#somewhere in between webtoon

[peculiar-reblogs]

More here [link]!

[bookwormsbutterfly]

[pali-and-proud]

I was thinking about Buddy's character arc earlier!

It's really, really rare that you see a redemption arc like Buddy's work so well in a romance, and that's because there's often some level of excusing abusive/harmful behavior on past trauma/characters/factors. I love Buddy so much, but early Buddy put in the WORK to make Chase's life hell.

Romance novels/webtoons are especially guilty of this--how often has the protag forgiven the love interest within two chapters? how often has the love interest even apologized for what they did, or illustrated remorse by actually trying to change?

And I think what really sets Buddy's arc apart from a lot of other redemption arcs is the decision to not give us any details about his past. We can somewhat discern Buddy isn't doing great, something Chase has picked up, but we also know Chase isn't doing great, something Buddy has not realized.

Chase said it best--regardless of whether it's morally right or not, if Buddy treats him shitty, Chase will call him out on it. Chase has the same amount of information as we do, and he makes it clear that it's not enough to justify the way Buddy treated him.

And Buddy CONFIRMS that, much later, by apologizing. Most importantly, we know Buddy's sincerity in the way he's clearly harboring guilt--his hesitation over Chase's injured hand, his scorn for his tendency to worsen a situation, and his reaction to Vampire-Guy's heart-filled speech.

What all this means is that we know Buddy feels upset and remorseful for what he did + how he treated Chase, without really knowing the angsty logic behind it. And that's brilliant, because Punko manages to use Buddy's facial expressions and cleverly-placed crumbs of information to help us sympathize with him without even giving us the trauma.

We as readers can't excuse his behavior (bc we literally do not know WHY he was that callous--the guy stuffed bugs in Chase's shoes and set traps to catch the kid), but we can compare who he was with who he's trying to be. And somewhere between the two, we can almost see the authentic, genuine Buddy.

It's such a brilliant way to set up/carry out the redemption of Buddy. If you check out episode one Buddy (please do), and you compare with episode 53 Buddy, it's an absolutely insane difference. You think ep1 Buddy would cry out for help? Would hug Chase? Would even consider apologizing to Chase, let alone saving him from a creep? Excluding the bit where Buddy tricked Deacon into nearly getting mauled by wolves, of course, but that was character-consistent and hilarious and honestly, would he be our boy if he wasn't slightly maschotic

Anyway, I love seeing a good character redemption arc, and I genuinely think Buddy's is one of the better arcs I've read in such a long time.

[guitar-goose]

Where is sbg set???

For the longest time, I have wanted to know where the most part of sbg is set. Idk if the location has been released before and I'm just dumb but I have never come across it in the webtoon, tumblr or red's insta, (edit i also checked the wiki and they only knew of the sorrel weed house) so I assumed it was never stated.

i never was able to try and find it until i was scrolling through tumblr and saw this picture.

Despite seeing this multiple time I had never noticed the bus route map in the corner, so I took a screenshot of it and went to google lens in hope that it was a clue to where it may be set.

To my suprise something did show up! If this is correct than sbg is set somewhere called harrisonburg, VA but to confirm i compared it to the other only real world example in the sbg universe, the sorrel weed house. (btw the sorrel weed house is real haunted house)

according to mr thomas it takes eight hours to get to the savanna (which is two minutes away from the sorrel weed house) so i grabbed google once more and compared those times on google maps.

and according to google it does take about an hour to get to the savannah so it safe to assume that sbg is set in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

(Edit: after I got few comments that sbg was actually set in alto Georgia I looked into it and oops I was wrong. sbg is set in alto Georgia.

Still it's a bit odd because between alto Georgia and savanna Georgia, there is a four hour travel time and also the bus route is set somewhere eight hours away.

Like sbglover4ever said in the comments it might be some sort of foreshadowing, otherwise this is wrong, still it was fun researching this!!)

[dragonzfanfics11]

"You were so clingy before...somthings not right"

Tyler hernandez x reader

I live for the angst/fluff 😔

summery - you where usually very clingy to the whole group, just friendly closeness and playful teasing, but after tylers death you've been pretty quiet and distant....and he seems to be the only one to notice.

Warnings - mentions of blood and things about tylers "death", probably spelling errors, reader crys, im gonna try to make it gn reader but if I accidently put fem plz let me know!! Angsty, gonna sneak cuddling somewhere in here (Pretend they don't get kidnapped cuz idk when else to set this 🥲 i rly need to reread the webtoon) let me know if I missed anything!

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

When you got comfortable around the group tyler quickly noticed you where very clingy and friendly with everyone, even to him you where where annoying but can tolerate your presence.

You often try to keep the friendly clingyness to a minimum with him since he usually grumbles and tells you to shove off. Though there is still some clingy ness like being able to sit pretty close to him and unfazed with any sort of touch. There's even the playful teasing and bickering between you both.

The closer you got with the group the more comfortable you got the more open you become and tyler noticed that, your playful bickering escalated quite a bit the longer you were around him and he actually found you decent to be around! Though he still gets annoyed with your clingyness some times.

Well....you where like that till the accident.

Tyler was in the hospital for a little while and the group would come and visit when they can and you did to of course! And tyler didn't think much of how you where acting for the small amounts of time when the group came by. It was a bad experience for everyone so he assumed it's just you dealing with it mentally or something.

But it's been about a month now since it happened. And you've been more distant then ever. Sure you where still smiling and reassuring the others when they started getting worked up and helping them through the stressful situation for the past month. But you have barly did any of the clingyness at all.

You sat in a seat on your own away from any of the group, no brief friendly touches, no friendly hugs that weren't to comfort somone else in the group. None. And tyler feels like he's the only one that's noticed.

He started noticing it a few days after he was let out of the hospital. You usually sat next to him on the bus if not him then Logan or ben. But he watched as you sat in an empty spot a few feet away from anyone. Usually you sit close enough to someone who almost touch shoulders.

He noticed more and more of how distant you've made yourself from everyone besides the reassuring smiles you've offered throughout the days. Even you usual playful bickering barly hapend since whats happened. He knew it was probably just a way of coping but it's made zero improvement to today. In fact it might have got worse.

Today he's finally had enough of waiting for any change in your behavior. He noticed you a bit distanced from the group again when you where all hanging in the graveyard when he walked up to you. Making sure the otheres don't pay much attention to them.

"Hey..can we talk?"

"Oh uhm- sure!"

Your a bit surprised by the sudden question from tyler of all people but quickly give a smile as you nod

That smile, the same one you've been using since the accident, it was no different from your usual smile but to tyler it just didn't sit right. It was tense, forced, the same for the past month.

"Left somthing on the other bus, brb"

Is all he said to taylor before walking away making sure you where following by glancing over his shoulder

He leads to to one of the empty busses to make sure the others won't bother you both and turns to look at you, his arms crossed and his usual grumpy look

"What's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?"

He can tell you got nervous with the way your gaze went anywhere but his and you started fidgeting with the hem of your shirt. A small forced smile on your face in an attempt to seem fine.

"You aren't acting yourself. You haven't for the past month"

"I-ive been stressed about school and...the phantom dimension, y'know?"

"Yea, but it's been getting worse day by day. Have you even talked to anyone besides to reassure them?"

You went quiet at that. Tyler noticed tge tension in your body and how you still wouldn't look at him. He just sighs and takes a small step closer.

"Y'know you can talk to any of us right? You don't have to act ok to help us through this hell of a time"

"i-i know- i-"

Your shoulders started to shake slightly as tears pricked at your eyes. Tylers eyes widen in an instant not expecting to accidentally make you cry.

"Shit- shitshitshit- I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

He panicked for a moment before you suddenly feel his arms around you in a warm embrace. Catching you by surprise for a moment as he holds you tightly.

You don't try and say anything and just bury your head into his shoulder, small sniffs and sobs escaping you uncontrollably from the built up stress of the past month.

Tyler dosent try to make you talk either. He's been through situations like this with his sister. He holds you with an arm wrapped around the middle of your back and his other hand finds its way to the back of your head in a comforting manner, he learned it helped his sister so he thought it'd help you to.

After a few minutes your quiet sobs die down and tyler finally says something

"....are you ok now..?...uh..do you-..do you wanna talk about it...?"

You don't respond for a good 30 seconds before you slowly nod against his shoulder, you didn't actually want to, I mean who would? But you know how stubborn tyler can be and he wouldn't completely drop the subject till the truth came out

"I cant.....I can't stop thinking about that night.....with the tree...."

Your hesitant to say the last part knowing it's still a sensitive topic for everyone, heck it's barly came up verbally since it happened. Everyone avoided bringing it up for good reasons or just simply not wanting to.

"T-there was so much blood a-and the way you were when you woke up....i-i thought you were going to die..."

"It was traumatic for all of us, I know..."

You can feel the tears pricking at your eyes again and you swear you feel his arms tighten around you

There was silence for a few minutes, the only noises being your soft sniffles and tylers faint breathing as he held you in a comforting embrace.

"Here-- let's sit down instead of standing in the middle of the bus like a couple of weirdos.."

You chuckle softly at that which made tyler smile slightly knowing he's at least doing something to cheer you up. He gently pulls you to the nearest seat pulling you down to sit with him, sitting with his back glad against the wall half against the back of the seat to make sure you where comfortable as he pulled you to lean into his shoulder, putting you back into a warm embrace.

"This is the first time I've seen you willing to be this close to somone who isn't taylor"

"Oh shut up, I can be caring when I want to"

Despite his words he sounded amused as the smile hasn't left his lips from earlier, also earning another chuckle from you.

Before you both knew it you'd both fallen into a much needed rest, one of tylers arms still loosely draped over your back while the other had fallen of the seat awhile ago, you were no better with one of your arms draped around him and the other resting on both of your guys laps as you both slept peacefully.

~~~~~~

(For giggles)

"Oh- found them!"

"Geez what are you two doing-"

"Gasp OMG- there so cute right now!!!"

"Whoa!! I've gotta get a picture of this haha!"

"Is that a good idea?" (Using his phone speech thing)

"I've gotta get one to!!"

"Never thought id see tyler and y/n cuddling..."

"I'm sooo gonna sent this to the group chat later evil laugh"

"Come on let's let them sleep"

(Aiden was soooooo gonna get beat when tyler sees that photo lol js a headcanon)

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°

I almost didn't post this but I'm glad I finished it! Feel free to let me know if I made any mistakes so I can fix them :3

[skylaryozora]

Sooooooooo...

I made something.

Not much of a big deal. More like just for starters. But I was given an opportunity to try my luck doing it for the first time, and I guess it worked out in the end.

I was worried that the quality might suck, but turns out it's not bad at all.

Behold, my very first webtoon:

AU RIVUSA ONE-SHOT

[gothwineaunts]

Nevermore sucks as a romantic comedy.

I said what I said. It’s occasionally romantic, occasionally comedic, but it’s absolutely shit at being a romantic comedy. The main relationship is messy. The characters do terrible things. I mean, it’s almost like it’s not even a proper romance at all! Where are all the kisses and cuddles!? Seriously, the creators must not understand what a healthy relationship looks like. Maybe they’re toxic, too. Otherwise they’d know better than to make a story like this with such bad representation. It’s a wlw. Where is the fluff?? Certainly I was promised fluff. I know it. Someone told me there would be fluff!! Somewhere in this dark gothic romance inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Somewhere in this death game of the damned. Somewhere in between the ghosts and the monsters. I expected most of it to be unproblematic fluff. For some reason. And now, I’m going to make it everyone else’s problem. /s (context: not aimed at tumblr, aimed predominantly at commenters on webtoon)

[cocogum]

Reassuring proof that the sadidas are very much alive and well in the Waven era:

In the Lance Dur webtoon, a sadida appeared in the 4th chapter called “The Sickness of Lance Dur”. Lance Dur is far older than the last time we saw him in Season 4, meaning that more than a decade had passed which was after the wave had happened. (Waven happens 10 years after the Wakfu era)

In Waven, if we look around on Astrub Island, we can see a female sadida gardener looking for some shrubs. Her quest info does not reveal her race but her skin complexion as well as her hair color matches the sadida race perfectly.

(this woman was looking for some sentient shrubs by the way...don't ask why...)

We also notice a male sadida and a female sadida eating together in an inn in Amakna.

One of Waven’s quests has Renate, an (iconic) sadida, asking you to help him with the smells of a temple. He is not only a sadida but is also a royal servant of Amalia.

Renate doesn't seem to be near Canar this time around but looks to be well. He’s even joined one of Waven’s four cardinal clans, which in his case, is the nature clan.

In Waven, we can see a small music sadida band playing in Amakna.

When we take a look at Waven’s emotes skin shop, we can see three Sadida god reaction stickers. If Sadida had lost his godly status (meaning if he died), then his stickers wouldn’t have been present in the shop. The emotes skin shop currently has three reaction stickers for Iop, Cra, Eniripsa, Ecaflip, Enutrof, Sram, Sadida, Xelor, Sacrier, and Feca.

*Reaction stickers are not available for Osamodas and Pandawa at the moment*

In the Bestiale teaser trailer, which is a show that will take place in Waven, two sadidas can be seen in the background when Yrehn, our osamodas main character, is visiting a market.

One of these sadidas, however, seems to be someone we already know: the one on the left is Chamberlain Thicktuft, the counsellor or advisor (?) of the Sadia kingdom. He appeared in every season (excluding Season 3) and has even been seen in The Great Wave manga attending the banquet for the male sadida and female eliatrope marriage.

So why is he in the Bestiale teaser? No idea.

Aside from the Sadida proof listing above, another thing people noticed were the cras in Waven. Or rather their weapons.

When we take a look at each cra and their types, none of their weapons remotely look like the ones we’ve seen in Wakfu or Dofus anymore. Back in Wakfu, the cras were in an alliance with the sadidas which is why their bows were primarily made of special wood. Evangelyne was a good example of this.

So when we compare Wakfu to Waven, the cras now have more than one choice of weapon :

Arcarius Paladir replaced their bows with a much more efficient trajectory leafy-like weapon.

Blunderbust have adopted a steampunk style and chose to use guns that shoot arrows.

Buneblade have abandoned long-range weapons of any format entirely and opted to use boomerangs instead.

Piven Bow might just be the only type we know who still uses the old cra style by keeping the bows. Their name even has the word “bow” in it.

Shaden Shiru just like the Buneblade, threw out the bows to use knuckle ring-looking weapons as their main source for fighting.

Zandiezer Zo relies on a stoned glove in the shape of a crossbow that can emit long-range shots.

Given that most cras have preferred using other weapons than the bow, this leaves us to speculate that the alliance between the cras and sadidas is indefinitely over and might have possibly ended after the Necrome war or a bit later.

Other than that, it’s reassuring to know that the sadidas have at least survived the great wave since the tree of life had to have been protected and now resides somewhere safe and hidden from the world.

Waven is currently in progress, so there is still a lot to discover and learn about what happened after the great wave struck. When more updates drop, there might also be more islands to explore which could reveal more about the sadidas’ situation.

[otakuworks]

❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑. reborn au

feat. Zhongli x Reincarnated!GN!Reader | FINALE | wc. 5.1K

Based on 'See You In My 19th Life' | overview. this webtoon follows the story of a woman who somehow can remember all her past lives.

sum. there's always a factor chaining you from falling in love, usually you can never be bothered, but with Zhongli in your life you may have to pin down the source of your hesitation and possibly unlock new secrets from the consultant

cw. spoilers for the recent 3.4 update and intended inaccuracy of the lore

note. tumblr is so high it auto posted this on January💀💀

main m.list genshin.mlist

PART I < PART II < PART III (finale)

Strange, Zhongli really is the epitome of an oddity. You don't know if he was previously a magician or he simply knows how to make Mora appear out of thin air. Either way, you get freebie whenever he accompanies you in your untimely stroll

Though every freebie means a reward for saving his ass from getting scammed. The amount of times he hands off Mora to a person, who clearly has insidious motives, without second thought pales in comparison to the age of the late Archon.

You thought being friends with Hu Tao has taught him something, but clearly he's an airhead at heart when it comes to money.

Then came a particular day when you and Zhongli stroll in the streets of Liyue, you both passby a travelling storyteller who's halfway of retelling the tale of the lone warrior who sacrificed their life to save a Goddess.

". . .they were heavily guarded and fought neither for the Seven Seats nor to survive. Lady Guizhong also wrote in her tale that they were buried somewhere in the Guili Plains to commemorate the Lone Warrior's good deeds."

Eons of living can grant you insurmountable patience and restraint from spitting unfiltered comments that a person may take umbrage, you thoroughly believed you've mastered those skills long ago, if you slip a crack then you'd almost be an oxymoron.

"Bullcrap."

. . .You are a moron, after all.

You gained an immediate reaction from the consultant beside you who perched an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued.

You cough between your fist, "I don't intend to vilify Liyue's folklore, but that was straight up flawed."

Coming out as a bumptious person is the last thing you want now that you've gotten a new ally, but they were talking about you, more precisely about your past life as a swordsman.

Who knows someone better than themselves? And for Achon's sake why do they have to dub you as the Lone Warrior? Ugh, now you can sympathize what Diluc feels being called Darknight Hero. Yes, you know about his alter ego, can't fool a master disguiser.

"Why do you believe otherwise?"

"Huh?" When you gaze up at him, you saw the same intensity in his eyes when you first met him as he reiterated the question.

"O-Oh. . . sorry, I just didn't expect you to be open-minded when I literally called a famous Liyue story bullcrap."

The corners of his lips tugged up in a curious smile, "Let's assume we share the same thoughts, and I want to hear yours."

You didn't understand what he meant but his compelling voice made you speak your innermost knowledge of history without a shred of a doubt, "Most content of the tale is accurate since it was written by the Goddess herself, from the description of their appearance, their background, and deeds before the spark of the Archon war, it's all veridical. However, the part where the Warrior is buried somewhere in the Guili Plains is what makes it erroneous."

"How so?" Zhongli queried almost immediately when you paused for a second to construct the proper words without offending the anyone who opposed your opinions.

"First and foremost, the Lone Warrior was never buried in the first place, for their body was nowhere to be found amongst the corpse of the warpath. Instead of saying they were buried, Lady Guizhong built a stone slab in the Guili Plains to commemorate the Warrior however, due to the circumstances of the Karmic Dept, the slab is most likely destroyed from the uncontrolled rampage of a Yaksha."

As far as you can reckon, the Yaksha who destroyed the slab must have died feeling guilty for eradicating the one memoir of the Lone Warrior. At that time, it was all a speculation from you who knows what the Yaksha must be feeling, but now all of it don't matter.

Saving Guizhong is a choice you've never regretted, Morax felt happy and contented in her presence, it's enough to suffice everything. A simple stone slab won't change your standpoint, even without one you'd gladly do it for the second time.

"What about you, Zhongli? You said we. . ."

Your voice slowly fades away with the wind to carry out amongst the trees and may Barbatos hears this conversation to let him know he had found his Y/N.

He had always imagine what sort of interaction happens between two bards, given the fact you've once told him you play the lyre when you were a child, he's eager to see you in action.

"Hmm, as I thought, we do share commonity in the matter."

That piqued your interest, "Pray tell."

You've never met anyone who's well versed in history like you do.

"I also believe the Lone Warrior never had their deserved burial, but Guizhong made it possible to tell the tale of the mortal who made saved her life. While I personally think they're righteous, it still baffles me why would they sacrifice themselves for someone they're not well acquainted with."

You awkwardly laugh at his astute observation, feeling the perspiration forming on your forehead. Historians often ask the same inquiry; why did they save Guizhong? The tale itself didn't hold any answer for that, and a handful of Liyue citizens doubt the honor of the Lone Warrior because of this— Zhongli is one of them.

"Regardless of their intention, the Lone Warrior has my respect, for their sacrifice has led for another woman's salvation, it is nothing to be easily disregarded." Zhongli added, taking a few steps ahead.

"I've noticed how you accolade the people of the past, especially their noble hearts and their contribution to Liyue. It almost sounds like it's what you do to your. . . umm, deceased loved ones."

His eyes bleaked, for a moment you thought you crossed a line, but he spoke in a solemn voice, "I have actually, I've lost so many good people over the years, but I've learned to move on and look back in the past with a smile."

Yeah, you definitely crossed a line just there.

Your eyes find purchase on your shoes, "You're a strong man, Zhongli. I can only imagine how you managed to do that. Is that one of the factors you decided to become a consultant?"

He seemed to hesitate to answer, as if contemplating his thoughts first, ". . .I wouldn't say it's a defining factor, but yes."

"Do you ever look back to your loved ones without. . . hurting as much as it did on the first time?"

"It's a good thing to remember someone who meant a lot to you, but if the memory of that person is making you suffer, you need to let them go. You might feel guilty at first, but after a while you'll be able to think of them again without hurting nor feeling guilty."

Just then, a fierce wind struck and swept through their bodies. The dry leaves that hung from the branches rustled loudly as moonlight illuminated. Zhongli, who silently looked towards the clamoring branches, murmured in a low voice only for your ears.

"Do not rush yourself to move on, everyone has different pace. It might take you years or decades, even centuries and I'll still be with you, so do not worry about going through this alone."

Did you hear that? It's the sound of your heart thundering.

Before you know it, you were giggling to yourself.

Your laughter bubbles up from between your lips like a clear spring, unrestrained peals of genuine amusement. The sound is so mellifluous, he almost can’t find it in him to comprehend that it came at his expense. It makes him feel special.

"It makes me think how old you really are, you sound like you've been living for thousands of years." You jested. "You're not wrong." He promptly followed. What...? That must've been a joke, eh?

"You sure do know how to do your job. I felt better after hearing that. Thank you, Zhongli."

One moment you were facing him, the next you're suddenly squashed against his chest as he cages you in his arms protectively. Not a good position to be in when your heart began to pump rapidly as his scent rubbed on you.

You were about to ask him what was the matter when you heard an audible and heavy thump behind you followed by a burst of the Geo element. Zhongli looked down on you.

"I apologize for my action, but your life was on the line, so I acted out of instinct." Yet he doesn't make any indication to let you go any time sooner, his hold on you only tightens.

You hid your flushed cheeks by coughing, "I'm not made out of glass, I can handle myself perfectly fine." Yet you didn't move from where you are and held onto his clothes.

"Correct, a few slimes are no big deal, but I can't take any compromises when it's comes to you, Y/N."

"I-If you have time to flirt then just get on with the slimes." You demanded with a huff. You should've seen how he had looked like a lost puppy, "But I wasn't flirting with you, I'm merely expressing my thoughts regarding about you."

"That's even worse!" You exclaim, having no courage to look at him.

That night felt like some distant memory, some dream too far for him to grasp. He thought of your eyes, shimmering in the light of the moon, of your laugh, loud and joyous.

He could picture you perfectly, the warm orange of the lanterns lighting half of your face while the cool light of the moon illuminating the other side.

And it's not a secret he's enamored with you. Even Xiao can deduce the subtle smile everytime your name is mentioned. He hasn't seen an ardor look on him for hundreds of years, it felt anomalous to see him blush like a teenager.

The Traveler and the floating emergency food didn't seem to mind the two, but Paimon has been really curious about it.

If Zhongli likes you then can't he just straight up confess that in your face? Life would've been so simple if people are straightforward🙄

Rough representation;

There's no concrete answer for it yet, liking Zhongli more than what you two are amidst the process of your healing would seem like he's taken you out of pity.

You don't want that type of relationship. You opt to sort yourself before consulting your mixed feelings you have with the consultant.

And by that literally means;

"You want to accompany the traveler in Jueyun Karst?" You responded with a resigned sigh.

Each day spent with him only shows a fraction of how ridiculous you probably sound to a youthful man.

Everyone in Liyue knows no mortal can get in Jueyun Karst, even if they did there would be no merit to achieve unless you're seeking for a beautiful view of the clouds.

"Yes, the adepti Ganyu had gone missing for days, the traveler asked me if I know the shortest way to Jueyun Karst, and I proposed to be their guide."

Lies.

The traveler is capable of navigating their way to Jueyun Karst.

In fact, they already left this morning and it's noon as you speak.

You only used that excuse to skedaddle your way out of the dilemma you got yourself into. You need the cortisol to die down. And that won't happen if the said dilemma is with you (e.t. Zhongli)

"Hmm. . . so, you've been in Liyue before yet you still accepted my offer to give you a tour." His statement gives off an accusatory tone, but his lopsided grin tells you otherwise.

You shot him a sheepish smile. "How can I let the opportunity of conversing with a handsome man go to waste? There's a reason why I'm an adventurer, Zhongli."

He shakes his head, "How long you'll be away?"

"Not that long, I'd say only a few hours. Why? Are you going to miss me?"

You only meant it as a joke, you didn't think he'd take it seriously.

"Yes."

You see, this is the reason why you want to avoid him.

Hah! In the end, you found yourself winded up somewhere in Yujing Terrace. You heard Glaze Lillies bloom in this area, it reminded you of My. Tianheng where a field of Glaze Lillies can be found everywhere.

"Another flower is blooming, such a beautiful sight, if only life can be as beautiful as these Glaze Lillies." You nearly yelp at the sudden voice speaking near your ear and reeled back.

"Oh, dear. I'm sorry if I had scared you." An aged lady with her gray hair tucked in a low bun spoke. "I'm fine. . ."

"Call me Madame Ping. You look quite familiar to me, child. Are you perhaps the adventurer the Wangsheng consultant was talking about?" You crane your neck at her question.

"U-Uh. . . if you're talking about Y/N L/N then yes, that would be me. May I ask what made you so certain it's me?"

"Ah! He hasn't stopped talking about you since he visited this place. That man is so stoic looking, but when he hears your name it looks like he's a different man all of a sudden."

You closed your eyes, inhaling deeply through your nose in any attempt to bring your nerves down. You had heard those words on multiple occasions— that Zhongli was different around you, that he cared for you like he cared for no one else. There had been a few times where that statement rang true. Some that don't.

Zhongli felt like a breath of fresh air, a sunshine on a cloudy day, a tall mountain summit from afar. You loved the way he listens to your beliefs, you loved the way he trusts you with his secrets and experiences, you loved the way he deeply cares to others, you love the way he seemed to brighten up every room he walked into.

Goddamn you love everything about that man!

Even his stupidity to pecuniary is lovable.

Somehow he managed to bring joy to the same place you always associated with agony— every corner of the place was happier with him around.

It's no wonder you feel something that can only be named as infatuation— a feeling you once harbored towards Morax, but failed to realize it until your death.

But that had been so long ago, back when you were a little kid determined to become an adult. Now you're an adventurer with a thousand adventures under your belt. Now you were strong and experienced and prepared. And yet, you're still hesitating. Why?

"What seems to cause your inner turmoil, child?"

Your breath hitched and your intake became shallow, it feels like being reborn again. An advantageous thing about reincarnation is that you get to experience love in many forms, mainly familial love.

It was your gateway from the gripping anxiety you feel whenever you overhear hearsay in your town about Morax.

But not once did a family ever asked you for your problems, it's not their fault being unaware of your curse and if they did ask you would've probably non the wiser— it was because they don't share the same sentiment having to live for thousand years.

With Madame Ping, you feel so inclined to relay your thoughts as if you're indeed a child ranting problems with your mom, something about her just puts your mind at ease. And you only just met her not too long ago.

You took a deep breath and tore your gaze from the Glaze Lillies, "There's this man that I fostered feelings for, since I started liking him. . . I always felt like I'm standing over burning charcoal. Do you know what that feels like? Not being able to stop my feet from moving even for a moment. I can't run. I want to, but there's something holding me back."

"Hmm, that sounds too complex," she sighs, "then again, being young has many complexities just as we adults have. With the way you're describing it, I won't say it's holding you back, child."

You lifted your gaze at her, confusion now painted your features.

"If I were to put it, you're simply tangled up in your past."

"W-What—"

"And you need closure if you want to face your feelings head on."

A closure? Is that what I'm missing? Should I vent my pent up feelings? Ugh. . . Will that really help?

Sensing your dubious demeanor, Madame Ping smiled, "You do not need to heed my words. I'm simply offering a suggestion."

"No, I'll consider it. In fact, I think it's the best course to deal with this. Thank you, Madame Ping!"

And so you dash from the place in search of something.

You run pass the vast greenery of viridescent grasses and colorful wildflowers— a meadow, where you'd usually go for meandering while accompanied by the evening breeze or gilding sunlight. It was perfect setting of tranquility for a maladaptive daydreamer like yourself. You'd imagine yourself laying down and naming the constellations that coincidentally appear in the sky, or count the exotic birds that flew by, or hum a tune that's been lost in history.

Looking at you now versus your past self equates for hypocrisy.

An amalgamation of both morose and agitated countenance now marred your features. Any person who sees you would imagine how tumultuous your life has been, it's nowhere near nirvana.

Trembling as you arrived at your destination, you stand in front of Morax's statue and traces the meticulous handwork with the pads of your fingers. The entire place feels like him, as though you’re with him at arms reach, but too far to actually hold him.

"It's really pathetic how I try so hard to move on, only to come back to you when something is amiss in my life," you murmured, "but I'm not here to endlessly whine about every misfortune in life, I want to release this feeling in order for me to be appeased."

You heaved a deep breath.

"I love you, Morax. I still do. No amount of flowery apologies can fix the damage I made for stalling my confession to you. I was young and had a plethora of uncertainties that made me second-guess myself. I guess. . . the guilt of leaving you pushed me to the brink of watching over you throughout my consecutive reincarnations, I wanted to make sure you were happy. And now, I want to be happy too. I feel happy with Zhongli and I don't want to make the same mistake of hesitating then later regret on it."

Some days your sadness was a mild lisp. It barely scratched the surface of your voice, but today melancholy had waged a full scale assault on your vocal chords.

"I've decided I'll confess to him, not today, I still need to build the courage to face him. I'm thankful for the time we spent our earliest days together, truly I am, but it's time for me to move on. One day I will look back on our childhood and say 'I love you' once more without the lingering ache in my heart. I'll never stop coming back to you, Morax. . . so, instead of bidding farewell, I'll see you later."

It felt good to vent your feelings out that you nearly cried that day as you walk back in Wangshu Inn and now you're ready to confess your feelings to the consultant whenever you're ready. And whether he'll accept it or not is entirely up to him.

"Are you free this , Y/N?" A strange look obscured the consultant's face, what's even more strange is the fact he's not even looking you directly.

"Yes. . .?" Something tells you he's not in a good mood.

Crap. . . someone give him Mora! ASAP!

"I wish to speak with you alone. Will you come with me in Mt. Tianheng?" Asked the consultant who seemed a bit on edge this evening after you came back. His spurious stone cold expression obnubilated akin to the look of a man who's gearing up for war.

His ominous mien warranted your logic to say no to him, but you're too far on the line of sanity to even refuse the man you like. "Sure."

>> TIMESKIP. . .

You thought not confessing early to Morax before your death was the worst decision you've ever made. Think again, 'cuz this is most definitely the worst, baddest and stupidest decision ever.

You never made it a point to come back to this place— it brought back a storm of memories, some of which were more comfortable being shoved to the recesses of your mind and be kept there for eternity. But for whatever reason, you feel inclined to follow him and disregard the uneasiness of returning in Mt. Tianheng.

Zhongli has been strangely quiet all the way here, at this point he'd be randomly stating facts, not be a complete mute-walking pillar.

Thus, you suck up your inner turmoil and deal with it instead of fleeing right off the bat.

"You're strong for keeping your head up this far." He accolades suddenly to particularly no one, except if he was referring to you.

"Me?"

He comes to an abrupt stop and finally, FINALLY faces you. And shit do his visage screams he's not playing around. He's not here to be buddy-buddy with you. He looks genuinely distress.

About what though?

. . .

. . . . .

. . . . . . .

Oh. . .

Oh no!

Did he see through your lies earlier? That you're supposed to be with the traveler in Jueyun Karst? Double shit! Not good!

A thin sheen of sweat accumulated on your forehead as you try to come up with an excuse, "U-Uh. . ." but came up with nothing.

You mentally prepared yourself for a parade of admonishing words from Zhongli, you genuinely thought he's going to nitpick on why you shouldn't have lied to him and probably question the motives behind your action. At least that's what you thought.

"This guilt is unbearable even for an immortal."

"Yes, I know I lied about going with the traveler in—. . . Huh?"

What?

His eyes seemed to shine brighter than the stars as he stares deeply into yours. You sense an underlying promise in those determined orbs, it instilled the feeling of anticipation and anxiety.

"I am Morax."

The air suddenly became suffocating for YOU. Breathing gets hard. There’s this feeling in your chest that’s gnawing through your body, affecting your every movement.

Conflagrated flames and scalding ice, the physical feeling tied up in all the emotions that seem to leak from ZHONGLI'S features— fear, hope and adoration churned his guts.

An unkempt strand of your hair overshadowed your eyes from Zhongli's standpoint. It seems as though he made the decision that'll compromise the friendship he had built with you.

Being the bearer of the knowledge of your reincarnation didn't come easy for an immortal who's supposed to be imposing as a mortal.

Ever since he saw you paying respect for his passing, his instinct is blaring at him to tell you his true identity. Though he has to admit it's not entirely his gut-feel that added a major factor of what he had done now— it was his selfishness, yet again.

He had gone through multiple scenarios of what your reaction may be; Would you laugh at his face? Are you going to dismiss his claims and think it's a prank? Will you run away from him?

Not like it matters to him.

You can do all of those and he'd still want to be with you.

Heck! He knew you were telling a fib about your involvement in the Traveler's quest and it didn't change his feelings for you.

". . ."

As crickets filled his ears, he takes a feeble step forward and spoke in a solemm voice, "You must have a lot of questions, I can guarantee to answer all of them but know that it was never my intention to prolong your suffering by hiding my identity."

He knows.

He GODDAMN knows!

Your words broke up and all you could mutter were stuttering sounds. Hot tears streamed down your face, and squeezed your eyelids shut in the hope the tears would stop. Your choppy breathing and watery eyes remained for quite some time as stand there unmoving. What else is there to say?

Before you know it, both of your shoulders were grasped in a firm but gentle grip of gloved hands. There's so many mixed feelings stirring in a boiling pot, and you can't make out a definite conclusion until you arrive in some sort of resulting point.

Are you angry for his decision to play dead? Betrayed he kept this from you? Pained that he didn't trust you? Relieved that he's really alive in the flesh? Happy that he knows it's you and you don't have to pretend around him? Which is it?

Amidst all the chaotic thoughts, you still feel safe in the presence of Zhongli— Yes, Zhongli. You hate how it feels so warm, you hate how you want to bask in his embrace, you hate the solace you find yourself in when he's around even in your worst time. Just then, similarly back in Inazuma, the sky shed tears to empathize your mourning heart. The heavens really find your suffering amusing.

In your haze vision, he was moving his lips but the words fell on deaf ears, your sense of hearing refuse to comprehend the meaning behind his statement. It's probably for the best.

Zhongli, the ever so keen who promptly took notice, snaked his arms around your shoulders and pulled you in a somber embrace and gently placed your head in his chest— an act of shielding you from the dangers of the world and offers you a safe haven.

The veil dropped and walls crumbled.

Your feeble hands grasped his flaunting waistcoat like a helping hand. Your scream synchronises with the thundering and the minimum space between you muffled the cries. Your undecipherable emotions echoes with the storm like a reflection on the mirror.

And everything leads to the man desperately clinging to your bare fingers on the cliffside of a bottomless pit you dug yourself into.

"Look at me."

Compelled to do so, you lifted your blurry gaze. A Geo Archon known for his wisdom and strength, is standing in his barest version. The version of a man who weeps only in the presence of whom he loves and trusts.

[ source: Pinterest. please comment if you know the artist so I can credit ]

"Z-Zhongli. . ."

A single index finger met your quivering lips, "Shh. . . The rain isn't stemmed from sadness. So get drenched, and be refreshed. I hope it washes away the hot bitterness felt by your heart. When that hurt washes away, let's return home together."

". . . Together? It sounds surreal. . . I don't want to believe it."

"May I kiss you for proof?"

You're too absorbed in the heat of moment that every rational decision flew out the window, but maybe the most rational thing to do is to indulge yourself.

You nodded, with your permission Zhongli has never been the happiest till this day.

His lips descended on yours with fervor, immediately you can feel his desperation, his love, his determination, his grief— it's overwhelming it almost knocked you on your feet. Quite fortunate he has his hand on your back to keep you steady while the other is on your cheek as he drowns you in his presence.

You feel hot, it's unusual during the rain shower, but the hypnotic intimacy he applies in his action takes your breath away.

Heat pooled in your stomach, the prospect of kissing Zhongli is something you didn't know you'd be craving for more and your heart skipped a few beats.

Your whole body tingled, the feel of his towering frame leaning on you as he encased you in his arms felt like you're ascending to Celestia.

Albeit slowly, you felt yourself gradually being pulled up to the surface accompanied by the hands of your savior.

It still wasn't clear if he's dreaming this moment, but there was raw emotion in the way you weave your fingers through his free tresses and caress his scalp. Zhongli kept his eyes half open, sneaking a guilty glance at you every time he comes back for air to assure himself this isn't a product of his imagination.

He doubts the authenticity of it all. He's not sure if nature rooted for this moment or if Celestia tricked him into this perfect present to appease his guilt, but every passing second makes him want to stay in this illusion and for the first time in eons, he felt like a little dragon discovering new treasures— he discovered you yet again.

Slowly, the pull apart, chest heaving and face flustered.

Zhongli suddenly felt more guilt, he had acted out of the line and kissed without properly courting you, not so gentlemanly. The smile on your face, however, eased the guilt in his heart and subconsciously mirrored your smile, it was simply contagious.

"It's really you, huh? I can't believe I didn't realize it was you." You placed your palm on his cheek as to reassure your sanity, in response he leaned impossibly closer to your hand.

"Words cannot describe how much I want to expose myself to you, and how apologetic I am for staging my death. Had I've been aware of your existence and your knowledge of the past, I would have come up a different solution and not cause you more pain."

Yeah, it really is him. No other man can look after your feelings like he does, and there's no other man lovable as him.

"I really want to ask how did you know, not only of my reincarnation, but also my awareness of my previous life. Is it because you were a former Archon?"

Heaving a deep sigh, he pressed his forehead on yours, his fingers traverse down the corner of your lips until it wipes away from what it looks like the remnants of your tears.

"I don't need to be an Archon to know it's you. Your kindness, compassion and everything beautiful will always attract me no matter what form you may take. No other being can impersonate someone so precious as you, Y/N. It's why I knew it was you the moment you wear your heart on your sleeve."

Times like this always reminds you why you fell for him so hard.

"As for your memories of the past. . . you weren't exactly being cautious of your words when you were speaking to my statue. No normal mortal has ever called me Morax other than you."

Oh. . . you were rather grateful for it.

"So, you're saying I'm not normal to you?"

"Y/N, reincarnating while retaining your memories is not exactly a trait of a standard normal mortal." He does have a point.

"Hey, look. The rain has stopped."

Hands adorned of scars, bruises and wounds that once grasped the pointed end of every sharp edged rocks are now held by the calloused hands of another fighter.

You watch as the lustrous moon rose up the sky, pride was balm from its full fledged form, exuding sufficient fulguration for the inky night and the prodigious number of stars turned into extraordinary bright white hued after the rain. For the first time, the deepest somber night just came out of its humble abode.

He kept his eyes on you and his forehead glued on yours, it looks like he's not planning on letting you go any time sooner, "Indeed, it seems like your heart has eased up too."

"Yes, and I have you thank for that." You gently grabbed the wrist caressing your face and rubbed figures of eight. "Thank you for having the courage of revealing your true self, it have me the right to courage to fess up what's on my mind."

You pulled away from his embrace and took his hand on yours, you can feel his burning eyes fixated on your actions, "I never got the chance to confess everything when I was dying in your arms. I thought it was for the best, but I'll say it now."

Watching you straighten your spine, Zhongli couldn't hide his anticipation. He has vague idea what you mean, but he didn't want to keep his hopes up, so he remained calm and let you continue.

"I love you. Whether you're known as Morax, Rex Lapis, Zhongli or any other names, I'm hopelessly in love with you because to me you're the dragon who kept me safe from the dangers and prioritize me over your own happiness. You're my first friend, my first confidant, my first partner in crime, my first protector, my first crush and most importantly, you're my first love. You're my every first, and you'll be my very last."

Every joyful feeling known to man hit Zhongli like a meteor and he couldn't help himself to claim your lips once again. This time he was more gentler and more on conveying his overjoyed expression. The kiss was brief as he pulled away immediately.

"I have always adored you, Y/N. Your death nor your lack of reciprocation doesn't make my feelings any different. Do you remember the promise I made? I will take you at the highest peak of the sky, I meant it literally that time, I'm more willing to fulfill that promise both literally and figuratively.bI'm grateful to have met you in my life, and I'm more grateful that you feel the same as I do. I will do my best to keep you happy, Y/N."

"Dummy! I should be the one saying that." Your eyes began to feel moisture yet again. "Would you look at us. It took us a couple thousands of years before getting to this point, it's almost laughable and I— ACHOO!"

". . ."

". . ."

"Let's head back. It almost slip my mind humans are quite fragile even just a few drops of rain, and your drenched clothes are not helping."

"Aren't you the one who told me to get drenched and be refreshed?" You replied sardonically, though the lovesick smile on your face betrays you.

He chuckled, "Let's continue this back home."

Home with him. It sent the elephants stomping in your stomach. Forget the fluttering butterflies!

He intertwined your fingers with his as you both walk back with goofy smiles, "Yeah, let's head home."

An idyllic hilly meadow greeted your sight as you stand tall after an arduous journey. Beside you is the prize worth of every gems in the world. As your blood-soaked hand held his, the two of you embarked a new journey towards tomorrow.

And this this time, you won't be alone. Mazes may seperate you two along the way, you'll always find your way back to each other's arms. A farewell between star crossed lovers doesn't exist, for they will meet later on at the end.

─ 𝐀𝐅𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃. werp that will wrap up this series, I'll be working on with all of your requests and if I can insert the Xiao version of this then it's considered lucky. thank you everyone for supporting this fic, for encouraging me to continue more than one part and sharing your thoughts about it. i value comments more than anything so pls tell me what you think, I don't reply to all comments but I read all of them 💙💜

─ 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓 / 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒. @itsyourgirlria @shizunxie @elsoleil @cherlynono @slzaar @katsuissus @tikitsune @useless-potatho @chimsblogg @lemonlimesocks @multifandomvoyage @malt-rants-and-stuff @jameineliebe @angelkazusstuff @eissaaaa @beezgobuzzbuzz @towos @atsukawolfcat @sunflowers1970 @avery-needs-more-fics @angstylittleb1tch @bigcandlesmolbrain @lxmine @imk1ra @chihawari @bishishbored @yuuki4646 @sunsethw4 @princeabomination @alexiris @chocolateneapolitan @ayra2452008 @ittosoneandoniwife @alatus2716 @thetwinkims @sweetbills @nanami-s-tie @rain-and-a-nice-nap @a-rose-byanothername @swirrley @lasignoramybeloved @magicalnaturenerd @boundedbyfate @extremelytoastybread @vvyeislazzy @dear-dairiess @crowleysthings @imafatpug @tjjjrsj + kokomisimppp alice4wonderland2184 quereespf haru-tofuu vv3ntii and others that I can't tag for sum reason tumblr won't explain •_•

©OTAKUWORKS | FEB 2023

[daydreamwhumpinc]

Magical Healing in Whump?

So, I am done with my finals for now and that means that I can write a whole essay on magical healing and what it means for whump scenarios. Plus a few additional prompts to make your whump scenarios more delicious and throw another whump poll in to the abyss ;)

Okay, now get ready for a bit of rambling. I usually enjoy whump in fantasy settings A LOT, but often the author decides to use magic as a fix it for any and all injuries which deprives us all of juicy, juicy whump scenes. On one hand, magical healing can open the door to more severe injuries that, normally, the Whumpee can't survive otherwise. On the other hand, the magic healing can be just used to heal anyone and everyone without the Caretaker (magic healer) and the Whumpee facing any consequences. The sweet spot is somewhere in the middle, but it is not that easy to hit as I found out while working on my own project.

For example, in the Webtoon I'm currently working on, one of my main characters has only defensive/healing/purifyng powers so I'm trying to set certain boundaries so that his powers are not too OP or too nerfed in the grand scheme of the story. Here are some prompts that I thought of that might help you to write your magical healer as someone capable and believable, but still not interfere with your Whump scenes.... ;)

The healer has to use their own life energy to heal the Whumpee, so the healer has to take breaks in between the healing- That way the healer can't heal a big injury all at once and will give the Whumpee some time to suffer and hurt. It will also open the door for the healer themself to be whumped if they use too much of their own life force energy when healing.

The healer has to be versed in medicine to be able to magically heal the Whumpee- Hear me out, this one is a bit weird. Imagine that even though you have healing magic, you still have to know anatomy and medicine, so you can use your magic to properly mend someones wounds. This might pose a problem in actually finding the magical healer with the necessary knowledge level of medicine and healing magic to help the Whumpee.

The healing magic is too potent to have too much in the body at once- I think it can be somewhat interesting to see the healing magic as something that can hurt in big amounts. After all, even water is harmful to the body when there is too much of it. This leads to almost the same outcome as in the first prompt, where the healer has to heal the Whumpee over time, allowing their body to filter out the healing magic.

The healer has to use some outside medium/conduit to heal the Whumpee- This one is a bit different, but I guess alchemy and potions are still considered as magical healing. Therefore, if the healer doesn't have the necessary tools for their healing ritual, then there is nothing they can do at that moment.

The Whumpee has to want to be healed/have enough energy/life force to bond with the healing magic- Another convoluted one, perhaps, but I'll try my best to explain. The healing magic will not work on the Whunoee unless they still have the drive to live and survive. It is something like having the will power to choose to get better and fight through the pain, otherwise the healing magic will just leak out and do nothing in terms of healing. Additionally, it can be linked with how much "life force" there is left in the Whumpee, so the more sever the injury is, the harder it is for the healer to connect with and heal the Whumpee.

The healing process is painful- The drawback of the healing process is the excrutiating pain as the bones and skin are knitted back together. So the Whumpee is pretty out of it by the end, or, once again, has to be treated in short bursts over a period of time.

Healing magic can only heal small or certain medium sized wounds- just have a power limit on the types of injuries the healer can heal with magic.

Happy Whumping and Feel Free to Add On :)

[doraambrose]

Hey! What do you think about friendship between Roy Harper and Jason Todd? I'm not a big comics nerd, but recently started diving deeper into the dc fandom and reading more comics, I really enjoyed their friendship, but I read a post somewhere another day saying that their friendship doesn't really make sense because they didn't really interact before rhato and have a significant age gap... and even had a fight or something? Just was wondering if you could recommend comics that give more info on their relationship? And what's you personal opinion?

Hello friend! Thanks for the ask.

I have to warn that I have some pretty strong but kind of ignorant feelings about this (I don't know much about Roy harper pre n52)

So comic wise- yes, they're friendship was very random. Pre n52, my very limited knowledge of Roy is that he was a justice league member, did drugs, had a baby with Cheshire named Lian, and was a member of the og teen titans with Dick as Speedy. Jason was robin and then redhood, but the redhood who was definitely more antihero and not basically a batfam member like he is now. Then out of nowhere in RHATO, jason is talking about how Roy is the best friend he could ask for with absolutely no context whatsoever. The Outsiders #46 is the only pre-n52 panel with the two of them together:

In terms of age gap, I'm pretty sure jason and Roy have about the same age gap as jason and dick. But the age gap is something that should bother anyone. I am 20, but most of my friends from work and school are in their mid 20s and even 30s. We get along great and age hasn't been something that has ever impacted our friendship. In terms of a fight, I don't know much about that. They had a falling out at the end of redhood/arsenal, but they seemed fine in RHATO rebirth.

For recommendations, all their comics together are pretty shit tbh. But All RHATO new 52 has them together, but it sucks ass. Redhood/arsenal should be skipped. RHATO rebirth annual 2 is probably the best you're gonna get next to the webtoon.

Okay, my personal opinion, I HATE Roy and jason. I can't stand Roy Harper from what I've seen. And even what I've seen pre-n52, he's kind of a dick.

In New 52, I know his character was stripped from him to make jason look good and that's a whole other discussion, but, he's a fucking idiot. He's selfish, impulsive, and he started listening to Jason's phone. And he was even worse in redhood/arsenal, SO SELFISH and so controlling and he would make decisions, including pimping jason out as a rent-a-hero and spending all their money, without any discussion but couldn't understand why he would be upset about that. He's just an asshole. I have no idea why he and jason would be friends at all. I despise JayRoy. Its so toxic.

Anyway, thanks for the ask!

[wilderness-of-thoughts]

Before:

You should be asleep. You should be rolling over right now, drooling on your pillow, dreaming of a romantic evening with some hot alpha male from a webtoon, and quietly farting (with glitter and rainbows, of course). But no. Of course not. Not when Satoru Gojo has a drama moment and demands an explanation from you.

"Gojo, I beg you, have mercy. We get up in the morning." You grumble, Gojo was just standing astride your sternum dressed in a pink nightgown. You both pretend not to see the little fashion show that Satoru is putting on for you. He has to try on all the doll clothes that will fit him. Women's, men's, unisex, classic, normal, festive or fancy - he has to try them all.

“You have a boyfriend?” His tone was like a parent who had caught his child smoking.

"Nooooo? I guess? It's complicated. Although I think he's already my fiancé." You frowned, thinking that this answer would calm him down, you simply closed your eyes.

Gojo felt his legs give way under his weight. In order not to show it, he simply sat cross-legged on your breastbone. Somewhere in the background, far, far away, he heard his tiny little heart breaking. He didn't know why. He didn't understand. When others said they were seeing someone, he didn't give a damn; when his sex friends said they were ending things because they were getting into a relationship, he responded with a shrug.

"Do you love him...?" He asked quietly, not looking at your face. He was afraid of the answer, but his ego effectively suppressed that fear.

"Hmm.... No." You replied firmly almost immediately. The vague constriction in his throat disappeared as soon as he removed his hand, and his heart began to beat more calmly. Why? Feeling his unspoken question, you sighed. You felt the light weight of his body against your chest. "Before you ask, I've known him for years. We met on some now-defunct manga-fucker forum. We share common interests and general clumsiness in life." You smiled to yourself. "we slept together a few times and stuff."

"Is he good?"

"He is nice, helpful..."

"in bed."

"Oh... Um... I don't know?" You blushed slightly.

".... What do you mean you don't know?"

"eh heh... You know.... I get more aroused reading fanfiction and watching hentai than... I mean, it's not bad... Is it normal? Ordinary? Without fireworks?" Gojo looked at you as if you were speaking to him in a forgotten dialect of ancient Aramaic. You watched him as he sat between your breasts on the print of the T-shirt you were sleeping in, with a serious expression on his face. "Sex in a relationship is not everything and that's something you should know best. For you guys it's more like a biological need."

"And fun."

"Okay, and fun" You smiled slightly. This was the first time you had this kind of conversation with Gojo, or with anyone really. You didn't have many real-world friends that weren't somehow related to jujutsu.

"Why don't you know if you're his fiancée?" Satoru asked further, being unsure whether one is in a relationship or not is something he has encountered in his life. More times than he would admit. Women often conflated sex with a relationship and he was introduced as a "partner" without even knowing it. So yeah. Gojo understands that you might not be sure.

"About half a year ago he proposed to me with a KFC set. I will never say no to food. I treated the proposal as a joke and ate the chicken. But ever since then, um... His mother asks about grandchildren, his grandmother tells how much money she has set aside for him, and he says something about a prenuptial agreement." You were now looking at Gojo as if he could explain your maybe-boyfriend's behavior.

Gojo didn't know what to say. He wanted to laugh, but at the same time he was so shocked that he could only look at you in equal consternation. If this guy took your "yes" seriously, it was the laziest proposal in the history of mankind. You deserved more. A perfect sunset, a violinist, roses, candles, a week-long spa. Gojo may have been a little romantic, but only a little. At least that was in the movies he watched because what does he know about true love? He would sooner sink into the ground than propose to you with a KFC nugget.

"Have you talked to him about this?"

"Yes?" Seeing his look you continued, "He said he was serious."

...Oh.

"Did you correct him?"

"um..." So no.

"Why?"

"do I have to answer?" You have to. You sighed heavily and hid your eyes behind your hand feeling the sleepiness demanding that you go to sleep. But you knew that Gojo wouldn't let you. "I assume that we are all alone. You are born alone, you die alone, no one will live your life for you. You are alone in the bag of bones that is your body. Precisely because, at a fundamental level, we are all alone, people seek others. Some people pair up, others join groups, associations, sects. They look for answers in religion, science. And the truth is that.. we are alone. All together we are alone."

Gojo could write a doctorate with distinction on loneliness. From his perspective, at the top you are alone, while the others were together. But when you told him that everyone is alone at the bottom... Paradoxically, he felt less lonely.

"But I wouldn't mind being alone with you." You mumbled, placing your hand on his. Gojo practically clung to it, craving your touch, your warmth, your body. He was now lying on your sternum. He felt your heartbeat beneath, your warm breath moving the strands of his hair. His cat tail curled around your ring finger.

In addition to the determination to return to his normal size, another feeling appeared in his little heart. Treat this lame guy with Purple. Then buy you a kids' set at McDonald's.

He dreamed he was kneeling before you at an anime convention, you were wearing a sexy version of Agumon's outfit. You agree.

It was one of the few beautiful dreams he had recently.

Next:

[yellowocaballero]

I'VE FINALLY STARTED READING THE SSSHUNTER WEBTOON AND IT'S AMAZING BUT THERE'S ONLY 115 CHAPTERS?? I CAN'T FIND MORE??? did you read the novel because i thought you said you didn't go that far or am i missing other chapters somewhere? or did you not finish it?

i am insane i will be reading it thank you for introducing me i have never understood suffering as a tool forward before quite like this

YEAH YEAH YEAH DID I SPREAD SSSCSH PROPAGANDA?!

Yes, unfortunately we're only at 116. Honestly, for a manwha that's pretty long so far - and it feels uncommon to even find a manwha that's finished. I should have warned that it was unfinished, but I'm so used to that :/

I haven't read the webnovel yet! It's on Woopnovel, I think. Unfortunately it's not an official translation, but it doesn't seem awful.

And yes, I love how the work can give such a different perspective into suffering! I feel like it's not just Buddhist, but that it talks about Buddhism a bit: the journey of Buddhism is to reach Nirvana, which is freedom from desire and suffering. This includes accepting suffering as condition of life. But Buddhism talks about how differences and barriers between living organisms are artificial, and cause suffering - SSSCSH proposes that we can achieve understanding of others and break down these artificial barriers by utilizing the shared human experience of trauma.

It's good. So good. I'm glad I spread the propaganda.

[pali-and-proud]

ok, I am relatively new to this little fandom but I binged Cinderella boy and I'm just wondering... did everyone forget about that one part where buddy has this dream and he's in ragged clothes in a fancy manor house? Like, no wonder the man likes looking fancy. if that's Ex Libris and that's how they keep him, of course he likes looking good. maybe it's because he doesn't have the chance to otherwise?

also did everyone just forget that bit existed because I'm scrolling through and I'm seeing nothing on buddy seeing chase in the mirror, shattering the mirror, and jumping through. That was deeply impactful and yet I can't figure out what and i've been hyperfixtaing on that for a while now. Can you give me a rant about that bit because I know there's something up there I just cant figure out what, am I the only one who read that part?

This is so funny to me. I'm so happy you got into CB! And I'm so happy you enjoy it! But LMAO I think the Dreams episode broke tumblr--there were so many speculations and it's the basis for like 80% of our Buddy theories! (People analyzing the episode is what caused me to make a tumblr account in the first place, actually!)

(Which! Since you're new to the fandom, I can understand how it might look like we missed it, but I promise--this fandom soaks up Buddy content like it's water and we're in the Sahara)

So since it's a dream, we have to assume a lot of symbolism--we know the outfit Chase wore in his dream was a representation of himself (likely a nod to his repeated selfless, angellic actions, like trying to save Buddy or trying to save his mom), so we can assume the same for Buddy.

He's likely not actually dressed in rags--although we don't have that confirmed, but based off of Chase's fit--but it's possible that he ISNT dressed in the fancier outfit we saw him wear earlier. It's really likely, actually, although we shouldn't discount the possibility that Punko wanted him dressed so simply to reflect how dim/bare his situation is.

Someone (I cant remember who, but if anyone does know, PLEASE @ them bc this was life-changing) pointed out that if that's the case, then Violet would have been making outfits for Buddy the whole time, which would cement Buddy having a good relationship with his key well before Chase. We can assume Buddy has a good relationship with Violet anyway, since she makes him outfits he likes, but still.

The rags also serve another purpose: it reminds us that Buddy is ALSO a protag. That's what Chase realizes, in his dream, and it's what we have to keep in mind when we read the chapters. Buddy's not a side character, nor an antagonist. This is his story, too, and he's trying to secure his own happy ending, just like Chase.

(The title of the Webtoons is Cinderella Boy--and in that episode, between Chase and Buddy, only Buddy looks like Cinderella. Another nod to his true role as a protag, and another reason why we need to treat his attire with caution.)

What the dream DEFINITELY confirms is that Buddy has a bad relationship with Ex Libris. There's really no plausible alternative--from how frantic he is to escape, and how afraid he is of being caught. Beach Boys set the question of whether or not Buddy's in a bad spot with Ex Libris, but we didn't know how truthful he was.

We still don't, really, since he still hasn't told us, 'cause he's a paranoid asshole that we tragically love. But this episode laid some facts: Buddy is definitely in a bad situation, regardless of the specifics.

Plus, the final scene of him throwing the clock at the mirror, effectively destroying the reflection of Chase--clocks are often a representation of time. He's running out of time. There's a time limit, somewhere, but we don't know anything except that the clock's ticking.

(Someone else pointed out the clocks/time thing before me. I swear, I will hunt these @s and give proper citations.)

His escape via the mirror likely refers to his real motive: Buddy wants to escape, and he's aware his escape is going to involve, to some extent, harming Chase. From here, it's pure speculation: does Buddy need the keys to escape, thus betraying Chase? Does Buddy know something important? Is the mirror, or Buddy's escape, in any way tied to how he finds Chase in the books?

It's VERY likely that the keys are critical to Buddy's escape, due to the lock with 12 keyholes. This would also ensure the plotline of Buddy's strive for the keys remains intact, and would give us another reason for why Buddy was so desperate for Chase's key. HOWEVER, this isn't the only theory, and we know Punko's always two steps ahead.

The episode feels symbolic and important because it IS, but until we know more about Buddy's actual situation, it's hard to really break down what the episode means. I promise, though: the more we learn about Buddy's backstory, the more people (including myself, because i cannot shut up) will refer to that episode to swoon over the foreshadowing Punko brilliantly laid out.

[liaminina]

PLAVE Lore Summary - Part 2: The Story So Far

(The following are taken from the birthday kits and my interpretations of it, most of which were taken from translations from this site).

EDIT (9/1/2025): New lore information from anan magazine interview added.

Fictional characters are actually "alive" within the universe of PLAVE. They exist in the form of cubes scattered across VitaexCubo, the space of life above the skies of Asterum. When a character receives enough human love, the cube descends from that space like a shooting star, landing in Caelum, where they gain a body, mind, soul and consciousness of their own.

The opposite is also correct: When humans lose interest in a character, or the work they're from, they revert back to their cube form and return to VitaexCubo.

The debris from this "shooting star" has mysterious power called "star shards".

Yejun, Noah, Bamby and Eunho are all characters from different webtoons:

Yejun - "Today, I'm Going to Treat You"

Noah - "Heart of the Moon"

Bamby and Eunho - "Chroma Drift"

However, because they were discontinued, their webtoons gradually lost popularity, which caused all the other characters in them to disappear from existence. The four were the only ones left within their respective realms, and were now dying.

Until Hamin came along.

Hamin was a character whose settings (no idea if this means either "role in his respective work's universe", "character stats", "character design", or all of the above) were still being established, and his webtoon, a martial arts story, wasn't published/released to the public yet.

He should have remained a cube, however, something unexpected happened: Hamin broke free from the cube all on his own.

Somewhere in Terra, the AI model within a developer's computer started generating images of Hamin on its own. The developer —referred to as "Developer A" — then tried to figure out how could that be possible, so he installed a text recognition module on the computer. When he interpreted the unknown packet, he made his first contact with Hamin.

When Hamin told him about his mission of bringing Yejun, Noah, Bamby, and Eunho together, he recalls them as the characters that he had created in the past. Hamin was also created by him.

With help from Developer A, who executed a code to bring the four remaining members to Asterum, Hamin collected the "star shards" and expanded the rift between Caelum and Terra, so that they could be transported there. From then on, they became the idols known as PLAVE, and received love from the people of Terra again through music.

And in turn, Asterum, which was once a lifeless space, became filled with light.

Where will the story go from here? There are still many details left unanswered...

[allidrawscomics]

How do you approach writing/pacing for webcomics? Do you plan the story as you go, or is there an established story and/or ending before you even start drawing? Or maybe a mix of the two?

I pull out a little sketchbook and write down events that I KNOW I want to include and then try to number them based on what order they should happen chronologically. There are always going to be gaps in character and relationship development, and introducing the audience to world building elements so that later events make sense. I do my best to fill the gaps and think of a conclusion that I would be satisfied with if I was a reader. Then I list everything out chronologically and script individual scenes. I can do enough scripting in a day to make pages for like a year, so I get started on thumbnailing as soon as I can. In terms of pacing, webtoons and traditional webcomics are going to be moving at different speeds but ultimately I want the audience to understand what the goal is at any given time and everything between now and the goal should move us closer to the goal or be enjoyable to watch if I were to snip it out and put it somewhere by itself. Character development, eye candy, vibes.

If I don't tell the audience what the goal is they will make up a goal in their head and think nothing is happening because their goal isn't getting closer.

Silly little beach episodes are my favorite part of any show. I love seeing characters fuck around together! But I still want to avoid that thing that some webtoons do where we spend a whole chapter talking in circles or picking out a dress that doesn't matter. I don't want a situation where I've spent hours upon hours on scene that someone is going to barely glance at because they're trying to speed their way through to the interesting parts.

If you want to be one of those super cool artists that just draws the interesting parts for social media because who has time to make a whole ass ongoing comic then that's perfectly valid and I love that for you. Might try that out myself because I'm 32 and tired.