, the ideas, the amount of private time and effort shared between us all is amazing.

Now, in no particular order:

@cawyden-gaming - your introspective and informative lore posts and code-surfing are always so interesting, showing what we missed, what was perhaps cut or bugged out - you are here to bring this all together 💜

@lordcaptains - I always love seeing your gifs, catching the details and beauty hidden by the isometric camera. Your insights into different aspects of our resident biomancer are always a delight to read. Thank you for so many good things 💜

@nananarc - your beautiful art is truly extraordinary, and truth be told - it was your work that really got me intrigued by the concept of Abelard/RT ship. Get that old man ^^💜

@gingerfan24 - Ana! Everything about Ana you share is pure gold. It's funny, it's interesting and your posts never fail to make me smile 💜

@misscoet - What can I say - your atmospheric and sometimes wildly nsfw art is always the highlight of my dash. Diana is etherally beautiful! 💜

@ronavorona16 - we started our talks recently, but I grew to immensely enjoy your company. Your selflessness in making art of my little menace Imogene is a source of my joy. Beulah is THE queen of queens and I really like to imagine all the shenanigans her and Imogene would get into 💜

@roorenart - can't possibly not mention you :) Seeing your (one of the first tumblr art I actually found!) Heinrix made me fall in love in both him and your style. Later, your take on Imogene made me cherish her even more, you made her real for me 💜

@iamaweretoad - Mago! My ratty, criminal son. The adventures of Mago and Imogene are always alive in my head, I hope we will get to write much, much more of them at some point 💜

@holylustration - My Aurelia So Daring 🥰 Do I need to say more? You created an amazing AU story that inspired so many people (me included!) to experiment with the idea of Knight pilot Heinrix. And your darling Aurelia, a fierce woman of so many talents 💜

@redbatchedcumbermayned - I said it many times and I will never stop repeating it - you are the source of my personal inspiration. Your work on your longfic (absolutely doesn't give justice to something that already is the lenght of a book!), your beloved OC Isha, your encouragement and presence in the fandom are very precious to me 💜

@thatzombiecat - Nyomos! This was absolutely the greatest gift you gave to the fandom along with your stunning art and the duo of unforgettable OCs - Elayne and Vincent 💜

@cadencespark - I am not sure you are still around to read this, but know I will always remember our talks about Annie and Imogene. Annie is the true princess of grimdark and I still often return to the pieces of art of Imogene you gifted me 💜

There are so many more people I could write about and probably some that slipped through the cracks in my memory, for which I am sorry, but like I said - I have a reason to cherish each and every one of you and very much appreciate you being part of this fandom - both in the past and present.

[blanketfortmotel]

Go to therapy? Nah it’s cheaper to organize my essay-like thoughts on Destiel within the safety of tumblr.

On that note, I think to soothe my soul that can’t stop typing in reblogs, I’m gonna start posting my headcanons, prompts, drabbles, etc. that I’ve been developing absentmindedly since I obsessed over the show in middle school/freshman year. I took an 8 year hiatus and got too much real dating/relationship experience to compare, now I actually understand pining and sexual tension and heartbreak and flirting first hand, AND I literally got my psych degree this time last year. Amazing all that happens in eight years.

With the rate I’m going, statistically I might end up on your screen in the next month in the Destiel #, I promise to treat y’all right I know it’s scary out here.

— Welcome to the Blanket Fort Motel, hope you enjoy your stay! —

— Canon-Compliant Drabble Time —

Just think about time together in heaven, a cold beer on the porch, Dean casually gushing over westerns and cowboys. Cas is enamored with him and remembers something crucial: this is Heaven. The perfect, newly renovated, highly intuitive heaven. He’s struck with a pull inside his vessel that lights his retired grace anew for a moment, he’s beyond what he considered the peak of his possible happiness, perhaps he had been for a while. This spark running through the base of his vessel’s stomach and up through his chest leads to a realization he’s all too delighted to share with Dean. Once again…

“This is heaven, Dean.”

“You’re tellin’ me, Cas” he huffs with a crooked smile and drags the last of his beer from the bottle. He doesn’t put it down on the side table yet, he’s too content to break the sound of heaven’s nature with the glass butt of the bottle against a wood surface. He simply holds the bottle between both hands, rested on his abdomen with his legs kicked up onto the short ledge of the front porch—not quite a railing but enough of a border to mark the perimeter of the covered space adjacent the front door. Dean’s looking at the mountains and forests surrounding them, and is about to continue his westerns/cowboys spiel.

“No, Dean,” Castiel’s feet planted on the wooden floor as he shifted forward, elbows now on his knees in his rocking chair, his rocking chair, to catch Dean’s eyes. “I mean this was all designed for you, to be perfect, exactly as you desired and deserved. We can be anywhere doing anything you’d like right now.” There’s a subtle smile—excitement—across the angel’s expression.

Dean’s eyes are wide with realization for a moment before looking back into the distance of the rocky forest landscape, “Cas, are you sayin’ what I think you’re sayin’?” He lulls his head back toward Castiel’s gaze, a slow smirk appearing on his lips.

Cut To: -*GUN SHOTS* - *TRAIN HORN* -

A fast panning shot across train tracks whooshing past with the camera speed, the angle panning up to see Dean and Cas, guns, spurs, and saddles blazing as they canter after a pack of heaven generated “highway men”. Dean is the sheriff, and he’d NEVER shoot his deputy. Jack help anyone who even tries.

Meeeeee me me me me more cowboy than youuu——

*reference photo that gave me the idea of them LARPing in heaven because it makes Dean happy and that is all Cas cares about in eternity*

- I will be using this reference for Destiel art so follow if you’re interested to see my art style when I complete a few works in progress. I don’t have an art tablet or anything but I was a studio art minor, almost major, so I promise to give you at least some crunchy tasty art if nothing else, I’m a perfectionist if that tells y’all anything of what to expect from my blog. Love ya!

[averlym]

[chaaistained]

☕︎ my better cr; intro •°

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.

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🗝️ you’ve now unlocked the recipe to my better cr ≈

name : ℳ

age (when i shift) : 17/18 — i’m planning to either shift to dec 2021 or aug 2022 , wtv my subconscious chooses

occupation : university student — double degree in law and arts, majoring in media law and craft of writing & literature, respectively

+ part time tutor for english and maths, at the same private tutoring company i went to in high school

+ (eventually) part time stock acquisition and youth advertiser at a telecommunications company near my campus which is technically a nepo hire bcs my aunt works there

+ (eventually) paid internship at the australian taxation office for the study of torts and contracts and even tho i got in genuinely bcs of my marks and my interview it also feels a little nepo bcs another aunt (a family friend) also works here.. anyway

side hobbies/hustles : blogger (tumblrina in every reality if i can help it) , tiktok + youtube cover channel with two of my high school friends , fic author (ao3 curse does NOT exist here come at me) , occasional columnist for my uni’s student newsletter

my s/o : childhood family friend — lost contact and reunited ten years later — not revealing his name apart from the first letter bcs . he’s real .. anyway it’s 𝒜

౨ৎ meet ℳ

a sun kissed cinnamon bun personified — she is the smile that blossoms between warm cheeks during the burn of a sunrise ≈

in this dr i don’t change my name, and for that reason i’ll stick to the first letter (just like my pinned post) which is ℳ.

i’m nothing more than a normal girl, waking up each day already tired but willing myself to either go to uni or work, staying up late to catch up on the hours i spend doing other things, i have a closet full of clothes and yet i have nothing to wear, i have three of the same shades of lip gloss but they’re all from different brands so ofcs they’re not the same, i just bought a new journal but i’m yet to finish the one i got four years ago, i have ink stains on the tips of my fingers and chai stains on the pages edge of the novel i’m currently reading.

i just take every day like a new pot of tea leaves, waiting to be steeped to perfection.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

౨ৎ the metamorphosis

with frayed edges and tear stained cheeks, she undid the binds of a life once lived, a life once loved, finding the holes to be too much to bear in the everlasting winter of the cold reality that was thrust upon her, opting to take the needle and thread between her own fingers and stitch up the seams, to reinforce the realm of her existence into one that can hold her hand rather than hold her down

quite often i approach the concept of reinvention with a quivering hand, unable to part ways from the comfort — or perhaps the codependency — of that familiarity.

but eventually i took a step back and realised, there is no shame in finding freedom in what already feels right . after all, our souls are not dependant on this realm or this body, our consciousness is an ever expanding universe on its own, and our power to wield it is something that we have grown to understand and control in a way that allows us to live the lives we truly desire.. that’s all that this dr represents for me.

a life that i truly desire.

i’m not that different here, i have the same name, the same birthday, the same family. but it would be a lie to say everything stays the same.

i do admit to changing my appearance a bit, i’m nothing if not a perfectionist and whilst i do think my features have potential, i actually reach said potential in this reality. my upbringing has been revitalised to be something that enriched me rather than keeping me sheltered. my parental unit is less overbearing and more understanding, my brother is less of a jerk and more of a friend, my family relationships are less immature and more genuine.

i revise my failures in education, i revise my anxieties around success and the fear of that success being unreachable, i revise my health, my athleticism, my willpower and the general energy i have throughout the day to achieve everything that i wish to accomplish, everything that i could not bring myself to take a step towards in my previous reality.

my passions aren’t shamed here, they are encouraged. not just with the wary caution of a simple hobby but rather as an actual proper lifestyle, a feasible choice to make for a career, a skill that is supported as something from which i can make a name for myself.

and in this growth, in this metamorphosis, i find stability and comfort in not just my family but also my friends — people that i lost contact with, people that i drifted away from, people that i couldn’t bring myself to keep close because of the shame in my own progression or lack thereof — i’m not an aspect of shame, i never was, i know what i deserve and what i’m capable of and in this reality, i am all those things.

that’s why this is home, even after i break out of the cocoon and open my eyes in a world that’s familiar, it will also be different, because i’ll be different — no longer experiencing the slow sluggish state of what once was, for i now have a marvellous symmetry of splendour that holds me high, the equilibrium of my reality, where the scales finally tipped in my favour, levelling out to be amiably sound, with every flap of a butterfly’s wing.

𓈒⠀𓂃⠀⠀˖⠀𓇬⠀˖⠀⠀𓂃⠀𓈒

౨ৎ sugar heart cookies

it’s an inexplicable pull, an intangible tug on the heartstrings, a firm grip, a gentle ache, a deep longing. you can’t help but feel that there is something more out there for you, that there is someone more. someone that feels less like a piece and more like a whole person. someone who won’t complete you, but will help you complete yourself. two halves of a heart leaves you vulnerable when you’re apart, but when it’s two hearts beating alongside each other, the only thing left is to hold onto you

he sat beside me in his mother’s car. we were six (me) and eight (him). he sat in the drivers seat while his mother went inside the house to pick up a few things before taking the three of us (his little sister sat in the back) to a gathering of family friends.

his mother had bought us britannia little hearts. i can still remember the minuscule sugar crystals stuck to the tips of my small fingers while i dove inside the aluminium cover every few seconds to reach for the next tiny biscuit.

he asked me where i was that day — i’d stayed home from school because i felt unwell — when i told him, his first reaction was to nag me : “you know, if you’re sick, you shouldn’t be eating these. this is pure sugar.”

“yeah but i don’t want to listen to you!” — i was .. never really good at listening to people, especially not cute boys who were a little older than me.

he always seemed a bit uptight, but i guess i forgot how much he cared. because i can’t remember what happened two years later, during my last day in my old school. i remember crying, and i remember being comforted by people. but i guess i forgot that one of those people was him. i guess i forgot that he told me “it’ll be alright. i’m sure we’ll see each other again someday.”

it took us ten years but we got there.

this time, he was upstairs, in the house that was hosting a dinner among friends. i was distracted by my brother’s antics, one foot inside the threshold past the door and one foot on the pavement outside. with a flick of my head, my gaze turned up, up past the stairs in front of the door, up to the railing on the second level, a lookout point for the entrance.

he was leaning against the railing, blue button up shirt tucked into his black jeans, scrolling aimlessly on his phone, taking a quick glance to his side before doing a double take.

the silence felt like the calm before a pattering evening of rainfall, where you can feel the change in your future from the way the air seems electrified, from the way the clouds seems to churn around each other, like they’re brewing together, ready to erupt and explode into thunder, like the way you can hear your heartbeat in your ears.

he seemed familiar, he seemed important, he seemed to be everything i could ever ask for and i didn’t know why the sirens were singing in my skull but i knew in my gut he was meant to be important to me. i knew he was meant to be somebody.

it took me a second to look away, but that entire night, and every night that followed, and every day that came along with it, i can’t ever forget the sugar crystal glimmers of light in his eyes. and for every moment to come, i’ll hold the little heart biscuits of our love in the palm of my hands, because i’m not someone who listens to people very well, i don’t care if i’m not allowed, i want them . i want him.

don’t swallow the tea leaves ! for they leave you a message 🍂

this dr is very near and dear to my heart and i can’t even begin to put everything i wanna say about it into one post so .. there will be more abt this dr

it’s literally home. it’s my life.

i’m so grateful for it xx

chaai brews; tea assortments — dr archive

2025 © chaaistained

[thewandererh]

what if why we didn’t see the doctor’s primary black-cloaked vessel ingame is because it’s his last resort? what if it’s where his heart is stored? or even where all the last copies of all his vital organs are kept safe?

an active consciousness can still stem from a backup of his brain, which his primary vessel holds. so, after his physical brain goes belly up (literally😭) the network of transmitting consciousness to each of his bots is still active. just transferred to a weaker method.

following the “murder” of dr harley sawyer in chapter 4, perhaps he scrambles back to this old vessel whereever it is. maybe it’s been neglected, a plan B dangerously collecting dust, or it’s sitting pristine in a sterile room on life support. nevertheless, harley finds himself in it after croaking his “last words” mid-transfer, and struggles to breathe. he forgot about this vessel. he’d cast it aside because it held the scars of his initial transfer into machine and the containment that followed. it was his first body. and it was so weak. but now it is his last chance.

however, he’s not properly adjusted to the whole having organs thing, and this vessel needs to be properly taken care of. so with bated breath and the struggle of calming his mind, he summons one of his metal corpses from his brain’s tomb. it takes a few agonizing minutes as it arrives to wherever he is, but eventually it’s close enough that he can actively switch bodies with it. consciousness transferral relies on proximity (this is why we only see the bots around his brain ingame).

revived and disoriented, the doctor must now look after himself. the fact of being reduced to this husk eats away at every atom of his being, but he’s simply too weak. he failed. he failed and he’ll be killed for it. but he’s not afraid.

when the splitting headaches cease and he gets used to being alive he can kill something again.

soon, but not yet.

4/19/25 edit : THIS AU NOW HAS A SIDEBLOG! https://www.tumblr.com/screws-of-sawyer headcanons, fics, art!!

…

…

info ramble & sillies under cut!

au idea, ayo?? early titles are ‘mechanized-mind’ or ‘inside-the-mind-of-harley’ or even ‘dry-bones’ but i’m still brainstorming X]. i love putting my characters through emotional agony <33 but this time it’s an au of an existing character i have to analyze to get right so that’ll be fun. now for the drawing, i really like both medical concepts and making stuff up so maybe only some of the function would actually work, but i do not care. the idea was that harley’s primary vessel had a more meshy, detachable plate in his chest to give room for his heart and probably-disproportionately-sized lungs. here that plate is removed in order to help his heart beat. tons of other tubes are wired into his ventilation vents to keep him running to. my running idea for why the sarley hawyer (clone bot, aka secondary vessel) here doesn’t have a cloak is because maybe he had to take it off due to contamination. or it got snagged on the way here. but honestly i didn’t want to cover up the cool anatomy of my neat design i’ve been playing with, so he is naked once again 😔

this was the big flipaclip harley piece i mentioned in this post while trying to animate something. this idea arose instead, and slowly came to fruition as i found an elaborate way to color while listening to some lethal company and ppt 3 & 4 vids. pen pressure is really new to me and i’m on my knees thanking it for this neat coloring texture and technique i will probably never use again 🛐😌🫶 thank you apple pencil ilysm

anyways, here’s some funny wip shots, and general doctor sillies i found today!! ^_^ it’s been another doctor day

once again, astralspiff is a very cool guy guys 🗣️🔥🔥

but alas. adios amigos 😵‍💫🫡 goedenacht!

[aziraphales-library]

In light of recent events (or not so recent by the time this makes the queue 😅😅) could you all recommend some of your favorite Trans and/or Aspec omens fics?

I know we can search the tags (and everyone should!!) but what are some of y'all's favorites?

I have been looking for an excuse, nonny, so thank you for providing one. We support any and all headcanons and representations of Good Omens characters and their relationships. Please know you can request and recommend any kind of fics you want <3

We have a plentiful amount of fics on our #trans aziraphale, #trans crowley, #asexual, and #asexual relationship tags. But here are some of my personal favourites...

The first four have both trans and asexual characters, the latter two have one or the other...

All Hallow’s Eve by lalaland666 (G)

As it turned out, the reality of a Hallowe’en party for the university staff was even worse than the idea of one, and in all honesty, Aziraphale was just counting down the minutes until he could leave. "Well, this is going down like a lead balloon," a voice said from beside him.

The Art of Human Nature by IneffableDoll (T)

Crowley is a painter who has only ever had an eye for nature. That is, until a client named Aziraphale commissions her for a painting to boost her self-confidence, and Crowley discovers that her client is as beautiful as the Earth itself. Then she goes and catches feelings, because she’s a disaster.

If Not Now, When by ineffablefool (T)

Anthony Crowley has learned by now that anything that makes him happy will be temporary at best. His quietly desperate routine is challenged when he happens to strike up a conversation with a customer at work, and he starts realizing three things, in this order: 1. oh huh this Aziraphale guy is actually interesting; 2. he can't stop embarrassing himself by accidentally flirting with him; and 3. oh no this Aziraphale guy is actually extremely attractive what do I do.

Lavender, Chamomile, and a Rather Permanent Arrangement by southdownsraph (M)

Crowley owns the flower shop across the street from A. Z. Fell's tattoo shop, and can't help but be intrigued by the slightly eccentric, yet incredibly friendly tattoo artist. When Crowley does finally pluck up the courage to talk to him beyond the occasional pleasantries, he kicks off the beginning of a friendship that could so easily drift into something else entirely.

Fine by likeasouffle (E)

Crowley’s gender had changed many times throughout history, and it generally wasn’t a big deal. She’d change her hair and clothing and switch out her genitals, just a couple of quick miracles. But this time her gender had had the audacity to flip right at the moment her relationship with Aziraphale was finally becoming physical, and suddenly she found herself considering his feelings about it, wondering how he’d react. Aziraphale wanted her handsome, he’d said so himself. He wanted her short-haired and masculine. He was a self-identified pansy with a history of late-night dancing with large groups of men. Crowley decided to stay as she was.

Changing of the Seasons by AppleSeeds (T)

Confined to his bookshop, Aziraphale joins a virtual training session about urban foraging led by botanist and natural wellbeing practitioner Anthony Crowley, and feels some relief from his anxiety for the first time since lockdown began. After that, he watches every video Crowley has posted online, but will he ever get up the courage to actually interact with him? After all, Crowley keeps giving him opportunities to do so... Perhaps once the lockdown is over, some one-to-one nature-based relaxation therapy might be just what Aziraphale needs?

- Mod D

[tinartss]

psst do u have any more haikaveh fic recs? i read all the ones in your last fic rec post and loved them all ^_^

hello anon i've had this ask marinating in my inbox for months because i wanted to gather enough material to put together a longer list but even though i don't have a ton i figured it's been long enough 😭 i'm happy to hear you enjoyed the last recs! i looked back through the first list and it's truly filled with classics

without further ado here are 10 fics i've read in the past few months that altered my brain chemistry

notes:

most if not all are sfw but check tags before reading👍

organized in no particular order apologies i was lazy this time

was gonna add little comments to each but i’m now realizing that would take up a huge amt of space so. just know that all of these changed the trajectory of my life. thank u fic authors for all u do🫶

matters of the heart by luminvies (T, 11k)

“The art of tarot can be difficult to process, I know,” Al-Haitham says, nodding. “You just have to accept it.” “STOP SAYING THAT,” Kaveh says. Al-Haitham picks a random card from his pile of cards and flips it over to reveal a Genius Invokation HP food card of tandoori roast chicken. “This is going to be your dinner.” “WHY DO YOU KNOW MY DOORDASH ORDER,” Kaveh yells, typing furiously into his phone and brandishing the app in Al-Haitham’s face. “I PLACED THE ORDER RIGHT BEFORE I WALKED THROUGH YOUR DOOR.”

Al-Haitham is a tarot card reader. Kaveh is skeptical.

Tempt Me Away (But I'll Always Be Yours) by snowytuesdays (T, 31k)

"Senior Kaveh! You're early today." "Of course, I was the one who asked to meet, how could I be late?" Kaveh said, a smile automatically forming on his own face. "I don't know, perhaps you got distracted by another fraudster, asking 'Oh Lord Kaveh, will you build me a house'?" "It was that one time," Kaveh said, his cheeks burning slightly. "You just happened to find me at a bad moment." "Certainly, certainly," the scholar said, mirth in his eyes, “How could anyone possibly fool the great Light of Kshahrewar?”

HE'S TAKEN by heartslogos (T, 22.5k)

There's a visiting scholar following Kaveh around, all smiles and sunshine, and Kaveh finds himself torn between his lingering unrequited feelings for a certain someone and this bold newcomer. But Kaveh starts to realise something strange- Alhaitham never appears at the same time as the other guy. Now, as Dehya takes a minute to compose herself and come to terms with the fact that all of this has actually just happened, Dehya turns to look at Al-Haitham and Cyno, reading the absolute resignation on their faces. "Alright, how does she know you're an incredibly athletic swordsman? For all she knows those muscles could be for show. What did you do, do a full work out routine in front of her? Help take down another corrupt regime?" Dehya asks as soon as she's entirely sure that the reporter has been wrestled out of earshot. (Meanwhile, everyone else present has scattered or attempted to erase their presence to become inanimate fixtures in the background.) And then, because this is way more important than that little detail, she continues, "Wow. Damn. I never thought I'd say this, but that reporter is way too into you to be healthy. There's no way you're that hot."

revelation of the silent sands by levvli (G, 2.2k)

Sethos' new family warns him that Alhaitham and Kaveh can't stand each other. He isn't so sure. Written for the Haikavetham Gotcha for Gaza!

a cat's life comes just once by cherotonin (T, 8.4k)

The thing on the floor makes a sound at him. The sound goes something like, Meow. Kaveh had already been recognized as a genius by the time he was learning nursery rhymes, so he is of course very well-acquainted with the sounds and transliterations thereof made by various common animals. In fact, his recall speed for these associations is likely significantly above average. This is why he recognizes so rapidly and adeptly that there is a fucking cat on his floor even though he does not and has never owned a cat. “Meow,” says the cat again. “Yes, I know,” Kaveh says irritably, and then immediately feels bad about it. “I mean.” He clears his throat. “Meow, as well.”

Al-Haitham seizes an opportunity to conduct an unusual experiment regarding Kaveh's usual patterns of behavior. To maximize the integrity of his results, he does not inform the subject of his observations about the study parameters.

Or, Al-Haitham cashes in some vacation days while in cat form, and Kaveh adopts an eccentric stray in his roommate's absence.

the deepest secret by heartslogos (M, 52k)

When Kaveh opens his eyes a field of hills sprawls out before him, onward and onwards. A grass sea with waves of hills, dotted in orange and yellow and purple. Kaveh turns his eyes towards the sky and can only imagine what sunrise or sunset must look like from here. Without knowing it, Kaveh is walking out into the grass, barefoot with his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the front laces undone and his hair already messy from just waking up and when he breathes in he chokes, he chokes because as the cool grass sea air dances with him laughter blooms in his lungs and he spreads his arms wide like he could scoop it all up into himself. Like he could find the room for it. Maybe he does. Maybe he can. Who knows? The wonderful thing that Kaveh has discovered about having no memories is that he has no limits. He doesn't remember them. He can be anything. He can be a grass sea. He can be an infinite sunrise. He can be beautiful. The Howl's Moving Castle fusion that I, specifically, asked myself for.

Changes of State by GoWingOvaBored (E, 152k)

“I’ve designed many buildings in my career,” Kaveh begins, the attention of every single person in the crowd fixed on him. “Most of which have been extravagant pieces made to stand tall in our city and glitter.” Kaveh glances down at what must be some notes on the podium, pausing before he looks back up, shining in the bright lights of the stage. “But in recent years, I must admit that my focus has shifted.” Alhaitham leans forward, watching, hoping for something he can't quite admit. Not when the truth is that he’s never known how to say that he is hungry without fear that people will see the truth that he is starving.

Or, a year after the events of the Interdarshan Championship, Alhaitham finally retires

I've connected the dots (What dots? This is sudoku?) by heartslogos (T, 35k)

In which the entirety of Sumeru gets stuck on reading into something that just isn't there.

The Stars Shine Brighter in Your Eyes (but I'll never admit it) by SynapticCryokinetic (G, 32.8k)

Alhaitham has one last job as the Acting Grand Sage of Sumeru - to rescue Sumeru from another potential age of digital slavery. Kaveh was roped in amidst loud wails about his safety and agreed to help Alhaitham in exchange for never having to pay rent again. Features slightly cocky Alhaitham who is romantically oblivious and goofball Kaveh who is equally romantically hopeless.

your fragrance like an accolade by alcazary (T, 16.5k)

"I'm me. I promise, I'm me. You don't like soup— you rail at me whenever I make it because you can't eat it when you read your books. You smile at me whenever I fix your headphones for you, whenever I put a peach candy in your mouth. Alhaitham," it sounds like Kaveh's begging. He should never beg. Not when Alhaitham is going to kill him. He's not—

or: alhaitham gets kidnapped

sorry it's so short this time! it's been taking me longer to finish fics recently since i've been listening to them instead (using microsoft edge's built-in tts, would recommend!) but i hope you find something you like regardless🫡 i have a huge backlog of wonderful fics that i need to read so i shall get cracking on those and report back with more recs soon.....in the meantime if you stumble upon any life changing fics yourself please do share in the comments or tags TY🙏

[clownboymcchucklefuck]

KLEIN V.01 Theory - Where the Power button is.

This is just a quick little thing I threw together to get back into writing my theories and analysies so its a bit short.

I had written this before in an ask to the blog when my tumblr crashed so hhhhhhhh I wish it stayed because I don't like this as much as the OG.

I'm going based off the process of elimination here for the answer to this and it's all because of one post that really got me thinking.

It was asked if the power button was on Klein's center chest and the answer was no because it could accidentally be pressed during tight hugs.

That tells me that wherever it is, can't be somewhere that could accidentally press it in mundane activities.

Process of elimination/Where it couldn't be:

It can't be above heart because once again, it could be pressed during a tight hug of some sort. This could basically count for his whole front torso so we can mark that off.

It can't be on his back due to there's also different ways it could be accidentally pressed there. Laying down, getting back hugs from MC, leaning agaisnt a wall etc could all cause an accidental shut down.

Behind the neck or around neck area has already been crossed off as well, I sent an ask slapping the bar code on the back of his neck and Klein himself says that it wasn't there along with us seeing his neck and there was clearly no indication around there.

He even goes as far as to mentioning that they could look around for whatever button they wanted but the shutdown button was off limits.

The lower legs below the knees...yeah I can't see how that would work in anyways. Also it would be stupid if he got shut down because he got hit in the ankle with a scooter.

Just kinda outer body if you get me.

Places it COULD be:

I've thought about this for quite a while and even studied some of his art, but on terms of not being able to activate on access I say probably inner thigh perhaps but then that doesn't make much sense but at the same time it does. Ahshdhdbdb

Going around that same groin area I also thought of that area where its under your belly but also not actual crotch, that way in would be in an easily accessed spot but I couldn't easily be activated. And no I'm not going NSFW situations because the creator said the game is not 18+.

Now, back to where I said design wise I was thinking maybe somewhere on the arms, with his jacket having a slight glow to it and the fact it is a somewhat heavy one could stop accidental presses and whatnot.

[Glowing on the right (left?) Arm sleeve does look a bit suspicious to me but that could just be a second bar code.]

Well, that's all I have for now but than you for reading this descent into insanity because this is one of the few visual novels that have genuinely left me scared shitless, its an amazing VN.

Klein belongs to: @kleinv01

[writingquestionsanswered]

Do you have any tips on making characters more plot relevant? I have characters that are important to the story because of who they are and their interactions, but when it comes to their page time or POV I struggle to make their side and individual story meaningful. I’ve been able to add more events that they deal with and add importance to their character, but I feel as if it’s too secondary. I won’t call them afterthoughts but they kind of are. I struggle with having character arcs and development that are a part of the main plot but don’t deal with it directly often.

Making Characters More Plot Relevant

If you have characters who are important to the story in terms of their relationships with other characters, and who you feel need to be a bigger part of the story, here are some things you can do to give them a stronger role in the plot:

1 - Give Them Agency in Main Plot Events - First and foremost, you want to make sure these characters have at least some bearing on what happens in the main plot. Each character should make decisions or take actions that directly affect the main plot, at least once in a while. They can even make decisions or take actions that initiate major plot events even if they're not involved in them.

2 - Create Subplots That Feed into the Main Plot - Can you think of any "side quests" (so-to-speak) that need to be carried out in order for the story to progress that these characters could do? For example, maybe your protagonist has to pull off a big heist in order to solve the story's external conflict, so they are gathering their team. Perhaps some of these characters could go on a "side quest" to locate one of the potential recruits.

3 - Create Main Plot Conflict for Them - Each of these characters should have their own internal conflicts and their own motivation for working toward the story's goal. Can you think of some way to create conflict for them between what they want and what actually needs to happen? For example, maybe they were trained in the dark arts and the reason they are with this heist group is because they left that life behind and no longer want to practice dark arts... but maybe their role in the heist will require them to use dark magic. How will they overcome this conflict?

4 - Utilize their Unique Skills or Knowledge - Consider giving some of these characters unique skills or knowledge that can be used in the fight toward resolving the conflict. So, in the case of the example heist story, maybe one of these characters is really good at creating forgeries. Or maybe another character has incredible stealth skills. By making their knowledge or skills invaluable to the "mission," you can give them more weight and make them invaluable to the plot.

5 - Consider Combining Characters or Reassigning Tasks - Quite often, if you're really honest with yourself, you can probably take some of these important-but-not-plot-relevant characters and combine them. In other words, if you have one character who is important because they're the protagonist's love interest, and you have another character who's important because they're a main character's sibling, is there some way you can combine this into one character? So that this character is both the protagonist's love interest and the main character's sibling? Another option would be to look at important tasks completed by other characters. Can any be reassigned to a character who needs something more important to do? Or could they play an important role in assisting that character with the task?

By utilizing some of the tips above, you should be able to give your characters more relevance in the plot.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[ben10-lostandfound]

Moving Forward

So, we've come to this. Perhaps the beginning of a Bennaisance as it were.

-Dwayne Mcduffie's website updated and gave us incredible insight into the inner workings of the UAF Era, as well as Dwayne's original vision for Omniverse.

-We've had new merch drops, such as these Ultimate Alien bag clip blind bags, or these two shirts. And we're expecting a collab with Daylight Curfew.

-Some other rare media was recovered, like Game Generator 5D, or the (unfortunately useless currently) installer for Ben 10 Alien Force: Bounty Hunters.

-We've had ongoing updates to the official Ben 10 Roblox game, most recently they've added Slapback, Ultimate Cannonbolt, and skins for Grey Matter in the form of Omniverse Teen Grey Matter and Brainfrog. And we'll be seeing Surge added as a code unlock once the game hits 60k likes. (Which you guys can help with.)

-The new run of comics by Dynamite Comics slated for 2025.

-Ben getting to appear alongside some of his classic CN brethren in Jellystone!: Crisis On Infinite Mirths. (which currently has yet to release outside of the Comic Con screening.)

-And most recently, the popup marathon being recovered for the first time since April 2008, ending a long search for the original event.

So, where do we go from here? If I didn't know any better, I'd be tempted to say my work is done. But I know that isn't the case. There's always going to be something.

What about the live plays that debuted Rocks, Squidstrictor, and VilEon? More rare and interesting concept art that could turn up at any moment? The missing Hyperscan cards? An actual playable version of Bounty Hunters or Omniverse: Rise of Heroes?

To close out this post, I just want to thank every one of you who've stuck with me for as long as you have. Despite the ups and downs, I've really enjoyed doing this blog for as long as I have, it's helped me make something of a name for myself in the fanbase.

I've gotten to help preserve the history of our favorite kid superhero. I mean, a lot of the stuff might've not even turned up if it weren't for me making noise about it. 2025 may just be the year we get to see Ben at his full potential again. And perfect timing too, since that'll be the franchise's 20th anniversary as well.

-Rahk-Zi, Galvan Archivist Extraordinare... and the real admin, Roxana Sinclair.

[ihopeinevergetsoberr]

At cane’s length

this song owns my heart, and i’ve been thinking about writing something with soft dom vibes for a while sooo. here you go.

cw: viktor x reader, smut, viktor is an unbearable tease, gn reader, gn pronouns for reader

word count: 2k~

art cr: @arcanescribbles. my inspiration for this fic, actually.

*standard ‘eng is not my first language so please don’t be mean to me’ bullshit i put before posting every single one of my fics*

reblogs and comments are highly appreciated <3

Viktor is handsome in a cruel way. In an untouchable, ‘tease all the remaining sanity of you’ one, to be precise.

Cruel.

That short, plain word spins on your tongue, threatening to roll off it any second. You audibly gulp, desperately trying to swallow the harsh adjective, and the longing flows down your throat, leaving you breathless — almost too turned on to think straight whatsoever.

You can’t call him that. Even though he’s not exactly opposed to the idea of being relentlessly cussed out by you. It’s the consequences of your boldness that attract him: after all, he gets to watch you all tied up and needy, doe-eyed as you desperately ask to be touched… And then wide-eyed as you switch to being utterly unfiltered and vulgar, trying anything and everything to make him fuck you tonight. Spending the whatever’s left of your wits on those incoherent mumble-like sentences, pleading mewls mixed with the sounds of your knees scraping on the floor from all the squirming you do. Completely and utterly adorable in this state of raw desire, and it figuratively makes your brain slip out of your ear, replaces it with debauched thoughts, with inability to feel anything except for the lust — so intense, that it’s almost painful.

The ingenious, irritatingly smug man or, as you so kindly dubbed him, ‘kinky bastard’ is seated above you, the corners of his mouth curled into a wicked smile, legs spread in this tauntingly inviting manner — testing your limits, mocking you deliberately. He knows that you crave to be between those legs, struggling to fit the aching swell of his cock into your mouth, to let it stretch your slick, heavenly warm throat — or even to be split in twain, fucked over his desk like the horny mess you are — desperate, sobbing, charming in the tantrums you throw just for him, begging to be taken care of. Well, not only begging, to be frank. It’s a full-fledged demanding now, which, decidedly, did flatter Viktor, but being a brat never works on him. You have to be good to obtain his mercy. Negotiating, perhaps. Even when your sanity is gone, even when the only thing you can think of is choking on his dick. Those are the unspoken rules of earning Viktor’s touch — the sweet in its unattainability treasure. And you’ve learned it the hard way.

Viktor thinks it’s only fair, since he can’t be rough with you physically. His body might be sore, but his mind? God, you wish it was sore at least once in a while. Yes, he might not be able to frantically pound you into the mattress, but he’s perfectly capable of coming up with new ways to edge you. Which you loved, of course, but fuck would you prefer the first option so much more. But he’s an incorrigible inventor to the bone. Even in the sheets. Well, more precisely, now — in his lab.

The ropes on your wrists are rubbing the skin, keeping your hands tied reliably behind your back. They serve as one of the numerous reminders of this embarrassingly unfair position Viktor had put you in: you can’t move unless he’s kind enough to let you — he’s not restricted in his movements at all, you’re kneeling in front of him with a vulnerable expression — he’s leaning in his chair with a shit-eating grin, legs spread, head thrown back as he looks down at you in a way a master looks at his servant. You’re fully naked — he’s fully clothed. Viktor calls it ‘the perfect balance’. You call it ‘please, just take that damn thing off’. The idyll.

“Viktor, why are you doing this to me?” you mutter, glancing at him with a weak sigh. He quirks an eyebrow, unbothered, divine-looking with those rays of sunlight peeking through his dark hair, forming a figurative nimbus. ‘Like a god,’ you think, and for the briefest of moments your gaze changes from desperate to enamoured. But then you remember that your god refuses to be worshipped. That he would rather watch you suffer, disregarding your every prayer. And so you frown again.

“Funny, you should ask,” he purrs, the thickness of his accent matching the thickness of sexual tension between you. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re supposed to keep your enemies at arm’s length.“

You scoff, ignoring the painful tingling in your knees, the once cold floor beneath you warm and sticky in the places your hot skin touched it.

“I’m no enemy of yours,” you mutter, sounding almost genuinely offended. But Viktor only laughs, mouth open in a silent, amused ‘oh?’. Your only response is a frustrated moan.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, dear,” he demonstratively clutches his cane, the sexy bend of his long fingers so tempting it nearly has you cumming on the floor. “Didn’t you mention hating me earlier?”

Of course you did. How couldn’t you, when you wanted so badly to open wide for him, to bite on the calloused thumb, the undefinable salty, with a mixture of something metallic taste of his skin so familiar you could easily make it out. Oh, and with accuracy sharp enough for its savour to become a phantom sensation on the tip of your tongue. However, the same tactic never worked for his cock. Whenever you tried to imagine him abruptly pushing it inside of you — the craving would just become stronger, more unbearable. Fantasies were never enough. You needed the real thing.

“Not that I care what label you’ve decided to put on me tonight,” he continues, obviously hinting at the ‘kinky bastard’ incident. “A lover or an enemy — you’re staying at arm’s length.”

“More like at cane’s length,” you mock, angry eyes swirling that white tie oh his slender neck, but the rope around your wrists stops you from tugging on it to angrily steal a kiss.

“Cane’s length?” curious, Viktor leans over you in his chair, and for a second you’re deceived, rejoicing at the proximity, but he’s quick to remind you what a fool you are, his unhinged expression turning into an entertained one. “You have quite the brilliant mind, darling. We should probably test that out.”

Your teeth instantly sink into your tongue, instinctively scolding yourself for the inability to watch your mouth. Why, just why would you say that?

“Test that out?” you mumble, as your gaze drops to his shoes, unable to handle the intensity of his amber eyes lancing through your face.

“Exactly,” Viktor confirms, slyly biting his lower lip. “You see,” he utters, as his crutch loudly taps on the floor, causing you to shudder, “I don’t think the distance between us is equal to the length of my cane.”

“You can’t be serious,” you snapped at him, sobbing frustratingly. “Viktor, it was just a metaphor.”

“I’m a scientist, my dear. I don’t do metaphors. I do calculations and proven facts,” he utters, placing the crutch into his lap, and you find yourself shamefully jealous of that stupid stick, wishing terribly it was you resting there instead of it.

Viktor gives the cane an evaluating gaze, as if trying to measure it with his eyes, cruel grin never leaving that sharp, currently reachless for you face.

“So, supposedly,” he clears his throat, hoarse voice unbearably seductive as he pensively looks you up and down, taking in the debauched arch of your back, the redness on your aching knees. “I believe that my cane is around… say, thirty five inches long. And you, my dear,” he grabs the cane by its handle again, pointing at your face, left eye closed as if he’s trying to measure something again, torturing you shamelessly, “are still too close.”

The annoyance is impossible to hold in anymore. It’s a pure torment — incredibly hot in a certain perverted way, if you were to be frank, but god did you hate him with every fibre of your being right now, dreaming of fucking this mocking sass out of him, of teaching him a lesson. Viktor deserved to be ruined purely for the way he keeps those skilled hands to himself right now, denying you the oh so craved pleasure.

“Well, I don’t think I’m close enough to you” a protest escapes your pouted lips, but it appeared to have fallen on deaf ears, just like all of your previous, hopelessly useless pleas.

“Eh, debatable,” he utters casually, driving you even more mad with a playful shake of that insufferably smart head. You bite back an angry ‘tsk’, followed by a pissed-off roll of the furious eyes. Viktor is quick to notice the bratty demeanour.

He’s smooth in his roughness. In testing your patience with the insatiability of his own. Something cold quickly brushes your chin, forcibly tilting your head up again, and you huff at the audacity, eyes snapping open as you realise that he’s coaxing you to look him in the eye with his fucking cane.

“The fuck?” you hiss at the cocky jerk, but the way he holds that crutch to your face disarms you, adds even more arousal to the mixture of intense feelings building up inside of you.

“Language, my dear,” he purrs, eyes sparkling with malicious pride, “we‘re in a respectable place.“

He bares the upper row of his teeth, smiling at his own witty remark, and you can swear to god that never in your life have you wanted to wipe a grin off somebody’s face so badly. With a kiss, preferably. But a fist would work just perfectly fine too.

“Oh please,” you hitch in breath when the same hard edge of the cane slips off your chin to fleetingly press into your neck, but something about the uncertainty of Viktor’s movements tells you that he’s not done with you yet, that there’s more ‘foreplay’ to come. “Your lab is not a church.”

“Oh yeah? Why are you kneeling then?” he teases, poking you with that sharp sarcasm. As if a goddamn crutch against your throat is not humiliating enough already.

“I want to slap you.”

Viktor hums, and the tortuous cane traces the curve of your shoulder, causing your breath to hitch in anticipation, the contrast of the cool material with your hot skin stealing a dreamy gasp from you.

“Slap me?” he murmurs, enjoying the way you suffer for him. Because of him. “Well, too bad I’m that good at tying knots.”

“You’re an awful person.”

“Oh, don’t flatter me like that.”

“No, seriously, why don’t you just allow me to make you feel good?” you practically cry out, arching your hips in a desperate attempt to get closer to him. But the cane is still there, gently dipped into your collarbone to keep you in place.

“You’re already making me feel good,” he whispers, pushing you away, and all you can do is groan, squirming like you’re facing grim death. But considering the current intensity of your overstimulation, that death might actually turn into quite the real one. In the guise of this devilishly handsome tease, which would make it the worst and the best way to go at the same time.

“But I can make you feel even better,” you beg, half-lidded, exhausted and so beautiful in this perverted state of such earnest vulnerability. Just precious. Sacred even, if the situation wasn’t so sinful. “Viktor, please. Aren’t you done torturing me? I could do so much better than just grovel here.”

“Perhaps,” he presumes, but you know him and his undying love for the eye-fucking too well. Hell, he might just adore this humbling staring even more than having actual sex with you. “But I would rather enjoy the exhibition for a little longer.”

You roll your eyes again. A rather dangerous choice of a reaction, because the crutch in his hand abruptly taps on your shoulder, drawing your attention back to his glistening eyes.

“Roll your eyes at me again and I’ll make it two cane’s length,” he threatens, and you bite your lip to suppress a pitiful moan so hard, that your teeth leave two crimson marks on it’s tender flesh.

And that sexy, secretly favourite torture of yours starts all over again.

[abalidoth]

Southpaw

What was once steel, made flesh. What was once whole, made broken.

Inspired by a post by @transhuman-priestess.

CW: Medical trauma.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/65250568

“Good morning, Ethan,” said my jailer, with a cheer matched only by my hatred.

I looked up from my bed. I didn't bother to correct her. My name is Zenith. Ethan had been gone for years, an old skin that never fit me. But contradicting Sister Sarah leads only to punishment – the last time I’d snapped at her and asserted my real name, she assigned me to “meditation retreat” for a week. Seven days of solitary confinement in the dark. I’d rather claw out my remaining eye.

“I have good news for you,” she said. “Your hand is ready!”

I shuddered. I had been dreading this day. 

She led me out of my cell, and locked the door behind her with a click. There were two Wardens with her – Brother Elijah, who I recognized from previous excursions out of my cell, and another one, a hulking man that I don’t recognize. He glared at me as he steadied an arm under my armpit, and Elijah took the other.

“Brothers Silas, Elijah, please, with me to the operating theater.”

It’s an ordeal, moving around. The Edenists took my bionic leg, so I can’t walk without crutches. But they also stole my robotic hand, so I can’t use crutches on my own. Most humiliating of all, my eye – so not only can I no longer see the ultraviolet patterns on flowers, I don’t even have stereoscopic vision. I wasn’t sure why they didn’t just put me in a wheelchair; maybe, despite what they said, the deprivation was part of the point.

Unnatural, they call us. Perverse. As if there’s something natural about intentionally maiming a person, removing parts of them and dragging their shambling half-corpse down a hallway to –

Actually, I wasn’t ready to think about what happened at the end of the hallway yet.

Sarah walked ahead of us imperiously, owning the space, projecting a confidence that belied her short stature. Even though I could only see the back of her neatly coiffed auburn hair and blue dress, it felt like she was staring at me.

I averted my eyes, instead looking at the Scripture passages and kitschy art that adorned the otherwise hospital-like walls of the compound.

Sarah led us through a pair of double doors to a room that I knew all too well. An eerie blue glow suffused it, almost ultraviolet enough to hurt the eyes. Rows and rows of tanks were mounted to opposite walls, filled with actinic blue suspension gel.

Each one held an organ.

Some of them were recognizable horrors, eyeballs and fingers and lungs, even a little bit of brain. Most of them were internal organs, undifferentiated little blobs of flesh, the bloody red of them shaved down to indistinct blacks and browns by the cyan of the gel.

I had to remind myself that most of these were going to people who needed them, who actually wanted them. Most of these weren’t atrocities, but acts of deep mercy.

But three tanks in this room – one hand, one eye, and a big one for my leg – were for me.

“Here it is,” Sarah said, gesturing at a tank near the bottom of the stack. A pristine left hand floated in it. A mirror of my right floating in the middle of the tank, tethered by gummy strands of tissue to the growth matrix surrounding the tank. A twin – or perhaps younger sister – of the one that I had lost in an accident three years ago.

A spasm wracked through the hand suddenly, curling it nearly into a fist.

Sarah laughed, a fake, brittle sort of sound. “Ah, they do tend to do that sometimes. To keep the muscle toned.”

I retched a little, barely keeping my breakfast down, and pulled away.

“Come now, there’s no time to wait. We’ll get you off to surgery.”

She peeled off, presumably to consult with the surgeons, leaving me with Silas and Elijah. Elijah considered me as he always did – basically a sack of potatoes that he sometimes had to haul from place to place. But Silas was still glaring at me.

“Hey, new guy,” I said. I never wanted to mouth off to Sarah, but the orderlies were another matter. “First time seeing a real-life cyborg, huh? Booga booga.”

Something unreadable crossed his face and he looked away. “Let’s get you to surgery.”

—

They didn’t even have to strap my body down for the procedure. What was I going to do, hop away?

It was never more than lying down on my back that I missed my leg. It was obvious when I was standing how much the lack of balance threw me off, but the constant tension from the asymmetry when I was laying down was horrible. The operating table was uncomfortable, and the room was drafty.

The surgeon was a man I’d never seen before, wearing surgical scrubs and a hairnet, with a neatly trimmed moustache. He came in without greeting me and grabbed hold of the stump of my left arm. He turned it this way and that, tut-tutting at something objectionable, then swung a board with straps up from under the table and strapped my forearm to it.

“If only you’d come to us right away,” he said. His voice was reedy, higher than I expected. “That hack job you did with the machines made this procedure much more difficult, there will be a longer wait time than usual.”

“I didn’t come to you,” I said. “You kidnapped me.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” he said. “You’ll see how much better your life will be here, with real humans, with real body parts. And once they see how successful we’ve been with you, we’ll have a much easier time bringing in all those pitiable drifters in the desert.”

“Please,” I said. “Don’t do this. I don’t want this. I just want to go home.”

He smiled gently. “Poor thing. You are home.” And he strapped the anaesthetic mask to my face.

—

There was nobody around when I awoke. I was in a different room, one that had windows, although there was no light from outside.

My arm was still strapped to the table, swaddled in gauze. And at the end of it was a pink, fleshy hand. The fingers were wrinkled as though I had just gotten out of a shower. It had none of the callus of the hand I still had on the other side, and the skin of the palms was strangely smooth and shiny.

The hand twitched, sending pain coursing down my arm. I turned my head to the side and retched, hard. Nothing came up but a bit of stomach acid.

I could feel the cold air through the fingers, but it felt wrong. Tingly, staticky, much worse than when I was adapting to the neural feedback of my metal hand years ago. It felt like I was feeling everything through tinfoil gloves.

I looked away. I couldn’t stand the sight of it, couldn’t tolerate the feeling. My tendons and joints were on fire from where they had spliced them together.

I thought of undoing the straps on the board and at least freeing my arm, but I didn’t want to do any more damage than they had already done. If I had to live with this thing, I wasn’t going to make it any worse on myself.

The door creaked open. I turned to see who it was, but backlit by the bright hallway all I could see was a hulking silhouette. He carefully locked the door behind him, and approached me. It was Brother Silas, the new guy, the one who was so disgusted by me he couldn’t keep it off his face. His hood was down, now, revealing a mop of curly black hair.

He put a hand on my shoulder, pushing me into the bed. Before I could shout out, he clapped a hand across my mouth.

I struggled, but his hold was firm. He leaned down and whispered into my ear. “Silicon City sent me.”

I stopped moving. He retracted the hand across my mouth, and the hand on my shoulder became more of a reassuring brace than a shove. “W – what?” I said quietly.

“Vixen knew me from jobs she had done before,” he said, in a low rasp. “She hired me to infiltrate the Edenists and get you out. Everyone misses you, Zenith. We’re getting you out of here.”

Tears came to my eyes, unbidden. “Now?”

He shook his head. “Still need to lay some preparations. A week, probably. I’ll try to get you out before they graft anything more to you.”

“Thank you,” I said. “Thank you. We can’t let them take anyone else.”

“I know. We won’t.” He grabbed my right hand with his. “Stay strong, ok?”

His hand was rough, calloused, but warm. “Okay,” I said.

The thing at the end of my other arm spasmed in response.

[polycraftory]

Getting Started: Junk Journaling

So you want to get started with scrapbooking/junk journaling? This is a craft, like many others, that you can get started on with very little supplies! However, we'll get a little deeper into stuff as well for some additional tips and supplies that might be fun or helpful.

What You Absolutely Need

Scissors / Cutting Implements - If you can, buy a nicer pair of scissors for your own sanity, but any scissors will do starting out! Detail scissors specifically are really helpful. Exacto knives can also be helpful, but you'll also need a cutting mat if you don't already have one. This category is worth investing in because dull scissors are a nightmare.

Adhesive - ZipDry is designed for paper so it doesn't bleed through thin stuff and it dries quick and clear. Double sided tape rolls are also very helpful, especially with large areas or gluing a bunch of stuff quickly. This is an area worth investing in earlier! Thin paper and magazine paper will have bleed through with certain glues.

Notebook/Paper - Use what you have! If you, like me, have a million journals lying around, use that! As you get deeper in, you might find it helpful to specifically look for notebooks that lie flat when opened. You can also use sheets of art paper if you want to go more independent collage style rather than journaling. Watercolor paper/notebooks are nice because they are thicker, but you can use whatever.

Materials to Actually Cut/Glue/Use - Okay, here's where you really can do whatever you want forever and spend as little or as much as you want. You can cut up books and magazines you have on hand. If you have a printer, you can print stuff out! People sell really amazing curated mixed packs of materials (you can support some great shops on etsy doing very cool and niche stuff! If you are really on a budget, amazon sells some bulk packs as well).

Material Tip

If you don't have a husband that works in a mailroom (we are very lucky) and you don't have a lot of magazines on hand, try going to your local post office and dig through the recycling bin! A lot of people will throw out magazines/ads/catalogues there and you might find some gems. You can also get a free trial for some magazines and just cancel once they want to charge you money. Nic finds Vogue and GQ helpful for people. National Geographic can be helpful for backgrounds and animals.

Leveling up details below the cut!

Level Up

Slide Cutter - Make sure you get one with a replaceable blade! Super helpful for bulk cutting out big shapes.

"Okay, but I see people online with fancy stuff and I want to get in on that action!" you may say. Here is some fun stuff to play with!

If you see someone whose junk journaling content you like, you can also just reach out to them! A lot of people are happy to share links to the stuff they use and a lot of junk journalers online run their own shops/have affiliate links to the stuff they use!

Fun Junk Journaling Variety Packs - truly this is where a lot of people spend a lot of money because you can buy all sorts of fun niche packs depending on the vibe/focus you want to go with. You can also buy packs of quotes / letters / sayings. This can be helpful especially when doing character focused stuff. My wife really likes the packs from PengellyCrafts on etsy.

Washi Tape - People really like using washi tape, especially the transparent ones. These can be surprisingly expensive.

Transparent Stickers - These are fun because you can get a lot of detail and layering without intricate cutting. If you are careful with detail cutting you can cut the white border on normal stickers if you can't swing transparent ones.

Stamps - Like transparent stickers, this can add fun depth and layering, though with perhaps slightly less detail. The best part about stamps is that they are infinitely reusable and you can get all sorts of stamp pads. The downside is they are surprisingly expensive. You can even get stamps that help you make backgrounds like stars or wood texture. There are also "container" stamps like jars and bottles that you can put stuff in!

Embossing Powder - You can pair stamps with a glue stamp pad (or get glue markers) to use with embossing powder and a heat gun to create embossed details that add depth and texture. Make sure you are careful about what order you do things in when using heat!

Distress Ink (or Distress Oxide) & Blender/Diffuser - Make things look aged! This is a stamp pad you can use to make any paper or image look older than it is. Make sure you also get the little foam blender they also sell for application since it'll go on too thick if you try to use it directly on the paper.

Wax & Wax Seals - Wax can be fun to play with because it is both an adhesive and also adds dimension. Note: a lot of embossing or wax in a journal can make it hard to close a notebook.

Old Books - You can buy used books or use books that you don't want anymore for backgrounds to cut out words. Things like recipe books and encyclopedias can be especially helpful/vibe-y.

Fun Edges / Frames - You can get scrapbooking scissors or edge punches to add fun details and shapes to paper edge. It just depends on whether you like that look! Something like a simple round edge punch can be helpful.

Have Fun With It

Do you do other crafts, like painting or cricut? You can pair so many different crafts with junk journaling to make a cool multi-media piece. The most important thing to remember is to use what you have and have fun with it! Don't put off starting because you want all the bells and whistles or think you have to spend a bunch of money like the people who create junk journaling internet content! Create joyfully and lean into the chaos.

Please let us know if this guide was helpful and if you'd like a more specific buy list or tutorials on anything! We are here to help make crafting more accessible <3 You got this! Go junk journal!

If you want to see Nic's junk journaling, we are going to queue some in the next few days. Check our pinned post to find our junk journaling tag for inspiration!

[brainworms-all-night-long]

Hello hi, I'm Brainworms and this be an all inclusive intro to the hellspace that's my brain and this blog!! Do not attempt to find any parallels in my blorbos to my behavior and desires I promise it says nothing about the very core of me as a living being haha

I also have a Bsky and PillowFort in case this place kicks the bucket fr

And if you feeling like you have a lot of money and don't know where to put it, you can Commission me (OPEN) or Buy Me a Coffe!! I am currently saving up for a new phone and headphones

While you're still here, please donate to these fundraisers for Sahar Shehab, Maryam, Wasim, Heba Al-Dahdouh, Mahmoud and Ali as I'm unable to do so myself

Every silly appearing above lives full time in my brain and refuses to pay the mortgage, in fact, is very adamant they will never do so. Henceforth, I yap about them sometimes!! Some more than others *coughNinecough* but they are always present

>Now to the tags I actively use!!

sonic prime / sonic the hedgehog / miles nine prower – The most of thoughts at the actual documented begining of life for this blog, and I like Nine!! A lot!! A character made specifically for me I think....

murder drones / arcane / nimona 2023 / dreamtale (UTMV) – Other stuff besides Sonic that I draw and yap about, although this is still mainly a Sonic blog

me does arts / littol doodl / actually finished doodl – My art tags!! I've been drawing the same character for over two years now help :D Have no idea why I decided to split them into three separate categories but I believe the names are pretty self explanatory

me when I finish writing – I do a drable or two sometimes as well just, don't expect for me to actually finish anything I start writing even though I say I will, that tag name is a lie

the silly text box – answered asks whenever I remember to use the tag lmao

silly brainworms – my yappings, Nine character analyses and headcanons!!

There's no talk tag, if you see my random unrelated thoughts, it was destined and once in a lifetime event

>I also have a few AUs but mostly of the "What if crossover" variety

Prime bros – a more or less non committed collaborative effort of random.headcanons and drables between me and @/000marie198 and anyone else who has thoughts and wants to join in on the fun on the idea of having the Shatterverse foxes (Nine, Sails, Mangey and Tails) living together in green hill and causing mayhem because the way the show left them was bullshit and unsatisfying!!

The same but different is my own personal version of the prime bros universe that is now actually being incredibly slowly written and the first three chapters are on my Ao3!!

Project 09 – a Tails gets adopted by Eggman AU except it's Nine getting "adopted" by the Chaos Council and to no one's surprise, it fucks him and everyone else up in a special way

Over the hills – is a Dreamtale and Sonic crossover brought on by The Nine-tailed travel guide through the multiverse event conceived by @/Donelywell and mashed with my long time held dreamswap au idea of Dream taking Night and running away from the village after taking some drastic measures that is also posted on Ao3!! (more stuff will come to it in time. I hope)

running from a Nightmare – another Dreamtale au, this time about corrupted Nightmare being set loose on the Sonic world by none other than Eggman and the suffering that comes with it (also fighting tooth and tail to get it written)

the n 'n n's (read as m&m's) – unserious crossover where I put Nine Night and Nimona together and have them be silly (perhaps Nuzi will tag along some day too...)

And because I keep having Dreamtale & Sonic thoughts, I do lump them all together under the dreamtale and sonic tomfoolery tag!!

prime arcane – as seen above, I like arcane!! Jinx and Nine are eerily similar in their sibling and identity struggles, I put them together, boom an Au :D other characters are there too but I need to get around actually designing them....

>This will get updated in case I get possessed by something new or remember a tag I forgor

——

Hey you scrolled this far might as well put some more random trivia abt me here :D

>paleontology and zoology nerd, but only as an avid listener to four hour YouTube documentaries, I don't actually know shit- (Miniminuteman, Casual Geo and Lydnsey Nikole hyper carry this special interest shoutout to them)

>Obviously a followup to previous point needed, favorite dinosaur is the Archeopterix and the animal ever is the Blunt Headed Tree Snake (which is also my Sonicsona by the name of Shoelace)

>I have a pet snake, her name is Ebi and is a black head spider python!!

> Graduating a four years study of Mechanical engineering in a weeks time I also have no fucking clue what I'm doing ill be happy if this is finally over

>Favorite color is pink!! (In case you couldn't tell by my art and this whole post lmao) I went through a goddamn hero's journey to learn to love it alright you can pry the seven plain hot pink shirts and hoodies I own from my cold dead hands

>I'm Slovak!! Niečo niečo hokej, Tatry, a zlatý Bažant

>Aro, Ace and Agender (that's where the AAA battery comes in lmao)

>undiagnosed but there's.... something...

> I could recite the story of the ugly duckling backwards as a kid (unrelated to previous two points)

[yumeka-sxf]

Spy x Family Exhibition Pamphlet

I got my copy of the Spy x Family exhibition pamphlet! I wanted to make HD scans of some of the notable pages and try to translate if I can.

First off is this great "Main Character Correlation Chart" (sorry for my amateur editing, all I have is MS Paint!)

I love how Bond has a different "bofu" (woof) for Loid and Yor!

Several of the pages show the creation process of the manga, starting with rough sketches to final drafts, using chapter 1 as an example. There were a lot of pages for this, so I just scanned the ones that showed the end of the chapter.

Probably the most interesting pages of the pamphlet are the early character designs/concept sketches. Most of these have already been shared by @sy-on-boy on her post here, but I thought it'd be cool to have them in HD! Unfortunately, even with higher quality images it's very difficult to decipher Endo's handwriting. I could make out just a few words here and there, and Google Lens is very unreliable when the writing isn't clear.

The first page has early concepts for the Forger family, Loid, Anya, the WISE logo, and the Eden uniform.

Things to note are that "Oscar" was a working name for Loid, as was "Yolanda" for Yor. What's also interesting is that a beta version of Franky is shown along with the Forgers. Unfortunately I can't make out the notes about him, but I think this has significance because of a sketch on the next page...

Most of the next page shows concept designs for Yor, with a section for Bond and Yor's coworkers on the bottom.

However, what's really intriguing is the sketch in the upper right of the whole family, titled 疑似家族 (pseudo family).

Once again, a Franky-looking character is with them, and he has the title "Uncle" (叔父) Was an uncle originally going to be part of the main Forgers? Was he actually related to Loid or Yor, or if that character did eventually become Franky, maybe he would just pretend to be Loid's brother? I can also make out the word "otaku" (オタク) in the notes for this character as well as "enjoying life" (人生を楽しんでる) Also in the notes for beta Yor it looks like 最強 (the best/strongest) and バカ (idiot/dummy) All I can make out for Loid's notes are 孤独 (loneliness) I think? And what's up with the older and more sinister looking Anya? She really looks like Ashe there. But these are all just early concept designs/notes so I wouldn't take them too seriously.

The next page titled "East and West During the Cold War" has concept designs for Franky, Yuri, Fiona (referred to as a female WISE spy), a male WISE spy, Melinda, and various assassins from the cruise arc.

The first interesting thing to point out is the notes next to the very crudely drawn woman at the bottom of Yuri's concept designs. It says "Yuri's girlfriend?"(ユーリの 彼女?) though I can't make out clearly what the rest of it says. For the Franky designs, I could make out "tsukkomi or boke". So it looks like at some point Endo was deciding whether to make him more of a tsukkomi (straight man) or boke (wise guy) personality. There's also mention of giving him a high IQ (IQ高い). Also, the fact that the sketches include Melinda and the cruise arc assassins gives the impression that Endo had ideas for these story elements very early on.

But the character relationship chart in the lower left is really intriguing.

I'm not sure how accurate these translations are so take them with a grain of salt, but they do make sense to me. But I have to wonder why Anya and Becky are connected to Desmond. For Becky, it could be because her family has ties to the Desmonds, but why Anya? Could the "mysterious institute/lab" she comes from have ties to Desmond too? Again, these could just be early concepts from ideas that Endo is no longer using, so best not to take them literally. Also, the lack of Shopkeeper/Garden in the character relationship charts, the concept art, and the exhibition overall, really does portray them as a "mysterious organization" that Endo perhaps didn't plan out until later in the series' development and is still trying to figure out. But as far as this sketch, I have to say that despite how terribly crudely drawn all their little heads are, it's easy to identify every character...proof of Endo's top notch character design skills!

Another sketch that stands out is on the same page...

It's a very rough drawing of what appears to be either Loid holding Yor or Yor holding Loid with Anya next to them. But honestly it's such a rough drawing it could be any other parents+child. All I can make out of the text directly above is "My wife is stressed!? At this rate..." And the drawing next to it also appears to be two parents and maybe two children? I also have no clue what the "WJ4C 9/20, etc" at the top means. Very mysterious sketch, lol.

The next page has Eden related concepts, including Becky, Damian, George, and various teachers. The drawings in the bottom section appear to be an alternate/abbreviated version of how the Forgers met.

Pretty funny that an image of Franky is covering what's supposed to be a sketch of Demetrius. The text from Franky says "I can't show you this information yet" which is pretty solid proof that Demetrius will make an appearance in the series eventually. There's also nicknames for Damian and Demetrius in the notes - "Dami" and "Demi."

Some notes on the Eden page says there's 2,000 students in the school, with 13 grades divided into 8 classes/houses. The chart on the left is a list of teacher names and their classes, all of which are given names of colors. None of the teacher names have been used so far in the series.

And all that's on the last page of sketches is a continuation of the previous page with the early concept of how the Forgers started (it honestly looks pretty cute, wish it wasn't just rough sketches). And the following section looks like drafts Endo did for promotional material.

The final pages of the pamphlet are the new extra mission chapter which I already fully translated here.

And that's all I'm going to share for now from the pamphlet! I could spend more time trying to decipher the concept art notes but it was giving me a headache after a while, lol. But if anyone wants to try translating them, go ahead (I have higher quality png files of all the scans if needed...they were too big for Tumblr). And again, these sketches are just trial and error pre-serialization ideas that don't necessarily reflect Endo's final vision for the series, so I wouldn't dwell on them much other than for fun theorizing.

The pamphlet does have other interesting information, including an interview with Endo, a timeline of his work on Spy x Family and other manga, and his notes about random things from the series. So I might return to translating the pamphlet at a later date when I have time/motivation.

[kanmom51]

Rebirth - Muse - JM

[**This post was written before the release of today's BTB and the little explanation JM gave us about Rebirth and Slow dance. What can I say other than just how much more my words feel relevant now. ]

As promised.

Thought I'd sneak this one in before Are you sure? lands, cause Idk, I just have this feeling that once it does we are up for 1 of two options:

I'm so overwhelmed by the amount of content we are getting that I'll be so dumbfounded and unable to post at all; Or, I will be so busy ruffling through everything running after my own tail trying to post post post post, that I will have zero time or ability to post this.

Long story short, this was the time. Do or die pretty much.

So Intro: Rebirth.

Before I get into the lyrics themselves I do want to go back to what we learnt from the Minimoni album exchange.

I kind of feel like a broken record here, but then again, I do think that obviously watching that exchange and my post on it can be a good starting point into understanding not only what Muse is all about, but also that out of all the songs on the album, Rebirth, in a sense, is just a little more personal than the others.

JM talks how the lyrics for this one were really hard to write. He mentions this a couple of times.

This was also when JM talked it was hard to write about having a crush.

Before moving on and talking about the song itself I do want to clarify something here.

I was really surprised to see how people are interpreting this.

Do people not know what the meaning of the word crush is? Not only the actual term JM used in Korean (that perhaps got lost in translation), but the actual meaning of the word in English.

짝사랑 - this is the term JM used while talking to RM.

Which basically translates as unrequited or one sided love, which is just that if you understand the actual term of the word.

Go to Oxford dictionary and crush is described as: "a brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable." And if you look up "infatuation" well: "an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something."

Now, when I heard the word crush that is exactly what I understood and it was funny for me to see that there were those that interpret the word as falling in love or being in love or similar to that, when crush means something else all together.

*Side note: JM's love life aside, knowing the concept of JM's album, it's easy to understand why he chose to use the idea of a crush as a metaphor to describe that short lived passion/excitement he was feeling with his work, telling us or showing us, with the development of the songs in the album, that indeed it is short lived and he was yet to find that long lasting feeling of excitement with the things he was doing (work/his art) - still searching for that "who".

Back to the meaning of crush.

As explained, a crush in English means an intense infatuation with another that is mostly unattainable. Two people can crush on each other, but it's a crush only as long as it is yet to be requited. Once it is reciprocated then it's no longer a crush. So, you can crush on someone unknowing that the other person has a crush on you. This crush can fizzle out and end in nothingness. But a crush evolve into a relationship if the two people involved move forward from it. Making that move forward towards each other.

This is what having a crush looks like:

And this is how it looks when you had a crush and are realizing that maybe, just maybe that person is reciprocating.

And this is when you have decided that he really is.

That was back in 2015 btw. August 2015 and December 2015. ALMOST 9 YEARS AGO.

Unattainable.

Short-lived.

Are we surprised JM wouldn't remember the last time he had a crush?

I will repeat this for the rows in the back that might not have heard. When JM says he doesn't remember the last time he had a crush, that doesn't mean he's single. Whoever thinks that is what he's saying needs a crash course in English and/or life.

A crash course in crush... lmao (yes, I am easily entertained).

So, JM had to turn to the youngest member of SGMB (lol) to remind him what it feels like to have a crush. And yet, as I have explained in the Minimoni post, Muse might not be autobiographical, but that doesn't mean that there aren't personal aspects to some of the songs, and the lyrics. Feelings expressed being real feelings drawn from his trove of inner thoughts, feelings and life and love experiences.

I will also add that although crushing is mostly one sided, and when it turns into more, as in the other party reciprocates, of course there are some of the feelings that linger. The rush, the want, the need. But at the same time things change in that the other side is feeling the same. When you look at them, they look back, gazes linger rather than avoiding eye contact, for example. There are the touches when crushing, and there are the touches, just as hesitant, after it becoming MORE. The first are one sided and usually hidden as something else (for example: "I just need to check your arm muscles for a sec"), while the second are two sided, intentional but at times hidden from others.

The differences might be so very slight at times, but if you have a keen eye you can definitley notice them. And they sure were noticeable when it came to Jikook.

Another thing before I start.

One word:

SERENDIPITY

Idk why, but I feel like Rebirth is a prequel to Serendipity. Even though Serendipity was not written by JM (although I do believe he had input into the song just like or even more so with John Billion - remember how JM says he's an American RM...), it most certainly was claimed by him and JK as theirs. You are me I am you being their trademarked catch phrase. A love ode from JM to JK. That song JM said he will gift his loved one and did. Followed by GCFT, JK's love ode to JM. And if I'm going down that road, well, if Rebirth is the prequel to Serendipity I'd say that Letter is the sequel to Serendipity. I kind of think I've mentioned this before in one of my posts about Letter.

Now that I'm done with my precursor, let's move on to the actual song. A song that out of the lot of them in this album seems to be the most personal. The only song that we didn't get to see the process of writing or recording of in content we have gotten so far for Muse (promotions now over).

[Verse] If I'm tryna be special Can I get closer to you? I can feel my heart pounding When your fingertips graze past me If I'm tryna be special So that I can sing while making eye contact with you I'll show you, baby Oh, I didn't realize Oh, I didn't think I'd care Oh my gosh, now I Won't hide You are the light in my darkness Like the sunshine vibe It spreads quietly [Chorus] That I want a real good love, good love, good love I'm tryna find a love, good love, real love I was in pitch black, but I couldn't stop thinking of you all day long I want to take one step and two steps closer without you knowing Stay with you, with you, with you, with you I will be your reason, rеason, reason, reason I hope this feeling rеaches you, to you, you To you [Outro] White clouds The wind passing by Floating petals It feels like it's been waiting just for us When that door opens When I get closer to you I'll tell you this I will be special all for you Special just for you For you (For you) For you (For you) I wanna be with you

I will share with you what went through my mind once listening to Rebirth, all while reading parts of the translated lyrics. The flashing scenes. Parts that screamed JK or Jikook.

"I can feel my heart pounding When your fingertips graze past me"

This:

And this:

And this:

And this:

More:

I can go on with this all day long. Being one of the most obvious sus behaviours with these two. But seeing that I don't want to exceed my image limit in this post I think this is where I will stop. Point made I guess.

"So that I can sing while making eye contact with you"

This was the first thing that came to mind:

😭😭

Although these did too:

And do we recall JK's sentiments about making eye contact with JM on stage?

They connect on stage. Before, during and at the end of the performance. We have seen it and they have told us so throughout the years.

Was that what JM was thinking of while writing that line?

This is clearly a line that is taken from his own personal experience. Singing while making eye contact is not something that regular people like you or I would come up with to express a feeling of love or want towards someone.

Drawing from his own emotions and experiences, how it is for him and how he might have used to wish it would be.

This line, more than any other is clearly that.

"Oh my gosh, now I Won't hide You are the light in my darkness" and "Like the sunshine vibe"

The latter, as JM explained to RM, was a word game/pun for which he asked permission from Taeyang to use in his song, seeing that his name literally means sun and Vibe was his song, lol.

But, we also know there is someone else, much closer to home, much closer period, that is referred to as the sun. Someone that makes JM happy. Someone that makes JM laugh even when he's sad. Someone that JM chose to go into the army with, together!!! Someone that is the other half of the sun and moon duo, the sun to JM's moon.

And what about this?

I'm tryna find a love, good love, real love

And he found it.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

"When that door opens When I get closer to you I'll tell you this I will be special all for you Special just for you For you (For you) For you (For you)

And he is. JM is special for JK. He has told and showed us this in so many ways in the past.

"I wanna be with you"

I wanna be with you...

Again, JM told us the songs aren't about his life, right? And yet, that doesn't mean they don't have a personal connection, that while writing he didn't take from his own experiences or feelings, that after writing he feels an emotional connection with the song, that even if not intended to it hits closer to home than others. And I feel like this is the case with Rebirth. I do believe that there is a reason it is the connecting song between Face and Muse. That there is a reason the interlude separates it from the rest of the songs.