#to my muse's torture xD )

[tenebriism]

Word of advice: Never tell your gossip-loving mother who the object of your affections is. It'll get passed around so dang quickly, that even the Demon Lord who can't actually step foot on Skyloft will find out.

[countlessrealities]

@mcltiples sent: 💕 { For Evil Rick & Weird Rick } Ship meme: in-depth edition || Selectively accepting !

[[ Answers under "read more" because someone got surprisingly wordy xD ]]

How did they meet? ~ "A-After the C-137s messed up the portal fluids, a-a complicated series of events led me to crash-land on the Earth of Rick's original dimension. H-He found me there and we decided to attempt a partnership. He...There was just something about him."

Who flirted with who first? ~ "R-Rick did...if what he used to do can be called 'flirting'. He gave me pet names to annoy me, for the most. An-And he liked implying that we were a couple to confuse the shit out of everyone."

Was it love at first sight or a slowburn romance? ~ "I-It depends on your definition of 'love'. Between is...it's complicated. I-I don't feel what people call love, but I knew that he was what I'd been looking for my entire life the moment I set my eyes on me. R-Rick fell for me later on, once our partnership had solidify."

Did they start dating right away or were they friends before things became romantic? ~ "N-Neither. W-We were partners first and foremost. We still are. I've been his possession since the very start. And I still am, even if Rick lets us be more...equal nowadays, at least under some points of view."

What was their first date? ~ "...It wasn't supposed to be a date. It was supposed to be punishment for Rick. A way for me to torment him. However, it turned into something neither of us were expecting. He confessed his love for me and we started the romantic part of our relationship that night."

What are their favourite things to do on date nights? ~ "I-I usually spend my nights working in my lab, while Rick likes to watch...certain kinds of TV shows instead. When we do 'date nights', he joins me in the lab and watches me work. Or he coaxes me out of it to have my company. We drink together. We have movie nights. At times we go out and wreak havoc. It depends on Rick's mood."

Do they still go on dates after being together for a while? ~ "Y-Yes, we still practise our couple activities pretty often. They usually involve murder, torture and destruction. Other times Rick lets me vivisect him. I greatly enjoy the feeling of having my hands literally inside him, of tasting his blood. And he found me doing that arousing. T-Then there are the times when we do less...exciting things. Rides in space, hikes to collect what I need for my experiments, strolls around aliens markets."

What is their love language? ~ "R-Rick likes reminding him that I'm his. With words and actions. He used to be more violent in doing it, but nowadays...he no longer enjoys inflicting me pain in a way that I don't enjoy. He still marks me, though. Often. An-And visible places. As for me...blind loyalty and obedience. I do everything he wants. I give him everything he wants. There is nothing I wouldn't do for him, no matter how I might feel about it."

Who kissed who first? ~ "R-Rick did. The first time he took me after I had mentioned that sex was an available method to claim me as his. I didn't enjoy it, not the kiss, not the fuck. It was painful, degrading, humiliating. But Rick...it was as if he wanted to put the mark of his ownership everywhere on me and as deep as he could go. That was enough to push me to allow him to continue to do it."

Who started the relationship? ~ "A-Again, Rick. The night of our first date. Even if...it took us a long while to understand and define it. I'm still not sure I can grasp it fully."

Monogamy or Polyamory? ~ "I-If Rick decides that he wants to fuck someone else, I will express my displeasure, but the decision is ultimately his. I won't stop him, but I will punish him for it, if he allows it. If it was up to me, he wouldn't look at anyone else. Not even as a game, not even as a mean of deception. He'd be mine as much as I am his."

Are they/do they plan on getting married? ~ "This is...unclear. Rick has made numerous references about us being married. He even drunkenly propose to me. Twice. Once sober, however, he never addressed those episodes. His behaviour makes it impossible to determine how serious he is about it."

Who proposed? Was it a yes or no? ~ "I-If he decides to go through with it, he will be the one to ask. And I'll say yes. I'm already his. Adding a ring to it wouldn't change what it's already an immutable truth."

Do they want kids? Who brought it up first? ~ "There has been talk of...taking a particular pair of Mortys with us. I supposed this could count as 'wanting kids'. Rick came up with the idea, but I was the one to mention that I'd want my Morty back at my side."

Do they already have kids, together or from previous relationships? ~ "W-We both have a Beth. Or had. They are both dead now. I killed mine, his was accidentally killed by some Citadel guard. I never bothered to ask for details."

Do they have any routines/rituals in their relationship? ~ "I-I already mentioned our main shared activities in other answers. I could add that Rick likes to celebrate the end of a fun, particularly gory date by working out the adrenaline. And he has been insisting on having dinner together at night."

How do they take care of each other when they are sick/hurt? ~ "R-Rick heals instantly and he can't get sick. As for me, I rarely get sick. If I happen to get injured, I usually take care of it myself, but he has taken up the habit of standing around and fussing over me until the wound is probably taken care of. Once he even tried to cook me a meal, after I lost a considerable amount of blood...Never again."

How do they like to spend time together? ~ "All the activities that have already been mentioned."

What are their favourite non-sexual forms of intimacy? ~ "I suppose that Rick's is marking me. As for me, I like to cut him open. It can be sexual, for him, but it never is for me, even if I allow him to turn it into sex, if he wishes to."

What are some of their favourite things about their partner? ~ "E-Everything. Rick is perfect. He is my one. The one and only true connection I will ever find."

How do they comfort the other when they are upset? ~ "W-We rarely get upset, and when we do, we usually don't show it. Yet, we've become close enough to be able to sense when something is wrong with the other. To 'cheer me up', Rick takes me out, or brings me things and beings I can entertain myself with. I usually just sit with him and wait for him to tell me if he wants me to openly acknowledge his mood or not."

Who buys the other spontaneous gifts? ~ "W-We don't 'buy' them. I make him things that I think he might need or like, but usually there's a specific occasion. He is the one who dotes on me without reason. Mostly, he brings me test subjects or rare things he finds during his solo trips."

What position do they sleep in? ~ "W-We don't share a bed too often, but when we do, Rick usually holds me from behind. Sometimes, we sleep face to face."

Do they bathe/shower together? ~ "A-At times, if Rick asks me to. I find baths to be particularly relaxing, even if I they are an extremely rare indulgence for me."

Do they do anything else in the bath/shower other than wash? ~ "Once again, it's up to Rick. We do whatever he wants."

In the bedroom - Vanilla, a little spice, or kinky af? ~ "I suppose that most of what we do is considered extremely 'kinky'. However, we also indulge in much tamer sex these days."

For applicable ships - who tops/bottoms? ~ "I've always been at the receiving end during our coupling so far. However, Rick has expressed a strong, even if confusing, interest in having me top him. So I guess that it will eventually happen."

For applicable ships - who is more dominant/submissive? ~ "Same as above. It's Rick, but he has been talking about letting me be the dominant one. The idea makes him...quite eager."

What is their favourite sex position? ~ "I don't have one. I let Rick take me however he wants. If I had to express a preference...I like the positions that allow me to see his face more. I find the expressions he makes during sex fascinating. And the way he looks at me...I feel almost like we are truly connected."

Do either of them enjoy bringing sex toys into the bedroom? ~ "R-Rick enjoys experimenting. As for me, it depends on whether or not my surgical tools count."

Favourite place to have sex? ~ "I don't have one. I'm unsure about it. Probably his bedroom or in the lab, when he bends me over the workbench."

Most adventurous place they’ve had sex? ~ "I-I'm not of what would be considered 'more adventurous' from a standard point of view. A pile of corpses. A building with a bomb at mere minutes from going off. In our ship, gravitating around a black hole. ...I could go on."

How often do they fight? What about? ~ "Rarely, considering how unbalanced our relationship is, but when we fight, it gets ugly. We still struggle understanding all the implications of the newest turn our bond has taken and this leads to misunderstandings and those lead to fights. We often aren't on the same page, because communication isn't our forte. We don't talk about us unless we truly need to. The fact that he is in love and I can't be also can be an obstacle in this sense."

Have they ever broken up? ~ "No."

Messy breakup, amicable split, remain friends, ride or die or til death do us part? ~ "T-The decision of whether or not we'll split is ultimate up to Rick. However, if he were to discard me...he would have to kill me. Because there's no way I'd let him go while I'm alive."

[blitzbuckz]

"Hey, girlie. Plagued by terrifying visions?" [ blitz didn't ask for childe to show up so soon again i know but c:< ]

「𝐓𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐒」 || prompts. / accepting.

【𐂃】 ❝ It's babygirl. if yer' gonna harass me fuckin' do it right -- but also fuck you. YA I'm bein' plagued alright 'n I'm lookin' at the motherfucker who's causin' it ! ❞

Childe's the last person in Hell, Heaven, or Earth he wanted to associate. As a given, the imp couldn't help to go off the walls simply by seeing his smug face. Like chalk && cheese -- they weren't there just yet. ( OR... as far as they knew )

[dementedspeedster]

There's a pile of neatly wrapped gifts on Thad's kitchen counter. Birthdays are important after all and Deb would be damned if she didn't go all out to spoil Thad. He deserved it after all. There's no need to leave a note with the gifts; he'd know exactly who had left the gifts before he'd gotten up.

Birthday Boy Thad || @deborahmorgna

"Daaaamn, Deb." Thad says to himself as he unwraps the gifts he had found on his kitchen counter. Deb just knew him so well. Of course he wouldn't miss seeing a pile of gifts in the one place he would always walk into without fail.

As he unwraps the gifts one by one, he feels the impossibly soft fabric of the sweatshirt and turtleneck sweater, stares at how the knives glint in the light of his apartment, and appreciates the utility offered by the watch and the backpack. He would get a lot of use out of both of them.

(However, Thad will never figure out how much these gifts cost just like the others Deb has gifted him in the past. At best he'll assume the apple watch is the most expensive of his present)

Neatly putting his birthday gifts away where they belong Thad zipped from his apartment and just as quickly appears in Deb's apartment. Well, appear might be a nice word, as he unabashedly tackles her to the ground with a somewhat shit eating grin upon his face at his own mischievous version of appreciation.

"I am so lucky to have you as a friend. Thanks for the amazing presents, Deb." He grins an unrestrained and genuine grin before ruffling her hair and getting up from off of her.

[shoot-of-corruption]

Blog Announcement

Hi there my lovelies! It is a rare guest, Ria here :D

I put on an Oblivion Let's Play to hold my blood pressure low while formulating this announcement, so you better settle down with me xD

I would like to announce here how I will deal with my main blog and all my side blogs on tumblr from now on.

As most of you know, I am working a full time job in retail, so my nervous costume tends to be a tiny bit thin after around 9,5hrs of shift. I am happy to announce to you all that my time as a worker in retail is finally a finite one. If everything works out right, I won't just be able to start a homeoffice job by next year, but also live at a completely different place and city. Sadly there is still a good while of wait ahead of me until then and a lot of things are unsure as of yet. But I will do my best to get to that destination, because right now everything is pretty much murdering me.

What does that mean for my blogs? I have been on Hiatus for a long while, on and off, over years. And yet I have always returned here, more or less satisfied or happy with my performance or the RPC.

From this day on I will treat myself better about being able to come here and also, I will not spread myself thin anymore. I will transform Mariku into an Ask- and Art-Blog. Interactions are always welcome, on and off Anon, as well as dash commentary or writing pieces and updates of myself. You can tag Mariku and me in everything, the followed tags will stay the same, I will just update a few things on my BIO in the next days etc. [maybe I'll finally force myself to make a card, should the mobile pages not work anymore].

Things that will for the close future not be done on my blogs:

RP-Threads: no matter if long, short, or anything. I am torturing myself, because I cannot say no to new thread ideas and the moment I really get invested into plots, threads, ideas or anything alike, my partners tend to just leave and let me drop like a hot potato and I honestly neither need nor want that hate in my life anymore.

Anon-Hate: Will NOT be displayed on this channel. I will keep my Inbox with anonymous messages on, but every piece of disgusting hate will be immediately plucked out of the screen and burned in a bonfire. You will not get a stage here and you can be assured, that I will piss and shit on your disgusting hatred and then laugh about it for the coming week, because you are the most pathetic thing that I had the displeasure of even having to lay a momentary glance on <3

RPC/personal Drama: I will ignore drama and strictly remove myself from it. I will not be part or target of any hatred, impulsive meanness and/or random bouts of radical opinions. If you don't feel seen/represented in my opinions, turn around and find a place you fit into, but leave me and my muses alone.

Things that will be done on this blog (and partly my side blogs):

Ask-Memes: Of any kind. Ask-Plots, random asks, symbol ask memes, color memes, background memes, AU-memes and YES, also art related asks.

Open Commissions: I will open art commissions again after I had a bit more training on my tablet, for everybody, who wants to commission art. They will likely be limited and they may also for training reasons only be for free for training, thus included in art memes, but I will open paid commissions eventually again, definitely this year. I cannot tell you details, yet, but keep your eyes peeled ;)

IMs and Mun related things: You are definitely allowed to write IMs and ask me questions!! I am here to have fun as all of us are, so if your fun includes coming into my IMs and leaving a cat meme each day or send me weird asks, I am all here for it!! All of this might sound very dickish of me, but I just feel like I get too emotionally hurt and immersed and I want to protect me from bad feelings and you from my wrath xDDD

Thank you for reading all of this and I hope all of us can stick to those ground rules (for now) - we will get on peachy! If the fact that I am not RPing (for now) on here is breaking you beyond compare, I do own a Discord and I am usually willing to share it. Please contact me on here before adding me, so I know who exactly is adding me on there, otherwise, I might not accept your request. Discord: sangnoire

I will warn you though, that I will be very selective with accepting RPs and partners on there still and that any unwillingness to accept that will be met with... a uno-reverse card reaction x'D

[elrondapologist]

RoP Episode 7 spoilers

Messy thoughts about what the-, and musing on theories

SO THAT WAS THE KISS. I need to admit I was disgusted more than a little looking at it xD. But Galadriel's face in the end kind of made up for that. But fr, Elrond. You had no other idea to give her lockpick unaware than to _kiss_ your future mother in law??? (Who is also apparently married, just with no husband in sight???) Can't deny it worked, but...

And... Did Arondir just... died? Like that? I was so hyped after the last scene that I kind of brushed aside in my mind and now I am like hum??? Did he? He can't just be forgotten like that, I love him :C. But many good scenes this episode. I highly enjoyed the siege, as it was both kind of nice to look at - you know, as far as killing everything in sight can be nice to look at - but also had this weight to it, the danger. I liked that we can see Elrond get more and more tired as the fight progresses. I expected problems with dwarves, and yeah, I got it... Although I am not sure how it happened that as Narvi said one dwarf, even with an axe and being a king, decimated an army?????? What? But like honestly generally what is happening there with the dwarves and Disa xD I sincerely hope no one touches her tho or I am going to riot! I liked the progression of Celebrimbor's plot. I was afraid that realising Sauron's deception will be end of his agency, that they will make him passive, but I love that he has his last stand. I soooooooooo winced at the whole finger situation cause what the actual-. I was at the same time like yes (fight him!) and no (aua). I also loved and despaired at the scene with Galadriel - it was the best possible option, Celebrimbor was giving all he had, and he was going into torture and anguish knowingly, willingly and head held high despite the fear. I didn't even know I needed Celebrimbor like that until I saw him. And the thing with Mirdania? I think her death, for that is kinda undeniable I am afraid, proved without a doubt she was not Celebrian - which is kind of a pity, I must admit. There was something there that could develop nicely, as well as it is the case with Adar = Maglor, which I also think is highly unlikely now, as Elrond did not acknowledge the possible connection in any way. But if I am mistaken, please let me now! Also, I applaud Elrond for not giving the ring for Galadriel's life. Despite the whole weird kissing scene xDDD. I liked to see him take his commander role seriously and as an orc said - holding his own better than expected (or sth according the lines xD). It is a win for nerds, I think. Lord Elrond "according to the lore" Peredhel. Leading a siege. Feel old yet? Anyway, the dwarves will come (when Durin finally usurps the throne, I am afraid) and Celebrimbor and Elrond will be totally fine because I am delusional :).

P.S Also, Gil Galad in an armour. In an armour. P.P.S There this whole slow motion scene in one place that has in a foreground just an elf running away from an orc. Slay, bro. I laughed, tho, not gonna lie. P.P.P.S The last stand of Gil Galad and Elrond's army was suprisingly... Not to use the word... There were really like ten elves left? From the whole army? I know they said orcs unnumbered them, but that took me by surprise. P.P.P.P.S I was happy that Gil Galad's armour was not very visibly that much different from the rest of the elves - you know, like some shows have this whole ass target point basically by giving the commanders extremely weird and visible armours. Shoot here. I like Gil Galad here, even if Elrond kind of outshined him xD.

[naturepointstheway]

My Top 10 Most Kudos'd Fics Ever on AO3 to date of this post

Out of curiosity, I decided to rank all my works on AO3 (posted stuff on there since 2015, starting with Prince of Egypt) by number of kudoses, and here are the top ten, from most to least:

Out of Trouble Again - published 2015- Prince of Egypt - 536 kudoses (nothing else has reached anywhere near that, and probably never will. It's the Jupiter-sized one of them when it comes to kudoses.) Summary: What if Rameses' son had not walked in and interrupted right when Moses and Rameses were talking during the ninth plague in "Prince of Egypt"?

Dynasty Extinguished - published 2015 - Prince of Egypt - 160 kudoses Summary: God never said that only the first-born children will perish in the final plague on Egypt. A slight AU of the events of the tenth plague in the film.

Old Enough to Understand - published 2016 - Tarzan (1999) - 122 kudoses Summary: He is not a baby, but four years old, when he sees his parents killed by Sabor, the leopard. Early the following morning, he watches as a female gorilla wanders inside, bereft only hours ago of her own offspring. When the leopard attacks from the shadows of the roof, the boy and gorilla act together to escape the predator and make it back to where safety awaits in the jungle.

Refusal to Harm - published 2015 - Prince of Egypt - 117 kudoses Summary: No matter how much Hotep and Huy try to persuade him, Rameses will never harm his brother whether that be direct or indirect. Even as Moses brings down plague after plague on Egypt, Rameses will not hurt Moses, the man he had once called brother. (Rated T for mentions of torture, execration (magical cursing), and discussion of execution.)

Wilted Rose, Torn Portrait, Forgotten Name - published 2015 - Beauty and the Beast (1991) - 116 kudoses Summary: Two reminders of the Curse remain after the restoration of the castle and the Prince's human form: the wilted enchanted rose, and the portrait ravaged ten years before by a Beast's claws. The Prince has spent so long as a Beast, he has forgotten his own name, and, with the help of Belle, he remembers it once again.

Wedding Night in Midian - published 2015 - Prince of Egypt - 101 kudoses (why. WHY. I cringe when I read this attempt at "smut" (M rated, so not smut smut) XD HOW. How in the name of...) Summary: The wedding night of Moses and Tzipporah. Strong sexual themes and content. Moses is hesitant at first, but soon allows himself to love Tzipporah as he had never done before.

The Mute and the Maine - published 2022 - Cats the Musical - 99 kudoses (wait...WHAT. How. How. I keep thinking it's in the 30s kudoses wise but here we are, one shy of the triple digits at posting. (Also, is very likely to have another chapter added to it soon-ish because muses be Like That. Also interesting to note that it reached that in two years, where others had to take half a decade at least to boop the triple digit realm for the first time. Compared to my other stuff, this got the freakin' zoomies. Just like a cat!)) Summary (I wanna change it a bit when I post the next chapter for this fic): Troubled by Demeter's words about Mistoffelees, a mute cat mostly outcast by the tribe, Tugger takes it onto himself to have a talk with Misto, and let him know he is not alone. [Originally posted on Tumblr] [Based on Lindsay Chambers' Mistoffelees from the very late '80s/very early '90s in a Zurich production.]

30 Days of Beauty and the Beast: One Line, Different Character - published 2017 - Beauty and the Beast (2017) - 96 kudoses Summary: As the title suggests, thirty one-shots for thirty days where I take a single line from the movie spoken by one character, and give it to someone else, however likely or unlikely. Characters and other tags will be added as each one shot is added day by day. One-shots' lengths vary from tiny drabbles to long ones, and I'll aim to be mostly fluffy/non-angsty. Take note, I said "mostly".

House and Home and Security - published 2021 - Life is Strange 2 - 95 kudoses Summary: Hours after leaving prison behind forever, Sean finds himself at Daniel's new home, a house he can never feel is his, no matter how much Daniel insists it's his home too whenever he needs it. And there is a strange, forgotten feeling both alien and familiar, one he has nearly forgotten over the last fifteen years he had spent in a prison cell. And how is it that Daniel is already so grown up, a young man of twenty-five years?

The Pain of Your Absence - published 2021 - Outer Wilds - 82 kudoses Summary: The pain of the travelers' absence is too much at the Eye at the end of the universe.

[not-that-dillinger]

The first sensation that Ed noticed when he came to, was the searing white light, barely filtered through closed eyelids. He opened his eyes and squinted in the near blinding light, making out the blurry black forms of his captors, orange circuits seeming to flare, like he was in a movie where the CGI artists had an addiction to lens flares.

(...where were his glasses? Did something happen to them in the explosion, or did they take them when he was captured?)

The second sensation, that Ed became aware of, and much more alarming than the light, was that of the tight restraints around his neck, forearms, wrists, waist, and ankles.

Ed did not like being restrained. He jolted against them, and immediately panicked when the pressure against his throat restricted his breath.

"Be still," the soldier nearest him said. Ed focused in on her (at least... he thought? the soldier was a woman. The garbled voice that came from the helmet sounded vaguely feminine, as scrambled as it was). She was short, and had a violet symbol—As far as Ed could guess, it was a constellation shaped like a bird—emblazoned on her chest.

She also had a long staff that, when Ed, panicked as he was, did not stop struggling against the restraints, smacked him over the head with it, hard enough that his vision swam.

Ed froze, momentarily stunned.

"...Ow," he said.

"Commence overclocking," another soldier said.

A third soldier pressed a button on a control panel, and he could feel... current in the panel he was bound to. The first soldier took a syringe, and injected code into his arm. Ed could feel the functions and variables that made it up. And then... he could see the code that made up the Grid, and feel it vibrating in everything around him.

"Connection stable," one of the soldiers said.

Then... the sting of another needle. More code.

Roughly a minute later, there was a sensation like an electric shock, and then the Grid's code disappeared from his vision, and he could no longer feel it.

"Connection disrupted. Four point three-eight microcycles." The soldier said. A moment later, there was another shock, and then he could see the code again.

"Point three microcycles."

They continued to forcibly attempt to disconnect him from the Grid, and modify the code they injected. Thee time before he could reconnect slowly increased with each injection.

Ed wasn't certain how long it lasted, but when they were done, his body ached, and he had a headache like his head was splitting open, and he felt like he could sleep for years.

They put him in a gridsuit, and synced a disc to him. Ed could feel the disc sync in the back of his head with an uncomfortable staticky feeling.

And then they re-ran the tests. Now that he was properly synced, the shock of being forcefully disconnected hurt more. And the injected code seemed to cling to him. The disruptions in his connection lasted much, much longer this time.

[From "Send me ⚓️ for our muses to be shipwrecked together"

...Not sure who should approach who, and this got really long, so leaving it at this...

—@not-that-dillinger]

Ultimately, how Ed ended up on the Grid was trivial. An anomaly he noticed, and couldn't stop thinking about, and, on a whim, went to go investigate.

It didn't take him long to find Flynn's creepy basement lab. It took him less time to find the digital world (he was without a doubt inside the computer, because that was most certainly the digitization laser he shot himself with).

It took them even less time to find him.

All he knew was that one moment he was standing in a dusty arcade, the next... he was still standing in the arcade, except as if it existed in a different dimension. In a different world.

And then two... programs? in glowing orange suits approached him, arrested him (for what, he wasn't certain), and put him on one of those ships from Flynn's game that he was never allowed to play as a kid. Space Paranoids, if he remembered correctly.

In any case, they put him on the ship, with several other programs. He'd already had a stressful day (thanks, Mackey), and was barely keeping it together when one of the other programs mentioned that they were all going to 'derezz.' Ed wasn't certain what that word meant, but from the context, he was convinced the guards were taking them to their deaths.

He was claustrophobic from the number of people programs on the ship, and he may have shot himself with a high-powered laser, but he certainly didn't want to die.

He couldn't breathe, he could barely form a thought from how his mind was reeling.

And then suddenly Ed could feel the lines code that made up the ship, and their restraints that held his feet in place. He had no idea what he did, but the next moment, their restraints were gone.

The woman next to him instantly attacked the guards with a staff he had no idea where she got it from. The ship descended into chaos as the other programs joined in the melee, and then in altitude when one of the programs destroyed the ship's pilot with the disc on their back.

Ed didn't have a disc, or a staff, and he certainly didn't know anything about piloting... anything, really, but nobody had yet realized that their ship was about to crash. So he carefully skirted the edge of their cabin to the controls.

A joystick. Really Flynn? Murder on his wrist. Joy of joys.

Ed... tried to keep them flying, but he had never been good at video games, and he really didn't have time to do much but pull up and lessen the impact when they crashed into the mountainside.

The next thing he knew, he was face down in the snowy, barren wasteland outside the city. When he rolled over to see his surroundings, the recognizer was a fair distance away (he see it clearly: blessedly, his glasses weren't broken in the crash). He must have been thrown out one of the broken windows in the crash. His ears rang, and Ed was certain he was both bleeding and concussed.

There was someone else lying in the snow, thankfully a distance away, but Ed had no idea what happened to the rest of the programs on the ship.

He knew he should get moving, in case any of the guards survived, but Ed needed a moment to recover before he attempted anything else.

((Ooooh, awesome, thank you so very much!))

Living on the Grid was hazardous nowadays, especially for a Renegade. Ark specialized in causing trouble for the Occupation, but knew that it was going to catch up with her one of these cycles.

She had been pulling another one of her self-assigned missions, when the sky had lit up in a way she hadn't seen in countless cycles.

A User was rezzing into the Grid.

Unfortunately, the beam of light distracted her long enough for the Occupation to catch up to her.

Badly outnumbered, Ark decided to save her strength for better odds.

She was loaded into a Recognizer, along with quite a few other programs.

A short time later, someone was loaded in next to her, someone with strange clothes she had never seen before. Was he the User? Or just a program with a quirky style? Was odd fashion a good enough reason for him to be arrested?

As she analyzed him, all of a sudden, him, her, and everyone else was free.

She took advantage of the surprise and chaos, and immediately leapt into action. Fortunately, they hadn't searched her too well in the confusion over the beacon, so her staff had remained with her.

Bolstered by the knowledge that there was likely a User among them, she fought hard, joined in by all the other prisoners on the ship.

The battle didn't last long before everything exploded.

Ark was flung out of the Recognizer and away from it, falling into the snow.

She wasn't out long, the cold stinging and bringing her back conscious, her circuits coming back online.

Using her staff to help, she pulled herself up and started looking around for any survivors.

She saw someone in the snow and started making her way towards them, using her staff as a walking stick while she still got her bearings.

[redpiperfox]

red it is i

🎱🛼🍄🪐🔪🌿!

ELLO ELLO ELLO! :D

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats

On this lovely last Friday in May~

🛼 ⇢ describe your latest wip with five emojis

...I am constantly working on multiple projects at the same time lol SO I will give you five emojis for five wips I'm cycling thru!:

🐺❄️💨🏡💭

🥻💃🌩🤵‍♂️🏰

🕷🦸‍♀️🕸🤒🦹‍♀️

👶👧👦🌽👾

👗🥻📸🎀🖌

🍄 ⇢ share a head canon for one of your favourite ships or pairings

Ooooooh I dunno if you want me to do this one 😅 Some friends can tell you-- my skzitzy headcanons go WILD lololol

Okay um... ah! Chan had mentioned previously how he's close to Yeji because she asks him about a lot of "leader" stuff, and Yeji mentions (and models lol) how if she isn't really good at something or has no interest in it, she's really not good at it, and she had no initial interest in the Itzy plan to be leader. So I headcanon that between Chaeryeong shouldering a lot of official leader things (canon: she would have been leader if she wasn't on the maknae end, and she's been the first to go do solo PR for the group), Chan has literally given Yeji a Do What I Do policy, and Yeji has done that (there's a lot of little ways in which she relates to fans and tries to approach things that are very Chan-like, and I say that because Chan does things in a very atypical way to kpop XD)

....I'll stop with that one haha

🪐 ⇢ name three good things going on in your life right now

Only three!!!!!

1. I have gotten time to write and paint post graduation!

2. I have a scheduled date for license exam and have been able to study pretty diligently, which is unexpected bc I really thought it would be harder post graduating to get back into the books haha

3. All the animals outside our house have been so funny haha they're endless amusement to me, they're absolutely sitcom material lol

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

.... I shoudn't answer-- OKAY WELL the LEAST weird thing is when I watched coleydoesthings' mini research vid on a/b/o history and stuff? Only... I don't really usually write a/b/o... 😅

I've looked up the usual-- murdee things, random chemical irregularities, space physics, kpop idol bdays to make sure I'm keeping everyone in approximate age-order, kpop names bc I only know them by stage name, niche interviews, drowning scenes, torture scenes.. I have a couple of my fav angsty movie clips and/or kpop moments that'll get me in a very niche mood I sometimes need to write? Idk if that counts XD

🌿 ⇢ give some advice on writer's block and low creativity

EMBRACE IT! And try to see what it's there for? Sometimes, it's a period of consuming media, and doing "fic research" in enjoying storytelling styles and methods you wouldn't have considered in your muse-inspired hazes. Sometimes, it's a good handbrake your brain has to keep from being burnt out by your hobby! But sometimes, if it is a thing that really isn't being shaken off and you'd like it to be-- challenge yourself. Write even when it's uncomfortable. Have a dump AU that's nonsensical and crude and serves only to work the muscle again. Ask other people for random tags and ideas to give your brain something new to work with. If bullet pointed ideas are all you can do, do that! Just keep writing, and somewhere the writing muscle will remember how to do it's thing, or grow into something stronger, and the muse will be working through you again 😊

[teecupangel]

I don't know how you feel about Taylor Swift, but this lyric excerpt from her upcoming album just SCREAMS Haytham to me: "And so I enter into evidence my tarnished coat of arms, my muses acquired like bruises, my talismans and charms, the tick tick tick of love bombs, my veins of pitch black ink." Just... argh *bites fist*

Damn, you're right. Those lyrics definitely felt like Haytham Kenway.

... I just checked where this is from and it's called Tortured Poets Department so now I'm just imagining Haytham Kenway as an 18th century Byronic romance poet XD

[cryinginthebackseat]

hi dear,

recently your adler x bell fic from two years ago (...) caught my interest.

it literally is one of the best written cod fics there is on here, and i saw you mentioning a fifth chap in an old reply to a reblog, and im curious if youre planning on ever uploading another chapter. i think its obv very unlikely since its been so long (im desperate yall), and i totally get if you say you dont wanna keep updating it (since you might not even be interested in the game*s anymore).

also, i havent seen you mention anywhere that its finished, but after looking at your masterlist you havent tagged it as unfinished or anything.

i recently got back into black ops and there really arent enough fics xd (no matter if youre going to finish it or not, i admire your writing skills fr fr)

have a good day/night x (sorry for the paragraph) ♡

Hello, dearest nony!

Okay, first of all, I have to say I hadn't expected someone would ask me about a follow up to that fic, but here we are. Thank you so much for taking your time to read you've got more poision than sugar, by the way. Unfortunately, I've been hitting the wall with that fic for years now. I've been thinking of continuing it just for the sake of completing a multi-chapter story for once.

ALSO I KID YOU NOT, I HAD A DREAM OF MEETING ADLER SOME TIME LAST WEEK BEFORE I GOT YOUR ASK SO MAYBE IT'S A SIGN??? Either way, I'll def let you know when I've finally gathered enough muse to continue the fic. You're too kind and I hope you have a good day too~ thanks again for dropping by<333

I can share you snippets of what I'd written so far. I sincerely hope I can continue where I left off soon!

“You’re fucked.” Park and Lazar are dead and eighteen hours later the last person Adler would rather see comes to him. “We,” Adler says carefully, “are fucked.” Hudson shakes his head, sweat pooling on his forehead. Guantánamo Bay in March is a different breed of torture– heat, sun and the humidity collaborate to aggravate the whole situation they’re in. “No,” Hudson says, cold and hard. “There’s no us. It’s you. You're fucked, Russ. I warned you.”

[countlessrealities]

Here's a LIST of PLOTS & GENERAL IDEAS I'd like to explore with my muses! They aren't in any particular order, and I'll be adding more as I go. Check out my wishlist tag too if you want!

Feel free to hit me up if you're interested!

Bolded ideas are the ones I'm craving the most. Italics are plots I'd like to do, but with which I'll be picky. Strikeout are ideas I'm currently not up for.

Dark threads. Violence, gore, torture, manipulation, near death experience, gruesome injuries, and any other sick things we can come up with!

Enemies / rivals with benefits relationships

Angst in general. Hurt my muses, betray them, hate them, be absolutely nasty. Let’s have one of our muses in a real bad situation and the other being hopeless to help.

Unrequited feelings (romantic, but also platonic). Let my muses suffer because their feelings are one-sided or have them dealing with the awkwardness of someone they know having one-sided feelings for them

Slow burn polyships

Fake dating plots

Amnesiac!muses threads

Crossovers !!!

Morty being as unhinged as he can be, with all his pent-up rage and trauma pouring out. And I also want to explore his more cynic / detached / apathetic side

Exploring the long term consequences of Morty's traumatic experience in Meeseeks and Destroy (and possibly a what-if scenario where things go down the real dark route)

Rick dealing with the aftermath of finally getting his vengeance, only to find out that he feels just as empty as before, If not worse

Digging into AR's psychotic disorder

A "business fuck buddies" to "friendly acquaintance" to "friends" to "friends with benefits" to "lovers" arc for Blitz & Stolas

A "bitter exes" to "I'll allow you in my space but I'll make it your problem" to "cautious friends" to "friends (with or without benefits)" arc for Blitz & Vero

Blitz & Fizz working through all their shitty past history and becoming queerplatonic besties

Adrien finding out about Monarch's true identity and that he's a sentimonster (not necessarily in that order). Bonus if it's Félix who tells me either things

Exploring the real extent of the long term consequences that Cole's abuse has on Félix

Adrien / Felix & Cat Noir / Argos shenanigans

Mirror verse stuff for Adrien and Cat Claw Noir

Anti-hero Poison Ivy

Rick Prime and / or Bill befriending other villain muses

Alastor and Vox. Literally anything with those two. I live for their one-sided rivalry or whatever that's supposed to be xD and yeah, I do ship them too, but that's not important

Alastor interacting with the other residents of the Hotel. Gimme shenanigans

Alastor & Rosie 'cause they are bff goals

Vaggie talking with someone about her past as an Exterminator / how she felt after she was banned

Vaggie & Carmilla mentee / mentor dynamic

Alastor meeting a version of himself. Gimme duplicates interactions for him, it would be so fun! I can't guess if they'll get along or hate each other's guts x3

[ Last update: 25/04/24]

[i-can-even-burn-salad]

Writerly Question Tag

Stealing this one from @leahnardo-da-veggie but leaving it under a cut because it's really long :D

I'm tagging @starlit-hopes-and-dreams @pleasestaywithmedarling @writingphoenix and @sarandipitywrites if you feel like doing it (there's a lot of questions :D) and also an open tag.

About You

When did you start writing?

I probably "wrote" before, but I remember wanting to write some huge fantasy epic when I was around 12-14. Spoiler: I did not, in fact, write a huge fantasy epic.

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

I read more things than I like to write. I only write romance-adjacent darkish fantasy (is it slice of life if the char gets sliced), but I love reading murder mysteries, some more mainstream romance, and lots of YA and fantasy that are heavier on the plot than what I do.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

I don't actively try to emulate anyone, but I sure keep picking up things left and right. But even when I read something great and think "wow, I wish I could write like this" it often would not fit "my" style, whatever that may be. The one time I actively tried to soak up things was from my dearest @alittlewhump <3

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)?

There really is just once space, which is my desk, because I do not have a laptop and I will not write on my phone. Also, I never leave the house, so. (It's a mess, and with the exception of several character prints on the loft bed in front of the desk, the decoration is gaming oriented.)

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Hahahahhaaha. *sobs* Sometimes ridiculous deadlines and pressure work.

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Absolutely. For example, I have never had real contact to anyone in my family outside parents/siblings/grandparents (and the latter are long dead), so I tend to forget that families can be bigger and most of my chars have exactly one sibling XD Also sorry y'all (nonspecific) are fed up with the generic western european fantasy world with deciduous forests, snowy winters, and castles, but *looks around* yeah.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Loneliness. Looking for a place to belong. Never being enough. Trying to figure out wtf love is. Haha. I am super surprised.

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

We all know it's Damien, don't we? 😔 I can't just write like 300k words about a guy going through hell and back without loving him. He's perfect. Traumatic backstory. Lowkey morally gray even though he has such a good heart. He gets the pain, and the asexuality, and the self-hate, and the cool sparkly magic. For my active projects, there's Riordan, my aro-allo, ridiculously positive mercenary guy who has no manners - I really, really want to make him despair and cry for once. And there are Ross and Irina, and it's impossible to have one without the other, but I can't even say much about them yet, because they're still developing (we gotta get them out of the torture dungeon so they can have a personality.)

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

Probably Merridy. I wish I could show her video games. It's a fantasy story and you can play it yourself? Sign her up. It would be hard not to be friends with Riordan, though.

Which characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Except for all the bad guys, I think Lily would be too exhausting for me. Not so much dislike, just please get your early bird extroverted energy over there while I remain over here.

Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters?

I have a vibe, and that vibe grows arms and legs. Sometimes even a regular amount. By the time I put the char on (digital) paper for the first time, I know very little about them other than a few bullet points. They develop together with the story.

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

Asexuality. I have to force myself to write an allo char, and even then ... XD I also probably need a guide on how to write neurotypical chars, sometimes I look at one and am like... "oh no, not you, too." And almost all of them like books :D

How do you picture your characters?

I do not. (Aphantasia gang rise up.) I create portraits for them in the game I play, which works ok-ish. It doesn't have great options, but I'm stuck with it, because I have most of them as characters I play.

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

I have to. There's things in my head. They need to leave.

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

To be frank, I write about things that will alienate a lot of "normal" readers, be it the violence, the queerness, or disabilities. It means a lot to me if something like that resonates with someone, because if I don't reach that audience the only one that's left is the one that asks "but why would you include X, ew :/"

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work?

While I wish my work to be perceived, I do not wish to be perceived myself.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I uh. Write. By which I mean, I don't need anything to start. No outline, no moodboard, nothing but 3 vibes in a trenchcoat and some random thought I had a few months ago. Sometimes I get stuck and lose interest, but I have a couple of finished works, so I'll keep going like that for now.

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

I have no idea, but it's not prepositions.

How do you feel about your own writing?

It's good enough. (Except for the prepositions.)

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Probably. I mean, I hate writing by hand, so depends on how long electricity is running without any other humans around, but that's not the question, is it. I'm not sure it would take the same shape as it does now, if I never publish, I don't need to stress myself with the deadline of edits, but I would still have to put it all down, because I HATE when I forget my daydreams 😭

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy?

I mostly write what I want to read myself, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I have added things multiple times in the past thinking "oh, I know who would like that". To be clear, that's not talking about an "audience", that's my dearest friends who could go for a little impalement or medieval execution :) Sometimes it's also "you know what we need more of?" posts, but let's be honest, none of those people will ever read it. I just happen to agree with them. On the other hand, I have censored myself in the past because I was afraid what others will say. It's great sitting on every single fucking squick list out there. Lastly, there's also that issue where sometimes, I want to write something, but the story develops in a way that it doesn't end up fitting, and while I am sad, I will bow to the will of the story.

[ferinehuntress]

˚ * ˙ ⭒ ⊱ 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍.

◈　what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have?　 ⋯ 　Alright, I got a list of four so be prepared. My first muse was Caitlyn, I absolutely fell head of heels in love with her because I understood her in so many ways. We were both in the police force, both know how to use weapons expertly (no I am not lying, I could do a 40 out of 40 shot with my M16 and perfect shots with my 9mm as well. I was an expert shot in the military) but also her empathy. So naturally, I was drawn to her and who she was. And don't get me started on the haters of Caitlyn (and Caitvi) that I am even more protective of this character. She's so badass and yet so full of compassion and heart. She's such a good soul and I love to write her for all for all of this and more.

Vi, I was going to write first, but for some reason I didn't. Don't ask, I don't know why, but then I got encourage to try. Vi is like other characters I've written: Kassandra, Eivor, and other very strong ladies. So it was easy to pick her up, but what was hard was my fear of just not really giving her the same devotion as I did Caitlyn and the worry of copying or just, being the 'same ol same ol'. But she's here now and she's definitely going no where XD

My newest edition is Karlach and Aylin (Don't make me chuckle because Aylin and Karlach make me think of Caitlyn and Vi)

Aylin, I could not deny wanting to write her. A paladin of Vengeance, a demigoddess of the moon, AND! AND! tons of angsty torment to write out? Okay, but besides that, Aylin is an amazing character. She's straight to the point, full of care for people, a giant heart, and will do whatever she needs to to root out evil. I already have so many headcanons for her and I've only had her for a few days now! I'm drawn to her heartbreaking story, because there is SO much we don't really know about. 100 years in the Shadowfell? That is a LOT of shit to go through, and we don't even know a sliver of it so I plan to really expand her story. But there is also before the shadowfell, who her father is, how was she raised. There is so much of her story I want to give justice to. Just, a great character to explore.

And Karlach, oh my heart, Karlach. A barbarian who loves  violence and yet is a complete teddy bear with a heart of gold? How could I not write her? Again, a great storyline, and so much to explore on that wasn't shown in the game. She's right up my alley as all my girls are strong, defiant, yet dealing with traumas of their own. I love writing characters like this who are so full of heart and love despite what they've been through. And Karlach, with ten years of imprisonment in hell serving a archdevil and experimented on? Yes, there's lots to play on here. ◈　is there anything you don’t like to write?　 ⋯ 　hmmm, not really sure. It all depends really on comforts around. The only thing I won't write for sure is the death of my characters (unless its aylin, who can die and come right back cause she's immortal) but the others, death is finite there is no coming back. I refuse to write death for my muses, and I will not write lovers turning to enemies or lovers killing each other either. ◈　is there anything you really enjoy writing?　 ⋯ 　I'm about telling a story, I WANT the depth in writing, to create immense feelings and connections. I want you to feel what my muse feels, to see what they see, experience it. If I can make you cry, that means I've done a good job, or if I make you laugh then I'm doing good. I very much lean into angst, I like heartbreaking stuff as well as the comfort that comes with it. Give me one charrie fighting for another, desperate to save them. Give me a muse breaking down and another comforting them. Give me a muse struggling with trauma, or trying to help another going through it. Let one muse watch their partner getting tortured and hurt and the feelings it brings up. Anything angsty like that. ◈　how do you come up with headcanons?　 ⋯ 　There's multiple things that can stir a ehadcanon. One is looking at pictures and going 'oh OH!' cause something pops into my head, another is replaying a game or rewatching the show. A lot of it comes from talking with my friends and ideas popping into my head. My headcanons are often an explanation to their history or effects of history. My headcanons bring to light more of the history, personality, and design behind a character. If you want to see jsut how in depth my headcanons go, look up Caitlyn, she has over 60 headcanons. ◈　do you write in silence or do you play music?　 ⋯ 　I need music, all the time. Silence is... unnerving, to say. I can't do it at night either, I have to put on some green sound or something that will help calm my mind. I am very hypersensitive in hearing, which is why I like green or brown sound. I tend to put on songs I like (I have a music repeat list) or I put on violin music. ◈　do you plan your replies or wing them?　 ⋯ 　I'm not really sure? I mean, I like to plot things out, but this isn't a hard to do script (somethings the muse will decide to do something else). But when writing, I tend to let the muse flow. I don't really wing stuff, if I'm thinking of what you mean. I read a post, and then I take each paragraph and I react to that paragraph. ◈　do you enjoy shipping?　 ⋯ 　I do! But I have come to be kind of... picky? Its hard to explain. Like I love shipping caitvi, but I don't care to ship caitlyn with anyone else (unless its BG3, then she will ship Karlach too XD) but yeha. I love romantic relationship, but I'm picky on who.

◈　what’s your alias/name?　 ⋯ 　PANDA! That's about it XD ◈　age?　 ⋯ 　35 going on 36 soon ◈　birthday?　 ⋯ 　September 29th ◈　favorite color?　 ⋯ 　Blue, Green, Silver, Teal ◈　favorite song?　 ⋯ 　I don't really have a favorite, more a list of songs that maek me happy. If I hear it and like the tune, its a favorite. ◈　last movie you watched?　 ⋯ 　Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves. ◈　last show you watched?　 ⋯ 　Uhhh..... Probably Arcane or Bluey XD ◈　last song you listened to?　 ⋯ 　No idea, the music is playing right now on random. ◈　favorite food?　 ⋯ 　Anything Italian. My favorite has always been Lasagna. ◈　favorite season?　 ⋯ 　Fall, I love the comfort of falling leaves and changing colors and the way it is just a comfortable time. Not too cold, not too hot. Just perfect and comfortable. ◈　do you have a Tumblr best friend?　 ⋯ 　Well, I have a bit more then one? @shimmerbeasts & @jynxd I am really close to, we talk about everything all the time. I'm also close to @playgroundmonsters and @undercity-merc, I enjoy talking to them and they have similar interest with me ^^. I've also gotten to know @goldenfists really well and consider her close <3

❥ 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐄𝐃 𝐁𝐘　 ⋯ 　@piltover-sharpshooter ❥ 𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆　 ⋯　Anyone who wants to really, I'm not really sure who to tag for this.

[joz-yyh]

Blight kisses!! Not Bigby covering Damian in smooches 💚

Tardif/Damian is cool as well! Thinking about it now, Damian has *very interesting* standards, boy is always seeking out for the danger, or is the danger seeking out for him? Who knows really!

him dating the most intimidating men in the Hamlet /hj

Love your art always!

They're exchanging vital life essence! It's necessary for survival. Stack those blight tokens boys! 

Yay, glad you like them too! Whenever I am faced with a difficult decision, I always choose both! Death itself covets Damian afterall. It's a revolving door of one seeking the other. Lol, imagine dating the grim reaper, literally a spirit almost everyone fears like it's no big deal. 

Thanks, I love you! 😭🙏💕💕💕 Sorry, it's not art this time, but here's more of my Bigmian Role Reversal AU~ (They're on a first name basis!) XD

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Um, my name's Bigby, what's yours?”

The creature idles there, as if it's never been asked it's name, having no need for words until now.

“Can you speak,” the monk asks gently, understanding of their language barrier, “it's OK if you can’t.”

An idea comes to light, the creature shuffling over to one of the large boulders that form a thick perimeter around its den. 

Long bloody nails draw a series of rigid lines, scrapes that Bigby can hear, but can't see taking place, poking his head around trying to follow along from where he's standing behind him. 

The carving stops, the wechuge's lanky hooves stepping aside to reveal the extent of his efforts.

There, etched into the gray rockface, is exactly what the little human asked for. 

- D  A  M  I  A  N - 

The monk sounds it out, one dark brow raised.

“Da-mi-an? Is that your name?”

The creature huffs, nods.

“Suppose it's nice to meet you. Um, so you want to be friends?”

The religious boy tries not to look as scared as he feels, because if this creature truly wanted to eat him (not for lack of trying), it would have done so by now, right? 

More carving ensues, continuing alongside his name.

- Y E S -

Bigby releases a breath he didn't know he was holding, his chest filled with relief. 

“Guess that makes it official. Friends it is.”

The unlikely pair fidget, unsure of where to take the conversation from here, standing there awkwardly until one of them figures out what to do next. 

Bigby is first, having the advantage of speech, fumbling nervously to fill the silence. 

He assures himself that this situation was no different than it would be if he was with anyone else, the same general rules for introductions apply, regardless if it was a cannibalistic beast or one of his fellow monks. 

“Well, since we're friends now, we should probably get to know each other better. So, uh, what sort of things do you like? I like tea and books.”

A pause while the wechuge chisels out his reply. 

- H U N T  M E A T -

This is not a topic Bigby wishes to die on, swaying the subject matter in another direction before Damian decides to hunt him for meat. 

“How old are you? I am 25.”

- U N K N O W N - 

“Oh, that must be hard, not knowing. Maybe, you're around my age?”

- O L D E R -

“How can you be so sure? Thought you said you didn't know? Maybe, you're younger.”

He's getting just a little sassy at being treated like a grade schooler, Damian tapping the word, ‘older,’ again in confidence.

Along with embarrassment, this exchange demonstrates the immediate flaws in such primitive methods of communication.

“We're going to run out of stone if you keep answering my questions like this.”

The resourceful monk muses for a moment, finding a patch of soil and a stick nearby, Damian watching him curiously. 

“Here, come draw it in the dirt.”

Chains rattle as the tortured beast kneels down, residing next to the human, an illustration taking shape as the monk draws a stick figure with horns.

“That's you,” Bigby explains. 

If the wechuge had eyebrows, surely they'd be quirked at such simplified depictions.

“And this is me.” 

Another stick figure, the two appearing to hold hands in camaraderie with twin smiles on their faces. 

The wechuge shifts, capturing their height difference more accurately by redrawing himself with longer legs. 

“I get it, you're tall, I am short,” he sighs, not the crucial point he hoped to convey, but taking the critique nonetheless.  

“What should we talk about next?”

As Bigby embellishes his artistic vision, adding flowers, grass, and a sun, a red glow emanates from Damian's bloody claws.

It instantly grabs the monk’s attention, watching as symbols appear, what looks like runes scorching the very air around him, bright and smoldering like a branding iron.

“Wow,” says the mystified monk, “I didn't know you could do that.”

Usually, only acts of divine intervention display themselves this clearly, which leads him to his next inquiry, “It doesn't drain your energy, using magic like that?” 

More runes manifest, translating into words he can recognize. 

¬  N O  ¬

“Can I touch it?”

He's already reaching out, fingertips tingling, passing through their ancient figures despite the hellfire they're crafted from.

“What else can you do?”

The words come pouring out of his mouth before he can stop himself, utterly fascinated because it was a rare thing,  finding one with powers like himself. 

Damian is more than happy to oblige, vines growing from the center of his palm, creating winding sprouts and tiny leaves, a tiny flower unfurling at its peak.  

“So pretty.”  

The monk smiles, mindful of his touch, tracing out their shapes. The roots are strong and coarse, the petals soft and delicate, as close to the real thing as he can get. 

“Thank you for showing me.” 

He leans a little closer to Damian, the monster fixated on him, returning the bloom back inside his ghastly flesh, freeing up his hand to write. 

¬ YOU ¬

“Me,” the monk sounds surprised. “Oh, is there something you want to ask me?”

¬ WHY HERE? ¬

“You want to know why I was in the woods? I was summoned. A nearby parish said they had urgent need for me. I just hope they're alright.”  

Suddenly, Bigby is burdened by guilt, knowing it was Damian’s fault he never arrived, but still seeking solace in the creature's rags, worried for what tragedy befell those crying out for help.  

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Writerly Question Tag

I was tagged here by @i-can-even-burn-salad, and I'm actually going to do it :D thanks!

Open Tag for anyone who would like to jump on this. Under the cut bc its loooonng. There's a template at the bottom.

About You

When did you start writing?

Sometime in 2019/2020, before covid started. Late start, I know lol

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

No, not really. I am a fantasy romance girlie (gender neutral) through and through. It's really a rarity for me to branch outside the fantasy genre at all.

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

I've not been writing long enough nor do I have a wide enough reader base to be compared to anyone lol. Emulate though 🤔 I don't know. I do know that certain writers leave an impression on me. Or I'll admire their style or how they did some bit of worldbuilding or torture. But when I'm writing, I'm not consciously trying to be like them or to even reference the stuff I was admiring to try and emulate it. That being said... I swear, C.L. Wilson, I was not trying to emulate you. I couldn't even approach the depth and mastery of your epic 5 book fantasy (this one). But I also can't deny the similarities that turned up in my book despite me not having read that series for multiple years before writing it 😂

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)?

My recliner in the living room or my (home) office. My office is the cooler option lol. I have a floor to ceiling built in bookshelf that my desk faces and a pretty ice blue rainbow backlit keyboard. However, I am having issues with both spaces currently. Nobody will leave me alone in the living room. And I'm in my office 8.5 hrs every goddamned day for work and really don't want to continue being in my office when I'm done. At least for a while anyway. It's smth I need to figure out so I can start writing again XD

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Uhhh. I wish I knew. Usually stuff will just hit me randomly and I have no control over when or where or why :')

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Most likely? In that it's just more work for me to write an environment that isn't close to the one I live in. But, it's fantasy, so. 🤷‍♀️

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Outcast/loneliness, finding a place to belong/found family, being enough, finding love without stipulations/compromises ... *deadpan* I'm so super surprised. Oh, and the suffering. We gotta have some of that :)

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

Right now, it's probably Carr from Hidden Depths. Carr is so much fun to write. There is smth very freeing about writing a char that really truly doesn't give a shit :)

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

I could be friends with Alaia, but I'd never be able to keep up with her. Carr would probably have no patience for me lol. Kadin would amuse and annoy me and I could probably only tolerate him in small doses. Darian would intimidate me. Maybe Resh? Provided I could learn their version of sign language so I could talk with him.

Which characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Any of the bad guys XD

Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters?

Uh, they come up with themselves 😅

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

Most of them are neurodivergent as fuck, even the ones I wrote thinking I was NT XD

How do you picture your characters?

I don't? 😅 *cough* aphantasia Although, some of those artbreeder pics helped, along with the commission :D

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Because I can! Because I started and I don't want to stop! (current dry spell notwithstanding XD) Because only in writing will I probably ever get the things I want 100%

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

Literally any comment. Any indication you read and enjoyed what I wrote. However that may come across, I treasure it :D

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work?

*side eyes this question* People would think of me? Why? I am not the story o.o

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Look, I am terrible at identifying my own strengths XD Maybe characterization? Someone told me I did a good job with that once upon a time <3

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

Frequently lol. I need to write more 😂 See above. Apparently I cheated and borrowed from this question. I've also been told I do a good job with descriptions, like in a worldbuilding way. Which is fascinating to me, bc I can't see shit in my mind. I just make shit up and hope it works 😅

How do you feel about your own writing?

Depends on when I'm reading it lol. Honestly though, I can tell I've improved a lot from when I first started a few years ago. Mostly I'm proud of it when I'm not being embarrassed by the thought of someone reading some of the more... interesting... things I've written 😅.

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

Probably. Only through writing can I fully characterize and flesh out the daydreams. Plus, it's a freaking treat to sit down with your own book and read it and enjoy it.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy?

I'm very influenced. I want to make my friends happy! But I also will write what I enjoy in the parameters of my chosen genre. I just might incorporate things I otherwise might not of thought of. And if it ends up making me uncomfortable down the road, I can always remove it.

About You

When did you start writing?

Are the genres/themes you enjoy reading different from the ones you write?

Is there an author (or just a fellow writer!) you want to emulate, or one to whom you’re often compared?

Can you tell me a little about your writing space(s)?

What’s your most effective way to muster up some muse?

Did the place(s) you grew up in influence the people and places you write about?

Are there any recurring themes in your writing, and if so, do they surprise you at all?

Your Characters

Would you please tell me about your current favorite character? (Current WIP, past WIP, never used, etc.)

Which of your characters would you be friends with in real life?

Which characters would you dislike the most if you met them?

Tell me about the process of coming up with your characters?

Do you notice any reoccurring themes/traits in your characters?

How do you picture your characters?

Your Writing

What’s your reason for writing?

Is there a specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating coming from your readers?

How do you want to be thought of by those who read your work?

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

What have you been frequently told your greatest writing strength is by others?

How do you feel about your own writing?

If you were the last person on earth and knew your writing would never be read by another human, would you still write?

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely what you enjoy?