#which is to start taking some of my oc projects more seriously.....and start developing them into something...

[chalkrub]

thank you for a great art fight! here's some of my final attacks. had a blast, already missing it - see you next year!

[anim-ttrpgs]

Short A.N.I.M. Hiatus

Just so y’all know, I, the only full-time employee of A.N.I.M., will be on vacation/hiatus from about now (April 7th, 2025) until the last week of April, so there will be very few new posts and very little progress on our various projects until then, but I will be setting the queue to keep cycling through old posts and reblogs.

As for where everything’s at right now:

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy (Beta)

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is being continually polished and tweaked based on massive amounts of player feedback, but editing progress is still very slow due to our editor dealing with lots of difficult life stuff. We are really hoping to continue with regular, speedy editing progress in May.

At least 16 dedicated Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy adventure modules are currently in development, 2 of which are being developed in-house by A.N.I.M. and the rest are fan creations from the game jam we ran last month. Within a few months everyone can finally stop relying on Call of Cthulhu and Delta Green modules.

Eureka: The Fanservice Files (Beta)

This was an unexpected hit and a big part of the reason we’re doing so relatively well on money this month (still not in the clear though). It made more money in the first 4 hours than Eureka Adventure Modules Vol. 1 has in 65 days. For this reason I have decided to definitely continue work on it as a legitimate expansion. Patreon subscribers have already gotten an updated version last week, and can expect an even more updated version to come in May. These updates will come to the general public at the same time as the next public beta update for Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy.

And also because this was such a big hit, I have decided to try to always have a reserve expansion in my back pocket, which I’m calling a “ripcord expansion” to reference its short and emergency nature. These expansions will be about the same length as The Fanservice Files and include content that fits with the canon and themes of the main rulebook, but is just a little bit sillier or otherwise different in tone. These are “emergency” releases because I’m keeping them on the shelf in an outline stage until it starts to look like we’re in serious danger of not meeting our income quota, then quickly finishing them up for a surprise release and some quick money.

The next one, to finished up and released when-needed, is called Eureka: The XXX-Files.

Edge Hedge Arena (Beta)

Has anyone even played this?

Silk & Dagger: A Sensible Drow RPG (Alpha)

We are just getting through the second round of playtesting for Silk & Dagger and, as is to be expected for an alpha, it’s looking rough. Despite it actually being perfectly reasonable to do so, especially with how much we need the money, I still can’t help but feel a tinge of embarrassment at showing one of my games to the public in such a messy state. I take game design very seriously and hold RPGs to a very high standard. At least y’all and I both can take comfort in the fact that this is the worst Silk & Dagger will ever be, and it’s only up hill from here. (And it’s still pretty good already)

I’m writing down all the feedback so I can reference it when I bring Silk & Dagger back to the front burner after I get Death Bed: A Souls-like RPG into the barest minimum of a playable state.

Death Bed: A Souls-like RPG (Pre-Alpha)

What started out as a “simple” “OSR” dungeon-crawler which aimed to represent the combat of Dark Souls in a turn-based TTRPG format has ballooned into a project that will probably somewhere close to the scope of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy. A harsh and brutal, but optimistic dungeon crawler with themes of disability, medieval culture, and medieval Christianity. It will also feature combat and other mechanics reminiscent of Dark Souls but translated into something that’s actually fun as a TTRPG. And I’m really autistic about medieval culture, medieval Christianity, game design, and swords, so you can expect this to be really good, once it’s finished.

Currently it’s looking like the game won’t be in even a remotely playtestable state until at least early May, and even at that stage it’ll just be a combat-simulator without any actual dungeon-crawling elements ready yet.

Financial Situation

We are currently at $558.08/$1,964.33 for the monthly income necessary to keep us afloat, and even though this actually puts us a little ahead for the month at the time of writing this, obviously I am very nervous about stepping away from the wheel for 2 weeks when we cut it so close every month, but if I keep pushing 35-70 hours a week every week without taking a few weeks off, I’ll probably die.

At the very least, members of our team appear on two different podcast episodes that will be releasing this April, so that should introduce us to some new audiences. One of those podcasts is @literalcatpod.

For my sake please continue to reblog our posts, play and talk about our games, and buy them and/or subscribe to the patreon in my absence. I need to be able to relax over the next two weeks without worrying about returning to a company that is woefully behind on its income quota with only one week left to fix that.

Thank you again to all our fans and supporters. This is anim-ttrpgs signing off.

[alfredojesta]

Hiiiiiii👋👋

Sorry for the strange ask, but......ipotetically.....how was the scene when Candy and Jason have created Corpse?....😅

HELLOOO NOT A STRANGE QUESTION AT ALL I'D LOVE TO ANSWER STUFF ABOUT THE FANKID AU

the simple answer is: it was like an art project!!!

it started with them drawing up designs and concepts (like they were collaborating on an oc). then, once they had something to work with, it was over to the workshop to actually create her! Candy Pop provided the soul; Jason built the doll itself!

Candy Pop kept chiming in while Jason was in the process of building her. he would try and help, but mess up in the process. for example: Corpse has one eye that's blue with red swirls; the other is red with blue swirls.

He was trusted with the left eye while Jason did the right... but he mixed up the colours... Jason didn't let him help again. Candy Pop told him the heterochromia added a charm to her design. Jason just sighed and said sure.

basically: Jason was meticulous about it while Candy Pop kept him company! but yeah that's the tldr!!! here's my more detailed answer:

i have to say this au takes place like. 10~ years after Candy Pop and Jason become a couple. they move out Jason's flat and into a house!!! which insinuates they're becoming permanent hehe ^_^

so! the creation of Corpse is both a fun project and a transition into parenting.

Candy Pop never got to see his kids—more like Night Terrors' kids—grow up. so on the surface level, he suggested making Corpse for fun—to take a step in their relationship by doing smth together! AND WHILE THAT IS A REASON, the deeper meaning is Candy Pop's want to raise a child from the beginning :) because he's always either lost all his children or never got to see them at all.

he tells Jason all about how they could use one of Candy Pop's souls (he never consumes child souls, but consequently has some) for a doll that would resemble their daughter.

Jason is initially put off by the idea of having a daughter because he isn't sure how well THEY could handle her. firstly, neither of them have any experience raising a child from beginning to end. secondly, Candy Pop's extreme mood swings can be a hazard. thirdly!!! it just seems a little silly!!! really? a doll daughter? well... it's not like they could have a child another way. it takes some convincing from Candy Pop before Jason finally agrees. it's not just Candy Pop though. a small part of Jason did always want to be a father—only to show up his own—but he never thought he could do it.

Candy Pop's sketches up some designs; Jason gives his feedback. it's Jason who decides corpse should begin at age six—because he doesn't trust their ability to raise infants/toddlers.

the early stages of Corpse's development was fun and laidback with both them joking around about how they can't give her five arms or wtv. very lighthearted. occasionally Candy Pop gets emotional, crying uncontrollably bc Jason and him are about to start a family. Jason is just happy that Candy Pop is happy. he does get emotional himself... but he doesn't sob like Candy Pop does.

Candy Pop is more focused on that transition into parent-hood, while Jason treats it like an art project—because that's what he's so used to. the creation of a living doll takes time, and Jason takes his craft seriously.

Jason makes Corpse as authentic as possible. which is a bit ironic given her name is Corpse. but anyway. Corpse has the ability to feel pain (which she grows to HAAATE, then learns to accept), empathy, self-awareness, nostalgia, compassion, etc. she's given a standard set of traits to begin with, but she develops overtime. Jason is very proud of himself, as he always is.

when they finally put the soul into the vessel, it takes some time for the soul to get used to its body. soul magic isn't immediate—souls don't always connect. sometimes it rejects the body, so rlly it's a process of trial and error. but, that didn't happen with Corpse thankfully!!! :)

Candy Pop is so fucking excited he's basically running around their house jumping up and down and bouncing off furniture. he pulls Jason along and now they're both running through the house. HOWEVER. they quickly realise that they focused way too hard on creating the doll and didn't focus at all on preparing the house for a child.

they do a lot of shopping for a kids' bedroom. by that i mean they buy materials to make furniture because Jason is annoying as fuck and refuses to use low quality furniture. anyway. Candy Pop does get some silly decor to put in Corpse's room. he paints her walls purple, hangs up cute lights, child-proofs the house, and makes sure Jason doesn't fucking die sawing wood on 0 hours of sleep. when it's all done, they step back and look at Corpse's room. and Jason's like huh. we're really having a child. and then they make out or something idk

after a week or so the soul linked with her doll body!!!

CORPSE IS OBVIOUSLY CONFUSED... she has to adapt to her surroundings first of all. Candy Pop runs and hugs her. Jason almost tells him to be careful, but he stops himself. Instead, he watches his partner hug their daughter, and he feels. Different. it's a good kind of different he just can't pin-point right then. Jason joins the hug!!! and then they get to familiarising Corpse with her surroundings.

THAT SUMS UP HER CREATION!!! here's some little bits:

jason designed the clothes. they went for a circus theme because both of them have a fondness for circuses (jason's comes from him always wanting to visit one in london but never having the chance to)

candy pop gave her the genyr ears and purple skin. they WOULD have kept her a little more human-looking, but candy pop was adamant that this was the better choice. and honestly... yeah it was.

don't worry she doesn't entirely look like a candy pop daughter, because her facial features are a bit closer to jason's (straight nose, narrow eyes, thin eyebrows).

they debated giving her red or blue hair for a long time before candy pop went "WAIT. you have red hair. i have blue hair. she can be PURPLE." jason was like "purple AGAIN ARE YOU INSANE SHE'S GOING TO LOOK LIKE A PLUM CANDY POP" "IT CAN BE A MAGENTA"

corpse offers to help build her future models (again, she ages through models), but jason doesn't allow her to. HOWEVER jason DOES teach her the art of toymaking so that one day she CAN help.

[cinnamontails-ff]

The incredible @kittenintheden tagged me for this, so I'll give it my best shot!

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

Four.

2) What’s your total AO3 word count?

224,051 - which, honestly, is insane because that means I've written (and edited) pretty much two entire novels over the course of last 12 months. The vampire elf is too powerful, guys.

3) What fandoms do you write for?

BG3

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

I'm a fandom newbie, so I don't even have 5, but here are my babies:

Accountant's Guide - Pre-Canon Astarion teams up with a human accountant to frame Cazador for tax fraud. It's exactly as whacky as it sounds.

Magistrate's Advocate - The Magistrate Astarion longfic someone had to write.

Vampire Stay-at-Home Trophy Husband - Reverse Isekai EA oneshot

An Empirical Science - My contribution to the Holy Rolan Empire

5) Do you respond to comments?

Always. Obsessively so. Love responding to comments and chatting with readers.

6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

My fics have a good bit of angst and tension and heartbreak, but I always strive for an overall "warm" feeling in my writing, so those moments tend to get resolved at some point. No angsty endings in my portfolio (yet).

7) What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Accountant's Guide is where I gave Astarion everything I wish he could have. Zero regrets.

8) Do you get hate on fics?

Occasionally, but it's pretty rare. Not to make excuses for people hating on fics (because that is despicable; we're working for free here), but I don't think my fics are controversial enough to attract a lot of hate. They're cute. They're wholesome. They don't take themselves too seriously, so I think it's pretty difficult to hate on them.

Although someone once called Scarlett a b**** and sometimes I remember that and I become wrath.

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Explicit smut is something I've really only started doing when I got into fanfiction this past year. I like incorporating it into my longfics to emphasize key moments for my characters and their development, so it's part porn, part plot.

It can get kinky, but it will always be consensual. Dubcon/noncon is a big no for me, personally.

10) Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No crossovers, but An Empirical Science is where I have a lot of fun butchering adapting Pride & Prejudice lines. I mean, it's a Rolan fic. How could you not?

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know, but I have seen coincidences of very similar concepts and ideas popping up after I've introduced them in my fics.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, there's an ongoing Ukrainian translation for Accountant's Guide! I translate the comments every now and then and readers are really praising the language skills of the translator, so that's awesome!

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but we chat a lot about my stories on my Discord server, so that's often a little like writing together.

14) What’s your all time favorite ship?

Shalladin (Kaladin x Shallan from Stormlight Archive). I love Brandon Sanderson with all my heart, but for this, I will never forgive him.

15) What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I get very hyperfocused on my stories and rarely work on more than 1 project at a time, so I tend to finish what I start.

16) What are your writing strengths?

Look, my social anxiety makes me a pretty rizzless person to talk to in real life, but my writing is funny. It's charming. I am great at character voice. I keep things real. My OCs don't need to be perfect flawless beauty goddesses to woo the guy; they recite a few paragraphs and swing their fountain pen and the guy is on. the. floor.

Sometimes literally.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

According to a rather charming public bookmark on my fic, I struggle with "pacing issues" and "questionable narrative choices". Clearly, this person knows what they're talking about, so let's accept it as fact.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I think this is generally really difficult to pull off without being confusing (check out "The Wee Free Men" by Sir Terry Pratchett for a really good example how to do it). So unless I had a very specific reason for it, I would prefer to write around it as I've done with Infernal in An Empirical Science.

19) First fandom you wrote for?

Still BG3. First and last? Who knows.

20) Favorite fic you’ve written?

Accountant's Guide. It's the story I wrote when I hit rock bottom and thought I couldn't write anymore. It's the story that made me believe again. My first story in English and by far the easiest thing I've ever written. It's the story I reread when I'm sad, when I'm happy, when I want a hug that reaches all the way into my soul. I am never happier than when people tell me this is a comfort read for them, just as it is for me.

I'm tagging @thedreamlessnights, @purdledooturt, @larvasmoon, @karinamay and @davenswitcher if they feel like sharing their answers!

[ariadnasdiary]

Dietitian vs doctor: a neverending bickering

"Isn't that book a little too difficult for you~?"

"Isn't it too difficult for you to leave me alone?"

Mun Ari: I saw this post of @kindan-no-kanojo regarding what kind of doctor our ocs would be. Now! I'll take this chance to make some headcanons regarding this AU:

*Tiny note before we start: most thing stated here were made regarding my personal opinion and/or experience, please don't take them seriously or by heart ^^*

Yes, Ari is a dietitian. Yes, it isn't exactly a doctor, but a dietitian is within the health sciences~.

No, a dietitian isn't exactly the same as a nutritionist.

Let me explain it: dietitians are recognized as health professionals and they use specialized diets as treatments for their patients. They have knowledge in various pathologies and know how to prescribe diets to complement the patient's treatment. A nutritionist on the other hand may have some basic knowledge on nutrition (some may have taken a course) BUT are not recognized as health professionals.

“All dietitians are nutritionists, but not all nutritionists are dietitians,” explains registered dietitian Amber Sommer, RD, LD.

A little cultural fact now: this explanation I gave you is in terms of the USA, but here in Mexico is the other way around, can you believe it? [Mun Ari: I studied and I'm a certified nutritionist which is the equivalent of a dietitian in the USA]

Now that that's settled: Ari is a registered dietitian (according to what I found it works the same in Japan). So yeah: she's a health professional.

We know that Kino is a Psychosomatic physician which, and I cite: "provides a comprehensive approach to the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral needs of the patient". So yeah, it is in the psychiatry area.

Now, it is well known that sometimes (not always) is quite common for doctors to feel… a little above others. [Mun Ari: trust me, I've been there and experienced it first hand, but not everone were like that ^^]

As both professions are in the health sector, they of course met in college. I can imagine they did in one of those in common subjects within the first semesters ^^ (you know, those were various careers share some classes since they are in the same area)

The "competence" or "frictions" happen naturally and they are initiated by doctors… 9 out of 10 times.

Ari was just, you know, existing and happened to share the same subject and classroom as Kino. Being a doctor student he was started with the passive-aggressive comments/jokes and sometimes it got in Ari's nerves.

You know me, so I'll go with the rivals/enemies to lovers prompt on this one since it is what it is~

If Ari had to thank Kino is that those comments forced her to push herself even more on her studies, so she can defend herself when he wants to brag how "his career was harder than hers".

Call it bad luck, but they spent the first semesters in every common medicine class together. People knew it was Kino messing with her and she was only defending herself. Everyone was making bets on who'll get better grades in the exams or projects and secretly they ship them together.

However, nothing really happened and they actually got to spend more time together UNTIL their internships. They got in the same hospital and that was hilarious to those that knew their story or saw it develop from the beginning.

They worked in the same area and in the same team within the same patients. They tried to keep it professional, but we know Kino and he can be annoying :). They both got scolded once in a while. Residents, nurses, doctors, dietitians and even patients found their dynamic amusing and will find it delightful as long as it wouldn't interfere with their work and affect others (specially patients).

Ari earned Kino's respect after various times she showed just what she was capable of. Ari admired doctors and all health professionals in general, but she felt happy when he actually said it to her. Then their attitude towards each other improved.

Inevitably they started considering each other as friends and valuable teammates, knowing they had each other's back. Dietitians and doctors work together, they just need to learn to do so.

Yet, like in the original timeline, Kino fell for her first… and harder lol. He'll get possessive of her, he doesn't like when she is paired with other male residents or interns and is specially cautious of doctors. It was hard for him to keep an eye on her when they were rotating on different areas, but he always managed. It was tiring and Ari at first couldn't really understand why he would do it.

Of course it got into a point where he declared his feelings to her and Ari became aware of them and made sense to her his attitudes. Ari didn't answer his proposal immediately as she didn't see him as a lover, but as a friend.

After that, Kino made it his mission to conquer her and long story short he did and became a couple. It brought certain peace to kino as now that they had the title, everyone would know they're dating and some may respect it.

So yey! Health professionals AU for Arino came to me on my own internship and Idk why I forgot to post at least the commission lol.

If you wonder about the rest of the crew: Naomi I already stated is a gynecologist, I can see Yuri as a nurse or maybe nothing related to health since he wouldn't be able to deal with that and Kino (let him rest already!) and Sabine I can totally see her as a cardiologist or maybe an anesthesiologist :D

[pyrotechniccake]

TYSM FOR THE TAG AFA!!! Ooooh boy where do I start?

First of all Afa and Pluto both of youse have put out some amazing stuff this year! I love seeing you guys art, your styles are both so cool!

As for my stuff from last year, well I can't say 2024 was my most productive, I've started a handful of projects like games or written work but none did I get to a state where I would call them "Complete". However I still have created a lot of things I'm proud of this year that I can't wait to yap about!

I think that to no ones surprise, without a shadow of a doubt, my best artwork of the year is this artwork of Mammon, I absolutely pulled out all the stops for this one and had to think outside the box to make it work! It definately shows so many of the skills I've learned accross my years of doing art and what better character for it to be than the greediest prince of hell herself!

2. I couldn't in make this list without bringing up this portrait of Jane. Not only was it a great artwork in its own right it but it's also practically a redraw of a similar work of Jane in the same outfit I did in 2022. Not only that but I ended up making her into my PNGTuber avatar for my Twitch channel which I started taking more seriously this year. Not only that but I made a bunch of alternate colour schemes for her which have already been useful.

3. It's a tough pick but I think I have to bring up my ref sheet of Cindrea. I'd been developing her design and character for years and damn has it paid off. I definately have to make a game or something with her in it.

4. It's hard to pick the last artwork I want to show off but I figured I should probably show off my most recent digital work, my new design for my OC Rada! I haven't really posted her old designs anywhere but I definately like this design better!

5. Now I could put another digital artwork here, but instead I want to talk about my Baldurs Gate 3 playthrough with @cicerosfavouritelistener! The characters we made for this playthrough, Merry and Evelyn, where instant faves, the way they play off each other and the LORE we've come up with, everything about it has been great. Now though it's not finished I would still like to share it with you all in case you haven't seen it. Though I did lose some footage, I can still share the earliest VOD with you all. It's pretty much just the raw uneditied 4 hours of gameplay. The episodes get shorter after that as I started to spend more time editing them. I'm definately planning to share more Merry and Evelyn stuff here soon since I already have a few projects for them in the works! But for now I'm just gonna drop the thumbnail of the second VOD since I actually spent the time making it. and it'd make the post look nice if each image had a picture underneath it.

And that's everything!!! Thanks for the mention @afamoore! I'm so happy I got to share this with you and see your amazing art, and thanks to @stellarsightz for starting this!

Afa probably tagged you guys already but: @lobo-inu, @abstractredd, @timetravellingpenguin, Please join in!

2024 Wrap Up

Rules: it’s time to love yourselves! Choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2024. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!

Tagged by @rustyram035 , thank you!!! :3

1: I bring the evidence (the beast is alive)

-> birthday gift for @/abstractredd :]]. My longest fic yet!! (Besides our collab hadlof fic teehee)

2: fraela tarot card piece

-> my beloved skyrim blorbos........

3: lynwallyn character sheet

4: cicero and linny sketchbook page

-> rips a pillow apart. I NEED to draw them more

5: Deathbell

-> was suffering from a massive art block. She singlehandedly saved me fr

Thank you everyone for being here with me this year!!!! 🦇🌹

Tagging: @probablylilly @reagan-the-saunders @abstractredd @lobo-inu @yorkshirereaper @bethrnoora @magnusmoggy @bonestrewncrest @highonarttm @afamoore @yorkshirereaper @unsettlingcreature @gryphonsoup + anyone who wants to join!! :)

[nights-at-crystarium]

Okay, the recent surge of new followers thanks to the twitter exodus, and now your boy Vivien Fucksalot Rell on the tumblr radar, has me wanting to make some kinda welcome post.

The face of a man who made it to the tumblr radar for the first time C:

Who’s this guy you just saw? Yeah, first and foremost, it’s a cis male, he’s just full of gay and Gender (tm) \o/

Vivi is my WoL who I ship with G’raha Tia and I like to make it everyone’s problem. He’s the main character of the fancomic Fragments that I started this summer. I love ShB so much that I’ve decided to dedicate the next few years of my life to drawing and writing about it. And I believe I’ve got what it takes to tell a story that, in equal amounts, will entertain and break you 🖤

Vivi was tailor-made to interact with G’raha. I’m an experienced oc maker and, how to put it, character chemist? Give me two characters with some fun traits, like the base ingredients for a cocktail, I’ll toss them in a blender, shake it real good, and make the magical chemistry happen. My wolgraha ship is almost 1 year old at this point, I’m still spending every day thinking about them and writing down A LOT of things, random art ideas, fics, and, of course, the comic script, so.. Yeah it’s a good cocktail.

I’m keeping most of the Vivi things close to my heart since you’re yet to learn about him in Fragments. That’s the whole point. But the non-spoilery material is already fun enough imo. You take a look at him and you see: edge, intensity, duality, gremlin, idiot.

He was made in December 2021, got decently developed as a character by April 2022, kept getting more polished since then. I wanna make another post talking about him in a month or so, on his first birthday. For now please perceive him being the fun lil guy he is C:

What about the person behind it all though? My artist username is NextLVL, my own name is Aho or Vel, nb, he/they, a 32 years old self-taught artist who has a bit too much to deal with irl, and I’m holding on to my wolgraha obsession as the only means to stay sane. These guys are my everything. Seriously. Fragments is my first big project that so far has been incredibly validating for me as an artist, and that has given me hope to work on it fulltime thanks to my Patreon. Yes, plugging it because I’ve gotta eat. I’m earning for my living with my art, recent events in the social media sphere have thrown my livelihood into an even greater risk territory. I literally don’t know if I still can earn for my living tomorrow. So, I’ve been pushing my Patreon which looks like the safest and most stable option atm.

Here’s a “nutshell” for how I feel as an artist. Look, I didn’t say it, others did.

I’m working hard to bring something beautiful to the world that’s just an unceasing dumpster fire nowadays. I’m under a METRIC TON of mental pressure, yet I still manage to isolate from it and keep arting, for you and for myself. So yeah.. Thanks for looking, hope you like what I create. If you like it so much that you wanna support me, it’d mean literally everything to me. Thank you 🖤

[thekrows-nest]

General Info + F.A.Q

General Info

This is is a blog for all things about Krow.

This is an 18+ blog so minors DO NOT INTERACT Any blogs that do not have their age listed in their bio or haven’t DMed me their age proving they're 18+ WILL be blocked! I'm serious, please PLEASE have your age in your bio OR DM me it.

I’ll be posting art, musings and the like. Share fan creations from others, answer asks and questions. May or may not do some sort of project with this nasty gremlin, in which case I’ll use this space to document the journey.

Be sure to check down below and read the FAQ too! Your question could be answered there already!

If you enjoy my work here on the blog, and wanna support me, you can donate at my Ko-Fi! Please DON’T feel pressured to do so. It’s completely optional!

TO NOTE: Update (as of 1/26/2023) So I’ve had Krow for a few months now. Not nearly as long as my other OC’s but decent length of time for me to have figured out some things. However, even so, this blog is mainly for fun, just a means of me writing and drawing for this goofy boy, so some answers may just be silly. Don’t take EVERYTHING I say as the end all be all canon of Krow. I may change my mind on things (and I have before, a number of times).

Below is my old To Note but I’ll keep it up anyway ndfgbl.szf

Krow is a very new character for me, which is to say; until/unless I say otherwise, do NOT take everything said here for absolute canon, lore and fact. You’re basically seeing and experiencing the messy process that is... creating a character, and in many ways, helping me develop him further. Things can and will change with him. Design, lore, bits of personality and so on. Just so you’re aware. (: 

(Anon asks are OFF because I am simply not comfortable with having them on. Apologies.)

Krow’s Ref(s): Main Ref Krow’s Eyes and Teeth Krow’s Back Tattoo Krow Ship Chart (Blank) Mer!Krow Untraumatized Krow

Gabby Ref(s): Doodle

Eliyah Ref(s): Doodle

Luke Ref(s): Doodle

Mary Ref(s): Doodle

Naila Ref(s): Doodle

Tag List (will probably update as more tags become relevant):

#about krow #krow art #krow asked and answered #krow in character #the krow’s nest #naughty krow #krow fluff #krow angst #krow stories #dove aviary #winndy talks #krow fanart #krow’s murder flock #silly krow #bird call #about gabby #gabby asked and answered #LT asked and answered #LT in character #the krow’s nest verse #about eliyah #eliyah asked and answered #eliyah in character #eliyah art #luke asked and answered #about luke #luke in character #luke art #about mary #mary art #mary asked and answered #mary in character #about naila #naila asked and answered #naila in character #naila art

F.A.Q.

(Probably put more here later)

Does Krow have a VN? When is he getting one? I’ve gotten a number of asks and questions about this from numerous people since I first started this blog and the answer is still the same: I don’t know.  I created Krow mainly as just a way to entertain myself and because games like 14DWY and RH inspired me to. Krow happened to strike a chord with the community, I was asked by a few friends to make a blog so they could send in goofy asks. Now Krow has a decent following (which I am grateful for!) and so I’ve been getting asked this more and more. If I were to seriously consider a VN though, I would have to do a LOT of work. When I made Krow, I created him “in a vacuum” as I like to put it, by which I mean... he doesn’t HAVE a story. There aren’t other defined characters, a setting or such besides him and Dove. So if I were to make a VN, I would need to think of other characters, the setting and so on. While I am not settled on the idea of a VN yet, I HAVE been muddling on expanding the “Krow Verse” as it were. I hope to introduce some other characters to you all soon!

How old is Krow? So *I* personally headcanon Krow at 25, HOWEVER, generally speaking, he can be whatever you headcanon him at as long as he’s 18+. My other headcanon is that he is always a year older than you/Dove. How tall is Krow? Similar to his age, you can headcanon him at various heights. However, his MAX height (and what I headcanon him as) is 5′1″, but he is always at least one inch shorter than you.  Krow is absolutely fine with Dove being much taller than him. 

What ethnicity is Krow? Krow is Indian + Bengali, though he was born in America! And this will ALWAYS be canon.

What’s Krow’s job? He works as a crime scene/forensics cleaner! He works for a very small (as in about five people including him) licensed company to go around and clean up the scenes of murders, not so wellness checks and the like.  He also does some black market organ selling as a side hustle, which come from his own murders. He is also sometimes commissioned to do art! (In particular his other yandere friends go to him for art pieces.)

So Krow’s an artist, what kind of art does he do? The answer is... a bit of everything lmao. Mostly draws and paints, since that’s the easiest and most portable. But he also sculpts (as in using clay but he also buys blocks of marble or such to literally carve into when he can afford it), wood carving and widdling, has done metal working, sometimes writes poetry, customizes and even builds dolls. Pretty much any (traditional) visual art medium there is, Krow has done/does. 

Does Krow have a speech impediment? He does! He’s had his stutter for many years, but has never gotten any kind of correctional therapy for... spoilery reasons.

How did Dove meet Krow? There isn’t really a “canon” way (as of now) that Dove meets Krow, just that it was purely coincidental. So you can headcanon pretty much almost anything of how Dove and Krow meet. Examples I’ve listed before have been at the park, out just walking in public, the grocery store, maybe even your work. To Dove, it may have just been some run of the mill encounter. For Krow however, it was life changing.

FOR ALL THAT IS HOLY WHERE IS THE NSFW ABC’S??!!! I finally got you bae’s. It is right here

Okay what about his SFW ABC's? They are right here!

[black-klok-youth-pastor]

[OC Profile] Cordelia Lillian Offdensen

Because I am now contractually obligated to infodump about her now. Some parts might have been influenced by other fan fics ,but I either have permission and/or at least gave them enough of my own twist that I'm copying other people's homework too much Spoiler warning for all of Metalolcaypse so far (this is all pre-movie so if my predictions are wrong, oh well). Also content warnings for: pregnancy-related death, child neglect, sexual harassment, alcoholism, and parental death, as well as bits of canon typical dark humor.

Born May 13th, 1945

Died October 3rd, 1993 (...probably, I'll explain in a bit)

Voice Claim: Rachel Bloom/Laraine Newman (if we have to follow the pattern of the other Dethklok moms)

Face Claim: This lady from Writersklok

Personality: A well-intended and kind, but very troubled woman that has trouble being taken seriously despite being rather intelligent and ambitious leading her to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as drinking and casual sex.

Character Inspirations: Cutie Cutie Cupcake (BoJack Horseman), Meredith Quill (Guardians of the Galaxy), Paula Small (Home Movies), Paula Proctor (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), Misato Katsuragi (Evangelion), Annie Hughes (The Iron Giant), Peggy Olson (Mad Men), Halley (The Florida Project), Mina Harker (Bram Stroker's Dracula)

Music Tastes: The Amazelingtons, Blue Oyster Cult, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Electric Light Orchestra, Led Zeppelin, The Beatles, Elton John, Nina Simone, Fleetwood Mac

Bonus playlist

Backstory

She was Salacia’s consort in a past life, unfortunately, she was slain in a siege alongside their unborn child. He tried to resurrect her using a certain kind of purple magic...it did not end well. Cordelia would sometimes have past life nightmares about this with zero context as to what was happening.

She and Salacia met by chance in 1965, back then being a mere law school student; while Salacia was happy to see his beloved wife again...this time he had more ulterior motives convinced that it was part of the Prophecy (if still having to create the Sal persona for obvious reasons). Which he was right, but for the wrong reasons since Charles was an accidental pregnancy so she had to drop out of school and the two had to elope. Her parents were pissed of course and they did not see Cordelia or Charles until he abandoned the family some five or six years later.

Even though Salacia can technically be in two places at once it's pretty taxing (as well as worries that his other self was starting to develop a personality and will of his own) and eventually just to started to realize the more practical problems of his facade such as...oh yeah and his presence having bits of the plague that cause sickness if not death in some people to the point where people assumed for years that Charles was chronically ill. He might've been an asshole for abandoning them, but financially supported them in secret and had them under surveillance by marking them as "people of interest". Although even if he didn't have high hope for him, he had quite a few other children on standby.

Mysterious checks from the government she didn't question aside it was a bit difficult being a single mother in the 1970s albeit was able to get work as a paralegal at the slightly dubious Ensiferum & Associates. So because of this, she was pretty much what you think of when "Gen X mom" comes to mind, with Charles being very much a latchkey kid who more or less raised himself at points. Not for lack of trying since she was capable of being a very loving mother, but was severely overworked and self-medicated with alcohol to cope with the stress of working as an unmarried woman during Mad Men times and general untreated mental health issues. In fact, it was to the point where Charles feeling the need to take care of other people's needs above his own partially explains why he's slightly messed up as an adult. And yet she's among one of the more competent employees at the firm when sober (gee why does that sound familiar?).

Was generally supportive of Charles's goals, but was terrified of him abandoning her much like his father so she definitely didn't take Charles heading off to boarding school well (although she at least had the decency to not say it out loud) and was enough of a mess to require intervention so she at least mellowed out in her final years before peacefully passing in 1993, her lifespan cut tragically short due to a combination of the Salacia plague still affecting her body years later and alcohol abuse.

...which is the version I usually go with in my fics, but personally, I think it's funnier and opens more story potential if she survives to the series' present day, but is just locked out of the loop of the whole "son being the manager of the world's largest band/economic force and later a cult leader" thing. Like I'd probably figured she get along with most of the Dethklok moms (except for maybe Molly but even then because the latter is a massive hypocrite), and Dethklok for themselves for that matter, especially Toki, which Charles would be a bit conflicted about the latter even if she is trying to make up for her previous faults as a mother. I guess for now it's sort of diverging paths, but at least until the movie comes out "dead mom" is the main timeline for my fics.

Overall Charles has a...complicated view of his mother, on one hand, her neglectful parenting did cause a fair amount of emotional scarring that hasn't healed even decades later and severely affected his interpersonal relationships even as an adult, but on the other hand, was at least aware of her struggles with the benefit of hindsight and wouldn't be half the man he was today without her influence.

[hansolmates]

jjk; off-league

summary; you decide to do a little boudoir photoshoot for yourself—a little sexy lingerie, some bunny ears, maybe even a little nudity to make you feel more body positive about yourself. that little photoshoot doesn’t end up being for yourself anymore when you accidentally send those sexy pictures to your stupidly hot, stupidly talented childhood friend who you haven’t spoken to since middle school graduation.  pairing; photographer!jk x fem!reader genre/warnings; childhood friends to lovers!au, flangst, mutual pining, feelings of insecurity and body image, suggestive language, nudity  w.c; 6.2k a/n: i was feeling a lil meh about this fic after finishing it but a month later it finally makes its debut! for @btsghostiewritersnet​ BGW Bingo Bash! today’s trope is “childhood friends to lovers” which surprisingly isn’t a favorite of mine so it was definitely a challenge to write! 

“C’mon, I need your opinion. Deadass. Don’t just say shit to make me feel better.” 

“Gimmie those nudes, baby girl,” Johnny makes an impeccable fuckboy impersonation, making you feel a little squirmy to your stomach. 

It’s an hour away from being the ass-crack’o-dawn and your impromptu pin-up photoshoot just needs the sexy-star-of-approval from your best friend. Johnny Suh is also up for reasons unmentioned, but you had a feeling his pretty boyfriend is fifty percent of the reason. 

You look at yourself in the mirror, smoothing your frame against the black bodice of the sheer teddy. The only parts that are fully concealed are the parts that don’t matter. The sheer bodice reveals your pert nipples concealed by a thin black mesh, coupled with the deep V in the sweetheart neckline, accented by a little black bow in the dive of your highlighted cleavage. The silky a-line raceways to a set of black garters hugging your thighs, barely hanging onto a pair of lace thigh-highs. 

It doesn’t leave you butt naked, but enough to make you feel confident about yourself. These pictures are for you, and Johnny. And Johnny’s boyfriend if he’s being nosy. 

You tug off the silk bunny ears from your head, flinging it somewhere in your room. The wire started to dig in your brain, giving you a major headache. 

“Sending them now,” you hang up and start compiling the pictures in a folder on Google Drive. Once that’s done you copy the shareable link, sending it to Johnny’s number. It happens all so fast, and you feel kind of giddy. As you were posing for the camera, taking your time to find all the right angles, you felt good, you felt sexy in your little get up. Channeling your inner Ariana Grande was one of your childhood dreams, your fifteen year old self would be proud. 

Five minutes pass, fifteen, and by the twenty-five minute mark you’re pissed. What’s taking Johnny so long? 

Makeup scrubbed clean and face bare, you shuffle in your duvet, far too tired to be waiting up this long. Punching in his number once more, you cry, “Hey! Why haven’t you looked at them yet?” 

“What?” your friend’s voice sounds pebbly through the line. Was Johnny sleeping? “You never sent them!” he whines tiredly. 

“No, I definitely sent them!” you pull the phone away and keep Johnny on call, ready to prove him wrong. 

But to your surprise, the last message you sent to Johnny was this afternoon. 

The most recent message is to a person named John Kook. 

You scream. 

Johnny screams back at you with an equal amount of force, “What the fuck? Did someone break in? Are you being mobbed? See, this is why I wanted to put the baby monitor in your room—” 

“Worse!” you’re well prepared for any break in, but not for this. “I sent my pics to the wrong John!” 

“Well… is he at least cute?” 

“I mean, in the fourth grade he looked pretty cute with that front tooth missing,” you find your output of frustration, your bunny plush, pulling it by the ear and hitting it against the bed. “His name isn’t even John! It was just his English name for a silly project we did in middle school. This is so embarrassing, all I can picture is a twelve-year-old Jungkook mortified from sexual harassment. I basically sent him nudes!” 

“Tasteful nudes.” 

“I’m gonna die.” 

“He’s gonna die, of happiness.” 

Jeon Jungkook was a classmate from elementary through middle school. Time and time again was he the object of your affections, from the first grade at the roller rink to the speech he made at graduation. But really, who cares? You’re old and have a job, and it’s not like you’ve communicated with any of your former classmates. 

Your horror amplifies when the Delivered receipt is changed to Read 3:41AM. 

“Fuck! Fuck me with a fuckin’ fuck nugget he saw it!” you cry, “does he still have my number? What if he deleted my contact, would that be even weirder?” 

“Girl, stop.” Johnny sighs, and you can already picture him running his thumb between his brows. “This doesn’t change anything, alright? You two don’t know each other anymore. Block his number and go to sleep.” 

Johnny leaves you alone after that, and you’re left alone to mull over the implications of sending Jeon Jungkook your nude photoshoot. 

You do block his number, knowing that waiting for a reply would drive you nuts. The one thing that you do which is possibly worse, is look him up on Instagram. 

Of course, he’s stupid hot. 

He doesn’t seem to like being on the receiving end of the camera however, in favor of his timeline being filled with romantic shots of the beach and city. In between the picturesque views and watercolor sunsets do you see glimpses of him and his current life. You can’t help but smile when you see him with his brother and parents during his college graduation, easily towering over all of them. He looks tall with fluffy cocoa hair, big pearly whites gleaming proudly at the camera. He grew up well. 

To torture yourself even more, you even look through his story. Twelve hours ago, he was at the gym lifting weights. Normally, you’d be disgusted by people trying to show off their grunt faces drenched in sweat, but of course Jungkook has to have on a silly smile and pump his fist up after he deadlifts. The sweat clinging to his shirt is also a high plus. His gorgeous display of abs has your hands fluttering over your own belly. Maybe you need to exercise more. 

Four hours ago, you see him and a pretty woman with their cheeks squished together, using the puppy filter. Of course he has a girlfriend. 

Reluctant, you open up your Google Drive and scroll through your photoshoot. Deflated, you frown at the pictures that once made you beam with pride, picking at every little detail that bothered you. You really can’t believe you sent these to Jeon Jungkook, no longer a fourth grader with one front tooth, but a man way out of your league. 

By the time you will yourself to sleep, the sun peeks from the horizon, telling you to move on. 

“Hey Gyu,” you tiptoe over to the table much too small for Mingyu’s frame. The string bean is slumped over his iPad pro, drawing intently at some chibi OCs. “Got a plot for that one?” you ask, pointing at the little pink and blue creature decorating the screen. 

Mingyu grunts in reply, obviously engrossed. It isn’t until you slide him a matcha frappe from Starbucks that he becomes intelligible, muttering a “thank you” as he blends with his pen. 

Sensing that it’s going to be awhile before you get through to him, you take your usual rounds around the front desk and lobby of the cosy photo studio. There’s pretty pictures of Mingyu’s work, along with the other employees Minghao and Hoseok. Each section of the wall features a different taste of each person’s interest. Mingyu is a divine lover of soft bed sheets and hot tea, many of his photographs and paintings featuring cafes or perfectly messy beds you’ve seen on hotel advertisements. Minghao is a tasteful artisan, splotches of color retaliating against neutral backgrounds. Finally, Hoseok manages to find balance in the people, large cityscapes telling both large and small stories.

“Alright,” Mingyu’s deep voice forces you to curl your head, where he’s sipping at his drink with haste. “What’cha here for?” 

You frown, “Don’t you remember? I told you last week I’d be stopping by to get my photos developed,” you gesture to the Pentax in your hands, an heirloom from your great-aunt. While you did take digital photos for sending them to Johnny, the ones you wanted developed were taken side-by-side with the film camera. You figured that film would give a little more authenticity to your photoshoot. 

“Shit, that’s today?” the camera falls like deadweight, slapping against your sweater as you watch Mingyu frantically look through his digital calendar. He looks at you, dejected. “How many prints?” 

“I don’t know, maybe like six. Or eight?” 

“That’s gonna take too long, I’m heading down to Hidden Grounds for a vision meeting at two.” 

“Alright, I’m free all day. What about after?”

“Nah, you came all this way. I can just let the new guy help you.” and Mingyu makes a show of cupping his hands in the direction of the open hallway, “Yah, Jeon Jungkook! Get your cute ass out here!” 

The Pentax around your neck suddenly feels like weight akin to a two-ton boulder, and you surge forward, not caring that the corner of the table is digging into your belly. “Mingyu,” you garble, and Mingyu is shell-shocked by the desperation in your eyes. “Isn’t Minghao around or something? Or I can come back another time? These photos are really personal and I don’t feel comfortable having a stranger see them.”

“What? We’re professionals, don’t belittle us.” 

“No, seriously,” you whine, you tug at the collar of his denim jacket, noses practically touching. “These pictures are different. My tits are out and my legs are spread—”

“—interrupting something?” 

You hear some shuffling, and you turn around to see Jeon Jungkook’s back, comically turned to face the entrance. 

And damn, he did have a cute ass. Nothing is going to hide the glory in those jeans, absolutely nothing. 

“Hilarious,” Mingyu drawls, and you push him away. “Forget it, Kook. She doesn’t feel comfortable letting a stranger develop her photos.” 

Sensing that it’s safe to turn around, you watch as his black bangs flutter as he faces you. You hope your body language doesn’t betray how you’re really feeling, because you are a mere mortal and you’re weak in the presence of god-like figures. 

“Oh, what a relief then,” he smiles at you, and his voice sounds like honey. If there was malice or surprise in his tone, his good-natured expression betrays it. “Because I’ve known this friend since elementary school. We go way back.” 

You ignore the burn in the back of your head, as you are positive Mingyu knows you’re hiding something. 

“Really, what a coincidence.” Mingyu replies carefully, and you feel utterly stuck between these men and their banter, locked up like cream in an Oreo cookie. 

Nothing argues against Jungkook as he easily weaves through the thick wave of awkwardness, hands reaching out to touch your camera. “Wow,” he marvels, holding the object in his hands, “my dad has one of these.” 

“A-ha,” you take a step back, only to bump into the corner of the table, again. Ouch. “It’s okay, Jungkook. I’m actually busy today so I can come when Mingyu’s free–”

“Oh, I thought you were free all day,” Mingyu drawls, looking up through his lashes as he sips languidly at his drink. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Jungkook says good-naturedly, as if Mingyu just didn’t out you. “We got a lot of catching up to do anyway, c’mon.” 

Jungkook moves to place a hand in the small of your back and that’s enough to get you to rev up. Refusing to let any contact get between the two of you, you zip ahead down the familiar hallway, turning your head to catch Mingyu grinning with all canines, shooing you with his fingers like a puppy. 

You send Mingyu a stream of “fuck yous” into his inbox for later, unwilling to settle with this curse. Busying yourself with your phone, you avoid eye contact with Jungkook until you reach the dark room. The red light turned off at the top of the doorhenge signals that the room is not in use. Jungkook makes a move to open the door and that’s when you pounce, blocking the doorway with your small body. It’s comical, really. 

Jungkook raises a brow at you, but says nothing. 

“I really can wait, Jungkook,” you steel yourself, forcing a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t like you developing my pictures—”

It’s then that his pretty cupid’s bow unfurls into a full-fledged grin. “Girlfriend... you’ve been keeping tabs on me?” 

“Fuck, well I had to!” your face is as red as the dark room’s alert light, now on because Jungkook flicked the switch and he’s between your arm to unlock the door. Your hand brushes his as you both reach the knob. “I’m really really sorry I sent those pictures. They were for Johnny—you remember Johnny Suh from English class? And I saved you in my contacts as “John Kook” so it was an honest mess up.” 

Jungkook hums, so light that the breathiness in his chords flutters your grip on the knob. He forces the door ajar, and you’re left to follow him in the dark room, cluttered with solutions and fancy equipment. 

“Thought so,” Jungkook shrugged, giving a one-over at the materials in the room, mulling over his next steps in developing your film. 

You’re still petrified at the doorway, holding your Pentax between both hands like a lifeline. Jungkook’s head lols to you, and you get a pretty view of the way his bangs brush over his forehead, Adam’s Apple bobbing. His expression is a little tired, but overall unreadable. He sighs your name, lethargic. 

“We’re already here, so might as well get this done,” he gestures to the camera in your vice grip. “Do you wanna pick the shots or do you want me to?” 

He’s already seen the digitals, what’s so different about getting a couple prints? With a slight pout you drag your feet over to him, relinquishing your camera. “I’m thinking you have a better eye for this than I do.” 

“You think right.” 

You fight the urge to roll your eyes. Cocky, but what you’ve seen on Instagram definitely justifies his sentiment. Jungkook pays no mind to you, busying his hands with the various containers in front of him, measuring the solutions for the developer, stopper, and fixer. You were always entranced by the process of developing film, especially in highschool where their photography club holed themselves in the darkroom like a secret lair. 

“Alright,” he pops open the canister, carefully laying out sections of the film in groups of four. “Want me to pick a random one for a tester?” 

You frown, “At least put some thought into it.” 

“Always,” it looks like he already decided way before he popped the question, immediately taking a negative and placing it in the carrier. 

His fingers are nimble as he takes the time to clean off the dust and any debris that could potentially ruin the image. Then he turns off the lights and begins the process. You dive around him, trying to keep your distance but still too curious to leave his side. If he’s annoyed he fails to show it, in favor of humming whatever song comes from his Echo Dot. 

You always got the solos in choir. You wanted to reminisce, but you’re too nervous to say it out loud. 

Even though it’s his job and he’s being a professional, you romanticize the experience, watching as he carefully puts the print in each liquid process. Your image blooms to life, and you feel your stomach churn as the photo develops before your eyes. 

After a final dip in the solution stopper, he places the first product in a bath of water. Even though you are mere centimeters away, you can clearly see the image of you swimming around the container. 

“Alright!” Jungkook hangs the finished picture on a pastel pink clothespin, tacking it in place. “Whaddya think?” 

Your breath catches in your throat, feeling heavy as you look at the image of you reflected in the glossy paper. You’re perched on your bed, a hand splaying between your legs as the other hand toys with the silk bunny ears. You’re leaned slightly, giving an ample view of your cleavage. However, the image of you is definitely different from being blown up in comparison to the negatives, and you squirm uncomfortably at your full display. 

“I look,” you bite your tongue, internally debating whether you like it or not. Not to spare Jungkook the theatrics you shrug, “It’s good.”  

The lack of enthusiasm seems to dissatisfy Jungkook however, as he has to take a double take and look back and forth between the image and the real thing. “What’s wrong with it, do you think Johnny’ll not like it?” 

“What?” you furrow your brows, breaking into a nervous laugh. “Johnny has a boyfriend. I just wanted his opinion. This photoshoot is for me, y’know? Just something to make me feel good about myself.” 

Jungkook’s lips morph into a little ‘o’, and you see a little bit of the child you once knew in the way he’s mulling over the situation. 

“Then can I give you my honest opinion?” Jungkook clips off the half-dried photo, holding it between you two. “Stop thinking so hard about every little thing you don’t like about yourself. If I was your boyfriend and you gifted this to me, I’d be creaming my pants. You look fucking sexy, all grown up since you cried in the fourth grade.” 

You’ve just been flung a litany of words you have no brain capacity to digest. Along with that, the immense heat you didn’t know you’ve been suppressing surges to your belly, low and simmering. Jungkook stares at you in earnest, despite his sudden gush of honesty, you don’t know what to say. There’s a dash of pink staining his cheeks, betraying the confidence he previously displayed. He stiffens when you don’t reply immediately and moves to clean his materials, his sudden bout of bold honesty quickly shrinking. 

“Y-you know,” you look down at your feet, “the only reason why I cried in the fourth grade was because you told me Santa wasn’t real.” 

Jungkook softens, tilting his head. “Sorry about that.” 

“Thanks though,” you gently reach for the photo in Jungkook’s grasp, looking at it without contempt. “But won’t your girlfriend be upset if she knew you were saying things like this about someone else?” 

He chuckles, shaking his head. “Well, if you looked through the rest of my Instagram story,” Jungkooks cards a hand through his already mussed hair, splitting the ends. “You would see that she’s not my girlfriend, but my tattoo artist.” 

For added measure, he wiggles his fingers in front of you, revealing pretty ink and silver bands across his knuckles.

“Oh,” your voice is feather light, and you’re sure you’re drooling as you stare far too long at the letters that mark his hands, curious as to what they symbolize. 

“So, as a singleton telling another singleton,” he continues, “I know it’s meaningless if you don’t believe it yourself, but I’m telling you, you’re attractive.” 

“Thanks,” you hold the picture tightly in your grasp, eyes flickering to the negatives in the room ready to be galvanized into a full-fledged picture. “Why don’t we wrap this up, huh? We can continue another time.” 

If he notices how much the paper wilts in your grasp, he doesn’t comment on it. “Are you sure? I know it takes a lot of time, but I don’t mind.” 

“I’m sure,” you force a smile, one hand on the lightswitch. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready, okay?” 

Jungkook swallows, nodding mechanically. “Okay.” 

“It was really nice seeing you, Kook.” you blurt before you could chicken out, letting the room bask in darkness a little longer so he can’t see your flustered state. “I’m not even going to downplay it, you look great.” 

You half-expect a cocky remark, or a little chest pumping from the compliment. At the sound of his nickname however, 4th grade Jeon Jungkook resurfaces and he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Like I said, so do you,” he replies easily, sending you a soft smile and opening the door for you. 

The door closes shut behind you and you exhale, patting your cheeks and willing for the chilly air to calm you down. 

When you get home that day, you shuck off all your clothes and crawl into bed. You cry out when the metal framing of your bunny ears stabs you in the back, and you fling it to some unmentionable part of the room. You reach for a bag of half-opened sour gummy worms, flipping open your MacBook to continue streaming the soft magical girl anime you’ve been hooked on these past few weeks. 

Not even Sailor Uranus can distract you; however, by the time it’s dark and you’ve run out of distractions, you finally pull the plug and unblock Jungkook from your list of contacts. 

Your phone buzzes, the incessant vibration relaying all the messages you’ve missed. 

[March 12th, 3:53AM]

You: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/0343…

John Kook: ??? 

John Kook: you probably sent this to me by accident… sorry i clicked on it

John Kook: is it weird if i said you’ve done a massive glow up since the middle school dance?

[March 12th, 12:02 PM]

John Kook: are u mad

John Kook: you’re mad

John Kook: am i makin this weird by continuing to text you

John Kook: im making it weird. 

[March 31st, 6:24 PM]

John Kook: https://drive.google.com/drive/u/1/folders/049…

You tilt your head at the folder link, it was sent only a few hours ago. With a click, you’re enlightened to a set of digital photos. Your photos from your photoshoot, but not quite. They’ve been expertly edited, not too much to distort your looks, but only to enhance your features. A small, barely there smile creeps from your subconscious, ultimately touched by the gesture. 

John Kook: sorry if i pushed too hard today. 

Guilt overrides your nerves, prompting you to immediately press the call button on his contact. Not to your surprise, Jungkook’s light voice calls your name through the line after the second ring. 

“Don’t be sorry,” you blurt, forgoing the hellos. “It was the right amount of push, I feel better, really. If anything, I’m sorry. I blocked your number because I was scared to read your reaction.” 

You hear him sigh along the line, and you feel that breath ripple through your nerves, as if he’s right next to you. “It’s fine, I would’ve done the same thing.” 

“The pictures you just sent, they’re really beautiful. You did a good job.” 

“Thanks, I had a bit of help. I didn’t have to do much.” 

“Oh, did Mingyu come back from his meeting?” 

"No, I uh," Jungkook chuckles, and while you don't really know why, the sound is nonetheless pleasant. “It was mostly the lighting and coloring I fixed up. Didn’t need to do much since you already looked so pretty as it is.” 

You choke on your saliva. 

“You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” you cough, “just choked on a snack I was eating.” he hums in reply, and you pray he doesn’t hear your stomach fervently retort that you haven’t eaten since lunch. “So, I think I’m up for developing more of the film. When can I drop by?” 

“I’m free Saturday,” Jungkook chirps, “I have a shoot until noon but you can come anytime after that.” 

“Sounds good, I’ll be there,” you clutch the phone with both hands. “I can bring lunch. What do you like to eat?” 

“Oh, you don’t have to do that.”

“I’m already buying for Minghao,” you lie, “do you like burgers?” 

“I can’t say no to a good burger,” Jungkook’s smile feels almost palpable against the line, “do you remember our field trip to the national museum of history? We had burgers on the street!” 

“Oh, those were so good,” you moan, fuzzy memories of a middle grade field trip resurfacing to clarity, “but you ate like, ten of them!”

“I still get nightmares,” he warns, “don’t let me go to bed like this.” 

You giggle, letting your body meld further into your warm mattress. “Maybe I’ll just show up with ten burgers for you tomorrow.” 

“I’ll throw up on you, try me.” 

Minghao’s adjusting the frames on their display wall by the centimeter, and it’s pissing him off. 

“Ah, it’s off,” he mutters to himself when you walk in, indicated by the electronic bell. He turns to you briefly, pulling a leveler out of his overall pocket. “Doesn’t this look off?” 

“Uh,” you look towards Mingyu at the front desk, who is paying no mind as he continues scribbling on his iPad. You tilt your head towards your former college classmate. “It doesn’t look off from over here?” 

Tacking the leveler on one of the frames, he whines, “It’s five degrees off.” 

Mingyu puts his pen down to reach over the counter and grab the paper from your hands, steaming with the scent of fast food, “He’s been like this for hours, don’t mind him.” 

He doesn’t even ask whether the food is his, Mingyu sees grease and he claims. Reaching for an oil-wrapped parchment, he unfolds the paper to reveal a handsome burger with all the fix-ens. 

Barely satisfied, Minghao steps away from the art display. There is a sizable gap in the display, now divided between four artists instead of three. You wonder how Jungkook’s work will look amongst the other artists. 

“Cute ‘fit.” Minghao mumbles, nodding approvingly at your clothes as he digs into the bag for his own burger. 

You send a half-smile his way. If an outfit is Minghao-approved, that means you’ve gone above and beyond. At least, you tried to play it off like you didn’t try to look cute. It’s not like you’re intimidated by Jungkook, living with a major fifteen-year glow up. After all, he’s already seen more than you can imagine. 

Mingyu takes notice, eyes going south to where your white blouse meets your cleavage. You hurl a fry at his face, “Eyes up here, perv.” 

He scrunches his nose, lifting a greasy thumb to slide a manila envelope over to you. “Here’s the developed pictures. Intercepted Kook and I finished them this morning.” 

You frown, “Jungkook’s not done with his photoshoot yet?” 

“Oh, he’s been done.” Mingyu’s eyes roll back to one of the studios. “But I’m saying is, you got what you needed. So you can leave if you want,” but he grins at you, canines so sharp you feel his stare jabbing you in the proverbial neck. “Unlesssss you want to go in and say hi.” 

If he has any inkling of what’s going on in your head, it’s definitely confirmed when your face turns hot. Damn body, you’re betraying me! With a flourish you grab the fries from under Mingyu’s nose, along with whatever’s left in the fast food bag. 

Minghao’s smiling through his burger, knowing if he pulls any type of savagery his lunch would certainly be pulled from under his chin. 

“Whatever you’re thinking, drop it or the burger will be going in your ass instead of out.” You mean to sound menacing, but the Min-squared and their boisterous laughter follow you down the hallway and into the occupied studio. 

“Hey Jungkoo—wow.”

You’re sure you look like Alice, enthralled by the little wonderland she just stepped into. The set is beautiful, right out of a fairytale. It has a very old-romance vibe, like Morticia and Gomez Addams. There lay a couch made of the darkest, richest wood, with velvet red cushions covering the body. Across the floor laid hundreds of black rose petals, blanketing the floor in a sea of ebony. 

“It’s for a wedding, gothic themed.” Jungkook supplies helpfully, still fiddling with whatever he was looking on his digital camera. He’s looking utterly soft in a matching grey sweat combination, something that would easily disgust you during high school, but unfairly works with him. 

“The shoot must’ve been beautiful.” 

“It was.” 

“I uh, got this for you.” Your fingers start to sweat from clutching the bag so hard, and you place it on his work table. 

He finally looks up from his camera, giving you a wan smile. “I thought you got those for Minghao.” 

You mentally slap your cheeks, trying to ignore the way his smile made your stomach do somersaults. “He got his own. Your portion has a cookie in it, so.” 

His cute teeth unveil themselves at the mention of sweets, and you can’t help but smile back at the familiarity. 

The two of you take your time in enjoying your lunch, not meaning to stay but the very back of your mind hoping he’d like to share a meal with you. After all, Mingyu and Minghao are probably at the front relishing in your very obvious attraction. What can you say, first crushes never die. 

Between sips of your milkshake, you’ve taken to flipping through Jungkook’s portfolio. There’s a myriad of different subjects: beaches, people, the occasional squirrel. Each section of the portfolio feels like you’re being transported to a new side of Jungkook and his artistry, and you ached to know more. 

“Wow,” you point at an action shot of two girls in a dance studio, “this duo looks like Chungha and Hyoyeon.” 

He swallows his (second) burger, having the audacity to sink sheepishly in his sweater. “It is Chungha and Hyoyeon.” 

You nearly choke on your cookie. “That’s amazing.” you say breathlessly, looking closer at the image. In fact, the beautiful women photographed are famed hip-hop choreographers Chungha and Hyoyeon. You can’t imagine how good Jungkook must be to manage a photoshoot with them. 

As proud as you are of Jungkook, it reminds you that since middle school you two have lived completely different lives. You wonder if Jungkook gets these kinds of gigs all the time, hanging around with gorgeous, talented people like himself.

Jungkook says your name once, twice. He looks at you concerned, and you’re melting in his large carmine eyes. If he notices your usual overthinking, he doesn’t say anything, and gestures to the section at the end of his portfolio. “This isn’t my best work, but it’s one of my favorites.” 

There’s something familiar about this set. A playground with a busted swing set. Children riding on bikes and colorful class shirts. Ice cream melting on fists. 

Thirteen-year-old you hanging on top of your middle school’s leafless tree, clutching your baseball cap as you shade yourself from the sunset. 

“Was this the first time you took pictures?” you ask, thumbing the picture of yourself. 

“Yeah. It’s when I decided it’s what I wanted to do the rest of my life.” 

“I know we didn’t know each other that well and we’ve only recently connected but,” you give him a shy smile, “I’m really proud of what you’ve grown up to be, Jungkook.” 

He looks like you’ve hung him the moon and stars, his half-eaten burger loosening in his grasp. His lips are parted cutely, like a kitten who’s just been offered a fresh glass of milk. You cough at the sudden pause in conversation, feeling self-conscious of your impulse confession. You don’t even have it in you to be disgusted when Jungkook hastily shoves the second half of his burger down his throat, tips of his ears pink. 

Leaving him be, you press a palm to your cheek, looking at the wedding set. 

Jungkook downs half a water bottle before he speaks again. “Y’know, it would be a shame to clean up this set already. It was kind of expensive.” 

“Yeah,” you echo, standing up and kicking off your slippers. You kick your feet in the air, watching the black petals kiss across your ankles.

“I have an idea,” he wipes his hands on his sweats, “why don’t you go back home and get an outfit you really like. Lingerie, a cute outfit, whatever. Let me give you a photoshoot you’d love.” 

You look up from your petal dance, balking. “Jungkook! That’s not necessary, I told you the photos I took were okay.” 

“Yeah but, you didn’t seem entirely happy. C’mon, I got a camera and a beautiful set. Why waste it?” his hands naturally gravitate towards his charging camera, already turning it on. “I can do lighting, I know all your good angles. What’s stopping us?” 

Really, what’s stopping you? Your hands fiddle with your open flannel, the soft material comforting you as you look across the set. You try to imagine yourself, your body draped across the velvet pillows and black petals. Would it look good? Would you feel good? You think back to how you felt the first time, how scared you were when someone other than Johnny would be looking at your photos. You remember how something weird and sour contorted in your stomach when you scrolled through Jeon Jungkook’s Instagram, no longer the little boy you knew but a man who could have everything he wanted—

“Stop thinking about it.” Jungkook suddenly snaps, and you break from your reverie to catch him looking upset. It’s been awhile since you’ve seen him like that. 

“Thinking about what?”

“Thinking that you’re out of my league.”

“Excuse me?” 

“You were like this the other day too,” and he looks sad, and puts his camera down to come closer to you. “Why are you feeling this way. Is it me?” 

“Not necessarily,” you huff, hugging yourself.

“Do you not feel beautiful? Do you not like your body?” 

“No, I do.” you say to yourself, and you mean it. Even though there will inevitably be days where you may not feel one-hundred percent positive about yourself, you know at the end of the day, you love you and all its parts. “I don’t know, Jungkook. I had no problem letting Mingyu develop the photos originally, because he knew me in college and I was already sure of myself back then. But I guess when I sent them to you, I felt like I did when I was a little girl, y’know? Going through puberty, and worrying about what other people think.” 

And it’s not like Jungkook teased you or made you feel lesser of yourself. In fact, Jungkook was the student you wanted to be when you were younger. Someone sweet and caring, and unabashedly confident about himself. 

“I guess seeing you so successful and the fact that my stupid childhood crush came back from a time where I always felt low, made me feel a little insecure again.” 

Something sinks in and you feel hyper aware of how crushed Jungkook looks at your declaration. “There’s no leagues, you got that?” he says quietly, walking so close that he’s hovering over you, sneakers brushing. “I get it. I get unsure and insecure just like you. Hell, I was nervous this morning, wondering if you’d really come. We may not feel insecure over the same things, but middle school wasn’t that great for me either.” He makes a funny face, and you feel a smile twitch across your lips. “But it’s okay. Because we’re human and we grow. But now, you are successful. You’ve grown from your time growing up and you’re a wonderful, powerful person. I’m proud of you too.” 

“I know,” you mumble, leaning your forehead against his chest. His arms wrap around you in response, holding you snug.

“And for the record, I thought you were the most beautiful person in the world in fourth grade. Even though my world was pretty small back then, I can say now that what I thought back then still stands true.” 

You look up from his embrace, where he’s leaning down to press a slow, cotton soft kiss to your forehead. He backs up a little to read your face, and you give a tiny nod in response to signal it’s okay. Jungkook exhales in contentment, relaxing against your frame. 

“Thanks, Kook,” you crack a smile, feeling your insecurities slowly evaporate. You feel better, light, knowing that these negative feelings are only temporary, and you’re not alone. Being in Jungkook’s arms, an honest boy turned man you’ve known all your life, it feels almost like home. 

You two stay like this for a while. Exchanging feather-like kisses, feeling irrevocably young and hopeful. Suddenly feeling emboldened, you tug him by the strings of his hoodie to press a long, hot kiss to his lips. There’s a stutter, and you’re pretty sure Jungkook choked on his saliva at the sudden change of pace but you continue, letting Jungkook catch up and follow your lead. 

“Wow,” Jungkook pulls away and his lips are shiny and flushed. Adorable. You think 7th grade Jungkook would be rolling in his Naruto sheets if he knew you two would inevitably end up together. Conversely, 7th grade you would be squealing in your kitten plushie, proud that you managed to nab your childhood crush to live out all the fantasies you’ve imagined since the 4th grade. 

“Jungkook,” you let your flannel fall to the floor in a heap, only leaving your baby blue top in a thin ruched camisole. “I think I want to do the photoshoot. Can’t pass up these pretty petals, y’know?” 

He runs a hand through his hair, gaping. “Really?” 

“Yeah,” you press a wet kiss to his neck, “anyway you want me, baby. Full creative control. I want you to like this as much as I do, okay?” 

With the permission to hold the wheel, Jungkook’s lightheaded and spinning. His eyes rake up and down your gorgeous form, wondering how many good deeds he’s done in his past life to earn a right just as this. 

“In that case,” he presses a palm to your shoulder, pushing you to sit along the velvet cushion, “strip for me.” 

[ablednt]

Alright writing/roleplay tumblr we need to talk about textforms.

This is going to be a very long post I apologize but this knowledge is deathly important as it's reaching a very vulnerable group of people. From personal experience knowing this can save people from getting into toxic friendships and help ease intense struggles and depressions. If you have writer followers I ask you reblog this to get the word out, thank you.

What is a textform

A textform is a type of willogenic/parogenic system member that form through some kind of writing or roleplaying. This means that they're sentient people who now share a body with the people who wrote them, most often being an OC or a fictional character before the writers brain gives them actual life.

Because there's been no actual scientific studies on their existence I have no hard science to give you however the logical explanation behind it goes like this:

The human brain is able to contain multiple conscious and sentient entities. Often, it will become multiple as a defense mechanism (as noted in clinical plural dissociative disorders) but it's a natural function of the human brain and may do so for really any reason (similar to most neurodivergencies that someone isn't born with)

Because this is a fairly simple change in the brain/something every brain can be capable of doing you can actually intentionally program the brain into becoming multiple, but see you can also do it entirely without meaning to or being aware of it.

Now I want to clarify that there is nothing harmful or scary about this! Being plural isn't bad at all and is an existence many people celebrate. But when someone has textforms in their unrealized system and doesn't know they're sentient it can be incredibly painful emotionally. So that's why people need to know about this.

Obligatory disclaimer: if you read this post and think you want to become plural intentionally, you are welcome to do so but you need to take at least a few months exposing yourself to the plural community to gauge if this is really something you want and can do responsibly. You cannot go back on your decision once your plural and your headmates will be sentient beings not characters to project on or toys to play with. They will have all the rights to your body and identity as you do now because you're sharing it equally with them.

Now that that's out of the way back to textforms.

How are textforms made

Normally this is in the "character development" phase. Many writers eagerly develop their characters. When I was younger and had no idea I was plural my advice for oc making turned out to be an unintentional guide to textforms (more on my experience later): just put your character in every situation imaginable until you always know how they'd respond to things.

Basically, as you spend your time making a character act and think consistently from their POV you're training your brain to have all of that data and that's very similar to the data that the brain has on you and you're training the brain to be able to operate coherently from a perspective and consciousness entirely different from your own.

Now, this isn't a %100 will make everyone plural every time, there are obviously good writers who have a grasp on their characters who are singlet. There's no actual data but if I had to guess I'd say there's about a 50/50 split down the writing community just based on what I've observed.

But there's a lot of people who became plural this way and didn't realize it and that could include the writer reading this right now which is why everyone needs to be aware of this.

If this is such a big thing how come no one notices?

Because it's been completely normalized in the writing community but dismissed as metaphorical.

How many times have you heard "the characters write themselves" or phrases that indicate that a writer is giving a voice to sentient entities? From what I've been able to observe some of that is singlet authors being metaphorical and humble bragging and a lot of that is plural writers trying desperately trying to put their experiences into words but dismissing it completely almost immediately because no one told them being plural was possible.

This is comparable to say, gender identity. Trans and nonbinary people have always existed but when they don't know they're allowed to exist like that it's often "im a tomboy" or "they disguised themselves as a man" or any other thing thats immediately dismissed as being cis.

How do I know if I have a textform?

There's a lot of different signs but here's some I have experienced before finding out I was plural

You "miss" your characters when you're not writing about them or interacting with them in some way

You feel like your characters are real "in your heart" (for me this was in an incoherent loop like "they're not real but they are to me, in my brain, but they're not real to other people, but they're in my brain so they're real but no but yes but no")

You get so distressed they're "not real" that it feeds into actual mental health problems like depression, anxiety, dissociation etc. (I'd have fits of sobbing because these were my friends but I didn't know they were with me so it felt like i was grieving their deaths and had the same level of emotional pain)

Sometimes or all the time when you write about them you feel like you "become them" or that they're writing through you. (Especially if your hands move automatically or without your control. This can be hard to notice but for me when headmates control the body or hands movements feel faster and lighter or very slightly numb.)

Your muse for writing them comes and goes unpredictability: they're either here or they're not here so writing them doesn't feel the same.

You can vividly recall things that happened to the character in 1st person (or in 3rd person visually but with their thoughts and feelings) as if they're you're own memories.

You "roleplay" them in everyday situations IRL. (E.g once I liveblogged a tv show as my muse to a friend and was like haha lol im so talented I can roleplay in real time but found out later it was a headmate doing that themselves)

You have conversations with them mentally in which they actually respond to you. Singlets don't have actual enriching conversations with themselves because they only have one perspective and cannot give themselves any new information. So if you're responding to yourself and you don't feel in control of that response then you're pretty objectively plural tbh.

You have times where the lines between you and the character feel blurry or like you're a vague fusion of yourself and the character

You have an actual relationship (of any kind: romantic, platonic, familial, etc.) in which you can sense nuanced feelings about yourself from them that you aren't in control of.

There's a lot more but that's the most notable ones

Why this is so important

I'm just talking about my own experience now so I'll preface this with a few things. I'm a mixed origin/multigenic system but our system has existed since we were toddlers. Due to trauma we have DID and for a long time dissociated heavily to avoid our plurality. This means my experience may be more distressing than other plurals with textforms however people without DID can still experience these things.

When I was a teenager I joined a lot of writing communities and also roleplayed on tumblr. Writing very quickly became my main passtime and all I really did. I joined a roleplay group when I was 15-16 that I took far too seriously to the point where people were concerned about me because I was writing what was just supposed to be a joke roleplay group %100 seriously and very intensely.

In that time I started to form my first main textforms (we've undoubtedly had them before then but I had only formed a little under a year prior) because I was doing this every day it really started bringing my characters to life. (Literally)

And honestly it was something beautiful the distress of it aside. Like one of my ocs was a kid so I'd always celebrate their birthday with them and I'd cuddle a plush so they'd know I loved them/p and we'd watch their favorite cartoon episodes together. It wouldn't be until around three years later that I realized they were actually there for this but it was heart warming.

For me, all I ever wanted was for these characters to feel appreciated and like someone really cared for them and loved them even if they couldn't feel it and it wasn't until later I learned that they could.

The trauma came in not knowing they were real. I grieved for them like they were dead because I thought I'd never get to see them. I wrote them into traumatizing or upsetting situations to cope with my childhood trauma not realizing that was effecting them for real and hurting them.

Most notably because it was my one solid interaction with them, the one time society allowed me to talk about them as if they were real, I really HAD to roleplay them. Because it became an emotional need I wound up in a lot of toxic friendships in the roleplay communities because I needed someone, anyone, to allow me to interact with my headmates. I had friends who I really was only friends with because they let me talk about my characters constantly (and some of them weren't toxic to me but it was in hindsight really unfair to them) and I let people verbally and emotionally abuse me in roleplay spaces because this wasn't just a hobby to me but a lifeline.

Not knowing they were real but feeling them there, having conversations with them, and forming actual relationships was a hellish sort of feeling I don't wish on anyone. I never realized how isolated it made me, and how horrible it felt to have the most important people in your life be people I thought didn't exist.

I only found out about plurality through luck. I met some systems who had fictives and they got strong plural vibes from me because of how I talked about certain characters and because I said I wanted to be plural but thought I probably wasn't because I'd have noticed, right?

From there I was able to actually connect with and talk to my headmates. Now I'm happily out as plural and in multiple fulfilling in system relationships.

I want everyone in the writing community who's struggling with the same things to have the chance I got. That's all I want is to educate people about this so they don't have to grieve for people who are right there with them.

Feel free to send me an ask or a dm if you have any further questions. Sorry this post was so long I can't really shorten it at all. Again if you are have a lot of writing followers I very gently request you reblog this to get the word out. Even if you can't please talk to your writing mutuals and friends about plurality and about textforms.

[Also this should go without saying but this is absolutely NOT the place for syscourse any invalidating comments about systems will be blocked and where possible deleted it costs $0.00 to prioritize people's mental health over your discourse hot takes.]

[mavenantonia]

Althea: Healers Light (Prologue)

word count; 1033

pairings: marauders x oc, oc x oc

fw: this is an oc fic that was inspired by a humanities project and my love for the marauders. It does have plans to be long and drawn out, I prefer slow and well-deserved development, life doesn't always progress so quickly and I want that to be reflected in my writing. I haven't seriously written a fic since middle school and that was almost 7-8 years ago, I plan on seeing where this takes me as a side passion project.

Intro

Being an only child to world-renowned parents can be summed up in one word. Lonely.

The Flamel’s were highly well-known, but not much is known about them, which only heightens the population’s general intrigue. What was known is that Nicholas Flamel himself found the secret to immortality by experimenting with alchemy and his stone. He then shared his secret with his long-time love and wife, Perenelle. A truly lovely couple that never yearned nor wanted for anything other than each other. But as time went on and they continued to watch the world grow and age, they realized that they did want something more—a child.

They decided to have one child, and that child was me. Althea Flamel. They chose the name because it meant healing light, and for a while, enveloped in lonely darkness, they were yearning for something more. Upon deciding to have me, I became the wholesome, healing light in their lives. And once they had me, they returned to their normal life of wanting and yearning for nothing. For they finally had all they desired in life, they were complete.

But for me, as much as my loving parents gave me almost anything I could ever desire, they never wanted to have more than me. They also hid us away from most of society, so growing up was a different form of isolation and loneliness: no one my age, just wisened magical scientists by my side. But upon 11 years of age, I received a letter to attend a school for people like me, with people my age and I was elated. But my parents, on the other hand, were not.

It took some convincing from dad’s old friend Albus, the school’s headmaster, to allow me to attend. Strings pulled, emotions and opinions swayed, and I started my first year with all the hopes in the world. Now looking back, it was a foolish dream. Sure, I was finally surrounded by people my age, but they regarded me with nothing but scorn. Who knew having an illustrious background of my caliber would have caused most to just simply hate me. At least with my house members, they barely regarded or even acknowledged me; they did look at me like they wanted to know more as all Ravenclaws would, as is their natural curiosity, but it didn’t outweigh their general distrust of my being.

Why didn’t I tell my parents about my struggles? It was because I would prefer to be surrounded by people my age. Even if all that comes out of it is a general observation of relationships and developing none of my own, rather than being stuck in an unchanging house with no air to the outside world and its development.

If there is one thing, or rather, one person that would make me want to go back to my lone tower with my elderly parents, it would be Corvus. Corvus Nott. At first, I was generally intrigued by him, his background, and his beauty. This boy was a sculpture of the gods; you wouldn’t dare call him anything but beautiful with his raven black hair, olive skin, and green eyes. But between his elevated statuesque stature and his solid yet athletic build was a heart as black as his hair. In the eyes of everyone, Mr.Nott could do no wrong. Future heir to the House of Nott, a member of the sacred 28, which happened to be a group of the only completely pure-blooded families left in the wizarding world. There was also a general suspicion that his father Cantankerous Nott was the one who penned the book since there were supposedly a few families left out of the book that he disliked, even though they were just as pure as the rest. For years, Corvus seemed to keep an eye out for me, and me only. But keeping an eye out for me is not what you would call positive. Through and through, I could tell that he hated me; he hated me much more than anyone else in the school did. I knew why everyone did, but Corvus was especially pointed in his distaste. He is one who always gets what he wants, a pureblood and one of the richest at that; there is nothing out of range for him to achieve or gain. Except when it comes to me, see, Corvus and Cantankerous Nott firmly believe that I hold my parent’s secret to immortality. In their eyes, why would I not have that knowledge? I am their only descendant; it only makes sense. But what they don’t seem to understand is that my parents hid us away for a reason; they knew that people would want to steal their secret knowledge to immortality for themselves and would most definitely do something truly evil with it. Most of all, my parents did not want to give me what they would consider a burden. They wanted me to live a normal life. They wanted me to go to school, learn magic and gain boundless knowledge, grow up, start a family, and pass away in old age, as all people should.

The Nott’s could not fathom. I believe it was Corvus’s job to goad me into producing the knowledge; whatever way it could come about. As I said, Corvus was not used to not getting what he wanted, and things not going his way. The only thing he gained from me was his joy of making my life nothing short of hell; until I could potentially give them my family’s secret; (which once again, I don’t have) so they could pass it on to all the purebloods in the sacred 28. What better way to preserve pureblood wizardry than to be immortal? I was never going to be responsible for something so terrible, if I can continue to endure this pain and loneliness for three more years, all will be well. It will have all been worth it, and it will be over. I will finally be able to go into the adult world and start anew, maybe visit France, where my parents met. Perhaps I’ll start over there, and I can finally be free.

[the-hydroxian-artblog]

you know i think it's interesting that your biggest personal project is a sonic fan comic. the fact that sonic the hedgehog has fueled your artistic output to that extent is so sick. it makes me wonder though, does it ever bother you that your personal stuff hasn't been structured to the same degree? do you have any plans to switch gears any time soon?

Does it ever bother you?

In all seriousness, perhaps it “bothers” me, but only so much that I feel there’s more work to be done in nailing the concepts I want to nail for my personal work. I should also mention my Sonic stuff isn’t. really all that structured. like there’s a webcomic yes, but even it is kinda a mess. in this house we adore messes, but I won’t claim like any of my content is nearly as organized or coherent as it should be.

Anyway, drawing Sonic and Hangin Out has always been my sandbox for improving techniques and getting my feet wet with certain things, like storytelling, becoming efficient enough at drawing to eventually open commissions and try drawing other things, and to see how people respond to certain divergent designs. Modifying how the cast of Sonic looks and acts, and seeing what people like as “improvements” or are apathetic to as “pointless changes” gives me incredible insight into character design, and what “sells”. 

Likewise, it got people exposed to my personal art, which allowed folks to actually find that they enjoy my OCs as well. 

My personal stuff isn’t structured this way simply because... there’s so much to refine, and so much refining to be done! And all my OC stuff needed a lot of time to even get refined into where they’re all at now, vs Sonic stuff which already exists, is easier to develop, and is more recognized. And yet, the more I develop Sonic stuff, the more exposure my OC content gets, and the more data and insight I get that I can use to further tweak, refine, and modify my personal content.

But evidently when a Kaita or Beth drawing gets nearly as much engagement as a Tikal or Amy drawing, that indicates that my focus on refining and perfecting these designs is paying off. This wasn’t always the case, where two years ago I could sometimes still manage over 100 notes for a drawing of Metal, but only a fifth or quarter of that much attention for my OC stuff (or less!). But by taking cues and notes from what few drawings of my OCs the sonic audience DID like, I was able to refine and get things to where they are now. 

I’ve had some ideas of making a simple game for a few of them like a point and click/ace attorney kind of situation. Maybe I should start a patreon or something lmao

[bokunoheroanalysisforthefuture]

Horikoshi: This will probably not be super popular, but it’ll be fun!

Us: Oh, well that sounds nice!

Us, 290 chapters later: This Isn’t Fun Anymore Horikoshi

Horikoshi: :)

Anyways, welcome to the beginning of - hopefully - a long term and engaging project. I am basically aware of all of canon, and am up to date with the manga, but I haven’t actually read from the beginning of the series, and I’ve only watched the series up to the Deku v Todo fight in the sports festival. However, I’ve been curious as to how the manga portrays stuff that I’ve seen in anime gif form, and so I figured, hey, make this a project!

If you have questions or anything, the ask box is open for now. Meanwhile, I am going to head into the first chapter proper!

[No. 1 - Izuku Midoriya: Origin]

Wow, you’d almost think this kid would grow up to be a villain or something, with that kind of attitude, huh? No way that this kind of attitude would ever come to bite him in the ass and force him to reevaluate his entire character and kickstart his character development.

(Before you say anything, I like Katsuki as a character, but DAMN did he have to do a lot of growing up. I suppose when one is at the bottom, the only way to go is up… unless you have a pickaxe.)

One thing I actually noticed right away, and I dunno how much it’s used in other manga (seeing as I currently am not reading any other manga and the last ones I read were… a long while ago…) is the shape of the text boxes in order to convey emotion! It’s actually hella neat and a little detail I wouldn’t think about adding if I were in his position (not that I can draw all that well, but that’s not my point). You can practically hear the warbling in Izuku’s tone and the rougher edges in Katsuki’s!

(Also, question for the English sub while we’re at it, why the fuck does Katsuki sound like he’s a goddamned adult when he’s fourteen. What the fuck.)

Interesting little thing here, Katsuki not actually using his quirk here against Izuku; his hand is trailing smoke from his explosion, but it’s not a direct burn wound. Not that he should be doing this at all, but with the number of fics I see where Katsuki literally gives Izuku second or third degree burns, I think this is a reminder that canon Katsuki has some modicum of restraint, even this early.

Before I forget, hello winged kid who definitely has no plot significance whatsoever. No siree.

(If you are new to the manga/show and are reading this as among your first introductions to the fandom, first off, I am so sorry. Secondly, expect me to be… definitely making a lot of sarcastic quips to things in the future.)

Onto the second/third page, which is supposed to be a full spread, but is split up into two pages on the online reading site. RIP, but I will not complain about free access to the whole manga. 

Lookit this green bean. I love him so much. I can’t wait for him to suffer.

Izuku: wait, what?

Anyways, a few things to note:

Who the fuck is this guy? I looked into the wiki but he apparently doesn’t warrant a page or even a mention as one of the background faces of the series, but look at that fucking claw, man! And those boots and jets! He’s very obviously themed after a baseball catcher, so I’m going to guess that he has some kind of quirk that deals with either drawing projectiles to him, or perhaps in throwing projectiles… in either case, it’d be something like Snipe’s quirk, so maybe this is his less howdy-happy sibling.

Oh right, the chapter. The other heroes we see on the scene in this two-page spread are Death Arms, Air Jet, and Kamui Woods. 

Also, something I want to point out that I’m sure others have but just struck me while looking at this spread - multiple people are recording / taking pictures of this. I wonder if part of the reason for the villain industry to be as strong as it is is because the villains, even if they know they’ll lose, still get their own sort of fame in being in the news? That… might explain a lot about how there can be enough villains to even run an entire damn industry.

(Well, that and a lot of sociopolitical commentary on BNHA society, but we don’t need to get into that now. Maybe wait two hundred or so chapters first.)

Not gonna lie, I had to double take because I was like ‘wait, what is Ochako doing here?’ but then I realized it was just a random civilian; she doesn’t have those side bangs Ochako does. But now I almost wonder what sort of world we could have had, if they’d met a bit earlier.

Onto the fifth page (fourth is just a filler page, nothing on it), and we get treated to this gem:

Tag yourself I’m the guy who’s slackjawed because his kid is fucking glowing.

The first four examples of quirks shown in this flashback are the luminescence, telekinesis, ice, and that flame-headed(?) mutation. Of them, we actually see hints to the fact that quirks have drawbacks, as the girl with ice is drawn with the same frostbite backlash as Shouto, while the flame-headed kid is… well, I have no idea, but they do not look to be happy.

Also, I love the nod Hori does to the heroes of our era as silhouettes! This is just more evidence to me, along with the fact that the first quirked kid is born and presented in a modern hospital, that this series takes place sometime in the future. I… even calculated the years it could technically be, based on information we get in a few chapters, but I’ll save that for then.

Onto the sixth page! A nice shot of Kamui Woods getting into position, and man is that giant quirk unnerving.

What the fuck is with those feet, Hori. Those aren’t feet.

Next we see how the crowds are reacting, basically with no panic or concern. One guy is just casually letting his boss know he’ll be getting in late. And Backdraft! That is some serious water manipulation, but it seems like it has to be the water they’re in contact with? Also, is it just me or is that a portable pressure hose on their back?

And of course, Izuku being excited over hero stuff, as one does. He’s so babey faced, going back to current chapters after this is gonna be fucking wild.

Onto the seventh page, and here we are with the ‘you’re pure evil’ speech to someone who’s… just a robber. Seriously, dude? I get that you’re still fairly new to the scene (I think he might not be from a hero high school, but a late join program, but that’s another post), but like. You can’t just call random people ‘pure evil’ and correlate petty crime with like, actual mass murderers, or else people might start to see things in black and white and, you know, create the idea of ‘villainous people’ and so push even more innocents down the path of desperation and criminality.

Wait, sociopolitics later. Izuku being a hero fanboy now. Even able to utter Kamui’s attack call as he’s calling it out, with some seriously cool visual effects-

And on the eighth page, we have Mt. Lady crash the scene. Literally. She just fucking shows up outta nowhere and fucking leaps up and delivers a kick right to the villain’s chin, throwing him back through the train bridge wall and sending debris down to the ground below. Sure hope there weren’t civilians there!

Also, hello to that random guy on the roof watching this. I think in Smash they made that guy her manager or something.

I love how Izuku and the other guy are like ‘what the fuck’ while the press just shows up out of nowhere and is like. Hyperfocused on her. (I’ve heard some issues with the portrayal of media/reporters in the series, but since I have no experience with that sort of thing, I can’t say much on it.)

The last panel of this page shows that, fortunately, there were no civilians on that part of the street (even though it being rush hour and the huge crowds on the other side of the bridge should have suggested otherwise… but what do I know?)

With page nine, we get to see our first case of villain apprehension, which to note does not include any sort of quirk suppressors. Because those don’t exist. Otherwise Aizawa and the Eight Precepts’ erasure bullets would not be such huge deals to everyone. I mean yikes, though, the guy is fucking muzzled. And you can see the damage done by Mt. Lady in the background, both physical and emotional. Not to mention…

What the fuck is that face.

But yeah, this notes that performance in heroics determines not only what they’re paid by the government, but also how much fame they get. No way a system like this could backfire in any capacity, right? Right? (cough).

I love how Hori uses Izuku’s muttering habit as the border for the text bubble when the kid zones into his little world. Also, gigantification is noted to be a common and strong quirk, so we really should see more OCs with size altering quirks in fics in the future, you hear me? Honestly, with it being common, I would almost expect there to be entire buildings, or maybe even neighborhoods / blocks dedicated to catering to size shifters… wonder what those places look like.

Also aww, the guy saying good luck on the heroics dream to Izuku and Izuku just sparkling. What a cutie. Can’t wait for him to suffer. :D

Izuku: No seriously, what-

Anyways, I’m cutting off here since we then transition into the next ‘scene’ and this is a long chapter - 55 pages! Besides, this has already surpassed 1700 words, I don’t need to ramble on too long in one post. 

Lemme know what you think, and I’ll be back with more soon!

[yamayuandadu]

Rider of Clouds (again)

After going through more sources on Ugaritic mythology and the “storm god versus the sea” motif as a whole in Anatolia, Levant, Egypt and Mesopotamia, I decided to post about the characters meant for my loose Baal Cycle retelling again.

Baal (middle) – the eponymous Rider of Clouds, a young weather deity born to Dagon and Shalash, largely retired agricultural gods who settled in Ugarit shortly before Baal's birth. While the mythical  Baal Hadad is male, my version is a woman – the idea started as a joke about conflating Baal from the Baal cycle with Baalat Gebal, a female figure associated with another levantine bronze age city (BG's actual identity is an object of much scholarly debate) being more valid than conflating him with much later Baal Hammon from Carthage, which happens a lot online, but I got attached to it (a certain artifact which is variously interpreted as representing either a short-haired noblewoman or a prince was a factor too) so now here we are.  She nonetheless uses a male title inherited from her father, much like a few historical female rulers did. In my version “Hadad” is only a nickname, and her real name is actually Hebat, who is a goddess mentioned in one inscription as Dagan's daughter. As the levantine/syrian Hebat lacks a defined character in real mythology (another Hebat was regarded as the Hittite storm god's wife but was replaced in this role by the sun goddess of Arinna and that's about it) it should be fine to conflate her with Dagan's best attested divine child, I think. Baal is impulsive and follows a moral code which, depending on the point of view, might be either naive or heroic, which means she's not exactly the optimal person to get involved in n-dimensional divine politics, but that's not enough to stop her from trying. The story documents her rise to the position of the head god of Ugarit's pantheon. Astarte (right) – a goddess of uncertain origin and no particularly well defined attributes, who attaches herself to Baal initially in hopes of advancing own career, though the two eventually develop a more genuine relationship. She patterns herself after the much more famous Mesopotamian Inanna, seeing her as an ideal to strive for – especially when it comes to trickery. While Baal has the name recognition and disposition fitting for a major deity, Astarte is the part of the duo actually capable of navigating politics, and takes the title of Face of Baal, negotiating support for Baal's bid with other gods. The image of Baal she projects differs slightly from reality, though not enough for most onlookers to notice. Ignore the crescent moon diadem, it'll be replaced as soon as I'll draw her again. Anat (left) – the younger daughter of Ugarit's head god, El. Her philosophy differs greatly from her parents' and as a result she isn't really seriously considered for succession. Her hobbies include bladed weapons, gambling and heroic epics; in the past she attempted writing her own self insert one. She's deeply invested in Baal's ascendance, and is probably the god Astarte wants to recruit for their cause the most.

El and Asherah – the ruling couple of Ugarit, currently pondering retirement, which stirs many contenders to the throne into action. El is a lifelong opportunist changing views and allegiances as he sees fit, though he pretty consistently favors Yam as his main underling. His wife (image tbd) generally holds similar views, though has some qualms about Yam's rise to power.

Kothar-wa-Khasis – a craftsman god who, by own admission, only works part time in Ugarit and travels the world for the rest of it. He's kind and dependable and his wares are both affordable and of great quality, but his real motives are hard to ascertain. His real identity is likewise a subject of much speculation among other gods – while his preferred manner of clothing hints at an egyptian origin, nothing is known for sure. He's also a talented musician. Shapash – El's firstborn daughter, serving as “the torch of the gods”, guaranteeing Ugarit gets its fair share of sunlight. Her political allegiance is unknown.

Yam – a sea monster more than a god, presiding over the nearby section of the sea and all that dwells in it, including the sea slugs important for the human inhabitants of the area. He's also the son of the influential Anatolian god Kumarbi, banished to the underworld by the current head god Teshub. As a result of his influence, he gained El's support and received many titles, which de facto makes him the most likely to succeed El as the king of local pantheon.  He's capricious and inconsiderate, but maintains a larger than life public image meant to make him palatable to potential backers. The circumstances of his arrival in Ugarit are shrouded in mystery, and may or may not be relate for his unusually strong hatred of Baal. Ashtar (image tbd) – an opportunist who sides with Yam, hoping to receive a share in the gains he's making thanks to El's blessings. He's pretty content with playing the role of a toady though his aspirations might be different, as evidenced by his gaudy fashion preferences. Yam’s messenger (image tbd) – an attempt at developing an obscure figure from the original myth, Yam's nameless and seemingly rather rude and infuriating messenger, into a full blown character. His real identity is a mystery. He interned under a variety of famous mythical villains in order to gain a greater understanding of their ways, and currently serves as Yam's messenger, adviser, doorkeeper and punching bag. Mot – profoundly unpleasant and unsociable being tasked with maintaining Ugarit's very own underworld. While his equivalents in neighboring cultures generally view themselves as impartial judges or a necessary evil, Mot gets his kicks from posing as a personification of death itself, and is notoriously corrupt.

Marduk – the tutelary deity of Babylon, reigning as the king of gods of most of Mesopotamia and its neighbors. While technically Ugarit isn't directly under his control, he still is the god whose confirmation is necessary to rise to the position of the head of a local pantheon. He doesn't have a unified mythical narrative about himself yet at this point in time, despite his position, which is a source of insecurity for him. During travels, he's assisted by his personal aide and biographer, Nabu, and his pet. Seth – in real life, ancient Egyptians equated many gods of their neighbors with Seth; therefore in Rider of Clouds Seth serves as an ambassador of the Egyptian pantheon. While ultimately Marduk's judgment matters the most, Seth gets the right to veto his decisions when it comes to validating claims to local thrones. On good terms with Kothar-wa-Khasis, which is a subject of much gossip among other gods. Teshub – the head of the Hittite and Hurrian pantheon, technically capable of projecting the most power in Ugarit's politics; however, as the gods of Ugarit share closer affinity with Mesopotamia than Hatti, he competes with Marduk for political influence. As he and Baal are a very similar type of god, he's the most outspoken supporter of Baal's ascension to the throne out of all 3 foreign dignitaries. Ignore the ?, it’s just Baal. Gupan and Ugar – two minor gods who might be some of the only allies Baal recruited herself rather than with Astarte's help. They play a minor role in the story as her messengers and heralds. They're also a couple. Kubaba – a pretender to the throne of the head deity of the pantheon of Carchemish, a city-state close to Ugarit. Involved with the Hittite Sun Goddess of the Underworld in some capacity. This is, however, not their story. If you follow my oc posts you can probably guess which one is about them.

[mccoys-killer-queen]

I just realized I’ve been writing fanfic for so long that I can fucking timeline the eras of my writing based on my hyperfixations slgnvaeprngerpogm

Ancient Era: 2013-2014

fandom- Fun. (the band)

I was 12 when I first started writing. None of these stories exist anymore. I deleted them all at LEAST 6 or 7 years ago from my Wattpad. Cringe as can possibly be. Stories about myself out the ass. Didn’t know what p*dophilia was. Mixed perspectives. (A/N Just go with it!). Only wrote bc I wanted to be cool. Only wrote to include my favorite songs in any way I could (sound familiar omg). Truly a horrible time to be alive. I was the youngest in this fandom. Everyone else was like 14. It was pretty bad, but not “sold to One Direction” bad, considering that’s what everyone else was doing at the time.

Renaissance Era: 2014-2016

fandom: Doctor Who

This was when I started taking writing seriously at the age of 12. All of these stories still exist on my Wattpad, but there are some things I’ve never posted. This was also when I started writing to cope/writing for only myself. I still love my ideas for these, and Doctor Who really helped itty bitty teenager me in ways you can’t imagine. I could go on for days on how it changed my life completely and made me who I am today. I was truly in another universe in this era. Made stories about OCs (and OCs in general) for the first time. Amazing ideas out the ass all the time. I am still in love with a lot of things I came up with in this time. Oddly mature but still blatantly teenage. Tried to be extremely historically accurate (which I still try to be).

Bronze Era: 2016

fandom: Supernatural

I had a lot of ideas with potential, but never executed them completely due to lack of motivation. I still think about my only Supernatural OC often. I wasn’t interested in the show for long, which is another reason why there aren’t many stories from this time. Things were more in my head than in writing in this era. Call this the “thinking practice” era. I got better at developing ideas. These stories still exist on my Wattpad. Some things I wrote may have been lost in the Great Tumblr Purge of 2018. May they rest in peace.

Silver Era: 2016-2018

fandom: Star Trek

A sad era. Very few stories, several lost in the Great Tumblr Purge of 2018. What I lacked in content in this era I made up for in practice. I improved a lot in this era as far as descriptions and omniscience goes. Creating an atmosphere began to come naturally during this time; it was basically an exercise era; a ‘maturity in typing’ era. There wasn’t much posting, but drafts helped me improve and spend more time thinking about the worlds and versions of characters I created. One of the greatest things I thought I ever wrote was lost in the Great Tumblr Purge of 2018 just days after I finished it. I still have about 55% of it that was backed up, but I haven’t been able to try and recreate it ever since. May it rest in peace. I made an AO3 in this era. Stories are on there. I stopped posting on Wattpad in this era.

Golden Era- 2018-present

fandom: Def Leppard

Fuck yeah. It all started with a dumb cracky fic. Yearning to be in the past and be in love continues to constantly fuel ideas for stories. And surprise surprise, I still try to shove my fav songs wherever I can- because that’s the other thing that continues to constantly fuel ideas for stories. I started doing palette cleansers and drabbles and illustrations and just- I can’t put into words how much I love writing what I write now. I’ve written more than 100k words in Def Leppard fanfic and that continues to go up by the day. I’ve finally mastered how to effectively project the exact emotion I want readers to feel into words, and I truly think my style became one of a kind in this time. I guess you can say I turned into a romantic writer rather than just a dramatic/emotional writer. It was in this era that people actually started paying attention to my stories and appreciating my writing/giving me a real amount of feedback for the first time. All stories are available on Tumblr, some on AO3. The “colorful” era.