#2023 will be the year of finishing all that is unfinished

[jadelotusflower]

Lois Lane Costume Appreciation (Smallville seasons 4-5)

So in my recent* Smallville rewatch I had a whole new appreciation for the costuming, and in particular, my girl Lois and her colour story/clothing complementing Clark’s in different ways. We often see Lois and Clark wearing somewhat similar clothes - usually both in jeans, t-shirt, and jacket combo in either red or blue, with Clark in one colour while Lois is in the other. But I was particularly intrigued by yellow as the third element of the Superman triad, and while we don’t see Lois wear yellow as much as she does red and blue (or pink and white in the latter seasons) but it seems she is associated with yellow at pivotal moments in her character arc and relationship with Clark.

Standard caveat that I think a lot of this was intentional, but some things are probably me just reading into things and choosing to find meaning in in the visual storytelling. Additional caveat that red-yellow-blue was the standard colour palette of the show and the mise-en-scene relied heavily on this - particularly in the early to mid seasons - so it's certainly not exclusive to Lois and some examples may be coincidence.

But let’s talk yellow! (Expanding on this post)

Yellow is Earth’s sun Sol (in contrast to Krypton’s red sun Rao), the source of Clark’s abilities. It’s the heart of the Superman shield:

It’s the colour associated with the Crystal of Fire, one of the three components that make up the crystal that builds the Fortress of Solitude and houses the knowledge of the 28 known galaxies. The Crystal of Water (transference/transformation) is blue, and the Crystal of Air (symbol of the House of El) is red:

Fire is light and warmth; it can purify and cleanse. The crystal of fire had healing abilities, it's what restored Clark's powers in 4x08 Spell, and throughout the series, when Clark is injured and then healed by the sun, it's often accompanied by a yellow light.

The Crystal of Fire was also found in 4x01 Crusade where Lois first appears: as Lex unearths the crystal in Egypt, Lois comes across Clark (in the form of Kal-El) in a cornfield. (In what is likely a coincidence, Lois will return to Egypt in 10x01, and it's there she makes the decision to commit to Clark in 10x02, and she is possessed by the Egyptian goddess Isis in 10x05).

Yellow the colour of the Kent farmhouse, Clark’s home, as well as the kitchen (hearth) of the house. It's the flowers in the front yard that also draw their life from Earth's yellow sun (the barn is red, the sky is blue).

So basically yellow = healing/home = Clark's heart = Lois.

This kicks off in 4x02 Gone, where Lois wears Clark's red and plaid shirt, the first of several times Lois will wear his clothes over the course of the series. Clark is in a blue check, and it's notable that we first see them collectively in Superman colours for the first time when they are both together in the Kent house (in the yellow kitchen).

In 4x03 Facade Clark wears the same shirt that Lois borrowed, and Lois has a yellow top under her jacket (also note the blue blanket in the background of the barn).

We then see the same (or a similar) top without the jacket in 4x04, Devoted, where Clark and Lois banter and engage in some prolonged eye fucking eye contact. In this scene the primary colours are right there bright and bold, leaving no doubt that we've just been introduced to the Superman endgame.

Now, there may be an in-universe reason why Lois is wearing yellow here - it follows a football game, and yellow is one of the colours of Smallville High. However, Lois isn't exactly the school spirit type and she was wearing this top in the previous episode, so there's no doubt in my mind this was intentionally symbolic.

This is the final episode of Lois’s introductory arc, the end of the beginning, and a glimpse of the future.

We don't see Lois again for a while (and she spends most of 4x08 possessed by a witch). The next one might not count, but her cute breakfast themed pjs in 4x13 Recruit include red yellow and blue (and pink, a colour that becomes more symbolic for Lois in the latter seasons):

Sidebar, but Lois and her parade of themed pajamas delights me so much!

This is also the episode of an iconic save, where Clark goes all WHERE IS SHE on the freak of the week, and rescues Lois from drowning.

In 4x16 Lucy we don't get yellow in the costuming, but at the end of the episode Lois and Clark grow closer, acknowledging that they're now friends, accompanied by some more prolonged eye contact. Clark then looks through his telescope a a yellow shooting star passing between a red star and blue star (to the background of Mark Joseph's Fly ("written in the wind...now it all begins..."), intersecting with a meteor in an explosion of light, much like Lois has barrelled into Clark's life, setting him on a new course towards his destiny.

This show, honestly!

Next is 4x21 Forever, where Lois has found some sleeves for her job at the Talon (which is heavy on the yellow/Egyptian decor), and Clark of course is in red and blue:

Clark's shirt is not the same one that Lois wears earlier in the season, but Lois does wear this shirt later in the series, so she certainly has a thing for Clark's red and yellow plaid!

As Lois and Clark investigate Chloe and Lana's disappearance, she puts on an orange jacket (orange is another interesting Lois colour - a mix of red and yellow that pops up at interesting points in their relationship).

It's telling that Lois very rarely wears prints - she's into bold, block colours, and other than plaid, so is Clark - they often wear complementary costumes, and/or are mirror images (or close to it) of each other, both in the colour and style of their clothes.

I'm not saying this is soulmate behaviour, but this is absolutely soulmate behaviour!

We don't see Lois in yellow again until season five.

Now I know there was a lot of criticism levied at the show for Lois's relationships with A.C. and then Oliver, but honestly I don't really mind - let Lois be a slut in charge of her sexuality! There is no shame here for a girl who attracts would-be superheros, and goes after what she wants. GTFO with "Lois goes through the Justice League" misogynistic line of thinking.

In 10x09 Mera alleges Lois is attracted to power, but I think it's more she's drawn to strength of character, as well as people who challenge her - characteristics Clark shares, and where Lois doesn't quite fit with A.C. and Oliver, she will fit with Clark. What's interesting is that yellow pops up here, but in ways that aren't quite in sync.

In 5x04 Aqua we have Lois in a red swimsuit and Clark in blue shorts, and she is lain a yellow towel when she is saved by AC.

Then as A.C. and Lois get closer, she wears a blue and yellow suit (so collectively, she owns swimming outfits in Superman colours) and then a blue t-shirt but pink shorts. AC also wears orange and green (Aquaman colours), so while we have the yellow and blue, we also have pink and orange which are on the same spectrum but not red - close but things aren't quite right.

Other than the straps on Lois's suit, yellow is also present in the scene with the flowers, and the stripes on the cup (the Kent family mugs are often yellow as well!). Clark is present in the scene long before he walks in on Lois and A.C. kissing - kicking off a pattern where Clark is suspicious/annoyed by the men Lois dates.

At the end of the episode we get Clark in red, Lois inbBlue, and the helpful yellow of the barn props, as Lois wonders how she's ever going to meet a guy that wants to save the world, not own it, and Clark assures her one day she'll meet someone even more special than A.C. The anvils, they be dropping!

This one may be a stretch, but Lois is wearing a light yellow top in the early scenes of 5x06 Exposed aka the episode where Lois poses as a stripper and gives Clark a lapdance, but perhaps more importantly where Lois flexes her investigative skills, first by boldly challenging Detective Sawyer, and then helping Chloe track down a serial killer. We often see Lois in yellow when she's making steps towards her journalistic career.

Next up we have 5x08 Solitude, where Lois is working at the Talon, and we get a very direct Superman costume reference with Lois's top and apron with the Talon logo in yellow where the Superman crest would be.

That Lex is really amused by Lois is delightful to me! I wish that they'd let them share more screentime!

She decides to take down Lex in this episode, and in doing so ultimately helps Chloe uncover Milton Fine's true motives - arguably without Lois she never would have been able to save Clark in the Fortress and Martha would also have died. It also sets up the future Lois and Lex dynamic and her quest to expose his criminal behaviour.

So shame on anyone who says Lois doesn't serve a purpose in these seasons or that she's "not iconic Lois yet". She's not meant to be! She's on a journey, just like Clark is.

There's also this jacket in 5x10 Fanatic and I can't decide if it's a very light yellow or not, but this is when Lois becomes Jonathan's campaign manager, integrating even further into the Kent family. While I don't agree that Clark and Lois had a "sibling dynamic" in these seasons (I'm sorry, siblings don't stare at each other like they do!), Lois was in many ways a surrogate daughter to Jonathan and Martha - they immediately took Lois under their wing, believed in her, championed her, and she in return was ride-or-die for the Kent family.

In 5x20 Fade we continue the pattern of Lois in yellow when there's a romantic interest for her that Clark takes issue with, although in this case he's right as the guy is a hitman. Clark wears a light blue shirt, while Lois is in a red dress with yellow/gold straps - the lighting is also extremely unsubtle:

Incidentally, this is also the episode where Clark accidentally sees Lois naked.

Later in the episode Lois also wears a yellow top and blue jacket, and in a deleted scene it's actually Martha who picks this outfit for her after Lois says "if you ask me, [Clark] needs to finish the chapter on Lana, turn the page, start dating again." It's a very sweet scene, and the future mother-in-law vibes are strong as Martha says, "If I'd had a daughter, I'd want her to be just like you."

Also important to note that Martha is wearing red in this scene, and there is a later scene that was not cut, in which Martha tells Lois rather anviliously "maybe you have to get through all the wrong men, so you can recognise the right one."

Martha choosing yellow for Lois, as if unconsciously knowing what it means, it actually something that it so personal. Also, the face of a woman who knows her worth.

Speaking of anvils, there dropping all over in 5x21 Oracle, where Lois wears yet another yellow top for Clark's birthday, and made him a red and blue cake with yellow candles - and we see later in the episode that the inside of the cake is yellow as well.

Lois also gives Clark a red and blue journal with his initials in gold, wrapped in paper that's red on one side and yellow on the other, with red yellow and blue ribbons. It's actually an adorable gift, and it's a shame there was never see Clark writing in it.

Now, how many yellow tops does Lois own? I actually think this one is the same as in 4x21, so with the one above and the tank top that's at least three (plus the bikini), which is not an insignificant number!

But wait, I spoke too soon, because Lois is wearing another yellow top when she and Lana walk in on Clark rifling though the dorm room later in the episode - there's a different neckline/bodice to any of the previous tops, but I wonder if this is a continuity error because when Lois confronts Clark in the loft later on it once again looks like the top from the opening scene.

Or maybe not? Her hair is obviously different, but I'm not even sure it's the same jacket? The lapels don't look quite the same either, maybe it's not even meant to be the same day.

Lois just chose extremely similar outfits I guess!

The scene in the loft is the infamous "piggybank" conversation, where Clark says, "There are times when I think you don't know me at all, then others when I think you know me better than anyone."

I mean? I MEAN?!?!?!?!

Clark is also holding the journal Lois gave him, which is a nice touch. This is ripe for fanfic potential (if it's already been done, drop a link!).

That's it for the first two seasons of Lois, stay tuned for part 2!

*Recent when I first started putting this post together several years ago, it's been sitting in drafts for an embarrassingly long time. In fact, such a long time, I've completed another Smallville rewatch since then (hence the impetus to finally finish and post this).

[sluckythewizard]

these are A BIT OLD but uhhh here check out these aggio doodles i did forever ago. still VERY happy w my colors :3

[doggyspeakart]

2023 art summary:

(okay technically not from every month and some are overlapping months but i tried to grab from many times throughout the year.)

[elialys]

during one of my many existential crises relating to me writing original fiction (and failing at it), it has dawned on me that i need to start writing sapphic stories.

because i've also realized the main reason why i can never create male characters interesting enough for me to want to *write* about them extensively is that i just...don't care??? 😂

like, seriously

[inklings-challenge]

Inklings Challenge 2024: Official Announcement

The Event

The Inklings Challenge invites Christian writers to create science fiction and fantasy stories from a Christian worldview. All writers who sign up for the the challenge before October 1st, 2024 will be randomly assigned to one of three teams that are each challenged to write a story that fits at least one of two assigned genres. Writers will also choose at least one of seven Christian themes to inspire their story.

After teams are assigned on October 1, 2024, writers will have until October 21, 2024 to write a science fiction or fantasy story that fits their assigned genre and uses at least one of the Christian themes in the provided list. There is no maximum or minimum word limit, but because of the short time frame, the challenge is focused on short stories.

The Teams

Inspired by a similar challenge between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis to write, respectively, a time travel story and a space travel story, the Inklings Challenge uses these authors (and G.K. Chesterton) as the inspiration for the genres assigned to each team. Each team is given both a fantasy and a science fiction option, so writers can choose the genre that is most comfortable for them. (However, writers shouldn’t be afraid to use the science fiction option as inspiration for a fantasy story, and vice versa. They can also choose to use both genres in one story, or write multiple stories). Writers may define for themselves which types of stories fit under each genre.

Team Lewis

Portal Fantasy: Stories where someone from the real world explores a new world

Space Travel: Stories about traveling through space or exploring other planets

Team Tolkien

Secondary World Fantasy: Stories that takes place in an imaginary realm that’s completely separate from our world

Time Travel: Stories exploring travel through time

Team Chesterton

Intrusive Fantasy: Stories where the fantastical elements intrude into the real world

Earth Travel: Science fiction or fantasy stories that feature any kind of land, sea, air, or underground travel on a past, present, future or alternate Earth

These teams will be assigned at random on October 1st, 2023. Writers are then encouraged to write a story before the deadline on October 21st.

The Themes

To add a Christian flavor to the event, writers are asked to use at least one of seven Christian themes from the list below somewhere within their stories. This year's themes feature the seven traditional spiritual acts of mercy which Christians are called to perform. Writers may use these themes to inspire any element of their story that they choose.

The seven themes writers may choose from are:

Admonish the sinner

Instruct the ignorant

Counsel the doubtful

Comfort the sorrowful

Bear wrongs patiently

Forgive all injuries

Pray for the living and the dead

Joining the Challenge

Writers who wish to join this year's Inklings Challenge must sign up before teams are assigned on October 1, 2024 by contacting this blog and signing up in one of the following ways:

Reply to this announcement post

Send a direct message to this blog

Leave an ask in this blog's inbox

This blog will reply to all writers who express interest once they are added to this year's participation list. A list of participants will be posted early in September and updated periodically through the month, so participants can make sure their usernames are included if they want to join the challenge, or can contact the blog to remove their username if they no longer wish to participate.

All tumblr users who are on the list on October 1st, 2024 will be assigned to one of the three Inklings Challenge teams on that date.

Posting the Stories

Completed stories can be posted to a tumblr blog anytime after the categories are assigned on October 1st. Writers are encouraged to post their stories–whether finished or incomplete–before the deadline on October 21st, but they can post their stories, or the remainders of unfinished stories, after that date.

All stories will be reblogged and archived on the main Inklings Challenge blog. To assist with organization, writers should tag their posts as follows:

Mention the main Challenge blog @inklings-challenge somewhere within the body of the post (which will hopefully alert the Challenge blog).

Tag the story #inklingschallenge, to ensure it shows up in the Challenge tag, and make it more likely that the Challenge blog will find it.

Tag the team that the author is writing for: #team lewis, #team tolkien, or #team chesterton. 

Tag the genre the story falls under: #genre: portal fantasy, #genre: space travel, #genre: secondary world, #genre: time travel, #genre: intrusive fantasy, #genre: earth travel

Tag any themes that were used within the story: #theme: admonish, #theme: instruct, #theme: counsel, #theme: comfort, #theme: patience, #theme: forgive, #theme: pray

Tag the completion status of the story: #story: complete or #story: unfinished

And that’s the Inklings Challenge! Any questions, comments or concerns that aren’t covered there can be sent to this blog, and I’ll do my best to answer them.

[thankskenpenders]

Happy new year, everyone! Welcome to 2024, the year that will mark the 10th anniversary of Thanks Ken Penders. I'd like to go over my plans for the blog for this year.

First of all: in the very near future, I'll have a post with my thoughts on Sonic Dream Team, and I'm sure I'll write one last Sonic Prime review once the final episodes drop on the 11th. I've also been sitting on an unfinished piece about the Sonic LEGO sets. I wanted this to be longer and more detailed piece that not only reviewed the sets but also went into the weird disconnect between homogenized image of Sonic the Brand and the actual fiction it's based off of, but it'll probably end up getting cut down a lot just so I can put something out. Let's just say I did a fun little thing with one of the sets.

Second: yes, I would like to return to regular TKP updates this year. As I've said many times, I wanted to do this in 2023, but I've been suffering from creative burnout after finishing SLARPG and have generally been unable to focus on any of my creative goals this past year. I'm hoping that this year will be better and I'll be able to get back into the swing of covering Archie Sonic issues. Even doing one issue every week or so would be vastly preferable to continuing the hiatus. I'm still only halfway done!! But aside from burnout, my other main hurdle is that I need to reread my own archive to refresh myself on all these things after nearly three years away. This will take some time.

The thing is, though, this year I'll have an extra incentive to go back through my previous writing and brush up on all things Archie Sonic. Because you see...

I've decided that I want to make a video essay about Penders. The comics, the copyright battle, The Lara-Su Chronicles, everything.

The why

I've thought about doing this before, but I never committed to the idea. I was too busy with gamedev, or I thought it'd end up being too long, or I figured that there were already enough videos on the subject, or I just lacked confidence in my ability to put together a video essay. So I told myself it wasn't meant to be, and let the multiple YouTubers who have cited me as a source on their own Penders videos fill that void.

Recently, though, a few things have happened that have convinced me it might be time. For one, YouTube video essays/media retrospectives/etc. are just getting longer and longer. When Quinton Reviews is out here doing 21 hours of videos on Sam & Cat, a subpar Nick sitcom that only lasted one season, I don't feel so crazy for wanting to make a video about several hundred comic books and two lawsuits that'd be at least an hour or two long lmao. Admittedly, I've also been self-conscious about doing a long video essay like this as a trans woman who has yet to do any vocal training. But these days I feel like I see a lot more transfem YouTubers who have done little to no vocal training, and that's given me more confidence on that front.

But the big one was Hbomberguy's recent plagiarism video. As I sat there watching it, I kept thinking about the time I found a CBR article that was just a crude 800 word summary of my two previous articles on Penders, published by a CBR writer who's put out over 4000 articles since 2019. If I've already been plagiarized before, and my writing is so frequently passed around as a go-to source on Archie Sonic drama, then I wouldn't be shocked if there were YouTubers out there straight up just plagiarizing me. I don't watch other peoples' videos on Archie Sonic, so I'd never know! So if people are just gonna paraphrase me when covering these topics anyway, why not take matters into my own hands and make what I would consider to be the definitive video on the subject? If hacks like James Somerton and iilluminaughtii can churn out these shitty video essays and people will still watch them, surely it can't be that impossible to make my own, right? (And also, uh, Hbomb literally told me I should make the video lol. If you're reading this, thanks for the encouragement.)

The what, how, and when

So here's the plan.

Part of this video essay will be an adaptation of my Medium article on the recurring themes of Ken's Archie Sonic run, with its content touched up and expanded upon. There were a few things I skimmed over in the article because I didn't want it to get too long, but again, people are out here watching ten hour videos about bad Nickelodeon sitcoms now. I can get away with elaborating a little more. I can add a few paragraphs talking about the Chaos Knuckles arc, or throw in a little more historical context I've discovered in the years since.

After covering the comics, the back half(-ish?) of the video will be dedicated to the copyright battles and their ensuing controversies, trying to give an accurate picture of what actually went down, the sheer scale of how bad Archie fucked up, and what our takeaways should be. This will have some similarities to my New York Magazine article on the subject, but I'll be rewriting it from scratch. I REALLY had to keep things short for that article because I was already way over the expected word count, and my tone was a little more straight-laced than normal because I was trying to keep things Professional. I can riff more and insert more of my own opinions this time, like I normally would.

I'll inevitably have to touch on some of Ken's Bad Tweets when discussing things that have happened after the lawsuits, but I don't want the video to just devolve into a list of times people got mad at him on Twitter, so I'm gonna try to keep that to a minimum in favor of focusing on his actual work. Things like the Scourge the Speed Demon incident and his continued statements on certain characters' copyright statuses probably warrant mentioning, though. And finally, assuming that the book really does come out this summer, I would like the grand finale of the video to be about those first couple chapters of The Lara-Su Chronicles.

I don't currently know when this video will get done, but it'll probably be in the back half of the year, especially with me waiting for the book to either drop or get delayed yet again. But I've actually already started writing a bit of the script, and will keep chipping away at it for a while.

So, uh, yeah, look forward to that? Wish me luck?

[kingofbodyrolls]

BTS fic recs: October 2023

I want to thank each and every writer on this list for creating such wonderful stories and art - you are truly amazing ✨ All the fics on this list hold a dear place in my heart 🥹

❗Most of these fics are smutty as hell, so minors dni.❗ 

If you read anything on this list and you like it, please leave a comment to the writer or reblog the original fic’s post to let them know that they're appreciated 💜 And if you want more fic recs you can follow me to stay updated 🙂

BTS fic rec index → May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep (jjk)(knj) | 💜 (pjm) | Nov (*) | Dec (ksj)(kth) |

Emoji meaning → angst = 🌩️, smut = 🥵, fluff = 🥰, comedy = 😂, yandere = 😈, thriller/dark = 👻, personal favorites = 💯.

Namjoon

⭐Drunk in Love by @joon4eva // knj x f.reader // bf2l // 🥰

📝 You and whiskey are never a good combination. or: you've been in love with your best friend for years and you might tell him about it while drunk.

🗨️ Just really cute and fluffy 🥰 🥺💖

Seokjin

⭐Sleepover by @peachypinkygloss // ksj x f.reader x pjm // bestfriends!au, threesome // 🥵

📝 You spend a night with your two best friends at their dorm room. You should have known that they wanted to do more than just watching movies.

🗨️ Omg this was so good, the smut 😘🥵

Yoongi

⭐Oh, darling! [series; completed] 💯 by @yoongiofmine // myg x f.reader // university!au, non idol au, professor!yoongi, student!reader // 🥰🌩️🥵

📝 Starting your second semester at one of South Korea’s most prestigious universities should be stressful enough. Between juggling classes, good grades and a social life, your plate was full. Hoping to spice up your academic career, you thought it was a good idea to enroll as an assistant for your literature professor, whom you’ve held a very secret and very forbidden crush on for the past several months. What will happen now that you’re forced to work closely together? And what if your crush isn’t as one sided as you thought? 

🗨️ Holy fucking shit 🥵🫣😳 This is just one of my favorites series, EVER 💜 This is in my top 10, no questions! ✨

⭐Mami by @kithtaehyung // myg x f.reader, knj x f.reader, jhs x f.reader // roommates!au, battle rap!au // 🥵

📝 You somehow have a conversation with Yoongi, and you tell your roommate about a date date.

🗨️ So, so good 🥵 really looking forward to more of this series 🥵 🫣

⭐Damn the Charcuterie Board 💯 by @bratkook // myg x f.reader x pjm // bestfriends!au, threesome // 🥵

📝 This doesn’t have a summary, so here goes mine; reader has has a sling of unfulfilling sexual times, and in the company of her best friends, she thinks about a video she watched recently. Could they give her what she needed?

🗨️ This has been on my reading list for so freaking long! 🥹 And now I finally got to read it, and damn, it is one of the best, filthiest fics out there. So, so good! 💯🥵

⭐Cotton Candy Computer (1) [series; discontinued] 💯 by @softyoongiionly // myg x f.reader // hacker!au // 🥵🌩️

📝 Min Yoongi is the top hacker in the world. He has put away countless other cyber criminals all whilst evading detection by virtually everyone he has ever crossed paths with, including the government. The diabolical super hacker that came close to tracking him down is now serving a 10 year prison sentence, all thanks to Yoongi’s handiwork. So what happens when the sentence is shortened unexpectedly? What happens when the biggest threat to public safety is roaming the streets again, determined to get revenge on the man who put him away? What happens when the worlds most infamous hacker just so happens to manage your local Mikrokosmic Electronics? A terabyte of trouble.

🗨️ Shit this was incredibly good!!!! Why isn’t it finished? 😭 I don’t usually read unfinished or discontinued series, but the summary really had me and I just had to read it – and now I’m hooked and I want more of this sexy hot hacker Yoongi! 😭 The story was also just so well written and the chemistry between reader and oc was so fucking perfect, and don’t get me started on the smut, like ugh 🥵 Gosh, I’m so sad there aren’t more parts to it (like the author planned four parts). But it’s so so good, and the cliffhanger isn’t horrible (in terms of wanting to read the next chapter). It can definitely be read as a one shot, I just really, really wished there was more, because, fuck, it was perfect! 💯💜✨

⭐Three Tangerines [series; ongoing] 💯 by @kithtaehyung // myg x f.reader // fuckboy!yoongi, brother’s best friend!au, age gap!au // 🌩️🥵

📝 Throughout high school, you sometimes caught glimpses of your brother’s older friends: some of them were sweet, some of them were smart. but the one closest to him? that guy was a total f*ckboy from day one. after a foray of horrid relationships spanning years - ending with one that broke up with you for an alarming reason - you needed advice on what the hell you were doing wrong… and this wasn’t a conversation for anyone sweet or smart.

🗨️ Holy fucking shit, I know I’m late to the party (I see it’s still going too! 🎉), but goddamn that was one of the best fanfictions I’ve ever read 💖😭 I am deeply in love with 3tan – I read all that was available in a few days and nights, because I was so freaking hooked (and still am! No, I’m not dreaming about 3tan Yoongi 😇). Damn. I have been missing out, alright! Shit, the writing; excellent, characters; excellent, world building/story progression; excellent - like perfection 👏🏾 💎 💯 If you have not read it yet, do so now, like right now! I still can’t stop thinking about this and I’m already thinking about rereading it because it’s just that good. It’s definitely in my top 10 or even in my top 5 of my favorites! 🥇✨

Hoseok

⭐Helping Hands by @m-yg93 // jhs x f.reader // f2l // 🥵

📝 Between your boyfriend getting into bed with another girl and finals taking all your time a cold rift has emerged between the usually warm movie nights with your best friend. Thankfully exams are over and Hoseok is back on your couch where he belongs. When some shit talking gets a little too close to home and Hoseok finds out you’ve never even had an orgasm he decides to take things into his own hands, and yours. 

🗨️ This was so hot, like what 😳🥵 also a bit funny, but mostly smutty 🤭

Jimin

⭐Desperate by @ressjeon // pjm x f.reader // model!Jimin, pa!reader // 🥵

📝 Being Jimin's assistant made you immune from his flirty tactics, but somehow you find it hard to resist him when he unusually becomes desperate.

🗨️ Omg this was so hot, I don’t have much to say about it, expect that 😳🥵

⭐Only You by @jiminniethemarshmallow // pjm x f.reader // established relationship // 🥵🥰🌩️

📝 After another woman kisses Jimin, he tries to convince you that he’s faithful with make-up sex.

🗨️ This was both hot and sweet! I really like how Jimin was doing his best to reassure OC, even though he did nothing wrong 🥹🥰

⭐Flirt 💯 by @chateautae // pjm x f.reader // college!au, sexual tension, pwp // 🥵

📝 Park jimin is a notorious flirt, but so are you. when you both meet at a party after weeks of back and forth, it’s a matter of time before somebody gives in.

🗨️ Okay, this is insanely hot - the smut 🤌🏾😘 a really fucking great pwp with a good amount of sexual tension and dirty talk 💜💯

⭐Vanilla 💯 by @aexthetic-suga // pjm x f.reader // pwp, dominate!Jimin, idol!au // 🥵

📝 Jimin is a busy guy. The idol life is not an easy one. With you missing him for three months due to his schedule, all you wanted was to spend his first night back with him. When that doesn’t go to plan, you end up spewing shit about your sex life with Jimin – or better yet, your lack of one.

🗨️ Excuse me, Park Jimin 🥵😳 this was incredible hot! And that gif! 🥵 A really great pwp 💯🌸

Taehyung

⭐One of the Boys 💯 by @littlemisskookie // kth x f.reader // childhoodfriends!au, slice of life, bestfriends!au, neighbors!au, high school!au // 🌩️🥵🥰

📝 All your life you wanted only one thing- for Kim Taehyung to like you. You did everything you could to make this happen, from picking up his hobbies and rejecting anything feminine. But who do you start to become when you stop trying to impress him?

🗨️ Woaw! This was so incredibly good, it’s almost hard to describe, but I’ll try: it does a brilliant job at setting the story up, following oc and Taehyung since childhood, and how their friendship develops over time (and their feelings). It’s really cute and funny and with great smut at the end. Overall a brilliantly good read 💯

⭐Baby, Oh Baby 💯 by @jungkookiebus // kth x f.reader // established relationship, noneidol!au // 🥵🥰

📝 Taehyung and you have been trying for months to get pregnant; you’ve tried crazy diets, stuck to your calendar, got him to diet, but it’s all been for nothing. No matter how healthy your doctor says you are, you can’t conceive. Taehyung tries everything within his power to show you that everything is going to be okay and for one night he makes you forget all about the calendars, schedules, and all the crazy things that came with you trying to have a baby. 

🗨️ This was just really cute and loving 🥹The smut was also just ❤️‍🔥💯

⭐Baby Maker by @kookslastbutton // kth x f.reader // marriage!au // 🥵🥰

📝 You're pissed at your husband for being late to your weekly baby-making sessions.

🗨️ Aish, the smut in this 🔥Also all the dirty talk really had me going 🥵

⭐Til Death Do Us Part by @kookslastbutton // kth x f.reader // marriage!au // 🥵🥰🌩️

📝 Thinking it be a romantic gesture, Taehyung tosses your GPS out the car window while honeymooning in Italy. Too bad it gets you both stranded in the middle of nowhere though. What the hell are you gonna do now?

🗨️ This was just so funny to me 😂 Like Tae really threw the GPS out and was like ‘fuck it’! Pleasant and blushing read 🤭

Jungkook

⭐When the End Comes [series; completed] 💯 by @oddinary4bts // jjk x f.reader // breakup!au, slice of life!au, photographer!Jungkook x lawyer!reader // 🌩️🌩️🌩️🥵

📝 Seven years after you've started dating Jungkook, long distance creates a wedge in your relationship. When the only solution seems to be breaking up, you go your separate ways even though love still lives in the two of you. Will you find a way back together, or has the end come for you and Jeon Jungkook?

🗨️ This is a sequel to ‘The Forgotten Spaces’, which was just *chef’s kiss* 😘 The series is completed now – and afsfdfdsfg it was just so damn beautiful and the ending!!! It was definitely worth all my tears 🥹💜

⭐Love à Trois [series; ongoing] by @letjungcoook7 // jjk x f.reader x pjm // slice of life, f2l+s2l, roommates!au, college!au, love triangle // 🥵🌩️

📝 You and Jimin secretly have feelings for each other, you both realize your dream of studying at the same college and sharing an apartment, but when financial issues start to arise, you have to seek a third roommate. and guess who fate sends your way? Jungkook, the same guy who took your virginity back in high school.

🗨️ This is really good! There’s two chapters up already (I still need to read ch 2) and the first was so good. It’s so interesting to see the love triangle unfold. Really enjoyed this 🌸

⭐Burnout (1)(2)(3) [series; ongoing] by @aikastales // jjk x f.reader // college!au, fake dating!au // 🌩️🌩️🌩️😈

📝 After his ex-girlfriend broke up with him, jungkook enlists your help by asking and paying you to fake date him. accepting the offer, you get more than what you bargained for when jungkook starts showing his true intentions.

🗨️ This series was my first time reading yandere – and I am hooked, it’s so intriguing and disturbing at the same time, I really can’t wait to see how this story unfolds. It’s really, really good 👏

⭐Fragment of the Past (1)(2) [series; ongoing] by @ctrlsht // jjk x f.reader // patient!jk x psychiatrist!reader // 🌩️😈👻

📝 You are a well-known and respected psychiatrist and author. You start treating Jungkook, who suffers from PTSD after surviving an extremely traumatic incident. As you help him confront his traumatic past, he begins to act strangely, and you start uncovering something about him that will change everything.

🗨️ Another first for me, with the thriller vibes and damn it delivers on that! It’s really, really good 👏 Pacing is really good and how we see more and more of Jungkook’s disturbing traits is just brilliant ✨ 

⭐Mentally Physically Weak by @arainbowofchaos // jjk x f.reader // established relationship // 🥵

📝 Jungkook is waiting for you outside your workplace, a cigarette in his mouth, and you can hardly believe your luck. Above all, you're acutely aware of how weak you are for him, and you want to savor this moment as if it were the last.

🗨️ Almost equally smutty as it is sweet 🥺🥰 a really good read, and I really loved how JK was portrayed and how sweet he was with the OC 💖

Wow, October went really fast! I have now moved and I’ve gotten more time to both read and write again. And now it’s already November (also my birth month 🥳 and I might or might not have a surprise for you on my birthday!).

Borahae 💜

[astrolynnworld]

blue confessions

pairing: matt x reader

summary: matt confesses his feelings to the reader at the countdown of midnight

warnings: fluff! new years, confessions, love, romance.

a/n- should of been posted yesterday but oh well 🫠

word count: 979

i do some last minute cleansing and preparations as i get ready to start my year anew and fresh.

nick had invited a few friends over so we can celebrate our last hours of 2023 together.

i finish getting ready and put on my coat so i can head over to the house.

everyone arrived at various times but i was one of the first people to get there.

i’ve been friends with the triplets for about 7 years now, at first i met nick but he soon after introduced me to his brothers who i’ve been close with every since.

especially matt, matt is really like my best friend. since day one, matt & i have have a different type of connection where we understand each other on a different level

he’s always been there for me, as i have with him.

“hey!! happy new year” nick says as he opens the door to let me in

“happy new year!” i say while going in for a hug

“wow it’s been in a long year.” i continue

“tell me about it.. a lot has happened this year, from hitting 5 million subs to going on tour again.. it’s been a crazy year”

“yup, sad to see it end but ready to watch it go” i laugh

from the corner of my eye i can see chris coming up the stairs

“oh hey chris! happy new year” i say as i walk in for a hug

“yup! new year.” he greets back, “where’s the food?” he proceeds to ask

“chris shut up. it’s on the way, you can wait.” nick answers annoyingly

i chuckle at their banter

“where’s matt?” i ask out loud

“he’s probably in still his room getting ready, you can go check on him if you want” nick responds

i nod and make my way down the hall to his room.

i do my little signature knock that i do so he knows it’s me

“come in!” he shouts from the door

i open the door and walk in to give him a hug

“heyyy matt!!” i gleefully say

“why are you so happy?” he asks with a confused face

“cause it’s new year’s eve!!” i respond with more enthusiasm

“big plans for 2024?” he asks

“no plans, just hopes and wants.” i respond

“yeah? what do you hope and want?” he asks again

“i kinda hope for a genuine connection and relationship..” i say shyly

“really?”

“yeah. i just feel like im tired of meaningless flings or situationships. we’re only getting older.. i want something real” i say

“i feel you 100%” he reassures

“yeah.” i look down, “but anyway! do you have anything you’re looking forward too?”

“not really. i just wanna let the year play out how it’s supposed too.” he replies

“yeah i see th-“ im interrupted as the door swings open

“our friends are here. stop hiding in the room” says nick

“we’re not hiding” matt says as he gets up to make his way to the living room

i follow shortly behind

after a few hours of party games and jokes, we just hang around to enjoy our last few minutes of 2023

i go in the kitchen to grab some water and shortly after, matt follows along

he nervously stands there in silence for a bit pretending to be occupied before striking up a conversation

“before the year end i kinda just wanted to let you know that i really do appreciate our friendship” he says sentimentally

“aww matt, that’s so sweet.”

“i know i don’t really say it often but i do love you. maybe in more ways than i should to be honest.” he looks down

“huh? what do you mean?” i ask

“well you’re the person i can count on the most, other than nick and chris. you’re always there for me when i need you to be and i feel like i relate you on a deeper level. you just understand me as a person and i love and appreciate you a lot for it.”

i go in for a hug, “matt i love you so much! you’re gonna make me cry”

he hugs back but doesn’t seem fulfilled

“matt what’s wrong? you seem unfinished?” i ask still embraced in his grasp

“cause that’s not all i want to say. i just don’t know how to say it” he says

suddenly we hear our friends in the other room start the new year countdown

“well you better hurry before the new year begins” i chuckle

“six.. five” we hear from the other room

i stare up as he looks down at me with his mouth agape as he prepares himself

“two.. one-“

“i’m in love with you” he spills

“HAPPY NEW YEAR” i hear from the other room as i stare at him in silence

“this is probably the worst timing but i really couldn’t keep it in anymore. i can’t go into another year feeling regret for every day that i don’t confess to you how i fee-“

i break his monologue with a kiss

“i love too matt” i look up at him with a smile

“are you being serious?” his confused look making me chuckle

“yess matt. of course i do! like you said, i understand you on a deeper level. and i know you understand me just as well. i enjoy every second i spend with you and i love being around you, you always make me feel special. i also kept my feelings tucked in but i love you just as much” i confess

he smiles and places a kiss on my lips while placing both hands on each of my cheeks

“can i be your boyfriend, y/n?” he whispers into my lips as he holds my cheeks with both hands

“i’d love nothing more” i smile up at him

———————————————————————

a/n- hope you guys enjoyed this cute little story

[factorygirlsstuff]

Currently watching: Queen of Tears, The Midnight Studio, Lovely Runner, Into The Ring, Flower of Evil, & Link: Eat, Love, Kill

I started watching kdramas in May 2023 (updated 4/17/24)

My personal top 10:

It’s Okay to not be Okay (top fav) ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A road to emotional healing opens up for an antisocial children's book author and an employee in a psychiatric hospital. (amazing chemistry & found family)

Crash Landing on You ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A paragliding mishap drops a South Korean heiress in North Korea - and into the life of an army officer, who decides he will help her hide. (lots of crying but worth it)

Hometown Cha Cha Cha ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

At a crossroads, a dentist moves to a seaside village where she meets a handyman intent on helping his neighbours. (my most rewatched)

Her Private Life ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dedicated art gallery curator Sung Deok Mi is a fanatic fan girl of White Ocean's Cha Shi-an, a dark secret she hides from everyone. (really supportive relationship, weird last couple of eps)

Business Proposal ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

In disguise as her friend, Ha-ri shows up on a blind date to scare away her friend's prospective suitor. However, plans go awry when he turns out to be Ha-ri's CEO and he makes a proposal. (my first kdrama! Super cute & funny)

Touch Your Heart ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A famous actress, gets caught in a scandal with a son of a rich family; with her career declining quickly, she looks for one last hope to get back on the screen. She lands a role playing a secretary in a drama & then becomes a real secretary in order to play the part. (Healthy relationship, office romance)

Welcome to Samdalri ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

After suffering a fall from grace, a photographer returns to her hometown and bumps into her childhood friend, rekindling an unfinished romance. (childhood friends to lovers & slice of life/healing)

Happiness ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

The residents of a high-rise apartment fight for their lives against a deadly infectious disease while Sae-bom and Yi-hyun try to find the person because of whom the virus spread. (I think I really love friends to lovers)

Something in the Rain ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

When a single career woman reunites with her best friend's younger brother after he returns from three years of working abroad, their efforts to reconnect grow into romance. (they just felt so real to me, the romance was 🤌🏼, worst mom)

Cheer Up ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A working-class girl joins her college's down-and-out cheerleading team, where she finds friendship, love, and an old-school campus mystery. (idk they felt real too, worst SML though)

Other kdramas I finished:

Healer ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (love PMY)

Love to Hate You ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (Maybe I binged it too fast, but I don’t remember it lol)

Our Beloved Summer ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (too slow for me & I usually don’t mind slow)

True To Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (main leads romance was everything)

Forecasting Love & Weather ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (something was off/missing)

Vincenzo ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (🫰🏼)

When the Weather is Fine ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (kinda slow but I binged it fast lol)

Squid Game ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

All of Us are Dead ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (I like zombie shows)

Alchemy of Souls ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Alchemy of Souls: Light & Shadow ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the romance 🫰🏼)

Suspicious Partner ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (dragged in the middle but loved this couple)

Save Me ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (so good, just hard subject matter)

Shooting Stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved the main couple so much & so many other cute couples!)

Doona! ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (omg her visual, binged so fast)

Itaewon Class ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged so fast)

Descendants of the Sun ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (binged in 2 days)

Castaway Diva ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (first kdrama to watch while airing)

The Matchmakers ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (first sageuk, thought they were adorable)

Crazy Love ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was good, but didn’t do it for me 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Moving ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I didn’t like all the flashbacks, but it was good overall)

Backstreet Rookie ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (for some reason I loved this couple so much, problematic SML & annoying SFL)

School 2017 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (just perfect)

Dalie and the Cocky Prince ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (the pet names 🥰)

Soundtrack #1 ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (another friends to lovers)

Behind Your Touch ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (idk why but I loved it, it was so funny to me lol)

Thirty But Seventeen ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (great romance & cutest found family)

Kiss Sixth Sense ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, last 20 minutes idk 🤷🏻‍♀️)

I Am Not A Robot ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (loved this, dragged a little in the middle)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (SML annoyed me, the cutest ending 🥰)

Gyensong Creature ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I liked it, but it didn’t end I guess. So I’m waiting for season 2)

Cafe Minamdang ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much! It made me laugh & loved the FL!)

My Man is Cupid ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was cute)

Marry My Husband ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (it was a lot of fun & loved watching it weekly with everyone)

My Holo Love ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was fine, only 12 eps so it was quick & slow burn romance.)

Queen of Divorce ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it started off really interesting, but some things were never explained & I wanted more romance between the leads)

Doom at Your Service ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (I really liked it, the romance was SO good, but I was a little confused about how the contract worked.)

Doctor Slump ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it SO much! Everything was so cute & loved the romance)

Flex x Cop ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (really loved it, gave me Castle vibes. #1 drama I was looking forward to every week. No romance, although we are getting a 2nd season so fingers crossed.)

Chicken Nugget ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (it was definitely weird, but I laughed a lot)

Wedding Impossible ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (really liked it, cute romcom)

Fight For My Way ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (loved it so much, binged it in a day! I could not stop watching, friends to lovers really is the best.)

Rookie Cops ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ (really liked it at first, put on hold for a month, then the last few episodes were good again.)

Parasyte: The Grey ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (it was really good)

Mad for Each Other ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (so good! Loved everything about it, especially the couple)

Dropped: (I might try again 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Run On

Goblin

Hotel De Luna

Weight Lifting Fairy, Kim Bok-joo

King the Land

My Demon

True Beauty

The K2

Destined With You

The Story of Park’s Marriage Contract

Perfect Marriage Revenge

Moon in the Day

A Good Day to be a Dog

Open to recommendations!

[harasharaved]

Jason Todd Fics - September 2023

Fics I recommend with a focus on or POV of Jason Todd. Masterpost can be found here.

Key: Has a ship or romantic plot, unfinished, multi-chapter, one-shot

NOTE: some of these do require an AO3 Account to read.

Whisper Closely in My Ear by Kangarou

The words went in one ear, rattled around like bees, before ramming out the other. The doctor was sitting painfully close, only two feet away. The tone of voice implied he was talking louder, not quite a yell but something nearly there; it sounded like a whisper to Jason. So quiet, with every third word unintelligible, except for that first phrase: "Mr Wayne, I'm afraid you're profoundly deaf." --- Jason is profoundly deaf. He learns to cope with it.

An AU in which Jason is deaf. This is one of my favorite Jason fics. I often find myself coming back to it. Its a great character study, introspective and has that delicious kind of hurt you just want to sit with for a while, with a helping dollop of comfort.

Children Will Listen by Parker Avenue

Jason Todd is good at extortion. He's what the adults call a snoop - nobody paid attention to the little kid with the big ears. Without even realizing, adults would hand him the keys to getting what he needed. Jason knew how to collect information, because adults found information valuable. And it was. It was free, easy to get, and easy to carry, so long as he kept his head clear and his facts straight. Jason had information Batman could use. He knew it. He had thought it over all day, sitting on that moldy couch, eating stale saltines. Batman would definitely be interested in the information Jason had. Batman had become scary again, like the old stories Jason used to hear the goons in the area tell. Breaking bones, just barely keeping people alive. Batman didn’t kill, no, but sometimes? Sometimes living was worse, maybe. Jason stayed crouched behind that dumpster, silent, because he simply couldn’t decide if Batman was far gone enough to make a kid wish he was dead. (Jason Todd knows how to get what he wants, and Batman tries to lure him to safety.)

Okay I will admit, my biggest weakness is fics about street kid Jason. Slow adoption got me good. Anyways, this one isn't finished but I love the way the pacing takes its time. Co-parents Bruce and Selina is never a con either!

Stargazer by LemonadeGarden

Jason Todd is seriously injured during patrol one night, and is forced to stay at the manor to recuperate until his injuries are healed. To pass the time, he makes a list of things he never got to do before he died. Except there's one small problem: most of them involve Bruce, and Jason doesn't really think Bruce cares all that much about him anymore. This is a story about how wrong he is, but I made it sad anyway.

I'm sure everyone and their mother has rec'd this fic, but I'm doing it anyways because I love it deeply. If you haven't read it, this is your sign!

Glow in the Dark Stars by essspressso (stylesmakethefight)

“I’m being serious, asshat,” Jason hisses, swatting his hands away from his face. “You have to tell me what year it is.” Nightwing crosses his arms a little petulantly. “It’s 2017. Happy?” Jason freezes, breath catching in his throat. 2017. Five years ago. He was…he was fifteen. “Shit,” he murmurs. He’s going to eviscerate Tim. Or: Red Hood Jason and 15-year-old Jason swap timelines, landing one week before 15-year-old Jason is supposed to die.

Time travel trope + Jason Todd's tragic ass life = amazing fics. Feelings, prepare to be felt! LOTS of Angst. You might even shed a tear. Wonderful fic!

Too Much Fucking Salt by Pez_The_Platypus

A rural housewife instinctively understood the law of quantity into quality. Add a pinch of salt to a soup and it tasted better; add one pinch too many and you ruined the batch. Jason had been in limbo for a year and a half, trusting things would get better even though everything just seemed to be getting worse. It was something small that set him off, but really, it was an accumulation of a lot of things that led to this. He was going to kill the Joker.

A one shot, but a LONG one. This one is very sad, heavy, and bittersweet. Its not Bruce or Dick "bashing", it provides a pretty well rounded and human description of them, which is to say they are not angels. Still, if you love pondering the tragedy of Jason Todd and themes of coping with trauma and the inherent grating sensation of trying to heal, this is a great fic for you.

YOU MUST KNOW LIFE TO KNOW DECAY by orpheusaki

Bruce starts, eyes glaring down at the city and unwilling to look anywhere else, especially in Jason's direction, "You always… hated the rain." Jason's breath gets caught in his throat. (For as long as Jason can remember, it's always been raining.)

Jason angst and character study rooted in comic-accuracy. Great short read!

This Kind of Weather by r_astra

Jason’s at school when his mom dies, and that’s the only reason any of it happens. If he’d been home, if he’d been with her, he would’ve been in the wind before anyone else even knew. Even if they looked, no one ever would’ve found him. He’d have taken to the sewers if that’s what it took, man-eating crocodile guy and all.

Yes, another Jason Todd adoption fic, one in which he does not steal the tires. I have a type and I'm limiting myself to only 2 of the many I love. This one does not have much of a focus at all on the Bat-side of things, just a story of Jason finding a home, much older than in the comics.

A Straight Blade by Sparkypants

"What happened to your face?" Bruce asks, reaching his hand for Jason's jaw. "You're bleeding." Jason bristles, cheeks turning pink. "I cut myself shaving." He says, and wipes at the cut with the cuff of his hoody. Damian makes a clicking noise with his tongue, "I'm amazed you haven't taken your own head off." He snarks. Jason shoves his chair away from the table, temper flaring. "Well it's not like anyone ever taught me, is it." He hisses. He's five years late, but Bruce finally teaches Jason how to shave.

Quick one-shot with feelings. Great little read I often find myself revisiting.

Growing Like a Breeze by WhaleofaTime

April 27th isn't anyone's favorite date, but it's somehow worse than usual today when Bruce gets his car stolen. It's nice of Red Hood to come to his rescue. Nicer even that Jason keeps him company afterwards.

One of those fics that explains everything about why Jason and Bruce's dynamic and relationship is so magnetic to read about. They both suck at feelings and yet make me feel SO MUCH.

[wipbigbang]

WIP Big Bang 2023 Round Schedule & FAQ!

Schedule

All times are by 8:59pm PST. Convert time zones.

Sign-ups Begin- April 1st Sign-ups Close- April 21st Check In #1- April 22nd Check In #2- May 15th Snippets Due- June 1st Art Claims Begin- June 17th Check In #3- June 22nd Check In #4- July 6th Rough Drafts Due- July 15th Posting Claims Begin- July 23rd Posting Claims Ends- August 1st Final Drafts/Art Due- August 7th Posting Starts- August 8th Posting Ends- October 31st (the last two weeks are reserved for emergency posting)

FAQ

What is the WIP Big Bang? Good question! This is a Big Bang with one goal in mind: to clean out your fanfic drafts folder. These are stories that were unfinished for whatever reason, that authors returned to and completed, and the art that goes with them!

Do I need a Livejournal/Dreamwidth/AO3/etc. account to participate? No! You don’t have to have an account on anything to participate, though you will need to have somewhere to post your finished work. Having one or more accounts will help for you to follow what is going on with the bang (we crosspost to Dreamwidth, Tumblr, and sometimes Twitter at the moment), but they are not required to participate. You can always leave comments anonymously or with an opensource ID.

How many fics can we sign up for? We absolutely don’t mind multiple sign-ups. I know one year someone submitted 50 fics to finish, and got at least half of them done. We just ask that when you sign up with more than one fic you give each fic a unique user ID (please do not use the same ID for all your fics...it’s important to have different IDs for the check-ins).

Will I get emails about the bang? We do send out some emails, mostly for snippets and art claims and to ensure communication between authors and artists, but please do NOT rely on getting an email to remind you of due dates. We currently do not keep an updated email list of participants, so we only send individual emails as needed rather than mass emails.

However, email is the fastest way to communicate with the mods. If you have any questions or are having trouble communicating with your artist/author, please do email us! We will do our best to respond quickly.

What do you mean by minimum word count to enter? This is a WIP Big Bang, therefore we ask you to have at least 500 words of your story drafted when you enter.

Can an outline count towards those first 500 words that are needed at sign up? We have admitted work on an outline before so yes, if your outline is fleshed out enough to cover a 7,500 word+ fic, we’ll allow it.

Are multi-chapter fics allowed? Yes, multi-chapter fics are allowed and even more so encouraged if your fic is lengthy.

What about fics that are already posted on ao3 in part? Do those qualify for the bang? It's okay if you have posted a few chapters of your fic already (you never know when the muse deserts you, after all), we just require you to refrain from posting more until posting begins here. All we ask is that you not post any public updates to the fic until August 1st (or July 1st with the mod’s okay). We don’t want you to lose kudos and comments so don’t worry about pulling the fic down, just hold off on updates for now.

Is there a minimum word count? 7,500 words for each finished fic, but the sky's the limit, right?

I see that the fic minimum is 7500 words and that published WIPs are acceptable - but what if the WIP I’m considering is already more than 7500 words? Is the expectation to add an additional 7500 to it? No. You can add as much or as little as you need to finish the story, though we do expect at least 1,000 or so new words if your WIP already meets the word count.

What happens if an author finishes the fic they signed up with but it’s less than 7,500 words? The intent was to go over the minimum but once they got into it the story was shorter than they thought and stretching it out would make it less good. Do they have to drop out at that point? By all means, we want your stories to feel as natural as possible, and if it’s under 7,500 words you may have two options:

1 - Drop the fic for the main BB event, post it now, and wait to post it to our AO3 collection in February when we run our International Fanworks Day celebration of finishing fics that are less than 7,500 words when finished. There’s no art for the fic, but bragging rights are posted to the communities for a week.

2 - If there are enough fics that fit that category, we can do a special day of posting the fics, but you’ll have to forgo art for the fic. I, as a mod, would probably pick October 31st for the posting day, as it’s the last day of posting for the bang and I don’t think anyone will mind more than one fic that day. You can post bragging rights to the community and share the fic with everyone.

Is there anything not allowed? As long as you wrote it and you want to finish it, you're welcome to participate. RPS/RPF is fine. Incest pairings are fine. Things like that I know have been hinted at in questions asked and as long as you tag for them, we’ll allow it. Also, canon settings with mostly OCs is allowed. We just ask that it be tagged properly with any content warnings you would deem fit and be given the appropriate rating for the level of sex/violence there is in the fic. As of the 2023 round, original work is also allowed; however, we recommend you bring in your own artist or forgo art for an original work.

I have a fic I wrote a few years ago, but only the first couple chapters are posted on AO3 because I was never happy with the rest of it and knew it needed major revision. Is that something I could use for WIP Big Bang? The entire fic has been posted, but only on one platform, and it would be rewritten for AO3 and WIPBB. I think revising a fic for posting would work, as long as you have at least 500 words done, will have 7,500 words at a minimum when it’s done, and are planning to add more to the fic. Simply rewriting what you have would be a gray area, but if you’re going to take stuff out and add new scenes, either in the old scenes place or on your own, you should be fine.

What's the etiquette around OC-centric stories? Ones that are set in a well known fandom and use several characters, but still lean a lot on original characters? Are they discouraged, or fine? Based on my own personal experience making art for a story that had a heavy OC presence, it’s not something we discourage at all, but be forewarned when it comes to the art accompanying your fic your artist may not be able to incorporate the OCs into your art. Not everyone makes art of a hand-drawn or digitally drawn nature, so it helps if you have people for face claims ahead of art submissions, and you and your artist communicate regularly. You can also end up with art not featuring the OCs at all, just the canon characters, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Your other options are to bring in an artist you trust with your vision of your OC/make your own art (we do allow that, we just need to be told during the check-in before art that you’re bringing in your own artist if you go that route, or that you’re doing your own art…there will not be a need to sign up in the artist’s sign up, however) or to opt-out of art entirely. So there’s plenty of options to call on when it comes time for art. What are 'check-ins’? These are a way for us to see what you've been up to and for you to make sure you're still on track. It will give you a little nudge/reminder if you need it, but they are not compulsory. Basically a form is posted that you fill out with your user ID (unique for each fic) and a checkbox to let us know you’re still participating, plus a section for any notes for the mods.

How are the check in IDs used? They are solely for the mods organizational purposes. Each ID being for a separate story allows us to keep all the information you submit during check-ins and for snippets in one line on our spreadsheet. You don’t have to share your check in IDs with anyone else if you don’t want to.

How much progress should authors be making between each checkpoint? (Percentage-wise from our estimated total wc, I guess?) Ideally, with each check-in, you should be at least 25% closer to finishing. The end word count only really matters in that the fic needs to be at least 7,500 words when done, so it’s more your progress towards finishing that should be measured, not so much the word count.

What are the snippets requirements? In order to allow the artists to make art for the story they claimed, we require you to supply three snippets from your fic, between 500 – 1500 words each. The snippets will be sent to the artist after they have claimed your story. They're to help the artist match your story for artwork the best way he or she possibly can. It’s helpful to choose scenes or parts of scenes that you feel best represent your fic, but don’t feel like they have to be perfect to be submitted. Along with the snippets, we will send your artist the basic fic info and your email, so the two of you can collaborate more if you would both like.

What are the rough drafts requirements? For the rough drafts, stories should be at least 80% complete. You will not have to turn them in to us, just assure us that you are at that point. Anything less is at the discretion of the mods and those authors should speak to one of the mods asap.

What is, and do I need, a beta? A beta is basically a person who goes over your work to make sure that there are no spelling/grammatical errors and they can even be of assistance in helping you with story lines, etc. It is highly recommended that a beta looks over your work before posting. If you are having trouble finding a beta, try this post.

Where can I post my fic/art? Stories and art can be posted to your own personal journal, Tumblr, ff-net, AO3, or wherever you like. For those of you with AO3 accounts, we will set up a collection that will go live on the day of the posting. If you don’t currently have an AO3 account but would like one, you can contact the mods for an invitation code to see if they have any available. You can also add yourself to the AO3 Invites Request queue.

What does posting look like? Do we have to post the whole thing on the day, or can we stretch it out between when posting starts and our date? I’ve had a few longfics get killed by big bangs forcing posting to happen on a given day, and would prefer to avoid that if possible. For most fics, posting to AO3/FF.net/other places will be allowed to start in August and you can stretch it out as many posts as you want as long as the complete fic is up by your posting date (and posting dates go from August 8th to October 16th with two weeks for emergency posting). However, you can send us an ask/e-mail about posting as early as July if you have an extremely long fic/something with a long posting schedule. Mostly what we want is the fic to be completely up on the website of your choice by your posting date, and I know some people don’t want to overwhelm their readers. So we want to work with writers to give them ample time to post the story up to their posting date.

Now, as for posting to the communities, you get to choose which day your link to the story and bragging rights are posted, and as I said, we have a range of dates from August 8th to October 16th with two to three stories posting a day. If for some reason you miss your posting date, you have until October 31st to post to the community, during the two weeks of emergency posting. So hopefully there should be plenty of time to get a longfic up and posted to the website of your choice and our BB.

Will the three snippets per story we have to send in be the ones we want the artist to make art for? Or can it just be random snippets and then later the artist and I can check together to see which scenes would work best for art? So ideally, you and the artist will be communicating once you’re each sent each other’s contact information, and you’ll give your artist a chance to read all that you’ve written at that point. That’s what happens in most cases. If your fic gets picked by an artist and they don’t work with you, then the snippets you sent will be what the artwork will be based on. It’s a good idea to know that, while most of the time the artists work closely with the authors, there are a few exceptions to that.

How do I know when to post? Posting will be tiered; you'll each get your own posting date that you and your artist will decide on together. There will probably be three fics, plus art, posting per day between August 8th and October 31st. The post with date claims will go up on July 23rd and you'll have to choose your date by August 1st.

Posting of chapters on AO3 or your own blog (or wherever you usually post) generally starts August 1st, but you can post earlier (as early as July 1st) if you let us know you have a long story. However, posting has to be finished by your chosen posting date to the comm. One of the things we're hoping to do with the posted dates is to give everybody on the comm a little bragging time in the spotlight. You know, "this story was incomplete for this long, but I finished this sucker." If you don't have time to post your bragging rights to the communities on your chosen posting date, you can queue up a post ahead of time and we can post it on the date you picked or you can email us your bragging rights and we can post by proxy for you. Either way works for us. Art will be due on the chosen posting date to the comm.

What am I posting to the Dreamwidth/Tumblr community if I’m posting the fic elsewhere? You’ll be posting what we call bragging rights. It’s a small form you fill out and post to the community with a link to your fic (we’ll enable moderated posting to the Tumblr and Dreamwidth communities for members on August 8th). We will post a template for posting artwork and stories to the comm closer to the posting date.

Is there a minimum/maximum requirement for my art? There is no strict minimum, but we do ask artists to remember that the authors are writing a minimum of 7,500 words and your artwork should reflect that. You can do anything you like, including banners, wallpapers, icons, mixes, vids, gif sets, picspams, etc. Suggested guidelines for art are 500x500px (or equivalent of smaller pieces like banner + spacers, cover + icons, etc.) for traditional art, digital art, and manips; 2 minutes for vids; 10 songs + cover art for mixes; and 6 images for gif sets and picspams. We also ask that when you are in contact with the author, you work with them to see if there is anything specific they would like (i.e. a wallpaper, book cover, etc.). The art is your work, but having ideas doesn't hurt!

What are 'art claims'? The claims are when anonymous summaries of the story go up for artists to choose from. Artists sign-ups and art claims are the same thing; we use one form for both things, and that way the authors don’t have to sign up for an event they may not end up participating in. It is based on a 'first come, first served' basis and artists may choose up to three potential stories (in case their first choice is unavailable). If there are more stories than artists, there will be a second round of claims wherein artists may choose a second story to work with, and on and on until all stories are claimed for art.

If a fic up for claiming is rated explicit (R, NC-17, etc.), please only claim the story if you are over 18 years of age. Some authors may be uncomfortable working with underage artists on explicit works. We do not verify ages in any way for the bang, so this is solely on the honor system.

What do I do if I have problems or concerns about my author/artist? Sometimes authors and artists do not get along and this may cause problems with working together. If this happens to be the case with you, please email the mods and we will try to do what we can so that everyone has a chance to have fun at WIP Big Bang!

If you have not heard from your author/artist in some time after trying to contact them, you can reach out to us via email and we will try to get in touch with them for you.

Can I get an extension? Community extensions may be given in the event that the majority of the authors/artists need one. They may also be given individually under certain circumstances, but this must be discussed with the mods and will only be a short extension for posting. If you are certain that you won’t be able to finish your story in time, please let us know by June 13th.

Can I swap out a fic if my muse abandons it again? When you sign up, you give us the information on the potential fic(s) you want to write. If, say, one fic isn’t working but one you didn’t sign up for is, you can switch them out while letting the mods know if you need to change a user ID you used. It is absolutely okay to switch fics all the way up until snippets are due. By then, we hope you’ll have however many fics you plan on doing to at least 80% completion since rough drafts are due not much later. Just drop an email to the mods at wipbigbang@gmail.com with the new information (title, fandom, etc) and if you want a new sign in ID or plan to use the same one for the fic you’re replacing it with.

Can I drop out? We have high hopes that everybody who signs up can actually finish the round and share in the joy of the reveal with us, but real life can unfortunately get in the way and we completely understand! If you feel like you just cannot finish in time and no amount of assistance from us can help you, just let us know by July 13th (if at all possible).

Is it possible to be banned? We do have a banned users list. We hope to use this to encourage participants who are having issues to communicate with the mods. We want to help you! The way the ban works is that participants, either authors and artists, will be banned for dropping out without notifying a mod. This means that anyone who has not posted or talked to a mod by the time the posting period ends will be banned. Dropping out is not in and of itself a banning offense, so please do not panic if you have to drop out! We understand that there are many reasons you may need to drop, and we want to work with you.

Bans will last one round or until the issue is resolved, whichever comes first. To resolve a ban, authors will have to finish and post the story they signed up with and artists will have to finish and post the art for the story they claimed. Three bans will result in a permanent ban from the bang.

Are we allowed to participate without joining the Discord? Absolutely! The Discord server is optional, as just another way to interact with your fellow writers and get updates on important dates. It’s not mandatory you join, however.

I was just wondering if there’s any way to enter the bang anonymously? Like would it be okay to put our work in an anonymous collection on ao3 or something? Unfortunately, I can’t think of a way for that to work. The collection that we use is moderated but it’s not anonymous, and there are the bragging posts that you post on your posting day, which you would have your username on whichever platform you use.

I was just wondering whether I'm sworn to secrecy on which fics I'll be finishing up, or if I can shout it out to the world? No one is sworn to secrecy once they’ve signed up (aside from posting new parts to fic that’s already up somewhere…we ask that you refrain from doing that until at least July 1st)! We will be running Word Wars, where you can add more to a fic in a certain amount of time, and Whine Bars, where you can complain or ask for help or whatever else you feel like talking about when it comes to struggling with a fic, all after sign-ups end on a weekly basis, plus there’s the Discord server for chatting with your fellow authors and artists.

I have a question/concern that’s not mentioned here. If you need help, you can always contact a mod and we will do our best to make sure that you get your story/art finished. The best and fastest method of contact is through our email, wipbigbang@gmail.com.

[solangeloficawards]

solangelo fic awards 2024!

oh hey! were back, and on a new blog! happy year 7 babes!

"best ____" fic nomination forms

best series nomination form

author of the year nomination form

let me know if you find any mistakes with the forms and i will fix it asap. you can also submit fics via message or ask! submissions end 01/31 and voting will (hopefully) be up by 02/02! <3

keep reading for past years, categories, & guidlines

2024 categories:

best fluff (award for the fluffiest, sweetest fics!)

best au (award for the best alternete universe or trope fics!)

best canon compliant (award for best demigod-centric universe following straight along with the classic riordan universe!)

best angst (award for the most heart-wrenching, angsty fic!)

returning category! best oneshot (award for one-chatper, under 5k word fics for our short story writers!)

new and improved! best wip (award for your favorite unfinished or abandoned multi-chaptered fics! previously best unfinished chaptered)

best misc (any fic that you dont think fits well into any of the other categories! this could include crackfics, crossover fics, miscellaneous oneshots, or any of your favorite tropes!)

best series (award for multiple fics within one series that all relate to the same plot/universe)

author of the year (to show your favorite author some appreciation!)

#rip chaptered finished and gift, forever in our hearts

references:

from the past: 2018 winners. 2019 winners. 2020 winners.  2021 winners. 2022 winners, 2023 winners

every fic masterlist: 2018 masterlist, 2019 masterlist, 2020 masterlist, 2021 masterlist, 2022 masterlist, 2023 masterlist

guidelines:

you can submit your own work

you can submit as many or as little fics as you’d like for any of the categories. the more the better!

fics published at any date can be submitted; however ,fics submitted after the deadline will not be included

fics cannot be any of the following: fics that have already won in previous years, non solangelo centric, orphan or anonymous fics (if i dont know the authors idk if they want to be included), explicit nsfw or any mention of underage nsfw (nsfw fics otherwise will be tagged as so), rape/non-con fics, graphic depictions of suicide, contains unnecessary racism/homophobia/trasnphobia or any other hateful content, harry potter aus, and any other content with homophobic or transphobic origins. fics submitted that violate any of these will not be included

you can submit multiple fics per category, however please do not submit the same fic for more than one category (if this does happen, i’ll just decide what category it best fits)

there is also a chance your fic may change categories from where you submitted it. this is only to help your fic do better, but you can let us know if you dont want that to happen

you are allowed to nominate fics that were nominated previous years; however, please do not nominate a winning fic from last year. the previous years nominations list and winners list can be found above (they will not be included in case you miss this, but if you do know please just save me some time

in the case that you do/someone else has submitted your work, you are allowed promote yourself, however you cannot offer anything in return for people to vote for your work. theres no prize for winning besides personal satisfaction so theres really no need

please do not be upset at me or anyone involved if you don't win. theres always next year!

all submissions are anonymous. a google sign-in will be required in order to vote when nominations do come out to ensure everyone is voting only once, but emails will not be collected or distributed! ou can always nominate or vote via ask (wont publish but ill lyk i received it) or direct message if you wish

please let us know if you see anyone violating the rules! we'll handle it from there!!

if you have any other questions, you can check out our faq! you can also message me or put it in an ask!

all relating posts for this year are tagged with #fic awards 2024! good luck :)

[kosmicdream]

The FATE of FEAST FOR A KING

.. and Nasty Red Dogs… 

And some other miscellaneous thoughts about comics, writing, and time.... AND ENDINGS...

============= 

As I’m approaching 10 years on FFAK and NRD is currently 5, I’ve been reflecting a lot on How far this journey with comics has taken me and how far I still have yet to go. For those unaware, my first webcomic was actually Eggshells, which started in 2011, but i only started posting pages publicly in 2013. It too is unfinished, but its planned for 7 chapters. (I’m currently working on chapter 5, which probably will come out early next year.) I have 9 ongoing comics I’m working on. NINE!! 3 of those are FFAK related. (FFAK, After Dinner Treat, and the prequel series “Help.”) It is so many comics though. And beyond that! I have two other stories I’ve been working on for the past few years in secret, one being Nice Blue Cats, which I might still draw as a comic someday.. As well as a series of “one shots” that is meant to be its own collection. Slugmom and “The Teacher & The Fairy” are part of these one shot collections. Which, uh, it was designed to help me practice writing short stories. Which TT&TF is now going to be three parts long, and roughly 300 pages. So I guess that’s short enough…? Ha.. laughs… Anyway, as I was saying.. Sometimes I’m sure, readers might wonder. “Do you ever feel overwhelmed, with so many projects Kosmic?” Yeah dude. I sure fucking do. I got 9 of them! That’s more than a full pokemon team of projects that are potentially a decade + of work. A couple of them already are a decade old/older at this point. (Praeymoon is actually one of my oldest-lasting projects, even tho its first chapter only finally released in 2023.. I first attempted to draw ch1 back in 2016, but was unable to finish it and scrapped the “full color” angle i was trying then. ) All my current ongoing comic projects are as follows: Feast for a King, Nasty Red Dogs, Eggshells, The Teacher & the Fairy, Replacer, The Eyes of Miasma, FFAK: After Dinner Treat, FFAK: Help, are all written. The only one which isnt fully written is Praeymoon, which I don’t mind because the way that story is organized is almost more of a sandbox-fantasy world of mini stories. I’ll be honest, if you havent heard of Replacer or The Eyes of Miasma, I don’t blame you- its not that i don’t like those stories. They just kind of are the “most neglected” comics yet I’m also kind of amazed they exist at all, like I DONT know how I found the time to draw over 100 pages for both of them. They also have fully written outlines and all things considered, are probably only going to be under 400-500 pages in length. But that’s still a decent amount of work there. Its been ten years since I more or less started making webcomics… and as I plan, and try to calculate all my projects for the next 10 years, my main priority at the moment is well.. Finishing all of these fucking stories one way or another. Its hard! I don’t know if I can as I put way too much on my plate. But at the same time like.. Whatever. I could easily drop most of them, if I felt inclined to - but I don’t. They are my library of work, and I’ve sort of made an artist oath to myself that I will see as many of them to the end as I can. I’m excited that three are very close to its end. (Nasty Red Dogs, The Teacher & the Fairy, and Eggshells.) After that well.. I’ll see what I can cross off my list next once I get there.. That’s still going to take years to get those done. But hopefully not too many. 

[Spoilers for potential LENGTHS of FFAK/NRD.. And other things.. I speak very transparently about writing and working on comics here AND including my thoughts on ENDINGS.. You’ve been warned]

I’m comfortable enough sharing that the fairy comic is 3 parts, Eggshells is 7 chapters, but when it comes to FFAK/NRD.. Its much harder to give an estimate, or if sharing those things will only be disappointing or annoying to hear about.. If you have ever been around me for more than 10 minutes, i am constantly talk about the “length left” on these projects a lot anyway. At night, i count them in my head. In the day, I write little lists as if I’ve forgotten the names of them.. They are MY LIST.

 But for those who do not know and wish to, NRD is likely going to end with 10 chapters. I have extended this in the past, so it could still change.. but it only really has gotten “longer” due to pacing of scenes rather than the actual content. And Honestly, it was paced out specifically to avoid this next chapter. Not that I didn’t want to draw it, its because i was Scared to do it.. Why? Because there’s cars I have to draw in it. And dogs. I have drawn those things before, at least once or twice. But I do not enjoy drawing cars or dogs. Dogs are okay now, but i hate that they have legs. Dont give me references, i have those. Its just how my brain is, with those fuckign legs and how there’s four of them. I know practice makes perfect. Or do-able. I have drawn amost 1000 pages of NRD, i dont remember how they bend and i’ve forgiven myself for knowing there’s just some things god cannot do, which is to give kosmic the ability to look at a dog leg and understand. Anyway. Because of this reason, somehow, finishing NRD with it only possibly being 4 more chapters, still feels harder than finishing ALL of FFAK - which (drumroll) might be .. only around 10 or 12 chapters left. Yes, you heard me- for the second AND third arc. 10 or 12 more. Will that also change? Probably!!!!!! Like, yes… its been 9 years and I’ve completed a lot more than just 10 chapters of comics in that time.. But wrapping up a story is way harder and I dont know what that’s like..yet! But i feel still confident that i will. I mean, i don’t really have any other choice than to experience it. I used to recoil and fall apart just emotionally contemplating finishing FFAK. my FUCKING baby. My joy. You mean that has to end?? NEVER. My attachment to it and the characters was incomparable to anything else I had done, and in my mind ever WILL make… (and that is still true.) But.. I’m okay with that now and I actually look forward to seeing how it could end up. Even if its bad! 

Its kind of weird to say, I just don’t really think it will be.. super good? Like.. it could be? I don’t know how readers will react. I dont even know how I feel about the whole thing.. I have felt so many feelings about this comic already, now I’m kind of.. Past it in a new stage. Zen like peace almost. There’s just.. so much that I wanted to PUT in FFAK and so much i could STILL put in. But I kind of just am okay with what i wrote, does that even make sense? The whole comic has felt like such a fluke to me, from the very start. And I managed to accidentally make so many great things in it I don’t actually understand sometimes. And my dreams for the comic has been nearly limitless. I couldn’t possibly contain all the feelings I’ve had over this story over the many years I have been making it, and all the incredible narrative outcomes I could see the characters going in.. the possibilities, the parallels.. The anime music videos..  I would NOT compare my writing style to GRRM, I haven’t read his books. but I can’t help but feel a bit like a weird baby version of him with the amount of cast members I have to push around and draw.. And I want to be clear. If FFAK was written as a book, it wouldn’t happen. I cannot write books. I do not think writing books is easier/faster than making comics, but sometimes it is hard to have to draw everyone. Point is, I understand the reality of a long-term comic project now, I have numbers and logs to prove it  and my range. And I’m fairly consistent, even in my low days. So.. in recent years my writing style has.. has changed to accommodate.. Those.. General Realities i’ve observed in myself. 

That’s why the second arc excites me. It has a lot of uhh, urgency that underlies it. You might have already noticed a change in the tone in chapter 16, which I’ve been working on for almost a year now. (I mean, I’ve been working on the written version for.. LOL.. much longer.) Maybe you haven’t! It could all just be from my own POV with how differently i feel that I delegate time to characters now. I did not start “writing” FFAK until chapter 10, and then i did not really start WRITING writing ffak until about.. Honestly, i want to say as late as 2019. It TOOK SO LONG you guys. I dont even know how many fucking thousands of pages of madness word documents I’ve got, with revision after revision and trying to list, contain, every possibly plotline… character backstory.. Blah blah blah.. Ive cut it down so much its impressive only to me. I don’t remember my lore anymore , and i love it. My readers probably know my lore better, and I don’t love it. Except when it benefits me. Then Its good. I would not describe myself as a RUTHLESS cut THROAT author, im actually too way sentimental to really let go of anyone. That’s why it took me so long to kill off Rock, but also because I wanted spoon to look really sexy and evil and that’s hard to do sometimes when I cant remember what half side he is. And when he was flipping around, I had to actually make a paper doll for him so i could TRY .. TRY to draw his arm on the correct side. Sometimes I didn’t. I just let it go if the drawing is good enough and i let it be a fun game for the readers to catch. But anyway, That’s why characters like Aeschylus are still around. Now that time has passed, I kind of regret it. Rome was right.. I dont need Aeschylus here and I’m mad he brought his friend Randall too. That being said, they’re some of my favorite characters in this arc even if they’re totally useless. In general, i have tried my best to not repeat all my writing sins and all my regrets of arc 1. I would not have been able to do this without the help of NRD to help get me to see that I can get attached and motivated to write new stories. When I hit my writing block in 2016/2017, it almost broke FFAK. FFAK still continued, but it also didn’t. But i was patient, and i worked through it.. And now I look forward to the ends of my comics, not because I want them to end but I’m very deeply excited for all the new opportunities my imagination to go to. I don’t know what that will be like. I don’t know how long it will still take me to get there, but I have it on [digital] paper and it does feel good to see that. Its affirming. I feel like i have a clear mission and I feel strong enough to really do it and commit to it. The second arc has barely started but in my heart I’ve made peace with the ending, whatever it might actually result as. 

Plus if I finish it and its so bad, I’m sure that will be inspiring in itself! People might actually write fanfics!! I think a lot of readers are NOT going to enjoy the ships, for one. The MEAN greedy part of me hopes they don’t. That’s the most ruthless part of my writing to me is the ship choices. Oh! My evil mind. I mean theres no possible way to please everyone, or even myself, but there is a possible way to displease a lot of people. Including myself. So that’s kind of the route I find myself drawn to. Why? Because it gets me out of the hole of like.. I dunno, being stuck. 

I used to write out a lot of big posts but over the years, I’ve kinda stopped. Mostly bc they were honestly really repetitive..or about lore that didn’t truly matter too much… That hasn’t really changed. This post is more or less “im still working on it, everyone! Just hang tight! Wow it’ll be a crazy wild ride” but it also is something I wanted to write to myself as words of encouragement. This has been a tough year. Like so tough that its hard to think about. But its very nice to feel like, i guess, my drive for my stories hasn’t gone anywhere. If anything, i really feel like i’ve gone through the mourning and ego death of “not being able to write a thing how you want” and now I’ve made total peace with it. Its just gonna be what it is, and I like that actually. When my life is tough, my comics at the moment serve as a place of hope for me - and assurance that I can survive through tough years. That’s the message they have ultimately given me, finished or not. And… I honestly don’t think of FFAK or NRD as my masterpieces or anything, but i know they might very well be the only stories people will know of when they think of me. If they think of me! So I wanna do a complete job with those. Rest assured, it’ll get there. I cant make big promises about all the comics I work on… even the bonus comics for FFAK, but at least those main two are my main priorities. That has not changed. THE FIRE is still in me. Even if FFAK took a like.. Mental.. 5 year hiatus its back baby. 

I’m about 30 pages in to my 50 page script for chapter 16, so I guess it’ll be around 300-400 pages more before its done. Things are picking up speed! So it could be less. I am also preparing for the monster that is the 7th nasty red dogs chapter. I cannot stress ENOUGH that this next chapter, I have put off since chapter 4. Yes, I’ve actually buffed the story out to be longer than it intended, just to avoid drawing it. I even put a horse guy in there, I never draw horses because those ALSO have legs but they’re worse than dog legs. And, its not that i didn’t want to draw this part of the comic! But I didn’t think i could do it. It intimidated me. It still does, but, I’m gonna do it already. I know chapters 8-10 will be hard too but like…eh… I know in my heart its gonna really be about 7 for me. It always has been about 7 to me.. 2024 will be a big year for my comics for sure, just because of that alone I think. Not only will I have chapter 16 done, as the first step of the 2nd arc and a new adventure of my apocalyptic wormy drama, I’ll be facing my fears of the dog variety. Its TIME. 

I’m so happy people have stuck around for my work, or shared it with others, even if they’re a strange mess. Its interesting to see, who comes and goes. I still enjoy refreshing my comments every morning when I wake up, and right before I go to bed. Its comforting.

My closing thoughts on this. I don’t HATE the ending of FFAK. I… like it! Its an ending. But I LOVE the ending to NRD. i think that ones legit good, i hope. With FFAK, part of me kinda hopes that turning up the pressure on myself of proceeding anyway will help the story. I don’t really know, or expect the ending to change though LOL…. Maybe i’ll come up with something better, but it will be too late so I cant do it or something, and then we can ALL write fanfics together of something else. Then sometimes I think about GUNNM and how the first ending was retconned but then last order was like? Basically the first ending again? I dont know actually, its hard to remember. THATS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN BTW. Also the ending is not everyone dies, even though that ending is fun and tempting. I didn’t do it, because end of evangelion already exists and its got a great song to go along with it too. YES it is also tempting to have someone go “WELL That was A FEAST.. For a KING” as the like final line, but I.. it wont wont. I prommy i take the ending seriously.

The reason I wanted to write all this, with webcomics, I think in general too people are so scared about writing their big comics that take 328523895235 years and the ending being bad. I see so many webcomics just, kinda die before the finale.. Which I totally understand, But I just.. Wanna show everyone that its much better and much more satisfying to just write the ending even if its a fucking disaster LOL. Because ultimately, its a webcomic. I don’t even know how to spell but people read mine! And so.. If theres anything I feel like i can promise and deliver to the world of the internet/my readers, is this big fucking disaster mess.. But it will end someday! And I’ll miss it. I hope readers will too, when that day comes (?) in probably another… 10 years…. idk.... BUT UNTIL THEN.. I hope you’ll enjoy the rest of chapter 16!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-Kosmic Dream

[moongothic]

So, back in early 2023, our local yarn shop sadly closed down, and I got some Really Nice Yarn at a really, really good discount. Like I would not have bought this Malabrigo yarn ever had it not been on discount. And, because it's nice yarn, I had been saving it up for a good, long while. Mainly because I had other projects I wanted to finish first, but also because this Really Nice Yarn, and I wanted to make something really nice with it, with care.

I wanted to make something wearable with this yarn, but at the time I had little knitting experience. I do love making things in crochet, but I don't like crochet on wearables, and crochet eats up so much more yarn I did not want to risk running out of yarn. So yeah, I left the yarn to wait, and over 2023 I got better at knitting by just knitting a lot of small shit, and this year I made my first knitted sweater. With all that I did finally get enough confidence to finally get working with this yarn. And over the last year I had had plenty of time to think about what I wanted to make with it specifically.

I wanted to try to make a colorwork sweater.

Now specifically, I wanted to practise doing colorwork. A traditional colorwork sweater (with colorwork all across the yoke and maybe even the whole thing) seemed like too much for me to figure out, like that's a lot of floats to manage and tension to figure out. For a long while I was thinking a peppermint themed sweater with vertical stripes could be super cute, and relatively simple (at least in design) but also the floats of that intimidated me a lot. But also, I'm working with red and white here, what else can I do with this color palette? I did also think about knitting like a ribcage pattern on the sweater, but that also intimidated me a little bit.

Then I had another idea; what if I do a sweater with an intarsia section? That would allow me to practise doing colorwork, managing floats and figuring out my tension, but at a smaller scale. I can just do a topdown raglan like my previous/first sweater, and amp up the difficulty just a little bit (instead of a lot) And... yeah, with this colorpalette in mind, I had one idea for what I could try to knit; a bleeding, anatomical heart.

So I bullshitted a chart together

(Blew it up to a bigger size when actually using it)

And I just. Got to knitting.

Honestly I don't even have much to say about the knitting process, it went smoothly and I had fun, although I was very worried about my tension the whole time, unsure if I was knitting it too tight or too loose, and praying blocking the sweater would help it in the end.

But yeah, once the knitting was done, it was time to block.

Took one photo of my floats before blocking

And then. Disaster struck.

Now, in hindsight, thinking about it deeply, I think the seller at the yarn store might've actually warned me about this, but I had completely forgotten about it until now. But the red dye started bleeding from the yarn while blocking. I had a fucking meltdown y'all. Like I started seeing the water in the lil tub I was blocking the sweater in turning a little pink and I was getting worried, I pour the water out and rinse the sweater with running water hoping the red dye hadn't stuck to the white yarn, but it had. In utter desperation I flung this thing straight into the washing machine (either a wool cycle or a quick wash), hoping a quick rinse would help the red dye come off. I did so much shit, in complete panic, just desperate to make my sweater not pink.

But it was too late, I had been too slow to react.

The white yarn, previously a stark white, now has a pink undertone to it.

Okay it's not so bad, you can definitely see it better in person than in the photo, but regardless, after all the time I spent working on this damn thing the dye bleeding really did just wreck me, to the point I left the sweater to sit by itself for a month, still kind of unfinished, because I could not bring myself to even look at it.

But yeah, eventually, I got over the yarn staining, and returned to the sweater. I had some loose ends that needed to be weaved in still, yes, but also.

My colorwork was kind of shit and I had to do something about it.

I had done a decent job with the red floats, maybe a bit too tight in some places but not too bad. The white floats however, were far too fucking loose, and so there was massive gaping on the sides of the colorwork. And while I could kind of pull the white floats inwards, they would come loose again and the gaping holes would return.

A normal person would realize you just have to frog the whole sweater and redo it because there's no fixing shit tension like this. But, look. If there's something I've learned from doing comics, it's that while I could spend months trying to master this one thing, I could also, instead, just call it a day and move onto the next thing. Or, in this case, try to bandaid the issue and improve my tension with my next colorwork project (whenever that may happen).

So I did spend some time trying to find any suggestions on how one could try to "fix" this shit tension, but I couldn't really find anything. But after futzing around with the yarn and the floats, I wondered... If I somehow managed to hold down the white floats on the inside of the sweater, could I not artificially tighten the tension and fix the gaping?

So I grabbed a small crochet hook and...

You know when you drop a stitch when knitting and then rescue it with a crochet hook, looping each round of yarn with the next? Yeah, I just. Did that. Creating a little chain stitch. And just to hold THAT down and keeping from unravelling, I grabbed a little bit of sewing thread and knotted it at the top of the stitch so I can't fall out.

Yeah, this is not an Elegant Solution, this is an Improper Knitting Technique and Most Shameful, I should just frog the project and redo it and Git Good.

But like.

It kinda really did work, man.

Now I did pull the chain a little too tight in a few spots so I created new issues (in the form of buckling) lmao, but like. There's no more gaping holes. Like, I dunno what to tell you man, it kinda worked, the main issue I was having and most unhappy about is gone. Like I wanna take that W, man.

Anyway, there were other issues with the sweater, a quick rundown:

I made the sleeves too long, the yarn switch was meant to happen at the same height as the torso but the sleeves really stretched the fuck out when blocking and so not only is the color change in the wrong spot but also they're just too long. Whoops. (Thankfully I can just fold the sleeves over, it's just the ribbing won't be the same lenght as the bottom of the sweater)

I dunno what I did but the sleeves are a bit too big and so the fabric of the sweater just kinda creates these weird folds in the upper arm that annoy the shit out of me (I'm just confused because I did it the same as my previous sweater but I didn't have this problem with it??)

The yarn is thin, and so the sweater is shockingly seethru. Like, you can see the black Roadhog Overwatch t-shirt I'm wearing underneath it, which is mildly annoying. Just, gotta wear white and/or plain t-shirts underneath this thing, I guess.

When bullshitting my chart together I may have stretched the heart out a little too much so it looks maybe a smidge too elongated, and generally speaking the heart looks a bit off (but that's more of a "I don't know how to create an image that reads nicely when knit" problem) (Also I could fix some of it by duplicate stitching on top, if I felt like it)

In hindsight, maybe using this superwash wool wasn't a great pick for colorwork since the yarn won't stick to itself (which you would want with colorwork, right?)

So the human heart lies about in the center of your chest if a smidge to the left, and so I tried to do that "just a smidge to the left of the center" positioning. And like, while the pattern did go exactly where I wanted it to go, I did the math right, maybe in hindsight I should've moved it just a little bit more to the left because right now it looks like... unintentionally off-center??? Like had I moved it 5 more stitches to the left it'd probably look more intentional (despite the position being intentional to begin with)

Aside from that though, it turned out Relatively Decent. Not as good as my previous sweater, but it's fine, I'll wear it, and I learned a lot during this process. And that's what really matters, doesn't it.

[criminalmindsgonewrong]

a run down would be appreciated😭😭 and i sure hope coffee at midnight is a happy fic bc that one i did start reading and its my current obsession, i wont be able to take it if something bad happens to my babies

I won't spoil Coffee at Midnight, but I'm glad you're loving it!!

My other fics, though, I'm going to try and put into categories.

The Multichaps

A Fine Line will take you through every emotion. It's smutty and angsty and stressful but it has a happy ending!

illicit affairs is an ongoing multi-chap that's nowhere near finished. emily and aaron sleep together before her first day on the job, when neither knows who the other is. the affair they begin has consequences for years to come.

touchy subject is complete and is an emotional journey. a teenage emily aborted aaron's baby without telling him, and deals with the consequences of that decision in the decades that come after.

impact married Hotchniss are in a car accident that leaves emily in a coma.

the price we pay. I'll start by telling you that Emily's dead. that's not a spoiler, i literally tell you in the comments. this fic sees JJ try to come to terms with her death and her unresolved feelings for Emily at the same time.

Nodus Tollens is annoyingly incomplete. A complicated fic based on the Arizona-Callie-Mark triangle n Greys.

The One-Shots

The Five Stages of Grief are a Myth is a journey, but it does have a happy ending!

phantasmogoria - emily struggles with the trauma of having spent seven months in isolation, with only her own mind for company. hotch is her lifeline.

found family is a cute little fic i wrote for the 'accidental baby acquisition' tag for criminal minds week 2023. the team find a baby.

built a home and watched it burn may or may not stay an angsty one-shot. it's the first chapter of an unfinished fic i took down a while ago, in which emily and aaron are getting divorced.

Eulogy is an angsty af one-shot of JJ and Hotch telling Emily about the Paris plan.

You'll Always Be My Person is angsty Jemily fluff that I woudn't say has a happy ending, but it's sweet and short.

Habits is a cute little Jemily drabble.

in love with you is Emily POV Jemily angst.

twelve things that didn't break aaron hotchner and the one that almost did is Hotch angst with a happy Hotchniss ending.

The States Game is a cutie team fic based on That Friends Episode.

The Smutty One-Shots

Heat is the only 'only one bed' fic i've ever written. it's just pure, unadulterated, shameless, steamy Hotchniss smut.

every lover's game is what happens after you send the girl you fancy in to flirt with a creepy guy called Viper. it's pure filth. it's great. probably my favourite filth i've written. you're welcome.

trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat is angsty Hotchniss smut. like I earned the angsty smut tag on this one.

when it rains, it pours - more angsty Hotchniss smut. back from Paris, emily is struggling. then comes a storm.

Coming Home is wholesome Jemily smut.

Stress Relief and Debriefing are just pure Emily/Luke smut.

Hotchner's Future Au (in chronological order)

technically these all have a happy ending because emily and hotch are married and trying to cope with parenting x

nature vs nurture after having her first child, emily struggles with her mother's first visit and her criticisms.

a good cat never goes far - proceed with caution if you love Sergio. that's all i'll say. but also read it because i'm proud of it <3

the last first day - emily struggles with her last baby starting school

good intentions, bad excecution - livvy hotchner is a menace, but she's also a great big sister.

red-handed the kids catch emily and aaron in a...compromising position. based on a request to write a hotchners future au fic inspired by the modern family episode 'caught in the act'

my mama's in the kitchen worrying about me - emily struggles with having a teenage daughter who's exactly like her.

Good Crazy - jack announces that he and his girlfriend are expecting. emily and aaron temporarily lose their minds, but what's new?

[inklings-challenge]

Inklings Challenge 2023: Official Announcement

The Event

The Inklings Challenge invites Christian writers to create science fiction and fantasy stories from a Christian worldview. All writers who sign up for the the challenge–by responding to this post or by directly messaging this blog–before October 1st, 2023 will be randomly assigned to one of three teams that are each challenged to write a story that fits at least one of two assigned genres. Writers will also choose at least one of seven Christian themes to inspire their story.

After teams are assigned on October 1, 2023, writers will have until October 21, 2023 to write a science fiction or fantasy story that fits their assigned genre and uses at least one of the Christian themes in the provided list. There is no maximum or minimum word limit, but because of the short time frame, the challenge is focused on short stories.

The Teams

Inspired by a similar challenge between J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis to write, respectively, a time travel story and a space travel story, the Inklings Challenge uses these authors (and G.K. Chesterton) as the inspiration for the teams. Each team is given both a fantasy and a science fiction option, so writers can choose the genre that is most comfortable for them. (However, writers shouldn’t be afraid to use the science fiction option as inspiration for a fantasy story, and vice versa. They can also choose to use both genres in one story, or write multiple stories). Writers may define for themselves which types of stories fit under each genre.

Team Lewis

Portal Fantasy: Stories where someone from the real world explores a new world

Space Travel: Stories about traveling through space or exploring other planets

Team Tolkien

Secondary World Fantasy: Stories that takes place in an imaginary realm that’s completely separate from our world

Time Travel: Stories exploring travel through time

Team Chesterton

Intrusive Fantasy: Stories where the fantastical elements intrude into the real world

Adventure: Stories where characters (usually in our world) travel to exciting locations, face dangers, undertake a mission or quest, etc.

These teams will be assigned at random on October 1st, 2023. Writers are then encouraged to write a story before the deadline on October 21st.

The Themes

To add a Christian flavor to the event, writers are asked choose at least one of seven Christian themes from the list below as inspiration for their stories. This year's themes all explore traditional acts of charity and mercy which Christians are called to do for others in need. Writers may use these themes to inspire any element of their story that they choose.

The seven themes writers may choose from are:

Feed the hungry

Give drink to the thirsty

Clothe the naked

Shelter the homeless

Visit the sick

Visit the imprisoned

Bury the dead

Posting the Stories

Completed stories can be posted to a tumblr blog anytime after the categories are assigned on October 1st. Writers are encouraged to post their stories–whether finished or incomplete–before the deadline on October 21st, but they can post their stories, or the remainders of unfinished stories, after that date.

All stories will be reblogged and archived on the main Inklings Challenge blog. To assist with organization, writers should tag their posts as follows:

Mention the main Challenge blog @inklings-challenge somewhere within the body of the post (which will hopefully alert the Challenge blog).

Tag the story #inklingschallenge, to ensure it shows up in the Challenge tag, and make it more likely that the Challenge blog will find it.

Tag the team that the author is writing for: #team lewis, #team tolkien, or #team chesterton. 

Tag the genre the story falls under: #genre: portal fantasy, #genre: space travel, #genre: secondary world, #genre: time travel, #genre: intrusive fantasy, #genre: adventure

Tag any themes that were used within the story: #theme: food, #theme: drink, #theme: clothing, #theme: shelter, #theme: visiting the sick, #theme: visiting the imprisoned, #theme: burial

Tag the completion status of the story: #story: complete or #story: unfinished

And that’s the Inklings Challenge! Any questions, comments or concerns that aren’t covered there can be sent to this blog, and I’ll do my best to answer them.