#I was putting these in my queue but they're just too cute ^^;;

[gingerbreadfrosting]

もちぷに水族館ぬいぐるみ　イルカ

[kyri45]

✨ShadowPeach Bio Parents Bio AU Q&A! 08/10✨

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

Anonimo ha chiesto: I feel like in cannon baby MK was the kind of kid to eat glue, mainly because he hatched from a rock and doesn't know what anything is.

isn’t it like how all babies are? I think I also used to eat glue

@purpleprinceblood ha chiesto: In the spicynoodles bit where you explain how Red Son was charmed by Mk's beautiful personality and kind nature (/silly), you said Mk is Demi sexual Do you have other sexuality headcanons for the cast, or is it just "they're gay for each other"?

Pan for Mei, Bi for Redson, both Wukong and Macaque are in a way pan, in the sense that they don’t really care about gender, but are only gay for each other.

@kehideni ha chiesto: Whatever happened with never drawing a background ever again? :D On a more serious note: may we know the exact relation of DBK and Chiyou(did i spell that right?)? I'm just the nosy type :3

Chiyou has 72 brothers, one of them is an ancestor of DBK

@marcusalexander ha chiesto: I have a question is spider queen in your comic, and if so, is she like a part of the team or enemy or anuite? I'm just curious since she isn't that evil. By the way, I love your comic shadowpeach parents

The AU is set after S5, so I guess she’s enemy

Anonimo ha chiesto: Macaque HAS to be doing a little happy dance in the bio parents AU that murder isn’t considered distinct from self-defense Imagine being like… a legitimate threat to the world around you, and getting put down to defend it, and then being hailed as “the less bad one” because you were killed But this also means that MK probably views himself as a murdered for killing the LBD/Azure Lion too cause again “killing in self defense/defense of others= murder

most likely MK feels super duper guilty for what he did, and will continue to be until he get some extra comfort.

@goldenthecat ha chiesto: I'm wondering, since you watch lmk do you watch other Lego shows too? Like Ninjago or friends

does having saw the ninjago movie and a 4 hours video essay recap about the first 14 season count?

@haruwashere29 ha chiesto: Did wukong put his head over macaque’s chest to hear his heartbeat? 😭😭😭

OH OK NOW WE ARE ON WITH THE ANGST. YES 100%

Anonimo ha chiesto: You said Wukong is warm , change my mind that macaque has absolutely put his cold feet straight on wukongs back while he was sleeping not just cause he was cold but because he thought it was funny

hehe he has cold feet poor boy.

@og-glitch-punk ha chiesto: I'm haunting you at thisnpoint im so sorry but your lmk comic gives ideas and thoughts bro lmao /gen SO HERES ANITHER THOUGHT... If you technically think about it, MK is basically an clone (not but words are EHHH) of Sun wukong because they came from the sane rock. But what about our spooky Macaque? We have no knowledge of how he came to be but we all may assume it's the same way with MK and Wukong. but.. BUT. If Macaque had his own stone somewhere in the shadows then what if there's an basically MK but Macaque verison? Even if not, that would be wild to think about lol

like a slightly more emo version of MK? Something like the OK KO situation?

Anonimo ha chiesto: Hello I just wanted to say I'M IN LOVE WITH YOUR COMIC it's sooooo good I'm obsessed and the recent part... I have no word only emotion Even though I use Tumblr for a while I still getting use to it so.. do you know any other Shadowpeach comics? I couldn't find any 😅

mmmm @kristea9ay is doing a shadowpeach parent story that’s really cute!

Anonimo ha chiesto: I NEED to see wukong and macaque having a cute moment and accidentally touch each others tails yk? 🥺🥺🥺 (and mk quitting is a stab to the chest, i dont think there is anything worse in store... Right?... RIGHT?!)

at this point they ain’t touching the tails “accidentally” anymore these bitches are too gay I can’t anymore-

@amyrosewithoutshadow ha chiesto: I think the next one that will need Sandy is Wukong, lol I always thought about one thing, how Wukong deal with traumas and crises? We only saw him dealing with it during his sleep, but what about a daylight crises? Love your art 💞

he has a “I can do it with a broken heart”-by-taylor-Swift-masking situation.

@alizardonfire ha chiesto: I understand why MK doesn't want to be their successor mostly because I think he needs time to think about all of it. There's a lot to unpack! I love how wukongs more shocked about it. And I think macaque kinda saw it coming?

i think Mac forseen that MK would have changed his view on Wukong for sure. But he didn’t know in which way.

@siennabanana ha chiesto: HDBDJDBDHSHDV NEW HEADCANON UNLOCKED: sometimes he misses his human form but he doesn’t tell wukong and macaque bc he feels like that would be an insult to them and plus he still thinks his monkey form is cool but eughhh dysphoriaa

awwww he might be sometimes! Good thing they are starting to hang out outside FFM as well!

@blazerratbluefire-blog ha chiesto: If Wukong ever manages to be able to control his kaiju form, I could easily see Macaque's kaiju form using him as a bed, and along comes MK wanting in on the action. Then, he proceeds to lay on top of Macaque, squishing him with his kaiju and making a wholesome monkey family bonding session. With Wukonh laughing that Macaque is being squished. Just a funny thought I had.

oh my I think he would be waaayyy to big for the other two ahah

Anonimo ha chiesto: For your LMK shadowpeach AU will Ironfan be making up for all of MK's birthdays she missed? (Dropping off a mountain of presents at FFM?) (My partner joked she would give Redson in a box, not in a bow or anything just in an open box like a cat.)

she would probably make a courtnapping room for her son to gift him, and Red Son would die from embarrassment right there.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Dose macaque sometimes cook for MK and wukong since wukong tends to eat his fur/hair and macaque fonts approve of it

I think yes, he would cook probably really basics but nutrient-full meals, the few times they don’t eat noodle from pigsy shop

Anonimo ha chiesto: TCan we get Red Son and MK Angst because Red Son technology tried to kill MK a lot of times?

just bc of the AU main plot I don’t think so, also bc at this point traffic light trio are all friends with each other.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Speaking of birthdays, I assume Pigsy and Tang celebrate when MK showed up in their life or a random day when MK first asked about his birthday. Would Wukong and Macaque ask Nuwa the day he was put in the rock/broken out of it (I assume he came out and was immediately brought to Pigsy the same day but idk) or is that sort of a sore subject still, with the whole harbinger thing?

I think the best thing would be to celebrate it the day they found it!

@yuk1yun ha chiesto: Giuro che è un mese che provo a rendere il mio cosplay di mk simile alla tua au (perché anche se è semplice è stupendo), ma non so come fare le orecchie... Sono di nuovo qui per dirti quanto adoro la rua au btw :)

ADUYDJYTDY SE HAI BISOGNO DI RIFERIMENTI FAMMI SAPERE! E MANDAMI IL RISULTATO QUANDO HAI FINITO!!!!

Anonimo ha chiesto: I'm just waiting until Mk realizes the other things Wukong and Macaque did, yk like what Sun did to Redson, what Mac did to some of the monkeys all that

I think with time MK will slowly learn everything, but for example I guess now Red Son and Wukong are at truce

Anonimo ha chiesto: I'm just obsessed with your shadowpeach comics!!✨✨ But heey~ how about bai he!? l think it will be super amazing if add her in the future to this little cute monkeys family

awww baby!! I hope she went back to her family honestly! But I also hope sometimes she visits MK!

@yainmy ha chiesto: Oh gods I when I found this bio parents au I got HOOKED. I love it so much and the shenanigans and the angst are just *chef's kiss*. I have some curious questions if you don't mind me asking, but if a similar situation happens in the future like when mk got baby-fied, but instead his forms get split up (human and monkey demon) would he have that child crisis of fear "if im not this certain way they wont want me as theirs anymore", considering he is still learning about the whole monkey business? Also in a shenanigans sort of question, I don't remember how stone monkeys are made in their world but it would be hilarious if mk asked wukong and macaque that since they both are male and they technically "had" him then does that mean they can give him a sibling if they wanted? Sorry if it's to long of an ask 😅

i think MK would mostly feel a sense of loss for the fact that in a way, things should have been like this, like when he “hatched” Wukong probably would have found him if it wasn’t for the fact someone or something brought it to Pigsy shop. He would have grown up with someone who could tell him how to be a stone Monkey and teach him his power. Surely, I think Wukong wouldn’t have been as good as a parent as Pigsy, and MK doesn’t regret a bit how things actually ended up happening, but it’s a bit of a case of “sometimes I imagine how my life would have been if it went this way”

Anonimo ha chiesto: I know it's a bit out of the scope of your comic, but I'm wondering if Mei's design is just stylistic additions as if they were always there due to her dragon heritage, or if you have any ideas of scenes that took place as she grew more dragon features?

she started to grow more and more into them after she was accepted by her family sword and started to use her dragon form more and more.

Anonimo ha chiesto: Do you ever think Macaque and Wukong argue over who the little monkeys on the mountain like more? Like Im 100% sure Macaque wouldn't really care but the idea of not being the favorite bothers Wukong

the monkeys go crazy for soft fur Mamacaque. Wukong will always be pissed at this.

@snsp6 ha chiesto: do u like the hc that Mac has naturally snow-white fur? cs when u showed him wo glamours I realized that u don’t rlly color anything so I wanted to ask if it was still black or some type of mix between the two

akjdkajsbkaj I love for that shit YES. Yeah I don’t really colour my comics but yeah he cover it with glamour

Anonimo ha chiesto: I don't think MK ever really acknowledged that Wukong is a person, still a glorified deity. As mentioned MK hasn't really read the actual book and really didn't know his flawed side. MK has seen the worst parts of Macaque and still accepted him.

and now he knows about Wukong worst oarts and still accept him :D

@alistairliddell ha chiesto: What is FFM?

Flower Fruit Mountain

[anarcoqueer1994]

I absolutely adore the headcanon that Kallus is a little street rat at heart, and Zeb, having been in the honor guard, was probably born into a place of privilege. And like I wrote here about this idea that Kallus used to be a dancer to make ends meet before enrolling as an imp.

So what if young Zeb, 21-22 years old(my brain always has him like a year older than Kallus) and his honor guard buddies, who, no doubt are good warriors, but are also rowdy young men with a little too much money, decided to visit Coruscant during some time off and hear about this dive queer bar in one of the lower levels and think it would be fun to check out the attractions. Idk maybe it's Zeb's birthday and one of his friends get him a lap dance.

Queue a very tipsy Zeb getting a lap dance from Kallus. Kallus thinks he's cute and Zeb is being so polite. Even during the lap dance as his loud, basically frat boy friends are hooting and hollering, Zeb is drunkenly whispering "Is it okay to put my hand on your hip?" Or "Are you okay with this?" to the blonde. Kallus is not used to patrons being this kind. He laughs before nodding and continuing his dance. He wants to maybe get to know this guy more but also told himself he's never getting involved with the people at the bar. Something about keeping business and pleasure separate. So after he's done, he thanks them and leaves. And though Zeb is definitely into the dancer, he knows he was just doing his job, and he refuses to be that weird guy who tries to ask out the dancers.

Eventually both of them forgot about the experience, as it really wasn't that deep. But then after they get together, they're going through some old holos Zeb has, and they include pictures his friends took that night. One of them includes a very suggestive picture of a scantily clad Kallus on Zeb's lap, with Zeb looking up at him memorized.

Idk I think it's fun.

I added a little dabble here

[perksofbeingpoet]

☆ THE POETS AT THE AIRPORT ☆

CHARLIE: trying WAY too hard to be everyone's airport crush. has to be dragged out of the liquor section of the duty free shop ("but the vodka is so CHEAP"). plays a game of "trying to sneak as many metal objects past the security check as possible". when he gets a pat down he keeps wiggling his eyebrows and saying some variant of "wow no you're wayy too old for me" to the security guy (who's probably considering quitting his job). is secretly terrified of flying but tries not to let it show (grips neil's hand so hard it hurts when they take off)

TODD: literally a ball of pure anxiety in the beginning of it. SO scared he overpacked, he's constantly talking about what if his suitcase is too heavy and he has to empty it out and everyone in the queue will be watching him and GOD HE HATES AIRPORTS. calms down a bit after the security check (totally panics about what if he accidentally put a gun down his pants or something and doesn't remember), and then just chills in the perfume area of the duty free shop, trying all the scents. buys loads of snacks because you never know if the place you're going to has the good ones. tries not to think about the possibility of the plane crashing. likes watching the clouds.

NEIL: A literal kid. Is the one who ACTUALLY overpacked, and runs around with his suitcase (he'd totally sit down on it and ride it around if that was socially acceptable). spends like an hour in the shops and is suddenly convinced he needs to buy a lot of unnecessary stuff. BUT goes into airport dad mode as soon as he needs to, he has all the tickets and keeps reminding everyone of having their passports ready, he knows the gate number etc. takes the lead and gets them to the plane safely.

KNOX: has like an hour long "in case i die on the plane" video ready for chris, and they have a long phone call to say good bye (interrupted when charlie gets into a fight with a security guard - "c'mon dude, who's side are you on, the government?? like being a small little guy in power??" "Sir I'm going to repeat it one more time, I need you to take off that belt please."). if knox wasn't dating chris, he'd totally be looking at all the cute girls at the airport for like two seconds and trying to telepathically tell them they're cute (relatable, not gonna lie). Is so polite and charming to all the staff that it's on the verge of being funny, Pittsie teasing him about really being the perfect son in law. Honestly just a very chilled flyer, he has fun.

PITTS: has even more fun. has like an extra bag full of snacks that everyone makes fun of and then obviously wants some of later (pittsie gives them some because he's a bro, but they have to swear that he's the best and will get the front seat of every car they'll ride). TOTALLY has one of those inflatable neck cushions. the security guy comments on how tall he is mainly to make conversation, but pittsie is still proud of it (i think i mentioned my headcanons about pitts' relationships with his height? or did i never publish them?) and smiles for the next minute. reads the on-flight magazine. super excited at take off, he's like LET'S GOOOO while todd and charlie are on the verge of crying. freaks out about omg I forgot my passport (neil took it from him one second ago). fun facts about planes!!

MEEKS: the chillest. tries to calm todd down by telling him statistics and all that about the narrow chances of dying on a plane until charlie snaps and is like SHUT UP OH MY GOD ("'kay sir" 🫡😳). nerds out about planes with pittsie! has WAY too many tags on his bags in case they get lost. tells really bad airport puns that pittsie thinks are HILARIOUS. spends the wait by just sitting in a café and drinking way too much coffee. ONLY buys one teeny tiny little bag of m&ms and then eats like half of pittsies snacks. sits more comfortably than pitts because his legs are shorter and don't get cramped and DEFINITELY teases him about it like 'hmm i don't know what you mean, there's plenty of leg room!"

CAMERON: really excited for the flight, loves the whole experience. printed out everything twice just in case!! all his liquid items are in these little plastic bags that no one ever uses (or maybe y'all are just better than me). eats SO much beforehand to save money because the airport prices are ridiculous. runs to the gate like three times to check it hasn't been changed. has the craziest methods to keep his ears from popping.

[festiveferret]

Wipdate!

Well. It's been like three years since I've done one of these, hahaha, but I've been missing fandom life so I thought it'd be fun to share an update of where I'm sitting. Toddlers manage to take like 140% of your time and energy, even though they sleep a lot, so I've mostly just been parenting, but I've been getting the writing bug lately, so there's very slow progress, but progress nonetheless.

Basically, I have a list of fics I want to make sure I finish. They're the ones it would break my heart to look back on twenty years from now and realize I put all that time and those words into something that never got shared. I haven't been having new ideas very much, so I'm putting all my creative energy into things I've either promised to other people or to myself.

I'm not going to list everything I've posted since my last wipdate, since that was a looong time ago and you can always sort my works page chronologically! But here's the latest ones...

Posted:

Do Not Reply  - Tony replies to a Do Not Reply email address thinking he's shouting into the void. Spoiler alert: he's not. Runaway Train - Preserum Steve and Prince Tony meet cute. Entwined - The aftermath of Ults Stony being magically soulbound and then separated. Lost and Found - Winteriron - Bucky finds a lost dog. Vacation Days - SHIELD needs Steve to take his PTO Sanguinary Revelations - Tony and Steve go on a date with a twist Kindly Calm Me Down - Ults Steve knows how to calm his Tony down after a mission First Christmas - Stony's first xmas as parents Even of My Secret Soul - Secret soulmates

Updating:

Second Chance Summer - Stony with a 20yr age gap. Pre-written and posting on Saturdays. Up to chapter eight. A Good Thing - Comic collab with Askafroa - Alpha!Tony and Omega!Therapist!Steve - almost done! Yet I Will Try the Last - Truck Stop Hooker AU with hooker!Steve and flashy billionaire, Tony Stark. Up to chapter four! (I swear I haven't given up on this) Held Remix - A rewrite of Held with Tony as the sub and Steve as the Dom. Up to chapter twenty-nine. Ashy and I are making a point of getting our chaptered version of Held edited and posted, and then we're cracking on with Remix. We may or may not do both seasons, but we're at least going to finish out S1.

Beta Queue:

Bro Code -  This is one of my 2023 MTH fics Rented Family - I started this one in like 2019 and finally finished it. It's a no-powers Ults AU where Tony is dying of his (canon!) brain cancer and Steve is a security specialist/bodyguard who Tony hires to be around while he dies. Yay for finishing old wips!

Wips:

This wiplist is basically just going to be my list of "I'll be sad if I never finish them" fics I mentioned above. I have no plans to stop writing fic entirely, but I'm definitely slowing down, and I want to focus on the stuff that will feel really good to have done so I don't ever leave myself or you guys hanging!

1) Held edit (the chaptered repost) and Held Remix (at least S1). @ashes0909 and I are picking away at it, but between three kids, two jobs, and two timezones, it's slow af. But we'll get there.

2) My other 2023 MTH fic, older professor Tony and young flirty student Steve for @sabrecmc pod bid. It's maybe a third done.

3) My contribution to the Stony Dating Sim game from MTH 2024 (I'm doing Ults Tony as a love interest. If you want to know more, check out @stevetonydatingsim).

4) My Stony Twilight AU. I posted a snippet of it here a long time ago and I've been picking at it ever since. It's at 33k and probably about halfway done.

5) Fangbait 3. My Fangbait series was always intended to have three parts. Two are up already. The third was on hiatus for a long time, but I just abruptly wrote 80% of it last night, so once I get the sex scenes (and a title oh no) done, she'll be good to go!

6) Yet I Will Try the Last has been waiting for waaay too long for an update and I feel really bad about it. It was the one time I experimented with posting an unfinished WIP (mostly because it started as a oneshot and then I started adding to it) and I regretti spaghetti every day that I did that lol. I. Have. Not. Given. Up. I have the outline for the rest, I know what I want to do, I just need to do it.

7) Brooklyn is a canon divergence from right after Avengers 2012 where Stony travels on a modified quinjet together, cleaning up the chitauri weapon's market. It's maybe a third to a half done? Another one I started a loooong time ago and never got my steam back with, but I would really like to. I really like that one.

8) A Venom/Eddie fic from right after the first movie. It's not too long and it's probably also about halfway done, so I believe in myself. It's called Parasite.

9) A collab started a few years ago that I'm not going to out here in case my collab partner doesn't want to do it anymore, but we did a fair bit of it so I'd love to get it done.

Writing comes in little spurts, but I have to pick and choose between my hobbies now, so I just have less time and energy to spend on one thing. I've been trying to read more to fuel the words! I also have OG stuff I'm working on, but that's just as slow as the other stuff lol. I miss you guys! Hope y'all are doing well. (Happy Easter if you celebrate!)

Thanks as always for reading! <3

[stormyoceans]

random thoughts and recollections about the jimmysea and pondphuwin fanmeet in rome!!!!!!!!

WARNING. this is just a ridiculous amount of obnoxious ramblings by yours truly with basically no pictures whatsoever because 1) im terrible at taking them, 2) my phone is old and has terrible quality, 3) even when @petrichoraline so kindly offered me her spare phone to take some decent photos and videos i almost yeeted it across the room in the midst of things, so. yeah, just be aware these are a lot of boring words ;;;;;;;;

ANYWAY. let's get into it!!!!!!!

JIMMYSEA PHOTO SESSION

putting the jimmysea photo session LITERALLY FIRST THING FIRST sure was a choice and not a good one for my heart which clearly shows in my picture with them because i look like a deer caught in headlights (im not subjecting y'all to my face but trust me on this i was SHAKING)

with the way the queue and the room were set up i feel like it was so much easier to look at and make eye contact with sea rather than jimmy, so at the end i whipped around to thank jimmy too and i think i automatically tried to wai to both of them, which i hope wasn't inappropriate ;;;;;;;;;; in my defense everything that was going on in my head in that moment was FUCK FUCK FUCK THEY'RE ACTUALLY REAL AND SO HANDSOME FUCK

also i had no pose in mind and i ended up panicking ;;;;;;;;

(more ramblings under the cut)

PONDPHUWIN Q&A PANEL

i bought the cheapest pass for them at the last second so i was sitting very far in the back during their panel and yet i could still see pond's jawline from all the way over there like i swear that shit is so sharp it could cut glass

i keep forgetting just how young phuwin actually is because he both looks and sounds so mature and confident and suave it's honestly insane

although one of the games was like. one of them had to be blindfolded and try to guess which pose the other was making just by touching them, and at the very beginning when pond put the blindfold on phuwin kept running away from him which was both so funny and cute

also the host kept putting up numbers with his hand and asking 'how many are these' to a blindfolded pond and one of those times pond answered by going 🤟 and i was like POND GOD DAMMIT

btw phuwin invited everyone to the GMM building so jot that down. if anyone gets there and securities asks you something y'all can blame him now (jk)

phuwin's favorite scene in we are is the art room scene with a sleeping phum in episode 11, while pond's is the pool scene always in episode 11. THE TASTE THE VISION THE FLAVOR TRULY MEN AFTER MY OWN HEART

JIMMYSEA Q&A PANEL

i was sitting in the second row for the jimmysea panel so i could catch so many small moments i absolutely loved such as:

they had to press a buzzer for questions and they always did that together, with jimmy's hand being on top of sea's like 5 times out of 6

jimmy poured some water for both himself and sea and he made sure that sea drank some

there was a game with balloons where the two sides of the audience were supposed to get the balloons to the back and then bring them back to the boys, and we failed spectacularly on jimmy's side (HE FELT SO BETRAYED IM SO SORRY BBY), so when the balloon got to sea very quickly he pushed it back towards the audience to buy jimmy's some time

both p'tha and p'aof were actually sitting next to the audience on my side of the room watching jimmysea panel and in my head i was like EXCUSE ME SIRS CAN WE TALK [slides monopoly money towards p'tha for a new jimmysea series] [has WORDS with p'aof]

so the way questions worked was like. they had to press a buzzer and after that a spinning wheel with different colors would come up on screen and on whichever color it stopped on they had to pick a piece of paper of that same color with a random question written on it. during one of the spins, the wheel landed on yellow and jimmy picked one of the papers, but i think because of the lighting it actually looked green from the audience's pov, so everyone was screaming 'that's green'. however jimmy insisted that it was yellow, and that what we were saying was yellow was actually orange (the host was agreeing with jimmy but sea was agreeing with us so im still a bit confused on the matter sfjksgfj). then the host said 'we're still gonna do this one' (as in the yellow/green one that jimmy had already picked) but jimmy went 'two questions' and picked one of the yellow/orange ones too, so the host just turned towards the organizers like well since he's the one who said so. JIMMY JITARAPHOL TRULY A MAN OF THE PEOPLE (but also please stop giving nomnoms reasons to have beef with the color orange sfjkshfksg)

actual thing that happened:

host: describe each other in 3 words

jimmy: very cute creature. he's my cat

sea: my good boy

me: WHAT THE FUCK AM I EVEN WITNESSING RN

jimmy said he would like to play a detective in a future series and i almost vibrated out of my seat like YES PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD YES THAT'S A MAN AFTER MY OWN HEART HE KNOWS WHAT'S UP P'THA ARE YOU HEARING THAT PLEASE MAKE IT HAPPEN I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS I COULD GIVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!! sea said he wants to play a dentist but he actually meant dermatologist, he just messed up the word, and jimmy said that if we want him to be a dentist as well we should give him six more years sfjksjksf

at one point sea said 'mamma mia' and i burst out laughing so hard that's when i almost flung @petrichoraline's phone across the room (and that's when i also decided it was just better for everyone involved if i didn't try to take pictures or record stuff ;;;;;;;;;)

they also had to act out some words and when the host said 'sleep' sea was like 'i thought he (jimmy) would point at me' SON WHY ARE YOU CALLING YOUR OWN ASS OUT ✋😭 (and of course jimmy took the chance to point out that sea did in fact sleep right before the panel)

when the host said the word 'love' sea pointed at jimmy and jimmy pointed at the audience and then they were both quick at mimicking each other (so jimmy also pointed at sea, and sea also pointed at the audience)

SEA IS SUCH A GOOD SINGER AND JIMMY GOT SO MUCH BETTER TOO I WILL GENUINELY ACCEPT NO SLANDER TOWARDS THEM WHEN IT COMES TO SINGING AFTER THIS FANMEET

it was established that the most important words in italian are 1) mamma (mom), 2) pasta, 3) pizza, 4) ti amo (i love you). hard to disagree with that tbh

i think after this fanmeet i've really got to give it to jimmy and admit he actually might be an extrovert because he was just soooooooo ridiculously charming and witty and quick on his feet when it came to find funny answers and deal with some sound issue during his song like i really do think he shines when he's around people

i think you can tell sea is definitely more reserved compared to jimmy but what he doesn't have in expansiveness he makes it up with being so incredibly endearing like he really is just SO. DAMN. CUTE. (even if he tried to give me a heart attack by having his arms out for the fanmeet PUT THOSE GUNS AWAY SIR)

AUTOGRAPH SESSION

had a chance to get a closer look to pond and phuwin when they all walked inside the room and im trying to say this in a way that doesn't make me sound like an insane creep but like. the sheer amount of FACE pond has. i've seen him with my own two eyes and i still can't believe that's a real human being just going around his life. WITH THAT FACE. kinda understand now why greeks decided that the human form was the most important subject for artistic endeavour because jesus. that man really is sculpted by the gods

all that being said, i think the one whose pictures don't give him justice is sea. he is just so ridiculously handsome in real life and has the most beautiful smile i've ever seen i kinda. lost it a little about it ;;;;;;;

i think it's one of the reasons i suddenly got even more nervous and ended up messing up so badly ;;;;; i had this entire speech in my head about vice versa but i was so worried about holding up the line and the fact that everyone had even small gifts for them while i was empty handed and they were just. SO MUCH. so i just said 'hiiloveyouthankyou' to both of them and rushed away ;;;;;;;;; and i regret it so much because i think sea was trying to say something but after that he just went 'oh. love you too. bye' IM SO SFJKSHFKSGFJGSJDFJDK STUPID

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

pondphuwin and jimmysea give off such different vibes and energies imho, at least during panels, like idk how to explain it but they truly feel like the cool kids and their silly goose uncles (and im saying this in the most loving way)

so. i guess this is the moment where i get a bit emotional about jimmysea. like i know im very biased but at the same time im also very aware that what we get to see of them is always somewhat performative, and yet. if before there was a part of me that was like 'this is gonna be a reality check and a reminder that i don't do parasocial relationships', that got pretty much crushed after this fanmeet. jimmysea genuinely look like the loveliest darlingest sweetest softest most precious boys who always make sure to thank everyone for getting where they are now. like my heart is so full of love for them i honestly don't know what else to say rn

if i have to find one negative thing (aside my blundering of the autograph session so badly) is the vice versa erasure. like both jimmy and sea had a solo song and that would have been the perfect opportunity for 'have i found' or 'by my side' but of course that didn't happen. one of the questions was 'what was your favorite scene to film' and they just assumed it was about last twilight. this is not me blaming them btw, because even when the fanmade video for them was played it only had last twilight scenes and moments so like. it's obvious they would think everyone just cares about last twilight. which is why i regret the autograph session so much and im sad im not the type of person who can just shout 'what about a vice versa scene!!!!!!' from the audience 🥲

this is also why i ended up buying the italian version of the vice versa novel btw BECAUSE IM NOTHING IF NOT A WEAK ASS PETTY HOE

my biggest warmest thank you goes to @petrichoraline who was just so endlessly patient and supportive and sweet and nice through it all, idk what would i have done without her. i also don't really have the words to properly express myself but like. I LOVE HER SOSOSOSOOSOSOOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!

a big thank you and sorry also goes to @puppy-phum who is just sooooo lovely. i feel bad because i wasn't there for her as much as i wished to but im grateful we went through the photo and autograph sessions together. I LOVE HER SOOOOOOOOO MUCH TOO!!!!!!!!!!!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Sorry if you've already talked about this but I just found your blog and I have a question. I basically stopped watching the show and Gang of Secrets but I'd like to know your thoughts on how the show handles secret identities?

Personally I really like secret identites as a trope and the way you can use it to make different character dynamics, and I feel like the show underutilizes it at best and at worst seem actively annoyed by the constraint they gave themselves.

Like this is somehow a show where when Alya and Nino found out each other's identities, it directly contributed to them each getting taken out in Heroes' Day, and when Marianne got Akumatized she instantly spilled the Guardian's existence, and both time the two leads have had identity reveals it lead to a world-destroying catastrophe, and yet half the fandom and seemingly the writers act like it's at most and inconvenience?

Let me know if I'm off or seasons 4 and later do anything to contradict me but it was one of my issues at least and I felt like there were so many fun things they could have done with the set up. Sorry again if this is too long/rambly or whatever lol

Long asks are fine! Heavens knows I tend to make long posts. It's why I use the queue instead of just posting things as I get them.

Anyway, secret identities and identity shenanigans are the things that brought me to this show. They're nothing new in superhero setups, but most shows in this genre have the identity stuff as more of a fun bonus element than the main focus. The idea of a show that was more centered around these concepts via a romance plot sounded like a blast!

It has not been a blast.

The main problem with the identity stuff is that the show's guiding rule seems to be maintaining the secret identities at all cost because a reveal means no more love square and, at this point, it's pretty clear that thy're going to drag the love square out until the bitter end. This means that they actively avoid anything which puts them into a position to push a reveal. The problem with that is that the love square isn't some cute running gag that has no real impact on the plot. The love square is the show's main focus, so you cannot treat it the way you normally treat an identity shenanigans setup.

To give an example for contrast, the show Phineas and Ferb has a running gag involving the titular characters' pet platypus Perry. Unbeknownst to the boys, Perry is a secret agent who saves the world on a regular basis while his "owners" remain oblivious to the fact that Perry is anything more than a normal pet platypus. It's a good running gag because there's no reason why the boys need to find out Perry's secret. There is no overarching plot that's in limbo until this moment happens. It's just a silly thing that could be completely removed from the show without any major impacts.

Consider the difference between that and the love square. You remove the love square and you have a wildly different show because the love square isn't a gag, it's a plot and plots need to progress to feel meaningful. Marinette and Adrien should be growing closer on at least one side of the masks and they should be doing so in a way that makes it feel like the reveal is drawing ever closer.

For example, the fact that they're now dating should be a source of tension. The last time these two dated someone, they both ended up single due to the lies that come with a secret identity. But while Lukanette and Adrigami both lasted a few weeks at most, Adrienette got a whole season without a single identity-based conflict because acknowledging the identity conflict means progress on the reveal and we can't have that because the reveal is apparently being saved for the end of the show.

We don't even get much in the way of developing their relationship because letting them grow closer in a meaningful way means knowing more about each other which, once again, means that a reveal becomes inevitable. This is probably why we got the Derision retcon where Marinette suddenly couldn't talk to Adrien while dating him. No talking means no growing meaningfully closer means no reveal.

It's incredibly frustrating because reveal plots simply aren't structured to be long running plots. This is why most identity shenanigans media either focuses on the reveal and ends up relatively short (ex: the movie You Got Mail) or does the running gag thing where the identity stuff is a source of comedy, but the actual plot is something else that would technically work perfectly fine even if you removed the identity hi-jinx (ex: the anime Spy X Family).

When it comes to the love square, my preference is to take the first option and make it resolve within the first few seasons, but if we must draw it out until the show's end, then I would make all of the following changes to turn the square from a serious plot to more of a running gag:

Do NOT let Chat Noir confess. Instead, make it that he's always setting up romantic dates or confessions for Ladybug that end up stopped because of an akuma or fans or whatever. This would make Marinette's ongoing failures feel more balanced as they're both doing the same thing. It would also turn the confession into more of a comedy element instead of a dramatic one.

Focus more on plot elements unrelated to the love square, distracting the audience from the romance with shinny subplots like a Lila take down.

Don't have the secret identities be a source of conflict. Have Chat Noir totally uninterested in a reveal.

Have Hawkmoth be someone other than Gabriel. The less serious the show's basic setup, the less serious audiences will expect it to be

Of course, all of those are pretty massive changes to the show's basic setup, which is why I say they should have just let the reveal happen. Then they could have actually let all sorts of fun moments happen as we build to the reveal because it's no longer a thing that they writers have to avoid. As someone who has written multiple stories with a reveal, the fun really is planning it all out so that the tension and/or the comedy builds and builds to a dramatic crescendo where everything feels oh so satisfying.

When you live in fear of the reveal and awkwardly shoehorn things in, you get boring things like Gabriel's identity being leaked from a random play, Marinette's crush being revealed by freaking Andre, and Nino's identity reveal leading to nothing interesting because it can't because then we'd be drawing closer to a love square reveal and, well, you know the drill. It's also why you get messed up crappy episodes like Chat Blanc and Ephemeral. Episodes that are just there to prove that the reveal is a bad thing you shouldn't want!

There actually is solid logic as to why a reveal might not be the best move, but we don't even get to see that discussed. Chat Noir just pushes for a reveal because love while Ladybug stays focused on risk mitigation and it's so boring because a good show would let them have an honest discussion of the risks verses the rewards to help drive the conflict leading towards a reveal as a lot of the rewards are only realized if these two already know each other, which is a great tension build! But we can't build tension like that because then you'd be letting them have actual team dynamics where they talk about things and talking about things means bonding which means a build up to reveal and I think you know the drill by now...

This was a bit of a ramble, but hopefully it addressed your question! This is a broad topic that has a lot of ground to cover, so feel free to clarify if you wanted my thoughts on something else. I love identity reveals, so I am happy to babble about them. There's nothing more satisfying then setting up a good one, even if it takes tens of thousands of words to make it hit just right!

[burning-academia-if]

Morningsssssss!!! (If it's even morning for you.. sure k.. way to assume shit Liz 🤦‍♀️)

I hope you had a very very lovely weekend.

I'm so glad to see all these notifications pop up from you! Even the ones where i know you're gonna make me regret romancing Rooks stubborn ass!

Why do i always go for the tough ROs?? Is it masochism..prolly.

I will still probably come and shout in your asks anyway about how sad you make me (and how much i love it)

Onto my ask. Sorry. I ramble you know this by now. 🫣

School formal time!!!! ✨️ not at all because i got roped in to plan the 7th grade formal at all!

But if MC was too afraid of rejection to ask out an RO to a school dance to their face and instead just slipped them a sweet note with a yes no check box and just walked away right after giving it to them. What would they do?

(Queue lars throwing my fucking note away) 😭😒

It is the opposite of morning for me actually, I'm about to go to bed! Also yeah, this weekend was unexpectedly busy lol. I'm surprised I managed to keep up with everything! Also this is giving BA: teen drama edition so let's pretend this is high school

Rook: He notices you slipped something to him, and he knows what it is. He waits until he's alone to open it up, frowning to himself. Is it better to lie and say he lost it? He can't imagine rejecting you, but he can't imagine this either. He takes a breath and crumples it up. When he sees you next, he apologizes for 'losing it' and asks what was in it, knowing you're too shy to answer

Beck: He also knows what it is, but he waits for the right time to give it back to you. He writes a big 'X' on 'yes' and catches you at a time the both you will be alone. He hands it back, voice soft, "I'll pick you up at 6?" His eyes are twinkling

Rhea: When she sees what it is, she doesn't want to wait. She quickly scribbles in the yes box and rushes after you. When she sees you, she quickly calls out to you, and takes your hand. She presses the note into it, and gives you a bright smile. "I'd love to go to the dance with you."

Zoe: This catches them off guard, but they find it really cute? They're nervous all day, but in a giddy kind of way, and by the time they finally meet up with you their nerves are frayed. They manage to get it together enough to mark yes and slip it back into your locker

Lars: He frowns at it, before folding it back up and putting it back in his bag. When he sees you next he unfolds it and shows it back to you, unmarked. "Really, a note?" When you try to stammer your way out of it, he crumbles it up. "You have better choices then a burn out. If you're serious though, ask me later to my face."

???: They laugh softly to themselves when they see the note. Later, when you're walking down the hall, you feel a tug as they pull you into an empty classroom, like a secret rendezvous. They're so close to you, close enough to slip the note into your bag or your pocket. "I thought I'd return this." They pull away and walk back out into the hall. When you pull at the note, you see the 'yes' has been filled with a heart.

[cuchufletapl]

Aight, here's my artist alley haul from Manga Barcelona. (You can tell it's been a while since I could go to a con this size because I went a bit overboard.)

To avoid getting too repetitive and redundant, let's do a blanket statement that I think all these artworks are fantastic and I really like them.

In the order I remember getting them:

A map of folkloric and mythological creatures of Catalonia by Fifu (@/fifu_cartoonist on Twitter, Instagram). Pretty appropiate that this was my first purchase, now that I think about it, since I travelled all the way to Barcelona and all that.

Various prints of Bakugou Katsuki, Finn the Human, Alphonse Elric, and a fox (that I think is original art? I just thought it looked cool) and a sticker of Midoriya Izuku. By Maribel Conejero (@/maribelconejeroart on Instagram.) Love, love this style. I gasped when I saw Al.

Witch Hat Atelier stickers of Olruggio, Coco, and Qifrey! I didn't actually buy these. Milky, the artist, was giving them out at the queue for Kamome Shirahama's Q&A. They're so, so cute, and it was such a nice gesture! Please give him a follow and check out his store. He's @/milkytrickster on Instagram and Twitter.

Arcane print of Vi, Jinx, and Isha by Toni Caballero (@/tonicaballeroart on Insta; @/ToniCabArt on Twitter). Gorgeus! There was a lot of Arcane fanart this year (for obvious reasons) and I had to hold myself back from buying far more than I should, but I couldn't not get this one.

Arcane print of Ekko and a Dungeon Meshi sticker of Marcille Donato by Dani Bermudez (@/senseidani on Twitter, Instagram, Bsky). I was on the hunt for an Ekko fanart and this one called out to me from across the aisle. Marcille was a last-second decision but look at her, she's so cute.

On the left, an A3 print of a dungeon that Laurielle drew over a month with input from people on Twitter; I've wanted this piece for ages and I finally got it! (@/lauriellemaven on Twitter, Instagram, Bsky; @/Laurielle on Mastodon.)

On the right, a novel about a paranormal detective by Sergio S. Morán (@/ehtio on Twitter, Bsky; @/sergiosmoran on Instagram). It's only available in Spanish, but I really recommend the first volume of this series, El dios asesinado en el servicio de caballeros.

(I put them together because they were at the same stand and because they make the fantasy webcomic El Vosque together.)

I know you recognise this little guy. Well, there's a comic compilation! It's also published in Spanish by Fandogamia Editorial, but you can get it in English from the artist directly (like I did). She's @mhuyo on Twitter, Bsky; @mhuyoportfolio on Tumblr; @/mhuyocomics on Instagram.

A5 prints of Sasuke and Naruto by Guillem Casasola (@/drawill_art on Twitter, Instagram). I hadn't originally planned to get anything Naruto related, but then my gaze fell over these two, together on the same row, and I was like. Well, the universe has spoken.

Witch Hat Atelier mini print of orufrey. Utterly beautiful, not much more to say. Captivated me from above a sea of heads. By Alexael (@/alexaelartworks on Twitter, Instagram, Bsky, TikTok.)

I thought I was done for the weekend and then I saw this at a distance. I've actually reblogged this one before, it stuck on my mind because c'mon!!! Chappell Roan as an 80's bishoujo and she looks stunning!!! So I had promised myself not to, but I made one last purchase. By Pau and Alex (@hanavbara on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Tumblr).

[two-reflections]

Been ill for the past week. Still not doing great now. (More info below.) But whatever, I'm back, though I'd be surprised if anyone noticed I wasn't around thanks to my queue. 😅

Haven't written anything for MMM because I haven't been awake for long enough each day to do much writing aside from bits for the upcoming exchange. I suppose I'm awake enough now to do a quick story audit, though. Click the Read More to see what I'm working on, and how I'm doing.

Writing Audit:

Aside from the first, these are vaguely in order of completeness/when they're likely to be posted.

TOP PRIORITY - Fic for the summer exchange. I have been doing some reading, and have put together an outline. I'm excited about this one, I really hope my giftee will like it. The problem? If I stick to this outline, the story will be several chapters long, and I'm probably not well enough to write all of it before the deadline. I wonder if it's acceptable to only put up a chapter or two of a gift exchange fic and finish it over the next few months?

Of Steel and Flesh - The next chapter was largely written back in January after the game that inspired this story, but as a consequence, it feels a bit too much like a TTRPG summary... It needs to be fleshed out more. Also, should it be split into two chapters? Unfortunately, while I love this story, it probably takes me the most effort to write, so it has been hard to work on recently. (Update the next day - Put out a chapter of this! Took me weeks to get it together.)

Alpha Legion short - I have a Alpha Legion short I threw together for an MMM post a while ago but I didn't post it because it was more silly than hot. My concern with this one is that I could easily see it becoming something much longer, like Iron Will, Crimson Whispers did. I don't have the space for another long project now, so I've been ignoring this one for a while. But I like it, and it shouldn't take too long to edit it...

Even in Death - The final chapter is basically complete, I just need to decide if I'm moving one section earlier so all the flashbacks will be in chronological order or if I should leave it as it is so there is a happier flashback following a sadder one. Once that's done, I can edit and post it.

Vulkan x Roboute short - Started outlining something for a friend. The pairing is cute and I want to make her something nice involving her OTP. This one will take me some research, though, so it probably won't be ready until after July. (Update - I guess I have to put on my clown makeup now, because I was reading The Art of War for unrelated reasons and ended up YOLOing this one.)

July MMM - One of the discord servers I'm in has been very keen on MMM recently. We're choosing a couple of prompts each month. Problem is, I recently wrote two stories that were a bit similar to July's prompts ("It's raining outside" is a thing in Feel for It, "knives and blood" was a thing in Afterparty). I've got something ready for it, though. Just need to wait til next Monday to post it.

Techmarine Story - This one is still in EARLY days. It doesn't even have a complete outline, just like 7-8k words in disconnected sections. I think I may need to severely narrow the scope of this one and make it either a oneshot or 3-6 short chapters. But I can't think about it anytime soon now I've signed up to a fic exchange.

Salamander Slice-of-Life Romance - My comfort project. It's coming along bit by bit, I probably add about 1k words to it a month. Still, I'm not in any sort of hurry to finish it. This is the one I really don't think anyone but me will ever want, haha. It's literally just an Astartes' first year or two on the job in a reserve company. Lots of mundanity, city life, squad dynamics, smaller deployments, and a romance with his brander-priest. I love it. It'll be ready when it's ready.

How I Am:

Warning, this is kind of a rant.

I miss being well. I was SO prolific just a month ago, before I got Covid again and had to go off my narcolepsy meds for an unrelated reason.

Even mild Covid sucks, but untreated narcolepsy is fucking shite. I've been on meds since I was 19, so I forgot how disabling it is. It felt less crushing before I was diagnosed, but at that point, that was the only way I had ever lived. Now, I've spent eleven years without the constant sleep attacks, and I can't remember how I used to manage this. (Probably badly since I ended up doing a full sleep study, lol.) It feels like I'm out of practice, if that makes sense? This whole thing has really thrown me for a loop.

Aside from writing, I haven't been painting much because I fall asleep when I sit still for more than a few minutes. Coffee helps, but I can only have one a day, so I'll drink my one coffee and then get a decent hour or two of painting at most before I'm back to being a bit useless. That may sound like a lot, but I'm a very slow painter. So, that's no fun.

I really don't want to just complain. My life is great, I'm very lucky to have a lovely spouse and not to be in a position where my narcolepsy could endanger my job or leave me homeless. I'm also lucky to be in the UK, where my diagnosis was free and I could actually afford eleven years of treatment without difficulty. But, fuck me, I want to be able to do normal human things again without falling asleep. This isn't forever, I'm off them for a good reason, but it may be a long time before I can go back on.

Ending on a happy note:

Hopefully, two friends and I will get to play Blood Bowl soon. She has played the digital version, he used to play but hasn't played for decades, and I've never played at all, so it should be a lot of fun. Plus, if there's three of us, whoever isn't playing can sub in for me if I fall asleep, haha.

[caluski]

If you were cooking for a dinner party (and money/space is not a problem), what would you cook? Would you make a playlist? Or maybe put some flowers on the table?

Ah I wishhhhhh I had more time to get into writing a long answer rn instead of getting ready for work bc I love planning imaginary parties so much........ But since money wouldn't be an issue, I'd definitely make baked salmon as main entrée. Just plain salmon I think, with tomatoes most importantly, but also other veggies that taste good baked on their own bc I think it's always fun to put up a plate where guests can just grab whichever veggie they like, as opposed to like... Them being mixed together, so u just grab a spoonful and then someone has to pick out something that they don't like (I always have that issue with onions...). Definitely a dressing on the side, maybe like a herbal/dill one since that goes well with salmon.

And then as an alternative meal, I think I'd serve a huge bowl of tagliatelle (it's such a dinner party pasta!!!) but sauce on the side (I feel like that's always more considerate of guests preference) , probably something with spinach and chicken and mushrooms? Id definitely have to think about what my guests like, and then think of something they'd enjoy too, obviously.... But I think I'd avoid meat in general. Definitely as little dairy as possible, too, so people don't feel too heavy after the meal. Nothing too spicy, either (unless I'm the only one in the company that doesn't like it).

And ah, obviously would prepare a bit of soup, too. I guess that depends on the season, but a good one is always green pea cream soup. It tends to feel a bit too bland in excess, but in small servings it's absolutely delicious, and so perfectly warm for the tummy. Maybe with croutons? I'm not sure.

And when it comes to dessert, that also depends on what my guests would enjoy bc I don't really eat cakes or whatever. If I really don't have the time/money limit, i think I'd like to try making the little tapioca puddings! I think they're fun and delicious, especially if I could serve them in like large shot/gazpacho glasses. Maybe alternate between fruity fillings at the bottom, perhaps cherry, raspberry, bilberry....

I think when it comes to alcohol, id make it vodka/beer-free :) if it's like my dream party then it would be probably a celebration of maybe a big promotion I'd get, or getting engaged, maybe welcome party to an apartment of my own.... And idk i just always found that vodka and beer don't really work with it you know? I'd serve wine. MAYBE coctails if there's space to make them (I guess then a little vodka would be okay but like, you know, no pure shots) bc it would be so much fun to make mojitos or margaritas for my loved ones. Everything in the fanciest glasses I could afford, looking lovely, stocked up on ice and slices of lemon on the rim.... Obviously non alcoholic drinks too, I think that goes without saying.

When it comes to music, i have my love and food playlist always ready to go :-) by now it's I think 13 hours long though, so I'd queue my favorite songs, like the more romantic/jazzy ones and avoid the tracks that are too sad. But with decor i am so so so bad 😭 so I'd probably just settle for something simple, like candle sticks in a cute color sticked into the two holders I bought on sale a while ago, and with flowers I'd probably end up asking for advice my mom or sister since they're so much better at this than I am.... Oh, I love how many different napkins they are in home decor stores tho, and I never get a chance to buy them and use them!!!! Sometimes they're like in rainbows or with kittens and puppies or with cute messages like "have a great day" and such..... I even bought a pack once, with a bus that was full of puppies, it was soooooo adorable and SO much more fun than the regular plain white/cream colored napkins. Even if they are cheaper :/ but again, this is like a big occasion so I'd splurge a little.

[cookinguptales]

okay so it's about a week until I leave the country for over a month. I am dutifully filling up my queue so y'all will stay entertained while I am gone, but I should probably state for the record that I may not be easy to get ahold of while I'm gone. if you really want me to see something, send me a tumblr chat/ask so it'll show up in a separate inbox from my notifications.

I'll probably post about some travel stuff here, if I'm not too tired, but I suspect the lion's share will end up on twitter and especially instagram. if you would like to see travel posts, I am @iletaitunefois on twitter and @cookinguptales on IG.

if you do not want to see travel posts, please block '#the travel bug'.

I'm also gonna offer up postcards again. I'm not going to make any promises because I don't know how easy it'll be for me to find time/post offices everywhere I go in Japan -- and also because I may be cursed; I think like only half of my Christmas cards actually made their way to their destinations last year.

But! If you do want a postcard, send me a private message and I'll add you to my list. If you have any special requests (locations, nature, cityscapes, cute characters, whatever) lmk and I can see if I can make that work, but again, no promises. I usually keep track of nearby post offices in Japan because they're good places for foreigners to withdraw money, but like. I'm also not gonna take a ton of time out of my trip to find a post office, y'know? Certain legs of the trip will probably be easier than others for that.

FINALLY, if you want to know more about the trip before you decide to follow my IG or ask for a postcard (or, if like me, you are simply nosy) here's a vague overview of the trip:

The first couple weeks of the trip, I'll actually be on the ocean. There's this thing that cruise lines do called "repositioning cruises" where they literally just sail across the ocean. This is so a cruise company can use a ship in a different location, generally. Like if they usually use a boat in the Caribbean, but during another time of the year want to use it in the Pacific, they still need to get it over there. And why not let people ride it during the journey?

The trip is really more pragmatic than it is designed for tourists, though, so they tend to be very cheap. They're long, there aren't a lot of stops, they tend to be during unpopular travel times... So long story short, we can take a two week cruise to Japan for like... half the cost of a plane ticket to Japan. And my mother and I can work from wherever and my father and my aunt are retired, so. We'll just. be in the Pacific Ocean for two weeks. lmao

(I've moved around my work schedule so I probably won't have to do much work in Japan, but I'll have to work on the boat. ;;)

There will be one stop at the beginning of the trip (Alaska) and one at the end (Hokkaido!!!!!) so that'll be fun! But for the most part, I will mostly be working and writing and vegging out on the boat. I'm downloading a lot of tv now because boats tend to have minimal internet. lmao

(And don't worry, we chose a boat that has vax and testing requirements! Which... will probably make it safer than SEPTA here in Philly...)

Once we're in Japan, though, we're really gonna be putting our JR passes to the test. Here's a not exhaustive list of places we're going and things we're doing, in no particular order. (I... tend not to let people know exactly where I am until I've left that place lmao.)

Tokyo (obviously)

Kyoto

Osaka

Nara (to see the shosoin)

Yamagata

Two different onsen towns

Yokohama

Takarazuka 😎 iykyk

Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea

Wakayama

Kawagoe

Maybe Hakone depending on weather

various Halloween-themed meals in Tokyo and Halloween itself in Dotonbori

several very sacred mountains to learn about shugendo

castles!! and more shrines and temples than you can shake a stick at

Asahi tour (for dad haha)

sumo stable tour (also for dad)

Pokemon stuff (.... also for dad lmao)

seein some cute animals

a lot of interesting food!!!

tbh we're going to be exhausted, but there's a lot of train travel and easy days in there so we can rest then. (dad and I both love trains lmao) Dad actually hurt himself about a month ago, so I took out some of the stuff I was planning that involved more walking (like the old pilgrimage route in Wakayama, climbing Nokogiriyama, and the monkey park in Jigokudani) so that'll also prevent me from overdoing it too much.

part of me is like "wow this is too much you should scale back and save responsibly" but a lot of my trip is gonna be subsidized by my family in return for translating for them all and arranging everything, and we're gonna save money in lodging and such, so I'm just. gonna tell my brain to shut up and enjoy living before we die lmao.

(when you grew up really poor, it can be kind of hard to let go and allow yourself to enjoy nice things when you're older and more stable financially lmao. but I'm getting better at it!)

also, I'm gonna bring Glen! my little Tabikaeru frog! we'll go to Kusatsu Onsen together lmao.

[quinloki]

omg I'm like actually a little crazy over this like I'm still thinking about it it's still in my brain help

omg just imagine none of the brothers will get in between it, but they start slowly doing things to encourage whichever brother they support more. or they go the way of ace/luffy and accidently cockblock (or purposefully in Izou's case bc he's a little shit)

OMG AND AFTER THE DREAM YOURE AVOIDING ALL THREE and they pick up on it bc they're not dumb and ace is the first one to come to you all sad like did I do something wrong and hes so sad and you break down and tell him and he's like ew but fair and somehow the other two overhear or something (convienient vent trope prolly) and so they're like trying to figure out how to approach it bc they're both too gentlemanly to just come straight up and say wanna fuck? and also there is always brothers around thatch clings to marco and luffy clings to sabo so it's just like… lingering touches or glances and you're all flustered from it and finally it's like damn gotta get laid so you go on tinder or hit the bar up with friends

and you got all dressed up and luffy/deuce saw you and were like uh??? and report in to marco/sabo and then just a group of the bros show up at the bar and cockblock and that's the snapping point or something

idk I gotta do some chores so I may have more thoughts about this but my brain is going wild with this jfc I'm so bad at putting it into words tho but I had to share

PURPOSEFULLY IN IZOU'S CASE CAUSE HE'S A LITTLE SHIT

I am dying XD It's so true though.

He thinks you're cute too, and he's getting to a point that if Marco or Sabo don't pipe up, he will, and despite the beauty and grace he has no desire to beat around the proverbial bush. (heck this got long)

And no convenient vent trope, I imagine all three were grumbling about it and Ace was like "Screw this I'm going to ask." And Marco and Sabo kind of want to stop him, but they don't, and they're SHAMELESSLY eavesdropping in the hallway.

And Thatch is definitely accidentally getting in the way like Ace and Luffy (and sometimes cause Izou sends him off toward Marco >.> )

And I think maybe you don't decide to go blow off steam, so much as you get invited. Girls' night out or something, queue Nami and Vivi and maybe a couple more, and you head out.

Thatch works at the bar, and you didn't realize that. He just sends a text to Marco, cause he knows that he'd said something about wanting to take you out to help you get out of the house, and there's nothing behind Thatch's text, just a sort of "good job getting her out of the house" kind of deal.

Marco's confusion causes a quick back and forth series of texts and he's changing and running out the door before his usual demeanor kicks in enough to even slow him down and Sabo's on his heels like "You are acting suspicious, brother dear." and comes along and halfway there Marco's like

"Shit... what was I thinking? We're going to look like total creeps."

"Nah, we can just wait until she's leaving on her own an give her a ride home, her and her friends if they need it. Apologize for being over-protective, calm down old bird."

They get there in time to see trouble going into the bar (some variety of either Kizaru/Teach/Worst-Gen/etc.) and they're both just like, "Well, fuck" cause now they're honestly worried.

Nami's the target (maybe it's Arlong?) and you, cute little not-a-part-of-this-side-of-the-world person that you are, doesn't see danger - you just see some asshole who can't get a clue. So you step in on Nami's behalf, and her and Vivi are trying to keep you out of it, but one of the reasons you and Ace get on is because you're both a little more likely to punch first, diplomacy second.

You don't want to assault someone on your night out, but this douchebag isn't getting the hint. His fist goes back and you're ready to deal with him, but suddenly there's Thatch's chef's knife at his throat, Sabo's in front of you with a steel pipe, and Marco's already twisted his fist behind his back.

You've been living with these guys for a while, and you've NEVER seen them all look so angry. Even Thatch looks ready to murder someone and he struck you as a goofball.

The Entire Bar is dead silent.

Anyway, that's how you end up going to a hotel with Marco and Sabo, and becoming an enemy of some mafia or something in the story and we move from a few chapters of fluffy prep and world-building to a far more charged story >.>

[changingplumbob]

Villareal Household: Chapter 4, Part 5

Luna is having some trouble bonding with the boys so Devin is trying her best to find ways she can have positive interactions with them.

TW Deals with postpartum depression

In this part Luna gets some downtime while working from home. She and Devin have fun trying out different foods with the boys.

Quick diaper changes and I get ambitious. Will Devin be able to carry one twin in the back carrier and one in her arms, meaning only one trip to the nursery? It works! Alfred got picked up first since he was fussing but unfortunately this means Rilian gets put to bed first. Alfred is displeased.

Devin: Lullabies for everyone. Are we good

Rilian: *self soothes*

Alfred: *fusses*

Devin: Oh piccolo mio, it's okay. I know you were awake for a little bit long weren't you. I'm sorry. But now you get to have a nice long sleep

Returning to the kitchen Devin makes some meatballs to put in the fridge.

Luna wakes up feeling tense and uncomfortable. Seems she has too much milk on board. I was looking for moodlets as she slept to indicate if I had to wake her early but nothing showed up. Cancel her action queue, it's time to do some pumping.

Devin: Good morning amore

Luna: Is it

Devin: What's up Lu

Luna: I'm sore

Devin: How about you take the day off work, have a proper relax day

Luna: I'll take a day off but because I didn't finish my prep task. Maybe I could try working from home some days

Devin: You can do that?

Luna: Pretty sure

Devin: Do you want me to keep the boys out of your hair

Luna: No, I don't want to miss their milestones

Devin: They're asleep now but we could try some food with them later

Luna: That sounds fun

Devin: Yeah

Luna: It does. Hopefully it'll help

Devin: We're going to get through this Lu, I promise

For her next acting gig Devin has to research the playful emotion so bubble bath it is. She has fun splashing around despite having no rubber duck. Luna goes to garden but her workaholic nature is making her feel tense. Who is doing her work today? Are they doing it better than her?

Devin finds Luna amidst the fruit trees. She begins her jokes and silly behaviour. Luna being a childish sim loves it. Devin can see her wife is feeling tense so offers her a back massage to try help.

Luna: Thanks schatz

Devin: Anytime

Luna: I'm going to go write that paper now

Devin: Good luck

Joey: Yo what up sis

Devin: Puddles everywhere

Joey: Stupid plumbing. You guys all good

Devin: We're...

Luna: Working through it

Devin: It's an adjustment but we're doing it together

Luna: *mouths* thank you

Devin: How are you, finished that degree yet

Joey: There was a glitch, watcher is sorting it

Devin: Wake up Alfred, it's milk time

Alfred: *yawns*

Devin: You're so cute. Now mummy made this milk just for you so drink up.

Alfred: *suckles*

Devin: I wish there was something we could do to help all the gas, it must be so sore

Alfred: *burps*

Devin: Guess we could always do more of that

Devin: Wake up Rilian, your turn *puts Alfred down*

Alfred: *fusses in utter betrayal*

Rilian: *grumpy fussing*

Devin: There there piccolo mio, we have some nice milk from mummy today

While Rilian drinks up Alfred begins scooting around the edges of the cribs towards the large animal in the corner.

Alfred regards the bigfoot stuffy with interest. He's not sure what it is but he likes the pretty colours. Rilian gets the first diaper and outfit change while Alfred keeps looking about. Then Devin scoops Alfred up for the same. Eventually we're ready to try more food.

Luna: I'm still so tense

Devin: That's the workaholic in you, but work will survive a day without you

Alfred: *looks quizzically*

Luna: What shall we try then

Devin: Ice cream

Luna: Right before naps, are you sure

Devin: It's not so much about them eating as trying new things

Luna: Here goes nothing

Luna: Open up schnucki

Alfred: *whimpers*

Devin: Keep going Lu

Luna keeps working on feeding Alfred while Devin is busy with Rilian. He's unsure about ice cream.

Luna: *laughing*

Devin: What did I miss

Luna: He loved it. He's such a mess

Devin: I think Rilian is heading in the same messy direction

Devin: Amore take some photos! You can look at them at work

Luna: Can I do that?

Devin: I'm not saying blackmail them with them. If it's making you smile about them, that's another step in the right direction

Luna: You're right. Quick photos then

Devin: Smile bambinos

Luna: Now it's time to clean schnucki

All clean the boys get set down for naps on their playmats. The mats have been brought out so Luna can look at them occasionally while she works on her research paper. Lullabies music is on the stereo and soon enough the boys both fall asleep.

Devin has some time to work on her acting, she reaches level 9. Then she starts making some spaghetti for dinner. Luna hears when Alfred wakes up and sets about feeding him a bottle of milk. Rilian toots himself awake.

Luna: You go with mama

Alfred: *coos*

Devin: Down we go

Luna: Schnucki do you want some milk

Alfred: *coos quizzically*

Devin: Don't worry caro, after mummy is done she'll bring Rilian. After we eat you can try some more food

Luna: Doesn't that sound good huh

Alfred: coo ba boo

Devin: DID YOU HEAR

Luna: It sounded like-

Devin: It was a BABBLE! He babbled

Rilian: *coos*

Luna: Aw, Rilian is happy for him

Devin: Of course he is, Alfred just babbled

Luna: We must be doing something right

Rilian: *smiles*

Alfred: ca boo ba

Devin: Aw there he goes again

Luna: Well done schnucki

Devin: Here comes the pumpkin plane

Luna: Woosh, open the runway

Devin: Unsure about this too caro

Luna: Alfred likes it. Shall we do peas next

Devin: Rilian isn't sure if he should eat it or paint with it

Luna: Alfred is pulling yuck faces but he's still scoffing

Devin: Are you a little messy eater

Luna: I'm sure Alfred grabbed hold of the spoon then

Devin: You know Rilian did that earlier, let's try some finger foods

Luna: Good idea, I'll do some washing up

Both boys are unsure of banana slices, guess they need teeth first.

Luna: I think I need to pump, can you get them to bed for me schatz

Devin: I can. Say goodnight to mummy boys

Luna: Mummy loves you both, yes I do

While Luna pumps Devin gets the boys in their cribs.

Alfred: *cries* boo ba ba

Devin: I know you can't reach caro but it's time to go night night. Here you are Rilian, all snug

Alfred: *fusses*

Devin: Sleep well bambinos

Devin: You seemed better today

Luna: I felt a little better

Devin: You were actively praising the boys, laughing and smiling, I've missed that

Luna: Post partum depression is no joke

Devin: You looked it up then

Luna: Dr Google

Devin: Did that help

Luna: Knowing I'm not the only one who experiences-

Luna: -it, that helped. And your support

Devin: I'm here for whatever you need amore mio, we're partners

Luna: It might take a while but I think I'm past the worst of it

Devin: Even if you're not-

Luna: I know. But I am wanting to do something I haven't done in a while

Devin: You mean *giggles*

Previous Part ... Next Part

[justmystyles]

The variety and quality of the work you’ve put out is amazing! Do you have a preview/list of what’s in the queue or coming up? I’m so excited to read it all!

Thank you so much for your sweet message my anonymous friend! 🖤

I have 3 things I'm currently writing, and one more request queued up. I've put a little bit of each of the ones I'm currently writing below the cut.

I posted a sneak peek of NYIML last night, you can find that here.

I am working on a one shot based on an ask I was sent. It's super cute and silly, and takes place as a part of my NYIML universe.

“I’m going to go change, wanna go pick some music? My laptop should still be connected to the speakers.” You tell Harry as you hang your coat up and slide off your shoes.

Harry looks at you in shock. “You’re actually giving me unsupervised access to your music collection?” 

You had always been protective over your music collection, claiming you had a long list of guilty pleasures. Harry wanted desperately to know everything about you, including all of the music you enjoyed. He had gotten bits and pieces out of you, but he knew you were still holding back, so allowing him to go through your music library was a huge step in your relationship. 

You looked at him and shrugged with a soft smile. “I trust you, and I know you’re not going to judge me.” 

Harry stepped up to you, cupping your face in his hands and pulling you in for a kiss. “I would never. I know that this is a big step for you, and it means the world to me that you trust me.” He kisses you once more. “I love you.” 

You giggle against his lips. “I love you too, weirdo.” You moved into the bedroom to put on some sweats, and Harry picked up your laptop from the coffee table, taking a seat on the couch. 

“A whole playlist of boy band music?!” You hear Harry exclaim from the other room. “I knew you were holding out on me!” You giggled to yourself, waiting for the inevitable reaction. “What the fuck?!” 

The third is a super specific detailed, 2 part ask that has quickly developed into a full on series. This one throws back to 1D Harry. Since I was never a 1D fan, I'm excited and nervous to see how this turns out.

Before long, the boys were being ushered out to prepare for their performance. You said your goodbyes and they made their way out of your dressing room. Not too long after they left, there was another knock at your door, you opened it to find Harry on the other side. 

“Hi,” he said quietly. 

“Hey, I uh… don’t you have to go perform?” 

“Yeah, I do, I just um… well, I could tell you were kind of nervous so I just wanted to tell you that I’m sure you’re going to do great.” He said with a dimpled grin. “It can be pretty scary going out there in front of all those people…”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better about it?” You interrupt. 

“No, I mean yes, I mean,” he stuttered, looking down at his feet. “I just, I know you’re going to do great. I wanted to tell you that.” 

You felt your heart flutter at his words, when you didn’t immediately respond he looked up at you nervously. “Thanks Harry, I really appreciate it.” 

His expression relaxed, and he offered you a small smile. “I had an idea, I mean, if you want. You should come watch us from side stage. You know, kind of get an idea of what you’re in for.” 

“I would really like that Harry, thank you.” 

His smile widened and he led you through the halls to the wings of the stage. When the rest of the guys saw you they greeted you while smiling expectantly at Harry. He rolled his eyes and shrugged in response. 

Not really sure when you can expect any of this, but I promise they're coming soon!

[tetsuluvr]

𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐔'𝐒 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐆

<< chapter 2 - chapter 4 >>

i stood up, smoothing out my shirt

"thanks again for giving me a shot. i'll be here early tomorrow. promise"

"mm. ya better be"

he said it flat, but the corner of his mouth curved just enough to betray something softer

"i'll see you then, rice master"

"...what a nickname"

"you'll grow into it!"

i beam at him, eyes glinting

"i hope not..."

i smile and give him a small, two-finger salute as i walk out of onigiri miya, letting the warm coastal air spill in through the noren

osamu stood still for a moment. towel in hand, but unmoving

"that happened fast..."

aisles lined with soft yellow light. faint hum of an old speaker playing mellow j-pop. i grabbed a basket after entering our local supermarkt, humming under my breath as i paced through the familiar layout

"okay... tofu, miso paste, spring onions, chili oil... maybe gyoza if they're not criminally priced"

my phone buzzed. a message from misaki:

saki🪼 get the thick udon noodles if they got em and that spicy sesame stuff u like i'll make rice if ur cooking 💪

me r u stalking me howd u know i was here

saki🪼 ur life360 said u were at the supermarket 😋

me ohhh right oops ok! will do cya later saki🪼 liked your message

i fill my basket with the essentials before shopping for the stuff misaki requested

thankfully i had come just before everyone else got off work, else i'd have to queue in line for an unnecessary long time

as i waved the cashier goodbye, i stepped outside. the sky was washed in pale orange and lavender. many voices spilled from the beach path nearby, unclear

i didn't pay it much attention. my focus was on balancing the grocery bag in my bike basket and unlocking the chain

i wheeled my bike out from the rack and swung one leg over

i grabbed my phone and put in my earbuds, playing a song from a shared playlist of misaki and i

pushing my phone back into my pocket, i make my way back home

-

osamu moved from booth to booth, wiping down tables and straightening chairs. when he reached the booth y/n had been sitting in, he paused

her glass was still there. the condensation had faded, leaving a faint ring on the surface. he picked it up, then noticed something tucked between the cushion and the wall

a small, canvas bag. cream-colored with soft embroidered flowers along the edge. slightly wrinkled. unmistakably hers

he picked it up slowly. ran a thumb over the stitching

"clumsy"

the door swung open with a loud ding as the bell above it rang. a figure strolled in without so much as a knock, his boisterous voice filling the empty space almost instantly

"yo! this place still open or ya shuttin' me out already?"

osamu didn't look up at first, just let out a sigh

"we're closed. read the sign, dumbass"

atsumu strode in anyway, hands in his jacket pockets, grin too wide for this time at night

"ahhh, c'mon, ya never stop working, do ya? let me grab something before ya kick me outta here!"

atsumu's eyes scanned the counter, then quickly darted to osamu's arms, the small canvas bag in his hands

his eyes flickered for a moment, his lips quirking up as he leaned over and grabbed the bag, inspecting it with a mischievous gleam in his eye

"what's this? this yours, 'samu? some kinda keepsake?"

osamu's gaze narrowed slightly. he didn't immediately respond, just watching his twin brother's curiosity grow

atsumu flipped the bag over in his hands, inspecting the delicate embroidery. his expression softened slightly as he noticed the flowers stitched into the fabric

"...wait, this is real nice. where'd ya get this?"

osamu, caught off guard, scratched the back of his neck

"it's not mine, dumbass. one of the customers left it. i'm just holding onto it 'til they come back for it"

atsumu, however, didn't seem to be listening to osamu's words. he continued to study the bag with a mix of curiosity and amusement, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips

"really, huh? the bag's got flowers on it..? pretty cute, samu. ya sure this isn't yers?"

osamu shot his brother a look

"shut up, and put it down. it's not mine. just leave it be"

atsumu chuckled and tossed the bag back down onto the counter, leaning against it casually

"whatever, man. who was the customer, though? a cute girl?"

"yer really somethin' else. it's not important"

atsumu smirked at his brother's dismissal, clearly amused by the situation, but didn't press further. instead, he slapped osamu's back hard enough to make him stumble a bit

"whatever, whatever. i'll let ya get back to work. i'm off to get a snack somewhere else"

with that, he slipped out of onigiri miya, the door chiming as it closed behind him, leaving osamu standing there with a perplexed frown on his face

osamu stared at the small bag for a moment longer, his mind drifting back to her

wc 849