#props to me for the creative title LOL

[rougepancake]

Hello! I love to ur writing so much ml!! It’s so descriptive and the plot is incredibly well written. Is it possible for me to request aged up genya x f. reader, where he has a breeding kink? thank you!! 💘

SBWJWJWNWJS TYSM GWEN!!!

Not baby, babies

FT. Genya Shinazugawa

WARNINGS: Suggestive content under cut. Minors and ageless blogs dni, you will be blocked. Breeding kink, modern au.

How long had you been sitting there?

You figured it didn’t matter, since it kinda was your job to look after this kid.

That’s right. You work at a daycare, and it was just you and this kid here. His parents had yet to come pick him up, despite your hours being posted clearly on the window. It sucked for you too, since Genya was on his way to take you home.

The poor kid was miserable too. He was crying the whole time, clinging to your side as if you were actually his mother.

Eventually, after what felt like hours of sitting there, Genya and the kid’s parents showed up. Thankfully, the parents explained why they had been late, and even handed you a little cash as compensation, which meant you were free to go home now.

And Genya was uncharacteristically quiet.

“Honestly, I’m just glad they didn’t forget the little fella.” You sighed and leaned back in the passenger’s seat of his truck, closing your eyes with a frown. “Could you imagine? I’d have to get the police involved.”

You were met with silence.

“He was crying so hard too, I felt awful.”

Nothing.

“Genya?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you so quiet?” You finally looked over at him, and noticed how red his face was. Holy shit was he okay?? “Oh my god are you running a fever?!? Pull over!!” You panicked and grabbed ahold of his arm, frowning as he avoided your worried gaze.

“Y/n- I uh- I’m fine. Don’t worry…” He cleared his throat nervously, and you knew something was up.

“What? Was it something I did?”

“W-Well- I uh- yeah…” He finally turned his head to look at you, his eyes lidded and his face flushed. “You looked so damn hot with that kid. I kinda wanna give you one of my own just to see what you’d look like.” The words left his mouth, and it was clear that he didn’t think before he spoke.

You were both surprised by his words.

“H-Huh?!?”

“N-NOTHING!!!”

It was an awkward drive home.

[weirdkpopgirl]

Main Character | Jaemin Imagine #16

Title: Main Character

Genre: Fluff, a little angst if you squint

Warnings: reader talks down about herself a little

Word Count: ~1k

Author's Note: This was an idea that came to me last night when I couldn't fall asleep lol. I don't know I just have this very romantic image of Jaemin in my head, which makes me come up with these silly scenarios. He's genuinely someone that makes my days brighter, so I hope this story can do that for you if possible. Thank you for reading ^ ^

𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪

Na Jaemin was the last person you expected to be friends with. Not because he was a jerk or a playboy— quite the opposite, actually. He was the kind of guy that girls admired for his bright smile and pure kindness. But he was also the popular type that didn’t typically mingle with students like you. However, it was Jaemin’s persistence that broke through those stereotypes.

And there he was, letting himself into your apartment with a bag of snacks he bought at the convenience store nearby. A smile crept his lips when he found you sitting at the coffee table, engrossed in an assignment. Placing a carton of banana milk beside you caught your attention. You glanced up from your laptop and met his warm, smiling eyes.

“Thanks,” you mumbled, taking hold of the small beverage.

“No problem,” Jaemin replied, plopping down next to you on the floor. “Whatcha working on?”

“Just this story for my creative writing class. I’m trying to come up with the characters,” you explained, your eyes flickering back to the laptop screen.

A sigh of resignation involuntarily slipped past your lips. “It’s a bit harder than it looks.”

As a biomedicine major, Jaemin didn’t know a great deal about what it took to write a good story. He was more skilled at lab reports and scientific research than crafting compelling narratives. Despite this, he was genuinely curious about your work. He’s seen your writing before and thought it was amazing, even though you often underestimated yourself.

“How do you do it? Come up with the characters, I mean,” Jaemin asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the screen. 

Having never been asked that question before, you had to ponder for a moment. “Well, the main characters are pretty easy. They usually have certain traits, like you do. You’re kind of main character material.”

“Me? What makes me main character material?” Jaemin raised an eyebrow, wondering what she meant. 

You glanced at him with a thoughtful expression. “You have this confidence that makes you charming. You’re that handsome male lead with a flirty but kind personality— the popular guy that everyone likes and wants to date or be friends with.” 

Noticing the smug look Jaemin was now wearing made your cheeks flush a light shade of red. It seemed like you had put quite some thought into describing him, which he found intriguing.

“Not that I think you’re handsome or anything!” you quickly added. However, Jaemin's ego was already inflated.

The dark-haired male chuckled, propping his elbow against the table and resting his chin on his hand in amusement. “Uh-huh. So, would you be the female lead then?”

“Pfft. No way,” you laughed, as if he had made a ridiculous assumption. “I’m too boring to be a main character. If anything, I’d be the side character who is supposed to encourage the female lead to get with the male lead.”

Jaemin frowned at this, noticing how naturally you seemed to self-deprecate. “Why do you say that?”

Your shoulders lifted up in a shrug. “The female lead is supposed to stand out. She’s well-rounded and assertive,” you explained to him. “Meanwhile, I’m just…bland. Readers would get bored instantly if I was the protagonist. So, I think I would be a better side character.”

A few moments of silence passed, leaving you to fear you sounded a little pathetic just then. You didn’t intend for Jaemin to see just how deeply your self-doubt ran, but now it hung in the air between you.

“What if the male lead falls for the side character?” Jaemin broke the quiet, his voice soft but insistent.

Confusion crossed your face as you looked at him. “That’s not supposed to happen.”

“But what if it does?” Jaemin pressed, leaning closer. “What if the male lead doesn’t find the side character boring at all?”

“Jaemin…” your voice trailed off, a little unsure of where he was going with this.

However Jaemin persisted, his tone growing more passionate. “What if he admires her quiet strength, her thoughtfulness, the way she lights up when she talks about something she loves? What if his heart beats faster every time she smiles at him?”

You were caught off guard by how serious he sounded, sensing that he wasn’t just talking about fictional characters anymore. Maybe you were just overthinking it.

“Funny. This isn’t your way of confessing to me or something, is it?” you asked, trying to laugh it off as your eyes drifted back to your laptop. A part of you was afraid to make eye contact.

Yet, Jaemin’s gaze remained steady. “Yes, it is actually.”

The way he so casually confirmed it made your heart race, leaving you feeling a mix of surprise and excitement. 

“You’re being serious?” you stammered, struggling to process his words. Doubt flickered in your mind, but the sincerity in his eyes made you want to believe him.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “Well this wasn’t exactly how I planned on confessing. But I liked you for a while now—I thought it was obvious.” 

“Oh…” you said, feeling your face heat up once more. This was not the direction you anticipated this conversation going in.

Jaemin couldn’t hold back a smile as he tenderly tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. “You’re adorable, do you know that?”

In the moments that followed, the distance between you gradually shortened. Jaemin paused just inches away from your lips. His eyes searched yours for permission, wanting to ensure you were okay with this. The light nod you gave was all he needed for his lips to meet yours in a gentle kiss.

You had never been kissed before, but you could imagine this was the type of kiss only main characters could have. The warmth of his hands cupping your face and the way his lips moved slowly against yours made you not want to think so much. You closed your eyes and cautiously reciprocated, letting the kiss deepen just a bit. And the world around you faded, leaving only the sound of your breaths and the quiet intimacy of the moment.

Maybe it was possible for the main character to fall for the side character after all.

𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚༝༚𓆩♡𓆪

previous masterlist -> current masterlist

[sallysavestheday]

16. favorite place to write

24. how do you recharge when you’re not feeling creative?

28. your least favorite part of the writing process

Thanks for asking!

16. Favorite place to write: In bed, honestly. Propped up with pillows and a nice cup of tea. Not under all the covers, but on top of a nicely made bed with a throw tucked under my feet. Not very glamorous, I'm afraid! I have a nice office setup at home but that's Work Space, not Play Space, and fic writing is strictly Play. That said, the muse strikes where it strikes, right? I have a lot of fic fragments in my phone from being struck while away from my nest (in the car, waiting to pick people up; on the subway; in various waiting rooms, etc.). Write it down or lose it...you know how it goes.

24. How do you recharge when you're not feeling creative? A lack of creativity usually means something else is upsetting me. And there's nothing like cleaning the toilet to get your head out of your...head, I suppose, lol. I control the things I can control when other things feel overwhelming. Cleaning, cooking, gardening (routine stuff like deadheading or weeding or trimming). Or doing things for other people. A trip to the library for someone who needs a ride, a day at the food bank, a protest, babysitting the neighbor's kids so she can catch a break. Eventually my mind will settle into those non-me-focused things and something new and creative will break through.

28. Your least favorite part of the writing process? Almost always titles. Occasionally one launches itself at me, but usually I flail around and end up with something not so satisfying. Not even Shakespeare is a reliable source all the time...

Thanks to you I got another chunk of unpleasantness out of the way so I could curl up and write this. Incentivization much appreciated!

[liquidstar]

Hello!! Goddess OC anon here! Today I would like to borrow your ear for a spot of cosmology! In my universe, all sapient beings have a potential direct-ish line to the gods in their minds. This is because the gods are not entities on their own, but the eventual result of tens of thousands of dead consciousnesses sharing a single thought or aim until a new being is shaped, like a metamorphic rock. Most of these are the result of cultish rituals, except for the protectoress and the seeker (god of knowledge), since that's what's generally needed to have so many people dying with the same intrinsic desire.

(None of these gods have names yet because I want to give them cool and intimidating titles yet am so very very bad at naming >.<)

The universe is a vast number of planets, many of which are inhospitable, lifeless, or in the last legs of their civilization. Travel between them is possible due to the remains of a prehistoric interstellar alchemy-powered civilization. Opening a star gate requires a sacrifice, not always in blood, but always terrible. Many species exist - some emerging from the radioactivity-and-blood-magic cocktail the Alchemeisters left on the planets they abandoned.

The lines connecting mortal to deity exist in almost everyone, but need to be opened. In the case of the god of knowledge, for example, everyone (well, 70% of every sapient, individual, mentally human-aligned species) is born with a logic puzzle in their mind. If they successful find, consider, and solve this puzzle, their connection to the god is opened up. The opening for the god of bloodshed is a sufficient amount of simple violence, one premediated murder, and one betrayal and butchery. Every female child is born with an open link. It's not perfect - there's all the problems of AGAB roles - but it's the easiest way through, especially since souls don't differentiate between humans and eldritch beings, let alone men and women.

The purpose of priests is to help with this psychic connection, help explain the clauses, to link one devotee's conscious to that of the rest of them to make a sort of psychic gathering. (A groupchat of sorts.) The reason the students of the seeker are so predominantly male is because priests will often crack open the hooks a tiny bit for male babies, making it easier for them to find the puzzle in the first place, and then to connect. Higher priests also serve as leaders of these gatherings.

Luna, the trans priestess from before, is also a member of the Seeker's flock, though these days she mostly just goes there to spy. She finds more fulfillment in the pen than the textbook, these days. This intelligence is how she managed to link herself to the protectoress' ladies by hand.

The Protectoress differs from the other gods in a few other ways, especially related to what happens to priestesses after their deaths but this is long enough.

Happy Belated Birthday, as well! All good wishes for your year to come.

i think this is all SUPER interesting and creative lore for the gods, im not really sure what else i could say beyond the fact that im very invested in this system! i am a bit curious abt the way some of the sex biases work and why though? esp since they dont differentiate between men and women but then at the same time they do? it might be on me for not fully getting it tho lol

i really do have to give you huge props for coming up with such intricate and HUGE lore for a system thats cosmically-based. not just terrestrial fantasy but THE WHOLE UNIVERSE its so cool. it creates such a great sense of scale here, like, the way you explain it really does make it seem big. bigger than anything going on on earth that we could really understand. but at the same time everyone has the potential to really connect with the gods on this scale, like the lines you described... its really very cool. the whole all is one and one is all thing.

AND from the little bits of info on other worldbuilding stuff you give its also clear theres a looooot going on for the mortals too. like the alchemisters and radioactivity magic and stuff. theres a lot of complex lore here building on top of itself that i find super fascinating. its awesome!!!

honestly im not great at names either, so i dont blame you for having a hard time coming up with ones to match this scale. i think my only suggestion (from experience) is to not overcomplicate the names. sometimes short and blunt sounds can convey power in just one syllable. its to the point, yknow? so i think thats something to consider when making names that sound grand too... also sometimes its not the name itself, but the context surrounding it! AT managed to make a name as silly as "golb" seem soo serious and important lol. so dont stress too much abt the name itself but what you can make with it, especially with lore this grand! but obvs youd know what fits them the best

and thank you!!! i appreciate it :) i hope your year is good too just in general :p

[starlight-time-machine]

Week in Review

03/24/2024 – 03/30/2024

Sunday

Week 7 of missing Cipher Academy

WORK IS FINALLY FINISHED GOD FINALLY I CAN READ BOOKS AND MANGA AND WATCH MOVIES AND TV SHOWS AND ENJOY LIFE WITHOUT THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES HANGING OVER ME

Undead Unluck with another amazing chapter as always. I like how Lan contrasts Beast by being motivated by her own personal grudges, and I like how this loop’s Ichico bucks so hard against the previous narrative of her dying for Nico’s gain. With Fuuko so far away, I really hope Nico and Ichico figure out a creative way to take Lan down by themselves.

Okay yeah, I think I’m going to drop RuriDragon. It’s a cute manga, but the translation voice is annoying me too much and I can’t comfortably get into the groove of the story. I wish the mangaka all the best, though, and I hope their new schedule works out for them.

It’s so funny seeing Oshi no Ko just carry on like normal as if they didn’t just drop a grenade in the last chapter lol but oh boy let’s give some characterization to Melt, who I honestly don’t really care about. The bit at the end was funny at least, and I hope the god child beefs it at acting.

Aghhhgh it’s hard to enjoy these cute heartwarming moments of Momo and Zuma bonding when it’s so obvious that it’ll never go anywhere because all signs point to Momo ending up with Otarun… I wish the mangaka wouldn’t introduce secondary love interests unless they were serious about giving them a shot at “winning” by the end… (Fruits Basket you’ll always be famous for this.)

Chainsaw Man!

Woah literally everything is happening in One Piece right now… First off, thank you Oda for the drop of Lucci/Kaku sustenance, I did vaguely ship them ten years ago when I watched Enies Lobby for the first time. It’s always cute seeing Luffy’s Looney Tunes fighting style, and wow now that ancient giant armor thing is arriving…

I’d been saving the Undead Unluck season finale for when I was done my work thing, and I’m so glad I did… This was the chapter that got me fully hooked on UU, and seeing it adapted so beautifully and as the end to the whole season was so incredible… Not only was the action fantastic and fluid, but they really nailed all the emotional beats… Anno’s voice acting was amazing and I cried basically the whole way through his monologue and the ENDING AND THAT FIST BUMP AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I cried so hard I literally gave myself a headache… The ending of this arc and knowing what Anno means to Tozuka gives this story so much more weight and meaning to me… Anno’s desperation to be known and heard and understood may have some more life or death stakes in this context, but I think his feelings are relatable to anyone who’s ever wanted to convey something through their art. And to have the whole crux of the arc and the fight’s success on his sacrifices and message is so moving, and that perfect title drop of “To You From Me” gets me every time. This episode was just so so so so perfect, and I really hope that the anime will get more seasons after this. It’s definitely been a bit of a bumpy ride in terms of quality, and Tozuka’s ambitious ideas don’t always translate well to a weekly anime production, but I think at its core, the team always knew when and how to hit the big emotional moments and I really appreciate them for that. I’m just glad that the anime has such a distinct vision, and isn’t just another soulless carbon copy shounen adaptation. I have Undead Unluck as a whole ranked at a 9/10, but the anime by itself will be a 8/10 for me.

Monday

The new Game Changer episode was interesting, but truth be told I found it a little boring. There were a few funny moments, and I liked all the prop design and how they found new art-themed challenges for them to do, but in terms of comedy there wasn’t much there (not that I was expecting much from people who are professional artists and not comedians).

I finished reading Downton Abbey – A Celebration, and it was perfectly mid. Just a little companion book to the show where you can get some extra details about the characters and how their actors perceived them and some interesting details about the historical period and the set design. If I cared about Downton as much as I did Succession I’d probably devour this book, but for what it is it’s just fine.

Played a little itch.io game called Flesh, Blood, & Concrete and it was pretty fun. The Soviet atmosphere and the meat aesthetic were all on point, and it even got me with a jumpscare, but I appreciated that the tenseness of the horror was punctuated with some moments of levity with Nika (who I found super cute). I think it communicated its themes clearly for such a short game, and I had a fun time exploring each apartment and collecting an ungodly amount of little trinkets. 7/10.

Felt nostalgic about Undead Unluck after finishing the anime so I decided to reread some of the manga since I sped through it so fast the first time through. I remembered most of the key hype moments, but I was surprised to see just how many smaller plot elements I completely forgot. Seeing Feng and Shen’s fight with more context makes it so much more compelling, and also funny when you think about 101 tsundere single father Feng. I think I was so shocked at my favourite character dying that I’d forgotten most of everything else in the Summer arc, but this time I could really appreciate Shen and Mui’s bond and Mui coming into her own as a Negator. But the real highlight of this readthrough was seeing Fuuko’s growth as a fighter and a character – her world’s opened so much after meeting Andy, and now she’s out there being social and getting to know and love people and expanding her own understanding of her ability and it all feels so natural but satisfying. She really is one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read in manga…Tozuka has the “emotional beat heightening a climactic action moment” thing down to a science. I also appreciate the humanization of the UMAs – they’re creatures being used by God, too, and if they could turn against him in Ragnarok then that could really turn the tide. But regardless, I like that they have their own personalities so that each quest can feel unique and not just a monster of the week situation. The competing strategic moves between Union and Under are fun, Andy and Fuuko independently coming to the realization that they’re in love is fun, the Spring fight is soooooo so much fun; once UU hit its stride it’s just been peak after peak. Dang I actually teared up at the end of the Spring fight…Spring is just so cute and sympathetic.

Tuesday

I really did blank out most of the early parts of the Ragnarok Arc from my mind because oh my godddddd I remembered that Rip and Latla tragically die but this was so… Because Tozuka imbues all of his characters with so much pathos, the Negator vs Negator fights always have such insane stakes and tension. I’ve really grown to like Rip on this readthrough…Akira was so right, he’s a nice guy who’s had to kill that part of him in order to achieve his selfish goals, and seeing him fall against Andy was genuinely heartbreaking…

Wednesday

Andy vs Nico was less hype for me – the momentum of the battle felt a little start/stop as Nico has to painstakingly explain just why he’s doing all this and why he’s so tragic, only to turn on Ghost relatively easily in order to grant Andy the win. It’s one of the lesser Negation reveals for me, but it was still decently enjoyable to read. Billy vs Ruin though ohhhhh my godddddddd Billy’s tragedy is a lot easier to understand and empathize with for me, even without the dead wife and kid stuff. The strength of his powers relying on people hating him means that he was always fated to be a villain…doomed by the narrative, one could say… But this coming into conflict with his genuine affection for the others and how it made the fight harder for him was a fantastic story beat, as was Ruin finally seeing him as a threat and giving him the upper hand because of it. And Billy promising to stay alive long enough to see Tatiana die…I haven’t talked about her much, but Tatiana is also another favourite character of mine (this manga is just filled to the brim with good characters) for the strength she’s exhibited in the face of incredible difficulties. It’s both cute and sad to see her behave like an adult when she’s so young…

Thursday

Went outside and got pho with my friend

Friday

Leftover pho tastes sooooooooo good. It’s too bad that today’s DunMesh episode wasn’t food focused, but of course I still enjoyed watching it a lot. The sight gag of the label rolling along with the dragon meat was amazing, and Chilchuck being forced to admit his human emotions for once was so cute.

Drag Race was just fine, as usual. I always get nervous for makeover challenges because my favourites tend to go home on them, but I’m glad to see Nymphia get by. I’m a little worried that she’s fading into the middle of the pack, and that she’ll have to lip sync against Q next episode… I really hope she can win the next challenge so that she can stand toe to toe with Plane and Sapphira in terms of track record.

Saturday Went outside again. When will it end

[curiosity-killed]

#ShowYourProcess

From planning to posting, share your process for making creative content!

To continue supporting content makers, this tag game is meant to show the entire process of making creative content: this can be for any creation.

RULES — When your work is tagged, show the process of its creation from planning to posting, then tag 5 people with a specific link to one of their creative works you’d like to see the process of. Use the tag #showyourprocess so we can find yours!

ty for the tag @sketchyscribbles ! and also ajksdh props for picking the hardest pic I could do this for lmao 

tagging (if you want to but no pressure ofc!)

@tricksterkat209​ with this piece

@lookforanewangle​ with this piece

@littlewhitetie​ with this piece

Process for this yanqing piece under the cut bc whoo boy we wordy

Planning:

In general, except for bigger pieces, there isn’t...a whole lot of planning....ever. This one was a break from working on a large, detailed painting and the result of talking with @apaladinagain about yanqing AU thoughts so it was pretty quick and mostly just a kind of visual note-taking for myself.

I don’t have any of the WIP files/layers because I clean out my WIP folder at the end of each year but based on memory and knowing myself, the initial sketch would’ve looked something like this (this is done with my trackpad and a sore wrist but honestly...probably not that far off. my sketches are uh rough):

Creating:

I work in Paint Tool SAI (but like. a slightly fucked up version. idk why but it’s been janky since I got it ANYWAY) with a Huion tablet. My usual process is a little weird but goes:

rough sketch — usually a very rough scribble of where heads are and other important features (in this case, the lotus and fire) on a canvas around ~1500 px on the short side

clean sketch — the actual base of the piece, where I fully draw out all elements of it (except fingernails lol) and also set the composition. On this one, the original sketch was flipped, which felt much more stagnant, so I flipped the canvas in order to have more visual interest/direction. I also wanted to be more intentional about placement of hands so that each of them should roughly correspond to the upper dantian (Wen Qing’s right hand), middle (Wen Qing’s left, with the flame), and lower dantian (Yanli’s hands with the lotus). I don’t totally remember the thought process behind this but I do remember looking at a lot of pixelated diagrams. as u do. this part’s usually on a slightly larger canvas (~2500 px short side)

lines — I use a custom brush I made a long time back but it’s basically set up to emulate like...a micron pen? might be the closest feel to it so smooth, slightly softer edgers, etc., and I always size up the canvas so that the shortest side is at least 6000 px so that I can downsize and have extra crisp lines

colors — block in colors roughly to get a sense of color composition (for bigger pieces, I often do a rough version of this before I go into lining it), then clean them up so they’re all within the lines. Once all the main color bodies (so like: skin, base color of each set of robes, etc.) are in, I always go in and add facial details first (blush, nail colors, eyes, lips, etc.) mostly out of habit and also as a treat to myself bc it’s one of the easiest ways to start seeing the piece come together

details — after that, it is clipping layer central! in this one, I think (based on squinting at it lol) each robe has at least 2 clipping layers for details such as the difference colored collars on Jiang Yanli’s and the pattern on Wen Qing’s sleeves. I tend to organize layers by color so like the dark red on Wen Qing’s robes would be one layer and the ombre pattern would be a separate one. This is also when I do any rendering, usually, which there isn’t much of here but would include the details on the lotus

shading — pretty basic multiple layer here. I p much always use desaturated blues and purples for shading unless it’s for effect. 

effects — glow baby glow! this is where i had to google “How to Paint Fire” bc it’s been 8 million years and then spent forever airbrushing on luminosity and overlay layers. also added a luminosity effect to the lotus for the shigs. Also added an overlay layer for the highlights from the fire here

signature — pls don’t ask me how many times i redraw my signature for each picture. it’s embarrassing. i’ve had the same signature, with slight variation, for like 10 years and yet. orz

fussing — on very rare occasions, this translates to me actually checking for errors and making sure I haven’t forgotten anything but most generally, this involves me staring unblinking at my screen as I slide the saturation and hue bars back and forth and contemplate whether I should start exclusively drawing at 100% saturation. in this piece, the background was originally a lovely deep blue but at this stage I decided to turn it green both for the contrast with all the red and for a hint of unease/eeriness coming from a highly saturated green + the donghua’s use of green ghost fires for yllz!wwx — basically hinting at Bad Shit Comin’. I have regretted that decision every time I’ve seen this piece since then :| it was such a nice blue...

Sharing:

At this point, I spend 15 minutes staring into the middle distance trying to come up with any sort of caption and then just throw down whatever I think of and post it on tumblr. titling fics? easy peesy lemon squeezy. captioning art? terrible death suffering time.

if i think abt it, i’ll post to instagram (unless i am defeated by the cropping curse) but i didn’t with this one...presumably bc I am p meh about it (the blue!! the blue ;____;)? but also possibly bc i just forgot

[johnnys-green-pen]

Random E! Thoughts: S3E18 - How Green Was My Thumb?

Fun fact: The Behind The Scenes book actually lists the title as just Green Thumb, and “How Green Was My Thumb?” as the working title. I’m following Wikipedia here because that’s what I’ve always gone by, but the more you know, I guess. 

Also, said book is usually a very good source of info, a lot of which was collected from people involved and thus very hard to come by otherwise, but they do list plant lady as “an old widow”, which... no, she’s neither of those things.

Leave it to E! to turn a guy choking on his dentures into one of the more suspenseful scenes on the show. 

Also, Hank Stanley helping out with the paramedic-ing is always fun to see. That guy has a habit of showing up wherever he’s needed and doing whatever’s necessary, and I love that.

Johnny should know by now that when Dix brings up a woman in his proximity, especially in that wink-wink-nudge-nudge kinda way she does in this episode, he really Should check her out.

Johnny being confused by flowers that don’t smell when Roy picks up the lil’ potted plant for the Plant Lady. 

Johnny utterly failing to chat up that nurse, and her having none of it. Also, “Roy My Partner DeSoto”. Nice middle name, buddy x’D

I love how Roy actually remembered most of the plants’ names at the Plant Lady’s place, and seems charmed by the idea of it, if anything. That’s super sweet.

Also, Johnny claiming the whole thing is utterly ridiculous and Roy’s on his own, but A) it takes him about ten seconds to start talking to the plants and B) he’s the one who realizes that one of them isn’t doing well, and this is also the specific plant he notices first. Takes some skill to find the one sickly plant in that jungle. 

Actually, I just realized that Johnny seems to shift from vague interest to “nope! None of my business!” once Roy implies taking some sort of responsibility for the well-being of that one sick plant. Not wanting to get invested in case it dies, eh?

Which is to say, I think somebody should get Johnny a potted plant; he’d probably do really well with it. (Question of the day: Which indoor-friendly plant would suit Johnny best?)

Also, how the hell are they watering a patient’s plants on duty? What exactly are they logging that as? Did Cap go “sure, you can take the squad to drive to some lady’s house and water her homegrown jungle”? I really want to know how THAT conversation went.

Also, the lads surrounded by a tangle of plants and flowers is surprisingly pretty. Johnny looks good among dark greens and flowery reds.  (#JustArtistThings)

Cap’s whole “you’re an expert at watering”-crack will never not get a chuckle from me.

Props to whoever made the music choice for the winery fire scene; that tense little bit of BGM adds about a dozen levels of suspense.

I’m usually the last person who notices stuff like that and I actually think I remarked upon that before, which makes me noticing it again a veritable miracle, but Johnny looks pretty great in shiny, clingy pants. Man’s got legs...

Somebody explain to me how Johnny apparently found a new pair of trousers and a new jacket but no shirt, and also why exactly his jacket has to be half-open. I mean, I know the reason is “because fanservice”, but in-universe it’s a lot more funny than it has any right to be. 

Johnny sexily leaning against elevator walls, lol

Roy very earnestly telling the plant lady about the way he’s been treating the sick plant. If I hadn’t liked the guy before, now I definitely would.

If Johnny calls one more woman “incredible”, I will hit him with a thesaurus. Come on, man, apply some creativity here.

Johnny giggling at Chet’s attempt at humor.

The Grenade Rescue is tense as hell.

Going by that little “whew”, it seems that Johnny agrees.

That little moment after the bomb squad guy asks for one of them to go with him and Roy volunteers to stay with the victim, possibly-exploding grenade and all, and Johnny just gives him that little "well if you’re sure”-kinda look.

Brackett’s near-complete calm in the face of potential sudden death. Mike’s, too, for that matter. 

Also, that whole rescue had a baffling amount of gore by usual E! standards.

[niksixx]

Birthday for the Books

Requested: By our anonymous birthday girl! 

Pairing: Axl Rose x Reader 

Description: “Hi, I remember it was today that you said you would start taking requests yeah? If I’m right can you do axl x birthday girl!reader imagine? (Sry this is super self indulgent cuz it’s my birthday next week lol)” 

A/N: If you enjoyed this fic, leave a comment! 

*GIF is not mine, credit to the owner*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ah, birthdays. Some people hated them, others enjoyed them. But you? Your birthday was the best part of every year. Celebrating only one day was never enough for you though, which is why you resorted to having a birthday week. Excessive? Probably. But there was nothing you loved more than being celebrated by your family, friends, and most of all, your boyfriend.

Sometimes you thought your boyfriend Axl loved your birthday more than you did. He was always excited, planning various activities for you to enjoy throughout the week. Material objects didn’t do it for you. The gifts that meant the most were the ones directly from the heart, and Axl always delivered.

Like he did every year, Axl treated you to a lavish dinner for the first night of your birthday week. It was one of the only occasions he would get dressed up, and you looked forward to seeing him in a suit more than the dinner itself. Although dinner was always expensive, you’d let Axl spoil you for the night, only because he promised the rest of your presents barely cost a thing.

Axl’s creative side always made an appearance during your birthday week. Handmade bracelets, paintings, and love letters were only some of the heartfelt gifts you received over the last few birthdays.

You expected the same types of presents this year, but Axl had truly stumped you. It was the last day of your birthday week and the anticipation over Axl’s last present was killing you. All morning, he’d been locked away in your bedroom putting the finishing touches on your gift, so you passed the time by lying around in your pajamas (because Axl refused to let you in your room for even a second) and watching old Guns N’ Roses music videos on YouTube, smiling whenever Axl was on the screen.

You were halfway through the Paradise City music video when the door to your bedroom creaked open. Axl stepped out into the small living room, lips curling into a smile as he realized you’d been watching him.

“Baby giiiiiirl,” he drawled out, laughing as your eyes widened at the sound of his voice.

“Is it ready?!” You eagerly shut down your laptop, sprinting into Axl’s outstretched arms. “I hate waiting.”

“I think it’ll be worth it,” Axl answered, brushing the hair from your cheeks. “I hope it’s worth it.”

“Axl, you’re a Godsend when it comes to gift giving,” you assured him, lightly patting his cheeks. “You could pick me a flower from the side of the road because it reminded you of me and I’d probably start crying.”

“Well if a simple flower is enough to make you cry, then I’m curious to see what this gift will do.” With a breath, Axl grabbed your hand and placed his free hand on the door. “Are you ready?”

Chuckling as you nodded, Axl gently pushed open the bedroom door, and immediately your eyes fell on a perfectly wrapped gift box that sat in the middle of your bed.

“Oh, God, I’m so excited,” you squealed delightedly. You and Axl sat on the edge of the bed as he presented the box to you, your fingers delicately running over the bright red bow. He gave you the go ahead, and you happily unwrapped the box, cheeks warming at the sight of what appeared to be a handmade photo album.

“When we started dating three years ago, what’s the first thing I noticed about you?” Axl asked, eyes bright as you examined the album.

“I always had a camera,” you replied. “I was always taking pictures.”

“Uh huh,” Axl smiled proudly. As you opened the album, you realized that some of the pages had already been filled. “And I’ve always wanted to get you an album, a keepsake, for all the pictures you take. But this album in particular, I wanted to start for you, because it’s dedicated to us and some of our favorite moments.”

Flipping through the pages, you recognized some of your favorite pictures you and Axl had taken together: Your first kiss, first concert together, first vacation, and first date. You had so many firsts with Axl, and seeing as he carefully documented them in a scrapbook just showed how much he truly did treasure you. Even though some of the pictures were over three years old, as you and Axl had known each other before you made things official, the memories were still fresh in your head. And from now on, anytime you wanted to be pulled back to the past, all you had to do was open the album.

Setting the book aside, you threw yourself into Axl’s arms, sinking into his loving embrace. He’d managed to give you another spectacular birthday with an unforgettable gift. “You have no idea how much this means to me,” Axl had gotten you a multitude of incredible presents over the years, but the personalized photo album blew everything out of the water. “Thank you, baby. Thank you so so much.”

Standing from the bed, Axl held you in his arms as you clutched the album to your chest, a few happy tears sliding down your cheeks. Axl kissed the top of your head, a proud smile on his lips. “You’re welcome. I’m so glad you like it, but you didn’t even see my favorite picture of us.”

Wiping the tears from your eyes, you gave Axl a confused look. “I didn’t? What page is it on?”

“Fifteen,” Axl said, shifting his feet.

Opening the album once more, you flipped the pages until you found page fifteen. It was titled Engagement. “Axl, baby, there’s nothing here.” As you looked up from the book, you immediately broke out into a sob, muffling your cries with the palm of your hand. There in front of you, on one knee, was Axl Rose, holding out a small box with what appeared to be the world’s brightest engagement ring perched right in the center.

“God dammit, Axl, I told you nothing expensive,” you laughed through the tears.

“Baby, I’ve had this picked out for months,” Axl informed, his own eyes glossing over. “You’re my everything. Even if sometimes you don’t like it, I plan on spending the rest of my life spoiling you the way you deserve. I want to travel the world and create more memories with you. Maybe we’ll have a few kids or some dogs, whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.  Marry me, Y/N, and let the rest fall into place.”

Without hesitation, you shook your head yes, just as a flash lit up your room. You were too distracted by Axl sliding the ring onto your finger to ponder about the random burst of light. He scooped you up into his arms, dusting kisses all over your face before planting a long sensual kiss on your lips.

“I’m going to love you forever,” you whispered, already picturing your life as Mrs. Axl Rose. And then it hit you. “Wait, what was that flash?”

Smirking, Axl nodded his head toward the bureau, where a camera was propped up, facing you. Rushing to the bureau, you picked up the camera and turned it over, and there on the screen was a timed photo of the moment you said yes to Axl’s proposal.

“Now you have another picture to add to the album,” Axl whispered, hands circling your waist as you both stared at the photo. You couldn’t even complain that you were still in your pajamas because the smile on your face and the love in Axl’s eyes were the only two things that mattered.

[sadviper]

2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works

Rules: It’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Succumbing to peer pressure, haha, thank you @rain-hat, @smylealong, @ibelongtomousse, @macgyver-sheriff, @avauntus for tagging me~

It seems the common refrain is that this was the year everyone exploded into massive creative productivity after years of nothing, which is the exact same story for myself. I had read all the strategies of course: write 5 min a day, 1 sketch a day, don’t think about quality, do *something* just to keep the spark alive, etc etc, but it just got worse and worse. Honestly, I had been feeling so dire about it that I had made up my mind to stop trying anymore, because it was so depressing to try and fail so many times that it was much better to not hope at all.

Buuuuut.....then quarantine and telework happened, and woooah, guess what, all I needed was LOTS of time and space to myself where I’m not wasting it in an office checking emails and doing random training to fill all the downtime!!!

Much thanks to the serendipity that had me stumbling into @rain-hat , reading her early JY/KSR fics, and her encouraging me to go ahead and write that office yearly budget oneshot for TKEM (who writes BUDGET fics?? Who reads them???? lol). That’s not in my list here because it was very new and awkward, it was definitely the ball that got everything rolling.

Cut for super long-winded rambling:

1) Before There Was Zero (TKEM)

This was my first big fanfic in my life, and my most popular, and it absolutely gushed out of me in this massive torrent of *I MUST WRITE* where I would walk around at lunchtime giggling to myself, and type on my phone as I went, or wake up at 1am to scrawl something in a notebook in the dark because I couldn’t stop the words from coming. (How I miss that feeling now! ;__;) Actually, it also is the 2nd fully complete long-form story I had ever completed as well, so...lots of milestones here.

Looking back, it clearly was the product of my years of bottled up silence, where I stewed and dragged myself to the office every day wondering if I was going to calcify in a bureaucracy for the rest of my life (yes). But even as an office drone, I learned a lot of valuable lessons in how to manage, what leadership actually is at the worker bee level, the types of games white-collar workers play, and how to be a decent co-worker (and by extension, a decent human being--I don’t believe it’s possible to separate work life and private life. All your personas are you). It wasn’t all a waste after all!

Somehow I connected my day-to-day to the faceless, long-suffering Royal guardsmen in TKEM, headed by the utterly gorgeous, devastating, thoroughly underutilized, comedic prop military action star Jo Yeong, and thought--yeah! :D

2) Nil Desperandum (TKEM)

My biggest fic by far, full novel length at this point, massive in scope, I don’t even know how I came up with it based on the 10 collective seconds of screen time that Jeong Tae-ra and tyrant Jin got as a joke, but I was clearly still on that dam-gushing-pent-up-creative-high because this idea was fighting me when I was in the middle of writing “Before There Was Zero”.

I actually figured out the title while watching “Call the Midwives” where one of the peppy, indefatigable British nurses said to never despair, and I thought, yes, that’s it. All the horrible things I put my tyrantverse characters through, it was only so that when I save them at the end, it will be completely worth it. It’s a bit more violent (nothing beyond My Country levels tho) and quite emotionally dark, but I also tried to inject a lot of friendship, humor, and love into it as well, because there must always be hope.

For My Country fandom friends who didn’t realize, the tyrant!Yeong in this fic is essentially modernAU!Seon-ho, and I lifted Sung-rok entirely from My Country to be tyrant!Yeong’s second-in-command and loyal-superstar-extraordinaire. Writing them in this modern AU, and seeing the positive reception to Sung-rok’s grouchy, dogged devotion was the start of my love spiral for Sung-rok. <3 <3

3) The Veritable Records of King Taejo (My Country)

Going to cheat and lump 3 fics (soon to be 4) into one link. I rested a little bit after “Nil Desperandum” because I had completely emptied myself out at that point, just a husk of an author shell. Then I started poking out oneshots! Each one got progressively harder to write, lol, the creative gas tank was running out of juice, so I had to really start figuring out new strategies as a writer to keep going. One magic tool was coercing recruiting @rain-hat to beta for me, and WOW, THE BEST???? Who would’ve thought it’d be FUN to be edited!!! <3 Due to her efforts, I could avoid the “no beta we die like Liaodong” tag, hahaha.

I grew up watching cop shows, lawyer shows, monster-of-the-day shows, endless procedurals-- so I was super miffed that the drama would imply that Seon-ho spent YEARS just single-mindedly chasing private armies??! No! I want more family and friends development for this sad, dramatic whump child! I want him to be smarter than the show, inherently brilliant despite the stupid he descends into, and be recognized as such by the people who do recognize his value! And I want them all to be happy with no pointless death!

Also, the 4th WIP is now a Sung-rok lovefest written as an ode to his awesomeness, has stretched to 47K+ words, and is being an absolute royal pain to finish. ;__; All the ease and creative fervor from earlier? GONE. I’m a lone salmon flopping upstream on a ladder. I might get eaten before I finish laying my eggs. Any one have tips to get over this?

4) First Translation of Woo Do Hwan Japanese Interviews

More firsts! So much thanks to @ibelongtomousse to inspiring and encouraging me to do some real translating after talking to her about her sublime TKEM fics and translations thereof, and @staidwaters from emerging from the Internet depths to boost/correct my neophyte efforts! I’m now chomping at the bit to do more, even though I may ultimately discover that these interviews have absolutely nothing interesting to say, lol. But my first priority is simply to get better at the language, and 2nd priority is to soak in the words (and photos) of Woo Do Hwan, hahahah. Also, as far as I can tell, no one is filling this niche, so I guess I’ll keep going??

5) Fanart!

I started drawing again! As a procrastination tactic from writing oneshots, but it still was really nice to see that I hadn’t lost the touch entirely. I feel like I’ve mentioned this here and there, but writing wasn’t my first interest--drawing was. Animals first, then people once I discovered anime/manga. I went all into drawing comics, only to face the hard reality that I didn’t know how to tell a story end-to-end. Hence how I started trying to write. Along the way, things happened--I got RSI and had to stop drawing/writing for awhile. I discovered that pictures are NOT worth a thousand words, esp when it comes to long-form comics; my preferred tools of trade (dip pens) ended up exacerbating my RSI problems; then once I got a handle on my RSI, I found I could type faster than I can ever draw, and so here I am. I saw what @convenientalias was doing with their My Country werewolf fic though, so I am excited to try that for my Sung-rok WIP? :D

I think I’m the last hold out among artist/writer friends in answering this wrap-up, hope you enjoyed reading!

[ohoshi]

This just turned into a hoshi love post but we love to see that <3 he deserves all the love you’re giving and more !

Ooo what was the last kpop cover you did?

For me, it’s an everyday fight for a bias. DUDE NO GDA HOSHI WILL TRULY REMAIN SUPERIOR. THE POWER HE HOLDS IS IMMACULATE!!! LIKE SIR PLEASE STOP COMING FOR ME

He is annoying but he’s best that way. I won’t like hoshi if he isn’t pain in the ass. He really is something else. Whenever he dances it’s so magical like it isn’t humanly possible to be this perfect!

Hoshi is definitely an all rounder. His singing voice is beautiful and he’s gotten soooo amazing (he already was so good by ykwim)

what you said about kpop sleeping on svt, I totally agree with that cause svt truly has best vocalists and choreographer which other artists look up too. I feel sometimes seventeens talent is not appreciated enough.

junhao and seok are such good choices. # 1 hoshi, it really do be like that sometimes.

Al1 does of one of the best promos pledis ever did! The aesthetics were so soft and nice and the songs *chefs kiss*

DWC wasn’t the song that brought in so many carats just like that. It’s a queen .

L&l always gives me such nostalgia

my favourite album has to be either an ode / ymmdawn / henggarae. Those always are just wow . They hit the spot. It’s there for every mood. soft? Kidult, hug. Hoe? Good to me, shhh, getting closer. Hurt? Fear. Upbeat? Snapshoot, let me hear you say

OKAY I CAN GO ON ABOUT BSIDES ALOT. I CANT CHOOSE TOP 3 SO ILL JUST NAME A FEW OF MY FAVES: flower, campfire, I don’t know, heavens cloud, getting closer, pinwheel, kidult, together, hug, my my, snapshoot, lmhys, ah love , all my love , fearless, fast pace , holiday, space.

I like the tracks A LOT. It’s such a fresh style for title track. And heavens cloud my beloved <3 I love all 3 concepts of photoshoots for the album. Not really fond of the way they designed everything. Like, the track list and all could be so pretty but no.

Ahh!! I love making gifs and gfx! Gfx can be really tiring but I love the outcome so I’m satisfied. Well, for biases these days jihoon, dino, and coups are really just on top !

I got into svt during fear era cause my best friend is a carat too!!

What was your favourite svt concept ? WHATS YOUR FAV JAPANESE TRACK? What other groups do you stan?

-cloud anon ☁️

I KNOOOW ANON AND I AM SO SORRY KAGAKSGAK I HAVE A HARD TIME CONTROLLING MYSELF when you ask me to talk about him 😔 sorry ksgsjsg i have so much love and admiration for him!!

the last kpop cover i did was chungha's bicycle (which was a while ago lol), i wanted to do spider but i don't have the props so :/ i gave up lmao

IKR!!!! THE WHOLE GDA PERFORMANCE !!!!!! it has a tight grip on me i think it's one of the best performances they've had so far

yeah, exactly shagaj it just kinda bothers me that kpop stans will really talk about 3rd gen main vocalists and not mention svt? or they would really (which i advocate is the most stupid thing btw) rank main dancers and not include hoshi ????? or dino ???? OR MINGHAO !!!! minghao would have a main dancer position in your average kpop boy group lol also they have the audacity to be surprised  that svt has a big loyal fandom jsgaakag it's so stupid and annoying sigh

AWWWW LOVE YOUR CHOICES!!! honestly yeah ymmdawn, henggarae and obvs al1 are my top 3 mini albums from svt!! really like you said they have it all, so i guess you prefer some darker concepts???

JSGSSLAGAKGAAKGAA FELT!!! THE WAY YOU LISTED HALF OF THEIR DISCOGRAPHY OH MY GOD SJAGAJA they really know what they're doing huh making the best music in the industry<3

ohh yeah they did design the track list for your choice misersbly skshsj but i liked the albums?? i actually love the packaging and all that i think it's beautiful and i can't stop staring, probably my favorite album physical wise so far

WHAT A COMBO DINO WOOZI COUPS SJSGSKSGSK DEADLY!!!!! love how you have a member for each subunit sjgssjg why do you like them? yk how i wrote a whole ass essay about hoshi? your turn!!

WOW!!!! YOUR BEST FRIEND IS A CARAT my best friend is not even into kpop 🥲 THAT'S FUN I AM JEALOUS OF YOU!! so i assume your best friend introduced svt to you??

my favorite seventeen concept hmm wow this is really hard ksgaajg i liked all of them but hmm for the sake of it i'll say thanks? because of the sentimental value, i like how they incorporated their creative process into a title track and also showed their gratitude?? thanks is probably in my top 3 choreos from svt too lol BUT I REALLY LIKED EVERYTHING SO FAR LOL; honorable mention: fear because dark concepts are rare for them and it was their first hoe concept for a tt so hehehe

OK LOOK I KNOW THIS IS CLICHE BUT nothing beats queen falling flower. i don't think the elaboration is needed here sjgshs

i am a casual kpop stan i like to keep up with everything that goes on in kpop hagsajga however i only call myself a 'carat' it feels wrong to call myself any other fandom name except maybe shawol, shinee was my first group so they're my first and big love<3 i used to be a diehard shawol jagajsg (now i'm a diehard carat) do we see a pattern here, shinee introduced the importance of dance and invented dance practice videos, svt took it on another level other than that i can't call myself a stan of any other group BUT I LIKE A LOT OF THEM CASUALLY AJGSSJGS also i'm more of a bg stan than gg stan, i mean i love ggs but not as much as i used to? seungkwan and i have the same taste for ggs sjsvwjg he's the kpop bestie i want<3 sooo yeah!! wbu??? are you a multi kpoppie too 🤪

have you ever been to their concert? in person

[turning-the-frigging-frogs-gay]

Underneath The Spotlight- A Sanders Sides Fic

Chapter 6- Virgil’s Worst Nightmare

(Read chapter 1 here!)

Read here on ao3!!

Warnings for this chapter: slight panic, crying, cursing

A/N: This chapter is not nearly as angsty as the title makes it sound, it’s more of an exaggeration/me not having very creative chapter names. This chapter is my attempt at comedy lol

The show had been kicked off, and the opening number had gone absolutely perfectly. Full of energy and hardly able to wait to get back on stage, the boys returned to the dressing room while talking excitedly. Patton, however, didn’t have much time for chit-chat. He always volunteered to help with the youngest performers on stage, he was great at looking after them and they really enjoyed his company. The dance school always liked to have the youngest dancers perform as early in the show as possible so they didn’t get tired, meaning it was always Patton’s first job after opening the show. He loved looking after the kids, but there was always one catch- it usually entailed wearing what most people would deem an extremely embarrassing costume. But not for Patton, especially not this time, he loved his pastel blue bunny onesie! The themes of the younger children’s dances were always cute and innocent, this time being no exception. As soon as he was ready, he exited the dressing room and went backstage to meet with the children, only to be met instead with some bad news...

He came stumbling back into the dressing room, repressing tears of panic.

“I can’t believe this is happening!” he said, sinking down into a chair in shock. “One of the girls was supposed to help me look after the kids but she’s gotten sick. We only have a few minutes to find someone else, and there’s like 20 kids, I can’t do this on my own, I just can’t, I-“ as Patton broke down, Janus was quickly by his side, drying his tears and doing his best to save the emotional boy’s makeup. He attempted to hold his hand... or, rather, the paw of his bunny onesie.

“Patton, it’s going to be alright, just look at me-“

“Janus, I appreciate this but I really don’t have time. I came here in a panic, what I really need is to go and talk to the teacher about what we’re going to do.”

Patton left the room, and Janus staring after him in concern, only to return about thirty seconds later.

“Um, Virgil, Mr Picani wants to talk to you,” he said, fidgeting on the spot as he talked.

Virgil didn’t have a dance for a while, so had been relaxing for a bit, and was intending to change into his next costume in a few minutes. However, he knew Patton’s situation was time-sensitive, so, despite wondering what the hell the teacher could want, he didn’t hesitate to spring up and follow Patton into the corridor, where Emile, the teacher, was waiting for them and holding... a bright pink bunny onesie that matched Patton’s? What?

“Ah, Virgil, perfect timing! Am I right in assuming you don’t have a dance for a while?”

“Yes, you are, but I-“

“Perfect! Now I’m sure you’re aware of the situation with Patton. I really apologise for not giving you prior warning, but this is kinda our only option right now.” He held out the onesie. “Could you change into this really quickly and then go and help Patton with the kids on stage? The choreography is so simple and the kids know it well, you’ll be able to follow it easily, we really just need someone else to make sure the little ones know where they’re going- you know how it’s the first show for a lot of them.”

Virgil was at a loss for words. “And you’re sure I’m the only one who can do this?” was all he could seem to say.

Emile winced. “Pretty much, yeah. If I’m correct, all of your other friends are in dances pretty soon afterwards and we wouldn’t want to risk them missing those, however yours isn’t for ages yet.”

Virgil knew Remus also didn’t have a dance for a while, and was going to inquire about why he hadn’t been chosen, yet he knew time was being lost so decided to let it go. He nodded to Mr Picani and took the onesie back into the dressing room.

“I’ll meet you in a few minutes, Pat,” he grumbled, not sure if he meant it or not.

“Virgil, what’s that you’re holding?”

“It’s so... pink.”

“Oh my god, is that a matching onesie with Patton’s?”

“Wait, did Picani ask you to fill in?”

“You seriously have to wear that?!”

“I can’t believe this!” Virgil blurted out. “They’ve chosen me to fill in for the other assistant, apparently I’m the only one who could possibly do it or something! Ugh, I can’t wear this, I’m not good with kids, what do I do?!”

“The only thing you can do,” Roman shrugged. “Your best.”

“Yeah, hate to break it to ya, Virge, but I think you’re just gonna have to suck it up and do it,” Remus remarked.

“Nuh-uh, no way, it’s not happening, guys.”

“Virge, you have to do it! This is what being a dancer is all about! Flexibility, both literally and metaphorically. Things come up, and you just have to roll with it.” said Roman.

“Yeah!” Remus said. He took the onesie from Virgil and unzipped it for him. “You can just wear this over what you’re wearing now,” he said.

Virgil took the costume and reluctantly began to put it on. “Hey, trash man, why aren’t you the one doing this? You don’t have a dance for ages either,” he said, as he struggled to push his arms into the bunny paws.

“Oh, I can think of several reasons,” Janus said.

“Yeah, where to start,” said Remus. “I’m awful with the kids, last time I was around them I taught them to say ‘shit’, I’m pretty sure they’re all terrified of me and call me ‘scary rat boy’ or ‘the Prince’s mean brother’ and I don’t think I’d even fit into the costume anyway! So, despite being an awkward emo disaster, you’re definitely the favourable candidate here!”

“It is not as bad as you may believe it is,” Logan stated, while looking Virgil up and down. “I really doubt anyone will recognise you.” He glanced at the TV, displaying the performance currently happening on stage. “You should really go now, you’re on in two minutes.”

“You’re doing a good thing, Virgil,” Roman reminded him.

“Indeed,” Janus agreed. “Just do your best. For Patton.”

Virgil nodded, causing the pink bunny ears to flap, turned (drawing attention to the white, fluffy tail) and quickly left the dressing room. By this point, the twins were laughing out loud at the ridiculousness of Virgil’s situation, but Janus was staring into space, wide-eyed and shuddering slightly.

“What is the matter?” Logan asked him.

All Janus was able to respond with was a terrified whisper of, “that could’ve been me...”

Virgil found Patton almost immediately, he was busy calming the excited youngsters (and putting on a facade of calm himself) as he handed out their props.

“Does everyone have one?” he asked, checking to see if they all had everything they needed.

“Yes, Patton!” they chorused, amid the excited giggling. Virgil approached them.

“Thank goodness, you made it!” Patton said, visibly sighing with relief.

“Who’s this?” a little girl asked.

“Oh, right!” said Patton. “Everyone, this is Virgil! Ella couldn’t be here, so everyone who normally would dance on her side of the stage, you’re going to be with Virgil instead!”

“Hi, Virgil!” most of the children chorused, although Patton spotted a few seeming uneasy due to the last-minute change.

“Don’t be worried, guys, Virgil has been my friend for a very long time and he is so nice and fun- he’ll look after you all, I promise.” Patton whispered into Virgil’s ear. “We should take them into the wings now.” He nodded back. “Alright then, everyone! Time to go and stand by the stage! If you normally go with me, come over here! Everyone else, go with Virgil. Good luck! You’re all going to do so well!”

In the wings, Virgil mentally prepared himself. He just had to look after these kids- easy enough, right? He could do this. As they stood, about to go on stage, two of the more extroverted children were already holding his hands. He looked across to where he could see Patton on the other side of the stage, and followed his lead for when to come on. The dance was awkward and he had no idea what was going on half of the time- Virgil knew right then and there that he would never be able to look back upon it without cringing. He was extremely glad when it was over, and he was able to go back to the dressing room and hide away in shame. There, he was met by snickering faces- of course they’d been watching on the TV. Although they were true friends and always there for him when it counted, Janus, Remus and Roman would never pass up an opportunity to laugh at the embarrassing situations Virgil managed to get himself into at dance.

“Great job, Virge!” said Remus. “You make a great bunny rabbit.”

“Not awkward at all,” Janus drawled sarcastically.

Patton returned a few seconds later, and collided into Virgil, hugging him tight.

“Thank you, thank you Virgil! You were there when I most needed you, I couldn’t have done it without you, thank you thank you thank you-“

That had been one of the most embarrassing experiences of Virgil’s life, but it had all been worth it to help one of his oldest friends.

Taglist:

@sophiexwrites

Next chapter

[yue-muffin]

Time Raiders (2016)

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 3

In my quest to consume the entirety of the DMBJ franchise available in English, I have decided to start with the non-canon movie because at least this one has an ending, unlike the train wreck that is Reboot/Chongqi’s pacing. I will probably be bitter about that for all eternity, but I digress. I heard good things about the movie from the bird app, and as I am a Pingxie shipper at heart, I decided to finally watch this one.

P A R T O N E

The cut-in animation to the title was gorgeous, I do so love the qilin in every adaptation. It’s particularly striking here with the gold outline and geometric, maze-like lines. It looks like the cards at the very beginning were being arranged in the image of this qilin.

My first reaction upon seeing white people in a dmbj adaptation is: oh no, the English, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear perfect English that matches the actor’s lips! What a miracle, haha. I remember The Lost Tomb 2 being the worst for how many lines had to be in English, sob.

These look so cool. I see we start off with a good old “seeking immortality” antagonist, and an obsessed collector who has dedicated his whole life to this apparently. As usual, he is a scumbag threatening the locals.

The old guy’s accented English is also better than TLT2, ha. The breathy/nasal quality is not at all uncommon. I don’t know what language the locals speak though.

Me, immediately: Zhang Qiling already??

I know he appears in rather early in TLT1, TLT2, and Reboot/Chongqi, but he’s so often mysteriously absent or stuck behind a gate (or in Reboot’s case, put on a bus) that I got excited, ok.

My favorite Zhang Qilings are the cold-looking pretty boy types in terms of my mental image of the character, but this one is also very easy on the eyes and as usual, unfazed in the face of danger coming at him with a knife. This is the only series in which I’m not bothered by the constant cast change between adaptations (unlike Ever Night), I suppose since it’s been this way from the start.

I’m interested in seeing how the backstories differ from canon. It’s actually rather interesting that this is pretty much an official AU, like that’s kind of wild as a concept. I’m used to the late 1990s/early 2000s anime adding new characters and changing plot points and endings everywhere, but Time Raiders takes it a step further.

Zhang Qiling being an ultra-competent badass who doesn’t even need a weapon to take the bad guys down never changes, no matter the universe. He steamrolls everyone, no questions asked.

Did he- he break the blade with his bare hands hahaha. Oh, yup, and a Zhang Qiling with a weapon is even more dangerous. I see those severed fingers. Such a good fight scene and we’re not even 5 minutes into the movie.

I love how he could have simply fired the arrow while he was still on the statue, then jumped down, but he had to be Extra and fire while he was jumping off haha.

It- the divine piece was right there?? By “beneath the statue” I would have thought it would at least be under it, not in a convenient little slot on the side of the altar area haha. So Zhang Qiling’s mission is to destroy the divine piece(s)? To, um, save the world apparently.

WHO ARE YOU? What an excellent question to ask a Zhang Qiling (and that staring into the mirror shot, too.)… I wonder if this one even knows - it’s possible he doesn’t have his signature amnesia here.

Wait- a gate? I think it’s in a cave or something in the novels, but gates have significance in DMBJ. The cinematography is really nice in these mountain shots. I know nothing about film, but I like the shots in the snowy mountains.

This Zhang Qiling knows and practices martial arts on screen! You would think he’d pull some moves normally, but in the drama-adaptations he tends to just beat people up as efficiently as possible. Sometimes with his sword. Other times he just fights ‘em. I have to admit Jing Boran looks excellent going through some forms. He nailed the force and power underlying every movement, then exploding outward with a strike. I do like the impression it leaves.

I, on the other hand, am an absolute noodle and look ridiculous when I do martial arts.

What in the world is happening in this flashback scene with the weird CGI qilin. Ah, it’s when he received his tattoo. That was super dramatic.

Wushanju is looking real edgy with the heavy iron gate on the interior, haha.

He is puzzling (ha!) over those cards so intensely you’d think it was a thousand piece puzzle instead haha. You’re almost there! Just a few more to finish the qilin!

Aw, is this our Wu Xie? Haha his facial hair is- hm. But I love his voice it’s so soft. Really fits that “Mr. Naive” vibe.

Is that. Is that the author of the series. I found out that he makes cameos in almost all (if not all of) the adaptations!

NO. ONLY I CAN FINISH THE PUZZLE. HANDS OFF BUDDY.

Why are there so many pigeons in here. Who let them inside.

A writer, who came to hear his story and turn it into a novel- HA yup it’s the author.

“This should be a story about me and him.”

Ahh I’m loving it already. DMBJ is the ultimate bromance story. Fair warning, I do ship Pingxie so my shipper goggles will be on throughout the movie. But even without shipping, you do have to admit the series is a bromance underneath all the mystery – between the Iron Triangle, between Wu Xie and Xiaoge.

This Wu Xie is a photographer and that is sort of adorable. Already there’s a theme emerging of needing to record events and telling stories. Interesting that he wants to turn his memories into a novel to record his experiences, because otherwise he’s afraid those memories might turn into a mere story in his own head. Wu Xie, that’s a worrying mindset.

Those ancient mask things always make me crack up, I don’t know why.

Ooh, background about Wu Xie’s birth into the Wu family. I’ve never read up to the part in the books where they go into his place in the family in detail. To be fair, his grandfather had three sons and only one of them had any kids – and Wu Xie is his parents’ only child. So, he becomes the only one who can really carry on the family legacy. Aw, I really like seeing his extended family present though! In the dramas we only ever get either his Second or Third Uncle, and he rarely ever mentions his parents even though they’re alive.

And there’s his namesake! The origin of his nickname, and the irony once the story gets into the Sha Hai timeline.

Wu Xie was a bit of a rascal as a kid, haha. To be fair he has a pretty sharp tongue in the novels and is mostly a pure cinnamon roll in the early dramas.

Little Wu Xie in a suit is so adorable. Nooo kid don’t go into locked up abandoned places. He’s already so adventurous haha. Seems that it’s not actually abandoned judging by all the lights on, but.

UH. MASKED MAN BEHIND YOU. I think he wants that item back. This is why you don’t go into abandoned places, kid. He definitely does not learn his lesson though. Also why are you still holding onto that thing, just drop it, I think he wants it back.

Haha he kept one of the coins.

WOAH. Every month someone in your family dies?? That’s uh- sort of traumatic. Also that would be a really good first line for a novel…Just saying. I do love the singing though.

Oh, the Nine Families exist in this universe too! They even give a quick explanation about the ranking system.

Oh yeah, I love how Wu Xie is such a nerd for all this knowledge of ancient texts and tombs. And YES HE FINALLY DOCUMENTS STUFF FOR ONCE.

Uncle Three looked dead for a moment there, scared the shit out of me too.

VAMPIRE MOTHS? Oh I hate bugs I would not be okay lol. WHOOPS. You guys are really good at reading ancient texts on the fly lol.

That’s the mask he has in the beginning of the film, isn’t it. NO DON’T TOUCH THINGS IN TOMBS. AHHH. So you just put it on your face?? Well that was a stupidly simple way to open the door. I’m guessing the creator didn’t care if anyone opened it.

This guy just severed his own arm, ok…and how many years later is his hand still clinging to it? UH. THIS IS WHY YOU DON’T TOUCH THINGS IN TOMBS. Then he proceeds to steal the box thing.

Ah the white dude again. I am so happy there is GOOD ENGLISH though haha.

Oh, hi Zhang Qiling. Just hanging out on a rooftop I see.

He looks so melancholy. Someone give him a hug! This adaptation makes him more human, less stoic robotic superhuman, I noticed. You rarely see him eat or drink anything in the other adaptations, but here he’s just chilling on a rooftop having some drinks haha. It’s ok. I love all the Zhang Qilings.

WHAT THE HELL, LIGHTNING? What the hell is this high tech machinery haha. Eight days? Coincidentally eight days after sitting in a tomb for how many years.

That is a very Extra bookcase to hold a book that apparently has ALL the secrets.

WOW that is a fancy notebook. It looks so beat up in the other versions haha. In this one, it even gets its own hidden shelf in a giant portable bookshelf!

The props for this franchise are so cool and detailed. I always wish they would show more of the creative process in the BTS, I’m such a nerd for that stuff. The Longest Day in Chang’an was pretty good at that, which is half of my enjoyment of that show haha!

I’m also still pleasantly surprised they bothered to incorporate other languages. I’m not sure what the Snake Lady and the old man in the beginning were speaking, but at least the English is good.

I can’t believe they worked in a steampunk chastity belt this movie went all out, huh. Also with these weirdly high tech structures and lightning and moving tomb structures.

And all the pieces start coming together! So that’s why it’s believed they hold the secret to immortality. What a steampunk-looking key.

Is that a writing desk??

Oh, they’re getting a team together to go tomb raiding! Ha, forget money! You may or may not end up dying on this adventure, so who cares about money, right.

He’s so cute standing there with his camera. Look at the little smile as he watches everything going on!

It’s a desk and a storage container?? Oh, there are ~qualifications~ to going on tomb raiding. Makes sense. That is the oddest looking sword.

Must appreciate Zhang Qiling’s fingers in every adaptation. They look very strong and steady here. Let’s not talk about the slooow trailing across the handle.

Wow did you really just throw sand in his face. Have we not learned not to mess with Zhang Qiling after he trounced that first guy who attacked him. I love the fight scenes so much after the bore-fest that was Reboot/Chongqi’s second half of Season 1.

Super pretty, but why did it cause him to stop and stare in the middle of the fight?

This is like a Final Fantasy sword haha. Also I think you should stop while you’re ahead, why did you think a table would stop this dude. (Hey, it’s Da Kui! He was in the novel but not TLT1.).

It’s HERE. Their first meeting. How did he know the coin was on that cord? It wasn’t visible, I don’t think. But uh. That was a hilarious move on his part, he is so Extra?? He just casually flicks the necklace off with his big-ass sword and it drops into his hand. Then casually goes “oh, here, you dropped this” as if he wasn’t the one responsible for it coming off in the first place!!

HERE IT COMES. The unnecessarily long eye contact. Pingxie in every adaptation needs a Staring Into Your Eyes scene.

Real smooth.

Ahh this Wu Xie is such a cutie. He’s like a puppy.

WHAT. Third Uncle, I can’t believe you let him tag along so easily haha. In the beginning he was scolding Wu Xie to never get involved in tomb business, then what happens? They’re going tomb raiding!!

Next Up: to the tomb we go! This can’t end badly or anything what are you talking about.

[tempesrature]

Dedicated Emotions: Colt (Part IV)

PART I | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4

Pairing: Ride or Die | Ellie x Colt Summary: An imagining of what happened months after RoD1 where it’s only them and the days beyond.   (This is an accompaniment to the Logan Series with the same title, you don’t need to read the other series to understand this series don’t worry!) Word Count: 281 (story alone) 944 (w/ creative process note) Warnings: None  

Colt groans when the sunlight hits his eyes. It’s too early.

He turns to his left, to shield his eyes from the offending daylight, when sharp ends of hair stabs his cheeks. He opens his eyes, ready to be annoyed, when he melts at the sight of her in his bed once more. Sleeping, comfortable, adorable, sexy, stealing all of the sheets—he chuckles in disbelief. But he’s relieved that some things never change at least.

He props his head on his hand, his elbow digging into the mattress, as he looks down at her. Soaking up the sight he hasn’t seen in six months. She’ll have to drive back tomorrow, maybe even today, so he has to use this opportunity to ingrain this view to the depths of his unconsciousness. That way, perhaps even the nightmares of fire on a bridge can be doused by the memory of this moment.

His eyes latch on to the indents of the pillow on her cheek and he brings up his finger to poke it.

Soft.

So he does it again. Incessantly.

Ellie stirs in her sleep and wakes up in confusion. She squints her eyes, half in an effort to stop him from being blurry and the other half to glare at him. He smirks down at her and she groans, pushing his hand away and turning to the other side.

“You’re annoying.”

He smiles brilliantly. He knows that. But he knows something better.

“You still love me though.”

She sighs in bliss, a smile tugging on the edges of her lips when she feels him lay delicate and purposeful kisses on the back of her shoulder.

“I really do Colt.”

END

~*~

Creative Process Note: *This is the same write up for the Logan Series. Slight spoiler warnings for the other series.

Thank you so much if you’ve reached this far into the story! If you’re not interested in how the series started and what the steps it took to get here—then you can stop here. I just really want to share this because this isn’t how I normally write and it takes a conscious effort on my part to write with this style (I love writing this way but a 1k story will take me hours) so I thought somebody might be interested in it.  

But of course, you don’t need to read the rest of this so thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoyed the stories as much as it was a joy (and pain lol) to write them!

I’m really happy that I got to write for Colt and Logan. Colt is a fun and interesting character to write but definitely a challenging one and I hope I did him justice. Compared to Logan where my heart physically hurts to write him in any scene other than happy and loved because I want only the best things for my sweet boi.

Eagle-eyed readers might notice that I’ve used six of Carly Rae Jepsen’s songs from three different albums. Some of the lines of the songs are peppered in the dialogues and descriptions in the story (can you spot them all?). The songs are as follows:

For Logan: Run Away With Me (Emotion) Automatically In Love (Dedicated) Felt This Way (Dedicated Side B)

For Colt: Making the Most of the Night (Emotion) Right Words Wrong Time (Dedicated) Stay Away (Dedicated Side B)

For both series, I intended it to be a contrast between the fire and the almost heart-pounding edge to Colt in comparison to Logan who is more water and softer around the edges. I tried (and hopefully succeeded lol) in varying my writing styles for both stories to reflect that. While Colt’s story is more dire, angsty, and has a tight dialogue—Logan is more wistful, bittersweet and has a loose dialogue. That’s why both story’s more or less start out the same way, a job gone wrong, to set their journey in parallels.

And of course I’m going to end it with a happy ending, I’m not a monster.

I got the idea from Carly’s “Stay Away” and “Felt This Way” songs where it’s essentially the same lyrics but the genres are completely different (seriously, it’s amazing!) and so I thought—hey I could use that for RoDAW! And that’s where parallels with Colt and Logan came in.

Writing this also gave me the opportunity to focus on my imagery more and explore the ways I could play around with words (I’m sure you noticed my love for alliterations and repetitions). They’re very short pieces of writing but I wanted each chapter to capture a moment into their life where the theme of separation and coming home was the focal point. The afterward is just the indulgent shot of sugar needed after a full meal.

The biggest challenge had to be working out how to use the lines in the song and inserting them naturally into the story without altering them too much that it would be unrecognizable or sound awkward and stilted. I’m also not American so I tried to keep the details and scenery a little bit vague so I didn’t have to go into details that could be wrong and disrupt the immersion (google helps but only to a certain extent).

That’s about it.

Once again, thank you for reading this far and have a great day!

[justkindaoverhereobsessing]

okay hear me out - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and twenty. for the ask thingy, please ma'am

Gonna go ahead and tag @wanna-be-bold here because your ask clearly had some overlap with Sofia’s mega-ask. XD 

1. who is the hardest character for you to write? Anyone outside of my normal ships, lol. I’m pretty comfortable with Tiva but you throw Vance (and his toothpick) in there? I’m gonna struggle. 

2. who is the easiest character for you to write? Ziva, I think, or an original character I wrote years ago. Characters I really feel like I understand! 

3. How do you know if your writing is “in character”? I don’t, lmao. I just write what feels right and then hope for the best!

4. Where do your story ideas come from? YOU SOF. And sometimes other places too, lol. But seriously, a lot of my ideas are sparked from the fics of other writers! I love a good “what if” that stems from a different “what if”.

5. Do you tell the people in your life that you write fics? Lmao. Well you know my mom read WAAO so you really think I keep any secrets after that? Everyone in my life knows what I love and I don’t hesitate to talk their ears off about it all! 

6. What has been the hardest fic for you to write? We Are an Ocean, definitely. There’s so much more range to it than anything else I’ve ever written, so I’ve had to figure out how to shift gears from smut to fluff to plot to angst and back again! 

7. What fic of yours makes you the most emotional? The Place Where the Light Enters, a very old collab I never finished, lmao. That story saw me through some tough times and we put our characters through some REAL TOUGH times, too! Actually, one of my tattoos relates back to it, lol. “I picked up a pen; I wrote my own deliverance.”

8. What is a scene you wrote that you are most proud of? Gotta be some scene from That We May Forgive, but I’m not sure which one. I just know that’s the fic I’m most proud of!

9. Is there one character that you refuse to write? why? Ehhhhhh not really. But there are definitely characters I don’t enjoy writing. Jenny Shepard, lookin’ at you! 

10. When you write fics, how much of canon are you willing to ignore/skip over? Lmao. Depends on the day, my mood, and the fic in question. I love AUs so really I’m willing to throw everything out the window. Suck it, canon writers. You don’t own me. 

11. Do you prefer to be cold or hot when you write? COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD. I’m allergic to the cold but I would love to be cold for my whole life, so long as I have a decent supply of quilts and hot tea. I can’t focus when it’s too hot... living in Ghana was a STRUGGLE.

12. What is your ideal writing area? I usually write in bed, laptop in my lap and my back leaning on a pillow propped against the wall. It’s not ideal but I don’t have a desk so it’s become MY “ideal”. 

13. How do you come up with your titles? I have zero creativity in my body so I’ll decide on a theme and then google quotes for that theme. For example, for a fic I referenced earlier, the theme was healing. I found the quote “The wound is the place where the Light enters you.” (Rumi) The fic then became titled as a shortened version of that quote, The Place Where the Light Enters. 

14. How do you come up with chapter titles? I never title my chapters, lol.

15. At what point in writing a fic, do you decide to quit? I... okay, I can’t truthfully say what I was about to say. I WANTED to say “I don’t quit fics” but I have definitely abandoned a few in my day. (Haven’t done that for years, though.) Unless this question really means when I decide a fic is finished and ready to be published, in which case my answer is that I throw a dart at my nonexistent plotting paper and end the fic wherever it lands. I’m terrible at ending things, lol. 

16. How much of your personal life do you put into fics? Oof. Enough to be offended by this question, lmao. I sometimes use events from my personal life to inspire or plot fics, but more often, I explore my own confused emotions by making characters feel similar ones and writing it out. 

17. What is the most supportive comment you have gotten? Definitely something from you, @indestinatus, the queen of fic comments (and also the queen of fics, shush). But I’ve gotten some really really nice ones from strangers, too, especially on ff.net. 

18. What is the most negative comment you have gotten? Well this is embarrassing to admit. My first ever fic when I was... eh, ten years old? I tried to post it on Mugglenet, the only fanfic site I’ve ever been on that needed fics to be approved. My fic was rejected and the mod who rejected it said my main character was a Mary Sue. I’ve never recovered. 

19. How do you handle negative comments? I genuinely don’t get them often, so I’m not sure how to answer. People are usually really really nice. 

20. What story that you have written makes you the happiest to re-read? That We May Forgive! I poured my heart and soul into it. 

[huihuiheart]

800 Follower Weekend Event!

So I meant to get this out earlier since Friday is pretty much over with already lol, but...I’m going to kind of mix ideas a little bit. As a thank you for all the support and 800 followers I’m going to do this little weekend event.  No obligations to participate at all, but feel free to do whatever you choose. 

Rules: If you’re not legal, please keep it sfw, but feel free to participate. If you’re under legal drinking age or need to be coherent, but want to play a drinking game, then you’re going to be drinking water. Other than that just be polite and treat people respectfully, like seriously.

Note: I’m lettering the activities so that way if you want you can just put the letter in your ask instead of the whole game name if that’s easier. I WILL NOT be drinking before teaching my class tonight (or Saturday) and that class is from 11:00pm - 1:00am. Afterwards though I will be willing drink alcohol.

Below are the various games/activities with their explanations:

A: Ask As You Wish - Basically send an ask about whatever you want, or even just have an ask conversation with me to get to know each other better. 

B: Thot Thoughts - Basically NSFW ask conversations...this game has been known to give me story ideas though...fair warning.

C: Teaser Trivia - For teaser trivia you send me a group/soloist (or a few if you don’t know who I have a WIP for) and I pick a little teaser piece of one or a few sentences for a random WIP for them. Only there’s no title included, it’s a surprise where it came from.

D: Shoot Your Shot - This is a drinking game! One of us picks the name of an idol, the other says how they’d shoot their shot with that idol. If it seems like it would work the person who picked the idol drinks, but if it doesn’t seem like it would work then the person who tried to shoot their shot takes a drink. (I am really bad at this game just fyi. You have been warned.)

E: Never Have I Ever - You can be SFW or NSFW, I don’t care. My only rule is if someone is uncomfortable answering something then they don’t have to answer it.

F: FMK - Fuck, Marry, Kill. Pretty much everyone knows how this one works. So start sending in idols if you want to play it.

G: Would You Rather - Once again can be SFW or NSFW, I don’t care. Once again though is someone is uncomfortable with something then they don’t have to answer.

H: Most Likely To - Okay, so going to do this one a little differently. You can send in what you think mine would be if you want. However, since I need motivation to work on aesthetics and I have none, send me and idol and what you think they’re most likely to is and I’ll make an aesthetic about it.

I: Truth or Shots - Pretty self explanatory. 

J: Bias Bash - This game is gonna be a whole hot mess. Basically one person guesses the other’s bias wrecker (not bias) and admits one of theirs. If they’re right they get to try and bias wreck the other person by whatever means (only like one thing per round though), if they’re wrong then the other person gets to use the bias wrecker you just admitted to them to attack you.

K: Paranoia - So it has to be altered slightly to work on tumblr. Basically though, you ask me a question and I answer, but without revealing the question. If someone asks for a question reveal then I’ll flip a coin. If heads shows up, the question is revealed, but if it’s tails then it remains a secret. If the question makes me uncomfortable I won’t answer it.

L: Pick One Drop One - Honestly it can be anything; idols, songs, choreography, hobbies, foods, whatever you want.

M: 20 Questions - Most people have played, but basically. Going back and forth asking questions. We can play to either learn more about each other, or the version where you’re trying to guess what the other person is thinking.

N: Make My Bias List - Basically you write up what you think my bias list for a specific group, or random collection of idols is. I don’t mind guessing yours either. You have to say how many are wrong after, but you do not have to reveal who was in the wrong spots or so on if you don’t want.

O: Assumptions Game - Go crazy guys, make whatever assumptions you want about me. It honestly makes me laugh when people make crazy assumptions about me.

P: Prompt Party - Send me a prompt and an idol who you think it would be good with. Who knows maybe, I’ll take some notes lol. In all honesty though if you guys want to send absolutely ridiculous prompts go for it, please...make me laugh.

Q: Quirky Questions - Ask whatever you want, but I can only answer in lies. Or let me ask you something that you can only answer in a lie.

R:  Guess My Kinks - This one is obviously NSFW. Send in a kink you think I have and I’ll rate it on a scale of 1-10 and why.

S:  Straight Face - A drinking game. We take turns trying to make each other laugh, the first person to laugh has to drink. Props/Gifs/Pictures are allowed, but no videos. (Note, I’m really bad at making people laugh.) 

T:  Aesthetic Adventure - Once again I need creative motivation. This doesn’t necessarily mean you give me an aesthetic to make though. You basically choose a type of content and a theme and I try to make it. Feel free to be as random as you want. (Note: If it’s something I’ve never made before don’t get mad when it sucks lol)

U: That’s Unfortunate - Tell a story of something unfortunate that’s happened to you and I have to guess if it’s really or not. Or have me tell a story and you guess. (Trust me I have some stories.)

V: Venting - That’s right we’re getting some therapy out of this too. Vent about whatever you want, or we can just have a conversation about the things in life that piss us off.

W: Which Would You - Send me two prompts/story ideas that seem like something I would never write or something you think no one would want to write and I have to say which I would actually do if I absolutely had to write one of the two.

X: Extra Spicy - This one is NSFW. Basically you write like a little mini smut/drabble piece and send it in and I say if I think that idol would actually be like that or not. They can be as big or small as you want.

Y: Yes, I would. - Ask or say whatever you want, but I can only respond with Yes or yes, I would. (I’m already scared how this game could go.)

Z: Zzz - Share crazy dreams (from at night or day dreams) that you have/ have had. Or ask me to share one of mine.

[kimjongdaely]

Random Writing Tips #2

First random writing tip

So I’m currently enrolled in a creative writing class. It’s super fun, the teacher is chill, but I realized there are some things that I don’t agree with. Because I’ve been writing for quite a long time, I’ve pretty much established my own writing style and set of rules, and I’d like to share some things I’ve learned to those who might be overwhelmed with all the “rules” and “tips” they see other people post.

1. All adverbs are bad...WRONG!

This absolutely irks me to no end (lol I used an adverb already). ADVERBS ARE NOT BAD. YOU SHOULD NOT DELETE ALL OF THEM. What makes a lot of writers say adverbs are “bad” is because a lot of beginners don’t know how to use them well. Adverbs are part of the English language. It is impossible to just completely delete a whole part of the language. Adverbs are meant to enhance words. It is weak when you write something like “he yelled loudly.” Because ‘yell’ already shows the speaker is using a loud tone, there’s no need to add ‘loudly’ beside it. We already know. We get it just from ‘yell.’ Some more bad examples: “he ran quickly,” “she ate hungrily,” “I screamed angrily,” etc.

A good use of adverbs (and I use this example all the time) is the title: Killing Me Softly. Because ‘killing’ implies violence, adding the adverb ‘softly’ adds extra depth and makes the readers curious. How does one kill softly? Could it be figurative instead of literal?

If you are able to describe something better with a verb rather than adding an adverb, always use the verb. For example, “walk quickly” to “run/dash/rush/sprint/race.” “Talk loudly” to “yell/scream/holler/call/cry.” But then again, don’t overdo it. This falls into another piece of advice, don’t be pretentious: using words that are too complicated and rare does not make you sound smarter. It confuses the reader and makes them lose interest.

2. Said/say for the win

On a similar note as the pretentiousness tip, “said/say” should be used most often. Overusing synonyms of that such as “yell/whisper/murmur/call/whimper/groan/etc.” will become exhausting for the readers to read and feels amateurish. Using “said/say” more often and then using a synonym when you really need to will make that synonym carry stronger emotion/meaning.

3. Show don’t tell but sometimes you should just tell

A lot of times you see people say “show don’t tell.” What does that mean? It means you should use description to explain something rather than just telling the audience directly. For example, “this chair is old” is telling. You can show by saying: “the chair had multiple scratch marks embedded in its wood. The white paint that once covered it had peeled almost completely. When sat in, the wood would creak and threaten to collapse.” Seems a lot easier to picture, right?

But there are times where you should just tell something. Sometimes, description can be too much. One thing that I find in a lot of amateur writing is the want to explain every outfit the character wears. Nobody cares unless it’s really relevant to the story. I usually only describe an outfit if I’m introducing a new character. Stop doing that, please.

Telling will happen a lot more in 3rd POV limited. Because the narrator is observing what’s going on, they may not know what the characters are feeling, and therefore cannot describe what they’re feeling. So sometimes you’ll simply write: “He watched her sit down, head propped up in her palm.” This also happens when the character isn’t sure what’s going on in someone else’s head. For example: “I watched him stand, grabbing the gun from the table.” This builds tension from its simplicity and directness, and the character (as well as the audience) isn’t sure what the other person is trying to do. Telling will often be followed by showing, and then followed by telling again. They mix together to bring more flavor and tension. Showing will be labelled as (s) and telling will be labelled as (t):

I watched him stand, grabbing the gun from the table (t). My heart jumped to my throat and I couldn’t get the words out when he turned towards me, a determined glint in his dark eyes (s). “What are you doing?” I finally managed to choke out as I took a staggering step backwards and felt my back hit the wall (s). I was trapped (t).

Because I have showed what the character was feeling, putting a very simple “I was trapped” afterwards gives the audience a bigger punch. Again, practice and experience will help you learn when to tell and when to show. Reading a lot is also helpful in that regard. Take note of how more experienced authors show certain things, and when they choose to simply tell. Don’t be afraid to tell...sometimes. But you should still show more often.

4. Stop following all the rules

Everywhere you go, you’ll see lists and lists of so called ‘writing rules’ that you should follow, lists of do’s and don’ts. I guess this is also guilty of that. But listen here: writing is different for everyone. Everyone has different styles. There is no set rule for writing. As you gain experience and practice, you begin to develop your own style and rules. Don’t lock yourself into a box filled with other peoples’ rules. Do whatever the hell you want and as time goes by and you read more and write more, you’ll begin to understand which things you should and shouldn’t do as a writer. 

Take every advice with a grain of salt. Same goes for critiques. Readers will see your work differently than how you see them, and similarly, writers will see your work differently too. Readers usually read for enjoyment, while writers are more critical and nit-picky. But writers will give you advice on how they would write the story, and readers will give you advice on what they want to read. Remember! This is your story. No one else can tell it the way you do, and what they want to see might be different from what you want to write. Again, take every advice/critique with a grain of salt, and do what you want to do. 

But on the other hand, if someone gives you advice that you know is correct, but you don’t wanna do it just because you have to delete a section you really like, or change something major, or think it’s bothersome, etc. you should still do it. There’s a phrase called “kill your darlings,” which applies for character death but ALSO FOR EDITING! If you really like a section but you realize it’s kind of useless, you have to remove it. But don’t delete it completely! You can save it somewhere and maybe it will be useful for another story in the future.

I hope these tips are useful, and I’ll probably post more as I think of them. If you have any questions on writing, feel free to send me an ask or DM!