#going from 1 like to 6 is a big feat actually

[waitresscat]

wowe thanks for liking my art! almost done with this one

[hheartsdramas]

top dramas of 2025 (so far)

this fever dream of a year is halfway over so here's my ranking of all the dramas i've watched so far:

2025 releases

9. feud: a hot mess story that asks the eternal question, “why does he even like her???” nonsensical plot progression, ridiculous costumes, and a “romance” so disappointing even bai lu can’t manufacture enough chemistry with her co-star to sell it. with iqiyi now slowing down episode releases my determination to finish is failing.

8. prisoner of beauty: sorry gang, it started strong but became a slice of life romcom and not the festival of unhinged i was promised. i got bored and dropped it around the 2/3 point.

7. love in pavilion: i was really enjoying this until we hit the super bleak final arc and i dropped it for mental health reasons lol. it’s on my list to go back at some point.

6. kill my sins: bleak from the start, but fascinating concept and characters. another one i wasn’t able to finish at the time because it was so depressing, but i plan to try again.

5. love of the divine tree: it feels wrong to rank this so low. it just gets beat out by the rest. i had a blast with this, xiang han zhi and deng wei are an inspired pairing as the top/bottom master/student switchy leads. i thought xhz was particularly good at portraying each distinct version of her character.

4. a moment but forever: the obvious selling point here is liu xue yi's 10/10 performance as one of the most wronged and traumatized xianxia heroes ever. he brought the emotional complexity along with the face card. i loved him opposite tiffany tang as the neurodivergent goddess of craftsmanship. you think you're going to get a standard "girl meets guy, girl supposed to kill guy to save the world, girl falls for guy instead" xianxia but it's so much more than that.

3. legend of zang hai: i binged this like i haven't binged in ages, since i started late and caught up just in time for the express package to be released. xiao zhan is so compelling in this drama that at its heart is about the damning consequences of revenge and power. i didn't care so much about *what* was going to happen next in the plot, but i was desperate to watch how it affected all of the characters. my favorite kind of revenge story.

2. under the moonlight: this narrowly beats out zang hai but ultimately i feel under the moonlight is a stronger overall drama. it shines even without a big budget or super traffic star. the plot is perfectly woven and the characters will steal your heart when you least expect them to. it doesn’t shy away from some very disturbing topics but in a way that’s interested in how good people deal with the realities of a harsh world rather than in traumatizing its characters for glamor’s sake.

1. the blossoming love: my first drama of the year and has yet to be de-throned by anything released after it. i fell so hard for all three leads. it's so tightly plotted that even the time travel/loop situation in it didn't give me a headache (a feat!). i still think about this drama all the time and rewatch scenes because i miss them. also an ost full of bangers.

older things i also watched

6. mysterious lotus casebook: why is li lianhua so relatable.

5. nirvana in fire: iconic and brilliant in many ways, but my appreciation for it is largely intellectual. except the jings. protect the jings at all costs.

4. lost you forever 1 & 2: it's been a long time since i became as obsessed with a character™️ as i have been with xiang liu. (why is he so compellingly tragic? shithead.)

3. the ingenious one: in the vein of legend of zang hai, this is about the consequences of only caring about revenge. plus it's a genius-man-who-can't-fight + calculating-woman-who-absolutely-can pairing and i eat that shit up with a spoon.

2. the legend of shen li: i actually tried to watch last year but couldn't initially get on board with the chicken arc. i finally buckled down and kept going and WOAH MOMMA am i glad i did!

👑 joy of life 1 & 2: i think this might be my favorite cdrama...ever? there's not a single character that isn't complex and intriguing, the plot twists are insane, and it has things to say about justice and humanity that honestly just hit all the right notes for me. i fucking love this drama so much. season 3 when?????

[thydungeongal]

I have spoken about this before but like. Neoclassical Geek Revival, Break!!, and Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy all do this thing with their character customization that I really like that I think more games should have. Instead of an endless cavalcade of new feats, talents, and abilities, give player characters a choice between a list of discrete options that are a thematic package that includes both benefits and drawbacks.

If this sounds familiar to you from the original two Fallout games where players had the choice of choosing up to two Traits for their character at character creation, each of which had both benefits and drawbacks and could subtly alter your playstyle, you're correct, because at least @anim-ttrpgs (the creators of Eureka) have openly stated that the game's system of Traits is explicitly inspired by Fallout's Traits (down to having lil guys for each of the traits: they're called Snoops and they're like Eureka's equivalent of Pip Boys). Here's one:

Neoclassical Geek Revival also has Character Traits, and while they are not quite as comprehensive as I would like, I like the fact that they provide one more axis of character customization.

LOOSE CANNON These individuals are so hopped up on adrenaline in any conflict that they may ignore the effects of any accrued points on dX conflict rolls, but are always reckless in conflict dX rolls.

NGR has a system of characters effectively having three "moods" which affect whether their ability checks will be not rolled at all, treating the result as 10+modifiers without even rolling, rolled on a 3d6, or if they are reckless you will be rolling a d20 for their ability checks, with things getting more swingy as the adventure goes on. This trait is probably the most dramatic and game-altering of the character traits, because it will make things extremely swingy for the character all the time but the benefit of being able to ignore penalties from damage, stress, and so on is huge! Sadly the other traits don't quite measure up to it.

Eureka actually has a similar trait which works by just changing the regular 2d6 that is used for skill checks into a d12. It's actually quite genius in how it expresses so much about a character with so little. To briefly explain the probability: a 2d6 will generally have results weighed towards the 6-8 range, generally a 7, which in the context of Eureka means that most checks will come out as partial successes. It also means that character skill has a huge effect on the outcome: a +1 on a skill means that a character has a (rounding off) 72% chance of a partial success as opposed to a 58% chance on a +0. A character with a +0 will get a full success only around 17%, with a +1 putting that in the region of 28%. A single modifier is a big deal when you're using dice that produce a distribution weighted towards the middle!

Conversely, all results are equally likely on a 1d12. 50% of a character's rolls will straight up fail on a 1d12, but at the same time the chance of a full success goes up from ⅙ to ¼, assuming a character with no modifiers! By simply changing the type of dice that are used for making a check and making that an exception unique to that character provides so much characterization with so little.

And finally, Break!! has quirks. And I'm just going to show my personal favorite.

[lasirenatarot]

What makes your Future Spouse get jealous and how they express their jealousy?

Pick a picture:

1-2

3-4

Pile 1:

(Cards: 6 chalices; judgement; 4swords; 2swords; 5 of air; 7 of earth; 8 of air; the emperor)

- Honestly, this pile’s Future spouse seems like a very confident person, very sure of themselves, there are not much things that can make them jealous or question their own worth. Because of that, normally they would not even be considered as a person who gets jealous at all. They like giving you your freedom, they don’t seem like an obsessive person, they do have their set of standards when it comes to relationships and loyalty tho.

However, they do have their moments like all of us and you should not be fooled by their detached demeanor or purposely try to make them jealous, because what can happen is that they may simply leave and never come back.

Situations in which they may feel jealousy is if they see you have a deeper emotional connection with someone else, also when you’re blindly defending someone, it can make them think something like « why does my partner defend that person if they really feel nothing for them? » and that would make them suspicious of you..

They may get slightly annoyed if you constantly post pictures of yourself with a person that has a visible crush on you or is maybe too touchy with you (Or someone posts pics with you..), but this is not entirely jealousy, annoyance is the correct word here.

How do they express their jealousy?

- They seem like a mature and confident person so they definitely won’t be throwing tantrums or being childish. This is mostly due to their pride and ego.

They will check every piece of information before they even ask you sth.. they may even go through your phone to check if there is anything they should actually worry about when it comes to you and a certain person they are suspicious of. I feel like they may be the type of person to give you an ultimatum if you’ve crossed some of their boundaries,but regardless of everything I just wrote (which may seem pretty toxic) I don’t think they will be unreasonable when they get jealous.

If someone is getting a bit too « close » to you, they will expect you to draw a line and make it known you’re in a relationship. If your future spouse feels their standards are not met and feels disrespected they may even leave you. They seem pretty cut throat when it comes to loyalty. They won’t loose time arguing with you or asking you multiple times to do something they want you to do, they may have a big ego so they wouldn’t want to feel like a beggar.

Briefly, if they feel jealous, they may check your phone and all the information available and then talk to you once or twice, if something you do is really bothering them, and expect you to keep your distance from people who are interested in you.

Pile 2

(Cards: knight of wands; ace of chalices; queen of wands; the high priestess; 10 of water;the world;the empress;7 of air;the fool)

- Right off the bat, I feel like you would be the more confident, outgoing and successful one of the pair, not your future spouse. Or at least this may be true for a certain period of time during your relationship. You may be more fiery, what I am getting for you is absolutely the embodiment of the « naturally popular girl » when we were in highschool, stereotypically they would be the « nerd » and they may feel intimidated and a bit insecure around you. Your confidence may be the main reason for their jealousy. Since you may be a person who easily attracts people’s attention, your future spouse may feel like you can have pretty much everyone and that they’re easily replacable, whether or not this is actually true..

Do not get me wrong tho, you do not need to dim your light in order for them to be less insecure- this is their own problem to solve. What you can do in this situation, is to give them compliments which can uplift them and try not to give them reasons to be jealous, reassure them that they are the one for you, this may be important to them even if they don’t admit this openly.

How they express their jealousy?

- How they would show you they are jealous is a tricky question to answer honestly. They may not show you or tell you at all, you may need to figure this out on your own. They may start asking you random questions, as well as being almost « too nice » with you and fulfilling all your desires even the ones that may be at their expense, the important thing here is to not walk all over them since they may have a people pleasing tendency when it comes to you, so they can make sure they are so perfect that you wouldn’t leave them. They may become more clingy than usual.

As we all know, perfection is an illusion and it does not exist, so this perfect partner image they try to portray for you may be tiring for them to maintain.

If you notice some of their behaviors I just mentioned, talk to them and be honest with them.

Pile 3

(Cards: tower; 3of pentacles; 8wands; death; 3 of fire; the chariot; the tower; knight of earth; the hanged man)

- You will definitely know if your partner gets jealous, they wouldn’t hide it at all, they may have fire sign energy and easily get angry if someone touches what they deem as « theirs » (you). They may find you to be really physically attractive and that may make them want to keep you to themselves and be a little posessive.

They may get jealous if someone approaches you in front of them or when someone disrespects the fact that you are in a relationship with them and makes moves on you anyways..

Another thing which can make them jealous is if someone who they find to be similar to them (when it comes to qualities and what they can offer, not looks) shows interest in you in front of them.

How they express their jealousy?

- They may be pretty dramatic to be honest. This may be a drastic change from their normal behavior, normally they may be a really calm person, but if they feel someone is a threat to your relationship they may get very defensive and may even start an argument with the person who expresses interest in you in front of them.

In moments like this they get a little « primal » and don’t think things through, they may get more aggressive because when they see a threat they feel hopeless, like there is nothing else to do rather than confront the other person directly, they feel like they have to get rid of the « threat » immediately.

If they do actually have a tendency to cause scenes due to their jealousy, try talking it out with them and making them sure you would make the boundaries known if someone else approaches you.

Pile 4

(Cards: knave of air; queen of air; the magician; the priestess; the sun; 5 of water; 10 of pentacles; 10 of wands; knave of wands; knave of pentacles; 7 of swords)

- In situations where they feel jealous they may feel really hurt, even if they do not show it, it may remind them of past experiences and kind of « open an old wound » they tought they have gotten over.

Just like in one of the previous piles, they may view you as very beautiful and confident and sometimes they may feel as if they are not worthy of being with a person like you. They may be less experienced than you which can also make them paranoid you would leave them for someone more experienced.

How they express their jealousy?

- When they feel jealousy they really feel it. This can make them look a bit closed off and they may get really quiet all of a sudden, that’s how you would know that something is affecting them.

I don’t think this person will cause scenes or throw tantrums when they feel jealous at all. They are much more rational and mature. They may get some time away from you to clear their toughts and only after that they may adress the situation which made them feel jealous with you. Whenever they feel jealous, they may distract themselves with their hobbies, go out with their friends, go clubbing in order not to overthink every bit of what is bothering them. They may also get pro-active with you, give you gifts, pay more attention to you than normal, be more romantic with you..

My only advice to this pile is to be fully honest with them and try not to keep secrets from them, as this may intensify it if they do have trust issues due to their past.

thank you for reading! Hope it resonated, comment if it did.💞 Don’t forget to follow for more.

- La Sirena💋.

Decks used: ‘$£xual magic’ oracle deck by Lo Scarabeo; ‘Manara’ €rotic tarot deck by Milo Manara/ Lo Scarabeo;

[ballroomeddie]

Get to know your mutuals

tagged by @livesbetweenpages. thanks for tagging me 🫶

1. You get $100 to go thrift shopping. What are you buying and why?

under normal circumstances i’d say, a cool mirror and a few lamps (some art if the budget allows for it). why? i have a few full length mirrors but i want something smaller (with an interesting frame or some other fun feature) to hang in my living room. as for lamps, i’m just a lamp guy; a lamp enjoyer, if thou wilt

that said, i’ll be moving soon so i’m actually trying to get rid of stuff. so, idk. i guess i’d hold on to that $100 for now

2. What's a song you could listen to dozens of times in a row and not get bored?

this is how i listen to music tbh. i usually have the same song on repeat for days/weeks til’ my brain latches onto smth new

an underrated gem that i return to time and time again is,--walk with me here--the theme song to the 2002-2006 cartoon What's New, Scooby-Doo?, performed by simple plan. i’m super serious abt this. it’s a pop punk anthem and i luv it

an evergreen banger that’s less underrated but that i, nevertheless, return to on the reg is, the fugees cover of killing me softly

currently, i have In My Bag by FLO (feat. GloRilla) on rotation

3. What's a decade you really like music from?

bob marley and the wailers is my fave band of all time and most of their best stuff is from the 70s. that said, i have eclectic taste so idk if i can narrow it down to one decade

4. What's your dream hair?

don’t think i have dream hair. i prefer to switch things up. i get bored if i have the same hair style for more than 6 months

5. What's a chore you actually like doing that surprises people?

hanging clothes, big fan of clothes hanging and closet organizing. i hang most of my clothes (instead of folding) and i have A System. i enjoy putting clothes in their rightful place so that i can revel in my System in it’s full, type and color coded, glory 

6. Do you fidget? How, or with what?

yes. i tend to fidget with my hair (when it’s not buzzed short). i’ll also fidget with a tube of lip balm or lip gloss if i have one at hand

7. Tell me about a current hyperfixation of yours.

i fall into random research holes sometimes. my current pet research topic is copaganda in film and television. been reading a lot abt it, and i might just fuck around and write a mini essay on copaganda in 911. idk maybe

8. What's your favourite animated movie or TV series?

tough one. i don’t watch a lot of animated stuff. but bojack horseman, arcane and the owl house stand out from the little that i have seen

favorite cartoons as a kid were, avatar: the last airbender, x-men: evolution, totally spies and this french cartoon called code lyoko (iykyk)

9. If you were forced to lose one of your five senses, which one would you choose

i have terrible vision, i’m lowkey face blind and i probably have a mild to moderate case of aphantasia. since my eyes aren’t doing much for me as it is, i’d probably go ahead and get rid of my vision

10. What makes you feel put together? What makes you feel like you have your life in order? You know, that thing that makes you go, okay yeah no I got this.

semi-truthful answer: i’m big on community. fostering cool relationships and practicing philosophies that are conducive to a healthy community makes me feel like i have my life in order

real but boring (and political) answer: i’m not put together, i don’t have my life in order and i don’t feel like i’m put together, nor that i have my life in order. being mindful of the fact that being ‘’put together’’ and having ‘’one’s life in order’’ are capitalist (and white supremacist if we’re being real abt it) notions that are detrimental to the average person’s well-being; notions that IIIII don’t, personally, vibe with, makes me feel like i/we got this

Bonus question: For Star Wars fans, who is your favourite Jedi and why?

not a huge star wars fan but i have an answer. mace windu. cause he’s black (like me 😊) and bc he has a purple lightsaber. the purple lightsaber is the main draw tbh

tagging: @sadgayeddie @tanktopdiaz @everybuddiewantssome @809eddie @wenttotheairport @kindlingtotheflames @agnes-nielsens @thebloodysmut and every single mutual. i'm nosy

[apothe-cary]

Lucas Laidir-Hawke’s Playlist

@hedgiestail Once again thank you for giving me something to do, I am having a lot of fun with this at the moment.

1. Gives You He’ll - All American Rejects

- Lucas is a little shit. A very spiteful little shit. And this song is directly aimed at solas. He’s hoping Solas visibly cringes when he sees Lucas. And that could be the Hawke in him because my Hawke was equally a little shit. Lucas’ mission is to be the bane in Solas Existence and he’s thriving off it.

2. Chokehold - Sleep token

- The way this song has me by the neck 🥁 See what I didn’t there? No okay I’ll stop. Anyways! This song is really Lucas deep deep obsession. Like he is an obsessive person. Yearning, puppy dog eyes obsessive. Once he does get there. Like once that deep connection is built with him he’s not letting go. Man is on his knees.

3. Like Him - Tyler, The Creator

- Once again this song will pop up for my rooks but for Lucas, it’s for him about his mother. Since he looses her at a young age he’s constantly chasing after her and who she was. And Lucas is aware he takes after more of his father but when he looks in a mirror he wonders if there’s more to him like his mother? Or if anything of his is like her. He remembers her but he just can’t see himself in her and he desperately craves to be like her.

4. Neath The Grove is A Heart - Yaelokre

- Deep deep in Lucas is this softer side and this song is a really good look into it. Lucas is desperately looking for a home, After his parents, then the lords and then with Varric and the lighthouse. Lucas is lonely. He doesn’t know to stay or to go, he doesn’t know what Home. It’s a line he needs to draw. And he’s trying. But he’s terrified.

5. IFHY - Tyler, The Creator

- Lucas durning rage, feeling, emotions. He can’t distinguish what he actually feels if it’s hate love or both. It’s all obsessive and overwhelming. He walks a fine line when it comes to intense emotions and it’s hard for him. He sits in a corner obsessing over these types of feelings and I feel like this is a good song to kind of hear that intensity

6. The Wolf - SIAMES

- Haunting feelings, those thoughts he can’t escape. It’s all a chase, that Lucas can’t escape. He’s losing to it.

7. Euphoria - Kendrick Lamar

- As Lucas is a big hater, especially to Solas, I promise you he’s singing from the top of his lungs to solas “I hate the way that you walk, the way you talk, the way that you dress.” Absolutely not playing with solas. He is swinging.

8. Talking To Myself - Watsky

“One day you opened up your eyes inside of you, Inside a world inside a universe you didn't get to choose, You didn't get to pick the rules or pick the past or set the pace, Or cast the cast and crew you didn't get to pick your starting place, And though it was a race you didn't understand”

And I’m just going to leave those lyrics and move on-

9. Bow Down - I prevail

- 🤷🏻‍♀️ can’t tell you anything but bow down. I don’t make the rules, bow down to Lucas. Bomb as song that’s it just fits Lucas.

10. Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance

- Lucas is leading this band. And as my little angsty boy, he needed this song to take him home. Lucas got shit to prove and he will.

[katyawriteswhump]

The power of love, part 5 (steddie, stobin, steve whump fic)

Steve has a habit of surviving near death experiences then getting sick for no reason. And Eddie and those fatal bat bites? After an impossible feat of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from Steve, he’s mysteriously fixed. So, Eddie’s back to being banished, this time with Steve and Robin in tow. Eddie’s healing, but Steve isn’t… and life gets even more confusing, when Eddie develops feelings for Steve, which aren’t entirely unrequited.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12

Eddie POV

Robin spreads out a map they’d taken from the Harringtons across the blanket on Steve’s bed. She points to their current location. 

“So, this is us. We’re away from the road but still waaay too screaming-in-your-face easy to find.” She slides her finger a few inches across the map. “This old loggers’ camp is deep in the forest and could be the perfect place to hide. However, it’s over seven miles and we might have to hike, if the track is broken up. Steve? What do you say?”

“What am I supposed to say, Robin?” Steve sits up against the pillows, arms folded. “Let’s get going.”

“It’s a loooong way for you, if we can’t drive, man,” says Eddie.

“I’m good. Jesus! Hiking is in her top ten least favourite pass times. Not mine.” Steve throws off the covers, pushes himself up. He repels Eddie’s attempt to help with a jab of his elbow then leans heavily on the wall. “When do we start?”

“Hold your horses, cowboy.” Eddie cranes over the map. “My beloved Pa had a few hideouts round this way—”

“Yeah, they must’ve been totally undiscoverable,” snarks Steve, “what with Al Munson being FOREVER IN JAIL.”

“If you’re feeling so much better, Dingus, THEN STOP BEING A BITCH.” That was Robin, now matching Steve’s glare. “Go on, Eddie. What’s your plan?”

They strike out for the logging camp that afternoon, planning to break their journey in a cave, which Eddie’s Pops had used a couple of times. They drive the first part of the trail, then set off on foot when the track gets too uneven for the Lincoln’s tyres. Most of the trail is uphill through forest. Steve, however, refuses any help, and insists on taking his share of supplies.

He says very little, walking close to Robin. She wavers between cajoling him into taking breaks, and an encouraging monologue. Eddie goes ahead, using a compass and some basic tracking skills Wayne taught him, while squinting at the hazy sun. And, obviously, he seeks the easiest path for Steve.

“You know I suck at directions, right?” he whispers to Robin, while Steve takes a ‘moment,’ sitting down. “Though I’m gonna blame Vecna—and the matter that Hawkins is now one big, fiery Upside Down doormat—for blowing the compass off.”

She bats a bug from her nose. “Ugh! If it’s any consolation, trail finding was never exactly my number one skill, either.”

“How about Captain America over there?”

“He literally never knows his left from his right.” Eddie’s rarely seen anything more loving than the look she casts Steve’s way. “I think it’s gotten harder for him. He’s had... uh, quite a few blows to the head in recent years. Never seen him like this before. I’m worried, Eddie.”

“Me too.” Eddie swipes hair from his brow, finding it slick with sweat. “Talking of Vecna-skewed compasses and Vecna in general. Should we also worry about his crazy-ass cravings for Lover’s Lake?”

“At this juncture, I’m hoping it’s all some kind of freaky coincidence.” She actually closes her eyes, as if offering up a silent prayer. “I mean, even when he’s outta his mind, Steve really, really loves swimming. On the other hand, if going near the lake actually made Steve better, and that’s why he healed so quick after his initial bat attack, then… then…  Oh shit, I don’t even want to say it.”

Their gazes lock, and Eddie knows they’re brain sharing: There’s a gate to the Upside Down in Lover’s Lake. If Steve’s somehow linked to it some evil-magic-juju fashion, then… 

“You don’t seriously think he’s flayed?” Eddie little more than mouths the words.

Robin slices up a forbidding hand, so fast Eddie fliches. “No. Not that. He can’t be. Vecna isn’t in his head—he’d tell us, right? I mean, there could be a more physical link to the Upside Down and the hive mind, like with Will at various stages, but… No, no, no. We’re catastrophising, huh?”

Eddie nods keenly, which does little to dispel his unease. On the other hand, Robin is right. Nothing about Steve’s behaviour is shouting “flayed” or whatever. Including the teeny, tiny matter of Steve bringing Eddie back from extinction, though that remains totally unexplained. Yeah, it could be simply because death happens differently in the Upside Down.

Steve hauls himself up, hugging a tree. “What we waiting for? Bears to come bite our sorry butts?”

“There are bears out here?” Robin squeaks.

“He’s kidding,” mutters Eddie. At least, Eddie hopes he is. Steve still looks dead grumpy and serious.

They make the caves by sunset. They’ve got flashlights, and Eddie and Robin could’ve pressed on through the night, but Steve blatantly can’t. As soon as they arrive, he slumps down against the rockface, curls his legs up. He presses his face to his knees and rocks himself gently.

“You sure you’re all right?” asks Eddie.

“Next person who asks me that gets punched.”

Ooookay. No change in Steve’s mood then. Robin reassures herself there are no bear scratches in the cave then heads out to scout the route for the next morning. Eddie starts unpacking the bedding and cereal.

The air in the cave is cool and thick with damp. Eddie kinda likes it anyhow. Amid the must and mould, he inhales the faintest hint of charcoal. He pictures his Pa shacked up here, also on the run. He can’t help chuckle: I tried soooo hard not to follow in your footsteps. 

Steve, meanwhile, is huddling ever more tightly in on himself.

Eddie’s tempted to light a fire, as he imagines it gets cold in caves overnight, plus it’s still only April. However, he fears the smoke, if not the flames, could billow out of the narrow entrance and be spotted from miles around. Maybe that’s where you went wrong, Daddy dearest.

“You want a blanket?” ventures Eddie, sitting down next to Steve. Not quite touching, though. “Anything to eat? C’mon, dude. We all gotta keep our strength up.”

He taps the cereal packet against Steve’s arm, startling him into looking up. The torchlight heightens the shadows beneath Steve’s cheekbones, making him look horribly pale and gaunt. Kinda ghost-like, though Eddie stifles a gasp of shock for a different reason.

Steve Harrington is crying. Though trying his darndest not to—gritting his teeth, swiping the tell-tale moisture from his cheekbones. “God! I’m beyond pathetic. No wonder everyone thinks I’m a total dud.”

Cereal cast aside, Eddie squeezes Steve’s knee then retreats like the coward he is. “What are you on about? You’re, like, the most popular guy in town.”

Steve’s scowl is angry, incredulous and broken in equal measures. “Was, man. It was all a bunch of bull, and… totally irrelevant. I mean, haven’t you seen enough? We need to move, to keep moving, to evade capture, to get ready to fight Vecna again. I can barely walk.”

“Oookay, let’s rewind and be kind, Stevie.” He gets away with that sneaky pet-name again. “You’re feeling down because you’re… I dunno, sick, hurt, tired. Where do I begin? Fact is, you’re not a superhero man, you bleed and bruise like the rest of us lesser mortals… but you are a freakin’ hero.”

Steve’s brittle laugh breaks on a sob, against which he clamps his jaw even tighter. Eddie further musters his courage and slings an arm around Steve, who tenses. Then exhaustion wins. Steve sinks sideways against Eddie and rests his head on Eddie’s shoulder.

Soon, Steve’s shuddering breaths even out. The weirdest thing is that, despite how cranky Steve’s been all afternoon, this closeness feels disarmingly natural. That said, in the past forty-eight hours, they’ve had little choice but to become… intimate. Even Eddie's fizzing nerves soon settle.

“One thing’s for sure,” says Eddie, at length. “I’m more jealous than ever. I mean, Henderson’s respect for you must’ve skyrocketed and it was excruciatingly stratospheric already. I’m just the goon you brought back from the dead.”

Steve sniffles, lifts his head from Eddie’s shoulder. “I didn’t do anything really, man. Basic CPR. I executed a move.”

“Yeeeah.” A silly grin tugs the edges of Eddie’s mouth. “With your lips, dude.” 

Steve smirks, and… Woah! Eddie spots something he’d wondered if he’d imagined several times. Including earlier, when Steve collapsed against him on the way back from the outhouse. 

That merest hint of… attraction? Of flirty fun? 

Just as Eddie decides he’s imagining it—again—that spark reaches Steve’s too-pretty, too-sad eyes, and he says: 

“That was kinda fresh of me.”

Eddie’s tongue flaps away before he can stop it: “Tell you one other thing for sure—if you'd asked permission to get all smoochey, for whatever reason, I'd have granted you a full-access backstage pass.” Then Eddie’s brain kicks in. “Aaaaaand, that was dumb. What with you being the straightest guy in the history of ever.” 

Steve’s sparkle vanishes, and he turns his face to the darkness. “Go to Hell! Why does everyone always make such massive assumptions about me?”

“You’re not straight? I mean, I assumed… You’re you. You’ve got girlie mag centerfolds in your room!”

“You’re judging me on that?” Steve ruffles his hair and groans, sounding more wearily upset than agitated. “Look, man, I’ve not changed my room since sophomore year. In case you’re missing any of the plot, I’ve had other crap going on.” 

“Yeah, but you and Wheeler! The way you look at her, and the way she looks at—”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Steve sinks his forehead to his knees again. Nevertheless, Eddie’s arm is still around him, and he’s not shrugged it off.  What’s more, it seems he does want to talk, even if it’s rambling and kinda hard to follow: 

“I've been through stuff like this before, Eddie. Getting hurt and shit, hit so hard I black out and the doctors give me all these scary warnings. It’s weird, whenever I wake after being hurt, it feels as if loads of time has passed, even if it’s only been a few minutes. I always feel… shitty, of course, but also… a bit different. It’s confusing… Probably bullshit. It’s all bullshit.”

Different. 

Eddie’s heart gives a little squeeze, which he kinda despairs of. Not before he’s given Steve a small squeeze, too. “What kind of different?”

“I dunno. Like.... this time around, I'm not so into Nance. Or maybe feeling so crappy this past day has given even my thick head perspective, and I can see it’s hopeless. I mean, I figured I was in love with Robin once, when I “came back” from being knocked out, and, of course, I do love her but... not like that. She gets me… better than I do, I guess. Talk to her if you want anything about me to make sense.” He yawns. “I’m soooo tired, man.”

Soon, Steve’s sunk so deep against Eddie, his head is in Eddie’s lap. Eddie drags a blanket up over Steve, then finds himself tentatively stroking Steve’s hair. He’s unsure if Steve is asleep or not. Either way, Steve sighs, kinda melts beneath his touch. Wherever he’s drifted off to, it seems peaceful.

Eddie tries and fails not to think on how trippy this is: I got Steve ‘King of Hawkins High’ Harrington asleep in my lap, and he just snapped at me for suggesting he was straight. 

He also tries and fails not to worry about the whole Lover’s-Lake-giving-Steve-weird-juju issue. Steve just straight-up told him he’s been through near-death experiences before and come back different. Yeah, Eddie’s cheerleading for the GOOD variety of different. However, in Hawkins, and in life in general:

Odds are stacked in the favour of BAD different, Munson. As in FLAYED different.

No. He’s not going down that path. Robin would notice anything weird about Steve, and Steve’s not acting strange. He’s just… strangely sick, though it’s not that odd, really, after all he’s been through.

Yeah, right. And My Little Pony seahorses are gonna surf in on a tsunami of petals and save the day. 

Man, it sucks being such a cynic.

He doesn’t notice Robin slip back in until she’s nearly upon them. “You two got cosy, then,” she whispers.

“I got a creeping suspicion he’s gonna break my neck in the morning for this.”

She wiggles her brows. “Oh, I dunno. His bark is totally worse than his bite.”

“I can hear you, asshats,” mumbles Steve. Robin’s brows shoot sky high. “I don’t want to be sleeping on his bony knees, but some moron forgot to bring pillows.”

Eddie strokes Steve’s hair into that warm groove behind his ear, and finally discovers he’s too tired to worry about anything much at all.

Part Six

...

(also on AO3 here and as part of my steve whump fic series)

tags: @estrellami-1 (thank you, thank you, thank you!) If anybody else would like to be tagged on this fic or any of my writing, please let me know :) Reblogs, comments and likes also very much appreciated :) Thank you for reading so far.

[cleoselene]

rules: shuffle your "on repeat" playlist and post the first 10 tracks, then tag 10 friends to do the same. tagged by my Anthony Rizzo sister-wife @an-ivy-covered-summer

this playlist is called "Drive Time" because I mostly listen to it in the car. it has 1025 songs so this should be interesting.

1. Book Of Mormon Original Broadway Cast Recording - Two By Two (CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS AGAIN, WE GOT HOOKED UP WITH FREE TIX FOR MARCH)

2.The Amazing Devil - The Calling (seriously y'all plz listen to this song it is a fucking masterpiece. all of TAD is amazing but this song and "Farewell Wanderlust" are two of the greatest songs of all time)

3. TOOL - 10,000 Days (Wings Part 2) (oh I guess shuffle wants me to cry at a TOOL song this day okay! and also be filled with existential death for how many days I will have to spend in the fire with this MS! anyway this album is just constant grief in progrock metal, it's so good, probably their best)

4, Big Red Machine feat. Taylor Swift - Renegade (god this is a banger. god this era of Taylor's music, was just. *chef's kiss* this is a favorite to sing along with in the car. I think it seems like Joe got Bon Iver guy in the breakup so I fear we may never hear another one of their awesome collabs again. the way they sing verses of different lyrics at the same time is so enchanting)

5. Sza - SOS (I have been on a major Sza kick lately; the production on her music is fucking immaculate. Like R&B with lots of influences from 90s trip-hop. I am so ready for intricate electronica to make a comeback. Between Sza doing so well and Gaga's next album singles sounding super industrial, I AM EXCITE)

6. Damien Rice - The Blower's Daughter (oh gosh oh gosh shuffle YOU ARE ON A ROLL. this is my favorite Damien Rice song. so breathtakingly beautiful, you absolute bastard who has only released like 2 albums in 25 years)

7. VNV Nation - Lights Go Out (SHUFFLE YOU ARE KILLING IT. Amazing song, highlight of the Noire album, which was Ronan's response to Trump's election and climate change, released in 2018. A club banger about people stupidly ignoring the warnings and just dancing in the club to great club bangers, designed to be played in clubs as the banger single from the album. Goths, we're on a different level, okay?)

8. Indigo Girls - Let It Be Me (can you believe that my mother, who at one point was easily the most popular lesbian in Southwest Florida in the 80s and 90s, thinks the Indigo Girls are "boring lesbian music?" And yes, she likes ANNE MURRAY. Like how dare she be an Anne Murray fan and call the Indigo Girls boring. Anne Murray's music is pretty but it is also the absolute definition of boring. Anyway my mom has seen Anne Murray in concert like four times, front row every time, and three out of four times, Anne handed her a red rose at the end of the show. I guess it's her tradition to hand out roses to fans at the end of the show who seemed really into it. My mom has been an "Anne Murray is a lesbian" truther forever and took these roses as signs Anne was kinda into her. Look all I'm saying is that I am the child of a 75 year old parasocial fangirl who shades competing lesbian artists like the kids do with pop stars these days, roflcopter)

9. Les Miserables The Complete Symphonic Recording - The Bargain/The Waltz of Treachery (musical theater representing! anyway this recording is my favorite of the myriad Les Miz recordings because I loooooove the Eponine. And love Gary Morris as Valjean. Actually everyone kills it in this version. The fact that the Eponine didn't even speak English since she was from the Japanese show and still got the emotion so well is a marvel. FUCK I LOVE LES MIZ PLZ CAN WE GET AN ACTUAL GOOD FILM ADAPTATION OF IT SOMEDAY YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW DEAR THIS PLAY IS TO ME AND HOW COMPLETELY DISAPPOINTED I WAS AS I SAT IN THE THEATER AFTER HYPING IT UP SO MUCH TO IDK MY BFF TWIG AND IT WAS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. Les Miz is better than Wicked. Give it the Wicked treatment)

10. Taylor Swift - So Long, London (oh wow another sad one. And how appropriate since @an-ivy-covered-summer tagged me in this becasue we had a Rizzo-related meltdown about these lyrics: And you say I abandoned the ship But I was going down with it My white knuckle dying grip [...] I'm just mad as hell cause I loved this place

like when we had this freakout when we were talking about Rizzo begging Jed not to trade him and saying "I want to go down with this ship" T___T

Anyway I am pretty firmly on the record thinking TTPD sucks but there are like... five songs out of the 31 that I like, and this is one of them. This one I liked instantly.

anyway THANKS THIS WAS GREAT LIKE I LITERALLY LISTENED TO EVERY SONG AND DIDN'T SKIP ONCE. Usually I don't listen to everyone for these memes but they're all worth the full listen this time. Goddamn I make good playlists.

tagging @sylvieons @thebreakfastgenie @brightnshinythings @malkaleh @coralreeferband

that's five my brain is bad i'll stop there but I would love to read any of your answers i love talking about music I will do it all day every day always tag me in these and in your answers because i miss a lot because dash is overwhelming but i am ALWAYS interested in these

there's a reason I worked in a music store for five years

[bucksbelly]

Getting to know your mutuals!

I was tagged by @playinginthunderstorms and @tanktopdiaz in different versions of this meme so they're getting answered altogether whoops

pt. 1

Favorite color: Blue or teal. I've been crocheting with this sapphire-colored yarn recently that I'm obsessed with! Currently reading: og fiction - Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins; fanfic - lots of angsty Buddie bc I'm in a mood (if you've got a longfic rec hmu plssss (hea only tho)) Last song: Balloon (feat. Doechii) by Tyler, The Creator Most recent film: Jane Austen Wrecked My Life; it was weird but fun! Most recent series: Bet on Netflix; currently obsessed with the masked lesbian assassin and her bratty gf Sweet/salty/savory: Can I say salty and savory? Aren't they pretty much the same thing? Whatever. Savory topped with salt all day Tea or coffee: Coffee for caffeine, tea for the aesthetic Working on: ...so many things...henren sex pollen, Chris NDE in El Paso, and the HP fic I feel bad for abandoning almost as much as idk that I want to write anymore are my current big 3

pt 2:

1. You get $100 to go thrift shopping. What are you buying and why? Oooooh I'm a bag whore so I'm definitely getting some bags. Then I'm scouring the shelves for yarn and donated knit/crochet blankets. Then books/games. I honestly hate clothes shopping so I might check my size at the end but I'll probably avoid them lol. 2. What's a song you could listen to dozens of times in a row and not get bored? Bold of you to assume my standard isn't listening to the same playlist dozens of times until I beat the dopamine out of it 🤣 right now, my top picks are probably Novacane by Frank Ocean, tv off by Kendrick Lamar, and DENIAL IS A RIVER by Doechii. 3. What's a decade you really like music from? I don't listen to a lot of older music, so I'm gonna have to go with the 2000s pop punk I grew up with! 4. What's your dream hair? In typical "person with 4b/c hair" fashion, I'd love to experience straight/wavy hair (relaxers only go so far). Either way I'm dyeing the fuck out of it so it should probably be blonde! 5. What's a chore you actually like doing that surprises people? Vacuuming! I get to blast my music and the neat floor lines + before/after view (I have 4 cats) is so satisfying to me. 6. Do you fidget? How, or with what? Yes! It's part of the reason I started knitting and crocheting! If I don't have that I'm probably picking at my skin, nails, or hair so it's for the best lol 7. Tell me about a current hyperfixation of yours. I'm the type of person that hyperfixates on one thing to the detriment of everything else, so 9-1-1/Buddie is about 85% of my brain capacity these days rip. I did just do a "history of omegaverse" powerpoint for a friend, so there's that ig 8. What's your favourite animated movie or TV series? Sooo super unpopular opinion but I really don't care for animation. I know, I know, it's a big genre to say that for, but both my parents weren't into animated shows/movies so I just never watched them. All respect to animation as an art, though! 9. If you were forced to lose one of your five senses, which one would you choose? Okay I've actually thought about this question a lot and I think I gotta go with smell. I love music too much to lose hearing, sight would make writing more challenging, touch would be brutal (i'm already touch-starved so I imagine that would be worse) so it's gotta come down to smell or taste. 10. What makes you feel put together? What makes you feel like you have your life in order? You know, that thing that makes you go, okay yeah no I got this. A detailed to-do list! Bonus question: For Star Wars fans, who is your favourite Jedi and why? RIP me I've only seen two Star Wars films and one of them was in Hungarian, a language I don't speak

Tagging @playinginthunderstorms & @tanktopdiaz to answer the questions they didn't tag me for + @jxonthewindow @mybrainshyperfixtations @buckleyflower @afantasyoffiction @nosaladallowed-ao3 @sloasis; do one or both or whatever you're comfortable with :)

[fazedlight]

How I think the Supergirl seasons should've gone...

Season 1: Leviathan

Hear me out. By far the biggest screwup of season 1, in my opinion, was getting rid of Kara's status as the Last Daughter of Krypton so quickly. I want to see more of her angst as a character, as a refugee from a dead planet, coming into her own powers. Give me the complicated emotions of missing her family, of feeling like she is honoring their memory, of wishing she had more guidance from her culture and values.

Starting with an Earth-based villain is a good scope for season 1. I think Leviathan could be reimagined to be remaining an Earth-based villain (none of this "technology" plot). What if they want to decimate all humans via increasing natural disasters? How would she stop them, when destruction is so much easier than creation?

Season 2: Rhea & the Daxamites

Season 2 was actually a great villain setup (Mon-El aside). I don't have many complaints here from a Big Bad perspective - Rhea was interesting and compelling, and it was fun watching her manipulate her way into a world invasion.

(I will say, if they wanted Mon-El to be a vaguely compelling character, they either should've made him some sort of freedom fighter rebelling against his parents, or they should've made Daxam a less terrible planet to begin with - with Kara learning how much propaganda she had been fed on Krypton.)

(ETA 5/26/25: Granted, in the second scenario, Rhea/etc can still be deeply bitter from the loss of her planet and slowly going insane from kryptonite poisoning, which has long been fantheorized to cause long term harm in non-kryptonians. A sort of anti-Kara, if you will, and somewhat opposed of how I write Krypton=>Argo's de-fascism-ing.)

Season 3: Worldkillers (feat. Villain Alura + Worldkiller Kara)

There are hints that the original plan for season 3 was to have Alura amongst the Juru witches and Kara as a worldkiller (I may have written a fic on that). We could've combined the worldkiller arc, with Kara's angst about her parents' flaws and her existence, with Kara finally learning that she wasn't the Last Daughter of Krypton.

Her people would be alive - at a cost. Suddenly she'd be thrown into this conundrum... what did it mean to be kryptonian, and what did it mean to be human?

Season 4: Lex (and xenophobia)

Much like season 2, I really liked the existing plot of season 4. I'd make some minor changes, but overall it was a strong season.

Seasons 5 & 6

The Lex redux is kind of weak (and Lena's villain era, if she had one at all, should not last an entire season). Nyxly and Lex were the worst combination ever in my book. Not a fan of these seasons' big bads and I don't want to reuse them. But there are a few other options:

Bringing in Astra and Non at this point might be interesting. After the Daxamite invasion, the first solution people would think of would be "what if we spread kryptonite in the atmosphere?" with obvious angsty implications.

I would've loved to see Brainiac here. Perhaps he's mad that he didn't get to bottle Krypton before it exploded, so he wants to bottle Earth since it has the last kryptonians left. (Would've been an interesting arc for Brainy, too.) Or maybe he bottled Argo City.

Nyxly could've been a better solo villain, I think. I'd remove her backstory with the king/etc - make her some unhinged imp who somehow got around the usual limitations on 5th dimensional magic usage.

There are other great classic villains, like Darkseid.

As a final aside, I really loved the Red Lantern Kara arc in the comics, and wish they had done that on the show. It could've been...

A solution to the Astra/Non/Myriad problem. I thought the season 1 ending was kind of cheap, in that Kara only won because all of the kryptonian criminals were asleep on Fort Rozz when she was fighting Non and Indigo. Having Kara go red lantern and wipe them all out instead would've been immensely satisfying.

It could also have been an angsty response to Lena's betrayal, perhaps combined with the above.

Overall, the point is that there should be increasing stakes as time goes on. Moving from physically destructive villains (with increasing emotional cost) to something more vague and existential (the risk of being frozen in time, brainwashed, or fighting an unknowable magic) would've been a good escalation path for the show.

ETA 5/26/25: This is so funny to look back on now that I've written The Ambassador's Sister.

[arathejedi394]

hi

so a little while ago in an ao3 note I mentioned my grandma not doing well. of my grandparents, both of my grandfathers died before I was 10, but my two grandmothers lived past that. I'm talking about my mom's mom in this post. my dad's mom passed away semi-unexpectedly about 2 or 3 years ago, and she was the ideal grandma. mom's mom died about a month ago. my mother and I were driving from our home state to hers the day it happened, we had maybe 40% of the trip completed and my uncle called to say it had happened. this grandma was racist, homophobic, transphobic, all the bad things you could think of. and she was mean. i lived with her for 6 months back in 2018 with the intention of making her life easier but what she did was make my mental illnesses worse. nothing I did for her was worthy of even a "you completed the task as instructed." she was 110% probably abused growing up bc her father did the nasty to my mother when she was a child, so no doubt he did it to my grandma, first. she survived breast cancer. she raised my mother who finished a master's degree in math shit. she failed to protect my mother from her father. it was my fucking luck that he died before I was born, even though I doubt my mother would have let him near me, and even still, what he did to my mother caused her to accidentally abuse me in a nasty way. i grew up assured in my place as her least favorite grandchild. and i was the grandchild to do the most for her; my two cousins who lived nearby would visit her, but for six months I was her maid and personal punching bag. i never made it out of last place despite that. i have a lot of conflicted feelings. i think about how I idolized her as a child and the next second remember her talking to a friend about the dark dangerous path her friend's granddaughter was going on by being a lesbian. i never came out to her, while the rest of my family I allowed to know. i let her see my beard a few times near the end, but she kept commenting that I should shave it off no matter how much I said I liked it.

and yannow the worst part? nothing to do with my grandmother's choices. my mother and her brother both had daughters in 1999 (one was me) but my uncle had one first and he picked the name of a family member. but my mother had been meaning to use that name for her first "daughter" (sike on her she has no daughters now just 2 1/2 sons plus 1/2 unholy offspring) so 10 months after my cousin's birth she named me the exact same thing. so I grew up knowing I was just the knock-off version of a granddaughter to my grandma. that her first granddaughter would always be better at everything bc I was the knockoff. i grew up as a matched set with "this one is always the 2nd place option" printed on my forehead. and I always felt that that was how my grandma saw me. always the last choice and always not enough compared to my cousin with the same fucking name. i managed one (1) feat big enough to satisfy her to the point where she talked about it regularly, and that was p u b l i s h i n g a n e n t i r e b o o k. oh other grandkid got an A on one test? celebrate. me, publishes an entire book, gets a review from fucking Hank Green?that's worth a thumbs up. a few brags to friends. not that much in the long run.

i don't know how to feel about her death. I'm thinking of trying to contact her using my spirit board and pendulum, but I'm not sure. she had no idea who I was. all she ever knew was the generic brand version of her ideal granddaughter. part of me wants to call her up and gloat over all the things I became that she hated, how it's fulfilling my life and brings me joy and she was wrong about. or try to actually connect with her for the first time now that she's had her beliefs about Christianity destroyed that maybe she'll be more willing to listen with that having happened. part of me thinks she's probably been reincarnated as something so low she won't be able to talk to me. some part of me just never wants to find out. idk.

[damthosefandoms]

looking back at my google slides history of powerpoints I made in college is so fun because it’s like such an insight into my descent into madness. you got stuff like:

superhero ABC book

superhero ABC book project (DON’T SUBMIT THIS ONE)

SED 365 chapters 5 & 6

icebreaker acrostic poem (feat. a picture of me in my scarlet witch cosplay)

the great sharpie debate of 2023 (not made for a class but made DURING a class)

lava lamp experiment videos

rick riordan author study (an excuse to talk about my love for percy jackson and be graded on it because I argued that books meant for middle schoolers counted as “kids books”)

STEM learning centers

many other slideshows I was given access to to take notes from during online classes that I never deleted

and yet I cannot find the one (1) project I worked on with @mutopians ??? I’m pretty sure it was a slideshow??? we had a sleepover to work on it and it was like our first big thing we did outside of school together???? mage pls tell me if you have access to this thing I am 80% sure I didn’t hallucinate?

…and then there’s a handful of different powerpoints I made during that time for fun bc I’m insane including such hits as:

A Guide to the Bad Future AU (34 slides, by me & @sohotthateveryonedied)

Judging Batfam Supersuits (58 slides)

the Helen is special ppt (48 slides, most of which are screenshots from hal jordan’s Spectre comics)

I Want A Jamie Powerpoint And It Is Summer Break So You Have No Excuse But To Help Me (Eventually) (Please) (60 slides, unfinished, and katie @haljordangreenjedi did one (1) slide to help me)

watch young justice season three (1 slide, unfinished, which says “why you should watch young justice, by a girl who will never finish this”)

THE GREEK GODS (SUCK) (by us but it’s actually by percy jackson ok) (26 slides, unfinished, and im not quite sure who “us” was at this point?)

Kyle Rayner Sins of Youth (8 slides, all comic screenshots because every time he appeared he had a different supersuit bc he was a kid with a bigger imagination and I thought it was neat)

Punchable Faces (1 slide, presumably finished, which only contains an image of that dickhead in the white house with his hair being compared to an image of corn, which I think I was going to print out and tape to a punching bag?)

many unfinished pokemon au or pjo au slideshows for various fandoms that I’m the only one with access to and was likely just using google slides for organization purposes

[anomaletix]

mspfa recs [week of 6/1]

Hey what up we back!! what yall been reading/writing/interrogating last week

Purified Paradise has a supa unique and cool story concept that i really like. it's this story about this little struggle between mutant trolls (most of which are kinda on this lil island for safety) and this unknown mysterious group who wants those mutants for presumably evil hell purposes. it's really nicely paced so far and i think if given time this one will end up being super fiyah

The Legendary Adventure of Hangman is kinda like another story I mentioned in the past, Shattered Mirrors, where the warnings are implying some really crazy shit to happen later in the story and I wanna see that super bad. what's here right now though is pretty nice, I think it's doing a nice job of establishing the norms of this setting and the art's actually super nice given how simplistic the bounds it's working with are. Kino

i absolutely love YIIK and it's writing. I think the introduction section is pretty nice but it gets ESPECIALLY good on panel 11 when they start butting heads with trolls. koal's just. Fucking amazing character man this 3 panel stretch is such a great read and I think you should read it just for that alone it's great

i found and read through All4Sburb: Moviemakers like, 5 minutes before I started typing this but it cannot go unmentioned cuz shit rocks. i think it can be hard to have characters feel like they have a legit in-depth history on top of being well written but this one has it really good from both angles for multiple characters so far, and I think there's this awesome chemistry already defined between diff members of the cast. even a smaller character like dene (duke's cousin) is awesome asf and it's a feat to make every character encountered a good one to read. it seemingly just got off a big break too so now's the best time to reading

[heroofshield]

20 Questions for Fanfic Writers

tagged by the talented @vorchagirl <3

Tagging @missmeggo929 @noctiscorvus @caesarclowningaround @cassiesinsanity @bygoneboy @uchidachi and anyone else who wants to do it!

1). How many works do you have on AO3?

75, with one of those being a WIP (meet me halfway)

2). What’s your total AO3 word count?

402,368.

3). What are your top five fics by kudos?

The Portland Job (Clint/Natasha Leverage crossover). This one is always the top because it's a Clintasha with Leverage fic.

Pray for the Wicked (ME:A AU where sis!Ryder is kidnapped by Alec to Helius and is on Kadara)

Clint Barton: Human Disaster (just a silly fic for Clint Barton feat. Natasha)

Be My Hero? (Fable 3 fic with the Hero and Logan when they were younger)

The Figherfighter and the EMT (Clint/Natasha & Chicago: Fire crossover)

4). What fandoms do you write for?

Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and MCU are my main ones. But I've also done Leverage, Fable 3, Boondock Saints, Torchwood, Stargate SG-1, and SGA.

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

The few that I get yes. Because they were nice enough to leave a comment so they deserve a response (even if it's just a general 'thanks for reading and leaving a comment!')

6). What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This was on ff.net again I am a Fandom Old okay it was a Lorne/Cadman fic that was a RegencyAU and had a mildly angsty ending. They couldn't be together because Laura was a noble's daughter and Lorne was a painter so status and money kept them apart.

I also have a Fable 3 ModernAU that follows the main plot of the game so the ending is going to be angsty if you know what happens.

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

Generally my fics have some kind of happy ending, because why not.

8). Do you get hate on fics?

I did get one 'Um, Actually' comment once but it was a grammar thing that I fixed very quickly and then deleted the comment because it was so unnecessarily condescending.

I did have another one on a fic on ff.net where again it was a grammar thing that I fixed really quickly. I ended up deleting the fic later on just because it was bad overall and I didn't feel like writing it anymore.

9). Do you write smut?

Yup.

Am I any good at it? Maybe.

Do I care? A little bit

10). Do you write crossovers?

I have written so many crossovers, it's almost all I write anymore lol. Because I want all my favorite blorbos to meet and be In Situations together. It's fun and makes me think so I'm happy to write them.

11). Have you ever had a fic stolen?

When Ao3/FF.net has gotten scraped (before AI) I've had a few fics stolen. Send a C&D message but I feel like they just ignored it. Because people be like that.

12). Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13). Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes. It was a Torchwood fic with a former friend that might still be up on ff.net but was hastily finished because of Reasons.

14). What’s your all-time favorite ship?

My longest ship is Mamoru Chiba/Usgai aka Tuxedo Mask/Sailor Moon aka OTP Above All.

One of my favorites is Reyes/Ryder from Mass Effect: Andromeda.

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

I have a rewrite of my first SGA fic that I was doing well on and then hit a wall with so I stopped.

There's also my Fable 3 Modern AU that technically I've completed but have never posted. If only because it's going to be a Big Ass story with a high chapter count.

And there's a 'sequel' to my first SGA fic that I picked up again during Lockdown pt.1 but then fell off again.

16). What are your writing strengths?

I...have fun with it? I can take an idea and make it enjoyable for someone to read. I'm like popcorn, fun and light.

17). What are your writing weaknesses?

Everyone writes better than me?

IDK, I feel like I can be too wordy at times and don't know when to break up sentences. And my smut is kind of bad/vanilla. And I'm not that creative.

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

I've done it a few times, I try to be as accurate as I can since that language isn't my own and then put the translations at the bottom.

19). First fandom you wrote for?

Dragon Ball Z. It was a Bulma/Vegeeta fic and you will not find it online because I wrote in a notebook and then threw it out years later when I found it and cringed hard.

20). Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

We Should Quit, but We Love It Too Much- a Clint & Natasha crossover with a very small fantasy book series. It was a Secret Santa fic and it was so fun to write because of how small the other fandom is.

Me and my Pool Noodle lol.

Also

Our Flag Means Death and Guns- Our Flag Means Death and Clint & Natasha Secret Santa fic. Since that show was so off-the-wall it was easy to write them in and just have a silly time with it.

[arminthada]

Shuffle your on-repeat playlist and then list the first ten songs!*

*any playlist on any platform will do!

Thank you Kat @troubled-mind for tagging me (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ). I've been itching to share new music. 'new' being new to my playlist though, most are old releases.

1. Your Call (อยู่ที่เธอ) - TYTAN

I want you to think and reflect Who do you want more in your life? Without him, you seem to be doing fine But without me, you’ll be okay right?

as expected, i like this song so bad i even made a gifset for solely self-indulgent purposes... it's just crazy see how much TYTAN has grown since his Waterboyy days. I feel like this song was the starting point of me finding every songs i liked recently linked to MingJoe from My Stand-In.

2. ชายคนหนึ่ง (Just A Man) - Bodyslam, Clash, Potato Feat. ก้อง สหรัถ, โดม ปกรณ์ ลัม, ตู่ ภพธร

I’m just a man who wants to look after you and be concerned about you, that’s all I just want you to still have someone worrying about you, I’ve never wanted anything else You don’t have to give me anything in return I’ve never wanted anything else

I AM WEAK FOR SONGS ABOUT UNREQUITED LOVE. i first heard this song like seven years ago in Secret Seven The Series but the obsession with it has come back in full force since i recently watched a lakorn starring the original artist of the song (Peter Corp) and there's this scene where he plays this song on the guitar to the female lead... oh i was a goner. (original by Peter Corp)

3. วัดปะหล่ะ? (TEST ME) - 4EVE

Open your heart to know each other a little bit, yeah (like this) Then you will see someone that your heart is searching for

this is a popular song that came out a few years ago but i recently fell in love with it when i heard it used in the trailer for a thai film 'My Boo' starring Bow Maylada, Gee Sutthirak and Thanaerng.

4. อยู่กับฉันฝันถึงใคร (Who are you missing?) - Nine Kornchid

When you are with me, who are you dreaming of? When we're close together, who are you missing? Just a faint shadow. There is no way to own your heart. Why do you still keep me around? Whose substitute do you consider me as? Can you just answer me clearly? The reflection in your eyes, am I the person whom you are looking for.

as expected of a person who's deeply in her MSI era, of course the OST is on repeat. the lyrics though like I AM CHEWING GLASSES.

5. บินเข้ากองไฟ (Flying Into the Flame) - Big Ass

Oh, heart, remember their face They're the same person who once hurt you Enough already, don’t let them hurt you anymore Enough is enough, my heart, why love them? The more you love, the stupider you get, the more torturing it is, you never remember (enough, heart) We’ve been more than sad enough already, why love them? Nothing can be as evil as a heart hurting itself The more it loves, the more it’s hurt (remember that)

this song i actually first heard from Kidnap! pilot trailer but i never looked up the lyrics until recently and god it is so MingJoe coded. this song is a nice monologue talking to the heart and asking why it keeps falling in love, even though it knows it’s only going to get burned. like the inability to get someone out of your heart and still loving someone even though they've hurt you so bad before ಥ_ಥ

6. เพียงพอ (Just Enough) - Potato

If I had you, I would never need to reach for anything else It wouldn’t stir up troubles, anxieties just stopped, and I’m more confident than before Since I had you, I know my needs have ended No need to aspire for anything more, just this is enough Every day, to just have you, regardless of anything, I’d be satisfied

watching The Believers on Netflix really sent me down a spiral of listening to Potato (a Thai rock band). I love this song so much because it's a refreshing addition to Potato's usual collection of 'unrequite love, breakup' songs.

7. Kẽo Cà Kẽo Kẹt (The Creeking) - Hoàng Thùy Linh

I inflect every syllable so that my name goes down with history No matter how much vilification and mockery I have to endure, I’ll stand up against them again I inflect every syllable so that my name goes down with history No matter how much agony they pour on me, I’ll survive, no matter how many times they do that From dire ramified a sprig of nectarine Verdant foliage shrouded the entrance Amidst solitude, I squawked shrilly

i've been on a spiral of listening to old music i love so i'm sharing this mini commentary i made on this song a while back.

so 'the creeking' is based on tấm cám aka the vietnamese ver of cinderella. specifically, the part after vietnamese cinderella (tấm) was murdered by her stepmother & sister, she reincarnated into a bird, but then got killed AGAIN and she reincarnated into a weaving loom (insane, you just gotta read it, after she became a weaving loom, she got BURNED and she reincarnated into a freaking tree). but the simple gist is, when tấm reincarnated into a loom, the loom kept making noises to threaten her step sister as if to remind her step sister of the evil deed she did to tấm. the creeking may at first glance be a simple retell of this part of the story in tấm cám but it also parallels directly with hoàng thùy linh's life story. from the mire (the excessive hate train from her "scandal" when she was a minor and victim of revenge pornography), both hoàng thùy linh and tấm rose up to put their name down in history. ending the song with the statement that they'll survive no matter how many times evil forces (the press/media) try to bring tấm/htl down. the creeking is just such an empowering and feminist anthem like i cannot stress enough. hoàng thùy linh is currently going through her 2nd hate train rn and i honestly wish her the best bc i fully believe she'll make it through this cycle of vilification again.

i truly love this song because even though hoang thuy linh is more popular for her tiktok hit see tinh (sped up) aka ting ting tang tang, her first full album Hoàng is literally a masterpiece full of songs based on Viet culture/folklores. THE viet pop album of the decade for me tbh.

8. I LOVE U - MANBO ft. NAMVEE

viet hiphop hasn't been on my rotation for a few months but i always trust manbo to deliver a good rap on a pop rock beat.

9. Building Outside The Building - TNT

while TNT is known for their youthful, hopeful, lovely music, it's these hard hitting songs that makes TNT music so attractive to me. cpop having better hard hitting songs than kpop these days is killing me. wishing i could steal all the cpop demos and send them to my fave kpop bgs.

10. Ponytail (KR version) - VANNER

my list of music recommendations can never be complete without a glitter gel pen song. THIS GLITTER GEL PEN BSIDE. petition to ask kpop boygroups to opt their glitter gel pen songs to be their title tracks more often.

no pressure tagging @weizhiyuan @poonmitpakdee @uppoompat @sherrymagic @supanuts

[the-priestess-of-dawn]

but you still matter: (grima x chrom) because the whole story turns on the memory of a friend

Tracklist + thoughts under the cut

1. Hollow - Cloudeater

I stay empty, I feel the hunger So simple when I was younger I awaken with the thunder A bold statement to end my slumber

2. Valentine's Day - Linkin Park

And the ground below grew colder As they put you down inside But the heartless wind kept blowing, blowing

3. Black Sun - Death Cab for Cutie

How could something so fair be so cruel When this black sun revolved around you?

4. When I Watch The World Burn All I Think About Is You (Demo) - Bastille

Oh, lay me down in ash again And watch the world crumble Oh, oh, oh, oh All I think about is you

5. Youth - Daughter

And if you're in love, then you are the lucky one 'Cause most of us are bitter over someone Setting fire to our insides for fun To distract our hearts from ever missing them But I'm forever missing him

6. Back to You - ROMAN

I hear your voice like a crash but It's only a whisper, it’s already fading I yell so loud at the world I'm lost in the shadows It's already fading

7. Echoes of You - Marianas Trench feat. Roger Joseph Manning Jr.

You know I tried to make it vanish I just want to make it vanish But the notes of an old mistake Still ring louder every day

8. Asking for a Friend - CHVRCHES

'Cause I filled my bed with my regrets But it hasn't killed me yet None of it mattered None of it mattered And the mess we made on Fridays Gave me Sundays on my knees But you still matter You still matter

Enjoy crying over Grima :::)

No but see, I was listening to my (large, disorganized) main Chrom/Grima playlist when I started thinking... you know, I could divide some of these songs into sub-categories... make some curated playlists focused on a particular theme...

So I decided to go with "Grima's eternal longing for their dead other half."

There's kind of a... not exactly a narrative, per se, but... a progression, I guess, with these songs. Starting at the beginning with Hollow, we have Grima's feelings of emptiness, of hollowness... and that's it. And then we have Valentine's Day, where it's like, okay, sure, Grima took note of Chrom's burial, but it's not THAT important. "The heartless wind kept blowing." (and what does it say that Robin was the wind at Chrom's back?). Moving on to Black Sun, we get to the idea that okay, maybe it was important, actually. Chrom was the center of Grima's world. His death was cruel. With When I Watch The World Burn All I Think About Is You we see a further concession. Fine, so Grima thinks about him constantly. They're destroying the world but he's what's on their mind. No big deal. But then we have Youth, and the reveal that burning the world down is really just "setting fire to our insides for fun, to distract our hearts from ever missing them." Then we have Back to You, where Chrom's voice is fading, Grima's very sense of self is fading, and no, it's not what they want. It's not. Echoes of You is a swelling of guilt. The remnants of memory, the echoes of Chrom, won't actually go away. And then, finally, we reach Asking For a Friend. Nothing that Chrom and Robin fought together for mattered. They made a mess of the world and failed to create peace, failed to save anybody at all, only brought ruin... but even though their story was a failure, it still mattered. To Grima, Chrom still matters. He never stopped mattering.

I remember reading a post here on tumblr a few years back (and I'm sure I'll never find it now, because well, you know how tumblr search is) about the value of tales that end in tragedy. How these stories tell us that even when our heroes fail, their journeys, their lives, nevertheless mattered. That they had an impact worthy of being shared.

And of course, me and my 24/7 Grima brainrot immediately thought...

Damn, did Grima ever ensure that Chrom mattered.