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jazzluca · 2 years ago

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THUNDERCRACKER ( Voyager ) Studio Series 89

Finalmente, dei 3 prodotti, sono riuscito a prendermi almeno UNO dei Seeker in guisa cybertroniana visti nell'osannata sequenza introduttiva del film di Bumblebee, e diciamo che sono cascato bene, dato che sarebbe nientepopodimenoche il mio preferito, ovvero il buon vecchio THUNDERCRACKER.

E se proprio dovevo prenderne appunto uno solo, casco bene anche perchè cromaticamente è pure il più credibile nel suo classico blu scuro nella modalità di JET ALIENO, dato che il più famoso Starscream magari con la sua livrea grigia rossa e blu è poco probabile, così come invece quello chiamato Thrust ha pochetto dell'originale G1, con ali normali e … colorato di verde?!?

Vabbè, torniamo a questa incarnazione di Vampiro, che a dirla tutta appare sì nel film succitato, ma in mezzo ad altri seeker generici dello stesso colore, così come ha avuto altre incarnazioni nella cosmogonia dei live movie, ovvero un semplice repaint di Starscream con testa diversa nel lontano 2007 ed un'altra versione sempre Studio Series ma anche un po' fantasiosa basata sullo stampo di Nitro Zeus attribuito ad una sua fantomatica presenza in Dark of the Moon.

Dicevo, i seeker nelle loro modalità di jet cybertroniano ovviamente pagano pegno ai celeberrimi tetrajet del primissimo episodio dei cartoni animati originali, con un bel velivolo che non sfigurerebbe in un film di Star Wars e la fora che richiama appunto un aereo triangolare, salvo l'aggiunta di una quarta pinna ( armata ) sotto il mezzo, che però nel modellino si rivela essere un po' troppo grossa perchè in realtà usata per sistemare, ripiegate, le braccia all'interno del torso del robot.

A livello di fedeltà ovviamente non è il massimo, ma ci si chiude un occhio vista la bellezza dello stampo del modellino, così come l'idea stessa di questo design che rende il jet abbastanza imponente per la media, e suddetta pinna cicciona è nascosta dalle ali laterali spioventi.

Si fatica invece a chiudere un altro occhio in alcune parti "inspiegabilmente" grigio chiare sulla parte centrale del jet e nella parte frontale della pinna inferiore che stonano con l'ottimo blu scuro principale. L'inspiegabilità però si spiega forse andando a guardare i suoi colleghi, con le stesse parti dello stesso colore, solo che lì non danno affatto fastidio essendo il grigio chiaro uno dei colori delle loro livree, così come le parti superiore di questi pannelli sono in plastica morbida, quindi boh, non sono riusciti a farli blu pure questi, ma resta la sensazione di un bel pugno nell'occhio estetico, peccato.

Per il resto ci sono tocchi di rosso negli alettoni e sopratutto nella punta, la cabina è in plastica arancione trasparente, ed i razzi posteriori puntano verso l'alto, ok ^^'. Come accessori abbiamo due laser sotto le ali e quello sotto la pinna inferiore, che non sarebbe fedelissimo a guardar bene dato che poi si ricicla come arma per il robot, ma anche qui, va bene lo stesso.

La TRASFORMAZIONE riprende a grandi linee quella del Blitzwing SS 65, non a caso il seeker con modalità velivolare terrestre, ma con le sue belle differenze, dato che qui la parte posteriore diventa le gambe del robot, ma semplicemente ruotando verso l'esterno di 90° le due metà, drizzando i piedi ed inglobando i succitati pannelli di plastica grigetta, ed anche qui la parte esterna del torso si ribalta da sotto il jet in avanti, ma qui le braccia non erano ripiegate sotto le ali come in Blitzy ma ripiegate all'interno dello stesso, ed idem la testa, non più già attaccata al cockpit ma invece parte del succitato modulo del torso mobile.

Il risultato è un ROBOT davvero bello ed evocativo, perfetta sintesi fra il look classico da Seeker ed un aspetto realistico da film dal vivo, senza perdere un oncia di antropoformia rispetto alla versione più aliena e bizzarra dello Starscream dei film Bayani.

Fra le altre cose, davvero indovinata la finezza del cockpit "diviso" sia al centro del petto che sopra di esso da cui sbuca la testa, i propulsori ai lati delle gambe, i classici moduli a punta fra capo e spalle e le ali con le punte che ruotano in modo da far cambiare stile volendo al soggetto di turno ( Thundercracker qui e Thrust hanno le punte ruotate verso il basso, per dire, mentre Starscream le ha verso l'alto ).

Ma sopratutto, sebbene dicevo della somiglianza della trasformazione con Blitzwing, in realtà i due stampi non hanno NULLA in comune, avendo tutte le parti le li compongono diverse, eccetto in questo e nel caso di Thrust della testa, uguale a quella del Seeker terrestre laddove il solo Starscream ne ha una un po' diversa, senza quella sorta di respiratore da maschera antigas sulla bocca.

Rispetto sempre a Blitzwing i Seeker Cybertroniani hanno uno zaino più compatto, non avendo il pannello che si estende oltre il sedere, e le ali più versatili da posizionare, così come le caviglie possono muoversi un po' frontalmente, oltre che lateralmente ed il bacino, seppure anche qui limitato, ha più lasco per ruotare.

I polsi invece anche qui non ruotano, per via della trasformazione, ma l'arma grande un po' fa fatica a restare impugnata, laddove quella di Blitzwing si bloccava pure grazie ad un ulteriore perno per l'avambraccio, mentre è un po' un peccato che le due armi delle ali finiscano di nuovo sulle ali per mera bellezza e non possano sistemarsi sulle braccia come appunto i fucili classici dei G1 Astrum e compagnia, ma questa è una scelta stilistica a monte del concept design, MA volendo un paio di fori sugli avambracci potevano farceli, anche se effettivamente come laser sono piccini e la loro posizione originale sarebbe sui bicipiti, e qui le articolazioni non lo permetterebbe molto, e quindi a posto così.

Ma comunque, anche cromaticamente Thundercracker con questo suo bel blu scuro / metallico e tocchi di grigio è davvero eccezionale e da lustro a quest'ottimo stampo, un must per i fan dei Seeker, cybertroniani o meno che siano, nonostante le summenzionate me effimere lacune e la pinna verticale inferiore un po' "in carne", e si spera che continuino a sfornare gli altri mancanti, primo fra tutti il buon Skywarp, anche se, come dicevo all'inizio, questo Vampiro direi che è l'ideale per chi vuole anche solo uno stampo di questi Cercatori.

#transformers #hasbro #decepticon #thundercracker #vampiro #bumblebee movie #transformers 6 #distructor #voyager #seeker #review #recensione

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kyber-crystal · 4 months ago

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the albatross || f.w.

summary: the albatross is the largest bird that can go years without landing; they spend their first 6 years of life flying over the ocean before coming to the land to mate. It is capable of traveling more than 10,000 miles in a single journey and circumnavigating the globe in 46 days. (he's been up in the air his whole life, but is finally able to land when he falls in love with you: alt, 4 times everyone noticed he loved you, 1 time you noticed he loved you too)

words: ~4.1k

warnings: TOOTH-ROOTTING FLUFF, CLICHE, your usual stuff yk

a/n: i’ve had that snippet above stuck in my notes for a year now and never made anything of it and thought hey i should do something about it. so here were are. also i can’t resist doing the 3x1/4x1/5x1 trope. its so superior. ngl tho writers block hit me kinda hard with this one so i struggled to finish…sorry in advance for my writing, idk how i feel ab the way this turned out

add yourself to my hp taglist here!

one

You were looking forward to today’s Transfiguration lesson.

Up until this point, McGonagall had you continue practicing nonverbal spells; having them carry over from sixth year because she wanted to emphasize their importance. In addition to that, you were set to start learning how to transfigure tortoises into trumpets. It was bound to be a loud but entertaining affair.

“I need you all to remember to focus,” she reminded at the start of class, “and please, refrain from playing your trumpets should you manage to successfully transform your tortoise—I’m looking at you, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley.”

“Aw, darn it,” you heard the twins chorus in defeat.

“Now, you will first review what you have in your notes, then practice individually. You may begin.”

A small, dusty green tortoise appeared on your desk, causing you to crack a tiny smile. You heard students muttering the incantation from all around you as they attempted the spell, one of them yelping in pain when their tortoise bit their finger.

“Careful, Longbottom,” the Professor warned.

You shook your head and smiled to yourself, patting your tortoise on the head. It seemed to just sigh in response.

Several minutes went by before someone broke your focus, poking your shoulder.

“Psst! Y/N!”

“What?” you hissed under your breath, looking over your left shoulder at Lee. “What do you want?”

He shrugged and passed you a slip of parchment. “For you.”

“Okay…”

You unfolded the paper and peered closer, examining the signature scrawl of none other than Fred.

You look gorgeous today, darling. And it’s quite distracting, if I’m being honest.

Scowling, you glanced over to see that Fred was shamelessly staring at you and shot him a pointed glare. He simply gave you a cheeky grin then looked back down. Scribbling out a snarky reply—I look gorgeous every day, you daft dimbo—you crumpled up the parchment and decided to chuck itat his head. Without sparing another glance, he reached up and smoothly caught it with one hand.

You muttered to yourself under your breath and refocused your gaze on your work.

Not even a few moments later, Lee was poking your shoulder again to signal that Fred had tossed the note back.

Your name is pretty, but it’d look prettier next to my last.

You know what else would look pretty? My fist in your face. -your reply

The exchange continued on, with him sending flirty notes, and you replying with half-flirty, half sarcastic remarks. But just as you were about to aim at Fred’s head for the nth time—

��Miss Y/N, Mr. Weasley, what in Godric’s name are you two doing?”

You froze in your spot. Professor McGonagall was standing right by your desk, note in hand with her eyebrows raised and arms crossed over her chest. “Er, I—”

“Is there anything you two would like to share with the class?”

“No, it’s—”

“Actually, Professor, there is,” Fred declared, standing up and marching over to where you were, taking the paper out of McGonagall’s hands and opening it. “Since she hasn’t gotten to read it yet, I shall.”

He cleared his throat and began to read.

“I’d face the storm, the darkest night,

With reckless heart and blazing light.

No cursed spell, no shadowed door,

Could shake the love I hold in store.

For you, I’d charge, both fierce and true—

My greatest courage lives in you.”

The classroom erupted into giggles as he finished with a bow, grinning proudly. It felt like your face was up in flames, if it wasn’t already burnt to a crisp. If Fred looked equally flustered you couldn’t tell at all, and he was masking it with that stupid cheeky look of his.

You were too mortified and focused on the possibility of receiving detention to notice that McGonagall was trying to hide her smile; taking away House points now in the very back of her mind.

Flitwick owed her 10 sickles.

two

“Oi! Y/N, wake up!”

Something fluffy smacked you straight across the face and you hissed in annoyance, sitting up and rubbing your eyes to identify your attacker.

“Okay, I’m—what the hell are you three doing in here? It’s 3 in the morning,” you grumbled. “If you get caught—”

“T’was Fred’s idea,” Lee said innocently and dropped the pillow, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Hey! Why are you pinning all this on me? That’s not fair,” the older twin demanded.

“Anyways, Y/N, the kitchens are empty.”

“No shit Sherlock, it’s the middle of the night. What do you all want?” you kept your voice down.

“We’re cooking up a storm tonight.”

“I hope you’re not referring to more Canary Creams?”

“No, we mean actual sweets,” Fred explained, taking your hand and pulling you out of bed. “Come on.”

The four of you crept down the staircase and through the halls as quietly as possible; George and Lee quietly talking to each other behind you while Fred remained by your side, hand still in yours. You were too tired and delirious to notice or care that he could’ve let go ages ago, but didn’t.

“Okay, we’re here,” George announced quietly and pushed open a grandiose, wooden door.

The usually bustling kitchen was dead silent so that all you could hear were each other’s slow breaths.

“Accio recipe,” Lee muttered quietly, and an old, worn maroon book came zooming towards him. He set it down onto the counter and propped it open, flipping through the pages and stopping on one particular recipe. “I hope you lot are up for some treacle tart.”

“I wish I could stay mad at you for smacking me in the face with that pillow, Lee,” you tried your hardest to suppress a laugh. “But you read my mind.”

“Okay then!” He clasped his hands, “let’s get to work.”

You picked one of the long wooden tables in the center of the room then got to work, quickly but efficiently rushing around the kitchen to collect what you needed. Fred rolled his sleeves up and leaned against the counter to watch you, in awe as you began measuring and pouring the ingredients with near-perfect accuracy.

“Are you just going to stand there or are you going to help?” you finally looked up and noticed that he hadn’t been doing anything.

“Sorry, you’re just distracting,” Fred sent you a wink, and you scoffed. “Okay, sweetheart, I’m sorry, I’ll help you.”

You fell into a silent but comfortable routine afterwards, evenly splitting up the work to finish preparing the tarts in less time. Neither of you noticed how you gradually inched closer to one another as you did so, shoulders brushing together every time you reached over to grab something or continue mixing the batter.

“Hold on a minute, there’s some flour right—” Fred paused, thumb grazing your cheekbone. You felt a jolt of electricity where his skin brushed over yours. “—there.”

“Thanks,” you mumbled, face suddenly feeling too hot even though the kitchens were far from it.

“Always my pleasure,” he smiled, oblivious to your flustered state.

Lee was standing with George a few rows away, focus switching between you two and the first batches of treacle tart that were now in the ovens, slowly beginning to bake. The distinct scent of sweet syrup and berries soon began wafting through the air, filling the room with a sweet and tantalizing aroma.

“They can’t keep their hands off each other,” he grinned knowingly. “They’re standing just inches apart…they have the entire table to themselves and yet they stand like that.”

“And they say they’re just friends. I call bullshit,” said George, watching as Fred said something to you and you rolled your eyes, whacking him with your wooden spoon. Fred tugged you forward in response, trapping you in his strong arms as you let out a faint giggle, protesting for him to let you go. It wasn’t until he tilted his head down and you begrudgingly pressed a kiss to his cheek that he finally released you from his hold, looking as smug as ever.

“10 galleons says they’re getting married in the next two years.”

“15 galleons.”

“You’re on, mate.”

three

DA practices were now everyone’s sole source of motivation. They had finally started work on Patronuses, which they had been very keen to practice, though, as Harry kept reminding you all that producing one in the middle of a brightly lit classroom when they weren’t under threat was quite different from producing one when under threat, like by a Dementor.

You exchanged a soft smile with Cho, admiring her silvery swan-shaped Patronus before attempting to refocus on your own work; on the last several tries you hardly managed more than a cloudy, wispy form.

Closing your eyes, you recalled the time you had Quidditch practice on a snow day. Oliver ended practice a bit early (Angelina did have to convince him a bit though) and you spent the rest of that time pelting one another with snowballs and zipping around in the air, laughter echoing across the space. You couldn’t remember the last time you had felt that carefree.

“Expecto Patronum!” Excitement began to build up in you but your shoulders slumped in defeat when again, just a thin wisp of silver smoke came out of your wand tip. “Damn it.”

“Y/N, you’ve got to think of something happy,” Harry reminded you.

“But I did,” you exhaled, voice strained. “I don’t get it. I thought…”

“Maybe it wasn’t strong enough. Try a new memory,” he suggested, “do you have anything else that might work?”

“Well, there is one…I don’t know if it’s my happiest, but it is one of them, and it is strong…”

“Then try that,” he said kindly. “You can do this.” You nodded and he walked away to help Neville, who was also struggling to cast his Patronus.

Readjusting your wand in your hand, you closed your eyes once again and allowed the new memory to fill your mind.

The first few weeks after the end of term and the start of the summer holidays were always the hardest. As badly as you missed home and your parents, you also missed constantly being around your friends and the Weasley family. At this point it had been three weeks since you’d seen Fred; you never went longer than that without seeing him.

You and your parents had spent three blissful weeks traveling around France. From exploring the lavender fields in Provence, smelling the fresh sea air and seeing the breathtaking Mont-Saint-Michel castle in Normandy, to biting into pillowy soft pastries in Paris, you did it all. But you still felt that distinct ache to be back at Hogwarts with your close friends.

“The Burrow!” you exclaimed, Floo powder in hand. Glowing green flames engulfed your body and then you were standing outside your third home in mere seconds, giddy with excitement.

“THERE SHE IS!” you heard several voices shout with delight. Your best friends immediately came bursting through the door and stampeding towards you. Fred was the first to reach you, positively glowing with happiness as he swept you into a tight bear hug, spinning you around. He attacked you with repeated kisses to your temple then cheeks as he said how glad he was to finally see you. He was clutching you so tight that you almost lost your breath, but you were so happy to see him as well that you couldn’t care less.

“Oi, we’re here too, lovebirds!” you heard Ron shout. You laughed and pulled away from Fred’s embrace to go greet everyone else. As you were hugging Ginny you made eye contact with Fred, that gleaming look still in his eyes. Your heart felt so full at that moment, you thought it would burst.

“EXPECTO PATRONUM!” you shouted. A flash of silvery-blue light emitted from your wand and a dainty squirrel burst forward. You smiled to yourself as Harry complimented your work.

But what surprised you more was the small bird swooping in from above—it caught sight of your squirrel Patronus and started chasing it around the Room of Requirement, their forms glowing brightly. Several others stopped what they were doing to watch the spectacle, confused but amazed.

“Pretty cool, innit,” you heard a voice say from besides you. You turned to make eye contact with Fred, who was looking at you with amusement.

“Yeah…is that a sparrow?” you pointed up at his Patronus, which was still chasing yours around the room and leaving a trail of glitter behind itself as it did so.

“It’s a magpie,” said Fred. “Although I also thought it was a sparrow at first.”

“Well, it looks like they like each other…”

“Art imitates life, right? Is that what they say?”

“Something like that, I guess,” you laughed softly, leaning into him. “It’s beautiful.”

“What did you think of?” he asked. “Beating Umbridge’s arse to a pulp? Just say the words and I’ll gladly help with that.”

You snorted. “No, I tried that last time but I guess it wasn’t strong enough. I don’t know how this one could’ve been happier than that.”

“Then whatever it was, it must’ve been pretty strong.”

“Definitely…” The scene flashed across your mind again, and you felt heat crawling up your cheeks. “it was.”

“His Patronus can’t seem to let go of hers,” Hermione whispered from the other side of the room; hers and Ginny’s otter and horse Patronuses were gracefully gliding around them. “You know what that means…”

“I haven’t a clue,” Ginny responded as she glanced over Fred, who now had an arm around you. “Why’s that so important?”

“Because, Gin!” she whisper-shouted. “Magpies hunt squirrels!”

“Okay…what’s the correlation there?” Ginny was now confused.

“He’s in love with her, of course! I was reading up on Patronuses last week; when someone has feelings of deep affection for someone else, either their Patronuses change to match or they produce what’s like an opposite to the person they love. Hence the hunter and prey pairing.”

“You just figured out they love each other?”

“No, but this just confirms it,” the bushy-haired girl’s mouth stretched into a wide grin.

four

It felt like hours since you had last seen the light of day. Right now you were waist-deep in assignments, preparing for your mind-numbing History of Magic project that was due the next morning. Sleep was threatening to pull you under and it took everything you had not to slump over and doze off on the spot.

“Ange,” you yawned and cupped a hand over your mouth, “did you finish the revisions yet?”

“Almost,” she returned your tired yawn and slid the parchment she was working on over to you. “Do you mind checking this over for me?”

“Mhm,” you mumbled, peering down at her tidy handwriting and picking up your quill. You rubbed your eyes and drew out a long breath. “Godric’s sake, what time is it?”

“Quarter to midnight,” Katie responded, jotting something down in her notepad, “I think we’re almost done…”

“...these damn revisions are taking bloody forever,” you groaned, placing your chin in your hand, “almost more than the time we took researching.”

“I despise history,” said Alicia.

“Hear, hear,” you and Angelina said tiredly.

All of a sudden you heard a rustle and the screech of someone pulling a chair out next to you. The comforting smell of broomsticks and cinnamon instantly hit your nose, which didn’t help with you already wanting to doze off.

“There’s my Y/N,” Fred greeted warmly. His hand-knitted maroon Weasley jumper hung loosely off his toned frame, bringing out the color in his eyes and cheeks. He looked painfully attractive in everything, you realized.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping?”

“Not when I know you aren’t,” he said plainly. “It’s late, but you’re here, right? So that’s why I’m here as well.”

You seemed to be completely oblivious to the way he kept staring at you as you continued to work. He couldn't help but stare; he found it rather endearing, the way you'd sigh every so often when stuck on a difficult problem and how you'd get this crease between your brows because you were deep in concentration.

After several minutes you finally glanced up, a quizzical look on your face as you realized he was still watching you so intently. “Is there something on my face?”

“No,” he smiled softly, reaching over to briefly cup your cheek. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie exchanged knowing looks at this. “Just looking out for you, of course.”

The flickering lanterns overhead cast a warm golden light over the room, illuminating his features in a dim and hazy glow. There was an unmistakably soft and wistful sort of look in his eyes and you felt your heart race the longer his eyes stayed on you. Did he always look at you that way? You couldn’t remember the last time he had looked at you with anything other than admiration and delight but then again, Fred was known to be very open with those he cared for.

Another hour went by and by this point you were fast asleep, head leaning against your arms on the table and parts of your hair spilling across your forehead. If he didn’t know any better, Fred would’ve thought you were an angel, part Veela, or something along those lines. Was there anything better? he thought to himself. If there was, that’s exactly what she is.

Fred slid his jumper off and as carefully as possible, slid it under your head so that you had something soft to rest on and wouldn’t wake up complaining that there were ink stains on your skin. He took the quill from your outstretched fist and set it by your side, and wordlessly began putting your things into your bag for you.

It was another two hours until you eventually stirred awake but he stayed, quietly waiting and watching; relishing in the peace and comfort that he knew only your company could bring.

plus one

It probably would’ve been a wise idea to heed Katie’s advice and not overwork yourself; even Hermione had said you clearly looked exhausted and needed a break from studying. But being as stubborn as you were, you didn’t listen, and now you were starting to feel the consequences of your actions.

So here you were now alone in the girls’ dormitory, curled up in bed with a stuffy nose, sore throat, pounding headache that felt like it would split your brain in two, along with crippling nausea. Despite your stomach grumbling after having skipped out on breakfast and lunch, the mere thought of eating made you feel even more sick.

All you wanted to do in that moment was crawl into a hole and fall asleep for several centuries.

Realizing that sitting there doing nothing wouldn’t help, you decided to at the very least, open your Charms textbook and get caught up on the past few reading assignments. You mentally reminded yourself to thank Angelina for standing in today and taking notes for you; the girl was saving you hours’ worth of work that likely would’ve had you collapsing all over again.

A loud CRASH from somewhere nearby caused you to jump slightly and almost slam the book closed on your fingers. Glancing around at the sudden noise, you were about to assume it was Peeves being chased by Filch after causing trouble (you definitely didn’t experience this from having helped him and the twins out with a prank in which you chucked a Dungbomb into his office). But then you remembered they never directly entered the girls’ dormitories and laughed to yourself.

The door creaked open and Fred’s all-too-familiar figure stumbled through, breathing hard with his hands behind his back. He was shifting from foot to foot and he looked kind of…nervous?

“Fred?”

“Y/N, I haven’t seen you all day,” his face broke into a bashful grin, “How are you feeling?”

“I’m…alright…”

“Well, I got you something,” said Fred, and quickly handed you a sweet-smelling bouquet of flowers. “I hope you like these, it took a while to grow them. Longbottom helped me out a bit.”

“T-these are…” you stammered, pulse racing. The flowers shone brightly under the afternoon light; they were probably the prettiest things you’d seen in, well, forever.

“—your favorite, I know,” he finished your sentence.

“But how did y—”

“It’s the same kind of flower as the dried ones that are in the bookmark you use for all your classes,” he explained, still slightly out of breath. “It’s the color of your favorite wool hat. It’s the color of the jumper I bought, I told you it’s because I liked how my eyes went with it but really, it’s because it reminded me of you. It’s what I smelled in George and I’s Amortentia in Potions. It’s you, Y/N, it’s all you and it has always brought me back to you. It always will, every single time.”

Suddenly, the realization slammed into you with a force of a Bludger traveling a hundred miles an hour.

Fred Weasley loved you. You loved Fred Weasley.

And it had taken you forever to notice.

He sat by your side and reached for your hand, taking it in his and interlocking your fingers together like it was normal; like he had done so dozens of times before. Because he had, but something about this one made your heart skip an extra beat and all the words you wanted to say leave your brain instantly.

“I look terrible,” you turned your face into his chest so that your cheek was now resting against the fabric of his jumper, “and you might get sick too. You should go…”

“I don’t care,” he mumbled, sliding his arms around you, “I’ve got all day. Snape can take my delightfully dimwitted Potions essay and shove it up his a—”

You chuckled a bit at this and took that moment to glance up at him—he was still gazing at you longingly. You’d never seen him look at anyone or anything that way; unless you counted the excited look he got when Hogwarts had its annual holiday feast and piles of food appeared on the tables. Or that look he got after winning a Quidditch match.

“I’m an idiot, aren’t I?” you asked, shaking your head. “For taking as long as I did to realize that I’m in love with you. Everyone was practically screaming at me about it and yet I still couldn’t put the pieces together and see.”

That signature grin was back on his face. “You’re in love with me?”

“Don’t let it get to your head, Weasley—”

He grinned, stopping what you were going to say next by closing the gap and sealing his lips over yours. Now it wasn’t the nausea that had your head whirling around; it was the feeling of him kissing you like it was the only thing he ever wanted to do, and it was intoxicating. He was right there all along—your best friend for as long as you could remember—and suddenly you couldn’t seem to register anything else other than the fact that you wanted to stay in the moment until you completely lost your breath.

“Fred, I told you, you’re going to get sick,” you exhaled as you pulled apart, “I know you don’t want that.”

“And I told you I don’t care.” He brought you back in and kissed you a second, then third time, “all the more excuse to spend time with you.”

(He did get sick the following day, leaving a disgruntled Hermione to take care of not just you, but him as well.)

a/n pt 2: yes the poem was done by chatgpt. i’m horrible at writing normally, and even worse at writing poetry. sorry yall LOL. also can you tell i love writing cheesy monologues. yeah. and also i’m sorry for the cringe ending

tags: @miissasa @bittermileymilez @daisydark @brinachiii @foreverthemaraudersera @viharbinger @ladyclay @apileofschist @arkofblake @lizzyrose200 @4ngeltrumpettt

#fred weasley #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley imagine #fred weasley x y/n #fred weasley fluff #harry potter #harry potter fanfiction #hp fanfic #hp imagine #fred weasley fic #hogwarts

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fandom · 5 months ago

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Happy Year of the Snake to you all 🐍

It's been a week of thresholds. Last week was Lunar New Year, and there was lots of beautiful snake art to celebrate. The 139th Groundhog Day has been and gone, with Punxsutawney Phil predicting 6 more weeks of winter (though the predictions on our dashboards have been somewhat...gloomier in that respect). Yesterday also brought us the 67th Annual Grammy Awards which many have enjoyed, and Béyonce finally got that award for Cowboy Carter. In other news, Arcane still reigns supreme on the dash, and there are two Robins in the list this week. This is Tumblr's Week in Review.

Artists on Tumblr

Arcane

US Politics

Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog

Luigi Mangione

Jayvik | Jayce Talis & Viktor, Arcane

Donald Trump

Jayce Talis | Arcane

Shadow the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog

Viktor | Arcane

Elon Musk

Severance

Cats of Tumblr

Batman

Transformers

Sonadow | Sonic & Shadow, Sonic the Hedgehog

Jason Todd | the DC universe

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards

Twitter

Tim Drake | the DC universe

#week in review #02/03/2025 #the grammys

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sam-keeper · 23 days ago

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Hey Look At This Comic: Smut Peddler Presents Pitch Black

I can't remember how we got on the subject of the comics that my friends Iris Jay and Nero Villagallos O'Reilly did for an old Iron Circus april fools bit. maybe we were chatting about Megan Delyani's blank frame comic Spaces, which I wrote a whole review of last year, but it might just as easily have been talking about comic structure generally. cause we're huge nerds. being a huge nerd, I was all over the premise of the joke: a fake kickstarter for a Smut Peddler volume full of comics with all blacked out panels.

it's a great gag, a full webpage duping the Kickstarter layout, with a fun tongue in cheek explanation: comics don't leave enough up to the imagination, there aren't enough interpretive gaps for the reader, so to fix that Smut Peddler will publish a bunch of Pitch Black comics where YOU have to provide the visuals. Joke, maybe, but it lends credence to frame-focused models of comics reading: it's not the images that make something a comic, but the breakdown of page space into discrete units. So goes one theory, anyway. How do these pages fare without their images?

Lin Visel deploys a regular grid of long, thin columns, with a kind of horizontal capital at the top. The speech bubbles drive a lot of the action here and there's a sense of simultaneous movement across the bottom, with the bubbles breaking the panel borders at the top and the sound effects flowing into each other below. So, there's an interesting division between the upper strip, which is relatively subdued, a moment of reassurance that exists almost in its own zone before the rush of the bottom. And, as we'll see with a bunch of the others, in the absence of images the style of the text, the shape of the word balloons, and the font colors all become more crucial to conveying what's happening (sex, to be clear). That's already a lot going on with a series of black panels.

I love how Iris's comic bakes an explanation for the blacked out panels into its narrative. The apparently dominant character gloats that her streaming site won't let her actually display the brutal force-fem pegging she's giving to some shitty gamer bro. Sure enough, at the bottom of that panel there's a black and white video control interface and LIVE signal. Text alone and the design of the speech bubbles transforms the whole diegesis of that second panel, from the floating omniscient "camera" of the other panels to a webcam. Which is crazy because don't forget, there is no diegesis at all. It's all black!

There's so many great touches in this. I love the fact that the tongue in cheek panel containing the "guy's" internal monologue ("I can feel my epic skills draining away with every thrust... along with my masculinity!") is not just a second panel on the upper strip but an inset, separating out this moment of more intimate first person experience from the more remote view of implied fucking. And look at the flowers in the final orgasmic speech bubble! This is a total tangent but I feel like a lot of older attempts at structuralist comics decomposition wanted a firm line between the panel, the image, the characters, the speech bubbles, and so on. But comic elements can constantly interpenetrate, with the apparent domain of text becoming more complex graphical elements. Also, what a cute way to depict orgasming so hard you get turned into a girl. Head full of flowers. :)

It's incredible what you can achieve without breaking Tumblr's draconian terms of service at all.

Robin Tess offers a more straightfoward humorous panel, which lets me catch my breath after Iris's hot and heavy speech bubbles. Yet, this could have been a straightfoward 2 x 3 grid, couldn't it? 6 panels? Instead, this joke about over-engineered jargon names for what could just as easily have been called a "fuckmachine" (left delightfully up to the imagination) gets its core pacing from an irregular panel format. The premise is introduced in a big splashy full-strip panel at the top, the elaboration takes up the middle row, and then the bottom, in two equal panels, displays the two part punchline. I like the subtle way the middle row panels get progressively smaller. It increases the tension as we move toward the release of the punchlines, in a way that could be easily obscured by the panel contents if the page wasn't all blacked out in this way. Like Delyani's work, it makes me want to see notable comics blacked out. It could offer a whole new perspective on the medium's language.

Speaking of which, Nero uses a series of tall regular panels that suddenly POP into one that seems to squirt across the page, the other panels moved to allow for the white negative space to show off the irregular splash of the panel edge. This could be the silhouette of literal fluid, but I also like the idea of a frame that just has this kind of irregular energy. The comic structure itself becoming unruly and fluid to highlight a climax is a staple of many comic genres, but I'd say that I see it deployed most consistently by adult creators, who seem more willing to throw page literalism to the wind in order to achieve heightened expressivity. And once again we've got this escalation to a climactic panel. Typing this up I actually realized I don't have a specific idea of what I think the visual for these panels is or should be. Part of the excitement comes from filling in the blanks, to be sure, but that's true of any comic, which requires us to engage in closure to make sense of the transition from panel to panel. No, it's the drama of the reveal of the vibe plug one character apparently has been hiding, the invitation to intimacy, and finally the release, all achieved through dialogue physically arranged on the page. I don't think this would really make sense at all without the visuals that ARE there--the buzzing sound effect that moves across panel borders and is simultaneous to rather than sequentially arranged between lines of dialogue, and the incredibly suggestive final panel shape. Even without apparent visuals, this is visual storytelling.

Abby Howard wraps things up with the most abstract of the pieces, one that doesn't use frames at all but implies panel contents simply through the convention of word balloon tails. The result is a disorienting dark mass. It's hard to know what exactly is happening here and actually I'm having a hard time imagining what the last visual is "supposed" to be. It sort of is what it is: groping claw marks raking a black void. It's part of the april fool's joke, but it's a creepy one, and it feeds into the final joke of the page: that all this overthinking, all this trying to make sense of black panels, has worn you out, made you vulnerable to the Dark. Well, looking at everything I typed up here, I can't deny the inevitability of this end. Time to get in the maw!

Actually I think this end uncovers the close relationship that comics and hypertext narratives or more experimentally formatted texts have to one another: the space on the page becomes, itself, a signifying element and a way to direct the flow of the story. It's a shame that this is, I think, still considered a bit gimmicky in the realm of professional publishing and criticism. We have all these tools we've barely employed for storytelling, made far more accessible than in the days of having to manually set type!

Well, maybe it'll all have its day in the sun, or I suppose night in its new moon, soon enough. With an increasingly puritanical treatment of sexuality in society and on the internet, maybe we'll ALL have to black the action out of our comics and leave the frames to imply what we socially no longer want to see.

Pitch Black: Comics Code Authority approved!

you can read more reviews in the Hey Look At This Comic tag and support me on Patreon at least until they get my ass for being an adult writing about comics for other adults.

#Hey Look At This Comic #comics #iron circus comics #experimental comics #indie comics #webcomics #comic review

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uyuforu · 11 months ago

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Why your Birthday is your Personal New Year

All pictures were found on Pinterest

PRIVATE BOOKING OPEN

email adress: [email protected]

Soft To You presentation and Q&A ᡣ𐭩 rules ᡣ𐭩 private readings reviews

astrology menu ᡣ𐭩 tarot menu ᡣ𐭩 special astrology & tarot readings

Your Birthday's Significance

Your birthday mark the day you were born (duh), but it's more than just a day we celebrate the day you were born. It marks the day you came into this world. As we know, in Astrology, we calculate our birth chart/ natal chart based on the exact moment you were born. It will ten create a map, with planets, asteroids, placements, and houses based on a rising, and specific degrees represents the specific placements of planets the minute you came into this world, and this detail makes you very unique. In this case, your birthday isn't just a celebration, it's also your personal new year. While humanity celebrate it as a group of individual on a certain date (depending on the culture), you as an individual will celebrate it on the day you were born. You are growing one year older, with one year full of new achievements and new events coming into your life. Let's see what can help you see those!

Your Solar Return Chart

જ⁀➴ Calculate your Solar Return here.

Free Horoscopes > Horoscopes Drawings & Data > Extended Chart Selection > Chart Type: Solar Return Chart

Your Solar Return Chart (SRC) is an Astrological tool that enables you to see what will most likely happen to you during your next year. As it is said, it is your Solar Return, so your Sun's return. Based on your natal sun, on the exact degree, SRC is calculated based on when the Sun will return on the same sign with the exact same degree. You'll see in each SRC, your Sun is in the same sign and degree as your Natal Sun. Only the house will change if you have different risings in your SRC over the years.

This means that each year, on your birthday, or the day before your birthday sometimes, you'll pass through another SRC, and have a view on what will most likely happen to you. You can also use this technique to check previous SRC and understand some life events better. Checking our SRC is a way to see that every years of our life, we achieve and change, and transform, as we are meant to evolve with time.

Annual Profections

જ⁀➴ Calculate your Annual Profections here.

Annual Profections are based also on Astrology, and mostly on our ages and houses. Basically, this tool explains that depending on which age (and so birthdays) we are, we embody a certain house that year. For example, when you will turn 25, you'll embody the 2H more. It usually means you'll probably be more focus on savings, money, perhaps making more money this year, or also changing the way you manage your money, etc. Each House has a different meaning. Of course, this doesn't mean you will need to wait to be on a certain house to do something. It just means as an individual, those houses will represent your more intern focus. And it may actually go naturally, without you need to force anything. Life is most likely to put you through certain transformations based on the houses' themes.

Numerology's Personal Year

This isn't a subject I know very well, I just have some base. So if you are interested in it, I suggest checking more on Tumblr or the Internet. An account that has more knowledge is @lilithsrealm. I suggest checking their account!

Numerology is a great tool too to check on your birthday. Just as with SRC and Annual Profections, Numerology can also tell you in what phase you'll enter this "new year". You'll need to take your birth day, birth month, and the current year of your birthday, add all of those numbers together, and then get a number that will be the total of all of those, and this will be your personal year number!

Example: I was born on August 6th, so 8 / 6. And this is the year 2024. So I'll calculate 8 + 6 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 4. All together this makes 22, so it's my personal year number this year. So, specific case, but 22 is a master number, so in this case we don't really add it together again. But if you end up with any other number than 10/ 11/ 22 or 33, then you add it together. Even if mine is 22, the 4 energy will still be there, but 22 is important. I say 4 because 2+2=4 (lol).

Every year, on your birthday, your personal year number change, indicating you'll go through another cycle of your life. Each numbers mean something specific, so I suggest making more researches after finding out yours!

Destiny Matrix

જ⁀➴ Calculate your Destiny Matrix Chart here.

જ⁀➴ Destiny Matrix Romance Numbers

Destiny Matrix is an Esoteric tool that explores the 22 Arcana's of the Tarot to see a different approach of yourself and your life, as a Chart, similar to Astrology. It's a tool that also enable you to develop your full potential as an individual. Numbers and Chakras are used instead of signs, houses and degrees. Numbers on the Chart will go from 1 to 22, representing each Tarot's 22 Major Arcanas. Colored Numbers are your main energies, they are also great tools to understand your true potential and why you came into this life, but also past life, desires, and your soul's purpose. On each sides of the chart, you'll see your different ages, representing different eras of your life. And above those different ages, you'll see a number, between 1 to 22.

Different ages then represent different birthdays. And the numbers above those age represents the different energies, based on the Tarot's Major Arcanas. It will represent the energy of those specific years, and not only in a specific area, but as a whole. For example, I have 8 this year, so this can represent entering legal matters with someone, for example, a wedding, or a contract with a society. It can also mean being more mature and taking more responsible choices. It's also closing a karmic cycle, etc.

Thank you for reading!

back to index ; ask ; request ; rules

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thedensworld · 2 years ago

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Welcome to Densworld🌼

Masterlist

Scoups only | Jeonghan only | Joshua only

Jun only | Hoshi only | Wonwoo only | Woozi only |

The8 only | Dk only | Mingyu only

Seungkwan only | Vernon only | Dino only

1. Found You | Choi Seungcheol

His wife suddenly went missing. There are two possibilities, his best friend has hid her from him or she literally left him. (angst, mystery)

2. Lover Series | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu's love life has became more interesting since you came. (fluff)

3. On Scene | Yoon Jeonghan

Yoon Jeonghan, once a dedicated police officer, finds himself embroiled in a web of corruption and is subsequently transferred to a unit that is shunned by his colleagues. Just when he thought his life couldn't get any more complicated, a murder case emerges, and it appears to be connected to his ex-girlfriend. (mystery, fluff)

4. Healing Hues | Jeon Wonwoo

Exhausted by the monotony of his life as a celebrity, Wonwoo makes a pivotal decision to return to his childhood hometown and embark on a heartwarming project: building a small library named 'Healing Hues.' Little does he know, this journey will lead to a series of unexpected and transformative events. (angst, slow burn)

5. To The Rescue | Jeon Wonwoo

Eight years had passed since you and Wonwoo last worked together, but fate had other plans. The case you thought was behind you resurfaced, pulling you back into the world you thought you'd left behind.

6. Doesn't Mind At All | Hong Jisoo

Joshua willingly agrees to pick up his boss's daughter from school, not realizing that this simple task would lead to an unexpected encounter with his longtime crush. (angst, fluff)

7. Sweet Macaroons | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol was far from pleased when a food critic posted a negative review that started to impact your sales. He couldn't stand to see you upset. (fluf)

8. Mind Date | Hong Jisoo

Joshua has the power of mind control, enabling him to get anything he wants by influencing people's minds. Suddenly, he meets you, someone he can't control at all. (fluff, fantasy)

9. Even When We're Drown, We're Still Breathing | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu was missing the spotlight he used to have, so he decided to accept the offer to shoot a reality show about marriage life and parenting. However, his wife was in a different situation. (angst, fluff)

10. Don't Touch Mine | Yoon Jeonghan

Jeonghan had hid his feelings for you, but he had been in denial. Then, an unexpected event occurred, and everything changed. (angst, secretary-CEO au!)

11. Post-Magazine | Kim Mingyu

It was an honor for Mingyu to collaborate with a well-known magazine. But this job made him realize that love at first sight is real. (fluff)

12. Where to Sign? | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol is about to sign the pre when you said this thing to him (fluff)

13. Guilty Flower | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol accepted his mother offer to meet you, his potential future wife said his mother, without knowing what kind of person you are. (fluff, humor)

14. Naming is Fun | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu knows that you are his laugh button, but he can't believe your suggestion over the baby name. (fluff, humour)

15. Now You're Safe With Me | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol received several missed calls from you, and he knew they weren't just regular phone calls. (angst, lover au!)

16. Forever His | Choi Seungcheol

You found out that Seungcheol was marrying you for your property and wealth while you're pregnant with his child. What would you do? Let him go or play a fool? (angst, mystery, action)

17. Piece of Origami | Kim Mingyu

you have no idea that you're this untalented in making a paper fold—origami until your kid ask you to make one (fluff, dad au!l

18. What A Fate | Yoon Jeonghan

Who would have thought your next meeting after having a one-night stand would be this unexpected? (fluff, smut, series)

19. Perfect Pairing | Choi Seungcheol

Mafia Seungcheol has to face a fact that he found his bestfriend's long-searched sister. However she is a NIS agent who was ordered to terminate him. (action, mystery, fluff)

20. What a Sweep | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol brimmed with excitement as he prepared to teach you some Jiu-Jitsu moves, little did he knows, you would nearly send him into a heart attack. (fluff, dad au!)

21. Ten Years | Jeon Wonwoo

In hospital Wonwoo is a doctor, and back to house he is your husband. However, your sudden conditions make him choose. (angst, fantasy!)

22. Everything | Choi Seungcheol

You come to him in the middle of the night, plan to end him immediately. However everything change. (thriller)

23. What A Revenge | Yoon Jeonghan (Part 2 of What A Fate)

After an unexpected rendezvous after a one night stand, Jeonghan asked Mingyu to set him up with you. However you had a different situation and it's getting complicated. (fluff, revenge au!)

24. Falling Flower | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu never thought that he would find Y/n, his friend's secretary, attractive. What's started from eyes, physical, has fallen to his heart. As he tries to get to know you, he realizes he knew nothing about you. (fluff, suggestive, Ceo au!)

25. Rewind Button | Jeon Wonwoo

If Wonwoo had a time machine, he would definitely go to crash your wedding. (angst, time travel au!)

26. Flower Bloomed | Kim Mingyu (Part 2 of Falling Flower)

It's been a year since Mingyu and you were married. Once united by a good feeling, has started to scatter, both you and Mingyu couldn't find reason to stay together. (marriage au!, angst)

27. Your Best Man | Jeon Wonwoo

Wonwoo has tried his best to become the best man you've ever met. At the end, he is the best man. (fluff, dad au!)

28. Stupid Cupid | Kim Mingyu

You must be the reason why he's been nervous for tonight's event. There must be something that Cupid has been doing. (fluff, celebrity au!)

30. Hold On Tight | Yoon Jeonghan (Part 3 of What a Fate)

What's started for a revenge and status has developed into something Jeonghan couldn't comprehend. He unconsciously were willing to do anything and it was only for you. (business marriage au! fluff, suggestive)

31. Alone At Night | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu has no idea until he had to sleepover in your house because of the rain. In fact, it hurts him. (angst)

32. Revelation | Choi Seungcheol

What started as an office romance escalated quickly when there are news about Choi Seungcheol, your boyfriend, is suddenly the heirs of the company where you both work. (fluff, humor)

33. I Can Fight | Jeon Wonwoo

Since you married Jeon Wonwoo, you always considered to not wear revealing clothes. Honestly, Wonwoo doesn't care (fluff, established relationship au!)

34. Bucket Of Happiness | Jeon Wonwoo

After the divorce settled, you immediately moved to Canada for your treatment. Meanwhile, Wonwoo has to run away from his parents who couldn't stop forcing him to get married. (angst, slowburn)

35. Sweet Truth | Choi Seungcheol

The relationship become unstable and lot of things happened. It's time for truth to be revealed (action, angst, fluff, spy au!)

36. Towel Argument | Hong Jisoo

Towel is just a towel. It's not something essential. But why it is able to crack a relationship? Joshua is the first man to proof you that you won't have a towel argument. (fluff, dad au!)

37. People's Person | Xu Minghao

You never had a person. You were always be the people's person. (angst, neighbors au!)

38. Time For A Rose | Choi Seungcheol

You found out how he always got you flower at the perfect time. (fluff)

39. Right Time | Kim Mingyu

You both were too young when you get together, right person-wrong time. Two years after break up, destiny brought you two again. (angst)

40. Let Me | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol has known your for a long time and has been very grateful of your dedication as his worker. It was supposed to be just like that. (angst, insomnia au!)

41. How To Summon Demon | Choi Seungcheol

Your friends and you playfully played game to call the Hot Demon in high school. What if he actually summoned? (fantasy, angst)

42. Case 143 | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu and Y/n are exes. One day, they have to work a case together and it makes the situation uncomfortable for both teams. Besides for the rookie, Hansol. (angst, mystery, detective au!)

44. Another Revelation | Choi Seungcheol

Just like other conglomerates in drama, Seungcheol's mother wants you to break the relationship. (fluff, angst, heir au!)

45. Chill Dad | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu always wanted to be the chill and cool dad for his kids, however the world don't let him. (fluff, dad au!)

46. Work Stressed | Yoon Jeonghan

Working with your best friend is stressful and Jeonghan will tell you why. (comedy, friends to lovers au!)

47. App Location | Choi Hansol

You finally found the right function of the share location apps (fluff)

48. Taste Me | Choi Seungcheol

Can't friends taste each other? Seungcheol didn't know the answer. But he was certain that it'll be fair only if he could also taste you. (angst, suggestive, friends to lovers trope!)

49. Arrangement Crossed | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu started to enjoy the arrangement between him and you. What should he do? (fluff, arranged engagement au!)

50. The Moves | Kim Mingyu

Here's the plan, get you on the bed. (fluff, suggestive)

51. Illogical Project | Choi Seungcheol

It was just a project to get rid of a side chick, but Seungcheol fall. Deeply. (comedy, fluff, ceo au!)

52. Dream Consequences | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu had ignored you last night and you will make sure he'll pay for that. (fluff, dad au!)

53. Logical Project | Choi Seungcheol

Illogical project dismissed! Now, Seungcheol had to face a new problem, Jiyeon and Jeonghan. (fluff, angst, est. Relationship au!)

54. Top 10 Anime Betrayal | Kim Mingyu

It's hot news, and you can't help but share it with your boyfriend because Mingyu always loves your stories—top 10 anime betrayal level. (fluff)

55. And No News | Jeon Wonwoo

Wonwoo can't reach you and he was worried about you. (angst, fluff)

56. Skinny Dipping | Choi Hansol

It'll be so nice if you and Hansol could have a little chat about both of your life, forgetting things that had hurted. Right? (angst, exes au!)

57. Marry A Rich Man | Jeon Wonwoo

every parent wanted their daughter to marry a rich man, Jeon Wonwoo. However, you are a rich. (smut, fwb au!)

58. Black Card Issue | Lee Jihoon

after a fight, Jihoon didn't expect to receive notifications for a revenge. However, he's not complaining. (smut, fluff)

59. Stay Supple! | Yoon Jeonghan

two ordinary worker have to deal with a baby. What should they do? Stay supple! (fluff, smut, friends to lovers trope!)

60. Why Women Kill | Kim Mingyu

your husband of 2 years was found dead while you were away. Kim Mingyu, the detective, try to help you find the truth. (mystery, smut, infidelity au!)

61. Talk The Stalker | Choi Seungcheol

Seungcheol is obsessed with you, he loves you and he would do anything to protect you. (fluff, stalker au! established relationship au!)

62. Gentle Daddy | Choi Seungcheol

Welcome aboard to the threenager stage of Seungcheol's son and how he parents him. (fluff, dad au!)

63. Born Superhero | Jeon Wonwoo

Started as clueless father to superhero, watch how Wonwoo grow as a father... And a husband. (fluff, dad au!)

64. Complexity Of Us | Jeon Wonwoo

Being a friend to Wonwoo is hard. After Wonwoo saw you coming to race with another guy, it added to the complexity. (angst, suggestive, old friends au!)

65. How Love Letter Work | Lee Jihoon

Jihoon watched you grown, from a trainee to a co-producer. So, a love confession would be the last thing he expected. (fluff, crush to lover trope!)

66. Just Like You | Choi Hansol

Hansol couldn't understand his son. But it was all because they were very alike. (fluff, dad au!)

67. Thicker than Blood | Kim Mingyu

It was an impulsive decision to take the kid home. However, who knows it'll bloom the flower in your family? (angst, fluff, dad au!)

68. Fortune Teller Confession | Choi Hansol

No confession—no gig success. His logic-driven mind convinces him that it’s a harmless choice to make a confession over a fortune teller words, not realizing the emotional weight it carries. (fluff, college au!)

69. My Woman | Kim Mingyu

Everyone in the building hate your leadership and start to think that you were only able to secure the position because of your husband, the CEO. (fluff, CEO au!)

70. Kiss A Friend | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu was obsessed with his ex fiancee who had left him on the altar. To get her back, he paid all your debt to help him. (angst, dating contract au!)

71. Is It New Year, Yet? | Yoon Jeonghan

Every year, twins will make a new year list contained with everything they want to do. (fluff, dad au!)

72. Reality Love Winner | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu needs money, as well as you. So joining a reality dating show for money wouldn't hurt anybody right? (fluff, fake dating au!, exes au!)

73. Family Outings | Kwon Soonyoung

In a family outing, Soonyoung finally able to make a proper thanks to his mother after trying to keep up with his sons. (fluff, dad au!)

74. Sound Of Vengeance | Choi Seungcheol

After happily living an arranged marriage, he found out that his charismatic, flawless, and admirable wife has a secret hiding from him. (action, arranged marriage au!)

75. Something Between Us | Hong Jisoo

An old couple meet again, with the same feeling inside their chest. What's something between them still left? (angst, exes au!)

76. Make All Easier | Hong Jisoo

He always picture you and him to be a parent of daughter. So when your baby daughter was born, he already knew what to do and it makes everything easier. (fluff, dad au!)

77. No Big Deal | Lee Jihoon

At the end of the day, both of you are team. Even it sounds like a no big deal, it should be discussed. (fluff, dad au!)

78. My Baby, My Sugar | Jeon Wonwoo

His love to you is unconditional. He gives you everything, he takes you everywhere, and he'll do everything for you. (fluff, smut, billionaire au!)

79. Time Is Brewed | Lee Seokmin

After discovering that the old brewing machine he had just purchased allowed him to travel back in time, he tried to fix his relationship with you. (angst, time travel, fantasy, exes au!)

80. Stupid Drunken Call | Choi Seungcheol

After submitting your resignation letter, you drunkenly called your boss of seven years. After that, his behavior toward you changed unexpectedly. (fluff, office au!, secretary au!)

81. Adrenaline Rush | Kim Mingyu

Mingyu didn’t like to share, especially when it came to you—his lover. So when you left him, his thoughts were consumed with how he would punish you. (angst, est. relationship, gangster au!, smut)

82. Say My Name | Jeon Wonwoo

This is not how Wonwoo had envisioned your second meeting. (fluff, smut, police au!, one night stand au!)

83. Industry, Baby | Kim Mingyu

Acting is about observation! And to be honest, your best friend does it best—your handsome cop best friend. (fluff, police au!, best friend to lover au!)

84. Two Selfish and Perfectionists | Lee Jihoon

Sometimes you just want to be a perfectionist, but a perfectionist would lead to selfishness. But you're not alone here. (fluff, smut, producer au! est. relationship au!)

85. Out The Door | Lee Chan

Chan was certain that you two should never have broken up. So, he made up his mind—he was going to find a way to be with you again. (angst, fluff, exes to lovers au!)

86. A New Vendetta | Jeon Wonwoo

Raised in a abusive family, you were thrown into an arranged marriage that overwhelmed you. Can you survive all of these? (angst, fluff, smut, arranged marriage au!, mafia au!)

87. Run Devil Run | Choi Seungcheol

Who would've thought that a simple job—to stage a scandal with a rising actor—would entangle you in the world of an incubus label director? (fluff, fantasy, smut, incubus au! con artist au!)

88. Favorite Cat | Kim Mingyu

After being roommates for years, Mingyu finally see 'your' cat for the first time—and it's not technically a cat. (fantasy, fluff, roommate to lovers au! human-cat au!)

89. Now We're Swapping | Jeon Wonwoo

Wonwoo was waking up as his high school rival in one sudden morning. There were two things he could do, help you or turn your life into a miserable one. (fantasy, fluff, angst, smut, body swap au! enemy to lover au!)

90. Play Pretend | Chwe Hansol Vernon

The daughter's play pretend is getting to real and stressing her. As her dad, who plays with her—he's stressing too. (dad au! fluff)

91. Villain Origin Story | Choi Seungcheol

At the end, Seungcheol is the only one who see you—not as the villain, but the main character of the story he is willing to write. (Conglomerate au! revenge au!, angst, fluff)

To be continued ;)

e n j o y, joy! -dk

#densworld🌼#seventeen fanfic #seventeen imagines #seventeen angst #seventeen imagine #seventeen scenarios #seventeen series #seventeen fic #seventeen #seventeen carat #seventeen au #seventeen drabbles #seventeen fanfiction #seventeen fluff #seventeen headcanons #seventeen reactions #seventeen x reader #seventeen x you

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blackcathjp · 6 months ago

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blackcathjp's drarry fic rec masterlist

UPDATED: mar 6, 2025 | total fics: 57

collection of my recommended fics with my short reviews/summaries. sorted by word count. most fics are dmhp and explicit unless noted otherwise. feel free to send me recs or if you want to discuss fics!

❤️ = favorites

🌟 = all-time favorites

SHORT FICS (under 10k)

all hues in his controlling by wolfpants (1k) ❤️

harry de-ages himself for kinky birthday sex with draco. morally grey and hot indulgence of age difference and virginity kink.

the banned pasta by hoko_onchi (1k, G)

i love when draco does obscure pureblood courting traditions that don't make sense.

horizon by desert_forest (1k) ❤️

did someone say cockwarming with sweet loving intimacy and dirty talk, my favorite? short fic that packs a punch in the gut, you get to see the drarry development in such a short time.

aching with want by nv-md (2k)

draco takes care of harry in the middle of the night, with praise kink and some gentle dirty talk. first person pov.

blueberry muffins by hoko_onchi (2k) ❤️

consensual somnophilia and service top draco?? draco is a desperate, obsessed, perverted man who lives to serve harry, hand and foot (cock and mouth). he wants to DEVOUR him...

the best treasure is up harry’s arse by bafflinghaze (2k)

bratty harry feat. draco’s dirty mouth and obsession with his arse.

tense by faithwood (2k)

dmhp, mentions of hpdm; hot hot hot. did i mention hot? their spicy banter and draco's nervous confidence and harry's confidence-turned-begging is so hot.

50 reasons to have sex series: for revenge / because it's raining / because you're in a hotel by gracerene (2k)

dmhp + hpdm; series of one-shots inspired by a tv show. the ones above are my favorites!

a little less than civil by froggy-o (3k, G)

professors drarry where nobody knows... their little secret! but they're kinda obvious... when flirting meets animosity.

an unconventional intervention by phdmama (3k) ❤️

super hot and tender fic where draco helps harry get out of his head. let him oral fixate! let draco indulge in his seemingly out-of-reach fantasy!

arms and elbows by iota_after_dark (3k)

hpdm but dmhp-coded; harry is desperate to please draco, which means trying something new - fisting. draco is so bossy and hot here. also they’re weirdo roommates w/ zero boundaries lol.

automatic joy by leontina (3k)

funny scenario where the wand has search history. harry transfigures objects into dildos with draco’s wand.

the black cat of good fortune by kitty_fic (3k, T)

look at my username like... i need more cat harry. tender and comforting, self-healing vibes!

imperio by tenthousandyears (3k)

consensual non-con with dom/sub. they have filthy, humiliating, degrading sex and fall in love.

smart brevity by lucifergraced (3k)

draco malfoy is an arse man. he likes what he sees, he will take what he wants. uniform kink and fingers in mouth. that’s it.

effervescence by thecouchsofa (4k)

drarry have sex while using veritaserum, feat. daddy kink, praise kink, light dom/sub.

sugar, spice, and everything nice by gothmilf (4k, T)

really cute fic where harry gets jealous that draco bakes pastries for everyone but him. i love jealous, petty, upset harry desperate for draco’s attention like sir.. no one else is vying for it like you are.

dinner and diatribes by hephaestiions (5k) 🌟

legilimency sex is SO UNDERRATED. altered my brain chemistry. established loving relationship, with draco knowing how to help and ruin harry. be his peace of mind and make him crackle with sexual need and wild magic. filthy, intimate, and comforting. “to forever and a day” is such a devastating declaration of love.

dirty fucking dangles by p1013 (5k)

hockey players who get the hots for e/o’s impressive athleticism and some impact play!

the way you say my name by innerlilith (5k) 🌟

transformed my brain chemistry, the reason for my obsession with sweet pet names. their relationship develops in such a real way, the banter is so drarry, the tension is perfect! also really love draco’s “unhinged flirt” characterization. harry getting so hot under the collar is just *chef’s kiss*.

happy returns by toomuchplor (6k, T)

middle aged professors drarry who have big crushes on each other but draco’s so oblivious!

slowly, slowly by softlystarstruck (6k)

switching; dom harry x sub draco. i’m so obsessed with service top draco, it's SO underrated. the breeding kink is so!! i too, want to breed harry… very tender, love the kink negotiation.

snug by moonflower_rose (6k)

touch-starved harry has a strange habit of touching his dick in a non-sexual way and draco becomes extremely fixated and can't stop looking at him.

when you unfold me by hephaestiions (6k) ❤️

there's something so incredibly hazy about this one. harry unfolds like a slow crashing wave - he gets praised, forgiven, revered (pillow princess behavior). draco knows what to say and care for him, but it's HARRY that breaks him.

sweet like candy in my veins by shahwrites (7k)

magical theorist harry is intelligent and cool, and vampire draco wants to help him fight evil! they are in love, your honor!

color, love? by chou_latte (7k)

just straight up pwp.

friends at last by lettered (8k)

a simple handjobs and grinding fic filled with soul-crushingly sweet dirty talk. it’s so vulnerable and tender and how i imagine super in love drarry to be - full of lust and gentle care.

service bell by shiftylinguini (8k)

werewolf (slight service top vibes) draco x vampire harry. cottage in the woods vibe + fwb + getting back together again.

all i have to do by fluxweed (9k) ❤️

draco expects a hyper-realistic sexual fantasy and unknowingly ends up w/ the real deal. harry ditches hermione to indulge in this sudden dreams-come-true sexcapade. oops.

just a trial run by tenthousandyears (9k) ❤️

dmhp, one hpdm scene; d/s fic that blew my mind. plays with alcohol kink, praise kink, “sex worker” kink, consensual dub-con, and more. discovering their love by doing lots of debauchery!

MEDIUM FICS (10k-30k)

the complete idiot’s guide to losing your entire mind by oknowkiss (10k)

hpdm, with mentions of switching; utterly depraved no nut november concept with a big full-on humiliation kink. greedy dom draco and sex-dumb sub harry!

fantastic flip fuck by hoko_onchi (10k)

switching; pornstars drarry who have to film a scene together, but they never expected to be REALLY into each other. deliciously hot and super funny.

stamina spells pleasure by lettered (10k)

bonkers multiple orgasms fic with dom draco and magical spells for sexy times! when i say harry deserves to be RAILED and reduced into a needy little mess, i mean this!

bedroom hymns by writcraft (11k)

kink exploration fic. quite slytherin of harry to ask draco out on a date to find out more about draco’s rumored sexual preferences and activities. very not demure, very not mindful.

newts by astolat (13k)

sorta student harry x professor draco 🫣i love when harry reluctantly goes back to finish school. there’s so much scheming on both parts here.

on target by milkandhoney and the_sinking_ship (13k) ❤️

a favorite! flirting through charity donations and a dunk tank challenge, resulting in a steamy locker room session.

the earth from a distance by spqr (15k)

genius and competent draco and action-oriented, need-to-be-useful harry! masterful world-building about 16th century hogwarts, lovely speculative twist on life in the past. survival-based co-dependent relationship turned into intimate & loving romance.

paragraph twelve, clause four by innerlilith (15k) 🌟

lust, tension, longing, gentleness. quidditch player harry + sexy bodyguard draco, with a silly premise of hearing your love/hate crush wank loudly next door. the push and pull, the burning need, you just have to be there, the build up is so worth it.

as per request by thecouchsofa (17k)

virgin harry ridiculously propositions a very incredulous draco. love the banter, love the heat between them.

solemates by shiftylinguini (17k)

silly workplace step/walking competition turned into fwb turned into falling in love. they’re so annoyingly cute in this.

two weeks by shiftylinguini (21k) 🌟

overprotective possessive veela harry, who is emotionally sick until he “meaningfully connects” w/ his important person… aka, draco! the sexual tension and pining is portrayed so well, and creatively manifests in harry’s new veela body. i love this wry humor, no-nonsense draco so much.

knot your average coworkers by thecouchsofa (22k) ❤️

werewolf draco and oblivious harry! subtle praise kink, great feisty banter. sweet and hot fic about harry’s desire to care for draco, and draco being baffled by that. also, harry’s obsessed with his knot 😏

lusimeles by orphan_account (23k) 🌟

devastatingly tender. harry is self-destructive in dealing w/ his trauma, but Mr. Draco Malfoy wrecks his plans. draco just knows what needy harry wants and needs, which is to be taken care of, loved, and kept. i love this line from harry: “how nice it was to be understood without words.” 🥹

the superfluous man by peu_a_peu (24k)

funny dialogue and a silly premise like wdym harry got pregnant through draco's magical come-cocktion?? draco is such a disastrous mean loser (perfect characterization imo) who just wants to be around harry and make him laugh.

back where we began by cassiara (25k)

oh. my. god. slightly teacher/student dynamics but not really, combined with accidental bonding and sorta legilimency because harry is impulsive and curious and obsessed with draco’s voice in his head.

LONG FICS (30k+)

in the dark, in the light by phrynne (32k)

threesome with omc; very intense bdsm fic with sub harry and dom draco. the tension is PALATABLE.

you send me (honest you do) by firethesound (37k)

aurors drarry! harry is accidentally de-aged (physically), which unlocks draco’s buried feelings. great writing on intimacy, love, comfort, humor, pining (draco’s pining HURTS SO GOOD).

see me and live by dodgerkedavra (37k)

harry has such a huge (and quite hilarious) crush on draco that it can feel so overwhelming for him (along with all the other thoughts in his head). draco is so brilliant with magic and so incredibly patient, kind, and warm with harry. makes me SICK just how sweet and caring they both are with each other in recognizing what the other needs.

eternally consistent by kitsunealyc (44k)

mystery time travel fic where the ending adds a whole new perspective. delicious drarry development in this one.

sealed with a kiss by faithwood (46k) ❤️

switching; god i love this fic so much. the epitome of "i don't want him... but i want him". jumping through all these hoops and tricks while being in denial of your true feelings... THE DELUSION!

perpetual motion, perpetual sound by dodgerkedavra (51k)

dodger has a way of delivering sexy scenes, only to devastate you several pages later with heartbreaking scenes. fascinating exploration of magical theory, mental health, dealing with trauma, and being in love.

only for october by dodgerkedavra (58k, wip)

dmhp + hpdm; lovely fic disguised as an unassuming “fwb have a kinky month of sex” story. drarry deal with inner demons by taking care of e/o through sex to ground themselves in reality. they fall in love in the process AND there’s an intriguing mystery plot. it’s so good.

whisky-tango-foxtrot by vukovich (58k) 🌟

transformed my life. unrelentingly absurd and over-the-top funny with refreshing characterization and humor. drarry’s animagus traits seep into their human behavior - adrenaline junkie, horny trashy slut harry x inexperienced, dramatic, mate-for-life draco. it’s a hot wild ride.

dwelling by aideomai (83k)

changed my life fr, i thought about this for WEEKS and was so heartbroken. so much melancholy and heartache. idk if i can read it again knowing what happens... it's very bittersweet.

azoth by zeitgeistic (88k) 🌟

hpdm, mentions of switching; need more competent, determined, "fuck you i'm gonna prove you wrong!" genius harry! love this take on harry who sets his mind to something and discovers he is quite (book)smart. i love that draco guides and tutors him throughout it. so much love and research from the author, it's such a genius fic. also love the years-long pining and angst.

hothouse flowers and hot hot showers by azalea_larae, with art by boshspice (101k) ❤️

harry has very obsessive grand fantasies in this fic. the sexual tension is so intense. roommates don’t ACT like this… harry puts himself through intense pining and (imaginary) heartache. there is one crazy massage scene... you just have to be there!!!

far from the tree by aideomai (112k) 🌟

dmhp, one hpdm scene; a favorite! draco can’t believe harry wants him, yet he’s posessive and can’t let him go. harry’s obsessed and will do anything to protect him. throw in some angst, mystery, kinky times, next gen kids, draco calling harry “darling” (and subsequently changing the trajectory of my life), and voila! a masterpiece.

#this post is gonna be massive #drarry #drarry fic rec #drarry fics #dmhp #hpdm #need to expand my mind with more long fics 🥴#wonder if anyone caught the kiof ref 👀#my recs

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fanhackers · 1 year ago

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Help a Researcher

Leigh Ingram, a student at the University of Ottawa, in Canada, is completing a Master of Information Studies. The proposed research for their thesis is on information seeking behaviours in the fanfiction community, with a specific focus on how AO3 users search through the archive and use the embedded search functions on the website.

This study has received ethics approval for an anonymous online survey, followed by a few interviews. The survey will remain open for approximately 6-8 weeks depending on the volume of response. Following completion of the research, the intention is to share the anonymous data collected and potentially submit an article to Transformative Works and Cultures for consideration, so any findings will be shared with OTW/AO3.

Survey takers must be 18 or older to take part. If you would like to learn more about the study you can review its consent form, which contains the researcher's contact information.

#research survey #fandom #fan studies #study participation

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dandelionsresilience · 9 months ago

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Dandelion News - October 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $kaybarr1735 or check out my Dandelion Doodles on Patreon!

1. All 160 dogs at Florida shelter found homes ahead of Hurricane Milton

“[The shelter] offered crates, food and anything else the dogs would need in exchange for the animals to spend just five days with the foster parents if the human didn't want to keep them for longer. […A]fter about a day of receiving around 100 messages every 30 minutes, Bada said, all 160 were gone from the shelter and in safe and warm homes.”

2. Restoring Ecosystems and Rejuvenating Native Hawaiian Traditions in Maui

“[Volunteers] are restoring water flow to the refuge, removing invasive species, and restoring a loko iʻa kalo using ʻike kūpuna, ancestral knowledge. […] This human-made ecosystem will provide food for community members and habitat for wildlife while protecting coral reefs offshore.”

3. Solar-powered desalination system requires no extra batteries

“In contrast to other solar-driven desalination designs, the MIT system requires no extra batteries for energy storage, nor a supplemental power supply, such as from the grid. […] The system harnessed on average over 94 percent of the electrical energy generated from the system’s solar panels to produce up to 5,000 liters of water per day[….]”

4. Threatened pink sea fan coral breeds in UK aquarium for first time

“The spawning is part of University of Exeter Ph.D. student Kaila Wheatley Kornblum's research into the reproduction, larval dispersal and population connectivity of Eunicella verrucosa. […] Pink sea fans are believed to have been successfully bred by only one other institution, Lisbon Oceanarium, in 2023.”

5. Tiny 'backpacks' are being strapped to baby turtles[….]

““We analysed the data and found that hatchlings show amazingly consistent head-up orientation – despite being in the complete dark, surrounded by sand [… and] they move as if they were swimming rather than digging[…. This new observation method is] answering questions about best conservation practices,” says Dor.”

6. New California Law Protects Wildlife Connectivity

“A new state law in California will instruct counties and municipalities to conserve wildlife corridors when planning new development. […] This could entail everything from creating wildlife crossings at roads or highways, employing wildlife-safe fencing, or not developing on certain land.”

7. ‘I think, boy, I’m a part of all this’: how local heroes reforested Rio’s green heart

“By 2019, [the program] had transformed the city’s landscape, having trained 15,000 local workers like Leleco, who have planted 10m seedlings across […] roughly 10 times the area of New York’s Central Park. Reforested sites include mangroves and vegetation-covered sandbars called restinga, as well as wooded mountainsides around favelas.”

8. Alabama Town Plans to Drop Criminal Charges Over Unpaid Garbage Bills

““Suspending garbage pickup, imposing harsh late penalties and prosecuting people who through no fault of their own are unable to pay their garbage and sewage bills does not make payment suddenly forthcoming,” West said. [… The city] has agreed to drop pending criminal charges against its residents over unpaid garbage bills.”

9. New Hampshire’s low-income community solar program finally moves forward

“The state energy department is reviewing seven proposals for community solar arrays that will allocate a portion of their bill credits to low-income households. […] New Hampshire’s strategy of working with utilities to automatically enroll households that have already been identified streamlines the process.”

10. The Future Looks Bright for Electric School Buses

“EPA has awarded about $3 billion in grants from the infrastructure law, which paid to replace about 8,700 buses. Of those, about 95 percent are electric. [… Electric buses are] cheaper to operate and require less maintenance than diesel buses and will soon be at cost parity when looking at the lifetime cost of ownership[….]”

October 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

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mirai-e-jump · 1 month ago

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TV Life, 5/16/2025 Issue ft. Matsumoto Jin & Hino Yusuke (translations below)

Publication: April 23, 2025

OneLog! Vol.4 (Matsumoto Jin)

-The five of us transforming at the place known as "the holy grounds of tokusatsu" deeply moved me-

Nice to meet you! I'm GozyuEagle and Takehara Kinjiro's Matsumoto Jin. I naturally watched Sentai shows when I was a child, but I also had the impression that they were a gateway to success for aspiring actors, so I was really happy when I was chosen to appear. For my role as Kinjiro, while his appearance is that of a high school student, on the inside, he's actually an 87 year old grandfather, so at first, I felt some pressure as I thought, "Why was I selected for this role?" While playing Kinjiro, I think it's important to create a generation gap with the other Gozyuger members, and to give off the feeling that he doesn't keep up with trends. I'm conscious of the difference in "understanding the vibes of the youth" when performing. While Kinjiro's a "stubborn geezer" by nature, I don't have much of a stubborn side. I myself am the type of person who's quite flexible and tolerable about everything, so I sometimes find it difficult to play the role due to the gap between me and Kinjiro, who's obsessed with a single thing and tends to lose his temper, but I'm working on that through trial and error.

In episode 7, the five of us transformed together for the first time, and the location for the transformation was at the place known as "the holy grounds of tokusatsu." It appeared in the shows I watched when I was younger, so I was deeply moved. It once again made me feel like "I had joined Super Sentai."

I get along really well with all of my costars. We talk all the time in the dressing room and go out for meals together in our private time. Everyone also laughed really hard during costume fitting for the scene in episode 6 where we played house. All of us being together for that made things feel abit chaotic, but once the real performance started, everyone's switches flipped and we were able to film properly! (laughs). Going forward, there'll be episodes focusing on each character, so it'd make me happy if you look forward to it!

Q: In relation to Number One Sentai, what are you most into these days?

A: Muscle training! Mio-kun invited me to the gym, where I initially refused, but then I started going. Recently, my costumes have been getting tighter, so that's not good (laughs). I eat so much, that I'll have two bentos in the morning, so the secret to my health is muscle training and eating alot!

Number One Shot!!: Thank you for your continued support of Gozyuger! A different Number One is decided on each episode, and I'm always excited about it until I receive the script. The Number One showdowns bring out the personalities of each of the five, so please pay attention to what approach they take! _

GavvPare! Vol.17 (Hino Yusuke)

-I reviewed that masterpiece before we filmed episode 31-

Right into the new chapter, Hanto begins searching for Shouma's relatives. Out of consideration for Shouma's feelings of, "I'm scared right now," I think it would've been kinder of him to stop there and say, "Alright, I'd better not then." However, he didn't stop there, and decided to act with the thought of, "Maybe his feelings will change in the future, and there'll come a moment when Shouma can be saved," and I think this was mainly due to the battle with Kamen Rider Bake and the fact that he was able to communicate his true feelings to Shouma. It'd make me happy if the viewers feel that "Hanto's grown up" through all these experiences. On the other hand, things are still as tense as ever between him and Lakia…

Although Shouma and Sachika are the connection between the two, the situation continues with Lakia, who doesn't take too kindly to Hanto, and Hanto, who opposes him. While these two are incompatible, they get caught up in quite a few mishaps after getting stuck together by the mantis mucus (laughs). There's also alot of good paced dialogue, and I was told by Director Kamihoriuchi that "episode 31 was inspired by Home Alone," so before filming, I reviewed Home Alone, where I incorporated comedic elements and adjusted my level of anger as I performed. In contrast to what you've seen during the show, Kohei-kun and I are very close. We get along so well, that I think we would've become good friends even if we had met at school or at a part time job instead of through acting. Including Hide, we'll often go out to eat together, but if I were to compare the relationship between the three of us to a family, Kohei-kun's the oldest son, I'm the second oldest, and Hide's the youngest, so we've got a good balance like that. I truly love them, and they're irreplaceable to me.

Episode 32 will also feature a scene where Lakia and Hanto talk about each other's pasts. The question is, of course, whether the two of them will understand each other after hearing each other's stories, but there's also a scene where Lakia and Hanto leave together while putting on their jackets, which turned out really cool, so look forward to seeing where that appears!

Q: When you hear "Spring," What comes to mind?

A: It'd be hay fever…In my case, it's pretty severe, so I have to drink medicine and use eye drops on a regular basis, and before filming, I'll spray on a pollen repellent so that it won't interfere with my performance. It's painful not only on sunny, warm days, but also the day after a rainy day, so I suffer from pollen all throughout Spring.

Off Shot: The scene in which the two of them get into an unfortunate situation was created with the cooperation of everyone, including Director Kamihoriuchi! It's usually Hanto who goes through a terrible experience, but on this day, the one who had to take a shower after filming was Ko~hei~kun! (laughs).

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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year ago

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2600’s amazing Hackers on Planet Earth con may go down under enshittification

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables on Jan 22 at 8PM.

It's been 40 years since Emmanuel Goldstein launched the seminal, essential, world-changing 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. 2600 wasn't the first phreak/hacker zine, but it was the most important, spawning a global subculture dedicated to the noble pursuit of technological self-determination:

https://www.2600.com/

2600 has published hundreds of issues in which digital spelunkers report eagerly on the things they've discovered by peering intently at the things no one was supposed to even glance at (I'm proud to be one of those writers!). They've fought legal battles, including one that almost went to the Supreme Court:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeCSS

They created a global network of meetups where some of technology's most durable friendships and important collaborations were born. These continue to this day:

https://www.2600.com/meetings

And they've hosted a weekly radio show on NYC's WBAI, Off the Hook:

https://wbai.org/program.php?program=76

When WBAI management lost their minds and locked the station's most beloved hosts out of the studio, Off the Hook (naturally) led the rebellion, taking back the station for its audience, rescuing it from a managerial coup:

https://twitter.com/2600/status/1181423565389942786

But best of all, 2600 gave us HOPE – both in the metaphorical sense of "hope for a better technological tomorrow" and in the literal sense, with its biannual Hackers On Planet Earth con:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hackers_on_Planet_Earth

For decades HOPE had an incredible venue, the Hotel Pennsylvania (memorialized in the phreak anthem "PEnnsylvania 6-5000"), a crumbling pile in midtown Manhattan that was biannually transformed into a rollicking, multi-day festival of forbidden technology, improbable feats, and incredible presentations. I was privileged to keynote HOPE in 2016:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1D7APjmVbk

But after the 2018 HOPE, the Hotel Pennsylvania was demolished to make way for the Penn15 (no, really) skyscraper, a vaporware mega-tower planned as a holding pen for luxury shopping and empty million-dollar condos sold to offshore war-criminals as safe-deposit boxes in the sky. The developer, Vornado (no, really) hasn't actually done all that – after demo'ing the Hotel Pennsylvania, they noped out, leave a large, unusable scar across midtown.

But HOPE wasn't lost. In 2022, the ever-resilient 2600 crew relocated to Queens, hosted by St John's University – a venue that was less glamorous that the Hotel Pennsylvania, but the event was still fantastic. Attendance fell from 2,000 to 1,000, but that was something they could work with, and reviews from attendees were stellar.

Good thing, too. 2600 is, first and foremost, a magazine publisher, and these have been hard years for magazines. First there was the mass die-off of indie bookstores and newsracks (I used to sell 2600 when I was a bookseller, and in the years after, I always took the presence of 2600 on a store's newsrack as an unimpeachable mark of quality).

Thankfully for 2600, their audience is (unsurprisingly) a tech-savvy one, so they were able to substitute digital subscriptions for physical ones:

https://www.2600.com/Magazine/DigitalEditions

Of course, many of those subscriptions came through Amazon's Kindle, because nerds were early Amazon adopters, and because the Kindle magazine publishing platform offered DRM-free distribution to subscribers along with a fair payout to publishers.

But then Amazon enshittified its magazine system. Having locked publishers to its platform, it rugged them and killed the monthly subscription fees that allowed publishers to plan for a steady output. Publishers were given a choice: leave Amazon (and all the readers locked inside its walled garden) or put your magazine into the Kindle Unlimited system:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/arp/B0BWPTCP4K?deviceType=A1FG5NAKX0MRJL

Kindle Unlimited is an all-you-can-eat program for Kindle, which pays publishers and writers based on a system that is both opaque and easily gamed, with the lion's share of the money going to "publishers" who focus on figuring out how to cheat the algorithm. Revenues for 2600 – and all the other magazines that Amazon had sucked in and sucked dry – fell off a cliff.

Which brings me to the present moment. After 40 years, 2600 is still at it, having survived the bookstorepocalypse, the lunacy of public radio management, the literal demolition of their physical home by an evil real-estate developer, and Amazon's crooked accounting.

This is 2600, circa 2024, and 2024 a HOPE year:

https://www.hope.net/

Once again, HOPE has been scheduled for its new digs in Queens, July 12-14. Last week, HOPE sent out an email blast to their subscribers telling them the news. They expected to sell 500 tickets in the first 24 hours. They didn't even come close:

https://www.2600.com/content/hope-ticket-sales-update

It turns out that Google and the other major mail providers don't like emails with the word "hacker" in them. The cartel that decides which email gets delivered, and which messages go to spam, or get blocked altogether, mass-blocked the HOPE 2024 announcement. Email may be the last federated, open platform we have, but mass concentration has created a system where it's nearly impossible to get your email delivered unless you're willing to play by Gmail's rules:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/10/10/dead-letters/

For Emmanuel Goldstein, founder of 2600 and tireless toiler for this community, the deafening silence following from that initial email volley was terrifying: "like some kind of a "Twilight Zone" episode where everyone has disappeared."

The enshittification that keeps 2600's emails from being delivered to the people who asked to receive them is even worse on social media. Social media companies routinely defraud their users by letting them subscribe to feeds, then turning around to the people and organizations that run those feeds and saying, "You've got x thousand subscribers on this platform, but we won't put your posts in their feeds unless you pay us to 'boost' your content":

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/04/platforms-decay-lets-put-users-first

Enshittification has been coming at 2600 for decades. Like other forms of oddball media dedicated to challenging corporate power and government oppression, 2600 has always been a ten-years-ahead preview of the way the noose was gonna tighten on all of us. And now, they're on the ropes. HOPE can't sell tickets unless people know about HOPE, and neither email providers nor social media platforms have any interest in making that happen.

A handful of giant corporations now get to decide what we read, who we hear from, and whether and how we can get together in person to make friends, forge community, rabble-rouse and change the world. The idea that "it's not censorship unless the government does it" has always been wrong (not all censorship violates the First Amendment, and censorship can be real without being unconstitutional):

https://pluralistic.net/2022/12/04/yes-its-censorship/

What can you do about it? Well, for one thing, you can sign up for HOPE. It's gonna be great. They've got sub-$100 hotel rooms! In New York City!

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv

If you can't make it to HOPE, you can sign up for a virtual membership:

https://store.2600.com/products/tickets-to-hope-xv-virtual-attendee

You can submit a talk to HOPE:

https://www.hope.net/cfp.html

You can subscribe to 2600, in print or electronically (I signed up for the lifetime print subscription and it was a bargain – I devour every issue the day it arrives):

https://store.2600.com/collections/subscriptions-renewals

2600 is living a decade in the future of every other community you care about, weird hobby you enjoy, con you live for, and publication you read from cover to cover. If we can all pull together to save it, it'll be a beacon of hope (and HOPE).

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/19/hope-less/#hack-the-planet

#pluralistic #2600 #hackers #magazines #publishing #kindle unlimited publishing #kindle #enshittification #monopoly #end to end #competition #events #nyc #hope #hackers on planet earth #amazon

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fandom · 3 months ago

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Week in Review: 3/31 – 4/6/2025

Well, it was a good old week for fans of tomfoolery, as April Fool's came and went with some accurate and some less accurate guessing at the number of toys in a pit. Friday brought the penultimate episode of Yellowjackets' third season, with many mixed feelings. The newest episode of 9-1-1 aired with some heartwarming moments in Texas and some...less heartwarming moments in LA. Sunrise on the Reaping is breathing new life into the Hunger Games fandom on Tumblr. Your love for video games is ever-present, with Tomodachi Life, Sonic & Shadow, Pokémon, Cookie Run: Kingdom, and Love and Deepspace all in this week's list. Meanwhile, the artists keep on arting, Jujutsu Kaisen makes an appearance, and Jayvik is still hanging onto the last place. This is Tumblr's Week in Review.

Artists on Tumblr

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream

US politics

Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog

Arcane

Yellowjackets

April Fool's

Batman

Transformers

Jason Todd | the DC universe

Shadow the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog

9-1-1

The Hunger Games

Cookie Run: Kingdom

Pokémon

Love and Deepspace

Dick Grayson | the DC universe

Eddie Diaz | 9-1-1

Jujutsu Kaisen

Jayvik | Jayce Talis & Viktor, Arcane

#week in review #04/07/2025 #911 abc #911 spoilers

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vanillatwistgirl · 2 months ago

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Vedic Astrology Day-Wise Themes:

In Vedic astrology, each day is associated with a specific planet, and this governs the energy of that day. More like color, your emotions and energy.

Let's dive into this.

1. Sunday – Sun (Surya)

Themes: Leadership, vitality, and authority.

Energy: The Sun represents the Self, ego, and soul purpose. On Sundays, you’re likely to feel the energy of your personal power and confidence. It's a good day for leadership roles, making bold decisions, and recharging your inner fire or just taking in charge of your day, goal setting and embracing yourself.

Key Focus: Self-expression, ambition, family matters, and courage.

Rituals: Solar water, it has multi purpose usage, if you are interested let me know, I can make a separate post on this or you can simply google it

On more religious side you can follow this : Focus on Sun worship, reciting shlokam related to Sun or honoring your father figure. Do you know that Sunday is the main day to start your work because you will be energized according to traditional ways.

2. Monday – Moon (Chandra)

Themes: Emotions, intuition, and nurturing.

Energy: The Moon governs the mind and emotions. Mondays are often associated with inner reflection and nurturing the emotional self. It's a day to connect with your family, reflect on your intuitions, and take care of your mental health.

Key Focus: Emotional healing, home matters, introspection, and connecting with feminine energies.

Rituals: Meditation, Moon water, Moon gaze, let the emotions flow, learn to navigate your emotions. do shadow work on emotional healing.

chanting mantras like Om Chandraaya Namah, or connecting with your mother or maternal energy.

Monday is the day to rest and take care of your emotional needs.

3. Tuesday – Mars (Mangala)

Themes: Action, passion, and strength.

Energy: Mars represents action, warrior spirit, and courage. On Tuesdays, you’ll feel a surge of energy to push forward in your projects, take bold risks, or assert your willpower. It’s a good day for sports, debates, or taking on new challenges.

Key Focus: Assertiveness, energy, physical strength, conflict resolution, and passion.

Rituals: Mars puja, offering red flowers or fruits to Hanuman or Kartikeya, or engaging in physical activity like yoga or martial arts.

4. Wednesday – Mercury (Budha)

Themes: Communication, intellect, and learning.

Energy: Mercury governs communication, intelligence, and business skills. Wednesdays are excellent for studying, learning new skills, or negotiating deals. It’s a good time to speak your truth and share ideas.

Key Focus: Education, communication, technology, and creative expression.

Rituals: Reciting the Budha Beeja Mantra or making offerings to Lord Vishnu, focusing on boosting intellectual strength.

5. Thursday – Jupiter (Guru)

Themes: Wisdom, spirituality, and growth.

Energy: Jupiter is the teacher, guru, and expansion planet. Thursdays are days of higher learning, spiritual growth, and philosophical insights. It’s a time for focusing on long-term goals, spiritual wisdom, and cultivating generosity.

Key Focus: Education, wealth, spirituality, and law.

Rituals: Offer prayers to Lord Vishnu or Jupiter, practice gratitude, or spend time reading spiritual texts.

6. Friday – Venus (Shukra)

Themes: Love, beauty, and creativity.

Energy: Venus governs love, art, and relationships. Fridays are all about beauty, indulgence, and enjoying the finer things in life. It’s a day to cultivate loving relationships, focus on creative expression, and bring luxury into your life.

Key Focus: Love, romance, art, and material comfort.

Rituals: Engage in creative activities, offer prayers to Lakshmi, or spend quality time with loved ones.

7. Saturday – Saturn (Shani)

Themes: Discipline, hard work, and transformation.

Energy: Saturn represents discipline, karma, and long-term effort. Saturdays are excellent for focusing on hard work, perseverance, and tackling any karmic debts. It’s a good day to review your goals and focus on responsibility.

Key Focus: Discipline, hard work, karma, and service.

Rituals: Offer black sesame seeds or mustard oil to Lord Shani, meditate on service and patience, and reflect on life lessons.

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aesethewitch · 4 months ago

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Advertisement Adversaries #2: "Gender Swap Spell"

Hello, and welcome to the second installment of Advertisement Adversaries! This series aims to dissect unethical, unfair, deceptive, and just plain Not Good sales strategies found in the witchcraft community. We also cover legitimate sellers to highlight good marketing, listings, and business practices! The goal is to improve the legit witches' businesses and educate folks on scams, grifts, and marketing manipulations.

You can read more about this project here (Tumblr) or here (my website). You can also read this post on Ko-Fi or a better-formatted version on my website. (Note: Some images just wouldn't upload to Ko-Fi for some reason, so I strongly recommend using the website!)

Each entry covers one listing from a seller's catalogue. I score the listing on a scale of one to five in six categories: Clarity, Transparency, Presence, Genuineness, Verifiability, and Morality. Legitimate sellers get an extra category of Attractiveness/Advice for Improvement.

Please Note: I had so many screenshots for this listing, I've had to cut out a handful because of Tumblr's image limit. To see ALL of the images I captured, please pop over to my website for the full experience.

Now, let's have a look at today's entry into this series:

Advertisement Details

Who is the advertiser -- or who do they claim to be? Who is their apparent primary audience? What are they selling? What's their tone? What's the vibe? What are the first impressions?

Spell scams on Etsy are a dime a dozen. This one I've chosen has just about everything a scam boogeyman like me could possibly want. But let's start right from the top, shall we?

Now, this is a total scam, so we're naming and shaming, but I have another reason for naming this one. (Note that all other names, such as reviewer names, have been redacted from screenshots or otherwise omitted for their privacy.)

This listing comes from an Etsy shop called "MariahSpells." They last updated their shop announcements on September 6, 2024. The listing we're focusing on is one for a "Gender Swap Spell." Yeah, that's right, I'm fucking going there.

A lot of Etsy spells targeting trans people look like this. Many of them make it seem like it's a spell for a physical transformation, but really, you're getting an ~emotional transformation~ to help you along your ~spiritual journey~ and make you ~feel things~. But again, they market like it's a physical change and then pull this to prevent complaints or required refunds.

Not so with MariahSpells! No, no! This spell is going to change you physically. No HRT required. You want a dick? Envision it. Write it out. They're gonna make that happen for you. Let's fucking go.

God, I wish it worked that way.

No frills, no bullshit, and a 100% success guarantee. This Ancient and Powerful Spell is going to Fix You. No refunds.

Normally, I have to make an educated assumption about who these scams are targeting. But MariahSpells is doing my work for me:

Specifically and deliberately targeting vulnerable trans people who are desperate for a change. Nice. Note also the emphasis on "opposite sex" throughout this listing. We love erasing intersex and non-binary people, don't we?

But I can really see a depressed, desperate trans person buying this spell. And someone did.

Fucking tragic. This review was put up after I decided to cover this listing but before I started working on this. Someone bought this, perhaps because they can't access HRT safely where they are or because they want quicker results from their transition. I don't know for sure, but that's the kind of person this listing (and listings like this one) are targeting.

This shop, according to the main page, has received over 2,000 sales since it opened. Two thousand sales. Most of the other services in this shop aren't as exorbitantly priced as this one, but many of them are. One is, I shit you not, seven hundred dollars. ON SALE. To become a vampire -- yes, a real one, immortal and all. (But don't worry, that listing says you won't incur bad karma for it. Yippee!)

And that's all just on the surface. Let's do a smidge of digging.

Based on the shop name, you'd think that the seller's name is Mariah. But in their listing, all the way at the bottom in the "waxing poetic about themselves" section, we see this:

Why would your shop be MariahSpells if your name is Sayran? Now, I thought this was odd until I found a particular review with a link to a different Etsy shop that appears to have been forcibly shut down -- with the same qualifications listed in the description.

So, this isn't this person's name, and they've reopened a shop despite being shut down on another... which also wasn't their actual name. It makes me wonder how many times this person has done this, and whether they have other shopfronts they're running at the same time. Classic scam behavior: Change shop names after being reported/marked as a scam/taken down and keep on selling the same empty promises.

Admittedly, I'm not super familiar with Syriac magic or its traditions, so I'm staying away from commenting on that. If anyone reading this knows anything about it and is willing to dig into it, please let me know in the replies/reblogs or tag me in a separate post - if you've got the details, I want to read them! I did a little reading, but I had to put it down to focus on the rest of this review.

However, even without knowing about Syriac magic, I can't confirm anything about this person's practice or even their existence, because they have no social media. There are no links on the shop page, in the about section, or elsewhere. Even a wider search (using the current shop name, the prior shop name, and both listed seller names) brings up nothing. This seller doesn't exist outside this shop. Red fucking flag.

The overall tone of this listing is superior. It takes swipes at "fake wizards" and "everyone presenting themselves as a witch" in order to make this particular seller appear more legitimate.

The seller also takes time to shit on other listings that rely on the buyer's "positive thinking" to make their magic work -- or, really, to blame the buyer for spells not working.

I agree with them that it's scummy to blame the buyer and use their "negativity" as a scapegoat. Hilarious to see it on such a blatant scam.

Now, let's take a second to talk about the price and this sale that's going on. I took almost all of these screenshots on February 18, 2025 (others had to be redone due to formatting issues or because I forgot to grab a couple). I'm doing a first draft on the 19th, and as of literally right now as I'm typing this, the sale has about an hour and fifteen minutes left. I'm keeping an eye on it.

This is an exorbitant price for a service where your only verification is a photo which can easily be fabricated. You can't verify the services via reviews, either, because all of the reviews for spell services are premature ones giving five stars before any results are even given. (And for another reason, which I'll talk about later!)

This is now me, a couple hours later, returning to the listing. Lo and behold:

The sale is still on. It's still 50% off. But hey, it still has that "biggest markdown" banner on it. That's strange... a glitch, maybe?

Nope. Check the prices. The seller knocked a couple cents off the original price to make the sale price the "new lowest in 60 days." They're artificially forcing that message to keep up the sale hype. It's why the price is such a strange amount; they've been doing this since at least October 2024, maybe longer.

This isn't something you'd notice unless you were obsessively checking on it... like me. Gotcha, bitch.

Overall, the impression is fuckin' bad. Obviously. Between the bootleg Sims AI generated listing picture, the putting-down of other sellers, the product description, and the "sale" rug-pull, this listing is an incredible, pristine example of an Etsy Spell Scam.

Let's talk nitty-gritty.

Clarity

How clear is the language? Does it use a bunch of obscure terms or talk in circles? Is it obvious what the buyer will receive based on this listing alone?

I mean, it's pretty obvious what you're getting on the surface. It's a spell that's going to cause a physical transformation to you based on your specifications vis a vis gender transition.

But here's the thing: You don't actually know what's happening. What kind of spell is this? What ritual is being done? What concern is there for the buyer? It says this spell is permanent, but what does that mean? Does that mean it can't be undone at all? And if that's the case, how is this spell being bound to the buyer?

The seller says they're a Syriac magician, but that's a pretty niche tradition. The average person isn't going to know anything about it. You'd think they would take the opportunity to play up the exotic, exclusive nature of their magic by explaining a little more about the spell or ritual... but that would require there to be an actual spell happening, wouldn't it?

This listing is constantly talking in circles about how great the spell is and how powerful the magic is and how the effects are worth the price. But note that it doesn't detail what effects you're going to see. Note, again, that it's just repeating the same shit over and over and over again: "it's gonna work, I'm gonna do the spell for you, it's super powerful, you want this spell, it's gonna work..."

The only proof you're going to get of this spell happening is a photo, and only if you demand one. Based on reviews, buyers apparently get a short blurb stating that the spell has been done and the picture. Immediately after purchase, you get a JPG thank you message to download. You get the rest later.

My issue with "photo proof" of spells is that they can easily be faked. They can be stolen from the internet. They can be a set of photos that are being reused over and over again for different buyers. They can be real... but the setup may not be a true spell. It would be pretty easy to light some candles and draw a circle and take a picture to claim it's a spell when it's just... candles and a doodle. You know? Clarity for this listing gets a 1/5. It gets a singular point for saying what the spell is for and generally what it's intended to do, but most of the listing is sucking their own Very Ancient And Powerful dick instead of giving actual details about the spell.

Transparency

Is the seller honest about their refund/returns policy? Is it obvious where materials are being sourced? Is the seller being honest and clear about their credentials and/or qualifications?

On the surface, this seller is upfront about their refunds policy. As in, they don't do refunds. Their policy and other disclaimers are clearly stated at the bottom of the listing.

Standard stuff overall. We love to see a 100% guarantee followed up by "but I'm not responsible if it doesn't work." It's required, yes, but it's still funny. Also incredible to have a disclaimer about not providing medical advice on a listing about, y'know, a medical thing. (They also have a weight loss spell. Take that as you will.) The swap to "we" in the disclaimers is a little strange. It strikes me as something they've copied from another seller's listings or a different source and then edited to their liking.

As for materials, I have no idea where they're getting their stuff. They say that they use only the highest quality materials, but who knows?

We don't know what materials are being used in this spell, so there's no way to fact check this. This is on purpose.

And, once again, there's absolutely no way to verify this person's credentials. I can't even verify that they're a real person who practices magic! So, I can't say one way or the other if they're telling the truth.

It really seems like their refunds policy and general disclaimers are the only verifiably transparent things here, huh? That's worth a point, probably...

Except it isn't. I took a couple hours to read through every single review this shop has ever received, because I was curious. I found a couple strange things that I'll talk about further along in this review, but right now, I want to focus on this:

(For more examples, please see the version of this post on my website.)

Well, well, well. If it isn't my favorite grifter behavior, the old-fashioned bribe for better reviews. What this seller has done is offer refunds, exchanges, or other services in order to convince low-star reviewers to change their ratings. And it seems that at least a handful of people have taken them up on this offer. These folks have said that this is what happened, as you can see. I can't help but wonder how many of these other five-star reviews are fake, now, too.

Peeking at the listings those reviews are from, their prices are significantly lower than this listing we're focusing on. But you can imagine the draw of getting a $200 refund when you realize you've been scammed, right? Wouldn't you update your review to get that much money back? I would be tempted, I'm not gonna lie.

Then again, I'd probably update it again once I had my money back to be as close to zero stars as possible. Because fuck this behavior.

Transparency gets a solid fuck-you 0/5. They're actively lying about not providing refunds to cover their ass and bribe unsatisfied customers while hiding their identity and details of the spell.

Presence

Is the seller present anywhere other than their shop? Do they share anything about their process, method, or practice anywhere? Are they actually part of a community, or are they just selling something?

As mentioned way up above, I did a lot of digging. This seller has no social media that I can find. My guess is, because this is a scam shopfront using an alias, that I'm not meant to be able to find them anywhere else. Because they don't exist. This is a scam attempting to get as much money from you as possible before Etsy finds them again and shuts it down. They're not part of any community.

Also, interestingly, while I was trying to find anything about this shop, I found a couple Reddit threads that had been deleted talking about the shop. I couldn't recover any of the contents of those threads, unfortunately. Shame. It is interesting, though, that all of them were scrubbed. No idea if there's something bigger going on there or if it's just a coincidence. But it's interesting.

I found something else really interesting while combing through all of those reviews. There's a period from roughly February 2024 to August 2024 where this seller received a ton of one-star reviews in a row. All of them say that they never heard from the seller and never received their services.

The most recent of these one-star reviews is this one, followed by the reply left by the seller:

I can neither confirm nor deny the tragedy of this, because again, they have no other presence, and no lasting messages available other than the complaint reviews on the shop. And yet, I'm inclined to believe that this is at least somewhat true. Something happened in this seller's life that caused them to abandon this shop for several months. They'd been making steady sales before this with really positive reviews.

But Etsy has a vacation mode. Sellers can temporarily suspend their shops in the event of vacation, emergency, illness, or whatever else. Why didn't this person use this feature? It could be because of the "star seller" thing, since that's assessed on a three month cycle, and if a shop isn't active at all during the grading period, it'll lose star status. But neglecting the shop for seven months does the same thing! What the hell??

I'm uncertain if these people got refunds. According to the seller's review reply shown above, they apparently reached out to everyone who ordered from them. One person came back to amend their review to be five stars, stating that they spoke to the shop owner and giving their condolences.

One thing I'm certain of, though, is that this sale thing is surely a result of that low period. The shop's seemingly genuine and astroturf-like reviews resume around September/October 2024, and I know that these sales were going on then because of a review talking about "taking your $30 elsewhere." That's the approximate price of the service they bought.

So, either this "sale" tactic has been happening for a long time, or it's a newer scheme to boost the shop back up to where it was previously. I imagine the seller was desperate to get back to their five-star status after all those nasty reviews. No wonder they're bribing for stars and burying those negative reviews under mountains of premature and potentially false praise. Even if it's because of a genuine tragedy, this is gross behavior.

Presence gets an obvious 0/5. Even off-site reviews are non-existent.

Genuineness

Are listing photos genuine? Are any images AI, or is any copy written by an AI? Is this a real person selling something, or is this a bot account?

So, this listing has a bunch of images attached to it. The first one, the one you see in the Etsy search, is AI generated. Take a close look at it and note the blur on the earrings and the frames of the glasses melding into the eye/eyebrow shapes on the right.

Two of the images provided are collages of five-star reviews. I'm ignoring these, because I think it's gauche to do this when you're a legit seller. Doing it when you're a full-blown scammer is just ridiculous.

The rest of the images in this listing seem real, though! They're real pictures. What a refreshing and reassuring thing that is. (Very heavy sarcasm.)

I have three problems with these images, listed here in order from least to most bothersome.

First, these images don't really... match the spell at all. A couple seem like spells to bind two people together, like the ones with the figurine candles and the two poppets tied together. The others are generic spell circles.

My second issue is that every single spell listing in this shop has the same exact images. It quickly becomes obvious why they don't match the spell in question -- they're being reused again and again because they're eye-catching! The average consumer isn't going to be combing through every single listing, they're using the search bar to find specific spells and clicking the one(s) that catch their eye.

The third issue is that every single one of these images is stolen. Several are images that have been commonly reposted for the past decade (like the voodoo doll one). But a couple of these are kind of strange. Take this one, for example:

This image, as far as I can tell, comes from this article, which is about Syriac magic. It is, if Firefox's translate feature is to be trusted, a beginner-level article about Syriac magic. The image in the listing is the same one found on this article, just zoomed in and with a weird lightning filter overtop. This makes me wonder if this seller searched "syriac magic ritual picture" or something similar to get this image. I tried a couple ways, but this is a niche website in Turkish, so I'm not surprised I couldn't get it to populate in my search results.

Let's see this one also, since it's similarly stolen:

This one seems like it might be from this website, which is a French psychic's personal website advertising various spell services. I'm not 100% certain about this image's origins, but this one made the most sense out of the options.

A common thread between all of these images is that they were, at one point or another, reposted to Facebook. All of them, even the obscure one from the Turkish website. Not sure what exactly that means, but it is a pattern.

Well, with that reveal out of the way, let's go ahead and give Genuineness a score of 0/5. Not a single thing here is legitimate or genuine.

Verifiability

Is it obvious how a buyer will know their service is completed? Is it possible for the buyer to know? Are there any reviews verifying the quality/existence of the products or services? Are there negative reviews available?

All of the spells being provided, this one included, are "service only." That means you don't get a physical item, which means there's no tangible proof of service. You get a photo, as previously mentioned, and a reportedly brief summary of the spell's completion. I've already stated my issues with this, since there's no way to be certain that the service was done with just a short summary and an easily-faked photo.

Almost all of the reviews in this shop, and the one review on this particular listing, are positive. There are a sprinkling of negative reviews from 2024 complaining about not receiving what they paid for, a lack of detail in communication, and lack of results. The majority of reviews mention quick, attentive communication and fast turnaround for service completion.

And most of the reviews are premature. Nearly every single one of these reviews was left before the customer could see results, and most of them admit it.

I have two big problems with this. The first is that scammers like this will ask for positive reviews immediately, even when the supposed results might take months to manifest. The second is that a lot of these reviews come from the same person, all saying roughly the same thing about different services, all on the same day. It is possible that these are genuine, but it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to call this astroturfing. Plus, with the proof of the seller bribing reviewers for refunds/other services, this reeks of falsified reviews.

So you can't trust the images, you can't trust the positive reviews, and you can't even tell if the seller is a real person. To me, that's textbook scam material. This seller gets 0/5 for Verifiability.

Morality

Are they offering services related to health, mental health, legal services, or other dubious subjects? Are they knowingly targeting a vulnerable audience using buzzwords and inflammatory language? Is the listing sharing misinformation or encouraging belief in conspiracy theories? Does the listing contain debunkable information? Does the listing participate in bigotry, cultural appropriation, bioessentialism, or anything of that nature?

I would like to fistfight this seller behind a Walmart.

Targeting vulnerable populations with impossible magical results and charging hundreds of dollars for empty promises is deplorable. It's disgusting. The intense "BUY NOW!!!" language coupled with sales that go on seemingly forever while being teased as "limited time" just compounds the scummy nature of this listing.

Not to mention the blatant erasure of intersex people and non-binary identities! "Opposite sex," my fucking foot. Obvious scam aside, if you don't know enough about trans people and the biology of gender to realize that it's more complex than one or the other, you're not qualified to cast spells like this.

This is a scam, plain and simple. It's designed to catch the eye of someone desperate enough to take a chance on wasting over a hundred dollars on the body of their dreams. They are continually adjusting the prices and renewing the sale to keep the urgency of "this BIGGEST SALE EVER is going to end soon!!!" going as long as possible. It's a scam.

Fuck you, Sayran/MariahSpells/whoever the hell you are. Morality is an extremely obvious 0/5.

Average Score & Summary

The average of all six scores comes to a whopping 0.2/5 (rounded up). I'm not surprised. With five zeroes and a single one on the board, this scam really does have everything.

I went into this review knowing that this was going to be a bad one. I wanted to cover this one specifically because it has all the hallmarks of an obvious scam. Because we can look at this and go, "Well, who the hell would fall for this? It's so obvious that this is bullshit, isn't it?"

But people do fall for it. People fall for it all the time. I went to the listing to copy some text for alt text descriptions on February 25, 2025, and saw this:

Another sale and another review, so the listing must be gone now, right? Only one left, and all that. Nope.

Of course not, because this is a scam. This asshole is going to keep doing this as long as they can, because it's making them a shitload of money.

Knowledgeable, considerate, genuine people buy this shit, because they want to believe. They're desperate for something they can't otherwise attain easily or safely.These scams are deliberately curated to fool the unwary, the hopeful, the desperate, the naive.

You are not immune to scams.

Let's summarize, quickly, the big warning signs found in this shop that mark it as a scam:

No social media, website, or other presence outside the shop

Big promises without explanation of how they're possible or how they're going to be fulfilled; minimal proof of completion promised

High prices slashed with sales throughout the shop

Sales that don't end to create an extreme and fabricated sense of urgency

Negative reviews with five stars, reviews edited in exchange for refunds, reviews edited by other coercion

Multiple positive, samey reviews from the same person on multiple products all on the same day

A listing that is mostly bragging about power and prestige rather than explaining the product/service in any kind of detail

Mismatch between the tradition/practice of the person and the services being offered and/or the language being used (being of an "ancient tradition" and yet using very modern New Age terminology)

Stolen listing photos, AI-generated images

It's a lot, but like I said, I picked this one because it has pretty much everything.

I believe that magic can help a trans person along their transition journey. Absolutely. Sure. Make your meds work faster, prevent misgendering, protect you from harm, smooth coming out conversations, etc. I've done all of these things successfully myself.

Magic cannot force an impossible change. If something isn't physically possible, magic isn't going to make it happen for you. A spell won't change your chromosomes. In my paradigm, this is explained by knots of Fate and Being that can't be untied.

This spell would not do anything. Even if the seller was genuine, this spell wouldn't do anything for you. Maybe if it was a spell intended to help your HRT act quicker or more effectively, or help you find a surgeon more easily, or something else like that, I could believe it. But a magic spell from Etsy isn't a replacement for medicine.

It can be fun to perform these spells, though. Spells to transform yourself into a fucking dragon rule. They're fun experiments. The day one of these spells works, you'll never hear from me again, because I'll be a jellyfish floating in the deep depths of the ocean forever and ever.

Have fun with magic. Just don't spend $150 on an Etsy scam for a scrap of false hope.

And, just as a final note, fuck Etsy for letting this kind of thing go. Fuck Etsy for giving scammers like this one (and many others) "Star Seller" status. You'd think they wouldn't just award that to anyone. You'd think that kind of recognition would come with some oversight for quality assurance, but no. Etsy lets scams like this thrive because they make a huge profit. Etsy's quality has been dropping across the board for years now, and I would genuinely encourage legitimate sellers looking for a place to hawk their wares to go elsewhere.

Know that I've reported this shop to Etsy. We'll see if that goes anywhere. I'll update if it does.

Final Notes

Many sellers in this series anonymous for a reason. Please do not go find these people. Even if I'm exposing a blatant scam to warn people about it, do not harass anyone. Harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. When appropriate, I attempt to contact the seller(s) to discuss their ads and listings or report them where possible. Again, do not attempt to contact or bother the sellers, even if my coverage of them is negative.

If you spot an ad or a product listing in the wild that you want me to see or cover, send me a link, a screenshot, or the name of the shop. You can send it via ask or DM on Tumblr or to [email protected]. Or, if you're a legitimate seller and want me to take a look at your listings (anonymous or not), shoot me a message or an email to chat about it! Examples of what to do are just as important as examples of what not to do, after all.

And, if you enjoy this series or my other work, please consider dropping a couple dollars in my tip jar! Writing is my full-time gig, and contributions help keep this boat afloat.

Thanks for reading!

#aese speaks #advertisement adversaries #ADversary 2 #witchcraft #witchblr #witch community #image ids in alt text #the scam boogeyman returns

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