#like the writer forgetting/never knowing it

[luna-azzurra]

Okay, so… this is not a promo post (well, it sort of is), but mostly, it’s a huge THANK YOU. 💛

i don’t even know how to start this without crying a little, but here we go: thank you to everyone who’s been cheering me on, buying my books, leaving sweet messages, telling me how something I wrote actually helped you figure out a character or gave you that little spark again. 🥹

it’s been such a weird, beautiful, vulnerable ride putting these books out into the world. i wrote them because i was tired of reading the same lifeless writing advice, and i just wanted someone to talk to me like a real person about how to make characters that actually breathe. and now… here we are.

you’ve read them. you’ve messaged me. you’ve left reviews. and yeah, some of you even said “this made me feel like i wasn’t alone in this writing thing,” and honestly, that means more to me than I can put into words.

so if you’ve supported me in any way (bought a book, shared it, left a review, even just told a friend) thank you. i’ll never forget it.

and if you’re new here or still thinking about it… the books are for writers who want to write characters that feel more human, just honest help from one messy writer to another.

you can check out all my books here if you need them: [Just Click here - On Amazon]

also… if you’ve read one and haven’t left a rating yet, no pressure, but it would mean the world <3 *…*

love you all. seriously. thank you for helping me do this.

– luna 🌙✨

[witchy-scribblings]

holding you tastes like ambrosia

togame jo x reader

synopsis ➳ you may very well be feeling just as if a truck had run you over repeatedly, but togame is right there by your side to make your slow recovery a little more bearable.

warnings ➳ descriptions of vomit, sick af reader, cutie potato togame, sickness-induced self-deprecation, hurt/comfort, sickfic fluff aughh.

author's note ➳ @tata-is-the-name, consider this a tit-for-tat of sorts hehe: your prayers for togame sickfic fluff have been heard, and i get some motivation to get me through this shitty writer's block now that i finally got the motivation to get writing again. all jokes aside, i hope you feel better soon, know that togame def has your back!

wordcount ➳ 1.3k

[crossposted on ao3]

“ughhhh, fuck me sideways…” you groan into your trashcan, quite literally fighting for your life to suppress another oncoming wave of nausea, but the gagging refused to cease no matter how deeply you tried to breathe, and definitely no matter how little you had had to eat in the past twenty-four hours. heck, you were certain there was nothing left in your stomach anymore but it. just. kept. coming. “take pity on me and kill me now…”

“now, that wouldn’t be very nice of me, would it?” togame calls back from his seat by your bed. you wish you could focus on the way his hands are deftly peeling and cutting an apple into little bunny slices, because ever since you started dating -hell, way before you started, even- you had developed a sort of fixation with togame’s hands; alas, you feared that if you moved your head around too much you might actually die and, despite your whiny claims, the sweet embrace of eternal rest wasn’t on your 2025 bingo card, so you kept your head bowed and as close to the edge of the trashcan as possible. “only you could be so lucky to get double-teamed by a stomach bug and a cold.”

his voice was mocking, but you sensed no ill intention in his comment.

“you’re supposed to be here to help me, togame,” you whined, and he only chuckled, placing the sliced apple on your bedside table, which was already overflowing with crumpled tissues and empty half-a-litre water bottles.

“i am here to help you, otherwise i wouldn’t have run all the way here with your favourite chicken noodle soup from mr. satou’s, or two packs of waters,” he is teasing you now, but you won’t soon forget the concerned tilt in his voice when you called him a couple hours ago, when he asked you to hold tight, promising to be with you as soon as possible. togame jo could be a little shit sometimes, but deep down he would never joke around when your well-being was at stake.

you felt a little light-headed when your eyes finally met his over the rim of your trusty can (which you most likely are going to throw away when the whole ordeal is past you), feeling the surge of affection that may have been concealed behind the taunting drawl of his voice, but was always in plain sight and twinkling like a lighthouse inside his deep-green irises. fearful that the overwhelming devotion would result in your fever spiking, you resorted to glaring at the carefully-cut fruit with unintentional contempt. fuck, were you hungry, but the very thought of even putting something in your mouth made your throat constrict a little bit.

“come on,” he called, gentler than before, and you felt your eyes sting a little, “we can try with the apple now, and if you can keep it down i’ll heat up that soup for you. sounds good?” good? it sounded like a dream, to have your exemplary boyfriend right by your side through thick and, particularly, through thin. you wondered how he could look at your sweaty, probably shit-adjacent excuse of a human being with such tenderness in his eyes… surely, you must have been a saint in your previous life.

despite the warning bells ringing somewhere in your digestive system, you grabbed one of the slices with a shaky hand, bringing it up to your face in a motion so slow it may well have been a prisoner walking towards their sentence. for a second, you actually thought you could handle it, that you would soon appease your peckishness, but the moment your teeth tore through the slice and the apple’s sandy texture invaded your mouth, your stomach lurched and you threw yourself at the trashcan, gagging and gasping under togame’s worried stare. through the haze, you felt your hair being pushed from your sweaty forehead by a big, warm hand, the other one coming to the back of your head to keep your strands away from the mess and deliver comforting little caresses. 

when the nausea had passed, you hugged the tin container to your chest, eyes welling up with tears brought about by the forceful lurches and your increasing frustration. togame’s hands were still firmly on your head, and you were sure he could feel how grossly clammy and smelly you felt. your stomach turned from a different feeling altogether.

“i’m sorry you’re stuck taking care of me,” you sobbed helplessly, turning your head to the side so togame couldn’t see the mess of tears and snot and spit on your face. “i’m sorry you have to see something so disgusting when you could be enjoying your day off.”

your shoulders trembled with each sob, feeling the exertion and helplessness and self-disgust take over your body. you were regretting calling him here. how could you be so selfish? you may have been sick, but it’s not like you were dying, so why couldn’t you handle this on your own? you hadn't even been dating for that long, so seeing this must surely be a huge turn-off, wouldn’t it-

“come on, stop that.” and his voice is commanding in a way that pulls you from your spiral and makes you look at him. you realize then that he never removed his hands from your face, and now he was sliding one of them to cup your cheek while the other one grabbed a fresh tissue; the way he dabs at your soiled skin is so tender, so gentle, that you almost miss the stern look with which he is regarding your hunched shape. “there is nowhere in the world i would rather be right now, baby, if it means you will feel better sooner. i’m grateful you called me of all people when you needed someone - you trusted me with your health, and i will forever cherish that trust, even if it means i have to deal with a little bit of throw-up.”

as he spoke, he removed the can from your trembling arms, throwing the tissue and all of the trash from your bedside table into it before setting it to the side to wash in a minute. you gaped at him, unable to form words as they got stuck on the lump in your throat, but togame only smiled that boyish smile you had come to dub your favourite expression of his.

“if it didn’t mean you’d have to suffer throughout, i’d do this as many times as i needed to, and i would never complain, because at the end of it i would be able to see you smile again and feel proud about it because i helped in making it happen. so, please…” his hands were back, and so was his forehead, pressed against you in a similar fashion to how he had done it a couple hours ago when he tried to get a general feel of your fever. only this time, the touch felt much more intimate, much more meaningful, and you desperately grabbed onto his hands, surrendering yourself to a warmth that felt so much more welcome and temperate than the sweltering heat you were forced to bear. “...for now, focus only on getting better. we can try eating later, we can try as many times as it takes until you can be wholly by my side again.”

needless to say, you didn’t get a lot of food in your stomach that afternoon, but when togame slid his body under the covers and brought you as close to him as he physically could, you drowsily mused that you would never eat a morsel again if it meant togame would hold you like only you mattered in the whole world.

[esmedelacroix]

09 - People Who Need People

synopsis ! he’s an american football player by day and a passionate mathematician by night . she’s a well-rounded historian and writer who couldn’t evaluate a derivative to save her life . they lived in two different worlds but shared the same study room .

previous chapter | series masterlist

cw ! no use of y/n, y/n is _____, fluff, slow burn, college au, ooc sukuna, f!reader, child abuse/neglect, alcohol, angst, brief mention of self-harm, depressive tendencies

fic radio ! lacy by Olivia Rodrigo

You swore you would text him and try to talk about his apology and how much it meant to you. But things just kept getting in the way. You're eyelids were beginning to feel dry and heavy from your study session. Just as your eyes fell on your bed, you realized you could hear the birds chirping and the morning light peeking through your window. You pulled an accidental all-nighter and needed to get ready to go to office hours.

After that, you had two classes and got roped into helping out the club you allowed yourself to forget you were the leader of. It was only at the end of the day, when your friends somehow tracked you down at Sal's, you'd interacted with people that actually cared about the "How are you," beyond the faulty "I'm good," that always followed.

"Woah, _____, didn't expect to see you here so late," Satoru said, plopping down into the booth seat across from you alongside Shoko.

Suguru took the seat next to you and peeked at the book you were reading. "People still use physical textbooks?" he asked, flipping through some pages and then closing it, earning a glare from you.

"We haven't seen or heard from you all day, _____. We kind of assumed you were going to self-destruct and stop speaking to us for the next week and keep doing unnecessary work again, so we figured we would hunt you down," Shoko explained.

"I wasn't-" you started, only then realizing you hadn't spoken to anyone since the day prior, even though you had received a bunch of texts from people asking if you were okay after the party.

"Oh," you sighed, rubbing your hand down the side of your face.

"Yeah, oh."

"I'm so sorry. I keep worrying you guys," you guiltily apologized.

"It's totally not your fault, but just remember you need us as much as we need you. We're your friends, and we're here for you, and people need people to lean on. You need to let us be those friends for you," Suguru lectured.

"Now that we have that out of the way. What the heck happened at the party??" Gojo asked, jumping right into the drama. Shoko rolled her eyes, cutting him off, asking, "Wait, but everything's okay, _____?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," you half lied.

You could feel Suguru's prying eyes on you, like he was trying to deconstruct what you were actually thinking. He did that often. Picked up on things that others couldn't. He always watched. Always noticed. Always nudged your knee under the table and gave you that 'Are you okay?' look. He always fucked around in your room just to exist in the same space as you. He knew when you needed to be around someone or you'd drive yourself up a wall. And now he was staring at you, picking apart your expressions and seeing you for what you were actually feeling. Just like the way Sukuna has learned to.

To say that you never had a crush on Suguru was a lie. You had a tiny thing for him freshman year because of how overwhelmed you were with how good of a friend he was off the bat. You had never had anything like that in prep school. Suguru knew things about you that your own parents didn't. They didn't know when you were pretending to be happy, but he did. They didn't know you bounced your leg when you were nervous or giddy, and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the different bounces

Then you saw him look at his best friend. But he wasn't only looking and analyzing the way he did his friends. With Gojo, he wasn't simply trying to make sure he was okay; he was also looking to memorize him. For the split second he blinked, his eyes would miss him, so he retained the picture of his visage so that even when he closed his eyes, he would still see his face.

The way you once wanted Suguru to look at you because you had mistaken friendship for love was how Sukuna looked at you now. The moment Sukuna reentered your thoughts, you realized, as your eyes fell to the illuminated screen of your phone telling you it was 11:57, that you had forgotten to text Sukuna.

. . .

Sukuna returned to his escape. You would think that a guy with so many interests would maybe: throw himself at some games, or comics, or math problems, or sports. But when Sukuna was down, he simply did nothing. He clung to his bed sheets like adhesive from a discarded bandage left on skin for far too long. Not ripped off, but fallen because it was simply too tired.

He didn't speak to anyone. Who was there to speak to? He didn't have two parents who were present in his life like yours were. He had Toji but he had screwed things up with him and yelled at him about his relationship woes. That was laughable, seeing that Sukuan couldn't even get the girl he liked to speak to him. He was an ass and he pushed people away for a living.

So he drew his curtains, which were usually open, kept all lights off, door closed, and stayed melted into his bed. He stayed in his room. His safe place would keep him depressed forever. A singular wet sphere of salty liquid dribbled down his cheek, and he told himself that it was because he had yawned.

He figured sleep would be better. There was a place inside his mind where he could go and create a better life for himself, and he would much rather be there right now than in this room, thinking about all the reasons why he was alone that pointed back to him and his pitiful existence.

To make said magical dreams, he needed to think of something. Something he wanted badly. So naturally, the first thing he thought of was you. The house you probably lived in, the many pampering products you probably owned, the maid who cleaned up after you, and the kitchen cabinets you could open without the fear of seeing cockroaches crawl about in your tableware. Scatch that. You probably never stepped foot in your kitchen. You had people for that.

He thought about the parents you went home to. The ones that smiled and didn't hit. The ones that loved and kissed each other and didn't cheat and leave. The nice school you went to. All the other rich friends who liked you. Your perfect grades and your perfect reputation—I don't have a crush on _____, he suddenly realized.

I'm completely consumed with jealousy for her. I am obsessed. I saw her at office hours this morning, looking beautiful as ever, and I wished that I had the guts to go to office hours and ask for help. I saw her helping the club she runs while juggling the two classes we have together, and I was mad at myself for not being able to do the same.

Do I really like her? Or do I want to walk in her skin and be her?

His door then swung open. It was Toji. Of course it was. He looked around took in Sukuna's position, and even picked up on the wet patch on his pillow. Sukuna hadn't even realized he had been crying.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Toji calmly grunted.

Sukuna stayed silent, hidden under his comforter up to his neck, his eyes followed Toji, who simply sat at the edge of his bed. Toji's hand traveled under the sheets to find Sukuna's arms pulling them out and inspecting his forearms.

"Stop, I'm not doin' that anymore. You don’t need to check me like I’m a high schooler anymore,” he assured, still letting Toji calm his nerves by being able to see it for himself.

"Are you sure you're not going to, though? Do I need to check your drawers? Did she call from the center?" he pressed.

"No, God, I just—thought you hated me for the party thing," he admitted.

"Why would I hate you? You were right."

"What?"

"You were right. About all of it. I broke up with Delilah for real this time. I shouldv'e walked her home, and I was an ass for trying to piss you and Delilah off with _____. I’m sorry man. I’m an idiot,” he apologized.

“You were just pissing me off?!”

“ … Yeah? Did _____ not talk to you?” Toji questioned.

“I think she made it very clear she doesn’t want to speak to me at Sal’s. Even had Gojo stop me from entering the room. And she completely ignored the apology in the notebook. I thought that meant something,” Sukuna rambled.

“You must really like her huh?” Toji smiled softly.

Do I? “I don’t know,” he truthfully answered. Toji gave him a confused look.

“I just kind of realized that I’m kind of jealous of her,” he confessed. It felt so good to say it out loud.

“Two things can be true at once. I had no idea you were jealous but, I’ve heard the way you talk about her. We all see the way you look at her like a fuckin’ lost puppy. You like her, Ryo. So maybe you’re jealous of her wealth and her status, but I know you. I know your heart. And I know you like her,” Toji shrugged.

“I thought she liked me too.”

“After our conversation last night, me too. Apparently, she hadn’t even opened the notebook until last night. She didn’t even see your apology,” Toji explained.

“So, why hasn’t she talk spoken to me?” Sukuna though out loud.

With perfect fucking timing because the universe hates Sukuna, he revived a text. He intensely scrambled for his phone fishing in his sheets for it with the fervor of a teenager who had just gotten their sugar plum pussy flavored vape hidden at a sleepover.

You: Hey, can we talk?

Sukuna was now sitting up on his bed. Toji peering over his shoulder. “What are you gonna say?” he questioned.

Ryomen: I’m kind of a mess right now can I meet you somewhere?

“Wow, very venerable of you,” Toji half teased, proud that his friend was being a little more honest with his feelings.

You: I’m in your living-room right now…

Both Sukuna and Toji went straight into pick mode. “Why the fuck?” Toji mumbled.

I was at Sal’s with Gojo and wanted to return Toji’s jacket. I meant to text you today but I got distracted.

They looked at each other and communicated with their eyes.

Ryomen: I can chat but not my room’s a mess.

You: I dont care, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.

“I sensed some flirtatiousness in that didn’t you?” Toji asked hyping up Sukuna and patting his chest. He nodded getting a little excited and doing a little shimmy with Toji. They both cleared their throats after a while and zeroed in on the screen.

Ryomen: Come up when you’re ready then :)

“Why the fuck did you add a smiley face? She’s gonna think I’m a creep. That’s how that bitch ass, Gojo, texts in the group chat too,” Sukuna berated.

Toji left the room laughing. Before Sukuna could bolt out after him and punch his ass, you were standing at the door, looking up at the man slightly leaning against the door frame. “Was I interrupting something?” you asked hearing Toji’s laughs from down the hallway.

“Nah, just Toji being an idiot. Typical,” Sukuna rolled his eyes before stepping aside for you to enter the room.

“Alright, Ryomen, just because you have some clothes on the floor and Mountain Dews on your night stand doesn't mean your room is messy," you pointed out, sitting on his bed.

He sat beside you you and chuckled, "You're saying that but your dorm is probably perfect. Nice and clean and organized, pink shit everywhere ..."

"Nah its worse. I have half-finished drinks and unwrapped snacks on my nightsand, way too many Red Bulls on my work desk, and my bed is never made. You could also probably swim through the clothes on my floor right now," you shrugged.

"What."

"What? I can't be good at everything. I just happen to keep my spaces messy when I'm stressed out," you explained.

"Me too," he mumbled looking around his room.

Some silence invaded the space between you before you spoke up, "I'm sorry I didn't look at the note. I'm even more sorry I didn't text you today. I've been busy," you started.

"I should be the one apologizing, _____. I called you a name one should never call a woman. I'm sorry for calling you a bitch. No reasoning can dismiss the fact that I disrespected you.”

“Wow, thank you, Ryomen,” said quietly.

He let a soft sigh. Hearing his name roll off your tongue so beautifully brought Sukuna great comfort. The name he once hated now made him feel most at peace in this moment because you were the one saying it.

“If you still don’t want to forgive me-“ he started before you immediately cut him off, “No, I do. I did last night. Your note was so thoughtful and perfect. I genuinely just got caught up in my day. I wish you would have just told me you were trying to defend me day of. I’m sorry about the matcha by the way and not giving you a chance.”

“Well, this is awkward. I thought I was going to have to give you my first born child for you to tutor me and hang out again,” he joked, rubbing the back of his neck.

You laughed with him, and the two of you talked for a little longer. You absentmindedly began to pick up some clothes and place them in the hamper. Together, without even realizing it, you had cleaned his room, and it was no longer looking as cluttered as it was earlier.

“It’s still 8:00. Do you wanna hit up the library?” Sukuna randomly suggested.

“Possibly. I have my bag,” you shrugged, trying to hide the smile gracing your lips by turning away and facing the door.

Your efforts were lost on Ryomen because he could see your raised cheekbones from behind.

. . .

-> next part

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comment to be added to the taglist !

[alwaysshipping1]

A planned ship vs. an unplanned ship

After S4 of the Bear, I needed to vent a little and the result is this exploration of planned vs. unplanned ships.

A planned ship is a ship created from the outset of the show and built into its fabric (see Bridgerton, Outlander, Virgin River, New Girl, Castle, Bones, etc.). Two actors are hired to play romantic partners. Everyone knows from the get go.

As a viewer, you’re along for the safe ride knowing what couple you’re gonna get. Throw in a few foils, there are not many surprises. And don’t get me wrong, I can enjoy a good “planned ship”. At some point, your heart can only take so much pummeling and knowing what to expect can be a blessing. But oftentimes, planned ships can get formulaic, lack depth and feel forced, especially if the actors don’t have much chemistry. Because planned ships are so common on tv shows, it feels like “prestige” shows stick to their “platonic” discourse when two characters on their show actually exhibit a meaningful spark. Too many shows do it when their leads have no chemistry and the characters are a mismatch and "prestige" shows don't want to be seen as cliche.

Which brings me to The Bear’s Sydcarmy, the unplanned ship! Because I do believe they were unplanned.  An unplanned ship… It can hit like a drug when an unintentional ship just catches fire. You can tell it surprises everyone (writers, actors and fans alike). It can consume you! It makes every interaction between the characters feel loaded and that much more heightened. It can, and oftentimes, should change the trajectory of a show. LET IT RIP, you know? Of course, the stress of not knowing if that ship will sail isn’t for the faint of heart. When the unplanned ship doesn’t come to fruition, that knot in your stomach tightens and lodges itself up your ribcage and throat (am I the only one who feels that?).

I know these “prestige” shows just want to stick to their original story and not give in to what they feel is fan service. They say it’s “refreshing” NOT to have two leads together. But these unplanned ships are some of THE ABSOLUTE BEST because they develop organically and through the actors and characters’ chemistry. Some say Sydcarmy would be forced because “the two leads don’t always have to end up together” and they work together. In Sydcarmy, there are SO many beautiful and profound parallels, so much character development that has never quite reached its full promise or potential, so many dangling threads. Syd and Carmy’s fates seem so intertwined. Let's not forget that half the chef consultants on that show married their coworkers! Based on S3 and S4, Sydcarmy might seem like a mismatch but that’s only because, imho, the writers forced it so to further their preplanned narrative.

At the end of the day, these unplanned ships are loaded with heartbreak because it feels like half the time, they don't sail and shippers end up feeling gaslit. I’m tagging Sydcarmy because I’m in my feels right now, but SO MANY ships could be tagged.

If you're so inclined, tag the unplanned ship that consumed you (whether it sailed or not)! I see you and I’ve felt your pain. AlwaysShipping1 for a reason…

To fic writers and vid makers, thank you for your service!

[swetblom]

hii!! idk if you’re taking requests / ideas rn but i was wondering if u had any blurbs or anything in mind with brian and sugarcoat! reader? loved her introduction and needed to see more 💗

been gone for a while! had some crazy writers block but i can definitely give you something to build your little requests on!

you’re just as attentive as he is. he’s all quiet knowing—watches from afar and leaves sweet gifts you swear you only mentioned once. maybe not even out loud. you see every twitch, every uneasy shift when someone annoys him. the way his smile tightens when someone smiles too long at you. so, of course, you notice his behavior. a weird cut on his knuckle that he waves off—“cut myself at work,” he says. a night where he’s too still, too quiet, and you can feel the way he’s listening for the news to say something specific. that one time he forgot to hide the look in his eyes—that dead calm—when someone bumped into you too hard at a bar.

most would run, tell the cops. that’s a human feeling. but you? no. you don’t bat an eye when the rug in the hallway in front of your apartment door changes. gone one morning, replaced by a new one the next day. you just run your toes over the edge and say, “didn’t know you had opinions about rugs.” he shrugs, offers a short smile then presses a small kiss to your head to almost make it forget about it. not even when, you come home to a new lock on the door—one you didn’t ask for. one he never brings up. you notice, of course. not because you need a key but because the key for the new one was already hooked in placement on your keychain where the other one was before. you just kiss his cheek and say, “thinks that one’s sturdier.”

you’re simply too loyal to budge. the cat kind. you rub up against danger because it’s yours. you stay because it makes you feel alive. you like being chosen by someone who could break you, but doesn’t— and who might break others for you.

there’s one night—it’s a bad one. you can feel it the moment brian walks through the door. his body’s loose the way it gets when he’s keeping tension out of his voice. his smile is wrong—too soft at the corners, too much breath behind it. he tells you dinner smells good, kisses your cheek, lets you lean into him—but his eyes are elsewhere. you don’t ask. you never do.

you just tuck yourself into him while you eat, keep your voice low, soothing, all casual sweetness and laughter like sugar on your tongue. he doesn’t laugh, not really. just hums here and there.

later, in bed, the lights low, you both lie still—waiting for sleep to take over. “i miss you when you’re not here like this,” you say softly. you don’t look at him when you say it. not yet. you just keep tracing slow, lazy shapes on his chest with your nail. half-hearts, circles.

he’s silent. his glaze shifts from the ceiling fan above to you (the top of your head). trying to see if this is a trap. trying to figure out how much you know. “and what,” he says eventually, low and even, “do you think I’m doing when i’m not here?”

there’s no warmth in the question. no venom either. it’s the sound of a man preparing for loss. you shift to look at him and your eyes are so damn soft, it cracks him—a little.

“nothing i want you to explain,” you say, voice like a lullaby. “whatever it is, brian, I don’t care.” you smile, a little wicked. a little dreamy.

you move closer, mouth grazing the shell of his ear as you whisper: “you’re careful. you’re sweet to me. you love me the way i want to be loved. that’s all that matters.” then, quieter: “I don’t care what you do. just come back to me.” then you kiss his ear, right at the top, almost to seal it.

his hand, slides down your back and ghosts over your hips as you pull back to get a look at him. he’s chasing your eyes, trying to see if there is something malice— anything. but he fails. his breath shortens, he doesn’t know what it’s like to be chosen like this.

“you should care,” he says, calculated.

you shake your head, lips brushing his. “but i don’t. i chose you.” you kiss him softly, cupping his lips with yours.

the next night, he’s a little earlier then usual. you’re just happy to see him, he shrugs his jacket off and meets you at the couch. he flops down and instantly opens his arms to you which you happy move into, putting your legs over his. “not gonna shower?” you take him in as he looks at the tv in front of you. as your eyes meet his neck, you notice it—a faint spatter of something dark at the collar of his shirt. “not yet,” he replies, tugging your legs further up his legs. you tug at the hem of his shirt, “take this off.” he looks at you, slightly confused but sits up and lets you pull it over his head anyway.

“i smell that bad?” he grins. you shake your head and lift the shirt to show him the blood on the collar. without another word, you stand from the couch and walk to laundry room. he mentally scowls at himself. It’s not often he makes mistakes like that. he has to admit—he was distracted, still thinking about your voice from the night before. the way you said I chose you like it was simple. like it meant something permanent.

he hears the doors open of the washing machine open and close then start again before the pitter-patter of your feet come to him. you flop back onto the couch and curl right back up to him. he doesn’t say anything for a moment. just stares at you, his chest quiet, his eyes caught on your profile like you’re something unreal. “how lucky am i?” he questions to himself. “lucky as hell,” you smile, smashing your lips onto his.

[riteliso]

ALRIGHT SO

Here's how we're doing things, right? We're gonna go one episode at a time, and I'm gonna give my thoughts whenever they come up. This is a train of thought type beat, alright? Unlike my usual grandstanding authorial and analytical self, this re-watch is purely for the rant factor. If you don't know me, and you just happened upon this thread because you like reading she-ra rewatches, hello. I'm a writer from Canada who found she-ra in 2025 and is currently on her sixth watch through. From that, hopefully you can discern that I like this show, even if I'm likely gonna criticize parts of it. We good to go? Good. We start with S01 E01.

RIGHT, THE SWORD PART 1! A zoom in, with an angelic singing being drowned out by digital bloopy fright zone vibes, and then Adora being a fuckin dweeb as her leitmotif plays in a decidedly crystiline synth-y tone.

Now, what do we learn from this? This, aside from one gripe I'll have more to speak on later, is an excellent introduction. With the music alone we're essentially taken from the beauty of the planet, the overwhelming dread of the fright zone, and then into a hopeful tune that isn't FREE from these sort of digital themes in the music, but is very defined and separate FROM them.

This isn't gonna be one of those things where I praise literally every single fuckin thing so keep your panties on, I'm not gonna full-on overanalyzing avatar this shit, but the most important parts of a story are the beginning and the ending.

Now, when I say that, I am speaking pragmatically. Every part of every story is important-- but when it comes to what people remember, what they love, what they never shut up about-- it's the start and the end. You need to nail the take-off and the landing, people will forget the turbulence from the rest of the trip.

Now, what does THIS bitch's intro tell us about her? Well, a lot, honestly. Most of what we know about Adora at this point is she plays by the rules, but she is a notably goofy person. She's goofy, but she's unwilling to goof-OFF too much.

And while we get a taste of the rivalry they have instantly, with "That's low, even for you." "You know nothing's too low for me~"

We instantly see that that is not the CORE of their relationship.

I'd like to praise the voice direction in this show for the first of many times here. The voice actors do amazing work in this, and the direction can be felt throughout.

"Come on, you look stupid hanging there" can obviously be a seen as a strange first line to show the warmth these two share, but the inflection from Catra's voice actor, AJ Mikalcha, makes it read as downright sweet.

Also don't get used to me using names of the crew besides ND Stevenson because I'm so awful with names I was still calling Catra Katara half the time on my second re-watch and I was like 90% of the way to realizing I kinned her at that point

Also don't make fun of me for kinning Catra there's no RESPONSE to people making fun of you for kinning Catra THAT DOESN'T MAKE YOU SEEM MORE LIKE FUCKING CATRA OKAY

Anyway, the following scene makes it clear that this is not a one-way dynamic. The two banter, and it's clear Adora knows how to get under Catra's skin and annoy her as well. This is notable in a few places MUCH further on, but it is a difference worth highlighting NOW.

Once Adora leaves, Catra's primary goal is still to get under her skin. She's angry about it, she's mean about it, but she's still just doing what she's always done. The relationship between the two doesn't actually change as much as the context does. I'd say the relationship itself doesn't change much until the final season, at a scene I'm sure I'll have a lot to say about.

On the flip-side, Adora's goal when it comes to Catra is simply to fight her off. But that's not all there is. At points, it's clear that Adora holds some sort of REVERENCE for Catra, and while Catra is very capable of very mean things, don't get me wrong, Adora sees Catra as more of a threat than she realistically is.

At a few moments I'll point out she also relishes in getting under Catra's skin, but admittedly those are few and far between.

People have gone over this introduction billions of times, so I won't BORE you to death with it, but Shadow weaver's introduction does hint at a lot of what we'll learn later. I think it's very notable that while Shadow weaver brings a dark gloom that encompasses both our leads, her vile tendrils only dare to touch Catra. We learn the specifics of the dynamic these three have later, but it is a very unique and terrible situation to be the least favourite of an abusive guardian. Especially if you are repeatedly reminded of that fact.

I'm not gonna go over all the body language shit I've seen other text posts about it there's plenty of them a lot of focus in this show goes into tiny details where characters are constantly reacting to the world around them, and very rarely do we get lame stretches where anyone's face is just frozen and unflinching while they listen to someone else.

with all due respect to the setting at this point in time the bright moon rebellion is so pathetically anemic it's the two teens, some movie night lesbians, an immortal princess queen, and a bunch of fucking trees.

And you'd think the one carrying the team would be THE IMMORTAL PRINCESS QUEEN, BUT NO, ITS THE FUCKING TREES DOING ALL THE GOD DAMNED WORK

This introduction is fine. I don't particularly like it, nor have any strong feelings about it. It establishes the relationship between glimmer and her mother, but besides that it doesn't honestly do much. And don't come at me with "Uh, all it needs to do is establish that relationship?" Yeah, no shit, but we just had a better introduction to our other lead characters. And yes, those are the MAIN leads, the sort of heart of the show, but that doesn't mean that the other characters are unimportant. Glimmer's development later on is truly interesting, and Bow becomes a massively inspiring character. Fun jokey times are fine or whatever to show that they're immature and don't know the first thing about war, in contrast to our full-blown child soldiers raised from birth in the fright zone, but we really don't learn anything particularly INTERESTING about our best friend squad compadres in their intro, nor do we really see any of it until episode 2, to be frank.

This is something we don't actually see much of-- Catra has this ideal of being a conqueror, but it's very clear that she doesn't want that. Her threats are vapid and aimless-- She can enjoy some chaos, sure, but a shit-stirrer isn't gonna use that feces to build brick shithouses that they never intend to fall.

I think this should have been elaborated on more, personally. Catra is comically terrible with authority, and her plan, as stated later, is to wait it out until her and Adora are the ones calling the shots. But we don't really see what she thinks conquering even looks like, and it's not clear whether that's that she hasn't even imagined it and just likes evil words, or if she genuinely wants to rule with Adora as her Queen.

I gravitate towards the first, but that's partially because I wake up and post shit like "I want to destroy the world and rule its dust" and then forget I posted it when someone likes it 5 minutes later. If she do, in fact, as studies point toward, "be just like me fr," then I fully understand. If not, then I'd like to understand.

aw :(

Fuckin dweeb pulling the "my mom doesn't want me hanging out with you anymore" card

HA! Ah, what a bitch. Anyway, she's lashing out, but it's also quite tragic. A lot of people seem to think Adora IS, in some way, a people pleaser, but in reality she just has such an ingrained and violent sense of justice that she wants to right every wrong she has ever and will ever come across. She believes her validity is tied to what she can provide to the world, and she's got a natural sense of charisma, so it's natural for someone who refuses to blend in and naturally tends to put people off like Catra to have this view of her.

In reality, Adora is just-- a good person. And people LIKE good people. She's not a good person with an asterisk-- a good person with terms and conditions-- someone who falls into the definition of a good person while feeling and being treated like something else. Catra is the "a tomato is a fruit" of good people. Adora is just, like, a 1 dollar costco hotdog of a woman. An inarguable good treading water on this earth, no matter how hard it tries to pull her under.

Imagine falling for a brat with mad hops, like a fucking 50 foot vertical, you say you're too tired to play their favourite board game and they go hang out on your neighbour's roof, couldn't be me. Get fucked I guess

Yeah this is sad. Empathy is very much a learned skill, and people who don't learn empathy don't GET happy FOR people. Catra's not a complete person yet. She's not ready to be. That doesn't happen for a really long time, during an exceptionally long manic spiral. We'll get there, calm down, don't think about how far away that is and how much I've already yammered on.

Anyway, if you find yourself getting jealous or annoyed instead of getting happy for people, consider empathy isn't what you thought it was, and that you might still need to work on yourself.

fucking porno framing. Immensely sexual image, really. These bitches violently gay I suppose, I think I'm picking up on that during this sixth re-watch.

Buddy you got no idea how many problems those two already have you literally lose your little tiara at some point I think it ends up in the middle of a tree in space or something it's kinda unclear

Adora elbows her square in the nose during this so to everyone accusing Catra of physical abuse I just want it to be clear that Adora started it :/

Actually I'd like to retract that joke immediately because I know how people get about these two

My feelings are that they are literally child soldiers who were likely raised sparring each-other.

I was raised sparring other children and I ended up fine! Not for war, for Karate. And I didn't end up fine. And neither did they. Anyway, my point isn't even specifically that because this is sci-fi fantasy it's ridiculous to hold real life standards to it, it's more-so that because it's sci-fi fantasy there's extenuating circumstances that are going to affect how these two characters treat each-other. I'll go into hotter takes later, I'm sure, and get people to send me plenty of death-threats, but I'm gonna go into the nuances of exactly what forms Catra's abuse takes, and how it differs given by the separate circumstances we're shown the two in throughout the show.

my girl when I'm tryna live my best life playing as blue toad in mario 3d world

also holy shit we're only like halfway through this I am an AGONIZING yapper jesus fuck

Okay, what to say about lighthope-- well, their first words are "balance must be restored," far before they say Adora's name, so it somewhat lays out their secret priorities for us there. Besides that, I dunno, they got circuits on them? I don't have particularly strong feelings about lighthope, nor their introduction. I think they serve the setting and are written well, I just subjectively am not a sucker for the way they be. Their friendship with Mara is cute tho

I was gonna point out this is cute and how often I do this exact brat tactic but instead we data moshin, nothin wrong with a little data moshin, I'm down

This is the only reason she even wears a ponytail I'd stake my fuckin life on it

Once she leaves the fright zone that thing's fucking vestigial like a tailbone or having "any pronouns" in your bio when it's pretty clear you're very much a "she/they" type of bitch by now

glimmer why don't your windows have glass

or alternatively

how the fuck do you open and close that window

you can absolutely fucking hear her from this distance what on earth are you trying to pull

you a pillow princess tho how many of those arrows are just hitatchi magic wands attatched to a stick with duct-tape after the series ends do you think

The fuck you mean BOTTOM drawer we lookin at left and right here

or is this similar to my pillow princess comment and she's just addressing him and giving him an order

"Bottom; drawer."

It's established later on that he's a tech wiz but at this point in time they don't really give us much to lead us to the fact that he made that fucking thing

she's a freak

yes it's very sweet that she sleeps this way but I don't think it's some bdsm powerplay thing or anything like that, which would honestly be more tolerable, I think she's just like that

like how the way I'd sit in high school was to get two chairs and face them toward each-other then sit cross-legged across both

even if there weren't enough chairs to go around

people would sit on the FLOOR because I wanted to sit criss-cross-applesauce across two chairs, they wouldn't even ask for one of my chairs

also since I was sitting, again, cross-legged, it would have made more sense for ME to sit on the floor

I mean I think I got asked ONCE for one of the chairs and I just said "fine" but besides that people just let me sit on my fuckin throne

She really is kinda dumb, though. Like I ain't complaining, it's a character trait, but like obviously even if just you get in trouble Catra's gonna get blamed, you've seen it like at least once a month for your whole entire life

Mind you, can't really have Catra for the next part, because Catra's reaction to Bow and Glimmer wouldn't be "just let me have the sword" it'd be murder

oh wow we hit the image limit looks like we're doing TWO SEPARATE POSTS FOR THE VERY FIRST EPISODE YEE-HAW!!!!! THIS IS GOING TO TAKE ME FUCKING FOREVER

[itsbenedict]

question for writers, after finishing a long and involved story where you became very attached with the characters, did you ever felt the temptation to revisit those characters? maybe not in a sequel but perhaps a short story or scene, but decided against because it would feel disrespectful to the ending of the story?

Oh absolutely. I have this whole outline for like, a Cordyceps sequel where it turns out that the elephant's- uh, spoilers:

-that the elephant's effect wasn't just an alien bioweapon to kill you, but an alien bioweapon to brain-scan, kill, and clone-kidnap you to an interrogation facility.

So the story is like... the space empire that created this weapon? Already won the war it was designed to win. The interrogation facility? Generally regarded as a Guantanamo Bay-type moral horror by the civilian population. They had to keep it open because the elephant spread more than intended and they kept receiving occasional scans, and it'd be kind of a humanitarian crisis not to instantiate the victims.

This has mostly quieted down- except there's a problem where there's one strain of the elephant out there somewhere that's infected a species whose neurology allows them to contain and reverse the effects, with the right treatment. And as a result, they keep getting clones of the same people from them every time they get treated. Whenever there's the occasional reset in a Shelhart facility, another clone pops up, not knowing anything except their name and core biographical details. They're legally not allowed to not decant them, and in fact the process is automated, and

specifically, they just got like fifteen amnesiac clones of Arc in the last 24 hours, and their skeleton crew of tired social workers has been unable to stop the facility by being completely overrun by a gaggle of angry paranoid motherfuckers and thrown into total chaos.

The Elephant Never Forgets would be a clusterfuck of alien politics, immigration bureaucracy, clone ethics, and probably one or two actual complicated conspiracies for the Arcs to jump to even more complicated incorrect conclusions about. It would probably be extremely funny and enjoyable to write.

But.

This would totally undercut the tragedy of the original ending, yeah! And it'd be more fanfic than sequel- I don't have a great twist in mind or anything in particular it'd be building to. So I decided against it.

[valravn-nova]

No one: The plot of Robin #112-#115:

Some stills below(low quality)

[dennisboobs]

:) i certainly have no issue dressing in drag :)

^guy who has no issue dressing in drag btw

glenn said that dennis' drag name is victoria von hemen btw

(Source)

[ervikirvi]

“Now I know what you’re thinking— I don’t want a career in fast food! I want to be a comic artist! And eventually launch my own manga-inspired webcomic! And it’s cool to have dreams, but you also need to remember that they’re completely unrealistic, and YOU need to stop trying.” -Gangle

I don’t think a community has ever related to a character more than this, myself included. I think about this line constantly, and I have seen posts of other TADC fans posting about Gangle and how relatable she is when it comes to her art career. Which made me think about how many of us as a community are struggling as a majority of artists to find a crowd who cares and supports you. But can’t because of an algorithm or not being able to find your crowd or for whatever other reason you may have.

So I want you to put a link to the art you want me to follow and interact with. Heck! It doesn’t have to be your own! You might know somebody and their art that you want to give attention to. It doesn’t even have to be drawings, it can be writings, it can be music, it can be whatever. I may be one person, but I want this community to flourish. It’s funny whenever I accidentally stumble upon the author of a fanfic I read months ago. It’s fun finding the artists to works I saw on Pinterest (who didn’t bother to give credit 😤), or even just knowing who made the art by username just from the art style alone. It’s entertaining just talking to people who are passionate about their theories!

Maybe I am just rambling on for a bit about something you guys are too shy or too caught off-guard to do. But I DO want to get to know you guys! I joined Tumblr because I wanted to see more art between Kinger and Queenie, now I want to stay for the only part of the community that actually feels alive. So I ask you, please, send me a link to your work and I’ll follow you. I want to see more of TADC on my feed than anything else.

Sending Virtual Hugs to all 🫂

(I also encourage you to take a look at everyone who gives their link 👀 Support each other, that’s what will strengthen our community and others)

[theaxolotlkween]

lol au where Rex and Noah were friends during the Nanite Project.

[qcomicsy]

I have the controversial opinion that maybe, just maybe we stop wanting to go after people with pitchforks for getting characters wrong and not reading the comics inviting them to easy and accessible ways of and making our own content with comic accurate representation

people might feel less anxious about starting comics and misinformation won't spread as easily

[weregonnabecoolbeans]

You know what!?!?!

I don’t want to see Cody before TBB finale

Why? You might ask

Well it’s because of the overwhelming sense of dread that has been growing within me the closer we get to the end

If he isn’t there…then he can’t be harmed and I can live in blissful ignorance

[sexiestwerewolf]

DR S2 SPOILERS//

"Dragons can be ninja?"

"We cannot train non-dragons,"

Lloyd who's part dragon and who's grandfather was half dragon and literally the first ninja:

[the-oracle-of-the-lost]

Severance has really got me thinking about the ethics of sentient holograms in Star Trek. it's not quite the same thing as splitting someone's memories and treating one version of them as "not real" but it's still essentially creating aperson and expecting their entire existence to revolve around work and serving others. like The Measure of a Man was entirely about establishing that if a being is sentient then they have the right to consent and make choices about their own life and the Federation seemed to eventually agree that androids fell under that category. but then they turned around and immediately invented a new category of non-person to force to work without granting them free will and no one seems to acknowledge that this could maybe be a little ethically dubious.

[shepcdr]

i've been so incredibly scatterbrained as of late and i gotta get my butt back to writing. it's been my goal to talk and write with everyone i'm mutuals with, but the last time i properly reached out to all my mutuals was in february... just to help me organise my thoughts and jump back on that train, i'm putting this out as a plotting/starter call !!

aka i'll run into your dms, strike up plot ideas — or revitalise old chats that i've forgotten about — and write you something. does not matter if we already have threads or not. and if i've already been in your dms and forgot about them, feel free to treat this as a 'jude im in yr DMs' reminder button... or if i promised to write you smth and then didn't... 😅 or if you want to poke me abt a certain thread you're specifically waiting on. feel free to remind me here!!

i will crawl through my mutuals list eventually and reach out again to everyone regardless of whether you like this or not, but i'll start with these!

and re: my writing style... i occasionally try and wing it! love to see where a thread goes, love to send out memes and get them (though i'm trying to limit myself on both until i catch up with drafts again). but overall, i do lean more plot-oriented and would love to throw down ideas or at least introduce ourselves and then determine a simple setting/basic starter thread idea before getting into it!

we don't need to talk about everything and plan out the entire world/rship, but i like to have possibilities to swirl around in my brain, and shepard can be such a closed-off character in the start that it helps a lot ... + the fact that he has such a specific narrative arc emotionally and mentally means he can seem entirely a different person depending on which game of the trilogy we're talking. it helps to know which one you're most interested in writing within, and what we vibe with best — and, if your muse knows shepard throughout the trilogy or at least throughout m.ass effect 1 and 2, that change is something they have to navigate, and i'm always super down to help explore that!