#so I want to have all of my stuff that I've collected (minus the stuff I wrote down ot leave there)

[caterpillarinacave]

Now is not the time for jumping into things rashly. You thank the friendly next worlder for their offer, but decline their couch space for now. Instead you ask them if they mind bringing the books they had mentioned to the door in exchange for the berries of your world. They accept with an air of bemusement and take their leave with a promise to return as soon as they can.

You watch as they walk away, before leaning through the door, slightly, and blowing your whistle on the other side. Nothing happens for a few minutes, so you shut the door. Waiting a moment you open it back up only to find what was once a well lit sky has darkened to night. Confused you close and open the door quickly, the sky is still dark but now a moon rests in the space that had been clear before. Time is definitely in flux between the doorway when closed...the mechanics of how that works is too confusing to parse out right this minute though, so you pack up your things to head home again and close the door.

When you reach the house you greet your friends, they seem pleased to see you, though not as if it's been a great deal of time, rather like they're happy you're back at the end of the day.

You help set up for dinner, each of you chatting about your day. It's nice, comfortable. You check them both discretely during the conversation, they both seem the same as always, not really older than when you met as you had worried what with time alterations now on the table, enjoying themselves and winding down after a day of chores around the house, familiar laugh lines and wrinkles from the older one as they describe some happening in town the other day, quick smiles and careful attention from the younger who glances at you from time to time with amusement at the story being told. It's...calming. Like the air itself is cocooning you in softness.

Before long though, you find yourself heading to bed, that strange atmosphere sticking with you. It's nice, helps you drift off a little faster. You dream of a void with lines of gold leading you to a river, as you follow the water you reach an island and on it a lone figure who sits in front of an open door, you can't tell the color nor can you see where it leads, lightning crackles with a flash inside the doorframe, the figure from before raises it's hand to its mouth, you see its lips move, it mouths without sound over the crackles from the door, the world twists, it's hard to see, with a yank like you're falling, consciousness slams back into you and you awaken with a start, sitting in bed, adrenaline running high. You steady your breathing, heart like a jackhammer dying to burst through your ribs, as you calm the blood stops rushing and you realize you can hear something. You look at the desk across the room where you have your walkie talkie resting, always on and waiting, it crackles to life, but nothing can be deciphered. You don't get back to sleep tonight.

In the morning you head back out, your friends heading in to town, you depart from one another with a wave. As you travel you pick some berries curious to see if they affect the next worlder the same way as your worlds do, when you get to the door you pause to look at your walkie, it hasn't made noise since last night, yet you still check it, opening the door you watch to see if anything happens, but nothing does. When you look through the door your friend on the other side looks up from reading a book.

"How! Wonderful to have caught you! Would you happen to understand the presence of this lovely ren?"

You look to where they gesture to see a large beautiful white deer gazing at you from the other side of the alley. Initially confused, you recall blowing the whistle through the door yesterday. Interesting. You return to your friend who listens intrigued as you explain it may have to do with your whistle. They hum in interest, and as you two talk the deer, or ren as your friend called it, seems to determine your lack of attention as a dismissal and begins wandering away. Once it's gone you both turn your attention to the books.

They show you some of the covers and chat about what they hoped each offered in terms of information, ranging from literal childrens tales to thick books of what's you'd guess is basically this worlds cryptozoology. In exchange you offer a berry from your world to your new friend and they take it mildly apprehensive and try it after a moment, they seem appreciative and note that it made them feel better just as you have observed in yourself, you offer one from this world passing it through the door to your friend, they note that it tastes like the other one you gave them, similar results. You note this and hand over the rest you picked on the way over to your friends delight, then you get started reading.

After a while you figure some things out. Like your friend said before, most stories and retellings of the door and this world, or the Inbetween as they call it, seem to think it a myth. There are written documents on people who have been taken by tall dark haired strange beings that spoke in another tongue and clicked to each other. You think that feels familiar. There's one story about a person who stepped through the Inbetween but when they came back the world had changed and the people spoke oddly and no one knew who they were, but supposedly that person disappeared soon after telling their story.

Honestly, by the end, you're equally more informed and more confused. It's getting late for both of you though so you say your goodbyes, they give you a few books to read on your own, and you head home. When you get there the house is empty, but that's not odd since trips into town can often run late. You put your stuff away and start setting up for dinner, figuring you can make something simple before your friends get home. As you finish washing ingredients you see the younger racing up to the house on one of the horse like creatures. You watch as they hop off as soon as the house is within walking distance, they race through the door. While not panicked, they tell you the other sent them back to the house to let you know there were strange people asking questions about you. From what your friend explains it sounds like the cult the book writer had described. Neither you nor your friends had thought for you to keep a low profile, it's only a matter of time before they find you here.

Do you stick around and see what they want?

Yes*

[teeth--thief]

Google Drive full of book PDFs about Chernobyl

Link to the Google Drive if you don't want to click the title: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kscKFciW6almJA8p-0sUQPO3c0A4AQYe

Note: It will be updated regularly - for as long as I'll be able to find/get new things =) So far I've compiled 41 books in three languages.

Just to repeat what I said in the first post: I'm open to any requests or suggestions or even PDFs themselves, if someone wants to share theirs from their collection. Message me, send me an ask, throw a rock through my window - whatever you prefer, just please, do it yourself because I'm too scared to message anyone, thanks. No fiction - that's the only rule. Any language is welcome - if you want me to look for a certain book in the language of your choice, I'll do that. If you have a book in language other than English, I'd love to add it to the Drive! If you have a better version of whatever PDF I've already got, then I'd be more than happy to do a swap.

Now, some of my reasoning, if anyone's interested: first of all, I think it's important for everyone to be able to access stuff like this. Think of it as a library, minus the "give these back" part. Secondly, I get soooo mad when people are like haha, found this super rare, basically impossible to find, very expensive book! ...I shall now keep it exclusively to myself. Ma'am, you're ruining the vibe and stalling everyone's hobby research but I guess you do you...

List of all the books (under the cut):

In English:

Voices from Chernobyl - Alexievich S.

Chernobyl Reactor Accident - Source Term

Chernobyl - Insight from the Inside - Dr. Chernousenko V.M.

How It Was - Dyatlov A.S.

(ENG+RUS) Chernobyl Booklet

Chernobyl: The Devastation, Destruction and Consequences of the World’s Worst Radiation Accident - Fitzgerald I.

Final Warning. The Legacy of Chernobyl - Gale R.P.

Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World’s Greatest Nuclear Disaster - Higginbotham A.

INSAG-1

INSAG-7

Interesting Chernobyl - 100 Symbols

From Chernobyl To Fukushima - Karpan N.

Manual for Survival. A Chernobyl Guide to the Future - Kate Brown

Chernobyl. Confessions of a Reporter - Kostin I.

The Politics of Invisibility. Public Knowledge about Radiation Health Effects after Chernobyl - Kuchinskaya O.

Memories - Kupnyi A.

Chernobyl 01:23:40 - The Incredible True Story of the World’s Worst Nuclear Disaster - Leatherbarrow A.

Chernobyl Notebook - Medvedev G.

No Breathing Room - Medvedev G.

Chernobyl Record - The Definitive History of the Chernobyl Catastrophe - Mould R. F.

Wormwood Forest - A Natural History of Chernobyl - Mycio M.

Life Exposed: Biological Citizens After Chernobyl - Petryna A.

Chernobyl: History of a Tragedy - Plokhy S.

Ablaze - Story of Chernobyl - Read P.P.

Producing Power: The Pre-Chernobyl History of the Soviet Nuclear Industry - Schmid S. D.

Chernobyl: A Documentary Story - Shcherbak I.

The Vienna Report

Chernobyl - Crime Without Punishment - Yaroshinskaya A.A.

In Russian:

Chernobyl: Kak eto bylo. Preduprezhdeni - Kopchinsky, Steinberg

Chernobyl. Tak eto bylo. Vzglyad Iznutri - Voznyak Ya. Troitskiy N.

Лучевая болезнь человека (очерки) - Гуськова А.К., Байсоголов Г.Д.

Чернобыль. Как это было - Дятлов А.С.

Чернобыль: 30 лет спустя - Кравчук Н.В.

Живы - Купный А.

Чернобыль - Щербак Ю.

(ONLY Pages 367-383) Чернобыль, 10 лет спустя. Неизбежность или случайность?

KGB files - pre and post accident (includes additional information in Ukrainian)

In Polish: 

Jak to było - Diatłov A.S.

Czarnobyl - Plokhy S.

Czarnobyl - Sekuła P.

Katastrofa w Czarnobylu - Sekuła P.

Czarnobyl. Od katastrofy do procesu - Siwiński W.

[bishopony]

while we're on the subject of collections, here's all of mine! featuring ponies, the last unicorn, pokemon, and etc

these are my G4s and G3 favorites, all this stuff is crammed onto my one desk so it's not the most ideal for now lol. There are many more brushables but they just don't fit

right above those is my etc tier, mostly dragons and a couple Scar related things, adventure time, and LPS (more pending once I can find the rest)

the top tier featuring all my godzillas minus the 3 foot long giant one! in front with the chicken feather is 2014 goji, in the back with pinkie pie is 2019. you can also see Deet from dark crystal: age of resistance (highly recommend, it's on netflix but only has one season since it got cancelled in true netflix fashion), as well as my buddies Amelia and Rom from bloodborne, and the pyramid is a beetle my grandfather encased in resin back in the 80s for unknown reasons. on the wall to the left is a newspaper clipping of an ad for godzilla vs mothra from the 50s!

more ponies incoming, these are all my G1s, my changeling collection (still growing, I want an entire swarm), my mostly finished customs, and my Tabitha St. Germain corner to the right with Minty and Ditzy! In the back is the D&D/mlp collab figures. The sign on the wall I found at a thrift store and it says "horses gather here" lol

my last unicorn collection! this is the collection I'm most proud of, the displayed one to the right is a first edition I snagged for $70. The only editions I have left to collect are the super expensive deluxe/limited version (which just got harder thanks to Suntup releasing three VERY expensive special editions this year), but some of you will remember I did get super lucky earlier this year and unknowingly got a limited print, signed edition of the lost version for $3! so altogether I think the collection is worth around $1300

my pin collection! <3 some are in a display box and some are on my go bag so this isn't everything. the keychains are from my personal shop, a couple con badges I got in a merch trade (which I'm always open for if anyone's interested! I trade merch or art).

last one for now, this is the first page of my card collection! I'm not gonna show images of them all but these are the cool guys, I got these guys in a full 1996(? whenever the first printing was) japanese display box back when I was 15 for about $25, so that was quite the massive steal. These are technically leftovers, I've got all 3 starter evos and mewtwo in acrylic cases to display, and these guys are all double sleeved haha. I've got a lot of MTG cards as well but they're all in deck being used (if anyone else is into magic the gathering, do talk with me about it, I freaking love magic hahaha)

[emma-is-swaggy-and-epic]

A collection of some of my OCs as pokemon trainers :3

CHEAT SHEET/ EXPLANATION FOR EACH CHARACTERS' TEAMS UNDER THE CUT

Let's start with yuriko, her team consists of a gallade, a combee, a bisharp, a rookidee, a gothitelle and her beloved furfrou. Since chess is a BIG theme to yuriko's character, i wanted each pokemon to sorta reflect each piece in a game of chess (minus the king bc i ran out of room). Combee is the pawn because in chess: pawns are the weakest piece and are kinda there to protect the queen in a way, similarly to how worker bees in a beehive tend to do stuff for the queen (not to mention that pawns actually CAN become queens in a game of chess, similarly to how normal bee larvae can grow up to become a queen if fed enough). Bisharp and rookidee are the bishop and the rook for obvious reasons, gallade is the knight and gothitelle is the queen (though tbh i also partially chose those two bc in yuriko's usual form, she is a danganronpa fan character, specifically a celesgami fankid and i kinda associate those two characters with those pokemon...albeit with celeste it's more or less the gothitelle line IN GENERAL) lastly i chose a furfrou bc that's the closest i can get to yuriko's goofy ass dog, gambit.....there are no borzoi pokemon i'm afraid

Also ngl whenever i hear gothitelle's name, my mind immediantly goes to cottonelle and i can't help but think of emo toilet paper...

Next with makeighlyn: her team consists of a sylveon, a galarian ponyta, an indeedee, a porygon, a spiritomb and an absol. I imagine that since makeighlyn's whole lore is that she's a flash game mascot turned demon slayer, she was probably given a sylveon, ponyta and indeedee by her creators (the sylveon representing her pet cat, angie) but ended up finding and catching a porygon after she gained sentience; when she became a demon slayer, the souls of all the demons she killed formed into a spiritomb and she caught that too and lastly she caught an absol to sorta let the demons know she's coming since y'know.....absol is said to be a bad omen....also yes, makeighlyn IS wearing may's contest outfit, it was easier than just thinking up an original pokemon universe design for her

For myrtle: her team consists of a zorua, a cubone, a banette, jirachi, a duskull and a zubat. Tbh i didn't really put that much thought into her team, i just picked the edgiest pokemon i could find....though with cubone and banette i just picked them bc they're infamous for having really dark pokedex entries and are a common sight in the more horror-oriented side of the fandom, and also i picked zubat bc it's the first pokemon i think of when i think of team rocket (aside from meowth, obviously) typically i prefer not to include legendary/mythical pokemon whenever i give a character a pokemon team for the sake of believablity though i just couldn't resist giving myrtle jirachi considering how much it fits with her backstory (normally, myrtle's story is that she randomly discovered she had reality-bending powers one day and abused her power so much it caused a dimensional merge; though since this is pokemon and humans don't have powers, i feel it makes more sense if she caught jirachi and abused it's wish granting powers)

Lastly for renée: her team consists of an altaria, a castform, a smeargle, a snom, a munchlax and a bruxish. Tbh i only really gave her an altaria and a castform as a sort of callback to the fact that renée is a bird (though i had to make her human for the sake of this challenge), specifically a pigeon-cloud nymph hybrid; so i gave her a cloud bird and a weather creature! Since renée is more or less a 2014 tumblr-esque hipster (a bit millenialcore i daresay), i gave her a bruxish bc i've literally never seen a single person who likes bruxish (i personally don't really care for it either way but like....LOOK AT THIS THING!!! IT LOOKS LIKE IT SHOULD BE HANGING OUT WITH THE BEATLES IN PEPPERLAND OR SOME SHIT)

Anyway, i also gave renée a munchlax bc tbh that pokemon SCREAMS millenials in 2014 tbh (like....fr you'd be hard-pressed NOT to find a millenial on the internet from that era making jokes about how much pizza and avocado toast they eat) i also gave her a smeargle to reference renée's love for painting and a snom bc....tbh i think snom is kinda overrated and i feel like renée would be the type of person to make that damn thing her entire personality so yea (also renée likes bugs so i had in incorporate that SOMEHOW)

[ebonyweb]

Ok, I'm bored

10 GUITARS GWEN WOULD DO UNSPEAKABLE THINGS TO OWN

Gibson DG-335 (Original Run)

I'm not secretive about this, but one of my major inspirations is Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters. This, based on the Trini Lopez 335 with modifications, is one of his weapons of choice. No hate to the Epiphone DG-335 (In fact I'd actually like to have one of those since it's a model I can actually fucking afford) but this would be the prize jewel of my collection

Gibson Explorer (With caveats)

While I love this thing, I do want some features not available on standard Explorers. Mainly, a volute (Added material at the midpoint of the neck and Headstock), a set of Burstbucker pickups (or similar PAF pickups), and in Shell Pink.

Fender Nocaster (Either Vintera II or original)

A Tele without a name, which happened because of a copyright Grestch held on the original name, the Broadcaster. I also just like Telecasters, and TBH, these are just cool bits of history.

Fender Kurt Cobain Jaguar

Nirvana is a band I have found a love for. Kurt Cobain was a genius on the guitar, and I find he and Grohl influence a lot of my style on guitar. This is one of his many modified guitars, and I personally really want it, especially for the upgrades like the Tune-O-Matic bridge and separate volumes for the pickups.

ESP E-II Eclipse

While I by no means am a metalhead, I do really enjoy "Metal" guitars. Stuff like the Explorer, ESPs lineup, even something like the 5150 amp. This is a beautiful thing, a pastiche of the ebony Les Paul Custom with modern features like EMG pickups, a volute, and a thinner body.

Epiphone Les Paul Custom (Birth Year)

Speaking of, this beautiful thing. As much as I love a guitar that makes my wallet scream in terror, I like the simple stuff too. I love the Les Paul shape, and the man behind the guitar was invaluable. Seeing this guitar up on a wall with the name "Les Paul" under it is an inspiration.

EVH SA-126

I actually saw this guitar before it was released. Wolfgang Van Halen, son of the incredible Eddie Van Halen, was at Rockville 2024 with a road testing prototype. Playing one of these in a Guitar Center was unreal, because it felt so light and growled through the amp. Plus, look at it. It's beautiful.

Martin D-18e (Replica)

A odd choice, certainly. I mean, these are mega expensive and rare, and the one pictured here is the awe-inspiring model played by Kurt Cobain in Nirvana's MTV Unplugged concert. But, there's the rub. I don't want an original. As a challenge, I want to recreate this with a cheaper Dreadnought acoustic, the exact pickup model (which are still sold), and any custom modifications needed to replicate that historic model, much like Nirvana Guitars did (minus the modifications Kurt Cobain and his guitar tech made such as the soundhole pickup.)

Schecter Ultra (Pelham Blue)

Again, I like metal guitar gear. Schecter Guitar Research is one of those companies I've heard good things about, but as someone who doesn't really vibe with S-style guitars, I don't really look too much for their stuff. This is different. It adds elements of the Gibson Firebird, Telecaster, all with modern features and a beautiful look.

Gibson/Epiphone SG Special (Pelham Blue)

I just really like the SG body shape. It's fucking devil horns. With all my talk of how much I love this, is it a surprise it's on here? Although, honestly, I showed the Gibson version because the Epiphone version is relatively cheap, especially in comparison to their recent output (Fuck you, Epiphone Ripper being $1000+), so the Gibson version would probably be a bit more out of reach.

[ominous-faechild]

✦ HEIGHT COMPARISON ✦

Thanks for the tag, @yourpenpaldee!

RULES:

Use this site to compare the heights of your OCs.

I'm not going to lie, I have mixed feelings about this tag, haha. I mean, it was pretty fun in a lot of ways! But the website was also laggy and, uh... diverse body types and stuff? Definitely not, whoops.

On a more positive note! I decided on the colors for each of these characters a while ago, and this is also a cool way so show them off! Tell me what you think of everyone's colors, and if I did a good job making them distinct from one another!

(The amount of my characters I saw related to blue without even realizing it... I had to move some to shades of purple!!!)

SUN AND SHADOW

This one was disappointing in body types both for ridiculous reasons (why no harpy for poor Crow? 😂) aaaand... a lot more valid ones. Like, okay, there wasn't a single icon for a person with a cane. Not even for a thin one! So instead we just got Soren with his hands in his pockets.

THE ARCANE RIFTS

Large cast, sorry guys! 😂 Believe it or not, I actually made a separate one with a few more of the characters if you guys want me to post it separately! I just didn't want to crowd this post up any more than it already will be, haha.

Gene is a smol boy, both from genetics (😉) and malnutrition, whoops. Although they won't show up in the Arcane Rifts (or... not any time soon? 👀), I have a lot of Gene's family built out and they're all pretty short, haha. So it was a given he would be, too! Thennnnn there was also the "no option for a cane" thing. 😑

Adilzhan, on the other hand, has always been planned out to be gigantic, haha. If there were any harpy icons, I could've done one for him and shown another reason this man is considered to be hulking! Dude's terrifying, I love him. 10/10.

This is the kids' fully-grown heights btw! Obviously seven-year-old Gene isn't 5'3, haha. He'll only be that tall later into book 2.

RISING FROM THE ASHES

Another place the lack of diverse icons reallllly didn't vibe well with me, oops. Guqayya wears a headscarf for religious reasons, but there weren't any avatars with it and, well... idk, maybe she's not a real person, but I really don't like having anything representing her without one.

Sammy, on the other hand? Great, 10/10, haha. One of the Things™ about him is that he looks much younger than he actually is, and one of the ways that shows is in his height! He's actually 15, though, he just absolutely does not look it, haha. Poor kid.

Also it greatly amuses me that not only is Caron not that tall (meanwhile his son towers above him), but Guqayya is taller than him. Cranky old healer lady ftw am I right?

(More seriously, it amuses me because he's a super intimidating presence. Tbh he's got a lot of muscle--though he hides it under loose-fitting clothes--and he's got a lot of other factors that makes him more intimidating. Like, famous and known to lead a knight's college for one. But also he's got a generally very collected manner, doesn't really show his emotions, and--oh, right. Is powerful enough magically that he radiates an aura of power, haha. Still! It's so funny to picture that in an otherwise almost average-height man! I think it's not done that often tbh.)

ALL MAIN CHARACTERS

Aaaand the actual main characters of each of the stories! (Well, technically minus the MCs of the later books of tAR, but that's not really relevant, so--)

Turns out my MCs tend to be kinda short, haha. Oh, well! I think I did a great job diversifying the colors for them, though, so hopefully it'll be easy to distinguish when I start making posts about them again!

Despite the lack of diversity, I did mostly have fun with this tag! It's interesting looking at the characters' heights actually put side-to-side visually like this--I've never gotten to see it before, haha.

Also, this might've let me mess with the numerical heights to better match those that I saw visually occurring between the characters... I'm not that great at converting numbers to distance in my mind. The aphantasia doesn't help, whoops.

I'm proud that it seems I've done a decent job of varying the heights and generally making them accurate to irl averages, though!

Tagging (gently!!!): @the-golden-comet @darkandstormydolls @the-letterbox-archives @illarian-rambling @wyked-ao3

@ath3alin @mysticstarlightduck + open tags!!!

Gorgeous divider by @saradika!

[imperator-titus]

Be My Juice Box [Ch 1]

Rating: Mature Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: F/M Relationships: Astarion/Tav (Baldur's Gate) Characters: Astarion (Baldur's Gate), Tav (Baldur's Gate) Additional Tags: Modern AU with Some Twists, Slow Burn, they were roommates, Vampires Summary: Sometimes you have to sell your blood to a vampire to keep your head above water.

Notes: Playing with an idea I've had for a while! Mostly modern, but maintains magic elements with tiniest bit of cyberpunk elements. I used the basic outline of Rowan from A Non-Hero's Guide, seeing as I was thinking of this while I was writing that. I'm not giving up on Ghost from the Past or anything, but I recently got covid and couldn't really think about that story hard enough to get anything out. This came out much more easily for me.

Text under cut:

Insert finger. Get poked. Try not to curse in front of the sweet little old lady behind the machine.

Blood tested. Machine beeps. It spits out the results like a GreenWalls receipt.

The kindly old lady holds a cotton swab to your injured finger. She raises the cotton to her nose and, before she even reads your results, tells you your blood is top-grade, minus a little iron deficiency.

You chuckle nervously and say you can’t afford red meat, much like the rest of the city. She chortles and says that will all change, if you’re lucky. And you smell lucky.

A young man sits you down and walks you through how to use the next machine as he draws your blood. It’s not like the last time you donated blood. It’s sleek and sophisticated and barely hurts. You are unable to look away as the needle pierces your skin and your blood floods out.

He laughs and asks if you’re an ingénue. You know it as a literary term, but he is using it as a slang term for women who want to be bitten by a vampire. Plenty of those come through the Black Cross’s doors. 

The kindly old lady gives you a cookie to eat while the young man explains how to clean the machine. If you’re picked, it’ll be your job to maintain it.

After he’s done explaining all the other stuff like how to store the blood and read the test results, a being of unknown sex or species enters the room. It is just a dark shape, a shade. It explains the rules to you.

Your blood is being divided up into samples. Those samples will be sent to vampires currently in need of a “donor.” Donors come in two forms: on-site and off-site. You need a place to live, so you preferred on-site, but it still feels weird to imagine living with someone again, mortal or not. 

Those vampires will submit their impression of your blood and an offer for you to consider.

You laugh, because the shade told you “this isn’t an escort service,” but here it is, telling you that you’re being bid on like a cow at auction.

On-site donors are mostly like roommates, except they are giving up their blood and, in the case of vampires lacking a daytime servant, fulfilling reasonable requests. Donors are compensated for additional duties. 

They must respect their host’s space and privacy.

Basically, get along and leave the place how you left it.

Expect your offers in 1-2 weeks.

Thank you for your donation. You are saving unlives.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rowan Vignaud looked back in trepidation at the empty expanse of what used to be her home.

Like most in New Babylon, she couldn’t afford to live on her own in this part of the city. Maybe that would change, eventually. Cryptomancy had fallen out of fashion about 100 years ago in a push to elevate the more arcane arts. It was used to maintain systems that kept the world running and, despite its clear importance, was treated like kobold-work.

Rowan never understood that term. Kobolds did all the important stuff, like make sure the sewers worked and the garbage gets collected.

But then the world was briefly plunged into darkness and it became clear that the world still needed cryptomancers. One overworked, underpaid, underappreciated number-jockey in some dank basement somewhere caused the Great Crash, all because the world’s riches were protected by some other overworked, underpaid, underappreciated number-jockey sitting in a dank basement that no one ever listened to when they said this could happen.

Rowan was once one of those cryptomancers. Now she was hoping to work her way into a position where she didn’t need to give up her blood every day to live in the city.

Her things already sold or sent ahead to her new home, Rowan left with just a bag slung over her shoulder.

The residence was a “Brownstone,” as historians called it, a very rare sight in the cities these days. Out front, a kobold in a smart little suit sat on the first step, a binder almost as big as him clutched in his little arms.

“Ah! Yes! Human!” he called out cheerily as she approached. He made a few feeble attempts to put down the binder gently in order to greet her properly before he asked nervously, “Coulds you take this? It's yours anyway.”

Full of paper, it was a little heavy, especially for such a small creature. He was happy to be free of it, offering her a dramatic bow in thanks.

“Welcomes to your new home, Miss Vignauds!” The kobold hopped up the steps one at a time, taking them by leaps instead of clambering over them.

A week after her visit, Rowan received a packet from the Black Cross, delivered by a shuffling zombie who unknowingly left behind a finger on her doorstep. Zombies needed jobs too. Just not very complicated ones.

Inside were 3 offers as well as a form for stating her intention to take an offer or decline in the hopes of receiving more. 

The first offer was from a vampire further out from the city. She had many flowery words to describe the blood she sampled and provided many pictures of her estate. While Rowan was more inclined to live amongst nature, the permanent work she hoped to secure was contained to the city.

The next offer was rather similar, with intense feelings associated with her blood sample. The compensation was generous and their home was closer to the city.

The third was brief. “Adequate.” The offer didn't reflect that sentiment.

In the end, Rowan chose the third offer.

Inside the binder was a code to the door, but Rowan only got so far as the first digit before it whirred and beeped, indicating it was unlocked.

She kind of expected a vampire to be stuck in their time period and, while most of the house was still in its original Victorian style, it had obviously gone through some changes as its owner debated keeping up with the times.

“Master Ancuníns hasn’t had a live-in donor in a very long times,” her little guide informed her as they removed their shoes in the foyer, “so we don’ts really have much to says about his behavior.”

Well, he clearly knew she’d arrived, but was choosing not to show himself. It was daytime, she expected him to be sleeping somewhere. Maybe he heard an alarm, rolled over in his coffin, saw it was them at the door, pressed the button, and went back to sleep. Or whatever vampires did. The binder had a lot of information about general vampire knowledge and cleared up a lot of misconceptions that still lived in modern society. 

Could vampires be… shy? The binder didn’t really say.

“Master Ancuníns doesn’t have servants, but there is a very nice magical cleanings service.” To demonstrate, he indicated for her to pluck a petal off of a flower in a fresh bouquet brightening up the hallway and drop it on the ground. After a moment, like a mouse snatching a piece of fallen cheese, a mage hand darted out from another room and took the petal away. “So, you shouldn’t haves to do much.”

There was the kitchen, which was probably the most modern part of the home, despite the fact that it was the most useless to its owner. Here she would test her blood after dinner and, if her levels were good, have it drawn. There was a special storage unit just for the bags, separate from the spacious refrigerator where she found the last of her food from her apartment.

Then there was the bedroom. It was a little cramped, but there was a room next to it that would be her office. None of the furniture was hers, it would have clashed, but at least her mattress fit the bed frame. It was already made with her sheets, waiting for her to fall into it later tonight.

Rowan bid the kobold goodbye and sat down at the kitchen island to read through her binder for things he failed to mention. She was free to have guests as long as they didn’t spend the night or make a mess of things, a general “respect the place” rule. That was fine, there was no one she would invite over anyway. Anything she needed could be requested through a terminal to be delivered. How swank.

She was in the middle of making dinner when she thought she heard something. But when she turned around, there was nothing there. Vampires could move silently if they wanted, so if he wanted to sneak up on her, why make noise? Returning to her preparations, Rowan shrugged it off as her mind playing tricks. It was a very old house.

As she ate, the house’s “cleaning service” tidied up after her. She watched the translucent hands erase any indication that the kitchen had been used with a sense of… sadness? It wasn’t like she liked cleaning. It just made her feel lazy, in a way, not picking up after herself. Even when she was done eating, a set of hands was there to whisk away the dishes and wipe down the counter.

The blood-drawing machine was much the same as the one at the Black Cross center, but the tester was different. This one allowed her to prick any part of her body, not just the finger. A bead of blood welled up on her arm where she gave herself a little stab and the machine hummed as it worked.

The light turned green and it spit out the results. Some slight mineral alterations. At the end, it made some suggestions for additions to her diet. Rowan ripped off the results and placed them next to the terminal by the refrigerator so she would remember it later when ordering groceries.

Unlike the machine at the Black Cross, magic guided its needle into her arm for a perfect draw. Little pinching, no bruising, one slip of the needle into a vein. When it was done, she took the label it printed out, slapped it on the blood bag, and put it away.

Pressing a cotton ball to the crook of her arm, Rowan flicked through what was available from the grocery service. Rich people really could get their hands on pretty much anything. Only a few years ago, she could have afforded some of this, at least a decent steak once every other month. That was before the Great Crash, of course.

Groceries ordered, clothes unpacked and put away, computer set up in her new office, Rowan crawled into bed. It was the kind with the curtains, like she’d seen in period dramas. When she was little, she wanted one, associating them with fairy tales. Curious, she undid the ties and let the curtains close, creating a little room inside the room, only as big as the borders of her bed.

Vampires had to ask for permission to enter, but this was his own house. There was a more-or-less unspoken agreement that hosts would respect the places they provided for their donors, but the thought still crossed her mind.

The blood-drawing machine was there for many reasons. It controlled the amount donors gave, reducing the risks of complications. It allowed both parties to give and take at times convenient to them. And most important of all, not everyone was into the whole biting thing. But if they mutually agreed to it, they could go that route.

For now, Rowan was fine with the needle in her arm every day. She hadn’t even met her host yet.

But still. The thought of him sneaking in while she was asleep, crawling into bed with her, and sinking his fangs into her neck wasn’t far from her mind.

The two wouldn’t exchange words for some time. From Rowan’s perspective, it would be the first time they were in the same room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Astarion Ancunín made it a habit to be awake at least some of the day. Some people and places only operated when the sun was up, unfortunately. He only needed so much rest, after all.

The windows were shuttered, of course, so he had to watch for his guests from a security camera. Chin in hand, elbow propped on the desk, he watched with total enthralling boredom as the little kobold representing the Black Cross waddled up with his big book and crawled onto the stairs. Centuries ago, he would've bled such a creature dry and called it a snack. Sometimes he requested some of their blood, for special occasions. They could only give so little, it was like humans doing shots at a bar.

Then there she was, his live-in donor.

It had been a long time since he had one. Back then, it wasn't so official. It didn't end well. But when that sample found its way into his shipment of blood and it washed over his tongue, he knew he had to give it a chance.

Her looks left much to be desired, but he wasn’t planning on parading her around like some vainglorious trophy. Only his most special friends were allowed in his private sanctum and they required no impressing.

No, they would lead separate lives, one extravagant, the other plain. 

As much as vampires were cool and calculating, they could be quite fickle creatures. There were clear logical reasons for picking this particular donor: clean blood, clean record, stable life patterns, suitable for sharing a home. 

Then there were the less logical reasons. She was intelligent; he was old enough to remember when cryptomancers practically ran the world. Something about her told him that she wasn’t a romantic, which pleased him, because he spent all night playing the romantic lead and didn’t want to come home to entertain some ingénue’s fantasies.

But chief amongst all the reasons was the way her blood tingled as it spread throughout his undead cells. It was indescribable, rare, and horrifying. Of all the blood bags delivered to his doorstep, of all the necks pierced by his fangs, he’d never felt that spark of life.

Like a dirty secret, it was whispered about in dark alcoves by his fellows. Astarion had even lied about feeling it once, believing it to be some mark of status, as something to be envied.

Now he knew the truth. It was a curse. A delicious call to insanity. It was something he wanted to possess forever, but it had an expiration date. Why must human lives be so short?

In the old days, there was little to keep Astarion from doing what he wanted: to lock her up in his little castle and never let her go. Back then, you could drain people dry or charm them into your service. 

Of course, you ran the risk of being hunted. He didn’t miss that part.

Astarion stood in the doorway separating the kitchen from the hallway. Gliding on supernaturally silent feet, his donor wouldn’t have heard him. He watched as she made sense of her new surroundings and started to make her own meal. It would have tasted like ashes to him, but the thought of it nourishing her body, and in turn his, made his mouth salivate.

The floorboards creaked as he shifted his weight forward just slightly. Her head turned to see what made the noise, but his quick reflexes ensured that she didn’t catch even a hint of his form.

Hiding in his own home. What a miserable creature he’d become.

[mega-ringsandthings-world]

Just a quick ask-

If the Red Force in the JT AU ever decides to lay low on Dawn Island (while looking for the Gomu fruit) with Luffy tagging along because, of course, he is lol, how does the whole mountain bandit debacle go down? Number one, Shanks is well-known at this point; years go by, and all, but still, his face was plastered into every single person's face at least once for the last six years. He's probably almost Emperor level at this point, and the pirate/marine world still says his name with awe, sympathy, and fear.

So, are they undercover? Shanks and crew dress down, hide the red hair and straw hat, row to shore just far enough out so the inhabitants can't see his ship properly? Also, I don't know if this version of Shanks would just shrug his shoulders and take the bandits' taunts. I mean, he could; it could be a "I've eaten scarier things for lunch, and this is barely a fly of an inconvenience." Or maybe it's because they're undercover he can't do anything? That would absolutely grind his patients and when he can finally just stab the guy na break his face in it’s gonna be so cathartic. Is this why he won’t loose his arm this way here but later? Because he just beats the bandit into an inch of his life before he can capture Luffy?

Also is Mihawk here? Just hanging around or is he off doing secret war lord stuff.

Also, is this how Garp finds out about Luffy? Or I’m completely off base with all of this but hypothetically if this all happened what the out come?

Anyways, this AU has brought me so much joy through such a hard semester and general few months. It really made my year; thank you.

Ohhh we're diving into the good parts here. Yessssss. To start, yeah, Shanks' face has been cemented into the public collective, and he's peaking. Already wildly powerful, but still a ways off from emperor status. At this point in the timeline he's gone into a period of 'calm', he's overcome the initial hurdles he faced after Loguetown, and is now taking a more protracted approach to climbing the ladder, i.e, stuff like the Gomu fruit. There's only so much that brute force and violence can bring at any given time, and he's instilled enough awe, sympathy, and fear in people that he can afford to dip down a bit. All that is to say that, yes, AU Shanks does in fact lay low at Dawn island for a year like in canon. Which brings us to the actual laying low part. Luffy is at the ripe age of six now, is fully glued to Shanks, and Shanks has free time on his hands. So he decides he wants to begin training Luffy in the ways of pirating, but he also does not want anything to threaten his well-being in any way, shape, or form. The compromise is to take Luffy along with him on this clandestine mission for the Gomu Gomu. (that Dragon agreed to let Luffy go was due greatly to Luffy's incessant whining getting in the way of him writing his political treatises) They do have to go undercover, or at least proceed very cautiously and secretively. (this is the part were Shanks dyes his hair) What helps them is that the inhabitants of Dawn Island, minus the nobles, are sympathetic towards pirates and their cause against the WG, and actively work to conceal Shanks' presence on the island/his ship. And Shanks has visited the island briefly once before, when Luffy was born on it. He's known to the inhabitants. Shanks would disregard the bandits in much the same way he does in canon, and never engages with them for the sake of the mission, up until the point when they try to lay a hand on Luffy, and that in particular does grind on him, because of Luffy having to witness everything and not understanding why Shanks doesn't fight back, they way Shanks has been teaching him to. So there's some pent-up unconscious rage at play when he finally lets loose on the bandits. The bandits come after Luffy because Shanks has been found out and the bandits were sent to retrieve Luffy, and while Shanks kills the others, one still does take Luffy. But the chase after him goes on for days instead of Luffy being found at once, so technically Shanks loses his arm much later than he does in canon. Garp already knows about Luffy at this point, but he's never had any concrete leads/opportunities to make a grab at him. When he finds out Shanks is on the island with Luffy, he decides to make a move and kidnap Luffy and stow him away with Dadan, where unbeknownst to anyone else, Garp is also hiding Ace with. Which leads into a whole other mess for a later date. Mihawk is in the middle of the formation of the Warlords, but he visits Shanks regularly on the island, which makes this period one of their hardest so far, as they have to be separated. Their individual tasks distract them, though, Shanks has a handful dealing with Luffy and searching for the Gomu Gomu, and Mihawk likewise has a handful with the new Warlords, so they stay busy enough to withstand the other's absence. Right back at you! I'm so glad you like it so much! It's really making my year too, it's so much fun!

[dracofeathers]

Thanks for the tag @look-at-you-you-re-gorgeous ~!

Last song:

I've been listening to a lot of Forestella recently, after a friend introduced me to them. Their voices are just...ugh, so amazing. Can't stop listening. Would highly recommend. They're a Korean group but are classically trained and also sing different songs, different languages.

Favorite Color:

Purple. Love purple shades. But I think my fav one is a rich blue violet or royal violet.

Last Book:

Pride and Predjudice. Always was one of my favs, and had been meaning to reread it. Found out a friend had never read it, so I had to correct that immediately of course, and she enjoyed it too. We have a bunch of new inside jokes from it now. And the movie. So good.

Last Movie:

Last movie I saw in theaters was Wicked. Loved that one a lot. I love musicals, and it brought back my love of this one from when I'd seen it years ago on stage. But the most recent movies I've seen, cause I was on a couple long flights and couldn't sleep, were Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (was disappointed), the Dune movies (thought they were interesting and good), and Kung Fu Panda 4. This movie did not need to exist and I strongly dislike it, but won't get into a full on rant here xD

Last TV Show:

Honestly I don't think I've seen anything new since I watched Good Omens, and then Staged. I'm pretty picky about movies and series these days and very little catches my interest anymore. Have thought about going back and picking up shows/movies Michael Sheen and David Tennant star in, minus Doctor Who cause I feel I dont know enough about the show as a whole to enjoy it with all the seasons and lore I'm behind on lol.

And it's not a tv show, but a stage show...also have seen Michael Sheen's Nye play when it was streaming briefly on YT. Now that was spectacular!

Sweet/Spicy/Savory:

Depends on my mood. I love all of them. Hard to beat a sweet/savory combo. With spice though I like it, but I can only handle so much, even if it has amazing flavor. I can only take "it hurts but tastes so good" for so long xD

Last Thing I Searched Online:

Popular music in Turkey/Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam. Been traveling the last 2 weeks and keep hearing really catchy music playing around in various places I've been so have been curious so see if there's anything I want to add to my weird collection of music. Haven't had much time to myself to actually sit and go through, but I have the tabs open to do so when able.

Current Obsession:

If you haven't already seen the title on my profile, Good Omens. It's been a bit since I've been this into a series. I love it so much. Genuinely think it saved my life after I've been steadily struggling more with what I suspect is depression, but haven't gained the courage to get it confirmed just yet. Atm I'm back in better spirits thanks to the show and fandom. Getting back into drawing and writing because of it too, which is therapy in itself for me, being able to express myself again, successfully. That drive is back.

Though I also enjoy Pokemon, it's not on the same emotional level as GO.

Looking Forward To:

Getting home LOL. Travelling has been fun but I'm ready to go home and recover from all the socializing and such. Get back to my routines and comforts. And my pets.

But also really looking forward to all the bts stuff we might get during the filming of GO's finale. I know I won't be the only one waiting to go feral over dyed hair lmao

As for tagging other people for this, I don't really know many people enough yet on here, or they've already been tagged by others, but I'll start with @captainkitty25 (but no pressure to do it of course lol)

<3

[kakusu-shipping]

4, 5, and 6 for the agere asks for.... all of your BNHA regressors? :D

That's... a few too many characters for me to answer all in one ask, so let's limit it to just The League sense they all go together well

minus a Dabi icon because I can't find flags for any of my headcanons for them

Asks from Here

4. Does your regressed f/o collect things? If so, what is it and how much do you enable it?

I'll enable my League babies in anything and everything, first of all. Second, the only one of the four who actively collects things is probably Himiko. She's a bit of a hoarder of anything she deems cute and tends to just pick things up and stuff them in her pockets.

Not an active collection he does on his own but Tomura has more Dog stuffies than much anything else, though he does also have Pokemon and Minecraft ones his older self has placed on shelves he can't reach because they are Mint Condition back at AFO's manor. He use to get pretty fussy about that some times, but it's become less of a problem sense moving to the Bar.

Jin and Dabi don't collect anything, nor do either of them have much that could be considered a collection (or much at all)

5. Does your regressed f/o have any gear that they want really bad? If so, what is it?

Tomura and Himiko both get everything they want without question, so neither of them have anything they really really want at the moment and are rather satisfied with their little gear at the moment.

Jin is constantly back and forth about wanting a pacifier. He's worried he'll chew right through it and ruin it, but it'd make it harder to talk making the other him less likely to say something he doesn't agree with (tantrum triggering when they fight), but also he'd have to take off or at least lift his mask to put it in his mouth which can easily trigger an even bigger meltdown than infighting does, but also also he sees his Big Sister Himiko and Baby Brother Tomura each with want and his tiny baby heart is just so over come with jealously he can't contain it. If I got him one, I'm almost sure it'd fix the whole thing, but just cause another problem, so I'm waiting patiently for him to decide himself what he wants.

Dabi doesn't have any little gear and refuses any I've tried to gift to them. They try very hard to push their regression down and ignore it, and they don't want me or anyone else in the League to be apart of it. I try to give them space, but I have hidden a few of little Dabi's favorite snacks around their room, along with some sparklers to play with. They seem content enough with that for now.

6. What is your favorite thing in your regressed f/o’s playroom?

For Tomura it was back at the Mansion, he had a crib with a mobile on it, it was the only thing his father had ever contributed to his Regression space, so of course it was his favorite. It played a lullaby as it spun I'd never heard before, and always put Tomura right to sleep. I wonder if it's still there...

Himiko has a lot of toys, most of which she's stolen from dollar stores and gas stations, but one Jin got her; A 4ft tall Valentine's day Teddy bear. It's big and soft baby pink holding a big red heart. I ended up cutting the heart free from the bear's stomach so now Himiko can wiggle herself behind it and sleep in the bear's arms. It's very cute <3

Jin doesn't have playroom per say, he doesn't have a lot of gear either. Rather than sit still somewhere with toys and games he'd rather follow me, Magne, or Himiko around while regressed. Though out of the few things I've seen him get attached to I think my favorite is the baby blanket Himiko got for him. It USE to be soft baby blue but he won't let me wash it at all and carried it everywhere with him, cries into it, uses it to cover his face, and sleeps with it, so it's gotten pretty grimy and is more of a muted color now. Himiko thinks it's gross now and won't touch it, but I've convinced her not to comment on it, sense if she doesn't like it, Jin is likely to throw it away... and then regret it.

Dabi, much like Jin, doesn't have a little space or many little items. Usually when they regress they lock themselves away in their room and don't come back out until they come out of it, so I don't know what their little space looks like, or anything they might comfort themselves with... I hope they're okay in there...

[davidmariottecomics]

Save Your Work!

Hello, friends! 

This week is going to be very quick because, not to get ahead of myself, but next week is likely going to be pretty long. I didn't mean to time things out so there'd be a long one right after I'm done with work for the year and most people are off for that final week, but that's how things worked out. And the week after that, the last weekend of the year, I'm going to do a Best of 2023 round-up. 

But, in my brief update this week, I wanted to talk about some very straightforward best practices. 

I turned on my computer this morning and was shocked to find that I was *turning on* my computer this morning. One way or another, it had shut down since the last time I used it. Maybe it was Becca or a planned restart or something, but however it happened, my computer was off. And as any artist should know... you neeeeeeeeeeeed to make sure your stuff is saved again and again. You see, I was working on my holiday gift guide that I'm building for my Patreon when the computer shut off and I lost a whole spread and some change. All of it. The images, the hyperlinks, the text--both in terms of what I wrote and the font choices I made--everything. It shouldn't be terrible, but it'll add at least an extra hour on as I have to rebuild all of that. So, if you ever work on anything that would benefit from being saved, make sure you do!

The other best practice I want to emphasize today is something I say a lot. If you'd like to work in comics professionally, please make it easier on yourself and any potential collaborators/hiring folks, by making your web presence clear and accessible. Something I've slowly been working on over the past few weeks is going through my Twitter as I get ready to delete it before the end of the year and looking to make sure I have contact information from anyone I'm interested in not losing. I'm looking for emails, or agents, or websites. And the more varied the information, the better. Because I'm trying to incorporate that into my existing digital rolodex, whenever possible, while emails (for talent or their agents) are the things that are most helpful, I am looking to add your website info so I can quickly pop to it before emailing you and make sure you're who I think you are and your style is what I think it is. As much as possible, when I look through info I got from old like Visible Women sheets and the like, I'm looking for people who aren't just including their handle on one social because those can change, or who aren't just linking to an Instagram or Twitter account with "DM me" because while I know some people work best in DMs, for legal paperwork and the like, an email is so much more helpful. 

Lastly, and this should go without saying, but this is a post about common sense practices, be kind to folks. I don't know why this seems so counter-intuitive to certain people, but if you're openly hostile toward your peers, they don't want to work with you. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy of ostracization. It literally can't be said enough. Comics as an industry is doing just fine and differentiation in the medium in both format and talent is only a good thing. 

Alright. More next week! 

What I enjoyed this week: Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), Reverse 1999 (Video Game), Nancy (Comic), Lego Masters (TV show), Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror (Short story collection), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Dandadan (Manga), Godzilla: Minus One (Movie), Godzilla Raids Again (Movie), Cunk on Earth (TV show), I'm a Virgo (TV show), Clyde Fans by Seth (Comic), getting and making some really exciting 2023 news. There's some amazing stuff to come! 

New Releases this week (12/13/2023): Sonic the Hedgehog: Winter Jam (Editor)

Final Order Cutoff next week (12/18/2023):  Godzilla Valentine's Day Special (Editor) If you haven't seen it, I put together a little explainer on what exactly a "Final Order Cutoff" is and why it matters! And if you found this helpful and have a platform where you think people should know, those explainers are watermarked and good to share! 

New Releases next week (12/20/2023): Godzilla: The War for Humanity #3 (Editor) Godzilla Rivals: Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon (Editor)

Announcements: If there is one blog this year that you should not miss, it's next week's. Big news to come. 

The Cartoonist Cooperative is still doing E-Sim cards for Gaza. You can donate a digital sim card so that residents can get access to the internet and have more functional phones and, in exchange, get some comics or a drawing or whatever else is available from the many participating artists. Additionally, the CC is hosting their mini-comic awards! It's a cool way to maybe get your mini-comic recognized and make some scratch! 

You can also give more directly. If you don't have money, and I get it, you can call or fax or email or show up at the offices of your representatives. Keep your eyes open for actions too, whether they're another general strike like what happened last Monday or demonstrations and marches in your area. Given the nature of the things, they often come together fairly quickly, so do exercise your due diligence. Also, of course, being informed and just giving your time to Palestinian writers is incredibly valuable. Whether that is journalists on the ground--who are being murdered at extraordinary rates--or reading Fiyah's Palestine Solidarity issue or anything from Verso's solidarity reading list, having and sharing that knowledge is significant. 

Becca just did their Art vs. Artist post for 2023. They did a lot of really cool work this year! They also posed a spicy art version. And as if it could not be said enough, while we've got some things brewing (and now on a schedule), you should reach out if you'd like to work on comics with them! I think we're both looking to do more next year! You can find their gallery on their website and also, y'know, maybe pick up a few things for belated gifts while you're there! 

If you aren't a Patreon backer yet, well, like I said above, I've been working on something pretty cool. I'm building a holiday gift guide. It won't probably be out with a lot of shopping time for Christmas in particular, but I thought it'd be a fun way to showcase some of what I've been learning more generally about design and how to make comics and zines and stuff. I'm really proud of it and it'll be exclusive to $10+ backers for December and then will be made public in a couple months. Also at that $10+ tier, there's stuff like a tour of my workspace, an adults-only podcast pilot that Becca and I recorded called "Abandoning the Premise" (short sample here), a review of root beers is also coming up quick, old D&D campaigns I ran, and more! Another goal of mine for next year is to grow my Patreon and also have it start making some money to fund more comics ventures for myself. 

Pic of the Week: I teased it last week, but the Winter Jam team did a Winter Jam-piece! Our fabulous leader, Iasmin Omar Ata, got Reggie Graham, Adam Bryce Thomas, Abigail Oz, Shawn Lee, and me to put together a happy holidays card from the Winter Jam cast! I did the thought balloon Froggy because even when Big is holding "Froggy", he can't stop thinking about that frog! 

[maleficore]

Saw someone else do it and I think I've done this before too, but the list has grown since then a bit so here's my current lineup of read dead wips that I'm working on!! :D Minus the stuff that's already posted on AO3 cuz I see no point in doing a synopsis for things that have left my google drive and you can go and read ahah.

Turned out loooooong so lookie under the cut if you're interested in knowing what I'm up to.

Morston Soulmate AU (title tba, multichapter, around 20-30k when finished) - An AU where you can feel all the injuries your soulmate gets, both minor and major ones. There's no soul marks, seeing your soulmate get hurt and connecting the dots is the only way to find out. Has a lot of time skips and focuses more on feelings than events, but starts out pre-canon when John almost gets lynched and works its way towards the end of the canon story. Chapters alternate between Arthur's and John's POV. Canon compliant :)

RDR2 "Modern AU" (title tba, multichapter, long as shit) - I only call it a modern AU for the sake of simplicity... I'm not sure if it counts as one. Set in 1999 and focuses on the case of Arthur Matthews -- a 36 year old adoptive son of the infamous criminal defence lawyer Hosea Matthews, who went missing without a trace for six months and then reappeared miles from his hometown, seemingly unharmed, but also... not quite right. Delusional, confused, suffering from some sort of memory impairment. The story is about Arthur struggling to adapt to being back home in a reality that is apparently foreign to him. Outsider's/John's POV, but not really shippy. It can be read as pre-slash, though.

My Self-Indulgent Jesse/Arthur fic (another title tba lol, it's too early to tell but I'm thinking multichapter? A collection of scenes from 1878 to 1899) - This one is for me and me only, though I will eventually post it 😂 Written in second person, like a reader-insert and can be read as one if someone wants to, but I am including Jesse's backstory and feelings that are way too specific to be immersive for anyone but myself... I'm working real hard to write it in a way that portrays growing up queer in that time somewhat realistically, so it's not always pretty, but I do try to keep it not that depressing. Features: Jesse's early-life backstory, the story of the scar, his first Gay Experience, how his brothers died, the ups and downs of his relationship with Arthur, why they eventually broke up for what felt like last time, how he got arrested (altered RDO storyline bit) and how he got back up with the gang. I'm planning to do a rough rewrite/fix-it of the canon story with him in it too, but that's... an "one day" thing ajsddjfk

Morston Omegaverse (title tba, one shot, around 10-15k probably? I can't keep things short, sorry) - Young-ish and freshly presented Alpha John, "Closeted" Omega Arthur. Ngl this one is smutty as hell... but! I think my take on omegaverse is rather fun (very transgendered) and it's porn WITH not without plot so something for everyone there lol. John's POV again + lotsa feelings, misunderstandings and some angst :) Just the way I like it.

Vandermatthews Daemon AU (had a title but ao3 yeeted my draft and I forgot what it was, oops)- I say Vandermatthews, but it's more of a "curious couple, unruly son" genfic than real slashfic 😅 This is supposed to be the beginning a series of oneshots from different characters' POV. This one is maybe a 1/3 done (needs a serious rewrite tho) and written from Hosea's POV. It's about him and Dutch finding and taking in young Arthur -- a very traumatised child who has undergone intercision and therefore lost his daemon. More of a collection of vignettes from that moment to when they take in John than a real coherent fic tho. The next one is going to be John's POV coming of age thing and we'll see where my brain will go from there. I want to do a separate big ass post about this one later because I have Opinions on the gang members' daemons that I need either challenged or validated...

1907!John/Isaac fic (title tba... a two parter, one set in the epilogue and the second is a RDR1 fix-it) - NOW HEAR ME OUT!!!!!! PUT DOWN THE GODDAMN PITCHFORKS FOR A SECOND PLS This is a plot bunny that Refused To Fucking Die. Isaac is obviously an adult in this (22), they have never met before, and the story begins in the months where Abigail and Jack were gone and John worked alone on Pronghorn ranch. It's not so much a romance (despite the slash) but more two people dealing with different types of grief in Very Unhealthy ways, okay. It's supposed to be a bit iffy because of that and the... 12 years of difference between them in this universe. I'm not trying to make this shit uwu or anything. It's also a bit of a daddy issues vent piece for me and I've been working it for MONTHS because I want to write this one right. This is the the fic I redacted in my last WIP showcase, but now decided that... fuck it. Here you go.

(Doubt anyone has made it this far, but if you did ily.. please lemme know what you think? My ask box is open for questions too... I love talking about the stuff I'm working on even if it's not posted yet ❤)

[foundfamilymafiaboss]

Final(?) Update:

Hey, Everybody. So you've probably noticed my last post was from quite some time ago, And I've been silent since. Well, There's a reason for that. And I wanna finally address this and dust off this blog.

A while ago, I promised a fanfiction that was massive, And was gonna tell the story of the Mafia Boss's revenge after getting a new body from the empress and engineer metro cats. I started writing it, and last year when I went on a vacation, I wrote while I was away. I really wanted it to work because I had the entire plot I've had for a few years about this mech revenge thing, and I was so excited to share it with everyone on this website. I had made a lot of posts about it on an art website I was on before I moved to Tumblr and with the new audience I had and the Fandom being able to see it, It made me even more excited.

But then I didn't touch it. I took what I thought was going to be a short break, but weeks turned to months, Days into nightsbrain rotation, And then an entire year, And it sat in my Google docs, collecting dust. I realized I had hit huge burnout. And then I never recovered. It was a mix of both writers burnout and Fandom burnout. (I love you all!! It's not you I just meant the fandom itself. Not anyone in it.) I still love a hat in time, Don't get me wrong, As it's still one of my main special interests, But around October, A new special interest came to me. I fell head over heels for the game "Poptropica." At first I thought it was just brainrot, But I started making ocs, Stories, And nonstop the characters and lore took up my brainspace. I even started drawing fan art, and it turns out it was a special interest. I joined the fandom shortly after, And it kinda overtook others for a bit. Basically, What I'm trying to say is.. I lost motivation. The project became overwhelming, and I wound up not wanting to work on it. And burnt myself out. It's not that I've stopped liking a hat in time (My main blog theme proves that) but Poptropica is just what's been on the brain. ..That and something else but we'll get to that. Also, I don't think I'll have a blog for it.

I think I'm stepping down from this blog. I'll return to it one day, maybe, But for now it's on permanent hiatus. I don't know when I'll come back, but maybe it'll be with a post summarizing the story I was gonna tell. I love this game but it's just not the main fandom anymore. A Main special interest? Yes! But not the main main one anymore. (Also, life stuff. That was a huge factor for this blogs inactivity.)

I'm sorry to anyone who was excited to see where it went. I'm sorry that I disappointed you and went radiosilent. I'm sorry I didn't fulfill my promise. I should've made this post way earlier, but i didn't.

One day, Who knows when, The Junior Mafia cook and Jar Man Mob Boss will make a return. Maybe not into a large fanfiction that I didn't calculate it's length for and thus led to it's early cancelation, But still a return in some way shape or form. (I also lost the file and all my progress for the cover art.. Haha..)

That being said, I still post about Piper sometimes. Or Ahit as a whole. But just.. Not as often. To those who see this: Thank you for understanding. And for sticking around as long as you did.

This isn't goodbye, This isn't the end, This isn't even the final act. It's just the intermission. It's just the pause. It's just the wait. It's just the rest.

Over time, My focus just shifted. That's all. And it sounds redundant, I know. If you want more activity, Check out my main blog @gengar-pixel-2 . It's where most of my stuff is, including fandom things.

That being said.. Here's what I've been up to:

-Gained two new special interests. It's four now instead of two. These being Poptropica and the Jumanji Franchise. (Minus the reboots.)

-I did start writing a fic.. But this time I prepared myself. It's only gonna be 13 chapters long, And isn't even Canon. It'a a crossover fic. I'm taking my time.

-Made new fandom friends.

-Reunited with old fandom friends.

-Went to Chicago for my birthday.

-Made a bunch of new ocs, Little guys.

-Birthday and Christmas happened I suppose.

-Got onto DND. (Haven't played yet though..)

-Got nominated for fan awards and won fourth place. And more..

..Anyway I'm sorry for this sad sounding ramble post. But I wanted to say...

Thank you. For the support, For sticking around, For listening to the stories I had to tell, All the asks, The fan art, The jokes, All of it. You made my day, and I'm not even joking. You all made it worthwhile. I didn't think anyone would even enjoy a story about one of the fandoms most hated characters. Thank you for showing me otherwise.

Anyway, I hope we meet again, Soon. Only time will tell. ..But for now.

"Keep it up! You are amazing and my best friend!! Remember! When you come to HQ, I'll have a sticker for you! Remember: I'm always gonna be there for you. Even if I'm not there!"

"Goodbye, For now. Come back anytime! It does tend to get boring around here. ..But you better not plant any bombs inside of my headquarters. Maybe I'll have a new body next time."

"..Farewell, I suppose. Perhaps you can stop by my metro sometime? Maybe then we can discuss some business.. There's a place in my metro where you would fit right in. ..So long as you fulfill the end of your bargain, Of course."

"I'll see ya some other time, Sugar cube! And you better be ready because I'll whip up something delicious for the next time you come to the island! Remember, I'm always in the rafters. I'll be there for ya when ya need me."

..And from me, Gengar, I'll see you on the other side. Wherever that may be. -Gengar, Signing out.

[cocomere]

Doll pics! Some pics taken at different times, so stuff is moved around. Can you tell I have a favorite brand?

Full collection!

My 1/6 Impldoll Gela, entirely traded for and currently the only one named. Yeah, you'd think with my writing I'd have the notable ones named, but...nah, apparently not!

My 1/4 girl, a Myoudoll head on a Doll Leaves body. I traded for the head, the body I got in a bundle from Facebook.

And here's what her head and body looked like when they first came in!

My Lesser fakie. Her body is hard to move and I had to do surgery to be able to change her eyes.

And my GOOD fakie! I adore her, actually. You super get what you pay for; the lesser one was about $20, this one was about $80. There's no contest, she's better in every way. And you can pop out her arms and hands!! And change her eyes easily!!!

I made all her jewelry. She actually has some hoops for earrings, but they're hidden by her hair.

And a felt doll of one my OCs (Ju-Anne, the most cinnamon roll bby to exist) that was made by a very sweet person who I offered to trade with, but she did it for free (minus shipping) because she wanted to do dolls in darker skintones.

As for my fashion dolls-- I actually have a few hybrids! Two Catwalk Kitty heads on Monster High bodies and a Novi Star head on a Monster High body.

This is actually the second time I've collected dolls. I wound up giving up my original collection because I was ~~too old~~ for them.

It was a huge mistake, not in the least part because I had like 30+ dolls and most of them were new in box. I also had a ton of clothes and accessories, including some stuff I will never be able to replace. :(

I had made this hybrid myself, and it was a huge pain in the ass. I took an easier route with the newer variant.

Comparison of neck pegs and next to a normal Novi Star:

And just some of the others from the old collection. Not a ton of pics, rip.

[muninnhuginn]

Top 5 series on your backlog you're looking forward to trying

ohno I'm gonna get outed for just how many series I've been putting off despite genuinely wanting to read/watch/play. I'll try and limit it to five though

Umineko. I will finally be able to unblock the tag and understand the meta I've been seeing in my periphery for years. Technically speaking I did watch the anime years ago and got a couple of hours into the VN back then too, but it's been so long I've managed to forget most of it (minus the soundtrack which I will admit has been in my rotation since back then). I honestly want to see how much I can figure out for myself as I go through but am a bit wary I'll have collected enough disparate spoilers that I'll start overthinking stuff based on those spoilers and hare off down entirely the wrong track.

Outer Wilds. Mainly because what I've heard of it is enough to intrigue me (there's a mutual here and a couple of Discord acquaintances who all vouch for it) but also I'm almost entirely spoiler-free. And I'm really appreciating stuff where I can go in mostly blind lately because chronically overthinking based on outside sources rather than the material itself isn't something I find 'fun'.

Next! Calling myself out on this one preemptively but... I asked for Pokemon games as presents for a few years there and then ended up not getting around to playing them because life happened and/or procrastination? And recently I'm seeing loads of stuff around about the latest game and ended up watching some of the recent anime eps because Ash is leaving the series and, well, I've not been entirely disconnected from the series but for a long while my main connection was through PokeGo and other people. Long story short: gonna finally play Pokemon Sword/Shield four years late. (Once I've finished Great Ace Attorney so should only be another six months or s-

And if I like that one then Pokemon Scarlet/Violet is also on my list, especially now it sounds like the worst of the glitches have been worked out.

Some of the Doctor Who Big Finish stuff. Technically I have listened to some already but I got distracted one time during a boring one because I insisted I wanted to go through Eight's stuff 'in order' (as much as that's possible :V) and then never returned for months. But! I will definitely get around to listening to more so I can finally understand why everyone who listens to Scherzo becomes a Scherzo blog for the next week. All I know so far is stuff about a sound monster and some messed up dynamics involving love and suicide...? Which sounds intriguing. So I guess rather than Big Finish stuff in general it's more I want to get far enough along in my listening to listen to Scherzo with all the context behind it.

[gachaparadise]

okaaay day 2 in the wu/wa trenches 🫡

got very verbose with this one... woops.

unfortunately i was under a time constraint once again today so i STILL haven't gotten to play as much as I'd like. everything here is initial impressions off 4ish hours of gameplay.

the movement is growing on me. there's no way to say this without sounding insane but. i just need to look at it more from a "this is a video game" perspective. like to compare, genshin is going for that immersive feel. sure it takes 5 minutes to get up this mountain but it feels RIGHT you know? whereas in wuwa it takes 3 seconds. why should it take longer this is a video game. we both know you have places to be get up there Rover :)

that sounds demented written out but I know what I mean so i'll leave it in i guess. i appreciate the expediency with which you can get around is the point i'm trying to make. it makes the animation a little clunkier and the world a little less immersive but from a moment to moment gameplay perspective it works.

the combat goes hard. its so flashy and feels good but... i need to test it against anything other then random mobs i found in the trash to see how deep it actually goes. i want to try parrying and stuff but everything keeps dying orz.

some of the button mapping on controller continues to be... eugh. the combo to get to the grapple especially i have trouble with. it's literally the same combo as the one for genshin but it just doesn't activate with the same certainty. sometimes it just keeps whipping out the sensor instead of the hook and i'm like. do you want me dead?

Scar gets his own paragraph. he came. he saw. he served cunt. he left. gamechangingly cute and charming. literally takes the game up a full point from a (preliminary)6 to a 7 he's so fucking good. his design ATE. his va SERVED. his message CRYPTIC. his little wink as he leaves CUTE AS FUCK. the way he called his little tête-à-tête with the Rover a date GAY. he's great. no notes that's a perfect man.

the va (with the exception of Scar) is just... okay. I really do not care for yangyang's voice (not her vas fault i just don't like it) and she's the person we've spent the most time with so far so that kinda sucks. i'm literally thinking about switching to jp instead orz. but some of the text boxes are still broken and there's no log function so i'm worried i'm gonna miss stuff, especially with how fast i'm whipping through some of this story.

on that note the story is just OK. it's not good, i can't say its really hooked me yet. its a little... generic. post magical disaster world wherein humans cling to life and have special powers. nothing wrong with that but so far it's just been a lot of throwing words at me. the characters themselves are also pretty bland (minus Scar). i really hope i will get to know them better in the future because chars are MAKE or BREAK for gacha games. the designs are also a little hit or miss. they're fine i guess but they don't really compel me.

also. they did just ape genshin whole cloth for like. basically everything. like the world puzzles where you follow little wispy things (seelies) and the glowing floaty things you collect (anemoculus) and the over world puzzles that are "get to the chest in time" or "shoot the targets" are just... from genshin. hoyo doesn't own those ideas! for sure! but. they're in THIS game because of genshin don't kid yourself. and thats not to mention the battelpass and banner and event and guide structures that are just. the same.

ARGH! all this makes it sound like i dislike the game. I don't!! i'm having fun!! it's just easier to catalogue things i disliked in detail. i don't have as much to say about the parts i liked. combat good. echoes cool. Rover cute. I'm having a pretty good time. thats about it orz.

i don't think I'll have anything new to report tomorrow? i can't see myself changing my mind on anything i've written so far. i might update in a week or two and see if the game grew on me or lost me completely. i could see it going either way. it's fun but i'm not sure i can see myself committing to it long term you know? but who knows. maybe it's just launch day growing pains and thing will look up soon.