#twas fun to think about

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

if you had to choose only ONE way to whump Barry what would it be? :)

WHY WHO WOULD POSSIBLY CURSE ME LIKE THIS?! ONLY ONE?!?! Sigh. I won't cheat and say 'torture' as a blanket term so.

Gotta go with some sort of captivity. Speedsters in general don't like to be stuck in one place, and even without some form of physical torture :( , it's a good psychological whump strategy. It proves extremely effective for him specifically because while he's trapped, he'll be constantly worrying about his loved ones and Central City in general because in this situation, he doesn't know anything happening outside of wherever he's being kept :)

[echoofheartbeats]

5 and 9 :D

5. What genre(s) do you typically reach for?

This one is gonna be a huge shocker but *~FICTION/FANTASY~*! In recent years I've been dabbling in more Romance/LGBTQIA+ genres as well as some Horror/Dark genres so it's all been quite fun :)

9. When did you start getting reading as a hobby?

This is so tricky because I think I've always enjoyed reading and I have always wanted to be more into it than I am, but it's always be difficult for me. We did a summer reading program that the local Library held, probably started in elementary and continued into middle school? I wanna say approx 2004 ish I hit a good stride with reading (Winn-Dixie, Coraline, Charlie in the Chocolate Factory, Narnia books, and begun HP books) and then again around 2009 because of Deathly Hallows was the only HP book I finished before the movie release. Then I kinda feel like high school/college/life happened and my next good stride with it started in 2020. Going fairy strong for my standards since then :)

[robinfollies]

Been really pondering Fantoccio and the cursed citizens lately… like, if you’re stuck in a city for 15 years with some of your only company being these cursed globby versions of the people that used to surround you normally, you’d start to Notice Things that remind you of who they used to be, right?

[amanedachi]

iron / heart

Part of LoL Esports Elemental Series.

[spacetimeaccordionfolder]

my brain: hey remember that drawing you did of the primordials and the adamant prison

me: yeah I loved that one. took me over two hours of focus and checking the pages a lot to get the hands right.

brain: cool cool so hear me out. draw it again. with no references. and you only get 40 minutes.

me: you know what why not

[todayisafridaynight]

kirby kiss sound effect

[inaconstantstateofchange]

back at you though, drinks edition? a type of drink you couldn't do without, that is your go to for any occasion? give us the specific deets, recipe if needed

oh no you've activated my trap card i love drinks

okay so special occasion drink: brown sugar boba (50% ice 50% sweet) but specifically from the tea shop close-ish to my house. it's expensive so i don't go often but holy shit. they use actual proper tea and fresh-as-hell boba and it's just. it's so good, i think anything from there would be insanely worth it (but i've never bothered to branch out from perfection).

my daily bev: i can't be too specific on brand without lowkey doxxing myself a tad, but there's a local company that does this flavored black tea with cornflower, raspberry, red plum petals, and blueberry, and it's just. it's incredible. mellow and rich and lightly (but not overwhelmingly) floral and fruity. i have it every single day and i'm convinced it is the perfect tea.

and two other faves because you asked for recipes:

strawberry (cheong) lemonade: okay so this is more effort than truly necessary, but i went to one of those u-pick strawberry places last summer and then the cultivar fucking sucked so they weren't even good, so i made cheong with them, which is a korean fruit syrup/preserve you make by layering equal amounts of fruit and sugar in a jar and letting them sit (i put them in the fridge just to be safe) for a few weeks.

the end result is preserves that you can blend into a bangin' spread and a fruit syrup that is like the nectar of the fucking gods. i didn't think it would make a huge difference doing it that way rather than a typical heat-based reduction, but it tastes like fresh strawberries. you don't lose any of that to it breaking down via heat treatment, so similar to the difference between a cold brew and a heat-based one.

anyway those mixed with lemonade (i make a concentrate using half lemons and half regular lemon juice, and include some lemon zest) makes one of the best summer drinks i've ever had.

i'm adding a cut for the last one because i can't/won't stop now but i have some self-awareness. okay, last one:

vanilla chai: i haven't made this in a bit, because when i moved here i ended up using up my stock of cardamom, and the local brand available here is just... not it, and i'm still trying to work out the most cost-effective way to order them online. which is devastating, because cardamom is the flavor most beloved to me in chai. anyway-

the thing that rocks about chai is that it is not actually all that hard, and you can customize it so specifically to your taste. my go-to add-ins are cardamom (5-6 pods, crushed open), cloves (2-3), cinnamon (about half a stick, crushed a lil), fresh ginger (idk how to measure this one, like an inch or two?), and vanilla. i used to use vanilla bean paste i got ages ago as a gift, but that is too rich for the world we live in nowadays, so it's whatever vanilla i have.

technically there's a specific kind of tea you're supposed to use, but i prefer it with regular loose-leaf black tea (which i always have on hand anyway). so you basically get a small pot, and bring your water (about half to 3/4 of your mug) to a boil. once it does, add your tea leaves and spices (not vanilla tho) and let them vibe out there for 5-10 minutes.

then, add your milk (about half of your mug) and vanilla, and warm to desired temp, but don't let it boil (this is my personal preference). add desired amount of sugar to your mug (i usually do a small spoonful of white and a small spoonful of brown sugar) and pour the chai into the mug through a fine mesh sieve (to get out the spice bits). if you have a milk frother, i like to aerate it a bit before drinking (improves flavor and also makes it less likely to burn your tongue).

[imaginative-joy]

I went to Disneyland and brought along BD-1! I kept him in my backpack Wanderer outfit style AKA cute lil head poking out the top ❤️

[over-fen-and-field]

Screaming nauseously into the void

So, for the past ten months I've had a Mystery Problem Syndrome (MPS) -- unpredictable hours to months of nausea, headaches, dizziness, brain fog, weird muscle things, a dangerous amount of weight loss, all that fun stuff. The working hypothesis from my GI is that it's an autoimmune thing triggered by a viral infection in my intestines that may or may not be temporary on the scale of a year or two, but we haven't been able to totally confirm that's what it is or whether it's going to be a year-long thing or a many-years thing or a forever thing. It's not always clear what's triggering the big flare-ups, but stress is a contributing factor. This is a problem firstly because I'm a PhD student who has always run a little anxious in the way that some ovens run a little hot and secondly because my body cannot tell the difference between stress and excitement.

In practical terms, this means that I've zombied my way through work for about five total months since January, have barely left my town all year even for just little day trips, paused a lot of my big plans like getting more intensive therapy to deal with my driving anxiety, and have had lots of little "fun" moments like barely being able to present my work at a big conference, running out of my roommate's big opera performance to throw up in a trash can in the hall, and spending about two months being unable to even take consistent notes during D&D and not really being able to enjoy it or any of my other hobbies. This was all no good, obviously, but to really add insult to injury, I might have triggered a full-on flare-up by... (drumroll, please)...

Buying groceries for my Halloween party!

Not even throwing the party. Not even drinking too much or eating forbidden foods at the party.

Buying groceries for the party. At the same grocery store I always buy groceries at.

I got too excited while passively noodling about desserts and decorations and how I wanted to arrange the cheeseboard and whether blackberries would be good in sangria.

And have been unable to keep food down since.

I hope I'm miraculously cured by the party itself because I'm going to have a hard time convincing anyone to eat my food (I'm definitely not contagious anymore! I cleared the actual infection in January!) if I'm this noticeably sick during it.

Also I was looking forward to it a lot and a good dozen of my friends are gonna be there and :(

Apparently, I can't look forward to things anymore! I should just sit in a quiet room and contemplate the grass as it grows, careful to maintain complete emotional neutrality.

[fuck-you-upmusicbracket]

do you have any examples of songs that fuck you up that you'd be willing to share? having a bit of difficulty narrowing down a Vibe for the songs i want to submit, cause if i submitted every song that fucked me up I'd have enough to run my own personal bracket i think

Hmmm... pretty much any song by AJR, they all fuck me up a little differently, especially the neotheatre album.

For a start, all their music is so funky and I can't think of another band I can compare their sound to.

The lyrics always have such relatability to mundane topics that we all just deal with and don't question - growing into adulthood, hesitency around relationships, having your expectations for life fall through. We've all been there, but the way they present these emotions is in such a funky way.

Section of lyrics from Can't wait to see what you do next

If it's my final album

And if I am forgotten

I hope I made you smile

That's all I ever wanted

Just *screams into pillow* You see?? You see what I mean??

[camels-pen]

can't sleep so have vampire Usopp drabble with sanuso~

Just imagine Usopp showing up after exploring some island on his own, bloodied, limping, leaving streaks of blood all over the place

Sanji left on ship watching duty, is cooking in the kitchen, idly checking with Haki every once in a while to make sure no one unfamiliar shows up

He notices Usopp coming but is right in the middle of something- making food for lunch when everyone returns, but also hashing out food supplies he'll need to buy once it's his turn to leave the ship

So when Usopp shows up, Sanji's distracted, maybe looking at his list, and maybe there's something like this:

"San...ji." There was some odd dragging sound. "Blood."

"Blood?" Sanji looked up from his list and nearly jumped out of his skin. "What the hell happened?!" He jumped the railing to land in front of Usopp, hands uselessly fluttering about his bloodied and broken body. He had to be standing just through pure willpower alone.

"Hun...gry."

Food. Right, yes, Sanji could do food. He could take Usopp up to the infirmary and bring him a plate.

Sanji settled on putting his hands on Usopp's shoulders. His skin was freezing through his shirt. "I've already made heaps for lunch, but I need to patch you up first. Just tell me what you want and I'll bring it to the infirmary."

"Wa...nt."

"Yeah,"-Sanji nodded, starting to get more concerned with the slow responses-"anything you want, Usopp."

"Any... thing?"

"Anything."

With a strength and speed Sanji wasn't expecting, Usopp slammed both of Sanji's wrists against the wall.

"Blood."

Before Sanji could say anything, before he could even take another breath, Usopp surged down to his neck and bit him.

Sanji was about ready to kick him away, regardless of Usopp's current state, and fuming about being caught up in some stupid prank, when he felt the first suck.

"H-Hey Usopp, are you..." serious? Conscious? Under some weird devil fruit power? Sanji didnt know what to ask first.

He never got the chance to figure it out either, as a wave of pure, toe-curling pleasure washed through him. In his surprise, he didn't have time to tone down the full blown moan that slipped his lips.

Usopp continued sucking, though his grip on Sanji's wrists had slackened. His own pleased groans were loud as he drank, the noises right next to Sanji's ear and making it burn with a growing heat.

Whatever this was, Sanji needed to stop it. As a man who needed to defend his love of women, and only women, he couldn't get worked up just by some stupid-

Hun... gry. Usopp had said. Blood.

That- there's no way. Sanji was far past not believing in legends and myths, and his old man was never one to pull his leg on that kind of stuff.

But even Sanji had thought, or maybe hoped, that vampires weren't real.

And for it to be Usopp- Usopp of all people. Sanji knocked his head back against the wall, tears falling freely as his lip wobbled.

"Fuck, fuck!"

The sucking stopped.

Usopp pulled away just enough to look up at Sanji. The way his head was angled, Sanji could see horrific looking bite marks all along his neck, shoulders, under his jaw, down his collar, and disappearing under his shirt.

He had to pause a moment, imagining Usopp having stumbled into a coven's territory. Alone. Probably looking for cool bugs or something else inconsequential, unknowing that he would die within moments.

Sanji hoped it was quick, at least. He hoped this coven wasn't like the one in his books; the ones who would draw it out for as long as possible. Usopp had been gone only a few hours and he must've hobbled to the ship on his own, which could've taken a while, and-

And Usopp was still staring at him, silent, eyes blank, and lips stained red with blood. Sanji's blood.

It hadn't been long since breakfast, but being killed and having all of the blood sucked out of him would probably work up a big appetite.

And, well, Sanji would never let a crewmate go hungry.

So, he put one hand to the back of Usopp's hair- his hair, not his hat, free of it's usual ponytail and covered in leaves and dirt and blood- and guided him back to his neck. Usopp made a questioning noise.

Sanji closed his eyes, let a shaky smile show on his face. He brought his other hand up to press Usopp closer.

"I did say anything, didn't I?"

Usopp didn't respond. After a moment, Sanji felt him lick at the bite marks he left behind- pinpricks compared to the wounds littering his own dark skin- and then, carefully, fit his mouth into those same marks. Once again, he began to drink, this time at a much slower pace.

Regardless of the speed or the gentleness, Sanji still had to fight not to give away how much he was truly enjoying this.

(and then the crew shows up lmao)

[birdiedoesdc]

2, 3, 7, 9, and 20 for the ask meme 🤠

HIIIII HAVEN <3<3 thank you for the ask!!!!!!

(the ask meme in question)

2. a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

i actually have like nothing for this LMAOOO. i do actually regularly read fics or consume content that have headcanons that i'm either meh about or that i outright disagree with because i'm still interested in seeing how they're explored. for me it doesn't really matter if i'm "not sure" about a headcanon--i still wanna see what all the fuss is about. does that make any sense??

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

i guess bruce!! before i got into dc stuff my only real exposure to him was like pop culture osmosis and also the lego batman movie. so my reckoning of him was very dark/angsty/brooding emo guy who broods. and all of this is true!! but now hes also a tired and trying single father with an almost comical amount of mental illnesses and when i see him i go whoa!! it's the guy!!

7. your favorite tropes to read/write/draw

well sibling dynamics. first and foremost always and forever. i will also say that my first instinct as a creative is to be funny, which means a lot of my stuff ends up being very goofy (by design). i also do very much enjoy outsider povs and fics where people are having a lot emotionally thorny conversations

9. a ship that isn't your OTP but that you enjoy

i'm going to say ghostbat, mostly because i know vv little about ghostmaker. but what i do know about ghostmaker makes their dynamic extremely fun!!

20. your very first fandom!

oh boy. literally every answer i could give to this is embarrassing as hell (cringeisdeadcringeisdeadcringeis--) but im prettyyyy sure the first thing i was ever reading and writing (by hand in my little journal) fanfiction for was princess tutu. which is an anime about a ballerina magical girl who is also a duck. theres something about a heartless prince shes in love with and there are a bunch of ravens and cool dance sequences, but i was mostly invested in the emo edge boy who was like stupid in love with her. (fakirxduck5evr)

[ectonurites]

remember a week or two ago when i remembered i could just make gifs out of videos of me and my friends. i forgot to post these ones

[octoagentmiles]

Animals I wish to see in Above and Beyond:

Alternate title: I Am Banging On Silvergate’s Door As We Speak /j

Bees!! because a bee model does in fact exist. I know this. They just need to use it /srs. Plus bees would make a really cute episode anyway- and when they finally do it I am willing to bet $9999 on it being a Vegimals episode.

Orchid mantis, or any kind of mantis really. Why? They are my favourite bug, next question-

Gynandromorph animal(s)!!! They're so cool—they're what happens when an animal with vastly different gender differences (think the harlequin ducks) is born intersex, and they look like Picasso paintings come to life. (it could also be a fun way to introduce a character with they/them pronouns-)

Parrots! (I know we got the mountain parrots but shh-) I desperately want a Pete-centered episode, and give him some friends while you're at it please.

Centipede! They’re literally just remipedes on land. Make it a Shellington episode and call it a day 👍

Snails. I love snails. They're the best mollusks, I am not accepting criticism.

Tarantula. Just because :)

Bunny. They showed an illustration of a non-anthro bunny in The Cold Snap and I have not felt peace since.

I’d gladly take a jackrabbit too; they’re not really rabbits (they’re hares), but if you’ve read that one post you’ll understand. It’s a Kwazii and Tweak episode.

Sammy The Falcon specifically. What is his deal???? They introduced him as Paani's living taxi and gave us ZERO context.

Maned wolves. Weirdos. (affectionate)

Moose. I will not elaborate further.

I’m down to see the chinstrap penguins again, or Ooju and Rocko—I think they should interact 👀

Ostrich?? Emu?? I have nothing else to say.

Ring-Tailed Lemur. They’re another one of my favourite animals, and I think the Wild Kratts fans would get a kick out of it. They deserve nice things.

Mole lizard. Look it up I DARE you. (cw if you're scared of snakes or worms) /nf

[cerbreus]

starting to feel a bit better 👍 thanks for the notes and messages

[jtl07]

You made a perfect start to the writing shenanigans, what a cute little ficlet. You can write them in any universe, and still keep their personality. That’s really one of your many, many strenghts. I believe it’s them when you write! Meet-cutes are fun to read when they’re done well, and this one was 🥰 Now I can picture Bea Google her when she gets back to her room, because she had never heard about her before they met in the cafeteria. Now she wants to learn all about break dance and Ava!!! Lol. Thank you! Okay, new prompt: in propose (now am found), could you please tell us more about why and how Ava decided to leave the box and the note. When did she do it? What made her sure?

aw thanks anon, that's very kind of you <3 and lol yes, Beatrice definitely will be very curious about Ava and her endless stomach and boundless energy

but first - what a great question about propose (now am found) - i didn't put a ton of thought into Ava's side of things, tbh. the only thing i had in my head when i wrote that fic was that it followed this sequence where Ava meets her aunt. and i think ... Ava just ... knows. she's known for a long time. if you were to press her, she'd say she knew from the start - that she'd want Beatrice in her life; that she'd ask her to be her wife.

it doesn't make sense logically - of course not. but Ava likes to think that there's some things stronger than logic and faith and death so of course she will choose - again, again, again - to live, to love:

Beatrice, who laughs at all of Ava's jokes, who's the only one who keeps pace with her puns, her winding tangents, her wandering feet when they go on walks. who holds her hand and holds her in bed, who says her name like no one else - with reverence, with awe.

Beatrice, who will stand at the stove barefoot and bare-shouldered, head bowed not in prayer but in an intense focus. who treats the art of making pancakes (her favorite though she has yet to admit it) as seriously as martial arts (her face soft when she teaches the free self-defense classes at the community center), as seriously as the dinosaur lego set in their study (both shared, leisure and work never unbalanced), as seriously as the planning of their next overseas trip (Aotearoa; Beatrice seems just as if not more excited than Ava after their Lord of the Rings movie marathon).

Beatrice, who still holds herself back when they come across something she wants. at times physically - her hands clasped behind her, back straight like at a museum, as if both the thing and her feelings have been set behind a sign labeled 'do not touch.' at times verbally - her words clipped, her tone without inflection. Ava's seen both many times, the former most recently at a jewelry store Ava had oh-so-casually pulled Beatrice into; the latter when they'd come home and Ava had broached the question.

not the question but a question: "is it something you'd want?" Ava had tried to ask it as carefully as she could, but Beatrice had still stopped sharply. like coming up to a wall, like coming up to the end of a path. and Ava knows - knows that in Beatrice's mind, she's hearing in the same roar of 'you shall not pass' the command 'you shall not want' and it takes everything in Ava's body not to tear open the sky, to yell at the universe, at everything that this woman has endured: there is no better person on this earth; how dare you try to find her wanting, to treat her wants as anything less than a gift.

Beatrice, who has lived, is living, and learning more everyday, had loosened her clasped hands, had trembled and looked up at Ava with tears in her eyes and a quiet truth on her lips: "yes."

so yes, Ava knows. knows also that Beatrice is someone who needs time, and Ava is more than happy to take things at her pace. they have time, after all, time that Ava will give and defend with her life - so they can live it, together, full and free.

they're about to leave for the airport when Ava tucks the box with her promise and the note with her best handwriting into the desk drawer Beatrice only occasionally uses. she knows it'll be found soon enough, that the answer may not come for a while, if at all. but she doesn't mind waiting - not now when she has so much to live for.