I know I’m mostly known now for meta and GIFs, but back in the day, I used to really love to draw?

Of course, despite my high school sculpture teacher’s note of, “Oh, this is what you’re good at” upon seeing me draw, my skills in that whole visual art area have always been super limited. But drawing was one of my favorite hobbies for a time. Believe it or not, there was a point when fanart was my biggest contribution to fandom!

Anywho, I’ve been looking through old stuff again because I just had to transfer thousands of files to my new computer, and I got this ancient folder called “Sketchbook” that contains all these bad cellphone photos of just a small handful of stuff from my sketchbooks:

And I got reminded that I used to adore Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. It was hands down my favorite piece of literature that I ever read for school, the 1996 Trevor Nunn film adaptation was totally my jam, and I even wrote this big fantasy AU of the play for one of my NaNoWriMo novels.

And I drew stuff for that AU! Just a little, really, but looking back has brought on a whole flood of memories.

Like, here’s a dood I did of the protagonist, Viola:

(It’s titled, “viola just borrowed that dress,” which I take to mean that she totally stole it.)

And here’s Orsino, being dramatic as always:

Orsino: Oh! The torment never leaves a man!

And, I mean. Seeing this again just brought a smile to my face. I dunno what it says about me, but I loved writing this guy. One of his introduction scenes had him like, in his underwear, surrounded by unicorns, saying his classic line: “If music be the food of love, play on....” I mostly left out the Shakespearean language in my adaptation of the story, but that kinda talk just sorta works for Orsino, lol. He’s so over-the-top.

I also drew out a moment between Olivia and Cesario from my book:

Olivia: But enough talking about him...

(And Viola is definitely thinking, “Oh no she’s hot but I’m supposed to be Doing This Thing for Orsino!”)

And I even made this super silly comic for a moment between Viola and Orsino:

Viola: I... I...

Orsino: Y-you...

I called it, “People Being Over-dramatic: The Comic!”

Sadly, I never drew anyone else, which is probably especially sad in the cases of Sebastian and Antonio because my book is actually told from the perspectives of only Viola and Antonio, and the relationship between Viola and Sebastian is really the heart of the story. But I suppose Sebastian would look just about identical to Cesario, haha.

In any case, Twelfth Night is such an underrated Shakespeare play and deserves more love. If there’s anything I really want an animated adaptation or some sort of modern reboot of, it’s this. It’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s got explorations of gender identity and everyone’s gay, and even if I have some Opinions about how the love triangle gets resolved, it’s still got one of the best love triangles in all of fiction. 

Like, it’s the kind of love triangle that makes you forget why you normally hate love triangles.

My AU of the story is kind of problematic in retrospect, and it’s definitely a total hot mess that needs a lot of fixing, but, gosh. The source material is so good. Seeing all this old stuff I did for it makes me wanna write and draw from this universe again.

One of these days....

11 Questions (Now with 22 Bonus Questions)

Rules

1. Always post these rules

2. Answer the questions given by the person who tagged you

3. Write 11 questions of your own

4. Tag 11 people

I was tagged by @outside-the-government, @kaitymccoy123, AND @enterprisewriting I’m doing all of their sets of questions in one post because I’m just that great (I also don’t want to come up with 33 new questions)

Jules’ 11 Questions

If you had the power to eliminate any one single form of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, etc), which would it be and why? Oh god... um... this is a really tough question because I feel like I have to choose who stays marginalized. God... I think I’d go with racism because... well it’s a problem. I can’t really explain this one better than that.

If you could live in any one make-believe land or universe, which would it be and why? I’d live in the Star Trek universe, hands down. I feel so at home there, it would be just so comfortable for me.

If you were an animal, what animal would you be and why? I am basically a cat. I just want sleep, occasional snuggles, and lots of sun.

Which of your teachers (in any level of education) had the greatest impact on you - how and why? Oh God... It’s somewhere between my 7th grade English Language Arts teacher and my creative writing professor from 4th year. On one hand, my 7th grade ELA teacher taught me how to read effectively and how to record what I read so that I could learn from it (and she was also one of the only ones who could be arsed to teach us grammar). But Aritha van Herk... she elevated my writing and taught me how to really be critical of my work. That is so valuable to me.

If your closest loved one came down with some awful, painful, incurable illness and you could save them in one of two ways, which of these would you pick and why: 1) you can cure them instantly, but the second you do they forget you ever existed and you must live your lives apart, or 2) you can cure them instantly, but you die in their place and they have to live forever without you. I’d pick option 1 because either way they’re going to have to live without me, and least it won’t hurt them if they think they never knew me to begin with.

What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done to impress someone? *sigh* I don’t know. I spent so many years embarrassing myself trying to impress people (read: boys) that I just... I repress those memories because the person doing that wasn’t really me. I suppose the craziest thing that *stuck* with me was my love of hockey. I tried to get into it to impress this guy and if I hadn’t been a moody teenager... well. Anyway, I really like hockey now, anyway. I actually went into the competitive stream in jr high gym for floor hockey (note: that was super dangerous for someone with my condition) just so I could play with him and show off.

How good are you at facing your fears? Honest to God, I keep sticking myself in situations where I have to deal with that a lot. I just give it a good push because I have to, and I make it work.

What characteristic do you value the most in friends and why? I value honesty. When a friend tells me that they don’t want to hang out because they’re having a bad mental health day, that means I know we’ve really made it as friends because they don’t feel the need to impress me or make excuses. And that means I’m allowed to do the same thing, which is super relaxing.

If you could wake up tomorrow and suddenly be the world’s best at something, what would it be and why? I’d be the world’s best writer so I could get all my stories picked up by peeps in Hollywood and have them made into movies so I could meet all these amazing people I want to meet.

What’s the worst injury you’ve ever gotten and how? Er... how do I pick the *worst*? THIS IS GOING TO BE GRAPHIC! I think... when I was 7 I jumped off a wall unit and broke my tib/fib just below the knee. I was in hospital for 3 days because they needed to do something fancy to get it back in line and I had a cast nearly up to my crotch to keep everything still while it healed. The alternative is when I broke my own arm kinda-sorta-not-really on purpose when I was 12. I lashed out at my brother because he was being annoying and I ended up twisting my arm while we were fighting (please note I am having horrible flashbacks while I’m writing this and I’m literally gagging at the memory), and I snapped my ulna right in two, twisting it completely out of place. I was given local anesthesia so that they could set my arm, but they gave me the wrong kind of meds and I had something akin to an LSD trip during which I verbally abused my entire family and became super afraid of narcotics. They fixed my arm, though. I’ve got 13 other stories where those came from, hit me up, I dare you.

Name one random fact that you know that people are always surprised to learn when you tell them. I’m a bellydancer. Not professionally or anything, but I’m actually really good at it and it makes me happy that I can do something beautiful with my body even during times when I don’t like my body that much.

Kaity’s 11 Questions:

What person do you most look up to in the world and why? Does Kathryn Janeway count? I honestly can never think of anyone else when I’m asked a question like this. I just aspire to be as badass as her.

What book really spoke to you, maybe even changed your view on things, and how did it do that? I want to talk about a book by Aritha van Herk for a moment. Restlessness. This book is set in my home city, for one, and it was written by my creative writing teacher. It’s about a woman who is so tired of being busy that she hires an assassin to kill her. Then they spend the evening together just talking before she makes the final call. It’s an amazing exploration of good writing, my wonderful city, the nature of being a woman, the nature of being a working woman, work interspersed with pleasure, and how to find balance. It’s amazing, please go read it.

If you could spend the afternoon snuggled on a couch watching a movie with a fictional character, who would it be? Holy... this is a really specific instance. I think my answer would be... probably Jim Kirk, actually. He just looks like a really nice guy to cuddle with, you know? It’s the strong arms. And he just looks like he’d be warm?

If you are in a bad mood, do you prefer to be left alone or have someone to cheer you up? I wanna be left the hell alone. I wanna listen to music and write and brood.

Do you judge a book by it’s cover (literally or figuratively)? It often influences whether or not I pick it up off the shelf, yeah. I ultimately *judge* a book by its contents.

What’s the one thing that people always misunderstand about you? I’m not horrendously awkward, I just don’t get my words right the first time sometimes.

What is your Harry Potter house and do you feel you were sorted correctly? Ravenclaw and fuck yes.

Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? It depends, but on the whole I’m an introvert.

What is your favourite colour?  Why? I like navy because it’s less harsh than black (says the girl who owns a metric fuckload of black), and it looks great with almost everything. It feels like a really mature colour.

What’s your most listened to song? Right now? That’s a really good question; I’ve had “Rhinestone Eyes” by the Gorillaz on repeat lately.

What celebrity would you trade lives with? Trade lives with? Oh hell, I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to saddle anyone with my life, I guess. Maybe... you know what, Margaret Atwood. She’s bomb, her work is bomb, and I want to be her someday.

Taal’s 11 questions

1. if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be and why? I really want to go to Germany and just live amongst my people and practice my language for a while. 2. what would you want your tombstone to say and why? Literally anything BUT “RIP.” 3. how do you feel about astrology? I take it into account, but I don’t let it govern my actions. For instance, Aries and Virgo aren’t supposed to go well together apparently but most of my friends and my partner are Virgos and here we are. 4. what is the most irritating, borderline trash ass fashion trend you’ve ever encountered? Crocs? 5. how long do you think you would last as a vegan? Maybe 45 minutes? 6. if you were to own an airline company, what would you name it and what would the slogan be?  This is the coolest question. I’d call it HobbitAir and the slogan would be “There and back again.” I’m not that creative. 7. which fictional character would you like to switch lives with and why? Can I be Lieutenant Romaine so that Scotty will look at me the way he does in TOS? 8. what subject did you despise the most throughout your education? Fucking Chemistry. Fuck. Chemistry. I just... I don’t... how can I understand something so well and still fucking fail, like I don’t even. (I didn’t actually fail chem, but I came damn close) 9. are you a smoothie person or a milkshake person? Depends on the day. In Calgary we’ve got a place called Peter’s Drive-in and there’s nothing quite like a Peter’s shake. Coffee-oreo-marshmallow, baby. 10. are you able to tell when someone is flirting with you or are you of the oblivious type? I think everyone’s flirting with me, but literally only one person has ever bothered to act on it and I had to break the ice first. So I guess it’s just wishful thinking. 11. name 11 things about yourself that you love and/or want to learn to love. N’awww I love this question ^^ I love: 1. my smile 2. my eyes 3. my crazy hips 4. my capacity for love and compassion 5. my ability to come alive in crisis 6. my intelligence and I want to learn to love 7. my creativity 8. my overactive imagination 9. my impulsiveness 10. my voice (that’s probably on everyone’s list XD) and 11. my disability.

Alex’s Questions

If you could go on a week-long camping trip with three people, real, fictional, or both, who would you go with?

If you could instantly master one physical skill, what would it be?

You’ve got a half hour to kill before your appointment and your phone’s dead. What do you do?

What’s your alignment in DnD terms (Lawful/Neutral/Chaotic Good/Neutral/Evil)? What do you wish it was?

What’s that one weird film you watched on repeat when you were a kid?

What’s your go-to style?

Do it for the vine. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done just to do it?

What never fails to put a smile on your face?

Who’s you’re favourite author and why?

What book actually changed your life?

What’s the last fanfic you read? Link it maybe?

And now I gotta tag 11 of you fine folks. @fandomheadrush, @starshiphufflebadger, @star-trekkin-across-theuniverse, @trekken81, @spacethewritingfrontier, @rae723 (hey, gurl), @schatten88 (do it, I dare you), @fanscribbling, @imaginestartrek, @imaginenterprise, aaaaaaaand @distinguishedqueenofbooks 

Can’t wait to see what y’all say!!

Post-apocalypse military AU.

Next part as I promised to dear Feli.😘 Occasionally it'll have the 3d part. Btw I chose tramadolum as painkiller bc it's typical in such cases in Russia. ************************* Private Katsuki woke up in the middle of the night. From cold. Or better to say - from loss of living warmth. The last thing he remembered was thin, cold fingers tracing his hair, wondering over neck, shoulders, innocently getting a bit under a t-shirt time to time. General Snow King... But. Where is he? Yuuri rose on elbow looking around. Shadow on the balcony. Here he is! Boy clumsily got up, still half-asleep, rubbed his eyes and realized something was completely wrong. His commander smoked on the balcony. But it's autumn already. Nights definitely aren't warm enough to stay outside half-naked and with bare feet. And the way he stayed. Hardly supporting himself with one hand over balcony fencing, as if trying to step on the left leg less. Burning spot of cigarette shivered in darkness. Private Katsuki stormed there. Being a long-time friend with doctor Phichit taught him a lot of useful (or not really...) things. Of course now it was clear - old wounds of his General were aching. Maybe this time because of stress... [I made General suffer... It's my fau...] [Not fucking now, Private Katsuki!!] - Sir? - boy from Safe Zone stepped on the balcony. - I know cold seems... distracting from pain. But still... It's not good for U. [Fuck. Chilling stones of the floor almost burn skin.] Not waiting for any response Private Katsuki reached for commander grabbing his waist. Snow King obviously shivered. - It's ok, Yuuri, just go back to sleep. I'll be right in a minute. - General turned to him with almost normal face expression. Almost... Smile could look carefree. But cold drops of sweat on his forehead, dark shadows under eyes and bitten almost to blood lips betrayed him completely. - Old wounds, righ? - Yuuri hugged his commander with both hands making to lean on his shoulder. - Finish your cigarette and let's return. - U shouldn't step here with bare feet. - his voice is too quiet. Almost like whisper. He sloppily stifled the cigarette, burned fingers by smoldering end and didn't even noticed. [How much pain do U hide from others, General Snow King?..] White skin was icy cold. How long did he stayed there?... It was just several steps distance - to get to the bed. Frozen fingers leaned to boys shoulder searching for support. Yuuri hugged commander almost bringing him on arms to the sheets. Laid there and touched forehead with lips. At least it's not a fever. In this case he knows what to do. - Sir, what caused this? - stupid question but Phichit could need to know it to choose the treatment. - Is it weather or... - I'm sorry. - icy-blue eyes focused on Private Katsuki. - It's just... I've got...nervous. It happens time to time. [Nervous?... Is it... Because of me?.. My fault??... No, Private Katsuki, it's fucking NOT the time for this!!!] Yuuri nodded, grabbed the phone and placed a fast kiss on pale cheek: - I'll be right back. I'm gonna take medicine for U. - Hey, c'mon, Yuuri! I'm fine. - strong hand held his wrist. - I told U it happens time to time. Nothing to worry about. No need to bother doctors. - NO NEED???!!!!! MY ASS!!! - unexpected outburst made General Nikiforov to instinctively let go of boy's hand. - If U're in pain it IS a reason to worry!!!! He whistled to Makkachin, tapped the bed near General and nodded to his side: - Look after him until I return. Dog wigged tail and licked Victor's cheek. *********************** Midnight call woke Phichit up but didn't really surprise him. As well as Yuuri in pajamas and army boots put on bare feet. He saw his best friend in even more weird states. The problem was clear. He put out some ampules and syringes and began to scroll through General Nikiforov's medical card. - Did U catch a cold, Katsuki-san? - Minami appeared from nowhere. Still not completely awake but as always super excited about hell knows what. - Your face is all red. [Just. Great. What am I supposed to answer? "Oh, it's ok, I've just occasionally kissed legendary General Snow King in a cheek."?????] Muttering something unclear, Yuuri grabbed medicines, listened to Phichit's warnings and rushed back. To his commander. Of course even more red then before. Minami sigh, pressing hands to face dreamily: - My OTP... ************************ When he returned Victor laid on the bed hugging Makkachin and hiding face into soft, brown fur. Is he asleep?... Private Katsuki unsurely touched naked shoulder. - Yuuri... - his voice was quiet and hoarse. - Please, go to sleep. U need a rest. - Phichit gave tramadolum for U. - Yuuri softly turned his commander on the back. Of course he wasn't the only one who being able to give an injection. Every soldier was taught medical basics. He was just too used to it for a newbie. Of course because of Phichit (or "dr.Hamsterviel" as he was often called by friends despite of lack of similarity). And it was also the reason why, unlike other martials, Yuuri never was reckless about medic themes. Boy took out first-aid kit, and returned to the bed with spirit and syringe but unexpectedly his General grabbed Makka, pressing him to the chest as a huge stuffed toy and curled into a ball near the headboard. - I'm a kind of... Don't like injections. I had too much of them during hospitals and stuff... - intonations sounded almost normal now. He even snorted. As if everything is fine. [Too much? Is it the only reason, General Snow King?...] Yuuri stopped for a second intensively thinking the situation over?.. Is his commander really scared of injections? But why? Painful memories? Or something else? But they must do it anyway. And do it right now. [What to do?! Think, Private Katsuki!!! What Mari-nee did when she brought U to doctors and U was afraid?...] Yuuri set on the bed near his General, stroke silver locks and when he raised a head cupped his face with both hands, smiling: - Please, darling... Don't be afraid. It won't cause U pain. He moved closer, to hug his commander: - Please, Victoru-chan... Don't be scared. I'm here. I won't let anything bad happen to U. [DARLING???!!!!! VICTORU-CHAN????!!!! Katsuki, are U retarted or what????!!!!!! Honestly he should punch U right now! Not to mention it was over-idiotic - to use tender pronounce of own country...] But all these internal screams didn't stop Yuuri from making embrace tighter and beginning to slightly cradle his General, caressing winter silk: - Don't worry, dear... It won't be painful... To say legendary General Nikiforov was surprised would be a shameless lie. He wasn't SURPRISED. He was STUNNED. And gasped with wide eyes unable to put thoughts together. He never experienced something like this before. If someone would ask Snow King what exactly he feels right now he definitely hadn't be able to answer. Either too stupid or too happy. Or both. Of course little traitor Private Katsuki used inadequate condition of his commander to press vein, touch skin with spirit pad and stuck the needle in... No, it's not painful. It could be even exciting in it's own weird way. But still... Tramadolum has some...unwanted side-effects. Victor blankly stared at empty syringe. Pain will fade away soon. It's not that good though... - U see? Everything is fine now. - Yuuri pressed a cold from spirit cotton pad to the vein, hugged his General with a free arm and caressed silver locks - U did great. U'll feel better soon. And now it's time to sleep. Somewhere in the corner of his mind General Nikiforov understood he should react somehow: say that he's not a kid to comfort him like this, or calm Kaiyo down because he is definitely worried, or... But he couldn't make a slightest move, unable to realize it all is for real. He didn't even notice when Yuuri turned off the light. - If U need something, I'm right here. - Boy laid his still speechless General to the pillow and covered with a blanket. Silence lasted about a minute. (And during this minute Yuuri several times almost died from heartattack hysterically thinking over again and again what had he done in last hour... - Yuuri?... - hoarse nearly to whisper voice sounded apologetic. Boy from Safe Zone almost jumped. From mix of worry and unreasonable embarrassment: - Yes, s-sir?.. - Are U here?.. Weird question. Victor tried to force out laugh but it sounded bitter. As an answer warm hand sneaked over his chest and pulled into soft embrace. Yuuri leaned to naked, sharp shoulder blades, breath touched the line of winter silk on the neck: - Aye, sir... I'm here for U, sir... This weird kid is always so brave in very unexpected moments... - Didn't I tell U? No "sir". We're family here. We call each other by names... -Victor caught milky-white wrist, intertwining their fingers. Nervously and too forceful. Private Katsuki didn't try to get free. Warm thumbs caressed icy-cold skin of his commander - I'm sorry for all this mess... - General inhaled making voice to sound less weak. Seemed like tramadolum worked on him rather fast. - I must explain U why I didn't want to use painkillers. U see... It has side-effects. Body is dizzy, mind is clouded... - Snow King sigh as if being a kind of bored with it all but then buried face into Yuuri's palms. Breath was shaking, more like sobbing, but cheeks stayed dry. - And... U know... I kinda... Loose control. Last time I got this injection... I was in hospital with damaged knee. They gave it to me every night for five days to make it possible to sleep. And every morning I found out the pillow is wet as fuck. And nurses muttered I cried for all six hours of it's effect. I didn't properly remember though... So stupid. I don't want U to be scared of disgusted...if something like this happens again. Boy from Safe Zone tightened embrace burring face into wither silk: - Why do U think so low about your subordinate, Victoru?... Crying is natural. And... U're not alone anymore. U won't wake up alone and in tears. I'm here. With U. [...And always will be with U. I'll wipe all your tears. If only I could... I'd wipe them with kisses... I'd give U my everything... My flesh and blood... Every second of my life...] - My Yuki-no-kami-sama... How did it happened - that Yuuri said it aloud - later he couldn't say for sure. But flawless body in his arms tensed up even stopping to breath: - Say... That... Again... Please... First Katsuki's wish was to roll into furthest corner and die there: how could it be??? Is his General mad at him now?... But... It's not a right time to be in hysteric. He just clung to Victor tighter: - It means "God of snow" in my language. [It's nothing to loose now. If he is mad, he has a right to kill me...] Kaiyo cupped commander's cheek stroking porcelain skin and repeated: - My. Yuki-no-kami-sama. Silence lasted for rather long. He'd think his General fell asleep but tense body in his arms made him doubt. Husky whisper touched boy's palm: - Yuuri... Where did U spend your epidemic period? Do U remember that times? [Ehhh??!! Why this question???] Private Katsuki shrugged shoulders blushing and being graceful to the entire Universe for laying behind his Snow King. He won't see this stupid redness. - Well... I don't remember much... I know we were evacuated because of risk of nuclear explosion in our region. It was a long trip. I can't say for sure what land it was.. And then threat was fixed and we were sent back home. But memories are so shadowed... I can't say what was a dream and what was for real. - Yuuri caressed silver silk away from commander's eyes. - But if U want, we can go and check it up in documents in the morning. General exhaled. Either disappointed or just thoughtful. And curled into a ball in Yuuri's arms, leaning to him with his back unexpectedly tight: - Yes... Let's do it. In the morning. Boy from Safe Zone locked the embrace and slid palm under Victor's cheek instead of a pillow: - Sleep well, sir... - "Sir"...my ass. - he lightly pushed Yuuri's side with an elbow and sigh - Sleep well, Private Katsuki, it's an order.