#i used a scene from howls moving castle as a reference for this

[b0ngwaterwizard]

kiddos 💛💚

[what-eats-owls]

Show vs Tell, Or: Please Stop Making Things Difficult for Yourself

I said a while ago that I'd write a brief essay about the most misused craft advice in writing once I wrote 10k words, and for once I actually held myself to that! So now, I'm here to tell you about Show vs Tell, or why people make it more complicated than it needs to be.

First, a basic primer for anyone who hasn't heard this term before: "Show vs Tell"/"Showing vs Telling" refers to "showing" the audience information instead of "telling" it to them. You may be thinking, gosh, that sounds unspecific to the point of being readily misapplied, and you would certainly be right! Lots of folks throw it around without fully grasping what it means, how to use it, or when it doesn't actually apply. And I'd really like everyone to stop making it harder on themselves when there's a very straightforward way to conceptualize it.

So for starters, Chuck Palahniuk has an old but good essay about eliminating "thought" verbs from prose that holds the hell up. But I'm going to tell you an even simpler way to conceptualize the difference between showing and telling:

Eliminate the inner thoughts entirely.

Ask yourself, if my narrator's interior monologue was inaccessible to the audience, how would I convey the same information—literally showing it?

Forget for a moment that your medium is the word, and imagine you only have dialogue and visuals. If this was taking place on the screen or in a graphic novel, how would you convey that this character has a crush on someone in their class? That they're hotheaded? That they're struggling with a decision?

Here's a perfect example of this from the opening scene of Howl's Moving Castle.

Devoid of context, we have a girl trying on a hat in a mirror, and also trying on a fake smile. Then her expression sours and she pulls the hat down over her face until we can only see her frown. She's wearing a plain dress and the hat is simple, despite the elaborate hats and ornaments on display around her.

You don't have to know anything about this character to understand what's being conveyed in this moment: This girl is deeply uncomfortable with trying to be pretty and flirty, but in the safety of privacy she wants that, even though she feels inept and self-conscious about it. She's in this world, but she's not part of it. Even brushing up against it for a moment makes her shut down and reject it with hostility.

More importantly, it's all communicated with a simple gesture and design choices. Not by Sophie thinking to herself, I wish someone would take me dancing—no I don't! I work too hard to have time for dancing!

That's showing. And it's more resonant, because we've all felt silly trying something on in a mirror! Or, say, if you want to show a character has a crush, having them get flustered and laughing too loud. Or showing that they're a hothead by having them snap at a simple disagreement, etc. etc.

This also extends to worldbuilding, dialogue, and stakes.

Worldbuilding: If your story is set in a town run by a crooked sheriff, you could have the narrator say "everyone knows Sheriff Smith is squeezing the shops for bribes." Or the sheriff can stop the narrator for "smelling like weed" while the sheriff's drunken son speeds by, about to total his third BMW.

Dialogue: If your character is angry, they can say "I'm furious." Or they can slam dishes in the sink and insist "I'm not angry" while openly crying. They can snap "I'm not discussing this again." They can demand "What is he doing here?"

Stakes: You can have an all-seeing oracle say "If you do not return the Mystic Orb to the Sunlight Altar by the solstice, the world will plunge forever into darkness." (And as we'll get into it below, sometimes you actually need that.) You can also have intermittent but increasing periods of total darkness occurring as the party travels to the Sunlight Altar. You can have the Mystic Orb start cracking the longer it takes, and the sun getting a little dimmer with every fracture. You can have people's shadows growing bigger and bigger and acting autonomously.

But showing isn't the end-all-be-all; telling absolutely has a place. Sometimes it's better to quickly and plainly state information and move on, such as a little earlier in the scene, when the other hat shop girls have spotted Howl's castle:

"Look, it's Howl's castle!"

"I've never seen it so close!"

“Do you think Howl will go into town?”

“He’s gone!”

“No, he’s just hiding in the fog from those planes.”

“Did you hear what happened to that girl, Martha, in South Haven? They say Howl has torn her heart out.”

“Now I’m too scared to go out!”

“Don’t worry. He only preys on pretty girls.”

This tells us some stuff directly: Who owns the castle we see in the first few seconds, that he's hiding from soldiers, that he has a reputation for preying on beautiful girls. We can infer also that he's a bit of a coward, he stays away from civilization, and that his reputation for cruelty has spread over multiple regions.

This happens so quickly, and it's couched in enough character between the teasing and the gossip, that it doesn't stand out as capital-t-Telling. That's exactly what expository dialogue should do. "Showing" us all that information would take a lot of screen time that can be saved in ten seconds of dialogue.

It's also not just about saving time; it's setting up an image that Howl initially fulfills when he helps Sophie escape the soldiers... only to be punctured when she actually goes to his castle and sees the real Howl. Telling is good for setting expectations that you know will be subverted later.

So yeah, tl;dr: If you're tied up in knots about "am I showing?? am I telling??" just ask yourself how you'd convey the same information in a movie or graphic novel, without access to interior monologue, and evaluate if that'd be better. Most of the time the answer is yes, but not always!

[roseyrays]

𝐌𝐲 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞 👑

𝐇𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐣𝐢𝐧’𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐤𝐚 𝐡𝐢𝐦 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐟!𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫)

warnings: hyunjin being a hopeless romantic, hyunjin being downbad for you, nicknames like "prince" and “princess", cheesy romance (jesustakethewheel), kinda crack, attempted humor

# 𝟏; 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮

when i say this man is downbad for you, i mean it

he spends his time painting portraits of you especially the photos that have you in it (he uses them as a reference)

he just can’t get you out of his head whenever he does something he loves

he usually gives them to you as a surprise but he gave so much portraits already, you aren’t that surprised but you love the painting anyway (and his smile whenever he gives them to you)

he listens to music that reminded him of you and you guy’s relationship whenever he paints (listen i just wanna say that the glue song and valentine is what he mostly listens to when he paints you, but that’s just my opinion)

you sometimes visit him when he’s painting, you love watching him paint but you sometimes join him when he paints (it’s mostly you guys covering each other in paint and making a whole mess)

there was this one time where it was almodt your birthday and hyunjin wanted to give you something so he decided to paint you <3 (like he does all the time) but this painting is gonna be more special, it’s a painting of you in a princess attire ❤️❤️ you’re his princess ok? and you can never ever deny that

# 𝟐; 𝐝𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐦

he’s part of danceracha, how could he not want to dance with you?

he loves dancing with you to songs with choreographies that needs a partner (bite me-) especially if the song is romantic

heheh, howl’s moving castle music? yes, hyunjin being a howl kinda lookalike? yEs, hyunjin and you dancing to howl’s moving castle music together? YES

he loves holding you close to him when you guys dance and just getting lost in eachother’s eyes (ohmygodd)

oh what’s that? you can’t dance? HE’LL TEACH YOU!! piece of cake right? (you accidentally stepped on his foot a few times)

even if you can’t dance he’ll still love you, you’re his princess ‼️

if you can dance, you both will dance the night away until both of your feet gets sore

omg IMAGINE THIS, OK OK SO imagine you guys went to a small (big) masquerade party and you guys needed to dress up in like balls gowns and suits and IMAGINE both of you dancing together while all eyes are on you both LIKE THE SCENES IN CINDERELLA AND BEAUTY AND THE BEAST WHILE Merry Go Round Of Life or Once Upon A December is playing (I JUST LOVE FANTASY THEMES)

# 𝟑; 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧

NOW THIS, THIS IS 🦋🦋🦋 OKAY

HE CALLS YOU THAT ALL THE TIME LIKE

"what’s my princess up to?" "my princess is so cute” "here’s a gift for my queen ☺️" "my queen deserves the world" etc etc

what a hopeless romantic ‼️

he would also sometimes call you “my lady" but he mostly always calls you "my princess” or “my queen" cause he thinks you deserve it

he would literally princess carry you whenever you feel tired and exhausted or when your feet starts hurting

“my princess is so tired, isn’t she? 🤭🤭”

those nicknames alone make you flustered and make your heart flip (it’s like he wants to give you a heart attack from all those butterflies in your stomach)

but you fluster him back by calling him “your prince", when you first called him that he was surprised and flattered (and flustered)

# 𝟒; 𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬/𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 (𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮)

like i said in the last headcanon, HE LOVES PRINCESS CARRYING YOU

if you’re shorter then him (which you probably are i’m sorry) he will literally princess carry while hugging your whole body

“h-hyunjin, i can’t b-breath!"

“why?? :( i love hugging (squeezing) you!"

if you’re sick or tired and need to go to bed, he will carry you to your room (lord-)

or when there’s rain fall and there are puddles everywhere, like i said HE WILL CARRY YOU

(he doesn’t wanna get your shoes wet)

𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐡𝐞 (≧◡≦) ♡

[thebarontheabyss]

I absolutely adore your IF! the aesthetics, the storytelling, the mystery, the fantasy elements.. everything. I've never read an IF where I've had such a hard time choosing someone to romance. usually I only gravitate toward 1-2 ROs but with yours, I want to romance all of them!!! excuse me while I ramble... [spoilers ahead]

Death: everything they do is just so cute. the way they kept glancing at us from afar at the bar, and that scene where they're lying in our bed and tells us how pretty we are... I was kicking my legs and screaming internally

Lilith/Damien: hottie alert!! can't help but be drawn to them even knowing how dangerous and scheming devils can be... my MC be shamelessly flirting with them in front of yaga and peisinoe

Morgan(a): so charming and swoon-worthy. that dinner date was so romantic! it doesn't help my heart that the Morgan character art reminds me of howl from howl's moving castle... and the angst potential with them being a mortal... I can't wait to see where this goes

Peisinoe: the scenes of their past were heart-wrenching, I just want them to be happy :'( I also love how you've written out the lyrics to their performances, I really feel the melancholic vibes

Hastur: I'm a sucker for the stoic duty-bound types! I can't wait to break down his walls... hehehehe

He Without Name: I can't wait to find out more about him and unravel his mysterious past! really curious as to whether he will take on a more solid form and be able to interact better at the end..? having read up to the memoriam update, I do have a theory about him being related to adamot somehow - I could be totally off, but he said his purpose was to keep balance? whereas tehomot is for entropy/chaos. and maybe he is "the child" that tehomot was referring to in that council of nine scene. also I can't get out of my head how for Valentine's Day, he would just leave a flower under our pillow <3 simple, but cute and impactful

thank you for sharing such a wonderful story. I'm so excited for more updates!

Thank you for the positive review! It warmed my heart ❤️ Still recovering from the flu here so I hope it doesn't raise my temperature again jkjk

And here are my notes about your notes lol:

Drunk Death is the best Death!!! I can’t wait to write the date scenes for them actually

For Lilith/Damian, scheming will play an integral (and infernal part) of their story. They will be a focus for the update following this one along with Yaga, and I'm excited to start defining their characters!

Howl was a reference I sent for the artwork for Morgan/a! That wonderful wizard totally inspired their character, although I want to make them into more of a reconstruction of the character type later on 👀

Every time I hear a jazz song lately, I just Imagine Peisinoe singing it. I can’t help but stan them.

There won't be a long wait for Hastur! The walls will crumble in the upcoming update. That's all for now. 👀

Damn, I love your theories about He Without Name! My boyfriend always says I'm addicted to spoilers, so for my own personal growth, I'm just going to quietly enjoy the speculations for now hehe

Again, thank you so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! ❤️ These are literally the fuel that helps me get back and write!

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group J Round 1: #J3 vs #J6

#J3: Cat demon stuck in cat form, gets adopted as a pet.

XiaoHei is a young cat demon training to be an Executor, someone who maintains the balance between humans and demons. His first mission as a trainee was to steal the Sky Pearl. He succeeded, but he also got injured enough to be unable to revert to his human form. Stuck in his cat form, he gets adopted by the human girl XiaoBai as a pet. The story then follows XiaoHei’s adventures as a pet cat in a human home while also evading the pursuit of his enemy, Diting.

#J6: Students transported to bizarre new realities

Thirty-six students find themselves and their school building suddenly adrift in a void-like dimension. When supernatural powers awaken in some of them, a sense of detachment begins to divide the group. Despite the student council's attempts to impose order, they clash with the students possessing special abilities, who rebel against their strict control.

This conflict leads them to discover that this world has its own set of rules—and following them is necessary for survival. After one of the students decides to take a leap of faith, the school switches dimensions once again. While they deal with the unique challenges and circumstances that each world presents, the students must unravel the mysterious phenomenon and find a way back home.

Titles, propagandas, trailers, and poll under the cut!

#J3: Legend of Luo XiaoHei (series) (Luo XiaoHei Zhan Ji)

[Submitter: Now, I could not find a single trailer for season 1, and this show doesn’t have an opening sequence either, so I’m sharing the s2 trailer instead. It’s not spoilery, so you can watch it.]

Propaganda:

Demons try to coexist with humans and maintain balance; however, most humans aren’t even aware of their existence. XiaoHei himself has had little interactions with humans aside from his master—who doesn’t count since he’s feared by both humans and demons alike. It isn’t until XiaoHei meets XiaoBai that he actually learns more about them and their way of life. Slowly, he gets drawn to the human life and also learns to have fun just like the human kids his age.

But then there’s the antagonist, Diting, who’s out to retrieve the stolen Sky Pearl. As XiaoHei battles with him, we, along with the human characters, learn more about the magic in the world—And I absolutely love this gradual way of unfolding the lore to us viewers. The worldbuilding is quite intricate, but not once does it ever feel overwhelming.

The fight scenes of this show are also very immersive. I don’t know what technical terms to use to describe it, but I love how it’s not just the characters moving around but also our perspectives. It feels as if we’re also fighting along with the characters.

But although there are a lot of fight scenes and supernatural stuff thrown in, at its core, LXH is a story about a young demon learning that there is more to life than magic and fighting. It’s about XiaoHei discovering what it is he really wants to do without fear of losing what he calls his home, for home will always be with him.

The s2 trailer I shared may be action-packed, but s1 is actually more of a slice-of-life. And oh, don’t be mistaken by the fantasy-looking setting in the trailer; this story is set in modern times. The plot of s2 is XiaoHei continuing his training through a virtual reality game (like the Greed Island Arc in Hunter x Hunter), but this time, he brings his human friends with him.

Both S1 and S2 combined, there are only 40 episodes. That may seem a lot, but each episode is only 5-10 minutes long. You can binge everything in a day. But even though it’s short, the show does not lack anything. There are colorful characters, amazing animation, hype fight scenes, interesting supernatural stuff, and also a cute cat. The art style is also nice, reminiscent of Studio Ghibli (and there’s even a Howl’s Moving Castle reference in S1E1!)

Both seasons are something that you can watch when you don’t have much time and energy for plot-heavy stuff but still want something exciting. Even if you end up not voting for this show, I really hope you consider checking it out, as well as its movie. It really is such a beautiful and comforting show.

P.S.: This series takes place about three years after the events in the movie (which has the same title in Chinese, but is more known as simply “Legend of Hei” in English). The series aired first before the movie, though, so it doesn’t matter (still, I recommend watching the movie first).

Trigger Warnings: Child death (it’s fake, but the characters’ reactions feel so real), teens/adults fighting children. XiaoHei is a great fighter, and the people that can match with him are only those older than him.

#J6: Sonny Boy

Propaganda:

Sonny Boy is one of the best shows to come out in recent years. The setting and plot is very fantastical, with superpowers and dimension travel, but fundamentally the story is about the characters. The character writing is really unique. Even the side characters feel like real people, not just cheap gimmicks.

But the main draw for a lot of people are the visuals. Sonny Boy looks like no other anime. The backgrounds are just absolutely stunning, and the realistic character design helps contrast the unreality of the world. There are these amazing visual sequences that just blow you away with how creative the writers must be.

I can't say much without spoiling but it's the kind of show you just have to experience. This is the kind of show where people either love it or hate it. If you are looking for clear, linear storytelling, this is not the show for you. If you're looking for a straight mystery where everything is solved in the end, you might be disappointed. If you want to cry, and feel something, and think about what it means to be alive, then I cannot recommend a better show.

Trigger Warnings:

Animal death - a bird died and is used as a metaphor

Flashing lights - many weird kaleidoscope effects and other sequences

If you’re reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

[legendarypotat]

How I thought Feligami was gonna be based on leaks vs how it’s actually going.

I used as reference the iconic scene from Howls Moving Castle because Kagami deserves a magical romance.

[greenerteacups]

Just wanted to say that the Manor scenes reminded me a bit of the film the Sound of Music! In the sense that a whole countryside estate and and manor can become a playground for delightful children; although you subvert the theme of a manor needing a romance in order for it to come ‘alive’. I also saw in the AO3 comments section some readers saying that the Manor reminded them of Beauty and the Beast, in the sense that the self playing pianos and opening doors mirrored the talking pots and wardrobes of the film animation. Given how many of these works of media depicting a young woman’s visit to a foreboding yet magical estate where her love interest resides — Howl’s Moving Castle, Beauty and the Beast, Sound of Music, even Lizzy’s visit to Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice — follow the perspectives of the awed young women, I’m even more intrigued by Draco’s perspective as the host. I really love your weaving in Draco’s sensitivity to Hermione’s reactions alongside Draco’s obvious sense of comfort and pride in his rather grand home. I’m sure you were aware of the themes or tropes I cited, how did it feel to sort of rewrite them from the perspective of the host? Your imagery of the Manor is so vivid and delightful, I must ask, what inspired it?

And — how do you solve a problem like Maria?🎶

Oh my God, I love this comparison. This is incredibly flattering — Sound of Music is my favorite musical of all time, like, ever, and I listen to the soundtrack maybe once a week. (HMC is also one of my favorite all-time movies. If you are noticing themes in my personality no you didn't.)

The fun of the Manor in "Summer's End" starts with the title. Aside from being the literal time in which the story takes place and also thematic hoo-ha & whatnot, is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the English style of naming old country houses 'Something-End,' e.g. 'Howards End' or the real 'Audley End House' in Essex (which is one of my main visual references for Malfoy Manor). I was trying to play with the typical conceit of those young-woman-comes-to-grand-House scenes, because (1) it's through the host's eyes, and (2) the Manor becomes new again in Draco's eyes because Hermione is in it; she's more curious than he is, because she's a stranger (and also just. is more aggressively curious in general), so in a sense, he's rediscovering his home through her and with her in it. So it's the same sense of whimsy and new discovery, but without the edge of the familiar. This is safe! This is home. This is the one time in Draco's life when he's been able to have both the pureblood lifestyle he's used to and the privilege of Hermione's company. It can't last, of course — but I wanted people to understand why he feels so drawn to the idea that he should be able to have both. Because hey, look! Isn't it wonderful?

Also, the Manor is both canonically and fanonically a pretty bad place, for Hermione; some really rough shit happens to her there, and fics often (rightly, in my view) make it a thematic center of bigotry and violence. But I wanted to play with the idea that the Manor is nothing more or less than a reflection of its inhabitants — and in this universe, it's Draco's house, and it reflects him, not Lucius.

[writing-fanics]

𝕯𝖆𝖓𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖎𝖓 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖓𝖑𝖎𝖌𝖍𝖙 𝔐𝔬𝔯𝔭𝔥𝔢𝔲𝔰 𝔵 𝔉!ℜ𝔢𝔞𝔡𝔢𝔯

chapter one: dancing in the moonlight > chapter two: so this love

«summary: Dream decides to go to a ball. Where the L/n’s are trying to find their daughter a courtship»

<warning: dream : huge amounts of sexual tension : dancing with dream (you will be squealing) : mentions of familial death>

a/n: just imagine that howls moving castle theme song exists during this time. reference to Dickensian (but isn’t Arthur Havisham just uses his last name not affiliated with his character) also my best at writing a romantic dance scene.

Play this when you get to the dance scene (Merry-Go-Round-Of Life-)

She stood in the corner of the room. Her hands held the delicate wine glass; raising it to her lips. Sipping on the wine. Unamused by the party going on around her turning towards her friend, “This party is such a bore.” She groaned, taking a sip of her wine.

“Oh, come on Y/n enjoy the party.” Susan exclaimed. Looking at (Y/n) who rolled her eyes in response.

“Ah, yes a party just so I might find a courtship.” (Y/n) seethed, watching the young men around the room.

“You’ve declined every single one so far brought before you.” Susan said, and (Y/n) chuckled.

“Yes, and I enjoy it. It’s rather fun doing so. Since I have no intentions of marrying someone who only cares for my looks and my status and wealth.” (Y/n) says, finishing up her wine and placing the glass on the draw as a servant walks by.

“But you might find the one tonight.” Susan says, wiggling her eyebrows causing (Y/n) to giggle. “Such rarity that will be.” (Y/n) says, folding her arms across her chest not interacting with the crowd.

“Oh, look here comes Lord Havisham.” Susan said, causing a groan to escape (Y/n)’s mouth.

(Y/n) forced a smile on her lips as she greeted him, raising her hand for him to kiss. “You look rather ravishing tonight, Lady L/n,” He says, and she smiled disdainfully.

“Thank you,” She said, letting her hand fall to her side. As she looks at him annoyed, this man has been practically throwing himself at her for months. “Might I say, doesn’t your wife know that you’re here?” She asks.

“Flirting with another woman? I mean it’s quite ungentlemanly to try and court another.” She replies.

“I’m sure your wife would be furious.” She said, then looks over to the other side of the room. Seeing Mary talking to (Y/n)’s little sister.

“There she is over there.” She grinned, and he looked towards his wife’s direction his face red as he stormed away.

“You won’t tell her will you?” He asked, a smug smile grew on her lips.

“Why, shouldn’t I. Your advances towards me are quite unwelcomed and I’ve declined you many times.” She said, raising an eyebrow.

She began walking towards his wife, when he grabbed her roughly by the wrist. “You dare touch me without my permission.” She seethed, her face red as she glared at him.

“You’ve got no right talking back to me.” He said, and she laughed at him.

“No right? I have the right to decline a man who’s practically throwing themselves at a woman who’s declined them many times before.” She roughly pulled away from his grip, walking towards his wife once more.

She walks towards his wife and whispers into her ear. Mary’s eyes widened as her head snapped into the direction of her husband.

His face paled as she stormed towards him grabbing him roughly by the ear. She swiftly thanked (Y/n). As she dragged him out of the party.

(Y/n) now standing in the corner of the room. Taking a glass of wine off the tray and sipping it, “I want this party to be over with.” She groaned, unamused by the party.

She couldn’t chat with Susan for she’s dancing. (Y/n) wanted to sneak out of the party and up to her bedchambers.

“Might, I have this dance?” A voice asked. She was about to decline until she saw the man before.

His silver blue eyes, his hair as black as a raven. Her voice got caught in her throat, he kissed her hand causing her cheeks to glow a tint of red.

“Yes.” She squeaked, she looked down embarrassed. She didn’t know why her heart was pounding against her chest.

As he lead her the center of the room. Then as if it were magic the band started playing her favorite song. She always imagined herself dancing in a field to this song.

Merry Go Round of Life. She didn’t know why she was feeling so nervous in the moment. Just moments ago she was fine sipping on her wine. She’s been asked to dance countless times. But none of them compared to this, he placed his arm just above her waist.

As the music began, they started dancing. (Y/n) stared into his eyes as they danced. She swore she could see the entire cosmos in his eyes. Her stomach fluttered as he his lips curled into a smile. Her cheeks turned a light shade of red.

His arm wrapped around her waist. Holding her close as they danced. Her heart pounding against her chest. The world around her seemed to stop. She’d just met this man and she already felt some sort of connection.

She stared into his eyes with wonder, as he looked down at her as they danced. She couldn’t help but him along to the song trying to calm her nerves, as well gently swaying her head to the music.

He spun her around gently heart once again skipping a beat. As they danced along to the music, others in the room watching as the young lady danced with the man.

She felt like she were a princess in a fairytale. She felt as if that they were dancing on a cloud. He spun her around once again, she felt as if she was losing more air even with this corset on. This felt like a dream and one she never wanted to wake up from.

She wanted to speak to say something. But her words got caught in her throat, all the blood in her body seemed to rush towards her cheeks. Giving it that red tint that spreads across her cheeks. This had to be a dream right? There isn't anyway this could possibly be real?

The nights rays seemed to reflect onto his eyes. His eyes sparkled as if his irises were made up of stars. Yet even as she looked into his eyes. She still felt a cold demeanor his eyes were giving off. Dream stared down at her as they danced her eyes seemed to sparkle, as the moons light crept through the windows. His arm wrapped around her waist and his around hers, as they danced in circle.

She couldn't stop staring into his eyes; seemingly getting lost in the stars as she did so. Her lips curled into a smile as she looked into his eyes. When his lips curled into a smile as he gazed down at her making her stomach flutter.

Susan's eyes widened seeing (Y/n) on the ballroom floor dancing. Her mouth dropped. (Y/n) turned towards her and smiled softly. That's when she noticed other people almost everyone was watching her dance with the stranger. Her eyes darted around the room seeing everyone standing in a circle.

"Everyone's watching." She whispered, her cheeks bright red. Not liking all the attention that she was getting from the guests. Susan being the good friend immediately took notice of her friends situation. Lily and Susan looked at each other and nodded, Lily let out a shrill scream.

Causing everyone to look towards her as Susan pretended to be passed out on the ground. As the guests ran over to see what the problem was, he seemed to take notice and they made their way towards the garden.

"It seems your friend caused a distraction so we might escape." He says, and moved her lips inward slightly. "Oh, yes seeming me dance was quite a shock for her." She said, and he looked down at her.

"I usually, reject those who ask me to dance." She said, as they continued to dancing. The music fading as they got further and further away from the party inside.

"Then why accept a dance with me?" He asked, and she looked up at him. Her cheeks turning a bright red, "I ah, I-I don't know." She replied, sheepishly. He raised his right eyebrow as he looked down at her, he pulls her closer to him causing her heart to skip as beat as they continued dancing.

She was about to ask for his name when she realized where they were. Her mother's flower garden. Rows and rows of beautiful flowers of different colors. Straight out of a fairytale. A little cottage lied further ahead a small cobblestone path lead up to it. Her smile faltered as she looked around the garden, "This was my mother's favorite place." She said, looking up at him.

The dancing now ceased, they released their hold on each other. She knelt down beside the flowers smiling as she looked at them, "She passed away when my little sister was born." She says, standing up and looking at him.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He says, and she smiled softly looking at him. Realizing because of her they stopped dancing, "Sorry, I stopped dancing without-" She sighed, looking down at her hands. He stepped closer towards her causing her to look up at him.

"I don't usually enjoy theses kinds of party." She says, looking at him and he smirked, as they walked alongside each other. "I don't usually enjoy parties either," He says, as they started walking down the stoned path of the garden.

"But this one was rather." He said, looking down the path alongside her, walking past an array of beautiful flowers. "Entertaining." He finishes, and she chuckles softly. "I could say the same thing." She replies, and he looked down at her as she grinned.

"I'm happy to hear that you've found the party entertaining." She says, their gaze met and her cheeks once again turned red. They stared at each other for a moment her heart pounding against her chest as she gazed into his eyes.

"Y/n, your father is looking for you!" Susan shouted, and (Y/n) looked up towards her and sighed, not wanting the moment between her and him to end.

"Sorry, I must be going." She says, sadly. "Farewell," He says, taking her hand bringing towards her lips and kissing it. She smiled, and his lips curled upward into a smile.

"Farewell to you too." She said, before removing her hand slowly from his grasp. Then turning to walk up the stairs, towards the inside.

She then realized she hadn't asked for his name. Stopping on the stairs. "Oh, I forgot whats your-" She turned around, "Name?" She finished, realizing that he had disappeared. She looked around any sign of him not finding any. She sighed walking up the stairs and back inside.

Taglist:

@nebulosa-reina @stygianoir @catcher11 @pinksirensong @all-things-fandomstuck

[facelessoldgargoyle]

I’m back home after being at swing city Chicago, a three day dance convention/Halloween party. I got to reconnect with a lot of people from the Midwest dance scene, which filled my heart. I also met a lot of new people who joined the scene since I left, and Oh Boy!!

My dear friend remarked that a notable portion of this 8-person group was queer in some way, but quietly so, whereas Baubie and I are very loudly queer. First of all, hell yes, I love being the gayest person in the room. Second of all, I don’t think I’ve ever met people like them!

There was this guy who my friend pointed out to me from across the dance floor at first. He uses he/him and they/them, which my friend knows because he directly asked. Apparently they never bring their preferences for how to be referred to up unless directly asked. They looked like your standard gorgeous twink, and they had one dangly earring in at all times. His costume was Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle, for chrissake.

Baubie at one point said to me, “oh, of course you like [mutual friend’s] mustache, you’re into bears,” and this person went, “What’s a bear?”

We explained what a bear was. We were both polite enough to not say “how do you look like that and not know?” Our friend told us later that this guy is exclusively into women, and has never talked about being nonbinary, or shared thoughts about gender. I’m so fascinated by this person who has started dipping their toe into queerness by exploring their gender presentation first. It’s a good reminder that first impressions are often deeply inaccurate. Cheers to him.

[cutiedwaekki]

PuppyM Detective

Chapter 2 : Examination

I was on my way home after the call Jisung had just made, he could be dramatic at times but I knew the last few days had been tough. As an assistant to city councillor Jung Wooyoung, he found himself being around in an in-between position where either he was offered another job or he was unemployed. I guess if he's ordered so much food it's probably one of the two.

As I walked to the front, I thought about the potential guilty and, above all, the potential suspects in this case. In this case, anyone could be guilty; anyone Councilman Jung had met 24 hours before his death was a suspect! I'd ask Jisung about his schedule that days

Well, obviously Jisung wasn't one of the suspects, since on the evening of Mr Jung's death he was with me watching The Howls Moving Castle for the umpteenth time. I let him choose this film, although I must have seen it enough times to know the lines by heart, and so does he.

But the more I thought about it, the more suspicious Minho and Jeongin seemed. After all, they were the only ones we knew nothing about, and even the rumors didn't make sense. Some said they were brothers, others married or friends. Sons of Chaebol or fugitives on the run. Jeongin was always well-dressed in a three-piece suit, while Minho preferred more comfy clothes.

But that scene just now really disturbed me, I wonder what they're hiding from. I bet if I find that out, everything will be clearer.

-Finally you're here Minnie, I thought I was going to have to eat everything without you!

-Pff, don't say that, idiot, you'd be able to eat an entire buffet without giving me so much as a crumb!

-Then consider it an act of generosity," he said, before shoving a doughnut into my mouth as soon as I'd set foot in the house.

Jisung was my one and only friend here. We've known each other since at least elementary school. I know him as well as he knows me, and we've always been able to count on each other. If tomorrow the world becomes chaotic, he's the only one I'll trust

And then it's almost cute the way he introduces me to others, I'd heard how he praised my achievements in finding the reason for Mr Lee and Ms Yang's divorce when in reality if Jisung hadn't had that stupid song in his head, Ms Yang wouldn't have mentioned her idol lover to us.

-You think too much Minnie, come and relax!

-You're probably right, but this murder story is really ... fasinating"

-Do you have any leads? he asked as he continued to eat.

-Sure but not necessarily reliable ... and how are you doing at work at the moment?

-Oh, if you only knew! Don't ask me how, I don't know myself, but as I was the only one to know Mr Jung's schedule in detail, the mayor's office decided to appoint me as an interim councillor until another election could be helds

My jaw dropped at this news, while Jisung acted as if he had just uttered a banality

-So you're the city councillor?!

- "In a way, but Wooyoung didn't do anything interesting, I spent the day sitting in his office, filling out papers and eating.

-Do you remember what he did the day he died, or where he went?

-Good question ... I think he went to a few meetings in the village next door and as he had no time he ordered something from LeeBit cock because and I quote "he loves his cinnamon doughnuts".

I chuckled softly. If there's one thing typical of Jisung, it's his humility and ability to remember nothing except when it involves food.

- "He didn't do anything else?"

-Afterwards he went out a few times without saying anything, I think he spoke to the Mayor Mr Bahng and maybe he went to Dwaekki & BbokAri Bakery. By the way, it was Changbin hyung who gave me all those pastries!" He said, referring to the box showing their logo: a mix of a pig and a pink rabbit holding hands with a smiling chick .... it was cute

- "Do you know if he was preoccupied or something like that lately?"

-No more than that, Mr. Jung and I weren't very close to him.

-I see, thank you Hannie, you're a great help!

"You're welcome! But don't you dare go investigating now" he began, grabbing my arm with force and holding me down on the sofa "I told you I'd share and I've had enough to eat for today, so at least enjoy these Minnie pastries" he begged, looking at me with love on his face.

-But hyung... I have to... well ok you win"

Jisung mimed a victory sign before angling the box towards me.

-Eat what you want, you've got plenty of time ... well, you've got to eat it all before tomorrow, so you've got no choice".

These words made me laugh, and I quickly grabbed one of the cookies and tasted it. The taste was exquisite, and the caramelizing aspect of the cookie mixed with the three-chocolate chip made it even more perfect than it already was.

-You see, it's delicious! Tomorrow we'll go and see Changbin hyung and Felix, they've promised me lots of free pastries if I bring you back!"

- "I didn't know you were close to them!

- "Since Mr Jung often went to see them, I sometimes took orders for him, so I got to know them better.

I see ... maybe he could tell me something about Minho then!

- "What about Lee Minho?"

- "Oh him? There's so much to tell! And I can assure you that everything you're about to hear is true!"

I looked at him slightly skeptical, but put my ear to the ground to listen, savouring the sweets in the box

-Basically, he and Jeongin are half-brothers, they have the same father, but Minho was born out of wedlock, and that's pretty bad form for a chaebol".

- "Wait, so they really are rich kids?"

-Don't cut me off! So I was saying, from what I remember, he said he'd moved to the city with his brother to cut ties with his family, who only saw him as a source of disappointment, even though he was a good heir to his business empire after studying commerce. Afterwards, I don't remember everything, it was several months ago and I was probably drunk".

-You drunk? Can I at least have the context of how you got all this information?"

- "There's some things you just don't get!"

That was already too much I couldn't help but gasp loudly

-You slept with Lee Minho?!

- "Yah my sex life is none of your business," he said, tossing me a pillow, which I evitas before tossing him another.

A pillow fight ensued, as we bickered, insulted each other and said meaningless things until, after a sudden movement, I found myself right on top of him... our bodies inches apart... I blushed as old memories came back to me. I stammered a few excuses before sitting down again and for eating another cookie.

Well ... there's nothing left ... did I really eat it all? wow i hope this doesn't became an habit.

-"Tell me again why do i have to help you hyung?"

- "Because you have to be discreet, Jeongin, I told you! Since the other pseudo-detective has been trying to investigate the death of the former town councillor".

- "But we didn't do anything wrong, why should we care about him?"

- "Dare you tell me we really have nothing to complain about?"

- "It's okay, it's not like we killed him"

The oldest pauses for a moment before sighing heavily and continuing to clean the coffee with Jeongin's help.

- "Then I don't trust him, his father's a cop and his friend's taken the place of the former town councillor, here he's the one leading the dance".

- "Hyung, you're hiding something, aren't you?"

Minho chuckled before kissing his younger brother's forehead thoughtfully.

-Don't ask questions you already know the answer to.

-Channie ~ I missed you, you know? What can I do for our beloved Mayor?"

The aforementioned mayor greeted Hyunjin shyly before settling down at a table in a corner where no one would notice him and Hyunjin.

-A-As usual, please" he mumbled timidly, trying to put on a straight face.

- "Don't worry, I'll be right there" he said with a wink as he walked provocatively into the kitchen.

You see, Chan had been under a lot of stress lately with the whole murder thing, even though no further investigation had been carried out. And let's not talk about the villagers and policemen who demanded that Kim Seungmin stop trying to investigate, as he had a great talent for disrupting the whole town!

So that's what he did, he asked Jisung to summon Seungmin to his office and as he asked him to stop all activity, the latter refused and claimed that Chan was doing it to cover up for someone or to protect himself.

-It's not that... I'm only thinking of the welfare of the village-"

- "Nonsense! You're silencing a citizen who's trying to punish a criminal!"

- "Mr. Kim, calm down!

- "Of course you powerful people have nothing to worry about! Sitting behind a desk getting fat and ready to accept the slightest bribe!"

Offended, he got up to face him, not even noticing how his belly was starting to hang out of his shirt.

-Get out of my office! If I have to call the police, I will!

Seungmin turned and walked towards the door with an air of disinterested of his speech before adding "look at the file on your right, if you try to intervene against me again I'll have these photos published" before leaving the mayor's office.

Curious , Chan looked at the file and his jaw droppep when he saw that it was photos of him and Hyunjin kissing or about to go upstairs to one of Hyunjin's bed'n breakfast rooms. Enough to destabilize the oldest

-Is everything all right, Channie? Do you seem out of it?" Hyunjin asked, placing his order on the table "Do you need me to destress you?" He said with a look full of dirty thought

-N-No! Well, I wouldn't mind, but ... well ... argh it exhausts me".

Although the relationship between Hyunjin and Chan had so far been limited to sex, they were still good friends and could confide in each other without any problems. So as soon as Hyunjin realized that his state of mind wasn't just stress, he sat down beside him to reassure him: "Do you want to talk about it?

-That's it.

He handed the file to hyunjin, who took it in his hands to analyze its contents. He was quickly surprised to find that someone had been spying on them over the last few weeks. Now he understood better why Chan was so stressed! This kind of scandal could cost him his position as mayor and bring him down in his role.

-Whos the son of a bitch who dared to send you this?

- "It's... Kim Seungmin ... I told him I didn't want him to continue his investigation into Jung Wooyoung's death, but he insulted me for no reason and threatened me with this.

Hyunjin's blood boiled inside him. At that moment, he wanted with all his soul for Seungmin to pay for having caused so much harm to Chan, a good man with an unspeakable fantasy.

-You'll see, I'll take care of him.

-Jinnie ... I don't want anything bad to happen to you too".

- "Don't worry Channie, you know I wasn't just a model in the past, I know a few ways to make a busybody like Kim Seungmin swallow his tongue".

- "You're starting to scare me Hyunjin..."

- "Stay out of it Channie and eat, I've doubled your portions allrs porfite"

Hyunjin winked at him for the umpteenth time before moving off to other customers

-You know, Lixie, I feel bad doing this.

- "Don't say that Binnie, you know we had no choice."

- "I know, but... he didn't ask for it"

- "Listen, you know who asked us to do this and we owe him a great debt"

Changbin sighed deeply, realizing that Felix was right. Given their fantasies and fetish, which they openly share, they had been contacted to fatten someone up. Let's just say that things had gone well so far, despite a few circumstances.

-Jisung is going to come with Seungmin today?

-I don't think so, you know how he likes to keep it to himself, he's a real magnet with him".

- "I've never seen them together in the street but I guess you're right."

- "But of course we're cuter than them" added the youngest making Changbin giggle.

The couple took advantage of a brief moment when no customers were present to kiss chastely, while Felix let his hands wander along his husband's body.

-Do you need a chair, sweetheart? It must be so heavy to carry so much weight".

- "Please, Lixie, I feel my legs are going to give out at any moment"

The brunette giggled before slumping into the first chair Felix gave him, breathing heavily. Lately he'd become so fat that he needed a pair of pins to fasten his apron, even though it was useless as he spent most of his day eating or kissing his husband.

Outside, opposite the three stores, Seungmin was standing there, calpin in hand, Jisung at his side.

-Where do we start? asks Jisung

The youngest thinks for a few moments before coming to a decision.

- "We could go for Leebit's bite first, as they seem really suspicious, then Jinrinet bowl, as I bet Mr Bahng has spoken to him, and finish with Dwaekki and BbokAri's bakery.

Or start with Jinrinet bowl and finish with Leebit's bite".

-A difficult choice" commented Jisung.

As Seungmin prepared to choose. He decided to list all the potential suspects, from the most to the least suspicious, to make it easier to know where to start.

[groggydog]

The Familiar: Post-Mortem for a Crow

(originally posted here, on the IntFic forums)

Hi all. I wasn’t originally going to do this, but I got an itch and just wanted to have a final send-off for my beloved bird, Fran, and the world of Gennemont.

The Familiar was always intended to be an emotional piece, first and foremost. To that end, I believe that I was successful. But I have plenty of other thoughts about the game’s core pieces.

On Mechanics

From the start, I decided that I would take a more rudimentary approach to the puzzles with the full knowledge that it would almost certainly appeal less to the more experienced members of the IF community. That was fine by me. I wanted to share this with my parents, my nephews, my friends - none of whom actively play IF games. And I think I threaded things well enough that people were satisfied even if they viewed the puzzles as very easy.

Perhaps the best advice I received in terms of puzzle-making was when I was stuck on the final ingredient puzzle, and someone from the interact-if Discord recommended I follow the old Aesop fable about the crow and the stone, and it felt like such a duh moment to me that I just had to include it in my game.

(More on art and characters after the jump)

For the rest, I tried to have either multiple solutions to everything or enough interactivity (like with the letter-writing sequence which I think was really well-received) that it didn’t matter so much.

I believe that limiting the vocabulary to just a few words (TAKE, DROP, CAW, LOOK, PECK) was absolutely the correct path, even if it ended up limiting me in many very real ways. I think most of the critical feedback stemmed from that decision and the puzzles. There was always going to be a low upper limit on my puzzles’ complexity after I did that, but I think it’s just silly enough that it works overall. If I were a better coder, I might have done it in a more interesting way. But I’m not, and so I’ll take what I can get.

My code is a mess. It will never see the light of day. But if you have questions just DM me!

On Art

I spent so much time on that dang art, y’all. I needed six months to knock out 30+ pixel-art headers and even then it felt like a stretch. But again, this was important to me: I knew that pixel art would both play into Adventuron’s nature and heighten the emotional nature of the story. To that end, again, I think I was successful.

For all of you had said it felt like a Ghibli story - I could not have received higher praise. The background details of the story were certainly inspired by Ghibli, but much of the art was as well. I referenced heavily scenes from Howl’s Moving Castle and one my personal favorites, Kiki’s Delivery Service, to capture a specific tone and mood.

I used a combination of MS Paint and Aesprite to make my scenes. Aesprite was particularly useful for scenes where I needed to reference perspective lines and could change the opacity of layers. I would highly recommend purchasing it if you’re hoping to do something similar. Some things I cheesed, like using the “thought bubble” tool in MS Paint (translated, flipped, skewed) to make trees and blood/attack effects throughout the game. Adventuron also worked really well for this. I just made the images at 192x64px and the game engine happily scaled things up for me with no interpolation needed.

The piece I’m most proud of, however, is the owl. This thing took me at least a dozen hours of hard work. I know it’s silly to ramble on about art on an IF forum, but I do think these things elevated my game a lot.

There are some art pieces that I wish I could have had more time with: the Opera House in particular was challenging to me. But overall, I was quite pleased with the final portfolio for this game.

On Characters & Story

I am extraordinarily competitive by nature, and so of course a large part of me was hoping I might still squeak into Best of Show even as it became evident just how good my competition was.

But now, after all the ribbons have been awarded, what I feel is mostly just happiness that the stories and characters seemed to connect with people. Most of the praise for my game had to do with either the art or the characters, and it warms my heart to no small degree to hear that. I wanted everyone you interacted with in Gennemont (except, perhaps, the dapper man) to feel like they had a real depth to them. I think I managed to do that.

Again, drawing inspiration from Ghibli, I wanted to inspire both a little bit of sadness and a little bit of happiness throughout the game. There were the really silly bits like helping Cecile write her letter (which came to me as a random thought and I coded in a frenzy immediately), but I also think the direness of Fran and even Hazel the Dormouse’s situations came through without being overbearing.

I was also pleased that I seemed to have dialed in the intensity appropriately. You cannot lose the final encounter with Hunleff, of course, but I think it’s just scary enough that the thought enters your mind.

Especially [here] on Tumblr, Fran seems to have struck a chord. She’s plucky and brash in a way I never could be, and she just sort of sprung to life all on her own. It’s rare and so enjoyable to have a protagonist - especially in an IF game! - who does that. I have a new love and appreciation for crows as a result of researching for her. I also had a great time coding in things like the nearly three dozen types of CAW responses you could get. When the ribbons came in, I was tempted to just choose the “Sweetest Bird” one and be done with it. Fran made this game what it is.

The emotional heart of this story was always going to be Fran and her adventure, and despite the game’s other shortcomings I feel intensely proud with what I accomplished on that front. It’s hard to do it in a parser game, and I learned a lot in pursuit of that goal.

[goldieclaws]

The way the wisps appear in Legends Arceus always reminded me of something, until I eventually realised it made me think of the falling stars scene from Howl's Moving Castle.

So! I used the pose between Howl and Calcifer as a reference. Plus, it was fun to work with strong lighting :>

Reblogs are appreciated, thank you! 💖✨

Patreon | Tw//tter | AO3 | Itchio | Commissions

[alexandria-is-my-firstname]

*Ethan from your AU just shutting himself off from the world in a moldy bud.

(dang my heart can’t take this)

Btw would it take Ethan a lot of effort to look normal? I imagine that he’ll try to maintain his original look for as long as possible.

@sleepylabs

Mold bud?

.

.

Ight mold bud aside, Yeah Ethan would need a lot of effort to stay in human shape. Since my first post of the Monster!Ethan au, Duke gave Ethan an advice where he should concentrate and calm down if he wants to stay in human shape (concentrating on the shape he wants to take and staying calm so he won't go berserk or somethin'). There are ways Ethan would revert to his moldy monster form, notably,,,

.

Sleep,,,

You ever feel something heavy lifted away once you shut your eyes and drift off? Well, Ethen would revert back to his monster form whenever he sleeps but his moldy features grow out depending how long Ethan slept; 8 hours sleep would make Ethan fully transform, 4 hours would be half while a short 30 min nap would just be like the drawing below.

Basically, Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle but reverse, having the curse to activate whenever she sleeps and becoming young when awake,,,

.

And then stress,,,

Stress is the ultimate bitch and looking back at Ethan's journey from RE7-8, I'm afraid that he's screwed (the amount of limb-severing,,, family meetings,,, fucked up little girls,,, many,,, many scary shit man,,, how would you not stress out); from battling traumatizing monsters again, realizing you're dead the whole time, fearing for your daughter and wife's safety and becoming a monster yourself, of course you'll stress out (the stress acting as Ethan's disturbance and distraction from keeping himself human).

Another-basically, Eda and Lilith's Owl Beast transformation from The Owl House S2a but without the animalistic behaviors,,, or maybe I should add that *rubs hands with malicious intent*

(Frick that reminds me of the scene where Eda said "Why? Why should I be calm? I have a right to be UPSET!!", could fit Ethan but who's upsetting him? Hmmm,,,)

.

Little bonus sketch,,,

So uhh,,,

.

Whenever his mold features show up while Rose is visiting, Ethan would cover them up so he wouldn't worry her but uses the excuse that he's cold or somethin',,,

.

When Ethan transforms into his mold monster form, his clothes would rip into shreads and once he turns back human, he's clotheless,,, so,,, be mold do crime by stealing clothes from nearby neighbours in the town,,,

.

Another way for Ethan to stay human without concentrating or being calm, eat woodland creatures and drain their blood to give his megamycete-heart sustenance (honestly, i'm just slowly morphing Ethan into an OC of mines who has the same story and situation. Beside that tho, I was supposed to draw Ethan eating a bear instead of rodents, two reasons: thought it'd be cool and it's a Chainsaw Man reference),,,

.

[multisfabulis]

A Night for Revelry

Word Count: 6670

This is quite possibly the fluffiest thing I've ever written and that's saying something after almost 5 years of being on this site and writing some pretty fluffy fics. It was actually a challenge writing this with no angst (among other things) but I managed to get the hang of it after a little bit! I also didn't expect this to be this long but it was when I was writing the in-universe reason for why this became a thing in the rough draft and I saw it was about 1.4K words in that I was like "Oh". I originally thought it was going to be half this.

Anyway, how did this come to be? Well, I've shipped ChuuAtsu for about as long as DazAtsu (since 2016, so pretty long time) but I don't think it was until a couple years later I kinda came up with this cute scenario of Chuuya using his ability on Atsushi and being generally fluffy together, akin to the classic scene of Howl and Sophie from "Howl's Moving Castle". It wasn't till 2020, I believe, I finally developed further on this and I decided to write a date fic. However, there was one problem with this. It's a little embarrassing to admit but I've never been on a date so my experience with this kind of thing was nonexistent. Because of this, I apologize if some of this sounded too...normal or out of place, I was working off of my old perceptions of what a date is like.

Last thing I want to say is, I know there may be some issues regarding characterization here and there, along with some possible misconceptions with the restaurant scene. I tried my best with both of these and I hope reading this will be enjoyable for you!

(Below the Read More is the synopsis. I refer you to this post for why I chose not to post the full fic)

Read on AO3 | Read on DeviantArt | Support me on Ko-fi!

[grad604-workbook-dr]

Week 1 SDL 1-1_International Creatives

Kusama Yayoi

Yayoi Kusama is a painter, sculptor, and 'obsessional artist' from Japan who has been representing by using 'polka dots' in her entire creations. Her works have strongly affected the categories of Pop art and contemporary art. The forms of artwork are usually sculptures and street art which are suitable in a wide range of areas for displaying. Back to her childhood trauma, she had experienced a period in which value males more than females. On the other hand, Japan was conservative in the 20th century which all criticised her art style. Even affected her mental health and attempted suicide repeatedly. Her mental stresses turned to the passion and insane of creating her art, her unexpected world, and made her one of the world's representative artists.

Text/Image reference

Cole, R. (2019). Yayoi Kusama | Biography, Art, & Facts. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Yayoi-Kusama

Pound, C. (2018, September 26). Yayoi Kusama’s extraordinary survival story. Www.bbc.com. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180925-yayoi-kusamas-extraordinary-survival-story

Shinkai Makoto

Shinkai Makoto is a director, writer, producer, animator, editor, cinematographer, voice actor, manga artist and former graphic designer from Japan. There are some representative animate movies directed by him, such as Suzume (2022), Your Name. (2016) and The Garden of Words (2013). Each of them is the trend in the market of animation in Japan and worldwide.

The characteristic of his directed works is richly crafted, hand-drawn backgrounds and light patterns, with an emphasis on natural imagery. The background design is a reference to real Japanese streets. As same as the world he created in the movie, the cross-over between real life and virtual life is integrated into the plot. The theory is successful at creating a 'magical realism'.

Text/Image reference

American Cinematheque. (2023, April). Across Time and Space: The Films of Makoto Shinkai. American Cinematheque. https://www.americancinematheque.com/series/across-time-and-space-the-films-of-makoto-shinkai/#:~:text=Drawing%20inspiration%20from%20the%20legendary

FANDOM. (2013). Makoto Shinkai. Makoto Shinkai Wiki. https://makotoshinkai.fandom.com/wiki/Makoto_Shinkai

Mateusz Urbanowicz

Mateusz Urbanowicz is a Polish illustrator, artist and animator who moved to Japan for marriage and painting careers. He belongs to the Comix Wave Films animation studio with Shinkai Makoto. He participated in the scene design and main illustration of the movie 'Your Name' and 'Suzume', and the primary vision design of other movie posters.

He is passionate about the watercolour painting of old buildings. He found interest in the streets with alleys, temples and lower buildings which surprised Mateusz Urbanowicz like a 'surprise pack'. The illustration accumulated a long period and formed a book named 'Boutique de Tokyo'. Moreover, he is also passionate about short animation which represents his work produced individually.

Text/Image reference

Time Out Tokyo Editors . (2018, April 5). I, Tokyo: Mateusz Urbanowicz. Time out Tokyo. https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/i-tokyo-mateusz-urbanowicz

Urbanowicz, M. (n.d.). About Me · Mateusz Urbanowicz. Mateuszurbanowicz.com. https://mateuszurbanowicz.com/about/

Miyuzaki Hayao

Miyazaki Hayao is a representative animate director and illustrator in Japan. Also one of the co-founders in Studio Ghibli with Isao Takahata. The animated movies directed by him are almost all popular, such as 'Castle in the Sky (1986), 'Spirit Away' (2001), 'Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and he released his manifesto of retirement with his latest directed animation named 'The Boy and the Heron' in 2023.

Compared with his mature identity in person, the style of his directed animation is almost in a warm, comfortable mood with an exquisite stroke of character and worldbuilding. Moreover, a profound message usually hides behind the plot in each story, such as the environmental protection in the movie 'Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind' and the discussion of life in the movie 'The Boy and the Heron'. These characteristics form him a representative stage in the world.

Text/Image reference

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. (2014, November 3). ayao Miyazaki. Oscars.org | Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. https://www.oscars.org/governors-awards/2014/hayao-miyazaki

Ray, M. (2019). Miyazaki Hayao | Biography, Movies, & Facts. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Miyazaki-Hayao

Say HANA

SAY Hana is the pseudonym for an illustrator, digital designer and graphic designer from Taiwan. The actual name is Lin Hua. The characteristic of her artwork remains a bunch of details within the main character. The gorgeousness is not reduced even in the low-saturated tone of colour palettes.

One of her most famous projects is the 'Personification of Diseases', which is a project from TWCDC (Taiwan Center for Disease Control and Prevention) and other creatives from Taiwan. This project aims to let people gain knowledge about the diseases around the Earth without fearing facing the actual symptom shown in real photographs, such as COVID-19 or Syphilis. Even this project has a controversy of 'embellishing the actual disease'. The character design, the clothes style or decorative elements, and even the content of the magazine-type writing are all been criticised for the history, the symptom and the definition of disease accordingly.

Text/Image reference

Hua, L. (n.d.). https://twitter.com/sayhanawork?lang=en. Twitter. Retrieved August 16, 2023, from https://twitter.com/sayhanawork?lang=en

TWCDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). (2020). 【DISEASE│ #疾病擬人】 採訪、撰文｜超疾編... - 疾病管制署 - 1922防疫達人. Zh-Tw.facebook.com. https://www.facebook.com/TWCDC/posts/10158383047838407/?locale=zh_TW

WONDER. (n.d.). 終於明白，在自己的時區裡準時就好：插畫家林花用細膩筆觸打破框架，從創作理解自我、再以溫柔擁抱世界・WONDER 覺誌. WONDER 覺誌. https://wonder.am/2022/01/03/icreate-sayhana/

Hanatsuki

Hanatsuki is a pseudonym for a fashion designer from Japan. The actual name of the designer does not disclose. The work from Hanatsuki is groundbreaking at combining traditional clothes with contemporary trends. The colour palette of Hanatsuki's work is soft in ground tone and represents the traditional Kimono patterns. Hanatsuki published a book named 'GENDAI SOSAKU WAFUKU (Contemporary creative kimono)', which is a collection of Hanatsuki's provided work in several categories, and aiming to design contemporary cloth but also combine the beauty of traditions in Japan.

Text/Image reference

Hanatsuki. (n.d.). https://twitter.com/haruharu_sunny. Twitter. Retrieved August 17, 2023, from https://twitter.com/haruharu_sunny

花月. (2021). 現代創作和服. KADOKAWA.

Japanese Creative Bookstore. (2022, October 15). GENDAI SOSAKU WAFUKU (Contemporary creative kimono) – HANATSUKI ART WORKS. Japanese Creative Bookstore. https://japanese-creative-books.com/product/illustration/contemporary-creative-kimono-hanatsuki/

Design in Public Arenas - Auckland War Memorial Museum

These are the public locker decoration in the AM (Auckland war memorial museum). There are stickers of ancient 'bags' and 'vessels' on each locker. This is a playful strategy for decorating a locker and making them involved in the mood of the museum. It also increases the chance for people to gain knowledge once they select the locker and check the numbered list for each one of the cool ancient bags or vessels.

[feuqueerfire]

Midnight Museum Live Blogging

Last week of classes, have a billion things due, am also deep in the GeminiFourth trenches, but why not start this since it just finished

GMMTV YT

Ep 1 (Apr 5)

1-1

is that Aou? I can differentiate between Aou and Boom's faces but I can never remember whose name is which

pls not the moaning heard through the walls that turns to ? whispering and speaking

first the MM card had an animated map at the back and now someone with a glove picks it up?

1-2

oof rip not the answer he wanted to hear whether Dome remembered him. I saw a tiktok edit that was like what if it's like the Howl's Moving Castle thing, which I also haven't watched but know has to do with time travel

"Khun Dome" "You can drop the Khun" "Yes, Khun Dome"

Namtan :>

I wonder if Dome hears these noises at certain times/proemity to certain things like monsters

oh is this Zone 16?

wtf is that red eyed thing possessing Dome?

(Linguistics) Khathai refers to Dome as Nai - reminds me of Nobitinn using that for 2nd person pronoun with Gun as that in the beginning (My School President)

okay it's a bit scary, hopefully I won't get nightmares but it's certainly more supernaturally scary than the thrillers/horrors I've been watching recently, so maybe I'll be afraid rip

1-3

ooh ghosty little typewriter writing a story

pfft please the way the bride in the red dress ran away with Khatha T.T

oh, Lee

1-4

oh, the bride is Namtan's character?

Lee's character was also trapped in being the writer and reveling in the bride's pain? and he just faded away when the typewriter was stopped?

oooh June didn't know either that she was the bride, she just liked the dress and story. so I guess it's not just haunted items that find their way to the museum but without knowing, haunted people do too

also all this commotion seems to be unusual for the museum; Dome's doing?

I thought Khatha was gonna be more capable than he is thus far ngl he keeps getting captured or knocked out lol

That was pretty fun, even if the storytelling is erratic and chaotic so far. Also, very fun that the cameos are credited in the end (Lee and Aou for this ep) as well as Episode Title: The Bride In The Red Wedding Dress

Also, it's my first time watching something with Tor and Khatha looked really good with that gum... Also, I'm guessing he's centuries years old?

Ep 2 (Apr 5)

2-1

the blade cursed with animal sacrifice - Mike's the one who grabbed it right?

lmfao them carrying the corpse skeleton in a bridal carry

Winny wasn't there with them until now right?

ooh non-Petch twin beat up the snake and its blood soaked the dagger

lol I saw the unhinging-jaw monster twins on a tiktok

2-2

ew I do not want Foei and Piploy

Winny with a knife to the skull

snake monsters and frog monsters

2-3

What does Jib mean that Dome is different... was he not a good person before? Can't he remember?

2-4

lol Khatha and Dome moments just... gay

It (Winny) just taking a chunk out of one of the twins

sudden black eyes and commanding monsters from Dome

the healing properties of being in the museum for Khatha

oh there's some after-credits scene with the gathering of corpses and artifacts

Cameos: Mike, Winny, AJ, JJ

Title: The Poisonous-Animal Dagger

Ep 3 (Apr 5)

3-1

Khatha has lived for so long and has also come back from death

not these stalker photos

oh, so Khatha really did die for Dome right then? and came back again?

ah, so Khaha thinks we're dealing with reincarnation

oh the artifacts are gone?

lol this moth

oh, the moth infects Bright's character

Khatha has an immortality curse

Moths of memory kinda cool - so if it bites you, you get previous host's memories and if you eat it, you get previous host's memories

I kinda wish I hadn't seen those tiktoks of Midnight Museum cuz it was just all Bright being a stalker and breaking-and-entering lol - wonder what it would've been like if I hadn't known

lol unblurred knife - almost was like oh? but that's in fact Korean censoring

oof she still keeps polaroids

I was kinda hoping he'd already stab Zen

oh she does see him

3-2

oh moth blood gives him memories of their relationship

lol oh yeah I saw this clip of him looking so around (I thought he was jerking off) but so fun, I hadn't realized it came from moth blood

yaas wasn't expecting police criticism here "can't do anything because nothing serious has happened" "does someone have to die first for you people to do your job?"

oh crying Khatha

nooo don't go to his house D:

3-3

D: bro this is a nightmare, her ex is a creep stalker freak and her current bf is scary too

fuck Rin literally had her ex break into her house and be a freak -> get no help from the cops -> was raped by her bf -> is killed by aforementioned freak ex who then gets her memories by eating the moth

oh he bashed Zen's head in with the door

3-4

don't make me watch them be cute he killed her bro

oh his name is Moth?!

nooo resurrected monster Rin? poor girl :(((

oh I hope she kills him, gets her revenge

Zen's death wasn't painful or gruesome enough actually

why was her death so much brutal than his?

why is this Rin's ending idek what to make of it like yeah ig the moths made Moth that way but he still did in fact kill her, so even if he was a good guy before that (...questionable), Rin doesn't deserve to have to spend her afterlife with him

oh gross Bam gonna have to eat the moth

ohhh interesting, Dome has no memory - so maybe he really was a different person before the way Jib said

a missing corpse - oh Jib is fucking still going, the fucker

AouBoom photo? Boom cameo next ep?

oh lmfao Jib has vaporized and this magic ball has reached someone else

Credits: Bright, Pat, Joss

Title: Moths of Memory

I liked this ep when it focused on Moth being a creep and unstable because I think I just like the genre more than the speedy, shallow fantasy they're doing right now. However, I'm so tired of women just being brutalized by their bfs and ex-bfs in shows where that's not a main focus.

The writing is pretty shallow for Dome and Khatha like we're gonna learn more about their history and such but we still barely spend any time on them and I can't even complain because I do like the side stories more but that's a problem, why should the audience care about random small stories more than the main characters? Also, blagh CGI and visuals

Ep 4 (Apr 5)

4-1

AouBoom phone call 3 months before start of the show

oh, Boom's character was fucked from before

wait... Dome??? Boom is Dome? Dome is Boom's character?

Dome really just woke up as someone else?? and Khatha ran into him that day

oh so the people who live there also know that the old Dome was replaced by this new Dome - but what about Jib? How did he not realize?

Khatha and Dome have such gay vibes

who is the kid with the sphere artifact?

oh I saw Pawin in that preview for 1 second

4-2

the hazing here is so interesting, it really is going hard on the kids but also like appealing to girls

damn, did Auto really kill his friend

4-3

I was expecting Khatha to sneak in to get the artifact, not Dome

but I guess Dome is sort of alien or something or a messenger from a god since some galaxy thing was speaking to him

bruh ofc the artifact was picked up by a gloved hand and rolled to Atom and the people Atom killed are also waking up

4-4

the rock resurrected Jay

oh, Atom came to the museum to speak to them? Edit: on reddit on-air, they said he actually said "person inside the building" and they were saying Atom and Jay were actually part of a cult and we're assuming it's this cult

damn, this rock being passed around like a hot potato

Dome locking himself up since the rock is still in him

oh, we see how Khatha and Dome knew each other back in 1182 (Thai year, so probably a fewhundred years earlier in Gregorian)

Cameros: Indy, Java, Pawin, Boom. fun that we got to see 2 rookies, I don't know if I've seen them in other shows or not - okay according to MDL, this is Indy's first show and I'm not watching ABAAB where Indy has a role

Title: The Terrestrial Rock

Ep 5 (Apr 6)

5-1

Fah, hello :) Tu, hello :)

oh dang, Ing's husband's ex-wife is still haunting the apartment

Is Nisa gonna backstab Ing?

okayyy interesting side story

5-2

the piano teacher lady is Nisa right? maybe disguised? she's a menace fr lol

oh that jumpscare with the blanket got me

the husband is so useless and stupid lmfao

why is Nisa giving the magic salt to Ing and getting the family to be closer hmmm will she ruin it all soon? give her poison instead of magic salt? oh something with the neighbours instead?

5-3

lol did he mean to challenge the high priestess or whoever?

lol this auction... Idk how auctions work but these prices and the jumps seem so ??

I feel like Khatha is so bad at this like he kept getting his ass handed to him in fights even though I'd assume he'd be better and now he keeps fumbling repeatedly at the auction like ?? why did you buy that painting for 300M USD dumbass and not listen to Triphob at all

Dome looks like Katha's nong shai?

damn bruh why does priestess want the destruction and darkness

5-4

she's eating raw fish just like that?

oof so Nisa and the piano teacher are related to each other but not the same but are working together

surprise cannibalism

yes kill the father stab stab stab and then fuck each other up

ooh the evil ones are having fun with their protege

wtf where are they flying away? oh... the priestess? she's fucked in the head oh interesting okay so we're getting bit by bit more of the cult they that was mentioned in the end of the last ep

Khatha kneeling in front of Dome and putting the anklet on him - I don't think they're actual brothers but Triphob did say nong shai

ooh Nanon cameo next ep lmfao pls why are all these GMMTV male lead darlings playing such perverts

Cameos: Fah, Tu, Mook (oh, that's the piano teacher), Dao, Aon

Title: Salt

Dome being so meek sometimes is so boring like White was also new to things and not great at pretending to be Black but he was never so bland

Ep 6 (Apr 6)

6-1

Why are we learning about Christian creationism theology rn oof I should've suspected it after people said something about Christianity on the ep 10 on=air thread

oh i see Nanon's character is gonna be weird with the mannequins out of loneliness due to ableism

oh cult recruitment

oh, Antika thinks Dome is God and there's a guy in a cell?? or something who has met God?

oof, Nanon's character's monoloque is

oh, View

6-2

damn not us getting romance between Ton and Anne

bro Khatha and Dome aren't in love? fr?

oof Dome really not telling Khatha about Antika

6-3

Ton's gonna do something to the prostitute? D: omg Anne and Ton gonna take her leg or something?

Ton's lines about not allowing even God to do anything to Anne go so hard though

oh are they gonna try to get June's leg too omg

What's up with Ton's like game-like illusion on his face? What mystical being is he?

6-4

oh, is Ton talking to God when he says "even though I have to hurt your man" about Dome

oh, Ton's an artifact brought to life

oof, Ton became a mannequin again

Cameos: Nanon, View

Title: The Mannequin

Ep 7 (Apr 7)

7-1

oh a different non-Dome character who looks like Gun because "The Creator" likes the mold?

oh, his name's One

oh old Khatha met Dome-like person who was a witch?

7-2

old-Dome was named Chan?

Tay Tawan

I'm so bored, can they hurry up

would they actually kill of both Bam and Triphob in the span of 2 minutes, I doubt it

agh time travel back to the past why is this annoying

7-3

oh? Chan in that grey hoodie like the people in Antika's building - I wonder if that guy who said he'd met God was a follower of this Magician and was indeed talking about Chan

why do they keep stressing phi-nong so bad I'm rolling my eyes

so that's why Khatha has the staff, it's like the branch he used to use

7-4

old Khatha was the dumbest bitch alive and he's not gotten much smarter in the centuries since tbh

oh, this is the flames that Khatha saw in ep 2 or something in his visions

I can hardly feel a thing despite the tragedy and tears because it's due to such braindead stupid actions

Chan had cursed Khatha to immortality

as expected, Bam and Triphob aren't dead

oh, Nanon again? but he's not the mannequin anymore, he's The One?

no after-credits this time

Cameos: Tay Tawan, Guy (lmfao I didn't even recognize him)

Title: The Witch's Game

Ep 8 (Apr 7)

8-1

is that Tay's voice as God?

Eternity cult

December 20, 2012

I don't know these guys, though one of them looks kinda like Sky In Your Heart Mark

oh yeah 2012 end of the world

April 4 2023 calling Dec 21 2012 same guy. but current time in MM is March 2023

8-2

ah he's doing everything to bring this guy back and just witnessing him dying over and over again

yknow what is that gum that Khatha always eats

8-3

has Triphob been body-snatched orsomething

ah parallel universes

8-4

3 universes

bruh's in a mirror now? agh also why does he keep just bashing at the glass, can't he see June look back at him?

as expected, Triphob has been fucked with and he took away Dome's body

Cameos: Junior, Mark - oh yeah so it is Mark and also I think MarkJunior are a side ship in Cherry Magic or whatever

Title: The Payphone

Ep 9 (Apr 7)

9-1

oof missing teens

oh Tu's character isn't as brainwashed

lol Triphob telling Bam to give dating a shot to prove that he's the real Phob

oh so this is the devil and not god?

Bam's not dead lol too little fanfare

oof is miss girl Tu actually dead or will she be resurrected - lol as expected

9-3

oh Antika is Tay's granddaughter

9-4

oh all the children went to the moon? lol

no like what is the demon thing that materializes up every time she plays the piano?

oh, they're trying to bring back Chan but Dome isn't quite Chan

oh no way... Chan's body is actually that dark corpse thing

after-credits Dome's body wakes up

Title: The Hymns from Church

Ep 10 (Apr 7)

10-1

oh is the gum to not smoke?

so did destroying the corpse bring Chan back to life fr?

The One Nanon

10-2

why is there a moon-saving plot

it's just so weird how there's suchhh a romantic undercurrent to Katha and Dome's relationship like it doesn't feel sibling-like or platonic at all but with certain words they keep emphasizing phi-nong like what

whose voice is in the galaxy star thing? sounds like Tay somewhat but idk

oh Dome has taken over Nanon's The One body

10-3

feels like an easy fight to defeat Chan in the end

bro this death scene is so fucking gay

10-4

oh yeah I do feel the "they say we have choices but we actually have no choices" hard

girl 1943?

i don't get what Nanon The One's whole thing was but tbh he's fun so whatever ig

Bam forgot everything?

how tf did Tum go to a diff universe with 3 moons like 2 decades ago okay hold on let me not think about it

Boon Tay Tawan still alive and they're setting up a 2nd season but will it even happen/would I watch it

Title: The Magician's Embodiment

Overall:

I liked the first half with the artifacts and side stories more than the second half where they tried to do too much for a short runtime, not too much budget, and mediocre writing skills. I couldn't make myself care about Khatha or Dome and also it was funny how they kept emphasizing phi-nong with words but so romantic in action. I wish the fantasy and magic and parallel universes and time travel and cult and God and whatever else made more sense together.

Rating: 5.5/10