#i'm working through the rest of my asks

[faith-thee-slayer]

Buffy/Faith for the ship ask game? (But if you've already been asked that, then Fred/Gunn.)

buffy/faith: 1000% yes like it's a known fact at this point

idk where to even begin with what made me ship them, they just have so much to work with. the perfect enemies to lovers setup. the mirror selves meeting each other. the heartbreak and betrayal. the "things could've been different between us but they were also always doomed to turn out how they did." the "you are the only person in the world who understands me but i can't stand you." the attempted murder. the actual murder. the angst. the chemistry. i remember on my first ever watch of s3, i actually thought they were gonna kiss at some point because the tension was so palpable

favorite things about the ship: see the above, lol. i'm obsessed with how they don't realize how much the other cares about them. that's where so much of the tragedy takes place

i’m not sure if i have any unpopular opinions about them... i think for fuffy to successfully work, they’d have to get together sometime post-comics, like in their 30s. also i don’t believe that it was buffy’s fault for how faith turned out, i think that was sadly a series of events bound to happen

fred/gunn: YES

i can’t remember the specific episodes, but right around the middle of ats s3 when they become closer and start dating, i was sold. they are so precious. that one breakfast date they have where they look into each other’s eyes and place their hands on the bill is tooth-rottingly sweet

i love how gunn is usually a tough guy, and then soft only for fred. and how everyone calls gunn “gunn” but fred calls him by his first name. it’s simple, but tender

i don’t think this is an unpopular opinion but they could’ve easily got back together at some point, even after gunn killed that professor. (as if her relationship with wesley somehow made more sense...)

[andsewingishalfthebattle]

Novice sewing pattern: Cut out shapes. Line up the little triangles on the edges. Stitch edges together. We've also included step-by-step assembly instructions with illustrations.

Novice knitting pattern: yOU MUSt uNDerstANd thE SECret cOdE CO67 (73, 87, 93) BO44 (63, 76, 90) 28 (32, 34) slip first pw repeat 7x K to end *kl (pl) 42 * until 13" (13, 13, 15) join new at 30 pl for 17 rows ssk 27 k2tog mattress lengthwise BO and sacrifice a goat to the knitting gods. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WANT "INSTRUCTIONS," I JUST GAVE THEM TO YOU

[deoidesign]

I can't wait for this to come back!!! >>> when is this coming back?

[zylphiacrowley]

tent — for the single-word drive!

Only 14 summers old, X'vahl had ran as far away from home as his legs could take him. He ran until his lungs burned and his feet bled from the straps of his sandals digging into his skin, stopping only when his body wouldn't allow him to go any further. Gathering a small amount of reserve strength, he put the survival skills his father had taught him to use in their first real world application and set up a small camp. It wasn't much, just a meager campfire and a tent to sleep under. It wouldn't protect him from any wild animals, but it would at least shield him from the elements. As he sat in front of the fire, he desperately pleaded with his mind to stop replaying the images of his dad's brutal death. Was it not enough to have witnessed it first hand? When his eyes could no longer keep themselves open, he curled up in his small tent and fell asleep. Perhaps as a mercy, he did not dream that night.

This one had me stumped for a while, and I almost requested a new prompt. I'm glad I didn't though because this set allowed me to learn some new things, or at least test some things I've been wondering about for a while. Learning how to make a male miqo'te child/young teen in-game was certainly a challenge but I'm overall pretty satisfied with how this turned out.

Also forgive my weird writing. I haven't written anything like this in ages and honestly I'm mildly self-conscious about it but I felt that I wanted to include at least some context for this set. I also wanted to at least try to write something again and see where I'm at with my writing again since it's something that I've been wanting to start doing again.

[mccleans]

tiptoeing on the edge of a panic attack at work

[goleb]

Dose Roy or Maxwell have any siblings?

Indeed they both do!

Roy has his twin sister, Rose. I elaborated on their relationship a little in this post before: they're best friends :Dc

Coincidentally, Maxwell also has a twin, Patrick. He inherited the confidence when they were splitting personality traits, and is the aspiring musician to Maxwell's aspiring writer. He is never seen without his hat on - one time Max got a hold of it to wash it, which normally wouldn't be a problem but the thing was a good decade old at that point and it got a little tattered. Neither of them were happy that day. Max even contemplated asking Roy to hide him from the shame at one point.

There's also Trevor, who's a couple years younger than the twins, and still in his edgy phase. He doesn't leave his room often (at least until he gets his first car). We love him nonetheless.

[acornered]

Ashamed, exhausted, food repulsed. Wish my gf was here so at least I could be held through the agony.

[loumauve]

I snapped today at work, and by snapped I mean I politely commented on a help desk ticket by summing up an mess of an (type of) issue that's come up for at least the fourth time in the 2+ months I've been managing user accounts, and asked the person responsible to fix it (himself for once) because last time I fixed his mess-up it took me two whole days to work out the details with at least four other colleagues from different departments and I really don't want to do it again. there's other shit that needs doing, I've been working 10+ hour days for most of this week already, so I need to cut down not add on more.

(good thing tho - at least we managed to fix the issue where the dataset of a newer employee got mixed up with another one of the same name and therefore wasn't able to apply for any of the access/accounts she needed. technically not entirely my area but it does impact us not being allowed to create an account for her so I figured I might as well track that issue down. took three days and at least three other people, but hey - it should all work out now. yay for that)

[anto-pops]

Firstly, THANK YOU ??? YOU'RE WAY TOO SWEET, I'm so beyond flattered you hold my work in such high regard :')) 💘

Secondly, I'M HOOKED THIS IS SO GOOD TO IMAGINE !!! I've been wanting to write something for Dark!Ominis for a while, but I was having a hard time figuring out why he would go back on his core beliefs that way and you absolutely sold me with this !!

I love the concept, and thank you for all the juicy descriptions ! It'll help astronomically, I'm gonna save the actual ask in my inbox so I can reference it later on. As per usual I can't ensure when I'll get around to this, but I'm definitely thinking I'll bump it up the list. It's a want/need/insatiable desire/whatever the hell you want to call it 😩🙏🏻

[quietlyblooms]

oh i'm sad. i'm thinking about chiyo fighting back against her bullies at first; i'm thinking about her strong voice and burning gaze and cutting words; i'm thinking of shoves that were returned and pain that was endured bc she'd never cry in front of them; i'm thinking of the friends she reprimanded, the unbearable frustration eating her alive bc if they didn't spit accusations her way, all they could do was look guilty.

i'm thinking of the day it all became too much. i'm thinking of the day that chiyo realized nothing would change despite all her fighting, all her bravery. i'm thinking of the day she finally gave up, inconsolable as she begged her parents to let her stay home. she couldn't keep doing this. she was utterly alone in her efforts, and what was the point in being brave when it only led to more grief? she was so tired, so hurt. she couldn't keep doing this.

so she didn't. her parents didn't make her. and chiyo grew up tired and hurt and afraid to be brave again. it was fine, though, bc she had her family. her cousin naoki seemed to understand her better than anyone, and her grandmother seemed to understand what she needed better than anyone. growing up wasn't so bad. her parents loved her, made her happy as they could. yet there was a distance between them. there was always a distance she tried to keep, even with them. she was guilty. she didn't want to worry them. she was tired. she didn't want to explain herself.

and now? she's still tired, still hurt, still afraid of being brave. but she's trying not to be, and that's all she can do. try.

[fireheartedpup]

3 7 17!!!

Hi!!

A song you’d choose to introduce someone to your favorite genre:

Uhhhh. I used to use Wanna Talk About Me to convince people country isn't that bad. It worked.

This is how I was introduced to it btw:

These days I'm more likely to recommend someone like Darius Rucker (Wagon Wheel, it was all over every popular radio station here a few years back) because uhhh I am not a conservative Christian anymore. It's been. Interesting. I hate it, honestly. I'm glad I know better now, but believing in something was simpler.

I was thinking the other day. That the fact that I don't want to let go of things like this is probably related to how the church told me to get rid of everything "demonic." I got rid of some comic books I loved because of that. They burned a tapestry I got on a mission trip (while we were still on the trip) because of that.

I don't want to burn it. I want to keep what it means to me and leave the bad shit behind.

Anyway. I don't know if most people know that Darius Rucker is black. I keep meaning to build a list of black country musicians, because they get a lot of flack from racists.

I don't actually have a favorite genre. This one is just inextricably linked with my upbringing.

A song you know every word to:

I'm slowly memorizing most of Dessa's discography, I think. Very thankful for the person who introduced me to The Bullpen.

Yes, it's Marvel. The editing is great. Shh.

Dessa has this line in Dutch that says

"I keep Pope in glovebox, Plath on the dash"

I think that's a good way to summarize her writing. There's a play on words every other line. It's the sort of shit I could probably write essays about. I love her.

You kind of have to be in a specific mental place to appreciate her, I think. I wasn't ready for her at first when another blogger on here started mentioning her. Most of her lyrics are kinda moody and jaded. It felt oppressive until I got sad enough.

She tried to write an upbeat song and came out with something melancholy. She kept trying and came up with one of my favorites, and she's still comparing love to a business transaction. I'm obsessed with her.

"Sealed with a kiss, signed with an epipen

You gotta tolerate some risk if you wanna make a margin

Wanna make a friend? We can live a little large and split the dividends"

Listening to an album feels like reading a book. I like to mix it up most of the time, but sometimes it's time to just listen to a Dessa album again.

If anyone wants a simpler option, I sang Can't Help Falling in Love to myself at least three times today. There's a lot of options here, really.

A cover song:

Haley Reinhart's version of Benny and the Jets. First time I'd heard a woman growl. I want bucketfuls of this please. I'm not kidding, please give it to me

[ereborne]

Song of the Day: May 3

"Life Less Frightening" by Rise Against

[imminent-danger-came]

Sorry if you‘ve been asked this before, but since we know you‘re fav lmk characters, I was wondering what you‘re favorite duos and trios were?

And/or however many characters you wanna group together. Just in general, the character dynamics you find neat!

(My guess is that MK and Mei are somewhere on the top of the list- if not THE top)

One of my favorite things about lmk (of which there are many lol), is that you could throw two darts, and whatever two characters the darts land on are bound to have an interesting dynamic.

One of my favorite episodes is the Sandy and Huntsman episode (2x08), Tang and Macaque also have an intriguing conflict in 3x08, and Pigsy and Chang'e (3x07) have such a heartfelt shared passion that you can't help but enjoy their on screen time together.

I'm someone who wants a sort of Ne Zha and Yellowtusk "we reluctantly work together" arc, where even though Yellowtusk may have helped nearly bring the world to it's destruction, he ultimately helped save it, and he also happens to know a thing or too about keeping the Jade Emperor's power contained. I think it'd really fit in with lmk's "past mistakes vs making the right choices now" theme—in all honesty Yellowtusk has already paid his time with an eternity spent in the scroll—and now he can truly help make a better world. I think it'd be a neat way to keep him involved in the story, give Ne Zha someone to bounce off of (they both view power as sacred and a huge responsibility, unlike Wukong for example who is much more flippant with power), and would give some juicy drama ("You would betray your brothers?") between Peng and Yellowtusk later down the line.

Though anon you're 100% right, MK and Mei are at the top of my favorite dynamic list lol (They're whole motivation is to protect each other out of 100% platonic love. Obsessed with them). I'm also really partial for the MK, Mei, and Sandy trio that pops up here and there (1x03, 1x04, 3x04, 3x06). Traffic light trio is a treat, and the sunburst duo has my heart forever and always (I love seeing the way MK and Wukong's relationship has developed over the course of the show, both for the better and worse). Pigsy and Tang are always a delight (thank you 1x04, 2x03, 2x04, 3x05, 4x04, and specifically the line "Sometimes it's that little bit of char that makes for a more flavorful meat! Even if it is a bit tangy."), they're definitely at the top of my list. Obviously I like shadowpeach, and shadowpeach + MK (ooooo the monkeys are such delicious/tragic foils oooo), and I think Mei and Wukong have a really interesting dynamic (Wukong seeing Ao Lie in Mei, Mei viewing Wukong as someone who has hurt MK). Wukong and Azure's dynamic is also super interesting (Azure with his unrequited crush and heartbreak), so is LBD and MK's (could talk forever about these two), however I'll cut this off here since I could probably go on for a long while about this specific topic.

[meownotgood]

do yk when under the influence chpt 2 will be out 🥺🥺🥺🥺🫶

EVENTUALLY I SWEAR I CAN'T SAY WHEN BUT EVENTUALLY... BEFORE THE WORLD GETS SUCKED INTO A BLACK HOLE AND EXPLODES..... EVENTUALLY

this past month has just been crazy busy for me with work related things so I've hardly had the time or energy to write :,) I found some time to work on it today and I'm hoping to work as best I can this month before the crazy holiday bs next month!! I can't thank you enough for your patience 💞

[hirazuki]

Maedhros and Mairon + 49

…out of necessity | Maedhros & Mairon

•────────────────────⋅☾ ☽⋅────────────────────•

Aman, somewhere in the north. Fourth Age.

"And you are absolutely certain I cannot persuade you to come?" Maedhros asks, only half in jest, over the rim of his near-depleted glass.

Mairon tucks away the warm bloom of pleasure he feels at the Elf's clear approval of the vintage -- made from fruit harvested just over the hill; he has been experimenting, in the hope of finally discovering a drink to his own liking -- and casts a withering glare at him instead, of the kind that once flayed servants and kings alike and stayed dragons in their tracks.

His visitor, true to form, remains entirely unaffected.

The Maia clicks his tongue and runs a subtly-clawed hand through a strand of hair that has fallen over his eyes, examining its ends before flicking it back.

"No, thank you," he declines, feigned sweetness and a hint of fang slipping in, in reminiscence of bygone days. "I have no desire to mire myself in the politics of Valinor and Tirion and Tol Eressëa and whatever new settlement the latest group of reembodied discontents has elected to erect."

Maedhros chuckles into his glass, with sympathy and, likely, no small amount of envy -- he does not possess the luxury of choice in this matter -- before he drains it.

To say receiving him had been a surprise -- wine-dark elegance walking down the garden path to his doorstep, his Fëanorian finery a far cry from the remembered bronze and battered steel; hair, once and forever, a bloodstain in the sun -- would be to say the Grinding Ice was cold.

Awkwardness and cautious circling had gradually given way to unspun talk of things both great and small, held over sectioned wooden plates and light-colored tea in patterned cups; Mairon eagerly lapping up every scrap of information offered, starving mind ever at odds with his self-imposed isolation in the wilderness of Aman's empty north. He'd come here in pursuit of peace -- to remove himself from the noise and the tangle, the unbearableness of eternity's everyday; and the price for soothing his spirit was boredom. There was a line between too much quiet and not enough, and it was as gossamer stretched between the trees.

Neither had the irony been lost on him: he who, once, had stood on sheer precipices, feeding news of the world below to hungry ears upon its peaks. An unthinkable case of turned tables.

The paltry heat of the day -- a ghost of the burning summers across the sea -- had eventually faded into bland evening, with a suggestion of night-flowers in the air too timid to be truly called a scent. They had barely noticed, until firelight hair started shining brighter against the window panes.

Mairon has enjoyed this far more than he would have anticipated; certainly more than he will ever admit. He supposes he should not be surprised at it -- he has been alone since coming here, after all, and Maedhros has always proved to be intriguing, intelligent company, even in throes of imprisonment; even in torture.

Fëanor's eldest stands, apology on his lips. "I should be returning; it is some way to Formenos, and there are those among my family with a predilection for hasty conclusions; regardless of however little actual information they possess." His face does something complicated, that echoes the tightness the Maia feels in his chest. "I did not think I would stay so late."

Mairon pauses, halfway to standing himself. "You did not tell anyone where you were going?"

"Should I have?"

The former Lieutenant of Angband -- Gorthaur; Sauron; the Second Dark Lord and erstwhile Lord of Mordor -- stares at him, blankly.

Maedhros laughs, and it is the same mirthless, rueful laugh he remembers from a different land under a different sky, if somewhat filed down around the edges by time spent in silver vapors and vast caverns that trail below the seas.

"And what designs do you have on me, here in Aman?" the Elf asks him, with a manner that is heedless of the eggshells others have strewn all about him since his return to the West, and it feels like the fire coursing through his veins when he runs after being confined for too long. "What have you ever done towards me, in person, other than argue yourself hoarse to have me unhung?"

Oh. He'd noticed. His one-time prisoner had noticed, somehow, through the haze of blood and pain and stinging northern winds. Mairon is not certain how he feels about that.

"I dislike waste," is the response he settles on; it is not a lie. "And you forget too easily."

"I have not forgotten anything," Maedhros assures him, and holds up his left hand to look at the yawning black that graces its reincarnated palm. "I simply think I am no longer in a position to cast stones."

Mairon looks at it, too.

He thinks of Celebrimbor, of how he has heard that his shirts are always sleeved to the wrist and he avoids eating with knives, and of Maeglin, and how he shirks high places, and of the blistered skin still stamped around his own throat, a collar fashioned of previous flesh and soul-carved fear that hounds him in every form.

Is it the same for a Vala? he wonders, suddenly; does Melkor also wear the wounds of an old life? He has not seen him, yet, though Nienna has reached out.

"I have not been for a long time." Maedhros' voice is a half-whisper, but it draws him out from where he has fallen into his own head, before he can sink in deeper to drown in the sirenic call of afterthoughts long dead.

He watches him take out a glove from a pocket in his cloak and, using his teeth, pull it over his hand.

"You keep it hidden?"

The question is intrusive, insensitive, and wholly involuntary -- Maedhros has not shown any indication that the burn of the Silmaril bothers him, and the care with which he covers it now strikes the Maia with the suddenness of hammer upon anvil.

"I grew tired of both pity and censure," comes the answer -- raw in honesty and distressingly intimate, it devastates like Song.

And yet, Fëanor's firstborn leaves his right wrist bare for all to see. Perhaps it is because the injury is older, Mairon thinks; or, perhaps, it is that some scars are more private than others.

He catches Maedhros smiling at him, and at the hand he did not realize he has raised to cradle his own neck.

The Elf says nothing, and turns to make his way to the front door.

Mairon follows; it is only proper to walk him out.

He is about to bid him goodnight on the threshold, in the fashion of old Beleriand, when Maedhros leans forward and places a quick touch of his lips on him, once on each cheek.

Mairon stills, for the span between seconds, before flinching back. "What are you doing?"

"Satisfying the demands of Noldorin etiquette," Maedhros replies, brow slightly creasing under the plain band of burnished copper that goes around his head. "I should have thought you familiar with all our customs."

Mairon retreats within his mind and quickly flips through the tome of his life labeled 'Eregion' -- still within easy reach, though riddled with dust and disuse.

There is nothing there.

Curious; but, it is possible the Elves of Ost-in-Edhil -- Tyelpë, in particular -- had kept more of a distance from him than he'd been led to believe. Despite the long winters and the late nights and the celebrations, there had always been a boundary between Elf and Maia: too insubstantial to ever be commented on, just solid enough to be vexing. That, or they had left some traditions behind when they had crossed over the mountains, alongside everyone else, in the wake of rising water and incalculable loss.

None of that is pertinent, however, at the moment. What matters is his old counterpart standing before him, the lingering trace of foreign warmth on his face, and his ever-burning need to know.

"And what does it signify?"

"It means," Maedhros begins, speaking words that Mairon could not have imagined existed on the other side of howling cliffs and deep fire and wretched hallowed light, "that it is good to see you again."

[legolasghosty]

oh shit i forgot to send a new one! brain mush.

uh. let's say 75 please?

No worries, thanks for sending these, they're really nice!!! More Holograms (and the introduction of I think the last major character...)

Julie laughed and followed her brother in, Reggie and Alex on her heels. Fuego was standing beside the receptionist’s desk. He looked up and smiled when he heard them approach.  “Ah good, I’ll let Mr. Covington know you’re here.” He turned away from them, pink nails clicking against his tablet. Julie was about to ask about the agenda for the day when she heard a crash behind her. She whirled around to see Alex lying on the floor, someone else practically on top of him, clearly having just bowled him over. “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry,” the new person exclaimed, scrambling to their feet and holding out a hand to Alex. “I wasn’t even looking.”

(Send me a number and I'll write that many words in my WIP and show you!)