#I assume this was an invitation to just ramble about how I'm generally doing

[nights-at-crystarium]

You know what, I assume that people always read my pinned, or notice the pointer "new reader? start here" in every new Fragments' episode. I might be deluding myself. So hi hello lemme TALK ABOUT MY COMIC.

Before I get too rambly (and I mean RAMBLY), here's a quick intro. Fragments is a comic focused on feels and slice of life, made by a queer guy, aiming to ~character study~ the main cast (Vivi, Raha, Alisaie, Feo Ul) and fill in the gaps in canon (or linger in canon moments that needed more air imo), the tone ranging from angst to fluff to meme. Good punches require a good windup, so please don't expect angst anytime soon :3c

The story's segmented (fragmented, heh) into episodes. Episodes 1-11 take place in ARR, you can enjoy them with no worry about spoilers. Episode 12 onward is ShB, with all the spoilers and lorebending.

My storytelling style assumes you haven't only played through ShB, but know it like the back of your hand, i.e. it's for nerds and thinkers. Of course there's plenty of silly moments that don't require any deep knowledge, but the overarching story does. Often I skip canon events, only hinting that they took place, simply because I don't wanna retell the msq 1:1, I've got plenty of original scenes waiting to be drawn. You're in for a treat if you like obsessing over emotional and moral implications of things. And, yes, this's a story about a morally grey mc. Don't expect to be spoon-fed "and this's why that thing's bad, kids".

Currently I've outlined all the main story beats up until post EW, so it's like, not being winged as I go. Yes I refine things here and there, but I know where I'm going. I'm going ham!!!! With the lorebending post ShB. Initially I didn't plan to, but the more I learned about Vivi and personally grew as a writer, the more courage I got to "divorce" from canon. The general xiv story may still be good wherever it's headed, but it's not suited for an established wolgraha, so I'm making food for myself.

Everyone imagines the lil scenes from their wol's life, I'm taking that a tiiiiiny step further. Fragments tells a cohesive story that's looking to be the longest project at least in our corner. I can and will hyperfixate on this for years.

I started out just like many others, being hit with ShB like a truck, I wanted to put a catboy under a microscope and rotate him forever. Although I'd already been drawing for decades, I didn't have the comic-making skills yet, or eloquence to write the dialogue, so I spent the first half of 2022 self-studying, just because I needed a mouth to be able to scream about my ship.

Vivi didn't exist prior to my obsession with Exarch. He was made for this, he started out as a reagent (or a foil, now that I know fancy writing terms) for a rich and fun chemistry, and keep myself entertained for years, first and foremost.

Me, a fool: okay let's make a guy that falls in love with Exarch in this particular moment, what kinda life must he have led to- Me: ....oh no

The chemistry quickly bubbled up and exploded in my face, involving not only Exarch, but other characters (first as a means to subtly tell about Vivi, then they also demanded their own screentime), and here I am, sitting with a massive script on my hands, drawing my blorbos every day. Thanks for enabling that btw.

I care about characters a lot. I ask a lot of whys and hows. I'm critical-minded and burned on many bad stories that did their characters dirty, and I wanna be an opposing example. What I'm doing is extremely ambitious and risky, yes, but I can only invite you to tag along and see if I stick to my word.

The internet's a cruel and unforgiving place nowadays, and here I am, pitting my passion against what feels like decaying humanity. I'm making this comic to keep myself happy above all else, being sincere and cringe because life's too short to be anything else.

Thanks for reading this, and if you haven't yet, read Fragments here!

[lavendermin]

also tipsiness but in a more sfw context

note: reader is a shitty texter with atrocious grammar and shorthand because the weaklings who use autocorrect will not survive when the abundance invades

you get invited by your friends out to a bar of some sort after-work party, and despite your usual reservations you somehow end up overindulging (˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ ) perhaps it was the sweetness of the cocktails you'd ordered that masked the liquor's burn, or getting caught up in the tale your coworker was divulging of her cheating ex that was begging for her to take them back (and maybe in your tipsy mind you think, jing yuan would never do that, but it's merely a passing thought that you don't linger on, gliding past your focus as she drops another deranged attempt at winning her affections again) but whatever the reason—your head's spinning not even halfway through the night.

It'd be a lot less cause for concern of circumstances hadn't aligned how they had, your place of residence far further away than the usual haunt, and your friends are realising how intoxicated you actually are when you start rambling, dropping anecdotes about your definitely-not-a-crush, and definitely merely admiration fueled fixation on the Luofu's General. By the fourteenth metaphor of 'eyes like sunbeams shining through slow-flowing honey, except vibrant in a way that nothing else could ever stand up to', they are more than just a tiny bit worried about how they're going to get you home.

For reasons unknown, you've somehow acquired Jing Yuan's number, and for reasons slightly more known, your friend group ends up huddled around the table, your phone opened up to the chat and placed on the sticky surface.

The muttered comment of "dear Lan, I think I'm going to be sick—and it's not because of the alcohol," at your contact name—⭑⊹｡𖦹°‧ general ⋆₊˚⊹♡  is a perfectly acceptable name and you will live and die by this truth— has you offended enough that you demand they dictate your speech, instead of simply letting them convey a general sentiment from the group.

You would have texted him yourself, if your hands weren't suddenly the least cooperative they've been in your entire life. Typing is surprisingly difficult when the extremities on the ends of your arms just flop uselessly against the keyboard—despite what it seems, and no matter the effort you put into it, gems like "meklokwhb ebjsiiwnn hjeins ??×?" don't convey the intended message very well...but you didn’t get as high in the ranks as you did without being adaptable, and the honor of being your scribe has been bestowed upon your closest friend.

> so, how has your night been?

His reply is quick, surprisingly fast for someone who you'd assumed to be rather busy—but it's the question he texts back that has your friend throwing his head back in raucous laughter, wheezing interrupting his exclamation of, "No way, your textspeak is bad enough that he can recognise it with one glance!?"

> Who is this?

If anyone asks whether your chest constricted oddly at that, you'd deny it. Even now you're explaining it away as a bad reaction to having three cocktails in the span of a hour, rationalising your suddenly fluttering pulse into a neat little box, to be locked away forever as you dictate the next message.

> my friend's borrowing my phone because my hands aren't working right at the moment, I think I had too much to drink

> but answer the question, it's important

> Your hands aren't working because you've drank too much? That seems to be a rather pressing issue that I wouldn't mind solving, if you don't mind me turning up to take you home.

> But very well, in response to your oh-so urgent query—my day has been severely lacking without you to keep me company.

(this entire interaction was inspired by a momwnt in a fix i read where the mc asked his friend to text someone for him, and said someone instantly recognsied that it wasn't the same person typing bc of the use of apostrophes ₍^ >ヮ<^₎ .ᐟ.ᐟ !!! this has been 🔥 anon too THE GRIND NEVER STOPS ‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️)​

jing yuan knowing right off the bat your kind of horrible texting is such a cute trope ^^💗 10/10 no notes 💗

🔥anon (now wifeguy anon per your most recent ask ^^) this was such a treat to read thank you 🥹 im always a sucker for some fluffy jing yuan tropes

Also “weaklings who use autocorrect will not survive when the abundance invades” has me CACKLING

[amerricanartwork]

I want to say I love reading your headcanons, especially your Iterator ones. Do you have a unique headcanons for Pebbles, since you haven't talked about him much?

Ohhh, I'm so glad to hear that!! I love creating and typing down these headcanons, but sometimes I worry whether anyone actually wants to read these long posts about it, so it's always so nice to hear people appreciate them!

I would love to talk more about Five Pebbles! I actually have quite a few headcanons for him specifically since I tend to ponder him a lot. In fact, of all the canon characters, when it comes to headcanons that aren't purely working out their general personality and backstory I think I currently have more outside headcanons for him than anyone else.

But nonetheless, assuming you mean "unique" as "interesting and relatively uncommon/unheard of in the fandom", here's one of mine that might seem odd or specific, but I really like it!

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I’ve headcanoned for at least a few months now that Five Pebbles is very much an auditory learner. He’s more receptive to spoken and auditory information than just written text, and as such he tends to talk a lot, which is how he best formulates his ideas. 

Now, when I call him an auditory learner (or maybe just an audio-oriented person in general would be a better way to describe it), I also mean he generally cares a lot about how things “sound” to him. Five Pebbles pays close attention to how certain sounds “feel” in a sense, not just with regular abstract sounds, but spoken words, phrases, and ideas too. He likes it when sentences flow smoothly, convey the proper emotion or idea, and sound intellectual and well-thought-out, and dislikes when phrases sound clunky, confusing, or otherwise unprofessional and improper. In situations where he wants to appear smart and sophisticated, especially in a competitive sense, he loves flexing his extremely large vocabulary by throwing in long and obscure words and technical jargon too. To reference my last headcanon ask, this trait is another quality making him dislike NSH, who doesn’t care as much about grammar or syntax and thus tends to speak in casual ways Pebbles finds “improper”.

Usually, when he has a decent amount of uninterrupted personal time, Pebbles will spend several hours on end just talking to himself in his chamber to work out his ideas and plan any essays or speeches he’s preparing to give. He loves making sure that every sentence sounds pleasing, proper, and is grammatically correct, yet still explains his ideas thoroughly and accurately. However, despite being an introvert who values his alone time, he sometimes talks about his ideas to other iterators, especially when he wants feedback and criticism. In fact, having long discussions and debates, particularly about scientific, artistic, and philosophical matters, is perhaps one of the only things he actively enjoys doing with other people.

In this latter regard, this habit was actually one of the only reasons he occasionally, yet still actively sought out the presence of Unparalleled Innocence, someone whom I headcanon he never had much of a relationship at all with, positive or negative (at least pre-AU, that is). But nonetheless, Innocence is a very good listener and never declined an invitation to talk with him, though more often than not it turned more into him just rambling about something and her quietly listening and encouraging him to continue on (which she did for… other reasons besides her fascination with the subjects of his speeches, but I will get to those some other day…)

Another facet to this headcanon is that Pebbles has a strong appreciation for music. He finds it helps him calm down and work through his emotions very well, alongside one other habit I’ll address in a more official headcanon post. Thus, he’s got various music pearls with his favorite tunes that he’ll listen to while working or when he needs to relax. The purple one in Rivulet’s campaign is only one of many, though that was also the only one he could obtain at the time his chamber was broken into by the rot. 

His love of music has always been another little “worldly pleasure” that he took for granted, not realizing just how much he enjoyed it until after mass-ascension. And even then, he stuffed it deep inside him and kept trying to downplay its value to him all the way until his rot condition was almost at its climax. This emotional turmoil I imagine him having is a particular element of his character arc I find very interesting even in regular Downpour canon, but once again I will elaborate on it more later…

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Anyway, there's the headcanon! Seeing as I'm planning to explain major character info in official headcanon posts, I tried to choose one that wasn't too essential for narrative comprehension, but is still unique and hopefully decently entertaining in-and-of itself. I also tried to use this to test a new format of doing more sketches for these headcanon posts, so it's not as much pure text.

Anyway, I hope you like it! And if you (or anyone else reading this, for that matter) ever want more headcanons, or can add to this one, don't be afraid to send another ask!

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Hello. Your top 10 (or whatever) of Bella's favorite ridiculous decisions or actions?

I'm not sure I have a particular order so I suppose I'll list out ten things off the top of my head.

Bella's Motivation to Move to Forks

Now, this is mostly just sad, and offers some very key insight into Bella's relationship with her mother and her general childhood, however, the decision making in and of itself is delightfully ridiculous.

Bella's going to stop being a burden to her mother by moving to Forks right after her mother got married. She will give no one a reasonable response of why she suddenly up and moved, with little warning, and will badly lie through her teeth that she loves Forks when she's hated it for years.

To Renee, this undoubtedly looks like a) Bella is mad at her for remarrying b) Bella hates Phil c) Potentially... Phil did something very bad to Bella.

Bella, however, has no idea.

It never crosses her mind in the narration that this is what people assumed happen.

She realizes her decision is a bit odd but she doesn't think it's utterly bizarre and is more wallowing in her completely self-imposed misery.

Hallucination Edward

Granted, Bella's severely depressed here, but the whole Hallucination Edward arc is a ride.

First, when making a blatantly poor decision, Bella actually hallucinates Edward telling her not to do it. Rather than be mildly concerned that she hallucinated her boyfriend, Bella doubles down, and purposefully puts herself in as much peril as possible so as to keep hallucinating Edward.

She then never tells anyone she was doing any of this to hallucinate Edward and, again, doesn't seem to realize any of this was strange or concerning.

You don't hallucinate your ex-boyfriend?

I Will Stab Myself to Save the Day

Bella gets invited to a tribal meeting and Billy tells a story. The moral of the story is very clearly that vampires are man-eating demons who are the stuff of horror stories with no hint of humanity or compassion.

Bella skips that part and zeroes in on the third wife stabbing herself so as to distract the vampire.

"I can do that," Bella says.

Or rather, what she says is in a Troy Maclure voice, "It's the part I was born to play, baby."

Bella then proceeds to try to do this and gets Edward asking, "What the fuck, Bella?!"

And Bella's response is that she thought she was being helpful!

We Should Hide in the Place No One Will Ever Look: My Hometown

When Bella's on the run in Twilight from James she proposes that they go to Phoenix. Why?

She said she was going to Phoenix.

See, because she said it, James will never look there.

Nevermind that's the first place he's going to look because a) she said it, b) she has family there.

Nevertheless Bella, Edward, and Emmett consider this to be a tricksy, brilliant, plan.

James finds her less than twenty-four hours later.

He Swam to France?!

Bella gets the weirdest things out of stories. She actually generally doesn't care what people say much if at all.

Edward goes on this long, rambly, monologue of how Carlisle was turned into a vampire. Bella's not uninterested, it sounds like an exciting story in theory, but what she zeroes in on is the idea of Carlisle swimming to France.

Edward stops and stares at her.

"Yes, Bella, humans do that too."

She stares back.

"Right, I knew that, it just sounded strange in context."

It didn't sound strange in context.

(Bella has a few other moments like this such as hyper focusing on Edward's human eyes being green when Carlisle's trying to tell her that Edward believes he has no soul and that if she became a vampire she'd become a soulless husk. Rosalie's story is a similar moment, though there it's more that Bella decides "well, I never wanted a baby, so I'm good" and not thinking anything else about what Rosalie said.)

Bella's Reaction to Edward's Everything

Edward says he planned to meticulously murder the entire Biology class, to murder Bella, so he could have her sweet sweet blood be warm for long enough to devour.

This is right after confessing that he is, in fact, a vampire.

Bella says essentially, "Cool story, bro" and thinks it proves his love to her that he likes her so much he overcame his burning desire to eat her all the time.

In the next sentence, he confesses to having at first despised her because her scent ruined his existence as well as the fact that his family voted on her assassination.

He then runs around a meadow, purposefully being terrifying (honestly, I imagine Jack Nicholson in the Shining here but with more glitter) and Bella thinks it's all wonderful.

Everybody Hates Me

This is a more normal, teenage, thing but Bella not only has the world's lowest self-esteem but she assumes everyone hates her. Someone didn't talk to her at lunch: they hate her. Jasper doesn't talk to her? He hates her too (even though he does this so as not to eat her).

Bella generally assumes people have strong negative feelings about her when they probably generally don't care in the least.

The Vote to Turn Bella into a Vampire

Right when Bella gets back to Forks she goes to the Cullen house and makes them, who barely know her, awkwardly vote to her face if she should join their family forever or not while Edward seethes in the background.

Granted, it was the only way to get it done and she'd lost all faith in Edward doing it, but despite losing all faith in Edward wanting to be with her forever... she tries to fix that by forcing his family to make her be with him forever...

And doesn't see this as a glaring red flag for their relationship...

I can't even imagine being a Cullen in that moment.

Conclusion

I could keep going, but honestly, it's every time Bella opens her mouth or thinks about anything.

I do feel for Edward in the sense that, if the novels weren't from Bella's point of view, we would have no idea what the fuck she's on about.

[mac-lilly]

Mega Con London BTS Recap

Since this is a more personal recap of MegaCon London (and a bit of a comparison with Back to the Musical World con by Dream It), I didn't include it in the JATP info dump from yesterday.

BTTMW backstory

Let's do some backstory first. As you may know, the official JATP cancellation was announced at the first Back to the Musical World con back in 2021. I wasn't there for multiple reasons including Covid but also I just got into the fandom and it felt weird. I'm socially awkward - I cannot look into people's eyes, I stutter - especially when talking English - or ramble and I struggle to just touch strangers which is not helpful for photo ops.

So what I was supposed to do there? These people are actors - strangers I have nothing to do with. They aren't the characters I've fallen in love with. Yeah, not my thing, I thought.

However, when the BTTMW2 got announced, I was like 'You know, let's go to just show the cast how much you loved the show'. It was supposed to give me some closure. So I went.

And while the con was a fucked-up disaster in terms of organization and schedule - on Sunday, Charlie signed autographs until 10 pm, and Owen would have done the same if his mom hadn't cut off his line. (On that note: Never mess with a German mom protecting her kid. You'll lose.) But meeting the cast was an entirely different experience. I'd never interacted with them before, so I was anxious as fuck. However, they were so nice and considerate - and seeing them goof around was just adorable.

(And this pic is still one of my fav pics ever.)

And not just the cast. I met so many amazing people there who are now my friends. Big shoutout to them!

So, despite my hatred for Dream It, I went to BTTMW4 (and thankfully it was less chaotic than BTTMW2). But I was also determined to go to MegaCon bc I knew Jeremy wouldn't come back to Paris. (Unlike the other JATP cast members, he's done plenty of other cons before and knows that you shouldn't be so drained that require alcohol to make it through the day.)

BTTMW vs MegaCon London

So, just in general: MegaCon was clearly the better experience.

Firstly, it was cheaper than DI. Much cheaper.

(Note 1: The * prices are from 2022 since Jeremy wasn't at BTTMW4. In 2023, the photo with Madi, Owen & Charlie was already €180. All four would have been over €200 for sure.

Note 2: The prices for MegaCon were originally in £. The price in € is what I paid according to my credit card.

Note 3: Even though not 100% accurate: € = $)

Obviously, Charlie canceled later. But I automatically got a refund. So bonus for MegaCon.

Unlike with Dream It, you were allowed to film and take pictures everywhere, which was cool. And since the panels were exclusively in English, you actually got way more content. The panels were also much longer, and it seemed like the cast was more at ease. For example, Owen started to play body drums on stage, and he initiated the boomshakalaka without being drunk. This is such an incredibly sad thing to say, but I've never seen him that relaxed during a panel.

Also, shoutout to the many fans that were at the Saturday panel. According to the hist, it was the largest crowd they had on Saturday. (If MegaCon had been smarter and had announced the Sunday panel before the people got their passes, it would have had a huge audience, too.)

The autographs ran smoothly, and there was always a queue, which was good bc Own confirmed that it was Jeremy who convinced MegaCon to invite him and Charlie. (Madi got invited later - I assume after people haunted them on IG about her.) MegaCon was wary about it bc they had no idea if the cast was worth the money. I hope the audience on Saturday, the lines for the autographs, and the massive delays at the photo studio caused by the JATP fans (and technical issues) convinced them.

Side note: After Charlie canceled, I got an email from MegaCon. And obviously, I know they just used some phrases to placate us. But I still hope they meant it when they wrote,

MegaCon, you won't read this. But if you get them again, I'll be there!

(And again shoutout to the amazing people I met in London. To my fellow German tumblr friends: I loved meeting you guys and hanging out with you!)

So the only thing that wasn't great were the photo ops. Yeah, most of the Saturday photos are terrible bc of the fucked-up lighting, and due to technical issues, there were so many delays. (Though to be fair, BTTMW also had issues with photo ops.)

So overall, I genuinely enjoyed MegaCon, and I'm very excited to head off to Dublin on Saturday to give Jeremy the birthday card. To all the people who signed it: THANK YOU!

Some other random things that don't fit anywhere

Not Owen assuming that Deutsche Bahn must always be on time bc Germans are always on time. Bro, I know it's been a while since you visited Germany ... but please, that was mean.

When I gave him ghostie!Willie, Owen told me how much his family loves the little ghosties 🥹🥹🥹 (which explains why his dad was in my IG stories after he posted the pic of the ghosties.)

It's random, but this con was so much more balanced in terms of fans. I remember fans being kinda uninterested in Jeremy at the BTTMW - some fans even got angry at him bc he refused certain poses. At MegaCon, the interest was equally split between those three, and it made me happy.

Here's the lovely ghost merch I bought at MegaCon. Obviously, the pride ghost and the skateboard ghost are Willex, the couple is Juke, and the ghosts with the kitty and the one with the pumpkin are both Reggie! (I talked to the guys running the stalls, and they were so baffled about all the JATP fans - a few Fantoms came over from the US and Canada just for this con.)

[crossedsabers10s]

I saw something about Damon being a shapeshifter and going gender is stupid. Any more hcs or scenarios on that?

alkfdjalkfjdsf okay okay so!!! In S1 he was very much playing a role. He was the Bad Guy. Except that was to mask his real mission. He was there to save Katherine. Tormenting Stefan and causing trouble in Mystic falls are also goals, but secondary to the first, more amusements than anything. He also probably spent literal decades planning out exactly how everything was going to go. Some of his decisions were absolutely for the Drama. Like. Taking a Founding Family Daughter to a Ball in the Lockwood Manor to Retrieve the Amulet-Key??? Dramaaaa. He didn't need to do that. (I mean part of it was def Bothering Stefan, but he really could have just gotten an invitation into the house discreetly at any point prior. There was time between the comet 'charging' Emily's Amulet and the night of the party.) It really just strikes me as 'This is The Plan.' one he's spent who knows how long thinking of. So he has a Role to Play. That role is romantic hero/vengeful lover. He's very set on that, plus I imagine he wanted to present himself as similar, but not quite the same as the man Katherine has once known. Being in Mystic Falls, he's deliberately portraying a version of himself.

This being a very rambling way to say that after he realizes his entire life was based off a lie, Damon goes back to--like yeah sure I'm generally guy-shaped--(insert someone repeating 'generally?' with confusion here)--but who cares about that??? This vampire has spent decades hanging out in every dive bar imaginable and a lot of them had been drag clubs and gay bars and sex clubs and every shade of what society demanded be kept away from the rest of them. Gender isn't even like. some unimportant human concept to him, it's also one humans Made Up that doesn't apply to Other Humans and some of them just enforce the idea of it. It starts off small, in the 'when did you paint your nails?' sense, then he just starts going, yeah this IS a woman's top, but I'm rocking it and I Can Kill You, i think that's more important than how good I look in this sweater. Boots with more of a heel to them, occasional makeup, just whatever he feels like at the time. Sometimes he keeps his original body but wears a skirt, sometimes it's ambiguously androgynous in the 'excuse me, ma'am--sir? sorry, uh, here's your coffee.' And sometimes it's oh those are very much breasts, but that is a men's shirt and his face has stubble. Very nice clothes, like he had tailored shirts in canon, it's the same here. Really nice tops and skirts and shoes. Makeup On Point, expensive stuff, subtle jewelry, Caroline is lowkey annoyed he has such good taste. and also keeps wanting to look through his closet. Throw in some shapeshifting and its 'Are you a man or a woman?' 'I'm a vampire. Sometimes I'm a crow.' 'But what's in your pants?' 'fangs.' Given how very small town 2009 Mystic Falls is, this does not endear him to some people and probably sets him further apart than he was in canon. Though, I do like to imagine that the Originals don't even blink at this and just take it in stride before going back to their Murder Plots. Elijah is particularly gentlemanly, and does all those automatic 'holding out his arm' or 'holding the door, or a jacket' gestures with no reserve.

At some point Damon replaces all the (he usually goes by he because he doesn't especially equate pronouns with gender and does switch it up occasionally but sticks with he/him and his original name bc that's what he introduced himself as and bc Stefan would Make It a Thing--more about Damon throwing away every connection to his human life than him being a jackass, i think, but) but he replaces the pictures of the original Salvatore Siblings in the town archives and basically invents a sister solely for the purposes of gaslighting people into thinking he's the Original Damon Salvatore's Vampire Twin Sister Who Assumed Her Brother's Identity. Elena has to actually ask Stefan if he has a sister, which he denies, except it was a confusing conversation which left her unsure if they actually had a sister at some point or not and Damon somehow convinces her that Stefan doesn't know the actual truth and that he's his own twin. (He was very bored between the post-Tomb Opening binge drinking and depressed episodes.)

Katherine, watching this go down through binoculars: I think I'm proud? Shame he's going to try to kill me, I want to know where he gets his shoes.

i imagine if he wanted to keep up the Masquerade, but walk around town in a different form, he has an ID and backstory all set for a distant cousin on his mother's side. Her name is Desdemona, yeah they do look a lot alike, they both take after their mother's family. Stefan, stuck escorting his 'cousin' around town: please stop inventing Family Drama to talk about, you literally killed off any real family we have.

Damon, who has made a fake family tree and charts and has files on personalities complete with Thanksgiving Dinner Level Gossip: Not on your life. Don't you want to know how cousin Georgina gets back at Evil Aunt Charlotte?

Stefan: ...you need a hobby. A different hobby.

Damon: listen, it's this or murder. you pick.

Stefan: *sighs* Did Cousin Georgina elope?

Damon: She Eloped!! This, of course, enraged Evil Aunt Charlotte so much she had a heart attack and died!! Right there in the dining room!!

Stefan: we told people we were orphans with no close family, Damo--..Desdemona.

Damon, mentally plotting out how Evil Aunt Charlotte's funeral is going to have suspicious man in all black attend, who, when he turns to leave, reveals a gun under his jacket: We were estranged, problem solved. They didn't like Father. honestly, who did?

okay that took a very cracky turn but!! Vampires using their powers and immortality for Ridiculous Shit is my favorite thing

Gradually practicing until he can hold a full shift for as long as he wants and just disappears for a week to be a bird bc god knows the murders hanging around town are more fun than the people. Blood red lipstick and winged eyeliner and feathers nearly blending in with black hair. Eyes a touch too wide or irises oddly sized, dark blue nearly corner to corner. Spends a month breaking limbs oddly often bc he fucked up his bones and now theyre hollow even when he’s human-shaped. Maybe in this verse vampires are a bit wilder, a bit more connected to dark powers, and Damon especially so. Some others get stuck or can only partially adopt animal form, giving them a bestial appearance—and play their part in the myth of vampirism, the origin of some of the world’s stories.

Stefan can’t shift, doesn’t really have that talent and has none on animal blood, but when he isn’t maybe he can float a bit. Some murderous parody of Peter Pan—forever young and forever luring people away never to be seen again. (He could fly in the books, once he’s had more than animal blood. So could Damon.)

[hoshikarasu]

More arven x male reader fluff? 🙏🙏

Sorry for barely seeing this, but of course, I'm more than glad to supply more Arven x male Reader! There wasn't any other specifics aside from fluff, so I hope you enjoy some more general/random headcanons! I do have an actual Arven x male Reader one-shot in the works, so look forward to that !!

arven x male reader ( he/him ) fluff headcanons !

Whenever it grows closer to a day you have a test, Arven insists that you two reserve a day for a study date in between your explorations. Whether it’s a class that you share with him or not, he will be there to help you with your studying or study for one of his own classes. It’s also an excuse to monopolize some of your time by not inviting the others and offering his dorm room to study in. 

Although if you did happen to invite the others, he won’t necessarily mind. He’ll just happen to sit closer to wherever you’re studying at than the others. And if he happens to rest the hand closest to you in the space between you for you to take then he won’t complain.

If your hand was already resting in the space between you two then he’ll simply just bring his hand close to yours and hook your pinkies together.

Don’t worry if you ever happen to study until late at night. Arven has already started brewing some tea and cooked up some snacks so that you can at least eat something if you truly insist on staying up. He’d rather that you don’t, but he won’t make you do something you don’t want to. He’ll do his best to stay up with you, so you have the company and if you need anything from him.

On the chance that he does end up falling asleep before him, Mabosstiff is also there to curl around your feet and stay up with you and even remind you to drink something at times with a nudge of his snout.

When you tell him the following day about what Mabosstiff did, you get to see Arven award Mabosstiff with lots of pets and praises on being the best bud for also watching over you and promising him a treat later.

You can’t help but also jump on him to shower him with affection at the same level that he was giving to Mabosstiff.

Randomly springing affection onto him will never fail to get him flustered. He’s not certain how to respond to it and will simply stare at you with widened eyes, flushed cheeks, and his mouth partially open as if he wants to stay anything but you always steal the breath and words out of him.

If you’re someone that forgets to eat, Arven will leave reminders for you. They’re very gentle, not wanting to push you to eat if you really don’t, but he encourages you to have something small at the very least. He’ll definitely take care of you if you struggle a lot and will help work on your relationship with food for sure.

His classmates who aren’t that close to him will overhear Nemona talking about Arven dating someone and they assume that he’s dating a girl and ask him since they’re curious on ‘the girl who Arven likes.’ It’s all good natured though Arven, who didn’t have previous dating experience and not with another guy, would be a bit lost on how exactly to approach this. But he simply waits until he’s given the chance to answer and he’s starting with, “He’s absolutely amazing.”

He ends up getting a bit rambly about how you’re his best, little buddy and that you care so much for him and everyone around you. Anyone around can hear how much he cares and adores you.

None of his classmates react negatively to hearing he’s dating another guy. In fact, they’re able to piece together who exactly Arven’s talking about. “Ah, that transfer student from a while back, right? That’s the guy?” “Oh yeah, I’ve seen him with Arven before in the cafeteria. He’s always smiling so much around him.”

When you’re out exploring, Arven will call you when he assumes you’re the least busiest on your Rotom Phone just to talk with you and hear about what you’ve encountered. Before ending your calls, he always says he loves you albeit a bit sheepishly. You know it’s coming when Arven’s voice grows a bit softer and he sounds flustered despite how many times he has done it.

[connectionterminated13]

Can I ask a bit about your Mrs Emily and Mrs Afton? Are they friends and what happens with them in general

I'm assuming you're talking about William's wife Clarice she's Evan and Elizabeth's mother. Michael has a different mother named Tina and trust me she's important.

I'll start with Mrs. Emily who I've named Emily (because I thought it was funny (Very silly sense of humor)) This is going to be very long

Emily was born to a mormon family in hurricane Utah. The plan was for when Emily turned 20 to take over the diner owned by her parents but when at 19 she met The crystal loving palm reading Tina the plans changed... Emily hopped in Tina's old camper van, to her parents complete and utter dismay. It was the late 60s early 70s the 2 of them were very free love and peace types. but Emily still retained mormon sensibilities And never took it as far as Tina who seemed to come back home with a new man every single night, But she did love the idea of being free and choosing what she'd do with her life she had so many ideas of where she wanted to go. Her biggest dream was to 1 day the an actress with Tina

Unlucky for both of them Tina got invited to a local college party and Emily tagged along. They're Emily met Henry and they immediately hit it off scheduling a date for next week. Tina also met William and made the grave mistake of going home with him.

Emily and Tina kind of drifted apart after that since Emily was so smitten with Henry. She loved listening to him ramble on about robots and his plans for the diner. Emily also grew to like William the man was kind and gentlemanly. So Emily ditch her dreams of being an actress to help Henry's dream of opening the family diner, ditching Tina in the process.

Only about 4 months into knowing each other Henry proposed. Emily said yes. All of those infinite possibilities that she had felt when traveling with Tina seemed to all lead to Henry, he was going to be the most wonderful experience of her life she just knew it!

Their wedding was quick and small and that night they shared a bed. and a couple months later they had 2 beautiful twins. (Tina also had a child that she had named Michael and promptly dumped on William before riding away on another man's motorcycle)

For a long time everything was great Emily was able to get the diner from her parents by asking very politely and promising that she'd never ever wear the flower crown again. As the business grew. So did Charlie and Sammy her children, The 2 of them were wonderful Emily loved being a mother and loved helping out at the restaurant (she was the cook!) Yes a part of her wish she was still on the road with Tina experiencing the world but small town hurricane with her loving husband seemed fine right? But she didn't always like how much time Henry would spend with William and on his machines. but it wasn't a big deal since he had given her 2 beautiful children

Then Charlie died... It broke Emily's heart. She sobbed for days refusing to even come out of her room for the funeral. Her little girl was gone... She blamed Henry for it, it was his machine found wrapped around her stained with her blood. If he hadn't been galvanting around with that stupid British man or working on one of his stupid robots maybe he could have saved her. Emily felt like garbage why had she settled down with this man who had given her 2 wonderful children just to take one away through carelessness.

In 1982 Henry's depression and general uselessness got too much for Emily so she took Sammy and got a divorce. After that she left hurricane with Sammy. Emily felt like she had wasted her life in that stupid diner stupid kitchen. Basically Emily was not in a good mental state to take care of anyone let alone herself

She did eventually start going to therapy in 1984. Where she met a woman named Joyce, Joyce brought the light back into Emily's life she started taking better care of Sammy and the house and be a more productive. Joyce made her feel like there was something after Henry and Charlie. Like she still had life left to live

She does eventually "remarry" in 1988 To a Joyce. Sammy hated this but tolerated Joyce the best he could. Emily and Joyce remained happily together for basically the rest of their lives. Not going back to hurricane once. The few times they would talk over the phone usually about Sammy it would be bad. Henry had completely fallen apart and Emily knew that It wasn't her responsibility to put him back together. She still loved him just as much as she loved Joyce and a part of Emily wished she could be with Henry but he was too far gone at that point...

She died happily in 2023 from old age having lived a good life with Joyce.

Now I guess it's time for Mrs. Afton or Clarice

Clarice was originally born in Brazil but because her father was quite wealthy she was moved to the United States when her health issue started appearing. Ever since she was little Clarice has almost always had some kind of sickness.

She spent most of her childhood in and out of the hospital but started getting better the older she got. She also took up ballet and it turned out she was incredibly good at it, Though it was hard to get work at first being a Non-american but soon her talent would speak for itself. She do ballet tours and dance in Plays and shows. but her sickness came back with a force at around 27

Clarice was hospitalized and put in the room next to William who was recovering from his Spring lock failure in one of this Spring lock suit prototypes. Clarice and William would spend hours talking since there was nothing else to do and quickly fell in love. (This would be around 1972).

Once William was mostly healed and Clarice felt better the 2 started going on dates. Really the only problem with William was his son Michael. He was a constant reminder that William had loved other women Despite how much he told her that she was his favorite and the only one he really loved that was impossible to believe with Michael around. So most of the time she just pretended he didn't exist

Not even a year later Clarice had their first child Elizabeth. And then the next year their second Evan. Clarice loved her children with all of her heart officially giving up dancing and becoming a good mom, to everyone but Michael who she still tried to ignore. Which caused him to lash out since no one seemed to care about him..

It only took a little bit on Williams insistence for Clarice to agree to marry him. Their wedding was large and beautiful.

Despite her attempts to be a good mother Clarice would often cave to Williams demands even if they would inconvenience or scare The kids. She just loved him so much how could she say no? It went like that for a while with being the perfect mother in the perfect family Until charlie's death when it started to fall apart slightly...

After charlie's death was when Michael began to bully Evan more and Evan started to show the first signs of mental illness (He got his dad's crazy) Clarious didn't know what to do but William just said to let the boys be boys.

And then the bite of 83 happened... Clarice was a wreck she could barely get out of bed. All of the sickness from her youth came back even worse than last time brought on by the stress (Definitely just stress) After a year of battling the illness she was close to death in 1984.

On the day that she was supposed to die according to the doctors William went into her room and carried her down to the basement where the half-built ballora sat. She was too weak to fight against the ax that came down on her and chopped her up. William was hoping she would possess ballora but she didn't.

Clarissa's spirit or more her agony stayed, It followed William around. She still loves him after everything staying with him even after he met his final fate

This was really long but thank you for listening! By the way they weren't really friends but they did interact with each other a bit!

[halforcdad]

Really loving how the show is exploring the beginning of Kate and Lucy's relationship and all the insecurities that still lurk in the shadows of honeymoon bliss. There's a lot to love in 2x02:

Kate blurting out, “I want to tell my boss we’re dating,” and Lucy being completely thrown off. It’s Kate’s version of “I want to be intimate,” and Lucy pointing at the coffee shop and going, “Here???”

Lucy being a supportive, stabilizing force for Kate only for us to find out she's equally as freaked out and worried later in her own time (says it to Jesse and then, as pointed out very nicely here, she punches her girlfriend's boss's arm then tries to recover by nervously complimenting his corny apron).

"No, no it's not fine, Lucy... You make it look so easy," is giving "You're always doing nice things for me... I just wanted to show my appreciation." (Both of them feeling like they're not doing enough/doing it as well as the other and trying to do something big to make sure they're reciprocating properly, resulting in them making "mistakes" they feel the need to apologize for.)

2x02 is likely an intentional callback/parallel to 1x07 to show how far they've come:

Kate hesitantly whispering in a dark corner about being compartmented  after Lucy invited her out in front of people vs. Kate, in public, outright saying she wants to introduce Lucy to her boss and coworkers and inviting her to the barbeque (and wanting Lucy's input)

Lucy being all hush-hush with Ernie in the empty hallway vs. Lucy rambling loudly to Jesse about her girlfriend possibly losing her position because of conflict of interest concerns while walking down that same hallway (and then the bullpen) now full of coworkers

Kate not wanting anyone at work, especially Lucy’s team, to find out about them (”Ernie’s not people”) vs. Kate jumping at the chance to ask Jesse for advice despite him giving her an out (in general, Jesse, who labelled Kate 'the Mean Girl™️' in the pilot, now watching her lament over her own incompetence because of a silly misunderstanding all while making silly faces and asking him how to not piss off his teammate/little sister/friend)

"You make it look so easy." "We don't have to do this today." "No, no, I want to, it's just—it's a lot for me,"

is a less combative version of,

"I'm trying to do this your way, you know, be all expressive and smiley, it's just—it's hard for me to be-" "Human?" "I'm trying here, Lucy."

They're both self-deprecating scenes for Kate. She admits she's embarrassed by herself in 1x07 and we see it in 2x02 after she confesses that this is the first time she's ever introduced a girlfriend to her coworkers. In 1x07, it's like Kate's begging Lucy to see her and understand her. In 2x02, it feels more like deep shame (especially when she looks down at "It's a lot for me") over disappointing and failing Lucy again after saying she’d do things differently this time. Lucy, who’s the most amazing woman she’s ever met, who’s crazy about her, who’s still trying to reassure her when Kate can’t even do something as simple as correct her boss when he assumes she’s dating a guy. 

A big difference is that in one, Kate knows she hurt Lucy and is delivering a necessary apology after a disagreement and in the other, Kate thinks she’s hurt Lucy, even though Lucy's tells her it's fine. Kate still insists that it's not, is quick to say “it’s my fault”, and is stressing out big time over a small mistake. It also feels like the difference between the two Kacy scenes is this feeling of Kate “has to” vs. Kate “wants to”. S1 Kate is sharing because she messed up and is trying to cling onto the potential this relationship has and S2 Kate already knows the pain of losing Lucy to her own bad choices and wants to be better (1x07 ends with Kate in that state because she was prompted, but in 2x02 she starts the episode already having decided on her own that she wants to involve Lucy).

In 1x07, Lucy’s hurt and upset, so even when Kate’s being vulnerable (after Lucy offered up some vulnerability first) and turning her assumptions on their head, she lashes out. Ernie’s advice earlier in the episode is light-hearted ribbing, but also coated in the fact that maybe Lucy was wrong to make assumptions from her own insecurities. She can’t be sympathetic towards Kate just yet. Eventually, she recognizes the effort Kate’s putting in and agrees to terms that’ll make her the most comfortable. Kate’s asking for a lot of things in this scene: forgiveness, understanding, another chance, time. 

In 2x02, Lucy can clearly see Kate's distress and realizes the big leap Kate's trying to make for her, for them. Sees the workplace stakes 1x07 Kate might have been worried about and spirals a little too before Jesse course-corrects her. When Kate admits how new this type of milestone is for her, despite it being something Lucy's wanted since s1, she prioritizes Kate's comfort and says they don't have to do this today. It's only when Kate makes it absolutely clear that this is something she wants to do, something they both want, that Lucy switches the type of support she offers.

Kate puts herself out there, lets herself be vulnerable, and Lucy meets her halfway: in 1x07 when she agrees to being a secret and in 2x02 when she's supporting Kate's decision to be transparent and open about them.

The first is a compromise in the dark, in the closed-door break room tucked in the corner of the office, after their coworkers have gone home. Lucy flirts and teases, but she walks away, leaving Kate to chase after her. It obviously means a lot to both of them, but they don't say that out loud, instead choosing to be all coy about it and deflecting. They probably spend the night together, Kate showing her appreciation in the comfort of her own home.

The second is a reminder and a promise that Kate isn't alone anymore because they're in a serious, committed relationship. Lucy reaches out, leaves no room for doubt as she links their hands together, and tells Kate earnestly that she's right there by her side, that she's here to stay no matter what. In the light of day, out in the open, on their way to meet Kate's coworkers. Then, she walks with her into the bbq, stands by her the whole time, and uses that Lucy Tara charm on everyone. And Kate repays all that by being brave, by being openly sweet, loving, and affectionate with Lucy in front of everyone.

[spanishrose2002]

17. Do you have any wips you can tell us about 4 what fic of yours were you surprised at how popular it was 2. What is your favorite fic of yours

Thanks anon, for the opportunity to ramble. You know I do enjoy that, and even better about fic! I don't know what fandom you're from. I'd assume Caryl, but maybe not. 17. I have a ton of WIPs, and I could tell you about all of them! No, really, I do have tons, and I'm working toward wrapping some of them up, but I could definitely tell you about all of them. However, I think this one means WIPs that you haven't started, perhaps? I'm not sure. I have a ton of stuff in the planning stage, but I don't plan to roll out more than shorts and one shots until I get a few things wrapped up. I have been thinking about doing a sort "Blind Date With a Fic" thing and featuring descriptions and highlights from WIPs and completed fics to see if I could interest anyone who might not, otherwise, give them a shot. You see, unfortunately, I enjoy my stories even when nobody else does. LOL So, this doesn't really answer the question, but the answer is that I would love to talk about my WIPs if anyone is really interested in hearing about them. There are quite a few across several fandoms, but I'd recommend all of them for one reason or another. (I'd even recommend giving something new and strange to you a try, you just might find something new to fall in love with!) 4. I am not a terribly "popular" writer in any fandom for which I write. I am a prolific author, but that's mostly because I simply enjoy writing and use it for stress relief around work and all my real life duties and activities. I love the characters I write about, and the stories I tell make me happy. I like to share them with other people who, hopefully, will feel happy when they read them. I know that there are some fic authors who build online presences and have large fanbases. I'm not one of those. I don't really have the time, and it's not fitting to my personality. I love getting to know people personally, one-on-one, and I'll chat with people who are interested in that. I love talking about my fics and potential new fics, too, and I always invite people to send me a message and connect with me if they want to chat about that. In general, though, social media makes my head hurt, and I don't like the drama that often comes with it. I don't always like how people behave, I guess. That being said, I rate the popularity of a fic, in my mind, by reviews and comments. That's the only way I have to know if anyone is reading, after all. My chapters and fics *usually* get 0-4 reviews or comments. This tells me how many people are reading. If I'm at the higher end of that, the fic is fairly "popular" in my mind. If I'm above that, well, it's "super popular" I guess. That doesn't happen too often. LOL I am surprised when any fic of mine is "popular" to be honest. Of course, I'm always saddened when people don't like or don't read my stories and chapters, because I do put a lot of love into them, but I get it. Not everything is everyone's cup of tea, and I also know there are a lot of "politics" that go into what people read and don't read, sometimes, in fandoms. Therefore, the truth of the matter is that I'm always surprised when anything I write is "popular" or even well-received, and I'm always delighted to know that people are enjoying it. 2. I sincerely do not have a favorite fic. Every fic that I write is my favorite for a reason, and I could tell you what I loved about each of them. If I don't love it, I don't attempt to write it (which is not to say that I'm not sometimes disappointed with the end results, which is a sign of my inability to create what I wanted, but I love every fic in its conception.) Broken Mirrors, in the Caryl fandom, however, is one that is particularly personal to me, so I guess it will always have a certain special place simply because there is so much of me hidden there between the pages. Thank you again, anon! I do enjoy rambling about writing and fics over coffee, so thank you for giving me the opportunity!

[rollercoasterwords]

algorithms are destroying the world make your own gd decisions about shit

if you hate freedom so much go read a google ads round robin fanfic on ff.n (I think Michelin and Bridgeport are doing the enemies to lovers back and forth rn) or go 😳 at whatever happened to lj

or change all the names and sell your erotica to bellsaplus; just know that the writing is better, and the porn is more diverse on ao3

🥂

(I say porn but JEEZ guys even if you’re reading nothing but gen-fic the writing is still usually trying to say something unlike the useless pap that capitalist “content creators” churn out — to generate clicks in order to generate data on what people do everyday sitting and watching or better—-shopping. that data is then sold to other bidders. please protect the plentiful, the beautiful, the ao3. god knows what anyone would say if they say my ao3 history)

wow ok coming in hot! i'm assuming this message is meant to be like...ranting at me the way u would to a friend on facetime and that the "you" you're yelling at isn't actually me? and i am also going to take a wild guess and say that this is a response to the tiktokification essay i wrote that has escaped its enclosure and is now running wild across tumblr. so.

yes i agree we need to protect ao3 and yes i agree anything made for the sole purpose of getting as many people to click on it as possible is probably going to be pretty soulless but i feel like this rant is maybe getting slightly away from what the original intent of my post so i'm just gonna use this as an opportunity to address a few things i've seen across people's responses that have made me like :/ (warning this gets long lmao)

the tiktokification essay was not intended to be an all-encompassing analysis of the way things are across every fandom space connected to ao3. like. i am pretty secluded over in my little corner of marauders-fandom tumblr and i generally post my little essays expecting maybe like...10-20 people to interact with the post? like, when i post stuff on this blog, it's just because when i start thinking about something i can't really relax until i sit down and write my thoughts out and organize them. so when i'm posting those thoughts on tumblr it usually feels to me like the equivalent of facetiming a friend and rambling at them, except the friend is my little handful of beloved tumblr mutuals <3 anyway, i know the post is called "the tiktokification of ao3" which is a very broad statement, but that's just because i like pithy titles. if i had known it was going to run amok across tumblr i probably would have been a little more intentional with my phrasing, but oh well! what i did do is specify in the post that i was only talking about the marauders fandom, because that's literally the only fandom space that i am a part of. it's interesting to see how widespread the stuff i was talking about seems to be across different fandoms, but for anyone who has interacted with the post to essentially just be like - "ok but this isn't true everywhere/in every case"....cool! that's because i was talking about a phenomenon i have observed specifically within the marauders fandom.

it was also not intended to be me shaking my fist and cursing the youth, nor was i trying to invite like...an "us vs. them" mindset between older and younger members of fandom spaces. this is where i've seen some stuff that's made me a little like...hm. because, ok. i am one of those people who's sort of in-between the like...older versus younger sects of fandom spaces. and so i see the ageism that gets aimed towards older people by a lot of younger teens, and i understand why a lot of older adults are fed up with young fans and feel defensive, and i get that teens can be annoying on the internet. on the other hand, i still very clearly remember when i was an Annoying Teen on the Internet, and it was because i was still just...learning, y'know? like. i was just coming into contact with complex ideas about emotion and morality and relationships and everything, and that is just part of being on the internet together. there will always be shitty people, yes, but there will also always be people learning, and especially when those people are young teens, i personally tend to try and start out by giving them the benefit of the doubt. like, i tried to be clear in the post and also included in the tags (though those do get lost when the post gets spread around) that i wasn't trying to condemn anyone for engaging in the behavior i was talking about, because i do genuinely think that a lot of it is simply coming from a place of not knowing any better. so, while y'all can vent however you want on your own blogs and i do understand the frustration, i just want to make it clear that my own intention was to say - hey! younger marauders fans! here are some things to think about moving forward in how you interact with fic, since you have maybe grown up with only one model of social media, unlike those of us who grew up with the internet (i was literally born the same year google was invented) and have seen various examples of social media and observed how it's changed over the years. and it was also intended to say - hey! older marauders fans! if you're scratching your head and wondering wtf is going on with younger fans, consider that they maybe genuinely do not know better and this might help explain some of the roadblocks when it comes to trying to communicate with each other about our fandom spaces.

i did not intend to imply that there is anything wrong with wanting people to read your fanfiction. this is another thing that like. i might have spent some more time clarifying had i known how many people were going to be reading the post. but i did state very clearly that "those sharing their work online might be seeking community, but that is fundamentally different from seeking an audience." it is completely natural and understandable to want people to read your writing!! i actually made a separate post about this after the tiktokification essay but obviously they're not going around as a pair lol. however, i stand by the statement that writing fanfiction with a goal of going "viral" or just getting as much interaction as possible is not sustainable and will not bring you deep or lasting joy. idk i'm not gonna go on about this here if u want to know my thoughts on social media culture rot u can scroll through my blog i've talked abt it in a few different posts.

i was not trying to say that negativity is a new phenomenon in fandom spaces. a few people have interacted with the essay and said something along the lines of "i disagree with this"/"this isn't accurate" because there always have been and always will be people in fandom spaces who are entitled and rude and criticize fic. which like...cool! i'm sure that's true. i do think you missed the point of the post a little bit. it was specifically about a phenomenon in the marauders fandom involving the way that changes in social media over recent years have fundamentally altered the way we view online interaction, and the way i have observed that bleeding over into the marauders fandom. it wasn't just about general negativity in terms of things like comments and messages so much as it was about how expectations relating to influencer culture and virality have led to things like...people making tiktoks about "jegulus fics i hate" or fics going viral on tiktok and people then interacting with the writers as though they are the ones who made those tiktoks. and granted, i have only really been involved in this fandom for a single year, so maybe i'm just wrong about how new this is! but the tiktok stuff at least can't be older than like...2020. so. i do actually do think it's valid to talk about how changes in social media culture might be affecting the ways people interact with ao3 and fic, and i do think there's more to it than just "people will always be negative and entitled sometimes!"

i was not trying to say that we have a right to treat influencers/people posting shit on other social media sites as though they are products. this is another thing that a few people have felt the need to add on, which...okay. nothing wrong with wanting to clarify that. again, if i'd known the post was going to get so much attention, i might have spent some more time talking about it. but i'll just clarify here - my observations about the way capitalism gives rise to an influencer culture that essentially leads to viewing people as products are just that. they are observations. they are not normative statements. just because i understand why we interact with influencers like that does not mean that i think we should interact with influencers like that. however, there is a difference in an influencer whose job is content creation on social media versus an ao3 writer, and the purpose of my essay was to talk about that. saying "we shouldn't treat ao3 writers this way" does not mean "but we SHOULD treat all influencers this way."

anyway, as i warned at the beginning, this got very long -- and honestly, each of these points could probably be its own separate essay, but....i'm tired rn lol. i know that most of the people reblogging the tiktokification essay probably will not come all the way to my blog and run across this post, but i'm just leaving it here because i get grumpy easily and it's annoying to see people misinterpreting or missing the point, so i want to have all the little things i've thought about addressing in one place.

and anon - the main reason i say you may have been getting slightly away from the original point is just

1 - it had nothing to do specifically with porn, and that seems to be mostly what you're talking about? which like. real. but also just wasn't really part of the original post lmao

2 - you seem pretty angry, which again is valid, but i'm just...not. like i feel like u came into my inbox wanting to rant back and forth, and the thing is that i wasn't really intending to rant in that essay! like i said, i'm not necessarily angry at the people i've seen asking for algorithms, because i think a lot of them genuinely don't know better because they have only ever used social media that is algorithm-based, and to me that's mostly just sad and something i wanted to pick apart and piece back together like a puzzle, so. apologies for hijacking your rant to as an excuse to write a whole 'nother essay lmao i appreciate ur energy tho <3

[wretcheddthing]

How does Gale & Venali's first major holiday together go? (Holiday as in vacation or holiday as in annual cultural event, or both <3)

oh the can of worms you’ve opened and exact distraction i needed in the wake of bad weather. i made a table of the different known holidays in both waterdeep and baldur’s gate (way more known holidays in waterdeep btw. gosh.) and have used it to figure out how gale would help ven learn waterdhavian traditions once she moves there.

join me in this space. (hi it's me from after i finished writing the post, it's a bit rambly bc i thought the storm would be really bad and i get nervous but it's been chill)

so i'm gonna answer Both of those bc of course i am but bc of that preamble i'm doing holiday as a cultural event first.

it's usually between elient and marpenoth that the game ends (seasonally early-mid fall on the harptos calendar (i'm telling u i dug for this)). now it takes about a month to travel from baldur's gate to waterdeep, but i'm assuming gale can just kinda. teleport them there. like there's no way he doesn't have some sort of failsafe for getting back to his tower, wizards are just like that. or maybe even tara can help. though i suppose it'll still take about a month for ven to move her stuff into his tower even with the light help of magic for the sake of "holy shit i just need to do something a normal way for a second after All Of That."

anyway, that would mean ven's first official holiday in waterdeep would be liar's night (marpenoth 30th) OR last sheaf (the next month, uktar 20).

liar's night is a holy day for leira (goddess of deception and illusion) and mask (god of shadows, thievery, and at some point intrigue) where people will dress up in costumes and masks and pretend to be what/whoever they usually aren't. they also walk around with lit candles, called liar's candles, and as long as it's lit they can lie and do embarrassing things they wouldn't normally do and it can't hurt their reputation. this could be a really interesting one for venali conceptually given the whole. pretending to be a wizard for seven years thing. still gotta decide if she's keeping that ruse up once she moves to waterdeep or if she can just kinda do whatever now that she's saved faerûn and is engaged to famed, disgraced, and famed again but keeping it lowkey this time wizard gale dekarios. probably the latter. more than likely the latter. what a weight off her shoulders amiright.

the website said this holiday usually devolves into anarchic hedonism but i think that's bc ed greenwood is just kinda. weird. but y'know, ven and gale wouldn't really partake in that. tbh they'd still be Way too tired to even do normal festivities, and neither of them are really aligned with leira or mask so it's kinda whatever for them.

IF instead their first holiday is last sheaf, they'd be rested enough to actually celebrate AND have a great time (also i think it would be ven's favorite bc it's mine. it sounds so cozy). it's a day of feasting to celebrate the harvest. ppl will give gifts of lil nonperishable snacks like jars of jam or smoked meats and just in general be pretty neighborly. it's also when they do a last call for letters for trade ships, carriages, and caravans bc after that the roads start becoming difficult to travel and it'll be harder to send mail. ven writes a letter to her mom in baldur's gate updating her on the move, that she's getting well settled, and will be taking a gale-enforced break for the next handful of months to recuperate.

gale would make a Lovely homecooked spread and invite his mother over to join them and ven would make lil gift bags with hard bread and cheeses and preserves and dried meats to hand out to her neighbors so she can introduce herself and get involved in local customs. she has a lot of fun putting them together and is very pleased when they have something for her to take back :)

as for their first Vacation. i think it's gotta be after ven resolves her personal quest (btw still not planned out in full but i think i have decided that she doesn't get Rid of her wild magic but she does learn to manage it better (looking at u high level wild magic sorcerer traits)).

i think they go to candlekeep (fuckin nerds), but not just bc they're huge nerds. elminster helps them get in bc let's be real he owes them (i think it'd be funny if they go in 1493 bc that's like a year before they relax the entrance requirements). though i wonder if gale would be considered a "friend of Candlekeep" because he was an archmage at one point. idk. either way, they're able to get in.

the plan is ven's gonna have a new outlook on magic by the time she resolves her Problem and gale wants to help her foster a healthy relationship with it now that she's resigned herself to embracing her newly realized (and permanent) tie to it. candlekeep by my understanding has several amenities for trying out new spells and quiet research. ven loves research for fun, i assume gale does too. WAIT BUT ALSO. oh man. imagine you spend 7-8 years of your life pretending to be a wizard so you have access to information you were previously barred from so you can search for literally ANYTHING that can help you break a curse that ruined your life. maybe you've even attempted to get into candlekeep before and couldn't meet the entrance requirements. and then as soon as you resolve that Whole situation your partner is like "hey y'know where we could vacation? the one place that could have answered your biggest questions Years ago were you allowed to get in."

or they could just go to neverwinter.

[future-circuit]

tagged by @evergardenwall

it's a long one. it's late so i let myself get carried away, particularly in one question (if you scroll you'll know what i mean).

i'd feel kind of bad tagging anyone in this post since i just ramble a lot. but as always (even though i know no one ever accepts these open invitations), if you want to do it and you haven't been tagged, tag me as having said i did. i'd like to see.

1. what book are you currently reading?

technically none? i've mentioned before but i was reading New Finnish Grammar by Diego Marani a while ago and it's been sitting in my 'to finish' pile for months now but since i do English and have to read for that it's just been sitting on the backburner.

i have since bought about eleven other books that i'm determined to read over the course of 2023 that i'm really excited for but i'll finish New Finnish Grammar hopefully before the new semester starts.

2. what do you usually wear?

a t-shirt, a jumper and jeans. i am but a simple lad.

i pretty much only own jeans and i've been trying for years to expand my wardrobe but alas...

3. how tall are you?

164cm. yeah yeah. i know. i'm small. yuck it up.

4. what’s your star sign? do you share a birthday with a celebrity or historical event?

sagittarius and i don't think so

5. do you go by your name or a nickname?

online i always go by Yellow, i probably recognise it as my name more than my actual name at this point.

6. did you grow up to become what you wanted to be as a child?

what i wanted to be as a child was a vet (then when i figured that wouldn't work like a year later, i decided i wanted to work in an animal shelter before 2015 hit). so no, considering i'm not on that career track.

outside of careers though also no. unfortunately, somewhere along the line i found out about genders and that kind of fucked shit up a bunch. don't think young me would be impressed that i actually wear trousers now

7. what’s something you’re good at vs something you’re bad at?

man i dunno what i'm good at. i'm pretty alright at the trombone. similarly i don't know what i'm bad enough at that it's notable. maths in general i guess.

8. if you draw/write, or create in any way, what’s your favorite picture/favorite line/favorite etc. from something you created this year?

i actually... it feels kind of narcissistic of me to say but i have a few favourite sections from my writing this year i like and yes i will share them. anyone who ends up reading this i know will skip this section but it's for my own sake.

the first two are from the chapter A Night Seems Termless Hell (Lang’s the Night Frae E’en to Morn) which is a set of loosely connected one-shots. this particular one i remember being really happy with after. i still kind of am (as you can probably tell). the third is from my portfolio piece - the second half of which was rushed and i don't particularly like but i love the first part still.

"Wandering the streets he no longer knew, towards a guiding light artificial in a way he’d once been familiar with, he felt out of place. Too big for the city he had grown up in. Too small for the world he’d once felt suffocated in. Tears pricked at his eyes but he’d already cried all of his tears back in Hisui and had none left for his own world."

___

"He didn’t know how to cook before he left for space. He’d always assumed [his mother would] be the one to teach him [...] she’d tell him on the rare occasions he was home before dinner and willing to help that it was alright for him to stay her little boy for a little while longer. He didn’t need to help and she’d let him know that that was alright. 

He could cook now, taught by a man that lived in a mountain that had taken him in when he hadn’t needed to. A man that Yuga knew his mother would love but would never get to meet."

___

"She’d skipped that step, of course, because she was one step ahead. She always was, because she read a lot of books and books were made of paper which came from trees. That meant that the wisdom of old trees had transferred into her as she read. She understood things that her parents and brother didn’t. Her mum read but was too busy to read as much as her. Her dad and brother weren’t big on reading. That was fine. Anya could be smart enough for all of them."

9. dogs or cats?

i don't really have a preference. i like them both for their own reasons.

10. what’s something you would like to create content for?

amatsuki!! i have an idea but i probably won't do anything other than think about it. it's written down though so i won't forget, so who knows.

11. what’s something you’re currently obsessed with?

amatsuki and yugioh, big shocker there i'm sure. also sea slugs and dictionaries.

12. what’s something you were excited about that turned out to be disappointing this year?

i don't think i went into this year particularly expecting anything

13. what’s a hidden talent of yours?

if i have any talents they're hidden from me too

14. what’s something you wish to have at this moment?

money

[redpensandgreenarrows]

About Benedict Bridgerton:

Okay, so I want to talk about 2 scenes that I don't think are being discussed enough when it comes to our beloved Ben. One, because I think it shows how Benedict is more than just the "funny man", and why he's taking Anthony's paying for his art school so hard. And two, because the moments are small, but I love them so much!! (And I fall in love with Ben a little bit harder.)

Moment 1:

Moment 2:

Benedict cares. Benedict cares SO FUCKING MUCH. While you can consider him probably the snarkiest out of all the siblings - well male siblings - Benedict knows when shit is real, and he needs to be serious. Like the true romantic that his is, Benedict loves with his whole heart. And that definitely includes his family. He just wants them happy and will help in whatever way he can.

With Benedict and Anthony being so close - being each others' best friends - he recognizes that Anthony is struggling terribly in these moments. After the disaster wedding, Benedict sees Anthony stressing out and is the only one to ask Anthony what he needs. All the noise and panic from the other family members is not helping. And when Kate is hurt, although she definitely takes priority, Benedict knows he can't help her in that moment, so he looks to who else he can help. And the one person in that room without any immediate support is Anthony. So, Benedict of course asks "Are you alright?", because Anthony is obviously affected by this situation too. He doesn't need a doctor, but he does need help. Benedict, without thought, offers that support.

Now, Anthony, being the emotionally stunted mess that he is, does not know how to process those questions, those invitations of help. He's so used to being the strong one and tamping emotions down. Emotions slow down a person, and shit needs to get done. This is why he runs. Anthony doesn't know how to accept the help.

Now, how does this factor into why Ben is so hurt? Benedict willingly offers himself to be the support, the cheerleader, because that's part of how you love! So, it's not a far jump to assume he would expect the same in return. It's his family! They all want to see each other succeed and be happy! However, you don't do that with money, status, or power. You show support by being there physically and emotionally for people. Because, if what you're doing is not affected by money, status, or power, then you want genuine input without all that attached. (And I'm speaking in the general sense. Do all those things make creating art easier, yes, but I mean anyone can create art, you don't HAVE to have those things.)

So, when Anthony - throughout the entire season - makes comment after comment about Ben's work, his "doodles", and then come to find out Anthony paid for his spot in the art school, Benedict finds it easy to accept all those negative thoughts that he really isn't that good of an artist. People just care because of a family name. When in reality, Anthony was so focused on himself, he couldn't pull his head out of his ass every once in a while and come up for air. Actions have consequences.

And why do I love these moments so much? There's just something about a man genuinely asking to help emotionally. And you hear it in his voice! (I could wax poetic about how I think Luke T is a fucking acting genius, but I know you know already 😉.) It makes me want to swoon! 😊

Well, that's my ramble. If you made it to the end, thanks for reading!

[could-be-kira]

spoiler alert : they're both wrecks - shin soukoku

The day had finally come. Akutagawa had finally decided that he was going to confess his still very jumbled feelings to Atsushi. The man was filled to the brim with anxiety, but not for the reasons that most people felt when they confessed their feelings to someone. His anxiety rose more from the fact that he simply wasn't used to opening up to others in general, and thus had no idea what he would say. He often tended to be too blunt about things, or simply unable to come up with the right words. Even with the added preparation of attempting to rehearse in front of the mirror, he still wasn't sure if that was quite right. He supposed that he would have to see what happens when he actually did it.

There was no way of getting out of it, as the ravenette had already asked the other male to meet him in the alleyway where the two had first met. Likely not the best place for what was likely going to be an attempted love confession, considering that was where Akutagawa cut off Atsushi's leg, but that was the best that he could come up with. Atsushi had agreed, and it was almost time to go.

When Akutagawa arrived at the alleyway, Atsushi still hadn't shown up yet. Luckily, he wasn't waiting long, as the silver haired male ended up coming only about two minutes later.

"Hey– you didn't invite me here just so you could cut my leg off again, did you?" Atsushi asked with a somewhat awkward look on his face.

"Of course not," Akutagawa scoffed, "if I wanted to cut your leg off again, I would have attempted to do so by now. Do keep in mind that I could very well do it if I wanted to, but I'm not going to bother with that today. Rather, I had something that I wanted to discuss with you."

'That's comforting... that makes it sound like he's gonna try cutting my leg off another day! Since we're kinda friends now, I was under the impression that he wasn't gonna do that anymore! But... this is Akutagawa that I agreed to try to get closer to...' Atsushi thought before responding. "Oh– sure! What was it you wanted to talk about?"

This was the moment that Akutagawa had been dreading. The moment that he actually had to sort out what he felt once and for all. He still didn't exactly know, but it would likely become clearer when he said it out loud.

"Listen, weretiger, ever since we met, you've made me feel... things. At first, all I wanted was to kill you. Of course, the first time was due to the large bounty on your head, and much of the next many times were simply the product of my own envy. You seemed to have everything, including what I wanted most– that of Dazai's approval. I would not even have wanted to touch you with a fifty-foot pole, but then as we were forced to work together, we began to come to somewhat of a mutual understanding of each other. Presently, we can be considered friends in the vaguest sense of the word, but recently I've been thinking about how I have, surprisingly, developed the desire to spend more time with you. There are even times when I simply want you all to myself. Weretiger... what I believe I am trying to say is that I l– I... l–"

Akutagawa was having trouble getting the word out. This was the first time that he had ever done this, and after what had come prior to this in his ramblings, he thought that it was bound not to go well. Taking a deep breath, he attempted to gather up what remaining confidence he had left and actually say what he had been meaning to this entire time.

"Weretiger, I... I think I love you."

With that, Atsushi's face quickly flushed a bright red. This was last on the list of things that he thought that the ravenette had come here to talk about. Hell, he didn't even know if it was on the list to begin with.

"I– you– wow, I, uh... wasn't expecting that!" He spluttered out awkwardly. It was clear that he was rather flustered, and at this point he, like Akutagawa, wasn't entirely sure how to form words either, or at least... not the right ones.

"But I'm assuming you do not feel it as well, do you?" As cool and collected that Akutagawa had seemed to be playing it on the outside, in his mind he was a total wreck, panicking about whether or not he did this all for nothing, which he got the feeling that he might have.

"No, no, we're not solid on that! I just... haven't ever thought about it is all!" Now that he actually was thinking about it, Atsushi was realizing how different he had been feeling around Akutagawa recently. He had noticed that he wanted to be around him more frequently as well. He had seen more things that he liked about the other male– little things that he hadn't before. It also didn't help that every once in a while, a thought would pass through his mind about how he wouldn't complain if the two just... happened to cuddle while hanging out. The truth was, he loved Akutagawa too, he was just in some pretty strong denial regarding the whole thing.

Just as Akutagawa was preparing to forget that this entire situation ever happened, Atsushi piped up again.

"Okay, well, I thought it over and, even though I never really noticed before, I– I think I love you too!"

This time, it was Akutagawa's turn to flush bright red. Hearing that from Atsushi made him feel some of the first genuine happiness that he had felt in quite a while. He couldn't believe that this was actually real, especially considering the pair's rocky start, but he was so glad that it was.

"So, I suppose that means we're... together now? I'm not particularly experienced with the concept of being mutually in love with someone, so I do not exactly know how this works."

"Yeah, I guess we are!" Atsushi said with a smile. "I'm not really experienced in the love department either, but we'll learn together, right?"

"I do not understand how someone with your optimism can possibly exist, but yes, I suppose we will." Akutagawa replied with a nod. After that, Atsushi slowly stuck out his hand for Akutagawa to hold.

"Couples hold hands, we can start off with that!" He suggested. "If you want to, that is..." he added, slowly reclining his hand back when Akutagawa didn't do anything. Before he could get his hand back, though, the ravenette soon gripped it, albeit a little bit harder than was needed.

"Ow! Hey, you don't have to break my hand off! I'm not going anywhere, you know!" Atsushi exclaimed, before giving his hand a little shake in order to get Akutagawa to loosen his grip. When he did, the two intertwined their fingers and began to walk back out from the alleyway. "See, there you go! You got it!" Atsushi glanced back up at Akutagawa and shot him a bright smile as they walked.

"I suppose I will work on it. As you mentioned, we are going to figure things out together." Akutagawa said in response before muttering something to himself. "Now that we're 'going out', cutting off your leg again would be frowned upon, would it not?"

"Hey! I thought you weren't gonna cut off my leg!" Atsushi exclaimed with a clearly offended tone in his voice.

"Tch, it's what you would call a joke. It may come as a shock to you, but I do know how to make them, and you should learn to take them, weretiger."

"Atsushi..." the silver haired male groaned. "Now that we're dating, maybe we should start by you actually calling me by my name?"

"Fine," the ravenette sighed. "I love you... Atsushi."

The smile returned to Atsushi's face, before he replied with:

"Love you too, Aku."

[carpisuns]

Here I am for Carpisuns Appreciation Week! Your art is amazing, your writing is amazing, you're so kind and inspiring and comforting, thank you for gracing our fandom with your self. It's amazing how much content you create and how consistently you make me smile.

But I also wanted to thank you for something more personal to me: mentioning that you're a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in your blog description. It probably seems small--it almost feels stupid to say it--but seeing that one line helped me so much. I was feeling very conflicted over my identity as both a Mormon and an ally (I now know I'm actually ace, but that happened later), because I saw so much homophobia in our church and it made me ashamed. I felt like I had to choose one side of me, and I hated that. Seeing a kind member who isn't just an ally, but openly LGBTQ+, made me so happy. It reassured me that I can be both at once, and I can be proud of both parts of myself.

So thank you. Thank you for being brave and living a contradiction that I long feared wasn't an option. Thank you for teaching me that we aren't contradictions. Even if it might have seemed small to you, even if it didn't take the courage it took for me, thank you. You're amazing.

It's so late here and I'm so emotional at night and I'll probably regret this in the morning but I just had to say thank you. So thank you.

Thank you for your kind words. They mean a lot 💜

I’m going to put the rest of this under a cut for people who would rather not read about religion haha. I was going to answer on priv but in case this would be helpful to anyone else in a similar boat I decided to post on main

I’m so happy to hear the effect my bio had on you. Tbh it did take courage, but it was important to me to have both of those parts of my identity side by side. When I was younger, I wasn’t very open about my faith because religion is something so deeply personal and also divisive, depending on who’s around you. And I hate conflict so I just wanted to avoid it at all costs, haha. But eventually decided that my faith was too important to hide like that. I thought, if I’m going to put a few words up there to introduce myself, it just doesn’t feel right to not mention it. My belief in Jesus Christ and my commitment to follow Him in many ways defines who I am as a person. So I decided years ago to put it in my bio and have always felt good about that. I’m not here to shove religion in anyone’s face or preach at them or judge them or anything like that—I’m just saying, “This is me and it’s important to me.”

As for the bi part, that is a lot more recent haha. It’s almost embarrassing that I didn’t identify as bi until I was 25, but the comphet is strong lol. I think it took me a lot longer to realize/accept my attraction to women because I am still attracted to men, so I can “pass” as straight and always assumed I was, and it was easy enough for a while to brush aside or repress or misinterpret my same-sex attraction. I questioned for years before I finally decided to try out the label “bisexual” in my head. And it felt right to me. It felt good to be honest about that part of myself. I am still not out to the public or the rest of my family, but I’ve told a few close friends and I wanted to at least be able to be open about it in my separate online spaces, to get more comfortable with the label as I figure out how to handle it with people I actually know IRL. But mostly I wanted to add those two extra letters to my bio because I feel like it’s important for other people to see them next to the name of the Church—and important to me most of all. To remind myself, yes, I can be openly bi and a faithful member of the Church. Those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. I am still committed to the teachings of the gospel, so I will not pursue relationships with women, but I can still be open about my experience and supportive of my LGBTQ siblings both inside and outside of my faith. I find it pretty freeing to be bi on the outside and not just inside my own head, you know? I’m not sure how it goes for other people but a lot of my early experience was wondering if I was faking it or tricking myself into thinking I was bi for attention or something. But literally why would I do that lol. This in-between space of being queer and a member of the Church has not been an easy place to live, but I’m trying to make a home here and I’d like to invite others too if I can.

And I guess that’s another reason it’s important to be open about both things. As I’ve been learning more about myself and my relationship with others and the Church and the world as a bi person, I’ve come to really crave a space where I can feel comfortable and open with both of those aspects of my identity—my queerness and my religious faith. I haven’t really found a space yet that supports both. Generally in queer-positive spaces, religion is (very understandably) a point of contention and pain, and I get why, as a Christian/Latter-day Saint, I may not be welcome to everyone in that space. But then within the Church and other Christian spaces, I have a hard time finding support or understanding at all. People don’t want to talk about it. They don’t know how. I think to some people in either space, my existence doesn’t really make sense lol. Like, how can you say you’re bi if you’re a member of the Church? Or how can you be queer and stay in that church? But I’m here and my experience is real and I know I’m not the only one. So part of my reason is to say to others like me, “Hey, me too. You’re not alone.” And I’m really really glad that it could speak to you that way.

For many years before I realized I was bi, I was drawn to the LGBTQ community and felt a desire to be an ally. I just didn’t know how. I felt like I had to walk some kind of line and support but not be too supportive, to love but not too much. But I’m not here to put limits on my love anymore. I don’t think that is what Jesus Christ taught. I am making the choice to stay committed to the teachings of the gospel, and I hope people respect that because it’s important to me. But other people will choose differently from me, and that’s okay and I will still love them and we will still be part of something together.

Sorry to say so much about this haha especially since as an ace person your experience is not quite the same as mine. But I have a few close friends who are ace and are also members of the Church and the space we’ve shared has been incredibly meaningful for me. I’m grateful you reached out and I hope my rambling helps you somewhat haha. If you ever want to chat, please feel free to message me! 💜