#this is the most self indulgent set i've made in a while lol

[usergrantaire]

les misérables + spotify playlists [template]

[yukachaan]

Found family anime recommendation list

I've been thinking about making this rec list for a while because found family is my absolute favorite trope, so this is really self indulging haha 🤭

these are just some of my personal favorites, but if you guys have more recommendations please add them!

(This list contains spoilers!)

1. Dororo- absolutely heartbreaking and beautiful. the two main characters, Dororo and Hyakkimaru, develop such a special and precious bond throughout the story, and what makes it even more interesting is that at the beginning, Hyakkimaru is not able to see, hear, or really communicate with Dororo, and he gets those abilities slowly throughout the story (through killing demons haha yes it's that kind of story), so it makes the development of their relationship really unique. Both of them don't have their actual families for different reasons, but I absolutely LOVE the familial relationship they develop!

2. spy x amily - everyone's new favorite family lol. I don't think I need to elaborate, I love the little family they've built. it's so cute how all three of them have their own selfish reasons to want to keep this family unit, but at the same time care so deeply (and obliviously) for each other, I love it! there's not a single character I dislike, there wasn't a single episode i was bored watching (so far). it's like the perfect found family - they found each other, and just created a family instantly haha. If for any reason you're still not watching this, you really really should

3. banana fish - ugh honestly it's hard to find words for this one, it's so so SO good, but also, watch at your own risk, it's been years and my heart still hasn't recovered. The relationship between the two main characters, Ash and Eiji, is so beautiful and touching and tender, and it's so satisfying to watch. Ash deserves all the love omg 😭 I love how they take care of each other, how it's obvious to everyone how much they love each other. and i hate how it ended but that's a talk for another time...

4. Run with the wind - ok so i think most sports anime have an aspect of found family - your teammates become kinda your family, and friendships and bonds are usually the main focus. but i think it's especially highlighted in run with the wind - it's a show about running a marathon, and it's in a university setting (which already makes it more interesting lol). i LOVE connections between the characters. here as well, there's not a single character i dislike. even king who i didn't really care about in the beginning, I grew to love so much by the end. and Haiji might be my favorite character of all times. like throughout all platforms, he's my favorite. he created this team and he made them a family and i just wish i had a haiji in my life, you know? 😭

5. march comes in like a lion - ok, so, this one is especially precious to me, and i think it's my favorite anime of all times. officially, the show is about a boy who plays shogi professionally, and it is a part of it, but there's so much more to this anime. I've never watched anything that handled depression, and the journey of getting better, in a more accurate way than this show. the main character, Rei, is an orphan, and has a really complicated life story. he meets these three sisters, and is kinda invited to be a part of their little family. the relationships in this show are so touching and tender, even when nothing sad was happening i found myself crying. the sisters basically adopt rei, and little by little help him heal some of his wounds. the visuals of this show are perfect, you can feel everything rei is feeling. the sisters' house feels warm and inviting, while other spaces feel cold and disconnected. it's brilliant. also, the show handles the different characters with so much care, you end up caring about them all. i can go on forever lol, it's a masterpiece.

6. kids on the slope - another brilliant show. this is a slice of life, and the focus is on the friendship of three teens in the 60's. i love this one because even though they all have families that play a part in the story, they still become like a family to one another. their relationships are so touching, and so realistic. it deals with jealousy and friendship and love and loneliness in such a realistic, relatable way. for example one of the boys gets really jealous when his friend gets a new friend, it makes him lash out in such an unreasonable way, but at the same time you can totally relate to what he's feeling, because like, which one of us hasn't been there, right? i really recommend! (Also, the music is absolutely fantastic!)

7. Umibe no Etranger- maybe some people would think this doesn't belong here, but i totally think that along with love, this movie is totally about found family 😊 the two main boys are both on their own, Mio because he was orphaned, and Shun because he lost connection with his family after coming out. throughout the story, they become each other's family and support system (especially if you keep reading the manga like i have hehe🤭). i love their relationship so much!

8. fruits basket - again, maybe it's not the main trope, but it's definitely very much there! tohru, who is left without a family, finds a new family in the form of the very dysfunctional sohma family, that cares about her immensely, while she also cares about them and helps them heal and break their curse. i never read the manga or watched the old anime, and i didn't expect this to be as deep and painful as it was, but honestly one of my favorite shows right now.

9. Poko's udon world - so! freaking! cute! is it a ploy to make people have families and kids? perhaps. do i care? nope. Poko is the cutest child character ever, and the parent-child relationship between sota and poco is so precious, this is the most literal definition of a found family lol- sota found poco and basically instantly adopted him. the story is really touching and cute!

10. Clannad + Clannad after story - ugh i don't know if I'm able to talk about this one again, as it makes my heart hurt. this is one of my all time favorites. i think even though it's a love story, above all else it's a story about family. i wasn't sure if it fits the "found family" category but decided it does. even before nagisa and tomoya get married, tomoya is basically adopted by nagisa's family. they take him in to allow him some distance from his father, and show him how happy and loving a family can be. Also, all the friendship in the story are meaningful and have a familial feel to them. throughout the show there's a lot of focus on the subject of family, which leads to the main characters creating their own new little family unit. if you've been living under a rock i must warn you, I've never cried this much while watching a show in my life. while the ending is a happy one (well... in a bizarre kind of way, i guess), there's so much pain throughout the whole show, it's overwhelming at times. still, it's so so good and i really recommend to give it a try! (please, get through the first season and get to Clannad after story, it's really worth it!)

11. Usagi drop- i also wasn't sure if this fits the found family category, as it deals with an actual family, but wth, it's my list i can do what i want lol. very sweet story about a guy who adopts his grandfather's 6 year old daughter when he dies (yes, his aunt, basically), when no one else in the family wants to take her in. it's very sweet, very touching. they slowly become a family, and he learns what it means to be a single parent, and what sacrifices he has to make (like getting demoted at his job so he'll have more time to take care of his kid). the show is very wholesome, but don't read the manga, as i heard it went in different, less wholesome directions.

12. kotaro lives alone- this show was a ride! i was expecting a silly show about a 4 year old boy who lives alone, and got a heartbreaking show about neglect and trauma. his neighbors become his family throughout the show, and come to love him a lot and take care of him, and their relationships are very entertaining and sweet. ngl, i cried a lot during this show. i do think it deals with some very triggering things, so you should check that before watching 😊

and.. that's it for now! these are the ones i thought about so far, please feel free to add your own recommendations! i would love to get more!

[skyfallscotland]

Hi! I hope you’re feeling better. 💜

When I’ve heard writers talk about their process, some outline a character before they start writing and outline everything- the charcater’s history, personality, etc. While other writers say the character “talks” to them as they write and they don’t plot a lot out before hand. I’m curious- how much of Remi’s personality did you determine before you started writing? For example, did you know she was wonderfully snarky before you started writing? Did you always know she struggled with depression?

I know you’ve written other OC’s too. Has your process changed since writing Tessa and co?

Hi!

I...am incapable of lying lol. I'm not really, but I appreciate the sentiment 💗 Not looking for sympathy, just keeping it real 💀 The depression be doing some depressing. But hey, *sobs as I smash at my keyboard* it makes for great content!

I don’t hear it. I can’t hear anything but the pounding of my own heart and one memory on repeat. You can love someone and hate them a little at the same time. My mind is stuck on that. I know he loves me, but—he hates me, he hates me, he hates me—I fucked things up.

I never outline an entire character before I start writing. I have an idea in my head, but not a whole profile. I don't even name them until I'm part way through a story, they're "Name" usually until like chapter five-ish and then I hate their names until like chapter ten.

The case of Remi is a little different, honestly I've kind of done things backwards. When I created Tessa I had an idea of what her personality would be, based on what she'd been through living in Illyria and there were small parts of myself I incorporated into her, like her struggle with social settings and relationships. With Stella I was more just having fun, but keeping in mind the (broad overview) history I had planned for her. They do kind of just write themselves, if I'm honest. It's why I like to write ahead, because I only ever have a broad plan in mind.

I don't know that I ever really planned to publish BRV outside of like a little wattpad adventure. It was entirely self-indulgent. I tried very hard with Tessa and Stella to have them be...measured? I guess you'd say. To not pour too much of myself into them.

Remi was cathartic. There's so much of me in her. She was my 'whatever, it's not serious' character and story. I just threw whatever I wanted at the page without worrying about whether things were realistic or too self-indulgent and I guess that worked for a lot of people.

I knew she'd be snarky and a realist and that she wouldn't be as settled as Violet with her chronic illness. I knew she'd be depressed and quick to anger because that's me and my experience and it was a therapeutic process pouring all that out onto the page. So I guess I didn't really need to determine anything, I just wrote from the heart. She's almost self-insert. It's made it really comforting that people relate to her so well, because it feels like they relate to me, when no one else does outside of the internet.

It's funny because I'm trying (and never making time) to plot out the original novel I plan on writing and there's this voice in my head like saying I have to be measured and I have to plot out these characters first and their whole histories and personalities because it's a Serious Thing, but then I'm reminded that the character I wrote who resonated the most with people was just me throwing my unhinged feelings into the void, so???

Also, I had intended my first original fantasy novel (featuring a chronically ill fmc and dragons) to have two main characters—Remi and Caden. Then Fourth Wing came out and I screeched in fury. I used the name for BRV anyway, but... 🙃

And the MMC for my sports romance is named Liam and I wanted to give the FMC a nice tough girl name like Sloane 😭 but I guess the universe said fuck you, again, so that's a nope, so if anyone has suggestions here I am.

[kimtaegis]

gifmaker / cc wrapped ✦ every month of 2023

thank you so much to my favourites @raplinenthusiasts, @jkvjimin, @starcatching, @cordiallyfuturedwight, @sevencoloredstar, @rjshope, @hyunsung, @loversmore & @ye-xiu for wanting me to look back at my creations from last year, I love you!!

January 🌙 most popular: fluffy haired jungkook comp 🤍 my favourite: jimin x satellite gfx for my sweet mona; one of my most favourite things I've ever created, actually! I love how the textures turned out, and how I visualised the lyrics

February 🌙 most popular: yoongi-centric ot7 comp (😔😔😔) 🤍 my favourite: gradient taekook comp; the PLANNING that went into this agdhhj I was super proud of how this looked in the end! plus I love making gifts for others <3

March 🌙 most popular: yoongi's signature smirk comp 🤍 my favourite: jimin FACE gfx; I don't even know what had gotten into me, I made that so comparably fast?? I was just obsessed with the water theme and the new effects I used - the fact that I made a moving water reflection? hell yeah

April 🌙 most popular: Road to D-Day comp (my most popular from this whole year, actually) 🤍 my favourite: gradient jimin FACE era comp; probably my favourite set from this whole year, I'm beyond proud of how this looks, so vibrant and prettyyy lmao also Jimin and FACE were definitely the highlight of my year, I was so happy while making this)

May 🌙 most popular: jinminkook comp 🤍 my favourite: I love all three comps I made that month, but I think it's still gonna be awi's birthday jimin gfx, simply because I love her so much and the middle panel had my back in PAIN lmao, I love animating doodles even if it's a lot of work

June 🌙 most popular: the tannies being bad at sports comp 🤍 my favourite: they connect to 7G comp; unfortunately I had no ideas for a festa post this year, but I still made these two sets to celebrate them a little bit. I just love comps that have me smiling the whole time while making them!

July 🌙 most popular: jctpmwsmlastilmmtu pt. 1 (mimi series) 🤍 my favourite: yeah it's this one too :((( I love jimin so much y'all and that comp series is so self-indulgent and comforting and healing it literally. makes. me. tear. up. just look at him oh my god

August 🌙 most popular: jungkook for calvin klein 🤍 my favourite: yoongi's final concert; broke my heart into a million pieces, but his smiles glued it somewhat back together. I will forever be sad and miserable about this tour so let's not talk about it

September 🌙 most popular: jctpmwsmlastilmmtu pt. 2 (mimi series) 🤍 my favourite: ...yeah that one again :( but I also made so many nice taehyung layover gifs <33

October 🌙 most popular: the tannies sweeping yoongi off his feet comp, but the threemin suchwita comp literally just has one note less lol 🤍 my favourite: that one's tough... it was mimi month and so much good stuff got released + vicnic... ah I'll just go with blond jimin in his fluffy green sweater 💚

November 🌙 most popular: my sweet boiled dumpling pouty yoongi :((( 🤍 my favourite: the sweet boiled dumpling running excitingly; it was missing yoongi and the tannies month (still ongoing)

December 🌙 most popular: jimin backstage in his purple Filter outfit (while y'all saw the gender demon I saw my slayful colouring...and the gender demon) 🤍 my favourite: moon/ the astronaut seokjin gfx for my love kayla; it was nice to make an edit without time pressure for once, and I love the references I put in, also the colours and textures!

I'm tagging @avizou, @agustd3, @magicshop, @dasisugarun, @jung-koook, @jinstronaut and @taetheists, have fun!! 🤍

[stephofromcabin12]

Any art tips for artists just starting out? I’m struggling big time to find my style 😀

Sure.

It got kinda long. Bc when have I ever been a person of few words?

There is no trick to finding your style other than drawing a lot, and setting a, more or less, loose goal. When I was young it was old school Disney and Don Bluth. That was my holy grail, ideal style. But it evolved to be something else, because that's how style works. You'll put your own twist on things, in time. But first focus on practicing and don't narrow yourself down to just one thing. You'll also probably develop multiple styles out of convenience. Sometimes I prefer the cartoony, simpified stuff. Sometimes I'm more into fully rendered pieces.

Experiment. Make bad art a lot. The more you expose yourself to the inherent let-down of sucking at something, the less it stings. The key is asking yourself why something didn't turn out right.

You can't get good at All Art at once. Start with something you're most interested in learning. Maybe it's anatomy, or gestures, or expressions, or colors. Start with that one thing and practice is with a specific goal in mind. Fx: "I want to get better at drawing faces and expressions, so I'm going to do an expression sheet of a character once a week, and do a little practice every day if I can" – That sorta thing. Everyone is different, though. My old music teacher used to say 30 minutes a day. If we couldn't do 30; 15 mins. So on. As long as you do a lil doodling every day that's still progress.

Learning art is sometimes frustratingly non-linear. Somedays I still 'forget' how to draw a certain thing I've had down since I was 14. Other days I bang out something I've always struggled with on the first try, then fail the next day. It's not a linear progression, it's a damn roller coaster. Best you can do is throw your hands up and try to enjoy the ride. The pipe line for me is usually: First attempt (sucks ass but I've learned to laugh at this stage, just throw ideas at the wall) -> getting comfortable (this is where you think to yourself you have a concept down but you really don't) -> Getting good (you start to draw with more ease, you're not having to 'remember' how you wanted something to look, it's just muscle memory by now) -> Actually having it down (and still having more growth to go. But this is where you get to look back on the comfortable phase and go: 'wow I really had a long way to go')

In fact, having fun is by far the thing that's made me progress. More than tutorials, more than fancy equipment. If I'm not having fun, I have no motivation to keep going. If it's not fun, try and make it so.

Get into the habit of stepping back (whether physically or more metaphorically) and really looking at your art often while you draw. When you add a line, or color, or background element etc. Ask yourself "Does this work?" And adjust accordingly. It seems like a lot of work at first, but eventually it becomes a natural part of the process. I don't really realise I'm doing it but most of the patreon screen recordings I have show the way I zoom in and out of the canvas constantly lol.

Make the things you want to make. Even the most self-indulgent stuff. We have a million artists already doing their thing, but we don't have you yet. Show us what you got! There's room for everything.

Get used to people expressing mild envy/annoyance when you're drawing near them. I've gotten the 'wow I wish I could draw, I can't even do a stick figure!' comment from waitresses, cabin crews, classmates I'd previously never spoken to, teachers, strangers on trainstations, etc etc etc. But! Learn to say 'Thank you' when people compliment your art.

Don't ask for critique if you don't really want it. Don't let people critique you if you didn't ask for it.

You! Don't! Need! Fancy! Equipment! Save your money and get the version of a medium that's affordable and comfortable for you. Look at Stardew Valley's creator's old setup. It's really not about how the tools are set up or the price of them. It's how you make use of them. Didn't FNAF's creator build the models in a moving car on a laptop?

Art takes time. There is no short cut to make it take less time. But the more fun you have the more it'll feel like it's faster. If you're miserable the time will drag on and on and on.

Look at a lot of art. Take in and analyse. I wish I could go back a few years and tell myself to analyse paintings I liked, rather than just going "Oh I like that! Nice!" and then moving on. Why is it good? Why does it move you? What captured your attention? Be the person at a museum leaning forwards to see the paintstrokes, you learn more that way.

Don't feel ashamed if you want to take inspiration from others. Everyone takes inspiration from somewhere. If you see something cool another artist is doing with their rendering or lighting or whatever, try and do a drawing or two emulating it! Maybe you'll discover a new favorite technique, or you'll not really jam with it. Either is good. Both teach you something.

You'll go through more eras than Taylor Swift. Sometimes you gotta do a lil Eras Tour of your own and go back through the catalogue. I'm currently working on reviving several projects I made when I was 13-14. Keep everything. Don't delete; archive.

Get good storage. Like, seriously, wish for a harddrive your next birthday or christmas or whatever. If you're working traditionally wish for some good ringbinders and the good plastic sleeves. Much nicer than running out of storage and having to delete things. Never delete!

You are already an artist. You became one the second you picked up a pen and put it to paper, and then decided to keep going with that. So don't compare yourself. When you find yourself jealous of someone, it's because they have something you want. Figure out what it is, and make it for yourself.

Deadass? Tracing helps so much with learning forms. But it's only helpful when you also practice drawing the same things freehand.

The trick to coloring is just that everything looks good shaded with purple set to multiply, and that if you're ever in doubt go in an L shape on color wheel. Down in brightness, inwards in saturation.

People who say you can never use white or black in drawings are jerks and you should not listen to them. You can do literally everything you want. Sure, experiment with other ways of using white and black. But art advice is just that: It's an option, not gospel. As a wise prophet of our time, Justin Bieber, once said: Never say never.

People will say you should be your own biggest critic. But fuck that. Be your own biggest cheerleader. Love what you make, even when you hate it, find something that works. That stepping back I mentioned in point 6? Sometimes that's zooming out and saying "Damn! That looks really good!" – People will often make art out to be something that should be suffering and painstaking. It's not though. In my honest experience, I've made just as much good art when I was happy and content, as I did when I had severe depression and anxiety and burnout. You're not an artist because you suffer. You're an artist because you can't just sit in that suffering all the time. You know there's beauty besides your pain, and so you'll remind yourself in the act of creation that there is always something more.

Once you realise you have the power to draw truly anything, you'll start having a lot more fun. "Oh but I've never done it before" or "Oh I tried and it just didn't work" Okay. So?

In case of frustration to the point of throwing your art supplies out the window: Take a breath. Go for a walk. Sometimes it's just not your day. Sometimes the rollercoaster gets stuck in the middle of a loop or right at the top of a hill. Wait it out. Try again.

You have absolutely got this. Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

[whatvioletdoes-blog]

Creative energy has left the boat after the LU write-a-thon, but I've gotta say it was the most fun I've had with any sort of creative thing in a while!

It's also the first time back to writing fanfic in quite some time, and might lead to very very soon posting our first LU fanfic...

We last posted any fanfic at all three years ago, and the last time we posted a multi-chapter work was in 2017 on Wattpad for the Danganronpa fandom, so that's gonna be an experience XD

The fic's a modern AU chatfic of the chain (+ Spirit and maybe Linkle) getting brought together by Wind into a Discord server so they can all participate in a Links Fight! (Based on the famous Josh Fight)

Mostly an excuse to put the many quotes we have collected over time into a single fic, and we did get a few more from the event that we'll try to include too!

When we post it we'll probably share it here, but it'll be over on our ao3 (WhatVioletDoes), and here's a little snippet!

Trans Legend and system Four my beloved, you bet we're putting as many fun headcanons as we can in there! It's entirely self-indulgent lol

If any of the people from the event find this: Thank you all so much for how much fun you made the event! Chatting with everyone was amazing, and you all did really great! Can't wait to see the wordcount we'll need to beat next time and cry when we actually have to work on it XD

And the biggest hug and thank you to the mods, who did an amazing job and managed to both run this and participate themselves 💜

Now if you'll excuse me, "I have a sigma to grind set" /quote (from the event!)

[rileythelonelyalien]

Dottore x Sick! GN! Reader

A/N: This is a bit of a self-indulgent fic lol I've been really under the weather :(( so I thought I'd write this whilst resting up in bed as I had a bunch of free time on my hands. I hope you enjoy this fic as much as i enjoyed writing it , and if your feeling ill I hope you feel better soon!!! :))

Slowly waking from your slumber letting out a groan as all the symptoms hit you at once, a throbbing head , a sore dry throat , a stuffy nose and an overall feeling of fatigue. How could this happen to you? Apparently having a doctor as your partner wasn't going to protect you from the possibility of illness and disease even if he was the most proficient doctor in all of Teyvat (if you look over his unorthodox methods). You pull the covers over your face as you create a cocoon of warmth and comfort , clinging onto the fabric in a hug trying to bring up an ounce of motivation to get up and out of bed. After several minutes of contemplation, you finally decide to drag yourself out of the sanctuary of comfort and warmth of the bed. Falling out the bed feet first you prop your body up by holding onto the bedside table as you make your way to your wardrobe and put on some clothes that will help you keep warm throughout the day , you knew that the palace could get quite cold. Before leaving the room, you take a glance at yourself in the mirror , only to be met with a rough looking version of you. You brushed this off as you exited , you had some work to do and you couldn't afford to take the day off.

Burying yourself in the paperwork , you sit alone at your desk as you shift through a number of documents all containing information about the Fatui and its affairs. Skimming over the words and signing off on them , you feel your head continue to throb as it begins to droop due to the exhaustion taking over your body. So focused on gathering all your strength to continue working you fail to notice the soft knock on the door of your office , a short while you hear another slightly harder knock. This seems to bring you out of your trance as you pull yourself up and fix your posture before you let out a hoarse ‘come in’ Almost immediately after you indicate that entrance is permissible the door swings open causing you to flinch slightly. Standing in the doorway was your lover. Just by looking at his stance you could tell he was proud of something , most likely a recent experiment had been successful. A smile tugs at your lips as you greet him ‘Hello my love , what brings you to my office?’ Although you attempt to speak as you usually do, it proves to not go as planned as the agitating sharp pain in your throat causes your voice to come out raspy. From what you could see of his face you notice it change as soon as you speak, a frown taking the place of the proud smile that was there previously. Seeing this happen made you feel uneasy. You knew he would not do anything bad but you were worried that he would be disappointed in you for falling ill. Yet before your thoughts begin to spiral out of control Dottore begins to approach your desk. You continue to stare at him eyes wide as he reaches across your desk to put the back of his hand against your forehead. A small ‘tsk’ escapes him before he promptly walks around the desk and proceeds to lift you out of your chair. ‘Woah ! hold on, where are you taking me ? I've still got work to finish’ you protest at his actions yet all you receive a sigh and a curt response ‘Work? How could I let you work when you are clearly not in the right shape to do so’ You could not argue with this and so you gave up and leaned into his secure hold on you. 

Soon enough he had brought you back to the bed you had dragged yourself out of this morning , he gently set you down onto the mattress taking the abundance of blankets and the duvet that you had left in a bundle and proceeded to wrap you up. Tucking you in securely he stood up and took off his mask ‘My Dear, you mustn't push yourself in such a way when you are unwell it won't do you any good’ he sighs as he leans down to set his lips upon your forehead , not only did it provide you comfort it also allowed him to double check your rising temperature. Bringing up his hand to cup your face as he looks you in the eye ‘It seems like you're going to need some medicine , I am going to leave to retrieve some okay my dearest? Do not leave the bed or this room alright? His finger brushes against your cheek a few times before he swiftly picks up his mask and leaves the room. There you were confined to the bed by your lover as you patiently waited for him to come back with treatment in hand.

You didn't have to wait long, once again he entered the room with a small glass bottle and spoon yet on the other hand, he held a mug. The mug and what its contents might be very much piqued your interest but Dottore had the small glass bottle as the priority at the time. Carefully he set the items down on your bedside table, each item making a soft clunk as it came into contact with the surface. Still having not said anything, Dottore brought up the small glass bottle and spoon as he opened it and poured a portion of its contents onto the spoon. It was a translucent liquid that balanced on the spoon Dottore brought the spoon up to your mouth ‘This is some medicine to ingest , it should help bring that fever down and soothe some of your symptoms it needs to be taken every few hours so I will be back every now and then to re administer it’ his voice is soft , in attempt to not provoke the headache that you had. Although reluctant you squeeze your eyes shut as you open your mouth preparing to be fed some horrible tasting medicine , unlike children's medicine adult ones always tasted so disgusting. Yet you are surprised to find it has a pleasant taste , as you swallow the medicine you look at your lover with an inquisitive look as if to ask ‘did you make a nice tasting medicine for me?’ although all you get in return is a small smile and wink from him. He was not about to admit that he created all sorts of medicine just for you in case you were to fall ill to anything and made sure that it would appeal to your tastes that was going to remain his little secret.

Now all that was left was the mug that he had brought with him too , carefully he picked it up from the bedside table and handed it to you ‘ Here you go dear , it's some warm milk and honey this should help with your sore throat, although not scientific it is still efficient’ His sharp teeth peep through his smile as he hands you the mug and urges you to try some. It is delightful! ,the sweetness of the honey and the warmth of the milk really do help you soothe the agitating soreness of your throat. You can't help but let out a small sigh of relief as Dottore watches your reaction with satisfaction, proud of himself being able to relieve you from your symptoms and pave the way of your speedy recovery. He begins to stand up in preparation to leave until you manage to weakly grasp his hand ‘please stay for a little bit , at least until I can fall asleep’ you ask him. Of course, he could never deny you especially in a time of vulnerability. Thus, he sets himself down next to you on the bed wrapping his arms around you gently stroking your hair and rubbing patterns into your skin with his hands. With him by your side you are able to relax and drift off into a sleep.

[lincolndjarin]

BKS ✦ notes & bts : chapters 1-5

spoilers for chapter 1-5 of Best Kept Secret!!

✦

a/n :

I feel like this is just SO self indulgent of me but whatever I guess lmao, bks is my brain baby currently and I will take any excuse to talk about it. These posts are going to be long in-depth dives into my writing process, dress inspo, music i was inspired by, etc. of the mentioned chapters so settle in cause this is what i'm doing today lol. also this might be the longest one bc i'm gonna talk about starting and coming up with everything.

starting writing and original outlines :

i've said this so many times lmao but i wrote the ending first. like the ending ending. i work really long hours at a job that has me listening to music for like ten hours a day while i work so i get a lot of thinking time lmao. basically i originally wrote it as a story with no specific characters in mind. I'm a big Pedro fan so i was between characters i thought fit the fic but settled on din because i think he fit the character i was imagining best. (it helps that he's in my top three pedro characters lol) from there laid out a vague outline in my mind of where i wanted to start so i created a set list of characters and basically just dove right in without much to guide me except for an ending point lmao. it wasnt until closer to like chapter 15-16 when i started properly outline each chapter in advance in the document, before that i just wrote vague notes in a notebook that i didn't end up following all that well lmao

music :

i've also said this at one point but the original name of best kept secret was "my keeper and i" i wrote the first three chapters in the same week and spread out the posting but i used the same playlist for most of the early stuff so here's that!!

original bks playlist

inspirations :

if you've seem/read bridgerton then you might know that i took a lot of inspiration from the pattern the show uses and still do.

basically the show has a pattern of the couple getting together and breaking it off or having an issue that's resolved and then there's a new issue. i've sort of been following that sorta kinda

also reader is heavily based on charlotte because i had just finished queen charlotte when i started writing bks

din is more based on anthony bridgerton than george, (anyone unfamiliar with bridgerton, george is the love interest in queen charlotte)

also a lot of din's style of self loathing is based on edwards from twilight LMAO

notes :

here's a random page of misc. notes that i lowkey can't decipher lol

here are my chapter four notes! shoutout to when i didn't realize it was sarad'ika and it was originally ika sarad lmaooo

there's some unused dialogue here, specifically there was going to be a longer conversation about how he wanted to get her out of the castle more often as well as a scene where she was going to eat fruit ands it was gonna drip down her front and he was gonna wipe it off. it was gonna be a whole thing lmao but it didn't really fit the rest of the chapters vibe.

so.... originally there was a timeline issue where the first lunar interlude (i'm a huge taz balance fan and that's where i got the name lunar interlude from lmaoooo, i have 2 taz tattoos) was going to be chapter 4 and then it was going to be chapter 6 and then it made the most sense to make it 5, so any timeline notes here are wrong.

in my original concept for the fic, every chapter was going to end with a small portion of din pov, but it didn't flow well and i really didn't like it so it ended up being easier having it be specific chapters.

when writing the first lunar interlude i went through and read the previous chapters and wrote down how i thought he was feeling during each scene which is what these notes are ^

dresses :

here's a collection of the dresses i used as inspo for chapters 1-5 (these were posted on my old account but i'm gonna put them here as well!!)

chapter one :

the wedding dress was based on this dress!!

and this is the sort of jewelry i was picturing but this stuff is still pretty, i couldn't find anything as ugly as what i was picturing for her wedding jewelry.

this is the sort of stuff i pictured for her blue dresses she hates but honestly all of these are pretty as well LMAO. in all honesty i think that the blue dresses she doesn't like wearing are probably pretty i think she mostly just hates what they stand for and also they put her in gaudy makeup and jewelry as well which doesn't help

chapter two :

used all sorts of dresses as inspo for this chapter! here are these!

chapter three :

sort of a combination of these for the chapter three dress, if that makes sense lmao

chapter four :

something along these lines for the garden dress!!

that's all for these chapters!! I'll probably do 6-15 for the next one since there won't be as many notes for those and then go back to five each for the rest!! i have to do some practice makeup for the concert i'm going to this week so the next one of these will be up either tonight or tomorrow!!

[the-owl-tree]

Top five things you would fix first in warriors? (Doing a rewrite, need ideas that aren't just "fix ableism" "more culture" and "fix redemptions")

hmm....that's difficult. usually i go arc by arc to ""fix"" things (i hesitate to say fix because most of my changes, i don't see as better, but just more appealing what i would like from the series). i've never really tried to write a full on rewrite (looks guiltily at my fallen stars blog) so idk how good my advice would be from a practical standpoint lol there are just some stuff that i look when i occasionally do my little indulgent fanfic binges. so i guess keeping it broad:

Establish the parameters of your rewrite. How close do you want to stay to canon? Is this leaning more into au than rewrite? While there are some scenes that definitely could be ripped apart and made into something new, what scenes could you stick by but reframe into something different? Something that sticks to the thematic tones of your rewrite?

Themes!! Consistent themes are good. Change is a big one a lot of fics hit. Are you looking to improve clan life or change it? do you want the clans to show they can change and exist or do you want them to be a tragedy of their own making? doomed to cycle in violence or even destroy one another? obviously you don't need to hit your reader on the head with these, but I think factoring them into plotlines can help the brainstorming process.

cutting, combining, or figuring out uses for characters. The wc cast is HUGE and a lot of the side characters get the short end of the stick in terms of consistent characterization and spotlight. Very simple changes like combing Longtail and Dustpelt could prevent a bloated cast, but also utilizing both in unique ways can make your rewrite world far more vibrant and alive. While sometimes original characters can get the job done, trying see what characters you could work with first before adding in another character to such a massive cast.

This goes for worldbuilding to! Worldbuilding is....generally gonna vary from person to person. I prefer worldbuilding that uses the canon material instead of making up new gods or legends, but it's up to you! Just be warned, rewrites and fanfics have the advantage of already having an audience invested by the fact they know the characters and lore of the world. Original stuff doesn't when you add it in, and it can be a huge hit or miss. While staying close to canon when making stuff up can work, you'll face a bit more trouble investing your reader when you add completely new stuff. Not saying it's impossible, it's just something you need to remember when adding it in and make sure that it functions in a way it can help further absorb the reader into the world and not make them feel more distanced from it. like original characters, remember that original stuff doesn't have the same level as familiarity to it as existing canon characters; you're asking a reader to invest themselves from scratch.

Make it gay as fuck make it so you like what you're writing. i really enjoy seeing passion and enjoyment in people's works, and you should make decisions that make you invested in your rewrite and happy with it. it's gonna vary from person to person but if a heavy religious setting is something you enjoy, write it, if you want that crack ship to be canon, write it. a bit of self-indulgent writing never killed anyone, especially when this is fan rewrites. rewrites should be fun above all!

and those are my top five. idk how useful they are to you but i hope i gave you some answers to think about :D

[staraxiaa]

I just read Sunflower and i kid you not, i directly send a 3 minutes long voice mess to my boyfriend. This was genius. Incredible. I love you. Please teach me. Please be happy. You deserve the world. My head is going to ne filled with this.

responding to all your comments that you've left here below - thank you, you are so kind. this is really long. sorry for the yapping.

firstly, oh my god. the one you left on sunflower LMAOO i laughed out loud bc i never imagined someone would like my work so much, that they'd contemplate printing it! i'm glad you enjoyed the way i wrote the reader - i wasn't sure how to characterize her at first, but she grew on me so much. i'm honored. hopefully one day i will be able to write longer-length fics with the same depth that i did for this one!

also thank you and sorry in advance i need to rant about my fics/concepts - im going to dump them all here, since you asked about them! i don't have anything other than what's on my profile right now, but i hope these suffice. if you have any more questions about anything feel free to ask anytime :). barring outright spoilers, i'm happy to answer anything! some of my in-progress works are on my masterlist ( only titles / pairings, nothing else ). they will be posted to tumblr eventually, and i think they will be long enough to also be posted to ao3! however, i've only started working on these fics recently (read: after july 1st, when i made this blog) so they probably won't be posted for a while, unless i sink into a sunflower-level brainrot again. but! soon! these will likely be in x reader format. here's a tentative list, i won't go too much into detail ( i really want to. i want to do it so bad. but i won't bc spoilers!! )

porcelain, shouto todoroki x actress! reader. - but this will deal with very dark themes (eating disorder, suicidal ideation, sexual violence, child abuse, and anything similar associated with the acting/idol industry) that a lot of people will likely find uncomfortable. will also take me a significant amount of time to write due to the research i need to do to give these themes (hopefully) justice.

pirate! katsuki bakugo x siren! reader. - i came up with the concept this morning. it needs to marinate for a bit. but the vision is there!! pure self indulgence fic!! i thought of it and i was like WAIT i am a GENIUS and ive also been listening to the song that inspired it on loop so. mild darker themes but nothing like porcelain lol

sukuna x kitsune! reader - honestly i just really like kitsune mythology and whenever i think of this i want to stick my fist in my mouth and scream because im like the POTENTIAL. i also really like aus about fantasy historical times (im a diehard historical xianxia cdrama enjoyer. they are terrible. i eat every single one of them up.) will also deal with dark themes, considering the status of the world/women during those times.

i do have a tentative x oc in the works - vampire hunter! character x vampire. not sure abt the pairing, but it's bnha. i can tell you that this will be an au, like i take liberties with the entire universe and rewrite it style, with an entirely new plot set after the entire anime. (afo wins. i think.) this will hopefully be a chaptered work, which also means it will take me a significant amount of time to write. i like to have a clear vision + most chapters prewritten for anything longer than a one shot before i post bc all of my past projects have been abandoned lol. theyre getting reworked into some of these fics tho!

finally, onto this ask: i actually showed your message to my parents after squealing over it lol thank you. i'm honored you liked my fic so much that you shared it with your loved ones. i am also glad that your head will be filled with this - that's exactly how i felt writing it! nothing else. just ideas bouncing around the rest of my horrifically empty head.

you also mentioned being taught by me how to write twice - i don't think i'm qualified for a teacher. i'm not even an english major :^). i just enjoyed english classes in hs, and write in my spare time. (im actually studying computer engineering and my friends think its really funny bc like lol an engineer?? a coder?? who writes?? i am simply Special)

however, i think i can say this! write for yourself, write whatever you want to write. my first works were published on wattpad back when i was 13. that account has since been deleted, and i cringe really hard when i think back to that time, but i think that without it, without the love that those few interactions gave me, and towards my confidence to post, my writing would not be at all what it is today. it doesn't matter if what you write is bad, or not at all on par with what you'd like - writing, to me, is a journey that you build up every step of the way. you will improve in anything if you pour enough love into it, i think.

( ok unrelated interlude sorry i feel like a wizened sage i should really take my own advice and focus up on school LOL. sorry if this is also like,, condescending at all?? in any way?? i promise i don't mean it in that way )

with regards on how specifically to improve at writing: idk, i'm not that much of an established writer myself. i'm definitely not as good compared to some authors whose works i've read, though i'd like to get someday! firstly, i think reading anything you can is important. the books i usually read are of the fantasy/action/romance types, and i am a serial reader of fanfiction myself. read as much as you can, whatever you'd like. note the authors that say something that sticks with you, cut up the emotions of their characters into a million pieces, hold them within your heart. i am the writer i am today, only because of the thousands of authors who came before me, because i carry snippets of them that i admired, i thought were particularly amazing, and tried to make it into my own. i think i said this in a response to someone else: it's amazing to see how different authors interpret a character and make it into their own, taking little snippets from a fandom, tweaking it just a bit to add their own.

read for your own enjoyment, write for your own enjoyment, practice with a drabble a day or anytime, anything that you want. love the process and every step of it. be like me, and think of a comment at 11pm while watching your cdramas because one reader told asked you if you really liked to make them suffer. think of a concept because you tell them that you'd like to write fluff one day, and fixate on this so strongly that you think of nothing else for a full 48 hours, even when you are sleeping, so much that you wake up, have an idea click together, hop over to your laptop at 8am in the morning on 5 hours of sleep after you sleep at 3 (because you're grinding) and start the grind anew. or, ruminate on your ideas! let them sit, let them simmer, plan it out as slowly as you'd like. it can take you months, years - lord knows. i have a concept i've been sitting on for the better part of minimum five years? i say this, because once an idea clicks for me, the flow of it feels natural. i grin whenever i think of something really stupid to put in, a sentence that feels just perfect, a reference that 90% of my readers will probably miss.

when i decided to start this blog, it was because i was like: it'd be really cool if i went viral! and also because i wanted to share my work, to motivate myself into writing. i write because i am delighted when anyone chooses to interact with my posts, to like my writing. but i also write - and i think this is really important - solely for myself. yes, it's astounding to see the numbers go up, and i've honestly obsessed over the notifications for like hours now im ngl. but i write works for me, in a way that i know i will love; that will have me rereading over and over going oh my god i love ME. i write for those moments i will read back upon and grin quietly to myself at my own self-supposed literary genius.

tl;dr, write for yourself, and write something you know you will love.

if you have specific questions, i would be happy to answer them. to the best of my ability. i write entirely based off of vibes. i am also not sure if you asked that as like an unserious thing but i still tried my best either way.

sorry if this took too long / if any of it is unreadable / stated a bit? weirdly? tried my best :^)). also apologies for the yapping, it is also a disease, and like with my brainrot, i fear it is terminal

[experi-sketches]

I get so excited for whumpy slavefics in modern settings. Is there anything specific that inspired you to want to try writing in a setting like this? What's been particularly challenging about it?

Hi, thank you for the question! For Beyond the Endless Day I had three goals in mind: one, to write something that was completely self-indulgent. I enjoy slavefic as a genre so that one was easy lol. Two, to be kind to myself while writing it. (No self-imposed goals for time or quality that would stress me out if I failed to meet them.) And three, to write something in a completely different setting than An Iron Blood Tale! I've been working on AIBT since 2021 and I love writing a fantasy world, but I really needed to give myself a breather after 3 years. Before AIBT most of the stuff I wrote was modern or sci-fi, so I wanted to go back to my roots. AIBT is still my primary project, but BTED is my happy little side project that lets me stretch my writing legs!

I think the most challenging part has been finding the right tone for this modern city they're living in. When I first visualized the world, I imagined something more futuristic/sci-fi, but once I started writing that felt a bit off. I re-adjusted the setting to be more modern day (tablets, phones, etc, but no floating cars, forcefields, or lasers) with touches of futuristic elements, and it felt better. Their society would need to have *some* robust technology to make their world habitable for large cities, but I didn't want tech to solve all their problems.

BTED is set on a tidally locked planet, so there's no night/day cycle. Cultures that live closer to the sun-facing side of the planet need to protect themselves from constant solar heat/light, while cultures closer to the dark side need to find ways to keep themselves warm and lit. When the setting was super futuristic the story felt too small. Tech solved most of their environmental conflicts (why even set the story on a weird planet, at that point?) and the characters only had their interpersonal drama to deal with. Once I turned the clock back a bit and put them in a world where the environment was still hostile, it gave the story some external conflict and made the world feel a bit more grounded/larger. I'm still kind of figuring out the tone, honestly, but I'm enjoying the work!

Thanks for the question! I really enjoyed getting to ramble about some setting/world building 😁

[teddyqd]

20 Questions for Writers

eeee thanks for the tag @fuckyeahfang!! <3 i'm gonna tag @maraschinomerry if u wanna (no pressure tho!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 31! Dang I've been writing fic for a second and a half huh (Note: one of these fics is not mine lol -- I posted it for a friend without AO3)

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 77,138 -- waough

3. What fandoms do you write for? Whatever's rotting my brain most at the moment -- I had a long streak of Critical Role, which went into TMA, and I have a feeling Dunmeshi might get a few fics by the time it's done with me; also original stuff but I don't post that

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My Lightbringer - 4,891 Hits, Critical Role

[incoming communication] - 3,018 Hits, Lifeline

little blue pills - 2,919 Hits, The Magnus Archives

The Hands-On Approach To Teaching Dunamantic Spells: A Guide by Essek Thelyss (Results may vary) - 2,271 Hits, Critical Role

Shitty Hair - 1,190 Hits, My Hero Academia

5. Do you respond to comments? I try, I really do, but sometimes I'll see one and be like "I'll reply to that later!" and then I don't and then it's been 2 years and I feel bad for replying so late that I just don't 😭 But I do read and appreciate them all I prommy

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? this would require me to finish fics EVER lmao... but seriously probably (Don't) Look Away. Do NOT read this if you haven't played Outer Wilds, but DO go and play Outer Wilds, and THEN read this.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably [incoming communication]? It's definitely the ending I'm most proud of -- it's very self indulgent, but I'm fond of it :"

8. Do you get hate on fics? nah people tend to be chill

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Sometimes, but not often, and I post it even less often. I prefer reading it to writing it, but I do like tossing around ideas I'll never write about the characters' weird and intriguing kinks lmao

10. Do you write crossovers? I don't tend to, unless they're incredibly funny to me. Reading-wise, crossovers just annoy me because there's 2x the chances for mischaracterisation/misunderstanding of the setting(s), but sometimes a really good one can scratch my brain.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? not to my knowledge!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Not into another language, but I have had a podfic made of Cabin Fever -- which was great since it was a scriptfic anyway! It's really well made, go give it a listen!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Quite a few! Not in a while, but it's fun to work with someone whose brain ticks in synch with mine about a character or ship. I actually started dating my current partner in part because we were talking about a fic we wanted to write together! We'll get to it one day, and get sooo much hate about it it's quite fucked up LMAO

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? MAN. YOU CAN'T ASK ME THIS. it's like picking children. uhhh Shadowgast (Critical Role) is up there for All Timers but they are def not the only one. Probably the one I've thought most about, but now I'm thinking about Blupjeans (TAZ)... JMart.... augh. i love when people love each other despite the very terrible consequences

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? little blue pills! It's a fun concept -- I love fucking with the very rubbish trope of soulmate AUs and making them Weird and Queer, but I am not great at finishing projects and I have also cooled slightly on TMA since I started it.

16. What are your writing strengths? big emotions! being purple prose but like good about it! Weird People.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? finishing things, plotting, writing convincing dialogue -- yknow, just little things (🥲)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? It can be done well, but it needs to be considered deeply. Also, used sparingly. I like throwing in terms of endearment in other languages, but when it's whole conversations, it's not fun to be checking google translate/the AN every five seconds.

19. First fandom you wrote for? the first one that's still up? Layton Brothers! the first ever? harry potter 😔

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? i hate favourite questions i hate favourite questions uHHHHHH You Were My Conscience. fucked up monster lovers trying to moralise their way out of being responsible for a man's mental breakdown <3

thanks again for the tag sunny i love u mwah

[softpine]

thank you guys for indulging me, you literally changed my whole mood 💖

@morrigan-sims mac absolutely counts :P i forget how long it's been since you guys have seen him, because he's always running around in the background being a nuisance while i'm trying to set up scenes fjskjds but anyway, thank you sooo much for sharing!! the supernatural elements are definitely my favorite too, i try to keep them balanced because i know they're not for everyone, but i find them so interesting to explore.

steviiiie my girl stevie. i don't pick favorites but she does have a special place in my heart (unfortunately for her, that means i pass a lot of my own issues onto her lmao but what else is writing for?) to answer your question: the dream she had as a kid was just a regular "wishful thinking" type dream, nothing prophetic! but if stevie got the chance, she absolutely would go comfort her younger self. she needed the hug :(

ahh i remember that anon about coco, that's so cool that you guessed that!!

thank you so much for this message, for always giving the best feedback, for being soooo awesome, all that great stuff :') 💖💗

@titoro woahhh i know exactly what post you're talking about and that's so long ago, thank you for being here 🥺💖💖💖 i'm so thankful that you would go out of your way to keep reading, and i hope YOU know how appreciated you are 💗

omg same, i have to rein myself in otherwise i would give you 293293029 alternate universe finns 😭 and that's awesome, my favorite thing is giving characters enough depth where you can be angry at them and also understand them and wish things were different! thank you so much for reading 💖💖

@rebouks WHAT i had no idea you read frozen pines before you joined, that's so cool 🥺 you inspire me constantly so you have no idea how much it means that i inspired you a little bit too. and i'm so happy that's the message you took away; i used to get embarrassed over how much i cared about my silly little NOT LITTLE sim story, but there's no reason for anyone to be embarrassed over anything they care about and have put so much love into creating. i have a lot of pride in what i've created and i hope you do too 💖 thank you so much for sharing, this made me so happy to hear 💗

godddd this is so sweet, thank you so so much for taking the time to share this with me (it's not too much, it's juuust right haha) 💖 these are some of my favorite scenes i've ever worked on, so i'm really glad you like them!! it's rare that i ever look at one of my own posts and wouldn't change anything, but that's how i feel about jada & alisa's confrontation, like it literally jumped out of my brain and onto the screen exactly how i pictured it. it makes me crazyyy 🥴 i just recently re-read the stevie + truck driver story and the funny thing is, i have no memory of whatever "daddy issues tiktok trend" i was angry about, but i'm glad i wrote it. you're not alone in it being a little too relatable lol. NYC griffin!!! i miss him :( he was probably the happiest version of finn we've seen yet. at the very least, he was the version with the most freedom. "i will love you in every life" literallyyy 😭 and he WAS the catalyst for asa and finn's real kiss omg. asa would've taken way longer to confess his feelings were it not for NYC griffin. pour one out for him!! sjksjd thank you soooo much for this lovely message 💖💖

ahhh that's a huge compliment, thank you 🥺💖

@bitchyybabyy400 omg if i was an outsider and casper/talon's kiss was the first thing i saw, i'd back out soooo fast (i'm really sensitive to second-hand embarrassment fjksjds) so i applaud you for sticking around :') and an IDEA BOOK that's so cool !!!! i'm legit honored, thank you so so much 💗💗 huge congrats on testing out of that class!!

@moonfromearth ooh this is super interesting, i'm always curious to know which posts "hooked" new readers!! it's amazing to hear that each characters' personality comes through even though you don't know who they are. and you even read the short story!! that's so cool, thank you!! 💖

awww yes selvadorada!! i need to speed things up so we can get back there faster lmao. this is so sweet, thank you 💗

@kanakomimura ohh man yeah, the labor scene made me emotional too ;-; and of course the breakup scene, i'm still pleased i was able to shock people with something we all knew was coming. thank you so much for sharing, this means a lot 💖

I MISS HIM SO MUCHHH. soon.....

@hedgehogs-and-songbirds thank you!! i ended up building a compost bin which took me all afternoon, but was pretty fun sjfksjd and i miss that era sooo much, it's why i'm always doing flashbacks and remaking their teen sims because i miss them 🥺 but it's been fun to try new things too! i'm so happy you're still around 💖💖

[mellythedork]

How in the ever-loving gourd has it been ten years? Time is an illusion that I stopped seeing ages ago.

10 years ago, at the tail end of 2013, I had a huge, friendship-ending fight that shattered me. In an attempt to keep myself together, I hid behind a character and wrote the most self-indulgent crossover fic I'd ever concocted. After 5 years, 2 rewrites, too many OCs to count, magic mechanics I didn't think through, and conversations with my former best friend about what had happened, I finally let that fic rest. I knew that if I tried to continue it, I'd never move on, as the very basis of it was focused on that fight.

But it was still such a colossal part of my life. 5 years to spend on a project is no laughing matter, and it felt like it was the only trustworthy constant as I struggled to make my way through everything going on around me. It invaded RPs with friends and basically everything I did...and that wasn't always a good thing. It was a coping mechanism that went too far, but I still cherished it so much.

Things never got anywhere near back to how they had been before that fight. But I learned a lot about myself and how to better handle problems I hadn't realized I was creating. I feel like being forced to think about it while writing the original Mooniverse helped me come to terms with it and move on--which was, of course, the intention all along! But it came to a point where I knew it had to end.

There was never any rhyme or reason to that fic, in any version of it. I wrote it purely to have fun and go wild. It's so odd looking back at the chapters now; I keep laughing at how things went without direction. But it was pure and adorable and I'll always look back at it fondly...beyond the cringing at how much I shoved it in my friends' faces.

For…I was going to say over a year, but I feel like 2 would be more accurate. For about 2 years now, I've struggled to create anything. Both art and writing have felt impossible. I burned out on most of my personal projects without realizing it until last month, but that realization took a weight off of me. And without that weight, as I realized the anniversary that was coming up, I was able to create something on nothing but a whim and enjoy it again.

My art block certainly isn't gone, and nothing about this is what I'd consider perfect. It's not even finished. But I set the sketch as my goal, trying to keep the pressure low, in hopes that I'd be able to post it at all. I do want to touch it up and finish it one day, but I'm not going to worry about that now.

I have been a bit inspired, though! I want to do more things like this. Like the original Mooniverse Melodia and the final one standing side by side here, I want to pull together more OCs with such connections and growth and see how far they've come. I don't know how much of that I'll accomplish, but it's been fun to think about for sure.

I hope everyone's holidays have gone well and that your plans for the new year are fulfilling. I think this year is going to go a lot better for me than the last.

--

From left to right we have: The original Annie along with the final Annie (Of course they'd be friends!)

The final Melodia (with slight modifications to her outfit in order to make a bit more sense; ditto to her bangs. Seriously, what was I thinking when I made that mess?? lol)

The middle-ground Moon (as I no longer have the design for the original, but wanted to include her)

The final Hope (in one of her alternate outfits)

The original Melodia (I didn't think I had any references left of her, but after about 2 hours of searching, I gave up only to stumble upon one by chance the next day. Sure was a surprise!)

And finally the middle-ground Myasu (just think of her & Moon as representing the first rewrite!)

-- I knew most of my art problems were from my difficulty and dislike of drawing bodies, so to make this possible at all, I used a base.

I also very much referenced the original image, the hair of Love Live and Idolmaster characters, and self-made bases from Shugo Chara, both due to time constraints and to keep my sanity. I'm very out of practice and didn't want to get so frustrated I abandoned the drawing altogether.

[amiharana]

BTS BOTW AU OMG WHAT??? pls share with the class immediately

LMFAODJFNKD it's honestly not even that interesting

back in 2019, i was writing for taegi week and the last day was a free day, and at the time i was still in my baby revalinker phase so i decided i wanted to write the most self-indulgent bts x botw au in which bts members took the places of botw characters. i actually had a tumblr post drafted to talk about this, but i guess we'll talk about it here now! in the case you are familiar with bts while also being a botw player, this could be of some interest to you.

i never actually got very far in writing it out (because i was 15 and school was beating my ass), but after reviewing the two unfinished drafts and the conceptual outlining style i do on every post, i remembered that i planned to rewrite the mount lanayru-calamity awakening memory with bts members as well as putting the revalink dynamic in there

please don't laugh i was 15 when i wrote this LMFAODJFKFJKD i don't plan on showing you what the unfinished drafts look like because like i said, i never got very far in writing them so there's nothing of interest to really note in either of those

as you can from the pic, i wrote V/taehyung as revali and SUGA/yoongi as link. looking back on it now, i probably would not have chosen yoongi as link and i should have written taehyung as link and yoongi as revali because that makes more sense regarding their personalities, but i guess 15-year-old me was really set on that dynamic. other characters included:

RM/kim namjoon as princess zelda

park jimin as mipha

jeon jungkook as baby sidon LOL

j-hope/jung hoseok as daruk

jin/kim seokjin as urbosa

and *drumroll*

bang pd as king rhoam bosphoramus hyrule ✋😩

i'm going to assume most of my mutuals and followers are probably not familiar with bts, so i'll try to give you a quick rundown!

V (or kim taehyung) is one of the group's vocalists and is one of my biases, or favorite member :> he's been my bias since 2018 when i became a bts fan! (the other one is jungkook he's the one in my pfp KJDHFHJKD) he has this show recently called 'jinny's kitchen' but i haven't watched it yet because i've been busy with school 😭 but from the clips i've seen that shit is funnyyy. SUGA (or min yoongi) is one of the rappers and he's coming out with a new album called 'D-DAY' soon + just released a song called 'people pt 2' ft. iu! the first part of 'people' on his last album was a fawking banger.

revalink had to be taehyung and yoongi because this au was originally intended to be uploaded for taehyung and yoongi (taegi)'s ship week. i definitely didn't place them as revali and link correctly, but i think know why i made it that way? there used to be this huge stereotype against yoongi that he was really mean and cold-hearted, and i was and always have been against that stereotype because bro really isn't like that. he's a soft sweet and sensitive tangerine boy fr! and making yoongi as revali wouldn't help that cause so i did what had to be done. i do think that taehyung still a relatively good fit for revali though; they be dramatic gays fr

RM (or kim namjoon) is the leader of bts, one of the rappers, and is a really smart guy. bro has an IQ of 148 and was also once one of the top 1% of students in south korea. so naturally, i made him zelda, the figurehead of the champions and the representation of the triforce of wisdom. but i was thinking about this connection more the other day when i first was writing out the post to talk about this, and i think namjoon and botw zelda actually have quite a few parallels. if anyone is interested in hearing more, please send an ask or a dm or something because i don't wanna make this post longer 😭

jimin is one of the group's vocalists and is also an incredible dancer. he had a solo debut recently with the album 'face' and title track 'like crazy' which you guys should all check out! :) but the reason why i put jimin as mipha is because he studied contemporary dance in high school and his personal style of dance tends to be very fluid and graceful, and like. do y'all see the connection lmao. mipha, being a zora in a watery domain? thus also being very fluid and graceful in her movements? TEEHEE

jungkook is the youngest member of the group another one of the vocalists and dancers, is my boyfriend and is Thee Golden Boy of K-pop and also the world. sidon being a baby pre-calamity and also everyone in general both in-game and online being obsessed with how boyfriend sidon is, as well as how polite and goofy jungkook is... i think the connection between jungkook and sidon is very clearly there LOL i also just didn't know how to include him in the story because i felt that jungkook just didn't fit into the personality of the other champions. if i had the chance to rewrite this au, i would have had jungkook as link because jungkook is so Main Character Vibes, and then taekook (taehyung and jungkook) would literally be revalink

back then, i remember having a difficult time trying to place who would be daruk and urbosa, but i think i made the right call with hoseok and jin. j-hope (or jung hoseok) is one of bts's rappers and is known as the sunshine of the group because he's just so energetic and positive, and i think that definitely matches with daruk's jovial and encouraging disposition. jin (kim seokjin) is one of the vocalists and is the eldest in the group, and as the kind of like "older brother" figure, he takes care of everyone in the group in a way that's different from how namjoon is as the leader y'know? i think urbosa fills that role for the champions because i personally think she might be the oldest of the group (daruk gives man in his 50s lowkey so i'm like hmmm) and takes care of them in a way that isn't the same as leading.

as for king rhoam bosphoramus hyrule... bang pd (or producer bang sihyuk) is the founder of the company bts is under and is the chairman of the label that bts eventually created. he is, in that sense, the "guy who made bts." he kind of has this fatherly relationship to the rest of bts, but that's where the similarities between him and king rhoam end LOL because rhoam is kind of an asshole who puts too much pressure on zelda and assembles the champions as his own tools to save the country, while bang pd is just this super chill guy who unlike other kpop ceos tends to stay out of the limelight and really just has a passion for making good music. but i thought it would be funny to emphasize a fatherly relationship between namjoon and bang pd KDJHFDKF

there's so many implied dynamics that could go here between the bts members as champions. like for one, taehyung and jimin are regarded as soulmate-besties in the bts fandom, so the implication that revali (taehyung) and mipha (jimin) are soulmate-besties is Feeding tf out of my brainworms like hell yeah. daruk and urbosa shenanigans are gonna line up perfectly with hoseok and jin's dynamic. NAMJOON (zelda) HAVING FEELINGS FOR YOONGI (link)? also lines up, these hoes have been living together for 10+ years and namjoon was practically proposing to yoongi in that one 'respect' performance.

idk.... maybe i'll come back to this, workshop it, and actually write it one day haha!

[sawcondeezicons]

hiii so!!! i've been super inactive here, so here's a little long post explaining my absence:

A) i haven't been using my laptop a lot recently. due to just Life In General it's a lot easier for me to just use my phone for most things, n then use my laptop for coursework and video games. i don't have the same editing software on my phone so, whilst i still make icons there, they look quite different to my usual ones, and i worry abt the difference in visuals throwing any of you off or disappointing you.

B) as i may have mentioned in my carrd or an earlier post (idr lol), i have hypermobile ehlers-danlos syndrome. i was diagnosed when i was 4 and have known abt my disability my whole life. that being said, sometimes i still can't anticipate how or when things will effect me - the way i made icons on my laptop started causing my fingers to subluxate a lot more often than they used to, and so it took me a lot longer to get through requests and, by the time an icon set was finished, i was too tired to post it. if i do continue taking requests on this blog, i'll probably have to change the way i make my icons - and, again, i worry about disappointing people by doing so, but it just isn't sustainable.

C) i do have a bunch of requests (from months ago now - sorry for the wait) in my drafts that are waiting for image descriptions etc. my only real excuse for not posting these yet is that i find it difficult to focus on things sometimes, and therefore just sort of... leave them for later. and then either forget, or end up getting really busy and just not having the time or spoons.

all this to say - it's been a really long time since i last posted anything properly on this blog, and it may still be a while until i get around to answering your requests. some combination of perfectionism and internalised ableism made me nervous to admit that i may have to change the way i make them for this to work out - it felt ridiculous to admit something so simple was difficult for me, but it is, and that's not ridiculous at all.

i still make my own non-request icons for fun all the time (i don't have the same worries about disappointing people, and so i make more simple icons for my own use) and may start posting a few to ease back into it - my birthday is in 2 days, and i found an EDS pride flag that i really like, so i'm tempted to post some self-indulgent projection icons

anyway! sorry for the long explanation. if you don't wanna stick around, i totally get it, but if you do, then thank you for your patience :] happy belated holidays!