#actually based on something that happened to me not too long ago 😂

[kokodrawings]

Artober day 12!

[mehoyminoyyy]

My Thoughts after watching S1 & S2 of TSITP

Disclaimer: I will not be hating on any ships or saying unnecessary bad things about ships or the ppl who ship whoever. Thats not what this is about. This is just my own opinion and thought process and what I’ve taken away from watching the show.

————-

First off I want to say I’m so surprised how much I actually enjoyed this little show. I stumbled across it three days ago and have been throughly entertained.

I want to also say I wasn’t a book reader so I’m basing my opinions wholly based on the series.

Okay lets get into this,

I’m rooting for “Jelly” and here’s why.

Since S1 Jere has been very vocal about his admiration /crush on Belly. He has a positive & honest attitude toward life , which makes him a very likable character. Every time there was a scene with him in it I found myself literally cheesing no matter who he was with.

Something I noticed from the first few episodes in S1 alone was that Jere was almost always “Available” for Belly.

Which instantly established and showed me their dynamic.

I remember I said to myself while watching “Ah , that’s literally her best friend he’s her rock!”

Now at the time I felt like “Omg it’s so nice to see m/w platonic relationships being showcased like this.” I was honestly just so happy seeing that alone. As the show progressed , even in the flashbacks Jere just genuinely always liked Belly even platonically. He always includes her, makes time for her etc. It was honestly such a breath of fresh air seeing a girl actually being treated like an equal player for once . Also I want to add that, that this dynamic was actually balanced, Belly also did the same for Jere even though her head is full of Conrad at the start.

Back to Jere as a character,

Jere is seen as this happy go lucky guy that doesn’t have a care in the world. This isn’t necessarily the case though. That is his mask BUT he is not his mask!

( Thats important here)

All the characters in this show have a mask but I find myself relating to Jere’s the most. He is my favorite character right now( Also Steven) but I’m honestly going to try really hard not to be too biased and just state what I saw and what this show genuinely made me feel.

( I got so emotional watching this show and that hasn’t happened in a very long time 😂)

What I find interesting about Jere’s crush is that it feels more genuine. It grew organically. Not saying that Conrad’s crush didn’t either but its just different, Jeres crush grew from friendship… Conrad’s grew from him knowing Belly liked him.

What I noticed while watching is that Conrad needs to love himself. He needs to do that and work on himself before he’s with anyone. I do believe he loves Belly ( it’s obvious but..)he just cant love her the way she wants.

We see this with how his relationship with Nicole was just a mess and it wasn’t even Nicoles fault.. She like Belly wanted to be there for him. Wanted to love him, she also wanted to be loved. But he just cant commit to doing the work it takes to be in a relationship fully.( In this sense he is just like his dad … who he hates, and I’m sure he hates himself because he’s just like him. Maybe not in the unfaithful part but with commitment to be in a relationship )

Don’t get me wrong before the prom incident Conrad on paper is a really decent boyfriend. He understands Belly, they can talk for hours and once they are dating he does make time for her. but his main problem is not being able to communicate, he assumes and and shuts everyone out.. even the closest ppl to him and then wont even tell them why. Just like Steven said “ Your either up really up high or really down low” but they needed him to be in middle ground, and he just cant do the work to meet ppl half way.

That being said, Jere did the work or is in the process of it and so is Belly they’re moving forward … Conrad is stuck , he needs to be alone ( not forever) to figure himself out and then maybe fall in love just not with Belly … Because she has moved on. She’ll probably never love someone like the way she did Conrad but he also gave her so many important lessons.

Jere isn’t perfect but he’s literally perfect for Belly… When Conrad and Jere were talking by the vending machines I noticed one key thing that was different in their attitudes and this is what it was

Jere said “ I just want Belly to be happy, no matter who’s she’s with”

THAT right there this is not someone speaking selfishly.. Jere deep down doesn’t want to keep fighting and he’s willing to sacrifice his own happiness for someone he loves ( WHICH I MIGHT ADD BELLY IS LIKE THIS TOO! She is just manipulated more easily in s1 )

Because Jere knows happiness without Belly.. He does ..he’s his own person.. He knows it would be hard to let her go ( because he’s done it before) and it prob wouldn’t experience the same type of love but he would move on he knows he would. He also knows his relationship with Belly is strong enough that even if things went sour they always come back because their foundations were a super strong friendship. She’s his constant, not his stability. He even told her he’d be okay even if she decided he wasn’t the one for her.. he was fully ready to take that bullet all over again.

The way they “rebuilt”their friendship again in s2 was amazing to see ( take the romantic love out of it and love was never gone!) Like literally thats what they did..

Arguably Belly is also like conrad.. she never sees whats in front of her until she shes forced to see it, but when she does “ see” she doesn’t take it for granted. She Acts, she fixes, she makes amends , she actively trying to grow as a person.

When she realizes her constant is gone thats what cause her to be unstable.. BUT she’s also relentless, because she herself said she knows them .. tbh she knows the fisher boys better than she knows herself 😂. She truly is in love with both of them but only one relationship works romantically.

backtracking funeral : Something I wanted to add is that Belly got so angry with Conrad she said she hated him… she hated the mask he was showing her.( she hated him in that moment). When has she ever hated jere… ? (Again I’m from show perspectives so thats what I’m basing everything off of)

Even the very few times Jere and Belly fought she didn’t hate jere she aw through the mask, and he let her in.

Going back to the vending machine scene ,In that scene Conrad said something like this (srry if its not the exact quote)

“I cant live without her Jere,” ( I also think he hot into the physicality and mental aspect when the broke up and how it affected him)

He made it about him, not them and or what belly wants.

The thing is if their relationship was really deep, he wouldn’t say this he’d be okay with letting her go because he wouldn’t be losing her they still be friends. The way con asks is like he cant be friends with her now that they’ve been lovers… and thats a huge red flag. ( at least for me)

Conrad only agrees about Belly’s happiness after Jere said it .. and tbh he doesn’t even mean it.. Conrad only loves Belly because thats the only thing stable in his life.. he is not on good terms with his dad, mom is gone, things are rocky with Jere etc. He only wants Belly for his own “happiness “ and that’s horrible foundations… ( sure he loves things about belly but is very surface level its not as deep as their physical attraction to each other)

This is minor but it gave me the ick when he did this in the car, when jere asked if belly was cold, he was gonna turn the air down but Con just gave the jacket… he didn’t even notice she was cold like !?!? ( granted this is small because they were in the front but still, its the initiative that counts here .. Jere starts , Conrad follows )

I just I’m so tired of seeing toxic relationships exploited when healthy and actual loving relationships are what we should be celebrating…

Im not hating on Conrad ( I don’t think he’s a bad character in theory, he just needs work) On the flip side if he’s capable of moving on and dating other people why shouldn’t belly be afforded the same…?

I also don’t want to take away or diminish Conrads friendship with Belly either because I do believe they connect on like a nerd level and maybe physical attraction..But I don’t think their compatible because in every other area they fall short for each-other. Its more of a fantasy for both of them instead of something real? Idk , because when shit gets real they fall apart.. because Conrad chokes snd regresses nothing is solved.

Anyways I’m Team jelly , they’re relationship is sweet, fun, loving and sexy most of all though its easy.. they should feel safe. They understand life is short they leaned that and tackle it head on instead of wallowing in the saddest parts of life and letting that take over.

Its always going to be tough because of how things work ..the foundations are rocky but jere represents growth.. they can grow together.. I just idk jelly only feels right to me. It would be so odd for their characters to switch up like so odd and not truthful to who they are right now and the path their moving towards.

Also Taylor knew that too her best friends (besides the boys) even the debs picked up on if way before it was actually a thing…

So in conclusion Conrad deserves love but he needs to learn to live for himself first. He needs to learn how to live his life with out “thinking” about others ( not that he shouldn’t care) but basically stop manipulating himself and others into this toxic cycle of emotions. He needs to really commit and quite frankly grow a pair. He was the main one telling everyone to grow up… yet he did not.

He takes on these huge responsibilities like a martyr but really he just wants to feel important and needed to help his self worth…but part of growth is allowing people in and helping you when you need it. Also understanding that he will always be needed no matter what and he shouldn’t base his entire personality and values in wanting to be needed.

Belly represents his hope.. but without Belly is he hopeless? Can he still have hope.. Belly is teaching him hope but “he doesn’t love her because he wants to love her” not like Jere does. He loves Belly but he “needs” her to love him

Belly wants someone to want her…she wants to feel love and be loved at the same time. She also is a lover at heart she wants to give love , and she knows how to do this without manipulation. When she loves she loves hard…

Jere also loves hard… just saying he fought for Belly in his own way.. he sacrifices his own happiness for his brother time and time again, he sacrifices his happiness for belly time and time again… Honestly Jere really deserves better but I digress 🤣 Because Belly did become self aware somewhat and is active in being a better person.. no one is perfect as said before but being in love is about the path your working towards and how you go about it.. with said partner…Jere and Belly are on that path. Conrad is somewhere in the middle and he cant see his own cycles.

Im all up for a healthy and friendly debate , I don’t want to hate on any ships but this is my take away from the show alone not having read the book at all. idk if it’s different but As of right now having binged s1 & s2 in the past few days from the start as soon as I head Jere call Belly his future wife I was like damn… its him.

( plus she sees him first when it starts and thats a meetcute 👀 iykyk 😂)

[mysticsparklewings]

Three Cheers for Harmonic Revenge (+ Time Lapse!)

________ This is what happens when you're a fan of both Winx Club and My Chemical Romance, apparently! 😂 Truly a labor of love—I started on this for an MCR album anniversary on June 8th. I so missed the date, but I had to see it through!

⭐️ AND I've got a Time Lapse of the art coming together, featuring my very rough attempt at a matchup of MCR's Helena and the Winx Club Harmonix song as backing music! It's a wild ride! ⭐️ (...There's also an unlisted version with "normal" music just in case my less-than-amateur audio editing skills are too much for anyone. 😅)

Anyway, to make a very long story a little bit shorter, a few weeks ago I ended up down a bit of a rabbit hole trying to identify likely sources of inspiration for the thing to come out of Winx Club Season 5 that the fandom at large actually kind of loves: Harmonix. I went in thinking Ballet, and despite my best efforts came out with that opinion pretty much unchanged. 

Not long after, but for the entirely unrelated reason of Being An MCR Fan on The Internet, I ended up looking at some screenshots from their Helena music video. [I think this was prompted by a Reddit post asking about the dress for cosplay purposes, I'm not sure.] 

It was then I had the thought, so simple and off-handed: "I don't see how you can look at a ballet outfit like this and not think Harmonix was ballet-inspired." 

If you've ever seen a TV show or cartoon where a character says something, and then only after the words leave their mouth do they realize the implications/meaning of what they just said, that was me in that moment. 😱

On the one hand, I want to say "I can't believe I didn't see the similarities before," but on the other...Well, I can believe it, actually. Comparing Winx and MCR in almost any capacity is not a natural thing to do, even with a Ballet connection in each. The fact that I finally did notice came largely down to the serendipity of being a fan of both and just happening upon the Helena pictures not long after spending an abnormal amount of time looking for clothes that look like Harmonix. I think there are many points leading up to that moment where if just a couple of things had gone differently, I still wouldn't have noticed. 

Either way, once the connection was made in my brain it took all of about 10 seconds for "Helena as a Harmonix Fairy" to follow. 🤩

At the time, I didn't have immediate plans to act on it. It was just an idea to be filed away on the little shelf in my brain where I keep "Things that would be fun to draw eventually." [That shelf is super full and in danger of collapse, for what it's worth. 😉]

Earlier this month, that changed when I remembered June 8th is the Anniversary for Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, the album that Helena comes from, and I had yet to come up with any other plans or ideas to commemorate it this year. 

Now, clearly I ended up missing that deadline, and two others I set for myself afterward. Things have just been very chaotic around my house for last 3-ish months or so, and June has been no different. Other IRL things just had to take priority. 😔

In my defense, the art itself was finished on June 12th. This description here and the Time Lapse Video (mostly the video) were what really set me back, even aside from household chaos. But it was really important to me to get a video done for this piece, so getting that done vs. getting the art out faster was the trade I made. 

But part of the reason I bring this up to underline that originally, I thought I was on a fairly tight deadline. As a result, during the planning stage I didn't really have time to tinker with refining the base design or debating details like I normally would. So I drew from the Winx's own Harmonix designs as much as possible—picking out pieces that naturally resembled the structure of Helena's dress. 

If I'd had more time to noodle around...the structure probably would've been largely the same, but the details most likely would have changed to help it feel more original, and I may have gotten crazy enough to try and find a happy [lighter] grey medium between Harmonix's pastel palettes and Helena's stark black and red. 

As it stands though, I'm not unhappy with how that all turned out, I just think it's worth noting how the visual concept may have changed if I'd had more time to toy with it. [Especially for when Future Me ends up referring back to this description; Hi there Future Mystic 👋]

Since my process for making the art can both be seen in the Time Lapse and is something you've all seen/heard me describe before by now [I think I have finally nailed down a fairly standard "Winx Art Process" over the last few months in large part thanks to Winxsona Winter—which yes, I do still intend to eventually finish], instead of taking you through the general stuff again, I'm going to do a bullet-point list similar to one I did for Sirenix. 

The main difference is this time, it's more focused my observations for what similarities exist between Harmonix and Helena's costume, as opposed to just a list of Harmonix traits and how I handled them. [Though there will still some of that too, naturally.]

Most notably, both feature "fluffy" layered skirts. Harmonix skirts don't really look like the same fabric texture, but that could be either a stylistic/animation choice or could be chalked up to there also probably being some Wedding Dress inspiration in the designs alongside the Ballet elements.  Also, at first I didn't think the train on the Harmonix skirts was a similarity, but upon a closer look at the Helena music video...Helena's skirt is definitely longer and train-like in the back, so...Cool, I was wrong! 😄 And: As it turns out, Bloom's Harmonix skirt actually does have a small section that's ruffled a bit differently from the rest—It's just really hard to tell because on her, it's all the same pastel blue color. But as you can see, referencing that part of her skirt here to incorporate the Red underlayer that peaks through on Helena's skirt worked a treat! 😊 P.S. Wow I really hated drawing a lot of really tightly-confined ruffles like this. 😤 And trying to shade them was even worse! 🙃

Both feature form-fitting tops with minimal or no straps. I more specifically saw Helena similarities in Stella's Harmonix top [with the frills over the bust and structure lines below], and later I realized the top-most portion of Musa's has an even more similar kind of frill.  To that end, Helena's is once again definitely supposed to be something transparent like tulle, but since there really aren't any transparent fabric portions of Harmonix, I chose instead to use a slightly lighter near-black to give it a similar effect without breaking that Harmonix "rule." Also, the bodice portion is a true jet black with no shading. I tried the more typical near-black grey that could be shaded at first, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I tried this on a whim and decided it looked good enough to keep.

Most of the Harmonix designs have a kind of "belt" that connects the bodice to the skirt; Perfect match for Helena's red one!  Similarly, most of those same Harmonix designs have a "belt"/ribbon just under the bust as well. Helena does not, as far as I can tell. But I chose to add a read one here for a little extra variety and helping break up all that black.

The Harmonix shoes are almost entirely ribbons winding up the legs; Helena wears black ballet slippers with, you guessed it, black strings/ribbons that wind around her feet and ankles.  Now, maybe I could have gotten away with all-black ribbons and black for the heel portion of the shoes, but 1. The Harmonix designs all use 2 colors for the ribbons and the heel is usually in the "contrasting" color. 2. I knew from the beginning that the skirt train [a mandatory aspect of Harmonix] was going to either be black or a very dark grey, and even during the Concept phase before I had a specific pose in mind, I had a feeling the ribbon tails were going to overlap with said train. So I used a dark red. Originally, it was about as bright as her sash and belt, but then I realized Bloom and Musa's pink ribbons were darker than the pink used in the bodices, a darker red would be closer to the original black anyway, and that would yet again add just a tiny bit more visual variety.  One last note about the shoes: I did my best to match the original winding of Helena's shoe ribbon, except for the very first ribbon across where the toes connect to the rest of the foot. That strap was specifically added as a nod to how Helena's proper ballet slippers outright cover the toe. 

About the train: Similar to the bodice, I started out with the train in one color, the color you currently see for the skirt itself and the very top of the train. It was fine but I was itching for some more variety, so after reassuring myself "Layla/Aisha's train has a few different shades of green instead of being solid so it's fine," I used the different tiers [taken from Flora's train] to create a little bit of a gradient from the black to a charcoal grey. It kinda works as a hint toward Harmonix's more pastel palette. Sort of. 

Aside from Tecna, all the girls' hair is at least partially pulled back in Harmonix. This sorta works out because it appears the front "bang" sections of Helena's hair are pulled back. [In my brain I call this "Doll Hair" because I personally have seen that kind of look way more often on dolls than on real people.] It's similar to the front of Bloom's Enchantix hair.  The rest of Helena's hair appears pretty thick and a little wild, so I tried to incorporate a bit of that here, but I couldn't push it too far without "breaking" the Winx Style.  And while I'm here: I did choose to make Helena's hair a very dark brown. In the video, most of the time it does just look plain black, but there are moments where my eyes pick up on a "warmth" to the color, which makes me think maybe it really is that super-dark brown hair that just looks black. Even if it isn't, I stand by my choice as slightly more fitting for the Winx style, since Winx almost never does truly black hair anyway. 

All of the Harmonix designs feature some sort of small head accessory, usually a tiara. Helena's costume very prominently features netting over the face...And there appears to be something going on towards the back of her head, presumably whatever is holding the netting in place.  I've seen fan interpretations of whatever that is being flowers [usually black roses], and since Tecna has a few flower-ish pieces as part of her Harmonix tiara, that seemed like a fair choice here.  As for the netting...You'll see very briefly in the Time Lapse that during the concept phase, I really did want to include that, but it was too hard to ignore how out of place it felt. Winx rarely does anything with netting in the first place [though a couple of rare examples do exist], and considering certain parts of Harmonix feel like it was designed to be fairly simple [but look complex at first glance, which it does]...I just couldn't do it. So instead, I...Well, it ended up being almost a copy of Layla's Harmonix tiara, but I really truly did not realize how similar what I was doing was to hers until after the full-color version was pretty much done. 😅 I thought I was doing more of an upside-down version of Musa's, and my entire goal was to just do something that came down over the forehead like the netting did. 

Speaking of Musa, if those wings look familiar, they kinda should. Remember before that I mentioned I was originally working on a pretty tight timeline for this piece? 

One of the things that has proven to take me the longest with original Winx designs since I picked up making them semi-regularly again is undoubtedly the wings. I got to really learn that the hard way with Believix at the beginning of this year. 

Because of the very limited time I thought I had and my sluggish pace with wings, when while collecting Harmonix screenshots for reference I noticed "Hey, Musa's wings would still work pretty well if they were flipped upside down..." A little bit of a lightbulb went off. 

I don't even know why exactly that thought occurred to me before I'd even really considered the wings. The best I can figure is a little hangover in my subconscious—At one point I remember reading one of the Winx's Sirenix wings are apparently upside down at the end of her transformation sequence. That stuck out to me at the time because I don't really understand how you could tell if Sirenix wings are upside down or not because of how they're shaped. 🤨

Anyway. So I found a screenshot with a fairly clear shot of one of Musa's wings, flipped it around, and really just traced right over it. 

I did make a few small tweaks, and most notably I added some..."Lines of Tears?" like Layla and Flora's have, but at the end of the day they are still really Musa's wings. 

Normally, I wouldn't have done that and instead would've just taken heavy inspiration from Musa's wings, but again, I thought I had a lot less time than I really did. And to be fair, plenty of other Winx fans re-color or otherwise re-purpose the Canon Girls' wings for their OCs and/or Fan Transformations on a regular basis anyway, so it's not like this is a totally unheard-of idea or anything. 🤷‍♀️

Much later, I also figured in a way it fits; Musa is a fairy of Music, this artwork is largely based around a specific piece of music/the band that made it; I even opted to add music note shapes like Musa's wings produce [all the Harmonix wings produce specific shapes in that way] when they move to deepen that connection after I thought of it. 

Other things worth noting [and this is again a • bullet point list because, frankly, at the moment I'm just too lazy to make this all flow together in more story-like paragraphs]:

I did my best to match Helena's skin and eyes, but her lips and eye makeup were a little trickier. Her lips ended up a bit pinker and not as close to her skin tone in the spirit of Winx, and I had to compromise and use greyish reds shaped like the Trix's eyeshadow to get a similar effect. The eyeshadow still really isn't perfect for Helena or Winx, but I was short on other ideas so, "close enough is good enough."

The shape of the mouth isn't quite what I wanted, either. You'll see in the time-lapse that I already changed it pretty drastically from the first sketch I had. I definitely wanted something open, because while Helena's mouth is not open for the entire music video or anything, it is more open at certain points and this shot in particular is pretty iconic.  But I also didn't want anything too crazy because, y'know, Winx Club.  The bared teeth and lack of upturn for a smile was my compromise. Either the mouth itself needed some more tweaking, or the eyebrows did. The whole expression is okay, I just don't think I pushed it far enough. 🤷‍♀️

There isn't really one specific pose that represents Helena more than the others [...at least not standing up/dancing], so I picked mostly from a general feeling from the music video. I did reference some official stock arts of the Winx in Ballet attire [mostly this one of Flora], but the feet had to be changed pretty notably to fit the shoes, and overall I had to make some tweaks in the anatomy where the stock art and show style differ. [These differences seem to increase from Season 5 onward, too.] 

The background was mostly inspired by Layla's Harmonix, and it might be my favorite part of the whole piece, actually!  Upon closer studying for this project, I was surprised by how much "junk" is in some of the Harmonix backgrounds. There's tons of texture in all of them and a fair bit of color variation in most...It's pretty interesting compared to past transformations and even Harmonix itself. The backgrounds end up being a lot more intense than the solid and gentle pastel dresses. [Wouldn't surprise me if that was intentional!] I had a little more work cut out for me since I couldn't just slap bright colors all over the place. I did consider just sticking with blacks/greys/white and maybe some red, but I thought it might help my version of Helena here pop a little better if I was able to change up the palette just a bit. And, of course, the warmth of the background helps add more variety and liven the whole image up.  Much more to my delight though, I was able to create the background without having to download any new Procreate brushes! 🥳 Between a couple of default ones, the ocean-themed brushes I already had from previous projects, and a couple I just happened to pick up along the way [mostly as monthly freebies from brush makers who normally charge for their work], I had all the brushes I needed already right there, it just took a little experimenting. 

I will reiterate that while it still took time, making the art itself really wasn't so bad or difficult. And it helps that this ridiculous crossover idea was something I really wanted to make—Because if I didn't, who else would, right? 🤪

It's not perfect, sure. But it's here and it still came out pretty good overall, I think. So I'm happy. 😊

Now I would also like to take a moment to explain part of why putting the Time Lapse together for this piece ended up taking longer than it probably should have, because I really didn't have room to talk about it in the video itself...though it does sorta get a mention right at the beginning: The audio. 

To once again make a very long story short(er):

I, in my infinite wisdom, decided instead of the usual royalty-free music stock, to try and create a mash-up of Helena and the Harmonix song for this video. That was more or less the visual premise for the art, so why not go all-out with the theming?

For once, I cannot take you through the full nitty-gritty because, at least to my inexperienced brain, audio editing is a pretty nebulous process. But I can tell you that aside from inexperience, the other thing that probably held me back was my choice of program to handle the task. 

I did not have the patience nor motivation to try and teach myself how to use an audio program for this one silly project, and I semi-accidentally learned at the beginning of last year that DaVinci Resolve has an entire section dedicated to just editing the audio for videos. Since I was able to fumble my way around in there for the light audio editing I wanted to do at that time, I figured that was a slightly safer bet here. It may not have saved me a ton of time, but it was at least vaguely familiar, and for me, familiarity goes a long way in making me comfortable with a program even if I still don't really know what the heck I'm doing. 

This isn't really what DaVinci is supposed to be for—as far as I can tell it doesn't even have an "audio only" export option, which did complicate things a bit—and even if it was, I'm sure any true audiophile will still probably cringe a lot at what I managed to create.😅 I did my best to make it "tolerable" for a listen or two, but I know my ears are inherently biased since I know and enjoy both songs quite a bit already. But I did manage to get feedback from two persons that know notably more about audio than I do, and they weren't horrifically appalled, so I don't feel like I'm committing a crime against music by putting it out there, at least. 

Aside from that, the video did also have to wait on me to finish this description [to a certain extent, anyway]. For smaller projects, I can usually write the on-screen notes for the video first and worry about the description later, but most of the time for a big project like this, I need the bulk of this written description done first so I have a baseline of all the things I want to mention and can pare down from there. 

I can do a fair bit of the video editing up until the point I need those notes, but once I hit that wall there's really no way around it. And in this case, I did actually use all that other video editing as a form of procrastinating on the description. 😅

Most likely because I knew there was going to be a lot to cover, I really put off like 70% of this description as long as possible. 🫣 The other 30% I actually did relatively soon after the art was ready. The plan was to go ahead and get most of it out of the way, but clearly I lost my writing mojo partway through and had to come back to it later...and I was still a little lazy with certain aspects. 

But hey, the description isn't the art, it's just meant to describe the art, so whatever works, yeah?

In any case, I think that's everything I wanted to mention about this particular process. It's been quite a ride, and I'm glad it's over. Mostly so I can go back to working on some other projects I already had cooking before this one came up, but also...I am just glad this is one of those ideas that, as I said much earlier, originally got put on an "eventually" shelf in my brain and actually got to come to fruition fairly quickly after the fact. 

Kinda gives me more hope than I previously had for some of those other "eventually" projects, which is nice. 🙂

Similarly: I don't know if I'll find a way to revisit Winx Club x MCR ever again, but I'm thrilled I I found a way to do it at least once! Doubly so that I'm happy with how it turned out! 😊 With that in mind, you never know. It's possible I'll figure out another way to do it again someday. 

In the meantime, I leave you Sparklers to enjoy this one and the time lapse [whether you're brave enough for the mash-up version or opt for the "easy listening" one instead]. 😉 s usual, I'm off to those other projects I mentioned shortly ago...

_______

Artwork © me, MysticSparkleWings Winx Club © Rainbow S.p.A.

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge and associated concepts © My Chemical Romance

[thetaekookcloset]

Hello! So I'm a little nervous about sending this in because I don't generally like using the anon option as I stand behind my opinions, but I also recongize that means I'm opening this up to all your followers, as a jikooker who runs a jikook focused blog myself. So I'm sending this in with respect and just as a "opinions from the other side" type of deal. And I hope that even though everyone who follows you won't agree with me, the respect and courtesy will be returned. Kindness costs nothing!

A few days ago you posted this ask and reposnse about GCF in Toyko. Both the anon sender and yourself mentioned not seeing GCFT as romantic or non plantonic or understanding necessarily why jikookers say what they say about it. You both did so fairly respectfully, which I fully appreciate. I'm not trying to change minds at all. I'm all good on disagreeing about viewpoints here. None of us know anything for sure and everyone bases their own opinions off their own life experiences and biases. We are all only guessing here. Lol just figured I'd try to answer the question over what "we" see in it. So apologies for all the explanations over why I am here, and for the essay in your ask box. I write long ass posts all the time on my own blog and it's just how I work now 😂 You don't have to feel obligated to post or respond to this either if you don't want to.

GCF in Toyko is not the make it or break it "piece of evidence" for jikookers in thinking that Jimin and Jungkook could be in a romantic relationship. It's just one in the many things that build on top of each other that is their bond that jkkrs see as likely being romantic in nature. Its one of the things that had many jkkrs, including myself, looking back on previous interactions and on future ones with perhaps a more questioning eye. It's also something that I've seen non armys and non jkkrs raise eyebrows over. I introduced my friend to BTS before and they watched Jungkook's GCFs with me (in order, all of them) before she even knew all their names (we were introducing her to the members one by one and JK caught her eye first so we watched his videos and music before the others) and she asked while watching "is the blonde in the video his boyfriend?" And I explained that it was actually Jimin, who was in the same band and as far as the fandom and we all know, no they are just best friends. And she said "well that's some friend then!" And we moved on to the next GCF in Osaka. Or how often i see clips of Jimin from GCFT in armys "pov: you are on a date with jimin" tweets. Lol But it does show that's its not always just the jkkr bias that makes us think the video has some romantic inclinations.

I have... a lot of posts on my own blog that talk about their Toyko Trip and GCFT as well too, but I'm not going to link them or anything because they are definitely written with the assumption that my views and guesses over their relationship is correct and they are boyfriends, which is not what I'm wanting to do here necessarily. But for a lot of jkkrs, the importance placed on the trip comes from the importance placed on it by Jimin and JK themselves. They talked about that trip constantly since it happened, even in interviews in 2020, as well as expressed interest in doing it again. It was how they went through that trip wearing matching fits on their personal time, went sightseeing and went to Disney and had a good time. How JK filmed a video about Toyko, but Jimin ended up being basically the only focus. The intentional choice of the song because he had to pay copyrights for it and the way he matched movements of the video to lyrics on the song, including during the lyrics "love is a road that goes both ways" with a cut scene of them driving down the road and you get flashes of both a rainbow lights ferris wheel and a regular one. Which felt fairly intentionally queer coded, in a video that starred Jimin that Jungkook made.

Jimin also had no idea that the video would even be made at all. So it gave the idea that the Jimin we were seeing, was the Jimin that Jungkook sees all the time. Goofy, happy, having fun, treated well, etc. All that, paired with the music, paired with how they talk about it, paired with how it was edited, paired with the trip itself, paired with JK surprising Jimin over it all, paired with JK telling us he used inspiration videos from a video editor YouTuber called "making a video for your boyfriend or girlfriend," gives off romance vibes (to me).

Your post also mentioned JK being camera shy during the trip, but I disagree. Being camera shy and preferring to be behind the camera don't have to be one in the same. JK made it into a few shots of the whole video, included starting it off with a shot of his feet on the airplane too. I think it just shows that for Jungkook, the point of the trip and the point of the video wasn't about him, or even about them, but about Jimin. Which also feels romantic to me.

You guys (you and anon) also mentioned how you can see two friends making the exact same type of video about a trip they took and were excited about. I disagree, but this could just be life experiences bias coming into play for all 3 of us. I think a good example that could show the difference in what I think would be a normal vlog video between a friend trip and a "could be something more" trip would be Jimin's toyko vlog that he shared. I did a post about the differences there too on my blog, but rather than get into ALL of that. I'll just highlight my points about how JMs video showed JK ALOT, so he wasn't camera shy, he just wasn't in his own video. Jimins video highlighted more of their activies done, them being goofy together, paired with fun music and cute transition slides. For me, this doesnt disprove a possible romantic relationship between them either, it just is what you would expect from a video about two best friends who went on a vacation together. JKs video was a totally different vibe all together. In my opinion. So the completely different vibe as well as everything else about the trip all put together made the video seem more than just plantonic.

https://youtu.be/5TbIyRhvIBQ

^ Jimins Toyko Vlog, with English Subtitles included for anyone who wants to see it if they perhaps haven't. And if you weren't in the fandom long, or aren't a Jimin bias, it doesn't get mentioned a lot. Lol plently of jkkrs also don't even know about it for a while! He posted it originally to Twitter in 2 parts, this army just combined them for us for convenience 💜

https://youtu.be/XrTNLkqGrlc

^ GCFT if I'm here linking things, JK always deserves more streams.

Lastly, his following GCFs were mentioned in your post as well and while all the members do feature in them, Jimin always appears to be highlighted in them. In Osaka, JK cuts the song out completely to highlight Jimins laughter 3 times. In Saipan, Jimin has not only the most screen time, but he also he paired Jimin with the same specific lyrics time and time again which were the more romantically inclined lines. In Helsinki, the colors changed from black to white when Jimin came on screen. Jimin is also the only member to appear in every single GCF video from his first to the last one we have so far. Jimin joking about being the model doesn't just come from no where. Lol but no jkkrs should be claiming (at least I'm not) that app GCFs are indicative of a romantic relationship between jikook or JK and any member. And one or more can be considered romantic while others aren't, or however anyone sees them. Not all GCFs are trying to give the exact same message. At least I personally didn't see them that way.

But again, I'm not here to try and argue really. Or change anyone's mind. I fully recongize how my biases can be influencing my opinions and vice versa for yall and every "shipper" as well. I dont mind if people disagree. I just saw the post and saw the confusion over how/why jkkrs see GCFT specifically in the way that they (we) do and figured I'd offer my perspective as a jkkr who is active in a blogger space. And I think I said all (probably more) that I can say over this topic in one ask. Lol so if you read all of this, thanks for taking the time to read an opinion that differs. Hope you all have a good week!

~ Storm

Hey Storm!

This is really interesting! I'm going to present it mostly without comment and treat it as basically a guest post from a differing perspective.

One thing I just want to clarify about my own feelings on GCFT specifically is that even though I don't really get romantic vibes from it myself, I do get why people see it that way. I get why it might be a big "maybe" moment for Jikookers, and I know that it has definitely piqued the curiosity of non-shippers too, and I understand why. I just don't see it as inherently romantic, or like something that can only be interpreted in a romantic way, and that's why there are plenty of people who come away from it without getting that impression too.  That being said though, I definitely see the argument.

I re-watched all of the GCFs after reading this and I definitely noticed some new-to-me things. It's so fascinating how we can watch the same material and take different interpretations and details away from it. If anyone hasn't watched the GCFs, or hasn't seen them recently but read through this whole post, I'd definitely recommend revisiting them.

Also, I'm sure it goes without saying, but please everyone be respectful. I'm glad that we can talk about differing opinions in this space, that's something that's valuable to me.

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective, Storm! You put a lot of work into this, and I really appreciate the clarity and attention to detail.  I hope you're doing well!

[void-wolfie]

Hi, here are some asks that you wanted, hope it's not too many lol

🖤 favorite hobbies outside of your blog

🍅 least favorite food

🍌 what is one talent you wish you had

✏️ when did you start writing fanfic

📚 how do you come up with the fics you write

📌 what is the fic you’re know for

💔 is there a fic you wish you didn’t write

🌝 a show you would recommend to anyone

🌚 a show you’d tell people to stay away from

⭐️ what is one of your biggest accomplishments? Why is it so important to you?

🍀 what is your comfort show/series and why is it your comfort show? How has it helped you?

this definitely is a lot, but not too many at all (honestly I've been bored out of my mind all day so I'm happy for the interaction) 😂

(thank you for the asks <3)

🖤 - favorite hobbies outside writing?

gaming and drawing, I'm not very good at either but who says you have to be good at your hobbies lol

I generally game by myself since most of my friends like first person shooters and those might just be my least favorite lol, and when it comes to drawing I usually just trace stuff and then put my own twist on it

🍅 - least favorite food?

to be honest, so many... I have the diet of a picky five year old and it pretty much consists of like 5 meals and that's it lol

ironically enough, my girlfriend is a chef, and you would not believe the amount of teasing I have to endure for my picky taste buds 😂

but to answer the question, probably tomatoes? or pickles maybe? the smell of pickles alone will make me nauseous 😂

🍌 - talent I wish I had?

singing, hands down.

I was this close 🤏🏻 to being an actor and pursuing that until I realized I hate the sound of my own voice (especially the sound of my singing) and the theater program at my school only did musicals 😂

✏️ - when did I start writing fanfics?

highschool, I was in tenth grade I believe (so roughly 15yrs old) 😂

I would always get bored doing assignments or finish early, and parents would work late, so I turned one of my hyper fixations into a hobby, and here I am 5 (?) years later still enjoying it 😂

📚 - how do I come up with ideas for my fics?

most of the time it's just day dreaming, I get bored in class and my mind will wander, happens a lot when I'm in my math classes (college professors are so boring guys) 😂

a lot of the time my mind will wander before I fall asleep too, making up fake scenarios about things I wish I could experience or cute scenes I saw in a movie or something lol

and then the very rare occasion, sometimes it's actually based on true events, I don't think anything I've posted on here is based on true events, but I'd have to reread to tell you for certain 😂

📌 - which fic am I known for?

honestly I'm not sure, I don't think I'm very well known as a writer so I wouldn't necessarily say I'm "known" for something (other than apparently my angst stories lol)

but anywho, my most popular fics (in order) are Music to My Ears, Puppy Love, and Inhale... so hopefully that answers the question 😂

💔 - is there a fic I wish I didn't write?

honestly not really, I'm proud of most of my fics. even the ones I'm on the fence about or don't exactly like, I wouldn't say I regret writing them

so to answer your question, no 😂

🌝 - a show I'd recommend to anyone?

honestly a bunch, but depends on what you like lol

sci-fi? stranger things

historical drama? reign

supernatural? supernatural, teen wolf, or originals

drama / crime? criminal minds

drama / doctors? the good doctor

comedy / sitcom? the big bang theory, modern family, or how I met your mother

(this is so many, my bad, but honestly these are all good shows and you should check them out if you're bored 😂)

🌚 - a show I'd tell people to stay away from?

I have no serious answer to this so I will leave u with this;

cocomelon 😌

⭐ - biggest accomplishment?

it's not a fact I talk about often, especially because it was so long ago, but I'm actually a first degree black belt

I started taekwondo when I was maybe 9 (?) and it took maybe 4 or 5 years but I worked my way up and earned my black belt, I wanna say it was about a 3 hour long test and it was hard to push myself to do it, but after lots of hard work and determination I got there, and I'm proud of myself for that lol

🍀 - comfort show?

it may sound a bit funny, but teen wolf, yeah it may not have had the best plot or special effects, but I started it one day and couldn't stop. I've watched that show so many times I can quote it like the back of my hand and it's always something familiar I can turn to when I need comfort

[cornflowershade]

for some reason I’ve been thinking a lot about Young Justice lately and how it’s one of those shows that (to me anyway) is so much better in your head than on screen. Like,,, there’s so much potential there. But then they focus way too much on plot (which isn’t their strong suit), make the character’s lives progressively more depressing, do time skips, and introduce too large a cast to handle/delve into or make you care about, and leave everything you might have investment in hanging, abandoned in favor of something new. They were actually good at writing depth or something that got close to it (a depth precursor? lol), but they’re allergic to actually going there. So yeah— potential.

Anyway I stopped watching after s2 because s3 was just... bad, in my opinion? I watched part but couldn’t get into it?? (Also character redesign choices were. Not Good. I have more critique beyond character design, based on stuff I know happened + scenes I’ve watched on YT, but that’s another ramble. Long story short s3 had One Great Scene imo [Dick’s s1 hallucination—don’t get me started, I’ll cry] but could’ve used a lot more time spent dealing with the aftermath of s2. Also could’ve been way more fun. The setup of the series was that it’s a generally-lighthearted show that’s not afraid to get kinda dark, but the ‘lighthearted-ness’ feels like it disappeared along with the OG cast’s childhoods lol.) 

Basically I’ve been reminiscing while simultaneously feeling sad about the majority of their choices. The most current let-down is my recent discovery [recent as in ten minutes ago] that Bluepulse was apparently destroyed the season after they built that friendship [or ship, if you’re me lol] up. Good on Bart for apparently getting a [as-canon-as-they’re-allowed] boyfriend. That’s great in its own way, but also?? Continuity is fun. Watching same relationships develop over time is fun (so many dynamics could’ve used more screen time.) And he and Jamie were it for me. Side tangent: I would have definitely watched a show about Jamie, I really enjoyed him and I recall an episode that took place in his home town which I also would’ve taken more of. Which brings me back to the whole ‘potential’ thing. Young Justice is a collection of things that are good but then abruptly end or get abandoned. TLDR: I don’t need new things introduced constantly. I just wish YJ would care more about the wonderful characters and relationships they’ve already created and delve into them (in ways that, while drama is wonderful, are not depressing for the soul.)

Anyway I’m considering rewatching it lol 😂 (Probably stopping again after two seasons because I can only take so much.)

[mpsideadump]

me and my dad playing Baldur's Gate 3

So our physical copy of Baldur's Gate 3 arrived a few weeks ago now and both my dad and I have been having a blast playing this game! I wanted to just ramble about the game but mostly I want to highlight my dad in this post. I do want to say that I knew some act 1 and act 2 stuff (never even seen act 3) before playing the game myself cuz I didn't think that a physical ps5 version of the game would ever come out but my dad is going in completely blind!

We're playing on our own campaigns on our own accounts. I've just made my way to Act 2 meanwhile my dad's just found the tiefling Grove because he's getting used to the mechanics (never played DnD before but does enjoy the turn based combat system).

I'm playing a half-drow bard (I had been planning my character for a long time since we pre-ordered the physical edition) while Dad's playing an elf monk. Funnily enough we stayed up til like 1 a.m. as I helped him create his character (like explaining race bonuses, Stat distribution, proficiencies etc.). The actual character creation (appearance and stuff like that) took 2 whole hours as he kept on discovering what features the creator allowed. I'm never gonna forget his reaction to being able to have two different eye colors. He went something like "oh hell yeah I'll have that!".

And I legit laughed my ass off at his reaction to the genital customization and how he actually took like 2 minutes (I'm not joking) looking through the options and trying to figure out the differences between them 😂

Anyways, aside from character creation, I'm watching my dad play through the beginning of act 1 to see his reactions to everyone and giving him tips and pointers for combat and exploration (organizing the party, what can and can't be used as an action, etc.). I'm completely hands off on what he does though such as decisions and where to go .

Some highlights of his campaign so far:

Shadowheart being missing on the beach cuz he went to camp first thing after the ship crashed (and me discovering a new way to meet her at the tiefling grove)

Him not liking Astarion upon first meeting but keeping him around cuz, again, he's missing Shadowheart and really needs another party member.

Giving Astarion the ugly leather helmet and NOT EVEN HIDING IT because he's punishing him for insulting his character for "being from different circles" (from the Baldurian dialogue option)

Immediately liking Gale and saying he looks like Jesus Christ

Going to the tomb and losing two hours of progress after meeting Withers because the Gane crashed as he was organizing stuff (he thus learned the lesson of always saving before and after something important happens)

Speaking of, he spends A LOT of time organizing his things like actually putting collected books in book stacks and even placing bottles on the bottle rack

Becoming a fellow Lae'zel enjoyer and (please remember both of us haven't gotten far enough in the game to learn more of the characters just yet) agreeing that Shadowheart is annoying with her racism (though I do understand githyanki are extremists in their own way)

Sending Lae'zel to camp begrudgingly to recruit Shadowheart then immediately sending her to camp as well (thankfully they didn't kill each other while he was away but I have seen the moment where they do actually try to kill each other during a long rest 😉)

almost losing Gale because he used the tadpole on him as he was confessing about his condition and had to pass a DC 10 persuasion check (without proficiency and Shadowheart's guidance) to keep him around

Karlach is the only origin character he's yet to find but he's currently thinking of finding her after going to the goblin camp cuz he wants to focus on the main story. I predict that he's gonna love her upon meeting her!

While I'm pursuing Gale and Lae'zel for a romance (I'll choose which one I commit to throughout Act 2), I'm not too sure on who Dad is gonna pursue or if he'll even pursue anyone at all. If trends are anything to go off of, I think he might end up going for Shadowheart cuz he's romanced Miranda in Mass Effect and Yennefer in Witcher 3. However, if he's got taste, he's gonna go for Karlach is my guess.

All in all, I'm happy that both of us are playing this game because it's been a long time since we've had a game to bond over. We tried playing Final Fantasy 16 together but he couldn't get into the combat and I felt bad wanting to continue by myself when this same thing happened with FF15. He introduced me to video games and I loved watching him play when I was a kid and then eventually going on to play and beat multiple games he wasn't able to complete himself.

I hope both of us are able to get to the end eventually for this adventure :)

Dad's character: Soon-tion

My character: Tala

[underwaterbanshee]

I read your post but got too excited so I had to drop it and come back to it later! I’m so flattered and excited that I’m your first ask!! I’m glad to know you can’t be normal about this because there is no way I can be either 😂

I think you’re totally on to something about the lie being mundane, since it’s true - adults lie to children all the time.

but I also think Brennan has something sneaky up his sleeve.

Brennan is good at playing the long game with these short episodes, especially when it comes to his characters having layers. What I can’t stop thinking about, is why did he choose the Tula to be a ‘oath of redemption’ paladin? It’s so on brand for her character, ‘the bleeding heart’ type of character, the tender mother that’s doing her best, etc.

What does Tula need redemption from? What made it so engraved in her core being, that redemption is that important to her?

And yes!! Aabria mentioned about a lie of omission, so what didn’t Tula say? Or imply? A lie of omission that is fundamentally important to Tula? It’s CONNECTED I just don’t know how. I feel like that conspiracy board meme guy with the red string. 😂

And I totally agree with you that Lila is in that teenager stage where you start to see through the cracks, the one where your world view is starting to shake. But her IMPLICIT trust in her mom is gonna crush me at some point, there’s some kind of heart break that’s gonna happen and I don’t know if I can handle it 😭

I think there’s some kind of parallel, what I want to fully say is at the tip of my tongue , but I don’t know the words to say it. It’s something about growing up as the eldest daughter, it’s a parallel from Tula and Viola, between Lila and Jaysohn. But the words are lost on me rn 😅

And oh MY I forgot about secrets of NIMH! I think it was stated before that’s who Tula was based off, I completely missed that. My memories from NIHM is kinda blurry, but going off the vibes from my memory, yea I do think Last Bast is more like the secret society than a secret cult, but I don’t know if it’s as good as a society as the rats were? I still get a sinister vibe. I think once we meet the First Stoats, it’ll really clarify what kinda place Last Bast is.

(Also also, would love love to see Tula and Bennet- but what I’d love more is to see Ava and Bennet. Not romantically or anything, their dynamic so funny to me, I can’t wait for the next ep.)

(Little martin also wanted love to win, the CHEMISTRY between these rodents)

I really can’t wait to see how it’ll all turn out, but with that said I also never want it to end.

Aside from Burrows end, what’s your fav D20 campaign? I alway go back and watch the seven for noise in the background, but Metropolis is up there for me, and Neverafter!

Full disclosure, I meant to answer this four episodes ago but real life decided to be rude. So all of my answers at the time are no longer relevant and I wish we could've gone back and forth on thoughts and theories because so much cool shit has happened.

But I can answer your last question!

I started watching d20 live during A Court of Fey and Flowers so it has a special place in my heart. I started watching d20 in general because I missed Lou, Aabria, and Brennan after EXU: Calamity. I immediately watched MisMag, followed by The Seven, (having seen exactly 0 episodes of Fantasy High), before eventually making my way through most of what d20 has to offer. There are just a few that I couldn't get into ^^;;

If I had to pick a favorite, it would be NeverAfter. I love faery tales and their retellings so much, that when they were coupled with another love of mine, alternate universes, those twenty weeks were my comfort actual play show and I want a second season yesterday ^^;;

Anyway, I really want Tula and Bennet to smash. There is one more episode left and maybe it isn't too much to hope for >.>

[darkerthanblack-666]

👻 😭 📌 🤔

👻 Have you written holiday-themed fics? If yes, which is your fave? If not, what’s one holiday you’d want to write for, and which character(s) would the fic be for?

Okay, first of all you need an explanation what I think about holidays. The only one I like is Halloween, but of course it isn't very popular in my country :))). Most of our holidays are either national (serious and boring patriotic stuff) or religious (serious and boring and I'm an atheist so fuck it), or it's a fucking Valentine's Day that I despise more than anything in this world, because fuck amatonormativity and capitalism, that's why (Finland is doing it right and it's a friendship day, Ystävänpäivä, which I celebrated this year with my BC mutuals and it made us so happy to wish Hyvää Ystävänpäivää to each other instead of segregating people based on their romantic relationship status, because we all are friends with each other 💖)

So, explanation aside. There was a Christmas event in the Blind Channel fandom, with the damn Christmas theme that I absolutely hate, so I wrote a vampire smut fic, because I'm edgy actually 😂

Next year @samyelbanette organized a vampire Christmas fic writing event, because she feels the same as me about the Christmas theme 😂. That's what I wrote Frozen for.

I don't see the reason to write holiday themed fics in general, because I regularly write something darker, so my Halloween is 365 days/year long basically 🤷‍♀️

😭 Have you ever made yourself cry writing a fic?

Yeah, if I write something emotional I sometimes cry. I often wrote angst in the past to be to vent my feelings. Lately I've been better at regulating my emotions, though, so I don't need to do that. Maybe in the future I will, but right now, nah.

📌 If all your fics/WIPs fell off a ship and were drowning (go with it), and you could only save one, which would it be?

A Shirtless Rioter, I enjoy writing this one and I don't want to lose it 🥰

🤔 What’s one genre you’ve never written that you’d like to try?

Military dictatorship AU (I read one with visual kei musicians a long time ago, it was one of my favorite fics, sadly I lost it), but in the current fandom climate it could get controversial too soon, especially with a war happening right behind the border of my country, so I feel like it wouldn't be a good idea to do it right now. But in a distant future, a completely fictional reality... would be fun to write. It's a very dark theme, though... always includes power abuse and violence. But thinking about torture methods makes me think of what's happening right now to my neighbours, so... I'm really not in the mind space for it. Maybe never will be anymore. But I used to adore the theme and I have a goth military uniform kink 😂

[notebookmusical]

Hi! I know it's been a few days since I replied! I hope we get to see the pink cover or vinyl later today or tomorrow! Hopefully it's bubblegum cotton candy or Barbie pink lol. Oh yes I totally missed the vault unscramble last time but I think it's cuz it got leaked so hopefully there will be one for 1989 sometime soon! I can't believe it's been a year since Midnights was announced..a lot has happened since and also she sang Cornelia Street at a show this weekend!

Ooh I would love a Newsies or Next to Normal revival..even if these shows somehow feel recent to me still lol. I wonder how they could make it different. But ya I definitely liked the Spring Awakening revival! It's always cool when they do something different with the show. I actually still haven't seen the movie or musical of Oklahoma yet but heard mixed reviews of the tour. I just watched the Barbra Streisand movie On a Clear Day you Can See Forever recently but apparently they did a gender swapped version when they revived it and I thought that was interesting. The Outsiders is one of my favorite movies and books so obviously I hope the musical is good. I'm still unsure about your question what I would want adapted, cuz my favorite movies are kinda simple and already iconic..like the Breakfast Club, for example. There is also a Back to the Future musical which I think is okay. Almost Famous felt cash grabby and nothing like the movie I think. It makes more sense to adapt something more mysterious or with a lot of costumes or something and I can't think of anything! What was your answer? I'm really curious what you would pick.

Omg..you already finished the book! How was it? If you read it so fast, does that mean it was good or that you were trying to get through it? Based on your rating, I can't tell. Also..I really appreciate how you answered the question about rating but I'll try not to worry about it when I'm reading and just enjoy the books.I will make time for more reading today and I'll see how much I can get through. It did seem like an easy and quick read. Aww okay..but it seemed like I'll Give You The Sun will be a good read, but I'll focus on Mistakes were Made for now. I hate when I can't remember stuff that happens in books I read a long time ago..or if the book just doesn't leave an impression..cuz that's when I forget about it. But thats different than you reading it a long time ago..so hopefully you would still like it now if you reread it. Oh..the Night Circus has been on my shelf for almost a year and now maybe I'll finally read it! I've heard such good things about it too! So maybe I will..when I need a change of genre since it seemed spooky..maybe in October? I'm really trying to do more reading and actually finishing at least one or two books a month for the rest of the year, instead of being in the middle of so many. I also got the Hunger Games spinoff to read before the movie comes out so hopefully that motivates me. How often do you read a few books at a time or do you usually just try to finish ones once you've already started? You seem to read really fast..or does it just depend on the book? I know we might've talked about this before, but do you read everyday for a certain time? I'm trying to stick to that and make it part of my routine so hopefully I will finish this book quickly! I will send you another ask later with some of my thoughts once I read more.

hello hello!! i'm so so excited for the pink vinyl but also if she wants to wait a bit longer to drop it (until after payday) i would very much appreciate it 😂 and yeah, someone unfortunately leaked the speak now track list so there was no vault unscramble! i cannot believe it's already been a year; time flies! i saw cornelia street and i am so so happy for everyone there!!! i think my favorite surprise song from this weekend was either tell me why, or afterglow, but the cornelia street/you're on your own kid pairing was so good. my friends and i were joking around a while ago, and i was like "i feel like you could give me any two taylor songs and i could find some sort of lyric parallel between them" and so now it's a bit of a game in our friend group to do that with surprise songs! i just think it's really interesting to see how taylor's use of words / phrases / themes / motifs / etc. have changed (or stayed consistent) over the years.

it's been nine years since newsies closed, which feels very very unreal to me! i didn't follow the oklahoma tour, and have actually never seen the movie/any non-revival production of it, but i saw the revival (went in completely blind) and loved it. i'd recommend giving this a read if you have some time! ooh a breakfast club musical could be interesting, i'm surprised they haven't done one yet. i would love a the night circus adaptation, but i think that one would make more sense if it was more of an immersive (think like, sleep no more, great comet-y, etc) experience — and there's a lot to pack in two hours. there were some demos for a possible night circus musical from back in the day though, by webborn & finn, who did clockmaker's daughter (i really like the music for clockmaker too). i'm not sure what else i'd want adapted into a musical — maybe funny face? it's a musical movie, so i feel like that wouldn't be toooooo difficult.

i usually read books pretty quickly! reading a book in one sitting is my preferred way to read a ya contemporary! unless i'm annotating, it's a very long book or actively juggling multiple books at once, i try to read books in one sitting. i just find that more enjoyable for me personally — which is also why i haven't been reading as much this year, i think. i do need to get better about reading books in chunks again. there's also the CAWPILE method for rating books, that i've been meaning to look into more and apply to my own rating systems, but always forget until someone asks me about ratings! i will leave my thoughts on the book until you're done, so we can have a proper discussion and i don't influence you!! and yesssss — the night circus is a perfect october read (and i think the starless sea is a perfect january read). i might join you and do a reread of the night circus (i need to finish my starless sea reread/annotations first though, and i keep pushing that off so we'll see if that happens). i have not read TBOSAS yet, and i'm unsure if i want to do so first, or watch the movie first (i've also never seen the hunger movies after the first one, but my friends want me to watch it so ... eventually!)

and i don't always! i used to be more diligent about reading before bed, even if it's for 30 minutes — just to wind down! at the beginning of the year, i was very good about annotating for 30 minutes a day too, but that doesn't always happen. really just depends on my plans and what i'm up to! i should get back in the swing of listening to audiobooks, at least on my walks — i walk my dog four times a day but i haven't really been audiobooking lately!

did you see the eras tour movie announcement? i just got tickets for friday and sunday!!! hope you're doing well! 🤍

[kaistrex]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you’ve written, then pass on to at least five other writers (◠‿◠✿)

I think this is fun, and will add to the meme “and say why you like them especially” because I always love to hear writers talk about their work.

I stumbled across this and remembered that I did it once before a few years ago (found here), and I thought it would be fun to do again to see how my answers have changed.

I’ve replaced 3 of my 5 answers, and 3 of them are ones I’ve written this year. All Sterek, because what else? 😉

1. Where the Real Beasts Are | 109k | Explicit

Crown Prince Stiles is gifted a direwolf on his eighteenth birthday by King Gerard I of Venatia. The only instruction? Never remove the collar.

Stiles never has been one to do as he’s told.

This fic is really special to me. The base plot idea feels like the best one I’ve had for any of my fics ever and that I’ll never come up with anything so good again 😂 I love Royalty AUs, and there’s something about this one that feels so cosy to me, probably partly because my mind spent so much time existing in it with how long it took me to get it written.

I started to drift away from the Sterek fandom while I was writing it, and I honestly thought it would be my Sterek swan song, but I’ve since written more for this fandom this year than I’ve written during any other, so I guess that thought was a little premature haha

2. Lemon & Ginger | 2.5k | Teen

A new tea shop has opened in Beacon Hills, and Laura drags Derek along so he can try the incredible, memory-evoking drinks for himself. He’s soon going back for more, but is it because of the tea, or the owner?

This one felt so great to write because I had the kernel of the idea and some scenes that I noted down, then a few days went by before I got bit by the writing bug and managed to knock the rest out in the space of one day. It’s so rare that I have that happen. I wish I could get more short one shots like this done more often, but the ideas come to me so few and far between 🙃

I actually kind of want to revisit this and do an AU of it that explores Stiles’ power a little more, and maybe gives it a proper plot for more of a longfic, but I have zero plot ideas for what I’d actually do with it, so for now that’s on the backburner.

3. A Land of Myth | 8.8k | Teen

While tracking a manticore across the border of their Kingdom, Stiles and other Knights of his order run into a group of Knights from Kanima also hunting the beast. Among their number is Derek Hale, a werewolf Stiles spent a memorable one night stand with a year ago. What should have been a peaceful hunt turns into a not-so-friendly rivalry, the reliving of a bitter memory, and Derek refusing to even acknowledge him. It will be a miracle if they can all cooperate long enough to actually do some monster slaying.

This is another fic that feels really cosy to me for some reason. I’m still really pleased with how all the flashbacks work in this and the way the end links back up to the beginning. I’m always surprised by how short the word count is too, when it feels like it should work out so much longer!

4. A Bud Beginning to Flower | 5.3k | Teen

Whilst attending the wedding of his best friend, Prince Stiles comes face to face with Prince Derek, a member of the Hale delegation from the north. His father considers Prince Derek a worthy match, but tales of the man's reputation as a bore - not to mention his suspected involvement in an assassination attempt on his own family - feeds Stiles' distrust before they've ever even met.

This one is still clinging on from the last time I did this! Whenever I look over this fic now, I can see that it needs a bit of a rework, especially when it comes to the paragraph breaks (and that intro ugh), and there’s one line in particular that needs changing that I’ve been aware of for years and have still done nothing about, but I am still fond of it 😊 I’m sure it won’t be long until I’ve got yet another Royalty AU in the works...

5. The Hand-me-down | 0.7k | Teen

Derek gives each member of the pack a leather jacket on their eighteenth birthday. Stiles can’t wait to see what he might get.

This fifth spot was a toss up between a few different fics but I just went with this.

I really like how simple the idea behind this one is, and how it’s short and sweet and straight to the point. This is one I’ll sometimes give a look over for a quick little burst of fluffiness. And I was really surprised that so many people liked the final author’s note!

(If tumblr will let me,) tagging: @mtlyfe @fanfics-fix @hyperlittlenori @fairydustedtheory @raisesomehale

[lostinfantasyworlds]

End of the year asks! 15, 19, 23!

Ahhhh thank you so much @ruddcatha!! 🥰❤️(also sorry for the late reply!)

15. something you learned this year

Considering I only started writing fic about a year ago, I have learned SO MUCH about creative writing in general this year. Just all kinds of little tips and basic writing advice I’ve seen here and there on tumblr, such as ‘show don’t tell’ and ‘use adverbs sparingly/with purpose,’ have helped me improve so much. I’ve been soaking up all of this new info I had never known about before and have steadily been trying to apply it to my writing as I go on. It’s crazy because even looking back at the earliest chapters of UTNL, which I started writing only 9-10 months ago, I can see how much I’ve grown as a writer since then.

One term in particular that I had never heard of before but recently learned about is “purple prose” and I was like 👀….oh shit I am totally guilty of that sometimes...sorry everyone😂. So I try to be aware of all of these things now when editing, while still maintaining the style I’ve established (I just like to be a lil poetic/fancy sometimes when I write and I’m sticking to it! 😆)

19. any new fics to start next year

Ahh YES!! So right before Under the Northern Lights popped into my head out of nowhere and completely took over my life, I had actually begun planning another (much shorter) multi-chapter fic titled Sometime Around Midnight that is based on a song of the same name by The Airborne Toxic Event. I plan to finish UTNL before the end of the year, and then take a lil writing break to finally catch up on all the reading I’ve wanted to do, but once I get back to it, Sometime Around Midnight might be the first one I finish!

I also wrote a very rough draft of an AU oneshot over the summer that is a childhood friends-to-lovers story based on the summers I used to spend in Maine while growing up! I’m really excited about that one, so that will be coming next year too!

And then I have another long multi-chapter fic planned that is post-apocalypse, enemies-to-lovers, and very loosely based on the anime Darling in the Franxx. Except this time, I want to write the entire story before starting to publish it (I kind of regret not doing that for UTNL), so who knows if it will actually be published next year or not 🤷🏻‍♀️

There are a couple others floating around in my WIPs as well, but those are the three I definitely want to work on!

23. fics you wanted to write but didn’t

I only participated in a couple events this year because I know my limits/how long it takes me to write, so I knew I couldn’t stretch myself too thin. But I also get major FOMO 😂. So I always kind of wished that I had participated in certain events, even though I didn’t necessarily have any specific ideas for them. Also I really wish I had the capacity to write birthday fics for more people, but I’ve had a really hard time managing my time and life lately so I sadly don’t think it’s going to happen unless I eventually speed up my process significantly.

So I don’t really have any specific fics I didn’t write, just more of a general, ‘I wish I wasn’t so slow at writing so that I could get more stories done’ type of thing. 

Thank you again for the ask!! 🥰

For the Fanfic End of the Year Asks

[almondscroissant]

I was literally about to send an ask about the whole Tswift situation when you posted another ask relating to it! lol. I don't want to cause any issues but I'm putting Harry and Taylor into the same vein. All these fans sending death threats on Taylors behalf? Like when Harry's fans did it not too long ago. As an artist wouldn't you feel some responsibility to stop that? Or at least tell them to calm down? This isn't fans being passionate, to me, it's really unhealthy.

Fksjdksjd okay first of all, hello!! Secondly I'm gonna try and answer this with some restraint because I WILL go all in but I have mutuals who like both Taylor and Harry and I don't want to offend, and also mutuals who like avoiding negativity, so here's your warning to keep scrolling skdjskd.

But yeah!!!! I was so grossed out seeing articles and posts about stans spamming Jake G's (and his girlfriend's!!!!) insta with weirdo comments, and people sending death threats to John Mayer?? Hello???? And listen, I don't give a damn about either of those men lmao but the actual gall??? When 3/4 of them probably wouldn't even do that to someone who broke their best friend's heart?? Let alone for a total stranger who dated another stranger 10 years ago lmao please. And YEP I totally agree. This has been a huge gripe for me concerning Taylor for years. And I'm really not trying to be a hater lol, I used to like her a whole lot!!! But like you cannot give her the benefit of the doubt here. She knows the power she has and she knows behavior like this is bound to happen because it's become a pattern. (And not to sound cynical, but imo she counts on it.) I don't always think celebs are responsible for their fan bases but when those fans act atrociously, and the celeb has this much influence, I think it is on them. Come online and tell people to cut this shit out! It's embarrassing! I would not want people to take their affection for me and my music and use it in the ugliest, most harmful ways.

I definitely had the same criticism of Harry, especially when LP1 came out and Harries were being vile to Liam. He easily could've tweeted some cryptic two word warning and maybe at least some of them would've thought twice. And I don't believe he didn't know it was happening when there's proof Jeff was aware of it. Like, cool, spout that rhetoric about kindness and wear the t-shirts but don't put yourself out there to defend your former bandmate. Sick of it!!!!!!!!!

As you can see I have many feelings lmao. And I'll stop there so the top of my head doesn't blow off sjdjsjd but yeah. I totally understand having your faves and having that certain attachment to them because they mean something bigger to you. But treating them as anything more than another human being, and losing some humanity because of it, is where I stop understanding.

Thank you for letting me complain here and sorry if it was too much!!!! 😂 xx

[runawayface]

11 & 20 for the soft asks ! :-)

11. Describe the memory of the last time you felt true happiness.

Ooof, this one’s a tough question. 😂 I mean, I want to be overdramatic and say something along the lines of “it was before covid” but since that was over a year ago, there’s gotta be a new benchmark for what defines happiness.  If we’re basing “true happiness” on pre-covid life, it’ll be quite some time before anyone will ever be “truly happy” and that prospect is far too bleak for me to consider.  Sorry, didn’t mean to get all philosophical there. XD Anyway, I would have to say it was last week.  My daughter has been having a TOUGH time adjusting to life after covid.  She lost a lot of her spark, her joy, her happiness.  It’s tough to see a six year old little girl have such a bleak outlook on life.  She’s far too young for such cynicism and hopelessness.  Anyway, it’s been a tough year for her and one she sees little joy in.  But I don’t know what happened, what shifted, what changed; maybe she came to the same realization I did that pre-covid life is a long way away and the new normal is here to stay.  All of a sudden just last week she’s talking about how happy she is.  Her actual words were “Life is so full of joy!  Life is wonderful!”  Total and complete happiness from me right there.  Her spark is back, her joy is back, and that brings ME true happiness.

20. What’s the sweetest thing someone has done for you?

I’ve bragged about this before, but it’s time for me to brag about it again... so for Christmas last year my husband ordered me a hardcover printing of the 300,000+ word fan fiction that I wrote, Runaway.  It was a BEAST.  Seriously, this book was bigger than any school textbook I’ve ever owned.  It made me SO emotional to see a year’s worth of hard work put into perspective like that, to actually hold a physical copy of my story and flip through the pages, it was incredible.  Not only that, as nice as the gift itself was, it was the sentiment behind it.  It was more than the gift of my story, it was the gift of acceptance, support, and understanding.  To know that my husband fully supported my fan fiction hobby to the point that he had my work printed for me, that he never once thought it was weird or stupid or lame.  It felt SO validating and I’d never felt more supported or understood in my whole life.  It will always and forever be the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me. 😭Here’s the link to the original post with pictures because this thing is beautiful.

(for the Soft Asks)

[bmarvels]

Rules: 15 questions, 15 mutuals

I was tagged by @theauthorish so I’ll give this a shot! Although I’m sorry I’m advance for anyone I tag cuz I don’t really know 15 ppl to tag....

1. Are you named after anyone?

I’m not named after anyone but my parents did get my name from a hotel they would pass by when they were moving across states. They knew they wanted an English name for me and kept passing this hotel called Brittany Inn. They liked the name, it’s English origin and spelling, and at the time wasn’t a popular name (but also the same time everyone thought that so even growing up in a small town I had classes with like four other “Brittanys” except all spelt differently...sigh.

2. When was the last time you cried?

Well it depends. Sad crying I don’t really do often or even full out cry but if I get really aggravated/angry my eyes start tearing up in my frustrations which that happened recently unfortunately like maybe 5 days ago?

3. Do you have kids?

Nope. I have two wonderful nephews and one wonderful niece though!

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot?

That is my second language haha although more recently (over the past couple years maybe) it’s become more sass than sarcasm

5. 1st thing you notice in people?

It depends on the scenario but usually it’s how people present themselves whether it’s how they talk, express themselves, or treating others/stuff around them. I’m a people watcher

6. Eye color?

I think it’s technically a green hazel? Sometimes it changes on what I’m wearing or how dilated my pupils are.

7. Scary movie or a happy ending?

I like both. I enjoy good scary movies that actually have a story, plot line, suspense and not just gore and/or jump scares. I really don’t scare easily so they don’t bother me but I do become somewhat critical of them as I watch lol. As for happy endings, it’s hard to describe but I’m kinda picky on happy endings, too. I don’t want movies to just simply have a happy ending if it doesn’t go with the storyline or if it’s not well concluded. I guess long story short I don’t have a preference between these two options as long as it’s a good story lol

8. Any special talents?

Personally, I would say no but some people like to argue with me about it. I see myself as a jack of all trades sort where I’m capable of attempting different things and am mediocre at best but learn quickly to be mediocre but not necessarily good at anything no matter how much time I put into it. If I absolutely had to pick something then maybe writing cuz I enjoy making stories whether it’s for a novel I’m working on or for games by making characters for people to portray and follow the story (whether murder mystery based type games or something else completely)

9. Where were you born?

USA. But the town’s name is Stillwater and I think there’s only have one hospital?

10. Hobbies?

Writing like I mentioned before, reading, and watching movies or anime. Oh and cosplaying!

11. Pets?

One big puppy dog and one little old cat. They are both so precious and complete opposites. I may have posted pictures of them before but I forget where I post their pictures 😂

12. Sports?

Eeeehhh... I played sports when I was in school. Mostly just softball but I dabbled in cheerleading, basketball, gymnastics/tumbling... I guess I do still continue taekwondo though so I guess that counts 😅

13. Height?

I really don’t know to be honest. I’ve left that the same on my drivers license but I know it’s wrong based on what other people claim their height to be so I’m at least 5’3”? 😂 but I do know I’m still short compared to everyone around me so 👌

14. Favorite subject in school?

Favorite subject I guess would be considering more of the core or class setting which in that case probably English otherwise I might have picked band cuz that was a lot of fun.

15. Dream job?

My dream job is a variation between writing and working with animals. For example, I either want to work at the zoo and write on the side being a published author or I want to be an author/editor making enough from my own published works and have a part time job/volunteer working with animals at the zoo/pet adoptions, etc. idk if any of that makes sense lol basically I love animals and love writing. I hope to publish my own books someday, I enjoyed my volunteer positions I had at the zoo before finishing school, and I have a degree in zoology. But I also wouldn’t be opposed to working in a library or owning a tea shop/bookstore as a place where I can work on my writings 😁

Ok.... as for tagging 15 mutuals... let’s see what I can do 😣 @natykins @small-mage @mushi0131 @petri808 @dragonshost @satyrykal @hungrypeanut @michypeachy @miss-zei @fawnhanae @yona-dearest

That’s all I’m gonna do cuz only a few of these are mutuals but the others I wish were more mutuals... 😅

Well I hope to see your answers anyways! I find these quite fun so I’m glad I got tagged!

[restlessmaknae]

yes!! it’s also the reason why i do enjoy a lot of kbands since the instruments are just so nostalgic in a way

some of them aren’t actually wrong. i’ve just been here for so long that i consider everything normal but there’s definitely more things that are unique to this country!!

it’s not actually that drastic if you stay in the main cities, it’s only if you’d like to go to the mountains. when i went to tasmania in summer, it was 9? smth degrees with a strong breeze + light rain around the mountains

that would be very fun!! unfortunately if that does happen it’ll have to wait for a while thanks to studies and work but it definitely sounds cool!!!

covid has definitely changed a lot… i did get it a few months and it is not a pleasant experience. i can’t imagine how people with more compromised immune systems would deal with it

i agree!! it was a very significant part of the storyline which i think really enhanced its effect

he’s knocked over so many things i think there’s even compilations on youtube LOL

YES!! I’M VERY GLAD TO HEAR THAT!!! THE SAME GOES TO YOU!!!!

you are TOO OML THIS JUST PROVES IT YOU’RE ACTUALLY SO NICE?????

Oh really? What kbands do you listen to? I really love DAY6, but I do check out The Rose's music from time to time, too. 😊

Yeah, I think a lot of stereotypes are like that: they are true, but once you spend enough time somewhere, they become quite normal to you, nothing extraordinary.

Oh wow, that sounds interesting! The shore in Tasmania looks really pretty though. At least, based on the pictures I've just found about it. 😊

I know, same here! I graduated from uni just this year, and I'm currently working, so it's a bit different organising such trips when you don't have the whole summer to just rest like when you were younger. 😂 What are you studying, by the way? If you don't mind me asking, of course. Zero pressure.

Oh really? I'm glad you could recover well, and your immune system was okay enough to deal with it! A lot of my family members got it too earlier this year, and most of them are relatives who live further away, so I didn't see them when they were sick. Yet, one of my sisters also got it a few weeks ago, and she coughed so violently, it was honestly scary to listen to it.

Hahaha yes most of the Taeyang funny moments videos are about him knocking over tables or struggling to eat food without making a mess or something like that. Poor boy. 😂

AWWW THANK YOU! YOU'RE SO NICE!! *sending you virtual hugs* This week was honestly such an emotional rollercoaster for me, so getting around to answer your messages did make my day. Thank you for sending them in! ❤️❤️❤️