#fun to try and make this weird and dreamlike

[byrdstrolls]

"...Ailzea notes that though the child he holds in his arms is exactly as he remembers him, his left horn has been replaced by a wooden one.

There is no immediate danger, the horn seems to say to him, but there is still danger..."

Fanart of @sassters drabble... I really like this one!

[13eyond13]

Please tell me about art and media you know of that accurately captures the weirdness of dream logic and atmosphere and emotions... books and movies and video games and art and comics and YouTube stuff, whatever you want... you know, where it only makes sense on an intuitive level and falls apart when you try to explain it...

[inseobts]

Here's a fun little story for the strawhats reader makes a tim burton reference (like sleepy, hollow or beetlejuice or whatever Tim burton movie is your favorite?) But none of them knew the reference, nor ever heard of it. So, the reader has to explain it?

I don't know if they have movies in the one piece universe? So we could just say that the tim burton movies are "books"

The Nightmare Aboard the Thousand Sunny

strawhat crew x gn ! strawhat ! reader (platonic)

a/n: let's pretend movies exist but in a subtle way if this makes sense lmao also it’s been years and years since I saw the movies and my memory is really short so I went on google for some help, hope I got the references right

words count: 1.7k

tags: platonic, strawhat reader, humor, modern references

masterlist || ko-fi

The Thousand Sunny bobs gently on the waves, the sea stretching endlessly around you. The crew is sprawled across the deck, enjoying the lull between islands. You’re sitting cross-legged near the mast, absentmindedly peeling an orange while recounting your latest island adventure.

“That whole place gave me Sleepy Hollow vibes” you remark, flicking a piece of orange peel into the sea.

Silence.

You glance up. Nine pairs of eyes stare back at you, blank and expectant.

“…You know? Sleepy Hollow? The Headless Horseman?”

More silence. Luffy scratches his chin “Is that a pirate?”

You groan, dragging a hand down your face “No, it’s a classic horror story! A guy on a horse, but, like, without a head? He throws flaming pumpkins at people? Ringing any bells?”

Franky leans forward “Wait, so the dude has no head? How does he see?”

“That’s—it’s part of the horror! He’s supernatural!”

“Sounds like a Logia-type” Robin muses, flipping a page in her book.

Sanji exhales a puff of smoke “And what was that other thing you mentioned? Sleepy Hollow?”

“It’s the name of the story!” You gesture wildly “By Washington Irving! Adapted into a movie by Tim Burton! You know, Tim Burton? Beetlejuice? Corpse Bride? Beetlejuice? Nightmare Before Christmas?”

Brook gasps “A corpse bride? How romantic! Ah, if only I had one to marry too!”

You sigh dramatically “Not the point, Brook.”

Zoro crosses his arms “Never heard of this Tim Whatever guy.”

“Of course you haven’t,” you mutter “I bet if he were a famous swordsman, you’d know his whole life story.”

Zoro shrugs “Maybe.”

Nami raises an eyebrow “Did you just say Beetlejuice twice?”

You pause “Yeah. That's the joke. But I’m not saying it a third time.”

Chopper tilts his head “Why? What happens if you say it a third time?”

The whole crew stares at you, waiting.

You sigh, rubbing your temples as the crew continues to stare at you, waiting for an explanation.

“Okay, so Beetlejuice—”

“That’s three times” Usopp interrupts, eyes darting around the ship in panic.

You blink “Huh?”

“You said Beetlejuice three times,” he hisses, pointing at you “You just summoned whatever the hell that is!”

Luffy immediately looks excited “Ohhh! Who is it? Are they strong?!”

You groan “No, no, it’s not real! It’s from a movie. In the movie, if you say his name three times, this creepy, chaotic ghost guy shows up and causes mayhem.”

Franky grins “Sounds like my kinda guy!”

“He was not super,” you deadpan “He was gross. And weird. And kind of a pervert.”

Sanji instantly scowls “Tch, I hate this guy.”

Brook hums in thought “So you’re telling me there’s a ghost you can summon just by saying his name? How interesting! I must try this with my own name. Brook, Brook, Brook!” He spreads his arms dramatically.

Nothing happens.

“Yohoho! It appears I am immune!”

Robin chuckles behind her book “So this Tim Burton person creates horror stories?”

“More like… spooky and weird stories,” you explain “Creepy but fun. He has a really distinct style, dark colors, long, spindly figures, big eyes, gothic settings. His movies always have this eerie, dreamlike atmosphere.”

“Like a nightmare?” Chopper asks, eyes wide.

You nod “Kinda! Like The Nightmare Before Christmas!”

Luffy perks up “Christmas?! We fought a guy with Christmas-themed moves once!”

“Not the same thing” you sigh “It’s a stop-motion movie about Halloween and Christmas colliding.”

“Sounds complicated” Zoro grunts.

“It’s amazing!” you insist “It’s got singing skeletons, spooky monsters, and a guy named Jack Skellington who tries to take over Christmas!”

Brook gasps “A singing skeleton?! Finally, some real representation!”

You snort “Right?! You’d love it, Brook. It’s all about embracing who you are instead of trying to be something you’re not.”

Robin smiles “That does sound like something our crew would appreciate.”

Nami sighs, stretching her arms “Alright, so let me get this straight. This Tim Burton guy makes creepy, weird, yet somehow heartwarming stories. And you’ve seen all of them?”

“Of course,” you say proudly “I grew up on this stuff.”

Usopp squints “So if we ever run into a headless guy throwing pumpkins, we’ll know it’s a Sleepy Hollow situation.”

“Exactly.”

“And if someone named Beetlejuice shows up, we punch first, ask questions later” Zoro states.

“Uh… more like, don’t summon him in the first place” you correct.

Luffy grins “Alright! Then let’s find this Tim Burton guy and invite him to the crew!”

You laugh “Yeah, good luck with that, Captain.”

Brook taps his chin “Still, I wonder what I’d look like in this… Burton-esque style.”

You smirk “Oh, you’d totally fit in.”

The conversation trails off, but as night falls over the Sunny, you can’t help but smile. Sure, they don’t get the references, but at least they listen. That’s what matters.

It starts with a simple thought: If they don’t get the references, I’ll just show them the actual movie.

Easier said than done when you’re on a ship in the middle of the Grand Line.

But you? You’re determined.

The first step is convincing Franky and Usopp to make a projector.

“Okay, so I need you guys to build a machine that can play movies” you say, clasping your hands together in front of them.

Usopp raises an eyebrow “A what-now?”

Franky rubs his chin “Movies, huh? So, like, a visual playback system? A moving image display?”

“Yes!” You point excitedly “You’re both geniuses when it comes to building stuff. I know you can make something!”

Franky grins, cracking his knuckles “Well, if it’s a challenge, then hell yeah I’m in!”

Usopp sighs “Why do I feel like this is gonna take way more effort than you’re letting on?”

You wave a hand dismissively “C’mon, you built a climate-controlling staff and laser beams before! You’ve got this!”

It takes them days of tinkering, but eventually, they rig up a projector using various spare parts from Sunny’s workshop. The hardest part was figuring out a power source that wouldn’t fry the entire thing, but thanks to Franky’s Cola-powered genius and Usopp’s fine-tuned engineering, the contraption actually works.

Step one: Complete.

Step two? Getting the movie.

That one takes a little more effort. You spend your time at the next trading port digging through every odd shop you can find. You’re almost ready to give up when, miraculously, you spot it.

A dusty little store, tucked between two fish markets, has an entire shelf of old-world relics. Among them?

A DVD copy of The Nightmare Before Christmas.

You nearly cry in relief.

After some haggling (and by haggling, it mean bargaining away a favor that Nami is definitely going to make you pay for later), you return triumphantly to the ship.

Finally everything is ready.

That night, the crew gathers on the deck, sitting in a semi-circle around the makeshift screen Franky and Usopp put together. The ocean breeze is cool, the stars above twinkle like tiny lanterns, and the faint hum of the projector fills the air.

“Alright,” you say, practically vibrating with excitement “Tonight, I present to you all—The Nightmare Before Christmas!”

Luffy raises a hand “Is this the one with the singing skeleton guy?”

“Yes!”

Brook claps “Excellent! I’ve been looking forward to this!”

Zoro grumbles, arms crossed “This better not be a waste of time.”

“Oh, lighten up, moss-head” Sanji sighs, flicking his lighter for a fresh cigarette.

Robin smiles at you “I’m curious to see why you love these stories so much.”

You grin, heart full “Well then, sit back, relax, and let the magic of Tim Burton change your lives.”

The movie starts, and from the first eerie yet whimsical notes of “This is Halloween” you can tell the crew is hooked.

Luffy leans forward, eyes wide “Whoa! They’re all singing! And they’re monsters?! This is awesome!”

Brook hums along immediately, tapping his bony fingers to the beat “Ah, this song is quite catchy!”

Robin watches with a soft smile, clearly fascinated by the gothic yet charming visuals.

Zoro, meanwhile, squints at the screen “So this Jack guy… is he an idiot?”

You gasp dramatically “Excuse you?! He’s just lost, Zoro! He wants something more out of life!”

“Yeah,” Usopp chimes in “He’s like Luffy but… spookier.”

Luffy grins “I like him!”

As the movie plays, Sanji strolls over with a tray full of snacks “Here,” he says smoothly, handing you a warm bowl of popcorn “Figured movie night wouldn’t be complete without something to munch on.”

Your eyes sparkle “Sanji, you angel, I could kiss you right now.”

He smirks “You can try, sweetheart.”

You don’t, but you do immediately shove a handful of buttery popcorn into your mouth. The rest of the crew digs in, each with their own snack, Chopper happily munches on caramel-coated nuts, Franky enjoys a ridiculously large soda, and even Zoro eventually takes some popcorn (though he pretends he’s not into it).

The movie continues, and reactions vary:

• Luffy cheers every time Jack does something dramatic.

• Brook cries at “Sally’s Song” saying “I feel her pain!”

• Franky thinks Oogie Boogie is “SUPER!”

• Usopp yells, “NOPE!” when Oogie’s bugs spill everywhere.

• Nami complains that Jack’s Christmas plan is a financial disaster.

• Robin simply watches with an amused, knowing look.

• Sanji rolls his eyes but clearly enjoys the aesthetic.

• Zoro claims he doesn’t care, yet you catch him watching intently.

By the time the movie ends, the deck is silent. The credits roll, the music fades, and you turn to see everyone deep in thought.

“So?” you ask, heart pounding “What did you guys think?”

Luffy grins, jumping up “That was amazing! The singing! The monsters! The explosions!”

Brook nods sagely “Jack Skellington is truly a gentleman. I respect him.”

Usopp shudders “Yeah, but that Boogie guy? Never sleeping again.”

Nami sighs “I mean… it was good, but Jack really should’ve stayed in his lane.”

Franky wipes a fake tear “SUPERB storytelling!”

Robin smiles “It was lovely. I see why you love these kinds of stories.”

You beam, turning to Zoro “And you?”

He shrugs “Not bad.”

Sanji exhales a puff of smoke “Kinda weird, but… entertaining.”

You sigh in relief, flopping back onto the deck “Mission successful!”

As the crew starts discussing their favorite parts, you feel a warm sense of happiness settle in your chest. They may not have gotten the references before, but now? Now, they get it.

And you’ve just officially introduced the Straw Hat Pirates to the magic of Tim Burton.

Best. Movie Night. Ever.

[hannahwatcheshorror]

ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)

Mia Farrow does an excellent job as Rosemary who is tossed about in this movie like nobody's business. An absolute classic and a fun 60’s romp. Well acted, scripted, and nice cinematography as well.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Trigger Warning Rape, Miscarriage

Rosemary and her husband Guy move into a new apartment building where they meet some of the tenants including a young lady named Terry who later (apparently) throws herself from a window. They befriend the older couple (The Castevet's) who were housing Terry and Rosemary is gifted a necklace of protection. Guy, an actor by trade, gets the big part he wanted because the actor who originally got the part woke up blind. Guy suggests that they have a nice dinner together because he hasn’t been the best husband lately and while they are eating the kindly Castevet's stop by to drop off a dessert they had made. Guy eats his up but Rosemary doesn’t like hers and only pretends. The next thing she knows, she is dizzy and fit to pass out. She slips into a dreamlike state only partway through she realizes that the dream is real. Even her husband is in the dream allowing people to strap her down while a creature rapes her. In the morning when she wakes up she has scratch marks on her that her husband claims are from him. Rosemary is shocked he would do anything with her while she was passed out drunk but she accepts the excuse and moves forward, even with the weird dream.

Rosemary falls pregnant and is in a hell of a bad shape in the beginning of her pregnancy, besides a haircut that most people don’t find very flattering on her, most people tell her she looks like death. She is trying to listen to the advice of her new doctor (suggested to her by the Castevet's) which includes drinking one of Minnie Castevet's health tonics daily. Rosemary is able to get in touch with a good friend, Hutch, who also thinks she looks like dog shit. After he leaves, though, Hutch calls Rosemary and says he has to meet her and tell her something. She goes to the meeting spot but Hutch has mysteriously fallen into a coma. Then, to be quite honest, Rosemary forgets about Hutch until way later in her pregnancy when she gets a call that Hutch had passed away. Absolutely wack but it is what happened. When she goes to Hutch’s funeral she is gifted a book about witchcraft but more on that later. There is also the problem that Rosemary is in pain nearly all the time. Her current doctor tells her that this is perfectly normal but her friends want her to get a second opinion. Guy is very against Rosemary going back to the old doctor and doesn’t like her reading the witchcraft book which shows that Roman Castevet is a descendant of witches (Guy throws out the book).

At this point in the movie Rosemary is really starting to lose it. She is way pregnant, almost ready to burst and she is walking into traffic like she doesn’t even care if she gets hit. It is pretty crazy. The Castevet’s go off on a sight seeing trip because apparently Mr. Castevet is dying so they want to make the best of the rest of his time. Them leaving is a relief to Rosemary who thinks that the Castevets are up to something. Rosemary makes a valiant effort to go back to her original doctor and she tries to tell him about all the crazy witchcraft stuff but when she gets there the doc just calls her husband. What a narc. She gets ushered home by her husband and the witch doctor and when they arrive back at the apartment Rosemary attempts to give them the slip which she does for a few seconds but they end up swarming her (there are a lot of witches in this coven). Our poor Rosemary goes into labor and has to deliver in her own bed which was scary to her since she expected to deliver in a sterile hospital. When she wakes up Guy tells her she had a boy but doesn’t produce the baby. When she asks to see the child she is informed he died during labor but she has a sneaking suspicion that they are lying to her.

It isn’t long before Rosemary hears a crying baby through the paper thin walls and starts to question everything and everyone (especially her husband who claims she had pre-partum crazies). Rosemary finds a secret passage in her hall closet which leads to a cool hang out spot for the coven. There she finds a black crib and inside she sees a horrible sight, a baby with evil eyes! What did they do to it? Truthfully, the baby just has the eyes of his father, Satan (wack). The group encourages Rosemary to embrace her child while Rosemary is just so overwhelmed by everything going in. Guy comes over and tries to smooth things with her and she just spits in his face which was fully well deserved, that guy Guy was a schmuck of the highest order. In the end it seems that Rosemary accepted her son because she goes over to his crib to rock him and it makes him stop crying. Slightly anticlimactic but still an excellent movie.

-----------------------HANNAH WATCHES HORROR--------------------

[qoldenskies]

Thank you for the pain it was delicious, 10/10 will order again

I have so many feelings about it HHHH I feel like I accidentally dug myself into a situation (or you did it on purpose you mad lad) that made everything hit harder.

When I first started reading Caged Lungs, like the first third or even quarter I was convinced it was a bad dream. Or like a bad trip from the mushrooms on the pizza. That oh, everyone's gonna just wake up and it'll be fine, there's gonna be reassurances and comfort. But then... It's kind of like a dawning horror situation when I realized more and more that hey, this is real. It's taking chunks out of their lives, they're still doing day to day things but it's getting worse. I didn't even catch it during the fight with Hypno, I just shrugged and went huh, that's weird.

But as it mentions the time crawling and they keep getting worse and Donnies mental health plummeting...

I hit the end and panicked because hey? Wtf? (/pos)

But seeing everything slowly go back to "normal" in Clipped Wings adds to this. Because it's the realization of no, this is real... Or is it? This all happened... Right? Everything should be the way it is but now they're STILL gaslighting him but accidentally this time.

Their denial can only work for so long until it damages both parties. And I feel like it's already there.

This fic has a choke hold on me and I squeal every time I see a new update, unreliable narrator is one of my favorite tropes and you do it SO WELL

:D :D :D YEAASSSS very glad i pulled off the kind of dreamlike quality to caged lungs that i was going for!!! (in some scenes more than others i really tried to accentuate it, like the second-to-last scene with the post-shredder flashback. i mostly used it to draw the most painful contrast i could between how its all ended up vs how it USED to be. very fun to compare the earliest scenes to the final ones though, especially when it comes to donnie's behavior, because it is so painful and jarring) nothing is ever truly MADE UP in donnie's narration, but his grip on reality slips further and further, and with it a lot of the details are twisted (he misinterprets april a lot especially, and also dissociates quite a bit and has memory issues. there's an entire BEATDOWN that you only see the tail-end of because he doesn't remember it, which is probably a good thing considering its one of the most traumatic events from when they were under the curse, probably third behind the murder attempt and the closet. i mean he doesn't remember NOW but..... they do.)

and i hesitate to call their behavior now gaslighting, since gaslighting is an intentional act of abuse intended to make the victim feel like they cant trust themselves and their own memory, etc etc. them covering up the evidence is PLAYING INTO what they did, but they're not denying it (they're doing the opposite, in fact, with how much they're ruminating on it and trying to fix their mistakes, although covering up the evidence is them trying to run away from it to abate their guilt lmao). less lying more omitting the truth, but its still hurting just as much because donnie has conditioned himself to think his memory is unreliable and he "makes things up" because of his "victim complex". even though he's dissociative and is currently struggling with memory issues because of that, he instinctively panics when he gets confused on the details, and they have also conditioned him to be afraid to ASK now, because they would get mad at him for doing it.... its a whole mess. donnie doesn't even know how to communicate his needs anymore, and they dont know they need to ask.

thank you for the ask!!! microwaving this in my brain mmm yumm

[dordomo-gamedev]

putting ex uno plures on hold

I really don't like working with rpg maker, im still slowly making stuff for the game but working with the engine just isn't really for me at the moment.

I've been working with a friend ( @waterpsychiatrist ) to make 3d games in godot for a bit and found it to be much more fulfilling than working alone on things.

while the game is on hold we have a few games in the works:

white hands: a 1 bit 3d deck builder where you kill a body from the inside, since ive been developing my 3d modeling skills this one has been very fun to make

morphean: a dreamlike walking sim full of doodle characters and weird interactions

dismembered hand and clicking button: a sandbox game full of game ideas and unused things i had when i first started trying to make games (this one is close to being finished)

if you want to see more of an in-depth look at my game stuff you can join me and my friends patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/ClayRaccoonBassoonGames/posts

also... follow @ClayRacBasGames on twitter (not X, fuck off elon) and bluesky @clayracbasgames.bsky.social

[bestworstcase]

@based7100 this tag made me snicker so

#forbidden tdt lore!

forbidden tdt lore!

we are not going to get into the whole entire TDT Salem Backstory for spoiler reasons and also because my gods we’d be here all day. the salient piece with regard to her semblance is that through the vast majority of the epoch between the moonfall and humanity’s return salem was experiencing varying degrees of deep deep psychosis and still, to this day, doesn’t really know How Much of what happened during that time was real. once there were people again and she’d had a few centuries to feel mostly sure of this fact, her semblance crystallized from her determination to. uh. live in this world.

(blows a kiss to ice queendom for giving me a leg to stand on here with this being in scope of what semblances can do.)

the baseline ability lets her enter and arrange her own mind as a tangible, real physical place. she has constructs representing memories, feelings, ideas, beliefs, pathways and architecture that she’s built out over thousands of years to guide and contain her thinking within the bounds she finds comfortable. which all adds up to salem being very weird but cogent Most Of The Time and having things she can do to ground herself when it gets. bad again.

in a sense her semblance is itself a realm. not a very large one—back of napkin estimate it takes about two hours to walk across end to end and four top to bottom following the main thoroughfare. but akin to ozma’s reliquaries in that it’s a real place where, conceivably, anyone could go if she opened a door. the pool of grimm and the waters of life are both In There.

(<- i had all this sketched out pre-v9 which made the salem-wrote-it ever after theory VERY FUNNY. btw)

sustaining that requires a Tremendous Amount of aura obviously but salem has an infinite reserve and also has been at it for almost the entire history of humankind 2: electric boogaloo so She’s Fine. anyway

that’s the foundation. the fun thing about giving salem a semblance of course is her immortality. what happens if you take a semblance and give it thousands upon thousands of years to cook? (one of my reasons for devising hers this way was to impose some restriction on the answer; it projects inward, not outward, because it’s a staircase she had to build to find the outside world. it can’t go the other way.)

when it originally manifested, the one point of ingress was through her dreams. (although the dividing lines between dreaming and waking and lucid semblance dreams were… permeable.) then she figured out how to cast herself in and out while awake, and from there developed a technique for making doors, which correlated with the interior construct becoming more real and let her physically enter it from remnant.

later on she decided that, since she could open the door in her semblance from anywhere on remnant, that door should also be able to open anywhere on remnant she felt like from the inside, and i think she spent a Long Time trying to make that work before it occurred to her that she could just… make more doors. (from the inside, a door always opens to where it was last opened from without; she still has not cracked this. but she does have a set of doors that all lead to destinations she’s “saved.”)

so she can use her semblance to travel, central location style, across remnant.

the other big thing she’s figured out how to do is use her semblance on other people, projecting herself into constructs of their minds. these aren’t real in the same way, they’re very dreamlike and fade when she withdraws, and of course she won’t have absolute control in a spatial model of someone else’s mind, but as you can imagine few of the outcomes of having salem in your head are pleasant. among other things this is how she “teaches” people how to communicate with grimm.

[pbandjesse]

It was a nice day. I am tired. And at times it was to hot. But it was a nice day.

I slept alright but I had really intense dreams. And woke up at 6 a little confused. I was glad I could sleep for another hour. But I didn't feel amazing when I woke up. But I was happy to see James and Sylvia.

I really liked my outfit today. And my hair was very nice. Always love having clean hair. The wind by the harbor would make it a bit frizzy but whatever. Still felt cute.

We loaded up the car and headed to the museum. I backtracked to get my soda cup when I saw that James had bought me the new blue crab plushie that they sell at the museum gift shop! Prescious! I went to tell James that I am named it Sandy. And James told me to go back and look because it had some decoration. I went and looked and there was a beautiful heavy gold ring on one of his little leggings. It's absolutely gorgeous. I love how it fits. I love that I can feel the weight when I move my hand. It's perfect.

I was in a pretty good mood. We got to the museum. James helped me set up. And once I was set up I fed Sylvia. I would get a bunch of baked goods. I got a bagel sandwich but the seeds felt weird in my mouth. Still good. Ginnie was sweet and gave me so many things for only $7!

I would also got some flowers from Jose and some strawberry lemon marmalade from the nice jam girl. I would stop by some of the other vendors to chat and to show off Sylvia. Let her smell things. At the harbor baby baby clothes stand they gifted us a bib. And the lavender farm gave me a vanilla lavender body butter! It smells amazing. She kept saying "a gift! From me!" I love her accent. I am not sure where she is from but she is just lovely. Her and her husband. I always enjoy seeing them.

I was super excited to see Ellen today. She was working Helen's table. And I was so excited for her to meet Sylvia and just chat a bit. She's just such a lovely human and I think so highly of her. She also just saw Cate's baby Cole last night so she could compare which was funny.

It was a rainy morning but would get sunny by the afternoon. I got to get me and Sylvia some voting and future voter pins after I checked my my voter registration. It was fun. But I did not make many sales. Only two bears. But I got a whole bunch of frogs finished. I am trying to stick to finishing five plushies a week and with those frogs I did do that! I need to get more cut out. I hope to do that tomorrow.

I would spend a lot of time just enjoying Sylvia. Talking to her and taking her picture. Looking at stuff with her. It was a good day.

Sylvia would take a couple naps. Have a couple bottles. We went to the car to get changed twice. It was a nice day and I was lucky to have my happy baby with me.

Bob, the former blacksmith, came by and it was really nice to see him. He showed me pictures of his brand new great great gandchild? I couldn't tell if that second great was a joke or not. But it was great to see him and talk about babies. And also the Ren fair. Because Bob loves the Ren fair. It's very sweet.

At one I packed up. I did two trips with the wagon. And got Sylvia in the wagon for the last trip to go in the museum to see James. Got some hugs before we went home.

When we got back Sylvia was mostly asleep. I brought her inside and laid her down while I put things away. She would wake up though and struggled to stay asleep. So once I was done putting things away I would go and get her and would read the last couple chapters of my book to her. It was a really fantastic story. I had to pause a few times because a line would hit me so hard. I really appreciated the prose becoming more dreamlike and poetic as the story went on. It felt so bizarre and scary. Really reminded me of the short story "the lottery".

I'm excited to get a lot of reading done this summer. I didn't do enough last year because I felt so bad. But I think this year will be good for it. I already have my next couple books picked out.

We mostly just chilled together on the couch until James got home. I had a cupcake and a scone. But James would make me mozzarella sticks when they got home. Best husband.

After I ate we would all get in the car to go get groceries. James struggled with Sylvia and the car seat and she was screaming. I had to take over. I have to get in her field of vision and tell her to stop screaming. Sometimes she needs a reset. I give her a squeeze. Get the buckle on. Give her her paci. And tell her I am proud of her and I love her and give her a kiss. Right on the forehead. Because love is stored in the forehead.

The walk around the grocery store was fun. I got a new loofah shaped like a shark. I wore Sylvia and she slept the whole time and was just so sweet. I love her so much. And it was just really nice spending time with James. I love them so much!

When we got home I went and laid outside with Sylvia for a bit. Eventually James came and got her because it was a little to hot. And I stayed outside for a bit, until the mosquitos became to much. I have to figure out a citronella oil or something again this year. The bugs in the backyard sometimes are just way to much.

I would come in and went and took a shower to cool down. I painted my toes after I got comfy and dry. And then spent a long time going through my charms to make a new jumble to wear tomorrow. But also to work on the jumble I am making as a gift. It was fun to collect charms for someone else!

Now Sylvia is asleep. And James and me are in bed. I am tired. I am excited that tomorrow should be pretty chill. I am going to go through my clothes. Ceila is going to come over for Crabcake's birthday. I am hoping to do crafts. I would like to take a nap in the afternoon. And then we are going to Ann's for dinner. It will be a very nice day I think.

I hope you all have a great day too. I love you all. Goodnight!!

[kittenintheden]

Writer Interview Game

hee fun, thank you for the tag, @eraserspiral!

When did you start writing?

blah blah blah been writing stories since I was a kid blah but honestly I'd say I legitimately developed an interest in writing fiction when I was around 13. you'll never guess this but I was on the jr high literary magazine and I wrote a sweet lil 13yo romance story where a marine biologist verbally abuses a dude who hits a dolphin with his boat and then he gets them both to the emergency vet and then it turns into a meet-cute. I used the word "dumbass" in the story and my teaching advisor let it slide and it was published with the swear intact. it was a whole thing.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I read all kinds of things I don't especially want to write. a lot of nonfiction and investigative journalism, memoirs, literary classics a la Virginia Woolf. no interest whatsoever in writing it but it's good reading.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

there isn't like a specific writer I aspire to write like, but I have historically been compared to Neil Gaiman, which is very flattering. mostly I admire the writing chops of Laini Taylor for her beautiful lyrical imagery and dreamlike framing, Carmen Maria Machado for the way she blends horror elements with life, queerness and emotion, Christopher Moore for his incredible humor writing, and (surprise) Neil Gaiman for his approach to speculative fiction that feels so accessible and tied to the real world. like you could turn over a rock and find an entire magical world you never knew was there.

I don't necessarily want to EMULATE them but I have been influenced by them, for sure.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I write on a laptop curled up in the corner of my couch with noise-cancelling headphones on and am frequently interrupted by pets, a spouse, or children. which is why I tend to write late at night.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

sit my ass down and start typing. like I know that is not romantic or fun but part of writing is that I have to get into my flow state, and I can't do that by dicking around doing stuff that isn't writing. it can be really, really hard. sometimes it'll feel like shit. but I do it anyway.

something that helps me a lot is putting on the headphones and listening to mood music or a dialogue video to kind of kickstart my brain into the creative space.

I also do a weed. doing a weed relaxes my inner critic. sometimes.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

sibling relationships tend to feature prominently. I have several siblings and sibling dynamics are fascinating to me. there also tend to be themes of self-sacrifice, choosing love (romantic or platonic), and messy but ride-or-die style friendships.

What is your reason for writing?

I feel compelled to put the movies playing in my head to the page. it brings me joy to transcribe my weird ideas and give them form.

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

when people tell me they've come back to reread something I wrote because it stuck with them. that's like. wow. what a feeling. what a motivator.

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

I try not to think about how other people think about me if I can help it, which I often can't, lol. but mostly I hope readers (and people in general) think of me as someone who tells emotionally resonant stories that make them smile or laugh.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

dialogue. expressing an emotion succinctly on the page.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I'm in a pretty good place about it these days. I write both professionally and for fun, and what I do in this space is my fun time. I can let go, be experimental and weird, not overanalyze every single word, and make something for/with a community that I really enjoy.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

a mix of both, I guess? mostly for myself, honestly. I write the things I would enjoy reading. I write the smut I would find hot. I write the jokes that make me laugh. but I also love giving little winks to readers and letting them know that they're part of the experience, too.

no pressure tags: @shewhowas39 @spacebarbarianweird @ghostfire @brain-rot-central @brabblesblog

[femboyhunting]

if u r willing, i would LOVE to hear ur thoughts on ur own silent hill? i shared w/ the expectation of nothing in return so thats entirely cool if ud rather not but its such a fun question i simply must propose it 2 u

Hmm I dunno. I think it would be like sh 4 where there's a base room that you can't leave. But you can watch people through windows and peepholes. The door out of the room doesn't budge and is covered in weird flesh like growths. When you try to scrape them off they bleed but no matter how much you work at it you ever seem to make enough progress to make a difference and eventually the blood makes it too slippery to keep going. There's red curtains in the room that filter in a soft pink light. There's black mold in the corner of the windows on the outside and it grows across the glass every time you look outside. Eventually it covers the window entirely and no more light comes in and you have to use your cellphone torch to navigate around the room. If you look around you'll eventually find passages that weren't there before, long tunnels into endless darkness. One is a little crawlspace door, another one is behind a cupboard you open, another is in the closet hiding behind stacks of cardboard boxes.

The room is comfortable and cozy at first but slowly everything gets consumed with mold and decay so you're forced to pick a tunnel to climb into.

I think there'd be a lot of emphasis on rot. When you first encounter monsters they'd be unable to harm you unless you got too close, having decayed and fused with whatever their body was touching. The monsters want to absorb you into them and keep you there forever.

And body horror but on the part of the player, who's body rots and changes and becomes grotesque at times.

The atmosphere is very dreamlike and you can meet various people but every single one of them you lose through fault of your own.

There's a cult in one of the worlds that tells you that all existence is in perfect equilibrium and that if you want to change the world to a safer and more comfortable one you must tilt the scales and make a sacrifice. You cut off your fingers one by one to progress here.

Every new world you enter starts off pretty calm and comfortable but then slowly becomes invaded by rot and mold.

[mrcjprice193]

The Twilight Saga rewrite: New Moon

I wasn't expecting this many people to be interested in this. lol

(PSA: if you're a Twilight fan. Please don't take any offense to this. it's all in good fun and boredom. thank you)

the first rewrite in case you haven't read it already: TWILIGHT REWRITE

So we begin. not where the original story began but with Carlisle. looking at the burning fires of all the vampire bodies in the first story. esme and him have a convo on the voltori. fearing James's rampage might get their attention. we build tension with who they're talking about. They both hold hands concerned about the future of their family...

2 YEARS LATER

it's Bella's birthday. she's reluctantly celebrating it while not really wanting to. she's been having bizarre and cryptid dreams of her mom and other women in robes. she brushes it off just wanting to enjoy her day. things act out the same as in the original but we get some more cute romance between Edward and her. oh and her dad is trying to make sense of the Cullens. he and Carlisle have been talking to each other but after what happened with James and his gang. there's this sense of weirdness in every interaction...

later that night. Bella's birthday is at the Cullen's. Bella and Edward have a conversation on the Voltari. an old group of vampires who act like a monarchy. looking over the vampires for centuries. no one really likes them but they are the oldest and strongest so they're feared...

they have her birthday and all seems normal until Bella goes to the Cullens house to see them gone. the house is still filled with their stuff there. she finds a note saying something critical has come up and they had to leave...

MEANWHILE, Papa Swan is hunting down the last remaining vampire Victoria who is out for blood for what happened to James. he works quick but the men warn him about a section of the forest that's "cursed" with all of the shit he's seen he takes that warning to heart...

THE START OF BELLA'S ARC

Bella is confused, sad, and a bit heartbroken by them just ghosting her. She goes back into town with her friends including Jacob for a night out. bikers begin to harass them Bella in a fit of rage sets the man on fire. but she didn't do it physically she did it with her mind. She freaks out seeing flashes of Edward being ripped apart by the Voltori and she sees HER MOM? trying to talk her down from her panic attack. like a spirit coming to her rescue. She locks herself away for 2 weeks in a deep depression not exactly knowing what happened. She remembers that picture from her mom's stuff. the picture of women dressed in black. she runs to do research only to find out about an old coven of witches who were killed off in Salem. some of which escaped and started secret covens across America...

Bella visits Jacob to fix her car. he's obviously Buffer and taller than the last time she's seen him. They talk and banter about her family she tells him about her visions and her mom. she's ready for him to not take her seriously (at this point she assumes he has no idea about the vampire thing) but he believes her. they hang out for the rest of the day but as night approaches a car crash into the woods. this is no accident. Victoria still hasn't forgotten or forgiven and wants it back in blood. Jacob tells her to run and she does. she hears howls and fighting behind her. she's confused. her mother's spirit yells for her to keep running. she does but falls back seeing three massive werewolves standing in the forest. they jump over her after Victoria. In the heat of the battle, Bella convulses and yells out knocking everyone back. snaping the tall trees nearby in half. the wind blows furiously around her leaves and dirt flies in the air...

ENTER THE WEREWOLVES

the werewolves chase Victoria. they injure her and she falls into a waterfall. (she's obviously alive) through the fight, Bella passes out. She has a moment with her mom in a dreamlike state. She says her emotions control her powers and she must get a hang of them before she hurts herself. she disappears. Bella wakes up in Jacob's parents' house along with his cousins. She walks through a local reservation near the town. she catches up to Jacob as he reveals a long time ago that a chief discovered after being beaten by a wolf was cursed with being a Lycan (a werewolf.) but he found this as a way to protect his people. this newfound power benefited them as no one dared cross them, they prospered forever, and their land was untouched...

Bella is a bit shocked by this new revelation that her best friend is a werewolf. this would no doubt explain his new buff look. (Jacob's abs are still intact this time he's of age, lmao.) Bella continues to read up on her mother's coven and train herself. she's communicating with the spirit of her mother but only through vague messages. no full-on convos. She guides her toward her old spell book buried under the house. (this is a story about Bella's self-discovery. it's focused on her character and her growth not only with her powers but in her confidence with the help of her friends of course.) as time passes she still misses Edward. thinking about him always...

THE VULTORI

Alice shows up at her doorstep telling her that the Cullens are on trial with the vultori for almost exposing the existence of vampires. they've been held in a castle in Romania awaiting their trial. Alice. fearing they might come after the town. the Cullens left to try to lose their trail but they were caught. Bella feels partially responsible for this and goes with Alice to try to help the Cullens. what follows is a game of shadows. the head of the Vultori Aro brings the Cullen family to a twisted dinner. intimidation and mind games ensue...

DINNER WITH THE VAMPIRE CULT

Carlisle defends his family the best way he can but the other vultori want his head. Carlisle and Aro have a history. it's revealed he was at one point a part of the order but left seeing how power-hungry they were. Bella jumps in the convo. she tries using her psychic powers in this ordeal to escape but she's shocked to find vampire witches in the order. they catch on quick. (she only learned that a few days ago. it wouldn't have hurt to try it out now. lol) Edward of course tries to fight his way out against Carlisle's wishes. Bella uses her powers again this time she kills three vultori in the process. aro stops the fight impressed by Bella's abilities. she's more powerful than

he sees the obvious relationship between her and Edward. at some point, he knows she will probably turn and she will be of use to them. maybe even join their order...

aro lets them go giving them a warning with a light threat. Only a few humans know of them. nothing they haven't handled before. so there really is no threat to them. YET...

ONE LAST THING

they return home. Edward and Bella make up for the lost time. it's been two years since they first met. he apologizes for having to leave so early and tells her he wanted to tell her something that night before he left...

"will you marry me?"

END.

once again. leaving out some info in this outline but this sums it up the best way I could. lol. thank you for reading this long-ass rewrite...

[fruit-plays]

Is there any lore or backstory about the island and characters?!? ( if not that’s okay :•] ) I visit your island every couple months it’s just so fun!!!

Thank you so much visiting regularly!! That's makes me very happy to hear!

And yes I do actually have lore!!

Fun fact, I originally wanted it to be a comic and then realized that my drawing skills were....subpar, so acnh island it became instead!

So some story lore below the cut!!!

(TW for some medical trauma involving kids, derealization, and general weird stuff)

So the main character is Tommy! He's depicted as a young boy (roughly around 8 in this version of pigeonhole) he wakes up in a dreamlike version of his town, pigeonhole. He's greeted by his little sister marble* (5) who tells them to leave immediately because it's "not his time yet", pigeonhole is pretty much like purgatory for Tommy and they are actually in a coma in real life due to a near fatal car accident involving a neighbor Tommy knows** and must wake up before the get too far into this "dream" of pigeonhole. Marble acts as a guide to help them return to the real world, as there are forces trying to make Tommy succumb to the dream and stay here forever (essentially dying in the real world)

Um that's it for like background plot? Like I said it was gonna be a comic in my head but because I can't draw...that's as far as I've gotten with it.

Tommy is actually 13 in reality and Maribel/marble is 10 but in this dream version Tommy has regressed to about 8 because he was that age when they first moved to this town.

All of the villagers are supposed to be weird versions of people Tommy knows in reality.

All of the locations on the island are tied to specific memories from Tommy and is why the are important enough to manifest in pigeonhole (his mother works at the post office at the entrance of the island, stuff like that)

**this explains all of the medical equipment scattered around the island and the scary junkyard owned by Roscoe

*Marble greets him here because she's kinda like an amalgamation of a character from his favorite video game and his little sister in real life (her name is actually Maribel)

Some bonus Tommy character traits:

He HATES wearing shoes and socks so in dream pigeonhole he'll never have any

Their favorite color is yellow

His favorite food is beef stew

They are always wearing a cute sweater because his mom used to make them for him because he gets cold very easily (this is just a real trait of mine because I'm cold all the time)

They're terrified of robots

Also if it had been a comic it definitely would have had a happy ending!! Tommy would have successfully escaped pigeonhole and fully healed from the car accident!!

Hopefully this makes sense! If y'all have any questions please let me know!!

[studyinglogic]

— ...there was a time when writing was my joy, when I wrote for fun. But after what's happened, there's been a vague sense of guilt about it. I can write, but each time I try to I feel like I don't deserve to.

— Well, I mean leans back in his chair you know that's not true, right.

— Yes, yes. It's a stumbling block.

— Maybe what's tough is getting started. You used to have that online blog, didn't you? How many drafts do you have on there?

— Oh, I don't know. A lot. Let me check. [beat] Six thousand seven hundred and forty.

— Good God. What's stopping you?

(Option A. — I fear society. You know, judgment on my work.

— If you can't be weird on your own blog, where can you be? Look, maybe ... [C])

(Option B. — Alan Watts titled his autobiography "In My Own Way." I quite like that title, because it has a double meaning. He's doing things in his own way, of course, but he's also getting in his own way. And it implies that the two are linked. That his faults and imperfections are linked to what makes him unique.

— Even if everyone was self-actualised, I'm sure that there'd be a wide variety of people. But let's stick to the topic; what was the point of bringing up Watts?

— Oh, you know. I'm getting in my own way, in my own way. And there's a meta-point here. I have so much, and it's just hard to get a handle on all of it.

— Look, maybe ... [C])

[C, see, si, sea, the third synthesis, cf. Kant's footnote]

— Look, maybe you need to find the joy of writing in a low-stakes environment. Something that doesn't pressure you too much. Your online blog is low-stakes enough, I think. You have six thousand seven hundred and forty drafts. Let's say ninety percent of that is crap. That's still enough to last you more than a year if you post once a day. Just post for joy. If you like it. Get used to doing things which you enjoy. Take yes for an answer. Easy easy. No need to make the posts serious or high-pressure, even in your own head. Post things even if they're not great. Start by being imperfect. End by being imperfect.

— That's the spirit. Genius arrests decay. You've been writing yourself, haven't you?

— Here and there. That's all we can do, isn't it. Write ourselves into our work?

— Heh sincere laughter for a good ten seconds good one, but you know what's not what I meant. What have you been writing?

— Oh, fables.

— Excellent. What type of fables? Kafka or Aesop?

— Closer to Kafka than Aesop. That reminds me, you know those videos, what are they called, the ones where people ask, would you love me if I was a worm. Does anyone reference Kafka's "Metamorphosis" there?

— I don't know. I don't watch them. I'm amazed you even know about them. I didn't know about them. Anyway, who have you been reading lately?

— Cormac McCarthy. That's how I got the idea of writing fables. Fables are simple; they show the world "as it is." An illusion, or perhaps just a part, of course, but they're compelling in that way. And I know McCarthy's work isn't usually thought of as a fable, but in fables there's often lots of senseless violence skated over. And perhaps if you see some of his work as dreamlike...

[long pause]

— Continue?

— Sorry, I don't know what I'm saying. But I guess that's how it is. One day I'll get there.

— One day I'll get there.

[raineandsky]

Could you please write a story where a fae and a human have been friends for about a year. However, the human finds out what the fae is, and freaks out, thinking the fae is toying with him or wanting to make him his servant or something. When in reality, the fae had always watched humanity from afar, and just wanted to play along to see what it was like to have genuine friends?

Ooooo this one was fun, always love somethin a lil different!! Hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing :D thanks for the request!

“You can’t trick me into one of your fairy circles or whatever. I’m not stupid.”

The human is saying this like the fae would even be able to do that from here. He’s poised with a pocket knife that his mother probably gave him to explore in the woods, on the other side of a ring of twigs that he knows the fae can’t pass.

The fae had blended in pretty well up until yesterday. His fae status had started to feel like it didn’t even matter. Well, it didn’t matter until the human wandered where he shouldn’t and found out the truth about him. The fae’s ability to pass between worlds seemed to give him a little bit of a shock, to say the least.

He’d said it was fine, but today the fae has found himself sitting in a fairy trap that the human purposely laid out for him. Clearly his trust was a little more broken than he let on.

“I’m not trying to trick you with anything. I don’t know how to prove something I’m not doing,” the fae says with a bright smile, and the human’s frown deepens.

“Y–You know my real name,” he counters.

“And have I used it yet?”

There’s a moment where the human is clearly trying to think of something incriminating, and the fae waits patiently for him to come to the inevitable answer. “But you might,” is the thrilling conclusion he comes to, and the fae can’t help but laugh.

“Believe me, if I wanted to have power over you I’d have taken it by now.” The weirdness of his words is contrasted by the innocent smile on his face. Everything about him seems innocent, really, with the oddly friendly demeanour and the soft, dreamlike aura. His supposed innocence is how he got here in the first place, and how he miraculously managed to make a friend within the first day of arriving.

Said friend is still looking unconvinced but doesn’t say anything, so the fae carries on in his stead. “I was just… I don’t know. Your world is so nice, and humanity is so interesting, so I thought it’d be nice to explore a little. You understand that, don’t you?”

He gestures vaguely to the thick covert of trees around them, and the human briefly glances about as well. “Besides,” he continues, “I got to meet a really nice human, just like I always wanted.”

The human positively beams at that, before the fae returns it and he catches himself.

“I don’t know…” His little knife is trembling in his hand like he’s facing a tiger. “I don’t know. What’s the big deal about being here if it’s not about stealing people away?”

The fae’s expression dampens, possibly for the first time since they met. “Well, I’m a little lonely in the fairy realm, to be honest.” He runs a hand through the grass in front of him, careful not to tear any of the blades out. “The other fae are always so serious and busy all the time. I thought I might have more luck making friends here.”

The human’s face softens slightly, his knife drooping in his grasp. “Me too,” he says with a short nod. “I don’t have any friends at school. People are mean sometimes.”

“Well that’s not fair,” the fae says dramatically. “I can’t really come to your school, but I can be your friend. Maybe one day I’ll even magic the mean people away.”

The hostility is dropped almost instantly at the mention. “You can do magic?”

The fae grins with an ecstatic nod. “I have some pretty cool party tricks.”

The human takes a step forward, nerves flattened by burning curiosity. “Can… Can you do something?”

“Well…” The fae glances at the array of twigs encircling him like nature’s halo. “Not in here. Traps dampen my magic. If you break the circle I can get out.”

The curiosity burns a little less brightly for a moment. “Are you gonna, like… kidnap me?”

The fae shrugs nonchalantly, a tame smile tracing his lips. “Not unless you want me to.”

The human deliberates, staring him down like he’s waiting for him to admit something. He stays quiet, staring back with a lot less suspicion and a lot more kindness, so after a moment the human steps forward to kick some of the twigs out of formation.

The fae springs to his feet to test the edge of the circle. He takes a careful step through, and when it’s obvious that it’s harmless he passes it completely. He sighs blissfully at the flow of magic washing over him once again.

“Thank you,” he says genuinely after a moment. “I feel a lot better now.”

The human nods shortly. “Can you… uh…”

The fae laughs brightly, and it’s like nothing ever went wrong. “Yeah, wanna see something cool?”

[warcats-cat]

Talk Shop Tuesday: When you're writing for characters like the Sanders Sides, how do you go about differentiating them from one another? Visually, in personality, the way they speak, etc.. Do you have a particular method for making them distinct in your writing, or do you just go by what feels right?

Ooh good question! Thank you! ☺️

So the sides in canon are all identical, but the fandom has made some distinctions in fanon that I usually use/rely on in my writing to describe them. (Virgil is usually tall and pale with dark hair, and especially in early fanon usually had heterochromia - one green eye and one purple. Roman is pretty muscular/toned, he tends to be tan, and a lot of the early fandom would give him Hispanic heritage of some kind. Logan is tall, smooth gelled hair, dark blue eyes. Sometimes skinny, sometimes chunky depending on the artist/writer, but more often on the skinny side. Patton is usually blonde/light brunette, light blue eyes, and often has curly hair. More recently fanon has been making him a little chubby because he's one of the sides shown to like cookies, although there's a part of a video where Logan absolutely savages a jar of jam so...)

I like most of the fanon interpretations but I usually make Patton short. And Logan. XD

In terms of their voices, Logan is my favorite to write! I can really stretch my love of English writing; I wasn't an English major in university but I probably would have been if I didn't settle on theatre. Logan is the easiest for me to mesh with because I can use my big words and rambling sentences and it doesn't feel out of place.

With Virgil I give him a bit more of the short sentences, rapid/changing thoughts (lots of short paragraphs 😅) it's weird to explain but sometimes when I write Virgil I actually make my breathing speed up - not like hyperventilating but kind of faking that feeling in my chest. I spend a lot of time thinking about the area he would be in as well, Virgil is Anxiety incarnate, so he's more spacially aware than the others.

Patton is usually more "me", I see myself in Patton and especially in the recent fandom versions of Patton, so he's probably the most natural for me to write.

Roman is hard to write - in canon he uses a lot of clever/punny nicknames and I'm not good at those. I try to go for more dramatic and dreamlike when I'm writing from his perspective.

Janus and Remus I still struggle with, and that's kinda on me. I'm not as comfortable with their characters, especially Remus since he's supposed to represent Intrusive Thoughts, and I sort of have intrusive thoughts that I deal with in real life and I get really squeamish, so finding his voice is hard. I want to add both of them to Long Road Home but that is (hopefully) coming soon!

Also since I know you read them - for Good Omens I feel sort of the opposite; I vibe more with Aziraphale's character but it's easier/more fun to write Crowley. I'm not great at history so I feel like I can flub things a little more. Also he's so dramatic! And snarky!! And if I love anything, it's good old fashioned snark!

This is long and very rambly but I do hope it answers your question!

[cassandragemini]

Giant au? Owo? How’s that happen what’s the premise what’s the deal

i got 2 oc aus for misha and tseren where 1 of them has size changing powers and theyre sappy and run heavily on fairy tale logic cause these are fun and self indulgent. theyre more like non-canon offshoots than full alternate timelines technically cause they have the same backstory but with some weird shit happening to them suddenly. anyway both of these are a case of me writing something and then attempting to retroactively justify it in the story so some details are still kinda fuzzy but the tentative explanation im currently going with is that both of these are in some way caused by a mountain spirit who has a soft spot for misha and tends to unexpectedly give blessings or grant wishes on rare occasions but usually with a interesting twist. shes not really malevolent but she does have a tendency to give extremely unasked for “gifts” just to see how people react

side note as a general rule i usually write giant characters as roughly 60 feet tallish cause thats the height you would need to be for a tall adult to be roughly equivalent to the size of your hand

the basic gist of the au where tseren has size changing powers is that he tends to have intense emotions and he grows as a physical manifestation of that type of almost overwhelming warm fuzzy feeling where your emotions feel a little too big for your body. misha is very physically affectionate and one night tseren is laying in her arms and he offhandedly wishes that he (9 inches shorter than his beautiful butch wifehusband) wasnt too small to hold misha in the same way and make her feel that same sense of safety. he has 0 reason to even consider the idea of a mildly bored spirit listening and granting this one random whim on a very strange technicality. tseren isnt like actually aware of this at the time so it is extremely nightmarish when hes in a good mood the next day and it suddenly feels like the walls of their house are beginning to close in around him. tseren is kind of neurotic about sudden change in general and has had a deep terror around the idea of his body changing against his will after witnessing mishas traumatizing first bear transformation so this feels extremely bad. misha had the sense to pull him out of an enclosed space before he got too big to fit but she cant do really much to help him beyond that and tseren is too agitated to let her touch him at all. after a several hour long panic attack he eventually does go back to normal but hes very freaked out about everything and remains skittish and avoidant for days. it takes like a full week for misha to gently coax him into actually talking about his feelings and to stop being so distant. when he does finally feel comfortable trying to pick misha up hes uncharacteristically anxious about her which misha finds extremely endearing. both of them end up drifting to sleep with misha curled up against tseren’s chest

the giant misha thing is a way less developed idea cause i only thought of it like a month ago based on a movie scene but rn its mostly one isolated and dreamlike scene in my head with tseren being kidnapped by some other outlaws for bounty money or something along those lines. misha tries changing into a bear to protect him but unexpectedly gets very very big instead. she's objectively terrifying looking to strangers so that scares their attackers off but she tries her best to kneel down low and speak softly to tseren. they are Confused to say the least but misha doesnt seem to be in distress and despite their fear around sudden change thats the thing they care about most so theyre mostly severely disoriented instead of terrified. when tseren tries getting up he realizes he injured his ankle slightly in the initial struggle and cant put weight on it so as a solution misha simply scoops him up (with permission ) and carries him home

tldr gently picking up your big strong butch is very cute and sweet

first art is by me and the second is by a friend who isnt on here + prefers privacy. third pic technically doesnt officially count cause its chibi misha but like its cute