#I'm so curious tho is this like your bit? you send these sort of asks to a LOT of blogs

[squish--squash]

What do you think are William and Sherlock’s (from Yuumori) greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?

Why is this structured like one of those prompts you'd find in a middle school english class I can't stop laughing-

Okay okay silliness aside these are great questions and I'd love to answer them

I've mentioned it in a previous ask when asked my favorite thing about him, but I personally think William's greatest strength is his determination; the moment he decides on something wholeheartedly, he puts his entire being into it, whether it be the Moriarty Plan or his new purpose during the NYC arc, and he becomes an almost unstoppable force. For Sherlock, I think his greatest strength is how steadfast he is with his desires and wants; he wants to be someone who solves things, he wants to crack the Lord of Crime mystery himself, he wants to be more than a puppet on a string, and he wants the people he cares about safe, and by god is he going to keep those things no matter what

On the other hand: I think William's greatest weakest is also his determination, though, because he grows so tunnel-visioned on what he wants to achieve that he forgets or purposefully neglects things that are important to him (take the Moriarty Plan for example: he was so determined to have it end with his own death that he neglected the feelings of his brothers and companions towards that matter, and was neglecting the feelings developing between himself and Sherlock because he was so determined to die he didn't think a companionship would have ever been achievable) Furthermore, I think Sherlock's greatest weakness is his arrogance. There are times where he grows a little too egotistical about himself, and it negatively affects him or the people around him (like him slapping some sort of blame onto John for not letting him kill Hope despite it being his own choice leading to a fight, or the way he grows boastful and arrogant around Lestrade leading to the inspector having a "I'm only putting up with you because you're good at what you do" sort of attitude towards Sherlock most of the time)

I love way too much about their dynamic though. I was hinting at it earlier with their strengths, but they're such an "unstoppable force meets unmovable object" pair! And I'm obsessed with how their dynamic progresses throughout the narrative: it starts as this kinda of chess game, this kind of cat-and-mouse or puppet and puppeteer; but it slowly unravels into this sort of dynamic where they can see right through each other, but they still don't know the other's next move for certainty, and then it starts shifting and setting into an equal companionship/partnership all with that unstoppable force/unmovable object undertone. They make me wanna bite through steel!

[vibratingskull]

Ok so we all love Thrawn as a dad, but the idea of Thrawn coming back from exile to meet his baby granddaughter is rotting my brain and I need others to see my vision (and if you're taking requests when you get this, I'd love to hear your headcanons/thoughts about it)

Gilf Thrawn for the win! Granddad Thrawn is such a sweet thought tho... I'm melting, the softness, the sweetness, the tenderness... 😭😭😭

Thrawn & Daughter!reader

Tags: tooth rooting fluff, reunion, single dad/granddad!Thrawn, daughter!Reader

Thrawn remains silent, simply observing the house in front of him. 

He is sure this is the right address, but he somehow feels tense at the idea of knocking on the door. 

So many years have passed. Ten years of complete radio silence while he was exiled. So many things must have changed. 

He just hopes his daughter is doing okay. You were a teenager when he disappeared, now you must be an adult, with your life sorted out, you may not want him back... 

He raises his hand and presses the doorbell. He is met by silence, only hearing his pounding heart until he hears hurried footsteps behind the door. 

“Coming!” A male voice responds. 

Did he get the wrong address? 

The door slides open to reveal a human male he has never met before. 

“What do you... Oh!” The human simply says discovering Thrawn in full Grand Admiral regalia, his eyes rounding up in surprise. 

They look into each other eyes in silence for a split second before the human turns towards the inside of the house. 

“Thitanu! I think  you should come at the door!” 

New footsteps can be heard and a human female appears. Thrawn’s heart jumps. You are so grown up now!  

You stop dead in your tracks with a shocked expression. 

This is you, his daughter, his beloved k’eten, the joy of his heart, his pride. 

“...Dad?” 

“Ch’eo k’eten.” He responds, incredulous himself. 

“...How?”You ask with a white voice like you were observing a ghost from a distant past. 

“It will be long to explain everything. Just know that I am back for good, Ch’eo K’eten.” 

You raise your hand to your mouth, a broken sob escaping you. 

“Re-really?” 

“Yes. I am here for you now.” He opens his arms to invite you. 

You throw yourself at him. You are taller now and with a mature face, but still as beautiful as in his memories. You hug each other tight, reveling in each other’s presence and warmth. 

“Thitanu...” He whispers in his bliss, pressing you against his heart, “(Y/n)”. 

It is so good to finally hug his daughter, after so long... 

He kisses your forehead, inhaling your scent, sending his heart into a frenzy. Now that he is back he will not let you go! You will need protection in those future confused and violent times and he is perfectly capable of offering it to you. 

You will travel with him on his ISD across the universe. 

If you refuse to come with him he will make you move to one of his hideouts, where nothing could ever reach you and harm you. Your security is his top priority now! 

You part from him suddenly with eyes full of excitation. 

“I need you to meet someone urgently!” And you grab his hand and pull him inside in a hurry, so much so that he almost bumps into the human man.  

You pull him all the way up the stairs, never letting him go for a second. You giggle and almost fly across the corridors of the house. You reach a door and you press your finger on your lips, ordering him to remain silent. 

He nods, curious about that person you so desperately wants him to meet. You slowly opens the door to let him discover... a nursery. 

His heart skips a bit, he turns back to you and you smile, absolutely radiant, inviting him to enter. He passes the door gingerly, not making a single sound, not even a breath, like the nursery would evaporate at any moment, and with it all its promises. 

The room is colorful, filled to the brim with toys and plushies. He remembers buying some for you when you were still a very little girl. He is glad you kept them with you. He slowly approaches the crib in the middle of the room, holding his breath, full of anticipation. 

He slowly discovers a baby, sleeping soundly with a snow bunny in their little fist. He leans forward to observe them closer. They must be between 4 to 6 months old, still tiny and fragile. They have the same skin tone as the human male, but the nose and hair are yours indubitably.  

Magnificent... Simply magnificent. 

He observes, fascinated, the baby wiggling under their plaid, pressing the plushie against themself. They suddenly stop moving to yawn a big time, opening their mouth in perfect ‘O’, letting out the most adorable sound he ever heard. 

“Take her in your arms.” You invite, approaching in his back. 

“She is deeply sleeping. I would rather not disturb her.” He refuses. 

“Nonsense. She can still sleep in your arms. Go on, take her, I know you want to.” 

It’s true, he really wants to hold her in his hands. 

But she is so small, and him so big... 

What if he hurt her in some way? She looks so fragile, like she was made of thin glass. 

“Go on. You will not hurt her, you never hurt me when you held me.” You insist. 

He tentatively reaches for the baby, making sure to take her head delicately and support her body correctly. 

Warrior, now that she is in his large hands she appears even smaller... 

He lifts her slowly and carefully to bring her to his chest. She doesn’t seem to wake up, perfectly at peace. Now that he has her in his arms, reality settles in his mind and heart. 

He is a grandpa. 

He has a granddaughter. 

A legacy. 

Another dear one to protect with all his might and power. 

He never guessed he would have another family before adopting you when you were only a three-year-old. Grandchildren were a concept so far away, like an impossible dream. And then he got exiled to Peridea, never to see his daughter again. 

In his mind, his family would stop with you. 

But you kept going, you flourished and pushed through. You found yourself a companion and gave birth to a magnificent baby girl. His family is alive and well against his worst fears... 

His family... is safe. 

And now he is back. 

With you. 

Nothing will ever separate him from his family again! 

He presses the baby against himself, reverently kissing her forehead like she was a saint figure that came to grace his dark existence. 

“What is her name?” He whispers to not disturb the baby’s sleep, eyes fixated on the most beautiful being he ever saw beside you. 

“Thisaima.” You smile, caressing your baby’s head. 

His heart jolts. 

You chose a Chiss name. 

To honor him. 

Back when he met you on this now far away planet ravaged by war, the only miraculous survivor under your birth house rubbles, he asked you your name and kept it. He always addressed you as Thitanu, your Chiss name, and (Y/n), your birthname, leaving you the choice of your identity. 

And today you chose a Chiss name for your daughter. 

He is so grateful to you, you are giving him so much! 

“What happened when I disappeared?” He asks finally. 

“Aunt Karyn took care of me. When you left us both on Coruscant to go to Lothal she stayed at our apartment for a bit. Then we learned your disappearance with the Chimaera. She really stepped up and took responsibility the best she could. She pushed me to get my diploma and helped me find a job. She did her best with me.” 

He owes a lot to Karyn Faro and way more than several years of diligent and loyal services it appears. 

He looks back at his granddaughter, looking even more precious and fragile now. He cannot lose anyone else again. 

He will not allow it. 

Not anymore. 

He kisses the baby’s forehead again, reveling in the softness of the skin. She giggles in her sleep. 

“I am back to protect you both. I will not fail again.” 

@bluechiss @thrawnalani @justanothersadperson93 @al-astakbar@thrawnspetgoose @readinglistfics @elise2174 @debonaire-princess @twilekchiss @pencil-urchin @ineedazeezee @mssbridgerton @dance-like-russia-isnt-watching @Cortisolcosplay @obbicrystaleo @germie2037

[milliemuus]

Possible future stuff (just a snippet ;) ):

Dokutaro: ‘No…no! Impossible! How is my power core destroyed?!’

Kieran: Wait, his colour’s weird, this means, maybe we have a chance now? If so, then…

Ogerpon: *angrily growls while bringing out her cudgel*

Kieran: *puts his hand, blocking Ogerpon* *with rage* No,I’ll take care of this.

*Grabs Dokutaro’s neck while the True Finale starts*

Kieran:

Who are you… To think that could prevail? For all the sins you’ve done, You'll fall on your face and FAIL!!!! Now then! And In The Final hour our HOPE STILL SHINES!! BLINDING THE DARKEST OF NIGHTS… IN THE FINAL… FIGHT!!

AND THERE’S NO WAY THAT YOU’LL EVER BEAT US!!! YES, WE’RE STILL IN OUR PRIME! YOUR OWN END IS NIGH, IT’S TIME WE FLY HIGH!!

You’ll never harm anyone again Like the runt you were, You may have possessed me and and made me harm my family! But when YOU harm my friends?! You're asking for a Kieran smacking! One single KO punch, Will send you sorry runt a-packing!

*Finally, in a fit of rage, Kieran mustered up all his strength, and punched Dokutaro, sending him flying in the air. Finally the second attack is over, but it truly was a Grand Finale*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(v) PV! Pecharunt: And that’s how I got my ass handed by my Kieran.

@tealmaskmybeloved Pecharunt: *grimaced* sheesh, I hope you’re alright.

S&S Dipplins Pecharunt: Now you’re making me feel that I got off easy…

Azure Dive Pecharunt: *curious* Really? What happened?

S&S Dipplins Pecharunt: Well, let’s just say my Kieran was AN ABSOLUTE SIMP, somehow, his simping was able to shrug off my possession for a short while, but it’s really tiring, ugh, I’m SO TIRED…*internally screaming*

Azure Dive Pecharunt: ohhhh, that sounds really annoying to deal with.

(so, ANOTHER IDEA, AND A SNIPPET OF THE PECHAS. So, you said most of your stuff is inspired by BIS, so another lyrical stuff by Juno Songs (credits to him) for Kieran in the Key Change segment. Also, I changed a few things to fit the context)

(and this could be a sequel’s ending since, the final battle is sort of discussed already)

(so maybe?)

(Also, opportunity for the Pechas to interact :), also if S&S Dipplins Pecharunt confusing you, you can go to @dipplinduo and see the asks, he’s the author of the fanfic)

I LOVE THIS IDEA! I'M FINALLY GETTING TO ANSWER BUT I RLLY NEED TO LISTEN TO THIS SONG! I'VE BEEN Listening to the actual BIS soundtrack, and smth funny I've been thinkin abt is a mario-rpg style thing of Project Venus.

So, you know how in BIS the music changes depending on whether you are bowser or the brothers? Esp inside bowser? I wanna make themes based off the inside bowser themes for Kitakami, BB Academy, Area Zero, etc for PV!Kieran, since his POV is technically warped. Like when we first meet him, it's obvs gonna be normal, but it slowly but surely settles in as time goes on because I wanna say there's a side episode of him training (Like Bowser Jrs Journey was a side episode)

I'd love for everyone's Pechas to interact! I'm a bit intimidated even tho I'm mutuals with both dipplinduo (I believe) and I am definitely mutuals with tealmaskmybeloved!

However, I don't think I've heard much abt Azure Dive, but I hella love the name 👀

I wanna find out more abt them, though! I don't see them on my tl much and I get busy, but I'd love if you told me a buncha stuff, if you'd like to! You're definitely not obligated to, by any means!

Also, I'm very sure that PV!Pecha wpuld get the walloping if a lifetime for sure! Maybe not just by Kieran himself, but by Kieran's ancestor, too 😭

In fact, I think that's what I want PVs Mochi Mayhem to be about! Uncovering Pecharunt and Kieran and Carmine's ancestry with Eustace (The Mask Maker) and the sealed curse that Pecharunt has him under! Ooooghh, givin me so many ideas...

[meadow-roses]

ooo your characters look reeeaaallllyy interesting. Tho I'd like to know a little bit more about keepers. Have you written much? If so, where can I read it in order?

Thank you so much! I am SO glad to hear that!!! :D The keepers have pretty much consumed my brain for the last four years hahaha

Basically this story happened because my sister said one day "what if instead of goofing around making crossovers/aus of stories we like, we made up brand new stories and then made them crossover." Then we started the hard work of creating a whole bunch of co-universal plots so we could send the main characters on crossover adventures together and have it be 100% canon 😂

To enhance this crossover aspect, we're trying to make each of the main stories a different genre- Ketsler is from a second-world fantasy, Skylar from an intrusive fantasy/fairytale setting, Betty mystery thriller, and Felix sci-fi superheroes!

@wednesday-chicken is a great resource if you're looking to learn more, it's a blog specifically for the keepers wip containing all the posts made both by me and @masterfuldoodler (of course you can always send an ask or dm!)

Since the keepers is a collection of stories that all come together to tell a single narrative, (for example "Dauntless" is a four season long show but it's the first installment in the keepers series) it's kinda messy and all over the place lol We're still trying to come up with the perfect publishing order, but here's a timeline August put together that covers each of the separate storylines and how they line up chronologically:

I'm hoping to get things organized better once I've got a website up, but I have no idea when that will be lol

I use my personal blog as a place to share art, but also to make it easy for me to reference past drawings without having to dig through a heap of paper, so the tagging system should help if you're willing to hunt around a little lol

#keepers written will take you to all of the writing I've posted for the wip, but uh. I'm really bad at actually posting my writing lol

#keepers universe is for ALL posts for the keepers wip (a recent addition to the system so it doesn't Actually include everything right now, sorry 😂)

#dauntless wip will take you to JUST posts for Felix's backstory.

#keepers will take you to the posts for the keepers plotline, except for the posts exclusively for the dauntless wip

For anything else all I've got for you is character tags 😅

Here's direct links to the main cast on the keepers blog:

#ketsler . #rhyin . #felix . #skylar . #gigi . #betty . #haru

There are quite a few other characters. They will all have their names tagged as well, so feel absolutely free to poke around!

If you have any questions, or are curious about something specific, feel free to send an ask to here, to @masterfuldoodler or @wednesday-chicken! :D

(also, just a tip. the search bar on blogs will search the blog for posts with the phrase in the post, if you click a tag that will bring up all posts tagged that sorted newest to oldest)

[astroninaaa]

hi thanks for your explainer posts on the legal stuff, they're super interesting! i'm currently studying for the exam you have to take to get into US law schools (since theyre graduate programs here unlike in most places where law is an undergraduate degree) so its really interesting to learn a bit about how the law functions differently in other places!

one thing i'm curious about -- when i first saw the info about cellbit being able to get the twitter info for these accounts, i assumed that he wasn't actually going to go through with suing ALL of them, and it would be more likely that most of them would simply get some sort of cease-and-desist letter instead, with maybe just a couple having full legal processes to use them as examples. However, I saw people on twitter saying that the process is actually a lot more simple than i had assumed and also takes place mostly online, so suing all of them would actually be more realistic than it sounds. do you know anything about that? how likely do you think it is that he actually sues all of these people (and also the other batches of accounts that probably just aren't public yet that hes also gonna go after later lol)

hi anon!!! good luck on your exam, i really really hope you get in!!!! law is So Cool.

yes it is a LOT more simple than that. he wouldn’t need to sue them individually, and in brazil nowadays we do a LOT if not almost all of court/lawsuit work through the internet. mediation meetings are done through zoom. oral sustentation as well. it’s preeeetty chill

if he wants to, i’m absolutely sure he can sue all of them at once pretty easily. it depends on what his strategy is tho. i think sending cease-and-desist letters could also be a good call and probably way easier than suing hundreds of people, because even tho it’s simpler than it sounds, it’s still fucking hard /lh

even tho the crimes committed are basically the same, the degree of fucked up shit said throughout the many accounts and tweets varies quite a bit, so even tho he could sue everyone in the same lawsuit, it would still be 😭😭😭 a MESS and the judge might think the situations are too different bc of that varying degree and ask him to do different lawsuits anyway. so, like, how worth it would it be?

i don’t know how likely it is for him to sue everyone because that depends on him and his lawyer and what they think will work best, but i think he did the most important bit already — which was getting twitter to delete all the tweets, which they already have (they actually turned in to court with all the proof that they deleted everything like, this week, iirc). if he wants to sue everyone, he can, but i think he also can just sue the worst ones and that’d be wayyy easier. there’s also the whole discussion on whether or not he can sue the foreigners. so while he technically could sue everyone, can he sue the non-brazilians? the judge still has to decide that

so yes like technically he can and if he really wants to drive home the point of “you’re not free of consequences for what you say on the internet” he def should, but i think it depends on his strategy here.

[shewholovestoread]

THE L WORD GENERATION Q MASTERPOST

Back when The L Word Generation Q Seasons 1 and 2 aired, I was inspired to write about it and in particular about Dani Nunez and Gigi Ghorbani. But season 3 was such an unmitigated dumpster fire and the awful way some of the characters were handled (cough-Gigi-cough) that I refuse to waste any of my time writing about it. But seeing as so much work (and thought) already went into it, I'm posting this master-list for any who want to go through them.

Gigi Ghorbani on The L Word Generation Q

The L Word Generation Q - Is Dani into Gigi - Part 1 of 2

The L Word Generation Q - Is Dani into Gigi - Part 2 of 2

The L Word Generation Q - Bette and Gigi

Can you please do an analysis comparison of Dani’s growth as a person in her relationship with Gigi compared to how she was in her relationship with Sophie?: Link

Question cause I wanna know your thoughts. On the night where Dani, Gigi & Micah went out, Gigi runs into Bette and I think this is the scene where Bette tells Gigi she isn't enough (correct me if I'm wrong tho) Do you think that's why she confesses to Dani afterwards? As a sort-of rebound?( I dunno… i always found that kinda off, how she moved so quickly from one to the other): Link

how would you deconstruct the "Are you hitting on me?" statement by Dani. Gigi clearly wasn't seeing this coming and was slightly taken back by the upfront question from Dani and when Gigi says no, it seems like Dani is slightly taken aback and confirms by asking "but you are not sure" as if she wanted her to say yes and for things to move in other direction: Link

Have you done the comparison of Gigi and Bette’s date and Gigi and Dani’s non date? If not can you?: Link

The L Word Generation Q - The Bette and Dani Fight

About Dani’s feelings for Gigi and Finley showing up at her house: Link

What did you think of the scene where Dani shows up at Gigi's office & Gigi gives her an excuse but Dani straight up calls her out on it by saying "maybe you just didn't want to see me" Do you think Gigi was surprised by that?: Link

Dani's scene with Nat and Alice.

I hate Rodolfo for the way he treats his daughter. But I can’t help but keep going back to him saying to Dani that he thought she’d end up with someone like Gigi. Do you think it influenced the way Dani viewed Gigi ? Was it something that nudged her in Gigi’s direction?: Link

the scene in Dani’s apartment where she says to Gigi “you sound like Sophie”. With Gigi’s reaction, I felt like she was a little upset for being compared with Sophie. I think it is because she already had feelings about Dani but and the “ex comparison” thing was something she didn’t like a bit. What do you think?: Link

in the scene where Dani tells Gigi she’s easy to talk to and Gigi responds by saying “not everyone would agree with you.” The look on Gigi’s face after Dani says “fuck ‘em” has always struck me as odd. It’s almost like Gigi is surprised by Dani’s response, or wasn’t expecting that reaction?: Link

I want to say that your analysis of GINI scenes are amazing. I'm curious to know if you analyzed the GINI hottest scene from episode 8 of season 2. If you did please send me a link. If you didn’t I really want to know you thoughts about it (the bode language and the other). Also what do you expect from season 3?: Link (Really clowned myself in this one, didn't I?)

I wanted to ask you why Finley seems to be obsessed with Dani. Link

Thinking about how Marja said GINI came to be cause they couldn’t bring in a lot of actors because of Covid and how Dani was supposed to date around…had that happened do you think Gigi would’ve still been interested in Dani? Link

What did you think of the scene where Dani shows up at Gigi's office & Gigi gives her an excuse but Dani straight up calls her out on it by saying "maybe you just didn't want to see me" Do you think Gigi was surprised by that? Cause I personally think she wasn't expecting Dani to come and apologize but she loved every minute of it when she did: Link

How would you deconstruct the scene where Sophie said to Dani “Because I know you” after consoling Dani in Ojai and Dani’s response was a deadpan “Do you?” to that? Link

The other day on YouTube I read something along the lines of "Gigi mentors/mother's Dani too much and she'll eventually get tired of her, what Gigi needs is an equal as her partner not someone that's emotionally immature" What do you think? Do you think Gigi will ultimately get tired of Dani? I'm actually kinda curious cause Gigi herself said that she eventually tires of her partners. Link

I also think one of the main differences between Bette and Dani is that Dani is willing to learn from her mistakes and actively tries to change for the better. I think this was shown in how she went about in starting a relationship with Gigi. We know that her relationship with Sophie started with Sophie cheating on her then girlfriend with Dani and them “fucking in a bathroom stall” the first night they met. Before starting anything with Gigi, Dani actively made sure Bette was okay with it because she knew they were dating/had just broken up at the time. Link

Hey, thank you for all the analysis. Can you do a deeper analysis on the scenes from the time Gigi tells Dani that her feelings have changed to the time Dani ends up at Gigi's doorsteps just before their first kiss. I am particularly interested in the park bench scene. I feel there is a lot of subtext in their conversation. Also, curious on what made Gigi tell Dani about her feelings after Dana's. Curious if you think the events at Dana's influenced her to just go for it. Link

Thanks so much for keeping us alive post end of season 2. Would love your take on the epic kiss in the rain scene in 207! Link

Hey, Thank you so much for every post you have written about Dani and Gigi. Your posts make me appreciate them more and also grateful to have found this corner of Internet where I can obsess over these two. That being said, I have one more question. I am not surprised that Dani is into Gigi. Gigi is super awesome and there to support her in Dani’s toughest moments and common who wouldn’t love Gigi back. I am curious about why Gigi is into Dani? Link

There’s this look on Bette face when she sees Gi and Dani at the bar in the love shack episode (episode 6 I think). I’m curious what you thought of it. Was it - huh, Gigi moved on too soon look? Or something else entirely? Thanks. Link

What do you make about the scene with Bette’s reaction towards Gigi/Dani being close at the bar during the karaoke scene of episode 6 if she didn’t “give a shit about Gigi” and was pretty much done with her by then? Link

Hi, thank you for your analysis they’re good :). What so you think about the it’s LA I’m sure there was traffic scene? Because for me GIGI kind of let her of the hook easy. That was inconsiderate of Dani. I was curious about your opinion for that scene. Thank you :) Link

[luna-lovegreat]

Why don’t you have your pronouns in your bio? I want to interact with your account but as a trans person it makes me feels unsafe if an account doesn’t have pronouns listed. (Genuine question, not trying to attack or anything)

Hello hi :D

I generally take a long time to reply (I choose to take a while so I am not rushing my responses), but I want you to feel safe so I will try and respond quickly

***I tried to respond as a private ask but I think I can't, so my response to anon is under the cut. It is way too long, but I don't want to trim it down and keep friend waiting

^^tone indicators for all of my response is positive and genuine- I am curious and sincere

Thank you for sending this- I love that you are brave enough to ask and I hear you. I'm honoured that you like my account and would love for you to interact with it! I want you to feel safe tho, let's figure it out

Could I ask for advice? I am not yet completely understanding of tumblr or how everything works. I'm not certain what a bio is or where to put it.

I have so far avoided posting a pinned post, or having personal information in my blog description (<is that bio?). I have preferred just having posts- I am also not very comfortable reblogging things yet. I'm not certain how to explain why, but that is the form my anxiety has taken in managing my account appearance. Is it ok to leave it as is?

As far as changes I am slow on that as well, and might take a bit- but again I will try to hurry because I never want you to feel unsafe. You are worth any extent of kindness

So if I may ask- what is a blog bio, and where would I be supposed to put my pronouns? I think others have explained a bit on this but sometimes I don't understand immediately. Is this something that will make people feel unsafe? And may I ask why? I understand if this is uncomfortable, but I always want to be honest and genuine, and learn rather than pretending I know everything. I am autistic and often take a long time to understand things socially. Could not having pronouns be seen as a rejection of my trans friends?

I also have believed they/them to be the sort of default- as a sign of respect for my trans people I say they/them if I am uncertain. I want to help people feel validated with they/them, rather than assume and say something that is not who they are

My pronouns are she/her! :D but I am ok with they/them as normal which is another reason I hadn't put them.

I have several friends I plan on asking for advice on this as well, but I would love advice from your perspective. I want to make sure your concerns specifically are cared for since you asked. If you are ok to go off of anon, could you dm me or talk in replies? I want to learn. Or you could send me asks in anon- but I do not want to seem like I’m telling you what to do, or demand you talk openly if it makes you uncomfortable.

Friend :)

If I have accidentally said something very offensive I am so sorry and please help me understand- I have a heart for you even if words get in the way. I hope I am not defensive- learning and growing and changing are the best parts of life

If anything I said came across as rude or blunt I am sorry- I tell you that is not what I mean and I want to be friendly and light. I struggle with language sometimes (sometimes) which is why I normally take long to respond.

...

Hi friend! I think you are very cool and you've made me happy- now I can learn more :D if I was too intense or seemed demanding I am sorry- I got slightly panicked. I want you to feel heard and safe :)))

I feel secure in my gender identity and would not be adverse to being trans. I have spent so much time searching tho- I enjoy bragging about always having skirts with the best pockets.

I know this post is way too long and I repeated myself- I ramble lol but want to help you feel loved quickly

.

Edit: hate to add more, but hi anon! Many of my friends have come to help me understand more. Thank you for asking- I did not know and love to learn. I've added pronouns, and want to always make changes so people can feel safe. You don't have to go off of anon if you don't want, but if there's anything else I can do let me know. You are so so cool :)))

[nullshocked]

HAHA hi um im coming here from gravedig and was wondering about Angel and Jules, i sent them the same ask but then realised they’d directed me over to you so YEAH, How did the two of them meet? What were their first impressions of one another? The things they immediately noticed and liked didn’t like, ALSO I WILL HAVE MORE QUESTIONS IM JUST MEANT TO BE WORKIN RN anyway yeah very curious about them!!! (understand if you can’t answer because you’re still working on your novel tho of course!!!)

HI HELLO WELCOME. Naturally can't reveal everything, but plssss yes I am always excited to talk about the story!! Please never hesitate to send questions!

Julien is a barista at a coffee shop as his day job and they meet when Angel stops in one morning for coffee, and they kind of strike up a sort of routine from there. Angel comes in once a week, they chat for a little bit, and then he leaves. Julien is of course extremely normal about trying to catch Angel's eye (read: an anxious mess who has no idea what he's doing ever in his life).

For Julien, his first impression of Angel starts with: "oh he's kind of scary looking" and turns to "oh he's nice actually" and then "oh god he's hot." It's kind of difficult not to notice Angel's scars, so that's the first thing he notices before the rest of his features. In particular he's drawn to Angel's eyes and the way he kind of snorts or huffs instead of actually laughing when he's amused. Jules has a goal in the back of his head to one day make Angel laugh for real. One day...

As for Angel's perspective, I'm actually going to direct you back to @gravedigg bc they're going to answer the first ask you sent with that. ;)

[ashtraythief]

How do you get so much engagement? Not in a jealous sort of way, but more in a curious way of someone who seeks tips/advice on the matter. It seems these days fandom is much more…distant than it once was and it’s a bit discouraging, you know? I can barely get any sort of engagement, either on my socials or my ao3, but to know you have such a devoted fan base (such as me!) it fills me with hope that it’s possible :)

Any tips and/or ideas?

Oh wow, first off, thank you so much for your kind words!

As for engagement, I don't know if I have much wisdom to give there. Spn fandom is definitely getting smaller, has been for years. Even when I got into it ten years ago, it was already past its prime.

Gonna share what little knowledge I have under the cut.

So I am not the right person to ask about socials lol. I have very little engagement on tumblr actually. I know it doesn't look like it right now, but usually I go months without getting asks. And then I guess sometimes whenever I get one, other people see it and remember they can send me asks? And then I just get a bunch, of which I suspect several are from the same people 😅, and then things go quiet again. Usually, most of them are related to the underneath verse, which makes sense since it's an ongoing WIP, and people have questions (that I am very happy to answer, always! Even tho I can't give anything about the ending away 😅). I used to post fic links here, but I got so little engagement I eventually gave up on that. It didn't seem worth the effort of formatting the posts, but I also have no way of knowing how many people just check ao3 and how many click on a link on tumblr.

Twitter is a little different, but it's also gotten more quiet there. The end of the show didn't help and then recent events *cough*prequelgate*cough* accelerated the decline of J2 fandom especially. But I get some interaction with fic posting there, more than on tumblr anyway, so that's where I post new fics. I think it's helpful to screenshot the summary and attach it to the post for more info. Maybe? I've never done a survey on this lol. Definitely don't be shy about retweeting and reposting for timezone purposes and on different days. Some people follow so many accounts they won't see your post otherwise.

As for fic engagement, idk. A good snappy summary, enough tags for people to get interested but no overtagging? But like, I'm a bad standard here, I think. I've been in fandom for over 10 years, I've written almost 200 fics in all kinds of genres, so people know me. I've also participated in gift exchanges, challenges and auction fics, which is also something that gives you exposure. And I was lucky that one of my first big fics was popular. So I guess a reasonable amount of people know me as a J2 author.

Also supporting my theory of being known is that I recently posted a fic in a much more active fandom and I immediately had like four times the engagement I'd usually get for J2 fics, but still much less than the popular fics in that fandom.

And not all of my spn rpf fics get a lot of engagement either. It always depends on subject matter, pairings, trends in fandom etc. If you look at my fic list, you'll see a lot of fics with few kudos for a variety of reasons.

I still write them, even if I know not a lot of people are interested in them, but I still enjoy writing them. And I always think, if there's only one person whom I brought joy with my writing, it's worth it. But I definitely understand that more feedback is also more joy and good for our egos. And I know there are people out there who don't care about that, which is valid, but I think it's also okay to care about it.

Idk if this is helpful. I can try to give more specific advice for fic things if you have more specific questions, maybe off anon if you're comfortable with it?

Otherwise, thanks for your faith in me and sorry that I have so little wisdom to share 😅

[vvolfkidscribbles]

~VVelcome to ze VVolfden~

Hiii im Wolf whadduP~

I'm a queer artist from Germany who enjoys drawing their pookies in risque poses and/or get-ups >:) Oh, also religious imagery, but i never finish those pieces :/

Pookies include but are not limited to: Various OC's and PC's, Genshins own diluc (and others), Kafka star rail, haku yowane my beloved & Konata Izumi!

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I'm a very slow artist and work when i have the motivation and energy (not frequent sadge) and mostly sketch :)

Spam likes are always welcome!

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I like talking to people but also have anxiety so i never do...if you want to talk or send ask feel very free to tho!

Some things to be aware of if you do:

- I've been told i can be very direct and intense (not always intended)

- I have strong opinions that i am passionate about and my tone may not be the friendliest if I strongly disagree with you. (I'm never an outright dick but yk)

- I can be defensive about the things i like! I don't intend to be but i have observed a sort of protectiveness of how i see a certain character, while i am still all ears (or at least curious) about other peoples takes on things, if smth isn't to my taste or very opposed to how I see things, i might not be very enthusiastic or may just not respond!

I also swear quite a bit sorry lol

English is NOT my first language! While i am very much fluent i do have some words or idioms i might just not know of and the occasional difficulty with grammar!

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My art may NOT be reposted without express permission!

My art may NOT be fed into any sort of generative ai model! (not like it stops you dumbfucks but I'll still make my stance clear)

My art may NOT be directly traced! Feel free to use it for ref or inspo tho idm :)

Any original characters of mine may be drawn just don't claim them as your own bitch *points finger*

[humanitys-strongest-bamf]

For the ask game! 6, 12, 13 for " get me a damned matcha" and 18!!

hi lucy!! ngl i completely forgot that i reblogged this even tho it was like 20 minutes ago LMAO thats the state of my mental wellbeing atm tbh

come send me some writer asks!

6. What character(s) do you find it most difficult to write?

for matcha specifically? hmm, i know i really struggled with reader at first, because i wanted the vibe of levi hating her at first for being what he thought was a "stereotypical undergrad" but i also wanted some sort of character dev? and i feel like what would push levi to begin seeing her in a different light would have been the fact that she had real life shit going on too. plus who doesn't love protagonists with tragic backstories (✿◡‿◡) and ofc the x reader anti's are gonna wanna come at me about her not being a "blank slate applies to everyone character", but y'all can lick my clit and that's the only thing i'm gonna say about that topic ofc there's always discourse about who writes levi well and in character blah blah blah, so i definitely have those intrusive thoughts, in both matcha and oneshots! i think i struggled with petra a bit. i wanted to portray her as someone who does care about the reader to some extent, but still have that plotline of the reader feeling like she's not really connecting with anyone. i think sometimes petra also gets portrayed in a very negative light so i didn't want to give that vibe off either IDK

12. The funniest comment someone has left on a fic of yours?

tbh any of the comments during the mutual pining arc when they kept dancing around their feelings for each other. y'all were SO PISSED that oluo cockblocked them 😭😭 i also got a silly comment about thinking they were still enemies mid-mutual pining arc that pissed me off and upset me at the time, but now it's like satirical comedy. if you're not going to bother reading the actual fic, then don't bother commenting!

13. Inspiration for matcha?

well, i think i read Feeling's Mutual, which got me all ouuuu about a college au hehe. and then this oneshot i wrote made me all curious about a forced roommates au! and then you guys all voted for barista!levi, hence the combination of a college, roommates, and coffeeshop au (✿◡‿◡) a lot of the chapters are inspired by my own struggles with undergrad tbh, because i didn't have a particularly great time either. unfortunately, i did not have a levi in my life at the time to make it better (tragic). but i did struggle with feeling that pressure to socialize and party even though i adamantly hated it. felt that same pressure with being unable to keep up with grades in undergrad because of real life stuff (in my case it was mental illness LMAO). tbh this was a fic that wrote itself lmao i have NO IDEA how i was able to produce such a lengthy thing when i'm currently over here struggling just to plot out 10 chapters for this dumb mafia au

18. How'd you come up with the title for matcha?

well, it's a recurring theme and one of the first ways that levi communicates his love language for her! even when he was still convinced that he was still irritated by her lmaooo i think the other fic title i was thinking of was "found family" (because a big theme is the reader finding her found family in levi 😭) but it just didn't sit as well with me tbh

[starglitterz]

to all the boys i've loved before.

─── KAZUHA ! // the cute senior in your cheerleading team.

─ a short series based on my own personal experiences with love and crushes. a sort of messy goodbye to all the boys i've loved before.

warning(s) ; brief mention of injuries, description of cheer stunts, links are all to youtube vids of the stunts mentioned in case u were curious ^_^

a/n ; hihi! this is a quick edit from me even tho i'm on hiatus, i checked my notifs and i saw that a few of u acc wanna be tagged for this series?!?! i didn't mention a taglist in the masterlist bc i didn't think anyone would want to be tagged :sob: , but now i'll make one!! send me an ask if you'd like to be tagged in the remaining posts of this series mwahhhh :)

series masterlist.

it's the start of a brand new academic year! this year, you're ready to give it your all for your cheerleading to secure a win, as you're no longer the newbie flyer; you'd like to consider yourself one of the pros now after two years of stunting. when you arrive at the practice area, you wave at a few familiar faces, and notice quite a few new people too. but the person who really captures your attention is the boy opposite you, and the first thought that runs through your mind when you see him is 'holy shit, he's so pretty!' he's got snowy white hair streaked with red in a tuft that falls in front of his eye, and surprising red eyes. you don't get an opportunity to speak with him though, because just then the cheer captain, ayaka, calls for you all to start your warm-up before starting to learn the actual routine.

thankfully, fate seems to be smiling upon you, as it turns out one of your regular bases, aloy, has opted not to join cheer this year, and ayaka wants beidou, who's more experienced with basing, to help fischl get used to flying. so, with luck on your side, you're partnered with the pretty boy from earlier and his best friend, gorou. "hi, i'm y/n!" you introduce yourself, eager to know his name. "i'm kaedehara kazuha," he smiles, "and i'm going to be honest, i know nothing about this." "same!" gorou pipes up, and you laugh, "no problem! i don't mind falling a few times." kazuha quickly shakes his head, "no way! i don't want you to get hurt, so we'll figure it out with venti stunting first." oh no. he's caring to someone he just met too?! archons, you're a goner.

after a few trial runs, gorou signals to you that they're ready to try it with you. this is a rather significant moment, because the three of you will be working together all term and are paired for the routine, so you've got to click with your bases to ace the stunts and gain your team some extra points. thankfully, you land a perfect stunt the first try, and the three of you are so happy you all start jumping around and cheering. the excitement in the air is practically tangible, and you're certain this will be a year to remember.

-

over the days of practice, you and kazuha gradually get closer, and you learn that he's just a year above you in school, which explains why you didn't know him prior to this. he's always very sweet to you and quiet, although he does tend to be a little bit of a tease sometimes. but really, some of the most memorable moments for the two of you occur while practicing stunts.

the first happens when you're practicing a cradle, which you three [idiotically] decide to attempt without a back support while riding on the high of your recent successful stunts. however, without lumine hoisting you up like she usually does, you're unused to the lack of extra force and end up tilting backwards when you should be leaning forwards to balance yourself. unsurprisingly, you end up falling, and somehow you land on your arm, which you suppose is better than landing on your head. kazuha disagrees. even though he's unsteady after the failed stunt too, he's instantly beside you, moving your arm up and down while gently tracing your wrist, "does it hurt?" "a little," you swallow, unable to meet his piercing gaze, "but i'll be fine." his fingers linger on your skin a little longer than they should, but in the end all he mumbles is, "it'll bruise a bit, make sure to put some ice onto it." when gorou tentatively suggests trying it again, kazuha shuts him down without hesitating, "no. what if y/n falls worse and gets injured? we can just wait for lumine to come back." your heart is beating way too fast for its own good from his protectiveness, and even though you just fell, you can't help but smile.

one day, kazuha is basing fischl for a pendulum together with beidou, just as an experiment to test which base would be able to handle such a difficult stunt, especially since ayaka wants fischl to fall both backwards and forwards instead of in just one direction. unfortunately, fischl ends up falling onto the safety mattress when she doesn't gain enough momentum to stand up again, and everyone is visibly shaken by what a sudden fall it was. the fact that the mat was there is the only reason she didn't break anything after the impact, and the reality of how dangerous stunting can be hits all of you, because one wrong move now could lead to a lifelong injury and that's no laughing matter. kazuha excuses himself, but you notice the expression on his face and follow after him - you don't think he should be alone right now. "'zuha, are you okay?" you ask in a whisper, using the affectionate nickname you had coined for him after declaring his six-letter name was too long. "no. she could have broken her fucking neck," kazuha says, leaning his head against his arm on the wall, scrunching his eyes shut as if to forget what happened, "and it would have been my fault for not being good enough." "it's okay, 'zuha," you move closer, "it wasn't your fault. we all make mistakes, and the main thing is that fischl wasn't hurt." "but she could have been." "kazuha-" "what if it had been you? what if i had fucking dropped you?" he finally looks at you, and his crimson irises swirl with emotion as he steps closer, "i need to practice more. if anything happened to you…" his voice breaks and he can't finish his sentence, turning once again to face the wall. you place your hand on his shoulder, rubbing comforting circles onto his skin, "even if you drop me, it's fine. but i know you won't." "how?" the reply is barely audible. "because i trust you." and really, that's the basis of both cheerleading and love, isn't it?

the stunt you truly will never forget is the day you're practicing basket tosses. you're pretty excited because it's a stunt you're known to excel at, and you do enjoy the feeling of almost weightlessness as you're tossed into the air. your bases today are kazuha and rosaria, so you think you'll be fine as both of them are steady bases. however, things don't quite go according to plan. rosaria threw you in a slightly tilted direction, so when you fall, you don't fall in the center for both of them to catch you like you're supposed to; you end up falling right into kazuha's arms. but because of the impact which was meant to be shared by two bases, both of you end up falling onto the ground, his grip around you tightening slightly as you fall. kazuha's on his knees, and due to the position of the catch, you're seated right on his lap. you're safe in his embrace though, and your arms are around his neck from how you latched on and hid your face in his chest. there's so much adrenaline running through your veins right now from the fall that you can barely think straight, and you can barely string together a coherent sentence with your heartbeat thumping in your ears. kazuha's frozen too, and although you don't realise this until later when your head clears, you were practically sitting on kazuha in such an intimate position in front of the entire team… that's embarrassing. but in a minute, kazuha snaps out of it and his first instinct is to check on you, "are you okay? fuck, i'm so sorry, are you okay?" the question spills from his mouth repeatedly like a prayer, a plea, and you nod rapidly before apologising, "yeah… i'm really sorry for falling on you though, i'm the one who should be asking if you're okay." "no, right now i'm worried about whether you're okay or not. does it hurt anywhere?" kazuha doesn't let go of you, but his eyes search yours for any hint of a lie as you reply that you're fine. when he has to let you go, it almost seems hesitant, like staying in his arms could help keep you safe.

-

your friendship extends past cheerleading too! when you all dress up for the casual christmas gala your school has organised, you comment on how good kazuha looks with the black cap he's wearing backwards when he pops by your class to visit you. he just laughs and takes it off before putting it on your head with a beam, "i think you wear it better."

texting kazuha always leaves you grinning at your phone like an utter idiot. he's so funny, always cracking jokes in the most calm tone. he could absolutely destroy someone while speaking in the most angelic tone with a sweet smile, and it's the most hilarious thing ever to you how he rips into teachers through text but is the perfect prefect in class.

the night before your debate competition, you text kazuha at midnight asking him to help you decide which dress to wear. he picks the one you were leaning towards all the while, and while you pretend to yourself that it's destiny, you realise something worse the next second; you don't have a blazer! how are you supposed to live out your professional lawyer daydreams without one?! for some reason, you decide to tell kazuha about this dilemma, but you don't expect his reply at all. he casually says, 'ill lend you mine tmrw' and you thank your lucky stars that it's only through text, because if you had heard him say that out loud you swear your heart might actually have stopped. the next day, kazuha passes the blazer to you in the morning and wishes you luck, assuring you that you're going to ace it. when you put it on, you're comforted by the fact that it smells like him, though you'd never say that out loud. he laughs when he sees how much it swamps you, and the sound makes you smile too, chasing all your nerves away. perhaps that was his plan all along.

for one of the events your school has, the two of you take a picture together 'for memories', as is the famous excuse just to get a picture with the person you're head over heels for. however, your smile almost comes across as a shocked face when kazuha slips his hand around your waist, tugging you ever so slightly closer. emboldened by his actions, you do the same to him, and his smile only widens as he voices no complaint. when you're chatting with your friends later, hu tao, who knows all about your little crush, grins mischievously like she has a huge secret to tell you. once the two of you are alone, she beams, "guess what? i did some digging, and you're the only one whose waist kazuha held." "what?! how do you know?!" you ask, heat springing to your cheeks at the mere thought of hu tao's strange notion. "because i'm such an oh-so-helpful friend, i helped everyone take their pictures today!" she winks conspiratorially, and you can barely formulate a reply, especially when she grins, "the two of you are totally perfect for each other!"

-

finally, your sports day dawns, and today's the day you're going to be performing the cheer routine. before you run onstage with your pompoms waving madly in the air, you whisper, "good luck," to kazuha and he grins, "i don't think we'll need it." it's almost like he can predict the future, because the performance is a smashing success that lands your team the win. everyone erupts into cheers, yelling, screaming and crying as ayaka is handed the trophy. you're so overjoyed that you keep jumping around, and you end up impulsively hugging kazuha way too many times to count. it's embarrassing in hindsight, but you don't regret it at all, especially when he reciprocates each and every one.

a/n ; omfg the pilot post of my series... no idk what hcs are don't ask. also i was srsly nervous abt posting this bc idk if these are even cute to other ppl or if it was just me bc i was a nervous stupid girl in love LMAO

© starglitterz 2022. do not repost or modify in any way.

[swanimagines]

Hey :) I wanted to send something for the spamming event ^-^ first tho: I totally understand you asking for feedback, but I'd prefer to reblog on my fanfic blog, not this one. but in the reblog I'll make it clear I was the requester ;)

So... I was thinking since you write for queen's gambit and like Benny watts... A oneshot or headcanon for a reader who also is really good at chess, but doesn't like tournaments and even though she's friends (and secretly totally in love with Benny who sort of feels the same) with Benny, refuses to play him. Until one day he convinces her to play against him and she wins (even though he was really trying to beat her) and he's really impressed.

If this is too detailed, feel free to strip it down to a level you feel comfortable with!

Fandom: The Queen's Gambit

Summary: Y/N is friends and secretly in love with Benny Watts, the former USA champion in chess, but knows that she probably doesn’t have any chances for him. Benny gets to know about Y/N’s chess playing skills by accident, and that spices things up a bit.

Pairing: Benny Watts x fem!reader

Characters: Benny Watts, Y/N (female, she/her), Beth Harmon (mentioned)

A/N: I still can't look at him without laughing- I'm sorry but that moustache is horrible.

Alsoooo I'm so excited to finally publish this since you're an awesome writer yourself and and and!! These three requests you sent during my spamming event are all awesome ideas and I can't wait to get my hands on the next 2! So I hope you like this 🥰 And yeah ofc, I understand you want to keep fanfics apart from your "regular" blog, and that's what side blogs are for! To post/reblog stuff that doesn't fit to your main blog. As long as you do reblog or at least reply as the requester, it's all good and I won't scowl at you next time around 😂 But with you, I already know you'll reblog/give feedback and don't just like. There has been an awful amount of people who only like their requested fics and I'm always frustrated when that happens. But well, I won't do their request next time then unless they show their appreciation.

Warnings: the title sounds like a horror movie, and still trying to learn to write for everyone again

Word count: 1.3k

LET'S PLAY

The air at the tournament hall was full of tension as two players were competing against each other - one was the former USA champion, and the other was a promising new chess player around. They weren't really competing about anything serious, the newbie was just curious to see if Benny Watts was really so skilled as they claimed he was.

You were sitting near their table, biting into your knuckles as you watched them play. Benny winning should have been obvious, but this newbie was way smarter than anyone thought he would be. The guy had some skill after all. But eventually, he made a major mistake which made Benny an opportunity to force his Queen to move back from checkmate range, putting her under threat again soon afterwards.

The young man groaned when it happened, staring angrily at Benny who looked over at him and smirked. "Looks like I won."

The gathering around the table started to walk away from the scene, some telling the newbie that he's got a promising career in front of him, but he just shrugged them all off, marching away from the scene.

You walked up to Benny, raising your eyebrows at the newbie. "Sore loser, that one." you mumbled under your breath before glancing at Benny curiously. "Did he really struggle his way so far along the game?"

Benny chuckled. "To be honest, I let him think so. You saw how he reacted to losing after thinking he would win, imagine how it would have been if I had taken the first chance when he made his first mistake?"

"He probably would have lashed out even worse." you agreed and sighed as Benny stood up from his chair.

"Care to join me for a drink?" he asked, adjusting his coat and you smiled as you nodded happily.

It was always nice to spend time with Benny, he had been your friend since you had been little kids, and occasionally you joined him as he traveled around USA or Canada attending chess tournaments. It was nice sitting with him for hours in his car, listening to radio and talking about everything, staying in motels to sleep.

There was one problem though. You were neck deep in love with Benny, and spending so much time with him didn't exactly help it. It was intoxicating and you always felt like walking on clouds when he looked at you. And when you slept, you couldn't help but dream how it would be if one day, he would pull you aside after he won a tournament and just... tell you that he had loved you ever since he met you and that he would like you to ask to be his girlfriend.

You knew that would never happen, he probably saw you as a sister or something, but still, you kept those thoughts alive in your head because they made you happy. Sometimes you thought you saw something flash in his eyes when he looked at you - could he possibly see your feelings? Could he have fallen for you too? But you always shook the wishful thinking away, reminding yourself that it happening was highly unlikely.

Growing up with him had taught you a thing or two in chess too, but you never wanted to play against him despite his many attempts to convince you. Maybe you were scared of being humiliated by him, him laughing at you, others laughing at you for losing, or just fearing he'd wordlessly be disappointed on how bad you are in playing against him. You knew he would never humiliate you or laugh at you and would glare badly at anyone who would, but your brains always liked to bully you with that imagery. Or maybe there was a chance of you winning, and your face would be all over newspapers for being unknown, never competed in tournaments and defeating a former USA champion.

"An unknown girl defeated the former USA champion Benny Watts", it didn't sound very tempting either.

You left the tournament after another couple of hours, and maybe you were feeling crazy today, when you and Benny had settled down in another motel a few hours earlier than you had originally planned, and Benny had asked you if you would want to try and play.

"We played last time when we were kids, and I've seen you play with everyone else. I know you're scared of having an audience, but there are no spectators here, curtains are drawn, you have nothing to be afraid of." he said, and you sighed.

"Okay. One time, but you won't laugh when I lose this one," you agreed, giving into his request as you sat down at the small table, watching as Benny spread the board out.

Benny frowned at your words. "I wouldn't laugh at you. What are you talking about?"

"I just... never mind. Let's just play." you mumbled, your cheeks heating up from embarrassment as Benny looked at you. "I can take the black side."

"Fine with me." he nodded, placing his white pawns on the board. You set up yours, and leaned back, looking at the chess clock. "Ready?"

"Yes." You muttered and Benny made the first move, moving one of his knights. You looked around the board for a moment, before moving your own pawn.

---

It hadn't even been half an hour before you had trapped him in a stalemate situation, forcing him to concede defeat to you, his queen falling over.

"Wait, really?" you frowned and then looked at him, your frown disappearing as you sighed. "You made yourself lose on purpose so I wouldn't feel bad, didn't you?"

He raised his eyebrows, shaking his head and chuckling. "No, I didn't. I went easy on you at first, but then actually played my hardest when you had tricked me to give up my rook."

Your frown returned, staring at the board. "Did I actually win? I thought you're gonna pull out some trick again."

Benny shook his head slowly, leaning forward with a smile. "You won. And I gotta say, I'm impressed."

You sat there in silence for a moment more, before he cleared his throat. "I'll buy you dinner, alright? We didn't get to eat today after that little sandwich at the reception today."

You grinned at him, nodding happily as he stood up from his seat, reaching out and offering his arm to you as you got off your chair. You took it, hooking your arm through his, feeling like a couple for a moment, and the old lady at the reception desk praising your "young love" definitely made your cheeks burn even hotter, and when you glanced at Benny, you saw he was slightly red too.

So the rest of the night went by your dreams about dating Benny someday intesifying as you ate and Benny told you that he always enjoys spending time with you and is grateful that you joined him in tournaments, briefly laying his hand on top of yours on the table.

Maybe one day, one day soon, you would actually be real couple. This day felt like it somehow made you closer, and all because you finally agreed to play one game of chess against him. It had been a silly fear of feeling humiliated, being laughed at and people knowing what you did not have talent in, which would never happen even if you had lost within three moves.

Night fell slowly, briefly dyeing the sky orange and yellow, and then stars began to peek out in the clear blackness above. And for you, that was the most beautiful night in a long while.

---

Tags: @amirahiddleston @starkeysslut @bookfrog242 @katherinepetrovawife @scandalous-chaos @peter-parkers-cullen-nerd // send in an ask to be added, and specify which of my fandoms you want to be tagged on! Don’t just say “can you add me to your taglist” as I can’t know what taglists do you mean by that!! ALSO IF YOU WON’T INTERACT BEYOND LIKING, I’LL EVENTUALLY TAKE YOU OFF THE LIST!!

[kung-fu-headcanons]

Lord Shen x Reader, first meeting headcanons?

Ooh 👀 this is definitely something I've never gotten before, excited to give this a shot!

I do want to warn you ahead of time i SUCK at writing anything romantic. I don't know how to write/describe it well without making it cringe and/or cliche but of course that's just me lol.

Because of his royal status, he was definitely pretty spoiled and had that "I am greater than thou" type attitude so he was that kid that everyone hated lol

Because of how loving his parents were, I feel like they wouldn't want him to be cooped up behind castle walls all his life, they would want him to familiarize himself with the village so when he inherited the throne, he would be a good ruler, so he was not homeschooled.

He was kind of a brat ngl, especially with the fact that it was his family that invented fireworks so he was also a bragger xD

Your parents were servants at the place Shen lived at, so you knew about this kid. But never really got a chance to talk to him because of his higher status.

He seemed pretty fun to be around, sure he was kinda loud and you were more quiet but you liked how energetic he was.

But most importantly, you were really interested about this entire firework stuff! He talks about it very often, and it sounds really cool, he seems like he has access to the fireworks very easily...

You would most likely "officially" meet if you will, at school, he's always off at his own little corner in the palace so there's no chance you'd be able to talk to him there.

It would be during some free period, more likely than not lunch. He's seen you around a few times at the palace and assumed that you were probably the child of some servants or whatever that worked there and he's been a bit curious about you for a while now

Usually the people that served at the palace didn't have children and if they did they'd probably send them off, so you were a pretty rare case.

Y'all talk some during lunch, just about normal stuff, nothing too out of the ordinary, you could Shen is just like "I can't believe I'm talking to this kid" because you were at a lower status than him and therefore "inferior"

But y'all do hit it off and become a sort of casual friends :D! Shen does explicitly pretend he hates you tho lol but in reality he does enjoy you around! It's nice to have someone to play with, royalty life can get a bit lonely at times

It won't be until the two of you are a bit older do you ask him about the firework stuff. At that point he's gotten into it a lot and he's grown a lot more chaotic/mischievous than when he was younger, despite the fact he's supposed to act like a sophisticated prince or smth lol

[artharakka]

Hey there---I have been hunting for your blog forever! A classmate of mine brought thumbnails of your work to a drawing session, and we have been obsessing over your people. I find the way you illustrate long noses and sort of androgynous-looking faces and big hands really refreshing, and your werewolf druid Vaara is super charming! They really make me want to know more about your campaign world.

I hope you don't mind sharing, but I was curious what software(s) you used for the comic you made, A Dream with Rain. Do you have any general tips for people trying to draw better? Sorry for bamboozling you with questions. Delighted again to have found your blog!

OOof thank you! ❤❤❤ This was a delightful message to get! So cool to know my art exists outside my own little circle (it's sometimes difficult to realize that there are actually so many people behind all the notes my art gets). And also an encouraging ask because I've been struggling with my art style a bit lately (feeling like finally slowly getting there and out of art block now tho). But one of my goals has been to use bolder shapes and lines (like larger features and other than snub noses), glad that you like them as well! And if you read my tags I do have many non-binary characters & I like to play around with masculine and feminine features anyway so ough it's cool that it shows through the art as well ❤ (And oh check out my sis/sibling's art blog @artist-rat as well, they also have a very funky style and draw so expressive faces!!)

This is getting long, so here's a quick doodle of Vaara for you and rest of the answers under the cut!

The campaign Vaara is in is still in the beginning, so I don't know yet either what's to come! My friend @iijadraws (who is the DM) knows more about the lore if you want to know (and if she will spill). So far Vaara's archdruid Aalis noticed something bad was happening to their forest in the north and south. Vaara's dear friend Kiilo gave Vaara a precious key/amulet for luck and went north, Vaara gave Kiilo their stone knife for protection and went south. After a day's travel, she found forest stripped of life, and an old empty stone hut/house. Then strange things started happening, like giant unrecognizable beast coming out of the forest and Vaara's own empty eyed doppelganger staring at them from the empty forest. Vaara freaked out, hid into the stone hut, was cornered, and used her now faintly glowing key to open a door within it. The door became portal, and led them to a mysterious house where they are now stranded with Knell (artist-rat's character). Vaara is still mostly freaking out and attempting to run back home (not happening).

Mmm I want to illustrate more scenes and ramble more about both of the DnDs I'm currently playing (Rhiam's and Vaara's). I have one Rhiam background info & illustration coming up and will hopefully get it posted tomorrow, and I'd like to do more of those for both of them!

THEN What software I used: I've been using Krita for years now and I really like it! It's free and constantly developing (there have been a couple of hiccups in the past, but I haven't had any issues with the latest versions). If you want to know more about some specific feature I used (like brushes, effects, settings in general) feel free to send me another ask/message!

And general art tips: "Practice" is kind of a old and empty answer, so, here's some bit more specific stuff I learned from my art teachers (keep in mind that my art education isn't university level, but I went to a really great upper secondary school (high school?) that had special emphasis on visual arts so it's something).

Try to avoid using eraser or blurring. Especially the latter. One of the first lessons our class learned was not to blur pencil lines with our fingers/paper when shading our works. It was forbidden and it caused outrage, but was really helpful in the end. Airbrush tools have their place, but learn to shade and mix colours without it first (add or lessen pressure, select in-between color manually, cross-hatching). Personally I’ve been really digging using really sharp edged brush to colour my works lately (for paintings I use softer tools, but sharp coloring works really well with my softer line art I think!)

Studies are a great way to improve whether it’s anatomy or colours. I had weekly classes with model for a couple of months back in school but now I’m mostly using images from Unsplash (they are free to use) for color and painting practice. If you want to improve fast, try to do many sketches as fast as you can: we started with 3 minute sketch and then lessened the time so that in the end we were doing 10 second sketches of the model. I think there are sites specifically for this purpose where images/models change with timer? Here big paper & pen/brush might also help (no time to dwell in details, get the overall shape).

Try different mediums and methods: before my art school, I mostly drew with a pencil on A4 or smaller paper, and my art was kind of faint, careful, full of little details, stiff. Then in school I was forced to use watercolours, and acrylic and oil paints, try digital art, use big canvases, sclupt things out of clay and whatnot. It gave me a better sense of how shapes and colours work, but also helped me get bolder with my art (that is still a process, but I developed a LOT). I had drawn my entire life before that but I was shy to change my art and methods. And I know materials can be expensive, but work with what you have. My teacher once made a still life composition out of cleaning cart and other random stuff and made us draw it on a really big paper with big chunky chalks that were taped on long sturdy sticks found from forest. Relatively cheap but forced to draw big shapes and use your entire body rather than just wrist. It looked kinda like this and it’s still one of my favourite classes:

Again, feel free to send ask about specific art (or other) things you'd like to know if any come to mind! And thanks again for the message! Have a great day/evening/whatever time you have there!

[katnissdoesnotfollowback]

We are not that curious about the two redheads. I repeat: WE ARE NOT THAT CURIOUS. (Please don't scald my eyes.) (Because if you write it, I'll have to read it.) (And then I'll have to live with it.)

I'm flattered (???) that your ask seems to imply that you view anything I write as a must read, but like... please don't blame me if you don't curate your own internet reading experience.

If I were to share this particular piece (and that's a big freaking IF right now), it would be posted with enough labels and tags that anyone who proceeds to read it should know what they're in for before they read. It would be posted entirely under a Read More and/or via a link to ao3 so that anyone who doesn't want to read it can simply... not click the link or the read more. That easy. I expect literally zero people to read anything that I write. In fact, if there's anyone who knows they won't like something I write based on the content tags, then I actually want them to keep scrolling by. I share my writing solely for the consumption of those who want to read it, and you know... I have friends on here who've told me that they won't read a certain piece or two of mine for XYZ reasons, and guess what? I can respect that. That's them following their boundaries, as they should. I might tease them for being a big baby (you know who you are and I still love you, ya big baby) because they're my friends, with whom I interact on a regular basis and regarding a whole hell of a lot more than just fandom or Everlark. They know I'm not mad about it. I have my own boundaries too when it comes to fic reading. So if you don't read for fear of scalding your eyes, I got zero problems with that. I hope you enjoy plenty of other things that I write instead. If you do venture forth, I hope it doesn't actually scald your eyes. If it does, don't blame me. You were warned.

I'm honestly having a bit of difficulty deciphering your motivations for sending this to me, in part because I feel like I don't know you that well. If it's meant to be a bit of teasing or a funny joke, then haha! But also maybe don't blame writers if you're unable to curate your own reading experience when things are properly tagged and hidden under Read Mores.

If your message is meant more to influence where I focus my writing efforts and guide it more towards what you want to read, then...

First of all, it's already written. And you still don't have to read it. It will not be a part of the story itself because that would make zero sense in terms of the story or writing conventions. Where the Stars is written third person, partial omniscience, focalized from Katniss's perspective. In order for me to put anything explicit with Peeta and the two redheads into the story, he or someone else, would have to tell her about it in explicit detail. That's not my plan. When it is discussed between them, it won't be explicitly detailed, but it is going to need to be discussed between them, if for no other reason that so Katniss can better understand what Peeta's been through the past five years.

I, however, am one of those writers who, when an idea takes hold of my brain, I WILL NOT be able to focus on literally anything else until I get it typed out in some format, be that notes, an outline, a roughly sketched scene or two... or as happened with Peeta and the redheads... I write the whole damn thing.

Part of it is a focus thing. A lot of times, I'll write in a frenzy and then it just sort of fizzles out, but then it's off my brain and I can shove it aside to focus on something else that I do wind up sharing. This is kind of what happened with Peeta and the redheads. There was no fizzling tho. It turned into a complete piece. I wrote a massive, explicit, standalone oneshot, and then when it was done, I wrote 3000 words for chapter 8, the next update, for Where the Stars. And I rearranged a lot of what I felt wasn't working in that chapter so that now, I'm pretty satisfied with how it's shaping up... And pretty much none of those 3000 words and none of that editing had anything directly to do with the two redheads. The six sentence sunday I posted on Monday is actually a result of that writing burst.

Part of it is a writing exercise. Sometimes, if I get stuck, going back to something that happened earlier, even something that happened before the story opens, helps me fine tune character details, future plot details, etc etc. Which is also what happened here. I was stuck. I've now got a better grasp on who exactly Where the Stars Peeta is and where he and Katniss need to go in their future relationship development from his perspective. Yes, all that from writing an extended smut piece that maybe three people will want to read and a lot of others will complain that it will scald their eyes.

But you know, I feel like actually writing it helped me move forward with an update faster than I otherwise would have. Truthfully, I have a LOT of pieces like that. Things that I've written to get me unstuck but that I don't share for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they're not finished or polished pieces. Sometimes because I'm not sure anyone would actually enjoy reading them. Sometimes because I don't particularly want to share them. Sometimes, they just don't fit in the framework of the main body of the story. This particular piece, however, does have at least a few people expressing interest in reading it. So maybe I share it one day for them, maybe I don't because I decide not to. Either way, if your message is intended to steer me towards writing and/or posting only what you want to read, then respectfully... stop. I am under no obligation to fulfill anyone's dream fic list, nor to avoid writing what one single person, or even a handful of people, doesn't want to read.

So thank you for the interest in my writing, and I hope to have the next chapter of Where the Stars (free of redheads with Peeta smut) ready to post here in the next few days. No eye scalding included.

<3 kdnfb