#I really like to create all sorts of alternative plots

[ttr777gg]

I'm so happy to see people interested in my Genshin AU. I haven't drawn anything about it in so long, but now I really want to make new content (I have a whole plot in my head. I've been developing it for a year).

I even started writing a fanfic, but the last update was in September, the first chapter doesn't impress me, and I demand such a high bar from the second one that it becomes so difficult to do.

(Random sketch with Aventurine!)

[lostyesterday]

An interesting thing in Star Trek is that there’s generally a big difference between an alternate universe and an alternate timeline. An alternate universe is an entirely separate universe that runs parallel to the prime universe, the biggest canon example being the mirror universe. An alternate timeline is theoretically presented as being the same universe as the prime universe, but some sort of time travel shenanigans have changed things so that events happened differently. If characters are stuck in an alternate universe, the plot generally involves trying to escape back to the prime universe, while if characters end up in an alternate timeline, the goal is generally to change time in order to restore the timeline to what it was originally. In this second option, there’s no prime universe to escape back to since the prime universe itself has been messed up.

This is a simple and fun distinction that makes no logical sense, but this is Star Trek we’re talking about. It’s funny how characters sometimes magically know whether they’re in an alternate universe or an alternate timeline and which of the two above goals they should have. It’s also interesting when the distinction between the two is blurred, like the entire existence of the AOS movies for example. From what I remember, that universe/timeline was theoretically created through time travel, which by the general rules means it should be an alternate timeline rather than an alternate universe, but everything else indicates it’s an alternate universe. To be clear, I have no problem with this. Some people seem to get really wrapped up in what belongs in the canon prime timeline versus another timeline and what contradicts what, but I don’t care at all beyond the fact that I find the nonsensical logistics of it fun to think about.

[legandairy-horror]

Does anyone else feel a strange sort of dread waiting for new deltarune chapters?

It sounds crazy right? I admit it's a weird feeling for sure, and I'm not even 100% sure if dread is the right way to describe it. But as more info is revealed and the next chapter inevitably gets closer and closer to releasing I can't help but feel a strange sort of, melancholy? Longing? The only way I can describe it is "when you know the goodbye is coming". The strange somber feeling when you know you’re going to have to leave stuff behind, but aren't quite ready for it yet.

warning: words. Homestuck

In 3 months Chapter 1 will be 6 years old, and in 2 months Chapter 2 will be 3 years old. Deltarune is ostensibly in Early Access but this release schedule puts new chapters closer in time scale to whole sequals if anything, which they most assuredly are not trying to be. This has created a strange situation in the fanbase that I don't think I've ever truly seen anywhere else. One where, In the time between chapters It feels like everyone has had their own chance to decide what Deltarune is to them. To create their own version of this story, to write their own themes that they want to see explored, to imagine their own events and plot twists they want to see play out.

@lynxgriffin Paper Trail Comic Being an Alternate Story following off of chapter 1

@lilybug-02 The Chara Timeline Being one of many interpretations on the popular Asriel & Chara roommates headcannon.

@huecycles Andromeda Chapters being their interpretation on the full game

The innumerable Deltarune Theorists and analysts like HalfBreadChaos, Andrew Cunningham, Stuffed Alpaca, etc. etc.

@vyletbunni Deltatraveler being a whole ass fangame based around a chapter 2 meme that it has long since outlived

And that's kinda the thing isn't it? Once more deltarune comes out, a ton of these projects will just become outdated, it's an inevitability. So what will happen to them? will they become forgotten? maybe, maybe not, it's impossible to tell. but either way it feels kinda sad to think about yknow? that one day all the time and effort spent and all the memories made might one day just cease to exist.

There's a lot more I could say on this topic if given the chance but to keep this tumblr post from morphing into a 2 hour long video essay in text form let me leave off with this.

In the age of the internet and social media there will always be a fan of something. Nothing truly dies quite like it used to anymore, regardless of whatever influencers want you to believe. But that doesn't mean things stop changing, that there wasn't a past that has since been left behind. I'm a Homestuck fan. more specifically I'm a Late Homestuck fan, one who came in after the comic had already ended and it's peak in popularity was long behind it. The fandom's still around all these years later. But it'd be foolish to admit that, 8 years after the comics controversial end, the inescapable trend of new fans replacing old fans has left the fandom wholly disconnected from the monolith that it once was. the only remnants of which lie in decades old discourse and fanfiction. Like old relics of a long forgotten city, waiting to be excavated under a fine layer of dirt.

Before I close out here I just want to make it clear: I'm not saying that we should be trying to return to some nebulous "glorious past" that never really existed. I'm not trying to deride Toby Fox for not working in the sweatshop hard enough to produce more content™, or whatever you wanna try and spin-doctor this post into. It's just a thought that creeps into my head every now that I wanted to share, see if anyone feels the same, yknow?

Besides it's not all doom and gloom. For those of you OG Homestucks who read till the end. You remember Heinoustuck? Guidestuck? Nightfall? Fucking Ke$haStuck? yeah those are still going by the way! after years of inactivity they've now started back up again. some under new authors and some by the same author but still!

You could say a lot about that but to me at least, it makes me feels hopeful in a way. That, even if not everything will survive. we'll at least have some mementos to remember what came before.

[princess-ibri]

Ok! I honestly thought the mermaid look was alright so I didnt really touch it, but wanted to give her land costumes more flair/call back to the animated movie more. There would definitely be a wedding in my version. You can't see it great but I tried to pull in a seaweed motif in a lot of the floral designs in Ariel's outfits

Also wanted to perk up Vanessa's outfit. Decided to give her a butterfly motif since Ursula uses a Vanessa butterfly to create her disguise--also did an alternate color version inspired by the colors of said butterfly

Changes I'd make overall in the film? Eh, honestly hard to say cuz my main thing is that apart from Ariel and Eric's scenes everything just kinda feels flat/duller then the animated version :/ It feels cheap to say "just make it more like the real movie"

I would definitely get rid of that bit of Ursula making her forget the time limit that was just dumb. If they wanted to give Ariel some sort of conflict or whatever around the whole thing like, have Ursula frame giving up her voice as a way to determine if Eric really likes her or is just drawn to her singing? Since they have her have a siren call and all that.

That way Ariel has a reason to feel even more gutted when Eric seemingly picks another girl.

If they don't want a whole wedding scene then they could pull from the musical's plot. Maybe he's set up a singing contest before Ariel shows up, and Vanessa comes and sings, and before the hypnosis factor is revelaed Ariel thinks that Eric really did only care about her voice and not her or something idk.

[heroesrest64]

Haunting Heroes

Other parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Chapter 6: Murder at Work

Chapter summary: You go to work and consider the implications of your attic filled with swords

You can read the chapter here on ao3

Chapter below the cut :)

You don’t have time to really unpack anything. Neither the boxes nor your own suspicions. So you make a quick dinner, play one episode of the show Ghosts for shits and giggles, then proceed to pass the fuck out on your couch.

Your alarm goes off before the sun even rises, and you slump off your couch and more or less crawl to the bathroom to start your morning routine.

The office building you work in is modern, in a sense. The cubicles are just like the ones you see in shows and movies, with minor discrepancies here and there. Your own cubicle has decorations up even though it’s been two weeks since the last holiday, but you decided the look was seasonal enough to be excused.

You slump into your rolling chair and begin your day, lamenting the fact that you left your coffee in the car.

“Hey work bestie~” a voice sings, and you glance at the clock. Twenty minutes late; that might be a new record.

“Hello Carrie. You’re early.” You muse, spinning your chair to face the blonde woman standing at the edge of your cubicle.

“I know, right? Boss might faint when he sees me,” Carrie laughs, covering her mouth with her hand. You can’t help but grin yourself, pushing your seat back to properly greet the woman before something in the corner of your eye makes a chill crawl down your spine.

There’s a flock of crows sitting just outside your work building, almost all of them gathered atop your car.

Among them, you spot none other than Jimmy, bigger and prouder than the rest. You thought you left Twilight’s anchor in your office, so this must be the crows own doing.

“What are you looking at- oh.” Carrie stops dead when she sees the same thing you do. She laughs a little, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Looks like you have a bit of a fan club. I knew you were feeding the birds around here, but I didn’t think they’d start crowding your car.” Carrie giggles, reaching out to ruffle your hair a little bit.

“I’ll let you get back to work now. We should get lunch today, though! My treat!” Carrie calls over her shoulder as she retreats to her own cubicle.

You sigh, casting Jimmy one last cursory glance before settling back into your seat, ready to get on with your day.

~~

You spend your breaks researching. History classes from back in school told you all of the basics, but it doesn’t hurt to get a refresher.

The creation of Hyrule, brought about by the Hero of the Skies. An era of peace interrupted by a wind mage that was brought down by the Hero of the Four Sword, another era of peace before some guy named Ganon got ratted out by a kid from the Kokiri forest, then imprisoned in the Twilight Realm, where he eventually escaped to enact his original plots. After being sealed yet again, the man escaped his seals and played a huge part in the War of Eras, which brought about knowledge of alternate timelines and created rifts between said timelines which everyone decided to just… not mess with. Then, the group of Heroes started showing up. Old diaries from those times claimed a group of nine heroes would pop in and out of different pockets of time, looking for some sort of black blooded monster. They chased that thing through countless places and times, to the point it was impossible to really keep track of their adventure.

But everybody knows that the end of their journey is questionable. Nobody knows if they ever vanquished the creature that they were chasing. Nobody knows if they ever returned to their correct times or realities.

The last time they were apparently seen was… about a hundred years ago, though with all of the reality and time hopping, it’s hard to say if that was truly the end of their journey.

“Do you believe the stories about the old heroes?” You ask Carrie, looking up from your phone at the girl who’s halfway through a mouthful of her burger.

“Erm.. Why not? I mean, magic and monsters aren’t as common as they used to be, but they’re still around. That means someone had to take care of all the bad stuff in the past. Why not some macho blondes with arsenals of weapons and magic at the tips of their fingers?” Carrie shrugs, wiping her hands with a napkin before throwing it back into her plate.

“ ‘Macho Blondes’, eh? So you’re one of those people.” You smirk, leaning forward to throw your coworker a smug look.

“Don’t tell me you’re one of the Twink Link truthers!” Carrie accuses, pointing her finger in your face. You back up, shrugging nonchalantly.

“Not all of them… just most of them.” You smile genially, and Carrie squints at you.

“The Hero of Time.” She hisses between gritted teeth. You feel a bead of sweat beginning to form on your brow. Friendships have been ruined over this very topic.

“I think… he was a twink in his youth, but a DILF towards the end.” You speak your truth, and Carrie stares you down for three more stressful seconds before leaning back in her seat and nodding.

“A wise decision.” Carrie hums, then goes back to eating her burger. You glance at your phone, thinking back to all of the research you’ve done today. When you get home, you need to get some answers.

~~

You go home and sequester yourself away into your attic.

It’s quiet up there. A little humid, but not terrible. Bearable.

You sort through the boxes upon boxes of gear, comparing them to their historical counterparts and slowly putting together the armor sets of each of the heroes you heard about while growing up.

You stare at the piles of gear, knees pulled up to your chest and chin resting on your knees. You click your phone on, eyes blankly observing your Home Screen.

“Do I actually need to ask at this rate? The truth is clear as day…” You mumble, opening your phone to find the Hero of Time’s wiki pulled up.

“The thing I’m having trouble with… is why they’re here of all places.” You groan, continuing to scroll through your phone until it suddenly shuts off. That’s weird, it had enough charge before. You sigh, pocketing the device before deciding to rejoin the world of the living. Or, well, the world of the dead from your roommates perspective.

You can’t help but laugh at your own little joke, scooting over to the hatch leading down to your room. It lets out an awful creaking noise while you climb down that you elect to ignore, though maybe you shouldn’t have since a loud snap sounds out, and you barely have time to gasp before your back makes contact with solid ground.

“Oww…” You groan, sitting up and blindly rubbing your back before opening your eyes to make sure that nobody saw you completely embarrass yourself.

You don’t find anybody. Nor do you find your own room.

All you find when you look around is an empty forest.

[yuurivoice]

A few folks seem very intrigued by the somewhat vague pre-BitterSweet ideas I had for Seth I was discussing on stream last night (and a few times before that) so I'll share in my own words here as well!

Seth's embryonic stage was straightforward.

Create a sexy rival for Alphonse who shares a criminal history with him, and wants to use Boo as a means to fuck with Al. Biker bad boy who fucks. That was all there was in the beginning.

From there I considered doing the Good End, Bad End approach that would expand on a concept I tried out with early Alphonse, where Boo and him hooking up on their first night was a non-canon bad end. This would have been more of a Bad Path rather than just an end, a few audios where shit just gets real wild.

I don't remember a ton of specifics now, but long story short after meeting (not the same as episode 1 of BS) Seth would be a lingering menace stirring shit and taunting Al/Boo before ultimately kidnapping Boo and luring Alphonse to a remote location, something similar to a trainyard or warehouse, like the settings seen in BS3. The climax involved a gun, and an ambiguous ending where we're not sure who got got in the end.

Then, after I sat with it for a while and started hammering out what I wanted his introduction to look like, Seth was not becoming that character. I held on, thinking maybe it'll take shape, and then the "THEY WERE LOVERS!?" bit hit me and it really started to get some movement...and nowhere near the direction of Seth really being a menace.

Also, I find the whole thing so overplayed and cliche in the ASMR roleplay niche that I did not think it would be wise in the long run to introduce even the optional Bad End thing because a lot of people cannot grasp the concept of "this is just a spicy branching alternate story for fun".

And honestly, I don't find it all that fun. A by the numbers kidnapping plot for the folks who enjoy that sort of thing would not have been the level of work I'd go on to do, nor would it have created the long lasting emotional attachment to Seth we have today.

Also, knowing your audience fucking matters. That era of the my audience had people freaking out at the idea that Alphonse might leave Boo. They were not prepared for that kind of content whether it was clearly labeled non-canon or not.

I'm pretty happy with where we ended up, and I am much more equipped to tell a story involving a fucked up asshole causing problems on purpose now than I was all those years ago.

But I hear the folks who want various boys behaving badly, and perhaps one day Seth will have a bad dream about what could have been. 🙏

[wiiiowsden]

digital offerings for your deities ♡

I love digital offerings as a hellenist, plus they're so simple and enjoyable to make !! here's a little list of things you could do with the usage of apps, websites and games :)

• Minecraft

I created an entire world on Minecraft for some of the goddesses, Aphrodite and Demeter. It's so symbolic, too, as you can add in all of the things associated with them—like their sacred animals, crystals, etc etc. And it fits any sort of gameplay, too! Survival gameplay, peaceful/creative gameplay, and even creative on a flat world where the entire world is just a canvas. Or it's fun to recreate landmarks in greek mythology !! Or make a skin based on them !! As you must pay for Minecraft, Boku Boku is a good 2D alternative, and I believe it's available on most mobile devices for me anyway :)

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• Dress To Impress

This is apart of the roblox hemisphere of games, lol. But its so fun going on freeplay mode and basing the outfit off of one of your deities, or even something symbolic to them. Or do a challenge playing in regular/pro/master servers or even style showdown where every fit has to have some symbolic meaning to your deity, no matter the theme.

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• Picrew

Go ahead and make them on picrew! There's lots of different picrew options, firstly. And as I've said with pretty much every option, make it instead something symbolic to them.

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• Pinterest

Pinterest boards are absolutely perfect for digital offerings !! There can be so many sections of it, too. Like altar inspo, things you want irl to offer to them, a board simply just of their aesthetic, and its a perfect digital altar as a whole. The best and most flexible option, in my opinion.

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• Tycoons

I'm speaking more of the behalf of more customisable Tycoons, sort of like Restaurant Tycoon 2 on roblox, not disney princess ultimate tycoon or whatever where it isn't as customisable. Customise everything with the vibe of that deity! I have an Aphrodite restaurant on Restaurant Tycoon 2 atm, ehehe.

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• Wattpad

This one is VERY flexible, so much so that it's hard to explain. And if you don't have wattpad or simply dislike it, then you can always use the notes app instead if you don't want to publish it. You could make an entire story based off of that deity, literally or symbolically—though that's quite a big thing, since you'll also be designing characters, writing, making whole plot points... the app Fortelling is also good if you want to get really into it. However, you could just also write poetry for the deities, or just prayers. It would also be nice to publish them for other hellenists or even just fans of greek mythology to observe :)

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• Gacha

Entering the gacha hemisphere of games, you could design characters or make a gacha devoted to a deity of yours !! And there's so many different apps too, though I recommend Gacha Life 2, as its very flexible with character design. I recommend Gacha Life (1) for the most simplicity, and Gacha Club for an in-between. Proud Gacha kid since 2018 ♡

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• The Sims

Also super duper flexible! Make a house based off of them, design a character based off of them or even one that worships them, so many possibilities!

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• Spotify, Apple music, YouTube music, and others

Music apps! Make a playlist for them, or just devoted to hellenism itself. There's also playlists already out there that you can listen to!

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And so, so many others !

I can't put the amount of digital offerings you can do into words! There's simply so many, but I will likely update this in the future to create an even bigger list. Comment more suggestions or scroll through them to find more ideas! ♡

[bloopitynoot]

12 Wangxian Time-Travel Fix-it Fics

This rec list had the majority votes on my wangXian rec list poll, and honestly I didn't even realize how many fantastic time-travel fics I had collected.

Note: all of these fics are tried and true; meaning I have vetted, read, and cherish all of them. If you would like a personalized rec list theme for Wangxian DM me, I love making these lists!

These time travel fix-its all focus on Wangxian in particular though the time travelers vary (and the time plot varies).

I tried to keep the choices expansive; the plots are all wildly different, the ratings vary, and tone of the fics ranges from crack to Angst Angst Angst.

I hope you enjoy!

1 Lynchpin (103005 words) by ShanaStoryteller

Chapters: 12/12 Rating: Not Rated Additional Tags: Time Travel, Fix-It, jiang cheng fixes everything through the power of brotherly love, knowing everyone's secrets helps too Summary: He can’t get Jin Guangyao’s words out of his head. If he’d only believed in Wei Wuxian, if he’d only been willing to stand up for him, could it all have been avoided?

NOTES: This was a SOLID Yummengbros fix. I loved that it was Jiang Cheng who went back to fix the plot. This fix it starts with the canon we know in the end; WY and his husband in cloud recesses, Jin Ling being prepared to lead the Jin's, and Jiang Cheng alone. It is a solid time travel fix and I love that it is Jiang Cheng led.

2 Lan Jingyi (Accidently) Discovers Time Travel (31719 words) by Waffles95

Chapters: 12/12 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Fix-It of Sorts, Not Beta Read, Self-Indulgent, POV Multiple Summary: In a universe where Lan Jingyi is Lan Xichen’s biological son, he messes up Wei Wuxian’s experimental array and sends himself and his siblings to the past. With the help of their family, they must figure out how to get back home or be stuck there forever.

NOTES: Lan Jingyi is one of Xichen's biological children (and Jingyi has some troublesome siblings lol), he finds one of his siblings experimenting with an array and the kids are transported back in time. Now he has to take care of his siblings, figure out a way back, and do a little match making on the side. this is a silly little fic, a great pick-me-up read. Note: this is more of an alt timeline rather than a time travel fix-it but it really is close enough.

3 if you can't beat them, recruit them (228416 words) by moeblobmegane

Chapters: 48/48 Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Conspiracy, Spies & Secret Agents, Team as Family, Found Family, Burial Mounds, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, Pining, Morally Ambiguous Character, Rumors, Politics, Background JZX/JYL, Developing Friendships, Good Uncle Lan Qiren, Demonic Cultivation (Modao Zushi), YilingWei Sect Series: Part 1 of wwx time travels and accidentally creates a platonic harem Summary: Rather than mourning a future that had not happened yet, he would rather work with all his might to prevent it from happening. […] His aim was to fortify his home and his family so that they would never again be left vulnerable to greedy cultivators aiming for his genius. For that, he needed help. He may be a genius, but he was not the cunning manipulative man they thought him to be. No, that was not him. He knew who was, though.   (Or: Wei Wuxian uses a powerful array to go back in time and builds a secret squad to prevent the misfortunes of the future.)

NOTES: Oh man I love this fic so much. This fic does start off really damn sad, but it ends up positive! Wei Ying really goes through it at the beginning, this boy has compound trauma for sure. The real reason I love this fic is that Wei Ying is over here with sheer determination, future knowledge, AND has been recruiting the 'villains' the entire time. Such a solid fic.

4All of Our Memories Gather (72700 words) by geethr75

Chapters: 43/43 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst, Heavy Angst, Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, not Jin Guangyao friendly, not jin guangshan friendly, Not Su She friendly, Not Xue Yang friendly, jin ling and his jiujiu, Golden Core Transfer (Modao Zushi), Golden Core Reveal (Modao Zushi), Canon Rewrite, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin-centric, Lan Huan | Lan Xichen-centric, jiang cheng friendly, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji Friendship, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin & Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Reconciliation, Established Relationship, established xicheng, Depression, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, canon can go fuck itself, let my boys be happy, Good Sibling Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Good Sibling Jiang Yanli, Good Sibling Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Good Sibling Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Good Sibling Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Good Uncle Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Good Uncle Lan Huan | Lan Xichen, Good Uncle Lan Qiren, Good Nephew Jin Ling | Jin Rulan, Major character death - Freeform, only Jiāng Chéng enthusiasts allowed, Let's give Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen nice things, Don't Like Don't Read, Queernormative society Series: Part 18 of MDZS AUs, Part 12 of Xicheng AUs, Part 3 of MDZS Time Travel fix-it, Part 1 of Xicheng post canon time travel etc, Part 1 of Xicheng fix it Summary: Twelve years after the events of Guanyin temple, Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen are married and contemplating retirement when they along with their nephews somehow find themselves in the past immediately after the Sunshot campaign. They have to start over, and this time make different choices with the help of their nephews, and make sure that everyone they lost last time will stay alive this time Warning: THIS FIC IS NOT JGY FRIENDLY EXTREMELY JIANG CHENG FRIENDLY

NOTES: This is the crack I live for. I struggled to keep a straight face through so much of this, I could not stop laughing. JC and LXC are married and grossly in love but get yeeted into the past. These two do not even hide the fact that they are smitten and it truly makes everyone around them wonder if they are well. The plot was so fun (though there is some angst because they do have to fix-it) and it does include Wangxian matchmaking I promise LOL.

5 A Narrow Bridge (700193 words) by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle

Chapters: 58/58 Rating: Explicit Characters: Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Wen Qing (Modao Zushi) Additional Tags: Time Travel, Fix-It, Time Travel Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Getting Together, First Time, Pining, Pining while fucking, Burial Mounds Settlement Days (Modao Zushi), Angst with a Happy Ending, Happy Ending, CQL Verse, almost everybody lives/almost nobody dies, epistolary-ish, canon-ish side pairings, radishes Summary: Once, Lan Wangji made a choice to step aside. Ten years after Wei Ying’s death, he finds a way back to choose again.

NOTES: I am not going to lie, I did cry through almost all of this; for various reasons. This fic is mostly Lan Zhan struggling through grief or later because of the price he pays to fix the situation. It is written beautifully, it is deeply sad, but the ending is truly gorgeous. This is such an incredible piece of writing I cannot express- but please have tissues on standby.

6 And Time Is But a Paper Moon (139032 words) by sami

Chapters: 39/39 Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Additional Tags: wangxian and qingxicheng are both featured, Asexual Jiang Cheng, Asexual Lan Xichen, Asexual Wēn Qíng, Asexual Character, canon AU, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, unless I hate them, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF Wei Wuxian, BAMF Jiang Cheng, BAMF Lan Wangji, BAMF Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing is a queen in any reality, Jin Zixuan has had it with his father's shit, Lan Qiren has just had it, Wei Wuxian/self-destructive tendencies, Lan Xichen/healing/happiness 2k20, Jiang Cheng/healing/happiness 2k20, First Time, Getting Together, Falling In Love, Cuddling & Snuggling, Hugs, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Sharing a Bed, Mentions of Rape, see Qin Su and Mo Xuanyu's existence, Jiang FengMian's A+ parenting, Yu Ziyuan's A+ Parenting, it's okay everybody, everything's going to be okay I promise Series: Part 1 of The Same Moon Shines Summary: "Zewu-Jun. You once told me about a house surrounded by gentians, where you visited once a month, and how Lan Zhan still waited there, even when the door no longer opened." Xichen feels light-headed. He feels shocked, and angry. He has never told anyone such a thing, but Lan Zhan is giving Xichen a look of utter betrayal. "You told him?" Lan Zhan whispers. "When?" Wei Wuxian takes Lan Zhan's hand. "About twenty years from now." Wei Wuxian starts again from the beginning. (Spanish translation on Wattpad.) (Russian translation.)

NOTES: I have shared this series so many times, but I will do it again. This is SO SO good. The series is long and evolves into other series and all of them set in the same universe. If you have a solid 2 weeks of vacation sit down and read all the parts. None of it will be disappointing. What I like about this time travel piece is that from near the beginning the people who need to know already understand that there is future intel. Anyways read it!!!!

7 Whatever it takes (115009 words) by Moonlit_dewdrops

Chapters: 35/35 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, yunmeng prides, POV Jiang Cheng, POV Wei WuXian, Wen Qing and Wen Ning live, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Wei WuXian and Jiang Cheng actually communicate, Yunmeng Siblings fluff, But Also Some Angst, Lots of WangXian moments, Protective Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Protective Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Jin Guangshan and Jin Zixun will die for sure, Nie Mingjue Lives, Twin Prides of Yunmeng Feels, Slow burn but not for Wangxian, Brotherhood, justice for the wen remnants, Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan Live, Wen Remnants Live (Modao Zushi), Cinnamon Roll Wēn Níng | Wēn Qiónglín, Wēn Qíng Lives and Wen Ning (Módào Zǔshī), Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Cannibalism, reference to wwx's suicide, No beta we die like wwx, Established Relationship, Torture Summary: Jiang Cheng and Wei WuXian are sent back to the past. This time, they can save everyone they love. They can make the right choices. They can learn to trust one another. However, everything comes with a price.

NOTES: Eeeeep another Yummengbros fic- this time they go into the past together and fix the plot. Also the growth that Wei Ying brings to Wangxian in this (yes, he did need to live like 2 full lives to learn to communicate but it pans out in attempt 3) is so scrumptious. They do so well for Wangxian communication. Overall this fic is a good brotherly bonding + fix it.

8 Building a home (586482 words) by R95irth

Chapters: 110/110 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Okay maybe some will die, Some like Wen Chao?, Angst with a Happy Ending, Horror, Nightmares, Canon-Typical Violence, Complete list of ships in the serie summary, Family Fluff, Found Family, Babies, Untamed heroes are babies, Basically only no-canon-named people or bad people might die?, Like the trope but also lost and found family in the literal sense, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, but not done by the Lotus Pier squad, Also JGS exists so canon related things linked to him, Same goes for Lan parents Series: Part 1 of Home is where your heart is Summary: This was supposed to be an easy night hunt. They left Wei Ying at an Inn, and wanted to be back before sunrise. Instead they find themselves at the door of Lotus Pier, in the middle of the night, wounded, and their son, their beautiful son, injured. Things did not go as planned. Maybe, because, it is time to change their plan. Maybe it is time to stop wandering, to stop running away from the man they hurt, maybe it's time to heal. Maybe it is time to build a home.   It's over!! See you on Burning roofs : the next installement!! Spanish translation is now available : https://archiveofourown.org/works/28693317 Russian translation is now available : https://ficbook.net/readfic/11789571

NOTES: I cannot tell you how invested I am in this plot. There is a part 2 in the works but the writer is on a bit of a leave (they do see comments though so if you do read and enjoy make sure you tell them :'3). This is such a cool premise, Wei Ying's parents live, injured but in lotus pier, shenanigan's are happening in the cultivation world, Wangxian meet as children, and there is a strange dark presence that keeps infiltrating dreams. This fic technically has time travel but I am not giving anything away!

9 A Matter of Time (41251 words) by mrcformoso

Chapters: 8/8 Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage Additional Tags: Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, POV Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, POV Jiang Cheng | Jiang Wanyin, Dark Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Top Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Bottom Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan goes crazy, Manipulation, Grooming, Except Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are physically the same age, but Lan Zhan kept his 30 year old mind, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Get a Happy Ending, Consensual Underage Sex, Except problematic please read warning in first chapter, Blood and Violence, Insane Lan zhan, Manic Lan Zhan, Hand Jobs, Blow Jobs, Conditioning, Come Eating, Come Swallowing, Anal Fingering, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian is a Lan, Minor Character Death, Golden Core Reveal (Modao Zushi), Good Friend Nie Huaisang, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Isn't Adopted by the Jiangs, Abusive Jiang Family (Modao Zushi), Jiang Family Bashing (Modao Zushi), POV Nie Huaisang, Dark Nie Huaisang, Anal Sex, Marathon Sex, Dual Cultivation, Horny Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Qingheng-jun Lives, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji Has a Big Dick, Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Self-Lubricates, Qishan Wen Indoctrination (Modao Zushi), Plot Twists, Porn With Plot, Sunshot Campaign (Modao Zushi), Lanling Jin Sect Bashing (Modao Zushi), Scheming Nie Huaisang, Manipulative Nie Huaisang, BAMF Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, BAMF Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, BAMF Nie Huaisang, Burial Mounds Lore, Sentient Burial Mounds (Modao Zushi), Married Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Adopted Lan Yuan | Lan Sizhui, Breathplay, Dark Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Yandere Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Translation Available Series: Part 1 of A Matter of Time Summary: When Lan Wangji went back in time to the first time he met Wei Wuxian, he thought it would be on their spar on the rooftops. He thought of how much he would have to change their interactions through the Cloud Recesses, how he would have to find a way to split Wei Wuxian from the Jiangs… But when he came to his body, he found himself holding out a toy drum to a little child, a little A-Ying, in the streets of Yilling. 'Huh.' Lan Wangji thought as the little boy smiled up at him. 'This will be easier than I thought.'   Or: After Wei Wuxian’s death, something broke in Lan Wangji. He would do anything to get the love of his life back, safely in his arms. Even rewrite history.

NOTES: I will start off with MIND THE TAGS. This does feature child grooming by definition, it does have an adult in a child's body. I would classify this as Very Dark Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan goes back to the first time him and wangxian meet (donghua canon) and they are children- he essentially manipulates his uncle and brother to take Wei Ying with them to cloud recesses. Plot twist- it was not only Lan Wangji who went back in time.

10 Tragedy is Not the End (358230 words) by Hobbsy3

Chapters: 67/67 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death Additional Tags: People die but they (mostly) get better, Time Travel, Torture, Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core Reveal, Canon Divergence from Qiongqi Pass, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Because Jin Guangshan and Jin Zixun suck, jiang cheng is doing his best, Jiang Yanli fixes everything with soup and a baby, Jin Zixuan gets it together, Yunmeng sibling bonding, good dad wei wuxian, good dad lan zhan, Jin Zixuan Lives, Jiang Yanli Lives, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Wen Remnants Live (Modao Zushi), Junior Quartet Dynamics (Modao Zushi) Summary: When Sizhui, Jingyi, and Zizhen are captured with Jin Ling at the Guanyin Temple, they're sure that Hanguang Jun and Wei Wuxian will fix everything - until Su She stabs Lan Wangji through the stomach, and everything falls apart around them. In a last, frantic attempt to undo the damage Jin Guangyao has done, Wei Wuxian activates a deadly array to send the four juniors back in time, sending them to the morning of Jin Ling's one-month celebration. With the fate of everyone and everything they love in their hands, Sizhui, Jin Ling, Zizhen and Jingyi race to prevent the ambush at Qiongqi Pass and the subsequent fallout, but Jin Guangyao has returned from the future as well, and he has no intention of letting what he wants fall through his hands a second time.

NOTES: This starts off so upsetting; Guanyin Temple does not go as planned and the party uses a last resort to send the kids back in time. These poor babes have so much trauma and now have to prevent the future from happening again. The angst is worth it!

11 Echoes of Love (212176 words) by Witch_Nova221

Chapters: 32/32 Rating: Mature Additional Tags: Romance, Eventual Romance, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, university lecturer Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan | Lan Wangji/Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian Get a Happy Ending, Dark Baoshan Sanren, Amnesia, Memory Loss, 1980s music, Lan Zhan loves all things 80s, Oxford vs Cambridge Boat Race, Canon-Typical Violence, References to Torture, Murder, Blood, Blood and Injury, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mystery, Nova's Give Lan Zhan friends of his own agenda Series: Part 1 of A Never Ending Story Summary: 'Somehow I knew, that day back at Churchill, I knew you were someone essential to me. That part of you was reaching out to a part of me and now I know why.' When Wei Ying fell he was ready to die. To die and to let the world forget him but someone had other ideas. Now, stranded in 21st Century England, he finds himself without a common language, friends or even any memory of who he was before. Luck alone brings him to the steps of Churchill College and to the attention of a young Professor Lan Zhan; expert in ancient pottery and fine art, champion rower, and lover of all things 1980s. With his new friend at his side, Wei Ying begins to navigate his new world in the hope of finding his place in it but echoes of the past are never far behind.

NOTES: I have shared this before and YES I did cry reading it. This has a VERY dark baoshan Sanren, it's more of a modern au- but there is time travel and the time travel feels very epistolary (read: fucking heartbreaking letters over lifetimes). It does have a happy ending but honestly the cost was worse than canon. That all being said- it was a really good fic, but you might need tissues for this one too.

12 From Whence You Came (79393 words) by kanzaki19

Chapters: 12/12 Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Additional Tags: Time Travel Fix-It, Night Hunts (Modao Zushi), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Fix-It, Canon-Typical Violence, Time Travel, Happy Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending Series: Part 1 of Second Chances Summary: Do not take those you love for granted, tell them you love them. You may never see them again. After being torn from the life he has lovingly settled in, Wei Wuxian finds himself back in Qiongi Path. Faced with immediate threats he grabs hold of every opportunity to better the lives of his family.

NOTES: A fix it from Qiongi Path AND I think all the good ones live in this? It does feature some angst because we do have WY going back and he is a trauma babe, but the ending is very positive. I can't recall if the time travel plot is actually explained or it it's an "i woke up like this" vibe, but it was still a good fic!

[aloesarchives]

Love and Tenacity (Tokyo Revenger One-shot)

Warning: Blood, Spoiler Warning, Angst, Swearing, Violence, Alternative Canon Divergence, Details of injuries, Mentions of Character Deaths, Lots of crying, The author(me) being an annoying narrator, Truck-kun obliterating Kisaki, Inaccurate medical information, Plot armor, super long fic, Mentions of starting a family

Series: Tokyo Revengers

Word Count: 7.2k words

Pairing: Manjiro “Mikey” Sano x Fem!Reader(Romantic), Takamichi x Fem!Reader(Platonic/Best Friends)

Pronouns: She/Her (Mikey call reader Baby and Princess)

Summary: Instead of Emma getting hit by Kisaki, you take the fall for her.

(A/N: This fic could’ve been way shorter then it needs to be but I had to word vomit a lot. Will edit this later. I actually have been planning to write this type of fic for a year now but never started it until like a weeks ago. Sorry for the inconsistent updates!)

[Not proofread! 7:19pmCST 11/29/2023]

As always, please enjoy!

The slight ringing in your ears had dulled out everything around you.

Your eyes were fixated on the sky, not a single cloud could be seen above. Like the gates were wide open for you to enter. No obstacles, no stairs, nothing between you and the endless cerulean sea that never failed to look beautiful every time.

The faint ringing created this humming effect, drowning out all and any noise. It was strange, it was almost comforting in a way you felt a sense of peace.

Your consciousness becomes like the ocean’s tide, rising and falling as time slows down. With your breathing becoming shallow with each passing second, you wondered if what you did would really change anything. What you did could really make a difference that changes everything forever. Takamichi is the only one that can time leap back and forth. Only he knows what you did affected the future. Yet were you able to live and see that reality yourself? Be alive and Takamichi telling you yourself?

Who knows, you wonder.

Face remained parallel with the sky and consciousness became faint, you were completely fazed out of reality. So out of it that you see two figures hovering over you. You can faintly hear bits and pieces of what they are saying, their voices muffled because your consciousness started to slide down the slope.

With blurry vision, you can make out the silhouettes of Emma and Takamichi. Emma, with big beads of tears in her eyes, has her hands covering her mouth to suppress her sobs. Her body shakes as she continues to cry, continuously shouting out your name. Takamichi isn’t any different. Panic and desperation was written all over him with his endless waterfall of tears. As he is hunched over your body, Takamichi continuously pleads for you to stay awake. 

To stay with them. 

You didn’t want to go, you wanted to stay with them. But your head throbbed and the aching feeling taking over your body, forming a response was something your body couldn’t do. Even blinking was hard because closing your eyes was tempting to enter eternal darkness forever.

As your two friends were desperate to save you and keep you leaving forever, your thoughts drift to Mikey and how he was dealing with all of this. Mikey has been through a lot. He lost so much and you have been there for him all the time.

Maybe Mikey was able to sort things out with Izana, or at least get some things across. You only hoped it wouldn’t be the start of leading him down a dark path.

[~~Flashback~~]

The cold winter air nipped at your lips as you made your way to meet Takamichi at the nearby park.

After the events of Bloody Halloween and Christmas Showdown, you wanted to know everything about Takamichi’s plan. You knew there was no way a junior high kid could have that much knowledge. 

There was something about him that made you want to know more about him. Prior to this, you have never met Hangaki Takamichi nor heard of him. You only ran into him when you accompanied Draken and Mikey when Kiyomasa was beating him up. Afterwards, Takamichi became this constant presence everywhere. He fought with the Toman gang when he wasn’t even a member, even saving them multiple times in the gang brawls.

This kid didn’t grow up with any of you guys yet he’s fighting for them like he’s known them for years. He was so persistent and had this conviction unlike any other person you have seen before in your life. You have to admit, Takamitchy wasn’t the strongest, smartest, or a good fighter for that matter. Yet he still goes in no matter what. He knows he’s going to lose but he still fights anyway.

Why?

You wanted that question answered by the boy himself so you asked him to meet up. He didn’t mind but he was concerned about what Mikey would think.

“Trust me, don’t worry about it. Mikey isn’t like that type of person. As long as I tell him the who, where, when, he won’t make a big deal out of it. Plus he’s not worried about you, Takamitchy.”

Is what you said to him on Friday before going home. It’s Saturday and Takamitchy was waiting for you on one of the swingsets. The anxiety was gnawing at him. Should he tell you why he’s really doing all of this? How would you react to it? 

Would you even believe him?

The chains from the swings clinked at his grip. He was so lost in thought that he didn’t know you had already arrived. Takamitchy jerked his head up at the sound of your footsteps. You greeted him and sat on the empty swing next to him. There was a small silence that fell upon the two of you. You couldn’t blame Takamitchy for being reluctant to talk. I mean, you literally pried at him to tell you his real intentions. And to be honest, the way you did it almost made Takamitchy piss his pants. 

It was like that for a moment before Takamitchy stops moving his swing and looks at you.

“Would you believe even if what I’m telling you is true?”

Caught off guard, you looked at Takamitchy with wide eyes before your signature smile made an appearance on your lips.

“I mean, I have to at this point. I’ve never seen anyone so devoted to fight and save even though they’re not powerful. You never purposely lied to them so you wouldn’t lie to me, right Takamitchy?”

Shaking his head, he looks at you with absolute seriousness.

“No, I don’t want to. The things I’m doing aren’t even for me really but they ended up involving everyone. I need to do this because I have to!”

“ *hums* Then tell me about it, Takamitchy.” 

With that, Takamitchy tells you everything about what he’s doing. How, in the future, the consistent deaths of Hana and his friends have haunted him relentlessly. That he has the ability to travel back in time to certain years depending on how much time has passed. The only reason why he got himself involved with Toman was because Hana’s death was linked to the gang. That there were futures where Draken was either dead or on death row, how some of the other members were dead in one. That one person was behind everything that kept creating such bleak futures: Kisaki Tetta.

As you listened and asked for clarification with what Takamitchy was saying, you couldn’t help but feel sympathetic, astonished, and even heartbroken. Astonished in Takamitchy doing all of this and having the willpower to keep going. But you also felt heartbroken and sympathetic because he had to witness the people his friends and the love of his life die right in front of him. You don’t blame him at all for doing what he had to do, and frankly you would do the same if it meant saving the ones you care about.

“And that’s pretty much it, (Y/N). I know it sounds crazy but it’s all true.”

“Isn’t there anyone else, Takamitchy?”

He looked at you quizzically, legitimately not understanding your lack of disbelief of what he was telling you. Instead, you were still questioning him like it was normal.

“What do you mean by that, (Y/N)?”

“As in, who else did you not see in your future timelines? You said that in other timelines, Ken-chin was dead or on death row. Other timelines, everyone else was dead. I feel like we’re missing something here. Like there has to be someone else that plays a role in the downward spiral of Mikey.”

“(Y/N), I don’t see what you’re trying to get at.”

“Takamitchy, think about it. From what you have told me, Mikey goes down this dark path because he loses the people closest in life. Shinichiro, Baji, Draken, what if there’s someone else we are not including. Like what about Emma? Do you know if she’s in the future?”

It took a few seconds to process what you just said, more so the last part. He would have retorted if it weren’t for the realization to hit him.

“(Y-Y/N), you’re not saying Emma dies, are you?”

“Takamitchy, look, I’m no detective. But think about it. If you said everyone is somewhat dead in the future, wouldn’t that include her too? Only you have been to the future, but how come you didn’t question it? You didn’t see her around when you went back to the future at all?”

“I-I…(Y/N)...”

Even though he didn’t give you an answer, his reaction and the fact his eyes are filled with slight panic gave you one. But with this revelation, it meant that Mikey was inevitably going to lose another loved one, specifically his sister. Once that fact settled in for you, your heart sank to the bottom of your soul. Heartache and agony took over your body, if Takamitchy couldn’t save Emma this time, it would guarantee that Mikey would fall into depravity. 

‘Mikey…’

You couldn’t let that happen. No, you just can’t. You loved Mikey so much that you don’t know what to do if you lost him. Just thinking about the future versions of Mikey from Takamichi’s recounts made you nauseous and break out into a cold sweat.

You know that Takamichi can’t do this all on his own. His mission will need all the help that he can get, and you were on board with it. Fuck, you do anything for Mikey and your friends.

“Then we gotta do this, Takamitchy. I may not be strong or anything but I wanna help you with this. You have my full support.”

Takamichi nods his head with his classic determined look that you’ve grown to admire. Though this meeting happened before Izana was added into the picture. Takamichi’s resolve to continue on grew more since you gave him reassurance of your help. And perhaps, this meeting only made your friendship stronger.

[~~Flashback Ends~~]

You knew you had to protect and save Emma of a fate that would lead to her premature death. You were well aware how much Emma meant to Mikey, and her dying meant Mikey losing the last family member that cared for him. 

Plus Emma didn’t deserve such a fate. She wasn’t involved in the gang at all other than being the little sister of Mikey. But even then, this wasn’t outspoken knowledge and kept hidden except for those in their close circle. To get her caught up in all of these was wrong and scumbag-level. So it was no surprise when Mikey opened up to you about Izana and their shared history together. 

But to know that Izana was trying to get Mikey to fight him by any means necessary, you expected foul play to happen. Yet, not where they were going to target someone and get them killed. It was sickening and cruel for this to happen, even in gangs filled with teenagers who were too chicken to even attempt this. But what happened to Pah’s friend and his girlfriend, it could happen.

All the more reasons to keep a close eye on Emma. But there was another reason why you couldn’t let her die. One time, Mikey took you out on his motorcycle through the city. He took you by the ocean as he zoomed and weaved through the streets of Tokyo. As he stopped and parked his bike, you and Mikey were chilling under the night sky while snacking on freshly made Taiyaki. As the two of you were talking, he mentions how he wants Emma to have a nice domestic life with Draken. You question him further and he just states:

“They care about each other. Emma loves Draken, and Draken cares deeply for Emma. It would make sense, and I would be fine with it.”

You never expected Mikey to say something like that. It’s not like he doesn’t have a way with words, it’s more of he never put much thought into it unless it was serious. So for him to say something like this really changed your perspective. Mikey does seem like a selfish and childish person, but in reality he does care for his friends and siblings. He doesn’t like being publicly vulnerable about these things. Even though Emma is his half-sister, he still loves her regardless. Since Shinichiro is gone, it’s just the two of them. So they have a very close sibling relationship.

All the more reason why Emma shouldn’t be endangered, she was a nice girl that deserves to live her life.

She was the reason why you and Mikey are together. So her dying would impossibly crush your heart and soul. You didn’t know how to live with that, more so with trying to be there for Mikey because he tends to push people away.  But you opt to sacrifice yourself in place of Emma. While not a part of the gang, you have been at their meetings and helped them with some of their brawls. So your hands are dirty compared to Emma’s.

Gosh, you’re not just doing this for a dear friend. But you’re also doing this for the boy you loved so dearly and for years. You just hoped the outcome would guarantee a better future for everyone that’s still alive.

You didn’t regret this at all because all you wished for was Mikey to be happy too.

—————————————————————————

It just happened so fast.

Takamichi, Emma, and you were exiting out of the cemetery to grab some drinks in a nearby machine. As the three of you were waiting for Mikey and Inupi to be done talking to Izana, a small humming sound could be heard in the distance. At first, you guys thought it was just the buildings and paid no attention to it. However, it suddenly got louder and the three of you turned your heads towards the street. Out of nowhere, there was a motorcycle speeding and b-lining it down the street towards you three. However, you noticed someone holding a baseball bat while riding the cycle. 

Perhaps it was pure instinct or intuition, but seeing someone holding a bat in the air while being a passenger of a vehicle isn’t a good sign. Suddenly, you shouted for Takamichi to duck while you immediately pulled Emma in front of you and used yourself as a shield. Unfortunately, your body didn’t take the hit but your head certainly did. The metallic ring of the bat and the silence followed by that was absolutely sickening. 

It was barely thirty seconds and so many things had happened. Once the motorcycle had zoomed off, Takamichi turned around and looked horrified. Though Emma was alive, she was hunched over you as she was shaking your body and calling your name. Once the brief shock wore off, Takamichi dashed over and kneeled over you as Emma stood up. She stared frightened as one of her hands had your blood on it. The comotion had caused Mikey and Inupi to come out of the cemetery to find out what was going on. As Izana left quietly, Inupi and Mikey were in a state of shock with the scene in front of them. Emma and Takamichi were crying as Takamichi kept shaking your unmoving body which laid on the asphalt.

Takamichi was trying to explain to Mikey that Kisaki did this to you but his hiccups from his sobs blocked his words. But honestly, even if Takamichi told him, he probably wouldn’t listen because all he cared about was you going to the hospital and being alive. Mikey wasted no time, he told Takamichi to place you on his back so he can run to the hospital with you. Emma wanted to go with them too but Mikey told her only he and Takamichi should go because they would be faster. Plus he told Emma that her shoes wouldn’t allow her to run and she could get hurt while running. Inupi butts in and says he’ll take care of Emma while the two of them take care of you.

The two took off as Mikey and Takamichi sprinted towards the hospital. As they take the side streets and alleyways, the rapid movement causes you to wake up for a bit. Your vision was blurry and your whole body ached, but you recognized that it was Mikey that was carrying you.

“M-Mikey… Is that you?”

Mikey doesn’t pause for a moment but he instantly softens up when he hears you speak.

“Yeah… It’s me, Baby… Don’t worry, you’re going to be okay… Takamitchy is also with us too…”

You shifted your head on Mikey’s shoulder to face Takamichi who’s running alongside him. He doesn’t smile when he sees your eyes on him but you could see the hopefulness in his. You slowly smile at Takamichi as you shift your head once more so your forehead rests on top of Mikey’s shoulder blade.

“Mikey… I don’t think my eyes are working… And my body is hurting all over that it’s hard to move around…”

“I know I know, (Y/N)-chan… Just a little longer… Please… We’re almost there… Just hang on a little more…”

Because of your injury, you couldn’t register what Mikey was saying to you but you just kept smiling. Something that made Takamichi afraid. With your forehead still pressed against him, you still try to talk the best you can.

“Mikey… Tell Emma it’s not her fault… I did this to myself… Tell Draken and the rest they have been great friends, I l-love them like brothers… And Takamichi-kun, please tell Hana that… that she’s a wonderful friend and I appreciate her a lot. Please take… good care… of her… I think you did it right t-this time… It’s up to you now…”

As you kept talking, Mikey involuntarily picked up his pace causing Takamichi to fall behind for a bit. They were so close to the hospital. If you would hold out a little longer, you would be okay.

You would be, right?

Because of the running, Takamichi wouldn’t see it but you felt it from your spaced out consciousness. Mikey was shaking, his whole body was shaking uncontrollably. It was something Mikey couldn’t admit but he was terrified. Terrified that you, the love of his love, the moon to his stars in the night sky, his best friend, would die and be lost from him forever. No, this can’t happen. You’re strong, stronger than most people. You’re one of the strongest people Mikey knows. You couldn’t go down without a fight. Though your will was strong, Mikey’s denial delusions were stronger. He keeps telling himself that you will be okay and make it out alive. That if he gets you to the hospital, it’s fine. But from what you said, the fear of your death grew stronger in him every step he took to save you. There was nothing more terrifying than for someone to see their beloved die right in front of their eyes. Takamichi knew this all too well seeing Hana die right in front of him.

For him to see Mikey go through the same thing was heartbreaking because he was supposed to prevent this from happening. Yet he indirectly caused it to happen by telling you of his time travel ability and the future timelines he witnessed. He becomes guilt-ridden as he played a role in your death, and he’ll suffer the consequences. Takamichi notices the side street that they were on and they were five minutes away from the hospital. As Takamichi caught up with Mikey, your voice became more hoarse and quiet. This wasn’t good. Mikey wished you kept quiet so you could save your strength.

“M-Mikey… You need to start to take… better care of yourself… You can’t just rely on Kenny and Em to do it…”

“(Y/N), princess, what are you talking about? What about you, you take care of me too, don’t you?”

“Yy-yeah… But I think not anymore…”

“(Y-Y/N)-chan, please… You know… I had a dream where it’s just you and me… We have our own place with our own little family… Once you put the little ones to sleep… We hangout with Ken-chin, Takamitchy-kun, Mitsuya, and everyone at our home… We get to eat and drink all the sake we want as you scold me to quiet down because I would wake up the kids… And everyone would be laughing and having a good time as you punk me around…”

You don’t respond right away, which scared Mikey for a bit, but you hummed and spoke up once more.

“That’s such… a nice dream… Mikey…”

“Yeah, baby, I think about it often. I could only imagine that life with you, I wouldn’t know what to do if it wasn’t with you… So (Y/N), please…”

“Manjiro-kun…?”

Oh god, please don’t…

“Yes, (Y/N)...?”

“I love you…”

They were legitimately right in front of the hospital when your body goes slack against Mikey's body. They were right there, if only they were faster.

After that, everything was a blur. Inupi dropped off Emma at the hospital before driving back to Toman’s meeting spot. Not long after, Draken then Hana arrived. The doctor that had his staff take you in didn’t come back out yet. As Takamichi filled them in, the minutes felt like hours. Wondering what condition you’re in, or whether or not you’re still with them or not. Hana was trying to comfort Emma who was sobbing, clearly traumatized from what had happened. Draken stands and stares at the closed ICU doors, and Takamichi stands by the chairs waiting for your news. Meanwhile, Mikey’s seating and is just a shell of himself. His eyes were void of any light and his head hung low to hide his depressive face. He was numb, he doesn’t feel anything nor couldn’t even if he wanted to. The thought of losing you never occurred to him. He always reassured you that he was the strongest, that he could protect you from anyone and anything that dared to harm you. He found out the hard way what happens when he can’t. This is what will happen to you when he’s not careful with you. 

After a few hours, the doctor came out and everyone but Mikey stood up and went over to hear your condition. Are you okay? Are you even still alive? They needed to know.

“ The surgery was a success. Your friend is alive because you brought her in within 15 minutes of what I assume was the accident that caused it.”

The friends wanted to cheer and celebrate making it out alive. But with the weight of the doctor’s eyes, it tells a different story. So all they can do is release a sigh of relief.

“However, her injury did cause some bleeding. I don’t know what object hit her, the force of the object caused her skull to have a depression fracture. That fracture created small fragments where some stabbed her outer brain layer that caused the bleeding. Though her skull will heal naturally, the force of the blunt trauma caused her to have a severe concussion. With that, after the operation, she was placed in a medically-induced coma. We believe this is the best choice for her recovery.”

“Do you know when she will wake up?” Takamichi hesitantly asked.

“I can’t say for sure. The coma is meant to help her body recover and reset her body from what has happened. Even though we placed her under, it’s not strong and she can wake up if her brain allows her to. It could be at least 12 hours or more when she wakes up though.”

The doctor excuses himself as a nurse tells them that only two people at a time can see you. Hana and Emma were the first to go. Draken decided while the girls were seeing you, to ask Mikey to come outside to have a little talk.

But it was anything but one.

There, Draken was laying it on Mikey, whaling him in the face each time. And while Mikey was allowing the blows to come. No flinching or wincing whatsoever. It was like Mikey had shut down completely. Takemitchi was trying to hold back Draken but got shocked in the face in doing so. It was a chaotic scene in the parking lot. Draken was beating the daylights out of Mikey while Takamichi was trying to split them up and ended up bowing his head on the floor. Takamichi apologized profusely to Draken because he was technically there when you got hit so he was responsible for your condition. He hadn’t realized it but Draken was crying as he raised his fist to punch Mikey again. Yet the punch never connected. He stood there, letting his tears freely fall with his lip slightly quivering to keep his sobbing from spilling out. 

“We created Toman to protect our friends, Mikey! But Pah is in jail! Kazutora is in Jail! Baji’s now dead! And (Y/N)–! She’s… She’s in a coma! Who knows when she will wake up! Or if she will wake up… What the hell is the point of creating this gang if we can't protect our family!!!”

Draken was beyond frustrated and terrified. Frustrated as within a year their friends are getting hurt or being sent away to jail. Frustrated that he couldn’t be there to protect his friends when things like this happened. He was also terrified that he was losing them so fast. Being plucked away like they were petals on a flower. The girls were done and were going to retrieve the boys for their turn. When they didn't see them in the waiting room, however, they searched around to come out to the parking lot after hearing Draken’s yelling. They only saw the aftermath but from the bruises on Mikey’s face, Takamichi’s tears, and Draken heaving, they pieced it together. Draken made way to where you were with Takamichi hot on his tail.

It was strange to see you like this. There you laid, on the hospital bed hooked onto a heart monitor and multiple IV drips. You looked so peaceful and serene where you slept, unaware of the chaos that will ensue soon. Maybe it was a good thing that you were like this, of what is to come in the showdown between Tenjuku and Toman. But reality was always uncertain, Takamichi knew this. Things may not go his plan but he’s damn sure that he will try his best.

Draken had a blank expression but his tears kept coming. He has known you as long as he has known Mikey. You and him were practically siblings, always butting heads but backing each other when the other needed help. He always looked out for you in ways you were unaware of because you always had the tendency to care for them before yourself. And now he has seen how your kind and loving heart can be seen as a weakness, people taking advantage of it because they knew you would fight for everyone before you could save yourself.

Draken kept staring while Takamichi knew he had to do it. It was up to him now to lead Toman against Tenjuku as both their commander and vice-commander are currently out of commission. Takamichi had talked with Hana and Emma before leaving. He now had a new motive to keep fight on as this battle wasn’t just for Toman:

This fight is for you too.

—————————————————————————

After rallying any of the remaining Toman members, Takamichi faces off against Tenjuku that night. 

Fuck, it was hard.

Not only being outnumbered by many, but they were down their strongest members. With Mitsuya and Smiley injured and Mikey and Draken not showing up, it seemed like the fight was already decided. But with Takamichi leading, Toman still kept on fighting, being powered by his dauntless spirit. Angry unlocked his sleeping blue orge powers and knocked down three of Tenjuku’s executives with two of them being the Hataini Brothers. Yet they still had one challenge to face.

Izana Kurokawa, the leader of Tenjuku himself.

Like any last boss fight, he was strong. He knocked down all of Toman’s best members, and he seemed unstoppable. Takamichi was getting absolutely rocked by Kakucho. Blood sept out of his mouth and nose, he was hurting all over and knew he had some broken bones, but he didn’t care. Chifuyuu tried to convince him that Toman would never win this fight, they are outnumbered and too injured to carry on. But Takamichi didn’t care about that. His conviction shone brighter than ever that night. His determination, his tenacity, was unwavering when Kisaki aimed his gun point blank at Takamichi’s face. He knew if Toman loses tonight, Tenjuku and Kisaki would win. He would never give it to them no matter what because he was so close to fixing the timeline, he would be able to save everyone. He is not letting that chance slip through, not when he can do it right now.

In the face of Kisaki aiming straight at his forehead, Takamichi wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t afraid of him, nor of Tenjuku, nor of anyone. He wasn’t afraid of you dying anymore because you wouldn’t die on him, die on your friends when they needed you.

That you wouldn’t die on Mikey because you knew he would be lost and devastated without you.

You may not be a leader or one of their strongest, but you were still a part of Toman for a reason. You were a fighter. Fighting for those who can’t fight for themselves, fighting to protect and save your friends, to keep on fighting with such conviction for your family, the Toman gang. Takamichi fully understands why you did what you did and it helped him be fearless against Tenjuku. Provoking and taunting Kisaki in every way he can, even with the gunshot wound to his foot. Takamichi smirked at Kisaki seeing him lose his composure and stood toe to toe with him. In that moment, Toman was fueled by his determination and ignited the spirit of Toman once more. Kisaki trying to save his pride looked down upon Toman for their stupid antics, thinking he’s still on top as the kingpin of everything. That only for Takamichi to give him a well-deserved punch right across his face.

Then Takamichi suddenly stood proudly with his fist up in the air, claiming that he would never give up. Everyone was confused until they followed Takamichi’s line of sight and saw Mikey. Not only that, Draken arrived too with Hina and Emma right behind him. Everyone was beyond shock, Toman for seeing their leaders and Tenjuku seeing Emma alive. They thought Kisaki killed Emma but they guessed wrong since she was standing with them alive and well. It was only then Kisaki realized his mistake, he got you instead of her. Now he knows why Toman is a pain in his side and won’t stay down.

Hina explained to Takamichi that she had to tell them about his time-leaping ability. His mission for a future where all of them lived. How she will die in twelve years time and Takamichi is doing everything he can to save her and everyone else. What she was saying sounded straight out of a movie but it was all true when his desperation and determination was right in front of them. That it was your choice to save Emma from an early death because you knew how much she meant to Draken and Mikey. You wanted to help Takamichi achieve a future where everyone is alive and okay because you loved them so much. 

After Hina told them, Mikey snapped out of his hollow state and walked to where your room was. As the nurse was checking your vitals, she saw him walking towards your window and called him over. Since your condition stabilized, one guest is allowed to see you in your room. As the nurse opened the door for him, Mikey quietly strides to your bedside and stares at you. It may not be an appropriate time but Mikey always thought you looked so beautiful and enthralling no matter what was going on. He just stares a bit more before bending over and placing a small kiss on your forehead.

‘(Y/N), I have to go help Takamichi out. Please wait for me until I help them win. Hold on just a little longer for me.’

He squeezes your hand gently but reassuringly. It was mostly for him to know that you would make it out and wake up for them. As he leaves your room and goes back to Draken, he didn’t see the slight twitch your hand gave when he let go.

Now here he is, with Draken and Toman to aid them in their fight against Tenjuku. Mikey shouldn’t be here but he knew that you would have wanted him here to help Toman then staying with you. As Izana and Mikey battle it out, Takamichi could only watch as they were evenly matched. But as the fight kept going on, Izana started to falter and grew weaker. Mikey was beating him and Izana was slowly losing his mind because of it. In a moment of desperation, Izana snatched Kisaki’s gun and pointed it straight at him. Just like Takamichi, Mikey provoked Izana to shoot him only for Kakucho to smack the gun out of his hand. They argued until a shot was fired and Izana’s face splattered with a bit of blood.

Kisaki had shot Kakucho.

Kisaki was getting annoyed that his master plan was crumbling apart like a sand castle. If he couldn’t use Mikey then he would use Izana. In a fit of rage, Kakucho charges right at Kisaki. Kisaki shot again, this time hitting Izana. But when he tried pulling the trigger again, the gun was jammed and couldn’t fire another shot. Since the gun was useless, Kisaki fell to the ground from the adrenaline rush. The chaos continued to thrive as Tenjuku’s king and his servant laid on the ground, bleeding out. Mucho shouted for an ambulance as everyone remained stunned at what had happened. As the cops and ambulance were coming, everyone was pulling out except for Tenjuku’s executives. As Mikey stares deadly at Kisaki, he looks down at him with such disappointment and disgust for causing all of this… for putting in the hospital.

Before he and Takamichi could approach the bastard, Hanma grabbed Kisaki on his motorcycle and sped off. Takamichi hitches a ride with Draken while Mikey stays with the girls. After crashing, Kisaki was being chased by a determined Takamichi. After duking it out, Kisaki points his gun again at Takamichi. The manipulator was starting to cry out of frustration as Takamichi hit him on the money for why he kept killing Hina in the future. But as always, Takamichi had the upper hand and was able to get Kisaki’s gun and point right back at him. He was so tempted to shoot if it weren’t for Mikey and Hina.

Kisaki used this little distraction to get away but Takamichi was hot on his tail.

“My plan would have been perfect if it wasn't (Y/N) and her virtue signaling! She had what was coming to her instead of letting Emma take the hit! I could have had it all!”

He continues to spout nonsense until he stops in the middle of the crosswalk. He turned back at Takamichi and told him that he was leading him on this whole time; he wasn’t a time leaper.

As Takamichi revels in this new found information, Kisaki gives his shit-eating grin to him before getting slammed by a delivery truck. In a blink of an eye, Kisaki was fatally mangled as he was trying to get back up but his legs were twisted backwards and kneecaps out of place. 

In a flash, Kisaki was dead and that was the end of the battle with Tenjuku. There was only one casualty and that was Kisaki Tetta.

—————————————————————————

It had been two days since you were placed into a coma. Takamichi and everyone came to visit you to see how you were doing. Though you weren’t in any danger, you had not shown any progress of consciousness. While it worried the others, Takamichi and Mikey never lost hope that they would wake up again and come back.

And they were right.

On the third day, Hina and Emma were going to visit you when they were told you were placed in a different room outside of the ICU. Quickly, they made their way to your new room where they found you wide awake. Sipping a capri-sun as you sat up on the bed, turning your head to smile at the teary eyed girls. Emma ran over to you and hugged you tightly, still trying to be careful of your injuries, while Hina grabbed her phone to tell Takamichi the news. Their tears were soon joyed by everyone else as they made their way to the hospital. As Mikey, Takamichi, and Draken practically spirited to your room. As they slid the door open, they were greeted by a crying Emma that was being comforted by you as Hina stands on the other side of your bed talking to you. You didn’t notice them until Mikey whispered out your name, turning your head to smile at them while still holding Emma.

Draken and Takamichi had tears in their eyes. For Draken, you survived and are up back again. For Takamichi, it means that he didn’t fuck it this time. That he was able to save you, Emma, Draken, and Izana from a bleak future. That he finally accomplished what he sought out to do in the very beginning. The closest timeline for Takamichi to give everyone a happy ending. 

He finally did it.

As Hina ushered Emma, Draken, and Takamichi out of the room, it was now just you and Mikey. You can tell he was tired, probably losing sleep on wondering if your condition would get better. As you held out your arms to him, he made haste and hugged you tightly. It was Mikey’s turn to cry as he held you for the first time in three days. His face was buried in your head as his hand held it close to him while his other arm held your upper back. You were rubbing his back and hair softly so he could bask in the reality that you were okay. 

“I was… so scared that I was going to lose you, (Y/N)... That you were going to end up like Shin-ni and Baji…”

“Oh Mikey…”

“ *holds you tighter* I’m sorry I couldn’t be there to protect you… I was supposed to be there with you… I just… Couldn’t imagine my life if you were gone…”

You soften at how vulnerable Mikey was becoming. But you didn’t know the depth of seriousness he had for you until now.

“Well, I’m alive and awake, Mikey. I’m here with you, I’m going anywhere without.”

Mikey sighs, kissing your forehead before placing his on yours with his eyes closed.

“I’m serious about you, princess. I want to be with you forever, I want to have a future with you. A future for us… I need you, (Y/N)... I love you…”

“Oh, I love you too, Majiro-kun… I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

With that, you two sealed the promise with a gentle but loving kiss. You love Mikey and he loves you as well. As you pull away, you hug him again before asking him to let Takamichi talk to you. He goes to get him, not before placing a kiss on your cheek. Takamichi enters the room and you grin ear to ear seeing him as he is happy to see you awake.

“Come on, Takamitchy. You can relax for a bit! You saved everyone!”

“Yeah, but you gave me a heart attack, (Y/N)!! I get why you did what you did but it still doesn’t help that I was constantly thinking about how you were doing!”

“Oh, Takamitchy. I thought I told you to have faith in me! I’m not going down so easily like that! Trust!”

“(Y/N)...”

You drop the peppy and light act and shift towards a solemn one.

“So I heard Kisaki is dead…”

Takamichi nods to confirm your question.

“How did he die? Did you kill him, Takamitchy?”

“I… I actually didn’t…”

You straightened up your posture and stared at him in surprise.

“You didn’t?! Then how—”

“He was struck by a truck at a crosswalk. He died not too long after…”

“Hmmm, I see. At least you didn’t have to get your hands dirty, Takamitchy. I couldn’t imagine you going to jail for his death. I guess even God wanted him dead too so he decided to add some divine intervention into our mix and give us a boost.” You chuckled at the last part. It was a little humorous that Kisaki didn’t die at the hands of either Takamichi or Mikey.  But rather, he died due to being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe God was tired of Kisaki’s shit and decided to help Takamichi out. Who knows? 

But what matters is you’re alive, Takamichi is alive, everyone is alive. You were able to help him save everyone and now everyone can have a future to look forward to.

“I guess your work is done here then. So are you going back to the future after this visit?”

“Most likely…”

“I understand… Thank you for all your hard work, Takamichi… I appreciate all you have done and look forward to this new future that you have set…”

“Yeah… We’ll see (Y/N)...”

As you and Takamichi hug it out and high five each other, you tell him to bring the rest inside to join you two. Draken was salty that he didn’t get a personal moment like the rest did but you told him it will happen soon enough. After visiting you, Takamichi went back to the future that night. As he shook Naoto’s hand one last time, he firmly believed that he created a better future and timeline this time. 

And he was more than correct.

In this timeline, he is getting married to Hina. Draken and Emma are married and already have a baby. You and Mikey already had your wedding and were planning your next decisions for your two’s future. As Takamichi saw how happy and bright Mikey was towards you, he knew he finally stopped the cycle. With everyone alive, he could be happy and rest with the fact that he achieved the future he wanted. Hina is alive, Draken is alive, Emma is alive, and you and Mikey are alive too. Though he wished he could save Baji and Shinichiro, this still was a good outcome from what happened.

Against all odds, Takamichi was able to accomplish his goal in saving Hina and his friends. Though it may not be perfect, it was enough that his sacrifices weren’t in vain as everyone was alive and happy. All thanks to your help and his efforts. 

Now he can fully rest and live in this future as everything is going to be okay from now on.

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

(A/N: I probably edit this later this week because I still don't know how to make good endings for my fics, lol. Sorry again if this was too long to read!)

Thank you for reading!

[elderwisp]

hi! Im so sorry if this is the wrong place to ask, I've looked for answers for this before so I'm just not sure,,

i absolutely adore your sims and your story! Its completely inspired me to create a story w/ my sims as well! the only thing is I'm quite overwhelmed with it all and I don't know where to start :(

do you have any tips? Whats your process? there's so many things to use and I'm just curious what you use! Thanks in advance and no pressure to answer if this is the wrong place :))<33

HAI :D OMG EXCITING <3 no worries! my inbox is always open for assistance and i'd love to help! here's a bunch of tips ranging from writing to technical to artsy stuff:

the start:

⟡ i should preface this story did not begin as one typically would which is say following the example of how to write a novel in a year. my writing style for this project started out with my interest in the characters created. my desire to wanting to know why certain oc's acted the way they did and that's where it all began. what started out as short stories of certain individuals reworked into something much more authentic. this was the hook for me so you gotta find that one sliver of interest and run with it. you can most certainly utilize tools like character sheets, pinboards, storyboards to assist you but i find that if i'm not connected to the story, it's difficult to use them

⟡ with that being said LOL invest the time in fleshing out your character because when you understand how they work, when you believe in them, the easier it'll be in creating scenes and writing dialogue. for me, it's almost intuitive writing for characters to the point where i will easily check myself and rewrite a scene because it didn't align with a certain character

⟡ while the influence of your own ideals/experiences eventually bleed into an oc, it's important to identify that, otherwise a cast of diverse characters eventually feel the same. this was something i struggled with for years which is why i could never really begin until now!

⟡ it's good to ask yourself what sort of story do you want to create. the best question is is it plot driven or character driven? what sort of tone do you want to set? do you want to blend them? i think there's a huge stress on just doing things for fun and not taking things seriously but i do want to challenge others to consider what that might look like for others. sometimes people like to create grand posts or fun slice of life posts and neither is more valid than the other. it's truly up to the author

technical stuff:

⟡ i'm gonna be honest with you, i'm not as organized as i once was in how i go about plotting things however! in the beginning, i would utilize sticky notes with ideas written on them and then shuffle around how i wanted things to play out. now i use a dingy little notebook LMAO but i've heard good things about milanote! as for dialogue, i do use google docs but i do think they're under fire for using your things for ai training or somethin O_O

⟡ i do use photoshop to edit my photos and that usually looks like cropping, color/contrast enhancing and sharpening. i do add dialogue last because when i sharpen it all together, the font looks cwispy! there's this mini tut by @/stinkrascal on how to format the text so it's all even if that's the style you're going for! anyways it changed my LIFE lmao! right here are some free alternatives. also this is an older post in which i shared my process and it includes some tips and tricks with photoshop (you can also see how i used to format text lmaooo)

⟡ knowledge is power. if i find myself really struggling with certain aspects, like maybe the logistics of a character, i'll set aside some time to learn from certain authors, commentators or directors. even if it's a short clip of seeing how they approach something as simple as their thought process behind how a scene supported a character to something as small as the significance of Isha's hat from Arcane

misc writing tips:

⟡ ooh! because tessellate is such a large group of characters, it can be challenging to structuring a plot. so i started off by slowly introducing characters rather than all at once. i also break up character plots into arcs but with that comes filler episodes to help space out big moments. i like to utilize filler episodes as bite sized pieces that introduces the readers to newer characters while also allowing there to be breaks in between. those filler posts highlight certain events, ways of living, etc that might influence how things play out in the future. a good example is kai, we're nearing the end of his arc but all of those little moments in between really helped shaped how things played out!

⟡ when i think of conflict, i think of it a lot like a boiling pot. it starts out at a neutral temperature (your foundation), before bubbles begin to form (minor annoyances between characters), steam hissing (the lead up) to an eventual lid popping off (the conflict). the build up is the most important part to the pay off!

⟡ my best piece of advice for darker themes is really understand the topic and stray away from stereotypes as it diminishes a lot of depth in certain subjects as well as does more harm than good. recognize that at the end of the day a weakness does not define a person as they are a person through and through. approach it with compassion rather than judgement.

⟡ i know i know everyone says to read your dialogue out loud and that is incredibly important however while doing that, think about the flow too. as a writer, because we are goal oriented, sometimes dialogue can be turned into what will progress the plot which makes things feel a bit unnatural and sometimes lacking the proper flow. remember to consider the personality of a character. how is a line delivered through a character who is brash versus one who is a bit more reclusive? also! here's a great video about the stiff dialogue in veilguard that shows what unnatural dialogue can sound like.

⟡ remember, comparison is the thief of joy. it's easy to get caught up in recognition and likes. there was a time where i consistently got 3-5 readers and that was it. there are moments now where certain posts are incredibly inconsistent in engagement and sure, it can be disheartening but then i think about the handful of individuals that consistently comment, the specific asks about how a certain post made them feel seen and interact and i remember why it's i chose to write. it isn't the recognition i seek, it's the connection. it's important to have that one thing that gives you the strength to continue because truthfully, things can be inconsistent and that's okay.

the artsy stuff:

⟡ i am a huge fan of cinema, animation and photography. i think consuming a lot of media and art has helped train my eye especially if i feel as if my screenshots are becoming repetitive. it's good to see how different directors go about framing dialogue. comic panels are amazing as well since artists find new unique ways of captivating an audience through levels like coloring, framing, posing and such! it's honestly why i introduced some vertical shots to black out bars in story posts because of that unique angle! remember, media is meant to inspire you! after watching the latest season of Arcane (haven't finished it yet tho) it genuinely relit a fire under my ass LMAO

⟡ different angles, lighting and positioning can help elevate a story. the aesthetics of a story can really add another layer of depth however it's important to remember that it is a supporting role, not the entire role

⟡ i do use my own reshade and i've formatted it to have similarities of a film camera as well as my preference of color correcting. i lean heavier towards contrast, colors and shadows however i always encourage for people to look into what supports their vision the best! the lightroom shader by quint and pd80's contrast/brightness/saturation shader help with color grading in game as they do have sliders that tweak certain colors. the sepia shader is great for adding a cinematic tint but it can conflict with relight and the way the lights are presented. relight of course can add those shadows in lighting. i'll sometimes have two presets, one for up close shots to further shots because sometimes zooming out can create inconsistencies in your preset as things might look to muggy or like a disco ball LOL (ps what helps with that is adjusting bloom if used and messing around with shadows/midtones/highlights/saturation with that lightroom shader)

last but not least, a story is a labor of love, it's a tool in which authors can utilize the pen to their own manner whether it's to communicate ideas or to simply tell a tale. don't be afraid to dive deep into the layers of your story and remember each piece can be important factor but it's entirely up to you as to where you want that focus to be. it does take a lot of courage to start but i truly believe if it's something you cherish, it'll always be worth it!

i do wish you the best of luck! thank you for trusting me enough to give you some tips and tricks! i tried to lean more into the more finite details as i felt like this is what truly helped me throughout the years! <3 also here is a complimentary meme i made:

[gloriousburden]

So much fucking AI generated content on Pinterest. It’s every single image when you search something up at this point. It’d be a lot less insufferable (albeit, still insufferable) if it were mandatory for people who “create” and post that shit to put a disclaimer/somehow sort it under AI generated so it could be hidden/filtered through by those who have no interest in it.

If AI generated content HAS to be a thing, it should be organized in a separate division from everyone else. They “create” and enjoy their AI shit amongst their own crowd, and we don’t have to see it. We need restrictions and regulations on it ASAP.

It shouldn’t be mainstream and heavily accepted especially in such an early stage where it is ever evolving, and all these apps/websites should stop pandering. Especially on apps/websites like Pinterest where human creativity and authenticity is supposed to thrive. We’re all supposed to connect due to our shared love of everything from recipes, to anime girl fanart, and AI takes that away.

AI should not replace human passion. It should not replace human creativity and human skills. Learning skills is not an inconvenience, and it is ALWAYS rewarding. Learning how to draw and getting to see your practice and hard work come into fruition is rewarding.

Writing stories/fanfiction and finally getting to start off the plot line you were most excited for after finishing writing the plot line you were becoming really bored with, is rewarding. You learn, and you grow from these experiences, Even “boring” work/practice is rewarding whether you realize it at the moment or not.

Lyrics from one of my favorite Björk songs:

“Lust for comfort

suffocates the soul

Relentless restlessness

Liberates me (Sets me free)

I feel at home

Whenever the unknown surrounds me”

You have to do things that are “boring.” You have to do things that are uncomfortable and foreign. That’s how you learn. Not every part of acquiring new skills or learning something new is going to be easy or make sense immediately.

If some experiences were not boring, then the other experiences would not be enjoyable. If you are constantly comfortable, comfortability loses its appeal. We’ve gotten too reliant on comfortability and instant gratification. (Insert Tom Hiddleston talking about delayed gratification on Sesame Street)

What would be the point if there were no challenges? It would all be quite unfulfilling, and you’d stay the same. You wouldn’t learn to look at things differently and challenge yourself.

And I saw someone selling earrings with AI generated images on them without disclosing the fact that the images were made with AI. It’s kind of a scummy thing to do when people are likely buying your shit because they value authenticity and would like to support a likeminded person with creative passions rather than supporting corporations who mass produce shit with no passion except a passion for greed.

How do corporations nowadays have more passion than someone selling something on a site like Etsy where self made items, diy, and creativity are the main focus? Why stoop that low?

Remember, you’re supposed to be the alternative to PURE greed.

Let’s bring back being passionate about creative hobbies and let’s bring back mastering skills out of love for said skill. Out of love for creativity and expressing yourself through what you created. Let’s bring back authenticity and wanting to share your own authenticity with others.

How does this not scare people? That others are no longer passionate about anything? That human beings have become so fucking lazy, that even some of the most fulfilling things you can do in life are too much work?

So lazy, that they’d be more satisfied with typing prompts into a website so a machine can generate literal internet slop made from preexisting art/images on the internet rather than them creating something themselves and getting to make all the creative choices and have every last detail be theirs to decide.

And I didn’t even get into how fucked up it is that AI has little to no regulation/restriction. It’s fucked up that images can be made depicting public figures of any kind. Anything, and anyone. Singers, Actors, Comedians, Politicians, literally everyone.

It’s fucked up that voices can be made to say anything. To sing anything. To declare anything.

But go on, keep feeding the machine because you were too lazy to pick up a fucking pencil to draw one of your OCs. See where your laziness and lack of passion gets us all.

Mind you, people used to be happy to draw their own OCs. Putting them in new outfits and such and maybe even giving them new haircuts. We have lost every plot, because people are too busy acting out those plot lines out with AI chat bots instead of with other human beings. They’re too busy feeding prompts to a machine before they could even think for themselves about how they would want the plot to go.

TL;DR: FUCK AI!!

[cynthiav06]

Do you think there are insanely few couples with Percy in this fandom? Characters that are well thought out and have a backstory. For example, Rachel and Percy are an interesting dynamic and a repetition of the Theseus myth with a different end to the story. Or Percy and Michael Yu (Apollo's son who fell off the bridge) It would be interesting if he survived: Percy feeling guilty for the fall, and Michael comforting him. Or Will and Percy, where both feel the guilt of the survivor (Will is the doctor, and Percy is the commander and leader), or the same Percy and Nico with their story and attempts to talk. Percy and Ethan would be a real pain in the ass with a story and explanations. But they don't nominate them as a couple? Like Pernico, they can be found, but everything else? Will's only fanfiction/The Percy I found was the one where he cheated on Apollo with Will, and Will cheated on Nico with Percy. And I really can't stand cheating.

It's a general problem in the fandom, especially prominent in Percy ships, which is that there are very few of them, and it is made to seem that liking any Percy ship other than Percabeth is taboo. It's only recently that there's an influx in other ships, and even that is miniscule in comparison to the excessive Percabeth fic pool . I know how bloody frustrating that is. For a good amount of time, I have vented over that.

Another problem along the same lines is fanart. There's extremely little fanart on any other Percy ships barring Percabeth. This has created a very toxic sort of environment in the fandom for alternative shippings. It also discourages people from making other fanarts and fanfics due to certain toxic Percabeth fans. ( I am not saying all just most of them). Hence why you won't see much material on most of the ships you have mentioned.

I think the fandom has forgotten that people can ship whoever they want, canon or otherwise, and that's the point of a fandom. We are allowed to disagree with the canon and dislike cause in the end books are subjective and we can choose to like and prefer whatever interests us as a reader and there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT! Especially to Percabeth stans and recently Solangelo stans, you have your ship, no need to force it on everyone else, sure you can make points about why it's good or why people should like it but that doesn't mean have to or should.

You can dislike a ship and even express why you dislike it, but you can't tell people what they can and can't like. Just give your opinion, try not to be negative or offensive , just stick to the facts and objective reasons why you dislike it or just say it's a personal preference .

I personally generally either favor Perachel or Percy with no romantic partner. But I have read and seen some other Percy ship fanfics.

Perpollo and Pernico are kind of popular and I have read some fanfics of that category though Pernico's popularity suffered greatly due to Solangelo stans as such and some other opinions. (I have covered my thoughts on both Solangelo and Pernico in an old post of mine so check that out if you want).

Other alternative Percy ships I have seen mostly are Percy/Jason or Jercy. I kind of like where thea are going with it cause I really liked Percy and Jason's this odd but very unique dynamic they have and I really wanted it explored more but after the events in HoO and TOA and what happened to Jason( I refuse to accept it still due to no actually compelling and necessary reason behind it plot wise or character development wise), I kind of gave up on it. I really thought Rick Riordan would flesh their dynamic out more thoroughly other than whatever misguided rivalry he was trying to stoke between them. (Let's just agree that despite minor envy they might harbor for each other, they have much higher respect and admiration between them).

There's I think a few who consistently ship Percy and Artemis I think? Which I really thought was very contradictory and just simply not viable in canon or by fanfic cause Artemis is a maiden goddess.

There's Perclarisee which I mean I am neutral on it. I can see what it's based on but I actually liked Clarisse with Chris and I kind of thought of them better of as good friends who bicker a lot( I have a post on Perclarisse as well).

I once made the mistake of searching all Percy ships on ao3. It's safe to say I will never be doing that again ever. The absurd and deranged pairings I saw. Not even bleach will get that out of my eyes or mind.

As for Michael Yew, I am not sure about a romantic pairing of him and Percy, but in an au, it can kind of work, I guess, but I just don't see the appeal. I mean one moment of trauma bonding can't be the basis for a whole relationship.

As for Will and Percy, I see the parallel you are trying to make, but Percy can heal himself, so he's not really in need of a healer most of the time. Cause his power and ambrosia fix most of his injuries. Overall, I just don't think they are very compatible, but I will try and find fics about them for you.

Ethan and Percy? Where the hell did you find that? I don't think anyone ships that. Percy should have killed Ethan the first chance he got. That bastard really really had it coming. Even after Percy spared him so many times, he had the audacity to try and kill Percy. Absolutely not a pairing.

This is like the people who ship Percy and Luke. There are some, and I have never understood it. Luke tried to kill Percy multiple times and showed no remorse for it, and Ethan is the same. They are enemies, not a pairing. Not everything has to be enemies to lovers. But I suppose to each their own, everybody has their own preferences.

As for cheating , to whoever wrote that fic, stay the hell away from pjo respectfully cause neither Percy nor Will would ever do that to anyone. This literally goes against their very nature itself. To people who write cheating Percy fics, his fatal flaw is literally LOYALTY, what the hell is wrong with you?

Anyway, I am very sorry for this devolved into a rant. If I find any Percy and Will fics, I will reblog this post with recommendations.

[justhereformyblorbos]

this comic is inspired by bluenoisen’s beautiful post-s2 fancomic in which Ben is watching alongside us and also saw… what just happened.

tua s4 spoilers under the cut! sort of? I’ll tag it just in case.

Certainly, there were some moments I still liked about it, like the flashback to Ben’s actual death and the timeline subway as a concept and the itty bitty glimpse of alternate timelines we see. However, like many others here, I have some… notes (more sibling bonding, dangling plot threads, relationships that didn’t have time to be developed or deepened, or were unneeded at all, etc etc) and I would have preferred a happy ending for all our siblings.

However, I still love these characters and this world, and the best part about this show to me was always the creativity of the fans and the bond between the family. Though the show may be over now, I really hope the fandom just continues creating and supporting each others’ creations!! Fandoms don’t have to die completely, and I hope to continue loving these characters long after the show has ended. I know I’ll still be here doodling and writing and looking what everyone has to say. 😭😅

It’s a bit of freedom, isn’t it, knowing that the canon can just be ours now? :D

TL;DR this is the end of the beginning—and this fun little comic is just one of the ways a fix-it fic in my mind might go. Also, if you have WIPs waiting in the wings, please share! I’d love to read.

[watcherwingedcat]

Last night I had a very weird dream in which I was in some kind of lab, but I didn't have a physical body.

For context, I have lucid dreams, I've been a lucid dreamer all my life to the point of thinking that it was normal and common. When I sleep, if I want to dream I have to choose the environment, the world I want to be in, the species I want to be... Before falling asleep. This allows me to create some sort of story that I can follow until I wake up (tho it doesn't work if I'm really exhausted or really scared). I've created really neat and complex stories ober the years, because if the plot of a dream I'm following wasn't done in one night, I can just continue it in the next one.

I mostly dream in third person, but this time, it was a first person kind of dream. Which is rare, because I don't like to use first person in my dreams. I was some sort of small quadruple creature with wings, antlers, and big paws. My form changed between a rabbit's body and a dog's body. I was in some sort of cage, and a human came and opened the cage. The human grabbed me and carried me around the lab, so I could see the facilities.

I kept getting flashes of my Watcher body being made, like I was Watching from above. It was really weird. At some point I freaked out about something and managed to get free. So I ran and ran until I found a door, but it was closed. The human was following me, I remember being really scared before I woke up. It was two am.

I've been having these dreams for a month now, almost. Not every night, and they don't always start or end the same. I can almost replicate a time line now, not like past lives but more like alternative lives? If that makes sense?

It goes more or less like this: I was made in the Void (like all the creatures are before they are made), then I was brought to the Watchers dimension, then the Archives (where Watchers are made, and where they study so they can Watch over worlds), then after my studies I was entrusted a small beta world, to update the world as it went, then nothing, then I guess something happened, because the feelings about the lab remain... I can make a guess and say that I was there so I could get a “human” body, but whatever. Then something happened, and then I was born in a human life.

It doesn't make a lot of sense. But I know that for a fact.

[ninjagobythenumbers]

Ninjago Groupings Episode by Episode

A.K.A. how much time they spend together

Key

This chart has each of the ninja sorted into who they were with each episode. For consistency, I designate the grouping based on who they're with at the beginning of the episode. So, for instance, if Zane is with the ninja at the beginning of the episode, he'll be sorted as "Gang's all here" even if he spends the rest of the episode in on his own little galavant. I will go through each season, so I can explain my observations and so you can see the chart closer up and come up with your own. First, I must explain each designation as I gave them odd titles for fun.

Purple refers to the main party. There will (almost) always be purple on the chart, even if the whole party's split as I designate it based on where either the majority of people started, or, where the main mission's at. For instance, if we have a party with all the ninja, but they gradually die off, as in Skybound for instance, Jay remains the main party as he has survived.

Busy is the first designation I'll turn to if one or more of the ninja has gone off on a separate mission. If there are two ongoing missions in addition to the main party, I'll use Double Busy. If there are three, I'll use Triple Busy. If there are four, I'll hope one of them fits into a separate category as you'll see with the Crystalized madness.

Homebase comes into play if a ninja is at the monastary, Bounty, or whatever's been designated the base at the moment. Gang's all here and Busies predominate however. This designation primarily applies when the ninja is hanging out with Wu or holding down the fort. Tragically, Nya and Pixal have this designation for much of the seasons.

If one or more of the ninja is kidnapped, dead, possessed, or otherwise incapcitated, this comes into play. For Double Involuntary to apply, at least two ninja must be in two different types of incapacitation. For instance, in Skybound, Kai and Zane were in a sword so they were Involuntary, but Jay was captured by pirates so he was Double Involuntary.

So far, this literally only applies to Jay (during Dragons Rising specifically). I used it because the audience knew where he was but didn't know how he felt about it.

I use this designation when the audience doesn't know the status of the characters long-term. A clear instance is most of the ninja at the beginning of Dragons Rising, the reason I created it. I also use it for those one-off episodes that aren't about the ninja such as "The News Never Sleeps." (This designation is named after an alternate ending for Cole in Hands of Time which my friend and I find hilarious).

Season Breakdown

In these early seasons, we really only have to deal with four categories. We get the occasional side mission such as Kai, Nya, and Lloyd living their pre-Ninja lives, but nothing serious. For the most part, the ninja are sticking together with their missions. If they break apart, such as in episode 5 where they split up to find Serpentine tombs, it occurs only for the episode, and doesn't extend long-term. While she is Samuai X, Nya is primarily on the Bounty doing various man in the chair tasks. Nya and Lloyd are competing for the damsel in distress title and Lloyd is winning. (Going forward, I am going to omit the Arin through Sora rows until they actually appear. Just know that they're toddlers off who knows where doing who knows what.)

Lloyd has joined the party. It's odd because he usually is engaging in the main plot, but in Child's Play, they act like they've always left him at home. Early season trends are continuing. While Nya's still on the move during the late season, she has been turned evil by a substance which is not something she wanted so she's still racking up Involuntary points.

Yay, Pixal's here! The core 4 continues to stick together but Lloyd has undergone on the first mission separate from the party. It doesn't end well as he gets captured, but hey as long as he had fun. Pixal is regarded as Involuntary as, similar to Nya in the previous season, she has been turned evil by hacking. Observe that the whole group gets together for the finale. This will occur nearly every season going forward.

This is our first elimination season, so we start to see even the core four break apart. This crumbling starts with the first episode, as Zane is, as per usual, gone. He's finally thrown his hat in the ring for the damel competition. As Pixal goes into Zane's head this season, I match her color codes to Zane but in a muted tone, as she's there, but she's not really there for anyone but Zane.

It's another elimination season, but they spend a lot more time all together than I remembered. For the first time, no Busy gets invoked as they're all always together or captured, but Double Involuntary does occur twice in two different fashions. With Pixal's designation here, I am presuming that Nadakhan had the common courtesy of returning her to life when Zane wished it all away.

Day of the Departed is really just a Cole solo mission. Zane dies again. Pixal is one again innovating with designations as she causes the first invokation of Double Busy once she's free. You might observe that I technically invoked Double Busy before Busy. I did this because Kai and Nya were the main plotline, while Double Busy was primarily occuring in the background. More characters in play is resulting in more categories of groupings, but, for the most part they all stuck together as has been par for the course during Masters of Spinjitzu.

We have a few little missions and incapacitations here and there, but for the most part it's a team effort. I really enjoy when they spend all season on the ship. Zane dies again. Pixal is gets to be part of the main crew again because while she may be on the Bounty, so is everyone else.

Hunted is in past tense for a reason. The Ninja spent half the time captured. I considered the core four to be the main party as majority rules, not to mention they had the ship and Wu. This is the first time we have a Busy designation last nearly all season. Hunted is sort of our first "splitting the party" season. It may have been accidental, but we'll see a lot of this going forward.

Being a movie, aside from a little father son fishing trip and a death fake-out, the ninja tended to stick together.

The ninja go back to sticking together, as in early seasons but it doesn't last long. For the latter half of this chapter, they split up into alpha squad (Zane, Nya, and Lloyd) and the boys (Cole, Kai, and Jay), which, as I like to point out, Lloyd will nearly always choose when he picks teams. Pixal may have been with the ninja in these first few episodes, but she was doing her own thing at homebase. We have out first side character episode, which is something I really loved about this era. Zane dies again.

As you can see, we're starting to have these long periods of splitting the party. While it's not as extreme as in Hunted, we have Lloyd going off alone and Zane off being evil, while the main party spends some time in the village. Cole even has one of his brief solo missions. Something I'll note about Zane. His evilness was very much involuntary as he needed amnesia, an evil staff, AND an evil advisor to make it happen.

I didn't count Jay entering Prime Empire as Involuntary because he did that on purpose. Pixal's finally off the bench. Or has Zane joined her? Hard to say but I ruled the former as Wu was not there and they very much had their own mission. We have a return of the elimination season, which funnily enough looks near identical to the elimination pattern in Skybound. Despite the fact he didn't enter Prime Empire, Zane insists on racking up his Damsel points.

This season was big on splitting the party, as indicated by the longest Double Busy so far for this many people. Kai and Zane get to be the main party even though they're not majority because when it gets down to a near 50/50 split, the designation is relatively arbitrary and I like to keep it at the top of the chart for pretty data's sake and so I tend to keep it with the core four, mainly Kai. You may observe that even when the entire party is captured, Cole doesn't revert to purple. Once a ninja has a designation, it sticks until they form a new grouping.

Cole and Kai get to chill at home for the first time. The rest of the party sticks together for the most part, which was surprising to me as I remembered Nya going off on her own more. It turned out that, similar to season one, these little solo missions ended up isolated within episodes. That is of course, until the end when she becomes the sea. I marked it as Triple Busy so I could reserve Busy for the main plots in the next season.

Crystalized is so long and complicated. It took me forever because, I mean, do you SEE episodes 22-27. You can see why I had to invent Triple Busy. It got so crazy I had to designate Kai as at homebase just because he was at the Newskids' hideout, which was serving as the current base. Nya is of course the sea at the beginning, but I designated her as Triple Busy, because she wasn't on screen for the most part. The ninja go to jail. Lloyd goes off for one minute and gets captured. Zane dies again. Near the end, each of the ninja spend time with a partner ninja except Lloyd who's alone forever. For the finale, they're all together again.

Welcome kids! This is sort of a reverse elimination season. it looks dismal at the beginning, but gradually we recover (mostly) everyone. Even if we don't see a character on screen, I start categorizing them when the audience knows their status. For example, Kai didn't show up until episode 4 but Lloyd told us he was off on a mission. Despite the spires of maybe dead, in the first part it's relatively simple. However, starting now, ninja, such as Nya, will just go off on solo missions like it's no big deal. The mid-season finale gets into some serious party splitting with Kai at homebase again, the discovery of Zane, and the kids off on their own, but ultimately all the active ninja end up together in the finale. In the second half, they party split into pairs long term. It's a good way to balance such a big cast. Zane doesn't have a little buddy so he spends some time at home and then goes to jail. Interstingly, though he's at homebase we do get some significant feature of what's going on in the monastary. We saw a bit of this with Seabound, but not nearly as much as we're seeing with DR. Lloyd and Arin find Zane (again). Kai and Wildfyre find things in common. Sora and Arin find Cole who goes off on a side quest. The audience finds Jay so he gets his Business Trip designation as we don't know how he feels about it. Similar to Pixal during the Zane's head period, I made this color muted as it's very in the background.

Blood Moon is simple for Dragons Rising standards, but calling it simple really reflects how many different categoriations there exists in these later seasons as compared to the old days. Lloyd, the siblings, and the kids go on an educational field trip. Zane stays at home until Cole visits and gets Zane to join his mission. Jay briefly joins Busy during his Business Trip, but no one knows it except Bonezal. Interestingly, they don't all join together in the mid-season finale, but rather, this time, it becomes even more fragmented.

This is my prediction for the Tournament of Sources based soley on the end of Blood Moon and trailer material. Arin will probably be off doing spy stuff and reflecting. Jay's doing something I may have to make a new designation for. Kai's in the void but I think he may be a suprise last minute addition to the Tournament that saves the day (or not). (Off topic, but if Ras always planned on going to the tournament, was this decade+ long Forbidden Five plan just him drafting people for his team?) It's not an elimination tournament because as far as I can tell, when you lose, you can just chill in the stands. They'll probably go off on their own little sidequests but I expect them to all, at the very least, stay in the City of Temples. I'm very excited to find out the truth in a couple days.

With this, I have now posted all my pre-made charts. I plan on making some new charts based on a few suggestions I've gotten already. I think it would also be cool to tally up the designations on this chart to see what the ninja spend most of their time doing. I'll also be posting the official Tournament of Sources updates for all my charts within the next few weeks. Thanks for reading this far. Let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas for additional charts!

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Hot damn! What a teaser!

When it began, I thought I was in for just typical animated movie teaser stuff: Characters against white backgrounds and gags, little else, something similar to ZOOTOPIA's teaser. But no!

There are plenty of flashes of new characters (some of them have really neat designs too, that's where your comma and period buttons come in handy for the YouTube video) and new locations, suggesting that a lot of the action will also take place outside of the city of Zootopia. Perhaps the far reaches of that film's world. Like, for example, that European mountain-looking place with the goats in lederhosen. In the first ZOOTOPIA, we only saw the titular city and Bunnyburrow, some of the surrounding countryside too. The filmmakers also alluded to this a while back, but what else is out there? What's the planet Zootopia is set on? It's seemingly not an alternate Earth, because you'd hear mentions of like America and such. Or maybe it is Earth, but the animals just didn't name any of the continents what we did lol. It's clearly not the all-animals Earths of ROBIN HOOD (explicitly set in England) and KUNG FU PANDA (a fantasized China) and such.

Like really, I'm already in love with this series again. ZOOTOPIA is one of my favorite Disney animated movies of the 2010s and I really dug the animal world they created, and this looks like it'll be just as much of a blast, what with the original director Byron Howard back in the chair and Jared Bush graduating from co-director to main director. This trailer I think shows that they have confidence in it, that it'll be, IMO, a swing-back from WISH and MOANA 2. Two just very nothing kinda movies to me, I'd like to be thrilled by a Walt Disney Animation Studios film again.

Now, checking in on the other big Disney studio... Pixar... Conan O'Brien is now confirmed to be in TOY STORY 5.

Ya'know, that makes all the sense, really. Conan was hitting it big in the 1990s, when TOY STORY was on its way to completion, and he was involved heavily with the best seasons of THE SIMPSONS, he's a comedy legend, and TOY STORY has cast some comedians throughout its existence to great effect... So, yeah, I have little else to say there other than... it's perfect casting. He's apparently playing a character called Smarty Pants. That tells me that he's playing some kind of educational toy or game. Maybe Smarty Pants is one of the apps that Bonnie, now glued to a tablet, plays. I'd imagine the toys interact w/ the characters in the apps, they might come to life in a WRECK-IT RALPH sort of manner when a human isn't around. We'll have to see!

I find it interesting that there's been a steady stream of TOY STORY 5 news over the past few months... But nary a peep on the original Pixar movie that's opening before it... HOPPERS.

That movie is currently penciled in for March 6, 2026, and we learned a little while back that its crew were given notes from Disney overlords about its environmental themes. That they had to tone those down because of Disney's current push to be as respectful of our current president in every way, shape, and form. Given that the whole plot revolves around a land developer who threatens the beaver habitat that the protagonist is trying to protect, yeeeah, I'd imagine such notes have either caused massive story problems or completely flipped the movie upside-down. I wouldn't be surprised if... The movie gets delayed, so that they have time - much like what happened to ELIO - to sanitize it and rewrite it so that they don't have a movie that will be called... Dear lord, "WOKE!" "DEI!"

Or, maybe it's not that at all and I'm just being too skeptical. Maybe it's as simple as "TOY STORY 5 is a sequel, part of one of their largest franchises, so obviously Disney and Pixar are gonna be louder about that than this weird little beaver movie." I only get concerned, because some of the stuff I listen to and some of the word I've heard... I get the implication that the main focus is TOY STORY 5 right now. For example, the Fine Tooning podcast had often said in recent episodes, something to the beat of "Pixar did a screening of TOY STORY 5, that's coming along." Very little about HOPPERS, though. Maybe it's just an oversight on their respective parts. HOPPERS might possibly be something of a B-team production, while TOY STORY 5 is the A-film. Nothing wrong with that if that's the case, after all... TOY STORY 2 began life as a B-picture, and in Disney animation history, there's... Let's see... DUMBO, THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE, THE LION KING, etc. Sometimes the B movie is the more creative, scrappy sort-of movie next to the more prestigious picture.

If the landing is stuck, this will be the first time Pixar **successfully** gets two movies out in a calendar year, one in March and one in June. 2015 and 2017 were both double-headers, but at least one movie of the pack lost money or underperformed. INSIDE OUT and THE GOOD DINOSAUR shared 2015, the former was a beloved hit and the latter a divisive money-loser. 2017: COCO did great, CARS 3 kinda just puttered quietly and barely doubled its budget. They tried again for 2020. In 2020, COVID-19 got in the way, literally. ONWARD opened right before shutdowns, and SOUL went straight to Disney+ the following Christmas. TURNING RED was intended for theaters in March 2022, but got rerouted to Disney+, while June 2022's LIGHTYEAR went to theaters and bombed. 2024 was supposed to be ELIO in March, INSIDE OUT 2 in June, but ELIO got de-queered and delayed all the way to this coming June... Soooo... Yeah, maybe 2026 is when Pixar successfully gets a movie out in March and another movie in June.

But like, any updates, Pixar? Disney? It seems like HOPPERS is like the skeleton at the bottom of the pool here, lol.