#but out of everything i tagged i only have adhd so i probably missed a lot of stuff

[solidwater05]

Apparently this needs to be said so

Forgetting things is morally neutral! Memory issues are morally neutral!

You're not a bad person if you...

forget things quickly

forget people

can't remember entire stages of your life

can't remember important things

can remember some things very well and forget other things all the time

can't remember things (or anything!) about your interests

forget to eat, sleep, go to the bathroom, etc

forget to reply to texts

remember things and immediately forget them again

can't remember birthdays, events, etc

frequently answer 'I forgot' to questions

can't retain new information

forget things you used to know

only remember things when it's too late

have vague, distorted and/or unreliable memories

depend on others to know how an event you were in played out

have other symptoms that are worsened by memory issues and vice versa

... and anything else I might have missed!

[wesperbrekkered]

Thanks for the tag @sixofsol ! I've missed these kinda tag games, they're so fun to do!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

20 so far! (I published my first fic in Jan of this year oml)

2. What is your AO3 word count?

172,381! My goal is to get 200k written by new years day but October was a terrible month for writing so I'm 10k words behind schedule :(

3. What fandoms do you write for?

So far only six of crows. One day I want to branch out into rwrb or lokius but for now the wesper brainrot is way too strong

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Of Merchlings and Letters Home with 963

Of Lies and Rash Decisions with 839

I Wish You Meant It with 787

You got me wrapped around your finger (not that I'm complaining) with 600

Jesper Fahey Couldn't Sleep with 537

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! I love responding to comments as they make my smile sm. Sometimes I'm too overwhelmed (in a good way) or busy to answer immediately but I do try my best!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Heh it definitely has to be Just You and Me Merchling. I had so much fun writing that one, hurt no comfort is my beloved.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uhm, depends on how you want to look at it. Fic with the fluffiest ending? Probably Summer Days Drifting Away or Out Of The Blue. Fic where they finally found happiness after everything they'd been through? Flair For The Dramatics or Never Let Me Go. Fic where against all odds it worked out in the end? Of Lies and Rash Decisions.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Thankfully I haven't to my knowledge.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I dabble in some every now and then... it's always soft and either full of jesper being a simp or a pining idiot (or both) during it. Lost On The Shape Of You and The Longest Hour are my only published examples

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

The only crossover I've published was Never Let Me Go, if that even counts considering it was more of a Spiderverse AU then a Spiderverse crossover. I have a How To Train Your Dragon wesper au in the works, but it's still in the baby phase so I don't yet know how faithful to the og movie the storyline will play out. There will definitely be all the iconic scenes anyway.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yeah! Of Merchlings and Letters Home, Of Lies and Rash Decisions and Flair For The Dramatics have all been translated into French by the wonderful shippoutsy on ao3 and twitter. (Link to the translated fics in the titles) it is one of the highest honour someone can bestow to a fanfic writer in my opinion, alongside fanart and book binding. If I was only more fluent in my native language I'd offer to translate so many of my fave fics

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not yet, but I'd love to one day! @mezlymils squinting at you babe

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Wesper... who's surprised?? Nobody

15. What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will?

So far it's my Rose Tinted Glasses wip. Tooth rotting fluff is way too difficult for me to write and I am STRUGGLING.

There's also the omalh epilogue

16. What are your writing strengths?

Metaphors are my lover and descriptive imagery my best friend!! I love being able to metaphor the fuck out of everything and I defo think one of my strengths is setting the scene. There's also internal monologuing but I think that's my adhd jumping out there hehe

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Definitely dialogue and small scenes that don't require much description, such as washing dishes or something else mundane but necessary to the scene. I don't feel like I'm a very humorous person so having dialogue that's natural and in character is something I can struggle with a LOT.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

It's quiet jarring to me personally, really takes me out of the scene and forces me to disconnect from the fic, especially if its a language I don't know. A word or two is fine, but whole sentences don't work for me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I used to publish marauders fics on wattpad when I was 12...

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

Of Lies and Rash Decisions my eldest child, Little Stolen Moments my middle child and Never Let Me Go my youngest child. Those fics are everything to me for so many reasons that I won't delve into here lest I bore you lmao

Tagging: @mezlymilsposts @crowpricorn @sunfl8wer @violets-and-books @littlelcvestory @thesacredlore ♡

[starlit-hopes-and-dreams]

Whump Intro

Hi, hello! 

Um, I’ve been avoiding this intro bc I am a shy awkward hermit that usually just lurks and likes stuff, but that doesn’t really work on Tumblr so here I am! Plus I wanted to use Whumptober to force myself into sharing my writing and figured it might be useful to introduce myself first.

You can call me starlit, or anna, or hey you, I don’t really care lol. She/her pronouns. I love reading fantasy & fantasy romance, writing, and playing RPG video games when I have the time (usually fantasy based-are we sensing a theme here? 😂)

Before we get to more about me nonsense-

Acknowledgements!

Shout out to @i-can-even-burn-salad

For beta reading for me and then being brave enough to share her stories with me. And for sucking me into Tumbler lol. And for talking to me all the time and making me laugh. And for being such a great person. <3

I love her writing and stories so much. Please, please, check her writing out. It's worth it, I promise! Bring tissues though!!

Best internet friend ever trophy, where is it? I need to send it… oh, there it is. Here you go, Elli! 🏆🎉💜

I haven't had the opportunity to check out many other blogs yet, bc someone has such an extensive back catalog 👀 😂 but tagged below is the one I have read. I devoured Traces in one day because it was so good. Highly recommend!

Traces by @whumping-in-the-wings - Thanks for writing such a great story! Can't wait to see what happens next :)

(Obligatory disclaimer: heed the warnings. They are well-tagged.)

I've got my eye on several other blogs once I have a little more time. Hope ya'll like spam likes/reblogs/comments, bc I'm a bit enthusiastic 😂

Ok, back to me, I suppose. Under the cut 🤣

I tend to use emojis excessively, but don’t expect me to know the meaning of them beyond face-value expressions. I shamelessly claim elder millennial status as an excuse (which means I’m 18+, obviously).

I’m audhd (combo autistic/adhd), but I didn’t find that out until earlier this year, so I’m still very used to tiptoeing around people and holding myself back out of self-preservation. Working on that though, bc I’m tired of that shit. 

Erm, also… fuck is my favorite word. If you don’t like foul language, I might not be a great fit for you. 

I joined Tumblr about a month ago, so I am still learning and ask for your patience. (I will probably be learning for quite some time, tbh) If I’m doing something wrong, please let me know so I can fix it.

Asks are welcome, although not sure what you would ask me lol. With asks, keep in mind that I’m literal as fuck and context is everything :D

As is fairly common from what I’ve seen in this community, I’ve daydreamed whump for as long as I can remember, and it’s nice to:

1. know what to call it 🥲

2. find someplace where I don’t feel weird about getting it out of my head and putting it on digital paper. Well, not quite as weird haha.

I’m super nervous to post on here, but that’s what I’m here for, so… deep breaths 😶

Likes: 

*Fantasy whump 

Magic w/ consequences

Captivity

Torture/punishments 

Restraints

Dub/non-con 

Emotional whump/angst 

Defiant whumpee

Breaking whumpee to the point of hopeless despair before building them back up again

Revenge against whumper 

Creepy/intimate whumper 

Named characters 

Recovery arcs, bonus points for romance <3

Eventual Happy endings after copious amounts of suffering

I write what I like, btw. I have written explicit romance previously, but I’m not sure if I will here.

I will try to be diligent with my warnings, but as those are new for me as well, I may miss some. Please let me know if I do and I will fix it! (within reason, don't ask me to tag something like sadness. that's a typical emotion. extremes like depression, yes. sadness, no.)

* Disclaimer: I will only ever write fantasy. I prefer to read fantasy as well, but I have made exceptions when I get the tropes I want :D 

Squicks: 

I’m willing to try most anything once. 

In general though, I tend to avoid cannibalism, major character death, hard-core conditioning, whumper redemptions, bad caretakers 

I’m excited to join the community here and looking forward to participating in Whumptober! I have no idea how well I’ll keep up since I only decided to write for it 3 days before the event, but I’m willing to try 😅

Even if I can’t keep up during October's events, I do plan to finish the storyline and there will be a happy end :D  

Fuck, this got long. Sorry!!!

See you all around! 💜

[vermillioncrown]

So I jumped from tpac to dbd and binged the stories and the au tags here, and I have to say, I’ve enjoyed every bit of it. I’ve always enjoyed stories that mix science and magic, and the way you write the science is so clearly grounded in experience and expertise that it pulls me in all the deeper. Also your footnotes are a godsend because this was my first time reading a wuxia/xianxia and while I probably would have stuck with reading through it without the notes, I wouldn’t have engaged with the story half as much.

=

Bit of a tonal shift, but I have a few theories about zyx’s metal-screeching xinmo thing (in no particular order):

1. It’s from the event that killed zyx before they transmigrated. The reason zyx can’t visualize it is because they couldn’t see what caused it or the memory is repressed.

2. It’s from zyx’s possession incident. Again, it can’t be visualized because the memory was repressed or because zyx was possessed at the time (I don’t know how the mechanics of comprehension or cognition during ghost possession work).

3. Like #2 it’s from the possession incident, BUT the xinmo was actually the ghost’s and zyx somehow leeched it off the ghost (maybe when it left to possess zyf?). Which is why zyx can’t visualize it: it isn’t theirs. (Maybe they need to track down the original ghost, potentially leading to a run-in with their family?)

=

So far I’ve loved everything you’ve done, and I can’t wait to see where you take it from here!

It's a very big jump from tpac to dbd, so I'm happy you found it enjoyable!

Thank you for enjoying the science; I...yes. do science. too much of it...okay lol, besides that, my goal with mixing tech/STEM w magic (especially a magic system and genre I grew up on) isn't to deny one or the other, or do that thing where some writers combine it into an OP mix. I also don't want to over-glorify science? It's both cool but also, just a thing. A day job. Drudgery is involved.

In fact, the joke w my friends is that if you ask any of us do we like what we do at an instant, we'd say "Kill me now." But overall, we'd never quit STEM.

The footnotes are a defining thing for dbd. So ADHD, and works only with the irreverent 1st person pov for the fic. There's a lot I ask of readers upfront, w the convoluted worldbuilding, all the OCs, the two different dialects of Chinese, and a lot of cultural stuff--so I think the style is very much 'love it or hate it'. If you jump back and forth, it's the closest thing a reader has to the way I yammer on and on irl lol.

Thank you for coming on the ride! Now, onto your speculations...

=

Among your three guesses, there are the ingredients to make the correct soup (missing a final bit). For someone that's unfamiliar with the genre, your guess are pretty sound! I'm not into plot twists or resolutions that are completely out of pocket, so someone could make a completely correct guess based on everything already written.

=

Thank you again, love your thoughts on it all, there's a lot in store for dbd! I'm just hyperfixated on tpac-verse right now 😅😅😅

[mothies-pup]

Hi!!!!!

I’m Taiga or Jax (mix and match names :3) and I use he/they/xe/it pronouns, though I like they/xe/it more when I’m regressing for some reason

I’m very very new to pet/age regression/dreaming but I wanted to make a side blog anyways!!!

If you see @mothmxwhump in your notifications that’s me, but I probably will avoid following/liking posts because it’s my main and NOT child-safe. If you see me RBing a lot and not liking or following it’s most likely that you ask for child-friendly interaction only :3

I try to tag for everything but if I miss something LMK!!

Please don’t call me stuff like girl/princess/etc or anything with femme connotations. I’m genderqueer and like terms like “boy” or “kid”. Usually when age dreaming I’m not a like toddler, I usually vibe with like 6-8 years old? I’m very new to this community and still figuring things out

I like a lot of different animals for petre but feel most drawn to dogs, especially big ones, and caterpillars and moths!!!!

I’m rlly obsessed with anything Bluey for both :3

My age/pet regression is a coping mechanism but not compulsive, and I rarely “fully” regress! Currently I don’t have any stuff like toys or anything other than some plushies and fidgets :(

I like lots of ocean and forest theme stuff, and bugs!!

If you see me referencing Poppy, he’s not an alter. He’s a sona/original character of mine who I kin due to his age/pet regression 💙

Nothing I post is kink

Boundaries:

Please use tone tags as necessary!! I am bad at discerning tone!!!

No NSFW interaction of any kind please. You will be blocked.

Don’t DM me without asking first. If you don’t want to make asking me public you can send an ask and I’ll dm you first without posting the ask!

Don’t flirt/hit on me, even jokingly, if we’re not irls! I’m aroace and have a queer platonic BF!

More “grownup” info below the cut!

💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛💙💛

Leftist

Pagan (Helenic and Celtic)

Deity work with Aphrodite

Pro Palestine

Pro reclamation of slurs

Genderqueer/Butch lesbian

Aroace spectrum

Autistic/adhd/anxiety

Singlet (non-system, it’s just me up here)

Not comfortable disclosing age, so let’s leave it at over eighteen

Furry (moth and doggo)

Main (not child-friendly): @mothmxwhump

General blog (covers serious topics but not gore/whump): @mothmx

[kagejima]

alright so i've noticed an uptick in followers recently because of the latest ushi fic, and to those i say, welcome! i think you made a mistake following this chaotic blog, but glad you're here!

second of all, i wanna say some things about the next few weeks for moots and old followers and new followers so you aren't in the dark! 💖

okay I'll say this up top so no one panics. I'm not going anywhere!! No worries!

lately i have experienced massive burnout on and off (i think that's because I was posting something like every fucking day when i started this back in may) and i have like ten thousand wips (mm, an exaggeration, but it's probably like 50 to 75 now and i got five collab pieces too i need to work on hahahahahahahha 😵‍💫. literally the reason i don't take requests is because keeping up with my brain is hard enough fjdjjfjejfne)

AND SO i will probably be going a little silent fic-wise as i prepare and queue up fics for y'all! i really do enjoy writing but the pressure to be relevant is starting to-- woooooo it's starting to get to me.

I want to make it very clear to moots and followers that I am not going anywhere, I will still be on here pretty much every day bringing chaos to the dash and you can still send thirsts and headcanons and things but as far as my fics, it will be a little bit before I post anything new 😌

also @ my beta readers, i'm not gonna drown you guys in fics in these coming weeks, its still low commitment like i promised, i'm only gonna be sending you like my bigger projects 😋 👍🏻

also!! i want to get better about reading fics! my "to read for later" tag got out of hand so I'm going to rectify that during this time xnenjfjejf i have been slacking on it, im so sorry everybody. you guys deserve better but i got such bad adhd, please forgive me 🙇🏻‍♀️ okay anyways! my point!

TO MUTUALS ONLY: i see the frustration you're having of minimal interaction (it sucks, i get it. i face it too 😮‍💨) so i wanna be tagged in your fics starting today!! this is my permission for you to do so, you'd never be bothering me, i promise!! you got a tag list? add me to it. you wanna just slap my handle in the comments to let me know you got something new? i got you! I'll read anything, even if I know nothing about them, you can still tag me. Tag away. Tag me in any and every fic, i don't care if i know them or not fjdnjfdjfnej. Or send it to me. Whatever is most comfortable for you! I wanna see it! Wanna display it like the little masterpiece it is! Because of my weird schedule, i miss a lot of things but i desperately wanna see what new things you guys got! The only thing I ask is to not be tagged in angst! I don't handle that well 🥲

okay I think that's everything.

ok, thank you!!

[jiracheer]

Hello! First off, thank you so much for reblogging my Isekai'd reader post, I'm glad you liked it! I saw in your carrd that you're open to doing Matchups, so if that's true, I hope it's okay to ask for one for Pokemon Sword and Shield. Here's my info, sorry if there's too much:

I’m 20 years old and Bisexual. I also have Autism, ADHD and some health issues like weak bones and scoliosis. I’d probably prefer to be shipped with either a Gym Leader or Champion from Galar, and definitely someone who’s an adult lol. I’m really short, only 5’ (152 cm) at most, with long, wavy and fluffy brown hair. My two favorite hairstyles to do are either the Legolas-style half-ponytail (I don’t know how to describe it…) or two braids hanging over my shoulders. I either look kinda disheveled or I’m really dressed up, there’s seemingly no in-between. I also wear glasses and am very slender. 

I’d probably be really good friends with Allister because I’d definitely be studying Ghost Pokemon, and also I can be very gentle with people. Helping others makes me feel better so I always make a point of being friendly and helpful with everyone I meet. I’d 100% be some kind of researcher in Galar. I'd probably meet them by accompanying Allister to an event with all the other Gym Leaders because he's shy. 

I’m actually a pretty fun person with a witty and sometimes dirty sense of humor, though I’m also very sweet and polite. I enjoy drawing and baking, and I will not stop writing for the life of me. I write whenever possible, and I write very fast too. I once finished an entire nonfiction book in a week. I get flustered easily but I don't have a hard time connecting with people, I'm really not afraid to go up and ask for things. Whenever I do get flustered I giggle a lot (I've been told I have a very cute laugh) and tend to cover my face with my hands. I also have a weird habit of calling people endearing names like "honey" and "sweetie" at random. I give really good advice too.

I'm very soft but have been called argumentative before, but I generally give passes easier than some. I HATE making people feel bad. But if you insult someone I care about there is no mercy tbh. So yeah, sweet but fierce when provoked. I'm very protective over my loved ones. I'm always a little overprepared for everything and have a hard time accepting compliments. 

Thank you so much!! I hope you have a wonderful week, take care of yourself! Stay hydrated!

authors note ; hi tori!! <3 I literally was pissing my pants at it 😭 it was SOOO FUCKIN FUNNYJSINGH If y'all haven't seen Tori's post, PLEASEEE check it out here! sincerely the funniest thing I've read in a hot second

never worry about it being too much! the amount of info you gave me helped me a lot with writing this for ya!!

tags ; match up / gender-neutral / set during SWSH events / slightly suggestive, but only one part lmao

wc ; 991

I match you with... Kabu!

🔥 I feel like Kabu is really just drawn to you! Not only do you care extremely for the people around you, but you don’t let people walk all over you! It’s something that attracted him to you and made him want to get to know you more.

🔥 But when you two first met, it was at some dinner party celebrating the newest Champion’s rise to the throne. Everyone, and Leon ofc, were there alongside the new Champion. So when he saw you were, he was rather confused as it was an event for them, but then he caught sight of Allister clinging to your leg.

🔥 He honestly thought you were his parent, rather than his emotional support. So he def made a fool of himself when he introduced himself to you and told you that he never thought he’d meet the shy boy's parent.

🔥 You laughed so hard at the poor man, you missed how red his face got and how smoke almost came out of his ears. Allister found the situation just as funny, even if he didn’t express it.

🔥 Allister liked Kabu. He was like an uncle to him, as he was very kind to him and helped him with whatever he needed- even if he was a bit rough around the edges, and bold with his approach when it comes to certain topics.

🔥 So it was really no surprise that the more the two of you saw each other at events, and even outside of these events, the two of you pursued a relationship.

🔥 Kabu was the one who confessed to you. The two of you were walking through Motostoke, making your way to some sushi place the gym leaders recommended to try out before Kabu would face a challenger.

🔥 He randomly stopped you and told you that he liked you, a lot, more than friends should. He would then express that he found you alluring and that you kept him on his toes. He was much older than you, obviously, and his life was becoming dull, but you... You brought such warmth and brightness to his life.

🔥 From your witty jokes to how shy you’d get when he’d tease you back. When he’d try to flirt with you and you’d cover your face with your hands, giggling to express just how happy it made you to hear his kind words- Argh. You have him completely wrapped around your finger.

🔥 You did have your concerns initially when he confessed. You shared with him your health issues, and it was important that he knew these things, even if you did speak of them in the past with him... You wanted him to be aware.

🔥 It’s there that Kabu told you that he loves you entirely for who you are, health issues or not, you are who he wants to be with and he’ll hold your hand through your worst days and through your good ones too.

🔥 So you agree to go out with him, much to his relief.

🔥 Allister is happy to hear about it. Very happy to hear about it. As are the other gym leaders and Nessa has become rather good friends with you, Milo has as well, so they were happy to see their father figure be with you.

🔥 Obviously with both of you having significantly different jobs, he always finds some way to connect with you. You need to borrow one of his Pokemon to figure out a theory? They’re yours for however long you need them. You need someone to go out with you in the Wild Area? What time? He’ll pick you up with breakfast./lunch

🔥 Once you moved in with Kabu when your relationship progressed, his favorite thing to do with you is doing your hair in the morning. He always took note of how you styled it, and one morning he asked to do your hair.

🔥 You agreed, as you wanted to see what he would do, and you were surprised to see he managed to do your usual hairstyles- probably even better than you.

🔥 It warmed your heart to know that he noticed these small details about you. So now every morning before you two go to work, he does your hair for you and kisses the crown of your head before your lips to wish you a good day.

🔥 On your days off, you two often go out to do domestic things like shopping for groceries, doing laundry, and cleaning the house up. Sometimes Allister joins in on your hangouts, and it’s become a thing now.

🔥 In a way, Allister has become your son, and it makes you happy to see Kabu feels the same way.

🔥 Kabu feels like you’d be a good parent. The bag you carry with you always has something he or Allister, even those around you, need. Like band-aids, snacks, tissues, pain medication, etc. Someone could name something and you’d more than likely have it. He likes how prepared you are. It makes him less worried about your well-being when he’s not around, because he knows you can take care of yourself.

🔥 The first time Kabu got a taste of your rage, it was when someone couldn’t understand Allister when he decided to be brave one day and order his own food, but obviously his anxiety got the best of him. The vendor snapped at Allister and you didn’t hesitate to drag the vendor through the dirt, and although you said some unsavory things, Kabu felt himself blush.

🔥 It was just attractive. Very very attractive. He showed you how much he loved that side of you later that evening.

🔥 Overall, Kabu feels like he lucked out with you. You’re the person of his dreams and he can’t wait to see what else the future has in store for you two.

[unlimitedhorsepower]

i mainly blog about media interests i have but i actually care a lot about politics and yknow common human decency. i own two cats, and i owned my late finnhorse mare for over a decade. i miss her and still love horses a lot.

i allegedly study cultural anthropology at an university and used to study equine masseusing and art. however im kinda just surviving on disability pension rn. feel free to ask about anything else, i love talking!

right now ive dedicated this blog to t&b ryan goldsmith for funsies but i like various things. more than you could imagine

queue posts once per day and i basically only queue things unless im actively making new posts

i make a bunch of posts that i dont tag at all. good luck finding them bc i sure fucking cant find them. some posts i just end up deleting anyways

i rarely go into any tags bc i have brain fungus but if you wanted to show me a post by sending it to me i would probably love to see it!

i dont usually follow back bc of the aforementioned brain fungus and instead skim through the latest things on the blogs of ppl interacting with me (if you wonder why i reblogged something from you randomly)

even if i dont reply in the case i get really busy irl etc, i still always read everything sent to me, every single reply, tag and ask!

my art tag: #gabriels doodles

wildly varying quality/effort

i do take requests if you want to try your luck in my ask box

my art-only blog, where i only reblog finished-enough art (im so slow at writing captions ill put my art on here one day for real): @limitedhorsepower​

other miscellanous tags & fun facts about me:

#ryanyurikeith

the sun, the sky and the moon with extremely congruent life issues... its so deep and their themes go perfectly together

#gabriels ouroboros kings

barnaby & ryan & keith (side platter of ryan/keith)  

the sternbild royalty (king of heroes x2 and the wandering gravity prince) as antagonists.

theyre all part of ouroboros for different reasons, but more loyal to each other than the organization for various reasons

#gabriels salaryman heroes

ryan/yuri/keith mainly, self-indulgent joke about high school romance tropes in an office building 

more fun facts about me:

as you can see i have a few different T&B AUs that i may post about or just totally forget and never make content for again despite them being perfectly mapped out in my mind but i love to share facts about them

if you ever interact with me here and thought that my answer didnt make sense, it was probably just that my brain (ADHD&co.) actively works against me and i may make really bad typos or straightup forget to type half of the words in a sentence. but hey. i did my best. never be afraid to ask for a clarification though

i also genuinely suffer from being overtly verbose (again... my brain...) and please dont feel pressured to read something if i sent you an extremely long DM reply or made a really long-winded reblog or something. i just communicate like that but i dont mind if you cant read it LMFAO.

my long sentences makes me seem really serious sometimes even when im not but im very friendly i promise!

and let me know if my typing is hard to read, i can switch to proper capitalization and punctuation if needed

[kiirschtein-archive]

⋆ 「 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬. 」 ⋆

about me. — i’m dahlia! i’m a cishet white woman in my twenties (lmao so exciting, right? /s). i work full-time so i don’t always have as much energy as i would like, but i still love being here!

this is a sideblog, so i follow and interact from @laserbrains, my main/star wars writing blog.

dni & byf. — minors, ED blogs, terfs, transphobes/any lgbtphobe, racists, sexists. i will not follow individuals who do not tag/warn for certain topics that bother me personally. also, please do not trauma dump on me.

nsfw. — since i am an adult and often post nsfw content, this blog is meant for those 18+ only, and anyone who does not have an indication of their age on their blog will be blocked. since nsfw content is so frequent here, i don’t have a specific tag for it for filtering purposes, so please follow at your own discretion. all written persons are also 18+

dark content. — i will likely engage with and even create content with darker themes from time to time. these works (and all of my works in general) will be marked appropriately with warnings. i try to be as thorough as i can but i may occasionally miss something, so please feel free to politely let me know if i’ve accidentally left something out!

aged up characters. — i will engage with and likely create content in which some characters are aged up. i would advise you not to follow if this is something that bothers you.

descriptors. — i try to write gender-neutral reader as often as possible. certain nsfw scenarios will usually cater to an afab audience, and occasionally strictly fem!reader. i also usually do my absolute best to refrain from using any descriptors of reader in my work, at least outside of anything necessary to establish a certain setting/au/etc. if anything happens to deviate from this, it will be tagged to the best of my ability.

requests. — i will write headcanons, blurbs/drabbles, and occasionally full fics when requests are open, but the more intensive the piece, the longer it will probably take. but overall it will depend on my level of motivation and energy; i will do my best to fulfill them within my limits. however, i certainly can’t guarantee getting to everything. please don’t take it personally if i don’t get around to something in particular. sometimes things just don’t click, and my adhd (alongside other mental afflictions) also sort of runs the circus that is my brain lol

do not repost. — i do not consent to the reposting of my works here or on any other platform.

𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐆:

attack on titan. — jean kirschtein, armin arlert, eren jaeger, levi ackerman, reiner braun, connie springer, erwin smith, bertholdt hoover

jujutsu kaisen. — satoru gojo, yuta okkotsu, toji fushiguro, megumi fushiguro, suguru geto, kento nanami, yuji itadori, ryomen sukuna, toge inumaki, choso

obey me! — lucifer, mammon, leviathan, satan, asmodeus, beelzebub, belphegor, diavolo, barbatos, solomon, simeon

buddy daddies. — kazuki kurusu, rei suwa

content i’m okay with. — age play, anal, begging, biting/scratching/marking, blindfolding/sensory play, bondage/restraints, breeding kink, choking/breath play, cockwarming, collaring, cnc, corruption, cum play, dacryphilia, daddy kink, degradation/humiliation, dirty talk, discipline/brat taming, dubcon, dumbification, edging/denial/neglect, exhibitionism, fingering, gangbanging, hair-pulling, hate sex, impact play, intercrural, masturbation, mommy kink, noncon, oral sex, overstimulation/forced orgasms, pain play, pegging, praise, pregnancy, public sex, sex pollen, somnophilia, squirting, stepcest, switching/role reversal, thigh riding, threesomes/group sex, voyeurism

content no-go’s. — self-harm/suicide, eating disorders, pedophilia, omegaverse, scat/piss, vore, heavy pet-play. drug use is on thin ice; it depends on the situation. same with some stalking/obsession themes. other things may be added/changed in the future.

side note. — i feel like this should go without saying, but fiction is separate from real life and i do not promote/condone all themes in works that i create or interact with.

[voidselfshipp]

Pacific.Rim f/o's x me Moodboards

Cw: suggestiveness. (Use of the petname "da.ddy" as a reference to herc)in hercs moodboard (ill leave him as the final one) also idk how to tag that so if anyone can help me out its appreciated, also anger issues mention.

Mako Mori

"Having you as my first friend is truly an honor"

"Shut up mako!"

Trope: enemies (ish) to best Friends.

Song: Best Friend by Saweetie Ft. Doja Cat

Stacker Pentecost

"Only you could teach me how to love the Ocean again"

"Why?"

"Because in its ebb and flow I see your love"

Trope: tall brooding and serious x slightly less serious smol.

Song: The Man I Love By Ella Fitzgerald

Charles (Chuck) Hansen

"Thanks for Sticking around for so long, princess, I know I can be hard to deal with sometimes"

"I'll always be there for you,'sides, you've come a long way"

"All thanks to you, luv"

Trope: Bad boy with anger issues x opposite 'goody two shoes' who also has anger issues (And can control them)

Song: Kiss From A Rose, specifically the cover made by Super Guitar Bros

Yancy Becket

"You're always look so beautiful, Raleigh and I might make you the poster girl for Lady Danger"

"First, in your dreams, becket, second you're such a charmer"

"If I sing that one song that reminds you of me Will you do it?"

"Dont. You. Dare...y'know my heart can handle it. Wipe that stupid grin off of your pretty face!"

Trope: Effortlessly charming with a heart of gold x tough looking softie, who gets easily flustered.

Song: Strawberry Blond by Mitski. Alternatively, Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor or Dandelions By Ruth B and My Type by Saint Motel

Raleigh Becket

"I honestly have no clue how you can love me sometimes"

"Rals. Youre a blonde haired blue eyed golden retriever of a Man, how couldnt I love you"

Trope:Emotionally constipated Man who hopes to find love and is a golden retriever x trust issues having sunshine

Song: My Type by Saint Motel, Dandelions by Ruth B, Dear Future Husband by Meghan Trainor.

Hermann Gottlieb

"And thats why this calculation should give me the exact result for-- did you understand anything?"

"Nope. But im trying my best only because its you and I love hearing you talk"

"..."

"Hermann?"

"..."

"I think I broke you"

Trope: Awkward but sweet nerd x a little less awkward but sweet nerd (who cant understand math for shit)

Song: Genius, by Labrynth

Newton Geiszler

"Sorry I must be talking your ears off...!"

"Ramble away. You did hear me ramble about kaijus for two hours, besides I love seeing how your mind works"

"Newton you absolute charmer..!"

Or

"Stacker I want that one" said Newton after I listened to him intently about kaijus for an hour and a half.

"Newton you cant just call dibs on people"

"buT I WANT HER!,SHE'S LITERALLY EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED"

Trope: hyperactive adhd nerd x constantly tired (probably also has adhd) nerd.

Song: Mary On A Cross by Ghost

Tendo Choi (Quispe)

"Thanks for teaching me some spanish, doll"

"Of course! Glad to help another latino out"

"Ya wanna know whats my favorite phrase in spanish?"

"Sure!"

"Te Amo~"

"teNDO YOU DORK!"

Trope: friends/co-workers to lovers (who Bond over being/descending from the same continent)

Song: Nunca Me Faltes by Antonio Rios, or Youre The One That I Want from Grease. (Mans loves a classic)

(Quispe is not a cannon last name but I think it fits since hes chinese/peruvian).

Hercules (Herc) Hansen

"Thanks by the way"

"For what?"

"For giving me all the love i didnt know I was missing, and for helping me get closer to my son. I love you"

"I love you too"

Trope: Tough guy who really needs a hug x Tough softie who loves giving hugs

Song: Love Like You by Rebecca Sugar, or I Was Made For Loving You by KISS

《♡♡♡♡♡》

-> Only mutuals allowed to rb.

[blazenhearts]

I totally see your point about needing to increase accessibility in all games, but also there's no game that it os without it's accessibility faults, nor is Build Mart the least accessible. There are ways to work around a colorblind member or nd member, you put them in a position they can avoid their disability in. A colorblind person could still easily be a runner, the color secrions are all labeled and everything else hs different textures. And if you make an nd person a more permanent builder then they don't need to memorize things. One of the best things about buildmart is how much communication is necessary. The people who excel at the game have very clear and concise communication systems set up to work quickly and efficiently. And as for games that a person can have disabilities thay make them unble to improve upon? Lets look back at those high anxiety games that were mentioned, Parkour Tag and Battle Box. There are also multiple creators with anxiety disorders who play and Grian for example has on multiple occasions expressed how overwhelming those 2 games are for him and it makes him unable to focus properly and his hands to get so sweaty he can't control his mouse properly. Thats not something can be trained, that's a result of that disability. So why aren't we calling for them to not be played or just nixxed entirely? And it's incredibly frustrating and sad and upsetting sometimes to watch because he gets so frustrated with himself for neing unable to do it. But I have seen little to no calls for those games to be canned. And while we're at it, what about Dodgebolt? Its a classic, we all love it, but again, talk about high anxiety. Poor Grian has literally hd a panic attack playing that game and yet, again, not a peep from the community to throw it out. This is all coming from the perspective of someone who hs both ADHD and an anxiety disorder, trust me I know how both can affect you and what things can and cannot be just trained. My point in all this is to say, is it really about inaccessibility, and if so, why aren't we advocating for better accessibility in other games too?

I feel like a major point is being missed. I gladly welcome discussions and call outs about inaccessibility, just because I'm only talking about one game doesn't mean that other games arent also putting certain people at a disadvantage.

Focusing on builtmart first

A colorblind person could still easily be a runner

Yes colorblind people can be runners but they're at more of a disadvantage than a non colorblind runner would be. Yes everything is labeled but having to slow down and take the time to read each color is slower than the quick glance around that someone else could take. An easier situation would be to place the colorblind player as a builder so they're closer to the builds, but still there's a issue with having to be within a specific range of the block in order to read its block label. Even then that's not fool proof bc in the instance like the Red Rabbits team with 3 colorblind players there would be at least one of them running or else there would only be one block runner for 3 builds

If you make an nd person a more prominent builder then they don't need to memorize things

Sure, but actually not really. They need to take inventory of their build, what blocks they need and how many plus how many they already have, and say they tell the runner what they need but the runner forgets and asks again the builder would need to take inventory again if they forgot.

I've watched dreams povs for buildmart several times, plus I watch his content regularly, he moves around a lot. Dream is constantly moving around and, while of course I don't know him or what strategy would work best for him, he probably wouldn't enjoy being a builder so putting him in that position might not be what he wants or feels most comfortable with.

One of the best things about buildmart is how much communication is necessary

It is and that makes it a great team game. But communication can be a huge road block for overloaded nd players especially considering communication only gets you so far when you forget what you've been told nearly immediately. Buildmart requires a lot of communication. I've watched buildmarts go smoothly and communication is a huge factor in that, but so is being able to remember what you were doing, where you were going, and managing inventory for several builds.

And as for games that a person can have disabilities that make them unable to be improved upon

I don't watch Grians pov for MCC so I didn't know about his anxiety playing Parkour Tag and Battle Box and I also don't know how often he practices those games or how often he talks with players that excel at that game.

As someone who also has anxiety I know that anxiety can be improved on for some people. I don't know what would help Grian or if that situation could be improved but as someone who does watch him what are somethings that you suggest that could help him?

I have hand tremors so my mouse sensitivity is pretty low, would practicing those games with a low mouse sensitivity aid in his difficulty? Would playing with people who could give him tips help lessen his anxiety? Are there ways to add to those games that would allow a player a bit more ease such as temporary immunity or requiring 2 hits to get tagged?

Like I said I think there's always room for improvement

So why aren't we calling for them to not be played or just nixxed entirely

You are welcome and encouraged to make posts bringing issues to light. Just because I made a post about the ableism of buildmart doesn't mean I don't think other games don't have their flaws. Also to mention I gave suggestions to improve buildmart, despite the fact I don't like it.

And it's incredibly frustrating and sad and upsetting to watch because he gets so frustrated with himself

That's exactly how I feel when George and Dream have to play buildmart, watching them beg for buildmart not to be played and then watching their morale crash and burn as they continue to get frustrated with buildmart. It is super upsetting to watch someone get frustrated with themself especially over things they can't control, which is why I'm calling out buildmart and offering suggestions for improvements.

Not a peep from the community to throw it out

So make a post about it! I'm a huge advocate for calling things out and bring light to subjects that are important to me.

My point in all of this is to say, is it really about inaccessibility, and if so, why aren't we advocating for better accessibility in other games too?

Yes it is about inaccessibility. I'm not talking about other games because I am talking about buildmart. You're welcome to ask me what I think about other games (I can't guarantee that I'd have very substantial things to say but you're welcome to ask).

Why aren't we advocating for improvements in other games? Well 1. because I wanted to talk about buildmart so I made a post about buildmart and 2. Why aren't you calling for improvements?

Anyone is allowed to call out games and put suggestions out there! Just because I made a post about one game doesn't mean you can't make posts about other games!

[rifleseye]

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐍.

NAME. Raphael / Cyrus / Percy (to a select few) PRONOUNS. He/Him SEXUALITY. Gay SINGLE / TAKEN. Recently single

𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐒.

— If you ever go to an art museum with me I will be able to tell you everything you need to know about the art there. I love art so much. I'm going to be doing volunteer work at one of my favorite museums over the summer which I'm looking forward to :^)

— I act! Last season I played the Ghost of Christmas Present for my local theater's rendition of A Christmas Carol. I was sick as a dog during the showings, however. Nightmare. I've an audition coming up next week that the Director wants me in so I'm excited for that.

— I wanted to be an astronomer as a kid but I have dyscalulia And bad eyesight (not good when you didn't know you needed glasses during an observational cosmology course) so unfortunately that dissuaded me. I'm still interested but it's more so just out of hobby than anything else.

𝐄𝐗𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄.

HOW LONG. So long. No idea. probably since I was 11. PLATFORMS. So many. My very first was the lego message boards 😂. msprp. pararp. chatzy. skype. facebook. tumblr. discord. i have no prefrence atm between tumblr and discord but i do feel i have an easier time on tumblr sometimes because of like... ask memes and such. also aesthetics... BEST EXPERIENCE. I only talk to one person from the discord anymore but this one Discord rp server I was in for Destiny still holds a special place in my heart. There were a lot of plot driven aspects in it that Really let me flex my writing. I miss the vibe of it if I'm being quite honest.

𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐘𝐏𝐄.

FEMALE OR MALE OR OTHER. Generally men but I've got a few nb muses on my multi as well as one female character who like... okay i'm gay but if i were to suddenly be homoflexible it'd be for ana amari. i need to save her from overwatch. FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT. i'm a little weird in that i'm not into one specific thing of these three. i'll go where plots take me or where the vibe follows. i'm not overtly fond of Just fluff since it's just too sweet for my taste and i'm a writer who needs substance. and pure angst is also too much at times and is overly meaty, ykwim? smut i'm very particular about and really depends on the muses involved. my perceptor in specific is on the ace spectrum so i'm slow to do anything with him. PLOTS OR MEMES. either or! i tend to plot with people i really jive with and most of the time it's over discord we plot. i've not given out my discord in a hot minute, however, since i've been a bit inactive until recent. i like memes too because i like exercising my writing and some prompts allow me to do that. BEST TIME TO WRITE. my adhd autistic ass does not have a set time i write at. inspiration hits me when it hits me. ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S).

yeah.

tagged. @tacticturn

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

15 QUESTIONS FOR 15 FRIENDS

Tagged by @izzy-b-hands Thank you so much!! I know tag games are slowly fading from fashion, but they are a lovely excuse to rant a bit!

1.) ARE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?

Nope! When my mother gave birth she randomly chose a name from a book she liked! She was between two, one becoming my name second becoming my middle name! (My middle name being -Amaya!)

I have been debating changing my, but it's a misspelling of a common name. If someone says it there's a 50/50 chance they say the male spelling, so I can't *not* appreciate it. That and it flows off the tongue with my last name.

[BUT OMG- Izzy would be *such* a good nickname. My ongoing gender crisis makes it hard to choose just 1.(Though I will 100% get a spade/swallow/Polaris(4-pointed star) tattoo on my hand at some point)]

2.) WHEN WAS THE LAST NIGHT YOU CRIED?

I don't know. Probably around 2-3 months ago??? I've been very busy lately, and usually only cry with fic or when it just *naturally* happens. I've been stressed, so I think I'll plan out a good cry this weekend!

Recently I've been frustrated after I received critiques about how I write in a few college classes, which has been a bit rough, but I'll learn from it. A lot of this has to do with how having a bad attention span affects how I write(if you're a follower of mine, you've definitely noticed my errors). I've noticed this in my fanworks as well, a lot of missed words or autocorrects incorrectly editing my work. I am debating going back and re-editing everything out of embarrassment. A combination of ADHD+ Dyslexia is hell when you like writing.

3.) DO YOU HAVE KIDS?

No! No hate to those who do, but I don't think I could be a parent. I know I CAN but I haven't beaten my demons yet, and I wouldn't want to pass them down. I want to make sure I can work through my own habits first.

If I could afford them? I would be much more 50/50. In a few years if my partner REALLY wants them, and we have a support system to help raise them, and we can afford them? MAYBE. I'm the eldest in my family, so maybe I'll get to be a cool uncle.

4.) WHAT SPORTS HAVE YOU PLAYED/DO YOU PLAY?

I'm very uncoordinated. I tried out for the volleyball team when I was around 13, and didn't make the team. On top of having issues showing up consistently that would have made weekly practice hell, I have always been a twig. In High School, after I figured my own habits out a bit more, I was in band/marching band and theater!

Today, I work on my feet, and enjoy indoor rock climbing and weight lifting. Though it really doesn't look like I do!

5.) DO YOU USE SARCASM?

Yes! But it doesn't land unless you've known me forever. I think I'm a hoot, but if I take the energy I bring hanging out with family into the real world? It doesn't transfer. My humor is very dry and half the time people end up explaining how 'you don't understand___' when in reality, I was making a joke. Now I'm getting a lecture.

6.) WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

Besides outward appearance, I tend to notice moods pretty well before they start talking. Stress, anxiety, anger, happiness, etc, someone's body language. Might be a survival mechanism from growing up with my parent, but it's helpful. THAT and I have a really bad resting bitch face, and 'sad' looking eyes that make me not, look happy 90% of the time. If I do, I'm purposefully smiling.

The 'energy' someone brings to the conversation usually determines how it's going to go. I'm awful with names and faces. At my current job, I've been there since November and can only name 5/40ish coworkers. It's currently March.

Body part-wise? Eyes. I force eye contact like it's no one's business.

7.) WHAT'S YOUR EYE COLOUR?

Brown! Dark brown, not yet black. I usually wear brown glasses to match my brown hair+eyes. Plus a brown jacket/boots. Overall, I also dress in a LOT of browns. Very 70s-style white hippie meets flannels!

8.) SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?

BOTH!

I'm joking, but in all actuality, I just need narrative consistency that fits the tone of your story. Realize if it's a tragedy or comedy and give it a fitting ending.

If we assume this question is more 'do you want to be scared/sad from the stuff you watch or do you just want comfort media?' I heavily lean more comfort. Though I love taking these shows and turning them a bit horrific, it's always to serve a central idea of character growth.

'Character A from show needs to learn a lesson'. Alright, what if the thing that teaches them this lesson is a ghost. Or if a character is thrown into the world suddenly alone-they to have them learn they are competent and not helpless. If that makes any sense.

I enjoy horror/tragedy as a group of tropes but enjoy it more as a way to tell a human story.

9.) ANY TALENTS?

I would frame them as hobbies more than talents, as I've never been naturally good at anything.

I enjoy playing bass guitar/guitar, I embroider, and of course, I write. But I am trying to improve in all of these as I go about my life.

For my instruments, I rely on Rocksmith! I love hooking up an instrument, turning my mind off, and letting my fingers do the work as I listen to songs I like on repeat. As I mentioned with being uncoordinated above with sports, it's slow progress, but I'm having fun doing it!

When I write, I know I have issues really editing my work. I'll change a sentence, and miss a few words in the edit, so now the entire paragraph doesn't flow. That, with dyslexia and the writing platform I use having a less than reliable spell check? Yeah. I wish to improve in how I write. My sentences often don't flow together. I jump from thought to thought, but I'm getting better at catching my thoughts. I only just started writing again in 2022, so I'm trying not to be too hard on myself.

I've been told I'm good with lecturing, but that's just from my love of writing essays.

10.) WHERE WERE YOU BORN?

Small town in Montana, USA. I've lived in Texas, Hawaii, and Virginia due to family being in the military until I was in my early teens. I would say I'm a Montana'ian, as I've spent over half of my life here. It's not awful, the price of living is getting bad as nature lovers with money take the property, but things could be worse. I wish I could leave the US. However, I've realized I need to grow my career and have experience before any country would let me emigrate. So I'll be in my thirties before I have the chance to. (I have no idea if that GIF is in Montana but it fits the vibe)

11.) WHAT ARE YOUR HOBBIES?

Writing, reading, drawing(it's god awful, but I doodle), listening to music, and I've been trying to get into recording podfics for a year at this point. My hatred of my own voice is seriously holding me back.

12.) DO YOU HAVE ANY PETS?

Yes! I currently have two cats of my own, Polly and Cricket. Both of whom I have inserted into the random fic, as some overly proud pet parents can admit to. They've been with me since early high school, 2016ish. As I currently live with family and do online school, they live with me, and have since 2020. But, due to me going back to in-person classes this fall, my mother will be taking them back. I highly empathize with @izzy-b-hands as I will be in a similar situation soon. Shit sucks!

13.) HOW TALL ARE YOU?

5'9/5'10. Taller if I'm in my boots! I enjoy it.

14.) FAVOURITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL?

Even with my issues keeping a consistent thought, and god-awful dyslexia, I loved English. I averaged around a 90% even if I tried my hardest, but I just fell in love with story analysis and literature. Back then I was convinced a STEM field would save me, so I graduated with 7 math courses and 6 sciences completed in 4 years. Only indulging in the 1 required English in all four years of school. If not for the pandemic and college making me realize I hated most sciences, I wouldn't have fallen back in love with writing. Not taking the schools english classes was my main regret in Highschool.

So either English or History. History was easy for me-I had A+'s in all my courses. Mainly because I memorized historical events like one would a story. Good stuff though.

15.) DREAM JOB?

Writer-teacher-therapist. I am working on becoming the ladder but honestly, the retention rate is so low, most leave the field in their first ten years. I wouldn't want to be a teacher to gen alpha kids, given how most are years behind their grade. But a professor wouldn't be a bad job.

My want to be a therapist comes from controlling some of my hours, and in-depth interactions with the public that go beyond fake customer service smiles. I hate dehumanization and all my jobs so far have been putting on more masks that I already have been struggling to take off for years. That, and I have issues doing work I'm not passionate about but I already see myself falling in love with the field. Especially drug rehabilitation work. My main hesitancy is how our current healthcare system in the US is unaffordable and hard to manage for the insured or uninsured.

If being a therapist falls through, I've enjoyed most of my janitorial jobs. I enjoy working at warehouses right now, given how they let you listen to music and the work is independent, but I've most enjoyed being a janitor in a hospital's kitchen. Maybe I can take the analysis I do here and make YouTube videos? Who knows. I don't dream of labor, but a menial 9-5 where I clock out and have a life sounds perfect. I am not what my job position says I am.

But @izzy-b-hands is right, any sugar-baby situation is preferable!

[cqlfeels]

@lansplaining encouraged me to finish this random meta nobody asked for, so let's talk about Meng Yao, Meng Shi, and 孟母三遷 (mèng mǔ sān qiān), a proverb about good parenting.

A warning: this is super long (even for me!) and is less quality meta and more my ADHD brain jumping around a maze of loosely related ideas. Proceed with caution!

Let me start by briefly going through why I decided to write this, because it’s important. In haunting Meng Shi’s tag in my starvation for Meng Shi content, I’ve multiple times come across the idea that Meng Shi pushed Meng Yao too hard, that she should’ve been more careful with teaching him to seek his father’s approval at any cost, and that she was too naïve. I’ve never reblogged this kind of post because 1) I personally think it’s rude to go out of your way to ramble about how much you disagree with someone on their own post and 2) if this was an isolated incident I wouldn't care either way, so I didn’t want to direct this rant at anyone in particular. It’s more to do with a tendency, primarily (as far as I can tell) from fans who haven’t had much contact with Chinese culture, to oversimplify Meng Shi and make her relationship with Meng Yao slightly disturbing, and I think part of it is due to CQL basically cutting out her entire storyline (so fans simply don’t have info about her to assess her fairly) and part is due to misunderstanding what a good parent is supposed to act like in the context of Ancient China.

[Of course, Ancient China is not a very useful historical concept, not any more than “ye olde Europe” - things change a lot based on time and place - but you know. It’s fantasy. Extremely broad trends are okay in this case.]

Anyway, the idea behind the posts I mentioned is, basically, that Meng Shi (usually through no fault of her own) is to blame for Meng Yao’s obsession with power, since his desire for approval was inherited from lessons she taught him. Just to start with, I’d argue that Meng Yao isn’t power-hungry as much as he craves security and respect, but that’s a different meta. Let’s assume that she really did teach him to be Like That. Was she wrong to do so? I’m not looking for “does that make for a happy, well-adjusted childhood?” or “would you raise your own son as Meng Shi did?” - I’m trying to figure out, would she have been considered a bad mother in the context of the society she lived in? I don’t think she would’ve.

It is surprisingly hard to find texts about the obligations of parents in Ancient China. Their main obligation is to raise filial children, but I feel like that’s not very useful: whether or not parents are good parents, children are expected to be filial, so a child being filial really says more about the child than about the parent. Maybe the parent completely missed the mark and society at large was what taught the child to be filial!

We can assume, of course, that parents were to raise good people, and that by learning what a good person looked like, we could figure out whether the parent was successful, but once again, I feel like that’s pinning things on the outcome, not on the process - the best of parents can end up with an awful kid and vice versa.

While thinking about all this, it took me a frankly embarrassing amount of time to remember the story of Mother Meng and Meng Zi, but once I did, it wouldn’t leave my mind - in part because the Meng here is the exact same Meng of Meng Shi and Meng Yao (yay! fun if useless parallel!), and in part because this is a story about how a woman can successfully raise a son by herself.

Okay, so important note: one of the most influential ancient Chinese thinkers is Meng Zi (孟子 Mèng Zǐ), who is known in the West as Mencius. If you've never heard of him - he's perhaps second in importance only to Confucius. When Mencius was still a young child, his father died, so he was raised by his mother, who is usually known only as Mother Meng (in Chinese, 孟母 Mèng Mǔ.)

Mother Meng's story is told in Biographies of Exemplary Women (列女傳 Liènǚ Zhuàn), which for around 2000 years beginning around the 18th century BCE, was the most commonly used book used to educate women. The book is divided into sections, each one showing a different way women could be honorable and good. Mother Meng's story is told in the Maternal Models section (母儀傳 Mǔ Yí Zhuàn.) The story has a few parts, some of which I'll quote, always from Kinney's 2014 translation.

Before I go on to quote it, though, I'd like to establish that Mother Meng's story is so, so famous that even if Meng Shi had never read this particular book, I'm almost certain she would've been familiar with at least the outlines of Mother Meng's story. I'm not cherry picking a suitable chapter from the book, I'm literally going with the most famous story in it because Meng Shi would be most likely to know this one if she knew no other story.

Okay, the first part of the tale takes place when Mencius is a young boy and Mother Meng is a widow raising him.

The mother of Meng Ke of Zou [a different name for Mencius] was called Mother Meng. She lived near a graveyard. During Mencius’ youth, he enjoyed playing among the tombs, romping about pretending to prepare the ground for burials. Mother Meng said, “This is not the place to raise my son.” She therefore moved away and settled beside the marketplace. But there he liked to play at displaying and selling wares like a merchant. Again Mother Meng said, “This is not the place to raise my son,” and once more left and settled beside a school. There, however, he played at setting out sacrificial vessels, bowing, yielding, entering, and withdrawing. His mother said, “This, indeed, is where I can raise my son!” and settled there. When Mencius grew up, he studied the Six Arts, and finally became known as a great classicist. A man of discernment would say, “Mother Meng was good at gradual transformation.”

According to the translator's footnote, "gradual transformation" is "a childrearing technique, whereby a child is morally formed through daily exposure to correct models of behavior."

From this story comes the proverb 孟母三遷 (Mèng Mǔ sān qiān) - "Mother Meng moved three times." It's come to mean that a parent - especially the mother of a male child - should spare no efforts to provide an environment that will give their child a good education, paying particular attention to what models are surrounding them.

I'm sure I don't need to say if Meng Shi was at all familiar with this proverb (and she would probably be), she must have been very stressed out over literally raising her son in a brothel. (Here I must mention sex workers in ancient China were often essentially owned by the brothels, so literally "moving three times" wasn't really an option for Meng Shi even if she could miraculously pick up another trade.) Meng Shi did however at least try to surround Meng Yao with the accomplishments appropriate for the son of a cultivator:

Xiao-Meng, are you still learning those things lately? [...] The things your mom wants you to learn, things like calligraphy, etiquette, swordsmanship, meditation… How are those things going? [...] His mom’s raising him as a young master of a wealthy family. She taught him how to read and write, bought him all those swordsmanship pamphlets, and even wants to send him to school.

Meng Yao actually talks a little bit about “those swordsmanship pamphlets” in the only time in canon he directly shares memories about this mother:

Lan XiChen, “Your [guqin] skills are also considered quite fine outside of Gusu. Were they taught by your mother?”

Jin GuangYao, “No. I taught myself by watching others. She never taught me such things. She only taught me reading and writing, and bought a handful of expensive sword and cultivation guides for me to practice.”

Lan XiChen seemed surprised, “Sword and cultivation guides?”

Jin GuangYao, “Brother, you haven’t seen them before, have you? Those small booklets sold by the common folk. First jumbled sketches of human figures, then deliberately mystified captions.”

Lan XiChen shook his head, smiling. Jin GuangYao shook his head as well, “All of them are scams, especially to fool women like my mother and ignorant children. You won’t lose anything by practicing them, but you definitely won’t gain anything either.”

He sighed in a rueful way, “But how could my mother have known this? She bought them no matter how expensive they were, saying that if I returned to see my father in the future, I had to see him with as much competence as possible so that I don’t fall behind. All of the money was spent on this.”

See what’s happening? Meng Shi cannot physically take Meng Yao to cultivators, but she spares no efforts in giving him the closest thing she possibly can -- figuratively, we might say she moved three times.

Of course, these booklets don’t work, but as Meng Yao says, how could she have known this? The cultivation world is very closed off - think of how the entire Mo household gathers to see Lan juniors, and how Wei Wuxian mentions once that “Cultivation families, in the eyes of common folk, are like people favored by God, mysterious yet noble.” Not just noble, but mysterious. That tracks, too - I mean, they live in inaccessible households and mostly leave to night hunt or visit each other, neither of which is an activity that would allow commoners to get much more than an occasional glimpse of them.

Now, if Meng Shi doesn’t even know that a pearl for Jin Guangshan was just a trinket, if she doesn’t know even the wealth of a major sect, how can she read booklets and decide whether that’s genuine cultivation or not? All that she sees is a chance for Meng Yao to be surrounded by the ideas and skills of the people she wants him to emulate - cultivators - and therefore she does everything she can to get him that chance. Mother Meng moved three times.

Okay, but maybe the argument is not “Meng Shi shouldn’t have pushed Meng Yao to cultivation” but rather “she should’ve pushed him, just not too hard." To that, I present another tale from Mencius' childhood:

Once, when Mencius was young, he returned home after finishing his lessons and found his mother spinning. She asked him, “How far did you get in your studies today?” Mencius replied, “I’m in about the same place as I was before.” Mother Meng thereupon took up a knife and cut her weaving. Mencius was alarmed and asked her to explain. Mother Meng said, “Your abandoning your study is like my cutting this weaving. A man of discernment studies in order to establish a name and inquires to become broadly knowledgeable. By this means, when he is at rest, he can maintain tranquility and when he is active, he can keep trouble at a distance. If now you abandon your studies, you will not escape a life of menial servitude and will lack the means to keep yourself from misfortune. How is this different from weaving and spinning to eat? If one abandons these tasks midway, how can one clothe one’s husband and child and avoid being perpetually short of food? If a woman abandons that with which she nourishes others and a man is careless about cultivating his virtue, if they don’t become brigands or thieves, then they will end up as slaves or servants.” Mencius was afraid. Morning and evening he studied hard without ceasing. He served Zisi [a great scholar whose grandfather was Confucius] as his teacher and then became one of the most renowned classicists in the world.

Notice that Mother Meng moved three times to ensure Mencius would have the highest of aspirations - to become a scholar. But just aspiration isn’t enough. Not by any means. Now that Mencius is actually studying, Mother Meng is willing to take an extreme action to ensure he's taking it seriously. Mencius doesn't have a father to smooth his path to success. He has to learn that aspiring to greatness isn't enough. He'll have to put in the effort as if his life depended on it. And if he doesn't persist in his hard work, everything he's done thus far will be useless. Sounds like a lesson imparted on young Meng Yao, doesn’t it?

A lot of fandom rage towards Meng Shi would apply to China's Best Mom Contender, Mother Meng. She gives her son big dreams, and teaches him how to go about achieving them in a society where failing is easier than succeeding. Yes, it's fair to say that Meng Shi taught Meng Yao to refuse to settle for anything less than being “Jin Guangshan's son, a respected cultivator.” Yes, it's also fair to say that she probably didn't allow him much time to play like children his age did. But unfortunately, in the world of MDZS, poor children probably wouldn't get to play anyhow, the difference is that they'd usually be working, not studying. Studying is a privilege! It’s a privilege Meng Yao could not afford but was given to him anyway, through his mother’s many sacrifices. We can even say that while she was alive, Meng Shi was trying to ensure Meng Yao would one day have a better life, at the expense of a fun childhood - and that's very Mother Meng of her, whatever our modern Western sensibilities might have to say about that.

Finally, I’d skip other tales (which show Mother Meng and an adult Mencius) and go straight to the poem that ends the Mother Meng section:

The mother of Mencius

Was able to teach, transform, judge, and discriminate.

With skill she selected a place to raise her son,

Prompting him to accord with the great principles.

When her son’s studies did not advance,

She cut her weaving to illustrate her point.

Her son then perfected his virtue;

His achievements rank as the crowning glory of his generation.

I’d like to focus on the last verse - “His achievements rank as the crowning glory of his generation.” All that Mother Meng wanted was for Mencius to not completely ruin his life, but he became great. You can so very easily see a parallel with how Meng Shi hoped Meng Yao would be a cultivator but he became Jin Guangyao, Chief Cultivator, styled Lianfang-zun, one of the Three Venerable, hero of the Sunshot Campaign.

Of course you can say “Jin Guangyao did many Very Wrong Things to get there, though!” Which, sure, okay, fair point. How many and how wrong depends on which canon we're discussing, and your own interpretation, but there’s no version of the story in which Jin Guangyao is 100% an innocent child uwu. But blaming that on Meng Shi is just... straight up weird? I don’t see anyone going “If Jiang Fengmian hadn’t adopted Wei Wuxian, he’d never have dared become Yiling Laozu!” and that’s pretty much the same logic. Would street kid Wei Wuxian have invented a new type of cultivation if he had never been taken in by the Jiang? Probably not, but raising undead armies is very much not something Jiang Fengmian could’ve predicted. In the same way, how could Meng Shi have predicted that teaching her pre-adolescent son “You are the son of a cultivator, act like one and earn your place in society” would’ve ultimately resulted in innocent deaths? How could she predict “You’re not destined to having the same horrible life I did, you can get something better than this” was a bad thing to teach? I quite honestly don’t know.

Finally, I'd like to point towards a much flimsier evidence that Meng Shi did great as a parent. And that is Meng Yao’s love. Nie Huaisang at some point comments Meng Shi is someone who Meng Yao "cherishes more than his life," and I think his assessment is correct.

Even putting aside the fact he built a whole temple to get his mother to reincarnate into a better life, and even putting aside how he refuses to flee the country without her remains, there's still crystal clear evidence that Meng Shi must've done something right. Because a lifetime of people using his mother to bully him doesn't seem to have made Meng Yao resent her. Had their relationship not have been very strong, odds are he'd feel bitter and/or ashamed of her. That doesn't seem to be the case. He's attached to her even decades after her death.

I want to be very careful with equating mutual affection with good parenting, though. When I was a rather rebellious teenager, my mother (in typical Chinese fashion) used to say that parents and children don't have to love each other as long as they're dutiful to each other, by which she meant that a parent-child relationship isn't informed by warm and fuzzy feelings, but by whether you'd be willing to do anything for each other. Specific to my case, she meant "I don't care if it makes you hate me, you will do as you're told because that's what's best for you." (That may also be the reason why people more familiar with Chinese culture see the Jiang family less as outright abusive and more as #complicated, but that's another meta.)

Whether your kid wants to hug you every time they see you is of no consequence to traditional Chinese thought - raising them to be the best they can is all that matters, because at the end of the day, you won't be around forever, but you can definitely set up your kid's life so that it goes smoothly and virtuously. How that's accomplished varies depending on many factors, but to have the goal be "I want my child to love me" rather than "I want to raise my child right" would've been considered selfish as hell.

So even if all that Meng Shi had given Meng Yao had been stern lessons about the need to go get his birthright, she would've still have been considered a good mother!! In fact, she would've been doing everything she was supposed to do, under extremely difficult conditions! (Remember the importance of environment? That Meng Yao grew up to want to be a cultivator despite having probably never even met one speaks wonders about Meng Shi's childrearing powers!!)

But just based off how over the top Meng Yao's filal dutifulness is, I'd go a step further and say that even as she did the impossible, she was also loving enough to inspire genuine affection. This is complicated because children who have present fathers could expect their mothers to be tender with them. The first century BCE text 禮記 Lǐ Jì or The Classic of Rites says that:

Here now is the affection of a father for his sons - he loves the worthy among them, and places on a lower level those who do not show ability; but that of a mother for them is such, that while she loves the worthy, she pities those who do not show ability - the mother deals with them on the ground of affection and not of showing them honour; the father, on the ground of showing them honour and not of affection.

But when the father figure is lacking for any reason, the mother must abandon her tenderness because someone must guide the child, and without a father, the role falls to the mother. A single or widowed mother had to be very careful to not smother their children with affection and raise useless, spoiled kids, or so it was thought. (The presence of Qingheng-jun and Lan Qiren is why Madame Lan can be so affectionate with the Lan boys, by the way - if she was raising them by herself she would've been expected to be much more practical. AUs where she just gets her kids and runs away could do very cool things with this idea. But I digress!)

Where was I? Oh, okay. Because Meng Yao seems to not just respect, but actively miss her, it seems that Meng Shi somehow managed to deal with her son on the ground of both honor and affection, to paraphrase.

So basically, all things considered, it seems not only would Meng Shi have been considered a great mom (if people could look past her being a prostitute, anyway) but she also went above and beyond the bare minimum. She truly spared no efforts on any front to make sure her son had everything your average gongzi would have - someone to teach him and someone to love him, access to education and confidence in his birthright. That she couldn't actually make him a cultivator, that she couldn't actually raise him in a proper home with no one being cruel to herself or him - that's immaterial. Even Mother Meng couldn't control what her neighbors did, only what she taught her son! The key point is Meng Shi tried. She did everything she could to educate her son right. You couldn't ask more of her, and quite honestly, you should probably be asking less.

Of course we can't err on the other extreme and say she was Perfect. Given MXTX only ever writes flawed characters, we can safely assume that if we'd known more about Meng Shi, we would've seen many flaws. Indeed, just the fact she didn't teach Meng Yao the guqin when he apparently wanted to learn it might point to some conflict we don't know enough to speculate about (maybe she focused too much on cultivation when Meng Yao's interests lay elsewhere? Maybe she wasn't able to sufficiently shelter him and he felt it'd be a burden to ask her to teach him anything? Maybe maybe maybe, go wild with your fics.) Nevertheless, I would never hold a female character to a higher ideal than a male character - if the male cast of MDZS can be a hot mess and still be admirable for what they're trying to do, then so can Meng Shi.

At the end of the day, when I look at Meng Shi - and I've made myself a document with all the references to her in the novel canon so I could easily contemplate her life and character - all I see is a woman every bit as determined and resourceful as her son, willing to do everything it took to raise her little boy into the sophisticated and ambitious man he became.

Finally, here's a fun little parallel that I'm 100% sure was unintentional but I still love. I said Meng Shi couldn't have moved three times. She couldn't, but I think maybe she taught her son he was worth moving three times for. Qinghe Nie. Qishan Wen. Lanling Jin. Isn't that super fun to think about?

Alternatively, tl;dr: Oh My God I Can't Believe We're Blaming Women For The Actions Of Their Adult Children In The Year Of Our Lord 2k21, Meng Shi Was Doing Her Best, Chill!

[jaskierswolf]

Weight on My Shoulders

A very self-indulgent prequel to my not so kinky soulmate AU (Tumblr/AO3).

Any references to events or messages involving my own darling soulmate @geraltrogerericduhautebellegarde is purely coincidental. I promise we are much more needy than this.

Ship: Geraskier (pre-romantic)

CW: Far too much pining, mentions of anxiety, long distance friendships

_____

Jaskier pouted as he wrapped himself up in his weighted blanket and duvet. Even with the additional weight he was struggling to sleep properly, but it did help. What would really help was a hug from his soulmate, but that was off the table. Geralt was a bazillion lightyears away, all the way in America, and Jaskier was stuck in miserable, grey England. They’d been talking online for two years, and the distance wasn’t getting any easier. If anything it was getting worse, and Jaskier wasn’t sure how much more he could take of it.

“Jask, you’re falling asleep, love,” Geralt hummed from the too bright screen that was lighting up his room. “Go to bed.”

“I’m in bed,” Jaskier huffed.

“Go to sleep, we can talk more in the morning.”

Jaskier whined, sinking further into his blanket burrito. “But I have work again tomorrow, I don’t want to sleep. I want to talk to you. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Geralt sighed, smiling warmly at him through the screen, “But I will be here when you wake, I promise.”

“I’d rather you be here with me.”

It was pathetic. Jaskier knew it was pathetic, but he just felt a warmth in his chest, a ghost of Geralt’s arms around him.

“I’m always here” Geralt hummed in his mind.

Jaskier leaned into Geralt’s mental embrace, letting himself soak in the glow of his soulmate’s warmth. He was struggling to keep his eyes open which didn’t really matter but he only had a few hours each day to video call his soulmate and he hated wasting any of them. It had been worse the last few days. Essi and Pris had announced they were going to honeymoon in New York, and whilst they wouldn’t see Geralt, they would be a whole lot closer than Jaskier had ever been. He’d even considered asking to tag along in their suitcases so he could afford the trip to the States.

He just missed Geralt so fucking much.

“I love you,” he mumbled again, wiping the tears from his eyes that he hadn’t even realised had formed. “I love you more than Dandelion.”

He tried to laugh but it sounded weak to his own ears. Dandelion was a musician, just like he was hoping to be, a beautiful tall elegant man with gorgeous long blond curls, and a laugh that could outshine a thousand suns. He was also Jaskier’s celebrity crush and inspiration. Jaskier had been obsessed since he was sixteen, secretly hoping that Dandelion was his soulmate. Not much had changed since meeting Geralt in his dreams. He was still completely obsessed with the musician, only his daydreams tended to include Geralt as well, a fact that his soulmate thankfully found endearing.

“Wow,” Geralt chuckled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That’s high praise.”

“It’s true! I would renounce my love of Dandelion for mere seconds in your arms,” Jaskier insisted, “and then I would never let you go and you’d be stuck with me.”

“It would be hard to work with a Jaskier in my arms.”

Jaskier scoffed, rubbing his eyes. “You’ll manage.”

“Sleep, Jask,” Geralt’s words were a low hum, added weight to his blanket and Jaskier could feel himself slipping. He supposed it was only a matter of time really, it was nearly midnight and Jaskier had to get up at an ungodly hour for work. “For me.”

And really that was just unfair. Geralt knew that Jaskier would do anything for him. He was just that desperate for attention, although despite his slightly less dramatic personality, Geralt could be equally needy, if you knew how to read him.

“That’s cheating,” Jaskier whined.

“I never said I play fair.”

“Betrayed by my own soulmate,” Jaskier pouted as Geralt hung up the call and his tiny little bedroom fell into darkness. Without the light of his phone, Jaskier was fighting a losing battle. “I love you, dear heart.”

“I love you too, a lot. Too much.”

Jaskier scoffed, turning to hug his pillow. “Never too much, never enough. Goodnight, my love”

“Night, Jask.”

_______

When he awoke the next morning, Jaskier had a notification on his phone. It wasn’t unusual. Geralt often left him little messages, pictures of Roach, or things that had reminded him of Jaskier throughout the day. Sometimes, if Jaskier was lucky, Geralt would leave him gifs of Dandelion, and on even rarer occasions, awkward selfies that were never flattering despite Geralt’s godlike appearance. Jaskier treasured every single one. But no, that morning he had a more unusual notification.

It was from Lambert.

They’d talked a couple of times, mostly in a group chat whenever Geralt wanted to include Jaskier on family film night or playing games online, which Jaskier was shockingly terrible at, especially the shooting games the boys preferred. Lambert had never DM’d Jaskier before though. There had never been an occasion to, so why bother?

So Jaskier was feeling more than a little anxious about clicking on the message.

“Geralt?” he tested, although he was pretty positive that his soulmate was asleep. Geralt would usually at least say good morning when he was awake, but there had been nothing but silence through their soulbond.

It came as no surprise when Geralt didn’t answer.

His phone buzzed again in his hand, another message from Lambert.

“Bollocks,” Jaskier groaned, sitting up in bed so he could find his glasses. They were buried under his blanket and looking a little bent out of shape but that was nothing new.

L - Guess who’s coming to England on a business trip!

Jaskier’s heart jumped and hope soared through his body, a flutter of wings in his chest as his pulse raced, only to be destroyed in the next second.

L - It’s not Geralt, shit. I should have started with that.

- It’s me.

- I’m coming to England. Found out this morning. All expenses paid. - I’ll be in London for a week, if you want to meet up?

Jaskier stared at his phone. He was excited, of course he was but he couldn’t help the ache in his heart. His friend was coming to England. Geralt’s family was coming to England. That was one step closer to meeting his soulmate in person, but it wasn’t far enough. He felt like shit. Guilt tore through him. Lambert was clearly excited about his news and yet all Jaskier could think of was how he wasn’t Geralt.

Maybe he could give Lambert something to take back to Geralt. They’d sent letters and parcels back and forth but it would be different like this, and he should be excited. He should be over the fucking moon.

And truth be told, if he hadn’t felt so incredibly needy already he probably would have been more excited, but his heart was feeling fragile. Jaskier had spent the last week or so wondering if Geralt loved him back in a romantic way, or whether they would just be the dearest of friends. Whatever it was, Jaskier would be fine. That’s how soulbonds worked. They would be perfect for one another, platonically or romantically but Jaskier fell hard and fast.

Surely Geralt would love him back in the same way, right?

Jaskier was too afraid to ask at this point. He just kept saying “I love you” and hoping that Geralt would hear the truth. Neither of them had spoken about dating other people, but Jaskier knew there was no hope for him. Perhaps the odd fling, but he’d tried that once and without the connection he had with Geralt, he just wasn’t really into it.

He sighed dramatically and picked up his phone.

J - That’s fucking brilliant!!

He added a stream of emojis for good luck.

J - and all expenses paid for?! Drinks are on you, darling x

L - You should be so lucky.

- Pay for your own drink you cheapskate.

Jaskier squinted at the screen, pushing his fringe from his face. His tongue flicked out to lick his lips, and he ignored the dryness in his throat. Logically, he knew he should get up and get some water but his bed was comfy and he didn’t quite want to face the day yet, especially as Geralt was asleep. Things just felt heavier when Geralt was asleep.

He sighed again and tapped out a message.

J - Can you sneak Geralt in your suitcase?

- I’ll pay for the luggage fee <3

Lambert started typing immediately and Jaskier waited with bated breath. It had been a joke but there was always a chance that Lambert would be allowed a plus one… right?

L - I’m afraid not

- I’m sorry. I know you want to meet.

- Geralt is just as upset. The bastard hasn’t spoken to me all day.

Jaskier couldn’t help but laugh at that. He’d sensed something had been bothering his soulmate, especially when Geralt was the one to insist they video-called before Jaskier went to bed, but it was nice to hear that he wasn’t the only one being pathetic and unreasonably grumpy. Sometimes it felt like Jaskier felt everything and Geralt was just putting up with him because he didn’t have much choice. In his heart, Jaskier knew that wasn’t true, that Geralt just showed his love in a more sedate manner.

Opposites really do attract.

He sighed and switched chats, typing out a quick message to his soulmate.

J - I miss you. I love you. I will be unbearably needy today. Sorry!

Flipping his phone to the camera app, Jaskier snapped a quick selfie. He looked like a mess of stubble, glasses and ratty hair… but Geralt never seemed to mind.

J - Isn’t your soulmate the best?

- Love me?

- I love you

- I already said that but it’s true.

Jaskier cursed and threw his phone onto the end of the bed before remembering that he hadn’t answered Lambert yet. He pouted and scrambled to find his phone again, struggling against the weight of his blanket. The blanket did wonders for his ADHD but it could be a pain in the arse to move sometimes. Reluctantly, he switched back to Lambert’s chat.

J - I can’t wait to show you around! Ooh we could go to the natural history museum, I’m sure some of the stuffed animals look just like you! Or maybe a show!

L - Not sure how much I’’ll be able to hang out, but we’ll have to get a photo to show Geralt.

- He’ll probably be jealous.

- But he’ll manage.

Jaskier rolled his eyes. Siblings could be the worst. He’d never really gotten on well with his own sisters but he could imagine having Lambert for a brother would be a hundred times worse. Still, he smiled at his phone. Geralt would be jealous. Geralt wanted to meet him. That was a good thing, no matter how much Jaskier pined to see his soulmate over Lambert.

This was a start.

One day.

They would meet one day, and then Jaskier would never have to let him go. He just had to be patient… for now.

[sinpiesinpie]

Writer Appreciation Game

Rules: Tag your favourite writer(s) and let us know what about their writing you like and if you have an example link it so we can all check it out!

@kpoptrashlord-007 First and most talented ofc!

Tana is a top tier writer who’s a little under appreciated on tumblr. Writes for so many bands and also has an anime side account. She writes more like Stephen King or Anne Rice and maybe that’s why people are sleeping on her. She could literally leave this gig at any moment and become a professional!

Hide & Seek (Hwanwoong x Reader) ~ Yandere is her expertise and this one is my personal favourite. I know that people really love her Taehyung Ring fic but this one is so intense and the world she built for this was beautiful.

An All Night Affair (Bangchan x Reader) ~ Smut. Race car driver Christopher. Need I say more? Literally every smut piece she does is pure gold but this is pick. It’s so erotic. I mean wow. I can just imagine myself there and .. blushing.

@biaswreckingfics

If you love angst this is your writer! Britt knows how to make you feel all the feels. Personally I’m not into having my heart broken before getting it mended in the cutest way - but if you are she has several Exo series that you can check out! Otherwise these are some that don’t include the angst hehe:

Seonghwa Fluff (Seonghwa x Noona Reader) ~ I might be a little biased, I mean Seonghwa, but this is adorable and I love it. It is short and to the point.

Soulmate AU (Mingi x Reader) ~ This is hilarious! I feel like soulmate au’s are overdone and it’s always fun to find something that puts a fun spin on the trope.

@smileysuh

Nova is a multi band writer as well but I think she is probably most known for her NCT Frat, CEO and Cam series- although a lot of other bands join in as well. This writer is on fire, literally! All the smut and it gets quite intense so read at your own discretion ;)

Cam Baby Series ~ PubGMarkT (Mark7 x Reader) ~ I mean wow. It’s hard to pick from just one of the Cam Baby series, and I’ll be honest, I have to go through and read a few of these since I skimmed some of them - my ADHD doesn’t let me sit for long lol - but the cam baby series has longer and shorter options from several different bands so check it out!

Frat Boy Series - Team Captain (Jaehyun x Reader) ~ I haven’t finished this one yet - it’s 14k - but it’s Jeffrey sooo .. I mean wow. I haven’t read a lot from this series yet but judging from the comments she is getting people are loving it and you will too!

@geminirules

Luna writes for a lot of bands but I think the ones I have seen the most are her Seventeen pieces. She likes to try out different things and I love watching her grow as she creates new content.

Valentines Day (Inseong x Reader) ~ SF9?! Yasss. This is so cute and I heart it with everything I have. Please don’t sleep on SF9 and don’t sleep on Luna :)

Icarus (Taeyong x Reader) ~ Yass! This is a Greek mythology au and I love the world building here! This has everything, smut, fluff, resurrection, it’s so interesting .. it is 20k so there is a lot to go over here, I am half way through and I can guarantee this one is well worth the read.

A/N: I almost didn’t do this because I follow so many amazing writers and I didn’t want to leave anyone out! This is just part one - I have so many fics I need to read that and I plan to make another one of these once I get to more of them!

I am only adding a few here - there are soooo many awesome writers on this site! Please don’t feel bad if you didn’t make the list, it just means I haven’t read your stuff yet! This is why I am sending this out - so we can all find new awesome content!

Tagging my writer moots that I need to check out - comment your your favourite piece(s) so I can read them and add it to the next one! (If I missed you and you write let me know)

@winwiniee @peachhyychenle @moonshineboyz @trippy-dejun @qianinterprises @yutahoes @darkmulti @yukheislipsx @kaexloey @yeo-moonbae @lookingforluna @sakuracheol @just-come-baek @taemin-jaemin @drunk-on-yuta @royal-aeris @kpop---scenarios @treasuretaeil @myeoning-call @intokook @naturalogre @dayawantstosleep @dream-escaper @you-can-mork-me-in-your-heart