#thank you so much for the ask!!

[smoosey]

I needed to tell you that tiny shorts Cody has taken over my brain. I'm utterly obsessed

Ahhhhh hi, yes, hello!!!! Same same same!!! I was so delighted to receive this ask and I am so glad you share my obsession!!

If you're interested, I do have some critical background:

- They're Marshall Commander shorts. They say Marshall Commander across the ass.

- Bly, in possession of a discretionary fund ""for trooper morale,"" got them as a gag gift for each of his batchmates.*

- Cody (unfuckwithable) wears them unironically, unselfconsciously, daily, for his morning workout (....on the days he gets a morning workout.)

- It is widely understood that Cody is at his best and most approachable at this time. In the moments between his cooldown and hitting the sonics, Cody is in possession of serenity, mercy, benevolence. He's in a good mood.

- This is the time to come to him with. Just. The most aggravating issues. No matter how nightmarish the fuckup, Marshall Commander Shorts Cody can see the shape of the solution. No crisis will rattle his calm.

- Inevitably, someone shares this with Obi-Wan. Though not, perhaps, the full context.

- I think you know how this ends.

- Obi-Wan just isn't prepared, I think. The first time he sees the Marshall Commander Shorts. I think Cody is flushed and shirtless, thighs out, drinking his water, toweling off his face. I think he sees Obi-Wan and smiles. I think Cody so rarely smiles. It's like 💀💀 a dream. It's like he's dreaming.

[starryslushie]

Opinion on Crumb? (mouse guy from cinderellas castle)

he is so small...;; tiny even

I think he deserves a little wooden sword, as a treat

[mckittericks]

trick or treat!! 🎃

Midnight: ...you are literally in love with Aizawa.

Mic: Oh, yeah, I mean, obviously.

[heyclickadee]

Every day I wake up and I'm compelled to reblog the Scarf Lore™ Comic

Hi! And thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed that one! I’m sorry it’s taken me forever to answer this—I completely missed the ask. Buuut here’s a little follow up comic (it’s not really funny like the scarf lore one was, but I do make Hunter and Echo sit down and talk:

[blogplutopools]

hullo, pluto! I was wondering what would lola's job be if she worked for marigold? I'm quite curious :3

hi starry!! so, i feel like lola would be a bootlegger, but she wouldn't kill anybody. she'd just kind of scare someone or intimidate them, but wouldn't inflict any harm on them. even as a marigold member, she wouldn't have the heart to hurt anybody.

[rrcenic]

draw neil being a little simp boy and tending over todd (“todd!! dont get up!!!! your little feets dont work in the morning. ill make breakfast, do the dishes, and make coffee. you stay here”)

todd loves his boyfriend so much but cmon. he just woke up.

[thrill-seeker-if]

what are your least fav tropes??

holy moly, there are a lot.

Accidental... Pregnancy.... - Screw this. Like seriously it's the worst and the reactions to the pregnancy are ALWAYS so bad. Bonus points if he reacts badly to it, asks her to get rid of it (when either mc is not in the mental state to do so or was hoping for a better response when he was having UNPROTECTED WEE WAH WITH HER), and she STILL wants to be with this man???

Tsundere - I just.... like beating somebody up just cause you like them?? What are you, my elementary school bully?

Bully x Victim - what the FUCK???

I don't really like any Best Friend's ____. This includes Best Friend's ex (why would you ever), Best Friend's Sibling (this one comes off very meh to me, but like I would find it strange if my friend dated my brother, and we only have a year difference), and ESPECIALLY Best Friend's LOVER. WHY WOULD YOU CATCH FEELINGS FOR YOUR BEST FRIEND'S ACTUAL CURRENT PARTNER???

Sibling's ex or sibling's lover - no way hosay is it okay to fall for someone your SIBLING liked.

Sibling LOVER - get. away. now. get away from your blood relations. Please. I'm begging you. Stepsiblings are NOT exempt.

Uncle romance??? Cousin Romance???? FAMILLIAL RELATIONS??? I'm looking at Credence right now.

Enemies to Lovers - Now, here me out. See, I like rivals to lovers. But that is SO much more different than enemies to lovers. 'Um, he did enslave my people, killed my family, burned my hometown to smithereens so I will never have a home to return to.... but... he's got the most beautiful blue eyes!' ...I will pass.

Amnesia - bruh EVERY time someone loses the memory of their lover I just close the book. This is actually non negotiable I HATE this.

Second Chance - Nah, we broke up for a reason. No more chances dude it's OVER.

[good-beanswrites]

#i have a lot of thoughts on why amane accepting shidous help wouldnt help either of them but thats rambling for another day lmao

hello it is another day 👀 can I hear your thoughts on why shidou and amane wouldn't be helped by him trying to help her?

Ah yes!! I'll start off by saying I love Shidou a lot and think he's very capable, loving, and is a really good father -- I mean no slight to him when I say he would only make things worse for Amane if they became close like he wants. The short version is that neither of them will get what they want out of this new relationship, to no fault of their own. But by getting together in the first place, they give each other the illusion that they can get these things, which only makes the loss worse.

Shidou is grieving a sudden, intense loss. He thinks that he wants to keep being a father. He thinks that he misses taking care of his little girl and that by caring for Amane he can get that feeling back/atone for what he’s done. But what he needs is time and space to mourn such a sudden tragedy. I don’t know what you call a familial rebound, but that’s exactly what Amane would be. He does genuinely want to help, he’s not like “using her” or anything. But he is subconsciously expecting her presence to fix something for both of them. He desperately wants to fill a gap in his life, and her role as replacement for what he lost would become more and more clear. Maybe he doesn't want to replace them, but sees saving her as a way to atone for the children he couldn't save. No matter how much love he pours on her -- no matter if she's able to overcome her feelings and return his love tenfold -- it won’t fix what's actually broken.

And it would be the same for her: rushing into a new family wouldn’t give her back the parents/childhood she lost. After thinking so highly of her father, she’d have really high expectations for Shidou. She may be able to recognize how her father hurt her, but it’ll be hard to break away from the intense respect she has for him. She’ll always be wanting more from Shidou, both in his character and also the unconditional love she’d been denied. And while his love may be unconditional, it will always be affected by his love for his past family. All of his techniques for caring for her were tested on his kids first (he makes her desserts he know his kids liked, takes her places he took his family, etc). It's not a bad thing on it's own (in almost any other case it would be a really good thing that he has firsthand experience), but given Amane's specific past, this will hurt her a lot. She will always be reminded that those kids came first. She’s so used to adults putting the cult before her, this will feel the same. She’ll always feel like living in something's shadow. 

And I know people are adaptable, but I think her joining Shidou’s life would just be such a challenge for both of them. Shidou built a family with loved ones, and now he has to start a new life as a single father to a strange child whose mind works very different than the average population. He mentions he relied on his wife for household things -- now he must learn to cook and clean while also struggling with cult deprogramming techniques. All of his energy would be consumed with helping her change and adapt, instead of properly processing both of their emotions with grief and guilt. Unprocessed emotions like that can only come out harmfully, then. Even if Amane suddenly develops the most open mind in the world, it’ll be such a jarring switch going from her cult completely against medicine to a doctor’s household in which science always triumphs over spirituality. So much of Shidou’s core being is tied to the most awful and traumatizing events of Amane’s life -- that’ll be a huge obstacle for them to overcome, no matter how open to healing they both are.

The problem is, I recognize Amane's rejection isn't good for either of them. With Shidou's emotions, being so violently hated by a child only sends him deeper into grief. It makes the loss feel worse. And similarly, Amane's rejection denies her of someone who genuinely wants to care for her -- she's missing out on necessary physical, mental, emotional support. It's a lose-lose for the two of them, and I'm very compelled by it :(

Buuut, if I can indulge in my more personal thoughts for a sec, that's why I like to think about Mahiru taking her in! She specifically wanted new kids. She's literally prepared her life to take on a new child in her home. Even without the help of a partner, she excels at cooking, cleaning, keeping house, etc. Amane really does fill part of the gap Mahiru has always longed for. Though she won't get her childhood back, Amane will finally be an adults number one priority, no strings attached. Mahiru will absolutely smother her in love, her tendency to go overboard making up with Amane's deficiency of parental care. I think Mahiru's "let everyone stick to their own code" mindset will need some work, but at least it allows Amane's transition to be much easier. Mahiru is in support of Amane following what she believes, rather than live a lifestyle that actively denounces her. Shidou can still visit and help, giving him the perfect amount of interaction to heal him, and offer Amane something real and kind. I know it wouldn't be perfect under Mahiru, they're situation is fucked up enough to take a lot of painful work, but I really think she'd be the best to take care of her <3

[thefabledpheasant]

Merwenthur and merwen

Ayyyy two for the price of one 😁

I’ll start with Merwen. They’re besties. I don’t see them together pretty much at all. I think they have undeniable chemistry, but that chemistry is strictly platonic. So, if I were talking their ranking as friends, it’d be 95/100. But ranking as a couple…

Merwen: 10/100

Ok, now for Merwenthur. My feelings on this one are a little complicated. On the one hand, whenever I see fanart of this coupling or silly little scripts of the three of them, I think it’s adorable and I eat it up. I think they’re a great trio just in general.

But on the other hand, I don’t really like it when I think of them actually together. The main reason for that is I don’t think the love would be equal and I just can’t like it if it isn’t. I think Merlin and Arthur have something that goes beyond what they have with anyone else.

When Gwen is Arthur’s queen, she’s lonely because he spends all his time out and with Merlin. There’s a deleted scene of Merlin telling Arthur he should probably spend some time with Gwen. This isn’t the only deleted scene that addresses this kind of thing either. And there are many other instances I can think of when Arthur puts Merlin before her.

I just think Gwen deserves to be with someone who see’s her as number one. And at the end of the day, Arthur is always picking Merlin and Merlin is always picking Arthur.

Merwenthur: 30/100

Feel free to send me ships to rank :)

[lavendel081]

I LOVE the way you draw sdv characters!!!!!!!!!!!!! What does your Harvey look like pleaseee 🧎‍♀️

THANK YOU!! I hope I can draw all of them at least once someday;; (But im so hyperfixated on Seb :))

I usually never draw Harvey, but I'm grateful for the chance to draw him for this just to challenge myself a bit! (I'm not very confident with how I draw him, but I tried!)

The first one is how I drew him at the end of last year-front facing is a bit easier maybe?- and then just now!

[veryblushyswitch]

JUST FOUND YOUR EENE TICKLE HEADCANONS AND IM SCREECHING WITH FLUFF.

Anyway I have an idea of my own

I’ve always considered Rolf to be the big brother of the cul-de-sac. Since he’s probably the oldest and he’s the tallest.

And remember how he does that arm pit victory rub thing?

Sometimes he might take advantage of them and sneak spider tickles on the Ed boys 🤭

Or he’ll just straight up be playful sometimes

For example:

“Oh! Trying to steal Rolf’s chicken’s again are we? Well Rolf will show you!”

He always goes after Ed first. Double D and Eddy to get their chances to run but they never get that far~

Also when Double D gets tickled and he’s laying on his back he squirms around like this. Except with a smile on his cute little face

As for revenge? Well, it’s Rolf they’re going up against. Good luck fellas!!

ALSO THIS SHOW HAS REACHED ITS 25TH ANNIVERSARY YAYAYAYAYA

STOP YOU ARE SO RIGHT!!! I definitely see Rolf as the older brother of all the other kids and he’s for sure a big tickle monster to them 💖

And please Double D 100% just falls to the floor in laughter 🥺💖

[carefulfears]

Top 5 msr hand holds <3

below the cut because you know i'm gonna TALK.

1. closure

the two of them sitting in that coffee shop, both cups in front of them untouched, filled to the brim, reading samantha’s journal. bearing witness to the suffering of this little girl. they are in this moment together. they have been in this moment together since he looked at her and told her “nothing else matters” to him, seven years ago in that motel room.

for the past seven years, scully’s job has been to play the skeptic, to argue against the paranormal theories that his grief leads him to. later that night, she stands outside the door of the last person to see samantha alive, and prays for aliens.

they’ve been in this together for the better part of a decade and they’re sitting in a coffee shop reading the truth they’ve been looking for, how devastatingly human the evil of it was, and she looks at him with tears in her eyes and squeezes his hand.

2. redux ii

one of the few moments in the series where you see scully break…scully defines herself so completely in loyalty. in following him, in being ahab’s starbuck, in being her captain father’s first mate.

in this moment, mulder is heading off to a hearing where he will be testifying to details of the conspiracy and against members of the FBI. this is It. this is The Truth. this is The Quest that they’ve been working on for five years. the dutiful first mate would send him on his way.

scully clings to his hand. she doesn’t want to lose any more time (nine minutes in bellefleur was enough). she can’t believe either of them are going to go through the next few hours, the last few hours, without each other.

she might not be there when he returns, she’ll be the next on the list of people to have disappeared behind his back, and he’s kissing her cheek and casually cracking jokes, and she‘s desperate to hold on for just a moment longer.

3. tithonus thumb war

one, two, three, four…we die next to each other or never at all. what’s immortality next to a mindless game with your best friend?

scully asked fellig, “how can you have too much life? what about love?”

he answered, “love lasts 75 years, if you’re lucky. you don’t want to be around when it’s gone.”

in a story about the grief of eternal life, waking up in that hospital, i don’t see scully taking on the quest to give it up.

4. dreamland

the central question of this episode, becomes the central question of the rest of the series: don't you ever want to get out of the car?

while they may be years from stepping away from the car long enough for that house and "normal life" that scully laments driving past, for a moment they stand in front of it.

they gaze up at lights in the sky the way they did on their second case together, the way they did in antarctica, and he reaches wordlessly for her. half "scully, you gotta see this" and half "stay here on the ground," it's an instinct that doesn't disappear with their memories.

it's like that thing DD said once, "there is no such thing as that story ever ending. those characters are forever searching. that’s what they do. even if we’re not watching them, they’re out there."

they'll get back in the car and they'll "just keep driving," for years and for decades and for the rest of their lives, because they'll forever be searching. and when there's something to see, they'll reach for each other.

5. pusher

"smile, scully."

kneeling down before her to surrender his weapons, he meets her worried eyes with a calm smile.

this episode is all about palpable tension and anxiety, about walking into a losing battle without control of the stakes, and it's most visceral in scully from the moment they decide to send mulder in alone.

but before she nervously watches a surveillance screen, before she jumps up the moment the feed cuts out, before she runs in after him, before she screams at a serial killer and cries out to him in fear...she quietly looks down at him, the way she has so many times before, and keeps his hand still. steadies them both, holds them both in this moment.

the emotional arc of this episode is bookended with touch, and more than the absolution in the way she reaches for his hand in the final scene, it's this moment that simplifies it to me. it's the calm before the storm, and the time that's taken in the midst of it all, to pause outside influence while they still can.

(BONUS: Fight The Future)

reaching out to him as she recommits, parroting back his own words to him. she has memorized everything that he has ever said and it is the two of them in this work, in this fight.

if they quit on each other now, they lose.

+ ghouli

[catgirljaneway]

For the character ask game: Kes + 1, 12, 20

Thank you so much for the ask!! (Ask game in question)

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

Ok! So I'm a huge Kes fan, and I was initially drawn to her because she's got this little aura of joy, and you can't help but love her, which you can see in other character's interactions with her on the show. Any room she walks into instantly gets a little brighter and she's just so fundamentally kind and gentle and full of love.

So that's what initially drew me to her, but what hooked me, was that fact that the longer you watch, the more we learn about her, the more deeply strange she gets. We've got that fantastic scene in elogium where she eats all those fucking bugs with that deranged expression, and of course, my all time favorite, this one scene where the doctor tells Kes he has some autopsy reports for her to read because he knows she loves autopsies. This by the way, is NEVER brought up again which I think is a terrible loss, because what thing to say about a character and then never mention! What a fact!

So you've got this little elfish looking girl, who's still fundamentally kind and gentle, but now we also know "oh she's a bit of a freak!" and she's wicked smart, and then she learn, oh, she's got these terrifying powers at her core and actually she might not be as fundamentally gentle as we (the audience) or kes herself thought. And now Kes has to grapple with this, and she's still a deeply good and loving person at heart, but now she has to try a little harder to suppress these urges and that makes her fundamentally more interesting.

Also her relationships with Janeway and Tuvok and The Doctor all bring me so much joy. Janeway's love for her, and the way she smiles when Kes is around, the way she hugs her when she leaves just!! Rip me to pieces. And Tuvok's mentorship and quiet protection of her?? And that scene when the Doctor holds her in Twisted. Kes has 3 parents, and honestly all three of them think they're taking care of her, but they need her more than she needs them.

And what's kept me loving her, is in a way her missed potential. So much about Kes wasn't explored, so much was left unanswered, and getting to rotate her around in my head and think about all the things she could have been is so fun. I deeply wish she had been used more, because on paper she's such a fascinating, deeply weird character. And she was just starting to come into her own when we leave her. She's broken up with Neelix, she's making her own choices, and I want to imagine where that would have gone. (I have further thoughts on this, but this is already ridiculously long, so I will continue this in a different post)

Long story short, she's a lovable little weird girl, and I like weird little girls. She'd crawl around on all fours and make up weird stories at recess in fourth grade and I like that about her.

Also she reminds me of the "a little guy!" > "oh they're actually fucked up" meme.

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

Well I LOVE the art where people make her look a little more bug like. With weird pupils and antennae and such. I love that, I definitely headcanon her looking a bit creepier like that.

I also headcanon her as a lesbian. Her whole relationship with Neelix baffles me. I honestly LOVE them as friends, they're so great when they're just silly best friends, but I cannot stand them as a couple. She's a gay girlie.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn't matter?

SEVEN!! Seven!!! GAH! The missed potential! Pretty much a weirdgirls club with Seven, B'elanna, and Kes. Kes would have been the perfect person to help Seven reintegrate into society, because she's patient and kind, and she'd get a huge kick out of Seven's deadpan humor. I mean, the EMH is her best friend, she's very good at dealing with people who others consider hard to get along with.

Kes wouldn't make Seven feel bad about the way she is, or try to pressure her to conform to what she wants from Seven. She'd take her how she was and love her for her whole being, not for what she could be. Also Seven would be Kes's scary dog ❤️ Because people meet Kes and think she's an easy target or a pushover (even though she could probably obliterate anyone if she so felt like it) but then Seven is standing behind her looking menacing and they hurry away as quick as they can, completely unaware they were scared of the wrong blonde.

[mack-anthology-mp3]

I’d love to hear you talk about PJ Harvey and queerness, if you’re so inclined!

OH MY GOD ANON I LOVE YOU reveal yourself so i can kiss you /joking and platonic (unless...)

this is gonna be really long so TL,DR, A Lot of PJ's work can be interpreted to be about a sapphic and/or gender non conforming experience.

OKAYYYYY SO

PJ Harvey, despite having never actually said she isn't straight, has written some Very Queer music, both in subtext and fully in the lyrics.

a few examples -

Dress could be interpreted to be about feeling the pressure to be a stereotypically girly girl and trying to navigate social situations where it's expected you have a boyfriend -

'Must be a way that I can dress to please him It's hard to walk in the dress, it's not easy [...]

Filthy tight, the dress is filthy I'm falling flat, and my arms are empty Clear the way, better get it out of this room A falling woman in dancing costume'

but failing to do so because it's just not you. feeling uncomfortable in a dress, trying and failing to have normal interactions with guys - which of course cishet girls can feel as well, but hits particularly hard as a queer, gender non conforming, girl adjacent person

O Stella, while the symbolism makes it about a religious idol, could be interpreted to be about idolising an older girl. Oh My Lover is about being totally fine with a partner's hypothetical polyamory.

Man-Size is a big one, before i even knew the term gender envy i was Deeply Aware that that was what man-size is about (in my opinion, at least) - wanting to things that guys do but not being able to cos you're a girl.

'Good Lord I'm big I'm heading on Man-sized got my leather boots on Got my girl and she's a wow [...]

I'm man-sized no need to shout Let it all, let it all hang out / out out out'

fantasising about a reclaiming of power while presenting in a more masculine way - WITH A GIRLFRIEND I MIGHT ADD - before going back to feeling as though that is unattainable -

'Silence my lady head Get girl out of my head Douse hair with gasoline Set it light and set it free'

like, 'get girl out of my head' is a pretty queer thing to say, yknow?

and 50ft Queenie -

'Hey I'm one big queen No one can stop me [...]

Hey I'm the king of the world You ought to hear my song Ah come on measure me I'm twenty inches long'

which is at the same time using male terms - even though the song is called Queenie, and that word is used a lot, she specifically calls herself King of the world, and proceeds to make fun of the perceived importance of a particular male organ, while at the same time saying she's better than them

more songs with gender and lesbian undertones - Yuri G, Catherine, to a degree A Woman A Man Walked By / The Crows Knows Where the Children Go (that one's quite explicit, word of warning if yu haven't heard that one before) - and songs that are covers of songs written by men without any pronoun changing - Shake Your Hips and I Can't Get No Satisfaction are two notable examples of that.

and then there are her songs that are just sapphic without being specifically gendery - My Beautiful Leah, Claudine the Inflatable One - i first thought that Down By the Water was about sneaking out to meet a sapphic lover under the bridge in the dead of night, a doomed romance, but there are lots of better and far more likely interpretations than that.

Polly herself has also said a lot of things that just kinda read queer. Like Patti Smith before her, she has said that she writes her songs from a place 'beyond gender', and just writes them as stories, sometimes from a male perspective. But of course, to a queer audience, you can hear her singing and *know* she's singing from a male perspective, but also can't help but to hear it as queer as well.

bit of a quote to go with that -

You've said that you don't like to think in terms of gender when it comes to music. Why do you think the gender issue, especially the concept of you being a feminist, is constantly mentioned with your work?

'I can only presume that, especially in the early days and early those labels tend to stick, but I know that I really played with gender in my lyrics, and I might sing in the shape of a man or I might sing in the shape of a woman. Or I might be dressing women in a loving way as a man or as a woman, or sometimes as neither. Sometimes more as just an essence, a feeling or an atmosphere. And I think that feels quite natural to me, but I think for some people it's not natural, and that's where the gender issue seems to become quite important.'

she was also adamant that she didn't want to be seen as part of riot grrrl, but rather as part of grunge - grunge was a very very aggressively male genre, and i don't think she thought riot grrrl had the right idea about how to go about empowerment - she took herself more seriously than that i think. she didn't want to be called a feminist, because she didn't want to be called a 'female artist', but rather just an Artist.

her gender presentation, moving from fairly neutral in 1992 (big black leather jacket, black boots etc, to the hyper-feminity of the To Bring You My Love era, 1995, also comes into play - she was showing femininity to be a performance, while also using it to her advantage, she didn't actually dress like that normally, no one wears that much eyeshadow, it was closer to a drag show than an actual outfits, a lot of the stuff she wore on stage. which is another one of those things that makes sense to a cishet girl, but gains more complexity as a queer person.

there's probably a lot more i can say on this, but that's everything off the top of my head! i cannot tell you how excited i was to get this ask, PJ Harvey is so much of how i've explored my own gender and sexuality, i could talk about this for a very long time!

[roboticnebula]

Fake Fic asks: 🐝 Refraction

🐝 send me a fake fic title, and I’ll make up a summary for it!

Cisco doesn't know why he keeps dreaming of Barry - their patient in Star labs. Sure, it could be the guilt for what happened to him, and he's been spending a lot of his waking hours looking him up and talking to the man's family.

Barry sounds exactly like the sort of person Cisco would love to hang out with, but it doesn't explain why Cisco has such specific dreams of the two of them watching Star Trek and placing bets on who can eat the most Belly Burger nuggets (spoiler alert for himself: Barry always wins, the man is a bottomless pit).

It gets very worrying when the dreams slowly grow into strange, waking visions of Barry moving at superspeed, fighting a man in yellow, and into very creepy flashes of Doctor Wells standing over Barry's comatose body.

Cisco can't explain it, but he knows Barry is in very grave danger at Star labs and he's determined to save his future best-friend-maybe-something-else. He also really hopes Barry wakes up soon, because this will all be a lot to explain.

(In which Cisco gets his vibe powers before Barry wakes up from his coma. Set in the CW Flash show.)

(Fake fic ask game!)

[acacia-may]

Hi Acacia! 💕

Could I have 1, 15 and 24 for your ask game?

Hi Lola! I'm always so excited to hear from you. Thank you so much for the ask and for playing this writing excerpt game! 🥰 I chose exclusively from my BC library for you and hope you’ll enjoy these 💕

1 An excerpt of my writing that makes me smile

If you'll indulge me, I think I'll pick two! ^^ Since I just reread this and have really been thinking about Lorelei a lot recently, here is a snippet from "Lucky" which tells the backstory of how Henry and Lorelei first met when they were children (he's 10 years old and she is 9 here). It was fun writing about a little bitty Henry and giving him a friend since he's so lonely. Just one of those wholesome stories that gave me a lot of warm & fuzzies to write! 💕

Henry’s cheeks turned a bit rose when he realized what he had said, but Lorelei just laughed. “So you’re a mind reader? Can you tell me how I’m feeling right now?” Henry pursed his lips together. It usually didn’t work the way Lorelei thought. He mainly picked up on subtle differences and changes in mana signatures. What she was asking him to do know would essentially be reading her mind, but… “I can try.” Closing his eyes, Henry took a deep breath and searched for Lorelei’s mana. Once again he was struck by how warm it was in the softest, most gentle way. He could almost think of what it reminded him of, but he still couldn’t put a word to it. And he certainly couldn’t figure out her emotion from it. “I don’t know…” he admitted at last with a defeated sigh. He decided to make an educated guess. “Disappointed?” He would have been disappointed if he was her given the circumstances and the fact she would be stuck with him in this dreary old house when they grew up. “No,” she replied, and he could hear the smile in her voice. “I’m happy.” “Why?” The question slipped out before he could stop it. “Because you’re Henry Legolant, and you’re nice. I guess I really am lucky.” Henry’s face flushed a deep red, and he stumbled over his words until he eventually managed to choke out, “Lucky?” “Mhmm…like my magic. It’s lucky magic, and even if it’s weak, it still makes good things happen for me. Like when I almost fell down the stairs, but you saved me. And my parents picking out a stranger for me to marry when I get older, but he’s actually really nice and my friend.” “Friend?” Henry repeated the word incredulously. He shook his head in disbelief. Had she really said they were…? Could they really be friends? “Of course we’re friends, silly,” Lorelei chuckled, and Henry blushed red as he wondered if it was, in fact, Lorelei who could read minds. He felt the heat rising in his cheeks as a warmth began to spread through his chest; however, he stared down at his twisting hands and bit his lip. “I’ve…I’ve never had a friend before...” Lorelei hummed. “Well…you’ve got one now,” she replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and Henry could feel her sincerity in the flickers of her kind, comforting mana. As it swirled around him almost like a warm blanket, a smile tugged at his mouth, and he realized what it was her mana reminded him of. It felt like a home—the kind that he had only read about. Somewhere warm, cozy, and safe filled with family and friends who cared for each other. It was only a distant dream for Henry, but…now he had a friend so, perhaps, he could have a home someday too.

I also wanted to include an excerpt from "First Christmas" which is a fluffy little story about all the future Black Bulls celebrating together and trying to make the holiday truly special for Yami and Charlotte's son (since it's his very first one!). This snippet has some YamiChar and Rillmy, so it especially makes me smile! ^^

“Hey!” protested Finral. “You guys are so mean to me. You’re both married and no one ever gives you a hard time about it.”  “That’s because Rill is wonderful”—Charmy beamed at him—“there’s nothing to give me a hard time about, and we were all waited for years for the Captain and Charlotte to get together. When they finally did, we were just so relieved that they had stopped being so dense.” “Charmy, Rill didn’t even know who you were for how long…” bantered Vanessa. “We actually told him that you were his ‘food goddess,’ and he still didn’t get it. I don’t think you get to tease anyone for being dense.”  “That was a mistake,” said Rill apologetically. “But I know who she is now, and we’re very happy!” Finral patted him on the shoulder. “It’s okay. These things happen.” “He’s still not as dense as Captain Yami,” said Zora dryly. “Listen, I got married before any of you morons so I don’t think I’m the dense one here.” The room grew suddenly quiet as the entire squad just blinked at him. Yami frowned, as Charlotte’s cheeks flushed. She had learned pretty quickly that the Black Bulls had been waiting for her and Yami to get together for almost as long as she had, but she was still getting used to getting teased about it. “She was sending me a lot of mixed signals, okay? I was just trying to be respectful.” Vanessa snorted a laugh before she rolled her eyes. “They weren’t mixed signals. She was totally into you—even Magna noticed.” “Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? I notice things!” “We were honestly starting to get worried it was never going to happen,” teased Vanessa with a wink, completely ignoring Magna’s protests. “But you figured it out, and now you have this little one.” She turned to Charlotte with a smile, and as ran her hand across Katsu’s back, he turned to look at her with wide blue eyes that looked far older than his years. “And he’s such a cutie! Do you think he’s ready to be held again?” Charlotte nodded as she held Katsu out to her and said, “Sure. Go ahead” to the wide-spread protestations of the rest of the squad who were promptly told to wait their turns. Smiling brightly, Vanessa took the baby and began walking around with him to show off the decorations. “Hi Katsu. Aren’t you just the cutest little man? You look just like your dad—especially with all this messy dark hair. If only we could get him in a Christmas sweater like this.”  Yami frowned. “Don’t even think about it.” 

15. An excerpt of my writing from an old piece that I like

I've decided to choose an excerpt from the first Black Clover fanfiction I ever wrote, Yellow Flowers, (I think only the first chapter is posted to Tumblr, but all 3 chapters are on AO3 and my old FFN account). This fic is my take on the backstory of how Vanessa and Finral became friends shortly after Vanessa joined the Black Bulls, and I'm still really proud of it, even though I think I have a much better grasp on the characters now. This whole scene in final chapter is probably my favorite in the piece, but here's just a snippet of it:

Inhaling sharply, Finral's voice hitched. He turned his entire body away from her, but Vanessa watched as his shoulders began to shake. He sniffled and wiped his hand across his face, and she wondered if he was crying. She stared at him, frozen, her breath getting caught in her lungs and her insides twisting—a pang in her chest. She had felt this once before. Once, when she was in the market with Gordon, she had seen a lost child sobbing and wailing for his mother. She had tried to will her legs to move—to go over and comfort him—but she had frozen, just like this. By the time, she had managed to take a step forward, the boy’s mother had come running towards him and took him into her arms, crying herself. Vanessa had been so relieved, but it had struck a nerve in her and she couldn’t help but think of all the children who didn’t have a family to love them—whose cries went unheard and who were all alone—children like her…like Finral. When she looked at him now, all she could see was a lost, crying child, beaten down so many times with those words: useless, worthless, coward—until he believed them. Her arms seemed to move on their own as she wrapped them around Finral—holding him tightly. “Va…Vanessa,” he half-gasped, half-choked, and Vanessa pulled back slightly. She had never hugged anyone before and worried it had made him uncomfortable. She was beginning to wonder if she should have asked him first, when his stiff shoulders softened and he wrapped his arms around her. Her eyes widened. She had never been hugged either. Since they were around the same height, she pressed her chin to his shoulder and pulled him close. She could feel him shaking—hear his shallow breathing, and she knew he was crying. Something prickled behind her eyes. She didn’t know what to say. She felt…helpless. “I’m so sorry” was all she could manage.   Eventually, he broke away from her wiping his eyes with a breathy, self-deprecating chuckle, “You must think I’m pretty pathetic...” “No,” answered Vanessa shaking her head. “You’re not pathetic at all. Your family is wrong about you. You aren’t useless. Your magic is defensive because you don’t want to hurt anyone—because you’re kind—and it’s incredible. I spent most of my life wishing for magic that could take me anywhere. If I had a power like that…” Vanessa’s voice trailed as she smiled bitter-sweetly off at the horizon. Her voice wavering, she let out a shaky sigh before she continued, “And running away—leaving your House—doesn’t mean you’re weak. Just think about it, you just decided to pack up your things and leave that awful place. You didn’t even have to be rescued…” She paused as her hands trembled, and the words got stuck in the back of her throat. “There are…a lot of people who aren’t strong enough to do that, and the fact that you did…that doesn’t mean that you’re a coward”—her voice hitched—“It means that you’re brave.” His watery eyes widening in shock, Finral’s jaw fell slightly slack. “Brave?” he whispered almost as if he didn’t believe it, and Vanessa nodded. Finral’s face was already red from crying, but she could tell a blush had filled his cheeks as a small smile formed in the corners of his mouth. “I’ve…never been called that before...” He chuckled lightly as his voice trailed. “Thank you, Vanessa.” Vanessa shrugged, but her face flushed. “That’s what friends are for, right?”

24. An excerpt of my writing that makes me go "huh...i wrote that?!"

I don't think I've ever mentioned this on Tumblr before, but I have a very cheeky Black Clover "Choose Your Own Adventure" story called "Surviving The House Vaude Soap Opera." (It was never posted to Tumblr so this is an AO3 link). You are Finral, and it's very silly, purposefully melodramatic, and tongue-in-cheek--definitely not supposed to be taken seriously at all. It started out as an actual game I created with my sister so it's designed to be read with a dice for really randomizing things, but you can also just pick the numbers you want 😅 Obviously it doesn't include every possibility but there are several endings and several possible pairings in there. It's fun but far and away the most wild thing I've ever written for Black Clover and I still can't believe I wrote it.

Here are some excerpts because I amuse myself...(each indented segment is a totally separate thing)

You realize the love of your friends is the only love you will ever need, and you live a long, happy, and unmarried life as uncle to all of the Black Bulls’ children. The… Who are we kidding here?! Roll the Dice.

You are too scared to express your feelings, so you run off to the Forest of Poisonous Beasts to hide out until Mereoleona Vermillion (who has money riding on this relationship) drags you out of there by force and makes you confess. To your shock, Vanessa reciprocates your affections and soon accepts your proposal. You marry. Mereoleona gets her money, and you’re so indebted to her that you name your daughter after her. The End.

Langris suddenly appears and goes off on you for always trying to steal girls from him—why can’t you just find some of your own? he argues failing to recognize that Vanessa was your friend first. It’s like some parallel universe when Langris insists that this time you just have a duel to determine who gets to marry her instead of drawing the whole thing out. He beats you easily and, then, marries Vanessa. To this day you can’t figure out his motives, but you like to think they’re happy and didn’t just marry out of spite or something. You settle down at House Vaude with Lady Finesse and live a quiet, happy life together believing that all’s well that ends well, right? The End.

Your brother Langris in a shocking display of kindness realizes you and Lady Finesse are deeply in love and out of the goodness of his heart—which you always believed he had (despite evidence to the contrary)—decides to step aside so the two of you can marry. 

Langris snaps at you that it’s none of your business and deflects the question before admitting that he can’t be with the woman he loves anyway so it doesn’t matter. Langris is capable of love? You’re so shocked and confused but desperately want to know the identity of this mystery woman. You push Langris for answers, but he refuses to tell you. 

You think some “liquid courage” may help you express your feelings to Vanessa and ask her to have a drink with you. After way more than just “a drink,” you end up kind of yelling “I love you!” at her in a drunken stupor and asking her to marry you to which she points out that the two of you are already married. 

In this category of "Huh? I wrote that?" there's also the entirety of Spite (but let's not talk about that...)