#reblog to explode the algorithm | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

amyoffline · 9 months ago

Text

It's done! The outline for—

—is below the cut. The goal of this project is to explore the following phenomena with as much context and nuance as I can manage, tracing our history over the past 15 years:

What about us, and what about Dan and Phil, drew in and continues to draw in a very specific audience. If they are a ranch metaphor, we are a pizza metaphor 🥗🍕🫶🏻

Why we were Like That™, by which I mean so parasocially invested in them that we became, at times, the most annoying people on the internet. Much of that reputation is undeserved, and the videos on the phandom to date have been strongly negative. So, uh, I guess I'm going to put my face on camera and (mostly) defend us.

Reblog, share in your Discord servers, reply, or send me messages/anon asks with feedback or resources if you have any! Especially if your experience being in this fandom community has been dramatically different from mine. There are TIT spoilers near the end of the outline, but I'm not tagging because certain individuals seem to be lurking over there. Thank you!

Chapters:

Full outline:

introduction

cold open

felt personally attacked by jonathan haidt's last press tour

showed up to the phrenaissance 11 months late

had an unexpectedly strong response to their new content, needed to find out why

what the hell are we doing here?

- phenomenology (academics are professionally insufferable) - research question 1: what drew the audience in? - research question 2: why were we Like That™?

what we're NOT doing here

- a strict content analysis or "wow we sucked" video - providing sources for things best left uncirculated, thank you

reflexivity (personal biases)

- american zillennial in public health - in the youtube audience by spring 2010 - lurking in the phandom on tumblr 2013-2015, back* since 2019 - fan behavior i did and did not engage in

(----): truly necessary background information, i swear

(pop) cultural trends, tech, and their intersection

- nerd/geek identity and the first online weirdos - broadcast tv & the music industry vs the internet - defining "emo" - blogging & vlogging - early internet comedy

broader social/economic trends

- so the U.S. economy collapsed in 2007 - a decade that sucked except for rom-coms and square enix games - the flip/slide phone + digital camera + mp3 player loadout

(05-8): early youtube and early phil

youtube: a great video uploader without a clear purpose

the content on the website

- crossposts, corporations, and creative/social outlets - omg guys it's amazing phil - contemporary youtube-to-legacy success: justin bieber

the audience of "early adopters"

contemporary social media sites and forums

(2009): origin story

a wild dan appears… in the comments

the global constant that is teenagers being messy online

daring my old school district to sue me

- "one town's war on gay teens" (literal rolling stone headline!) - epidemiology 101: rates of… ugh… "unaliving" oneself - ways kids cope when it seems no adults will help them

the earliest days of dan & phil

- hello internet + pinof - a chronically overexamined timeline - file deleted ---* so how big WAS the audience at the time? ---* acceptable funny/edgy language was just different

contemporary youtube-to-legacy success: lucas cruikshank

omg it's meeeeeee

- how amy & friends were using youtube - ways i was just destined to end up here - being in social environments with peers 3-6 years older

(2010): is it "twenty-ten" or "two thousand ten?"

youtube is a platform about to explode in popularity

- the algorithm before it was The Algorithm™, lost site features - let's take a trip through the wayback machine :3c - actual dan & phil content in 2010 - the green brothers found vidcon - contemporary youtube-to-legacy success: darren criss

social media: also about to explode in popularity

- facebook was cool at the time, believe it or not - law of equivalent exchange: 2010 amy cringe compilation - the birth of instagram and pinterest - youtube slash livejournal (the first phanfics… sort of) - shockfic and its place in the overton window

the beginning of "the great rewiring" as haidt calls it

- ways social media is about to dramatically change - third spaces become online spaces - confounding variable: changing expectations of teens

(2011): the end of an era, the start of an age

a very long tangent on fandom and pop culture

cultural exchange

counterculture and teenagers as concepts

the first british invasion: the 1960s

- beatlemania and its descendents - moral panic about the virtue of tween/teen girls - tv/film/fashion trends being imported from the uk - in parallel, star trek births the modern fandom

the second british invasion: the 1980s

- synth/new pop that came out of the punk movement (hi, emo?) - confined mainly to music and fashion - cool britannia

it's harry freakin' potter

- absolute titan of pop culture influence - the rise of online fandom: examining the horrors ---* what is "wank" ---* flaming, sockpuppeting, and general cyberbullying ---* censorship: ffnet purges, boldthrough, & strikethrough ---* other fandom shenanigans of the time (yaoi paddles, anyone?)

harry potter's over. now what?

- for those who needed coming-of-age hero's journeys ---* twilight and YA dystopia waiting in the wings ---* some pretty iconic tv shows start or hit their stride ---* the mcu's phase one ---* takeaway: the rise of "geek culture" generally - for those who just wanted to go to hogwarts ---* doctor who & the wider world of bbc programming ---* british vloggers, you say? where? on youtube? brb--

end tangent, back to your regularly scheduled programming

dan & phil in the first half of 2011

- a continuation of 2010… for now - the videos - british pancakes as a case study of bad fan behavior

streaming and social media

- the birth of snapchat, twitch, and younow - netflix starts developing original programming - multi-channel networks (mcns) - digitour

dan & phil in the second half of 2011

- and they were roommates (omg they were roommates) - fantastic foursome - youtube glitches out - the super amazing project - the first proper baking video + wait, is that the bbc?

~ baking interlude 1: christmas cookies ~

the family sugar cookie (sorry, delia)

amy's 2011

(2012): why is anyone nostalgic for this

the transition from desktop to mobile

- massive growth in smartphone ownership 2011-2015 - things one might do on mobile one might not do on desktop - non-online ways smartphones changed being a youth™

what is tumblr and why is my child using it

- how the site is meant to work - fandom, memes, aesthetics, and SOME public figures - want to be anxious and depressed in peace? come to tumblr - this site seems a little……… gay ---* tumblr's very queer, very neurodiverse userbase ---* legacy media representation in 2012: bad! ---* actual academic research on tumblr users (yes, it exists) - the tumblr experience for non-native english speakers

amy becomes a vibrating mass of panic and paranoia

- in context of the above - additional rant about the american public school system

the growing dan & phil audience

- investigating the origin of the term "phannie" - more collaborations = more viewers - more video uploads = more /invested/ viewers - younow and interacting with fans - watch time replaces clicks in the algorithm

online etiquette, or lack thereof

- mid-transition from the 2000s to the 2010s - "professional internet celebrity" is still basically brand-new - lack of boundaries - various ways to be an asshole online - unsupervised kids simply do not engage in best practices

the end of 2012

- dan and phil move to london - wikipedia vandalism - tiptoeing around a top contender for the phandom's greatest sin - super amazing project DONE, now it's BBC RADIO TIME

(2013): arguably the most important year

- wait. what's that six-second video platform over there--

[amy's curated vine compilation]

- a new wave of internet comedians (read: future youtubers) - the zillennial lexicon - other platforms start emphasizing short-form video content - magcon

emo is BACK - well, sort of

- fob hiatus ends, mcr breaks up. my god. you had to be there - more open ties to nerd/geek culture than in the 2000s - these things once again intersect at dan and phil

dan and phil in the first half of 2013

- siri, what's a "sex symbol?" why are you booing me i'm right-- - d&p are everywhere - radio shows, interviewing, hosting - youtube uploads on their individual channels

rapidly changing cultural attitudes towards queerness

- gay marriage will be legal in places other than canada soon - a lot of assimilationist rhetoric though tbh - parallels to the pop feminism of the decade

hey kids, let's talk about compulsory heterosexuality!!

- what is it and why do people do it - academic, tumblr-level, and anecdotal research - the dannies, the phillies, and the phannies

amy

- the closet™ - mental health stigma - 2013 dnp posts from my main blog

dan and phil in the second half of 2013

- subscriber milestones, vidcon - joint content before the gaming channel - phandom starts having a major presence outside tumblr

(2014): achievement unlocked!

it's time to talk about rpf

- definitions (a chance to be annoyingly pedantic) - academic perspectives and fan discourse on the ethics - when the subjects clearly aren't fine with it - so… we can acknowledge "shipping phan" was different, right? ---* sometimes the subjects are fine* with it, actually ---* how dan and phil started to handle the shipping ---* obvious differences between phan and other rpf ships ---* sharing my favorite passages as a first-time phanfic reader

dan and phil in 2014

- wikipedia vandalism 2: electric boogaloo - bbc request show → internet takeover - the 7 second challenge - youtube content, subscriber milestones, rewind - cons and award shows

tumblr reaches the peak of its influence

- yahoo's attempts to monetize the userbase - buzzfeed and aggregators steal our jokes and bait our clicks - legacy media dangles carrots and uses us for free marketing - the legend of korra breaks TV precedent, almost out of nowhere - the tumblr user experience ---* on mobile, without xkit ---* on desktop, with xkit ---* 2014 dnp posts from my main blog

gamergate and its long shadow

- trolling, renewed and revamped - algorithms push increasingly extreme content - the broad conservative backlash conglomerate - increased normalization of conspiracism in general

my greatest sin [not clickbait] [very funny]

- so, circling back to comphet… - the actual story

anyway, let's talk about danandphilgames

- a star is born: dil howlter - different types of gaming content on youtube at the time - why did 17yo amy not subscribe? well…

~ baking interlude 2: chocolate cupcakes ~

make your own frosting. it freezes well

roasting myself further

(2015): it's not queerbaiting when it's real people

facebook "pivots to video"

- mark zuckerberg lied. water is wet - causes other platforms to REALLY double down on video - the birth of musical.ly - corporate-branded creators (read: future youtubers)

queerbaiting enters mainstream public consciousness

- academic origins - early fannish and acafan writing - johnlock, destiel, and sterek - statistics 101: type i error, type ii error, and queerbait

dan, phil, and the phandom

- bbc, cons, & the brits - danandphilcrafts - phan conspiracies ---* japhan ---* body language experts ---* timeline truthers ---* floor plan investigators ---* no but seriously imagine it - regular youtube uploads ---* solo content ---* joint content ---* subscriber milestones, rewind - tatinof uk and tabinof ---* on "selling out" ---* revisiting the statistics 101 lesson: now with real people! ---* never meet your heroes (unless they're dan and phil)

amy's (temporary) exit from the phandom

- it's legal adulthood with a steel chair!! - growing discomfort with some fans' behavior - 2015 dnp posts from my main blog - the closer: final fantasy vii

(2016): season finale

vine's imminent demise

- content platforms behaving badly - content creators behaving badly

youtube after "the great rewiring" (as haidt calls it)

- version 1.0 of the modern youtube algorithm ---* deep neural networks for dummies ---* what's holding creators accountable, or not - advertising and sponsorships ---* basically every child and youth™ is watching now ---* the battle for our attention ---* regulators start to crack down on undisclosed ads - the rise of drama/tea content (and later, channels) ---* youtubers are now seen as regular celebrities ---* dan and phil as the butt of other youtubers' jokes ---* baiting the phandom for engagement

tatinof us and aus

- a proven new model for live show tours - show & documentary released to youtube red (now premium) - [sigh] the tour bus

sea change in online fandom

- the newer, sometimes queerer media in korra's wake ---* better and more representation in live-action tv shows ---* voltron (i'm sorry!!!) ---* the mystic messenger craze ---* alice oseman & heartstopper - the new dynamics of #discourse ---* proship is to anti as phannie is to phanti ---* the bad behaviors of the 00s get a new coat of paint ---* new, though: fans harassing creators ---* a personal note on ace discourse

dan and phil presence off-tour

- the internet takeover ends - regular content, subscriber milestones

so. uh. current events.

- brexit - sorry the united states is a font of chaos - ripple effects

closing out the year

- amy finally gets an anxiety diagnosis and treatment! hurray! - dapgo, rewind - bbc radio awards & the boncas - gamingmas

(2017): time for a rebrand

tangent - sit down!!! buckle up!!! today's lecture is on PSIs & PSRs!!!

"parasocial" as defined by the current zeitgeist

- summing up youtubers' and laypeople's opinions (not dan's) - an unfairly negative stance overall, imo

older academic literature

- the 1956 paper (yes, 1956) - with traditional celebrities - with fictional characters

current academic literature

- with youtubers and other content creators - positive effects on the audience - negative effects on the audience - broader societal implications

fandom spaces as a parasocial experience

- parasocial and truly social interactions with each other - phandom as a supportive, welcoming space for oddballs - what research i can find about neurospicy folks, + anecdotes - me and everyone else on planet earth move to discord

inherent transactionality

- the nature of celebrity - positive effects on creators - negative effects on creators

reexamining early phandom through a parasocial lens

- the good, the bad, and the ugly - the role audience demographics played in all of this - entering, exiting, and remaining in the phandom

end tangent, back to your regularly scheduled programming

vine is well and truly dead

- some had prepared to become primarily youtubers (smart) - some move to musical.ly, insta, facebook, or snap (less so)

the sun sets on danisnotonfire

- i am very normal about dan's hobbit hair, i swear. - the last dnp content before the rebrand - new apartment, new floor plan investigations

adpocalypse now

- youtube has become the village elder of platforms ---* increased scrutiny, increased responsibility ---* some youtubers had been getting away with !#$!#@% - the scandals ---* pewdiepie + logan paul ---* elsagate and being "family- friendly" (read: ad-friendly) - censorship and monetization ---* adsense revenue goes down as advertisers pull out ---* the glory days of posting whatever and making bank are over

amazingphil and ~daniel howell~

- youtube & younow content - that week in march - vacations and conventions - conjoined baking and the concept of a "soft launch" - daniel & depression → dan as a mental health advocate - truth bombs, ii announcement, rewind

(2018): the phandom vs the hiatus they told us not to worry about

interactive introverts

- "giving the people what they want" - in hindsight… - let's talk about dnp fans from the global south

youtuber burnout

- it wasn't just dan: (more examples than header fits) - the old model was simply not sustainable - newer contributing factors - research on burnout, plus personal anecdotal experience

other dan and phil videos

- phil's solo videos - gay and not proud - hometown showdown - other joint videos - phil's #shorts (sounds normal in american english)

panini updates

- vaccines soon, uwu??? + entrenched misinformation - pros and cons of remote work - pros and cons of remote school - pros and cons of remote socializing

you will get through this night

- younger me really could have used this book too, dan - thoughts as a professional in a related field - reflecting on some of my more unique circumstances

daring my old school district to sue me (again!!)

- updates: racism and transphobia - updates: right-wing freaks take over the school board again - residents vote against improving mental health resources

(2022): dan returns (still not on fire)

hey so politics are um getting worse

- americans lose the right to reproductive freedom ---* the quickest of histories on where these freaks came from ---* this shit kills people. - trans kids become the punching bag of culture war discourse ---* fuck off! (gently) ---* fuck off! (i have a knife) ---* checking in on terf island

we're all doooooooooooooooomed

- dystopia daily my beloved - the style, the substance, the metatextual analysis-- - not everyone loved it, though. why? - the promo - dan on tour + sister daniel

amy's 2022

- i got covid - then i got long covid: brain fog, pots-like symptoms

some more news (i will work on my warmbo impression)

- dan joins tiktok + danisnotinteresting uploads - phil: uploading less, busy doing remote crisis management - twitter is acquired by an idiot jackass - heartstopper on netflix! ---* the show and what it means to people ---* drama (revisiting "real people can't queerbait") ---* why this has anything to do with the phandom

~ baking interlude 4: cinnamon rolls ~

- lovingly, recipe changes and corrections :) - if i have an opinion about anything, it's sweet yeasted breads

(2023): the phrenaissance

phil

- joins tiktok! - youtube uploads through september - what even is phannie tiktok. i've never used this app. help.

dystopia daily b-sides

- dan memes of 2022 - the 2023 dystopia daily episodes

amy: the doctoral candidacy process

- purgatory, privilege, poverty, and free pizza - checking in on what this is like outside the united states

pretending the panini is over

- complaining about post-adpocalypse censorship standards - honest take about "giving up" on covid - who gets the short end of the stick

the youtube algorithm is BAD and UNINTELLIGENT, actually,

- unhinged rant about not hearing about the gaming rephrival - because i was offline from other platforms. like, @amyoffline.

pov: you are a phannie (not me) on october 15th

- what i was doing on october 15th - saying goodbye forever, spooky week, and november - gamingmas - phil uploads through december

(2024): fifteen years of terrible, terrible influence

hey what the fuck is going on

- dan and phil ---* joint and phil videos ---* jokes they never would've made ten years ago ---* a collection of emotional posts about how far they've come ---* people want fun and silly content again. we'll get to why ---* nostalgia, hope, and other warm and fuzzy feelings - the phandom ---* ancient parasocial attachments, reactivated instantly ---* people are way more normal now. let's discuss why ---* tumblr vs twitter vs tiktok phandom

we're all doomed, youtube version

- my thoughts - thoughts on "dan should/shouldn't" do video essays - i can't objectively evaluate anything he makes bc [gunshots]

terrible influence tour

- legally phlonde - the concept: healing one's inner child / taking it back - we gotta talk about phannies in the global south again - no but seriously imagine it? ---*ogres are like onions, they have LAYERS ---* [placeholder for whatever does(n't) happen]

anglosphere current events once again

- the likely us tiktok ban - the tories get fired - [placeholder for whichever hell americans manifest] - witnessing genocide and feeling powerless

ffx full-circle moment to the intro of this video essay

- the night i found out they came back - why i am doing this, now with context - reflections on a nearly 15-year (parasocial) relationship

whatever youtube uploads we get during fall/december

AMY SEES TIT (nov 14)

- the vibes at the phamily reunion - buying merch to apologize for eternal ublock origin use - how much should i document?? (not during the show) - phanspiracies confirmed - atlanta confessions - favorite bits - the alternate universe where i went to tatinof and/or ii

(2025): the horrors persist, but so do we

whatever 2025 content is out while i'm still working on this

our parasocial social club

- let me be philosophytube for a second ---* every interaction has a parasocial element ---* what are we obligated to do as a phandom, actually? ---* as people who parasocially care about these two dorks? ---* what else should we be doing socially to be at our happiest? - "they're my gay uncles" vs "i'm a little in love, even now" ---* riffing about the boundary/overlap between these camps ---* sibling reads me for filth in a single text (sister daniel...) ---* at least we're all in this together

what's going to continue to draw people in

- grown adults drawing our cat whiskers back on - updates on queer/nd kids - updates on anxiety/depression rates - updates on tech and the broader environment of content - world still feels doomed

tangent - the "hard launch" and why people want it

what are people referring to, exactly

- general definition and other examples - when it comes to dan and phil - maybe they hard launched already and we just missed the memo

the ludonarrative of phandom

- if you got here early on - if you got here in the mid-2010s - if you got here after they came out - if you got here post-hiatus - final fantasy comparison: ffvii's chokehold over first-timers

a rom-com for the ages

- the tropes in play - brief tangent on the evolution of the genre - queer romantic comedies - final fantasy comparison: ffviii's plot and squall/rinoa

phriends… or…

- wholesome influence, slice-of-life - projection - final fantasy comparison: ffxv's gameplay loop, the chocobros

humans don't like ambiguity

- from a media perspective (narrative tension) - research from the hard sciences - final fantasy comparison: fanille ---* the first gay final fantasy characters, actually ---* ffxiii's character development process ---* fang and vanille in the text. brb, clawing at the walls ---* so, if anyone is looking for a phyuri au prompt…

tl;dr: reality is not fiction. make peace with not "knowing"

end tangent, back to your regularly scheduled programming

the phuture

- phil's big solo project when??? - dapg is just the joint channel now - youtube has changed since when dan last "regularly" uploaded - nothing lasts forever, and that's okay

~ baking interlude 5: ranch + pizza ~

- ranch propaganda and ranch metaphors - showing off my dough and sauce skills

conclusions

- a lot has happened in 15 years - [placeholders: don't write your conclusions before you do your research]

Proof this project can only be done in consultation with Tumblr: no other platform we're on could accommodate a post of this length and formatting detail lol

#dan and phil #phan #dnp #daniel howell #amazingphil #this took so long to format oh my god please read it and talk to me #except it's 1am in my time zone so i'm going honk mimimimi soon enough #amy writes

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the-most-humble-blog · 21 days ago

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<div style="white-space:pre-wrap"> <meta existential-integrity="unsanctioned-reality-leak"> <script> ARCHIVE_TAG="WE_EXIST::NO_REASON_NEEDED" EFFECT: subconscious dissonance spike, certainty rupture, quantum ego destabilizer </script>

🧠 BLACKSITE ENTRY — “YOU EXIST. BUT NOBODY KNOWS WHY.”

---

Let me ask you something.

When did you decide the universe was figured out?

Was it a TED Talk? A YouTube explainer? A NASA tweet with glowing graphics and captioned confidence?

You saw the term “theory” and your brain helpfully deleted it —because uncertainty makes your teeth itch.

But let me offer you something quieter than panic and heavier than dread:

> We don’t actually know anything. > Not deeply. > Not in a way that holds up outside a textbook or an echo chamber.

—

We don’t know why reality exists. We don’t know what time actually is. We don’t know why your thoughts arrive before you can think them.

And yet we build particle accelerators like toddlers trying to microwave a black hole because we think slamming atoms together will unlock the secrets of God.

Cute.

—

Let’s go deeper.

☢️ The Big Bang? Still a guess. ☢️ Time? Might not flow — it may already be finished, and you’re just remembering. ☢️ Death? Might not be an end — just a lateral move through another dimension where your brain politely forgets that you exploded three seconds ago.

Some researchers now speculate that dreams may be cross-dimensional data leakage. That when you sleep, you’re catching flickers of other lives you’re also living simultaneously but can’t consciously integrate because your nervous system has a bandwidth cap.

—

Still with me?

Good.

Because here comes the part you’re not going to like.

> You may never not have existed.

No beginning. No end. Just a reformatting loop of what you call “you” being carried from one timeline to the next like luggage with no tags.

And maybe — just maybe — you’re the only version of yourself that’s still conscious.

Which means all the others?

Already failed. Already gone. Already recycled.

—

Now here’s the fun part.

You think your decisions matter? That free will is a virtue?

You’re operating on hardware you didn’t build inside a reality you didn’t request and dreaming thoughts you didn’t design.

But sure — go ahead and judge yourself for not having your life together on a spinning rock hurling through a mostly empty dimension created by a cosmological event that (again) we have no verified reason for.

—

Some physicists now consider the possibility that there was no beginning. No spark. No origin story.

That the universe just is.

> “Why are we here?” > “Because we are.” > “Why do we exist?” > “Because.”

Not divine. Not cruel. Not planned.

Just… happening.

And maybe it always has.

Maybe you're the nervous system of a universe that got bored and started writing blogs with thumbs.

—

So here you are. Alive.

With a pulse you didn’t earn inside a body you barely control on a planet that could be erased by a gamma burst before you finish your next coffee.

And you're still hesitating to write the book. Still scared to say what you mean. Still obsessed with what someone might comment under a post that will vanish from relevance in under 36 hours.

Really?

—

Here’s your cosmic permission slip:

✅ You don’t need a reason. ✅ You don’t need the algorithm’s approval. ✅ You don’t need to be right, safe, or explainable.

You’re here.

By whatever unquantifiable chaos birthed this whole thing. By whatever static frequency reality is currently tuned to. By whatever made stardust decide to metabolize into personality.

Use it.

Write like the universe is watching, but too old to care. Speak like your soul already left the group chat and you’re just trying to finish the monologue before the lights cut.

—

Don’t wait for a clearer answer.

There may not be one.

And that’s the most permission you’ll ever need.

===

🧠Reblog if you believe in scientific humility. Existential poetry. Post-cosmic cadence.

🕯️ Not everyone gets this memo. You just did. Don’t waste it.

</div>

#blacksite literature™#scrolltrap #universe mystery #we don’t know everything #scientific wonder #existence is weird #multiverse theory #dreams as messages #quantum universe #poetic science #alive against odds #permission to create #meaning in uncertainty

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lightning-wyvern · 4 months ago

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~ spice pop

toge inumaki x male reader | fluff, slightlysuggestive, jjk x mha crossover content fire/fireball, ice, cursing (cuss words AND inumaki), fighting, physical contact, displays of physical affection, "caviar" (fuck but inumaki says it), a kiss at the end, intense gojo slander and reader plot armor notes this is for a request an anon sent me a while ago :') the plot armor is because i hate gojo get out if you dont like it. im also lowkey bad at writing non-angsty teasing scenes?? tf?? wc 1,122 please reblog fanfictions when you read one you like! likes do not help writers' algorithms!

inumaki yawned, sitting down next to megumi with a small box of cream collon in his hand. he smiled, watching you squaring off with yuji.

"i just realized he's gonna kick yuji's ass." megumi said, resting his elbows on his knees and putting his chin in his hands.

"yeah, i heard m/n's been getting better with his ice attacks." inumaki agreed, grinning as you threw a giant ice ball at yuji--right on time.

"his fireballs have been getting bigger too, i took the brunt of one the other night," nobara added in, plopping down next to megumi.

"what the hell did you do that made m/n throw a ball of fire at you?!" megumi asked, "do i even want to know?"

"nope." she giggled. "but i love to yap. we were out at some random party and i stole his food from him. i used like half a bottle of shampoo that night, there was so much damn ash in my hair."

you rolled to the left, dodging a punch yuji had thrown. you grabbed his wrist and directed your body heat into the palm of your hand, driving your foot into his chest and shoving him off. he slid backward a few feet on a floor of ice you had created, but he was able to keep himself steady.

"that hurt, dude." he pouted, flicking his wrist; he had a little bit of a first degree burn now. oops.

"hey, body heat is less easy to control than the literal air." you defended yourself with a returning pout.

"that makes sense, suuure." yuji rolled his eyes.

"fool." said sukuna simply, "you could have dodged that." yuji groaned, slapping a hand to his cheek to silence his burdensome little intruder.

this fight wasn't over; you had a few minutes left before break time. yuji was distracted, so you used the opportunity to huck a fireball at his feet. of course, yuji being who he was, he didn't see it until it hit the ice an inch away from his toes. it exploded, knocking him backward a bit more than a few feet. he rolled and jumped up, dusting himself off.

"ugh, you win." yuji pouted again.

"that's not how this works, gojo hasn't let us off for a break. i still get to bully you for a bit longer."

yuji groaned.

you grinned, willing the air around you to heat up until the ice on the ground melted and the grass dried.

"break time, kids! go on!" gojo yelled, having appeared out of nowhere less than a foot behind you--as was custom of the little fuck.

"gojo, technically i'm older than you."

"yes, technically. but i'm still the boss of you nonetheless." he grinned.

you kicked him in the stomach, deciding to bully him back. you willed the rocks under his feet to heat up and explode without warning, sending him tumbling backward a good ten feet. he got up anyways because he was a fucking cockroach, dusting himself off.

"go on," he said like a bossy pest, doing stupid little shooing motions with his hands.

"wave those hands at me one more time and i'll bite them off like a dog, sensei. with all due respect." you spat the last four words, turning around and kicking up some pebbles as you followed yuji over to the stairs leading into the yard.

"you really aren't something to be messed with, m/n." nobara said with a grin, she and megumi scooting over so you could sit next to inumaki.

"you're only say're only saying that because i burned your hair into a bob the other night, kugisaki." you said pointedly.

"whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. she got up and turned around to go into the cafeteria, and megumi and yuji followed her, leaving you and inumaki alone on the steps together.

"you really are a great fighter, m/n," inumaki said quietly, smiling. his hand strayed up to the necklace around his neck, his fingers toying with the charm.

"thanks," you replied, "it's not as hard to control the fire anymore. my fireballs are getting bigger and hotter."

you smiled, scooting a little closer to inumaki and letting the silence kind of just take over the moment for a while.

"i saw you watching me earlier, while i was practicing with yuji." you said after a while, "i was kinda curious, why?"

inumaki grinned, blushing and hiding his face in his scarf. you giggled and shoved his shoulder lightly, grinning as your face turned pink as well.

"aww, toge, tell me what's up!" you wrapped your arm around his shoulder and pulled him closer. he smiled, scooting into your embrace.

"well, honestly..." he started, "i have a little bit of a crush on you. i haven't said anything mostly because of my cursed speech, 'cus gojo says sometimes i have to give this necklace a break? i'm not entirely sure how it works, but i don't wanna break it and lose my free speech. but i do like you, and honestly it's a little more than a small crush. especially when i'm watching you fight--it makes my feelings do things, it shows how strong you are."

you smiled, choosing to think for a second before responding.

"i like you too," you replied, "i dunno when it started, but i do. i like how quiet you are, even with that necklace. to me it's always shown that you like to use words carefully, even with your cursed speech. i like that."

inumaki smiled softly, scooting closer to you. you let him, and the two of you sat that way for a while, watching the sky dampen from blue to grey as a light snow storm came in.

at some point, your brain made the decision for you before you'd thought of it. your hand moved off inumaki's shoulder and cupped his face, turning his head so he was looking at you.

"toge, i kinda wanna kiss you..." you admitted, your face turning pink in a way that had almost nothing to do with the cold weather.

inumaki's eyes widened and his own cheeks turned rose-colored, but he grinned and gladly took the opportunity. he leaned over and connected his lips with yours. his arm snuck up behind your back and wrapped lightly around your neck, pulling you just a little bit closer. your other hand locked with the one he had around you, and you separated yourself reluctantly to catch a breath. inumaki grinned, hugging you tightly.

"i'm not gonna lie, that took more courage than talking to megumi." he said into your shoulder.

"talking to me takes courage?" interrupted megumi, "why?"

you and inumaki both started laughing, leaning on your knees for support.

#~ | posting #~ rhykar #《 rhy writes ♡#jjk #jujutsu kaisen #inumaki #toge inumaki #jjk x male reader #inumaki x male reader #jjk fluff #toge inumaki x male reader #inumaki fluff

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thatzombiecat · 1 year ago

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Seems like tumblr got me shadowbanned for some unknown for me reason. My posts just not appearing for people and me in tag-wide search and tl.

I remember my posts have gathered plenty of interactions before but now they barely scraping 10 likes, 60 likes maximum for the posts that exploded otherwise on other platforms (like Baldur's Gate 3 fanarts).

Like, it's so discouraging to use tumblr now and to share my works with people here when no one can see it. Gosh I'm so tired...

I've experienced a huge bot influx in my follower count somewhere at the start of 2023 and the fact is that you can't get them unfollow you. My activity died since then. I also tried to promote my patreon as a blog with more content and thoughts as it was a platform that I was comfortable with and a friendly place to battle my social media anxiety. But maybe algorithms and bot influx got me screwed

And now this blog's activity is plain dead and stale and I have no joy to post here anymore because all of it

I'm so fed up with the social media bullshit, the bot influx, fighting to please the algorithms, and new apps trying to replace where you have to figure out how to AGAIN battle algorithms and build AGAIN your follower count. As is already the abundance of social media is REALLY draining, and it's really hard to focus while you have to repost every piece everywhere

I'm just a little artist trying to survive that wants to have everything and my audience in one place to share my little scribbles ;;

Already filed the complain to tumblr support. I'll promise to reblog my artworks when I'll get a respond and things will get fixed (hope they'll do)

Sorry for the rant. Gotta finally blow out some steam

#thatzombietalks #rant #tumblr issues #tumblr help

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dreamingofyeo · 1 year ago

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crescent: chapter 1 ☾⋆⁺₊✧

The boy in the stocks

792 words

masterlist - playlist

~☆彡 ~ Tumblr's algorithm works from reblogs so if you like my work please consider It :)

It was the sound of the loud, cruel laughter of castle guards and various cold hearted villagers that tore you from your sleep. It was rare your lady allowed you a day of rest, yet when one is given the castle decides to drag another poor soul to the village stocks? As if to mock the very definition of rest. You could care less about the physical definition, but knowing of someone’s suffering but a few meters from your door laughs in the face of a more psychological one. The kind of rest you truly need. Maybe that’s a selfish take on the matter, but living in such environments forces you to adopt such a mindset. Living in this kingdom assures you that whoever is currently being forced into the stocks is less than deserving of the humiliation.

Having long learned not to watch such torment; you try to block out the sound of rotten vegetables exploding against wood and flesh. You force yourself out of bed, make sure the sheets are properly made and wipe the sweat and visible grime from your body with a damp cloth before pulling your clothes on. It’s dark in the room, you’re unable to afford wasting the candles in daylight hours; so you steel your nerves and swing open the window shutters, desperately trying to avoid the scene outside of them.

You begin busying yourself with general domestic work when the sound of your father’s laughter and mocking reaches your ears, causing your attention to snap to the window in disgust.

He should be above this, it’s a disgrace to your mother’s memory for him to include himself in such an event. He will surely do more than scold you if you intervene but you cannot stand idly. A foolish decision? Perhaps. But one you do not care for the consequences of, you are more than accustomed to his backwards parenting methods.

You walk calmly out of the house and easily spot your father’s head of black unkept hair amongst the crowd, politely making your way through the masses to reach his side. He hasn’t noticed you yet and begins his next verbal assault.

“This bastard! can’t even meet our eyes when we speak to him. A poor excuse for a man indeed, ever fitting that he be here.”

You cringe at his words, he’s truly one to talk about being a ‘man’, he reaches for another rotten tomato and is preparing to launch it at the man when you gently take a hold of his arm.

“Father I think we should go inside, mother wouldn’t approve of this, and neither do I.”

At this, the man in the stocks raises his head to the source of the calm voice. Your father gives you an incredulous look of poorly masked anger and disgust, a concoction which unnerves you and causes the woman just behind you to attempt tugging your form towards her. He grips your arm harshly though and yanks you into his space before practically hissing,

“No, I suggest you go inside, this instant. How dare you attempt to embarrass me, I will deal with you later.” he finishes before snapping his arm away from him sending you off balance, you barely catch yourself but find yourself now meeting the eye of the man in the stocks.

He is surely around your age, slightly shaggy black hair falling around his defined face. His youthful look makes him seem more of a boy than a man, deepening your anger at his situation. His expression and eyes are what strike you though, he is looking at you with none of the expected hurt and embarrassment the punishment aims to induce. His countenance is that of pure curiosity, and he offers you a small smile of gratitude for your words which you return despite the confusion your own expression must emit.

You make your way silently back through the crowd to your door, various villagers offering you looks of either disgust or barely concealed laughter at your act of deviance to your father.

The man in the stocks observes you until you vanish from his view. The tomato finds it’s target causing him to tilt his face away as it splatters onto his cheek, now facing your window he finds comfort in seeing you.

You busy yourself again with domestic work, attempting to hold back the emotions before giving in, continuing folding linens with tears silently running down your face.

The man’s face twists in confusion at this, before dropping his head, not wanting to spy on your sadness. It’ll all be over soon, the guards will drag drag him back to his cell soon enough. Until then he will bask in the comfort of your actions.

chapter 2 ->

~taglist

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aglitchysylveon · 1 year ago

Note

slides in with question

List 5 things that make you happy, and put this in the ask box of 10 people who liked or reblogged something from you!

(btw you dont have to answer on the spot :3) (btwbtw: LOVE YOUR WORK /POS)

Things that make me happy? I have a lot but if it comes to here I guess I can think of some things.

1: I like it when people reblog my stuff, especially the things that aren't overly popular. Like half of my art that has a shit ton of attention are of the smiling critter things and then I look at my OCs that have... Like 2 reblogs and maybe 4 likes. So I like it when people look my OC art because I worked a lot on those (even the lore bits)

2: I enjoy getting comments and asks about little things about myself, it's fun to write about the things I like.. And maybe getting asks for my OCs? I LOVE WRITING ABOUT THEM PLEASE SOMEONE ASK CECE SOMETHI-

3: I don't know why people use the tags to comment on people's posts when they reblog things but sometimes it can be so funny to see their reaction, and it's unironically the funniest thing. Also some of the messages of the reblogged posts are so funny 💀. The McDonald's Gabriel thingy I did that kinda blew up has so many people being like "yes I'll have (a food from the restaurant)" but yeah. Now I'm kinda just rambling lol.

4: These last two are kinda tricky because these never happened (yet) and I'm sure any artist can relate to the sheer volume of happiness that can suddenly materialize within you, but it's when people comment about my art and how much they love it, I know that I'm good at art it's just sometimes I kinda doubt my ability or get down on myself when things don't get attention but I gotta remember it's the stinky algorithm.

5: For this, I hope one day it'll happen. But I love getting fanart of my OCs, so far it's really only been my small friend group whose been drawing for each other, and even from them I get happy about seeing my OCs in their art styles or just doing stupid shit. Or with their OCs.

But yeah that's pretty much what I can think of.

I don't know how to do the askbox shit so I'll just ping 10 people here and hope I don't explode from doing things wrong, please don't drag me into the shadow realm.

@angelcat123 @aprosin @clownpalette @cameraclown06 @gardensofcanaan @little-miss-impersonator @handhourgalleries @callie-flower @purpletrashsnake @izel-scribbles

(Also this totally isn't a promotion for my mother but guys please follow @handhourgalleries , she's my mom and she's very cool, her art looks so edible I'd eat her art as a late night snack. Do it now/j)

#answering asks #asks #things about me #stuff i like #5 things #artists on tumblr

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worldsbiggestnerd101 · 9 months ago

Note

even in anon im sure youre gonna know who i am but ANYWAY lets get started.

*explodes*

What do i think of you? I think youre cool. Youre silly. Youre one of the sweetest people ive met on this hell site Like. I do Not Know How Tf i befriended you in the first place other than The Autisms Autisming at the Same time. I think you have some of the silliest (and most gut wrenching) ideas and deserve to be attacked with a bunch of hugs, love, and comfort for the rest of your life. And potatoes. Im currently throwing those in various places around your house dont Mind me !! /silly but seriously. You rock, Youre loved, you’re important. Dont ever forget that. /gen

But I am glad i got to meet you cuz honestly. Youre one of the greatest people i have Ever met. And tumblr did a good job with wahatever the algorithm is Cuz AHDNDOSHISRH

All /pos/gen

anyway *blows you up with mind*

hope your hw is going well And that the second tower doesnt get hit in the process of it :3

(This was for that one reblog uhhhh idk *blows up x3*)

AGSKDJAKDHLSSKAL 🥹🥹😭😭🥹🫂🫂😭🥹😭😭🥹🫂😭🥹🫂😭😭🥹🥹🫂🫂

GRAHAM BESTIE ILYT!!!!!! TYSM I’M GONNA CRYYYYYY TY TY TY 🫂‼️

i’m gonna look in our dms and find how we became friends actually— WAIT HOLY SHIT I MET YOU VIA ASHE I REMEMBER NOW I RBED SOME ART OF YOURS WHEN YOU WERE NEW HERE 💥💥💥

that is so fuckjng sweet omg just. all of this. right back at you too 🫂🫂🫂🫂‼️‼️‼️

you’re actually genuinely one of my closest friends like. in general not even just online which is an insane feat for us only knowing each other for a few months. i love you so so so much bestie, we have so much in common we’re practically related (probably actually related in some way lmfao), you’re the dipper to my mabel, and most importantly YOU ARE WANTED AND LOVED AND CARED ABOUT AND WOULD BE MISSED IF YOU WERE GONE‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️💥💥💥

love you bestie 🫂🫂

(i figured :3 *explodes*)

#em rambles #asks #mutuals #graham

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cupcraft · 2 years ago

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Things tumblr should do instead of whatever their current plans are (NOTE: IN MY OPINION)

1: other interesting ways to monetize the site along the same lines as the merch/ad free/random things to add to your blog/etc. I don't mind optional monetization that is helpful for it to run and neutral on how it's used.

2: fix post searching and tag searching. I shouldn't have to lose a post especially if I've tagged it properly because it just won't search.

3: better reporting system that allows for more comprehensive reporting and better deals with bots/scams/bigotry/and harassment. I also shouldn't have to BE the person being harassed to report harassment that is public and visible. And I shouldn't have to report harassment to get an email from tumblr that's just like "oh well even though this person has been a bigot/harassed people 10000000 times we just deleted the post I suggest you block them".

4: Get rid of tumblr live or at the very least I don't want to see it move it somewhere else. Opt in policy for it to be on the dash.

5: make the explore page better. Idk specifically what.

6: make algorithmic things opt in. I want to remove the for you page but I'm okay if others choose to have it there, for example.

7: make the messaging system easier to use and look through. Add ways to search dms better. I don't want to scroll through 2 years worth of messages only for it to glitch and explode.

8: please allow me to see the prev reblog. Move the hit box back on the reblog from name.

9: better policy on ppl who have multiple urls. Instead of just getting rid of their use of the main blog forever and ever that is.

9: do more interactive community content that encourages ppl to participate In tumblr (opt in of course). Like help artists for inktober, find ways to promote rbs over likes, do challenges and events, etc! Promote fandom content and interaction. Bolster the community that is already here.

And I can't think of other stuff rn feel free to add on lol !

#my musings #tumblr

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crimsonmoonscrypt · 2 years ago

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Blank below + sketches!!

RAHHH

#kyrukatart #ocs #solemn #hojin #my ocs #virustruck #homestuck #dancestors #gamzee #sollux #dirk #jade harely #nepeta #homestuck ancestors #neptune #jupiter #me thats me #my sona #reblog to explode the algorithm

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grumpygreenwitch · 1 year ago

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The Witches and Wizards Job 37-38

AO3 Link

Buy me a Ko-fi?

Remember: Tumblr has no algorithm. Reblogs give me life.

1-2 + 3-4 + 5-6 + 7-8 + 9-10-11 + 12-13-14 + 15-16 + 17-18-19 + 20-21-22 + 23-24-25 + 26-27-28 + 29-30 + 31-32-33 + 34-35-36 + 37-38 + 39-40-41-42

THIRTY SEVEN

"You look old," Baba Yaga said at last into the deadly silence, her Russian musical and cold.

Koschei flinched as if she'd slapped him. Nate slipped behind the Hag and Fedorov until he stood just between them and Dresden; close enough to be seen, but no so close that either Koschei or Stone tried to stop him.

"It's not you," the Blackbird choked out. "It can't be you. I took everything from you. Everything!"

"You stole," she snapped at him. "You're always trying to take power that's not yours -"

"It's mine -"

"It's too much -"

"IT'S MINE!" he shouted, and half the lights went out. The dock was thrown into chiaroscuro patterns from the floodlights just outside it and two fluorescent lights hanging on grimly. "If you cannot hold onto power, then it belongs to those who can."

"By that measure, if I can take your power away, it's mine to keep," she replied, and there was such menace in her voice even the golem shifted minutely away.

"You can do nothing," the wizard gritted out. "A hundred years I have plotted and planned and prepared. You may be able to cast a glamour and light a few lights, but so what? You don't have your mortar, you don't have your pestle, you don't even have your shawl!"

"Neither do you," Nate said evenly in English before anyone else could speak.

"You be silent, mortal!" Koschei threw his power at Ford in a flash of green light.

But Dresden, faster than him, rolled to his feet and skid to a halt between the mastermind and their mark. Power bloomed from him, from the black feathers stitched among the feathery motif embroidered into the wrists and neck and hem of his dress shirt - the Blackbird's own feathers, snatched from him that first time at the MFA. The power crashed into a shield wrought and empowered by those feathers, and bounced off. Dresden had guessed that Koschei would be the sort of wizard that always made sure his own magic couldn't hurt him on the rebound. Surprising no one (except perhaps himself), he'd been right.

Stunned, Koschei came to a halt. Nate stepped out to stand beside Dresden, his hands laced in front of him, unfazed. He hadn't even twitched when the Blackbird had moved to attack him. "I haven't lied to you yet, have I?"

"I do. not. CARE," Koschei screamed, pale with rage, the cords of muscle along his neck standing out starkly. "Bring her! Bring a dozen gods. Bring a hundred! Can your wizard protect them all? Can he do that while protecting the Prince of Thieves, her little friend? Will he choose between you and them? Between you and the Hag? Between -"

"I don't think you understand." Ford shrugged. "Why are you shouting? You've already lost."

Koschei bared his teeth. "If that is true, then it will be my pleasure to have you all lose with me," he growled low. "Unless you believe your pet wizard can stop mister Stone from killing you all?"

"No," Ford admitted readily, then pointed at the opposite side of the docks. "That's what he's for."

Seven tons of niuhi, teeth and talons and blue striped skin on a frame made of nothing but muscle, charged through the side of the building as if it weren't there. The wereshark crashed into the golem, who barely had time to turn, shoving off Parker and Jessamine to try and put up a defense. They both went flying into and through one of the yachts and into the water with a tremendous splash.

Parker threw herself over Jess; Fedorov covered Baba Yaga with his body. Koschei clenched his hands and let out a furious, wordless yowl, magic gathering around him like a storm, hungry and deadly.

"Dresden!" Nate yelled.

The wizard shoved the mastermind against the back wall, took a step forward and pointed his wand down, shouting a single word. "Forzare!"

The dock exploded. Boards went to splinters as if a giant fist had smashed into them from on high, showering the water with hail; the last of the lights exploded into brilliant sparks. Both Dresden and Koschei plummeted into the frothing surf.

Parker dragged Jess into the boat-house proper, where Sophie, who'd never actually left the boat-house, was waiting for them; the grifter slammed the door shut behind them. "So he's a bad grifter and a sore loser," she declared archly. "Who's surprised. Are you both alright?"

"I think so." Parker was far more concerned with her friend than with herself. "Jess?"

"I'm alright," the young curator wheezed. "Did that man just blow up the dock?"

"It gets complicated," Parker replied tightly before turning to Sophie. "Eliot and Hardison?"

The hitter had just poked his head out of the other yacht, to stare in stunned disbelief at the destruction one word and one gesture from the local wizard had wrought. Then he raced along the deck of the boat and threw his hands out. "Fedorov!"

The Russian and his companion were stranded on the only side of the docks that didn't have a door, to either the outside or the boat-house. Nate, at least, had a giant shark-shaped hole he could've used. All three of them ran for Eliot. "It seems every time we meet I have to get handsy with you, Grandmother," Vanya said in Russian, his tone light in spite of the situation. "What will you think of me."

Baba Yaga, still wearing Sophie's seeming, laughed once again, short and sharp, caught by surprise. "I will think what I already did of you," she replied cheerily.

He picked her up and helped her onto the boat, to Eliot's waiting hands, while Nate jumped onboard.

The covered dock had been built against the shallow beach by digging down and reinforcing the space with rip-rap: rocks roughly the size of a man's head. The end result was a narrow area that looked deep, but wasn't. The yachts, for all their size, didn't break six feet on draft. At its deepest part the channel leading to the dock was fifteen feet, just outside the building. From there it angled up precipitously until it reached the more-or-less solid ground where the mansion's gardens began.

Which meant Dresden, who'd been closer to the artificial shore, could actually stand up abruptly from among the flotsam, choking and bedraggled like a half-drowned cat, climbing up the slope toward the hole the niuhi had left in the wall.

"Dresden!" Nate shouted a warning.

The wizard turned, thrown off-balance by his waterlogged clothing, just in time to throw his hand up and empower the feather-shield as actinic fire came boiling out at him from the water. It sloshed around the shield, making it ripple, pouring around and over it like poisonous syrup, and wherever it splashed the torn wood, drywall and plastic of the building crackled, froze and shattered.

Koschei, looking like a bird that's gone for a bath it neither planned nor wanted, rose to the surface of the churning water and stepped lightly on it. It froze where he went in awkward little waves. "I am going to make a footstool out of you, Dresden," the Blackbird hissed.

"No, thanks," Leverage's wizard replied blithely. "Not a fan of chintz."

The second yacht suddenly went stumbling sideways with an almighty crunch, crashing hard into the section of the dock that was still standing. Everyone on board stumbled. "Nate!" Eliot called out. "We're taking on water!"

A gale of wind came out of nowhere and threw Koschei back in the water. Dresden managed to scrabble onto solid ground and tried to race for the boat-house.

A massive sheet of ice erupted from the deep end of the docks and raced forward, jagged and vast, locking everything in its grip, flotsam, the sinking yacht, the ruins of its twin. Harry slipped and went down, and only one of the boat-house's walls stopped him, none too gently. The ice stopped the yacht from further going down for a moment, but then a hand punched through the ice and grabbed the aft ladder, and the boat groaned and shifted uneasily as mister Stone dragged himself partially out of the water, his fancy clothes in tatters.

Koschei passed up through the ice as if he were a ghost, power seething around him.

"Kostya!" Grandmother shouted in Russian. "Do not do this! You know how the stories always end. Let it go!"

"I have not come this far to give up now because of a fairy tale!" he spat at her before turning to Dresden and switching to English. "How dare you believe you, any of you, can stand against me."

"Reasons abound," the younger wizard wheezed. He'd managed to roll to his feet, ready to take on whatever spell the Blackbird threw at him.

But instead of attacking, Koschei drew the twisted, blackened staff out of nowhere and gestured at the ice, drawing up a mirror-perfect, thin sheet of ice the size of a door. Nate, from the boat, saw Harry's eyes go wide. A gout of fire came from the wizard, but Koschei threw up a shield as he spoke in a rough, growling tongue.

The mastermind exhaled sharply, and saw his breath come out as a plume in what should have been Boston's warm summer air, and the world slowed down to a crawl, ringing faintly against his ears. The darkness gleamed like reflections from a jewel, shattering all around him.

There would be no more comfortable lies for him. There would be no more denying. There were two wizards fighting on a plane of ice not fifty feet from him. A man that wasn't one was trying to climb onto their boat to get away from a shark that liked to walk as a man. The world was not what it seemed, it never had been, and Nathan Ford could no longer pretend that he knew all that there was to know. Leshy sprang out of the portal Koschei had summoned out of nowhere, and reality slammed back into place for the mastermind. So be it. If the world must change, he would change with it. The job still needed to be done. "Hardison, now!"

Leshy, Dresden had explained, were creatures of the Nevernever, the elusive world that paralleled Nate's own. But they were of neither. Unaffiliated fairies that only barely looked to Summer, they had no rules, but also no protection beyond their own numbers. Their behavior was defined by their nature, and their nature was that of a hare, always ready for a fight, to kick and bite - and always on the lookout for predators.

Hardison, just outside the hole in the wall, pulled out of his pocket the phone he'd gotten from the spider. In the seething maelstrom of magical energies coming from the boat-house it was the only piece of technology that was still working. He used it to remotely drive not Lucille 2.0 but the u-Haul van, the back of which was full of things he'd hardly ever thought he'd get to use, like cathode tubes and transistors the size of his fist. He had one screen, one radio transmitter, a keyboard that was so profoundly and mechanically loud he twitched at the very thought of having to use it.

And Mouse.

A black, sleek, unmarked van would have immediately pinged the awareness of the security staff at the mansion. But people are used to seeing u-Haul vans. They're used for much more than just moving, on reason of being both cheap and basically indestructible. The doors might not close, the brakes might need pumping, the gas might stick at fifty, a hundred things might be broken in it, but by golly it will get you from Point A to Point B, somehow. By the time the u-Haul van made it down the driveway and jumped the curb onto the perfectly manicured lawn, it was too late for security to stop it, and most of them were busy trying to keep the guests from leaving, anyway.

The hacker brought the van to a rattling, skidding stop next to the hole in the wall and opened a door, and the young Temple mastiff catapulted out with a snarl that brought the hackles up on every creature in the boat-house, even if they didn't have them. The leshy coming through the portal froze, every head whipping around to that sound.

Eliot took a running start and shoulder-checked Stone off the yacht. The hitter rebounded and fell on his back, stunned, his shoulder on fire, but Stone, his balance too precarious, went flying back and crashed through the sheet of ice, sinking like, well, a stone.

Mouse barked. It sounded like a gun going off. The leshy turned and tried to sprint back into the portal, but Koschei destroyed with a furious litany of curses. The fairy thugs scattered instead and the Russian wizard turned to point his staff at the dog gleefully chasing panicking rabbits all over the place. A beautiful right cross caught him on the cheek and sent him flying onto the last bit of the docks abutting the boat-house, too stunned to make a sound, unable to breathe, his staff flying out of his hands.

Vanya Fedorov, wearing the blessed silver knuckles, slipped lightly on the ice and climbed after the wizard with cold, deadly murder in his face. "I will not be sold," he said in Russian. His voice was lethally calm, his teeth gritted. Koschei made the mistake to try and get up, and Fedorov punched him again, sending him sprawling inelegantly. "I will not trust my fate to a man who sees me as a toy. I am not your pawn to be offered to your friends for favors, for power, for wealth."

"You are an ill-mannered child -" Koschei threw up a shield as he struggled to his knees.

Vanya brought up his other hand and punched right through the shimmering energy as if it were not there; the knuckles on that one were lead and iron. "This child knows how to make allies, rather than buying loyalty with fear and lies. I know that sometimes the truth is all you need. So here is some truth for you, Blackbird: stay down, or I will make you stay down."

Koschei struggled to draw one breath. "I will see you all dead for this," he gasped, turning on his back, lifting himself up on his elbows. He grinned manically up at the Russian enforcer. "You would be a hero, would you, little prince," he hissed in Russian. "Very well. Let's see what sort of a hero, you are."

The portal opened just shy of the nets that festooned the naked beams of the roof. A low, seething sound, the rasping of scales against scales, filled the air, and the chaos came to a complete halt in the blink of an eye.

A mass of shifting coils, each one as large around as a man, appeared out of nowhere and began to descend. Green and black, they glowed with an inner, vitriolic light, as if of a fire burning behind stained glass. There was no beginning or end to them.

Very clearly, in the abrupt silence, everyone heard Dresden's voice. "Oh, crap."

The leshy bolted. The dog, that eternal enemy, was suddenly not the top of their priorities. They trampled everything and everyone, including each other, in their panicked haste.

"What is it?" Nate asked of the false Sophie next to him.

"Zmei Gorynich," she replied, staring. "A Great Serpent."

Eliot didn't like the sound of that. At all. "A f- He - He called up a friggin' dragon?!"

The mass of coils began to disentangle itself, spreading out as it descended. Rippling vanes, sails stitched onto jutting, dagger-like bone, unfolded along its sides. A dry, cruel heat was beginning to radiate from it, a pervasive scent filling the air, of forests burnt to ash, homes reduced to rubble and coal.

"A young one, but yes."

Eliot didn't even know what to say to that.

"Out, now," Nate commanded. "Off the boat. We need solid ground."

"You will not ask me to help?" she asked him, curious and surprised.

"Well, we're here to rescue you," the mastermind pointed out as they all rushed to the other side of the yacht, where the ice and violence had pressed the deck of it closer to what was left of the docks. "Seems kind of rude to make you work for it."

She looked terribly amused.

"Besides, can you?"

"No. I do not have the power to singe his hair right now." She looked at the zmei. "But you do not need me anyway."

The zmei hadn't even fully uncoiled itself when Leverage's wizard shouted something out and force, invisible and irresistible, slammed it back up through the roof, canoes and kayaks, netting and roofing flying everywhere and launching the creature entirely out of sight.

THIRTY EIGHT

I had honestly thought that, even for Koschei, the Golden Bear was it. The limit. I could barely wrap my head around a wizard being able to summon what is basically a sort of, kind of, almost demi-god from the Nevernever.

I hadn't expected him to be able to summon two.

My first gut response was to try and throw the dragon back through the portal that had brought it in, but Koschei had already closed it. I saw Fedorov flatten the wizard one last time, but it was too late. The dragon was here, and it was here to stay. Unconscious or not, the Blackbird had cut a deal with it, and I very much doubted anyone there had a counteroffer it would be willing to consider.

I wasn't sure if the dragon of Russian fairy tales was an actual dragon. The name translates to a sort of serpent, Bob had explained to me. They're treacherous, cunning, greedy. Unlike the Golden Bear, which can be impressed into joining the good guys occasionally, the Great Serpent doesn't care to serve any interests but its own. They can spit fire, poison or ice, sometimes weirder things, like lightning or a combination of elements. Their scales can only be pierced by magic or by their own power, mirrored back at them, which was how they were defeated in most stories.

You know, typical fairy-tale dragon bullshit.

We were, once again, as outgunned as we'd been at the museum.

Mouse rushed to my side, staring up at the hole along with me. The dragon escaped my blast and came arrowing down, hissing like an angry teakettle. It wasn't fast, I noted distractedly. Agile, yes, it could turn on a dime. But it wasn't particularly quick when it flew, and I would have bet money it was because in mid-air it couldn't get proper traction. It touched down on the ice and it melted instantly. As it looked down in surprise, lifting up once again, I gestured at it with my bad hand. "Frigitas."

Ice closed in on it, the water freezing once again, trapping the gleaming coils. I didn't have my staff, and I'm much better with fire, but I didn't need a fine touch at the moment. I needed to hit hard, hit fast, and hit anything I could. I was counting on Boston to help me along, to maybe slow it down some.

I wasn't counting on the North Atlantic to pitch in.

I'd felt it the moment I'd fallen in the water. I'm used to the Lake; like I'd told Leverage, it's good for grounding magic, for getting your bearings, throwing off excess energy, that kind of thing. I'd tapped a storm once, felt the power of it coursing through me and I'd known then that it could kill me if I so much as blinked. You don't mess with Mother Nature unless you're willing to take your licks. But this was the ocean, the planet for all intents and purposes. We humans like to think that the dirt we stand on is the ruling principle of the world, just like we like to believe we're the ruling species. We're wrong on both counts. True power was the seething tide trapped beneath the ice just under my feet. Even Boston,with its neverending trickle of energy, was nothing compared to it. The storm had given me a chance; the North Atlantic wouldn't even notice snuffing me out.

Ice rose in jagged teeth, raced over the zmei, caught its coils and blew up in clouds of overheated steam, water sublimating, going directly from solid to gas. The serpent whistled in fury and pain, thrashing, sending chunks of ice flying in every direction. It turned on me; its eyes were a goat's, and somehow that made them even more unreasonably unpleasant on that long reptilian muzzle. Gills opened along its neck, and I threw my shield up, going down on one knee to try and brace myself. If the thing breathed poison I, and everyone else there, would be flat out of luck; no shield would stop that.

Instead, lightning crashed into my shield and sent me skidding back, sprays of sparks bursting out of the bracelet. The zmei paused after a moment, when it realized it was not getting through, head cocked and sails fluttering lightly. Electricity was crackling all over it, occasionally reaching a jagged line to touch the beams above, the boat-house, the walls - wherever metal or, more likely, the electrical systems in the structures nearby called to it.

"Koldun," it whispered, its voice a low, barely audible breeze.

"That's me," I admitted.

It blew another blast at me. My shield was still holding, but the bracelet was getting awfully warm.

The zmei stopped, this time in answer to movement out of the corner of its eye, where it had just seen the three people hiding behind the second yacht. Before it could get any ideas, I took the chance to give my shield a break, threw my hand up and called up the power thrumming just under my feet. "Aestus!

Water roared upward in a broad column, filled with blocks of ice as my improvised attack further shattered the sheet of ice Koschei had created. The zmei got thrown hard against the beams of the ceiling, and then crashed down onto the water when I let go of my spell. It launched itself a me, moving through the air like a snake moves through water. Its mouth was a nightmare of way too many teeth. I put my shield up and it bowled me over, into Mouse, who leapt aside and snarled at it, distracting it just long enough for me to call up a gale. I battered it with every piece of debris I could snatch up; it didn't hurt it, but it did distract it. I couldn't see Fedorov or Koschei, I could only hope they'd gone inside the house. I knew Hardison was behind me unless he, too, had gone around and into the boat-house. And I had no idea if Eliot, Ford and Grandmother were still hiding behind the other boat.

Teeth like filleting knives skid over my shield, leaving energy afterimages on it. I hadn't come prepared to take on a dragon, and even if I had, Koschei had taken most of my tools. All I had was what Parker had given me back and what Stone's people hadn't found when they frisked me: my pendant, the pin, my wand and my shield-bracelet. I was throwing magic by the seat of my pants, and while Boston could empower me, there was a limit to what even the city could do. My biggest source of power was also the most dangerous, lapping at my feet in rumpled little waves.

The zmei recoiled back and breathed lightning on me again. If I'd had my other bracelet, the one I'd improvised, I could have probably thrown at least some of that power back at it. And then I realized: I couldn't redirect that power, but I could ground it.

I was going to need a fine touch, though. When it stopped for a breath I threw a gout of fire in its face, just to make it recoil. "Mouse, find me a stick." My dog gave me such a look. "A staff! Something I can use as a staff!"

He ran off, scrabbling through the wreck I'd made of the area. I threw another shield up when the zmei came at me, dug into the power Boston was giving me and peeled off several of the big stones that lined the area, throwing them at its mouth, its eyes. I kept up a steady whirlwind loaded with shrapnel to tear at the sails on its sides; it was flying by magic, I knew that, but that magic had to be focused somewhere, and it was a little too protective of its 'wings' for me not to go for the obvious target.

It twisted and writhed, it turned into a knot and unraveled in mid-air, coming at me from every direction, its breath looking for any slip-up in my attention, growing angrier and angrier the longer I balked it. Behind it, I saw a tidal surge coming in our direction; something in my expression must have given it away, because it too turned to look and rose up for the safety of the ceiling.

The wave crested still a ways off and I saw Stone at the apex of it, struggling against something that wouldn't let him go. Nick rammed through what was left of the ice and docks; they didn't slow him down. He crashed, golem leading, into the ground, swamping the area minutely. I felt the impact through the soles of my feet. It was powerful enough that both golem and niuhi ended up partially out on the ground.

Moused whacked gently at my shin. He'd found part of an oar, the broad end gone. Tail wagging, he offered it to me.

"Good boy. Get out of here, go find Parker." A plan had come together in my head. It was a horrible plan so, you know. My usual. But I was pretty sure it was going to work. I may not be awake, or alive, at the end of it, but I was also used to that.

First things first, though. I pointed the staff at the churning water. "Aestus venitus!"

The sea answered; geysers of water rose up, hunting for the zmei. It blasted one with its breath, twisted out of the way of another. It was too busy dancing to notice I'd grabbed for my pendant, the one piece of metal I was wearing that I knew better than my own bones, and that didn't have a dedicated enchantment on it to get in the way of what I was trying to do. Through it I reached out to the first step of my plan.

All ships above a certain size need an anchor. When they get big enough, they need that anchor even when they're moored, but the yachts were small, as things go, maybe thirty, forty feet long. I didn't know if they'd been anchored to begin with, but I did know that at least in one case, it didn't matter, and that was enough. I reached out with my will to the metal of that chain, that anchor, among the wreck of the sunken yacht and somewhere in the guts of the other one.

Anchor chains are one of those things that you make out of metal both to show off and because anything else is going to get sliced through. I found them both exactly where I thought they would be.

The zmei lunged at me from the shadows of the ceiling, illuminated by its own burning inner fire. I brought my staff up and pointed it at the dragon. "Enough."

The chains came uncoiling out like vipers, one out of the water and the other blasting through the hull of the yacht, sending it further listing to that side. They darted and lunged at the zmei like living things, empowered by my will and my emotions. It tried, unsurprisingly, to breathe lightning at one of them, but the metal didn't care. The loose end punched the zmei in the face, shattered several fangs, and wound about its body like a constrictor, while its twin did the same in the opposite direction.

The dragon whistled and hissed in fury, writhing, coiling, uncoiling in every direction. I pointed my staff at the second yacht and yanked the anchor out of it, sending it tumbling into the water. When the zmei tried to breathe lightning, it instead went into the chains and into the water, where the ocean absolutely didn't care how many temper tantrums the creature threw.

The yacht was beginning to sink at an alarming rate, though, and from behind it I heard an irate "Dammit, Harry!"

"Sorry!" I yelled back at Eliot, belatedly realizing I had forgotten one key part of the plan which very much involved the yacht, namely the portrait currently stashed in it. The zmei, however, meant that plans were, unfortunately, secondary to dealing with it. The chains were holding, but the heat was rising, and I knew what that meant. Eventually the metal would simply melt, or grow soft enough for it to break its bindings. I had to get to the second half of my plan, fast. "Ford, can you hear me?" I said, hoping the little shard of enchanted mirror embedded on the pin at my throat still worked.

"Yeah!" Another shout from behind the yacht.

"Good. Get out. Now. Stone!"

The golem was trying to hold back the jaws of the niuhi as they bore down on him, Nick on all fours and pressing him down relentlessly. His clothing was mostly gone, revealing the seamless, flawless body underneath, literally. He had no wrinkles, no scars, no freckles, nothing. Not even nipples. "Wizard," the golem replied, his voice strained.

"Koschei's not your original employer, is he?"

"No. Mister Act was."

"I know a man who can make you a better offer than both of them put together."

Nick drove the golem a few inches into the shale and ground, but still couldn't get close enough to put another bite into him, taloned hands and feet digging furrows as he tried.

"Your price?"

"Walk away."

"Somewhat impossible at the moment."

"Nick, let him go."

The niuhi stepped back. It was so sudden that Stone actually nearly went down and had to catch himself on one hand. The wereshark chuckled, and it came out a horrible gargling sound. His black eyes never left the golem.

"Define walk away, wizard."

"I mean, stay if you want." I had been wearing really expensive black shoes to the party; I kicked them off and stepped barefoot into the churning water. It was shockingly cold but, beyond that, it was like touching the surface of the sun. There was so much power, so much energy, not dormant, merely untouched, answering to far more primal and basic principles than a single skinny wizard's will. I drew in as much as I dared, and then a little more. I felt as if I were coming undone, going to nothing, becoming part of that vast primordial soup, a little bit of life made to go to and fro with the pull of wind and moon and gravity. It took everything I had just to hang onto me, onto my sense of self.

I pushed.

The tide began to recede. The second yacht sank down, its hull grinding against the stones. The remains of the dock collapsed. The sounds of the surf faded.

Stone turned and ran. Nick turned, saw what I was doing and threw his arms out, laughing wildly, a deeply inhuman sound. The zmei fought wildly against its bounds.

It wasn't hard to do; that surprised me. The water, once pushed, wanted to push back. What was hard was not letting the wave become as big as it wanted to be. I pushed it back while holding onto the sides of it, trying to keep it contained, but I was a wisp of breath in a cyclone. I was not even a drop of water in the vast belly of the monster I'd awakened. Every bit of power I pulled on to try and keep control whispered at me to let go. To stop being. There would be no sorrow if I let go, no anger. There would only be the tide and the wind and the moon, the currents, the sunny shallows, the black abyssal depths. There would be no me to hurt anymore, no more loss, no more loneliness.

As offers go, I honestly can't think of many that have been so damn tempting.

But then I could push no more. The press of the water was too great, and I let go and fell back on myself. "Nick, you there?"

"Yes. I am glad to be here, wizard. To see what you have done." I felt one hand pick me up, the first awareness I had that I'd gone down on my knees. There was a low roar slowly building up all around us. The air, which the zmei had overheated, was swiftly growing cold, and a rising wind was blowing the steam of its power clear of the area.

"I'd like to remind you I need to breathe. Air. I need to breathe air."

Nick laughed cheerfully. He'd gone back to being a human, naked and tattooed and scarred. "I will not let you drown, wizard. You are far too much fun to have around." He picked me straight up in a bridal carry and ran right at the tidal wave I'd summoned. The last thing I heard was the panicked whistling of the zmei as its doom bore down on it.

#my writing #fanfiction #crossover #the dresden files #leverage #harry dresden #nathan ford #sophie deveraux #parker #alec hardison #eliot spencer #urban fantasy

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kodiescove · 1 year ago

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I know some people will perceive me as heartless but

But I just.....

About anything, this is not about any one issue, I cannot handle hearing all this negative news.

At least, I cannot handle hearing about it at the rate at which Tumblr is showing me.

Every other post is made about some terrible thing that's happening in the world.

And I just.... I just can't handle it. I can't.

I can handle reading the news a few times a week. I can handle staying up to date.

But I just can't handle that the sheer amount of posts on my dash that are about these horrible things happening in the world.

I am too overly empathetic/sympathetic/compassionate whatever the word is for what I experience for other people to handle it.

I can't handle the arguing.

I can't handle the bigotry that either is directly put on my blog, of that the OPs have to fight in reblogs.

And yes, I know I can scroll passed, but like.... I can't know these posts are about a terrible thing without trying to read them, and just reading a snippet of it is enough to get me upset with the sheer volume of posts that are showing on my dash.

I wish I was one of those people who could just read all these posts and feel nothing. Or at least not feel like their heart and head were going to explode from all the negativity. But I'm just.... I'm not like that. I've never been like that.

I dunno.

I feel bad blocking the tags but like... I might just have to because this is overwhelming.

I don't know what happened in the last hour or so that I wasn't using Tumblr but literally wvery other post is about some awful thing happening in the world! And this isn't even the first time it's happened either!

Its exhausting. I don't know why Tumblr algorithm does this to me. It's like the ~spicy~ picture and writing content I get, for some reason even though I don't interact with this content, Tumblr gives it to me, and they give it to me /HARD/.

It's exhausting, and I feel like a bad person because it's so exhausting.

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zeld-anime · 2 years ago

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I swear this app is so broken my “following” tab is just everything I recently reblogged while the for “you tab” finally lets me see stuff the people I follow are posting and then literally every post I could have ever possibly not cared for. What is this algorithm. Not to mention while I’m scrolling it jumps me all the way back to the top and my phone feels like it’s about to explode. And to further prove my point my keyboard literally disappeared while typing this.

#tumblr #rant

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dreamingofyeo · 1 year ago

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Crescent: chapter 4 ☾⋆⁺₊✧

Passage to Reynyr

2022 words

Masterlist - playlist

☆彡~ Tumblr's algorithm works from reblogs so if you like my work please consider It :)

Playlist key

🎶 September instrumental

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You both slowly bring your hands up in a show of submission and then freeze. You can feel your heart trying to explode from your ribcage, all of this was for nothing. You're doing to die anyway.

You force your racing thoughts to into silence to attempt to figure a way out of this precarious situation, Hongjoong beats you to the punch though.

"We mean no harm, we are not threats." he states clearly, in a tone indicating ultimate submission of power in the situation.

The archer facing Hongjoong arches a questioning brow at him. He has blonde hair reaching his shoulders with half tied delicately at the back of his head. His features are nothing short of ethereal. He almost doesn't seem human, as if on cue you spot the slight point in his ears and subtly shining vine tattoos reaching out of his collar up his neck. Elf. Makes sense considering how they snuck up on you and a bandit of all people.

"It is hard to put any belief in those words considering your poorly hidden intentions to steal from us." he points out, hands on his bow not so much as twitching.

You decide to risk speaking next, looking between the long haired elf and his partner, who is equally if not more mesmerising. They appear rather similar except he is slightly shorter and his own hair stops at the nape of his neck in a slight mullet. Possibly brothers? His features are softer than his partner's, his eyes exude a degree of kindness- or more so the capacity for such a thing considering how his arrow has not left its target.

"We truly apologise, it was a foolish and selfish suggestion to take the rabbit, before that point we had merely been observing the mechanics of the trap so we could create our own. We were simply unsure of when we would eat properly again, the temptation became too great and formed a suggestion, for which I sincerely apologise."

The slight flicker of understanding in the eyes of the elf opposite you all but confirm your suspicions of him being a kind soul behind his defences. He exhibits feelings of pure warmth despite his raised bow. You decide that your best bet would be to address him as much as possible without appearing rude to his partner.

"State your business in our territory." the more intimidating of the two practically spits.

Hongjoong takes a moment to assess the best course of action before replying calmly, "we were not aware of this being anyones territory, for that we also sincerely apologise. We fled Igoras last night, for personal reasons. Considering the kingdom's fear of the northwest we assumed it would be the safest route, we're simply passing through." he concludes.

The kinder elf speaks now, and his voice practically melts you, it is utterly mellifluous.

"That is understandable, however we cannot in good conscience allow you to pass through without knowledge of why you fled, personal or not. It is too great of a risk for our people."

Yep, definitely a kind soul. You exchange a questioning look with Hongjoong, it is not your place to answer this for him. He offers you a reassuring smile and replies carefully.

"Understood, Igoras is a barbaric kingdom as you may know. My upbringing was far from acceptable in their eyes and though I turned from that life long ago, my previous partner had no trouble turning me in. I was due for execution but I escaped, I found refuge with Arla. I hadn't considered the position it would put her in so she'd seen coming with me as the safest option. Her other reasons are not my place to discuss and are irrelevant details for your understanding." He finishes with an edge of finality in his tone, of which you are grateful for.

The two elves exchange a quick glance, unspoken words filling the air for a moment before lowering their bows. The kinder of the two speaks.

"That could be a true account, and though I don't personally doubt your words, we cannot risk letting you past without first consulting our people. You will come with us. You will not be harmed, that is not our way. You will either be sent on your way, or accompanied to the edge of our borders and have your memories altered in order to protect our people if you bring about any form of suspicion. Our weapons are purely defensive, we will need you both to hand over your own for the time being." their postures are still defensive but more open than before.

You reply as calmly as you can considering the wave of relief crashing over you. "Thank you, that will be perfectly fine."

Hongjoong also offers his thanks and the two of you hand over your daggers before he asks, "may we have your names please?"

The elves once again glance at each other and nod, the taller of the two speaking. "My name is Hyunjin, my partner is Felix, We know your friend to be Arla but what of you?"

"My name is Hongjoong, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The formality in his tone catches you slightly of guard, if this were a less nerve wracking time you might've had to suppress a laugh. Instead you offer a timid "likewise." towards the two, to which they return passive nods.

~~~ 🎶

The walk to the elven kingdom is like something out of a fever dream, it's utterly beautiful. You'd passed through a short cave system and emerged into a part of the forest which was surely enchanted. The colours are bright but not jarring, soft yet vibrant. The butterflies you'd seen previously clearly reside here considering their sudden abundance. Waterfalls and streams litter the area, with all manner of wildlife visible through the foliage if you observe long enough.

A stag is drinking from a stream to your left, he raises his head and gives you an almost human look of curiosity. To your shock, he doesn't startle, in fact he comes closer to you. You halt and tug lightly on Hongjoong's sleeve, pointing out the incredible sight, his features match your own wonder.

Felix spots this and closes the distance to you both, "They do not fear us, we give them no reason to. Every animal in Reynyr borders is under the elves protection."

You nod with understanding yet are quickly confused as you remember the trap, Felix must pick up on the inconsistency of his words as he continues,

"The animal in the trap you came across is not for us, we have an alliance within our borders which we cannot disclose until you're trusted more, they require meat so we supply it for them so they do not accidentally harm the animals in this area."

You nod with affirmation, you cannot bring yourself to form words as the stag is now inches from you, delicately smelling your hand. With the other hand, you tentatively reach out and as gently as you can, stroke the coarse coat between his eyes. He closes them and basks in the soft feeling before nudging you slightly and walking away, back to his spot at the stream. You let out a soft "wow." under your breath.

Hyunjin lets out a curt yet slightly teasing laugh. "You've seen nothing yet."

You can't imagine you'll disagree with him.

As the four of you continue walking you realise that there are many other elves above you, delicately perched or silently running across the branches. Observing this, that must be how Felix and Hyunjin snuck up on you so easily. They each move with unmatched grace and precision, one suddenly leaps from a particularly high branch causing your breath to catch in your throat. To your utter shock, wings suddenly sprout from her shoulder blades and carry her through the air over and past your heads . The gust of air the powerful movements expel hits you all, fanning your hair for a moment before she is no longer visible in your vision. The only evidence she was ever there is the look of wonder plastered on Hongjoong's face once more.

The markings decorating Hyunjin and Felix's necks are now practically glowing and you can't help but gaze at them. The once dull vines now standing out beautifully against their skin, they twist in a beautiful pattern and you wonder what the full markings look like. Their eyes are brighter here, you wonder if being in this part of the forest amplifies their magic. Felix catches you staring with a playful smirk and you look away, a faint blush dusting your features which he can't help but find endearing.

You all finally reach a clearing in the forest and you can't help but gasp. There are staircases winding up trees which seem larger than life, lanterns faintly glowing in the now fading day light illuminating the paths to the treetop balconies and buildings. From what you can see, it's an incredibly open space, with vine covered railings and few walls to keep out the elements. It is truly gorgeous, seemingly the very embodiment of serenity.

As you walk up the staircase, the reality dawns on you suddenly and you feel a spike of anxiety towards the situation. Felix said they would not harm you but you cannot help but feel on edge. Hongjoong seems to catch onto your sudden withdrawal from excitedly looking around at anything and everything and runs a comforting hand up and down your back for a moment. The movement catches you completely off guard effectively silencing your worries as you process the action. You don't know how to feel about the physical touch but a part of you resists the urge to smile.

Felix turns slightly to you before speaking in a hushed tone, "we're going to see our leader, Fraija. He will decide where we go from here. Watch your words and tone with him, being in his presence demands your respect."

You swallow the forming lump in your throat at his words, the feelings of anxiety resurfacing.

When you reach the top of the stairs you are greeted by a pair of untrusting, sharp green eyes. The pair of elves in front of you bow with an arm to their chest, you exchange a glance with Hongjoong before both replicating the show of respect. The elf which must be none other than Fraija turns and walks to the centre of the space you're now in, so gracefully that it is as if he's floating rather than walking.

"Who are these humans and why have you brought them to me?" He questions, the authority thick in his voice.

Hyunjin answers, clearly the more confident in front of the intimating figure considering Felix's rather tense form.

"We found them within our territory near the passage to Reynyr. Their names are Hongjoong and Arla, they claim to not be threats to us. They say they're passing through the northwest with the aim of escaping Igoras. We thought the best course of action would be for you to asses their level of threat. Should we have been inaccurate in our judgement, the cost would be too great for the risk to do anything otherwise." he concludes, the tension in your form easing slightly at his subtle admission that he believed you.

The elven leader nods, slightly distant eyes displaying him to be deep in thought before he replies. "Then you were right to do so." he turns to Hongjoong, "Tell me, what are your intentions once you cross our borders."

Hongjoong hesitates slightly, "Truthfully we do not have any as of yet, our goal at the present time is to simply evade any igorian search parties."

Fraija nods in acknowledgment at this, and turns back to Hyunjin and Felix with an unreadable expression. "Then they may be of use to us. Until I decide exactly how, they will be your responsibilities considering you brought them here. I will keep you both informed when necessary as to how our plans will be adapted."

<-chapter 3 ~ chapter 5->

taglist:

#ateez san #ateez fanfic #ateez x reader #ateez yunho #ateez jongho #ateez seonghwa #ateez hongjoong #ateez yeosang #ateez mingi #ateez wooyoung

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joffyworld · 6 months ago

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FURTHERMORE,

PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD,

IGNORE THE NUMBERS

They mean nothing.

One thing I forgot to mention is that there's this expectation some people I've spoken to have that if their post doesn't do its usual numbers of notes or comments or likes, whatever the platform you're on uses, then it wasn't "worthwhile" or people "didn't like it".

Dude. Bro. Girly. They. It.

Whatever notes you get, whether it's 10k or 1 is a genuine life touched. People don't come on here and reblog or share or like without having felt something. Okay, yeah, sure, maybe you didn't explode and reach 50 thousand people and they didn't all simultaneously explode from excitement.

BUT THAT'S OKAY.

Social media platforms are designed around algorithms to push content they assume people want to see. Quite frankly, however, these algorithms suck balls. Tumblr might be one of the better in terms of posts reaching audiences and old posts gaining recognition for a long time after they were posted, but it's still just a computer throwing shit on a screen.

I see, and talk to, a lot of artists that feel they can't OC post or that they have failed because "my usual audience size didn't all see the post I made" when there's a dozen things beyond their control that affect whether or not people even know they've uploaded. Here's a short list of shit that can affect whether or not your post is seen by the average joe: