#oops sorry for talking for so long

[travalerray]

please tell me about your chengxian timetravel au

[The Grandmaster of Accidental Time Travel]

Omg, thank you for the ask!!

Okay so. Basically, the AU starts from Jin Guangyao's stab being very fatal and Jiang Cheng dying and returning to when he was ten years old.

Most of his concentration is focused on a) stopping Wei Wuxian b) stopping Wei Wuxian c) stopping Wei Wuxian— you get the idea. Except we all have read the novel and know that Wei Wuxian is real bad at listening to Jiang Cheng. Or anyone really.

So shenanigans follow. Except due to certain things (Jiang Cheng's knowledge of future events, things getting shifted by a little bit, a shift in attitude and a certain case of fever etc etc), things keep getting shifted. Lan Qiren is called to Qinghe earlier, they discover the skeleton of Qingfeng-jun's teacher, fight the Waterborne Abyss muuuuch earlier and somehow also manage to prevent Wei Wuxian from getting sent back to Yunmeng. How? Well, Jiang Cheng kinda gets in the middle of the fight, because he is trying. A little. To avoid. Jin Zixuan fucking dying. And he may or may not have gotten a horrible reaction from the fight. The reaction also may or may not have been exaggerated due to certain reasons.

The engagement is still dissolved. by a letter. All hail the greatest father of all time, Jiang Fengmian.

Now, in the background what did happen is. Lan Wangji manages to develop an unfortunate one sided crush on Jiang Cheng. Lan Xichen thinks it's hilarious and pairs them up for a night hunt. It goes horribly, important things are revealed and Wei Wuxian finally gets to the gay station without reading the name of the station. Everyone suffers.

the real reason for the time travel is a fuzzy thing I have in mind which involves taking a certain element from 2ha (Three Forbidden Techniques) and fusing it with the ghost path invented by Wei Wuxian. I am thinking more specifically that the creature ZhanCheng do encounter on their unfortunate night hunt could give a nod to the two souls residing in Jiang Cheng's body (while he keeps having strange dreams that shouldn't belong to him. Now, I personally think that the idea of some of Wei Wuxian's tendencies to be transmitted onto Jiang Cheng via golden core exchange fucks heavily but like. What if they literally ate each other. What if I didn't know where I began and you ended. What if separating you from me would kill me. What if you doomed us both. What if—) which would fuck him over more. I mean, there's still Wen Qing left who is also trying to change the past to save her side of people, but that would involve another fiasco. Anyways

Jiang Cheng being an actually good sect leader trying to convince his father (who reportedly is like That™) that a war is coming is going to be horrendous. On top of which, Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Yanli are 100% convinced that the fever knocked Jiang Cheng silly in the head and made him worse with auditory problems, while Jiang Cheng is going, "I am acting like a normal 16 year old. Which is totally a normal and possible thing to want to achieve". Wei Wuxian himself isn't normal but even he thinks Jiang Cheng's habits are a little insane at times. Like. Diving into the lake for five hours at a time (tfw you used to cry in the lake while helping people dig out your family relics but can't tell your still alive family that lest they bring every single doctor in the jianghu to Lotus Pier AGAIN). Or other such things. I do think he might be able to convince Yu Ziyuan faster than Jiang Fengmian if he tried hard enough. But that's after the Qishan Wen Conference and after he finally says fuck it and invents evidence to get Yunmeng Jiang moving and contemplates the best way to alert the Gusu Lan Sect about the burning.

Since this is a slowburn, Chengxian do not kiss properly until like the end of the war preparations (before which Jiang Cheng strangles Meng Yao, panics, runs off, has a breakdown, swallows a whole vat of soup, cries and curses random things). Since this is also a slowburn the POV shifting is funny because it is:

JC: A war is coming. I need to make sure people do not die and Wei Wuxian does not give me a golden core and become a demonic cultivator. That's all I want, really, the fact that he's probably going to end up with some other guy is definitely not heartbreaking—

WWX: *trying hard to be normal* Shidi looks hot when talking about array formations. Did talking to Zewu-jun turn me into a cutsleeve.

anyways.

Since Jiang Cheng had managed to gain the trust of Gusu Lan Sect, the Cloud Recesses is mostly saved, which means Qingfeng-jun leads the war effort this time. Which means that the time travel plot which actually had been resting on the back burner kicks up since his backstory is very much connected to the whole schtick going on. Which also means that we get to see Yu Ziyuan yelling people's ears off as per usual, but this time it's not Wei Wuxian.

I do think about the reveal though. since in the original world, Wei Wuxian is dead for the second time and has given up his soul in trying to bring Jiang Cheng back. When Jiang Cheng figures out the whole situation, things are going to Not Go Well. Because that's exactly what he had been trying to prevent! Why can't they ever be happy without one of them being dead like that! What do you mean happiness can't be found without being writ in blood!

.......Wei Wuxian is going to have a stroke learning this.

#kk's ask tag #oops sorry for talking for so long #the grandmaster of accidental time travel AU #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #chengxian #mdzs #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo dao zu shi

[fatuismooches]

EVEN MORE CUTE DOTTORE MOMENTS TO MAKE YOU SMILE 🙏 (because I am too tired to post anything of quality)

#smooches talks #ouhhhh... to experience the domestic life with him... #someone motivate me to start writing actual fics again... #the dottore honeymoon fic merely has the title “medicus scriptor amorem” and “Honeymoon fic” in the actual document LMFAO #i made it on... january 27 oops #idek if im gonna stick to that name because google translate for latin is so bad omfg #(TO THAT KIND PERSON WHO SENT ME IDEAS ILY AND I PROMISE I WILL RESPOND. I PROMISE IM NOT IGNORING U) #i also have another wip i havent touched with loving the harbingers when they weren't in the fatui yet #no like seriously i think churning out 50k words did something to my writing state 💀🙏 #a snippet from dottores part: Il Dottore’s strength was nearly unmatched in the Fatui being the Second Fatui Harbinger and all. #what most people do not know is that he was… certainly not the best fighter during his Akademiya days. #A claymore was also out of the question - he grumbled when he had to lug his numerous research materials and parts to the desert… #In the end you settled on teaching Zandik the basics of a sword. do with this as you will... #however i am still so proud of myself for fabulam diu oblitus #i was rereading in class bc i was bored and i was like #damn i kinda ate with this #thanks for listening to smooches mini writing life crisis if u made it here #okay i go sleep now... i have midterms this week #OMFG THESE TAGS R SO LONG IM SO SORRY

[the-red-thread-that-strangles]

Rei is late for the first time since he's started working at Poirot.

Neither terrorism attacks nor hostage crises have affected his being on time. Not even a runaway horse managed to keep him.

But he spends one night with Akai Shuichi, and his perfect record is ruined. Asshole.

Despite his calling ahead, Azusa gives him a worried look. He stops briefly to give her a mock-embarrassed apology, turning up the charm. Promises he won't be late again. Then he's off to the storage room.

He needs to fetch his ingredients and get to baking.

Rei's going to find Akai and strangle him, just as soon as his shift is over.

.

Roughly 12 hours earlier.

There's a gun aimed right between his eyes.

That in itself is nothing unusual. The situation could be worse, really.

After all, his own gun is pointed right back at Akai Shuuichi's annoyingly smug face. At this distance, he'll be able to read his movement, react in time. He'd rather talk, but if the sniper fires, Rei will drag him into hell too.

Blood for blood. Mutually assured destruction.

(His excitement is slightly dampened by the fact he's rather certain Akai won't kill him.)

"Caught you." Rei can't help the satisfaction slipping into his voice.

Finally. After three years, their game of cat and mouse is over. He'll have his answers.

The most pressing of which-

"Where's Scotch?"

The words cut into the silence, sharpened by fear. His best friend might still be dead, after all. (If he isn't, why hasn't he contacted Rei?)

It's not like he has much to go on to suspect he's alive, besides the fact that Akai himself came back from the dead. Rei can only hope he brought Hiro along.

Before Akai answers, there's a click. The world becomes dizzyingly bright, expanding past the muzzles of their guns.

Rei blinks the disorientation away. Spots silhouettes from the corner of his eyes. He hasn't met them before, but he's familiar, of course, with the owners of this house. How long have the Kudos been watching them?

While he's busy processing that revelation, Akai holsters his gun. Part of Rei hates how nonchalant Akai is about all of this, exposing himself so easily. Like Rei isn't a threat, won't put a bullet in his head because of a couple of witnesses. (Hates that he's probably right.)

"I propose a trade. For old time's sake."

(The words leave a bitter taste with Rei. They haven't exchanged anything, not goods, not words, not warmth, in years.)

Akai snaps open a cheap flip phone - likely a burner. His thumb hovers over the call button. The fingers of his other hand, long and dextrous, wrap around the barrel of Rei's P7M8, tugging gently, but insistently.

Rei considers his options. He holds no illusions - without his gun, he won't be able to dispatch Akai. But he's more than capable of holding his own for long enough to escape, if need be.

(He could just fire, right now. It wouldn't have to be lethal. Could take the phone by force. But chances are, whatever information Akai has, he'll be much less willing to share it with a bullet wound.)

Rei looks up at Akai, meets his green, green eyes. The part of him that shows genuine emotions, some days. (Not that Rei is one to talk.)

Finds Akai looking...tired. He wears a small smile, but it's worn around the edges. There's no open mockery, no quiet amusement. It's just the two of them, and an offer.

Rei lets go of the gun. He hopes he won't be needing it, tonight.

.

Akai helps him up, his hand warm and steady. As soon as he's upright, Rei lets go - he can walk perfectly fine by himself, thank you very much.

The FBI agent shows him to the living room, tells Rei to make himself a home. After all, the Kudos have promised to give him some privacy, for his chat.

For a moment, the sniper lingers, gaze caught by the phone. Then Akai casts his eyes down, and leaves Rei alone.

Silence, if not for the crackle of the damned fireplace, fills the room. Rei hesitates for a moment. Then he presses 'call' for the only number in the directory.

The phone crackles with static, beeps as it establishes connection, then-

"Hi, Zero."

The world stops moving. Relief floods his system, sapping the tension from his muscles. He leans against the soft backrest, breathing freely for the first time in a good long while.

.

Their talk is short. Rei asks some questions to establish it's truly Hiro, not an imposter (though that would make a very poor basis for the negotiation the Kudos have planned).

Hiro tersely explains some things, although he isn't allowed to give away much. He's in the FBI's witness protection program. That they're talking at all is a massive bending of the rules, authorized only because of Akai's insistence. He claimed it was of critical importance to their mission.

It certainly is, to Rei.

.

The next hours are a blur.

The sofa dips when Akai sits down at his side, the Kudos already having taken their seats on the other side of the small coffee table. (He wishes Akai would sit farther away. That he be less reasonable in his assumptions and demeanour.)

It's somewhat surreal to think that celebrity actress Kudo Yukiko of all people gives him a steaming cup of chamomile lavender honey tea. Good thing working with Vermouth has knocked most of the starstruck behaviour out of him; his younger self would have made a fool of himself.

He can't afford that. After all, they are seeking him out in an official capacity, requesting PSB senior agent Furuya Rei's cooperation.

It certainly is strange for them to reach out through him, considering his known enmity of Akai. But he's a professional - he might be reluctant to work with the man, but it's not his decision to make. He'll relay the offer, unless it's utter garbage.

So he pays attention while they share what they can of their plan to take down the organisation. Listens to their pledge for equal contribution, and their promise of crediting the PSB with a successful operation; an obvious play intended to soothe the wounded pride of the Japanese, after years of illegal activity. But it's the least they can do.

If one were to ask Rei, the offer is certainly worth considering. The PSB has been working the case for five years now, and while they have gathered intel, and managed to place Bourbon as a vital asset, they're barely closer to shutting the organization down than when they started. It's sprawling, interconnected with various businesses, and, worst of all, active internationally. If they don't cut off all its heads at the same time, odds are the members will simply flee to a different branch. Maybe lie low for a bit, and then go about their business with renewed vigour.

It seems like an international cooperation might just be necessary to achieve this task. So he'll be their messenger; it's above his pay grade to decide whether to take them up on the offer or not.

Though privately, he hopes his superiors agree; every day they lose ground to the organization. By this point, Rei doesn't really care anymore whose plan it is that finally does the organization in, as long as it gets done. (And as long as he and the PSB are finally treated with the appropriate amount of respect.)

Still, he can't help thinking they wouldn't be having this conversation now, if these foreign agencies had respected the official channels ahead of time. Maybe Hiro could be hiding in Nagano then, with his brother, instead of being confined to the other half of the globe. In the US, of all the terrible places to be. He shivers.

.

By the time they're done it's very late. Rei is already half-dozing off, despite his best efforts to stay awake. It would be highly irresponsible to drive in this state, so he's asked their hosts for a coffee (he's sure a place housing Akai will have more than enough of it to go around). He'll just rest his eyes for a moment, until they're back.

.

Something light is being dropped on him, almost stirs him to consciousness. But it's warm, soft, and smells of huddling together in an abandoned apartment.

(Of long-forgotten small comforts.)

Not a threat.

Thus satisfied, his body collects its due, and he's dragged back under, into deep, dreamless sleep.

.

Which brings Rei to the reason he's late.

Someone, and he has a very good idea of who it was, put his phone in airplane mode, drew all the curtains shut, and kept the rest of the house quiet.

(Let him sleep for as long as he needed to.)

So Rei wakes up with a start, in a barely familiar place, the digital clock on the wall indicating it's way past opening time for Poirot. Shit.

He grabs his belongings, pistol, clothes and keys and all, and dashes out the door. He swears he can see Okiya - no, Akai, he was right, damn it - look down on him from that favourite window of his. Asshole. Contrary to him Rei has a job, a cover to maintain. He'll get back at him, yet.

.

It should probably worry him that he can perform the drive to Poirot on autopilot. Too many late-night stakeouts turning into impromptu naps, requiring him to drive straight to work after. So much trouble, over nothing. If Akai had just cooperated sooner-

Then, what? Rei hadn't managed to track him down before his supposed death, and the less interaction there is between Okiya Subaru and Amuro Tooru, the better for both of them. He grinds his teeth, barely manages to brake in time for a redlight.

(Hates that he understands the caution, to a degree.)

.

The universe really is conspiring against him, today.

After the lunchtime rush, a certain pocket-sized detective is ushered in through the door, followed by his guardian and her best friend. The kid gives him odd looks all throughout ordering lunch, too sharp in a way that makes the hairs at the back of his neck stand in up. Rei gives him his sunniest smile, and an extra packet of sugar. He's played games with Gin and Vermouth in worse conditions; he won't yield to a particularly precocious six-year-old.

Despite getting more sleep than the last three nights combined, he's not feeling too well. A single good night's rest can't undo weeks of insomnia. If anything, it only makes apparent what he's lacking.

He finds his mind wandering, glad the preparation of food comes automatically, by now. Whisk and mix and pour. Fry, remove from the pan...

"...uro? You seem unwell."

Too-familiar green eyes stare back at him, bags under the eyes and all. Rei barely manages not to flinch.

Of all the people to catch him spacing out, it just has to be Akai's little sister. The gods must truly hate him.

"Ah, miss Sera. I apologize, I was just pondering some new options for our menu." He winks, gives her his most dazzling smile. "The chamomile lavender honey tea cake has me under its spell."

In response, she just wrinkles her nose, unimpressed. Squints at him with those jade eyes that always see through him too easily.

"Are you sure you're not running a fever? It seems a little warm in here already, yet you're working in a sweater."

Rei blinks at that. The temperature seems fine to him. Azusa hasn't said anything about it either.

"I appreciate the concern, but I assure you, I'm perfectly fine. Now, what can I get you?"

One slice of red velvet cake (of course - why did they even keep that on the menu?) and a macchiato later he's rid of her.

For now, at least - she's joined her friends at the window seats, and judging by the way she keeps sneaking glances at him when she thinks he isn't looking, he hasn't seen the last of her yet.

Still, her questions are odd. Surely he doesn't look that terrible?

(Vermouth has taught him some of her secrets; he's been concealing the shadows under his eyes for a while now. Nobody's ever found him out. Why is it now that people notice?)

.

He continues to work mindlessly, unfocused. This damn shift just doesn't seem to want to end.

He just about manages to avoid knocking Ran out for leaning over the counter, into his space. She remains blissfully unaware of the danger she just escaped, smiling brightly, kindly.

"Excuse me, I have a question."

Rei closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, counts to four. Smiles at the girl. "Go ahead", he says, continuing to whisk some cake batter.

Ran leans in closer, conspiratorially.

"Masumi is too shy to ask" - that's a bold-faced lie, if he's ever heard one, and he's something of an expert on the matter - "but she'd love to know where you got that sweater."

Now, Ran's a lovely young lady, always eager to help. It's a pity she's being manipulated for Sera's gain. Because there has to be more to the question, even if Rei can't see it yet.

Of course, he can't tell the girls the truth - Kazami bought it for Bourbon's cover. But the best lies are closest to the truth, so-

"I apologize, but I do not know where it was bought. A friend gave it to me." His best calculated-apologetic smile smoothes the blow, hopefully.

"Oh. I see." Ran visibly deflates. Still, her good manners prevail. "Thank you, though!" And with that, she's heading back to her table.

Strange. What could Sera possibly want with his sweater? If she wanted to track him down, surely there's more efficient ways, and it's not like he doesn't have a dozen similar cream sweaters-

Wait. Cream?

Rei's pretty sure he dressed in black to infiltrate the Kudo manor. He's not been home and he hasn't changed for work.

He manages to supress a groan, but he's sure there's some unpleasant emotion visible on his face.

...he must have grabbed the sweater along with the rest of his belongings in the morning rush.

Now that he's looking at it, it's clearly a little too large for him. It's also warm, fuzzy, soft, and utterly unoffensive. That's probably why it didn't register, before.

The sweater does smell decidedly of Akai - cigarettes and a hint of his obnoxious aftershave. The warm scent of curry is new - though unsurprising, given his foray into cooking. Great. That's why they've been staring at him. Sera probably recognizes the sweater and Conan spends enough time with Akai to recognize the scent.

His gut instinct is to go change, right now, get rid of the damning piece of connection to the man he has too many conflicting emotions about. But a long-sleeved black turtleneck is hardly appropriate work attire for Poirot. Besides, if he changes now, the pair of detectives watching him will just have their suspicions confirmed.

So he grits his teeth, takes in a deep breath that smells too much like Akai, and gets back to work.

.

Rei does change out of the sweater as soon as he's done with his shift.

(It doesn't help. The scent lingers.)

.

He's tempted to just toss the sweater, but can't help feeling like it would be a waste. It's quality craftsmanship, well-worn but taken care of - this kind of sweater would pill, otherwise.

It really shouldn't be faulted for its owner's flaws.

So he puts the sweater in a bag, intending to have it dry-cleaned and give it back later.

He should really hunt down Akai, too, but if he's honest, he's just too tired. He probably shouldn't even drive, in his condition, but he needs to get to a safe place, to think about the developments of the night.

.

He reports to Kuroda, showers thoroughly, and falls into bed.

.

Rei can't have slept long. The sunset colours the world in blood red hues by the time he wakes up, out of breath, heartbeat too fast.

Visions of smoke and ash cling to him. Explosions, destroying him one by one, until nothing remains but death alone.

Hagiwara and Matsuda, taken by violent flame.

Hiro's remains, crushed and burnt beyond recognition.

Akai's smile, grimly defiant, as he's shot by Kir. He too finds his end in a blaze, lacking glory.

They're gone.

Consumed by the inferno that seems to follow Rei around. Which burns everything he cares about, leaves him freezing in its wake.

(He can't even cry, his tears evaporating in the heat.)

Rei shivers, draws the blankets closer. Hopes for a little bit of cover, a little bit of warmth.

Please. If he could just shake off the nausea. If he could stop his spiralling thoughts. Logically, he knows that's not all true, even if his heart burns. Akai and Hiro aren't dead.

It's a lie, they're alive, it's a lie, they're alive, it's a lie a lie a lie a lie-

A set of sharp barks rips him out of his thoughts, back into the present.

Oh. He's woken Haro.

The little guy stands in front of his bed, ears tucked back and hackles raised. A defiant ball of fluff that cares so much, trying to growl the nightmares away.

(It might just work.)

Slowly, shaking and somewhat off-balance, he reaches down to scoop up his dog. Wiggles the blanket off his shoulders so he may cradle the whining bundle of fur to his chest. It's soothing, to feel the warmth of another living being by his side. They sit, the silence permeated by Haro's huffed breaths. His body heat seeps into Rei's chest, nestles in his heart.

"I apologize for worrying you. I'll be fine, soon."

He's not alone.

Haro nudges his hand, demands to be pet. Rei obliges, of course he does.

He's not alone.

.

Still, the headache is a pain. He won't be able to go back to sleep like this, will need to grab a painkiller.

He makes his way to the kitchen counter, keeping to the walls because he's still somewhat unsteady, carrying his bundle of warmth along.

The dog throws a fit as they pass the bag with Akai's sweater, growling and yapping at it. Despite the circumstances, Rei can't help but smile.

"I'm glad to see we feel the same way about him."

Wait.

Inspiration strikes in the form of a very stupid idea.

Because that sweater, with its stupid mixed scents, reeking of Akai, is proof he didn't just imagine last night's events. Tangible and olfactory and physical proof. If he were to wake from a nightmare, with it by his side...the anger at Akai would surely keep the pain at bay.

It's worth a try.

.

When he goes back to bed, Haro lies down beside him. Rei keeps petting him, one-handedly. With the other, he holds on to a cream sweater that isn't his.

When he breathes, it smells of too-long stakeouts in windy apartments.

Of Rye's extra blankets, the ones he started to bring when he noticed Bourbon always freezing; irritating to no end, how he was always better prepared for cold weather than Rei.

(It smells of Bourbon's cooking, given in exchange for soft blankets.)

Scents of a tentative alliance, as thread-bare as the fabric between them.

Grounded between the warmth of Haro, and the scent of Akai, Rei falls asleep, waiting for the dog days to finally be over.

#we're tackling the original sin #the tea party (dun dun dun) #i'm a little sad that “personalized heating unit (read: Haro)” got left on the cutting room floor #anyways I have a migraine but I want this out so here you go #i realized that I mostly write rei taking care of akai. have some implied akai taking care of rei in this one #sweater weather AU #akam #dcmk #long post #(i would like to formally apologize to squad leader date btw. I promise rei isn't any less upset about his death #but we are having a fire/explosion themed nightmare. i couldn't fit him in. I'm sorry) #(also rei. bit of dick move not to let akai talk to hiro...) #oops you are right mi although I'm not quite sure how to tag for that #um #mention of canon character deaths #specifically matsuda and hagiwara #iris writes fic

[i-like-books-and-women]

Welcome back to the bits of soup I deem good enough for the public:

Angel 100% thought Zach and Ruben were dating for a hot second. It would've been like somewhere in between after the talent show and before canon starts. But either way I think it went something like this.

Ruben: yeah so there's this guy

Zach: ooh guy?

Angel: oh do you guys have an open relationship?

Zach & Ruben: what-

Angel: aren't you dating?

Zach: i mean ruben's an amazing person but I'm straight-

Angel was then confused about this for the next like month. After this interaction he ran it by Jon and Jon was like "bro what planet do you live on?". Then after Zach and Ruben came out to Jon and Angel, Angel pulled Jon aside and was like "fuck you I knew it I was right".

Secondary thought. After Zach and Ruben got their shit together but before Jon and Angel knew (that's a time window of like 2 weeks right??? I don't remember lol) they like put together that something was going on and were trying to make the math math. Eventually Angel got to "they've gotta me a thing man no way they aren't" which was very "I've connected the dots. You didn't connect shit. I've connected them.)

#i just think “meanwhile the side characters” while the main characters are hiding a secret relationship is so funny #“jon im telling you the ”i dont really see it“ was a start of a sexuality crisis for ol' zachy poo. #you dont go from besties to not talking and making snide remarks to all over each other again if theres nothing fruity going on.“ -angel #“and youd know?” -Jon #“as a matter of fact i do. and if i didnt id know better than you mr. ”bathes in holy water“.” -Angel #very different note #did you know holy water cant be diluted #so apparently even if you only add like a drop or two to like a bathtub full of it its all holy #which honestly is probably easier and funnier in concept than “25% holy water” #like its rubbing alcohol or milk #if this gets out #itgo #zach knight #ruben montez #angel phan #jon braxton #zuben #oops this ones kinda long #sorry lol

[elshells]

Hey there tumblr, I've missed you. How's it going?

#this past month has been so demanding (still is) and I'm physically and mentally drained of energy more often than not #and I haven't written in so long #but you know what? I'm okay #it hasn't been easy but I'm surviving #and right now life isn't too heck #I'm pushing myself out there more and I'm seeing my friends as often as I can while still prioritizing my own health #and I'm finally starting to feel excited about my own WIPs again! #the spark to write has been out for a little while and I haven't been able to drudge up the interest until now #so hopefully that means good things for the near future! #plus I've missed talking to my online writing buddies and I wanna see how y'all are doing!! #my life hasn't gotten any less busy but I'm gonna try my best to hang out every once in a while #anyway love y'all #rambling in the reblogs as usual oops sorry #life update kinda #ella thinks

[yaxinqs]

Random but HOWWW did you learn THAT many languages I am so impressed???? Idk if this is personal question it’s okay if you don’t want to reply to it

aaaa it's nothing too personal at all don't worry!!

i ended up rambling about it😭 so i'm gonna put a tldr here and you can read on if you want to:

german because i grew up and live in germany, english because of school and being online etc., french because of school, chinese (mandarin, cantonese) because of my mom and her side of the family

★‎ ‎

since i grew up in germany so the language is a given anyway,,,

english as well since we learn it at school starting 3rd grade but honestly i learned everything through english media in my free time lmaooo

french is from school as well! had it from 7th to... 11th? grade which is when i dropped the classes (before 11th grade it's mandatory to choose a 2nd foreign language; most schools including mine offer either latin or french) it's been a few years but i think i'm still at the same level

chinese is also more or less of a given since i'm half chinese, but it's a bit weird with me — my mom is from guangdong (canton-province) and cantonese was actually my first language! but as soon as i started kindergarten i forgot A LOT of it since i had to talk german 24/7 and to this day i'm still mad my mom didn't sit my ass down to learn it again,,, but it's okay i re-learned it bit by bit

and mandarin chinese... man... the thing is when i speak i'd rather do it in cantonese but i somehow can't really wrap my head around written cantonese (there's some extra characters and grammar can be different etc etc) so technically i'm writing in mandarin chinese?? but my spoken mandarin is decent as well, i just tend to mix stuff up between cantonese and mandarin since i don't engage with either language on a regular basis

i'm aware cantonese isn't really considered a seperate language but it's easier to refer to it as one in this case😭

also a fun story: when i visited a friend of my mom i literally had to talk in all languages and it was hell on earth i swear,,,

the line up was basically this:

mom: cantonese, mandarin, german

the friend who tagged along: cantonese, mandarin, english, SOME german

the friend we visited: cantonese, mandarin, english

the friend's partner: mandarin, french, english

the friend's son my beloved 哥哥: cantonese, mandarin, english

my brain was working overtime fr, although it was nice to be able to switch language mid sentence without having to worry about people not understanding

ANYWAY i kinda have a knack for picking up languages but simultaneously struggle with all of them in some way (at least a bit)

#THIS IS SO LONG OOPS SORRY #my mom and i don't talk much cantonese at home because her boyfriend feels left-out when we do SIGH #liya's mailbox #★ anon

[strawberrycowtime]

ive been thinking. i think it’s stupid that people are like “family/love/happiness is a constant! pain/suffering is just temporary!” because that’s just…wrong? like it’s a sweet thought, but it’s not true. when one ends, the other begins. neither are constant/uninterrupted ever (which is good. things would be strange if nothing ever changed).

so i feel like instead of naming a positive as the rule, with any negatives being the exception, we can just say Something. there will always be Something, and there will always be Nothing, sometimes. and before Something, there might’ve been Nothing, but it’ll be a long while until it goes back to Nothing.

like there was Nothing before, and there’ll probably be Nothing after, but that doesn’t mean we don’t get to experience the Something in between. and what is the end of one thing if not the start of another?

sorry if this is stupid lols i just needed to get it out of my brain. i’ve been thinking about all the changes i went through during covid and how they relate to the bigger picture of my life. there was a big period during like 2022 where i just Didn’t Know What Was Happening and so now that i know the context for everything, i’ve been able to piece my life together again. and also im not in a constant state of transistion lmao

or maybe im just tired idk. i might delete this

#not art #oops im rambling #i just wasn’t able to talk about this for so long #not in a legal sense #just like. i didn’t have the words #and now i do #and i understand #and i know why we left #and how it would’ve been worse to stay #and i can just. accept it now #im honestly pretty happy #i feel good #sorry for getting weird lol #this is supposed to be a silly account lmfao #gnight everybody #see you in the morning #the one i know will come #:) #<33

[wildflowercryptid]

SOME MJVERSE FAMILY HEADCANONS!

kris and lyra are sisters, kris being the older of the two. she went on her journey two years before lyra and ethan go on their's, but now she's working as elm's field assistant and researches the myths and mysteries of johto whenever she can find time. ethan and lyra run into her a few times throughout their own journeys, almost always accompanied by leaf ( who was traveling through johto and insisted on joining her the moment she mentioned legendary pokémon. ) lyra also makes a habit of teasing her big sister for the obvious crush she's developing on her companion.

agatha and bertha are relatives, bertha being a direct descendant of charm while agatha is descended from one of charm's siblings back in kanto. they used to spend time with each other at family reunions as kids and still keep in touch through letters.

pheobe is half-alolan and related to acerola. staying connected to her alolan heritage is very important to pheobe and talking to acerola about the culture helps her feel more in touch with it. in turn, she helps acerola strengthen her spiritual abilities and teaches her how to better communicate with ghost-types.

hilda and hilbert are siblings, with hilbert being older by one year. they're very close and are always looking out for each other, no matter how much they bicker and rib each other. hilbert sits out on picking starters at the beginning of the game, as he received a scraggy for his birthday the year prior.

rosa and nate are twins, rosa being older by a minute. the two seem to have pretty similar personalities at first glance, ( both being high-spirited, big-hearted, and ready to take on whatever life throws at them, ) but the small differences become more obvious the more you get to know them. rosa has a tendency to run headfirst into any and all situations, which often gets her into trouble, while nate is a lot more pragmatic and tries to assess things before tackling problems. they often seem to balance each other because of this, but have to learn how to not rely on each other as much when their journeys put them on different paths.

serena is a descendant of az through her mother, grace. no one is aware of this expect az himself.

mizuki and elio are cousins, mizuki being half-alolan and staying with elio's family at the start of the game. elio is a lot more laid-back than the high-energy mizuki and often looks out for her like a big brother during her island challenge ( even though he's only a few months older than her. )

nia and penny are sisters. their parents separated when penny was pretty young, ( all the stuff going on peony and the league and rose put a major strain on their marriage, ) with their mother moving back home to paldea with her. they keep in touch through text / video chat and nia is very protective of her little sister, especially after finding out what happened at the academy.

larry is giacomo and poppy's father. he separated from their mother after coming to terms with his sexuality, but the two are still on good terms. he overworks himself to help provide for his kids, not realizing how his lack of presence could end up straining his relationship with them. giacomo is especially distant from his dad, going as far to not mention who he's related to unless asked, but that has more to do with him feeling like a failure when being compared to him than anything else. he does love hanging out with his little sister, though. ( he likes teaching her songs... and bad words, but don't tell his dad he does that. )

#sorry if this is too long but i had thoughts!! #i actually have more family headcanons but i will save those for another day #it's so much fun to come up with ideas for these characters... #there's actually a little bit more to the serena hc but idk if it'd make sense since it brings up details from my xy rewrite >>> #that haven't really talked about on here yet #i'll share the full headcanon whenever i write more about mjverse version of the kalosian war myth #anyways i hope ya'll like these headcanons!! #also sorry for putting 2 divorce headcanons in a row oops 😭 #pokemon #trainer kris #trainer lyra #elite four agatha #elite four bertha #elite four phoebe #trial captain acerola #trainer hilda #trainer hilbert #trainer rosa #trainer nate #trainer serena #trainer az #trainer selene #trainer elio #trainer peonia #trainer penny #gym leader larry #team star giacomo #elite four poppy #kogamoshipping #hc : ( pkmn ) mjverse

[connorjesup]

thank you @thiansong for tagging me <3 i don’t think my gifs are special, i basically just color and i’m done qsdfhqihk (not entirely true but ya know) also i prob use vibrance and curves a bit bit bit too much most of the times, prob should not use them that much but i need colors and i need to SEE! 

1. to sir with love (2022) 2. gap the series (2022) 3. the eclipse (2022) 4. p-valley (2020) 5. takahashi-kun from the bicycle shop (2022) 6. connor jessup (1994) 7. strangers from hell (2019) 8. eternal yesterday (2022) 9. i told sunset about you (2020) 10. stray kids (2018)

tagging a few people, you don’t have to do it i promise!!! but i just love all your gifs is all <3 so guess this is a lil follow rec for anyone who want pretty gifs on their dash: @jamandstuff @rosaortecho @tylerposey @laowen @mrdumpling @iamacolor @team-win @nandorthecloser @kittychicha @moonlightchicken @bimorgana @chaeunwoo @staarfires @machikeita @bellepark @ardentlytess @winmon @beaucooper @kevinfeiges @andrelamoglia @ella-enchanted

#tag game #quan..................................... <3<3<3 #i feel so bad for tagging some of you!!! we've never talked oops #anyway sorry for tagging y'all sdkljqfskfjl #i do realize i change A LOT!! it does take me a long time to gifs maybe i need to tone it down but oh well #me giffing connor out of the blue so people don't fight me for this url :))) #i know quan tagged a lot of you already but it's just for the lil rec!! #wanted to tag few more people but chickened out sorry sorry!!!!!!

[hiirenvirna]

Hemlock 8, 17 and 27!

8. How loose is their use of the phrase ‘I love you’?

I think they get much more comfortable saying it as they develop their canon relationships. They're kinda wary of seeming too needy or vulnerable with their feelings at first but towards the end of the game they'd be telling all their friends how much they love them on a regular basis.

17. What do they notice first in the mirror versus what most people first notice looking at them?

They don't really think about their appearance that much so any of their observations would be pretty surface level objective stuff like "oh i've gotten a new scar" or "my hair has gotten longer". As for other people. Hmm. Idk they don't have any super distinctive features so I think most people would just clock the general vibe of. Chronic insomnia. This is a very bad answer I know

27. What’s the worst gift they ever received? How did they respond?

This feels like a bit of a cop out answer but tbf they haven't been given a lot of gifts in their life and they are so grateful for Literally Any positive attention they get so. They would not consider any gift they've received bad and has only been polite and grateful to people who have given them things.

#sorry i took so long to answer lmao i got sicker than anticipated and then. forgor a lil bit oops #ty for the ask!!! <3 #i love talking about this guy #not art #oc lore #ask game

[dandyshucks]

i try to keep my blog lighthearted and silly so I hold my tongue on a lot of things (.... i could vague all day about how a lot of alternative fashion trend face tattoos/drawing on face with eyeliner are racist but I will simply leave it at this LMAO) because frankly I do not have the energy or mental clarity (or functioning nervous system) to educate on a lot of matters, but this one has just been slowly eating at me and the dam broke when i saw someone in the notes of a s.elfship post using "delulu" as an insult

#the tattoo/eyeliner thing btw is mainly referring to ppl drawing lines on their nose or chin #plus a lot of video game character design lifts directly from indigenous cultures and its really fucking gross and frustrating to see #i've only seen it crop up like... twice? in the community? and it wasnt from anyone i follow or who follows me #so i didnt feel like it'd be worth me randomly stumbling into their DMs about fdjskfl #anyways it mostly boils down to making a mockery and costume of indigenous cultures esp when most of us are still not allowed- #-to get our cultural markings or wear regalia half the time. or even have our traditional hairstyles bc its seen as unprofessional #mainly in the case of men having long hair and braids but other situations as well. #anywho. im done with this heavier conversation here for now bc im gonna start getting way too nauseous from anxiety HFDSJKL #also i have to go eat a late dinner oops fdjskl me when i rant and rave about issues that are not very prominent but bug me nonetheless #me: im not gonna talk about it. the tags: hi you wanna talk about it using us sooooo bad teehee #SORRY ABOUT THAT FDJKL #dandy.cmd

[brokenhardies]

tbh as a six fan i feel so bad for thirteen fans

bc there are a lot of thirteen fans who are willing to defend shitty writing and poor decisions bc thirteen's their favourite doctor and there's no other way to say she's their favourite bc thirteen has only been off the air for 2 years at this point. thirteen also has the bonus problem of being the first female doctor which means a lot of her criticism is clouded by misogyny and other icky incel alt right shit

meanwhile with six, a lot of his problems had the benefit of the wilderness years, big finish, the expanded universe, and even people looking back at his doctor and realising that there was some good in his episodes. a lot of his fans didnt become his fans until recently and even most of his haters are quite clear that they hate the writing decisions and not the actor himself

like until jodie gets some good material - maybe big finish? theyre doing fugitive doctor and dhawan master stuff that might improve the problems with those - a lot of thirteen fans are going to be clutching at straws and trying to figure out why they like her and how to say so in a way that won't upset the predominantly male fandom, as well as won't disagree with common and very bloody obvious criticisms of chibnalls era

#dnr #dni #this might show up in the tags anyway oops :( #my main issues with the chibnall era comes in the form of the writing #like there are some aspects of the story that makes me tear my hair out #why do we have three companions - two of whom are poc - when we're just gonna focus on the white man #better still why does the female doctor have three companions #better still why does only graham get characterisation #the entirity of kerblam is just one long hate crime imho #rosa is... fine:tm: but the line where yaz defends the police to ryan when hes understandibly #talking about his issues shouldve been cut out #tbh chibnalls idea of politics was basically 'lets present it all on screen front and centre and then never touch on it again' #good work gang hit the showers #now im not saying that you cant like chibnalls era #i personally dont like it and i feel like the bad writing has clouded my interpretation of thirteen as a whole #which sucks #especially as a six fan bc ive been in this boat before where ive seen people disregard him bc #'he strangled his companion!' in one episode #so its more of a i feel sorry for thirteen fans #and tha5min fans like you guys got hella queerbaited

[still-got-no-idea]

Trick or Treat!

Ello! Here you are :D

#aster talks #aster answers #trick or treat! #sorry it took me so long i didn’t have my ipad and then i fell asleep- #i was really tired oop #anyway ello! #here is your candy :D

[whumpyourdamnpears]

HEYYYY :D

So i'm curious. How many animals do you have?! There's the chickens and Albus, are there any others?? Also how on earth do you look after them all? I can barely deal with one single dog and even then sometimes it can get overwhelming.

I hope things get better. I hope tomorrow is such a good day you forget all about the terrors that today has brought you.

You're great ily i'm sending you hugs 🫂

thank you so much!! I have a really shitty memory, so I probably will forget 😅 I took a nap though and that seems to have helped. I’m the kind of person that once I get crying it’s really hard for me to stop, so I’ll just keep crying and crying until I get really distracted or fall asleep and reset

so, I have three cats! Skittles, (12), Boo, (1), and Albus (six months).

(the cats in order)

I currently have seventeen chickens. seven of them are older, 5+ years old and nearing the days where they stop laying eggs, so we got ten chicks back in May and they are funky looking! I’ll have to take updated pictures of them all to update this post later

caring for them is a little hard, considering my mom can’t do it anymore with her fucked up hip and back, so their care is all on me, at least with the chickens. their care is kind of simple though: feed them, fill their waterer, let them out for the day and put them back inside. occasionally I need to clean out their waterers and their coop (we do the deep litter method so it’s not that often), which I can do on my own, but certain things I can’t, like carrying 50lb feed bags out to the coop and washing off poopy butts and fixing broken parts of the coop, which I get help with when people are willing to do so. my cats I feed and water and play with and trim nails with 2/3 of them (Skittles will murder me if I try. she gets them done at the vet). Skittles I have to put medicine on every night and she now has an exclusively wet food diet, which sucks from a cost and effort perspective, but I briefly had a hyperfixation with videos on what people feed their cats in a day, so feeding her is a little exciting for me, I feel like a little chef

I used to have two goldfish, but their care became too much for me to do on my own (chronic illness is a bitch) and the rest of my family refused to help me with them, so they ended up passing away :(

#this is a long post I’m sorry #but you got me talking about my pets and I LOVE my pets #fun fact on my autism assessment my proctor noted that I kept talking about animals so oop guess that’s something

[cuteniarose]

can you plz infodump about your ocs?? so new people to your blog can understand them

Hey, anon? I hope you know that this ask is the best one I’ve gotten in all my 3 1/2 years on this hellsite, so thank you!! You really don’t need to know about my OCs to follow this blog cause a) I post once in a blue moon nowadays, and b) it’s rarely about my OCs, BUT SINCE YOU ASKED-

K, so, my main OCs are Suiren and Midori, sisters who just so happen to be Ghazan and Ming-Hua’s daughters. They were 7 and 4 respectively when their parents were imprisoned for trying to kidnap Korra, which led to them being placed in the ‘care’ of Ghazan’s older sister, Haya. What happens to them after that? Well, you’d have to be more specific, since I have about a trillion different AUs featuring them. The two most important ones (aka the ones written down) are:

1. Seeds of the Red Lotus. The very first fic I wrote about them, which I... haven’t updated in two years. It currently stands at 5 chapters BUT I am in the process of rewriting and continuing it. The basic concept is that the girls grow up in utter misery under Haya’s iron fist, and in a desperate attempt to get enough money to leave and live a happy, comfortable life somewhere else, Suiren becomes an assassin at the bright old age of 17. Fast forward 6 years, and Team Avatar, unable to take down the Earth Empire on their own, hire her to kill Kuvira

2. Under the Oak’s Shade. A rather self indulgent AU written as a form of catharsis and spiritual healing. Six months into living with Haya, the girls are taken in by Zhi, a cranky lesbian with a bad sense of direction/P’Li’s firebending teacher from the Red Lotus/my friend @katkastrofa‘s OC from her fic Lost and Found (which, unlike the multichaps I write, is complete and you should go read it immediately). Once I pull myself together to actually figure out how the next instalment in the series should go, this will, most likely, eventually become a Red Lotus Korra AU, which I’m definitely looking forward to writing.

Now that the basics are out of the way, let’s get to actual infodumping about my two precious cinnamon rolls. Most of this info is from SotRL-verse, as that is the main story I’ve got about them, so keep that in mind

-

Suiren:

23 years old as of 174 AG. Master waterbender and deadly assassin. Cold, calculating and precise in everything she does, leaving no room for error. Takes no shit from anyone, is fiercely defensive and independent, and is the last person to ever accept any help or charity. Confident in her abilities and borderline cocky at times, a lot of which is a front. Extremely short tempered, nihilistic, cynical and high strung, not willing to let anyone get close enough to her to see her hidden vulnerabilities

She wasn’t always like this. A long time ago, back before she lost her parents, she was much, much softer, kinder and more gentle. Her parents called her their little water lily, and the nickname suited her well. However, P’Li’s nickname for her was ‘my little firecracker’, so she very much still had quite a temper even back then. Overall, she was a happy little girl with bright eyes and a mischievous smile who was determined to excel in her waterbending lessons. She was Ming-Hua’s pride and joy. 16 years of taking the brunt of Haya’s anger to shield her sister, as well as destroying the part of herself that wouldn’t let her mindlessly do the bidding of whoever paid her, changed her, perhaps irreversibly.

Her old life still haunts her, though. Genetics played a cruel joke on her – the silky black hair reaching below her waist, the angular features, the prominent cheekbones, the (relatively) short height – it all serves to make her see her mother every single time she glances in the mirror. Being just like her mother was something she once aspired to, but now follows her like a curse. Even the things she got from her dad, dark skin and golden brown eyes, don’t help, and just make her look like Haya, especially when she’s angry

There is another side to her that no one but Midori gets to see. She may not be as soft as sixteen years ago, but she is still capable of love and gentleness. She loves her sister more than anything else in life, has already killed and would die for her. She is very protective of Midori (though often to a fault). She hugs her tight and kisses her forehead and cheeks, quietly sings her (their mother’s) lullabies as she calms her down from a nightmare, heals any and all her wounds, tells her stories of their parents, always puts her first no matter how pained and exhausted she herself is... In short, Suiren took on the role of a self sacrificing parent a long time ago and has played it well

Suiren is a distinguished lesbian but can’t keep a partner longer than a few weeks. Girls fawn all over her, but once they see past the pretty face and confident demeanour and notice everything wrong with her, they run (which only serves to make Suiren’s abandonment issues worse). She has taken to sticking to one night stands when she needs an outlet for her frustrations, convinced she will never have, and isn’t deserving of, a long lasting, loving relationship

She struggles severely with her mental health, constantly plagued by what she has done. She tries to limit her sleep to avoid nightmares that she knows will come and represses all emotions except for anger as that is the safest to latch onto and channel into killing. She is almost always on edge and feels pressure mounting with every single day. Very prone to overstimulation when it comes to noise, light and people. The only times she ever relaxes (or, at least, pretends to) is when she’s alone with Midori or with Lotus, her pet sabertooth moose lion.

To sum up: the poor girl is a vessel for my trauma and deserves a 30 hour nap, a hug, a warm blanket, the whole world and her parents back

-

Midori:

20 years old as of 174 AG. Earthbender, though not very good at it. She discovered her earthbending only a few months before losing her parents, and had no one to teach her since then. She is naturally kindhearted and hardworking, always trying to help out where she can and seem useful. Quiet and anxious, she prefers to stick to the background and draw as little attention to herself as possible (which is in fact a defence mechanism against Haya’s treatment of her but, y’know, let’s not get into that rn)

Sixteen years ago, Midori was a bright and happy little girl, wanting nothing more than for everyone around her to be happy as well. Always full of energy, she could talk and ramble for hours about anything that crossed her mind. Just as mischievous as her sister, she knew she was the baby of the family and could get away with anything, though to her credit, she didn’t abuse that much. Her parents called her their little Seedling, the youngest of them all so full of potential and eager to grow and make her parents proud. P’Li often called her a cuddlebug for her affectionate nature (am I stealing that from Kat’s fic bc it made me scream into my pillow for five minutes straight? Maybe. You can’t prove anything).

In present age, she’s a lot more similar to her childhood self than Suiren is. She doesn’t talk that much anymore, if at all, and her happiness is often clouded by the harsh world around her, but some of that cheerfulness still shines through, especially when she’s alone with Suiren or with Tenzin’s kids. The energy once used for rambling and chasing butterflies and racing with her sister is now almost always redirected into chores and housework, though if Suiren offered, she’d gladly race her again (and probably win tbh, her legs are longer and Renny prefers faster methods than running)

She doesn’t remember her parents well, and their faces have blurred beyond recognition in her mind. It’s why her appearance doesn’t affect her as much as Renny’s own does her. She’s not a carbon copy of either of her parents like Suiren is, she’s more of an even mix. She knows what Suiren had told her, that she has their mother’s eyes and their father’s nose, but can’t piece anything together in her head. She keeps her hair, as dark and silky as Suiren’s, though thicker, at shoulder length, a bit uneven in places as she cuts it herself. As a child, Ghazan would tie her hair into twin pigtails every morning and she never let anyone else do it. She hasn’t styled her hair in any way since she took those pigtails out before going to bed the night their parents left

A disaster bisexual, proven by the fact that out of all people in the world, she falls for Opal Beifong. You know, the step sister of the woman Midori’s sister has to kill (or die trying), and the daughter of the woman who killed Midori’s beloved auntie P’Li. Yeah, tough case. Anyway, turns out, there is a limited supply of Ghazan’s charm in his genetic code and it all got passed down to Renny, because ‘Dori herself turns into an awkward mess whenever the opportunity to flirt arises. It’s fine though, Opal still finds her adorable. Also she probably had a small crush on Bolin when they first met, but that was because he was one of the only people her age to be nice to her and she got over it quickly

Remember how I said she was quiet and anxious? Yeah, understatement of the century. Her anxiety follows her around throughout her day and is the driving force behind all of her decisions. Many things, from raised voices to passive aggressiveness to bad moods to unfinished housework, can trigger it. When it does, she clams up and curls in on herself, but tries her best to deescalate or rectify the situation. She’s also very sensitive to any kind of conflict, even when she’s not part of it. Midori also worries a lot for Suiren while she’s away on missions, as she knows she’ll completely fall apart if something were to happen to Renny. She has nightmares about it often, almost every night that Suiren is not there. Little does she know, Suiren has similar worries over losing her.

Another big thing is her major inferiority complex. She looks at her big sister and sees someone who has always been talented, powerful and capable. Someone who can do so many things without even breaking a sweat. Someone who has girls fawning all over her. And then ‘Dori looks at herself and sees none of those things. She doesn’t hate Suiren for it, not at all, but tiny inklings of disdain sometimes take form. She tries hard to ignore it, but often can do nothing but listen to those thoughts swirl around in her head.

In summary: An anxious mess of a girl who is in desperate need of a proper support system and someone (*cough* Opal *cough*) who could assure her that she is enough and that it doesn’t matter if she isn’t like her sister, she’s perfect just the way she is

-

If you want me to elaborate on any of this (and this goes for everyone, not just anon) my askbox is always open and my desire to infodump about my precious traumatised babies never wavers

#oops this took me over a month to finish typing out lmao sorry #if you see any typos no you don’t #it’s almost 2 am give me a break #but no really so many concepts so few promptings to spill them all out in an infodump tsunami #talk to me about my OCs please I promise their story is interesting #if it’s sounds like a weird wattpad novel in places that’s because I was 12 when I came up with them #it almost was a wattpad novel #okay okay I’m done I’m going to bed now bye #original characters #seeds of the red lotus #sotrl suiren #sotrl midori #the legend of korra #the red lotus #fanfiction #lok #legend of korra #red lotus #long post

[elizabethshaw]

need to get this all out somehow, so - thoughts and general ramblings on the new eight-liv-helen audios! under the cut for spoiler purposes: 

so! general overview - this boxset was. so so good. i really enjoyed last month’s release as well, but this was on another level for me entirely and despite listening to most of it past midnight (i was busy from about 8am until 11.30 at night. tuesdays are just like that every week unfortunately) and so probably not being in the best state of... anything, really, for it, i genuinely enjoyed this set so much and am in all honesty going slightly mad not being able to talk about it to anyone irl. anyway

episode-by-episode thoughts:

here lies drax

- this was a very fun one! now i’ve listened to the full set it does feel a little out of place tonally (this was very much a comedy and the other two. weren’t), but it was definitely enjoyable and had a clever plot

- i did actually do my homework for this one and listened to “the trouble with drax” the other week in preparation! (it was the first time i’d listened to one of four’s audios, actually, which was an interesting experience.) i feel like having that context definitely helped understanding a lot of the references going on, but i do wonder if i’d gone into this cold i would’ve enjoyed it a little more because it did feel at some points like it was retreading “trouble”’s beats a bit. hmm

- i did enjoy it overall though (it was very very funny), and i did like the way it all eventually panned out with all the guest characters being drax except the one character actually credited as drax. definitely appealed to my sense of humour

- there was something so deeply funny to me about the entire funeral scene, but especially the part with eight, whose experience of it up to that point had been all the guests turning up late and one of them straight up shooting the corpse, turning to liv and helen and going “this is exactly how i want my funeral to go”. what is going on in his head <3

- also shoutout to “can you legally shoot a corpse?” i have been wanting to make an out of context clips compilation for this era for ages now and if i ever do get round to doing it that line is definitely going in there

- “i think i want to scream” helen being a mood once again. this is how i have felt for the past 5 weeks at least

the love vampires

- this is currently very closely tied with “albie’s angels” for my favourite episode of both this boxset and this era of standalone stories with the team so far. it’s SO GOOD

- while i do definitely like the more fun, adventure-based episodes, i feel like my real niche with dr who stories is ones that really dig into the characters and this is a great example of the latter category. i was optimistic for this one anyway because, from my limited experience with his big finish work, james kettle seems like a really good writer for character-based stories, but it really exceeded my expectations for it. the character work (especially for helen) was absolutely brilliant!

- CANON QUEER HELEN FINALLY!!!!!!!  🎉 🎉 🎉 🎉

- i listened to the bit where that was confirmed when i was in public and let me tell you it was an absolutely huge effort to not completely lose my shit. i’m fairly sure i was grinning like an idiot the whole way through though

- honestly this whole episode was just fantastic for helen content generally. i am biased because she’s one of my all-time favourite characters, but that 100% drove the whole thing up in my estimation

- hattie morahan’s performance in this (and the next episode) was absolutely brilliant, some of her best in dw imo

- “great. van helsing in space” i don’t particularly have anything to add here i just think this line was fun

- liv’s first love as revealed by this episode is called petko. i looked the name up and apparently it’s bulgarian, and all i’m saying is that this is definitely adding to my “kaldor and slavic languages theory” 😌

- also like. liv’s scene with her respective vampire was so sad??? like i just got this feeling of overwhelming loneliness from it, and... yeah. someone get that woman a hug

- LOTS of thoughts about the scene between eight and liv where he gets her to promise to kill him if things go wrong. it’s actually shorter than i thought it was (went back and relistened for the purposes of making this bullet point), but there is a Lot to unpack there and i think it does highlight some of the stuff that makes their dynamic so interesting. i just don’t see that same scene happening with many other doctor-companion dynamics and, well... many thoughts

- “we’ll go out together. blaze of glory.” undescribable emotions™

- cutting away from the character stuff for a brief moment to discuss a) the atmosphere. the whole vibe of this story was so well-done, including the sound design, it felt really claustrophobic and creepy in the best way, really effective. and b) i thought the becoming were neat. i just think that’s a super cool name for an alien race :)

- “i sometimes think i can be a bit too... buttoned-up... emotionally.” “no... i- i wouldn’t say that.” “why? it’s obviously true.” eight my friend you are not helping here At All <3

albie’s angels

- okay so i’ve somehow got into a mindset where every time a new audio with this tardis team comes out i am absolutely convinced that helen is going to die in it. i thought this was going to be the episode where it happens and let me tell you i am so relieved that i was wrong!!!

- (i still reckon she’s doomed by the narrative though. this is a line of thought that’s really enough for a post of its own so i won’t elaborate here, but yeah. i am still not convinced her ending is going to be a happy one)

- this episode did however utterly wreck me emotionally (affectionate)

- really enjoyed the intro scene! i just like them getting to be silly together, even if it wasn’t for long :’)

- “didn’t we do enough damage to this decade already? put it another way, didn’t it do enough damage to us?” yeah :/

- albie was absolutely lovely :’) he was so sweet and kind and had so much love to give?? he may only be in one episode but i’d die for him

- also interesting to note how genuinely similar he seemed to helen? like they obviously have fairly distinct and different personalities but there were a lot of like, small mannerisms and stuff that they shared and it just really added something to their dynamic. they actually felt like siblings, really makes me wish that dw would do sibling duos like this more often tbh

- “helen chenka” i am trying so hard to be normal about liv/helen and keep my expectations for what’ll happen with them in check and every day i am tested. what the fuck. 

- actually you know what this entire episode had a LOT of liv/helen moments??? like i kinda just assumed the whole thing was dead in the water after stranded but now... i’m having a lot of thoughts. maybe that big finish tweet from august or whenever it was was right

- the snowball fight scene. i will actually be thinking about this forever. 

- the revelation that albie had been a few miles away from helen at most the entire time she was still on earth but neither of them had known and got to see each other totally wrecked me ngl

- and also the fact that his arrest was so close in time to the events of helen’s first episode! before this i’d assumed it had happened when helen was still fairly young, but now thinking about how her grief for him would have been so new and raw during “the red lady”... god this is actually destroying me

- (given that “absent friends” probably takes place a maximum of about two weeks after “the red lady” as well, the implication there that helen basically loses her entire family in the space of a few months is heartbreaking)

- “what else did helen tell you?” “not much. i don’t know if she couldn’t or wouldn’t. but after that conversation...” “yes?” “that was pretty much it, she... shut down.” “that’s our helen.” “she means a lot to me, you know.” “to both of us.” this whole scene was a Lot in general, but the way that both liv and eight genuinely care about helen so much?? the way that they’re recognising and acknowledging the fact that she’s not okay and in a good place mentally and hasn’t been for a long time?? the bond this team have means so much to me istg

- this episode said the real villains are homophobia and capitalism and it was right

- i was not expecting the lesbian weeping angels at all but you know what? good for them. i hope they’re living their best lives now

- roy gill really just went and almost single-handedly gave helen one of her best arcs in the entire show and i respect him so much for that. i hope he comes back as a writer for this tardis team at some point because he just absolutely gets what they’re all about. 

- the tragedy of it all combined with the ray of light in that albie and bailey got to be happy together, and that helen got to see her brother one last time... it was such a bittersweet ending and i feel like it was absolutely perfect for the story and for this arc as a whole 

- song for helen broke me completely. i was sobbing at it in a dark room at 2.30 am and honestly i feel like that says everything. 

so yeah. overall really really loved these three episodes!!! genuinely looking forward to where they’re going to go next with these characters, i feel like there’s some real potential for amazing stuff down the line :)

#bethan talks about dw #bethan listens to big finish #dw spoilers #feels like it's been a long time since i've actually posted any thoughts (or just. any original content oops) on here! #rest assured i have been thinking about dr who all the time though :) #(although admittedly it has been recently sharing brain space with the pleasant green universe audios bc i've been relistening) #anyway hope you're all having a good day!! sorry for rambling so much haha