#i've been out of the writing scene for too long

[danganronpadespairtime]

Chapter 3 Progress Report (August 2025)

Hello, it's been a while since I wrote one of these, hasn't it? This is a long update post about the behind-the-scenes of chapter 3 work and other things.

TL;DR: I finished writing the first draft and am working on proofreading.

About the progress

I finished writing the first draft for all of chapter 3, as well as the bonus episodes of chapter 3. I've also written the first draft for some other stories that I would like to release before chapter 3: bonus episodes of chapter 2, an interlude about Teruko's childhood, and an additional thing.

The next steps are to proofread all of these scripts. Please keep in mind that for me, proofreading is also a rather long process. For chapter 2, the time spent on proofreading alone exceeded 6 months. I apologize, it seems like it's rather slow. But also, please keep in mind that the amount of script to proofread is a bit. The combination of everything is several hundred pages. I'm surprised I wrote so much… I'm worried that some of it is too long.

Thoughts about chapter 3

It's very long!

Hopefully not too long!

…Sorry, there's not much else I can say without spoiling anything!

It's longer than chapter 1 and chapter 2, but not longer than both of them combined. That's about as much as I can say right now.

There are no guarantees on this, but I think that this might be the longest chapter in DT, and the rest will be shorter. I think in general, chapter 3 of Fangans are longer… That's just my guess, though.

Future plans

Work on visual assets will begin after proofreading, so once that begins, I'll have more interesting things to show you as previews. Currently, I don't have anything I can show…

I'm changing the program and method with which I use to produce episodes, so I hope that the end result is that I will be able to make them more quickly and efficiently than in the past.

I will definitely do another round of FTEs before chapter 3. Some time in the future, I'll put out a poll asking for what character pairs you would like to see an FTE of. Think about it carefully in advance until then!

I may start thinking about hiring additional staff. I may need art assistance, especially for the Argument Armament, Closing Argument, and Execution, because these things took a lot of time in chapter 2 to make. (It would be nice to have an animation assistant as well, but finding someone like that is probably out of the question…) There is the appearance of additional side/background characters, so additional voice actors may be needed.

Well, there is no guarantee at this point in time for either of these things. Working with people is overwhelming, so I'm unsure about it... It's just something to think about.

Lately, I feel like I want to remake the prologue. The quality is low, and many things have changed since 2020, so I feel like it no longer reflects the rest of the story well. However, I have a lot on my plate right now, so I'm not sure where I'll fit in the time to do such a thing.

Other notes

I would like to post more small content, like illustrations and comics, during this hiatus, but working on chapter 3 is very busy and unfortunately it's hard to find time to work on these things. Still, I do my best to post something every month or every two months. Please continue to keep an eye out for it.

Music videos aren't planned in advance, and they aren't part of a greater plan of the story. There is no such guarantee that every character will get a music video, or that all MVs follow some such theme, or something like that. They are just things I make on a whim because I like a song. You can consider them like doodles I post to social media.

Closing thoughts

It will be a long time until the release of chapter 3 is ready, so I am deeply thankful for your patience at this time. If you have the patience to wait until then, I am grateful. But even if you lose interest in DRDT during this time and move on to something else, that is alright too. As long as my works were able to bring you happiness at some point in your life, then I am grateful nonetheless. Please don't worry about these things.

Even now, I'm really surprised that it seems like there are a lot of people who are into DRDT. I'm very honored! Thank you to everyone who has supported me, and to everyone who will continue to support me. I'll continue to work hard on DRDT!

🩵

[thegreenlynx]

NPC - K.SM

Description: Your best friend Seungmin suggests playing Stardew Valley with you and he's far more into it than you were expecting. 

Pairing: Kim Seungmin x Fem Reader

Genre: Fluff, slightly suggestive

Content Warnings: slight jealousy(of a game lol), suggestive content(just kissing/making out), Seungmin get's a little riled up

Word Count: 2.5k

A/N: My submission for the Stay's secret gift exchange event created by @starlostastronaut. This is written for @j-0ne25, I really hope you like it! I enjoyed writing it, this event was so fun! ☆ ☆ ☆

"So I was thinking..." Seungmin starts, hand lightly tapping a rhythm on your cheap wood table as you cook the two of you lunch.

"Oh yeah?" You chuckle, flipping the stir-fry around in the pan lightly with a hum. "Didn't know you could do that."

He doesn't reply, so you turn around to look at him and are met with a very prominent pout. "Fine. Never mind then, I'll do it with someone else."

"No no." Your hand waves at him, still holding the spatula. "Lemme hear first."

"I was thinking we should try Stardew Valley next." He says it with a little smile, the pout going away immediately. Seungmin never stays upset long.

He's referring to a little thing the two of you have going. A thing where the two of you play games together, most of the time games neither of you have played before. It started when Seungmin had invited you, his best friend, to play among us with him and the boys. It was a lot of fun, and ever since the two of you have been playing together regularly. Usually with Hyunjin, Han, Jeongin, or Felix, sometimes Minho, and once in a blue moon someone will drag Chan or Changbin in too.

"Oh, yeah?" You ask, a little surprised at his choice, "I didn't think you'd be into that."

"Well you're wrong." He shakes his head and sighs at you before staring back at his hands that still tap on the table. "Sooo? Come on, say yes."

You roll your eyes as you go to grab the plates to set the table. "Yeah, of course we can play."

And so the two of you did. It had taken you a bit to get adjusted and play through the tutorial but the two of you were actually quite enjoying running your little farm together. Though admittedly neither of you were very good, both messing up pretty frequently at the start. Forgetting when stores close, running out of stamina far more times than would be socially acceptable.

Seungmin has taken to doing the hard part, clearing and cleaning up the overrun farm. While you get to chat with all the villagers. Frequently interrupting his work to force you both to watch cutscenes. One cutscene in particular threw you both off, the scene of Linus digging in the trashcans in town.

"Hey... I've been doing that too! That's my trash Linus!" Seungmin rants, kicking his feet. "What do you mean it's dirty? It's free stuff..."

His one sided conversation makes you laugh, leaning your head against your palm as you watch him and not your own screen.

"Uhhh y/n...?" Seungmin takes you out of your daze a while later. "It's 1:30, where are you?" You look at his character on his screen, now in the farm house in bed, then over at your own in the middle of town right as it passes out.

"Ah fuck, not again."

"Hey y/n?" Seungmin says, voice excited. "Come look, come look!"

"I'm kinda in the middle of fishing Minnie, what is it?" You say, trying to look over at his screen, but he covers your eyes before you can actually see anything.

"No you have to come see yourself! We can fish together after." He gets up and turns you back to your own screen. "Please? It'll just take a second, I swear."

"Okay, yeah fine." You put your hand over his on your shoulder and move your character with the other, wandering on back to your shared farm. "Up here?"

You feel him rest his head gently atop yours, "Yeah, a little to the left." His slender finger points at the screen. "There! I made that! For us!"

"Oh is it a chest?" You ask as you move your other hand to your keyboard and click on the chest to find it's already half filled with a bunch of materials.

"You kept complaining about running out of inventory space, so I made a chest." His arms naturally wind around your shoulders and his cheek rubs against your hair. "You can use whatever you want from it."

You feel your face heat up. Seungmin is normally affectionate but he's gotten especially cuddly with you lately. Ever since playing the game really. His arms are warm against you, the whole room just feels a little too hot. You look away a moment before refocusing on the game. "Isn't it your stuff though?"

"Yeah, but like... you can have it." His hands slide up your collar and rub your neck once before slipping away as he returns to his own screen. "I want you to have it."

"Oh..." You refuse to look at him, he doesn't need to know how red your face is right now. "Thank you Minnie."

When the two of you finally make it to exploring the caves Seungmin takes up the job of being your defender, he fights off all of the monsters while you do most of the ore mining. When you guys leave the cave despite you offering to give him half of your loot he only asks for a few ores.

You tend the crops, he does the cleaning up. You give gifts to the villagers, Seungmin laughs at you when they hate your gift. Seungmin digs in the trashcans, you laugh when the villagers call him out or when he ends up just getting the expected yet utterly disappointing broken CD. Seungmin places every piece of furniture you guys get in the most absurd and inconvenient places he can find, then gets disappointed when they disappear.

Overall, the community center is where the two of you have the most fun. Seungmin has turned it into a little competition, each time you compete to complete it first and whoever does is supposed to get the prize. However, you've begun to notice that if it's a good prize Seungmin never actually takes it for long. He lets you live in your state of being a loser just long enough to see you sulk before giving you the prize anyway so you'll smile at him.

This one time was different. Seungmin could have easily beat you to this bundle, he's far better at fishing. Yet, he had stopped fishing all of a sudden. It allowed you to finish it first.

"Seungmin! Minnie I did it! I got the bundle!" You leap out of your chair and cheer, you finally got one!

Seungmin just watches, silent but smiling wide as you celebrate all by yourself.

Eventually the two of you manage to get the farm cleaned up. Your crops have become more consistent, you've gotten better at fishing and cave exploring, you have bigger inventories, and your tools are upgraded. Everything feels like it's going shockingly well.

"Hey do you know where the prismatic chard is?" Seungmin asks one day while you are continuing your game. You're not at the farm but you walk back to check the chest for it. Yet before you can look a pop up shows across the screen.

'MiniMong has asked you to marry him, will you accept his offer of marriage?' 

You can feel your face heat up even worse than the last time as you stare blankly at the message. You slowly look over at Seungmin to see him staring back at you, not the game. His cheeks are a little flushed. He looks at you like he just handed you a knife and is hoping you don't stab him with it. Doubt with the slightest glimmer of hope roll around like two cats fighting in his beautiful dark eyes.

"Was that an accident?" You ask quietly, wondering if perhaps he was just holding the item and accidentally clicked on your character. Maybe he didn't know what it did. Maybe he did it as a joke. It isn't exactly unlike him to freeze like this out of embarrassment, not necessarily because he is actually nervous.

"No..." he says even quieter, glancing at your screen before looking at you. He takes a shaky breath and continues, playing with his fingers as he speaks slowly.

"I wanted to play this with you because I wanted to spend time with you. Just you. Not with the other guys getting in the way. I like pretending I'm racing you to finish a bundle to see you sulk, just to give you the reward anyway so you smile at me. I like watching your face more than the cutscenes. I like seeing how excited you get when you catch a fish. Every time I do something I want to tell you so you'll be proud of me. Everything I get I wanna give to you. I've had feelings for an embarrassingly long time and I don't want to be just your best friend anymore, I want an upgrade. Haven't I earned it yet?" The question is asked like he's been trying really hard to convince you to say yes. Like this wasn't sudden at all.

You stare at him wide eyed, not quite knowing how to respond. "Why didn't you tell me before?" You're blindsided really, you thought he was just being cute. Seungmin's always being cute. You didn't even consider he was trying to court you. Strange method and all.

"Wanted it to be a surprise. The second I learned you could propose to players I wanted this to be how I confessed. Be my girlfriend? Please?" He gets up and kneels in front of you on the floor. He holds your hands with both of his. It almost feels like a real proposal, you can hear your own heartbeat in your ears. "I'll be a good video game husband too. I don't wanna marry an NPC, say yes, please." He tries to sound playful, nonchalant, but the desperation is clear in his eyes and even more with every sweet please that falls from his lips. Really, how could you say no?

You smile at him, toothy and silly. "I'll be your girlfriend Minnie, I feel the same." You squeeze his hands in your own as you see him relax, a breath releasing as he looks at you with a mix of affection and relief.

However, suddenly he smirks at you. Kissing you, quick and brief on the cheek before clicking the yes button on your screen on your behalf. "Gonna be my wife too." His smile is goofy, filled with the signature mischief you should expect from him.

It prompts an exasperated chuckle from you, you shake your head. "I think I can live with that." He smiles at you, pausing the game and pulling you half on top of him on the floor to cuddle with him. A hand on your back and a finger twirling in your hair. "But..."

He quirks a brow, pausing briefly as his arm wraps fully around your waist. "But...?"

"Now I can't marry Harvey..." You tease, pretending to sulk about what would have been your lovely NPC boyfriend. He glares, flicks your forehead almost instinctually.

"Hey!" You go to tickle him but before you can even touch him he flips you over, grabbing both of your hands and pinning them above you on the ground.

"You do realize your little NPC boyfriend won't be able to do anything for you right? Like he's basically useless aside from a few cutscenes and a kid." You gasp, slightly offended at the drag, but he continues before you can say anything. "He won't bring you nice things, won't kill monsters for you when you suck at it, won't laugh at your silly jokes or make you feel better when you forget the time and lose some of your shit again."

You stare up at him, it's not unlike Seungmin to joke like this but for some reason he actually seems a little riled up about it. His eyes narrow a bit as he leans in a little closer, voice dropping to a whisper. "He's a doctor, sure, but will he understand you like I do?" He asks and his hands shift, one now taking hold of both of yours as the other slides down to your face, finger brushing your lips hesitantly. "He might kiss you but will you feel it like I can make you feel it?"

Your eyes widen as his face leans a bit closer to yours, breath ghosting across your lips, warm and unfamiliar. "Will it feel as good?" His eyes are on your lips now, barely open while his own lips get even closer, brushing against his finger he still has pressed against your soft skin. "Will it feel as soft?" The question is breathy, barely there as his finger slips to your chin.

His lips meet yours naturally the second it does. Not harsh, not fast. Soft, gentle, warm, perfect. Shaking just slightly, though you're not sure if it's nerves or excitement. It's always hard to tell with Seungmin. Your head tilts almost as if on instinct, not quite deepening the kiss but reciprocating by pressing your lips against his a little more. His lips lift into a beautiful smile in the kiss, you feel the breath of relief as he laughs a little against you before pulling away a bit.

"See y/n?" He lets go of your hands as you stare up at him with flushed cheeks, his newly free hand slides to your waist. "You want me, not an NPC." He smiles at you, genuine, not cocky like you would expect from him. "You wanna have me. That dumb doctor won't make you happy. I'm gonna make you so happy."

His smiling lips press softly against yours once more, you pull him into you fully by the collar and he barely manages to not crush you by resting his other arm on the ground by your head. He pulls back just enough to speak against your lips with a breathless chuckle. "Video game or real life, I'll make you the happiest."

He deepens the kiss then, lips pursuing yours again and again. He tests several angles searching for what gives him most access, desperation showing more and more with every part of his lips. It still isn't enough, your hand flies to his hair while you hum against his lips. In response his hand grips your waist a little tighter and his tongue tentatively slips to brush against your lips. The small gasp you let out and the tiny pull of his hair encourage him, he presses it between your lips and the moan he gives you as your tongue meets his rumbles against your chest.

By the time you part he's panting, looking down at you like he'd been waiting to do that for a little too long. When he catches his breath a bit, he lays his head on your chest and wraps his arms around your stomach. Mumbling against the fabric of your shirt in a way that is so adorable, and so Seungmin. "Also... his mustache looks stupid."

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SKZ Works

Taglist: @my-neurodivergent-world @possum-playground @m-325

[alltimecharlo]

thoughts on the ai fics on ao3????

hi!!

i saw the post you're probably referencing in the willmack tag too and i was debating whether to chime in with my thoughts but i think this all needs to be said.

i hate to say it but op is probably right... i've had my own suspicisions for certain fics or whatever for a while now.

funnily enough, the research at my current summer job is focused around generative ai (particularly it's use in education), so i am more than familiar with it's ways, uses, and people's questionable ethical boundaries when it comes to using it and what they're using it for.

it's sad but was probably bound to happen when willmack and their fics are so popular atm, especially where a large proportion of fans are quite young or maybe this is their first fandom and ai is this big new shiny toy at the moment that's being forcefully integrated into so many aspects of our lives.

that being said, research has shown that it is incredibly difficult to discern from something ai-generated and human written, for both machines and humans, espcially if there has been collaboration between the human and ai (i.e. the human has edited what the ai has written: 'hybrid-intelligence').

so, i think it's incredibly important to echo op when i say this but: we should not be trying to turn this into a 'witch-hunt' type situation, trying to scope out where it has and hasn't been used because there is no concrete way to know.

this type of fandom culture and behaviour could discourage anyone new from trying their hand at writing fic at all, or even experienced writers if they were to get wrongly accused.

i suppose the question is then: what can we do?

there was an instance not long ago on the willmack tag, i'm pretty sure, where it was evident ai was used because a response from the ai was left in the actual fic document itself (when chatgpt replies something like 'Here's your ammended text with added...' before generating the text).

in this instance, it was of course obvious. shockingly for me in the comments, some commenters didn't even seem to notice (or more likely) care! other commenters of course pointed this out and expressed that they will no longer be reading the fic. the fic was taken down rather quickly after that.

if there is irrefutable proof (and only if there is), be like the latter people, not the former! if you simply believe a work was created using ai, do not engage with it any longer and mute the author on ao3 if you want to go this far, but be mindful of the partially unfounded nature of your suspicion.

any tips for spotting ai?

i saw a few posts floating around after the initial one asking for tips - i think a few people were rightly shocked, because why should we expect ai to be invading our safe fandom spaces?

and unfortunately, as i've been saying, it truly is so hard to tell sometimes. but i can tell you what ai definitely cannot write, as in it's programming and restrictions literally won't let it: smut.

so please take some peace in knowing that every single filthy sex scene you have ever enjoyed has been lovingly crafted by the author. openai's restrictions stop chatgpt from venturing into nsfw territory, let alone doing it well.

but apart from this, i am afraid it's hard to say.

frequency of uploads is a scale i have seen some people use (e.g. someone is writing a lot/uploading a lot in a short ammount of time so they must have used ai to assist them)

but as a fast writer, minimal editor, and fic hoarder myself (i often complete fics in their entirety before uploading them, even with long fics) with a lot of free time on my hands at the moment because of my own personal circumstances and an intense hyperfixation, i must, must, advise against using this as a metric.

because i'm pretty sure that i have seen indirects on tumblr insinuating that because of the ammount of fics i have uploaded in a relatively short span (i.e. 'pumping out' fics all the time) i must have used ai to help me when obviously i am aware that this is not the case whatsoever. though of course the problem is there's no way to prove that and there never will be.

of course, this was very distressing to me, to have my fics and many hours of work viewed in that way, and ruined a very lovely day i was having. so please, please, please bear in mind that authors are real people and be cautious of your own suspicions.

i think it is as equally easy to get swept up in ai paranoia as it is to be oblivious to it, and obviously we shouldn't have to be trying to find a good balance between being aware of it and not looking for ai where ai isn't, but this is slowly going to become an increasingly necessary skill in fandom, i fear, as time goes on, alongside learning what to maybe look out for.

[captainsophiestark]

The Beach Episode

Cassian x Reader

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Written for my 2k followers celebration! Requested by @writeroutoftime! Thanks for the request Rita! This was seriously fun to write. Hope you like it!

Fandom: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Prompt: "I've waited for this."

Summary: Cassian's finally been un-banned from the Summer Court, which means it's time to celebrate with his mate and his friends.

Word Count: 1,739

Category: Fluff, Humor

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

I stood next to my mate, Cassian, the fearsome general of the Night Court's armies as he surveyed the scene before us with his hands on his hips. He took a long, deep breath in, then let it out slowly.

"...I've waited for this," he said. "For a long, long time now."

From Cassian's other side, I heard the High Lord of Summer let out a heavy sigh.

"Just don't make me regret this, please."

Cassian grinned, and I saw a cloud lower over Tarquin's expression.

"Don't worry. I won't."

With that, before anybody else could get another word out or otherwise change their mind, Cassian swept me into his arms and launched us both into the bright skies of the Summer Court.

I laughed, holding Cassian tight, his grin and joy contagious as the wind whipped around us both. After getting to the other side of the war with Hybern, we'd finally had time to do other things, like reestablish relationships with allies. And, for Cassian, part of that reestablished relationship with Summer included Tarquin officially lifting his ban on Cassian, as a sign of good faith and appreciation for all Cassian had contributed during the war.

Of course, neither of us had wasted any time talking to Tarquin and organizing a beach day with the rest of our friends to celebrate.

"This place already looks amazing," he said, leaning in to speak close to my ear as we swept across the land. I could see the shining coastline stretching out from here, with a small cluster of our friends already gathered and waiting for us. I squeezed Cassian's shoulder a little tigheter.

"Just you wait. You're going to love it here. And it has nowhere near as much pollen as Spring."

Cassian grinned, then carefully swept the two of us lower and lower, until we were able to touch down on the beach. Cassian immediately kicked off his shoes, wiggling his feet into the sand and throwing his head back with a sigh.

"Ah. It's been too long since I got to do this here," he said. I just smiled as I watched him.

He'd landed us just on the edge of the section of beach our friends had set up on. Since none of them had been banned from Summer, they'd all opted to come here early and set up a celebration for Cassian, while I'd gone with him to get his official pardon from Tarquin. As soon as Cassian looked in their direction, Mor put up a hand and waved us both over.

"Come on, you two!" she called. "We've been waiting for you all morning!"

Cassian wasted no time taking my hand and pulling me with him to our friends. Azriel sat on a lawn chair under an umbrella, a book in his hand, looking less than thrilled to be here. Mor, Rhys, and Feyre kneeled around a sand castle that looked remarkably like Tarquin's palace. And of course, slightly off to one side, Amren and Varian shared an armchair, Amren sitting between Varian's legs and leaning back against his chest with an almost feline smile on her face.

"What took you so long?" asked Rhys as we at last reached the group. "Did Tarquin suddenly have second thoughts?"

"I wouldn't blame him if he did," Azriel muttered, almost too quietly to be heard over the waves. Cassian just shot a scowl in his brother's direction, then flung an arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his side as he answered Rhys.

"It's been so long since I saw this place, I wanted to fly the long way with my mate to take it all in. Can you blame me?"

Rhys just snorted in response, and Cassian turned to address Varian.

"Are you here to spy on me? Make sure I don't do anything worth getting banned again?"

Varian just gave a noncommittal shrug, keeping his face carefully blank.

"I'm here to spend time with Amren."

Cassian grinned, this one with a feral edge to it, especially as his canines flashed in the bright sun.

"I'm sure that's at least part of the truth," he said. The corner of Varian's mouth twitched into a tiny smile as Cassian put his hands on his hips and addressed our group more broadly.

"Well! Thank you, everyone, for coming to celebrate my return to Summer!"

"We already had this planned!" Mor called, picked up a handful of sand and tossing it in Cassian's direction. "We'd still be here even if Tarquin hadn't unbanished you."

Cassian completely ignored Mor, his grin never faltering for a moment.

"As the honoree of the day," he said, emphasizing his words despite not looking directly at Mor. "It's my pleasure to officially say: Let's get this party started!"

I let up a whoop, and Feyre joined me. Rhysand clapped, a grin on his own face, and Mor had a smile, too, even as she shook her head. After everything we'd been dealing with lately, I truly couldn't think of anything I wanted more than a celebratory beach day. I got the feeling my friends agreed.

"Come on, Cass," I said, taking a half-step away from my mate and grabbing his hand. "Last one in the water buys the next round at Rita's!"

Cassian made it easy made it easy to pull him after me, the two of us racing for the shoreline. I thought I heard Mor swear before following after us, but no matter what, I knew I didn't need to worry about racing Cassian. We'd definitely be able to beat at least one of our friends to the water, so the first round at Rita's would be on one of them.

Cass and I hit the surf at the same time, then kept our momentum going as we barreled forward as fast as possible into deeper water. Once we got far enough, I plunged in head-first, coming up with a giant smile and a laugh. Cassian's wings made swimming a little harder for him, but through sheer determination and a little creativity, he made it work.

Mor, Feyre, and Rhys joined us not long after. Az seemed content to study his book on the beach, and Amren seemed to feel the same about laying with Varian, which meant the next Rita's tab would be on one of them. The five of us in the water had the time of our lives, splashing and diving and competing until we couldn't anymore. We eventually ended up just floating together in the waves, letting them buoy us in and out of range to the shore as we let the sun warm our faces.

Under the water, Cassian's hand found mine. I glanced over at him, but found his eyes still closed, face pointed towards the sky, even as he twined his hand with mine. I smiled and gave his hand a little squeeze.

"This might be paradise," Cassian mumbled after a moment. He spoke quietly enough, and with enough background noise, that I didn't think our friends could hear him. I pulled him a little closer to me through the water and he sighed. "I can't believe I spent so long banned from a place like this."

I couldn't help a little snort. "I can't believe you blew up a building the last time you were here."

Cassian sighed, then let go of my hand to wrap his arm around my waist, instead. He pulled me to him, and we floated like that, side by side in the sparkling ocean of the Summer Court.

"...I thought we agreed we weren't going to bring that up."

I grinned, even though I knew Cassian wouldn't see it.

"I agreed not to bring it up in front of Tarquin. That's a very different promise than not bringing it up at all."

Cassian let out a long, heavy sigh. Then, a split second later, his arm tightened around me and dragged me under the water. He let go almost immediately, but not before he'd dunked me and completely ruined my peace and relaxation.

"Cassian!" I shouted, coming up spluttering. When I got the salt water out of my eyes, I found him grinning at me. I narrowed my eyes at him, then let an absolutely feral grin stretch across my own face.

"Oh no," came Mor's voice from my right. Cassian and I both ignored her, our eyes staying locked on each other. "I was relaxed you two-"

"Just don't do anything to get yourselves banned from Summer again," Rhysand broke in, before Mor could finish her insult. In sync, Cassian and I's grins widened. There was a reason we were mates, after all.

To the side of us, I could hear Mor, Rhys, and Feyre moving out of the water, all three of them muttering and shaking their heads. I gave it maybe ten minutes before they decided to return and join the fray, once they saw that Cassian and I weren't in range of any buildings to destroy.

In the meantime, it'd just be the two of us. Magic would be fair game, as would recruiting allies once our friends decided to join the fun, although just because we could didn't mean anyone actually would join up with either of us. I used all of my strength to muster as big of a wave as possible and sent it at Cassian, and barely a moment after it hit him, he rushed me.

The two of us laughed, flinging water at each other, Cassian trying to sweep me into his arms and into the sky just to drop me back into the waves while I tried to wrap him up and drag him under. We'd had half of a nice, relaxing beach day. It only felt right for the other half of it to be spent on a water fight.

We stayed out in the water until sunset, when hunger brought us back to the beach for a campfire. The water fight hadn't had a winner, unless you counted the fact that we'd all enjoyed ourselves immensely, which I knew Rhys and Azriel would've hated to hear me say. Still, I couldn't help feeling like I'd won the lottery as I settled in on the sand next to my mate, surrounded by our wonderful friends just sitting, laughing, and talking around the campfire as the sun sank into the ocean behind us.

Now that Cassian had been unbanned and we finally had some breathing room from everything with Hybern, I planned to come back here with Cass as often as Tarquin would let us.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen @misshale21 @diego42

Maasverse Taglist: @lilah-asteria

[maybe-boys-do-love]

The last episode of My Sweetheart Jom was hilariously bad. I'm writing this out so you too can have as good of a time with that fact as I did. Otherwise, I'd keep this to my DMs with friends.

The ending didn't negate any of the previous intricate story elements (ala Last Twilight) or the expert film craft that I've squealed about for the past two months. Instead, it simply dashed out resolutions so trite and fast it became a high camp version of practically every complaint thrown at Thai BL. Entirely unintentional, but with eyes to see and joy in your heart, you too can laugh as hard as I did.

For example, do you have an issue with forgiveness in these shows? Scroll through my blog to see my consistent defense of it, but that's because, among other reasons, the character has gained some emotional and practical distance from the person and conflict. Imma say it's okay to take some time to process and seek some evidence of changes in behavior before you feel chill that your ex threatened to report you to the cops for pedophilia and grooming to try and get with you. Like, we can legit go no-contact with that ex for a while. We don't have to include him in the family shots while you declare your love and give tongue to your new boo (after which you'll be surprised your fam knows you're dating, of course). This is especially true if your ex didn't get a punch to the face by your boyfriend who, even in his maturity, has been characterized chiefly by his willfulness and protection of others. It was a glorious wtf moment!

And, of course, Yo did give into Tee's blackmail, but not with any amount of chill. People complain about an eleventh-hour forced break-up, but have you ever considered laying out twenty thousand candles, unspooling three strands of fairy lights, and crafting hand-made drawings of your relationship to break your boys' heart? (And thank you @doublel27 for that observation among others while talking this out with me last night!)

Let's talk about Thai QL parents! The bane of so many viewers. Well, Jom didn't merely make up with his hateful father. He did it in one sentence while accepting the chief of the year award. Turns out all it takes to resolve parental strife is take down his corrupt politician friend who's ordering the destruction of your towns' farms and attempting to murder you and your neighbors. All I've ever wanted is your conditional love. Thanks, dad!

How do you feel about time jumps? This one My Sweetheart Jom was actually in on the joke, luckily, with a dream sequence mourning Yo's forty-year study-abroad stay, Saint in wonderfully dreadful geriatric makeup while his faghag looked pristine (this show was always about age and maturity at its core). But no suggestion of communication between Jom and Yo in the irl five-year gap? And Yo showed much more maturity than I ever would on the return, because I would've murdered Jom and his unsexy teasing refusal of dick-town if it had been five years--and I have been nothing if not generous of my boys who divert instead of directly showing their affection (see my documented love for SOTUS, ATOTS, a whole post about bratting, etc.)

That brings us to that sex scene. Claims of gratuitous NC scenes abound in BL discourse. This series needed a sex scene or the implication of sex occurring--the latter might've been better as the rest of the show operates in a pg-13 realm. Like I said, at its core it was about age (specifically the age of majority) and maturity, so, yes, that's about sex. But I've never seen a sex scene run so counter to the arcs and characterization and for soooo long--maybe that's just the uncut version?

Behind the surreal pink haze and crystal beads, we're really back at square one. Jom's caring for Yo, with little input and even shock from the latter who's otherwise shown throughout the series to be experienced and horny. I'm not talking about the reality of sexual politics here. Have fun edging your partners' from behind without concern for what it means about your personality outside the bedroom. For Yo and Jom, they just went through a whole journey about Jom learning to accept Yo's maturity. At best, I can argue that Jom's learned to express his affection directly, here, but the bedroom's never been a space where that's an issue. Sex isn't gratuitous here, but the specific sex they had was.

I'm whining, but I cannot recommend enough the experience of cognitive dissonance that scene invoked, along with the whole episode. Up until this last episode, I considered My Sweetheart Jom a comedy I could recommend without reservations--visual and sound editing to a T, incredibly structured prat-fall set-ups, strong plotting for constant problems and conflict, characters just this side of exaggeration. Only the second BL I could say that for (the other is Cooking Crush--come at me!). Little did I foresee the gay disaster that was this final episode. It comes with all the reservations that come with camp appreciation. It was awful. I loved it.

[plusultraetc]

support your local yakitori place this WIP Wednesday 🍗

[seventh-district]

another Sunday, another evening spent unable to decide what to do with my free time

[bookshelf-in-progress]

I had forgotten how much fun it is to have characters.

They can have personalities! That influence the way they react to certain plot points! And they can interact with each other! And have chemistry! And do silly things! It's wonderful.

[icewindandboringhorror]

just a few little bits from the past few days

[amtrak12]

Okay this excerpt is super late night notes and not a narrative at all, so a) don't get hung up on the wording and b) I don't know if this will come across the same way it does in my head -- but this is the latest character discovery in my fic that is making me lose my mind:

(Context: Maris has kicked Niles out for fic-specific reasons, set somewhere in early S2 timeline)

Daphne’s witnessed a lot of men after they were dumped. It seemed one or another of her brothers were always pissing off the woman they were dating or they found out their girlfriend was messing around on them. Regardless of who was at fault, her brothers all reacted the same way: by partying harder, flirting more, and talking shit about the now-ex-girlfriend. Niles doesn’t breathe a word against his wife.

*deep inhale to steady myself* I really like writing Daphne's POV, you guys.

[nymphrasis]

So been playing around with ideas in my head and felt the urge to draw the female protag in the middle of me working on comms qwq. Like I was already 2/3 way done with the commission and my mind went "So here are ideas for this female protag" xd. Also decided to make the eye style "Simpler anime", since this was intended to be a quick sketch colored piece >w<

What y'all think of her :3?  Unsure if I should fiddle or keep it as is. I am happy with the hair color tho nwn! I've been debating on yellow or a peach-pink color, but ended up trying out both! Also which hairstyle do you think suits her best nwn?

[savage-rhi]

Magenta 😟

[spiderwarden]

A Wonderful Happy New Year of 2024 to ALL! Whether it has happened yet, or has not! Here is to you! - From Minthara and I, both!

[strawberriemars]

Debating whether or not to cross-post the stalker Bartolomeo fic I wrote to my NSFW blog. Or at least promote it more.

[fingertipsmp3]

Ughhhhhhh I hate writing and I hate not writing and I hate myself

[strayslost]

"When will they learn not to underestimate the Hunting Dogs? Those fools really thought they could escape the flames of justice - ha!"

Teruko is clearly pleased as she brags to Kitamura about the Hunting Dog's latest victory with a beaming expression. In actuality, it's not her own victory that she's celebrating, but Kitamura's - and to her, it's such an obvious outcome that it's not worth any surprise at all. It seems that doesn't stop her from feeling cheery, though - just as much as she would've been if she'd come back from interrogating a criminal or winning a fight herself.

"It's been too long since I've been able to go out there myself..." she complains, though it's evidently not enough of a complaint to ruin her mood. "I've been so bored, lately. Hey, you've gotta have something for me to do around here, right?"

@sunderedscript ( starter for kitamura! )