#some things aren't meant to stay drafts

[anisaanisa]

dni if you 🫣 would be easily corrupted 😤🫵🫵🫵 by the shikon jewel 🤨🔮🤏💪💪💪🔥🔥🔥

[lillithhearts]

Good afternoon, may I ask for hcs for lucifer, husker, and angel with a fem! Goetia reader? Maybe some general stuff and something [not including Lucifer considering there’s not much he can’t defend himself from] where the reader is defending him in her demon form, for simplicities sake let’s imagine her demon form is the same as stolas.

Reader x Husk & Angel & Lucifer (Separate)˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥

ׂׂૢ Pairing : Lucifer x Fem!Reader, Husk x Fem!Reader, Angel x gn!Reader

ׂׂૢ cw : Not Proofread

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

A few days a week you make special time for your Boyfriend, Angel; Being a Goetia doesn't exactly give you a lot of time to exist outside of your royal duties so this time with him was your time. Spending it in Pentagram city window shopping, talking and about anything you two get your hands on to do together, this time was precious to you. Now you're riled up at a "super fan" as he called himself trying to get to Angel who was standing behind you visibly uncomfortable yet Angel still tried calming you down but with no success; the situation quickly escalating as the dumb sinner tried rushing past you to Angel; with a swift hand movement you grabbed a hold of the sinners neck opting to just throw the freak against a building wall across the street, however quickly snapped out of your rage you looked back and saw Angel hunched against a club wall holding his stomach as he hysterically laughed. You looked for the sinner with no signs of him and looked to Angel to ask what was so funny.

"Babycakes! Ya didn't see the fatass truck drag the weirdo with him?!"

"..no?"

"you should've holy shit! It was hilarious his fucking face!"

You often didn't need to worry about Husker getting into fights or trouble, mostly because he stayed out of it at all costs not wanting to be bothered with the annoying fucks. So when you and Husk sat at a bar Laughing and drinking you were taken aback by some sinner who claimed to know Husk in his "glory" days and said Husk still owed him some money; Husk told the guy to simply fuck off and went back his whiskey, your instincts reacting almost on their own when you noticed a bottle fly past you and right into the dudes face; only after realizing he tried to attack Husker. Husk looked at you bewildered as you nervously smiled and used a little sprinkle of your power and throwing the now passed out sinner from the bar, apologizing to the bartender for breaking their booze and turning back to Husker.

"you're full of surprises aren't you?"

"I guess you could say that"

There wasn't much Lucifer needed protecting from, especially not anything in hell so you both had pretty calm lives together, everyone respecting you or being straight up afraid of you. You both laid in bed, cuddling and talking about your days and just general stupid things; Lucifer was in one of his Duck tangents when you heard a loud crash outside the bedroom and you instantly went on alert mode, your demeanor changed instantly and you went to check whatever it was with the scariest most threatening form you could put on, Lucifer simply following only a few steps behind you so when you found it was just some wind coming in from a open and forgotten window you immediately deflated, Hesitating to turn around as you started to hear Lucifer snicker behind you before he quickly rushed to hug you from behind, a smug giggle in his voice

"thank you for defending our home..~"

"go fuck yourself"

Authors note : Tumblr deleted my draft TWO TIMESSSSS omg...Anyway I decided to make Angels reader Gn because he is infact, Gay..If this was meant platonically I do apologize for making it romantic alas the ask didn't specify and I default to romantic :P <3

Taglist: @k1y0yo @ihavetoomanyfictionalcrushes @anni1600 @d0nutsaur - send an ask to be added -

[luvring]

Could i have the same headcanon of falling in love but for Mhin? Thank you 🙏 😭

MHIN FALLING IN LOVE

gn!reader | mhin time! >____< lots of mhin fans here... awesome world. in case anyone is wondering yes i do have vere in my drafts. meowww

predictably, a slowburn with angst.

hard to get to know, not because they aren't predictable, or because they're incredibly hard to read, but because they're Fawking persistent when it comes to keeping their guard up. which means you have to be even More persistent. an absurd cycle. but you can get there. You will get there.

i think something that slowly takes down(?) mhin's walls would be showing interest in them past working together and their secrets. asking something more mundane like what their favourite season or meal is, what kind of music they like, if they enjoy rain. they're wary to answer because ?? why are you asking. why are you being weird. but they realize it's nice to think of something else about themself other than being a monstrosity. wow. ow

^ and then maybe doing something with their answer! going out of your way to buy some sweets for them, asking if they're okay when it's super cold/hot because they mentioned not enjoying it. something they've forgotten you even know. it also makes them wonder what your answers would be. the first time mhin manages to ask "what's yours?" is !!!! woah!

another moment might be choosing to be sincere when you could've teased them for something. they give you a look (honestly more often than not, mhin's first reaction is always wary confusion/denial), and you promise you're telling the truth. and they might not thank you or anything, but it sticks in the back of their head while they try to ignore how flustered they feel.

another Little moment might be you catching them off guard by like. being mean. they've gotten used to you pestering and following them. they've gotten used to your list of questions and times where you're walking quietly. neither of you have spoken in 5 minutes, and they're rolling their eyes, thinking to themself "what an asshole" about some guy arguing with a server, and then you mutter "what a fucking asshole" out loud. and they just look at you like ?. and you look back like ?? like i'm wrong. and mhin can't help but snicker or scoff.

when they realize what's going on (waiting for you to find them, looking for you, enjoying your company, etc), mhin starts avoiding you like the plague. all that time learning your schedule/habits has made it easy to avoid you (until you realize what's going on, at least). even places that they enjoyed for themself, they time things so you don't cross paths. it's honestly impressive LOL

they kind of hate it though. they miss you. they tell themself they don't, but they do. yeah they avoid you, but you know, if you both happen to be shopping, they might trail you and notice how you're buying ingredients for your favourite dessert, or how your eyes linger on a necklace before moving on. they just happen to be taking a similar path as you, and it's not like they want something bad to happen, so it makes sense to watch out, even now.

i'm picturing a confrontation where they try to deny avoiding you, then say they're doing it for a reason... and then you ask what this is, what anything meant, if anything. and mhin thinks they've dug themself a grave already and tell you it was nothing, a mistake, you should go home.

and you can either wait for a second confrontation, or call out their bullshit there—they're a liar but it's obvious to you, so what's actually going on? and tension rises and you push a little further until they finally tell you of course they care about you! and their voice might break a little because they don't speak loudly often, and their words dawn on them and they purse their lips—that's why they're trying to stay away.

something something don't push me away, i won't let you push me away, the significance of promising to stay with them, to work through things together and not leaving them alone, of seeing them as something else other than a monster, of seeing them as mhin.

mhin falls in love with your kindness, your open heart that warms theirs until it remembers spring. not just in the way you help them, but the kindness you show yourself, the people around you, your friends. they fall in love with watching you see the world in a way they hope to one day.

they fall in love with someone who perseveres when things get hard, but reminds the both of them that pushing too much or isolating yourself won't help. they'll stand at your desk and watch until you put your things away, or frown when they find you asleep outside of bed, and they know you'll do the same with them. they believe you'll get better at this together

mhin falling in love is pushing themself out of their comfort zone and doing their best to speak, even and especially when they can't think of what to say. it's them finding you in a bad mood and getting you food and offering to listen if you need to vent. it's them opening up and being vulnerable about their past that still hurts them, letting you reach for their hand or hold them when all they can think is that they don't deserve it.

i've mentioned this before but in an established relationship, mhin is softer but...not? they're comfortable to the point that they enjoy when you rest your head on their shoulder, but also enjoy making fun of you and laughing afterward. they don't have to be cold or walled off!! you're getting the real mhin, all sides included!

in general, they aren't a very touchy person. whether this is because they're not used to it or actually don't enjoy it is up in the air in my head. either way, it makes moments of physical touch a little more special! leaning against you when they're tired, reaching for your hand in crowds, letting you tie or play with their hair, etc.

the first time mhin kisses you, you're asleep. it's just a little one on the forehead as they pull the blanket up a little higher. and they keep doing it, because maybe it'll make it easier for when you wake up. they don't realize that you've been awake for the past 3 kisses as you pretend to fall asleep.

they let you watch them do experiments, and if it's up your alley, will listen to your thoughts and suggestions! feel honoured because it isn't a place, or thing that they let just anyone see! even if you aren't very science-y, feel free to give your opinion. maybe something will click in their head, y'know. or just be like, what if you mix red and white to make pink. and watch mhin stare at you like. How did you pick the two that'd be the Worst possible combination. like okay sorry i like pretty colours woah /lh

saying i love you.... i think they'd try really hard. you've helped them so much and they really do care, even if they're scared to say they love you, they know they do, they don't know what else this could be. there's a few times you catch them staring at you weirdly focused, and they're making a face with scrunched brows and pouting lips, and you're like. What is happening. and they chicken out. and get angry at themself for a while.

it kind depends on you, of course, and what kind of person you are. if you're someone who says it easily but never pushes them to say it, they feel grateful but guilty. if both of you keep dancing around it, a little anxiety and insecurity creeps back in when they don't want it to.

it's kind of a big deal for them, so the first time you say it is at the same time. not like Simultaneously saying it, but the same. ...day. at least. LOL. although if they're the one to say it first (somehow??) and you don't say it back until later that night because ?? shock? processing? nervous excitement? they Will be having a rough time dealing with themself, even while they repeat over and over that you deserve time, too, and it's okay, and they shouldn't overthink, etc etc.

mhin is So visibly relieved when you say it back. "were you worried?" "no?" < their head was a cacophony of 27 ambulances and noisy garbage compactors

grahhh i forgot to make a new tag list form. friends. I will make one eventually. but u r still here 4 now. kyaaa | @screaming-wea-sel @semifilms @cvhenia @mitskiologist @leiiii-i @sweet-milky-tea705 @khalixvitae

[scoobysnakz]

part 2 of dbf miguel. so sorry this took so long, accidentally deleted the draft like twenty times.

The TV hums softly as a random sitcom you've not gotten the chance to see yet flickers across the screen. You know you should turn it off, it's distracting you from completing your essay, one you've been procrastinating about finishing, but the background noise is comforting enough to let you keep it on, even if you'll have to rewatch it all later.

“Need help with that?”

You jump at the sudden noise, pen now clattering on the floor and rolling dangerously close to the sofa. You look up at where the voice came from, only to be met with a freshly shaven Miguel.

Embarrassment burns the back of your neck as you shift on the plush cushion of the sofa. The only thing covering the crinkled page of your otherwise barren notebook is an array of flowers around the margin and random notes scribbled out in heavy, blotchy lines.

“Am fine,” you smile, fingers spreading out to hide your work, or lack of.

Miguel just scoffs at you before pushing your hand away. “Such detailed notes,” he chides.

“It's meant to be an essay, but thanks anyway.”

You hear him stifle a laugh that you pray is sympathetic and not as amused as it sounds. It's shameful how far behind you are on your schoolwork when you have someone peering over your shoulder.

You aren't quite sure why you're so pent up on impressing Miguel, a man who is staying at his friend's house for some unbeknownst reason.

He sits down on the sofa next to you, a respectful distance but you can still smell his overbearing cologne and hair gel fusion. The sofa sinks slightly at his weight, a low creak eminating through the room.

He laughs, “let me help.”

Irritation bubbles deep in your stomach but you try to push it away, ignore it and keep going with the conversation. But when he acts so casual, even though he's stolen your bedroom, your only haven in this monstrosity of a household, you can’t help but feel annoyed with him.

“I doubt it,” you quip with an air of ignorance, fingers drumming erratically on the inky pages, “this is biology, aren't you like a chemist or something?”

A smirk curls at the corner of his lips at your sudden attitude, but he doesn't comment on it, leaving your opinion of him more distasteful than ever. “Well my degree says organic chemistry and molecular biology, so you're both wrong and right.”

“Mmm, so either, you're loaded, or up to your neck in debt.” you don't even try to hide the snark in your voice, “considering the fact that you’re staying here, I'm guessing student loan got the better of you.”

He scoffs at you, hand clasped to his chest in feigned hurt. “I'll have you know, I have a well-paying job, thank you very much.”

You flip your notebook shut, a small sense of relief washing over you now that disgrace of an essay is hidden, and shift to face him. “Then why are you here?”

He swallows, hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. His gaze flickers between your face and the wall behind you, discomfort colouring his expression. The atmosphere of the room shifts entirely, and suddenly you feel guilty for hating him. Maybe he didn't mean to take your room, not on purpose anyway.

“I lost my house, not… not because of money or anything,” he pauses, plush lips pursed into a tight grimace before he continues, “didn't get a very good divorce lawyer.”

“I'm… sorry?” you've never been good at sympathy, always pushed the hard topic of emotions onto someone else so you can focus on something you're actually good at. But now, some weird part of you wants to comfort him.

“Hmm?” he looks back at your eyes, your breath catching in your throat, “Not your fault, querida, I was a silly man who did silly things. I made a mistake and lost the love of my life.”

“Don't say that.” you hate the way your voice softens. You want to keep this burning resentment for Miguel, loathe him for all eternity, it might seem petty but he deserves it. Yet, you want to pull him close, tell him to stop being so hard on himself and run your fingers through his hair until his jaw unclenches.

He shakes his head, casually, as if it was never that important.

“I couldn't stay faithful and I paid the price, she has everything she deserves leaving me with… nothing.”

An awkward silence fills the room. You don't know what to say to that other than, I take back my kindness and spit in your face for cheating on your wife.

“She was amazing, so full of life, and then one day… we just stopped clicking,” he leans back against the sofa, head craning back so that he's forced to stare at the yellowing ceiling, “it wasn't a spur of the moment, because I got bored thing. We had stopped loving each other, she had anyway.”

You reach out, your fingers brushing against his much more calloused, harsh ones causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. You give his hand a gentle squeeze that lasts a little longer than intended, but the sweetness of the action doesn't go unnoticed.

The upbeat theme tune from the TV suddenly blares out from the speakers causing the two of you to startle. Your fingers tighten around his on instinct but you immediately pull your hand away.

Miguel chuckles a low, mellow sound that makes your ears perk up. “Sat on the remote,” he says, pulling it from under his thigh.

“Scared the shit out of me, Migs- Miguel,” you breathe heavily.

He nods, smiling uneasily, praying that the hammering of his heart is from the sudden shock and not from the kindness you displayed. But deep down, he knows the truth.

prev <

[thedemonscrawler]

gonna procrastinate on writing by talking about writing woo

So, fun fact! Permission Slip is usually being written on two different documents at once, which should be but are not actually identical? And neither of them match the actual AO3 version you guys read?

1st Draft

The first draft is written with a combination of OpenOffice and Google Docs.

(I'll get to why that says Mobile Copy in a sec)

The OpenOffice document is meant to be the Master Draft of the fic. It's the entire story so far-- outline, notes, all the chapters written and the bits of chapters we haven't gotten to yet.

Yeah, it's lengthy. The reason it says 'Active Version' is starting around Chapter 5, I began saving a copy of the document up to the most recent chapter finished.

This is because of how I write scenes out of order, and having an older draft lets me go back for things that got rewritten. It's also really neat to see how various ideas evolved over the story, or how old some of the scenes are.

OpenOffice has the Master Draft, not just because it can handle it, but so I can put my laptop into airplane mode and write offline if I really need to focus. But the story doesn't stay there!

If you've seen the snippets I've shared, you know that sometimes they're highlighted in grey, like this:

(yeah you enjoy that snippet from Chapter 15)

The grey highlights are a system to tell myself 'this is a section that needs to be copied over to the other document', almost always a section I have just written that session. Feels good to have a whole page in grey.

So from OpenOffice, the grey sections are copied over to GoogleDocs, and become the 2nd Draft.

2nd Draft

..okay, so there are actually TWO GoogleDoc copies of Permission Slip. One of them is a 'master' version, just like the Open Office file. The other is the Mobile version. The master version has all of the chapters and outline and stuff, while the Mobile copy only goes back one or two chapters prior to the current one. Why?

Cos it turns out that when a document gets to be around 110 pages long, Docs starts being a little bitch and lags real bad on mobile, or starts crashing. So the mobile version was made so I could type on my phone. Same deal, new sections are highlighted in grey and copied back to the OpenOffice version when I'm on the laptop again.

Since the GoogleDocs version can be worked on from multiple locations, it's the one that gets the most edits. If there are substantial changes made they'll be copied back to the OpenOffice document, but minor edits aren't as crucial, and there are some sections that are pretty different between the two now.

From the GoogleDocs version on to the final(ish) version:

3rd Draft

The AO3 version should match the GoogleDocs version, and for the most part it does-- but not always. That last minute readthrough to catch all the spaces added after italics is also a time for minor edits. Missing words, dialogue rewrites, etc. There's one chapter that had a chunk written in the editor, but unfortunately I can't remember which one it is now 8'D only that it's between chapters 9 and 12. Naturally the AO3 version is the one you guys get to see.

Uuuuh yeah so. Overcomplicated system, go!

Also if you want a word processor for free, I recommend LibreOffice! Its based on the same open source software as OpenOffice, only it's actually still being updated and stuff (I still use OO just cos it's what I have 8'D).

Unfortunately I have yet to find a word processing app with cloud-based storage that can be edited from multiple devices, so I can't replace GoogleDocs with something better.

[caseylicious]

Qpr (queer platonic relationship) with the boys but it's with a energetic fun loving s/o. I mostly just want fluff and more qpr content :]

Platonic Love.

Summary: How do the brothers (separate) and the reader interact in a queer platonic relationship?

Characters: Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Donnie.

Reader: GENDER NEUTRAL (not specified)

Relationship: PLATONIC

Warnings: None! Some fluff.

A/N: It's quite refreshing that somebody would like to see some platonic relationships with the brothers! Thank you my dear. I LOVE queer platonic relationships. They're just so nice and friendly honestly. Mind it being shorter than my other pieces.

As always! Please, Enjoy 💐

[ If you have any constructive criticism or corrections for any of my English do let me know! :) ]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 💐

"Queer Platonic Relationship" : Queerplatonic relationships and queerplatonic partnerships are committed intimate relationships which are neither romantic nor sexual in nature. They may differ from close friendship by having more explicit commitment, validation, status, structure, and norms, similar to a conventional romantic relationship.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 💐

💙 Leo

You two had a bond like no other, literally.

you both had the most goofiest inside jokes that nobody could understand, except the two of you.

He wasn't interested in dating you, and you weren't interested in dating him. Hence, you both became bestfriends.

He loved you as his buddy and bestfriend and you did as well.

The trust that you had for one another, could argue with the trust I have for Tumblr saving my drafts. was unbelievable. You could just tell him anything like drama, gossip, funny jokes...

And important information. He'd keep a secret for you no matter how bad it is, with advice.

Whenever people asked if you and Leo were dating, you'd laugh. Not to be mean, but it was just a funny thought!

"I'm sorry- did you ask if we're dating?" Leo spitted out the water he was drinking, just to wheeze loudly. "L- LORD... WHAT?" You couldn't help but giggle, rejecting the claim. "We're friends buddy."

Leo gasped insulted, "JUST friends? I thought we were BEST friends!" You rolled your eyes nudging him. "I meant that dumbass-"

You both were together by the hip. Telling each other the most stupidest things that Donnie has ever heard. You were Leo's best friend and nothing was going to change that.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 💐

❤️ Raph

His hugs are literally the best, congratulations you're in love with this big turtle platonically.

He is a man of GREAT advice... sometimes. You and his brothers know that best.

He is your Number #1 Hype man to almost everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.

You trying to find a relationship? He'd hype you up to ask out the guy/gal! Trying to get the new job? He'd make you practice on how to look presentable with a good pep talk.

Whenever you just have a bad day he'd let you watch shows with him on the projector. As you vent and complain about people that he has heard of multiple times.

"And- Raph. You don't understand, he has the audacity to just tell me, NO! Like are you serious??" He nods listening to your day, while paying attention to the show. As you were about to continue, you glanced to your red friend. Who.. was eating popcorn to Jupiter Jim. "Oh my god you aren't listening..."

"Huh-? What! I am listening Y/N.. I don't know what you're talking about-" He sweats scratching the back of his neck. "It's okay to say you weren't listening to some of it- I won't get mad y'know."

"Yeah I wasn't listening."

"Knew it."

He would still need some reminders that you both are friends, though- He just overthinks a bit sometimes. That you'd leave him all alone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 💐

🧡 Mikey

Being in a platonic relationship with Mikey would be so much fun. Imagine all the nights you'd both stay late to argue on which franchise was better.

He'd show you his drawings of his brothers, and you'd show him your drawings of you and him. The days spent with you drawing with him ranting on about your favorite shows.

Mikey would share his favorite music with you, and you'd do the same! You both just got along so well; nothing could honestly tear you two apart.

He'd give you advice whenever you were going a tough moment, and listen to you complain.

And he'd agree with you because of how right you were.

the DRAMA you'd gossip about with him, especially in the Battle Nexus? My goodness.

"Do you think they're having an affair...?" He whispered as you both stood in the crowds within the Hidden City. You chuckled nodding, "Totally! with.. that weird blue scorpion looking thing." The both of you began to giggle covering your mouths. "Nooo wayyy..." "SHHSHSHSHHHH!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 💐

💜 Donnie

Donnie wasn't looking for a partner, but a friend. And you filled that role perfectly. You chose to understand that he didn't see the need for a relationship in his life.

He appreciated you as a person. Especially when he explained how he didn't understand emotions easily and may be a bit hard to work with.

You'd go to him for advice on your work, and he'd scold you. Not to make you mad, but to remind you of your future.

Whenever you came inside of his lab, you were immediately his lab assistant. And you honestly didn't mind!

Though you were a bit silly, you still tried to understand.

"So, Y/N. I need the screwdriver..." He had his hand open.. with no screwdriver. "Uhm. Y/N-? Dear god what are you doing?" You were trying to balance all of the instruments needed for his experiment.

"I'm being a genius Donnie.." He stared at your creation of boredom. "..Uh huh."

[bahoreal]

jay's wee guide to editing fics

by popular demand (five likes on a post i made asking if anyone wants this)

please note this is a loose guide of what works for me and is designed to give newbie fic writers an idea of what purpose an edit has. if you don't vibe with it you don't have to follow it. if you have your own preferences please feel free to add them!

first i should say it is important to do an edit before you post your fic. this can apply to any work of writing (some of the QC details I used a lot in the scientific papers i wrote)

an edit can be generally categorised into one of these: update/style check, QC, consistency check, proofread. this can either be done by you (the writer) or by a beta reader

update/style check: there's probably a better word for this kind of edit but I don't know it. This the most in depth and time consuming method of editing and generally done on first drafts. it is an edit done where you're not happy with the work to be published as-is, where you think parts are missing, parts could be updated, parts might be out of sync or not fit with the flow of the piece. when you're doing an update edit, you should be looking for things like:

- did this feel jarring against the rest of the tone

- did i have to read any of the sentences multiple times to figure out what they meant

- do I have enough elements that reflect the theme i'm trying to build, or was the theme too on the nose?

- are my characters behaving in character

- are there any points where a character knows about something before it has been confirmed in the text - is this intentional, or was it a mistake and the character shouldn't know? This is especially important with longer fics, sometimes the timeline can get messy

note for beta readers/if you are using a beta reader: specify whether this edit is meant to be granular to word choice, or about sentence/paragraphs. I have had beta readers that changed every fifth word I wrote because they thought a different word would fit better (which switched my story to their style, which I didn't actually want), and beta readers who would highlight a sentence or a word and go "this doesn't make sense, consider rephrasing" or a paragraph and go "this felt cut short" o.e. (which was very helpful)

QC: quality check. generally refers to formatting, updating to a style guide, etc. When I am doing a QC I look for things like

- grammar issues (non-intentional)

- typos (non-intentional)

- spelling mistakes (non-intentional)

- language consistency, e.g. going between England English and American English (non-intentional)

- formatting errors (e.g. I tend to add three paragraph breaks between new scenes, and I check that that's consistent throughout)

- tense consistency (switching back and forth between tenses when writing can break the reader out of the immersion, if you're in the present then try to stay in the present unless the character is remembering something. Instead of "She has nothing in the house. She went to the shops.", try and stick to one tense, "She has nothing in the house, so she goes to the shops.")

(- in papers/essays this is also the point where you would fix your referencing)

proofread: a final check done on a final draft that combines the QC and consistency checks. If i've copied to ao3 I tend to do this in the ao3 word editor and make sure all my formatting is in, for example italics, which aren't preserved in the copy/paste into the ao3 editor

consistency check: does what it says on the tin. If there are consistency items you want to keep flowing through your story, such as

- a character calling another character by a certain nickname and then progressing to a different nickname as you move through

- names used in internal monologue are consistent throughout, vs. names other characters use in speech (e.g. I wrote a fic from the perspective of an american, who says "couch", but the english characters say "sofa" aloud.)

- was that character holding a glass? where did it go? were they suddenly on the other side of the room?

- are the times/days correct? was it summer one scene and winter the next? if time is referenced, is it passing appropriately? (also ensuring it's non-intentional, unreliable narrators can switch between times as a stylistic choice)

(- in papers/essays this is also the point where I would make sure my claims are substantiated in the references I have used)

The things to look for are non-exhaustive. In my fics, I tend to do one single edit that combines all of these, or one update/style check and then a proofread if it's a long fic. This is because I don't tend to spend a lot of time on fics. with my original works, I tend to do each check individually, with the update/style check first, then a consistency check, then a QC, then the proofread. 4 drafts (at least, sigh)

A beta reader can help with some of these, especially the consistency check and the update/style check - when you read your own work a lot you do tend to miss things. However I cannot stress enough when you are asking a beta reader to look over your work, set your expectations:

tell them which kind of edit you'd like them to do. If you want a QC and you get back a style check it can feel a little insulting

if you want a more thorough edit like a style check or a consistency check then set expectations for the level of edit. If you want to develop your own style of writing, then specify you don't want your beta reader to be too picky over word choices, only calling out if, e.g. words don't make sense in context. If you want a language check (maybe your first language isn't english and you are worried about writing in english) then ask for more detailed notes on your specific word choice. it's entirely up to you, and knowing what is expected of them can make the beta's job easier!

And some things personal to me:

items/advice about how i write my own fic, these are things I look for in the update/style check to ensure the conclusion is built to in a satisfying way

plot themes, and building callbacks: I like to pick a few callbacks for my characters and have them mentioned a few times throughout the story - enough that readers will notice and appreciate the callback, but not too much that it's all the characters talk about. it's a delicate balance and depends on the length of the fic and the themes you choose. for example in the longfic i'm writing I have romcoms as a theme, where the characters bring up their favourite big romcom lines a couple of times, then joke around finding their own when they finally kiss. in my original novel i have one fun theme of one of my characters absolutely loving bread and always eating it whenever there's bread offered, and also a plot related theme of discussion about poison, poison preparation, and contemporary medical diagnoses of poisoning which leads a character to realise [REDACTED] might have been poisoned (these things are unrelated my character does not die of poison bread lmao) sometimes these callback themes can reflect the plot of your fic, or it can be a fun character thing that keeps coming back, or it can reflect how a character has grown from the start of the story

characterisation through your story: I'd suggest figuring out where your character starts, and the growth you want them to go through to make the characterisation more fulfilling. this can just be something specific you want that character to realise, or the character settling into the role they have and realising they enjoy it and fighting back less, or a character striving for something and either getting it or not getting it and deciding whether they even wanted it, etc. sometimes the simpler the fundamental character arc, the better. it can help with linking the character arc to the plot, and figuring out how minor characters are doing in the background of the fic

have fun and enjoy! don't feel obligated to follow my advice exactly or stick rigidly to one of the edit types, having a mix between them is just as useful and sometimes certain items slip from edit to edit! sharing your work is scary, but knowing you've picked up on typos and minor errors before you share can reduce that fear a bit :)

[goldenkamuyhunting]

Hi. I have a question about Ogata and Usami's military service period. The enlisted soldiers in the Imperial Japanese Army served 3 years before being discharged. After that, they were registered in reserved forces for 5 more years so that they could be drafted when a war broke out. Ogata and Usami were enlisted in 1901, and Russo-Japanese war ended in 1905. But why weren't they discharged after the war? How could they stay in the barracks up until 1907? Did Tsurumi make them stay illegally?

Well, very likely...

Tsurumi didn't force them to stay there illegally for two good reasons. The first is that they likely joined the army willingly and not merely because they were connscripted and wanted to stay in it.

This can be assumed by two things, the first is their character (Usami wants to be near to Tsurumi so it's unlikely he wants to leave the Army and we're told Ogata wanted to rise in ranks) and by the fact that instead than joining the divisions tied to their own home cities (Usmai should have joined the 2nd division, Ogata the 1st, they applied for the 7th division).

The 7th division is, in a way a special army, its soldiers called Tondenhei (屯田兵 "colonizer soldiers" but also "agricultural soldiers") up till 1904.

If you look up, many of the soldiers under Tsurumi aren't native of Hokkaido, which is a sign they willingly chose to join the 7th.

Why is that? Well, because being a Tondenhei gave you some benefits you wouldn't have if you were just to join the Army.

Tondenhei in fact were given a heioku (soldier's house), which had been built and prepared before their immigration, and undeveloped land. They weren't exactly luxurious but better than that of the ordinary people at that time. Each heison also had vast communal land.

That's because Tondenhei were meant to be soldiers, but also farmers who would colonize Hokkaido, so in addition to military work, they would do farm work and construct roads and waterways and other things and works as police.

Due to this Tondenhei's service term was twenty years (!) including three years for geneki (active service), four years for yobieki (reserve duty), thirteen years for kobieki (duty after reserve duty) with age limit of forty (more info here).

As you can see, when they joined they knew they were meant to stay.

Of course, since the Tondenhei system ended in 1904 (because by then Hokkaido was populated enough they could just conscript people from there and not give them benefit as they wouldn't be immigrants), it can be that their service term was shortened.

I don't really know, as Tondenhei are special soldiers and they didn't last that much (1874 to 1904), I don't really have tons of info on them.

Still I doubt Ogata and Usami had any interest in their service term being shortened since they clearly wanted to stay in the army.

I hope this helps and thank you for your question!

[kenobireads]

In celebration of finishing the full draft of book 3, here’s some Bestie Thrawn action. Here’s to unashamed character cameos 🥰

Anakin’s Fortress (book 2 of 3) Wattpad and AO3

Chapter 20

Admiral Thrawn climbs out of the fancy transport and turns back to me with a hand held out. I move carefully, my dress so expensive I'm appalled. To my irritation, Anakin knew exactly what I would choose and only offered the most expensive ones in this style. I only agreed when he showed me an image of the party location—which reeks of wealth.

It's black, of course. It pours straight to the floor, soft and loose and understated. There's a thick silk hem circling my body just under my breasts, which are covered in a triangular-shaped fabric that is held up by tiny straps. My back is exposed, and my heels hidden beneath the dress are short and, quite frankly, comfortable.

Simple, not restrictive, but in Anakin's words, still 'fuckable.' I like to think he meant beautiful, but whatever.

"I don't want to do this," I mumble softly to Thrawn.

"I'm not particularly fond of these social events either," he says in an even tone. "But they can be rather enlightening if you pay attention."

"Exactly how drunk am I allowed to get?"

He gives me a tiny grin. "Not much."

"That's what I figured."

I try to breathe normally but the closer we get to the doors, the closer I get to simply bolting.

"Kat," the admiral says in a harsh snap. I look at him with wide eyes. "You have two options. Stay nervous and miss things or pull yourself together and represent Lord Vader."

I clear my throat, oddly comforted by his ultimatum. "Which one attracts the least attention?" I ask with a small snicker. Thrawn isn't one to joke, however.

"You are not here to shy away from attention. You are as much an alien to these people as I am. If you are going to flee, do it now."

I glare at him, and his eyes flick to me, revealing nothing. I straighten and purse my lips. "You're trying to tell me you don't want to turn around and claim to have a stomach bug, sir?" His lips waver ever so slightly.

"Every time," he admits.

"You are trying to get me annoyed, aren't you?"

"Your reaction is your own. I am simply trying to advise you."

I let out a little hmph. "I'm the advisor," I say with the same tone as him. Joking isn't as fun with someone so serious.

"You will tell me who people are before they speak to me, and you will tell me what is relevant." If he wants me to do this, we'll do it.

"Of course. You will introduce yourself as Darth Vader's chief of security."

"Don't you think people will find that unbelievable?"

"Yet it is the truth, and Vader's threat to the Second Sister is well known." Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of.

"Am I going to be out of place because I'm not military?" I ask while eying his pristine white dress uniform. Honestly, I didn't know anything could be so white.

His lips turn up slightly. "I'm afraid you might not understand: Vader is not an official military person either." I frown. How could I not know that?

"He said he was the commander in chief."

"He is," Thrawn says cooly. "But he does what he wants and doesn't concern himself with the day-to-day running of the branches. His voice is as good as the Emperor's."

"Wait, that would mean..." I trail off.

"That under the right circumstances, an order from you could be seen as an order from our Emperor, yes."

I balk at him, my mouth open and my eyes wide. Boy, would my father be pissed.

He seems to take in my expression.

"I'm simply pointing out that, no, your official standing amidst the military sectors is not in question. Plus, this is not solely military. You will meet many politicians and people who spend time around them." We are almost to the door, so I figure I'm running out of time to ask questions.

"Am I supposed to be sly? Friendly? Stand-offish?"

"The second most powerful person in the galaxy relies on you."

I want to roll my eyes, as that is no answer at all.

"Understood," I mutter. He looks over at me wearing a sly grin and motions for me to enter before him with a slight bow. Is he reveling in my discomfort right now?

"My lady."

I take a breath. Fuck it. If these people want something to talk about, I'll give it to them.

[dubiousdisco]

I have some thoughts on the deleted napoleon scene.

For those who don't know, there's more in the script about that weird napoleon bust that icepick joe pointed out in the background of the delivery scene. 8flix guy has posted some parts of the first draft that didn't make it to the final version of Goncharov. In one of them there's a little more about the napoleon bust scene:

The most adorable thing here is Mario and Joe's relationship, I think. Kinda reframes Mario's jab about Ice Pick Joe's death when you know they had an actual friendship.

It's also interesting that It was a portrait instead of a bust. Makes me think they made the decision to cut the scene early on but wanted the napoleon reference to be noted somehow and the bust draws more attention. They even had Joe point at it in the final scene as well. It serves to establish that they are dealing with enemies they can overcome, given the history of Napoleon vs russia and their little gang's first business is with Frenchmen. A subtle nod.

But here's where I think the foreshadowing and themes get interesting. It's actually pretty heavy handed, even if it's meant to come off as a joke, so I get why they would cut it out, but Napoleon's story is basically Goncharov's story. Andrey is Alexander I, we just don't know yet, because at this point we think Andrey had the same upbringing as Goncharov, but he even hints it a bit by being the one to know Alexander's name that he had more a formal education than the rest of them. And Josephine is Katya.

The story of napoleon regarding Alexander ends with a betrayal and Napoleon's story with Josephine ends with him deciding to leave her to make sure him and his future family will be royals in the future, even though he truly loves her, but we know none of this works. Alexander I was, after all, a royal, so of course, he joins the royals against Napoleon and Napoleon has his infamous Russia defeat that escalates into his downfall. And after leaving Josephine to marry a royal woman and have royal children, he loses the war, he gets separated from his kid or his future, in the case of goncharov, and he ends up trapped in a little house he can't leave, much like Goncharov remembers his first home with his dad.

Now, of course i will point out the ships. Goncharov's reation to the story is to exclaim "why would he SAY that". The emphasys is on the fact that napoleon would tell his beloved that he had feelings for Alexander, not that he would have them, not even that he's act on them, it's just the fact that he would let it be known.

And both Goncharov AND Katya stop smoking (you know the simbolism with the cigars/cigarretes i won't go into this here), showing confusion. Katya can't answer this either. None of them can, actually, but the emphasys is on Goncharov and Katya. To them, the honesty of napoleon admiting such feelings to his partner is absurd, and they can't find a reason for it. The longer focus on them also makes me think that they know how napoleon felt, they know what he meant, they just could never even think about being honest about it, this is a thing that doesn't exist for them, and they're having to face it so soon already, but they can't, so they stay quiet. It's no coincidence that Sofia shows up after this scene and Katya awkwardly brushes her off for the day, and that Andrey stays quiet for the duration of the delivery scene after the bust, he also knows and he was probably thinking about goncharov's reaction. This was probably one of the things that made his decide to betray Goncharov, having to hear him say that even if it was acceptable to have feelings for him, it was absurd to say it out loud. He knew from that moment that Goncharov would prioritize his "emperor" future, and probably so did katya, but she also had her own "empress" future to think of.

what is the most interesting here, though, is that our russian protagonists are being paralled to napoleon, not to Alexander I, they aren't the incredible win of the motherland, they were never good enough to fit in, they are the enemy in the eyes of their home, thats why katya can't face her past and that's why goncharov can't go back home, and that's why no place is home in this movie. They are the little guy from Corsica, former italy, that now is france trying to fit in with france and then with the other kings and no matter how much they, and in this case goncharov in particular, can achieve, they will never belong or be seem as equals, they are france against russia during winte AND THAT'S WHY THEY USED THE PHRASE WINTER COMES TO NAPLES IT'S LITERALLY WHAT HAPPENED TO NAPOLEON AND IT'S WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN TO GONCHAROV!!

It's such a giant thing that they just hinted at i just wish we could have a recorded scene to watch even if it wouldn't make it into the movie.

[frannyzooey]

"Something doesn't have to look a certain way to be happy" non here! I’m so glad you understood what I meant. I’m kind of obsessed in part because I think I have a weird perspective. I’ve had just two relationships in my life, and both were great guys - just one turned out to not be for me. Hubs and I have been together over 15 years and met when I was a college freshmen. There was a slight age gap (just 6 years but felt larger at 18) and we have remained happy and committed. I think we’re the weird ones 😆

Would you ever consider writing a “happily ever after” type one shot? Totally understand if that’s the most cringe awful monstrosity you could ever imagine. I kinda see it either being sweet or that 😂 I sort of feel bad asking because it could come across as such the antithesis to the intent and so disingenuous, but I know it’s a beloved fic and an AU could be fun if nothing else. By no means am I implying your ending wasn’t perfect — it was — I’m just curious and have also had some wine.

You aren't weird at all! That's exactly what happened with my husband and I at the exact same ages, and we are still going very strong ❤

Don't ever feel bad asking! I have played around with a number of things for them - in my drafts, I have: their first reunion night in England, a 🍑 drabble, a drabble about their time apart and how Ezra seeks solace in men - and I could see someday down the line adding one that gives a little more closure than the ending did? I don't know if I could ever write a truly syrupy sweet ending for them since I can't reconcile that with their paths in life in my head, but if I DID, it would look like a version of this:

Birdie comes back to NYC, she needs a place to stay so Ezra invites her to live there, Cee has long since made her peace with it since she has a new found sense of independence in the city and Ezra is beyond happy to have a little Birdie in his house every day.

Him, working in his work room and her, writing in the front room, and them, cooking dinner together every night.

Him, running his errands and her, coming back from the library and them, curled up on the couch together before they go to bed.

Him, looking over at her every so often with a small smile because she's really here, and her, looking over at him every so often because she's really here, and them, looking at each other in the dark bedroom as their bodies entwine.

Them, going to movies and parking in the back of the parking lot just so they can take in the late show and then make out in the car afterwards.

Them, merging their friend groups and finding new things to do together and them, delighting in the openness of their relationship. The affection they can show in public and at home, freely.

"I'm just curious and have also had some wine" is how I have made half my friends on here, so PLEASE, never feel bad asking me anything!

[sircarebearalot]

WIP

this has been sitting in my drafts and maybe putting it out will help make it spark more of my creative juices

the idea is that there are a string of AU fics but they all act as Tamaki's dreams, which he later uses as fodder/ideas for host club themes/events.

potential tite: for the first time

(bc of the song by the script)

Here is what I got so far:

"This is ridiculous," Kyoya fumed, eyes flaring. "They are going to give the inheritance to Yuuichi and I'm to wed a girl with a sizeable dowry."

Tamaki felt something akin to panic flutter in his throat. "Are you? What's her name?"

"I believe you know the blasted girl. She's French, because that is where the money is apparently. Her name is Renge—."

"Has everything been finalized already?" He asked hoarsely.

"No, it's still early. It's been decided but we just sent the letter to her family last night. We aren't expecting a reply till at least tommorow." Kyoya looked at his gloved hands miserably, "After an affirmative it all depends on how eager Renge is to tie the knot."

Tamaki grimly remembers their last encounter. Where Renge all but declared her undying love

"Do you not wish to marry her?"

"You already know I find her tiresome. Besides even if I was fond of her I'd still be repelled by the thought. The indignity of it all.... They did not heed any of my arguments and Akito had the audacity to say I covet. As if! What is there to covet? A washed up noble title and a mountain of debt? No, I don't think I do. At this point I'd rather run off and forget it all!"

"Well, then why don't you?"

Kyoya laughed, as if Tamaki was joking. He definitely assumed he was though he really wasn't. The notion of running away from all his troubles were all that kept him going at night sometimes. They weren't just fantasies, they were his dreams. Except in his dreams he was running away hand in hand with Kyoya, who loved him. Which made his ambition more of a fantasy. Even if Kyoya loved him he would never leave with him.

Wouldn’t never even joke of it.

Except now he would.

“No, really. Why should you stay? They hardly appreciate you the way you deserve: you’re wasted here. If you were a commoner you’d be double the success your family is. Your wits are sharper than any noble blade your family could try to show off. Your brilliance, well Kyoya, you could give the Ootori name a new meaning.”

Kyoya grabbed his flying wrists, “Alright, I get it. Your words are sweet and my spirits are raised, now please lower your voice or someone might take you seriously.”

Tamaki ripped his wrists free, stung. “I wasn’t flattering you. I meant it.”

“You think I should run off like a thief in the night. Like a slovenly coward? Like some sort of ingrate?”

This was why Tamaki never shared this particular dream with Kyoya. He could be purposefully cruel, but worse was when he struck by accident. Tamaki considered retreating, slapping Kyoya’s back and letting it go. Licking his wounds in silence but change was imminent, he might lose Kyoya if he tried but he definitely would if he didn’t. He rather have tried his best than to let this opportunity pass him by.

“I don’t like thinking about it like that. The way I see it, and you can call me more dastardly things if you like, is that before my duty to my family I have a duty to myself. Furthermore, my family never fulfilled it’s duty to my mother nor to me. My mother rightfully ran, if I were to take flight I’d also be correct. Before the abandonment I have withstood unnecessary and unwarranted pains. And so have you. Why should you spend your life fulfilling someone else’s expectations? When you could spend it making yourself and the people you actually love happy?”

Kyoya stared at him, as if he was seeing him for the first time. He looked terrified as much as he did mystified.

“You’re serious.”

“It’s a rare occasion, I’m afraid but you cannot doubt my certainty.”

Kyoya turned, as if to walk away and Tamaki felt frustrate tears build behind his eyes. To his massive relief, Kyoya only turned to accept the tea from the maid who had arrived as soon as he reached the doors and the lock the door behind himself.

He set the tea, arranging it as he spoke. “You seem to have forgotten that dreams belong with sleep.”

“Don’t be cruel,” Tamaki reprimanded. “You know I’m being true.”

Kyoya whipped around to face him, eyes bright with distress. “How can i leave?”

Tamaki met his gaze

“How can you stay?”

Kyoya looked him in the eye. “Say, I run away, what then? Would we be beggars? Servants? Misfits? What of the people we've ran business with?"

Tamaki smiled wide. Kyoya's scowl slackened with suprise. "What?"

"You said 'we'. You would run away with me." Kyoya's cheeks reddens once he realizes that Tamaki never suggested they run away together. "That," Tamaki laughs breathlessly, "That makes me so unbelievably happy."

[spiritofjustice]

humbly pitching in bronson for the meme

Send me a character and I will tell you my:

First impression: I wish I could remember, honestly. I don't remember what I thought about a lot of the characters, including main characters really, when I first started. If I had to guess, I didn't think much of him-- not that I disliked him, though. He always seemed like a nice guy with an occasional case of foot in mouth disease, though I look back more kindly upon that line in ch1 knowing that was originally meant for Jonel. (Though in general, I don't really blame Bronson, he had no idea what to do and was probably panicking)

Impression now: He's not one of the ones I focus on a lot but I do really like him! I appreciate that he's a character who moves onto modern life but stays a really decent guy. He's always in your corner and I love that. Bronson really seems like one of the chillest villagers overall. Never has a bad thing to say, good-natured, and loyal. He clearly feels a lot of love for his community and cares about people deeply. I should think about him more.

Favorite moment: There aren't many in the game, so... I don't know, I like the scene after the funeral in chapter 1 where he doesn't even really say much because he knows what Flint is thinking and that nothing he'll say will change Flint's mind. Like you can tell that he sympathizes with Flint so deeply then that he aids Flint, yet you can also tell he feels like he has no choice and it makes him so, so uncomfortable. All he can do is warn Flint to be careful about what he does. It's good shit.

Idea for a story: I like the idea of Claus befriending Bronson post-M3. Like, my Claus has a lot of unresolved anger/emotional issues, and frankly, the kid could use an outlet for coping with it. Bronson could take Claus under his wing and teach him some blacksmithing so Claus has a positive, creative outlet. Something nice for him to focus on and get good at. Claus also needs some good, positive male role models in his life. Flint is there, but it's complicated, and I think Bronson's kindness and patience would suit Claus well. So just them bonding over an activity Claus gets good at and Bronson is so, so proud of this kid.

Unpopular opinion: Are there Opinions about Bronson in general? I don't think so. But I don't think he's an asshole for how he handled Hinawa's death. Like I said, he was probably panicking and he's never dealt with this before, so he fumbled it. What people could really say they handled announcing someone's death well, y'know? Like yeah he could've done wayyy better but I don't blame him. To me, part of the tragedy of Tazmily is just how utterly clueless people are to the harshness of the world at the start.

Favorite relationship: I think his friendship with Flint is a great, if underutilized, element in Mother 3. I feel like there's parts of it that must have been cut from earlier drafts, albeit nothing huge. I know he was supposed to be a temporary partner at some point, and so that indicates he had a slightly larger role that was diminished a little in the final product. But he's still loyal, still asks how Flint is doing, cares about this guy even though they probably haven't spoken in months. Bronson doesn't give up on people. I don't know if Flint realized that there were people out there who still supported him to the end-- or if he cared in his kind of descent into obsession-- but I think it's important.

Side bar, I also like the idea of Bronson and Jackie because of that one cutscene where they talk in chapter 4. I'm always a sucker for outgoing/friendly and quiet/shy friendship dynamics. It's a bit of an odd couple thing with Jackie being pretty judgmental, but I think Bronson could reel that in. Kind of a neat potential relationship there.

Favorite headcanon: I used to have this headcanon that Claus loses his prosthetic arm due to some roleplay stuff I did years back, and although that canon doesn't really exist anymore, I still like the idea of Bronson creating prosthetics and adaptive devices for Claus so he can do different tasks. Hell, it could even be some of the stuff Claus learns to make with him, too. It's just a nice idea.

[heyseihai]

It's probably the first time I do pity Seihai. Rin is a pain in the *ss, let alone when she's in "Mama bear" mode in this only-dialogue-draft lmao

R: He hasn't sent a letter yet… she turns to Seihai You simply can't do anything right! S: Was he supposed to? R: Ofc, but you make things so difficult, I'm not surprised he left. S: Make things difficult? He did everything he wanted and left. Not my fault he wasn't "on fire" after a tiresome day at work, I wouldnt. R: Not everything, I don't see any marks she inspected Seihai S: Hey! R: You've done something. S: I haven't! I let him do whatever he wanted, but at one point he just looked at me and left! R: … You offended him. S: I just said I did nothing, are you deaf?! What else was I supposed to do? R: You didn't resist his advances, you made it seem like he wasn't desired. S: … I mean, that's the idea...?! Like, I don't repel someone I wanna sleep with... "Damn, I miss how easier it was to seduce someone in the South." R: Listen, this was a first date. Normally there would be an exchange of letters before, and another one later… but given your exceptional situation, it's not necessary… S: Wait, there's more? R: …so bear with the cold and keep the window open for him. S: Wouldn't be easier for him to use the door or…? (A paragraph with Rin thinking she agrees, for it's to low for a King to break through the window to enter his own castle, it's a peasant behavior that Kings shouldn't have, but she has no choice other than tutoring Seihai. N/A: As said here, For them, love is tied to weakness and pity, so the more fragile you are, higher the chances a kitsune to fall in love with you, for he will want to nurture and protect you.) R: Let the window open. And when there's any advance, refuse him. S: I don't get it, do I have to attract him here just to resist his intentions? Pretty sure he'll get mad at me for making him look pathetic or something… (Seihai thinks Rin is trying to ruin her chances behind the scenes) Rin stares and Seihai sighs. S: ok ok, how many times do I have to refuse him? R: Enough times not to tire him out, but don't tease him too much either. S: "I thought as a King he was allowed to break the rules and do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted…" S: And you've left me in the dark all this time about this? I guess I should have known these things from the start. R: Do you even pay attention to what I tell you? I told you, some things only experience can teach - a reference to their first conversation, when Rin says that everybody in Genkaku knew about Koori and her lack of accountability. Not to mention that Rin had realized long time ago how Seihai was ignoring her words and trying to shut her up, as if tired of her like we saw in previous chapter. - You are not as smart as you think you are, Seihai-kyou. It was easy to fool/trap people who trust you, but Rin didn't trust her enough to be fooled by Seihai. S: Same about you. Now that you have warned me, I will have to be more careful so you won't catch me. R: Not necessary. You won't be able to pretend for long, you aren't meant for the north. S: Well that's unfortunate. For something /her blood/ tells me that I will stay in Genkaku for a VERY long time. R: I wasn't referring to the kingdom. (Given how King and realm are considered the same thing for the sake of metaphors, she means that Seihai wasn't meant for Tenjin)

[seedlessmuffins]

hi, k! since you opened your inbox for hockey asks, here we go...

one you told me your team was the same as ferrari in the sense of the teams' management being harmful to the athletes' performance. could you explain exactly how it happens? i'm curious!

nikka i am kissing you on the forehead because i love this question, but this explanation is also very long so im hiding it under the cut but i hope you enjoy!

k ama: hockey edition!

ok so back story time. from about 2008-2012, the canucks (my team) were a very good team. because of the nhl's salary cap, this means that in order to stay very good and competitive for the stanley cup, they were implementing a strategy called "going all in" which means they were trading future draft picks and spending all their money to make sure the team was good in the present, even if it meant that the team would be worse in the future.

in 2011, the canucks were very very good. one of the best in the nhl. they had won the president's trophy, the award for the team with the most points at the end of the regular season (so the best team in the league, it is the equivalent of a football team winning their league and then going into the cl), and they had so many amazing players. they made a run to the stanley cup finals and lost in game 7 (sports trauma for me as a kid). because they lost though, they needed to trade and let some players leave so they could build up the team to be good again the next year, and have the salaries fit under the cap.

the next year in 2012, they also won the presidents trophy, but they were out in the first round of the playoffs (like the knockout stages of the cl). same as in 2013. now the organization is in a bit of a panic, because they have sacrificed players who could play for them in the future in order to get players who can play well for them now, but the team isn't performing like they expect them to.

this is when the spiral started. the team was playing bad, so a lot of the young players who we drafted had to play on the nhl team too early, before they were ready to, which lead to their player development being stunted when they were playing in the higher leagues before their skating ability and strength had developed. a lot of them were also too young, and having all the pressure of being in the highest league in a city crazy about hockey led to them burning out of the nhl and not filling their potential.

the team also took a lot of bets on players that didn't pan out for one reason or another, either because they were put into a role that they weren't ready for or because they were given too much responsibility, but either way they didn't thrive and sometimes haven't played for a good nhl team, or even in the nhl at all, since they left the canucks. the list is endless juolevi, virtanen, goldobin, granlund, stetcher, macewan, and those are just a few of many.

the team has gone through many phases since 2011, but they have hit rock bottom like three times and still haven't really bounced out of it. the player development thing is better now, but a lot of our superstar players are stuck on a mediocre, mid table team that doesn't seem to be changing drastically to improve. of course i have hope, i want to see hughes and pettersson and demko and the rest of our young star players to win a cup together (and i want to see the city of vancouver get a stanley cup. we deserve it) but realistically,,, we aren't ready and it has been this cycle since 2012/2013.

[yandereocs]

* THIS IS SUCH AN INTERESTING CONCEPT OH MY GOD

* Also I lost the ask because I accidentally posted this ask while I was in the middle of writing it. I meant to save to draft but I forgot to change the setting T_T

* (Also this is my third time writing this because the first time, Tumblr kicked me out before I could save and then the second time was the one where I accidentally posted to early. I'm going to cry)

Yandere Andrew with a personal knight darling

* Andrew is trained in self-defense and combat. He can defend himself if he has to. I imagine if he was assigned his own personal knight, it was because he came too close to death and it scared the Queen.

* It's awkward at first. Andrew isn't used to having help, let alone someone to protect him. And then there's you.

* You were ordered to do ANYTHING for Andrew, even give up your own life if necessary. And yet he rarely ever asks for help. He KNOWS that you'll do anything for him, but he doesn't seem to actually WANT help.

* Most of your job is just following him around quietly, honestly. Andrew doesn't exactly talk much. So how did he fall for you? This can go two ways, depending on your personality.

* If you don't initiate conversation because it's awkward for you or you're just shy or whatever other reason, he'll be grateful. Andrew prefers to stay silent and do his job as quickly as possible so he can complete his many other tasks. Not many people get that. But you do. It makes him feel understood.

* But let's say that you DO start a conversation with him because you want to know the guy you're working for or you're just extroverted or whatever other reason. Andrew doesn't really mind. People talk to him all the time, he can deal with it. But usually people just talk to him to get secrets from him or they want a favor. But you? You're asking about HIM. You want to KNOW him. It makes him feel seen.

* Either way, Andrew starts to catch feelings. You make him feel like a real person and not just some tool. And after the initial awkwardness passes, Andrew loves how you protect him. How you would do anything for him.

* Until he realizes that it's literally part of your job. Andrew is distressed. Not by much, but his demeanor definitely changes. And there's no way you wouldn't notice his change in behavior. You'll probably ask what's wrong, but all that does is make Andrew fall for you more.

* At first, Andrew tries to rationalize his feelings. Make them go away. He started to love you because of you devotion to him. But you aren't devoted to him out of love, but simply because you're paid to. He needs to find a way to stop loving you.

* Or, find a DIFFERENT reason to love you.

* Andrew starts taking notice about everything about you. He'll even start asking you questions under the guise of wanting to know his personal knight better. He'll find something else to latch onto as a reason for his affection.

* And he does. And once he finds this new reason, he'll start to court you. Things are pretty much the same here as it would be if you were just any other person. The only difference is the intensity of his affection.

* Andrew normally wouldn't want to overwhelm you. He'll keep his affections small and he'll try to give you as much space as he's comfortable with.

* But things are different here.

* Even though he knows that it's your job, he still can't get over how you're willing to do anything for him. Andrew hasn't felt this kind of devotion EVER. He doesn't want it to go away.

* And that makes him suffocating.

* He still tries to give you space to yourself and respect your boundaries, but he'll check up on you more than necessary. If you're doing something else, he's standing from a distance and watching. He constantly gives you gifts, even if you don't want or need anything.

* Regular Yandere Andrew wouldn't be all extra like that. Even with an accepting darling, he tries to keep the intensity low, but this Yandere Andrew truly feels cared for.

* And he is not about to lose that.