#overall i very much enjoyed doing things in a less structured way and working in some more abstract elements! hope u enjoy it as well ❤

[juyeonszn]

I LOOK BETTER UNDER YOU

PAIRING choi chanhee x f!reader

WORD COUNT 2.62k

GENRES smut

WARNINGS 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT, mature language, TW: LEWIS STRUCTURES/CHEMISTRY TERMS 🤢🤢🤢, academic rivals to something idk, kev and jichang appearances, chanhee is a cocky little shit, vaginal fingering, edging, exhibitionism lowkey, there’s not p in v action but they are in a public space so…. take with that what u will

SUMMARY aside from excelling at literally everything else, choi chanhee was also really fucking good at getting on your last nerve.

MORE my brain hurts LOL anyway fawntober day???? 7 holy fuck that is actually insane… ANYWAY shout out reese for being my beta as always <3 and also shout out @sungbeam for the idea <3 laurv u bestie!!! pls reblog if u enjoyed :)

PERM TAGLIST @winterchimez @maessseongs @itsbeeble @zzoguri

You felt stupid. Never in your life had you ever struggled to learn a concept, usually understanding on the first go around. This was the case for a majority of your courses. However, for some reason you just couldn’t quite grasp Lewis Structures in your Chemistry class.

Everything else seemed simple enough, your professor explaining them in a way that made them sound easy. They were anything but. You found yourself stressing over whether or not you could fully comprehend the bonds between atoms in time for your midterm. With the way it was going for you, that hope appeared to get less and less realistic.

“Have you thought about going to tutoring?” Your friend, Kevin, asks as you sit across from each other in one of the library’s study rooms, your chemistry textbook opened up to the section on Lewis Structures.

“I mean, no, I haven’t. I just think they’d judge me, considering I have the second highest GPA in our department.” You huff, scribbling down even more notes on the concept, as if you didn’t already have everything you needed to know. God, being a woman in STEM was so hard.

“That’s your problem,” Kevin rolls his eyes, working on his communications homework simultaneously. “Your ego is too damn big. Maybe if you toned it down a notch and set aside your pride, you’d be able to grow the balls to actually ask for help.”

You’re offended, honestly. Because as much as he was right, he was simultaneously very wrong. It wasn’t that you didn’t have the courage to ask for assistance. It was the fact that your biggest rival was the person in charge of the science department’s tutoring lab. He had the highest GPA in your year and you couldn’t stand the thought of losing to him. Let alone showing your weak side.

Aside from excelling at literally everything else, Choi Chanhee was also really fucking good at getting on your last nerve. You were thankful that he wasn’t in your Chemistry lecture, lest he made fun of you for all the questions you asked pertaining to your struggles. He had a knack for crawling under your skin like a goddamn parasite, doing everything in his power to make sure you never felt a moment of peace as long as he was around.

You hated him. You hated him so much for all of the unnecessary competition and constant need to one-up you in every mutual category possible. You hated his overall overachievement to be better than you, to be above you at all costs. You hated his dumb pretty face.

So how could you turn to tutoring after all of that? It just wasn’t feasible. Kevin wouldn’t get it. He didn’t have an arch nemesis holding him back from success.

“That’s not it at all, Kev. But it’s whatever, I’ll figure this shit out myself.”

You could not figure that shit out by yourself. Midterms were a week and a half away, and you were still ripping your hair out over which structures were more dominant and other things of that nature. This was absolutely humiliating. Perhaps growing up as a gifted kid was the worst thing that could’ve happened to you.

With a frown permanently etched on your face, you glance over at your tablemate’s notes. He had messily scrawled examples of those damn Lewis Structures covering the sheet, eyes flickering back and forth between his notebook and the projector at the front of the lecture hall. Oh how badly you wished to be in his shoes, to decipher everything and anything to do with the dot structures presented to you.

Ji Changmin was by no means a genius. His intelligence levels were above average, but that was still below you. How could he understand this better than you? It made no sense. Then again, he was close friends with He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. That had to be the reason why. His friend was practically the Einstein reincarnate.

This meant that you couldn’t even express your difficulties with him either. Chanhee no doubtedly knew that you sat beside his friend. If you asked for his help, it would obviously circle back to him and you’d never hear the end of it. You’d never unhear the taunting voice of Choi Chanhee teasing you for asking Ji Changmin for assistance with fucking Lewis Structures. There really was no winning here.

As the lecture draws to a close and your professor reminds you to study for the fast approaching midterm, Changmin clears his throat beside you with a raised eyebrow. You look at him with thinly concealed surprise. So much for being subtle.

“I saw you looking at my notes,” he snorts. “You know, if you’re having a hard time with this chapter, you should just go to the tutoring lab. I’m assuming you haven’t because Chanhee hasn’t gloated about it yet. But if you were curious, he won’t be there today. He has to go to some meeting for the newspaper. You know that guy’s got like ten different clubs he’s a part of.”

You’re not sure why Ji Changmin would be on your side with this. In fact, it kind of makes you skeptical. You didn’t know how credible he was, so why would you trust this information? For all you knew, he could’ve been attempting to lure you right into a trap. However, despite the bit of laughter he exhibited, he didn’t appear to be lying. You were usually a pretty good judge of character.

That’s how you found yourself showing up to the tutoring lab later that evening.

It was located inside of the STEM building on the fourth floor, along with some of the offices belonging to several professors. You chose to go later at night with the knowledge that most students would be gone by that time. The lab was available for use until 9 PM on weekdays, and it was currently 8 PM.

Your grip on the strap of your bag tightens as you push open the see-through glass door of the lab, grateful for the evident emptiness. Though it also worries you, because there were no tutors around either. Maybe the slowness of a Thursday evening encouraged them to head home early. You decide to wait a few minutes anyway, just in case someone shows up.

That was, unfortunately, a very big mistake. As you’re pulling out your notes and textbook, you hear the low creak of the door opening. You think you might keel over and die when you’re suddenly face to face with The Choi Chanhee.

His lips curl up almost menacingly, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well well well, look what the cat dragged in.”

“Shut the fuck up,” your teeth grit together. “Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting or something? Why are you here?”

“Ended early,” he shrugs. “The tutors have a habit of leaving prematurely when I’m not around, so I wanted to see if there was anyone here. Guess it’s my lucky day, huh?”

This dude was a walking headache for real. You were seriously going to walk out of the lab with a migraine if he kept talking like he was so fucking smart. He was, but he didn’t need to know that you thought that. His own ego was large enough without you inflating it even more.

“I’m going home.” You state simply, mouth drawn in a straight line. You didn’t have the patience for his aggravating ass tonight.

“Am I really that horrible that you won’t accept my aid? I heard that you’ve been having problems with Lewis Structures. I may like to joke around, but I’m not really a masochist who likes to watch people suffer,” Chanhee chuckles with a shake of his head. “You’re just so easy to rile up.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” you mutter, avoiding his piercing gaze. “But fine. If you’re actually gonna help me, I’ll let you just this once. I can’t afford to have this cost me a perfect midterm grade.”

He grins, something that looks conniving. You hate how much more attractive it makes him. You were thankful again for the fact that there were no other students present. It was embarrassing enough to be seen being civil with the worst person in the world.

Chanhee takes the seat beside you, turning it so he’s facing you. You keep your body squared to the table, flipping your textbook to the page on Lewis Structures and preparing a fresh sheet in your notebook. You feel your cheeks warm up with the attention on you, his arms still folded in front of him.

“S-So I don’t get the— um— I don’t— uh— I don’t understand the dominant— the dominant bonds,” your eyes squeeze shut, mortified by the amount of stuttering and fumbling over your words. “How do you— um— how do you determine them?”

He smiles at how cute you are, a shy side of you he’s never seen before. He was so used to you constantly arguing with him, used to you standing your ground and competing with him even when you knew he’d come out on top. He places an arm on the back of your chair, leaning in to read what was in your textbook although he didn’t need to. He just wanted an excuse to get closer to you.

“So you’re gonna want your formal charge to be as close to zero as possible. In order to calculate that, you’ll have to subtract the number of bonds divided by two and the number of electron pairs from the total number of valence electrons per individual atom,” Chanhee explains, pointing at the formula on the page. “How about I give you a couple examples to work on?”

You nod slowly, afraid your voice might betray you again. He jots down a few molecular examples on your notebook, pausing for a moment to nip at his lip and examine you. You blink, a little confused by the action.

“What are you doing?” There’s a slight crack in your tone.

“I have an idea,” he licks his lips. “To make this more rewarding for us both.”

Your brows furrow, his response further perplexing you. One of his hands situates itself on your thigh, your eyes widening. Of all days to wear a skirt, why did you have to choose today? You glance between his face and his hand, lips parted.

“Ch-Chanhee?”

“Yes, pretty?”

You don’t know why the nickname has your upper and lower heartbeats skipping, sweat forming on your palms. You’d always been too preoccupied despising him for being so much better at everything than you were. But right now, his fingers creeping beneath the denim of your skirt, all of that seemed to fly out of the window. You gasp as his fingertips reach the lace of your panties.

“I can make you feel good,” he says into your ear, thumb massaging your thigh. “I can make this worth your while if you do well for me.”

He was giving you fucking whiplash. One second he was teasing you for coming to the tutoring lab, and the next he was trying to coax you into coming quite literally. You think you’re the insane one, however, because you can’t conjure a logical reason to say no.

“Okay,” you breathe, shakily picking up your mechanical pencil. “Okay, I’ll do my best.”

You begin to work on the first molecule he wrote out, trying to ignore his slender fingers pushing aside your underwear and rubbing your clit gently. Your bottom lip quivers when his lips make contact with your neck, kissing up and down softly with each circle of his phalanges on your sensitive bundle of nerves.

Chanhee presses two fingers inside of your cunt, smiling against your skin when you whimper, nearly dropping your pencil. You fight back tears threatening to spill from your eyes due to lack of reaction, his digits so skilled at working your pussy and looping that knot in your abdomen. Your legs spread wider as you attempt to finish the first example as quickly as possible, so he can knock you over that edge that seems so close now.

“D-Done,” you shiver, lids almost fluttering shut from pure bliss.

Chanhee judges your answer, fingers halting their movements when he recognizes an error. You whine, that taste of sweet release pulled right from under you like a rug. He tsks, kissing your temple as if he hadn’t just denied you an orgasm.

“That’s not the dominant structure. Try again.” He instructs, not continuing until you’ve picked up the pencil and rewrote the Lewis Structure.

You ignore his palm applying pressure to your clit as his fingers thrust in and out of your drooling cunt, lips sucking at the exposed base of your neck, where it meets your shoulder. Your focus zeroes in on completing this structure correctly, rearranging the electron bonds until they’re right. You feel your climax returning when he praises you for getting it this time.

“Such a smart girl,” he murmurs into your collarbone. “Now do the other one.”

He doesn’t stop his assault, increasing the pace of his fingers while you scribble out numbers and draw electron pairs. Your orgasm inches towards you, like a freight train going at full speed. Chanhee curls his middle finger, tripping you up and causing you to write down a wrong number on accident. Ever the perceptive, he relaxes his wrist and retracts his hand, the band in your stomach loosening along with it.

“Please, Chanhee,” you cry, tears beginning to roll down your cheeks. “Need to cum so bad.”

“Mm-mm,” he scolds. “Not until you finish the structure properly. C’mon, I know you can be a good girl for me.”

You force yourself to persevere, bottom lip between your teeth when he slips his fingers back into your pussy. Pretending like you weren’t on the cusp of euphoria was making you dizzy, but it was necessary if you wanted to reach it completely. You couldn’t handle a third denial.

Chanhee speeds up his fingers, adding his thumb on your clit for extra stimulation. It was like he did enjoy watching you suffer. Perhaps he really was a masochist. You scrawl the last electron bond of the structure, releasing the pencil from your grasp and throwing your head back with a low whine. He hums in appreciation at a job well done.

“Oh my god,” you moan softly, looking down at where his hand disappears in your skirt. “Feels s-so good.”

“Yeah?” Chanhee goads, peppering kisses on your jaw and nibbling at your pulse point. “Ready to cum for me, pretty? Gonna cum all over my fingers?”

You can’t even reply, his cocky voice filling your head as he finally permits your orgasm, walls convulsing and clenching around his digits with a wail. It hasn’t even occurred to you that you’re in a very public, very open space, where anyone could walk in at any given moment. Your brain is too foggy from your overstimulated cunt and the comprehension that Choi Chanhee just fucking fingered you to even consider the consequences of the location.

It only takes a few seconds for you to come to, your body catching up with your head. You look at Chanhee with eyes resembling those of a prey cornered by its predator.

“Why is your hand still inside my skirt?”

“‘S warm down there,” he shrugs with a sly smile. “Besides, I’m not really done with you yet.”

“What are you talking about…?” You trail off, throat dry from how winded this guy was making you.

“You still need some practice before your midterm, no? And I kinda wanna see how pretty you look under me.”

© juyeonszn. do not steal, claim, or repost.

#the boyz #the boyz x reader #the boyz smut #tbz #tbz x reader #tbz smut #the boyz chanhee #the boyz new #tbz chanhee #tbz new #choi chanhee x reader #choi chanhee smut #chanhee x reader #chanhee smut #juyeonszn #fawntober.2023🎃

[official-darkforest]

i am SOOO unbelievably thrilled by your anthro au omg. do you have fashion ideas for the characters? like their favorite outfits, fabrics, etc? imo one of the best parts of anthro characters is deciding how they'd express themselves through their clothing :]

I HAVE A FEW ALREADY!!!! i dont have many specifics because theres so many characters ahd i havent drawn them all yet LOL but i'll share the ones i do have at least SOMETHING for

im also trying to keep these reasonable for the time period and location, as in my au the clan cats are mostly rural and in small towns set (mostly) before the 2000s so most may dress more modest and conservative (especially if theyre older and very religious)

squirrelflight - the best i can describe her sense of fashion is that it ranged from tomboy as a younger girl and is currently closer to a working class butch. im not sure if masc would be a more appropriate term since i dont hc her as a lesbian (shes bi) but she dresses "like a man" and owns a lot of jeans, slacks, and button-up shirts of all kinds of fabrics and patterns. she also enjoys bright colors as well, but as she got older her fashuon sense got a little more sensible and less "loud" like it was in the 60s and 70s. she also has glasses like her daddy once shes like 35 or so. she and firestar dressed very similarly, and a lot of her shirts and neckties are things she stole from his closet

feathertail - very feminine. hippie adjacent, lots of loose and flowing garments and jingly pieces. breatheable clothes and open toed shoes. her favorite swimsuit had some little frilly bits on it i think. often combines neutral earthy tones with blues and whites

crowfeather - lots of handmedowns from his father. clothes you can do farmwork in like jeans, overalls, hardy flannel/denim shirts and boots. never grew out of this and still dresses this way and he likes it

jayfeather - he looks like a modernized (as far as the 80s goes) version of his father - same hairstyle snd way of dress. he isnt too formal but does have some more preppiness to his clothing style (polo shirts and sweaters). he avoids full button downs since buttoning them himself jjust gets frustrating since he cant match them up every time. new wave band shirts. he also wears orange tinted glasses to protect his eyes (in this au i wrote that hes able to perceive shadows and light pretty okay, but not much else beyond that) And Kinda As A Fashion Statement cuz it goes well with his facial structure and hairstyle i think

lionblaze - hes like if the stereotypical jock and stereotypical 80s rock+metal enthusiast had a baby. muscle tees and bandanas, ripped jeans, those absurdly short shorts, crop tops, etc. he's a drummer i think if that matters LOL

ivypool - punk, also sorta like joan jett to an extent. very homemade, tho sometimes she gets lazy and doesnt really commit to the outfits all the way (but definitely has the mindset, dint get me wrong). one of those girls with a chest small enough to go braless 99% of the time; wears a lot of tank tops and sleeveless shirts LOL

bone/brick/scourge - just google "the outsiders movie" or "greaser" and you'll get the idea. tho i imagine these three in particular also have some kind of bare minimum formalwear scraped together from their escapades. theyre kinda like the jetts/sharks from west side story if that helps at all

daisy - she combines flowing, pretty dresses with a sunhat and work boots. she also teaches horseback riding and owns a few (its a business she runs w smokey and floss. i think its be funny if they were polyam ITS MY AU I CAN CHANGE WHAT I WANT) and she has horseback-appropriate clothing as well

poppyfrost - THEE preppy girl of the 80s. big hair, perm and all. dresses with pastel colors. her sisters cinderheart and honeyfern are pretty similar, tho i imagine honeyfern is a little more sporty and cinderheart takes inspiration from madonna once shes trying to court lionblaze

hazeltail - long haired country girl butch. enough said

spottedleaf snd cinderpelt are nuns lol

#warrior cats #anthro warrior cats #micks anthro au

[mewguca]

Me when I self-insert so hard i accidentally take a one-off drawing and make it a whole au

haha i am back on my nonsense...

btw dress design is from pansear-doodles helm comic!!!! thank you so much pan for the moon in an egg dress it still makes me happy :)

i guess the idea is basically. twin moons haha. diana is more like. the game version of moon but probably slightly different in some way idk i gotta work on them both...Luna is kinda just. slef insert beam go brrr but also kinda different i guess uh. different kinda strengths and weaknesses?

Diana is more "proper" and better versed in her iterator duties and the knowledge of the world around her. She's more outgoing and assertive and can even sometimes be a little bit sarcastic. She takes on a big sisterly role for the other iterators, checking in on them a lot. She is well-informed on politics and history and other topics that concern her duties, and she monitors the condition of the Regions around her. She tends to be more logical and rational, but that is not to say she is cold by any means. She is sort of the model of a "perfect" iterator, and she is praised as such. This gives her expectations to live up to, though, and she sometimes struggles under the pressure to live up to them.

Luna is less focused on her duties and more...spacey I guess? She's much more shy and reserved and is a bit more pessimistic and unconfident...but she enjoys creating things like drawing and singing and talking to the residents of their can(s) about their creations. She is less concerned about things like politics and history and more interested in looking at cute little creatures in the surrounding ecosystem, haha. She also has a bit of a mischievous side she lets show sometimes. She likes to make people laugh and maybe tease them a bit.

They're both very caring though, of course. They both share that aspect of Moon! They especially care about each other and enjoy spending time together...they also like to dote on their little brother FP. They are both highly regarded, if in somewhat different ways and for different reasons. Diana is revered for her academic and practical contributions, such as keeping the systems running smoothly. Luna is revered for her contributions to the culture and the arts in the cities atop her can. They serve important roles and are seen as inseparable.

Of course yknow theyre not perfect so they can be kinda envious of each other sometimes etc etc hehe...

I suppose my idea for their structures is connecting structures? They have a connecting chamber in the middle, and the combination of structures in general can be either connected or separated. Diana is technically the senior twin so she has the overall authority at the end of the day. They also still share some water with FP because they are still neighbors.

I am unsure what their chat acronyms should be...maybe copy the theme of moon's ingame one and do Big Sis Diana and Little Sis Luna? Though...then thatd be confusing talking to their little brother maybe haha. But having them use LTTMI and LTTMII does not seem...the most practical.

When it comes to ...yknow...I am unsure which direction I want to go in. Should I have them collapse together since it's less scary if they have each other?

or should I be evil and make one of them force their water onto the other so they can get help for the other twin...But then....they'd definitely be separated...and if one side collapses more than the other, I'm not sure how you'd get them back together. Much to think about!

I think it'd be cute to see them interact with monk and surv, though! the little scug siblings! just like them! and separated just like them if we go that route smiles diabolically

I do want them to be happy in the end of course! but yknow we can have a little suffering as a treat

I have much to flesh out...waahhhh the brainrot never ends I suppose

#rain world #egg art #egg doodles #rain world oc #rain world au #looks to the moon #twin moons #i do apologize if something doesnt really make sense i still do not know the full lore haha #but also the brainrot cannot be stopped even if my silly little ideas are not the most realistic #eggmoon oc #rambled eggs

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

So I just went on tiktok and saw people shitting on the adaptation. And it's like...Is the netflix atla flawed? Yes, of course. It it a perfect adaptation? Come on, it's like you're living in a world where such thing exists. If you are not enjoying the show - it's completely fine.

But it absolutely does not deserve the utter hate I see from those guys.

I'm sorry, but what did you expect? The very same show as the animated series but this time with real life people? Sorry to break it to you, but it's impossible.

Look, I don't really remember the first season of animated series all that much, I absolutely do not remember all the details. But I can tell the shitshow when I see it and that's not it. People who adapted aang's story clearly love the source material and care for it and they did a great job with adapting the plot to the live action series format.

Yes, of course, they downplayed some of the characters. Aang is much less joyful and childish - but maybe it's because they don't have 20 episodes for him to realistically go from actively avoiding responsibility to fully accept it. Like, yes, you can probably say that the episodes length compensates amount of them, but it doesn't really work that way for emotional journeys. Usually each episode has it's own little emotional arc for every character - so for animated series we have 20 little arcs showing Aang's emotional growth with 20 stages. The netflix series has only 8 of them. Even if the amount of time in theory adds up - it's not the same, it's not how the episode are being structured.

Then there's Katara. I admit - I do not like that they downplayed her motherly nature, her emotional maturity contrasting her rage. I do not like that they got rid of most scenes between her and Aang, especially her teaching him and calming him down. But do you know what I expected? I was so afraid that they would do the same thing the modern medea does to almost every single female character - deprive her of any trait of her character that is remotely traditional feminine, deprive her of her emotions and leave her with only badassery and girlbossery. And I'm so glad they didn't do it that I actually don't care that much.

I heard the guy whining something about "they didn't do the secret tunnel right" and I just can't. You understand why they didn't do it exactly like in the animated series, right? Riiight? It's probably has something to do with kissing between literal children, even if it's just implied. Personally, I wouldn't want that to happen. It was kinda cringe even in the animated version.

Also I saw a video of a guy (90% of such videos are guys) being just "the animated series did this and that, and the netflix version did another thing and it's not like the original" about Suki and Sokka and there was something about "...and then Suki just beats up Sokka's ass out of nowhere". It's like - have we watched the same stuff? She comes to see him training because he is this boy from outer world, from bigger land and she is interested. And then they train together for a little bit and she beats him in a training fight - that is literally what happened. It wasn't ou of nowhere, it was Suki being a girl that doesn't know how to communicate with a guy she kinda likes! Well, I don't know if she actually likes him at this point but she's clearly interested in him. Does it take being a girl myself to understand?

There are many more flaws and drawbacks but it's okay because overall the show is very enjoyable. It doesn't deserve the hate I saw.

#netflix atla #atla spoilers #avatar the last airbender #atla #i haven't seen all of it #just the first 4 episodes #but come on

[overandundertarot]

How can you find comfort right now?

Hello! This pick a pile is going to focus on how you can find comfort right now, whatever situation you may find yourself in, just some advice that could help soothe your soul.

Here are the piles(1-3):

Pile 1

Pile 2

Pile 3

These pictures are not mine, i found them on pinterest. :)

****

Pile 1;

Cards; 2 of wands, The hanged one, The devil and 4 of pentacles.

Life may be a bit boring right now, you may find yourself just going through the motions. As I write this, my heart is feeling heavy. Maybe you are being weighed down by your own expectations on yourself, and society's expectations as well. Also for some of you, you may be experiencing blockages in your heart chakra. What can help you to find comfort right now is doing something for yourself, I'm getting less of in the physical sense like a spa day or vacation, but something more spiritual in nature. You may be so caught up in the material world right now, making money, paying bills etc etc but you need to take some time to nurture yourself. Your life is lacking that sense of spark that is present when you arre contented and spiritually and emotionaly fulfilled in life. Some of you may want to change what you do and take another path in your job/career? But what you want to do may be quite different and maybe even frowned upon or considered weird. Advice for these people would be to combine your creativity and what you feel inspired to do with the structure that you may already have in place. A partnership would also be beneficial for you. Overall, what can give you comfort right now is turning inwards, nurturing yourself and your desires. Maybe start a hobby that you've always wanted to do that can allow your playful and childish side to come out. I'm getting something like drawing or painting colourfully, something you can do with your hands or something very active.

PILE 2;

Cards; The fool, The emperor, 5 of wands reversed, Knight of pentacles reversed.

Pile 2 you have soooo many opportunities and a lot of potential right now. You may be feeling overwhelmed and unsure how to go forward regarding whatever it is you want to do. For a few of you in this pile I'm getting that you may be starting over from a time in your life where you felt like the rug was pulled out from under you and your whole life came crashing down. A few of you may have devoted a lot of time to something but it never worked out the way you wanted, like a cruel twist of fate. ( but only some of you, it was a specific message). What you can find comfort in right now is routine, building a new routine to channel and direct your energy will give you a sense of stability that you need right now. Also, joining a course( like a university degree) or something that may give you an outlined path to what you want to do. Being rational and disciplined right now will help to bring a sense of comfort in your life.

Pile 3;

Cards; 5 of wands, Page of cups reversed, 8 of wands and The fool.

Pile 3 your message is really clear, lol. What can give you comfort right now is being silly and having fun. Following your desires and impulses and having fun without thinking much about it, not taking life too seriously. You may be worried about something like a competition or a debate? Or something of that nature has ended recently. Either way, whatever the outcome was/is, the most important thing is to enjoy yourself and not let yourself be carried away by anxieties or fears that may pop up. Allow yourself to be childish and treat yourself as well. I'm getting the image of a child at a festival/carnival just running around, playing games and eating icecream.

**********************

Thank you for participating in this pick a pile reading!!! I would really love to know if this resonated with you so please dont hesitse to give feedback or ask me anything on my blog!!

#tarot #tarot pac #tarot pick a pile #tarot pick a card #intutitive reading #spirituality #tarotblr #pick a card reading #pick a pile #pac #pick a card #tarot reading

[halfagone]

I seriously love your fic 'Social Media + Insomnia = Epic Fails'. It's honestly amazing that you managed to write an entire fic through just snapshots of different social media. If I may, can I ask how you did it? I can't imagine that it would be easy, considering that there's barely any conventional dialogue or real action scenes.

Oh my gosh, yay!! Ironically I just reread that one the other night. It was very self-indulgent, but I'm so happy to hear so many other people could enjoy it too! 🥰✨😊

There are definitely some parts that are easier than others. Interestingly enough, I probably have the hardest time with formatting and the overall structure of the fic when I publish than the writing itself. I love playing around with HTML, but Ao3's HTML is notoriously hard. (Also, tip: the Rich Text Editor doesn't always allow the same amount of versatility, hence the HTML.)

For me personally, it was important for me to have plot in the background. It doesn't have to be deep plot, but just some sort of guideline that I could follow so I know where it began and end.

In that fic, I'm sure you noticed, things went down in the background like Danny joining the Justice League and becoming Ghost King and Tim getting overshadowed by Pariah Dark. (Yes, I did try to heavily imply that Tim was overshadowed by Pariah for five days. That's a fun plot point lol.) But the overarching story that people really came for was Tim and Danny being lovesick idiots and trying to navigate being public personalities and getting together.

You are totally right about unconventional dialogue. There is a bit at the end where we get actual dialogue with quotation marks and dialogue tags, but otherwise we just get a lot of chatting sequences. For me it was very important to get the tones right. Little clues in the messages that shows how they're feeling or what they're implying. And for things like sarcasm, which don't translate through writing the same way, you can even have characters call each other out on it. I know I've done the same for "Insomniacs Anonymous". (Can you tell I love social media fics? lol)

One of the things I will say about this kind of fic format is that it's so much easier to write fight scenes. On one hand, you don't get really inspiration scenes where your characters are out there kicking ass and saving the day, but that's also a let less work on your part. In this case the details aren't as important, it's the results. So that's why we just see Breaking News alerts.

For this fic, it's kind of a mixture of present-action and reactions. There are parts where we watch as plot points unfold but we also learn about other plot points via the reactions from other people on social media.

There are also smaller things you can do. Whenever I showed Danny's Twitter profile or YouTube channel, I changed little details to show the passage of time. I showed him steadily gaining new followers or subscribers, or in the case with YouTube, I showed his number of videos slowly ticking up higher. It's very easy to miss, and maybe most people don't notice it at all, but it's also a good bookmark as an author.

If you're looking for inspiration or ideas, then I would definitely recommend looking into other social media AUs. There's a canonized tag for it on Ao3, but the social media fics I read that helped me with "Social Media + Insomnia = Epic Fails! (Not Clickbait)" were from Yuri! On Ice, Batman, and BNHA. If you're interested in more specific fics, let me know and I can make up a list of recs. Even if you're not into the fandom, they offer some good ideas for what it can look like.

All in all, I'm really glad you liked that one! I have a number of more ideas for social media fics going forward like a Model AU, my Actor AU, and then a AITA Reddit fic which I believe I did post a while ago as well. I can't promise it'll be soon, but the format is so fun and I hope you get to have some fun with it too. 😉

#halfagone replies #halfagone's fics

[bean-spring]

My take on 2x06 & jealous Brett because I just remembered I have social media and I can tell this stuff to people other than my fiance

Inside job s2 spoilers / Breagan my beloved / PLEASE DO NOT REPLY WITH HATE i can't stand negativity

- My overall take because I am a very organized person (I am not)

Whether I liked the episode or not really depends on the actual meaning behind it. The plot and structure were excellent! Ron and Brett's little rivalry was hilarious and I felt Reagan's anxiety all the damn time. I really enjoyed it and I always appreciate Andre's screentime <3 However, there is some stuff that just... Doesn't make sense? The ending is what I would call... Not rushed, per se, but forced.

I found the episode funny and cool (and stressful if you relate to Reagan or Brett in any way) and really worth it! But that's it. It's like they were trying to build a really sad and shocking climax for Reagan's relationship with Ron, but using a filler episode as the conductor. The whole episode focuses on Brett and his negative feelings towards Ron to end up with Ron and Reagan taking a break from each other. Which is not a bad way to focus on the story, but I feel like if they wanted us to focus on Reagan and Ron ONLY they would've made the episode only about them, and make the Brett/Ron argument shorter and less crucial for the plot.

I also feel like the conclusion (Ron deciding that maybe work is too dangerous for them) makes sense! But Reagan's? She says something about balancing work and their relatioship, and it makes sense too, but they don't really show how work affects their relationship in specific.

Another thing that just feels odd to me is Brett's behavior. Of course, this whole post is to defend my view as a Breagan shipper and you might think that I'm just gaslighting manipulating girlbossing you into thinking he was jealous, but I couldn't care less about people's opinions (that's a lie, I kin Brett). I genuinely think Brett was acting weird and definitely not in character if it's meant to be seen as only platonic. I didn't even ship Breagan this much until I finished the season and without having them in mind I still thought he was acting a bit too strange.

Aside from the ending and Brett's behavior (which I will address now), the episode is really good! One of my favorites for sure, and it's not even because Andre has more than three lines (It really makes a difference, though).

- The ending and how it made my girl Reags dirty

Let's start off with the ending, just like when you find an interesting movie on TV but you're too tired to watch it from the beginning so you just enjoy what's left without context!

Ron's conclusion makes sense, but Reagan's "We will find a way to balance our lives and jobs" just... Doesn't. You may not agree with me about Brett being jealous, but this is something that's been bothering me for a while and I know I'm right.

Ron decides, after being chased by his girlfriend's coworkers, realizing that her BFF doesn't like him and that Cognito is darker than he thought, that it's not a good idea to mix work and love. Which is fair, to be honest. He literally saw clones of Hitler and organs of babies, like, I wouldn't feel safe there either.

But it's not what Ron thinks about Cognito and work that bothers me, because nobody would want their girlfriend working there. What he thinks is completely valid and although I didn't like the fact that he ghosted Reags (dude just text her my girl was literally begging you for a proper answer), he has the right to want to step out from that world. What truly makes me angry is Reagan's search for the perfect reality in the last episode.

I know what's the point they were trying to make: Reagan is a workaholic and wouldn't be able to keep a stable relationship with Ron.

Which makes a lot of sense and it's not out of character at all! God knows Reags has been obsessed with Cognito and being the boss and changing the world for forever. But the show doesn't give us an explicit example of that.

I know. We aren't dumb. We read between the lines. We get Reagan. It's inside the subtext and her entire persona. Easy to see, easy to understand, doesn't need to be explicit.

This argument would work if it wasn't because there's no subtext! We don't see (not even ONCE) how work is more important for Reagan than Ron. In fact, it's the opposite. Every time she has to choose between work and love, she chooses love:

Date with Ron >> Their mission in Rome -> Rome on fire

Desperately trying to convince Ron to work for Cognito and forgetting about actual work to a point where you would think she wouldn't get anything done if Ron was there with her -> Zombie apocalyspe (that was on Brett but she was the one forcing him to get along with Ron so-)

Being scared to lose Ron in one of the timlines >> Actually saving the timeline (by this I don't mean she didn't care about the timline and the others, but she was pretty much focused on not losing Ron. Which is valid and pretty damn romantic so go girl!!!)

(This is not Reagan slander, by the way! She's been through A LOT and deserves to be selfish. I support women's rights but most importantly I support women's wrongs!)

So how the hell my girl (at the end of ep 6) gets to the conclusion that they couldn't balance both things? She was doing pretty well until the Halloween party, and it didn't even get in between their relationship, it just proved Ron's point about the work not being safe. Which, again, makes sense, but doesn't really get in between their lives in the same way the last episode says.

Episode 6: Work is dangerous and it gets in between our relationship. We have proof. Here's a whole episode putting Ron in danger to prove it.

Episode 8: Work gets in between our relationship because Reagan would put work first. Which makes sense due to her personality, but we've been proving otherwise the whole damn season!

Just stick with one reason or develop both of them but don't change them!!!!

We suppose Reagan would be a workaholic girlfriend if Ron worked there due to her personality and ambition, but we don't actually see it? And it's not really that important and y'all must be thinking I'm reading too much into it, but I just think an explicit confirmation of Reags caring more about work than for Ron would've been great. The different realities in which she treats him like shit aren't out of character but feel odd, considering that she's been choosing him over work multiple times this season. Man, just a little tiny example I'm not asking for much.

Maybe it would've been different if she hadn't gotten that promotion. Maybe she would've been happy with Ron. I know those realities are focused on the possibility of changing the world she didn't have before Ron asked her to move in together, but... I don't know. As if she didn't care for her job before the promotion, y'know?

Basically, for me the whole workaholic thing appears out of nowhere and doesn't make sense with the Ron/Reags dyamic we've seen.

And this whole thing is connected to episode 6 because I think that episode would've been a great moment to introduce both points of view: Reagan prioritizing work and Ron not finding their jobs safe enough.

- The writers' decision and how I would've written the episode because I apparently have too much free time in class to think about this

The episode is great, but I don't understand why Brett is the protagonist here. If the conclusion is meant to be about Reagan and Ron taking a break from each other and asking THE question ("Is work getting in between our relationship?"), why is Brett the one we focus on through the episode?

If it's meant to be just a slight dislike and just not getting along with Ron, why is it so damn crucial to the plot? It's not just Brett wanting to be friends with Ron in a silly, little, sitcomy way. It's Brett wondering WHY he feels like that towards Ron. It's Brett wanting to support his BFF's boyfriend but not being able to do it for no reason whatsoever. It's literally Brett provoking the reason why Ron decides to take a break from Reagan.

Whether it is meant to be romantic or platonic, Brett is technically the reason why Ron acts like that in the end. He even makes a whole zombie apocalypse happen! Just because he didn't like Ron! C'mon it's absurd to think that's strictly platonic. This plot has been going on for years in thousand of different sitcoms: F/M best friends! One starts dating someone! The other doesn't like them! They don't know why! Wow, turns out they were in love the whole time and didn't realize they were jealous.

Classic trope for best friends to lovers.

But yeah, let's say it's platonic. Let's say Brett's reaction to Ron is just a silly plot device to make the guy realize Cognito is dangerous and even the simplest guy with the most innocent intentions could cause an apocalypse.

Why make the episode focus on Brett, then? If his feelings for Ron aren't that related to his relationship with Reags, why are those the ones to make them question their rellationship?

If it's just platonic then I find the episode a bit unnecessary.

If they wanted to show us how work affects them, and not only Brett, why wouldn't they make an episode about that in specific? It isn't that hard.

I personally would've kept the same plot: Reagan trying to convince Ron to work for Cognito using the team's opinions and views on their work!

They go to Brett and everything's the same. They don't get along. It's uncomfortable. But it stays there. Brett makes some comments about how fun it is to work for Cognito but accidentally reveals how dangerous it is, and Ron starts getting a bit worried and confused because... Where the hell has been his girlfriend working?

Then they go to Andre, Gigi, Glenn, Myc... Basically, individual meetings with each. Funny sketches. All of them fuck everything up by talking about work and how it actually is and Ron gets scared with every experience he hears.

And meanwhile, Reagan gets caught up with work! There's drama everywhere! Something something someone died. Something something the Hitler clones scaped. Something something Kanye West is a nazi now and we need to end him. Something somehing zombie apocalypse.

That way we see Reagan sort of neglecting her relationship with Ron because of work, and Ron realizing how dangerous it is.

It doesn't need to be all about Brett. At all. The ending is still the same.

So why would they make Brett the main plot point, wondering why he acts the way he does, if not to be important later? Not to mention that his character is reduced to this from this episode to the end.

- Reasons why Brett could dislike Ron and why I think they don't make sense bc this dude would get along with fucking Mussolini

"Ron made fun of Brett's interests and was lowkey mean to him!"

Brett is a pathological people pleaser, and as the pathological people pleaser I am I can confirm that that wasn't the reason why he disliked Ron. Brett likes everyone. Everyone. No matter what they do. It's not even... Like, like. It's just having to see the best in everyone because he wants to be able to get along with them so they don't hate him.

Making fun of his favorite music? Drinks? Comedian? That's soft compared to what half of the people he knows say to him. Literally you could meet him for the first time, tell him that Friends is a shitty sitcom and he would literally tell you that you're right and then cry while watching the finale.

He's constantly putting other people first and swallowing his opinions and pride, so why not sharing the same opinions as Ron would make him dislike him? It doesn't make any sense.

Besides, Ron wasn't even mean or intentionally hurting Brett. And even if he had been, Brett would've probably been the one apologizing, too. He has encountered horrible people through his life and you're telling me that Ron, his best friend's boyfriend, is the one that makes him dislike someone for once? Not buying it. Doesn't make sense.

"Brett is just worried about Reagan."

Literally doesn't make any sense because Ron hasn't shown any signs of being a bad boyfriend. And if that was the case and Brett was just being an overprotevtive best friend, it would've been explicit. There's no need to hide it in the subtext. And it wouldn't even make sense for the last episodes.

"Brett has abandonment issues."

Yeah, this one's true I can't fight against this one. However, it doesn't prove anything. He can have abandonment issues and still be in jealous. It can be both!

"He's just scared of losing his best friend."

Once again, yeah, true. But it doesn't make sense to me! The reason why Brett is so obsessed with Ron is because he can't figure out why he doesn't like him. If it was meant to be platonic they would've just said so explicitly and it wouldn't have been the main plot.

"They just don't have chemistry."

Ron is like a sad boy version of Reagan with religious trauma, there's no reason why Brett wouldn't like him. They do have chemistry! Brett is the sun, Reagan is the moon, and Ron is an eclipse! (not in a bad way like- I hope y'all have seen that friendship dynamics pic because otherwise this doesn't make sense but I swear it's really cute).

They end up having chemistry and getting along! But only because Ron gave Brett a reason to like him, which Brett has never ever needed before.

"It's just a plot device lmfao stop looking this much into it."

Maybe???? But idk I would like to be a screenwriter someday so looking into things a lot is my thing.

- Brett and his people pleaser soul slowly breaking through the episode

Canonically, Ron is the first person Brett has ever disliked. Which might be an exageration because this boy tends to say stuff like this a lot, but as far as we know it's canon. So, having that in mind, we know that Ron is actually the first person to make Brett panic over not liking someone.

It's completely normal, he just wants to make Reagan happy. Everything he does is for Reagan. Can we PLEASE remember that he's doing this for Reagan? Because I think we don't talk about it enough.

The thing about Brett not liking Ron is that Brett doesn't know why he dislikes him...

Despite being a horrible father and boss, Brett likes Rand! We've seen them interacting or, well, at least we haven't seen Brett hating him. Brett likes Myc despite being a total asshole to him and the others, and he probably is the only one (except Andre) that considers Myc to be a real friend. For literal no reason. Brett still likes his bullies. He likes his shitty family. He liked Reagan although she treated him like shit in the first episode.

And maybe it's not like, like. But it's enough to make him have a normal life with them and be able to to be of service for their approval (istg this guy's just like me fr).

So why's this any different with Ron? Maybe the writers were just trying to make this a plot device and forgot about Brett's inability to hate people. But is that really what happened? Why make it the main plot of the episode, then?

And why make Brett ask himself why he didn't like Ron?

If it was because of not sharing interests or being mean or whatever (something tangible) it would've been obvious. But he spends the episode asking himself that. It's not just a silly little dynamic, it's Brett actively wondering why he doesn't like his best friend's boyfriend.

In fact, the first time he finds out about Reagan being with someone else he's excited for her! He's happy! And I don't want to project my neurodivergency on him, but maybe the fact that Ron was just an idea and not someone tangible for him yet made him unable to picture him as a threat. And when he truly is there, he finally has someone to be jealous of.

He ends up having a soft spot for Ron, but it's only because he explicitly gave him a reason to like him. And then the last two episodes his whole character is reduced to missing Reagan, projecting on a golden retriever they have to kill, and sacrificing his happiness for Reagan's.

Yeah, totally platonic! As if this clearly wasn't the same exact plot of every romantic comedy to ever exist.

-B plot and parallelisms through the season because I've rewatched this like three times already since it came out. I need therapy. Please help me get out of here.

You thought I had forgotten about Rand's plot??? Well, jokes on you, I was waiting for the parallelisms!

I couldn't care less about the B plot in this episode. If I'm being honest I found it funny but didn't really understand the reason behind it until the last episode and after rewatching it a couple of times.

B plots are often meant to be the juxtaposition between character arcs, parallelisms or just funny little stories to make the main one softer. This time it's the three of them.

Basically, two boys fighting for a girl. That's it. That's like the whole plot. Tamiko comes to the conclusion that work is what made Rand such a shitty and crazy person. Do I really need to say more? Like I'm genuinely tired of writing and the parallelisms with this subplot are pretty much obvious.

Then we have more parallelisms in the finale!

"I had everything. I had my job, I had power. I know it's a fucking cliché, but it's true. You don't know what matters most until you lose it." - Rand about Tamiko and Reagan, 2x07

Brett is well aware of how much he loves Reagan, but maybe not in what way exactly. Her dating someone else might just be that thing that tells him: "Yes. This is it. You're losing her forever. She's gonna move out and be with another man and you're going to be abandoned again. She doesn't love you as much." And I don't know if they're going to keep up with this thing next season, but it wouldn't be weird to follow this statement.

Although I know this quote is meant to be about Reagan and Ron and probably about her regretting not moving with him next season, so the Brett thing is just a theory.

"You can't just hit a button over and over and expect a relationship to go back to the way it was. And I know it's scary to give up control." - Reagan about her parents and her and Ron, 2x07

Once again, obviously about Reagan and Ron. But would it be crazy to think this could be about Brett too? Like wanting constantly to go back (after finding out about Appletone) to when it was just Reagan and him. Talking to the dog as if he was Reagan. Missing her. Wanting her back. The thing about Brett is that he doesn't hit any buttons to go back because he cares more about Reagan's happiness than for his own. But yeah, I think it makes sense.

"And I got this. All I care about is that you're happy." - Brett to Reagan, 2x08

"And as long as the person you love is happy, maybe you can be happy later." - Reagan about Ron, 2x08

"Thanks for sticking by when no one else did. A good leader wouldn't drag their best friend into their dad's bullshit. I don't know if we'll ever get back to our realities, but I've seen yours and it looks good. If I succeed I'll see you again. But if not... Good luck, Brett." - Reagan to Brett, 2x07

"I searched a thousand lifetimes for the one that would make you happiest. And you'll find it one day. Just... Without me. [...] I'll miss you, Ron, and I know it were possible, you'd miss me too." - Reagan to Ron, 2x08

Do I need to say more or....?

They both parallel each other so damn much- And to be honest, maybe it is unrequited. It probably is unrequited. But it could go both ways someday! Let's be optimistic.

-"I listen to Accidentally in love from the Shrek 2 soundtrack every day!!!!" Brett. Love of my life. Is it the vibes or the lyrics?? IS IT BECAUSE THE VIBES OR THE LYRICS????? ANSWER ME BRETT HAND-

"So, she said, "What's the problem, baby?" What's the problem? I don't know. Well, maybe I'm in love. Think about it. Every time I think about it."

"How much longer will it take to cure this? Just to cure it, 'cause I can't ignore it if it's love. Makes me wanna turn around and face me but I don't know nothing bout love."

The writing team choosing the song Brett could mention while starting an uncomfortable dynamic with his best friend's boyfriend: What about a song about falling in love accidentally and not being able to stop it?

Okay so maybe it's not THAT specific. Maybe they just wanted a silly little song from a silly little movie so people would look at Brett, smirk and say "haha he's just like me fr". But?? Is it really?? As I said I want to be a writer and I wouldn't choose something as important and cool as a character's favorite song (okay maybe not FAVORITE CANON but he loves it so) just for the memes. It has to mean something, c'mon.

-Why I think Breagan wouldn't destroy the show (as some of you say) and actually would make them one of the most powerful couples ever (this has absolutely nothing to do with my love for coworkers to BFFs to lovers)

I do agree with a lot of you: We need more M/F platonic relationships. However... Have you ever considered that Brett and Reagan are just... Not really that platonic anymore? It's not the first time we've seen this. Mostly in sitcoms! Jim and Pam from The Office, Jake and Amy from Brooklyn 99, Nick and Jess from New Girl, I can keep going... And going... I kin Brett I know about sitcoms!

Reagan loved Ron. She truly did. But it's true that he needed a normal life and she was... Midnight rain. Sorry, Taylor Swift reference. But!! Reagan would end up choosing work and it doesn't mean she doesn't love Ron, it's just that work is equally important to her and knew he wouldn't be happy if they stayed together.

But it could work with Brett. it works with Brett. Because if they dated he would understand Reagan's priorities. He would be always there for her. And he wouldn't try to keep her away from danger (he would be worried sick, ofc, and always would be there to help) because he knows Reagan wants that.

They work well together and their dynamic is sweet, a bit cliché and easy to build. Maybe it's the easy path but that doesn't mean it's necessarily bad.

As an aroace person I love platonic dynamics, but maybe this is not the one we need!! Or maybe it is, tbh I couldn't care less because either way I trust the writers to give us a great relationship development, whether it is romantic or platonic. But idk I would like to see more of Reagan with the other guys and Brett with Gigi! Maybe Andre and Gigi? It would be great not to rely on just one platonic friendship.

And by the way, there's also this possibility of them being completely platonic and Brett not being jealous. Maybe he's just a good best friend that feels a bit worried about his friendship and that's all! If you don't agree with my opinion, that's great too! Just respect everyone's points of view on this because I've seen a lot of hate towards breagan shippers and it's a completely harmless ship!! <3

If there's any mistakes just know that english isn't my first language and it's like 3 am here right now-- Thanks for reading!!!! <3

#god this took so long #you make a silly joke with a silly edit on tiktok and then end up writing a whole essay #it could've been longer and i still have stuff to say but i'm tired #anyway breagan canon #or not! maybe just platonic breagan! that's cool too #i just want them to be soulmates in any way #breagan #inside job #inside job season 2 #reagan ridley #brett hand #ron staedtler #ron x reagan #brett x reagan

[sotwk]

Hi, I've been following you for awhile now but I'm very internet-shy (if that's a thing) so I've nerver said anything, hence the anon. I wanted to commend you for your writings and headcanons, which I've been enjoying so so so much.

I've always believed that Thranduil had multiple children but I was always indecisive on the number, you helped me settle on five, and many of your characterisations fit perfectly in my own personal headcanons. Moreover even those that I do not agree with have helped me develop my own, so again thank you.

Now on the question: have you ever had so many ideas that you end up creating multiple version of your own AU or, worse, fanfictions of your fanfiction? I write a lot and I'm always expanding on my writings (but never publish, again internet-shy) and I always get so many new inspirations that I always create AUs of my AU so I never finish anything, how do you solve this problem?

Oh my friend, you being so kind is exactly the reason why I would probably never turn off Anon Asks, even though I'm quite sensitive to hate and dread the thought of eventually getting my first hate Anon. (Fingers crossed my lucky streak holds out!)

Thank you so much for reaching out to tell me all this, even though you're "internet-shy"! 🥰 I am so, so glad you enjoy my headcanons enough to let them inspire your own! That is fantastic, and I hope you are able to create tons of content for you to enjoy (and for other fans, if you ever decide to share them)!

As for your question: Hoo-boy, like most of our fellow writers, I am plagued with "too many ideas, too little brain space and even less time to write them down"! That being said, the kind of brain I have is also quite determined to keep my creative mess (somewhat) organized, so I DO fight to wrestle my SotWK AU ideas down and create structure for my fics to stand on.

Yes, I do occasionally get the urge to deviate from my own headcanons and experiment with other scenarios. I think more writers operate with unlimited AUs in their heads, actually. (From what I've read of others' works, at least.) But my personal goal is to create a single consistent, unified "SotWK AU" that encompasses not just Thranduil/Mirkwood's history, but ties into the untouched/extended stories of other canon realms/races/characters as well (including a lot of "Everyone Lives")! So I do try to stay disciplined and stick to my headcanon "facts" once I've nailed them down.

If that's something you also want to try to accomplish, here are Five Things I personally do that might be helpful:

Keep a Master Timeline. This was the first thing I did when I decided to take the SotWK concept all the way. I copy-pasted the entire Middle-earth timeline from Tolkien Gateway into a document, and started to plug in all the headcanon events from my AU into it. That's why nearly every fic I write has a specified date and year!

Keep a Glossary of Your Originals. This can be as messy a dumping ground as you want! Just try to keep all your notes about every single character, place, object, or term you create in one document/file folder so you can easily track and reference them.

Indulge "rogue AUs" in fic "shorts" or drabbles. I accept requests for Reader inserts and this area is where I allow myself to "go wild" with my "out of bounds" ideas. Here, I will allow myself to write stuff like Modern AUs, or have Thranduil be with someone other than my OC Elvenqueen, or have my Thranduilion princes love whomsoever they want, changing the love interest up each time! It doesn't matter, since these stories are all considered "outside" of the SotWK canon, and don't affect the overall "official" story arc. (Note: I haven't actually posted/completed any of these yet, but I have multiple WIPs of such stories.)

Chop Long Stories Up into Smaller Bits. I have a terrible inability to stay focused on a single story/project (don't we all), and for this reason, I avoid long, multi-chapter fics whenever I can. Instead, I will (or plan to) write individual key events as stand-alone one-shots and later group them into collections. This is how I plan on tackling Thranduil and Maereth's 2,000-year long courtship, for example. It reduces the stress of doing things in a linear fashion, or updating with "new chapters".

Don't Smother Your Creativity. You can try to "rein it in", and keep things under control so you can create a cohesive saga that your readers can follow. But ultimately, run with all and whatever ideas make you happy and inspired! Believe me, I'm the one of the most stressed out (self-inflicted) writers out there, but we gotta remember the primary goal of fanfic is FUN, right? <3 Just write The Thing and don't worry about it, especially if publishing/sharing isn't your main goal anyway.

I hope some of this helps you! I can already tell you are a wonderful writer, and I wish you all the best with your fics!

#sotwk answers #kind asks #anon asks #kind anons #writing stuff #writer things #writer problems #writing advice #writing tips

[transmutationisms]

my problems with s4 are mostly to do with pacing and editing, a few strange moments of melodrama, and a less cohesive A + B plot structure overall. i feel acutely aware that this is a show that has two hour first cuts, because they’re trying to squeeze everything and the kitchen sink into an hour-ish, and things keep getting dropped along the way. and yet, there seems to be so much air in scenes! connor and willa vanished, and he’s running for president. the political stuff that’s clearly going to play a big part in the final few episodes has been barely touched so far. it’s not terrible by any means… it’s just a bit baggy.

sure, i see where you're coming from. in terms of pacing i thought there were some issues with the first halves of episodes 1 and 2 (maybe also 6), and there are some editing floor losses (mencken's guard dog showing up to the wake, but mencken being cut; whatever was happening between ebba and karolina). i don't think it's new for the show to have some of these mechanical issues, though (anyone remember dundee?) and i'd say the same about connor being under-appreciated. politically, i actually like how they've been handling it because mencken's entire point as a character is to demonstrate the vapid spectacle of fascism and how that appeals to capitalism. they do that really effectively, but it also means psychologically he's nothing, and the way they've been using matsson this season works for me because it's a different flavour of fascism that appeals more to a sense of meritocracy and biological improvement—which is why it makes sense for shiv to be the liaison. i am excited for the election episode but i also think this whole season has been "waystar gets into bed with fascism," and there are reasons (writing and political) that it's been effective for that to happen via matsson more than mencken.

anyway, like i said, i'm not trying to convince anyone to like the season. in my lifetime i've hated plenty of things that other people liked, and vice versa. i'd also agree there have been a few weirdly melodramatic moments that threw me off (tomshiv in episodes 1 and 4....) and although i'm reserving final judgment till the season ends, it might really be the case that i Simply Did Not Like That lol.

once again, though, to me these are mostly minor, localised mechanical issues that don't prevent me from enjoying the season overall. i still think this is a very good tv show and i think season 4 is better so far than season 3 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#s4 critiques

[not-poignant]

Hi! I love all of your stories that I’ve read so far (there’s so many but it makes happy cause I finish one and then can go to another). I was wondering, do you have any tips for character creation and story planning? I never know how to set everything up and section and organize.

Hi anon!

I feel bad because this is a very 'how long is a piece of string' question, like, to the point that I have literally tags that have multiple posts in them like 'pia on characterisation' and 'pia on worldbuilding' and 'pia on writing' and that would be a good place to start.

I'm not someone who is good at condensing a lot of information into short bite-sized pieces. You can tell by how long my stories are.

And honestly I organise differently every time. Anon, I don't plot most of my stories. Do you think Palmarosa and A Stain that Won't Dissolve and Underline the Black have a plot somewhere? They don't. I don't have a document that's even a list of plot points. When I say sometimes that I'm making it up as I go along, I'm literally making it up as I go along.

Sometimes my setting up is sitting down and starting the first chapter and then being like 'oh shit, characterisation.'

Sometimes I'll do worldbuilding. Sometimes I'll do behind-the-scenes characterisation. But often I don't.

Nothing writes a story faster, imho, than sitting down and starting to write the story if you have some characters and an idea in your head. But not everyone likes writing that way, and organisers hate that, and I hate being an organiser, so like...

Part of this is also - what works for me, what tips cracked the code for me, might make it a lot harder for you! You need to learn the kind of writer you are by experimenting. Maybe you're a faithful plotter and organiser, maybe you fly by the seat of your pants and don't want to truthfully plan anything at all. You can try it all! There's no one right way of doing it, there's not even a single one way right way of doing it for you, there's literally 'right ways per story' - because different stories sometimes need different things (at different times.)

Idk what kind of writer you are, anon, but it sounds like I don't do some of the things you think I do! I hate plotting with a fiery, passionate vengeance, and it makes me want to write so much less, for example! Story planning is my nemesis!!

BUT, to write a story that feels planned without planning, you have to read and watch a lot of stories.

And you have to not just enjoy them, but start thinking about when they feel fast and when they feel slow, when they feel important and when they're giving you a break, when they're telling you details, and when they're telling you action, and how they're doing that.

And you know, it might benefit you to research story structure overall, and classive narrative arcs - like the Hero's Journey, for example. As a good starting point, you might want to look into a personal favourite of mine (which I don't consciously use, but still use anyway) - Dan Harmon's Story Circle, mostly because the starting image is free, and it applies to tiny mini-stories, and broader over-arching stories, and it's colourful and pretty. And also because Dan Harmon is an extremely clever and accomplished story writer, so he knows what he's doing :D

#asks and answers #pia on writing #also anon you might not even want to write like me? #maybe you have other authors you'd like to write more like #but we all have different methods and different styles #anyone who tries to sell you a single way of doing things #or a single 'right way of doing things' #doesn't realise other people exist #who are not them fdsalkfjasfdsa #we all have different ways #that might seem scary anon #but sometimes fear is just excitement dressed up in a weird coat #and you might want to try and learn how to also approach this journey #with some excitement #because it can be fun to learn new things <333 #even when you're terrified

[wisteria-lodge]

lion primary (badger morality) + badger secondary (un-Burning) (bird model)

I really liked your sort me submission wish list so if it's okay I'm going to submit my answers! When I was a kid I resolved a bullying incident by pretending to not notice I was being teased. I would be silly/make jokes to cheer up friends who were sad. If teachers picked on my friends, I'd be the mouthy rude one (and they'd kick me out of class). I knew all the material so they'd make me tutor other kids, I'd come up with jokes/mnemonics to help them remember the material. 

Okay, I've definitely got some hints here. First thing is we've got some loyalist-sounding motivations, and a lot of collective nouns "friends" "my friends" "other kids." We've got you protecting the community - from bully teachers, from bad grades, from being sad. It's more Badger primary (Snake primary would be more laser-focused on a couple of people, although it's still possible that you have a really *expansive* Snake primary.)

As for problem solving strategies... you like that multi-player for sure. You're probably a prep-work secondary (or model one) constructing mnemonics like that. I could see Courtier Badger, I could see Actor Bird. Need more data.

One time I ended up causing two people to get into a nasty fight. So I went to each of them separately and engaged them in conversation with stuff they were concerned about, and then once their mood had softened I said you know I think the other person feels bad about what happened but is embarrassed to apologize. And then they made up!

Now that sounds super Courtier Badger.

When I played D&D (something I don't do that much) my weakness is that I have a strong tendency to munchkin, I will look up optimal skill point allocation

*Definitely* prep-work secondary.

and then have to zipper my lips about teammates allocating skill points blindly and ending up being less combat effective.

Because you do in fact want to *help the group.* That's a fairly consistent though-line, and heck - we know that Badger primaries often run the risk of going authoritarian (which you seem to know... enough to actively combat.)

I enjoy coming up with somewhat more silly improv stuff, in D&D it feels more fun to solve things sideways than straight on.

Because you know the *real* way to help the group at a D&D table is contribute too and boost the overall mood.

I tried doing some interview prep for job interviews, but it was boring/too much/I ran out of time. I just went in being confident that I know my stuff, that they'd be lucky to have me, that as long as I can explain my thinking process it would be fine. And indeed it was fine and I got several offers.

This also feels Badger secondary in that 'build-yourself-into-the-correct-tool-for-the-job' + 'let go' sort of way.'

At work I generally speaking struggle with pre-planning. It's much, much easier for me to do rough draft working concept followed by many refinements in later stages -

The way you've phrased this sounds Badger secondary. I can't really picture a Bird saying "I struggle with pre-planning" - Birds LOVE pre planning, they love understanding every piece of the puzzle individually, and then just snapping everything in place. It's very Badger to say 'I'm doing to start with something, and then improve it in tiny increments, over time."

I'm very good at seeing how to make things refined later, once I've actually gotten my hands dirty and have a good overall vision of the problem (very hard for me to do in advance). (People also used to ask me to edit their papers - line edits are boring but I'm very good at structural edits).

Structural edits are *fun*

(this ask was originally structured in an ask/answer format, as per my wish list. And I reformatted it into what I thought would be the best order. It was great.)

I don't know exactly why I attribute "Loving Structural Edits" to Badger secondary. But I do know that the Bird secondaries I know are brilliant at line edits, better than me, but don't enjoy turning a whole work around in their heads the way I do.

When I have a difficult decision to make I do too much research, talk to too many people, agonize endlessly. Finally snap and choose something. Leaving things up in the air exacerbates my anxiety so I'll reach for a conclusion just to make that tension go away. I've also found it helpful to reduce the scope of the question as much as possible - I don't need to decide a ten year plan, I can focus on deciding a one year plan. 

Good problem solving solutions. I would normally attribute "do too much research" - especially with an adjective like "agonize" to a Bird secondary model that you're a little conflicted about, and "talk to too many people" as a Badger secondary model that you're kind of conflicted about. Unless that's angst that's coming more from your primary? Like "talking to too many people" = "trying to please all my different communities [when that isn't actually possible.]"

To whatever extent I can keep my options open, I'll do that also. This is how I ended up doing essentially four degrees at once - to avoid having to commit to any of them in advance. And then I was able to choose based on which one had work I enjoyed best.

That is a... very Badger secondary solution. "I know! I'll just do a TON of work, and then decide which KIND of work I like doing best."

And I had you pegged for a Badger primary... but I'm starting to get more Internal primary energy. There's a conflict between what the community wants and what you want, and the way you choose is really going inward, and seeing how you feel about things. Feeling good about making a snap decision - any decision - is a Lion primary thing, *feeling* out your ideal major is Lion primary, and getting stressed out by talking to too many people is also Lion Primary.

But often it's a lot of vacillating until I'm sort of pushed into it. The decision to quit my job, I tentatively mentioned being open to job offers, immediately got several, realized I was excited about the newness of it all, and had to basically bite the bullet and tell my boss (quickly, because having it hanging over my head as this unspoken thing between us was killing me). The decision to move in with my partner was basically me agonizing about it (including in therapy) up until and including moving day and then once I'd actually moved just being totally fine with it. 

I'm actually going more Lion primary for you. Like, a Lion primary that *feels* Badger and *has* Badger morality a lot of the time. But when it really comes down to it, you make decisions based on what feels right, and all the other considerations come in second and third.

My fantasy would be to have the money and free time and lack of obligations to travel the world. Not just one day tourist blitzes, I want to do month-long stays and volunteer locally. I want to get to know people in depth, do interviews, and just experience new places and sensations and experiences, and the common underlying themes of humanity. I have done one or two travels abroad but I want so much more, and ideally, again, paired with a human element-- a personal relationship with a tour guide, hearing history from someone affected by it... And also seeing a fuckton of beautiful nature and eating so many types of fruit that aren't sold globally and you can only eat locally. That and setting up a giant seven story library for people to borrow physical copies of books.

I'm absolutely fascinated by this fantasy, because on one hand, it is ABSOLUTELY group focused. You like groups, you're interested in groups, you want to be in and around groups. But... you're talking about lots of different groups. Travel to new places, meet new people. Have people come to your library wizard-tower, but then leave. You love being part of communities, but in your fantasy *you* remain solo, free, independent. And that is absolutely a Lion primary fantasy.

It makes me fell powerful when someone comes to me with a problem and walks away with a solution.

The "wizard in their tower" fantasy.

Occasionally, I will take inspiration from a character in a "what would X do", if X deals with problems with dignity, poise, compassion, self-respect, and confidence.

Usually this is an Actor Bird thing. Maybe you model it? (especially with that qualifier "occasionally.")

The most difficult time in my life was a period of clinical depression, so I had to just force myself through every single day. Exercise, good for depression, so I'd have to fucking drag myself off to do some. Therapy, thing you're supposed to do, so I'd drag myself to that also. Just trying to get through the motions of being a functional human being day after day after day after day and looking into a future where every single day was just going to be that endlessly exhausting grey grind, forever. And I knew the whole thing was in my head, that my life was actually fine except for the part where everything *felt* miserable and I couldn't remember what happiness felt like, and that part drove me nuts.

Brutal. Just Burnt secondary (everything is a chore, a grind.) I'm glad you made it out.

My therapist kept telling me I had to accept my feelings and I kept arguing with her that the entire problem was that my feelings were, demonstrably, bullshit. Just totally disconnected from reality. Anyway I spent years avoiding medication because I was too scared and also thought my problems weren't real enough and that I wasn't trying hard enough with all the exercise and the therapy,

That Badger secondary curse "I could just work harder." Yeah. Also, if you're a Lion primary... obviously you were clinically depressed, but in the terms of this system, this is a description of burning. Burning though a chemical imbalance, but - you need your feeling, but you don't have your feelings. Very possibly you did the Burnt Lion thing and tried your best to model something else (likely Badger primary.)

but eventually things got bad enough I tried it, and I was very lucky and it was a magical pill that literally made all my problems go away (unless I forget to take it) which made me feel very vindicated that I was right and the therapist was wrong, the problem WAS that my feelings were broken and once they were fixed everything was better again.

I am so, so, so happy for you. And I am doubling down on Lion primary, because I don't think another primary would have described this process in quite this way: 'my feelings got fixed.'

I'm very different from my mother, but I adore and respect her. She's very patient, very compassionate, very wise, very logical and very grounded. As i got older I realized how much my value system was just absorbed from her.

Ah, that makes sense why you read as so Badger primary. Your mom sounds like either a Double Badger, or a Badger Bird.

My dad is more similar to me (more creative, more emotional, more sentimental) and our relationship is more tumultuous - sometimes close, sometimes it's too much, I don't have patience for him always.

... and I'd bet that your dad is a Lion primary, like you. That's a pretty good description of the type of relationship two intense Lions tend to have.

I adore my partner. I feel lucky every day for them. They are a significantly better person than me, so I just try to keep up as best I can and remember to not be too selfish and make space for them to have their needs and wants addressed, because for me that's a conscious effort whereas for them, addressing my needs and wants is kind of automatic. Also they're the kind of person to have a savior complex where if someone needs help they can't say no,

Your partner is a REALLY loud Badger primary.

and I'm the kind of person to say "no, fuck that", and I sort of have to balance giving them free reign to follow their nice impulses vs setting boundaries over what we can reasonably handle.

I hope you know how important that is, and how important you are to your partner's well being. Expansive Badger primaries really, really struggle with "fuck that" and "sounds like a Them Problem." Healthy Lion primaries bring that energy.

Thank you very much! Super curious to hear the conclusion.

You're a Lion primary who *loves* Badgers, and is surrounded by some very loud ones. So most of the time, you probably look Badger yourself. But when it really comes down to a big decision, it really is all about how you feel about it - and that's not selfish, that's necessary and strong. You're a Badger secondary, who occasionally models Bird, and who had a period when they burnt their secondary pretty badly, which made the Badger problem solving that you usually like feel anxious and agonizing. But luckily, you're doing well now.

#submission #lion badger #lion primary #paragon lion #badger seconary #courtier badger #cw depression #sortme #wisteria sorts #sortinghatchats #shc

[acacia-may]

Hello Acacia. I'm glad to see you're feeling a little better. You don't need to rush back into activity but thankfully, it doesn't seem like you won't stress yourself. Thank goodness. Just take care of yourself. But I also saw you reblog an ask game so if you want a little something to think about while you're getting better, can I ask numbers 1, 3, 10, and 36?

Hi Erika! Thank you so much for the ask! I apologize it has taken me a little bit to get back with you. I'm still not feeling the best so I'm very, very slowly easing back into blog activity. I really appreciate your kind words and encouragement, and I loved getting to read all of your reblogs & comments while I was unwell and on hiatus so thank you so much for that as well! 🥰 I'd be delighted to answer these questions for you.

Questions from this fic writer's ask game. Answers below the cut.

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

I answered this question here, but as that was more focused on my Black Clover fics and we share more fandoms, I think I'll answer in more generalized terms for you. Out of everything that I've ever written I think "Take Care of Yourself" which is a Demon Slayer fanfiction about Shinobu and Giyuu's friendship says a lot about me as a writer and also, in some ways, as a person. I worked on that story for a very long time, and I'm very proud of how it turned out in the end. It also includes a lot of my favorite themes (platonic friendships, family relationships, hurt/comfort, healing from the past and finding the strength to carry on in the face of adversity ect.). I think I'd direct someone to that fic if they had never read anything of mine and were familiar not only with Demon Slayer but with any/all my other fandoms as well. (I also asked my sister for her opinion since she sometimes Betas my stories and she said that would be her suggestion too 😅).

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?

I write a lot about platonic relationships--male & female friendships, found families, and problematic/complicated sibling relationships especially. My favorite genre is probably hurt/comfort, but I'll admit I also really enjoy writing wholesome fluff & shenanigans. I also enjoy writing about happy futures for the characters I love most (especially if they have been through a lot in the canon).

In terms of other characteristics, I think I use a lot of dialog tags. I'm trying to work on using less of those. 😅 I tend to write in third person but I try to stay close enough to the POV to give them a "voice" in the narration of the piece (or that's the hope anyway 😅). I have recently been branching out into 1st person POV, but I'll admit I don't like it nearly as well. 🙈 I think I also write a lot of flashback scenes because I like trying to tie the past and present together in a lot of my stories. Overall though, I really try to try something new in every story that I write whether that be trying out a new narrative structure, genre, character(s), or perspective. It makes me nervous to try new things as a writer, but I think it's the best way to grow and to (hopefully) get better at writing.

10. How do you decide what to write?

I answered this question here, but I will also copy and paste part of it for you and also add a little bit to the discussion. 😊

Truthfully, I have a lot of story ideas that never actually get written. 😅🙈 I just don't have the time or energy to write everything, unfortunately. The ones that do get written are either ideas that wouldn't leave me alone or get out of my head until they were written down or they are ones that I write for some practical reason (i.e. a prompt from someone or for a fandom event/week). Another big motivation for me as a writer is to explain how I see a certain character, relationship, or situation.

[New] I think I tend to read between the lines with a lot of characters--especially ones that aren't necessarily painted in the most favorable light by the canon. While I don't excuse or try to explain away their bad actions (if they have some), I do tend to recognize that they may have diminished culpability or are at least more sympathetic than they may appear. My sister teases me that I have a "sixth sense" for when a character is going to have a tragic backstory. 😂 I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to say that (though it is a fun little running joke), but I do find that I tend to have a more generous/sympathetic interpretation of certain characters than my friends irl. This can make things a bit complicated when we have discussions because I feel like I have to explain why I don't think certain characters are just irredeemable jerks. I feel like I stumble over trying to explain how I see a character (especially if I see them in a more favorable light) so I find that writing about them or writing in their POV and then showing that to my friends can help them better understand my perspective and interpretation and how/why it is different from theirs. It's one of the main reasons I've written so much about Langris from Black Clover, for instance, but I've also done the same with characters from other fandoms and relationships (if I'm trying to explain what certain characters' friendship looks like in my mind for instance).

36. Do you visualize what you read/write?

Yes, I tend to visualize stories very vividly. My own writing especially I usually mentally "walkthrough" a scene/a story in my imagination before sitting down and actually writing (and occasionally I will even talk through the dialogue aloud to make sure that it isn't too clunky or awkward. My youngest sister isn't really into fanfiction, but her pet peeve as a reader of anything is awkward dialogue so I often hear her voice in my head reminding me to only write non-cringy dialogue that people would actually say... 😅 Hopefully I succeed on that point 🙈). My mental walkthroughs are really helpful to me when it comes time to actually write, and sometimes when I'm struggling to choose the POV character, I'll sometimes walk through the same scene from multiple perspectives until I find one that I like best.

I'm not sure that the level of detail I see in my head always makes it into my finished writing though. I used to be really, really wordy and descriptive when I was first starting out writing, but I got a lot of constructive feedback on how a lot of it was unnecessary and weighed down the story so I hope I strike a better balance when it comes to being descriptive now. 😁

#thank you so much for the ask #erika 💙 #acacia's ramblings #fic writer ask game

[libertyreads]

Book Review #109 of 2023--

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston. Rating: 3.25 stars.

Read from August 26th to 29th.

I want to preface my review--for once with something serious--by saying that I do not believe in the idea that you outgrow any particular age range of books. I think your tastes change and maybe what you used to enjoy is no longer what you want to read in terms of plot or structure or whatever. But I think the reason that a lot of adults say that they've outgrown YA or Middle Grade has less to do with the age range not working for them and more to do with them not taking the time to figure out what things--other than what they used to read--the age range has to offer. Now, obviously, if I'm starting out my review this way, it's for a reason. I was looking back at what I rated the first book in this companion series and was somewhat shocked to learn that 5 years ago I gave it a 5 star rating. And I genuinely think it's just a me thing. If I had read the final book in this series as soon as it came out, I'm positive it would have gotten a higher rating from me. But my tastes have changed in the past 5 years. It happens. And let's not forget that a 3.25 star rating is not bad. It's well over average.

All of that to say that I had a fun time when I read this one. I didn't get to read it as quickly as I would have liked simply because real life got in the way. This is a fast paced and short book so I'm a little sad it took so long to read. I found the characters to be the absolute best part of the story. While I found some situations a little contrived, I felt like the characters were a breath of fresh air. Rosie and Vance in particular came off the page. They were both human and flawed and made mistakes but they also were people trying their best given their circumstances. I also liked that while Rosie made Vance want to be better, we also had Rosie giving him the grace to do so. She never held his past against him. She mentions at one point in the novel that there's no point to make the effort to be a better person if people still trying to hold on to the person you used to be. And this book does touch on some serious topics very briefly: bisexuality and not erasing it because someone got married to someone of the opposite sex, the ridiculously high costs of health care in America, guys not being able to understand someone not being interested in them, etc. Not to mention that this is inspired by one of my favorite Disney movies of all time: Beauty and the Beast. Book girls know, book girls get it: that movie is all about that library. Ha. Forget the prince and the castle. I wanted that library. And Rosie would too because she's just as big of a book nerd as I am.

Overall, I think I'm just not in a place to love a book so immersed in fandom. If I had read the full series as it was coming out, this would have been a higher rating for sure. I still had a good time and enjoyed the characters of this story so much. It just didn't hit as hard as it could have before my tastes changed.

#I've also been stressed the fuck out about starting to look at buying a house #which probably doesn't even factor into my rating #it just keeps making my brain attempt to short circuit #book review #book reviews #booklr #bookblr #bookstagram #books read in 2023 #2023 reading challenge #goodreads challenge #goodreads #books #bookish #Bookish and the Beast #Ashley Poston

[spiritedgoat]

The Ashes in us

(Part 1)

Part2: https://spiritedgoat.tumblr.com/post/692747625824468992/the-ashes-in-us-part-2-part

Reader/Jason Kolchek

M/F

But there is descriptions of some things (ex. Tattoo,ect)

Warnings

Will get mature so be warned lol

graphic depictions of violence and swearing

Let me know if you all enjoy and want more!

_____________________

_____________________

Never have you felt heat like this before even growing up in South Carolina for most of your life. The sun's rays hitting every inch of your exposed skin. Your army green shirt tucked into your fatigues, sweaty and uncomfortable. ''The Iraqi sun really shows no mercy'' you sighed to yourself picking up the canteen from your pack. Physical exercise really was hell in the middle of the day especially since summer was in full swing, yet you still considered it to be better than stuck inside behind a desk.

"Fuck, they're really seeing if they can kill us before the Iraqis do, huh" one of the men panted, standing a few feet away desperately trying to cool himself off. You smiled softly ,shaking your head. Yeah it fucking sucked and it felt like your were playing pushups on Satan's grill but overall it did help with the acclamation process ,helping plenty on the missions in the middle of absolute nowhere ,looking for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Even though most of those missions ended in coming back empty handed.

"You done, Jack?" Nick asked leaning against the structure looking down at you in your crouched position. The voice grabbed you back from your thoughts at the sound of your nickname. You looked up at the man squinting at the sharp sunlight. "LT is looking for you, thought I'd come get ya since I'm on my way to Rachel"

You sighed, grabbing your things to follow the man into the building. Nick and Jason were probably some of the closest friends you've made including Joey, they truly became like family to you even if you might or might not have eyes for the lieutenant though you'd never act on it.

"How gentlemanly of you" you joked swinging the backpack over your shoulder. "Have you ever known me to be anything else?" Nick followed the act even fake bowing, laughing at your sarcasm. It was definitely a second language you were very much fluent in. "What's it about anyway?" you asked , casually watching Nick as you walked together through the corridor.

"I think it might be regarding the new C.O landing today" Nick shrugged. "Ah fuck" you sighed

"Judging by the reaction, guessing you forgot? The Iraq sun already fry your brain? " Nick teased, You shot him a glare, playfully slapping his shoulder with the back of your hand. "I didn't forget....okay maybe I did, shut up"

"Thank you Nicky! for saving my ass from Jason giving me an earful" he dramatically proclaimed, laughing at the scowl on your face. "Say hi to your boyfriend for me" Nick teased with a wink, knowing exactly what he was doing. He was probably one of the only ones who knew your dirty little secret. Though you'd never admit it to him, you couldn't lie either when he started connecting the dots that you liked Jason.

"Yeah yeah, whatever" You laughed shooing Nick away at the door where you part ways .You watched a moment longer as Nick continued up the hall towards the Quee...I mean Rachel's office. You had your suspicions about whatever the hell was going on there. If Nick was really fooling around with the Queen Bitch ,as she was fondly know as, was way past you. You didn't really care too much but you'd lie if you said it didn't prick your curiosity a little.

Upon entering the room you were met by a pair of eyes sitting behind a desk, "Ah Joey, they got you doing paperwork now?" you laughed walking closer to inspect the documents he was working on.

"Just say if I need to make a few calls there, buddy" a familiar voice sounded, entering the room. The man in question walked over to you, a smirk hanging on his lips.

"Nah, as far as I know, you catch less bullets from behind a desk" Joey said looking up smiling at his lieutenant. You just shook your head and smiled turning to Jason.

"Miss Jackowski, I want you to finish your reports and meet me outside at the east hall in two hours." Jason spoke, his southern accent thick. Something that made you a little tingly inside. "Yes sir" You answered, gathering the needed paperwork. "When is the new C.O coming in?" you asked turning to look at Jason who was leaned against a desk. "He's supposed to be in, in 3hours but said he might be running a bit early" Jason answered glancing at you.

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

Finishing the last report you packed everything up, slipping out of the room with 15 minutes to spare before having to meet up with Jason. You stepped outside dodging marines entering the tight halls and leaned yourself against the outer wall to the side of the building, a little place you frequented on your breaks. It was a welcome bit of fresh air. Pulling out your pack of cigarettes you stuck one in your mouth. Lighting the end you pulled in a slow breath.

"You know that will kill you" a voice said to the side of you making you jump from your spot.

"Fucking hell" you mumbled under your breath ,looking up at Jason who was watching you with a cocked brown brow, a small smile on his face.

You only smoked on occasion, especially if stress was high. A not necessarily good habit you picked up even before your deployment days. It helped you wind down sometimes, to just take a break.

"Now I won't lie but I think there's worse things that'll kill me out here, sir" you smiled looking at Jason's amused face. He just nodded, dimples just creeping into sight before slumping against the wall next to you.

You looked over to your side exhaling the smoke away from him.

He held out his hand to you expectantly, you raised an eyebrow and slowly pulled the cigarette from your lips, handing it to him.

He took the cigarette and put it to his own lips taking a deep puff before slowly exhaling. You just watched him quietly in the comfortable silence.

It was weird, the first time you've seen Jason smoke but it clearly wasn't his first by the looks of it. You turned back, quietly staring into the distance. You know there must be a lot on his mind, especially after the checkpoint incident that happened. You knew Jason took it a lot harder than he'd ever admit maybe even harder than Nick since it was on his call. He was a hard and intolerant man but you knew he had a soft and caring heart under the whole 'macho' confident front he always tried to put up.

You knew that feeling well since you'd be a hypocrite if you said you didn't. The feeling of...not feeling to protect yourself from being hurt. You yourself were good at putting up that ruse using humor or sarcasm but inside you always had your walls up, guarded and secured since your childhood.

You were practically bred into the military. Your father, a good colonel to his men but a damn bad father. Especially after your mother passed away, the bottle took a tight grip on him and made him mean...

"We should go in five" Jason finally spoke breaking the silence that befell you, looking over to you taking a last drag of the cigarette.

He longingly glanced at you, the calm but unreadable expression on your face as you stared ahead, he could see the cogs turning in your head only wondering what was going through your mind.

For some reason he was always drawn to you like a cowboy to a horse. Maybe it was that he found some misplaced sense of comfort and peace from you or the way you always seemed to make him smile, those stupid jokes you tell or the way your body's curves complimented each other, the way he didn't have to act around you. But one thing he knew for sure was that you were a damn good marine, best of the best if he had to say it. He wouldn't have anyone else to guard his back.

At first he underestimated you since you weren't too mouthy about your skills and kept to yourself, till he saw you in combat, saving his ass from an IED. Since then his respect for you only grew more and maybe his feelings for you too.

A piece of your tattoo peeking out from your shirt at the base of your neck caught his eye. He always wondered what the tattoo was, never getting to see the full piece since it was hidden away on your back.

You met his eyes briefly and nodded your head in understanding at his words, relaxing back against the wall enjoying the soft breeze against your skin.

#jason kolchek x reader #house of ashes #salim othman #eric king #rachel king #nick kay #clarice stokes #nathan merwin #joey gomez #smut #fluff #angst #trauma lol #wrap it before you tap it

[kyogre-blue]

OK, Kaveh hangout is done.

I took some more screenshots on the last ending, with the Faranak stuff, and obviously I have a bunch of dumb nitpicks, but I'm just going to not go there.

Overall, I don't think the quality of Kaveh's hangout is lower than the other recent ones, but I did enjoy it least of the Sumeru character ones.

The issue is that it tries to bring up the vague, broad concepts of art and idealism, and the writers are simply not equipped to handle that.

Faruzan's good(tm) branch is very direct and carries well a single story from start to finish: we start with Tighnari and Collei, we work through Faruzan trying to help them fix the crab, running into something from her past, and then returning to Tighnari and Collei, with emotional moments regarding both the people who loved her in the past and her bonds in the present. It's nice.

Layla's is, imo, a lot less substantive because Layla doesn't really have a backstory or interactions to build from. But the branch I recall most clearly is the one about her feeling unsure of herself but then finding out that the family she tried to help in the past are doing well and that her choice was correct. We also learn about her alternate personality, and the other Layla conveys well that Layla is smart and has great potential, while showing other Layla's care in a good way. Also pretty nice.

But Kaveh's is... awkward.

One branch is about his client and focuses more toward idealism. The other branches disregard the nature of his actual problems with his client (who is trying to conceal the real goal of the project) and lump the issues together in with wangst about artistic vision. Having these two broad concepts together without linking them, in such a limited short story format, is already bad. But then they start going in on companionship... It's all over the place.

On top of that, the writing is extremely bloated and poorly structured. Which is always the case in Genshin, but generally they have some plot things to keep the story kind of moving. But once we're into only philosophical speculation, it becomes pretty obvious that this doesn't even have the structure of a third grade essay.

If you want to convey a message (which this hangout sure acts like it does), you need to distill it down to a pretty punchy, short statement, which you deliver at the right moment. It needs to stick with the audience.

Instead, we keep meandering around the same general area, but always adding a bit here, deviating into something pointless there... It's just really frustrating to read if you're paying any attention.

As for Kaveh's characterization, it really doesn't do him much favors.

He's extremely self aware, but at the same time he's wishy washy. He comes across as unremarkable, but at the same time he whines like 5x any other character in the entire game. He's also just kind of stupid, but it's not even in a funny way.

I'm going to do my best to forget this canon take on him as quickly as possible because the fanfics are way more interesting.

One final thing, I lied, I'm going into it:

Special shoutout to the generational xerox pointless reference with everybody's parents. I hate that shit and it should burn in hell.

#playing genshin

[ot3]

oh my god youre reading worm? please i need to know what you think about it

I'm actually most of the way through it at this point! i've been enjoying it overall although i definitely enjoyed the earlier game more than the endgame i think

i really enjoy taylor as a main character i think a character being cripplingly aware of everything at all times while also completely lacking any self awareness is always extremely fun. watching her go from wannabe hero to literally a domestic terrorist over a very slow and deliberate ramp-up of stakes and concessions she's willing to make in pursuit of her goals was super fun and super well done. i'm just now a little bit past the point where she admits she regrets it all and would have done things much differently. she's also reached the Hang On... Is Having Feelings... Normal? stage of development which I love for her. Just a genuinely interesting and well done character imo. Lisa and Rachel are also absolutely excellent.

Overall I've been really impressed by how cleanly each arc has lead into the next. There's always been adequate setup that they can cleanly slide into the next conflict without it pushing the suspension of disbelief or feeling oddly paced, except for the big timeskip which was I think the weakest arc so far by a significant margin. But this thing is an absolute beast and more than that, the sheer pace it was written at is staggering so I'm more than willing to forgive one area being structurally weak. It really seem like the author just didn't know how to handle that point in time gracefully without writing several hundred thousand words in the middle and I can't blame them for not wanting to do that.

i'm reaaally not a superhero person for the most part so i enjoyed how atypical the stuff at the beginning was from my mainstream conceptualization of superhero tropes. like the very much political intrigue angle of most of it and the territorial faction warring was so much more interesting to me than anymore straightforward conflicts where someone's clearly in the right. It was a type of superhero gray morality I haven't seen so much. The endbringer fights were also pretty cool mostly because they made me think about pacific rim but overall I found them much less interesting.

I think so far the stuff that's been the least interesting to me has been these past two arcs, with defeating Jack and then going against scion. The #lifehack methods they were using to fight the s9 the second time around were super fun but for the most part it just felt like some shonen anime power scaling nonsense to me where it's like... okay going from one life or death fight to the next where the stakes are just 'win or evil thing happens' and theres this super huge cast of satellite characters who like yeah we Know them but we don't have a ton of emotional investment in them so its like. like i get taylor spent two years with tecton and grace and cuff and everyone else there but its like. yknow those aren't the character relationships that have had hundreds of thousands of words dedicated to them, so it's hard to care and harder to tell if i'm even supposed to care

i have been really liking the reveals of the greater worldbuilding that have been happening in these arcs, though. very fun to start to see all that come together.

i'm not sure if the way this thing comes together in the end will retroactively negate my problems with these later arcs, but even if it doesnt and it continues trending in a direction i don't find as interesting to read, its still overall a really impressive and fun work.