#I'll keep finding work-arounds

[mcalhenwrites]

Distraction time, aka "What if I ramble about my stories?" What if I talked about the sort of things Vivian could have had as a child if someone like Phineas had found and raised him instead? Something cheerful with a happy ending would be nice right now. Even if it's not canon. ;) If you didn’t read the original AO3 posting of Seasons to the final chapter, this does contain some significant spoilers. Wouldn’t it have been fantastic if Phineas had visited Wyskaria and noticed Vivian’s signature when he was still little? He’d be a scrappy boy in rags, but old enough he already named himself Vivian. That means he’s not without some trauma. He just didn’t endure all of it before Phineas realized what was going on and stole this abused child away from his family. Vivian would go willingly. If someone had offered him food and a way out, he might be suspicious, but he would also be desperate. What could possibly be worse than what he dealt with from his family? Phineas realizes he’s hungry when they first meet, leaves, returns with food. Vivian is shocked but immediately snatches the food. Then he backs off. Until Phineas shows him magic. Child Viv is not like 400 y/o Viv. He’s impressed. Fascinated. Maybe he would have named himself after Phineas instead if he had met him first. Phineas doesn’t push Viv to come with him. All he does is feed him over the next couple of days. Then he says he’s going to leave town. “You can come with me if you want. You don’t have to stay here.” Vivian follows the food and the kindness. He’s a bit cautious but mostly? He’s hopeful. This is different than it was with Gideon, who forced Viv into structure immediately.

Phineas finds some better clothes and necessities for Vivian, including a toy. This is Viv’s dream. The 400 y/o canon Vivian wanted this childhood. In a different story, he can have it. Phineas introduces him to his family slowly. They visit a couple of his children, who dote on Vivian beecause he’s young and they have kids and hand-me-downs. He feels like a prince. He’s quick to accept Phineas’s affection. After a month or two, he’s happily hugging Phineas on his own. It takes a few more months for him to kiss him on the cheek. Phineas assigns Vivian a birthday based on what he knows, which is that Vivian loves it when it’s snowing. So he gives him a winter birthday. Then asks him what he wants to eat to celebrate it. Vivian wants the same treat he tries to make for Howie in Seasons–the one with fruit in fried bread that’s dusted with nuts and sugar–as his special dessert. For savory dishes, Phineas fixes Vivian some delicious pumpkin pasta with cheese, cabbage and sausage, and a baked ham. He has picked up on some of Vivian’s favorite foods since he took him in. While Phineas often likes to tease many of his children, he doesn’t do this with Viv. He senses that it might be too much–at least while he’s still young–and refrains from joking too much with him. He knows each kid is different. While certain approaches work with one child, it doesn’t with another. Vivian is sometimes a little fiesty and self-defensive, but he’s easily calmed by a gentle reminder from Phineas. He doesn’t think Phineas is soft on him. All he knows is that his other family was cruel and violent, and Phineas is happiness and safety. This isn’t a man who decides his savior is allowed to hurt him to some degree because he was also kind to him. This is a Vivian who is told his autonomy should be respected. Phineas is “Daddy” within a year’s time. Even when Viv enters his teens, he can’t help but use the more childish address. In part, this is because Viv–in most universes–still remembers his early years and it makes him yearn for a do-over. If only Phineas had been his birth Daddy. If only Phineas had found him before his human family. Vivian plays with toys a little older than other children. He’s physically affectionate but never clingy, always lounging close to Phineas because he likes being in proximity to his father. He likes consistency and schedules, because they make him feel safe. Traveling with Phineas stresses him out a bit. He prefers when they’re staying in one of Phineas’s many homes, although he doesn’t mind switching it up sometimes. He just doesn’t like it when Phineas goes to a new place entirely. That’s too much uncertainty for Viv. (Note that this is all before Daz is born and Cole is found when Phineas goes back to Wyskaria. And yes, those do still happen.)

Viv is a bit like Cole: he sticks to Phineas’s side a lot longer than a child usually would to a parent. Not to care for him the way Cole does, but the other way around. (Although maybe it will be different, because Viv being around does change a bit of the timeline, and that means Daz and Cole never encounter the danger that ends Daz’s life.) When he first realizes he has magic at fourteen, he welcomes it, but he uses it for whimsical things–not unlike how Sophie used hers when she came into it. Vivian is reluctant to go to college, but he likes numbers and their consistency, and Phineas encourages him to go meet people and study. Graham doesn’t get into trouble for always talking to Vivian, who has an explosive temper in another timeline. This Viv knows a bit of sign language from traveling with Phineas and can talk to Mabel. He’s a bit on the shy side, but he’s hoping if he sticks around often enough and gains Mabel’s approval, the cute apprentice will like him better. It works. The two get married surrounded by their loved ones. They build a house together. Vivian dreams of the future, and the cries of the cicadas still bring him an accident. He knows exactly who to turn to for advice and assistance. By then, Graham and Viv have had conversations about what kind of parents they want to be. Graham loves Vivian and attributes that to Phineas being a wonderful dad, and he tries his best to model after that instead of modeling after his own father. (Especially with their issues, which they work through before his father’s death.) Graham wants a lifetime with Vivian. They’re goofy and affectionate. They bring their six children to Phineas’s orchard sometimes, because it’s where Vivian is safest. Uncle Cole and Uncle Daz are terrible influences on all five of the kiddos. ;)

[ratwithhands]

Fun fact I used to consume a lot of Land of the Lustrous stuff.

Anyways this is one of my many Land of the Lustrous OCs, Vivianite. Mohs hardness of 1.5, dark green/blue in colour, and very old. Due to the nature of his weak composition, Vivianite can't actually do much of anything, and has had to live under very specific conditions.

Vivianite wears a tight full body uniform to hold any chipped pieces in place, and is kept in a box stuffed with loose cloth to ensure minimal damage. If he comes into contact with light, he begins to oxidize and darken, so he's kept in a windowless room with curtains over the entrance.

That's all to say he's isolated and bored. He spends much of his time inactive, but he'll jump at the opportunity for conversation if there's someone around. Certain gems visit him to chat, get guidance, or give him the recent news. A task given to some gems is to clear his room of dust, and maybe bring him some books if he's up for it.

Vivian sees himself as an older sibling/friend to many of the other gems, and as such he's very keen on providing a listening ear and giving advice where possible to those who need it. He's essentially emotional support in a can.

Other notes/details:

not all gems know Vivian exists! He's hidden away so most gems wouldn't see him unless they were actively looking for him. A lot of the older ones know about him, but the younger ones don't

Rutile is endlessly tired of having to glue him back together so often due to his softness, which is part of why he has a tighter uniform to keep all his broken pieces in place

Vivian struggles with walking, he tends to be slow and stumbly

the tanks in Vivian's room are for jellyfish. Gems who are sent to clean his room have to switch out the jellyfish too. They're there to provide a faint light source so he doesn't go completely inactive

Vivian, despite living in a box in the dark, has a lot of technical knowledge about things as a result of millennia of going through the library collection. He' a living encyclopedia and can usually offer some answers if a gem has questions on a particular subject

his internal structure is basically a lot of shards stuck together like fibers, so he does minor repairs on himself by affixing strands of his hair into empty spots. He's had his fingers repaired and replaced this way often

In the few instances where Vivian has gone outside, he has an abnormally high amount of energy as a result of his inclusions being able to work at full capacity in the light

If I remember anything else I'll add it, anyways have a good day!

[supermaks]

Kit do you not rep Charles anymore 😭

Of course I do he’s prime I just need a break from his team and that fucking dog

[kindlythevoid]

(link to recipe here)

Part One, Part Two, Part Four

[sainz100]

2024 Singapore GP | x

[bigfootsmom]

Have you read the dog metaphor buddie fic?

I have not but it's on my list! I actually read the second fic in the series first (whoops) and I absolutely fucking adored it. I was actually just thinking about it the other day (I think about it almost every day actually). Give me anything with even just a whiff of 'loves like a dog' metaphor and I go absolutely insane.

For anyone who hasn't read either of the fics, they're by fleetinghearts/ @shitouttabuck

here is the first/main fic:

like a dog with a bird at your door

and here is the second fic that can be treated like a standalone:

throw a bone, i'm finally home

[gideonisms]

ngl having bad brain times. Can you ever physically FEEL the lack of the get things done chemical

[probayern]

i miss germany, i miss the euros, i miss june

[dan-crimes]

I love it when I'm not actually as invested in something as others are yet I'll still spend. 10+ hours just watching content about it cuz I still have to know about it like I might not have brain rot or anything but I gotta have that info in my brain

[kozidraws]

.

[spaghett-onaplate]

sixth day at my new school and i didn't sit alone at lunch today 🥳🥳

[skrunksthatwunk]

household enemy to the yyh watchthrough number one is the olympics. it's taken us a week to get two episodes into the gamemaster fight

[deadrocks]

Played "Remember, You Will Die" this afternoon and really enjoyed it, while also feeling just this escalating dread? melancholy? frustration? pity? at playing an MC who feels so overwhelmingly trapped. Physically powerful, possessing a rare skill, and yet when people look at you all they is see a mad dog on a leash and all you can choose is whether or not to bark. If this sounds like a criticism I promise you it is not, quite the opposite. It added such a weight to little moments of choosing (relative) mercy, of looking for ways to achieve your goals that involved a little more finesse or discretion. Not to be "good" but to be something other than what everyone expects of you--to choose. To snatch at whatever little bit of autonomy came your way. Will be excited to play more of this as it's updated and to see at what point the MC will get to really slip the leash.

[ff2-soda-pop]

I'm starting to question if I should even bother with the stupid paper.... I'm probably just gonna fail anyways lmao

[aimarann]

I want my gf to come back home I can't sleep without her and I'm so tired I'm gonna cry

[shirogane-oushirou]

[cw vent: chronic illness, general world politics mention w no detail)

"man. i'm so tired. i feel like i can't do anything selfship related. is it because my energy's been sapped from family visiting and everyone wanting to do ~summer activities~ nonstop? am i so in my head about "getting ren's story right without stepping over any lines" that i've backed myself into a perfectionist corner? is the world just going to shit so hard that i can't have one (1) minute of escape on this blog before going back to working through the political hellscape we're in? god even trying to make this plushie pattern is killing me even though i want to hold my guy So Badly AUGH."

/finishes the plushie pattern after trying multiple body bases and literally buying a japanese ebook about plushie face and hair design/

"actually what if i lived forever and spent all of that time making an army of these fuckers to swim in? what then?"