NPMD Tarot - The Lovers

Others from the project: The Devil, The Hierophant , The Star

A bit of symbolism under the cut, but I'm curious of other interpretations!!

Card that's all about forming own opinions and being authentic to self? Where the Reversed meaning is about hard choices and dealing with consequences? Even if they weren't the main couple of the musical it would've fitted them well!

There are twists in this one - major one is replacing the angel that blesses the couple with Max - still alive, threatening in all of his bully glory.

I kept the "everyone looks at someone who's looking at someone else" circle - Max is threatening Peter, Peter is in love with Steph and Steph is prepared to go after Max for what he did to Peter.

They have more nervous/covered up body language than the original card, since they aren't communicating that clearly. Steph is more open, even if nervous, Peter is on the fence, but willing.

Gun between them, pointing at Peter? You'll never guess what's that referencing :P

heaven sent

See my full list of works here

It's finally here! A chaotic piece brought about by this post that somehow turned into another love story between Loki and the reader. Whoops.

Summary: The guys try a bunch of angel-themed pick up lines on you to see which one makes you fold.

Pairing: Loki x Reader

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: none. this is fluff.

Things to be aware of: cheesy pick up lines

"These are terrible. Who actually thinks that these work?" you heard Natasha groaning from the common room. "Because I was praying so hard? Really?" 

"The one about taking off your shirt so he could see your wings made me want to put them in a death grip," Wanda chimed in. "Although something tells me they might actually like it if I do, so I'll have to blast one of their appendages off, I suppose."

"Alright, what has you two in a quest to chop off limbs? Again?" you asked as you walked in to the common room, Wanda immediately scooting over so you could sit between her and Nat. 

"The guys here are trying to see if they could get us to fold with cheesy angel-themed pick-up lines. Tony's convinced that it's all in the delivery. So far he's not proving his theory right." Nat looked like she'd rather endure getting her teeth pulled out than having to receive another line, so you decided to relieve your friends. 

"Alright boys, these two look jaded and ready to cut your throats out, so consider me their reliever. Gimme your worst." You pointed at the direction of the guys with a 'come at me bro' motion. 

"I wanna try, Miss Y/N." 

"Go ahead, spiderling, but pro tip? If you wanna pick a girl up, let's start by not calling her Miss. Makes us feel older than we are." Peter grew red at the advice but nodded and stood up, straightening his shirt and shoving his hands in his pockets. 

"Will you tell me about your home, Y/N? I wanna know what Heaven's like." 

You nodded your head slowly, as if you were grading his line. "Your delivery lacks confidence, sweetie. You're gonna need some more time mentoring with Stark if you want his swagger to rub off on you."

"My turn," Wilson boomed, standing and doing a comical swagger type walk, clearly taking this entire exercise as a joke. Just like you were. "Y/N, does it hurt to always spend Christmases sitting on top of a tree?"

You furrowed your eyebrows at him. "Why would I be—"

"Because we always put the angels on the top of the tree," he finished with a move to smoothen his brows that had you bursting out in cackles. 

"Well I can't say anything about the trees but I do like spending my Christmases, and any other time of the year really, on top," you answered with a saucy raise of your eyebrow that had majority of the men in the room either doing a spit take or choking on their drink. 

You heard your friends cheering you on from the railing at the top of the stairs. "That's our bitch right there!" Nat hollered. 

"Alright I'll have a go at jellybean over here," Tony announced, standing from his seat and walking over to you with his signature 'Yeah I know I'm hot shit' walk. "I gotta make some training simulations just in case we ever have to face off against angels. You never know. You mind if I use you as the reference?"

You did three slow claps. "I will give you points for creativity, Stark. You still can't get a woman to fold with that line, though. Sorry." 

"I still want to get you scanned for that training sim, though. I’m not kidding, jellybean." 

"Just say when, Tony."

"May I have an attempt?" Your body felt like it froze on the spot at the sound of Loki's voice floating across the common room. Tony and Sam threw you knowing smirks before the former retook his old seat. Asshats. The two were the worst offenders when it came to giving you shit about your crush on the raven-haired Asgardian. 

"Uhm…sure, Mischief. Knock yourself out." You straightened your stance and fought to keep your composure as he took slow, purposeful strides towards you. "Although I'm pretty sure you'll get any woman to fold because fuck it that voice should be a registered weapon," you quipped as he crossed the distance to you. 

He chuckled. "You flatter me, little mortal." He tucked his fingers under your chin, making you look up at him, into his eyes. Focus, Y/N. Don't fold, don't fold, don't you fucking fold. "My mother used to tell me of a legend, that the Norns had crafted an individual for each of us so perfectly, so exquisitely, that when we meet them the only thought that will come to mind is 'There you are. Finally. I've waited centuries to reach you.' I once believed those tales to be pure works of fiction, to give one hope in a hopeless world. But upon meeting you, darling Y/N…"

"Mischief, this doesn't sound like a pickup line," you whispered frantically as he placed his thumb on your bottom lip, coaxing your mouth to form a pout, and used his free hand to tuck a stray lock of hair behind your ear.

He leaned in until your noses were touching, and then he spoke again. "There you are. Finally. I've waited centuries to reach you." 

"Fucking hell, I fold," you breathed out, staring at him with wide eyes, your heart thumping so loudly in your chest you could swear that Nat and Wanda could hear it from the second floor. "You win, Mischief." 

You saw his expression drop just a fraction as he released you, backing away by the slightest. 

"You're gonna need to teach us that, Reindeer Games," Tony quipped from his seat. "So…you win, pick your prize." 

"I didn't know you guys were playing for a prize," you said, turning to face the others, not even so much as daring to look at Loki after…what ever just happened.

"Well earlier the prize was just to not get kicked in the nuts by Romanoff," Tony answered. "Tell you what, Rock of Ages, you go think what you want as your prize and then just text Y/N. Game's over, boys. Let's pack it up." 

You looked up towards Nat and Wanda who were now frantically motioning for you to come upstairs and meet them, and you took that as your cue to run out of the common room. "I'm not even into him but I have to say that would've had me fold, too," the Russian spy commented as you stepped into their arms with a frantic wide-eyed look on your face. 

"Y/N, my friend, that…that didn't sound like he was playing." 

You took a deep, steadying breath. "What're you talking about, Wan? Of course he was," you mumbled. "I'm gonna go out for lunch today, you two wanna come with?" 

You received a text in the middle of lunch that nearly made your heart start sprinting and almost made you choke on the sandwich you were trying to chew.

I meant it. Every word. Come to me when you're ready. I'll be in my chambers.

"Y/N, you look like you've seen a ghost," Wanda prodded, her tone laced with concern. "What's wrong, dear one?" You showed her the text. "Fucking finally." 

"Fucking finally what?" Nat asked as she got back to the table. You showed her the text. "Oh. That. Well it's about damn time." 

"Excuse you two?? Something you wanna share with the class?" you all but shrieked in the middle of the deli. 

"You might wanna put the mozzarella stick down until after we're done telling you," Nat advised and you stopped yourself from taking a bite. "Mischief's had the hots for you. For months. You've been too busy having the hots for him and making sure that he doesn't figure that out, to even notice. We were hoping that he'd finally fess up when he asked if he could have a shot at the game earlier, and look at that, it finally happened. Hence, fucking finally." 

"So we should finish our lunch, go find you a cute outfit, so that you can be ready for him," Wanda said, wiggling her eyebrows at you, making you throw the mozzarella stick at her face. 

Two hours later, you were back in the tower, wearing a black sundress that fell midway down your thighs, and a gold belt around your waist, making your way to Loki's room. You took a deep breath as you rapped on the door before you could change your mind.

Almost immediately, the door opened to reveal the god in loungewear set in his signature green. He looked at you with a softness in his eyes as he reached for your hand. "Come in, darling." 

As soon as the door closed behind you, you started, "What did you mean--"

Before you could get another word out, he gently pushed you against the closed door and laid his lips on yours. The shock of his actions admittedly caught you off guard, but you quickly shook that off and placed your hand behind his neck, returning his kiss and weaving your fingers through his hair. 

"I know what I want," he murmured against your lips as he lifted you into his arms, making you wrap your legs around him, effectively trapping you between him and the door. 

"You mean out of the game or out of life?" you breathed out, letting out whimpered moans as he pressed kisses from your jawline to your neck. 

"Both, darling," he breathed against your neck. "Out of life? I want you to become mine." He pressed another kiss and groaned against your skin. "But the game, my precious mortal…" he trailed off, kissing a path from your neck to your ear. "I will need your answer before I tell you that."

"My answer to what?" you gasped as he lightly nipped at your ear. 

"Will you be mine?" He punctuated his question by kissing the skin below your ear and then proceeding to softly suck on the spot, making you all but moan your answer. 

"Yes."

"Well then…" He trailed a path of kisses back to your lips. "As my prize, I want you—"

"You have me, Loki. I'm yours—"

"On top." 

Your eyes snapped to his, the air leaving you as you saw the devious smirk on his face. Oh. 

A/N: Fun fact…the working title for this story while I was writing it was "lines from the corn factory". That is all.

Here's a little bonus gif for everyone who reads 'til the end:

Taglist:

Everything: @lokisgoodgirl @lokischambermaid @imalovernotahater @mygfloki @lucylaufeyson3 @thomase1 @springdandelixn @fictive-sl0th @mochie85 @laliceee @xorpsbane @gigglingtigger @silverfire475 @cabingrlandrandomcrap @vickie5446 @salempoe @lokixryss @sinsandguilt @lokidbadguy @alexakeyloveloki @glitterylokislut @arch-venus25 @freefrommars @littlemortals @cakesandtom @girl-of-multi-fandoms @mischief2sarawr @thedistractedagglomeration @five-miles-over @goblingirlsarah @peaches1958 @huntress-artemiss @lilibet261 @iobsessoverfictionalmen @holymultiplefandomsbatman @lovingchoices14 @avoliax @devilsadvocactus @purplegrrl27 @lokiprompts

Matthew wasn't sure if he should be so surprised by how resilient his son was. Hugh though wasn't looking very pleased. His expression was one of absolute exhaustion and worry. Gene of course picked up on this, honestly feeling slightly guilty over putting the alien through so much stress in such a short time. Matthew had shared that same worry over the mad scientist, knowing just how little time his son had to recover. Yet he couldn't say no. What would've that done? Make Gene all the more stubborn and make him do something just as rash as he did? No. He knew better than to do so. “As long as you don't overdo it. Of course. I don't think your friend could take much more of our recklessness.” Gene gave him an apologetic expression as he knew what his father said was true. “I know. I'm sorry Hugh. You know I have to do this. I'm not going to just stay in bed while all this goes down. I'll stay in bed rest after this all you want. I promise.” Hugh sighed, crossing his arms. “You wouldn't listen to me anyway. Don't you get yourself hurt during this or I swear I will strap you down and leave you like that while you heal up.” Gene couldn't help but let out a little laugh at that. He knew that the alien would absolutely do that. His eyes went back to the silver falcon in his hand. The mad scientist was still slightly worn out but he's never felt so revitalized like this. Given life anew in a strange way. It didn't take long for the mad scientist to get himself dressed. Alex and Tristan had wanted to intervene and keep him from joining but they knew that would've encouraged him more as well. Though that couldn't stop either of them from helping Gene. He gave them both a look that showed he wasn't going to let them coddle him. He's never let them do so before. Even when he wore himself down to the bone when Becky went missing. That thought had made him stop and looked around for her. Having lost track of the girl during his identity crisis. No one else seemed to have noticed until they heard a whoosh and saw Becky nearly tackled her father over. She hugged onto him, holding something with one hand. “Hey, kiddo. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you again. I'll be fine, I promise. Confused but fine.” Becky looked up at him, still not quite believing him. She quickly then placed another item within his hand. It was the goop ray he had left behind during the chaos. She had gone back to find it to give it back to Gene. He stared down at it. “Aw, thank you for getting this for me.” In another city, they were unaware that there was another gathering. The mayor of Newport had just finished giving the heroes the go ahead to storm the B.E.A.W Labs near their city. They were met with a riled up crowd filled with villains, civilians and other heroes alike. They didn't appreciate that these people were messing with their heroes as well. Ones they've grown to love over the years. They were just as inspired by Maddrixs broadcast. Sure they were a bit more on the bloodthirsty side but they were nowhere near the level of Darius. He had angered them so much they've put aside their differences temporarily. Having a bigger goal to accomplish first before resuming the status quo. It was unsettling just how quiet they went when they had seen the heroes step out. Waiting with bated breath for them to give them instructions on exactly where to go. Hydro had been surprised to see an old friend among the crowd. J.J. the villainous jester. There were a few others they've recognized. The circus themed villains that loved to team up with the jester. A certain doll who was once part of the villain roster of Fair City. They were going to bring every single one of them to the facility. To wait for Maddrix the malicious to take lead and destroy the hellish place. Taking down all those who willingly worked within there. Experimenting on innocent lives. They weren't going to stand for it at all. Even Atomic Steele knew to finally put aside his fury whether he liked it or not. He still despised him but he trusted his friend despite what happened. He still cared.

It still felt weird to Atomic, learning all that he did about his father's biological relationship to Maddrix. From what that woman Margaret told him, it made the hero think back to moments of his childhood before the massacre. How his dad never talked about his grandfather only telling the boy he had one who died. His dad only talking in details about his grandmother. There were times his dad seemed sad and frustrated about something, when a younger version of Max tried asking his dad what was wrong, all his dad would say was that he was just worried about and missing someone. At the time Atomic had no clue his dad was referring to an estranged cousin. The last time Atomic saw his dad alive, before he told the young hero to stay put and safe, was when his dad was watching the television and seeing what was going on. Atomic clearly remembered his dad having a horrified look but also a pained and guilt ridden expression. Although Max still hated Matthew, there was a part of the young hero that took some pity on Matthew and his father's past. A part of him that was strangely glad his grandfather perished by Maddrix's hands. Gene was ready to leave with Matthew and the others to head back to city hall. He had finished assembling his gear and putting on his attire for battle. Hey this was a serious matter but Gene didn't want to look like a bum going into battle. He also was kind of unsure about putting on his old Dr. Two Brains attire, which was just his work clothes. So Gene decided to make a compromise combining his former villain attires with his own spin. With Alex's and Tristan's help, the two aliens gathered a new lab coat for Gene along with a new change of clothes. These clothes were in clean and pristine condition. They also helped him gather a top hat and a silver mask, something similar to his old Professor Terror outfit. He didn't have the original clothing since he burned his outfit after the massacre. There was also no time to add some special sequins or elegant designs to his clothing much to Gene's chagrin. Gene looked into the mirror one last time before he left with Matthew, Alex, and Tristan. Gene's still white hair was pulled back into a ponytail. This earned an odd reaction from Becky as she muttered "no sandwich words" which made Gene recall Becky once telling him about the Chucktopia incident. Becky otherwise reassured her dad that she wasn't bothered by his style. Gene's silver mask was similar to how his old one was. It was an eye mask with embedded designs. The top hat Alex got him was definitely something similar to a Victorian era top hat but with modern designs. Gene had kept his gloves as his hands were still altered. He had gotten rid of his usual goggles as he saw no reason to wear them over his mask. As Gene held his old staff in his hands, the one thing from his Terror days he could never part with, an eerie feeling went down his spine. He recalled memories of his past, when he first joined his dad into the field of villainy, when he lead his own rebellion of villains against his father, and when he took down Atomic Steele. That wasn't Squeaky in action nor was it connected to his old Two Brains gimmick. That was all him. Gene let out a sigh and small smile. He had no idea what he was going to do after everything was over. Gene definitely planned to give Steven back his name and identity since he was going back to his old name that had been established on official, yet forged, documents. Gene wasn't sure if he was going back into the field as a villain or take a break after everything he had been through. One thing that was for sure, Gene was going to determine his own path and no sabotaged experiments or crazy animals and people was going to affect what he wanted to do with his life from now on. Meanwhile back outside the hallways of the medical clinic, Matthew was learning one of the most shocking things in his life. "You were in the mafia!" Matthew exclaimed in a shocked tone. @dualnaturedscientist

Perfect Heart (Part One)

Dean Winchester x Reader

Warning ⚠️: Depictions of self harm, suicidal tendencies and mentions of depression and mental illness. Language. Later --sexual themes. Description: Dean and Sam went on a hunt, leaving you to your own devices. A week before they left you overheard them talking about you leaving you to feel as worthless as ever.

Read at your own risk.

Note: If you’re struggling just know you are never alone.

Dean had been waiting on you to call him back as he had left several voice messages and fifteen missed calls in your voicemail box. He wasn't at all worried, he knew you. You would accidentally leave your phone on Do Not Disturb while you were busy working on something, whether it would be finishing that book series or binge watching your shows on Netflix.

He trusted that you were safe and sound back at the bunker, while he and Sam took their time driving back from a hunt damn near five hours from you. Dean planned on making some dinner for the two of you.

Probably something he wouldn't burn, like spaghetti, or just picking up something so that he wouldn't risk it. Whatever he planned on doing, he knew you would appreciate it.

You would have appreciated it, if you were even stable enough to pick yourself up off of your bedroom floor. You stared into space, fighting this game of tug o' war inside your head.

Contemplating whether or not you would actually do it. Whether you would off yourself tonight, or wait another couple months when you hit rock bottom in the comfort of your bedroom.

Your eyes squinted, the lights were too bright, the walls too dark, and such a suffocating color. You had your knees pulled up against you, trying so hard to comfort yourself, steadily rocking back and forth.

"I'm okay." You said to yourself between breaths. "I'll be just fine."

That voice in the back of your mind would not keep quiet, though. The dark, amalgamation of voices, of childhood trauma and past relationships coming back to haunt you, when you thought you had finally gotten away from it all.

You tugged your jacket a bit tighter around yourself, tucked your head between your legs, trying to breath as calmly as you could. Your thoughts drifted away, to Dean and to Sam. The two brothers who you thought so highly of. But you heard their conversation a couple of days before they had left.

That was a week ago.

You were walking down the hallway, about to head down to the common area when you heard the two brothers arguing downstairs.

"Do you really think I wanted to bring her along? Y/N? One of these days she's going to get herself killed." Dean huffs.

"Then why don't you tell her to leave then? Get it over with. She can go home, back to her apartment. And never have to see us again." Sam replied, a loud slam on the table made her jump, it was probably either Dean or Sam throwing their stuff onto one of the tables.

"I couldn't do that. I couldn't just tell her to leave. It would make things a hell of a lot worse. If it were up to me or you or anyone. The best choice would just let her go. Let her make her mistake." Dean retorts, the chair squeaking as she heard his sigh sitting down.

Sam scoffs. "Just let her die then? That's as bad as saying for her to just kill herself, Dean."

You slowly retreated back to your room in disbelief. You felt like you were dreaming, except it was not even a dream, it was a full blown nightmare. You expected to be safe after that night. But as you had gotten to your room, you could hear the boys coming up the stairs, their voices growing louder as you hurriedly shut off your light and locked the door. They could have easily picked the lock, but hopefully they would just ignore it and go on.

"She still asleep?" You heard Sam ask.

"That's all she ever does anymore, Sam. It's sad, dude." Dean mutters.

Sam stops just right in front of your door, the two pairs of footsteps as it was silent between them for a brief moment.

"Look Dean, I know you're upset at the fact Y/N doesn't hunt with us as often anymore. You need to cut her some fucking slack. I'm not going to lose my best friend because you want to be a dick." Sam growls, walking away, leaving Dean just outside your door.

It takes you a minute to recuperate as you peak up to still see his boots at your door. It doesn't take long, but he knocks, without your surprise.

"You up?" His gruff voice asks. You don't answer, or move. You just wait him out, as you hear him heave a sigh as his boots retreat down the hallway.

Now here you were. They would be back in no time, and you sat with the phone ringing beside you. You tried to act like it was all fine except it wasn't. You drew back your sleeves, your head resting on the side of the bed, your legs now spread out in front of you. It didn't take long for you to lose the battle in your head. The small switchblade you were given by Bobby pricked at your skin as it drew the cleanest of lines.

Just like he said it would.

But Bobby was not meaning it in the way you were using it for. You didn't care though. Even if you did, you wouldn't care for long. Getting a grip you sliced at yourself again, and again and again until you were numb. You wanted to go slow, so that you could pray to that asshole who sat at his computer writing the Winchester's story and never putting you in it. You were the least important and the one who was always picked last. Who would care if you took yourself out of the picture.

Not Dean.

Not Sam.

Not Castiel or Gabriel.

Not anyone.

You felt alone; you were alone.

And you were going to die alone.

You were getting tired, not being able to feel your arms. Would tonight be your last night in the bunker? You surely hoped so.

Dean and Sam entered the bunker, after a quick stop at the closest fast food shop, Dean placed the bags of food on the table, hurriedly going up the steps to your room to annoy you into coming down. He crept up to your bedroom door, and waited. Your light was on, and the soft noise of your TV made it seem like you were awake. He raised his hands and began to bang on your door, jolting you awake again. You had drifted off, and began to panic as you realized you were covered in your blood and the scars on your arms were still oozing blood. You cursed as you dragged yourself off of the floor, as much as you hated yourself, you had to get up. Getting the energy to haul yourself into the bathroom you stripped and bathed yourself. The water stung, and the pain was a bit more than you could take so after cleaning yourself you hopped out. Patching yourself up with the first aid kit you hid under the sink you awkwardly shuffle into a t-shirt, a large sweatshirt, and a clean pair of sweatpants. You threw away the clothes you hurt yourself in tossing them under the bed until later. You took the rug that was normally in front of the bed to cover the stains from your burden.

"Y/N? What's taking so long? Your foods gonna' get cold, dummy." You heard Dean on the other side of the door. The doorknob jiggled.

"Why's the door locked? You okay in there?" You didn't answer him. Instead you looked at yourself in the mirror and sure enough you looked like absolute shit. You didn't care. Wandering to the door, you unlocked it and sure enough Dean Winchester stood there, leaning against the door frame with a smile.

"Hey Y/N/N--" He froze. You didn't bother even hearing him at the moment. You trudged downstairs seeing Sam as he gave a wave and small smile which you ignored as you grabbed your food, passing Dean on the way back up, earning a confused look. You hurried back to your room, making sure to lock back up, settling down on the floor, facing away from the door. You had set your food on the dresser, not bothering to eat either. You weren't hungry, but you didn't want the two brothers to be concerned about you.

Dean sat next to Sam and nudged him. "Is Y/N okay?" Dean said in between bites of his sandwich. Sam shrugged looking at his brother.

"I don't know. I think it's best we chalk it up that she needs space."

The two brothers nod to each other.

"Agreed."

We've done it!

Or, more accurately, you've done it! Thanks to you, my fellow Tumblrinas, I've actually managed to hit 200 followers!

I never thought I would get this far, but I'm eternally grateful for all the love you've given me, and I can't wait to share many more brainrots with you!

In tune with that, I've decided: Why not let you look even further into my mind? I've given you lots of writing, but why not provide some visuals? And so, in thinking about what I wanted to do for my 200 followers celebration, I came up with...

⁕ Evie's Mind Palace Festival! ⁕

(Placing a cut so this doesn't get too long ^^)

As depicted in this lovely graphic above, I'm going to be focusing on my OCs' fashion for this little event. But not just that! I'll get to the bonuses later :)

For now, text version! Because Tumblr likes not loading images and some people may not be able to view the image

↬ Step 1: Pick an OC of your choice! From my OCs, that is. Hope that was clear. Anyone from the list. I'll even throw in a little bonus and say that unintroduced OCs are allowed! That means the ones on this list AND ones I may have rambled to to you in a chat we've had.

↬ Step 2: Pick an occasion prompt! The prompts are as follows:

Casual (aka everyday wear, aka their basic character design or an alternate outfit or it)

Formal

Training/Athletic

Battle (this may overlap with either 1. or 3. for some characters, but let's assume they actually get geared up for battle)

Hot weather (your typical summer clothes)

Cold weather (sweaters, winter coats, you name it)

Swimwear

Canon event (may overlap with some other categories, but I made this a separate thing for the lore opportunities it provides) - Make sure to specify what canon event you want!

Stealing clothes - You can include who the character should steal from in your ask, otherwise I will pick the victim myself.

Holiday-themed - Pick your holiday! Any holiday counts.

Fandombend - Pick your fandom! (This will probably come with some headcanons on what the OC would be like in the new fandom)

Inspired by a song - Please, pick a song! Preferably from the OC's playlist. I should have a playlist for almost every OC. Hop into the "#playlist" tag on my blog to find them and, if they're not posted over there anywhere, tap on any playlist that's there, let it take you to my Spotify profile, and hop into the "Character Playlists" folder!

↬ Step 3: If you want, pick an extra prompt! Your options are:

Historical - Please specify your time frame! You don't necessarily have to, but I tend to be an indecisive little gremlin, so it would make things a little easier if you could pick ^^"

Fantasy (This, of course, makes little sense if the OC is already in a fantasy setting)

Sci-fi (Once again, this makes little sense if the OC is already in a sci-fi setting)

Steampunk

Cultural - Please pick a culture for me to take inspiration from! It doesn't have to be a real-life culture. For example, you could pick Japan for some kimono art or you could pick the Kuja from One Piece!

Color prompt - Pick your color! I ask that you do keep it at one color so that I have some more freedom, and I won't take specific hex codes either because those specific hex codes might clash with the OC's color palette

Prompt of your choice - This can be literally anything! Yes, also an occasion, in which case it would replace your original occasion prompt. I just didn't have the space to add in all occasions known to man, so if you have another idea, this is where to put it.

↬ Step 4: Send your ask! Done!

Once you've sent your ask, please keep in mind that it might take me a while to answer it. I'll then make a collage/moodboard and get the ask posted. Maybe, I'll also draw your prompt, depending on if I have the energy and/or time for it. If I plan on doing that, I'll let you know in the post and tag you once I have the drawing finished! I may also be swayed into adding a little fic snippet to the answer, if I do feel so inclined. Maybe a song to match the vibes? It'll be a little surprise!

► Rules:

Be nice! It's not hard, and it's basically all I ask.

This is the one time you might not want to shower me in asks because these asks might take a bit to answer. I'm not putting a cap on how many asks per person you're allowed to send, just maybe be mindful of how long they take to answer and space them out over the time of the event.

I'll be accepting asks from the time that this is posted until March 17th. The event ends with the strike of midnight starting the next day. Whenever that may be in your time zone. As long as it's still 23:59 on March 17th somewhere around the world, send in your ask. I might also extend the event if asks keep coming in and I have the energy to keep going.

↬ Additional info for mutuals: You get to ask for crossovers! Just pick one of my OCs and one of yours and I'll try my best to draw them. I might bother you for references though, so be prepared! It doesn't matter how long we've been mutuals for! It could've been five minutes, you're still allowed to send in crossover asks. As long as we're mutuals, let's say, at the time that the ask is answered, it's all good. In practice, that means that you just need to be following me to be able to send in a crossover request. If you ask nicely and maybe say something about why you'd think why our two children would go well together and we share a fandom, it's very unlikely that I'll deny your request and won't follow you back.

Also, if you've ever wanted to say something about my OCs and/or me and my blog, this might be the perfect time for you to do it.

Okay, that's it for now! Love you, everyone! Here's to more fandom-y shenanigans!

Also, behold my new non-OC post divider! It features a lineart sketch of my blog icon in the middle! The icon was designed by @benevolenterrancy pretty much exactly two years ago when they realized my old icon was not, in fact, a unicorn. I still go full-on heart-eyes mode whenever I see my icon, so I figured it was time to remind everyone of the amazing artist that created it <3

Taglist: @starcrossedjedis @oneirataxia-girl @daughter-of-melpomene @fluffle-system @wheresmybloodynauglamir @supermarine-silvally @nanukanal @cody-helix02 (I believe this is the first time I've ever used my full taglist, aka the basic taglist plus everyone from fandom-specific taglists - wowie!) - Let me know if you'd like to be added or removed, for specific fandoms or the general list!

top five clothing items you wish you'd wear more often, please! and the five you do wear the most, please!

Oh heck! I still have asks from that ask meme thingy I reblogged 2 weeks ago, sorry for taking so long!

Hmm, tough to choose specific things I wish I wore more often. I do have a bunch of fancy 18th century things that sit in my closet most of the time, but usually when I leave the house I'm either going to work or to the grocery store, and I don't feel like being super fancy for that. Cuff ruffles would get in the way of all the hand washing and such, and breeches would be annoying at work because I use machines with knee levers.

I guess I wish I wore my nice shoes a bit more often than just for photos, but they were expensive and I don't want to wear out the leather soles. Maybe I ought to get little rubber soles added.

Oh, and my embroidered monster waistcoat! I wish I wore that more, but it's from an older pattern that doesn't fit me very well. The embroidery is also a bit worn out in places, alas.

It's a bit difficult to know which things I wear most frequently, but here are my best guesses for right now. (My summer answers would of course be different.)

1. This brown wool waistcoat from early 2019. I wear it all the time in the cold half of the year.

Just like the monster waistcoat, it's made from a pattern I drafted before top surgery, so it really doesn't fit me anymore. It's also getting pretty shabby. I've been meaning to make some new everyday plain wool waistcoats for a while now.

(I wear that green shirt pretty often too.)

2. This cap. It's just two pieces of linen, and I made it in 2018. I like wearing caps indoors when it's cold, and also under my wool hat outdoors. It adds an extra layer of warmth, is softer than the wool hat, and protects it from my very oily scalp.

I have 3 of these caps, but this one is my favourite. It's also something I ought to make more of.

3. These pants. They're just plain black cotton fall front pants.

I could pretend I'm wearing them the most because they're fully lined and therefore warmer than my other pairs, but the fact is I've got 3 other pairs of pants with holes worn in them that I need to patch and have been avoiding for a shamefully long time. It's a pretty easy thing to fix, and I will likely put it off for several more weeks, if not more.

I feel the need to point out that not all of my wardrobe is in such a miserable state, I at least have a good amount of shirts!

4. I don't think I have any pictures of it, but my winter coat is just a plain medium grey modern (by which I mean at least a couple decades old) wool one. Here's an image I found on google of approximately the same coat.

It was my grandfather's, and is a bit too big for me, and the lining is getting pretty worn out. Someday I want to completely pick it apart, recut it, and re-sew it with a new lining, but I can't do that until I have a backup winter coat.

5. This poor flannel nightgown which has finally worn out! Just a few days ago it developed a huge hole in the back panel, and a small one by the button placket, so it's destined to be cleaning rags and/or firestarters.

The buttons might end up on another nightgown though. So I guess this is no longer a thing I can wear frequently :( In the linked post I actually made 3 nightgowns from the same pattern, and that was the medium weight one, so now I'm down to the very heavy fish print flannel one and the light rayon one, and need to make more. (A very common theme with my wardrobe things, alas. I am slow.)

But I did just finish a new nightgown this week, made from a completely different pattern that I'm quite excited about! I'll get some pictures soon!

A fanfic of Lee!Sundrop and Ler!Moondrop bc it's impossible to resist.

Title: Another Mess To Clean

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

Late after closing hours, Moon was particularly busy on cleaning the ball pit. The children became fond of it that day and were in it for a long time. So many of the plastic, colorful balls were everywhere on the floor. Moon normally enjoyed cleaning on his own since he could accompany himself, whether it be a song, or just talking to himself. Something about cleanings like this was so peaceful to the night-themed daycare attendant. Meanwhile, Sun was crucially bored and had nothing to do. At. All. Moon wasn't a big help either since he was too busy in his own thoughts and peace. Sun thought about how to cure his boredom...Oh! He knew Moon well and knew that Moon got mad in a playful way when Sun made a mess right after he finished cleaning. Sun wanted to see how much he could get a rise out of Moon. He enjoyed getting Moon angry in his own playful way and thought of Moon's playful anger as a new game. An entertainment. A...toy. So, Sun jumped into the ball pit. Moon's head spun around to face the loud noise followed with multiple colorful, plastic balls thrown everywhere.

"What the- Sun?! Was that you?! Naughty...I just finished cleaning right there!" Moon yelled out, turning his entire body in Sun's direction. Sun giggled, knowing well that Moon was not happy with the mess he made.

"Hehehe! Pbbbbtt!! You'll have to catch me to stop me~!" Sun shouted, blowing a raspberry at Moon as a tease.

Sun was goading Moon on. He clearly wanted attention and Moon could see it.

"Now now, Sunny. I'm busy cleaning! I. Can't. Play." Moon reasoned with Sun and picked up the plastic balls and threw them back into the ball pit. Sun whined and pouted, walking out of the ball pit with crossed arms. He entirely forgot about his words earlier being 'You'll have to catch me to stop me~!' and that was a mistake. "No fair! You haven't played with me all day!" He whined, lightly stomping his feet, little jingles from his slippers echoing the vibrations of Sun's feet stomping on the soft floor.

"Oh, Sunny. I know I haven't but you're making more of a mess for me to clean up. Now, how about you go and play in the play structures or go paint a little picture? Moon tried being so nice and calm with his words. He didn't want to upset his Sunny. After all, he only wanted to play with his dearest friend. "But Moooonnyyyy!!! No one could paint with me or play with me except for you! Aaand if you refuse I'll-"

"Hmm~ Ok then. I refuse to play with you~" He cut Sun off short, knowing that his threats couldn't really do anything too big. His voice had a teasy edge to it. He knew that no matter what Sun did, he could always bounce it right back. Moon didn't expect Sun to actually do anything but- YOINK! Next thing Moon could understand was that Sun had his hat. He was waving it in front of his face, teasing Moon about it. "Eep! ...Ohohoho~ I see how it iiisss~" Moon quickly grabbed Sun's right wrist, snatching his hat back and putting it back in place. Sun almost immediately squeaked. His smile looked nervous and wobbly but truly, Sun was delighted to be teased and played with by his beloved, Moony.

"Now, Sunny~ You know how I've been cleaning all day~?"

"Y-Yes?" Sun stuttered.

"Well...it looks like I have only one mess left to clean~ Guess what it is." Moon teased.

"Th-The ball pit...?" Sun said, his smile still so wide and wobbly.

"You~"

Sun squeaked, his tail thrashing side to side faster than he could think. His rays were spinning in such an adorable way which made Moon's cheeks lightly cover with a blue bush. On the other hand, Sun's face was covered with a strong orange blush. His eyes widened as Moon's tail wrapped around his abdomen, lightly squeezing his sides causing a small yelp that escaped Sun's voice box. Moon only grinned oh-so-mischievously.

"EEP! N-Now now, Moony! *hic* I-I'm too sensitihive!!" Sun squeaked out. He was trying anything to goad Moon on. Sun started quivering in his grasp, showing Moon that he wanted to sit down for his punishment.

"Oh~ You're too sensitive, my Sunshine~? Well, what a sensitive thing like you to do in such a fun punishmeeent~?" Moon dragged out, his voice drawling and being enough to get Sun trembling. Which of course, did happen. Sun was shaking with excitement and anticipation. "M-Moonyyy~! Please! Dohon't! Not like this!!" Sun squealed. Moon brought Sun and himself down to the floor, with Sun in his lap. He wiggled his fingers right below Sun's face. His neck. Moon quickly replied, "Aaaww~ I thought you wanted the tickly-tickly-tickleesss~ But if not, then I can just go back to cleaning and leave you begging to be tickleedd~"

Damn! Why was he so good at teasing Sun?! Wasn't he meant to put kids down for naps and not play?! Whatever it was, Sun loved it. He was lightly kicking his cute lil' legs, quickly grabbing Moon's sides and shoving his face into his chest. "Mmf! Don't go..." Sun mumbled but Moon was able to understand his words.

"Aahaaw~ I wouldn't leave you, Sun-Cookie~"

"Uh- What?! Did you just call me-"

Moon cut Sun off in a sing-song voice. "Shush if you want the ticklesss~"

Just like that, Sun shut his mouth while still staring at Moon from the pet-name. Moon chuckled at his glare. He knew he was pushing Sun to his limits and wanted to continue before starting his punishment. "Aaawww~! It looks like my Sunny really does want the tickle-tickle-tickless~! I wonder if you could possibly be BEGGING for me to start~" Moon was really pushing it for his poor Sunny and he knew it. He loved flustering Sun into submission and knew exactly what buttons to push. Of course, Moon knew that Sun was staring at him with puppy eyes because he wanted to be tickled. It was obvious to Moon. Maybe not others, but for Moon? Certainly.

"I'll tell you what~ If you admit you want to be tickled, then I'll tickle you all day and all night~!" Moon suggested. He knew that Sun couldn't resist and he would have to admit it if he truly wanted the tickles.

"I- um eheh- d-do I really h-have to?! I-I mean, n-no one's forcing you or a-anything!" Sun struggled to say it. He tried to avoid saying it, wanting Moon to just go ahead and start his attack. "Yes you do~ And if you don't...then you'll just have to stay bored~"

"Mmm!! Ok ok! I'll say it!! I-Iwanttobetickled..!!" Sun quickly covered his face. He wanted to say it so quickly that Moon would accept it and start his punishment right then and there.

"Oh~? What was that, Sunlight~? I'm afraid I couldn't quite understand what you said~ Would you mind repeating that for me?"

"Oh you little- FINE! I'll say it! I w-want you to..I want you to tickle me...!"

"Thank you Sunnyyy~ But since you were so so stubborn, then I'll have to punish you more~" Moon was pleased that Sun finally gave in. Buuut he couldn't leave him unpunished, now could he? He couldn't. Besides, Sun even gave the effort to actually say he wanted it. That was enough for Moon to start. So, there were those wiggling fingers again which were way too close to Sun's tummy for his disliking. He knew just how to get Sun to giggle up a storm before anything even started. "EEP! Ehehehe~! Moohohoonyyy! Nohoho!" He squealed. Even though his words were 'no', his mind said otherwise.

"Aaww~ Poor poor Sunmellooow~ If you didn't want me to, then why did you say you did~? Oh my, did you lie to me~?" He teased.

"N-Nohoho! I-I would nehever lihihihiieee!" Sun quickly responded. He didn't want Moon to think he didn't want the tickles, because he did! He absolutely loved being tickled! Especially by his Moon. When he was Moon's, and Moon was his.

"Well then~ What am I waiting for?! Tickle tickle tickle the ticklish little Sunnyyyy~!" Moon said his last sentence in a sing-song voice as his fingers finally reached that oh-so-sensitive tummy. Sun squealed and giggled and kicked his legs. It was adorable how he could be so sensitive and still adore the sensations. "EEHEHEHE~!! Moohohoonyyy! Nohoho not my tummyhyhyhy~! PleheHEHEASE!" His last plea was much more high. The culprit for his squeal was Moon's thumb accidently gliding over his tummy indent. It mocked a navel that would be on humans but instead was a dent on both Sun and Moon's tummy. Only noticed if looked around very well or a good touch around their tummy.

"Oops~! Sorry Sunny~ That spot wasn't supposed to be touched until later~ I'll wait for when that time has come~ For now, I need to focus on this cute tummy of yours!" Moon apologized. He didn't want to get to his most ticklish spots quite yet. His tummy indent being one of them.

Moon was having trouble keeping Sun from squirming so, positions are swapped now. Moon above Sun with his Sunny pinned underneath him.

"Oh, sorry again~ Since you can't stay still... I'll just have to get to these underarms and wires~ Sound good, Sunny~? Oh, I bet it does~ Coochie cooo~!" Moon was toying with a little orange wire that was exposed from Sun's underarm. Sun's eyes started to peak with little tears of laughter, his laughter rising now.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!! NOHOHO~!!! NOT THERE NOHOHOHOHOOT THEHEHEHEREEEE~!!! PLEASE I'M BEHEHEHEHEGGING YOU! IHIHIHIHIHI'M BEHEHEHEHEGGING NOOOOHOHOHO MOHOHOHOREEE~!!! EHEHEHEHEHAHAHAHAHA! ANYTHIHING BUHUHUHUHUT THE WIHIHIHIHIHIHIHIRESSS~!!! MOOHOHOHOHONYYY STAHAHAHAHAHAHAWP~!!!!! IHIHIHIHIHIT TIHIHIHCKLESS!!! AHAHAHAHAHA~~!!!!!" Sun lost it. Moon found his way into his underarm. He was twirling his fingers around two little wires. Poor Sun felt as though the tickles were hitting directly on his endo. It was killer. His tears rolled down his face as he laughed and laughed. Moon was reaching Sun's limits. It was clear Sun needed a break. Sun didn't want a break though. Although he at least wanted Moon to tickle somewhere else other than his oh-so-sensitive wires.

"MOOHOHOHOHONYYY PLEHEHEHEASE SOHOHOHOMWHERE EHEHELSE SOMEWHERE EHEHEHEHELSEEE!!!!!!!!! IHIHIHIHIHIT'S TOO MUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUHUCH!!!! MYHYHYHYHY WIHIHIHIRES ARE TOO SENSITIHIHIHIHIHIHIVEEE~!!! MEHEHEHEHEHERCY!!!!!" Sun was squealing and shrieking for mercy on his wires. He NEEDED Moon to tickle somewhere else. He may not have wanted to but he needed it nonetheless. So, Moon did as Sun asked and let go of his arms. He started crawling off Sun, then back on, sitting on ankles.

"Ehehehe~ M-Moony..? Wh- Oh no.. NONONONONO! NOHOHOT THERE PLEASE THAT'S SENSITIVE TOOHOHOHO!!" Sun finally realized where Moon was getting at as he slowly pulled his slippers off. "Oh but Sunny~ I thought you loved this spot~ Besides, these have been such an itchy spot on youuuuu~ I'll be gentle...I promise~" Moon teased.

"J-Just not m-myhy toes. P-Please..?"

"Oh, what's that~? No tickles for Sun at all? Well, then I guess I'll just go back to cleaning~!" Moon slowly started to get up off of Sun's ankles. He knew Sun wouldn't let Moon leave. Moon wanted him to admit he wanted to be tickled on his feet.

"NO! D-Dont leave! I-I want you t-to tickle me...!" Sun squeaked. His face covered entirely with an orange flush. He was so embarrassed to admit he wanted Moon to tickle him. "Oh, Sunny~ I'm so happy you finally admitted your true desire~!" Moon had a pleased edge to his voice. Sun would obviously hear it. Instead of a sinister and evil grin on Moon's face, it was a gentle, soft, and sweet smile. He seemed so happy that Sun admitted his wants on his own without Moon having to push him.

"Alright, Sunmellow~ I won't leave. But! You have to stay still for me, ok?"

"O-Ok..!"

"Prooomiiseee~?"

"I-I promise...!" Sun promised. He knew he couldn't keep it because of his reflexes but he had to try for Moon. After all, he was going to go out of his peaceful cleaning time to have a fun tickle-session with his Sunny.

"Alriiight~ I promise I'll be gentle..." Moon rubbed his palms on Sun's feet. The feeling of those soft beans underneath his hands were so soft and squishy. Sun was already giggling. Moon was gently squishing his beans, causing adorable squeaky giggles to come out of his voice box. "Ehehehehehe~! HEEhehehehe! M-Mohohoony~ EheheHEHEHE~!!" Sun's laughter only rose in pitch when Moon squeezed his big toe.

"Oooh~ Your toes always get you squealing~" Moon now focused on Sun's big toes. This caused Sun's laughter to stay in that high pitch.

"EHEHEEHEHEHEHE~!! MOHOHOHOONY!! IhihihiIHIHIHIT TIhihihihihickles~! Ehehehehe~" Sun giggled and squeaked and laughed. He enjoyed his tickle treatment and never wanted it to end. So, Moon continued all day. The tickles went on and on with Sun so gleeful and Moon pleased and joyful.

The End! <3

20 questions for fic writers

thank you @emryses for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

12.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

240,148

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I've only written Stranger Things so far.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Steve Harrington. Are you kidding me? Temptation Heat, Beats Like a Drum. Happy Valentine's Day, Big Boy. This is the coin I had in my pocket the first time we kissed and I always have it. And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife.

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

Yes! I try to at least reply with something so people know I saw their comment and appreciate it.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I'm a happy ending girlie, honestly. (I also have a lot of WIPs so they don't have an ending yet.)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

As far as actually finished fics goes, probably Steve Harrington Are you kidding me.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've gotten a few comments here and there that weren't the nicest or could have probably been left off. But mostly I've gotten good feedback.

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

I do! I always convince myself it's not very good but it's fun to write! And I really just write whatever fits the story? I don't think I really have anything I particularly favor.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I have not. I don't usually read crossovers either.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I don't think so!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, I haven't!

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

No I haven't but I am in awe of people who can do that. That seems so difficult to me.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I think Steddie is always going to be top dog for me, honestly. I've read fics for such a long time but Steddie is the first that got to me enough that I actually started creating things for it as well. And the brainrot is still going strong.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I honestly plan on finishing all my abandoned WIPs at this time!! I guess if I had to pick it would probably be Coin just because it's the one I've struggled the most with. But I'm hoping to come back to it still!

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh man. That's a tough one. I think...character voice. I think I do a pretty good job of grasping a character and sticking as closely to what feels most like them at least, in my mind.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Honestly I think just my own confidence and need for external validation. I wish I could just write for myself and enjoy it regardless of how well something does. I also just really struggle with writing in longer bits. I tend to write in little snippets and pieces ad it takes so long to get anywhere that way.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't think I would ever try. I don't speak any other language and trying to master the nuance of speaking in one while relying on like...google translate just doesn't sound like it would go well.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Stranger Things! Steddie was my first dive into writing fanfic at all.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

I am so incredibly proud of And You May Find Yourself. I stepped outside my comfort zone a lot for this fic all the way from the themes to just actually reaching out and being more a part of the Steddie community. I've made some great friends through the process and have signed up to be a part of way more than I originally planned on when I decided to so the Steddie Big Bang. I still have two chapters to write for this one and although I'm really looking forward to it finally being done I'll absolutely miss the version of these characters I created for this go around. I hope people love them as much as I do.

zero pressure tags: @oh-stars, @karadanverss, @rindecision, @lihhelsing, @starryeyedjanai, @azrielgreen, @eddywoww, @lexirosewrites, @thefreakandthehair, @thorniest-rose

Meet the Creators - RiverLethe

What username(s) and platform(s) can folx find you on? (Please include links!)

@riverlethe - I am on Tumblr and Ao3!

(Fun Fact) What is your favorite kind of potato?

Yes. If it is a potato, I will eat it (except for mayo-based potato salads - no thanks), and my preference absolutely depends on mood, but if I had to pick one.... Have you ever tried Chef John's Potatoes Romanoff? If the answer is no, go fix that right now! (add in crisped up pancetta before baking - you're welcome)

How long have you been creating works in fandom spaces? How long have you been active in the SM fandom?

If reading fanfic counts as being active in the fandom, I've been active, on and off, for a little over 20 years, but I didn't actually start writing fanfic until 2 years ago.

What type(s) of creative works do you usually make? (fanfics, digital art, cosplay)

Fanfics are my #1 contribution, but I also crochet. I made @linlamont's Sailor Rex plush based on her amazing artwork for her adorable story "Treasures", and I am currently working on a custom Sailor Rex for my 6 yo daughter. There are plans for a Tuxedo Rex and Tuxedo Kamen

What do you enjoy about creating for the SM fandom?

I love the sense of community and making friends within the fandom. Discussing and theorizing all things Sailor Moon is one of my favorite things! Plus, there is just so much to explore, both in canon and fanon

Are you strictly UsaMamo or do you create for other pairings as well?

I wrote a Kunz/Venus fic for Heavenly Pearl's/@kaleidodreams' first ever Rare Pair week, but I otherwise exclusively write for UsaMamo. Who knows, maybe I'll be inspired to create for another ship in the future. Never say never!

What inspires you to create works for Usagi and Mamoru?

The emotions! Everything these kids go through is dark, scary, intense, etc etc, and I love to explore how it affected them, how they're feeling in the moment, and how Usagi and Mamoru support each other through it.

Do you tend to work on multiple projects (WIPs) simultaneously or try to finish one at a time?

Ideally, I would work on one WIP at a time, but with my ongoing story Once More, with Feeling!, I always have multiple going on. While I normally don't mind putting OMwF aside for a OS or two, I haven't updated it in almost a year, which I feel really bad about, so I am trying to put any new ideas on hold right now so I can get Chapter 13 done. OMwF will eventually update, I promise!

Do you prefer large projects (chaptered fics, webtoons/zines, highly detailed art) or small projects (one-shots or simple art)?

I love how much of a story can be explored and fleshed out in a chaptered fic, but, for fans, they can be daunting to start reading if you aren't there from the very beginning (depending on length), and there is always that ever present nemesis: time. As a writer, I like the regular engagement with the community that posting new chapters allows, but writing as I go can be very stressful, especially when motivation just isn't striking. For OSs, I love that ability to focus on one small part of the characters' lives without needing to generate a lot of backstory or lore. Will I do another Chaptered fic once OMwF is finished? Probably, I do want to continue into R, but I will hopefully take everything I've learned working on OMwF (it's my very first ever fanfic!) into the sequel so I'm a little more prepared.

Are there any common themes, situations, tropes, or mediums in your work?

Angst and Romance are probably the most common as I love the emotional impact the angst imparts and how Usagi and Mamoru support each other through it. Honestly, I find the original anime (and the manga to a lesser extent) a bit emotionally stunted, so I absolutely love fics that elicit emotions, in me, either happy, sad or anything in between!, and I strive to do that for my readers. With any luck, I succeeded!

Is there anything you haven’t explored artistically and would like to try?

If I could draw, I would totally do art. I am in awe of what artists can create through their medium and would love to be able to visually see what so many of us use words to describe, but, alas, I'll stick to crocheted dinosaurs with odangos! Regarding writing, I have more OSs in mind for stories and ideas I haven't explored yet, and maybe I'll actually learn some restraint and create chaptered fics that aren't 12+ chapters long at 5k-12k words each. Anything is possible! (Except for me and art. Not gonna happen)

Two years ago today, I got a message on Tumblr from @sitp-recs

I had come across her rec blog earlier that month and it had struck me how similar our tastes were. She seemed to feel the same way I did about fics, and she always managed to capture exactly what I loved about the fics she mentioned. I remember reblogging her TOBM rec with its brilliant banner and thinking, yes, this person gets it so profoundly.

Little did I know that in the following two years we'd end up staying up far too late/early chatting about fics, that we'd fall completely in love with the same fics (she recs Far From the Tree here), that she'd introduce me to countless new and brilliant authors and fics (like Polar Night). That we'd bond over our love for rare pairs, for short fics, and for watersports, and that i'd get my own rec that made me cry.

I love Liv's attitude to fandom - her eagerness to explore new stories and art, her vast knowledge of fics to fit every trope and theme, her mix of kindness and strong-mindedness, and her genuine desire to uplift creators and give readers the best fandom experience they can have (hello, beginner Drarry reclists!). The recent #LivLaughLove day showed just how well-loved she is around these here parts. And I treasure her friendship, her unwavering support, and how generous and loving she is.

Livvy, here's to many more years of friendship, endless gifs, dog pics, Drarry, and everything in between. I'm so lucky to have you, a horny dumbass looking to kiss as many people as possible. Lots of love from a mysterious and ethereal horny entity.

I started three separate fics for you and none of them worked out (horrid writer's block). Instead of stressing out, as I know you'd tell me off, I'll just offer a little snip of one of them. It involves Unspeakable Draco (and Harry's ex-auror partner) who can see visions... only his visions are inconveniently mostly of Harry either dying or having sex with Draco (and Teddy, and Sirius... basically all your favourite age gap ships babe!) I will finish it someday.

There was a smell to the air, Harry thought, that reminded him of that time in King’s Cross, or wherever it was. Almost sterile, almost nothing at all, but like it was covering something else up, something more ancient and electric and inexorable, like how the air sometimes smelled as one season tipped into another. Did time have a smell, he wondered? Or was that the scent of all the ways in which they tracked and measured and trapped time down here, doing who knows what to who knows when?

“Umm. Malfoy, please,” Harry said politely to the receptionist, who was sitting in the middle of the otherwise empty room at a magnificent black desk which was polished to an onyx, spilled-oil sheen. “Draco Malfoy?”

“Unfortunately,” the person intoned smoothly, features smoothed out into a careful blank so that Harry knew as soon as he left the room, he wouldn’t be able to pick the person out again if he passed them in the hallway, “we can neither confirm nor deny that we have any person of that name under our—”

“It’s alright, Maxwell.” Malfoy’s voice appeared to be coming out of nowhere, until he stepped out of what looked very like some sort of inter-dimensional portal in the centre of the room. “That’s Harry Potter, for goodness sake. I think he’s probably got clearance.”

Harry coughed uncomfortably. He had in fact got clearance, had engineered an entire case’s worth of paperwork just to get Robards to agree to an Unspeakable consult, actually. It was easier to just ask for things, these days. People rarely said no to him.

“Well, why didn’t you say?” Maxwell sounded chippy, and jabbed his wand at Harry aggressively. With a blink, Harry could finally see Maxwell, and the room, properly. The desk was much smaller, just an ordinary Ministry desk like the one Harry had just eaten a pumpkin pasty over before coming down here. Maxwell’s features coalesced from Unspeakable blank to his real face as Harry watched. He somehow managed to look pert and grumpy all at the same time, and as Harry looked at him, he blew a large bubble with whatever he was chewing, and let it pop. Where the portal had been was just a normal office door, and on it—Harry swallowed—was a plaque that read D. Malfoy. If he craned his neck, he could see a little slice of the room. There was Malfoy’s lopsided spider plant that he’d taken off the desk he used to share with Harry the day he left. There was Harry’s Cannons calendar, the one that used to have their weekly hours scribbled on it but now had been turned to the new month, a fresh blank.

“I must say,” Maxwell told Malfoy, blatantly ignoring Harry now, “he doesn’t look like he does in all the magazines.” His tone suggested that this wasn’t a compliment.

“Give over, Maxwell,” Malfoy told him, and then jerked his head viciously at Harry and disappeared back through his office door.

“I thought we agreed a clean break was needed,” Malfoy said wretchedly. His office was quite nice, actually, though looked far too cosy and Malfoy-ish to belong to this miserable-looking version of him who was standing on the rug with his knuckles white and controlled where his fingers clenched in the skirts of his uniform robes.

“You agreed,” Harry said, wondering when he’d start feeling like a grown up about this whole thing. “I never said anything at all.”

“Well, what are you doing here, then?” Malfoy spread his hands, walking to his desk and perching on the edge. It looked the very opposite of casual, and Malfoy knew it too, judging by the tension in his throat, the twist of his mouth.

“You don’t belong here,” he told Malfoy, and Maxwell called back through the door, “Yeah, that’s what Maur— I mean, Head Unspeakable of the Division of Temporal Research always says about him too,” and cackled mercilessly before Malfoy stalked over and kicked the door shut.

“Yes, thanks for that, Potter,” Malfoy said bitterly. He looked pale and tired, not like he’d been working hard, but like he wasn’t sleeping well. Harry hadn’t even known Aurors could move sideways like this, had heard the rumours whispered in the Aurors’ tearoom but which had almost certainly started higher up. Malfoy had called in a favour, Malfoy used his daddy’s bad name, Malfoy used his daddy’s money to get the new job. Malfoy certainly wasn't trained for this job, that much was true. They’d had optional Unspeakable training at the academy, of course, but Malfoy hadn’t taken any of the modules. Neither had Harry, who wasn’t even sure how Malfoy could possibly be qualified to work here, let alone get an office to himself with his name on the door. 

But that wasn’t what he meant when he thought about Malfoy not belonging here. It was just that Malfoy belonged in the field, with Harry. Yes, the work was brutal, and often boring, and sometimes horrifying and dangerous, but having Malfoy there—being part of a team—had made it worthwhile. Harry thought of him after a raid, sweating magic, uniform stuck to his wet back, blood on his teeth, sleeves rolled up, everything under control. That was where he belonged.

“I just came to see how you are,” Harry said. “I wish you’d come back.”

“You can’t just say that sort of thing,” Malfoy said miserably.

SO's US Tour Round-Up

I'm pretty behind in doing reviews for these books, so I thought I'd write up some smaller reactions and put them all in one. It seems easier, so I may try this way for the next batch as well.

****

California : The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Look, I know that California is a big place, and there are a lot of things that could represent it - but I think nothing screams California more to an outsider than Old Hollywood. Plus, I had been wanting to read this book for a while.

I'll be honest - I have some mixed feelings about this one.

On the one hand, it's an interesting read. The premise is a young woman listening to the story of aging Hollywood Starlet Evelyn Hugo - and the story of her having seven husbands. You can tell that this was inspired by someone like Elizabeth Taylor -- and the book is broken up into various parts - each documenting the story behind each husband.

It's incredibly engaging, and I can say the book kept me captivated the whole way through. I think those who are interested - if they pick up the book, they'll probably, overall, have a good time with it. The problems I, personally, had was when you started to dig a little deeper.

First of all -- I was slightly disappointed that I don't think Reid fully captivates the Old Hollywood atmosphere. Everything reads as if it were happening in the present, and I never get that full sense of what Hollywood was like back then. I guess I wanted more from that. (Honestly - though, when this inevitably gets turned into a miniseries - I think seeing it on screen might help with some of the atmosphere issues.)

Secondly - the book deals with three main themes -- women's issues, queer identity, and (tangentially) racial issues. I think it's awkward with all three, and there were aspects of the book that just didn't settle well with me. Added into that - there was one element (the main character's central romance) that just did not work, which tied into the above elements, and why I don't think the book succeeds the way I think the author intended.

Overall, I think if you take the book for what it is -- an entertaining riff on Old Hollywood and its scandals and stereotypes, I think you'll enjoy the book. I just don't think it's the literary genius that social media (TikTok) has been making it out to be, and while I recommend it, I would advise going into for the enjoyment value and not thinking about it too hard.

Rating : 3.5 Stars

****

Colorado : Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew J. Sullivan

When I started this project, and was looking for a book for Colorado - all signs pointed to me to Stephen King's The Shining. Which I've read! And enjoyed! And wouldn't even have minded reading it again -- but I've been trying to go with books that I haven't read before.

So - I took a chance on this one. I like books about bookstores, and this one had a mystery imbedded into it, so I thought - hey, why not?

It's not a bad little book - but I can't say it's all that memorable (save for one thing) either. The story revolves around a woman named Lucy who works at an Indy bookstore in Denver. When one of her coworkers commits suicide, she starts looking into it, and finds out that it intersects with a horrific incident in her own past.

This is another one that was pretty easy to read - and the central mystery around it was pretty captivating. I finished it rather quickly. And even if I didn't really love the ending, I think it still works relatively well for a thriller.

Lucy's a likable enough character -- though the book does spend a good amount of energy exploring her relationship with her live-in boyfriend that ultimately doesn't go anywhere or have much plot relevance. The other characters serve their purpose well, though I wouldn't say this book digs in deep by way of character development.

As for atmosphere - I think it both works and doesn't. The whole idea of the bookstore was fun - but the mystery doesn't do much with it other than kick of the premise. The setting of Colorado works for a story that wants to remain in an isolated place, but it's by no means the feature of the novel.

One thing that I do think worked really well for the book was a sequence where it transcended genres and slipped from thriller to horror. There's an entire section that depicts a young girl witnessing some gruesome murders - and it is haunting. It's by far the biggest thing I remember from the book. I wish the rest of the book's writing lived up to this sequence.

Overall - it's a solid recommend. Again, I think if you go in wanting a couple of hours worth of engaging entertainment it's worth the read, but I don't think it's something you'll remember much about a year later.

Rating : 3 Stars

****

Connecticut : Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan

The premise of this one is fairly simple - it's a slice of life from the POV of a Red Lobster manager named Manny. The restaurant is having its last day -- a cold day in late December, and it really showcases what it's like to be service worker in the lower working class of suburban America.

I was kind of expecting this one to be a comedy at first, but it's really not. It's more of a drama and a character study. And you know what? I really, really enjoyed it. It hit a bit close to home -- and it will for anyone who has ever had to work in a service industry. But I think where it really excels is just capturing what life is really like, and how there are these bittersweet beginnings and endings in a world that trudges forever on.

I think there's also a conversation about class baked into the story. All of the staff have unpretty lives. They aren't poor and it's not a horror show in the way I think other media often portrays the working people, but I think it's a commentary about how many of us lead outward sad lives but are so entrenched on making it through the day that we don't even notice. I'm painting a bleak picture here, I know -- but there is some silverlining, in that the staff is able to remember good times, too, and even at the end of their tenure, it's not all bad. It's a book about finding the good stuff even when everything around you is falling apart.

All of this is juxtaposed against the customers - who, while being not so great people themselves, regard themselves (intentionally or not) above everyone else. The irony being that they're living in New England and choosing to go to Red Lobster instead of somewhere local for their seafood, and yet still feel above people who go to, say, Long John Silvers.

I definitely recommend this one. Out of the books that I've read lately for this challenge, it's the one that's stuck out to me the most, and the one that's held the most weight, even if it's a somewhat simple story.

Rating : 4 Stars

****

Delaware : Cure for the Common Break Up by Beth Kendrick

I'm sorry Delaware that you don't seem to have any great American novels tied to you. I'm sorry that you don't seem to have much of anything written in your state. Because this book kept coming up on lists for Delaware - and while I'm totally fine with a Hallmark-esque, breeze romance novel. This book was terrible.

If you've followed me at all lately - I keep posting excerpts from it. Because it's just so unfathomly bad. Look - I can do fun campiness. The author does write for Hallmark, and even if they aren't the best pieces of literature around, at least they're often fun. This was not fun.

The story revolves around a woman named Summer who literally crashes and burns (she was a airline stewardess whose plane crashed) and when she's dumped, makes it to Black Dog Bay - where the main attraction is the fact that everything in the little town has to do with heartbreak. It's actually a kind of cute premise - which is why I initially picked it up - but the execution is just terrible.

Summer is wholly unlikable a good amount of the time. Her life is a mess, and yet she's perfect at just about everything. Her love interest is a guy named Dutch Jenson (omg the names) the mayor of the little town who kind of lucked into the role. The romance is kind of pathetic - there's zero build up, zero reason why the two should be together, and zero payoff.

The book really isn't interesting in being a romance anyway. It's more concerned with Summer's attachment to Dutch's teenage sister (where she's supposed to be a mentor) and Summer's dealings with an older woman named Hattie -- who is so bitter after a broken love affair that she's planning on taking the town down with her. Of course, Summer is able to save the day and the town and, everyone lives dully after after.

This book is stupid. It's just. So. Stupid. The characters are flat when they're not being annoying. The dialogue is incredibly forced - it's painful the people talk in this book. There are a ton of pop culture references that make me wince more than anything. The 'humor' is bad sitcom level of bad. And the plot is entirely bland and unoriginal. I think the whole thing makes those ridiculous Hallmark movies feel like groundbreaking art forms.

I think there's some fun to be had with cheesy things like this -- if you have fun characters and do interesting things with them. But this one just kinda fails in a whole lotta ways.

Not a recommendation from me.

Rating : 1.5 stars

I'd love to know your thoughts on Versus, if that's okay?

Aaaaaa I'm more than delighted to! Of course!!!! What ends up on here is mostly translations, but aside from translating I like writing meta, as well as writing in general (I finished a 12k historical KogiMika fic the other day! I might post a link to it here if anyone is interested), so more than anything I am THRILLED to get an ask like this and I answer with joy in my heart AAAAAAAA

To begin with, I think live songs hold this interesting place where they may reference back to the events and themes of the myu, but don't *need* to relate back to it in any fashion. The first example that springs to mind is kakumeizenya, TKO live's opening number; picking out two distinct references that aren't quite up to interpretation of what TKO is, they'd be "I haven't experienced it yet, there is no right answer" referencing back to Sui and the girl, and "Straight ahead, faster than a bolt of lightning" referencing back to Masakado's first myu song ("mounted onto a bolt of lightning"), while the song itself is more about reinventing oneself. Of course, there's examples like Real Love and Can you guess what? and S where the content of the song (and even the characterisation present in it) isn't precisely according to what the myu informs, and then there's songs like Timeline (in my opinion, if you or anyone else is interested in the essay I'll gladly, GLADLY write and post it! Just shoot me an ask!) or Illusion of my heart, or even Tears from kousui, where the lyrics are so directly back-referential to events in myu they may have much more value being interpreted from a myu lens than otherwise.

In other words, not all characterisation present in songs is characterisation fully canon to myu characterisation, but since songs may (at times even strongly) back-reference myu, depending on the song, there may be value in looking exactly how it ties back!

So without further ado, let me try to take a look at the lyrics, one by one and bit by bit! And improving on my translation a bit compared to kotobuki as I go along, ahahaha, I will probably edit my subs a little to fix minor mistakes like these! I do warn, though, since I'm invested in what toumyu has sketched us of Kogi and Mika's relationship (and yes, I ship them, if they don't think of another as brothers they are not by virtue of them being steel objects), I may make extra references to that.

Under the mask of our smiles, we tame our hatred Everyone is weighing the weight of love

These lines are the very reason I wrote down my little disclaimery thing above, because right off the bat, I don't think either of these lines applies back to tsuwamono in any literal capacity. After all, Kogitsunemaru's concerns towards Mikazuki after their fight rules out any hatred being in play, and if this refers to that regardless, that would mean the following 'love' must apply to it as well. On top of that, I don't think "Taming one's hatred behind the mask of a smile" fits with what's shown of *game* Kogi either, since there doesn't seem to be any negative feelings underlying his politeness at all. However, if you regard this line within just the canon of the song, then I'd say it's very effective at setting up the "He can be your angel or your devil" thing the song has got going on! If I had to interpret these lines, it'd be "Under the mask of our smiles, everyone tames their hatred, no one is telling what they truly think. Yet we make decisions weighing the love we feel against that hatred, because in spite of it, it's present and important."

In a way, this line also immediately introduces the theme of contrasts this song has. With 'smile' as front, 'hate' in the back, and then the second line's 'love' as the back behind the back blurring the ability to make a clear front/back distinction, it makes for a fascinating setup for the rest of the song.

That conflictingness of emotions, rather than the precise emotions involved, Does fit pretty well with the position Kogi was in during tsuwamono. Pretending he wasn't overhearing all kinds of things about Mikazuki doing things behind the scenes, he confronted him first on a good-terms basis, before facing off against him when the evidence is damning and nothing else-- because he believes they as Touken Danshi must fulfil their mission just the way Master tells them to, and any direct interference with history to change things from how they had been, like what Mikazuki is doing, cannot be any different from what the HRA is doing.

It is precisely because it is implied, not just through his faces throughout tsuwa, but also through the choreography of their fight and through the fact the Saniwa pretty much implies Kogi holds a biased eye towards Mikazuki as the Genjis were intended to watch Mikazuki with an unbiased eye over someone who knows Mikazuki better, that Kogitsunemaru thinks of Mikazuki as pretty dear, and that emotionally, he doesn't wish to fight Mikazuki, but Mikazuki's actions against Kogitsunemaru's faithfulness to their mission leaves him with no choice.

"Weighing the weight of his feelings of dearness for Mikazuki against his mission, hiding his conflictedness behind his smile as he talks to him, Kogitsunemaru chooses to fight him in spite of those feelings," is a way of phrasing that situation that unifies the vibe of the song lyric with what actually happens in myu. I think this case, because of its mention of love, it's best interpreted in a 'simple' angel-or-devil kind of way, aimed in a romantic sense at the listener, but this would be the way it relates back to what happened in myu.

Light and shadow, the past and the future, the front and back of man It's an age where it’s difficult to see what's right and what's a mistake

The first line of these strongly emphasizes Kogitsunemaru's relation to omote/ura (literally "front and back", but in this sense "the front you show people" and "the feelings you hide inside or behind you/your true intentions"), even more than the double contrast the previous set of lines struck. Omote/ura is a theme that ever since the start of tsuwamono has been connected to Kogitsunemaru, because he was smithed with the inscription "Munechika" on the front, and "Kogitsune" on the back, and adoutsukoe emphasizes this by repeating it twice. I would also argue tsuwamono itself sets Mikazuki-- "Be as pure as this flower, behind it lies..." as he holds the lotus up and implicitly sketches himself as the "behind" in the form of the muddied water-- up as the ura, to Kogitsunemaru's omote-- emphasized through his devotion to the upfront mission they follow and his ability to encourage Iwatooshi to follow it, in spite of holding doubts in his heart himself. And it's very likely he holds those doubts, after all, there must be a meaning to him singing mamorubeki mono, his second solo from the story part beyond stating what has already been stated, at least from how I see it. 

I would say that each of the three contrasts as sketched here is in fact emphasized by tsuwamono itself, with light and dark being highlighted through the metaphor of the light of the crescent moon and the darkness that gives shape to it, as highlighted by Higekiri near the beginning ("Is the part of the moon you can't see also part of it? Or is it true darkness?") and Mikazuki himself near the end ("I am only a crescent moon at best. But, don't you think that is better than no light at all?"). Then, past and future is most strongly set through Mikazuki and Yasuhira's dialogue, and the songs that relate to them; Mikazuki sings of "A lotus pedestal to share the world of yore," and Yasuhira asks how the people will think of Hiraizumi in the world to follow. With Mikazuki sharing his duty with Yasuhira, and sympathising with him as they are both certain shapes, I think there's enough basis to call that a contrast sketched. And lastly, omote/ura, or front and back as it's translated here, which I highlighted in the previous section.

That last one and the context behind it actually connects pretty smoothly to the next line. After all, ascertaining whether Mikazuki's workings are right or wrong is one of the main conflicts driving Kogitsunemaru through tsuwamono. Kogitsunemaru in tsuwamono is in the fun position where he gets relied on to make level judgements of situations, whether that be assessing the enemy's intentions, ascertaining whether the Saniwa has thought adding Higekiri and Hizamaru to the formation through, down to Iwatooshi coming to confide in him that he's thinking about his existence. Kogitsunemaru choosing to fight is another choice he must've weighed whether it was right or a mistake. In the end, Kogitsunemaru comes to the conclusion that he doesn't think Mikazuki's methods are right, but he can't say he's wrong, either. However, the use of 'age' in the line stands out. After all, while Mikazuki emphasizes that it's hard to truly know what happened 1000 years ago, it is not as much the age itself that causes the line between what's right and what's a mistake to blur, but Mikazuki and his choices in this age. Because of that, it's also easy enough to return to the out-of-tsuwamono interpretation, and interpret this age as the modern age. I think the most straightforward interpretation, in that case, would be Kogitsunemaru finding it hard to discern whether him involving himself with the recipient of the song is a mistake, this time because it is him carrying aforementioned set of contrasts within him.

An angel and a demon are whispering to me And my heart shakes vehemently The Jekyll and the Hyde, hidden in our hearts Who we join hands with, ah, all of that is decided by us!

Considering the sets of omote/ura in the previous lyrics, this becomes really fun. After all, the common metaphor of an angel and a demon whispering to someone tends to symbolise one's sense of what's right fighting against one's desires. This is very similar to what actually ended up happening in utaawase! I've always thought utaawase's Kogi skit retroactively makes Kogitsunemaru in tsuwamono more complex, because it essentially denies what Mikazuki had thought of him. Kogitsunemaru isn't so single-minded that he can follow Master's orders without questioning, and he isn't as pure of heart that he can fight for what's right without feeling conflict, that he can draw a simple and clear black and white. Mikazuki keeping his mouth shut about the truth of this timeline is an emotionally motivated decision, since he thinks Kogitsunemaru wouldn't understand, much like Yoritomo each and every time, and since he wishes not even the Saniwa to know protecting history isn't as straightforward as it should be, let alone someone whose single-mindedness he envies. But, the existence of a side that's tempted by desire importantly implies that, while Kogitsunemaru fighting Mikazuki is a decision born out of reason, he doesn't wish to fight Mikazuki. And I would say the fight choreo supports that. Instead, Kogitsunemaru wishes to understand him, but Mikazuki doesn't speak. All they can do is fight. To add to this, upon hearing of the extent what Mikazuki has been doing, the very first thing Kogitsunemaru does is express concern for him; "You did... All alone?!"

I think that emotional conflict is a very nice thing about that scene, and that this is how it comes back in Versus.

Then, continuing with the idea of omote/ura, it's very interesting that the lyrics choose to invoke Jekyll and Hyde here. I'm not sure how great a Japanese lyricist's expected awareness is of the gothic novel, but in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and My Hyde, Hyde is a transformation of the good-mannered Dr Jekyll, acting out all vices Jekyll kept in his heart, evil, self-indulgent, and caring about none but himself. At first, Jekyll controls his transformations with use of a serum, but eventually, Jekyll loses control of when he transforms. This shares some core similarities with what later happens to Kogitsunemaru in utaawase, with the key difference that Kogitsunemaru's transformation, while self-indulgent, is benign. Considering Hyde is outright evil, though, it is hard to relate this back to tsuwamono. There's no "evil" to join hands with, considering Kogitsunemaru comes to the conclusion Mikazuki is neither right nor wrong. While I would love for Kogitsunemaru to eventually come to commit time crimes with Mikazuki, the invocation of the listener (in the form of what I interpret as the general 'oneself' -> 'us' (jibun)) calls the song back to the listener-aimed interpretation, in other words, this comes to show once again he can be your angle OR yuor devil, but which side comes out depends on you.

Hiding our true intents in the deepest of our hearts With a fabricated smile, everyone is desperately feeling one another out

Once more, the song calls back to the concept of omote/ura! This time, it comes with the association of wanting to know what the other is really thinking. One thing I quite like about these lines is how they involve 'everyone'. It gives the sense that the things Kogitsunemaru is singing about are things that pertain to general humanity, and he and the listener both participate in that as well.

Meetings and partings, dreams and setbacks, feelings are contrary The answer I had so long searched for may not even exist

Another row of contrasts, culminating with something ("contrary") implying two sides of a coin. This one, though, is a lot less strongly connected to omote/ura, and a lot less straightforward to connect back to Kogitsunemaru. Yes, Mikazuki has met and parted with Yasuhira countless, countless times, yes, Imanotsurugi and Iwatooshi meet with Hizamaru and Higekiri, and Imanotsurugi parts with Yoshitsune, but that's not something that relates as strongly back to what tsuwamono sketches as its themes (not like musuhaji does), nor does it relate back to Kogitsunemaru. Similarly, while 'the warrior's dreams' is a key concept in tsuwamono, the setbacks experienced are either those personal to the historical figures, Mikazuki's failure of being able to convince Yoritomo, or in the form of Iwa and Ima discovering they don't exist. Kogitsunemaru doesn't have a clear dream or setback! But, as sketched before, contrary feelings are very much a Kogitsunemaru thing, and the second line closely mirrors his resolution at the end of tsuwamono. After all, what Mikazuki is doing is neither right, nor wrong.

Truth and lies are intertwining Even the truth is meaningless by now The love and hate I bear in my heart Which one I'll choose, ah, that is always decided by you, my dear!

It's a bit unfortunate that 'truth' is both the most suitable translation for 'hontou' in this case and 'shinjitsu', because, well, I like mimicking different word choices w  But, both in terms of tsuwamono and in terms of Kogitsunemaru, this line is one that fits well! After all, tsuwamono is a myu in which only part of the fictional, being several heroic events from the Tale of the Heike as well as the importance of Benkei, truly happened, and part of what's regarded as fact wouldn't naturally occur if this timeline was allowed to happen without interference. To borrow Suishinshi's words, "History was just written by the victors, isn't that right? No one remembers what truly happened."

The end result of tsuwamono is that it doesn't matter if history isn't followed to the precisest word, just like in Mihotose, as long as the form is correct, the precise details can (and here even need to) be fudged a little.

In terms of Kogitsunemaru, he himself also walks the border of being real and fictional. More specifically, while Kogitsunemaru himself is clearly and decidedly the Noh play, his line in Touken Ranbu the song ("If the golden beast dances, hear, peals of thunder resound!") implies he is in some way connected to the real Kogitsunemaru swords that have existed (since the most famous of those, the one owned by the Kujou Fujiwara, is said to have repelled a lightning storm), and Kogitsunemaru's crest incorporating the Fujiwara crest lightly supports that. In Kogitsunemaru's own case, he regards it as "A difficult question," all the while knowing of his Noh background: in the trial performance, Mikazuki quotes the "Fuujinkaden" treatises by Zeami, the founder of Noh, and Kogitsunemaru identifies it as such, in one of the srs22 higawari Kogitsunemaru quotes those same treatises saying he "hasn't forgotten his [newcomer's] heart." And in his kiwame, too, while it is highly curious he managed to go down to Munechika in Ichijo's reign considering Mikazuki says he himself was smithed in the late 11th century, his resolution essentially boils down to 'something has happened'. While it is certainly up to interpretation how Kogitsunemaru sees himself in myu, I like to see it as that Kogitsunemaru can't deny his own existence, even while identifying more with his story than with his real blades, precisely because he has experienced being smithed in that story. If he in his experience has been smithed by the hands of Munechika and Inari, and has now obtained a physical shape reflecting that, how is that truly different from being real?

The latter two lines are just about literally the core of the song. Depending on what you do, he can be your angle or yuor devil, or more metaphorically, depending on Mikazuki's actions, he can resolve to fight him or accept him.

I picked something more akin to the 'lover-level familiar' interpretation for 'anata' here to contrast with the earlier 'jibun'-- while Kogitsunemaru normally addresses Mikazuki as 'anata', I think this is part of his normal polite speech rather than an expression of intimate familiarity. However, this song doesn't use Kogitsunemaru's polite speech patterns, hence my choice to emphasize it.

For all the times we repeat mistakes, we come to know what's right

This, too, is a close reference back to tsuwamono! Iwatooshi told Mikazuki "It is through making mistakes and taking detours, over and over again, that we grow," and after Iwatooshi left, Mikazuki echoed him as "Over and over... Over and over, huh?"

If there's any 'mistake' that you could say Kogitsunemaru himself repeated, that would eventually lead to him coming to learn what's 'right', it would be his fight against Mikazuki. As a sidenote, it also reflects Kogitsunemaru's attitude from atsuibun that some things are better learned through experience and one's own thinking, rather than being handed an answer.

I don't think this line applies as strongly to Kogitsunemaru accepting Mikazuki's chagashi, by the way. After all, right before that happens Kogitsunemaru tells Mikazuki he thinks his methods are neither right nor wrong, and essentially says he will condone but not join Mikazuki's time crimes. If anything, Kogitsunemaru, by as readily accepting Mikazuki's chagashi as he does, says it's no mistake for him to stay by Mikazuki's side.

But we mustn't forget that, even so, humans are greedy and mutually desiring living beings

And this is what makes the song so nicely foreshadowing of utaawase! At its heart, utaawase is about Kogitsunemaru's struggle between what's right and where his desires lay, told through the lighthearted medium of his desire to eat aburage. These lines say that, in pursuit of greed and through desire for one another, because we are human and living beings, we will willingly make mistakes even if we've come to know what's right. The contrast, or rather, question, whether the toudan are human or objects is one that has been alluded to since srs16, while the subject was introduced in atsuibun. I highlight this bit in particular not just because utaawase repeats it, but because I believe it's an important motif in tsuwamono and the broader plot of myu. Tsuwamono is a musical that humanises Mikazuki, while kishou is a musical that renders Mikazuki closer to an object-- a function. TKO essentially deifies Mikazuki, but that's a sidetangent I won't go into at the moment, haha.

Both myus each have their lines that showcase this; tsuwamono has "No one truly knows what goes on in a [human: hito]'s mind, not even oneself," and kishou aside from calling him a function has Mikazuki calling the humans he's approached the "Mononobe", 'servants of objects'. In tsuwamono, this contrast between 'object' and 'human' finds itself in the contrast between Kogitsunemaru, who is intent on following the Saniwa's orders without questioning, single-mindedly, and Mikazuki, whose humanity drives him to make complicated decisions out of kindness.

While Kogitsunemaru is the 'object' between the two in tsuwamono until their confrontation, these lines (and utaawase) re-emphasise Kogitsunemaru's humanity. It's that same humanity that makes Kogitsunemaru want to understand Mikazuki before actually laying a hand on him, and that same humanity that drives Kogitsunemaru to worry for him, and in the end, to ask him to dance with him in battle.

While I do think Kogitsunemaru being the object of Mikazuki's desires and Mikazuki being the object of Kogitsunemaru's desires, in the name of which he wilfully makes mistakes, is very sexy, I don't think it applies to Kogitsunemaru and Mikazuki's resolution in the end of tsuwamono, as I wrote in the analysis of the previous lyrics. Though, interpreting his initial unwillingness to go full force against Mikazuki as a mistake he makes out of a desire not to slay the person he is closest to is pretty readily done. It is also easy enough to regard Mikazuki keeping his mouth shut to Kogitsunemaru as a mistake he makes out of caring for him and the Saniwa, and the mistakes he makes in the form of telling Yasuhira about his duty over and over again instead of simply controlling him is another mistake made out of kindness. But all of those are different from greed and desiring one another.

What I could see happen, in a further future, hopefully it's still somewhere on the table after Goumyu (my extremely worried/depressed What Goumyu May Have Done To Kogitsunemaru Through Evoking His Themes essay is also on request), is Kogitsunemaru making the 'mistake' of covering for Mikazuki in his want to stay by his side. This could be either in the form of Kogitsunemaru fending off the swords of the Citadel as they try to pursue Mikazuki when he's gone too far, aiding Mikazuki in ways that don't directly interfere with the flow of history (for example by becoming a bridge like the Gous), or even eventually coming to commit minor time offences himself.

Once again, because of the implication of a relationship more desireful than myu is likely to intend for KogiMika, I think interpreting these in a listener-aimed romantic light is the more straightforward thing to do. In these lines, Kogitsunemaru says it's human nature to wilfully make mistakes in the name of love and desire. This turns the song from "he can be your angle or yuor devil (kinda dangerous)" to "he can be your angle or yuor devil (sexy)." He may have conflicting sides as a lover, but he is always weighing its weight, and will make mistakes in name of love and desire because that, as well as being two-sided, is human nature. And I think that that change of angles (actual angles in this case) is neat, precisely because Kogitsunemaru holds the cusp between various things in myu, either within himself or together with Mikazuki.

Ah!

To close off, if you can, please listen to kotobuki (senshuuraku) Kogizono's 'Ah!' it is so powerful I had to include it as text when I subbed kotobuki. He's grown from a nice to a pretty dang amazing singer, even if not as conventional as the likes of Tsuru, Hori, or Tonbo. Please Recognise His Power 🥺 For me 🥺

And as tl;dr; While I think Versus is most straightforwardly interpreted as a song aimed romantically towards a listener, it builds strongly off of the events and themes introduced in Tsuwamono, and so, as extension of that, it calls back to Mikazuki and Kogitsunemaru's relationship in a less direct way. I also think it leads up to Kogitsunemaru's utaawase skit really well! Though not everything fits either myu!Kogi or game!Kogi, it's a fun "I can be your angle or yuor devil" song that solidifies Kogitsunemaru's connection to the omote/ura theme utaawase and kotobuki come back on, which is fun to see. Overall, especially in post-srs18 Versus performances, it showcases Kitazono's vocal ability, topped off by him adding the Wham Note AAAA after the bridge.

This was fun to write! It may have ended up a bit big, but I hope it's nonetheless a fun read! This goes to everyone who came up to here (thank you so much for reading!), but let me know if there's anything toumyu you'd like my thoughts on! I have plenty of them, especially about kogi/mika/kogimika, so little essays about those would tend to be a bit more longer and elaborate, like this one 😌

🥺 + ✨ + 🧠 for Leeta + 🎉 + ✅ + a question not on the list: what to you is the purpose of fic? What would you say writing fic is for? What (takes drag of cigarette, extinguishes it on my saucer) is the point of it all?

hello <3 thanks for asking!

🥺 Is there a certain type of moment or common interaction between your characters that never fails to put you in your feels?

I had to look up “put you in your feels” on urban dictionary T_T I had to think a bit about this one but I think I’m very, very fond of scenes where one character is asleep and the other is awake for whatever reason, and sort of watching over them. There’s something so intimate about this. Add in any sort of fraught element that makes it Complicated and I’m <3

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

You are absolutely correct. I write great pornography. And here’s another one for the road: my dialogue has been getting exponentially better lately.

🧠 Pick a character, and I'll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

You asked about Leeta. In my mind, Leeta and Jadzia have a sort of very loose, on-and-off situation going - at least until she gets with Julian, because I don’t think she’s poly. They have sex as friends. Also Leeta loves whisky. Julian introduced her to it.

🎉 What leads you to consider a fic a success?

Good question. I think I’ve got several criteria. Thinking about it just now here are some of those criteria:

- the fic has to be written in such a way that in my most ungenerous times, I’ll think that it’s “really over the top”. When it elicits that specific criticism from grumpy-me, it means it’s well-written. Once I’ve calmed down I usually love the fic.

- whatever I tried to achieve with the fic (either stylistically or in terms of themes or characterisation) has to 1/have been achieved by the end of it and 2/still make sense once I re-read the fic a few days after finishing it. Given my bad memory, if I can figure out what I was trying to do when I re-read it later, it’s a win for me.

- when my wife goes very silent while reading it. That’s a definite sign of success.

✅ What's something that appears in your fics over and over and over again, even if you don't mean to?

All my fics start with a description of the outside weather. But you know this already, so I’ll add this: all my fics feature food, somehow.

As to your last question:

I think fic is a great way to write without having to deal with worldbuilding. The characters are there, the universe is there, you just pick them up and Put Them In Situations. It’s a great way to experiment with things and personally it removes a lot of the frustrations that come with having to make up an entire world to set my story in. I like writing original things too but there’s a special pleasure that comes with writing for characters I like from that piece of media I didn’t write.

The “downside” to this (which isn’t really a downside, nous verrons pourquoi) is that you have to accept someone else’s worldbuilding as the setting of your story. This either means accepting things that you don’t like or agree with, or changing those specific elements to something original. The first one is the option I like best, because it deals with the source material in a new way while critiquing it, expanding it, refining it. You’re adding something interesting to the table because you’re taking the original writer’s ideas to their logical end. Handwaving things away because they’re inconvenient is fine to me as long as they’re inconsequential and not core elements of that world.

If I had to sum it up I think I’d go with “read good fic and you’ll learn a lot about the source material”. 

I hope this was as interesting for you to read as it was for me to write, and thanks again for your questions! <3

Coran! 💜💜💜 for the fanfic writer ask game

Also sorry these arent in order

⏳ 🎶 🛒 👀

Liv!! 💙💙

⏳ : How long does it take you to write a fic, or a chapter?

It really depends, genuinely! On one hand, I wrote, edited, and published a 6k fic in two days. On that same hand, I wrote 30k words approx. in like, five days? But that was on a piece that I was just writing for me to get the creative juices flowing so I wasn't worried about word choices as much as getting scenes down. And that was during Christmas break.

But on the other hand, my current WIP which is almost at 30k has taken me all month between trying to find the time to write, editing, and research. Lots and lots of research on this one that isn't even making it into the final piece. Haha!

So I'll say, on average, if I'm free of time, I could easily write probably 10k in two days? Eh?

🎶 : Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

Yes!! All the time!! It's crucial to my process. Like, that same WIP I was telling you about. Lately I haven't been able to listen to my music while writing which is why this last leg of the fic is taking forever to write!

I either have custom playlists for whatever ship I'm writing for, or I have a very generic pining playlist full of my favorites. What's looping definitely depends on what I'm writing, but I guess lately Share Your Address by Ben Platt and Don't You Dare (Make Me Fall In Love With You) by Kaden MacKay have really been critical pieces in my playlists.

🛒 : What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

It depends! I think I definitely overall default to a lot of storm imagery. I.E. Lightning, thunder, clouds over the horizon, etc etc.

But it also is completely dependent on what I'm writing for! For instance, in my WIP at the moment I'm using a surprising amount of dancing metaphors? But I think dancing metaphors are integral to my interpretation of those characters, so I think if I write for this ship more often I will probably come back to them.

That being said, now that I'm thinking about it, I think I'm just drawn to ships where the storm metaphor works.... Gentlebeard... Destiel... Hell, even in my VLD days I did it. Damn. Did I use storms for GOmens writing too?

Also for something other than a theme/imagery, I typically love writing First Kisses even if I never tag them? As such? I love that. But surprisingly I've really stepped outside of that with some of my later Supernatural works and definitely within OFMD. My "Getting Together" OFMD fic they DIDN'T EVEN KISS. THEY DIDN'T EVEN KISS. 2018!Coran would shake in FEAR at the animal I have become.

👀 : Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I've kind of done that already??? Whoops??

Okay, so here's the thing:

I'm supposed to be finishing the third installment of Bang Bang! And it's coming along, I promise!!! But I was having issues with some of the transitional parts. It just wasn't flowing, and I needed a brain break so I could come back with fresh eyes.

So I started the aforementioned and thus far unnamed WIP.

(It's a Bagginshield fic. Whoops. I'm so sorry loyal followers. I am trash.)

And it was just supposed to be a break!! Just a 6k at the max joke-centric fic!! To make me laugh and to post and then to go back to what I actually was trying to work on this month! [The third installment of Bang Bang! plus another WIP I have yet to mention (͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)] But then it quickly devolved evolved into... a 30k beast of pining and cultural discussion and guilt and love.

I cannot wait until it's done. So I can be free from it. I've loved writing it but at what cost.

Since it's you my dear Liv. If you want a snippet of the WIP, just send me another eye emoji with a number, and I'll send you a line off the corresponding page number. For reference, there's 64 pages so like go off on number picking. But I don't even know if you like Bagginshield, so I won't subject you to it anymore than I've already subjected you to my rambling, haha!

Thanks for the ask, dear! This was fun!

Emoji FanFic Writer Ask Game !!

WIP Wednesday, Krystar!

For being the main subject of my Monday posts, it's kind of weird I haven't talked about this yet. So here we go.

Krystar is meant to be an epic fantasy targeted at new adults, age 18-25. Deshi, 16yo male, gets randomly isekai'd to another planet and obtains a god relic. It's meant to speak to anyone that's reluctant to do things out of the norm while also wishing to be somewhere else, like in their own anime or game. This is Deshi. He uses videogames as an escape and gets his wish only to find out that he actually has no idea what he's doing and everything is trying to kill him. And a lot of things get really close to succeeding.

I think he almost dies twice in the First Fragment. Gotta love those natural D20s. (AKA for those that don't know DND, he's very lucky without a luck stat. So very lucky.)

The Fragment series, which will consist of five books, focuses on Deshi as he breaks out of the indecisive nature he's always had and rises up to save his soul mate, the princess. There's a lot of twists and turns that should turn the chosen one trope on his head, but no spoilers. Let's just say he's uniquely qualified, but he was picked at random. If anything, by accident. 😏

I currently have First, Second and Third Fragment written but only the First one is consumer ready. Even so, I've put it on hold temporarily as I figure out just how I want to self publish it. In the meantime, if anyone wants to become a Tier 1 Patron, I'll start posting the First Fragment by chapter twice a week. Once you've read the first book, Patrons will have an opportunity to become beta readers for the other Fragments. (Others I've asked to be beta readers already can still be beta readers whether or not you are a Patron.) If you'd like to support me as a writer and artist, become a Patron today!

Moving on. I also have half of the Fourth and Fifth Fragments written. (Don't ask. It's complicated and contains spoilers if I explain how that happened.)

After the Fragment series will be a standalone called Lost Fragments. Lost Fragments contains 3 smaller stories called Peace Bringer, Gerit, and Mythren. Gerit is finished, but I'm doing art (or slacking, really) for it as I publish it on AO3. It should be the only one I put on AO3 and I'll be taking it down when the other two stories are finished and I'm ready to publish the book. It comes with a lot of content warnings, but it's surprisingly wholesome despite them. You know, since it's popular at the moment, think Sandman. There are very dark and suggestive themes in Gerit, but the story is what matters.

These three stories are related to the world of Krystar, but do not interact with the Fragment series. At least directly. They sort of provide some background for the world. But it's really a sort of prelude to the second series of Krystar, the Echo series.

The Echo series will also consist of five books (all Stag's fault by the way) and focuses on the lives of five other individuals. The first one will be called Echoes of Stag. I have names for the others, but they are spoilers. 😏 And Echoes of Stag is complete. Just needs editing. It does have to be read after the Fragment series though, even though the spoilers are mostly in the epilogue.

The Echoes series brings all the other stories together and an end to the world of Krystar, which brings me to the 12th and final book, Reign of Mynt.

Reign of Mynt follows Mynti, Mythren's daughter, as she attempts to claim her rightful place as a Kares royal. Like Lost Fragments, it's a side story simply set in the same world, but there will be hints of all the happenings from the other books in this one. It would not be the way it is if the other eleven books didn't happen. 😁

Should be interesting.

And that is the general overview of Krystar! Thanks for reading. Let me know if you're interested in me doing a WIP Wednesday for Peace Bringer or Mythren. The other stories are either finished already/waiting for edits or contain spoilers, so unfortunately, those are the only ones I can really do a WIP Wednesday for. Have a good day!

8 & 14 please

Hmm.... Another interesting pairing. I think I know what I'm going to do with these as I save it for writing later. We will see where it goes.

It didn't go where I expected it to, but I like what I ended up with.

And so ends a month of writing prompts. Thanks to everyone who went along on this ride with me. Feel free to poke around with anything I've posted and ask more questions. Everything I've done this month has been a part of something as yet unwritten, either a chapter or part of a series, but always something that already exists. It was rough and it was raw, but it was fun to do. Glad some of you came along with me to do it.

Gideon stared down at the restaurant table, pondering the rich, golden red color under the clear finish. He picked out one dark stripe that represented the tree's life and followed it from one end of the table to the other, then chose another.

"Gideon?" His mother pulled him from the mindless task he'd put to himself. "Are you feeling all right?"

He blinked at her. "Do I not look it?"

"You do look a little under the weather," his father admitted with concern.

He shook his head. "I'm fine." Neither of his parents seemed to believe him, so instead of insisting this was true, he shrugged. "Maybe just my brain is feeling kind of down."

There was something carved into the slick surface just to his left, interfering with the path of several wooden stripes. He placed his finger over the dent and traced it, then pulled his hand away. Having felt the groove, he could now easily make out the single letter 't'. Bent in what was almost a perfect handwritten script, the beauty of it struck him as unusual. It was the result of vandalism, after all, and he thought he should feel more dislike for this stray remnant of someone's lawlessness. He found that he couldn't hate it though, in fact it became something of a fascination rather than being something he could easily discard.

He wondered why it wasn't capitalized and what the person who made it was trying to say. Was it meant to be longer and they got interrupted? Had they been caught in the act and thrown out of the restaurant? It couldn't be just an initial, because certainly no one would carve their initials in lowercase lettering.

Around him, the buzz of other patrons drew his eyes upward, to take in the room. Every person at every table seemed to be engaged in pleasant conversation. Would any of them be willing to deface property like this? Could one of them have left this part of themselves behind and returned to mark another table? Maybe it was some sort of secret code, left from one diner for another who would take this seat on request and know exactly what the 't' meant.

"Gideon," his mother's voice broke the spell of his ponderings.

His eyes met hers and he noticed the sadness in them. "Yes?"

"I think it was wrong of me to let you choose that particular book from the library today. It seems to be a little darker than we thought. What do you think?"

"Maybe. I mean it talks about death a lot and people doing things with animals they shouldn't, but it's interesting."

His father shook his head. "I don't like how upset it seems to have made you," he said. "Even if it is meant to be a different representation of the tales from our realm."

"Not our realm, Papa. Just.. another one."

"All right. Another realm. Either way, you've not been yourself since you started reading it."

Both of his parents looked as if they would begin to cry at any moment and Gideon thought about the things they would never tell him, the secrets he would never know.

"Does this have anything to do with me?" He asked the question gently, hoping not to hurt them.

"No," his mother promised. "It has to do with me and being too lenient with your choices. When you are older, I'll let you try the book again, but for now, I think the theme is more for adults than even you can handle. Are we agreed?"

Gideon took in a deep breath and slowly let it escape him. Either his mothers words, the release of air, or quite possibly both, made him feel as if he were sending a hidden darkness away from himself and out into the corners of the dining space. He nodded. "Agreed."

Finally, his father smiled, and his mother joined in soon after, both grasping for Gideon's hand and giving it a squeeze.

"So, what can we talk about now to lift your mood?" His father's question brought a smile to Gideon's face.

Glancing down at the carved letter, Gideon wriggled closer to the table and lowered his voice as if sharing a secret. "Did either of you ever do something mischievous when you were my age?"