#about 9 of them are relevant to next chapter. several of the others will be relevant to chapter after next and some are leftover from 8

[quaranmine]

You put so much research and detail into Incandescence of a Dying Light and it's amazing. Do you have any tips for someone trying to research for a story? One of my characters is an elderly Floridian lifeguard but the best sources I can find are some NYT articles about Long Island lifeguards

Oh thank you! I appreciate that.

As for researching, I think the best way to go about it is to try to research specific parts of your problem. You might not be able to find resources for an elderly Floridian lifeguard, but you can probably find resources for lifeguards, lifeguards in a particular area, and elderly people doing swimming/rescues. I can try to give you some pointers but without knowing your story or specific needs some of these tips might not work. Just use them as a jumping off point! Specific problems can be easier to research than broad problems--unless it's too specific, and then you lose all your results. Researching is a balancing act between those two.

Are they a lifeguard at the ocean, or a pool? If it's the ocean, where in Florida? I'd look up information about the sea currents in that area. That might give you an idea of the kind of risks your lifeguard is looking at, like if they work at a beach in a place known for rip currents or something. That will add some realism and you can probably find resources on what your lifeguard character is looking for. If it's a pool, your job is probably much easier because I have to assume most of the same rules apply for elsewhere.

Is there a specific time period you are looking at? I'm no lifeguard, so anyone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I imagine the profession hasn't changed very much in the past few decades or longer. If someone is a lifeguard in the 80s my gut feeling is that their job is still pretty similar to what it is today. So, that might make your research easier if you can expand the time periods you are looking at. My story is set in 1989 so I'm always looking for info from that time period. But most of what I'm doing is looking at fire lookout resources from the 50s or early 2000s, and then matching the technology in my fic to the late 80s.

I would also look up things like lifeguard handbook, lifeguard skills, lifeguard employee handbook, lifeguard training materials, etc. For example, just by looking up "florida lifeguard" I found the Jacksonville Beach Ocean Rescue Lifeguard Academy, which gives some details about the requirements and steps to become a lifeguard there. Could be useful information. I also found a 400 page Red Cross lifeguarding manual pdf. For more personal information, perhaps add stuff like "interview" to the search? I'm sure you would be able to find people talking about their jobs.

As for your character's age, that might not require much research. Being older does not mean a character can't be fit or strong (but I don't know if you mean 60 or 90 when you say "elderly" and that matters.) You could explore sources about active elderly people too, if you wanted. This will just depend on the details of your character though.

I would also recommend using some advanced search techniques. For example, if you only want examples about Florida, write it as "florida" with the quotes around it, and you'll only receive pages that contain the word Florida. Or, if you want to exclude something that is muddying your search results, put the word with a minus. Tragically at one point during my chapter 8 research i had to add -maui to the search to try and exclude news articles associated with it.

Generally though I would just look for lots of sources of many types, and then add them together. It is unlikely you will find sources that match everything you need. Break down what you need to know into smaller pieces. I may have 20+ tabs open for information that amounts to....a few paragraphs. Vary your search queries a lot, try different key words. My research for Firewatch AU has been helped by the fact that the job involves the federal government, which is great at recordkeeping and often has a lot of publicly available information. Your mileage may vary with other subjects. Watch your sources for accuracy. Or, if you rely on sources from a different location (Long Island vs Florida) be prepared to try and identify and fill in the gaps where there are differences between the locations.

Good luck!

#quara asks #idk if i've explained the process very well but this is a lot of how i break down stuff #i just spend ages poking around #it helps that i really do enjoy the process #i like searching and breaking down information to try and find what i need and it's so fun when you finally get good relevant info #anyway i have 29 tabs open to firewatch au research right now on my computer #about 9 of them are relevant to next chapter. several of the others will be relevant to chapter after next and some are leftover from 8 #and some i just keep open all the time anyway (climate data or calendar of 1989 or the game's map)

[rimeiii]

I'm just gonna go ahead and say it despite my fear of getring backlash:

I am not a fan with how WHB handles the usage of Solomon's Tears.

(Rant post, feel free to skip over, rest under the cut. I just needed to get this out of my chest.)

Thank god they've made a statement about the availability of Tears, but in my opinion, their way of handling this is the equivalent of slapping a bandaid on a gaping wound - it fails to address the root of the issue that's making Tears such a necessary material in the first place, it being several aspects of the game design.

There have been several design choices that confuse me when it comes to WHB, which I would chalk up to WHB being PB's very first game that purely isn't otome. But these design choices often involve game balancing issues, which for me personally directly impacts my enjoyment of the game. And it is these design choices that immediately impact the need for Tears, and why the initial update changing the availability of these Tears sparked so much controversy.

But before that, I have some menial complaints that can be chalked up to me being spoiled by other games. First of all, the large amounts of filler stages, while normal for a gacha, still doesn't make it a fun experience to play through - especially when there are barely any changes to the stage layouts. The only reason why Plants vs Zombies were able to do this is because of the way their stages are set up:

Stages 1, 3, 6, and 8 introduce a new mechanic/zombie

Stages 2, 4, 7, and 9 are harder stages that test what you knew from the previous stage

Stage 5 is a minigame stage

Stage 10 is a conveyor belt boss stage

Every stage gives you a new plant, oftentimes one that is relevant to the new mechanic/zombie at play/about to be introduced (for example, Puff Shrooms upon ending 1-10, a 0 Sun plant with shorter range that helps in earlygame because the next world is nighttime, which means no Sun from the sky)

As for the other TD games in the market? Arknights has different maps for each story stage. So does Path to Nowhere, from what I recall. If there are filler stages, they're very few and far in between. It's why Granblue Fantasy changed their story chapters to no longer have a solo battle at each segment - it hinders the storytelling.

One of the most baffling things in my opinion is the fact that the game has the same upgrade requirements for all units regardless of rarity. This is such a weird design choice for me because in most games, lower rarities are cheaper when it comes to upgrade costs.

For comparison's sake, some screenshots I took for promoting S and A+ ranks.

Belial, an S-rank Marksman, requires 22k Gold, 22k Books, 10 Tears, and 22 Fire Jellybeans.

It's the same for the A+ Healer Morax, save for the elemental jelly beans which is changed to his element, Light. And this is the same amount needed for upgrading L characters as well.

This design choice isn't particularly good, in my opinion. It bottlenecks players and puts them in a mindset position of "upgrading anything apart from Ls and some choice S/A+ ranks is a resource sink". It makes people think that building anything except the strongest of units isn't worth it, which in turn renders the existence of lower rarity/weaker units moot, especially considering the scarcity of the Tears in the first place. Because why would you raise them if you're going to gain more of an advantage from building these high-rarity units? You're going to get a more immediate and significant power boost by upgrading Ls in the first place.

This is even more pronounced in WHB specifically because in most gachas, lower rarity units tend to require less to upgrade. Take a look at the E2 requirements of three Tactician Vanguards in Arknights, in which Elite upgrades are the closest approximation to promotion in WHB.

Beanstalk is the lowest rarity of the archetype at 4*, and her E2 material requirements consist of two types of tier 3 materials (Coagulating Gel and Manganese Ore, both with blue borders), Vanguard Chip Packs, and LMD.

Then you have the 5* Blacknight, whose material requirements now include a tier 4 material (Incandescent Alloy Block, with a pink border) in addition to a tier 3 material (Loxic Kohl), Vanguard Dualchips (crafted from Vanguard Chip Packs and Chip Catalysts, both of which are farmable regardless), and more LMD.

And finally, the 6* Vigil, whose material requirements are now a tier 5 material (Crystalline Electronic Unit, with a yellow border) and a tier 4 material (Optimized Device), more Vanguard Dualchips (4 to Blacknight's 3), and even more LMD.

Yet in other games, I don't mind raising lower rarity units - for several reasons, depending on the game. In Granblue Fantasy (despite my complaints about how quickly the meta evolves and how lim-centric it is), SR units serve as the stopgap for party comps until you can fill out your roster with SSR characters, and some of these SR characters still see use like Lyria. In other games like Fire Emblem Heroes, Memento Mori, and Princess Connect: ReDive, all units gain the potential to hit the highest rarity - I have a Yukari (originally a 1* unit) ready to hit 6* in PriConne, while I have a +9 merged 5* Fallen Takumi (farmable unit at 3*/4* base) in FEH. Arknights' case is more nuanced, where it's partly the same case as GBF, but also the fact that lower rarity units can fit into niches that high rarity units don't fill.

With these other games, I never feel like raising a lower rarity unit is a waste of resources. The costs of uncapping characters in general is negligible in GBF, except for the Eternals and the Evokers - those of which are reasonably time-gated because of their sheer meta impact and how strong they are compared to all other characters. Except for particularly egregious cases like Tsukinogi, every single Arknights Operator has their uses, and they often see use in Integrated Strategies.

And let's not get into the debacle that are skill levels, because of course you need more materials for that. I don't mind having high costs for optimizing skills - Masteries in Arknights works like that, after all. Pictured below is the cost of M3-ing Bagpipe's third skill.

That's right - a tier 5 (Bipolar Nanoflake) and tier 4 (Oriron Block) material. And luckily, you can farm for all of these skill upgrade materials outside of events, crafting the higher tiers as necessary. There is less opportunity cost for me to E2 my 4* and 5* units because I can just farm the materials again anyways - and even then I some Masteries on these units are amazing. S1M3 Myrtle (4*) is probably the best DP generator in the game, while S2M3 Lappland (5*) also helps with her skill uptime.

Then you go back to WHB's skill upgrades, which mind you is also the same cost between rarities, and guess what else you need?

Yep. Tears. A ludicrous amount of it, considering its availability. And let's not even get into the Tears required for the Unholy Board, if that matters to you (and it does, because it also gives buffs for your L units).

This skews the game balance towards the L units even more. Ideally you'd be raising skill levels once your units reach high levels, because everything is percentage based and the lower your base stats, the lower effect these skill levels have on your skills. But that just means you'll still need Tears because, well, you still need to promote. And remember the opportunity cost again, because all rarities have the same skill upgrade cost, further incentivizing you building Ls and ignoring everything else.

It's ridiculous.

And the added nail in the coffin: the reduced rewards that basically halved the amount of Tears you get.

I seriously, genuinely hope they take the availability of Solomon's Tears as well as game balancing into consideration when performing the next balance patch. Because otherwise, I can't see this game being an enjoyable experience for me moving forward.

Unless, this was the intended way the game was designed, in which I just...I have no more words to say.

#what in hell is bad #rimei rambles #rant post #cw rant #i'm just tired man #other games catching my eye #and i'm heavily considering dropping this game #i've been playing lovebrush and enjoying it #and reverse 1999 is coming in a few days #chapter 12 in ak too #i'll hold out until i see what they cook up on the 25th #but otherwise i'm afraid this might be goodbye

[drstonetrivia]

Birthdays!

I compiled what I found to be the most character-relevant and/or funny reasons for everyone's birthdays, however unless Inagaki Sensei confirms the reasoning behind them, these are all assumptions!

Senku - 1/4 - A pun on Ishigami, as 1-4 can be read as i-shi, meaning stone. If you've forgotten about this, then I recommend rereading chapter 56!

Luna - 1/30 - Anniversary of Orville Wright (of the Wright brothers)'s death. This may also be another pun, as 3-0 can be read as mi-zero, and the kanji for charm is 魅 (=mi) which could mean Luna has "zero charm". Another option is reading it as 1-3-0, i-mi-zero, or "zero meaning", which hopefully isn't a hint of how useful this birthday-meaning endeavor is…

Related, Luna didn't seem to be born under a full moon either so that's not the reason behind her birthday.

Yo - 1/31 - This is a big logic leap, however: 1 can be read as "ichi", or 位置 meaning position. Putting the 3+1 into context, we have Yo mentioning the "big 3" + himself as the Four Heavenly Kings, giving us Yo as the 4th in a position of power.

I couldn't find any way of making the date fit an exclamation like "Yo!" or "Uei!", but the "ue" (上) part of his name means "up" which fits the theme of positioning.

Chrome - 2/4 - The element chromium has the atomic number 24. I'm pretty confident this was the inspiration, however it's also a month after Senku's birthday!

Kaseki - 2/9 - Another logic jump: copper's atomic number is 29. The era after the Stone Age is the Chalcolithic, or Copper Age. Since Kaseki is the village's most skilled craftsman, it could be implying that Kaseki brought them out of the Stone Age into the next era.

Amaryllis - 2/14 - Valentine's Day. It's also chocolate day in Japan, which suits the sweet seductress that she is :)

Homura - 3/3 - Can be read as "san-san", which means brilliant or bright. As the name Homura means flame, this is fitting.

Ibara - 3/23 - I couldn't find anything of interest, even when checking the blossoming of thorny plants (Ibara means thorn after all). A little disappointing honestly :(

Yuzuriha - 3/31 - The end of the fiscal year in Japan and sometimes the last day of school. Had she been born 2 days later she'd be in a different grade to Senku and Taiju!

It's also the International Transgender Day of Visibility.

Gen - 4/1 - April Fool's Day, as well as the day Senku, Xeno, and probably several other Americans broke out of petrification after 3,700+ years. An inversion of Senku's birthday (1/4 and 4/1).

Great job to everyone who guessed the date before it was officially revealed!

Taiju - 4/2 - Likely the oldest one in Senku's school year because of Japan's birthday/grade division. 4-2 can also be read as "shi-ni" meaning "death", which could be related to everyone closest to Taiju dying at some point (both his parents are dead, Senku's died once, Taiju himself was likely dead and Yuzuriha wasn't looking too great in Corn City). If we want to push further though, "death" in Latin is "mori", and "mori" means forest in Japanese, tying in to Taiju's tree theme.

With Yuzuriha, Gen, and Taiju all having their birthdays right after one another, it seems like all of Senku's closest friends have their birthdays together.

Ginro - 4/7 - The element silver has the atomic number 47, similar to Chrome's birthday being the atomic number for chromium.

Ruri - 4/14 - Potentially another ishi/stone reference because of the 14, but it's also the Takayama/Sanno festival wishing for a good harvest. A more modern celebration is Orange Day, where romantic partners from Valentine's and White Day trade orange-colored gifts.

Ironically, orange blossoms are meant to represent prosperity and luck in marriage in flower language… Poor Ruri haha

Kokuyo - 4/19 - Another pun using numbers: 4-1-9 or "shi-i-ku", meaning breeding. Breeding Day is a day to celebrate the work of zookeepers and get people interested in zoos.

The other celebration on this day is the Furukawa festival, one of the three naked festivals. Men in loincloths (fundoshi) fight for the prime location near the central drum being paraded through town. The parade lasts the whole night.

Moz - 5/5 - Children's Day, also part of Golden Week. It's a day to celebrate children's happiness and their personalities. Before 1948, it was also used to recognize fathers, which is ironic given Moz attempted to kill his father when he was 7.

Carlos - 5/30 - Anniversary of Wilbur Wright (of the Wright brothers)'s death, matching Luna. Similarly, the numbers also spell something out: 5-3-0 is "go-mi-zero", or "zero garbage". Whether this means that Carlos is garbage and a zero, or that he's /not/ garbage, I can't tell.

This is also a proper day of celebration in Japan for cleaning up waste.

Ukyo - 6/5 - World Environment Day. (I have recommendations for when Ukyo's birthday should have been instead: 3/3 sounds like "mi-mi", meaning "ear", = his sonar skills. The other date is 9/8, read as "ku-ya", as the kanji for bow (弓) can be read as "ku" and arrow (矢) is "ya".)

Joel - 6/10 - Anniversary of Time. It commemorates the first time-keeping water clock in Japan, open to the public.

Minami - 6/21 - The day after Riichiro Inagaki's birthday, as well as the summer solstice. It's also Refrigerator Day in Japan, a day to check your fridges before the hot summer arrives. Or in Minami's case, to check on Tsukasa…

Max - 6/30 - Asteroid Day, for global awareness about the risks of asteroid impacts. 6-3 can also be read as "mu-mi", which means "tasteless" (無味). Not sure how the zero fits in though…

Luna, Max, and Carlos also all have birthdays that fall on the 30th of the month. What the significance of that is is unclear, apart from the fact that their dates can all create words.

Kirisame - 7/7 - The Tanabata festival, a celebration for two star-crossed lovers, generally celebrated by writing wishes on paper and hanging them from a bamboo tree. It's also World Chocolate Day!

Kinro - 7/9 - The element gold has the atomic number 79, similar to Chrome's and Ginro's birthdays being their atomic numbers.

Kohaku - 8/8 - A day full of puns, as 8-8 can be read as either "ha-ha" or "ba-ba", meaning father and grandmother respectively, but "ha" also means teeth and "hachi" (=another way of reading 8) means "bee"… The list goes on.

It's also World Cat Day! :3

Magma - 8/22 - The kanji for 8 looks like a volcano (八) which is probably the logic behind choosing August. 2 can also be read as "fu", and "fufu" is the equivalent of "hehe" laughter in English. In rare cases, 2 can also be read as "ha", which could be referencing Magma's "muhaha!" It's also the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief…

Nikki - 8/31 - 831 is shorthand for "I Love You", as it has 8 letters, 3 words, and 1 meaning. It's also good for hiding your embarrassment if you struggle to say (or type, or send via Morse code) the words themselves…

Stanley - 9/1 - The anniversary of the establishment of the US's Air Force Space Command, which is now part of the United States Space Force, the American military counterpart to NASA.

Suika - 9/9 - Chrysanthemum Day, an ancient festival in Japan, also known as the Festival of Happiness. It's also First Aid Day, the Katakai fireworks festival, and the day Kiku No.1 was launched by NASDA (now JAXA). The latter is interesting because it's quite round, like Suika!

Matsukaze - 9/15 - Respect For The Aged Day. Sometimes the date varies, but as Matsukaze is a man who follows the Bushido code, this seems fitting.

Xeno - 10/1 - NASA's first day of operations, as well as NASDA's day of establishment, then later JAXA's. An all-around good day for national space agencies. Also falls on International Coffee Day, I wonder if they're connected…

Byakuya - 10/8 - Byakuya's literal name. The kanji for "byaku" (百) is 100, and 8 can be read as "ya", creating 108, or 10/8.

Tsukasa - 10/10 - World Mental Health Day, as well as World Day against the Death Penalty. Ironic given the plot of Stone wars. It's also Public Bath Day and Fishing Day.

Ryusui - 11/11 - Desiring the best of everything, Ryusui's birthday is obviously #1…111. It's also Pocky Day, I wonder if he uses that fact to flirt with people/play the pocky game?

Hyoga - 11/30 - Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare. (RIP Gozan, Yuki, Ren, Akashi, Kyoichiro, and Morito.) It could also be a way of "drawing" his kuda yari in action: 一一三〇

Chelsea - 12/20 - Anniversary of Sacagawea's death (maybe). She was a young girl who helped the Lewis and Clark expedition explore central America. 12°N 20°E is also a location in Chad.

Mirai - 12/31 - New Year's Eve, a day for looking towards the future. As Mirai's name means future, it's no surprise that this is her birthday!

Feel free to reply with any other discoveries about their birthdays you find! This is by no means a complete list, especially since any Japanese puns are mostly lost on me haha!

#trivia #dr stone #misc #i think this may have been my longest set of tweets...

[m34gs]

For the writing ask meme: 5, 9, 14!

Thank you for the ask, friend! (from this post!) These are really helping me think about writing and getting me unstuck! I appreciate it!

I have many WIPs, but the one I am currently focusing (and stuck) on is United, my BNHA Hogwarts AU fic. I recently got a motivation boost from a lovely comment left by @oaken-dick and so I've been revamping the plot for the remaining chapters and working it to be more cohesive, and then writing, hopeful to post the next chapter when I can.

5. what is the next moment you need to write that’s interesting to you?

I would say the very next part that I have to write is Tenya's Ultimate Betrayal. Not to give too much away, but if anyone has read the fic they know that I took Tenya's canon spiral from when his brother is injured and made it worse. I made it so much worse. My poor Tenya, I am not giving him a chance to easily redeem himself...oops. Basically, every time you would think he's Past the Point of No Return, he does something that leads him further and further away from his friends and any shot at redemption.

At this point, no one is safe no matter how long they've been friends or what they've promised in the past. Tenya is working with Shigaraki, and murder is on his mind.

9. what do each of the relevant characters currently want?

oooooh, this is such a good question. This is actually one of my favourite questions to ask myself, and I'm so so so happy to answer. It will make my answer long as there are several relevant characters, but I will try to summarize as best I can and I will only focus on the major characters of the fic for this one:

Izuku - Izuku wants to stop Shigaraki for a couple reasons: 1. He wants his mother, a muggle, to be safe; 2. He wants his friend Tenya to stop heading down the dark path he's on; 3. He does not like the sound of a once-powerful dark wizard coming back to kill people; and 4. he wants to prove to everyone that being a Slytherin does not automatically make someone evil or beyond saving.

Katsuki - He just wants himself and Izuku to be happy together. And for Izuku to be SAFE.

Hitoshi - My poor son just wants some happiness. He has been hit hard at every turn and he's reaching for anything he can to save himself. He would also like to not be heartbroken *looks at Dabi and coughs*

Dabi - Initially, Dabi wanted to rebel against his father. Now, he just wants to find a way to stop Shigaraki and survive the process. He has an added desire to watch out for Tenya, because he's Hitoshi and Shouto's friend. And if he and Hitoshi could figure some stuff out...that would be nice too lol.

Tenya - I don't think Tenya really knows what he actually wants at this point, but I know the fact of the matter is that he's seeking an outlet for his grief and he wants others to hurt the way he is hurting.

Shigaraki - He wants the extermination of muggles for a few reasons. It's not explicitly stated (yet) but uh...his situation was very similar to Hitoshi's once (see fic for details? it's complicated...), and All for One is the wizard who saved him.

Ochaco - Ochaco wants the boy she loves *looks pointedly at Tenya* to stop being an idiot and for things to go back to how they were when everyone was getting along.

All for One - Believes muggles are beneath wizards and witches, and so he wants to get rid of them.

14. what do you like about this WIP?

This was my first ever fanfic, and I've been working on it for a little over three years now(started posting in October 2019). I have a strong attachment to it because I've been working so hard on it for so long.

I really like the Dabi/Shinsou in the fic. Initially, this ship was meant to be more background, with the main focus of Shinsou's character being his escape from the abusive foster home he lives in...but I really liked the way the two students were drawn to each other and the way they interacted when I wrote them, so the ship kind of grew from there.

I also liked playing around with character assignments. When I first told my brother that Izuku was going to be in Slytherin, he nearly jumped out of his seat going "what?! How does that work?!!!!" lol. But I think my reasoning is logical. Izuku has ambition, maybe even more than Katsuki. Slytherin highly values ambition. I also really like drawing out the plotting side to Izuku, which is a bit of what happens with him being in Slytherin. And honestly, the fact that Izuku in the original source material takes the hair from All Might and agrees to be his successor in order to be a hero screams to me "I will do anything to meet my goal". On the other side of it, Katsuki is a Gryffindor. Yes, he has ambition, but he won't do 'by any means necessary'. He actually has his own guidelines for himself (evidenced by the Sports Festival where he is angry and refusing to accept first place because he knows Todoroki didn't give their fight his all and feels that means he hasn't actually earned the first place title). Honour and Bravery are Katsuki's thing. I did a lot of thinking for every character I assigned a house in this fic, so it took a long time to actually plan it all out.

I took liberties with ages and de-aged a lot of characters to have several of them all be students together, which was also fun because it allowed for more interactions between the antagonists and protagonists to happen organically in the fic.

I also really love how Inko in this fic finds her spine far sooner and is not afraid to speak her mind from the get-go. In the very first chapter, she is traumatized along with Izuku and Katsuki. And at that moment, she decides to do what she can to make sure they're safe. This led to a very interesting interaction between her, Aizawa, and All Might when the boys initially get invited to Hogwarts. I based a lot of it on the part in the anime where teachers are going around apologizing to parents and explaining the dormitories and asking permission for students to live on-grounds. She really stood her ground there and I loved how strong she was even as she had tears in her eyes. Inko is a Queen.

There you have it! Thank you again, friend, for asking me this. It really helped me iron some things out for the part I'm writing right now. Love you tons!

#asks #ask game #kimium #writing asks #feel free to ask more if you like #this is really helping me

[tellmegoodbye]

Thank you @suchagallabitch for tagging me to do this Fic Writer Interview!

(I also did some picrews at the bottom)

1. How many works do you have on Ao3?

34

2. What's your total Ao3 word count?

127,463

3. What are your top five fics by Kudos?

My top three are all three of the shameless fics that I have written, 4th and 5th are fics from another fandom.

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to! Sometimes there's only so many ways I can say 'thank you' to someone so I won't respond to every single one, but I definitely read all of them.

5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I would say all three of my shameless fics have happy endings, allthough shut the door and let go is very bittersweet when you know what happens next in canon.

If we're talking non-shameless fics, I did write mcd in my other fandom (nothing too crazy) and you can find that fic here.

6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

When all is said and done definitely has the happiest ending if we're talking about the context of all three of these fics. Most of my other fics have pretty happy endings as well.

7. Do you write crossovers?

No. Not my thing.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Not necessarily hate, but I have received some weird comments in the past.

9. Do you ever write smut? If so, what kind?

Yep! I never used to so you won't find it in any of my old fics, but all three of my shameless fics have smut in them so.....character development. 😂

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but that would be cool!

12. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

I've cowritten several fics with my girlfriend! My favourite of ours that we did is for the rest of our lives. Not a shameless fic, but I'm still proud of it.

13. What's your all time favourite ship?

I'm about to betray my branding here, but just because of how much time I spent in that fandom and how hard I was hyperfixating (and still am, let's be honest) it still has to be Dan and Phil.

If you have problems with that I don't want to hear it I've already heard it all and I'm tired okay thank you.

14. What's a WIP you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

I had planned out a whole chaptered fic to write and then completely fell off for months after getting overwhelmed. I still really love the idea but the task was a little too much for me and I just don't think I have chaptered-fic writing in me anymore.

15. What are your writing strengths?

I'm really good at coming up with different ideas. I also really love going into detail and trying to describe everything I see in my mind. I can see my fics play like movies in my brain, so sometimes it's a little overwhelming trying to get it all into words.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Transitions. The less a scene has going on in it, the harder it is to write. I also suck at time management, and consistency in general.

Cries in haven't posted since March.

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

It's cool. Haven't done it myself, wouldn't be opposed to it though.

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

It was very small and hasn't been relevant for years so I'm just gonna go with the first fandom I actually published anything for, which again, was Dan and Phil.

19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?

I breifly considered heartstopper (shortest hyperfixation of my life) but I'm kind of already over the obsessive stage. The fandom is fucking awful anyway.

I also considered arcane but I would have to go full on AU (which isn't a strength of mine) because I don't know nearly enough about that universe to write anything canon compliant. I also just didn't really get to the point of actually wanting to write something for it.

20. What's your favourite fic you've written?

Out of my shamless fics: lover, please stay

Out of my other fics: unequivocally yours

~~~

Tag 2: Thank you @grumpymickmilk and @vintagelacerosette for tagging me to do this picrew! I did this picrew as well even though I don't think anyone tagged me, I just really liked it.

I'm tagging @sunoficarus @gallawitchxx @heymrspatel @auds-and-evens @traenawrites @squidyyy23 and @sleepyfacetoughguy to do either the questions, the picrews or both!

#please keep in mind that there's over a year of a gap between my dnp fics and my shameless fics #I definitely improved as a writer 😂 #also I'm serious don't give me shit if you don't like my previous fandom I Do Not Care #I just couldn't answer some of these questions without including older fics because I only have three shameless fics #I promise I'm trying to get back into it but it's just hard when I fall off for months at a time #har rambles #tagged #picrews

[emberidzae]

Nona the Ninth John chapter verses

After finishing going through the symbols in the chapter headings I wasn’t sure about doing the same for the verses referred to in the John chapters, because it seems that someone had solved those as a code, but there are quite a few pretty good ones that feel relevant, so let’s go. I am no bible scholar and have next to zero Christian background so I’m keeping the parallels discussion within brackets and am mostly going to describe the chapter. Quotes from the New International Version. 

John 20:8 – “Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed.” John begins his story of the end of Earth. At the end its revealed he’s talking to Harrow (who had, of course, reached the Tomb first).

John 5:20 – “For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.” John’s cryo plan is scrapped but when the electricity maintaining their experimental bodies is shut, the bodies he touched stayed incorruptible. (the first miracle, the start of his great work)

John 15:23 – “Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.” John's necromantic ability keeps developing up to the point where he can move dead bodies, and names Ulysses and Titania. (not sure on this one)

John 5:18 – “For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” The group continues figuring out what John can and cannot do, attempt to figure out how they can use this ability to help the save the Earth, and get attention to themselves by streaming. (‘Two scientists, an engineer, a detective, a lawyer, and an artist walk into a bar to help me become God’)

John 8:1 – “but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.” (This verse is the beginning of John 8:1-11 where people gathered to be taught by Jesus, where he proclaims of the woman caught in the act of adultery “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”) People start coming to see John and he heals some of them. The government calls his group a cult and attempt a police raid. John makes the cow wall. (tenuous, but some parallels with the gathering of people and an attempt by those in power to undermine what is perceived as a cult?)

John 19:18 – “There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.” John’s group faces severe political backlash. John starts attempting a true resurrection and figuring out the soul. They discover that their old backers were making a new plan involving FTL, which they think is incredibly suspicious, and dismissed their old cryo plan with the criticisms they made themselves. (ouch)

John 5:1 – “Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals.” (The beginning of John 5:1-9, where Jesus tells the invalid “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” and at once cures him) John gets approached by an unnamed group to fake the life of their dead leader. The FTL project gets international approval and the group’s objections get ignored. They find out their client is a nation-state and A- and M- negotiate them a nuke. (I can see John quoting "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk” as he puppets the guy around, just for kicks)

John 3:20 – “Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed” The FTL backers lie like hell in the face of John’s evidence that they weren’t building enough ships to meet their claims. John leans hard into the necromancer cult thing. (this verse is so alarmingly relevant that I’m marvelling how Tamsyn Muir puts in a code at the same time)

John 9:22 – “His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders, who already had decided that anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Messiah would be put out of the synagogue.” (this verse refers to Jesus healing the blind man and the disbelief in his miracle) John gets a lot of new cultists. A gunfight breaks out among them and five people die, John uses their deaths to kill everyone in the vicinity with a firearm. (don’t think there’s a direct link here)

John 1:20 – “He did not fail to confess, but confessed freely, “I am not the Messiah.”” John kills Earth and the whole solar system, creates Alecto, and fails to stop the trillionaires from escaping. (this one is just. wow)

John 5:4 – “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.” (This verse comes from the King James Bible, because apparently its not found in most modern translations.) Harrow asks John her questions and they skim through the resurrection itself and what comes after. John says there’ll be no forgiveness, not for himself nor those who left. Harrow decides to find out what happened to the souls that didn’t enter the River, to understand God for herself, and steps into the River, walking towards the Tower. (Harrow would be so upset at being compared to an angel, which amuses me. I love that this ‘missing’ controversial verse is for the chapter where Harrow and John break character from the dream and Harrow questions John’s narrative.)

#The Locked Tomb #The Locked Tomb spoilers #Nona the Ninth #Nona the Ninth spoilers #heck this was long

[xavieryaa]

deal // chapter 9: clothes to you

word count: 3.4k

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯-

Somehow the massive stack of court transcripts, case information, rulings, and other sorts of documents Jimin can’t bring himself to care about seems bigger than before as he sifts through it. Perhaps it’s the fact that now that he’s just looking at the one on Wang, he has to search through each paper a lot more carefully to find things that are actually relevant, perhaps it’s the fact that his mind isn’t completely focused on the task at hand, perhaps it’s some weird psychological explanation Jimin has no idea about. 

Or perhaps it’s the fact that Kim Namjoon is right next to him, messily sorting through the papers as well. When they had first started doing this, Jimin had suggested splitting the pile in half so they could work more efficiently, but for whatever reason Namjoon had refused. So here they are, sitting side by side, the only sound being the paper crinkling in Namjoon’s clumsy hands as Jimin occasionally whisper-yells at him to stop damaging their evidence. 

Still, though, they’ve gotten some things done. Jimin has started to assemble two neat piles on the bed, one with files which hold no relevant information and one with things that could actually help him, the latter being much thinner than the former. Namjoon has done the same, though his are a bit less carefully assembled, to the point where Jimin’s not sure how Namjoon manages to tell where one stops and the other starts. 

The sound of Namjoon moving paper stops for a few seconds, which doesn’t faze Jimin at all, considering Namjoon’s done it several times with files with more densely-packed information that he needs to read carefully. Or, it doesn’t until Namjoon does something he hasn’t done at all since they started: he speaks. 

“Jimin…what’s this?”

Jimin’s heart stops the absolute moment he hears Namjoon, and he feels like he’s drowning, a heavy weight on his chest from an overwhelming feeling of guilt and regret and dread. His small, normal, measured breaths don’t feel like enough to keep himself from suffocating under the burden of what’s just happened, and shit, he’s pretty sure his face has gone pale from shock and horror.  

He’s not facing Namjoon at the moment, thank fuck, which gives him about two seconds or so to calm himself down as much as he can, which is to say he has pretty much no time to do anything about this. Hell, he can’t stick his hand inside the pocket of his well-worn jeans to check if the letter is still there without looking suspicious. 

He turns around, scrambling inside his brain for some way, any way, to explain what the hell he’s been doing. Somehow his heart manages to drop even further when he sees paper in Namjoon’s hand, paper he’s looking at carefully like he can’t quite see what’s on it. 

Shit. Fuck.

The letter must have slipped out of his pocket. It would have been right out in the open, perfectly easy for Jimin to have seen when he was originally going through all this. Namjoon would know Jimin had found it. He would know Jimin had kept it from him on purpose. 

Jimin mentally prepares himself for anger, screaming, the abject terror of Namjoon’s wrath. But then he looks closer at the paper in Namjoon’s hands, and he sees that Namjoon’s face…it isn’t angry. 

That paper isn’t parchment. It isn’t burnt.

It isn’t the letter. 

“Huh? Where’d you find that?” Jimin breathes out, and he can feel his voice shake, and he can hear that it’s not that far above a whisper. Namjoon stares up at him, and for a horrifying moment Jimin thinks that he’s screwed, that Namjoon is suspicious. But he’s not. He only looks curious. 

“Bunch of things were stapled together. This was on the edge of the staple, and it’s a lot smaller than the rest of them, so it likely wasn’t supposed to be in the group that was meant to be attached. That’s not the weird thing, though. It’s- just look at it,” Namjooon says, thrusting the paper at Jimin, which flies through the air for a couple of seconds before Jimin catches it. 

It’s not hard to spot what makes this piece of paper so much different from everything else they’ve looked at, because it’s all over the entire thing. A couple dozen different complex symbols, each repeating several times, cover the surface of the paper, written in lines. This isn’t a writing system Jimin knows, and he’s pretty sure it’s not one that actually exists, either.

Whatever the hell this note is written in, it’s definitely not Korean. The lines are more squiggly, the shapes too abstract to be Hangul, not even some kind of ultra-stylized font. “I’m not sure…” Jimin mutters in a low voice more to himself than to Namjoon, frowning. 

“I’m not either. If I had to guess, I think it’s some sort of cipher,” Namjoon says, looking at the paper again from over Jimin’s shoulder. 

Once he’s taken a good look at all the little symbols he has absolutely no way of understanding, Jimin hands Namjoon back the note after comprehending a grand total of 0% of it, since from the way he’s practically leaning into Jimin at this point it’s clear he wants to see it more. “Do you think we’ll actually be able to solve this thing?”

“It’s possible, yes, but we’ll have to brute-force it. Or rather, I’m going to brute force it because you don’t have experience in this sort of thing. I think the best we can do is look for repeated letters and how those would correlate to the actual letters in a word,” Namjoon says, sighing as he leans backwards from Jimin and lets the note fall to the bed, not looking at it much further. “That’s going to take a while, though, so for now we should focus back on the main case.”

Jimii fiddles with his thumbs for a moment, considering whether it’s a good idea to actually go through with what he’s thinking about, before he raises his head high and resolves that even though it’s probably not a great idea since it might make Namjoon angry, he’s too curious to not do it. 

“Speaking of that, Namjoon…there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you. About the case,”

“What is it?” Namjoon says, eyes flicking towards him immediately. 

“Well, I know this is probably a stupid question but…how exactly do you know this was a murder? Why are you so sure it couldn’t have been an accident?”

“You never did know about the details of the case, did you? Something tells me they wouldn’t report that type of shit on the news,” Namjoon says after a moment of silence.

“All I know is that it was some kind of drug overdose, and that’s it,”

“Should’ve expected that,” Namjoon drawls, resting his face on his hand. “I’ll simplify it a bit, since you don’t need to know every little detail, but enough for you to get why this couldn’t have been anything but premeditated.” 

Jimin nods, eyes wide as he looks at Namjoon, almost eager for an explanation, information he had been deprived of for their entire investigation so far. Namjoon’s lips raise, and Jimin can’t tell if it’s a smile or a smirk.

“The actual drug he died from was fentanyl, and just a little bit is enough to kill you. Soo was involved in several illegal industries, but the drug black market was one of his main dealings, since that’s where a lot of the money has been for years now. So, the police concluded that he took some of the drugs he sold - or really, the drugs his inferiors sold for him - and died from fentanyl laced in it,”

“And…what’s wrong with that?” Jimin prompts.

“A few things, actually. First off, Soo would have killed anyone who dared to steal from his stock. Every gram is valuable, and he’d never squander the chance for profit. Second, his business thrived off repeat customers getting addicted, and you can’t do that if you’re dead, so they wouldn’t have put fentanyl in it. And third, in the autopsy there weren’t any drugs in his system other than fentanyl at the time, even though the amount he had was about twice the lethal dose, so either those conveniently disappeared or the police aren’t considering key information here. You tell me which one sounds more likely,” Namjoon’s words are phrased like a question, but his tone doesn’t pose one – they both know which possibility is actually true. 

“That makes sense, but what if he really just did take fentanyl and died from that?”

Namjoon looks at him, an eyebrow raised and eyes flashing in amusement. “You don’t know very much about fentanyl, do you?”

“Yeah, pretty much nothing other than the name and that it’s killed people,” Jimin admits. 

“It’s deadly as all hell, just a little bit will kill you. That’s not the sort of shit you take on its own, if someone’s had it it’s usually been snuck into something else, other drugs for the most part. As I said, Soo knew that, he wouldn’t have taken it. And he wouldn’t have been killing himself, either, he was in the middle of a major deal that was closing, and he would have waited until that finished if he was going to kick his own bucket,”

“If it’s mostly drugs that it’s snuck into, what are the other things? Because if he didn’t have any other drugs in his system, that’s the only way he could have gotten it,” Jimin is starting to feel like an idiot continually asking questions, but still, it’s really all he can do. He knows he would be worse off if he didn’t know what the hell was going on and didn’t try to find out. Namjoon, however, seems to have also noticed how he’s feeling, and acts accordingly in the most Namjoon way possible. 

“Wow, if someone wasn’t taking drugs that means they wouldn’t be taking drugs! Never would’ve guessed, Park, great observation,” Sarcasm drips from Namjoon’s words as he gives Jimin a shit-eating grin. 

“Yeah, yeah, answer the stupid question so we can get on with this already,” Jimin crosses his arms. 

“Mr. Soo had to take medication in the form of capsules daily for health reasons, so although I can’t exactly be sure, my hypothesis is that it was stuck in there. I saw him taking a few times, and they were fairly large, and since prescription fentanyl can come in the form of tablets, it’s not unthinkable that if someone got their hands on his medicine they could manage to put it in there, and since his regular capsules and fentanyl are both broken down in digestion, it’s not like he could notice beforehand,”

“But wouldn’t someone like him have better security? How would they get those in the first place?”

For the first time in the conversation, Namjoon doesn’t give him an immediate response. Jimin wouldn’t say it feels like he’s gained the upper hand or anything, considering he doesn’t have a sense of victory from them not having enough information to determine something about a murder, but it’s certainly a change for them both to be equally uncertain for once. 

“He defended himself well, definitely. I’m not actually sure when they would have been able to do it. I don’t think it’s impossible, per se, but it would be highly difficult,” 

Well, shit. They’ve come to a dead end in their lead. 

“But that’s what an investigation’s for, isn’t it?” Namjoon continues. “If we can track the potential source of the fentanyl through the black market, we could find out who bought it.”

“Wait, didn’t you say it was a prescription medication?”

“People get a prescription since it’s a painkiller, and then they sell it for money. They’ll still hurt like shit, yeah, but some people are just that desperate,” Namjoon shrugs. 

“So we’re dealing with criminals and masochists who are willing to sell their own strong painkillers? Are you sure this is a good idea?” Jimin knows the answer before he’s even finished speaking – this is in no way a good idea, and both of them know it, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less necessary. An investigation requires dirty work? He chastises himself in his head, who would have thought.

To his surprise, however, instead of responding with another sarcastic jab or annoyance at a question whose answer is obvious, Namjoon smiles at him. And then he begins laughing, genuinely, a sort of k-k-k that, along with the dimples clearly on display, Jimin would never have expected from someone like Namjoon. 

“Is any of this really a good idea, Jimin?” 

And Jimin’s not sure if it’s because Namjoon’s laughter is infectious or because the only way he can think to react to all the shit that’s been going on is either by laughing himself or crying, but he feels himself smile, too. 

•

While Namjoon has been switching into various different but similarly formal and fancy suits every day the entire time Jimin’s known him, it’s only as they prepare to go out in public to do something other than meeting a singular person that Jimin realizes that he’s still wearing the same exact thing he was when Namjoon first brought him here: a light blue collared shirt and black slacks, one of two outfits he had switched off wearing each day since they matched his job’s business-casual dress code. 

And, Jimin notes when he sniffs at it, nose wrinkling as he quickly pulls his face away, he smells as shitty as he would have expected after not changing clothes or taking a proper shower for a few days. He’s used deodorant a few times, yes, but there’s only so much that can do, and clearly it’s not enough. He’s surprised Namjoon hasn’t said anything yet, since he’s pretty sure there’s absolutely no way the man couldn’t have noticed. 

Today, he decides, he’s going to make an effort to clean himself up, not just to look half-decent to the outside world but also because as a result of smelling like shit, he’s beginning to feel like shit, and that’s going to have to start with a shower. But wouldn’t it sort of defeat the point if he was just to put on the same clothes again afterwards? 

He’s pretty sure there won’t be anything there, considering this looks like a guest room that hasn’t ever seen use outside of Jimin, but he walks towards the dresser on the other side of the room, opening one of the drawers. He wrinkles his nose at the dust that immediately flies towards his face, but that’s quickly overturned by surprise upon seeing that there are, in fact, clothes in this drawer. Picking a shirt and a pair of pants up from the top, he holds them against his body, comparing their size to his own. 

Neither of them are a great fit, the shirt a bit too short and tight and the pants too long and baggy, and they certainly don’t look nice, colors faded despite never appearing to be worn, but less-than-fashionable clothes are better than no clothes at all, so Jimin will take what he can get. Carefully putting them back in the drawer in case the answer to his question is no, Jimin quickly leaves his room to ask Namjoon if he could wear them. 

“Namjoon?” He calls out, making his way towards the fireplace, where Namjoon is sitting on a chair reading a rather thick book. Namjoon looks up at him, placing a bookmark between the pages and diverting his attention to Jimin instead. He doesn’t say anything, merely waiting for Jimin to go on. 

“So I haven’t taken a shower or changed clothes in a while now-”

“Yes, I’ve noticed that from the way you smell,” Namjoon says, deadpan expression even though Jimin can hear a grin in his voice. 

“Shut it. As I was saying, since we’re actually going out today and I don’t want to inflict the way I smell on other people,” Jimin imitates Namjoon’s voice teasingly, “I’m going to take a shower. I don’t have any other clothes with me, though, so I just wanted to ask if I could wear the ones in the dresser in-”

“Wear mine,” Namjoon blurts out, interrupting Jimin. His grip is on the chair he’s sitting on, like he’s at this point completely forgotten that the book beside him exists. 

“Huh?” Jimin asks after a second of silence, meeting Namjoon’s focused stare at him. He had heard what Namjoon said, clearly and unmistakably, but he needs to hear it again, just to make sure he’s not hallucinating Namjoon’s words. 

“You can wear my clothes,” Namjoon says, voice steady and clear, like he’s more than 100% confident in what he’s saying even though Jimin’s never seen him say something like this before. 

“Are you sure? I’m alright wearing the other ones, if it’s just okay with you,”

“None of those will fit you at all, trust me. You’re better off wearing mine,” 

“But you’re taller than me, aren’t you? Yours won’t fit me either,” Jimin has no idea why Namjoon isn’t just okay with Jimin wearing the clothes in the drawer. Did those mean something to him? Had Jimin passed some kind of line in the fragile, barely-there thing that is their attempt at friendship?

“I have some things that are smaller than me now, about your size. I’ll give you those. They’ll look much better on you,” Namjoon presses on insistently. Jimin narrows his eyes at Namjoon for a moment, wondering if he should be suspicious that Namjoon is doing something generous, if this is some sort of trap he’s fallen into or if Namjoon’s going to twist him into doing something to pay him back, before sighing. He has no intention of fighting to wear the clothes in the dresser as much as Namjoon is arguing for the opposite, and besides, he’s not opposed to nicer clothing. 

“Okay then, that sounds good,” Jimin finally gives in. Namjoon stands up, and Jimin thinks he sees a smile on his face before he starts walking ahead towards his room, leaving Jimin to follow behind. When they get there, Namjoon goes in, gesturing towards Jimin to wait for a moment. A few minutes later, which feels closer to a few hours in Jimin’s mind, he comes out carrying a small pile of clothes, high-quality material apparent as soon as he drops them into Jimin’s arms. 

“That should be all good now,” Namjoon says, starting to move again, likely back into his room. 

“Wait, Namjoon. Just…thank you for doing this for me. I appreciate it,” Jimin blurts out quickly, wanting, needing to get it out before Namjoon’s gone. Namjoon turns his head back towards Jimin, shrugging. 

“I’m not doing this for you, Park. I just don’t want to be associated with someone who smells like a troll or wears ill-fitted clothes,” He says, going straight into his room before Jimin could even consider saying anything back, much less form a coherent sentence out of the words swirling around his mind at a million kilometers a minute. 

What a strange man. 

Somehow the suit at the top of the stack manages to feel more expensive when Jimin’s handling it after his shower, preparing to put it all on. After struggling to do so, having never had an opportunity to wear anything close to this other than an important job interview he had ended up not getting called back for, he looks in the mirror above the dresser, standing back so his body can actually fit in its frame. It’s not perfect, of course, but he has to admit it does make him look nice, highlighting the physique he’s always been proud of maintaining and clinching a bit around his waist. 

Namjoon was right, not that he really wants to admit it. 

As he opens the door to leave, he jumps back in shock when he sees Namjoon right outside of it, clutching his hand to his chest to make sure he didn’t just have a heart attack. “Fuck, Kim, you’re going to make me die too if you scare me like that!”

Namjoon doesn’t reply, observing Jimin from top to bottom, eyes remaining on his midriff for just a moment longer than anything else before his gaze goes back to Jimin’s eyes. He has a smirk on his face, somewhere between satisfied and cocky, something Jimin feels is Namjoon to the core.

“Well, Jimin, I think you’re ready to go now. Meet me in the car, I’ll be there in a moment,”

#deal (story) #i love punny titles if you can't tell

[madhyanas]

a place at the table

Pairing: Din Djarin x gender-neutral!Reader

Rating: T/PG-13 [mild]

Word Count: 3k

Warnings: Spoilers for s2ep3, Chapter 11! Reader uses they/them pronouns. References to drowning, not explicit. Descriptions of freezing/extreme cold. One reference to Chapter 9 (s2ep1). Din being as self-sacrificing as always. Din’s particular brand of Mandalorian family values. Pining, yearning, affection - just think soft.

A/N: well then. first time posting for din! this has been cooking since ep3 came out, i’m just slow. it’s soft!! and worried!! and din severely procrastinating his own identity crisis!! they’re really fuckin married, guys. lovely stuff. also, if you can’t tell, i adore frog lady. and bo-katan. mwah.

BIG thank you to @justrunamok​, @pettyprocrastination​ and @generaldamneron​ for beta-reading <33

gif credit: @captrex​ - from the post here. thanks!

masterlist

You thought you knew cold.

Days and nights in the Crest have acquainted you with it. A hollow metal hull in the depths of the galaxy, surrounded on all sides by a vast expanse of nothing. Keeping the heater on burns fuel that you can’t afford, not with three mouths to feed. Space is cold, as cold as it could get.

And then you nearly drowned.

The briny depths of Trask are frigid, you’ve come to realise. Logically, you know it’s nowhere near the freezing vacuum of space. That’s real cold; true, absolute zero. But the thing about water is that it gets everywhere. The searing, ferocious chill of it had slammed all mental processes to a halt, petrifying your rationality before all else. It drenched your clothes, your hair. Snaked into your nose and seeped into your lungs. Rushed you as a swarm; no other sensation was relevant.

At the time — scrabbling at a grate hanging overhead, right there but always just out of reach — it’s what you imagined carbonite to feel like. Conscious but consumed.

Space is cold from a distance. Water freezes from the inside, cracked and jagged and burning.

So you should be grateful for your saviours. Mandalorians, unlike any you’ve ever seen before.

Which is to say, unlike Din.

There’s a lot to think about. So many things have happened in the span of a day that you can barely keep track. And beyond all else, you want to ask how Din’s coping—

“Trask is a black market port. They’re staging weapons that have been bought and sold with the plunders of our planet. We’re seizing those weapons and using them to retake our homeworld.”

—but there are more important things to deal with at the moment.

“Once we’ve done that, we’ll seat a new Mandalore on the throne,” the red-headed woman explains.

Bo-Katan. She speaks regally, like she’s been on that very throne before. More importantly — like she’d earned it. In truth, she scares you. All three of them do, these new Mandalorians who show their faces — they scare you in the way Din did back when he was just a gruff, faceless employer. A tinge of instinct; a shiver down your spine that has nothing to do with the cold.

What she’s saying is important, you know that, and you can’t place the onus on Din to handle it after the day he’s had. But you can’t bring yourself to focus either. You’re barely holding it together as it is, taking mild, balmy comfort in his and the baby’s presence on either side.

The three of you, together. Right now, at this table, that’s the only thing keeping you from splintering right down the middle.

Even with a steaming bowl of broth in your hands, your fingers ache with the chill. It hurts, regaining body heat. Hurts as feeling returns to your toes. Hurts to clench your jaw, to stop it from chattering. Hurts the delicate skin of your face, thousands of icy needles jabbing into the nerves. There’s a pounding between your ears and behind your eyes. You’re tired, and you suspect Din is, too.

You really do want to ask how he’s dealing with…this. The Way has been part of his life — and part of yours, in as much of a lifetime as you’ve known him — for many, many years. An oak tree, offering security and strength to the garden. How must he feel, stoic at your side, to see these three fell theirs so easily?

An identity crisis is the last thing Din needs.

What he needs is a break. You need him to want a break.

A coo at your elbow catches your attention. The baby — safe and warm, thank the Maker — seems fascinated with the water dripping from your hair, patting his hands into the small puddles forming on his high chair and giggling at the splashes. It’s as if he was never swallowed whole in the first place; that’s another thing you’re going to recall decidedly later. Nonetheless, he bounces back fast, your child.

You smile, hearing your teeth click, and pet the sensitive spot between his ears. He blinks at you sweetly.

Someone clears their throat.

You look up, startled, to find three pairs of eyes on you. Expecting. None of them saying… anything.

The other woman, the one with braids on her forehead, slurps her slithering noodles without blinking. Unnerving, to say the least.

“Sorry,” you blurt, more on reflex than anything else. “Did I… miss something?” The uncertainty in your voice doesn’t escape anyone’s notice.

Beneath the table, a broad thighs shifts to press against yours. Comforting. You glance at its owner.

“It’s… Mandalorian business.” Bo-Katan tilts her head. Her gaze flits between you and Din, polite and clear. “I’m sure you understand.”

You blink, bemused. “Oh?”

And then you realise.

She’s asking you to leave.

“Oh!” Your brows shoot up. One of her partners smiles ruefully in your periphery, and you are struck with the distinct feeling of being other. “Of course.”

That’s… well. It’s justified, is what it is. She’s right. You aren’t Mandalorian.

You stand quickly, and the chair grates against the floor unpleasantly. You manage not to cringe, somehow.

There’s a free table on the other side of the cantina, you think you saw it as you entered. Should you take the baby? No, Din’s never liked being away from him, even if you’re there. But they’re armed, all three of them, and you don’t know them, even if they did save your life, saved the baby’s, saved Din’s—

There’s a hand at your elbow.

“They stay.”

Din’s voice is unyielding. He hasn’t moved at all besides his grip on your arm, keeping his visor trained on Bo-Katan, who raises a brow.

No one says anything for a long, tense beat. Until—

“They’re not Mandalorian,” Bo-Katan says bluntly. It’s something you don’t have the nerve to state aloud. Something Din is apparently ignoring, however much you’d never believe it.

He stays silent.

“It’s okay,” your murmur, and the silver helmet you know turns to you fractionally. Barely anything, and you know you’re heard. You don’t need to see his face to know he’s still staring Bo-Katan down. “I don’t mind.”

There are three sharp, foreign gazes on you, and your newly-rejuvenated toes curl in your boots. After so many days bundled up in the Crest, you’d forgotten what it felt like to be watched and unwanted. The company inside had never made you feel that way.

“They stay,” he insists, making you jolt. “As is their right.”

Bo-Katan’s half-smile is faintly amused. “And which right is that?” she asks, like she already knows the answer. It seems like they all do, daring Din to state this mysterious ‘right’ that you’re in the dark about.

“It is their right as a member of my clan.”

The gloved fingers on your elbow tighten, leather creaking ever so slightly but just enough to remind you to breathe.

You blink at the silver helm dumbly, forgetting your onlookers for the time being.

He’s— He means that. Din doesn’t say what he doesn’t mean. Every word is measured, deliberate. He chooses his words like he chooses his weapons; they’re specific, well-cared for. Only to be used when necessary. Which suggests that—

Well. Maybe you should sit down.

As you do so, the woman opposite Din releases a slow, steady breath — Maker, you’d almost forgotten she was here — and squares her shoulders.

“Very well,” she says coolly. Her eyes flit to you, appraising, searching, before returning to Din. “As I was saying…”

And then you tune out again, ever so slightly. The information is going in, but you’re not truly registering its significance. Stupid, really, considering Din’s quite literally just fought for your place at the table. But you do.

You stare at the chipped, stained wood as if it holds the answers to questions you don’t know how to phrase. The baby babbles something incoherent, trying to get your attention, so unjustly denied to him, and you offer a finger for him to hold.

Clan. As in, part of. It’s new.

It feels like a small, three-fingered hand, gravelly warmth next to your thigh, and a hand pulling you back to the table.

———

Tracking down the Frog Woman and her husband isn’t too tedious. Trask’s daylight hours are long, for a moon, so even after Din’s aside with Bo-Katan and her people, it’s barely dark as you make your way to the inn.  

“It won’t be long,” Din had assured you. “I go with them, assist with their mission, and come back within a day. Routine transport raid.”

Them. Their. It didn’t bode well that his so-called brethren are this… dissimilar.

“Last time you helped someone out, you got swallowed by a desert dragon.”

“That wasn’t last time.”

“Still counts.”

Childish, perhaps. Petulant. But correct.

The problem was, so was he. There was no choice.

Now, Din leads your party of three briskly down the street.

Since his father had manually adjusted the drift range on the crib beforehand, the child has no issue being carted along express-style, making curious noises at the various fishing apparatus he sees scattered around the port.

You don’t have such luxuries as the little womp rat, so you’re left to frantically try and match your Mandalorian’s pace. The lingering shivers wracking your frame are shoved aside for the wheezing burn beginning to creep up your sides.

“Hey, uh, Mando?” you ask, somewhat out of breath. “You think you could slow down? You’re going a little fast—”

Your shoulder clips a passing Quarren roughly, spinning you round with the force of the collision. The point of impact throbs unpleasantly, painful but superficial. Stunned, you can only blink as the tentacled man snaps something unintelligible in your face. An apology sits ready on your tongue and you open your mouth to speak, before a solid wall appears between you.

A breathing, unyielding wall of leather and beskar, glowering at the Quarren silently as you’re turned away, closer into the gentle bend of his hold. Quietly surrounding, protecting. Something else you’re not used to, from when it was just the three of you in the ship. But this feels… good. It feels like it’s yours.

The other man balks, and leaves with a grumble under his breath.

Din glances around above your head, ever aware, ever cautious. “Stay close,” he murmurs and—

You could probably pinpoint the exact moment your body temperature spikes, as a large, gloved hand comes to rest on your lower back. “Oh. Okay.”

The rest of the walk passes you by.

“I wasn’t trying to rush you,” he says tersely, having slowed his pace considerably. There’s an apology in there somewhere; you can hear it. “But you’re soaked, and you’re cold. You need to get warmed up.”

You smile. It’s really not the time, but— “Are you offering?”

A huff from the modulator, and he shakes his head silently. Less rejection, rather than fond exasperation.

“You must be cold, too.” The realisation dawns on you in an instant. Oh, Maker. He’s been freezing for just as long as you, now. If not more, since he hasn’t eaten anything warm.

The next shake of the helmet is more insistent, purposeful. “No. I wear more layers than you do.”

“You dived into the ocean, Din.” His name is hushed, spoken after a quick look to confirm that no one can hear you.

“So did you.”

“I was pushed, that’s not the same thing.”

Din doesn’t respond, and your smile dims. He seems to hesitate for a moment, before pressing a button on his vambrace, and the baby’s crib floats a little closer.

Oh.

He doesn’t say anything else for the rest of the walk. You regret bringing it up.

But his hand doesn’t stray from your back.

——

The building is small, cozy. Barely a couple of stories tall. And, to your delight, it’s warm.

“Thank you for having us,” you tell the Frog Woman gratefully. One of their towels is wrapped around your shoulders; a placeholder until you can find a clean, dry change of clothes. You feel better already. “We’re sorry to impose like this.”

She croaks something vaguely welcoming and you smile, keeping a shrewd, wary eye on the baby — now staring at the egg canister with wondrous intent, reaching his stubby little hands out from his place clutched to your chest. Now there’s something to keep you occupied for the evening.

A hand on your shoulder, warm and light, and you turn around. Din tilts his head towards the door. “I’ll be going,” he says, barely a whisper past the lip of the helmet.

“What? Uh, Mando, hold on!” Halfway out of the chair already, you stare at him incredulously, before turning back to the expecting parents. “Just— Just a second, please. Could you take the baby?”

However disinclined she may be to your carnivorous terror, the Frog Woman takes him into her hands gently. She’s sweet, kind. You hope she understands the depths of your appreciation.

A polite nod from Din to the couple. “I’ll be back for them soon.”

He follows you into the narrow corridor. The door slides shut behind you both.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

You stare at him for a moment, tugging the edge of the towel at your shoulders. Your mouth opens and closes, faltering around words that don’t have the courage to form.

“I…” You deflate. “I just— I wanted to ask you that. Before you left.” It’s a foolish question. What’s wrong, like his entire way of life hasn’t been upended in a heartbeat by a careless show of face. Like the Way hasn’t just crumbled at his feet like wet sand, trodden on by three strange pairs of boots, scorched by familiar jetpack fuel.

He doesn’t say anything. No tilt of the helmet, no sinking shoulders. Nothing. Just keeps looking at you, visor tilted down to your face.

There’s a reasonable distance between you. Not professional by any stretch of the imagination, but enough for him to be comfortable in semi-public. The corridor is empty, and you can’t hear any footsteps.

Except Din’s, when he steps forward.

You feel your features soften in time with the pounding of your heart. “Din, love, please—”

He pulls you into his chest, plucking the wind from your lungs in a surprised, candied puff into the worn fabric of his cowl. His arms snake around you, securing you to his sturdy frame, and by reflex, yours mirror the movement on him. The helm’s hard, flat surface presses against the side of your head tightly; an anchor tugging on the seabed.

You feel him inhale, a ragged, rattling thing that has your stomach sinking. You only hear that sound when he’s injured, stumbling back to you with a bounty and a nasty, jagged stab wound or two. Only when he’s injured but oh, isn’t he?

It’s hard to tell how long you remain like that. Wrapped around and in between each other. Feeling each other breathe in and out, like the push and pull of the tides. It’s worth it, for the fading of tension in Din’s shoulders. Not removal. But an ebb for the flow. You’ll take it.

“There is a lot,” he rasps, modulated into your hairline. “You know that. And I can’t focus on what needs to be done if I think about it.” You feel him sigh, draping into your arms even further. “I can’t afford that.”

You try to keep your voice calm, soothing. To avoid the hot press of tears threatening to clog your throat. “Okay. That’s, that’s— Okay.”

You sound like a fool, parroting your own words. But he doesn’t seem to mind.

“Okay,” Din agrees. There is something shaky in his voice, and you would give anything to wrench it from his chest and throw it into that Maker-forsaken ocean. Let it drown for all you care.

For now, though, this is enough.

You move to step back, just a palm’s breadth away, and his arms unlock to let you do so immediately. His gloved hands slide down to nestle in the dip of your waist.

You look at Din consideringly, wondering if you could push for later. Later, to discuss the revelations he’s been bombarded with. Later, to talk about what you’re doing to do. Later, to finally get him to rest his weary bones.

Urgent, but. You decide to let him be. For now.

There’s something else you’ve been meaning to ask about anyway.

“So.” You smile wanly, treasuring the jewelled glint of beskar through the thinnest film of tears. “As a member of your clan, huh?”

Din sighs. Bracing, grounding. Returning to the present, where you’re just here to see him off. Where you have a baby waiting inside to keep from snacking on your hosts, and he has a hijacking to initiate. His fingers press tighter into your skin.

He appreciates the subject change.

“You already know my name,” he says quietly. Shrugs. “I’d say you know more about me than anyone else.”

You take a second to mull that over. Enjoy the taste of it in your mouth, the weight of it in your heart. He is such a precious thing to know.

Without thinking, the word leaves your lips in a bright gust of affection. “Same.” The helm tilts. “You know more about me than anyone else, too.”

He nods, a small, barely-there movement. More to himself than to you, you suspect.

“Good.”

Elastically, achingly slow, Din leans his head down. You lift yours up. When your warmed forehead meets beskar, a kiss from which you feel deprived, yet glutted, you’re inclined to agree.

“Stay safe,” you whisper. Your heart fogs and clouds on the metal, right above where his lips would be.

His thumb strokes across your waist. And you know he will.

——

#din djarin #din djarin x reader #the mandalorian #the mandalorian x reader #star wars #star wars fic #reader-insert #gn!reader #the mandalorian fic #the mandalorian season 2 #the mandalorian chapter 11 #gender neutral #gender neutral reader #the heiress #my writing #sw #bit nervous about this one #we'll see how it goes huh

[skyeofloxlay]

Duskwood - thoughts, observations and summaries - Part 1.

It is likely that there are already people who did this, but I would like to point out some things that I ended up putting aside as the episodes went on, but that I realized when I was reading the prints I took or even when I was playing for hundredth time. Unfortunately I'm not going to put the prints here as they are not in English, so it doesn't help much. And maybe, most of the things I write are obvious, or that everyone already knows, but I would like to write something to have some of my thoughts on some. (or just to have a summary for when chapter 8 comes and I get lost)

(again sorry if it have English errors or something is confusing, English is not my first language @_@)

WARNING: This post will talk about Duskwood events, so you better play before you read! Also, this post is really big, so you might end up getting bored. YOU'VE BEEN ADVISED

1 - Thomas received our number on the second day of Hannah's disappearance, where he himself said he received the night. He immediately spoke to all his friends about the number and then they were arguing for a long time, until finally after thinking hard, the next day, Thomas decides to contact the MC (And of course, there is the fact that the message is gone.)

2 - Thomas tells us that he tried to call Hannah when he received the MC number, someone answered the call, but nobody said anything.

3 - Thomas has a brother, and that is something I always forget. I suppose he is a younger brother? Maybe someone who's not old enough to drive or idk.

4 - Richy tries to fit in with the MC, which is apparently an unusual behavior, since Cleo was incredulous at what he was doing.

5 - Jake acted very cold the first time we talked to him. But I don't remember exactly when it changed ... I think I should see it on the prints and mention it later.

6 - Jake probably follows the philosophy "The ends justify the means", since he does anything, no matter the consequence, as long as he gets to where he wants to go. (In fact, he literally says that the ends justify the means xD)

7 - We have to hack Hannah's cloud because Jake can't do everything, and he says he's busy following other clues, but what are those? I don't remember him commenting on what clues he's following, well maybe I'll find out by looking at the prints of future chapters.

8 - Jake says that we should decrypt the cloud, and clearly decrypting is not a candy crush game with cubes, but I would say that in "real life" (as much as I have researched about decryption, I didn’t find anything that could help me a lot to understand how it works) you use some program that Jake sent you, you take encrypted files that have several strange letters and put them in this program, which happens to be a little slow, so to pass the time you decide to play Candy Crush. Which is why it takes so long before you can send an unencrypted file to Jake.

9 - Cleo adds us before going to work.

10 - Thomas comes back some time later, I would say it could be half an hour after he sent the message saying he had to get his brother.

11 - On the day of Hannah's disappearance, Jake put all of her friends in a group and talked about the situation. By the time Jake did that, Thomas was on his cell phone, so he saw it right away. 

12 - We know that Jake somehow witnessed the kidnapping, but how? How did he see if he didn't even meet Hannah in person?

13 - Richy's house is 5 minutes from Hannah's.

14 - Cleo and Richy have a conversation that we can read. And Cleo asked Richy where all the sympathy had come from (probably about him wanting to put the MC in the group) Apparently before he didn't want Thomas to contact the number.

15 - Richy assumes that Hannah has had enough time to write a single message. If we put him as one of the suspects, as he is being at the moment, then was it he who gave Hannah the chance to send a message? Or was it Richy who sent it from Hannah's cell phone? But…. I don't know ... none of those things really make sense.

Unless Hannah managed to get her cell phone while Richy was away, and then sent the message, Richy soon afterwards arrives and sees what Hannah has done, takes her cell phone and deletes the message. (And answer the phone, but say nothing) 

(Or we can also assume that it was Jake who sent our number on Hannah's cell phone ... but that doesn't fit much for some things in the future, I'll explain later)

16 - Richy thinks that inevitably, if the MC is guilty it will end up escaping something.

17 - We were able to decrypt the first photo, that if I'm right, we are decrypting newer photos to older ones? But that is not a very important detail, I think. We sent the photo to Jake and he asks if we had found this photo in Hannah's cloud. But why? Isn't it obvious that it was from Hannah's cloud? Wasn't that just our only job? Decrypt and send whatever you can to Jake ??? If we say we don't know what exactly to look for, Jake says he doesn't know either. So we're kind of literally in the dark! We have no idea what we have to find and neither does he know. But he says that it is still for us to continue to send what we find, because something can be more relevant if we look in more detail.

(Okay, the next one isn't so much what I thought, but the conversation between Jake and MC, because I love the interactions that it is possible to do with Jake and I couldn't leave it out. * ^ _ ^ *)

18 - Jake wishes us good luck, but now (I think only for premium) you can say you want to talk to him. Jake then looks confused and asks what we wanted to talk about, and we can say we want to talk about him. He seems to be even more confused about why we want to talk about him. I don't remember the other options or if he says the same thing it doesn't matter what we answer, but if we say that we find him interesting he says that "You know I'm not going to tell you anything about me, right?" (Sure, of course Jake, for sure everyone believes that) if we keep insisting, he ends up giving in and says that we can ask only one question. We can ask: I think between his hair color, if he lives in the city or country, or what programs does he use to hack?

His hair color is black, if I'm not mistaken he says he lives in the city and the last question I don't know the answer to.

He asks why we wanted to know (in the case of hair, I don't know about the others, but he probably asks the same thing). I think that regardless of what we answer, he says he doesn't believe in what he just did, because he shouldn't say anything about himself. (That is, this is where we can start to make Jake's walls start to fall and we can get closer to him :) ) He also says that hiding his identity is essential and asks if we are happy now. If we say yes and talk to ask a question, he gets more confused and says "You didn't want to talk to me, did you?" Regardless of what we talk about, he asks us how the weather is. We can say between: What a boring question / It's raining / Very well, I would say. (I think those were the questions). 

He then admits that it was not the most interesting topic, but we can say that it remains interesting nonetheless. He so says he hasn't had a conversation in a long time... (oh, I feel you Jake, I don't know how to talk to people either, but look, you're talking to me :) even though you don't really exist ;_;) He then asks if we were stuck on an island, what would we most like to have. I said that I would like to have books, and he says "hmm" (but if I'm not mistaken he says that for everything we answer) we can ask him what he would like to have, and he says he would choose his computer, but then he tells us to forget what he said and says he has more to do, and asks if everything was clear now.

19 - We can ask him if he doesn't ask himself who we are. And this point I find interesting. He says "You play a key role in all this mess. Why do you suddenly appear in such mysterious circumstances? What do you really have to do with all of this? Obviously, I wonder who you are. I already told you something about me again ... I'm going to have to go now. Otherwise, I will end up saying my name or worse. " This means that he would not have been the one who sent our number by Hannah's cell phone because he doesn't know who the MC is. There is less that he is lying very well, but I think not.

20 - Thomas asks if we have time to talk to him, and then says that in a way MC is one of them now. So he says he will put pictures of Hannah on his profile so that we can try to remember her in some way. 

21 - Did we find a picture of a bridge? That's probably in the forest?

22 - Jessy then contacts us saying that she wants to get to know us better? Is it just me who found this strange and uncomfortable?

23 - Even though she never spoke to us and left the group, she says that MC is part of the group now. And she decides to talk to us in the middle of her work.

24 - We found out that Jessy works with Richy.

25 - She keeps trying to get to know MC more, which made me very uncomfortable because I really didn't want to talk to her and even then she kept talking to MC.

26 - So we got to see one more conversation, but this time it's between Thomas and Cleo, where Thomas says that he put some pictures for the MC to see, and said that it seemed strange, and said that there was nothing strange about the MC's behavior. So Cleo tells Thomas that then he cannot draw a conclusion about what role we (MC) play. Thomas then said goodbye and they went offline.

27 - Jessy talks to the MC again, nothing interesting that is worth mentioning.

28 - We found a photo of a cat in Hannah's cloud 

29 - Thomas sends a message again, now asking if we recognize Hannah, replying that we really don't know her, he says "oh, yeah, it's okay" and goes offline. 

30 - Jake answers us and we start talking about our findings. He says he will try to extract information from the photos.

31 - He asks for time to be able to analyze it and says he has an advantage for us, and sends a cell phone number. He says the police are very focused on Thomas and that we should be focusing on someone else. If we ask why we should do this, he replies, "As I said before, you piqued my interest. That's all you need to know at the moment." Then he tells us to add the number. And as soon as we added it, we found out the number was from Dan.

32 - Dan gets worried and says several no, and asks who sent us after him. You can choose from a few people to say who sent you there, but I think regardless of who you choose, he will say the same: "What? Fuck it. I don't care. Damn them. And you leave me alone." And then it goes offline.

33 - If you choose Jessy, he will ask her why she gave his number to the MC, and she says that she didn't, so he says that the MC is lying and that someone gave his number. Jessy also says that if he wants people to stop seeing him as a suspect, he just has to stop acting like one.

34 - We got a call. Someone threatening us.

35 - We contacted Jake and talked about what happened. Jake asks what the kidnapper said, and we can say "That I should stay out of other people's business." Jake asks what he looked like, and we can say he looked like a maniac.

36 - If we say that we had better follow the kidnapper's advice, Jake says that we shouldn't do that, and that there was nothing to worry about. And that we could consider that connection as something positive, because that meant the kidnapper was coming out of hiding, and that would make him vulnerable. And that he is probably concerned about the MC being in the investigation. Jake also says that we are a drag on the kidnapper, and that the MC can't trust anyone in the group. He also said that he was right about the MC and that we are going to save Hannah. 

37 - Jessy calls us and other people in the group saying they found a body. She creates a group and adds us, Dan, Cleo and Richy.

38 - Jessy and Cleo argue.

39 - Cleo says she will tell Lilly about the body.

40 - And then in a way we kind of obliged to tell Thomas about the body.

41 - When we talk about the body found, Thomas immediately goes offline.

42 - We tell the group this.

43 - If we tell the group that we should have waited to tell Thomas, Richy says that MC would not say that if knew how much gossip is spreading around the city.

44 - Dan asks us what we think about Thomas's suspicious actions.

45 - Richy asks what we do now and Cleo replies that the only way was to wait. 

46 - Everyone goes offline and after a while Jake sends a message saying that he has something new, that a corpse had been found. But he was talking about the same corpse that we discovered by the group, that is, we had important information even before him.

47 - He is impressed with how we got the information before him and how MC already seems to be part of the group.

48 - Then he asks if we got the picture of the cat in Hannah's cloud. (again, isn't that obvious??? This is our mission! Decrypt Hannah's cloud photos and files !!! Why do you keep asking that Jake ??) 

49 - If we ask if there is something wrong to Jake, he just replies "Never mind. It's okay." And then it goes offline.

50 - We decrypt what appears to be a medical prescription, but which is in a terrible resolution. Jake says he will try to fix the image better and goes offline.

51 - Jessy says that Cleo invaded the junkyard

52 - Jessy says that the MC should make Cleo tell Richy what she did.

53 - Cleo says he needs to talk to us. She says she can tell us a little bit about Hannah.

54 - If we ask if Hannah has siblings, Cleo replies that Lilly is her younger sister, and asks if we didn't know that until now. If we say, "I meant besides Lilly". Cleo replies that Lilly is Hannah's only sibling.

55 - If we ask Cleo if it was possible that Hannah simply ran away, Cleo replies that there was no reason for her to do that since Hannah's life was starting to go well. She had a great family, an amazing boyfriend and was happy with her career.

56 - If we say that maybe things were happening that she didn't know, Cleo replies that she knows that everyone has secrets, but having such a terrible secret and having to escape Duskwood without a trace, she would know that. She also comments on the fact that the Hacker saw the hijacking.

57 - If we ask Cleo if she thinks the kidnapper could be someone in the group, she says she doesn't believe it is anyone of them.

58 - When asked if Hannah had any enemies, Cleo replies that she was not sure, and that everyone loved Hannah.

59 - At that moment we can question Cleo or not for the invasion of the junkyard. If we don't say anything, she just says that she has to do some things and that she can't sit and wait.

60 - If we ask her plan, she says she'll ask for downtown and maybe know if someone found Hannah before she disappeared. She spoke the names of three of the biggest gossips in the city: Mrs. Walter, owner of the hotel. Mrs. Sully, the queen of gossip and Phil Hawkins, owner of Aurora bar.

61 - She says the bar hasn't opened yet, but we can suggest to Cleo who she should talk to first. And then she says she'll talk to us later.

62 - We found a picture of Hannah apparently in the forest.

63 - We see a conversation between Richy and Jessy. 

64 - Richy is talking about something Jessy said to us. He says that Jessy should be more careful with the MC and then says that Jessy should know something about the MC, but then he needs to stop by the office and not talk about what it was.

65 - Jake, who was reading the messages between Richy and Jessy, is annoyed that Richy didn't say what he wanted to say.

66 - We asked him if he was reading the messages, and he says yes, because you never know where you can find the next piece of the puzzle. If we ask him if he always reads other people's messages, he replies that only the most interesting ones and asks us if the MC was judging him.

67 - If we say that we are judging him a little, he says that the MC was also reading their messages. We can answer that we are doing this because he told us to do this. So he says we're only doing this so that we can find Hannah.

68 - Jake asks ask us what we think Richy and Jessy are talking about us. If we say we have no idea, Jake responds with "Really? Not even a hunch?" so we can say that we’ve never talked to Richy before, and Jake thinks that’s strange. Jake assumes that Richy would tell Jessy why he doesn't trust MC. We can then answer "Don't trust anyone. It's your words, not mine." and "Do you trust me?", Jake answers the question with "Would I have given you access to Hannah's cloud if I didn't?" We can then tell Jake that he doesn't even know us that well, and he says "Maybe Jessy wasn't the only person who felt an immediate connection with you"

If we ask "Is that a compliment?" Jake says yes, and he would talk to us later.

69 - Cleo sends a message saying that she arrived at the hotel, but that Mrs. Walter was not at the reception. Cleo then says that Lilly used to work at the Hotel reception before, but apparently she doesn't work there anymore. Cleo then comments that Alfie, Mrs. Walter's son, is playing in a mud puddle in front of the hotel. We told Cleo that she should talk to Alfie, and after a while she comes back saying that he had called her "Friend of the dead girl" and then Cleo replies that Hannah was not yet dead and asked him who was saying these terrible things. Alfie then says that he saw Hannah being taken by the Man without a face.

If we say that he probably saw a man in a mask, Cleo replies that there is a legend in Duskwood about a "Man without a face" and that we should ask Jessy about it because she likes legends, and then in the meantime Cleo would talk to Mrs. Sully. 

70 - We asked Jessy about the legend of the mwaf, and also commented that Alfie had seen Hannah being taken by him to the forest.

71 - We found out that Jessy was once Alfie's Nanny. And she says that he may well have invented it, since he has mental problems.

72 - Jessy creates a group about the Duskwood legends and puts Richy together, since he was born in Duskwood and could talk more about the legend than she did. But since Richy was working, they had to leave that for later.

73 - Cleo sends us a message saying she talked to Mrs. Sully, who says she saw Hannah coming out of the pharmacy and that she looked very worried, and then she sat on the patio of the Rainbow Café.

74 - We asked Cleo what Hannah had bought at the pharmacy, but she doesn't know. So she says that she will try to do something and that in the meantime we should try to find out more about the "mwaf".

75 - We talked to Richy and Jessy about Alfie and the mwaf. 

76 - Jessy tells the legend of the mwaf. She says the legend is older than Duskwood, they say he lives inside the forest and at night he walks through the dark streets of the city. He marks the door of the greatest sins with a sign from the crow, and then on the night of the first new moon each year, he returns the marked houses and takes all the people from that house, whether guilty or not. No one knows exactly what he does with these people, but supposedly he takes them into the forest and these people never come back.

77 - We can then assume that the kidnapper is trying to copy the legend. 

78 - Cleo sends us a message again, telling us a story that Lilly told her about Alfie.

79 - Cleo said it happened last year, in the fall. One of the guests complained to Lilly about a bad smell in his room, Lilly went to the room, but felt nothing, so she gave the guest another room. When she returned to the room she noticed the smell, but could not find where it came from, she then spoke to Mrs. Walter who spoke with the janitor Old Gray. After he cleaned it, Lilly, as she was curious to know what had given off that stench, goes to the trash and saw that Alfie's canary (Mr. Featherly) was dead and with a crushed beak and broken wings.

80 - Apparently Alfie killed the canary.

81 - We then see a conversation between Dan and Lilly. He was commenting that he was sure that the body found was not Hannah's. Lilly then asks Dan if he could come here (probably to her house), and Dan agrees.

Well, I think I better stop here, because I already wrote a lot and there is still a lot to write. To tell you the truth, I don't even know where I am in the story, I don't know if it's still chapter 1, or it's already 2 or maybe 3. But anyway, that's it. I will continue to write my observations / thoughts / summaries of the story when I have time and motivation. At the moment I want to see if I can draw something with Jake x MC and maybe write some theories that are in my head.

I hope that what I have written can help you in some way, or just remember what was going on at the beginning of the game. (Or maybe all of this is useless and it was really boring, so I'm sorry ;_;) See you later :)

#duskwood #Duskwood jake #Duskwood Richy #Duskwood Cleo #Duskwood Thomas #Duskwood Dan #Duskwood Lilly #Duskwood Jessy #Duskwood Hannah #jake of duskwood #richy of duskwood #cleo of duskwood #thomas of duskwood #dan of duskwood #lilly of duskwood #jessy of duskwood #hannah of duskwood #mwaf #man without a face #thoughts #comments #observations #summaries

[robininthelabyrinth]

Three Gates - on ao3 (for content warnings check Ao3) - on tumblr: pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4, pt 5, pt 6, pt 7, pt 8, pt 9, pt 10, pt 11, pt 12, pt 13

- Chapter 14 -

“I would like your advice on something,” Meng Yao said to his mother.

Meng Shi was wearing silk again, rich colors that suited her – she had fully recovered from the serious illness she’d had a few years back, something for which he would be forever thankful to Qinghe’s doctors because he knew she wouldn’t have made it if they were on their own –  and a fur-lined jacket that made her look especially comfortable. She finished pouring the tea and smiled at him.

“You do?” she teased. “Still, after all these years?”

“I’m never too old for your advice,” he said and kissed her on the cheek before sitting down.

The weiqi board in the corner was midway through a game, he noticed, and was glad: Sisi was terrible at weiqi, and the only other person who routinely played against Meng Shi was Nie Huaisang. Things between them had grown better as he’d grown older – he loved to paint, to play, to keep birds and raise flowers, and those were the things Meng Shi liked the most.

It was good to see them spending time together. Meng Yao hoped that Meng Shi could show Nie Huaisang how to forgive, and to remember how to be as carefree as he had once been.

After all, Nie Huaisang had taken up what had once been Meng Yao’s duties, during the war, all the intelligence work and strategy, the battlefield clean up and the politics, and it had left its marks. Indeed, if Meng Yao had been anyone other than Nie Huaisang’s dearly beloved brother, he would probably be the subject of a decade-long plan of utter obliteration right now, good motivations or not – in fact, he was pretty sure that Nie Huaisang had one already plotted out, and was still considering it an option if Meng Yao didn’t make regular deposits on the infinity of fans he apparently owed him.

(The brat wouldn’t take duplicates, either. Meng Yao had put in an order for someone to send him an entire ship’s worth from Dongying in the hopes that that would earn him a little credit. The relevant someone being Wei Wuxian, who was off exploring the world with Lan Wangji - possibly for no other reason than to get away from the rest of them all teasing them about the long and overly dramatic way in which they’d confessed their affections for each other.) 

Still, Nie Huaisang had forgiven Meng Yao, even if he hadn’t forgotten, and they were most of the way back to being as they had been before – which admittedly was closer than he’d ever been with Meng Shi, who Nie Huaisang seemed to treat as a casual acquaintance instead of a mother. He treated her about the same as Sisi, actually, and usually acted as if he thought Meng Yao and Nie Mingjue were his birth parents instead of his brothers.

And possibly Lan Xichen as some sort of rich uncle he could (and routinely did) extort for gifts.

(He still called him ‘pretty gege’, though he’d recently started up several debates – mostly monologues –  as to whether Lan Xichen ought to now be called ‘er-ge’ and Meng Yao ‘san-ge’ according to their ages, being that he was now part of the family, or if they should just all go ahead and get properly married already so that he could call him ‘sao-zi’ instead. They’d all collectively decided to ignore him.)

“Is it about those sworn brothers of yours?” she asked, lips curving up into a smile that was entirely unlike the practiced ones she had once used most of the time, a real one that was a little bit crooked, and that made it all the more beautiful in his eyes.

Meng Yao batted his eyelashes at her. “I will of course let myself be guided by Mother.”

She laughed. “I think it’s a good cover,” she said. Her eyes crinkled at the corners, now, and she didn’t try to hide it with make-up or anything else. Meng Yao treasured every blemish and imperfection. “You three can spend all your time in each other’s pockets, putting each other above everything else, and no one will question it – or, well, question it too much.”

“Let them talk,” Meng Yao said. There would never come a day when people didn’t whisper about him behind their sleeves, calling him the son of a whore, and nothing he could do, no matter how hard he tried, would stop it. He could only adjust his own thinking and ignore them, at peace in his heart with the knowledge that they were wrong about him. With the knowledge that he was better than they were or indeed would ever be.

Perhaps there was something to Lao Nie’s old exhortation after all.

“But do they have something to talk about?” his mother asked, arching her eyebrows at him. “You retire to the same room to sleep, but I’ve never seen any of you walking strangely the morning after – what are you waiting for? Actual marriage vows?”

“The sworn brother oath served that purpose,” Meng Yao said dismissively, just as he’d explained time and time again to Nie Huaisang. It was just as permanent, after all; they would be bound together in this life and the next, each name forever placed alongside the others in the annals of history. “And we’re just moving slowly.”

He’d explained, in the end, what Wen Ruohan had wanted, what Nie Mingjue was, what that meant; he didn’t want to keep it hidden and risk anyone later thinking that he was taking advantage.

He didn’t want to keep even one more secret from his lovers in this lifetime.

Nothing. Not even surprise parties.

Nie Mingjue hadn’t cared one bit about finding out that he was a furnace, because of course he didn’t; he was still an idiot after all these years. Lan Xichen, at least, had been rightfully alarmed – neither he nor Meng Yao wanted to risk harming Nie Mingjue by accident, no matter how much he argued that his cultivation was high enough that he wouldn’t even notice a setback, and anyway that he trusted them not to try to steal away from him.

Nie Mingjue had finally convinced them to try, the night after they’d taken the oath. Emotions had been running high, and they’d all fallen into bed together, their blood running hot.

It had been – an experience, to say the least.

Sex was pleasant, something Meng Yao knew intellectually from his days in the brothel and personally from the few experiences, male and female, he’d forced himself to have in order to ensure he didn’t have any demons in his heart on the subject. He’d been glad to confirm that although he liked it well enough, it wasn’t so good that he would become addicted to the feeling, descending into dissipation and cruelty the way his father had.

What they’d shared together on that night, however…that wasn’t just sex.

That was something he could become addicted to.

Meng Yao had insisted on a strict moratorium on any further activities until they could process what had just occurred, and it had been telling that neither Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen had argued.

It had been mindblowing, a combination of overwhelming physical pleasure and emotional satiation, and then there was the spiritual ecstasy of cultivation – Meng Yao’s own cultivation, never especially strong, increased at an almost frightening pace for the next week, and Lan Xichen had confirmed a similar effect had occurred for him. Nie Mingjue’s cultivation seemed just as high as ever, unharmed, but obviously they had to do more research before they did anything else lest they accidentally cause harm to him somehow.

That meant they were back down to the basics, limiting themselves to rubbing up against each other at night and offering each other helping hands, given that Meng Yao and Lan Xichen weren’t willing to do anything together if it meant excluding Nie Mingjue – though recently they’d figured out that Nie Mingjue could narrate pornography without batting an eyelash with that frankly magnificent voice of his, and also that he liked telling people what to do (they knew that already, but still)…

They were going slowly. That’s how Meng Yao thought of it, and it was fine – he had no doubt that they’d figure out how to move to the next step sooner or later.

Sooner rather than later, given how quickly Lan Xichen was pouring through their respective sect libraries; apparently sexual frustration was a very effective motivator for him.

“If you’re sure you’re happy,” his mother said, and he smiled. “You seem to be. I’m glad.”

He nodded.

“So if it’s not about that, what do you want advice on? You haven’t needed to consult me on political matters in years. A-Sang would be better at that.”

“It’s not entirely political,” Meng Yao said, “though it’s not entirely apolitical, either, and don’t worry, I’ll consult Huaisang as well. Nevertheless, I wanted your views on the subject. You see, a rather complicated situation has arisen…I’ve been made an unusual offer.”

“An offer? A-Yao…”

“I know, I know,” he said, smiling. “Be careful of offers from strange men, especially bad men, and this is exactly that. But I still thought it was something worth considering. After getting the benefit of your insight, of course.”

“Well, then,” she said. “Now I’m curious. What’s the offer?”

He gave her the letter that he had received and drank his tea while she read it, her eyes going wide and then even wider.

“So,” he said, when he judged that she was done. “What do you think? Do I look like a ‘Jin Guangyao’? Or should I tell my father to go commit anatomically improbable acts on himself?”

“A-Yao…”

“I’m serious,” Meng Yao insisted. “This was always your dream, well before it was mine: whatever you decide, I’ll do. If you’d like for me to claim what should have been mine from the start, I’ll do it, though obviously if he thinks a mere name is enough to convince me to leave Qinghe in favor of Lanling he’s got a nasty surprise coming his way. But if you want me to tell him to his face that I’d rather be your son than his, I’ll do that too.”

He leaned back in his chair, and smiled.

“After all, I already have everything I want.”

- END -

#mdzs #meng yao #jin guangyao #meng shi #my fic #my fics #three gates

[stiltonbasket]

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight wrap-up Q & A!

(brief note that this post does contain spoilers, so don’t click past the cut unless you’ve finished reading!)

__

1. Hi Stilton! I love you and TMAAF! The way you write the letters really feels organic and like people writing letters to other people in a time where communication wasn't instantaneous and thats a pet peeve I have with some fics that treat letters like text. I don't know if you've been asked this but what's your inspiration for the letters? Did you just make them up as they are? Did you look at old letters and studied the tone? @iwillbetrash4eva

I made the letters up as they are, but it was essential for me to keep in mind that the characters are all highly educated, and that Lan Wangji, Wei Wuxian, and Nie Huaisang in particular are very accomplished in the arts. Letters written by someone who composes music and poetry in their spare time aren’t going to be the same as emails and text messages written for the sake of raw information transfer, so I made sure to incorporate that into the letters; they’re written on pretty paper, usually in the sender’s best calligraphy, and it takes time to sit down and write them, so there’s an aspect of aesthetic reflection there that we rarely notice in modern communication.

I also felt that the characters would include snapshots of their lives and feelings while writing; this was more important with Wei Wuxian, since he throws himself so deeply into his daily life, but I also had to remember how important the past is to all of the characters and how enmeshed it is with their relevant current events. Ultimately, each letter serves as an extra look into the characters’ state of mind, which is something the narrative might not give us. 

2. What was your favorite scene in TMAAF, and which OC was the most fun to write? @keela1221

My favorite scene was Wei Wuxian’s departure from Lotus Pier in chapter 46, especially the part when everyone chased after him! I planned it several months in advance (sometime last summer, I think?) so finally getting to write it felt amazing.

Surprisingly, my favorite original characters to write (besides the main additions of Xiao-Yu, Yu Zhenhong, and Li Shuai) were the Jiang juniors. They love their Wei-zongzhu so much ;~;

3. What made you think of writing this fic? And would you consider a special epilogue because I don't think 50 chapters were nearly enough for me.❤ @avezevin

I think I just wanted to speculate about what cultivation politics might have been like after Jin Guangyao died, and TMAAF was born! And I most likely will be posting an epilogue, since I realized that the Zhenqing wedding works best as a coda instead of as a fic of its own.

4. what's your research process for tmaaf? the worldbuilding is so detailed!!

I read posts on tradition and culture and use them as sources if the chance ever comes along. A significant portion of the lore was entirely made up, but @light8828 helped me with some of the language, and offered so much guidance on cultivation worldbuilding <3

5. I really like the way you write the dynamic between Wei ying and lan zhan with their kids in all your stories. Xiao-Yu is a very lovable character and his relationship with his parents is something I go back to read many times. What do you use as inspiration when writing his, or any of his siblings, relationship with their parents?

Real life, I guess. Some of my older friends have recently had children, and they’re very good parents. :3

6. Where will you be going with the series? I need to prepare myself for heartbreak if the end is approaching, (its ok if you dont know tho! Idk is an optimistic answer, its just that you seem to have many things plotting away in that brain of yours)

Up next, I’m going to finish all the fics in the series that are still in progress, and then I’m going to write Lan Xichen’s fic, maybe a fic from Wen Qing’s point of view, a fic focusing on a reincarnated Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen, and a fic from Jin Yun’s POV focusing on his relationship with LXC and the latter’s death and ascension. This doesn’t count all the fluffy wangxian oneshots still bubbling on the back burner, so I expect this series to keep me busy well into 2022. *sweats*

7. TMAAF Q&A: when did you decide you were bringing wen qing back? what led you to making her return a result of the soul-summoning array, rather than having her have survived by some other method? @mischief7manager

I decided that Wen Qing would be returning sometime between chapters 12 and 15, since that was when I knew I wanted her to be the one to cure Wei Wuxian. And as much as I liked the idea of Wen Qing surviving, I didn’t want her to be imprisoned for the 16-year interim; it was important that she appear in TMAAF as she was before her death rather than having over a decade of character development off-screen. But she wasn’t a fierce corpse that could just be put to sleep for all that time, hence the soul-summoning.

8. For the Q&A: Stilton, how did you come up with such an adorable perfect little child like Xiao-Yu?? You write him so well it really does seem like it’s a child talking!! @whereisyourcahier​

He’s partly based on a real baby I know. :P It might sound impossible, but he’s even cuter than Xiao-Yu is.

9. Thank you for doing this Q&A! Was Xiao Yu always part of the story? (Ilhim so much!!)

He was! I always wanted Wangxian to experience parenthood together, so Xiao-Yu’s entry was planned long before he actually appeared in the fic.

10. how did you deal with any writers block that came up?

By reading comments!! I have all of you to thank for that <3<3!!!!!!

11. What was the process for plotting each arc of tmaaf? & when did you decide on what the storyline was going to be? Did you know when you started or did you incorporate stuff as you wrote?

I hashed out the whole plot at once sometime last May, and that was when I laid down the rough storyline. The overall plot was finalized by the time chapter 18 went up, though I did add further details as I went along. In particular, the mini-arc of Wei Wuxian investigating the Yangshuo plague was mostly written on the fly.

12. how long have you been planning the wen qing lang xiyan reveal? has it been something set in stone from the start?

I’ve been planning it since last April, though the exact circumstances weren’t clear until around August or September. Originally, Jiang Cheng was going to ask “Lang Xiyan” to marry him after her mourning period was over, only for her to reveal herself as Wen Qing before accepting, but I soon realized that this wouldn’t fit either of their characters. Wen Ning recognizing her was the only way the reveal made sense (both emotionally and logically) so I had to find a reason to bring him to Yunmeng at exactly the right time.

13. I just want to ask two little things (well three). Where we will be able to read the wedding of baby Zizhen and A-Qing? Will there be Chengqing? And with the last question, if it's yes, will you write a one shot, drabble or something like that?? 🥺🥺🥺

I’m going to post a 51st chapter to TMAAF with the Zhenqing wedding as an epilogue, and Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing are married by then! Wen Qing will most likely be getting a fic of her own, focusing on the time between her revival and her engagement to Jiang Cheng.

14. I just finished reading your fic and let me tell you it's one of the best I have ever had the pleasure to read :) For someone who wants to start writing, how did you start the story? Did you wrote everything with a little scheme or you just leave your brain to work in the document?

I wasn’t planning to write fic for MDZS/CQL at all, and then I randomly ended up outlining, drafting, and posting the first chapter of TMAAF within the span of around two hours. When starting a story, I think it works best for me to just let my brain work in the document without worrying too much about how it might turn out--outlines and schemes tend to come later, after I’ve gotten a feel for how the characters act and laid down some dead-basic worldbuilding.

If you’re just starting out, make sure you’re having fun and that everything you write is as self-indulgent as possible! Enjoying the process is the most important thing, worrying about all the specifics can come later. <3

#wangxian #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #twelve moons and a fortnight #q&a #asks

[terramythos]

TerraMythos 2021 Reading Challenge - Book 19 of 26

Title: A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers #2) (2016)

Author: Becky Chambers

Genre/Tags: Science Fiction, Third-Person, Female Protagonists

Rating: 9/10

Date Began: 7/25/2021

Date Finished: 8/5/2021

“Lovelace” is an AI system aboard the Wayfarer, a wormhole tunneling ship. Following a critical error, she awakens as a fresh installation, overwriting the beloved version everyone knew and loved. Faced with a distraught crew, she accepts a strange offer: upload her consciousness to a humanlike “body kit” and live with an independent tech on Port Coriol. She renames herself Sidra and moves in with Pepper and her partner Blue. Despite their support, Sidra struggles to figure out who she really is, and the type of person she wants to be. To complicate matters, her existence as an AI in a body kit is strictly illegal… and discovery means certain death. 

Pepper has her own shaky past. Once “Jane 23”, a genetically engineered slave from a fringe colony, she escapes from a scrap processing factory. Amid the continent-spanning junk heap, she discovers a trapped, functional AI named Owl. Owl saves her life and teaches her about the galaxy beyond. As Jane struggles to survive in a harsh and desolate wasteland, she resolves to fix Owl’s broken ship and escape the planet together. But such a feat is easier said than done. 

“Just because someone goes away doesn’t mean you stop loving them.”

Content warnings and minor spoilers below the cut.  

Content warnings for the book: Slavery, child abuse, child death, animal death. Depictions of PTSD/panic attacks. Traumatic injury and severe malnutrition. Recreational drug use. 

I enjoyed A Closed and Common Orbit much more than The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. From what I understand, all the books in the Wayfarers series are standalones, but this one does have a direct connection to the previous story. It stars two minor characters from the last book— Pepper, a genetically engineered technician who escaped from slavery on a fringe colony, and Sidra (i.e. Lovelace), an AI installed in an illegal, humanlike body. While A Closed and Common Orbit can be read on its own, the last book is helpful for some context and worldbuilding.

Official descriptions for the book don’t do it justice. Common Orbit follows two narrative threads. There’s a “current” story that follows Sidra as she adjusts to her new body and learns how to be a person. This storyline doesn’t  contain much action, but there is some tension with Sidra hiding her true identity. With Pepper and her partner Blue’s help, Sidra gradually accepts/overcomes her unique abilities, challenges, and limitations. Sidra’s story functions as a scifi flavored coming-of-age story. It’s not all fluffy and heartwarming, containing realistic interpersonal conflicts and a rocky friendship with an Aeluon tattoo artist named Tak (who is awesome—a genderfluid character whose pronouns change throughout the book, and no one sees it as weird or a big deal. Hell yeah). I like seeing fictional friendships that take work to develop, but become genuine as both characters grow.

But in my opinion, the meat of the narrative lies in the “past” thread, which serves as Pepper’s origin story. It details her childhood as a slave called “Jane 23”, her escape into a continent-sized scrapyard, and her chance meeting with Owl, an abandoned AI trapped in a junk ship. Owl takes on the role of a parent and does her best to raise Jane. This story is excellent for many reasons. It’s a parallel coming-of-age story. Like Sidra, Jane learns to become a person, but hers are bleak circumstances; isolated from other humans, eking out an existence hunting feral dogs, and slowly patching up the shuttle. Jane struggles with PTSD and the grim reality of survival in a world that wants her dead. This culminates when she resolves to repair Owl’s ship and escape the planet. The simplistic, childish language in the early chapters gives way to more nuanced prose as Jane learns more about the galaxy. There’s a heavy focus on the close, familial relationship between her and Owl. As the story progresses, the reader naturally questions what happened to Owl, and why she’s absent in the Sidra storyline. Both stories converge in the third act to resolve this. 

One thing that’s really nice about parallel narratives is when they complement and add context to each other. It’s such a basic thing, but I love when writers do it well, and Chambers is no exception. Pepper’s “past” story provides the context for her motivation to help Sidra. Pepper sees AIs as fully sapient and deserving of the same rights, treatment, and dignity as any other person. Owl saved Pepper’s life and raised her because it was the right thing to do… so Pepper fulfills a similar role for Sidra. Another great detail is Pepper’s obsession with a children’s media franchise, Big Bug. Initially it comes of as geeky and a little silly. But when we see the reason for her attachment in the Jane storyline, it hits like a gutpunch. There’s lots of other similarities between the stories, but we’d be here all day if I went into them. 

In general, many of my complaints about the last book don’t apply to this one. I think fewer leads helps, as there is more focus on individual character arcs. To me, many of the characters in the last book felt tacked on, to the point I didn’t feel any investment in them. But here, the focus on Sidra and Pepper feels deeper and more intimate. I’m apprehensive about the next two books, as they both have broad ensemble casts. I hope they avoid the problems present in The Long Way, but I’ll be optimistic. Common Orbit also has lasting conflict and consequence, something severely lacking in the last book. It’s nice to see that characters who like each other and consider each other family still have arguments and conflicting motivations. This sounds basic, but again, it’s something the last book either didn’t convey or resolved right away. 

While I enjoyed this book, I have a few criticisms. Several key scenes are missing, to the story’s detriment. A big one is Owl’s “introduction” to Sidra’s storyline. As I mentioned earlier, it’s clear that Pepper’s motivation to help Sidra stems from her relationship with Owl. When Owl suddenly becomes relevant, it’s hand-waved that Pepper told Sidra about her at some point. Yet we never actually see Pepper do this. Considering the narrative setup between these characters, it seems like a huge missed opportunity to skip a critical scene that ties the three together. I also wanted to see more development with Blue; while I like him, he doesn’t have much narrative impact. He’s present in both stories but mostly serves as a passive, emotional support character. It would have been nice to see him take an active role at some point. 

I gave this book the benefit of the doubt, and it paid off. I have to say I’m impressed with the level of improvement between The Long Way and Common Orbit. While I am nervous to see what the last two books hold, I hope I like them. As mentioned, each book is a standalone story. I’m reading them in order, but from what I can tell, you can start with any of them. I certainly recommend this one!

#2021 reading challenge #9/10 #taylor reads

[johannas-motivational-insults]

Demons Plot Synopsis: Arc 1

Some chapters are more plot heavy and/or emotionally intricate than others and have much longer summaries, as I’ve tried to include the most relevant information to follow the plot and character/relationship growth.

Notable flashbacks are summarized in italics after the main chapter plot, including the character’s approximate age at the time. (The Horde doesn’t do birthdays, so they all change “age” at the same time regardless of actual birth date, but it’s not like Adora or Catra know their real birth dates anyway.)

Spoilers for Demons ahead!

Arc 1: chapters 1-6 (How Catra ends up locked up in Bright Moon)

Chapter 1: Unmasked (a.k.a. My mostly accurate prediction of Catra/SW’s season 2 dynamic)

Catra is woken by nightmares the morning after the Battle of Bright Moon and decides to visit their source: Shadow Weaver. She goes to the prison seeking validation and answers about why she was treated the way she was, but Shadow Weaver simply antagonizes her. She mocks Catra’s need for validation and her attachment to Adora, predicts she will fail quickly as second-in-command, and tells her she’s weak. Catra decides to show some strength by repaying some of her childhood abuse in the form of a beating.

Chapter 2: Shreds (a.k.a. Scorpia is best bug)

When the revenge beating fails to make Catra feel any better, she goes to the gym to release some energy and emotion. Scorpia finds Catra on the verge of a breakdown and suggests they move to the boxing ring, but unfortunately her attempts at camaraderie accidentally trigger some trauma responses. She tries to assure Catra that she would never hurt her like Adora did, but this only makes Catra feel worse as she realizes she’s using Scorpia and Entrapta and that she’s not the good person Adora thinks she is.

[6 y/o] Shadow Weaver draws out the prelude to a beating, blaming Catra for bringing this upon herself but assuring her too sweetly that it’s for her own good.

[4 y/o] A terrified Catra apologizes desperately to Shadow Weaver as she drags her to the prison by her ear, promising to be good. Shadow Weaver asks if she wants to be punished for lying as well, says there’s not a shred of goodness in her.

Chapter 3: (Not) My Fault (a.k.a. Adora, honey, please stop)

Meanwhile, Adora is in a great deal of pain after the scratches Catra gave her in the battle become badly infected. When Glimmer and Bow’s arguments that she needs to rest fail to convince her, Glimmer enlists the help of Queen Angella, who orders Adora back to her room. This causes a fight between Adora and Glimmer that turns nasty when Glimmer refers to Catra as an animal and Adora rebukes her language, which to Glimmer feels like Adora defending the person who attacked her home. Adora blames herself for the attack because Shadow Weaver always made her feel like Catra’s actions were her fault, and Glimmer and Bow try to convince her otherwise and urge her to prioritize herself for a change.

[15 y/o] Adora approaches Shadow Weaver about Catra’s strange, withdrawn behavior after she was sent away to train with senior cadets for several days and came back covered in bruises. Shadow Weaver says Catra deserves what she got and chides Adora for allowing Catra to become a distraction. Adora tries to get answers out of Catra, but Catra continues to hold her at a distance. Adora concludes that this is her fault because she kissed Catra in secret earlier that week and Catra must not be interested in her.

Chapter 4: Discipline (a.k.a. Ding dong, the witch is dead)

Back in the Fright Zone, Hordak attempts to bond with Catra and urges her to use her resentment to drive herself but to be disciplined in how she expresses it. Hordak sentences Shadow Weaver to death and sends Catra to the prison to collect her, prompting one final showdown between the two.

Shadow Weaver tells Catra this won’t make her feel any better and Catra assures her it isn’t about revenge, and if it was she’d be getting tortured. Shadow Weaver laughs at that assertion and tells Catra she only did what she needed to to teach her how to behave, and that Catra as second-in-command will soon have to do the same. Catra swears she will never be like her, but Shadow Weaver manages to make her snap and scratch her across the face. Catra storms out, faced with a new realization that Shadow Weaver manipulated her into pushing Adora away so Adora would believe Catra was disgusted by the kiss.

In the throne room, the Force Captains attend the execution and Hordak is disappointed by the fresh scratches on Shadow Weaver’s face. Catra is conflicted, torn between sympathy for Shadow Weaver and a thirst for revenge, but in the end Shadow Weaver’s death gives her no satisfaction, just as predicted.

[15 y/o] After finding out about the kiss, Shadow Weaver assaults Catra and threatens to send her away if she allows any more advances from Adora. It turns out Catra wasn’t training with senior cadets, as Adora was told, but locked up in the prison.

Chapter 5: Dislikeable (a.k.a. Superpal Trio fluff for the soul)

Days later, Catra continues to suffer from nightmares and seeks solace in the Superpal Trio. A careless remark by Scorpia and lack of tact from Entrapta cause her to lash out, but she apologizes to keep them on her side and appease her own guilt. They attempt to comfort Catra, which she pretends not to like, but end up overwhelming her with too much touch.

Scorpia interrogates Catra in private until she admits she’s restless because she knows now that there was a huge misunderstanding between her and Adora and thinks maybe if Adora had known how she’d felt she wouldn’t have left. Scorpia suggests Catra go to Bright Moon to tell Adora, clear the air and throw her off her game at the same time. Catra says that’s a dumb idea and teases Scorpia for her budding affections for Entrapta.

[9 y/o] Shadow Weaver grudgingly patches Catra up after a fight and berates her for causing trouble even though she didn’t start it. Shadow Weaver tells Catra she brings this upon herself by being so dislikeable and that even Adora doesn’t want to be friends with her, she just feels sorry for her.

Chapter 6: Vulnerability (a.k.a. Shit hits the fan)

Catra returns to Bright Moon the next night, a mere week after the battle. She attempts to sneak into the castle but is apprehended by Glimmer, who takes her to Adora because she thinks Adora needs closure. Adora convinces a reluctant Glimmer to leave her and Catra alone so they can talk. Catra reveals that Shadow Weaver is dead and Entrapta is alive, shocking Adora and sparking a fight about Adora’s betrayal in Thaymor and her failure to protect innocent people in the past, Catra in particular.

Catra is angered when Adora seems saddened by Shadow Weaver’s death, claiming Adora has no idea what Shadow Weaver did to her, and Adora agrees but says that’s Catra’s fault for never telling her. So Catra tells Adora what Shadow Weaver did to her after she kissed her and also admits she would have kissed Adora back if she could have. Adora is surprised Catra wanted her and Catra tells her what Shadow Weaver said before her death, that that was by design.

Adora tries to rightfully deflect blame for what happened to Catra back to Shadow Weaver, which pisses Catra off. She also reveals that she knew things were unfair but she felt powerless to stop it other than by overcompensating and sucking up to Shadow Weaver. Catra explains that that made her feel like Adora thought she deserved the abuse, which horrifies Adora. Catra accuses Adora of giving up on her after she defected and Adora realizes she might be right.

Catra realizes she’s reduced Adora to a puddle of guilt but doesn’t actually like it, so she attempts to comfort her. They share a mournful, desperate kiss that spirals out of control. They both lose their shirts, Catra quietly apologizing for the wounds on Adora’s back. To accommodate said wounds, Adora puts Catra on her back and starts lavishing her with kisses, but allowing such intimate touch from and ceding control to this person who hurt her sends Catra into a panic attack and she has to stop.

Glimmer teleports into the room just as they share another tender kiss, blinding them with a sparkle bomb so guards can rush in and arrest Catra. Glimmer defends her decision to Adora, saying she has to protect her kingdom. Adora tells Glimmer she’s selfish and a bad friend and threatens to never forgive her if any more harm comes to Catra. Glimmer says Catra probably deserved her past torture and Adora punches her in the face. Glimmer teleports away and Adora breaks down, realizing she’s hurt and alienated both her best friends.

#demons plot synopsis #spop #catradora #fanfic #demons #child abuse #writing #catra and shadow weaver #adora and shadow weaver #anti shadow weaver #some people shouldn't need an anti tag but here we are

[whatiwillsay]

late stage swiftgron - the folklore era - 1.0

this post will include all relevant and major activities between taylor and dianna since taylor announced folklore on the morning of July 23, 2020.

click here for a dianna’s spotify masterpost (we are only including the most loud spotify activities on this post but it’s all very interesting)

tagging @jennyboom21​, @goldenageofsomethingblue​, and @tayloragron​ to help me out if i miss something (and ofc all of you swiftgrons who help out with the blog, don’t hesitate to let me know if i miss something major)

JULY 23, 2020 

-  8 AM EASTERN - TAYLOR ANNOUNCES FOLKLORE TO COME OUT AT MIDNIGHT  

 -  THAT AFTERNOON - DIANNA UPLOADS A NEW PLAYLIST TO SPOTIFY ENTITLED I’LL BE AROUND, WITH ONE SONG ON IT - ‘I’LL BE AROUND’ BY FLOOR CRY:

-  DIANNA ALSO STREAMS THE SONG ‘I LOVE YOU SO’ BY THE WALTERS:

this song contains a very loud lyric that makes us believe ‘the 1′ is about dianna:

JULY 24, 2020 

-  MIDNIGHT - FOLKLORE COMES OUT

-  SOME TIME THAT AFTERNOON - DIANNA ATTENDS NAYA RIVERA’S FUNERAL IN LA

JULY 25, 2020

-  AFTERNOON - DIANNA TURNS OFF HER SPOTIFY LISTENING FOR THE REST OF THE DAY AND INTO THE NEXT DAY (WE THEORIZE TO LISTEN TO FOLKLORE)

-  DIANNA’S SOON TO BE EX HUSBAND, WINSTON MARSHALL, POSTS THIS SHADY ASS PIC TO INSTAGRAM WITH THE CARDIGAN LYRICS WHILE HE PLAYS A BOARD GAME WITH HIS BAND MATE

JULY 29, 2020

-  DIANNA POSTS A LOUDLY DOLLY BIRTHDAY POST FOR MOLLY’S BIRTHDAY

-  TAYLOR RELEASES THE “cabin in candlelight” VERSION OF CARDIGAN

JULY 30, 2020

-  DIANNA IS RATHER ACTIVE ON SPOTIFY INCLUDING A STREAM OF ‘HAPPY TOGETHER’ COVERED BY FLOOR CRY WHICH SEEMS TO BE A DOLLY SONG (there is a very cute video of them goofing around on a beach, pretending to make out, being very adorable and affectionate with each other - dianna posted it and specifically edited it to add the song happy together)

-  THE BLOG GETS AN ANON REMINDING US HOW DIANNA WOULD LISTEN TO PALE BLUE EYES BY THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AROUND THE TIME SWIFTGRON WAS BREAKING UP IN 2013, WE PUBLISH AND DISCUSS ON MAIN

AUGUST 4, 2020

-  DIANNA STREAMS PALE BLUE EYES BY VELVET UNDERGROUND ON HER PUBLIC SPOTIFY 5 DAYS WE DISCUSSED HER LISTENING TO THAT SONG IN 2013 HERE ON THE BLOG

-  TAYLOR IS SPOTTED IN CAPE COD

AUGUST 5, 2020

-  TAYLOR NO-HOMO’S BETTY ON COUNTRY RADIO

-  DIANNA STREAMS PALE BLUE EYES AGAIN

AUGUST 6, 2020

-  KEVIN TEASES SWIFTGRON ON SHOWMANCE AND TALKS ABOUT TAYLOR LOOKING FOR SOMEONE (LIKELY DIANNA) ON THE GLEE SET IN FEBRUARY OR MARCH 2014, POSSIBLY CONFIRMING THAT SWIFTGRON PINING WENT ON LONGER THAN WE EARLIER THOUGHT

-  TAYLOR IS SPOTTED BRIEFLY IN LA WITH JOE

AUGUST 8, 2020

-  DIANNA IS CONFIRMED TO BE BACK IN NYC

AUGUST 9, 2020

-  DIANNA TRULY SNAPS, CRAVES WET PUSSY ON MAIN IN THE PLATFORM PRESENTS EDWARD SNOWDEN SKIT.  WE LIKE TO PRETEND THAT SHE DID THIS TO MAKE UP FOR TAYLOR’S NO-HOMO OF BETTY

AUGUST 15, 2020

-  BOTH OUR GIRLS POST TO SOCIAL MEDIA ABOUT SUPPORTING THE USPS WITHIN THE SAME HOUR

-  DIANNA IS ON A FRIEND’S SOCIAL MEDIA IN CONNECTICUT

AUGUST 18, 2020

-  THE LAKES (WHICH IS A SONG ABOUT TAYLOR WAITING FOR HER MUSE) AND THE DELUXE VERSION OF FOLKLORE COMES OUT

-  TAYLOR DISCUSSES THE MEANING BEHIND EXILE ON RADIO

AUGUST 19, 2020

-  DIANNA’S DIVORCE IS ANNOUNCED AROUND 8 AM EASTERN TIME

AUGUST 20, 2020

-  ESCAPISM FOLKLORE CHAPTER RELEASED

AUGUST 21, 2020

-  DIANNA IS SPOTTED IN NYC WITH HER HAIR CUT AND FRESHLY DYED

-  DIANNA GAY RUMORS SWIRL AS WELL AS HER CONNECTION TO TAYLOR, IT ALL SEEMS TO BE PICKING UP STEAM,  THE BLOG PREDICTS A JOE x TAYLOR STUNT

-  DIANNA’S WIKIPEDIA PAGE IS EDITED, A MORE FEMININE PICTURE IS MADE HER MAIN PICTURE, SEVERAL PEOPLE ARE EDITING HER PERSONAL LIFE SECTION.  SWIFTGRON RUMORS ARE ADDED TO IT:

IT APPEARS AS THOUGH A USER GOING BY KINGSIF MAKES THESE EDITS:

AUGUST *22*, 2020

-  IT IS ONE OF DIANNA’S GOOD FRIEND’S, SELBY’S BIRTHDAY.  SELBY (WHO WAS AT THE FUN CONCERT IN FALL 2013) POSTS TO INSTAGRAM WITH BOTH MTR AND WILDEST DREAMS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND.  DIANNA DOES NOT PUBLICLY WISH HER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY (tho she didn’t post for selby’s birthday last year, however she didn’t like molly’s selby birthday dedication and she usually does comment on posts molly has made for selby’s birthday or like it or both in the past, she also didn’t comment on or like tracy dubb’s selby birthday post) 

AUGUST 23, 2020

-  SLEEPLESS NIGHTS FOLKLORE CHAPTER RELEASED

AUGUST 24, 2020

-  DIANNA IS IN CHILMARK, MA AT A LAKE WITH FRIENDS (it’s probably a coincidence but this location is not too far a drive or ferry ride from taylor’s place - about an hour)

AUGUST 25, 2020

-  DIANNA IS HAPPY AND FRESH AND CUTE ON THE SHIVA BABY LIVE STREAM

AUGUST 26, 2020

-  SALTBOX FOLKLORE CHAPTER RELEASE

-  THE BLOG POSTS THE SPOTIFY SINCE FOLKLORE MASTERPOST

-  A FEW HOURS LATER SPOTIFY GLITCHES AND/OR DIANNA GOES PRIVATE ON SPOTIFY, IT IS HARD TO TELL WHICH HAPPENED OR IF BOTH THINGS HAPPENED.  SHE DOESN’T STREAM AGAIN UNTIL 9/2/2020

-  DIANNA IS PAPPED IN NYC CARRYING A BOOK DESCRIBED AS RAUNCHY AND QUEER LMAO

-  DIANNA SHOWS UP IN INSTAGRAM STORIES OF SOMEONE WEARING A MASK AND A DETROIT BLOWS SHIRT

AUGUST 28, 2020

-  DIANNA SHOWS UP IN A DOG’S INSTAGRAM POSTS, RARE BTS FOOTAGE OF HER IN HER AMAZING ROMEO DRAG FOR HER ROMEO AND JULIET PHOTOSHOOT FROM 2019

-  TAYLOR NATION POSTS A PICTURE OF TAYLOR WITH WINE FROM THE FOLKLORE LIVE CHAT THAT TOOK PLACE THE EVENING OF THE 23RD RIGHT BEFORE FOLKLORE DROPPED TO CELEBRATE NATIONAL *RED* WINE DAY

AUGUST 29, 2020

- DIANNA’S INVOLVEMENT IN A PLAY OR FILM ADAPTATION OF A TALE OF TWO CITIES GOES PUBLIC ON INSABELLA MACPHERSON’S INSTAGRAM.  THE QUOTE REFERENCED IS, “IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES IT WAS THE WORST OF TIMES”

-  THE OSSA YOUTUBE CHANNEL SNAPS AND SENDS SWIFTGRON MAINSTREAM SHOWING THAT NO, THEY’RE NOT OVER SWIFTGRON SO WHY SHOULD WE BE OVER IT?  THEY ADD SWIFTGRON RUMORS TO A VIDEO TALKING ABOUT WHO ALL THE GLEE CAST HAS DATED.

as of 9-4-2020 9 am central this video now has 115 k views:

AUGUST 30, 2020

-  DIANNA’S OLD BOSS RYAN MURPHY FOLLOWS TAYLOR ON INSTAGRAM, MAKING HER THE 13TH PERSON HE FOLLOWS (we speculate that taylor’s music will be featured on his upcoming movie, the prom)

-  TAYLOR WINS VMA FOR BEST DIRECTION FOR THE MAN, SHE GIVES A DIGITAL ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AND ENDS IT WITH A TENDER “I HOPE I GET TO SEE YOU SOON.”

AUGUST 31, 2020

-  THE BLOG REQUESTS DIANNA TO COME BACK TO SPOTIFY:

SEPTEMBER 2, 2020

-  DIANNA COMES BACK TO SPOTIFY WITH TWO VERY INTERESTING PLAYLISTS (songs that seem to specifically and blatantly reference taylor’s lyrics)

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

-  DIANNA PAPPED IN NYC OUT BOOK SHOPPING 

SEPTEMBER 4, 2020

-  CAM SNAPS AND DECIDES TO CELEBRATE THE FAIRFAX FLEA MARKET ANNIVERSARY BY MAKING THIS MASTERPOST. HAPPY SWIFTGRONTEMBER.

what does it all mean?

as you all know, this blog does not think swiftgron is together (other than being friendly and on cordial or even close terms)  however we do think swiftgron is being referenced by kevin, her wikipedia, and that news video as part of a narrative.  we are not entirely sure what that narrative is but we have two very specific ideas.  if you hang around the blog or discord you probably know what our two theories are.  we are not comfortable blogging them publicly right now.

the usps post coordination is very loud to us as well along with the outside sources commenting on swiftgron.

it is not just our small circle of delulu 2020 swiftgrons that notice something going on with the girls.  they are referencing each other and seem to be circling one another and normal people are taking note.

i probably missed a lot so please ping me if i did (esp about taylor, we don’t track her as closely as we do dianna, we’re going to start though) and please read over this post with big swiftgron intelligence agency eyes 👀👀👀!  if there are connections and “coincidences” that stand out to you anon the blog or comment please!

and that’s what you missed on swiftgron

#timeline #late stage swiftgron #swiftgron folklore era 1.0 #spotify #magick #swiftgron #gaylor swift

[tsukiyadori]

Kimi ni wa Todokanai (I Cannot Reach you) Prototype Chapter 1 Manga Translation

Kimi ni wa Todokanai or I Cannot Reach You as published by YenPress in English territories started off as a manga short and then a mini-series next to a whole bunch of illustrations, 4-koma strips and scribbles on Twitter 2018, before they became the base of the officially serialized version starting later the same year.

There are 8 prototype chapters which very roughly align up to chapter 11 in volume 2 of the official version. The official version vastly expands the material and later on there are also more considerable changes than just the expansion.

The Twitter material can still be found on Mika-sensei's Twitter account https://twitter.com/mika_nist as well as bulk collected on pixiv: https://www.pixiv.net/en/users/21119667

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

Chapter 1:

Pixiv: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/69350711 Twitter: https://twitter.com/mika_nist/status/984770611292471297

Note: Several lines of this chapter are identical to the serialized official version (and thus the English publication). I have read the Japanese versions before reading the official English translation, but this translation has been made afterwards. I still made them on my own (and with no heed to editing relevant things such as bubble adequate shortness), so there will be differences in phrasings. (Note 2: There are also several lines that are indeed not identical to the serialized official version, hence not all differences are due to my choice of words.)

Title Page:

Kimi ni wa Todokanai (I Cannot Reach You) @mika_nist

Page 1: Sign: Yamato Yamato: Erm, in this case you first use the cosinus rule to the the value of one angle... Sign: Kakeru Kakeru: Yamato What's the cosinus rule again?

Yamato: ... You just used that one.

Kakeru (narrative): Yamato and I are childhood friends

Text line: Kimi ni wa Todokanai (I Cannot Reach You)

Page 2:

Kakeru (narrative): Yamato has good grades and his outer appearance is, as you can see, quite cool (I think)

Just, if there was anything scratching on his flawlessness it would be his always surly looking face and that he hasn't got much of any friends beyond me. Talking grades I'm even below average and my physics are also very ordinary. The same goes for my outer looks. No matter how much the childhood friends card may be Yamato is a good guy to still hang out with someone on such a different level.

Yamato: Now use the sinus rule for the radius of the circumscribed circle... Kakeru: Sinus rule? The one from before? Yamato: That was the cosinus rule

Kakeru (narrative): By the way, he's helping me out on my make up extra class right now.

Kakeru: Even though it would do him good to get some more friends... That's to say, if he wanted he could have any number of friends or girlfriends...

Yamato: Are you listening?

Kakeru: Ah!

sfx: Hmmm

Page 3:

Kakeru: That reminds me, is it true that Fujiwara from Class 4 confessed to you? Yamato: Kakeru, you're in the middle of an extra class? Kakeru: Ah, yes... Yamato: Is that of relevance right now? Kakeru: Ah... I'm sorry...

Kakeru: Well, true, it isn't any of my business.... Yamato: I turned her down. I haven't even talked to her before. Kakeru: Ah, I see...

EH?! Why?! Fujiwara is a beautiful girl, what a waste! Yamato: Would you date somebody just because of a good face? Also, you miscalculated here. Kakeru: Eeh, ah, sorry...

Page 4:

Kakeru: I see... But when I thought that somebody other than me understood your good points I was pretty happy as your childhood friend Yamato: ..... There is already you there Kakeru.

Kakeru: Oh no, after all things said and done, I'm just a childhood friend As far as I am concerned, I'd like you make more friends or get a girlfriend or something after all.

That's why I want to help you out, so...

I was wondering do you have somebody you like?

Page 5:

Kakeru: ... Ah

S-sorry, I don't mean you to tell me if you don't want to.

No matter how much we are childhood friends that doesn't mean you have to talk about things like these! It's just that you never talked about these things before, so I got a bit curious... Well, more importantly, back to the extra class...

Yamato: ... Kakeru Page 6:

Kakeru: ....... sfx: ?

.... ... yes?

What is it?

Page 7:

Yamato: .... Kakeru sfx: slump

Kakeru: Aye? sfx: ?

Yamato: ... Kakeru Kakeru: Y-Yeah? Yamato: ...Ka... Kakeru Kakeru: Like I said, what is it? sfx: ? ? ? ?

Yamato: ... Kakeru... Kakeru: And. I'm. Asking. What is it? What's wrong all of sudden with you, Yamato?

Yamato: ....... .....

Page 8:

Sorry, I need to go to my part time job now. So I'm leaving before you. sfx: clatter Kakeru: Ohh, it's already this late? Thank for today! See you tommorow~

sfx: thud thud thud

Yamato: ..... That's how it works out, does it... sfx: sigh

sfx: scribble scribble scribble scribble scribble scribble...

Kakeru: .... sfx: shake shake shake Th--

Page 9:

That gave me a start...!!! sfx: ?! ?! ?!

T-t-t-t-that guy!!! Saying things so misleadingly...!!

For a moment I totally got the wrong idea...!! I'll give him a punch...!!

No, no, no, no, no way, no way, no way, no way, out of the question

This is about Yamato, so that's absolutely impossible!!

.......

It can't be...

The End

Post Chapter Scribble:

https://twitter.com/mika_nist/status/986902521712029696

Tweet Text: I haven't really thought about a continuation, so this is not a really thought out picture (I'm sorry...)

Image:

Kakeru: Yamato, What's wrong? sfx: pat pat Yamato: .............. Sign: Happy

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

Trivia: When Yamato talks about the cosinus and sinus rules he uses their proper kanji. When Kakeru is mentioning them they are written in hiragana. The effect is roughly how a child would repeat some phonetics of a difficult word an adult uses without having any clue what it means.

Translation time: 95 minutes (incl. 20 for proofreading typos/ formatting brush up)

#manga #translation #english translation #kimi ni wa todokanai #i cannot reach you #mika

[the-lincyclopedia]

Fic Questions

I’m pretending I got tagged by @doggernaut. Thanks for the open call!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 

132, babey. 

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 

338,778 words. 

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

According to FFN (I’ve been there a heck of a lot longer than I’ve been on AO3), I’ve written for 23 fandoms: Artemis Fowl, Hoot, Harry Potter, Maximum Ride, the Odyssey, Protector of the Small Quartet, Song of the Lioness, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Sherlock, Discworld, Downton Abbey, Legally Blonde, Pride and Prejudice, Carry On, Paper Towns, Turtles All the Way Down, Yuri!!! on Ice, Maleficent, Six of Crows, Trials of Apollo series, Good Omens, Check, Please!, and Chronicles of Narnia. 

4. What are your top five fics by kudos? 

Love in the Time of Influenza (Carry On)

Face the Future with You (Check Please)

Nightmares (Carry On)

The Aftermath of Angelic Assumptions (Good Omens)

Christmas Planning (Carry On)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? 

Yes, almost always. Less so if it’s just a smiley face or a single word, but almost always if it’s longer than that. 

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? 

I don’t think I’ve ever written an ending with zero hope, but I have a few ones on the grim side. It’s probably a tie between “A Few Things, Maybe Several Things,” a genderbent Check Please fic where Jacqueline Zimmermann is recovering from an eating disorder and fighting with her parents, and “You’ve Saved Me from Another World,” a Narnia fic about Susan not returning to Narnia. 

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the wildest one you’ve written?

So, my most popular fic ever was a crossover of Harry Potter and Sherlock in which Remus Lupin and John Watson were the same person. It’s called “The Jumper Chronicles” and it’s only on FFN. (Fair warnings: I wrote it in high school and then abandoned it, so it’s both awful and unfinished.) Other than that, I’ve got a Check Please/Lizzie Bennet Diaries crossover called “A Little Help” where Bitty and Lizzie meet at VidCon and become close friends, a Check Please/Carry On crossover called “Checking You Out” where Holster and Baz work on an econ project together and Holster encourages Baz to ask Simon out, and a Check Please/Harry Potter crossover called “You Won’t Grow Out of It; You Will Find Clothes That Fit” where Ginny and Lardo are roommates and both realize they’re nonbinary.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

I once received 17 consecutive hate comments from the same person on one of my multi-chapters over the course of two days. It was awful. Like, I got pretty used to one-off flames and concrit when I was on FFN, and I rolled with that pretty well, but I have no idea why someone would read 17 chapters of a fic they hate and then tell the author how much they hate it 17 times. 

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

Not really. I’ve written a bit of grinding once or twice, but never actual sex. 

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 

Not to my knowledge. I can name at least three spinoffs of my fics, though. That’s always gratifying. 

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don’t think so. 

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 

Not officially, but I’ve had friends help me figure out what happens next in my fics and/or give me ideas and prompts, so there are definitely fics I couldn’t have written entirely independently. 

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship? 

All-time? Don’t put that kind of pressure on me! I feel like the ship I’m least likely to ever stop loving is Elizabeth Bennet/Darcy, but I’ve never been as obsessed with them as I’ve gotten with some of my other ships. 

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? 

I feel like there’s a decent chance I’ll finish the WIPs I’m invested in, or I’ll stop being invested in the ones I don’t finish. Although I do currently have a Nurseydex fic that might never see the light of day . . .

15. What are your writing strengths? 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again: perseverance. I’ve averaged a fic every two weeks for the past two years, and I also write original stuff. I don’t know that I’m particularly stellar at any individual aspect of writing, though I’m at least okay at several things. I really do think that my main strength is just that I keep writing. 

16. What are your writing weaknesses? 

Too few sensory details, too many logistical details, and no consistent ability to predict human behavior. Pretty sure all of this is my autism coming through. 

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? 

I try to avoid it, especially when I don’t speak the relevant languages. I used to do it and it didn’t work out well. I will say that I’ve tried writing entire fics in both Swedish and Spanish before. They were bad, partly because that was like eight years ago and partly because I’m not 100% fluent in either of those languages, but like. I have given it a shot. (I’d love to write more stuff about Louis being Swedish, one day, and that might involve some Swedish dialogue, but I’m pretty confident in my own translation abilities there.)

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for? 

So, I got an FFN account in 2011 and immediately posted stuff for Artemis Fowl, Hoot, Harry Potter, and Maximum Ride, but the first time I wrote fanfiction was back in fifth grade, when my teacher read us Time for Andrew by Mary Downing Hahn and I was so unsatisfied with the ending that I decided to write a sequel. I worked on the sequel for over a year and it wound up being probably about 30k (typed, 1.5 spacing, 12-point font, it was like 90 pages). 

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written? 

Probably my 2020 Fandom Trumps Hate fic, “Man Oh Man, You’re My Best Friend.” It was my first (only?) attempt at the fake dating trope and I had a blast writing it, and I feel like I ticked my own boxes when it comes to insecure characters receiving love.

I tag @weneedtotalkaboutfic @ivecarvedawoodenheart @shitty-check-please-aus @birlcholtz @cricketnationrise @khashanakalashtar and anyone else who wants to play! (I can feel myself forgetting people and I’m pre-emptively sorry!)

#mine #my writing #about me #fanfiction #tag game