#American Gods Crossover

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC Tattoos and Crimelords

Just this idea I had that’s kind of cute

Jason doesn’t feel comfortable in his body, in his own skin. He hasn’t since he came back to life. It’s something he just had to deal with while working on his plans, but now that the dust has settled and he’s actually living a life again, it weighs on him. 

the thing that bothers him the most is the autopsy scar

So despite what he knows Bruce would say, he wants a tattoo. A mark he can choose, to reclaim his body as his own. Sure, it’s a very distinctive mark that could connect his civilian identity with his night life, but his armor covers almost all of his skin. If someone can see his body like that, he is probably already not in a good situation.

Danny is a tattoo artist. His hero days are long behind him, and having barely scraped through high school because of the ghosts, he didn’t have a lot of options. He spent some time traveling with Dani, backpacking across the world, moving from one grand adventure to the next. They had gone to the convention on a whim. Danny had been amazed at the artwork and skill of the tattoo artists there. There was something so beautiful about it all, beyond just the artwork. He could see the love of the craft these artists shared, and the joy and pride their clients had to be wearing their art. 

Danny wanted that to be him.

Danny managed to snag an apprenticeship with one of the artists there. He was a Gotham native and if Danny wanted to learn from him, Danny needed to live n Gotham. So Danny did. Dani, parted ways with him, still not done with her journey, but she promised to visit.

That was a few years ago, now Danny was happy where he was in his (half)life. Covered in ink with his own shop. 

And then an absolute tank of a man walked in by the name of Jason, wanting his first tattoo.

or

Danny became a tattoo artist and Jason decides to get some ink in an effort to reclaim his body. As Jason’s collection of tattoos grows, something grows between him and his artist. Is it friendship, or something more?

[ghostly-cabbage]

Please go see Blue Beetle I'm begging you

[kittyparr]

can you believe that i am finally making a percy jackson oc after like 16 years after reading it. i am aging myself so much ‘

Tatiana Armand, Daughter of Demeter 

Tatiana is the daughter of Demeter and her mortal mother 

Hadassah and  her step mother Skaði

At fifteen she is a veteran of the Second Titan War and Second Giant War  

Born in Santa Fe

From the Navajo Tribe 

Lives in a commune outside of Washington DC

Lived in South Korea while her mother and step mother were stationed there. 

Currently dating Clarisse  La Rue 

Best friends with her keeper Leah  

Tatiana was seven when she was brought to camp because her sister 

Got into fights with Clarisse  soon after her ‘’initiation’’ 

Her first quest was helping Clarisse on quest during the Sea of Monsters 

Got on Ares’ shit list when she stood up for Clarisse 

Based on the amounts fights she got into everyone thought she was a daughter of Ares 

Percy lost ten dollars when Demeter claimed her 

As a daughter Demeter, has a knack with plants. (do not mess with her garden, that is a death sentence)

wants to be a journalist when she’s older 

Devote Jew 

Like  Samirah al-Abbas she believes  that the gods are just powerful beings that G.od created 

[lizelvalor]

Hi so late night thought

Percy Jackson universe and Harry Potter universe

God/goddess has child with witch/wizard

Demigod wizard

I need this

Who can help me find this

Or I’m gonna write it myself (and then it will sit half finished on ao3 and be one of those stories that people start and then realize it hasn’t been updated in 4 years)

[daisythornes]

ughhh fr why do people still love boy wizard series

[lornrocks]

Okay but like do you think Dream would have a soft spot for Charles and Edwin because they managed to do what his son so, so desperately tried to do but failed? Do you think when he looks at them he sees his child?

[beiasluv]

christmas spirit’s | f1 grid

a/n: super rushed but enjoy 💀💀

ynfannss

liked by username, username and 76,727 others

ynfannss NOT CHARLES BEGGING FOR YN TO TAKE THAT PICTURE AS HIS SECRET SANTA PRESENT

view all 3,764 comments

username mans knew that she loves f1 dilfs and went with it

username I NEED to see Jenson reaction

username NO because Sebastian IS her mentor 😩

username I FEEL SO BAD FOR YN 😭

username RIGHT

username NOT WHEN SHE GAVE THE BEST GIFT AS WELL

username 😭😭

username BUT QUEEN WASNT FAZE AT ALL

username NO SHE LOVED THAT GIFT

username I wouldn’t be mad if I was gifted the three branches of government

carlossainz55

liked by yourinsta, landonorris and 524,626 others

carlossainz55 ¡feliz navidad! from the sainz’s 🎄

view all 101,261 comments

username carlos is in spain (without the s)

username NO MORE CHRISTMAS PARTY SAINZ😩😭

username NO MORE SMOOTH OPERATORR

username another one ticked off the list 😭😭😭

username ikr???

username YALL ACTIN LIKE THEY DONT HAVE PRIVATE JETS 👹

username FR THEY JUST HOP ON AND OFF LIKE ITS A FUCKING BUS

alex_albon

liked by landonorris, georgerussell63 and 361,155 others

alex_albon wishing everyone a very happy christmas from the albons!

view all 89,621 comments

username sad day to be an albon fan

username girl imagine being a logan stan

username you’re either american or american. either way, he is definitely back in florida

username ngl I’ll let him spend any day with lily. a win is a win

username get a fucking life yall it’s just a party

username ITS NOT “JUST A PARTY”

username it’s LIFE

charles_leclerc

liked by arthur_leclerc, yourinsta and 861,718 others

charles_leclerc family dinner from the leclerc ❤️🎄

view all 275,255 comments

username okay mr. host candidate, pack it up rn

username WHERE IS THE PARTY MISTA

username so no one is going to mention that yn goes on to like every single post 😭😭

username and lando.

username they plotting sumthinh

username tell me that bitch didn’t lie to us 👹

username that’s mean. do it again

yourinsta

liked by oscarpiastri, carlossainz55 and 861,517 others

yourinsta new player contract?? 🤭

view all 341,255 comments

carlossainz55 ankles still working?

landonorris at least I’m better than you

yourinsta she was a fairy 🤭🤭

username TIKTOK QUEENNN

username YN IS IN THE UK 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🦅🦅🦅

username GOD BLESS FHE QUEEN (Yn)

username LANDO???? EXCUSE ME WHO GAVE YOU THE PERMISSION

username so bf??? 🤭😭😭😭

username WHAT IS HAPPENING

username football girlie here but gah daium yn looks so fine 😩

username the crossover we never (kinda) expected 👹

username so…the party?

yourinsta

liked by charles_leclerc, oscarpiastri and 385,288 others

yourinsta happy holidays and making cookies!

view all 86,626 comments

landonorris where’s mine

yourinsta burnt 👹

username SAME RESIDENCE CONFIRMED

username switching sides

username maybe she’s not planning something after all 😔✊

yourinsta SAY SIKE RN 🤭

username WHATHDG

landonorris 4h

reply

yourinsta 2h

reply

landonorris 23m

reply

f1gossips

liked by username, username and 97,277 others

f1gossips photos of the F1 Christmas party parties last night were leaked. lando norris comfirmed as the party host and special guests of carlos sainz, nico hulkenburg, max verstappen, pierre gasly, kika gomes, yn ln, and charles leclerc himself. monte carlo confirmed.

- admin

view all 1,097 comments

username please tell me yn took that picture of Charles

username queen getting back for his present

username no she was a savage last night 😭

username Queen was roasting no one with hesitation

username AS SHE SHOULD

ngl guys, I actually finished the mark webber one first and then the poll shifted 👹👹👹👹

if you guys enjoyed it, any interaction would be appreciated. if not, then why the fuck not? 😘

today’s a great day to get out and take care of yourself 🫶

[evercmores]

─ 𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐏𝐋𝐀𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆... touch tank by quinnie ♡

... or the one where a famous singer soft launches her relationship

୨୧ pairing: lando norris x fem!reader

୨୧ notes: first f1 fic, go easy on me!! also please send in smau requests!! next up is so american by olivia

୨୧ warnings: curse words, sexual innuendos.

liked by oliviarodrigo, gracieabrams, conangray and 4,098,123 others

yourusername 'cause he's so pretty when he goes down on me 🎀

view all comments...

user1 um ma'am??? who is this about???

ynfanforever WHO IS IN THE PICTURE????

f1fann what did i just wake up to ⁉️

ynsshoee mother is in a relationship 😔

user8 the song is such a banger fr lucky guy

ynswife must be a special guy if THE Y/N wrote a song about him

user6 the lyrics?? wow 😮‍💨

user4 hardest soft launch yet iykyk

yourusername added to their story

liked by landonorris, oliviarodrigo, mclaren and 3,980,123 others

yourusername vroom vroom 🏎

view all comments...

user12 she's an f1 fan??? the crossover i didn't know i needed

user9 what if the songs about lando?

⤷ynswife oh please

⤷norizzlando we've seen them together once and people already think they're dating 💀

landonorris 🧡🧡

liked by yourusername and 45,789 others

⤷f1ferrarifan lando actually being nice in the comments for once

⤷ landoswife is there something we should know?

user4 did you guys see her story?????

user14 DO YOU GUYS THINK SHE'S SEEN THE LANDO EDITS WITH HER SONG ⁉️⁉️

mclaren thank you for joining us! orange really is your color 🧡🧡

liked by yourusername, landonorris, oscarpiastri and 34,098 others

⤷yourusername orange really is my favorite

liked by yourusername, oscarpiastri, charles_leclerc and 1,998,096 others

landonorris appertly I'm so pretty when I go down on her

view all comments...

yourusername oh my god please stop 🫣

⤷landonorris your words not mine

⤷user10 MOTHER AND FATHER????

⤷user9 im freaking out so bad rn

charles_leclerc everything i have learned is against my will

⤷landonorris no one cares ☺🫶

oscarpiastri please do it quietly next time, I need my sleep

liked by maxverstappen1, danielricciardo and 15,689 others

⤷yourusername oscar please stop

⤷landonorris no promises 😏

⤷yourusername @.landonorris you keep this up and see what happens

⤷user5 holy shit holy shit

⤷user12 oscar 💀

⤷maxverstappen1 no no oacar is very much right

⤷yourusername max not you too 😔

mclarenfangirl who am i supposed to be jealous of???

user1 the editors are probably going wild rn 💀

user19 they make such an attractive couple fr

user7 so lando's gentle... good to know.

ynsfavgirl she did gods work fr by releasing this banger 🫡

[onefellsloop]

an Aubreyad crossover

‘Upon my word, Stephen,’ said Jack, sitting down heavily in his armchair. ‘I am sorry to see even a privateer in such a bad way. They are filthy ships, as a whole, but it is a wonder that such a squalid wreck of a sloop ever made it past Bermuda.’

‘I hesitate to correct you, my dear, but that was never a sloop. I distinctly noted but a single mast.’

‘What a fellow you are, Stephen: I am sure that you only say these things to rile me. And I have been riled enough by that ruffian, you know. What does he mean by putting to sea with a crew of untrained, undisciplined fishermen, and never exercising his guns? Every man jack of them is quite unprepared for an action.’

‘It is a sad, foolish business, so it is. Would you ever have the rosin about you?’

‘A dreadful list to larboard,’ he continued, as he hunted about the cabin. ‘I should not be surprised if they had sprung a leak, and had not the wit to fother it; I suppose you noticed that they did not stop their pumping the whole time we was aboard. She is in a worse state than the horrible old Leopard ever was, and I have not even the heart to speak of her sails. How did you find your fellow - the cook, was it?’

‘Alas, there was but little I could do for him. He was comatose; insensible; inebriate, forsooth: I doubt he has been wholly sober since he was breeched. I have warned many times - I have petitioned through the fleet - about the deleterious effects of the seaman’s attachment to his rum ration; a monstrous degrading pernicious attachment, harmful to life and to limb. Sure there was a young fellow upon the deck; could not have been more than seventeen years old, and his brain rotted quite away. He would keep babbling on American gold, and the Dear knows there are not two doubloons to rub together between Boston and Charlestown.’

‘Well, one cannot blame a man for thinking about gold; certainly not a privateersman. It is all the poor devils have to hope for. But I tell you, that captain was a rum cove: three months to make Montego Bay, by God! Shall we have the Boccherini?’

‘With all my heart.’

‘Still,’ said Jack, as he lifted his bow, ‘I am happy that we could replace their main truck. I daresay that it is the only really solid piece of the whole outfit. And it is wonderful how an action may bring a crew together, if only there was a miserable little tub about for them to catch.'

'So you have said, joy. Perhaps then, with the blessing, we will have not have seen the last of Barrett’s privateers.'

-

(I'm sorry! I know it's the wrong war! I couldn't get it out of my head!)

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (January 21-27, 2024)

Godzilla Minus One made awards show history in both Japan and the U.S. this week. Its Oscar nomination for best Visual Effects is the first of the series (Godzilla [1998], Godzilla [2014] and Godzilla vs. Kong were previously shortlisted) and the first for any Japanese film. Small wonder Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, and their team went berserk when the nomination was announced. The other nominees are The Creator, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Napoleon, and Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. According to IndieWire, The Creator has the edge, but Minus One could very well win. And while it naturally made less headlines in the Anglosphere, Minus One also picked up a whopping 12 Japan Academy Film Prize nominations, exceeding Shin Godzilla's 10.

Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color is now in North American theaters. I was intrigued enough to make it my fourth theatrical viewing of this movie, but in the end it did basically strike me as a gimmick. Godzilla Minus One was shot digitally with sets designed for color, so making it actually look like a film from the 40s was always going to be an uphill battle. Even with the regrade, there wasn’t a ton of contrast in most shots, and some of the scenes taking place at night were quite hard to see. Still, apart from the Odo Island massacre, I found the Godzilla scenes as gripping as ever.

Thanks to Minus Color, Minus One made $2.6 million this weekend, crawling back into the box office top 10. Its total in the U.S. and Canada now stands at $55 million, third among all foreign-language films released in the U.S.

Brush of the God, Keizo Murase's directorial debut after a lifetime in movies, is finally complete. It'll play at the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March (link contains more images), and hopefully travel overseas very soon. Murase will also receive an Association Special Award at the Japan Academy Film Prize.

Clover Press shipped out copies of Godzilla & Kong: The Cinematic Storyboard Art of Richard Bennett to Kickstarter backers, myself included. It's an excellent art book, and there are plenty of deleted and altered scenes mixed in with more familiar sequences. Believe it or not, Bennett drew the panel above for Kong: Skull Island—they considered having James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) flash back to an encounter with King Ghidorah in Vietnam. Not sure how that would've worked, as Ghidorah is generally not one to lie low for a few decades, but it's the first I've ever heard of it being considered. I'm hoping to post some more scans soon. Here's the order link.

Minecraft social media accounts teased a crossover with the Monsterverse, in what's likely to be the most high-profile of the Godzilla x Kong video game collaborations. The Mobzilla mod was created over 10 years ago, so this is long overdue.

The big toy news this week was Titanic Creations revealing the digital sculpt for its Yongary figure. This guy's had even less figures than Gorgo - I can only think of one, and very few of them were made - so expect massive demand. New Godzilla toys were also on display at London Toy Fair, both at the Playmates booth and among the plushies made by an unknown company.

[joanofexys]

JO!!!! DROP THE DAREDEVIL FIC RECS AND MY LIFE IS YOURS!!!

IM HERE IM HERE IM HERE

lately i’ve just been rereading daredevil x avengers crossover fics but i’ll drop em anyway in case they’re of any interest

Take All The Courage - prettybirdy979

When what should have been a straight forward mission in Hell's Kitchen goes pear shaped due to lack of communication, teaching his teammates sign language seems like a logical step to Clint. Communication when their comms are down - great plan! And including the local vigilante, who's been working closely with them on this, is a real no-brainer.

Until it turns out said vigilante is an asshole that thinks sign language is beneath him, judging by the way he's stubbornly refusing to learn it.

(Conversely - Matt's trying, he really is but damn it, those two signs are exactly the same... what do you mean they mean completely different things?!)

Look the Devil in the Face - prettybirdy979

It's increasingly becoming a world where the unbelievable happens every day. The Avengers team includes a defrosted World War Two solider, a giant green rage monster and a man who might be a God; and they battle aliens and magic on a regular basis. It's not too far fetched to believe the Devil walks Hell's Kitchen.

Matt, on the other hand, hasn't realised exactly why his new battle buddies seem terrified of him. It's not like they've even heard the rumors about him being the Devil... right?

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost (But Matt's Not Wandering; He's Just Lost) - prettybirdy979

Matt has a super important meeting in Sta-no, Avenger Tower that he's running late for. But finding it in Tony Stark's futuristic nightmare of a non-ADA compliant building might be a problem.

(Aka Matt Murdock vs Tony Stark's building and high tech security. Here's a hint- the security loses)

None So Blind - prettybirdy979

They say when you assume you make an ass of you and me.

Matt wishes that the Avenger's assumptions about his seeming inability to read the written word did something as benign as making an ass of him and them. Being called illiterate shouldn't hurt, not when he knows he's not, and it's not like he can tell them the truth.

Not that the truth would make much difference. He's just going to have to grin and bear it.

If he can.

Double Blind - smilebackwards

Matt comes to, flat on his back, with Iron Man and Hawkeye hovering over him. “Oh fuck,” Stark says, less than comfortingly.

Thorns for Flowers - valkirin

Hawkeye don't mind working with Daredevil, really. He's a good guy to know and clearly cares about Hell's Kitchen.

Clint Barton would like Daredevil better if the guy was a little less ableist about Clint's hearing loss.

seeing eye to eye - karmauh

Stark Tower, or the Avenger's Tower, whatever it's called, doesn't have braille on their elevator numbers. Also Daredevil can't read print reports, but the violation against the Americans With Disabilities Act is what really gets him. Matt's a lawyer first, sue him! Or, well, don't. He's not sure that Nelson, Murdock, & Page can afford to get sued when the light in their office keeps going out. So he's heard.

Or— Matt Murdock’s eyes are MIA, therefore, reading print or anything that isn't raised/sunk/in braille is a delusion that will never actually become realized.

Alternatively — The Avengers see (pun intended) Daredevil’s inability to read, ignore the inability to see colors, and raise illiteracy as the ruling decision—for no particular reason, really. Hilarity ensues.

Seeing Blind - astroash94

Clint is deaf, Matt is blind and its really hard to work together when you can't communicate.

****

A chance meeting leads to a not-so chance meeting leads to... whatever's happening now.

40/40 - jadesfire

It's not all bad, being friends with an Avenger. Thor has some great stories, Asgardian Mead, and is handy for resetting dislocated joints. Also, Thor's friends think Daredevil has the best eyesight in New York, and Matt certainly isn't going to tell them otherwise.

Like a Crateful of Grenades - luulapants

“Wh-why…?” Tony said slowly, then more firmly, “Yeah, ‘why’ is the question here. Why do you want to bring The Punisher into my building?”

Matt stumbled on that question. The real answer, of course, was that Frank knew his identity and could cover for him if anything was going to give him away as blind. In a panic, he blurted the first thing that came to mind: “We’re dating.”

---

The Avengers want Daredevil to get to know the team. He agrees on one condition.

Or: that Avengers Tower Fratt fake dating fic

[rataccatak]

Analysis of how KaySD draws Sergey Razumovsky

Or: trying to justify a thirstpost about the world's most terrible man

Sergey's gone through a number of artists through the years, and I gotta say, KaySD's rendition has captured my heart. In fact, it was a screenshot of Kay's Sergey that first got me into Major Grom. While Phob's is the official art style that we associate with the comics, Kay's style, I believe, better serves Sergey's character in the current PD run.

Genre-wise, PD returns to being a big-action, ensemble comic, which--compared to The Game's tight conflict and human drama focus--deliberately implements Kay's more traditionally comic-book style to this effect. The first arc (nine volumes in total) of PD are all Kay; though the current issues are being outsourced to a number of different artists now, Kay's style--with its roots in distinctly American superhero comics, such as DC--was what they wanted to prime audience's expectations with. After Time of the Raven, there was a big push for Bubble to adhere their stories to big names like Marvel, and with that came the desire to usher in things like a multiverse, space and supernatural elements, and franchise crossovers. Plague Doctor was one of their latest installments of that new "culture," and they had to match their aesthetics appropriately.

Okay, but that brings me back to the brainrot part of this post, which is HOT DAMN KAY'S SERGEY LOOKS SICK???

The whole idea of Plague Doctor is that, for like seven years or something, Sergey has been declared dead or missing or otherwise MIA. Nobody, both in-universe and irl, knows where he is or what the fuck he's up to. You crack open issue 1, encounter a guy in sunglasses and a hat who is painfully obviously Sergey, but you get to the last page and

(I will say this is probably the most unflattering frame of him. His chin makes him look like such a chad derogatory)

BAM. HOMEBOY IS ROCKING A NEW HAIRCUT, HE'S WEARING ANOTHER STUPID PURPLE SUIT, HE'S RIPPED, AND HE HAS BLUE EYES.

This isn't the soft, sort of angelically beautiful Sergey we're used to seeing from Phobs. It's radically different, an entirely different character almost, which was the intent.

His new look is more practical, both tactically and socially. His hair is cut, so people won't recognize him as easily. It won't get in his face or get grabbed during fights, and combined with his more muscled build, this is a Sergey who's taking things more seriously this time around. Gone is the flamboyant cape and swishing fiery locks; the plague doctor campaign is no longer a passion, but a duty. And he's ready to enter the thunderdome and get his hands dirty and god damn it, he will die trying.

Kay does take care to preserve the core elements of Phob's Sergey, while making a hard left into traditional masc territory. He's still unrealistically attractive, in that distinctly soft and youthful way. He's more noticeably fit but still maintains a slim, smooth appearance.

But on top of that, he adds this charm and charisma to him that is distinctly boyish (as in, young and mischievous, a pretty face that's up to no good). It makes his persona as a young, leftist radical more believable; he looks like a student revolutionaire, angry and passionate about all issues topical and trending.

He does look more obviously aged. Guy is now in his mid(?) thirties, and the past five years probably amounted to like three lifetimes of stress, so it certainly makes sense. Compared to how Kay drew The Game Sergey, his face is more defined with sharper lines, muscularity, and wrinkles. The short hair also ages him somewhat, making him look less angelic and more like... a regular dude.

And of course, there's the overnight peach fuzz.

The more mature, aged look helps him actually look like a person who's lived a life as loaded and fucked up as Sergey's. He's a guy whose parents died, grew up in foster care, became a CEO that rocketed to stardom in five years, committed the most elaborate fucked up terrorist campaign ever, and then immediately fell from fame to the deepest coldest cell in St Petersburg (and this is all just the OG Major Grom run). He's not Phob's Sergey (or Rag, whoever it was in The Game)--a blameless childish pretty boy who's detached from his crimes. Kay does a good job in making Sergey have this subtle undertone of... unsettled, unhinged, what have you. I don't know how much of this is hindsight bias, but he looks like a guy with a fucked up secret. You wouldn't think twice if you were seeing him in a grocery store or something but I can imagine later recognizing his mugshot on the news and thinking wow now that i think about it, he really does look like a serial killer.

And let's talk about his fashion. For all the features of Sergey's flamboyant costumes in Phob's renditions, Kay dresses him quite casually, and it works, ironically, to make him look deceptively plain in the way all extremely rich people dress (think of the $10k white t-shirts and sunglasses get-up all rich men wear). He dresses like his current social stature: a new-money sod who has gotten used to his wealth enough that he doesn't have to show off with his clothes anymore. Of course, this could also be turned on its head and instead, be an indication of Sergey's original, cheap clothes that he habited from his childhood. Certainly, the ironic rightwing graphic tees Kay puts him in edge towards that point of view, only now they're colored by Sergey's sense of political humor. I doubt a "god guns government" shirt is selling for $500 at some luxury tailor shop.

This is what I love about Kay's Sergey. In making him look more human, we get to orient him more organically into our own world. He looks like a thirty year old loser who studied CS in college and now commits cyber terrorism and doesn't know how to cook. He looks like a young adult leftist who is terminally online and has 500+ open tabs on Marxist theory. He looks like a guy who became too rich too young, who was the world's angle and then its devil in the span of like two years, and is now disillusioned with it all, who wears $5 graphic tees and stays up all night looking behind his back and tries desperately to find something that actually matters.

Once Sergey looks more believable, he becomes more understandable. And the more we understand him, the more the story has the potential to make him intrigue and surprise and reach us in multiple, unexpected ways.

[steddiealltheway]

(IMPORTANT NOTE: this was supposed to be ABSOLUTE CRACK for Ruth’s birthday ((happy birthday @kurtkankle)) but this Heartstopper x Steddie Stranger Things crossover turned out to be surprisingly wholesome at the end. SO if you want to completely ignore the crack, replace Dart with Mews and… maybe it’s better. And Ruth… you’re the only person who could get me to post this instead of keeping it in my drafts.)

Charlie goes to Nick’s house, thinking only of his strong rugby arms. Instead, he’s greeted at the door by a pet that isn’t Nellie.

“Nick. What the fuck is this?” Charlie asks, bewildered at the creature weaving it’s way through nick’s legs.

Nick smiles and picks the creature up. “This is my cousin’s pet, Dart. I’m taking care of him for the next week.”

As if the creature knows that Nick is talking about him, it unhinges its multiple jaws and screeches.

Charlie stares at it for a few moments before deciding that maybe he can go without Nick for the next week. But then he sees someone come into view over Nick’s shoulder.

“I’m Steve,” the hottest American man Charlie has ever seen says, sticking his hand out toward him.

“H-hi,” Charlie responds taking his hand back and shaking it.

“I hear you’re Nick’s closest rugby lad,” Steve says with a big, clueless smile.

Charlie laughs nervously. “Yep, that’s who I am.”

Nick stares at him awkwardly and invites him inside. Charlie takes one glance at Dart and hopes he doesn’t bite his face off. Luckily, he keeps to himself and follows Steve into the living room as Charlie and Nick got to Nick’s room.

They “study” for about an hour before the door slowly creaks open, and in comes Dart excitedly. But then Steve follows him quickly, bashfully looking up at Nick and Charlie who haven’t had time to untangle themselves from each other.

Steve looks between the two and smiles softly. “You two remind me of me and my good friend Eddie.”

Charlie and Nick glance at each other and silently debate asking Steve more. Nick is the first to speak up, “Steve, are you and Eddie… dating?”

Steve scoffs. “No, we’re just really good pals.”

“Who… kiss sometimes?” Charlie asks, confused.

Steve nods with a big smile on his face.

Nick sits up and crosses his arms. “Is this… an American thing?”

Steve shakes his head. “No, no. This is a me and Eddie thing.”

Charlie nods and leans over to Nick whispering, “And how do you know him, again?”

“He’s practically my cousin’s older brother. He’s staying here while Dustin stays with the rest of his friends.”

Charlie nods, still confused about the situation, before returning his gaze to Steve. “Steve… do you… think about kissing him often?”

“All the time. It’s my ‘Roman Empire’ as Dustin says.”

Nick and Charlie exchange another look before Nick squeezes Charlie’s shoulder and says, “I got this.”

Charlie watches as Nick carefully approaches Steve and puts a gentle hand on his back, leading him down the hall and prompting, “So, tell me more about your friend Eddie.”

Charlie sits back and glances to his right where Dart is curled up on the floor next to Nellie, wondering if this tops the most confusing moment of his life, ranking even above getting Nick Nelson as a boyfriend.

A few minutes later, he wanders down the stairs, easily picking up on the conversation.

“I’m… in love with Eddie?”

Nick is quick to say, “I’m not saying you are, I’m just telling you it’s okay to like both men and women. But maybe you are in love with him.”

There’s a brief silence before Steve says, “I think I am.”

Charlie peaks around the corner where Nick is sitting at the dining room table across from Steve, with a small smile on his face. “I know it can be confusing, but think on it over the next week. And I’ll be here if you have any questions.”

Steve runs a hand through his hair and leans back in his chair. “God, I miss him.”

“I can’t imagine going a week without seeing Charlie.”

Charlie’s heart skips a beat at the comment, and he wonders if he should stop intruding on this moment.

“So you two are… going out?” Steve asks carefully.

“Yeah, we are,” Nick answers with a proud smile.

Steve smiles back, a look of contentment settling over his face as if realizing if Nick and Charlie could do it, so could he.

Charlie steps on a creaky part of Nick’s house, and the two glance up at him. Nick holds him arm out invitingly and Charlie is quick to join him in the offered embrace.

Steve runs his hands over his face and laughs, “I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before. Robin has been giving me looks for weeks, and I haven’t been able to read them. She kept telling me she couldn’t tell me what it was about until I realized it for myself. It all makes sense now.”

“And Robin is…?” Charlie asks.

Steve smiles brightly and is quick to ramble about his best friend, and Charlie shares stories about Tao in return.

Eventually, Steve’s phone starts buzzing, and he’s quick to excuse himself, cheeks turning red as Eddie Instagram handle lights up his phone.

As he walks away, Nick and Charlie glance at each other again and smile gently. Nick laughs, “Do you think that’s how people saw us when we were first getting together?”

Charlie smiles. “I think we may have been much worse.”

“Or much better honestly.”

Down the hall, they hear Steve argue, “Yes, I know you don’t have an international phone plan. I’ll pay for your bill. Yes it’s important! No, it’s not the kids. No it’s- Eddie. Eddie, I’m in love with you!” There’s a pause and a heavy sigh before Steve continues, “You are not buying a plane ticket to London when you can afford an international phone call. This is not a debate!”

Nick squeezes his arms around Charlie and whispers, “Yeah, we were definitely better.”

“Why are they like this?” Charlie laughs.

Nick laughs in response as they continue listening to the disastrous conversation, glad that they helped someone else have their similar happy ending.

[informalmajesty]

Jimin is not being sabotaged by his own label

This tag used to be (mostly) fun and now all I see are large text posts pitting Jimin and JK against each other and, look, it’s not as complicated as many of you are making it out to be, nor is there some grand conspiracy to *checks notes* pit JK and Jimin against each other or *keeps checking notes* a SPECIFIC vendetta against ONLY Jimin, their artist who *scrolls scrolls scrolls through notes* went number 1 on Billboard.

So here is a large text post on the woes of American capitalism (yes. Really).

Here’s the reality

Billboard DID Sabotage Jimin

Let’s get the big sabotage that did happen out of the way — BILLBOARD (and friends. Will circle back to this) ARE RACIST SNAKES AND ALWAYS HAVE BEEN.

Billboard has a history of keeping Black artists off of the pop charts. One example, R&B was largely created as a separate chart to move a category of Black artists from the Hot 100 pop charts. It was a big deal—as (1) example—when Boyz II Men crossed over to the pop charts multiple times.

And then what happened? The American music industry caught up and started cranking out white boy bands that wrote and performed R&B but. Funny. Somehow it was now considered JUST pop on the H100 POP charts. They weren’t pushed immediately to R&B and had to work their way over.

This was considered R&B for the R&B charts that was a “crossover”

And this was considered mainstream pop that needed no crossover.

Yeah, Billboard have always been racist snakes.

So flash forward to 2023. We know they tried HARD to keep BTS from the H100. Going into Proof, BB limited digitals, reduced the weight on sales and upped weight on radio. Why? American music labels can control radio. They cannot control sales and it’s legally far more messy for them to do so.

But then. JIMIN happened.

ARMY got Jimin to H100 #1 with the rule change and the American music industry lost their collective shit.

Why do I say COLLECTIVE and not just Billboard? Well.

This is so essential to the punch line of this rant.

American capitalism only cares about its friends.

What does that mean?

I work in Silicon Valley. You want to know why there is a major diversity problem in Silicon Valley? Yes. There is explicit and obscene misogyny and racism, but the biggest problem is less explicit albeit just as systemic.

White men tend to hang out and befriend other white men already in their “circle.” When some rich person or VC firm’s buddy is like “hey I need money for this thing” they are like “yes, of course, buddy, here you go!!” And they get tons of cash without having to prove anything.

I will not say the startup I worked at but it’s valuation was in the billions and their funding was in the billions with NO product built yet. How they got those billions? A well known stunt performer was besties with the then CEO of a major major tech company and he said “hey bestie give my friend over here hundreds of millions of dollars.” And then this startup got hundreds of millions of dollars. Was there due diligence done? Absolutely. But would the CEO of a major tech company give a crap if his best dude didn’t vouch for the startup? No.

Humans are extremely relationally driven. Merit is basically bullshit. Merit is so so rarely considered in anything. Who are you friends with? That’s how most things are done.

So, Billboard has a lot of friends. Those friends are in major record labels. And those friends only care about making as much money as possible while retaining the status quo.

What goes against all of that? A group of non-white, non-American men that they make very little money from because their label is completely seated in a different country.

So when Like Crazy—a solo record by a Korean artist under a Korean label with a Korean songwriting team—comes in and dethrones FLOWERS, Columbia Records’ darling for the year (no hate to Miley or the song, it’s solid, love Miley), oh my god were they SEEING SOME RED.

The MONEY they PAID to see Flowers on top of radio, of playlisting, of cultural consciousness and a NON AMERICAN NON WHITE MAN just dethroned that.

My GUESS (I don’t know, also keep in mind BTS didn’t seem to have the friendliest exit from the Columbia distribution deal) is that Billboard’s BFFs at Columbia threw a fit. And Billboard responded by saying “of course, bestie, we’ll remove the problem.”

And there goes 100k sales in the next week. Deleted. Gone.

Who is going to call them on that? Hybe could propose an investigation, sure, but here’s the thing — it’s not illegal. Billboard didn’t break any law. It’s THEIR completely made up chart that they can change at any time depending on what labels want (this is how Wall Street works too, btw). Everything is made up to appease the same 50 white men. Bleak but true. Music industry is far from the exception.

Okay so moving forward — now we have Jungkook’s Seven coming out. And Billboard a week before release finally decides to tell us the rule they CREATED BECAUSE OF JIMIN (it’s a shitty rule of course but damn Jimin’s power)—D2C sales no longer count.

Jungkoook makes it to #1 anyway because ARMY is freaking amazing AND yes. Yes, Jungkook got more US promotion, help on Spotify, general promo, radio etc than Jimin.

BUT THIS DID NOT HAPPEN BECAUSE BIG HIT FAVORS JUNGKOOK AND SABOTAGED JIMIN

Remember — everything is determined by rich men in power and who they are friends with.

What did Jungkook do? He went to an American producer who is besties with Scooter Braun (Andrew Watt has worked with several of Scooter’s artists including Justin Bieber, namely on Peaches) who has power to contact his besties at Spotify and wherever else.

And what does going to an American producer unlock for Jungkook? A pop track highly likely to do well in America. So then what does Bang PD do? Recognize that because the dude is a billionaire and he likes money and he says (and we know he said this) “this is going to be a hit.” And there you go, you have the Seven marketing campaign that Like Crazy didn’t quite get.

This isn’t “oh my god BigHit / Hybe hates Jimin.” This is “Jungkoook took an easier, more commercial route.”

If Jimin wants to go get a song like Seven….he can go get a song from an American producer who is friends with the right people.

Instead he wanted to work on a personal project with Korean producers and it’s amazing and beautiful and also went number one and was also a huge success.

And Jungkook wanted this really great and incredibly commercial pop song.

Both are valid. Both are going to unlock different resources for the artist. And both Jimin and JK know this. They chose what they chose. That’s it. End of story.

As for Seven v LC album stock— stock is highly likely determined by basic predictive analytics models (exponential smoothing, maaybe a regression, maybe even something as simple as moving avg idk). LC was a sizable increase from Astronaut and other BTS singles. So then Seven likely adjusted to that increase. Again. That’s it guys. That’s literally it.

So can we please have the tag back and stop pitting JK and Jimin against each other and respect that Jimin chose to do a more artistic, personal project while JK (at least for now) did not?

If you want to be mad at something, be mad at American wealthy white men and their friends.

[hmslusitania]

Thoughts on Absolute Power (and also, tangentially, Watchmen):

When I first went to pick up the initial issues from my local comic book shop, the proprietor, with whom I've become social, and I got into a conversation about the event as a whole. Some people on his Facebook group where he talks about comics (being as he is a fifty-something man in possession of a brick and mortar comic book retail outfit) were complaining that there were now multiple major events in a row where Amanda Waller was the antagonist, and I remarked that it really, really felt like this was kinda gonna be the last Amanda Waller-led major crossover, on account of there's nowhere for her to go from here.

And I stand by that, but I couldn't fully and concretely explain why until just now.

I didn't manage to grab a printing of Task Force VII #1 the week it came out, but I found it today while I was browsing due to my comics guy having supplier troubles. But reading it, now that I have it, I understand why I'm absolutely convinced this is going to take Amanda Waller so entirely off the chess board, and probably kill her.

At the back of the issue, Steve Trevor is dropped off at Gamorra for his new assignment, and is analysing the tactical situation because he may officially work for the United States government and therefore at this moment for Waller, but he's Diana's man through and through, and he has the panel of introspection:

And it clicked: both why Waller is under the impression she's going to win, and why she actively will not.

She has taken the question "who watches the watchmen" and answered it with "I do", which wouldn't really be a recipe for utter failure except that... she's running on Watchmen the Snyder Edition. And the thing that has always bothered me about the Snyder movie (there are many; I have an on-tap rant) is that the reason, in the original comic run, that Ozymandias (the Smartest Man Alive!!!!) doesn't frame John Osterman (Dr Manhattan) for the major disaster is because it would only... be an American problem. Ιf Dr Manhattan attacked New York? American on American violence. If Dr Manhattan attacked literally anywhere else? American aggression. The whole entire reason Ozymandias goes through the trouble of creating a giant monster that is so obviously alien and then dropping it in New York to create a cataclysm is elucidated throughout the comic, via such panels as the flashback to Vietnam where one of the reporters points out "You said 'Superman is real and he's American?" and the general responds, "No, I said 'God is real and he's American.'"

Dr Manhattan is unquestionably American, and so if Ozymandias is trying to foster world peace, he cannot under any circumstance have Dr Manhattan appear to be responsible for any unifying atrocity.

The Snyder film version of Watchmen, while visually exact and nearly perfect on solely the metrics of cast and art direction, utterly and completely fucks the dog on this major plot point. Ozymandias, unlike Zack Snyder, is supposed to be the smartest man alive. He would not make a major atrocity that could unite the world by framing A Notably American Superhuman Who Might Essentially Be God.

Amanda Waller in Absolute Power is doing her goddamn best to be Ozymandias. She's set up all metahumans to take the fall. She's been working on actively destroying their public rep since Dark Crisis and only furthered her aims during Lazarus Planet and Beast Wars. But she's not going to fix any of her problems, because at the end of the day, Amanda Waller and her task forces are notably American agents, now with all their own consolidated superpowers. She wants to believe she's Ozymandias. She is, regrettably, Zack Snyder.

And also? While I will of course reserve judgement since the event isn't over yet, basically Every comic writer since Alan Moore has done their level best to try and mimic Watchmen or V for Vendetta in some capacity, all ultimately without success and with an overall worsening effect on the artform. Having a major crossover event that's touching basically all of DC comics that seems to be very intentionally setting itself up to have the protagonist (Amanda Waller) follow in specifically Snyder!Ozymandias's footsteps and therefore for a very specific brand of failure, is... deeply compelling to me.

The point of Watchmen is that Ozymandias ultimately fails because Rorschach sent that journal outlining his plans, of course, but in the Snyder version, that was unnecessary set dressing. In the Snyder version Ozymandias failed by the very outline of the plan itself. Amanda Waller has failed at the planning stage, despite the literal decades we've seen her working on it in the Origins tie in.

Also I have read Watchmen arguably too many times

[hikarry]

There should be more Good Omens x Supernatural crossovers

Fanart, fanfics, idc

Just

Castiel and Aziraphale's relationship would be fucking bomb! Hell, even Sam and Aziraphale's! They could be fucking nerds together

And don't get me stared on Crowley and Dean's dynamic! I just know they would absolutely annoy the fuck out of each other but become fast friends that just, ya know, thrive over fucking roasting each other but they would geek out over the other's car and music together. Just 🤌🏻 Crowley taking the shit out of Dean for him not only being American, but from bloody Texas of all places and Dean making a fake atupid British accent to annoy the shit out of Crowley because

Dean: "Look at me. Im a stupid demon that of all places in the world chose to become a fucking honorary Brit. How I love myself my stupid little tea at noon and pretend like I'm better than everybody else"

Crowley; "Listen here, you bloody Yankee, first off, tea is not my thing. Good whiskey, me. And I'm not bloody British! I'm a demon!"

Dean: "You sure act like one, posh bastard"

Crowley; "Posh? It's called having bloody manners! You fucking Americans must have lost them when you killed all the bloody natives and then came up with a stupid arse of a holiday to pretend you are the good guys"

Dean: "Says the Brit. Just the guys that enslaved half of the world and killed the other half."

Crowley: "I am not fucking British!"

Aziraphale: "He's right, Dean, dear. Technically we are not British. We don't have any nationality. We can speak every language and are nationless. Besides, we weren't involved with Britain's colonization. Actually, I believe Crowley spent most of his time in Iceland back in that century."

Crowley: "Oh yeah. We can speak every language but French, eh?"

Aziraphale: "We don't talk about that."

Castiel: "What's the problem with French?"

Crowley: "The problem is Aziraphale is absolute shit at it. It almost got him discorporated back in the French Revolution. Heavens, he can barely order a crepe when we go to Paris."

Castiel: "Why? It's in our nature to speak every language"

Aziraphale: "Oh for the love of all that's holy....I just decided to learn it the hard way, yes? Thought it might be fun."

Crowley: "Yeah. Just like the magic lessons you took. Which you are also shit at, by the way."

Sam: "Can't you like, do real magic?"

Crowley: "Precisely. But angel over here decided human magic was fun."

Aziraphale: "And I am correct! It's not my fault you are a cinic!"

Crowley: "You mean realistic. Every time I've seen you try to perform magic it's an absolute disaster. Embarrassing even."

Aziraphale: "Ah yes? What about my photo trick back in the 40s? Saved us, did it not?"

Crowley: "You did good there, yes. But, fucking Heavens angel-"

Dean: "Okay whatever. Let the fucking Brits have their little fight. We have work to do. Sammy, did you manage to locate the demon?"

Sam: "Actually, Aziraphale did."

Aziraphale: "It was quite easy, really. Crowley and I have dealt with them before"

Crowley: "You mean I saved your arse from them before"

Dean: "Oh for fucks sake, just let's go. Sammy, Cas, cmon."

Aziraphale: "Are you sure you don't want us to go? We could help."

Dean: "No. You both stay. Make up and makeout or whatever it is you do in your free time. We don't need you in the way"

Crowley: "Aziraphale, let's go. We gonna try and find some decent restaurant in this bloody city. Let them screw themselves. They will come begging for help before you know it"

Dean: "We've been dealing with demons for years, you pretentious fuck. We dunnot need your fucking help."

Crowley: "We've been alive for all the existence of humanity and have saved the world twice now."

Dean: "Big thing. We do that every other week. Open your mouth when you fight fucking God and then we will talk."

Sam: "Okay, okay, enough. You two go and do whatever it is that you want to do. We will reach out if we need help."

Aziraphale: "Jolly good. Come on, my dear. I've seen an amazing sushi restaurant down the street that looks decent enough."