#This was sooo fun to draw and i am Happy with the result!!!

[deathricedrawn]

malpractice

#Lots of cws so.... #needle #needles #scalpel #cutting #(slight) #body horror #But its all in moderation sooo #art #fanart #geminitay #empires smp #pearlescentmoon #alice.art #empires season 1 #stitching #I HAVENT DRAWN IN A WHILE SO THIS WAS LIKE SOOO AWESOME #This was sooo fun to draw and i am Happy with the result!!! #Its a bit different than normal buttttt like slaaayyyyy #O btw this makes NO sense this is just symbolism for my headcanons😭✋️

[mostly-mundane-atla]

Hi! Your blog is awesome. I don't know if I'm allowed to ask non-atla questions, so I hope this is okay. I'm working on a non-avatar ttrpg campaign that takes place both in a (fictional/fantasy) northern tundra region AND during a magical endless winter. The people in it aren't based on any specific culture but, given that they're successfully living in similar environments & have for countless generations, I want to draw as much inspiration & knowledge from real-life circumpolar cultures & native science as much as possible. Do you have any advice or even just fun, underappreciated ideas for winter tundra survival, things someone who grew up in a desert like me wouldn't think of on my own? If you need/want more direction: I'm particularly looking for clothing, shelters, resource gathering-practices for non-food (esp what kinds of resources would be valuable), as well as like, any fun details that evolve naturally in a culture that formed in the tundra that you'd want to see represented. I hope that makes sense ^^; Thanks so much if you decide to answer, have a good day either way <3

[I am SOOO sorry this took so long! Tumblr kept not saving my progress when i tapped "save draft" so i had to rewrite a few of these passages a few different times]

Don't worry about asking, friend, i get cultural questions all the time and i'm happy to share.

Note: my knowledge is almost entirely based on coastal tundra peoples with access to marine mammals. That's not to say it's impossible for people to live farther inland, just that it's not my area of expertise.

Clothing

Just about everything you wear is going to come off of a dead animal. This doesn't necessarily need to be the case if your fictional culture has a means of raising hardy livestock for fiber and a history of woven textiles, but even then skin clothes are warm and generally quite hard-wearing and are a good fit for living in these circumstances.

This amount of fur means lice are a perpetual problem. If you want to make that an immersive part of the game, you can work in a mechanic for checking scalps and clothing and bedding for lice.

Bird skins can also be used for clothing and waterfowl specifically has the benefit of water resistance. Fish skin can also be used for similar properties. Animal intestines can be made into a waterproof material if sewn with sinew and soaked before finishing.

On that note i'd recommend making a list of available animals and what qualities and textures their skins and furs have. Even if you don't intend on being incredibly descriptive with clothing, it's something better to have and not need than need and not have. And if you do anything else creative in a similar setting you have your nifty little source to consult.

When it comes to the actual construction of the clothes, you want a loose fit. Trapped air ia a great insulator and you want clothes to be easy to move in. Another benefit for loose-fitting upper body garments in cold weather is you can pull your arms in and keep them by your much warmer core. Not only will this option keep you comfortable, it can also prevent muscle injury or getting frostbite

Mittens can be worn on a string yoke. This doesn't have to be exclusive to children either. Wind can pick up out of nowhere and lost mittens means fingers exposed to arctic cold which can mean gangreen and amputations down the line.

Swimming or running to deliver a message may involve stripping nude, even in cold. Clothes soaked in water or sweat are deadly in the cold.

Clothes may be stored in bags outside when not in use. The low temperatures can kill bugs and bacteria. On a similar note, boots and coats are best to be hung to dry as soon as one is indoors for the day. This may mean it's normal for people to be topless indoors.

Boots should never have holes or tears. Frostbite and resulting gangreen is already bad enough but you especially do not want it on your feet

Shelter

You're going to want dwellings to have as few rooms and windows as possible and small doors. The fewer walls you have, the easier it is for heat to circulate throughout the whole dwelling. You'll probably want one room separating the door and where you sleep. Remember: trapped air is a great insulator.

The culture I've reconnected with is semi-nomadic so the permanent houses are not always occupied and a village can seem abandoned when it's just on its "off season". You can take that or leave it depending on what you're going for.

Even if the dwelling is not a tent, you're probably still going to have poles serving as a supporting frame.

Sod houses are common due to the availability of sod (the grass and the dirt its roots are tangled in). Tents made of warm, waterproof skins (like walrus skin) are also an option.

An easy way to insulate such a dwelling is to build a wall of packed snow around and fill the gaps with loose, airy snow. This traps air the same way down feathers do.

Non-Food Resource Gathering

While I imagine you meant obtaining resources outside of hunting, in a tundra or tundra-like setting, a lot of your resources are going to come from dead animals. Your garments and shelters and bedding are likely to be made of animal skins, with hollow and/or fluffy fur for warmth, or smoked intestine or fish skin, sewn with tiny stitches and soaked to keep everything flush, for waterproof boots and overlayers. Antlers and tusks are good carving materials for things like spoons and closures and slabs for armor and handles and also talismans and smoking pipes and beads and art. Baleen is good for art too, as well as boot soles and smaller sleds and beautiful baskets. Sinew and rawhide are good for thread, ties, and rope. Bones have a near infinite amount of uses from tiny wing bones to make sewing needles to huge whale bones used to build houses.

For the purposes of working this into a roleplaying game, i'd second the recommendation of keeping a list of animals in your universe and their properties, as well as the things that can be gathered from or made of them. A sort of crafting recipe guide would allow all kinds of quests and sidequests.

There are, of course, non-animal resources to gather for non-eating purposes. Soapstone is the traditional material for oil lamps. Grasses can be woven into baskets for any number of purposes, including supports to give the uppers of one's boots more structure. Wood, in the form of slices of tree trunks, can be hollowed out into bowls and small tubs and buckets or, as logs or slats, can make up flooring. Sturdy branches can be used for frames in houses, boats, and drums, and tree resin makes both good glue and antibiotic salve for closed wounds. Sod, also called turf, makes a good building material and moss is exellent insulation in boots. You can make a list of these too, if it helps.

If your fictional culture has a strong tradition of metallurgy, then they'd also mine for metal that can be used for knives. If not, slate is another option that requires significantly less fire. You could even have both and make the metal a status symbol.

Fun Details to Represent

There are so many lovely little things that show up in arctic cultures

First, a gift economy. Where a cash economy relies on a fairly individualistic culture where you work for someone else to earn capital and exchange that capital for goods and services, a more collectivist and interdependent culture natural to the harsh conditions of the tundra tends to result in a gift economy. The currency in a gift economy, to perhaps oversimplify, is favors. Someone does you a good turn, you remember that, and when you're in a position to help, you return the favor. Usually this means basic material things like hospitality and food, but the "gifts" exchanged can also be luck! King Islander boys would often wish hunters setting out at dawn good luck, with a slab of driftwood as a token of that luck, and if the hunters were successful, they'd give the boys who wished them luck a share of their catch. I believe it was Frank Ellana who remenised that this was what the world was like before money.

Another thing that would be nice to include is parenting practices considered fairly gentle to a Euro-American perspective. Physical punishments are traditionally treated as abuse and scolding a child is not only seen as wrong but something an adult ought to be ashamed of. Discipline is instead a series of moral lessons, teaching children why what they did was wrong and using stories as examples of the consequences. Given the amount of stories about the dangers of abusing a spouse or child, i'd say a lot of these lessons were proactive and preventative. Knowing someone will be hurt by it is considered enough of a deterrence to stop bad behaviors. Traditional potty training, for example, is also gentler in comparison; starting at a younger age (about six months) with more emphasis on praise and encouragment than routine. The goal here is to teach the baby to signal when they need to go so they can be taken out of mama's atigi and relieve themself in a hygenic manner instead of holding it until they get permission. Even our take on kissing is based on inhaling instead of pecking with the lips. This kind of gentleness is usually overlooked to instead focus on the badass hunter image or overall "cuteness" so it would be nice for it to be referenced.

Oral histories would be pretty neat too. I think the idea of learning to be a historian of oral histories is an interesting one and i think it has a lot of potential plot hooks for an rpg.

That's all i have for now. Sorry for the delayed response time. Happy gaming, and i'm always up for further discussion if you would like ^-^

[overtheimaginationwall]

Favorite boss(es) in No Straight Roads?

Least favorite?

(Sincere apologies. I've been holding this one for more than a year in my box, so I hope you don't mind a really late reply ^^")

(Also Happy 3rd Anniversary, NSR!! 🎉)

I will tell ya honestly - they all are my favourites!

Tho if to be more specific I decided to set them up by TOP.

1. Sayu

Oh Sayu, my beloved <3

The Best Virtual Idol and The Reason I bought this game in the first place!

Her music and style of battle was the most fun and dancy! I still vibe to it to this day-

Sooo many references to Internet Culture and Digital Art fills my heart with warmth and gives me determination just like her song itself as well!

Funny Useless Fact: She is the only boss I've beaten on Rank B on my first blind playthrough!

2. DK West

He's OUR MAN, He's THE BEST!

My second favorite and at the same time the hardest for me to beat.

I personally didn't adore RAP genre at first and never seen anyone preform it as an actual entertaining battle until he showed up...

HOLLY MOLLY DESPITE ME BREAKING MY THUMBS WHILE GOING THROUGH THE PAINFUL DODGE GAME - HIM AND ZUKE RAPPING FELT LIKE I'M WATCHING DISNEY-

LIKE-

I STILL HAVE IDEA IN MY HEAD TO MAKE A SORT OF ANIMATIC WITH "FIRST ENCOUNTER" ALONE!!

Anyway, despite damaged fingers - 10/10, would fight again!

Funny Useless Fact: When I was drawing him for the first time I listened to his theme on loop for 4 days straight in order not to get myself distracted or lose motivation, so I finish the piece.

3. Yinu

Oh, sweet child...

I love Yinu and her theme lots even if I'm not that big of a fan of Classical Music. And her backstory...Gosh! It made me cry a lot.

And I'm still feel ashamed of breaking the piano ;;-;;

Love the pace of how music goes with the fight and it feels even better when you get into actual rhythm. There were issues that gladly wore off thanks to practice and fighting this boss over and over.

Tho those slamming cords haunt me whenever I listen to the song off-battle-

Funny Useless Fact: I didn't like her Mother at first but when I read more about her and relationship with Yinu my opinion completely changed. And this is why I would nominate No Straight Roads for The Best Storytelling and Character Design.

4. EVE

Two-faced, tall woman.

Used to be one of my favorites but due to some circumstances I can't look at her the same way I used to but I still adore her as a boss!

I honestly love her style of the fight and music that changes depending on who you play.

Tho fighting her is literally like eating a lemon but eventually you kinda just accept your fate and roll with weird artistic antics happening around you.

And EVE herself as a character is so fascinating. Like this is the moment where I started to see that these aren't just bosses, they are actually characters that tie this little but complex story together bit by bit. And this is why I would nominate No Straight Roads for The Best Storytelling and Character Design AGAIN!

Funny Useless Fact: EVE was supposed to be a next character to have a complete and detailed art of but due to my forgetfulness, difficulties with her design (and many other things) - it was never finished but I hope to get that dusty sketch out of WIP folder someday.

5. Tatiana

The Bitch. The Boss.

I don't really like her music and rhythm but I can forgive that since it is kind of fitting for conflict between her and the BBJ.

She tries to hide her true image throughout the story and the fight but ultimately crumbles cause escaping from the past isn't the best option to improve.

I love her design and personality and I wish there were more villains like her. Strict, simple, stoic and yet well-written.

Funny Useless Fact: I've never drawn Tatiana until NSR announced their release on Steam with addition of Fanat Graffiti Contest that I certainly didn't want to miss out on. It was difficult but I did it and ngl, I am still proud of the results.

6. DJ Subatomic Supernova & 1010/Neon J

I can't really say anything much about both of them. Sorry, guys...

Their designs and personalities are fun and well-made but due to one of them being the first you fight as "tutorial" and the other appears only at the end of a fight. (1010 band doesn't count as an actual boss to me more like a part of it) They didn't struck me much as the others did...

I will say this thou: their backstories are interesting. One is an academy astrology teacher with a goal of achieving the stars and other is a war veteran who just wanted everyone to live in peace and he himself despite everything never stopped his passion for doll-making and making people happy.

Just simply, beautiful...

Cool Science Fact: Their VAs are GOLD!

#sofiath ask #thanks for the ask! #no straight roads #nsr #nsr neon j #nsr djss #nsr sayu #nsr tatiana #nsr dk west #nsr 1010 #nsr yinu #opinion #sofiath thoughts

[mikareo]

hello again dove <3 hehe thank you so much for the matchup spots. it makes me sooo happy really <3 so, for the needed info!

a bllk match up please!

i will send it in an ask after this one :>

a male around teenage years thank you <3

an sfw result pls would be nice hehe

as for my personality, i’m a she/ her infp and a capricorn, to start off :D i think i’m a pretty curious and open minded person. i’m an introverted person who likes to be an ‘audience’ more by nature, but i’m also pretty talkative and affectionate i think. though, when my social battery run out i do tend to become a quiet person who just hang around and listen almost immediately haha ;;;; i’m a pretty idealist person, while also trying my best to be open and understand another point of view. and as i like to think a lot, while it came with its benefits like considerations, sometimes it ended up in some bad habits like 2 am 4 am silent overthinking and putting unnecessary pressure on myself to the point i got cold feet hohoho. however i do recently realize with little reassurance and praises that is convincing to me, i got cheered up almost immediately ahahaha my biggest love language are words of affirmation & acts of service, even though i’m pretty receptive to all! (words of affirmations and acts of service are definitely up there tho <3)

my hobbies include watching movies and videos! animations, indie stuffs, and ‘making you think and reflect’ stuffs especially lately haha. i also enjoy reading, writing, and drawing! (i think, it’s the aspect of ‘learning’ and ‘a story of something’ that interests me the most from these kind of activities) i also likes looking at aesthetically pleasing and pretty pictures and such. i do also enjoy going to new places. my faves are mostly related to art or history! i go alone sometimes, with my friends sometimes too. on my downtime, usually my go to is a long hour of rpg or idle gaming in my room. or scrolling down my phone for random trivia and advices while listening to something ehe

my ideal date would be to hang out, and maybe eat, in a place that is not too fancy, somewhere indoor if i have to choose tho haha. a calm & quiet place my date likes or have fond memory would be nice honestly, like a hole in the wall restaurant or a cafe they often hang out in, for example? a simple, pleasant time is more than enough for me. though, i think as long as i can listen and talk to them, i would be fine anywhere

i think that’s all! i hope it is enough and also not too much! thank you so much again :””” sending you many virtual kisses! i hope you can have fun and take your time doing this, i’m looking forward to it :3 wish you a nice day and night dove! take care <3

💌 ✮⋆˙ love letter to...popponn!

hi popon!!! srry this took a little longer than it usually does,, i rlly wanted it to be perfect n finals week got a little in the way! also i think we have the same glasses LOL,, ur so pretty tho like i love ur haircut,, the bangs are so cute so suit u sm !!!! i rlly hope u like this n i had a lot of fun doing this matchup!!

[ ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹ ᰔ ] your complete matchup results!

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ APPEARANCE PAIRING ! congratulations . . .‧₊˚🪐✩ZANTETSU TSURUGI₊˚✨⊹♡

with his height, zantetsu towers over you and holds your hand, making sure that you don't get lost in the crowd. he may not have the biggest brain, but he does have the biggest heart. he'd do anything to see that bright smile on your face whilst your hair blows in the wind. if there's one thing he's devoted to more than soccer, it's undoubtedly you; and he wouldn't change that for the anything.

⋆⋆⋆⠀ ⠀ PERSONALITY PAIRING ! congratulations . . .‧₊˚👾✩YO HIORI₊˚🌑⊹♡

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ chemistry analysis . . .

while reading through your personality traits, i realized that i wanted to pair you with someone similar to you rather than someone who's your opposite. i also wanted someone good at communicating, which crossed off nagi (lol); and then i landed on hiori after debating a few other options. i think that you and hiori would definitely be the most compatible compared to any other blue lock boy— and you two would be really cute together!

one thing that you and hiori have in common, is your preference for a quiet life. you're both extremely introverted people and like to avoid noisy and obnoxious crowds, which makes it easier to find comfort in each other when you need a little break from socialization. rather than standing on the sidelines in silence, the two of you talk to one another and quietly comment on the conversation whenever you're in a social setting— genuinely enjoying each other's presence over a large group of people. when you're in need of a social break, hiori's the person you know you can go to.

being observant is one of hiori's major traits. he's extremely good at reading people and understanding how they're thinking without even having to ask, which would be extremely beneficial whenever you have those nights where your mind is running wild and you can't seem to sleep. hiori is right beside you, asking you what's wrong, and talking you through your feelings in the gentlest way he can. your happiness is of utmost importance to him, and he can't rest until he knows you're feeling better. he's also a great communicator. he knows how to explain his emotions and understand other people when they struggle to do so. with that observance and communication, he's the perfect boyfriend for you.

your hobbies also really align with hiori, considering that gaming is also his usual go-to when he doesn't know how to spend his free time. the two of you could be on a discord call together, in the middle of the most difficult rpg campaign that either of you have ever played; yet somehow still manage to complete the hardest task possible since you have such great teamwork. if either of you wasn't feeling up to play for some reason, you could simply watch the other livestream and lowkey backseat game if that's what your into— though hiori wouldn't mind. he just likes to hear your voice, no matter if you're telling him what to do or simply giving him some helpful advice.

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ memories on the wall . . .

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ a treasured moment . . .

"happy anniversary." hiori smiles at you softly as the glow from the dim over-head lighting casts dancing shadows across his face.

the atmosphere of the familiar restaurant is so comforting. it's almost like a warm blanket enveloping the both of you and squeezing tight until you're fast asleep. it's been a year since you first came here, having walked through the doors on your first date and choosing to come again and again to make more memories as the time goes by.

"happy anniversary to you too." you grin back, shining your bright teeth at him and mouthing a quick 'i love you' as you begin to look at the menu.

there's a smooth piano track playing on the speakers, so lovely that you'd think it was a live band if you hadn't asked a few months ago. you and hiori love this place for the intimacy the ambience brings. you don't have to shout to hear what he's saying and he doesn't need to be overly outgoing to get your attention. it's almost as if this place was made just for you two, and you were so lucky to find it so soon after finding one another.

"you gonna get the same thing as usual?" he asks. he knows you so well.

"obviously."

#matchups ₍ᐢ. ̫.ᐢ₎ #txt.popponn

[evilrat-sabre]

Day 26 of a hermit a day may challenge is WELSKNIGHT!!!

In case you never read my bio I AM a very big Welsknight fan, and I love his videos sooo much!

I really wanted to make a big grandious art, but I have a really weird block when it comes to Wels, I just never can make him in a way that makes me feel satisfied and happy, so I decide do to a simple art, but a good one. I am very happy with the results and I hope that in the future I can draw more Wels without this weird block of mine.

Hope yall like it!

Fun fact: I found this challenge in Wels private server, when Mod Luna divulged it there.

@hermitadaymay

#hermitaday #hermitcraft #hermitcraft fanart #welsknight #welsknight fanart #wels <3 #I love his videos

[itsmaddienotmaddy]

Oh hey, the vibes are looking UP!!

USWNT v Jamaica

Alyssa, my god do I feel comfort when I hear her yelling and organizing. She’s my #1, hands down. I’m okay with rotation, but in a pinch, I want Naeher.

The Cook Girma combo was IT this game. Did they have an attack to deal with? Ehhh, not really. BUT, the way they were organized and directed, how they positioned themselves… extremely positive. And nothing that would give away the lack of caps or playing time together. That alone, is excellent. And the soccer IQ between the two of them… astronomical .

Sofia MOTHER FUCKIN Huerta!! Yoooooo. Her crosses and passes are so silky and just… that’s all you can ask for in a wingback. The ball to Mal which led to the cross to Trin’s goal. I was dead. Those back line destroying slip passes are my everything.

Emily Fox completely shut down Shaw. And while Shaw played incredible against Mexico and likely was a lot more tired this match, keeping her quiet is an accomplishment. Smart to keep her fresh and give that second half break so she’s good for later games.

Sonnett might have had the best performance at left back I’ve seen. I’d say it’s typically the defensive position she’s least comfortable in. What’s huge with her is stepping to 50/50 balls and when she judges those correctly, she’s not losing that tackle. Incredible diagonal ball to Sanchez.

Rose. She adjusted perfectly from last game. While she was not getting herself into open space before, NOW she’s getting open and creating chances, she’s yoinking the ball off Jamaica thinking they’ve got an offensive chance. Passes were it, movement was it, the Goal!! Rose with a right foot banger?? Yes please.

I scrolled back to the last time they played Jamaica and Horan played well at the 6 in that game too. Sooo, she’s allowed to play the 6 vs Jamaica. Her off the ball work and movement was noticeable and helped keep the offensive shape moving positively to get things created. Do I still think Vlatko is full of shit when he says she’s 100%?? YEAH. Because she’s not jumping like she should have the capability of. Like, we should be able to aim for her big blonde head on set pieces. We can’t because she’s not jumping high. P sure Rose was getting a better vertical. AND (this is the mental side,) but she not going in for tackles confidently. And I’m nervous that apprehension will result in her injuring herself more.

Sanchez grew into the game well. Not as intensely involved and got a little spicy there, but it’s fine. She’s good.

Kristie wasn’t as effective of a 6, I don’t love that. But I DO LOVE KRISTIE PKS. That left foot?? GOLDEN. And the post pk chest bump with Sonnett was so dumb and excellent

I almost forgot Korn. She didn’t do much tbh.

Mal got the ninety on that front line. While I’m not crazy about her yelling all the damn time (especially when she’s v clearly offsides lolz,) I do like her tenacity to move the ball forward and her dime crosses. Having her be the assist queen is lovely.

Midge drawing the PK, hell yeah hell yeah! She had a strong half and really pushed the Jamaican defense.

Hatch. Oof. I get resting Alex but goodness. She had her opportunities and there were a few that were v unlucky. But not her best showing. It’s a bummer her goal was called back because that could have helped get her going .

Trinity with a GOAL. Her going in at the 9 was weird when Alex was right there. But I’ll take her getting minutes! It took her a bit to get into the flow but she came THROUGH on that finish.

And SOPHIA SMITH. The baby. The brace queen. Bubble braid girlie. All the nicknames. Quad/hip wrap whatever the hell that was from last game… that shits off and SOPH WAS READY TO GO. Two goals in one half to just shut Jamaicas hopes immediately was… rude lolz. And the outside of the foot goal? Cruel and unusual punishment. I’m so happy she’s killing it.

This was a fun game, I’m SO ready for the Mexico game. And I gotta throw this in here, I am LOVING Bri Scurry on the panel. So fun!!

#uswnt #alyssa naeher #Naomi Girma #alana cook #sofia huerta #emily fox #emily sonnett #rose lavelle #lindsey horan #Ashley sanchez #Kristie mewis #taylor kornieck #Mal pugh #Ashley hatch #Sophia smith #midge purce #Trinity rodman

[genshinfanboy]

hey there !! may I get a romantic matchup for your 200 followers event ?? thank you <3<3

I'm a 5'0 very pale, lil chubby, black to red split-dye long hair, blue eyed transgender gay enby. I look tired almost always, and I have a resting bitchface (no idea until now lol). My MBTI is ISFP 4w5, and I'm on the gemini/cancer cusp. I love collecting things, such as plushies, rubber ducks, and knives. I know those two first things are childish but they comfort me a lot and they're just super fun to collect !! I collect knives because I think they're cool and I like showing them off. I would never use them to harm or threaten anyone, I'm not that kind of person. I also love bugs & cats, my two favorite things ever !! Bugs are my friend and I love finding them under rocks and such. I love praying mantis' and spiders especially, they have a beauty non-bug lovers don't understand bwahaha. Cats are cute lil' guys and I have two of my own, so I'm a little biased. They're like my kids and I care for them sooo much. My hobbies include drawing, writing, playing slime rancher & sims 4, listening to music, and outdoor activities. Such as going to theme parks (I love rollercoasters sm), random cool museums in my city, and hiking/skiing/those sorts of things. I'm willing to try anything once and I'm almost always down for a fun adventure like that. I like the warmth, being alone, sleeping, being useful to others, watching shows, being with animals, and just being outdoors generally. I hate HATE the cold and I hate people who forget things easily and just can't plan very well. I'm flexible with plans sometimes but I get very discouraged easily and may just cancel on spot. Now for my personality, I'd say I'm quite reserved and shy when you first meet me! I prefer to talk in body movements/motions instead of verbally, that's just how I am. However I have no problem with addressing older people for some reason. I take a while to trust people and to warm up generally, even if I like them. I have a hard time starting conversations and can cover up my awkwardness by laughing or just going "yeah". When I warm up to people though, I am very chaotic and a mess. I do almost anything to make people laugh and I love doing stupid stuff that I'll regret in a day. I never make jokes about my friends and I never insult anyone in them, I don't go too far. I love my friends and I'd never hurt their feelings like that. I'm always there to listen to them but I mainly enjoy helping them with their problems than sitting down and comforting them. I have a slight temper but I am becoming good at controlling it. I stand up for what I believe in and I'm not afraid to cut somebody off entirely if they do something that's just totally wrong. I gain emotional attachments easily and I'm very easy to scare or make cry; I'm pretty sensitive. In private I'm a very cuddly person and I adore physical affection & quality time more than anything else. PDA Isn't my thing and I prefer to be left alone in that sense, but if I'm feeling happy, I like hand holding and small kisses.

Hope that was enough! Thanks!

Hello. My apologies for taking a few longer than I would've like on these. I got sick and just recovered. Anyways I hope you enjoy and have a fantastic day or night. If you don't like your match up results please take it with a grain of salt.

Your match up would the one and Oni Itto:

Hear me out on this one tho Itto is very loud and likes being the center of attention you two would contrast very nicely with one another with your personalities. Itto likes animals and has a vast collection of different things and encourage you to continue collecting. He'd also ask you to go onikabuto hunting with him. He would be so excited for you to meet his gang. He's positive you and Shinobu would get along well too. No need to fear coming off awkward or not knowing how to start a conversation when you first get to know him. He has got you covered on that. He may act annoying at first until someone like Shinobu points out to him you are shy. That doesn't stop him from trying to do everything in his power (and maybe things out of his control) to be your friend. He would have respect for you when you stick up for what you believe in. Itto would find your high cute. He would also claim you match with the red in your hair. He may get in trouble a lot but he doesn't mean any harm. If you have to defend your beliefs he'll be your hype man and back you up. You'd be accepted into the gang and become apart of their little family. Though from what you said you'd mainly hang out with Shinobu and Itto. PDA might be a thing you have to remind him not to do a few times but once he gets it he won't slip up. If he messes up he can apologize sometimes a bit reluctant but he'll still apologize. You'll also be able to relax in knowing the fact if he or anyone else makes you cry he is the first person by your side to comfort you. He'll also try to make you laugh and make the perpetrator(s) apologize as well. Quality time with you would be one of his favorite because of the cuddly and domestic behaviors. Over all a very balanced and well intended relationship where you help each other out.

#genshin impact #taylor writes #200 follower special #itto x reader

[dreams-poetry-art-therapy]

"You look somehow sad." [24- 25.10.2023]

Proper university starting and I am back in my university mood. I swear I try to be nice and smiley and happy but I kind of can't keep that facade up on university anymore. I just know I won't make any long- lasting friends there and I feel like I have no energy to make an effort to be fun, when I don't get anything out of it, how stupid that may sound. At my old uni, I was kind of always in a bubbly mood, because I got along sooo well with my colleagues and we always laughed and had a good time together, so being bubbly just came easily. In a boring environment, I feel like I don't wanna exhaust myself trying to be in a good mood if it's not gonna lead anywhere.

Also, though, I was also just sad. Sad about what's going on in the world and mad at some of my friends for not replying me or putting in effort, mad at the whole world for being so hostile and violent and cold. Weltschmerz.

So, I went about my day as usual, forcing myself to pay attention instead of picking up my phone and succeeding partially, saying "hi" to my colleagues and avoiding any further contact after that.

In the second lecture, I sat next to B, did basic small talk and waited for the lecture to begin so I wouldn't have to do basic small talk anymore. Then B just said "You look somehow sad." He was absolutely right.

Instead of using this opportunity to open up, I literally said "I'm just tired, I didn't sleep too well last night, blah, blah, blah". Really weak of me. But I can't talk with these people who I know will never be more than acquainces to me. With them, I feel like I somehow have to put up the facade of happy, successful, perfect Holly all of the time. I feel like I'm in a competition with them automatically as soon as we are close to each other. I don't know if I should have tried to open up more.

On the way home, I decided I would have a cheat evening that day, because I was feeling so down. I went to the store and bought a few sweets and pastries, too much for one evening as always and fucked off to my room. I closed my social media apps and put all the food I wanted to eat in my room. I didn't want to talk or listen to anybody.

At home, I finished my two paintings. I am happy with the result as it's still one of the first times I'm drawing with acryl colors, but the pictures really aren't amazing. I only realized in the last 5% of drawing that I completely messed up the size of their faces. I posted them after some unprofessional editing on my phone.

The rest of the evening I spent rotting on my couch, stuffing myself with food well after I was full, watched random documentaries on my laptop while iterating between masturbating to porn on my phone, running small errands and scrolling reddit. Cheat days really always sound better than they actually are.

The next day, I met up with H and really, I had low motivation to see him again. I even thought about making this the last time I meet with him, because I just felt that because of the language barrier, it's so difficult to communicate with him and we don't really have a lot of common beyond that either. I felt like he was one of the people I kept stupidly meeting with out of politeness.

This sensation completely vanished as soon as I saw him. We went grocery shopping and started cooking while updating us on each other's lives. I felt once again so sorry for how much homophobia he has to endure at his school and everywhere. But, I also felt proud. Whenever I meet H, I have this sensation of progress, like he's never the same person I met the last time, he's always a bit wiser, better, more awake, more confident, cooler. Maybe because he's transitioning, he gives off that sensation.

Sometime before we ate in his really beautiful room, we talked about what is happening in the world, for just a brief moment. I told him that I don't wanna hear about any of it anymore in my life because I feel it's getting too much. And then we até and watched music videos on his TV and ate more and played cards and danced to Techno and started watching a drag show and for the first time since it happened, I felt like I could enjoy something with somebody in peace again. We were both worried about what's happening and we both felt bad about it, but we also knew we couldn't change anything and tried to enjoy our lives here. I felt truly okay with having a good time again for the first time. Because I wasn't deliberately pushing away any thought about it with force anymore, but I accepted it as part of his and my life reality now. We can still enjoy, even after we mourn.

#d8 #diary #uni #university #friends #friend #friendship #political stress #drag #ru paul's drag race #sad #gaza #israel

[lovingkaede]

I just meet your blog and i already love it! You're super-uper good! Sooo, since the requests are open, could i get my boy Hajime with a male S/O who loves drawing him and reading for him? Like, his S/O always read something calm for help him sleep, and he always drawn Hajime two!!

I hope you understand this request! Thank you!

Aaaa, thank you for kind words!! They mean a lot to me. Also this request makes me really happy because I am a protagonist Hajime simp :3 I hope you enjoy this..!

Sleeping easily after everything he's been through is hard for him, can you really blame him though.

He feels lonely and has nightmares of past events often

That's until you two started sharing a bed.

You always manage to calm him down with your presence. You initiating physical contact with him helps him a lot, when you hold his hand or hold him in general, he feels much more safe and loved

After reassuring him he isn't alone and you'll be there for him as long as he needs, Hajime can finally get a good night sleep

There are times he can't sleep even though you already comforted him. You put him in bed and get a book and start reading

At first Hajime thought it would be a one time thing but it actually helped him to fall asleep, and he quickly got addicted to you reading stories considering he's in love with your voice.

Though don't tell this to anyone, boy will get embarrassed.

Hajime woke up in the middle of night and checked the other side of the bed belonged to you

It took him some time to notice your absence, calling your name he slowly got up and looked for you — you were in the living room, sitting on a chair and working on a sketch

Hajime wrapped his arms around you from behind and looked at your sketchbook sleepily.

After observing for a little while it finally hit him, "Is this.. Makoto?"

"Yes, babe." Facepalm.

It really boosts his confidence and flatters him whenever you draw him because he feels worthy, and is always excited to see the results

Because you make him so happy and loved with your drawings, he wants to do the same for you so he secretly tries to draw a portrait of your handsome face, but ends up messing it up

So he just gives you a badly done drawing with you and him holding hands.

"I-I know it's not good as your beautiful art, but take this." He hands you the paper while hiding his embarrassed face and I think that's really cute.

Please don't make fun of his art </3 He's so insecure. Instead appreciate it and give him a hug/////

#danganronpa headcanons #danganronpa x reader #danganronpa #danganronpa imagines #drv2 #danganronpa goodbye despair #hajime x reader #hajime hinata x reader

[sophie-summer]

Happy Shadow Court's Day

"Because I'd rather lose myself than losing any of you"

Tagging: @bladesappreciationweek

I'm gonna put my ramble after the read more link so you don't have to read it if you don't want to.

This is the drawing it wasn't planned for the week, but it was the one which was meant to be. I had sooo much fun doing it after two failed attempts and the reason why I couldn't finish the other stuff I wanted to post, 'cause I wanted to post something for the shadow court day (aka my bday) no matter what. I am so happy with the result, and I hope you like it.

#BladesAW #day six: shadow court #Blades #Blades MC #blades of light and shadow #choices fanart #playchoices #choices stories you play #Roe Nightbloom

[kay-kaylen]

Genshin Rant

Okay so, I’ve been into Genshin for quite some time. I’m not a seasoned player who’s been around since the Latern Rite (I am furious that I missed that honestly) but I’m doing pretty well for myself. 

But oh man. A few months ago, I joined an unofficial Genshin group and let me tell you, this is something I’ve got to get out of my system because I had such a huge argument with some of the members there that I just left the group because oh my God. I couldn’t take it. It’s probably a controversial topic, and I might get hate for what I say, but if you decide to shit on my words without providing legitimate evidence and being able to have a civil discussion and debate with me, then I’m just blocking you because I don’t need that here.

A lot of complaints about Genshin Impact mainly stem from the Gacha/Wish system, which is a system in which you roll for different weapons and characters. To roll, you need Fates, and you get Fates through Primogems. You can get Primogems by just doing stuff in the game, but it’s slow-going sometimes. If you want to, you can purchase Primogems with real life money.

The BIGGEST complaints I’ve ever seen from Genshin ALWAYS comes from this Wish system and the things that were said during that argument in the group was so ridiculous, I literally can’t.

First off, a lot of people say Mihoyo are scammers, and to be fair, sometimes they’re kind of wonky. Like the Serenitea Pot and Sanctifying Essence which is supposed to give more artifact exp buuut it doesn’t give a lot. That part needs to be worked on, of that I agree. But the wishes?? No. As far as I see it, it’s fair game. In fact, the chances to get a 5* character are NO LOWER than any other gacha game I’ve experienced. I’ve done my maths. Any higher and you’d pretty much always be getting them, which isn’t fair to the makers of the game and defeats the point of a gacha. This is especially true because we’re constantly GETTING new characters. The more characters, the more chances for that 0.6% chance to land on them, and it’s literally just a matter of time. The ONLY reason you’d complain is because you’re salty you didn’t get the character you wanted despite paying. You think that just because you paid them money, Mihoyo would serve the character for you on a silver platter. But they don’t. It’s ALL based on luck and chance, and they GIVE you chances on Banners. And you can ALWAYS try again. There will never NOT be a time where you can’t try. Mihoyo does NOT control what characters you get. You wanna know how I know? Because I rolled once with no fucking expectation and got ZHONGLI of all characters. A 5*. They are NOT trying to screw you over, I am HAPPY with the characters I’ve got. It literally doesn’t matter to me whether I get a 4* or a 5* or just weapons, I am still GETTING stuff.

And yeah, I don’t mind if you wanna keep rolling to get a character or weapon you REALLY want, there is literally nothing wrong with that. But I HATE it when people get salty and take it out on the creators. One of the points the people in the group tried to make is that the game’s teaching kids how to gamble. It. Is. A. Gacha. Game. It is made EXPLICITLY clear that there are in-game purchases that are OPTIONAL. You have to AGREE to the terms and conditions before you play the game. And why is Genshin being treated as this unholy demon? You know how many MORE Gacha games are out there with just as much gambling potential? Cause there’s a lot. But UNLIKE some Gacha games I know of, when they say optional, they MEAN optional. You can play the entire game and build a GOD level team without paying a single damn penny, and Mihoyo doesn’t even shove the gacha wishing system in your face. You literally don’t even get told about its existence when you play and go about the story, you have to FIND where that wishing thing is. The game does NOTHING to tempt you to rolling apart from showcasing their new characters, WHICH THEY DO ANYWAY IN THE STORY ITSELF. If anything, things like character trailers are just lore for the characters to make them interesting and build them for us storylovers.

But the whole point of this whole thing is that Mihoyo does NOTHING that requires you to pay a penny. Literally nothing. They make it clear that it’s on you to pay real life money, and you should KNOW about how Gachas, or even just rolling for chances is like, because it’s basically a capsule machine. YOU are the one rolling, and YOU are the one who CHOSE to fork over your own money. YOU are the one who chose not to stop ‘gambling’. The game does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to make you pay genuine money. YOU are the one who made that decision, so YOU deal with the results you got. You know damn well that you’re likely not getting what you want, so stop whining about it.

But just to take a step back, even IF you disregard all these points and just look at the 0.6% chance and say: “Man, that’s low odds.” It HAS to be that way, because Mihoyo NEEDS that money. Yes, I know damn well they have millions of dollars, I did my research, but that is NOT ENOUGH MONEY. People don’t realize just how BIG and AMBITIOUS of a game Genshin Impact is. It isn’t just costly to make, it’s costly to MAINTAIN. It’s not a final released game, they’re still a work-in-progress and that brings LOADS of complications with it, especially since it’s blown up so much and they’ve got MILLIONS of users playing all the time. And just because they’re a Chinese company or WHATEVER excuse you have to bring to the table, doesn’t mean they have any easier of a time.

I know this. Because I have a fucking friend who works in game programming and development. She took one look at Genshin Impact and told me this was a game that makes Final Fantasy and Detroit: Become Human, or whatever huge fucking ass games over the years, look like a JOKE in terms of expenses. 

Mihoyo is CONSTANTLY updating their game, fixing bugs, implementing new things like small events or just fun stuff for players to goof around with, but NONE of these things are easy. THAT’S why they have new characters, THAT’S why they’re constantly doing events, they NEED people’s support to the game and their attention CAN’T wane. It’s pure BUSINESS. They’re not being selfish, that is literally just how it works.

And here’s another thing. Genshin doesn’t have ANY other money spending things EXCEPT for the wishes. They don’t make you pay for Resin, or make you pay to progress the story. No. ALL their income from the game, comes from the Wishing. Where YOU GUYS make that choice to fork over your money.

One of the things people in that group jeered about is Genshin’s shit security, and yes, that is problem that needs serious fixing. The thing is, they’re ALREADY hard at work trying to fix it. You think it’s a walk in the park to stop account hackers? FUCK NO. It needs cooperation from the users AND the company. The company needs to make better firewalls and security measures, and the users need to take precautionary measures to make sure they DON’T get their accounts stolen. It doesn’t matter how high or tough your walls are if you’re the one who just opens the gate yourself. And by all means, they are improving in that aspect, people just don’t announce it to the world. And oh yeah, they DO need money to improve their security. It is NOT free to develop bigger shields.

I had people in that group tell me the game was sooo slow in their development and there was no point in investing money in it, and to that I say. Let me just put this into perspective, okay? Let’s just rundown a list of things that need to be implemented when making a new region. Just one.

*inhales*

The terrain, environment, treasure locations, puzzles, local materials, local recipes, main city, sub towns, npcs, npc dialogues, shops, unique enemies, regional bosses, unique drops, regional characters, books, region lore and history, statues of the seven locations, teleporter locations, domain locations, oculi locations, story quests, world quests, sigils, and the list REALLY does go on.

AND THIS IS FOR ONE REGION.

THERE ARE SEVEN REGIONS IN THE GAME.

MEANING THEY HAVE TO REPEAT THIS PROCESS, FIVE FUCKING TIMES. (Since we already have Liyue and Mondstadt.)

Do. You. UNDERSTAND. HOW MUCH WORK. GOES INTO THIS FUCKING GAME.

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS?? HARDLY A HALF OF WHAT THEY NEED TO KEEP THEIR WORKERS GOING.

AND THEY’RE STILL VERY ACTIVE IN THE COMMUNITY.

So yeah. Genshin only draws money from the Gacha system they have, other income sources come from Mihoyo’s other games. They don’t force you to pay, at all. That decision is all on you. They need lots of money for the game, and still squeeze in time in their development to come up with little tidbit stuff for us to enjoy. They’re doing well, but they need improvements, but they won’t improve without the community’s support and understanding.

#genshin #genshin impact #rant #wow this was long

[lemonsandstrawberries]

Superhero Babysitting

fandom: Stony (Steve x Tony), MCU, 

summary: Since Steve became Captain America he had deal with many weird things in his life, but babysitting his de-aged boyfriend was probably in top five.

length: 2 984

a/n: sooo this prompt was sitting on my prompt list for waaaay too long, but I finally felt motivated to write it after seeing an alternative scene from IM2 between Tony and Howard, the scene was already deleted from youtube, but it was Howard’s message to Tony, where Howard records while holding sleeping Tony in his arms and tells him about his legacy (so basically everything he said in IM2), but adds little heartwarming things like ‘my son’ and ‘I love you’.  that kinda left the Tony fandom divided, but I loooved it, because for me, MCU!Howard wasn’t like his comic version, he was neglectful for sure, but not abusive. so, if you see Howard as an abusive person, you won’t like this fic! just a fair warning. in general, this fic is all fluff and sugar ;D. as always, feedback, reblogs and likes are appreciated and needed!

——————–

Superhero Babysitting

Steve sighed contentedly, the lukewarm water relieving his heated up body. It was a good way to end a training session. Feeling fresh and with a clear mind, he pulled on clothes and went to the common kitchen for an after training snack. The Avengers common kitchen was rarely empty, and usually, there was one or two of team members hanging out, either for a late meal or stealing someone's else snack. His granola bars better be where Steve left them, or there would be hell.

Steve entered the kitchen and smiled, greeting his teammates. Currently, in the kitchen were Clint, tapping something on the phone, Natasha, frying pancakes and a small, blonde boy, fidgeting in his seat.

Wait.

Steve's eyes lingered on the kid for a bit longer, as he opened the fridge and took a jug with orange juice, pouring himself a glass. The kid felt his stare and looked back at Steve, and Steve smiled in a way that hoped to be encouraging, but the kid looked away shyly.

"Cute kid," Steve said to Natasha, as she was flipping the pancakes. "Whose is it?" he took a sip of the cold juice.

"Well, seems that yours," Natasha answered with a half-smile, plating the pancakes.

Steve choked, some pulp going down his chin in a pretty disgusting manner before he wiped it with his hand. "Come again?" he asked, voice rising in panic. Natasha didn't pay attention to him, putting the pancakes in front of the kid and encouraging him to eat.

"You really can't tell who it is?" Clint asked, lifting his eyes from his phone, and looking very unimpressed. "Just look at him."

Steve didn't like this game. He locked his eyes on the kid. Or more like a child. Maybe five, top six years old. Blonde hair, big brown eyes, and pouty lips, when his request of putting both maple syrup and honey on the pancakes was denied by Natasha. Steve knew that pout.

"Why the kid looks like Tony?" Steve asked, feeling cold sweat on his skin. He and Tony started dating just six months ago, and Steve knew that his boyfriend had a long history of one night stands, and the only logical explanation was that a result of one of such nights was in front of him.

The kid looked at Steve, after hearing the mentioned name, but didn't say anything. Instead pulled his eyebrows together and pressed lips in a thoughtful pout. Just like Tony.

"Because it is Tony," Natasha answered, giving up to the kid's charm and going to fetch the honey from the cupboard.

"No way this is Tony," Steve answered, voice trembling a bit. That had to be some joke. It had to be.

"You want to see DNA results?" Clint asked, flipping his phone and briefly showing Steve some medical record on the screen. "Bruce confirmed everything."

Steve's mouth hung open. If it was a joke, his team was going through awfully a lot of trouble to make him fall for it. Tony was probably somewhere in the Tower, hiding, observing everything through a hidden camera and having a blast.

"If that's Tony," Steve started, eyes not leaving the kid, who after getting his pancakes slathered with honey and maple syrup, started to eat with appetite, "why is he so small?"

"Either this is some sort of speed up case of Benjamin Button, or I have one word for you," Clint made a pause, looking too serious when Steve looked at him, "Loki."

That just made a lot less sense with every passing minute.

"I am trying to track Loki down, Thor is already on his tail, but -"

"Tony, honey, use a napkin."

Steve's breath quickened. He watched Natasha wiping the boy's face from sticky syrup and half listened to Clint. If it was a joke, it should already end. Why wasn't it ending?

Unless it wasn't a joke.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked, noticing that Natasha and Clint stood up from the table.

"We got a signal. Maybe we can get Loki and make him reverse the spell," Natasha explained and Clint nodded to her words.

"Wait!" Steve panicked. "What I am supposed to do with him?" he asked, knowing that he worded himself wrong and technically shouldn't talk like that about someone present. Tony frowned, not thrilled with the perspective of being left alone with Steve either.

"Just ask him!"

"You will be fine, Steve. Good luck! Tony, I am going to leave you with Steve for a bit, okay?" Natasha petted Tony's hair, big brown eyes turning to her in question and she smiled, "don't worry, he is a nice person. Remember to brush your teeth after eating!"

Steve heavily sat on the chair across from Tony, after Clint and Natasha had left, not believing that his team left him like that. He didn't have a lot of experience with kids. Or like any. Stopping in the park when a group of kids and their moms surrounded him to get autographs or throw frisbee definitely didn't count.

Quiet, clinking and chewing sounds brought him back. Tony was slowly finishing his meal, not looking at Steve, but down at his plate.

"Uh, so, Tony," Steve said, noticing a brief twitch in the small boy. "What do you want to do later?"

Tony shrugged. "Dunno," he said, stabbing more pancake on his fork and putting into mouth in a messy, childlike way, some honey dripping down his smooth chin. The sad and hilarious thing was that Tony kept eating in the same manner in his adulthood too. That made Steve's heart tug with some longing feeling.

"Alright," Steve sighed, expecting this to be easier. "Then, what do you like to do in your free time?"

Tony took a moment to answer, his plate already clear and he kept smearing the butter and syrup around the plate. "Draw," came an answer in a small voice, almost as if Tony expected to get scolded.

Finally, some common ground. Steve smiled warmly. "What do you like to draw?"

"Robots," Tony answered, sounding a little more confident and happier, "and space."

"You like space?" Steve tried to keep the conversation going. Maybe it was a way to know something more about his boyfriend's childhood, as Tony generally avoided that topic.

"Yeah! One day I want to go to space and be an astronaut!" Tony said a little louder, smiling in excitement. Steve's smile dimmed a little when he realized that one day Tony's wish would come true and not in a way he had hoped for.

"An astronaut? That's a big word for such a small kid. You must be very smart," Steve praised, but to his surprise, Tony saddened at the words.

"Maybe," Tony answered, arms sagging down and he looked into his empty plate. At that moment, Steve realized that maybe because of his intelligence, Tony didn't have a lot of fun during his childhood, always being pushed to books about science and mathematic equations, instead of toys and games.

"You know, I like drawing too," Steve tried to change the topic. Much to his happiness, Tony looked up, seeming interested again. "You want to draw with me?" Steve's heart filled with a warm feeling when Tony nodded with a bright smile. It seemed he had a plan on how to keep the boy occupied. "But first, put your plate into the sink and go wash your mouth and brush teeth," Steve reminded, hearing a small whine of protest, that made him smile.

Some things didn't change.

It was surprising because Tony turned out to be a pretty calm kid. Steve gave him some pencils, crayons, and paper (all from his private supplies, he would restock later) and page after page, Tony created colorful pictures, barely speaking and moving, just sitting at the coffee table in the living room. True to his interests, Tony drew a lot of robots, in that childlike, rectangular way, but there was some wonderful attention to details, something Steve found almost startling.

"Wow, looks great, pal," Steve praised Tony's newest masterpiece - a robot in a rocket, on a background of a starry sky. Fun and colorful as Tony used every crayon he had. "I am gonna put this one on the fridge," he smiled, ruffling Tony's hair in praise.

Tony giggled, face beaming with happiness. It should be cute but was a bit alarming how such a small thing, something one's child should hear every day, brought so much joy.

It wasn't Steve's business. If Tony found out, he would get angry at him. Maybe even furious. But…

"Hey, Tony," Steve asked despite the warning signals going on in his brain, "do you draw often with your dad?"

Oh, there it was. Tony's hand stopped, eyes became startled. It lasted only for a second and Tony took a clean page and started a new drawing. He shrugged as an answer. "Dad's busy. It's fine."

Of course. Steve looked sadly at Tony. There was barely any emotions in Tony's voice or posture when he talked about Howard.

"Dad is busy all the time?"

"Kinda."

"So you don't spend time together too often?"

Tony shrugged, taking a blue crayon and doing some swirl in the middle of the page.

Steve bit his lip. He might regret it, but he had to know.

"Tony… does your dad-"

"He doesn't hit me."

The answer made Steve's eyes widen. "Uhhhh… I didn't mean that -" he tried to backtrack, but Tony didn't allow him.

"You are not the first one to ask me that today," Tony muttered, taking a red crayon and Steve's eyes widened in shock. Clint. Natasha. Bruce. Did they all ask? "Dad's often gone. Sometimes he yells when he gets angry, but that's all."

Steve frowned. That was a relief to hear, but still, didn't sound like a complete and happy childhood. "Is your dad-"

Steve didn't finish. He saw Tony grimacing horribly, eyes shining with tears. Suddenly he folded arms on the table, and curled, hiding in himself.

Steve sucked in a surprised breath. Did he make Tony cry? "Hey, hey, it's okay, I am sorry, I won't ask again -"

"I messed up."

"What?"

"My drawing. It is ruined," Tony sobbed out, clearly distressed. A minute ago, Tony showed some maturity surpassing his age, but it didn't change that he was still a kid.

"Hey, I am sure it is not that bad. Let me see," Steve said softly, walking to Tony and trying to look at the piece of paper under the kid's arm.

"Noooo, it is ugly," Tony said stubbornly, not planning to move and locking arms tighter around the drawing.  

"How it can be ugly? You did such a great job with every other drawing," Steve tried to encourage, but Tony just made some high pitched sad sound. "Come on, just show me," he tried again, leaning over the chair and softly poking the kid's side.

Oh, a reaction. Tony giggled, curling a little bit away from the finger. Steve smiled, poking some more, and then used his forefinger and thumb to very gently pinch the kid's side.

"Steheheeve! Dohahan't!" Tony asked, his laughter having a melody Steve knew so well, but sounding like little chirps. It was one of the cutest sounds he ever heard.

"Show me, show me, show me," Steve repeated time after time, moving his fingers and repeating the motion on boy's small belly. Tony giggled on a high note, and leaned back, escaping from the fingers, finally showing his drawing.

This day was already crazy and Steve thought nothing would surprise him. In the middle of the white page was drawn a very familiar shape drawn with red and blue crayons. Captain America's shield. His shield.

"That's-" Steve noticed that Tony was looking at him, all insecure and the previous smile gone from his face, only tears left. "That's beautiful, Tony! Wow!" Steve praised enthusiastically when the shock faded. The circles that made his shield were almost perfect and the star was exactly in the middle, all angles the same. Maybe it lacked a little bit on the coloring and Tony went out of the line a few times, but from a technical point of view, it was perfect. "You did a great job!"

"It's wrong," Tony argued, sounding sad all over again.

"How it is wrong? Looks great to me."

"Too much blue," Tony sniffled, wiping his eyes.

Steve looked closer at the drawing, now seeing it. Tony colored the circle that supposed to be white with a blue crayon. Honestly, Steve didn't notice, too much in awe of the perfect outline.

"It looks better like this," Steve decided, patting Tony's soft hair. "Seriously."

Finally, Tony smiled, some wet traces still on his cheeks, but sadness gone. Steve smiled back, somehow feeling proud that Tony sketched his shield.

"So, you like Captain America, huh?" Steve asked, trying to keep his voice nonchalant.

"Yeah!" Tony burst out, eyes shining happily, "he is the greatest hero ever and my favorite! I love Captain America! … Uh, Steve?"

Steve turned around, hand pressed to his mouth. He didn't expect that outburst of unfiltered, pure love and his face became heated and something he could only describe as a dopey smile took half of his face. Tony didn't need to see that.

"Steve, are you okay?"

"Yeah… I just need a moment, buddy."

Evening came sooner than Steve expected, none of the Avengers returned and it was high time to put Tony to bed. Steve tried to prolong that moment the longest possible, but Tony started to yawn and his head was bobbing dangerously down.

"Okay, kiddo, bedtime," Steve gave up, taking half-conscious Tony in his arms and carrying the boy to their bedroom.

"Mhhmm… Not tired."

"Sure you are not tired," Steve smiled, having another familiar moment. He put Tony down on the bed and pulled the covers over the boy's small frame. "Sleep well, pal. I will leave the night lamp on, just in case. I will be in the next room," Steve said in a hushed voice, brushing the hair off Tony's forehead. He didn't make it even half though the room when he heard a quiet voice.

"Steveee… Don't go."

Oh, dammit. Steve was afraid of that. Taking care of his adult boyfriend reverted to a kid was one, but sharing a bed was too much. That was like a sure romance killer.

But he couldn't say no to a kid. Tony had been denied too many happy memories by his parents already, and Steve didn't want to pile on that.

"Alright," he turned around and sat on the edge of the bed, "but only until you fall asleep."

"Okay," Tony agreed sleepily, scooting closer so he could feel Steve's warmth. "Can you tell me a story?"

"Sure," Steve smiled, "what would you like to hear?"

"Can you tell me about Captain America?"

And Steve's face became red again. Great.

"Uhhmm. You know what, pal? Maybe I will tell you about my favorite hero instead. Would that be okay?"

Tony nodded, not opening his eyes. It appeared that he just needed to be close to someone.

"Okay, so I will tell you about a very smart guy, who spent all his days designing and building machines, and one day, he built a gold and red armor - "

Somehow, Steve missed the moment when he fell to sleep on his own and slept through the whole night. He remembered when he woke up in the morning and the feeling of something scratchy on his face.

"Mhm. Go away," Steve muttered, fidgeting away.

"No."

He knew that voice. Steve's eyes snapped open and he saw brown eyes looking at him.

"Hi, sleepyhead," Tony greeted, casually spread on the top of the covers, all in his adult glory.

"Tony!" Steve smiled, feeling with all might how he missed his boyfriend. He scooted closer, wanting to lock their lips together, but somehow the memory of yesterday was too fresh and he placed his kiss on Tony's forehead instead.

"What the hell was that?" Tony complained, and Steve laughed, just taking in the moment, "give me a proper kiss!"

"No," Steve continued to laugh, moving away as Tony advanced on him.

"What do you mean no? I want my kiss, Steve!"

"I said no!"

"Bad news! We couldn't find Loki, but look I bought some games for Tony - aaaaw!" Clint stood disappointed in the doorway, not even cringing at the sight of Tony basically climbing over Steve. "You are an adult again!"

"What? What do you mean?" Tony asked, frowning at his friend. Steve took the moment to throw Tony off of himself (Tony squawked) and sat up on the bed.

"Never mind," Clint waved his hand but looked almost offended. Tony was a cute, polite kid. Unlike his adult version.

"What's that?" Steve asked, noticing some packaging under Clint's arm.

"New games," Clint said, showing the colorful covers, "now I have to return them," he complained dramatically.

Tony shrugged. "I will play with you."

"You will?"

"Yeah. You said you bought them for me, right? Let's play."

Clint beamed a smile and ordered Tony to come to the living room, solely to get his butt kicked during xbox tournament and sprinted out. Tony laughed and yelled something after the archer, but Steve didn't listen, too relieved with this whole mess ending just after one evening and one night. It was a nice experience, but he much more preferred his adult boyfriend.

"Hey, baby, we good?" Tony asked, still not understanding the morning chaos, but already moving forward.

"We good," Steve confirmed, smiling warmly at his boyfriend. They finally shared the good morning kiss and Tony hurriedly changed clothes to join Clint for some early gaming tournament and Steve decided to get some more sleep. 

Babysitting was exhausting.

--------------------

a/n was getting too long, so I am gonna add it here instead - although this fic was inspired by the prompt and that alternative scene from IM2, the true reason I am posting it, is because blue!anon send me a nice message. I didn’t post in a while, I have a back injury and I can’t sit for too long (seriously, proofreading and editing was a nightmare), but because I knew there was someone thinking about me and my fics, I wanted to go through with this and post something to make them happy, instead of sitting on this fic for God-knows-how-long. remember that likes/feedback are not only to make your creator feel good/ for ego boost - this is honestly the only way we can communicate, and hearing nothing just kills the joy of posting (not writing, as I mentioned, I write, I just don’t feel motivated to post). so, thank you again, blue!anon, for keeping me motivated, I love you and appreciate you so much  ❤️💙💛

#stony #steve rogers #tony stark #deaged!tony #fluff #domestic #natasha romanoff #clint barton #tickle fic #just very brief #we are not supporting abusive mcu!howard on this blog #fanfic #fanfiction

[somethinglacking]

Shooting For Stars: Chapter 1

Summary: 

Hyuna Lee just started college, and while procrastinating decided to give a popular MMO called LOLOL a try. Here she will meet new friends, battle monsters, part takes in epic quests, and potentially find love!

Most of this will take place in LOLOL at the beginning.

This takes place a year/ year and a half after Seven's good end, and the secret endings. Yoosung x OC

**Update's once a week**

Smut in later chapters, of course ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Hyuna groaned as she sat staring at her computer. Her assignment was to draw something that inspires you, some sort of introductory assignment for the Professor to get to know her small class of Art Student Misfits. Nothing seemed to inspire her as of late, and no matter what she did manage to sketch out onto screen seemed to call her out: The Un-Inspired Art Student with no muse or motivation. Her fingers ran the length of her caramel brown locks, and her nails lightly scratched her scalp trying to ease her growing frustrations. Hazel glared at the taunting screen before her, daring it to keep on challenging her. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the artist sighed in defeat. Nothing was coming to her, and the lines she had managed to get down didn’t seem to be coming together as anything. Annoyed with herself and lack of a muse, she set her tablet to the side and opened her social media. Not much was going on, and she didn’t really have any friends anymore. Her sister posted a photo of her and her little class of second graders. They were cute and her sister looked happy. Smiling at the photo she offered it a thumbs up. 

When she was done scrolling her newsfeed she opened boogle. Bored she searched for fun things to do on the internet. The search results varied in interest, but an ad on the web page she was on showed a popular MMO and a free trial. Curious she clicked it and went to the homepage of the game. She read of the spec’s and nodded noting it would work on her pc. She clicked the download icon and downloaded it. 

Hazel eyes read every bit of detail the game had to offer her as it booted up the character creator. Feeling a little nervous, having never played an MMO before and unsure if she’d actually like being in contact with actual people. Logically she knew she could just play solo and ignore the events, or even delete her entire account after the free trial ran out and simply say she tried it. Biting a plump bottom lip she was greeted with page after several final updates. 

First, she selected her gender debating on being a boy, but ultimately settled for female solely because she knew their armor would be cuter the further she got into the game. She clicked through the races and settled on an elf. She smiled customizing the hairstyle and making the hair a lovely hue of blue. The eyes matched her avatar's hair. Hyuna chooses the least appalling beginner to wear praying she would be able to get something that wasn’t such an eyesore to wear easily. Overall the artist was pleased with the look of her new online persona and moved onto the next page.

Here she had to choose a username. Chewing on her lip she knew she go to Sapphire would be already taken in such a massive game, but gave it a go anyway. Slightly disappointed when it was already taken she contemplated what to use. She typed in several weird spelling of the name before Sapfyre worked. Making a surprised and pleased noise, she made haste to click the arrow button that would take her into the game. 

The screen loaded and she took her time going through the tutorial and getting the hang of the world, and command functions. Hyuna watched as her pretty avatar moved about doing little missions and basically busy work with prompt boxes explaining the gameplay.

 Soon enough she had completed her ‘training’ and was warped to a busy square full of other players. Hyuna blushed feeling slightly overwhelmed by the sheer number of avatars on the screen. She had picked one of the busier servers, but she hadn’t imagined it’d be this popular. Chewing her lip she ran around getting used to the shops and how the currency worked. Hazel eyes scanned the screen and took notice of where the world chat was, besides it was a little icon that lights up red with a little 1 beside it. Curious she clicked it and noticed it was the private messaging system. 

SupermanYoosung★: Hey you look lost ^^ SupermanYoosung★: You must be new! SupermanYoosung★: If you want help doing some quest or anything let me know. Hyuna tapped the pads of her fingers against her lips reading the message over and over again honestly wanting to take them up on their offer. Yet, she also felt rather shy about it too, it was strange. It wasn’t like it was a real interaction with someone, just two gamer bros going on a digital epic quest, so to speak. That being said, the artist wasn’t really a people person. Taking a moment to think about the other player's offer she opened the tab at the top that showed the servers rankings and who was online at the moment. Hazel went wide as she stared at the first couple name’s noticing the friendly strangers rank. They where rank number 2, basically LOLOL royalty. Hyuna let out a girlish giggle in disbelief. She clicked back onto her private messages and re-read the person’s name. It was for sure rank #2 SupermanYoosung. Before her brain could catch up to her fingers the typed with speed across her keyboard. 

Sapfyre: Oh wow! Sapfyre: I just check up on you, and it says your rank #2 ^^; Sapfyre: You must have better things to do than help a little noob like myself!

Before she knew it an impressive tank build avatar ran towards her. Hyuna bumped her forehead lightly with her fist watching as he positioned himself next to her Hobo of an Elf avatar. What a contrast that was to behold. However, if he did have time to waste with her, she almost wanted to beg him to help her get something more suitable for her avatar to wear. Something less beggar and painstakingly noob. 

SupermanYoosung★: Hahaha Yup! That’s me, I’m pretty awesome, huh? 

Hyuna couldn’t help but roll her eyes as a smile played at the edge of her mouth.

SupermanYoosung★: I’m also pretty free at the moment. I have no issue bussing you through some dungeons and helping you get some decent equipment.  SupermanYoosung★: Plus once you get passed level 20 you can join guilds! SupermanYoosung★: If you want, I can invite you to mine, haha!

This person seemed pretty nice and welcoming, Hyuna mused smiling to herself. She didn’t want to get his hopes up, nonetheless. Still unsure if she wanted to pay for the month to month subscription, or would even bother logging in again once she decided she had procrastinated enough for the evening and got back to her assignment. Best to play it coy. 

Sapfyre: Well alright then!  Sapfyre: Lolol can you add me to the party, I have absolutely no idea what I am doing  SupermanYoosung★: Oh! Sure thing!

The notification of a party invitation popped up. Hyuna clicked it and accepted. Soon there was an Icon over the two opposing in style avatars linking them together. 

Sapfyre: Wow they really go out and show you who you're with, huh? Sapfyre: We should get out of the public eye, haha… Someone like you hanging out with a LOLOL hobo can’t be good for the reputation! ^^ SupermanYoosung★: lol naw, it’s fine, I’m buying potions. I’ve got a feeling you’re gonna need them at the start ^^ SupermanYoosung★: I know just the Dungeon that shares exp! It’s pretty high rank, but I can handle the monsters myself. You can just sit back and enjoy the show! Cheer for me too! Sapfyre: I might be a noob, but I do freelance as a cheerleader on the side Sapfyre: It’s not much, but it’s honest work~ Sapfyre: Go! Yoosung! GO!  SupermanYoosung★: Haha! I didn’t expect you to actually cheer for me >_< SupermanYoosung★: Now I definitely have to help you get to at least level 20!

Hyuna’s character automatically followed the party leader’s avatar about the busy town square. There was an option to turn it off, but she didn’t feel like it. It was fun watching the two of them run around side by side as this Yoosung got the supplies she would most likely need to brave the dungeon. The artist clicked on her avatar and gasped in surprise. 

Sapfyre: There are little social action commands! Sapfyre: Ooooh~ 

She made her Elf do a little tribal type dance around Yoosung. She giggled as he made his brolly tank dance with her in the middle of the square. That was cute! 

SupermanYoosung★: Hahaha >_< SupermanYoosung★: They do! And some of the actions are special to race, gender, and class. SupermanYoosung★: Oh! You get to pick a class at level 10 SupermanYoosung★: Any ideas on a build you want to make? Sapfyre: Thank you for the dance Monsieur~ Sapfyre: I dunno what build to make??? Sapfyre: I guess I want something ranged so I can hang back. 

A box popped up on the screen declaring that SupermanYoosung would like to item share with her. Hyuna clicked yes and his inventory opened along with her own. She flushed when she saw all the cool things he was carrying and how she only held a level 2 stick from one of her tutorial missions at the beginning. She watched as Yoosung threw 99 potions, and 99 mana restore potions at her along with a level 2 wooden helm. She giggled equipping it to her Elf. 

Sapfyre: Now my look is finally complete. What a sexy helm! SupermanYoosung★: lololol, sooo sexy~ SupermanYoosung★: Back on the topic of builds SupermanYoosung★: Ever consider being a support healer? SupermanYoosung★: It’s sooo hard to find a decent one D:

Sapfyre: I dunno if I’d make a good support ^^; Sapfyre: If they are hard to find there must be a reason right?

SupermanYoosung★: They just don’t know how to build themselves, and/or try to fight when the tanks have the situation covered and die, SupermanYoosung★: I never built a healer before, but I do know a few things. I could help you if you want?

Sapfyre: Welllllllll Sapfyre: Sure why not~~! Sapfyre: Since you’re helping me out so much already, I don’t mind trying to be a healer for you.

SupermanYoosung★: Thank you! SupermanYoosung★: Rest of the guild will be so jealous when I show off my own personal little healer~ haha~

Sapfyre: >_< lololol I’m shy~

Hyuna bit her lip re-reading the messages. It almost felt like this guy or girl or whatever they are was flirting with her. They couldn’t possibly know she was a girl. She assumed many male players would make a female avatar, let's be honest, the higher rank armor leaves little to the imagination. She wrote off the interaction as this Yoosung being friendly and excited to help her create a healer support he seemed to need desperately. 

SupermanYoosung★: Haha that’s okay! SupermanYoosung★: Do you have a headset, it’s easier to chat that way while in dungeons.

The artist flushed again at the thought of letting a stranger hear her voice. She could see why it would be more convenient. Seeing as she had never played an online game, and preferred solo JRPG’s or Horror survival-

Sapfyre: I never required a headset before

SupermanYoosung★: It’s okay, it just means we are gonna crawl dungeons a bit slower since we’ll have to type to one another. 

Sapfyre: ^^; I’ll look into investing in one in the future. Sapfyre: I’m on a college student allowance, it’ll have to be a cheap one.

SupermanYoosung★: Haha, I’m a student too. I get what you mean. SupermanYoosung★: No shame in having an off-brand HS since you’re just starting SupermanYoosung★: I’m gonna teleport us to a level 30 dungeon. Keep your guard up

Sapfyre: Sure thing ^^

They were off, the screen turned into a load for a moment before both of them spawned in a dungeon. The artist smiled as she watched the other player navigate the surrounding area. She was careful to fall back when zombie looking monstered spawned and swarmed them. All level 30, which made sense, Yoosung had stated it was a high-rank dungeon. Turns out level grind was a bit of a grind, even for beginners. Luckily it was a shared exp dungeon and since there were only two of them in the party it got split in half. Slowly where minimal communication since she lacked a headset they crawled through the Dungeon. Yoosung was kind enough to allow her to loot the corpses and the treasure chests. 

They had even run into some other players who would say hello to Yoosung via the world chat. They had custom speech bubbles, and Hyuna was interested in obtaining some of her own. It was impressive how immersive this game was. You could build sperate skills like smithing, mining, fishing, cooking, act. It was super customizable. Yoosung had rattled off about how there was an event boss just recently and the cool stuff he got for himself. Hyuna smiled, sometimes even giggling to herself as she read Yoosung’s messages. 

Even though she had gotten some pretty decent armor and weapon’s they couldn’t be equipped before she was level 30. It was probably a power scale to disallow players to equip armor so far above themselves early. Yoosung assured her in a few sessions he would have her beefed up and ready to stand on her own in no time. Hyuna despite herself agreed to meet up tomorrow evening and found herself genuinely enjoying the game. Maybe she was just enjoying Yoosung’s company, who knew. 

Once they finished the dungeon, Yoosung warped them back into the town square and sent her a friend request. Hyuna didn’t even think twice as she accepted it. 

SupermanYoosung★: This way we will get notifications when either of us logs on, and it even shows where we are on the map.  SupermanYoosung★: I’m gonna be on a little while longer, you good?

Hyuna looked at the clock and gasped blinking, unbelieving what she was thinking. Had she really wasted three hours? Was it really 1 am?

Sapfyre: OMFG!!!! It’s 1 am!!! I have an assignment due tomorrow morning! SupermanYoosung★: It’s 1 am for me too, we must be pretty close. Lolol SupermanYoosung★: You should go get the project done SupermanYoosung★: Guess I’ll see you tomorrow~ ^^

Sapfyre: Ya tomorrow! I’ll be off! Sapfyre: Enjoy ruling the online virtual world!

With that Hyuna was quick to log off and sighed to herself. It had only meant to be an hour break, and somehow she got so caught up in it she was looking at either failing her first assignment or not sleeping. Looking at the clock she grabbed her a tablet and the pen and looked at whatever these lines she had drawn were suppose to be. Deciding to delete all the progress she had apparently made, she settled herself in for a long night of drawing her assignment for her 8 am class. 

#Yoosung #Yoosung Kim #Mystic Messenger #mysme yoosung #yoosung x oc #Mystic Messenger FanFiction

[melien]

Update

Hey guys! Guess I'll break the silence and talk about... things. It will be a long post because I just never can make them shorter, but there will be some updates on my life and simblr that I really want to share with everyone.

The beginning of this month for me was truly something. I went on a three-day training with the other summer camp counsellors and then, two days later, there was another four-day sightseeing trip. Bonus: I had a really bad flu and was suffering the entire time. Needless to say, I was exhausted and on Sunday, when I came home, I slept from 5 pm to 9 am next day, and I'd sleep even longer if my mom didn't wake me up (I had a drawing class at 10 so I was really lucky).

But the most important thing is, I feel like I'm finally living an actual life that I could only dream of when I was younger, very insecure, socially awkward and constantly surrounded by wrong people. Now I know that I'm on my way to becoming a person I always wanted to be. All it took is telling all the fears to buzz off and making changes (e.g. joining the local youth center as a volunteer), and here I am now. It didn't happen immediately, but I kept pushing. Compared to myself only one year ago who believed everything is always going to end the same way so why even bother, it's such a massive progress and I'm so proud. In these past few days and by extension months I've had some great times with great people, I felt so comfortable with them. We talked about everything, had inside jokes, exchanged nice words and hugs, took a lot of photos, danced together, sang songs on top of our lungs, played mafia and other games, had walks in the unknown cities, got lost there, had to run like crazy not to miss the bus, sat in the restaurants and laughed a lot. There were plenty of moments when I felt alive and an important part of my community. When you have majorly struggled in the past, you start appreciating these things even more. I hope it doesn't sound like bragging, but I'm just so emotional about all of this because I never had anything quite like it and these experiences are new for me. I've still surely got a way to go when it comes to my personal development, but it's a start and I don’t want to go back to the times when I felt alone and unnecessary. I think the key was just changing my mindset altogether and getting rid of negativity, which is why I started attracting more positive people who think alike, and my little dreams and goals started coming true without me even realising it. For example, deep inside I always wanted to be a camp counsellor, and now I am – it’s the first step towards my big dream to be an English teacher.

Throughout these days, I only looked on simblr very briefly for the reasons mentioned above, but I want to gradually start catching up with the stories and legacies I enjoy, at least a little bit. The trips were awesome, but so physically exhausting. And I still have a lot of stuff to do this week, mainly do work and possibly a few more volunteering projects, so I probably won't be around as often as I want to, but just know that you're all great and I love you. 

I'm especially thankful for the comments and love on the recent events in the Twinkle legacy! I'm sooo excited for Cloudberry to be my next heiress because she's pretty damn awesome and I already have a huge crush on her thanks to some photos that I've taken of her as an adult, so it's going to be fun. I also ran a poll on Twitter asking if people wanted to see the Maples or Lilygreens. I have a backlog of both, but due to the poll results I'm going to post the Maples first and I'm dying for the start of my second generation to go live! Now if only I could find motivation to draft.

One more thing that I wanted to mention is that I have a ts2 side blog, @strange-mel. I really missed playing with premades and writing dialogues for them, and currently ts2 is my jam so I'm going to be active on that blog for a long time because I have a massive queue of my Strangetown gameplay going. I'm quite proud of how it's turning out because the gameplay was so enjoyable and there's a lot of hilarious moments. Also, I'm planning on writing a story in ts2 which features some of my favourite Strangetown characters, and I love the concept but it depends on my time and energy. Feel free to follow on there if you want to!

That's all for now, I guess. Oh and also, random but I go away for a few days and see Zayn releasing "A Whole New World" cover (for those who don't know, I'm hopelessly obsessed with this song and Aladdin, and I can't wait to go to the movie theater to see live action). All the best stuff happens when I'm gone, so I won't be surprised if some amazing sims posts have happened in this time period. 😅

Tl;dr: The entire beginning of May for me was travelling and I had a lot of fun with great people, which I have a lot of feelings about since I haven’t experienced anything like this in the past, and I’m really happy with my life at the moment. I may not be on simblr as often these days, but I’ll try my best and the queue will be active. The Twinkles are going on a break and the Maples are next. I also have a ts2 blog where I’m planning to be active and post my gameplay and possibly a story with Strangetown premades. To conclude, I’m looking forward to the live action Aladdin (relevant, I know)

#text post #personal

[sieben9]

“the savior” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

OK, in one sentence: This episode was just all over the place.

There were good bits. There were intriguing bits. There were “eh” bits, and there were certainly bad bits, and they were all mashed up together in one big, weird pile.

speaking of which…

I’ll try and put some of this into words under the cut.

So, let’s start with the “Hmm, fascinating” stuff.

First of all:

I see we’re still doing the “two minutes of contextless new people” format of starting a season. ::nods sagely:: Interesting choice, yes. Though watching this while also finishing up Wonderland is going to be… fun. (Is this another Robin situation or is it just not the same Jafar? …look, weirder things have happened. I thought I’d ask.)

And, secondly, Emma’s weird future visions.

Now, currently, I see about… three possibilities. 1) It’s an actual vision of the future, and Emma will have to find a way to prevent it. Predictable (pun fully intended), but possibly interesting if executed well. 2) Someone sent her a fake future vision to manipulate her on a certain path. Not an unreasonable assumption, considering Hyde’s cryptic comments and the fact that these visions seem to be working to his advantage at the moment. 3) Emma has actual hallucinations as a result of severe trauma. Which I would find interesting, but I’m also not sure how much I trust this show to handle the topic, so… not exactly rooting for that one. Option 2 is my personal favourite at the moment, and I shall sit here and quietly hope. …semi-quietly, at least. I’m telling you, after all.

It would also tie into something else that baffled and slightly upset me during this episode. Namely, this:

do i even WANT to know what you’re wearing there, buddy?

Morpheus, who’s also Belle’s and Rumple’s child, somehow? And who is dreaming along with his mother and has opinions on their relationship? I quietly headcanon that he’s actually a version of himself from the future, and connected to his (much) younger self through this dream, but that’s so not in the text that I think I pulled a mental muscle going through the required hoops.

Basically, the cell-lump speaks fluent English and also is going to be the god of dreams. Or not. I am very confused.

But if we’re going with the “someone sends people false (or misleading) visions in order to manipulate them” theory from Emma’s death-dreams, this could be part of something much bigger and more sinister, and I’m always up for big and sinister.

Anyways, the dream sequence was amazing until it wasn’t.

pictured: sieben’s cause of death

I really, really loved the moment where Rumple decided not to let the cup fall. Because, yes, that might have been how they fell in love the first time, but this shows that he doesn’t need to recreate that moment. Them falling for each other wasn’t a fluke, it wasn’t a one-time-miracle. They’re kindred spirits and hearts, and they would always have found a way to be together. ::sigh:: Let me enjoy my happy shipper feels for a moment.

By the way: look who was ready to let his curse be broken so he could wake Belle up, no ambiguity about it whatsoever?

Yup, this guy. (Also “for you I would be the best man I can”? Guuuh. My heart...)

And then it all fell apart. I’m not even talking about Belle’s “I won’t make a home with you”. That’s… painful, but the sort of thing you can talk about once everyone is safe in the real world. (Also not entirely unfounded, since they were still working through their problems before Belle decided on her extreme nap). But everything she said before “Morpheus” revealed himself? That she’d rather she and her child stay in that burning room of pain forever, rather than… I don’t even know. Be back in the world and talk to Rumple? How is this a good thing for your baby, Belle? How is never being born and living out eternity in torment any better than “being in Rumple’s debt”? (Also, where did he imply that there was a debt owed? He did exactly what you wanted — destroying Hades’s claim on your child — and then went to your dad to wake you up. And when he refused, Rumple still found a way to wake you. There was never a word of debts between you. Not once. This is just … ::annoyed gesturing:: Why.)

OK, alright, OK. Like I said earlier, I’m pacing myself. There’s another ten episodes to go with this, after all.

Squarely in the “eh” department (to me, at least): the people from the Land of Untold Stories

I’m still interested in the concept (people who didn’t want their stories to play out? Do tell!), but the way it was handled in this episode was. Well, see above re: “eh”.

Also:

Swan Queen magic!

::ahem::

Hyde was pretty neat, overall. Especially his scene with Emma in the Hospital Basement of Forgotten Villains. Good, strong “Silence of the Lambs” vibe going on there. And, like I said, I am very interested in the kind of game he’s playing and what is up with Emma’s tremors. (They seem to be both connected to the vision and a source of trouble all by themselves, sooo… not sure what to think of them, yet.)

Oh, and speaking of good scenes with Emma:

fairy godmother of coffee and good advice

I missed you, buddy. Though I’m sure there are better ways to tell someone “you need to deal with your problems rather than suppress them” than to call psychiatric drugs “shortcuts”. Just a thought.

Anyway, good to see him show up like that. I’m a little sad that Emma’s parents “sent” Archie rather than having a proper talk with Emma themselves, but… well, sometimes family is too close to the problem, I guess.

And to be fair, Snow was busy having good character moments elsewhere.

and nobody is trying to kill anyone. how time flies…

I will admit, I’m not entirely thrilled that we’re still on the “good thing I lopped off that part of myself and then crushed her heart” train, but then again, it looks like that will be addressed, so I’m not complaining too loudly. Overall, this was an incredibly sweet scene, and Regina going “I was a terrible stepmother… no, really, please don’t try and be nice about it” was oddly touching. I mean, it’s clear that these two have made peace long since, but this ability to calmly discuss the damage done is still a new facet to their relationship. I like it!

And then there’s this:

I don’t care that she’s chewing scenery like it’s popcorn, I look forward to having her around so damn much, I can’t even describe it. Dear Queen, you currently have the “delightfully camp villain” spotlight almost completely to yourself, and I expect you to make the most of it!

Which also brings me to another bit I just... didn’t like. Everything to do with Zelena in this episode. From her weird sulking about Regina throwing her in prison that one time (because it’s not like there was any clear and pressing reason for that, right, Zelena?) to her equating Regina’s decision to destroy the Evil Queen with her (indirectly) getting Robin killed, all their interactions felt uncomfortable and decidedly forced. I get why, but I’m not invested enough in this relationship to give it the benefit of the doubt.

Alright, to close this post out, I want to draw attention to this episode’s biggest mystery:

So, if “Morpheus” is supposed to be Belle’s and Rumple’s son… where did those extra 60 centimetres come from? He is a gigantic man next to these two tinypeople. How did the two hobbits manage to birth a weird ent-elf together? (Yes, I know, decent nutrition before and during your growth spurts can do wonders, but let me have my silly little joke, alright?)

Maybe somewhat mean-spirited, but heartfelt addendum: the true hero of this episode was that airship-earthquake in the first minute of Storybrooke-time, because it saved me from having to watch another second of the Most Awkward makeout-session.

Thank you, weird airship, I am forever in your debt.

#ouat #once upon a time #the savior #sieben watches ouat #ouat writing critical #anti cs #anti zelena #belle critical #rumple critical #i'm just glaring at everyone and everything #with a ''behave or else''-look in my eyes #sieben talks

[velkynkarma]

End-Of-Year Fic Meme

Better late than never, right? @butteredonions​ tagged me a while ago, but I wanted to wait for Failsafe to be done since it was technically written in 2017 haha. Let’s do this!

Last Year’s In Which I Was Also Very Late

STATS:

List of Fics Posted: All Voltron, all planetonicplatonic. All my 2017 work should now be on AO3.

Silence is Golden ~ Shiro-centric, ensemble, 10291 words (Exchange fic for @bosstoaster​ )

Your Princess Is In Another Castle ~ Allura-centric, 7228 words (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Pillar in the Dark ~ Hunk & Keith focus, 12930 words (for @platonicvldweek​ )

In My Sights ~ Lance-centric, 7099 words (for @platonicvldweek​ )

What’s in a Name ~ Lance & Keith focus, 7485 words (for @platonicvldweek​ )

Phantasmagoria ~ Pidge-centric, Pidge & Shiro focus, 11960 words (for @platonicvldweek​ )

One Hundred Percent Probability ~ Shiro & Slav focus, 14044 words (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Altar of Storms ~ Ensemble fic, How to Train Your Dragon AU, 35292 words (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Knights of Lion ~ Ensemble fic, Shingeki no Kyojin AU, 24027 (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Advanced Maintenance ~ Shiro-centric, follow-up pieces to Routine Maintenance, 4863 words Prince of Memory ~ Shiro-centric, 20169 words A Thousand Burning Eyes ~ Zarkon-centric, 55900 words (for @voltrongenminibang​ ) When the Cat’s Away ~ Keith-centric, Keith & Space Mice focus, 22758 words (for @voltronbang​ ) The Packrat ~ Coran-centric, Coran & Space Mice focus, 11519 (exchange with @maychorian​ ) Mirror Image ~ Shiro-centric, Kuron(”Ryou”)-centric, 32415 words (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Whisper in the Dark ~ Keith-centric, 21326 words (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Cotton Guardian ~ Lance & Hunk focus, 8749 words (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Road Trip to End Times ~ (ch4 only), Ensemble, 7783 words (for @platonicvldweek​ ) Seven Vargas ~ Shiro-centric, 18006 words (for @butteredonions​ ) Little Crystals ~ Assorted prompts & characters, 19627 words Failsafe ~ Shiro & Kuron(”Ryou”) focus, 49930 words

Total number: 21 (counting Little Crystals’ assorted prompts as 1) Total word count: 403,401 words

Ship/character breakdown: Ship breakdown: No ships! All gen :) Character breakdown (all counts based on -centric or focus for a character, with or without the inclusion of other chars) 8 Shiro-centric or Shiro-focus 4 Keith-centric or Keith-focus 4 ensemble fics (team focus) 3 Lance-centric or Lance-focus 2 Kuron(”Ryou”) centric or Kuron(”Ryou”) focus 2 Hunk-focus 2 Space-mice focus 1 Pidge-centric 1 Allura-centric 1 Coran-centric 1 Zarkon-centric 1 Slav-centric Not counting assorted prompts in Advanced Maintenance & Little Crystals

Characters that had the main focus: Unsurprisingly, Shiro was the main focus, but I do like that I tackled all the major characters at least 1 time. Breakdown questions beneath the cut!

Specifics:

Best/worst title? aka Bane of VelkynKarma Best title: Prince of Memory. It has a specific meaning in the fic, and also has a more meta meaning, but I always liked that the meaning was never really clear until the very end of the fic. Worst title: Little Crystals. It’s...okay, I guess, and I’m not so torn up over it since it’s just a prompt depository, but it doesn’t feel very creative even so.

Best/worst first line? Best: Mirror Image     The Kerberos mission is an unmitigated success. I always liked this start, just because even in the middle of telling the reader something was successful, they’re already questioning. Kerberos doesn’t go well, and we all know that. Why’s it a success?

Worst: What’s in a Name     “Here is the data you requested, Princess Allura. Though I am not sure it will help your cause any.” Not really a terrible opening per se, but boring in comparison. The reader might keep going to see who’s speaking (usually the case with opening with dialogue) but it’s not super engaging in and of itself.

Best/worst last line? Best: A Thousand Burning Eyes A thousand burning eyes staring at him out of a deep void, patient and hungry and waiting. I deliberately planned for this last line while writing this fic. I just loved the idea of, after the reader seeing all the awful things Zarkon had done in response to this threat, leaving it hanging with Shiro seeing the same thing. It leaves so many questions. Will he walk the same path? Will he make the same mistakes?

Worst: Whisper in the Dark     In the meantime he’ll do whatever he can, and somehow that feels like exactly enough. It’s not a terrible ending in and of itself, but after all the action and horror of the entire fic, it felt a little flat by comparison. I don’t generally dislike my endings, but I was in a bit of a rush to finish this before platonicVLDWeek dropped, and it probably could have been smoother.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted? Way more than anticipated. I don’t think I’ve ever written this much for any other fandom, ever.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year? I don’t do ships, and the only fandom this year has been VLD. Genre? Hmm...I’ve forayed into some fluffier, comedic, or lighter sick-fics, mostly due to prompt challenges and exchanges with @bosstoaster​ and @maychorian​, so thanks for that guys. What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest. Aw geez. I love all my fics, but if I haaaad to pick? Either Prince of Memory or Mirror Image. I reaaaally love playing with the concept of memory in unusual ways. Actually on that note, Failsafe was fun to play with in that regard, too.

Okay, NOW your most popular story. Technically that’s Parasite Knight according to my 2017 stats on AO3. However, I count Parasite Knight towards 2016 since that’s when it was written. That means Pillar in the Dark is the most popular of 2017.

Story most underappreciated by the universe? Probably A Thousand Burning Eyes, but this is hardly surprising. It’s Zarkon-centric, sooo low popularity to begin with. Not only that, but it released prior to S3 and the introduction of Zarkon x Haggar as an official pairing, meaning he was even less popular and developed at the time.

Story that could have been better? Between the use of Keith and Lance (but wanting to avoid Klance backlash) and sort of skirting around my actual views regarding the Blade of Marmora, What’s in a Name came off as overly cautious and a little weak. I think I was too afraid of stepping on toes or starting a fight somewhere. There are some prompts I’d taken for various prompt events that I wasn’t really happy with, specifically this one with Ulaz. I’d never done prompt challenges before so I was really trying hard to fill anything that came my way. Unfortunately the requester wanted Uliro, and I’m not comfortable with ships, nor am I particularly comfortable with Ulaz as a character (I personally don’t interpret him as a character capable of being on even friendly terms with Team Voltron). The result was me attempting to parrot other character interpretations I’d seen of him, but it fell painfully flat, and the either of the characters could have been swapped out with another without really changing anything. I learned my lesson from that, though: in the future I’ve learned to reject prompts or character requests that I’m not on board with.

Sexiest story? I don’t do sexy D: So...none I guess Saddest story? Probably Prince of Memory, which apparently made a number of people cry at work/in class. Oops. Sorry about that. Although Failsafe could probably give it a run for its money now. Most fun? Altar of Storms because DRAGONS! I watched Dragons episodes and movies so many times and had a ball imagining the fight scenes. Story with single sweetest moment? I don’t really have any sugar-sweet moments, but I have a hell of a lot of bittersweet ones. Prince of Memory and Failsafe are the biggest source of these, although Cotton Guardian has got some sweet moments that turn creepy-cute later too. If I had to pick an excerpt for personal fave though? This scene from Failsafe, which was literally the entire reason the fic was written. (Not lying. Thought of this scene at work and went, ‘well shit, I need a fic to go with this’):

He’s moving before he even realizes it, lurching from where he’s sitting on the edge of the bed to reach for Ryou. Ryou flinches when he feels Shiro move, but then Shiro has both arms around him, drawing him in close to hold him instead. The hug is fiercely protective, encompassing every instinct Shiro has to shield and defend, but even so he’s mindful of his strength. He has to be gentle, so gentle, because Ryou is so breakable now. He supports Ryou with his Galra arm with the utmost care around his back and side, and his real hand rests against the back of Ryou’s skull, pressing his head gently against Shiro’s shoulder. This close, he can feel every protruding rib of Ryou’s and every jutting angle on his too-thin frame, even through the blankets he’s still wrapped in. It’s heartbreaking, and yet at the same time makes Shiro want to curl even closer around him to shield him from anything in the universe that would dare take away his second chance. “No,” Shiro says, fierce and soothing all at once. “No. God, no. Ryou, listen, we would never do that, okay? You're not just some experiment to us. Never to us. Never to me. Okay? We will never do that to you, ever. Ever. “And I’m so sorry that we ever did anything to make you believe that,” Shiro adds. He’s so sorry, more than he can ever express. He should have known better. He should have fucking known. “That’s our fault. That’s my fault. But you’re safe here. That will never happen.” Ryou is completely still in Shiro’s arms. Even his breathing hitches as his harsh pants quiet down. For one frightening moment, Shiro is so afraid that Ryou still doesn’t understand; that his mind is still trapped in some terrible reality where he expects to be discarded over something he never had any control over. But after a moment, he starts trembling again, and his whole body loses tension. He goes completely limp, until Shiro is the only thing holding him up. His head turns weakly, pressing into Shiro’s shoulder just a little more, and after a moment Shiro can feel his one remaining hand struggle weakly out of the blankets until his fingers can curl around the edge of Shiro’s vest. “ ‘m sorry,” he mutters weakly into Shiro’s shoulder. “Don’t be,” Shiro insists. “It’s not your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for. No matter what happens, you are always safe here.” The words seem to break something free in Ryou’s head. A long, slow shiver wracks his entire body, and his shoulders begin to shake as he buries his face in Shiro’s vest. Relieved, exhausted, and sick, he cries quietly into Shiro’s shoulder over his own stay of execution. 

Hardest story to write? A Thousand Burning Eyes, just because so much technical work went into it. I basically had to re-watch the entire first 2 seasons while writing it to get everything from Zarkon’s point of view, and plan the timing exactly. Not to mention explain how his entire empire happened as a result of trying to save the universe. There was a lot of research and watching the same scenes over and over. It took forever.

Easiest/most fun story to write? I was not expecting Silence is Golden to be as easy to write as it was, or to develop into something quite as silly as it did. (Keith, I swear...) Once I had the plot it basically wrote itself in a day.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters? I did a lot of writing with Keith this year, which helped I think in the long run. I was...not happy with the S2 revelations for his character, not gonna lie, and to this day I’m still not really with the whole ‘Keith is Galra’ plot point. But playing around with it in unusual ways (specifically with the Darkness Calls series) helped to figure him out a little better and let me at least come to terms with it.

Most overdue story? Shiro’s story in Mirror Image is a concept I’d been sitting on since almost right after S2 dropped, but I didn’t release it until around Halloween, and only after 2 more seasons and the introduction of the clone!Shiro theory. The real most overdue story still isn’t out yet

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? Boy did I ever! I’d never done prompts before, which was an exercise in writing things outside my comfort zone (and also, in learning when it was okay to say ‘no’ to going outside the comfort zone, too). I participated in @platonicvldweek week multiple times, submitted work for 2 bangs, and even helped moderate one. And I did a few more prompt exchanges, too. It’s been a wild year for risk-taking with writes.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

Tackle some of those characters that only had 1 centric piece Build some series more. It’s fun, turns out! Participate in more events if I can swing it Inspire people to art moar Maybe sketch more stuff to go with my art (that’s not totally writing but who cares)

Happy New Year a month into the new year

#Velkynkarma writes #writing meme #voltron #fanfiction #fanfic