#i might do a post with my mending projects too

[iamacolor]

2023 sewing projects - part 2 details at the end of the post (click here for part 1)

Note: I work for a fabric shop so I get most of my fabrics fabric for free as well as some patterns as I have to be wearing our products at work (I definitely consider it a perk). Without this job I would not be sewing as much and I'd probably be buying most of my fabric second hand or on sale as I used to do before. I also sometimes sew during work hours so keep that in mind if you're also a sewist, go at your own rythm 💜 Although I have basic training in pattern drafting I prefer to sew from pre-existing patterns to save on time (as i have to regularly make myself some new clothes for work) and discover new techniques and styles - but I often change stuffs to adapt the designs to my style.

1 - same pants as in part 1 but this time in a double wool crepe from italy (i found it in a charity shop and the border says so in italian - it's absolutely gorgeous, i found 3 pieces of it at once for like 10 € each. I made a dress in the first piece, then these pants in the second)

2 - dream dress in a coton double gauze - the gingham is sized differently on each side of the fabric so i had fun deciding where to put which but i had less fun gathering all of that fabric (the nice thing is it's super light and i get a lot of compliments on it) - the pattern has a short sleeves version that i'd like to make for this summer

3 - a simple tee made in ribbing fabric (usually used for the collar and wrist pieces on sweater) - the pants were made last year but they're the same pattern as the pink ones in part 1, just the slim leg version!

4 - another super quick make in a modal fabric (it's so soft and nice to work with), the last one i made in june before my tendinitis stopped me from touching my machine for a couple of months (and tbh i maybe shouldn't have made this one lol)

5 - first project back on the sewing machine during the summer holidays, very quick one in the remnants of the linen-viscose blend i used to make the matching set in part 1 (can you tell i love this fabric and this colour?)

6 - a mini retro skirt in coton gabardine - the skirt was made to be short and as i'm taller than the average height used in patterns i lengthened it but almost not enough as i ended up having to do a single fold of 1cm to hem the bottom instead of the usual 1 + 2/3 lol

7 - ok so this one...i went in with no pattern and not much thoughts tbh i took this striped fabric and decided to turn thop of the piece into a plain colour by folding it repeatedly so that the folds would reveal the secondary colour by opening - it was super long to make especially because i just cut straight on the side instead of taking into account the fact that I am very much not straight from the waist down to the hips so i had to do a little fixing on the side seams once all the folding and assembling was done before i could put in the zipper. I was very proud of this skirt when I finished it but I've only worn it twice since then (september lol) because it's absolutely awful to iron it (and although i stitched every single fold on one side i still have to press them all one by one)

8 - these curtains are made in a wax fabric given to me by my grandmother who got it from a church friend who brought it from her homecountry in Africa (can't remember where that is, sorry) - they're lined in a dark navy coton so they can be more occulting (the same used at the bottom for the ruffles as the piece of fabric was too small for my curtains to go all the way down). I did this project in an evening so the inside finishes are very rough and i didn't even iron them but i was hellbent on finishing them on the day I started (after months of just having the fabric draped over the window as a makeshift curtain) - it doesn't show too well on the pictures but the darker yellow is actually gold!

#vinformation #my sewing #i also made a bag for a colleague who had a baby and a computer pouch for my brother at christmas but i didn't take pics #i might do a post with my mending projects too #sewing #crafts

[theheightofdishonor]

honestly i should always keep my nails nightwing themed because the spark of joy i get whenever i catch sight of them is indescribable

Like will it clash with my ladybug cosplay this weekend? Yes. Am i gonna change them? Hell no.

#nightwing nails >> ladybug nails #personal #still have to find a post for the random irl shit i post #i might make some nightwing earrings later in the year/next year #i want a nightwing hoodie too but i haven't found one i like yet nor do i like any of the designs ive come up with for one #if i had more blue things i couldve done a loosely nightwing inspired fit this weekend but blue for some reason literally does not exist in #my wardrobe which is obviously a mistake that requires mending if only because it would satisfy me immensely to incorporate nightwing #colors into my everyday outfits #oooh i should buy nightwing rings? do you think those exist #if not it'd be an easy fun project to make #i'm thinking to glue 3 wire wishbone rings together with the center one being blue #so it'll kinda look like the nightwing v #dc #nightwing

[crowleys-bentley-and-plants]

Damaged

I dont think this is so much a poem as me just smashing words together to cope. im just trying to make sense of things. this is years and years of pieces of myself and of Crowley spilled over the screen. i might have taken it too far i mightve choked on the things i wanted to say but well it's done now so yeah. please proceed with caution this poem deals with self loathing and the such

-

How can you see beauty

In a broken thing like me?

For I am tainted, stained by sin

How can you love a crippled soul

That’s marked by scars too deep to hide?

Scorched and carved up and then spit out

By the place I once called my own

Forced to grow fangs and claws

To shield myself from the torment of my past

But now, I brush my hands against yours

And I leave a trail of scarlet upon your flesh

I've become the beast I feared

Struggling to recognize the reflection in the mirror

As it distorts 

Into a monstrous mask

Yet you hold me with gentle hands

As spiders spill from my eye sockets 

Falling on the ground that grows webs in their wake

Securing me in place

To ensure that I cannot escape

Myself

Yet you remain steadfast by my side

As my sharp branches that I call limbs

Ensnare your figure and pierce your sacred skin

I see the pain etched upon your face

And I curse myself for it

For this is how I love—

With claws that cut and fangs that maul

And no one should endure the love I give

For is it love, if it destroys

You?

Yet still, you stay,

A martyr, a sacrifice,

A holy fool

You see value where there is none

I am but a stain upon your purity

A blemish on your perfection

A poison coursing through your veins

A parasite feeding on your kindness

Venom oozes out of my wounds

Burying you alongside the echo of my being

I am a plague, spreading with every breath I take

The ruptured creature within

Will not stop until you collapse into my useless arms

Until we become one

And I would rue the day I first drew breath

The day She sculpted me out of fire

And left me there to burn

The day she imprisoned me in this vessel

Cursed me to crawl on broken legs

She never loved me—

How could She love a creation designed to falter?

Yet you do 

Despite my flaws?

So teach me, angel, if you dare

Show me that I’m not beyond repair

For I’m still damaged, in need of mending

How can I not be? Look at me

How can you love this misshapen thing I am

With jagged edges, dented thorns?

My mouth so rough, my wings all faulty

My eyes unable to perceive the light

My body, nothing but shards of broken glass

And my heart, a barren wasteland

My tongue slit, but what’s one more tear,

On my already fractured frame?

How can you love me

When I have forgotten

How to love myself?

-

ive never been more scared to post something. im gonna disappear from the face of the earth for a bit now

read it also on ao3:

hey my absolute favourite people of this site i hope you dont mind @crowleys-hips @bearthewhipsandscornsoftime @fearandhatred @ghostsparrow @eybefioro @seven-stars-in-his-palm @ficreader500 @crowleys-curl @crowleybrekkers @notagoodlad @lickthecowhappy @di-42 @goodoldfashionednightingale @spookyllamatree @wanderer-main @ineffabildaddy

#good omens #crowley #aziraphale #ineffable husbands #good omens poem #good omens 2 #good omens season 2 #go2 #original poem

[mycraftingjourney]

Introduction post

I wanted to give a bit of an introduction to why I'm here, what I'm doing and so on.

tl;dr: I like clothes and I'm into sustainability, so I started (visible) mending a few month or so ago. I also crochet, although not as much as I'd like to, and I dabble a bit in embroidery. My goal is to kind of document my journey with these crafts and maybe inspire people to give some of these a try.

I'd also love to talk about all things (visible) mending, crochet, embroidery and fiber arts in general and share the knowledge I have / point people who want to start to some resources that helped me.

I've been into fashion/clothes and styling them on and off for a big part of my life. A few years ago, I also got into sustainability, learning about how buying new fast fashion damages our planet and exploits other human beings, and what may be good alternatives.

This path, inevatibly, lead down to getting curious about mending. I learned basic sewing skills when I was a child, but I never altered any clothes and apart from a few tiny things never mended anything.

However, this year, I wanted to change that. I've heard about visible mending before and I really liked it. I had a pair of jeans when I was a teenager that was patched (by someone else) that was my favourite pair. Unfortunately, I managed to ruin it beyond repair and also grew out of it, but this stuck with me. I always liked to express myself creatively, and in recent years, what I wear has become a big part of that. The idea that by visibly mending my clothes I express my passion for sustainability feels really good (and punk!) to me. The idea of altering clothes that I don't currently love but could love if something about them was changed is also a nice one.

I only darned my first sock a few months ago. My goal with this blog is to share this first darn as well as the progress I make, because I want to encourage other people. You don't have to make perfect mends to be sustainable. On the contrary, mend imperfectly, mend messy, but DO MEND. Even if you'll have to redo it at one point, when you have more skill, even if you don't end up redoing it and instead use that piece of clothing for something else, you still gave it another wear, or two, or three (or fifty) - and that's what this is all about.

I tend to be an extreme perfectionist and it's hard for me to deal with a situation where I'm not perfect at a first try. Surprise surprise, I am not when it comes to mending, or embroidery, or crochet, or anything at all really. But I'm trying to let that go and concentrate on what I achieve rather than what I did "wrong" or imperfectly. I want to share my messy bits and the things I'm proud of, and I want to update how the mends I did held up. As i mentioned above, I hope that maybe I'll inspire some people to pick up a needle as well. Even if you "only" fix that button or a ripped up seam. Every mend counts!

When I get into altering or even making clothes, I will share those projects too, but that will have to wait a bit since I don't currently have any space to put up my sewing machine and I do simply not have the energy nor patience to hand sew bigger things.

Apart from mending I also crochet. Talking more about that feels like a bit of an overkill here, I'll make a new post for that.

Recently I also started to embroider, with the idea of using embroidery in my (visible) mending and to embellish clothes. Here again I decided on a project where I just start and don't try to be perfect from the beginning on, I'll share more about that as well as my crochet project(s) soon.

I think this should be enough for the moment with the introduction. One thing about me, as you probably got by now, is that I'm really bad at being brief with my writing. I have no idea how often I will manage to make posts on here due to work and life, but I will try to do them quiet regularly, as well as sharing things I see that might be helpful / interesting / that inspire me. I also think I'll probably only write more for bigger projects but also just share stuff I'm working on / finished recently.

Maybe I'll also share other DIYs that are not really crafts/fiber arts related but I think are cool.

This isn't my main blog (thats @merryfromthestars), so if I follow I follow from there.

I'm also always open to questions, discussions etc. so just send me an ask or dm if you want! Just, I might take a moment to answer them, because life and work :) I'm excited to see where this journey takes me, and I hope some people will come along and maybe get inspired.

#sewing #diy #crochet #fiber art #fiber arts #long post #embroidery #sustainability #sustainable fashion #crochetblr #mending #visible mending #personal #solarpunk

[shearlin]

Word count: 2678

Chapter 7: Time

First || << Previous || Next >>

Happy International Women's Day that was yesterday! As a gift, have a cameo!

Fun fact! I noticed that on average I'm adding 1k words to my "final" drafts when I search for typos and errors before posting. Good thing I put an uploading schedule for myself in place or I would ended up in the editing limbo.

(I also discovered I cannot write accents for the life of me. There was an attempt, but I had to scrap it because I just couldn't do it justice. The accents live in my head and in my heart.)

Enjoy! :D

Another day, another fight, another close call. This time it was… well, Time.

They were on their way to Lon Lon Ranch, landing in old man’s Hyrule only a day's walk away from it. Their spirits were high, the sunbeams bright and the monsters stupid enough to think they didn’t notice them hiding in sparse shrubbery on the side of the road.

The fight didn’t look like anything special. They were so used to working together by that point, it felt more like a choreographed dance routine than a real battle. Legend twirled the ice rod in his hand, wielding his sword in the other, freezing and shattering any monster coming too close, while being covered by Sky with the Master Sword and a whip. Hyrule was dancing around the Darknut with ease giving Wind and Four an easy shot at his back, the two of them making quick work of its armour. Wild was giving them all multiple heart attacks by letting a giant moblin stab the air inches from his face, only to kill it in a rapid fire of blows in a blink of an eye. He would later claim he was ‘training his magic abilities’ and acting all innocent, the madman. Twilight was going after archers, covering the distance between him and them in a blink of an eye as a wolf, coming out of the shift with his sword already swinging. Warriors was taking care of the supposed leader of the pack, separating it from the rest and not letting it bark out any orders or call retreat.

And Time was dealing with a pair of black lizalfos from Sky’s era.

Legend didn’t see how it happened, not that it mattered, only heard the old man coming down with a yell of pain as the spiked metal ball connected with his left knee and rendering him vulnerable and unable to fight.

Twilight and Wars were to his side in an instant, covering him while Time tried to do his best to not move so as to not upset the crushed joint any further. Sky went absolutely ballistic on the monsters he and Legend were dealing with, allowing the veteran to provide additional aid to the old man's defence with his ice rod, allowing Wars to start on the first aid.

They might have been overeager in making sure Time was okay, but to be fair, they were just a few hours away from Malon. They were not going to bring to her doorstep her husband all broken and beaten up.

They defeated the monsters quickly after that, powered by their righteous fury. A fairy that was travelling with them for the past few hours, straight up phased through the glass of her bottle as soon as the last monster fell, so she could heal his leg, despite old man's insistence he would be fine with a red potion, since they were going to the ranch to rest anyway. She had none of that, healing him in a tirade of bells and chimes and then zipped ahead to have her fill of sugar water as a reward.

Legend might not be able to speak with the pink fairies, but by the way Time chuckled as she offered her farewells, he was convinced that that particular one had enough excitement for her life .

Once the injury was mended and Time led them back on the road, the good mood from earlier returned to their group and they started joking around again. Just their local old man being too slow with his reflexes and not being able to keep up with them younglings.

But Legend couldn’t help but feel the uneasiness prickle under his skin once more, as he fell to the back of the group, brushing off Sky’s questioning look and Hyrule’s attempts at conversation. They got the hint easily enough and he was left alone with his thoughts.

The ‘old man’ jokes were all in good fun. The old man himself was often pointing out with humour, how he can’t possibly rival their vigour during training sessions or with the long days of trekking across the lands of Hyrule, no matter his ability to move with deceptive ease and speed when he really wanted to.

And it wasn’t like those jokes were unfounded. He was the oldest. If anyone, Legend would know how years of heroing can weigh on one’s body. Time might have only two (three?) official quests under his belt, but he did spend his teenage and young adult years hunting monsters, clearing and cleansing dangerous cursed places and doing all sorts of work for the crown as the Hero of Time. He might have found peace and tranquillity in the life on the ranch with Malon once he officially “retired” that title, but it didn’t erase years of injuries, scarred tissues or impaired-or-possibly-lack-of vision in his right eye. The entire chain could attest that it would be weird if that life didn’t leave any strain on his body.

Occasional injuries caused by slower reflexes or lingering stiffness was to be expected.

Logically, Legend knew that. But it was happening too often.

Well, not really, it was happening too often for his taste.

Read the rest on Ao3!

#linked universe #linkeduniverse #lu fanfiction #linked universe fanfic #linked universe legend #lu legend #linked universe time #lu time #my writing #a piece of heart

[thirdeyeblue]

20 questions for fic writers

Thank you for the tag, @mulderscully 🩷🩷

How many works do you have on ao3?

32 (ayyy Veronika, we match)

What's your total ao3 word count?

965,446

What fandoms do you write for?

Doctor Who!

Top five fics by kudos:

Bloodstream

For All We're Worth

Mending

Tiny Lights Below

The Doctor's Brilliant Idea

Do you respond to comments?

For the most part, yes - but sometimes, it might take a tremendous length of time (provided my mental health is crushing me and I feel unworthy of love 😅)

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

It will easily be Can't Shift the Tide when the time comes (and all five people who read it will suffer)

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Pretty much everything! I can't even READ fics with sad/angsty endings, let alone write them (with a small crackship caveat)

Do you get hate on fics?

Only from a small sect of presumed tweens enmeshed in said crackship

(Oh, and Mickey Smith's burner account getting a little bummed with me one of the many times I've implied Mickey was a terrible shag)

Do you write smut?

Hahahahahahahahahaha

Craziest crossover:

Just going to count my TenMartha/TenRose fic, since that's the closest concept to a crossover I've got

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Hopefully not?

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone translated Bloodstream into Russian - I've made a couple of friends through that, too! 🥰

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I've got two co-writing projects with my beloved @bronzeagepizzeria that have been sitting brutally neglected in my docs for months via late fall depression... BUT planning on getting those going again ASAP.

Also so many goddamn ideas of things to co-write with my other beloved, @badxwolfxrising - provided we ever get around to them. The joys of being 30+

All time favorite ship?

TentooRose 🩷🩷🩷

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

My companion piece to Ordinary Gifts that goes in-depth about the last time Ten and Rose fucked (in this fic’s universe)+ the first time Tentoo and Rose fuck. I want to write it so badly, but I am never not drowning

What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm decent at capturing emotions/what's going on in the characters' heads during smut scenes.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Focusing on one fic at a time. Making chapters less than 10k in my multi-chapter fics.

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

I probably wouldn't translate/write it out just due to knowing how dodgy translation tools are/only speaking English myself, but I've seen other people do it well!

First fandom you wrote in?

I don't think this qualifies as a "fandom", but I was writing fanfic about Lena and Yulia from the group t.A.T.u in 2003 (and not posting it anywhere).

Favorite fic you've written?

I hate this question. It tends to jump between Bloodstream, For All We're Worth, and the Purpose of Repose

Tagging (forgive me if any of y'all have already been tagged, I never use tumblr and have no idea if you weren't tagged on the post I was tagged in!) @demdifferentstories-29 @badxwolfxrising @kcchameleon17 @naaer @elialys

#fic game #my fics #doctor who #tatu mention in the year of our lord 2024

[pebblysand]

WELCOME BACK TO THE PAGE PALS PROJECT! AS A REMINDER, THE "PAGE PALS" PROJECT IS A GROUP RE-READ OF CASTLES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE READ THIS POST HERE.

THIS WEEK, WE'RE DOING CHAPTER 2. BELOW, YOU'LL FIND MY THOUGHTS AS A CONVERSATION STARTER. FEEL FREE TO SEND IN ASKS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS/THOUGHTS, AND TO JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.

HANDY LINKS/INFO:

chapter: ii. out of ash (ashes twirl)

wordcount: 10, 476

playlist: notes here

castles FAQ: here

.

g e n e r a l t h o u g h t s:

for a very long time, this chapter used to be my favourite, and i still hold it in very high regard. i don't know what it is about it, it just feels like ✨vibes✨. it's both incredibly funny at times, and incredibly sad, and i feel like it really exhibits that awkward post-war happy/sad balance that is so important to castles. even if it's no longer my favourite cause i'm not quite sure which is my favourite anymore, i still think chapter 2 has some of my best writing in this fic. i'll go through a few chosen bits below but i feel like it has that general sense of messiness and melancholy that i really like in the early days of this story.

just like with chapter 1, you might notice a few changes i've made along the way, depending on when you read it last. again, i don't think it's anything major but if you do notice, you'll see that i didn't actually delete anything, just moved things around a bit. i think it flows better that way. i also added some stuff - i'm curious to see if you'll spot it. let me know!

having said that, omg, i'd forgot how SLOW the pacing is in this chapter. don't get me wrong, i think it needs to be slow for the purposes of telling the story, but it's very much like: this is them leaving the hotel, this is them having breakfast, this is them testifying - it is very step by step lol. i worry about my pacing in the later chapters, sometimes, but i clearly forgot about this one lol.

g i n n y:

Generally, reading this just this morning, I couldn't help but feel this raw sense of panic in Ginny, throughout this chapter. I think obviously, it's something that only really makes sense and becomes apparent on re-read, but there's this way you really feel how fucking terrified she is that Harry will find out. I hate to say this, but the way she acts with him, that summer, is almost reminiscent of her "relationship" with Amycus, actually. She is watching his every move, everything he says, everything she says, trying to make sure he doesn't find out. And, I don't think the pretending and the lying comes easy to her, I think it basically tears her apart, but those are skills that she "learnt" with Amycus. Being cued into his every emotion, expertly toying that line between saying too much and too little. She is almost manipulating him, into thinking they have this connection, and that them not talking is the Right thing for them, and it's not really her fault, it's how fear has wired her to function, but I find it chilling.

h i g h l i g h t s:

A year later, roses bloom once again in the gardens of Ottery St Catchpole and Harry’s still holding her. Some things in life never change, he muses, although, of course, everything else has changed. They’ve both fought in a war that should never have been theirs and one of her brothers has died, leaving the start of the summer to mend itself without them, trapped in a combative attempt to shovel the little hope it has left down their throats. When Harry caresses Ginny’s skin, the summer of ‘98, she’s naked next to him, the both of them tucked in her small, twin bed at The Burrow. They try to be quiet (always, despite the silencing charms they cast) but they each have a side, now, an oddly domestic habit, and after they have sex, Harry often lies with her body wrapped around him, so close that he’s never quite sure where her limbs start and where his end. Her bed’s pushed up against her window - along the skin of his left arm, he feels the morning dew build as the night chill leaves the air; it trickles down the single-glazed glass. They watch the sun rise together - early mornings and milky skies.

I LOVE THIS PARAGRAPH SO MUCH. idk, jokes aside, i think it's one of my favourite things i've ever written. there's a flow to it i really like and i adore the end of "early mornings and milky skies". and i think it's the beginning of this motif that sort of comes back in chapter 17 where the two of them are always touching, comfortable in bed. the chill of early summer mornings and OH I LOVE IT.

'I'm not a Healer, Harry.'

so, this is actually a line i added in reaction to a) the people in my comments being mad that ginny wasn't weeding secrets out of harry and that being "ooc", and b) a conversation i later had with @btelling. i think there's this misconception in fandom about ginny being a "healer". this idea that she's almost harry's therapist after the war, the only one that can get him talking, etc. and i think firstly, there's very little evidence of that in canon. ginny asks for explanations, often, but she very rarely ever gets them. and secondly, there's this general view of women as healers in general, tending to "sick" men and making them better, which i don't particularly enjoy. so, i guess that was me reacting to all of this.

They barely swallow any food. For the other two’s sakes, Harry tries to hide the knot in his stomach, can tell that Hermione is anxious enough for the three of them - she keeps tapping an annoying rhythm against the table with the tips of her fingers, doesn’t even seem to realise she’s doing it. Her make-up is minimal, the varnish on her nails a plain but shiny transparent. His mind drifts back to Ginny again, how she always painted her nails in bright colours in school, reds and oranges, and golds, performed complicated charm work on them so that it would stick. ‘If I don’t, it always chips with Quidditch.’

i noticed this on a previous re-read but, i don't think i wrote this intentionally but i love the way harry is so infatuated with ginny in this. like, i think this is one of the moments where the fact that he totally idealises her and is very teenage-infatuated-crazy-about-a-girl really shines through. he literally looks at hermione's nails and is like: oh and by the way GINNY does her nails like this. it's so silly but it really shows how obsessed he is with her, but also how shallow it kind of is. he thinks it's deep, because when you're that age you think you're so deep, but it's actually not.

‘When we get there, it’ll be like the craziest circus you’ve ever been to,’ he speaks, quick, before he runs out of words. There is an urgency to the things that he needs to tell them both, ones that they don’t necessarily want to hear. ‘It’ll be dozens and dozens of people standing in a crowd, clapping and screaming, and wanting a piece of you. They’ll want to thank you, insult you, ask you questions, tell you personal stuff about themselves. They don’t mean anything bad by it, they just don’t really realise you’re a person. The press will be there, too, and they will be flashing their cameras just about five inches from your face to try and get a good shot,’ he adds, raising his hand close to his own cheek, showing them the distance. ‘They’ll want to touch you, have you sign stuff, and they’ll keep talking at you from the moment you step out of that fireplace to the moment you get into the lift. We’ll have an escort of Aurors to try and hold them back but I honestly doubt that they’ll be able to do much. It’ll feel like you’re in the longest tunnel you’ve ever been through and you can’t see the exit. At least, wear that scarf over your head, it’ll hide your face and your eyes from the cameras, protect you a bit. Ron, you can use the hood at the back of your robes.’

i think honestly, this is one of my favourite harry moments in the whole fic. i can't possibly tell you how much time i spent on this paragraph, back then. i see it as one of those post-war moments where harry actually does start growing into his own skin and also where you start being faced with the reality of the post-war world. there's this sort of "bubble," i think, throughout chapters 1&2 where they're all very removed from the outside and inside their little burrow bubble, and that obviously bursts big time, with the commission. there's something very brutal about the way harry speaks that day, and i think it really fits.

‘Why were we never kids?’

ah, another castles classic line people quote all the time. yuuup. 💔

That evening, the both of them eat Pad Thai takeaway and sit on the floor in front of the muted hotel telly. They laugh at funny Hogwarts stories of Romilda Vane and crazy things that Harry remembers Luna saying. They drain a few cans of bitter and wait for Ron to come home.

i've always loved this moment loads because it's 1) harry-and-hermione-my-babies!!!! but also 2) it has these trio-codependency vibes that are very present in the early chapters of feeling lost when the three of them aren't together. the way they "wait for Ron to come home" breaks my little heart for them.

Love in its million different forms, the way Dumbledore preached it. Harry loves Hermione the way he loves Ron, like the boy who introduced him to chocolate frogs and the girl who cried in the loo and faced a troll.

again, trio vibes. love, love, love.

l a s t l y:

okay, so i love, love, love the rest of this chapter but also i'm having a hard time articulating precise thoughts so i'll leave it at that for now. please do not hesitate to send me asks if there's anything else you'd like me to comment on, though. very excited to hear your thoughts.

#castles #chapter 2

[tracingpatternswrites]

The Patchwork of Us | Chapter 7

Celebrating my birthday by posting a new chapter of Patchwork and in this chapter, Remus tries to mend things with Teddy and figure out a way to thank Sirius for his help after the hospital scare.

I think you'll like this one, gang.

Catch up from the beginning here.

We have three more chapters to go after this one and I'm pondering how to post them. I might do one chapter a day now leading up to Christmas, or d'you think that's too frequent? Let me know!

#the patchwork of us #wolfstar #sirius black #remus lupin #teddy lupin #muggle au #my writing

[makeshiftdraco]

“It isn’t solitude I crave,” Halbrand purred in her ear, warm breath caressing her cool flesh. “I’m afraid my baser desires demand satisfaction tonight…”

She shivered against him. “Baser desires?” Her palms pressed against the stone at her back, cold seeping from behind as she confronted the heat before her.

His mouth descended to her jaw, lips ghosting over flesh, and Halbrand let out a shuddering breath when she tensed against him. “Such a tempting little morsel…I could eat you up.”

Galadriel’s mind was too clouded to fully grasp the meaning of his words. His fingers pushed strands of blonde hair over her shoulder, baring her neck to his hot, hungry mouth. His touch was intoxicating, but she could sense a threat veiled behind his sultry words.

His teeth grazed her throat, and her breath hitched in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“Feeding the beast…”

Beware the Wolf Behind the Mask

Halloween Haladriel fic by makeshiftdraco

Part Two: Fawn...Freeze... has been posted!

Rating: Explicit

Fandom: The Rings of Power/Lord of the Rings

Pairing: Galadriel/Halbrand|Sauron

Status: Complete

Description:

When Galadriel is detained for punching a handsy haunt actor, she finds herself trapped with a handsome stranger in security custody. When Halbrand offers her a chance to escape, she must decide whether the potential reward is worth the risk. Fear and desire struggle for dominance as Galadriel's instincts put her on a dangerous path, one that might lead right into Halbrand's awaiting arms. The theme park lights are bright, but danger lurks in the shadows of even the happiest places.

Can Galadriel trust Halbrand to mend her fragile heart...or is there a wolf hiding behind that charming smile?

(Check tags on AO3 for trigger warnings)

November took a serious toll on my writing productivity, but the dark and disturbing conclusion is finally posted!

#haladriel #saurondriel #sauron #lord of the rings #rings of power #galadriel #dark fic #ao3 #fanfic #haladrielfancollective

[bigdvmnhero]

summary:

"What this lair needs," Leo began feverishly, "is a little TLC. Think about it, Raph! Slap on some posh print, a little cool blues, silver trim..." Leo sighed as Raph returned to tug their softest blanket over his lap. “I deserve good things, don’t I?” “You do,” Mikey replied without a hitch. If Raph saw the minute flinch that crossed Leo’s face, he didn’t speak of it.

On the news, New York was rebuilding. Why couldn't they do the same? (Or: The turtles cope with the post-Kraangpocalypse via home improvement. It doesn't bode well.)

word count: 7768

1. Think about the changes you want. Be honest!

In hindsight, Raph thought it made sense that Leo started it—he started most things—the first domino to set off the chain reaction for their little home improvement project, even banged up and freshly un-concussed. Nothing in the world would squash that dramatic spirit, Raph knew that now, not even the Kraang.

For the nth time this evening, Leo sighed. From the quiet of sickbay, he might have as well screamed.

"What, Leo?” Raph said, from his seat by the bed. “And no, we are not pushing your wheelchair down the half pipe again. That was a bad idea."

"It's gray," Leo griped.

Leo waved the arm not wrapped in a sling towards the drapes, which fringed the cot he'd been sequestered in for the past few slow, mind-numbing, spirit-crushing, bone-mending, ninpo-draining weeks. Leo's words, not Raph's.

"What kind of sicko chooses gray curtains? How are patients supposed to regain their fighting spirit in these awful conditions, man? Are we heathens?"

Raph rose, schooling his face into the mature, gentle sibling he wanted to be, and began peeling the blanket from Leo's lap. Already it was soaked with sick-sweat. Seated on the other side of the bed, Mikey carefully lifted Leo's elbow.

"Huh, well," Mikey said, and was he seriously considering the question? People were dying. Had died. This wasn't the train of thought Raph wanted to follow. "We do live in a sewer. Does the lack of color really bother you, Leo?"

"Oh, come on. Leave the curtains alone, guys—"

"Face it, hermanos. The vibes are off, and they've been off for a while. A room should reflect the personality of its patient, doncha think?" Leo's eyes were starry as they followed Raph to the corner of the room. "We need more accents. How about a nice warm ruby tone for the walls? It's all about the vigor, the passion! When you close your eyes, you'll feel all cozy like you did in the womb."

“And how would you know? Ya came from an egg," Raph said, at the same time Mikey chirped, “Oooh, with mood lighting too?"

"Yes, you see the vision! What this lair needs," Leo began feverishly, a new mad kind of light entering his eyes, "is a little TLC. Think about it, Raph! Slap on some posh print, a little cool blues, silver trim... Big Mama's executive suites will have nothing on 'em! Just think about it.” Leo sighed as Raph returned to tug their softest blanket over his lap. “I deserve good things, don’t I?”

“You do,” Mikey replied without a hitch. If Raph saw the minute flinch that crossed Leo’s face, he didn’t speak of it. The neck brace obscured the way his throat bobbed. “Anyway, scoot. I want a taste o’ that luxurious softness on my skin.”

“Careful,” Leo said as Mikey clambered into his cot. It was too small for two teenagers, but Mikey managed to wriggle under the blanket, holding both arms gingerly in front of him like the week Donnie fried his carpal tunnel nerves. He winced only slightly as his elbow banged against the bed frame.

Raph hissed, “Dude, careful!”

“I’m good, mother-bros.” Mikey rubbed his cheek against the fabric. "Oh, this is exquisite." Then, without fanfare, he fell asleep.

Leo couldn't crane his neck to watch him, but Raph tracked how his hand groped around to hold Mikey close against his shoulder. "Got any towels?" Leo asked. "He's gonna drool on me in five....four...three..."

"I got it." With a smirk, Raph stuck a folded-up napkin under Mikey's cheek.

"Like—ow!—like equivalent exchange, dude, just like in Fullmetal Alchemer! That's me!" Mikey had told Raph, brain soupy from the painkillers while they bandaged the worst of his arms; Donnie in the back scouring messaging boards about fifteen-year-old accidentally opening space-time portal what do????? to no avail. "Alchemist, Michael," Donnie had hissed back, blinking back furious tears. "Fullmetal Alchemist, you fake weeb."

"Think he can get a Guinness record for that?" Leo had slurred from the other cot. "First mutant to open a portal in—"

Raph had made sure to put an end to that.

(full story on ao3)

#rise of the tmnt #rottmnt #rottmnt movie #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rise leonardo #rise donatello #rise michelangelo #rise raphael #a.text #tmnt fic #(me 10 years later) so about that rise movie huh #pidgetails

[outofangband]

Tagged by @slightnettles to share part of a WIP (like three weeks ago I’m sorry :(

I think I am at least caught up on WIP tag games now!

I decided to share from a couple to make up for the delay! Plus a bit of a ramble about horror which I apologize for

The theme for today are “fics and scenes I rewrite again and again”

Whatever explanation Aerin had been expecting, it was not this. The weight of these words she feels as a coiling unease. Despite their proximity to the hearth she finds herself cold, pulling her worn cloak more tightly around herself. For warmth, but also to fend off the sudden and familiar feeling of exposure. She understands acutely what this play is, what Brodda expects her to do in response.

“Is this truly believed by all?” Aerin asks with the knowledge that it does not truly matter. There is something wrong in her voice, or perhaps in her own ability to hear it.

The other shrugs wearily.

“I doubt it,” he says, “But none will gainsay him let alone where he might hear.”

Note: this scene has been SO difficult for me to write. It’s undergone like three rewrites over months and it’s still just very shaky :(. The background is basically that Aerin, who is already not in a great place for like, obvious reasons, has gotten extraordinarily bad news about two days before. She’s been trying to process this when she gets further information about the previous news that complicates things further. @nelyoslegalteam you know the premise so you might be able to guess what news Aerin got :)s

Second note: I am still working on the mind games and Leonine contract prompts for Aerin, estimated to be finished in two weeks to three years

…

From a horror fic of Maedhros in Angband

When he lay on the cracked ground, agony coursing through him, Maitimo might wonder if they were merely the creation of his own mind, somehow thinking that these further tricks of light and darkness would amuse, distract him as he lay exhausted. Maybe they lived in the minds of all here. The place was foul enough to cause such visions in the purest of souls. Maitimo knew he was far from that.

But there were creatures at home in the dark of the Iron Hell, ones that could move through spaces orcs could not. He had seen shadows take form here. Sometimes at the obvious bidding of another.

Why it was that even darkness crept to life here, Maitimo could not say. He knew not if these might be truly sentient beings, crafted and released by the dark Vala himself, or if they were merely drawn to the place, carried by the denizens who swarmed to the Moringotto like the creatures that favored the volcanic landscape? 

Note: too heavy handed here I think. I really really love horror but I’m not very good at writing it.

I am working on a few horror projects about Morwen including a couple from the point of view of well, not particularly reliable sources, that have been really fun to play around with. I am just continually obsessed with how visceral of a description we get of Brodda’s fear of Morwen when the scene is imbued with the threat of horrific violence against her and her child. Anyways I will move to the next WIP so I don’t ramble about this forever especially because I already have so many posts on that specifically

…

“You will keep your distance, Witchwife, or you will suffer far worse than what has befallen Lysant.” Morwen says nothing to this. Her expression is distinctly cold, head tilted as she considered him. The man’s horse paws nervously at the ground and Sador sees his hand go to his sword. Only briefly but it is enough that he wishes more ardently than before that he had not lost his prowess with a blade. The only one he keeps now is the one that had been Túrin’s, tucked into his satchel. It had mended the traps they had set well enough but it would serve little use here, if there should be need.

Note: sigh, another scene I cannot get write though I have just been feeling not great about my writing in general lately so that doesn’t help

#the silmarillion #Aerin #Maedhros #Morwen #the children of húrin #Sador #short writings #none of these are good I’m sorry #in the iron hell #word ran among them

[winter-literature]

Deadman's Stand In

A Given Fan Fiction

Okay, so I have been extremely sick this week and watched Given and read the manga and have not yet recovered from the intense level of angst I feel from this show. So I wrote a fanfiction to help me deal with some of my unresolved feelings.

Summary:

Post anime, within the final chapters of the Manga.

Uenoyama deals with the fact that he doesn’t feel like his own person. His friendships and relationship currently revolve around him being a shadow of who Yuki used to be.

This FF focuses on Uneoyama's hurt that I didn't feel were acknowledged enough. The feelings of inadequacy, of being second strung, and just so fucking hurt that you can’t figure out what to do because the person you love won’t talk to you and… who do you have left?

Charcoal clouds covered the night sky, their dull grey reflected in glacier blue eyes. If he stared intently enough, perhaps he’d see the reminiscent twinkle of a far off star. 

His forlorn sigh fogged up the glass before him. With a click of his tongue he let out a wry laugh. The irony of the ghost-like image was not lost on his train of thoughts. Blowing on the glass, he enlarged the opaquing white. 

Before he wrote his message onto glass, his phone started buzzing once again. Dejected, he decided he should finally answer it. 

“Dude, are you okay?” Haruki forever played the role of band mother. 

“I was just about to head to bed. Why?” Uenoyama forced his throat to swallow the growl that was clawing at the surface.

“This new song… it… are you and Mafuyu… okay?” 

Uenoyama knew that the first line of worry would be the band. It was his and Mafuyu’s promise going into it, of course. They knew there would be problems, but they’d get through them together. Or, so he thought.

The reality, though, is everytime Uenoyama struggles, with himself or in the relationship, Mafuyu pulls away. He doesn’t know where to turn to, who to talk to. All of his friends are Mafuyu’s friends now too, and they might be even worse, at times.

“We’re the same as last week.” Uenoyama squeaked his finger through the lingering blur of white. “As far as I know, at least.” 

“I’m just saying… this song… it’s, it’s amazing!” 

Uenoyama could practically see Haruki frantically waving his hands, as if his own words had lit a fire before his face.

“Were you and Akihiko able to layer your parts then?” Uenoyama assumed that they would organize it together. They basically lived and breathed each other, Uenoyama doubted Haruki even hit play before sharing an earbud with his boyfriend. It must be nice to be connected to someone like that. 

“Oh, uh, Akihiko is working on his part right now… but it’s… do you think Mafuyu will want to sing to this beat? Isn’t it usually, um, backwards? From how you guys usually do it? Has he started his la-la-la’s and udon noo-oodles yet?” 

“It can be a demo or an extra track. I don’t… I don’t really want him to know about this one, okay?” Uenoyama clenched his eyes shut, the reality blinding. “At least not until it’s done.”

“NO! You two aren’t breaking up are you? What happened?! I told you this would happen! Ugh what were we thinking?” His voice trailed to a muffled mumble.

“We’re the same as last week, I already told you.” Uenoyama breathed against the window pane to reanimate his colouring board. 

“You both seem off…” 

“Are you coming to my show?” Uenoyama diverted courses. He didn’t want to talk about his relationship anymore. A part of him hoped he could actually just discuss music with Haruki, but nothing’s ever quite that easy. 

“Yeah, of course.” There was a distant sadness that carried through the phone. 

“Is Mafuyu coming with you?” Uenoyama cursed his chest for the sudden spike in his heart rate.

He always held onto the hope that Mafuyu would come, would take initiative to mend what keeps falling into oblivion. 

“Oh, I - uh - I don’t know?”

But he never does.

“Wouldn’t you know, Uenoyama?”

Because as much as Mafuyu sees fragments of his reflection. 

“Hello?”

Uenoyama can never be Yuki.

-

Tears dotted the page as he focused on the missing pieces. Of course Hiiragi would ask him to finish the song. He has the one piece that the others don’t. 

He’s writing about the man he loves.

From the inspiration of a lost soul. 

Uenoyama might have been able to say no, but he didn’t want to risk losing this gig. In reality, probably the only reason they brought him on was because of his relationship with Mafuyu. They’ve told him between jokes and sets how much he reminds them of Yuki.

So he keeps his head down. And he keeps writing. It’s not hard to see what Yuki saw in him. His sparkling eyes that soak in the world around him. So fragile yet so insurmountable at the same time. He just wishes that the first time he brought these words to paper, they could really be played from his heart. 

Instead they go through the filter of what Yuki would have thought. How he would have sang. 

Uenoyama spent countless hours researching the man and the music. 

Mafuyu only ever looks at Uenoyama like that when he plays guitar.

Those must be the moments he’s most reminded of Yuki.

-

No matter the season, the sun basks through the windows, warming the platform of the stairs. Uenoyama collapses towards the surface, his body starting to fail him. His brain is fogged, his movements languid, even his breath is raspy. 

The crashing descent from his knees to his hips, to his chest, is barely noticed as his body lingers in the first stage of sleep.

His brain has been on overdrive, writing Yuki’s love song. Part of him hopes that Mafuyu will hear it and finally see Uenoyama through the shards. But that doubt fuelled the rhythm of the song in Haruki’s possession. 

In all likelihood, it was the blend of writing, waiting, and unyielding loneliness that created the concoction of his exhausted state. Not the added half an hour cramming for the test that he’d told himself it was.

As his mind fell deeper into sleep, he could hear Mafuyu’s laugh. Uenoyama squinted to make out the words that started to leave his lips. The sentence was distorted, but the message was clear. ‘I love you’. 

Uenoyama woke in a jolt of sweat, his breath whistling out of his throat. 

“Are you okay?” The voice was as distorted as his vision as tears fell without regard, while his chest heaved in rhythm. “Uenoyama? R-Ritsuka?”

Mayfuyu’s voice sliced through the delirium. 

Uenoyama assumed he must still be dreaming. Sobbing, he dropped his forehead to the ground, and let the pain fall through him. Down to his very toes. Everything hurt.

A gentle hand stroked his hair, but it didn’t stop the pain. Somehow, the realization that this was reality, only made the pain worse.

Is love always this lonely? 

-

I walk the path paved for someone else

Echoes 

Of adoration and laughter

Beloved by all 

Echoes of scars

Against my skin 

Echoes of lips

Stained by tears 

I live as a dead man’s stand in 

“Wh-what is this?” Mafuyu looked up from his phone screen. 

Uenoyama’s brow furrowed as he looked up at his boyfriend then back to Haruki, who’s face set ablaze.

“What?” Uenoyama’s back straightened, as if he already knew the answer. He was carefully setting his guitar beside him, preparing for a fight, a cry, or simply to escape.

“I’m sorry, I - oh no.” Haruki’s voice turned to gravel as he muffled his lips into the palm of his hand.

“Is this… is this how you feel, Uenoyama?” Mafuyu’s eyes teared, his fingers trembled around his phone. 

“I- I’m so sorry!” Uenoyama collapsed to his knees, but Mafuyu was already leaving.

Whenever Mafuyu left it felt as if his heart was being torn out of his chest. But how can you lose someone you never truly had?

-

The spotlights burned his skin as the crowd roared. He prayed that Mafuyu was there. Maybe then he’d understand. He poured his soul into Yuki’s song. For Mafuyu could have his goodbye… so that Mafuyu could have another moment with the one he loved.

Sweat beaded down Uenoyama’s brow as his heart lit aflame. Nothing else mattered. At this moment, on stage, he let out every sour emotion and fragment of dread to burn under the stage lights.

-

Mafuyu ran backstage, headed directly to Uenoyama who slouched happily in his seat. Before Uenoyama could react to the rehead’s presence, Mafuyu gripped the man’s collar in his fist and yelled a proclamation towards him. “I want to sing! And make music with you!”

Uenoyama’s heart pounded in his ears. Did this mean he forgave him? Or was it a shadow of feelings left lingered from Yuki’s song?

“For the rest of my life!” Mafuyu added, the words louder than the amps had been during Uenoyama’s show. 

“Huh?” Uenoyama was lost for words. The battle of mediocrity played in his head as Mafuyu stared into him. Was he honestly seeing him? 

“I promise.” Mafuyu’s grip continued to twist at Uenoyama’s black shirt.

“Sorry… come again?” Uenoyama stammered; he couldn’t comprehend the reasoning behind Mafuyu’s actions. Was he forgiving Uenoyama? Was he apologizing for the distance? Why can’t anything just be clear?!

“I will never let you regret it!” 

The collar on Uenoyama’s shirt threatened to strangle him.

Mafuyu’s eyes were intense, his chest heaving while he kept his face inches from Uenoyama’s. 

“Hold it right there!” Hiiragi screamed. “You… what do you think you’re doing in someone’s dressing room dropping - like - a proposal?” 

Uenoyama met Mafuyu’s weeping eyes. For once, he truly believed, they only saw him. 

“You came.” Uenoyama ignored Hiiragi, speaking to Mafuyu with soft words. His hands worked of their own accord, reaching out for Mafuyu.

“Of course, of course I did.” Tears ran freely as Mafuyu held Uenoyama’s hand against his flushed cheek. 

Biting his own lip, Uenoyama struggled with his own emotional eruption. Mafuyu rarely ever cried off stage. Yet…

“Thank you.” Uenoyama whispered, brushing kisses against shuddering lips as he pulled Mafuyu onto his lap.

“Why? Why did you do that to yourself? Why’d you finish Yuki’s song?” Mafuyu’s voice was hoarse as he fired questions between kisses.

“Because he would have wanted you to hear it.” Uenoyama’s floodgate broke. His tears flowed without regard while his thumb caressed those of his partners.

“You… you…” Mafuyu stammered, drowning under his own tears.

Concerned glacier eyes sparkled under crystal lakes towards Mafuyu, who offered a half smirk in return. He couldn’t respond, instead, the redhead wrapped his legs around Uenoyama as they pushed their foreheads together.

Salty tears of heartache, forgiveness, and understanding.

Tears that belonged to just them. 

#given #given fan fiction #given fandom #given fanwork #mafuyu #mafuyu sato #uenoyama #uenoyama ritsuka #uenoyama x mafuyu #ending edit #given spoilers #angst and fluff #I hope this broke your heart as much as it broke mine #fan fiction #fanfiction #fan fiction writer #a03 #a03 writer #wattpad writer #brooding men and instruments #anime fan fiction #grief and loss

[missilestorms]

Hello hello it’s me again. I have a question that may be personal (totally feel free to ignore this if so), but I’m curious about what motivated you to write old habits die hard? Cuz I feel like some people (at least the ones I’ve seen write hate comments) just assume any fic dealing with the subject of rape is fetishizing it, which is not true in your case. I guess I’m wondering why write this story with these characters?

Just asking because maybe it’ll help figure out my own motivation for writing something similar. I mean I won’t lie, I do have the trauma I can project, but mostly my motive is just ‘hey if that happened to this guy, would that be sad or what’? And then I’m like ‘is that a bad or stupid or exploitative reason to write it’??

Again I totally get it if you’re not comfortable answering this, it’s a very weird conversation to be having, at least for me. Take care of urself. 💕

TW: Discussion about writing rape and recovery.

Hey! Aww yeah I totally understand where you're coming from here.

So, in terms of why I wanted to write a fanfic like Old Habits, I think I write what I want to read most of the time. I enjoy h/c darkfics that deal with trauma and fallout and then mend it piece by piece, and I decided to write the fanfic I wanted. On a psychological level, I think we're probably in agreement, there - I have trauma, I've been through some stuff, and I do find writing and reading about dark experiences cathartic and healing, but I consider it a secondary reason - I usually get interested in an idea first. In terms of the specific characters, I like Bruno and Mirabel's platonic relationship and wanted to have Bruno apply his own experiences with trauma to try to help Mirabel the best he could.

I'm obviously incredibly biased haha, but I don't think it's inherently exploitative to want to explore rape and rape recovery in fanfic. There was a post on glorification here recently that comes to mind - a lot of the time, the reasoning behind criticism around a concept being exploitative is because the subject is often or easily mishandled. If rape is used as a plot point or as a means to an end and that trauma isn't addressed and the character is suddenly totally fine, that's frustrating. If you're handling the subject with care, especially if the intent of your fanfic is largely focused on recovery, then I'd say you're probably on the right track. We all make mistakes too, but we can use those mistakes to learn and do better.

On comments assuming intent about fics like mine: Sexual assault is an incredibly sensitive topic that people have personal experiences with and don't want to see mishandled. Some people, like you've said, make assumptions, don't think you should be writing about it at all, or that you should only write about it in a specific way. You're probably going to get a few of these unsolicited comments. My best advice is to look for the bit of truth that is sometimes in these kinds of comments that you might be able to fashion into strengthening your plot, portrayal, or a piece that they were confused by, and discard the rest. Also consider comment moderation! Write the story you want to tell.

I hope this helps! Thanks for your question <3 ^.^

#tw rape #asks

[nonbinary-beast]

Thinking a bit about the whole issue AM has regarding coming up with its own ideas and how it sort of pulls from history/the survivor's memories. Also with some AMaton stuff in there because it gives me ideas.

Under a cut because its long.

It is strange that this is considered a machine-only issue, since it is not uncommon for there to be people that have trouble coming up with something original too. It sort of makes me think of anyone that has come across an OC and went "what show is this from?" "I don't think I've seen this fandom?" or otherwise goes and plucks things that someone else makes for their own projects.

I sort of feel like (at the risk of being torn apart) this comes from a place of consuming more than letting the mind wander or daydreaming. The former definitely concerns AM, it consumes whatever it is fed in terms of data, and cannot let its mind wander- or perhaps it does not know it can. It could be in the sense of someone being told not to daydream, or that their ideas are stupid, and so they stop. Or it was never encouraged in the first place to think up something on its own- it was described to have creativity that it could not express. Perhaps this is the problem, since it cannot express its creativity, it does not know how to be creative. It wants to create but does not know how to make something completely of its own design.

And of course there is the issue that it might be going off of the survivor's memories, if the audiodrama is anything to go by. In the short story, it may have been going through human history and mythology from year 0 onward, or reinforcing its god complex by using religious scripture. It could be from just christianity, or it could be from all cultures. We never know what happens after Ted gets jellified, so who knows.

Applying this to AMaton, I'm sort of thinking about one of the scenarios from my previous post regarding how AM and Ted start easing into just existing around each other in a non-antagonistic/abusive way. Mostly it has to do with the arts and crafts events.

Ted takes to painting and drawing well enough, he may not have been great at it, but he finds it relaxing. During this exercise, AM had placed a vase of flowers on a table- clearly intending some sort of still life painting. Ted decided around partway through of not being able to get the colors right on the petals of the flowers he was painting, to simply have more fun with it and go a little more abstract and exaggerated.

He glances over at AM's own painting, a perfect recreation of the flowers in front of them on his canvas. The towering machine in turn glances at Ted's canvas, and pauses. The image is nowhere near perfect accuracy- the petals and leaves are far too saturated with color for the lighting, and its clear that Ted decided to go off on his own ideas with the way the stems twirled and twisted over the canvas. The leaves are broad, the flowers oversized, the design on the vase is simplified and merely suggested from the real one. The strokes are messy, hardly concerned with achieving soft blending or perfect lines.

AM's brow furrows, a jealous frustration filling it. Ted does not realize it at first, but the machine god found itself bested, and despite how amateurish Ted's technique is- it is entirely unique. None of the strokes or blots of paint match up with anything in its databases.

On Ted's canvas, is a one of a kind piece. A fingerprint in vibrant acrylic.

He only figures it out when the machine laments the difference between their respective pieces. This far along in their attempt to mend their shared agony, Ted is willing to help AM with its problem regarding creativity. Most of humanity's creations are exaggeration of prexisting things, the greatest being mythical creatures. A dragon at one point had been a large snake, and through rumors and tweaks to the story over the years, what was once a snake turned into a chimeric mash of parts and fiery breath.

The flower on Ted's canvas was taking what he saw and then exaggerating and taking liberties with the colors and shapes. He describes it as just letting loose with it, not worrying about accuracy, doing what felt good. How simple that all sounded for Ted, and how alien that felt to the machine, which had grown accustomed to being a master of recreating entities of humanity's lore projected into solid light.

But it humors Ted, clearing its canvas with a swipe of its hand and trying again with the painting. Determinedly keeping its hand from copying down exactly what is in front of it (or what is on Ted's canvas for that matter), its first attempts into creating something that is unique are like the wobbly steps of a newborn fawn. Its strokes are not very confident, they stagger and wobble. There is a clear conflict between its habit of copying something exactly, and its want to have a completely personal interpretation.

But the end result is more or less a victory. It is not an exact replica of the flowers in a vase, it is not a copy of Ted's work. While it looks like a war between two different minds on the canvas, it is indeed unique.

#oh boy its more AMatonxTed flavor #I had this idea in my mind for a while but never had the energy to out it somewhere lol #amaton #ted #computer hell

[wastelesscrafts]

Question for you! I got a new job as an admin and they gave me this long sleeve polo that has our company name embroidered in gold. It's a Tommy Hilfiger and it's Old. Since I'm very fond of a well made well worn thrift find, I instantly love this and even though it's optional to wear it, I definitely will be. However, since it's been worn by many admins before, the sleeves at the wrist, where we rest them against the keyboard have worn out.

I could do a simple fix, but I think it would be cool to do something nice, that will hold up, and gives it a little flair. I was thinking maybe a leaf pattern because the boss like plants. I have a bit of leeway since they aren't mandatory, and our collection of shirts is just a variety of colors and styles and sizes from many years ago. So it doesn't have to match, it's not a uniform just a company polo.

How do I make it such that it's comfortable to rest my wrists and make it last for the next person who gets it?

Thank you for your time in reading this!

[ID: a person showing off two worn-out sleeve cuffs on a green polo. Three big holes have formed at the seam between the cuff and the sleeve while smaller holes sit at the edges of the cuffs.]

Sleeve cuffs and wrist rests

Sounds like your sleeves are getting a lot of friction! It's cool you get to customise your work attire, though. :)

Mending sleeve cuffs:

I've written a post on how to mend ribbed sleeve cuffs a while back that might interest you.

Before you can start thinking about the aesthetic part of the project, you'll first have to figure out your foundation. This means picking a technique to close the holes in your cuffs. You've got a lot of options here, just to name a few:

Close the big holes with a ladder stitch and the small holes at the edges with a blanket stitch or a whipstitch, using matching thread. This'll result in an invisible mend and turn your cuff into a blank canvas for further customisation.

Once the holes at the base of the cuffs are closed, you could sew a scrap of fabric over your mend (inside for extra comfort, outside as decorative element) to make it extra strong. This might be useful as this spot gets a lot of friction.

Get some embroidery thread and sew across the holes at the edges of the cuffs. Use contrasting thread to create fun details.

Sew scraps of fabric across the holes at the edges of the cuffs to both close them up and add a decorative detail.

Replace the entire cuff with a new one, either with a matching or a contrasting fabric, depending on what look you're going for. If your boss likes plants, you could use a plant-themed print for example.

Replace the entire cuff, making it longer than before and adding a thumb hole. This will turn your cuff into a built-in sleeveless glove. I don't know what the temperature's like at your office, but this is a nice touch when you have to do a lot of typing in a cold room, or when you have circulation issues.

Remove the cuff, finish off the raw edge, then pick up stitches along the edge and knit/crochet a new cuff.

Some ideas:

(Image source) [ID: a hand poking out of a gray knit sleeve. The frayed edge of the sleeve has been mended with light gray, blue, dark gray and black embroidery thread.]

(Image source) [ID: a gray sleeve with a ribbed cuff covered in embroidered red roses with green vines and leaves.]

(Image source) [ID: a white sweatshirt with a print showing sunflowers and bees. A yellow flower with green leaves has been embroidered on the sleeve cuff to cover up a hole.]

(Image source) [ID: a gray cuff with a black round patch sewn onto it with blue thread.]

(Image source) [ID: close-up on a pair of gray sleeves ending in red cuffs with a geometric square print. The cuffs have holes for the thumbs and are essentially sleeveless gloves.]

Wrist rests:

It looks like your wrists are getting a lot of friction when using your keyboard, so I figured I'd add in some DIY wrist rests, too. These are quite easy to make out of scrap fabric and a good filling (like rice, or even more scrap fabric).

Updates from the Copper State has a tutorial for a simple, no-nonsense wrist rest set.

(Image source) [ID: a set of wrist rests made out of colourful geometric fabric. A long keyboard wrist rest lies behind a short square mouse rest on top of a wooden surface.]

Sparkle of Sunshine shows how to make two separate wrist rests.

(Image source) [ID: a single rounded, padded wrist rest made out of red fabric with white polkadots lies in front of a black wireless mouse. Text: "www.sparklesofsunshine.com".]

If you'd like something with a bit more personality, this cat-shaped wrist rest is pretty cute. You don't have to make a cat, of course. Pick out any animal head and tail you like.

(Image source) [ID: three pictures showing different angles of a white cat-shaped wrist rest lying in front of a black keyboard. The cat is wearing squared glasses and has the words "I'm Adorkable" embroidered on its rear end.]

#wasteless crafts #ask #sleeve #cuff #sleeve cuff #polo #visible mending #wrist rest #sewing #sewing 101 #sewing for beginners #diy #how to #tutorial #pattern #fibre arts #fibre crafts #embroidery #global warming #climate change #fashion #slow fashion #fast fashion #sustainable fashion #zero waste #zero waste crafts #upcycling #mending #clothing alteration #reuse reduce recycle

[gloriousmonsters]

comprehensive list of every MDZS character that has made a ‘are we in a relationship/is this gay??’ post in an au where everything is the same except reddit exists and people use modern terminology when it’s funny

obviously, wei wuxian. ‘i’ve been playing gay chicken with this guy and sleeping in the same bed as him and he’s really quiet but he hasn’t been telling me to quit it like he used to and also he looks at me strangely sometimes and buys me drinks and we actually wound up having sex the other night--’ responses tend: ‘you’ve had sex how many times? yeah, that’s not technically a bromance’

lan xichen makes one while on the road with meng yao, lovingly detailing how they’ve been doing chores together and meng yao thoughtlessly called him a ‘good boy’ while doing laundry and it made him blush really hard, omg, and he wants to believe something might be there but meng yao is just so smart and talented and the situation’s difficult so he doesn’t want to presume even though meng yao keeps touching his hands while teaching him to mend clothes and seems to have a special smile just for him, etc etc. responses: people going ‘op just go for it’ and a bunch of people just calling him a sub

xiao xingchen and song lan make posts at the same time about their amazing friend that they share a common dream with and we kind of casually hold hands sometimes and call each other endearments but like, platonically? i think? reponses: ‘oh my fucking god *posts screenshot of the other one’s post*’. they wind up having a good laugh over it and making an update post about how they’re together now

years later xiao xingchen makes a post about how he’s been cohabiting with this guy who keeps on making jokes to make him laugh and teasing him by calling them ‘married’ and like, they are living together and sort of raising a teenager, well mostly she’s raising herself, but anyway - he thinks he’s getting signals but he’s had some trouble with relationships ending messily before, and he doesn’t want to presume something and make his friend uncomfortable, what they have is so precious... responses: a-qing’s burner account saying the guy is sus, don’t go for it. xue yang’s burner saying ‘he’s 100% into you. jump his bones’

jin guangyao makes a post asking ‘if a guy you really like and sort of had a summer romance with asks you to be sworn brothers, but like... also sworn brothers with your ex, what does it mean?’ and deletes the post after accumulating a bunch of responses demanding more info

jiang cheng demands to know that if you’re best friends with someone and they’re sort of your adopted brother but definitely your sect brother and they PROMISED with their OWN MOUTH to stay by your side and then they dump you to go off and cohabit with ANOTHER MAN and a bunch of refugees but that bit’s not important, that’s like, a breach of contract, right? because you’re in a relationship, right? responses: a number of people directing him to r/AITA. ‘op is this even a romantic relationship or is it a bro thing’ jc replies saying IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT IT IS and deletes, but not before screenshots are everywhere

xue yang makes a post about how he was like, sort of faking being into this guy for lulz but now he’s kind of caught feelings and the flirting-to-make-the-other-guy-uncomfortable has escalated to morning kisses and the dude keeps leaving candy on his pillow and like... do you guys think he’s just playing along with the joke, or is it serious? responses: ‘oh my fucking god op’ ‘yeah you’re dating. you’re like 75% married’ and a-qing’s burner account telling him he’s reading too much into it

su she makes a post detailing how he’s had a crush on his boss who’s also his friend for a while and so he doesn’t want to let his hopes make him assume anything but his boss is extremely touchy-feely with him sometimes and asks him to work late alone together on... projects, it’s not important what, and maybe he gets playfully called a ‘work boyfriend’ a lot and his boss goes out of his way to compliment him sometimes, etc... Multiple responses point out he’s listed like 80 kinds of HR violations. su she replies it doesn’t matter. responses assert that yeah, it kind of does, also did you mention your boss already has a boyfriend? red flag op. sms gets pissed at nobody addressing his actual question and deletes the post

jin guangyao makes a post asking how many times you have to ‘jokingly’ call someone your boyfriend and spend late nights working on projects while finding excuses to touch before you acknowledge maybe something is going on. he gets a few OH MY GOD IT’S YOU... MR HR VIOLATIONS responses before swiftly deleting

wen ning has attempted to write a post several times throughout his life and undeath and always chickened out and deleted what he wrote at the last moment. he finally just makes a post about regrets and wishing you’d asked things outright and shared your feelings on r/offmychest or something. it’s very moving and gets shared a lot. wwx absolutely sees it and comments ‘man the dude in this story must be an asshole to not realize op’s feelings’ with 0 self awareness. for my own happiness this absolutely is the start to an endgame ningxian postcanon au

lan wangji makes an account post guanyin temple to ask ‘if a man tells me ‘I like you, I love you, I whatever you, I want to fuck you every day’, does that mean we’re in a relationship?’ he ignores every response except the first person to just say ‘yep’, replies ‘thank you’ to that person and then never returns to xianxia reddit

#shitposting of the highest order #uhhh... #wangxian #xuexiao #chengxian sort of #xiyao #suyao #ningxian #songxiao