#tka ask

[plutonious]

hardenshipping day; or as I like to call it, my birthday. every hardenshipping post today is a gift to me specifically I take no critism

[audriel]

hi audriel! Didnt know you had tumblr and had to double-check. I really love your fangrui fics on ao3! I noticed some were taken down? And thank you so much for always posting fangrui pics on discord!! Really appreciate it. Really like how approachable and friendly you are on discord, feels like talking to a friend who you can gush about fandom stuffs with, hope you have a good day ahead!

questions, when did you first started to like qzgs, and what made you do it? What are your top 3 fav chars? Did it ever change? What do you like about them?

hi anon! actually, i made my ao3 and tumblr account almost at the same time, so you're safe! i joined discord pretty recently, that's why i unfortunately lost my chance to use the name audriel there >_<

another fang rui lover! thank you! i'm glad you like them! <333

i'm just so happy that i found people who loves qzgs to gush over together. and to spread all the fang rui love. so thank you for being so kind and welcoming! it took quite a lot of courage for me to finally ask to join the server, and participate actively. it's thanks to everyone in the discord.

are you asking the moon in autumn? it's still there, but only accessible for ao3 users since it's a long fic, and i do have concerns for data scraping for fanfictions. if let's start thinkin' bout it gets long enough, i might end up doing the same. i might only unlock them for few days when there's a new update.

now onto your questions!

i'm pretty sure it's due to the pandemic. since i started to read a lot of korean webtoons/manhwa that's almost always adapted from webnovels, i ended up reading a lot of them during that time (there was not much to do but stay at home after all). however, they were very rarely completed. oh the horror. so i looked for recommendations and there was quan zhi gao shou/the king's avatar on the list. it's highly rated and reviewed, and it's completed! even though it's chinese webnovel and not the genre i usually read (online games, more so professional gaming), so i gave it a try, and boy i'm so very glad i do. i'm hooked.

it has everything i love to read in a story: a smart, powerful protagonist; rich, complex characters and world; and a wonderful storytelling.

the only downside? i'm late to the the fandom. QAQ

i think we all love ye xiu, it's no brainer right? he's perfect but also imperfect at the same time. his strength in character and in his belief is so admirable that i sorely wish i had a fraction of it. but at the same time as a protag, we didn't see much from his perspective. so he's not the character i resonate with the most. definitely top three, but not the top. qiao yifan was my best boi then. i can relate with his struggle the most. and i love seeing him learning and growing under ye xiu's wings. from the transparent tiny herb player to the most stable, reliable happy rookie. i'm so looking forward to the person he'll be in the future.

then there's fang rui. he's overshadowed by huang shaotian at first. huang shaotian is so lively, so distinctive, so difficult to look away from. so at the beginning my top three was qiao yifan, ye xiu and huang shaotian.

only on my reread that fang rui finally caught my eye. at first, he and huang shaotian look so similar and differ greatly with other oh so serious captains and god-level players in that they are bright and lively, and they are open with their emotions. but i end up thinking twice at the latter. huang shaotian is an open book, fang rui is not.

wait, wait are we reading the same novel?

fang rui feels like an open book, because we have seen his own perspective, we've seen his thoughts and emotions. but whenever we've got outsiders' perspective on him, fang rui is always playful even he performs badly. if anything, he acts out, hams it up, just like when he miscommunicated with mo fan or when he lost so badly that he sat in the corner to reflect. when he's troubled, most often he closes up, just like when lin jingyan approached him when tyranny dropped by or when he was so tired after taking on zhou zekai and lu boyuan in his bad condition.

meanwhile, huang shaotian can put up a public persona like the celebrity he is, but overall he doesn't really bother to hide how he feels, just like when he didn't want to talk after he lost in the finals and when he questioned yu feng after he went to hundred blossoms (even he got the first turn in beating up liu hao lol). in summary, huang shaotian is the real open book. we can count on him for being honest, and also being loyal. while at the same time, he's such an stealthy assassin and deadly opportunist on stage. it makes him such an appealing character and a favorite among the fandom.

but for me, the complexity and contrast of fang rui really caught my eye. that there's more to him that it meets the eye. which is admittedly my favorite type of character. it shows that he has an exceptional emotional intelligence, he understands emotions, his own and others, and he doesn't shy away from it, more so, he owns it. i have admiration for calm and composed characters, but i admire more those who obviously struggling with his emotions but still retain their calm and composure. and that fits fang rui to the t.

because damn, when we put it into context, fang rui has the hardest time in season 10. ye xiu (and qiao yifan) did have a hard time with their previous team, ye xiu can be also said as the reason for excellent era, his beloved team's demise. but the fans and later qiu fei gave him hope for the team to be reborn, then su mucheng joined him in happy, all he needs is to focus on the championship that he's back in the alliance. fang rui?

he has to leave his beloved team and account, then he transforms to a completely different class with a wholly new account, at the huge risk to himself, then he has to fight his former partner/mentor repeatedly until being the one to end lin jingyan's career. the latter feels dramatic, but considering how fang rui's performance is visibly affected by lin jingyan's decline, i'm not surprised if that's how it feels from his perspective. and yet... he gives himself the hardest time when he performs badly in the finals, for not giving his best for happy. he just wanted to return the trust given to him. even though he was exhausted, he still did his best to assure the team. i just... the moment i put things into perspective, i think fall in love right then and there, and there's no coming back from it.

so my current top three: fang rui, qiao yifan, and ye xiu.

i think there's a pattern right there. all three are happy. all three have transformed. all three have left their teams, not by choice. all have suffered rejections and come up victorious.

thank you for the wonderful ask! i don't mind if you have more questions! i enjoy it very much! i can do the same for you if you wish. just let me know!

[blueberry-ash]

The King's Avatar donghua, s03e10

[narina-vhey]

for the otp ask meme: hwq/xby/yx for 30, 27, 25, 23, 20, 19, 18, 14... honestly, i would probably listen to you ramble for all the questions. so, really, just take this as a free pass to ramble about hanyelan <3

Hehe, I will take any excuse to ramble on about hanyelan, so I think I will just do them all. So. Relationship questions for Han Wenqing/Ye Xiu/Xu Boyuan from The King’s Avatar.

1) Who rocks the Ferris Wheel seat and who flips out and begs them to stop?

YX rocks the seatm XBY yells at him to stop and HWQ actually stops him. Which gets him kisses from XBY

2) Who is always horny and will have sex at any time, at any place and at any time?

Xu Boyuan is the horniest, but he’s also easily embarrassed, so it wouldn’t be any place or time. I think Ye Xiu is the one who cares the least about privacy

3) Who is more into taking showers/baths together? Who tries to make it relaxing and who tries to make it sexy time?

I think they’re all pretty efficient at showering (but occasionally get distracted by each other) and will indulge in long baths together when they have the time.

4) Who likes to walk around the house naked and who tells the other to go put some clothes on?

Han Wenqing walks around naked, but the other two don’t tell him to get dressed. They enjoy the view too much. Also it doesn’t happen often because they don’t want to have parts sticking to their chairs when gaming, so they are dressed most of the time

5) Who sleeps on the couch when they get into a fight?

Ye Xiu, but it won’t really be an actual fight, I think. Or if it is they always manage to communicate properly and make up. But Ye Xiu is a menace and will escape his boyfriends ganging up on in revenge him by taking the couch

6) Who takes photos of the other while they sleep?

Both Han Wenqing and Ye Xiu take pictures of Xu Boyuan, except all you see is a blanket burrito. Xu Boyuan has at least one picture of the other two asleep on the couch, tangled up uncomfortably because they fell asleep gaming

7) Who said “I love you” first? and who ends their arguments in a fight with “Because I love you”?

Han Wenqing said it first and again, I don’t think there’s real fights? Idk, they probably argue more for the fun of it, not because they have a huge disagreement or anything

8) Who likes to wear the others sweatshirts?

Xu Boyuan and Ye Xiu

9) Who wakes the other up in the middle of the night to tell them a cool dream they had? Who has the most nightmares, and who sings them back to sleep after?

They won’t wake each other up in the middle of the night, but they will talk about cool dreams in the morning. If there is a nightmare, they will cuddle each other back to sleep, but no one has more than the others.

10) Who is more likely to cheat?

None of them

11) Who makes fun of the other for having a crush on them, and who has to remind them that they are in a relationship?

Definitely Ye Xiu with the making fun of it. Both Han Wenqing and Xu Boyuan groan at that.

12) Who starts a food fight in the kitchen?

No one, they eat properly

13) Who initiates duets? and who is the better singer?

Can’t see that happen, but maybe that is a me thing? Do people randomly start duets? Except to sing along in the car?

14) Who starts the hand holding? Who grabs the others butt? Who slides their arm around their waist? Who likes to put their fingers in the belt loops?

Ye Xiu is the butt grabbing, Xu Boyuan the hand holding. Everything else is mostly Han Wenqing, he likes to hold them.

15) Who likes writes the others name on their wrist?

what. Is that a thing people do??

16) Who is more seductive when they are drunk? and who is louder in bed?

None of them can hold their alcohol, they all just pass out, sorry. Xu Boyuan is the loudest

17) Who is more protective?

Han Wenqing and Ye Xiu. They sometimes argue who is better at it but Xu Boyuan doesn’t have an answer, he just thinks it’s very hot

18) Who talks to the other while they are sleeping?

Uh, I think after they retire from the pro scene, they mostly have the same schedule and all sleep at pretty much the same time. And if they do work different shifts, they will let each other sleep

19) Who drives and who has the window seat?

Han Wenqing drives, Xu Boyuan gets the passenger seat, Ye Xiu gets banned to the back

20) Who falls asleep in the others lap and who carries them to bed?

Both Ye Xiu and Xu Boyuan fall asleep in Han Wenqing’s lap. And yeah, he does carry them to bed.

21) Who cuts the others hair?

None of them can be trusted with it. Maybe Su Mucheng comes by to help out, otherwise it’s hairdresser time

22) Who is super bad at sexting? and who sends them encouraging messages throughout the day?

Ye Xiu adds in too much teasing and trash talk. I could see Han Wenqing doing little encouraging messages, not many though. But mostly they’re all spending their time inside and working from home, so they can just tell each other in person

23) Who thinks they are not good enough for the others love? and who’s more afraid of loosing the other? Who thinks they keep messing up, only for the other to tell them they don’t need to worry?

Xu Boyuan is definitely the most insecure. Ye Xiu tries to overplay it, but he is scared of losing them and they all kind of reassure each other

24) Who starts random slow dancing with the other in the kitchen? Who holds the other just above the ground and kisses them?

This is another thing I don’t believe people actually do. Although Han Wenqing will lift both of them up to kiss them. There’s just no random slow dancing

25) Who says shitty puns and sex jokes just to see the other giggle and blush?

Not for that purpose, but Ye Xiu. Except it sometimes backfires because Han Wenqing will reply with some actual dirty talk and deliver it so perfectly it shuts up even Ye Xiu. Xu Boyuan is always impressed (and horny)

26) Who kissed first?

Han Wenqing took the initiative

27) Who orders take out at two in a morning? and who wakes the other up at three in the morning to go downstairs with them to get a glass of water because it’s too dark?

If they work night shifts, they all order take out together. None of them need company to get water

28) Who writes poems/stories and love songs about the other? Do they sing the songs the write for them?

?? no

29) Who does some crazy stunt to try and impress the other and who ends up driving them to the emergency room after it backfires?

None of them do, because they don’t want to risk injuring their hands.

30) Who is embarrassed when they have to wear their glasses and who thinks they look super cute?

Xu Boyuan is vain and mostly wears contact lenses, but Han Wenqing and Ye Xiu love it when he wears glasses

Thank you for the excuse to write about them :D Although some question were a little weird. Or maybe I am weird for not being like that

[sicc-nasti]

Send to 10 other bloggers you think are wonderful. Keep this going to make someone smile! Add a heart so we know how long the chain's been going! ❤️🖤💖🤍💚💛💗💙🩶🩵🤍🤎💟💜❣️❤️‍🩹💝🫀💖♥️💘❤️‍🔥💌🩷💚

GRAHHH THANK YOU <33333333

💜

[tka-calendar]

Hello, are you going to use / allow both novel canon and live action canon?

Yup! Both of those will be allowed, as well as from the animated show.

The calendar is to celebrate tka in all forms :)

[senashenta]

This is an awesome party playlist but Aidan insists that Single Ladies by Beyonce be added because AHEM "it's really fun to shake your ass to." I question is taste but at the same time when it comes on the radio at work I find myself bopping along so I guess I should just shut up. :P

[fatliberation]

I totally understand and can empathize with fat activists when it comes to medical fatphobia. But I do think its important to provide nuance to this topic.

A lot of doctors mention weight loss, particularly for elective surgeries, because it makes the recovery process easier (Particularly with keeping sutures in place) and anesthetic safer.

I feel like its still important to mention those things when advocating for fat folks. Safety is important.

What you're talking about is actually a different topic altogether - the previous ask was not about preparing for surgery, it was about dieting being the only treatment option for anon's chronic pain, which was exacerbating their ed symptoms. Diets have been proven over and over again to be unsustainable (and are the leading predictor of eating disorders). So yeah, I felt that it was an inappropriate prescription informed more by bias than actual data.

(And side note: This study on chronic pain and obesity concluded that weight change was not associated with changes of pain intensity.)

If you want to discuss the risk factor for surgery, sure, I think that's an important thing to know - however, most fat people already know this and are informed by their doctors and surgeons of what the risks are beforehand, so I'm not really concerned about people being uninformed about it.

I'm a fat liberation activist, and what I'm concerned about is bias. I'm concerned that there are so many BMI cutoffs in essential surgeries for fat patients, when weight loss is hardly feasible, that creates a barrier to care that disproportionately affects marginalized people with intersecting identities.

It's also important to know that we have very little data around the outcomes of surgery for fat folks that isn't bariatric weight loss surgery.

A new systematic review by researchers in Sydney, Australia, published in the journal Clinical Obesity, suggests that weight loss diets before elective surgery are ineffective in reducing postoperative complications.

CADTH Health Technology Review Body Mass Index as a Measure of Obesity and Cut-Off for Surgical Eligibility made a similar conclusion:

Most studies either found discrepancies between BMI and other measurements or concluded that there was insufficient evidence to support BMI cut-offs for surgical eligibility. The sources explicitly reporting ethical issues related to the use of BMI as a measure of obesity or cut-off for surgical eligibility described concerns around stigma, bias (particularly for racialized peoples), and the potential to create or exacerbate disparities in health care access.

Nicholas Giori MD, PhD Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at Stanford University, a respected leader in TKA and THA shared his thoughts in Elective Surgery in Adult Patients with Excess Weight: Can Preoperative Dietary Interventions Improve Surgical Outcomes? A Systematic Review:

“Obesity is not reversible for most patients. Outpatient weight reduction programs average only 8% body weight loss [1, 10, 29]. Eight percent of patients denied surgery for high BMI eventually reach the BMI cutoff and have total joint arthroplasty [28]. Without a reliable pathway for weight loss, we shouldn’t categorically withhold an operation that improves pain and function for patients in all BMI classes [3, 14, 16] to avoid a risk that is comparable to other risks we routinely accept.

It is not clear that weight reduction prior to surgery reduces risk. Most studies on this topic involve dramatic weight loss from bariatric surgery and have had mixed results [13, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27]. Moderate non-surgical weight loss has thus-far not been shown to affect risk [12]. Though hard BMI cutoffs are well-intended, currently-used BMI cutoffs nearly have the effect of arbitrarily rationing care without medical justification. This is because BMI does not strongly predict complications. It is troubling that the effects are actually not arbitrary, but disproportionately affect minorities, women and patients in low socioeconomic classes. I believe that the decision to proceed with surgery should be based on traditional shared-decision making between the patient and surgeon. Different patients and different surgeons have different tolerances to risk and reward. Giving patients and surgeons freedom to determine the balance that is right for them is, in my opinion, the right way to proceed.”

I agree with Dr. Giori on this. And I absolutely do not judge anyone who chooses to lose weight prior to a surgery. It's upsetting that it is the only option right now for things like safe anesthesia. Unfortunately, patients with a history of disordered eating (which is a significant percentage of fat people!) are left out of the conversation. There is certainly risk involved in either option and it sucks. I am always open to nuanced discussion, and the one thing I remain firm in is that weight loss is not the answer long-term. We should be looking for other solutions in treating fat patients and studying how to make surgery safer. A lot of this could be solved with more comprehensive training and new medical developments instead of continuously trying to make fat people less fat.

[feral-ferrule]

Saturday’s Child, chapter 2

Word count: 4200-ish

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Fic overview: Bad Batch modern AU. Echo/OC this is part of the Hunter and the Librarian universe by @clonethirstingisreal in which the Batch brothers live together, raising Omega.

OC Althea is a university student with a medical delivery job. Echo is a combat veteran who volunteers at the VA hospital where they meet.

Warnings: some mild fantasizing and voyeurism, some sexually suggestive dialogue but only if you reallly read between the lines, you know? Mentions of body differences, amputated limbs, disability. A touch of unnamed mental health issues. Teeny tiny bit of swearing. Super tame so far

Notes: I’m calling Echo’s amputated limbs his arm and legs in narration. There are differences in opinion on what to refer to an amputated limb by in clinical and in casual conversation. Echo will have his own opinion and that will be a conversation in a future chapter. I want to be as sensitive to amputees and to veterans’ trauma as I can in this fic since it takes place in our normal world.

So there’s all sorts of head cannons over exactly what kind of limb differences Echo has. I’m going with bilateral through the knee amputation using the Mazet technique which he had to have after his below the knee amputations from the field needed revision. (IED explosion injury) This would give him the limb shape, mechanical knees and muscle functionality similar to what we see in the show. Basically, he has a full length femur on both sides and functional hip muscles. This is a rare approach for amputation and I’m not completely sure why, but it seems like more people would benefit from TKA amputation than get the chance to. He also is amputated above the elbow on his right. He has a variety of prosthetics for running, walking, everyday arm and hand needs and for athletic and weight training.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Omega’s excited chattering carried up to Tech as he left his room and made his way down the stairs. Half way down he was able to hear her more clearly.

“She showed me how to do everything for free. I don't have to buy a thing and definitely not one of those expensive kits. She’s going to come over Sunday and see the final results. Oh hey, Tech, I was just telling them about Allie.” Tech raised his eyebrows and straightened his glasses, looking around at the guys. “It was Tech’s idea for her to come to our Super Bowl party.”

Hunter, Wrecker and Echo were in the kitchen and Omega had all her craft supplies spread out across the big dining table. She was gluing pieces of foam together. Tech looked at Echo who seemed somewhat disinterested and a little unsure about the collection of junk and craft supplies falling off the kitchen table.

“Well I’m going to take a shower next,” announced Wrecker.

Hunter's hair was towel dry and hung in damp coils. “Do you think Allie will be coming with a parent or on her own?” he asked both Omega and Tech.

Omega seemed confused and opened her mouth to answer.

“Omega, your glue is spilling out and about to run onto the floor,” Tech interjected before Omega could divulge more details.

“Oh woops,” Omega picked up the glue bottle and Echo handed her a paper towel.

“I’m going to go for a run, blow off steam,” said Echo, eying the glue. As Wrecker helped Omega he went to a closet by the back door and pulled out his running blades. He sat on the floor and swapped out his regular walking legs for the blades. Then changed his hybrid bionic arm with its fingers and harness for his exercise arm with the clamp for weights and bars at the end. “Tech would you be able to see why my left knee wants to bend too quickly? It’s been giving me grief today.”

“I would be happy to,” said Tech taking the leg and looking at the joint. “I’ll plug it into my desktop and run a diagnostic.”

“Thank you.” Echo left out the back door and they could hear the tap tap tap of his blades across the deck and down its ramp to the driveway side of the house.

Tech turned around, bringing the prosthetic to the table. Hunter was picking up a stack of foam pieces that fell on the floor. “Meg, why don’t you get something to put this all in, it can’t stay here taking up the table,” Hunter said.

“Can I set the card table up in my room and make it in there?”

“Yeah that’s a better idea.”

The sound of the shower and Wrecker humming a tune carried from the downstairs bathroom. Tech set the prosthetic down on the table as Omega gathered everything up and ran it upstairs.

“Hunter, what was Omega just telling you about the woman we met at the store?”

“Woman? Allie is an adult?”

“Yes and her name is Althea. I have reason to believe that she is the very Althea that Echo is smitten with. When we got home I looked up the logo on her uniform and it is a medical courier company.”

A bemused look spread on Hunter’s face and he shook his head. “And you invited her over? Sounds like something out of Omega’s playbook. She’s drawn you into her ways,” he chuckled.

Tech cracks a smile, “If it is indeed her I didn’t want to get Echo’s hopes up. I was going to have Omega keep her visit a surprise.”

“Well I think Echo and Wrecker both assumed she’s a kid named Allie like I did. But yeah let’s just let it go for now, she might not even be the same person. And- if she does show up it could be because she likes you.” Hunter raised an eyebrow.

“That -had not occurred to me.” Tech said bringing his hand up to his chin and rubbing his stubble.

*************

Echo raised his arms above his head as the endorphins washed through him. He’d slowed to a walk to cool down after running a few laps around the block and park nearby. He walked up the driveway around to the back of the house and up the ramp to the back deck. He was feeling a lot better and his cycling thoughts and insecurities had subsided. He picked up the little bowl for the stray cat that comes around off the table by the grill and took it inside, setting it in the sink to wash after he got cleaned up.

Tech came downstairs with his leg, having heard him enter and shuffle around.

“I have adjusted your knee and I think you will feel an improvement in its performance.”

“Thanks Tech, appreciate it,” Echo said as he took the leg from him. He really did appreciate Tech, usually guys had to make an appointment with the prosthetists and sometimes leave the prosthetic with them. Echo knew he was lucky to have Tech who had hacked the prosthetic’s code to be able to work on it. He grabbed his other leg where it was in the closet and took them into the downstairs bathroom to begin his shower routine.

This bathroom had a large walk-in shower with a glass front and door. There was a shower head way up high for Wrecker and a hand held shower head in a mounting lower on the wall and grab bars set where Echo could reach them while on a shower chair. The stall was still wet from Wrecker’s shower but he had not used the chair and put it back in so it was dry. Echo set his walking legs next to the shower door along with a towel, stripped out of his sweaty workout clothes and stuffed them in a hamper. He sat on the shower chair and removed his running blades and peeled the Setting them aside, he then worked on his arm and pulled the arm prosthesis and liner off and added them to the collection of legs. He turned on the shower and held it away from himself till the water ran warm. He took a little longer in the shower than usual, letting the angst and frustration of the day melt away.

After his shower he put his prosthetics back on and wrapped his towel around his waist. He pulled a meal he’d prepped the day before out of the fridge. He considered what he’d write in the note to Althea as it warmed up in the microwave. He washed the cat’s bowl, filled it with catfood and set it out back. It was really cold now, the cat wasn’t out there waiting like she usually would be. He worried a little for her.

After scarfing his food and washing up he set about looking for some paper to write the note. He found an old spiral notebook with crunched corners and some linty post it notes. These weren’t anything very nice to give to Althea, so he decided to go upstairs to ask Omega. The stairs were a lot easier to climb than last time thanks to Tech’s expertise with his knee. He stoped in his room and threw on some shorts and a t shirt, then went and knocked on Omega’s door.

“Come in!” She piped, turning down her music she was playing.

Echo opened her door and leaned in. She had all the craft supplies spread out across their card table and her floor. A tablet of Tech’s was propped up and a video of someone assembling a model was playing on it with the volume turned down. The pop music that she liked was playing on a portable speaker he recognized as being Wrecker’s.

“Hi Echo! Do you feel better after your run?”

“Yeah a lot better, thanks. So how’s this all going?” He waved his prosthetic hand at the craft explosion.

“Great, I’ve got the base done and went out and found these little sticks, they’ll be trees.”

“Do you need any help with any of it?”

“Well, later I might need you to hold the taller pieces while I fit it all together, but not right now.”

“Ok just let me know. Hey do you have any, like, blank cards or stationary?”

She stopped her glueing, “Ummm… oh yeah, here.” She went over to her desk drawer and pulled out a pack of notecards. She handed them to Echo, “these don’t say anything inside, and I have thank you cards too.”

Echo filed through the pack,“Blank is what I need.” The cards were all different. Some had animals, some flowers, rainbows and other cute little drawings.

“What's it for?” Omega asked.

“There’s… someone at work I want to give a card to,” he said, trying to decide which card would be appropriate.

“A girl?” asked Omega, picking up on his smidge of awkwardness.

He glanced at her then down at the cards again. “Well yeah. I want to give her my phone number but don’t want to just put it on a sticky note.”

Omega’s eyes lit up with delight at helping her brother with some social engineering. She stood up and took the cards. “Do you know if she likes cats or dogs?”

“No,” he said slowly.

“Ok let’s not use one of those. These are kind of babyish,” Omega started setting the cards she determined to be inappropriate down on the desk. “How about flowers or a sun?”

Echo liked the sun card and it gave him an idea. “I’ll take this one,” he said, pulling it out of the stack Omega had fanned out in her hands.

“Don’t forget the envelope.”

“Thanks, Meg,” Echo said.

“No problem, good luck!” She turned back to her project leaving the cards on her desk.

Echo took the card to his room. He pulled a book off of one of his shelves and found a pen. He sat on his bed with the book as a lap desk and wrote a short note in the card with his cell number then tucked the card into the envelope. Closing his eyes he imagined kissing her as he licked the envelope’s glue. He sealed it down, smoothing the envelope with his fingers, wondering if she felt as soft as she looked. He sighed and set the card down on his nightstand. The amber bottles of pills rattled in his nightstands drawer as he pulled it out. He threw his night time meds in his mouth with a swig of the water bottle he keeps by his bed. It wasn’t very late and he could hear the tv downstairs so he went down to spend time with whoever was watching. But mainly to keep his mind off getting his hopes up and to distract it from spiraling into dark thoughts about his lack of worth.

*********

Althea hustled across the hospital lobby. The service entrance she usually used was still blocked off for repairs so she had parked on the other side of the building. This meant it took more time for deliveries at the VA which she thought she factored into her schedule, but she still seemed to be running late.

Echo rounded a corner with an elderly patient in a wheelchair heading for the transport vans in front of the hospital.

“You should have seen us. None of my guys had ever been outside of their little farm towns and now they were surrounded by the deepest darkest jungle you ever saw.” Echo listened to the man recollect from his service days, but he stopped paying attention. Althea was just across the way and coming closer. He could tell she was headed for an exit out back and who knows when he’d see her again. He told himself now or never.

“Sir, can I step away for a moment? There’s someone I need to talk to over there.”

“Well ok, son, just don’t be too long, I need to catch that shuttle,” the man said crankily. Echo parked him next to a wall and set the brake on the chair. Then he made a beeline for Althea who was bringing her phone up to her ear. She had a short conversation that ended with her saying “hello, hello?” She ended the call.

“The signal back here is really bad,” Echo said.

She looked up quickly and smiled nervously as he approached, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. He was already quite close to her. He had an expectant expression and rubbed at the back of his neck with his hand.

“I am sorry that I was such a jerk on Monday, I-“

Her phone buzzed and she glanced at it as the call dropped again. She looked back up at him and gave him a kind expression. He seemed to be more anxious.

“I won’t keep you from your work, I just wanted to give you this.” He handed her a small envelope, which she took and looked back up at him questioningly. Her phone buzzed again, a text this time. “Have- have a good day,” Echo said in a rush and went back to his patient who had been watching the interaction with interest. She

She tucked his note away in her jacket’s inside pocket as the old veteran craned his neck to look at her while Echo pushed him toward the front exit of the hospital. She hurried out to the back to get a better signal and call dispatch back since that’s what the text said to do.

**********

Althea got home and kicked off her shoes and set her lunch bag down on her little kitchen counter. Her place was a tiny studio converted from a detached garage. It had a little kitchen and bathroom with a tub. The entry door was just off the deck that wrapped around the main house where the landlord lived. A privacy fence wrapped around the property. It felt safe and cozy and like better times- she’d lived here before when she first went to college.

She was mentally worn out from all the bad traffic that day and just wanted to veg out instead of study. She decided to do some laundry and wash her work clothes so she changed into sweats and went through her pockets. Oh yeah- the little card Echo gave me, she thought. She’d totally forgotten about it with how stressful the afternoon had been. She set the jacket in the laundry bushel, sat on her little couch with the card and had a look at it.

It was smaller than a cellphone. The envelope was yellow and it felt like it was sealed with care. She reached over to her work table for the scissors she left there and used them as a letter opener instead of ripping into the thing like it was a bill. The card inside had an illustration of a sun on it. She opened it and saw a short note and a phone number:

“You make my days brighter. I hope I can brighten yours, too. There’s a Super Bowl party at my house this weekend if you’d like to come over, or we can get that coffee.

-Echo”

She sat there feeling overwhelmed with how sweet this was and how all his awkwardness really was just him liking her. She felt her heart flutter a little and pictured his face, the beanie he always wore, the way he carried himself. His voice. Her guarded heart felt totally vulnerable suddenly. She took a deep breath and looked at the sun on the card. Golden like Echo’s fascinating eyes. She took the card over to her dresser and set it on top with all her special keepsakes and crystals and little feathers and sea glass. Her crow’s nest of shiny objects. It felt like it belonged there, no one had ever written her anything like that before. She decided she’d text him later when she found the words. Picking up the bushel she headed outside to the laundry room off the breezeway behind her studio.

********

It was between classes and Althea sat in the cold sunshine sipping a coffee trying to snap out of her fatigue. She had stayed up really late studying for one class’s test and reviewing material before another’s lecture. And there was a lab she had to work on. It was one of those days when it all piles up. She’d not had a chance to decide what she would text Echo so after her test she got out her phone and opened the photo app. She’d taken a picture of the inside of the card and a picture of it displayed on her dresser. She dialed in the number in the text app and started typing what she hoped didn’t sound too silly or eager or cringy.

Hi Echo it’s Althea🙂

Thank you for the card, I really like it. It is so sweet of you. And thank you for the invite but I already made plans this Sunday

She read it a few times, took a deep breath and hit send. Why was this so hard? It was about time for her lecture class so she went in to pick a seat. Half way through, her phone buzzed. She peaked at it and saw it was Echo.

Hi Althea😃 That’s ok, no worries

She checked her phone again after class and there weren’t any new messages so she texted him back.

How about that coffee?

He texted right back this time

Yeah let me know when you get your schedule and we can coordinate

Ok🙂 bye gotta go to work now

She looked at her calendar on her phone and saw that there weren’t any big assignments or tests next week so she decided that she'd let Echo know that her evenings were pretty free. Just later- she had to get going and couldn’t spend any more time on her phone. She pocketed her phone and hoped Echo didn’t feel bad, but had to throw her uniform on to pick up a late run to a fairly remote location and back to a large hospital lab across town. Some sort of refrigerated sample had to get there quickly.

************

Echo let the conversation go and slid his blades’s sockets onto his legs to head out for a run to clear his head. He’d checked his phone a million times since he’d given her the note. Althea seemed sweet but his mind wouldn’t stop telling him that she was just being nice and wasn't going to follow up with him. He knew that it was just his demons talking but he needed to pound some pavement to really drown them out. Hunter and Crosshair could tell he was extra bothered by something and exchanged a concerned look before Cross left for work.

******

It was Friday. Even though she never really had a weekend because she used them to study and she picked up delivery routes, she still felt a little more relaxed. She had just finished an equipment delivery to the VA’s orthopedic department and was pushing the empty hand cart down a hall and out to the lobby when she saw Echo. He was crouched down giving a child in a wheelchair a high five. The kid was beaming and clearly thought Echo was so cool. Althea felt like she could melt from the confident and caring manner Echo was treating that little boy. She didn’t want to interrupt them so she went around the long way past the cafe. She could hear Echo’s strong deep voice over the other noises around her.

“You’re doing great, keep up the good work. I’ll see you back here when your leg arrives and help you get fitted.”

He exchanged some words a little quieter with the boy’s parents shaking their hands. She was thinking about approaching him as the family made to leave when she heard her name behind her. It was Kix. He introduced himself last time she’d seen him there, a former corpsman now a paramedic. He was fit and handsome and seemed to know it.

“Hey, Althea, how’re you doing?” Kix asks, looking her up and down.

“Oh you know, busy with work and school.” She starts to step away with her cart.

He reaches out and lightly grasps her arm, letting it linger there. “Hey I was wondering if you wanted to go to a Super Bowl party. My brother’s going too, he’s a firefighter.”

Althea could tell he thought that would be impressive. She pulled away from his touch glancing over at Echo. She couldn’t tell but it looked like he was turning his head away from looking at her. “Oh wow you boys are all so brave.” She smiled at Kix and quickly added, “I have a prior engagement for Super Bowl, sorry.”

Kix plays off her rejection, “Yeah it’s late in the game I should have asked you earlier.”

Her work device buzzed in her hand and she took the opportunity to smile apologeticly and say, “Gotta go, have a good weekend.” She turns fully around looking for Echo in the spot he’d been standing with the family, but he was gone.

**********

Echo saw Trace as he stomped out of the hospital to go home. Trace looked at him with concern, taking in the sour aura radiating off his friend. Echo looked down at him and heaved a sigh. He noticed Trace’s arm was out of the sling and he was wheeling himself around on his own.

“That bad?” asked Trace.

Echo glanced over to the ambulance parked outside of the ER. “How can I compete with that?”

Trace followed Echo’s line of sight and saw another paramedic clap Kix on the shoulder as they walked over to the ambulance holding paper coffee cups. “Compete? You mean with Kix- oooooh. What’d he do? He after your girl?”

“Seems so,” Echo said bitterly. “Had his hands on her, telling her about his firefighter brother,” he added, rolling his eyes.

Trace’s eyes widened and he looked down shaking his head, “Dude.” He couldn’t help but chuckle, “Ah man I'm sorry, I remember you telling me about them. So did she seem to like him?”

“I didn’t stick around to find out. The worst part was he invited her out for Super Bowl, and he’s supposed to come to my place for it.”

Trace shook his head, laughing, “Sheeeeit, mang that’s- I don’t know, that’s awkward as hell, man. But she’s already busy, right? They won’t be showing up with her. Look, Echo, hey,” he wheeled closer and reached up to tap Echo’s elbow. “Turn off the thoughts, go for a run.”

“Yeah you're right,” Echo said as he rubbed his temple with his fingers.

“I gotta go in for PT, but I’ll see you Sunday, probably before halftime.”

“Alright, see you when you get there,” Echo said stepping away. He paused, “Trace?”

Trace stopped wheeling and spun around a little, “Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

Trace nodded and turned to head into the hospital. Echo squinted in the afternoon light and decided running and a harder workout were in order today.

*******

The sun was low in the sky that afternoon as she drove to her last delivery at a dialysis center near the craft store and library. Friday rush hour was in full swing. As she made her way down the boulevard that bordered the neighborhood with the library she saw someone jogging on prosthetic blades. He was facing away from her wearing a ball cap that had the bill curved down on the sides. And he was across the wide busy street. She couldn’t make out his face but could tell he also had a prosthetic arm on his right side. Is that Echo?? she wondered.

She made the delivery and decided to cut through the neighborhood to end her day quicker and avoid the heavy traffic on the main roads.

As she slowed down for a stop next to a park with play equipment and noticed someone hanging from the horizontal bars. Doing chin ups. With one arm- no with two but one was black and technical-looking, ending in a fitting that was clamped to the horizontal bar. And he was wearing running blades. She slowed down to stop at a stop sign. It’s definitely Echo she realized and idled at the intersection staring. His muscles rippled through his tight, sweat soaked compression shirt and bike shorts. Ohhhh. He’s very fit, she noticed, her eyes trailing from his shoulders to his tight butt and thighs- Someone honked behind her and she jumped then drove away hoping he didn’t notice her.

That night at home the loneliness started to bother her. The relief of being on her own had been wearing off over time and she was starting to feel very isolated. She had her study group but hadn’t made much connection with any of them beyond superficial friendship. They were all super busy as well. And younger- enough to feel less of a camaraderie with them. People on her route came and went. Is this just how it’s going to be? Super busy with school, work then more school, more work, a career, work work work, always going going? Everyone doing the same, just busy busy busy like a bee hive all buzzing around past each other?

She picked up the sun card Echo gave her and opened it. She ran a finger over the ink inside and read the words again. Was Echo lonely, too? She doubted it since he seemed to have connections and community at the VA and he probably lived with other people. She got ready for bed and instead of her usual doom scrolling she just stared at the little sun card and thought about Echo, his body strong, if broken, holding her. She thought about taking care of him, helping him, texting him, but what would she say? She didn’t really know him. Her mind was yelling about fear and promises of love that hid selfishness and meanness. She put the card under her pillow, set her alarm, snuggled an extra pillow and tried to sleep.

@adamime

[andhumanslovedstories]

is there an appropriate time/way to contact one’s care team about post-op pain meds outside of the hospital? one of my parents had a TKA a few days ago and is in excruciating pain despite their meds but is hesitant to reach out to the dr about better pain management and i don’t know to advocate for them.

I gotta say, once you’re out of the hospital, you’re fully out of my area of experience. So I’ll say what general thoughts I got, and then I welcome answers from anyone with better expertise.

Is the patient reluctant to ask for more pain meds because they think they shouldn’t need them, because they’re worried they’ll get addicted, because they don’t want to be a fuss, or because they don’t want to get labeled as drug seeking? People are hesitant about pain meds for a bunch of reasons, it’s always helpful to know exactly what concerns your patient has.

From working with patients doing rehab in the hospital, I find framing pain control in terms of functionality is helpful. Pain is a nebulous concept and varies a lot from person to person. So saying “10/10 pain” is not always as effective as saying “my patient literally will not reposition in bed nor allow me to touch them because they are in agony.” Or being like “my patient would literally rather soil themselves than try to stand up to pivot to the bedside commode.” You link insufficient pain control to an observable limitation. The patient is also able to do this for themselves. What is pain stopping them from doing? Does this patient have PT/OT? Are they able to do it if they are in excruciating pain? You could frame pain med parameters to provider and patient as “what dose/type of med is sufficient to facilitate recovery so the patient doesn’t keep needing pain meds.”

Being able to link medications to observable problems and outcomes is helpful for everyone. Saying “patient was in 7/10 pain and is now in 5/10 pain,” sounds objective, but it’s actually not. That’s the number the patient gave you, it’s ultimately their perception of the pain—useful and good to know, but not by itself the most compelling metric. Adding “patient was unable to walk more than a foot due to pain and is now able to transfer from bed to bathroom and back,” is a more complete clinical picture and gets more to the heart of pain control—pain stops people from living their lives. It is an impediment to function. Pain relief through pharmaceuticals is one way to restore function while pursuing other methods like exercise, decreasing fear and anxiety, and improving sleep.

All this to say, I find more effective communication about pain control frames it less as being pain free (or even decreasing pain) and more about restoring what pain takes away (movement, sleep, ability to participate in therapies, ability to independently perform ADLs). That provides more context to requests for pain meds, establishes a more concrete metric for success, and helps sidestep the emotional and “moral” aspects of pain (that both patients and providers can feel) by focusing on pragmatic function.

[askbomb]

I know..its just a few bruises.. *Bomb turns his head away from Doc, coughing blood up into his own shoulder. The kick to the stomuch must of really done some damage*

*Bomb intertwines his hand with Doc's, happy to have a familiar feeling*

Thwy didn't get you too bad did they? *He asks softly, he has a feeling this war isn't over..*

*Theres the telltale sound of hoves outside. Getting closer, then, they stop. Hesitate. The handle of the door is messed with like whoever is trying to get in can't hold their grip.*

*Before, after a lot of struggling, Doc enters. Blood drips down from his waist, hands slick.*

Bomb... are you okay..? One tried running here- I- I got nervous.

- @ask-docm77

Doc..why- ...why are you here? Shouldnt- ..yoy be fighting? Are you okay..?

*Bomb looks in the direction he hears Doc's voice, the blindfold still on his eyes. He has a small bit of blood dripping frkm the corner of his mouth and some from his leg, but overall he looks better than Doc does..although internally not so much*

[audriel]

Hii, audriel! I've been following your works on ao3, and I've wanted to know if you will continue to update let's start thinking about it. If you will, I'll be waiting for it. <33

Hii, anon! Thank you for following my works on ao3! About let's start thinking about it, since it's not initially intended to be multi-chaptered, the update will be rather slow going. I've got rough idea, but it's rather all over the place. I often get distracted not only by life (and work bleh), but also rereading the novel for *research* lol. So yeah, there'll be an update, but it'll take some time. I hope it won't be a long wait <33

[jessaerys]

your fav mello/near fics??? thank yeww (also love your drawings!)

oohh this reminds me i should pick up my ff.net archival reclist project up again...

it is of note that it's been a looooong while since i've combed the archives and there's a couple of common tropes i don't usually read due to personal taste, so i'm sure there's a lot of good fic i'm unaware of and/or forgetting about! this has totally renewed my interest in making a comprehensive personal reclist >:) perhaps i'll come back and edit this post every now and then.

i owe comments to nearly everyone mentioned here i am SO sorry. it's a lost skill that i am working on developing again. at the very least i've got everyone in one place so i can go down the list this year. i encourage everyone reading from this reclist to leave a comment too!

i wrote "off the top of my head" but this got VERY long so under the readmore it goes

obligatory classics

• the famous @tierfal 's sidetracked (2010) and full of surprises (2009). rated e and m respectively. these are like the allegorical little black dress in the wardrobe of the platonic ideal of the mellonear oneshot. seem to be pretty well known across the ship fandom • stripped (2009) by blueberryash/@tka-trashfire on tumblr. explicit. i haven't read this in a while but i remember it capturing the delicate gossamer tension of the ship in a way that was sooo bittersweet and nostalgic. • to speak of rules and privilege (2008) also by blueberryash/@tka-trashfire, gen, a manifesto on tenderness, soooooooooo soft, changed the game, near being afraid of thunderstorms was immediately adopted into personal canon. big time influence for the way i write near and mello's pre-canon relationship re: big brother, little brother. • an understanding (2008) by blueberryash/@tka-trashfire, rated T, short and sweet, razor sharp prose, the aesthetics of the little piece live rent free in my head. • dual(2011) by ramasi, @ramasi here i believe. rated m. historians say this might be one of the first examples of mellonear choking kink ever recorded,

RARE finds

(please tell me if you enjoy any of these, i want to feel like an explorer that's brought back treasures from far away lands)

•scarification (2012) by gacrux11 on fanfiction.net, rated m, big time dead dove do not eat. sorry this one leans early 2010s era grimdark melodrama but i love it sjkdfkjfd. not enough dead dove fics about the boys if u ask me. • salt in the wound (2007) •tempus fugit (2007), and • white out (2006) by vaudevillain king on fanfiction. net. a beloved rare find. all of them are rather grimdark edgy products of their era, but some of the best the era had to offer. they make me so nostalgic for my teenagehood on fanfiction.net. i get the impression these might've been written even before death note was finished? • birthday smut (2009) by kleine_aster on livejournal. explicit. this one is SO funny to me because it is both really, really good, very in character, but unfortunately it suffers from almost satirical misogyny that afflicted fujoshis back in the day. near literally is like oh that bitch... like. he would not fucking think that but i can edit quickly in my brain as i read. bisexual mello rights! otherwise really sexy imo. i might be writing something that's kind of in conversation with this fic.

contemporary favorites:

• you've heard about it before and you will hear about it again: the archer ensnared (2023) by jabbernatty, rated e. a jessaerys obligatory syllabus read, the fic that made me go fulltime yaoi disease. i owe so much to jabbernatty they are my white whale my friend my enemy the writer i've psychically imprinted on from the beginning. honestly too scared to even leave a comment given the jessarys archer ensnared lore. may one day may contact and pray i don't come across as insane • postmortem (2023) by the_hemlock true gen, a favorite of ALL time. it's only tangentially mn really, it is 99% about near trying to piece together the mystery of lawlight post-canon, but the characterization and prose are some of if not the best i've ever come across. reads like it could be a piece of canon material. if you only read one fic on this list i'd pick postmortem. • it's friday i'm in love by neallo/@neallo rated m. possibly my all time fave in the neallo cinematic universe. something about the after-hours longing and the standing in the kitchen by the refrigerator lights, as the poets say. i love when stories feel like you're cutting out a window to peer into a larger universe that is just out of reach. perfectly captures what it is like to have a maddening crush • i want to hold you (hostage)(2023) by neallo/@neallo rated e. thee defining fic of this current modern mellonear era. manages to walk the line of kinky/sexy/sweet/fluffy all at once. plot twist of the century in the last chapter. near is properly as bananas insane as mello is in this fic, which is the marker of a good mellonear dynamic. really everything by morgan neallo is a safe bet for a great read • there's nothing i want but you (2023) by neallo/@neallo rated t. wammy's era mellonear obsessiveness that is soooo teenagery and yet a portent of just how codependent they might one day get. cute and ominous. • armageddon/kill game (2024) by bolide/@bolide-archive came out of nowhere a couple of months ago and ascended to the top of the game like a dark horse. rated m, chess au. one of my favorite interior mello narrations and one of the most similar to my own interpretation. such naturally talented prose. i rotate lines from this in my head all the time. still in progress but i have faith that it will be completed :') • how to burn down the sacred loom (2023) by dornishviper/@vriskarlmarx a contemporary CLASSIC. the less you know going in the better. beautiful prose, beautiful structure. they don't make fic like this anymore • the house always wins (2023) by mer_curia/@vivi-scera. screaming with my mouth closed. holds a special place in my heart given that it is my posting that convinced vi to give the ship a try, and i was rewarded with a fic that is so catered to my tastes i honestly had to read it through my fingers. SO good, the manifesto on wammyscest, so rather controversial. heed the warnings. • moonlight (2023) by tsukinousagi/@quicktimeeventfull rated t. an austere, cold little glimpse into a vampire au. it's giving let the right one in. so melancholic. one of the saddest near examinations out there. •proximity tells (2018) by abysmallypresent, rated m. truly lives up to death note's second-by-second minutia while managing to keep up the tension the entire time. great characterization. •silhouettes (2015) by bad blood/eroticcodependence, @wxmmyshouse on tumblr. unrated, post-canon compliant. made me CRY! elegantly short and simple, bittersweet and so so wistful. •arsonist's lullabye (2023) by tzviaariella/@tzviaariella. rated t. this one has a heart-wrenching air of realism to it that exists outside the chaotic universe of death note, one of those examinations of picking up the pieces after the titans have all gone away. very bittersweet.

honorary mentions

• let's die somewhere prettier (2020) by firesafinething also one of my absolute favorites, unfortunately it is discontinued and it is likely it will never be completed. sad! the premise seemed SO promising. in my mind i file it right next to postmortem mentioned above. the exploration of the tragedy of 27 year old near we could have had in a better timeline. one day i will leave a comment so good maybe it will bring back the fic from the land of the dead • august underground by me & @firebuggg rated e, in progress. >:) (shamless self promo)

[sweetbunpura]

Dasha, disguised voice: As you know, we only contact the best of the best for this award.

Crowley: Yes, yes.

Dasha: So we are here to ask you...

Crowley: Yes...?

Dasha: If you have the contact information for Royal Sword Academy's Ambrose the 63rd?

--TKA

Crowley: .....Excuse me?

[yuesya]

hi! i know 'call the ocean waves ashore' was discontinued/dropped but i just wanna say that it was the first qzgs/tka oc-fic i saw at all in the fandom and what got me to look to see if i could find any others - consequentially finding honestly one of my current favs. i just reread it tonight and reading the plot notes on the last chapter has me so wistful - and longing imagining reactions of like, blademaster characters (hello huang shaotian, blue river, and lu hanwen) finding out that xia lan used to be athena? YX finding out that they both know WXF??? Anyways. Just wanted to drop by and say that like. even tho her story might be over i sincerely love her and her story very much, and thanks for writing what you did 💜💜

Thanks, glad you enjoyed that plot bunny! It was one of the first fics that I had very extensive plans for (as you can probably tell by the long plot outline that was shared in the last update) and even though not all of the details were fleshed out, there was a clear end that I intended to write towards. Obviously I didn't manage to get very far for that plot bunny, but it was a fun exercise while it lasted and I'm glad there were readers who enjoyed it nonetheless!

A few more bonus tidbits of stuff that never made it into the story:

-The new character that Xia Lan makes in the China server is male. Her half-brother coaxes her into playing by asking her to help him level up an alt account, so she made a male character. This causes various misunderstandings.

-Xia Lan, having no idea about the details of the early gaming scene in China, does not realize that Wu Xuefeng and Ye Xiu were teammates. When she gets in touch with Wu Xuefeng and convinces him to come help out, there is a shocked reunion that takes place as a result.

-Perhaps unsurprisingly, Xia Lan has an aversion to hot liquids. At one point, there's a near-accident when she's handed a plastic foam cup of too-hot soy milk by a vendor, and it takes her awhile to calm down in the aftermath. Ye Xiu is confused by the extreme reaction, but makes sure that their other teammates don't crowd her or overwhelm her.

The mystery behind this isn't solved until Xia Lan's scars are discovered and Cynthia publicly confesses what happened in GhostFyre.

[tka-calendar]

Hello, dear admins! I'm not a very active tumblr user, but I love TKA so much! I only notices this post today. By any chance do you still need people or any kind of help with your project? Thank you in advance!

Best regards.

Hi, we're still alive ;-; Thank you so much for your interest and for dropping by!

Our interest check only had a small handful of people so we weren't going to go ahead with it at first....but we've since changed our mind and will be attempting it this year. A trial run to see how it goes :)

We're currently working on finalizing the project details but we will be releasing the contributor sign ups soon so stay tuned!