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chuuuvi · 3 months

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Chuang Asia Thailand Episode 1!

It’s been too long since I got into a survival show lol. I mean my last one was Girls Planet 999 and that was 2 years ago! So anyway I’ll be taking you all with me on this journey by posting the notes I took while watching the episode plus my current top 9. Spoilers ahead!!

•First off before you ask where I’m watching: it’s on the Tencent Video app and it’s free. Ooh and if you’re also watching pls let me know so we can talk about it together!

•I’m happy to see Nene as a mentor! I loved her when I watched Chuang 2020

•This is produced by Jackson Wang? They’ve got TEN??? Okay Chuang Asia I’m interested.

•Looking at the contestant list and of course there are 14 year olds. Don’t vote for the 14 year olds you guys. My personal age minimum for voting is gonna be 17 so I won’t consider anyone younger than that. Contestants that are over 18 get my preference though. The idol industry is bad enough for adults, I’d prefer if we didn’t debut minors as well. I know ironic coming from someone who ults Yeseo lol. (She was the youngest active kpop idol when she debuted in Busters.)

•Also they're really going hard with this being international. This makes Mnet look pathetic for what they did in Girls Planet lol.

•Oh the flirting part with Jasmine was so akwarrrrrrd. 100% secondhand embarrassment.

•I felt bad for Elyn when she was crying and said “No Filming!” But they proceeded to just zoom in on her crying face :( TURN THE CAMERA AWAY FROM HER!

•The trip.com ads are so funny to me because these survival show ads where they pretend to use a product are usually for stuff like snacks or beverages or makeup. But they’ve got these girls pretending to casually book a flight lmao

•The barbie group having only one member thats older than 16 and then proceeding to perform Barbie World where they say stuff like “that pussy so cold” and “he spank me when I get bad” -_- Someone should have made them pick another song.

•OOOH the Avex group’s performance of Left Right was great. Maybe the best of the episode although Mindy was really impressive too.

•Ilene’s little fan moment with Jackson was adorable!

•They announced the first top 9 but I feel like we’re still missing some performances?? Is that an editing thing to get that ranking in the first episode and we ares still going to get more next episode or did they just skip some people? Like I don’t think we saw Ruan and I was waiting for her. I could have sworn there were some CSR members too and I haven’t seen them perform either. I guess we’ll see.

• I watched the theme song on YouTube and it’s so cute!! Weird that it’s all about summer when this is airing in winter though. Is it summer in Thailand?? I thought they were above the equator. Okay yeah they are so idk why they’re singing a song about it being summer. Also I got spoiled for Ruan center! Now I know they wouldn’t just skip her. There’s got to be more intro round performances next episode.

•Okay so my Top 9 picks will be based on who performed in this first episode only so I’m sure it’ll change a lot after ep. 2.

1. R-Jing - She blew me away in the extra performance. Her singing was so pretty! She’s so cute too and apparently trained at SM?? I always latch onto a girl first episode and this is my girl!

2. Akina - Maybe it’s bc of her experience in her past group but she seems really comfortable on stage. I like her vibe and she’s clearly very talented. She seems really nice and down to earth.

3. Rinka - I looked back at her gp999 performances and I can see why I didn’t remember her. She seems to have improved so much though! Her voice stood out positively and she’s got some star power I didn’t see in her old performances. I’m excited to see more of this new Rinka!

4. Lissa - I don’t know how to feel about her strange vibe but I liked her performance. Lots of energy and a nice voice. I’m very intrigued by her at this point.

5. MingMing- such a clear and pretty voice!!! Her and Pangjang together were both the vocal highlights of their team’s performance but MingMing is the only one of the two thats over my voting age limit.

6. Mamcú - Really interesting and beautiful voice. Apparently she competed on the Voice?? We’ll need to wait and see how she does with dancing but she seems really earnest about her desire to he an idol not just a singer so I’ll put my faith in her!

7. Shye - We barely got to see her performance but I was intrigued by what we saw. I don’t know if she can dance yet but I’ll find out soon enough. And lets be real, I have a lil crush on her and thats enough to get you in the top 9 at this point in the game. I mean look at her in her leather jacket!

8. Emma - Her dancing was great and she choreographs her own stuff too! I was really impressed by her dance skills both in her extra performance and the dance battle!

9. Tegan - gorgeous gorgeous deep voice! She’s so pretty too! I really liked her but I have no idea if she can dance. I feel like if she could she would have shown it since she got two performances so I’m hesitant.

Honorable Mentions:

Krista Shim - I’m not voting for Krista because she’s under the age I decided on being my voting limit but honestly I’d put money on her making it to the final group. You can just tell with these shows. It's in the way they edit it.

Mao Xiu Ling & Mao Xiu Ting - Of course we have a pair of twins! I’ve always loved this survival show gimmick. I love their look and their dance together was really cool!

Kaylen - The other half of the Hawaiian Duo! Kaylen pulling Jackson Wang up to the stage with her was such a power move. I didn’t like her solo performance as much as her partner Tegan’s though

Praew- I liked her energy when she introduced herself and then her dancing was insane! I will not be voting for her because she’s 15. She's just a baby.

#cyn talking #tpop #survival show #Chuang asia #chuang asia thailand #watch along #long post #someone talk about this show with me!#come on nct mutuals Ten is a mentor!!

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fountainpenguin · 18 days

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tl;dr For 'Fic Followers:

In the upcoming weeks / months, I'm going to be posting for maybe 3 to 4 fandoms at a time.

If you are subscribed to me on AO3 and would like to avoid emails for fandoms you don't care about, I have a post HERE that tells you exactly which series you can follow to get all the updates for the fandom of your choice :)

===

Updates

I recently discovered you're allowed to put essays/meta on AO3, so I think I'm going to copy the five big species overviews from @riddledeep over to an AO3 document sometime soon.

iirc, they're like 20k words apiece, which isn't allowed with the current Tumblr editor, and I've had those posts flagged a couple times for having my body reference images in them (even though they're blobby bodies that don't depict anything), so I do get nervous about losing them and in the past, I wasn't able to edit without them getting flagged, so it would be nice to have a back-up place for them in case they ever get shut down.

I'll probably make another piece for "7 Billion Years in 15,000 words" just because I feel that also qualifies as essay form and it's a piece I really like, and I could probably add Fae Magic as an essay as well.

I think everything else will stay on the sideblog - The sideblog is mostly character profiles, family trees, maps, and the episode timeline and would not qualify as AO3 legality in my mind - but I think these things would be okay and now you know 👍

These posts will still be on the sideblog, just copied

Right now I'm wrapping up One and a Half Birds- 12 of 15 chapters up, draft complete and they post every Friday. My plan is to post the last 2 chapters of Criminal Experience on Fridays after this (They're fully outlined but not finished yet) since Friday was always its update day.

After that, I think I'll post these FOP essays as a cue to my AO3 followers that Friday is being phased out as an MCYT 'fic day in favor of FOP stuff (with Sunday as the new secondary MCYT 'fic day).

For years, I've balanced on that razor edge of knowing my writing has improved a lot lately and that I'd love to tidy up Origin and Knots so they present the lore better and fit my current writing style (which I think is cleaner), but that's a dangerous road to go down, so I've kept moving forward instead.

That's also why I've tried not to get sucked back into the sideblog, as I just really want to wrap Origin and Knots up. Bit of a wake-up call for me when I realized I think when Dog's Life goes on hiatus in a few weeks, it will have outpaced the wordcount of Knots which I started in 2017, wheeze...

I look at Origin and Knots and see them as things we're only 3/5 or halfway done with and it's scary to me considering how much very important stuff I'm balancing (i.e. upcoming Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda relationship pay-off after a very long slow burn; I wrote their first romantic scenes back in 2016) and I hope I do a good job conveying everything right.

Definitely have to grit my teeth and remind myself that "done is better than perfect," though, as I just am never satisfied with it- I had to scrap a lot of things I was excited for because of new story directions, but I think I've pulled everything back together, and I'll be excited to share what I have coming up.

tl;dr - I do love this lore, and as far as I can tell, these long posts would qualify as meta essays and be legal, and that definitely makes me feel safer considering how many times my 20k-word Anti-Fairy culture post got flagged despite the bodies being blue and green, wheeze...

And I've always wanted to write an essay about Lexiconian vs. Hexagonian culture, so I might do that as well, and I'm almost done with my 60k+-word piece about the lore in my MCYT 'fics, so I'm very excited to share :)

Lastly, while this is not lore or an essay, I'd like to copy some or all of my Total Drama 'fics from FFN to AO3, as I discussed in the beginning of the year. I'm thinking I might start moving them in June for Life of a Loser's 11th anniversary.

This 'fic had shorter chapters than what I have now and will probably be updated every few days (Maybe a Mon-Wed-Fri schedule?), which can lead to many emails. So, if you want to limit emails, check THIS post to find out which series to follow for the content you want :)

Closing Note - I have maybe 2 'fics that already have "Here are the series you can follow if you only want updates for this fandom's content" notes in the end notes.

I think I'm going to do a big sweep of all my stuff and make consistent end notes for all pieces. We shall see!

Anyway, thank you!

#Fairly OddParents #FOP #FAIRIES!#ridwriting #?? not going to tag the other fandoms #Btw heads up - I'll probably reblog this post again Saturday or Sunday so people see it

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skysometric · 2 years

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New look, same old blog!

welcome to a wholly improved skysometric.co! after years of dreams, sketches, redesigns, code, and slamming my head against the wall, i've finally fulfilled my dream of having a blog that matches my design language. i'm so excited to put it to good use as the front page for my creativity and journaling 💖

the blog's still based on tumblr, using a new custom theme. in truth, it's just a heavy edit of the default theme... and quite a mess of one, at that! but hey, it looks and works great, and isn't that all that counts in the end?

(speaking of which, are you reading this on the tumblr app? come check out the new site!)

About the redesign

on the left menu are links to my main sites, and core tumblr links like the askbox and archive. there's also a theme toggle for light and dark mode – i'm especially proud of how the dark theme turned out! the light theme needs a little work, but i think it's a good start to improve on in the future. oh and btw, these animations for the menus opening and closing? they're pure css, even on mobile~

the right menu has featured tags to browse stuff i've made and written, as well as a search box for anything not featured. tags are a core part of the updated site, serving as collections of art and writing – so they have extra prominence both in the menu and at the bottom of each post. all my most important tags have icons that are loaded dynamically based on their name! and any tags that don't have an icon use the default hashtag. i'm really proud of all the design work that went into it, and i'll show off the icons on their own pretty soon ✨

posts themselves can be blue, purple, or pink, matching my main color palette. the color is based on the post id! so each post's color is always the same, whether you're viewing it on the front page, tag pages, or the post itself.

Design history

this updated blog has been four years in the making, surviving both my name change and multiple iterations of my design language – yet somehow, it still looks just like my years old sketches. i'm impressed at how much i was able to rework and carry forward with me, especially with how many of these ideas felt like dead ends at the time!

that early screenshot at the top is from waayyy back when i was considering moving away from tumblr. it was very tempting to self-host and "own my data" as they say... but i would miss out on all the social features like reblogs. plus, on tumblr people can follow me and see all my posts in the app, as well as on my site – what's not to love? so even though the site's time may be past, i'm sticking with tumblr until they literally nuke it out of orbit~

Cleaning up, carrying forward

i've had this blog for nearly ten years now, and the way i've used it has changed tremendously over that time. what started as my first foray into social media turned into a space for sharing things i found that made me happy, sharing my philosophies and outlook on life, sharing my struggles through college and burnout, and now sharing my journey discovering my voice as a person and a creator. so now that i'm a new person with a new voice, i should probably clear out all those crusty old cobwebs and start fresh, right?

not a chance!

if anything, i went back and made sure my old posts look just as good as my new ones, cleaning up tags and backporting my new code to work with old tumblr post layouts. i want to carry my history forward with me! for all these years this blog has been my journal, and even though my journaling changed with time, that core purpose hasn't. honestly, after all the cleaning, i'm inspired to return to those old methods of journaling – share more of myself, share more of what makes me happy, be more free and open and wild ✨

(that said, some of those early posts were especially raw! those have been archived for now. maybe i'll remake the sentiment behind them someday...)

My promise to myself

in the wake of college i realized i was posting less here on the blog; this redesign was an attempt to give it more importance, so that i would use it more. but what i didn't realize was that i was posting less due to burnout... and i stalled out on the redesign, also due to burnout. a double whammy! so i used my blog less than ever, and it languished for years.

on top of that, giving my blog more importance made it more of a Serious Website™ in my head, a place where i had to put my best foot forward at all times. that made me want to post here even less, only when i finished some big or important project! but my blog was never intended for this – i've been posting random nonsense since the beginning.

so what started as a promise that i would use my blog more, became a promise that i would make my blog A Big Deal. and that's not healthy for me! so i stepped back and re-evaluated. first, i started consciously calling this place my journal, to make it a sketchy and rough place with intent. second, i ultimately decided to redesign it anyway, with a new promise: to make it somewhere i'm proud of posting more often, no matter what those posts look like.

and with that promise fulfilled, i'm ready to get back to journaling 💙

#meta #programming #web dev #graphic design #journal

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rockthistowninsideout · 1 year

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Ich habe 6.309 Mal im Jahr 2022 etwas gepostet

106 Einträge erstellt (2%)

6.203 Einträge gerebloggt (98%)

Blogs, die ich am häufigsten gerebloggt habe:

@uncultureddoubloon

@a-christmas-saint

@sketchesandnonesense

@weepylucifer

@worth-beyond-a-number-scale

Ich habe 3.959 meiner Einträge im Jahr 2022 getaggt

Nur 37% meiner Einträge hatten keine Tags

#digimon – 598 Einträge

#art – 564 Einträge

#cats – 125 Einträge

#music – 97 Einträge

#lotr – 95 Einträge

#fashion – 81 Einträge

#pokemon – 75 Einträge

#esc 2022 – 72 Einträge

#our flag means death – 69 Einträge

#useful information – 64 Einträge

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#if this fails it might be the first stepping stone for airlines to really introduce even smaller seats (or those shitty standing -up/double

Meine Top-Einträge im Jahr 2022:

Digimon Frontier Fest 2022

Day 3 - What are your hopes for the “official” Digimon Frontier 20th anniversary?

It would be hella rad to have something like the To Sora clip they released alongside Kizuna. Let’s see if I can come up with suitable careers that Toei could present to us.

(Edit: I wrote that before any announcements from Toei’s side.)

Takuya - I think... that Takuya would make an excellent kindergardener. The children would absolutely love that he’s full of mischief and always up to fun. Because he has a strong sense of justice, the kids come to him when they need a problem between each other solved. But he also has an open ear for their personal issues and is not afraid to take a stand against the parents when that’s better for the children.

Kouji - While Kouji has made a lot of progress in regards of letting people into his comfort zone, he has still not developed into a party animal. That’s why he works in a more solitary career as a freelance photographer. He can choose which assignments he takes up, and if there are too many people, he politely declines. What he prefers are landscape shots with only a few people, and less wedding photos or concert photography.

Izumi - With her unique combination of Italian and Japanese, she’s basically destined to run a restaurant that serves both cuisines in exciting and novel ways. Though at some point she outsources the cooking to a team of trusted employees, not just because the restaurant becomes such a huge hit that it’s too much too handle for one person but also because she wants to take on the challenge of managing a business. I like to think that she keeps just that one restaurant even though there are a lot of offers to branch out.

Tomoki - While he is probably the one who grows the bravest, despite not being the goggle boy, his biggest trait is his helpfulness. After trying out a few social jobs, he lands in a retirement home - and the elderly dote on him like he is their collective adopted son. He works there as a caregiver but later on he climbs up the ladder to a management position where he tries to improve the situations for the elder people and the caregivers alike.

Junpei - My heart wants him to be a full-time magician who runs his own magic shop. He’s a more down-to-earth magician than the big illusionists like David Copperfield, more your local neighbourhood than Las Vegas. He guests in children‘s birthday parties, retirement homes and company parties. Which is all the success he needs - he doesn’t want to sell out a theatre that holds thousands every night. Bright eyes is all the payment he wants.

Koichi - He is so thankful for the rescue from his near-death that he wants to become a doctor. While he is bright enough to learn all the terms and studies hard, the pressure of medical studies takes its toll. Paired with the lingering dark stemming from Lucemon’s influence, it’s too much for him and he has to abandon his studies. But a mentor at his program suggests that he becomes a nurse instead. Less years of study with the same amount of impact and there’s always the option of further education.

(they’re nodding in agreement with my headcanons 😂)

47 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 9. April 2022

Digi Week 2022

Day 2 - Sports

61 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 27. Juli 2022

Digi Week 2022

Day 3 - Humour

Hikari is not taking criticism.

62 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 28. Juli 2022

Happy Odaiba Day everyone!

I hope you have a lovely day and you can incorporate a bit of Digimon magic into it.

(made with pngs provided by the fantastic @earlgreymon!)

(I made this long before any announcements for DigiWeek were posted but I worked hard on it so I’m not gonna delete it. That’s why I still post it - as a treat.)

69 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 1. August 2022

Meine #1 des Jahres 2022

Amongst Our Weapons spoilers with no context:

103 Anmerkungen – Gepostet 23. April 2022

Hol dir deinen Tumblr-Jahresrückblick 2022 →

#tumblr2022 #Jahresrückblick #Mein Tumblr-Jahresrückblick 2022 #Dein Tumblr-Jahresrückblick #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #i can't be bothered right now to translate it

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twocopper · 2 years

Note

Very flattered that my advice is one of your first two likes on this blog! Here are a bunch of questions for you, as an expression of my admiration and hope for your success:

Are you a Dungeons and Dragons only sort of person or have you played/run other systems as well? What are your thoughts on those systems?

When running a dnd game, what's your usual style? Are you more Rule of Cool or tough but fair RAW and RAI?

Are your games more in person or more online? Thoughts on terrain or VTTs?

What thoughts on the various adventures and campaigns for 5e? Any favorites you've run? For homebrew, are you more of a world builder or a single story builder?

Looking forward to seeing more from you!

Dear swordshapedleaves,

Thank you for writing in! We very much appreciate the kind wishes and would love to answer your questions--- and, if all goes well, to do so in a way that might offer some helpful advice to readers who are pondering these matters themselves. Also, the method you shared for prepping NPCs was excellent advice, and I'd recommend that any readers who are tired of frantically improvising NPCs when the party decides to go on a shopping trip go take a look! But without further ado, let's get started on your questions.

Currently, I primarily play D&D 5e, but I've played other editions as well as other systems in the past, and I have a list of systems I'd like to run/play in. My first time playing was as a kid playing with my dad's group, which, if I recall correctly, was D&D 3.5, though I was young enough at the time that, if I'm being honest, most of the rules went over my head. The first set of rulebooks I read was for D&D 4e, which, while I know many people have their complaints about, I think has some underappreciated aspects, some of which I think are very useful even for people playing 5e. In particular, 4e had a lot of unique abilities for player characters and monsters that can be great inspiration for making homebrew content in 5e. Additionally, I'd recommend the D&D 4e Dungeon Master's Guide 2 for anyone looking for DMing tips, but particularly for novice or intermediate DMs looking to improve their skills at encounter design and group storytelling. The first few chapters in particular are a great resource, and the content discussed is easily adaptable to any other edition you might be running, as it focuses more on concepts and how to apply them rather than specific mechanics. In terms of other systems, I played Numenera for a few months shortly after it came out, and I really enjoyed the space for creativity in character creation and roleplay, despite the relatively small selection of mechanical features to choose from I felt like it was much better suited to creating unique and interesting characters than D&D tends to be. I have the rulebooks for Invisible Sun and Blue Rose, which I'm very excited to try out at some point, but I find in-person games vastly easier for introducing a group to a new system, and I haven't been playing in-person over the past couple of years due to the ongoing pandemic. Honestly, I don't think that D&D is the best system for any one specific aspect of play, but I play with a group that likes to run a variety of different styles of campaigns, and if we found the best system for every game, we'd spend so much time learning new systems that we'd never get a chance to play. I love the versatility and breadth of resources available for D&D, and honestly, making homebrew to replace rules we dislike or fill in underdeveloped aspects of the game is part of the fun for me.

When running for my typical group, I tend to aim for the stricter side of the midpoint between sticking to the RAW/RAI and following the rule of cool. Some of the coolest moments I've had in my games have come up when players have noticed a combination of rules that allow them to do something totally ridiculous, and I think there's a particular feeling of victory the players can get when they feel like they've outsmarted the game, and I think leaning too much into the rule of cool can override that. I'm perfectly happy to add houserules or remove rules that the table dislikes, but outside of that, I think the main times I tend to lean more towards rule of cool instead of RAW/RAI are when following the rules would get in the way of the narrative and the enjoyment of the game, but I try to avoid creating those situations. I'll adjust my plans to create opportunities for players to implement the cool plans they have, but I don't like letting players ignore rules on a whim. I'm not here to use the rules to ruin the players' fun, but I think the rules are a valuable resource for the DM, and I lean into that a lot. One of the best encounters of a campaign I ran a few years ago was built mainly around the rules for spellcasters concentrating, and it wouldn't have had the same impact if my group wasn't expecting me to be strict on the rules. That said, if something isn't explicitly against the rules, I tend to be a lot more flexible, as long as my player can make a good argument for it. And if someone at my table really wants to be doing something that the rules don't make space for, I'm often willing to give them a homebrew feat or item that they can use to accomplish that goal. If I'm setting up restrictions for my players, I want them to find creative ways to use the rules to outsmart me. My players are free to reference any books they like unless I state otherwise, and if they come up with a way to exploit the rules that is truly overpowered, then I'm perfectly willing to let them do it, even if it means bypassing the obstacle they're trying to deal with. However, if a player keeps trying to use the same method to solve every problem, I houserule it away. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this method for every DM, and I honestly wouldn't even recommend it for most DMs, but I'm the most experienced player in my group, I like researching niche rules, and D&D has been a special interest of mine for many years. If the players can find a way to exploit the situation that I didn't already plan for them to find, they earned it.

All my games are currently online at the moment due to the pandemic and having moved several hours away from most of my group, but even before that we were mostly online for convenience. I vastly prefer running in-person games, but for playing I tend not to have a strong preference, and I'd rather have an online game that regularly happens than an in-person game that rarely works for everyone's schedule. In terms of VTTs and terrain, I like some VTTs--- my group is using foundry at the moment and I like it so far, but I've tried some I didn't like--- and I think fancy terrain for in-person games looks incredibly cool but is a pretty high time and/or money cost for what it provides. When I was running in-person I had an erasable grid that I would draw basic outlines on, and some miniature terrain details like trees that I picked up from the diorama section of Michael's that I would place on the grid if I wanted more detail. I could see maybe making a fancy terrain set-up for the final fight of a campaign, or for a location that I knew would be prominent throughout one or more campaigns, but it's not something I've ever felt the need to do thus far.

I've played in a number of the hardcover campaigns as well as adventurer's league modules for 5e, but most of my games with my current group tend to be homebrew. I'm planning to pull heavily from Strixhaven for a campaign I'm planning to run in the future, and I find the piety rules in Mythic Odysseys of Theros very interesting, but overall my favorite pre-made content to run has been some of the adventurer's league modules. In particular, some of the CCC (convention created content) adventurer's league modules make fantastic one-shots. For homebrew content, I put far more time into worldbuilding. For me, if I know what's going on in the world, who the people in power are, what they want, and how they plan to get it, the stories end up forming naturally. I'm also lucky enough to have a great group of players who give me a lot to work with in terms of their characters' backstories and goals. Overall, I find that in almost every circumstance, if my players go in an unexpected direction I can improvise story beats if I've done detailed worldbuilding, in the same way that I might figure out how my character will react to something while I'm playing. I can't, however, easily improvise a complex world from a story outline without taking away player agency. Since I tend to improvise a lot when I'm DMing, I try to make sure my worldbuilding is solid so that I can set the stage for the players. If I run for less experienced players, I usually prep story beats so I can guide them along if they are having trouble thinking of what to do, but with my typical group, I often start with a one or two session adventure that could lead in a variety of different ways, and start a very basic outline for the rest of the campaign after that--- which usually just consists of what the main threats the party is likely to be focusing on in different segments of the campaign will be.

I think that about wraps it up, so I hope you enjoy the answers, swordshapedleaves!

While there's not as much actual advice here as we often aim for, we still hope that some of our readers may find it helpful with D&D-related issues you may be trying to solve. If not, feel free to send in an ask!

Click the Get Advice button to tell us what's on your mind, and we'll happily provide our two copper on the matter.

#dnd #dnd 5e #dungeons and dragons #twocopper advice #dnd stuff #answered

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britesparc · 8 months

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Weekend Top Ten #600

Top 100 Videogames Revisited

Here we are with a Very Special Top Ten list. I’ve been doing this stupid time-wasting exercise for six hundred flippin’ weeks now. Six hundred! Why?! Why?! God knows. Yet here we are.

It’s getting increasingly hard to find suitably epic topics to discuss when these mega-anniversaries roll around, which is probably why I’ve returned to a well I last dredged way back in 2019. Doing a Top 100 instead of a Top Ten is something of An Undertaking, requiring as it does my remembering quite a lot of things that exist – in this case, videogames. Trying to properly rank them is next to impossible, so I tend to just “rate” them against whatever’s sat next to them. This means I tend to look over the whole list and say “Woah, why’s Mass Effect so low?” – but then, it’s that low because I’m also thinking “well, I can’t really put it higher than Unpacking, and that’s not higher than Perfect Dark, which is a little bit lower than Command and Conquer…” and so on. On the other hand, listing a hundred of the damn things gives me an excuse to not have to write some pithy explanation for all of them. So there’s that.

And it’s TOPICAL isn’t it?! Because a Very Big Videogame is coming out this week. Starfield is definitely the biggest Xbox release of the year, and one of the biggest games of the year full stop; it’s also the first new game in ages that I’ve been really, really excited about (the last one was probably Cyberpunk). But even aside from Starfield, 2023 has been quite the year for gaming in general; up there with 2007 and 1998 probably. Of course, me being me, I’ve not played any of the “big” games; for me it’s only really about Starfield. I’ve barely played Breath of the Wild, so I don’t see the point forking over a small fortune to play Tears of the Kingdom, even though I know it’ll be amazing; I didn’t bother with Baldur’s Gate 3 yet because I knew I’d be playing another massive RPG shortly so what’s the point (also I’d be waiting for the Xbox version regardless); and I don’t have a PlayStation, so even if I wanted to I wouldn’t be able to play Spider-Man 2 But Not That Spider-Man 2 This One’s Just a Videogame it’s Got Nothing to do With the Film You Know the One With the Whole Power of the Sun in the Palm of my Hand Thing.

Anyway, the gist is, despite me just doing this because I thought it’d be fun and relatively easy, it’s also turned out to be quite a good time to revisit my favourite games. Has much changed since I last did this nearly four years ago? Stuff’s come out that’s pretty high in the list – Unpacking, Vampire Survivor. Or I might have played a game more, or more recently (GoldenEye and Quake being higher than in 2019 is due to how well their recent re-releases have held up). Another change I decided to make is recognising remasters or collections; this was really just an excuse to not have, say, C&C and Red Alert both taking up a spot each, or working out how to rank all the Halos or Mass Effects. But also I think the collected editions of those franchises do offer something a bit new, be it updated graphics and options, or just the way The Master Chief Collection allows you to remix and replay the games to your heart’s content. I’ve also decided to put 2019’s placement next to the titles, to see how things have dropped or climbed. I made a (potentially spurious) decision to use collections like Mass Effect to represent the highest-ranking entry last time round – so obviously the Legendary Edition collection wasn’t out in 2019, but the “previous ranking” refers to Mass Effect 2, the most popular part of that collection. Hopefully that makes sense. There are a couple of games where the new entry has entirely knocked the old entry off the charts – Forza for instance, where each new edition is more-or-less an iterative improvement; in these cases I was tempted to put the prior entry’s ranking against it, but decided that was a bit daft.

Finally a big difference is my acknowledging that, whilst it’s not a narrative-based FPS or a dense RPG, I do love Civilization more than almost anything. I think back to how scandalised I used to be at PC Gamer consistently ranking Civ II as the best game of all time, over the likes of Duke, Quake, or even my beloved (and already getting-on-a-bit) Monkey Island games. And yet I think in many ways they were proven right.

So there we are; not much else to it. Please enjoy this spurious ranking and try not get your knickers in a twist. How would things stand if I’d waited till the year was over before revisiting? I guess we’ll never know. Or at least not till my 800th list.

The Secret of Monkey Island (Lucasfilm Games, 1990) 1 NM

Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge (LucasArts, 1991) 2 NM

Sid Meier's Civilization VI (Firaxis Games, 2017) 5 U

Deus Ex (Ion Storm, 2000) 4 NM

Half-Life 2 (Valve, 2004) 3 D

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (BioWare, 2003) 6 NM

Stardew Valley (ConcernedApe, 2016) NE

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 2017) 21 U

Fable II (Lionhead, 2008) 10 U

Halo: The Master Chief Collection (343 Industries after Bungie, 2014) 7 D

Wii Sports (Nintendo, 2006) 23 UP

Lemmings 2: The Tribes (DMA Design, 1993) 8 D

Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Nintendo, 2020) NE

Medieval II: Total War (Creative Assembly, 2006) 16 U

GoldenEye 007 (Rare, 1997) 34 U

Quake (id Software, 1996) 45 U

Command and Conquer Remastered Collection (Petroglyph Games/Lemon Sky Studios, after Westwood Studios, 2020) 12 D

Perfect Dark (Rare, 2000) NM

Unpacking (Witch Beam 2021) NE

Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (BioWare, 2021) 22 U

Slay the Spire (Mega Crit, 2019) NE

Lego Marvel Super Heroes (TT Games, 2013) 11 D

Crackdown (Realtime Worlds, 2007) 9 D

Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (LucasArts, 1997) 13 D

Portal (Valve, 2007) 17 D

Grim Fandango (LucasArts, 1998) 42 U

Drop7 (Area/Code Entertainment, 2009) 31 U

Sam & Max Hit the Road (LucasArts, 1993) 15 D

Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo, 2007) 24 D

Flashback (Delphin Software, 1992) 25 D

Peggle 2 (PopCap Games, 2013) 43 U

Sensible World of Soccer (Sensible Software, 1994) 19 D

Half-Life (Valve, 1998) 14 D

Doom (id Software, 1993) 35 U

Tetris (Alexey Pajitnov, 1986) NE

Quake II (id Software, 1997) 45 U

Pentiment (Obsidian Entertainment, 2022) NE

Return to Monkey Island (Terrible Toybox, 2022) NE

Vampire Survivors (Luca Galante, 2022) NE

Portal 2 (Valve, 2011) NE

Duke Nukem 3D (3D Realms, 1996) 20 D

Minecraft (Mojang Studios, 2011) 63 U

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Nintendo, 2017) NE

BioShock (2K Boston, 2007) 30 D

Overcooked 2 (Team17/Ghost Town Games, 2018) NE

Quake III Arena (id Software, 1999) 33 D

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice (Ninja Theory, 2017) 86 U

Forza Horizon 5 (Playground Games, 2021) NE

Gears Tactics (Splash Damage/The Coalition, 2020) NE

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (TT Games, 2022) NE

Batman: Arkham City (Rocksteady Studios, 2011) 26 D

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt (CD Projekt Red, 2015) NE

Red Dead Redemption 2 (Rockstar Studios, 2019) NE

Switch Sports (Nintendo, 2022) NE

Project Gotham Racing (Bizarre Creations, 2001) 65 U

Halo Infinite (343 Industries, 2021) NE

Age of Empires II (Ensemble Studios, 1999) 37 D

Worms World Party (Team17, 2001) NM

Doom (id Software, 2016) 55 D

Lumines: Puzzle Fusion (Q Entertainment, 2004) NE

Marvel Snap (Second Dinner, 2022) NE

RollerCoaster Tycoon 2 (Chris Sawyer, 2002) 32 D

Another World (Delphine Software, 1991) 52 D

The Settlers II (Blue Byte Software, 1996) NE

Blade Runner (Westwood Studios, 1997) 41 D

Batman: Arkham Asylum (Rocksteady Studios, 2011) NE

The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo, 2002) 60 D

Viva Pinata (Rare, 2006) 47 D

Townscaper (Oskar Stålberg, 2021) NE

Syndicate (Bullfrog Productions, 1993) 40 D

Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Nintendo, 2003) NE

Cannon Fodder (Sensible Software, 1993) 49 D

Cyberpunk 2077 (CD Projekt Red, 2022) NE

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Sega Technical Institute, 1992) 53 D

Banjo Kazooie (Rare, 1998) 50 D

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (LucasArts, 1992) 64 D

Crazy Taxi (Hitmaker, 1999) NE

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Nintendo, 1998) 77 D

Superhot (Superhot Team, 2016) 44 D

Super Skidmarks (Acid Software, 1995) 62 D

James Pond 2: Codename RoboCod (Vectordean, 1991) 39 D

Super Mario 64 (Nintendo, 1996) 76 D

Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle (Ubisoft Milan/Ubisoft Paris, 2017) NE

Plants Vs. Zombies (PopCap Games, 2009) 36 D

Full Throttle (LucasArts, 1995) NE

Braid (Number None, 2008) 56 D

Age of Empires IV (Relic Entertainment/World’s Edge, 2021) NE

Planet Coaster (Frontier Developments, 2016) NE

Gears 5 (The Coalition, 2019) NE

Pikmin 3 (Nintendo, 2013) NE

Max Payne (Remedy Entertainment, 2001) NE

Counter-Strike (Valve, 2000) NE

Jaguar XJ220 (Core Design, 1992) 80 D

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (Neversoft, 2000) 83 D

Thimbleweed Park (Terrible Toybox, 2017) 73 D

Star Wars: Dark Forces (LucasArts, 1995) NE

Beneath a Steel Sky (Revolution Software, 1994) NE

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Tribute Games, 2022) NE

Two Point Hospital (Two Point Studios, 2018) 72 D

Parasol Stars (Taito, 1991) NE

#top ten #games #gaming #top 100 #best games ever #videogames #top videogames #amiga #pc #xbox #nintendo

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multistoty · 2 years

Note

How do you find inspiration to write when you can seem to find your muse?

How do you handle the toxicity sometimes found in the roleplaying community, particularly in fandoms?

How has roleplaying, specifically, impacted your life?

How has writing improved your life and do you see yourself sticking with it?

How many muses do you have and which do you relate to most? Why?

Thank you for asking, love. Your writing and our budding friendship is a beautiful thing and means a lot. Plus I can get out of some of the fandom ruts I have been in and get over the legacies loss with a muse that hasn't got love in years.

As someone who is disabled, I kind of go where the wind takes me with the muse I have at the moment. Which is why I can be different degrees of decent at times. I try not to write anyone that I don't feel like I understand or can put myself in their shoes. not to say that I would always make choices the same as them, but there is the sort of character you can see their motives or appreciate how they handle things. As a woman who had forty large moving boxes of books, I greatly pull from stories that have become like friends and get lots of influence and inspiration from being lost in one of those worlds. It's also really helpful to have someone else who is invested and excited. I quite enjoy when we can make our own little worlds. Being forced to kind of be alone a lot of the time- you start searching for connection and breathing through words and worlds as you also have more option. Loving something like writing and fandoms can greatly help your drive. As well as my love for literature and the world of phrasing that brings up.

I haven't really been witnessed that much toxicity in this realm. I have witnessed people who think that because their blogs are nicer from edits to writing that they are superior. I try to be open to anyone to talk to and write with though I try to make it aware that sometimes muse or interest just can't follow in those footsteps. I don't enjoy gatekeeping or rude people. I have been annoyed by people bombarding me like asking when I am going to reply or telling me but i also understand where they are coming from and try to make them aware. The worst is when they find my personal and start messaging there. But I write with lovely people and try to give people a break. I know some people forget I am a multiblog and some times get stuck in one row of muse or writing and then people jump the ship. This is supposed to be fun and I greatly care for almost all the people I write with. I really really wish people would not judge sideblogs for that. i made my blog this way and that doesn't make me any less than or quality with you. Being sick and trying to be with family etc even migraine that phone is used a lot or I don't want to sign in or out.

3.How has roleplaying, specifically, impacted your life? I have made so many wonderful friends and people who love the media that I love. I have learned so much and been really mentally saved by people like @fireinyourblood . Especially living such a sheltered life, I have learned and been over joyed by this new wonderful and patient world. I am disabled which makes you stuck in your little realm and it's easy to feel like a burden or your forcing yourself to not feel guilty about your sacrifice. this is fun and an amazing escape and I good way to be a better person and learned about the world 4.How has writing improved your life and do you see yourself sticking with it? I have always loved stories and to write, but I have a lot of self judgement which being the absolute book nerd I am doesn't help in the slightest as I know what I want it to be. But this has helped my self esteem for others enjoying and liking it. Plus just getting myself out there and learning. I always wanted to work in the marketing side of publishing, but if I could write a book or anything like that would be a dream come true. It's a fine mental health line. I actually have written songs for christian albums. One that has been translated in fifteen languages which I am proud of but still definitely judge. I write a lot like I finished a full novel in sixth grade but was too... I couldn't put anything out that wasn't perfect or exactly what I want. I have loads of friends on the new york times best seller list that were from online but we met up at book conferences etc so yeah fun. It's hard to get people involved in your life or feeling that way when your life is like a standstill. 5.Gosh, I have no clue how many because their are so many small fandoms or book muses that I don't get to write much but come out. I try to put the main or the popular up. Hope Mikealson is hands down the closest to myself. It was the first time I saw someone on screen, instead of a book, that showed my personality and look at the world like Danielle gave us. I grew up the same age as her and she's grown with me. In fact, I would get an originals tattoo if I ever get one which I am hoping I can get when I get better like get my feeding tube out and all that. I know what it is like to push people away for fear of getting burned but loving deeply enough you would die for it. I know what it is like to live under a constant torrential down pour of loss. In the first three months of 2022, I had six close friends pass. I am a pastor of a mega churches grand daughter who also founded a school for christian performing arts which I went to as my mom was the principal. I know what it is to be grouped in with those people and their choices. We are a good church and family, but some people can get angry. i legitimately had one of my only close friends try to say that the school was somehow responsible for my CSA. She was the only one who knew. Theres so much more but theres also this. I was born as a 'miracle' child. They literally named me 'gift from God'. My mom went through eight rounds of ivf. Also thirty two doctors who all said that she needs to stop trying because it will never happen. They were going to adopt even. After over eight years of attempting, she grew some functioning body parts and lost some cysts on her ovaries and I showed up. You get this sort of weight being considered the savior of your family. the miracle. the loophole. I also was goody to shoes like Hope having easier friendships with adults with your peers. and so much else. I relate to her absolute longing to be good enough and impress her peers. Her awkwardness and the sass that would throw people off from the type of senstive heart you have. I could write an essay on that woman and what she has meant to me. My mom is adopted and my sister was her little cousin. It's- It's like being the generation to be better and do better and living under the weight of a legacy of your family name.

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atlabeth · 3 years

Text

everything happens for a reason part 7 - zuko x fem!reader

I think my ways are wearing me down

part 6 | masterlist | part 8

a/n: as said very astutely in my outline, "y/n just keeps taking L's"

i actually had to take breaks while writing the final scene and watching the episode LMAo i forgot how fucking sad this scene was!!

warning(s): you know what happens in this chapter. its siege of the north part 2. its so much more angst like SO MUCH ANGST. im so sorry i got so sad while writing this

wc: 4.0k

chapter title comes from brand new city by mitski!

Y/N adjusted her hold on the basket of clothes as she knocked on the door with her free hand, pushing it open after waiting a few moments.

“Prince Zuko?” she called in a whisper. They had gotten past the point of formalities, but it was a precaution she opted to take when they met like this. She spotted him sitting on his bed and he gave her a thumbs up, a sign she took to mean they were in the clear. Y/N closed the door behind her and bounded over, then set the basket on his bed.

“Alright. I brought you the book that you wanted to borrow.” She unearthed the novel from the pile of clothes with caution, taking care to not ruin the hard work that went into folding all of them. “I had to hide it so I could get in here — no one thinks anything of a servant bringing clothes around, but books are a little more suspicious. But here you go! My very own edition of ‘Keiko and the Koalaotter’.”

“Thank you!” The prince grinned as he took the book and examined the cover. “I’ve always been curious about Water Tribe culture, even more after you started teaching me about it. They don’t really tell us about it in our classes.”

“It’s not really accurate to actual Water Tribe stuff, but it is cute,” she laughed. “I remember begging my parents for a koalaotter for weeks after I finished it. They told me that there was no way to get one all the way in the Earth Kingdom, but I never listened to them.”

“Oh, that reminds me!” His eyes lit up as he ran over to the windowsill. “I got you a gift too!”

“Zuko, really? You shouldn’t have.”

“Well, I did. So don’t even think about not accepting it,” he joked. He picked something up from a vase and bounded back over, doing as good a job of hiding the flowers behind his back as his excited grin.

“What is it?” she questioned.

“They’re silver wisterias!” he exclaimed as he presented the bouquet. “They grow in the palace gardens. They’re really pretty, and so are you, and I know how much you love the gardens, so I thought you’d like it.”

She felt her cheeks heat up when she accepted the gift, twirling the stem in her fingers as she inhaled its sweet scent with a smile. “That’s really thoughtful of you, Zuko. Thank you.”

“Of course! You could wear one in your hair, pin one onto your uniform, put them in your room, whatever you want.”

As she carefully ran her fingers over the petals, she couldn’t stop the nagging question at the back of her mind from escaping.

“Why are you so nice to me?” she blurted out, causing Zuko’s brows to furrow in confusion.

“Because you’re my friend. Friends are nice to each other.”

“I know, but why are we friends?” she pushed. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”

He pondered the question for a moment before he answered. “Well.. you don’t treat me like everyone else. I’m the prince, so everyone here has to do what I want and be nice to me. But you’re not like that. When it’s just the two of us, you treat me like anyone else, and I like that — I know that you always mean what you say, so when you’re nice to me I know it’s because you like me, not because you have to be. Why do you do that?” the prince asked as he turned the tables. “You know that you could get in trouble for talking to me like this, but you still do it. Why?”

She punched him playfully on the shoulder and giggled. “Someone’s gotta keep you humble.”

His cheeks flushed a bright red as he rubbed his arm shyly. “I’m really glad we’re friends. Sometimes it feels like you’re my only one in this whole nation.”

“So am I,” she beamed. “Always and forever, right?”

“Right.”

Y/N’s eyes snapped open and she gasped, immediately whipping her head around frantically to see if the Avatar was still there, but Katara shook her head.

“He’s gone,” Katara said miserably, confirming her suspicions. “I woke up a few minutes before you and I checked everywhere.”

“Great,” she muttered. She rubbed the back of her head and winced — she had a feeling she would be plagued by headaches for at least the next couple of days.

“So…” Katara began. “You and Zuko both recognized each other. He— he said he thought that you were dead.”

Y/N pursed her lips, wondering how to start that story, when Sokka and Yue burst into the oasis on Appa.

“What happened?” he questioned. “Where’s Zuko?”

“He took Aang,” Katara mourned. “He took him right out from under me.”

“It’s not your fault, Katara,” Y/N insisted. “It really looks like he’s improved since… since last time.”

“‘Last time’?” Sokka asked, prompting a sigh from Y/N. She looked to Yue for help, and the princess nodded supportively.

“We have… history.” She looked at her hands for a moment before continuing. “I’m not from the Northern Water Tribe. My mother is, but I was born in a small village in the Earth Kingdom. I told you that my village was invaded, Katara, but after it, my mother and I were captured for being waterbenders, and they took us to the Fire Nation to work as healers and servants in the palace.”

“I became friends with Zuko there. He was nothing like you saw today, or like anything you know from the past. He was kind, and caring, and passionate, and he made my dismal life a little bit brighter. And… we ended up falling for each other.”

“We went too far, the Fire Lord found out, and— well, he was going to kill me. My mother managed to get me out, but she stayed behind, and I haven’t seen her since that night. I haven’t seen Zuko since that night. I always held hope that I would find my way back and see them both again, but now that Zuko is like… like that?” She bit down on her lip and shook her head.

“Now I don’t know what to think. He’s completely different than anything I knew, than the boy that I fell in love with. And I can’t help but think about what happened to my mother if that is what happened to Zuko.” And I can’t help but think that it’s my fault for not being there for him.

A collective silence hung in the air for just a moment before Sokka broke it. “You had a thing with Zuko?”

Y/N let out a surprised laugh as Katara hit him on the shoulder. “Sokka, now is not the time!”

“No,” she chuckled. “No, it’s alright. It’s a lot, I know. It’s just… impossible. That the Zuko I knew turned into someone like this. I mean, you saw, Katara— he didn’t even hesitate to try and hurt me.”

Katara pulled her into a warm embrace before separating and looking her in the eyes. “I’m sorry, Y/N, for all that you’ve been through. And I know that fighting against Zuko hurts, so if you can’t come after Aang with us then I completely understand—”

“No,” she said once more, something hardening in her eyes. “I’ll help you find Aang, it’s the least I can do. Besides, I… I have to see him again. I have to see him again to know that this is actually real, that— that this is actually who he is now.”

Katara nodded solemnly; Sokka had already started walking back to Appa with Yue. “Well, Zuko couldn’t have gotten far. We’ll find him — Aang’s gonna be fine.”

Katara looked back hopefully at Y/N and she met her eyes with a smile, though slightly strained, as she jogged to catch up with them. But as she climbed onto Appa with her fellow waterbender, the anger in his eyes was all she could see.

The boy she fought might’ve been the Fire Prince, but it was not her Zuko.

Cold.

That was all Zuko seemed to know as he trekked through the frozen tundra, the blizzard around him threatening to end him at any moment. No more had he despised the Water Tribes than he did in this moment, but the weight of the Avatar on his back and the promise of his honor was enough to push him onwards.

The only thing on his mind that he couldn’t shake was her.

Zuko thought she was dead, honestly and truly. Few were lucky enough to escape his father’s wrath once it was incurred upon them — Zuko himself wasn’t even an exception — and though he wanted nothing more than for her to be one of the few, he knew that she was dead. There was no other explanation.

For years, the waterbender had been a staple in his mind — a memory of a childhood love, of a better time. He thought about her when he fought against his soldiers on slow evenings on the ship, her words of encouragement and joking retorts echoing through his ears as he went through every form. He thought about her when he talked to his uncle, his attitude often mirroring hers. The morning of the Agni Kai, he almost turned to her for reassurance before remembering.

Spirits, Zuko thought about her every time he looked at the water. And even all these years after her disappearance, he was still plagued by nightmares of her fate.

He had resigned himself to mourning her. Zuko truly thought she was dead.

But there she was, in the flesh, with the Avatar and his friends. Breathing. Alive. His enemy.

How the fuck was he supposed to deal with that?

She was even more beautiful than he remembered, but it was obvious the years since her escape had weathered her. He noticed a certain emptiness in her eyes, the brightness from their childhood a distant memory. It was obvious she had grown — she carried a certain elegance that he didn’t remember, and her skill in waterbending had improved so much since the days of their sparring sessions.

It felt like he had betrayed her. The expression she wore after his first blast was like a physical weight, the guilt of broken promises heavy over his head when he struck the final blow. So familiar to their friendly fights, yet such a far cry.

But they weren’t kids anymore. She had changed, and so had he.

It had been years. Any feelings he still harbored for her didn’t matter anymore.

Zuko had a mission, and he was going to complete it no matter what.

The tundra was treacherous, the blizzard making it difficult to see anything at all. Y/N had taken to holding Yue’s hand, something the princess had offered when she had seen how restless her friend was, as well as gnawing on the bottom of her lip. She feared for both Zuko and Aang, and she could only hope that they would be able to find them before something happened to either of them.

“Don’t worry,” the princess reassured. “Prince Zuko can’t be getting too far in this weather.”

“I’m not worried they’ll get away in the blizzard,” Katara murmured. “I’m worried that they won’t.”

“They’re not gonna die in this blizzard,” Sokka said as he gripped the reins tighter. “If we know anything, it’s that Zuko never gives up.”

Y/N chuckled softly and nodded. “You’ve got that right.”

Yue gave her hand a squeeze and a small smile, a sentiment that Y/N returned as Sokka continued. “They’ll survive, and we’ll find them.”

It took a few more minutes of riding and searching, but eventually a bright blue light streaked through the air. Katara gasped and pointed up. “Look!” she exclaimed. “That’s gotta be Aang! Yip yip!”

Appa groaned once more and Sokka turned to follow the light — it had stopped in a small cove before glowing brilliantly then disappearing — and sure enough, Zuko and Aang were down in the snow.

“Appa!” he cheered as they landed, causing Zuko’s eyes to flick up too. Y/N met his gaze for just a moment before he broke it, throwing Aang to the side and easing into a bending stance as Katara slid off of Appa’s back.

“Here for a rematch?” Zuko challenged, the undeserved confidence he spoke with a glimpse of the past.

“Trust me, Zuko,” Katara countered as she raised her hands, “It’s not going to be much of a match.”

She blocked his fire blast then sent a current of snow at him, launching him up into the air on a frozen column before letting him fall to the ground and knocking him out. Y/N couldn’t help but wince, and as Sokka jumped down to free Aang, she slid down as well.

She ran over the pile of snow and bent it off of Zuko, then knelt down next to him and pulled off her glove. She put two fingers on his neck and confirmed what she already thought, but it was still a relief. He was alive, but he wouldn’t be for much longer if he stayed out here.

“What are you doing?” she heard Sokka yell. Y/N turned to find everyone back on Appa already, staring expectantly at her.

“We can’t leave him!” Y/N protested.

“Sure we can!” he countered. “Now come on, let’s go!”

“No,” she insisted, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. It was ice cold. “If we leave him, he’ll die!”

“She’s right.” Aang airbended himself off of Appa and helped her pick up Zuko; Aang bringing himself and the prince back onto the bison with his element and Y/N climbing back up with a hand from Katara.

Sokka rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let’s bring the guy who’s constantly trying to kill us.”

Y/N ignored the remark and met Aang’s eyes, mouthing a silent ‘thank you’. He smiled and nodded, then grabbed the reins and took off.

As they flew through the sky, Y/N glanced down at Zuko. He looked so much more peaceful now than a few moments ago, his features relaxed rather than tense. It was strange seeing him like this after all these years; angry, scarred, changed. Nothing like the reunion she had imagined.

She bent some of the snow falling down into water and molded it over the cuts on his face, the element taking on a slight glow as she started to heal him.

“Oh, Zuko,” she murmured. “What happened in those four years?”

As if her concentration had broken, the water previously under her control lost both its shape and glow as it pooled on his face. She frowned and attempted to bend it off, but none of the usual power she felt at night was flowing through her veins.

It was at that moment that Y/N looked up and noticed her surroundings.

Everything was cloaked in a veil of red, a crimson moon their backdrop as they continued through the air. “My bending isn’t working,” Y/N muttered, earning a curious look from Katara.

And to make matters worse, Yue winced and held her head, Aang doing the same.

“Are you okay?” Sokka questioned as he reached out to comfort her.

“I feel faint,” she muttered, the effort it took not lost on Y/N.

“I feel it too.” Aang pressed his palm against the side of his head and grimaced as his gaze shifted upwards. “The Moon Spirit is in trouble.”

Y/N’s eyes widened immediately as they flicked towards Yue, the princess choosing not to meet them as she began to tell them all the story of her birth and how she owed the Moon Spirit her life. By the time she was done the Water Tribe siblings were staring at her with disbelief, but there was no time for questions as they flew into the Spirit Oasis.

The sight that awaited them shocked Y/N to her core. A Fire Nation admiral — one she recognized from all the years ago, yet unable to place a name — held a bag with one clenched fist, the other posing the unsaid threat.

“Don’t bother,” he spat in response to their fighting stances, the two words overflowing with unearned confidence. But as cocky as he may have been, it worked — he knew that they were rendered helpless when he held the possibility of a dying spirit against them.

“Zhao, don’t.” Aang dropped his staff and held his hands up in surrender, an action Y/N and the others mirrored.

Everything after that happened unbelievably quickly. After General Iroh — a man she knew as both the ruthless general that laid siege to Ba Sing Se for six hundred long days and Zuko’s surprisingly kind uncle — threatened the admiral with his own firebending, Y/N foolishly believed it to be the end once he let the fish back into the pond.

But any hopes of peace were dashed with the slice of firebending the admiral sent at Tui, plunging the world back into shades of grey just as quickly as it had returned.

“NO!”

A bloodcurdling scream rang in the air; Y/N thought whoever produced it must’ve been insane. It took her a moment to realize the strangled sound had come from her, and that Sokka’s grip on her arms was the only thing stopping her from foolishly throwing herself into the raging battle that had started.

Did the admiral not understand what he had just done? To attack any spirit was to inflict the rage of many others, to kill a spirit was to sign not only one's own death warrant, but those around him as well.

To kill the Moon Spirit meant to destroy waterbending as the world knew it. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to disrupt the balance of the world. To kill the Moon Spirit meant to kill Yue.

The admiral should’ve considered himself very lucky that her waterbending was gone. With it, Y/N knew she would’ve done something she would regret.

As soon as the flames of Iroh’s onslaught disappeared, Sokka’s grip loosened on her arms and she all but sprinted over to the pond. A choked sob fell from her lips when she saw the dead fish in the water, palpable horror in the air as the rest of the group joined her.

Not even Aang’s feat of merging with the Ocean Spirit could help — it might’ve saved the tribe from the attack on the Fire Nation, but it could do nothing for the dead spirit. Y/N watched on mournfully as Iroh placed Tui back into the pond, the mortal body of the fish laying there unmoving.

“It’s too late,” Katara lamented. “It’s dead.”

Iroh looked up and met Y/N’s eyes, recognition flashing through them for just a moment before they moved to Yue’s. The blue hues of her irises were even more striking than usual — they were the only sign of color in the world around them.

His own widened with surprise as he gestured at her. “You have been touched by the Moon Spirit. Some of its life is in you.”

Yue seemed to understand what he was saying as she raised her head, her features taking on a mask of stoicism. “Yes, you’re right. It gave me life… maybe I can give it back.”

It was as if lightning had struck Y/N, the way that fear was jolted into her heart. “No!” she cried at the same time as Sokka, a reprise of her earlier plea. “Yue, you can’t!”

“You don’t have to do that!” Sokka reached out for her hand but she wrenched it out of his grasp — nothing they could say was going to change her mind.

“It’s my duty.” The princess stated it so plainly, carving the letters on her headstone herself.

“I won’t let you!” Sokka insisted. “Your father told me to protect you.”

“Yue, your duty isn’t to die for your tribe!” Y/N cried. She couldn’t think, spirits she could barely breathe. She couldn’t go through this again. She couldn’t go through this again. “Please, there has to be another way!”

She smiled sadly at Y/N and shook her head. “This was what I was born to do.” The princess glanced at the pond then took a step forward, wrapping Y/N in the tightest hug she could muster. She pressed her lips against Y/N’s cheek in a feather light kiss before she pulled away and continued forward and placed her hands against the koi fish.

The fish began to glow, Yue closed her eyes, she collapsed into Sokka’s arms.

And that was it.

The color returned to the world, but Y/N was frozen in place. She couldn’t do anything to save her friend, the girl that she was pretty sure she loved, as she died in front of her. Her cheek was still burning from where Yue’s lips had touched, and she wanted to bottle that warmth because she knew that was the last time she would ever feel it.

The first tear to fall snapped her out of her paralysis as she fell to her knees next to Sokka, her body cradled in his arms as he mourned for a lost love. Y/N wanted to scream, she wanted to sob, she wanted to do anything to get this anger and sadness out but she could do nothing but stare, eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.

Her body slowly faded away, and Y/N could’ve laughed at the irony. Yue gave her life for the spirits and all they could leave them with was the fleeting memory.

The fish in Iroh’s hands began to glow and he placed it back in the water, and almost immediately it returned to its natural rhythm. The oasis took on the glow of the fish and it formed the cruelest joke of them all.

Princess Yue. She was ethereal, both her hair and white dress flowing down her back and a peaceful expression on her face. She was more beautiful than ever, and her voice echoed through the oasis as she spoke.

“I will always be with you, Y/N. Thank you for making me feel alive.” A small smile, much like the one she gave her just moments ago, played on her lips. “I love you.”

Y/N could do nothing but stare, awestruck and heartbroken, as she whispered something to Sokka and kissed him.

And then she was gone.

Her gaze was trained forward, tears spouting and falling down her cheeks, some dim part of her still hoping that it was just a cruel joke by the spirits. She couldn’t go through this again.

How could they do this to her again? How could they introduce a light into her life and make her fall in love, then wrench it away from her grasp? She felt selfish for only caring about herself. She couldn’t go through this again.

Yue was gone.

She couldn’t go through this again.

Another strangled sob fell from her lips and Katara pulled her into a hug. That simple motion seemed to open to the floodgates, and suddenly she was choking on her own tears. Katara’s arms around her were the only tether she had to the world right now, she had to focus on it or else she would lose herself to the grief.

It felt like the minutes were hours with how long it took until Y/N was finally able to walk out of the oasis, but Katara and Sokka stayed by her side the entire time. When they finally stumbled out into the real world, Y/N felt weaker than ever. The constant go go go of the siege had finally caught up to her, and she was so damn tired.

“Always and forever.”

“You’re stuck with me.”

She was losing hope in promises.

perm tag list: @dv0412 @siriuslyslyslytherin @maruchan77

ehfar: @chandies-sideblog @persica27 @anzanity @randomthingssss @escapingthoughtsandsecrets @shanksfav @shephard17895 @ilovespideyyy @carisi-sonny

atla: @marianne1806

#zuko x reader #zuko x you #zuko x y/n #zuko #zuko fic #zuko x reader fic #avatar #atla #avatar the last airbender #avatar fic #atla fic #avatar the last airbender fic #avatar x reader #sadie writes #im not gonna lie i barely proofread this #simply because i didnt want to put myself through it lmao #thats a good sign right

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09kags · 4 years

Photo

Happy Haikyuu Day!

Sorry for the bad quality first off T^T I keep having to resize these so that they’re smaller for Tumblr and it ruins the quality. But more importantly, happy Haikyuu day! (at least it is Japan already!) This edit embodies some of my favorite moments within the series and below, I’ve written some of the thoughts that went into this piece/my feelings on these moments! Manga spoilers ahead (I'm pretty sure I’ve kept them to a minimum but just to be sure, please proceed with caution!), and I hope you enjoy this edit! (Overlays: accio-glow, aulia-chan on dA; PSDs: hurtears, hallyumi, yangyanggg on dA) 1. “Today might finally be the day we get the chance to let our talents bloom… it could be tomorrow. Or maybe next year. Or maybe it’ll finally come when we’re 30. I’m not sure if physique has anything to do with it but I do know for sure that if you don’t believe that day will come, it never will.” This quote is a testament to Oikawa’s growth and is a symbolic representation of Oikawa freeing himself from the shackles of “geniuses” and “prodigies.” So what if your opponent is a genius? So what if they possess more innate talent? As his mentor and inspiration Jose Blanco states, “Are you saying you know what the limits of your abilities are already? Even though you aren’t yet finished growing physically or mentally? Even though you haven’t mastered all the skills you can master? If you’re going to complain that someone with more talent than you will always be better than you… no matter how hard you work, how many tricks you learn and how many great teammates you have… do that only after you’ve given everything the very best effort you have.” There will always be someone better in the world. But to claim that you cannot hope to compare to the likes of them is to resign yourself to a predetermined defeat as well as dismiss both your own efforts and theirs. There’s no guarantee when your efforts will pay off. As Oikawa declares, it may be today, tomorrow, or even when we’re 30. But if you don’t believe in yourself first, if you don’t believe that you will bloom in your own time, “that day will never come.” The flower in the background is the iris. It is known to represent trust, faith, and hope amongst many other ideals. I chose this particular flower because of the manga cap used in this panel. I cannot emphasize how much I love the bond between Oikawa and Iwaizumi, especially this particular moment when Oikawa points at Iwaizumi with such authority and determination as if saying, “This ball, this moment, is meant for you.” Not to mention the pairing with the iconic “Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you hone” quote. An absolutely masterful sequence of scenes that always gets my blood rushing.

2. “Don’t look down! Volleyball is a sport where you’re always looking up!” This moment gives me chills every time. It’s something so fundamental and simple and yet, when Ukai yells this, it instills that feeling of “You can do it.” It makes my heart flutter and I feel so excited because it’s such a beautiful way of saying “Don’t give up, it’s not over yet.” And even if the ball has dropped for the last time or you have lost this match, there’s always tomorrow. There’s always the next match where you’ll have to look up. This quote gives me the same feeling as when Takeda-sensei says, “For the rest of your lives, you can do anything you set your mind to!” You only truly lose when you stop trying or you give up. 3. “It hurts. I’m tired. This is painful. I don’t want this to ever end.” / “The ball hasn’t dropped yet!” Whenever Haikyuu characters say “Just one more!” or “The ball hasn’t dropped yet!”, the tension and desperation is almost palpable. It’s so incredibly moving to see them strive to save that ball just one more time, to focus purely on what is in front of them. Even if they don’t all pursue volleyball as a professional career, the passion they all have for the sport is real. That sort of passion is beautiful to watch and admire, and I wish I could have that kind of passion for something in my life. 4. “The underhand only uses two hands. The overhand uses 10 fingers. That’s all the more to support your spikers with, which is what it means to be a setter.” / “To cut through the wall that looms before your spikers, that is the purpose of a setter.” This particular panel depicts the two ideologies of Atsumu and Kageyama respectively, two of my favorite setters and characters in general. Atsumu “may be pretty cocky at times, and overwhelm his teammates with his thirst for victory, but he treats his spikers with more sincerity and selflessness than anyone else.” He may be overbearing and an asshole at times, but his love for the sport and the art of being a setter is second to none. On the other hand, there’s Kageyama who’s so damn cool with his one-liners. Kageyama’s passion and drive to win may blind him to his surroundings and teammates but he truly believes that the setter is the one who clears the path for their spikers. When their spikers feel cornered and the walls are closing in, it is the setter who “cuts through the wall that looms” ahead. The old Kageyama who was a prisoner to speed is no longer, and his growth as a player brings me to tears every time. 5. “Someone once asked me, ‘Do you ever feel bitter over the fact that you’re not a regular on the team, and amongst your juniors there’s a genius to boot?’ I never understood the exact definition of what it was to be a genius to begin with, but upon hearing the question, I understood the general gist of what they were getting at. Every so often there will be someone who thinks that ‘people like Atsumu’ were ‘good’ from the get-go. But the thing is, if I practiced something from 1-10 every day, then people like Atsumu would have done it from 1-20. Or, they would have done the same 10 but in a more efficient or concentrated manner. They might also ask ‘Instead of doing it 1-10, how about I tried it from A-Z, what would happen then? Now doesn’t that sound interesting?’ They’re the kind of people who think about stuff like that. Even if they fail, even if they are hated and get ostracised by others, no matter whether they’re right or they’re wrong, even if they subvert something the rest of us hold in high regard, they’re the kind of people who can’t sit still without giving it a go. Even if they start coughing up blood from their lungs, they’re the kind of people who want to keep on running, no matter what. There’s going to be a lot of people in this world who make you go ‘Wow, I’ll never be able to defeat them,’ and it’s only natural that you think they’re amazing people. I think that to be able to keep charging ahead is a talent in and of itself. You can call people like them whatever you like, the term ‘genius’ isn’t exactly an insult. That said, to think they were ‘good from the get go’ is to condemn yourself to a predetermined defeat without even playing a match against them, and I also think it’s very rude.” This quote, hands down, is one of my favorite quotes of all time. It is not genius or natural talent that makes individuals truly great, but it is grit. Without a doubt, people are not born equal. There will always be someone with more innate talent or latent capabilities. We all begin at different starting lines. But those who truly stand out are those who go the extra mile, like those dubbed to be the Monster Generation (Kageyama, Atsumu, Hinata, Bokuto, Ushijima, Oikawa, etc.). To others they may seem like natural prodigies but behind their flawless technique and precise ball control lies countless hours of training. They trained harder than anyone else, sacrificed in order to hone their abilities, and ran farther than the rest of the pack. They’re the type to fixate on what lies before them without much regard to anything else.They eat, sleep, breathe, and live volleyball with every waking second. They’re always trying new things (Atsumu pulling off the freak duo quick in the middle of the Inarizaki match) and continually looking for ways to improve (“But the thing is, if I practiced something from 1-10 every day, then people like Atsumu would have done it from 1-20. Or, they would have done the same 10 but in a more efficient or concentrated manner. They might also ask ‘Instead of doing it 1-10, how about I tried it from A-Z, what would happen then? Now doesn’t that sound interesting?’ They’re the kind of people who think about stuff like that”; Kageyama keeping a volleyball journal). It is not what they were born with that makes them great; it is their overwhelming desire to win. 6. “‘Yesterday’ has already disappeared behind us. Many, many yesterdays have become a part of our muscles. What shall we do, today?” This quote, chills. There’s no point ruminating about the past or what has already passed; you can’t change it. (In retrospect, I wish I included another quote from Inarizaki in this panel: “One time is enough. We rise to the challenges of today.”) You learn from the mistakes of yesterday and use them as stepping stones for tomorrow. I wish I could eloquently phrase how much I love this quote or my interpretation of it but alas, my writing is fancy Garbage. 7. “But if… just if… that moment comes for you, that will be the moment you really get hooked on volleyball.” If you didn’t get chills when Tsukishima blocks Ushijima, I have no words for you. Tsukishima-it’s-just-a-club Kei, Tsukishima-I’m-the-normal-guy Kei — Tsukishima Kei, who always underestimates his own capabilities and relies on what he can see in front of him, blocking the Ushijima Wakatoshi, one of the top three high school aces nationally. The character development from someone who did the bare minimum (as noted by other players/coaches at one of the training camps) to someone who finally had their moment to get hooked on volleyball is one of my favorite progressions of all time. Seeing him fall in love with volleyball gradually and then all at once is truly heartwarming and beautiful to witness. 8. “No matter what other people may say, we are the protagonists of the world.” This quote is incredibly empowering to me. Even if your days consist of mundane activities, you are the protagonist of your own story every day. You may not be the main character in a shounen manga or an adolescent seeking to usurp the government in a dystopian novel, but this is your story. No one can tell it like you do and no one can replicate your story. It is yours and yours only. And that concludes my Haikyuu word vomit! I really do wish I could have properly conveyed my pure adoration and love for this series better. I truly do love Haikyuu so very, very much. It will always have a special place in my heart and I will never forget the memories and lessons it has taught me! Thank you, Furudate-sensei, for such a beautiful story. And thank you Haikyuu, for everything. For all the losses and victories we shared. For all the smiles and laughter, and for all the tears we shed. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

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aforrestofstuff · 3 years

Text

Oh fuck it’s been two weeks already uuuhh Chapter 148 expert review time!!

Sorry for skipping out on chapter 147. I was too busy doing nothing.

First off: oh my god it’s normal Garou my sweet boy I haven’t seen you in ages—

Also a lot of people have been pointing out the height difference in this pic, and I was gonna say that could be attributed to Bang always being hunched over but he’s definitely not hunched over here!! Fucking manlet! Little bitchboy! Googoo gaga bitch! Gonna get his ass beat by an 18 year-old prick while also being short. Pick a struggle, Bang.

Ngl I thought Garou’s irises were tears for a second and I got all up in my shit about it but turns out he’s just cooked out of his fucking mind. I mean, his brain is medium rare at this point. What the fuck is up with him. Why is he standing like that. Why are his feet so skinny??? He’s standing on pogo sticks??

I thought Garou and Bang’s little dumpster scuffle was pretty cool. Murata’s fights are always really well choreographed and his posing is amazing. Only issue is I kinda thought their inevitable beat-down would be a little more climactic? The story thus far has been pretty plateaued and we haven’t really had a proper buildup towards this moment, I think. It’s just been one fight after another, and so far this feels no different. But, I could be getting too far ahead here. The fight’s just begun, maybe something will happen that’ll shift my opinion. But so far… yeah this seems like just another segment of punches being thrown.

I will say though, I do like Garou’s obvious improvement in this rematch with Bang. It was kind of expected since he’s gone through a lot since the Hero Hunter arc, but seeing him actually land a solid hit on the old fuck was really satisfying. He’s grown! He’s gotten stronger! Good for him! He’s still going to hell for nearly killing Mumen, though. But good for him!

Garou’s nonverbal-ness throughout this fight does bring mixed feelings in me, though. I was kinda looking forward to he and Bang’s banter; like maybe they’ll reveal things about Garou’s past that we didn’t know about or something. A few people have brought up that it could be because Garou’s asleep in this fight like he was with PPP and Darkshine, and if that’s the case then I’m a little disappointed. This confrontation was long overdue, and if Garou’s not even lucid throughout it then that could be a lot of character growth being missed out on. But like I said, it’s still early on. Maybe things will change.

I’m thinking impure thoughts.

Man what the FUCK is this.

Also, what he says here kinda stung at first. Like, wow, Garou is more teachable when he’s literally a monster that just makes animal noises and doesn’t have any signs of even being lucid?? Made me a little nervous about how Silverfang treated Garou in the past, since he’s kind of treating him as just a vessel of strength right now, not as something that was once human, much less his beloved disciple. I know Silverfang is objectively Not a good teacher or caregiver but I wasn’t expecting him to just disregard Garou like that.

I talked with Kiyoko about it and turns out it’s a bit of a translation error. Silverfang does say that, but it’s with no regards towards younger Garou and more towards how present Garou is a lot more receptive to picking up techniques. So, it’s more just banter and not a “I’m disgracing all the years I’ve taken you under my wing” sorta thing. I’m happy about that. One of the more compelling things about their relationship is the lingering guilt and love Bang still holds for Garou.

EDIT:

Also I just love the “you twisted punk” line. A lot of the dialogue in the manga is a little eeeehhh sometimes (not at the fault of anybody, by the way. Translations just be like that) but that line just feels so human. Very boomer, very witty, very funny.

So, Amahare and Nichirin are both dead but hey we got a funky lil’ sword and side quest out of it.

Portal magic, motherfuckers. I thought the use of his necklace for this was really clever.

I’ve said before how I thought the manga was overloaded with deadly situations and yet lacking death, but boy has Murata turned all that shit around. Granted, I still think the heroes have too much plot armor but this is a nice change of pace. Now we got actual blood being shed. Yay.

We had some reveals here, which I thought were cool. Apparently Nichirin was Kamikaze’s teacher, which gives me some feelings. Nichirin was also Spring Mustachio’s teacher, but Spring Mustachio is nowhere near Kamikaze’s level yet. So, Nichirin died before he could see Spring Mustachio become a master, and Spring Mustachio watched his master die without having completed his training. That shit’s fucked! The council of swordsmasters is disbanded, so who the fuck is he gonna have as a teacher now? Is he gonna go under Kamikaze’s wing? Because clearly, we haven’t seen all of that fucker (and his disciples) yet. Now we got a fucking side quest for some gay little sword or something.

This makes me… kinda excited for Kamikaze’s arc? Like, holy shit we might actually get a decent chunk of the story told around him (and maybe Spring Mustachio if Murata doesn’t forget about him because I certainly did). Idk if this is the best place for this massive lore drop but yay now Kamikaze has a working sword and a life mission to go on once we get up to speed with the webcomic. Also RIP Nichirin, your character was just used for plot progression lmao sucks to suck.

Golden Sperm looks like the shit I took today. I knew this was coming from the webcomic but nothing could’ve prepared me for the actual cyst this dude is.

Also, his gay little mask or whatever is literally just a face copy of serious Saitama lol. I fucking hate this bitch I want to stick him in some soup broth and whack him against a brick wall until he no longer making a schlorping noise. Anyways.

In conclusion, still stan Bomb because he’s trying his fucking best, even after getting his shit rocked by an 18 year-old edgelord lmao. Also, he didn’t rip his shirt off pre-fight like a fuckboy.

#one punch man #opm #garou #Silverfang #atomic samurai #spring mustachio #meta #Saitama #golden sperm

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kiingocreative · 3 years

Text

The Structure of Story is now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book

I often feel that it took me thirty years to write my first book, No Pain, No Game. Not because I was physically writing it for that long, but because finally publishing my first novel felt like the culmination of three decades of bad writing, half-finished novels, random short-stories and a million mundane diary entries. It took that long to experiment with my craft, hone my skills, and master the fear of putting my work out there for all to see.

Exaggerations aside, it actually took me three years to write No Pain, No Game, from typing the first word on an otherwise blank page to having a fully-fledged, ready-to-publish novel. Those three years consisted of mostly undisciplined writing, sitting down to work on the story as and when the urge arose, sometimes not looking at it for weeks on end, and only getting back to it when inspiration hit. Only when I got serious about publishing did I put in the hours consistently, whether or not I was in the mood for it. The whole experience felt like not so much like long distance running, but more like a slow, often sluggish stop-start stroll, with a heart-pumping sprint at the very end.

I came out of having published the book revved up from adrenaline, soaking in the momentum, fretting for more and ready to do it all again. Out came the laptop again, the rush to get the first draft over and done with and the mad rush into editing-land.

It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint (and not interval running, and not a slow leisurely walk)

The thing with sprinting, however, is that if you do it for too long, you quickly run out of breath and I soon learnt that maintaining that level of effort over time was unsustainable. Somewhere in the middle of editing my first draft, I hit a wall.

A big, fat, hundred feet high brick and mortar monster of a wall. I never saw it coming, and I face-planted right into it. For weeks after that I couldn’t look at my manuscript or social media, and I had to take a proper break from it all to restore.

The break gave me a chance to introspect and take stock of what had happened. It felt to me that, if I wanted to keep on writing more books (which I did) I had to pivot from my disorganised style of writing to a more committed endeavour. There’s nothing wrong with a leisurely walk, or random bouts of interval running, but I realised it wouldn’t give me the kind of results I was truly after. I had to look at writing as a marathon, and build the sort of stamina and endurance I needed to do this many times over without burning out.

From Dilettante to Disciplined Writer

When I think back to writing my first book, I wonder if there’s some truth in the saying that ignorance is bliss. Because I was less focused on the outcome at the time, I was better able to enjoy the ups and downs of the process, especially because I only sat to work at it when I felt like it. I was also mostly unaware of the mountain of logistics that come with writing and publishing a book, so I’d be able to see the distance I’d covered, without worrying about the miles that still stretched ahead of me. Yes, ignorance was, most definitely, a little bit like bliss.

Reminiscing on her own experience, author Shamika Lindsay says that, with her first book, ‘the process felt so different and [she] almost felt the pen gliding across the paper but with [the sequel], it was like pulling teeth’. In fact, she adds, starting to write her second book from scratch felt like ‘such a chore and [she] was just so eager to complete it because [she] felt like it took so much from [her] to write than the first book’.

For R. G. Tully, author of the Ardamin series, who put greater emphasis on the editing stage when working on his second book, the process also took longer and wasn’t always enjoyable. ‘The editing grind was exactly that, a grind’, he confesses.

But you have to do it whether you like it or not, because the only way out is through. There are, fortunately or unfortunately, no shortcuts. Fortunately, because it’s the very act of going through that arduous journey that makes you a better writer in the end. And unfortunately, because there can be times it’s just not all that pleasant.

You’ll be surprised the amount of distractions that manifest themselves when you desperately need a reason not to work on your manuscript — it’s actually quite spooky. Treating writing with discipline, organisation and professionalism is exactly what will prevent you falling off tracks, and what ultimately gets the work done. And that’s the difference between a published book and one that’ll sit indeterminately unfinished somewhere in your archives.

A Tough Act to Follow

Unfortunately, there’s still a little bit more to writing your second book than just great discipline. Even when you’re able to get yourself to follow through and show up for your craft, giving your first book a literary sibling can come with its own challenges, especially because you have something to compare it to.

And it’s not only you, but your readers too, who will be expecting certain standards from your writing, especially if it’s a series. Though it shouldn’t come in the way of writing the book you want to write, the relationship of trust you’ve built with your readership through your first book still needs to be honoured, and this can cause certain amounts of pressure.

‘I felt a little pressure to keep the same feel about the story’, R. G. Tully says, ‘and to include more from my secondary characters, give them a little more depth’.

Stormi Lewis, author of the Sophie Lee trilogy, puts it simply: ‘It was a little hard to decide how to exactly start [with the second book]. At first I was worried and became overwhelmed because so many loved the first one. I didn’t want to let anyone down. I had to step back and come to terms that they loved it for being unique. And the only way I could stay true to the story and give them what they really wanted was to focus on the story and not so much about what I thought they wanted for the second.’

For others, the comparison can be more inward-facing, like author Tara Lake, who admits that writing the second book in her series has been a challenge, because she’s ‘struggled with comparison of the self: past Tara had a lot more time to devote to writing, present Tara has much less time with [her] kids being home full time from school during much of the pandemic’.

For others still, some of that pressure can be self-imposed. When writing her second book, Freya McMillan shares that ‘[she] put a huge amount of pressure on [herself] as [she] wanted it to be meaningful in a particular way to honour [her] dad, who died a few years ago. Once [she] stopped doing that, it was much less challenging to write’.

It Ain’t All Bad.

I do want to pause here and add that not everyone faces such challenges. There are authors out there who launched into writing their second book with more ease than the first.

Sabrina Voerman tells me that ‘[her] second book came a lot easier to [her] than [her] first book. The idea hit [her] so hard and fast that it took [her] aback, and [she] could do nothing but write it’, and the entire novel was written in a matter of weeks, whilst her first book took years to finish.

Same for Trevor Wiltzen, who says that writing the sequel to his first book went smoothly, greatly helped by the fact that ‘[he] wrote the second book immediately after the first, [so he] knew the characters really well’. He admits he ‘found it very freeing and really enjoyed the process’.

Even Stormi Lewis, who struggled at first, adds that ‘once [she] got started, [she] was fine’ and that ‘[she] felt the writing was solid and [her] best book yet, simply because [she] really got to develop more of the characters and the story’.

As with everything, we must then conclude, there will be as many types of experiences as there are writers out there. So how can we best prepare for what’s to come?

A Chance to Grow

Performance coach Tony Robbins says that the quality of our lives is intricately linked to the quality of the questions we ask ourselves on a daily basis. So if we need to face something that’s outside our comfort zone — starting again from scratch on your second book for instance — is it a punishment or is it a gift? Is it a curse or an opportunity?

I’m tempted to think that the level of discomfort that can come with writing your second book is a gift, because it gives us a chance to grow.

It’s a chance to take everything we’ve learnt from doing it the first time around and take our learnings for a spin to see if it makes the process easier. It’s an opportunity to improve, to work at our craft in new and wonderful ways.

It’s both daunting and incredibly exciting to face a brand new story — or a different side to the same story for those writing series — and to dare to plunge into the unknown of where it’s fated to take you. It’ll see you grow and evolve as a writer and, in turn, you’ll get to watch your writing morph into something more mature than it was before.

I say look at your writing like you do the passing of seasons: different times will have different qualities, different characteristics, different feels to them. You live and learn through each of them, and gather a wealth of experiences that eventually inform who you become. Maintaining the discipline to write through every single one of them is what will ultimately give your work all its depth and substance.

All it takes is that first word on the page.

And the second.

And the third.

And all the words beyond that.

#writingtips #screenwriting #creative writing #writers on tumblr #writers #writing #writerblr #writing advice #writing community #writing resources

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egoludes · 3 years

Text

let me come home: two.

Summary: After years at a dead-end job shouldering everyone’s expectations for you but your own, you’re finally free to be whoever you want, go wherever you want. That is, until a series of unfortunate events strand you in Amber’s End, where the sheriff – and notoriously unmated pack alpha – decides to take you in.

Pairings: alpha!Steve Rogers x omega!Reader; side alpha!Bucky Barnes x beta!Sam Wilson

Notes: Wowowow - I don’t even want to count how many months it’s been, but we are finally back in business! I can’t thank you all enough for the love you showed on the first chapter of this and I am beyond excited to share this and hear what you think. Big reminder from the last chapter that parts one and two are all about setting the stage for Steve and our lovely reader. So, this is more or less 5k of more background. But, I really loved introducing Bucky, Sam, and Nat (Bucky especially because he’s going to be huge here!) and hope you enjoy them too. Especially my Heat Wave readers - mechanic!Bucky returns! And I promise parts three and four will be extra juicy to make up for it. Divider credit goes to @writeyourmindaway!

Chapter warnings: Werewolf AU, A/B/O dynamics, incredibly basic knowledge of cars that is probably incorrect

The drive to Steve’s home is short: five minutes from the diner to the base of a wooded hill, another ten to reach the peak. You follow him up a slanted stretch of road with eyes trained on his tail lights, but there are moments when your gaze strays. Sunset lingers on either side of you, framing the forest in a pretty glow. The blend of deep orange and soft pink is hard to look away from, even when you know you should be focused elsewhere, and you make your way to the top in that dizzying in-between.

When you finally come to a stop, it’s on a patch of paved road - a welcome change to the gravel before it - in front of a large wooden cabin. Behind you, the town’s spread out in a panorama, spanning for what feels like an eternity. You can see everything from here: the humble spread of Main Street; the blues and greens of the Hummingbird; and finally, the mountains, majestic and steady beyond that.

It’s the perfect place for the pack’s alpha to be and, coincidentally, has been the home of Rogers alphas for three generations now.

That lived in feel is the first thing you notice when you make it inside. The structure is sturdy, hasn’t so much as gnarled over the years. The decor, on the other hand, is dated. Doilies on some surfaces and beer coasters on others, there are hints of Steve and the alphas who came before him throughout. Still, it’s cozy, and you say as much in an appreciative hum as you pull your bag off your shoulder.

The first floor is all open space, and you can see most of it from your spot in the foyer. It doesn’t take long for Steve to situate you - sitting room, kitchen, bathroom, and master bedroom — before leading you towards the stairs. The walls along the staircase are full of memory; pictures of him and his loved ones that catch your eye as you ascend. You don’t have time to linger now, but make a point to look them over before you go. He’s piqued your interest too much not to be a little nosy.

The second floor, on the other hand, isn’t nearly as wide as the first. There are three doors in the whole hallway, two on either side with the third directly in front of you. He identifies each as the guest room, the storage room, and a study in that order, though he’s careful to call out that no one’s used the study in a long time.

There’s a story there, you’re sure, but any interest in it leaves when Steve presses the guest bedroom door open. The bed inside is too big for the room, one side even touching the walls. And like the rest of the house, it’s decorated in a way that reminds you of your grandmother; a quaintness that’s endearing on a man like Steve. But, as out of place as things might be, there’s an undeniable comfort walking into that room. Steve smiles when he smells it on you -- that cinnamon-sweet rise of contentment as you sink down on the bed at his behest.

“It’s a short tour,” he admits, leaning against the doorjamb, “but this is about it. You’re welcome to anything in the kitchen if you get hungry again tonight or before you go tomorrow. I’m usually up early, so in case I don’t see you, enjoy the rest of your trip. Take care of yourself.”

It’s new to you, how easily people can offer such genuine acts of care. He hardly knows you, yet there’s no doubt that he means what he says. The thought of it makes you return that thoughtful smile. “Thank you, Steve - you’re seriously a lifesaver.”

With a final smile, he leaves you to it, shutting the door behind him.

At the click, you settle further into the bed, toeing your shoes off and sifting through your bag for house clothes and a towel. Your travels so far have been an adventure, to say the least. Just a few months ago, you’d been working a stressful entry-level job on Wall Street. Pressed skirts, sharp teeth, the days were full of routine, but not the kind that’s pleasant. Everything was uncertainty and fleeting gratification as you competed, day after day, for a seat at the table.

Add to that the constant nagging from your family to find a mate — the endless string of blind dates, the passive-aggressive mentions of other friends’ announcements; it’s a wonder you’d endured it all as long as you had.

The decision to quit had been a long time coming. The decision to leave was a whim - the first you’d had in a long time. It was freeing to even be able to make the choice and the lack of commitment only grew more intoxicating from there. You feel freer, less suffocated, and so does your wolf — it’s a change you’d desperately needed.

That feeling is what follows you into the shower as you wash away the day, and back to bed in your loose pjs. As you settle in, you have to stop yourself from sighing out loud. The mattress is as tender as a cloud, molding to your body at every point, and after weeks of motel beds (and the back of your Jeep), you fall headfirst into that comfort. Sleep comes fast and stays put.

----

When you wake in the morning, the world is quiet. It’s a long way from New York’s chaos and you bask in it, eagerly at that. The sun filtering in through the window above you leaves kaleidoscope patterns on the sheets. Your hand moves to trace them for a bit, thumb to fractured color, until you’re awake enough to focus your ear to the house.

Like outside, Steve’s cabin is tranquil, not even a hint of the alpha’s presence. Given his warning the night before, it isn’t surprising, but you’re still a little disappointed. You’d hoped to repay him for his kindness somehow — maybe with breakfast, or whatever change you could spare. But, you’ll settle for what you can get: you make a mental note to try and catch him at his office before you leave town.

Weeks on the road have made your morning routine as efficient as it gets. So once you’re completely up, you’re out the door not long after, a slice of buttered toast between your teeth to get your system going. You find your car where you left it at the end of Steve’s drive and you approach with a bounce in your step, all thanks to the night of comfortable sleep.

Maybe you ought to grab Steve a fruit basket before you stop by.

You’re racking your memory of Main Street for bakeries or something close when you settle into the driver’s seat. But, gratitude towards Steve quickly becomes the last thing on your mind when you try to start your Jeep and get nothing but a grinding sound. It isn’t promising, but you try it again, only to get even less response before the car dies altogether.

You groan out loud, head dropping to the steering wheel while your shoulders sink in defeat. It was inevitable, really - it’s been years since you inherited the car from your older sister and it was only through a slew of band-aid fixes that it made it this far.

Still, the timing can’t be any worse; you don’t have a schedule to meet, but it isn’t much of a road trip if you can’t make it on the road. You fish your cell out of your jacket pocket, hoping that your service has somehow improved between last night and this morning. But, you only have a couple bars - finicky connection at best - so, you head back into Steve’s home where you’re certain you’d noticed a landline.

When you find it, you also come across a phone book --- not the newest edition, but recent enough. The list of mechanics in the area isn’t long, so you thumb in the first number you see. The phone rings only twice before someone picks up.

“Barnes Garage?”

“Hi,” you start, perking up at the quick answer, “I just tried to start my car and it’s not working. It made this weird sound at first, then when I tried again, it just died.”

The man on the other end hums and you can hear paper rustling in the background like he’s taking notes. “Alright, we can send someone out right now to tow you in and take a look - what’s your address?”

“I don’t...actually know,” you admit, face hot from embarrassment when he goes silent. You must sound ridiculous. “I’m not from around here, so I’m just staying with someone. I’m not sure about the address.”

A chuckle rises from him that eases your shame just a bit. “Alrighty. Well, it’s a small town — tell me who you’re stayin’ with and I’m sure between the three of us here, we’ll know where to find ‘em.”

There’s a part of you that’s skeptical of that; but for a town so small and a pack so close-knit, maybe it’s possible. “Uh, sure. I stayed with Steve Rogers — the sheriff?”

The line goes silent again, this time so prolonged you think the call dropped. Then, the mechanic speaks up and you can almost swear he’s smiling. “No shit. I know exactly where that is, I can be there in fifteen? Maybe twenty? That work for you?”

“Well, I won’t be going anywhere, so that works perfectly.”

----

The mechanic manages the trip in ten, when you glance out the window at the sound of an engine to see a dark blue tow truck stalking up Steve’s driveway. You come out to greet it just as the man driving climbs out and nearly gasp. He’s as handsome as Steve had been: piercing blue eyes, an angled, stubble-lined face, and deep brown hair gathered at his nape. There’s something familiar about him you can’t seem to place, but it’s out of sight and out of mind when he closes the distance with a wide smile. “Well, hi there -- ‘m Bucky. Spoke to you on the phone.” You give him your name, to which he nods. “So, I’ll get your car down to the shop and we’ll take a look, see if we can’t fix you up today. You wanna come with me, or you staying at Stevi -- uh, Steve’s for the day?”

You shake your head . “Nah, I can come with - I was planning to head out of town today anyway, so I’m hoping I can just head out from your garage.”

“Hop on in then.”

The ride with Bucky is surprisingly warm. He’s not exactly talkative, but he’s engaging; asking questions where he needs to, humming out his interest when he doesn’t. You get so settled into the flow of quiet radio and chatter that you don’t realize you’ve made it to his shop until the truck comes to a full stop.

Barnes Garage sits at the corner of some of Amber’s End’s quieter streets. The large lot outside has a few cars parked with a path between them for new ones to be driven into the workshop. Bucky’s pulled your Jeep right into that path, though he’s stopped halfway between the curb and the garage building. “It’ll take me maybe a half hour to really dig in --- you can stick around or explore, it’s up to you, but I’ll let you out here.”

You climb out with a nod, thanking him before nodding towards the streets behind you. “I’ll probably head out - grab a few more things before I go. See you in thirty?”

For the second time in as many days, you’re exploring Main Street, this time with an eye out for the stores you didn’t visit the day before. There aren’t many, to be frank, so after the first few, you take to stopping in on some of the people you’ve met already. They seem surprised to see you again, but take advantage of your presence to tell you more about themselves, the town, their wares.

You realize quickly that none of the stories about Amber’s End really do it justice. It’s quainter than what you’re used to, sure, but there’s so much history there. It’s romantic almost - like the first turn of an old book or light filtering into a tea shop.

You think you’ll miss it when you leave, even if just for a little while.

When you get back to the shop, you’re a few souvenirs richer and have something nice to give Steve on your way out of town as well. Bucky is sitting at a computer - the model recognizably old but reliable like the rest of the town. He perks up at the sight of you, already waving before you make it all the way in the door and pull your scarf from around your face. “So,” he starts, walking to your car with a hand under his chin. “I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news.”

You grimace. “Ok --- good news first.”

“Well, I know what’s wrong with the car. The starter motor,” he taps a finger on the hood over the spot where the part lives, “is out. Completely done. But, we can get a part delivered here to get you back on the road.”

“Okay,” you eye him suspiciously. “Then, what’s the bad news?”

“Lookin’ at the places we get our parts from, they’re all outta stock for the model you’ve got. The soonest the part could be here is in a month, and even that might be generous with all the storms lately.” As if pre-empting your shock, he hands over an invoice to confirm it.

Seeing it written out, plain as day, makes you grimace. Staying anywhere for a whole month (or more) had never been in the cards; but, there’s no way you can afford a new car either - you were just barely making it through with the money you’ve budgeted as is. You take a long, hard look at the estimate Bucky’s handed you before taking a deep breath to gather your thoughts. “Okay,” you start slowly, “so how does this work? If I decide to wait for the part.”

He gestures to the door behind you that leads to the lot from earlier. “We have a reserve lot - it’s where we keep all the cars that are waiting on a part for service. I’d keep your car here - free of charge - until the part comes, then we fix ‘er up. You’d pay for the part now and the fix later, when we call you to make sure it all looks good.”

You nod, glancing up from the sheet briefly before looking back at the part expense. It isn’t bad in the grand scheme of things - certainly cheaper than a used car that’ll just give up on you in a few months anyway. But, it will be a good chunk of what you’d set aside for your trip and if you’re staying put for the month, there’s no way you can afford to do it without really settling in. Job and all. “Okay - let’s do it.”

“Sounds good.” Bucky’s eyes are full of sympathy as he watches you; from what little you’d told him in the ride over, being stuck in one place is the last thing you wanted right now. “You want me to get you to Steve? He’ll have some good ideas for what you can do next.”

The nervous knots that’ve been building since the conversation started uncoil some at the mention of the other Alpha, though you try your best to ignore it with another nod to Bucky. “That would be great.”

----

The sheriff’s station is small but busy when you walk in. Bucky trails ahead of you, walking with purpose that surprises you. At first, you chalk it up to the town being so small — maybe there’s an open door policy for the residents. But, then you notice the way deputies and junior deputies let him by without even batting an eye. The ones who do simply nod, offering a smile while Bucky walks right past them and reception into Steve’s open office door.

“Buck?” You can hear ahead of him. “What are you doing here..?” It dawns on you then that they must know each other; intimately, judging by the nickname and the pure ease that Bucky has as he maneuvers the station.

You hesitate to interrupt their moment, but Bucky’s response to Steve’s question is to angle himself so you can be seen from behind him. That’s when Steve notices you and you wave with a sheepish smile. “He brought me, actually - my car’s broken down and I don’t think I’ll be able to leave for a bit. I wanted to make sure you knew before you came home and found me still there…”

Your presence brings Steve to his feet and you notice that he’s in his sheriff’s uniform for the first time. Somehow, he seems more comfortable in it than the casual wear you’ve seen him in so far, but there’s no denying that he looks just as good. “Hey -- you don’t have to worry about that, I wouldn’t just kick you out. I’m sorry to hear about the car, though - anything I can do to help?”

“Unless there’s a way the local sheriff’s office can put a little muscle on an auto-parts dealer,” you tease, drawing a snort from Bucky beside you, “I think I’m okay. I’m hoping we can talk more about where I should stay when you get back, though?”

“Sounds good to me.”

With your big news out in the open, you turn on your heel to leave, but pause as another thought strikes you. “Actually, one thing I could use some help with: know of anyone hiring?”

Steve’s face turns pensively and you can see his mind working for an answer. “Not that I can think of, no…,” he offers, a little remorse in his tone, “but you know what? Most places are willin’ if you know who to talk to. How about Bucky take you around? See what you find?”

After giving his instructions to a suspiciously enthusiastic Bucky, Steve turns his attention back to you. You expect to see pity, but there’s nothing there but genuine concern. You feel a little warmth from it, like you’re protected just by standing in front of him, and wonder if this is how everyone in his pack must feel. “I’ll be back late today, so you can feel free to eat without me. Bucky will take care of you until then and help you talk to some folks about a job. You call me if you need me.” He brandishes a business card from a holder on his desk and pencils his cell number on the back before handing it over. “If you’re still awake when I get in, we can talk about your living situation. Otherwise, settle in for one more night and we’ll talk in the morning.”

----

Over the rest of the day, Bucky takes you to a few shops with vacancies: pharmacy, market, the doctor’s office. Nothing seems to strike a chord for you, though, and you start to grow dejected, anticipating yet another job you have to work out of necessity.

Then, Bucky pulls into the gravel lot of a tavern.

Widow’s Den is the name carved in large wooden blocks over the front door, and despite the afternoon hour, there are a few cars parked in front of it. When you duck inside, a group of older men and women sit, talking over beers.

A tall, broad man is working the bar, his laughter booming over a pop song you haven’t heard in years. Beside you, Bucky beams, scent thickening at the sight, and you realize quickly that this must be the person behind the ring on his left hand and the soft pink mark on the right side of his neck. His mate. It’s adorable to see — this charismatic alpha unraveled at one glimpse of the man he loves.

“Babe,” Bucky chimes for the bartender’s attention as you approach the bartop. Not that he needs to, though; it’s obvious in the way his scent spikes that he’s long since noticed Bucky’s presence and you nearly coo at that too. “Nat in the back?”

“Yeah,” he responds, not looking your way yet as he finishes pouring a drink. “Doing inventory, I think.” Once the drink’s delivered, he offers his full attention and that’s when he notices you. “Who’s this?”

Bucky grins, smile taking on a boyish quality as he slings an arm around your shoulders. “New girl, looking for a job. Her car’s in the shop with me now, so she’s staying with our lovely sheriff until it gets fixed up.”

The bartender’s intrigue is immediate, eyes widening before he grins slyly — as if privy to a secret you’re not — and folds arms over his chest. The pose accentuates the corded muscle along his arms and chest and you have to stop yourself from sighing. Is there anyone in this town that isn’t woefully in shape? “You’re kiddin'. With Steve?” You have more questions than you know what to do with, but there’s no time to think about asking one when his hand is thrust your way. “Well, then, nice to meet you, girlie. I’m Sam.”

The smile he offers you is welcoming, and you forget about the odd focus on your staying with Steve (it isn’t even official yet!) to accept his hand. When you share your name in return, the smile widens and he tips his head towards the stretch of hallway by the other end of the bar. “Head on back to talk to Nat -- Bucky can show you the way.”

The brunet rests a hand to your back, pausing only to give Sam a quick kiss over the bar before he takes you towards the back hallway. The vibe in this half of the building is noticeably different. Homey, like the staircase at Steve’s cabin. You recognize many of the same faces in these pictures as the ones back at Steve’s. Bucky’s against Sam’s shoulder, Steve head and shoulders over the rest. There are a few where he’s even bare faced, looking eons younger than he does now, but not a smidgen less intense, and you work out easily that they’ve all been friends for some time, maybe even since puphood.

It’s admirable to you, maybe even enviable too. You have friends from that age as well, but the unforgiving pace of city life had made it hard to stay close. The smiles in the bar’s pictures, in comparison, speak to nothing but growing bonds, year after year.

You can’t help but smile too.

“This way.” Bucky’s voice brings you out of your thoughts and into a half-cracked doorway. The room is cluttered, stacked with boxes and bottles. And in the center of the chaos is a woman with striking red hair, pulled up and out of her face. Her aura holds a candle to Steve’s; far-reaching, imposing, and immediate. There’s no mistaking her as anything but an Alpha, and when her eyes leave the clipboard she’s holding to focus on you instead, you struggle against the instinctive need to bow into yourself. But, years of Wall Street’s brutal pace (that cares very little for rank) steel you. You see something akin to amusement flash in her eyes when you meet her gaze head-on.

“What did I tell you about bringing in strays, James?” Her tone is level, but the words have no real bite. You look up at Bucky warily still, who reassures you with a little smile.

“This one’s not a stray --- not really, anyway.” He loops an arm around your shoulder again and you can tell the familiarity intrigues Nat. “She’s new in town - staying for a month or two until I can get her car squared up, so we’re hopin’ to find her a place to work.”

“Just a couple? That’s not a long time --- I mean, by the time you get settled in, you’re gonna be out of here.” A valid concern; one that the other shop owners had shared when Bucky told them your predicament. There isn’t much you can say to ease the worry, but it turns out you don’t have to. Nat turns the rest of the way to set her scrutinizing gaze on you properly and the look compels you to stay put; almost as if you’re presenting yourself to her. A stretch of silence sets in and the longer it goes, the more convinced you are that she’s about to reject you outright. Then, she clicks her tongue. “Hm. We don’t need much right now, but I could throw you a couple bucks if you want to help us bus tables or something. This is the only spot to really drink in town, so we could always use the help on busy nights.”

You’re so relieved you could kiss her, but you don’t need superhuman instinct to know that would not go well. You settle instead for a wide smile, the sort that’s contagious to the Alphas in the room who start beaming with you. “That would work for me!”

“Good,” she grins, setting her clipboard aside to cross her arms, “now to celebrate our new arrival.”

----

You spend the rest of the day at Widow’s Den, getting to know Sam, Bucky, and Natasha over glasses of their best liquor. They confirm your suspicion that they’ve known each other for some time: Steve and Bucky are lifelong friends, brought together by a schoolyard fight started by a Steve who wasn’t even half the other boys’ heights. Meanwhile, Sam and Natasha came into the fray during high school years, transfers from their deep South and Russian hometowns respectively. But, they folded into the fabric of the boyhood duo easily and had been a foursome ever since.

You still don’t know where Sam and Bucky’s relationship turned romantic, but there’s an ease there that makes you guess it has been a while. Natasha, like you, is unmarked, but it’s rare for Alphas to do that anyway. You’re curious to learn more about her in particular.

As time moves on, the bar fills more and more and you get a glimpse of what your life will be like for the next few weeks. The crowd is certainly diverse - people of all ages filing in with friends or on their own. In an odd way, there’s two bars existing in one - young and old, energetic chatter and introspective talk.

By the time you leave, you’re a little tipsy and Bucky guides you out with a hand on your back. So far, you haven’t come across any other omega in their circle, and you wonder if his constant touch is a result of that instinct to protect you. The conversation on the ride back to Steve’s flows more freely now that you’ve spent so much time together and when he drops you off, he surprises you with an offer for a hug. When he glimpses that surprise, he laughs. “None of that now - you’ll be seeing a lot of me from now on, so we’re friends, sweetheart.”

You laugh and step into his arms - you suppose he’s right.

----

It’s near one in the morning when Steve finally comes home. His midnight patrol had been as uneventful as usual ---- a blessing, he thinks, considering how distracted he’d been during the run. His wolf is restless, agitated by the thought of this new omega being around longer than expected. He found his thoughts trailing to her during his time in the woods, particularly as he passed the quarry he’d found her in, and there was an eagerness to find out how the rest of the day with Bucky had gone.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t a little nervous. His friend, dear as he is, can be a handful, even for him.

When he comes in, he’s shocked to find you still awake in the living room, a mug of what smells like herbal tea in your hand as you flip through a book from his shelf. You look up at him from the book, a dopey smile to your face, and that’s when the other, underlying smell on you hits. Alcohol --- something woody that’s familiar. He guesses Bucky must’ve taken you to Widow’s Den, which would explain why you’re still up at this time.

“Hey,” he speaks up, nodding at you, “couldn’t sleep?”

You shake your head, book forgotten as you cradle your tea with your other hand. “It’s been a busy night - still a bit wired!”

Fair, he thinks. “Tell me about it - did it go well with Buck?”

You start to ramble about the day - the places you tried, the time at Widow’s Den, the offer from Nat you ultimately accepted. He tries not to tense too visibly, but he can’t hide the way his scent sharpens the way it often does when an Alpha is on edge. He can see the impact it has on you instantly; the way your excitement slows and your eyes dart to try and pick out what caused it.

He reassures you - or does his best to - with a smile, urging you on. He won’t explain this yet, but the crowd at Widow’s Den can be rowdy when they want to be, especially when they’re from out of town. Nat and Sam will show you the ropes --- and step in where they have to --- so you’ll be in good hands; but he wouldn’t be Steve if he didn’t worry. You’re the newest wolf in town now --- a part of his pack, even if just for a short while.

When you’re done recapping the day, his smile grows, the gesture deliberately wide to make up for his worry catching you off-guard. “Well, I’m glad to hear it went well - Nat and Sam are good people, they’ll take care of you.”

“I believe it.” You pause, running a finger along the rim of your mug. “Which reminds me, I… I don’t have to stay here. Once I start working, I think I’ll be able to check in at the Hummingbird, see if that room’s opened up.”

Steve gives you the same stern look from the diner and you almost giggle at the sight. It’s hard to see the same intimidating alpha now that you’ve heard a little about him from his friends. “Come on - what kind of pack leader would I be if I kicked you out now?” He stands from the couch, eyes -- and stomach -- starting to turn towards the kitchen. “I won’t stop you if you prefer the motel, of course, but the offer to stay here will be open until your car’s ready to go.”

“Are you sure...?”

His stern face softens, giving way to another smile. “Positive - don’t worry about it, okay?”

After the last twenty four hours, it’s hard to doubt his capacity for kindness, but reassurance is always appreciated. You thank him one last time as he stalks into the kitchen, wishing you a good night, and when your tea is finished, you pad up to the guest bedroom with your chest feeling as warm as your tummy.

As you finally doze, it’s with a head full of excitement; like a kid the night before a field trip. You didn’t expect it, sure, but you’re ready, anticipant, for the start of your life for the next two months.

#steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x you #alpha!steve rogers x reader #mcu x reader #werewolf!steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x y/n #steve rogers fanfic #werewolf!steve rogers #alpha!steve rogers #steve rogers fanfiction

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fox-quills · 2 years

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My writing goals this year are to, obviously, finish editing the witch novel and start querying, but also to spend a bit of time deliberately honing craft.

A lot of my improvement over the years can be chalked up to getting in there and making messes, but I'm not sure I've ever taken the time to consciously work on my skills in the micro sense.

So I want to start doing smaller exercises, work on the places where I'm weak. I want to devote some time to short fiction, work on environmental description, learn to craft a lyrical turn of phrase on purpose and not just by happy accident. Spend a little time on prose for its own sake rather than in service to a larger narrative.

Maybe write some more fanfic because I haven't done it in years and I'm having a blast.

I'm really proud of how far I've come, though. I went from a graveyard to three chapter failures to two whole-ass, finished drafts! Beginning, middle, and end, and it continues to be absolutely bonkers when I think about it for more than five seconds. I'm one editing pass away from sending a book out into the world in the hopes of finding someone who loves it as much as I do, and that's so friggen cool.

Terrifying, but cool.

Anyway, I'm just feeling real good and positive about the year to come, and the progress I've made, and I'm excited to see what happens.

#i am JONESING to talk about my book #i know no other writers and its terrible and dumb #writing #fox writes

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atinydise · 3 years

Text

Masked

❦ Genre: Smut.

❦ Pairing: Seonghwa.

❦ Word count: 1739.

❦ A/N: Day 18 of “Ateez New Year Writings, Edition 2021” 🦋⚠️This is my first smut like full one! It might be still awkward when you read it but I’ll improve lmao

No way, you could ever imagine that this Halloween party would end this way. When you accepted to go, you'll never imagine that your legs would be wrapped around a complete stranger. Because of the strict rules of this costume party, you couldn't see his face. It was covered by a black, white and gold medieval mask. Really elegant.

You spotted each other since you entered the party with your friends. He was dancing with his teammates at the center of the room. Your eyes locked in few seconds before your friend pulled you to a corner of the room so you could meet her friends. Useless to say that you wanted to talk to only one person right now. The following hours, you tried to get back his attention every time you could. You managed to slowly approach him and his group slowly. Enough for him to wink at you every time you had an eye contact. When you were looking for a soft drink, he softly rested his hand around your waist and whispered in your ear to wait for him in the bedroom upstairs. Not even thinking twice about the consequence of sleeping with a complete stranger, you sneaked out of your friends' sight and went straight to the upper floor. Instinctively, you chose the door at the end of the hallway, the furthest of all. It was effectively a bedroom, but you couldn't see anything because of the darkness. "Hum," you cleared your throat." Are you there?" Because of the weakest light in the street, you noticed a figure in the dark. You doubted for a second that it was him, but you spotted the gold glow on his mask. "Nice to meet you." Just by his body proportions, your knees almost lost it. "Nice to meet you." You replied, trying to act the most natural possible. Probably because of the night's light, he seemed unreal. His fair skin and his black hair were making a great contrast. At each step, you started to freak out and to anticipate a little bit more this encounter. "So... what's your name?" You asked. Completely ignoring your question, he wrapped his arm around your waist, to pull you closer to him. "I think that my name is the last thing you want right now." He whispered, approaching his face from yours. Thanks to the darkness, he couldn't see the panicked expression on your face. You mumbled a reply that none of you understand, before he pushed your hair out of your neck. When you felt his breath tickling your neck. You closed your eyes, trying to enjoy every caress, every kiss and every touch. Taking this as an authorization, he slid up his hand to your nape and captured your lips against his. The first second of this kiss, that you were exchanging with a stranger, was the most intense you ever had. The hunger was there already. You were both craving for each other. Not being satisfied with the proximity, he deepened the kiss, pressing his lips rougher on yours. Making sure you didn't bump into something, he carefully guided you next to the bed at the corner of the room.

Not gently anymore, he pushed you on it. You lifted on your elbows, admiring the amazing view. As he was unbuttoning his shirt, precisely right in front of the window, you could have a good sight on his body. Because of the anticipation, you bit your bottom lip until it swollen. "Do I need to stay like this? Because seems like you are enjoying the view." "Oh, shut up," you whispered, holding his hand. The young boy settled right between your legs, spreading them apart so he could fit comfortably there. The friction of his manhood against your core was enough to make you dripping wet. Your entire body shivered when he brushed his big hang on your thigh. Before being lost by his touch, you decided to reverse the situation. He had been leading since the beginning and you wanted to show him what you were capable of. Without hesitation, you pulled him closer by the waistband of his pants and tried to open it. Just when he understood what you were trying to do, he grabbed both of your wrist in his hands, above your head. "What are you trying to do young lady?" "Do you really need an explanation?" You asked, using your leg to push him back, to keep the friction. "Sorry for you, but tonight, I'm leading." He smirked. "And what if I don't want you to lead me?" He tightened his grip on your wrist, forcing you to stay still and rested his other hand against your core. "You might change your mind fast." He murmured right in your ear. With his free hand, he zipped down your skirt. You helped him by lifting your hips and letting him pull your skirt down your thighs. Quickly going back up, he noticed that you weren't wearing any panty. "I throw it on my bag before joining you." You claimed, being proud of yourself for once. He chuckled, "you are the straightforward type huh?" "Totally." "Cool, because me too." You hadn't enough time to say something else, that he wasted no time in running his fingers through your folds before inserting one inside of you. Thanks god, the music downstair was enough louder to hide the moan which escaped from your lips. As he was working faster into you, he finally released your wrists so he could maintain your legs apart. His long digits felt like magic to you, just with only one finger he was sending you over the edge. "So? Who's leading who?" he whispered before kissing your neck once again. "Your hands are smaller than your ego." You replied. Not really appreciating your answer, he added a second finger, pumping them faster. "Shit," you cursed, at this new feeling. He moved faster and harder as he saw you reaching your peak, as you were clenching more and more around his fingers. Trying to get you overwhelmed, his free hand slid under your top, cupping your left breast. The wet sounds of your dripping core mixed with your moans were filling the room, making you embarrassed for a second. For sure, this boy was talented with his fingers, but you needed more. You were craving for something else. To make him understand your intention, you unbuttoned his pant in 2 seconds, not even fighting with it. You felt his body stiffened on yours. When you stuck your hand in his boxers, you heard him healing deeply through his nose. One hand wrapping around his nape, you captured his lips in yours. With your feet, you managed to tuck down his pants and boxers to his ankle. "D-Do you have a condom?" He suddenly asked. "I forgot my wallet in the car." Proud of yourself, you got one out of your bra. "You really prepared everything," he smiled. "Of course," you smirked. Without wasting more time, he ripped the packaging and slid the condom against his shaft. "Are you ready?" he asked, worried that you might have change your mind. "I was born ready." You replied, smiling warmly at him. He wrapped his hands around your tights to keep you still. When you felt the tip brushing your folds, your heart missed a beat. You were finally having what you wanted the most right now. In a slowly move, he entered into you, making sure to not be too much rough. With your hand, you gripped the sheets beneath you to maintain your composure. He didn't make a move, helping you to adjust to his length. "Tell me when I can m-" "Move." You instantly replied. He smirked, for sure you knew what you wanted. He liked this confidence. His hips guided him every time he was thrusting deeper into you. "Gosh how you do that?" he grunted. "Do what?" you lifted on your elbows, trying to keep your head straight. "I don't know," he paused between few thrusts. "You are just... fitting me so well." Just after that, you felt him hitting the right spot. Your body immediately fell back on the bed. "Harder." You pleaded, holding his forearm. Of course, he ordered. His pace quickened and your head was starting to spin around. Your moans and gasps, every time he was touching this spot, were motivating him in his tracks. Without warning, he almost laid down on you, simply holding your right leg in his big hand. You cursed at this new sensation. You've never met each other before but it was like he knew your body more than you. The moment you felt a knot forming in your stomach, you knew that it would be a matter of second before you cum. He would finish just after you. His moves started to be messy and he was losing all the strength on his arms. "I'm-" he started, panting at each thrust. "I know." You cut him straight, holding his back. The darkness was thrilling. It made you anticipate hips thrusts. He lifted your upper body, holding you right in his arms as he thrusted for the last time. You both take your time to catch your breath back. Your forehead was resting against his. Curiously, now you weren't able to look him right in the eyes.

"It might be the best sex I've ever had with a stranger." He confessed. "Oh, because Mr is used to." You smiled. "Women can't do anything against my charm." "Dude... your ego is no joke." You sighed. The boy laughed at your assumption. No one ever talked to him this way. "So... you didn't reply earlier. What's your name?" You asked once again, slowly getting out of his embrace. "Only me if you tell y-" "Seonghwa!" Yelled his friend from the opposite of the door. "I know you there!" "Never mind..." he sighed. "We need to go!" Knocked loudly the person outside. "So, put back your pants and join us downstair!" "Coming." He yelled enough louder for his friend to hear. "So... Seonghwa, when are we seeing each other again?" He raised a brow, surprised by your request. "And without your mask this time. Even though it was exciting." You smiled.

#ateez seonghwa #ateez smut #ateez suggestive #ateez reactions #ateez scenarios #ateez imagines #ateez x reader #ateez writings #ateez park seonghwa #ateez #ateez fluff

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