#but yeah the process itself is not super different

[jichanxo]

how different is your creative process between writing and drawing (and in which areas)? do you have a different approach in each artform? if you have an idea, you first think how you'd write it or draw it?

This is definitely going to be long so. Cut.

Just to preface, obviously both writing and drawing are a form of art, but I tend to use the word “art” when I mean illustration or drawing, so that’s what I’m going to do here. And of course a disclaimer that I’m only speaking to my subjective experience.

Tbh I don’t think my approach to both is that different from each other, which is odd, because I’m used to thinking of them as very different processes. Probably because the mediums themselves are so different. But like with my writing, I tend to improvise. Feel it out, see how things go, throw ideas at the wall. I would probably say that I’m more willing to experiment with/scrap my art than my writing. Probably because I’m more confident with my art than my writing, so I find it easier to make judgments like that, or because I’ve made so much that throwing stuff away when it isn’t working is very easy. I get a bit more precious about my writing. I always want to keep it or at least try to adapt it into something less bad, lmao. I’m also just not as confident in my ability to judge what writing is worth keeping or worth permanently deleting. I just haven’t polished that skill for writing as much as I have for art.

With regards to planning my art – I definitely do sometimes, because I consider art my Serious Hobby, which means I do like to have a go at more serious projects as opposed to just improvising all the time (a contrast to my writing where my only “serious project” is senseific, and I fell into that by accident). The things I plan out are the idea/s I want to convey, and what imagery would express that. (like this IW art, and the second one in this umineko post) Or sometimes the imagery gets stuck in my head and I work from that. (yagami’s hair clinging to his neck here)

I actually find that planning too much can be detrimental to my art process. That is to say, not in terms of figuring out ideas/themes, but doing too much drafting. I find it very difficult to do things like clean lineart unless I’m having a Weirdly Good Art Moment, so I just don’t. Hence a lot of my art is very sketchy. I’m just not good at capturing the same looseness with “proper” lineart than with my sketches, so I keep them. Not worth fussing over. This is what works for me.

(even in this, and the first image here, you can see a lot of breaks and incomplete looking lines. not to say necessarily that this is a bad thing of course, but you can see that even in what I consider my “polished” work, I won’t use “proper” linework, but instead a high quality/detailed sketch. I imagine some other artists would have their proper linework stage after these sketches, but i choose to stop here)

this probably reads like I’m talking myself down, but that’s not really what I’m meaning to say – my point is that I don’t figure out details even for my bigger pieces, and that with drawn art I have a better time judging where my time is best spent. I don’t think I have a strong understanding of my writing by comparison, so I can’t decide how to play to my strengths or anything like that, I just have to see how i go.

For writing, either it’s “i’m in the mood for it” or “i’m not in the mood for it”. For art, it’s “today is a good day/bad day”, “today’s a painting day”, “today feels like masking”, “today I just want to sketch”, “today I’m too loose for what I want to work on”, “today I’m too stiff”. You can see the difference in my ability to judge, yeah? So a big difference is to do with just my own (relative) inexperience with writing as opposed to drawing.

I think the other major factor is the differences in the mediums themselves. A fanfic is sequential. There’s a change in time. Illustrations are by nature a single moment in time. Big difference there. Of course, there are comics and animatics and other art that’s both drawn and sequential, but since I don’t do a lot of that, just count that as exceptions for now (and in a way, those are kind of like a combination of writing and illustration, aren’t they?) I find there are some ideas that are conveyed easier or better through writing, and others where the better option is art.

So to answer your last question, often ideas come to me pre-packaged as a “writing idea” or an “art idea”, rather than having to decide that separately. In the case that a sequence is better conveyed with a visual element, that’s when it’s comic time. The gorillashipping comic is a great example of this. The punchline is at its best when it’s not explained in words, and the expression of the final panel does all the heavy lifting. I pitched this idea initially in words (as a joke on discord), but the comic version has more punch.

Comics are also great for when you want to avoid explaining context, and for when you want to force the reader to take a specific pace. Here’s the example I’m thinking of.

The visual space dedicated to the fighting forces you to take time to process, and that time is important for the buildup to the punchline. This wouldn’t work as well if we cut this down to, say, the four panels of the last example. So yeah, timing. And then my other point – context – why are these two fighting? I don’t know. Where are they? I don’t know. It’s not necessary for the joke. The same is true of the gorillashipping joke. How did the relationship between kiryu and kaito happen to make this even remotely possible? I don’t know. But I don’t need to explain it in a joke comic. With writing I find that it feels more necessary to make context clear to the reader so they understand what’s happening, but with illustrations, it’s a lot easier to skip over that. Obviously this isn’t impossible in a written format, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Admittedly I think this second example is doable with just pure writing (replace all the panels with descriptions of the fight that take long enough to simulate the time it takes for the reader to digest the build up, then make the punchline a wham line, yknow), but it varies on a case to case basis. Also I would not want to write fighting. Lmao. I’m not… any good at that. So I guess it is also just in part about playing to strengths.

Anyway, enough comic side tangent. I’ve already started talking about it there, but was going to do a comparison between writing and art as mediums. The main thing, I find, is that they have different strengths. More than strengths/weaknesses though, the mediums themselves convey some things with ambiguity, and other things with detail.

Like I first mentioned, time: it’s easier to convey the passage of time with writing than with illustration. And like I said before with comics – conveying context – because an illustration captures a single moment in time, it’s a lot easier to avoid context entirely, while it’s harder to avoid in writing. I’ve drawn kuwagami cuddles before, and there’s no background, nothing discernable as to the lead up or any other detail. And that’s great! I don’t want to have to invent a plausible reason for them to end up hugging. I can just do it, right? But sometimes it’s the context that makes things significant, so you do want it there. A better job for writing. Writing allows you to be detailed with your context, while illustration leaves it ambiguous. Different strengths. You just pick which best fits the situation.

It’s a similar case for a lot of different factors – they're conveyed differently through both mediums, and depending on your idea, some results are more desirable than others. Rather than explaining, it’s probably better to do a direct comparison. (If it makes any difference to your curiosity, I did the drawing first then the writing. You’ve caught me on a good art day, what a nice sketch…)

I’ll try not to talk too much because I think the comparison and table say enough, but you can see how, despite depicting basically the same thing, these two things feel pretty different from each other. The mediums do different things. The mood of both is similar, but not quite the same. It’s these differences that inform the choice of mediums instinctually. (but again. points at disclaimer. as is true with all “rules” about art, none of these are absolute. you can make an illustration that conveys a strong context. you can write fic that favours describing facial expressions and leaves the intended emotion ambiguous. i’m generalising to make a point here.)

I guess the other thing is that it’s pretty easy to do writing in bed on my phone compared to my art setup, lmao. Convenience and timing also play into it probably.

[gotham-daydreams]

Okay we see how Bruce, Dick, Jason, Tim and Cass become Yanderes for reader what about Damian, Steph and Babs?

That question is exactly why I'm kind of debating on making a kinda "Part 2.5" sort of thing, and it would show how Tim and Damian got further roped into things like Bruce, Dick, Jason and Cass. Along with how Steph and Babs take the news of "heyyy, um. you know Y/n? yeah that one sibling of ours that's lived here for years that we've barely have like, 10 conversations with collectively? Yeah, that sibling. Uh, we just figured out they've basically been living an entire life without any of us knowing, and might've run away because we were barely involved in their life despite them making multiple attempts to have us be there. So, we kind of need your help to find them. Like. Now-"

Though honestly I'll just put the run down here, so-

Bruce kind of gave Damian the little push he needed before hopping on the train, kind of like what he did with Jason but a little different. With him finding Damian, and some questions being thrown around, before Damian just decides to help look for you.

Honestly I can imagine that Damian wasn't super serious about finding you or anything at first, and was more so just trying to help because Bruce and Dick were looking for you. Hence why he looks for Alfred first with the intention to get the search done and over with. Though, that does begin to change a little when he eventually stumbles upon your room and gets that small glimpse of all he's missed out on after having talked with Alfred.

The room itself doesn't necessarily get to Damian — not like it does with Bruce and Dick — but it's more of the contents of the room itself that get him started on the yandere path.

Honestly, how Damian and Tim begin to develop their more Yandere thoughts and feelings for the reader is through finding something in your room, leading them to find more stuff, and that eventually getting to the thought process of "i didn't know they did this... i would've liked to know about this before/share this thing with them." Which then leads to a more yandere-like mindset.

For Damian (since we're already on the topic of him), he finds that one art award that you got, and becomes curious. Eventually he finds the unfinished art pieces that Bruce had found earlier, and while he isn't impressed or anything at first, the more unfinished pieces he finds the more he kind of begins to see your potential, and that leads to his own thoughts on the matter. With him wishing he knew about how you liked to do art too, and that eventually leads to him thinking that he could've helped you refine your skill, and the both of you could've drawn or painted together.

What strengthens that mindset is when he gets his hands on a notebook that you had used to practice whatever you were struggling with, and left notes for yourself on how you could improve upon certain things as well. Maybe if Damian had known you were into art before, he could've helped you, and you both could've improved together. Refine each other's skills, and just be able to create together. Which Damian really begins to like the thought of. Especially as he sees how you improved the deeper into the notebook he gets.

So, he also sets out to find you, but with a more positive mindset and thought process.

Honestly, out of everyone, Damian is the least worried about you and your well-being. Not because he necessarily has faith in your abilities to stay alive in Gotham, while also potentially being by yourself, but rather he isn't focused on that part? Not as intensely as some of the others, anyway.

Besides, if you were to turn up dead, then he'd have the "you die, I kill you" mindset. You aren't allowed to be dead or 'missing' in his mind, and so you aren't until proven other wise — but even then he's going to need a lot of solid proof to even believe it.

Damian is just more focused on the "we have a common interest and I want to do this thing with them" part of learning that you're into art. Even if you aren't anymore, just knowing that it was something that you used to do is enough to get him jumping on the yandere train. You'll be doing art with him one way or another, and you can't do shit about it. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Sure his reasoning isn't a strong, but it's enough to get him started and to go looking for you with the others when they eventually start tearing Gotham apart in hopes to find you. Damian now has a sudden need for quality time and your his main target, sorry not sorry.

Tim on the other hand just sort of, stumbled upon your room, and thanks to Dick was very quickly roped into this mess (as mentioned in "Not Here").

He actually looks through the box with all of your more personal belongs first as Dick tries to call and text you like crazy, while also trying to figure out more stuff.

The first thing he minds is an mp3 player, which, again - as mentioned in "Not Here" held very early versions of songs you were working on at the time, along with some of the very first songs you ever wrote. Which, after listening to a few of them, is immediately a big fan. Though that ends up being both his downfall and how he begins to develop his more yandere tendencies.

Like Dick, you had tried to call and message him about certain performances and such you thought he'd like, and hoped he'd attend, but to no avail. It sucks even more for Tim now because if he had just given your music a chance just a little sooner, maybe things would've been different between the two of you. Maybe you wouldn't have left.

Not to mention that, since he now really loves your music - just knowing that he's wasted so many opportunities to hear more of it, and the completed, fully fleshed out versions of some the songs on the mp3 player makes him upset. He really feels the hit of neglecting you, and that hit only lands harder when he goes through that 'List/Progress' notebook that Bruce had seen earlier in "Not Here".

A notebook which does reveal a lot about you, and how you only did so many activities because you hoped that if anyone in the family was into one of the activities/hobbies you tried, then you'd be able to bond with them over it. Though look at where that got you. Countless awards hung on your walls, with a number of accomplishments to your name - and yet not once were you able to use them for their original purpose. Not once were you able to hold a full, long conversation with any of them about any of the things you've done.

It wasn't even your fault because you tried to put in the work, Tim could really see that now, but you just weren't given the chance to actually put it to good use.

Maybe that's why he ended up helping Dick as much as he did, and maybe that's why he took the time to download some of your songs before heading out to look for you. He wanted to feel closer to you then he really was, and wanted your music to be something shared between the two of you.

Tim wants to not only get closer to you, but to hear everything you've ever made music wise. A want which he fully intends on making a reality.

Stephenie and Barbara are a bit different, however. Since, as stated in "Not Here", both of them are informed of what's going on after everyone else but Damian and Alfred absolutely loses their minds over you not being in the Manor. Though, again, both take the news a bit differently.

Between the two, Steph easily feels the worst. So her motivations and actions — like Bruce, Dick, Jason, Cass, and Tim — are more out of guilt and regret. She already doesn't like the thought of her own neglect having caused you to keep so many things to yourself that you basically hid yourself away, but the idea of her — along with everyone else — having pushed you so far away that you ran away? That... doesn't make her feel good, to say the least.

Sure, she doesn't feel as bad as Bruce or Dick - who easily feel the worst because of their respective roles in the family, and them feeling like they failed to even be a semi-present figure in your life for you to recognize them as your Father and Older Brother (to which they are correct, but aren't aware of that yet) - but it's still enough for her to try and look for you too.

Kind of like Bruce when he was looking in the Manor, Stephanie doesn't know where to start looking, and that only worsens her regret.

I guess her development comes more with time? Since the more she and the others look, not only do her feelings grow, but she also learns more about you as everyone starts sharing information over the intercoms. Things they just found out about you — like how you spent your birthdays alone with Alfred and had waited for them each year until recently, how you made music, what kind of competitions and such you've participated in, who were your teachers, how majority of what you did wasn't even for yourself - but rather a chance that one of the many activities you did try out was something anyone of them were into, so that way you could actually have a conversation with them - and more. (Which may be shown later? Not in a official post/part to the series but perhaps in a sort of side thing that shows the mayhem going on. But who knows?)

Case and point, while they are all looking for you - Steph slowly becomes more yandere for the reader the more she learns about you and how her and the other's actions impacted you. Like some of the others, she wants to make it up to you, but isn't entirely sure how she'd even go about doing that. The more aware she becomes, the harder she falls.

Barbara on the other hand, I'd say, is more lowkey as of now when it comes to her development as a yandere?

I mean, Dick, while very much panicking, basically told her it was an emergency and he really needed her on the bat computer because he had to look for you. Which, in the same breath, gave a list of locations and possible teachers you might've had in the past (you can thank Tim for trying to figure all of that out) and if she could look into it.

It's safe to say that Barbara's introduction into the whole situation was very chaotic. An emotional, worried, and panicked Dick is never a good one, so that was fun to deal with while slowly drowning in confusion.

Eventually, she got the run down and was quick to help, but like Bruce, Cass, Damian, and Jason - she was more confused at the start.

Ouf of everyone, and maybe besides Jason, Barbara has had the least amount of interaction with you - and the room for possible interactions with you for her were much smaller anyway considering that you aren't a vigilante, and never intended to be. So, it only makes sense that one of the people you've easily had the least connection with, was the person who communicated and mainly interacted with the rest of the Batfam when they're doing vigilante work.

What didn't help is that she barely even saw you at events or even holiday gatherings and such the family would have, with you being so neglected that they just... failed to even notice you missing at the time. The day she was introduced to you was when you were first adopted, and that was basically both the first and last full interaction either of you have had with each other. Other than that, she would hear small comments about you sometimes from the others, but even then it wasn't much and those soon died out as one could've guessed.

Even when she was in the Manor, she might've caught a few glimpses of you, but nothing else - so the beginning of her fall into being a yandere is definitely much slowly and lowkey when compared to the others.

I feel as if this whole situation may encourage Babs to want to get to know you better? After all, your disappearance did cause the whole family to basically start a whole manhunt just to find you, so I feel as if that would be enough to get Barbara interested at the very least. Not to mention all of the things she's hearing about you from everyone - it would be nice to try and actually meet you, not just know about you.

In other words, I feel as if Barbara may develop more as a yandere in part 3, seeing as I can see her more yandere tendencies begin to develop once she actually 'meets' you. Y'know what I mean?

So tldr; Damian becomes a yandere for the reader by finding out they're into art/have done art in the past, and now has a deep need to bond with them.

Steph becomes a yandere through her guilt and regret, and like some of the others, want to make it up to the reader.

Babs, on the other hand, hasn't exactly become a yandere just yet, but will once she 'meets' the reader and see them for herself. As of right now, she's just curious, but we'll get there in part 3.

Also, this is unrelated to the ask, but I would like to point out how pretty much everyone in the Batfam thinks you ran away rather then you just leaving. Do what you will with this information for now :]

Anyways, I hoped that answered your question, even if I got a bit rambly! If there's anything else in particular anyone else would like to know, feel free to send in an ask!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

aita for refusing to take my meds?

apparently, i (14m) have not been in the best shape medically lately, but physically i feel perfectly fine. it was recently discovered through some blood tests (for something unrelated) that my liver is kinda… devouring itself? or something i guess. but i've googled everything and i'm not having any symptoms like jaundice or weight/appetite loss or anything like that. so i've not really taken it seriously bc it doesn't feel like a big deal bc i'm clearly not THAT bad.

well, on the other hand, my parents have seriously lost their minds about it. they've been taking me to get my blood drawn like once a week (which imo is just making me Actually feel worse cause it sucks and seriously stresses me out). so in one of these MANY doctor visits, they've given me so many different kinds of meds that i have to take like. three times a day. None of which feels necessary from the get go because i never felt bad in the first place. so i took them (some antibiotics and a steroid i think) for a couple of days, but then i stopped bc they were ironically making me feel worse. like the steroid made me SUPER hungry but the antibiotics made me wanna hurl. so i figure if i felt okay before the meds, that they were doing more harm than good.

ANYWAY. so the big drop here: it turns out my parents have been hiding the meds in my food ever since. and when i found out, i REFUSED to eat anything they gave me bc obvious reasons??? but at the same time they ARE my parents so i usually don't have any other option. and several times now they've made my favourite food for me as an "apology", only for me to find out that they've poisoned me AGAIN. (yeah i know, fool me once, fool me twice, yada yada)

luckily, it seems like they're getting the hint and not trying to force me to take the meds anymore, i haven't been to the doc in like two weeks, and finally things are starting to chill out. my parents have even gotten me some of these really yummy soft treats that i just swallow whole now, which is super awesome!!

but anyway i just wanted to know, aita for not taking my meds (and maybe sometimes biting my parents a little in the process)?

What are these acronyms?

[tossawary]

Sasuke not wanting to be a warrior and giving up on his revenge against Itachi is wildly OOC without some really strong push for this change, which is why I lean towards an SI-OC for a House Husband Sasuke AU, because the amount of trauma and pressure that canon Sasuke is suffering from all angles is intense. But the way that I could MAYBE see canon Sasuke giving up on recklessly focusing on revenge against Itachi is if there had been other survivors of the Uchiha massacre.

Like, okay, I understand that the Uchiha massacre was the plan of a couple different puppet masters, so it's not going to make sense. (Massacres do not, as a rule, ever "make sense". They are bad full-stop.) Part of the goal here is obviously to just get rid of the Uchiha clan and the potential threat that they pose to future plans.

But Sasuke could have just died on some random mission as a genin and then what? What if Madara and Obito lose? This is an incredibly violent world filled with incredibly clever ninja, it's unreasonable not to be concerned about any of them being offed randomly by accident. People like Danzo and Zetsu then have no more new Uchiha children to use and to harvest if anything goes to shit. And their stupid plans are often so overcomplicated that there should be a high chance of things going to shit!

They have cloning, of course, but secret cloning operations are probably expensive and presumably have a relatively high failure rate, and require the cooperation of people like Orochimaru and Kabuto. What if you just don't have the material left for a good cloning process?

Itachi is in a really weird position here and I do not well remember all of the different puppet strings that are being pulled here. I assume that Madara and Obito wanted all Uchiha dead for some reason? But I would have assumed that people like Danzo and the Third Hokage would have preferred to leave most of the children alive to mold into a new generation of Uchiha soldiers. I vaguely remember something about Danzo maybe being prejudiced against the Uchiha? (EDIT: Yeah, Danzo probably doesn't want any kind of law enforcement looking into his shit and the Uchiha are the cops, but that doesn't fully explain why he would want to get rid of all of the Uchiha children too.) So maybe Danzo wants them all gone too, and everyone is just forced to leave Sasuke alive because they know Itachi WILL go more insane than he already is if Sasuke bites it in an "accident".

"The Uchiha were planning a coup" is such an unsatisfactory explanation for the actions of a lot of these characters. It is IMPOSSIBLE for every Uchiha to have been 1) an adult, 2) a ninja, and 3) someone who voted for a coup and participated in it. We know ninja like Itachi and Shisui felt more loyal to the village itself and they couldn't have been the only ones. Uchiha have been defecting from their clan in order to join the village instead since Uchiha Hikaku abandoning Madara for Senju Hashirama after Izuna's death and before the creation of the village.

And we know that this is a sexist, patriarchal world! There would have been some men who would have decided the course of action FOR their spouses and their children, if the spouses and children were aware of this ninja operation at all. EVERY single disabled and elderly person in the clan was in on it too? EVERY civilian? Since Hashirama, NO Uchiha has ever married outside of their clan? Okay, I can buy that the Uchiha clan would be incredibly controlling regarding their bloodlines, yes, and I know that they were being isolated and that the more "progressive" Uchiha with outside lovers were probably being killed off by their enemies. Fine. Maybe all of the other adult Uchiha were cooperating and had impossibly good information security, let's pretend that's true.

But that still leaves the issue of the children! Would an isolated Uchiha clan trying to orchestrate a coup not be super controlling about encouraging their members to get into "good, traditional families" and make more "loyal Uchiha soldiers"? Fascist states often get really weird about that kind of thing. Sasuke cannot have been the only young Uchiha child at this point in time! It would be... REALLY weird if he was.

(Itachi is not heroic for this. It is a TRAGEDY. It is horrifying. There are no heroes in this part of the story and the best that I can say for Itachi is that he was another victim of really weird and twisted circumstances.)

Anyway, I think it would be fun to have an AU where Sasuke is left as the clan head of a bunch of children, at least 10 of them or so. He's the oldest among them at 8-9 years old. (I'm pretty sure that other fanfictions have done this before. Someone must have done this concept before.) Everyone expects Sasuke to just dump the children on some village caretakers so he can pursue his ninja career, in order to become the new powerful protector of his clan and murder his brother, but MAYBE this situation is something that would make canon Sasuke decide against all manipulation that he can't actually afford to chase Itachi.

He still wants to be super powerful, of course, so that he can murder Itachi if his brother ever comes back, but otherwise? Rebuilding the clan is more important. He's staying at home for his training and accepting parentification with wide open arms and a deep scowl.

(There is the danger of ROOT making off with Uchiha children, which is also unpleasant to think about.)

I think it would be funny for Naruto to deal with the fact that his rival has been a dad since the age of 8-9 years old. (Sakura: "IDIOT. How did you not KNOW that??? EVERYONE knows that!")

I also think it would be funny if Sasuke, when he was annoyed with Kakashi's bullshit, unconsciously pulled out a squeaky tweenage Disappointed Dad Voice to express his frustration with his teacher. (Sasuke: "Do you think that it helps anyone for you to behave this way???" Kakashi: "Hm, there are many things that I don't like about this.")

[choccy-milky]

A few months back, I asked if it was okay to write using Clora and Seb. Finished the work - thought I'd lost it on my hard drive and a virus scan located it.

Not sure if it's sad or happy, but the basic premise of it is Clora getting frustrated/upset at Sebastian and Sebastian comforting her, Sebastian getting upset at a predicament Clora's in and Clora comforting him, and them both getting frustrated/upset and having to comfort each other.

If you'd rather I didn't post it, that's fine too, but just wanted to test the waters and double check that you'd be okay with it if I gifted it to you via AO3, or see if you wanted a sneak peak of it before posting it.

OMG im so happy you were able to find it and recover the work you did!!😭🙏 AND YES OF COURSE YOU CAN POST IT AAA I CANT WAIT TO READ IT!! you can DM it to me first if you want, but i also dont mind if you post it straight away on ao3!! IM LOOKING FORWARD TO IT SM AAARGHHHA💖💖💖IT SOUNDS ANGSTY WE LOVE THE HURT/COMFORT I HOPE MY HEART CAN HANDLE IT🥺💖💖TY AGAIN FOR USING CLORA AND SEB AND TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE SOMETHING ABOUT THEM😭

@sunshine-goblin AAA THANK YOU!!! im honoured its your fav fanfic AND ALSO THE LONGEST YOUVE READ BAHAHAA fr, when you say its as long as four books in lotr it rly makes me realize how insane i am😃👍 aw IM GLAD I COULD INSPIRE YOU TO DRAW MORE AND WRITE AS WELL😭 I was curious so i creeped you and everyone go look at their HL blog @sunshines-legacy your MC is so cute and so is your art🥹💖 as for tips on writing a longfic and brainstorming and motivation and stuff, my motivation was my brainrot and unhappiness with the canon story/ending LMAOO, and looking at the story of the game and playing around with what i was unhappy with/what i WISHED could have happened instead, was a lot easier than just coming up with plotlines from scratch. but something i highly recommend is just OUTLINING and making a timeline, one of my fav parts of writing was just putting on some cafe ambience in the background and doing stream of conscious type word documents where id just barf ideas and then worry about making it pretty later....like look at how many versions of the same chapter i have BAHAHA or like different renditions bc i couldnt decide if id wanna keep a scene/what order, so id make a timeline and keep smoothing things out until i was happy with it and whatnot

brainstorming is defs my fav part of the process and the most helpful part to me. just getting a blank document and writing stuff you want to happen without worrying about how it connects to the story, and then a lot of the times as i was doing that id just keep going and it would kinda tie itself together/id come up with a solution as i was writing / once the ideas kept flowing. so basically : TIMELINES AND OUTLINES I VERY MUCH RECOMMEND, but very low pressure and barebones ones. for example, this is what my outlines/brainstorming look like

its honestly just me talking to myself LMAO, and a lot of the time ill interject and be like "OH YEAH AND THEN THIS CAN HAPPEN" as the ideas come while im writing BAHAHA. its a super fun process and honestly nothing feels better than just getting hit with that flash of inspo, and since its all very low effort theres no pressure to actually write well and its just a chill fun time AND GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR OWN PROCESS / WRITING💖💖💖it can be difficult but HOPE U HAVE FUN TOO💖💖

@a-little-lysdexic WAIT REALLY?? LMFAOO OMG THATS CRAZY....SAME BRAIN...🤝🤝...that would trip me up so much if i were you omg BAHHAHA but aside from having similar tastes in names, IM GLAD YOU LIKE MY ART AS WELL, TYY💖💖💖

THANK YOUUU im glad you're liking it!!! and that its taking over your life BAHAHA💖💖 the video you're thinking of was by @silverxstardust for chapter 13 of my fic, and you can watch the video here! (AND TY AGAIN TO SILVERXSTARDUST FOR DOING THIS!)

[thekatebridgerton]

More humorous takes about the Bridgerton brothers that make me laugh is that I cannot stress enough, how much I love their 'unhinged for wife' energy. Because it's just so funny

Anthony, like, you can see it, he's not even trying to hide it, he can and will be a meanie to his nemesis Kate who he also happens to love more than life itself, and to everyone if they don't fall in line. that's his whole mojo. People meet him and know at first glance that Anthony Bridgerton will not hesitate to use a gun if the occasion calls for it, because he outright intimidates people into submission. So good luck trying to mess with him or with his wife. He will end you. Have you seen him play against his wife in Pall Mall. He loves her, but he will not lose to this woman! She will one day respect him!. He's the boss of the house dammit (he's not, it's Kate, but she lets him think he is)

Colin is my favorite. because he looks nice and he looks friendly, and he would totally sink to the deepest of the low to have Penelope the moment he kissed her. This man is absolutely as unhinged as Anthony possibly more so, and he hides it so well, that everyone thinks he's the most charming brother. In fact the only person who knows how crazy Colin really is, has to be Penelope. Colin can talk his way out of anything (even a murder sentence. Do you ever wonder why nobody has ever sued Penelope for defamation? Because I sure don't), he's a people person. It's maddening, I want to convince people that Colin is the worst of the worst, and people are still like 'but he looks like such a harmless guy, just look at him eat that eclair' yeah! I know! that's how he got to Penelope! he was all cute, pretending to be nice and by the time she discovered he was the devil in disguise, he already had blackmail material on her!!. Men like Colin scare me, because I know he's bats*t but I just can't prove it.

Benedict and Gregory are just the same version of unhinged, just in a different font. Because they actually believed themselves to be the sane ones and then they met their true loves and you see that sanity? it went out the window.

Benedict used to think he was such a gentleman, who respected ladies and would never dishonor one, and guess what kind of obsessive idiot he turned into the moment Sophie said 'no' to his seduction tactics, be my mistress this, be my mistress that, Sophie ( and I) just knows Benedict's thought process alone should be landing him in jail instead of her, but he gets away with it, because apparently annoying her to death doesn't actually count as a crime. And the thing is, that she's the only one who triggers the crazy in Benedict, he's perfectly sane with everyone else, but it's her and only her who has him going all naked swimming in the lake, and obsessive paintings of her face plastered on all his sketchbooks (and his home, actually I'm pretty sure Benedict has a secret Lady in Silver shrine somewhere in My Cottage, that he took down before Sophie could find out about it) , not to mention his whole 'F society if I can't f Sophie' love at first sight excuse that somehow everyone swallows without questioning how crazy Benedict actually is.

And then he had to go teach that to Gregory! And Gregory was such a sweetheart, I actually thought he was going to make it to half of his book without going unhinged and then Lucy tells him the name of her fiancee and he goes ' wait, I know the guy, he's super gay, I can't let you marry him... ' my brother in the force what is your problem! Leave the girl alone. She's your friend, stop stalking her, she's got her own problems to deal with!! Lucy did nothing to deserve how Gregory randomly went from nice guy she was super supportive of in the courtship of her best friend, to kinda obsessive dude who won't leave her alone and wants to ruin her arranged marriage (let's ignore that said arranged marriage needed to be ruined and it might as well be by him). Guy was a green flag for Hermione but the moment he began fixating on Lucy, homegirl kinda saw the light and was like ' he's crazy, yup, totally mad.. about me sure, but this guy... He's never been told no in his life and it shows, it shows for miles'

And I just laugh so hard because people look at Anthony's fed up face and somehow think that he's the worst to fear in in the Bridgerton family. But nobody knows just how crazy his brothers are, except their wives. At this point Anthony's resting B face has to be some sort of defense mechanism because he had to grow up with Benedict and Colin while trying to raise Gregory. He may look intimidating but he's actually a reasonable man if you think about it. But his brothers, those three are just hiding their unhinged for wife energy a lot better. And you just don't want to know what kinda chaotic crazy thing they're capable of doing if they think it would impress Penelope, Sophie and Lucy

And that's the tea.

[snarky-art]

Thriving vs Survivng, am I right, lads?

Bloom and Stella eventually get married, Daphne and the woman with her, Nadia, an oc I made and have mentioned a few times, get married with Daphne to be next in line as Queen of Domino, and Aisha and Musa get married one day, but are currently in this pic going through some Shit that’s putting a huge damper on that.

More info on everyone and political drama stuff below the cut!

Bloom and Stella are thriving.

Polyamory is super duper normalized in a decent amount of places, and is considered a norm on Solaria. Stella is eventually married both to Brandon and Bloom. Both of Bloom’s sets of parents love Stella and are incredibly happy for her. After much talk and deliberation between Daphne, Bloom, Marion, and Oritel to see how Bloom and Daphne are feeling after Daphne is healed up and in a good place and has processed shit, it’s decided Daphne will continue as heir and shall be next in line for rulership. Bloom meanwhile shall continue her role as guardian fairy, Holder of The Flame, and eventually upon her marriage to Stella will be Queen Regent of Solaria. She has a lot more flexibility this way too to go where she feels most comfortable, between Earth and other areas in The Magical Realm. Oritel and Marion don’t want Bloom or Daphne to feel trapped or be stifled with immense pressure if they can help it, and Bloom is still most comfortable on Earth, so having the option to go back and forth is important and something Marion and Oritel want her to not feel cut off from it, a mistake they made early on when they first got brought back from their stasis.

Formal picture of Nadia finally! An oc from Earth I made who’s Daphne’s gf and eventual wife. I thought it would be nice for Daphne to not worry about contextualizing her grief and trauma with someone who already had preconceived notions of her from myths and legends over the last 1000+ years.

Nadia: so you’re Bloom’s sister! That’s so cool! Do you have magic too?

Daphne, who at this point while not the holder of the flame anymore is still an incredibly powerful fire elemental who retains her nymphix and could hand bloom’s ass to her and call upon The Dragon at will whenever she wants: uh, yeah, some I guess.

Bloom: glad to see being a useless lesbian is a universal trait instead of just earth specific

Daphne: exCUSE ME-

Royal balls be like “The Incarnation of God Itself, heir to The Great Pillar of all of Magic Domino, The Dragon Reborn, Supreme Nymph of Magix, Princess Daphne, and Nadia, Barista on Tuesday, Thursday, and Weekends, of the plant Earth”

Like, oh boy, THEE DAPHNE, and Nadia from Starbucks.

Also don’t worry it’s not actually a Starbucks. It’s a small local cafe and bakery spot that Bloom really likes. Daphne went with her once, saw Nadia, and went 👀. Daphne doesn’t even like coffee also she just goes there for Nadia and was too anxious to ask about any other drinks so she just gets what Bloom got, would makes Bloom, who is not at all rich on Earth, pay for it, and then didn’t actually drink it.

Also, Nadia is definitely wearing heels here.

She’s only around 5’9 or ~175cm, while as I’ve mentioned before, Daphne is 6’7 or ~200cm.

She like to wear different heels and go “ok NOW how close am I to being taller than you” or sometimes go “ok, I think I beat you this time” when she tries on a new pair

She’s never close obviously and they both know that because hehe funny joke, but Daphne will still go “oh, you just might’ve this time.”

Musa and Aisha meanwhile are Struggling. Not only is Musa someone who is already insanely anti-monarch in her governmental views, even one that operates more as a democracy, the government she’s working with can’t stand her.

I’ve mentioned in these posts how marriage works on Andros, and Musa is Not It. She’s not even a Land Androsian, which would’ve been considered a bit of a scandal because of how their government structure is set up. No it’s much worse, for oh no, she’s not an Androsian at all! Truly horrific (I say this sarcastically, but that’s genuinely what the nobles and a chunk of the population feel).

Musa is doing what she can to appease Androsian court.

Gold is a big fucking no no on Andros, but she doesn’t want to give that up since it’s a really important part of her culture.

Aisha is standing with her on that, but it doesn’t make it easier to deal with the assholes in court.

She’s even muted her reds to lean more towards purples and blues.

Muting the reds was a huge olive branch of sorts and she’s pissed about it and doesn’t like doing it (but she did it, and it wasn’t even appreciated, but WHATEVER), but she refuses to get rid of the golds (good for her).

Aisha has gold nail polish here also. She’s doing what she can, and eventually is just gonna say fuck it and start wearing straight up gold with her silvers and tell Musa to get back in the bright red or so help me-

Stella let’s Aisha borrow her stash specifically when she first start and immediately commissions some custom ones done for Aisha’s measurements.

[silverskye13]

Being the universe's smartest super computer still made for a derpy, non-functional person. It was really easy for people to get caught up in the Cool Sci-Fi Shenanigans of cyborgs and robots and forget how awesome and powerful organic, sentient life was.

For example: Xisuma has a perfect memory. If someone gave him a date and a time, he could scan back through his memory logs, replay recorded data and footage, and tell you the exact recipe he used for those vegan cookies that one time six years ago. He knows the ambient temperature of a froglight that's been submerged underwater for six hours, three minutes and twenty-nine seconds. He can rewind a recorded memory, pause the time lapse, and watch in slow motion as Grian breaks a stone block at spawn with his bare hands because he was bored during their intro-season speech.

However, recorded data takes up a massive amount of memory on a standard hard drive when you record everything you see as a passive function, and all of it has to be purged by hand, regularly, just so Xisuma can maintain the memory needed for daily functions. He's tried writing algorithms to do it for him, but even the best pattern recognition software can't account for his momentary preferences. What differentiates his favorite sunrise from any other? If he were human, he could program some kind of learning software using data from tables tied to the output of different brain chemicals and electrical pulses that most frequently line up with a formative memory -- but if he were human he wouldn't be making a program like that in the first place, now would he?

It's one of those long, long days of trawling through recorded data. It would be shorter if he would just parse through the most recent memories, but he likes keeping long-term memory storage at exactly thirty percent of his total data storage, and he's been resting at thirty-four percent for the past month. Putting off the inevitable. It's just, there's been a lot of stuff to remember the past few weeks, and it's hard to choose what to get rid of sometimes. He's started deep-diving through old data, walking down memory lane. He has to be careful, some of this data is important, tied intricately with the complex spider algorithm that forms his memory data access system.

Click! Click! Click!

"What are you thinking, X?"

The screen that makes up the lion's share of X's face organizes itself into a smile, lights flickering on in the nanoseconds it takes him to process the memory he's watching and attribute happiness to it. Yes, this is a good one.

The playback jolts as he looks down at Tango. Not pictured is a redstone project they are picking away at. Xisuma knows this because this particular memory has a transcript, full of branching tags and keywords that pull up a wealth of information alongside it.

That's another thing about memory that organic life never appreciates. Memory isn't just the memory itself. It's a web of associations built on prior, learned knowledge. A tree isn't just a tree. It's color and texture and symbol and "when was the first time I drew a tree?" and "apples" and "saplings" and a thousand other tiny associations they just arbitrarily have. Xisuma has to synthesize that web. A memory doesn't exist in a vacuum. Unlike the organic mind, however, Xisuma can pull up as much accurate information as he has the processing power for. This memory brings him two more closely associated recordings, associated memories he's kept for context, the transcripts of six more deleted memories, the definition of redstone, a playback of isolated sound he deemed important.

The playback continues.

Click! Click! Click!

"What are you thinking, X?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Tango, I didn't know you'd walked up! I was doing research."

"Yeah? What kind?"

"Oh well, you know the new update. Redstone's always a little finicky after."

"Right, yeah, totally. I've been putting mine off, honestly. I don't feel like fixing broken stuff right now -- oh but, I guess you can't wait, huh?"

Xisuma parses through the data brought up with the memory. He knows the date this was recorded, the recent change to redstone mechanics brought on by the server update. He'd had three farms break. There was a linked document to a transcript of Doc's rant on redstone as it relates to radiation. There was a script note document typed the day after this recording was created: Clicking Good. There was a preliminary version of what he'd nicknamed "The Tick Script.Exe".

"Yeah, I've got a lot of bugs to fix."

"Are you going to get rid of the clicking?"

"Clicking?"

The clicking was an ambient noise made when Xisuma's system was a bit bulkier, his algorithms and scripts that handled memory and data access crude and unperfected. It caused a disc in a driver somewhere to click when he did searches. At the time, the clicking had been the closest thing to an annoying habit Xisuma could manage.

Computers don't have habits. Habits are repetitive motions that become subliminal, that take effort to break, and are oftentimes formed subconsciously. Xisuma doesn't have a discernable difference between conscious thought and subconscious. He has background processes, he has backburnered data, and he has executive commands.

Xisuma queries the memory, pulling up related tags and searches, letting the algorithm reach. This memory had been the start of a, for lack of a better term, humanification process for him. There was his observation table on organic ticks, habits, and movements. It had taken a lot of uncomfortable staring, but back then, staring was all he'd known how to do. One of the first entries on the table was blinking. Organic things blinked, clearing away dust and debris from lenses and membranes. Xisuma didn't have eyes, didn't blink. But the screen that managed his facial expression animations could be programmed to blink.

Xisuma queries blinking. He pulls up a transcript of an interaction with Stressmonster, where she mentioned he blinked every thirty seconds. She knew this because when she first noticed him blinking, she'd noticed it's regularity. That was when Xisuma learned that, to convincingly blink, time variation was necessary.

Coding randomization into redstone circuitry had always been difficult.

Xisuma returns to the Tango memory recording, replays the question about the clicking, the unintentional habit. Xisuma still clicked when he thought. The others probably still thought it had to do with bulky drivers. In reality, it had been a test in trial and error.

How many clicks was acceptable for a thinking pattern? The three dot ellipses was common in writing, and a two dot pattern was too reminiscent of a heartbeat. When he'd temporarily switched to a four dot pattern, he'd noticed people getting impatient, or worrying if his mechanics were stalling. (Stalling and slow loading does sometimes happen, but it manifests in freezes and long pauses, not in repeating clicks). He invented a three click pattern, tested a variety of click sounds, settled on something similar to a rotary phone click when a number is dialed. It was a good sound. Heavy and sharp. It sounded like something falling into place with intention. Click! Click! Click!

Xisuma doesn't actually need a sound to think. But it's a clever replacement for harder to code things, like remembering to two a surface or fidget.

Click! Click! Click!

Shifting weight had been a harder thing to code. Standing stationary, legs an equal width apart, was the most steady way to stand. It also made him look like a statue, made his unblinking stares eerie and uncomfortable. Organic things read it as unnatural, borderline on predatory. Large predators often froze and stared right before pouncing.

Looking back through old memories, Xisuma could tell if they were from before or after his algorithmic programming because of how still they were. Made for clearer visuals, and he knows in high-stress situations that focus on accuracy, he can cycle them off, but they're comfortable for people to watch.

Xisuma rocks back on his heels away from the screen he's watching. If someone else were in the room, it would be a sign of thoughtfulness. For him, it's the execution from a random table of acceptable fidgets while standing still. He should turn it off. He's alone right now. But sometimes the movements still catch him off-guard and the longer they run, the more he gets used to them.

Xisuma queries: rocking on heals

He gets a handful of save recording bits. Doc rocks onto his back legs and stretches his forelegs. Gem rocks back and forth on the balls of her feet, her arms crossed behind her back, mischievous and excited. Scar rocks back on his heels and crosses his arms, thoughtfully examining some terraforming. Xisuma isolates the last recording and mimics it, feeling how the weight of his crossed arms counterbalances the lean back.

Xisuma queries his habits table and adds the motion to the list.

He never quite figured out how to program what to do with his hands. They spent a lot of time at his sides, or in pockets. Objectively he knew that was bad. Hiding the hands was often a sign of hiding something, and he liked being transparent.

Xisuma queries: Hands

Xisuma blinks at the long list of results.

Xisuma queries: Hands behind back

He gets several animations of Gem, Grian, and Scar, all with some variation of hands behind their backs and mischievous grins. Most of them are snippets made for studying purposes. Two are attached to longer videos, catalogued memories he's kept. His query returns almost four hundred memory transcripts.

Xisuma likes making transcripts. He feels it's similar to the hazy, distant memories people have when time and distance transform them. When someone else remembers something falteringly, he remembers the way he described it to himself. The older transcripts were rougher. He's gotten better at writing them over the years. His learning and pattern recognition softwares are still pretty good, even if they aren't perfect enough to manage the full range of expression on their own.

Xisuma queries: Do my friends know how hard it is to look organic?

This returns no direct results. He receives a directory of the people he's flagged as "friends" over the years, an article on the recent organics additions to the world in the latest update, and a handful of unrelated memory documents where he'd asked this question before and similarly pulled up no response.

Xisuma queries: Do I care?

This pulls up more entries. Xisuma glances across them and clears them.

Xisuma queries: Do I care today?

This pulls up only slightly fewer entries. He smiles. Asking subjective questions to a computer never gleans intended results. Computers aren't subjective. Or, well, they're not supposed to be. Of course, if he were merely a computer, he wouldn't be doing this, would he? If he were merely a computer, he would be sitting on a shelf, or a desk, running prewritten programs and searches for someone else, letting someone else build his code, rules by the guidances and intentions of someone who ultimately viewed him as a tool, if nothing else.

Xisuma queries: Who's flying this thing, if not me?

He pulls up a list of song lyrics and chords, a clip from a movie he'd watched once, an IMDB rating off some database somewhere.

Xisuma clears the data. He pulls up the last memory he was watching, rocks back on his heels and crosses his arms thoughtfully. He presses play.

Click! Click! Click!

"Are you going to get rid of the clicking?"

"Clicking? Oh, I guess I am clicking, aren't I? It's just an inefficiency. I'll fix it at some point, I guess."

Tango smirked at him. One of his hands plucked at his sleeve. Xisuma clips the motion, tags it with hands, nervous, thoughtful, fidget.

"You sure it needs fixed? I kinda like it."

Click! Click! Click!

[opultea]

Pet Parents

You and Genshin men with a fluffy family! ft. Gorou, Diluc, Kaveh

GN Reader (No Pronouns) - Fluff - Drabbles - Romantic

Word Count: 0.7k

Gorou

"We're kinda like Tawara's parents, aren't we?"

Gorou's head whipped up at your sudden statement, his pale cheeks filling in with red. You bit back a smile at the way his ears twitched as if trying to make sure he heard you correctly.

As a frozen Gorou processed your comment, the pup sitting between you decided that you were more likely to pet him with the general in his current state. You smiled as Tawara turned over, inviting you to rub his soft belly.

As you gave Tawara his earned affection, you raised an eyebrow at your flustered boyfriend.

"Gorou? Are you okay?"

"P-parents?!" He stuttered abruptly, pulled out of his state by your voice. "You mean... me and you? Parents? T-together?"

"Yeah," you shrugged. "We take care of Tawara, right? And he's so small and cute, which makes him the perfect baby!"

Gorou nodded slowly, his ears laying back against his head as he calmed his firey face.

"Not to mention..." You started cryptically, cooing as you gave Tawara's face a squish. "He's super diligent and adorable, just like his father,"

You hid your giggle as Gorou shot up again, his tail wagging fervently behind him as the blush returned to his face.

Diluc

The cats of Mondstadt were renowned for leading anyone who followed them to their home; the Cat's Tail. However, many of the felines could be found lazing about Angel's Share. One would think these cats are placed specifically to lead people away from the competitor, but upon the visit of the establishment's owner, their true intention would become clear.

Diluc had only intended to spend time with you when he sat at the outdoor table of the Angel's Share, but it seemed that time was being stolen by some affectionate kittens. Diluc raised his eyebrow at the tabby rubbing its face against his leg, shifting to avoid its strange affection. You held a giggle as a large calico stood, hooking its paws on your partner's chair to gain a better vantage point.

Kaeya was not so kind as to withhold his amusement.

"My my, to think the cold-hearted Master Diluc would be so beloved by Mondstadt's cats. Whatever do they see in you, I wonder?"

Diluc's ire was redirected long enough for a young tuxedo to jump into his lap, meowing blissfully as it made itself comfortable.

"It must be since you're so warm," you offered, reaching over to pet the cat on Diluc's lap.

The brothers' reactions differed severely. Diluc coughed into his fist to hide the growing warmth on his face, Kaeya's amusement at your innocent comment raising his gleeful smirk.

"Isn't that sweet, you two should consider adopting,"

You laughed at Diluc's hardening glare; the only way he could show his disdain with the cat on his lap now reaching up to tap its paw on his cheek.

Kaveh

"Kaveh, honey, I don't know if we have the room..." you said softly, lips pursed gently in a worry you tried to hide.

The golden-hearted light of Kshahrewar was often found with the animal populous of Sumeru City, worry crumpling his brow as he fed them and spent his salary on beds for the strays. You loved his caring nature and always insisted on helping him with the animals. However, you were unsure how many more animals your little home could host.

"Oh, well I'll keep them in my office," Kaveh released the desert foxes in his arms, letting them stretch and wander around your home. "They won't be too much trouble, and if they get too rowdy, then I'll put a bed outside for them,"

You huffed a gentle sigh, strolling over and smiling as you dodged the desert fox running across the room. Your hand brushed Kaveh's bangs away from his face, fingers curling to caress his cheek.

"You really are too good Kaveh," your loving tone and gaze caused a bright flush to spread from your boyfriend's neck and ears.

"I just think they deserve to live better, not out on the street. Better than me, at least. And if you're being inconvenienced by the animals, I'll just have to relocate them," Kaveh rubbed the back of his neck bashfully but spoke with rigid honesty.

"Aww, of course I'm not being inconvenienced! I love you, Kaveh. And if loving you means loving having a lively home, then so be it. Besides, I think it makes for a pretty cute scene, especially when you dote on them."

The kiss you landed on his cheek was the final straw for his embarrassment. Kaveh withered onto the couch behind him, burning up at your praise.

"I think you're the one that's too good, you know,"

[thecatghost111]

Crossposted from my ao3!

SPOILERS FOR GREEN’S CHANNEL BELOW:

also kinda long lol-

so everyone in the cg now has an evil counterpart/doppleganger/what you call that

green join the club, you finally have one now :D

i should draw this. If I had any form of art skills XD-

i can remember when the fandom joked about Green being the only one not having an evil side lmaoooo

also, I do believe that green screen (my favorite name for that weird corrupted green thing) didn't really intend on attacking the CG. Rewatching it, it seems even more clear. Though arguably, the CG didn't attack green screen until it punched Green. (These goddamn stickfigures and their bond oisfhdjoihsdiofhsdoh)

also uh if I had a nickel for every time a creation was deleted by its creator and happened to make itself into clones and stuff i'll have

*checks list*

two nickels.

i'd have twenty cents if I had a nickel for everytime a stickfigure cloned themself (In LoL with Purple, and later Second)

also the Green youtube channel comments confirm that the sticks do, in fact, call them Orange

(I'm still holding on the hc with Green calling them Sec, but most often everyone calls them Orange, and the hollowheads + Alan call them Second.)

it's so sweet :3 osdhfoidshfiohdsoifhoiwehiofhwofheeiowhfioewhdlscvnjibejbvdf (i'm jealous man)

also i love how the weapons and fighting styles they have still so consistent and matches personality-wise with their characters! kudos to Alan and his team :D

i have so so so so so many moments in here that I can frame on a wall with their bond. it's so cuteeeeeee 🥺

i know for a fact that green screen is gonna make a comeback. i just know it.

they didn’t empty the recycling bin at the end.

Now, the ending.

this is kind of what interests me the most, to be honest. Because I have a personal hc with Green having RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria)

but this isn’t about my headcanon right now, it’s something a little more.

And something. SOMETHING tells me that the next ep of this series might have either:

1) Green receiving a hate comment, and uh you know shit happens.

2) Green loves the positive validation so much that he pushes himself to get more of that, forgetting the 'fun' part of creating stuff in the process and yeah, shit also happens

that might not be true. it's just me going self-projection time and telling myself how is this guy getting more relatable every day.

When I first found out it was going to be about green, and influencers as a result, I went "Are they going to address the fact that being an influencer comes with a lot of shit involved?" now, i'm not one myself, so I wouldn't know lmaooooo

but like Green, I do crave positive attention, and the ominous lighting at the very end just tells me that something

something is gonna happen regarding that. he likes it, and he wants more of it.

I mean, he's portrayed as the talented one, the one who's kind of a show-off and sometimes a bit arrogant

but then again, all of this was made before his channel technically blew up, so although it might not go in the comment direction he still wants validation and stuff, he wants someone other than his friends to tell him that what he makes is good because he craves it. he craves the attention he's getting.

and maybe he doesn’t want to just do it for fun anymore. Maybe he wants it moreso for the attention.

(oh shit I accidentally inserted myself at the end right there, don't mind me being relatable onto this guy. i might write about this scenario happening idk)

it feels like the start of something bigger. and i like it. we've seen from multiple other shorts how his ego affects him, how would this be any different?

edit: during the avg reaction, DJ said that in terms of youtubers, Green seems pretty wholesome. And Alan replied with: “we’ll see”

HUH- HUH

What are you hiding.

Okay, maybe it might not likely happen and I’ll look super embarrassing and consider deleting this entire post but shhh, we'll save that for future me to deal with

this is just a theory, A GAME THEORY-

shut tf up not everything’s about you

[writing-whump]

50. Confrontation

And here comes the confrontation between Hector and Isaiah. Hector is super stress sick in this one.

Hector had a terrible week.

He had been sick the whole night and nauseous the whole next day and refused to leave the apartment until his shadow returned.

The second day, Arnie said that he should put himself back together, cause hello, he left the house without a shadow everytime.

Hector was once again reminded how incredibly dangerous that was.

Without his shadow, he felt hald-blind, half-deaf, no sense of touch. Everything was muffled, blurred and dark.

His reputation and physical strength and appearance were one thing, and people probably wouldn't be able to tell his shadow was missing - he wasn't a neanderthal enough to not keep it down in public, thanks - but his awareness cut in half and the sense of vulnerability without his shadow drew him insane.

How did humans exist like this? He was having trouble with three days, he couldn't imagine a life of this.

And he couldn't fucking imagine having to go through this every day until he didn't mind until he could keep his cool without it, until he could call his shadow up. Yes, there were ways to speed up the process, to have the shadow return faster, but he had too little experience and was honestly too unnerved by it all to even know where to start.

Isaiah would probably know.

For all the times he had hidden this from Hector instead of telling him what he was going through. What was happening. How much he was hurting, in the room right next to his.

Why? Why not tell them? Why not let them share in the burden?

Was Hector himself such a burden to him, a problem to be solved and kept in the dark? Was he that untrustworthy, that immature, that behind to Isaiah?

He understood why to keep it from Arnie. The kid was around 10 when all this happened and this was a shadow business, not something a human child could solve or get mixed up in.

But Hector was only 2 years younger. 2 years! That wasn't supposed to be a difference.

He had obviously failed Isaiah in this and he had blamed him and been angry at him and told him such awful things...

He felt his stomach shrinking in itself violently, the nausea rising again with the thoughts, his head spinning. Yeah, he would just work himself up into it this way.

He went to uni that day just to get distracted. Arnie was looking at Hector like he went insane and his every second word was Isaiah this and Isaiah that - like that would solve anything - so Hector was glad to get out of his sight.

He wasn't feeling up to company with other wolves. His shadow was back yes, but he was distraught and his shadow would show it, if he let it up. It was shaky and unruly and damn the thing, showing everything about him that he didn't want it to.

It was always the reflection of the person, the wolf's shadow. How the heck did Isaiah keep his own up to speed, the most powerful one around, with that going on?

Hector's was down for the count just from hearing about it. How pathetic did that make him?

He took the long way around the park and the oper, avoiding crowds with side streets that ran parallel to the main ones. The economic uni had its own areal, like its own little village inside the city, distinct colourful buildings, restaurants, student spaces, everything.

Hector steered away from the shadows he felt in the area, going to the big building with the most student and work spaces with a glass roof. It was fancy and big enough to host all the students without it feeling too full and the view from the upper floors was very nice.

Hector came inside, expanding his senses to check for shadow presences. All clear.

What suprised him was the immediate awareness of the citrus scent.

Ahhh. The subway girl.

It was pretty annoying that after touching her one time, he became so familiar with her scent he could pick it out from kilometers away, in crowded inside spaces crawling with smells, human deodorants and sweat.

The familiarity was also somehow comforting.

He took the stairs up to the third floor, jogging slightly.

The floor had the biggest balcony like view and it was so hot during the day, even in early spring from the giant glass windows that it was basically empty.

Olive sat in the center of the empty tables, drawings and A3 papers all over. It was mostly sketches, covering the the surfaces like tablecloth.

"Oh. Hey," she said at noticing him. "That's funny. We keep bumping into each other."

Oh yeah. Total accident.

"You really come all the way here just to draw?" Hector asked, sitting down opposite her. He didn't need a permission for that, right?

She shrugged. "Best light, lots of space, good view...besides, I actually also manage the economy student board social media account."

"Huh? I didn't know we were on socials."

"Yeah, they are kinda trying to make it more popular. Wanted someone with an eye for design to do graphics and insta posts."

"Art student sounds good for that. You like it?"

"I mean, it's not the most creative thing in the world. But there are hardly more work opportunities for students anywhere else than here. It's like companies hunt at the entrance to catch economy students. It's a little depressing for the rest of us."

For art students for sure. Hector didn't understand what that was even for. How can you study whatever this sketchy thing was? What would you do with that?

Olive looked so happy though. The heart shaped face and those smoky gray eyes....he had never seen eyes like that. And she had such a small chin compared to her round squishy cheeks. He was tempted to come closer and lift it.

He was what? Yeah, weird thoughts all right.

"What about you? You got classes today?"

"Sure."

"Oh really? On Friday afternoon? Everyone knows those are the worst times to get students to actually attend. Even teachers avoid the time like a plague."

Hector grunted. "And you mind so much because?"

She bit her lip. "I don't mind. Just got curious."

Of freaking course he could do whatever he wanted. And he didn't have to explain himself to this weird human girl who obviously didn't even realise who he was.

He was tempted to stay now just out of spite.

Olive huffed and went back to her drawing, trying to pretend like she really didn't mind.

Hector didn't believe her. He didn't want her to really not mind. He knew he had an imposing presence. It would be downright disappointing if she could concentrate with the radiating power coming off of him.

Her eyes kept darting up to him, but she took a new paper.

Her forehead creasing, she got consumed in the motions of her pencil, mumbling to herself.

It was sort of meditative.

A very different world, this girl. Power or standing, wolf or shadow, it all stopped being important. There was her sketch, her skill, her focus and everything else stopped existing.

...

"Hey, you okay?"

He felt her hand coming up to his shoulder before it actually connected, catching her hand on reflex with lighting speed. Like a snake catching a mouse.

"Ah- sorry, I just...you fell asleep and they are going to close the building soon..." Olive watched him with big wide eyes, suprised.

Hector blinked himself awake, senses coming back to him. He fell asleep in school? Ah right, uni, tables, sketches. Olive.

"Don't do that," he grumbled, letting go of her hand. Geez, that was close. He barely kept his shadow down. It was too jumpy to be around ignorant little humans and their casual touches.

She rubbed her wrist at the place he had held her. "Sorry, didn't want to scare you."

He scoffed. Scare him? Ridiculous.

"I know we don't really know each other...but you look kinda sickly to me. You sure you are not coming down with something?"

Hector's eyebrows shot up. "Beg your pardon. I saw myself in the mirror and I look excellent, thanks," he said with annoyance.

"I didn't mean you look bad, I mean you look...I don't know. Sad?"

That was even more unbelievable. Hector didn't look sickly and he didn't do sad.

Hector got up, checking himself in the reflection of the windows. It must have been after 5 pm, but the sun was still up. Just at the right angle to give him a good view.

He looked fine. What was she seeing?

It caught him off guard, her observation. He hoped it wasn't that obvious for everyone else.

"I'll see you around," he said, opting to just go away. He didn't want to lie to this girl, but he also wasn't about to say he was sad.

"O-okay," she stammered, taking her bags and scrolled up papers. "I just-"

Hector sighed, turning to her. "What?"

"I-I," she fumbled with her words under his gaze. "I hope whatever this is will clear up soon. I'm sorry."

Hector shook his head in exasperation, his own ribs feeling like a trap to squeeze his organs. "Whatever."

Yeah, on the best way to clear it up.

...

Hector didn't want to go home.

The walls would just keep falling on him, Arnie would pester him, and there would be a lot of annoying noises from their neighbors he could hear way too well.

He wanted an open sky, a field, something free and spacious.

Heading for the river and the mall that Arnie liked going to so much seemed like a good compromise. At least something wild was flowing there.

That nap was actually the longest uninterrupted sleep he got in the last three days. How strange.

His feet brought him to the mole, where he leaned against the railing with his arms folded, staring at the water. Just a sight without buildings and people. Even if only for a little bit.

He breathed in the windy moist air, feeling his phone vibrate with messages. Probably Arnie or Delaney asking where he was.

"Hector? Oh hey, what a coincidence. What are you doing here?"

Hector felt icy horror clawing up his spine. That voice.

How spaced out must he had been, to not feel his shadow coming?

He turned his head to the side automatically to his older brother just a few steps next to him. His shadow wasn't just down, it was like it was nonexistent. All the wolf mannerisms, the sense of power, it wasn't there with Isaiah.

He wasn't hidden, he was undetectable.

Hector felt all the thoughts and feelings he had been running away from the whole day pushing their way up. His stomach flipped, the face of his father flashing in front of him. Isaiah and him actually looked really alike. He didn't realize how much until now.

"No. I don't want to see you," he said, rushing by Isaiah and out of the mole as quickly as he could without running. He couldn't deal with this right now.

Fucking coincidence for real? Or Arnie set this up somehow, knowing Hector would be here?

"What? Why not?" Isaiah sounded hurt and disappointed, following after him.

"Just leave me alone." Hector reached the shore, stomach cramping painfully. He was never one to get sick from nerves, but damn, this was another level.

"Wait, wait, wait, I thought we were doing better..." Isaiah caught up with him no problem, grabbing him by the arm. "What's going on? Are you going back to avoiding me? What did I do?"

What did you do?! What did I do!

Hector wanted to shake him off, but Isaiah took him by both shoulders as if he wanted to rattle an answer out of him.

Hector couldn't breathe, throat closing all up. He sagged forward and then was surprisingly spared from answering when his stomach plummeted into his throat.

Hector threw up, loud and violent in between their feet.

Isaiah jumped back with a yelp, while Hector bend over even more, another wave of his lunch hitting the pavement of the molo. There were chunks of carrots and potatoes stuck in his throat and it set off a coughing fit.

Isaiah didn't take long to recover. The next second, he was by his side, tentatively placing his hand on Hector's back. "Hey, you are okay. Just breathe, alright?"

There was his big brother, all guilt and soft concern when Hector couldn't do any little measly thing for him. No wonder he kept his real life separated from theirs.

That made his stomach cramp again and Hector groaned, wrapping an arm around himself as he gagged. Vomit shot up his throat, but didn't come all the way, though the strain left him woozy.

"Let's get off the main road, shall we?" Isaiah said, taking Hector by the shoulder and steering him away from the promenade and the occasional onlookers Hector was somehow successfully ignoring, shadow or not.

He stumbled blindly into the direction Isaiah chose, registering slowly that they were now under the molo, hidden from view and by the water.

Hector let himself sink to his knees, gulping down air as his stomach heaved and heaved inside him. He held both his hands around his stomach, folded in half. It would feel entirely stupid if it wasn't so fucking painful.

Isaiah was, of course, kneeling next to him, hand rubbing light circled onto his back. "What brought this on? Hex?"

Hector winced at the nickname, the guilt bringing out a series of burps as his body broke itself in two, somewhere between anger and fear, humiliation and pathetic remorse. "Get off of me," he managed between panting breaths.

He felt Isaiah's hand freeze at his back, falling limply to his side. "Hex. What's wrong? Are you sick? Please, talk to me."

Hector burped up a string of bile this time, making a broken sound between a sob and a hysteric chuckle. "Talk - hic - to you? For real?"

Another violent heave would have him almost losing his balance if not for Isaiah's arm shooting up to hold him up around the chest. Hector burped around the hand, a mouthful of puke slowly dripping onto the grass.

Isaiah didn't move, like that didn't matter in the least, eyes focused on Hector's face. Green and sparkly. They looked so much like their dad's but somehow, Hector now saw, were nothing like them.

"I don't know what you mean, Hex."

"Oh, fucking hell you don't. No point hiding it now." Hector spat on the ground, clearing his mouth.

Isaiah stiffened next to him, though didn't let go.

Hector straightened up, watching the realization smooth his brother's features from open concern to that cold, unfeeling mask. That wall he hid behind for so long made Hector think it was real.

Is this how he looked when he was hurting? How many times did Hector look at that expression without seeing it?

"What exactly do you think you know and who told you?" Isaiah asked with deadly calmness.

"Oh, you can guess twice," Hector swiped his sleeve over his mouth, leaning back to sit on his butt. "Dad was all happy to tell me about all the things he did to you for training."

Isaiah sat back, crossed-legged, leaning away from Hector to watch the river.

A long moment of silence passed between them. Hector wasn't sure if it was a minute or an hour, but it felt like an eternity to him, his nerves scraping against each other like sandpaper.

"Not gonna say anything?!" Hector snapped. "So I will have to be the one to talk? Fine. I’ll talk. Cause this is the same expression I get when we talk about the big damn secret."

Isaiah said nothing, lips pressed tightly together.

"Silver knives? Rolling down your shadow? How much more brutal was it?" Hector looked down at the grass between them, another chasm he couldn't bridge. "And you kept it all to yourself. Pretending like it was fine, like you wanted to be the Executioner, like you believed in it. And I thought-" he broke off with a shuddering breath. "I didn't know. I had no fucking idea. I don't know why I didn't realize. You were right there in front of me, but you also weren't and I didn't-"

Why was he so blind? Was he truly so focused on himself, on defeating the image of Isaiah that he didn't notice what was happening to the real him? When did he lose track of him like that?

"God and he wanted us to be separated by that. He wanted me to- and I fucking helped him. I was so jealous and ignorant and I wanted to hurt you...I was the one blaming you, I kept Arnie from contacting you sooner, I kept trying to hurt you every time we would see each other..." Hector's breathing picked up again, his stomach twisting painfully. He squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his hands to his temples, bowing down.

"Hector-"

The lack of the nickname this time hit him like a punch.

"That time at the event- with your chest and how it wouldn't stop hurting and your shadow wasn't helping...did I...do that to you?" The idea made his chest tight, all strained like glass just before breaking. "I did that to you," he sobbed, curling up around his hurting middle, little stars dancing in his vision from how much he pressed his eyes shut. "I did all of that to you, I broke you, without even knowing, blaming you, while I chased you off-"

Cold hand was suddenly on his face, cupping his cheek. Hector's breath hitched, mind racing and spinning he felt like puking all over again.

"Look at me. Come on, look at me." There was the commanding tone. There was the shutting down. They couldn't even talk about it without Isaiah-

Isaiah forced Hector to look up from that curled-up position, holding his cheeks in his hands.

The mask wasn't all gone, but Isaiah's expression was like a crumpled paper. "Stop making this up. I didn't leave because of you. I didn't keep it a secret because I hated you or because I blamed you or whatever you are stringing up here. Hey."

Hector choked on his own breathing, panting and folding into himself as his middle cramped up again.

"You gotta breathe, bud. Take a deep breath for me."

"C-can't-"

"Yes, you can. You are panicking right now, but there is nothing physically wrong. Deep breaths now, come on." Isaiah reached behind Hector's head and gently pushed him against his collar bone, forehead first. Hector could feel Isaiah's loud breathing, chest puffing out, pressed against him like that. He latched onto that sound, trying to mimic it.

They stayed like that for several long minutes, Isaiah waiting till Hector figured out how to breathe again.

"There you go. Shhhh. You are alright. In and out, just like that." Isaiah's hand was tangled in the hair on the back of Hector's head.

Hector nodded against him. As his lungs filled with air and relief, guilt followed right behind. How was he so easily reassured just with Isaiah there? After everything he did and especially didn't manage to do for him, that was entirely unfair.

His chest hitched and a sob broke out.

Isaiah wrapped his arms around him then, gentle and careful, as if he expected Hector to break out of the hug at any moment. "Shhhhh. None of that is true. Remember the old wolf caught in the trap story? How he chewed through his leg to escape, not because the young ones pushed him in but because he saw no other way out?"

Hector made a strangled sound at the back of his throat, burying his face deeper into Isaiah's shirt, eyes burning. "Then why? When it wasn't because of what I did-"

“You have a talent to make things all about yourself,” Isaiah sighed. “...there were various complicated pack internal reasons why I needed to leave. For one, I forced father to step down on my 18th birthday. The one who defeats the leader should lead or die, remember? I brought the whole pack’s rage on me by challenging father like that and then stepped away. But that was way better than having them realize father was mad. That would have destroyed the pack with all its opposing factions and families altogether.”

Isaiah was still stroking Hector’s hair, sounding thoughtful. “Me and Grayson came up with the plan together. He would take over the pack and fix it, more experienced than me. And I would become the enemy to unite the pack together. They would be distracted from the truth and forced to get along. The pack preserved."

Hector forced himself to leave the safe comforting closeness of Isaiah’s arms, leaning back to get a proper look at him. Isaiah’s face seemed so open and tranquil now, but something wasn’t sitting right.

“You took it all on yourself and I made it worse. I’m sorry,” Hector said.

Isaiah shrugged. “Don’t be. I don’t blame you.”

Hector scowled angrily, swiping a sleeve over his eyes to get rid of the moisture. “Well, you fucking should! You did the best for the pack and I was being an ass-”

Isaiah grimaced. “And you were right to do so. Think about it. I did everything for the pack. I did the best for the pack and the balance of packs and for everybody else. But I left you. I left you and Arnie and let myself take the role of the bad guy, far away from you. That is unforgivable. And you were rightfully angry at me, even if you didn’t know what the actual fault was.”

“Oh, because you totally deserved that after years of that abusive training, hiding father’s shadow went mad and protecting us and the pack all by yourself,” Hector fumed.

“You don’t know everything that I did,” Isaiah protested quietly. “Half of those things were my fault to begin with, because I was too slow or too stupid to realize or didn’t know bet-”

“And who gets to decide that? You?" Hector clenched his fists, internally set on finding out the whole story—every detail, every decision—to make his own conclusions about it. He suspected Isaiah was much stricter in his judgments than necessary.

Isaiah looked taken aback. Then he suddenly chuckled. "Huh. Looks like no matter what I do, I still piss you off."

Hector couldn't help but agree.

[sketchingstars03]

Another Uncle for Splatter?

No everyone your eyes do not deceive you, It’s Splattertale Cross!! With a, bit of an outfit change. He’s not super important or involved with the main plot, but he’s still present in Splatter’s life as another Uncle figure for her! (Blame Ink for that)

oh and XChara. They’re here too. (They refuse to be involved with/attached to Splatter but are forced to be around her anyway. Such is life when you share a soul)

Our favourite Oreo skeleton has had a bit of a different path in this multiverse than in his canon. I call it the “Cross Good Ending” or the “Cross Gets Therapy arc”. Because yes he (and Chara) does get therapy. As they currently stand the two of them are living in the Omega timeline, doing their best to process and move on from the horrors of Xtale (and their actions and unhealthy alliances they made after the fact cough cough Nightmare’s gang). While not a member of the Star Sanses by any means, Cross is still an ally to and good friends with them. Especially Ink and Dream.

His hack knife is now combined with those bone(?)-dagger things he’s got, with the function of both combined and intact. It can split into two smaller versions of itself and recombine as needed.

So yeah! This is a bit of a random and sudden post but I felt like giving the guy an outfit upgrade to suit his current situation in my story, and you guys get some lore out if it too!

Hope u like :3

Cross and XChara by Jakei95

[nearer-than-the-eye]

LITTLE SAINT

listen Ahi giustizia di Dio! tante chi stipa nove travaglie e pene quant’ io viddi? e perché nostra colpa sì ne scipa?

"Ah, Justice of God, who heaps up such strange punishment and pain as I saw there? and why do our sins so waste us?" For Santino D'Antonio: John Wick's bitter ex, my most beloved villain, and whose name means sacred or little saint.

___

John Wick 2 may have come out nearly a decade ago, but being a Santino girl is a chronic condition. Cover and track list images are details from Caravaggio's Bacchus, and the epigraph is from Canto VIII of Inferno, translated by Robert and Jean Hollander.

Some extended thoughts about my process and choice of epigraph and cover under the read more!

This playlist mostly started because I was listening to "Young Caesar 2000," said to myself, wow, this would be a great Santino song, and put it alone on a new playlist. From there, for about a year, I'd throw on anything that particularly reminded me of Santino, songs that felt, not like they described him, but that they might narrate part of his inner monologue and feeling. Some John/Santino vibes starting slipping in there (almost inevitably), but I knew I wanted to keep things really closely tied to how Santino understands himself. I narrowed things down, did some ordering for the overall arc and (hopefully) smooth transitions, and here we are!

Essential to my understanding of Santino (and thus this playlist's formation) is NeverwinterThistle's Unholy Union and asuralucier's The Man You Want to Be, both of which you should absolutely run, not walk, to read.

I'll let the tracklist mostly speak for itself, but I hopefully captured Santino's arrogance and the fundamental emptiness and deep insecurity that arrogance covers. I really do think John is something real and true for Santino, in a world full of posturing, but he eventually cannot resist instrumentalizing John, just like everyone else. JW 2 is one of the JW movies most pessimistic about masculinity (if not THE most pessimistic), and the arc of this playlist would certainly be very different without Mitksi's "I'm Your Man." Which is Mitski's most pessimistic song about masculinity! So it all works out.

The title -- The fact that Santino's name means "little saint" has fascinated me since my first cursory google search that delivered this factoid, and I've always kept it in my back pocket when thinking about Santino as a character. He's always the little brother. His petulance and pettiness is so essential to his character, and it's, of course, what makes him such a great foil to John (who imagines himself as a rational actor, but has his matching streak of the petulance). Santino inherits all this splendor, and all he can do is try and claw out more and more. A petty saint, and certainly never a god.

Why Bacchus? -- Well, I was trying to get a good film still for the cover and eventually gave up, so then I went to go find something appropriately aesthetic for a playlist cover. I was going to do a Dutch Golden Age still life bc that's what I'm writing about rn and lushness (and rot) is so essential to Santino, but then I was like. this guy is Italian. SUPER Italian. Who's an Italian with dramatic shadows and lush still lifes? And thus Caravaggio. Bacchus because revelry, excess, beauty, ect....also the invitation of the painting--he's holding out the goblet to you, asking you to join him. But mostly because it's beautiful.

Why Dante? -- I KNEW this bitch had to have an epigraph from Inferno once I realized this was going to be a real playlist. I mean, speaking of pessimism! The Divine Comedy feels so crazy to read as a modern reader bc it's like. yeah all this suffering is God's perfect justice. That guy eating his own shit is part of the divine plan. Which, to me, lines up really well with my read on masculinity in the JW movies--perfect, unchangeable, and committing you to endless suffering.

Alright, let's really get into it. This tercet ("Ah, Justice of God, who heaps up / such strange punishment and pain as I saw there? / and why do our sins so waste us?") come early in Canto 7, as Virgil and Dante (our POV character and protagonist) leave the third circle of Hell, Gluttony, and enter the fourth circle, Avarice and Prodigality ("Why do you squander...Why do you hoard" is probably the most famous quote from this circle). If Santino was to end up anywhere, it would be in one of those two circles, so I enjoy that this is the point in the text Dante asks these two questions!

Speaking of: despite God's perfection, Dante sure loves to question what he sees in hell and then...not resolve those questions in any way. It's interesting to see that "who heaps up / such strange punishment and pain as I saw there?" is a question addressed to the "Justice of God" when. well. the Justice of God is the thing heaping up these strange punishments and pain!

Dante seems unaware of the paradox, here, which has a real resonance for me in the way Santino is just like, well, I HAVE to blow up your house, John! I HAVE to put out a hit on you after you fulfill the marker, John! But to point to the times he acted out of compassion (not calling in John's marker during his retirement) would completely undermine that logic. It says "there are some things more important than power," but if Santino acknowledged that, then he wouldn't be able kill his sister.

Dante can't walk through hell and say with his whole chest, "I don't think it should be like this, actually" and still trust and love God, so he doesn't. Santino can't believe "more power will make me more happy, our culture says so," and also consciously acknowledge that it's the culture under the Table (and his father!!! his god!!!) that has pitted him against his sister his whole life, that has instilled in him values that ultimately leave him empty. So he doesn't! And he dies trapped in that paradox.

And then that second question. "And why do our sins so waste us?" UGH. ugh. Dante. You fucking hit me hard with this one. This is the line that made me choose this tercet. There's so much to Santino, so much beauty, so much divinity--but our sins waste us. All that power is used only in pursuit of more power, and, in the end, he's destroyed by that pursuit. The first two lines of the tercet key into culture and the way we contort our selves to fit into culture, but this last line is just an exclamation of the tragedy. Why? we ask, and nobody answers.

[soaringwide]

Pick a Card readings - what I learned as a viewer/consumer

Part 02 of my vision of the use of pick a card readings. I’m someone who makes them but I also consume them as a viewer. I wanted to combine both in a post but it’s too damn long so I divided in two parts. Part 1, reader (link); and this is part 2, consumer.

Part 02 - From a viewer point of view

Link to part 01 here

I discovered pick a cards readings on YouTube back in 2017, was super into them for like a couple years before distancing myself from that whole thing due to realizing the spiritual bullshit I was getting myself into (it's a story on its own, so perhaps I'll go back to it at another time).

Found my way back to them back in December 2023, again on YouTube, then Tumblr, due to a specific love situation I needed insight on but for some reason wasn't willing or able to divine on on my own.

The Good & the Bad

I definitely think that they can bring actual insight to a situation. There were many time where I was blown-away by how accurately a pile described my situation, despite feeling like I was just ''randomly'' choosing the first one that pulled me in.

It's definitely an interesting exercise of intuition, to see if you're connected well to yourself and if you're able to grab the thread that shines with your color the most. It's quite fun to see that some days it seems really easy to find your pile from the first try, and some days you just struggle, or don't find it at all.

It's a nice way to get familiar with the feeling of your intuition ''clicking'' when you're looking at all the piles, and makes you realize that it's something that's available to a lot of people, and that's fascinating on its own.

That whole thing made me think about what was happening exactly. Like, is this internet reader I've never interacted with actually reading on my personal energy or situation? I don't think so. I went into it a bit in part 01 but yeah I think those readings target too general energies for that. I see it more like story lines floating in the air, and the reader is guided towards translating one of them (by who or why, I don't fucking know).

Don't get me wrong, it might still be accurate because we human are unique but we also are all the fucking same deep down, and history repeats itself all the time.

It's a game of resonance, as in, you're naturally drawn to the pile that holds the same note as the one you hold inside. And sometimes you do stumble upon a reading that is so crazy specific that it seems like it was made just for you. Not gonna get too into that because I found this post by @helianthus-tarot that explains it very well already.

However, something I've experienced myself and anyone has to be super careful about, is to not over do it.

I think it's very easy to end up in a toxic cycle when you keep looking at tarot spreads about the same topics. What happens is that you keep getting slightly different answers, which make you confused about the situation, so you want to find more, and confuse yourself even further in the process, thus starting an obsessive cycle of not feeling satisfied with anything.

It also removes your sense of agency. You end up trusting what you read online more than your own intuition and guidance and you abandon yourself, in a way.

I'm saying that because I went through phases where I was ob-sess-ed with those damn PAC because of a love situation that was frustrating me a lot, and my mood would actually fluctuate a ton if I got a good one or a bad one. It's like I was trapped inside my own head and was just mirroring the chaos happening within me and mistaking it for reality. It's possible that some of them were actually real but I had no way of knowing because I was seeking as many PAC in a day as I could, thus drowning any useful message and keeping myself in a state of fear that colored everything else.

So yeah that's your PSA to be more mindful about what PAC you decide to read or watch. Don't just read everything all the time. Take breaks and only do it if you actually have a clear issue in mind and feel called to a reading, and once you get the message you needed, let it rest until you or the situation develops further.

[darlingkirstein]

can I ask how you go about developing your stories/plot? I think coming up with an idea is (semi) easy because ✨vibes✨ but how to you actually turn that into a story? there's so much (character, backstory, plot, arcs, etc.)

I'm anxious to know how it is your going about developing home beckons the wanderer. Are you using any sort of method? I can't see you using a "point a to point b" method. It feels more complicated.

I know what I want to write but developing that is daunting. (In general and time wise)

Are you at all getting impatient with the development of your stories? Sometimes I forget a story can't just instantly be entirely plotted within the span of a week.

I apologize if this was too invasive, feel free not to answer, but if you do, I greatly appreciate it <3 take care love

it's not invasive at all!!!! these are all super great questions — and i hope my answers can be helpful and ease some fears!! and ofc, always feel free to ask more questions if you have them! :) i'll include some screenshots from my planning documents because i am a visual person so maybe you are too and that'll help :)

every story is different for me, and some are far more demanding and complicated than others. but, generally, it's outline, outline, outline. i have never been able to just write without having an outline backing up, unless it was for a one-shot or something more simple. another tool i have found extremely helpful and honestly essential for me is discussing my barebones ideas with others and watching them grow with the combined brain power behind it. if you have people in your corner supporting your ideas, let them help you!

so, for developing a story, start with your major idea. then, just start coming up with little ideas, anything, doesn't need to be in order. discuss with your friends, whatever helps! write those ideas down somewhere. i personally use a combination of my notes app, google docs, and the app notion to organize my thoughts.

notion tends to be where i start — i'll jot down little ideas i have, basic stuff needed to kickstart the rest. here's an example for the cult au:

google docs tends to be where i flesh whatever i did in notion out and have it more accessible. here's an example from thespian's coquetry:

for me personally, i have recently started spending a lot of energy into the development of the story/background before writing it. that also tends to be why i take forever to update/publish. let me get into the four things you specifically mentioned! characters, plot, backstory, arcs.

characters: stories depend on characters, and they need to feel real and have the capability to connect with the reader! i myself sometimes struggle with feeling like i don't do a well enough job with this. the main thing here is motivation — what drives this character, what is their goal/purpose, what makes them do whatever they are doing for the story? this goes hand in hand with their personality and their actions, so deciding what motivates them is important! this also ties into their backstory, so yeah it's important! their motivation will progress the story and explain their every action, so start there!

i can reference hbtw here actually, because it may be the story of mine where the character motivations are clearest — eren is motivated to go home to his family again, while mikasa is motivated to sustain herself financially by taking eren on their little quest. these motivations kickstart the plot and are essential to how it'll progress.

tldr; start with motivation, build from there, go to personality, hobbies, interests, quirks, etc.

backstory: this can be two things! either it's the actual world-building itself or its individual character backstories. since you're particularly interested in hbtw, I'll reference its development!

this story has been an absolute beast in terms of backstory/world-building development. this is why i say my process is dependent on the story, because this one is very involved and time-consuming. this is the place where you'll need to be the most patient if you're writing anything with a complicated world to develop. i am attempting to make hbtw as original as possible, so that involves a lot of building from scratch. right now, with the help of @strscrossed, i am working on the development of the eight regions in eldevane — this involves geography, economics, people, religion, history, and more. for example, i developed a history of eldevane's rulers and major historical events because, even though the story takes place decades later, i wanted to lay down a strong foundation to make the world feel real. this story is kinda stuck in world-building hell right now because i want most of that finished before proceeding because of how much eremika will be directly interacting with the world and its little intricacies. this is a daunting process, and its time-consuming! more on the frustration later.

basically, overall, my method for backstory development is to take it one step at a time and go slowly. there are also a lot of great resources for developing the world! http://arcadia.net/Cruinne/DnD/Articles/worldbuilding.html#language — this is an extremely (maybe overkill) detailed list of world-building things to consider in fantasy/sci-fi/etc. settings. the details matter, basically! also, consider your favorite medias and look at all the details there that feel small and inconsequential but develop the world and make it what it is. same with characters. what do you find interesting about this character's backstory? it is no danger to study fiction that you consider to be great? if you love it, you can learn from it :))

arcs: gonna do this first because it leads into the next bullet point. when you're starting to develop the plot, what helps me personally is putting a little shape to the plot, dividing it into crucial sections that are encompassed by one major plot point/resolution. if you divide your story into chunks, it may make development easier. for thespian's coquetry, i divided the story into three 'acts' and an epilogue to divide the plot more evenly in my head and make it less overwhelming.

this way, i'm able to break things down — when i think of a new plot point, i sift it between the three parts; where does it fit most? this makes placement of things less overwhelming, because it'll at least be confined to act i, ii, or iii. so decide these major headings and i find it'll help you compartmentalize things more accessibly.

plot: this is where its tricky for me. i have the exact same problem with every single multi-chapter story that i write; i know the beginning, and i know the ending, but it's everything in between that is muddled and less clear.

so, if you're me, you imagine the start, then (or oftentimes first) you imagine the ending — now, what has to happen between those two points for the ending to feel earned? what plot points will draw the characters closer to this pre-destined conclusion? most important in this is conflict. what conflicts happen to drive the plot? there will more than likely be multiple answers. there will be the overarching conflict/challenge (the dangerous journey of taking eren back home in hbtw is the overarching challenge) — but there will also be mini-challenges that serve the big one overhead. this can be inter-character conflict, quarrels, fights, disagreements, etc., but it can also be more external — challenges in their journey, little roadblocks that must be overcome to progress the story and maintain interest. there is only so long that a story can sustain itself without some degree of conflict; if things are smooth sailing forever, what's the point? if eren and mikasa's journey to eren's family happened without bumps along the way, sure it might be cute and wholesome, but it's not interesting, and the beautiful thing about stories is how they can interest and ensnare the reader's attention.

so, create little conflicts, big ones and important ones, and smaller ones more readily resolved. conflict drives the story. i think if there's one thing to take away from this total yap session of mine, it's that. seek conflict, and you'll find a plot.

please let me know if you have any questions or want me to clarify anything about everything i just said!!! i know it's a lot!! but i wanna be super helpful for your story!

now, you're absolutely right about hbtw being a very non-linear process. most, if not all, of my stories are developed like that. you develop as the inspiration takes you — i have been jumping between developing backstory/world-building which has bled into plot point development. it's one big system that works together — figuring out one thing often leads to another eureka moment in another aspect. me and stella developed the religious ceremony for eren's home region and that bled right into the story.

to answer your last question, ABSOLUTELY. i'm a very impatient person in all aspect of life, but i find it so frustrating when the ideas in my head cannot be immediately translated onto page. i was at first trying to rush through hbtw world-building before i was starting to burn myself out and realized that doing that was counterproductive and a total inspiration killer. this has been a very big challenge for me with all my stories. i'm rather meticulous, and i need to know the details and everything before starting, but sometimes i just want to be done with the planning and plotting so i can start. it's a perfectly normal feeling (or, i hope it is LOL)! you're eager to get your story somewhere, and you feel like there's an invisible wall that you keep banging your head against. i know that feeling well! writing can be an exhausting process, but it's the end result, finishing a story/chapter and sharing it with the world that feels very rewarding.

my overall tips for story development:

be patient and go slow — stories deserve nourishment, not ham-fisted neglect! your story deserves the time it needs to flourish!

jot down every idea you have. every single one. even if you're not sure you'll use it — better to have and not need then to need and not have. you really never know!

it's okay to go out of order! don't force yourself into a linear path if that doesn't feel right — it's never felt right to me! develop in whatever order you need to develop.

lean on your friends if they're willing! i probably would've given up on a lot of my stories already if not for my friends. (special shoutout to @random-millennial, @likesunsetorange, @strscrossed, @sinigangsta-ao3, @karizard-ao3, and others for always being willing to help me/listen.)

use online writing resources! there's so many articles and reddit posts (feels shameful to recommend reddit) and such with experienced writers happy to share their experiences and provide advice!

model after media you enjoy — can be books, movies, shows, manga, whatever!! figure out what you think the creators/authors/screenwriters did well and consider emulating it. you obviously like it for a reason! everyone gets inspired by someone else. don't feel like you're not a 'real writer/artist' because you reached out for resources or inspiration. you are real, and you're doing it!

HAVE FUN!!!! i'm a hypocrite because i often take all this way too seriously and get easily frustrated but promise, it's more fulfilling when you're really having fun doing it :))

i hope some of this was helpful!!!! apologies for the total yap session, i know this might be sorta overwhelming??? hope not! like i said, feel free to reach out with more questions, and i'd love to help you out individually if you'd be interested! all love and best wishes on the development of your story — manifesting nothing but success your way, and thank you for trusting me to help!

[glowingbadger]

idk if this will be too specific so feel free to mix and match as you like, but 2, 16, 37, and 38 for Axel?

AXEL MY SPECIAL MAN I love him so much, always thrilled to write for him lol. And y'know, I've had this concept in mind with him for a super long while that, after he gets his heart back, he might have a hard time fully dealing with how intense his feelings for Reader-chan are, and how different it makes the sexual side of things feel for him, so I'm gonna roll with that for this and apologies in advance if it gets a bit longer than some of the other kink prompt drabbles~~

(Side note I wasn't sure who you wanted on the giving/receiving end of any of this so... I guessed lmao. Also because this was a lot of kinks for one piece, I played a little fast and loose with them and some are represented more than others. I was just kinda winging it idk)

Anyway man I spent too much time struggling to find any time to write lately so like if I have to come back to this in a week to fix word repetition and type-os then... so fuckin be it I guess lol

Axel (Kingdom Hearts) x GN! Reader

Kink prompts list #2 - body worship, #16 - praise, #37 - massage, #38 - size difference

NSFW 18+

Axel kisses you differently these days. Like the moment he feels your lips on his, he's struck by something powerful and compelling. Like he can't quite control himself. With his heart returned to him at last, you've quickly discovered the novel and enthralling sensation of it pounding rapidly beneath your hands when they come to rest on his chest. But then- just as he has every time since your reunion -he stops. The warmth of Axel's touch leaves you, and he pulls away even as your hands subconsciously remain clenched around his black t-shirt. You blink your eyes back into focus. He glows in the early evening light where the two of you have settled on a large blanket along the shores of the Destiny Islands. The stunning turquoise of his eyes still seems to sparkle like the sea itself, even as he glances away from you and sighs.

"S- Sorry," he mutters, his head hanging, "We should, uh, probably get back to the others, yeah?"

Your brow furrows, and you pause to watch him at first. It's impossible to tell in the bleeding reds and oranges of the coming sunset, but it almost seems as though his face is flushed pink. You wonder- have you ever seen Axel blush before? It doesn't seem like him. But then, he hasn't had his heart for very long.

Just as he starts to pull away from you, you find your voice,

"Axel- wait," you gently tug him back towards you on the blanket, and he follows so that he's made to face you, "Is... is everything alright?"

"Huh? 'Course everything's..." he trails off as he meets your eye. His expression falls, and you can tell he sees the pained concern on your face. He sighs.

"Sorry, I uh... Ugh," he runs a hand through his hair, exasperated, "Don't look at me like that, c'mon. I'll spill, okay? It's just," his posture deflates, "it's pretty lame."

You shift closer to him, straightening the scrunched up blanket as you do so you can pretend you don't notice the way his body tenses beside you.

"You've just... been worrying me a bit lately, that's all. About how you're doing and, well, about us."

"Woah, woah, hey now!" Axel frantically takes your hand in his, holding it almost painfully tight near his chest, "Don't go thinking like that! Don't ever think that! It's my fault- I'm... not used to actually feeling all of this."

You frown a bit, then your brows raise as you gradually begin to understand. As you process, he elaborates,

"Before, when I 'felt' things, it was more like remembering, or thinking about feeling. Like... when someone tells you something really sad, and you feel bummed about it, but you weren't really there, right? It wasn't your sad thing that happened."

You get the feeling that, for him, this is a frustratingly inadequate metaphor. Still, you understand well enough, so you nod.

"I got used to that," he says, his eyes low before raising them to gaze at you with a sincerity that makes your chest ache, "But now, it's different- I feel everything. I feel it so much- an-and, being around you, it... drives me absolutely nuts. My heart," he releases your hand and places his at his chest, "It just goes wild when I touch you, sometimes it's like it's about to go up in flames."

You look at him warmly, leaning close.

"Well, if anyone could handle that, it'd be you."

He gives a short laugh through his nose, and his gaze softens.

"Guess so. Anyway," he sighs, "it's super lame, so... I didn't wanna bother you with this. But I kinda blew it, huh."

"It's not lame, Axel," you say with a grin, "Honestly I probably should have thought of that before now- I'm sorry I didn't. It must be really overwhelming to be feeling so many things for the first time in so many years. You were just a kid when you lost your heart."

"Guess that's fair..." his body finally relaxes a bit, but after a pause, he adds, "Still, I feel like a jerk though. It's not that I don't wanna be near you, or... touch you and all of that," there's a heat in his expression as he speaks, raising a hand to tentatively graze his fingers down your jawline, "Man, I really, really do."

"Then... maybe you just need to ease back into it?" you lean into the feeling of his hand at your cheek, offering what you hope is a reassuring smile. He looks at you, confused but intrigued, and you say,

"Like, maybe you could just, you know, practice touching me. Take it slow, don't rush, and, well... touch me as much as you want."

The crimson of his face rivals his hair, and his voice scratches just slightly in his throat,

"Wha- like, like a massage?" he gives a short laugh, "I mean, I'll try, but I've never-"

"Sure, like a massage," you smile, and immediately begin undressing to only the bathing suite you'd thrown on beneath your clothes. He's seen your body before, back in his Nobody days- many times, and every inch. Now, you see his chest slowly rise and fall as he breathes deeply, watching you with something like awe in those bright teal eyes. A part of you dearly wishes you could fully understand how it feels for him. How world-shaking it would be to live without true emotions of your own, to somehow come close to love in that state, and then to one day regain those feelings and be confronted with the full intensity of it all. You wonder if he'll ever fully adjust; he lived without a heart for a decade, after all. But, at least for now, he seems very interested in that massage idea.

You lay across the blanket on your stomach and glance expectantly back at him over your shoulder. This seems to shake him back into the present moment, and he positions himself above you. Your body warms at the reminder of how much taller he is than you- the way that, in the past, he'd been able to manhandle you, touch any part of you, overwhelm you while you gasped his name. You shake the thought from your mind for the time being- he needs you to take this slow. For now, anyway.

Axel's hands come to rest tentatively at your shoulder muscles, and you smile at the familiar warmth of his touch. He's always been warm, though you suppose that only makes sense. Very gently- almost too gently- he begins to rub your shoulders up to the muscles at the base of your neck. You close your eyes and exhale, smiling while your heart flutters at the chance to finally feel this, feel him. Gradually, he works down to your shoulder blades, and you let out a groaning sigh as he works out a knot you hadn't noticed prior.

"Mmm, that's nice..." you murmur. You feel Axel's body tense behind you. "You doing alright?"

"Yeah," he says, too quickly.

Before long, those strong hands reach a firmer and more consistent pressure, and he seems ever slightly more sure of himself. You allow yourself a few happy sighs and groans to encourage him, commenting now and then when something feels especially nice. He takes his time, and you're patient, reminding yourself that, for as much as you burn and ache for more, he needs to be the one to guide your pace. Yet by the time his hands run down your back, tracing your waist and reaching your hips, you can't help the cat-like way you squirm beneath him. He's closer to you now, and you can feel his heat behind you. For a moment, you think you feel something else, too- something hard and warm at the swell of your ass.

"Damn, Y/N..." he mutters as he runs those hands back up your body, thumbs applying a wonderful pressure close to your spine, "You're gonna make me lose it with those noises..."

"Mmh, but it feels so good, Axel," you luxuriate on your words, mercilessly prodding at his lust. Perhaps it's cruel to tease him this way; already, you can feel the harsher grip of his hands, and you're certain you hear something like him biting back a groan of his own. With a playful look back at him, you arch your body and say,

"I missed this, you know. Having you on top of me."

"You little..." his words trail off, but his hands wander lower, briefly groping at your ass in a way that reminds you of how he'd grabbed and spanked you in the past.

"Sorry, sorry," you say with a small laugh, "Is this too much?"

"No," he grips your thighs and runs his hands upward until he's cupping your ass in both hands, spreading it beneath the fragile barrier of your swimsuit, "Now that I'm past that first barrier... it's nowhere near enough. Maybe that's what I was really nervous about this whole time."

At first, you only hum pleasantly as he fondles your body, your pulse racing with the thrill of his hands meticulously tracing your every contour. When you finally think to speak, you ask,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean..." you feel Axel's thumb play along the edge of your swimsuit, just barely sneaking below the clingy fabric, "I mean that I'm so crazy into you that right now I can't think of anything but how badly I wanna show you exactly how my heart and body both feel about you. And once I start..." his body presses to yours, his lips brushing the shell of your ear, "I don't know how I'm ever gonna stop."

For a moment, you're mindless and breathless. The heat of him around you is intoxicating, warming you through to your core even as the sun begins to dip beneath the glassy ocean behind you. Axel props himself over you with one arm on the blanket beside you, while his free hand holds at your hip, tugging you against him so you can feel the pressure of his hard and throbbing cock against your ass.

"Please," you whimper, "Axel, I've missed you so much."

Without a word, he tugs your swimsuit out of the way and opens the front of his jeans. The head of his member presses to your needy, clenching little hole, then forcefully begins to spread you open around him as he thrusts forward. His impassioned groan is swallowed up by your gasping cry of his name, but for a moment, he simply remains sheathed in you. You'd nearly forgotten how big he is, and he seemed eager to remind you, but even so, you can tell he hasn't entered you to the base just yet.

"Sorry... for makin' you wait so long..." he grunts against your ear.

"Wo... worth it..." you barely manage to reply. The pain and pleasure of him stretching you around his iron-hard cock is mind-numbing. You feel the tingling sensation across your skin all the way to your fingertips. Then, just as you'd begun to get accustomed to his size, his hips begin to sway. Despite his desperation for you, he's gentle, carefully and gradually pumping into you at a pace that allows you to adjust as he fills you just a little deeper with each pass. Axel has always been so much more gentle than he wants anyone to know, but you adore the harsher things about him, too. When you feel the tinge of discomfort of his cockhead bottoming out inside of you, your ass finally meeting his lower abdomen, you sigh his name aloud in absolute bliss.

"How's... that heart of yours doing?" you half-sigh.

He's pressed against you, holding you with an incredible loving tenderness while his massive cock sends mind-breaking tremors through your core.

"On fire," he says, the pace of his thrusts picking up, his breath hot and ragged at the back of your throat, "I like it."