#well in my time zone anyway XD

[vrystalius]

How would the Hashira + Upper moons react to their S/O reader kissing them during an argument (it's up to you what the argument is about but i was thinking maybe they were jealous bc she was way too nice to someone else) Like i can imagine them being angry and when they confront her she just kisses them and says a small "Sorry" they can't help but forgive her right?

The Upper Moons getting kissed during a fight

You kiss the Upper Moons during a fight. How will they react?

Pairing: Kokushibo, Douma, Akaza x reader

Note: Sorry for doing it a little differently, I only realised just now that I kind of misunderstood the ask. I’m planning on doing a version for the hashira as well where I will write it more accurately!

(Slight angst, arguments)

Kokushibo

Your arguments are more like debates and discussions rather than screaming. Somehow, Kokushibo demolishes you everytime. He delivers one argument after another, every single word was planned out to make you feel like you’re in the wrong everytime. You’re kind of starting to get sick of feeling stupid by him using terms you’ve never heard of. He has an unfair advantage of being alive for hundreds of years and having six piercing eyes that make you doubt your own ability to think.

This time, you’re prepared. You pulled Kokushibo in by his yukata. Your lips crashed onto his and all of his eyes widened. His jaw locked as you caressed his collarbone while his lips loved against yours for a moment. After pulling away, he became quiet for a moment, as if thinking, before speaking up.

“You use very dirty tricks. I will use them myself in the future.”

Douma

Douma is incredibly pouty and bored during your arguments. He mostly listens while you talk, only trying to tease you into becoming even angrier every now and then. After you went on and on for minutes on why he should stop having his meals inside your bedrooms, he again grew bored. At first, Douma just checked out his nails and picked on some loose skin while listening. After you went from complaining about eating his bloody meals in the bedroom over to how you don’t wanna sit on his lap during his sermons anymore, he began to zone out. Your lips look so soft while you talk. His rainbow eyes were locked with them, dreaming of pulling you close and just shutting you up with a kiss. Yes, that’s a good idea.

While you rambled on and on, Douma grabbed you by your arm and crashed his lips onto yours. He hungrily nibbled on your lower lip while giggling quietly.

“Did I distract you? My apologies, go on! I’m listening, I swear!… What’s with that look, huh?”

Akaza

He gets nervous when you two have an argument. Akaza tries his best not to get too angry and to lash out at you. He doesn’t want to scare you, or even worse, to hurt you in any way. But sometimes, you make it really hard for him to keep his cool. To him, your irritated face and words are the equivalent of the sun hitting his skin. His fists are clenching while he tries to listen properly, but he can’t concentrate. Akaza is trying not to threaten or yell back at you to be able to listsn to your talking properly.

You noticed how hard your boyfriend was trying not to be aggressive towards you and how hard Akaza was concentrating. You sighed and crossed your arms across your chest, watching how his lower lip was quivering. You can’t help but grow softer at the sight. Your hands cupped his cold cheeks as you pulled him closer, placing a kiss on his lips to reassure him that you still love him. You saw how quickly Akaza’s face softened up after your kiss. He let out a soft sigh and placed your hands into his palm.

“Sorry for being like this all the time. I’ll… try to be better. Can I have another kiss though?”

💠

I think Muzan would just continue to ramble on after kissing him, probably even taking offence that you have the audacity to interrupt him during his speech. Also, I really wanna write about cuddles and sleep lately, but I’ll try to restrain myself XD

Anyways, make sure to EAT, SLEEP and DRINK enough!!

Take care of yourselves <3

[dropthedemiurge]

Love for Love's Sake | Things You Didn't Notice #6

Translations and comments for Episode 6 (I have ADHD don't come after me, I was too invested that I bingewatched episodes yesterday and now I need to rewatch the 3 and 4 to make thorough comments on the dialogues). I was prompted by @lurkingshan to pay more attention to the movie posters :D Please let me know your thoughts after!

At first, I wanted to say that the movie titles were translated (at least, in my version of subs) and there was nothing behind them beside obvious but I decided to research more and indeed found somewhat interesting things! (the post will be long so I'll pile screenshots together)

First thing we see – Myungha has agonizing thoughts about "I can't believe I am on a date with a guy (when I'm supposed to be just an NPC/Player in this game)" next to the movie poster with an interesting title "The Guy Who Will Give a Kiss for 10 000 won"

This movie doesn't exist :D However! The title and poster style is clearly based on the old manhwa from ~2006 that's called "The Guy Who Will Give a Kiss for 5 000 won" (lmao they doubled MC's price that's inflation for you).

The note at the bottom says "Top Secret Disclosure: Kissing Method" aka MC is the guy who promises to teach you how to kiss if you give him some money, and the same note is shown in the LFLS poster. I thought the guy on the poster looked similar to Myungha but I think they actually got Taevin (the actor) to pose for this fake poster xD

Which leads me to the first thought that these posters were born out of Myungha's imagination – come on, we just got the scene between him and Yeowoon where they kissed for the first time and Yeowoon asked Myungha to give him time to practice and improve kissing (Myungha with his slightly better experience probably feels like a mentor with some "shady" intentions who eventually falls in love xD) Coincidence? I don't think so.

The second poster on the wall is also about a non-existent movie but before diving into that, here's how Yeowoon comes into the picture.

Two things: "Wonderful Ghost" huge poster on the wall behind him and the caption on the wall next to him.

In case you haven't paid attention, it says "If you come at four in the afternoon, I'll begin to be happy by three," which is a popular romantic phrase that definitely reflects Yeowoon's feelings atm, aww.

Meanwhile, Wonderful Ghost movie (also called as "The SOUL-mate") actually exists! But it's not new, it was released in 2018 and the story is about a guy done with his life after tragic events who becomes haunted by an energetic ghost that changes his life and mindset. (I did phrase this summary deliberately non-specific to make you feel another connection to the current story of LFLS.)

The caption on the poster also says, literally translated, "Let's do it together until the end of the world". This movie has other poster versions with other captions as Google shows but this is the version shown in Love for Love's Sake. Actually, while we're on the topic – I have no idea where "Love for Love's Sake" title came from, does anyone know? Someone in my previous posts speculated about the story based on this title but the Korean title of this series is "연애 지상주의 구역" ("Dating Supremacy Zone", or just "Dating Zone") which is the term that comes up in alert whenever Myungha is close to Yeowoon.

Anyway, back to our zombies, gorillas and demons. The movie Myungha and Yeowoon actually went to watch on their date was "Zombie Gorilla VS Demon Crocodile". The caption on thte poster says "Who will protect the world?"

Again, this movie doesn't exist. Why would they make such a point of showing Myungha crying and experiencing genuine emotions (when he only shed tears after he got scared by the full-scale system error and when his grandma got into hospital)? Well, Myungha explains it to Yewoon by himself.

"Well, it was the first time I see someone crying for a zombie gorilla." "Do you know how epic this movie is? The crocodile was actually an extraterrestrial. He met the gorilla here and joined him to save the world." "The plot is really strange." "It was very emotional."

Does it ring a bell? I don't think I need to add any words. Myungha = someone who came from another world and joined Yeowoon to save him and complete the game with happy ending. Myungha relates a lot and cries. I just find it funny thinking about how "The plot is really strange" and "You have a very strange taste" can be also said to all the viewers of LFLS (well, we all are very invested in this a bit confusing mysterious story as well, aren't we?xD)

I also love how we keep being reminded about the "unreality" of the story, how system can experience bugs and things in the world can glitch and Myungha is never immersed in this new life or his new love story to the 100% (cue all the 'choose anyone but me, go date a better man' and patronizing way he treats all characters around him, instead focusing on preventing them and the world from bad events following author's instructions)

I don't think I have much to add to the rest of the episode, I mirrored the haters articles and messages which were written for the show but the comments are quite generic (I couldn't read all of them but I didn't notice anything unusual). One thing, the DM to Myungha technically says "Die, Tae Myungha".

All I can say is that the online anonymous bullying is really prominent and a huge problem in Korea that leads to celebrities' depression and sometimes suicide. All influencers (and there are a lot of them in SK) are held to unimaginable 'perfect' standard and forums often have anonymous commenting which makes messages even more cruel (but later they addressed the issue and I think at least under news articles in Entertainment/Celebrity section the anonymous function was turned off, still, there are a lot of ways to ruin someone's life online). It happens in every country, of course, but stalking/online bullying is something that can be understood very easily by Koreans because it's often on the news and in the community.

Another little detail – even though Myungha does talk to students who are technically "younger" than him by one school year like he's old and wise, he doesn't use the word 'kid' nearly as much as you'd think xD (but the subs are doing the right thing anyway because how else are you supposed to show that subtle cultural difference between saying Cha Yeowoon and Yeowoon-ah, or Myungha calling Sangwoon by his name when he's frustrated with him instead of cursewords or titles?)

In the phrase "Get it together, kid!" Myungha actually uses the word 새끼 (saekki) which can be a curseword (like 'asshole, bastard', used by school gangster in previous eps) but it also literally means 'a child' that can be used by grandparents for their grandson or by parents, for example. So basically, think of 'son of a bitch' which can be used both as cursing and have literal meaning. Koreans have the same (개새끼 - son of a dog) phrase.

But it doesn't have an affectionate connotation when said by teenagers or adults (unless it's said to close friends without heat), and I am sure Myungha says it with more of "Get it together, you brat!" meaning. I just used this screenshot to tell you about Korean cursewords, he-he.

+ bonus: there is no translation or anything, but since we were talking about posters, I just found it funny and adorable how Yeowoon visually replaced here the poster behind him xD

[prylc]

FINALLY FINISHED IT

Pov, you're sitting in the front row and Killer is looking directly at you.

-

Idol Au/Idol Killer belongs to @zucchiyeni

Killer belongs to @/rahafwabas

Initial pose and lineart below

-

Made it just in time for the DTIYS from @zucchiyeni ^^

I had gone out of my comfort zone and tried out a lot of new things in this 👀 esp since I used ibis on phone for this with my stylus XD

Attempted to do more of a soft shading, finer lineart, clothing creases, dynamic pose/perspective, hard light (I tried LOL), shadows and a new skull shape. Think it went pretty well 👀

I literally have 400+ layers and spent 28 hours on this LMAO

HOPE U LIKE IT ✨✨ ^^

Anyways, here was the initial pose I had done before I wanted to make it more dynamic and stuff. And the lineart since its barely noticeable in the actual art

And filtered pieces I kinda liked ^^

[skyward-floored]

I think I’m coming down with a cold again and possibly have a fever but I’m here to scream about the update some more anyway! (and analyze a bit but mostly scream). Dawn part 7 here we go!

(All images belong to @linkeduniverse <3)

First off I have to say this was my favorite panel I think, it’s so pretty. The faint glow! The colors! The cape over his shoulder! Amazing. This truly was Sky’s update, I loved every bit of focus he got. Jojo fed us well :D

So it looks like I was wrong about Sky reading everyone’s mail. He just immediately took off after the mailman instead (and spent all morning chasing him ha!),

Side note but I love the npc guy. He’s simple but still Zelda-y. the character design in this comic is just👌

Looks like the mailman has a list of who he’s supposed to deliver to, or at least that’s my guess. It could be a map maybe, but that probably wouldn’t do much good since he’s time traveling?? How does he do it. Don’t question the magic of the postman I guess.

*green hill zone music intensifies*

Shoutout to Sky’s face here, I make the same expression when I’m trying to chase after my nephew and stop him from eating crayons

This looks like a postcard no joke, I'd frame this and put it on my wall. Plus the way the trees were done in the background is really neat, there’s something just really pleasing about this panel. Also the return of Sky: Just Standing There

They’re all bein silly <3

...except for Four. Because I think him and Warriors both realize that Sky isn’t just telling them what he was doing all morning— he’s got something important to say, something they all actually need to know.

(Downfall duo laughing together I love them)

Also I agree with everyone saying Warriors is close to snapping— they’ve all had a pretty stressful 24 hours, but Warriors has been breaking up arguments and repeatedly checking on everyone while they’re struggling, and... I don’t think he’s had a break. Take a nap bud, please?

SKY TALKING TO FI MY BELOVED he's hoping there’s enough of her aware to help him dowse hhhhh. And then he’s so sad she didn’t seem to hear him waahhh 😭

It doesn’t look to me like she truly helped much, but maybe Fi gave just enough of a nudge for Sky to find the postman’s footprints? Even in her sleep? She is glowing just a bit there... Interesting to think about.

It’s confirmed that the postman uses the portals! And that the Shadow is alive and kicking! Uh-oh! (Also does anyone else think this one seems more... firey? Then the last one? Maybe it's just me).

And the chopped-off darknut head is still there too.... and I’ll bet you twenty rupees somebody is going to kick it when the Links go through the portal later. (My guess is Wild but I’d put my money on Legend or Wind too).

I’m also really curious where that portal leads... My guess is either Twilight’s Hyrule or Sky’s, based on what hints we’ve been getting, but I really don’t know. It’ll be fun to see!

*Wind rapidly thinking of at least three conspiracy theories*: SUS

Also an amazing expression from him I’m laughing so hard, he really said 3:<

Tag yourself I’m Four

Also Sky just chugging away at the stamina potion, poor guy XD he must be beat from all that running around, I hope he has some more time to sit before the Links get moving.

(And I mentioned this in another post, but Legend looks so alarmed at this information, as does Wild... it’s not going to be pretty when they cross paths with the Shadow again, that’s for sure)

I love when Time breaks out the dramatic language... makes me remember that this guy is going to be the Hero’s Shade someday (who’s speech is 99% dramatic things).

Now the Links just have to decide what to do next... will they stay another day at the inn for Twilight’s sake, or get moving right away? Is Four going to confront Twilight about the dark magic he uses to turn into Wolfie?

So many questions... but in the meantime I will gladly continue to reread this amazing update, I really loved this one :D

[rafyki]

Goth! Nico/ Surfer! Percy AU Part 7!

Finally some proper progress for our disaster boys!!

Oh I loved writing this chapter SO MUCH!! And in fact I managed to basically write all 2.7k words today lol I really was in the zone today - this is what percico does to me xD

(@neo-kid-funk, there's something I hope you'll notice here, hehe 👀)

Enjoy~

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

You can also read it on AO3!!

~~~~

It was late when Percy got to the beach, late enough that the sun was already down, the red and orange from the sunset already gone from the sky. Late enough that Percy knew it was stupid going there in the hope of meeting a certain pretty goth boy that had been haunting his dreams for the past months.

If he remembered correctly (and he did, he didn’t spend so much time thinking and looking at Nico to not know perfectly well this sort of thing), his shift should have been over almost two hours ago. There was no way he was still at the kiosk.

And yet.

And yet Percy couldn’t help himself - he had arrived home, he had thrown his luggage on the floor, and then he was out of the door again, following the all too familiar path that led him to the beach.

He could feel himself vibrating out of his own skin, knew he probably had the most foolish smile painted on his lips; he was perfectly aware he had probably been smiling like that nonstop for the past three days.

And he really didn’t care one bit. Because Nico had asked about him.

When Annabeth had called him, she had sounded so excited that Percy had known right away it was important - she wasn’t the type to get excited for nothing, but to be perfectly honest, Percy had expected something like her favorite architect was going to finally give a lecture in her university or something; he had not be prepared for what she was about to tell him to make his world shift around its axis (dramatic, yes, but, again, Percy didn’t care).

“Oh my god, Seaweed brain, you might actually have a chance!”, is what she told him, and Percy had been too confused to do more than make a questioning sound in response.

“He asked about you!”, she continued. Percy could almost see her smile through the phone.

His heart leapt in his chest, but he willed it to calm down. Jumping to conclusion just to be disappointed after wouldn’t feel good. It didn’t work, his heart was already too far ahead, running.

“What are you talking about, Annabeth?”

“Your dream boy, Percy! The goth boy from the kiosk! Your Nico!”

And it was really all Percy could do to not let himself fall on the ground and let out a scream like a schoolgirl at her first crush.

“What do mean he asked about me? Annabeth, please, you’re gonna give me a stroke here”.

She laughed at him, but then finally did explain. 

Percy hadn’t stopped smiling since that conversation. Part of him had wanted to get on a plane and go back right then and there just to see Nico. It was so stupid, but what did it matter when it felt so good? Percy felt like he deserved to be stupidly happy about this when he had spent the past few months pining and hoping and dreaming about a boy he sort of wanted to gift the moon to. 

And so, here he was now, feeling like he was walking on a cloud instead of sand. It didn’t matter that Nico most probably wasn’t there, it still felt ridiculously good, because Percy would see him tomorrow anyway, and he couldn’t wait.

Nico had been worried about him, had asked about him. He cared about Percy enough to ask someone he didn’t even know if he was alright.

There was really no possible way to keep the happy smile off Percy’s lips.

The seaside air filled his lungs, and it only made his smile grow bigger. He still threw a glance at the kiosk - it was still open, but as Percy had expected, Nico wasn’t there.

Still smiling, he stopped to take off his shoes and started walking aimlessly around the shore. It always felt good, just walking on the beach, feeling the sand all around him.

He kept walking for a while, his mind inevitably pulled towards the same direction.

And so, when he saw the very object of his daydreams right before his eyes, his first thought was that his imagination was getting a little out of hand. He stopped, looked, blinked, and looked again, thinking his pipe dream would have disappeared. 

But no, it was still there. Still a little further away from where Percy was, but Percy would recognize him everywhere.

Nico was sitting on the shore, just a few feet away from the ocean, knees up and arms around them as he looked toward the horizon.

Percy’s heart lost a beat, stopped completely, then started running and running like it wanted to reach Nico as soon as possible.

He looked so incredibly ethereal in the low light of the dusk, Percy felt his breath get stuck in his throat. 

His feet started moving before he could realize it, and he started walking closer.

Nico had his hair down, and oh, Percy had never seen him with his hair down, he always had it tied up in a ponytail when he was working; it hit him, all at once, that this was the first time he saw him not behind a counter, the first time he could talk to him as just two people (friends? perhaps?) instead of a customer and a retail worker.

It felt important. A huge turning point, somehow.

Nico looked up when Percy was just a few feet away from him, before he could find the voice to greet him.

Their eyes met, and woah, yes, that definitely felt like a turning point.

Nico was looking at him like he was the last person he expected to see, eyes wide and lips parted in surprise. Percy forced himself not to stare, but it was difficult when really the one thing he wanted the most was to just stare and stare and bask in how pretty Nico was. 

“Ehi”, he said, finding his voice again before it started to get awkward. “Hi, Nico”.

A beat, when it seemed it was Nico’s turn to try and get his voice back.

“Percy- hi”.

Percy got closer, sat beside him - a proper, socially acceptable distance, even without a counter in between them. His heart was dancing like crazy in his chest.

“You’re back”, Nico said, then seemed to realize what he said and turned to look away, back at the ocean. “I mean- I didn’t expect to see you”.

He was so cute. Percy wanted to reach out and take his hand, to caress his cheek and feel if it was warm from the blush. Oh he wanted to kiss him so bad he was about to go crazy.

“Me neither”, Percy said. “I got back just a few hours ago, and then came here”. He licked his lips, debating on what to say. ”I missed the beach”.

I missed you, he wanted to say, but the words died on his lips. Now that would definitely be too much.

Nico looked back at him. Percy decided he could allow himself to be just a little daring.

“I’m happy I found you here though”, he said, and each one of his words was accompanied by a somersault done by his heart. He wondered if Nico could see what the smile on his lips meant.

Nico didn’t reply right away, but Percy could see the small smile that came up on his lips, and that helped just a little to calm down his frantic heart.

“Me too”, he said in the end, so low that his words threatened to be taken away by the sea breeze. Percy caught them though, and held them close.

This felt way too heavy to call it a simple crush.

Silence fell between them, and it wasn’t weird exactly, but it wasn’t comfortable either - it was the kind of silence where it’s clear both you and the other person are desperately trying to find something to say; something, possibly, that won’t make you want to bury yourself under the sand out of embarrassment after wording it out loud.

“What are you doing here, by the way?”, Percy ended up saying. “Hasn’t your shift ended like two hours ago?”

Nico looked at him, head tilted to the side in question. “You remember my shift hours?”

Oh, damn.

“Huh, well- I spend a lot of time here?”, Percy said, and it sounded way more like a question than a statement.

Nico laughed, shy and soft, and Percy thought that dying of embarrassment was worth it after all, if it got him that.

“So you know Jason’s shift hours too?”

“Who’s Jason?”

A moment of silence passed when Nico kept looking at Percy. Percy would have given everything to know what he was thinking.

He was ready to go and hide in the ocean when another soft laugh left Nico’s lips.

“Fine, I only remember yours”, Percy said in the end. Oh how he had missed flirting with Nico, how he had missed that pretty smile. 

He looked so good with his hair down, flowing lightly in the soft breeze, Percy wanted to bury his hand in it, wanted to find out what it felt like.

There was just something about Nico, something that made it impossible for Percy to look away, like he was caught in his gravitational field and he couldn’t escape even if he wanted, and he just kept being dragged closer and closer. He was caught in Nico’s orbit, a satellite to his planet.

Nico looked almost regal in the low light, sitting with his back straight as he went back to look at the ocean, a small smile still on his lips. Percy wouldn’t be too surprised to find out he had been a prince in another life.

“I like to just sit here on the beach for a while after I finish at work”, Nico said, cutting Percy’s wandering mind off. “It’s peaceful”.

“I thought you didn’t like the ocean”.

“I never said I don’t like it”, Nico replied, rolling his eyes at him. “I said I don’t like getting into the water. But I like looking at it”.

Percy hummed, thinking about it. “It’s so big - the ocean, I mean”, he said. “Sometimes, I feel like I wanna get lost in it”.

It was probably a weird thing to say; Percy wasn’t sure where the confession was coming from. Somehow, it came natural with Nico.

“Doesn’t it scare you?”

“Sometimes”, Percy replied. “But it’s a good kind of scared, I don’t know how to explain it”.

Once again, silence fell between them. This time though, it was different, a little lighter, a little more comfortable.

Percy let himself get lost in the feeling of being on the beach, of the sea air and salty scent filling his nose and lungs, mixed with the feeling of being so close to Nico, of the warmth he could almost feel coming from him, of his own heart pounding in his chest.

Before he could think about it too much, he got up, stretched a hand out to Nico.

“Come on”, he said.

Nico was looking at him confused, clear questions in his eyes. Maybe he was thinking that Percy was crazy. And, truth be told, Percy did feel just a little crazy at that moment.

“What?”

“Let’s go in the water”, Percy said. “Not much, just our legs- come on”.

Nico blinked up at him. Percy’s hand was still outstretched towards him.

“Our clothes will get wet”.

“Doesn’t matter, they’ll dry off”.

“It’s a stupid idea”.

“Yeah, but it’ll be nice, I promise”.

A beat, then Nico took his hand. They fit well together, Nico’s hand in Percy’s bigger one. Percy felt the urge to interlace their fingers. He managed to hold himself back, but even once Nico was up, he still didn’t let go.

Nico didn’t either, though, and the realization made Percy’s heart go even crazier than it already had.

He started walking backward, using their joined hands to pull Nico with him, closer and closer towards the water.

“Don’t worry, I’ll protect you”, he said. He was probably back to smiling like a fool, but what did it matter when Nico was looking at him like that, smiling softly back with a clear blush tinting his cheeks pink? Percy wouldn’t have been able to stop smiling even if he had wanted to.

“Idiot”, Nico murmured, and it sounded so fond, Percy felt his heart melt, merging with the water beneath their feet.

Nico hissed when the water touched his feet and Percy couldn’t help but laugh at him. The way he looked back at him with a frown on his face made him laugh a little more and think that he really, really wanted to kiss it away.

Still, Nico kept going willingly as Percy kept pulling him along, step after step, until the water reached almost up to their knees.

They still hadn’t let go of each other’s hand. Percy didn’t want to be the first one to let go; he hoped Nico was thinking the same thing.

“See, it feels nice, doesn’t it?”

Nico seemed to think about it a little. “It’s cold”.

“That’s not an answer, Nico”.

Again, Nico rolled his eyes at him. “I guess… it’s not that bad”.

“I’ll take that as a win”, Percy said, and laughed.

It really did feel so good, but it probably had more to do with the hand still held inside his than with the ocean itself. Percy could barely bring himself to focus on the water, all of his senses couldn’t feel anything but Nico, his skin against his, the soft look in his eyes and the pretty smile still in place on his lips.

“I will get to teach you how to surf, at some point”.

When Nico laughed, Percy could swear he could feel the sound in his soul. “Don’t get too ahead of yourself now”.

They stayed in the water for another few minutes, then went back to the shore. It was like a silent agreement when they let go of each other's hands, went to get their shoes, and started walking along the shore side by side.

Percy missed the contact already.

They were walking close, close enough that Percy could have easily reached out and took Nico’s hand again. 

“So”, he said, breaking the silence. “Annabeth told me you asked about me”.

Percy loved it when Nico blushed, he liked that it happened so easily. 

“Huh, Annabeth is your friend?”, Nico asked, and Percy nodded. “Yeah, huh. You usually come here pretty often, so when you didn’t come for a whole week, I… got worried, I guess”.

Percy could feel his heart swelling into his chest. 

“That’s nice of you”.

Nico just shrugged, like it was no big deal, like the thought of it hadn’t left Percy laying awake at night for three days straight.

Maybe, just maybe, he could be a little braver tonight.

“Mh, maybe-”, he started, then cleared his throat. “Maybe we could exchange numbers? You know, so you wouldn’t get worried again, you could just ask me. And I could do the same, if you didn’t come to work for some reason”.

Percy could feel each one of his heart’s beats in his ears, so loud he couldn’t hear the sound of the waves anymore.

Until Nico nodded. “Yeah, uhm, that’s a good idea- I’d like that”, he murmured, and took his phone out to hand it to Percy. Percy accepted it and gave him his own, like in a dream.

It felt like a hallucination, putting his number into Nico’s phone.

Now, his mind was all white noises and silent screaming, as they went back to walk, side by side. Percy held onto his phone like a newfound treasure.

When they reached the end of the beach, Percy wanted nothing more than to turn around and just do it all over again. Maybe he could will the time to slow down if he tried hard enough.

“This was nice”, he just said instead.

Nico nodded. “Yeah”, he said, with the prettiest smile on his lips. “See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow”, Percy said back, even though he was sure he would also see him tonight in his dreams.

He waved Nico goodbye, and stayed there looking at him as he walked away.

Oh, this definitely felt way bigger than a crush.

[izartn]

On Blue Lock, Episode Nagi movie:

It was like one of those outsider pov fics from a secondary character pov but official. Given that's one of my fave genres of fic amd I knew that about the movie coming in I enjoyed the perspective it offered, and also the melodrama of NagiReo xD

Also why was the ost so much better than in the anime itself? Did I blitz too quickly through the episodes? It made the kinda recap this was, entertaining as it got, much better. Why XD I hope that ost is in season 2.

Liked how NagiReo were the last ones to cross that door and that Ego had to bait Ngi into it. Would have messed up his 300 teens plan for Blue Lock is these two refused lol though I think he was absolutely prepared for that. Funny how Nagi is the one who gets the Blue Lock mentality despite being the reluctant of the pair.

I loled at how little the other guys in V mattered though, and at the replay of the match against Z, Nagi getting more and more fixated in Isagi and football for himself, to Reo alarm and happiness respectively.

I am not the only one who thinks Nagi is/was depressed due to a lack of challenge and isolation in his life, right? That whole, leave me I don't want to even try, just want to stay in my comfort zone idling the days away....

Going to other matters....

Also. Why did that Isagi and Bachira separation at Stage 2 look 100% more gay than it was in the anime? I swear it was the typical Shonen friendship on the season. Ah I know. Because Nagi, BL character that he is, was there remembering himself and Reo in rosy flashbacks. Hilarious taking what happened just before between them. But then Nagi is confident on their friendship in a way that Reo just isn't.

The contrast between their mental states re:change are so fucking funny in a sad way too. Reo is so insecure, compared to Nagi, I guess it comes from his family reputation and money being all he was before he meet Nagi and so he's insecure about his own merits but really. He's coping about as well as my bestie in HS did to her situationship with another girl collapsing when she was 14, that's the level of gay ass failing were talking about. That Nagi just didn't voice aloud the emotional reassuring parts to Reo during the breakup was so teenage boy of him, he just thinks he's being clear enough and then, everybody else can see Reo is just. Not manging it well. Love that they just fucking went pass Nagi being brutal to Reo on the 3vs3, like. Yes this is Nagi PoV the movie no you don't get to see what the fuck was he thinking. I personally imagine he was trying to like, do a reverse psychology on Reo, but it didn't work(?) (except it kinda did) bc Nagi has a 0 in interpersonal communication. Who knows though. Maybe the manga?

Anyways I'm really happy about that post-credits and additional time! So season 2 is gonna start from the jump after the 50 days timeskip, huh? Not surprised at all by who I saw there as the starting 11 for the U-20 match, of course our protags and company are there.

That after all the movie they end up bringing it back to NagiReo kinda having maked up, and Reo having friends/rivals telling him to quit the sad face, they're gonna be the best is soooo funny. Yes Reo you have friends, you're there on the 25 of 300 even if you're on the sidelines right now, relax XD Happy for him he seems to get friends other than Nagi, he needs more than a (boy)cough(bestie) friend.

And that was it!!! Thanks to @ashen-sky for telling me to wait for the post credits! Very appreciated given almost my whole sala walked out.

[medusapelagia]

WIP Wednesday Weekend

Thanks to the wonderful @kallisto-k who tagged me! I'll post it now and write during the weekend because in my time zone Wednesday is almost gone XD!

Last week I worked so well that now I have 2 sapphic fics, lol!

Here’s how it works:

In a reblog of this post or new thread, post up to five (5) filenames of your WIPs

Post a snippet from one of them. Snippet must be words you wrote in the last 7 days. We’re posting progress here. If you haven’t made any, go make some and come back to play!

After you’ve posted, people can send you an ask with one of your file names. You must then write 3 sentences in that file. If the filename is one you can't share from, write 3 sentences on it anyway, and then 3 more on another to share.

That’s it! You can invite others to join in, or just post.

If you’re reading this, you’re invited! If you see someone posting a WIP Wednesday Game snippet, send them an ask! Make them write.

This are the options:

🏴‍☠️- Hidden Treasure (omegaverse, metal sandwich, pirate au) Stranger Things Big Bang

💍- Getting to know you (again) (steddie, forced marriage, amensia au) Steddie Big Bang

❓- Secret Sapphic BB

🚙 - Harringrove genderbend

🚀- Steddie Space AU

🪄- 1Ml words Steddie celebration fic

🦈- SharkBilly 2

(I have many others but those are the ones I REALLY need to work on 😂

So please: ask me!!! 😂)

A little snippet from: Hidden Treasure:

"This is my home. I'm going to leave when I decide to, no sooner. And I'm not helpless. I'm a strong alpha who can defend her pack. I have friends and connections, I'm not worried about a bunch of nobles who like to play seamen." she replies, taking her wooden pipe and lighting it, then she puts her hand in her pocket and retrieves a bloody golden medallion, "Guess this is yours.” she says, offering it to Billy who grabs it with trembling hands. He thought he would never see it again. “Thank you,” he mutters. Mrs. Wheeler nods, dragging some smoke, “Now go. And take care."

This is my no pressure tag list:

@bellandora, @oiveyzmir, @helpimstuckposting, @pezilla, @penny00dreadful,

@katyawriteswhump, @karadanverss, @oh-stars, @rindecision, @midsummer-semantics,

@thatgirlwithasquid, @sidekick-hero, @hbyrde36, @ilovecupcakesandtea, @slippy-slip

@hornedqueenofhell

and everyone else who si working on their BBs!!!

[wastemanjohn]

You KNEW my prompt was gonna include pregnancy lmao but I’m gonna say samdean accidental pregnancy — your choice if Dean or Deanna, your choice which season but I wanna see Dean(na) confessing to Sam that s/he’s knocked up!

here you go mate <3 (sorry for sneaking my deanna and david bowie headcanon in here but i had reason to believe you wouldn't mind xD - and exploring this pushed me nicely out of my comfort zone so thank you for the prompt!)

The skies over the salvage yard are pink with shepherd's delight clouds.  The evening breeze has a little bite, and the air smells like rotting oil and dead leaves. The latter scent is one Sam associates with shoplifting school supplies, with the good coffee shops opening up on campus again. It's an awkward nostalgia, but it comes to him anyway as he buttons up his shirt for warmth and makes a start on staking out the boulevard of broken cars, armed with two bottles of El Sol and a mental note of all the phrases he's learned not to say. Deanna's gotta be out here somewhere.

The thing is, Sam thinks as he passes the nearly restored Impala, it had seemed like his sister was doing a little better. She's still sharp tongued and irritable, but she's not been spending 12 hours a day doing god knows what under that hood. She's been hanging out with Sam and Bobby more in the evenings, not really saying much, but sometimes she smiles with her whole face at something someone says, and Sam's always a little surprised at the force of his relief. She's even been talking a bit about getting out on the road again, even if she never directly mentions Dad; but Sam's caught her quietly leafing through his journal now and then lately. Not that he's said anything about it, because that's just asking for trouble; and anyway, regardless of any improvement, Sam still has no idea what's going on in Deanna's head, really. She feels very far away.

She went out this afternoon. For hours. Didn't say where she was going; but it's got to be the first time she's left Bobby's place in weeks. She left her phone behind on the nightstand, in this way that Sam couldn't help but suspect was intentional, because there had to be something about that; had to be something in the way Deanna caught Sam's eye through the window as she was coming back, coming all slow down the path with Dad's jacket over her shoulders and this tight expression on her face. Something in the way Deanna had sharply changed direction at the sight of him, veering off until she faded into the salvage yard and Sam couldn't see her anymore. And it's not that Sam meant to be hovering near the front of the house at the exact moment of her return like a worried parent, but shit happens.

Let her be, son, Bobby had said, without looking up from his scotch and that leatherbound demonology book he'd been annotating all day. Harder you push, the more she's gonna clam up.

It bothers Sam when Bobby talks like that, like he knows Deanna better than Sam does or something. As for letting her be - well, if Bobby knows Sam at all, he's got a strange way of showing it.

As Sam goes deeper into the yard, he can hear music. Tinny, faint; but Sam recognizes David Bowie. He spent enough time being subjected to every single tape the guy ever made, even the really out there ones, over and over again as a kid to know that voice anywhere. That had been one of Deanna's more intense phases. Sam thinks she finds him comforting now, maybe; familiar, well worn, like an old blanket. She'd deny that, of course, the way she always denies shit that she thinks sounds girly, or maybe just vulnerable - but it hadn't been lost on Sam over the past year, how Deanna would play those tapes during nearly every overnight drive they took. Her hands always a little too tight on the steering wheel, Dad's unknown whereabouts breathing down the backs of their neck like a spirit.

Sam follows that bustling piano, ch-ch-changes, until he finds his sister. She's sitting on the floor, leaning against the dented door of an eighties truck with a mangled hood. The windows are down. The music is coming from inside.

Dad's jacket is so big over Deanna's shoulders. It practically drowns her, looks kind of ridiculous, if Sam were to be mean about it; still smells like Dad's cigarettes. Deanna doesn't look up, when Sam approaches, but she doesn't hide her face or snipe at him to fuck off either. Which means this is already going well.

"Hey." Sam says it cautiously. "What are you doing out here?" 

Her eyes roll up at him. "Making bacon and eggs, jackass. What's it look like I'm doing?"

Sam doesn't know, actually. Still, he takes the sarcasm on the chin. He holds one of the beer bottles out to Deanna; she glances at it, then shakes her head.

It surprises Sam, but he doesn't push. "You look like crap," he offers.

Deanna snorts. "Well. Don't you know how to make a girl feel special."

There's no bite in it. That tells Sam they're okay. She does, though; look like crap, that is. Tired; washed out. She's been sleeping in the day a lot. Bobby says it's the grief, that she needs it. Sam could believe that. He wonders, though, if Bobby's heard Deanna throwing up in the night lately. Not just one of her tactical upchucks to stave off a hangover, because she's not been drinking all that much lately; but these real hacking puke sessions that jolt Sam out of sleep in the early hours of the morning. She never comes back to her bed afterwards. And Sam has his suspicions about that too, like with the left behind phone; it's Deanna's way of not giving him a chance to pry. She knows how thin the wall between the bathroom and the spare bedroom is.

"Can I sit?" Sam asks.

Deanna shrugs. It's as good as permission.

Sam lowers himself down beside her, gets comfy on the rough gravel. He puts down the beers; doesn't feel much like drinking by himself.

They sit in silence for a while. Puts Sam on edge; but it's hard to know what to say to Deanna most of the time these days, which isn't a position he's ever been in before. Then again, they've never been in the position of losing their father before, so there's that. It still doesn't feel real. It probably never will.

"Keys were still in the ignition," Deanna says, nodding up towards the truck. "Tapedeck works. Engine's salvageable. Bobby's way too quick to junk these babies. Upsets me."

Sam smiles. "Dare you to say that to his face."

"Hey, maybe I will. If he gave me half a day with this death trap I'd get her purring again. Turn her into a whole new woman."

She folds her arms, tilts her head back against that dented door. Her eyes are kinda pink and bleary.

"You should see the tapes in the glove compartment," she adds. "'S a fucking goldmine.

"Is this Hunky Dory?" Sam asks.

Deanna raises an eyebrow. "Wow. And there I was thinking you weren't paying attention all this time."

"You didn't exactly give me a choice. You only played this album every day for like ten years."

Deanna grins. "I'm proud of you, Sammy. I knew you'd learn to love it eventually."

"Love is a strong word," Sam replies.

Deanna snorts again. Something like affection passes over her face. Sam hasn't seen that in a while.

"I lost this album years ago," Deanna says. "Think it ended up with Dad, maybe. You know how our stuff used to always get mixed up." 

Sam's a little stunned. And maybe it shows, because Deanna narrows her eyes at him. "What?"

"Nothing." He swallows - "Just that you, uh, mentioned Dad."

"Yeah. So?"

It's quick, defensive enough for Sam to know to shut up. He's getting good at that kind of thing. 

Deanna's scowl fades; she grins, lightly punches his thigh. "You creep. Quit staring at me."

Sam didn't realize he was. But if they were a different kind of people, maybe Sam would tell Deanna how pretty she looks under the dying sunlight, under those pink, glowy clouds; but he wouldn't really know how to put something like that, and Deanna would never let him live it down if he said it aloud anyway. So he keeps it to himself. Instead, he watches Deanna pull at a spooling thread from her shirt sleeve peeking out from beneath Dad's jacket.

"You know," Deanna says, "being out here always reminds me of us being kids. Bobby letting us play in the yard until the sun went down. Bringing us lemonade. Do you remember?"

Sam smiles. "Yeah, Dee. Of course I remember."

Deanna carries on like she wasn't expecting an actual response. "We'd never had homemade lemonade. Remember how I used to try to make it for you when we got back on the road? Mine always kinda sucked, though."

Sam feels a little on edge, hyper aware of everything his body is doing, like he's trying not to spook a wild gazelle. This is the most Deanna has spoken in weeks. "You tried," he offers, because she did, Deanna always tried so hard with stuff like that. He hasn't thought about Deanna's crappy lemonade in years. With Bowie warbling about life on mars on the stereo, and the memory of Deanna's sticky too-bitter attempt alive on his tongue, it feels like it's 1992 again.

Deanna keeps pulling at that thread. "You know, back when I used to watch you - I was, I dunno, maybe ten or eleven. And you were so - you were so damn innocent, you know? Just really cute, I guess."

"Cute?" Sam echoes.

"Yeah." There's this tight, half-smile on her mouth that Sam can't quite read. "You were so curious about shit all the time. Always wanting me to tell you stories. Always getting yourself scraped and bruised because you couldn't stop fucking climbing stuff." 

Sam isn't sure what to say. There's something about remembering himself as a child that makes him uncomfortable. Maybe it's the idea of being so small and so helpless; or maybe it's the memory of that hard-to-place unease that lived inside of him like blood from the moment he was fully sentient, that gut-deep sense that something about his life - his family, his barely present Daddy - just wasn't right.

"You were a pain in the ass," Deanna continues, with this fond chuckle. "Asking me questions all the time. Wanting to know how every little thing in the world worked. If I didn't know the answers, I'd just make 'em up. You believed everything I said." She clicks her tongue. "Man, do I miss that."

Why are we talking about this? Sam nearly asks. But that runs the risk that Deanna will snap shut like an oyster, and Sam will never get the answer at all. So he keeps his mouth closed. He lets Deanna carry on.

"Sammy, I used to -" She trails off, looking weirdly sheepish. "This is so so fucking weird, but like - when I was watching you, I used to wish you were actually my kid. And you - you kinda were, you know? Felt like you were mine... mine just as much as you were Dad's."

Dad, again. Sounds so unfamiliar in Deanna's voice now that it takes Sam a moment to process the revelation that came before it. "You did? Seriously?" is all he manages.

"Yeah." She's looking at her lap. Still that tight half-smile. "Seriously."

And Sam struggles to know what to do with that, what it means. Because it's hard, lately, for Sam to be angry with his father about much; makes him feel almost empty, actually, after a lifetime of nursing this near-addictive resentment over things he never fully understood. And of those things, Deanna - getting her stuff mixed up with Dad's, being so intertwined with him, resembling her martyred mother so much Dad could never stop commenting on it - Deanna seeing Sam as her own, apparently - well, he doesn't know. Sometimes Deanna just says shit. He probably isn't meant to read into it.

And besides, Sam doesn't know anything for sure. Always felt like he never really wanted to. And as he's already made his choice to love his father, he needs to keep it that way.

Deanna shuts her eyes, then. They're puffy under her lashlines, kissed with gray. "I mean," she says, "Don't get me wrong. You annoyed the crap outta me sometimes." She shrugs, hard, like a defence to an attack Sam hasn't made. "I - I do know that, Sammy. I know there was times I coulda been nicer to you." She looks a little pained.

"We were just kids Dee," Sam offers. "Not like either of us were exactly saints." 

"I keep remembering," Deanna continues, in that way, like Sam hadn't spoken again, "There was this time Dad kind of - got caught up in something. Still don't know what. But he wasn't home when he said he'd be. We were running out of everything. Food, money. No one was answering the phone. And you - you were driving me insane, Sammy."

Deanna says the last part a little too quietly; her head bows, hair covering her face. And Sam thinks he knows where this is going. He's getting a little uneasy.

"You just - you kept on and on with your damn questions. 'Where's Dad? What does he do while he's away? When's he coming back?' Then you - you asked about Mom."

"Deanna-"

She shakes her head, cutting him off. Something bitter on her lips, not quite a smile. "Who punches a five year old in the face, Sammy? I can't believe I -"

"You were only nine, Dee." Sam reminds her, when she doesn't finish the sentence. "You didn't know any better."

And it's true; Dad made sure of that, with his shoot first, ask questions later manifesto. But Deanna would never see it that way. She just laughs, colorless, bitter. "Yeah. I did. I shoulda, at least. I just -" She huffs. "Sometimes it feels like I just - I couldn't stop screwing up."

"You were doing it all by yourself." As the words leave his mouth, Sam registers how they sound. Like something you'd say about a single mom, some divorced thirty something with three kids, working two jobs to keep everyone fed and clothed. Not a nine year old.

"I guess -" Deanna sucks in a breath. "I just think about that a lot. That's all."

There's this dread growing inside of Sam as he watches Deanna's mouth twist up; she blinks, angrily. "Are you - crying?"

"Shut up," she mumbles.

She turns her face away a little. Draws her knees up to her chest. And it's strange and unsettling for Sam to see, like a horse walking on its hind legs or something; because Deanna doesn't cry, crying is for girls, and anatomy aside, she doesn't much like being seen as one of those. Even before Dad's pyre she stood, solemn and silent, breathing slow, composed. A hell of a lot more composed than Sam was, anyway.

"What's going on, Dee?"

She shrugs. That's very different to I'm fine.

And if things had been in any way close to normal over the last couple of months, Sam might touch Deanna's hand right about now. Lace their fingers; cup her face. Kiss her, maybe, the way she hasn't let him kiss her in a long time. Not since - well - not since the night they let Dad go. Sam can still remember the heat from the fire on his face, the way Deanna's hair felt grainy with ash; how her lips had tasted earthy and swollen, how she felt so small and fragile in his arms, more than she ever had. Still his big sister. Still the person he wants when he's scared and spiralling and doesn't know what to do but grab onto her, and hold on and on and on.

Deanna sniffs, loudly. "I just - I had so much on my shoulders, you know? Dealin' with you... dealin' with Dad..."

Her voice cracks a little. Sam says, "It was - it was a lot. I know." 

A lot. So much summed up in those two words, but it's not like Sam's had a lot of practise in talking about this.

Deanna laughs down at her folded knees, all thick. "You don't know, Sammy. You don't know at all. And I'm - I'm really glad you don't."

Sam isn't sure what to say to that. Partly because he can't gauge Deanna's tone, and partly because that feels like one of the most honest things Deanna's ever said to him. And now he's really worried.

"I just - I always wished I had another chance, you know? A chance to do over all those screw ups I made."

Tentatively, Sam reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder. It tenses a little beneath his fingers; but she doesn't pull away. That's good.

"I don't know where all this is coming from, Dee," Sam admits.

There's a pause, and Deanna seems to blink for a little too long. "It's - Sammy, I just keep on thinking. Dad's - Dad's gone." 

It's the first time she's actually said it. Sam swallows; throat feels a little thick. "Yeah. I know."

"And I was just getting - you get used to things being one way, you know?" She runs a hand through her hair, shiny with grease like oil slicks. "It's always like that. You start getting used to things, and then - then some other shit happens. And suddenly things are a whole new way. Before you can even fucking -"

"What do you mean?"

"Sammy, I knew something was wrong. I - I think I knew all along. But - today..."

Sam does everything in his power to keep his growing anxiety out of his voice. "Where did you go today, Deanna?" 

Her lips press together. She's still looking at her lap.

That dread expands, curdles, in Sam's gut. "Tell me."

Her hands are shaking against her thighs. "I - I went to the doctor."

That's absolutely the last thing Sam expected. "Since when do you go to the doctor?"

"I kinda had to."

Sam watches the little quiver of her fingers; and with that, he thinks back to the puking, the tiredness, how not right his sister looks. He thinks about Jess, how they were talking about what color to paint the living room 24 hours before she went up in flames on the ceiling. He thinks about Dad calmly sending him off for coffee before he…

Things are one way. Then suddenly they're another. Before you can blink, before you even remember your own name.

"Are you - are you sick?" Sam tries to keep his voice even.

Deanna isn't looking at him. "Kinda."

Sam thinks about Deanna hooked up to wires and machines. The miracle; how miracles don't happen. He's been harboring a little fear that there has to still be something wrong. A lacerated organ. A foreign object. Something they must have missed. But he thought - hoped - it was just that - a fear.

Sam sucks in a breath. "Okay. So - so what..."

Deanna smiles grimly. "Turns out I've got a parasite."

He watches Deanna shift. Her hand move towards one of the pockets of Dad's jacket. She keeps her eyes on her lap as she passes a small slip of paper to Sam. Small, rectangular. He takes it.

It's a moment or so before he realizes what he's seeing. Kind of like a photograph; a fuzzy sepia. Odd shapes that slowly begin to make sense.

"Ten weeks," Deanna says, her voice a little hoarse with disbelief. "I'm - I'm ten fucking weeks pregnant, Sammy."

Sam stares numbly at that ultrasound still. At the shapes, like two beans stacked on top of each other. Faint, fuzzy lines. Tiny arms. Tiny legs. He stares at them until they blur.

Ten weeks. Ten weeks since -

"So it's - " Sam can't finish the sentence.

"Yeah, Sammy. It's yours."

Her voice sounds very far away. And Sam can smell ash and fumes, traces of hospital grade body wash on Deanna's skin, skin that was bruised all over from cannulae and wires; and Sam couldn't catch his breath because Dad was gone, the last of him was just yards away on that burnt out pyre, gone; and Deanna's hands were on his face, tangled up in his hair, forehead pressed against his, and she was straddling his lap in the Impala's backseat, her eyes shut, muttering ssh, ssh over and over, maybe to Sam, or maybe to herself, but she kept saying it, even through the long kisses she kept pressing to his mouth; and Sam remembers he could barely see, he felt like he was choking on that ashy air, but he had Deanna, and he needed Deanna, he'd never needed her so much in his entire life. And Deanna understood, the way she's always understood things like that; and Deanna had kept on with her kissing and ssh-ing as she moved on top of him, fast, desperate, and Sam had clung onto her waist and met each roll of her hips, fast, anguished, because he couldn't get close enough, deep enough; and Deanna had been making these pitchy, breathless sounds like she was in pain, but she didn't stop Sam, and the whole time her eyes were wide and fixed on his face; and Sam remembers tangling her hair around his fingers like rope, he remembers arching up against her as he came, his body going through the motions, his senses numb to it. That numbness hasn't really left him since.

"Sammy, say something."

Deanna's voice, strained, cuts through the memory. Hauls Sam back to the present; Bowie, rotten oil, dead leaves. That autumnal breeze. His sister's face, tight and worried. Sam recognizes that pallor a little more now: shock.

It's passing through Sam as well. Of all the things he expected - this was nowhere on the list. Nowhere close.

"Alright," he manages eventually. Amazed at how calm he sounds. "What do you wanna do?" Because that's the thing to ask, right?

Deanna's lips twist again. "I mean - like, right away, I thought about just - you know - going off and taking care of it. Not even telling you. Just - "

"You wouldn't have told me?"

"I said I thought about it, Sam." She clicks her tongue; another rough wipe of her eyes. "I'm telling you now, aren't I?"

Sam keeps staring. Staring, at that image. That tiny, tiny baby. 

"Is that what you want?" he manages, eventually. Hoarse as Deanna. "To - take care of it?"

Deanna's pause seems to roll around the length of the yard. Then, her eyes stray to her lap again. "You know, Dad used to lecture me about this shit. Made it very clear how disappointed he'd be if I ever accidentally got myself knocked up."

Sam says, "Really?"

"Yeah. All the time." There's something acidic in Deanna's voice. "And you know why he harped on about it so much?"

"Why?"

"Because he said it wouldn't be fair to bring a kid into all this. Into the life." Deanna laughs, this flat, one-note thing. Something sharp flashes through her eyes; something gone too quick for Sam to fully identify. "Can you believe he said that to me? After everything he..."

She stops. And Sam watches Deanna's face reset, as if she hadn't expressed something like anger towards Dad for the first time ever. Something like what Sam has been saying, feeling, thinking, ever since he was old enough to understand. Everything Deanna always denied.

"It wouldn't have to be the same." It comes out of Sam's mouth before he can catch up with it. "You know. The same as we had it."

Deanna keeps on looking at her lap.

"You -" Sam takes a breath. "You know that, right?"

Deanna sighs. More like the breath whipping out of her body. "I'm not gonna stop looking for the demon, Sammy."

She says it like she expected Sam to insist on it. He clarifies: "I'm not saying we do. I'm saying we make it work."

He has no idea how. No fucking idea. His brain hasn't quite absorbed what's in front of him yet, the news undigested; but he's certain, somehow, of that.

Deanna gives that odd laugh again. Sam isn't sure what it means, this time. "It's also..." She picks at that thread on her shirt again. "I mean, the doctor said it looked healthy. But what if it comes out and it's like, a cyclops or something?"

"Why would it be -"

Deanna's shoulders rise. "You've seen Deliverance, right?"

Oh.

Sam swallows. His eyes stray back to the picture. Not that he can see much; not that there's much to see. But there's enough there for Sam to think it looks absolutely perfect.

"There are risks," is all he can think to say. "But it's - you know. It's not completely inevitable."

Deanna narrows her eyes. "You've already looked this stuff up, haven't you?"

She says it in this accusatory way. Sam runs his thumb delicately across the grainy image. "There was always a chance this could happen, Dee."

Always a chance. They've never done much to mitigate it, really. There's not enough space in Sam's brain right now, to wonder why that is.

Deanna skips over it too. Runs a hand through that greasy hair. Her lips twist.

"I just think," she says, after a while, "even if it comes out with three heads, playing a fucking banjo... would I care? You know?"

She's still not quite meeting Sam's eyes. Sam prompts, "Would you?"

"I mean. It's not like it'd be the only freak in this family, right?" A smile spreads across her mouth. "Sammy, you know I wouldn't care. I'd -I'd love it no matter what."

"Me too." It comes out thick; Sam's never been more sure of anything in his life.

He hands Deanna back the picture; takes her hand, deceptively delicate and cold in his, as he watches her eyes fog up with tears again. She doesn't hide this time; leans in to press her forehead against Sam's, just like that night ten weeks ago, just like they've come full circle. And fuck, it feels like forever since Sam's been touched like this, touched by anyone; he's just wondering if leaning in for a kiss would be pushing it, when he feels Deanna's plump, dried out lips brushing his. They feel a little sticky, and there's this malodor to her breath, but Sam barely registers it. It's like coming home.

I missed you, he doesn't say; can't, when Deanna's mouth would smother it anyway. When Deanna would only screw her face up and call him a big girl, and he'd rattle with guilt about feeling a little humiliated by that, but he'd feel it anyway.

Deanna pulls away first. She's a little flushed, and Sam can faintly see the capillaries in her face, like pink lines on a map under her skin; she squeezes his hand, laces their fingers. Moves them together until Sam's palm is flat against her stomach, the warmth of her body underneath that worn flannel.

"I keep thinking I can feel it," she whispers. "Now I know it's there."

Sam watches their interlaced hands dumbly. Overwhelmed. He can too.

"I kinda hope it's a girl." Deanna's voice has that hoarse quality again. "So I can - so she can have a Mom. So she can have what I didn't have."

She says it at the exact moment Sam finds himself hoping it's a boy. His reasons are similar. But for someone who doesn't like to talk, Deanna's always been way better at articulating stuff like that.

"You'll be a great Mom, Dee," he says, firmly. You were to me.

"Alright. You don't need to kiss my ass." Deanna ruffles his hair, like she did when she kissed him goodnight as a kid.

It takes Sam a moment to find his voice again. "I mean it, Dee. We'll make it work." He says it with this conviction that rises up from somewhere deep. "And I'm gonna be here for you, alright? Every step of the way."

Deanna groans. "Jesus Christ. I knew you'd be like this."

But she's smiling. And Sam allows himself to as well.

"Sammy?"

"Yeah?"

“You know Dad would kill us, right? But man, do I wish he was here right now.”

She says it with a laugh in her voice, her face all twisted up; and Sam can't help but remember how he and Jess had talked about kids, vaguely, sometimes, kind of like a concept, a distant dream. How Sam had thought to himself about Dad a lot then, too, the way he never really stopped thinking about Dad and Deanna. He remembers wondering to himself whether Dad would be proud. Whether he'd even want a grandkid; if he'd want to know at all. Back then, Sam genuinely toyed with the idea that Dad wouldn't even care. Never come back, Sam.

It's not the same, now. Holy fuck, this is not the same, and it can probably only be a good thing that Dad's not here to know about this; so Sam pushes away the thought. He puts his arms around Deanna's waist and pulls her as close as he dares.

"It'll be okay," he says again, because he can't think of anything else. Because it has to be.

Deanna's looking at him kinda intently. "Sam, do you think this is Dad's way of like - you know - coming back?"

"Uh - what?"

Deanna shrugs. "Dunno. Just - hormones talking, I guess." She squeezes Sam's hand against her stomach. "Forget I said anything."

Sam's not sure he can. They don't say anything after that.

[brineffxiv]

I can't believe it. I think I'm still in shock. I'm in the past. The ancients' world. The world unsundered.

(accidentally left this picture in the last post when I cut it in half. Pretend I didn't do that please, XD)

Getting some fridge logic that modern peoples probably have the Ascians to thank for Aetherytes. Yes, we reverse-engineered the technology from the Allagans, but the ancients clearly have the same structures. Seems to me the logical middle step is that the Ascians assisted the Allagans in developing the technology.

...Anyway, that's not important right now...

Argos! And...

Venat? It must be. That's the only person I can think she could be. And it makes sense. She looks to have the same appearance as the form Hydaelyn took on the boat. Oh boy. I am filled with nervousness at the prospect of meeting her...

And finally, you must be Hermes. And... I don't have the slightest clue who the little bird person is.

I do not spy any likely candidates for Elidibus in this zone's preview, despite knowing I must meet him at some point. Hmmm...

You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

I don't even know if I want to tell you. I don't even know if I can.

How do I explain what you became? That I killed you? How do I tell you that you will soon lose everything dear to you in the entire world, spend over twelve thousand years fighting to restore a fraction of it, and ultimately fail?

Hythlodaus made me a robe out of butterflies! I am never taking this off. Aaaaa!

Hythlodaeus also advises that, if anyone asks, I tell them I'm Azem's familiar. What, uh, what exactly has ancient me been up to to earn this sort of reputation?

Yes, please, assume I have no common sense. I wish to know ALL the worldbuilding details.

We are searching for Hermes by appearance, which is a novelty! He apparently has short, dark hair. I see I was correct in assuming that's who he was in the preview.

Found him!

Hermes is working by some pools, with creatures that appear to be axolotls?

Oh! Um, hi?

You're adorable. Okay. I'll be your friend. You talk a bit funny, are you intended to be neurodivergent?

Oh neat! You can talk in my mind? That--

Wait. Hang on. I see that "Hear, Feel, Think" in there.

Suddenly you are ominous.

Hythlodaeus and Emet-Selch catch up with me, and the former makes introductions. Hythlodaeus already has a working relationship with Hermes through their jobs, though it has been some time since they have seen each other in person.

Hermes seems... apprehensive upon being introduced to a member of the Convocation.

Meteion's avid interest in me saves me from having to make my own introduction, and to explain why I'm here. I get to learn about her instead! She is a personal project of Hermes' that he hasn't submitted for approval yet. Her aether is really thin. Her name means "shooting star". All very important pieces of information, I am sure. I am watching this blue bird girl like a hawk. Ain't no way she's dropping the "hear, feel, think" line without being Significant.

The lads are here to have a Serious Business meeting with Hermes, but first he must put the ambystomas away. Unfortunately, one is missing.

Hythlodaeus may have found it... up a tree??

I must concur with Emet-Selch's bafflement. These things can climb?

Oh, my mistake, they can fly.

But, just because they can get up does not mean they can get down. Hermes runs off to rescue the creature, followed by Meteion. Followed by me. Hythlodaeus and Emet-Selch stay behind to watch the rest of the ambystomas, which Hermes seems to have forgotten in his haste.

...Hermes, are you okay?

Heh. Hehehe... I didn't. I certainly didn't expect the Fandaniel I know, but... I... This is so wholesome!

Ah... Elpis makes me happy.

Hermes falls out of the tree, but he's okay, and the ambystoma is rescued, so all's well that ends well!

Aww, thank you. I will!

.

.

.

Oh, that's nice.

Wait.

Ktisis?

Ktiseos.

I... Have a bad feeling about this.

[kitkat-the-muffin]

*drum-roll*

*louder drum-roll*

*even louder drum-roll*

*loudest drum-roll*

GUESS WHO? IT’S WEBTOON!!!!

Here's a quick little bio for you:

She/Her Pronouns

Obsessed with Drama (default skin)

Verified Sword Lesbian™️

Wields a one-handed cliché anime sword using the upper body strength of a Mary Sue

Has terrible taste in everything (movies, character design, advertising methods, friends)

Enjoys Amino's presence (disrupts a canon event)

Exchanges cryptocurrency with Amino on a regular basis

Creative, artsy, and colorful

Jumps to conclusions easily

Not immune to propaganda (will believe ANYTHING)

Easily susceptible to clickbait

Overconfident gambler and gold-digger

Optimistic Derse Dreamer

Unhealthily invested in the romance lives of other people (and fictional people)

Constantly forgets to renew her Spotify subscription

Doesn't know what an adblocker is

Forgets to use trigger warnings sometimes

Probably has an ongoing feud with TappyToon

"How can you read this? There's no pictures!"

Her genre changes depending on her mood and the topic of discussion

Her skirt and bow change with her genre

The bell on her zipper rings whenever her genre changes

I will make a separate post of all her genres for easier access later and put the link [here].

Funky little rant under the cut as well as a single progress-shot at the bottom

I've been working on this character for a few months now and I'm happy with how she turned out. It was a lengthy process of trying to make her look the way I wanted her to and part of that was changing aspects of her design and allowing my friends to help and support me. At one point one of my friends told me the drawing was too stiff and ordered me to doodle ugly things until I felt confident enough to break out of my comfort zone, and that really helped Webtoon feel more personalized I think

To be honest, Socialstuck has pulled me out of my artist's block. For the longest time I had no motivation to draw anything at all because I wasn't confident enough in my abilities and art style to even try. I'm still not good at drawing poses, and even now this drawing is an imitation of Cloutchase's art style. However, the simplicity of that art style inspired me to draw, and suddenly I found myself creating more and more drafts. Whether those drafts will ever be completed is up to the future, but it's a big step for me to finally try again

This piece may be in Cloutchase's art style, but it's also got a little bit of me in it as well, and I'm more than happy to contribute to a fun community of people making stuff together by adding my own OC into the mix

Funny addition: At the bottom of my Webtoon notes is a small section of past-me complaining about how hard it was to draw with my dog staring at me. I got peer-pressured by my dog XD

Anyway here's the progress shot and also Webtoon's beta-design I made with a picrew (I beta all my character designs in picrew lol)

And here’s a vertical draft of her final design in HD as a treat:

[emma-smth]

I recently read every single chapter and it’s been like a comfort system for me😭 and I will say I have a small grudge on Cathrine because she ruined the moment where Ebony was about to say “I love you too” to The king of hearts (AKA Wally✨) but then I found your tumblr and I saw the art and I have a question- HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT ART 😭😭 sorry to waste your time for reading this but by the way- your doing a great job 👏

XD to be clear, Ebony would have NOT said she loved him too in that scene! Poor girl was overwhelmed AF

I think she would've called him cruel even x) for telling her this after he JUST confessed to what he did

So if anything, Catherine saved you guys from suffering any more angst! 🙏😌

But yeah, thank you so very much! I'm happy you like my story and my art! 💖

As for your question, uh... The key is never drawing smth that's out of my comfort zone 👌 /j Gotta say tho I was delighted to see that the WH characters translate well in my style (I think so anyway x) )

And don't worry, reading this was a delight 😊

[blackstarchanx3new]

How do you draw up your comics so quickly? I've been wanting to get into making comics myself, but it seems so daunting lol

Was hoping to get some tips on how you draw them so well and so quickly /pos /nf

Omf that's a tough one. My honest first response is "All I do is draw all day" so please don't hold yourself to my standards I don't have anything better to be doing.

Basically it's a mix of stuff:

My art style is simple/character designs are simple. Backgrounds are simple, overall.

STUFF BE SIMPLE.

"Gets the point across" tends to be the idea.

Anatomy isn't perfect, gradients are used a lot, shading isn't always present, I try to limit my color pallets to be pretty small.

I have a bunch saved onto the side bar in Clip Studio. And I have presets like the borders of the panels as a pre-set so I don't gotta make a new one over and over again.

Short cuts are NOICE.

Art wise:

I start with a thumbnail. Just getting the idea/facial expressions of the character down.

Sketching is 2nd step but I have no examples because I delete those pretty quickly.

More similar to this so line art is WAY easier.

I change the sketch's opacity to like 20 ish and a light blue to see it better.

Then I do line art and add a neutral color under it to make coloring easy. I change this to black after ward to fill any gaps.

Add color and ba-bam

I use "Color burn" "linear burn" and Multiply in the layer settings for shading. Just depends on the circumstance.

I guess smth else I do is go by "Chapter" or scenes.

Smth that's helpful for some is writing a script and then drawing your stuff based on that.

Often what I end up doing is writing a script but using it as a guide rather than a beat by beat thing.

Referencing manga for inspiration is smth I do a lot.

Smth I'd recommend doing is making a one shot or a comic you purposely make to be short.

Longer comics are daunting but the best way to deal with that is to complete parts of em. XD It's like going through a video game. Beating each mini boss gets you closer to the final. Like instead of one big project, see it as a bunch of smaller ones.

Smth I do to let off steam from bigger projects is making stupid shit like this:

Like there's no point to it other than to be dumb and funny.

Keeping the story entertaining or fun even while doing a part you don't want too.

Sometimes you will just have to chug through a portion you dislike but is necessary. But staying strong really helps.

Pop on a freakin' YT video and zone the hell out is what I do.

Your art doesn't have to be perfect every single time, my comics at least, are free so anyone who complains is a little bitch.

Just do what makes you happy.

Huge thing to consider: Your art doesn't have to be held to any specific standard.

You don't even have to COLOR that shit if you don't want too lmao. There's no rules. You can color a sketch and post it. It literally doesn't matter.

A specific standard of what every webcomic should be held to is a lie. It doesn't exist. Go feral.

Draw backgrounds. Even if you suck at em. It helps give the world dimension hah.

That's what I've been trying to do.

Use your comics as a way to experiment.

Ghost Soulmate I wanted to try out this weird painter style for the shading/lighting.

In FSR it was trying out a more anime style

Falling Cards is weird character designs + A FAR too ambitious story hah.

Bunny and Kitty was to see if I could do a shorter form story.

Biggest advice would be: Just try smth. You got no obligation to finish smth either. Just try it and see how it goes.

I'd recommend having an idea where your story is going before you start, but just starting ANYWHERE helps.

I tend to doodle my characters before I jump into their comic. Doodle them doing fun stuff before I go into the meat and potatoes of what I want them to do. I often have an ending in mind too before I start. You can fill in the gaps later.

Anyways that's all I got Idk if this was useful or helpful. X'D

[rosetyler42]

Ericka Pregnancy Dump Part 2!

1. Cute/funny idea I recently came up with of sleepy pregnant Ericka trying to get some work done (I'm sure both in WIR-Verse and in her regular one, she'd try to keep working as long as she can. Even if she gets taken off in-game duties. She's very much the cheerful enthusiastic passionate about her job workaholic like Joy is. And we all know about Joy's Stonetide faceplant.) Mavis of course is helpful, having been there once in a way. And Van Helsing...well, let's just say it's a little bit of payback for the times Ericka's been annoyed by his tendency to take impromptu naps. Not the best idea to be making those jokes next to the daughter of his former rival who's the one of the 3 who's actually BEEN there, but still. He would. XD

2/3. XD I drew Hungry pregnant Ericka. Along with a fun bit of fluff that spun out of it. Yes, I broke my craving rule but him calming her down/distracting her with a kiss is adorable. And it does have the spirit of the idea anyway.

4. Was in the mood for some new mom Ericka stuff. (Again, it's regular Ericka to make it workable for both universes.) When I drew the first one with Drac, I kinda figured Ericka would be wiped out from the end of a twin pregnancy and either birth or a c-cection. So she waited a bit to hold the twins so she could rest up. Thinking about that and the irony of Ericka worrying about being cold since she was raised by her strict, by-the-book Great-Grandfather with how I think she'd actually be (I do love Mama Ericka, whether it's with Mavis or the twins.), It inspired this.

Don't worry, she'll get to the "Look at these! I made these!" Showing the twins off to everybody point eventually. But everyone else had a chance while she was wiped, she wants her moment to bond and she's not letting go of her baby bats that easily.

5. Wanted to draw Ericka curled up asleep in the cape. Ended up being pregnant Ericka. Bonus sleepy Transylvanian and Ericka hugging her bump as she sleeps!

(And she was worried she might be a harsh cold mom, having beem raised by a strict, not-too-affectionate guardian herself.)

6. This one came to me while I was working on a previous idea. I liked the idea of Drac, despite actually being the one killable by sunlight, shielding/sheltering Ericka under his cape. Even better with her being pregnant since pregnancy DOES make your skin more sensitive AND can cause you to overheat since you feel warmer anyway with all the extra bloodflow. Hense this wholesome moment. (This may possibly be in Game Central Station. I've played with the idea that, like Bot Fighter, HT's time zones are flipped since most of the game happens at night.

Bonus:

" Nice hat...Isn't that your monster festival hat?"

"**blushing, looking away** Y-yez. I know it lookz zilly on me, but it'z ztill the mozt protective thing I have. Vell, I mean, bezidez the babushkaz, and-"

"Hmm, well you're hot to me, handsome vamp. **chuckle** ...Seriously, though. I like it. Sure, it's no ax. But...You look charming in ANYTHING."

7. This started out as a gag where Frank (being something of the calmer laid-back one of the group normally and almost the 2nd in command of the pack before Ericka came along. Especially in the first one. He's also kinda Ericka's "big brother" figure I think.) was trying to keep the guys from crowding Ericka trying to touch her bump and ended up being just general "family with a new/expectant mom" chaos of everybody around Ericka and her kind of giggling to herself about being surrounded by all this. I kinda like that, it shows how far my girl has come. Going from being largely on her own, doing for others more than herself, and actually at one point ignored or intimidated when she was upset to being fussed over and surrounded by family. It's sweet.

8. Drew this one a while back based on some fat Serleena screenshots XD (Since Ericka's pregnant with Twins and MIB 2 is also a Columbia Pictures film, I think the comparison is...kinda funny. Plus Ericka WOULD joke about eating people to those who point out how big she's gotten.)

9. I had to do the packs' reaction to finding out about Ericka having twins some point. while all of them ribbing him would be funny, I ended up going a little more with personality: Frank being the happy supportive guy, Murray's the excited one, Wayne's the experienced one trying to offer help, and of course Griffin is the smart-alec jokester. Drac's reaction to this is...well, what you'd expect. XD

Kinda fun to include Wayne in this considering he didn't really get a chance to react to Drac's crush on Ericka with the others (Aside from his comment in the Novelization which it's a shame it didn't happen in the film XD)

10. And the first drawing of the new year: Wanted to draw Dracula with his newborn twin babies. Ended up adding bonus post-labor Ericka. (Been whembling about if she actually does labor or a C-section.)

@gothicthundra @ebevkisk @neo-storm @that-obsessed-gay-girl @sine-qua-noon @chica-chuu @animatedpixie @erickadracula @ericka-van-helsing @erickaanddraculasblog @ericka4ever @elenadracula @drericka @drericka-prompts @drericka-is-lyfe-blog @drerickastan @thenerdynightprincess13 @thesecreatoroftrans @f-mhoteltransylvaniacomicseries @kittyball23 @lovelylivelyv

[tillytherandomfanficwriter]

I have totally not been meaning to post this for like, two months now, shhhhhh.

Anyways, I got a bingo on @feedthefandomfest's original bingo card! Been fun forcing myself to step out of my comfort zone, even if it's also been absolutely nerve-wracking. And it's even gotten me to be more confident in commenting on fics outside of the bingo! Once I get this one completed, definitely eyeing up the Old Fic bingo card (purely because I do not have the ability to keep track of two bingo cards at the same time, lmao).

Taking a page out of some other's books and making a little rec list of the fics I've commented on below the cut! Note that it won't be all of them cause 1) my memory is horrible, lol and 2) I wasn't keeping this list when I first started XD. Oh well, at least some fics will get some love!

"Towards the Rising Sun" by Potassium_Hypobromite A Shen/Zed fic set in post-WW2 Japan! Lots of angst, some lovely moments of Zed being Dad!Zed to Kayn, some interesting historical details and very little sugar coating of very real atrocities that happened during and after WW2, all set to the tune of two emotionally constipated men(/affectionate) trying to figure out their feelings for each other. Binge-read it in like, an hour and a half, 2 hours one afternoon and loved every moment of it.

Heads up, when I say 'very little sugar coating', I mean it. Japan did some seriously fucked up shit during WW2, and seriously fucked up shit was done to innocents, and this fic does address that (in a way that makes sense for the characters), so be warned if you decide to read it.

"algernon" by parsnipit A wonderful W.D Gaster fic in which said Daster Gaster accidentally creates a skeleton werewolf child (Sans), panics, starts figuring it out and getting a hang of the whole parenthood thing, then another very special boy (Papyrus) gets yeeted into the family kinda against Gaster's will but he isn't complaining. Also features some Grillster (these two take so damn long to get together and I blame Gaster for it, lmao). And really quick- omfg the motherfucking goddamn foreshadowing and setting up in this fic?? Just, like, AH! I won't spoil anything but like, hnnnagghaaa it's too goooooood.

Heed the tags! And the additional warnings in the author's notes! As good as this fic is, it does get quite heavy! Take care of yourselves people!

(A double here, since both were done by the same author. Have I talked about this series before on this blog? Yes. Do I care that I'm talking about it again? No. No, not at all.) "Spirit of a Guardian" and "Heart of a Dragon" by SilverlySilence (Both part of the "Heart of a Dragon's Soul" series by the same author) This. Series. This. Goddamn. Series When I say it 100%, completely and utterly, totally and without mercy RUINED ME, I am making a massive understatement. I was fucking DESTORYED when I finished reading this series (specifically Heart of a Dragon). When I say this is better than most published novels I have read, I AM NOT KIDDING. And it was done for free?? And it was all free?? *Screams* Basic summary, Jack gets yeeted into the past and ends up falling head over heels in love with Hiccup (same for Hiccup with Jack), but that's only like, 10% of it all cause so much of it is yummy, delicious, absolutely amazing foreshadowing, world-building, character friendship developing and so much more. My brain ceases to function when I read this series - you will laugh, you will cry, you will gasp, you will screech (I did this last one multiple times while reading it), just- read it. It's also more a action/adventure story with a romance side plot, especially in the first fic, so if that's more your style, give it a try! The last fic hasn't been updated in like 3 years? Maybe 4? But that's a-okay, life happens and it's all done for free so we shouldn't demand anything, and what we do have is good, delicious, nourishing food. (Side note, but Jack and Hiccup are just the epitome of a healthy couple in this?? Like, they're so understanding and respectful and caring of one another and also the trust they have in one another is so damn high and just- I am so normal about this series you have no idea)

"The Book of Rhaast" by KaynInfectedBrayn (CGotAnAccount) A very good fic about old god Rhaast meeting Kayn in a very not good situation. Very, very good.

There's a pretty intense amount of graphic violence, so be warned.

"Maces and Talons" by HijackSecrets and Kae_Viche Jumanji HiJack. That's- that's the best way to describe this fic, lol. Because that's what it was based on. It definitely deviates from the movie in a few ways but I'm happy with that. Loooove the subtle world-building in this, and it features some very good art!

"Claws and Calls" by HermesSerpent A very good Feral Hiccup AU, featuring overprotective brothers Viggo and Ryker! Honestly made me want more brotherly Hiccup, Viggo and Ryker fics, lol. Very good!

And that's all (That I can remember and find at least, lol)! When I get another bingo, I'll post again with an actually accurate list, lol. If I remember any more of the original fics I commented on, I'll also post them with the update!

[characteroulette]

👋 I left you a comment on AO3 earlier on the AA prosecutor meta, but seeing as you did cover the one-off prosecutors in Investigations (as well as the Paynes), I'm curious about your thoughts on Lana Skye especially. I really like RFTA as a window into the legal system's politics, and Lana as a character is especially intriguing in comparison to the other prosecutors we defend (e.g. Edgeworth/Blackquill/Nahyuta/Barok) because we never actually face her in court...but they still draw on RFTA's themes and character beats for some of those cases, especially in 6-5 and DGS2.

Oh hello!! Awh thanks for reading my meta essays I wrote mostly in the span of two days! XD

Lana Skye is a very interesting one, mainly because, as you noted, we never see her prosecuting style in court and that's really one of the biggest ways I draw characterisation notes from our rivals in these games. Seeing how they are presented to us as obstacles and how we are meant to slowly warm up to them was my main goal with those lil essays, but I definitely got off track a bit hahaha.

(Got a bit carried away here, too, so. Read more!)

Lana is an interesting case, though. She's our first defendant (if you play these games in order from the ds release on) we're really unsure if we can fully trust. She is trying to confess to the crime, and only by the grace of Ema's belief in her does Phoenix also agree to believe in her. She's short with us and pushes us away, giving the distinct impression that something is pretty wrong.

However, we also get told multiple times that this isn't her usual personality. That she "changed" once she became Chief Prosecutor. So it's a little harder to grasp her personality on top of take anything she says with a degree of belief. Her actions are more about sowing seeds for the mystery of why she would be so determinedly trying to get convicted instead of establishing a solid character for her. We do get the sense that she's a hard nut to crack, that she cares too deeply for Ema, but otherwise her cold and stoic personality is a complete front, we're told. A means of pushing those who used to care for her further than arm's length to keep them from discovering what's happened, to keep them from getting caught up in the splash zone.

There's also the odd note that she was close with Jake and Neil Marshall enough so that Ema was fond of them, too. Specifically the Marshall brothers, not Angel Starr or Bruce Goodman. I always found this interesting because Lana kept Ema away from Gant, but didn't mind letting her get close to the Marshall brothers. Gant was far more dangerous, especially as we learn about his all but framing Ema for Neil's murder, but it's still an interesting thing of note that comes up once at the beginning and kind of never again.

Even when you finally get a chance to talk with Lana about Gant before the final day of the trial, she's still composed and cool. Still completely under control. It's not until Ema is actively in danger of being found guilty of murder does she lose it. The final day of the trial is her at her most desperation mode, renouncing Phoenix's defence and running for that Guilty verdict. She has to keep Ema safe no matter what and it's interesting that the game lets us ruin that for her! This is probably why there is a slight bad end scenario where we don't play our cards right; it's all in service of these high stakes and connects to Lana's own desperation.

It is another interesting note how, at the end of the second trial day, she admits to the forged evidence. She has realised, on some level, Phoenix will claw his way to the truth no matter what. So she admits to this thing she knows would just get proven anyway. She's the one to cause the uproar and delay the trial one last time. It's all a part of her cool and calculated control, but it's also an admission that we've done well to get this far. It's a victory, but one delivered the same way she stabbed Bruce Goodman's body. The only person spared was Gant; everyone is going down with her.

It really is a fascinating mindset to see. I'm not a huge fan of the whole "stoic woman smiling at the end to show she's come out of her shell" anymore because AA uses it a bit too much (when will we get the male equivalent, huh??? Blackquill and Barok were right there!!! Make them smile, damn it!!!), but it is refreshing to see that Lana no longer has to keep her heart frozen over. She ans Ema hugging is the MUCH better payoff, even as Phoenix waxes poetic right behind them. XD

So yeah!! Despite this case saying on the surface that we shouldn't trust Lana, it really leads us along to trusting and liking her pretty much from the start. She's compared to Mia, after all. She is also the only defendant to date to turn their back to us and I still think that's funny as hell.

I... had more to say than I thought!! Hope this satisfies a bit of what you wanted!!

[avelera]

I think the reason I love putting both members of the ship I’m writing into a room together where they have no choice but to talk, constantly, goes back to this one Bagginshield fic I read ages ago where it was so well written and I was enjoying it so much but it had Bilbo and Thorin just dancing around each other, barely speaking the whole time. This was early AUJ fandom so I was STARVING for any kind of Thorin content, he’s still my forever boy out of the two of them, and he had so few lines I was SALIVATING for the romcom misunderstandings to end so they’d actually talk.

And then, in the very last chapter, Thorin and Bilbo faced each other, acknowledged they had feelings for one another, and the fic just… ended.

Don’t get me wrong it was an excellent fic! But I think I almost threw my phone and then myself out the window at that point. I’ve never had such an intense case of fanfic reader blue balls. All I wanted was for them to have a conversation!

(I’m not going to say the fic but suffice to say this happened in ENOUGH fics back then that singling one out doesn’t even matter.)

So from that point I resolved to polish up my Thorin voice for fic. He was still something of a mysterious character in AUJ so there were actually very few fics that gave him more than a few lines. I was ready to break that trend (and I believe I succeeded, as one of many). But it also set up a comfort zone for me as a fanfic writer as that person who writes the characters who get all the fics where they just dance around each other the whole time and forces them to sit down and have a conversation. Honestly, my stories could probably afford to have a little more besides that sometimes lol

So anyway, now I’m writing Dream/Hob and if you’re wondering why they talk to each other so goddamn much in my longer fics, this is why XD