#i am always happy to hear people's thoughts on my blorbos

[sincerely-sofie]

still cant get over travailshipping. i remember when you first tested the waters with it (which i believe was some time before the tpiag chapters started coming out?) and at first i thought it was pretty funny. ark slowly but surely falling headfirst for twig, who if she had a tagline it would be "if i could turn my feelings into weapons, mine would be a goddamn nuclear bomb", and her at first just being oblivious to it and thinking that the letters that expressed love and care that were written in cursive in her mailbox were just funny and she wanted to show them to ark with the guy just looking at her with the most "well that backfired in the weirdest way possible". but when tpiag finally ended i finally connected the dots as to why these two are just. augh. i wont go into detail here in your askbox but i wanna know is: HOW DID YOU DO IT. HOW DO YOU KEEP MAKING SUCH GOOD IDEAS FOR THE FUNNY DIGITAL ANIMALS. TELL ME.

(thinking to myself) "Ugh I should stop posting so much travailshipping stuff... It's probably so annoying to everyone who sees it. I feel bad for my poor followers. I'll check my inbox real quick and then commit to shaking up my content by—" *gets obliterated by your niceness*

Oh man. I remember posting that poll where I hesitantly described a possible Darkrai/Twig pairing in the tags while proposing Twig/Kip as an alternative route, despite it not being the direction I wanted to take the characters, because I was so scared of what people’s reactions might be. If I remember right, I posted it a little bit before I had just barely reached 5k words in the first draft of TPiaG.

I've been trying to write up detailed responses to how I come up with good ideas for travailshipping in particular, but there's one rule I use that defines everything after it and speaks for all of them: I have fun with the characters.

That's it. That's the rule. If I don't want to write a subject, I don't. I stick with what I find enjoyable and resonant. Does a joke make me laugh? Does a scene make me cry? Does a villain make me punch a hole in my wall? Does a cute gesture make me squeal? If so, then into the project it goes. I think people can feel when someone is having fun with their work, and that fun radiates out into their own experience consuming that work. It's like laughter— joy is something we're sharing with others as long as we feel it. Fun is contagious.

Also: when you don't force yourself to make things you hate, you attract people who like the same things as you. These people will find your work even more fun— because not only did you have fun making it, they're having double fun consuming it.

An important tangent I'll go off on is that I think that every creative project idea is a good idea. There's so many beloved bizarro ideas in the world, even the ones who try to be cool about how weird their premises are. There's this weird show where the main character works as a service industry worker in an underwater setting that's ruled by a Roman deity— he lives in a piece of fruit, and his pet gastropod makes cat noises. This show sounds like word salad garbage on paper and could be tossed out for its nonsensical nature, and yet SpongeBob SquarePants has made Nickelodeon over $13 billion dollars and is a treasured part of many childhoods. There's also a character who spends his time locked in intellectual and physical combat with a wannabe clown and wears a costume with bat ears while doing it. Batman's been an icon for over 80 years.

All of this is to say:

Ideas are always good ideas by virtue of existing. They don't derive their goodness from external sources. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Make more of what you love. Don't make things you hate making.

If you have fun while making the thing, people will have fun while they consume the thing's content.

I hope this makes sense. I didn't touch on idea generation as much as embracing existing ideas. Fingers crossed that was the right response. I'd just woken up from a nap as I was writing it, so hopefully it's not too meandering and managed to answer the question and—

— Oh shoot. Was that a hypothetical question??? Uh. Sorry if I went off on this rant when you were just trying to voice your niceness. Oops. 🫥

[dropthedemiurge]

Love for Love's Sake | Things you didn't notice (probably)

Finally, I am watching a good K-BL and can enjoy multi-layered meanings within language, culture and translated subs altogether (unlike with Thai series where I need to learn a new language again xD)

So I'll be pointing out some fun things that I noticed for fellow foreign viewers =) Beware of a long post!

Disclaimer: I'm not fluent in Korean, but I've been learning and using it for years + lived and studied in Korea for a while so I'm offering my perspective and knowledge but it might not be the Ultimate Truth

Episode 1

«I prefer lonely supporting characters instead of happy protagonists. Cha Yeowoon is still unhappy. ... - Where are you going? - To see my main (최애). I mean, Cha Yeowoon.»

The word Tae Myungha used to described Cha Yeowoon, as I heard, was actually 최애 (choe-ae). It's a slang that can be translated as "my favourite" and typically is used for K-pop group members, meaning "my bias" (think One True Pairing but One True Person instead). Then, as his fellow classmate gets confused, hearing such word referring to a popular student in their school, Tae Myungha changes to "I mean, Cha Yeowoon", and it works because the word and the name sound similar.

Myungha uses this word because in the intro he stated that Yeowoon is his favourite character in the book out of all. So basically, his first reaction was "- Where are you going? - I'm gonna run to find my blorbo<3", which is so admirable. I'd also get obsessed with making happy my fav side character that was treated unfairly by creators :D

«Kids like chocolate, right? ... (Yeowoon grabs an icecream, Myungha grabs the same, adding with surprise:) Didn't see that coming. Bi-Bi-Big (비비빅)? You eat like an old man.»

What surprised Myungha there? That Yeowoon chose this icecream->

It's a traditional icecream that is made out of red beans. This taste is usually associated with older people (because typically kids like sweet things and older people like less sweet/bland tastes), also red beans or read bean paste is used in many traditional desserts in Korea. Yeah, who would've thought that a high schooler would choose this icecream out of all options?

Later, Myungha gets the message "You can compare Bi-Bi-Big to big Ba-Bum-Bar (another icecream with "old man taste" from chestnuts), why the hell would you eat it?" and gets confused as the message seems missent. I am confused as well, because Myungha wasn't the one choosing this icecream and Yeowoon wasn't typing in his phone. Considering that the phone number is unknown, I can guess that it might be a commentary from the book's author who's watching Myungha playing his story game? Let's figure it out in the next episodes!

«- You eat like an old man. - Do you play sports? - No. - Weird. You're a whiner like I've always heard. - Kids these days have no manners.»

My quick translation->

«- You eat like an old man. - Sunbae, do you play sports? - No. - Strange. You sound like one of those older jerks (꼰대). - Kids these days have no manners.»

More on the differences between Tae Myungha and Cha Yeowoon:

Myungha tried to poke Yeowoon about his "old man tastes", and Yeowoon called him out for his conservative/stereotypical thinking.

Yeowoon keeps calling Myungha sunbae (because he knows MH's a senior in their school so he must be polite), and Myungha REALLY TALKS LIKE AN OLD MAN to him ("Kids these days" in the subs does translate this style of speech correctly! I'm glad). We all know he's much older before he was thrown into high school times (~25-30yo?), but his words and intonations really make you feel like he's 50-60yo or something xD

Yeowoon doesn't like this at all, though, so he calls Myungha a sort of derogatory term 꼰대 (kkondae), which is used to described old conservative people who are set in their ways and keep nagging and scolding young people for not behaving properly. And, as a runner, he implies that there are senior sportsmen that are hazing or nagging younger sportsmen like this as well, that's who Myungha reminds him of. No wonder the affection stats fell down in the minus zone so hard!

There you go, guys, these are my comments on the first episode of Love for Love's sake! It is filmed so well, I like the idea, and I really enjoyed it (if this one gets really popular just like Semantic Error, we might get more BLs about gamers or gamedevs and I WILL LOVE IT I am so here for it, hehe)

Stay tuned for more as I watch next episodes :]

[lovefrombegonia]

Thinking about Yuder Aile's looks

I did think before that Yuder must be quite plain looking. Not ugly but not extraordinary either. Atleast, that's how he always thought of himself. But then I realised Yuder Aile is a freaking unreliable narrator. And that got me thinking even more of how he looked like. Of course, we have a great manhwa and many novel illustrations of how Yuder looks.

And they are all so cute! I just tend to visualise them a bit differently than whatever official arts make them out to be. That's to be expected, after all, we all imagine things differently when it comes to looks. Btw this is not me criticizing the manhwa or the illustrations. They are all so beautiful and I love them all 🥰🥹

TBH I think Yuder is actually...quite an unconventional beauty (lol ik so original). You know there are some people who, at first glance, look pretty but not extraordinary...but then the more you look at them, the prettier they become??? It's like some kind of magic happening. I had a senior in my college who was like that. The more I look, the prettier she becomes. I think of actors like Rekha and Tabu who become prettier the longer you look at them.

Also, in the world of Turning, it seems the beauty standard is bright hair and bright eyes, pastel colours and all. And Yuder is full on a goth gf. No pastels. Stark and contrasting. Black hair, dark eyes, pale af, stoic, and intimidating. He is not all sharp tho. He has chubby cheeks, according to Kiolle Diarca, so, I think Yuder has baby fats on his cheeks. That's insanely adorable to me. I can see why Enon wants to pinch those cheeks. I keep thinking of actor Yin Zheng, he has the most adorable cheeks. He makes me go insane. BTW check out his masterpiece of a drama called "Winter Begonia" ❤️ it's a cdrama based on a danmei novel.

Yuder thinks he is tall. And HE IS. He is 5'11". That's tall, ok. From the QnA, Kuyu did say he has a thin body type, so, I imagine him as a lean muscled body type. Not lanky at all. Like, Bruce Lee. A powerful house of a man, with defined biceps and core. Yuder from manhwa does remind of Bruce Lee a lot tbh. I really like that, Bruce Lee is my childhood!

(NB: I love his expressions)

So, that's how I think Yuder looks like. I am bad at the visualising part tho, so, Yuder keeps on shifting in my mind. I imagine a youthful face carrying the expression of a war veteran, and that makes people around him intimidated but also intrigued. All the descriptions in the novel remind me of the most is actually a very famous character, known as, the motherfucking Moon Dong-Eun from "Glory"! Played by Song Hye-Kyo. The eyes...look at her EYES!! That's Yuder Aile staring into your soul!!!!

You can even feel the eerie glare from behind the shades!

I think Lady Snowblood, played by Meiko Kaji, is also a good reference for Yuder's eyes. Look at her! I think this one is more suited for Yudrain Aile tho.

Ok. That is where I end my ramblings LOL

Wanted to say this for a long time. I would love to hear what others think Yuder looks like too. What other actors or even fan casting do you think of? Yuder Aile is such an interesting character. He is such a blorbo. I love him so much, and I am so happy I stumbled onto this treasure of a novel 💕

[lesbianjobutupaki]

Art practice by trying some other artist's styles that I'm a huge fan of!

From Top Left to Bottom Right:

@ghostishere0 - the original reason I started this doodle, as I wanted to draw a "shepherd lovers squad" and their OC (who I don't know the name of F) was the perfect fit for it.

@luminesparkz - the best interpretation of Pom pikmin. If I were Mr. Nitendo, I would make them the official comic creator along with the manga comics.

@marblyso - If I was a little more unhinged and made a shrine to Erma Shepherd, it would be mostly marblyso's art of her, it's my absolute favorite Erma depiction <3

@rexscanonwife - another OC that I don't know the name of, but she makes such a cute pair with Shepherd and has such cute art that why not, let Shepherd have multiple canon wives at this point.

@citruscrisp - I think this is secretly Alph in an alternate universe where he makes comics about himself, because citrus has Alph's character SPOT ON, and also loves to put that boy in a situation (which I am happy for, I enjoy seeing that boy in a situation)

@daisythecomic - oooaaaaaaaaaa they look like little mice people they look so soft and sweet I love them so muuuuuuuuuccchhhhhhhhh

@louie-posting - I can't not include actual Louie Pikmin on this list.

@kiwilittle - the soft, the sweet, the one who makes the best family style art, really making me wish I was an inch tall so I could go to holidays with the olimar family, also their wife design is so cute that if Olimar didn't already get it I would shoot my shot for her m a a m

@pikbugz - really nails the soft aesthetic that makes pikmin such a calming series, and their coloring style is so soft and good that it gives me the ratatouille nostalgia flashback moment.

@splitster - more than just the wraith au guy, they are the one who makes incredible and funny comics; I've seen so many fics with the rescue corps where I can pick up that yes, this trait came from a splitster comic, and that's a GOOD thing. Made me actually LIKE Dingo, the nerve.

@diesaur - I can't do diesaur's incredible, unique art justice, they are amazing at using geometrics and have the best charlie (his little teefs...)

@solluxander - Cars, one of my favorite pikmin Ocs I've ever seen! Collin deserves a slightly unhinged sentient fluffball boyfriend, and I always love seeing the new ways Cars will interact with him.

@sillypikmin - all hail the best pikposter, who I'm still convinced is an actual leafling living on actual pnf-404, literally every time I have a bad day I look at drawings of Moss and feel better.

@eggpathy - thank goodness they came back to give us old man yaoi. I keep their drawing of olimar kissing the pikmin good night on my phone and look at it before I go to sleep and so far I have yet to have a single nightmare.

@the-knife-consumer - the only person I trust with Louittany, toxic yuri my beloved, I just adore their beasty brittany design so so much, I wish I could have a small brittany to live in my house...

anyway they have the best headcanons for our beloved blorbo hamster people

@natibranch - there's a voice line of Louie going "wa-ha!" in this really cute sing-song voice and every time I see any art by natibranch I hear that sound in my head as a little burst of serotonin, they just nail that exact feeling so so well.

@pikked-min - Another of my favorite Pikmin OCs, Yuva! A really interesting and unique character concept with a lot of thought put into the worldbuilding, followed by a strong unusual personality that had me looking at the pikmin world through a new perspective entirely. Please, someone, give them some sunglasses. Read the fic it's so good

@ssserf - artistic and deep while still somehow looking like official nintendo tm art, genuinely the best at the pikmin proportions, how could I resist trying my hand at the classic amazing beautiful Brittany Fruit Sweater moment, literally SO iconic

@kashi-pon - while I was working on the part of this that was just kashi's various highlife dresses there was a part of me that wanted to dedicate the rest of the space to paying homage to the joke comic of Louie lifting his skirt to show Olimar that he's wearing shorts, except this dress....well......

@diamondwerewolf - the reason we got louie in a little bunny outfit anyway, and thus why we got kashi's dress version. you single-handedly turned Louie into a tumblr sexyman, how could you

[scribble-dee-vee]

Writeblr Intro circa 2024

Hi writeblr!! Sooo, I've been around here since about 2014. (Yes, I am ancient.) However, I've been dormant for the past 4-5 years. Blame college and a brief stint on Twitter. Now that I'm active again, I thought I should make an updated writeblr intro so ppl know my Deal. Basically, I want to engage with other folks who write fiction (esp original SF), and that's a little easier if I have a clear post that outlines what I do. Here to make connections and hear about your blorbos :)

About me

Hi, I'm Vee! They/them, 23, 💖 🤍 🧡

I do journalism/comms in western New York

My literary jam is feminist/adult SF and gothic lit (OG or modern) 🥀 ⚔️ 🌙

Enthusiastic about gay people, body horror, and sociopolitical allegories

I cook, run, play tabletop games, and occasionally draw. Other than that, I'm mostly writing (for work and for fun)

If you were on pre-2020 writeblr, you likely know me from my eight billion daily tag games. (I still like tag games and appreciate u for tagging me. I have also gained adult responsibilities and better mental health, so I respond very slowly now. <3)

Always happy to get asks or dms, tho as I've noted: I may reply slowly.

Sometimes open to beta read! I only read one longer project at a time, but it's always super fun :)

I tag very consistently – happy to tag triggers for followers/moots

Fun fact: I love mushroom hunting and worked as a mycology TA. #cottagecoreera 🍄 🧚‍♀️ 🌱

About my creative writing

I write,,,, feminist/adult SF with gothic leanings (surprise!)

Longform and short! Trying to do more short writing this year, and I'll likely share a bit on Tumblr. It's easier to clip a short story than a 150k novel, god bless.

The Aesthetic: moral g(r)ays, Victoriana, androids/cyborgs, Women™, monstrous femininity, incessant Hamlet/Frankenstein motifs, extremely boring socioeconomic worldbuilding, evil queens and/or dilfs, psychosexual witchcraft, probably a cat. Also, an ominous, plot-relevant letter laced with anthrax from your unhinged and brilliant ex-wife. Open if you dare.

Major projects

I'm going to be writing some short work this year, but these are the longer projects that I have going in the background. If I reblog blorbo-related text posts, they probably have something to do with these.

Let me know if you want to be added to any project-specific taglists 😎

Heart of Lead – Series

The big one

Perpetually evolving

Never ceasing

Pls send help I can't stop adding shit

5-book gothic fantasy epic that I'll definitely publish one day but probably no time soon! My bastard child, my wicked firstborn, my greatest love <3

Character-oriented political drama set in a pseudo-Victorian, dystopian oligarchy where everyone's heart is made out of metal. It's about coming of age and discovering queer identity in a world that is absolutely fucked. God is an extraterrestrial lesbian who gives ppl very traumatizing magic powers. There are cyborgs, shapeshifters, and morally gray women in STEM. It's tight as fuck idk what else what to tell u.

Book 1 is about achillean monarchists, and book 2 is about sapphic anarchists. There are only two genders, I guess.

At this point, I've drafted most of the books at least once. Working to refine a lot of raw material atm!

Tag: "heart of lead tag" or "hol tag"

Lost Letters – Book

Aka the current active HoL WIP, and book one in the revised series structure

Length: 80k as of now; around 120-140k when the first draft is finished, I presume.

Genre: adult fantasy, gothic, noir detective drama?? um?? If you want me to frame it in BookTok terms (why?) it's a dark academia villain x villain tragic romantasy. Hrgh.

Summary: Cyborg soldier goes to college, joins a shady socialite frat, and falls in love with the jilted heir-apparent to the throne. Hilarity ensues.

(By "hilarity," I mean a militant revolutionary faction and a tragedy of Greek proportions.)

POV characters: Charles (the cyborg), Dale (the heir), and Cecelia (Charles' sister, a junior detective, the love of my life and potentially the Chosen One???)

This book is twisty and dark and immensely fun to write.

I'm about halfway through the first full draft! Hoping to share snippets and vaguepost about my children here.

Tag: "lost letters tag" (also "hol tag," tho that one's less specific)

The Last of Mortal Tourists – Book

The next longform project on the docket!

Length: a standalone work that will hopefully fall on the shorter novel/novella spectrum.

Genre: literary SF, cyberqueer, psychological space quest

Summary: The consciousness of a dead coding genius, trapped inside a spaceship, seeks a new planet to sustain their sister, the last surviving human, after the destruction of Earth.

If you're here to get wildly philosophical about gender and the myth of essential self, this is the story for you! That's why I'm writing it, lol. 🏳️‍⚧️ 🚀 🤖

This one started out as a short story (100% finished) which I want to expand.

POV: Archer Alto, the coder. Spaceship? Human? Soul?

Supporting Cast: Pandora, the last human, and Abby, a holographic impression of Archer's childhood consciousness

Tag: "the last of mortal tourists tag" or "tlomt tag"

If you read all this way, you get a whole bouquet of flowers that are certainly NOT poisonous: 🌸 🌹 💐 🥀 🌺

<3

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

replying to @caozihuanismyson

"If that was love, Cao Pi didn’t need it. Didn’t want it. It was better to be indispensable than cherished. He needed to become something that could not be left behind. Something that Father could not live without." my jaw just fucking dropped #i love this. im in love. holy shit#HE NEEDED TO BECOME SOMETHING THAT COULD NOT BE LEFT BEHIND SOMETHING THAT FATHER COULD NOT LIVE WITHOUT#(im screaming louder so people in the back can hear)#(jk there's no one in the back cuz it's san guo on tumblr.com but still)#💀#thank u op i have ascended#also all the little details of ang trying to make up for father's absence for his lil bros..... when pi wiped his tears my heart broke#that part where cao pi imagined ang's last moments? holy shit i've never thought of it that way it's genius and horrifying#(ok i need a moment)#also............... i'm going insane about the part with fish and jade#and cao pi describing cao cao's expression of love towards cao ang as painful#and wanting to put him in his mouth like how soldiers keep their precious things safe#i thought this was going to be about ang's tragedy .... but it turned out to be about that and the horror of pi's existence#thank u for the meal op i'm so grateful

thank you so much, this is such a nice comment to wake up to!!!! it makes me so happy to have such dedicated readers who catch every single detail ;u;

Cao Ang has been my blorbo for a long time because he is a fascinating contradiction. he achieved nothing and did nothing of note, but seems to have left a significant impression on those around him. Cao Cao expresses regret for him on his deathbed. Cao Pi talks about how he should have been the rightful heir. Lady Ding was willing to disobey the most powerful man in the empire in order to get the smallest measure of justice for him. His death always struck me as, well, a feel-good narrative told by a guilty conscience. Cao Cao could have ordered any one of his bodyguards to give up his horse, but he didn't. It makes sense in the coldest, most logical way. Why lose an able-bodied fighter for a brat? You can always make more. I came up with a bunch of scenarios of what "really" happened, but in the end i realised it doesn't matter. Cao Cao still left his son to die. the horror comes from the ambiguity itself. I also wanted to explore how his actions would impact the remainder of his children. They realised overnight that they were all disposable and no one was safe. the real tragedy doesn't come from Cao Ang's death, but his father undoing all his hard work. Ang tried his best to give them love, curb their worst impulses, and foster good relationships between them, only for his father to stick them in the Sibling Royale. Climb to the top and uproot all your competition. ect. ect.

But I am an optimistic person and I believe true love can pierce the veil and save the day and all that. Cao Ang's ghost continues to haunt the narrative and in the end, he manages to effect his brothers in some way. Cao Pi comes to realise that, hey, this kinda sucks, actually. i think we're emotionally stunted and perpetuating the cycle of violence. maybe i don't have to trample all my brothers to preserve my own life. maybe i shouldn't become exactly like father. hmm much to think about. Cultural Context, for those interested:

funerary practices are not historical, but based on the modern shangdong ones i've experienced.

"putting your child in your mouth" is an expression of helpless tenderness. the full phrase is "i want to you hold in my hands, but i'm afraid of dropping you. i want to hold you in my mouth, but i'm afraid you will melt." i wanted to show this conflict within cao cao, the warlord vs the man. how his ambition corrupts him. ultimately, cao cao does not put his son in his mouth to protect him. he consumes him instead.

the opening scene is based on Cao Pi's poem "Traveling on the city wall." His poems are notable for being very emo, he talks about feeling isolated and unfulfilled despite having every worldly possession. I decided to connect it with Cao Zhi's (ahistorical) bean poem. the metaphor is less profound, but what can you do? he is the lesser poet after all ;))) .

[desultory-novice]

These comments seemed to deviate a bit from my “villainous Magolor” post where I discovered them but they also inspired me, so I’ll go with it and deviate some more on the topic of the “villainous friends”...

Now, personally, I've never seen the Mage Sisters as all that heroic. I mean, I adore them. I don't doubt for a second they're part of the good guys "now" but heroic? They're still wearing their evil cult (cough) "religious" uniforms! I imagine all three of them still lean a little hard on the "murder is okay!" side of things.

They helped because they had a reason to help. But are they still going to have “goat sacrifice Tuesdays” for a while? ...Possibly! (It could just be me, but I do think it's hilarious when the entire Jamba gang continue to be blatant worshippers of a dark god while chilling with the rest of the cast.)

I do think that this topic is nearing the core of why my feelings on Magolor have been in flux since DX. I’m happy for him to have a redemption arc, but I really don’t want to see him de-fanged...? I never did write that translation comparison post, but I’m endlessly thankful to the English translation for the “I just want to hear everyone scream...” :pause: “...with laughter!” exchange because it at least shows that Magolor has an unusually grim sense of humor, as opposed to him being a wholly innocent victim of the Crown. 

(Obviously, he did what he did in RtDL. No one’s questioning that. They wouldn’t name a song “Atone for One’s Misdeeds” otherwise. But I am concerned about the implications that the Crown was manipulating him from the moment he landed on Halcandra. Manager Magolor is fun and all, and while I don’t want to have a “Magolor is still the bad guy lol” Kirby Light Novel situation, I hope the sussy wizard stays somewhat sussy down the line.)

Anyway, the long and short of it is my love of gray morality characters is why I fell in love with so many of them and why I try to write all the former-antagonistic Dream Friends as still being in possession of a few villain traits. I really don't want to see anyone "brainwashed into being good" or must-always-be-on-their-best-behavior now. I want to see these flawed individuals make nice but flawed, characterful decisions.

I want the three Mage Sisters to occasionally each say really messed up things in a blithe way without realizing why said thing is weird. I want Susie to think she can solve most things in life by throwing enough money and science at them. I want Taranza to openly white-knight his beloved tyrant queen and naively blink his eight eyes over the awful things he did in her name. 

I want Magolor to engage in shady business practices with a smile and a wink, walking away while counting his cash. I want Dark Meta Knight to whole-heartedly believe murder is a "reasonable" option to most everyday situations. I want Daroach to casually purloin the cast's possessions when they're not specifically watching him, just because he can. I want Marx to break into loud hysterical laughter when someone trips and falls or breaks a plate.

The Dream Friends might as well be 10 different colored Waddle Dees if we expected them to all act good and peaceful and harmless all the time.

-

I just wanted to say though, @icedragonlizard​, I don’t know what kind of convos are going on outside my own little space on the internet, but I think people really aren’t as upset or /neg about Susie as they used to be.

There are maybe a few holdouts out there - I wouldn’t know as I don’t really go searching - but you’ll most likely never change those peoples’ minds and its best just to ignore them while shoring up a space for yourself where people aren’t attacking your blorbos just to get a reaction out of you or to spew unhappiness everywhere.

Here, have this “Deal With It” Susie w/ shades!

(PS: I recently learned I had been drawing both Susie and Taranza quite off-model! Her helmet actually goes down way longer than I thought, less of a “headband” and more like a metal boudoir cap. And Taranza’s lowest set of hands start at the middle of his body and go up toward his head. I thought I remembered them as starting at his waist and going down instead. Oops!)

[dandylovesturtles]

🌻🚦🎁 (sending u so much creative energy)

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

Oh all the time. idc if this makes me conceited, I write fics because I want to read them lol

I go through cycles sometimes where there are fics I feel embarrassed about (because it didn't turn out how I wanted or I'm really aware of a mistake or whatever), so I don't read those much, but then I usually get over it and start reading them again.

🚦What sort of endings do you prefer to write: ambiguous, bad, happily ever after, etc.?

It's almost always happy endings (I would call them "happily for now" lol, maybe they'll have troubles in the future but for now they are happy). I used to write tragedies or hurt/no comfort more often as a teenager but ultimately I'm not super into writing this kind of thing.

It's kind of funny because I actually am a tragedy fan for original fiction, there's a lot of things I really enjoy that don't have what most people would consider a happy ending, but usually for fanfiction I'm being more self-indulgent so I want all my special little blorbos to come out alright in the end.

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

Yeah why not:

“Leo?” Mikey asked hesitantly after a moment. “Are you mad at me?”

Leo took a breath and let it out. Was he mad? No, not really. He was far more scared than he was angry. For a split second, he’d thought it was a lot worse than a few cuts and bruises.

“Nah, Mikester, I’m not mad,” he said. “I was just worried about you, is all. I’m glad you weren’t hurt worse.”

“O-oh.” Mikey looked even more miserable now, somehow. He looked down at his lap, lips pursed like he was going to start crying any moment.

Well, that wouldn’t do. “Hey, hey, come on, bud! I’m sorry I yelled, okay? We’ll finish getting you fixed up at home.”

Mikey flinched, which was a weird reaction. Maybe Leo wasn’t managing to be as cheery as he thought. “…Okay. Thanks.”

“No problem.” Leo got to his feet, holding out his hand for Mikey to take. He could hear Donnie and Raph coming back now, hopefully with good news.

“Love ya, Mikey,” he said once his little brother was standing. Mikey still looked so tense, and Leo didn’t know what to make of it. Had he hit his head after all? “Mikey?”

“Uh, yeah. S-sure.” Mikey gave him a wan smile. “Love you too, Leo.”

(for a bad things happen bingo that I will hopefully finish sometimes soon)

Thanks for the ask!

[knightfeared]

*TIME FOR SOME POSITIVITY! 📨 ➤   @sephyathredon ( … ) 🌵,✨, 🌼, 🌲, 🌱, 🌿, 🌙

◈ @hexcoremagician [ ; ] a canon rp blog I’m biased here for obvious reasons — but regardless? I highly recommend Mars’ portrayal to anyone who adores Viktor from Arcane & League. How they’ve built him up, fleshed him out & developed him is nothing short of AMAZING. I absolutely adore all the replies I see on dash, can clearly hear his voice & picture a scene painted perfectly well with how they write! You will not be disappointed, in fact, you’ll be beyond blown away by the true care they have for this character. They truly do him Justice! 💕

◈ @luxcruor [ ; ] a multimuse blog Though I’m slow with replies, Sailor is so insanely sweet to talk to ooc! They have this way of hyping you up for replies & character interactions & are not shy about meshing muses from other fandoms together which is something I admire greatly. They’re so friendly, very easy to plot with & chat to about the blorbos, you’ll be introduced to new muses through interactions with them, but it’s very easy to grow fond of them.

◈ @vulpesse [ ; ] a blog with beautiful writing Everything? Everything is beyond gorgeous! Bunnie is someone I’m still so shy to poke & write with but my god do I admire their creativity! They have such a way with words, making everything sound so poetic & gorgeous — I feel like I’m reading a well loved story book or fairy tale with their work. The graphics they craft & use to help in visualizing their story— it’s nothing short of beautifully inspiring. Despite how insanely gorgeous their writing is, they also go out of their way to open the door for interactions with muses no matter the fandom. Bunnie is such a genuinely sweet soul, so so talented, I highly recommend any & all of their blogs because the mun truly does put a lot of effort into building stories with people.

◈ @shimmerbeasts [ ; ] a blog with thought-provoking headcanons I gotta write together more with this lovely writer & it’s truly on me for being a chicken but I’m forever going to be blown away by how big their brain is with the lore & headcanons Miss T has developed for Zaun & their muses. Each one is so well thought out, fits seamlessly with their portrayals to help shape not only them, but build up the world itself to something that feels real, nitty & gritty but so believable. I don’t have the words to describe it, but they’re insanely skilled in worldbuilding from all I’ve seen since I’ve followed & I highly recommend them because the effort they put into their portrayals is incredible!

◈ @pitgritted / @prtector [ ; ] a blog that's always positive SUCH A SWEETHEART— I do not know them all that well but following their blogs? It sounds cheesy, but the vibes I get from both, from the mun themselves is nothing but positive— always so wholesome & talented — I admire their passion so so much because of the distinct way they capture their muses. The effort put into Taric & Sett is awe-inspiring — but so far, yeah. No — I am nudging them over onto dash & holding them up like Simba because they are such a warm, friendly, UTTERLY WHOLESOME PERSON here in the rpc— definitely! Follow!

◈ @jynxd [ ; ] a new blog They are new to me but I’m so happy I’m Mutuals with them. I’m excited to see all their Headcanons, their replies & writing on my dash — a new face but they have such a clear love for their muses, are so wholesome & cheerful to see poking others — all I can say for now is they’re worth following & taking the time to plot with cause so far from all I’ve seen, they’re a skilled writer with a lot of bubbling ideas!

◈ @hymnblood / @inexoratos / @grantsuccor [ ; ] a blog for my favorite character Sage is an og— I need to gush about their Zag cause their writing is utterly gorgeous, so beautiful it will always blow me away! I need to poke them more, & I highly encourage poking their portrayals a hell of a lot more too because the ideas they come up with for interactions, the way they bring their muses to life, give them such a distinct, memorable voice in their dialogues — the headcanons are lovingly crafted, fitting well for the muses I do know, & for muses I am unfamiliar with? They catch my eye. They carry a passion for everything they do that is very strongly felt & greatly admired. But yes— their portrayals are always top tier in my personal opinion! 🙏💕💕💕

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Como dientes en el alma

Song that inspired the title, idea is from this and the one post I made about wanting to write a prompt based off "you drew stars/around my scars/and now i'm bleeding"

This is so sweet and emotional, it made me miss writing angst and killing blorbos.

Have fun and don't get used to it <3

Lan Wangji passes by that place every morning when he takes A-Yuan to school. It's still the same as always, the same as back then, a little shop facing the main street, high windows with tattoo displays on them and a light up sign that hasn't flashed in over a decade.

"You don't look like the tattoo type." He laughs, and it lights up his whole face, his handsome features softening. His lip piercing glistens under the white neon lights, and for a moment, Lan Wangji forgets he's nervous at all. "Is there any occasion you're doing this for?"

"For... my mother, she's... gone."

There have been many rumors. Some said he ran away, others said he killed himself, or was disposed of. Most people shook their head and moved on with their lives.

Sometimes, Lan Wangji wishes he did too. Wishes he could.

It's been so long.

"Have you thought where you'd like it done?"

"It must be somewhere hidden. My workplace is...strict. As is my family."

He laughs again, and Lan Wangji finds himself yearning for the sound, wanting to remember it forever, melodious, sincere. Light shines on his face, his stormy eyes glistening with mirth, and Lan Wangji irrationally wonders what it would be like to hear that laughter forever.

"How about your arm? There's plenty of space there, I see." a wink, and Lan Wangji's ears flare red.

"Alright."

"I'll do my best so it doesn't hurt too much, but you'll hate me when I'll start to color it in, so heads up for that."

"It is fine, I am used to pain."

He smiles, but this time it's in sympathetic understanding, hiding something dark and painful beneath, "I am too. Doesn't mean you have to like it."

The tattoo is still there, beautiful etched into his skin. It hurt, but not nearly as much as everything else in his life - before that, and after - did. He still catches himself admiring it in the shower, or as he's getting ready in the mirror.

"Do you want to talk about your mother? It'll help distract you, you seem tense."

Lan Wangji was tense, but not because of the procedure, the other's touch electrifying, the closeness, intoxicating. But, indeed, this was about Lan Wangji's mother. And he never really got to talk to anyone about her.

It's comforting, to know there are still pieces of him into the world, scattered in the crowd, carrying his mastery, his touch, his soul, his creativity.

His love.

"My mom died too. Both my parents did. And I... I don't really remember them anymore. I was 3 or 4 years old when it happened, and then I lived on the streets for a while before uncle Jiang found me and took me in. I always wanted to find a way to make sure I wouldn't ever forget important things again and... well, you can never forget to look at your skin, right?"

It was impossible for Lan Wangji not to fall in love with him. Anyone would have. Such a kind, considerate, playful person, so beautiful, so artistic with everything he did - it was as if, with every move of his tools, Wei Wuxian didn't just leave his mark on Lan Wangji's body, but on his soul too.

"I...this is really unprofessional of me and I really shouldn't be doing this, but... frankly, I like you." The blush decorates Wei Wuxian's face so beautifully and Lan Wangji feels his own cheeks burn, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He smiles, shy, but with a glint in his eyes "And I think you like me too, because you've been here almost every day, and the 'I'm worried about healing' excuse is getting old."

Busted - but Lan Wangji knew it wasn't that good of an excuse anyway. However, he's done with excuses - and he pulls Wei Wuxian into a kiss instead, fully accountable and open about his intention.

And so incredibly happy.

Lan Wangji has three tattoos. The gentian flower, in memory of his mother, on his right arm, a pair of bunnies, a tribute to the love he and Wei Wuxian shared and...

Lan Wangji traces his fingers over the crudely drawn brand on Wei Wuxian's chest.

"This isn't yours." He says, and kisses over it, softly, as if the skin had yet to heal.

"No, it isn't... It was a... punishment. I pissed off the wrong people and I paid for it."

"Why didn't you remove it?"

"There are some things you can't erase, Lan Zhan, regardless of whether they show on your skin or not."

Lan Wangji remembered the symbol precisely - the lines, the contours of it, the sun it supposedly represents - and had it done too. Wanted to do it himself at first, drunk and mad with grief, but ultimately decided against it. Wei Wuxian wouldn't want him to die the same way he almost did.

"How about we get matching tattoos?" He asked one morning as he hopped onto the kitchen counter, coffee in hand, all but inviting Lan Zhan to kiss him.

He did, hungry and wanting as always, but Wei Ying seemed insistent on having a conversation right then, pushing Lan Zhan away enough so he could catch his breath. "I'm being serious, Lan Zhan, come on."

"So am I." And he kissed down the column of Wei Ying's neck as if to prove a point, hands sliding over the painted skin of his thighs.

"Lan Zhan, you're - ahh...- you're not listening to me!"

"I am. You sound pretty."

"That's not - mmh! - you know what, we should just get bunnies, since we're fucking like rabbits anyway!"

Sometimes, Lan Zhan can almost feel it, the gentle touch of Wei Ying's hand, the pinching of the needle, the warmth of being so close to the love of his life and distracting him with kisses when he shouldn't.

"Lan Zhan. Stay still, I mean it. I could really hurt you, and that would break my heart and my license!"

"You should not look so beautiful then."

Wei Ying lifted the tattoo gun off his skin and sighed, loudly. "Mister Lan, I may have to ask someone else to finish your tattoo, because you'll kill me with those words of yours."

Lan Zhan took advantage of the break to get into kissing his lover properly, smiling to himself as they parted and Wei Ying appeared entirely lovestruck, lips kiss-bruised.

"Okay, I'll behave. I don't want anyone but you."

It's been a long time since Lan Wangji has felt anything but hollow. He's been unable - and unwilling - to love anybody else other than his Wei Ying, and he's long resigned to a life of loneliness because of this conviction.

But he does dream, still, of a day when he passes by the old tattoo shop and the neon sign is lit up, the door opened wide, and Wei Wuxian rushing out to greet him, latch his arms around him and give him a sweet, smiling kiss.

Every morning as he passes by the place, his heart stutters with the tiniest surge of excitement.

Maybe there will be someone there today. Maybe, somehow, Wei Wuxian has returned, and he's still pursuing his dream and he still love Lan Wangji.

But the building stays stubbornly empty no matter how hard Lan Wangji hopes it not be so.

---

But one day, 13 years later, the neon sign is lit up and the door is opened. Lan Wangji nearly stumbles out of skin at the sight of the decrepit shop suddenly teeming with life and the distant sound of buzzing needles.

He rushes in, shaking with so much emotion he feels his knees might just give out.

Wei Ying!

The young man at the register glances at him curiously. The name badge on his shirt reads "Mo Xuanyu", and, as if awoken from a dream, Lan Wangji blinks once, twice, and realizes he doesn't recognize anything or anyone in the old establishment.

"Can I help you?" Mo Xuanyu asks, though Lan Wangji feels too shattered to do anything but shake his head.

How could he be so stupid? Of course he won't find Wei Wuxian here. There are other tattoo artists and the building couldn't have stayed abandoned forever.

The world has long moved on.

And Wei Wuxian is...

A voice calls from somewhere deep in the store, and the closer it gets, the more tears gather in Lan Wangji's eyes.

"Xuanyu, did the 10 am appointment arrive yet? I want to go get some co..."

Wei Wuxian stands frozen in the middle of the shop's reception, eyes wide as if unable to comprehend what he's seeing.

The stranger - no, not a stranger, not at all - smiles at him, honeyed and tearful, and Wei Wuxian's body moves before he realizes.

When he's finally in Lan Wangji's arms, and Lan Wangji is in his...

"Is this real, Lan Zhan? Tell me it is, tell me you're really here."

"I am here, Wei Ying. I've always been."

[princesseevee06]

hi eevee!! the recent news on ytr Shins execution has me Devastated. (esp bc Kannas death is my favorite and im very normal about greenblings LMAOO) but that got me thinking about the other executions in ytr! if you'd like to, what are some of the other executions/deaths?? don't gotta reveal all of em yet, just wanted to ask haha :) take care!

HI BREAD i am so sorry about the shin execution thing. i saw the opportunity to do the funniest (most agonizing) thing ever and i had to.

the thing that really gets me about it is like. in ytr shin never gets his collar off at that last moment, he has no chance of really escaping, but he’s still trying to run WHILE HIS BODY IS BEING ROOTED TO THE GROUND and he still manages to even set up the sara ai. he still doesnt accept his fate right up until the very end. And That Makes Me So Sad

buuuuut you probably wanna hear about some of the other devastating deaths! which i am also happy to provide deets on ^^

(WARNING: LONG LONG POST BELOW i am so sorry)

ok im gonna be honest i havent focused super hard on the deaths themselves because it’s always more interesting to me to focus on the aftermath i think…but there are some ive thought about more than others so i’ll go over those!

• nao

this one is Hectic. I wanted it to be kind of a mix of mishima’s death and nao’s canon death, so her collar device is sort of like…magnetic? basically, it pulls her to the wall and starts crushing her neck. i feel like this adds a greater sense of panic to the scene, because unlike mishima’s collar which they can’t touch when it burns, in ytr both kugie and mishima are trying to help nao :,) (spoiler alert they cannot)

• sara

oh this one makes me So sad….it’s fundamentally the same premise as joe’s execution with the wrigglers, but the difference is that ryoko is actually fast enough with the clicker to get them off (it’s always so funny to me that one of the canon things we know about ryoko is she’s good at arcade games. so i imagine she has fast fingers 💀). but at that point it’s already too late because sara has lost too much blood, so she just ends up bleeding out in ryoko’s arms instead. fun fact: because of that, ryoko’s hallucination of sara always comes out of the ground in a pool of blood :,)

• sei

ok i haven’t SUPER worked out the specifics of this one but i do know the general vibes for it so i’m putting it anyways. basically, when sei gets voted for, much like what happened in the assassin game in canon they ask kai to kill them. because they don’t want to be alone as they die and also it’d be a big middle finger to asunaro. kai has the kitchen knife. he could do it. but he literally just can’t bring himself to. if it was himself he could do it, but he can’t bring himself to hurt sei. so instead he just has to watch them die without doing a thing and it ends up haunting him. (i have this vivid image of kai literally having to be dragged away from sei’s corpse :((((((((( )

• sou

ok here’s the big one. sou is my fave bleeby blorbo so you KNOW i’ve put a shit-ton of thought into this one. the funniest thing about this to me is that. sou put his collar on himself at the beginning of the death game. and so when hayasaka is like “sorry :( we’ll have to execute you” sou is like “nuh uh” and literally just takes it back off. THERE IS JUST THIS MOMENT OF. AWKWARD SILENCE ACROSS THE ENTIRE ROOM. hayasaka is like “holy shit what do i do now” but he doesn’t have to do any work because sou ends up dooming himself 👍

he figures. okay well i have to do something quick or people from the upper floors are actually gonna come start trying to kill me. unlike shin, he doesn’t really have any intention of ‘escaping,’ at least not in a direct manner, but what he does try to do is get to the fifth floor where his lab is to see if he can deactivate the collars. because essentially, that’ll take the target off his back at least temporarily— what’s one guy running around without a collar to SEVEN people running around without a collar? asunaro cant execute everyone if they want the death game to continue, right? he knows the facility, so he’s actually able to dodge/avoid the ‘weapons’ really well. atp the other participants are running after him watching him bolt across the third floor and straight up rooting for him. he gets really close to the winner’s stairs (and if he can get there, he’s home free because they connect to all the other floors) and because of that he gets a little tooooooo cocky.

if he can actually accomplish what he’s trying to do, asunaro could literally fall apart from the inside out. if they don’t have control over the participants w/ the collars, the main cast could quite literally stage a mini uprising. sou could finally have the chance to be free from asunaro, to be free from his mother, to live his life how *he* wants to— he’s so close.

so anyways, sou looks back at shin. because of course he does.

and what is he rewarded with? impalement! ^_^ no seriously, at the last moment he steps on a trap that impales him. YES i wanted to harken back to the fake death alice caused in actual yttd. so yeah he uh. does not make it out of that one alive. sorry sou!

(i could talk about how this firmly cements in shin that his mindset of the strong persevering over the weak is correct, because he was the one to pass the role of ‘shin tsukimi’ over to sou, to pass the role of being ‘weak’ to him, and in sou’s last moments that weakness (in this case, caring too deeply for shin) ends up being his undoing. but we’ll save that for another day!)

• mishima

so mishima’s is actually relatively the same as q-taro’s canon death, because tbh i couldn’t figure out a way to make it any different without completely screwing up the banquet. sorry mimimishima :((

the thing that really gets me about this one is the REVEAL though. atp kugie and mishima have built up a strong relationship throughout the death game, and so the fact that mishima’s sacrifice essentially ends up saving kugie’s life is weirdly poetic to me. it is NOT poetic to kugie though. she is so upset that people keep sacrificing themselves for her sake (since yknow. she experienced this first with kanna) when she’s been trying to protect others this whole time. it’s just. agh. really sad.

i haven’t really thought as much about maple’s hinako’s and ranmaru’s sorry,,,, again i thought more of the surrounding circumstances for those ones (other people’s reactions to their deaths so. yknow yknow) but i’ll try to think more on em in the meantime!

I am SO sorry for this post it was SUPER long and SUPER sad. like *I* am sad now and I’m the one who decided what happens. Sorry bread 😭

[holy-batmans]

I’m having a lot of thought’s about your Temptest of oblivion fic and I know you might never finish it so I’m gonna ask you some questions.

You don’t have to answer all of the questions or you can just ignore the whole thing …

Does it have a happy ending or does it end in tragedy?

Is Dick underage when they finally get together or do they wait till he is of age?

Do they even end up together?

How do Dick’s parents react?

Would Bruce’s parents even support it?

What does Alfred think of them????

I’m sorry if this is a lot but I cannot go another day without knowing

You might be seeing me again if you don’t mind because I have plenty of thoughts about abof lol your stories compel me.

First thank you!!! Its so nice when people talk about my fics and Temptest of Oblivion was one i REEEALLY loved back in the day.

Stupid fact no one asked for but in my doc drafts i called it "seasons of love" (so LAME i know 😭) but because i would outline everything for it by year and then month of each year to try to fit with the sorta flow you can get in school. Idk but it was different from any other i did / have done before and I always liked that for it 🤷

I will answer SOME because normally i'm a dillhole and like to keep things close to the chest but Lorde have mercy I no longer have that right when it comes to these old fics that got lost in the sauce of my life.

Please don't read further if you don't want minor spoilers on a long un-updated fic

1. Yes, this is one that i did always want to have a (somewhat) happy ending because they deserve it damnit and I am often so rude and mean to my favorite blorbos.

2. Something i grabbled with a lot but it was going to slowly progress and yes, probably. (if youve read my other fics then yea, thats usually my MO)

3. They are in LOVE and i cannot keep them apart

4-6 🥴😈🫣 in no particular order or comparison.

Truthfully I'm a hopeless idealist and still have so many outlines and drafts that I always like to think i'll post back to it when my life aligns for it again. I hope it's true, because this was one of my favorite, melancholic babies and it makes me so god damn giddy and happy to hear you loved it so much too????

thank you omg 💖

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Hi Laura! Congratulations on your Tumblr anniversary! That's very exciting! 🥰 I am super thrilled about your underappreciated blorbo event, so how about some Henry thoughts? I feel like he's really underrated (even by me 😅 who rarely talks about him despite him being one of my favorite characters in the series. Sorry Henry 🙈). I think I'll let you answer with your thoughts first, and then (maybe) I'll share some of mine too! Could you please answer the following?

🍂What is their strength as a person?

🌼What is their strength as a character?

🌻What is their weakness as a person?

🤝Their friendships? Any thoughts on those? (I always wondered if he and Vanessa might become good friends after connecting on both having been essentially locked up and isolated from other people for so long. They have a bit of a "[Former] Caged Birds Club" in my mind, and Henry kind of looked out for her from afar from the time she first arrived at the hideout and made sure she always had big windows in her rooms (and was close to the exit) since he really sympathized with her backstory).

Thank you so much, dear, and congratulations again!! 💕

Hiya Acacia!

I'm super happy to have you around for the event and I'm glad to hear that you like it! ^^ Henry is definitely on the underrated spectrum (I mean, it's because of him that the BB base is a transformer), so I'd gladly oblige ^^

🍂What is their strength as a person?

Henry's strength as a person I think stems from his patience. I mean, he has to be patient, because he's only able to speak at half the pace most people are, and it must be frustrating to him. So, he's had to learn to be patient with himself. And I think that since he has only had enough mana to barely stay alive for a good while, he also needed to adapt and learn quickly when it came to using his magic for more than a few adjustments here and there to the base.

He's giving himself time to learn, and taking it step by step. Which is an important quality and skill to have in a person. And I think it's that quality in him that also translates onto how he converses with others, allowing them, too, to take their time, which emphasizes how empathetic he can be. Because having actually time to formulate your words for someone willing to listen is a rare thing.

He has a lot of good qualities to him, but I think that his patience has allowed a lot of them to come to the surface in the best of ways.

🌼What is their strength as a character?

I think that the mystery that surrounds Henry makes him a good character. We still don't, really, know the condition he has that causes him to drain mana from others. Is it a curse? A disease? Something else? I think I saw someone suggest that Henry could be half giant similarly as Charmy is half dwarf. Which... would be interesting considering they take and supply mana, so they're in a way counterparts of each other.

But the fact that Henry is a mystery, allows them to have things like... a moving base, which is unlike any others, and would come as a surprise to most. He's an ace in the sleeve of the BBs.

🌻What is their weakness as a person?

Perhaps inability to relate to others? We haven't seen him open up to a lot of the characters, but I imagine that he'd find it difficult to relate to others due to being bedridden for most of his life and secluded from the world. He is patient and empathetic, but he probably needs to learn to understand the way it is for people who can come and go as they please, before doing more than just listening, quite simply because it can be very difficult for him to say anything.

As the series progresses, he gets around more and befriends the Bulls better, thus making him closer to them and able to find things to relate on, but I think it's very much a learning journey for Henry too.

🤝Their friendships? Any thoughts on those?

Asta is probably his very first human friend (I say "human" because animals probably visited him before that), so he'd be the obvious choice to talk about when it comes to Henry and his friendships. And, in a way, since Asta didn't have magic and Henry didn't have magic to spare, due to... well, using it to live, I think they have a footing to connect on that aspect as well, though I don't think they talked about it when Asta came to chat in the early days when he was the only one to really connect with Henry due to being the only one really able to do so.

But aside of Asta, I think that Vanessa and Secre could both fall into the "caged person" thematic, since Secre was trapped as Nero for 500 years and Nessa was trapped in a literal cage, while Henry was... I suppose both, trapped in his own body that drains mana from those around him, and in his home due to said condition. But I could see Henry creating kinds of "nests" for both Nessa and Secre so that they'd have a comfy place to be. I don't mean a literal nest, but just a cozy nook for them to exist, because sometimes life is overwhelming, and even on a subconscious level I think he was able to relate to them. And though Nessa and Secre weren't able to come and chat with Henry as much, at least they felt cared for by their new home at the BB hideout.

Thank you for participating! ^^ And thank you!!

[cubedmango]

hi!! i just wanted to let you know that i started reading cherry magic in july last year after seeing the anime announced on toyota-sensei's twitter! i couldn't even rlly translate the announcement myself without the help of google translate LMAO but her illustration of them looked so sweet i had to snoop around. more than half a year later. i am no longer normal and my brain is fully rotted over and i think of those two nearly every waking moment!! your art, along with so many others feeds me and your translations are So Appreciated thank you for doing gods work. i usually don't get super involved in fandom or w/e other than consuming fanart or fics so the fact i find myself actually drawing them is so new to me...idk cherry magic really is so refreshing and it's just nice as an adult to see a mature relationship between two working adults. there are callbacks to childhood or childlike behaviors or interests sprinkled throughout the manga's dialogue and i always appreciated how they weren't seen as embarrassing or immature to embrace or learn from as an adult, but encouraged or seen as a valuable part of balancing work, life, and love. idk it's def one of the more subtle and less expanded upon parts of it but i love how adachi's and kurosawa's love of manga, though seen as a children's activity (from how kurosawa thought people saw it) was actually one of their first mutual hobbies. it's also interesting to see how many things about kurosawa's psyche are remnants of ideas probably for a lack of better wording, were taught to him from an early age. his self-image, how he tries to uphold certain societal standards, etc etc. im glad he found refuge in adachi that way. im sorry for rambling for so long but i've just been thinking about these two so much ldks

anon pls u never have to apologize for rambling abt my fav guys of all time, u should actually talk w me about them more i want to hear ur thoughts !! the eng speaking fandom isnt that big (or at least i dont get to interact w a lot of ppl personally) but its fun making art and doing the translations for my blorbos so im happy other ppl enjoy it too 🥺

and yess everything u said abt the childlike/immature stuff krdc enjoy like the fact that their interest in manga and stuff is never made fun of or anything (which would be ironic anyway since theyre In a manga themselves fdkjskf) but actually one of the things that gets them closer is So good augh?? (also spoilers for the radio drama if u havent seen it yet, but to me one of the best changes they made was changing the port scenes setting to an anime con instead like Yeah!! theyre little nerd guys of course theyd attend a con!!!! that plus how they both like watching animated movies and playing games too like its a very specific thing to Me but that relatability w stuff i do myself makes them both feel a lot more human? if that makes sense)

also w kurosawas whole deal its Definitely a longterm thing hes had for a while, and in canon its mostly been his friendships/relationships that affected him (probs the most clear in ch45 my beloved) but from the way the meeting w his parents went theres for sure a lot of parental/family pressure involved too?? this is going into hc territory but i have like a whole Thing brewing in my head about kurosawas and maris relations w their parents and how that affected their self image and all growing up too and i rlly wanna make stuff for it someday (idk if anyone would be interested but id probably do it regardless so fkdjksjfk)

[cactusringed]

yes!!! yes it's absolutely toxic but honestly - a lot of xB's relationships are built on a long history of banter and competition and smacking each other around, and the guy can almost never stop lying or give a straight answer to save his life. if he'd come out and explained shit to etho in the first, it might be easier - but even with some Real Talk, etho's just. annoyed at the underhandedness and the turn it took, and, quite frankly, considering what you mentioned about bdubs' feelings on phantoms? there's a good chance he's already just a bit self-loathing about it just on the basis of what he's become.

(the bdubs element is also hella interesting imo. bdubs has gotten nothing but praise and flattery and a hefty cut of profits from xB. he's been flirtatious and sweet and bdubs isn't sure why etho seems so aggro about the guy - they're friends! business partners! xB's fine, relax!)

but yeah i. really can't recommend xB's s7 enough even though it is long and can take a while to chip away at i'm working on his s3 at the moment - like i said i'm a big proponent of the blorbo-centric polycule and i will take silly interactions and make them into full blown rarepairs, whether it's the xbetho and xbdubs thoughts or me being utterly enamored of the time xb spends with mumbo and cleo and joe over the course of the season.

(whether you decide to watch him or not i am. willing to come ramble in your inbox as long as you don't mind it lmao. he's thoroughly infected my brain and his friendships among the hermits mean the world to me, never mind what an insufferable flirt he is.)

I loveeee my phantom-phobic bdubs and pairing it with an etho who wasn't always a phantom is so. Tasty. Etho can never let bdubs find out, and is probably very terrified at the thought. Lots of self loathing in there for sure

And I love the idea of bdubs being like ":3?" about etho being aggro at xB LOLLL bdubs probably ends up teasing him like aww are u jealous :33 meanwhile etho is seething

There's probably also a bit of fear, if bdubs manages to be out of the loop about etho being a phantom. Like "what if xB mentions it to bdubs to spite me" sort of deal. With xB already rolling his eyes at Etho rejecting his phantom instincts, he'd probably really not like to see etho be scared that bdubs wouldn't accept him.

Also honestly I love binging people's older hc seasons and esp s7 because it's my absolute faaaavorite imo it was peak hermitcraft - I keep needing to find things to put in the background when I work from home bc God forbid I have to deal with silence for more than a minute so this sounds PERFECT

Also ALSO u are always always always welcome to ramble to me I'm not kidding when I say I genuinely adore it okay even when it's about hermits I don't know as much about or pairs I don't ship yet I am very easy to persuade ++ in general I just love hearing new things and listening to people talk about what makes them happy so genuinely please always feel free to come to me <33

[greypetrel]

for the dramatic and protective prompts, can I have "i should have been here. this is my fault." for Aisling 🥺

Hello!

Soooo. I thought of a couple of things for this. But I decided to go all the way. I read recently from… I don’t know if it was David Gaider or Mark Darrah, but anyway that they had to cut an attack to Skyhold from Corypheus from the storyline. And listen, I get that it lasts long enough, they had to cut some stuff… But my fic my rule. *sips from mug that says just so looking at her blorbos, as in the last Knives Out scene. All the blorbos are extremely suspicious.*

So yeah, plan for the next chapter: Emerald Graves, Corycory pays a visit to Skyhold to thank everyone for having freed him of Florienne. He attacked since he was there (would have seemed very unpolite).

Tis the prompt list.

"i should have been here. this is my fault."

Skyhold lays, strictly speaking, in shambles. The walls are still up, at least, but all the hard work they put in the last months has been severely backtracked.

Rubble all around, signs of dragon claws digging through walls, fences on fire, the north-west guard tower lays in shambles, blocking the walk through the battlements, part of the Herald’s Rest roof has collapsed, leaving a big hole still fuming from fires, the tower she assigned for the mages is now exactly as they had found it at first, and Vivienne’s space has now an enlarged window, as well as the upper story of the library. Amongst the others. The stables, at least, are still intact, and the horses safe, she gets told by a battered but not severely injured Dennet.

She nods, not really listening, patting his arm and walking her way back. Poor Bonny’s stall is covered in debris and rocks fallen from the upper battlements. She is reached by scout after scout reporting damages and numbers, hearing and replying, accepting the reports, but not really listening. She should sleep, Solas has been pretty adamant in his instructions, and she feels every weary mile she ran from the Emerald Graves, rallying what of the Freeman she could muster and stopping by the Exalted Plains just to convince master Hawen to send some of his hunters with her -which he surprisingly did. She ran back as fast as she could, when the news reached her.

Aisling,

Skyhold is under siege. Corypheus made it this way with a contingent of Red Templars and Venatori. I am holding up as best as I can. We are defensible, if taken by surprise.

Don’t rush back, please. Gather allies, write to Celene (Josephine has already, but we don’t know if the raven made it out), you need to have forces at your back if you want to make it.

I should write… I should write that I cherished every single moment I spent with you. Good and bad. If this is the last you heard of me, please know that you made me happy, in friendship and in everything else.

Forever grateful, Cullen

She rushed back, and she isn’t regretting it. It has been reckless and stupid but…

… But, they have started to gather the deads in the lower courtyard, placing them delicately one beside the other. Carriages are brought up from the valley to bring the fallen ones down and burn them, and no one is really in the mood for speaking anymore, not now. She nods to officers and soldiers still standing and working, silently, and stands to look. The scout that has been reporting to her call her from behind. “Inquisitor?”. She nods and stays where she is. She doesn’t want to look but she needs to. She must. She has to commit them to memory, good people who died because she was away. She hasn’t gotten back soon enough. She recognizes some faces, distorted in pain, or perfectly still as if they’re just sleeping. She remembers sparring with one, she was always so powerful in her hits, but left her left side open constantly. Cullen grumbled every time, often interrupting them to show her himself where she was getting it wrong. She remembers her being shy about it, and Cullen probing her until she looked back up again, at him saying she did nothing wrong, she only had to learn, but she needed to listen for it. She remembers the girl -Gabrielle, that’s… that was her name- listening, putting some effort and learning. There was, indeed, a deep gush in her torso, but on the right.

She says her goodbyes, murmuring a prayer to Falon’Din for each and every one of them she can name, and also for each one she cannot. One by one, not in a group. They would be burnt in a group -such is the necessity of war, if they don’t want illnesses to spread- she thinks they may appreciate her treating them one last time as individuals.

It takes her considerably long, but she spends the time she doesn’t have gladly. Sleep can wait a little more.

Cullen reaches there. When she turns, he’s right there, looking at her as he didn’t really believe his eyes, and a weird mixture of a frown. They saw each other when she got back and she already saw he had something to say to her. There was no time before. Her lips starts to tremble, but she manages to smile, just for him, happy that they got the time for him to scold her.

“Inquisitor.” He says, clearing his throat. “May I have a moment?”

She nods, and follows him in the guard room, hopping up the stairs and entering as he keeps the door open for her. He’s on her in the next seconds after he closes it, his hands close on her upper arms, just below her pauldrons, and he shakes her lightly.

“Why did you get back? I told you not to!” He complains.

“I needed to help.” She has no strength to raise her voice.

“You jumped head-first into a trap!”

“Yes. And Solas and I turned it back around.”

Almost, but she does not tell him that if Solas had not been there with her, she would have made the Keep explode, as the Temple of Sacred Ashes did. That could be omitted, or told another day. In 30 years when they could laugh about it. Maybe more, from how he’s still glaring at her, eyes shiny.

“You could have- You-”

She sighs stepping forward and snaking her arms around his chest, inside his cloak to hug him, pressing her face against metal. Armour to armour it’s too far and not enough to satisfy, but it will do.

“I’m sorry. But I can’t leave you all behind. I can’t leave you behind. After my clan… And Stroud… don’t ask me to do the same with the Inquisition. Please. You can’t ask me this.”

She would be shy about it, shy about pleading, but she is at her bottom, honestly, and tiredness make her fail to care or be more delicate about it. He seems satisfied tho, as his hands come to hug her closer and he presses a long kiss on the top of her head. He smells of smoke and dust, and Aisling noticed how dark the circles under his eyes were, and how he limped heavily on his right. She doesn’t ask, tho. There will be time. They have time.

“There you are.” He tells her, softly against her ear, after a couple of minutes.

“You’re terrible with letters, has anyone told you?” She tells him, waterily, as she squeezes his bust.

“I’ve been told.” He chuckles, bending down and dragging her up to kiss her properly. “I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head, resting her forehead against his.

“No, I am. Thank you for holding on so long. I’m sorry if I got late.”

He scoffs a little, grumbling something about her not listening to what he said.  He lets go first, hands coming to cup her face, gratefulness and affection making him smile. That sweet smile she likes so much and makes her want to kiss him. She hops on the balls of her feet and does just so. Too briefly, but it has to do. They’ll have time.

“I need to go. May I see you later?”

“Please.”

She holds his wrists, rubs her thumbs in the leather of his gloves a little harder than usual, hoping he can feel her, and they get on their ways, back to duty.

Climbing up the stairs is painful, she is sore all over and in more ways than physical. The scout -Irma- speaks on, listing numbers and damages and reporting what needs her attention urgently. It’s all immaterial and hazy, right now, but she does her best, going on self-drive. She directs resources to the infirmary, reparations can wait a little more, priority to healing for now; a detailed report of their food storages and the situation of the wells and the water is requested as well, with urgency. She orders to send scouts down the wells, to check the water is still drinkable, and close any that may be tainted.

It's hours since she can rest. Requisitions, people to check on, Fiona is still there to tell her she didn’t wait for her order to send her Mages to the infirmary to help. She nods, grateful for the initiative.

“Do you need some healing too, Inquisitor? That spell was-”

“I’m fine, Grand Enchanter. Thank you for your concern.”

“Mh” The older elf isn’t convinced and squints at her, placing one hand over her cheek and pushing her face so they can look at each other in the eyes. She quite likes Fiona, she has a way of looking at you and seeing you and taking no shit. “Listen to an older woman: you should rest. Plenty. That was no small feat that you accomplished, you must be exhausted.”

“I didn’t do enough.”

“You did, Inquisitor. It’s a war, there are casualties, but we were all ready. This has not been Haven. Please, go and rest.”

She nods and thanks her, but she doesn’t really feel it.

Where she turns, there’s destruction, screaming at her that it is her fault, she should have run faster, she should not have left. What kind of General leaves the place to fight on the field? All of Cullen’s books were clear. Playing chess with him made it clear. The King needs to be protected and secure, commanding his troops.

Bull pats her shoulder, firmly and delicately and squeezing a little, informing her of whom of the Inner Circle he saw around, and telling her she did very, very good, that last trick was creepy as few thing he’s ever seen, but he’s proud of her. She smiles at him, sincerely grateful, and he smiles back. She likes to believe he’s really sincere with her, not faking friendliness to spy on her better. She can’t think of it, right now: she likes Bull, a lot, she likes how motherly he can be at times and she can’t believe it’s all pretense. But, there’s one big missing in the names of people he spotted, and…

She signs a report, orders another messenger to go that way. She is standing in the threshold of the Great Hall -mostly intact, tho drapes fell down, there’s rubble all around in the first half, statues were destroyed. People are digging. She was automatically going right, in the library and up the stairs to… But there’ll be no one there, and she stops.

She was too prideful to write back, after she ordered Dorian to get back. They quarrelled, badly, and she told him to get back to Skyhold. She got a message that he arrived, before… it must have been before. She hasn’t seen him all day, she has but glimpsed at him -clad in white and distinct, who wears white in a battle?- during the battle, hours and hours ago. If he’s… She never… She was too prideful, and now…

Someone calls her from the other side of the room, but she shakes her head violently and sprints to the left, not running but almost. Her armour suddenly itches on her, it’s too tight, she can’t bear to have it on her skin anymore. The rotunda is dusty and there’s rubbles around, but hopefully the frescoes won’t be ruined. She doesn’t really care tho, she knows where Solas was, and he can paint them again. She rushes up the stairs and…

His nook is empty and desolate, the armchair got upturned and there are books fallen all over, a bookshelf fell down. There’s sunlight peeking through the hole that the dragon has carved in the opposite wall, and dust dances in the sunlight, painting the upturned armchair in hazy, milky gold. Empty. Empty. No Dorian peeking up at her and patting the pillow so they can get stuck together again. She never ordered a bigger couch to fit them both properly. She should have. Maybe if she had… They would have discussed it sitting on a couch and on more friendly terms, and not in the middle of a Forest, with her upset because there were Giants trudging on the graves of the Emerald Knights. Him tired and snappy from the long day.

Aisling blinks tears away, inhaling sharply as she rushes to the armchair and brings it up again, dragging the back feet a little on the stones with a screech, before she’s able to put it back together. She’s alone in the library, anyway, Ser Morris told her they needed to assess how the roof was faring with the hole, and if the building was stable before allowing people in. She cares not, right now, as she unfastens the belt on her waist in a frenzy and unbuckles pauldrons and breastplate, elbow protections, tosses everything on the floor in no order forcing herself not to sob, not yet.

All she cares, is that she quarrelled with Dorian, chose the worst possible time to answer to a nasty comment she could have ignored or faced calmly, but didn’t. They quarreled over slavery, and she said things, and he rose his voice, and they were screaming at each other, and at Bull when he tried to separate them, and Aisling sent Dorian back. She sent him back to an ambush, a siege, and possibly…

She falls on his armchair, curling herself up and making herself as little as she can, tucked in the corner between the armrest and the back with her knees up to her face. She hugs her thighs hard and then, just then, she start bawling, loudly and hard. She’s alone, anyway.

Cullen is fine, all her friends are, a little battered and worn, she’s very grateful. But she hasn’t heard about Dorian. Nobody told her anything about him. Radha would have told her, if she had seen him dead. Radha would have, so… Radha has not found her yet since the morning, busy in her own, probably helping Leliana rearranging her base of operations elsewhere.

Ten minutes later, when the big of her tears have fallen and she’s just crying somberly, hiccupping here and there, there are steps on the stairs, echoing loudly in the big, empty building. She snaps out of her ball, feet instantly on the ground and rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, angrily.

“What is i-”

She starts, in automatic, but words die in her throat as she opens her eyes and finds Dorian before her, looking back at her. He’s not good, his left arm is in a sling against his chest, he has some white bandages covering the left side of his face, there are bruises all over where she can see, and his right hand is pressing on his side, probably to fend off pain. But, he’s there. He’s breathing. He’s alive and looking at her with the same dumbfound expression she feels on her face, she’s sure. Nobody says anything at all, and after a minute, the big glomp in her throat raises up and though she tries, she can’t but start crying again, in earnest.

“I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I should have been here, it is my fault. It is all my fault. I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry.”

She can’t stop vomiting words, between a gasp for breath and a whine. She can’t look at him, so she just folds on herself, bending her bust over her thighs, hands on her face and breath coming difficultly and ragged.

“Stop it. Just-”

He groans, as he steps forward and kneels before her, his good arm circling her back as he rests his head on her shoulder, clutching her closer as best as he can. Smoke and dust, and the balmy smell of elfroot, they can’t quite cover the sandalwood of whatever product he uses, still faintly distinguishable under everything else. She wonders, not for the first time, exactly how strong it is that product, or how much does he use. Right now, tho, it’s comforting, and it makes her cry more, whining pathetically against his shoulder.

“… Ir abelas, Aisling.”

That makes her stop.

She spoke a little Tevene when she got there, and was eager to get it better -all in all, she really likes how the language sound, and the poetry he passed her to practice is, indeed, beautiful and musical. He helped her and he taught her better but… He never expressed any wish to learn Elvhen, and she didn’t suggest it. Hearing him apologizing in her language is weird and… She moves back, enough to look at him in the eyes. He’s crying too.

“Ir abelas, it’s not your fault. I was an asshole and I shouldn’t have said the things I said over slavery. They were cruel and uninformed and racist. You were right, and I’m sorry… and I thought I never would have the chance to apologize and…”

He shakes his head and she’s lunging forward, hugging his neck tight and slipping down the armchair, straddling him. Every brave person passing there can go fuck themselves with propriety and whatever. She hugs him as tight as she can against her, sobbing into his neck and letting go just a little when she hears him groan in pain.

“Easy, tiger…”

“Sorr-”

“Say that you’re sorry again, I dare you.”

He sighs, melting a little against her and shifting her a little more on his left side, before holding her tight as well, his head resting against hers.

“I sent you back.”

“You couldn’t know.”

“Nobody saw you, nobody told me where you were… I thought you were dead and I… And I…”

He hushes her, shaking his head and caressing her back.

“I’m too pretty to die. The hunters you brought from the clan agreed, tho they had very eloquent ideas about how to finish the work when they picked me out of some rubbles, you see.”

She stops, and would say something else, most likely, but he just clutches her closer, leans on her head more insistently and goes on speaking.

“You should have seen their faces when I just jumped in and casted a barrier around them and fought with them. Nobody could tell me where you were either, you see… I got quite worried, but then I got thrown to the side by a tail and Skyhold started to buzz and… Well, you know the rest.”

“You-”

“I stayed there, yes, they could use a mage. And well, at first they weren’t exactly enthusiast about that mage being me… But they took me out of the rubble and helped me to the infirmary, and even told me how to say Ir abelas. Laughed at my accent too, it’s not that terrible, is it?”

How he manages to make her laugh when she’s crying and sobbing is totally beyond her, but it works. Still, she collects herself just enough to push on his shoulders and frown at him. It’s difficult when she’s still fully crying, but with a trembling lips and some effort, she manages.

“You know you can’t just jump to help the first group of elves you find, learn a couple of words and hurt yourself every time I get angry, right?”

It’s not as scolding as she would like it to be, even if she bends her head sideway eloquently -she’s still blinking tears away from her eyes. But, he stops himself from laughing, nodding solemnly.

“I know, honey.”

“I’m still angry for what you said!” She remarks, sobbing a little.

“Yes, it was a privileged and thus insensible, offensive opinion. Please get angry and call me out when I say some shit, I didn’t realise it was shit.”

“I know you didn’t. That’s why I got angry, you didn’t listen to me.”

“I know. I was… too prideful. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to hurt you, and I’ll do better next time, if…” He sighs, bringing her closer again, tentatively. She lets him, and it’s him this time who rests his forehead against her shoulder“Are we be ok? Will we be ok? I get it if you don’t think we can.”

She hugs him closer, squeezing him enough to make him oomph again and nuzzling him past the hem of his stupid shoulder-less shirt.

“Yes. I’m not saying you’re a horrible person. I’ll never say you’re a horrible person. But you don’t know everything. Just trust me on certain things, ok?”

“Nonsense.” He scoffs, holding her closer too. “Of course I’m a horrible person.”

She giggles, again, in all answer, and he answer in tow, chuckling a little.

“And I do trust you. I’m just an ass sometimes.”

“That’s ok.” She says, sighing. “I like donkeys.”