#They look kinda old now and the style is inconsistent (I think I drew these a month apart)

[lunalycana]

Barry and Gadget Gijinka Designs!

I made these a long time ago and at two different times lol but I still like them a lot, so here they are! I'll probably redo them in the future when I finally get around to figuring out Infinite!

[noblechaton]

gonna ramble a bit about the ml art style change bc ig I have more thoughts about it than I knew. tagging this as leaks but no like story stuff is gonna be mentioned bc I don't really know any lol

so going off what little we've seen of it (and in arguably the lowest possible quality at that) I think it's gonna make the show very visually pretty which isn't to say it couldn't be or wasn't in the older style(s) but that was def more inconsistent between studios and such so if this new style is the standard then like. yeah it's gonna look great

buuuuuuuut I also think it looks kinda. generic? like what's happened to a lotta brand logos that used to have personality but now all look super flat and simplified. like the Pepsi logo or whatever. it's a similar situation to the movie (I'll get into this in a bit) where like yes it looks pretty but it doesn't really look like Miraculous to me? like ik the style kinda varied somewhat between the studios but it was largely consistent enough and felt much more unique. like I could see a screencap from any timestamp of any episode and place it as Miraculous just bc of the visual style

now tho it looks less unique to me and more....like a mobile game ad? some kinda un-marketed direct to streaming movie? not trying to sound mean or anything but it just doesn't strike that same feeling the old style did for me as of yet. it feels more like an attempt to ape off a generic Pixar/Disney sorta style which the movie's style did too - and that ig is a good excuse for me to kinda dive into my thoughts there bc like. it looks way more like that movie now right? the y'know completely non-canon movie that to my knowledge wasn't received too terribly well lmao. I feel like this is on some level purposeful tho

I made a post the other day about how someone (especially the youngins) might go into season 6 thinking it's actually more of a season 1 only to presumably find that very much isn't the case pretty quick lmao - but that's still a new viewer, which makes number go up, which is a Good Thing. that s6 looks to be something of a fresh start given the whole Gabe in da Ground situation makes me believe this more since I'm pretty sure he got got in the movie too (<- does not remember the movie she saw twice) albeit in a different way. very real chance they view s6 as something of a soft launch pad with the hope of ppl who only saw the movie just jumping in without looking first. I also have an even more insane conspiracy theory that they're using movie assets at lower res for the sake of cost management but again. nutso hunch

regardless I'm kinda surprised they're changing it so drastically this deep into the series and I have no idea how the quality of animation is gonna hold up from episode to episode, season to season. presumably this is part'a why we haven't had s6 drop yet, that they've been working on it thoroughly, but it's been a good minute since s5 ended and I feel like the drought in content isn't really worth it?

like it's been so long that to me sometimes it's felt like the show straight up ended and while I don't mind a wait like this, the show then coming back looking entirely different to how it used to is gonna be jarring. I'm giving it a chance bc we haven't really seen it yet and that footage is very likely a wip of some sort but all the same I'm not terribly impressed? the emotions seem more stilted and flat, there's a few sorta redesigns that look....off (namely Adrichat, imo), and it feels too much like an attempt at cashing in on whatever success the movie might have had by bringing the look of the show more in line with it

think what gets me the most is that the style and animation of the show was one of the biggest things that drew me in beyond the bugcat of it all. it was the first CG animated show I'd seen where I felt as if the animation really worked; the world felt alive and vibrant, the city lived in and populated, but it didn't feel uncanny or like realistic in any sense, and there were plenty of gaffs and flaws throughout but I feel that only endeared the look of the show to me more - it had its own style that stood out for better or worse and I think that played more a role in the show's success than most have given credit for, and now that it's being entirely dropped in favor of a style that feels much more like some generic CG animation style I can't help but feel a bit disheartened and even nervous about the future of the series tbh

want to say that I'm not looking to hate it - I'm gonna give it a chance, and again I think it does visually look pretty, but I feel like it loses a lot of what made the show stand out to me and changes things I don't think really needed changed. time will tell but as of now I'm really not sold on it

also think having a special (or two? maybe?) in the old style just to drop us into the newer one presumably shortly after is kinda weird. wonder what happened there. bad timing? tbh using a special to introduce it mighta helped a bit but idk for sure

[bvnga-aprikot]

Art dump of my OCs (feat. my inconsistent art style)

i've always wanted to do a tour of what i've drawn the past couple of months but haven't really got to it because 1) most of my sketches are just heads and 2) my art style changes a lot depending on my mood. so i decided to just cave in and just dump all my sketches here for those of you who are curious.

also tw for bad and inconsistent art

i drew this Jennette back when i was really into my reincarnated!Jennette phase and despite the bad watercolor job, i kinda like it. of course i'm no expert in watercolor, this was done in a thinner piece of paper which was a very bad idea looking back.

an earlier design of my OC Olga and her aunt Maharani. i mentioned before that they were from a separate story before i incorporated them into my noble!Lucas au as his family. it was another isekai story where Olga is the protagonist and has to save the characters by turning back time and making sure the story had the right outcome.

this was when i decided to redesign Olga (girl on the left) alongside another OC from my old story. she was her older sister and was basically the person Olga looks up to the most other than Maharani, funny how she is now the older sister to Lucas.

this is one of the most recent ones, inspired by the "what your male lead is" post created by @alicehattera03. i named him Julian and i remembered that i made him a Grand Duke who is the son of a demon. his design is actually ripped off from an old VADD OC i made two years ago so points if you remember who i'm talking about.

fun fact: i showed him to a friend who also read WMMAP and they said he looks like he could be Jennette's brother, and now i think it'll be a good au to make where they're twins and Julian basically become's Athy's biggest competitor for the throne. coincidentally he looks similar to Anastasius so i guess the similarities were glaringly obvious from the start.

finally, a grown up version of my oc Olga from my noble!Lucas au if she were to attend Athanasia's coronation. i have been wanting to draw her in an Indonesian kebaya for a while, but i hated how detailed batik patterns are which made it worse because i draw traditionally. honestly bless batik makers for having the patience of designing and detailing them with such precision and elegance.

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ANYWAYS, that's all for now thanks for scrolling by have a nice day i'll now be going back to simping for Athy

[wistfulkitten]

i dream you'd love me again (2) || jk

sadness, guilt, regret. all things jeongguk felt after reading her letter.

genre: angst and fluff? childhood friends, cheating, sisters boyfriend au

pairing: jeongguk x reader

word count: 2.3k

posted: 200518

warnings: longing, infidelity, profanity (kinda), mentions of sex, probably inconsistent punctuation 

a/n: theres probably gonna be minor grammar issues because grammarly is shit and im tired. n e way i tried making this longer, it took me like four hours believe it or not. funni how i can make time for writing but not for my hw. silly me. i tried explained why he did what he did and im sorry if it was crappy. thank u to yall who read the first one. if you guys have any requests or ideas feel free to send me something in my inbox or message me. tyty:))

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sadness. sadness is what jeongguk felt at the end of ___’s letter. sad that he hurt her enough to the point that she thought of herself as anything but perfect. sad that she doubted his feelings for her. sad that despite everything he put her through, she still loved him and still wished him the best. he always knew she had a big heart. it's one of the many reasons he was drawn to her in the beginning, but it was also one of her biggest weaknesses. her heart was too big for her own good and it scared him. ___ was always too quick to forgive and forget and most of the time it came back to bite her in the ass.

 he saw it time after time when her dad had left. he had had an affair and left his wife and two kids for a younger woman and yet she never got mad or ever blamed her father in contrary to yoona. while yoona never gave her father the time of day after the separation, ___ always made sure to set time aside for him even when he never put in enough effort to interacting with his daughters. he was a pretty crappy father, content with his new life. and though it made her sad that her family was no longer whole and her mother was practically always crying herself to sleep, it made her happy that her dad was happy. she was just about twelve then and still, she never gave into childish grudges. thirteen year old jeongguk found her slightly stupid for this trait but as they grew up, he found it quite endearing. 

guilt. after the sadness had settled in, a great wave of guilt washed over his being. while he was here, newly married with a whole life ahead of him, you were somewhere out there living the life you always wanted sad and lonely. too heartbroken to even enjoy it properly. he didn't deserve it, the comfort and security his new marriage gave him, he didn't deserve it. 

 jeongguk was merely seventeen when he fell in love with a sixteen year old ___ all the while he dated yoona, her older sister. he’d known them practically his whole life and it was such a small town that it was simply impossible for you not to know anyone and everyone. everyone went to the same schools and hardly anyone moved out of the godforsaken town. he and yoona started dating in the sixth grade. much too young to be dating but their families were long time friends and saw it appropriate for the two to start early. so that one day the two families would unite. jeongguk hadn’t minded at first. he was eleven at the time but yoona had always been a good friend. they played together all the time so nothing really changed except for the frequent hugs and occasional kiss on the cheek.

 as they grew older they graduated into more mature ways of affection but it never bothered him too much. though he was friends with yoona, he was always closer to ___. sure at first, he had trouble expressing but afterward never once did they ever feel reserved towards one another, only ever honest with every bit of their being.  while yoona was more reserved and occasionally bratty, ___ was outspoken and adventurous. always willing to try something new even if it wasn't exactly encouraged. she never shied away from speaking her mind and that was something jeongguk always aspired to be. she was everything he wasn’t.  she expressed herself in every possible way. hair color was constantly changing since the start of high school. she pulled off any type of style you could think of. you could pick her out of any crowd in an instant. she painted, wrote poems and songs, sang, played various instruments, even took up photography. she turned any type of art form into a way for people to understand her, every single part of her. she was good at so many things and jeongukk, jeongukk was good at one thing. basketball. yet she never made him feel bad about it, instead she went to every game. cheering him on. she was mesmerizing in every single way. 

 while they had their good moments, yoona had a knack of patronizing him for every fault and imperfection. when they started high school she had tried so hard to be looked at as the perfect couple. she made it a point to show that they ‘never fought’ and were always ‘happy’. he never spent too much time with his friends because ‘every boyfriend had to put his girlfriend first’. this is the exact reason jimin never liked her and why jin always referred to her as a pain in the ass. it was safe to say his friends weren't exactly fond of her either. she was so different from ___ which was good or bad, depending on who you were asking. 

yoona was pretty, though jeongguk would say ___ was prettier. soft features, soft personality, light colors were a constant, skirt never too short, hair never too long. she was a straight line kind of girl like the majority of girls in town. grades never faltering. she always believed in the whole study hard, get a good job, have kids plan everyone stuck to and it was always so suffocating. 

he wanted more out of life, he wanted to explore places, explore himself. he wanted to get to know himself in more ways than one because he had yet to know all of it. all of him. but by the time he was sixteen, jeongguk already had a career to work towards and a girl everyone was so sure would be his wife. it was like his life was a book and everyone but him was the author. he had no control and he started to dread the future. he was running and he knew what would be at the finish line, so he slowed down. while yoona was running full speed, he was jogging at most. he started faking a persona in front of his family and yoona because they simply didn’t get it and they never would. 

when he couldn’t exactly talk to his own girlfriend about his feelings and problems ___ was always there to listen. she was good at that. listening. she never judged, instead always reassuring him that when the time came he’ll know what to do. she had an easygoing way of living and he longed to live like that too. though her mother didn't agree and favored yoona more, she simply took it as it was and cherished what she had for the time being. her love for her mother and sister never faltered even if their love never measured up. ___ had a way of looking at the world that could get her far, far away from here and jeongguk envied that. she said all his feelings were valid and no one should be mad at him for simply feeling. once he had slowed down enough for the once blurry images to become clear, he’d realized that running with yoona was far too tiring and that walking with ___ was far more fulfilling.

 jeongguk was merely seventeen when he fell in love with a sixteen year old ___ and it was the most exhilarating feeling ever. it had started out as just a friend being there for a friend, but one day it turned into something more. they had been out on one for their many infamous nightly drives when they had stopped at a cliff, a pretty view of their small town in sight. pretty lights below and above. the stars were out that night just like them, watching the rest of the world sleep. she’d looked into his eyes, simultaneously looking into his soul. with anyone else, he would’ve felt naked and exposed but with her, he wanted her to see everything and to understand everything. he realized he only ever wanted one person to do that and he wanted to express it in the best way possible. he kissed her. really kissed her and she didn't shy away. he knew it was wrong, they both did, but it felt so good. so good that it felt right. right there, in the back of jeongguk’s first car, clothes disappeared one by one and they wrote love poems into the bareness of their skin. so passionate, so raw that it was impossible to stop afterward. they did it again and again behind closed doors, behind the curtain they drew in the depths of night. it was nothing they ever felt before. when they weren’t tangled within each other they explored as much as the city would let them. talking about anything and everything. no boundaries. 

___ planned on leaving once she graduated, didn’t know where to but the farther the better. she hated it here and so did he. it made jeongguk sick to even think about a life without her in it. he was selfish, he knows. he had them both and it was very clear which of them he loved more yet it saddened him that the one he favored more would ever leave him here. alone. that was until she asked him to come with. she asked him to run away with her. he swears if he wasn't deeply in love with her then, he was now. of course he said yes. running away and seeing the world with his favorite girl was a dream. a dream he truly wanted to become reality. 

they planned it out. jeongguk and yoona graduated and while ___ finished her final year in high school and yoona stared college, jeongguk took a gap year waiting for ___. waiting for their dream while working jobs here and there, financially preparing. he also took a business internship so that his family would get off his back for working instead of college. it was full proof, even the boys knew. though they thought it was risky, they supported them both. they had grown fond of ___.  they’d both work jobs to add onto their savings and the day after ___ graduated they’d leave and never come back. that was the plan, the dream. and yet they never made it.  

regret. he regretted it so much. the faithful day came but jeongguk didn’t. she waited and waited but he couldn’t do it. he watched from afar, luggage in hand. watch her wait. watched her cry when she realized. he cried with her. he was just so damn scared. a coward is what he was. he was scared of the unknown, something he craved so much and yet he was scared of it. and that's exactly how he felt for ___ at that moment. he craved her so much, loved her so much, and yet he was scared of her. scared that her spontaneous ways would one day be the end of them. he thought of yoona, at least with yoona he knew what he was getting. knew exactly where they’d end up. he wanted certainty and that's why he watched her leave. but to his surprise, she didn't leave, not yet. she stayed and waited, waited long enough for everyone else to find out. she was then branded as a little slut that wanted a taste of the forbidden fruit, the one he didn't choose. it was far from the truth but its what everyone believed. and so she left far far away and he didn't chase after her. god did he regret it. every day since that day he’s felt nothing but regret. he was back to putting the mask on trying to appease everyone. surprisingly no one reprimanded him and for that he felt anger, anger he’d only felt towards himself.

___ was the love of his life so it hurt. it hurt to see that she didn’t think of herself like he did. he wasn't aware she felt that way. like she was in yoona’s shadow. to him, it had never been like that because she’d been the one he sought to look at first in every room. it hurt to see she thought so low of herself but you could say he wasn't any better. he was newly married and yet he was miserable. it had only been a few months since he and yoona got married and people were already asking when they were having a baby. straight out of college and things were moving so fast. he was nauseated and lived life in such a lethargic manner. he needed her. 

she said she still loved him. maybe it wasn’t too late. maybe he could turn things around and fulfill the dream they never reached. so he picks up the phone and dialed the number he used to call every night. it was so familiar that he didn’t need to think twice about it.

it rang once, twice, and finally, on the third ring, she answered.

“gukk?”

he cried at the sound of her voice. he missed her so much. after a while, he could hear soft sniffling from the other line.

“can i come home?” he asked, voice so hoarse it hurt.

“you are home… aren’t you?” voice strained, sounding confused.

“no no, you’re my home ___. i need to come home. “

with that jeongguk couldn’t help but cry harder.

“shhh shhh gukk, it's ok. everything will be ok.” she cooed familiar words he hadn’t heard in a while. “ok, come home. come to me baby.”

he booked the first flight he could as soon as she said where she was and packed up as much as he could. he was gonna stop living this lie and start living for himself. something he should have done four years ago. and in a few hours, that’s exactly what he was gonna do. live the life he dreamed of with her, no holding back. he needed to stop being afraid. he was on his way, without a care in the world. jeongguk loved ___ and ___ loved him. that's all that mattered.

he’d send the divorce papers over tomorrow.

[wu-sisyphus-gang]

Motion Sickness Chapter 42

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I tapped the ash of my pipe in an alley. The glass made a soft tong sound as I tapped it against the brick. Then I stepped out with a boot and quashed the still-burning greens.

I already felt like a pro with it.

My head clear of distractions like bugs or the sound of Mother's voice I could finally get to work. The slight spinning the greens caused was not unlike alcohol but it was minor. I felt like I could focus through it. I even felt like I could drive, or ride as the case may be.

Gods it was good to be off that stuffy train. There were 'no smoking' signs everywhere and fire alarms in every bathroom. I'd maybe checked a couple.

"Well Neo, let's buy some horses."

She held up one finger.

"One? One horse? For the both of us?"

She nodded.

"So what? You'll just ride bitch on mine?"

She frowned at my phrasing but still nodded again.

"Huh. And feminism marches on."

She kicked me in the shin. I deserved it too so I managed a muted, "ow. Alright. Alright. Fair cop."

I rubbed at one of my piercings, fondling the earlobe around the metallic diamond stud.

"You know I could probably teach you how to ride. It's easy enough for someone like me to figure out so you could probably do it."

She shook her head. Probably thinking something like 'why would I do that when I have you to ride me around?' To which I'd say, 'yeah, fair enough.'

I found a merchant and paid him. It came out to a few thousand Lien but it was no skin off my back. Just one aura-driven horse and we were good to go.

I saddled up. Putting my bag of loose possessions over the horse's back (spare clothes, toiletries, the bare necessities) along with Neo's own duffle. Then I mounted. The horse grunted slightly under the suddenly added weight of all my weapons and armor and me. I was something like two-hundred and thirty pounds by myself. Probably a little more.

I reached down to Neo. She looked away as I easily swung her onto the horse's back. The horse hardly stirred under the addition, she was smaller than Ruby or Weiss. Neo popped her pink parasol to shield us both from the Anima sun.

She rode side-saddle. And managed to look ever so lady-like on the horse's back but I knew the truth. I turned my head back to face forward. This thing was no lady. She was as much a beast as the horse we rode on.

Like that we were off, hooves beating a steady rhythmic clip-clop down a beaten trail. It had the marks of being a real road for cars with four wheels.

"You don't do tactile stuff do you? Just auditory and visual illusions right?"

I felt her nod her head against my back.

"And you haven't been hazing me, have you?" It would be convenient if all my hallucinations were caused by Neo messing with me. Convenient. Not likely or comforting or anything like that.

She shook her head.

"Then I think I'm a little fucked up."

She snorted a little, still managing to be lady-like still. It reminded me a little of Weiss.

"I didn't use to be like this. Mother got to me. Salem, that is. She haunts me like an evil spectre from the end of time. I'm not sure if you believe me about her but she's bad news. Has all kinds of magic besides being old as hell and probably basically unkillable."

She snorted again. I felt her wipe her pink and brown hair back. It brushed against my sleeveless arm. It tingled against my free skin there.

"That's what I'm saying. She's fucking bullshit. I didn't really believe it myself until I ran into her, or her shadow at least. It was almost enough to unmake me, that alone. She made me kill two of my friends. Made me. Like I was a puppet."

She just listened that time. She put an arm around me to hold on as we rode out of Shumi and on to Wutai. It was the first real touch another person had given me since everything went down.

Since I'd killed Ren and Nora.

Since I'd tried to kill myself.

It was oddly reassuring even if it was light and meaningless. Gentle against my arm. Just enough to hold on from where she sat in our double saddle.

I was choking something back as she did and got settled in a little more. I could feel her aura. The cruel cold was a mellow comfort to my own heat. Like I was burning up and hadn't noticed it. Like I had a fever and didn't know.

"That's why I have to go and find Merlot. Salem could make me kill you too, I'm not sure what will make me snap next. That would be bad, for both of us."

She tensed up a little at that. I wasn't sure she took it as a threat but it kinda was. Salem's reach was long and I wasn't sure what we'd find at the laboratory.

"Not right now. Captain of my own ship at the moment. Just… be careful around me. Be ready once we get to the lab. The report was all about modified Grimm. Not like me, maybe, depending on what the fuck I am. Salem mentioned that I do indeed have sisters. How could I forget that? Oh my gods she has my fucking sisters."

I stewed in that. Listening to the rhythmic beat of the horse.

"Depending on how false my memories are. Most of them are fake. Inconsistent when I really look at them. I have to save them, though. And myself of course. I won't get anywhere as her puppet. All the more reason to get to the lab and find Merlot."

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I set up the tent and tied the horse to a tree. Setting out the horse the graze. That was what was great about horses. It was a grass fed engine. They could go anywhere there was grass with excellent mobility. That was why they were a staple of mankind.

I didn't ask Neo for anything as I set up the camp. Which was fine. She sat on a fence looking at the road forlornly. Like she'd made a deal she wished she could go back on.

My legs were cramped from riding and I was sure hers were stiff, too.

"Let's fight." I said, standing up straight from the tent. I took a hit off my pipe at the same time and exhaled.

She gave me an odd look.

"What? Cinder is stronger than both of us. You think you'll reach her level by not sparring? By not practicing?"

She hopped off the fence and stalked towards me. She rubbed her chest as she looked at me.

"I'll take it easier on you than before but we really can't afford to get out of practice. We'll be out here for a week or so. That's two, back and forth to really get to know each other. Plus if we'll be working together it will help if we know the others' style."

She pulled her dolon on me and pranced closer with that otherworldly grace people who'd had their aura unlocked for a long time possessed.

"What's your weapon's name, by the way?"

She made a shushing gesture, a finger to her pink lips. A confident grin on her face.

"Uh, okay then."

She shook her head and pointed at her weapon.

"Oh the weapon's name is Shush."

She shook her head.

"Quiet? Silence?"

She pulled out her scroll and typed like she did when I was having trouble guessing. She didn't seem to use any real sign language and sometimes it was nearly impossible to determine what she meant. It was 'Hush' typed on the screen on a note word processor.

"So close! Well then it certainly suits you, Hush."

She rolled her eyes, exasperated that she'd had to pull her scroll.

I tapped out the ash from my pipe on a tree and squashed it. I put the pipe away in a bouch on my belt beside the relic. I wasn't sure how the damn thing worked and I hadn't really messed with it. I was willing to bet if I took the top off the lamp it would do something but I wasn't sure what it would do or even what for.

Sure something related to knowledge but that wasn't exactly a narrow topic. All of knowledge that is.

I still felt like my head was clear enough to fight despite the greens. I drew the longsword from my back. I held it with both hands on the long handle.

I rested my left beneath the right and breathed in. I activated my semblance with a little sigh. I felt good. I felt right.

Neo approached me and poked at the rising wisps of light.

"My semblance? It's called Limit Breaker. It makes me stronger and faster and there's a charge I can spend on an attack or movement."

She counted down with her fingers at a steady pace.

"How long does it last?"

Neo nodded.

"I'm not really sure. It used to only be fifteen seconds or so. Fifteen seconds to spend it or use the mobility and strength buffs. Now I can hold onto the charge for longer. Minutes, maybe." Fifteen seconds was short as fuck but minutes were long as Hell in a real fight.

It used to be a lot of pressure but now I had time to think and to trap my opponents with the superior speed and resilience.

"You ready?" I asked.

She shook her head, hiding a smile and I realized she was waiting for my semblance to evaporate away.

"Hey," I protested. "If you wanted to go without it you could have just said something."

She frowned at me. I threw the Limit away in the form of a blade-beam against a tree. It blended away against the bark, throwing out chips of wood and with a groan the tree fell.

"Fine. Alright? You ready?"

She grinned and vanished.

I stood still and listened. I watched carefully but couldn't see any indication of her movement. She reappeared on top of me. Bringing the sword-stick down on me, trying to breach my collar bone in what I was figuring was a favorite move of hers.

I had to raise Crocea Mors upwards to deflect the blow to the side. I tried to riposte but by the time I brought the weapon around and down in a counter attack she disappeared.

She reappeared behind me and kicked my right leg in the back of the knee. Now I don't care how strong you are and firm your balance is. You get kicked like that, you're dropping to at least one knee.

I did. I swept the sword around my body to ward her off and get back to my feet. As I tried to rise she came at me from the left and I struggled to bring the blade around in time to block the smaller, more lithe cane sword. I leaned on my blade like a knight as I rose to my feet.

I swiped at her and nicked her and sent her tumbling. She growled at me. She cartwheeled back to her feet and vanished.

She stabbed me in the chest, tearing out chunks of my aura as she did. I reached out with my left hand and grabbed her. Her eyes widened in surprise before I bounced her off the ground and tried to reach her by dancing my blade down in a large forward swipe.

I caught her and comboed her forward in four more strikes.

Once she was out of tumble she vanished and kicked me in the chest with both heels. I reeled backwards. She stabbed me from the right. Then reappeared on the left, further away from my sword.

I was sort of intentionally handicapping myself without the shield. I traded mobility for defense and I stepped back with her and tried to block, both hands on my long red hilt.

I caught her across the stomach with a touche and pushed her back with a tiny grimace from her. It activated my charge and I flew towards her. I jumped and brought the sword vertically around my body to deliver a punishing falling upwards swinging aerieal that launched her up in the air at a perfect middle height.

She broke the combo by teleporting in front of me. She jabbed at me with the umbrella and expanded it right in my face, pushing my sword to the side as a matter of course. She then flickered towards my throat with the thin blade. It caught me and I tried to grab her but my grab was slow and she twisted back away with a side flip.

I flew at her, holding my semblance, still. She dodged in place, leaning to the side. She jabbed at my face with her blade and it caught my aura and left a shallow cut on my cheek.

I grunted and in a flash spent my semblance I climbed her up in a massive upwards swing. The Limit Break attack made her aura flash and flicker in a tide of bright pink.

She rolled away from me. She slammed one arm in the dirt and vanished again. She reappeared with her legs around my head and used the momentum to try and slam me into a tree.

I jumped then backflipped off the tree instead of being rammed into it.

She still managed to bring me to the ground and tried to put me in an arm bar at the same time she stabbed down with her cane-sword. I dropped my blade and with pure main strength peeled her off of my arm and tossed her.

She landed neatly on her feet. Her eyes switched colors as she blinked at me.

She reappeared before me and stomped on my foot. I leaned forward unconsciously and she hooked me with her umbrella and used my momentum to throw me to the ground. I frontflipped in place to counter and whipped my sword around and knocked her off her feet.

She attacked me with an illusion. Making me see a flash of white before she went low and stabbed at me. I blindly swung downwards and she slid on her knees beneath the cut and stabbed up at my thigh. She pierced my aura and when I swung at her she vanished and shattered like a glass pane.

Our weapons clashed as I chased after her and she backed up. Three times they met with solid clanging noises as we did. Her blade was fast and it whipped through the air as I chased her.

I kicked out and our legs met. She rolled over it and kneed me in the face. I tried to grab her but she vanished.

I took a guess at where she would reappear and Cross-Slashed her. It was less serious without the broadsword. Even still, I tried to be light about it but she bounced off the ground and lay still.

"How you holding up?"

She frowned and tried to vanish but collapsed.

"Don't push yourself too hard, now. It's just training. To get better."

She glowered at me.

"Why don't we call it there. No reason to over extend until one of us is without aura. How does dinner sound, besides?"

My heart was racing and I could feel the high from my greens up top, really in my head.

She gave me a suspicious look.

"Don't worry. I'll cook."

She giggled a little. I walked over and pulled her to her feet. I rested my sword against my shoulder before I sheathed it.  

"Hey I can cook."

She snorted as though to say 'sure you can.'

"I can. You just watch. I'll whip something up. I mean it won't be five stars but it'll be edible." Eggs and rice? Eggs and rice.

I pulled out my pipe. "You want some?"

She sat and shook her head. She was giving me a hard to read, soft smile.

"Suit yourself. I'll get us a fire going and everything will be fine. It'll even be delicious, you'll see."

I wasn't Ren but I could put something together. Ren… nope bad thought. Didn't like that. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to eat a breakfast burrito ever again.

He'd forgive you, Jaune. He would.

I reminded myself.

It was Salem. It was all her.

In the end, we sat back and ate in companionable silence.

pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq pq

-WG

[hazyheel]

Monday Night Raw 5/6/19 Review

The night started off by torturing the brand split, but not quite getting rid of it. Vince McMahon was out, and just said that this would be an episode that we would always remember. Roman Reigns came out to interrupt McMahon, and he said that he would show up on any show he wants if the crowd would have him, thankfully that got cheered. McMahon then said that if Reigns was ignoring the brand split, everyone would start to. Daniel Bryan then came out, I think to complain that he wanted a rematch although he was cut off. He was kissing McMahon’s ass and calling him an intellectual when Kofi Kingston came out. Kingston then told Bryan that he should’ve gone straight to Kingston if he wanted a rematch. Bryan then ran him down with similar rhetoric to the old feud, but this time Kofi was even more confident. McMahon then said that he would make a wildcard rule, where a couple roster members could work both brands. Bryan and Kingston argued again, and Drew McIntyre interrupted. He wanted to fight Reigns, because he has a huge ego. McIntyre was weirdly pro management in this promo, insulting Reigns for punching McMahon. McIntyre wanted a match with Reigns, so McMahon booked both that and a WWE Championship match between Kingston and Bryan. 

AJ Styles then showed up, and they just transitioned into a new segment. Styles was pissed about the wildcard rule, the one that just came into existence. I don’t know why he is so pissed, but he is. Seth Rollins then came out to confront Styles about their brawl last week. He said that Styles showed his true colors by attacking him, and Styles said that Rollins was being a dick first. McMahon said that they were to riled up, so he booked them in a tag match against a random tag team.

Grade: D-. I just don’t know why they are still clinging to the idea of the brand split. This whole wildcard rule is just stupid. If you want Roman on both shows, then just get rid of the brand split. It is just dying a slow death, and I wish it would be faster. I dislike inconsistency, and that is all that this wildcard rule will be. The way that this will become tolerable is if NXT is involved. I just don’t like that they are trying to extend this brand split longer than it should be. Just pull the plug Vince. Pull the plug. Oh, and the tag match booking was fine. Vince was annoying when he was patting himself on the back, but that was the point.

Into the actual tag match, Styles and Rollins took on Bobby Lashley and Baron Corbin. The match quickly turned into a competition between the faces, hitting stereo dives in a dick measuring competition. They did very limited moves, but they seemed like they had good tag team chemistry. At one point, Styles went for the phenomenal forearm, but Corbin distracted him, allowing Lashley to hit a rough spear through the ropes. Lashley hit his stomach hard on the apron as he went down. Towards the end of the match, Styles tried to hit Corbin with the phenomenal forearm, but he dodged it and Styles sailed into Rollins. Styles then left the ring in a very heel move, leaving Rollins to be hit with the end of days for the heel win.

Grade: D+. Super didn’t care about this match. True that it continued the feud between Rollins and Styles, but other than that it was just unremarkable. Corbin got a pin over Rollins, which could be leading to a title match in the future. Oh to joy. This was a slow opening to Raw, because these first few segments took the entire first hour. 

Sami Zayn came out for another promo insulting critics like me, and asked what we had to complain about. I said the first hour. He then said that although we can be positive sometimes, he said that we are still toxic after the fact. Bruan Strowman then came out to confront Zayn, and Zayn ran away through the corwd and around ringside. Even during the next match, they ran through the backstage area. Zayn tried to escape while throwing buckets and bins at him. Strowman eventually grabbed him and threw him in a dumpster. Right as a garbage truck came to grab it. I think Sami was thrown in a garbage truck.

Grade: C-. I am gonna cut this some slack because it is the beginning of the storyline, but I can’t give it anything higher than this. I am just sick and tired of Strowman fighting cowardly heels. He should be fighting someone who is actually tough, because that is what he deserves. Sami’s character is good, but I don’t see how it translates into an actual feud.

Lucha House Party then came out for a 6-man tag, and I had forgotten that they were on Raw, against some jobbers they won quickly with their finishers in succession. Fine

Backstage, Naomi, Natalya and Dana Brooke received invitations to Lacy Evan’s match later on. They said that she was weird, and made fun of her for scenting the envelopes. Alrighty.

Next was Ricochet against Robert Roode to qualify for the Money in the Bank match. Ricochet was guaranteed a spot in Money in the Bank, but he had to defend it after losing a match to Roode a couple weeks ago. Roode’s offense has changed quite a bit since he turned heel, becoming much grittier and more violent and overall better. However, Ricochet won quickly with the 630 senton.

Grade: C+. Could’ve gotten higher if it was more competitive, but this wasn’t given enough time. Still, I liked the work in this match, and I always love to see Ricochet.

Backstage, Rey Mysterio was walking around with his son Dominic, but they separated when Mysterio grabbed went into his locker room. Dominic went to grab water, and Samoa Joe followed him. However, Joe just talked to him backstage. Joe criticized Dominic for hoisting his dad up on his shoulders after the match. Joe just yelled at Dominic for a bit, and then told him to tell his dad that he was looking forward to their match at money in the bank.

Grade: B. This was an intimidating promo, but I thought it would be a bit more sinister. Dominic actually held his own while being all up in Joe’s face. I like this feud, and I am excited to see a real match between them. And I want to see how Dominic gets involved.

Next was Lacy Evans against a Jobber, with all the Money in the Bank ladies at ringside (Naomi, Natalya, Alexa Bliss and Dana Brooke). She squashed her with a woman’s right quick, and then Evans got on the mic and ran them all down for not being as good as her. She said that they shouldn’t bother trying to cash in on her, because she will take them down. Becky Lynch then came out for a wild brawl between her and Evans. Lynch was really kicking her ass this time around.

Grade: C+. It was a short brawl, but I was entertained. Maybe that was because I was so bored from the first hour, but I liked it. Still not a positive though.

Daniel Bryan then cut a promo backstage about how Kingston is a terrible champion due to his promotion of consumerism. Cool.

Backstage, the Usos were up to something. 

And then the Viking Raiders were out for a match against Kurt Hawkins and Zack Ryder. I think this was a non-title match, but the Champions got a jobber entrance which is never good. However, they had an enjoyable match. Hawkins hit a great flying lariat off the apron, only for Erik to come by and knee him in the face. The Viking Raiders then got in the ring and hit Ryder with the Viking Experience for the win.

Grade: C. Yeah, I was wrong when I said this was entertaining. It was just frustrating and short. I wish they would actually let the Viking Raiders to get over before they were pushed so hard, but they pinned the champions in this match, so the story is not over.

And then we had the firefly funhouse, which I have heard has actually been really good. During the show, Wyatt was trying to find out what Mercy ate, and it turned out to be Ramblin Rabbit. Wyatt said that this was okay, because he expressed himself, and he rewarded Mercy with a picnic around a bunch of kids that were frowning. 

Grade: B+. This one was kinda short, but shit it was creepy. I really liked that I lot. So I apologize for saying it was bullshit a few weeks ago. I really like that Wyatt is coming for the kids, it is awesome, and he should be back to a similar character with a twist in ring soon enough. This was my favorite part of the night.

Rollins then cut a promo on Styles, saying that he was going to beat his ass next time they see each other, because Styles made his intentions clear when he left the match. Unclear if this was a heel turn for Styles tonight, but we will see.

Next up was Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre. McIntyre dominated in a similar way to their Wrestlemania match. McIntyre nailed Reigns with a reverse alabama slam onto the apron. He also countered a superman punch with an awesome spinbuster, so McIntyre was the real highlight of the match. Roman was about to get the win after a spear, but Shane McMahon ran out to cause the DQ with Elias. The beatdown was happening, and Miz ran in to chase McMahon away. However, Reigns was still hit with a claymore. Backstage, Shane was desperately trying to hide from Miz, and was actually successful until Charlie tried to interview him. Shane tried to hop in a care, but Miz fought him in the parking garage. Shane got the better of the match with a low blow, but Miz was very valiant during the fight.

Grade: B-. Lots of stuff to cover here, and I think it just edges into the positives. The match was fine but not great, and there seems to be a lot of rivalries brewing right now. McIntyre stood tall, but he should have gotten a clean win. As for Miz and Shane, their rivalry is as intense as ever. This all was just a lot, but it was fine in the end.

The Revival were set to have a tag team match against The Good Brothers, but the Usos interrupted on the mic before the match. They played a prank on the revival by putting Uscy hot in their trunks so that their sweat burns. Then the revival was rubbing their asses on the ground and making fools of themselves. Then they poured water on themselves, and started selling for the Uscy hot like crazy.

Grade: F. Fuck this. I get that they are trying to embarass the Revival because they are leaving, but do the stories need to be this stupid? Honestly, the Usos aren’t coming across great either, but having a bit of a change in their character was good. This was just stupid. The Revival are weirdly good at selling though, so that was kinda funny.

No Way Jose was out at ringside dancing around, but Lars Sullivan showed up. He beat down the Konga Line, and then destroyed Jose as well. One guy he hit with a freak accident onto the barricade. He hit Jose with a running sitout powerbomb before leaving.

Grade: B. Pretty good, but I just kinda don’t care about No Way Jose. The Konga people were good at selling, but this segment is always the same.

Backstage, Sullivan was in Vince’s office to intimidate him into extending the wildcard stuff to four people. He did. Well, I guess that means that Elias is getting suspended.

And in the main event, Kofi Kingston defended the WWE Championship against Daniel Bryan in the main event. The two went at it at a very high speed, but their interactions weren’t quite as smooth as the one at mania. At one point, Bryan back dropped Kingston out of the ring, and he messed up the landing and his head smacked the floor. Kingston attempted to use high flying to fight against Bryan with several splash variations off the top rope. In the end, Kofi was able to hit his trouble in paradise to retain.

Grade: B+. Pretty good, but not nearly as good as their encounter at wrestlemania. I think the right person won here, and it was a good way to wrap up the feud. I don’t know what Bryan will do from here, but I am sure he will be involved in a good feud.

Overall Grade: C+

Pros: Samoa Joe promo; Firefly funhouse; Sullivan Beatdown; Main event

Cons: opening promo; opening tag; strowman attack; raiders vs. tag champs; revival bullshit

[ko3ak-archive]

@mimicksyou​ said: 16. do you first get in the “zone” when writing, or do you start writing and “enter” it that way? 17. what is your biggest obstacle to writing every day, if time doesn’t count? ( meme )

16. do you first get in the “zone” when writing, or do you start writing and “enter” it that way?

I’ll just do it anytime, anywhere. No boundaries. It’s my summer break, and I've no qualms saying it’s the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing I fall asleep to ( for the past two weeks at the very least! ). I’m an early riser, I get up at 5AM and usually the first reply I do tends to be the best one that day. Just me sitting on the couch in the dark next to my sleeping birbs, haha... I’ll miss this, because when I return to university next week I don’t think I can’t be here at all. I’m a super hard worker at school! I’ve taken a two year-long hiatus off writing before and when I came back, I was in a completely different place from where I began. 

17. what is your biggest obstacle to writing every day, if time doesn’t count?

Without sounding like I’m trying to knock myself down... I just find it hard to string sentences together. I feel like I have the words, but they don’t fit together very nicely and that irks me. And also I tend to fall asleep while writing??? Which is kinda um weird? Also I know English isn’t my first language but at this point I feel like I should have grasped it by now, so there’s that. But what I find helps me tremendously is writing my thoughts on paper, old school style. Also, subtly mimicking my writing partner’s writing style tends to go a long way too 😉 ! 

If we’re talkin’ muse-specific, then... ya, Sokol is an obstacle in and of itself. I initially struggled terribly as I couldn’t picture him in my head, how he looks like. At one point he was a carbon copy of T/imothy G/ranaderos’ character from 1/3RW. Sometimes he’s as flirty as someone’s drawn fanart of him LMAO and other times he’s just an echo of an old Russian military muse I use to write. But most of the time I write him based on his voice actor’s lines I listen to on YouTube. It’s frustrating because it makes him ( and my writing ) so inconsistent and he ends up sounding super troubled and sad. We all know he’s pretty outspoken and witty in the game and that’s what drew me in, soooo fairly recently I made him more fun-lovin’, affectionate and cranked up the sass a little and generally on a whole it’s been a lot better! 

[artlessictoan]

Also, Smoke Into The Sand w/ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15! OoO As a side-note I haven't read this yet (SHAME ON ME BC I WANNA) and i'm SUPER interested in it!

asdfjskdjskdjfsk this is gonna get long fukc

What inspired you to write the fic this way?

my main goal with sits was to make it read like an old myth or storybook, an old tale that would be passed down for generations, the majority of the fic is written in that style exactly, but the overall story definitely is (and it does come through a bit more in how the backstory is told and some of the more important scenes)

that said, the main narrative is written much more slice-of-life-y, one of my biggest inspirations for this fic is the manga monogatari (bride’s story), it’s a really nice series that explores the daily life of people in various areas along the silk road, it has that simple, everyday life feel that i love and really wanted to write into sits! that’s where the random details about desert living and the tribe’s lifestyle come in (warning for anyone who might want to check out mono though: it does have an arranged marriage between a 20 yr old woman and a 12 yr old boy, it’s being played as a more platonic/familial relationship thus far but i can totally understand why it would put people off, so just a heads-up before anyone jumps in)

What scene did you first put down?

the first scene i actually started writing was the very first scene! but the very first scene, the one that spawned this entire fic i haven’t actually gotten to yet, it’s gonna be v near the end and i’m dying to finally reveal it because it’s gonna be Big.. but i shalln’t spoil it here, just something for my readers to look forwards to

What’s your favorite line of narration?

ok so like i said i’m shit at remembering any of what i write and it’s a bit more than just a line but fuck it:

Gaara froze, in fact, everything did. The soft whistling ofthe wind cut off into eerie silence, the constantly shifting sand stopped witha suddenness that was entirely unnatural, Naruto glanced away for a second andsaw that some grains were being held in the air, perfectly still. He turned hisgaze back to the spirit before him, his expression hadn’t changed at all, hewas still glaring, but his eyes were unfocussed, like they weren’t reallylooking at him.

Naruto was too scared to move, to speak; hecould only stare and pray that he hadn’t just sealed his own death warrant.

What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

again, not a line, but i really love this exchange between nart and ameno so effing much:

“So mature… You’re growing up too fast, how am I ever goingto keep up?” she asked, mostly to herself judging from the distant look on herface.

He slowly drew his hand back once her face wasdry and gave her a confused look. “You won’t have to; I’ll just carry you withme.

What part was hardest to write?

well i might just be saying this cause it’s the most recent struggle i faced (among many) but the chapter six reALLY killed me. trying to find the right way to describe the exhaustion and constant fear took many, many weeks and i’m still not sure i really nailed it (hopefully something i’ll be able to fix in the next chap)

What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

other than being the first multi-chap fic i’ve ever written, this is actually one of my oldest fic ideas ever, seriously it’s been kicking around in my head for a good five years or so now so there’s that

it also happens to contain basically All of my Special Interests; naruto, deserts, nomadic culture, boring minutia, swords.... honestly the only thing it’s missing is cats (though i’m sure i can find some way to work them in too..)

and, honestly, this is kinda my magnum opus? or at least that’s how i’ve always thought of it, i had actually planned to not start writing it until i’d already done a few other fics because i wanted to make sure my writing skill was at its best before starting such an ambitious fic.. yeah that didn’t happen, but i think that’s actually worked out alright, jumping in with a harder fic right at the start of my writing ‘career’ has been a bit of a crash-course and taught me a heck of a lot, i still think it’s gonna be one of the best things i ever write though. it just has a very special place in my heart

Where did the title come from?

well tbh i’m kinda shit at titles, so i usually just hunt through the first chap looking for any particularly poetic-sounding line that would work (though in this case it does have a nice little easter egg, since in arab folklore jinn are made of smoke!)

Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

hmm not really? the whole thing is meant to be very fantastical and unreal (despite all the slice-of-life stuff), the only real-world insp comes from my research into bedouin lifestyle and such

What do you like best about this fic?

gaara! i mean ofc i like him in anything but this version of gaa - silent, detached, barely human, incredibly complex - is one of my faves and he’s really fun to write, we’ll be finding out more about him as the fic goes on and when we do it’ll make his actions before now both more understandable and less at the same time (he’s quite the paradox)

What do you like least about this fic?

the inconsistency. i feel like i must’ve gone through about ten different writing styles throughout the course of it and it bothers me that i haven’t quite got that storybook feel i was always aiming for, i’ll probably do a rewrite when i’ve got more experience under my belt and try to make the whole thing a bit more cohesive

What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

as with btc, i mostly listen to soundtracks, since songs with lyrics really distract me when writing, since i like to try and match the music i listen to to the setting/tone of what i’m writing i try to listen to classical middle-eastern music (though i’ve had a hard time finding many albums of just instrumental stuff, if anyone has any recs i’d love you forever!)

in addition to that there’s the soundtracks of Journey, Bastion, Dreamfall Chapters and the Prince of Persia games and for instrumental artists i really like Break of Reality and Tina Guo for sits insp!

Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?What did you learn from writing this fic?

hmm, well i’d love it if people learned a bit more about the cultures i’m writing about (and i’d like to learn more of that too tbh, i’m still finding out new things that i actually got wrong earlier on in the fic), maybe even get interested enough to go looking for more info themselves, because there’s a lot of stuff that i simply won’t be able to go into much detail about

as for myself, well ^that and also it’s just been a rEALLY good experience in so many small ways - writing longer fics, writing in general, character interaction, introspection, action, plotting, description, suspense, mystery..... i could go on but yeah, basically it’s helped me grow as an author in Every Single Way and i’m sure it’ll help ever more before it’s done!