#Feel free to ask my clarifying questions

[garnetblackwater]

The Rustle of Leaves

Human female x forest guardian

Chapter 4-What Is There To Say

The drive was quiet, Vanessa lost in her thoughts. No music playing, not even the radio buzzing away. She could only push herself to get home. Simple questions mumbled to herself. 

But why?

What does he want?

What even is he?

What did he mean by it is up to me?

Have I made a drastic mistake?

Why me?

What have I done? 

Just circular thoughts. Before she realized it, her keys were in hand standing before her door. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. The moment she reached for the door it swung open. Sandra Baker stood at 5 foot 6 inches,  her skin a warm tawny brown, a dark violet bob with a side part, several piercings on her ears and tattoo on the forearm holding the door, matching the one on Vanessa.

Sandy goes to yell, but once she sees the state of Vanessa she can only cry again. “Come on Cheeks, please don’t say I look that bad?” Vanessa walks into her apartment, moving Sandy out the way to look in the mirror. Blood had dried across her forehead and eyebrow, with small trails down her chin and neck. “Oh fuck me that looks bad,” vanessa turned back to sandy, the girls desperately trying to wipe tears away. “I am sorry, Sandy,” Vanessa swept the girl into a hug, “I promise to be more careful. I never meant to worry you.” Vanessa also began to cry, the stress of her encounter, the unknown consequences, and seeing her best friend worried to tears. It was all too much to hold in. 

“What happened Van? Do we need to take you to the hospital?”

“No, apparently I’m fine. I slipped and fell but it's mostly scrapes, and everything looks worse than it actually is.” Vanessa sighed, “At least that's what the rangers said.” 

The rangers being Ten. Fuck what can I even tell her? Can I tell her anything at all?

Sandy could see the cogs spinning away in Vanessa’s head, a deep sense of worry filling her chest. “Vanessa what happened?” Sandy asked sternly, her hand reaching out to touch the other woman.

The hair on the back of Vanessa’s neck stood on end. “How dare you use my government name? Who am I to you?” Sandy crossed her arms, Vanessa’s jest utterly disregarded.

”Ugh I don’t know what to say.”

“Say anything at this point, Vanessa?”

“Stop saying my name like that! Gosh its just,” Vanessa looked for any excuse she could use. She wasn’t sure she could say anything, let alone if she should. She doubted Sandy would believe her. Probably think she definitely had a concussion and rush her to the hospital. “It's just that I feel bad for everything. For worrying you so much. Also for rushing out of there so soon. I didn't properly thank them for saving my life. I feel like I should go back.” Not a lie exactly, Vanessa did feel bad for rushing away, but also she needed to go back. She had so many questions to ask, particularly in relation to this stupid deal she made.

“Well you are not going back alone.”

“Sandy, it's fine.”

“Nope. Not a negotiation. I will go with you. I’m not working next weekend, we can go together. We can even bring a thank you gift. Baked goods or some shit.” Sandy pushed behind her, “No go get cleaned up while I order food. You look like shit and I’m hungry.” Vanessa hugged Sandy and gave her a peck on the cheek before heading to the bathroom. Now that she could finally see herself in full, she really did look awful. Covered in muck and mud, scratched all over her legs, face and arms.The wound on her head had soaked her jacket,and blood had also dripped down the arm of her jacket, a bit splashed on her shorts. Well the magic tree man said I should be fine, if that fucking mens anything. 

Vanessa picked up her phone and snapped a picture. A day to remember I guess. Oh I should warn the others. Showing up to school tomorrow will be easier if some people know. 

She went to the “x-men” group chat skimming past all the new messages. Storm- Just a warning for tomorrow, I look like hell. I’ve been through hell. So don't freak out tomorrow.

Cyclops- Yeah yeah. Dramatic as always. Your bad day is still a good day compared to others.

Wolverine- Drink more water. Your hangover shouldn't be that bad.

Permafrost- I hate to agree but they are right.

More messages came through giving the same sentiment. Levels of disbelief and down play. “Well if they don't want to believe me.”

Storm- picture sent

Vanessa set her phone down as her notifications went wild. “Time for a shower.” She was indeed dramatic. Her body stung and ached all over. The heat of the shower acting as both a blessing and a curse. She hoped that she could wash away the grime on her body and the memories from her mind, even if just for a moment.

Ten left the rangers office and went back into the forest, his mind abuzz as he traversed the boughs. The day had been significant for him. He hadn’t planned for that deal to be made, truly. He really only intended to lead her to safety. But he couldn’t help but applaud her bravery, not just another lamb led by fear. She was definitely afraid he could smell it on her at the time, but she used her head. He enjoyed the look on her face in those moments. The defiance in her stance, the anger on her face, she was ready to fight for her life. Ten admired her in that moment, he couldn’t help but talk to her and see how far it would go.

It was worth it in the end. 

Ten angled himself in the branches and looked to the stars before he closed his eyes. “Vanessa Mae Carthwright,” her name like a prayer on his lips. He imagined her face again. Back to the moment she was in his arms, the softness of it when she finally let her guard down, brow no longer furrowed. Even as she wagged her feet to be set free, it brought a smile to his face. His heart raced as he remembered the feel of her skin, her hands gripping his arms, the closeness of her. She was so soft and plush against him, but she was also warm. Warmth was not something he often got out in the forest. Sure there were animals, bears that roamed, packs of wolves, but it wasn't the same. With Vanessa it didn't feel like a necessity. He would see her again, whether she came back to him or he had to hunt her down, he would see her again. He would experience the magic that was her again.

[vaugarde]

I thought my rambling about my ocs family relations was getting kinda confusing so i made a family tree that was intended to explain valerie's but it got outta control. oops.

family tree be upon ye

[predacon-carrion]

Thank you, I sincerely apologize for going off like that.. I just had moments where I really put things in retrospect. I may be, okay, but I'm definitely the paranoid type of person.. who worries an awful lot when I do give myself the time to sit down and think...

≈STS

It’s alright. We all have days when we aren’t feeling our best.

[i-will-change-this-someday]

Okay, so this has been bothering me for a while now, and I haven’t seen anyone else say it; so I’m going to put an opinion out there and say that Martin and Melanie annoyed me in MAG 199.

(This is also a bit of an analysis of the episode.)

(just so you know, this is very long.)

So first of I should say that I 100% agree with Jon, that they should have trapped The Fears in their world; so just know I’m probably being, at least a bit, biased about it. (not saying killing the world is good)

I think the best way to do this is to start from the beginning of the episode and work my way through it, giving criticism as I go.

It starts with them avoiding the question until Georgie decides they need to talk about it; this is just a minor nitpick, and maybe I misunderstood what he was saying, but Martin says this:

Then later he goes on to say this:

So which is it, Martin? Is it up to Jon or not?

Anyway, then there’s this little exchange:

I know why Martin is so against it, but this just seems a bit obstinate; like I get it, he’s scared of Jon losing himself to The Eye, but you really want to go with The Web’s plan? You know, The Web, the manifestation of manipulation, the malevolent Fear entity, that Web? You want to go with that plan? Really?

And at least Martin has the excuse of caring about Jon, but Melanie? Why is she so against Jon’s plan? Is it really just because she hates him that much? The only possible reason I can think could be that she thinks that Jon will be selfish and prolong others suffering because she knew that he once hid the fact that he took Statements from random people, but even then, I don’t think even Melanie hates him that much.(Considering the fact that she didn’t actually think he murdered anyone, I don’t think she hates him as much as she says)

Next up, Georgie’s trying to talk out all their options and asks Jon about how The Fears will get out:

Martin is, once again, being obstinate here; he is out right refusing to even consider Jon’s plan, making any excuse to go with The Web’s plan.

Georgie reiterates their options so far:

Martin, you just said thousands of worlds don’t matter “cosmically speaking” by your own logic they should keep The Fears contained; because if thousands of worlds aren’t “even a drop in the bucket” then their world is hardly even a molecule.

Melanie’s in denial or something, because any reality with The Fears, even if it never gets to full blown apocalypse, is doomed; did she forget all the horrible things happening in their world before the apocalypse?

They have the little blame conversation, then Georgie gets to the third option:

Martin’s just agreeing to any option that Jon doesn’t take over the panopticon; he doesn’t care if their world dies or a thousand others do, he just doesn’t want Jon to go to the panopticon.

Then they consider the morality of five people deciding the fate of the world, leading to this conversation:

Despite what Martin says, yes, he is okay with thousands more suffering where he can’t hear; the excuse of saying it’ll be like before the apocalypse makes it sound like their world was good before. Their world was full of horrors before, where people could get eaten by monsters just for having bad luck, and Martin’s okay with giving that to thousands of other worlds.

I’ll put the rest of this conversation in before I continue:

I put (mostly) the whole thing because I wanted the full context, this is the main thing I wanted to talk about; so they're debating if their world is The Fears original world or not. Would killing them here kill them for good? yes, and if they thought it over longer they would have realized it; Melanie and Martin are arguing that The Fears were in their world for centuries before they managed a ritual, but now it knows how to make a successful ritual and escape it. what's to stop it from preforming a ritual, waiting for it to start running dry, then leaving to a new reality? (I say "it" because The Fears are one entity [kinda] with The Web as it's brain)

Melanie is victim-blaming thousands of other people to justify sending The fears to them; "if a apocalypse happens to them it's their fault they couldn't outsmart the embodiment of manipulation, so lets follow said embodiment of manipulation's plan, yeah?

(As a side note, one thing that confuses me is why they think The Fears can go to so many worlds, do they mean at once? Will The Fears multiply? Because how would they get to multiple worlds at once, they need to be together, that's why the rituals never worked, it had to be all of them. I always assumed it meant it could hop from one world and then the next when that one got dry. [like a spider on a web, it can travel between each point, but it can't be everywhere at once])

Jon puts the idea of killing the world faster out there:

No, they'll actually have less of a chance, cause now The Web knows what to do. Basira doesn't want to hear Jon justify killing their world but will justify sending the same circumstances to thousands of other worlds.

That's basically the end of the discussion, next is Georgie talking to Jon:

At the very least, Georgie knew that Jon wasn't going to follow the plan. I don't think it's a coincidence that she takes the lighter and immediately follows with an apology; Also she admits Jon couldn't outsmart The Web and it led to the apocalypse, but still goes along with it's plan. (Maybe she just accepts they shouldn't bother trying to outsmart it.)

and now to Martin and Jon's conversation

I kinda do Martin.

(Others have talked about Martin crushing Jon's flowershop/barista fantasy, so I'm not going to talk about it.)

Martin just annoys me in this scene to be honest "well, Jon, you promised not to do anything stupid; oh, and look, here's a plan given to us on silver platter by, none other than, The Web, you know, the one who caused this and traumatized you since you were 8, yeah lets do that. Don't worry Jon, we'll fix this...pass it on? Don't be silly Jon, I'm sure The Web gave us this plan out of the goodness of it's nonexistent heart."

Anyways I'll wrap this up in a minute, but first, one last thing:

I've seen others say this, but why would Martin killing Jonah stop Jon from taking his place? Especially if Jon's standing 10 feet away; if the idea is that whoever kills Jonah will take his place then Martin would just become the very thing he thinks Jon will turn into. And if you think it's because Martin's not tied to The Eye, you'd be wrong, Martin being tied to The Eye is the whole reason Peter wanted Martin to kill Jonah in season 4. If anyone should kill Jonah, it'd be Georgie because she's the only one not tied to The Eye.

Now, just to be clear, I'm not saying that any of this is bad; I just haven't seen anyone talk about it. I'm not saying that the others were wrong for choosing The Web's plan, (ok, maybe I am a little) it's not like I have to decide the fate of my, and many other's, world(s).

I just feel like I've seen a lot of people hold the other characters up on a pedestal while Jon's idea is regarded as the worse possible thing out there (again, not saying his idea was good, just the best out of bad options.)

And just so you know, I'm not saying Martin is selfish for wanting Jon to be safe, I'm mostly just annoyed that he hides it under the guise of caring about humanity (No, I'm not saying he doesn't care about humanity, just that he'd rather "save" Jon than consider the consequences of releasing The Fears) and most people take it at face value.

I have a lot more I could say about the morality of all the characters, but that's another post, if you actually read this whole thing, then congratulations, for sitting through my very long, hopefully intelligible, post. (I'd love to hear what your thoughts are on the episode [or this post])

[iodotsys]

irt to the liking thing; i don't know but i think queuing might not count as reblogging right away? not trying to cause trouble it's just smth to think about. i also know i use mobile a lot and sometimes it just straight up doesn't actually go through because the app is just as broken as the site. like it will say 'reblogging' and i think it reblogged! but surprise!! it fucking didn't.

I can see this argument from the point of a couple likes and no reblog leading to a block, but this was not my initial point.

When I made that post and still to this day, I keep queuing in mind whenever I see someone merely like things. It would be absurd to block someone just because of a few likes.

But when it comes to having 99+ notes from someone and they are all likes, and then going to their blog which leads to a discovery of the last reblog being from 3 years ago, one can assume the person is not queuing their content. And if you are having trouble reblogging any post at all, you should open a ticket.

I still am very against the 'liking' system tumblr adopted. I still believe it hinders an artist's ability to spread their work. I will still be upset whenever I see a like on my notifications over a reblog, for either my work or someone else's work.

I believe in supporting artists. If there's one thing I can do, its share their work with people through reblogs.

I am not here to change anyone's mind about this. Continue what you feel comfortable doing and I will continue what I feel comfortable doing.

Thank you for the ask and allowing me the opportunity to further explain my post.

And for anyone confused what ANY of this is about, this is the post anon is referring to.

[maydays-medbay]

I've been thinking about the Ruination Corporation lore and I've started to play with the idea that the corps has kind of expanded over time, leading to many facilities where they run their shady dealings. These facilities will probably also have satellite sites/facilities where they store things and/or focus on the different aspects of what they do. With that being said, I now also realize that I'm going to have to think more about these different facilities and how they run. I'm definitely considering each of the Salvific Six getting their own facilities that they run (Paradigm's being the largest and most important) with the others being less grandiose and more hidden to the average onlooker, but with that comes another problem.

I'll have to create characters that run these extra facilities while these members are otherwise occupied, AND I'll have to consider making characters for the satellite facilities. There's....a lot of work ahead of me lol.

(Now that I'm thinking about it...maybe we'll see some old faces within the corps. But you didn't hear that from me 😉)

Each of the characters who run in the absence of a Salvific Six member are those sincerely trusted by the member to run their operations. I can imagine that many of the right-hand members are reflections of their overseer, though not all of them are.

(Keep in mind, many of these operations and facilities run independently and can sometimes clash with each other. When that happens, the members can gather at the main facility to have a meeting to clear things up, with Paradigm often having the final word)

The only exception to this rule would be Paradigm's facility, as I think they would entrust Vyrox with their tasks whenever they leave. Paradigm is the ONLY member that does this, as they simply find many of their rank-and-file members lacking. Their trust simply doesn't trickle down far enough for them to see any member outside of the Six to carry out their work, and even then, many of the members they'd find too self-interested to be able to adequately run their entire regime without catastrophic consequences.

[tj-crochets]

hi there tj! i love the things you make and ive been thinking about making a little-ish plushie in a shape of a lizard/gecko...about 12 inches long? i was wondering if you have a pattern for a simple (and not wriggle-shaped) one? and if not, do you have a pattern rec for a plushie making beginner? thanks so much!

ask part two: just remembered after i hit sent: im looking for a sewing pattern and ive seen you mention making a polypellet lizard? i'd be interested in that! sorry for the double asks! you're great! Hi! Thank you so much! I...am not sure if I have a simple lizard/gecko pattern, but I do have some options for you. I've made patterns for a gecko and a crocodile/lizard, but they might count as wriggle-shaped? I mean the gecko probably does, the crocodile might not. The rest got long, so it's behind a read more

As for pattern recs, the only lizard/gecko patterns I know aren't very simple, but they are by CholyKnight so I think a particularly determined beginner could probably make one? Honestly I wouldn't recommend that pattern as a very first plushie pattern, though. She does have a slightly simpler lizard pattern option, but a non-wriggle-shaped basic lizard plushie pattern is extremely easy to make at a small scale, so if you have any interest in pattern making or drawing at all I'd recommend making your own pattern. To make your own basic lizard pattern*, you're going to need three things: a pen or pencil, something to help you measure 1/4 inch, and paper. First, draw your lizard, not including the arms or legs. When you're satisfied with your lizard outline, add a 1/4 seam allowance** and cut it out. Then, design your lizard legs. For your first pattern, I'd recommend something like the leg patterns on my juggling toads, which are basically little roundish legs, and the pattern essentially looks like a large U with a straight line across the top. You can make the legs more complex if you want to, but I think the simple legs will work and they are easier for a new plushie maker. You can also make the front and back legs different patterns, or you can use the same pattern for both. Once you're satisfied with your lizard leg pattern(s), add the seam allowance and cut them out. The downside of making your own lizard pattern is that you won't have any instructions to follow, but I can help with that! Take your pattern to your fabric, and either pin it in place and cut around it, or trace around it, remove it, and cut using the traced lines as a guide. You're going to need two of the body pattern piece, with one mirrored. That means you'll cut one out with the side of the pattern you drew on face up, and one with it face down. You'll also need two pieces for each leg, with one of them being the mirror of the other. Once you have all the fabric pieces cut out, sew the legs first. Sew around the outside edges (the U shape), leaving the flat line across the top unsewn. Once you've done that, flip the leg right side out (through that opening you left unsewn) so the seam is hidden on the inside. Lightly stuff the legs with polyfil, fabric scraps, polypellets, or something like that as you go. Once you have all the legs sewn, put the fabric that will be the top of the lizard right side up in front of you and line up the legs around it until you are happy with the placement, then baste them in place**. Once you have the legs basted in place, take the fabric that will be for the bottom half of the lizard body and put it right side down over the lizard-top-half-and-legs you just made. Pin or clip that lizard sandwich together, making especially sure to pin the layers where the legs are basted so they don't move around. Sew around the outside edge of the lizard, leaving an opening for turning at least an inch and a half long but ideally closer to two inches long. That opening should not be on the lizard's head, and will probably end up either on the side of the belly between the front and back legs on one side or on the tail. Flip the lizard right side out. If you are using safety eyes, add them now. Stuff the lizard with polyfil/polypellets/scraps, then hand sew closed the opening for turning. If you did not use safety eyes, applique on the eyes now. Enjoy your adorable new lizard, and tag me when you post it if you're willing! I'd love to see it! *for use with stretch fabric, this probably won't work with non-stretch fabric **let me know if you want me to go over this step in more detail

[egipci]

director's cut for "the world tilting spinning fizzing inside your chest his name, buddy, baby"

oh man, someone who actually read this story! hello! welcome! very kind of you to assume any complex thought process happened here (though the prompt did hang around in my inbox for over two months while I thought the last word had to be "blue," for some reason)--- ok, so:

That fic was a prompt, as I'm sure you've noticed, that set 1. a word count, 2. that the last word starts with B, and 3. that some jerking off goes down. Turns out jerking off is pretty difficult (for me) to write in any compelling way in such few words (hence the cheating in the title, for one), so most of the story is really about the mental/internal component of the jerking off rather than the mechanics --- but you can't really stay there the entire time. For the purpose of fulfilling the prompt, there has to be a climax (ahem), and the verbs here track that, a tilting off the axis that turns into spinning, and then a third rhyming verb that relates back to the original subject and a second subsequent subject that shifts and blurs into a third and a fourth, but fizzing also functions independently as a gerund in itself, etc. The other thing I think I was doing here is overcompensating for rhythm-- in my ideal world where I have just a little more space I try to always do four or more of a part of speech because it creates this syncopation I really like (we always tend to expect three's), so the construction here is slightly asymmetrical in a (hopefully) fun way: [subject/noun][verb][verb][verb/noun][inside your chest][subject/noun][subject/noun][subject/noun].

Outside formal considerations, "his name, buddy, baby" as a phrase really matters to me for how it conveys my vision of the characters and this relationship--- it's important that it's "his name." It's not Mary, significantly (ughh i wish this trend would die lol), but also it's not just Dean, though of course we know it's him--- "his name" suggests a certain awareness/reflexiveness, and then "buddy" is an attempt to reassert self-control, to name the emotional dimension in... a less damning term? Which of course immediately fails and turns to "baby," in a way the only word that fully captures the ambiguity and *nuance* of the relationship. (A horny-brain aside: I have such a love/hate relationship with baby as an endearment-- like it can never be a part of my personal life because I find it deeply humiliating, but!! with fake people it's incredibly sexy and deeply humiliating, which in turn makes it even sexier! And if anyone can pull it off, it's my very favorite, most complicated little dudes! (Also I think Dean would agree with me, which is why it *works*))

[starlightkun]

I finished reading tdhea yesterday and it was a beautiful experience for me, for sure. It was a beautiful story and I enjoyed/loved reading every chapter of the book. The relationship between ji and the reader, chenle and ji's relationship, the group (dreamies + the reader's) relationship, human renjun, everything was beautiful, tdhea is beautiful, the strawberry sunday universe as a whole is really beautiful!! It's my read & relax space now. And I found the jasmine & pearls Shotaro character appearance cute. And this book made me more curious about the strawberry sunday universe, How many types of mythical creatures are included in this universe? And do all of the neos have a short character desc for them by now like their background and stuff like that? And did you decide the personality of each character by their personality as a person or.. by the mythical creature assigned to them or both, for example, both jaemin and haechan are dryads and how do you decide the differences between their character personalities? - 🌺

youre really so sweet this ask made me so so happy. i kept going back to read it so many times while i was at work today <33 i was looking forward to answering this one when i came home ahhh

i know i didn't go into siren!taro or the boba shop a lot in tdhea, but a lot like jeno's cameo in rid, we'll see more of him in another fic (changer!)

so i did just count actually, and including humans, there are officially 14 kinds of creatures in the strawberry sunday universe: basilisk, dragon, dryad, fairy, gryphon, human, phoenix, siren, sphinx, unicorn, vampire, werewolf, witch, wyvern*

*we haven't officially seen a wyvern character in any strawberry sunday fic, they were just mentioned in tdhea as part of renjun/reader's curriculum (their class on "basilisks, dragons, and wyverns")

tdhea spoilers under the cut for those of u who haven't read it

i think all of the neos have been included/mentioned in some fic (or wip) at this point so they all definitely have a physical description, and a lot have a general background in my mind, but i'm still learning a lot about my characters. like i used to never understand those authors that were like "oh my characters just do things themselves" but there are some scenes i fr dont know what these bitches r doing until im like "ohhhh because then THIS is going to happen and thats why THIS happened earlier i get it now." like in tdhea, the last big scene with the whole group where chenle, jisung, and reader were supposed to be pranking the others but then it was all going horribly wrong, i was writing it to be 100% serious at first (aka the others fully believed them/didn't know it was a prank) and by the time i got to mark telling jeno to grab the reader, i was just thinking to myself "this doesn't feel right, i don't like this, they wouldn't do this, im going to have to take this whole scene out and then change the scene before with chenle completely" but i just kept letting them go and then finally i was like "oh my god THEY'RE playing a prank back on them! chenle's being a double agent of course! he's a fairy, duh!" like it rlly felt like i had got got by my own fic and characters 😭😭 as crazy as that might sound idk. and i hadn't even decided chenle was a fairy prince until i was writing the dialogue in the scene where reader says "I like Chenle, but a fairy prince isn’t exactly representative of humans." (i write/plan things very out of order, that was one of the first scenes i had written) and then bam, chenle and jisung's entire backstory together had coalesced in my mind. and even then, chenle/the dreamie's whole deal wasn't fully explored in tdhea (it was sort of alluded to/explained with jisung befriending chenle first, and the others just came along with chenle. but how did chenle and the other dreamies meet?? i do know SOME of that one actually. ha.)

when i went to assign beings to the neos, i went based off how i perceived (some of) their irl personality traits and gave them creatures with powers/lore/etc. that i thought either reflected those traits and/or could manifest well with them. like chenle irl can for sure just be a menace. so, take that one little tendency of his, dial it up a lot little, and make him a fairy, who are known to be mischievous folk. jungwoo is also a fairy, and irl i also see him as a jokester (he's constantly making the ilichils laugh) but less in the way of pranks like fairy!chenle and more like a tease (see: all of strawberry sunday lol). soo, still a mischievous fairy woos, but slightly different than our other fairy.

while i could've easily put hyuck in with our impish fairies too, i feel like a lot of fics tend to focus on his tendency to be a little shit (mine r no exception) and i wanted to acknowledge and embrace his softness too. he's our lovely fullsun, and i adored the idea of him laughing so hard that he just sprouted flowers, and sleeping under his own blanket of clovers, and underneath his outwards tendencies to be a little shit, he really is in touch with what his friends are feeling and need, and just wants the best for them. as for the difference in hyuck and jaemin, since they're both dryads, i made a more conscious effort to keep (what i perceive to be) more of their irl personalities in moreso than the other neos. and i hope that comes across? like they'll both tease and poke fun and have those down to earth moments, but in different ways? hyuck is more overtly meddlesome, mischievous, and generally is a little shit except for those rare, sincere moments. meanwhile jaemin shows (tdhea) reader how to weave clover crowns, nags, lectures, and overall has more....idk nurturing vibes?

i wont go into depth for every single neo for fear of this being wildly longer than it is and boring (some were a little more arbitrary than others. i def spent the longest assigning the ilichils i think), i do want to touch on my humans briefly. i was going back and forth on having johnny be a gryphon or a human for a while, actually. i finally settled on human not only to have a little comedic relief (bc literally all of these guys r comedic relief truly) but to have a parallel of human (strawbsunday) reader who grew up around magical creatures and is all used to this, and human johnny who is getting used to it but is just so chill and has this open mind, but still needs that human reassurance every so often that he's not about to die right now, actually. and slightly unhinged magical creatures studies human renjun who is like a walking talking encyclopedia of weird and magical who gets clowned on by said weird magical creatures for believing in aliens was just too funny of an opportunity to pass up. it was too perfect imo. like setup punchline, slam dunk on that boy constantly i love you my perfect sweet human renjun

[sasster]

obsessed with talking today can you guys ask me some thiiiings so i can respond with voice clips <3

[disengaged]

i'm not entirely sure how to put this into words, but do you think that, to identify as trans, you have to have "enough" gender dysphoria, like you have to check off a certain amount of symptoms to qualify as trans? i've just been thinking a lot and, while i don't quite feel a sense of wrongness in myself, i don't feel rightness either and i just wish i were different altogether, but i don't know what that means to me. i've definitely had thoughts of being the opposite sex and wishing i had certain qualities of theirs, but it's difficult to tell if it's just insecurities or actual dysphoria that i'm feeling. i'm sorry if this sounds rude or anything, i was just hoping you could help make some sense of these thoughts. hope you have a nice day!

i appreciate that you've worded it this way instead of just saying "are u truscum 🤨" but alas, it's essentially the same question

& my answer is ..... uh .....?? while i don't think medical transition should be considered necessary (or feasible, or desired) for everyone, i do kinda fundamentally believe you need some kind of gender dysphoria to be trans (bc that is. the entire premise of the thing. base requirement. like how else would you know. yknow.) but that could be socially, physically, whatever.

worth noting: i think the DSM-5 is a load of shit, and i don't believe in a formal """"checklist"""" of Trans Symptoms. i categorically reject the pathologization of my existence haha uwu

i guess my advice to you would be this: think hard about it. read books. go attend a queer group or something. im definitely not the "AHHHH DONT CALL YOURSELF TRANS WHAT IF YOU REGRET IT!!!!!" type of guy (??? you can call yourself whatever you want at any time and no one can stop you), but .... there is power in assigning a label to yourself, and i'd advise you to think deeply about whether that label is right for you.

i say this because the phrase "i just wish i were different altogether" .......... kinda makes me feel like you may have more feelings abt yourself than just your sex/gender/gender presentation, and it'd probably be beneficial to examine those. yknow, see what underlying or concomitant issues you've got going on. it might help clear the muddy waters a bit.

is the desire to be perceived as something other than your AGAB the main source of your discomfort, or is it something else? do you envy those certain qualities of the 'opposite sex' (problematic term alert) because they're qualities of the gender you wish you were, because you're attracted to them, or because they're attractive features & you wish you were more attractive? i can't answer those questions for you.

if all you've got is an abstract feeling of dysphoria, there could be a vast number of causes for that. it could be gender dysphoria, or it could be something else (insecurity about appearance, insecurity in life, being depressed, lack of stable identity, just plain hating gender roles and social norms bc they suck, etc).

so yknow. i can't tell you if you're trans or not. no one can. your mom can't, your doctor can't, your psychologist can't, your best friend can't. there's no single, agreed-upon checklist to be trans. plenty of cis folks are GNC without being trans, and plenty of trans people present as/similar to their AGAB without being cis. i could try to describe what gender dysphoria feels like to me, but it could feel completely different to someone else, i have no idea. it's not something that can be measured on a physical scale.

tldr; it's up to you if you want to call yourself trans or not. you might be, or you might not be. only you can figure that out for yourself.

(aka the least helpful advice ever tee hee)

[taiyami]

I hate that I have to ask this but do you have any sort of DNI? Like for concerning ship discourse or w/e?

Err, not really! Just be considerate of folks and we won't have problems. If there's a topic you're particularly worried about, you can always send me an ask or DM me ^_^

I don't usually deal with discourse so I don't really... need a DNI? LOL I don't follow who I don't want to follow, and I delete asks I'm not interested in answering. I feel like I don't care enough to make an actual DNI list since I just block whoever makes me uncomfortable or causes conflict with me.

(And as a reminder if you want me to delete an ask after reading it, you can put a * in front or at the end of what you want to say ^_^)

[milkloafy]

I COULD BE YOUR CRUSH — WRIOTHESLEY

⋆｡˚ ❀ summary: you gush about your crush to neuvillette over some tea, and your crush unexpectedly joins the tea party and overhears you talking about him. ⋆｡˚ ❀ contents: fluff, fem!reader (use of princess as a petname), sassy neuvi, mentions of ayato ⋆｡˚ ❀ wc: 1.2k+ ⋆｡˚ ❀ a/n: alexa play crush by tessa violet,, LOL i was thinking so hard about the song title then i was like okay yeah these lyrics work ;-; titles are so hard.. anywayyy PLS ENJOY SOME WRIO FLUFF FOR THE SOUL !!

“You just don’t understand, Neuvillette,” you sighed dramatically, stabbing your fork into the delicate cake in front of you. “He’s totally swoon-worthy.”

Neuvillette took a sip of his tea before carefully placing the cup back on its saucer. For a while, he continued to stay silent, as if considering his words.

Once he finally opened his mouth, the only question that came out was a calm, “How so?”

It didn’t take long for a million reasons to pop into your head.

“Well…have you seen his arms?” you gushed. “Is that not enough of a reason in itself?”

Neuvillette scoffed, a smile of amusement playing on his lips.

“That’s not all, of course,” you clarified, grabbing a throw pillow from the sofa next to you and hugging it close to your chest. “He’s also caring and kind and treats everyone with respect, no matter who they are.” 

Neuvillette’s gaze flickered briefly to the door behind you, but you paid it no mind.

“Not to mention how he looks when he gets all serious. Neuvillette, have you ever seen him talk about a prisoner he had to punish? It’s so…” You hid your face behind the pillow, cheeks flaming at the thought.

Before you had a chance to collect yourself, you heard someone clear their throat behind you. You immediately stilled in your seat, slowly bringing the pillow back down to your lap.

“Sorry I’m late. Who are we talking about?”

Neuvillette smiled, ignoring your frantic look directed right at him. “Wriothesley, welcome. You are not too late. Please, take a seat.”

Wriothesley slipped onto the sofa, taking a seat next to you. Neuvillette poured him a cup of tea that he graciously accepted. Looking over at you, Wriothesley brought the drink up to his face and asked, “Care to tell me who you were speaking of before I arrived? It sounded like you were singing their praises.”

You fiddled with the the hem of your silk pajamas— Neuvillette failed to inform you beforehand that a certain someone would be joining the tea party, so you appeared in your regular sleep clothes. You racked your brain trying to come up with a response. 

“Oh, you know… Kamisato Ayato,” you managed, vaguely remembering how you saw his name and face on the cover of The Steambird recently. “The head of the Kamisato clan is such a…dashing and strong leader. I think.” 

“I didn’t realize you were close to Kamisato,” commented Wriothesley, sitting with one leg loosely draped over the other as he leaned back against the sofa.

“Oh,” you shook your head, “no. No, I’ve never even met him.”

Wriothesley raised a singular eyebrow in question. “Your words earlier seemed so strong for something directed at a man you have never met.” 

You shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant even though your heart threatened to beat our of your chest. “You know how enamored a crush can make someone.” 

“I do,” Wriothesley agreed, his gaze locked onto yours so intensely that you almost had to blink.

“I’m sure you do,” remarked Neuvillette, still sipping his tea.

You and Wriothesley both looked over at him.

Neuvillette blinked. “Did you forget I was here? This is my office, is it not?” When no one responded, he sighed. “Well, I finished the last of my tea and I have some work to wrap up. Feel free to stay as long as you need.”

Neuvillette made his way back to his desk and Wriothesley refocused his attention towards you. 

“So. Kamisato Ayato,” he brought the clan leader up once more.

You choked out a laugh of exasperation. “Are we still on this? Just let me have my silly little crush on someone across the world who doesn’t even know I exist.”

Tapping his fingers against the teacup, Wriothesley huffed. You realized he looked almost annoyed and frustrated.

Just as you were about to ask him what was wrong, Wriothesley opened his mouth and said, “Would it be overbearing of me to say I wish you had said a different name when I asked who you were gushing over?”

A strange mixture of curiosity and hope filled your chest.

Curiosity as to who he thought you were talking about. Hope that maybe he thought it might’ve been him. 

“You could never be overbearing,” you assured, grabbing a small biscuit from the table and softening it up in your warm tea. “Would it be nosy of me to ask who you wished I was gushing over?”

Wriothesley grinned. “You are certainly nosy. But it’s one of the things I like about you.”

You laughed, wiping a crumb off your lip with a napkin. “Does that mean you won’t tell me?”

“Perhaps another day.”

In the distance, you heard Neuvillette clear his throat loudly. You looked over and saw him glaring straight at Wriothesley. They stayed like that for a while, having a silent conversation with their eyes. Whatever it was, it seemed intense. You were quite glad that glare wasn’t directed at you.

“I believe Wriothesley would like to share that information with you now,” Neuvillette announced after Wriothesley looked away with a sigh.

“Does he?”

“I do,” Wriothesley confirmed, the slightest bit begrudgingly. “Me.”

You waited for him to say more, but he didn’t elaborate. 

You blinked. “What about you?” 

“Are you going to make me say it?” Wriothesley let out a strangled laugh, grabbing a biscuit to munch on himself. “When I overheard you and Neuvillette talking about your crush, I was hoping it was about me.”

You blinked. “Why about you?” 

Neuvillette made a strange noise as a book fell off his desk. He cleared his throat. “Pardon me.”

You barely had time to wonder if he was okay before Wriothesley finally responded.

“You really don’t make things easy for me, isn’t that right, princess?” Wriothesley said with a helpless smile. “I hoped you were saying such sweet things about me, since I would say equally sweet things about you.”

With your stomach turning at both the pet name and his admission, you managed to say, “And if I were to tell you it really was about you?”

“That would make me a very happy man,” he said, unable to contain his delight. “Who wouldn’t be happy to hear the most beautiful and caring person they know is interested in them as well?”

You heard Neuvillette tap his foot impatiently in the background, but you ignored him. You and Wriothesley were having a moment here. 

“So, you’re saying you like me, too?” you asked, not wanting there to be any chance of a misunderstanding. The two of you made it this far, you couldn’t let it fall apart now.

“I like you very much,” said Wriothesley with a nod. “And I have something to take care of at the Fortress this week, but when we both have time next week, perhaps we can celebrate with a dinner. Without Neuvillette there.”

“Please, without me there,” Neuvillette chimed in, his arms folded as he sat in his chair.

You laughed, standing up and brushing the imaginary dust off your pajamas. “All right, I can take a hint, Neuvillette. I’ll help you clean up before I go. And Wriothesley…” 

“Hmm?”

You met his gaze and the corners of his eyes crinkled. You fought off a giggle as you returned Wriothesley’s smile, an overwhelming feeling of happiness filling you. “It’s a date.”

[cordeliawhohung]

Again same anon, no need to like post this one BUT the whole cig shotgun thing, i also think that he wouldn’t want her to inhale the smoke. He’d make her exhale it after holding it for a second or two—let her get the taste. “Can’t have you doin shit tha’s bad for ya, you already overwork yourself.” And perhaps he’d hold her jaw while he holds it to her lips.

Okay bye now I will spare you my devious thoughts

you sent this ages ago sorry but i was going through my inbox (sorry there's a lot) and i am just-

"Can I try?"

Simon nearly jumps out of skin at the soft whisper of your question. His neck snaps over his shoulder, taking in your tired form standing in the doorway, hands rubbing at your eyes. The cool summer breeze pulls at your nightshirt; it does nothing to hide the swaying parts of you that dance beneath the fabric as your bare feet trot against the cool cement of the balcony. Dark shadows dance across your face as you blink, waiting for your answer.

"Hmm?" he asks.

"Your cigarette," you clarify.

With the way his brows draw together, you would have thought the item had magically formed between his lips and he hadn't realized it until you pointed it out. Embers glow and flicker as he takes it into his fingers, making sure to hold it away from you as you lean against the railing next to him.

"You wanna try?" he asks.

You shrug. "Never have before."

Mulling your proposition over, he bites the insides of his cheeks as he studies you. He always enjoys when you're like this. Half awake and still trying to fight off thick prostration. Your eyes always seem to glimmer more. They dance in the moonlight as you stare at him, tongue wetting the inside of your lips. He swallows as he takes in the sight of them, so soft and sweet. Figures maybe he wouldn't mind putting something between them.

"Alright," he relents. Surprised, your eyes widen as you tilt your head, not having expected him to give in so quickly. He raises the cigarette, plumes of smoke traveling in its wake, yet he refuses to hand it over. "But don't inhale this shit, yeah? Holdin' it in your mouth'll do plenty. You're already workin' yourself half to death, don't need to speed that up."

Nodding your head in agreement, he finally pushes the cigarette toward you, but he still won't hand it off. Instead, he situates it so the filter faces you, and gently brings it to your lips, spoon feeding you the nicotine high himself. Warm fingers hold your chin steady, trying to keep the ash from falling on you. Eager lips wrap around the filter, and his eyes become inky as he soaks up the sight. Your lips hollow, dragging the smoke into your mouth, and you hum as the flavor washes over your tongue.

He recoils the moment you start coughing, puffs of smoke expelling from your mouth too fast to keep shape. His titter is slightly jeering as he shakes his head, shoving the stick back into his own mouth as you attempt to catch your breath.

"What'd I tell ya?" he chuckles.

"How do you keep doing that when it burns so bad?" you wheeze.

"Lot'sa practice, sweetheart."

As it usually does this late into the night, Simon's mind begins to wander. He thinks about that delicate sheen on your lips, how prettily they parted for him, and he feels that heavy libidinous ache swell deep in his stomach. There's a feeble attempt to hide his growing desire, and he smothers it with a quick drag just as your coughing begins to dwindle.

"C'mere," he prompts, head motioning for you to come closer.

Sucking in a breath of fresh air, you comply happily, pads of your feet slapping against the ground. Simon pushes himself away from the railing, standing tall as he brings his free hand up to your face. He relishes the softness of your skin underneath the thick callous of his thumb as he presses on your bottom lip.

"Open."

Lips parting, you watch in awe as he takes a long drag, eyes never leaving you for a second. He leans forward, mouth full of smoke as his lips hover above yours and then blows. Gently, it seeps between your teeth and fills your mouth, coating your skin in a haphazard mess. Your warmth pours into him as he holds your jaw steady, and it's then that he realizes he can't hold back.

Sparks flying, his discarded cigarette flies through the air as he flicks it away, lips crashing against yours just as it collides with the ground. Between the nicotine high and the taste of you, it can't be helped when his tongue breaks free from his mouth and into yours. You hum, the vibrations cutting straight into his chest as you wrap your arms around him. That hum quickly turns into a giggle as you prematurely end the kiss.

He huffs as his nose knocks against yours, silently begging for more. Withholding it from him, your hips begin to sway.

"Gonna come back to bed?" you ask.

Before he replies, he steals a quick kiss as his hands wander down to your hips. He pulls you closer, body colliding against him and his growing want.

"I'd never say no to that."