#the hardest part about this actually is i'm drawing. a lot. but not allowed to post anything i've done so far 😭😭😭😭

[moe-broey]

TWO PIECES FOR SHARENA WEEK. DONE. We're SOOOOO BACK (on my meds LMFAOOO)

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

i for once want to get the opinion of a "rational" jikooker who knows how to take a step back and take certain things for what they are and i wanna know your opinion or interpretation of jikook in chap2 and them not meeting and also that conversation they had in the car about that please.

And you thought I'm that rational person? Funny.

You know, there's something I always disliked about being in this fandom space. I mean, there's plenty of other things, don't get me wrong, but this one in particular really irks me. It's the need for approval, for confirmation of one's thoughts. There's a severe lack of independent thought. It might be hidden under apparent strong opinions, but when you look at how those opinions are spread to anon messaging to bloggers everyday, that's a sign that the complete opposite happens.

Jikook as a kpop ship always has to be questioned. At this point, I think it's part of its narrative as a ship. But what's curious (and stupid) is that the hardest line of questioning comes from the ones who consider themselves interested/curious. But make no mistake, this is not done for the sake of not becoming delusional and discard any rational thought. It happens because of the need for approval.

You sent me this ask because you hope for me to agree with your own thoughts about jikook and what that conversation in the car means. Not for them actually, but for you. And you're not the only person. A sure sign of fandom insanity is debating for over 2 weeks now a conversation that is not only heavily editated, it is mediated as well. It takes place in the context of a show for fans in which participants are two people who will never reveal everything about their lives. And on top of that, there's an intentional need to ignore that people can speak in hyperbole, that people can ommit or say one thing that actually means more or another that only the other person is capable of understanding the nuances of that.

Communication is complex. We do know that because we engage with it everyday. Except we forget all that the moment we have to talk about this specific ship. We forget a lot of things about human behavior, relationships, etc. It is an intentional act. So we start writing fanfictions. We start making relationship timelines. We start taking about temporary or definitive break ups of a ship that hasn't even been confirmed as a couple. At this point, shippers operate into this alternative universe sphere, canon adjacent but instead of doing it on ao3, they use their blogs and anon messages for that. But hey, fanfics on ao3 are a lot of the times the work of talented writers, while 500-1000 words essays on tumblr are simply a complete waste of time after the first paragraph.

Is this what you would consider a rational perspective? Or should I start writing down a timeline of all the times in which JM and JK have met in "Chapter 2" up until NY in July? (As if in reality their lives are actually separated that clearly, as if a break in band work completely defines their personal lives, jesus christ!). So, should I note down all the public events that they've been to? And to draw a conclusion from it to prove or disprove that the amount of times they've seen each other is reflective or not of what they said in the car when they left for their trip? Of course, we should ignore that there's an entire life outside of what we see.

And that's the thing, you know? We all supposedly agree that they actually share little of their lives with their fans, but practically? The fandom doesn't really give a shit. Because of the classic parasocial relationship we have developed that makes us believe we know everything there is to know.

What we are allowed to see and what we hear from whispers here and there should allow us to realize that no theory over a supposed relationship is better than the other. Believing they are just friends, that they have broken up, that they are fwb and so on is in no way more rational that believing they are together.

What does this mean? If none of us are wiser? It means we have a choice. Some are choosing to be losers or little bitches crying in anon asks about their "insecurities" over a ship. Some are choosing to look at this ship as a duo that includes two people who have really good chemistry and who match each other's freak.

I've always been in the latter category, I thought that was obvious and I've said it before. If one day Jimin makes a public statement that he's marrying the love of his life, a sweet girl that is also the mother of his 5 secret children, then so be it. And if one day, Jungkook shows up one day after he decided to run away and join a bike gang where he met his boyfriend, then so be it. If somehow that next day, a jikook clip would turn up on my tl in which Jimin is brushing his teeth while straddling Jungkook, my reaction would be "well, jikook fuck. Often". You know why? Because for me, the public life of stars and what they choose to share is entertainment. A travel show, a wlive, concerts, these are all forms of entertainment. I do not consume my entertainment by being a loser on the internet, pondering if my assessment over two people might be fucking is real or not or is approved by other people.

[neogandw]

Page 4 of 6, the rest can be seen here.

Honestly this is the part where I just get to have fun with the training montage and the reason of why I love Smash Bros like I do.

The gameplay IS fun even if I don't actually play online matches all that much (I'm not all that competitive, I play mostly solo or with friends exclusively), but to me Smash Bros is a toy box.

I love these universes and Smash Bros has introduced me to many more over the years, to me its an introduction to various things I could learn and play with, and even more fun to me its concocting how these series gel together and how you could use their elements as playthings to craft a story or a cohesive universe.

I explored this before with another massive comic I made, honestly kind of one this is a sequel to. Its "The Strongest Fighter".

To me, I am not interested at all in "who would beat who", I prefer to think of "Okay, if these two were to meet, how WOULD it go down?" or "If so was in this situation, what would they do?", the joke of the Strongest Fighter comic is not to actually decide who is the strongest in terms of made-up power levels, but rather an exploration of how these characters view and talk about one of their own in a context disguised as a poorly thought-out question.

A lot of people tend to miss this, sadly, even if Shulk points out "Anyone can beat up Kirby" rather blatantly at the end.

So, going back to Page 4, its also similarly an exploration of the question "how do you go on about getting strong in this context?".

With splatoon, there's not much other than "pick up the weapon and sink or swim, we ain't an helicopter parent, you figure it out". But when you introduce the idea of a MENTOR (specially one out of universe like Peach is) how would you go on about teaching something so abstract as getting good aim?

Its not so much that Orange needs training in weaponry at all, I did make it a point to show that she was Super Fresh with everything BUT the Chargers back on Page 1, but that her aiming skills with the Charger are so off that:

Speedy targets won't stay still (Joker just dodging out of the way)

Her shots are blantantly obvious (Samus just leaning her head to the side)

She's not using shooting at a range, so her aim is so off that she misses even in Super Flat World.

So the training montage is tackling these issues.

Study up and learn how the weapon actually works, as I said her first mistake was skipping up Sheldon's explanation, so the first thing Peach does is explain the basics of the weapon to Orange (if you notice, the billboard does show things like leading the shot as exemplified with the Rabbid, using bombs to flush out your enemies and the importance of things like Ink Saver). Basic stuff, but you do hit the books to learn your tool.

Learn in a safe envoirement that is somewhat predictable, and it is slow going (notice the timer of the Break the Targets), get used to shooting long-distance first and foremost, no matter how long it takes.

Then you introduce the erraticness (AKA: the ducks) and practice off that, Orange hit exactly half and Peach mentions as much. The dog may laugh, but its a start.

And finally, put it to the test. I specifically chose Sonic to be the target to be hit because he'd be the most erratic, fastest and would NOT allow himself to be hit that easily. Landing a headshot on Sonic has to be the hardest thing you could do.

I did mostly pick scenarios that would be funny, but I did want it to be a ramping up in getting good. Not just jumping from point A to point B and just skipping to "welp, you're a god at sniping now".

Anyway, the hidden jokes and references of this page:

I used to be a teacher (programming, if you're curious), so the panel of Inkling Girl going to school is reminiscent of my experiences as a teacher and a student. hence why Inkling Girl's set-up on the school resambles what I know rather than the desks you find on Garreg Mach. Such as taking special attention to draw the ever present ruler, using a square notebook for math, the pencil sharpener and erasers being the ones we use down here on México and the bag being a knock-off rather than an official product. Its just sort of the norm you see around here.

You may notice the random calendar on the Garreg Mach page on the top left. On the coloring process I decided to add to the joke of Inkling Girl going to school by imitating a Persona UI.

Originally the joke was to have it be styled after P5's, but the UI used wound up being Persona 3's instead. Not only is it topical thanks to Reload, but the reason I did it is that curiously -just as I was working on this panel- I hit this date on reload ( 8/10 ) and it just so happened that THIS is when you downright lose an entire week worth of days because Mitsuru decided to sign you up for summer classes without consulting you. Fitting for Inkling Girl sacrificing her own free time to learn and study.

Small thing, but if you actually read Orange's notebooks you may notice she's dividing by zero.

Just to show how much Inkling girl sucks at aiming, the break the targets timer is there to show how badly she's doing. Normally during Break the Targets you either get timed to your best time counting UP if you're doing it on the dedicated mode or counting DOWN from 2 minutes if you do it from Classic Mode. The timer instead reads 28:05.15, meaning that Peach had her do it at her own pace and its been nearly half an hour of just missing shots (since she's only been able to hit 1 target so far).

Also, the timer number may be random, but its actually Splatoon 1's release date. I love to hide significant numbers like that on my works. I forgot to mention it but Peach's player ID back on page 3 was also a release date.

And to add on to the cute factor, the platform they're standing on in Break the Targets is actually taken directly from Peach's stage. So she's lending her own target test for the practice.

Fun fact: on the Duck Hunt panel you can see the UI discussing how many ducks have been hit by Inkling Girl. Not easily apparent though is the blue bar below the ducks.

THAT is the minimum requirement. In the original Duck Hunt the UI for the duck tally would shift over to the left and be compared to that blue bar, if you didn't shoot enough ducks to go beyond where the bar was pointing at the game would end.

Essentially, Peach is asking for a bare minimum of 4 ducks to be hit, which Inkling Girl technically did as she managed 5, but she's still frustrated due to the dog's mockery.

Irregardless of how the montage was gonna go on the planning phase, I always wanted to have Sonic be the last test for Inkling's improvement because -once more- I like to think more in-character when writting down these scenarios.

Sonic is the fastest thing alive, he's capable of dodging whatever bullet or explosive eggman tends to throw at him (capable, not reliable, it depends on player input if he does so or not). So he'd be perfect for target practice, specially for something like Sniping.

Sonic's pride would NOT agree with being shot in the face, admittedly, but he could be talked into it if asked as both a challenge and a request. Peach wouldn't put anyone in danger and it is really just ink, so if its for the sake of helping others, Peach could reliably ask Sonic to do it and he'd at least take solace in helping someone else. Though he'd likely taunt and make it as hard as possible due to his ego.

To show that it was amicable and that Sonic agreed to it I had the two bits of Peach handling a tower and Sonic giving a thumbs up, to show that he was in on the plan.

I could have drawn Green Hill Zone again (in fact, the planning phase did had it AS Green Hill), but I instead opted to go with Seaside Hill as the background (kind of a mistake on my part since Ocean Palace is OBTUSE on its architecture), mostly because I wanted some scenery variety with Sonic, its not always gonna be on Green Hill Zone, you know.

The Loading screen that Inkling is having on her head while she realizes she passed the final test is from Sonic 06, which I shouldn't have to tell you that its infamous for its loading.

I originally wanted it to be Splatoon's loading icons, but those would have required animation since they're not visually understandable otherwise. So I just went with the Sonic theme and made it match.

The UI used for the last two panels are the stage clear screens for Splatoon 2 and Splatoon 1 respectively. Also, I didn't just copy-paste the assets from Splatoon 3 into the comic, every time you see the weapon icons like that its one of my recreation of those assets.

[pialikesskz]

boarding: the floor plans

so um... hi folks! if you're here, you've probably been reading my skz fanfic boarding over on ao3. some of y'all have been asking to see my floor plans that i've made for the story. this is me, obliging. hope you enjoy :)

introduction and vibes

i'm planning to upload some edits to the earlier chapters within the next month or so to give a bit more of an image of what i imagine the space to look like, now that i actually have it. in the beginning, i was really just putting scotch tape over the world-building in order to get to the character interactions. for now, here's the edited version of the initial description of the school:

"In the distance, the sparse forest through which they’re driving melts smoothly into a series of rolling hills. With how early it is, the hilltops still catch a hint of morning reds and pinks from the lazy sunrise. The car rounds one last bend in the road, and Felix’ breath catches in his throat. The ground slopes gently upwards for a few hundred yards, and at the peak of that hill stands an ancient estate, cloaked in brickwork and ivy, rising up out of the landscape with impossible grace. It is majestic, and dignified, and makes his heart sink in his chest with a pain like simmering water." (Intro Pt. I)

i can't actually draw, in fact i can barely sketch, so u will just have to use ur imagination on that. but keep it in mind for overall vibes.

the school grounds

this is the worst of these sketches, and i apologise, but this is generally how i imagine the layout of the school. that big thing in the front is the mains, then the courtyard, and the three houses: yang, park, lee. the line around it is a sort of brick-wall fence, old-looking and worn. it's all surrounded by forest that gets thicker the further u venture away from the school, but light enough to allow for hyunjin to catch glimpses of the sun reflecting off the lake on a good day. here is part of the updated description:

"Changbin directs them outside by way of the back door, which leads out to a large manicured courtyard bisected by cobbled walkways; it’s structured a little like a park, complete with benches clustered around trees and small sectioned-off parts clearly set up for games. It’s about a five-minute walk through the courtyard to the dorm buildings, though that’s with the added weight of the suitcase. Felix tries his hardest to memorise where he needs to go — the school grounds certainly seem large enough to get lost in at some point." (Intro Pt. I)

the distance between the houses and the football field is way larger than it appears here; unfortunately, i only had so much paper to work with, and i wasn't gonna start again at this point. it's definitely a five to ten minute walk from the field gate - u can see it in the gap in the fence - to the football field. the path to it slopes vaguely downward. the building next to the football field is the auditorium where choir practice happens, and sometimes assemblies. (we'll get to that in the story eventually, i promise.) also there's changing rooms for when there's football matches.

the mains

this is how i imagine the layout of the main building. the cellar is on a separate page because i make bad choices in life. "T.H." stands for teacher housing. anything with diagonal lines across it is storage of some sort. the grey-shaded thing on the second floor is a bit of roof - for architectural interest, u feel? i play a lot of sims.

the dorm houses

this is how i imagine the layout of the three houses - or, at least, park house. (btw has anyone figured out why i named the houses the way i did? it made me feel really smart when i came up with it.) more on the single dorms later. the stuff in dotted lines is, like, stuff that exists on one floor but not on others - like, the ground floor has those wing things to the sides, but there's no equivalent above or below, it's just roof. hope that makes sense.

the dorm rooms

and finally, this is the layout of the dorm in my head. yes, it's pretty small, but consider this: stuck-up private schools don't care about the rights of children. for this one, i actually tried to work with some realistic measurements, but like, take it with a grain of salt, y'all, i'm an english literature major. as to who's in which room, peek at the top of the page. updated description:

"(The door) opens into a small common room populated by an assortment of worn-looking furniture: a closed wooden storage cupboard in the corner, a mostly-empty bookshelf leaning against the wall, two sofas with a wild assortment of pillows on them placed haphazardly around a chipped coffee table." (Intro Pt. I)

fin

so that's that! i've put a lot of thought into this space, and i think at this point i've got it down pretty well. of course, these are all just what i have in mind myself - if it doesn't fit with your vision of the story, that's cool! keep picturing that! we love anarchy here.

feel free to let me know your thoughts on the floor plans, the story, anything at all! i am really happy to talk to y'all, and answering tumblr asks make me way less anxious than replying to ao3 comments lol. have a lovely day, and i'll see you for the next chapter!

-pia

ps: i took the leap out of my comfort zone and put this on my personal skz tumblr, instead of one specifically created for the purpose of sharing ao3 things. that's big for me. be nice.

pps: if you know me in real life, and you want to tell me that my writing is cringy: don't! it will make me sad. so mind your business.

ppps: if anyone steals/reposts this, i will hunt them down and make them eat a ten-pack of tissue paper. do not test me.

[comfortlesshurt]

Saw that post about fic-writing-related questions to ask you and so:

1. What's the word that appears most in your current draft?

2. What's your preferred writing font?

3. Where do you get your inspiration? (And is it possible to learn this power?)

4. What's your favourite place to write?

5. Talk about your writing and editing process

6. What's the most interesting topic you've researched for a fic?

7. How do you recharge when you're not feeling creative?

8. Besides writing, what are your other hobbies?

omg yes, thank you!

I just started something last night but it's only 40 words, so I'm gonna jump over to a more substantial WIP to get a better answer for this one. For chapter 6 of the bigger fic I'm working on, the top three are: Keith, Shiro, and time. (Or if you want to exclude names, time, when, and enough!)

I picked Times New Roman 12pt when I was like... 12, and I never abandoned it.

It jumps around! Over the past year, it's honestly mostly been from reading others' fics! (Which is also why I've gotten more fanatic about using the "Inspired By" feature on AO3 recently, because I fully think it's okay to take inspiration from others, but the other person deserves a little boost in reads too!) In the past, I've pretty exclusively relied on other people giving me prompts, but I had to figure out something else when I desperately wanted to write and there was no outside interest.

This one's probably boring, but I can't stand writing on my phone or a laptop, so I exclusively write at my desktop in my living room.

For writing: 1) Get idea (the hardest part). 2) If it's multi-chapter and I know that from the start, I'm not allowed to write anything until there's a basic outline jotted down. 3) The actual writing: Active writing doc on one monitor, outline on the other (if it's a multi-chapter work where I need to keep track of how the current part interacts with other parts), and Spotify in the background! For editing: I'm awful about it. I'm one of those people who edits as I write even though it frustrates me every time. BUT in exchange, the final editing is a lot easier because I've already edited it during every drafting session. I try to do the editing at the start because then it doubles as me reminding myself what I've already written and might give me ideas for what I want to write in the rest of this session. The final editing session after the writing is done is usually just me googling synonyms for the words I think I overused!

Oh man, I'm sure I'm blanking on something more interesting from further in the past, but a recent one has been the actual timeline for Voltron. Like, I always knew it was set in the future, but I never thought about exactly when since the show seems to be intentionally vague, and I had to dig into fan theories to get a good answer to that. Usually if I need to research something, I'll stick to an overview because I will go overboard if I give my brain half a chance, and a brief overview is usually enough to avoid writing anything completely wrong and immersion-ruining.

Ooh, I switch hobbies for a bit! I used to think you can't really call it a hobby if you don't do it almost every day, but that's a silly idea and I've given it up. If I don't feel like writing, I don't write. Usually, I'll get really into reading again during those times, but I might also go back to playing the guitar or drawing. It doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's fun and it's not writing. I just do that until I feel like writing again. That keeps me from associating writing with being frustrated and upset since I only write when I actively want to.

Oops, kinda went into them above already! But other than those ones, I also obsess over statistics, coding, and general math nerd stuff since those are what I went to college for. There are probably other hobbies, but of course they've all popped out of my head now that I'm trying to think of them!

[cutebotcalendar]

How do you manage to come up with new ideas almost every single day?? I tried my own daily comic, but I'm opting to a story driven weekly because I was running out of ideas before the end of this month! Seriously, it's awesome you can maintain the way you do.

Thank you, that's kind of you to say! I actually worry about this a lot, haha. The format I've chosen allows me to be pretty loose with things, as I'm not telling a 'joke' every day, but even just trying to make something novel/relatable and/or charming to look at each day can be a struggle!! There is a quote from Charles Schulz that I think of often that is something like "a cartoonist is someone who draws the same thing every day without repeating themself," and I find that daunting but also liberating: you can see a lot of Peanuts strips where it's the Same Thing But A Little Different, and if it was good enough for Schulz, it's certainly good enough for me and you! The other big part of it is accepting that not everything I make is going to be my 'best' work, even if I am trying my best: that's just what I was able to make that day. It is not applicable to all situations, but I think it is a good exercise to just try and get stuff out there however you can.

Congratulations on starting your comic!! That's honestly the hardest part, so way to go! I'd love to check it out, so please feel free to send me a link! Thanks for the message, and good luck out there!

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch.53 thoughts

[Solve. Die. Repeat.]

(Contents: reminiscing, character analysis - Omomuro and Iroha, thematic analysis - victory, speculation)

Oh man, this might just be my favorite chapter so far, and none of my best girls were even really in it! We love a good bookend in this house

I'm actually pretty miffed that Nisio included a Kogoe Lesson to explain the parallel to the Q5, it doesn't leave me with a lot to talk about. Maybe that's supposed to be insight into Kogoe's character, but it kind of feels like Nisio wasn't confident that people would remember a chapter from literally a year ago

But I do remember that chapter and I remember it very fondly. Q5 was the first puzzle I actually tried to solve in this story, and I got really into it! I got a pencil and paper, I did research, I tackled it from every angle I could trying to understand it. Sure, I ended up being wildly off base for the actual method of solving it, but for a moment, I was just like Iroha. I was just as invested and had just as much fun trying to crack the code by myself, of my own power. If I hadn't gotten hung up on one little inconsistency in my own logic, I might have actually been able to figure it out too! I still wouldn't have been able to figure out what the answer meant since I wouldn't be able to translate it, but it ended up not mattering anyway, the act of solving it was what mattered in this instance

This chapter is my favorite because it's a beautiful little benchmark for how far we've come. Iroha isn't the one struggling to solve the question, he's the one posing it and was able to think of it practically on the fly rather than taking several hours to do so. Maybe only a couple months have passed in story, but Iroha has grown so much in the last year without ever losing what made him who he is: he's confident and clever now in a way he never really was back then, but he's still just as kind and honest

Like Iroha says, it was because of Q5 that he was able to make it this far. With the exception of Q3 (which Iroha didn't solve at all), the first four code were all solved using the Glasses Weapon, which makes sense on the basis that Iroha was only just starting out. Q5, easily the hardest code he'd faced yet, was the first one he had to solve completely on his own, and it showed him both that he was capable of solving codes and that he enjoyed doing so, a crucial part of his success going forward. There were very few codes that he ever used Glasses Weapons to solve after that, the only ones I can immediately recall being the dancer and the maze to decide the brackets for the CLP tournament. Other than that, he's made every effort to solve codes honestly, which allowed him to grow in a way that using a cheat system never would have

It also makes sense that Iroha looks up to Omomuro so much specifically, even ignoring how she inspired him with Q5. They're pretty great foils for each other: Iroha is a feminine man with the drive to be a leader but still often has to rely on his followers, Omomuro is a masculine woman (a lot like Amvicious) who only sees herself as a follower but often insists on acting alone. Even now, Iroha is fighting to make sure everyone makes it out in one piece, while Omomuro is letting herself fall to pieces so that one person, Toshusai, can succeed. Iroha wants no sacrifices if he can help it, but just like Omomuro, he's the type who will throw himself into the line of fire if it means giving someone else the chance to survive. The key difference, though, is that Iroha isn't throwing himself away when he does that, he's just putting himself on the line with the hope and confidence that he can make it to the other side unscathed, while Omomuro isn't concerned with her own wellbeing at all

Finally, the result of this code battle is the diametric opposite of the previous as well: Iroha went over the time limit, but still solved the code, technically making it a draw, while this time, Omomuro solved the code flawlessly but admitted defeat, technically meaning that both sides won. A stalemate on a technicality and a victory through mutual benefit; we may still be in the Friendship arc, but Nisio won't shy away from discussing the theme of Victory

Since this isn't the first time that Iroha has won through the opponent solving his code (ch.13, Iroha tricks Nohime into apologizing to Toshusai), I'm getting the feeling that the Victory arc of this story is going to pull similar tricks along the way. No-win scenarios for Iroha or others, Pyrrhic victories, hidden safety nets; the possibilities are endless, and Nisio is rarely, if ever, going to be straightforward with it, but as he's been saying the entire series, it's only a victory if everyone makes it home alive

I hope everyone loved this chapter as much as I did, and I hope to be able to touch base like this with our cast next year

Until next time

[kinghijinx22]

The Owl House Watching and Dreaming review/analysis part 2

Part 2 The Collector's Origins, Amity and Raine breaking free

While I'm still don't really like the Collector a lot as a character and I think that a lot of people are way too forgiving of them considering how much damaged he caused, I do think the way this episode handles the obvious direction they were taking their character to be really well executed. They work well as the chaotic but ultimately forgivable antagonist compared to Belos's calculated pure evil and I think they play a good role in this episode. Him being a younger god like being who is incapable of understanding death and the harm that they cause on other's is really interesting and plays into a major plot point later on in a powerful way.

I think now is a good moment to mention that I really appreciate how this episode really focuses on the other biggest emotional core of this series which is the adopted Owl family. The found family dynamic between the human Luz, Eda and King has always been really strong and is where the everything started. Three outcasts who didn't fit in because of their differences were able to come together and not fit in together, becoming a found family and showing that the people that matter most are those who love and accept you for who you are. And I love that after they break free from their nightmares and surviving the Collector's games, the Owl family and especially Luz are able to use their immense empathy to relate their own experiences to the Collector's experiences. It's here that we get a proper explanation of the Collector's origins of originally being from a family of Collectors, and that their older siblings are known as the Archivists. According to the Collector, the Archivists had sent them down to the Boiling Isles to get him out of their business and while they were actually able to make friends with the baby Titans, the Archivists were not happy after discovering the Titans themselves and the fact that their powers can cancel out their own. Because they saw the Titans as a threat, they wiped them out but not before King's dad had hid King away and sealed away the Collector, believing them to be the main threat. The whole thing was clearly very messy with some misunderstandings, but what we learn for certain is that the Archivists are the true villains of this situation.

Raine playing a big role in this finale was pretty cool. They've been such a great character throughout the series and are some of best nonbinary representation in any story with how well they've been written. They finally get to start breaking free from Belos's control while Belos was on his way to the Titan's heart and while it was always obvious, it was pretty cool to see even Belos recognising their strength. They tried their hardest, even making one last desperate attempt by banging the violin on ground but was just unlucky and Belos was able to slip through a small hole in the magic barrier.

Speaking of strong witches, Amity being strong enough to regain her autonomy enough to draw the light glyph while she was a puppet was an awesome moment and what makes this moment even more special is that I think this is the first time she has drawn a glyph successfully. And just like it was Luz's love for Amity that allowed her to break free from her nightmare, I like to think that it was Amity's love for Luz that gave her the strength to draw the glyph. She uses what her girlfriend had taught her to help her break herself and her friends free from being Collector puppets. Amity, Willow, Gus and Hunter end up having to save everybody who was turned into puppets and being kept in the archives. I suppose it's now that I'll mention Hunter because I won't otherwise because I still really don't care about him and I never will but I am so happy that they kept him out of the big final battle. As perfect as most of this show is and with how important it has been for it's representation, my one problem is the fact that they decided to introduce this generic cishet white edgeboy and suddenly started pushing him as one of the most important characters to the detriment of the much more interesting queer and poc main characters and sometimes even Luz, the character who is supposed to be the main character. I'm just so relieved that they knew to stop pushing Hunter so hard as a white saviour and to actually let their queer afro Latina protagonist get to be the hero in the end.

So the Owl family is able to relate to the Collector, but to really connect with him Luz decided to take them the places where she was able to connect with other people while sharing her stories. The first place being the Owl House itself, or "the bird house" as the Collector calls it. It's where she properly got to know her now found family of Eda the Witch, King the Titan, Owlbert the Palisman and Hooty the Door. The weirdos that came together and accepted each other when they needed it, just like they were doing with the Collector. The next place they go is the Grudby court which also feels like it could be a stand in for Hexside in general because it represents Luz finding her friends and the love of her life. Where she met other outcasts Willow and Gus and they became close friends, and also where she met and was able to break down the rough exterior of former bully but now loving girlfriend Amity Blight.

The final place they go to is the Knee, the Titan's knee where Eda had taught Luz how to connect with the Boiling Isles or rather the Titan itself, where she was able to learn the Ice glyph with the help of the Titan is great foreshadowing for when we get to meet the Titan in person. The Collector themself even mentions in this moment that he's jealous that the Titan had showed Luz the glyphs and not them. Even though you could have made the assumption, this is our confirmation that the Titan really has been helping Luz to find the glyphs this whole time. The way this comes up, and the way this episode is able to brilliantly wrap up all these mysteries and plot points was very satisfying. This show has always been great at bringing back small plot details and paying them off in a big way. After hearing about all of Luz's adventures and about all the family and friends she's made along the way, the Collector makes the assumption that she must have somehow forced people like her own girlfriend Amity and her cool aunt Lilith who had started off as adversaries into liking her. But as is explained by Luz, people are complicated and sometimes they just need some kindness and forgiveness. There is more to people then what we see on the surface, and sometimes if you are able to see past someone's hard exterior you can reach the kind person on the inside and maybe even bring them to the surface. Throughout the series Luz with her kindness and sincerity has been able to do this for a lot of people, and now she's showing this kindness and sincerity to the Collector.

[lets-donate-a-kidney]

Did my final pre-screening before surgery today! I went to the hospital two weeks before the actual surgery so they could confirm I'm still healthy. For this visit they only needed an EKG, blood draw, and urine sample. Everything came out normal.

The transplant team also used this visit to tell me more about what to expect:

Lead-up to surgery:

In about a week, I can pick up my painkiller prescription for after surgery.

On the day before surgery, I'll be on a clear liquid diet. That means tea, water, coffee, and other drinks with no solids are okay. No juice with pulp, or solid food.

After midnight, I'm not supposed to eat or drink anything except for the fancy carb drink (Ensure) that they gave me. They want me to drink that between midnight and my arrival at the hospital.

The point of this is to reduce the risk of aspiration (stomach fluid entering the lungs) during my surgery, and speed up recovery time afterward. Abdominal surgery is pretty tough on your stomach!

They also gave me an anti-bacterial body wash (Hibiclens) they want me to use the morning of surgery to minimize the risk of infection later.

The surgery itself

They want me to arrive on December 27th at 5am(!), and the surgery itself will start at 7am.

I'll get a chance to meet with the surgeon, nurses and anesthesiologist and discuss any last questions/concerns. I can change my mind at the last second if I choose - they reminded me there's no obligation - but I'm quite sure of my decision.

I'll change into a gown, get wheeled back to the operating room, they'll stick me with the needle, and then it's lights-out time.

The operation takes about 2-3 hours. After that, I'll be monitored closely in the PACU (Post-Anesthesia Care Unit) so they can make sure I wake up on time and no immediate issues arise. After I wake up in the PACU, I'll probably have to wait another 4-6 hours before they move me to a normal hospital room with more privacy.

Recovery

I'm likely to wake up with a scratchy throat (thanks to the oxygen mask they'll use while I'm in surgery), and definitely with a catheter and IV needle to make sure I don't get dehydrated. They'll give me painkillers before I wake up, too.

The PACU doesn't allow visitors or have much privacy (only curtains), but I can have things brought in, like my phone and books.

The normal hospital room afterward does allow visitors. I'll also meet with several members of the transplant team afterward for discussing recovery and follow-up visits. I expect my biggest challenge will be just enduring all the people talking to me in one day!

They expect I'll be able to walk around almost immediately after waking up, and even encourage it (as long as I have someone watching in case I get dizzy). The sooner I walk after surgery, the sooner the digestive system will "wake up" and start functioning normally again.

I'll probably stay in the hospital for one night. The next morning they'll remove the catheter and, assuming there's no complications, I'll go straight home. A family member will be driving me, of course, and will stay with me at home for a few days.

Besides "don't move too fast or bend over if it hurts," and "don't lift anything over 10 pounds or do strenuous exercise," recovery should be pretty straightforward. Also, I'm planning to pick up some prune juice and Greek yogurt, as I've heard those can help a lot for post-surgery nausea and bloating.

Honestly, I think the hardest parts will be boredom, and dealing with all the professionals explaining things at me. I'm not afraid of pain - they can treat pain! But there is no treatment for a group of very earnest and well-meaning people asking you "Any questions?" and "Do you feel okay?" a dozen times in one day.

I don't blame them for it. I know they have to, and they ethically should, and most of their surgery patients are probably way more nervous and want more hand-holding than I do. Me, just give me a painkiller, my smartphone, and a book, and I'm happy. (And preferably a veggie burger. But that will have to wait till I'm out of the hospital.)

[heliosoll]

frothing at the mouth for more atla dr content so here’s some questions😶‍🌫️ answer the ones you want!

what’s it like forgetting some of the realities you’ve been to up until a certain point?

were there any plot changes you scripted or that happened naturally?

what was the time line like? imo it’s not very clear from the show and some people say they were at the northern tribe for a month?? idk.

have you healed with your waterbending? what does it feel like?

how was fighting the fire girl trio? and anyone else like the dai li or fire nation at the northern water tribe?

what parts of the show/plot were you not a part of or aware of? idk if that made sense but yknow parts of show that we the audience are aware of but characters aren’t.

what’s the hardest element for you to fight?

how long did you stay after the show’s plot ended, if at all?

if you stayed longer, were the comics accurate and what did you do after the war ended?

whew! that was kinda a lot so thank you! id love to be 🌊🌌anon :).

Hi! (cute emojis btw)

what’s it like forgetting some of the realities you’ve been to up until a certain point?

It feels very natural! At least for me it does? But essentially, you know how you feel right now (or before you discovered shifting)? As if this was the very first reality you were born in and you had never gone anywhere else? That's literally what it feels like. Up until the point I remembered, I literally didn't know about shifting and thought that was the only reality.

were there any plot changes you scripted or that happened naturally?

Yes! I actually changed quite a few things so it's very much an "au" of the canon show here. First, all the adventures they went on in the first season before they got to the Northern Tribe ended up happening after we left! So I was from the Northern Tribe and I wanted to meet them when they got there but I also wanted to go on those adventures with them so that was a pretty big change. Then I also scripted that Sokka and Yue hadn't fallen in love because what happened to her was obviously very sad and I didn't want to see them go through that :( I also scripted that she was much more "alive" as the moon spirit and at night she could communicate with us! Me, Katara, and Yue could literally spend hours talking at night (and she really helped whenever we were traveling at night instead of during the day). If I remember correctly, I think that might be it? Any other changes would've happened naturally and be very insignificant.

what was the time line like?

I'm not sure what the timeline is in the show because I thought all three seasons happened in one year? But? Idk??? But for my DR, each "season" lasted about one year (so three years in total). That just made more sense for my brain and allowed us more time to chill :)

have you healed with your waterbending? what does it feel like?

I have! Since I was raised in the Northern Tribe, I learned healing first. Although I wasn't as good as Katara, I was able to help a little :) I mostly helped with smaller injuries and the occasional sneeze.

For me, it felt like normal waterbending? I remember Katara saying it felt "more" (like more energy, more special, that kind of thing) but I think that was because she had a special affinity for it. For me, it just felt like regular waterbending.

how was fighting the fire girl trio? and anyone else like the dai li or fire nation at the northern water tribe?

OOO it was awful fighting them! Personally, I think Ty Lee was the first for me. She's very quick on her feet and she can literally run circles around you without you even seeing her. We always had to watch her when she was there but that also meant drawing our attention away from the other two. Ugh... Azula and Mai were also obviously really bad. Azula is really precise and you have to pay attention to what she's doing. You also have to make sure what she says doesn't get to you (which gets easier once you're used to her). Mai was similar to Ty Lee in that you have to pay attention to her because if you don't she'll sneak up on you. When the three of them are together, it's fucking awful.

Tbh, I didn't have that much trouble fighting the Dai Li? They were mostly annoying. The attempt at the Northern Tribe was very taxing but I was mostly with Katara and everyone else at the time so it wasn't too bad for me. I helped fight Zuko and was mostly protecting Yue at the time so I wasn't out with everyone else.

what parts of the show/plot were you not a part of or aware of?

Hm... pretty much any time we got separated! Obviously, due to the memory wipe, there was a lot I wasn't aware of (like everything that was happening with enemies or just... somewhere else). In regards to just us, it was mostly when we got separated that we didn't know anything. Like when Katara went to the prison and we just didn't know what was happening to her (that was really scary!). Or when Aang went out on his own or when Katara and Zuko went on the revenge quest. Lots of stuff we didn't know!

what’s the hardest element for you to fight?

This is definitely more of a person to person thing but I hated fighting earthbenders. My personal fighting style was similar to the firebenders actually so I hated having to stop and defend with earthbenders. I often had to use water to redirect their attacks instead of just straight attacking them and it was like... ughhhh just let me hit you >:(

how long did you stay after the show’s plot ended, if at all?

I stayed for a couple of months after the show's portion ended! I didn't stay there long since I wasn't really that interested in the future political mess.

if you stayed longer, were the comics accurate and what did you do after the war ended?

I have no idea! I haven't read the comics and while I am aware of certain things that happen, I didn't stay long enough to really find out (like the whole thing that happened with Azula or Zuko and Mai breaking up again).

I was mostly just chilling after the war! We paraded around a little and went to different areas to help with post-war problems (getting people food and money, rebuilding, etc) and also just relaxed knowing that everything was okay ish again. It was nice :)

[celestialmango]

I'm excited for Halloween! It's not too long now, it's just a shame it's not as big in England. I love eating pumpkins though, but the shops only sell carving pumpkins. They're still edible and we still make them into pies and soups, but it'd be nice that I didn't have to go to a farmer's market to get some other species. Halloween is important at least in my house :D ~Shy

We just dress up, well that is Sibby and I, and I buy a bunch of pumpkin flavored stuff, haven't gone out for Halloween in a long while and kids don't come to the apartment complex I live in to trick-or-treat, lots a people who don't celebrate in the complex, I just know me, one of the neighbors, and those who live with Sibby actually still celebrate it.

I'm planning to celebrate this year by making soul cakes. Which from what I remember, don't quote me on this. Soul cakes were traditionally baked as a gift for the spirits of the dead, the soul cake was used an offering to placate any angry ghosts who might be wandering around as the veil grew thin.

Basically an origin to trick-or-treating so to speak and Sibby and I still go by the whole "had to dress up as scary creatures to chase away evil spirits." Thing we heard as kids but as someone who's not rich, as much as I'd love to dress up as Wizardmon I have to live with just buying some liquid eyeliner and hairspray from the dollar store to draw a bunch of stitches on my exposed skin to make it look like I'm basically a ragdoll like Sally from nightmare before Christmas. Can't afford Halloween makeup unfortunately or I'd go hardcore spooky instead of minor spooky.

We don't do sexy Halloween (how you gonna spook the spooks dressed like that?), we do spooky and Sibby is goth soooo kinda gets home decorating things there as well as spooky cups and such.

I have a plastic skeleton hand champagne glass somewhere, tend to use it for sparking cider during hallows eve and the entirety of spooky month.

There's a few different ways to make soul cakes btw, I got a few recipes from a website I can put here if anyone else is interested in making the pastry as well. The buttery ones would be the hardest to make because it calls for saffron which is really really expensive so I put that on the very bottom. So easiest ones are Irish Cakes, Quickie Shortbread Soul Cakes and easiest of all Pie Crust Soul Cakes.

I'm wanting to do the Irish Cakes but I always have trouble getting dough to rise.

---------

Pie Crust Soul Cakes

You'll need:

A refrigerated roll-out pie crust

2 Tbs. melted butter

1 C mixed dried fruit

2 Tbs honey

Roll out the pie crust and cut it into circles. Use the circles to line a tin of muffin cups. Mix the butter, fruit and honey together. Scoop the fruit mixture into the pastry shells, and then bake for 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Allow to cool for about ten minutes before eating.

Quickie Shortbread Soul Cakes

You'll need:

1 stick of butter, softened

4 Tbs sugar

1 1/2 C flour

Cream together the butter and sugar. Use a flour sifter to add the flour to the bowl, and mix until it's smooth. Divide the dough into two parts, and shape each half into a flat circle about half an inch thick. Put them on an ungreased baking sheet (baking stones are really nice for this) and poke lines with the tines of a fork, making eight separate wedges in each cake. Bake for 25 minutes or until light brown at 350 degrees.

Irish Cakes

You'll need:

4 C flour

1 pkt active dry yeast

1 C milk

2 Tbs butter

1/2 tsp each cinnamon & salt

3/4 C sugar

1/2 C lemon zest

1 1/4 C golden raisins

Cream yeast with 1 tsp sugar & 1 tsp milk, let it get frothy. Blend flour, spices, & salt together, then cut in butter. Add the rest of the sugar to the flour mix and blend. Add milk & beaten egg onto the yeast mixture; combine with flour mixture. Beat until stiff.

Fold in raisins and zest, cover with a damp cloth and let rise. Divide in two, place each half in greased 7" round pan. Cover, let rise again for 30 minutes. Bake 1 hour at 400 degrees.

Buttery Soul Cakes

You'll need:

Two sticks butter, softened

3 1/2 C flour, sifted

1 C sugar

1/2 tsp. nutmeg & saffron

1 tsp each cinnamon & allspice

2 eggs

2 tsp malt vinegar

Powdered sugar

Cut the butter into the flour with a large fork. Mix in the sugar, nutmeg, saffron, cinnamon and allspice. Lightly beat eggs, and add to flour mixture. Add malt vinegar. Mix until you have a stiff dough. Knead for a while, then roll out until 1/4" thick. Use a floured glass to cut out 3" circles. Place on greased baking sheet and bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Sprinkle with powdered sugar while the cakes are still warm.

[mxddyhero]

JUZA FOR THE ASK GAME and also banri please!! Thx in advance

AHHH,, THANK YOU!!! 💕💞 gonna do em as two separate posts for ease!! ^^/

In reference to this post !! (feel free to send an ask!)

Character: juza hyodo

Favourite thing about them

Oh gosh,, where to start. I love his dedication to and passion for acting. Especially after Fallen Blood when he realised that he isn't at fault for how he was treated and that being himself is not a negative, after years of being shunned, and that his drive can take him so far without having to do anything different. I love how he's a big softie - he cares so much about his fellow troupemates and family!! When he bought muku an entire chocolate cake just to do something nice and let the rest of mankai share it with them ough... ♡ I love how even despite his insecurities and uncertainty, he still tries his damned hardest at every performance because that's all he's ever wanted. I love his fashion sense (yes, even the sandals fight me), how it progressed from pretty dark, unassuming colours and pretty loose and breathable because he didn't wanna draw any unnecessary attention in fear of drawing fights but allowed him room should he absolutely need to defend himself to more casual, colourful and comfortable clothes because he has mankai around him now (think the HAGT fit). I love his whole design actually,, he has pretty eyes and lovely hair and how his colour scheme is the non-binary flag (I'm biased). I love that he opens his heart so quickly to the mankai members once he realises that they accept him for who he is - that he goes to school with tenma and taichi, and he'll go for bike rides with omi and cares so much about sakyo he'll follow him around to make sure he's okay. Everything about juza hyodo is wonderful.

Least favourite thing about them

Nothing he is, in fact, perfect. (/j, king please stop leaving your dirty laundry out in your room. Banri doesn't often have good points, but I know this man uses 19 in one body wash/shampoo/conditioner on top of being one of the shortest bath takers and i think he needs to not do that)

Favourite line

brOTP

O HIGH BOYS SUPREMACY !!! Him, taichi and tenma just all play so well off of each other and i would die for them all. I also really love omi and juzas dynamic, how omi encourages juza to do his best (Fallen Blood still got me crying) and juza allows omi to grieve and heal and assure him that he's a good friend. They're very sweet besties. I'd love love love to see more Juza and Guy interactions?? Not sure whether jp has explored any of that BUT I think two dudes who have had to repress a large part of themselves for a lot of their lives finally finding acceptance and comfort would be super interesting to explore. The way they both had duties to their family in a way and had to leave to protect them is just. Ough. Let them go fishing together or smth idk.

OTP

Me juban juban juban juban-

Fr,, this ship is so good and i love it so much. The enemies to lovers, the rivals, the "It's your fault I finally found something that gets me fired up", the "muse" of it all ough..

nOTP

Omi and juza. Listen, I know its technically okay in jp with ages and stuff,, but it still kinda makes me 😬 also the fact juza also looks and acts exactly like omis best friend who passed is just a lil too much for me. I see it much more as a mentor kinda thing, Omi getting a chance to rectify the mistakes he made in his youth to try to steer juza onto the path he wants aough..

Random headcanon

AMBIDEXTROUS JUZA,, I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL. I swear I had more but I forgor ♡

Unpopular opinion

The entire fandom loves juza understandably because really who wouldn't, but popular fanon juza who's just a himbo who loves sweets and banri is. Not it. Like you can have him as a shallow character and that's okay but stating with your whole chest that's all he is makes me go insane bonkers absolutely crazy.

Song I associate them with

So so many ... I'll name a few ...

Cheerios and Chocolate Milk by Theo Kandel

Starjumper by Bad Suns

Tired Eyes and Heavy Hearts by The Gospel Youth

Nights Like These by The Ghost Club

Confidence by Oscar Scheller

Favourite pic of them

This is literally my favourite image ever he's just so fucking head empty ♡ when this card came to en I saved up enough for 5 ten pulls, he didn't come home and my roommate got 2 copies in his first 10 pull 😐 but! Event reward gems came through and I actually managed to get one before it shut down ♡

TY AGAIN GOMPER FOR THE ASK ILY 💞

[magicalgirlagency]

I haven't properly watched all of amphibia as of now so I'm probably not one to talk but I don't understand what you mean about the emotionally dramatic stuff not having a point. I mean as far as I know marcy ultimately breaks free of the core's control and manages to make amends with her friends, and I don't really see what the issue is if the character develops in a way that they ultimately recover from what they've been through. (also I don't mind if you have to give spoilers in order to explain, I just need a clearer opinion on what you think this show did wrong)

Not to worry, I'll resume it for you: What was the point of resorting to actual on-screen child murder to traumatize these children, if everything was going to end up okay? Don't you think that killing Marcy off for a while seemed rather excessive and radical?

Prior to the finale, I was basically expecting the worst to happen; like I was so sure that there wouldn't be a happy ending, that Anne and Sasha would be forced to put Marcy out of her misery (hence the final episode's title being The Hardest Part; it kinda implied to me that a huge sacrifice would be made)... basically, I was expecting MOTHER3's final confrontation against the Masked Man.

But that doesn't happen.

And I was sitting to myself in silence, wondering what the fuck was the reason behind all of this turmoil.

I know I am supposed to be happy because it's a happy ending, but at what cost?!

What was the reason of impaling Marcy on-screen? What was the reason of putting her on a tube like some freaky experiment? What was the reason of stripping her humanity away? What was the reason of torturing her psychologically? What was the reason of transforming her into a super-soldier-CPU-puppet-abomination-thing?

What was the reason for ALL OF THIS, if things were going to end alright?! Tell me, was to make everyone anxious? Paranoid? Scared? Stressed out beyond belief?

And I'm not saying that Anne and Sasha aren't important on their own; but Marcy stood out to me the most because I could relate to her.

A bright young girl who loves video games and anything fantasy-related. She's super smart, but is very accident prone when she gets too focused on something. She indulges in her fantasies and uses what she knows to her favor.

Like, that's me. That's me, for real. Marcy Wu was specifically designed for daydreamers like ME.

So, imagine my disappointment after True Colors debuted. And what's even worse: Disney allowed this. They have allowed a child being murdered on screen, but they draw the line at gay characters (The Owl House says hello). That's some fucked up shit.

Like, really; if I got a nickel for every time I grow attached to a kind-hearted green-coded neurodivergent asian teenaged protagonist, only for them to be shamelessly tortured by the narrative and get the most harsh reality check ever and have their designs go under radically perversed transformations to showcase their pain, and have my expectations complete and utterly betrayed right in front of my very hopeful eyes, I'd have two nickels...

...which it isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice, huh?

Even if there was a happy ending, I am still upset that we had to go witness all of this. Was it even necessary on the first place? Did the the staff had fun doing this? Did they manage to get everything out of their system? Did they got what they wanted?

Long Story Short: I feel like I was relentlessly bullied, only for in the end someone come and say "It's just a prank, bruh!" after I become visibly upset and distressed.

Well, I ain't laughing, pal. That wasn't funny. Fuck you.

And call me a boomer if you want, but I am tired of seeing child/teenaged MCs being put in traumatic situations. It's 2022 already; how about a fantasy/sci-fi story with an ADULT instead?

[rosicae]

Writing tip or something - planning scenes

Writing difficult scenes is always a struggle. Here are some tips to make the process a little easier, and more importantly, actually get something done instead of staring at a blank page for two months (guilty).

First, let's start where you left off. Maybe they're exploring the dark woods trying to find their lost cat and they come across a beast. Great! Battle scene time.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is what you'll get out of this battle. The main points, or plot-twists, if there are any. For example: Maybe the cat turned into the beast and they only realise as it lies dying; maybe one of the main characters die; maybe they find a key in the beast's skull; maybe they spare the beast and it becomes their friend; maybe the beast just dies and that's it. I'm not judging, there's a plethora of reasons you'd do anything in stories. Most scenes should have some sort of lead, whether it be key or death or kiss or whatever, depending on what sort of story you're cooking, but it's up to you.

So, figure out your main point. For simplicity's sake, I'll go with: “They kill the beast, they find a key”. Finding the key will be a clear lead to their next move. But for now, let's focus on the current scene.

You're going to want to order the events. Writing scenes like this off the bat can be pretty hard, so let's just go with what we know first.

I'm not joking when I say a lot of my scenes start out sort of like this.

Now, to build upon this beauty, we have to dig into each segment. Let's start with part A!

PART A - “Rosi encounters a beast.”

What sort of beast is it? A slimy tentacle monster? A catfish-pirate? A deformed bear? Dracula?? Your decision will affect the entire scene, so really think about what you choose. Monsters are super fun, so be creative if your story allows it! I'll pick a duck-faced bear spider hybrid. What does that do? It might help to draw your monster if it's a struggle to think it through. Here's mine!

As you think about their appearance, see how you can use it to their advantage or flaw. You might even already have ideas for certain moves during their fight, or what could be the fatal blow. We'll talk more on that later though.

Next on Part A, how did she encounter it? Was she up in the trees trying to check the sun's direction when suddenly it barreled into her and threw her down the tree? Did she trip over a log only to realise it wasn't a log but an angry treant? Is the forest cursed and monsters just keep chasing after her for no reason??? Maybe she's holding a tracker and the evil villain is sending the monsters after her.... it's good to think about, in the long run. For now though, let's just stick with: "she bumped into the beast"

But try to make it fancy. What was her reaction to bumping into it? Why would she bump into it? Maybe she wasn't looking while she was running and kept bumping into trees, but then one tree was actually the monster. The monster is clearly very fluffy (would probably make a good blanket), so let's make that a clear point.

So now we've got:

“Rosi was running along the forest without properly watching where she was going, when she bumped into a tree - but it was fluffy and warm and beating, not a tree. It was a bear duck spider beast. OOOO! SLAP SLAP!”

Slap slap being “the beast slapped her in her confused daze”, because who wouldn't be surprised if a tree was actually a duck-bear hybrid? This happens to be a perfect initiation to begin battling! On to part B!

PART B - “She fights the beast and kills it.”

This is absolutely the hardest part. It'll take careful consideration and pacing and- oh whatever let's just slap in every action thing we can think of. Even if you think it isn't good, even if it's just little phrases or actions or fancy words or teeny tiny segments you aren't sure about, it's good. Just do it.

-beast slaps her in her confusion/daze and she hits her back against a tree, much pain

-beast snaps its flappy duck beak and honks a bunch, muddling her brain

-rosi throws rocks at it

-rosi somehow breaks off its spider legs, unbalancing it

-beast uses its spider legs to crawl everywhere and be very agile and hard to fend off

-beast stabs her with its stabby legs

-maybe an injury from being slapped around

-rosi tries to run but it's always there

-rosi smacks its beak, very annoyed

-beast forces her to the dirt and pummels her with its stabby paws

-rosi evades its stabbies because the green drippy stuff looks like venom

-venom touches nature stuff and makes it wither

-beast lets out a bellow that shakes the earth and topples trees

-rosi avoids the trees to not die

-rosi scrambles to get up

-the most important thing is to somehow open its skull: plunge a verrryyy strong stick through its eye that tears out the key; or somehow trick it to stab itself with its venom spider legs and it withers and turns to bone/ashes and yay key (I like the second one so I'll go with that, but it's always good to list out your options!)

So I basically just took parts of the forest and parts of the beast's body and natural instincts of someone who is facing death and, adding some creativity, threw together a bunch of possibilites. It might take some practice, but once you're in the flow and have some experience listing this stuff, you'll get the hang of it in no time. Thoughts tend to be short and snappy in quick-paced scenes, so be careful not to go into a whole monologue about their past experiences, but absolutely show some reasoning to the complex things they do if necessary. And leave the monologing for when they're not being killed.

Now let's order them into something that sort of makes sense. It varies depending on what you want, so see if you can make your own unique battle scene out of this list!

-beast slaps her in her confusion/daze and she hits her back against a tree, much pain

-rosi scrambles to get up

-maybe an injury from being slapped around (tree + back + sudden slap = pain, this might be a good time to mention if they already have a flaw like having weak bones or an old injury, but if it isn't your intention to incapacitate them and you want to be realistic, have a reason for them not to insta-die without being op. Maybe she was just slapped into bushes and got little scrapes or a twisted ankle. Maybe she had a plushy backpack that took most of the impact. Remember where your character gets injured too, since pain usually hurts for a while and it's good to add that in wherever needed now and later. It can even drive the story along at times, like a life-threatening blow.)

-beast lets out a bellow that shakes the earth and topples trees

-rosi avoids the trees to not die

-rosi tries to run but it's always there

-beast uses its spider legs to crawl everywhere and be very agile and hard to fend off

-venom touches nature stuff and makes it wither (she notices here and thinks oh no, that is bad, can't let that touch me)

-rosi throws rocks at it (misses because it's agile)

-beast forces her to the dirt and pummels her with its stabby paws

-beast snaps its flappy duck beak and honks a bunch, muddling her brain

-rosi smacks its beak, very annoyed

-beast stabs her with its stabby legs (or tries, let's not kill her just yet if we're deciding on venom QwQ Maybe she uses a plank of wood to save herself last second)

-rosi evades its stabbies because the green drippy stuff looks like venom

X-rosi somehow breaks off its spider legs, unbalancing it (delete because the lower idea is better, but maybe earlier one of the rocks she threw can unbalance it a bit and it jumps on her to attack closer because it feels threatened)

-rosi somehow tricks it to stab itself with its venom spider legs and it withers and turns to bone/ashes and yay key (she tricks it by deflecting it with something strong, like a boulder behind her, she got out of the way just as it does a slash at her, and it bounces perfectly into itself

And just like that, ordering and expanding on every part, you've got yourself an entire fight! Obviously it isn't as easy as counting to ten and opening a pot to a finished piece, but if you just take ten minutes or, better yet, an hour, you'll get somewhere. All you need is the base.

PART C - “She finds a key in its skull.”

Keys are shiny, and if it's daytime, maybe some light can twinkle off it as it falls, or she could just notice it because who wouldn't notice a key trapped in bones? Either way, she picks it up, as you do (unless you want an eagle to swoop in and take it, in which case rosi will have to chase after it and climb a tree and try to take it back from its nest and blahdy blah but rosi doesn't feel like moving anymore after the fight, so let's go with the easier option for now). She might have to wrench it out of bones, but it's fine, she's already dirty from the battle.

So what's the key look like, hmm? Is it rusty and old, or fleshy but firm and warm as suited for being trapped in brains for so long? Or oozing in the same venom, and she has to wipe it off with special fabric only trolls deeper in the forest are capable of making, or throw it in a lake to purify it? Maybe it's short, or missing half that you have to find somewhere along the journey. What does it unlock? Rosi won't know now, obviously, but you'd better have an idea or there'd be no point to it in the first place. Maybe this entire journey is in her mind and she's finding parts of a key to unlock her memory which will be a door to her childhood house. Maybe it's a master key to the villain's castle. Maybe it was accidentally baked in a cookie the beast ordered from a special fish-headed-cat-run bakery, and the little workers will be scrambling around to find the key and be so grateful that rosi brings it back that they hail her as king of fish-headed cats. You never know :D...except you kinda have to, so please have some sort of idea even if it's small.

That's practically all you can do in this part, so next we're on-

PART D - “She questions the key, then goes off to seek reason for it.”

Assuming she collects the key, what are her thoughts? It's all down to personality. Let's say rosi loves keys, and she has a whole collection at home, and she loves shiny things. She'll probably squee at the sight of it and act very excited - "she snatched up the key and chirruped her glee (oh hey, that rhymes!), and after a quick inspection with gleaming eyes, she tucked it safely in her pocket alongside trinkets from the seaside."

Because, you know, obviously she was at the seaside before all this. Or whatever else she was doing. It's your call. It's their personality. It's an optional connection, but a valid one nevertheless. Careful though - if she carries too much, she might get weighed down and drown.

In her case, she doesn't really think too hard on the key. Maybe she's already fought plenty of monsters and gotten a nice treasure trove of stuff. Maybe she's an air-head. Cough. Either way, the obstacle is gone so now she can go off and do what she was doing before - albeit a little more cautious, provided she learns from experience. If there's a clear indicator of what the key is for, or if the character was actively seeking it out, that'll obviously give a different outcome - maybe they'll turn back the way they came (car keys), or head for the town of blue oak (blue key) if that is already in their knowledge database, or ask the next person they see and get guided or tricked.

Finally, let's put this baby together! Let's start simple for now and just slap together this monstrosity with whatever little stuff we think of in the moment and some proper tense. We can build it up later (not here lol I've spent too much on this but you can if you want).

~~Rosi's Magical Adventure~~

Rosi ran along the forest without properly watching where she was going, when she bumped into a tree – but it was fluffy and warm and beating, not a tree. It was a bear duck spider beast.

Fish. That definitely shouldn't exit.

The beast slapped her in her daze and her back slammed against a tree. Despite being in pain, she scrambled to get up. She staggered, feeling the pierce in her ribs, the ache in her feet, the scream in her head that told her to run. It was drowned out under the beast's bellow. The earth shook and trees toppled one after another. Rosi spun on her heel and ran, avoiding the trees that twisted her path.

Even when she thought she outran it, it was always a step behind, a step above, a step ahead. Its spindly legs granted it an agility she couldn't imagine matching. Not only that – wherever the ends of those legs touched, an iridescent liquid spurted out, withering blooming manes and wilting once-proud trunks in an instant.

She shivered. She couldn't let it touch her. Realising that her (flee, running, escaping – whenever you can't think of the right words in the moment, just think of whatever is the closest and use that until you find the right word, or you might waste an hour racking your brains when you could just keep writing) was futile, she pounced into a rolling stop by a mound of rocks. It disoriented the beast for but a moment as she scooped a handful of rocks and hurled them at it. Most missed, or melted into its ragged coat, but a few landed directly against its uppermost legs. It gave an unnerved honk and flung itself at her, forcing her to the dirt, pummeling her with monstrous paws and claws that snapped her skin as she raised her hands to defend her face.

It honked. She grimaced. Her vision blurred and brain muddled with every honk. On impulse, one hand shot out to smack its flapping beak. Its pupils contorted, enraged by her sacrilege, and its spindle-legs shot towards her.

Just in time, she rolled free and pulled herself up, evading the blows that scattered poison over melting green. One hit went into a boulder. The boulder didn't budge. It was ineffective. It sparked an idea in Rosi, but she wasn't sure, so she waited until it happened again, and again it hit a boulder and bounced without damaging the boulder. She danced her way around the clearing, then stopped directly in front of boulder, facing the beast with her lips twisted into a wry smile.

The stabby leg slashed her way, but she ducked out of the way at the last second. Unable to redirect its blow, the leg bounced off the boulder and went directly into the beast's skull. The venom was quick to engulf the beast. Its skin vanished like the trees. It was only (bones, skeletal structure remained) and it fell before her. (If you still aren't sure how to write a part, break it down even further, even if it looks stupid. Keep breaking down everything as much as you need, until everything is plain to see and there are no misunderstandings. Then add on, and keep adding on, until you eventually understand.)

Streams of sunlight (because a lot of the trees died, so now there's some light in the forest) glinted off a surface lodged in the bones. Realising the rusty old metal to be a key, she snatched it up and chirruped her glee, and after a quick inspection with gleaming eyes, she tucked it safely in her pocket alongside trinkets from the seaside. Then she turned and limped her way back home, wondering why she came in the first place as blood trailed after her.

~~The End~~

It isn't perfect – far from it – but it doesn't matter. It's a start. You can work with it. You can keep going. Finish the chapter by repeating this process over and over, then go back and polish it when you've let the experience sink in a bit. Who knows where you'll go??? (ﾟヮﾟ)/

I spent almost three hours on this instead of writing my own book, and I'm tired, so I don't know if this makes sense, but I hope it's helpful a little??? I tried not to make it complex as much as possible so people of many levels can understand and hopefully get something out of it;;;

It's the method I've been using for a long time, especially when I'm in a difficult part or just can't get myself to write anything. Start simple, get something done, and keep going.

….....which I realise is the complete opposite of what I'm doing. Oh gosh what have I done OAAAAAO

….also this is really long and I'm scared so I'm not even going to hard read it over or edit now that I'm done writing.

ROSI OUT

[pandora15]

Okay okay so I'm STILL mind-blown over KOTF because I'm currently looking down the barrel of a long fic that I want to write but I'm like how am I going to do this so, for you, what was the hardest part of writing such a long fic? What parts came easiest to you? What unexpected challenges did you come across while writing it that you may not come across in a shorter fic or one-shot?

Love you, my friend!!! 💕

Spoilers for Keeper of the Force below

Hi Katie! Thanks for the ask; I'm really excited to talk about this stuff :)

Okay, so for me, the hardest part of writing KOTF was probably writing specific scenes that were well out of my comfort zone. I had to write a good amount of action sequences, which is definitely something I still struggle with, even now. I also struggled with writing scenes with more than three characters, just because it was so complicated to keep track of what each character was doing, saying, and thinking (even if the POV character doesn't really know about the latter). So yeah, I'd say the most difficult parts came down to writing things I haven't really tried writing before.

The easiest part, much to my own surprise, was the ending—specifically, the last two or three chapters. Maybe it's recency bias, maybe it's the sprint bot, maybe it's the fact that I thought about the ending of this story for literally years, but it all came together so beautifully. I also really enjoyed writing the whump and angst, as I always do xD and the suspense was surprisingly really fun to write as well! It kinda makes me want to write a more suspense-heavy story one day, but we'll see ;)

Unexpected challenges! Whoo boy. Okay, so we're gonna dig deep into spoilers, so if you don't want to be spoiled for exactly what happens in this fic, look away now and don't click below.

Okay.

So, I did plan out a lot of the major plot points ahead of time, including what ultimately happens to Obi-Wan. I was really scared of actually writing it though, especially when I was posting and getting comments for the first half-ish of the fic. For a while, I was on the fence about it, and I really wasn't expecting to have that internal conflict. I even thought of alternate ideas for what could happen to Obi-Wan, but in the end, I stuck to what I originally planned.

And I think that was the right choice because I'm a believer in going with your gut, and I think it made the story and its ending a much more powerful one. Or at least I hope it did?

I guess what I'm saying is that facing internal conflict about the ending of a story doesn't really happen with shorter fic, but it definitely can happen for longer stories, especially if you're like me and posting it as you write (which uh. is risky but here I am LOL).

Hmmmm, so my favorite part to write? Oh my goodness, I'm not even sure I can choose. There's just so much that I really, genuinely enjoyed writing from this fic. I will agree with you that Chapter 18 is definitely up there, just because I finally had the chance to actually reveal what was actually happening, and to allow Anakin and Obi-Wan to have their closure.

I also really enjoyed writing the last scene of Chapter 17! Before writing that scene, I was legitimately terrified of actually writing it, just because it felt so abstract and weird, but it was such a fun thing to write, and I think it came together really well!

And Chapter 15 as a whole is probably one of my favorites too, especially that ending. I think I was screaming while writing it. Honestly, it's all a blur, but. yeah. Man, do I love that chapter.

And even the epilogue, I just—ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Okay, so yeah, as you can see above, I literally cannot choose a favorite LOL.

Anyways, writing this fic was such a joy and a journey from start to finish. I enjoyed the whole process—from the very beginning, with me just writing a random Whumptober prompt, then coming up with a background and adding more and more, until there's a literal AU with all these things that came from my imagination.

And I mean, a part of me was so scared because I was like "I have literally no idea how I'm gonna write any of this, but I am gonna try like hell to do it." And it worked out, I grew so much as a writer through it all, and I am immensely proud of this story (and honestly a bit in awe of myself, because like. I wrote this????? What??????)

So yeah! I rambled a lot here, but I guess what I'm trying to say is that writing a long fic can be a rewarding experience! It definitely requires a lot of planning and thinking ahead of time. One of the things I wanted to do with KOTF in particular was really challenge myself as a writer—so I would suggest thinking about what you want to accomplish when writing your long fic.

Like: what's the point of your story? Not just the theme, moral of the story, etc. but for you, as the writer, what do you want to get out of this experience?

Also, when I was in the planning stages for KOTF, I had a lot of stream-of-consciousness blurbs throughout my document, a whole bunch of reference links, lists, timelines, and I think I even ended up drawing a diagram somewhere (but I have no idea where it went oof). So if you have like any potential ideas/thoughts/etc for your story, just get it down on paper somewhere! You can always come back to it and remove it or change it later on.

Okay, I rambled a lot more than I intended to, but uh. yeah! I guess I had a lot of thoughts about writing KOTF and it all came out right now. Hopefully it makes sense.

Thanks so much for the ask, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions about writing long fic! This goes for anyone who wants to know more about how I write, if that sort of thing interests you :)

(ask me anything about KOTF)

[one-spidey-boii]

BUMMER SUMMER || peter parker; ch. two

read chapter one here

masterlist

an; welcome back y’all. thank you to all who have read so far, even tho it’s only chapter two. i’d love to hear your feedback! enjoy!

**italics indicates flashback**

warnings; mentions of battle wounds (i.e. blood/scars/etc), future smut, mature language, fluff, angst, both peter and oc are 18+!!

word count; 2.2k+

edie's pov

so that's spiderman? seems like a fun guy, i think as i walk through the dark alleyways so i don’t draw unwanted attention to myself. it's late and i'm navigating my way home, still thinking about my run-in with the red and blue clad boy. it's easy to tell he's young by the sound of his voice, leading me to believe he’s twenty at most. that doesn't bother me of course, as i too am considered young for a crime-fighting vigilante.

i turn the last corner before reaching my street and sigh with relief at the sight of my apartment building. the light in my window is off, aiding in the illusion that i'm asleep so my mom doesn't come in while i'm away on my semi-nightly adventures. just before i can touch the brick stones of my building as i pass by, a mechanical swoosh comes down and picks me up off the ground. i let out a small yelp and quickly find myself placed on the roof.

"hey, wolfie." mr. stark says as he walks out of his iron man suit. i let out the breath i was holding and turn around to face him. i offer him a small smile and take my hood down.

"mr. stark, hello, sir."

"school's almost out, right?" before i can answer, he keeps talking, "good. i'm gonna need your help with something."

i wipe away the beads of sweat running down my forehead as i bend down to pick up my throwing knives from the concrete ground. i steady myself and focus on the tattered piece of cardboard nailed to the wall that is my makeshift target. with a small grunt, i fling one towards the center of the red dot, hitting it dead on. i continue this activity until i run out of things to throw and my arms feel like jelly. i lost count of how many times i'd hit the center of the target in a row.

stepping back with a satisfied smirk, i collect my knives, shoving them back into their rightful place in my bag or around my waist and turn on my heel to head home. i manage to take two steps before a voice stops me in my tracks.

"hey, don't walk away now, kid, the next one would have been fifty." my eyes widen at the familiar voice that often appears on my living room television. i slowly move to face the man and gulp, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, not being able to say a word.

"come on, one more. show me what you got." says tony stark, with a loose smile on his face.

without a word, i force my trembling hands to grab my favorite knife from my right boot and brace myself for a throw. my breathing is shaky as i raise my right arm and inhale along with it. i can feel the sweat running down my back as i close my eyes for a moment. don't embarrass yourself, e, i think to myself. with that i snap my eyes open and silently chuck the knife towards the target.

i missed.

"oh for fuck's sake." i groan into my hands before i remember who i'm with and freeze. i keep my head in my hands, making sure to cover my face, only gathering enough courage to peek at tony stark through my fingers.

"well, that's awkward, i won't lie," he says, looking uncomfortable, "but i think i saw what i needed to see beforehand. i'm tony stark, or iron man if you wanna get fancy." he reaches a hand out in my direction.

"edie wolfe, hi." i reply with a defeated and lame handshake. to save both of us from looming silence, he pulls at my hoodie before continuing on, "okay, ms. wolfe." he pauses to inspect my attire, "what is this? leggings? and a hoodie? kid, if you're gonna be throwing knives, you gotta expect people to throw them back at you. this isn't going to cut it." he motions to the thin fabric covering my arms and chest.

i laugh at his words, "oh hey i see what you did there."

not catching on to his own pun, he moves on again, "what? actually never mind, we have a lot of talking to do, wolfie."

ever since that night, he took me under his wing- and a week later i got a package with a brand new suit in it. one that would protect me a whole lot more than what i was working with before.

"earth to wolfie, beep beep boop," mr. stark says as he pokes me in the forehead. i swat his hand away and give him my full attention. he continues on, "so you're in? a summer at the compound, being scary and keeping bad guys away?"

i raise an eyebrow at him, "what makes you think my family will be okay with that?" i ask. mr. stark simply rolls his eyes, "i already talked to your father, need i show you the proof?" i shake my head and he nods with satisfaction.

"okay, kid. see you in a few days." he says, preparing to get back into his suit, but before he can fly away i stop him, a question looming over my head, "am i doing this alone?"

"of course not. i wouldn't leave you alon- well actually i can't leave him alone so that's why you're gonna be there," he explains with a shake of his head.

"and who exactly is this person?" i ask with my arms crossed.

"how about one friendly neighborhood spiderman!" he yells and takes off before i can say anything back.

-

finally, the last day of school was upon us. it seems that the ending of every school year is bittersweet, and to be honest it hasn't quite hit me yet. senior year was way lamer than everyone played it off to be. you're told that you're officially ‘top dog', but let's be real- no real credit is given until you've graduated. but hey, here's to making it this far.

i'm sitting at my usual lunch table, surrounded by peter, ned, and mj. we pass jokes around the group and take in every moment we have left of our time together, yanno, since peter is leaving. but so am i. which is something i still have to share with everyone.

"uh, hey, guys. can i be a debby downer for a moment?" i ask, clearing my throat and disturbing the light mood of the afternoon. the table quiets down and all eyes are on me. "so you know how peter is leaving this summer?" i ruffle peter's hair in an attempt to not make that statement so sad.

"yeah, edie, we know." mj says with an eye roll as she picks at her cold french fries. i roll my eyes back at her and mock her voice. i can't help but notice peter's guilty face sitting next to me, little does he know i am going to make it a whole lot more weird up in here.

i take in a big breath and hold it to up the anticipation, "well it looks like i'll be gone too."

ned drops his chicken wrap and shakes his head furiously, "nuh uh, nope. no way. sorry, e, i can't allow that to happen," he says with a stern voice. peter chooses this moment to negatively highlight my new confession, "edie, how dare you! someone needs to be here to look after the kids."

i lower my head in shame, god this was so hard to do. faking a playful smile, i try to make light of the situation, "hey, c'mon, we all know mj is the mom friend of the group."

mj shakes her head violently and protests against my statement, "absolutely not. i veto that with all of my being, ned is the mom." she insists as she points to the pouting boy. we all laugh at that before falling into an uncomfortable silence. i glance in peter's direction and try to smile at him. doing this to him was the hardest, i tell him everything and knowing full well that i can't tell anyone about my stay at the compound, it just hurts my heart. we won't be able to communicate all summer.

"my mom signed me up to be a camp counselor...at, uh, a self-defense camp." i panic at the last second, realizing i never thought about what kind of camp i would fictitiously be a part of. the whole table bursts out into laughter.

through short breaths and a hearty laugh, ned pokes fun at me, "edie? teaching children how to kick someone's ass? look at you, you're like a soft pillowy little marshmallow." i stick my tongue out at him and cross my arms.

"hey, i wouldn't shut down the idea too fast, remember e's dad is like, an actual fbi agent. i'm sure he's taught her some stuff," peter chimes in, coming to my rescue. i nod along and hum a 'mhm', snickering inside at how much they don't know.

-

once i'm home, i pack my suitcase with all the things i think one would need to stay at a high tech superhero compound. i grab all of my knives and shove them into a utility pack, along with my suit.

my parents know where i'm going, and lucky for me they’re okay with it. well, at least my dad is.

my father, sam wolfe, works for a hidden branch of the fbi that trains government spies and the occasional assassin. thus being the reason i grew to be so good at combat. he would take me onto the roof of our building and have me shoot at targets and hit punching bags. we would practice for hours at a time, his booming voice critiquing my every move and decision as i worked. i've never been comfortable with a gun, so i stuck with knives and made that my craft.

i haven't seen my dad in a few months now. to 'protect' me and my family, we weren't allowed to know where my dad was going or why he had to leave in the first place. once mr. stark came into my life, he and my father became close, putting his trust in mr. stark to watch out for me whenever he was gone.

my mother on the other hand, she hates everything about it. she’s afraid of the world and all the things that lurk behind closed doors. when dad isn't around, we aren't allowed to talk about anything related to knives or fighting or tony stark. and for my nine-year-old brother's sake, i oblige.

pulling my bag onto my shoulder and lugging my suitcase through the hall, i meet my mother and brother in the living room. she meets my eyes with her cloudy ones and closes the distance between us with a strong hug. i chuckle at her before wrapping my arms around her plump frame.

"mom, it's okay-" i start, before she cuts me off, "shhh, edie. let me have this moment."

i shut up and continue to embrace my mom. i know this is hard for her, but she needs to understand that this is an amazing opportunity for me. i'm being put in charge of the avengers compound for the entire summer. i wish i could share this excitement with my dad, but i know he's happy for me, wherever he may be.

"edie, promise me you'll come home if you can't handle it. no one is going to judge you for that. you're only eighteen. i can't believe your father is letting you do this." my mother rambles as she pulls away from me. i smile at her and just nod my head.

my little brother looks over in our direction with a shy smile on his face. i ruffle his hair and pull him to me for a quick hug, "take care of mom for me, booger." i whisper into his ear. he gives me a simple nod and backs away.

my phone buzzes in my pocket. i pull it out to see a message from mr. stark.

'beep beep, i'm here'

i sigh and look up at my mom one last time, "that's my ride." she lets a single tear stroll down her cheek before wiping it away and shooing me out the door.

once out of the apartment, i lug my suitcase down the three flights of stairs and out onto the sidewalk. mr. stark is pulled up to the curb in his fancy black car. he rolls down the passenger side window and yells at me through it, "time to party, wolfie."

i stroll to the car and pull the back door open to throw my stuff down. then i hop into the front seat and look at mr. stark, "you know, you could have come in."

"yeah, well we all know your mother doesn't like me very much. i don't wanna poke the bear," he says as he pulls his sunglasses over his eyes and revs the engine, "let's get you to your new home for the next three months, shall we?"

|| taglist; @my-patronus-is-mabel-pines