#i've been editing and re-editing this post for like a week. i'm just gonna post it and pray to god for mercy at this point

[incesthemes]

dean gets aggressively sexual in his comments about meg in 1.16 shadow immediately after finding out that sam met her while they were separated in 1.11 scarecrow, in a way that he isn't with sam's other love interest in the first half of season 1, lori in 1.07 hook man. it's rather more reminiscent of how he acted during his brief moments with jessica.

his first interaction with her is to "compliment" her boobs, right in front of sam—it feels as though he's trying to stake a claim, put her down (in her place, perhaps), assert a sense of dominance over her. in shadow, this weird, sexual fixation surfaces again with meg, and dean can't stop pressuring sam to fuck her or insinuating that sam has already fucked her.

the only noticeable difference between lori, jessica, and meg is that dean was present for the formation of the relationship with lori. but meg—sam never even mentioned her. they met when dean wasn't around, when sam was living his own life. on top of that, meg accused dean of treating sam like "luggage" and dragging him around—implying that sam would leave if he could.

comparing lori and meg, it comes off then that dean is feeling threatened here, abandoned yet again by his brother, and indeed the insults meg slings at him in the beginning of the episode resurface during their emotional conversation when sam says he plans on going back to school. meg has come to represent sam leaving him, and throughout the episode he overcompensates for his insecurity by channeling it all into this invasive sexual commentary.

what this ends up implying is that dean wants to fuck his brother.

dean’s fear of abandonment presents as such that he always feels sam is one wrong move from leaving him and going off on his own. it’s a deeply anxious attachment, and he ends up overanalyzing every interaction they have and misinterpreting any attempt on sam's part to put or maintain distance between them as total, unambiguous abandonment.

and in scarecrow, sam really did abandon him by splitting off from dean and making his way to california (or at least, that was the intent). scarecrow is the realization of dean's core fears: sam will eventually leave him, sam wants to leave him, and in the end they’re only together out of convenience.

and now dean finds out that sam met a girl while they were separated.

the conclusion he must have reached is that sam will inevitably leave him in favor of a girl: at stanford he had jessica, here he has meg. both times he and sam were apart, sam found a (pretty, blonde) girl to get close to. the girl therefore comes to represent sam's abandonment, or rather the goal of sam's abandonment: to find what dean can't give him.

because if sam secretly doesn't want to be around dean, then dean isn't providing an environment or a relationship that sam would want to be in. sam wants to leave, so dean is somehow inadequate.

that feeling of inadequacy, both in the pilot and in shadow, manifests through a sexual lens, just as sam's abandonment is represented by the girl. by putting these examples together, dean is seeing the impetus of sam's abandonment as something sexual: sam wants sex with girls (and a stable relationship beyond one-night stands), so he is leaving dean to find that. this connection is so strong to him that he's ignoring sam’s actual feelings and displacing his own biased perspective onto sam.

dean cannot fathom sam interacting with meg platonically, and this is rooted in his feelings of inadequacy and fear of abandonment. dean believes he can't satisfy sam's needs to an extent that will prevent sam from leaving him, which according to dean are sexual in nature. he can't (or won't) put out for sam, so sam is going to leave him. and to hide these fears (from sam, from himself), he gets sexually aggressive about the women who threaten to steal (or succeed in stealing) sam away from him.

or: dean won’t fuck his brother, so sam fucked off and found a girl who will.

[teriwrites]

about me: a writeblr re-re-re-introduction

Hello! My old pinned post is officially over a year old and makes me cringe whenever I'm on my blog, so it's time to freshen things up again!

me

I'm Teri, I'm smack dab in the middle of my 20s and figuring out life. My writing is pretty exclusively original stuff, a lot of novels and a lot of fantasy, but I play around with various genres in short stories. Sort of a jack-of-all-trades in regards to hobbies - aside from writing, there's anything from baking to drawing with my ancient art tablet to cross-stitch to playing music to rambling around the patch of woods near my house to watching long-form D&D let's plays.

my goals

I recognize that every time I post something like this, it's with the intention of finally becoming as active on writeblr as I was during the pandemic. I also recognize I've never quite managed that.

So here are some more general goals to get me through 2024:

Finish my 2nd draft of Beyond Alder Creek

Write as cringey and brutally honest as I never allowed myself to as a teenager.

Speaking of, a large reading/writing goal of mine is to go back through every NaNo draft I've ever written (I've participated since 2011). So aside from just reading that and likely turning it into a whole spectacle on here for people's amusement, generally just survive reading through the writing from 8th grade. Stay tuned for more on that in the coming weeks lol

Finally, I have a general goal every year of reaching 100K words, between writing and editing and the like, but I'd happily be a little looser with that goal if it meant getting through others.

And now, without further ado:

my writing

Before I get specifically into WIPs, a general overview of the kind of writing you can expect from me:

As I said, I'm a fantasy nerd. I love worldbuilding, both on a large scale (nations and cultures and political relationships) and a small scale (a magic shop in an otherwise contemporary setting).

There's not a lot of romance in my writing, but there Are a lot of transformational relationships and codependency. Friendships, siblings, guardians, general ride-or-dies.

Thought experiments. I've been trying to catch and indulge more in my 'wait, what if?' ideas. Sometimes, that's fun little snippets of silly ideas, sometimes it's a majorly emotionally heavy scene for a story I'll never write. Sometimes, it's coming up with ideas to 'combine genres'. It's all about expanding the range.

wips*

Beyond Alder Creek /// draft 2 /// tag: bac

Winnie Pewitt has never believed in the fae. That is, until her little brother disappears, and she stumbles upon a faerie ring on the edge of town. Inside, a man seemingly carved from gold suggests that he knows who took the boy. With everyone else around their hometown accepting her brother's fate as certainty, Winnie takes it upon herself to craft the perfect deal and enter the realm of the fae with her new companion in tow.

The Lies in the Legend /// draft 1 /// tag: litl

The fictional autobiography of an elven noblewoman who rose rapidly in station and influence from an unremarkable youth to a diplomatic powerhouse. Spanning centuries during the prime of her life, Lady Ghislaine Agassi charts the course of her career and reputation, and highlights the dangers of making myths out of our idols.

*Though these are my primary WIPs, I have a page that covers various other WIPs and projects that I've brought up over the past few years.

I think that about covers everything! As always, I can't make any promises about how the year will wind up and where it takes us. But I will say, I've actually been writing recently, and yk I'm just gonna ride that high.

And for fun, here's some random facts about me:

fun facts

I have degrees in psychology and music!

I've lived across three continents, but currently live in upstate New York for whatever reason lol

The animals I've ridden on the back of include: horse, pony, elephant, and ostrich. The horse was my least favorite. By far.

I got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes a couple months after Covid landed stateside (in May 2020) and am Always ready to talk someone's ear off about it.

The first story I ever wrote was on PowerPoint and was about war breaking out between humans and aliens that had taken refuge on Earth after their planet was destroyed. I was 8. There was a Lot of Clipart involved.

I've never been published, but I once secretly planned out, wrote, edited, and self-printed a couple copies of a novel about my best friends and our college apartment. They received it for Christmas last year and loved it (or at least were kind enough to tell me they did)!

[bvckandeddie]

Tumblr Fandom: A Year in Review 2023

i was tagged by @captain-hen, thank you! 🥰

i was tempted to skip the top five blorbos/fandoms/pairings section because let's be honest, it's really only been buck and eddie for the entire year, but i do have other interests even if i'm not as involved in them as i am in buddie. so enjoy learning more about my ao3 history, i guess? 😂

top 5 blorbos:

evan "buck" buckley (9-1-1)

eddie diaz (9-1-1)

roy kent (ted lasso)

clint barton (marvel)

billy butcher (the boys) (i literally started watching this show two weeks ago but y'know what? i'm adding it. butcher is just so blorbo shaped.)

top 5 fandoms:

9-1-1

avatar: the last airbender (for anyone who doesn't know, my atla sideblog is @zukkababey!)

marvel

ted lasso

teen wolf

top 5 pairings:

evan buckley/eddie diaz (9-1-1)

roy kent/jamie tartt (ted lasso)

clint barton/bucky barnes (marvel)

arthur/eames (inception)

billy butcher/hughie campbell (the boys)

shoutout to some new friends:

i've talked to so many new people this year who have really made me feel included in the 9-1-1 fandom, namely @devirnis, @colonoscopys, @shitouttabuck, @housewifebuck, @eddiebabygirldiaz, @vampbuckley and @buck2eddie. i love seeing you all in my notifications, and so many of you have been so encouraging, especially during my writing drought that's been persisting for months. y'all are great 🥹🫶

shoutout to some old friends:

i'm kinda new here but @eddiediaaz, i'm pretty sure you were my first ever 9-1-1 mutual that i talked to and you really made me feel so so welcome in the fandom when i posted my first buddie fic back in 2022. i will always be grateful for that and you!!! ❤️

favourite creation you posted this year:

it's definitely gotta be what a heart can do. i love dad buck so much, i had such a fun time writing it, and i think it's some of my best storytelling. it makes me really happy that so many people have read and enjoyed it!

favourite creation posted by someone else this year:

THIS VIDEO by @butchdiaz. holy fucking shit. i'm sure everyone reading this has already seen it, but ohhhhh my god. this video rearranged my molecules. i can't listen to ceilings without thinking about it. the way you edited it to match so many important buddie moments, it genuinely makes me feel so insane. i re-watched it last night and i'm still vibrating just thinking about it.

people who brightened your year:

so many people!!! @negansmiith made a graphic for hurt locker that basically made my whole year! it is saved in my camera roll and i look back on it frequently. 🥰 @housewifebuck made a beautiful hat that i am genuinely obsessed with. check out their shop!!! anyone who has ever read my silly tags on a post i reblogged and dm'd me to chat about it—i love you.

anyone else you'd like to mention:

everyone who has read my fics or commented on them telling me your thoughts, thank you. seriously. just know that when i read your comment(s), i was twirling my hair and kicking my feet back and forth and squealing and smiling so hard my cheeks started to hurt. every single comment made 2023 that much brighter.

five of your favourite authors this year:

@gayhoediaz - every time i get an email that you've posted a buddie fic, i know that i have a bedtime story for that night. i know it's gonna be a good one, every single time.

@devirnis - i read your fic about buck and eddie ring shopping and getting caught up in a robbery and i've never looked back. i've read so many of your fics this year (and tbh, thank god i still have more to read) and i'm looking forward to reading all the ones that you have in the works!!!

@colonoscopys - i’m pretty sure that i binged basically all of your fics this year and i don’t regret a single thing (except maybe going through them too fast). god, i love your writing.

@rewritetheending - gosh the way you’re able to get to the heart of emotions and describe them in a way that puts an ache in my chest makes me want to claw the ground until my fingernails break off. my fave fic of yours is still while we do what lovers do and i know it wasn’t posted in 2023 but i needed to shout it out here because goddddddd. i still think about it all the time.

@letmetellyouaboutmyfeels - i enjoyed reading your halloween fics this year so much, particularly your dark buddie au. sometimes you just gotta imagine your wholesome, already in love blorbos be absolutely unhinged and crazy about each other, and that’s perfectly normal. i actually remember looking for a dark buddie fic when i first joined the fandom and there were none, so i’m glad my wish was fulfilled, especially when it was done so damn well.

five of your favourite artists/gifmakers/podficcers/etc. this year:

@try-set-me-on-fire - you could have gone under fave authors too, but i fucking love your art style. i don't know art terms so forgive me, but something about the messiness and abstractness scratches this itch deep in my brain and they evoke such unnameable feelings that want to burst out of my ribcage. ugh!!!!!! if you sold prints i'd be checking out in two seconds flat.

@butchdiaz - i know i already waxed poetic about your ceilings edit, but i love your edits/gifs too, particularly this one. it's so simple but so beautiful and fucking devastating. the gif aspect is subtle but intentional (buck fading to black and white while the blood stays red?????? KILL ME!). i'd eat your gifs if i could.

@shitouttabuck - you could go under fave authors too (hello i love you like a dog fic) but i wanted to shout you out here because you are so fucking funny. every single edit you post makes me giggle out loud. tbh i didn't even realize they were all from you until i started scrolling through your edit tag looking for this post. i can't get over it. i literally laughed at it AGAIN when i found it.

@eddiediaaz - you are constantly feeding the 911 fandom. you make so many gifsets on so many different sideblogs that i'm sure no one actually knows how many gifs you're constantly making. and every single one is so goddamn good??? and they're so creative. like this one??? there are so many things going on, i can't even fathom how the hell you did it. gifmakers are magic, i swear.

@iinryer - YOUR ART FUELS ME. your style is so *clenches fist* fucking cool. the lines are simple but they still look like the characters?? i admire that so, so much because i know if i ever tried that they'd look so wonky, lol. i think about juice box chim all the damn time and i don't know where i've been lately but this one with buck and chris??? it's so soft and sweet and vulnerable, with the way buck is holding him and chris is nestled. GOD. everything you make is gold.

three (+1) things you're looking forward to in 2024:

getting my masters degree!

getting a job, maybe???

posting more buddie fic 👀

+ season 7 of 911, obviously.

i’m sure i’ve missed some people inadvertently but this was really fun to do! at this time of year, with the short days and cold weather (at least for some of us), i think we could all do with a little bit of joy and a brighter day. i really love this fandom and i'm so grateful to be a part of it!

tagging everyone i mentioned in this post, if you haven’t already done it and want to participate! ❤️

[guardiangeologist]

Luigi's Uncharacteristically Large and also maybe Haunted House (3DS Edition): A Highly Professional Review

The entire time I've had this blog, I haven't really been sure what to use it for. I've settled on spewing my unscripted thoughts on whatever Game of the Week I've played most recently because, quite frankly, where else are they gonna go? I love my girlfriend, but these words are destined for a wider platform. I must expand my horizons. So here I am, talking about cartoon ghosts and green vacuum-wielding Italian men on the internet.

Now, let me tell you, this green man and his stupid house have been in control of my entire brain like some fucked up Italian Ratatouille for at least 10 years. I was a Luigi's Mansion Kid. What do I mean by that? I mean I roleplayed Luigi's Mansion on the school playground when I was in the 3rd grade. With the other Luigi's Mansion Kids. So it's safe to say I have some experience when it comes to this game. At times, he goes dormant. He waits patiently for another hyperfixation to pass. However, just when I least expect it, he returns from the grave (almost like a ghost?) to stage a military occupation of my frontal lobe to last the next few months.

So, there's my history. I ended up finally picking up the 3DS version of this game just before the eShop shut down (rest in piss) for shits and giggles, and only just got around to playing it this week while laying in bed with a migraine. (maybe not the smartest decision?) I mean, to start with, why was this game released for the 3DS? It came out in October 2018, at which point we were already an entire year post-Switch. I mean, I guess it would be fine, but it's just so obvious that being on the 3DS holds this game back in so many different areas (which I will get to, be patient!) and it's seriously a tragedy it hasn't been ported to Switch yet. Why put together such an amazing remake, and then bottleneck it with lackluster hardware and release it on a nearly out of service console?

In terms of positive changes? LOADS of QoL stuff. I might even go as far as to call this the definitive version of the game in spite of the few drawbacks it does present. Some examples include:

Re-fighting portrait ghosts: NO MORE RESETS!!! (Ok still some resets for speedy spirits because there's no way in hell I'm staying in the blackout for longer than I have to but that's just part of The Experience)

You can go back to the Lab from the Mansion by exiting through the front door. Finally, Luigi has learned how to open doors!

The tougher post-game Hidden Mansion, originally exclusive to the PAL version, has finally been made available to us worthless money-grubbing Americans! (Minus the disorienting flipped rooms, which I found pretty disappointing but some people will probably celebrate.) You can even get platinum ghost portraits from the Hidden Mansion which I have yet to obtain all of because jesus christ it is not easy to defeat a ghost with 150 health in a single attempt.

And now, the ghostly elephant in the room: co-op. I did try it, with my little brother as my Gooigi guinea pig. It's...I mean...honestly, it's not great. If you want to play LM1 with a friend, I can honestly recommend a ROM hack of the GameCube original more than I can recommend Nintendo's official multiplayer, which is pretty lame. For one, nothing is scaled up difficulty-wise to account for the extra player, so most battles in the game become trivial with the addition of a second experienced player (not my little brother.) But secondly, and most importantly:

the LAG.

DEAR GOD THE LAG.

I can testify that our internet is fine. The internet is not the issue, and even if it were, it shouldn't take any more bandwidth to play this game than it takes for two 3DS systems that are within 3 feet of each other and 10 feet from a router to communicate with each other. Yet, the game did not once run at full speed on either screen the entire time we played. Additionally, my brother complained several times that he couldn't even move his character. Luigi's Mansion with two players SHOULD be a chaotic mess, but adding the piddly framerate on top of it makes the game nearly unplayable.

That being said, the co-op is a disappointment, but it was never necessary for the game to be a satisfying package overall, it's better than having nothing. Though, as is typical, the work of fans definitely triumphs over Nintendo's official product in this department.

Oh, and they still didn't fix the oversight which causes you to lose the second gold diamond if you die after collecting it because the game prompts you to save while it's still on the ground... No A-Rank for me, I guess.

Mm, yes, the controls, yeah, those exist. This is one of those spots where I feel this game could have easily benefitted from just being developed for the Switch. Instead of forcing a dual-stick game onto a dying handheld with a single circle pad, maybe we could've, like, released it for the dual-stick console/handheld that was already out and had a perfectly established user base? They tried to substitute the c-stick with the gray alien nipple- or uhh..."circle pad pro"...that comes pre-installed on the New Nintendo 3DS, but it does not work well. The nub just isn't responsive enough to substitute for an entire stick, and if you want it to be a real circle pad, you have to buy an external attachment. Not to mention the nub isn't even available on every 3DS model! So like, yeah, I understand they made an honest attempt to work around the controller issues, but a better workaround would've been to just...not curse this game to irrelevancy by trapping it on a dying console.

All of that said, I spent all week playing this game, so they did something right. Curse my brain worms.

11/10 will buy this game and its sequels again every time Nintendo re-releases them.

[morningstargirl666]

When is The Big Bad Wolf Act 2 coming out?? Are you going to release monthly or all at once?? (I just finished the series and I’m in love 🩷🩷 no rush to write, just wondering if you have an idea because you have loyal readers waiting to love it!!! Have a great day <3)

Hello! Lovely to meet you and thank you so much for reading, that fic is a BEAST. So glad you enjoyed it!

So. When is the next update coming out? [nervous laughter]

Thing is, I told myself now I'm halfway i'll go back and edit, smooth things out before this fic literally becomes too long to tackle and that kinda...turned into a full rewrite?

I'm not changing the plot. That's exactly the same. But my ideas for the lore have changed since I first started writing and I wanted to add in a whole lot more of characterisation and set up for the chapters to come. I rewrote The Little Wolf back in December and recently did some tweaking to chapter 5 of it just this last week (I couldn't work out how to fix it when I first did the rewrite but I had an EPHIPHANY okay). So The Little Wolf is around 35k now, which is a huge difference to the 11k it was in November when I posted chapter 35 of tbbw. It's got tons of new scenes, a sharper forcus on the Mikaelson siblings not just Klaus and two whole new chapters. Of course, you've probably already read that as it is posted and you're a new reader, but that's what I was doing before Christmas, essentially.

As for The Big Bad Wolf itself...boy, where do I start. I'm approaching 85k on the rewrite...only on chapter 7. Which technically used to be chapter 6, because I got 5 chapters in before I added a new chapter. I guess that's a record for my restraint, at least.

So, in terms of what's happening: I'm re-writing tbbw. The plot isn't changing, but new scenes are being added, conversations are being tweaked, the lore is being more consistently fleshed out. Grammar for dialogue is being given a complete overhaul because that was a mess. But. Listen. It's so much better. It's so fucking better. I re-read the chapters I've done and in some places, the drafts aren't quite finished yet, like my writer brain is like fix this later BUT omg it's like, THE shit. It's so good. I've very excited.

I'm not sure how long it will take to finish. I might be able to stop halfway and post the rewritten/edited chapters I've got so far but I make no promises because I feel more inclined to keep going and get it all done in one. Some chapters won't need much work at all as they've been more heavily edited in the past (chapter 8 and 9 should be done pretty quickly, just giving them a facelift), while others I'm really ripping into. There's one chapter I know I'll either delete or delete scenes from to be replaced with something else (don't worry, the scenes will go into my deleted scenes fic on ao3, it's not gone forever).

So yeah. At the rate I'm going, I'm not gonna lie, it may take till the summer before I get all this editing done AND finish the new chapter 36 update - and you may get two new chapters at once, because it might be a long one and I might split it. But by the end of it, tbbw won't be 378k anymore. It'll probably be closer 450k. So you'll get a 50k+ update (along with some bonus stuff) to the whole fic and then a week later I'll post the new chapters (I used to post fornightly, a chapter every two weeks, and I'll go back to that when I'm done).

But yeah. I've written like, 110k since December, which for context is is closing in on the equivalent of the second book of TLOTR trilogy: The Return of the King was 137,115 words. That's an epic novel's worth. In three months.

An arguement could be made that I'm making this fic way too long but I don't really care? I love writing this. It makes my head spin and makes me tear my hair out but...it's so much fun too. And I get to rewrite canon, the way it should have been (we were so ROBBED 😭😭😭), so hey! It's free therapy too! I'm not going to stop as long as I'm loving every second.

Thanks for reading, and thank for listening to my insane plans! Hopefully, I'll see you there on ao3 when this fic is back for business!!

-And it WILL be back.

[manonamora-if]

December Check-In

I promise I didn't almost forget :P Even if I definitely forgot to do the weekly devlog last Sunday... To be fair, it had been a week...

Recap of last month’s progress

IF Events in the Next Month

Plan for the next month

Still long post ahead. If you want a mini version, head over to itch.io!

November Progress

Still play more IF and maybe review. ✅

Finish the edits of Harcourt Ch5 ✅❌

Fix one of the semi-completed games: ❌either the Egg parser or TRNT (and make it a proper parser)

Finish that darn SugarCube Guide: ❌there aren’t much left in the guide to cover, but there are a few things to fix.

Again, I knocked the first one out of the park. I reviewed all inkJam, EctoComp, and Bare-Bones Jam entries (which helped me get on the main page of the IFDB). It was nice to play shorter games again - it makes reviewing pretty quick... Now that the IFComp is also over, I kind of want to go back and check out the entries I didn't manage to play.

As for the rest... It's been a bit of a hell of a month, and it's not looking like it's ending any time soon. Still, when I had some free time I managed to:

Finish my portion of the edits of Harcourt (and MelS was almost done with it... before he ran into computer problems - dw the file is safe!)

Assess the damage with The Roads Not Taken and come up with a plan to fix all of it. I also started on this one, but there is truly a lot of damage.

Make a bite game in binksi, Tower of Sleep, for the Two-Button Jam

Make a One-Button prototype, Don't press the Button, to test some JavaScript/jQuery (half-failure)

Make a zine for the first time: An Ode to Pissaladière

Make a new code template: the Character Creator

Submitted a bunch of seeds to the SeedComp!

Does it look like I got distracted by a shiny new thing instead of finishing my projects? Yes. Do I care? Nope. It brought me some joy and amusement in some weird months... Banging your head against the desk because code is not working is... not, obviously.

What’s happening in December?

A bunch of jams are happening on itch, because end of year means maybe some free time, and also, you might as well do something for the sake of saying you've made something.

The ShuffleComp (@neointeractives) has started, though the entries won't be available before January. You can listen to the kickass full playlist in the meantime!

The Sprouting Round of the SeedComp! (@seedcomp-if) has just started. There are 99 new seeds available for use to make a game! Deadline is March 1st.

The Deck-Month has just started, to make a game with Decker.

The PunyJam #4 ends in about 2 weeks (if you have the time to learn Inform w/ the Puny extension...)

and of course: la Partim 500 numéro 8, for those who want to do the Neo Twiny again... but French!

I'm probably gonna pop-off a Partim. I did it last year and it was fun :P

The PLANtm for December

December is a busy month for me, which includes a lot of time offline, full days travelling, and lots of planning. So I will take any free time I have and do fun stuff if I can!

But if I have space for IF, I'd like to:

Play more games! Well... I already am, just not really IF. My Steam Library is crying for attention. I would like to knock down maybe a dozen more IFComp entries if I can. There were a lot of good games, a lot of loooong games.

Code Ch5 of Harcourt. That will be MelS dependent - well, MelS's computer dependent...

Finish fixing The Roads Not Taken. I have a plan, I have the notes... I just need to sit down and re-code (and re-test).

Finish the Guide for real! I know SugarCube 2.37 is coming soon, which will affect the state of some pages (and maybe require more pages). BUT I've been working on fixing old pages (typos - re-explanation - clearer examples). So, this is likely to be done sooner rather than later...

~

Taking the list of TO-DO from August…

To-Do not require much of new stuff:

translate Escape Goncharov! into French. ✅

fix the bugs in EDOC + overall the French version to match

fix the bugs of TRNT + find a way to add the missing pieces (ongoing - translation unlikely)

fix the formatting of DOL-OS + translate into English ✅

update LPM with the missing content + translate into English ✅

No change this month :/

The rest of the To-Do pile was:

Finish The Rye in the Dark City (and maybe translate?)

Finish P-Rix - Space Trucker (and try to translate)

Finish Exquisite Cadaver (translation unlikely, current gameplay too complex to port for French)

Add a chapter to CRWL + fix/reopen the blog

Re-working TTTT to its originally planned state (lol, not likety)

Re-working SPS Iron Hammer (samesies)

Coding TTATEH (MelS dependent - shooting for end of year)

Emptying my inboxes (they are not all answered tho)

Honestly, this pile probably won’t get done this year…. Maybe TTATEH has a shot...

[andromedaexists]

WUPDATE: χεῖμα

Saturday, Jan 20th || Return From Death

Heyyo, long time no talk. I mentioned very briefly at the beginning of the year that I was going through some shit but I think I'm starting my slow return to the living!

tl;dr, I had a major health crisis that has still left me unable to breathe correctly 20 days later. Day one of 2024 was spent in the ER and I hope that isn't setting a tone for the rest of the year

But that's besides the point! I want to return to writing! That's my passion! and even though I've been in the throes of imposter syndrome I know that I *can* return! So I'm gonna!! Starting next week y'all are gonna get Incorrect Eyes content, including an official intro post for the religious horror novella!

Before we get that far, though, I wanna tell y'all about a holiday project I didn't announce on tumblr: χεῖμα

χεῖμα is a cozy winter get-away to a cabin in the middle of the woods with the main cast of the Call Me Icarus series. Needless to say, it's not something I normally write. But I really needed something soft and happy, so that's what a wrote!

SUMMARY

In a different life, a different world, Icarus is invited for a winter holiday to Achilles' family cabin.

What ensues is a cozy tale of mischief and shenanigans as Icarus and company get snowed in and learn to love despite the annoyances and grievances that surround them.

Χεῖμα is a non-canonical short story set in what would ostensibly be our modern world with the main cast of Δάιος. This short story does not require you to read Δάιος, but it does assume familiarity with the characters.

And with that introduction, I wanted to let y'all know that this is a FREE story available on my itchio!!! And you can add it on GoodReads!!

Another important thing to note with this work is that there are two variations: the bell pepper edition and the chili pepper edition. They are same story with the exact same story line, but the chili pepper includes a sex scene and the bell pepper does not! So if you just want a cozy, pg-13 story, you can go with the bell pepper edition and if you want to read a scene where Icarus gets eaten out as an act of worship, then you can check out the chili pepper edition!

I also wanna share some snippies as well as the art I drew for the story, so if you wanna see those check out below the cut ↓

Okay, so imma share the art first:

(yes it's formatted like a book cover. no i am not selling physical copies of this book)

And one more piece of art:

And without further ado, some snippets I really love!

This time, when Icarus looks into the living room, he’s met with an even more heavenly sight than the fireplace: his family. Patroclus and Andromeda are sitting on the couch talking animatedly to each other while Thanatos is curled up in a chair to their left typing on his laptop. Achilles is flitting around a large tree in the back corner, twirling strands of orange slices and cinnamon on it. A warm and fuzzy feeling comes over Icarus as his gaze sweeps over everyone doing their own thing. This is his family, his home. He makes his way to join them, plopping down in the other unoccupied chair across from Thanatos. It’s only as he sits down that Andromeda looks over at him, smiling. “You came!” “Of course I did,” Icarus responds as he makes himself comfortable. “You had me kidnapped!” “I didn’t kidnap you,” Apollon says, spooking Icarus. He’s a lot closer than Icarus expected, leaning his hip against the side of the oversized chair Icarus is curled up in. “I showed up at your place and asked if you were ready to go. You willing got into my car. That’s not kidnapping.” “I think it counts,” Icarus grumbles, sinking further down into the chair.

And another snippet:

Icarus wakes up the next morning bundled in blankets with a hand running through his hair. He groans, but does not move. This is heaven, right here curled up in an isolated cabin with his ex-best friend playing with his hair. “Good morning, Birdie. Sleep well?” All Icarus can do in response is shush him. He’s not ready to be awake, not ready to face whatever it is that’s going on between the two of them. Apollon laughs and his hand stills. “I didn’t want to wake you up, but Andromeda stopped by a bit ago and said they made lunch. Whenever you wanna get up, we can eat.” But Icarus doesn’t want to get up. Ever. This is his own personal paradise, he would rather eat glass.

One more?

“What happened, is everyone alright?” Apollon asks, his voice panicked as he slides into the view. Icarus can see the moment he realizes that everything is fine, the worry melts off his face and the tension in his shoulders drops. Icarus smiles up at him, dropping his hand as he says, “Yeah, I just came to wake Meda up.” “You fucking dick! You gave me a fucking heart attack!” they respond, throwing their pillow at the side of Icarus’ head. He catches it, the action reigniting his laughter at the situation. Maybe they were right. Maybe the one thing Icarus needed to do was just exist for once, let loose and breathe outside of the rebellion. As the day crawls by in cozy comfort, Icarus realizes that this is what he’s always wanted. A home.

Ah fuck it, one more to explain the pancake sticker:

As Icarus turns into the kitchen he finds his distraction: Achilles standing at the stove. The kid looks thoroughly distraught as smoke and a pungent burning smell rises from the pan in front of him. Without thinking, Icarus swoops in and grabs the pan before rushing to the front door and dumping the whole thing in the snow. “I see you tried to make breakfast,” he says, turning back towards the kitchen. Now that he’s not worries about the burning food, he can see that the kid got out all the ingredients to make pancakes. And man, do pancakes sound delightful. “Yeah, I uh,” Achilles says, his voice thick with emotion. “I wanted to make breakfast for everyone like you did yesterday.” “That sounds great, looks like you got all the stuff for pancakes. Why don’t we make another batch?”

Honestly I debated tagging anyone since this is not normal CMI content, but I have a feeling y'all will love it anyways so:

@flowerprose @isherwoodj @cream-and-tea @touchingmadness @lockejhaven @marinesocks @wildswrites @the-finch-address @leighvalentine @inkspellangel @outpost51 @hclyeden

Please fill out this form to be added or ask to be removed!

[aprillikesthings]

Now that I've spent a good day thinking about how hot it is when Catra is a terrible person corrupted by setting off a portal, I'm ready to go back to (re)watching her try to be Good lolol

well okay more than one day.

I mean I literally spent the last four? five? days listening to songs off The Downward Spiral over and over while thinking about Catra and practicing my makeup for my Catra cosplay and ordering more of the things I need for it; like literally just staring off into space at work between phone calls thinking about Catra

I'm totally a well-adjusted middle-aged adult, thanks for asking!

Shit where did I even leave off

Oh right

SO HEY if you're new here, I've been rewatching all of the 2018 She-Ra, and I started doing it for fic-writing reasons but predictably I have become deeply obsessed. Anyway these posts sometimes have a lot of asides and commentary and references to other stuff and dumb jokes among a ton of screenshots, also (and it feels odd saying it this close to the end of the show) it's a RE-watch, so there's often spoilers for later bits of the story, also I keep trying NOT to just describe the entire plots of the episodes but I keep failing lol

s5 ep7 Perils of Peekablue

Adora's trying to become She-Ra (without an immanent threat) and then Bow and Glimmer distract her, and then the door opens on Catra and

I literally did a YES YES YESSSS AHAHAH out loud bc this is the point at which Catra just starts OPENLY FLIRTING, as opposed to just uhhhh flirtatiously taunting I suppose lol

like you're SITTING IN HER LAP

Also while rewinding it to watch again I paused it at the most hilarious moment

look at Catra's FACE

help I can't stop laughing but also look at Bow's expression

Glimmer: omg I'm gonna get to see my dad Catra: *gets up and leaves*

But also I make this face when a cat leaves my lap before I wanted them to:

Anyway they're a day out from arriving at Etheria

Adora's trying so hard

BACK ON ETHERIA

YAY IT'S THIS ONE

the intro finally changed!! I can't get a good screenshot but now when Catra (with short hair) and Adora (in She-Ra's new get-up) are fighting they stop much faster and they're both smiling omgggg

and there she is!! with everyone else!!

okay I'm going to take way less screenshots etc of the underwater speakeasy thing because let's be honest: that part of the plot isn't what I'm here for lol

But yeah they're going to the speakeasy thing to get Prince Peekablue who can see to the edges of the galaxy and can maybe tell them where Adora and the others are because they don't know what happened

Oh also Spinarella is chipped and Netossa is realizing something is off/weird about her but doesn't know what

Oh hey! You used to work for Huntara in the Crimson Wastes

Sea Hawk has pissed off approximately half the people in the room it seems (by lighting their ships on fire at some point)

Scorpia and Perfuma are the cutest and I can absolutely see how they end up together

In my fic I originally had Adora talking to some kind of therapist but I wasn't sure they existed on Etheria, and last week I edited that bit so Adora is talking to these two (which makes the conversation more fun AND easier to write anyway)

Perfuma: "Scorpia. You should do things not because you're good at them, but because they make you happy." THAT IS ONE OF MY LIFE PHILOSOPHIES thank you Perfuma you're 100% correct and I tell people this ALL THE TIME

Mermista: "I might've set their boat on fire. Just to see what it felt like."

Sea Hawk:

lolol

YESSSS I love this scene

Perfuma makes a flower, throws it to Scorpia as she sings, and she blushes and tucks it into her hair, these two are so sweet and cute

oh god I forgot that when "Prince Peekablue" get stung by Scorpia they go through the last half-dozen shapeshifts before turning into a (passed-out) Double Trouble.

lolol instead of "cash cow" it's an insult to poor Catra

Anyway they have the info the Rebellion wanted!

Horde Prime is pissed and has blockaded the planet, also half the people at the speakeasy were chipped....and now so is Mermista, though nobody realizes that yet

But also the phrasing of "She-ra stole his little kitten away" is just amazing

But also the last they heard, Adora and Bow and Entrapta had left to rescue Glimmer, do they think Double Trouble is talking about Glimmer here or what

(which. they did. they just also went back for Catra.)

Netossa realizes her wife (and most of the people around them) are chipped D:

And a chipped Mermista is gonna drown them all

oh shit Micah is also chipped

Entrapta gets the comms working!

"The Rebellion's been compromised! Horde Prime has them! We lost, I'm so sorry! We lost them!" --and then the comms go to static

AND CREDITS!

[allylikethecat]

ally just going to be real here & say i literally refresh this app all day waiting for you to post something you’ve written 😭 like you keep saying these Jan prompts aren’t much good but like girl if this isn’t good I don’t think I’d be able to handle your version of good bc every single thing you write hits me in my heart in such a good way like every day I cross my fingers you’ve felt inspired and written/posted something that I can obsess over and re-read multiple times for weeks and every time I see your post i genuinely squeal w excitement bc ik it’s gonna be good 😫‼️

Oh my gosh I am going to cry. This is one of the sweetest, kindest asks I have ever received. I'm so absolutely blown away and honored that you not only like my writing enough to seek it out on here and read it (more than once?!), but that you took the time to reach out and send me this ask ❤️ There are so many incredible talented people in this fandom, and writing fanfic in general, and I am just so flattered and thankful that you (and others!) are willing to take the time out of their day to read what I've posted.

I'm so, so happy that you're enjoying the January OTP Prompt fills even though I don't always feel the most confident about them- my goal for January was to use them as an exercise where I would write a minimum of 500 words a day for each prompt, and then post with minimal editing and (hopefully!) minimal over thinking, as a result some of them I like better than others! I started this exercise for me, and to better my craft and was posting them on Tumblr purely to hold myself accountable so I would actually do it. Therefore, the fact that people are reading them and responding so kindly to them is just so incredible. Thank you so, so much!

Thank you so much for sending in this ask, for reading and for your encouraging words about my writing! I'm happy that I've been able to have a consistent posting schedule this month, and am so happy that y'all aren't sick of me yet! (I worry I'm over flooding the Gatty tag 😬) I do want to apologize in advance though, if you're not sick of me, February is going to be a lot slower from me content wise (I might not even be able to make every Tuesday update) I'm going to be traveling most of the month (for fun and for work) and am not sure how much time I'm going to actually have to 1) write 2) get what I do write properly formatted and posted. I hope that y'all won't forget about me! Thank you so much again!

❤️Ally

[bookwyrminspiration]

hello my lovely loveliest dearest favorite quil <333 I have finally actually returned with a slight rebrand and many tales to tell.

How are you bestie!!! I missed you So SO much and it's literally so rude that I can't send you all of the things that make me think of you. Like I swear my partner is gonna be jealous at this point because I'm literally like omg I literally need to show this to quil. It is a necessity. (If you're wondering it was a hoodie that had the classic university logo and said Silly Goose University and I decided that we needed them to match with our friendship bracelets.)

Anyway I am eyeing your new writing up very very closely and am itching to go to Ao3 and read ALL of it. (The urge is quite strong now that I have started Thinking about it, however this ask is taking long enough bc I have to take Wiggle™ breaks because holy bestie I am SO happy to talk to you once again.)

Speaking of your writing I was struck with the most incredible fantastic amazing art idea after looking at some of my old wings AU doodles. However, my drawing tablet went through the shredder (<- Puppy) I have to WAIT. To give the full idea justice but trust me bestie I'm so excited to show it to you.

Anyway I've been extra ramble-y but HI HOW ARE YOU I MISSED YOU WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOUR LIFE.

I'd love all of your thoughts and feelings and I miss you and ily and I'm so happy like I kid you not this ask has taken. So much effort because I cannot sit still writing this to you. I have. The Dumbest Smile on my face. <3333333

(Please note that this ask is meant to be read as if I am laying on your bed kicking my feet in the air while excitedly talking, thank you 😌)

TOBI!!!! I was just thinking about you the other day!! My dad and I were watching Labyrinth for the first time in a while, and when I realized the baby's name was Toby (i'd forgotten) I just went...ah..Tobi...I hope he's doing well...

I'm doing alright! I've been very busy this semester, and we are approaching finals so it's probably only going to get busier soon. But! This has been my first semester mostly in person in a very long time! And I'm officially fully in uni rather than dual credit, so I'm somewhere else now and have met SO many people. Actually am planning to meet up with one of them tomorrow to go to a restaurant/museum for class! And to watch a few movies with two others sometime soon.

lots of reflections on that because relationships of all kinds have been. rather difficult my whole life, so we'll see what happens here! also would 100% wear some silly goose university hoodies with you <3. move aside tobi's partner I need to glue BOTH of his hands to mine. forever

Also!! If you read my fics I'll love you forever and ever and ever even more. This new titz one has been sitting for several months, but I finally pulled it back out! And I am rather nervous about it because Fitz and Tam are both particular characters, and so combining them just makes them even harder to write. and THEN! throwing in Fitz's Alvar feelings makes that EVEN MORE difficult. but! it was also an absolute delight to work on so I hope you like it :)

and holy shit wings au art!!! i trust you so much I am so excited to see it--and don't worry about however long it takes! wings au is years in the writing, i've got experience with patience. wait btw, I don't know if you're aware, but I'm attempting to post the epilogue soon! I have the rough draft and the anniversary is coming up, so I'm hoping to have it edited to post on the ending's anniversary. it's a little over a week away, but also finals are descending AND its nano, so we'll see what happens. it WILL be out by the end of the year for certain though (and during october I went through and re-edited the whole thing for grammar and details--it's ridiculous how many its it's mistakes there were because i KNEW the difference. i'd just autopilot do one or the other and not catch it in my quick edits)

I keep pausing to do little claps and stim because. tobi!!! it's so so cruel we can't lay in bed kicking our feet together, i have missed you so so so much! what has been up with YOU? how has your life been? what's up with the blog migration--if you want to talk about it. also totally cool to simply accept it and move on. i just like talking to you and it's very nice to see you again :)

[spiteless-xo]

hiii hope you’ve been having a wonderful weekend! i was wondering if you’re still gonna post an alternative ending? and is it gonna be multiple chapters? im just curious because i thought you mentioned that before but idk if i just completely made that up ajdhshdh 💀 absolutely no pressure!!

hello! my weekend has been lovely but it looks like i'm in the early stages of a cold rn so i'm bundled up with some tea while i do my final edits on tbaw

a long time ago someone asked if i was going to make an alternate ending for tbaw, and while i think that's a really cool idea, i don't think it's really possible unfortunately!!

pretty much the entire final arc would have to be re-written, so that's too much work and almost a little bit of a cop-out to have two endings so i decided not to do that.

i AM, however, going to be releasing a 5 chapter mini-series, completely unrelated to tbaw, that's a reader/failed love interest fic so that fans of the other team will get to see the other guy happy.

and i know i promised to release it the week following the final tbaw chapter, but i've decided to hold onto it for a little longer just because i'm not really happy with it!! 🙏 i'm really sorry and i know some people are going to be disappointed but i just haven't had the time to clean it up since i've been working on tbaw and i don't wanna give you guys something unpolished.

[belethlegwen]

On The Shelf

I completely forgot I hadn't posted this yet. I can't remember why I was saving it, but I've had a bit of Chill-Enhancement tonight and my brain has decided: Now is the time.

This event gets referenced (much) later in The Stranding as having happened during the events of The Rescue, but I'm unsure yet if it'll actually make it into the main body. Thought I'd post it here as a little bonus. [Edit - I have had TOO MUCH Chill-Enhancement and forgot that I did post this as part of an ask, but here it is again anyway so I can link it as part of a Masterlist.]

----------------------------- The car had barely had time to turn on before her phone started ringing, the bluetooth connection taking a second to finalize with the stereo as she tried to fumble for the buzzing, singing block in her pocket. She adjusted the volume via the steering wheel's controls as Dyna's voice came to life all around her in the blue sedan.

"Hello?" Melanie asked, unsure if the bluetooth had fully connected or not.

"Hey gorgeous, bad news," Dyna's voice returned loudly as she lowered the volume further. "Mark just called, not sure if it's a burst pipe or someone fucked up one of our toilets at the gym, but women's washroom is a pool and I gotta go deal with that. Need a rain check on the lunch date."

"Oh shit," the short-haired woman groaned. She let herself fall heavily back against the driver's seat, 'so much for a Big Day'. "That's fair, girl, you do what you gotta do. We can reschedule for another time."

"I hope this doesn't wrench your plans for the day or anything! You should still head out and do some things for yourself, I know you were looking forward to it."

"Thanks Dee, I appreciate it, but I think I'm gonna head back in and take a nap," she said defeatedly. "Was feeling a bit off today anyway, I'm alright to postpone. Catching up on sleep would probably be a smart idea anyway."

"That sounds good, girl. Tell the Big Guy I said hi," Dee replied with a laugh.

"He hates when you call him that," Melanie stressed, shaking her head. "But I'll let him know. Good luck and god speed with the shit swamp."

"Thanks babe, and tell him if he didn't hate it so much I wouldn't bother saying it!"

The call disconnected and Melanie reached forward to remove the key, sighing as she rested in the quiet. It wasn't Dyna or the gym bathroom's fault that her plans were askew. She had been hoping to have a day to go be Big and loud and clumsy outside of the house for over a week, but nightmares and indigestion had had her tossing and turning most of the night. She had felt even since this morning that today was likely to be a wash.

She picked up her purse from the passenger seat and slung it back over her shoulder, exiting the car to head back to the house. Sleeping off the disappointment was probably the best plan, and it still gave Henry a chance to be- at least mostly- alone for a few hours.

"Change of plans," she called in her regular speaking voice as she re-entered the house, kicking off her shoes in the small entry hall and heading toward the door to his room, tapping on the door frame. "Dyna's got an emergency at the gym, so we're rescheduling. I was gonna take a nap for a few hours and see how I'm feeling after that, if that works for you?"

There was a suspicious level of silence that returned to her, and Melanie's brow furrowed as she waited. She checked the time on her phone again; she'd been out of the house less than 15 minutes, and last she had spoken to him he was on the way back to his room to hit the head and work on some journaling for the early afternoon. That was maybe a half hour ago, before she finished getting ready.

"Henry?" Her voice called as she stepped away from his room slowly, her eyes scanning the floor for the 7-inch tall man, her eyes moving up the stairs as she waited to hear the call of his mariner's whistle. The longer the silence went on, the more suspicious she became.

She walked to the landing between the stairs to the main floor and the stairs to the basement, calling the small sailor's name one last time at the center of the split-level home. There was no way she wouldn't hear the whistle from there.

A sigh erupted from her, and she carefully pulled the purse from her shoulder to the front of her, moving to unzip the top.

---------

Henry grimaced as the roof of his hiding place opened, light spilling into the space he occupied in the black-fabric lining. His eyes shot up to see hers, the massive hazel irises darting until her pupils landed on him. "To be fair," he called defensively, guilt already creeping up on him as her eyes moved up and away to the ceiling, a breathy swear leaving her giant form, "I was expecting you to put the purse down once you were back inside."

"Henry," she groaned, holding the purse open with one hand while the other slipped in, his hands guiding it to him carefully. Her thumb and fingers slid around him gently, his arms pressing down over the tops of them as he patted the back of her hand in signal that he was ready for the lift. “How?” She asked quietly and unamused as she pulled him out of the purse, letting the bag swing back under her arm as she let it go.

“Which part?” He asked after an uncomfortable hesitation, waiting for her other hand to come help support him as his feet dangled in the open air, his arms tensing. She tipped her hand back slightly, letting him push and move himself into a seated position in her palm, her other hand resting on her hip as she refused to help him.

“I made sure the purse was closed so this wouldn’t happen again,” she explained with a sigh, watching him adjust himself awkwardly until his legs were dangling over the heel of her palm. Color came to his cheeks as he guiltily locked eyes with her, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he battled with himself over whether he should give away his secret. “Henry,” she prompted tiredly.

He was busted, he knew it. If she had gone to lunch and other things, he probably would’ve been safe to escape and move to her coat like he had initially planned, or she would’ve gone through her usual routine of putting her purse down on the basement couch before going to the washroom when she returned, giving him time to get out and move to somewhere less conspicuous.

“You leave the front pocket open for your keys,” he admitted quietly, his eyes breaking from hers and glancing around the room, “and the tear I made the first time was never repaired, so I slipped in through there.” His arm flew out to grab her thumb quickly as her hand swung to the side, her free hand coming up to rub her forehead. “I’m sorry,” he said, squirming as he watched the upset look come over her face.

“You know why I don’t like this happening without my consent,” she said, her eyes opening again to look at him disappointedly. “It’s dangerous if I don’t know you’re in there.”

“I know,” he admitted defensively, his eyes moving again to meet hers, “but! I trusted that you would take your purse along like you normally would, and I know that you usually stop back at the house between lunch and any other plans for the day.”

Her eyebrows raised over a sharp expression; his calm explanation of how he had determined how safe this particular venture was going to be seemed to obviously not have the effect he wanted it to have on her. Air rushed into her as she took a long, steadying breath, her hand moving from her forehead slowly. He pointed to it with a timid expression, trying to wave it closer to him. For one, he could use a bit of extra support this high off of the ground, and for two, he knew if he could touch her a bit more, he could soothe her temper a bit. “The idea that you planned this really isn’t making me feel better about any of it,” she leveled.

“I know,” he said again, still trying to gently coax her hovering hand toward him, “but--”

“No,” she said firmly, sighing again, “there’s no ‘buts’ here. Sometimes I want time to myself, the same as you do, so I don’t have to worry about things like if I’m going to accidentally hurt you somehow or that I’m being too loud, or just…”

“Melanie,” his voice called soothingly to her as her eyes dropped to the floor, her shoulders sagging. “I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to upset you.” Henry’s hand gripped at her thumb lightly, trying to rub it comfortingly while maintaining as much support from it as he could. Her eyes moved back up to him over a glum expression; she was disappointed, more than mad, and it stung him. “Can I have your other hand, please?” He asked meekly.

The ‘please’ did its magic and she caved almost instantly, her other hand sweeping toward him gently as he guided her thumb to his chest, her fingers wrapping around her others behind him and closing around him gently. She softened but still didn’t smile as his arms moved to coil around her thumb tightly, hugging it to himself. “If the only way you were going to avoid upsetting me was by not being caught, I don’t think that counts as not meaning to,” she leveled quietly again.

He sighed, fidgeting under her words and tone. “You’re right,” he admitted, “I should’ve given you your space for the day.”

“Thank you,” she breathed, her tone still unhappy but her mood lightening just a little. He shifted his legs, pushing her thumb up his body a bit more so he could lean forward and rest his face along the side of it. His eyes turned up to try and work their charm.

“Do you think I could be forgiven, this time?” He asked teasingly as he saw the color come to her face, grinning as her thumb wiggled against his beard and cheek, his arms squeezing it tighter. Her breath gently washed over him as she sighed again, lifting him up closer to her eye level.

“You’re too much trouble, you know that?” She asked, smirking.

“I wouldn’t say I’m too much trouble,” he drawled, his eyes arching away as he feigned innocence. She scoffed, making him laugh while she slipped her thumb out from his grasp, her hands moving position to help him stand in her palm.

“I would,” she retorted, her eyes looking around the room and landing on the bookshelf next to them, walking in front of it once he was stable. Her eyes scanned the top shelf, idly. “I could probably find a way to keep you out of trouble, though.”

He smirked at her, turning around to follow her gaze. “Can you even see what’s up there?” He asked her, teasingly, and she crooked a finger to wiggle against his side playfully.

“Don’t make fun,” she quipped as he giggled from the tickle. Whenever he could, he tried to make fun of her height. “I can’t see the titles of the books up there, no,” she admitted after trying to get on her tiptoes.

“I can check them,” he offered with a laugh, “I’m taller than you, after all. It’s the least I can do.”

She spread a sly grin behind him as he looked at the top shelf. “Alright, if you say so,” she said, stepping toward the shelf and raising her hands over her head carefully, Henry reaching out to grab the ledge and letting Melanie push his feet and legs up level with the shelf, walking over toward the books as she stepped back to watch him.

“Are you sure one of these is going to be useful?” He called tauntingly from the shelf as he walked from end to end, checking the titles. “I don’t see how any of them would be helpful in keeping me out of trouble.”

“They’re all doing a good job right now,” her voice called back mischievously. Henry’s brow furrowed as he turned to look down at her, watching her cross her arms under a smug expression.

“What do you--?” He started to ask as she turned and started heading for the stairs, his mouth falling open as he staggered to try and follow her.

“I’m heading to nap,” she called softly. “You’re in time-out until then.”

“That’s not funny,” he shouted, panic slightly setting in as he looked at the immense distance back to the ground, stepping back further from the ledge instinctively.

“Neither was you stowing away again,” her voice came back, her footsteps reverberating as she took the highest set of stairs to the top floor. “See you later.” “Melanie?” He called as he heard her footsteps walking farther away from above him. “Melanie!” He shouted as he heard her bedroom door close. Henry looked around the long shelf, taking in the books, the dust, and the odd artistic sculptures on either end with a long sigh. “…Well, I suppose I deserve this.”

[skykashi]

I'm about 30 hours late in saying this, but I can't tell you just how perfect this was 🧡. Over the weekend, I was actually trying to wrangle about eight or nine different plot ideas/oneshots for assorted fic I've been wanting to write for months now. I had thought I might try to use some for Kakashi Week, except none of what I had written really fit the prompts to my liking, and I was just feeling overwhelmed by too many choices (not to mention wanting to finish my current projects, too!).

When I read your comment, the BIGGEST lightbulb went off in my head for how to use team min + time travel to connect all the ideas in a fun and logical way. It was such a rush that I just sat down and typed and edited and drafted for a while, and I forgot to come back to tumblr to tell you THANK YOU!! Not just for pointing out how funny and cute and entertaining this whole thing would be, but also for reading and laughing at my dumb tags and everything! I love seeing your reactions, I'm glad we seem to have a similar sense of humor, and I always look forward to checking your blog and reading your posts. (1/2)

I'm gonna make a blog update about this a little later on, but I just thought I'd give you a bit of a headsup that I'm going to be taking a bit of a break from tumblr/ pulling back from updates and reblogs for a while. I have a short queue lined up, but over the last few days, I realized that tumblr has been absorbing a lot of my energy, and I want to reserve some of that time and energy for creating other stuff. (Writing more is definitely one of the other things). So if I'm not checking in as frequently, don't worry; I'm not losing interest in writing posts or finishing fic or anything. Just doing a bit of rebalancing.

Also, fyi, I spent the first half of yesterday re-reading the first arc of "Abandon." I kind of fell back in love with it after feeling a lot of hesitation and distance from it all summer. So that is where all my writing energy will go next, is to continuing part three, and then finishing part four + five afterwards. After that, probably continuing "Up Against The Wall," and after that, the new one with the Team Minato time travel in it. That's the plan, but I have no idea how long it will take or if I will stick with that order (hopefully not too long). Anyway, thank you for reading, and cheering me on when I'm tired of writing, and going with me and my Team Minato on their sad rollercoaster of emotions. I really appreciate it so much!! 🧡🧡🧡

Shzbvsbjsks I'm so glad you found my silly idea inspiring 🥰 it always strikes me how much Kakashi's personality changed from his kid version to his adult version so I always wondered how team Minato including kid Kakashi would react when they see adult Kakashi shenanigans 😂

It's always sad when one of my favorites blogs isn't as active as usual but it's also very understandable and it's a good thing too that you will get to focus more on writing so hopefully this will mean more new chapters will be coming 👀❤️❤️

And I can't even tell you how much I've missed "Abandon" so reading that you are falling back in love with it is such a great news to me, I can't wait to read everything you have for us, I know all of them are worth the wait 😍❤️

[pebblysand]

Helloo Pebbles! Hope you're doing well! The previous chapter of castles was so well written. I am always in awe at your writing skills, it's so intellectually stimulating. Like I keep rereading it often to understand the nuances of it. Just goes on to show how much effort has been put into it.😭😭😭 Thank you loads for all of that. ❤❤❤

If that's okay with you, can you please share snippets of the next chapter and likely when will it be uploaded? I'm so excited I can't wait to know what's gonna happen next.

Have a great day!

Aw thank you so much ❤️, I really appreciate it.

Regarding next chapter, I've taken this week (and weekend) off writing. I think I'm allowed, haha. So, I don't know, I might share snippets when I do start working but I'm not always too keen on that because I might share something which I later choose to delete for some reason, and then people are disappointed and ... blah. I will share what I can if/when I feel like sharing, I promise 😊.

Regarding an upload date, it's always tricky as well - part of me likes to give you guys a date because it forces me to work (as said on @thefanficwriterscraft last week, I have issues with forward motion lol) but then if I don't make the date for whatever real-life reason, I get anons asking me where the chapter is and it just gives me anxiety lol. I've actually started tracking my writing time since September (I plan to write a post about this when I have more data, actually) but to give you an idea, just editing last chapter (which was already 30% edited last summer) took me almost 82 hours. That's including time I spent re-reading the fic to get back into it, but still.

I have a job. I have the podcast. I have this blog. I have family, and friends. I have to feed myself and clean my flat and pay my bills and file my taxes. I would like someday to have time to date. I don't know. Short answer: I am aiming to upload before Christmas. Long answer: I really struggle with work-life-writing balance at the moment, and adulting is hard. Next chapter will be out when it's out 😆.

[elvenbeard]

Get to know me

I've been tagged in three separate memes with that title by @timaeusterrored and @katsigian, thanks a lot for thinking of me! :D For brevity's and simplicity's sake I'm just gonna throw all of them together in one post ~ Won't be tagging anyone in particular, but if you read this and feel inclined to share some stuff about yourself, pick and choose from the questions listed here and feel free to tag me in your posts! :D

Favorite color: Purple, Turquoise, and Black

Relationship: single

Currently reading: when I'm not re-reading my own stuff for editing purposes, I currently just really enjoy reading everyone's Cyberpunk drabbles and OC lore posts because I live for that stuff! for having been a very bookish kid I don't really read much anymore admittedly D:

Last song Played: "A Dialogue In B Flat Minor" by In Flames (it's on my V playlist and a very Vince and Johnny song to me XD)

Song Stuck in my Head: "Gloves" by Saint Punk (I'm obsessed with it because it fits Vince so much and I'm working on something inspired by it)

Last Movie: oooof... I think it was "The Shawshank Redemption", I was recently in the mood of rewatching some 90s classics while drawing!

Last series: If youtube series count, I'm currently rewatching Buzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime for the 11th or so time XD I've loved true crime stuff for as long as I can remember and BFU is also just really nice as background noise for when I'm working on something for a few hours at a time. Looking forward to diving into Mystery Files xD (the last "actual" series I watched before that was "Better Call Saul", rewatched it from start to finish in English for the first time xD)

Sweet, spicy, or savory: ooohhh hmmm.... dammit, I guess I'm too much of a sweet-tooth to not pick sweet xD

Favourite Food: Pizza with lots of different cheeses

Craving: to quit my dayjob, because objectively, it would just be really fucking funny to do. We're chronically understaffed and simultaneously also being forbidden overtime to catch up on the backlog, so it's just extremely exhausting at the moment.

Tea or coffee: Coffee, but tea is nice too :3

Dream Trip: everywhere... but my top 3 are Japan, Iceland, and Canada. I'd love to go to Japan during cherry blossom season, spend one week in all the big cities and another more on the countryside, going hiking, looking at temples, forests, and spending a day or two at a ryokan with onsen. Iceland I'd also like to see as much of as possible, I'd actually love to do a guided tour on horseback across the country xD And honestly, same for Canada (without the horses though), also a trip across the country visiting all kinds of sights and cities along the way would be awesome.

Last Thing I Googled: 2023 Conventions Germany

Currently working on: the final stages of my new Kerry x V drawing, editing some VP shoots, writing Vince's background lore fic (6 chapters done, about 6 more to go!), started writing a post-canon fic (but only have a few paragraphs), and my ongoing Cyberpunk 2077 Let's Play videos XD cause I always wanted to make a full Let's Play like that and given my current obsession it works. Looming on the horizon are also some short comics and ideas for mods and even more VP!

Are you named after Anyone?

After an OC of mine, if we go with Elven as the name I'm predominantly using atm XD Long story short, but "Elvenbeard" was an elf OC I once cosplayed as and who got his name from a friend of mine during a very long and funny train ride to the convention we were headed to. Good times XD

2. When was the last time you cried?

A couple of days ago. I think it was a mix of stress and having too many feels about Kerry xD

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, and don't want any. Unless pets count.

4. Do you use Sarcasm a lot?

I would never do such a thing.

5. What Sports do you play/ have you played?

None xD I was the short fat kid that got relentlessly bullied by my PE teacher for years which completed ruined any interest in sports I might have ever developed.

6. What's the first thing you notice about other people?

Honestly... I think I've gotten quite good at picking up people's vibes first. Picked up a very bad "stay-far-away-from-them" vibe from someone a couple of days ago, and when I met them again a little while later one of the first things out of their mouth is transphobic bullshit. I (sadly) felt rather validated with my first impression.

7. Eye Colour?

Hazel.

8. Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

Both can be good! I don't like overly gory movies or stuff that relies heavily on jump scares, but a scary film with a good story and some unexpected twists I really like (some of my faves being "Hush" and "The Conjuring"). I'm also a sucker for Happy Endings though. Best thing overall? Angst with a Happy Ending.

9. Any Special Talents?

Does hyperfocus count as a special talent these days? XD

10. Where were you born?

Somewhere in rural Germany.

11. What are your hobbies?

Yes... Drawing, writing, sewing, crafting, cosplay, gaming... and the newest addition: virtual photography!

12. Do you have any pets?

Yess, a cat!

13. How tall are you?

160cm/ 5'2 - smol and full of rage

14. Fave Subject in School?

Art, History, and English as a secondary language

15. Dream Job?

Creating things that make people happy and being able to live off of it ooooor anything that allows me to finance that kinda "maker of all kinds of things" lifestyle I'm dreaming of. Ideally, if I have to keep a dayjob, I'd like one that only takes place in the timespan of Monday to Thursday, or Tuesday to Friday, and doesn't start at 5.30 in the morning, but at 9 or 10. Or just generally the option of home office would be nice. I don't wanna be rich, but I'd like to have financial security for myself and my cat, enough time to do my silly little arts and crafts, and travel somewhere cool once a year or so.

[tj-dragonblade]

Rules: List 10 (non-ancient) books for people to get to know you better, or that you just really like. Tagged by @wintersmitth, @lenreli, and @valeriianz - thank you! I have pretty much read fanfiction exclusively for the past couple decades, but let's see what I can dredge up from memories of my youth I have been working on this for weeks now.

D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths - I checked this out from the library dozens of times as a kid, and it is definitely the foundation of my knowledge of Greek mythology The Tower of Geburah - I don't recall the author, my apologies, but this was my first real lasting introduction to fantasy. I had no frame of reference at the time, but in hindsight it's heavily inspired by The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (which I have never actually read). The Shannara series by Terry Brooks - I found these as a teen and caught up at about the time the sixth book was published; I distinctly remember the anticipation of waiting for book seven (at that point I'd never been reading anything that was still actively in progress and finding out at the end of book 6 that the story wasn't over yet was a tremendous surprise). I re-read those first seven books probably a dozen times; I know Brooks has gone back to that world with a few more trilogies but I haven't followed, alas. The Vampire Diaries by LJ Smith - found these post high school and this was my introduction to vampire romance. No, I haven't watched the show. The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice - read these after enjoying the movie; fell off somewhere around Blood and Gold. I remember the characters better than the stories at this point. Armand is my favorite. Saiyuki by Kazuya Minekura - okay yes it's a manga series not a book-book but I'm not gonna hit ten for this list regardless so. Based on the old Journey to the West stories; vibrant characters who gave me so many good fandom memories. Still the best fandom experience I've had. I don't know if it's still getting new chapters or when it last updated or what Minekura's present health status is; it may never be finished but I will always love what we have. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland maybe? I've definitely read it and Through the Looking Glass but I am far more attached to like. The feel of the story and all the ways it permutates through pop culture and ways it can be played with than I am in really picking it up to read again. Same with the Wizard of Oz. ?? There was this book I borrowed from my mother-in-law and I don't remember the name or author but it was both backstory for Erik and retelling of The Phantom of the Opera from his perspective with that backstory incorporated. It lined up really well with me always finding Erik the most sympathetic character in the story.

That's it, I guess that's it. I mean I did nothing but read as a kid, practically lived at the library in my teenage years, but I am absolutely drawing a blank trying to come up with two more my apologies.

Edit: whoops I forgot tagging uh. If you want to do this one please feel free to tag me when you do