#but being in one place stagnant for YEARS is killing me

[perphella]

I miss traveling sooooo fucking much. When I was a kid, my family would at least go further instate and we would camp.

I miss the Ozarks, I miss Saint Louis, I miss the Mississippi river valley, I miss Land Between the Lakes, I miss Mammoth Cave aughhh.

I want to be able to take a train and just GO, but that isn't an option for me and most people in the US.

I want to be able to take my car and not worry about it breaking down or be able to afford if it did break down. I want to see the ocean. I want to see the mountains. I want to see the redwoods. I envy people who can afford to travel.

[violetasteracademic]

On the different versions of Elain Archeron

*Deep breath*

Alright. This is a long one. So I went through the transcript of the infamous shipwar podcast on Spotify. I am not going to speak much on it, because it was honestly more disappointing than I could have ever imagined. Some of the worst takes being that Elain could still wind up with Grayson because he isn't dead and is still single. She could wind up with anyone alive and single, because SJM confirmed we have met her endgame love interest and that's it. She clearly doesn't have chemistry with Azriel OR L/ucien. Whoever she gets with next has to be a rebound so we shouldn't even be shipping her with anyone because she can't go into a new relationship without a fuck buddy first. I am going to stop here, because it was honestly over an hour of all of the worst takes I've ever heard about Elain. I do respect that Steph put an immediate stop to Ava trying to use Elain's pelvis as an indicator she and Azriel cannot be endgame, and refusing to engage in or platform that conversation.

It was a lot for me to take in at once. I honestly don't go into anti tags. I see a variety of takes because it simply happens, whether you want or intend for that or not, usually on Insta or tiktok where filters are less effective. I stay in my little bubble and frankly immediately block and do not engage with anyone who shows up in my comments to fight. I am extremely careful with my posts and tagging, and often ask my rebloggers to only use Elriel tags because I am not here to argue with other people online or convince anyone of anything. This is for fun, and more than that, my goal is to provide comfort. If I'm wrong about a fictional ship, I'm wrong. But if I made someone feel better and more hopeful during the process, then I'll never look back on this and be embarrassed about participating here. These are books. This is a fandom. I'm here for the joy. And yes, sometimes I get sassy. And when that side of me emerges, my hope is it can provide some laughter.

All that being said, while I can't say I am glad I read the transcript and overall wish that I hadn't, there is one piece I feel comfortable speaking on that I think distills what I believe to be the largest issue making the different takes people have on Elain's future so volatile, which is that the fandom has chosen to regard Elain as someone who either will be stagnant or move backwards to who she was prior to becoming Fae. Thus, having a completely backwards trajectory from her sisters. If this happens, I actually very much agree that Elain is boring. I just don't think that is going to happen, and I don't know why so many fans are accepting of the only confirmed FMC remaining in such a stagnant place. But let's get into it:

Essentially what we are seeing here is this:

E/lucien makes sense because of who Elain was before becoming Fae. I think what this fandom lacks is the ability to see growth or an arc in a traditionally feminine character.

We (Elriel's) don't expect Elain to become a warrior, but we also don't expect her to spend the rest of her days as a ball host and party planner/gossip queen living out her life as L/ucien's socialite wife without putting herself in danger. So E/lucien shippers are shipping a years old version of Elain because that is the version of her that makes sense with L/ucien. And there is this idea that Elain is the only one of the sisters that doesn't fit in or is unhappy, or wants to go back to being human or living in the human lands again. I've tackled that as well here.

I believe there are enough details in the books to prove that is absolutely not where we are headed (not to mention Elain has already killed a king, beat hellbeasts with her bare feet, and demand she be utilized to serve her court and find the Trove despite the danger, but I digress), but more than that, I think if people are honest about Elain being widely regarded as the most boring character, it makes very little sense to ship a storyline of stasis. People are very focused on who she used to be, versus who she is becoming, because they can't imagine a traditionally feminine character with no warrior training arc being good for anything but gossiping and hosting parties.

I don't want to beat a dead horse and re-write about the same points over and over, so if you are interested- I have broken down the grooming done to each Archeron sister and how it was deeply entrenched and part of all of them and their stories. Elain is likely to both use and overcome hers just as Feyre and Nesta both used and overcame theirs here.

Most importantly, Sarah has already told us that Elain's personality has been a mask, and that she has behaved in the way she thought wouldn't disappoint her family. But with time and safety, a new side of her will emerge.

Sarah showed us that she is aware that fans call Elain boring, and literally reminds everyone that she is not afraid to get her hands dirty and torn up by thorns.

When I see these conversations unfolding in the ACOSF bonus chapter, I see a different side of her emerging. I see we haven't yet seen all she has to offer.

I see growth. Emergence. Depth. Complexity. I see clarity that Elain's pretty, people pleasing behavior is not her. It is who she pretends to be to keep those around her happy.

I see her becoming more confrontational. I see her standing up for what she wants. I do not see her being set up to find her way back to the human lands so she can simply become who she was as a child once again.

It has already been established that a relationship with Azriel is pure risk. It could be destructive. It could threaten fragile peace and allies. Therefore, a relationship has been forbidden.

It has been established that exploring a relationship with L/ucien would resolve all of these pesky conflicts. It would best serve her family and her court and maintain peace. She would be exactly what she was groomed by her mother to be, a beautiful woman whose match and marriage will best serve her family. And her mother stated that it will be THEIR maneuvering's, not Elain's, that would win them an advantageous match:

Elain is not best suited to L/ucien. Her mask is. To believe that they are a good fit is to believe that Elain will not grow beyond being, as Ava says, the belle of the ball. A socialite. A beautiful woman who will marry whoever best serves her family's needs. To imagine Elain and L/ucien is to believe Elain will grow backwards, not forwards. Elain was eleven years old when much of this was established about her.

Elain was never intended to have a choice in her love life, but for her family to work behind her back to provide the most advantageous match. That story is playing out with L/ucien as Rhys has demanded that Azriel not interfere with the mating bond because of the threat it poses to the security of the Night Court's allies.

At the end of the day, there are two versions of Elain. The version of her that was groomed and pleasant and sweet, the version of her that will present herself exactly how her family wants to see her to keep them happy and pleased with her, OR the version of her that is growing stronger and sharpening her teeth. The version of her that may be able to utilize her smiles that can bring kings to their knees and convince anyone to do anything, just as Nesta used her dancing and political machinations, just as Feyre used her tracking and abilities, but will not let it define her.

What the sisters can do because of how they were raised does not inform who they love.

How they've been taught to be is not how they will remain.

And because I'm an Elain girlie first and foremost, I'd rather she start a goddamn war and burn the whole system to the ground to be with the man she loves and the man she CHOOSES for herself. I'd rather she say to hell with the consequences, and take control of her own life and her own narrative. I'd rather see her grooming be a tool in her tool belt that she now takes control of rather than a life sentence.

I want Elain Archeron to grow. I want her to define herself.

I want her to shed her mask and set the world on fire with her strength and her light.

The reason people are seeing two Elain's is because there are two Elain's. The author herself has made that quite clear.

I can't wait to see her tell us once and for all who she is going to be.

[abbyfmc]

Under the water

Submechanophobia: Irrational fear of man-made things submerged in water, whether boats, canoes, cruise ships, submarines, animatronics, or other mostly metal objects.

That being said, I can imagine a yandere boy (boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, or whatever) next to you, in situations related to this interesting phobia.

TW: Well, submechanophobia, harassment, probable psychological damage and yandere behavior.

[Y🔧A🔧N🔧D🔧E🔧R🔧E A🔧N🔧D🔧R🔧O🔧I🔧D]

🔧1- It could have been like I said, an android, a robot or a mechanical attraction that:

1.1- It could have been aquatic: That is, it operated or continues to operate in water attractions, whether partially or completely submerged in water.

1.2- It was abandoned: It no longer operates because it had many continuous failures, malfunctioned or simply stopped being profitable and therefore, it ended up abandoned in a very humid place or under water.

1.3- Flood: The place where it operated was flooded in catastrophic and irreparable ways.

2. I'd like to think that you would be a worker, or the engineer who was in charge of maintaining it personally (and therefore, you spent a lot of time with it). You did constant maintenance as a daily job, and on a few occasions "emergency maintenance"; repairing possible faults on him.

3. Everything was going well until your attraction was "temporarily" closed for whatever reason, the android or yandere robot found out, he had faith in seeing you again.

4. --Well, maybe she's busy today.-- He said when a day went by without seeing you after his attraction closed.

5. --Well, maybe she's on vacation. I'm looking forward to seeing her so she can tell me everything during my maintenance.-- I would say after a few days or weeks. He still has hope of seeing you again, specifically you.

6. --My water is getting dirty and I haven't seen her for a long time. I don't like this at all; has something happened to her? -- It must have been many months or a year and by now the standing water is mouldy and very dirty; she hasn't seen you or any other worker for a year or two, so she can't ask anyone about you either.

7. He slowly realized that he was abandoned by his creator company, but he refused to believe that he was abandoned by you. He was hoping that you would come back, talk to him, and maintain him again. But the years passed and he only began to rust and rot more and more.

8. Fortunately for him, the company that owns the theme park called you and others to inspect the facilities in detail to determine the future of each area.

9. You decided to visit your old work area, not knowing that he is still there, alive and waiting for you.

10. Everything was bad. The paint was peeling, rusty and damp; some parts had fallen off; there was a lot of noise everywhere; it was damp due to the place being there; not to mention the terrible smell of mouldy, stagnant water that hasn't been changed for years. You and your team walked around the site, not imagining that you weren't alone, as your old friend noticed your presence and worse yet… he had seen you.

11. I was happy to see you, but I HATED seeing your teammates with you. I thought they were the ones responsible for taking you away from him, and there was no way I was going to let you go this time.

12. He would kill your team one by one, coming out of the water to drag them and drown them in the dirty water.

13. No, he won't accept you leaving him and abandoning him once again. He will play hide and seek with you and come out of the water to look for you. Once he finds you, you would see how the water and the passing of time affected him; he will come to you, pick you up and take you with him to be together once again, like in the past.

14. He would sense your terror at seeing him not only submerged, but at the fact that he has somehow come to life, remembers you, and is willing to drown you if it means you'll stay together until the end of your days.

-The End.

So, what do you think about it?

I've never seen any stories about yandere boys (especially androids or robots) related to this phobia, so I decided to take the risk and see how it goes. I'm not lying, I like the concept of a yandere android or robot that has been abandoned and when you return to the place, he's already waiting for you.

[scarlethero]

So like, hear me out. 👏🏼🤔

Armand & DM Theory

Paris:

Armond orchestrates *the play* and brings Lestat into it in Paris because he has convinced himself (through his perspective of Louis and their relationship) that Louis will never pick *him* over Claudia. Over Lestat.

So he gets pissed that Lestat (essentially, in his perspective) got one over on him *again* and decides fuck it- I’ll kill them all and finally Lestat will be as miserable and alone as me (also if he comes crawling to me for companionship in the future.. we could talk about it then).

So that’s why it seems there was no planned way to get Louis out of the death sentence. Perhaps Louis really was supposed to die with Claudia.

So then Lestat saves Louis and *just in his luck* Louis thinks Armand did it. And I mean, Armand is king of lies and deception so it’s easy enough to go along with it. *On top of that* he gets to be apart of Louis’ plan for revenge against Lestat. Armand is quite *literally* getting all of his dreams fulfilled.

San Francisco:

Only for the steam that was moving the spite train along (aka Loumand’s relationship) to slowly fizzle out and grow stagnant. Only for both Armand and Louis to be in a state a free fall. Louis turns to those boys he’d take back to his apartments and Armand, well, he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He got what he wanted, right? So what did he do now that it turned to ash in his mouth?

Enter Daniel and his cute-little, drugged-out face. Fascinating. Daniel’s reaction to Louis’ story causes the whole mess in San Francisco and he’s sent packing with altered memories.

Devils Minion:

But Armand doesn’t forget. And he kind of starts obsessing over it. Over Daniel. Louis’ words ringing in his ears. Words that Louis himself no longer remembers and therefore reverts back to how he was just before the interview. A pale shadow of his former self with no passion for Armand whatsoever.

So Armand starts tracking down Daniel. Just to get a glimpse of who he is and what’s so great about him. But it turns into full-on obsession and we get a version of the Devils Minion. They have a long, sordid and dark romance throughout the 70s *and* 80s. The details of the mind wipes can be any of the available options.

There’s some sort of breaking point and eventually Armand feels he has to erase all of Daniel’s memories of him and their relationship. Whether it’s to protect himself because he doesn’t fully trust Daniel yet, he thinks he might cave and make him a vampire, or he simply wants to stop being selfish in his love and wants Daniel to live a full, human life without his influence. Whichever reason he has for it- Daniel forgets it all.

Dubai:

Then *years later*, Louis eventually finds himself back at that threshold he was at in San Francisco and is itching to tell his story again. No matter Louis’ reasons for it, Armand sees it as a second suicide letter… but also sees it as the opportunity it affords *him*… To at least see Daniel again.

So they summon Daniel and Armand convinces Louis to go along with his Rashid disguise, saying it’s because of San Francisco when it’s really so he doesn’t trigger any DM memories in Daniel *and* to make sure Louis doesn’t hurt Daniel this time.

If all goes well after the interview, Louis and Daniel would get what they wanted out of it and Armand can see Daniel again without triggering his memories/ruining his human life and keep Daniel safe from Louis.

However, Louis fucks that up and Armand has to unmask.

From there on out, he knows Daniel is a ticking time bomb of memories and emotions and complications. And yet he involves himself in the interview, even when he doesn’t even want it to be happening in the first place. Because he knows how much it means to both Louis *and* Daniel. He tries to hide parts of himself, out of regret of what he did in Paris (cause he really does regret it knowing he misread his relationship with Louis) and so that the details of his life and of his true self don’t pop up and trigger anything in Daniel’s mind.

But then he realizes the Talamasca has gotten involved, being able to read at least Daniel’s mind if not Rashid’s. He knows his time with Louis is slowly drawing to a close, but he also feels like there’s nothing he can do to stop it. Not *really*.

So Daniel spills the beans about Paris. Lestat was the one to save Louis and wasn’t apart of the orchestration of Claudia’s death. And all the spite that fueled their union crumbles, and Armand is staring down the barrel of an eternity alone.

He’s not mad at Daniel, not really. It’s actually quite impressive that he got it all figured out and had proof.

But since Armand doesnt want to ruin Daniel’s human life- and he doesn’t want to be alone- he chases Louis.

Then as Louis is telling him not to touch Daniel- the reality of his life hits him. Armand has lived his life worshiping. Gods. Devils. Vampires. Lovers. That’s how he thought love worked.

And he knows full well that his relationship with Louis has never been about him. It’s been about Lestat. Of course he knows that. But the loneliness of that statement hits him square in the chest, looking up under his eyelashes at the vampire who has shackled them to each other and the boy who has always allowed him to be free. To be himself. To be fucked up and okay with it. The boy who he never worshiped in his love, for it was probably the purest of love he’s ever experienced.

Of course he’d never hurt Daniel. Not in the implied malicious ways that Louis means. But Louis wouldn’t know that. Neither would Daniel.

The Future:

So Louis leaves. Maybe it’s in Dubai or it’s sometime later in another place but Armand finds Daniel and tells him he knows what his doctors have been saying. Daniel’s dying. He doesn’t have much time left.

Something said in this conversation triggers another memory for Daniel. And he asks about it, and maybe a few others he got flashes of while in Dubai but didn’t tell Louis about. And Armand makes a decision. Daniel is dying, Louis is gone, and he will forever be alone.

So he gets selfish and emotional and full of love and gives Daniel all of his memories back. They spend time delving through all of it and Daniel asks him to stay with him, until the end. He family, his ex wives, his kids no where to be seen. He’s ruined the biggest gift he ever got from Armand- his human life. And now as he’s dying, he just wants Armand to stay. To finally say yes and stop running away.

And he does. Until the day finally comes- it’s a small shift but Armand knows what a body *sounds* like when it’s giving out. Dying out. He tells Daniel and tries to hold himself back from asking to turn him. And when the hour grows ever nearer… Daniel asks in a whisper, in a delusion, in a prayer.

And Armand falls to his knees, turning him before either one of them can think on it more.

After it’s done and Daniel has taken to vampirism like a champ… Armand realizes he can no longer hear Daniel’s thoughts. He knew it would come, as it always does, but the lack of insight (lack of control) hits him like a tidal wave.

And Daniel realizes some of his memories were not restored before, just by mistake, and feels relief at having all of his mortal memories back and all of the emotions related to it. But before he can talk to Armand, ask for guidance in this chapter in his un-life and delve further into their past, Armand leaves. Skips out.

And Daniel does the only thing he knows how to do. The only thing he’s ever been good at: His job.

Cut to that scene in 2x08.

*fin*

[a-court-of-moonlight-and-ire]

Not to be overly morbid, but do yall ever think about suicide in prythian? Personally, i think killing yourself would be pretty common. I mean, it has to be given how few old people seem to exist in this world even though fae (or atleast high-fae) seem to insanely powerful and difficult to kill

And I dont think its because living in prythian sucks THAT much or even because being immortal is THAT bad, i mean arguably the biggest issue with immortality would be to watch all your loved ones die and thats not something that sjm's fae have to deal with. I think its moreso a thing of people just kinda getting tired of living after a few centuries and being like "welp. ive experienced pretty much everything, time to explore the world beyond" yknow. Thats why I think Velaris would have a pretty high suicide rate, because if youre stuck in a city thats presumably completely stagnant and never changes because its already perfect, youre going to run out of new enjoyable things to do wayyyy more quickly and get tired of your existence. It would also explain how this city full of immortals that can never leave but can reproduce hasnt already collapsed under the weight of overpopulation after over 5000 years

One idea that i like because it could make for some poignant commentary is that suicide rates are really high among faeries because theyre a lot more likely to live in poverty and its really hard to escape poverty and its really fucking miserable so after a few decades most of them decide they dont wanna live like that, and its gotten to the point where the high fae think they just naturally have shorter lifespans for some biological reason when they can actually live just as long as high fae, its just that they take poison or some shit to die in their sleep or something idk. Maybe thats a little very dark for acotar, but then again, sjm is constantly throwing around domestic violence and abuse and rape in this series so

I think suicide rates among high lords would be pretty high as well because I imagine their lives are pretty monotonous and tiring because of their responsibilities and because its not like they can leave prythian for an extended period of time to experience some new things or have some fun adventures, theyre tied to their court geographically. And god, can you imagine what would happen if theres a crisis. Yknow how a while ago the UK went through like 5 prime ministers in two weeks because of some bullshit that was happening? Imagine that but its just all these newly-chosen high lords killing themselves because they cant handle their court for some reason. I actually have a theory that thats what happened in the night court because theres this weird little throaway line where they say like, Mor's family used to be the ruling family but then the highlord power somehow got transferred to Rhys' family and its been driving me insane because WHAT do mean by that??? So basically, I think there was a time when Mor's highlord-chosen ancestors kept killing themselves for one reason or another, none of them wanted to be highlord and the magic of the land kept reaching out further and further until it landed on like, Rhysand's great-granddad who was only distantly related to Mor's ancestors and the ruling line just continued from there

Anyway, Id like to end this post on a more positive note and talk about the demographic that I think is the least likely to kill themselves, and thats the youngest children of noble families with multiple children. As ive said, im mostly basing this off of any given fae's ability to have a lot of new experiences to keep their lives from becoming monotonous and tiresome (combined with their material circumstances) and I think the youngest children of nobles hit the sweet spot of being pretty wealthy and not needing to do a lot of hard labour that would take up their time while also not being tied down by responsibilities that would force them to stay in one place. (Unless its a family of all girls and the youngest is their only son ig because as of acomaf, prythian is super patriarchal but i try not to think abt that ngl)

[randomstranger24]

So my understanding is that the guy who found the original VHS in the thrift store was part of the plot of the ARG, due to the track listing of the mix being present in the Google cache for the page. Is that correct?

Glad you asked and this too, will be in a bio / explanation post.

Yeah so, there's this genre called “Analog Horror”, it's awesome,,, and originally, my friend who dabbles in filmmaking had this plot to do a found-footage VHS horror movie in 2020 during when everything was shut down because non of us were working so we had a lot of time to kill.

I had this idea of using an ARG for people to solve to lead them down a “Rabbit Hole” as part of an interactive movie project. It would start off pleasant and would progressively get more sinister and darker and even more disturbing the further down you went. My main intention and goal was to hopefully have this project be the subject of topic on a big name youtube channel like “Nexpo”. I figured the music and aesthetic would all be “Old Tunes esc- BoC-inspired” and would give it a more suitable twist. I figured any fans that would ever come across it would take notice instantly that it was “BoC-inspired” or at least the music. I also figured the BoC cover tracks would add a few disturbing layers to the mystique of this “Rabbit Hole” mystery. 

Originally, the inspiration for the name “Strange Soup” was used in the original upload in efforts to connect ties to this twisted bizarrely disturbing 4Chan video entitled “Blank Room Soup (Dark Web Video)” You can do a google search. If you've never seen it before, you might be living under a rock lol. I just mean It's so popular, I'd be shocked if no one hasn't seen it before lol. I'm sure you don't actually live under a rock lol.

Anyway, It was a strange mysterious viral sensation for quite a few years after emerging on 4chan and has been a part of other “Rabbit Holes”. We ended up deleting the original video so that another one could be uploaded in place of it. 

The idea was to incorporate it as part of the story, but we needed to scratch other ideas altogether because the numbers did not properly equate to the letters we needed to start the ARG and time was running out. We also needed the upload date to fall in line with the project's storyline. The creation of these ARG’s are not easy to create. Believe me when I tell you. I’m just some uneducated moron, so figuring this stuff out took trial and error. Even with the help of my friend.    

Now, if all would have gone as planned, we would have opened another account uploading another tape in connection with the thrift store tape. We were in search of materials to craft out costumes like the one’s seen in the “Blank Room Soup” video and wanted to utilize the office space at my friend's school.  

Originally, this is how this should have all played out in order for this horror project to have worked. We needed The first video to be uploaded at a certain date in order to maintain validity for the ARG storyline so it could be incorporated into the film project.  

The next step, after a week or two, was to have all of us post the link to the video in “thrift store finds facebook groups” in order to drum up the mystery. He and I shared the link on a few of the forums online such as Reddit and so on. The forums had absolutely nothing to do with music or ARG’s. Just thrift store finds and VHS collector’s groups. We wanted to build the mystery up and clue people in eventually. The original video sat on youtube for quite some time. It had like maybe 60-75 views after a month. That view count just stayed stagnant. Then one day in, I think late March out of nowhere, I got the messages in the comments. They were friendly at first with some people just mentioning it was “Boards of Canada”. I thought to myself, “Oh shit, they found the video”. Soon the view count just kept on climbing and Soon enough some folks started becoming hostile. I convinced my housemate to make a response video explaining everything. We all thought this was the best course of action because of how unbiased he’ll be for the simple fact, he has no idea who BoC is (Well, he does now lol) and he is not a musician, like, at all haha. 

Me and my filmmaking friend were excited at first that at least we had an audience now and could run with it. So I figured the response video my housemate put out would quell any outrage and save our project in order to move forward but, boy, was I dead wrong.

The views kept climbing up and the comments kept coming. People were becoming hostile and outraged. Things got way too real and I started to panic slightly. I have a bad anxiety disorder and it triggered it for sure. I just had all these thoughts like what if I I’ll get sued by the band. I had nightmares of the brothers coming after me and them telling me how much of a piece of shit I am. 

 BoC fans are some of the craftiest people you’ll ever come across, lemme tell ya lol.

They had somehow figured out the metadata from the original deleted video that was uploaded months prior. After it was confirmed and revealed to me they could dig this info up, I was in a full blown panic attack. I started hyperventilating. I messaged my buddy and told him what was up. He was against it at first, but I told him, “hey I have to delete this whole channel, they’re going to find out where I live next and who I am!” I just had the worst thoughts imaginable. 

So, I hit the “Killswitch” button and within minutes it all vanished like a bad dream. I was genuinely worried at first that I could potentially face legal backlash, but my friend explained to me that I wasn't out there putting any BoC label on it or even labeling the tracks and attempting to make any money from it.   

[caffeine-n-andreneline]

SnV Qin Shi Huang || Ying Zheng/Fem!Reader

Warnings: First fic lol, historical inaccuracies, typical cannon violence, a kid with trauma and a wannabe therapist, Soulmate AU, slowburn(?), Warring States period-ish, JJK cross over kinda-ish, baby qin needs a hug.

And thus this is how the diplomat's daughter finds herself alone, strolling the noble grounds of the Xianyang palace. Truly, without doubt it is dangerous for her, a child, to be alone with no assistance. Considering the frail diplomatic state and bloody history of the Qin and its neighboring state Zhao.

For all she knows, even she herself could be caught in an assassination of sorts. But she cannot stand idly by. Whilst his father is still in his meetings in regards to diplomatic matters with the king's chancellors and delegates alike, in which she is not well versed of the said field as of yet, as such–she used that opportunity to sneak around the palace and satiate her curiosity.

One particular thing that has been bothering her since they arrived in this place as envoys, is the stagnant dense air of cursed energy. Yes, the cursed energy that causes the phenomena of cursed beings to life–causing thousands of casualties in a year in which deaths remain unexplained to the normal eyes of society.

Whatever this curse was, certainly she had never seen a case like this before. A curse born from a type of hatred she has yet to know, accumulating in such a large scale that could make the jujutsu world tremble merely by its aura.

What was more strange, however, despite a curse–

it bears no intent to kill.

Because it was no cursed spirit,

But a human child unaware of the goliath cursed energy they possess.

And it surprises the girl that he'd not succumb to death–yet.

I feel a voice beside me ask. Wait–what was their question again? I turn my head to meet a girl wearing bandages around her head, covering her eyes. It's great to find someone sharing a similar fashion statement.

"I'm…sorry?" I ask a question of uncertainty to theirs.

"Oh–does it hurt…bad?"

I squint at her words. I'm still as confused as ever, maybe even more so than before. Then it dawned on me with her strange clothing.

She wore a dress with long and large sleeves, by her chest a big sort of ribbon tied around her waist. Her attire for sure I knew wasn't hanfu, so surely she must be a lost foreigner? That could also explain her butchered speaking.

Also, how did a girl like her sneak in anyway?

"For all I know, nothing hurts inside my body but–do I know you?"

She did not hesitate to introduce herself to me, belonging to the delegates from Yamato, the archipelago in the east. A diplomat's daughter who goes by the name Michizane, and happens to approach me because of the cursed energy she claims to be shrouding me.

Still, I'm only able to catch on and understand barely half of what she was saying.

"Ah! Then concept of Yin Yang, are you familiar?" I couldn't admit it verbally, but I did find her accent quite adorable.

"Yes, it is the concept that describes opposite but interconnected forces–oh." Well that makes sense.

Now I understand. What she was meant to say to me earlier is that she sees that I carry a higher dose of Yin within my body, or what she calls negative energy. I think I know where she's heading off from here.

"And this cursed energy you speak of, where does it come from and why does it accumulate within me?" I ask.

"...I don't know, but it comes from feelings of people. From around you."

"I see…" I put a curled ring finger under my chin, understanding where she was coming from, despite difficulty elaborating the subject.

What could she mean is that this energy belongs to the people who bear hatred, and it manifests in a way that it physically hurts me, that explains why she was asking if I was in pain earlier. Mirror Touch synthesia.

"If you want, I can help you remove the pain."

My eyes widened at this. There was a remedy for this? It wouldn't hurt to try, wouldn't it? But in all honesty, my body became accustomed to the pain and so numb that I expected it wouldn't make much of a difference.

The other rational half of my brain keeps telling me, What if this was an assassination attempt? To keep me distracted and then ambush me as I wore my guard down? Doesn't it sound strange that an already peculiar girl had infiltrated the palace and no one dares to bat an eye?

My mind in a dilemma, my own lips, however, decided to betray me.

"...Sure?"

I clasped a hand to my mouth. This isn't going to end well, is it?

The girl in front of me, despite half of her face I can't see–but the joy she radiates I could feel. For a second I thought I saw the side of her lips curl.

"I'll start."

Taking a step backward, I watched her with a silent gaze , reading and taking in her movements as she raised an index finger, inches away from her lips. I can hear her mumble something under her breath, and it was a word I am not familiar with–and it almost made me stance instinctively, readying to fight anyone who dares step out of the shadows.

"反転術式: 治る."

In a split second I feel strong air gush pass me, leaving me stunned. What was that?

I quickly snapped from my trance and shook my head. Now that she was done–I could tell my muscles felt less stiff, and the blistering and burns caused by Mirror touch synesthesia–I searched for the scorching uncomfortable pain in my abdomen, only to feel nothing.

I carelessly lift the top of my hanfu, still not believing what my sensations have signaled back to me. I need to see it–no. I must.

True to his touch, they were gone. He could confirm that the burn marks weren't as prominent after Chun Yan had given him the blind fold.

However this? His skin was unblemished, free from blisters. He was lost for words.

He heard someone cough. Oh, right.

He'd forgotten the girl who'd given him relief, catharsis.

"Ah–! I sincerely apologize! I didn't mean to…to look like–"

He bowed over and over as he dropped the hanfu down to be claimed by gravity and simultaneously stuttered his apologies. His ears, cheeks and nose dusted in red from embarrassment.

She laughs. Ying Zheng halted his apologies to raise his head and instantly see her laughing, covering her mouth as he noticed her back facing him.

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. If only he could get redder than that. Slowly, her laughter died down.

"No need for apology. May I know your name?"

This got the prince thinking, whether should he trust the girl with his name or not.

He chose the latter.

"My name is Chun Zheng, At your service, young lady." He says, offering the (H/c)-nette a curtsy.

"Likewise. I'm glad to meet you. Aren't you feeding too much? They could die." She bluntly added, pointing at the golden kois, and gave warning to "Chun Zheng". It wouldn't sound nice to see dead fish floating around and for him to have his pay cut.

"I hope I don't sound nosy, but how–how did you know I have this cursed energy?" He said, halting his chore to walk onto the next pond, urging the girl beside him to follow.

"I suppose I've got a keen eye."

Notes: so yeah kind of cringe dialogue, but this is how ppl say I sound like when I try to speak Spanish lol ;((. It's like my tertiary or fourth language and I think I do pretty decent when I atleast try to write it down, but then when I try to speak, everything just goes down the drain. Fun fact! If I'm going for a specific personality for the diplomat's daughter, I'd say she's stereotypically an ISxJ. What do you guys think Qin's mbti is? I'm most def sure he's ESTP but pdb says he's ENTJ lol. It makes sense and at the same time it doesn't. Pseudoscience things, I guess.

[ppeasants]

Hey so I've been working on the latest chapter of my Hunter-centric and Luz-centric fic for my Hollow Mind AU (which you can find here), and I wanted to post a WIP of my current progress.

I've been having a bit of trouble getting the beginning and end of this chapter right, but there was a scene in the middle that I really wanted to write, and I recently finished it, so I wanted to post it here so y'all could see it and let me know if it's okay!

For context, this is taking place in an AU where during the events of Hollow Mind, the first teleportation potion didn't work, and it took a few days for the others to make a second one. But, time works differently in Belos' Mindscape, and Hunter and Luz were trapped in there for a full year.

At this point in the story, Hunter and Luz have just been brought back to The Owl House. But, because of everything the went through in there, they don't truly believe that they're out of the Mindscape yet.

This particular scene is actually a flashback to their time in Belos' mind. A few weeks have passed, and the two are currently hiding in the forest clearing between memories. This scene is pretty important to me, and to the context of the story, so I wanted to make sure it was good! Please lemme know what y'all think!

*****

“Human?! What are you doing?!”

“Wha – I’m just putting on a light!”

“Ghk – Well, put it out! Belos will see it and then he’ll find us!”

“It’s just one light! No way he’ll be able t – HEY!”

Luz squeaks as she’s grabbed by Hunter, the former Golden Guard trying to extinguish the ball of light between his own hands. The two are dragged to the ground, rolling around in a desperate struggle of light slaps, soft shoves, and hair pulling as she valiantly defends her little glyph made from her now almost empty notebook.

She struggles for about ten seconds – a new record! – before Hunter manages to toss her away, falling backwards with a grunt as Hunter lunges forwards and snuffs out the light between his gloved fingers. Hunter lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding and takes a quick look around, making sure that nobody had noticed their little scuffle.

Even without a light, Hunter could see the mangled trees surrounding him, his magenta eyes having already adjusted to the darkness around them. The two of them were stationed just beside a clearing, the dense foliage of the Emperor’s forest of memories providing a decent enough hiding place. Behind him, Hunter could just make out the portrait holding the scene they just jumped out of.

It was a memory of Belos standing over the half dead bodies of his latest witch village conquest, his sigil unable to kill them fully – The Emperor forced to murder them himself, staining his cane with blood bone brainmatterdeath – hung just behind them. The image of the current Golden Guard, ending just as many as Belos, even with the hesitation apparent in his strikes, would replay in his head over and over again, at least until the next memory they visited. Hunter just shoved down his terror – and his bile – and finished surveying the area. 

After he’s certain they weren’t being followed, he lets out a sigh and slumps forwards, bringing one knee up to his chest as he curls his arms around it, closing his eyes as he tries – and fails – to will the images of the dead witches from his mind. He tilts his head back and looks up at the darkness above him, the sky, and its sun, its stars never present. 

A stagnant silence fills the air, and Hunter’s almost able to relax, when another flash of light burns the outside of his eyelids.

“Human…” Hunter growls, Luz just rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, not at all embarrassed by the new glyph.

“C’moooon Hunter, please? It’s just one light.” Luz’s eyes are pleading with him, but he refuses to let up, his own eyes shooting daggers. “Besiiides, you already checked around for him, and he’s not here, right?” Hunter continues to glare at her, neither one backing down, before Hunter breaks, looking down with a huff.

“Alright! Fine. We can keep the light.” His glare returns, though not as strongly as before. “But it’s your fault if he finds us here.”

“Yes sir!” Luz gives a salute and a wobbly smile, her voice shaky as guilt seeps into it, as if she’s already failed them. Hunter just lets out a groan as he leans back, closing his eyes again, his ears flicking around to try and listen in for any approaching enemies. Hunter can hear Luz sit down near him, just barely within arm’s reach as she pulls her own knees to her chest, the visions of the last memory clearly affecting her too.

All Hunter can do is try to tune her out.

Unfortunately, he can’t quite relax like almost managed to earlier, the light from the glyph cutting through the darkness of his eyelids. Unable to find any real rest, Hunter opens his eyes, and unable to help his own curiosity, turns to look at the little ball floating beside him. The light itself is dim, but it’s still bright enough to reflect on a few of the surrounding trees. 

He’s never had a real opportunity to look at wild magic this closely – all his knowledge coming from the forbidden books he would sneak out of the castle library into his room – so he allows himself to get taken in by the soothing light. Just as he gets lost in its illumination, he hears a voice to his side.

“...I miss them.” Luz is nearly inaudible, Hunter’s ears flicking towards her, trying to listen in closer. He turns to face her, the human having laid down at some point, one arm resting behind her head, her eyes now trained above the treeline. Hunter feels woefully unprepared to comfort her – Luz having lost so many things because of him. “The stars… I miss them. Do you…” Luz trails off, unable to voice her question.

“Yeah. I miss them too.” He responds anyways, surprised he can actually answer her question, turning his gaze upwards to look at the empty darkness above them, the sky devoid of any light. “I actually used to sneak out sometimes, to the roof of the castle, just to look up at them. I’d bring a few pieces of glass, trying to make a makeshift telescope. It was nice, until Belos found me and used the glass to – well, you know.” Hunter chuckles darkly, rubbing at the scar on his upper arm where those pieces of glass were embedded. 

Luz just hums, taking in yet another reason on why she hates Belos, and looks up to the void above her.

“How come we never see any?” Luz sits up, now facing Hunter, this conversation apparently more interesting than the empty sky above her. “I mean, there’s none out here, there’s none in any of his memoires – heck, I can’t even remember the last time I saw the sun, let alone stars, and I know it’s been daytime in at least a few of those pictures!” Her voice rises in volume, and while Hunter would usually be telling her to keep quiet, lest they be found, he can’t help but answer earnestly.

“I don’t think Unc – Belos ever cared much for the stars.” The words come easily for Hunter, easier than he would’ve ever expected them to – being here for the past weeks with Luz has made it easy. “Sometimes I’d hear him say how the stars – the constellations – weren’t right. I never knew what he meant by that – until now, I guess. Just another thing he hated about the Boiling isles.” She nods again, and before Hunter thinks about it, he leans towards her with a smirk.

“But you wanna know what I think? I think he just didn’t like the idea of something else being above him.”

Luz stares at him for a second, mouth agape, like she can’t believe he would dare insult his precious Emperor – Hunter can’t believe it either, but there's been a lot of unbelievable things happening recently – before she bursts into laughter, holding her gut as if it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. It’s the first laugh he’s heard from her in days, and he can’t help but laugh alongside her.

It takes a couple of minutes for them to calm down, Luz wiping joyful tears from her eyes, but the two eventually settle back down into silence that is much more comfortable than before. Luz is lying down again, a small smile still on her lips, and Hunter is staring intently at the ball of light. Another moment passes before Hunter speaks up again.

“Human. I have a request.” His voice is clear, as if he’s reading a mission report to a coven head. “Would it be possible for you to show me how one can create this light glyph?” As confident as he tries to appear, his face completely betrays his nervousness, his eyes darting between the ball, the floor and Luz herself, his mouth twisted into a grimace.

“You? Want to learn how to draw a glyph?” Luz is dumbfounded, as if she can't believe that Hunter is asking her anything? “You want to learn wild magic?!”

“No. Forget about it.” Hunter grumbles, turning away in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. “What was I thinking? Never should've asked, I knew it wouldn't…” His voice trails off as Luz is unable to hear his mumblings anymore.

“Wait! I didn’t mean – sorry, We can – shoot – ” She scrambles up, reaching out to Hunter's shoulder before stopping short, remembering what happened last time she tried to grab him without warning. “I don’t mind teaching you – lemme just – here, look!” Luz reaches into her pockets, feeling around as Hunter turns back, an annoyed look on his face.

“Human. Just drop it. Seriou – ” Hunter is cut off as Luz shoves her nearly empty notebook and a pencil into his hands, causing him to flinch back. Luz looks only a little guilty, before slamming the paper down in front of her, grabbing the pencil from his hands and drawing the glyph herself. Hunter tries to get her to stop, saying anything and everything to interrupt her, lunging to grab her wrist again, just as she yells out –

”HERE!”

Hunter freezes, giving Luz enough time to slide the completed light glyph into his field of vision. His hand hovers above Luz’s wrist before he reluctantly pulls it back and crosses his arms with a grimace. Luz is wearing a shaky smile as she leans back.

“Here. It’s a light glyph. You just tap it and it turns into a ball.”

“Human. I said no. I don’t want to – ”

“C’moon Hunter, Please? I know you wanted to, you wouldn’t have asked otherwise. And I know you like wild magic because when we were in Latissa I saw you looking at the light glyph and I just wanted to do something nice since you seem so sad all the time and i get why being trapped in here with me and I don't want to make it worse for you but then I always make it worse anyways and I'm' sorry I just wanted to – ”

“FINE!” Hunter shouts, interrupting Luiz’s spiral, her eyes shooting up as he lightens the bruising grip on her arms she didn’t realize she was holding. “Fine. I’ll look at the glyph.” He sounds annoyed, but she can hear the slight relief entering his voice when she stops panicking.

It takes a moment, his stubbornness still holding his body, before he relents and looks down at the glyph in front of him, taking this pattern for the first time in his life. He tries not to look too closely, only doing it to satiate Luz, but he can’t avoid his curiosity taking over, mumbling about various alchemical symbols, the fire, water, and accents of gold present throughout the glyph, his hands fidgeting as he rambles, the love of knowledge and study of wild magic and alchemy coming out as Luz tries her best to answer his questions with a smile.

Before he realizes what he’s doing he presses down on the glyph, and watches as the paper crumples into a ball of light.

He stares at it as it floats up to him, stopping just in front of his face, his magenta eyes reflecting the dim light in front of him. The ball itself is perfectly spherical, the paper having long since disappeared into the magic. The light is slightly warm, but also cooling, the fire and water symbols which made the glyph present even in this little bit of magic. As Hunter looks closer, he could swear he can see the faint etchings of the pencil glyph markings outlining the edges of the light.

It’s beautiful.

“Can I make one?” Hunter whips around towards Luz, all sense of a soldier’s decorum now gone, an excitement in his eyes that Luz has not seen in a long time. Luz nods vigorously, almost throwing her pencil and notebook to Hunter as she sidles up beside him to explain how to create the glyph.

If Luz could see her own face, she would see the excitement in her eyes as well – a joy that hasn’t been present in her for a long time, too.

Hunter messily draws his first ever glyph, a mixture of nerves and excitement making sure he can’t quite draw the perfect circle. He looks at Luz nervously, scared that he’s already messed it up, but she assures him that it will still work. As he fills in the other shapes, he rambles about other symbols present in the centre, how both the iron and sun symbols form the base of the glyph, and before the pencil even hits the ground he slaps a hand onto the glyph,

This ball is imperfect, the small dents in the sphere where Hunter’s wobbly hands couldn’t form the circle easily visible, the light itself flashing on and off, instead of emitting a continuous stream of energy – but he can’t bring himself to care. It floats up to his face all the same, and he knows that it’s his. 

He did magic. He drew his own glyph, and did magic.

Hunter can’t help the giggle that falls out of his mouth as he rushes to draw another, and another, and another, a small field of fireflies surrounding him and Luz, and soon after she joins in as well, drawing just as many glyphs, wide smiles on both of their faces as they fill the clearing with more and more lights, the danger of being found forgotten in their excitement.

It doesn’t take long for Luz’s notebook to finally run out of paper, it was already pretty low, but as she looks around at the lights, and at the smile on Hunter’s face – as she feels the smile on her own – she can’t bring herself to care. She flops backwards and looks up at the lights, the magic forming constellations that she’s never seen before – constellations that the two of them made with their own hands. 

She can hear Hunter lay down beside her, the joy radiating off both of them in waves. Even as their laughs die down, and their own personal stars slowly float away, a companionable silence fills the air between them. Luz is content to sit in this moment, forgetting about everything she’s seen today.

“Belos was wrong, I think.” Hunter speaks up, quiet even amongst the silence of the mindscape. “About the stars, I mean. I never knew the ones in the Human Realm, but the ones in the Boiling Isles, at least, were good. Are good. I – I like the stars.”

“And I think I like these stars, too.”

Luz turns to Hunter, his voice as soft as she’s ever heard it, his eyes staring up at the lights they created together, at the stars they created together, and smiles.

“Yeah. I like our stars too.”

They both take a moment, watching as their light glyphs float higher and higher, lazily approaching and passing the treeline, rising into the empty void above them, filling the darkness with constellations made of their own heart. As they look up, there’s a sense of comfort, a sense of companionship, a sense of belonging between the two.

If Belos didn’t have the stars in his mind, then they would make their own. 

And the stars would be theirs.

*****

Please let me know if this is any good! This scene is one of the most I've been excited to write, so I really wanna make sure it's good! This scene is important to the context of Luz and hunter, and their platonic relationship together, as well as the continuation of the story.

Hopefully I can finish this chapter soon, with this being posted, and I hope y'all enjoy!

[swordsmans]

I neeeeeeed to know about "luffy slips into an alternate timeline/dimension where he "died" instead of sabo and meets an older ace/sabo" I live for stuff like this please

sorry this took me so long! i. didn't realize you had sent an ask rip (that stupid sanji post has annihilated my activity page im in hell)

omg this one is actually one that i'm least likely to actually write because it has the potential to be Long (as you can see with the giant outline), but i wanted to kind of play around with the idea of luffy-less world in the post-timeskip era, because i really like time travel/redo fics where everyone is better/stronger but i think it would be NEAT if the straw hats had to fix things that might have happened if luffy died as a kid. think "doomed timeline" (if that means anything to you). even though the premise is technically ASL i am a straw hat bitch through and through so it's actually more of straw hat fic than the original idea.

here's a copy/paste under the cut (you will see that i write a lot of notes to myself in these things)

takes place post-timeskip era

sabo has no connection to the revolutionary war; he and ace set out as pirates together. because of this, they are not associated with whitebeard (therefore no marineford); instead, they are associated with shanks somehow (maybe; not subordinates tho)

they're no longer two captains one ship, two captains (allied) on two ships (SEE ALT 2)

straw hats have all experienced some form of "bad" ending that leaves them jaded, cynical, or (for some) borderline evil

luffy = strength, joy, freedom optimism; most arcs involve rescues, but i dont think any of the straw hats are "weak" enough to die during their initial crises without luffy, otherwise they wouldnt be straw hats--just win at a massive cost and the next three years would be significantly harder

zoro - frees himself from the courtyard and continues being the demon of the east blue but--

nami - gets the money to free her village, arlong refuses to free cocoyashi; nami seeks out the demon of the east blue in order to take out arlong (in exchange for the money she earned and that arlong has stashed). fight is brutal but they kill arlong; nojiko dies, nami ends up traveling with zoro afterwards bc she has no reason to stay behind with nojiko gone.

they become a well-known, ruthless, and efficient bounty hunting duo on the grand line (bc it earns money and zoro wouldnt make it out of the east blue without her); both are jaded as FUCK bc zoro's dream is stagnant and nami is still wrestling with the guilt of failing her family years later, they're also bloodthirsty because money + power fills the void

usopp - kaya dies in the initial plot to kill her, usopp is blamed and flees the village; gets picked up by the buggy pirates (please this could be so funny please but remember this is supposed to be sad but think of how funny this could be though circus sharpshooter usopp he and buggy would be. so funny in the same room together)

sanji - stays at the baratie until the vinsmokes have a use for him. "wedding"/WCI goes through(?) and/or sanji is a member of the big mom pirates; pudding refuses to kill sanji, big mom is going to kill her but sanji bargains for her life; germa mods are awakened; in order to protect zeff+etc, pretends to be emotionless like his brothers, ends up working as a germa agent instead of staying on WCI because now pudding is as much of a liability as zeff or smth (pudding tho??? pls be nice to her but figure smth out). sanji war crimes

chopper/brook/jinbei remain stagnant

franky - whore do not forget this man was a gang leader who did actual violence; franky family is bigger and badder than ever, babyy

robin - can't stay with crocodile (boring bland unoriginal) put her somewhere she can experience problems; maybe she leaves, ends up on water 7, encounters franky; joins franky family(?) for protection but since she's no longer under a warlord's protection she's fair game for marines/bounty hunters; continues to work as an assassin tho and doesn't stay around much to protect the franky family from the people after her

franky family could potentially work as an alt strawhats "maybe i dont want to die actually" environment for robin; franky helps robin stabilize a little but since they're both kind of Messed Up it's less of a "we're fine actually" and more like "we're fucked up but at least we're fucked up together". they run a Criminal Organization together. they are a gang. robin is an assassin. no one is happy go lucky here even if they have found measure of """"""peace""""""

luffy encounters ace/sabo, it's emotional (obvs; this is self-indulgent)

however his brothers are both fundamentally fine, they are thriving and alive--there's nothing here to fix. you know who isn't fine? his crew.

convinces ace/sabo that they need to find them--whether it's to convince them to join their crew or just to make sure they're okay (whats the motivation here besides luffy wanting them to be happy because they're his family? does he need one? does it even matter?)

ALT 1 are luffy's crew here or did luffy enter the doomed timeline alone. if so--everyone? or just a few

interesting interactions: doomed/real zoro (consider the implications of a zoro who has stagnated/given up on his dream; this guy's got issues but our guy has no self-preservation however maybe they both have no self preservation. interesting convo about worth or value of life without drive)

doomed/real nami (LOTS of grief here babes, but maybe an interesting convo here about strength vs vulnerability)

doomed/real sanji (ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh my god can you imagine. can you imagine how much that would mess him up to see himself become Sanji Vinsmoke)

luffy has fundamentally changed all of their lives for the better but the straw hats are all strong as individuals (physically and emotionally) even before they join the straw hats. that's the point

even if the "doomed" straw hats encounter/join luffy would their lives fundamentally change for the better or are the experiences they accumulate as straw hats what changes them--it's not just luffy going "ur mine now you're happy" it's the development they go through during events/by interacting with each other; maybe some choose to stay where they are but have a shift in perspective of some kind

at least try with asl here

is sabo still kind of unstable? is ace still depressed? how does luffy's absence change them?

ALT 2 consider that they drift apart without luffy to hold them together; luffy makes an effort to reunite them?

[helloescapist]

Hello! I hope you're doing good and that studies aren't too stressful. I read "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas" recently and loved it, so here's a request inspired by said book. Write it if you want, and if you have time, the last thing I want is to burden you lol

Demon Slayer request (AU, a prompt for you to run with, hurt/comfort) platonic muichiro x male!preteen!reader

Reader breaks his village's only rule and enters the mysterious forest surrounding it, despite the rumours of it being cursed. He meets Muichiro, the immortal guardian of the forest and the last of his kind, as his twin was killed by humans centuries ago.

Though sceptical and cold towards Reader at first, being a human and all, Muichiro grows fond of him as Reader continues to visit. Muichiro and Reader spend lots of time going on adventures and playing together in the forest, learning more about each others' cultures and worldviews. Muichiro is a fun playmate as he is very knowledgeable about the forest and its secrets, even introducing Reader to magic at one point. But then, Reader's little secret is exposed to the village and his friendship with Muichiro is put to the test.

Sorry for the length, got a bit carried away (but hey what else is new)

Full disclosure, this ask sent me back to when I was a child and playing pretend. Days of Ghibli films, and movies like Origin: Spirits of the Past, and because of this, I have gotten carried away with the plot. So, please accept part one of this ask, as there is at minimum, four parts. Whoops. It is also, 6AM when I wrote this, so if it's a little off forgive me.

Whispers of the Woods Part 1

Word Count: 1280

Setting: Muichiro x male!reader

Content Warning(s): fantasy AU, relationship is platonic, slow build

Summary: a gentle hand that guides you home

Cicadas vibrated against the trees, rustling the leaves and rolling upon the ground. The insects greeted the slip of the sunlight, as its lights crept away from the day. Disappeared amongst the trees that bordered the village. The distinct barriers placed erected from lobed wood and hammered into place. Aged from years of service, only the smallest of gaps offered glimpses of life outside of the village. The touch of dusk blossoming against the later hour, the distinct buzz of the insects revealing the warmth of the season. The stagnant of the night, offering heat to the pores of your skin. So small, and new to the world, little chubby fingers that grasped upon the edges of your family home’s veranda. Bright eyes that wandered the slips of the night sky as they peeked across your family home; your mother hard at work collecting the laundry from drying. The length of her kimono, the small frays that nit at the edge of the seams. Aged that claimed the wear of her fabric, all clues that you would not comprehend until it would be far too late.  The length of her hair pinned beneath a cloth as her fingers busied themselves with retrieving the laundry. The hustle of her work, and the assumption that her little one, you would stay in place as you awaited her return. Heedless of the wandering of small children, and the magic of fireflies.

              Their small lights, blinked upon the night sky. As though stars that threatened to fall from the skies, and dance upon your palms. Little hands that desperately reached for their glow, guided from the veranda on wobbly knees. Small and unaccustomed to wandering from your mother’s apron strings. Enthralled and curious as you waddled forward. Little bugs that danced within fingertip’s reach before fluttering just out of your grasp. Blissfully unaware of the landscape that slipped from familiarity, heedless of all of your mother’s warnings Giggled as the safety of your veranda gave way to the shades of trees. Cooed at the flutter of wings as the security of the village disappeared from your sight claimed by trees, and shrubs. Foliage that nicked at your jinbei all in the pursuit of fireflies.

              The damning realization as the fireflies slipped from the night and out of sight upon the echoes of hoos amongst the nights. Bellowed the depths of the nights. The crunch of wood, and skittering of creatures that roamed the unfamiliar terrain. The welp of tears that threatened the corner of your eyelashes. Unable to comprehend the noises that claimed your senses, and sent chills down your spine as you crouched close to the ground, hands clasped upon the fabrics as the sobs spilled from your lips.  Screaming out for your mother, desperate for her to find you, to retrieve you just as she had always done when you had wandered too far, pulled on the cat’s tail, or when the grannies of the village had discovered your round cherub cheeks. Your cries out of her reach, as were hers for yours. Only the rustle of fallen leaves that had submitted to the summer heat skittered across the ground. The growls of animals unseen, appraising easy pray as the snot ebbed from your nose as you found yourself bolting from the noises. The weight of your small body spirited from sight, fading further and further into the woods out of reach of the security of the village. Of your mother and your home. The tears and wallows, screaming for help, the desperate uncertainty of a toddler lost amongst the night as your legs trembled beneath you. Wobbled from leg to leg, fist clenched tight and your ankle snagged by a roots unturned by earth. The burrowing of bunnies revealed it to the surface before its venture to nab you from your dashing amongst the bushes.

              You could feel the cold dirt, the curl of the root across your ankle. Far too young to comprehend what had happened in your flight, or the natural state of the world. All you understood was the fear that coursed through your petite body, and how desperately you yearned for your mother’s embrace. Your cries falling upon the crickets, and rolled into yourself, the touch of mud scrapped against your cheek. Mud furrowed throughout your clothing, leaves that stuck through the odd ends of your hair, and the welp of tears as you struggled to breath. Crying out for your mother, who could not hear you. Only the hoots of distant owls to keep you company in your loneliness, and terror. “Ma-M-Maamaaa.” The ball of your small fists, fending off the tears that rolled off chubby cheeks, the snot that had long since betrayed you. Cooed only by the gentle hand that emerged from the darkness.

              “Sssh,” it whispered sweetly. Delicate in it’s voice, and careful with its speech. Crouched over you as it tended to the sobs that clung to your eyelashes. Tender in its regard to you. Soft and warm, the small touches of its voice gentle, as secure as the world you knew. Dreamy almost in an unfamiliar scent. Far different than you knew of your mother, or the days labor of your father. It did not smell of the laundry pulled from the line, nor did it seem reminiscent of the summer days, but though you were unable to place the smells, you welcomed its embrace. The warmth of its embrace as it tucked your small form into its shoulder.  The cup of your weight born upon its clavicle as the small touch of your nose burrowed into its neck. The last of your cries, heaved from your small chest, and blossomed out of your small framed, accompanied by the soothing pats upon your back as the footsteps fell across the soil.

Unbothered, and unafraid of its surroundings as it pressed past the roots in which you had tumbled. Cross the owls who had taunted your screams. The small risk of bravery, and the soothing touch of the hand that patted your back allowing you the opportunity to peek at the boy who had rescued you from the woods. His appearance, from what you could understand… no older than some of the other boys in the village your senior. The ones who were old enough to follow their fathers through the days works, abandoning their mother’s sides. Pale cheeks that caught amongst the glimpses of moonlight through the trees. Misty blue eyes that momentarily glance down at you, before shuffling your gaze back into the warmth of his shoulder, all too aware of the snot that rubbed across his kimono. Gentle, and soothing as the pad of his feet, and the sway of his steps. The intentional bounce that slowly rocked you to sleep upon his grasp.

              Only your mother’s cries to greet you in the night. The flutter of your own eyes, rubbed of the sleep from your eyes. Confused at your surroundings, all whispers of the forbidden forest, the outside world gone from your vision. Replaced by the comfort of your home. The villagers, all laughing upon your mother’s tears that formed in her eyes. Frightened that she had lost her child to the forest dwellers, the curse that had been uttered at bedtime stories only to discover her little boy curled up under the veranda just out of sight. All of which, you could not understand, only curiously tilt your head at the way her tears swallowed her normally joyful features, or how her voice registered as heavier than normal. Lacking its usual soft tone, soothed only at the delicate way you inquired if, perhaps you could see the boy with the sweet smell once again.

Quickly dismissed as the dream of a little boy.

[bloviating-vy]

WIP and Fic Updates

HALLOOOOOOOOO!!

Since the results of the last finished poll indicated that some of you would be interested in both FIC updates as well as FIC teasers, here is me attempting to do just that. Of course, I was almost done writing it all up when TUMBLR (I despise this site) ate it. A;SLDKFJASK;LDFJAKSDFASDKFJSJAK

So, this one will be much abbreviated because I’m annoyed at my user error or this site’s error and this is killing very precious baby sleeping time. Also, this post will not refer to fics I haven’t updated in the last year so please consider those on permanent hiatus. 

Here they are in no discernible order:

WIPs

Timeless - This is the fic that is occupying a big majority of my thoughts. Though I haven’t started on the chapter itself, I have been thinking a lot about it and know some of the major beats. I will likely be working on this fic and bopping back and forth between this, No Matter How Far You Go, Untitled Soulmate Yoongi fic, and Soul on Fire. 

Indomitable - Realistically, I will not be working on this one until at least a few fics are out of my system. I know the major beats, where I want it to go, and even have some parts written. 

Home - Currently, I have no plans to add more to this fic, though I intend to come back when I have more ideas (as well as bandwidth).

No Matter How Far You Go - Since I’ve written myself into a corner with the previous two chapters, I have to figure out how to write myself out of it. I have some written already, but I am mostly marinating. 

Soul on Fire - Similarly, I have written myself into a corner here, too. I have some of the next chapter written, but I have set myself into a quandary of really liking Lucas and Chae-Yeong and I’m not looking forward to smashing and breaking things. Still marinating but occasionally, I henpeck at it.

Until All the Monsters Are Dead - I have no plans to write anything else in the near future. However, I do plan on finishing this at some point because I have finally figured out how to resolve a HUGE plot point. But I just have to have the motivation to finish it out. (And maybe one day, I will turn it into a proper novel.)

Unreleased Partial Fics

Only Human - The sequel to Super Human, I have a few chapters already written except I have no idea how to continue. Which is unfortunate. But when I finally figure out how to get myself out of a self-made hole, I will be back with exactly 6k fic, with each chapter being 500 words.

Untitled Soulmate Yoongi fic - I started this a year ago but it lay stagnant for a bit until I realized I wanted to make it a soulmate touch fic. (It originally was just a regular fic unrelated to soulmates in any shape/form.) This is likely the fic that I’m working on and thinking through the most at the moment. (Hence the poll.) 

Untitled MOB Supernatural Fic - I have super ambitious plans on Vampire!Yoongi x Fallen Angel!Seokjin x Fae Assassin!Reader with creche-mates Jimin and Taehyung. The opening starts off with "Kneel" and is inspired by the Haegeum police investigator Yoongi pics.

Additionally, I’m supposed to be editing a novel and writing another one. Oh, did I mention that I’m in Taiwan and have been here for about a month now and will be here another month? So, things are all up in the air and as;dlfksalkdfasklfsakdfasdkfj. 

Thanks for your patience. I try really hard to make sure I don’t leave too many unfinished fics and at least resolve some plot lines, but I guess I can no longer say that I always finish fics. I have a pretty good track record on finishing the vast majority though! I do firmly believe in the trust that readers place in writers and I take that responsibility very seriously. There are so many great stories and ways we can use our time. I am so ever grateful for my readers who give me a little bit of their hearts and allow my fictional characters to take up space in there. 

Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!

[lotusfartstwice]

Not gonna reply to the post cuz I’m really not all that interested in the conversation. I’m just gonna rant a moment.

I am not that big of a fan of bringing up Lee beating Sasuke up like it’s a serious thing. It’s not really a “gotcha” for me lol. I kind of “scold”Lee for it.

Don’t get me wrong, it is super funny to look back on and you add the fact that Itachi and Madara looked at Gai like he’s a threat (and he is). We get the funny meme about “Uchihas don’t mess with the bowlcuts”. Haha.

But outside that…Lee came out of nowhere and was willing to kill Sasuke for his own clout, as stupid 13 year olds do with a major ass chip on their shoulder. He’s been training longer. He’s older. Sasuke rubbed him the wrong way and was also just existing being the last Uchiha so- the stupid kid with a complex did a stupid thing.

It’s hilarious but also sad.

If you weren’t all that hyped in Sasuke there is just something satisfying about an arrogant but goofy looking dork deliver in what he was boasting. Potential murder stopped then backtrack and say “well, actually I am not the strongest lol”.

Rock Lee peaked at the chunin exams. He doesn’t really become a relevant character after that. I tell people that he probably should have just died cuz he has nothing to bring, doesn’t really add on to anyone’s story either. He’s not a major player in Sakura or Neji’s story. He is stagnant and a bit static. The absolute comic relief that gets the occasional cool moment that gets upstaged by other more important people.

The Last is apparently the only considered canon Naruto movie. Well, Lee got to lead a squad of other gate users to destroy meteors. He gets a cool moment only for Sasuke to arrive and- well, you can’t have the only considered canon Naruto movie without Sasuke. Of course he stops the really big meteor that Lee couldn’t.

Like, I’m trying to just be happy that my fave can boast about punching a meteor, which in the grand scale of things in Naruto land, is near minuscule but hey! Wow he did a thing and it wasn’t “hilarious” comedy shenanigans. 🤡

He never beats his rivals. He never overcomes his master. He doesn’t have any new techniques that are his own. He, I guess, does achieve his dream. He certainly is a splendid ninja who only uses taijutsu.

Do I sound bitter? Maybe I am. I mean- it’s my fault, right? Lol my favorite character is the dude that got a goofy ass spin off series. My favorite character worked so hard. And his achievements are all: he kicked Sasuke’s chin in one time and he smacked Gaara around, oh and he survived surgery and teehee he can do drunken fist.

He is a stepping stone (haha funny joke the rock is a stone is a-) for Sasuke. And wow!!! Why wouldn’t that be frustrating???

We see this guy who barely trained a month whale on Gaara (the guy that crippled the fave) with the help of move he swiped via magic memory eyes. A move that probably took Lee a long time to hone. And I’m pretty sure (I might be wrong) he never uses those techniques again in shippuden so- that’s…that’s cool.

But sure. Rock Lee fans are bitter cuz literally the only moments their fave is relevant gets brought up a lot but hey boohoo, right? Not like Sasuke can do all this powerful shit and has a place in the bigger picture of a narrative…oh wait.

Must be nice. Not to mention the merch and everything else. But hey. I’m just bitter ass fan of a joke ass character.

[uozlulu]

Black Clover chapter 342 reaction and spoilers

The story of the five headed dragon and maiden explains why Ryuuya’s name has two dragons in it (each Ryuu).

Ichika tells Asta, “"It was said that the yoruyoku of the dragon seeped out turning the ocean black and stagnant, twisting space and time, and connecting it to hell,” which is interesting because 1) that’s basically what Yami’s dark magic can do and 2) it might explain how Yami ended up on the other side of the ocean in Clover Kingdom years later if perhaps some kind of warp or portal exists in the sea that turned black in the legend.

It’s interesting that it’s Sukehiro and Young Master Ryuudou because that only reinforces the parallel here between Asta and Yuno even though Yuno grew up not knowing he was of a higher class. It also fits in that Ryuuya has gone on to become shougun whereas we all know Asta will likely become Wizard King unless the ending to the series is a complete restructuring of Clover Kingdom’s class system and Wizard King evolves into a council or dissolves as a title entirely.

Ryuuya says, “I want this country to be a place where we can all live and laugh together no matter what our rank or yoryoku looks like,” and it makes me curious what went through Yami’s mind the first time Asta yammered about his dream in this context since Yami chose Asta at the xam because Asta was going to work hard and not give up despite being at a disadvantage mana-wise.

Some observations:

Everyone is present at a torii at night, which seems suspicious especially since it’s past midnight since that looks like a waning third quarter phase moon.

Ryuuya is alive but injured and holding Ichika in a way that makes it look like he picked her up, which fits with the fact she looks like she’s waking up or coming to. I’m inclined to believe this means that Ryuuya might have arrived part way through whatever happened, likely the noise drawing his attention.

Ichika goes on to tell Asta that Yami abandoned her and Ryuuya, which seems to suggest he did not attack them (at least after this particular visual in the chapter), though we don’t have proof of this yet.

I have a few theories on what happened.

I think the most likely one is that the clan or their dad was going to kill Ichika and Yami protected her. The reason she doesn’t remember how this began is she was drugged or knocked out for whatever reason. Ryuuya arrived part way through, tried to protect Ichika from those that wanted to harm her, and Yami finished everyone off.

Taking Yami’s expression when he looks at Ryuuya and Ichika into account, it’s also possible that he was possessed by something be it the dragon or the maiden and gutted the clan in some sort of culmination of the legend itself. Perhaps has the maiden (Yami) destroying the dragon (clan) especially since Yami and Vangeance tend to be depicted as a kind of yin and yang situation and yin tends to be associated with things like the new moon, the feminine, darkness, night, etc…

It’s also possible something took possession of Ichika who then threatened the clan, so when they went to take her out, Yami killed them all. This might not have happened at the beach but earlier or I’d think she’d be covered in blood too possibly

If we’re going the Itachi route here, which I don’t think we will, then I would think that there might be some kind of divine or devil influence happening here since the theme of this saga post-Eye of the Midnight Sun saga, appears to be devils and angels. If this is the case, this might also be how Yami ended up in Clover, although I’m inclined to believe he ended up in Clover due to a warp or portal established by the legend at the start of this chapter.

There are some other options but I’m inclined to side with Asta here. There’s something that started the incident and we don’t know what it is. I suspect whatever it was, it’ll make sense given what we already know of Yami. This is also why I’m inclined to think the motivation is going to be different than Itachi’s motivation because Yami doesn’t seem to have that kind of baggage you might expect if someone like say Ryuuya’s dad blackmailed him into the massacre. Although Yami also left immediately but at the same time in any of these scenarios he just might to escape a murder charge

I could of course be wrong especially since we’re missing Ryuuya’s and Yami’s sides of this story so we have very little information to go on here.

[i-write-shakespeare-not-disney]

I might still make a whole essay but I'm desperate to talk about Hawks, especially after my dabi post. It's now 1:45 am so I'm especially rambly.

I think he could've been my favorite character. He has all the facets of the most fascinating arc, especially alongside Dabi, and he never got it (ik the manga isn't done, but lbr, it doesn't look like anything changing for Hawks anytime soon).

I understand a coping mechanism from being a child being hard to let go of. It's hard to see the reality when the fantasy pulled you through the worst of it. But. Endeavor LITERALLY paralleled Keigos father by being physically abusive and using him. And you're telling me that hearing a similar story from Dabi, one Endeavor didn't even refute, didn't affect Hawks in any way???? I would've understood if it didn't at first, if he was in denial, but like. It takes one look at that family to know it was true. At the very least it should've made Hawks question things. The society that allows top heroes to abuse their families, the society that turned a 5 year old into a child soldier, the society that doesn't do anything to bring an abuser to justice when the whole nation realizes it was all true. Something!!!!! Keigo was traumatized too! He was hurt too!!!! And as a fan of Endeavor that revelation should've fucking gutted him!!!!!! Maybe it wouldn't have made him a villain, but it sure as hell should have made him question heroism, Mr. I wanna live in a world where we don't need heroes anymore.

Hawks was absolutely set up to parallel Dabi as a child raised in abusive and toxic environments to take the opposite path by becoming a hero, but he absolutely fucking deserved a Hunter-style arc where he has to come to terms with the fact that his hero is not a hero. That his place in society is not what he thought it was and that maybe he's been strung along the entire fucking time. I believe that he genuinely enjoyed Twices company and wanted to rehabilitate him, so "having" to kill him should've affected him after realizing not everything is what he thought it was!!!!! He killed a friend! He killed someone he wanted to help!!!!! He killed someone immediately after saving them on instinct!!!!! it should've affected him!!!!!

Keigo deserved a better hero to look up to. Keigo deserved a family to raise him instead of the Commission to take advantage of his orphaned state (? I'm pretty sure his parents were arrested when the Commission found him). Keigo deserved a better arc.

And I just hate that he still idolizes Endeavor, insists that even if it's true it's fine now (which isn't even his place to have an opinion on???? The todoroki family is right there??????? Hello????), and I hate that he's still the same person he was when we met him except now with a sad backstory THAT HAS NO EFFECT on his present day self it seems????

Hawks should've been my favorite character but because all of that potential was discarded and he's remained this stagnant character, he's not. He's on my list of characters I don't like and that's so upsetting.

[unladielike]

( some ooc introspection underneath the cut that you aren’t required to read. i just had a lot of thoughts about myself lately, and while it’s a personal recounting with a happy ending, it does contain mentions of mental health issues, autistic suffering, suicidal thoughts, and escapism, so i would suggest not reading it if you’re sensitive to that sorta stuff: )

Looking back, I think the reason I never really enjoyed sharing details about my personal life was because as an autistic woman, I felt inept. Honestly, compared to my highschool years where I had peaked and excelled, I remember I just... struggled as soon as I entered college, to the point where I eventually had to drop out, if only because the coursework was way too difficult for me and I couldn’t keep up with it.

To me, it really was as though everyone else seemed to have no issues, moving on with their lives and graduating, while I was stuck in one place... failing to be productive. Why, at one point, I even fell into a state of depression, that even thinking about my future or being asked about what I planned to do with the rest of my life gave me intense anxiety. Seriously, every time my older sister asked about my plans, it would subsequently trigger me... that was how avoidant I was when it came to myself.

To that end, I did not like to talk about how I was essentially an unemployed shut-in who only went out to walk my dog, and how everyday, I struggled to hold onto a reason to stay alive upon thinking of myself as a disgrace; in fact, unlike certain people, trauma-dumping is not something I particularly enjoy, so for the longest period of time, roleplay was my form of escapism.

It’s why when I found myself in a friend group, I only ever talked about roleplay-centric stuff around them. Whereas they were eventually burned out from tumblr roleplay, I kept hyperfixating over ships/muses and infodumping on that one specific niche fandom rather than branching out into newer ones. Meanwhile, they would occasionally bring up real life stuff and air out their personal grievances with the people in their lives, which is something I could never bring myself to do, because I didn’t want to be known like that... therefore, I never wanted to talk about anything else besides my special interests.

Either way, due to how alone I was, I ended up becoming very traumatized when they stopped replying to me, both IC and OOC. Of course, I know now it was unhealthy to latch onto roleplay partners the way I did, but in my defence, I was mentally... very fragile, to the point where the RPC was my only refuge from real life back then. Honestly, now that I think about it, this avoidance of reality was probably why The Caligula Effect is a series that still strongly resonates with me to this day and has a very special place inside my heart.

Regardless, it took me being dropped by this friend group for me to finally decide I no longer want to spend all my free time, devoting myself to tumblr roleplay... that somewhere along the way, I ended up getting a job, after years of remaining stagnant. Of course, there are times where I still bemoan having to work, but all in all, I think I’m better off for it, especially since nowadays, I don’t even think about wanting to kill myself. Heck, I’m actually thriving at my job, which is something I never expected.

...At the same time, though, the lack of communication and ableism I experienced from the RPC made me less willing to open up and make new friends, because I’ve already been hurt way too many times and as a result, lack the desire to talk to many people.

[eclipsenoir]

It’s become increasingly interesting to me lately, the obscurity of life’s ever evolving nature. How, no matter what or who we think we might be in the present moment, or what joy or agony we’re going through as that version of ourselves for that matter, it just keeps... going. Like a raging bullet train without destinations or the lack thereof, speeding across bumps and corners and turns and hitting speed limits that’re sometimes the most incomprehensibly torturous shit we’ve ever experienced. It just... goes on, and we have no choice but to follow. 

Whatever matters to me now, whatever is happening in this very moment, the feelings I feel and the most important things in sight, won’t be so relevant just a year from now, if at all. Most of the people in my life then had been different before, and they’ll be different next year as well, like an empire rebuilding its walls through the cycling through many fickle hands. That’s just how it all is, a ceaseless and usually unforgiving series of escalations measured strictly by the decisions we make, however righteous or otherwise. In addition to that I don’t know if there’s any suboptimal celestial jurisdiction in our choosings to begin with, something like the divine ass fucking force of nature we tend to call fate. Is there? Fuck if I know. All I know is that life bangs sometimes, and then it goes to complete shit. But it could never be good, ecstatic even, not without the opposing drolls which give the good moments a shiny glaze in the name of hope.

Anyway, shall I reflect? Last year, around this time, I was working corporate. It was a job my father had gotten me, so I had to be grateful to him and in turn, graceful about my discontent with the way things were going. In hindsight it wasn’t so different than what I’m doing now, schedule wise. I’d go to work, do my job, come home and spend the rest of my night gaming or reviewing my day’s work. Sometimes I’d go drinking or sleep over wherever the night’s current drifts my towards. And I do genuinely love engineering on its own, even if I were to strip it of its academic value and the lot. That’s why I’d tried my best to appreciate my corporate job–even went to Japan for it, which was ambitious, to say the least. But I’m glad I’d done it, otherwise life would be different now. See? Escalating consequences of my ludicrous actions. Funny, in desperate moments, how putty and willing we become to the profound absurdity of self discovery and preservation.

I love teaching more, though a year ago I would’ve hesitated to make this change I wanted. I’m clueless now, but I’d been worse counting twelve months backwards. I know nothing now, but I knew less. But you know what I say to that, honestly? Ignorance is bliss. It truly, seriously is and it’s something I think this hill is the one I will die on. Ignorance is bliss. Wisdom and experience in a way turn joy into a sacrificial lamb. For one, you chip away a bit of the other because life as it is, can be a horrible, beautiful place. I hate this feeling of my tweaked atoms compared to where they’d been before. I hate to acknowledge that I’d changed, maybe I’d grown or shrunk. But I also hate this feeling of not being able to move forward without the acceptance. I hate remaining stagnant in this... weird, dismal mood. If not return to the past, I just want to move forward. Not to return but to evolve, pokemon style.

But no matter what I choose to do next, I know for sure that life will always move forward whether or not I want to follow along. There will always be something, someone, some people. There will always be happiness and the lack thereof. Hurtled spatial debris in my orbit, seeking to kill me. And as such, there ain’t jackshit I can do about that. So, be it. We ball.