#hopefully you guys are better at handling the news than I am

[zizzy-rie]

Hello fellow lmk fans, how are we feeling

[jwirecs]

RECOMMENDED BTS FICS OF JULY 2023💖

hello, hello! here are my bts recs of july! hopefully these beautiful stories get more recognition as well as the writers 💝

** anything in parentheses and bolded are my thoughts that can be disregarded if needed **

🔞smut || 💔angst || 💕fluff || ✅completed || 🔄ongoing || 💯favorite

Alcohol Free || @blue-jisungs💕✅

↳ in which your best friend yoongi gets to know your secrets while you sip on various drinks. with each one, he’s more shocked… and amused.

Nothing’s Changed || @hoseokhasmyheartxx​​​​​🔞💕💔✅

↳ You and Yoongi have been best friends since college. The rest of your friend group wants to go on a couples’ trip, leaving you and Yoongi to share a room. But to your surprise, your room only has one bed… will the two of you be able to get through the week without letting the other know how you feel?

The Love Plaza || @mayolive-writes🔞💕✅💯💯

↳ Needing to take a break from the long trip to college, you and Jungkook are forced to stay at the only lodging available within 70 miles, a love motel. And much to Jungkook’s dismay, there’s only one bed.

Til You Make It || @jinkookspencil💕💔✅💯

↳ jungkook is startled when you call him in need of a favor... to play his dream role - your boyfriend - for a day...

Bet On It || @minisugakoobies🔞💕✅💯💯

↳ What's a little wager between enemies? How about if it's your body on the line?

Lovin' You Right || @kookslastbutton🔞💕💔✅

↳ Your new badass neighbor won't leave you alone. You know the type, the guy your mama wouldn't want you bringing home. He'd break your heart as quick as he'd take it.

5+1 || @joon4eva​​​​​​💕✅

↳ five times you wanted to tell Namjoon you loved him + the one time you finally did.

Baby Fever || @95rkives💕✅💯

↳ what was supposedly a peaceful morning stroll in the park, an unexpected encounter triggers namjoon’s intense desire for a baby, turning him into an adorable, baby fever-filled mess.

Cherry Flavored || @jjksblackgf🔞✅

↳ You bet with your boyfriend that he can't handle more than five minutes of your tongue, but Jungkook never turns away from a challenge. You'll make sure to keep him in his place.

Moving In || @dreamescapeswriting💕✅

↳ (this was an anon req to the writer, short summary: yoongi leaves his stuff at oc's apartment, slowly moving in. shts too cute man)

Panties Over Pastries || @genkima💕✅

↳ you and your lovely boyfriend, Jungkook, decided to have a baking date planned for today ! I wonder how it turns out..

Spicy 'N Sweet || @thvhoe​​​​​​🔞💕💔🔄💯💯💯

↳ Jeon Jungkook is the perfect guy… to piss off your parents. He’s buff, inked up and the definition of their worst nightmare but hey, when love comes knocking on your door there’s not much you can do. It’s not like you planned on falling for him… it just kind of happened, and honestly, you're not even mad about it. Not at all.

The Boxer's Girlfriend || @i-am-baechu🔞💕💔✅

↳ Jeon Jungkook is known throughout Korea as the top boxer. He’s swift in his attacks and calculated with everything. He’s dangerous in the ring but he was also dangerous to his girlfriend, Y/N L/N. 

Cat Got Your Tongue? || @jessikahathaway🔞💕💔✅

↳ You were exhausted from schoolwork and just needed a chance to unwind. Jungkook, campus fuckboy, offers his services to help alleviate the stress from studying but is he going to cause more stress than he relieves?

Cherry || @peachypinkygloss🔞💕✅

↳ Jungkook has a crush on you and he does everything to conquer your heart (like eating your pussy whenever and wherever he feels like it).

Bunny Buns || @kittyscupcakeandbunny🔞💕💔🔄

↳ Jungkook needed to hide. He was on the run. And what better place for a bunny hybrid to hide then a Bunny coffee shop? How could he resist? You smelled sweet and looked nice. All it took was one smile of yours and a bunny bread and he was on all fours for you.

Moon || @hobeemin🔞💕✅ Pt 2.

↳ (theres no summary, and i suck at summarizing, but im a sucker for hybrid fics so that says sometime.)

Break My Mind's Eye || @flowerwrites06🔞💕✅

↳ Jungkook thinks marriage is the only way to seal a deal. 

Diamond Trail || @flowerwrites06🔞💕✅

↳ The theft of his most elusive and mystery possession leads to a web of trickery that threatens every large syndicate in the country. (alternative: Yoongis’ prized possession is stolen but he’s not the only gang leader being betrayed)

Distraction || @melancholy-of-nadia🔞✅

↳ After a series of circumstances leads you to be the assistant/right-hand woman of Bangkok's local thief/gang leader Min Suga, you're diligent in fulfilling your role in helping him take down Detective (& Underground Mafia Boss) Agust D. What you didn't expect in this role, was to catch your own boss reading p*rngraphic material during his free time and finding out there are consequences to distracting him.

Wishes || @i-am-baechu🔞💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ After a long day of classes, Min Yoongi decides to take a break at the music hall that has become his second home. He walks in with his cigarette lit and his blank expression quickly changes when he sees a girl playing his piano. The moment their eyes meet, their lives become complicated and Yoongi blames himself for her future pain. Was the love we had honest? (i dont have a gang!au banner so its going in with the mafia!au. also yall already know im a huge sucker fore mafia/gang au's along with hybrids. its currently on going, but i know that i will be on a roller coaster while reading this series)

Devoted To Trouble || @jeonsweetpea🔞💕💔✅💯

↳ In which the whole world finds out Jungkook is Spider-Man, but he doesn’t care about anything but you. OR Can you survive seven days of Jungkook pining over you while his identity is exposed to the world? (i dont have a spider-man!au banner, but spider!kook????? when yoongi said that this man will annoy him even at the age of 100, lord where is the lie. but also, we love a persistent & annoyingly cute man.)

For Glory || @mono-moonchilds🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ A fight to the death. No rules, no refs, and nowhere to run.

Monachopsis || @personasintro🔞💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ after receiving unpleasant news that doesn’t allow you to grow your family, your husband comes up with an idea that unfortunately involves his brother whom he despises (wasnt too sure what au this fic would fall under but i say it goes under the parent au cause min yoongi gon be a father whether he likes it or not.)

Seven || @joonberriess🔞✅

↳ “You know night after night, I’ll be fuckin’ you right,” or: “Girl hold on my baby daddy calling again.”

Unconditionally || @rmsrkive💔🔄💯

↳ for the past three, almost four years, it has only been you and your twins after having been abandoned by your ex-boyfriend. you expected it to remain that way for the rest of your lives until one day you accidentally run into one of his bandmates at the park 

Way Back Home || @solemnreads🔞💕💔🔄💯💯

↳ "please tell me this isn't what i think it is" he asks you with tears in his eyes. you look down at the sight of your son with an oxygen mask on his face while your daughter is sleeping on the couch near the wall. you look into his eyes, broken and sad. you've dreamt of this day for years, wondering how he would react. but here you are, hoping he could've meet the twins under different circumstances. "yes...they're your children."

Wrong Time || @spideyjimin🔞💕💔✅💯💯

↳ meeting ten years later the girl he deeply fell in love with is something Jungkook never thought would happen. But here you are, standing before his eyes with a bright smile on your face as you walk through the massive lobby of his company. At that exact moment, he realizes that the two of you fell in love at the wrong time but is now the right time?  

Added Color || @bangtansmaus​💕💔✅💯

↳ Yumi was perfectly fine with not finding her soulmate yet. she never really cared about the idea of soulmates. she’s fine with just running her bakery and living with her brother Jimin and their two best friends Jungkook and Taehyung.

Do check out all of the other BTS Fics that i have reblogged as well!!

** if there is any fics that you guys would like to recommend, please do! i am slowly running out of fics to read **

[sunny-day-jack-official]

So! The demo is finally out! Or, a bit of it is. What’s next?

Let’s run over a few questions, so hopefully everyone is in the loop!

Q: Why is it only a little bit after so long?

A: Development has been all over the place and a big reason is just how difficult it can be to mediate between artists, programmers, writers, etc.. Mental and physical health, personal emergencies, etc.. are also a big part of this— and it wasn’t anticipated that this would eat up so much time.

The original game was planned to have Sauce (presently speaking!) handling a large majority of tasks all at once. So— when health stalled, production stalled.

Of course, healing took a bit of time to. And even now, that’s why so much of the demo is left unfinished. Overall— it wasn’t possible to complete the demo in the same amount of time the original demo was completed because realistically speaking— that was extremely unhealthy and rushed.

Because of that tight deadline, 48 hours to a week, many significant errors or retconned elements made their way into the game. A huge toll was taken that resulted in extreme burnout after. Quality (as can be seen in the CGs) suffered. An emphasis on quality is currently being prioritized, but I can safely say that I am no longer able to work at my original 2021-2022 pace.

—

Q: Why are you (Sauce) working alone?

A: At this point in time— we had spent a while working on the GUI and design/function of the game. It is, after all, set to have some pretty hefty features.

Translation and dub settings

Censorship and Softcore modes

A VERY LARGE story map with several endings

An additional “one-shot” story mode wherein every ending you unlock, you then unlock additional content

That takes a lot more planning than we’d anticipated.

How do we make this efficiently run on most systems?

Are we able to make sure that the size of this game is compatible with older devices?

Are the assets optimized? ( A lot of time has gone into re-drawing and working out sprite systems )

What settings are accessibility necessary for impaired players? How do we implement those options?

How do we design a stylish and efficient system?

That was something we had figured originally would be pretty easy to work out! But multiple people here are wearing multiple hats.

The rest of the team is actively working on those portions. But at the moment— we’ve decided to shelve literal art development and scripting (which was where we were hovering for a while) until we got the programming bits truly sorted out.

That leaves little old me! While they worked on this, I’ve been spending time making sure we could serve you a sample of what’s to come. My job is doling out a taste of the narrative, style, etc.. That way, once they’re finished, we can consider any feedback in the implementation of these portions of the game in the final, official build.

Hopefully that makes sense! TL;DR - Everyone’s busy making the important program my bits and designing the menus. So I’ve stepped away to work on this so you all have something to see in the meantime!

—

Q: Why are you REBUILDING THE DEMO?

A: The old demo— you’d think it would be easy to patch up. But it’s literally the very first build, sized up and fixed and stitched over. Unfortunately it was an unoptimized mess, even for what it was.

Hopefully a cleaner, more organized build will allow for better gameplay. But the key factor is just a desire for better quality!

—

Q: How often will you be uploading new additions?

A: Until all the bugs are fixed and the whole demo is rebuilt. This should be every week or so until then. Once it’s all done, the demo will see a re-release publicly!

In the meantime, please keep in mind bugs may be aplenty— and I personally apologize for this. Demos released are intended to show proof of work— but they may not be the best, most fun experience for narrative-seeking players. It’s advised immersion-prioritizing players wait until the build is fully finished and christened on our steam page!

—

Q: Will there be Mac support?

A: I will absolutely try!

—

Hopefully that helps give a bit more insight. Unfortunately it’s difficult to articulate everything that’s going on, but we’ll do our best! We’d like to have someone more verbally gifted helping us to write these posts, but until we decide how to go about that, you’re stuck with me.

We’ll do the best we can to answer any questions as clearly as possible. And again— we thank you all for your patience.

Making SDJ was clearly a messier experience than we had considered. It’s been a rollercoaster— and as Sauce speaking, I can actually attribute most of the delays to my own personal health and absence.

That— I am sorry for.

The rest of the team is working very hard to put something together that’s quality. I can promise with my whole heart that they’re doing their best. We’re all just people passionate about this project, and no matter the weather I don’t think it’s ever not on our minds.

I look forwards to putting out a large Kickstarter update soon, detailing our work and more! And I’m excited to open the airways for more and more communication.

But for now— we’ll see you next bug-fixing update.

- Sauce

[that1fangirrl]

Dancer!Reader Gets Hurt

CW:kinda angsty, some swearing, blind joke, she/her pronouns, kinda scary(idk tbh)

A/N: You guys voted, so here I am delivering. Hope you guys enjoy it as much as I did writing it. I feel like Jane Villanueva when I write lol. K bye<3

When you and Matt first met, he made it his mission to protect you at all cost. Whether that be from creepy strangers, the frat boys on campus, or the scary mean girls in your dance class. You had told Matt many horror stories about the “bitches” in your class. They hated you since day one. Something about you being Miss Flynn’s favorite student even though you joined the class later than everyone else. And being the sweet boyfriend he is, he agreed with you. 

During a particular week, Miss Flynn had called out sick with the flu, but encouraged the class to continue using the studio as needed.

You guys were gearing up for a new spring showcase coming up in the next few weeks. You were especially ecstatic about your small classical part in the show. It would be your first time dancing solo. And hopefully the requitors in the audience would ask you to come and dance with them once you graduated. All nerves were out in the open. Most of the girls were super proud of you, knowing it’s a tough position to be in, but knew you could handle it and were definitely gonna kill it. 

Sydney and Madison thought it was stupid. “That bitch came here in sophomore year and thinks she can just kiss ass to the top. I bet she’s sleeping with the choreographer or something.” It was laughable how the two older girls always thought you had to be sleeping with somebody in the arts department to get your solo. Especially because everyone knew you were so obviously dating the sweet blind law student who always sat in the corner of the studio waiting to walk you back to your dorm.

“Yeah. She’s probably cheating on that blind guy. He wouldn’t even be able to see it coming. Poor guy, he’d be better off with someone like me.” Little did they know, Matt was extremely aware of their weird feelings. The two of them would constantly ask him random questions and be in his personal space. As if you weren't a few feet away, practicing with Miss Flynn in the same room. He always chose to just brush them off and go back to whatever it was he was doing before. 

Today was no different. Matt knew your nerves were off the charts, so he volunteered to stay with you the next few days while you practiced extra hours. Unfortunately today, he had been forced to help Foggy study for their upcoming test that was stressing him to hair loss. He sent you a sweet “Sorry about tonight, again. I promise to make it up to you as soon as I can, Rosie. ‘Sad face emoji’ ‘heart emoji’” He was so darn adorable. How could you be mad at him when he acts so sweet? 

Practice went great tonight. You had been there for almost 2 hours working with some of the other girls, too. When it was time to go, you decided to hit up the locker rooms to freshen up before going to your dorm. Thankfully, the room was still clean and empty.

The cool water on your muscles felt like absolute heaven on Earth. Your hands gilded across your body slowly and thoughtfully, massaging every area that had been giving you trouble. Once you were done, you wrapped a towel around yourself and walked back to the locker area. The sound of the door opening and closing took you out of your short daze. “Hello?” You craned your neck around the corner when there was no response. You continued drying off and clothing yourself; taking a seat on the bench. Another loud noise echoed off the walls. This time, you stood up grabbing your things and shoving them in your bag as quickly as possible. Trying your best to be quiet, you headed for the door.

Going down each aisle of lockers, no one was seen. You continued closer to the door, grabbing your phone and earbuds as you reached it. Putting one in and dialing your boyfriend’s number, you stayed cautious. Matt had finally picked up the phone with a cheerful “hello.” “Hey Matty. I’m on my way to your dorm. I think someone’s following me.” He perked up on the other side of the phone, immediately hushing a confused Foggy. “Are you okay? Where are you? I’ll meet you there.” You shook your head, walking down the long hallway. “Um. Arts building by the new locker rooms. The ones on the higher floors.”

You took a quick breath before turning around. Nothing. “I’m really scared, Matty. It’s so fucking dark and quiet over here. I heard someone come into the room, but I couldn’t see anyone.” Matt starts haphazardly putting his shoes on, nerves spiking with yours. “Okay. I’m on my way. Just stay on the phone okay. Foggy and I are coming to get you.”

Another loud bang had you quickening your pace. You started to speed up closer to the stairs, holding your phone and bag close to your body. “Okay. Just hurry cause I think they- ahhhh.” “Y/n. Hello? Y/n”

A/N: Did I spook you guys? Are you guys mad at the cliffhanger? Are you biting your nails off? Well don't! Cause I did write a part 2 that you will be getting soon. hehehehe I deadass was writing this shit like I was A from Pretty Little Liars. Like I literally was giggling my ass off so hard. But I was also low-key scared cause I always put myself in my reader's shoes in my mind(if that makes sense), so I literally was paranoid as hell. Anyways, tell me your guys' thoughts. I hope you liked it

[bryce-bucher]

Midwest Lost Post #5

Stepfather:

For the past month I've been pretty busy, so I've mainly just been focusing on working on Midwest Lost whenever I have a chance. In this time I finally got the character model for the stepfather mostly complete and in the game. In this fight he is "unwinding" after work so he's ditched his pants and put on a bathrobe, but he was too dejected to change out of his work shirt. He's an abusive guy with a messy life, and he often takes his anger out on whoever he thinks he can have power over. Unlucky for the protagonist, this often means he's the target of his rage. Luckily for the protagonist, he has a big ass sword.

The Face:

For a while now I've been pretty concerned on how I am going to handle face textures in this game. I need the characters to be expressive for the various cinematics and for certain emotional beats to hit properly, but creating proper detailed faces is a bit of a wild west territory for me. Because of this, I decided to try an experiment. Recently I've been trying to learn how to paint properly using a VR painting tool called Vermillion, It's proven to be a really powerful and relaxing way to paint, so I was wondering if it would be feasible for me to paint character textures in it. At my current skill level I honestly thought it wouldn't work out at all, but surprisingly it did!

As you can see here, I spent a good 4-5 hours painting this face texture in VR. It looked pretty horrible until like the last 40 minutes of the process or so. I guess that's how its supposed to go, but it really surprised me that it came together at all.

After I got that base texture completed, I exported it and touched it up a bit to better fit the model. I then added a pair of eyes and eyebrows on top of the texture in Affinity Photo. They are a lot more cartoony / simplistic than the base texture so that I can change them out and create new expressions easily. I was honestly unsure if that would clash too hard with the painted face, but I think it looks pretty good. This was a really fun process, and It's got me excited for the amount of opportunities it has afforded me. Character creation is my favorite, but until now I really never thought I'd be able to paint the more detailed organic aspects of certain characters / animals. Oh yeah I also painted his knees in the same way lol, but I think going into detail about that would be redundant.

Heavy Attacks:

The last major thing I did recently was finally implement some heavy attacks. Rather than have separate inputs for light and heavy attacks, the attack button causes a light or heavy attack to occur based on whether or not you are currently holding the stance/strafe button. The heavy attacks I decided on are meant to be able to close in a considerable gap between you and the enemy, so that you can get in there more easily after slowly strafing around. Alternatively, you can just use heavy attacks whenever as long as you just press the strafe and attack buttons at the same time, so really they are for whenever you feel as though you can afford the wind up and cooldown of the animations. But yeah, as you can see in the gif above, the heavy attacks currently take the form of a two swing combo where you can lunge forward with the sword pointing outwards and then follow it up by swinging it back over your head and slamming it down. I think they are pretty satisfying to use as of now, but I might consider extending the combo in the future.

Conclusion:

That is all 4 today. I really want to get more work done on all of these games. I'm really tired of being stuck in the same debug scene in all of them. Hopefully this year I can dedicate more time to all this, and maybe I can make a second scene for one of them lol. Next time I post one of these it will probably be midwest lost again, but if not I'll be working on J(a)SON next. A big part of me being busy this month is that I'm actually attending GDC alongside Quinn K. If any of u mutuals out there want to meetup at GDC lmk.

[hinatastinygiant]

6 | Mort

Pairing: Uzui x Fem!Reader

The Emptiness You Left

UZUI'S P.O.V.

"So," Rengoku hums as we step into my home, "that was the infamous Y/N. She's an interesting character."

"More like an irritating character," I scoff, walking over to the kitchen and pouring a cup of tea.

"How come you refuse to train her? She has a noble cause, isn't that flashy enough for you? She's even willing to work hard. Isn't that what the demon slayers are supposed to be doing?"

"No," I tell him. "It's not that simple. She's too weak."

"You can't tell me you know how determined she is. It's obvious that she's not going to give up," he says, getting closer to me. "You should at least give her a chance. I mean, it's not like there's anything else you can do. She's not going to give up."

"Why don't you just mind your own business, Rengoku?" I groan, meeting his eyes with a frustrated look in mine.

"Why don't you?" he shrugs. "I mean, you didn't have to take her in."

I sigh, knowing he's right.

"And why are you so against her training anyway?" he continues. "Surely, she'd be able to handle it. I can tell you have some sort of interest in her."

I freeze and my eyes go wide. This idiot can't possibly know what he's talking about. I can feel my blood boil as he continues speaking.

"She's a very beautiful woman," he adds, and my eye begins to twitch. "She could be a great addition to the Demon Slayers Corps."

"She will never be part of the corps," I spit at him, and he chuckles.

"Why are you acting like this?"

"Because I can't let her die!" I finally admit, raising my voice a bit too loudly.

"So what? That's the risk everyone takes when they join."

"It's different, Rengoku. She's not going to survive."

"Is that so?"

"Yes," I huff.

"Well, I mean, if that's your decision then fine," Rengoku finally begins to back off. "But just know that training is a good way to make sure she doesn't die."

Y/N'S P.O.V.

The next morning I wake up, put on my new uniform, and grab the wooden sword that Rengoku gave me. I make sure to take the time to hide it well in my clothes so that Uzui won't notice.

However, just as I walk downstairs, I see the three wives all bundled up in heavy winter clothes.

"Uh, what're you guys doing?" you ask them on your way for a cup of water from the kitchen. "You know it's only autumn still, right?"

"Yeah, but it's freezing," Suma answers, her teeth chattering.

"And snowing," Makio adds.

"Really? Wow, it's almost as if I couldn't see the snow coming out the window," you remark, and she sticks her tongue out at you.

"Are you leaving now, Y/N?" Hinatsuru questions.

"Yes. Do any of you want to train with me today?" you ask hopefully. Usually one of them will agree as long as you do something light. They know better than to get on Uzui's bad side, unlike you.

However, today they all look at each other with an odd look in their eyes. You're not sure what's going on, but you definitely don't have a great feeling about it.

"No, sorry," each one of them says, making you begin to get suspicious.

"Really Suma? Not even if I bring back those strawberries you love so much?"

"I'm sorry, Y/N, but it's too cold for us," she answers, causing the other girls to nod in agreement.

"But you always wear those short dresses," you argue. "I'd love to know how those are any better than pants and a jacket."

The girls don't respond. Rather, they look at you as though you're the crazy one.

"What are you girls talking about?" a voice suddenly asks from behind you. You turn around and see Uzui entering the room, holding a bag full of supplies. "Y/N, where are you going?"

You reach down to the wooden sword hidden beneath your clothes, making sure nothing is poking out. "Oh, I'm just going to, um, pick some flowers," you lie, looking away.

"Flowers?" Uzui repeats, arching an eyebrow. "At this time of year? I don't think so."

You gulp as he grabs onto your arm and pulls you right out the front door. "Today, you've got better things to do. Today, I am going to train you."

Your jaw drops and a smile spreads across your face. "Really?"

"Yes. It's no fun having a weakling living under my roof," he scoffs.

Behind him, you can see Suma giving you a thumbs up. But, before you can say anything else to Uzui, he tosses you two swords with an interesting jagged design.

"These are called Nichirin swords," he tells you, watching as you examine them. "They're only used by demon slayers. But don't think this means that you're actually a member, because you're not."

"They're so cool," you mumble in a barely audible voice.

"Now listen up! Lesson one. An introduction to the rhythm of the breath!" he begins, before starting to explain the importance of connecting with the natural rhythm of your environment.

After he's done speaking, he closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. And, like an idiot, you do the same.

"What the hell are you doing, Y/N?" he suddenly shouts, making you open your eyes and look at him with a stunned expression on your face.

"You took a deep breath, too!"

"You took a breath like a complete child!" he barks. "Don't you know how to breathe at all?"

"How is breathing supposed to be any different than that?!"

"I just showed you," he grumbles, before demonstrating the correct way to inhale and exhale. "Try breathing in sync with the sounds of snow falling."

You're beyond confused. How is any of this going to help you kill a demon?

The Emptiness You Left

[jasminedragonart]

are you leaving ATLA fandom?? but where and how can I find you now? are you on other platforms? And a personal question, aren't you afraid to leave? I mean, I'm an artist too, and the fandom has almost completely destroyed me and my love for ATLA, and with ATLA live action things will only get worse, but I'm afraid to leave because the avatar fandom on Tumblr is the only place where I get support as an artist, and if I leave, I will go into the void. What can you recommend? How are you going to handle this?

I am leaving the Atla fandom I'm afraid. I'm keeping all my art up and I have an art book on my ko-fi if people want most of my good art.

As for being afraid to leave, I'm not really afraid. This isn't the first time I've left a fandom. I had a previous blog that I ended up deleting. I had about 3,000 followers on there and my art wasn't to the standard it is now so I really worked consistently to get them. I left that one because it was a time when tumblr was flagging literally everything in their porn ban. It made sense to start again and I hoped that if people liked my art for my art that they would find me again.

It's the same this time. I don't want to draw for atla anymore. I've been trying to move away from it for a while now, at least a year and while I have struggled to do so I'm firmly sticking with my decision now. The live action literally will take over the fandom, which again, isn't a bad thing guys. But I want to expand my art career.

I've considered making another blog and sort of abandoning this one. But then, I know people like my art so I feel like it's unfair to make them seek me out. But at the same time starting a new fandom means finding new people that will like my art.

I know the support won't be as strong as it has been in the past, but overall I make art to make myself happy. It's not like I'm taking my stuff down either, I'll still have my art on tumblr and on ko-fi. The only difference is that I won't be making new art for it. I think i'll still make calendars, perhaps recycle the one I've made for 2025 if people still want it. But, I'll make new things for a new fandom as well. Maybe more than one.

I guess as an artist you need to just decide for yourself to make yourself happy. I want to get better at art and moving into different territory will do that for me. If you're scared of moving on then maybe make it a slow transition. Make art for atla and also for something else. Slowly stop making new art and focus on your new passion. If your fans like your art then they'll stick around no matter what you draw.

I've found, over the years, a lot of fandoms I enjoy a lot of my audience does as well. It's all just a matter of taking that risk and committing.

I hope this helps, I understand your fears all too well. If I go into the void, so be it, but I'm happy with my decision right now and hopefully I'll have made the right one.

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here bestie, currently cheering, laughing, and digging in for what looks like an amazing season. You know there are a lot of ways they could have told the story of Buck realizing he's bi, but by far they went for the most hilarious and ridiculous route and I a HERE for this kind of nonsense. ABC seriously said "Okay, Buck's gonna get really jealous of Eddie's new guy friend...who he spends more time with than his girlfriend who Buck isn't jealous of (and who hasn't spoken in 4 episodes and is known for being the babysitter when Eddie needs to spend time with his new guy friend). Buck will go to ridiculous lengths to get Eddie's attention, including loudly clanking around the gym while sweaty and playing a sport he hates, while sweaty. But then, get this, the new friend will confront Buck and Buck will conclude for some reason THAT'S the person whose attention he wanted, something even the new friend doesn't believe, but he kisses him anyway. How funny would that be." ABC, and Tim specifically, you are not fooling anyone about where this is going.

Seriously I'm so happy, even if Buck's first kiss wasn't Eddie. Tommy isn't going to be around long it seems (especially if he has any sense of self preservation) and maybe Marisol will be lucky to get a full sentence in before she's out the door the way they're going. But I think this is the best way to tell this particular self discovery story, not in an overly angsty, stressful way but in a fun way that's over the top. I'm happy about the way they did it, and am definitely curious about how they will develop Buck through the season. Let's buckle in my friend, we're finally getting some good soup 🎉🎉🥂🥂!!!

My friend, I am still giddy over how much fun I had all around with that episode! Maddie and Chim were in peak Sassy Sibling mood with Buck, we even got some Mom-Mode Activated Maddie, we got silly call shenanigans, we got a heartbreaking call, we got some Grant family drama bringing up stuff from the past, we got happy smiling Eddie, we got sass-master Ravi, AND we got kicked-puppy pouty faced Buck begging Eddie to pay attention to him all episode and still somehow coming up with the wrong answer to his jealousy question 🤣 Epitome of that "the risk I took was calculated but MAN am I bad at math" meme. I love him.

I was reserving my judgment to see how this was going to play out, but so far, I am not hating it! It really does feel like Tommy Knows What's Up, but he gets to kiss Buck out of it, so why not? and while I don't ship them, the kiss was REALLY soft and sweet and Buck is being pursued for once so like, I'm willing to see how Tommy moves Buck's story forward. It definitely gave me the vibes that this is going to be the thing that helps push Buck to his "oh" moment about Eddie (hopefully with an accompanying montage to shut up the "this came out of nowhere" people 🙄). I'm typically not on the "this character needs to date around and use other people to be "ready" for the relationship they ACTUALLY want" train, but so far this storyline was handled well. Like, it's SO clearly about Eddie but also it's SO clear Buck has not connected those dots yet but Tommy HAS. So it's not like Buck *knows* and is stringing Tommy along waiting for Eddie to be single. It has the potential to be a sweet, fun, joyous experience for Buck without ever undercutting his relationship with Eddie because again, Tommy sure seemed to know whose attention Buck was REALLY looking for. For now, I'm on board to see how the ride plays out! And with Tim being better at keeping the stories focused on the mains, I think we are going to get some REALLY good Buck moments with his family around all this, while Tommy does the job of a side character and moves the story along.

"maybe Marisol will be lucky to get a full sentence in before she's out the door" Please, the sound I just made! 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Let's hope it's no more than that, I cannot take her smiling like her head is about to start spinning around (plus the actress needs to GO, we don't need that nastiness here!). I am cryyyying though at the way Eddie's girlfriends have never even registered for Buck because at no point did they interfere with his time with Eddie and Chris, but Eddie spends time with ONE (1) dude, and Buck is just BESIDE himself about it. Poetic. Baby boy you are sooooo close to a realization! Also, not the synopsis calling out Eddie reevaluating his relationship the second Buck gets into one 🤣🤣🤣 Boys you are NOT subtle.

We are being FED and I am strapped in for the ride! Lets goooooo! The joy and heart and soul of the show has been restored and it feels sooo good!

[nellie-elizabeth]

Grey's Anatomy: We've Only Just Begun (20x01)

And we're back! Crazy that this is the 20th season. I saw that Station 19 is ending after this season, which means Grey's has a very solid chance of outlasting another spinoff! Let's dive right in.

Cons:

I am still repulsed by Jo and Link, I cannot help it. They just do absolutely nothing for me and it feels like such a forced, lazy writing choice. I think part of it is just that Jo and Alex, and Amelia and Link, both felt like real, organic, interesting romances to me that were earned over a long period of time, and this is just like... eh, throw the leftovers together I guess.

My Owen and Teddy dislike will never go away, but in this episode it wasn't so much that they annoyed me as that the storyline felt completely unnecessary? Teddy collapsing and needing emergency surgery and potentially dying felt like even more of a lazy tacked on drama for the cliffhanger last season than I'm used to with this show.

Pros:

The good news for the future of this show is that I do continue to be interested by our intern characters, our new crop of leads. Jules and Blue with their awkward, hostile attraction and connection, Adams and Simone with their obstacles as they continue their burgeoning love story, Yasuda with her career doubts and anxieties. And in even more good news, Nick is leaving the hospital: I'm annoyed that it's to go be with Meredith, who deserves better than that stick in the mud, but at least that means he hopefully won't be around as much anymore.

This show is famous for its ridiculous disaster scenarios, and I like that it knows how to have fun with them and also comment on current events. The self-driving car malfunctioning and slamming again and again into the ambulance was a wacky scenario but also a believable extrapolation from stuff that's happened in real life, and it also gives an new and interesting challenge to several of the characters. I like that Adams and Simone have to make some of their own tough calls in the ambulance where they're trapped, but also have Meredith and Bailey outside guiding them through. Kind of a poignant metaphor for the current direction of the show, in a way: these characters we've been with for decades at this point are still around, and can still be depended upon, but the new kids have to forge their own path as well. I'm glad the patient in the ambulance survived, as did the guy inside the test car: a stressful and bizarre day of work, but ultimately a win, which I think everyone needed.

In Teddy news, as I said I was a little underwhelmed by the existence of this plot thread to begin with. But I did appreciate Winston being calm under pressure and totally handling the situation, saving her life and also steering Owen away from the midst of everything, encouraging him to get some rest. I also like Owen and Amelia having this steady friendship after all the tumult of their past relationship. Seeing her there for him during a difficult moment was great.

I love the role Meredith has in this world, now. She is a steadfast presence, and if this show continues for another decade to come, I hope Ellen Pompeo is willing to keep coming back for a couple episodes a season, so her presence is still felt. We're setting up an interesting plot that can develop in the background: Catherine Fox wants Meredith to drop her controversial takes about Alzheimer's research and go where the funding is, and Meredith actually seemingly agrees to this. She'll take the party line and stop making controversial waves for Catherine to deal with. But... she hands her research off to Amelia, so that it can continue in secret. This is really intriguing, and I actually got a little emotional thinking about Amelia and Meredith working on this project together!

We end with Teddy waking up, thank goodness, Link and Jo sharing a romantic moment (no thank you), and Richard going to an AA meeting to recommit to his sobriety - good for him! I'm excited to see where the show takes us next; there are always enough characters and stories going on in this show that it keeps me hooked, even when some of the characters are... not my favorites. We'll see which way things go from here!

8/10

[a-dirty-secret]

Johnny's Girl - Part 16

tw: dub/non-con, hematolagnia, dacryphilia, blood, violence, stalking, rough sex

You were out back, laying alone in the bed of an old truck that Johnny had previously filled with blankets and pillows. He'd picked up food from a diner you'd mentioned before and set it up in the back of the truck. You'd mentioned it being your ideal type of date, and of course Johnny remembered.

It quickly became one of your favorite places, so Johnny wasn't surprised to find you there. "Hey, been waitin' for ya'. Why didn't you tell me you were comin' out here?"

"I wanted to give you some time with any new whores you have locked in the basement." You say bitterly.

"You ever gonna let this go? I dunno what you want me to do about it, I keep tellin' you it won't happen again."

You sit up and glare at Johnny. "Maybe I should go out and let some guy stick his cock inside of me. Let him cum inside of me. Then we can have a competition to see who lets it go first."

Johnny reaches out and grabs you by the shirt, yanking you out of the bed of the truck. One hand keeps a tight grip of your shirt, the other grips your jaw tightly. "You. Belong. To. Me." He says through gritted teeth.

"See? You can barely even handle the thought of it."

He releases his grip and takes a step back as you rub your jaw. "It's not the same." He says, avoiding your gaze.

"How is it not the same?! Am I your girlfriend or your victim?! I hate to fucking break it to you, but in an ACTUAL relationship, it's a two-way street Johnny."

"Oh, you feel like a fuckin' victim?! Maybe I should tie you up and throw you back in the basement!"

"Don't avoid the actual point, Johnny!"

"I said I won't do it again, what more do you want from me?!"

"Oh, excuse me for thinking the cheating, cannibalistic serial killer may have a hard time keeping his word!"

"If that's all I am to you then why are you even here?!"

"BECAUSE YOU WON'T LET ME LEAVE!"

With that Johnny turns, lighting a cigarette as he walks away. You sigh, getting back into the bed of the truck. The truth is, you had a hard time planning out an escape, because you couldn't bear the thought of leaving Johnny. In your mind that fact further confirmed that getting out was necessary.

Johnny walked to the front of the house and sat on the steps as pain radiated through his body. He felt like he was losing you. He had to figure something out, some way to make it up to you.

The door opened and Sissy poked her head out. "Your mama's on the phone, sugar!"

Johnny got up and made his way to the phone. "Hey mama."

"Johnny, I need some help over here. There's been some people snoopin' around and I can't handle it by myself. Need you to make your way over here first thing in the morning."

"I... Yes ma'am."

"You what? You got somethin' to say? Don't wanna leave your little whore all by her lonesome?"

"I'll be there." He says, hanging up the phone. His mama would yell at him for that when she saw him, but he didn't care. He sighed, heading through the house and making his way back to you.

He got in the bed of the truck and sat there silently for a few moments. "I don't know if you give a damn, but I gotta leave to go to my mama's tomorrow." A few more moments pass before he speaks again. "Look, I know it don't make it better, but I wish I could take it back. I never felt like a monster until I hurt you."

You sit up and move to Johnny's side. He links his fingers with yours as you rest your head on his shoulder. "How long will you be gone?"

"I dunno. Hopefully only about a week. I don't much like the thought of being away from you for longer than I have to be."

"Don't worry, Sissy will still be here to babysit me." You say flatly.

"Goddamn it, I can't say nothin' to you! I just wanted to spend one more night with you before I left, but it's clear you don't want me around. I'll just leave now, make it easier for ya'." He gets up and makes his way to the house.

You sit, unmoving, watching him walk away. Johnny being gone would give you the perfect opportunity to escape, so letting him walk away without even one more kiss...

"Johnny, wait!" He stops, turning around and crossing his arms.

You walk up to him and place your hands gently on his arms. He lowers them, allowing you to close the distance between you as your arms wrap around his neck. He kisses you tenderly, pulling you against him tightly.

"C'mon, we'll have a private going away party." You say with a wink, grabbing his hand and leading him back to the truck.

*** You woke up to the sunrise the next morning, a sense of dread filling your chest. Johnny ate breakfast quickly, letting the family know he was going to be leaving. Far too soon you're following him out the door and to his truck. You quickly run in front of him and lean against the drivers side door.

"Not gonna let me leave, huh?" He says with a smirk, wrapping his arms around you.

"I'm gonna miss you, Johnny..." You say quietly.

"Don't worry darlin', I'll be back before you know it." He says, taking your chin between his thumb and index finger and placing a soft kiss on your lips before you step aside. You watch him drive away until his truck is no longer in view, then make your way inside to start your chores.

*** You were quiet for the next couple of days. Sissy assumed it was because you missed Johnny, but she was only partially right. Escaping should be easy, you'd gone over it in your head a thousand times. They didn't trust you enough to give you keys to the property, but it wasn't difficult for you to find something to pick the lock with while you were cleaning.

You sat in the bed of truck, staring at the house. It was a dark and cloudy night, perfect conditions. Feeling like you'd laid there long enough, you quickly and quietly make your way to the back gate and begin working on the lock. Your hands shake as the lock finally gives way.

You turn off the battery that's electrifying the exit and run. You run for what feels like hours until you reach a road you recognize, then continue running. Just as your legs are about to give out, you make it to your house. You open the door and collapse on the floor, tears streaming down your face as you desperately try to catch your breath.

You force yourself to stand on shaky legs, knowing you need to get on the road as soon as possible. As much as you'd like to stay here, you knew it wasn't possible. You grab a flashlight from a drawer in the kitchen and head for your bedroom. You grab a bag and throw in some clothes before reaching your hand behind the bottom dresser drawer. You let out a sigh of relief when you find your savings right where you left them.

You put the money in the bag and rush to the car, thankful you'd just filled up the tank before finding yourself in the Sawyer basement. You start it up and get on the road. You didn't know where you were going, but for the first time in a long time, you were free.

[matan4il]

Idk if you're watching Lone Star but I am LIVID and if you've seen it I'm sure you have very eloquent thoughts??

about the (SPOILER AHEAD)

Nazi bar thing with Owen

Hi lovely! How are you? I’m giving you BIG hugs and I hope you’re taking care of yourself, my darling! *cuddles*

So I tend to binge watch shows. I know, 911 OG is a glaring exception for me (in part so I can write weekly meta posts for everyone interested), but binge watching at the end of a season is what I’ve been doing with LS. For you, however, I went and watched 401.

Well. Yeah, I can’t say that I’m feeling too great about it. As you know, I was already critical of 911 LS’ Jewish representation with TK (and his mom, Gwyn). To me, doing a storyline like this is touching on REALLY sensitive matters, and before you can do that, you should “earn” some credit. Based on seasons 1 through 3, LS has not yet earned that “credit” by showing us it is fully committed to handling these issues with the required care and sensitivity.

On the other hand, I’m also not livid. So, let me try and share my thoughts, in the form of bullet-points to give each one its space, and I hope they can explain where I’m at right now when it comes to this storyline:

First off, it always troubles me when people refer to ‘Nazis’ past 1945. After that point, it is only correct to refer to ex-Nazis or to neo-Nazis. Let me try to explain why this distinction matters. The Nazis might have started as an extremist ideological fringe group, but they rose to be a political party with considerable influence in Germany (responsible for the murder of several individuals and the corruption of German justice even before they came into power). Once they became the ruling party, which then led Germany and used all its resources to launch a world war, occupying as well as collaborating with countless countries, that increased its strength tenfold. They had power the likes of which today’s neo-Nazis never had (and hopefully never will), and they used that power to commit an actual genocide against the Jewish people, as well as persecute and murder members of many other groups. We mustn’t dilute these heinous crimes by conflating the Nazis with today’s neo-Nazis, who are still just a pitiful extremist ideological fringe group (again, hopefully they’ll never rise to be more than that. That’s on us to prevent). And we must also not absolve the neo-Nazis of what it means, that they CHOOSE to follow the ideology which was responsible for those crimes against humanity. Today’s neo-Nazis can’t claim ignorance about the meaning of this ideology, not when its history is so well recorded. The fact that 911 LS is referring to these guys as ‘Nazis’ rather than ‘neo-Nazis’ is already a bit troubling to me.

Another thing is the humorous reveal. TBH, I’m not bothered by the fact that Owen rode with these guys for a week without realizing they’re neo-Nazis. It does ring true to the way such groups indoctrinate new members, which is indeed gradual. If anything, it’s the sudden and complete reveal that they’re neo-Nazis which rings false. They would not have sprung that out of nowhere on a potential new recruit. It’s done this way to bring humor into the situation, which is 911 LS’ way of telling stories, but this is just too serious of a matter, which means once again the credit to use humor here has to be earned IMO. First show us that you’re not taking this lightly, that you are integrating this storyline because you actually care about things like the current rise in antisemitism in the US, and only then do you get to inject humor into it. The fact that this was not a throwaway joke, the fact that they will develop it into a whole storyline where they might yet show us that they are taking this seriously, is the main reason why I’m not livid right now. But it doesn’t mean that this is okay, it just means that I’m reserving judgment until we get the whole storyline and have a better, fuller idea of how they’re treating it.

One of the reasons why I’m giving 911 LS credit that it might still do this storyline justice is because I know that Rob Lowe is married to a Jewish woman, and their kids are, in terms of ancestry, half-Jewish (and in terms of Halacha, the Jewish law, they’re Jewish. Period). One of those kids actually works (I’m assuming he’s on board for s4 as he was for seasons 1 - 3) as a scriptwriter for 911 LS. Even just based on Rob’s involvement as a producer for the show, and assuming he cares about this issue as a man who’s married to a Jewish woman and raising Jewish kids, I’m willing to assume the intention was good. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll do this subject justice, but I am willing to believe they brought it up because it is something that does bother them.

Speaking of doing this right, Owen is actually not a likely candidate for this neo-Nazi group. I’m not saying it’s impossible, there are always exceptions, but such groups usually prey on people who are young and disenfranchised, feeling cast out and unwanted by their own societies. Young people who are likely to be patriotic towards their country, but angry towards its chosen government, which they blame for their own failures. Owen is older, less likely to be easily malleable to their ideology, he’s successful in his profession, and while as a firefighter he can be assumed to be patriotic, they have no indication that he harbors any animosity towards the American government. If 911 LS was gonna tell this story, it has no way of really doing this one right, ‘coz none of the 126 members is a likely candidate for a neo-Nazi gang. Which makes sense, that’s the cast diversity they were proud of and even integrated into the actual plot in s1, right? I can only once again assume that they took on this storyline because it matters to them, and in spite of not having the right cast to tell the story as it usually unfolds. They can still “fix” that if in the following eps they’ll have someone (like maybe the FBI agent we saw) address the fact that Owen doesn’t fit the usual profile.

Which brings me back to what I said earlier, that to a great degree I feel like my final judgment of this storyline, whether it’ll make me just slightly uncomfortable or downright angry, is something I’ll only be able to properly address once I’ve seen the whole storyline play out.

I hope this helps? I’m here for you either way, you can always talk to me about whatever upsets you, regarding this storyline or anything else. Sending you so much love, hon! xoxox

(more of my posts about Jewish rep can be found here, and my other ask replies here. xoxox)

[artsykidwolf-2000]

Hey guys I wanted to wind down from some of the crazy from the first few fanfics of Flash and Sindri and do something a tiny bit more wholesome from the canon that is God of War Ragnarok.

Hopefully everyone likes it and maybe some art might come your way, idk depends on how I feel from the stress of the end of the year celebrations lol.

Thanks also to @grand-admiral-luna for suggesting some ideas to me! Hope your Sindri shaped heart is fulfilled!

Cheers to the happy couple!

A Warm Touch

{Oc × Sindri}

{Flash × Sindri}

Warning: OCD/Germaphobia, Trauma and Pain, "censored cursing"

Rating: Fluffy with a side of AAAAWWWWWWW {mostly mild}{embracing character roles}

★★★★★★★★★

{Flash's pov}

Sometimes...it feels cold at night...

Colder than the winters in Midgard

Sometimes maybe even colder that Niflheim

Ever since my incident with Heimdall, I've been more distant with Sindri at times. I try to not touch him much with my new arm or come near me when I feel like it's too much for him to help handle. It's like a phantom pain I can't rid of easily. To deal with the blunt of the Curse I mostly went out and punched a tree or something. That usually ends up with the tree with either a hole in it or on the ground.

Stupid Heimdall....

Stupid....me....

I sat up in my bed. My hair now longer than it was. Long black hair resting just above my shoulders. Why must it do this every time I'm feeling a strong emotion. It's stupid. My hair used to be super short compared to this. I look really girly.

I look to my arm, raising it slowly. Black as night. It feels natural but not at the same time. Like I'm not myself anymore. This thought ate at me for a moment before I felt hungry. I got up and walked out of my room. I walked past Sindri's room where his door was left cracked. I peeked inside to find him peacefully sleeping. I walked to him quietly, leaning down to kiss his forehead.

I smiled a bit from his blank peaceful expression to a small upturned smile as I stood back up. I sighed softly as I snuck back through his door to downstairs. I walked to the kitchen and grabbed a piece of bread. I munched on it near the fire. That was until I heard a gruff clearing of the throat from behind me.

I jumped and looked behind me. It was Brok.

"Niddhogg's Brood you scared me Brok!" I growled softly.

He gave a stern nonchalant huff before pulling up a seat, "We need to talk 'bout a problem b'tweens you and my brother"

"what is there to talk about?" I sat down near him.

"Ever since'ya got that black curse of'yas, day after day you's been avoiding him like the d*mn plague!" He made a gleaming stare towards me like a pup getting into something.

"I....just don't want to hurt him..." I replied to him.

"Well you's been hurting him more by doing that than talkin' it out! I thought after you's woke up you'd change that huh?!"

"I am! I just..." I stopped, pausing to think.

"That's what I f*cking thought...not a d*mn clue!" Brok stood up and pointed a finger at me, "The best thing you can do is be honest with him! The honest thing to do with him is not be a d*mn dragon and be a f*cking dwarf!"

His words fluttered in my mind. Was this curse...really a a blessing in disguise?

"You's better act quickly... he's been using his spare time to think of something...been torn to pieces trying to "make it right"...whatever the f*ck that means" he grumbled before walking off into a pocket between the realms. Probably to meet with Lunda...

I sighed and looked back upstairs. That d*mn blue dwarf was right....I was making a rift just like he did with him...like he needed to face another. I got up and went upstairs back to Sindri. I looked into the crack of the doors to find him still asleep. I stepped inside and walked to the side with more room on his bed.

I crawled inside the covers he had and spooned him from behind. His tunic bunched up at my embrace. I pressed my face to his back gently. My eyes gently misted with tears as I embraced him closer. I let out soft cries as I gripped onto his tunic. After a small bit I felt him shift. He soon gripped my right hand, my cursed hand.

"Flash? My love? What's wrong?" He said groggily.

"...I'm Sorry..."

"For what?" He turned around in my grasp.

"for being...a stupid dragon...for leaving you alone"

He sighed at me but I was prepared for him to scold me but he never did like he did before. He petted my head once he sat up and chuckled. I looked up at him sideways and huffed.

"What?" I pouted.

"I was...sad yes but it gave me time to...think and to get even"

"Even?" I rose up.

"we'll I was not prepared to give you anything yet but..." He reached over to a night stand nearby. He held out an intricate and ornate wooden box. Once he opened it my eyes it up like stars.

"I know it's not... extravagant but I know you'd pick practicality over looks"

It was a black leather choker like mine, clasped to it was golden trim on the top connected with golden clasps. In the middle was a decorated jewel clasp shaped like crimson surrounding my crystal.

"it's just missing a few more things, I'm sure you can figure it out" He chuckled.

I slowly took off my original choker and fiddled with the plain golden clasp to free my ruby. I gently lifted the new necklace and attached the ruby to it's new home. Sindri took the necklace from me and I turned away. I pulled my hair out of the way so he could put it on me.

Once it was on I turned to him, "How do I look?"

"....breath-taking" he joked a sigh beforehand to put literal meaning to his answer. He put his hand on my cheek, still ridged from his fear of the beasties but gentle nonetheless.

I chuckled at his words. I soon plopped onto his pillow and smiled. My hair spreading to almost every inch of it.

"Your hair is so beautiful, like shimmering scales" he complimented.

"well... I'd like to know yours more since you know mine so well" I jested. He then laid his head down on my chest. I took off his hair piece and his short hair went into a shirt straight frizz.

I started to pet him with my good arm but I petted him with my new one. He soon melted into my touch. Nothing bad happened. I smiled and hummed a lullaby my mother used to hum to my sisters and I.

As I hummed, my crystal began to glow softly, soft red notes and sparkles danced around the room like pixies. Soon his glowed softly with a teal and gold hue, there it stayed. It wasn't much time before I heard his soft snores and his grip was around my waist. I was happy. I looked to the ceiling and closed my eyes. Before sleep took hold I whispered one phrase.

"Buíochas a....Mo ghrá"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once everyone has awoken, Sindri and I gave the news of our engagement once Atreus pointed out my new necklace. Everyone there was both happy yet surprised that Sindri would be the one I picked. Atreus knew more of our relationship besides Brok. Everyone thought Brok was more muly type but nope! He has someone else in mind...

"I'm so happy for you!" Atreus smiled and hugged us both. Sindri quickly dusted himself off from the constant touching and shaking hands.

"Thanks for setting my brother straight...like ya needed it" Brok chuckled as he hugged me.

"Anything for my family" I chuckled as I went to Mimir.

Mimir was almost bawling in my hands when I held him.

"Ooooh! What would your folks think?! They have to be here for this momentous occasion!" Mimir sniffled.

"Well...I figured some help would be in order for all of us...so I had Crimson on a mission through Yggdrasil thanks to Ratatoskr. My sisters and brother should be here anytime soon" I chuckled.

"Smart move, Lass!" Mimir marveled.

Sindri gulped a hard one, "S-Sisters...h-how many?"

"I'm a twin, so that's one, plus two older sisters and a younger sister...so 4 in total plus an adopted brother" I smirked.

Sindri nearly fainted but Brok slapped his back before he could.

"Don't worry about them Sindri. Besides they might kill me or something before they ever think of you" I sighed.

"W-Why?!"

"....For many reasons, short answer, for running away and going missing"

"Sweet Bestla help us all...."

[lingerxng]

"Come here. We aren't done yet."

Guy squinted. "Beg pardon?"

"You heard me." Nohemi hadn't broken her stride. "We aren't done yet. I need a favor."

"Why should I give you one?" She could hear the scoff in his voice as he hurried to catch up.

"Because I just bought you new clothes and gave you new armor," she said, pulling open the door to the tavern the four were staying in.

"Aye, because*you* won't let me handle any money."

She stopped, fixing him with a flat look. "Fine. How about because I'm loaning you that body?"

He held her gaze for a moment, deliberating, then relented and stepped in. Nohemi led him to a table in the corner. It was midday now; too early for lunch, so no one would bother them, hopefully. Guy got them two ales while Nohemi dug in her bag, pulling out a parchment, a pen, and ink, all newly bought, and setting them at the seat across from her.

Guy looked... unimpressed, handing her one mug. "What's this?"

Nohemi took a breath. Then a drink. Then another breath. She made eye contact with Guy. "I'm about to be very vulnerable with you."

"Oh, gods."

"I have a favor to ask. I could have asked Silv or Jade, but I'm asking you. I'm asking you, Guy-- dear Guy--"

He was starting to look a little smug.

"--because you are an asshole."

The expression collapsed, and Nohemi took no small delight in it. She continued. "I don't like admitting my faults. So this is going to be hard for me. I'm asking you this, because you don't give a shit about me. We aren't friends. You aren't going to get emotional, like they would. And I *really* need someone who's just... who's gonna be impassive about this."

Green eyes fixed on her, face unreadable. It was still unsettling, seeing those eyes in a face she knew so well. She didn't think she'd ever get used to it; hopefully, she wouldn't have to.

Finally, Guy nodded. "What's the favor."

"I need you to write a letter for me."

"Can't do it yourself?"

"No. I can't write. Or read."

Her voice had an edge to it, like she was daring him to say anything. Guy McCheer, with his ivory tower education; Guy McCheer, so certain he was better than everyone; Guy McCheer, who took pleasure in punching down.

He didn't say anything. He fixed Nohemi with a look for a few long seconds, then unscrewed the inkwell, dipped the pen in, and poised his hand. "To whom am I addressing this letter?"

Nohemi swallowed, and began to dictate.

"Dear Ms. Tigenon,

"I am so, so sorry.

"I have spent weeks trying to find the words to say this, but I still don't have them. It is my fault. You know this as well as I do. And for that, I am so, so sorry."

She took a breath, staring at his hand as he scribbled. She had no way of knowing if he was actually writing what she spoke. She had to trust him. Had to trust that she *could* trust him.

She cleared her throat.

"I know--" She bit her lip. Started over. "I know nothing I say or do can bring him back. I am not asking forgiveness, or penance. This doesn't fix it. But I'm enclosing some money to help. You deserve it more. It's all I can give."

She took another steadying breath, quickly wiping her face. Nohemi was not about to cry in front of him. "I wish I could change things. I wish I could have taken his place. I don't know if it will bring you comfort, but know that I have to look what I did in the face every day and live with myself for it." She saw his hand falter, just for a moment. There was no scratch on the paper, but Guy took a second, looking up at Nohemi, before continuing his notation.

Another wipe to her face. "It won't fix things. But I'm bringing him home. As soon as I can, I'm bringing Taavi home.

"...From, Nohemi."

It took a few moments for Guy's hand to catch up, but he hesitated at the last moment. "Do you want to sign it?" he offered, glancing up.

Nohemi shook her head. "No, uhm. I told you, I don't know how."

"Not even your name?"

"No, Guy, not even my fucking name."

"Alright, alright..." He held one hand up defensively, then carefully scribbled out one final word. He blew on the paper carefully, letting the ink dry before it could smear. It was folded and sealed with a piece of wax Nohemi pulled from her pocket and heated over the candle.

He looked thoughtful as he handed over the sealed letter. Guy opened his mouth to say something, but Nohemi took the parchment from his grasp, mumbled a "thank you", and left back outside.

[k-ru-h]

ok first of all. i am sius #1 defender and i wouldnt accuse him of shit without proper proof but. i actually think its important to talk abt this. and second of all this is the only time im ever posting fastpass screenshots but just because the appearance of a character is extremely relevant

listen i know we're all very excited at the idea of a canon gay character in tog, but i really dont think this was the best of moves. tog has so far been mostly pretty alright with handling gnc characters (think how well aka was treated by others, khun being very feminine, etc) and i dont think this one fuckup will change that just. siu is a grown ass adult from a very conservative country and his portrayal of intersex characters such as evankhell or aka isnt very, well, "woke" (evankhell being the only lead brown woman while being "half man" plays into a lot of racial stereotypes, as well as treating intersexuality as a literal curse). i kind of wanna like , talk about this new "queer" character kaya (i saw ppl call him that online, idfk) and like. ill just go thru my points in no particular order idfk ive written too many coherent essays for school this week abd it's 3am i think i deserve a fucked up little one

ok first of all. jesus fucking christ what is this character design

so uh. heres our gay male character! with massive fake tits, lipstick and long hair! this wouldn't be a problem in media already filled with other queer characters, but on its own, especially with the character being darker-skinned yet again, it plays into a lot of stereotypes abt trans women, as well as brown women being masculine. and listen, i know tog has a lot of very wacky character designs, but it also has a lot of gorgeous ones, and while i really dont think it was sius intention to make a transphobic, racist caricature (istg you can psychoanalyse this man just off of tog alone), i think it definitely has something to do either with his own internalised racism and transphobia, or with a lack of education to spot a (hopefully) mistake by assistant artists.

here are some random ass caricatures of trans women i found online and by god i am not crediting this shit, but. look at what i mean. the fake tits, the dress/skirt, the long hair and lipstick.... the resemblance is startling.

but okay. lets say this by itself isnt important. siu made an oopsie and we got a canonically queer character that defends his right to like men unapologetically, and bam didnt seem to mind, and was polite abt it! weeeeeellll... the thing is, this whole fucking thing is a ploy. and if it turns out siu negates my previous point by making it turn out that kaya IS just playing a caricature on purpose because he wants the political advantage and isnt actually gay but is, in fact, homophobic, i will eat that shit up. that would actually make a very good point and having a critique of homophobia is better than having a homophobic gay character. but lets say he is gay for now, lets assume. that still leaves a possibility that he is gay AND just using bam, but lets just assume thats not the case either. lets say he's actually gay and actually wants to marry bam, for whatever fucking reason. bam being polite doesnt mean shit!!! people on twitter are unironically saying this means he's okay with being in a romantic &/or sexual relationship with a man when it literally does not. bam isnt okay with any of this. from start to finish, be it a man or a woman, bam is in this nonconsensually. and one of bams core personality traits is his kindness and politness, and he's been in kayas shoes before, albeit not for queerness specifically. bam isnt a participant, bam is a fucking reward and object and just as that one guy calling khun a "cute little kitten" while literally discussing how much his worth as a slave would be isnt queer rep, neither is this! even if the two of them are actually gay and actually attracted to the two respectfully, they still treat them as objects to be sold or bought for political advantage. someone on tumblr once said that a drag queen will always be a better ally than a gay ceo, and! yeah!

anyways, in conclusion, this is at worst an accidental bigoted caricature, and at best a very good joke on all of us. source im gay intersex trans and i actually go outside and interact with real queer people instead of having pronoun discourse on tiktok. thanks

[ssreeder]

ahhhhh sreedie I lost track of tiiiiime I missed an updateeee

but ykw that means?? you get double the amount of blather from yours truly this time around :D

lmao finally sokka is getting some sword training that isn’t zuko hitting him with a stick when he gets his form wrong

sorry sorry but sweaty sokka is making me think of this one tv show where the main character is panicking bc she has to distract this guy and what she decided to say as a distraction tactic is “I feel.. sticky” and I almost died of second hand embarrassment.

anyways sweaty sokka supremacy this boy needs more minor inconveniences to balance out the major inconveniences that bulldoze over his hopes and dreams

honestly I think sokka is coping pretty well given the circumstances

I’m going to expose myself here but when suki finally reunited with sokka I will admit I was physically wiggling in excitement

aw suki your girlhood dreams are about to be pulverised :((

also can I just say I adore you bc you’ve managed to perfectly balance the fact that suki is a teenage girl with what she thinks is a requited crush BUT ALSO she’s a leader and a tactician and is aware of anomalies in her surroundings at all times

slay kovi my new fav

ALSO ALSO I HAD THIS REALISATION LIKE LAST WEEK BUT WE’RE GETTING MORE AZULA WHICH MEANS WE’RE ALSO GETTING MORE CHEN OR CHAN OR CHANG OR WHATEVER THE ZHAOS BROTHER IS CALLED I FORGOT IM SO SORRY

yoooo suki coming in clutch with the gossip besties

SHEN POV SHEN POV SHEN POV SHEN POV SHEN POV SHEN POV ok yeah I’m gonna be Sooo much more annoying about shen than anybody ever was about reho. now your never gonna wanna remarry me :(

shen is more dedicated to complaining about his sore ass than zuko is to self preservation fr

zuko and shen banter that’s actually purposeful verbal attacks but I’ll pretend is banter bc it’s funny >>>

it’s not Actually funny but it’s lowkey hilarious that shen is like “fuck now I gotta be chivalrous and save zuko over myself if I ever get the chance why must I be such a gentleman woe is me” like bestie if you really didn’t want to help zuko you could just.. Not

also I think you’re handling like the racist propaganda of the fire nation about the other nations really well btw!!

lmao not morrak singling sokka out as an instigator for potential mass injury so blatantly

okay sad that sokka is suffering with communication BUT HOPEFULLY when (and I mean WHEN sreedie istg) zukka are reunited he’ll maybe have a better time trying to get zuko to like.. actually fucking talk about how he’s feeling??? maybe?? a girl can dream okay. but also it’s so real to like not be able to open up to people able difficult topics (not that I have anywhere Near the trauma these boys have) just bc you haven’t yet started talking to someone about them and it’s overwhelming to even think where to begin bc it feels like even if you could figure it out it’ll be impossible to actually convey all the nuance of how you’re feeling bc there’s just so much of it

AUNT WU pls sokka enjoy hating on spirit shenanigans I was you to experience some joy

ohoho please PLEASE let quon’s assholery and ambition bite him in the ass P L E A S E sreedie I’m begging

dude not zuko genuinely considering whether he would maintain his pride better by literally shitting his pants. I can’t anymore with this boy

“are you a good person shen”

“not all the time”

WHAT A SLAY ANSWER OMFG HES AN ICON HES A LEGEND HES-

I’m not sure whether to be scared that quon Will be worse than zhao or laugh at quon’s confidence bc there’s no way he’s worse than zhao

quick question sreedie umm how hasn’t zuko lost any teeth yet am I just supposed to suspend my disbelief about how many times he can get punched in the jaw and not suffer some serious dental damage

awww shen you DO care about zuko :3

genuinely living for shen’s belaboured feral pygmy puma dad era that zuko is forcing him to suffer through its glorious

listen all shen needs to do is leverage sokka against zuko?? like literally just bitch at him about how if he gets himself killed then sokka will be distraught and that’s like at least 60% of his attitude issues solved

do I dislike jet? yeah. do I think it’s going to be wildly entertaining to have him along for the journey? yeah.

NOT MORE OF THE FUCKING BENDER SUPPRESSANTS FUCK OFF ohohoho alas quon you are unaware about zuko being bloody superhuman when it comes to this drug

I was going to say something else but now I have forgotten but!! it’s okay bc now I am going to read the second chapter and hopefully I’ll remember it at some point when I’m writing my next comment >:)

I have been thinking of answering your asks for DAYYYYSSSSS but these damn holidays don’t wanna let me DO IT. But don’t worry ex-lover I am here!

Suki & Sokka reuniting is amazing! She is going to be a good influence on him, I feel it in my BONES!

Or he will gaslight her into thinking he is fine & she won’t be able to help with Shiiit….

Sokka hasn’t spoken to ANYONE about what happened to him except Zuko. & even his dad & Bato got the “safe version” so yeah opening up or even beginning to accept that this is a topic he will EVENTUALLY have to find words to communicate is very difficult… for some people it’s impossible. So I do feel bad for Sokka he isn’t an in easy spot.

It’s funny you mention teeth this was like a big convo in the server today so I’m going to go ahead & say zukos teeth are blessed by Agni themselves so they will not break or fall out it’s canon don’t question me.

Shens teeth are not though

I have my hand pressed against the glass window of my house staring across at your house because we don’t live together anymore but I miss you…..

[catboykilljoy97]

As mentioned, I'm starting a weekly "life updates" post! Hidden below the cut, so if you're not interested, scroll on by

Yikes, sitting here typing this out feels so...self serving x_x but hey, I like seeing update posts about people's lives, and it's not like I'm forcing anyone to read this if they don't want to. Plus, maybe act like a pressure valve, so I don't go off ventposting again (again if you followed me last winter/spring oh god i am so sorry)

And now...ooh, what do I say? My life's not super interesting right now. The web development stuff is going well. For those of you who don't know (which I guess is all of you, idk if I've told the full story yet)-- since march, I've been learning how to become a web developer/web programmer! Basically, the story is, my dad and my aunt both work in web development (she handles more of the client side of it, he handles more of the code-writing). When I showed an interest in having any kind of computer-y job, my dad started hinting at me that if I learned how to do what he does, I could take over some of his clients, wink wink, nudge nudge. I was kinda ehhhhhh about it for a while (working with my dad is weird for a lot of reasons, i wasn't sure I could get used to having a desk job, and also I didn't want to be a nepo baby 😐). But, after my life completely and utterly went to shit hit a low point, I decided to at least give it a try. Not like I had anything to lose, right? Especially not my dignity, ye gods. And as a then-25-year-old community college washout who's spent the last 4 years working part time at a grocery store and trying sometimes failing to avoid become a psych ward regular again...yeah, I had to be realistic about what my options were.

So I went online to figure out what I needed to know, how to learn it, and how fast I could learn it. And the answer to the last question is, way faster than you'd think! And I'm actually liking it a lot so far! working with my dad is weird tho and i still don't want to be a nepo baby lmao I'm trying to see it more like an apprenticeship, maybe. And eventually, hopefully I'll be able to completely take over some of his clients, even get some of my own, have my own business, my own servers maybe, and actually make more than poverty wages for the first time in my life. A guy can dream, right?

Other than that, not much going on. Haven't been doing any writing lately. Brain not cooperating. Everything's just...ehhh. The worries/obessions aren't as bad, but having to constantly bat them away is taking a toll. It's like a constant low-level background noise, which is better than it's been, but it also still sucks.

I'm working on it, though, My goal is to get out more. Go new places. See new people. Maybe even interact with them. Most of my worries/obsessions revolve around being different/morally lesser/less deserving than other people, and of being disliked/ostracized/not fitting in. gee, i fucking wonder why. And, as it turns out, if you have those preexisting beliefs, and if most of the people whose lives and opinions you see are random fuckos on reddit, it's gonna further convince you that people are going to nitpick and hate you for...everything I'm worried people will nitpick and hate me for (keeping it vague here).

Aw, shit, this is getting long. There's more I was gonna say, but maybe I'll leave it for next week. Consider this a trial run.