#&. ( someone in some future time will think of us ) queue

[nondelphic]

Where I’ve Been and the Future of nondelphic

TLDR; I’m coming back to this blog.

I’m so nervous to post this I literally had to take a nervous shit after drafting this post just THINKING about posting it but uhhh…

Long time no see!

It’s been well over 3 months since I posted regularly on this account. I never intended to take a break, but I got overwhelmed.

I started this account in the middle of August of 2024 with a very specific niche that, if you have seen my posts before, will recognise. 

Honestly, it started mostly as a distraction from my real-life problems. I’d began writing again last spring after a long time of writing block due to anxiety, depression, and getting used to my anti-depressants. Suddenly, I went from not being able to get out of bed to being able to get out of bed just to write. It became an escape. Just like writing fanfiction used to be when I was a pre-teen.

Through that, I rediscovered how much I actually love writing and creating. And when that happened, I also started craving community. I’ve never really had writing friends (the few I had were short-lived), and I found myself missing that connection.

That’s kind of where this blog came in. It was an experiment, not something I intended to take seriously. Just a low-effort, continuous space online that wasn’t too personal but could resonate with a wide diaspora of writers. Somewhere people could see themselves in my posts.

I’ve always been in fandom or hobby spaces online in some form—grew up in a developing tech society with zero internet safety guidance, so my relationship with social media is honestly decent, all things considered. But in recent years I’d mostly been a consumer rather than a creator. And I missed that. The active partaking. The sense of community. The external validation from like-minded strangers (very Gen Z of me, I know).

And also, it gave me something to do over summer, which is the worst time of year for me. I’ve struggled with seasonal depression for years, and writing got me through the worst days of my summer uni break. But it also stirred up so many thoughts and ideas I wanted to share.

So I committed to not only starting a blog about writing, but updating it continuously, with a fixed set of posts to be posted everyday. 

Part of the experiment was personal, but another part was professional. As someone studying and working in media and social media (amongst other things), I know how algorithms work. I understand how consistency, timing, and frequency affect reach and engagement. So I also wanted to test a theory—that’s not really a theory—that if you just post a lot, at the same time, every day, you’ll see growth.

And it worked. I gained over 4,000 followers in just six months.

Numbers aren’t everything, but I won’t pretend it wasn’t validating. Especially when I’d never had a following before. People were engaging, reblogging, sending kind messages. I felt seen, and I felt like what I was making had value.

It was also fascinating to experience it from both sides, both as the creator and as the media nerd in the background mentally noting what worked, what flopped, and why.

Everything was going great.

So why did I disappear?

Well, first of all, my seasonal depression carried on to constant depression and major social anxiety during autumn and into winter. I slept all day. Didn’t go to school. Could barely leave my apartment to go grocery shopping. All I did was write and update this blog. Make sure I had enough posts queued for the coming week. 

I had some visible breaks on this blog which I always announced. “sorry can’t post rn i’m stressed need time to update my queue”. Which was true, and I felt proud of myself for being transparent about it.

But the more my following grew and the more people interacted with me, the more I started doubting myself. I don’t know if it was my anxiety, depression or probable ADHD being the culprit of this, or just plain old imposter syndrome, but I started dreading opening tumblr.

I love coming up with post ideas for people to go “omg are you inside my brain rn?” or “I love your blog, your posts make me feel seen,” and I’ve had nothing but positive experiences with everyone visiting this blog. Yet, with the growing eyes on this page, I just felt this impending fear that someday it will all be gone.

So I do what I’ve always had a habit of doing! I self-destructed. And left this blog with the excuse (to myself) to work on myself and come back stronger.

And I guess that sorry excuse has kinda come true, although at the time, I was lying to myself. This post is literally me announcing I’m coming back. But back when I abandoned this blog, I, with a heavy heart, was really planning on not coming back. The more the weeks, and then months stretched on without opening tumblr, a growing guilty conscience brewed inside of me.

I’d open the app, stare at the little icon, and immediately close it again. I didn’t know how to explain myself without it sounding dramatic or like I was attention-seeking. And the longer I waited, the harder it got to come back.

Because what do you even say after months of radio silence on a blog that wasn’t supposed to mean this much to you in the first place?

But the thing is it does mean something. And even when I tried to let it go, I kept thinking about it. I’d see something funny and think, “that would make a good nondelphic post.” I’d draft ideas in my nondelphic ideas google docs, fully knowing I wasn’t posting them, but unable to turn off that part of my brain that wanted to connect with other writers, other people who got it.

I ghosted my own blog. And I won’t pretend I had a huge dramatic epiphany or breakthrough that led me back here. Just the quiet realization that I missed it. And I have better routines now. And expectations. That make it impossible for me to turn into the same all-or-nothing approach to this blog I had during my darkest days. Don’t worry, I’m still deeply insecure, anxious and depressed, so my self-deprecating posts will continue as scheduled! But I’ve found other coping mechanisms that don’t rely on…….. Tumblr’s algorithms.

I don’t need to be 100% healed or consistent or perfect to post. And everyone who has sent me a message during the time I’ve been away that I’ve been too scared to reply to has assured me of exactly that. Maybe I can just… come back. A little softer. A little slower. A little more human.

I’m not sure what the future of this blog looks like exactly. I don’t have a new “post 10 times a day” strategy lined up. But I do know I want to write again. I want to talk to you again. I want to rebuild what I tore down with my silence. Not out of pressure or expectation, but because I want to.

So this is me, stepping back into it. One foot in the door. No grand promises, just a little wave from the threshold.

Hi again.

I’m coming back soon. How soon? I think it’s best to not make any promises, but I’ve committed to coming back now, so I’m still gonna promise “soon.”

Also, genuinely thank you. To everyone who reached out in my DMs or sent something to my ask box while I was gone: I read every single message. Even if I didn’t respond, I saw you. My heart felt so big reading your well wishes and worries. Like genuinely, I didn’t know this little corner of the internet could hold so much kindness. So thank you, from the bottom of my stupid overwhelmed heart.

See you soon ♡

xoxo nondelphic

Ps. I’m gonna write another post over on @rebellenotes in the near future for anyone curious about what I’ve been up to in the last few months.

[kyri45]

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 12/09✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

@snsp6 I really hope that this won’t change MK’s view on his bio dads :( Anonimo Hello! Wanted to ask or more so I am wondering, will MK start seeing Wukong differently after finding out he literally killed Mac and even after seeing their past and how close they were, dam the trauma, anyhoo I love your art and the Shadowpeach bio parent au! Keep up the great work! >:D

Oh it will. (In a good way? a Bad? that's for me to know and for you to wait a week to know)

@hopefulbelievertimemachine Imagine if MK found someone who recently found out that they were a demon and he comforts them cuz he had a similar experience.

Oh that would be sooo wholesome!!! It's one of my fav trope when there's another character who go throught the same exact thing as another character and the two of them bond over this.

@zammy357 Hello, hope your day/night is going well. I wanted to ask since me and a friend like your bio parents blog and wanted to know if we can use it for an arc? Our blog is called @amnesia-wukong-au. We wanted to ask before we started doing it.

Hi!! Yeah sure as long you tag me and the masterpost of the shadowpeach au

Anonimo Wait what is a glamour (in context of Sun Wukong and Macaque)

A glamour is a magic spell that changes/cover your appearance. Like in the show macaque should technically have 6 ears. for animation purposi I guess they are not drawing all of them, but we say he uses a glamour also for covering his scarred eye.

@clueless-simp ha chiesto: What if PIF, BDK, Sun Wukong, and Macaque (and most definitely Mei) did a "parent trap" tactic to get MK and Red Son together? Setting things up, getting them alone together, pretending they are all busy, and the only option is for them to spend time together under the sunset XD XD XD

Oh no that would end bad. like-comically bad.

@honeylavender27 ha chiesto: Imagine red realizing mk doesn't know about court napping and just invites him over one day. Red son: so I'm sure your wondering why I invited you here.. Mk: yeah it's kinda weird you didn't want Mei to come. Is everything ok? Red: perfect actually, I'll explain everything just enter here first please. Mk: oh ok -walks into the prepared courtnapping room and gets locked in-.....uh red? Redson: consider yourself courtnapped...

Ahah poor MK. I think they would make a disastrous courtnapping that would be the equivalent of the phrase "task failed succesfully"

@artgurusauce ha chiesto: ARGGGHHHH, they're SO CUTE! I love your bioparent AU so much! Altho I am wondering: When MK turns back to normal would he retain some subconscious paternal attachment to our ol boys here? Maybe he even calls Macaque "Mom" without realizing it...

@blazerratbluefire-blog ha chiesto: Plot twist of the century for the oblivious monkey men. MK remembers ~everything~ when he was a cub! I'm not sure if that is what is planned, but! It would be really funny! Especially if he just calls Macaque 'Mama' all casual and just walks away. While Macaque EXP. has crashed and is rebooting. Gosh, that would be so cute! I absolutely love your artwork, by the way! It is so adorable!

Can't answer yet. He does NOT have memories, but he will remember ONE thing...

@daniellemarvel4 Hi, fist off I love your work and can't wait to see what you do next! I was wondering who is more protective of MK when it comes to Red Son? Whether that would be Pigsy, Wukong, Macaque, or even Tang (mabye Mei but I don't think she could stay serious long enough). Also, can we see what Sandy's doing?

mmmmmm---- I think Wukong. Freenoodle is pretty chill with the DBK family after everything that happened. Mac is also quite alright since he was always in good relationship with them. I would say Wukong would just want to be sure his kid doesn't get hurt by the fire in any way

Anonimo I've been squealing, grinning, and kicking my feet going through the Shadowpeach Bio parents AU. Baby MK has been SO CUTE and fun. I wonder if he's going to remember or be embarrassed about it. Another part of me hopes that river is still in play so Sun & Mac can fall in and suddenly MK and everyone has 2 chaotic super-powered Baby Monkeys to take care off 😭 😭 😭

Anonimo ha chiesto: I almost cried they are sooo cute. I hope that we get more sweet family content. Loving the comic thanks for making it 💕💕💕💕

Anonimo ha chiesto: I don’t want the cure to work ! Or could it be like that: MK is such a powerful being that the Dosis Pif gave them, just wasn’t strong enough. Instead it only aged MK up a bit so now he is a small kid or a teenager but not a grown ass money man again. I am not ready to leave the monkey family stuff behind 🥺

unfortunately the river has been close untile further notice. (dw this wont be the end)

@cutvdo ha chiesto: Mei bribing Red Son with baby MK pictures

@luciferapollyon ha chiesto: I hope Mei, Red Son, Macaque and Wukong all got pics before they turned MK back

Anonimo ha chiesto: DHJSJDJDH LIL BABY BEAN! I wonder if Wukong and Macaque took any pics of lil MK while he was smol baby? She would keep them and use them as blackmail. (affectionately)

Anonimo ha chiesto: Your shadowpeach bio parent au is just perfect!! Thankyou for feeding the fandom with the nectar of the gods!!! Especially the one where mac slips into the bed after wukong waits all night. Like Mac would wake up in the morning and see him fast asleep and think of Peng asking 'is there anything Wukong could do that would break his hold over you?' and just seeing him at his most vulnerable right now he's like 'no, not when he always gives me a reason to stay.'

MY HEART

@queen-of-purple-roses Wait if MK is experiencing Macaque’s memories then does that mean that Macaque can experience MK’s? Are they able to dive into each other’s minds?

So the thing is that MK is hearing the past from both POVs. Macaque by definition can hear ANYTHING so yeah he could definitely experience MKs memories. But the thing is-does he want to? I headcanon that his future-present-past hearing abilities are something he only used a couple of times, and because what he heard from them was so traumatic, he decided to NOT use them again (like wukong laser eyes)

@sillygothpartykid ha chiesto: I know everyone is asking you to make the gay monkeys kiss but I actually like how you are developing their relationship. You letting them work through their problems and feeling first giving us that sweet, sweet slow burn! Love your art btw!❤️❤️❤️

awwww ty!!!! yes pls slow burn for life.

@kraytherandomchick ha chiesto: Hey, love your ShadowPeach AU! (Started rereading it after crying from the season 5 finale hehe :'D) But there's always something that's kinda stuck in my head, if MK's no longer immortal, would Macaque or Wukong get sad at the thought of getting older and forced keep going without him?

So- *sigh* technically, we don't really know MK immortality status. it's a grey area for now. Because on one side, he's a stone monkey, who, by nature like Wukong, can perfectly age and grow like a normal monkey. On the other hand, he's technically died already, and by the time he was created by Nuwa, both his biological fathers were already immortal (Wukong bc yes, Macaque because he's a demon, and he can die from wounds and illness, but can't age)

So to answer: we don't know yet what's with him. we will see (I promise that)

@lmk4ever ha chiesto: I LOVE THE SHADOW PEACH BIO PARENT AU SO MUCH!! Mk boi is so lucky to have a artist like you and fathers like them. I want to ask, will shadowpeach ever get into a fight out of anger in front of Mk? Or did they moved on from that phase?

If they will fight it will be more of like- the 2 dads grounding MK. If they need to fight they learned that they need to go on another mountain to do it so they don't bother their child

Anonimo ha chiesto: Will we get a traffic light trio ship?

Probably not, but I'm all for dragonfruit/spicynoodle and having MK and Mei NOT dating each other at the same time.

@yuk1yun ha chiesto: If lmk season 6 isn't like your au, then I don't want to watch it

BRUH THAT'S THE NICEST THING I HEARD ALL WEEK

@conniescialla ha chiesto: HIIII!! ok scusa l'italiano ma letteralmente trovare artisti italiani ispira sempre quel momento patriottico alla YES ONE OF US MUAHHAHAH Scherzi a parte, il comic Shadowpeach bio parents Au è meraviglioso, si approva soprattutto l'hurt/comfort ;p

Tanti kudos!!<3

AAAAHHH CHE BELLO UN ALTR* ITALIAN*!!!!!

Anonimo ha chiesto: I really wanna see jelous wukong!!!!!! I dunno maybe some random demon trying to flirt with emo monkie or something and wukong is like oh hell no!! He is mine!! I think it would be so cute

he would become incredibly possessive and start hissing and growling like a tiger. NOBODY TOUCHES MY SOFT PILLOW

Anonimo ha chiesto: I think it would be so cute if Wukong would take care of sick Macaque! It would show Macaque that Wukong changed and is no longer like he was before. I wonder if Macaque got sick, would MK help or would Macaque be too stubborn to let anyone know.

I know everyone says Wukong is this great sage with incredible abilities in every field (and he is) but I would like to imagine that, since he needs to do these thing for Macaque specifically, he's so stressed over the fact he needs to do them perfectly that he fucks up lmao.

Like, he would try his best to take care of him and almost burn the kitchen in the meantime, while Macaque was only hoping the two of them could just stay more in bed cuddling each other

Anonimo ha chiesto: im just imagining Mac getting anxious becouse he cannot find baby MK and Wukong is there to calm him down

@shadowpeachera ha chiesto: Heyy I absolutely love your shadowpeach bio au, the drawings, the text its perfect! Did Mk every run off or get into trouble now that he’s a cub or even play games with Wukong and Macaque like hide and seek? That would be really cute. I can imagine them playing hide and seek while Mk discovers he can make shadow portals, meanwhile his parents are stressing and scared as they have no idea where he is.

i think both of them would freak out.

WAIT I HAVE THE PIC I HAVE THE PIC

I'VE BEEN SAVING THIS PIC SINCE 2017

@nyx-daughterofchaos98 ha chiesto: Hi! For LMK, I watched a nature documentary on Monkeys the other day and a lot of monkeys correct each others behavior by doing something called “Disciplinary Nips” or “Discipline Bites” (This isn’t a sexual ask I promise) I think it would be absolutely hilarious, if Macaque and Wukong are napping together, and for whatever reason, Wukong keeps moving around, unable to get comfortable. And in his sleep-riddled state, Macaque gets annoyed and bites him. 🤣 Like; I’M TRYING TO SLEEP! KNOCK IT OFF! 🤣🤣🤣 And when Wukong does stop moving, Macaque does actually fall asleep. Even better is if Macaque wakes up and has absolutely No Idea he bit Wukong because he was half asleep at the time. Or he thinks it was a dream and ensue the shenanigans when he realizes it wasn’t.

OMG THAT'S SO CUTE AND SILLY AAHHHH!!! EVEN BETTER: what if they do this without noticing BEFORE they are like-actually romantically back together, and someone sees the mark bites AND THEY START TO ASSUME CERTAIN THINGS BRUH.

@tabs-tabi-tabby  Can Macaque help with MK’s clones? Or would that be Wukong’s area?

MK can't make the same clones macaque has. He can control a little bit his own shadow, and use that as a clone. so as long as it's his own shadow, it's more Mac area, if it's his own hair clone then it's Wukong's

@startdustmonkie ha chiesto: Does Mk and or Wukong know about Savage and Rumble? (If so how did they find out about them?) — (also: do Savage and Rumble see Mama macaque as a parent?)

@mushrum-soup ha chiesto: Hi just wanted to say I absolutely adore your shadow peach au it's literally the highlight of my week 💖I was wondering tho are rumble and savage just shadow clones in your au or similar to their Lego counterparts :O?

Yes they know about them. No they aren't his kids let's say. My own personal headcanon for the Au (or the show in general) is that they are both Macaque shadow, like- clones with a little bit of personality just like MK clones represent specific parts of his personality. He has 2 of them because he lived 2 lives, one before and one after he was brought back to life.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Just read the latest Shadowpeach bio kid comic, and i cant help but giggle a bit at how MK’s chirp woke Wukong and Macaque up lmao just the “and they snoozing- OH SHIT BABY CHIRPING WHATS WRONG-“

HE IS BABYYYY

@hellobur ha chiesto: Did you base when mk was reaching fr macaque after he was walking away because mk called him mama after this or was it a funny coincidence (mk also doe the pose but I can't find it lol)

Also I absolutely love this story and your art your work is incredible! ^^

Omg LMAO NO I DIDN’T BUT NOW IT’S 100% MORE FUNNY

@dragonaboni-blog ha chiesto: Hi! First off, I love your art and your Shadowpeach AU, it's the reason I'm reactivating my own Tumblr account lol One of my favorite tropes in this story is "A gets sick and B takes care of him" so I'm wondering… What would that trope be like in the AU? What would the monkey trio be like when they got sick? Do any of them sleep through their illness? Or are any of them extremely dramatic like "These will be my last words…"? CoughcoughWUKONGCoughcough

Aaahh I’ve seen a lot of asks asking this one but honestly I don t know If I’ll ever draw that trope. Maybe bc Wukong should technically have canonically too much knowledge about general illness to be worried about normal daily life illness. If it was something more life-threating. Maybe yes, but I still have to cook.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Counterpoint: wukong can't handle spicy foods because he has no impulse control and his monkee brain wants him to only eat fruit and peaches

Ouch. Yes that seems about accurate for him lmao

Anonimo ha chiesto: About the lmk bio au.... we have seen that MK can manipulate certain parts of his body in the 72 transformations... so..... Wukong and Macaque could technically have children.

I’ll be 100% honest I have no idea if stone monkeys are…fertile?

Anonimo Hey there! I am in love with your art. LMK is something that came into my life recently and damn I love it so much! Love your AU, and I can't wait to see more of it. Funnily, since the baby MK incident I imagine this later on becoming a somewhat spark of many funny arguments later on. What I mean is I see baby MK has a favorite parent (*cough-cough* MacCRACK *cough-cough*) [Sorry with the name joke, couldn't help myself]. XD. And I imagine Wukong be a bit jealous at times and go 'Anything you can do I can do better XD' Also see lovely Redson have a thing for MK, and then I imagine him ask his parents about advice on pursuing his crush. "So who is the lucky girl?" "Well, you already know him-" *Spits out water* "You got yourself a husband?" "What, no I haven't yet-!"

Aww I don't think MK would have a favourite but definitely there are times where he wants one parent more than the other (play time with Wukong, nap time with Mamacaque)

Anonimo ha chiesto: Yknow what they say… like father like son! In the sense that they’re all gay /j

Oh yeah absolutely it's genetic/j

@wolfasketch ha chiesto: Mac being on the sunny side and Wuwu being in the shadows

I know I'm looking into it too much but- AHHH!!!

That was unintentional but HOLY SIT U R RIGHT

Anonimo ha chiesto: Poor Red Boy never got to see baby MK! Imagine him just staring at the adorableness that is baby MK and being like 'I hope our future children look just like you OH MY GODS YOU'RE ADORABLE'. Baby MK: :3

Their child will literally be Kai from Ninjago so I guess THEY ARE RIGHT HE WILL BE

Anonimo ha chiesto: And then MK will wake up back to normal, confused, but proud that he managed to get them even closer?

100% yes

@drowning-in-webnovel-chapters ha chiesto: I can't imagine how the monkey dads are gonna try to go back to sleep after that, oof. Also Wukong definitely knows all that from when he used to help Macaque through visions, right?

Yup! He does indeed!

Anonimo ha chiesto: I’m guessing MK is getting a mini version of Macaque’s “can hear the past/present/future” thingy, did he managed to hear it accidentally or was he trying to learn more about his powers/Shadowpeach’s past ?

Yes, he was just wondering since last time that he found the sleeping cuddling with him, what exactly happened for them to rift away. Guess curiosity killed the cat

@aurabooboo ha chiesto: So. I'm rewatching season 5, right? I noticed that they almost had a yelling match with MK right in the middle. Would Wukong apologize to him for that?

These 3 have so much to talk about… i wont draw everything, but they definitely apologised offscreen.

@elianaroselight ha chiesto: It is quite telling how Wukong immediately knew what to do to help calm MK, but also, Macaque coming in with the perspective of having gone through it himself. The need for them to remain close by and wait until Mk is asleep before trying to leave. This means Mac has been through exactly what he is telling them not to do and knows the pain, sorrow and trauma that comes from feeling abandoned like this. They may be facing their past hurting their own kid through proxy and try to help him fight against the trauma. Luckily they have good people to help when they themselves can't. *looks at Freenoodles*

Yup! Their response is exactly related to what they do to calm the other!

@thenerdycupcake ha chiesto: So, does MK’s gold vision combine with his hearing sometimes so that he sees some of what he’s hearing from the past?

Oooohhh i guess he does! So he can literally see and hear the past!

@frogsfandoms ha chiesto: Omg why can I see after MK wakes up he thinks that it isn’t the past he’s hearing and that it actually just happened. Rushing to see if Wukong and Macaque are hurt and or trying to stop them from fighting 😭😭😭

Oohhh our baby still doesn’t want to believe it actually happened :(

Anonimo ha chiesto: Adult MK: OH MY GOD A SPIDER *desperate scared monkey noises* Baby MK: what's this? A 5 starts meal? *Tries to chomp said spider* He's gonna be sooo disgusted when someone tells him he tried to eat one fkdkdlfmfl

Oh poor MK. He’ll be teased about this for the rest of his days.

@sailera ha chiesto: Hello I have question about you Shadowpeach bio dads au- How would Pigsy react that his only employee turned to a baby? And hadn’t answered his phone in few days? Also love your art!! And your ISAT comic got me again interested in playing Sky ✨

Mk only became a baby for like- 20 hours. Mei told him that he stayed at FFM because he was ‘tired after training’. As of now Pigsy didn!t found out

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

That's all for this week! Thank you a lot for all the asks!

[zorosbeau33]

Courting~ Natsu Dragneel Alpha Headcanon

❖ Fairy Tail, Natsu Dragneel x gender neutral reader

❖ Headcanon, Possible future series, fluff

❖ Tw: none~

❖ wc: 1045

❖ @tojiseviltwin @kimnamshiks ❖ Masterlist ❖

. ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

This is a alpha beta omega au~ Reader is assumed omega in this but you are free to decide for yourself~

. ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ ⋅˚̣- : ✧ : – ⭒ ⊹ ⭒ – : ✧ : -˚̣⋅ .

To begin, to make this easy let us establish this Dragon Slayer is an alpha. If you did not know you might suspect he was a beta with how he is so careless and goofy. Not your stereotypical stern tough guy alpha.

Natsu doesn’t care if you see him as an alpha or not, and he doesn’t care if someone doesn’t believe he’s an alpha. His status as a dragon slayer and member of Fairy Tail is his pride not something decided by birth or gender. Gender, who cares about that, are you strong or funny or nice? Thus goes his priorities.

So needless to say he’s not really into the whole, he has to court you by rules xyz due to his secondary gender. He’s going to court you how he believes a dragon slayer and guild member (because you will be adopted into Fairy Tale if you're not in it already) should be treated.

It might have taken him a long while to realize he wants to court you though. At first he just knew he liked being around you, and isn’t that enough? Spending life going on adventures and laughing together are most important to him. 

Once or twice he feels like frowning or growling when he sees someone get really close to you. Not just proximity wise because he too is a skinship with all the friends kind of person. But seeing someone attempt to get close to you romantically or emotionally and nudge him aside and out of frame? He doesn’t understand why but it burns him up inside.

I hate to say it but he tries to train it off, or just cling onto you and insist on starting a job right now. No he hasn’t picked one and yes it might be midnight but it's the perfect time to start a quest! No really-

He may go and confide in Master or Mira Jane. He knows he may get teased for it but he can’t figure these emotions out, and it's imperative to him to know because it's becoming stronger. His anger (its jealousy), his thoughts about you, why your scent is smelling sweeter and sweeter to him, all of it.

Bless this poor boy's soul because he really couldn’t figure out why he was “hungry” when he smelled your scent. He thought he needed to eat more food or fire because we don't eat friends. Thankfully they explained it's a physical and emotional longing to be closer with you.

This was not his first birds-and-bees talk but it was the one that made him realize he wanted you, and without them having to say more Natsu realized he wanted you as his mate.

Thankfully he does know from seeing others do it, although he thought it stupid at the time, the basics on how to court someone

His heart cannot take this he's so jittery and happy as he bounds up to you, if it's night time he may have broken in but that's okay! To hand you some hand picked flowers and a snack. He’s pretty forward about this, not subtle on starting the courting process. 

“Why? Because I want you to be my mate partner too of course!” Queue big happy grin

Lucy has helped him go shopping several times for you, blankets for your now shared nest. Food gifts galore.

No seriously everywhere you go, and you go to all places together now unless you ask for some space. He gets you food.

You looked away for two seconds and he disappeared. Don't worry he’ll be back in ten minutes with something scrumptious for you. 

If he has to go on a mission without you, or if you decide to take some time to yourself, expect a small little sweet or scone to be placed on your desk or in your hands. They are often a shade of pink, or dragon themed so you’d think of him.

Not huge on you wearing his clothes, with the exception of his scarf. He adores seeing you in it before he started courting you because he hadn’t realized yet, now he is obsessed wrapping it around you both as you cuddle. Or do anything for that matter.

Natsu did realize it's not practical while walking only after clotheslining you once…or twice…

He is super attentive to your needs, perhaps not romantically, but he knows you’re hungry before you do. 

Shivering? Not around him he knew to warm you before you knew you were chilled.

Tired, and he somehow has drafted you for a cuddle and nap session or has told the other guild members to go away so you can nest in a corner where he can keep an eye and make sure you are safe

Guild member pissed you off, he’s already squaring up to fight with you

You are feeling needy? He's right there giving you a hug

It all stems from his fighting experience funnily enough. He’s gotten really really good at reading body language because of it and he has yours down to an art form.

Natsu is strong and independent despite his love of skinship and kinship. However he will always be longing to be just a little bit closer to you and his gifts sometimes reflect as much.

Never in his life before would he have wanted to buy a massage, but here he is getting vouchers for couples massages. He heard about it from Elfman and it was a lightbulb moment.

Matching funny hats at the amusement park

Small little quirky dates to places to do things together, like making matching earrings. Or a food tour of a town together, quality time is his utmost number one gift and treasure. It's the best thing you can give him too, volunteer to spend time together and he is over the moon.

This goes without saying but Natsu is above all else, protective. You are strong or weak, it doesn't change this, he will fight god and anyone who looks down on you or tries to hurt you. Even if it's a guildmate in a pre ordained face off, someone will need to hold him back. You are too precious to him to risk losing, so please stay by his side forever.

[starberry-cupcake]

I started reading and writing this recap, then I got sick, so now that I'm able I want to pick it back up before I forget where I even was

previously in nonita del 9:

this is the first part and chapter

this is the general tag, for those who stumble upon this in the wild and, for some reason, want to read all the rest

CHAPTER 2

nonita is talking about how she's actually one of potentially two people

and describes herself in the following terms

"skin the color of the egg carton, and eyes the color of the egg mixture, and hair the color of the burnt-out bottom of the pan...a thin, complicated face...nice white teeth in a smile that looked sad no matter how happy she was"

she thinks she's gorgeous

ok cyrus the lyctor with the nudes whose last name I don't remember and I was about to google when autocomplete scared me and I closed the tab

I'm not allowed to google things for these recaps, I should know better

anyway, gideon eyes

so is this harrow's body but gideon's soul while harrow's soul is in the river with the emperor???? or what's happening???

did gideon's soul get scrambled upon returning from the river somewhere???

if it's gideon's soul in harrow's body, it'd make sense with her thinking she's gorgeous and kissing the mirror tbqh

unfiltered gideon behavior

but the memories of the pool were harrow's??? because she remembered gideon's arms????

gideon's arms are very memorable, I've heard

which reminds me, where's gideon's body????

also, is this new personality who lives in a cumple gonna switch back to who it used to be or merge together?

is this happy-go-lucky attitude gonna disappear or combine?

I remember back when I didn't know anything about these books (and all I saw was the covers and knew that gideon and harrow were a ship), I thought nona was their child in like a distant future

I don't know why I thought that, I just filled in the gaps with that

those were simpler times

so nona is kinda vain about her looks, apparently??

I posted this before but, this was her at a queue when someone was hitting on her

she's nonchalant about people wanting to sleep with her and camilla says "sex things were right out. She said there were enough problems in the world"

I'd love a tshirt like this, actually

so am I to understand that gideon and harrow got blended somewhere in the river and reborn as a "born sexy yesterday" lovechild??

I don't know, man, I'm just gonna continue

pyrrha, palmolive and camilla are trying to teach nona things but also not teach her things, because they don't wanna skew the results on who she is

in case it comes back to her that she can wield a sword or do playdoh stuff with bones

what she can do, apparently, is pick up any language by watching people speak it

which, in a planet of refugees, comes up very frequently

palmolive (and me, also me) is like "where tf did this come from?????"

I mean, I guess either harrow or gideon could have that from before, since I don't think they were exposed to anything other than the one language, did they?

I can't remember??? I don't think gideon did??

or is it new???

she downloaded a star trek universal translator on the way down from the river, as a treat??

also, out of the two of them, if this is just one of them, I think harrow would be the one more mortified by everything that's going on during this time, just putting it out there

CHAPTER 3 (we have an apple tree rather than the tomb at the start of this one)

nona says she "doesn't just want to be good-looking and dumb", so she got herself a job

which says a lot about the value of productivity in self worth, even in situations of dire stress and danger, but I digress

if this is harrow, she's gonna hate all this so much

the body maybe is harrow's? because the school lady think's she's 14, and that gave me mercygirl vibes of saying she's less years every time she looked at her

and she wants to send nona to school

the lady also has suspicions of pyrrha being camilla's and nona's pimp, so pyrrha has to flirt with her to distract her from that line of thought

and says she'd be luckier being a pimp for augustine and alfred

so, nona insists on going to school and is allowed because palmolive is combeferre-coded and loves education

I mean, I agree, but also, at what cost, in this case?????

so, nona goes to school and befriends a bunch of kids who ask her for drugs but then relent and let her join their clique anyway

because she takes care of the teacher's dog, which always gives people points socially

kevin is really adorable btw we love kevin

one of the kids, the leader, is called hot sauce and I think she's been through a lot

like, more than the rest of the kids

one has like 5 fathers, but still

she's the only one not ready and willing to go attempting to kill necromancers, which the other kids want to do

nona can also read people's body language very well, to the point in which she can tell when people are lying, uncomfortable or hiding something

another thing that may or may not be from Before

anyway, nice kids, I'm sure nothing bad is gonna happen to any of them

right?

right????

we'll leave it there for now! next chapter starts with a seventh house skull so idk what we're in for at all, as long as not!dulcinea isn't back...

[ranchclan]

📜 ❔📝⛔️

📜 How does your clan’s warrior code differ from other clans?

Ranchclan in particular has a pretty lax warrior code! Especially compared to Valleyclan who can be rather traditional, Ranchclan is much more welcoming of outsiders (doesn’t allow daylight warriors though, you can be an ex-kittypet but your focus has to be on your clan, not your folk), Obviously clerics are allowed to have kits, as are the leader and deputy even if there’s talk about it. I reference a lot of @/bonefalls work and their expanded warrior code, including stuff like Queens Rights.

❔Do you have any suggestions for people looking to start their own clangen blogs?

Include everything in your notes, don’t include everything in your notes. Which doesn’t make much sense, but what I’m saying is like, look at Everything. The relationship tab, cats thoughts, patrol beginnings and events, and you don’t have to write All of it, because a lot of it is probably useless, but when you’re able to string a couple of events relating to a small group, it really works out in your favor for connecting dots and plot lines.

Play 24 moons ahead, and DRAW 24 moons ahead. This may just be a me thing, but having the buffer pages of regular updates on queue, and giving me time to work on 25-48 and 49-72. It also helps with plot writing because you don’t get attached and have big introductions for loners who join the clan only to die from redcough the next moon. This way you can track important plot lines between multiple moons and be able to set the scene for how and when events happen, it’s also great for me making bonusranch content for inbetween because I get interactions from people who inspire them the week of posting ya know.

Speaking of, don’t be afraid to move around small events in the timeline or diverge from clangen as much as you’d like, it’s just the base, and for the most part it doesn’t matter if someone comes out of the closet on moon 23 or 24 if it fits with your pacing better.

Keep your clan small. It’s going to grow rapidly, as clangen is wont to do. Ranchclan in particular has smaller litters for whatever reason, but don’t be afraid to cull kits (sorry), loners, or other clan-joiners to reduce your population and keep only the characters who have plot lines and investments. Otherwise! Save them for mass extinction fodder.

Typefaces, typefaces, typefaces. So many clangen blogs suffer from the fact that some of y’all have ass handwriting or pick really swirly cursive fonts, or write too small! (not to call out anyone specific, many blogs do this and I get the reasons for it!) but making a clean, concise, and legible typeface is going to up your engagement, and makes your panels look cleaner. There are nice handwritten fonts out there, or making your own like ranchclans custom typeface from Calligraphr. Same thing with actually labeling characters in your panels, it’s really useful especially when you’re just starting and introducing characters, and/or when your clan gets large asf and needs reminders. Something I really want to do for Ranchclan sometime is go through and make image ids for the whole thing, captions in the description, and I want to go through with a colorblind filter to make sure that my type doesnt blend in with the background

📝 What do your notes look like?

These are some of my older notes, and like I said previously , a lot of these events get moved around to different moons where less happens. I’ve also started taking more in-depth notes since I started, and events I don’t use but still like, I save for bonusranch content. I sometimes have notes like if someone is injured and it later leaves a scar, I go back and mention where the injury in placed in my notes for future reference.

⛔️How long are you planning on making your comic? For as long as you feel like it, or is there a set end? Also @nimbusclan for asking this question too!!

So I was actually just talking with my partner about it, and I think the goal for Ranchclan is 1000 moons!! I’m not holding myself super strongly to that if I end up losing passion about it, but so far I’m having the time of my life working on Ranchclan and will keep doing it till I’m bored, no set end, just the cats daily lives. I’ll be working on other projects in the meantime, like Dungeonclan (sorry I started Houndclan and did get bored, dogs are less interesting to draw despite their variety), and expanding ranchclans world with Valleyclan and Wanderingclan. Maybe someday I’ll post about my human specific ocs (*cough* dnd characters *cough*)

Thank you so so so much for all the questions!! I really appreciate it my dude 🧡🧡🧡

[zefly]

My recap of the Paris gig 😗

_ I arrived at 9am for the queue, it was nice to finnaly see other Kaareelyt ^^ thanks to @duekko for the fanart !! And i got so many bracelet xD

_ The gig was in a bar and the staff let us in at, if i remember, 3pm ? So we were able to wait inside confortably ^^ that was really cool

_ We saw the K crew going back from their eiffel tower photoshoot (and at first i thought that Mr Bodyguard was followed by two children 😆 but it was Kä and Hä lol they are really tiny when they are with Mr Bodyguard lol)

_ We were able to see the songs and lights tests (i was a little bit scared because when Jukka tried his guitar i felt the windows shake 😆 i was like "will i survive the gig tonight ?" because i'm not used to loud music and flashlight ^^)

_ AND THEN KÄ AND HÄ WENT TO US WITH MR BODYGUARD AND JESSE AND TALK WITH US FOR LIKE 20MN !!! That was so surreal 😆 they were so kind and funny :3 Jere with his "You want drink ? Yes ? Vodka ? Ok 😃 !" and then he paid for all the drinks lol we were i think 20 or 25 at this moment ^^ and then we were served by Hä and Jesse ^^ nice nice nice

_ Jere asked us if it was our first gig so i was like "yeaaaah 😄 " and he said to me "i hope you'll like it 😊 " so i said "oh yes i will " xD

_ I don't remember all of the things we talked about but i have a little video of the moment ^^ Jere speak about "Pooland" lol and that he don't have the choice of the country for the tour :/ and he said that he was really happy to go again on small stage and to be able to spend some time with the fans (if i remember well lol) there was so many things that happen to him last year and it was exhausting for him because he didn't have time for himself etc etc i remember that Jesse shush him many time and it was funny xD it was like Jere said thing like "yeah i think we will sing two new songs tonight" and then Jesse shush him (i don't remember well lol). Someone asked if Erika will be there for the gig and he said "Erika who? lol i don't know her 😁" xD so the person said something like "what about Herika then?" and Jere was like "ahah yes yes Herika 😁" lol

_ Funny thing i just remembered: when Jere was talking with us there were an old lady who wanted to go the bathroom so she needed to pass in front of Jere and she was like "Time's up time's up!" And Jere was like "watafak 😅" that was really funny lol

_ And then finally the gig !! I was in the front row (Jukka side :3) and it was so perfect (nobody pushing others etc etc ! Really nice ^^) it was really impressive to finally hear Kä in live !! Like when i heard Jukka do his solo i was like "wooow ok that's... woow"! And i was really glad that i did'nt have any problem at all with the loud music and flashlights :D

_ I understand why you all want to see Jere on stage xD this guy knows what he's doing :o and the new songs are sooooo soooo cool !!! We had "Bananas" for the first time ^^. And "sex=money" is really a banger !!! Woow !!!

_ We got Paidaton riehuja !! And of course our dear Goddess Erika Vikman for Ruoska (OMG she is so awesome 😳)

_ Jere was soooo soooo happy i thought he was crying of happiness at the end of the gig :3 baby !! It's so great to see him happy like this ^^ he's living his best life !! At the end many of us makes semi-hearts with our hands and Jere makes the other half ☺️ (so i was touched a little by Jeresus 🫶)

_ When the gig finished we made some art on the tourbus :3 Jesse was like "wtf does that mean 🧐" because there were words in french eheh

_ i am soooo happy of this experience !!! I hope i can see Jere again on stage in the future :3

[hvnlygrl]

⌞ LOVE’S TEETH ⌝

જ⁀➴ pairing | michael scofield x reader

જ⁀➴ warnings | mention of the company, fluff, angsty

જ⁀➴ synopsis | michael scofield was an enigma, one that you’d grown to know and love from the time you were 13. you’d been with him through fox river, sona, ogygia, and everything else in between, with the hopes that it was all finally over. however, a wolf at your doorstep starts the next quest and tears your world to shreds.

જ⁀➴ april 16th | april blurb queue

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

loving michael scofield was like being tied to the edge of a hurricane — erratic, scary, and somehow the most fun thing you’d ever experienced.

you never quite understood anything that was going through his mind at any given time, but you knew there was always something. it took a lot before people finally started giving michael the credit he deserved, his reservedness making others assume that he wasn’t nearly as smart and cunning as he truly was.

but michael was a genius, in every sense of the word. because of his high intelligence, though, he saw every possibility, every outcome, and his mind never stopped reeling about the what if’s.

especially when it came to you helping on things. he spent more time being distraught about the possibility of the enemy capturing you or you getting hurt in the crossfire then he did actually letting you be useful.

you loved michael, loved him more than anything else in the world, but at times he was scary and closed off — you wanted him more than ever in those moments. needed him like a fresh breath of air in a contaminated room.

michael was everything to you, and you were everything to him. he’d spend hours at night thinking about you and the future he wanted for the two of you together. the beautiful house out in some gorgeous farmland, animals and kids and pets and a home with both parents that would stay and love their kids like no other.

he would give his children the life he never received growing up. but until then, he was trapped in the present day reality of all the shit going on around him. not with the wolf that following him everywhere, no matter where he went. it already had his scent — there was no getting away from it forever.

“michael,” you call out to him from across the table, “were you listening to me?”

“what?” he snaps out of his mind, shooting you an apologetic glance, “uh, no, sorry.”

“i was asking what you wanted for dinner,” you repeat softly, “what’s going on in that mind of yours?”

it had been 2 years since ogygia and everything else, but he had a feeling that there was another storm brewing that was coming for the two of you. you shared a quaint apartment, decorated scarcely yet still cozy and comfortable.

“i don’t know,” he sighs as he shakes his head, “it’s probably nothing.”

“michael, i’ve known you since we were 13, if somethings bothering you it never ends up being nothing.”

“i just have this bad feeling — like something’s coming.”

“something or someone?”

“that’s what’s bothering me.”

you nod before getting up from the table and moving to sit on his leg. “hey, whatever it is, we’ll get through it. just like we’ve gotten through everything else.”

he gazes at you silently, his piercing blue eyes committing every part of you to memory just as he’d done a million times before. you lean down until your foreheads are touching, the tips of your noses barely brushing against each other. each of your eyes are closed, simply relishing in the feeling of being in each other’s space.

michael wraps his arms around you tightly as he closes the gap between your lips, kissing you ever so tenderly.

and as fast as the moment turned sweet, it turns sour.

michael pulls away quickly, face full of stress and anger as he hears the footsteps outside the front door. “go,” he motions quietly to the bedroom, “lock box.”

your heart contorts with anger and pure heart break at the fact that every single time you had something good going with michael the company or whoever the fuck it was this time was there to send your world crashing down again.

you follow michael’s instructions speedily and efficiently, already knowing the processes since you’d been through them with him a thousand times over.

you retrieve two gun with silencers, one for yourself and one for him. you load them quickly and hand it off to him, following his lead as he starts getting the exit ready.

just as he’s about to let you out the window to the fire escape, the front door to the apartment is kicked open.

the wolf found him, sinking its teeth into his world of love once again.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ──

hvnlygrl 2025 ©️

@ultravi0lence14

[markrosewater]

Thank you for the newest State of Design. Reading this year’s, even more so than previous, made my own feelings feel seen and valid. Nearly everything you mentioned on both the highlights and lessons I agreed with, and it refreshes a lot of confidence in the future that an authoritative figure in MtG is able to identify so much, and communicate so well, of what worked and what missed.

The one thing I felt you didn’t touch on was play boosters in limited, sealed specifically. My sealed plays have been a nightmare since play boosters. The lopsided-ness between someone opening 6 rares vs someone opening 12 is immense, and it has lead to a much higher percentage of games that feel their outcomes were completely dictated by the sealed pools and not by deckbuilding skill or gameplay skill.

I communicated to you a similar experience shortly after play boosters went live, and your response was along the lines that too few people play sealed for it to meaningfully influence concern on its own. Since then, my sealed experiences have consistently been just as nightmarishly swingy, and when playing on Arena in the sealed events that are held quite often, I don’t spend a ton of time waiting in queue. It doesn’t feel like there’s no one playing sealed, but it does feel like sealed has been broken by play boosters.

In the spirit of your state of design article, in reflection, I’d like to ask: is the sealed environment with play boosters something that warrants concern? Or are things more or less the same back when you first responded when play boosters came out, that too few people play sealed for it to meaningfully influence concern on its own? Thanks.

I might be just repeating what I said last time you asked, but it's hard to remember all my answers. Here's the challenge. Something like 95% of all sanctioned sealed play is at prereleases. Prereleases are played with prelrelease boxes which give us some ability to help balance things if we feel there's a problem. Being blunt, I don't think affecting the remaining 5% of sealed play is going to outweigh all the other factors we're dealing with when crafting play boosters.

I'll note that things could always change and alter our calculations.

[latinare]

This is a really vague question maybe you have some insight on.

I'm monolingual; I very casually study Spanish, ie duolingo, very slowly reading Harry Potter in translation, bantering with my mexican coworkers, etc, but I'm barely past where I was ten years ago in college. My grandparents native language was Sicilian, and so that's really been the dream to someday learn Italian. But for where I live, Spanish is a very practical language, and Italian really isn't. I'm scared to stop the small amount of Spanish study that I currently do and lose it, but at the same time it's not my ultimate goal. There are really only so many hours in the day.

How much Spanish do I need to learn before I can put it to bed and start clawing my way through Italian? Can you think of any benchmark I could use? I realize it's not an either/or situation, but I was hoping you might have some advice as someone whose language journey seems to be much more advanced that my own.

Thanks for your time and any thoughts you might have!

This is a good question and I think one all language-learners struggle with. I don't know that there's one good answer, but I have a few thoughts that may or may not be helpful.

When you study something, even if you have to set it aside at some point, you don't lose it completely. The next time you pick it up, it's easier and quicker to get back to where you were. It's okay to study cyclically.

You can study things in the cracks of your day. I have Latin vocab pinned above the sink to learn when I'm washing dishes, and I translate posts for this blog while I'm nursing my baby. I read Geoffrey of Monmouth when I have ten free minutes and feel like it. It doesn't look like enough time to study a language, but it adds up.

Studying a second language in the same family can be fascinating because they share cognates (cousin words) and grammar elements. Digging into this can deepen your understanding of both. (Sicilian and Spanish are both from the Romance branch of the Indo-European language family.)

Finding a way to work a little Spanish into your week may help you retain what you've already learned. (Maybe leave Harry Potter in your backpack to read when you're in a queue or waiting room?)

One of my personal language-learning benchmarks is being able to understand spoken humour, so I'd contest that bantering with coworkers in Spanish makes you more than monolingual. :)

Ugh, I feel like I'm not saying much that's concrete. I really hope you get to study Sicilian though! Best of luck with both, and any future linguistic endeavours too!

[toracainz]

Tell Me Where to Put My Love pt6

You and Steven haven’t been together very long, but that won’t stop either of you from fighting tooth and nail for a chance at a future together.

Series Masterlist | Masterlist | Series Ao3

Part 5 - At Last, When All of the World Is Asleep

Part 6 - If it falls, I would hold on for all it's worth

Part 7

Warnings: Inaccurate depictions of DID (only knowledge from the show and some light research). Swearing. Established relationships. Married relationship. Use of term “priest” in a gender-neutral sense. Discussion about cheating. Discussion about homewreckers. Canon typical violence in later chapters. Angst. Fluff.

Word Count: 3.6k

Muffled voices.

Echoing footsteps.

Empty rooms.

Shifting images.

You find yourself in what looks like an exhibit room at the museum Steven worked at. Coming to consciousness in a dream was always a little confusing, as it wasn’t like “waking up” in this place but like you had blinked and suddenly you were there. The vignette that surrounded your vision began to clear as you gained your bearings.

The sounds of museum crowds fades slightly as if someone was turning down the volume of an ambient playlist. With the sounds lessened, you could begin to make out a more distinct voice. Making your way towards the voice you wondered if it might be Steven or Marc, it didn’t sound like it would be Layla. The exhibit size fluctuated as you made your way through, images of the ancient Egyptian murals shifted as if alive, never really able to make up its mind how it wanted to look. Dreams always had funny effects on text, numbers, and images. Once you were with the others, you thought you’d try and stabilize the realm as much as you could. The last thing any of you need is to get lost in some kind of dream labyrinth.

“Go on, child, I will maintain this realm. But remember…do not be overcome with emotions…there is chaos just beneath the surface. With this many lucid minds, it will not take much to unleash that chaos.”

As the familiar voice sounded against the recreated museum walls, the world around you started to become clearer.

Turning the corner, you found yourself in what appeared to be a combination of the gift shop with an archeological dig tent. Some crates and piles of sand joined the makeshift museum artifacts. And there among them all was a familiar head of messy curls. The way this man moved from object to object, how his head moved quickly around trying to take in everything, you had no doubt…Steven.

Almost on queue, as if he heard your thoughts, his eyes find yours and his face lights up with a smile as he hurries over to you.

“Love! Oh, love, this is absolutely bloody amazing! Everything here is…well it’s real but it’s not. I mean that’s the gift shop, yeah? Course it is. And that—that there is like the tent at Harrow’s dig site.” With so much childlike wonder, Steven pointed out things to you, hands animatedly moving about as he spoke.

“This is just…heh wow. Just, oh my God. And you…you’re brilliant.”

Steven turned and looked at you, his excited smile becoming something more adoring. He was just in awe of you, of your abilities, and just brimming with pride. You couldn’t help but smile back…but there’s no time.

“Thank you, Steven. I had been wanting to show you this for a while now, but I wasn’t sure the best way to bring it up without you thinking I was making fun of you…”

“Don’t think you would have had any problem convincing me when you can do things like this. Tutu is lucky to have someone li—“

Steven is interrupted suddenly…by someone calling his name, the voice sounding worried, and growing frustrated, getting louder and louder until…

Marc emerges through a doorway, Layla close behind. He looks on edge and Steven can tell. Coming to meet him halfway, Steven places a hand on Marc’s shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze, a wordless reminder that he was there for him, before pulling Marc into a tight hug which he emphatically reciprocates. Marc would never admit it, but he really needed that hug.

You and Layla stand there, watching as the boys have their moment. On Marc’s wrist sits the same cuff bracelet you had put on Steven, or rather their body, in the waking world. It was good to see that it connected properly with Marc too.

“This is pretty amazing. Almost feels real.” Layla marvels as she takes in the scenery around her. Marc, pulling away from Steven nods in agreement.

“Bout like how the Duat felt. Couldn’t tell it wasn’t real. So, what we’re in the museum?…and the desert?” Everyone but you looked around, the different expressions on their faces said it all. Steven was smiling, Marc was not and by the rise and fall of his chest you could assume that he was beginning to calm down, and Layla looked in awe. You motioned towards the tent, its material seeming to flutter against an imaginary wind.

“We’ll probably find a place to sit in there. Shall we?” You waited for the three to respond before making your way into the tent. Inside there were some elements one would expect to see in an archeology tent, some tables with papers and tools, a couple cots here and there, but the couches were definitely out of place. Marc was clenching and unclenching his fists as he made his way over to a table turning his back to and leaning against its edge, his arms crossed. Steven on the other hand took one of the couches, it was difficult for him to wipe the smile from his face. Layla grabbed one of the folding chairs, her expression was a sort of mix between Marc’s and Steven’s. Looking around, brows lifted curiously as she looks around at the oddly still but shifting environment, but her body had a tenseness to it, like she could be ready at a moment’s notice for any danger.

Like Marc, you couldn’t bring yourself to sit anywhere, you were nervous for a different reason. This was it, the chance to actually talk about what all this will look like.

“Before we start…I do want to say that even if we talk about some…distressing topics, we need to try and remain calm. Or at least as calm as we can. Dreams react to emotions so if we get too worked up…things might start to get weird.” You tried to explain it as simply as you could, hopefully in a way that wouldn’t alarm the others. If they were concerned they didn’t voice it, they all nodded or gave a small verbal confirmation that they understood.

Silence began to settle in the air as the four of you struggled to find the best way to start this whole thing.

“Well…just sitting here isn’t going to get us anywhere.” Layla huffed, her body seeming to relax a little. She seemed like she was opening herself up either consciously or unconsioulsy to have this open conversation. “So, do you still want to be with Steven?” Her question took you by surprise. “I mean, I would think if you were going through the trouble of putting all this together you do, yeah? So it’s a matter of figuring out how the four of us can…coexist? Whatever that might involve, whatever plans come of this, Marc and I already have a number of things to work through as it is.” Marc’s frown deepened (if you can believe it), hearing her say those things. He turns his gaze with a huff, drawing Layla’s attention for a moment. “So what’s…holding you back? Personally? I’m not really sure how something like this will work on top of everything else.”

“Well that’s what we have to find out, yeah? It’s not like there’s an instruction manual for our…situation. Just something we’ll have to figure out along the way.” Steven chimed in. “Truthfully, we won’t know until we try. We won’t get it on the first go, there’s going to be some bumpy and rough patches, right? But we’ll just have to figure out the next move when that happens.”

Layla’s question sat in your mind, “what’s holding you back?” The answer immediately popped into your mind when she asked, but was that something to just…ask?

“And the uh…I guess first rough patch to get through might be…do you have feelings for her?” Your heart was pounding in your chest, taking a deep breath, you somehow felt emboldened. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was that you were in your element, who knows. But the answer was one you needed to hear. As soon as the question left your lips, Steven’s gaze shot to you, mouth opening and closing as his mind struggled to find the right words.

He began to stutter a bit as he went from one word to the next, starting and stopping sentence after sentence. “Well I um…I…it’s um…” Steven began to feel small, he hadn’t expected that question so soon. He had been working through his mind to how to explain himself and everything he came up with never seemed like a good enough answer. “I…I just…no.” As his fists clenched he looked to you, glancing at Layla. “I…I don’t have feelings for Layla. Honest. Bollocks…I don’t love her, like that. Was it a…a crush? Y…yeah I think it was. I was scared and didn’t have anyone around that I could trust, that I could rely on. Layla was there and yes, I think she’s beautiful and smart, but…she’s not for me. We share favorite poets and can read heiroglyphs, but she and Marc…they’re cut from the same cloth. I am not like either of them, obviously cause I’m me. I do…care for her, but I don’t want to be with her. I want to be with you. Every moment I was away all I could think of was if I was ever going to see you again.”

“So what you kissed her just to pass the time?” The question slipped from you before you realized it. The words made Steven wince.

“No…I kissed her…because for a moment I was the biggest idiot on the planet. I was overwhelmed and I just…if it helps at all she didn’t like it and Marc gave me a pop in the face for it too.” Marc couldn’t help but snicker thinking about that moment.

“Yeah and after that the big idiot couldn’t shut up about you. Only time he took a break was to figure out a puzzle or something…otherwise it was like having a set of those windup teeth chatterin’ on and on.” Marc, arms still crossed, pulled a hand free to take through his hair. He always struggled with talking and this was the world's weirdest couples therapy conceivable.

Standing there, you listened and contemplated and mulled over Steven’s explanation, or were they just excuses? The words seemed to echo in your mind. Even if Marc was telling the truth, that after the fact Steven couldn’t stop talking about you, the fact remains that it still happened. On top of that, Layla’s sudden silence seemed to speak volumes. Could there really be something between them? Your heart was aching, being pulled as if something was trying to get away from the situation, as if it wanted to hide away. 

“That all sounds great and all…but I just…I’m just having a hard time believing it. I just never thought that you would be capable of…of doing what you did and yet here we are.” You didn’t know what else to say or what could be said. You didn’t want to let Steven go, what you both had before Cairo was…was so special, you both finally felt like you had found an anchor in the turbulent sea of the world. And now you’re set adrift, wanting nothing more than to reach for the anchor but now it feels like it’s pulling you under rather than keeping you steady.

Steven’s expression was clear enough…his heart was breaking. He didn’t blame you for not believing him…didn’t blame you for being upset or angry…he knew he had fucked up and bad. But a part of him had hoped that somehow things could be mended…maybe that’s all that was left was hope. Steven simply nodded, drawing his lips between his teeth creating a thin line across his face.

“I’ll just…I need a minute…” he says before standing up and starting to the entrance of the tent. He felt like he needed fresh air but the “air” in this dream was…all the same…so he’d have to settle for the “air” outside the tent. The museum outside had shifted just during the relatively short time everyone had been inside the tent. Steven figured as long as he stayed near the tent, then he wouldn’t risk getting lost.

You, Layla, and Marc watch as Steven leaves. Guilt washing over you, but it was mixing with the frustration and hurt of the very topic you were all there to discuss. Marc began to move, to go and talk to Steven, but Layla stood holding up her hand, motioning for him to stop.

“I’ll talk to him…this needs to get settled…” She tried not to glance towards you as she turned to walk out of the tent, but failed. You wondered what she was going to do or say. Should you go after her? What would you even say? Maybe she was going to confess to Steven or something, try to convince him that she could love both Marc and him…your heart still held out hope this could work…yes, you still loved Steven. You just needed some kind of evidence…concrete evidence that this could work.

~*~*~*~

Layla emerges from the tent, much to Steven’s frustration.

“Oh bollocks…what?” Steven’s tone snapped a little. Everything was going to shit, it was his fault that this was happening…he wanted to make it right, but it seemed like at every turn he just messed up more.

“Woah…without the “bollocks” I could have sworn I was talking to Marc…”

“Well excuse me. Having a bit of a crisis right now in case you haven’t noticed.”

Layla knew Steven could get sassy, he was pretty quick witted after all, so she was trying to approach this as diplomatically as possible. “I have, actually, and I think it’s become pretty clear they aren’t going to let go of what happened in Egypt…Steven, why put yourself through this? You’re just going to cause yourself more pain…if you just let them go—”

“‘Let them go’?! Right, yeah, just like how Marc let you go? How he sent the divorce papers but didn’t sign them? How you gps tracked his phone to find him? Or-or-or how you are still here, still trying to make it work in spite of everything that’s happened? Like that? Want me to just give up?”

“Steven, that’s diff—”

“‘Different’? Different—different how exactly? Oh, because—because you were here first? You and Marc got married? Well, that’s all well and good, yeah, but that all happened before I ever knew about Marc or the bloody pigeon or you. The only thing that was truly mine before everything went pear-shaped is them.” Steven’s chest was rising and falling rapidly as his enthusiasm built, a pointed finger swung towards the tent as if Layla didn’t know you were inside. He was like a water balloon that finally met its breaking point, words flooding the space, hands waving energetically with passionate words. “And what about you, hmm? Why don’t you just ‘give up’? You keep talking about all the work you and Marc have to do for your marriage to work…why don’t you just give up? You won’t…because you love Marc…you love him just like I love them!…You know you have a lot of nerve telling me to give up when you can’t let things go yourself.”

Layla was at a loss for words, she watched Steven erupt, brows raised and eyes widening as her own fire began to build.

With a huff, Layla shakes her head, her curls bouncing, the look on her face is incredulous. Throwing up her hands, she turns and starts off into the “museum”. Steven’s eyes go from narrow and accusatory to wide and frantic as she disappears around a corner.

“Layla?…Layla hold on now…hold on…wait!” Steven called out, taking some steps towards where Layla went and looking back at the tent, heart pounding as he knew every second counted…he couldn’t delay and risk Layla venturing too far from the group. He didn’t know what was waiting in this dreamworld and he didn’t want to find out.

The corridor Layla had gone down had darkened, no doubt from the intense emotions she was feeling. Steven, not wanting to wait, followed after her…believing that you would find them in whatever mess the two of them were throwing themselves into.

~*~*~*~

Inside the tent, you had finally taken a seat, incidentally in the spot that Steven was sitting in. You expected there to be a slight warmth, but whatever warmth you felt was more like a memory, faded by the dreamworld. Marc chose to hover near enough to the entryway of the tent, the flap closed enough to allow a good sense of privacy and separation. The both of you wondering nearly the same thing…do they have feelings for each other? For Marc, it would almost certainly confirm some of his worst fears, that he wasn’t worthy of Layla’s love, that Steven was much more suited for that life than he was, that he shouldn’t have happy ever afters…and that Layla didn’t want to be with him after all. For you, it would mean that what you and Steven had wasn’t as special as you had come to believe it was, that something like soulmates was just for hopeless romantics to help them sleep at night…how ironic that it was now what had been keeping you from restful sleep.

Before the both of you can spiral too far, the sound of Steven’s voice being raised reached you both. Marc looked back at you before looking back at the opening Layla and Steven had walked out, restraining himself from going out there and decking Steven for talking to his wife like that. The fire in Steven’s voice pulled you back to your feet and you had come over to join Marc in listening in to this exchange. What Steven was saying about Layla…he had a good point. Marc had asked himself many times why Layla kept coming back, why she kept putting up with his bullshit…deep down a part of him knew why, but that part of him had a hard time convincing the part of him that asked those questions…Layla loved Marc. And it was becoming increasingly clear that…Steven loved you. Much like Marc, a part of you knew that, but the part of you that was rightfully hurt and angry was pushing that other part down and silencing it.

A soft smile had found it’s way to both your faces…it was always nice to be reminded that you had someone that loved you even with all your flaws…but that glimmer of happiness quickly vanished when you heard Steven calling out to Layla. Marc quickly threw the tent flap open and stepped out only to see Steven’s back turning a corner in a hurry and Layla nowhere to be seen.

The dream museum had darkened considerably since you all had arrived. Like a strange night had settled in, the sound of thunder and whispers around the corners creeping in as shadows began to move and shift in the periphery.

Panic.

Worry.

Anger.

Marc’s mind was beginning to whirl. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he knew he had to get to them before both Steven and Layla got hurt…that terrible part of his mind telling him if they did…it would be his fault. He took the first steps to run after them when you grabbed hold of his arm.

“Let go of me!” Marc nearly hissed, his body tense. “We can’t just stand here while they’re off going who knows where and running into who knows what!”

“I agree, but you getting lost yourself isn’t going to help anyone. The two of them are together and so are we…that’s better than being alone. Especially…since a nightmare is taking root.”

“What? A fucking nightmare? Great…just great. I knew this was a bad idea…this whole dream world thing…Steven outside of my body again and Layla…” With a gutteral yell, Marc punched a nearby column, the stone breaking away and crumbling as if the Hulk had punched it, the rubble floating near the impact point before moving as if on a breeze and being absorbed into another nearby column. The area grew darker at this outburst, these negative emotions feeding the growing unease, what was once a warm and inviting atmosphere was now dark and menacing, the display lights now glowing red. White lights in the distance casting shadows that whisper nonsense.

“We’ll find them. We will. Dreams have a way of circling in on themselves sometimes…we’re bound to run into them. Let’s at least…we know which way they went…we can start there.” You tried to reassure him, but you were also trying to reassure yourself. Yes, you had been doing this dream god avatar thing for sometime now, but some parts of the job you had trouble getting used to. Nightmares, by design, are meant to cut down to your very being, draw on your deepest fears and worries and bring them to life. Right now the both of you feared the person you loved getting hurt…and even more so you feared that the nightmare would oblige.

Tkik-thump.

Tkik-thump.

Tkik-thump.

The sound of…claws? Clawed feet? Making their way through the corridors…approaching.

A throaty, feral, snarling growl echoed against the walls of the dream museum. The sound of a beast contemplating its next move…evaluating its prey.

The both of you stood there wide eyed as a hulking beast entered the chamber. Marc recognized it…somewhat…it was similar to the jackals Harrow had summoned….but massive. Where those monsters had been lithe and nimble…this beast was huge and almost swollen looking, like it had absorbed all the other jackals to make itself stronger.

It’s glowing lifeless eyes found you and Marc as another low growl rumbled, the vibrations distorting the nearby objects like a heat shimmer on pavement, columns melting or twisting higher at its influence.

“...Marc…” Your voice kept low.

“Yeah?...”

The beast let out a bellowing, howling roar. The soundwaves further distorting the already malformed museum.

“Summon the suit.”

Don't forget to reblog and/or comment! I love to hear from you all!!

taglist: @roseqzpd​ @rosecentaur1916​ @ahookedheroespureheart@sleepyamaya@parkeepingparker@lockleysgrl@marc-spectorr@vermillionsails@harrys-tittie@n0ripeaches@missdictatorme@bitchyglitterfox@spacecowboyhotch@randomchick546@teacupcollector@local-mr-frog@stevenknightmarc@ahookedheroespureheart@mccn-bcys@juneknight @moonz33

[batbetbitbotbut]

Hi, hope you're doing well!

I was wondering if you have a specific resource you use for weaving project inspiration? I struggle with finding ideas for projects that aren't another scarf (I have 6 now...) or teatowels. My next project for my 4 shaft loom is going to be a lining for my pinic basket with matching napkins+cutlery roll, but after that I'm out. I would specifically like try overshot sometime soon, but I don't know what yet.

Thank you and have a nice day!

Hello and I hope you're also doing well! A picnic basket set sounds amazing!

I don't have a specific suggestion for you, alas. I've been weaving for less than a year and so far I have always had more ideas than I have time for (they form an orderly queue but usually the newest shiniest idea jumps to the front, how rude). I try to write them down as they come, to hoard against barren patches in the future.

I get ideas in a few places: a lot from my books because I want to try all the different structures I can, #weaving and related tags (shitty as tumblr tag tracking functions are) because I want to join in with the cool things other people make, nature stuff. I make a project and then make something completely different because I want a fresh experience (and different frustrations!) - a few cotton projects and then another wool one, several shuttles then one shuttle then two - but I also return to old projects and weave a new variation to see what happens. I've abruptly reached the age where several of my friends want to have babies, so I'm plotting more wide warps and double-width projects as baby blankets, which have their own restrictions.

But I make more tea towels than anything else because they have infinite give-away potential: even if I have too many towels in my life and I don't want the faff of selling them, someone will always be glad to have them. I can fuck up as much as I want and make them in any design at all and they will be useful, except for, like, lace. Some of my things have a recipient in mind when I make them, but most don't.

I struggle a bit coming up with palettes - it's part of why I'm not very interested in doing plaid - so I often go for pride flag palettes because they make a thing into A Thing (even if the palette isn't, like, relevant to me personally). Might do similar with bird-themed palettes in the future, like I did for the pigeon towels. Or when using wool, I only have cones in a few colours so I just use those.

Whatever you're doing, assuming you aren't using up a one-of-a-kind material in a way you don't want to use it, it's not wasted. If you enjoy the process, not all of it has to be for a result you are interested in, and it will still refine your skills for results you do like in the future. Not everything has to be the pinnacle of inspiration and craft but it may help you towards finding the next thing that really gets you excited - exercising your inspiration muscles whether they want it or not. This is a parable not an experiment that ever happened, and it's only vaguely related here, but this is my favourite retelling of it:

There was an experiment a professor did. I think it was pottery students. He did an experiment of “quality” vs “quantity”. One half of the class he told; you have to make as many pots as possible. Good pots, bad pots, shitty pots, whatever. The more pots you make, the higher your grade. The other half of the class were told, “you can make only one pot”. But that pot had to be perfect. The quality had to be high; the highest quality pot would get the best mark. But when it came to the grading, they noticed something weird. All the best quality pots were in the ‘quantity’ group. The guys who were literally churning out pots, trying to make as many as possible, not concentrating on the quality. But every pot they made, made them better at making pots. By the end of the month (I think it was a month) - they had some pretty awesome pots coming out, because they enjoying finding all the ways and all the things they could do to make all their pots. Where as the ‘quality’ guys had spent their time reading up on pots, and technique, and researching and planning; which was all great but they’d had no further practice at actually making pots. The best way to get really good at something, the only way to be really good at something, is to make lots of shitty attempts at that thing several of which will fail. If all you create are perfect things then you won’t improve, because how can you improve on perfect? tl:dr MAKE YOUR SHITTY POTS.

https://www.tumblr.com/darkandstormyslash/154648694948/fireandlifeincarnate-look-write-as-much

[kyri45]

Can you do another q&a

Sure thing

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 18/02✨

Welcome to the Q&A! A space where I can answer related or similar question about the Shadowpeach Bio Parents AU! If you submitted your ask anonimously, then you’ll have to check the whole post if it’s answered here, if it’s not, worry not! Your asks might have been used for a future comic or just in the queue~

@snsp6 ha chiesto: Don’t know if this was answered but what was the inspiration for bio parents au??

no inspiration. just my stupid brain not being able to like something without taking my whole life.

@roseltelle ha chiesto: Are you ok with AUs I was thinking about writing a fanfic. Basically with a younger Mk. Events of the show haven't happened yet, Wukong and Macaque aren't on ok terms yet (Slow Burn) unlike the show.

I don't think I understood. You're asking if you can do an AU of my AU?

@mistress-of-nightmares ha chiesto:YOU MENTIONED YOU HAD MK'S FINAL OUTFIT READY SINCE LIKE SUMMER, IS IT GOING TO BE THIS PRINCE-RELATED THEMED??? (sorry for all caps it just came to me and I screamed)

that's not the only one I already had in mind.

@shaya21 ha chiesto: Hey kyri I have a question maybe that was already ask and you answer it, so sorry if you did but does macaque, wukong and mk purr in your au ? When they are really relaxed and with someone they trust, like mk when he fall asleep in redson arm in the last chapter. That’s all And thanks you for making such a good au, that’s something I really appreciate (my life his based on😅)

No I don't think they purr.

@mysticanchorcheesecake ha chiesto: I just wanted to say.. I LOVEEE UR ART AKCIFdkfkdKckd!!! *Calms down mentaly* i a HUGE fan of ur parenting au.. thats it luv u ^^

Thank youu!!!!

@kilani-123 ha chiesto:Does Mk know that Wukong and Macaque are still engaged?👀

no

@deafeningcolortastemaker ha chiesto: Hi Kyri45!!!I have a little question for you and for Spicynoodleshipping.....WILL THERE BE MORE MK AND RED SON KISSED???I'm very worried. I really love spicynoodleshipping, and I would like you to release some pictures of spicynoodleshipping more often.😆 Well, good night to me, since it's 11 pm in Russia.Well, good! It's time for me to sleep, until the next Kyri45 meeting!!!

yes

@angelsbunnies ha chiesto: Was MK freaking out when he got sucked back cause he couldn’t finish adding more details to his little doodle?

poor baby yes he was.

@metalheaded-freak ha chiesto: Kyri, I just wanted to say… thank you, for creating the Bio Parents Au, it’s been such an emotional journey and honestly? If it wasn’t for you then I wouldn’t have gotten into the fandom the way I did. I guess what I’m trying to say is, you were the gateway for me to fully embrace this fandom and not be afraid to show what I do, so once again thank you!

awww tysm!!!

@ddle-lrd ha chiesto: GELLO (help gello lol) IM A HUGE FAN OF YOUR SHADOWPEACH BIO PARENTS AU AND CURRENTLY TAKE YOUR ART COURSE! I really wanted to know if the series will (unfortunately and reasonably) come to an end? Will S9 be the last or second last? (Like before the last season) Again, big fan and big supporter of your art even though i can’t support you financially besides the art course -L0S :))))

Awww tysm for all the support!

Also yes the Part 9 is the last part of the main story.

@peachy-pies-random-stuff ha chiesto: Hi Kyri! Me and my partner have been reading the Shadowpeach bio parents AU together and we're both addicted to it! Also the thing you said about writing uncharted territories..... Should we all be worried??? 🤨🤨🤨

I mean.... yes and no?

@land-of-frogs-and-dragons ha chiesto: Your monkie kid au is gonna get me to watch Lego monkie kid ngl,,,, saw your au on TikTok and went "oh I can't NOT watch this" and haven't regretted it since. 10/10 I love your art style and you draw mk's hair so fluffie I love everything about your art style and your au

thank you! heheh he has fluffy hair.

@pensoul2 ha chiesto: I was looking back at the LMK Bio AU and Redson's hair. His hair got me wondering if he ever tried cutting it. Would the scissors or the object cut his hair melt?

omg I want to believe that yes, if his hair is too hot it would melt the scissor. But I also like to think that they aren't really made of hair. It's they fluctuate between solid and plasma.

@shaya21 ha chiesto: Hiiiiiii I wanted to ask, you drew redson in bloom outfit from Winx. Do you think you can do macaque in musa outfit ? Oh and thanks for your amazing shadowpeach bio parents au it's amazing

@mysticewya already did the whole wix club team as LMK character, you should check them out.

@onyxxess ha chiesto:hiii!! ive been a fan of your artwork for a whole, esp the shadowpeach bio parent au. theres one thing i havent been clarified withCan we make edits of your art and post it on other socials like tik tok or insta?? (with creds)i would really love editing your artwork!

Yes you can. with credit. I'm both "kyri45" on IG and TT

@misagiiza ha chiesto: Hi Kyri45! My name is Izadora and I'm a huge fan of yours. I'm Brazilian and would love to translate your comic so other people could have the opportunity to know your talent!

Thanks, Iza.

Hello Izadora, there's already user "wukong_lmk" on TikTok that's doing the brazillian translation

@twilight-bai-he ha chiesto: Will we see a dance party in the celestial realm lol 😆🩷🩷😊

yup

hellopollon ha chiesto: Wait, so Macaque's scroll is close to theirs too or...?

Yup!

@mkthemonkiekiddd ha chiesto: Have you ever thought about doing different lmk AU’s after the current AU youre working on? (Like for example, infection AU, swap Au, etc.)

mm nope. I prefer to keep building on what I've already created

@whatdaflippityfloppity ha chiesto: I absolutely adore your comics and the way you draw Nezha! (He's my favourite character and needs more screen time and ✨angst✨ T-T) Quick question; Is Nezha ever going to rebel against his father? 🥺 Maybe to like, stop his father from using the pagoda or something?

he did it in the past multiple times he will most likely do it again

[coricoping]

CATS: The Jellicle Ball Summary

Sourced from my (admittedly imperfect) memory. I love this production, and this is an abridged summary of my memory of the events of the show. Specific/detailed character thoughts will be saved for their own posts, same with thematic deep dives. If there is any character/theme/question y'all want my thoughts on first, I can move them to the top of my queue of thoughts. That being said: on with the show!

Tumblr decided to post early, so this is just Act 1. I will add Act 2 as a reblog when I finish it

Pre-Show

The set for this show is really well done. Talked to one of the workers during intermission, and the whole thing (seating, stage, and all) is completely modular and movable. Floor levels are also all adjustable. It really inclines itself to audience interaction, both with the runway structure and the individual tables at the cabaret level seats.

Junior Labeija handles the pre-show announcements (put your phones away once you've googled me, cheer your heart out, don't film, etc)

Overture

Hearing this live for the first time made me cry

The DJ's introduction is great, he has a collection of queer and black artists' vinyls that he pulls out, followed by a Cats vinyl filled with glitter

The eyes (projected up onto the back wall/window panel) have the white cat solo animated inside of them

Shadow outline of a dancer (I think Primo/Tumble on the night I saw) starting out w/ ears and a tail doing classic Cats-style choreo blending into a removal of the ears/tail and a shift to ballroom choreo

Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats

Did the thing I love for this song where there are clear and well-timed spotlights on every cat as they sing their line, w/ everyone else in darkness

Cast appears throughout the audience (Tugger was behind me at his start, I think) before gathering into the area around the stage

Get onto stage for the Mystical Divinity section

The group catwalk is absolutely gorgeous, this show has great choreo

The Naming of Cats

The perfection of this song for a queer viewing of Cats cannot be overstated, and will likely be its own post eventually

Munk as an MC leading this number is lovely to me

"Man over there" is given to Macavity, as the first clear indication to his altered role in this version

There are spotlights on every cat whose name gets said in the song, not just Bombalurina, which makes me happy

White Cat Solo

Gets its own segment because Baby is that good. She is dance captain for this show and you can see why

The white outfit here is gorgeous, kinda sad she changes out of it later

Pink lighting is doing good work making this section feel ethereal

Was way closer to the vibes of the original than I was expecting from a vogue choreo. There were a couple moves I saw as clear references to the original

Invitation

Emcee Munk continues to be amazing, the rhythm of this was very satisfying

"COME OUT tonight"

They bring in guest judges to sit until Old Deut arrives

Gumbie Cat

Jenny is a tired single mother of three kids who cannot for the life of them get organized

Puerto Rican drag queen Jennyanydots has my heart, as does her stylist

The "sits and sits and sits" line here is not used to imply that Jenny is lazy, it is very explicitly saying that she has a lot of sex (as acted out jokingly by her choreo)

Cassandra is adorable here, both while dancing and after she realizes she's won

Category Is: Virgin Vogue. A category for people in their first year of doing vogue (or similar). Won by Cassandra of House Dots, other competitors are Tumblebrutus of House Dots, Electra 007, and someone I am currently forgetting

The Rum Tum Tugger

I think I've made my love for this setup for Tugger clear before, and will continue to do so in the future, so this is gonna be little moments I liked/noticed

There are some line/blocking switch ups. Bomba gets the "terrible bore" line (said reclined on the stage as Tugger leans over her) along with her standard. Victoria is the girl flirting with Tugger on his "No" drop

Tugger flirts with everyone here. His competition, the other cats, the audience, etc.

Everyone but Misto, who is off to the side mocking his riffs

Sillabub is the one to faint during the ending bit

Category Is: Realness. Ability to pass as a (in this case) a cishet man in a variety of categories (pretty boy, thug, schoolboy, executive, etc). Won by Tugger, other competitors are Tumblebrutus and Mungojerrie

Grizzabella the Glamour Cat

I really like the interpretation of the Jellicles' relationship with Grizz in this show. They aren't angry at her, more...distressed? It seems like her being around is making everyone worried both about her and for her, so they react differently

Munk tries to give her money, she refuses

She comes in holding a trophy that is clearly old, showing that her glory days were a while ago. She also looks like she's likely been homeless.

Demeter's voice is gorgeous here, and she looks really conflicted about Grizz

There is a Demelurina vibe to this whole show, which I started noticing here

I have a lot of thoughts on Grizz and her relationships with the Jellicles here, which will probably be a post pretty soon after this one.

Grizz tries and fails to convince the judges to allow her to compete, and is far more determined/steely in this first appearance than usual.

Sillabub. Making them a giant Grizzabella fan was such a good choice. This is one of the most sweet and genuine through-lines of the musical. They're so genuinely remorseful and excited to see Grizz, but still back off when Demeter warns them.

Bustopher Jones

I know I gave Jenny my heart earlier, but it's been stolen. Nonbinary Bustopher Jones as played by Nora Schell is, I think, the ideal Bustopher. This is what this character was meant to be, for me

Oh gods the costumes. Tugger has a sparkly leopard print jockstrap. Bustopher has a full bustier situation covered in a bedazzled Union Jack. Mistoffelees and Demeter both have lovely sheer situations going on. This is amazing, and I've been informed is even better if you're bi

Nora Shell has pipes, y'all. Their voice is so strong and clear

This number has almost no true choreography, it's just the competitors showing off how hot they are (posing, strutting, stripping, grabbing their asses and shaking them at the judges, etc)

The amount of offense Tugger takes to losing is hilarious to me

Category Is: Body. Usually divided into Femme Queen and Butch Queen, but competed as an Open-to-All for this show. How good does your body look, and how well can you show it off? Won by Bustopher Jones, other competitors are Tugger, Demeter, and Mistoffelees.

Macavity Scare 1

Flashing lights and sirens

Demeter is so done with this. I have rarely heard a clearer "bitch really?" tone than I did in her calling Macavity's name here

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

Making them come from Jersey is amazing, top tier choice paired with some amazing accent work

Costumes are again amazing, Mungoteazer have a lime green/neon pink color scheme going on here

They spend a long time behind some changing racks, and I spent that whole time watching Munk as he got more and more annoyed with every passing second

I really love the dancing in this song, they get very up in each other's faces

Y'all, they steal the trophy when they lose. It's perfect

Category Is: Tag Team Performance. Vogue performance done as a pair. Won by Victoria and Tumblebrutus, stolen by Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer.

Old Deuteronomy

Munkustrap: a professional, on his shit, announcing his House Father right

Tugger: unprepared, eating a snack, oh god why is he giving me the mic

I love the setup for the duet here, Tugger is so surprised to be picked and is both nervous and honored. They sing into the same mic y'all

Andre De Shields, what more do I need to say?

His presence, his voice, the note he held for a solid 30 seconds, he deserves that throne

Jellicle Ball

Macavity again! In his dressing gown, with his bags of stolen stuff, looking like a deer in headlights when the spotlight catches him

The dancing continues to be absolutely gorgeous

Grizzabella is up on an audience balcony for this number looking tragic

The Jellicle Moon is a disco ball and it brought me so much joy

Munk has a killer egyptian look, including full-size wings

There are giant complicated cat face wigs and a giant hat made of hair

Category Is: Bizarre. Fashion category judged on the quality and strangeness of the outfit. Munkustrap was the only competitor, and Old Deut chopped him

Category Is: Hair. Not a category I actually know, but clearly in this show is judging based on the size, design, and quality of wigs. Won by the House of Dots, as sole competitors

Probably other categories I didn't notice clearly enough to remember

Memory

Grizzabella comes on and everyone walks off annoyed, except for Old Deut who comes and hides behind a riser. He's right in front of me, so I'm watching this number over his shoulder

Grizz recreating her dance moves is painful for my heart, as usual

Tempress has a gorgeous voice

Sillabub re-enters and looks so starstruck, then runs off again

Comes back with a sparkly dress to offer to Grizz

Grizz sees the dress, starts crying, and runs away. She grabs her coat, but leaves her scarf

We go to intermission on the image of Sillabub holding the scarf to their face and crying

[auspicioustidings]

Any chance of us finding out how Price got his wife in the ghost drabble? 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 pretty please

Ok so in my head Price met his wife in his younger days. She was a rebel fighter against an opressive regime (it's why he has such a soft spot for Farah) but the rebellion was violent as all hell. Think suffragettes or IRA, most countries classified them terrorists because they were absolutely willing to fight dirty.

So Price is a newly promoted Lieutenant sent to subdue this terrorist cell after a bunch of civilian casualties from an attack. Through a series of increasingly unlikely events, him and his future wife wind up captured together. Him for obvious reasons, her because someone at the top of the rebellion wanted her out of the way and betrayed her, did not like a woman having that much influence.

She spent the whole time trying to kill Price with her bare hands, very much viewing him as the enemy. They sort of trauma bonded when they were getting treated worse and worse and in the end the only way to get out of it was to work together.

She found this begruding respect for him that turned quickly to violent homicidal tendancies when having finally escaped he slapped cuffs on her and hauled her ass in. He manipulated his way into becoming her handler, arguing that putting her in prison was optically a bad move.

Queue years of being attached at the hip with her coming up with new ways in which she thinks she can kill him and escape. Only when one day he comes home and he's injured, he's defenceless, he'd be so easy to kill, she just cannot do it. Nurses him back to health.

They take down the man who betrayed her together and while her home did see a regime change for the better, by that time she realised her home was now with Price.

He does bring her on base sometimes to give his boys some lessons on guerrilla warfare and tricksy ways to escape captivity, but she has never found herself in violent situations again and honestly? She finds she is totally at peace with that. She killed her first human at the age of 15 and was waging war right up until they met, so now she just gets to bake and knit and read strories to kids at the library she works at.

Like he absolutely held this woman captive for years, but they are currently very much in love and she comes and goes as she pleases.

[gofancyninjaworld]

The OPM Manga in 2023

By the numbers:

23 updates (most 14 days apart, shortest interval: 9 days, longest: 33 days).

662 pages (range 12 - 41 pages, mean page count: 29 pages).

Volumes published: 2 (Volumes 28 and 29). 1 bonus chapter included in Volume 28 -- Olfaction.

By the story:

Psychics and Temper Tantrums (chapters 176 - 184)

Well, the Monster Association is behind us but the fallout from it is slowly beginning to settle. Most of the heroes are now back at work and some of the consequences of a world that's increasingly scared of monster attacks are beginning to show up. The first quarter of the year was taken up with Tatsumaki's temper tantrum -- and Saitama once again daring a strong person to do their worst -- it's like he didn't learn his lesson with Garou, which disappoints me. [I love Saitama, but when brains were being handed out, he was not at the front of the queue.]

That said, even though I did not care one whit for Tatsumaki throwing Saitama around (it wasn't terrible, but really it could have been condensed into 1-2 chapters), the start of the Psychic Sisters arc was fantastic, and its ending was very interesting. I made a nuisance of myself at the start of it, pestering everyone in earshot with my excitement that Tatsumaki was taking Fubuki into her confidence to try getting Psykos out rather than trying to do everything herself.

Her complex feelings of disappointment, betrayal, and the sense that she'd made a mistake were some of the most complex and nuanced we'd seen in the story. She may be paranoid and misanthropic, but she's not crazy: there's a basis for her actions, and being knocked back just when she'd taken the risk of opening up was harsh. Unfortunately, Tatsumaki's default response is rage.. and I'm not going to waste time on recounting what happened then.

I felt pain for her here.

The end as well, expanding as it did on Tatsumaki's thoughts about how she'd accidentally woken Fubuki's psychic powers by scaring her so badly and the guilt she felt at having made her sister a target, was great. Her feelings about Blast are great, as this is the first time we get what she actually thinks of him. I still want her to learn that Blast doesn't work alone -- it'll blow her mind. The session ending with her giving the Fubuki group a chance to grow stronger and prove themselves is a fantastic development.

Even when she's giving someone a chance she still has to be scary.

Schemes (chapters 184, 187 - 191)

I really love how seamlessly the Psychic Sister arc flows into the next big theme: that of schemes and threats to the Hero Association's future. ONE has done a lot of work reworking the webcomic story so that the storyline is a coherent whole rather than two-three apparently unrelated storylines. Fubuki taking advantage of the chaotic aftermath to extract Psykos while securing immunity for her sister, and Tatsumaki brazenly using the HA's need to keep the rich clients sweet to scupper an investigation into Psykos's whereabouts was all clever. However, they're just amateurs and their antics played beautifully into McCoy's hands, who leveraged the crisis to make himself appear indispensible to the HA, thus making it very hard for him to be removed, even as he works to implicate the Hero Association in scandals (many of which he's running).

You can't call McCoy hasty: this guy has played a good long game.

The Hero Association is already having issues recruiting new heroes as they're going to Neo Heroes, which is also pinching existing heroes. However, it's not 100% going McCoy's way. Something I started praising in my review of chapter 173 is the greater self-efficacy of the characters in the manga. Sekingar and Sicchi haven't just been sitting on their hands watching McCoy sell the HA down the river. They've teamed up with Child Emperor to find out what he's really up to.

I think that this is the best cover of 2023: a collection of individuals who embody heroism, whether or not they're recognised as such or work in 'regular' ways. Well, there's one impostor…

Critically, they're not assuming that the Neo Heroes are necessarily evil: they want to understand what this outfit is actually doing. After all, heroism is heroism, no matter what guise it takes. To see that Sekingar has so earned Metal Bat's respect that the latter follows him into the heart of danger did my heart good [1].

Please, my poor heart, it'll burst if things get much more awesome.

Ninjas, Ninnies, Nintendos (193 - 199, ongoing)

That Blast has some connection to the ninjas from Sonic's Ninja Village has been clear for a long time in the webcomic. [2] However, it is only here in the manga that we're getting a full explanation of what that connection is.

Yes, yes, my partner may be a monster but he's a useful monster.

The intertwined story of Blast and his attempts to reach his former partner, Empty Void, who was also running a horrifying 'school' for grooming boys into assassins, and that of Flashy Flash and Speed o' Sound Sonic isn't done yet, but it looks to be reaching at least one turning point. It's a pity that the fan translators stopped translating the cover text because that for chapter 199 was incredibly pertinent: 'Staring at the back of a friend you used to stand shoulder to shoulder with.' Sonic has so much to process.

And like that, Sonic's world has been turned upside down.

Since Blast has an ongoing relationship with Empty Void, we get troubling questions as to how long Blast had known about the Village and whether he disapproved, or had been content to ignore it as long as he had his partner by his side and found his talents indispensible. It's going to be interesting when those two meet! Also, if Blast is hoping to reverse Empty Void's monsterization, he'd better hope that the guy isn't like most people who became monsters. Most ex-human monsters *want* to be that way and there doesn't seem to be a good way to undo it. Well, maybe if you chop them up, have Phoenixman (oops, he seems to have lost his powers) resurrect them, then shock them incredibly hard, that might work. It's unlikely that anyone present can deduce what happened to Gale Wind and Hellfire Flame, much less put all the working parts of that together.

Still, they're going to try. This *is* going to be interesting. Also, potentially heartbreaking.

Reappearances

Genos: the disciple returns to his duty

Unlike the webcomic, Genos has not been completely absent. He's been quite busy: helping Saitama recover their apartment, meeting the Hero Association to discuss important matters, and also, hanging out with Saitama as a friend rather than as a disciple. It's been fun to see that he's finally ditched his flip phone for a smart one, heheh.

Nevertheless, it's not until Dr Kuseno finishes his new upgrade that Genos sets foot in Saitama's house, formally reporting for duty, so to speak. I praise Saitama's self-discipline and good sense in not breaking eye contact and in politely ignoring his disciple's new-found exhibitionism until he had the sense to put a shirt on [3].

Less positive, it's been painful to see that Genos is frustrated at how he doesn't seem to have grasped the kind of growth he's looking for and is unsure whether Saitama truly sees him. It's not been helped by Saitama trying to reassure him, pulling his best 'Reigen' face and instead made everything worse. There are two interesting shames, which will surely be built on at some point. 1: We see Saitama seeing Genos's strength but he doesn't say anything. 2: Genos is right that the strength that comes from within is different from that granted to one by upgrades. We see in another chapter from Nichirin, that having artificial parts is no hindrance to pulling out that great inner strength. The funny thing is that Genos has shown that kind of strength before, when he was fighting Elder Centipede, but he doesn't know it.

Ah, despite everything, those fools are no better at speaking to each other than they were before! It'd be hilarious if it weren't so tragic.

Rarely have the words 'open your mouth and solve your problems' been more apposite. Sadly, that's exactly what they don't do.

Garou: the other disciple tries to learn duty

Now this really threw a lot of fans for a loop -- ONE making clear that he's aware of how young Garou actually is. It was very easy to read Garou as a guy in his early twenties, but strip away the pretensions and he's really young. His over-simple understanding of what was wrong with the world and his over-large sense of responsibility to fix it are thoughts of a teen. It's just a good thing that teenagers don't have world-shattering power, and so can be extreme and wrong without hurting anyone. But it has really jarred with a lot of fans.

I may be giving Bang the side eye as he implements his idea of reformation (apparently, it involves hitting Garou over the head often), but the sense of lightness Garou feels at having a reliable mentor, the relief he undoubtedly feels at having a way to work his crimes off -- being a social outcast may seem cool in a 'reject-the-corrupt-world' way but it gets old fast -- and being able to contribute meaningfully to the dojo's re-establishment is palpable.

His life is sure to start sucking again soon, but for now, it's a joy to see him.

Let him gambol for now. Go Garou!

King: ugh

Sorry, King just irritates me some days and this was one of them. Not because he was running around trying to find someone who could help him: that was fine. But because, unlike the webcomic, once Saitama told him to work out, he's continuing to stick around and play videogames. In a world where everyone is trying their best to make sense of their world and help themselves in some way, however imperfect, the sight of this poster child for mediocre white men overpromoted for looking the part continuing to laze about just pisses me off.

Let him start helping himself and I will praise him.

He's been told what to do but he's not doing it.

GAY!

This year, ONE said: here, my children, I have brought you a pint of homo milk. Drink. What else are we to make of Fubuki triumphantly cradling Psykos as she makes a clean getaway?

This has to be the smuggest 'got the girl' face I've ever seen.

Or Blast continuing to call Empty Void his partner, despite everything that the guy has done, including turning into a monster? He wants him back so badly, and though he says it's strictly professional interest, we think the man doth protest too much.

And then whatever's going on with these two:

Flashy Flash, you ain't got no business calling Blast soft when you're handing Sonic tissues and smiling at him.

Fandom Follies

Do we need to do this? Yup! This year, we discovered that a lot of dudebros who have been against the idea of romance in OPM have just been shippers afraid to come out and own it. The sheer number of Saitama x Tatsumaki fans has been incredible. Nothing wrong with SaiTatsu but the obnoxiousness of fans new to shipping has been hard to tolerate. Learn some manners, folks!

Asides

[1] I think this is great foreshadowing of something Forte says later in the webcomic to paraphrase, risking your life for another hero is something you do as a favour for a friend, not because someone's declared themselves the boss of you and ordered it. It's nice to see Sekingar embodying that ideal.

[2] It's hard to believe it, but to this day (chapter 149), Blast is not yet seen in the webcomic. At this rate, he'll show up at the very end to get jobbed by God (no ID), but not before giving an over-long exposition about what he's been up to. That is, if he's not already dead, only nobody knows yet.

[3] I can see SaiGenos shippers worried that my saying that it's good that Saitama isn't taking Genos up on his obvious attraction means that I might be disapproving of the ship. That is not the case. I'm going to assume that most of us here are old enough to vote, enter into contracts, and pay taxes and so can think of things with nuance and context. A fandom that needs the reassurance of canon to decide what's permissible is a weak, timid, and pallid imitation of one, and one I want no part of. For certain, we're here to discuss the story as it exists, but please, we're also here to consider and explore scenarios and make works that cannot and often should not exist in the canon because they are FUN. Even more pertinent, ONE is on record as LOVING that fans spend their time and creativity doing things with his stories. So please, don't allow any in-universe discussions on what is helpful or unhelpful in the story affect what you draw and write! PLEASE SHIP! Gimme!

[a-d-nox]

yuletide gift game [ status: closed ]

the receipt

the review log

hello, my friends/followers! we are nearly done with the year - why not celebrate one of the most magical times of the year, so here i am hosting another ask game. i truly appreciate each and everyone of you - i hope all are having a lovely holiday season! i also appreciate everyone who has purchased a reading from me this year and thus paying for my green glyphs collection (so let's use them some more this game) AND all my presents for others this season!

please follow the rules (listed below) to participate →

i. you must be following me.

ii. reblog or like this post.

iii. only one ask per account! secondary asks regarding the game will be deleted.

iv. send the emoji that corresponds with the deck you want and your initials.

v. ask your question - look at reading types for limitations. THE LIMITS THAT APPLY ACROSS ALL READING TYPES: no legal, no pregnancy, and no illness.

vi. let me know what you look forward to seeing or hope to see on my blog next year, what you yourself are excited for next year, what you are hoping to receive as a gift this holiday season, OR what you are excited to give someone else this holiday season!

vii. asks that are missing the above requirements will receive a response of "game request denied".

viii. please be patient! i'm working full time, so i don't have a lot of time to sit down and do back to back readings (you can dm me and ask if yours ask sent or where you are in my queue - but please don't spam me as it won't make the process go faster, it will actually slow me down because i am answering you instead of answering asks). i will leave the game open until the end of yule (january 1, 2024) or until i reach 50 asks!

ix. feedback is greatly appreciated, but not required - it's always good to know if my intuition and interpretation of the cards was accurate (especially since i these are still relatively new decks and i am not sure if they vibe with me yet).

game options →

🌲TREE🌲

wryd web. ask me about any of your orbs or a section you don't understand (either on a personal web or compatibility web) BUT not the full web (limit 3 orbs - so you can do the karmic tail, your romance chain, your money chain, a chakra (the physics, the energy, and the emotions), etc.). BIRTHDATE IS REQUIRED IN ASK OR TO BE PROVIDED IN A DM.

⛸️ICE SKATES⛸️

runes. good for warning words or words of inspiration, past/present/future, advice, or general vibe checks.

🎁PRESENT🎁

lenormand. functions similarly to tarot - can be questioned like tarot EXCEPT NO "yes or no" questions. open interpretations given the line of cards - i will give you the meanings (so you can also see some answers or phases i may not think of because it is open to interpretation - you are the expert of your situation) and what i believe is the answer.

🕊️TURTLE DOVE🕊️

animal spirit. could be used to tell you what your present animal spirit is, the animal in your way and what animal energy you need to encompass to overcome them, and/or the animal you were / animal you are / animal you could become. NO "yes or no" questions.

🕯️CANDLE🕯️

oracle. great for advice! NO "yes or no" questions.

❄️SNOWFLAKE❄️

tarot. no explanation needed - everyone knows how tarot works. for yes or no questions, i generally pull three cards and do majority rule with explanation (i.e., "yes because...", "no, but...", etc.").