#purely by accident

[birabbitofthemoon]

Exciting Baihe News ! The translation of the main story of Purely by Accident is completed. I read a bunch of chapters a couple months ago it was really funny and it was one where I felt like I could completely understand why the main couple were so into one another. Which doesn’t always happen. I decided to pause till the translation was complete and now it is :

Also here is a link to the translator douqi’s site :

[web-novel-polls]

Baihe Tournament Competitors So Far

Baihe Tournament: Clear and Muddy Loss of Love / JWQS, Female General and Eldest Princess, Purely by Accident, Couple of Mirrors, Feng Ling Yu Xiu, The Beauty's Blade, Matrilocal Marriage, Fangsi, the Witch Nichang

Need CWs: everything except JWQS

Needs a Description: Feng Ling Yu Xiu, Purely by Accident, Couple of Mirrors

[convexicalcrow]

Aww yeah the ConVex shelf is coming along nicely.

[crowmise]

Light of Truth(?).

[mqfx]

click here my imps

hellooo my leige i hope you're doing pretty well but not too well, like you need just one thing to make everything perfect: baihe! and perhaps some tea. if you recall the previous petition to read "purely by accident" the translation (https://douqi.blog/purely-by-accident/) was finished for the main story! ✨️✨️✨️ i think youd like it!

I DOOOO REMEMBERRRRR thank u most loyal imp I think I had this tab open but my bastard phone keeps closing them or smth...... I shall peruse this posthaste (and if God loves us and keeps me not busy, I may make myself an epub too)

[savanir]

DP x DC prompt [19]

A couple days ago, or maybe it’s been a week now, there had been a horrid storm.

It had been bad enough on the surface but underwater it had caused extremely powerful currents that have dragged a very young Garth away and into the unknown.

He really should have listened to Atlan and stayed put…

Lost and alone, a Little Garth has found himself a lot closer to the surface than usual, the sea currents are still churning pretty bad and he simply can’t navigate his way back to anything remotely familiar.

At this point he’s quite hungry and tired, and he’s found that catching something is somewhat easier nearer to the surface.

However, now something entirely different has caught his attention.

still safely tucked away under the waves. Garth is watching two surface dwellers. judging by size they should be even younger than Garth is, which probably means their caretaker(s) are nearby.

Garth is about to leave them to it and go his own way when he catches on to the erratic kicking movements of the smallest one.

oh, he’s pretty sure surface dwellers aren’t supposed to stay underwater that long, that is if Atlan’s stories are correct.

And even though he’s somewhat terrified, he finds he can’t just… though he probably should…

Well, he ends up saving Danny from drowning.

Jazz and Danny’s parents are busy with a supposed haunted shipwreck and not paying attention.

But by saving Danny Garth found by Maddie and Jack. Who are worried that Garth is there all alone which is like... kinda hypocritical but whatever.

No ghost, but they got a sea boy!

and that quickly has them reassessing their disappointing conclusion that the wreck isn’t haunted, clearly the ghosts are somewhere underwater! After all, the ship was lost at sea and simply washed ashore.

Garth can’t really communicate that great with the Fenton’s. He doesn’t know english, and they do not have telepathy, the only thing he can catch from them is impressions of their emotions, which does make figuring out “yes” and “no” a bit easier.

At first he decides to accept their offer of shelter and food simply because he’s tired and hungry, and they seem like good people even if they are from the surface.

Then Garth makes the mistake of getting attached. All of a sudden he’s put in a eldest brother role. Jazz is determined to teach him english with her kid books and Danny has been attached to him like a barnacle ever since Garth got him out of the water.

And Garth’s needs aren’t even remotely treated as some sort of annoyance, they make note of his need for lots of water and adapt easily.

Everything is extremely overwhelming but thankfully for Garth they don't make the offer to take him with them to Amity Park right away.

They are on a family trip so they stick to the sea for another week and a half or so. After that they ask if he wants to just come with, Danny basically begs him, having an older brother seems like the best thing ever to him.

And Garth ends up taking the offer cause the last week was better than most of his lonely life so far, even if everything is weird and difficult and he can't communicate right.

[blueberrymilkcookie]

doodled something and then had an extremely funny idea

[drulalovescas]

They didn't know back then. They had no idea they would end up writing THE most beautiful love story of all time.

[izzystizzys]

“…I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I still don’t quite understand”, Fox says, for what must be the dozenth time that hour. His heartbeat pounds behind his eyes in an incessant drum of hurt, and his head aches with every breath like someone’s taken a rusty fork to the inside of his skull and raked his brain out. Fox’ eyes are beginning to burn the way they start doing around hour 80 of a shift, and he has to suppress the brief urge to check over his shoulder. Not even Stabby could come up with a ploy this contrived to make him sleep. Probably.

In front of him, General Grievous coughs awkwardly, long spindly durasteel limbs shivering with its force. “Certainly”, he vocalizes, in that deep, watery cadence. “For your glorious triumphs in battle, your awe-inspiring victory over me in close combat, and your undeniable warrior spirit, I accept you as my consort. I have proven my skills through the ritual capture, and thus, by Kaleesh custom, we are now wed, Commander Fox. I will honor you as my war-bride, and visit vengeance upon your enemies. I swear it to you.”

Expectantly, Grievous tilts his faceplate to the side, and Fox only just catches the suppression of the manic giggle that wants to escape him. Yeah, probably not Stabby - maybe a dying fever dream? Has the infected gash from that skirmish on the lower levels five rotations ago finally decided to end him? If so, it’s not fast enough for Fox’ tastes.

Here’s how it happened: Fox has no kriffing clue. All he knows is one moment an emergency alert tore him from precious Scream Closet time this morning, he went to rescue the Chancellor’s dumb ass again, and whoop, here he is on General Grievous’ ship with the war-criminal himself declaring them happily married. And eyeing him up and down like a piece of candy.

Why, Fox thinks, desperately, does this always have to happen to me?!

Chancellor’s still kidnapped, by the way. Fox has other priorities for the time being.

“I swear to aim my weapons in your service”, Grievous continues, when it becomes exceedingly clear Fox is not going to break out of his shocked stupor anytime soon. “I swear to aim true and strike with murderous intent, I swear to uphold the sacred bonds of our clans in the name of our union, I swear to raise a strong, bloodthirsty brood of warriors with-“

“Wait”, Fox interrupts, once his brain has caught up past the astromech dial-up sound it seems to be playing on repeat. “Uphold clan bonds? You murder your way through my brothers like a rabid nexu on spice on the regular!”

Grievous’ faceplate, which should be for all intents and purposes totally expressionless, does something that reminds Fox strangely of contrition. It has him gaping and shivering in discomfort, in any case. “A fact I regret, but acknowledge lies in my past before the fateful crossing of our paths. I am a warrior at soul, you must understand, my worthy mate.” Durasteel faceplates don’t turn soft. They don’t. And coughs don’t sound loving. They simply do not. “But I uphold the bonds of these sacred vows under Kaleesh law, that I swear to you, my beloved.”

“All I did was grapple you to the ground”, Fox says, mourningly. “Cody has kicked you in the head dozens of times and you’ve never tried to marry him.”

“He is not you, and his battle lacks the lustful vitality and love of violence of yours”, Grievous declares, and Fox really cannot tell whether the sound that erupts from him is a lovelorn sigh or a hacking death-gurgle. This cannot be his life.

Just then, a droid conveniently enters, putting a pause to all Fox’ sufferings. He’ll need to tell Thorn to research Kaleesh divorce proceedings. Or, better yet - he needs to blow up this whole karking ship including himself and destroy all evidence of this ever happening.

“Generals Kenobi and Skywalker awaiting in custody, Sir”, says the droid, nervously. “They are here to rescue Chancellor Palpatine, but we cut them off just out of the hangar bay.”

Internally, Fox rolls his eyes so hard it hurts his brain. “The Jedi can wait”, Grievous hacks out, and for once Fox agrees with him. Let the two dick around onboard, there’s bigger issues at hand.

“But Sir”, says the droid, all twitchy with an anxiety Fox eternally wonders who the kriff programmed into the damn things, “what if they try to escape and -“

A deep, growling noise erupts from deep within Grievous’ massive metal chest, amplifying Fox’ pounding headache by a thousandfold. “I have no time for this”, he snarls at the cowering droid. “Remove yourself from my and mine beloved’s sight.”

“Roger Roger”, the B2 squeaks, hesitantly, before adding on - “The Chancellor-“

Harrumphing petulantly, Grievous stomps one massive, clawed foot and makes what feels like the whole viewdeck shake. “I will twist his head off his body like a rotten fruit”, he declares. “That will get those pesky Jedi off my ship faster, and then we can continue saying our vows.” He pauses, thoughtfully, and then hooded eyes ringed by what must surely be rotten flesh fix on Fox inexorably. “It will be my wedding gift to you, beloved, an offering of peace to your brothers.”

Fox opens his mouth to protest, but quickly snaps it shut again when his husband already turns tail and storms off.

Huh. Maybe this marriage thing isn’t all bad.

[baddecisionsgoooo0]

Timestuck Soos

So, Timestuck is one of my favorite AU's, and there's been a lot of sub au's (Young Stan and Ford go to the 80's, young stan and ford end up in 2012, Dipper and Mabel end up in 1960 something, Wendy gets transported, etc.)

My idea is Soos is the one transported back in time.

Soos is already Mr. Mystery, so he knows all the drama. He's repairing something around the shack when he accidently grabs a time tape and just zoops back to shortly after Stan gets kicked out.

Soos is slightly confused (not in the "wtf is going on" way but in the "Hmm... oh cool, it's my turn to time travel), but he sees his pretty much adopted father (I headcanon Stan adopts Soos post show) down in the dumps, and decides to help Stan.

Meanwhile, Stan is confused. This big guy who looks kinda like a gopher just showed up, recognized him, and then proceeds to act like an older brother/ father (something Stan has no idea how to deal with).

Soos effectively becomes a perfect distraction for any of Stan's cons, while also teaching Stan some new cons. Dumb cons, like pretending Soos is a descendant of Paul Bunyan. and then getting chased out of Minnesota by the actual descendants of Paul Bunyan,

Eventually, Stan and Soos head towards Gravity Falls. Soos shuts down every argument between Stan and Ford because it's Soos. Bill tries to convince Ford not to trust Soos, but Soos is literally so pure Ford just... ignores Bill.

Eventually, everything is resolved and Soos is like, "Alright dudes, I gotta head home now."

Stan is concerned. "Wait, wasn't your time-doohickey broken?"

Soos laughs "Oh yeah dude. but only for the first week or so. I fixed it within, like, a week."

"So... you could have just gone home at any point?" Stan asks.

"I mean, yeah. But I wasn't gonna abandon you, Mr. Pines."

[web-novel-polls]

Baihe Tournament Bracket

(Winner's) Round 1

The Beauty's Blade vs. Feng Ling Yu Xiu

Purely by Accident vs. Fangsi

The Baihe Tournament will be a double-elimination tournament. Round 1 will be posted Saturday, May 8th, 2023, at noon CST and will remain open for 24 hours.

Under the cut is the extra information about the 10 competitors. Please let me know of any errors, missing content warnings, and the main pairing of the Witch Nichang.

Clear and Muddy Loss of Love 

Author: Please Don’t Laugh (请君莫笑)

Other Names: JWQS / Jing Wei Qing Shang, 泾渭情殇

Media Type: Webnovel

Chapters: 303 Chapters + 4 Extras (Completely Translated)

Main Pairing: Qiyan Agula x Nangong Jingnu

CW: ableism, abuse to a main character, abuse to a side character, age difference (arranged marriage at 14 and 18), child abuse, graphic violence, homophobia, major character death, minor character death, racism, rape as a plot point (mentioned, not depicted), sexism, sex scenes, torture, animal death (horse dies:/), genocide, imperialism, class disparity 

Links: Carrd, Fan Trailer, Wiki

Description: Qiyan Agula was born to the Khagan and Khatun of the Chengli Tribe and raised as their eldest son and successor. When war with the nearby Wei Kingdom breaks out, Qiyan Agula’s family is killed. Qiyan Agula - now simply Qi Yan -  joins the Wei Kingdom planning revenge but is promised marriage to the most favored Princess of Wei - Nangong Jingnu. 

Female General and Eldest Princess 

Author: Please Don’t Laugh (请君莫笑)

Other Names: FGEP, 女将军和长公主

Media Type: Webnovel, manhua, Audio Drama CD

Chapters: 168 Chapters + 15 Extras (Completely Translated)

CW: war, death + more unknown

Links: Carrd, Wiki

Main Pairing: Lin Wanyue x Li Xian

Description: When the Huns destroy her village, the fourteen-year-old Lin Wanyue takes the identity of her twin brother, Lin Feixing, to join the army and claim justice for the 118 villagers killed. In the military, she meets Lin Yu, a younger comrade saved by her, and later the visiting Princess of Li, Li Xian, who is dedicated to ensuring her sickly eight-year-old brother can safely ascend to the throne as Crown Prince.

Purely by Accident 

Author: Leng Qian Shan (冷千山)

Other Names: 纯属意外

Media Type: Webnovel, Audio Drama CD

Chapters: 52 Chapters + 2 Extras (20 Chapters Translated)

Main Pairing: Wei Zisong x Chu Feichen

Summary: “Through an unlikely series of events, bandit chief Wei Zisong finds herself engaged to Chu Feichen, the emperor’s eldest daughter. Through an even more unlikely series of events, they fall in love.” (via Carrd) 

Couple of Mirrors

Other Names: 双镜, Double Mirror, Shuang Jing, 雙鏡 

Media Type: manhua (Original Material), Drama, novelization/novel 

Manhua Author: noftB (福特) 

Main Pairing: You Yi x Yan Wei 

Links: Carrd

Source: “You Yi is a young, innocent, and kind-hearted socialite and a successful author, living with everyone's adoration and envy. Her perfect life is turned upside-down when she discovers a betrayal by the two most trusted people in her life. With no one left to turn to, she finds refuge in the friendship and support of Yan Wei, a young photographer with a cold personality. Unbeknownst to all, Yan Wei has a deadly secret identity.” (via imdb.com)

Feng Ling Yu Xiu 

Other Names: Soulmate Adventure, Spirit Wind Elegance, Sunflowers 

Media Type: Donghua

Episodes: 12

Main Pairing: Feng Ling’er x Bai Yuxiu

Where to Watch: Bilibili, GoGoAnime

Summary: “It is rumored in the martial world that a mystery white-haired girl suddenly appeared around the thief Feng Ling Er. She is so powerful that many martial arts masters can’t defeat her. The girl’s identity, the source of her power and her influence to the world all caused discussion among the public. But Feng Ling Er and the white-haired girl named Bai Yu Xiu never care about it. They travel the world with pleasure, unaware of a great conspiracy coming towards them.” (via MyAnimeList)

The Beauty’s Blade

Author: 封刃作书 / Feng Ren Zuo Shu

Other Names: Mei Ren Jian / 美人剑

Media Type: Webnovel 

Chapters: 51 Chapters + 1 Extra (Completely Translated)

Main Pairing: Fu Wanqing x Yu Shengyan

Links: Novel Updates

Description: Fu Wanqing is the fiery yet calculating daughter of the righteous faction’s leader who falls in love with Yu Shengyan, the aloof head of the evil faction who has come out of seclusion to cure one of her martial sisters. (based on Brasdf’s Novel Updates review)

Matrilocal Marriage 

Author: Please Don’t Laugh / 请君莫笑

Other Names: RUZHUI, 入赘

Media Type: Webnovel

Chapters: 297 Chapters + 4 Extras (Completely Translated)

Main Pairing: Yun An x Lin Buxian

Links: Carrd, Novel Updates

CW: sexism, pregnancy, cheating + more unknown

Description: Yun An volunteers to travel through time and record the truth behind a military revolt, but when she enters the time machine, she finds herself in the unknown Yan Kingdom, where men are considered the superior gender. The wealthy merchant Lin family, without a son, has announced they’re searching for a handsome son-in-law to marry the only legitimate daughter, Lin Buxian. (based on NovelUpdates)

Fangsi 

Author: Xuan Jian (玄笺)

Other Names: Presumptuous, 放肆【娱乐圈】

Media Type: Web Novel

Chapters: 226 + 114 Extras/Fanwai Chapters (Translated to Chapter 26)

Main Pairing: Tang Ruoyao x Qin Yinong

Summary: “Tang Ruoyao, only 22 years old, has just received the award titled “Queen of Film.” What a bright future she must have! The next day, headline after headline named her the “Little Qin Yinong.” Tang Ruoyao’s fans were furious; Qin Yinong had developed a terrible reputation: she had a face that could only bring disaster. Whether women or men, it didn’t matter.. she had been to bed with most of the industry! She is not yet married yet she has a daughter, and her daughter is already a few years old! You shameless media, you insult our Tang Ruoyao with this comparison! Fans of Qin Yinong were also offended. Qin Yinong’s arms were heavy with both domestic and international awards. How could Tang Ruoyao compare with that? ...Soon, the news broke out: Qin Yinong and Tang Ruoyao would co-star in a sapphic film.” - NovelUpdates

The Witch Nichang

Author: 八千岁

Other Names: 魔女霓裳

Media Type: Webnovel

Chapters: 226 Chapters + 34 Extras (Novel Updates)

Main Pairing: 

CW: absent parents + more unknown

Description: “The story begins as such, the main character transmigrates into the body of a young girl named San’er. While living in the mountains with her family she happens to treat and Wuxia master and eventually the MC begins her journey as the wuxia master’s disciple.” (Xirl0128’s Novel Updates Review)

Didn’t Know General Was Female

Authors: Buxie Mei (不谢梅) and Rong Qing (荣青)

Other Names: DKGWF, 不知将军是女郎[重生]

Media Type: Webnovel

Chapters: 45 Chapters + 3 Extra (2 Chapters Translated)

Main Pairing: Rong Jiahui x Zhongli Luo

Links: Novel Updates

Description: “Rong Jiahui has spent 8 years in a pointless marriage, unhappy and envious of the luck of other women. When she hears of Marquis Zhongli Luo returning from the battlefield, victorious and apparently looking for a wife, she regrets treating him coldly when he was being fostered in her home as a child. Cue a climactic death via choking, and Jiahui is back in the past! This time she plans on thoroughly wooing Zhongli Luo so that she may secure a happy future. Of course, things aren't that easy when Zhongli Luo is actually a cross dressing woman.” - Indelible Faith’s Novel Updates Review

Mistress, I Was Wrong

Author: Cross My Mark / Yan Guo Wu Hen / 雁过吾痕

Other Names: 女主大人，我错了

Media Type: Web Novel

Chapters: 383 Chapters (171.5 Chapters Translated)

Main Pairing: Tong Yao x Dongfang Wanyu

CW: rape + more unknown

Links: Novel Updates

Description: Tong Yao transmigrates into Dongfang Minghui, a cannon fodder villain that fought with the protagonist of “A Genius In-Making, Rise of the Waste” for a man. To survive, she chooses to hug the female protagonist’s thigh. 

The General’s Manor Young Concubine Survival Report

Author: Wind's Little Bell / 风的铃铛 / Feng De Lingdang

Other Names: 将军府小妾生存报告

Media Type: Web Novel

Chapters: 14 Chapters (Completely Translated)

Main Pairing: Bo Qingbo x Xiang Tiange 

Links: CompletedBaihe Carrd, Novel Updates

Description: Bo Qingbo wakes up as the new Concubine of the General’s Manor and must figure out the connection between the original Bo Qingbo, her husband Prince Yixing (Qu Xiang), and the Prince’s official wife, the formidable General Xiang Tiange.

[groovyfrog420]

SV Redeemed AU

INTRODUCTION / DISCLAIMER

First things first, these designs for Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla are FAR into the future. Quite literally end game phase of the story, the “they grow old together and live happily ever after”. There's a long way to get there, and while I will write some of my thoughts about their journey, I'm a shitty writer. There's no single thought-out plot, it's just bits and pieces of my thoughts in one place. 

I don't think I'd be making a tag or naming this AU anything specific. I'm still calling it an AU because there is a bit of canon divergence, but I don’t have a start-to-finish story. (EDIT: wellp that lasted long. new name is #False-Truth AU because I like the oxymoron. I still don't think I'll do much - maybe a few short comics, which you'll be able to find under that tag on my profile)

Keep in mind that these are just my own interpretations, if you imagine these cookies acting differently, that's ok! This is just my own made-up alternate version

LONG POST UNDER THE CUT - don't say I didn't warn ya

I’ve tried to divide it into sections, so if you are looking for just smth specific / only care about one of the characters, you can skip right to it!

Prepare for the ramblings. 

PURE VANILLA'S DESIGN 

more relaxed now - doesn’t need to keep up perfect appearances and the image of a hero, so he can lay back a bit more. (messier, less perfectly styled hair - more like his younger years. comfier clothes.) 

focusing on herbology - with less power now (why explained below) and trying to not overwork himself, he’s taken to different healing methods, as well as taking on gardening as a hobby

slightly more open eyes - (heavily elaborated on bellow) 

different staff - due to being able to use his own eyes more now, as well as staying more on the low, he’d decided to retire the famous staff. Since it’s a flower, it was planted somewhere and allowed to blossom and grow freely - fitting symbolism for a new beginning, I think. The lantern light glowing blue makes it easier on his eyes.

PV STORY BITS 

In this AU Shadow Milk and Pure Vanilla retire together. I think PV would still like to teach, but would focus more on the medical and practical side of things, like herbs and healing practices. (He’ll leave telling tales about the past  to Shadow Milk, though he might throw in his own comments from time to time…) He mostly offers advice and shares every-day methods for protection of different kinds with those who ask, but may take on an apprentice or few to fully pass down his healing knowledge to. He uses magic sparingly now. 

This way with not focusing on a variety of subjects and many, many students, he’s able to rest more and doesn’t have to split himself between multiple worries. He can focus properly and give his students more individual attention, to make sure his knowledge will be retained for the future. 

Eyes

(don't jump me pls read the footnote) 

I've decided to take the closed/covered eyes motif PV has in a bit more symbolic way *. I want to interpret it as PV being blind (=ignorant) to the world around him, choosing to see the world and his own actions in an idealized light, and to look away from anything that doesn't fit that idea. Light sensitivity would be very ironic yet fitting - since his own powers are very light-based, by using them to help others he’d be blindinding/hurting himself in the process... 

Over time, he realizes how futile it is. Even if he turns his eyes away from the wrongdoing in the world, from his own mistakes and imperfections, they will still continue to happen. He begins to understand that he has to accept that neither he nor the world is perfect, to stop wallowing over the past and start fixing the present. To keep moving forward and keep working on himself, not hide his imperfections under literal and figurative wraps. 

With the help of Shadow Milk, he begins to open his eyes more and more and accept the real truth, no matter how imperfect it is. 

*I’m not sure how confirmed it was in canon that he’s blind (from what I’ve seen it was mostly implied, but still). I'm not erasing that - for the sake of this AU, I'd like to say that he has partial issues with sight (including the mentioned light sensitivity), but now he learns to accommodate them rather than ignore them and hurt himself more for the sake of others. No, he doesn't magically gain full sight now, but he's more comfortable, healthier, and more honest about the world around him with all of its imperfections. 

Burnout

I believe SM and PV complete each other so perfectly because they can help each other grow in areas where the other is lacking/struggling. With PV, I’d like to focus on burnout, false ideas, and how the pressure he’s constantly under has affected him. He was very much just a normal guy before receiving his Soul Jam. Years beyond a normal cookie’s lifespan of hard work and trying to be the perfect leader, to always ensure the happiness of all his people (whether that be as king or otherwise) are bound to take a toll on anyone. Obviously he'd never admit that, always putting everyone else before his own needs, and he’d likely run himself into the grave. That's where I think Shadow Milk would be helpful - he’d make him realize how unsustainable what he’s doing really is. He wasn’t built for handling immense power for all of eternity, he’s just a single cookie and whether he likes it or not, he can’t save everyone or make every single one of his people happy... Being selfish isn’t entirely wrong, sometimes might even be necessary. 

Onto the idea of false truth - Pure Vanilla has a very idealized view of a lot of things and people. He’s trying to see everyone in the best light, but he also holds a high standard for himself - that he must be the ideal, shining and caring hero and a beacon of perfection . Shadow Milk is likely to pick that image apart - probably not in the kindest way, saying that in trying to be perfectly selfless, PV is putting himself on the pedestal above everyone else while still being just a single cookie with limited capabilities. He’d likely call this image egoistical, and while PV would argue that he’s doing it for the good of others (he is helping after all, right?), Shadow Milk wouldn’t be entirely wrong - this way of thinking, that he’s the one who must take care of everyone else, is harmful for both him and the ones he’s trying to protect. 

Shadow Milk would show him that truth is relative, that “pure truth” doesn’t exist, for anyone could interpret it differently. That PV isn’t (and doesn't have to be) the perfect blameless hero. That his people aren’t as good or pure as he’d like to give them credit for, but neither are they helpless. 

Shadow Milk metaphorically and literally helps him open his eyes - he slowly learns to lay back, to accept the reality and “truth”, whatever it may be, and is no longer blinding and burning himself out by trying to help everyone at once. With a new mindset and outlook of the world, he can allow himself to retire, and leave a calmer, out-of-the-spotlight life. 

Retirement

Ok, controversial idea, but I think the ancients will have to one day retire and pass down their SoulJams. Yes, I played Cookie Odyssey, I know how important it is to them, but hear me out. As I said above (which is shown in the game btw, but correct me if I'm wrong), they were just normal cookies before taking on the roles of the Ancient Heros. Cookies with high achievements, yes, but still. They aren’t The Beasts, baked specifically for the purpose of handling the Soul Jams, and even then, The Beasts weren’t perfect. I’m not saying they’re bound to get corrupted like their predecessors did, but I am saying that this role is bound to take a toll on them. Not even just from the perspective of power, even just handling so many responsibilities with running their kingdoms is going to be extremely draining mentally. (Physically likely too, even if they’re said to stay “always young” thanks to the Soul Jams - many stories teach that you can’t mess with nature and that nothing lasts forever...)

I don’t know who they’d pass the Soul Jams along too - whether that’d be Gingerbrave and his friends, or a new batch of heroes, that is to be decided. The point is, they have served their purpose, they have (from the perspective of this AU) defeated Dark Enchantress, and deserve to now leave the rest of  their lives in peace.

SHADOW MILK'S DESIGN 

“mellowed out” a bit - continues to be eccentric and dramatic, but less manic

still unsettling - most level-headed cookies upon meeting him immediately get a feeling that there's something.. off about him, even if they can't put their finger on it. (I purposefully left some of his corrupted design elements or callbacks to them, like the marking over his eye, for that reason) 

vibrant, colorful, very extra in both behavior and looks, everything he does he does with drama and flourish 

quiets down when out of the eyes of the public, or alone with Pure Vanilla 

peacock elements - fitting for someone with such a vibrant personality. also the eye connection is perfect - if you look closely at the feather he's wearing, you might even notice a familiar symbol in its “eye”

a playful bard - (elaborated heavily bellow) - an identity allows him to enjoy his favorite activities, while also being a slight callback to his academic past 

SM STORY BITS

The bard 

While spending more time with Pure Vanilla, PV encouraged him to pursue his creative interests. Partly to have smth to get SM’s mind off of causing chaos, and partly because they let him indulge and express himself without causing any serious damage. Now he’s joined PV in retirement, though still not fully stepping down from the stage.

Being a bard allows Shadow Milk to indulge in everything he likes most: being the center of attention, dramatics, theatrics, mischief, a tasteful dose of lies and half-truths, but also, in a way, calling back to his past self: for while a lot of his stories are made-up tales, he can also share the history of Earthbread that he’s witnessed. Yes, he may do so through over-dramatic performances or behind caricatural characters, but every tale holds a grain of truth, does it not? Whether his audience chooses to believe him or not is their choice to make.

Referencing the fact that a big part of human history survived through word of mouth, and how storytellers play an important role in preserving it, I think it’s only fitting to make him a bard.

About visual choices

I made his redeemed design less chaotic and asymmetrical, but still vibrant and based mostly on his current color palette, rather than the one from Blueberry Academy. That's because while he may be rediscovering his interests from the past, he’s not the person he was before corruption and never will be again. Instead, he too is learning to rediscover the world in a new light, with a new identity. 

Visually I’ve tried to keep some elements from his current design, if slightly toned down: a wide collar, puffy sleeves, a flowy cape. Elements of his corruption are also still there: different colored sclera (= his one eye being black), the sharp teeth. He may have settled down and calmed down slightly, but he remains as playful as ever :)) 

He still causes local chaos once in a while or resorts to pranking unsuspecting cookies nearby (the slight charring at the bottom of PV’s robe is a result of one of such pranks getting out of hand), and PV has accepted that he'll never be a calm, put-together cookie he once might have been. However, SM's learned to not be a danger to others for the sake of the one he cares about the most, and that's enough for the both of them. 

And that's all for now! If you've managed to get this far, thank you SO much for your patience, I hope you've enjoyed my thoughts and brainworms <3

[quarter-lif3crisis]

F1 Grid |'the need to be the best before the need to rest'

Symphonia IX (My Wait Is U), Grimes

[douqi7s]

Purely by Accident — Main Story Translation Complete

Fully three years and 41 days after I started it, the translation of Purely by Accident's main story is finally complete.

Read it here.

Next things:

Translate the extras

Edit the whole translation one more time, now that it's complete

Create EPUB and PDF versions

(stretch goal) Talk one of my ficbinding friends into helping me create some physical copies of it

Finally finish subtitling the audio drama adaptation

Move on to the next project, which I promise will not take as long (or if it does, only because it's a much longer novel!)

(have some fan art liberated from a now defunct baidu tieba; sadly the artist's name is lost to the mists of internet linkrot)

[yuseirra]

**onk spoilers**

where everything is happier

[b0nelessdoodles]

fellas, is it gay to get flustered when your colleague wraps his magic around you to keep you out of trouble? 🤔