#this one has been in the drafts for a loooong time

[hunluanzi]

i made this blog to horneepost but i chickened out so ig it's for memes now lol

[residentflamingo]

Twice Members’ Favorite Places to Kiss You

Twice x fem! reader

Genre: fluff!!

Warnings: so sweet you’ll get a toothache <3

A/N: I have so many good drafts I want to share with you guys, but my motivation has been at 0% because school has been kicking me in the ass 💀✌️ But lately I have been getting a lot better, so more works are expected to come soon! Which also means I will be opening back up my requests box :D Someone did request me to write something a long time ago, and I’ve been steadily working on it over time. It’s got about 3,000 words on it, so as long as my lazy ass doesn’t put it off to writing it, that draft will be coming out soon as well. Thank you to all of you lovely people who have been patient, and also the ones that have been liking my posts. You guys are phenomenal and I love and appreciate all of you ❤️

Nayeon

Lips ♡

A very standard one, but well suitable for her

She loves how soft and plump your lips are

Like Sana, Nayeon is a very affectionate person

So after she’s had a loooong day at the studio, all she wants to do is give you some repetitive and silly kisses that end up in slow and passionate ones

(Sometimes she’ll even bite your lip if she’s feeling a little bit frisky that night…)

“Oh my gosh I missed you so much Y/N. You won’t believe how many new dance routines they made us learn today.”

Her favorite kinds of kisses are good luck kisses and goodnight kisses <3

(And the passionate ones of course ;)

Nayeon loves how sweet it feels to be able to show her love through a kiss, and be able to feel your soft lips in the process

Kissing your lips make her feel grounded, and wanting nothing more than to spend every moment of every day with you

Jeongyeon

Forehead ♡

Very domestic and homey feeling for her

Her kisses are always very sentimental and sweet

She doesn’t kiss as often as other people, which makes the wait worth it every time

“Here honey, you go lay down and rest. I can do the rest of the laundry for you.”

Always kisses you randomly and making sure it catches you off guard

She loves seeing you all flustered and shy <3

Kissing you on the forehead reminds her of being married to you someday, and just being able to protect you from harm

You are everything to her, and she never wants you to feel anything less than that

And if you’re shorter than her, then it’s an even better reason for her to kiss you on the forehead <3

Will also give you the biggest kiss when she comes home from work 🥺

“I missed you so much honey, what have you been up to?”

Momo

Tummy ♡

When you had previously told her about being insecure about your tummy, you never thought she would take it so seriously

But oh boy how wrong you were

It instantly became Momo's favorite place to kiss you

Momo made sure to always remember it so she could prove your insecurities wrong

She loves how soft and chunky your tummy is, and just can't ever get enough of it

Also loves how much you giggle when she kisses you

If you ever have those days where you're not feeling too great, she will start giving you kisses there first and make sure you feel so loved and beautiful

“You are so beautiful Y/N. Don’t you ever forget it.”

“Your stretch marks are not ugly at all honey I promise. They make you look even more gorgeous.”

She will sometimes leave hickies and bite marks there too, but only when she’s in the mood and you give her permission

If you are also pregnant, she will not hesitate to smother your tummy in kisses then too <3

It would be almost impossible for her to keep her hands off of you

Her end goal is to always make you feel loved, and to remind you that you are the most beautiful woman she has ever set her eyes on

Sana

Dimples ♡

We all know Sana is a very affectionate person. So choosing her favorite spot to kiss you would be impossible right?

Nope not at all for her.

The first thing that had drawn her to you was your radiant smile

But the deal breaker was the dimples that came along with it

She just couldn’t get enough of them

Once you guys had been dating for about 3-4 months, you both had gotten very comfortable with each other and started being all lovey dovey and such

That was when you noticed how much she loved to kiss your dimples

Any chance she could get, she made sure to kiss you in that same spot

It never failed to make you blush every time, and that’s part of the reason why she would constantly kiss you there

She also loves how well they compliment your face, and how adorable they make you look

“Y/N have I ever told you how much I love your dimples? They make you look so cute!” *pinches your cheeks*

Jihyo

Cheeks ♡

She doesn’t mind kissing on the lips. She loves it actually, but she just enjoys kissing your cheeks even more

Jihyo’s kisses are the most genuine ones you will ever feel in your entire life

Sometimes it’s hard for her to say how much she loves you outloud, so she’ll express it through her kisses

When you’re having a bad day and come home tired, she’ll wrap her arms around you and give soft pecks on your cheeks

Or when Jihyo has to leave for early morning dance practice, she’ll slowly wake you up by peppering your face with kisses too

It’s just a super sweet gesture for her, and your puffy cheeks are too cute for her to not kiss anyways

She loves the way you blush when she randomly walks up to you and kisses you

Jihyo adores you so much, even if it’s hard for her to say outloud sometimes

When she does, she makes sure it meaningful, and at the perfect time

“I love you so much Y/N. Even if I don’t say it outloud that much, I really do. You’re my world, and I never want you to feel any lesser than that.”

Mina

Nose ♡–-

When you confessed to her that you hated the shape/size of your nose, she made it one of her top priorities to make you feel less insecure about it

Her shy persona may keep her from expressing a lot of things, but it didn’t stop her from showing her affection for you

You were used to her always giving you warm hugs, and very soft kisses on the lips

But when she added your nose to the agenda, it was game over for you

She loves to kiss your nose when you look super cute, and she can’t handle it

Or when you’re doing something sweet for her like washing the dishes, or doing her laundry. She’ll always find a way to pay you back with affection

“Thank you so much baby. You’re so sweet.”

Over time your insecurities had slowly gone away after receiving so much love and support from her, making your nose the very very least of your worries

Having someone like her in your life made you realize that looks weren’t every thing, and that you never have to worry about when you’re with her

“Honey your nose is so cold. *kisses your nose* Here let me kiss it some more so it will feel warmer...”

Dahyun

Hands/ fingers ♡

Dahyun is very loving and sweet

She loves to hold your hand when you two are walking around Seoul together, or just cuddling on the couch

She loves the intimacy it brings between you two

If she doesn't express her love with words at the moment, she will express it with actions

She'll bring your hand up to her lip and pepper your knuckles, fingers, and whatever else with kisses

Something else that she would never admit, is how she loves the softness of your hands

It reminds her of when she was little, and she would hold her mother’s hand

Dahyun wants you to feel loved and adored by her at all times, even if it’s not verbally

When you guys are at restaurants, she will have no shame holding your hand from across the table and kissing it

“Dahyun be careful. People might see us.”

She’ll just laugh and say, “Let them. Nothing will ever stop me from expressing my love for you darling.”

Chaeyoung

Jawline/Neck ♡

We all know Chaeyoung is a big romantic

And can sometimes be a bit flirty with it too

So it’s no surprise that her favorite place to kiss you, would be the most intimate and steamy

Even though it is her favorite spot to kiss you, she doesn’t really kiss there very often

But when she does, she makes sure to go all out

She loves how intimate it is, and loves hearing/ seeing your reaction every time she kisses in that area

Most definitely will leave hickies too, so be aware when she starts going to town down there

“You like it when I kiss you like this baby?”

You can just already see her smirking while saying that…

She loves riling you up and making you melt from her touch <3

Tzuyu

Ears ♡

Tzuyu is a one-of-a-kind woman, and the sweetest one you have ever met

When you guys first started dating you it stayed at the awkward stage for a little bit longer than most couples

But when she started warming up to you, her affection towards you became even greater

It started with little kisses on the nose, then on the cheek, lips, she eventually progressed to your ears

You thought it was weird at first, but you eventually grew to love it

Tzuyu loves to hug you from behind because of the height difference, and she’ll often whisper in your ear how much she loves you

Sometimes she’ll nibble a little bit too after kissing it, but not very often

If you have slightly larger size ears, she would tease you about it every now and then

But not enough to where you would feel insecure

She just thinks your ears are super cute, and make you even more loveable

"I love you so much Y/N... Don't ever change. You are perfect just the way you are."

[caldella]

Stolas, Via, and Prophecies:

A Future Destined to be Misread

This is another loooong one! As frequently happens with Stolas discussion: TW/CW for mentions of suicidal thoughts/ideation and abuse.

Important note:

I originally started this as a reblog to this post on @amalthea-13 's blog, but it got long and felt like hijacking a conversation that wasn't mine. (Hope you're okay being @ -ed like this, I can remove if you'd like.) It would feel wrong to post this without crediting it or suggesting to read that post if you'd like, because the discussion was very interesting and made me think on a few points that I touch on here: particularly Stolas' life and how it limited his ability to do/interpret his job. This post here is a combo of my own character analysis, story analysis, and some fan theory.

I feel like I have multiple drafts going RN that were either inspired by or started up at the same time someone else posted something similar, so recognizing that is literally the minimum I could do.

Basically, in this post I'm taking my personal examination on Stolas' Goetian role to read prophecies in the stars: what has come from that, what they've potentially been, and where that might be going in the future of HB. Some of this is reiterating things I've already reblogged before, but here we're putting it in one handy-dandy spot.

Has Stolas Actually Read Prophecies in the Show?

This is kind of what kicked off my idea to post. I've seen discussion a few times on how Stolas has never actively done his job in HB. However, I'm pretty certain he has. The thing is, the very nature of prophecies and how they work is why this might have gone unnoticed. If by 'reading prophecies' what's meant is actually meeting with the other Goetia about them - no, we never saw that. But I'm pretty sure that reading prophecies was what he was doing during the morning of The Circus:

He woke up, speed read through the constellations, then shoved the Grimoire back and moved on. This looked like a quick check-in on what the stars say. So, why did nothing come of it? Why was this never shown again? Because he didn't see anything new and likely hasn't for a long time.

Prophecies are generally rare and about big events. They're not going to pop up every day, or every year, even every decade possibly. They usually don't tell someone when specifically they're happening, either. They can hang overhead for generations, and the Goetia live indefinitely. A prophecy could involve something centuries in the future, and Stolas is only in his 30s. His job involves a lot of waiting for nothing, like constantly refreshing a webpage in hopes to see a few pixels move. Reading prophecies sounds powerful and impressive, but in Stolas' reality, it's tedious and fruitless: a good metaphor for his entire life. It probably reinforced his feeling of being trapped. Nothing changes: nothing ever changes. The stars themselves told him that constantly. Today is the same as yesterday and the day before, and tomorrow will be identical. This is his role, to be repetitive and useless day after day. He cannot avoid it, cannot escape it. The universe itself says so.

In fact, the feel I get is that Stolas found new information so infrequently that he could update the other Goetia every couple of months, and no one was the wiser:

Stolas' Confusion and Uncertainty About His Job

Stolas was both a good and a bad choice to read prophecies. He loves books, loves reading, loves learning. I think he threw himself into his role as much as he could, at first. But Stolas is also a very literal individual. Prophecies are not. They tend to come via metaphors and symbology, or they predict the outcome of something without showing the way things get there. Kid Stolas already had a shaky faith in how well he was going to be able to read them. We might find out that he received training on how to use the Grimoire after this, but being able to see prophecies doesn't mean he can understand them correctly, or even 100% know when he sees one at all. And in a society that considered itself above consequences, I don't think anyone else bothered to delve into what he discovered. They were left with his limited interpretations. Misreading prophecies is a common trope in literature/mythology. And when prophecies exist, those affected by them don't understand them 100% or realize when they're happening: not until the gears are already turning.

Someone like Stolas, who has limited life experience and tends to take things exactly as presented, only received his own viewpoint, which in true prophetic fashion skewed the results.

Stolas' Isolated Lens

Another callback to Amalthea-13's post - I 100% agree that Stolas' lack of faith in his own future and his social abuse/isolation hampered how he viewed on his prophecies, or hampered even getting them in the first place. His life was too above the everyday reality of working class Hellborn like imps, hellhounds, incubus, etc. He was also an outlier in his own social group, too, from the one-two punch of not fitting into their culture and having Stella/Andrealphus continuously degrading his public image. He knew enough about the ways the Goetia functioned, but he stayed uninvolved in their day-to-day pettiness and didn't share his life with them - to an extent where most of them didn't even notice when he wasn't present at a trial about him.

Why does all this matter? Because any prophecies he received have been viewed from this limited, hopeless lens. I think that he and Via both received prophecies, but they were only partially understood, and Stolas has heavily misread his own because he only focused on what was important to him. Having limited people he was connected to, and only one person he cared about at the time, he focused on how the future affected what was most important to him: Via.

More on that in the next segments.

Stolas & Via's' Actual Potential Prophecies

I am one of those who will die on the hill that Loo Loo Land, an episode already filled with foreshadowing of future plot points, gave us Stolas and Via's prophecies right away. Via's are more obvious, because they've both come true by the time we hit Mastermind/Sinsmas:

Via's prophecies:

Her living in the palace without Stolas, Stolas being gone

Stolas going away without her to live with Blitzø

Limited vision again! Just like Stolas, Via's viewpoints were restricted by her life experience and the most important person in them: in this case, her father. It hasn't been explicitly said that she is prophetic, and she might not even know she is. However, I think Octavia took glimpses of the future that might have a bigger reason behind them (like Stolas being absent from the palace) and only saw how that immediately affected the two of them, not what that could signify in the bigger picture.

In fact, for someone worried about losing their dad, she's rather blind to how Stolas wasn't wrong to want bodyguards at Loo Loo Land. Sure, he didn't need them, as the imps that attacked him couldn't do any lasting damage, but she skimmed over the fact that he was literally tied up and accosted multiple times. She thought having bodyguards at a theme park was ridiculous, but attacks on him did happen, even if they were mere nuisances. It didn't occur to her that her fear of Stolas leaving might be part of some bigger picture that was already starting to happen - one that involved Stella, Andrealphus, the other highborn of Hell - that it was more than just Stolas chasing Blitzø.

Which Brings me to Stolas and His Prophecies.

(Sorry the auto-captions from Stolas singing here are not good on YT, so I can't screencap the exact lyrics well)

I am far from alone in believing that You Will Be Okay was a set of a thinly veiled prophecies that Stolas received early on and interpreted from his limited experience/priorities. And I'm by far not the first to post about/try to digest it. But still... if these were prophecies, what do we potentially have here?

His own absence in Via's future

The stars aligning

The Seven Rings collapsing

Creation dying/finding him in the sky

Octavia will be okay

How Stolas Interpreted His Own Prophecies

Stolas doesn't have an interest in perpetuating the Goetia's cycle of power and control. He's had no reason to interpret prophecies in a way that benefits them. No one has really cared about him for a long time, and he's been shown over and over (by his father, by his wife, by their society, by the future in the stars) that he has no power to change things. I think this very literal-minded owl took any prophecies exactly as they were presented and didn't consider symbolic or alternate meanings. And the only personal use he had for them was to protect his daughter, because nothing else mattered at the time.

What Stolas believed he saw:

A future without him: he will be gone, and Via will take over the palace and his responsibilities.

The universe will continue, and the alignment of the stars and all their symbology will be Via's to interpret.

Whatever he's foreseen, Via will make it through. On the last days, when all the things have come to pass, Via will still be okay. Though he will only be there by the stars/everything he's taught her, she will remain until Creation itself is gone.

He has a lifelong history of abuse/isolation, and tendencies that hint at him being passively suicidal. If these are prophecies Stolas received, it's a pretty safe theory that he interpreted all of this as his impending death. After all, he was already forced to produce a "cautionary heir." The whole reason Via exists is in case something happens to him (and we still don't have answers on who his mother is/what happened to her). What else would take him away from Via except his own death? With a dwindling will to live, a wife who despised him, and a culture that barely acknowledged him and would only mourn his loss as a political requirement - there could be nothing else.

When Stolas looked into the future, he thought he saw nothing for himself. His story was not actually his - it was Via's.

Stolas spent his adulthood waiting for his nothingness to end (or as I've had pointed out that I didn't mention - waiting to end his own nothingness). He never moved forward because he had no support or external influence to do so. Never hoped for a better future because everyone around them and the stars themselves - which determine fate, as his job told him - said he wouldn't be there for it. At least, that's what it seemed.

Lack of Discussing His Prophecies

With all this, I think it makes a lot of sense that Stolas hasn't openly discussed prophecies so far in the show. From what he believed, his visions of the future only affected himself and Via, and Via would come through them fine. Stolas has spent his entire adulthood hiding his abusive marriage and his own depression issues from Octavia. if he foresaw the potential of his own death, there'd be no way he'd tell her about that, either. No need to worry her with whatever his fate was going to be. Just make sure she'd be okay to go on without him. No need to suggest research with the other Goetia - they don't care, and the only things that might affect them are the inevitable collapse of the Seven Rings and the End of Days, which none of them could prevent. If these were visions of the future, they only discouraged him from reaching out or looking further.

A Wrench in the Gears of Fate

We can't discuss Stolas and his bleak view of the future without then bringing Blitzø into the equation. Stolas doesn't call Blitzø his light for no reason - he's an outlier that defied everything Stolas had been told about his future. He met him before he started his 'job.' No one planned for them to meet as adults. The stars hadn't said anything about him, either. Stolas suddenly had an outside influence dropped into his life. He was experiencing feelings he thought would be locked away forever. He was making decisions based on himself: what he wanted, and not what the world told him was inevitable. Blitzø was a giant question mark that suddenly appeared on the map of his life.

All these prophecies might have been hanging over his head, and perhaps his end was still waiting out there in the nebulous future. But he could be himself until it got there. He could at least decide who he was in the first place. Besides the choice to be a loving father, he was making decisions for the first time in his life.

And all that culminated in Mastermind: Stolas determined that even if he couldn't change the overarching things meant to happen, he could choose how. He wasn't going to wait for fate to happen to him - he was going to make it happen himself

Misinterpreting/Self-Fulfilling Prophecies

This was such a fucking amazing moment for Stolas' story, with so many, many layers to it.

We obviously have this as Stolas' and Blitzø's big emotional moment that solidifies that both of them are in love. Neither of them wish to move on. Stolas loves Blitzø. He chooses to love Blitzø despite what anyone else would want. He would rather die than be without him. He would die for him. He would love him no matter what, over and over. Always.

On one hand, Stolas took control of his own destiny. He took accountability for his own actions here, a theme that continued through Sinsmas. He fully decided in Mastermind to make decisions on his own terms.

But on the other hand, he still only defied fate by giving into it completely. "If the stars themselves say I'm going to die, then I'm at least choosing how and when. And I choose now."

Stolas still functioned under the assumption that he didn't have a future. His "choice" was to accept that he was meant to die, but to do so in a meaningful way. He would accept the fate prophecied for him by beating it to the punch and causing it. And he only made this choice because he couldn't think of another way to protect Blitzø's life. Part of his choice involved taking accountability for his own actions (like lending the Grimoire to Blitzø), but at the same time, he was forced into it by people like Andrealphus, who had already been waiting to make a trap he would walk into.

And even though he made a choice, he wasn't really allowed to keep it in the end.

Losing Faith in His Own Visions

In my opinion, post-Mastermind Stolas has likely lost all faith in interpreting the future. He thought he understood it. He was supposed to die. Via was going to inherit his place forever. The universe would keep going, with her safe. But, as often happens with prophecies, he read it wrong. Via's fear/future insights came true, and Stolas' vision that he wouldn't be there with her came true, but he didn't die. He has to live through it. Stolas has spent his adulthood waiting for an inevitable end - he accepted it, took control of it, tried to make it happen - and he's still here, still going. He always figured he would be gone as those gears of the universe kept spinning, but now he's still here, experiencing all of it as it turns and turns...

I don't think he's going to discuss prophecies or visions of the future, not for at least some time. He's misinterpreted them so far, and in his eyes it's done nothing but make things worse. The only positive thing he has left at this stage is Blitzø, who he still views as outside of any pre-made destiny the stars told him about. He got lost in that question mark on the map. Now he's not sure what that inevitable destination is actually supposed to be anymore, so why look into it? He's been only wrong so far.

Fan Theories - Stolas' Prophecies and His Future/the Future of HB

AKA I personally think Stolas will choose all over again, but this time fully for himself.

This part is just speculation! I could be wrong on all accounts!

With Season 3 heavily in the works, and theories on the plotlines/character arcs swirling around, I've had my own theories on You Will Be Okay and what it might actually mean, in context of the show's future. Not what Stolas read of them, but what they could hint at for the audience. Side note: I know that the entire HB story wasn't written out way back when S1 first started, but I think it's equally valid to theorize "the HB writers took You Will Be Okay and found ways to interpret it into the story" just as much as "the entire song was written to foretell the plot."

So let's go over some lines!

"It always seems so stark/How silence grows under the moon/Constellations gone so soon"

I don't think Stolas meant/realized this was a little prophetic, but I feel like it was. Once Stolas got involved with Blitzø and the Full Moon arrangement, he kept up less and less on his duties and responsibilities. Metaphorically, he became more silent in his job, and reading prophecies became less and less important. Blitzø was a silent space that destiny had not told him about. As he started to make decisions for himself going into S2, he started fighting against the monotonous fate the stars had pictured for him. Eventually, that led to him losing access to them completely. They're now gone from his life.

"As the stars start to align"

I feel like this is where we are at the end of Season 2. This is obviously a reference to his job, now Via's job, of reading the stars and finding prophecies/meaning in them. And a reference to how he felt his life was destined, written into the stars. But the metaphor of reading the stars can also be taken as where we are currently in the Helluva Boss story - Blitzø's and Stolas' actions for the first two seasons have kicked off some major things that are going to have domino effects as we go. The plot is starting to roll, and the future is taking shape. Stolas' decisions have had a hand in that, and he doesn't even realize how much.

"And if the Seven Rings Collapse/Although the Day Could Be My Last"

I feel like this is where we might be headed in the story. Not a literal collapse of the Rings of Hell, as Stolas has likely interpreted it, but metaphorical. We've had some hints starting at Mastermind that Blitzø surviving the trial - along with his and Stolas' words during it - have caused a ripple effect among the imps and general working class of Hell. The series doesn't shy from showing the corruption that inherently keeps the people of the Rings class divided and repressed, and it's exposing some of the weaknesses that might come into play to mess with that. I don't know if "outright imp revolution" is precisely what will happen, but I think the overarching story is going to involve a major shift in power dynamics that permanently alters how things are run in Hell. But it's not going to happen without major characters like Stolas being in a lot of potential danger to get there. This could also reference how his words in Mastermind have already started that ball rolling - a day that nearly was his last. It was STOLAS who mentioned Blitzø lighting a metaphorical fire in his race. He was an active part in kicking off any plotlines that come from there.

"And when Creation goes to die/You can find me in the sky"

Stolas didn't believe he'd be there for the end of days. And I'm going to be honest - I think he's right, but not in the way he interpreted. Stolas thought he was going to be killed (or if we take his potential suicidal ideation seriously, perhaps he'd reach a point where he would end himself). But I think the final part of Stolas' story - like Season 4 last few episodes end - is going to be different. We have him currently stripped of his powers. IIRC, Viv herself said that Stolas' injury from Western Energy would have a "lasting effect." She also said Stolas will not "physically die" in the show. (If someone finds a the screenshots of these please please share because I'd love to past it in here for reference). The reference to the injury could just mean the scar he now has from it. Or it could mean something else. The not physically dying could mean he might die metaphorically - which could have been losing his powers/identity in Mastermind, or it could not...

For all we know, Stolas is the first of his kind to be stripped of his powers. It seems he's the first Goetia to demand things like a divorce. He's functioning outside the realm of what the upperclass of Hell really understand. Again, uncharted waters, big question mark on the map. I've spoken with a few of you on here about how out-of-touch the banishment itself was. Stripping someone of everything and throwing them onto the streets that hate them would, under other circumstances, just be a more painful death sentence than the outright execution. Yet the upperclass of Hell didn't seem to view it as more than a temporary, slap-on-the-wrist punishment. I'd say it's fair game to say that no one has any idea what that angelic weapon injury might've done to Stolas, nor do they know what another one will do if he is injured again while stripped of his powers. No one really knows what stripping his powers might've done to his body in general. We've also been given what I take as another hint - a pretty obvious reference to Disney's Hercules in Sinsmas, with Blitzø saving Stolas from the ice hydra/dragon in a similar way to Hercules fighting the hydra.

So, where do I think this is heading?

I think Stolas is still going to choose to "die" - but it will be in the form of giving up his immortality. He will choose to die, but this time because it's how he can truly LIVE.

Let's face it, as much as it might hurt Via to process, Stolas doesn't want to live forever. And I'm not even sure how his character might become okay with doing so unless Blitzø magically gets immortality, too. Via is the only thing he cares about right now that will be around that long. He doesn't get along with the other highborn. He doesn't want involved in deciding how others are governed besides letting them choose for themselves. And the only individual he cares for besides Via is very not-immortal. I think, at the end of things, Stolas is going to face a reality where he is no longer immortal, whether it be a new injury that kicks off something in his not-magic body or a side effect of having his powers ripped out of him in the first place, not sure. But I think he's going to have the option to regain immortality, he might even have it back along with his powers for a while. But like in Disney's Hercules, he's going to turn the immortality down to choose a mortal life like Blitzø and the IMP crew. Because a real life to him would include all the things he thought he could never have: people who care about him, a life he chooses, and growing old with someone he loves. A family - like he tried to build with Stella but couldn't.

"When creation goes to die/You can find me in the sky" might be a reference to how he's always going to metaphorically be there for Via until the end of time, but it also might be a hint that HE, specifically, will be a creation that will one day die, but his love for her will live on.

I think Stolas saw most of his prophecies as things that will happen in a future after his passing, but he misinterpreted. They're all instead things he's going to personally live through, just like in Mastermind. Just as Via's prophetic nightmare was about her future, Stolas' visions weren't fully about Via: they were about him. He's not a passive observer of a future without him - he's part of the catalyst that will make it all happen.

As for getting any future prophecies, amalthea-13's post mentioned that he might be better at receiving/interpreting them later in the story, now that he's slowly gaining agency and drive and sees things outside his highly controlled old life. I again refer to that post for any potential, as my ramblings are more on stuff Stolas has already potentially foreseen. TBH I hadn't even considered the option of him having future prophecies, and it's an interesting idea to think about. While I'm more inclined to guess his prophesying is over, things could be really interesting if I was proved wrong - and I've definitely been wrong on plot theories before! Hell, this entire post could be wrong! Who knows for sure?!

Conclusion

That's about it! If you read this whole thing, please take my wholehearted applause, love, and apologies for the length. Y'all know I love this absurd, depressed owl. I'm so nervous for the chaos he's gonna go through in future seasons, but I also can't wait to see it. Time will tell if any of my personal prophecies come true, or if I misread things badly myself instead. 😘

[stashandtell]

Nobody Asked For This: My Rankings of the Hermione x Weasley Ships with REASONS

I drafted this weeks ago and had set it aside with no clear plan to publish it. Then, after a stroke of 2 AM genius this morning, I wrote a piece called Ranking the Weasleys, (to be posted on 19 Sept 2024 in honor of Hermione's birthday) and it seemed like a great time to finalize this post and share it. Feel free to tell me your rankings in the comments, be it your list of the fittest Weasley as you find them or your ranked-list of pairings with Weasleys, whatever you fancy to share. Enjoy! - - - - I made a loooong post with recs for each of my top Hermione/Weasley ships that you can check out here. Read Ranking the Weasleys or see the related post where I talk about writing Ranking the Weasleys and I share just a few initial thoughts on the fetishization of war wounds in the fandom here. - - - - I've recently dove into the world of Hermione x Any-Of-The-Weasley-Brothers pairings, which is what happens when you're burnt out on the regular ships you read and looking for something more. Personally, I'm surprised I gravitate towards so many Hermione-focused pairings, especially het pairings, but that's just what I've been into lately. I hadn't considered pairings with her and any of the Weasleys until someone recommended Charmione fics in a thread for Theomione. Once I dug into the fandom's characterizations of the Weasley brood and had a better sense of who each of them were on their own, I found I really like many of these ships, some more than others. The rankings of my top-three rotate pretty regularly depending on the last great fic I've devoured. This is a snapshot of where things stand today but it could move around. Before we dive in, I've preview my rankings and the major themes of the pairings in the most popular fics shipping Hermione with a Weasley. 1. Bill: Wolf-ish Daddy 2. Fred: Uplifting, Fun, and Romantic 3. Charlie: Sexy and Rugged 4. George: Growing Through Grief 5. Percy: Acceptance of Self, Also Rules Daddy 6. Ginny: A Firecracker and a Friend 7. Ron: Angsty Best Friends-to-Lovers 8. Gideon or Fabian: Time Travel AU or Ghost Lover(s) 9. Arthur or Molly: I haven't read these ships so they're going in the bottom of the list. I'm not opposed to reading these pairings but there's already such a trove with all the brothers in my tbr list that I'm not sure I'll ever dive in. 10. Weasley Progeny: I haven't read any of these ships. I have not read many pairings that include anyone dating their friends' kid in the next generation. (Though I have read a small number of fics pairing characters like Hermione or Ginny with older characters like Kingsley or Sirius...shoutout to the older/younger Nottcissa ship.) 11. Aunt Murial: Technically she's a Prewett but I think I would be into a Murmione ship if we got there. So far nothing comes up on AO3. - - - - 1. Billmione: What I love about a Hermione x Bill dynamic is his position as oldest-sibling and caretaker. If the author has resolved the relationship with Fleur as one that has ended in divorce or death, that extra element of emotional tenderness really can push the story to complex depths. I also find it interesting to see how writers engage with Bill's hybrid/half-werewolf affliction. I'm hard-pressed to really fall in love with any Billmione fic where their relationship starts pre-Battle of Hogwarts, though I do get it. I personally enjoy stories that can be canon compliant so I want to see how the Fleur issue is handled. I also find that with such a significant age-gap for that developmental stage of teenager-dom, (not like Fleur was THAT much older than Hermione but still...), it's incredibly rewarding to see an older Hermione that brings some kind of life experience to the relationship so she can be more equal with Bill.

In some of the fics, especially a few of the multi-Weasley, reverse-harem style pieces I've finally started reading, Bill's older-brother position and wolfy streak create the core dynamic of the group.

I'm not the biggest fan of the multi-Weasley pairings with Hermione but what I loved most in the standout fics are the group dynamics and individual roles that come out. Hermione can be incredibly stubborn and independent on her own and it's always interesting when she's in opposition to Bill to see how the others in their relationship choose sides.

- - - - 2. Fremione: On it's face, I don't even know if I like this ship all that much but I keep finding myself suckered in. I suspect a big part of it is that it hits me in the sentimental feels. My inner-teen just loves a Hermione x Fred story that traces their young love to whatever conclusion the author brings it to. Even if they get together when they're older and Fred lives through the final battle, they both usually end up with a friends-to-lovers scenario that's full of light sweetness and sometimes romance.

There are some truly fantastic works in this ship and I go 50/50 on whether I prefer ones where Fred lives or not. Depends on my mood and the tone of the story I suppose. There are very few stories in this pairing that I haven't enjoyed and the element of pranking really can make shorter fics fun.

I REALLY enjoy past Hermione/Fred relationships being included in fics where she looks back on their love fondly while she navigates new relationships, sometimes with one of his brothers. Fred is often portrayed as a goof, which seems to encourage authors to consistently write a more engaging and dynamic version of Hermione instead of following some of the fanon's (beloved by me as well) personality tropes/traps of her being insecure, slow-to-assert-herself, angry-broken-or-both and etc. His character brings out some of her best qualities consistently across fics, imo.

- - - - 3. Charmione: I quickly realized when I started reading Charmione fanfics that I do not give a shit about dragons but deeply wish I did. It's a cool plot device and part of the world to hang out with but it's not for me. Tons of appreciation for writers who have thoughtful plot lines and research interesting medical maladies-- but it's hard to hold my interest. (A million kudos when a dragon-centered fic does though!) The Reserve is usually full of original characters, which is fine, but I find myself less invested in the story if we don't know much about these OCs to build out that world.

I often find in the dragon-reserve heavy pieces that I was getting part-way through were objectively GOOD multi-chapters but I kept stalling out in favor of reading something else. Usually whenever there's a Hermione that ends up at the dragon Reserve, she's characterized by her unyielding passions for creatures' rights, spurred on by house elf and werewolf activism. Those are interesting characterizations for her but they just don't keep my attention. That said, I have yet, to date DNF'd any Charmione work so clearly it's not a huge imposition. That said, Charmione is in the top third because there's so much that can be done with this character. I've read a number of fics where Charlie is ace (asexual, demisexual, etc.); where's he's inexperienced because he's married to his job; where he's "too free-spirited" and very experienced; where he's enthusiastically bisexual; where he's not interested in marriage; where he's pining over Tonks; and so much more. His sporadic attendance at family holidays and the ability for Hermione or others to visit him on the Reserve lends to great plot opportunities.

- - - - 4. Geormione: I haven't been around long enough to fully understand why Fremione is a more popular ship than Geormione, but here are some observations: - Fred is portrayed in the fandom as the more loveable, airy goof while George tends to be painted as the more serious and quiet of the two - Generally, in the canon, Fred speaks more than George, from what I've been seeing, as I notate up my secondhand copies of the books - Fred's death or, depending on the fic, brush-with-death, is ripe for the reimagining of his relationships and personality - According to internet gossip, Hermione with Fred were considered for pairing in the canon originally but it didn't suit the overall plans for the series. Source for this can not be verified but it's come up in multiple places. I believe this contributes to the numbers: Fremione has 2182 works and Geormione has 548 works on AO3, as I draft this. All that said, George is usually characterized as the quieter and possibly more serious twin. He might be more shy than the outgoing Fred. Post-war, he often mourns the loss of his twin brother, his best friend, and his sense of himself as part of the pair which can, frankly, be kind of a drag if a writer is looking for a pairing to write a hot romance about. (Not that people can't be sexy or have healthy sexual relationships while grieving!) However, when works take the journey to establish Hermione and George, it's often incredibly rewarding. It tends to feel like Fremione with the temperature turned down on the lightness and has the ability to go deeper into any darkness that needs to be explored. I do love a Geormione but there are statistically fewer works out there than some of the other pairings, thus it's earned it's spot mid-tier. - - - - 5. Permione: There's not much to say because there aren't that many longer fics with this pairing written and most times it's tied to a Hermione x Multi-Weasley scenario. This gets the 5th and some days I would rank it higher because there are worlds in which this is the actual correct pairing of all of the brothers, based on what we can surmise from the canon.

A swotty, uptight prefect-turned-Ministry drone with a regretful heart of gold, Percy's guilt over abandoning his family and Fred dying before him is well-matched for how many writers imagine Hermione's coping with the aftermath of the war. Hermione would have known him during some prime formative years and knows he'll date muggle-born or half-blood witches, a la Penelope Clearwater. It's easy to dismiss Percy as being "not fanciable" if you don't read this ship but some of the writers out there make a compelling case for him, particularly when they make a logical transition from his personal fastidiousness to him seeking to play with control and BDSM elements in his private affairs. I love a good Permione piece. He's often positioned as the conservative punching bag of the family and it's a thing of art when a writer makes us root hard for him.

- - - - 6. Herminny: I haven't much of anything in this pairing yet. Truthfully, I've been holding off on it because I'm sure I'll do a deep dive once I start. It shouldn't come as a surprise that I've read almost no Harmony works either. I love a F/F fic but tend to read in waves and I've been working my way through the Weasley brothers pairings (when I'm not refreshing for Nevmione and Theomione works.) If you have any excellent recs for Herminny or other pairings name, please drop me a line! The reason Herminny is above Romione is because I love many of the fanon characterizations of Ginny in all the other fics I've read, especially when she's mischievous, cheeky, in tune with her sexuality, and ready to take on her own adventures in the world. The ones I have read where she and Hermione have been together were lovely but most were very short fics in collections. - - - - 7. Romione: I read A LOT of Hermione-centered works and authors very often find a need to resolve the young romance with Ron or use him and their relationship as a catalyst that propels our heroine down a path into the arms of another man. I can honestly say that I have read ZERO Romione endgame fics to date, and that includes one shots AND drabbles (~100k words or less.) WILD, right?

I really enjoy angst and Ron is one of the punching bags most often leaned on by writers. One of these days, I'm going to go on a Romione bender as an offering of penance to his character for all of the times I rooted against him in every other fic.

- - - - 8. Lowest Tier: I have never read a Hermione x Molly nor an Hermione x Arthur fic, and while I'm not fundamentally opposed, I'd be flabbergasted to find either pairing beating Romione. I'd much sooner read an Arthur/Molly fic than one that ships either with Hermione because that's just where I'm at right now. I'm happy reading works that aren't smutty in any way but damn if some smut doesn't help along a work that really isn't capturing my interest. While I love when I see versions of Arthur and Molly who are loving friends and/or parental figures to Hermione, the angst-lover in me doesn't mind a solid bashing of either of them and it's hard to get that out of my head. As for the other possible pairs with Hermione and Gideon, Fabian, Murial, or the children of the other Weasleys, I'm just not well-read enough in any of those pairings to have an opinion. I literally only started reading Marauders-era works two weeks ago (and really ONLY well-known Wolfstar fics so far.) A Note About Fleur: One character who's excluded from this list is Fleur Weasley nee' Delacour. I've only read triad- or multi-Weasley fics that put Hermione with her and Bill. While I do love a Bill/Fleur/Hermione work, it seemed disingenuous to rank Fleurmione against the others with what little I've read. That and I'm so clearly jazzed about a Billmione where Bill's free-and-clear to be with whoever, that my ranking of Fleurmione would be heavily biased.

[igneous-crocnroll]

Awwwww oh my gosh that Zappa design is so cute!!! (sorry I didn't do my homework and check if someone had already asked, I should have looked further)

If I may continue my curiosity, especially since I know a lot of the critters you draw are of the fluffy sort, have you done Answer before? (Actually looked through your tags this time and don't think I saw him) since the closest things he has to animal motifs are snakes and frogs bc of his battle summons, would he still be fluffy to you? Scaly? Is there any hard and fast rule to help you decide what to make a character? I'm interested in your creative process, if you're willing to share it!

Don't worry one bit!! I was actually thinking about drawing him once more, I welcome repeat requests! Buuut if they are repeats, I encourage suggestions of poses, situations OR perhaps different outfits (I've drawn an acr Faust followed by a requested Strive Faust, for example), otherwise the poses I think about just keep getting crazier...

The last time I drew answer was AAAGES ago, and I was a bit shy about tagging my art since I was just getting into Guilty Gear... I'm always shy about invading a tag with my funny animals at first. Either way I don't blame you for not finding him (he was untagged) and this is my chance at redesigning him!!

I think both snakes and frogs fit him very well - though to account for his spikes, we can make him a Spiny bush viper or a Crested Forest Toad.

Draft edit: I typed a whole article about my animal-picking process and it's making the post LOOOONG, so here it is below a cut!

I think... When making a character an animal, I like to discuss it with a few friends first, bounce some ideas off of them. It usually comes down to "what animal I want to draw"

There are of course moments when the work is done for me (Like Leo, Croe, Izuna, etc.) but even then a reversal of expectations is always fun. I don't think anyone would disagree that Elphelt is bunny like, but I made Aria, Valentine and Jacko lizards*, so how can I finangle this conundrum in a way I'm satisfied with? Well, I give Valentine, Jacko and Ramlethal things like manes and mammalian-like ears, and gave Elphelt horns and a lizard like tail. Meeting in the middle! I like to restrict hybrids and fantastical creatures to special characters (the gears and the valentines, for example), but I do often make exceptions for characters I really like (Hi Baiken!).

(*Own bias. I'm a croc! I'm a dragon! I'm a croc and a dragon and I like my reptiles! Aria happens to be a monkey tail skink because I learned about the existence of this animal recently... and they have prehensile tails! How cool is that?)

Though not Guilty Gear, back in The Day I made Lisa Silverman from Persona 2 half mountain bongo half lioness hybrid. Not to get too deep into her story, this was both to consolidate her connection to the zodiac Taurus, to her friend Tatsuya, and her feeling of otherness from those around her. Sin would also count as a hybrid, but it only really shows when he's older. Don't mind his tail.

Some other times, I like to keep in mind the region they're from and try to pick an animal from there. This is why Axl is a badger! This can play a bit into hurtful or boring stereotypes, so I try to be careful about it. That's also another issue - a lot of animals are used for insults (rats, snakes, cows, pigs, etc.) and even though I never do this out of hatred, someone else can misunderstand me, so that's another thing to keep in mind.

If characters belong to a group, I can follow a theme! With the Conclave, they're ancient creatures from rrroughly the ice age, and I try to have one mammal, one fish, one reptile, one bird and one, er, something else. Work in progress. Which one of them is more bug-like...

But the most important part to think about, for me, is motifs. Bedman and Delilah, with their oneiric motif, are sheep, because of "counting sheep"... Though Delilah could've been an owl, a creature quite associated with the night-time. Faust is an old world vulture, because though looming, creepy, with an odd gait (you HAVE to go see videos of vultures walking about, its so funny), he's doing an essential job, and he's actually quite kind! The Jellyfish Pirates are marine animals, May being an otter because of her speed and strength and Jovial Disposition. Frederick is a Gorilla, not just because of the jokes regarding his play-style, but because despite their looks, they are usually timid, gentle and inquisitive animals.

It's also because of motifs that characters like Ky don't have a single set animal. He's a wolf because of canines, he acts as a bridge between mankind and "the beasts", a pack animal who is quite fierce in battle but cares dearly for his family. He's a unicorn because of his dichotomy with dragons, because of his newly acquired gear blood (fantastical animal!), because of his Noble Appearance, his royalty, and lets be honest he's kind of horsey isn't he.

Sometimes I like to go for lesser known animals whenever I can, because to be quite honest I love zoology and I want everyone to appreciate the great variety of fauna that exists in the world! Sadly it doesn't always work out, because it's easier to recognize a character as a Lion than as a black-footed cat. It's the thought that matters, I suppose!

Even after an animal is picked, that choice can change because of my best friends the shapes. I've been told my art is very "shapes" (sic) and it is In Fact a point of character design I focus a lot on. Your first impression of a character can say a lot about them! Sometimes the conjuction of the animal's shapes and the character's shapes don't work out, in which case I can make them an Interesting Inversion Of The Norm, if that would make sense for the character, or I can pick another animal. Jam is currently in Animal Limbo because she was meant to be a hedgehog (spiky hair... yeah, sometimes I can be basic), but they're not exactly known as "agile" animals unless you count a certain blue blur. Stocky legs make for cruddy high jump kicks.

(Though I think it's pretty obvious I like to draw characters on the stockier, heftier side. Never be ashamed to follow your heart when drawing a character, it's what makes your art yours!)

When drawing my pear shaped dragons I have a lil bit more freedom, since I can just pick and choose different parts.

Thennn... When it comes to colours, I usually stick to variants of the hair colour, if it happens to be distinctive enough. Inevitably I'll pick colours from the outfit because they're associated with the character (sol is red, ky is blue, i like funny animals, and I bet so do you!), but usually change a bit of its values so it doesnt blend into the actual outfit.

Faust's feathers are my self-proclaimed greatest moment of genius, being greenish blue and inspired by his shirt. It's not like there was much hair to pick from!

Sin and Dizzy were a special case of being the fanartist's precious favourites, with their colours, designs and patterns being tweaked since... 2023, I think? You can go back and see just how different they both looked!

Now, everything that comes next, the sky is the limit! How will them being a funny animal affect their behaviour, fighting style, what funny jokes can be made? Its all up to you!

[sunnnfish]

collection of shirashiro drafts, circa May 2024. because im crazy and insane. theres a lot and they're kinda long. good luck

May 13, 2024

SHIRASHIROOOOO

May 13, 2024

shirashiro. the childhood friendship. my fabiniku au. shirahamas wet paper towel swag has charmed tashiro. i could crossdress for you...? tashiro gets feelings first but hes genuinely so cool with it. doesnt even make a big deal about it. able to act completely normal except for straight up running away a few times. shirahama blushing at slightest displays of affection. especially after catching feelings. MOST IMPORTANTLY weird train rides home and playing video games together and teenage boyhood roughhousing that gets weird but shirahama has to go splash his face with water and tashiro laughs it off. they DONT get together in high school. god forbid. they go to mixers to get girlfriends til theyre at least 25. wait maybe. MAYBE. they become college roomies together cause theyre bestiessss and not weird about each other at all. bros before hoes am i right. dont worry about the sock on the door. tashiro gets a little gender too dont worry. shirahama is bi.

May 13, 2024

things about how shirahama laments bachelorhood and tashiro offers to fill in

May 14, 2024

shirashiro who dont get together in high school but go to mixers until their senior year of college, which they totally go to the same college and dorm together because theyre best friends, in which they come home from another failed mixer, midnight at best, leaning on each other halfway drunk and sad because they still cant get a girlfriend (because Something has been bubbling under the surface for a loooong time.) lighthearted crushes on girls at best, maybe on follow up date but nothing Sticks because they keep thinking about something else. nights up late playing video games, illuminated by the glow of the tv, menu music playing as they get sleepier and sleepier. nights up late playing shirahamas girly games, dating sims, tashiro telling him to pick the choices that he would like to be told. tashiros never one to keep things in, makes his affection known rather easily but shirahamas too goddamn self-deprecating that he doesnt think its real. i wanna get a girrllffriiieeennnddd... i could crossdress for you...? Comments about some scenario from his games he wants to experience, tashiro does every single one for him. doesnt say a word about anything Explicitly. he may be blunt but he does have some shame, some desire for a preservation of status quo.

May 14, 2024

they come home to a shared college dorm in senior year after another failed mixer, midnight at best, 3 AM at worst, drunk and leaning on each other lamenting their singularity again. unsaid Something keeping them from truly liking any girl enough to go steady. unsaid thoughts of Well who am i gonna play games with if you get a girlfriend. tashiro gets a little too close to a girl that night, he even seems kinda into her. shirahama feels--miffed. certainly not jealous. even though hes had half a mind to call it that recently.

witching hour and all, shirahamas haloed by fluorescent dorm lights that are far too bright for drunk 20-something year olds. shut em off... shirahama obliges, but now its too damn dark to see, dumbass. feel their way around each other and the room, moonlight replacing haloes and complimenting kyoujis hair way too well. gonzaburou looses his hair, ruffling it out of his face. unsaid somethings, blearily looking at each other in dark moonlight, socks and clothes already strewn around a college boys dorm. maybe we just werent made for girlfriends or something, one of them laughs. climbing into bunked beds, tashiro staring at the ceiling and shirahama staring at the bottom of a bed. then what were we made for? one of them echoes.

heavy with sleep, mmmmm... 'll think about it later.

#thinking about how we dont know shirahamas birthday #whos older/younger…

May 14, 2024

something about how id totally date you if you were a girl, tashiro

May 14, 2024

shirahamas like a sheep dog to me.

yknow

May 14, 2024

shirahama walks into the dorm one day to tashiro squinting in the mirror, gloves and bleach brush held over chunks of hair. "do you uhhh... need some help?" "no i uh. ive. i got it--" clearly struggling to see all the spots and Not drop bleach everywhere. "dude you need help" "ive done this before!!" "so?" walking over already, peeling the gloves off tashiros hands because those kits only ever come with one pair. tashiro pouts, shirahama pulls a chair over, "here." he grabs hair pins and properly sections it out, telling tashiro to tilt his head this way and that way, hold still man. stop pulling so hard! bleach burns at gonzaburous scalp where they put it too close. Kyouji finishes up, smoothing hair and tying a stupid plastic bag around it, takes a picture just for blackmail, snickering the whole way. Pulls up the current girly game hes playing while they wait 30 or so minutes. Tashiro makes fun of every girl. Timer goes off, washing rituals ensue—“I’ll just take a shower??” “No you cant let the bleach run down your body idiot”—puts his head under the sink, gonzaburou doesnt think too hard about the gentle massaging on his head, instead focusing on trying not to let bleach get in his eyes. Kyouji tells him to turn around and bend backwards so they can wash the front of the head. Kyouji doesnt think too hard about seeing gonzaburou literally bent backwards, eyes squeezed shut so bleach doesn’t get in them, instead focusing on washing all the bleach out and thinking about what hair care he’ll have to let gonzaburou use. Shuts off the sink, playfully ruffles his hair with a towel before properly giving it to him. Perfect smooth gold, better than gonzaburou’s ever gotten on his own. “So? How’d i do?” Smug grin met with a shove in the shoulder. “Shut up”

May 14, 2025

Drunk after a mixer, i wish i was a giiirrrllll (a la fabiniku), share a stupid look because they always seem to know what the other is thinking. cheap drugstore lipstick and eyeshadow and blush, as if the alcohol didn’t make them flushed enough. Small college dorm room lit by moonlight because normal lights are always too bright for tashiro to adjust to. Turn on the tv for some semblance of sight, automatically turning on whatever game they were previously playing. Sitting on shirahama’s bottom bunk bed. Stupidly giggling because they know this is stupid and a dumb idea, but something in gonzaburo flutters again as eyeshadow and blush and lipstick get painted on by somehow steady hands. Not that the steadiness makes it necessarily good by any means. Gon-chan can’t stop laughing, so everything is taking thrice as long as it should to put on, stop laughing dude, i can’t put it on straight, full of giggles in his own right. Okay okay, waves his hands and makes a stupidly serious face that just makes them laugh more. Okay for real this time, schools his face into a gentle smile, easily painted by lipstick now, getting harder to smile as he feels Kyouji hands near his lips. Dont think about pink elephants, gon-chan. Okay done. Kyouji snaps the lid closed for emphasis and smiles at his work, illuminated by a half-finished girly game and soundtracked by its gentle music. Certainly not good work at all, but enough in the minds of tipsy 20-something year olds up past midnight. Can i do your hair? - Sure why not. Gon-chan turns around, letting kyouji pull his hair loose and comb through it with his fingers. He grabs brushes and hair pins and fashions it in a simple but cute style, letting gon-chan’s bangs loose in a way they usually aren’t. So. How do i look? Subdued playful energy as kyouji stares a little too long and too quiet. Oh ummm. Like a girl? Exaggerated shrug and averted eyes and lazy smile like it was a normal reaction that wasn’t ten seconds too late. Gets a laugh out of both of them at least. Sleepiness finally in the air as gon-chan says Your turn >:). A lot quieter this time around, gon-chan’s shaky hands kinda tickle kyouji’s face. Gon-chan can’t stop himself from laughing as he pulls away, her hands less steady and eyes less artsy, it looks like a caricature. Kyouji’s exasperated expressions don’t make it any less funny. Too bad your hairs not long enough to do much with. Oh wait wait wait, smiling too big, takes his old ponytail and pulls up kyouji’s hair straight up and ties it. Laughs even harder to where shes not even making sound anymore, just shaking hiccups that start to hurt. Infectious enough to where kyouji laughs a bit too, but ultimately tells gon-chan to calm down. Touching his shoulder and laying next to him. They’ve been so tired for a damn long time at this point, it’s a miracle they haven’t passed out. Gon-chan rolls over on his spot on the bed, ‘m just gonna. Sleep here. kay. Already out of it by the time kyouji even processes. Whatever. He’ll be self-conscious about it in the morning.

May 14, 2024

shirahama gets a bunk bed at his house which is why tashiro convinces him to let him have the top in the dorms

#double entendres intended. Always

May 15, 2025

have to write this down so i dont forget. malts comment about shirahama being passionate despite how lethargic he looks and acts. compared to tashiro who looks bright and passionate but doesnt really know what he wants at any given moment. tashiro who thought Man shirahama sure seems passionate about basketball in the first years novel. wish that were me. you suck man ha ha. how dare you go somewhere without me. tashiro who has this bright and optimistic front that certainly is real but also enforced to cover things up. repression is about not letting anything slip, not even to yourself. dont let anyone know about fears of loneliness and lack of direction in life. go with the flow.... youre not actually worried about it! youre tashiro gonzaburou! you go with the flow! and youre totally fine with it! everybody knows youre fine with it. avoid responsibility and self-reflection. becoming ping pong club captain doesnt just happen to you. youre a genius tashiro. youll be okay.

#im normallll....

May 15, 2024

anyways. shirashiro college majors or something. tashiro undeclared or undecided or whatever cause im evil. maybe eventually settles on some kind of sports science. shirahama something artsy. maybe even like. theater design..? does anyone see the vision. oorrr makeup artist...? Does Anyone See The Vision

-----

okay me from Today. January 10, 2025. this was my shirashiro spiral that i never posted about because im deathly shy but im over it and i need everybody to know the core of this. i was thinking about kind of editing this all together but im too lazy and also i hate cutting stuff out.

shirashiro is fundamentally something that doesn't happen for a long time to me. because best friendship gets weird like that. and i think its really easy to think about kissing someone late at night, lit only by the tv glow. anyways. also if anyone wants to know more about my "fabiniku au" as i mentioned a few times. 1) read fabiniku (manga) 2) ask me about it and i'll find the link to an old post i made about it. anyways again. this is going to be such a shirashiro-tastic 2025. go forth my shirashiro warriors

[several-ravens]

@jo1sstuff i'm going to reply to this in its own post so i can find it and add to it later more easily if i need to

also it's under the cut because it's a demonstation that's long af

tldr: technology

so here is the line of thinking that got me to this conclusion:

1) episode 65 presents something totally different from any other category we've met so far, and that is analog horror (so found footage, creepy videos, possessed digital devices, and the likes). usually it is about something that's old, or older than the person who uses it (just like tessa winters in 2017 who finds the (alleged) program made by sergei yshanka in the 1980's)

and analog horror has been a very important part of the 'new age' of horror as technology and the internet grew. there are some very famous things like the movies the ring and blair witch project, or mickey mouse whistling, or the scp foundation, or the new doom mod, or creepy pasta, you get the idea

my personal comment: it's very meta to have an episode on analog horror which is literally an ancestor and relative to tma itself, and i LOVE this

2) tessa winters makes a loooong monologue about the differences between analog and digital and draws our attention to jon's tape recorder

which reminded me of the very first episode where he explains why he records some statements on tape: "I plan to digitise the files as much as possible and record audio versions, though some will have to be on tape recorder, as my attempts to get them on my laptop have met with… significant audio distortions." (unofficial transcripts)

3) in episode 62, gertrude says: "Who does the book come from?" and mary keay responds: "The End, of course." (unofficial transcripts)

notice how she said 'who' and not 'where'. so my guess is the categories are not only there to classify the different types of fears but also have an 'entity' or a 'god' attached to it

my personal comment: i like the idea that they are similar to the great old ones from lovecraft, who also plays a very fundamental part in today's horror

4) i'm then reminded of american gods by neil gaiman (<3), where the gods of the old worships have a war with the new ones (technology, media, etc.)

which brings us back to our point no.2 (analog vs. digital), and the fact that apparently the only things that won't go into jonathan's computer are the statements that fit into the categories, so that are associated with our 'old gods' (the end, and the 13 others)

"why wouldn't they go digital?" you might ask. well, because they are at war with digital and the new technologies (or something of that kind). here i quote the unofficial transcripts from mag47: jonathan says: "You make it sound like there’s a… war." to which delirium michael responds with: "[heh] Then I will say nothing further. I wouldn’t wish to tarnish your ignorance prematurely."

5) the fear of our future being taken over by technology is a very real thing (detroit become human comes to my mind rn, also fallout somehow (even though it's more about capitalism but technology is still important, i.e. nuclear weapons), also the current discourses with ai, etc.)

so its just a draft for now, but my guess is something along the lines of 'technology' or like 'progress'

P.S. (i know editing a post after it has been posted is bad but honetly idc): you (jo1sstuff) said something about the 15th corridor not being there at the time of episode 35, which confirms this theory about 'technology' being a new, emergent deity

[eomma-jpeg]

for the ask game, sorry if these have already been asked!

8, 10, 14, 17, 25, 27+28 :)

8. if you had to write a sequel to a fic, you’d write one for…

i already answered this, but what a shame! it is my college au and this first "book" is gonna be about the vashmeryl relationship coming to fruition, and the sequel will be them working through some loooong time trauma and issues, but together !

10. what is the longest amount of time you’ve let a draft rest before you finished it?

oh months, certainly. i have wips and drafts rn that are just sitting.... waiting for me to return LOL

i try to go back and finish the chunks i have and not leave them like,,, halfway done, but i do have a vashmeryl wip i started.... over a year ago? and still have not finished it lol

14. where do you get your inspiration?

honestly from other media i watch. i'm currently planning out a trigun dancer au and i was motivated because of Strictly Ballroom, a silly Baz Lurhman movie (please watch it the romance is so cute and it takes itself so seriously)

also from my friends !!! @squid789 is such a good person to bounce ideas off of and has inspired (i stole her ideas) a few aus

17. talk about your writing and editing process

so... ideally i do what i did for in the meadow where I wrote and wrote and wrote,,, and then just constantly went over chapters with edits and rewrites until it was time to post.

with itm i was always at least 3 chapters ahead and had the time to go back and check through chapters, make sure everything flowed well, ensure continuity... but with my newer works it hasn't been like that.

I have good grammar and spelling in general and i also use The Internet to write on so it gets spell checked, but i don't take nearly as much time to edit my work as i'd like to anymore

im a sleepy teacher who just wants to post her fanfiction T-T

25. besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

alright!

so i love doing embroidery. im currently working on a cross stitch project that has been very relaxing

i love to sing. i cannot express to yall how much i love singing. it is seriously my favorite thing to do. i love music and expressing my feelings through song. i lovvvvvvvvvvve to sing (im pretty good too hehe)

i sew and draw (SOMETIMES) and i cook. i do a lot of things! i love to explore just various arts and crafts

27. your favorite part of the writing process

i just love creating. i love putting ideas on the page and getting the content that i want... because i love the writing of others (and i do apologize) but there is always something that isn't for me

but thats because it wasn't written for me!! it was written for the author

and thats why i write,,,, because i want something specific

and i love romance and it gives me the power to make my blorbos kiss >:)

28. your least favorite part of the writing process

putting the ideas on the page T-T

im a bit stuck right now with what a shame mostly because i keep doubting myself WHOOPS

but its so hard when i cant decide with idea will be best

IMPORTANT LACE ADVICE: it doesn't matter what idea you get down, just get something down. once you have something down, you can change it or decide if you even still want it. the hurdle is getting the idea down!

thanks goo !!!!

[the-mandawhor1an]

Don't mind me I'm just rambling...

As tomorrow is a special day I want to get a few thoughts out there.

The decision to write something for Tumblr specifically instills fear in me.

Why?

Because I have abandoned too many stories by now. My Google drive is filled to the brim with drafts and unfinished stories. I'm scared of abandoning Maia as well. And in return letting you guys down.

This is the first fic I'm publishing in a loooong time. It has been 10 years.

I've lived off of my own, sometimes caffeine driven, motivation and a bit of Zaddy's euphoric feedback whenever she got to read my stuff. Maybe getting just one or two people to enjoy my pathetic endeavors will fuel my fire enough to make it through.

I'm not setting myself up for failure here

I really don't want to. As much as I like foreshadowing, this isn't it.

Maia and her story are very important to me. As is my partner in crime, my muse, my riduur in spe, Zaddy. I will not abandon the roleplay, I will not abandon the daydreaming, I will not abandon the fic.

It's two years until we probably see the last of Din Djarin. There's so much time to fill the void until we get our final fix. Who knows if we even get a season 4 before the movie. I want to be a part of the fandom space. Because I enjoy going absolutely insane with you guys. And as much as I love being on the receiving end of your creativity, I want to give something back.

Back to my original train of thought:

I'm 'storyboarding' Maia's story right now. I'm trying to condense a story that currently sits at about 300k words. We have maybe 1/3 of the plot written out so far.

It's insane.

All of this while working full time and while simultaneously working on my other hobbies (namely drawing and making Maia's costumes) – forget video games.

I'm feeling a lot of anxiety. I love the story and fear that I'm not doing it justice.

Watch out for tomorrow.

Love you guys.

[oh-my-damn]

Ummmmm🤨 Miss Lawyer Barbie Mandy are back on cevans train🤔 is it true what I’m hearing 🤔 also I remember that I was sooo hoooked on one of your stories bavk in the day but you haven’t updated them in soooo long that i forget which one that was 😂😂😂

Im not on the cevans train! That train has left the station a loooong time ago and I didn't even buy a ticket lmao

However i am feeling inspired to write again! So what you may have heard is that The Stranger has been updated (and I already have two drafts for the next chapters)

As for my other stories, I don't really have much of an update. I reread Sweet Heartache in hopes of feeling inspired but I didn't 🤷‍♀️

Astarion is still my main muse atm. I think it had more to do with missing Chramelia as a couple than it had to do with Chris himself lmao

[quiet-nocturne]

answer your 30 questions please and thank you!!!

WOO. HERE WE GO, YA'LL:

ao3 wrapped [writers edition]

How many words have you written this year? Published? 22,685. Unpublished? A loooooot ahaha.

How many works did you publish this year? Currently, 3. Hoping to have 4-5 by christmas though. 👀

What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? definitely cause i'm lovesick. That thing was a labor of love. My first fanfic baby in a loooong time.

What work of yours has the most hits? currently cause i'm lovesick (I ain't even ashamed), which is at 735 hits. But it's kind of biased, considering I only came back to fic writing in like october.

What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? nothing in particular - I'm just happy to have any engagement!

Favorite title you used honestly, no favorite as of yet. All the titles I've used come from song lyrics that are super royai coded/important to me, so I like them all. That answer could definitely change in the future though!

If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? most recently, taylor swift (hopeless, breathless, burning slow), but also banks (cause i'm lovesick and you're all that matters to me anyway - she's SO GOOD for angsty love songs). Lyrics are so, so important to me. I have a ~300 song royai playlist (which I'm going to slim down and post here at some point) that I listen to constantly, lol, and a huge notes file on my phone filled with potential song lyric titles. I have a music degree and it's literally so important to my writing process aajsaksjljasjl.

Pairing you wrote the most for this year? Royai. lol. That's not going to change any time soon. The extreme hyperfixation is REAL.

Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Again royai. They're the best. My babies. 💖

What work was the quickest to write? Surprising, chapter 2 of hopeless, breathless, burning slow. started it last night and i'm already nearly done the first draft. That thing flew out of me, especially considering chapter 1 was much more of a journey lol.

What work took you the longest to write? definitely chapter 1 of hopeless, breathless, burning slow. it wasn't the writing that was the issue - it was the editing. I really dragged my feet on it, and could have had that thing out like 2 weeks ago. 🤦‍♀️

How many WIP’s do you have in your docs for next year? oh god. my wip's currently include: - chapter 2 of hopeless, breathless, burning slow - sequel to cause i'm lovesick (I ain't even ashamed) - a christmas fic - angsty, hurt/comfort, character exploration, ishval restoration multi-chaptered fic (I'm REALLY excited to work on this!!! yay angst) - roy and riza returning to her old father's house post-cannon and STUFF HAPPENS, fluff, hurt/comfort, etc (also really excited for this one! i've been daydreaming about it for MONTHS. Even just thinking about this fic feels like sinking into a warm bath. That's the vibes I want it to give) - ANOTHER post-promised day fic, because I'm a broken record, but this time more humorous/cute. - aaaand yet another post-promised day fic, but one where Riza REALLY ISN'T DOING WELL/almost dies like a million times at the hospital and roy is sad (!!!). - briggs angst/sick fic - does that make sense? no? it will. Yeah. yeahhh. That list is only going to get bigger. 🤷‍♀️ Some of these will also, shockingly, not have smut lol.

What’s your longest work of the year? So far, ch. 1 of hopeless, breathless, burning slow at a whopping 9, 792 words. It really ran away from me.

What’s your shortest work of the year? mmm, you're all that matters to me anyway at 5,954 words. apparently I can't write anything below 5k lol. 🤷‍♀️

What WIP are you taking into next year with you? Oof, I mean probably most of what I had listed above. I aim to have some of it done - but it's already December 7th, so yeah.

What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? Smut. lol.

Your favorite character to write this year? Surprisingly, Roy. I almost find him easier to write than Riza. Normally I don't enjoy writing from the male perspective. But Roy Mustang is just 🔥. I was so surprised lol.

The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year? No one, as of yet. But we'll see what I say once I start working more on the multi chaptered fics. 😬

What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? More Royai, maybe with a dash of Roy/Maes. Maybe I'll try a bit of Ed/Winry? Who knows!

Which work of yours have you reread the most? chapter 1 of hopeless, breathless, burning slow. I am so fucking sick of it ahaha helppp.

How many kudos in total did you get this year? Currently at 142! You are all so sweet. 😭

Which work has the most comments? I think cause i'm lovesick at the moment!

Did you do any collaborative works this year? nope! Definitely something I'd consider doing in the future though!

Did you write any gifts this year? maybe! 👀 we shall see

Did you receive any gifts this year? nope!

What’s your most common category? ...Smut. lol. 🤷‍♀️

What do you listen to while writing? ahhhh I love talking about music with my ships! like I said, my ridiculously huge royai playlist. also all of my top songs on spotify were from it, which includes: 1. Say Yes to Heaven - Lana Del Ray (i've got my eye on you / i've got my mind on you) 2. Work Song - Hozier (no grave could hold my body down / i'll crawl home to her) 3. I Wanna Be Yours - Artic Monkeys (secrets i have held in my heart / are harder to hide then i thought / maybe i just wanna be yours) 4. Night We Met - Lord Horan feat. Pheobe Bridges (i had all and then most of you / some and now none of you / take me back to the night we met / i don't know what i'm supposed to do / haunted by the ghost of you) - that ishval restoration fic is definitely going to use a lyric from this song SOMEWHERE Honorable mentions: Die First - Nessa Barrett (someone dies or someone gets hurt / but if one of us dies / i hope i die first) Ya'aburnee - Halsey (i'll never know / if there's danger in confession / or it's memory that presses / like a blade against my throat / another word and i could choke / but what's worst? / tellin' you my feelings / or to die without revealing / that you got inside my head / and set a fire there instead?) Dress - Taylor Swift (there is an indentation in the shape of you / made your mark on me, a golden tattoo / all of this silence and patience / pining and anticipation / my hands are shaking from holding back from you) 10000/10, would play at royai's wedding.

Favorite work you wrote this year? cause i'm lovesick. Again, it was my baby. I loved writing it so much.

Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? mmmm, probably: "She'd planned to stay angry at Mustang for longer, but then he'd surprised her by sauntering into her apartment basically the second his train had arrived, eyes blazing with desire as he collected her in his warm embrace, murmuring you have no idea how much I've been craving to taste you against the soft skin of her throat." (I tried to find one that was mostly sfw lol).

Biggest surprise while writing this year? Just being able to write, in general! It's been so much fun. 💖

[gabolange]

7 & 38 for the writing ask!

7. What is your deepest joy about writing?

Oh man, I don't know how to just pick one. But here are two.

I love really getting into a character's head and figuring out what makes them tick and then finding a way to translate to the page in a way that feels authentic. Call it voice -- it's my favorite thing, and getting it right is the best feeling ever.

Also, I've been writing on the internet for a loooong time. I love seeing how I've evolved as a writer, the things I've learned to do, the things I know I'm still working on. There are so many memes about how fanfic is just a hobby, it doesn't have to be good--and of course it doesn't, everyone finds their joy in different places. But I love getting better, I love seeing the stories where I learned how to do something new and how that skill evolves over time. There is so much joy in that evolution, and that improvement, and that capability, and in seeing how what I choose to do has changed over time.

38. What is something about your writing process YOU think is Really Weird? If you are comfortable, please share. If you’re not comfortable, what do you think cats say about us?

My particular weirdness is how much I really don't like to talk about my stories. You will never see me participate in a WIP meme. One of my most favorite fandom spaces does writing sprints where you're supposed to share a line you've written, which is the most lovely thing ever...and it makes me twitchy. (Also to see other people's in-progress stuff, IDK.) It scares the story and gives me anxiety. I have finally gotten to a point where I can tell like THREE whole people what my general ideas are, which is genuine progress. I used to just turn up on my beta's doorstep with a draft like a cat with a dead mouse.

Speaking of cats, I just got a second cat. The first cat is currently wondering WHY THERE IS A DEMON IN THE HOUSE. The new cat is wondering why the older cat thinks he's a demon.

Weird ask for writers!

[dhc-official]

Uh-oh master, a fourth rough draft has hit the attention span

State of DHC: #1

On top of shifting my focus to a new draft to take things in a new direction, I'm also procrastinating* starting this newest draft by writing about the older ones! (*we'll call it retrospecting, it sounds more productive that way) So I may as well finally tell you all what I've been up to.

Lilith, what in the ever-loving fuck is Devil Hunter Clara, you might be thinking to yourself as you read those words in the order that I wrote them. Well, I'm glad I asked! As it stands, Devil Hunter Clara (DHC) is a collection of rough drafts and scrapped chapters sitting in my writing folder, a handful of my dearest home-made blorbos, and the thing dominating a great many of my waking hours.

As I'm gearing up to start anew on a fourth draft, I am filled with a tantalizing mix of dread and excitement at the prospect that I don't really know what Devil Hunter Clara is. With each draft, the shape of what I want it to become shifts a little more, like chunks of marble falling away, coming ever closer to its final sculpted form. It's characters become ever more familiar to me, and I grow in confidence about what I do and do not want it to become.

Before me is the blank canvas and all the lessons I've learned so far.

The Before Times

I suppose I should say a little about how we got here. I've wanted to get into writing for almost as long as I can remember, but like many things in life I just kinda,,, never got around to it.

Of course, I had little snippets here and there, lots of ideas for stories, characters, worlds, plans and plots a'plenty, a few I even made halfhearted attempts at penning, but nothing I would say was anything resembling a readable work. I say this not to be self deprecating, I literally mean that the only thing I had that wasn't a note or a character sheet was maybe three pages of illegible scribbles in a forgotten notebook somewhere (something inspired by the hunger games -back when that was the new smash hit- that I attempted to share precisely once, then never touched, mentioned, or even thought about ever again). That all changed early last year.

To make this part brief-ish (lest I ramble forever) I got back into text based roleplaying. I'd made attempts in the past, but those were as shallow and brief-lived as my other foirés into writing. This time though, it was with someone for whom I harbor a not insignificant amount of love, and who assuaged some of my perpetual anxieties (I've played the role of dungeon master in our tabletop games so roleplaying with him was quite a bit more comfortable and familiar than with previous attempted writing partners) and it just sorta clicked. I went from timid wallflower watching from the sidelines to writing thousands of words at a time in longform response basically every couple of days for a few months straight.

I fell in love with the process of it. Taking my strange and broken wreck of a character and putting her in situations™ of her own making again and again, it's hard to describe just how enthralled I became. Eventually we had to slow down our roleplay correspondences (life happens) but now I had an itch to scratch. So I did the only logical next thing, I loaded up a blank .ODT file, and I got back to writing.

The Long Loooong Journey (First Draft)

The first couple paragraphs got kicked up somewhere around fall of last year. I wanted this newest project of mine to be unshackled from any established setting (or fall victim to world-building paralysis as my other project around this time did, a different story for a different blog perhaps). I wanted to get back into The Zone™ and hit that writing flow again as reliably as possible, so the star of the show -as I envisioned her then- shared a lot of surface level traits with the roleplay OC she was loosely based upon: The same hair, the same eyes. Soon though, she took on some more important traits, the same bone-deep transfeminity, the same blood curdling powers and a need to control them. Likewise, the setting was chosen out of convenience: urban fantasy, a familiar world with an underbelly of demonic monsters and a secret order of those that hunt them.

This was all still in the loosey-goosey figuring out the basics stage -nothing written yet. I had one image in my mind of what I (at the time) wanted Clara at her peak to look like but I wanted to figure out how she got there. How would a terrified teenage trans girl go from being a complete nobody, a total shut in and loner, to being the legendary demon slayer I envisioned? That is largely what the first draft (now totaling around 94K words) aimed to answer.

To my great surprise, such massive overhauls take time, if written out and explored in depth. I had a loose outline, a timeline of her evolution from A) confused and afraid inductee to this strange magical underworld, to B) semi-capable pawn in someone else's game to C) Fully Capable Loose Cannon (and perpetual headache to her demon hunting partner Zaid, more on him another day) to D) a rogue agent, even more feared than the demons she was once employed to hunt, and finally to E) Spiraling badly and becoming something of a complicated hero teetering on the very razor's edge of becoming an out and out villain-protagonist.

The problem with writing a teenage protagonist struggling to come to terms with powers beyond mortal understanding, however, is that they are a teenage protagonist struggling to come to terms with powers beyond mortal understanding. Jokes aside, out of all the outlined above, 94K words in and I was still sitting somewhere between points A and B. For all her exploration of the secret underworld, she was still largely a scared teenager tenuously wielding power outside of her control. I was learning a lot about her and Zaid, what makes them tick, as well as their extended cast of tag-along weirdos, but as I approached the 100K mark I grew more interested in actually sharing my story someday. I simultaneously grew more aware of the enormity of my task I was setting out on if I ever wanted to reach my image of Clara Prime following my current outline and at my current pace.

Just cut to The Good Shit™ already! (Second Draft)

My second draft started as much more experimental. I was unsure if I wanted to abandon all my precious progress so far, but I assured myself that it's not like I'm deleting it, I'm just trying out other things! Where the first draft was told in third person, largely following Clara but occasionally switching to Zaid when I felt it was more appropriate or impactful, the second draft started out entirely in first person, all in Zaid's eyes.

Here in the second draft we don't follow Clara's rise to power, instead we follow a version where she's not only reached the vision I had of Prime Clara's power in the outline of the first draft, but eclipsed it. I surprised myself in abandoning her somewhat singularly focused powerset (mostly relying on hemokinesis and some baseline demonic abilities, with a handful of other powers laboriously fought for deeeep into the outline). This more powerful Clara was fittingly more mature (still with her occasional dips into tantrums self aggrandizing tirades and mischief being a problem on purpose) and this version of Zaid was aged up to match, with his feigned veneer of confidence becoming an actual foundation of competence (with his trademark bone deep fissures in that foundation owing to the stresses of, well, basically everything leading up to that point in his life)

Besides our protagonists becoming competent and well rounded from the word go, the other major difference was a shift in their dynamic. In the first draft Zaid was somewhat of an unwitting pawn of the highly dubious and very unoriginally named secret organization (go ahead and guess what it's called). Their first meeting was in the end of the prologue where Zaid saves/ kinda sorta kidnaps Clara (she was unconcious and in need of medical attention, its totes fine). In the second draft Clara is already a prisoner, and Zaid has to prove himself to her to be allowed the privilege of her company. Rereading it earlier today (the impetus for me starting a fourth draft and writing this post) their dynamic feels a lot more playful* and fun than in the first draft! *Zaid is def having a bad time, but where the first draft often comes off as a lot of bickering punctuated by moments of something closer to horror than power fantasy, the second draft has a certain fascinating momentum to it, a real verve, y'know? I actually really like this version of Clara and Zaid. She's got all the arrogance and with just a hint of zaneyness that I love, and he's just the right mix of playing it straight, utterly tortured, and surprisingly, he actually manages to come off as fairly intelligent, always thinking quickly and making the best of his very, very poor circumstances.

Unfortunately, I realized after 15k words that first person with occasional POV switches just would not work for the story I wanted to tell in the long term. Thus,

In Medias Res (Third Draft)

While the first draft drags their meeting and growth out far beyond my current willingness to detail, and the second kick starts it, the third rebukes beginnings and doesn't concern itself with their first meeting during its brief stint, instead centering when Clara first dropped the mask. In this timeline the two have been working together for a little while, but Clara has been concealing the full extent of her abilities. This Clara was the scary powerful Clara from the second draft, but then said fuck it and has been pretending to be a 'just some schmuck' demon who just so happens to talk about herself with the same self-aggrandizement of your average chuuni.

The return to third person limited POV (close to equal screentime in each of their brains) does wonders for the flow, and we've moved entirely out of the secretive bases of the still genericly named 'The Order' (Yes, that's actually what it's called in all three drafts. Yes, its stupid and vague on purpose). The first draft is largely enamored with the physical spaces of its giant underground secret complex (and the single bedroom they share there), and the second draft intended to quickly leave its own remote hidden castle setting. The third still has them mentioning it as Zaid's employer but it has an altogether more mysterious presence (its only tangible actions being some encoded transmissions giving them vague orders, with a tacit implication of funding) The second and third drafts are roughly equal in length (with the third draft currently clocking in around 18k across two complete chapters, a third semi-complete, and a fourth that came to me like a vision, hastily scrawled to be worked in later)

Overall I do like this version of the duo, but it hews a little too close to the bickering of the first draft rather than the vivacious dynamism of the second. I mostly chalk this up to an issue of pacing. The third draft was fundamentally as much of an experiment as the second, and I've learned as much from it as its predecessor. Both were penned by the seat of my pants without any sort of outline, but the second was almost entirely contiguous, while the third feels somewhat disconnected because of frequent scene breaks. I had intended to make it more episodic, following a sortof case-of-the-week type beat, but I was more interested in the characters than the cases so I barely put any planning into them. I was perhaps too focused on getting straight to the juiciest parts...

Where to Next? (thoughts going into draft four)

That's always the question, isn't it? Big lessons, it's absolutely got to be in third person limited, the metaphorical camera is just so much easier to navigate in and out of their heads that way. I've sortof bounced off of the idea of them solving generic monster-of-the-week style cases, at least the way I framed them in the third draft. I just can't get myself invested in the day job part of their super-powered day job, not when the beat they were on was so vastly overshadowed by the tensions (of various sorts) between the main pair. Going forward, we'll have a lot less procedural investigations and a lot more over the top violence. I'd still like to see them engaging in some deductive investigation, its fun in spurts, but at its core DHC isn't aiming to be Holmes and Watson, its aiming to be about toxic romance, powers beyond mortal ken, and the frayed edges where the two meet.

Speaking of Zaid's employment status, It was an odd problem to have in the first place, considering that Zaid's motivation has been so singular and driving since at least the second draft. (The exact same motive was present as early as chapter 3 of the first draft, but bafflingly, I had chosen to leave it as already resolved and largely in his backstory?? This is my first serious project of this sort, so some ametuer mistakes are expected, but it's still baffling) It's apparent to me now that they don't need 'busywork'. So, this next draft should follow them on their 'main quest', not fucking around on side quests waiting for permission to actually do something.

To that end, I'm heavily considering axing The Order as a thing that either of the main characters are directly associated with. As dumb as it may sound, its not always easy to kill your darlings. The entire first draft (besides the prologue), 88 of the roughly 127 thousand words currently put into this universe (not counting the notes, which are similarly split) take place in its cramped hallways, and I find myself having grown inordinately fond of its little idiosyncrasies. Like a first kiss, it's hard to forget where the duo's strange approximation of romance began. But alas, as Clara faught to buck it's shackles, I must too let myself and the story be free of its tyrannical reign.

Oddly I find myself returning to a (paraphrased) snippet from another urban fantasy thing, specifically a bit from the rules of Eureka (the TTRPG). Your investigators aren't cops. They just can't be. You can try to force it, but this story just doesn't fit together when you have reinforcements, assets, and a chain of command. The Order aren't cops per se, but their narrative function is close enough to cause the same issues. I think they'll still be kicking around somewhere in the background, but not as an ally (not that they were ever more than two steps from enemies in the first place).

So where does that leave our duo? Well, the shift towards an episodic-ish style was partially inspired by a certain show with an emphasis on road tripping mystery solving/monster hunting, I could take a page out of a certain hunter's book and simply say that Zaid funds his single-minded investigative work through the careful use of a method known as 'lots of credit card fraud' (or I could handwaive how these misfits get money for food and hotels entirely) but I feel like this may be a problem better left grappled within the constraints of who the characters are and what they would do.

That leaves Zaid working odd jobs only because he needs to in order to keep perusing his own primary goal (Not because his boss paged him and told him to do it). That's Zaid's motivations laser focused in, but what about the charming woman for whom the series is actually named? Well, I'm a tad worried about leaving her at the frankly ludicrous power level I've established her at, but I think rather than nerfing her back to her teenager-era limitations, the more elegant solution would be to give her more opponents that require her frankly busted levels of 'oomph' to defeat. Parrying bullets with your blood-katana is kinda overkill for fighting run-of-the-mill humans, but it's not called normal human Hunter Clara, now is it?

So Zaid is 'self employed' and Clara is just as overpowered as she's ever been with all the baggage to match. So why are they even in the same room? The order provided a backdrop of casual callousness towards demons where Zaid was practically forced to keep Clara close (draft one Zaid tried his best to offer decency and agency to her but healthy boundaries and clear communication doesn't always make the best story to read, and the order wasn't too fond of it either) and in the second and third drafts she basically waited around for Zaid -or someone like him- to show up and let her loose to do some bombastic violence. Book one is called A Demon and Her Leash for a reason, after all. Currently I'm thinking that Zaid purposely went looking for someone like Clara, that after years of searching on his own he finally caved and sought a deal with a devil. Perhaps, in her own hour of shifting circumstances, Clara agreed to a less than favorable arrangement with her typical level of thinking ahead. (which is to say, not very much) Or perhaps the joining of their fates follows some other more fantastically twisted path. Who knows. I certainty don't, not yet anyway.

Thank you so much if you read this far. With any luck, someday I'll have more updates!

I think it's time I started writing a new chapter one...

[simplyemm]

💐 What is the relationship Rook has with their faction mentor? What was the moment they sent Rook away like?

AHHHH HI!!!!

So I'm answering these for my Rook from this.

This got loooong so I'm sticking it under the break 😂

Ches (Francesca de Riva) is Viago's second cousin. After her mom passed away, she was sent to Salle to live with her mother's cousin (Viago's mom), except she had passed away the year before, leaving Viago as her only remaining family member. Ches was five and Viago was twenty. Viago took on the role of protective older brother for the first several years, until her magic manifested when she was ten. No one explicitly told her this, but little Baby Ches had the idea in her head that if she wasn't good and wasn't the best that Viago would send her away (this definitely didn't lead to any self-imposed perfectionism or unrealistic expectations). After her magic manifested, their relationship shifted more to a mentor/protege relationship as he ramped up her Crow training and found tutors to help her gain control of her magic.

He knew that she had a lot of potential and pushed her very hard (he sort of slid the sibling relationship over to Teia, knowing that Ches would still need that sort of presence in her life). This led to their relationship becoming somewhat strained, especially when she was in her late teens/early twenties (she's thirty at the time of the events of The Veilguard). She had a bit of a rebellious phase, nothing too crazy, and did sort of realize why Viago was pushing her as hard as he was. She accepts his reasoning but also kind of resents him for it? She gives him everything she's got, but he still pushes harder which makes her believe that she's disappointing him, it's a whole thing. They have a complicated relationship to say the least lol.

The moment she gets sent away happens in a couple different phases. Firstly she was keeping an eye on Varric as a favor to everyone's favorite Antivan Inquisition Ambassador (Josie knew Varric was likely to find trouble and wanted to attempt to keep him out of it) which is why she attacked the Antaam and freed the prisoners in the first place. This leads to her being brought in front of the Talons to answer for her actions, which leads to her public sending away. As Fifth Talon and her Head of House, Viago was the one to deliver the Talons' verdict. She accepts it (she considers herself lucky to be alive at all considering she's also still taking heat from another job that went wrong that she's getting blamed for it wasn't her fault, Illario's just an asshole) and goes to her room to pack. Teia comes by to make sure she's okay and to help pack and this next bit happens: (this is pulled straight from one of the WIP chapter drafts, so it's kinda rough still).

There was a soft knock on the door. "Ches? Can I come in?" "It's your house," Ches replied when she opened the door to Teia. Andarateia Cantori was the Seventh Talon, Viago's on-again-off-again partner, and the closest thing she had to an older sister. "How are you?" she asked, glancing at the bag that the younger woman had been furiously packing. "I mean, lucky to be alive, all things considered," she tried to mask her feelings with her usual wit, but Teia saw right through it. She pulled her into a tight hug. "Do you have a plan? I know you've never really been outside Antiva." Ches nodded. "A friend of Lady Montilyet's was among the prisoners I saved, he's offered me a job. It'll get me out of Antiva at least." She tossed a couple more things into her pack, choosing to leave behind the majority of her clothes and armor that marked her as a Crow, and tied it shut. "Be careful, sorellina," Teia said. "Things will calm down in a little while and then you can come back home." "I don't believe that is your decision, Andarateia," Viago stood in the doorway, looking especially menacing. "Vi-" "Leave us."

From there they have a very tense sort of back and forth that leaves Ches feeling not great (former gifted kid being told they are disappointing an authority figure much?) At which point she leaves, meets up with Varric and heads off to save the world.

Holy shit this got long, but if you're still here THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for asking (also you're wonderful). ❤️❤️

[em-dashes]

If you're looking for questions -- are there any WIP ideas you've had that you haven't started working on yet? What was your favourite/least favourite part of working on Suddence so far? Do you have any goals (writing or otherwise!) for the new year?

i just realized if i wanted to do a Suddence Q&A for reals, i should probably wait until after the whole book is out so people can ask more specific questions lol. BUT!! i'm gonna answer these now and if i end up actually doing a Q&A for Suddence, i'll keep these questions in mind :3

ARE THERE ANY WIP IDEAS YOU'VE HAD THAT YOU HAVEN'T STARTED WORKING ON YET?

woof. there are quite a few projects that i started but never got past more than the preliminary planning stage.

a music video idea i have, CRAQUELURE (soon to be renamed), has been on my mind for a loooong time. it's an animated music video with a mini story that would take a lot of time and effort to do. i did recently find a song that would be perfect for it, so when i have the time i reaaaaalllllyyyy want to start character design for real (i have a few designs but i'm not really happy with them).

a book idea i have, GENTLE AS THE WOODS, was supposed to be my nanowrimo project this year, but it's been really hard to get started on it even though i have quite clear ideas of how the story goes. it's a sci-fi fantasy romance, but i just can never get the romance aspect down. it's a constant problem i have: every time i write two characters with the intention of making them fall in love, they just have the worst chemistry ever, and every romantic scene feels forced and unnatural. the protag always ends up having more chemistry with some other character. that's something i'll have to work out before i feel confident enough to start writing this story.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE / LEAST FAVOURITE PART OF WORKING ON SUDDENCE SO FAR?

i just finished formatting most of the book and i gotta say, formatting SUCKS. the end result is amazing and makes it look like a real book, but the process of getting there? terrible. so in that sense, that's my favourite AND least favourite part of working on Suddence.

DO YOU HAVE ANY GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR?

i want!!! to finish!!! a good draft!!! of APHELION!!!!! i've had Aphelion in my pocket since high school, and after quite literally a decade or futzing around with it and being annoyed with it, i finally got around to making some massive overhauls this year that got the story a fresh new start, so i goshdarn HOPE that means i'll be able to get a nice complete (note: does not have to be clean, just complete) draft out of it.

i also want to publish Suddence! i've said before, i'm going to publish it online first, and then have physical copies. one major goal for this is to have the physical copies for sale at a local comic art convention (i'd have to get accepted into the con first, BUT STILL) so i'm super looking forward to doing that, and having my book be all printed and pretty.

[doodle17]

🏳️‍🌈, 🏳️‍⚧️, 🧸, 👻, 🎶, 👽, 💤, 🦾, 💝, 🫂, 💔, 🪢, 📓, 👗, 🔪, 🌟, 🥇, 🍫, 🎭, ❤️‍🔥, 💄, 🖕, 😺, 😬, 😭, 😶, Pooter

LOOOONG ass post below, lots of reading. I have like- 2 more of these for other characters in my drafts rn. Yall gonna be reading a shit ton 😭

Your welcome/I'm so sorry

I think Raz is Bisexual

I think Raz is Cis Male (I should probably tell yall now that, unless canonically stated otherwise, I usually consider characters being Cis)

Raz was a wild child! He was always running around and getting into things he wasn't supposed to.

I think after getting over his fear of Hydrophobia, he'd probably be afraid of thinhs in water. I think he'd be a submechaniphobic or something like that. Can't say I blame him. *shudders*

I think he'd like rock songs similar to "be my girl" by the Jets or "You're gonna go far kid" by Offspring. I also think he likes songs like "Groove is in the Heart" by Dee-lite or "September" by Earth Wind and Fire (courtesy of Milla)

He opens bottles with his teeth. He was surprised to find out not everyone did, and how people freaked out and asked his his teeth were okay.

Sleep walks if he has caffeine before bed. (I've shared this one a lot but I just love it ok it's one of my fav hc)

Hmmm.... I don't think I have any disability hc for ol Razzle

I think Raz's love language is being openly, in use of a better word, honest. Like- once he's warmed up to someone he will say anything that's on his mind about them.

pretty loyal buddy! He'll stay up late with you, play video games with you, he'll sit patiently and listen to you ramble about your interests, listening happily.

Not sure if this is really angsty, but, he was pretty prone to nightmares a few days after the whole Maligula incident. He had to be comforted by his mom and sister for a while.

HUGE smugglers. All of them. Raz is not left out of the snuggle piles.

Idk if this counts as a hobby, but he likes making his own comics! He's usually scribbling in a notebook with pens and crayons.

I think the clothes Sasha gives him in 2 are the same clothes he ran away in. Why else would he have clothes small enough to fit a young boy? They shrunk in the washer? We all know Sasha is to smart to make a mistake like that.

WILL fight ANYONE. Always ready to throw hands, whether that be for a dare, to defend one of his friends, or just for fun.

Wants be grown up already! He can't wait until he's an adult and be able to go even "cooler" missions! (Little does he know it's a lot more paperwork than spy stuff)

Acrobatics, Hydrokenisis, especially making those two work together.

This kid has a stomach of IRON. He can eat ANYTHING. Not that he likes everything he eats, but he can definitely eat it.

He lies about his authority/ what he's allowed to do quite often. "Oh yeah! They let me do this all the time!" "Of COURSE they gave me permission to do this!"

(This is more for my older ver of Raz) He LOVES resting his head on Lilis chest like pillow, and vice versa. He loves it when they're just resting there, and she's reading stuff from old comics, newspapers or paperwork, making fun of it or commentary. He likes the way her voice sounds, how warm she is, hearing her calming heartbeat... when she lays on his chest, she likes it because "its f*cking cold"

His hair is actually (kind of) curly! But he uses Dions hair gel or a hair straightener.

He WILL let you know he is mad. Trust me.

Hes definitely been a lot softer on animals than he used to be. I believe it's because he befriended Harold.

idrk, I have stories I made up of stuff but Idk if they count as Hcs exactly lol

Not exactly the worst thing, but, when he and Lili stopped dating for like- 7 years and they barely interacted the whole time.