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reidmania · 17 days

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use somebody | spencer reid

part two

summary; spencer doesn’t believe someone like you could ever like someone like him, but he would do anything for a chance.

warnings; fem!reader, reader is described as being really really kind, bau!worker reader, fluff (slight angst bc spencer doubts himself) reader is a bundle of joy idk, spencer is absolutely disgustingly in love with reader. reader has a dog ( a golden retriever ) reader IS A BOOK LOVER, reader is shorter than spencer., no love confession but like there basically is. maybe a part two coming idk!

an; this is based off use somebody by kings of leon bc that song just AHHHH

‘I've been roamin' around, always lookin' down at all I see, painted faces fill the places I can't reach. You know that I could use somebody, you know that I could use somebody, someone like you and all you know and how you speak, countless lovers under cover of the street, you know that I could use somebody, you know that I could use somebody. Someone like you, off in the night, while you live it up, I'm off to sleep, wagin' wars to shape the poet and the beat. I hope it's gonna make you notice, I hope it's gonna make you notice someone like me’

If there was a single light in a room, it would be your smile. Spencer had decided that the minute you introduced yourself to him on your first day, your wide smile was the first thing he noticed, then your kind voice — ever since Spencer Reid’s heart had your name written all over it and you had no idea.

You had been talking to Emily, your hands flinging around the more excited you got about whatever it was you were talking about, you were still smiling when Spencer approached with furrowed eyebrows after Emily had noticed him in the doorway and called him over to introduce himself to the team newest member.

You had introduced yourself with probably the widest, and sweetest grin he had ever seen. He almost forgot about the amount of germs spread through hand shaking when you offered him yours. He was pretty sure he felt the most embarrassment and disappointment when he didn’t forget — and turned down your handshake with his name and a silly ramble about what your name means historically.

He didn’t miss the way your smile never dampened — not even after his rejection of your offered hand, not during his embarrassingly long ramble, not as you listened intriguingly and then told him how cool it was that he just knew that off the top of his head.

That was a year, forty three days, 16 hours and 27 minutes ago — not that Spencer was counting. But he definitely was.

Your kindness won his heart from that moment. Your smile became his moral support during a particularly tough case. It seemed all the less tense when you would meet his eyes from across the room and offer him the sweetest smile. Your small gifts you left around for each member of the team became what he looked forward to and the end of every week — each more thoughtful than the last.

Spencer had kept the collection of small gifts you had given him on the shelf of his bedroom. Each one was specific to him. If someone on the team had mentioned wanting something or something they liked — at the end of the week it would be sitting on their desk with a little pink sticky note and a small ‘I hope you like it!’ in your hand writing.

He noticed that a lot of the time your gifts for him reference whatever he had rambled about the most that week, because he never explicitly told you he wanted anything or liked something because he knew you would go out of your way to get him it — you however found a way anyways.

Doctor who figurines, books, dvd’s. one week you had noticed him fidgeting more than normal and on the friday evening you had left a small collection of different fidget toys for him, with the same pink sticky note that wrote, ‘Picking at your skin is bad!! it can lead to infections and sometimes if you do it too much you could end up needing surgery. (I dont know if thats true, doctor google wasn’t helpful!) I hope these help’

He hadn’t picked at his skin since, if he was fidgeting it was with one of the small metal fidgets you had gifted him.

“Good morning!” You chirped — suddenly the room seemed brighter as you walked into the bullpen, your bag was slung over your shoulders as you made your way towards your desk. You turned your head to offer Spencer a sweet smile.

He returned it, lifting his hand to wiggle his fingers in a gentle waving. A habit he had picked up from you. You never just waved like everyone else did, instead you just held up your hand and wiggled your fingers. When you were asked about it you had smiled and shrugged and said it seemed like your fingers were dancing.

Spencer was pretty sure it was the sweetest reasoning for something he had even heard, but maybe that was just the fact it was coming from you.

“Did you like the dvd I gave you on Friday? The documentary one — if you have even watched it yet! I thought it was interesting!!” You said as you placed your bag on your desk. He thought his heart was going to jump out of his chest at the way your hair fell over your face when your head dropped down to look at your desk.

He shuffled slightly at his desk to sit up a little bit straighter. “I watched it.” He stated. Any dvd you gave him he watched the night he had got it. This one particularly — he had known all of the information that was in it, but it didn’t stop him from enjoying it any less — because you liked it enough to recommend it to him.

“I thought it was interesting.” He nodded, you lifted your head and smiled and he started to wonder at what point that sweet smile would stop having an effect on him. He partly hoped it never would. “I watched another one yesterday. I think you’d like it.” He said, not mentioning the fact he had paid extra attention to all of it, making sure it included something you were interested in, just so he could recommend it to you then talk to you about it the next day.

You grinned, leaning against your desk as you looked at him. He was thankful your desk was so close to his. That you were so close to him. Close enough to have a conversation without having to talk across the room, close enough that he could lean over and help with whatever you needed if you asked.

“The documentaries you watch might be a little above my expertise. I think I’ll just be confused the entire time” You giggled out, tilting your head slightly to the side. He shook his head instantly, eyes following the hair that fell the way your head tilted, down your shoulder.

“You’re smart, you’d understand.” He said.

You smiled and raised your eyebrow slightly, “I’m not smart like you’re smart, Spence.” You shook your head, just as he had a few minutes ago.

He shrugged, “Not many people are” It came out cockier than he intended, he was about to apologise for how it sounded before he heard you let out a gutty laugh. A real laugh. “If- If you’d like.. We uh- We could watch it together and I could explain to you whatever you don’t understand” He added, then he realised he had basically just invited you to hang out with him. Just you and him, in an unprofessional setting. Now his mind was fuelled by the fear of rejection.

That fear dimmed when your smile widened. “Really? That would be great! I’d love that.” You had said.

Spencers mind went to almost a million different places in that moment. He thought about curling up with you on his couch, the documentary playing on his tv as you focused intently on whatever information was being said, he would admire you, he would ache to pull you closer and kiss your smiling lips.

Then he remembered how kind you were. The memory was both a blessing and a curse because then he remembered that your acceptance was probably an acceptance from your kind heart and want to spend time with your friend, opposed to wanting to spend time with him.

You smiled at him sweetly again before you were rushing off to greet JJ and tell her about something silly or maybe talk about whatever the two of you did on the weekend. He knew you often went out with the girls of the team on weekends.

Those nights he would lay in bed and wonder what you were doing, what you were wearing, how your hair was done, if you were laughing at a strangers jokes — you probably were. He knew that because you laughed at everyone’s jokes.

if all the joy in the world was wrapped up into a bundle and forced upon a person — that person was you. Spencer didn’t know if he had ever seen you not smiling and honestly his heart ached for the day he would have to.

“Hey Spence?” His head turned instantly towards the sound of your voice, he looked around to see you on your tiptoes trying to reach a file from a top shelf. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight. You didn’t need to say anything else before he was standing and walking over towards you.

He reached up, fingertips skimming along the files, “Which one do you need?” He asked gently, his eyes dipping away from the files to meet yours as you returned flat on your feet, a grateful smile on your lips, staring up at him.

“Um” You paused, eyebrows furrowing before a laugh left your lips, “The.. second one- I think” You paused before nodding.

He smiled “You think?” reaching up to pull out the second file nonetheless. He heard you sigh dramatically — he didn’t need to look at you to know you were smiling still, probably pushing hair behind your ear.

“Yes, I think.” You stated. He pulled out the file, handing it to you. You took it gently, flicking through it for a moment, your eyes dancing along the words on the page before nodding.

You scrunched up your nose a little when you looked back up at him. “— I thought right! Thank you Spence. You’re amazing and great and awesome” You rambled, flooding him with praise. He felt his cheeks warm at your never ending compliments despite how often you gave them. You constantly reminded him how amazing you thought he was — when he was doing the most minimal things.

He wanted to take it as a sign that maybe you felt the same way he did but then you’d flood someone else with the same praise and that flame of hope would dwindle down just as fast as it came alight.

“You’re welcome” He settled on as his eyes lingered on yours for a moment, your cheeks were a warm shade of pink and he wondered if that had anything to do with him rather than the fact the room was just a little bit warmer than normal.

You grinned and turned away. He followed as you walked back towards the desks. He sat down at his desk, swivelling his chair to face your desk. “I was thinking — if you wanted, this weekend we could watch that documentary at mine, my dog gets a bit excited around new people but he could stay outside if it makes you more comfortable— Oh and theres a new take away shop near my house if you wanted to get dinner” You rambled about your plan’s absentmindedly as you looked over the case.

Spencer felt his heart pull for a number of reasons, one because he didn’t even know you had a dog. He couldn’t help but wonder if everyone else did and this was just a piece of information he had missed out on. Secondly, at the fact you were serious about watching the documentary with him. You actually wanted to.

He had partly assumed you had just agreed because you were kind and didn’t want to hurt his feelings, and it would just be plans you two never really followed through with. He should’ve known better — because it was you.

“You don’t have plans with the girls?” He asked, eyebrows pinched together because he could clearly remember this morning hearing you and Emily talk about where you guys would go this weekend.

You let out a gentle laugh, shaking your head. “Im making plans with you actually. I go out with them every weekend, I’m sure they will survive without me for one.” You smiled sweetly at him, and his heart felt like it was being clenched by someones tight hand.

He tried to hide the fact his cheeks had turned an ugly shade of pink, and that his eyes had blinked away from your captivating gaze for a moment. “That- Yeah- Yeah. That would, thats fine. Your dog is fine. We can get dinner.” He stammered out, because apparently your kindness took away his ability to think straight. Although he knew that already.

“Great!” You smiled. Suddenly Spencer hoped this week would go fast. He turned his gaze back to yours as a question weighed on his tongue, a wonder.

“What type of dog do you have?” He asked, his tone laced with curiosity as he watched you reorganise your desk. How you were smiling while doing something so mundane had his stomach filling with an ache of longing.

You raised your eyes back to his, a gasp of excitement leaving your lips at the opportunity to talk about your dog. “A golden retriever!!” You said, before going into a ramble about your dog.

He grinned as he listened to every word. He couldn’t help but think, a golden retriever. That was so fitting.

What Spencer wasn’t expecting at the end of the week, was a book sitting on his desk. The book wasn’t the surprising part. It was the pink sticky note and what it had written on it that sparked his curiosity.

‘I read this last week and I know romance novels aren’t usually your style but I thought of you. Its annotated. The key is on the back. Have the greatest night <3’

You had already left for the night after dropping everyone’s weekly small gift off around their desks and waving goodbye. Spencer knew you left a little earlier than anyone else to get the bus. You knew how to drive, you had a car. When he had asked you why you got the bus everyday you had told him you just enjoyed people watching.

He constantly worried about what may happen with the dangers of public transport and with how kind you were — well you would be an easy target. How could he tell you that he worried about you when you gave him the sweetest reasoning in the world? How could he tell you he worried without pouring his heart out to you.

Spencer went home that night and in bed he read the book you had gifted him — you were right, romance novels weren’t necessarily his favourite but it didn’t stop him from reading it with just as much interest because it was you that recommended it.

His eyes danced along the key on the back for your annotation. Pink was things you found sweet, green was moments you found interesting, yellow was things that moments that made you sad. — that one made Spencer’s lips pull into a tug because how dare anything make someone so sweet so sad?

But what really caught his interest was the blue. ‘things i want you to know’ It made him wonder what things in this book could possibly be something you wanted him to know.

When reading, he came across many colours and lines highlighted, most in pink and green, a few in yellow, but there was only one part highlighted in blue, it was lines in a conversation in the middle of a particularly mushy love confession between the two characters of the book.

‘You smile a lot.’ was highlighted in blue,

and then, “When you’re around, its hard not to’

Spencer didn’t know what it meant — thats not true. He knew what it meant, he knew what you were saying but he didn’t know what it meant about how you felt about him. His mind swirled with the possibility that you might feel something for him.

How it was possible that someone like you, could ever feel anything for someone like him had his mind in a frenzy.

That didn’t matter when Spencer finished the book and added it to the collection of items you had gifted him, he kept the sticky note and placed it back on the book. He looked over the collection — each gift partnered with the sticky note you had written when gifting them.

Spencer Reid loved you, and if he played any part in making you smile — That was enough for him.

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ginevrapng · 1 year

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𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆!

(𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐖𝐎)

pairing: george weasley x reader, ron weasley x reader

word count: 4.0k words

content warnings: swearing, british idioms and phrases and slang words, chubby coded! reader, reader not specified what house they were in but at one point they had came into the gryffindor common room(not under normal circumstances like to hangout or sleep), no use of y/n but george sometimes calls the reader shortcake (explained in the last part), mentions of violence after a canon quidditch match,

a/n: this chapter has a lot of talking about the past as i wanted to dig deeper into george and the reader's relationship so far, the next chapter will be completely in current time. this chapter still has ron content (i can't get enough of how i've written ron's dynamic with the reader)

summary: you're an honorary member of the weasley family and have been for years, you're one of ron's best friends and are very close. everyone thinks and teases you both that you're dating or have feelings for each other. this muddles up things as george feels guilty about his own feelings.

<< part three | part one >> | masterlist (check out my poll for this chapter)

the next morning, when you wake up, you see ginny next to you, still asleep, you assume hermione is already up and about. luckily you only drank water near the end of the night so you only ended up tipsy, unlikely you're not a teenager anymore so you still had a small hangover. you miss the days of hogwarts parties when you can drink as much as you want and wake up fine and be able to go to class with no issue. tiptoeing around ginny, trying not to wake her up, you remember what happened at the end of the night and groan, hoping it won't be too awkward today with george.

you successfully leave the room without waking ginny up and decide to see if ron is up or not, doubtful that he is. creeping along to ron's room you step over all the places that creak in the house and softly knock on the door. after no answer you open it a crack to see ron still in bed alone in the room. the logical thing to do would be to let him sleep in, after all he did look after you last night, but it's ron so the only option you deem worthy is to throw yourself over him in bed, knowing your tispy self insisted on cuddles last night.

you mischievously grin and close the door behind you before jumping onto the bed with him and waking him up. ron pulls up his covers in shock making you laugh uncontrollably, "ron you're acting like you're a naked women. is there something you want to tell me?"

he tries to push you off the bed and fails miserably, just causing you to laugh more. he grabs hold of your soft frame and pulls you down to him, making you laugh even louder. "why are you waking me up so bloody early? what did i ever do to you?" he grumbles.

your laughter quiets down as you lay together. "i believe you promised me cuddles ronald."

he holds onto your plush waist tighter, maybe this is ron's punishment towards you, to hold you so tight you break something or just pop. "alright, but shut up. i'm going back to sleep." you're about to argue that it's already late and people are downstairs but harry bursts through the door.

"what's this about then?" harry questions you both.

ron chucks a pillow at him, "shove off, harry." you giggle and move under the covers to get comfier in bed, knowing that ron's going to keep you there for awhile.

"i'll see you two lovebirds later." before ron can tell him to piss off again he slams the door shut, definitely drawing attention.

ron readjusts in bed with you still in his arms. "he's bloody annoying." ron mumbles before he closes his eyes again, resting his head against yours, making you feel safe in his arms with your head on his pillows that smell like him. you weren't initially tired when you came into bed with ron, you just wanted to mess with him but now your eyelids are becoming heavy as you drift off to sleep.

hermione can be absolutely terrifying at times as you're rudely awaken when hermione storms into the room, looking annoyed at you both. however ron seems unbothered by the fact, still sleeping, that is until hermione hovers over the bed and shouts at you both. "get up! both of you! i don't want to believe what harry said he walked in on, if he's telling the truth that's entirely inappropriate but you both look awfully cosy together! everyone is downstairs and has already eaten breakfast." after she see's that you've both waken up she leaves. you dread to think what harry's told everyone but at this point you're use to it. you feel better after your nap, you've found out before that you sleep better with ron next to you and you're no longer hungover either.

reluctantly you head downstairs, much preferring to spend the day in bed. the shouts and laughter that fill the living room fade when everyone see's you both and the onslaught of teasing happens. the comments include fred interrogating you about your, in his words, 'precarious position' due to the fact that anyone could have walked in. harry's saying he regrets walking in, and adding that you looked rather comfortable with all your limbs wrapped around each other.

"how do you even sleep next to him? he snores so loud." harry looked at you quizzically, genuinely confused.

you simply reply, "tune him out."

"oi! you snore louder than me."

"lies," you throw your hands at him in mock offence.

"ron's right shortcake." george tells you from the sofa after staying silent for most of the previous teasing.

"how 'd you know?" slightly worried that you snore so loud everyone knows and will make fun of you for it forever.

george grins at you, you've fallen right into his trap. "i can hear you through the walls."

with an amused smile you make your way over to where he's sitting and flick him on the forehead. "hush you." george's heart skips a beat when he sees the smile you direct at him. as you sit down next to george his cheeks warm up and he tries to hide his smile that appeared on his face because you sat next to him, out of everyone you choose him.

george looks over to ron to see his reaction, half of him wanting to make sure ron's okay with the fact you're sitting next to him but the other half, the half that he's more ashamed of, wants to see if ron's noticed, almost as if he wants to see that ron's bothered by it, to rub it in is face and make him jealous. to show him that you've chosen to sit next to him instead of ron or any of the others. so when he does look over at ron and see's him stealing food from the remains of hermione's breakfast, not even glancing at them, he felt a little conflicted.

"what's up george?" you follow his gaze to where ron is, "is he stealing your food again?"

george smirks at you and ruffles your hair, shaking his head. "nope, just seeing what ronniekins' doing." pouting, you tell him to stop messing up your hair while he chuckles and joins the conversation harry and ginny were having. you deflate as you watch him turn his attention onto someone else so flippantly.

the conversation they're having is supposed to be interesting but it's not to you, no matter how hard you try to get into quidditch you just can't. you're not as bad as hermione is with flying and would love the idea of riding on any magical creatures like dragons or hippogriffs but you worry that a broom will break.

george has reassured you plenty of times that there's no way it'll break but at the end of the day it's a stick and sticks break. you love watching them play, even if you worry that they'll get hurt, and you know the basic rules about the game but conversations about quidditch that don't include your friends you tune out. you'd be listening earnestly to the conversation if it was something about harry or ginny but them talking about the chudley cannons doesn't interest you much.

when ron made the team in your fifth year you were ecstatic, more excited than he was. you knew how badly he wanted to be on the team and you were thrilled, yet you always reminded him to be careful before games and even when training, you wouldn't be surprised if he found your nagging highly annoying.

you'll be able to focus on quidditch conversations if they speak with a lot of passion but right now they're not, you've just woken up and it sounds dull. maybe the conversation will change soon, or maybe molly will come in and interrupt, saving you from listening, and tell everyone they have a job to do or how she's going into town and she's going to ask if anyone wants to come, or maybe ron will start arguing with everyone about how great the chudley cannons are. when your friends passionately talk about something you listen but it's a boring monotonous conversation currently. you love hearing your friends talk passionately about their lives and their interests it's how you're so good at giving everyone presents.

like when harry animatedly told you all about his first christmas at hogwarts, about how he received the invisibility cloak and all the contents in his wizarding cracker. one of those things including a wizard's chess set that was later unfortunately broken and couldn't, at the time, be repaired. so that christmas you brought him a wizard's chess set of his own as he had been using ron's up until that point.

for hermione's birthday one year you gave her a first edition copy of hogwarts: a history. it's always been her favourite book since the first year of hogwarts and she often rereads it. throughout your school years together she retold information to you even when it had very little relevance. you knew how much she loved that book and had been trying to find someone with a signed copy that will sell it to you. after bathilda bagshot died you looked everywhere trying to find any signed copy. you were tempted at the time to ask someone else to sign it, someone that she looks up to like mcgonagall but that was a fleeting thought as you didn't think that idea made much sense. so your plan was to keep on the look out for any copies.

you stumbled on something better one day though while browsing an old bookshop in knockturn alley. you occasionally go there for things you need and you dread to think what would happen if ron found out, even worse molly, they'd insist it's too dangerous and never let you go again, especially on your own.

when flourish and blott's don't have the book you need you know where to go, even if sometimes you have to grab your wand a little tighter to feel safe or that if anyone saw you there they'd be asking serious questions and questioning you on dark magic. however, it's a good thing you do visit having found the first edition copy you had gifted her. you would've haggled the price down a bit after knowing the shopkeeper for so long but the situation was too good even if it was pricey, it's not everyday you come across a first edition copy of such a well known book.

you were probably most proud of the gift you got for george one year. when the whole situation of malfoy insulting the twins cleansweep brooms escalated to insulting the whole weasley family and harry's parents came to a head it wrecked everyone involved (excluding malfoy). the twins and harry had their brooms confiscated due to the fight between them and malfoy.

what made him even more mad was the fact that you were there to witness it happen. george thought maybe it would've been better if you were there to hear exactly what malfoy said but all you saw from the crowd was george and harry punching malfoy repeatedly.

he didn't want to scare you and maybe if you heard what came out of malfoy's mouth you'd think what george did was valid. that's what he had thought until you came barging into the gryffindor common room unannounced, looking absolutely furious screaming about what a fucking arse malfoy is. "do you even know what he said?" angelina asked at the time, knowing that word got around of the fight but not knowing if people knew exactly what happened.

"no but i know it was bloody well something to make everybody that angry!" george couldn't help but smile at that, he'd been so tense and frustrated since it's happened but then you come in and make it all better, getting angry on everyone's behalf and you don't even know what happened. that was when george fell more in love with you then he already was and he didn't think that was possible.

the twins later took their brooms back. they were known for breaking into offices, they should've been kept somewhere more secure if they knew anything about the twins reputation. they took back their brooms and left the school in classic weasley twin style. despite getting their brooms back the incident took a hit on george's confidence. malfoy insulted his entire family and he was so enraged about it.

after the twins left the school year early it was incredibly quiet without them but in the summer it was hectic with them causing even more trouble than normal. one of the hotter days you and george spent the day together inside. everyone was outside playing quidditch but george wanted to stay with you, he told you that he was too tired to play but really he just used that as an excuse to be with you. arthur was at work and molly was in the kitchen, hermione was even outside reading near everyone but you and george stayed in and talked all day. he told you everything about the fight with malfoy, he tried to make jokes and make it seem like not a big deal but you could tell otherwise. even though he was grinning the smile didn't reach his eyes, even though he was making jokes they had a hint of insecurity behind them.

you didn't mention it, you didn't want him to feel put on the spot, but you rested your hand on his arm in comfort and sat closer to him. yes it was incredibly hot at the time but neither of you wanted to move away. he spoke about his broom and about how he won the match even with his broom, behind his words you can tell he held some kind of resentment. he's an excellent beater, better than fred and he should be proud to have won that game, malfoy's ruined it by the aftermath and it's tarnished by all the hateful words malfoy said.

the week after you had brought him a broom. afterwards when you left dervish and banges you realised that you only brought one for george and not for fred and started panicking because there was no holiday coming up, you just wanted to give him a new broom, hoping he would like it but then you didn't get one for fred. your feelings for george at that moment overshadowed any logical part of your brain that told you that you should probably think this through and rethink your purchase instead getting two cheaper ones.

after calming down you had a whole speech prepared in your mind to fred about how sorry you were for not getting him one. making excuses like how fred didn't actually punch malfoy, only harry and george did and harry doesn't need a new broom. other excuses you threw out the window thinking they sounded too harsh, george is a better player then you so he needs a better broom or george is more likely to keep playing now after you've left hogwarts then you will because he's better. after those failed excuses in your head you had scolded yourself on the obvious unintentional favouritism, definitely giving yourself away every time you mention how much better george is. you love fred, you do, but george is george.

coming back to the burrow was somewhat of a spectacle, having to deal with both the twins. fred was the first person you saw and the confusion on his face was evident when he saw you holding a broom, something that you'd never do as he knows you don't trust them. he raised his brow in confusion.

"before you start it's not for you freddie. it's for george." there's a pause as you try to sort out your thoughts and fred smirks. "after what happened with malfoy i thought he could use a new broom. i mean- i mean he was the one who got physical with him and i know harry did too but his broom is already new and i can't afford to get him an even more expensive one."

"woah that's quite the excuse." he joked while smirking.

you cross your arms over your chest, "it's not an excuse, it's just the truth."

"yeah, yeah." he spoke, dismissively. "just know i'm never letting this go."

you rolled your eyes as the hairs on your arm stood up, you had a feeling he was telling the truth. "where's george?" having hoped to run away from the conversation as quick as you can so that fred didn't figure out your romantic sentiment towards george.

he directed you upstairs to their room with a shit-eating grin on his face. you had vowed to blow fred away with an amazing present for christmas but after that interaction you had you were thinking otherwise. (in the end you still did get him a very thought out gift that he thoroughly liked.)

you had knocked on the door, waiting patiently for an answer. george tells you to come in, and his eyes widen in surprise momentarily before he quickly schools his expression because this is the first time you've ever entered his room and you just remembered the same thing as you get distracted about why you're here and instead start taking in the room.

glancing around the room you could see boxes everywhere. cardbox boxes that were taped up with the edges bent and marginally destroyed. fred and george were storing so many products it's a surprise they even had room for their beds. there was a smell that lingered in the air, like gunpowder and cosmetic sprays to try and cover up the scent. you were unfazed by the scene, you would have been more in shock if you walked in and it was a 'normal' room. the smell in the air was making you woozy and flushed as you discovered this is why george almost always smells faintly of gunpowder and you started to find it hard to concentrate being so close to it.

"this is a surprise shortcake, what are you doing in my humble abode?" he inquired, in the process snapping you out of your thoughts. he didn't want you to judge him for what his room looked like, he knew you never would though.

"you know humble abode normally refers to a house?"

"deflecting the question." he sits down on the bed.

having hid the broom behind your back since you knocked, "i brought you something." you tried to answer and sound confident but you know that your voice trembled, you're nervous and you're suddenly liking the floor more than making eye contact with george.

"oh really?" he grinned but his stomach was going crazy and flipping about while his heart bursts out of his chest. you got him something, you, for him. his palms were sweaty and he tried to subtly rub his hands against his trousers.

"i know how shit you've been feeling about malfoy so i-" you found it hard to speak, worried about george's reaction. going closer to the bed you struggled to find the words but reach behind yourself and gave him the broom.

"shortcake, i'm... i- is this a broom?" he knew the response.

you bashfully nodded your head, losing the ability to talk with a dry throat and gently sat on the bed with george but put some distance between the two of you.

you start rambling, "it's um, a- a comet 290. i don't know a lot about quidditch, which you know, but this one looked fancy and it was one of the newer ones that i could afford. i probably should of asked someone's opinion before buying but i hope this one is okay."

"i love it," george whispers, you had never heard him speak so softly to you. sometimes he'll talk gently to you but never like this, never sounding so genuine.

george is so hopelessly and helplessly in love and he was holding on to a very thin thread trying to control himself to stay away from you because all he wanted to do is press his lips against yours, kissing you until you're both gasping for air. your lips always look so soft, he wondered what they'd feel like against his. he wanted to beg you to give him a chance, he'll make you feel beautiful, that you'd be perfect together. the comet 290 is the best gift anyone had ever given him and he's treasured it for years.

currently after that terribly long conversation about quidditch you wish someone could save you from, you decide to save yourself and go find molly. george noticed you leave but assumed you'd be back. you find her in the scullery, washing clothes.

"is there any jobs you need me to do molly?"

"no dear, you sit down and relax."

you're so close to begging and telling her that you just want to get out of listening about quidditch.

"i'll do anything molly. please let me, i woke up so late this morning and couldn't help you tidy up."

she stays silent for a second and then turns to you, "the garden does need de-gnoming at some point."

"yes!" you respond more enthusiastic then considered appropriate before correcting yourself, "yes, molly. i'll get right on it."

"get help from some of the others dear, i don't want you doing it on your own."

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donniesexceptionalmind · 2 months

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I need some advice. In August I'll be a junior in high school. Last year I had multiple panic attacks and breakdowns over the workload my teachers gave me and failed classes because I couldn't complete all of the work. I have ADHD and was supposed to receive accommodations. About halfway through the year, I found out that they didn't have my 504 plan on record so wasn't receiving them. Even after that was sorted out I was still overwhelmed. It's not that I don't know the answers I just can't do it all. My dad mentioned online school but I can't learn that way. Do you have any tips that could help me be less stressed and get more work done?

Sorry if that's too much, I just don't know what to do 😅

The ADHD struggle... what's not to love? /j

ADHD brains are dopamine seekers & absolutely not good with executive functioning skills.

You'll always have struggles related to that. Medication MIGHT help to ease them a bit, but personally, I believe it shouldn't be the only thing done to support ADHD & it cannot be the only thing because lets be real: medication only supplies chemical balance. So!! Over the years dealing with Mikey AND Leon, I've collected SOME data on how to help ADHD struggles & perhaps they are helpful for you too.

(This might be a long one, apologies)

VISUALS & DOPAMINE

Do you know what object permanence is? ADHDers often forget everything that's not directly in front of their eyes. And that applies not only to deadlines & chores but also to people. Hence why ADHDers sometimes don't miss people because of their lack of object permanence.

Visuals help a lot: A whiteboard with written chores for the day, bright sticky notes for school books... even phone applications.

But beware: Nardo has three chore apps on his phone & he successfully ignores them all because they become a "background buzz" to him.

They are always there & over time, they lose their dopamine spark, so he is not only disinterested but he also FORGETS about them BECAUSE they are directly in front of him.

So you have to make & KEEP the visuals interesting for your brain. Perhaps you can combine it with your interests & hyperfixations?

GAMIFICATION:

Because your brain craves stimulation & immediate rewards, gamification can be a game-changer (pun intended).

It taps into the brain's reward centers, making tasks more engaging &, consequently, more achievable.

Habitica & Tiimo are apps that make chores into a game. It could be helpful for you.

REWARD SYSTEM BUT REVERSE:

A lot of people like to treat themselves after doing something & yes, that can be effective as it is used in parenting & schools -yet I find that especially Leon doesn't care for rewards at all & so he "fails" every reward system Raph has ever implemented.

That's because of time blindness! For ADHDers, the only time that exists is now.

So why not reward yourself BEFORE starting a task? Get that dopamine flowing & then you'll notice: the boring thing isn't so boring right now... and you'll be able to focus for the duration of the task.

It's worth a shot, but it requires a lot of self reflection and self-awareness.

CHALLENGES & GOALS:

In contrast to Leon, Mikey loves to collect small unicorns & stars & he likes the reward system as a challenge for himself & makes him happy whenever he achieved a goal - that is, if it's his goal.

He doesn't like being forced to do something, but he's more motivated if he sets a goal for himself & of course, a nice reward he chooses.

BODY DOUBLING:

Executive dysfunction can make it impossible to study for a test or do homework, but that can be overcome if you have someone with you in the room.

They don't have to be doing the same thing as you. Simply, their presence is enough for your brain to get the task done. Have you tried that before?

This also works over calls & there exist multiple discord channels just for (neurodivergent) people who need a body double to get things done!

Have a cookie! 🍪

Oh! FIDGETS.

Stimming is vital for concentration.

And... this is all I have for now, I think. I hope I was able to help out at least a tiny bit.

Here's a good additional resource, however this mostly focuses on what OTHERS can do, yet it provides a good source of information about ADHD in general & I find that education about your brain is the best factor of mastering:

A good literature resource: ADHD 2.0 by Edward M. Hallowell, M.D., and John J. Ratez, M.D. (2020)

#donnies exceptional mind #donnie speaks #adhd research #adhd tips #donatello infodumps #i love to infodump #autistic infodump #adhd brain #adhd things #neurodivergent stuff #actually neurodivergent #turtle net #adhd problems

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strawberryicemoon · 5 months

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Why I can't watch the Ducktales Finale

I'm not the kind of person who struggles to watch the last episode of something. I love to finish a show, and let it sit in my brain. I'm the kind of person who often enjoys spoilers because it adds to my understanding of the media. I love to view the media in their entirety just as much as I love a journey to get there.

But I can't get past the first few minutes of Ducktales 2017, The Last Adventure. And it's because of spoilers that I couldn't deal with. I don't like them, and even years later after I've had time to digest, and have seen so many finale clips, that I still can't just sit down and watch it. And I've made attempts. I've looked through the summary of the episode to prepare. But I can't.

And there's... a couple of things that rub me the wrong way about the Finale that keep me from being able to just watch it.

1. Webby is Scrooge's Clone Daughter

2. Webby is April, of April May and June

3. Donald and Daisy are going on vacation.

Now, I don't actually hate any of these... conceptually. And I'm well aware that Frank Angones has stated the Webby twist was planned from very early on. And usually I am completely down for whatever a finale is, as long as I can tell that this was something the creator really believed in.

I'm a fan of such "controversial" endings as, Amphibia and Digimon Adventure 02, because I know exactly why they ended like that. It's written in the themes. Even if it took me time to understand Adventure's ending, I've grown to understand it and love it once I learned more about the original Japanese version and the shows production (and also grew up myself). Amphibia ended exactly as I expected based on one of the very earliest things I heard about the show from Matt Braly: "an ode to past friendships". Even if I think there are things they messed up I GET IT. I wouldn't want them ending any other way.

So I understand WHY the decision is made. Conceptually it does make sense. Webby exists as a composite character of April May and June, and I believe shares the same name as April in one language. Webby being Scrooge's clone daughter is an effective way of full-circling her relationship with him. Strangers in each other's home to father and daughter. She's family not BECAUSE of Blood, but because of Love. She still loves her Granny, it's just the non blood relationship wasn't the one she thought it was. And Donald deserves a vacation, and to have the more down to earth life experiences he wanted, especially after raising his sisters kids alone for 10 years.

But they still twist me up inside.

And I think it comes down to three reasons: 1. Lack of Continuity between episodes 2. An over-focusing on Scrooge 3. Handling of Word of God

1. Lack of Continuity between episodes Part of what got me to fall in love with Ducktales was S1 and the continuity of the Spear of Selene subplot. We got hints at a semi-regular pace, but it successfully overhung the entire series. It was what separated Scrooge and Donald. It was why Della was gone. The subject matter was of course not something that needed to be overstated, as most of it was being kept hush hush. Sure it was a mystery, but not an urgent one. Dewey had never had his mom, so it wasn't like he couldn't focus on anything else for a while

But in S2 I started noticing that the show stopped explaining or foreshadowing things. Maybe it always did, I haven't re watched it properly. But I definitely noticed something off about the storytelling then. But it was definitely a problem throughout the show.

Webby never brought up Lena after her sacrifice until the relevant episode.

Lena living with the Sabrewings was something never brought up until episodes later we saw her with them.

We had Della talking about the boys with their "Uncles" setting up the pain of not knowing how things fell apart after her departure, only to get no payoff.

We didn't get ANYTHING about Webby's parentage until the final episode, and barely a hint in 1 season 3 episode.

Almost every finale episode changes the status quo in some way. The question is how much. Lots of final episodes kind of have things going back to the way they were before plot kicked off but better (like with new friends or a new government). Sometimes someone dies.

Webby being Scrooge's clone is paradigm shifting. And that kind of thing needs to be set up. You CANNOT catch your audience off guard with something like that.

In Digimon Adventure 02 the series ends with everyone on earth with a digimon partner which is controversial but at least built up throughout the series at hints of other digidestined until an arc near the end showcased many international digidestined. Hilda ends with the reveal that Hilda's mother is half-fairy, and despite not being present throughout the first two seasons, it was hinted at through the third season, and contextualized some of the few things we did know before about Johanna's childhood. The Hollow's first season ends with you finding out it was all a game, but it had been hinted at before with the video game nature of the world. Sure Avatar didn't hint at Aang getting the power to take away bending, but we knew he was a pacifist who didn't want to kill so was looking for a solution, getting the power to remove bending (ie power over others) works thematically, in the same way Anne using the power of the stones and getting brought back to life by a god like being worked. Sure, Scratch turning out to be a wraith at the end of The Ghost and Molly McGee was rather sudden, but people had been theorizing that Todd was Scratch's body for a long time, so it wasn't like there weren't any hints, and while the show was cut short and had to rush to end, the build up of Scratch's memories at least gave some sort of foreshadowing link to what was going on.

There's a reason people rarely throw in new characters at the very end of a show. It can absolutely work. Amphibia and The Owl House threw in "God" at the end, but that gets a pass for being the kind of figure they meet once and then move on with their lives. On the other side, you can sometimes have secret big bads that were pulling the strings the whole time too. I can't speak for the finale of Ducktales (because again, can't bring myself to watch it), but adding two new characters on top of changing the entire dynamic of how the family is set up at the very end of the show does not sit well with me. We won't get to see how this change in status quo effects the characters. We saw how learning about their mom affected the boys relationship with Scrooge, her return and having to build a relationship with her and her presence conflicting with Launchpad's. But we don't get that with Scrooge and Webby? Basically too many status quo shifts in the finale all at once.

All we got was Beakley was a spy, was overprotective of Webby, and a few episodes before the end it was revealed Beakley was lying to her. Webby didn't seem to care about her parents. And this was a girl who was very dedicated to unraveling the secrets of clan mcduck. Couldn't they have had one hint at some point in the show where it was unclear if it was the boys or Webby who were recognized as a McDuck? Some offhand mention where the boys ask her about HER parents, because she helped them with her mom?

You couldn't tell what was or was not going be important in the way they dropped. It's very hard to set your expectations when you had no clue what to expect. And while there is something to be said for unexpected surprises and twists in a story, an audience really needs to know what is or is important or they're going to go on wild goose chases and get disappointed when they build up hype for something the show then refuses to address.

In HINDSIGHT, I find it extremely odd that Huey and Louie, prior to finding out about Dewey's investigations, did not pry at ALL into the fact that hey: if Donald was an adventurer with Scrooge, then he had to know their mom. Like that’s weird right?

2. An over-focusing on Scrooge Scrooge is the Center of the Universe.

I'm not a Disney Ducks fan. Aside from 2017, and pop culture osmosis, I know very little. But the thing is I am someone whose first inclination once I become a fan of something is to check out the wiki pages for information. Find about what longstanding fan mysteries there are. I understand the importance of cross continuity callbacks. I'm a fan of other longstanding series and have rubbed elbows with several others. I get really long franchises with several iterations.

Which is to say that I, despite not having a horse in this race, understand how this works and how it should work.

Now a bit of this is the fact Ducktales is ABOUT Scrooge. But Scrooge isn't the center of the Duck universe. Something I find pretty interesting is the fact that Donald has reasonably fleshed out family trees on both sides of his family. That's cool. That's how real people work, a meeting point of the stories of those who came before. But Ducktales doesn't care, the only adult the show cares about is him. I get that to a certain extent it was the show execs insisting on focusing on the kids. And again, he's kind of the main character. But you brought back Donald, and Della. There are other characters here with rich lives, he doesn't need to take over everything.

It's especially egregious ANY time the McDuck clan gets involved. Could Matilda be the youngest child now? Sure. But that's a really arbitrary change, that they don't use for anything. And even if that was purposeful, the fact is that the first thing they established is Donald's mom is still Scrooge's sister, so Donald is the grandson of Fergus and Downy McDuck. Not nephew? Surely they could recognize him? But where is Hortense and Quackmore? They brought them up in the first episode, and then they never made any appearances aside from references. Why were Donald and Della staying with Scrooge for Christmas? Never clarified. Fans (reasonably) assumed they were dead. Scrooge called Donald his ward (admittedly when he also called him Fergus and Downy’s nephew rather than grandson). I mean where else would they be when their DAUGHTER DISAPPEARED. Would they not want to meet their grandchildren? But that was never clarified. And I've seen some fans alternatively interpret them as bad parents, which I think is just really unfair. Scrooge gets to be the good parent? It's once again Scrooge to the rescue. The CAPITALIST? I mean it's also a little bit just a family issue in general: It's Uncle Gladstone and Cousin Fethry when they are theoretically the same: technically cousins but old enough to be honorary uncles. It's fair enough. But really that brings us to the Duck family in general.

Grandma Duck? What about Gladstone and Fethry's parents? Gus Goose? Are they all dead? Does Fethry have any siblings? Do the boys not know or not care about the Duck side of the family? They know Gladstone but no one else? I mean Scrooge's parents, who should be dead, were magically kept alive but nothing for the duck family. Speaking of which, they constantly bring up how old Scrooge and occasionally refer to the causes of his supernatural age, but that does not explain how young Donald and Della are compared to him. Overall, we get nothing on the Duck family except for its existence at least, so even removed from the context of Disney Ducks legacy its weird to introduce a side of the family and just gloss over it.

The one episode about the Duck family legacy is a Webby episode. Which, fine, she's not a Duck, but she's part of the family. Except wait. She's Scrooge's daughter/clone, and you gave her the focus on the one episode about the Duck family not the McDuck's? You couldn't leave Scrooge out of anything?

So for Webby's great twist in the finale, was taking not just one, but two characters NOT related to Scrooge (April and Webby), and tying them to Scrooge. I think I could deal with Webby being April, and (HUGE MAYBE) Webby being Scrooge’s clone or April being Scrooge’s clone but not both. Not to mention April, May and June are DAISY's nieces... not random three girls who are her boyfriends uncles clone and and boyfriends uncles clones clone? It doesn't sit right with me that a character who I thought was supposed to be learning that he was sometimes in the wrong, and not the center of morality (see how he made Glomgold a villain through his own ego), continue to be made the center of the universe in ways he simply shouldn't be.

He's literally an old rich guy. Like there is historical context for why this character is like this, but why does the world revolve around him in this show.

3. Word of God Word of God is useful. As are interviews and statements made by the creator. It helps to provide insight into the themes. I love seeing the person behind the art.

But here's the thing. Word of God is clarification, insight into how you should look at the work to set expectations. It's supplementary. It doesn't replace text.

This is a little bit difficult to really talk about now that I'm several years removed from the experience, so grain of salt and all, but I really think the way Word of God was handled did the show a disservice.

Back to Lena becoming a Sabrewing, we didn't get that in show. Lena just dropped off the face of the earth, not until S3’s premier we got a clarification on that in show.

We never got Della's reaction to learning that Donald and Scrooge were estranged, she just suddenly stopped speaking under that assumption.

So Word of God became an essential part of understanding the text, because a lot of necessary information was left unexplained by the canon its a huge problem. And Word of God is often fluid. It can be changed later if during the writing process something changes. (We should probably cover this topic in show and want to do it a bit differently, I have a great Idea of what we can do to turn that error into foreshadowing, I was lying to the fans to keep a secret).

But when word of god is necessary, word of god becomes essential for tempering expectations about the show.

This is probably going to be less of an issue for people who come and watch the show later. Sure, things are still unexplained, but when you can binge the show Lena's unexplained absence is less obvious, you're so busy moving on to other things that Della's change in understanding about the situation is clearly unimportant and you can move on.

But what ended up happening is that Frank Angones struggled to balance clarifications, keeping show secrets, and a sometimes changing story. Which sometimes left characters completely sure on where the story was sitting, only for it to be ripped out from under them. Also, tying back to the first point, of plot points being dropped until the episode where they where they were relevant made it VERY difficult to tell what was or wasn’t going to be relevant, and what emotional beats to get emotionally invested in.

Prior to the finale there was a bit of a community of Webby/Triplet shippers. Personally, I see that as a complete dismissal of the themes of the show and a bit heteronormative. I avoided all such content. But at the same time, shipping doesn't hurt anyone. At the end of the day, the boys and Webby were not related by blood, and hadn't even met until age 10. There wasn't... really a reason you couldn't ship them. There are TONS of shows out there with 10 year old characters and love interests. Just off the top of my head: Any Ship with Ash Ketchum, Sprigivy, Phinabella, Kenyako, Sorato. Even if they don't get together at 10, (or at all) the fact of the matter is 10 year olds getting shipped is old news. I'm still attached to Pokeshipping and Takari to this day, even if I tend to see them more as platonic relationships these days. So I avoided all shipping with them, but I understood why people (particularly younger people) were shipping them. Until the finale hit, and the ships that people thought never going to be canon, but were safe, weren't. To a certain extent, that's the game you play with shipping clearly noncanonical ships. But I feel that the way questions about shipping were answered didn't help, because iirc he tended to say the show wouldn't focus on that more than he explicitly stated the kids were family. He called Webby/Triplet shipping highly unlikely for example, giving it more legitimacy than a no, which leant to it being taken as a solid fact prior to the finale that Webby was definitely not related to the boys, because a lot of what else was said was solid fact.

4. (Bonus): of course, I do also feel it kind of isn't enough to justify breaking the found family. So much of Webby's arc was being accepted into the family. Becoming the 4th triplet. So for her to have been blood all along is a little cheap. Sure it doesn't break the becoming family despite blood before. But, having meta-knowledge of Launchpad probably finding family with Gosalyn and Drake Mallard, it's just Beakley whose left as not blood related (and she's technically the help...). And yeah, there's the Granny/Grandaughter adopted relationship. But....

Webby is one of four kids. Again, she became one of the kids. So yeah. I'm happy that she became one of the kids. Able to call him uncle scrooge. But it feels weird to me that she, the kid who already lived in the manor with Scrooge even if they kept their distance, displaced the triplets as Scrooge's natural heirs. The uncle relationships in this show being parental/grandparental was already good. Not all families look the same, some people parent their siblings' kids for one reason or another. Scrooge's presumed "heirs' ' was his sister's descendants, not his, but he loved them like his own. That's good. So to not only break the "not blood related at all" to "actually daughter", kind of ALSO meant a "my niblings are my legacy" got overtaken with "my daughter is my legacy".

And maybe I'd feel less sour about it if we had more time after the show. But on a fundamental level it didn't just alter Webby's place in the family, but her grandmother's, and the Duck Twins and Triplets. Again, especially with the triplets. I wanted the four of them to become functional equals. The 4th triplet. But for her to have a secret Scrooge connection that overtakes the one she was jealous of the triplets of having doesn't sit right to say the least.

I feel I could get over this one, especially maybe if they gave us more time. But it just didn't make it worth it to me.

5. (Bonus Bonus): Now I don't use the term Mary Sue lightly. But what I do think of canon Mary Sueism is a tendency to make female characters on predominately male casts "special" in some way to justify their presence. They have to be the level headed smart ones and the ones with . They have to be likable so they're robbed of character. I wouldn't say Webby is a particularly bad example of this, and it's not like Ducktales lacks other flawed female characters (Della my beloved).

But the way Webby is treated reminds me of April from TMNT 2012, and Allura from Voltron Legendary Defender (and kinda Larmina from Voltron Force). All are 80s characters in shows that had a predominately male cast of characters, and who were both an outsider, and defined by being a girl. And then the reboot both doubled down on making them special, integrating them into the group more, but also making them generally tougher the boys in some way, and also sometimes more in the know about things. Webby is aged up to match the boys age rather than aged down to match the boys age like April but the effect is still the same.

The girl is now a peer to the boys, 4th triplet, rather than a little sister. Webby is more capable and well-read than any of the boys. And at the start of the series she's socially awkward enough it feels like it will work. And I'm not saying Webby isn't flawed, she is. But when it comes to the things the family finds important: adventuring, she doesn't have any obvious shortcomings. Louie quits easily and isn't as coordinated, Dewey is reckless and generally uneducated, and Huey isn't flexible. And Webby... used to be socially awkward???

It’s kinda trading 1 sexist trope for another. And yeah, all shows do have OTHER female characters who kind of avert this. But it doesn’t change the fact the leading lady is more “special” than the boys. Like being a girl has to be special.

In short, at the end of the day Webby being Scrooge's daughter doesn't help her character, her grandmothers, or the rest of the family. It kinda helps Scrooge’s character, but while I haven’t seen the episode myself, I’m not sure there would be enough time for it to be meaningful. And again, I think a lot of the characterization and worldbuilding of other characters were already sacrificed for Scrooge’s sake in the show already.

Oh and the Donald/Daisy thing.

The reason Daisy/Donald's trip doesn't sit right with me is we barely got any Donald and Della having to coparent. Get used to each other again. We barely got any of them and we're heading back into separation. It doesn’t feel cathartic when we still have unanswered questions from this stage in their life. And even if the trip is well, a trip. It feels weird.

It feels kind of unexpectedly "conventional family", even if it's still really unconventional. Donald is going to go be happy with his love interest, away from the boys he raised who aren't actually his sons (and yes, I know he takes May and June with him but still, knowing that May and June are by default Daisy's nieces kind of has "new kids with new wife" implications to me but that's neither here nor there). Adding this to "Webby being Scrooge's daughter is a good plot point for him" and it's just really weird, and kind of feels like the final nail in the nontraditional family dynamics coffin. If feel only way they could have buried it more is if Beakley died or something.

I was already kinda uncomfortable with the “Daisy being the only one to understand him” thing because like. That’s sweet. His soulmate is the only one who really hears him. But also that’s a fucking speech impediment Donald has. Are you telling me that no one in his family cared enough to effectively communicate with him despite his disability? Like if it is REALLY that much a problem he should have an effective communication method. Sign-language for example?

The triplets he raised don’t always understand him. His twin sister doesn’t always understand him? But this random woman does? I am all for Daisy and Donald being basically soulmates. But uh? This feels both ableist and allonormative in a show that really wasn’t those things before. (well okay it was kinda ableist about Donald but it felt less weird to me when there wasn’t one person who could magically understand Donald). And Daisy understanding him still could be a big thing? The first person who understood him without getting to know him first/wasn’t literally raising him/raised with/raised by him?

I want to like Daisy so much, but she just feels a bit like Webby does: a legacy female character they are trying to make too cool, who gets some of their coolness incidentally defined by a male character, rather than a full-fledged character on their own. (For instance if we saw Daisy with anyone other than Donald, her overbearing boss and… whatever Storkules is).

I feel some of these may have been resolved with more time. But some of these problems had their seeds planted as early as S1. That said I think if the quality of S1 was maintained they would have been fine. Overall, I think Ducktales is a good reboot, and a good show, but it really could have been better. Was so close to being better.

#ducktales 2017 #it's been years and I'm still thinking about this #for my part #I disregard the finale #Webby has dead parents that she knows about hence never needing to learn more #I disregard the family not understanding Donald #because Daisy being the first STRANGER who understands him right away is just as sweet #idk what I’m doing about Boyd or April May June yet though #I can do what I want its not like Ducktales was wholly original or anything #probably still better than vld's finale #but I started to have critiques in s3 #and all of s8 was a dumpster fire so I was emotionally checked out by the time it actually came to that point #again I haven't seen it so maybe I'd like it more if I did see it #but the fact that knowing this has put me so intensely off watching it really isn't a good thing either #and I have never had this issue with a show before even if it's bad #to be clear though I do overall like 2017 Webby and Daisy I just wish they were allowed to be a little MORE #to fuck up a little more #I really do want to finish my abandoned ducktales fics but also staring at the finale and trying to figure out what I should do with this #ah #ducktales

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callsigndragon · 2 years

Text

Seeing Red | Ch. 28: Red - Penny 📲✍️

Summary: Penny checks on Red

Warning: mentions of death and cancer.

THERE'S BOTH TEXT CHAT AND WRITTEN PART IN THIS CHAPTER

A/N: I COULDN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS I'M A WEAK PERSON OKAY? OKAY.

Masterlist on pinned

Jake comes back from Liam's room, a soft smile on his lips when he sees you're awake. "Morning, cherry."

"Morning, cowboy." You mutter, opening your arms for him. It only takes him a second to get under the covers and crawl into your arms. "How's the little prince?"

"He still has a fever, it's much lower than yesterday, though. I made him breakfast and gave him medicine. He almost fell asleep while eating. It was so heartbreaking."

"He gets sleepy when sick. Did you put him to bed?"

Jake nods, kissing your neck, the closest thing he has, as his head is resting on your chest. "Didn't even have to sing."

You smile as you recall all the nights you've secretly heard him sing to Liam. "It's cute when you do it."

He raises his head, looking at you with narrow eyes. "Have you been eavesdropping, young lady?"

"You can't prove it!" You chuckle when he starts kissing your neck again, his 'stache tickling your skin.

"I can torture you until you admit it," he says, biting your neck softly, just in that sweet spot he loves so much. You have to clench your teeth to not moan. "I still know where it is."

"Asshole."

"Language." He continues kissing your neck, his lips traveling up to your jaw. "I've seen a few more tattoos. Can I see them?"

"Oh, yeah. There's this butterfly," you say, lifting your arm to reveal a red butterfly with a date on the inside of your forearm. "That's Liam's birth date."

"It's beautiful." He traces the lines with his thumb before kissing it. "I'm gonna need to get one myself. What about the one under your watch?"

You chuckle. "When did you see that one? It's meant to be hidden."

"When I wrapped your hands yesterday. But I was too busy being a dick to notice, I guess." He rolls his eyes at himself and laughs. "I'm really sorry about it."

You kiss his forehead and remove your watch from your wrist. "It's okay. But this should tell you that I never stopped thinking about you."

"Is that… a cherry?"

You cover your face with your hands, feeling heat spreading over your cheeks. "It's lame, I know. Pregnancy hormones thought that it was cool."

He grabs your hands, sliding his fingers between yours, and moves them away from your face. "Red, look at me."

You open one eye, afraid that he's going to laugh at you, but curious at the same time when you hear the seriousness in his voice.

"Take off my watch."

And you do, your lungs forgetting how to work when you see the small 'R' in red ink. And the blue 'L' next to it, separated by a hyphen. "You did not."

"Of course, I did. Got the R three years ago. The L is recent." He looks at you, waiting for your approval. "You like it?"

You wipe a tear away. "You said you'd never get a tattoo."

"This isn't just a tattoo, love. It's my family." He chuckles when he sees your teary eyes. "Oh Lord, look at you. It's just two letters."

"It's the meaning behind, Jake. A Red R. That's me. And the L is Liam, and it's blue! That's his favorite color."

"I know. I asked him." He confesses with a grin.

You sigh, grabbing him by the neck and pulling him close to kiss him. "Don't leave again."

He pecks your lips softly, a featherly touch that almost makes you believe it didn't happen. "I've hurt you enough in this life. I won't leave you again." You look into the depthness of his green orbs, searching in them. There's fierceness in them. He was alone the last time. Well, not alone. But it was you two against the world, and he had everything to lose.

Now? He has a family. A big, loud, and crazy family that would go to the ends of the world to help him if he asked them to. Now he can fight.

"I love the 'stache. It gives you this 'hot daddy' look."

He burst into laughter, falling against the pillows. "I'm in my dilf era."

You roll over, laying on top of him, your head now pressed against his chest. "Remember that no one other than me, the hottest milf around, is allowed to see you like this."

He raises a brow, wetting his lips before smirking. "Babe, you were the one that punched me yesterday for being jealous."

"Oh, I'm not jealous." You point out, playing with his dog tags and the ring attached to the chain. Why would you be jealous when he wears the ring everywhere?

"Then why is nobody allowed to see me shirtless?" He moves his hands under your shirt, caressing the small of your back.

"Did I say shirtless?"

"No," he softly pinches your skin, causing you to yelp. "Shhhh. You're gonna wake our kid."

You smack his chest. "What was that for?"

"Because you talk in riddles. What are you, the Riddler?"

"What I meant is that nobody is allowed to see you being cute, adorable and soft while talking about Liam. That's for my eyes only."

He shakes his head and laughs. "You're really something else."

"You knew what you were getting into when you proposed." You kiss his jaw, smiling afterwards. Things have changed so much in only 24 hours.

"And I'll do it again."

There's not a sign of doubt in his voice.

"Penny told me about your mom. That was the only thing she said."

Jake swallows. Maybe you should have stayed quiet. "Apparently she had cancer."

"Sweet mother of god. I don't know who wrote the story of your life, but they sure wanted to make you suffer."

"Shit happens, I guess. But it's okay. She's in a better place now."

You're about to say something when you hear Liam crying. You sigh and get up. "My turn."

Tag list: @purplevortexx @shrimping-for-all @caitsymichelle13 @callmemana @abaker74 @starkleila @topgunmenbefinebruh @blue-aconite @tayrae515 @alexxavicry @xoxabs88xox @mercurio23 @smells-like-perfect-senses @dempy @djs8891 @indynerdgirl @countryclubswifey @lauenderhaze @avaleineandafryingpan @poppyalice2001 @emorychase @wildxwidow @agentrose17 @shanimallina87 @khaylin27 @fudosl @rhirhikingston @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @ducks118 @teacupsandtopgun @impossiblebaglecowboyfreak @marissat1998 @blairfox04 @phoenix1388 @potato-girl99981 @sarahjoestewy-blog @phantomxoxo @milestellerwife @dumb-fawkin-bitch @twsssmlmaa @teti-menchon0604 @yanna-banana @multiversalwh0re @hollandorks

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ewanmitchellcrumbs · 2 months

Note

Dearest Ange, the final episode is upon us.

I too was victim to the spoilers via leaks, and I was really, really praying it was just a bad fever dream. I've accepted that at this point I will continue watching for a love of the actors and the characters, rather than for a meaningful, coherent storyline. There are so, so many things wrong with this episode, much of which we've discussed over the course of season two;

The horrible, horrible way that Ryan Condal and Sara Hess dealt with the greens. My heart really went out to Aemond in this episode because despite the fact that he's so, so messy, and flawed, he's the only one left of his family who's actually trying to keep them alive, to protect them even though he's not going about it the wrong way.

The way the show dealt with the aftermath of events

The horrible character development of so many characters

The terrible pacing

The annoying inclusion of the whole ASOIAF from the main series- please, please, please stop reminding me it exists

Aemond trying to kill Aegon on purpose.

And so much more

And while I'll get to the (few) positives, as I always try to do, there is one thing that made me have to pause my tablet in pure agitation and just being fucking fed up, and that, dear Ange, is that scene with Alicent and Rhaenyra.

What. the. Fuck.

Alicent just sacrificed Aegon for her own freedom, after forcing Aegon to claim a throne he didn't even want? Why is Rhaenyra still bringing up a son for a son? Did Jaehaerys's death mean nothing? Alicent only cares about Helaena and Jaehaera, but what about her sons? Daeron? Aemond and Aegon, despite their flaws, they are her sons, her children- where is the Alicent in s1 who screamed at Aegon that if Rhaenyra became Queen, they will die? It's more than butchering her character, it's just utter bullshit. I remember in season 1 I was such an Alicent sympathiser, I felt like the complexity of her character would be so interesting to see in s2, but my god was it a shitshow. Alicent takes one solo camping trip and she's ready to offer up her sons on a platter so she can try and absolve herself? What about her father? Her brother? All of whom are fighting for her son's cause? They don't have the luxury that Alicent seems to, if the greens lose, they will lose their heads. No question.

My heart ached for Aemond when he tried to reach out to Helaena hat one last time- yes, she has every right to be angry, because she's lost so much because of Aemond's actions, and yet, the look on his face broke me. He's trying so hard to fight for their survival, and not one member of his family cares. I've ranted on a bit about the negatives, so here are my few positives-

Daemon and Rhaenyra reunion, seeing them together again

At this point, any Aemond or Helaena screentime is a blessing, no matter what Ryan Condal's trying to do.

Daeron sneak peak

Rhaena and Sheepstealer

Helaena is so fucking pretty <3

Sharako Lohar (I wanna be one of her wives, thanks)

Ngl after Aemond burned Sharp Point I was ready to let him take out some more frustrations on me, hehe

I wanna say Bloodraven, but....that's not what I expected him to look like

Anyway, Ange, I've enjoyed our little weekly tradition. I'm looking forward to how the show is going to inspire the fandom for the next two years. I'll try not to disappear into a void, I'm still gonna hide behind anon for a while longer, but maybe by the time s3 rolls around, I'll be able to come out from hiding. I've written my own fics, though admittedly I'm only somewhat proud of one of them, that I'm not finished uploading from ao3 to tumblr. I feel some inspiration to write again after some time of no inspiration, so perhaps if I'm granted any time, I can finally write again. As always, look forward to seeing your takes, Ange <3

-🦋 anon

Hello, my love! I can't believe that after eight weeks of doing this, this will be our final one (until season three, anyway) - I hope you won't be a stranger until then! I will wait patiently for your first fic to post.

Anyway, on to my thoughts...

A lot of people’s gripe with season two of House of the Dragon has been its deviation from Fire and Blood.

I do not mind that. They did it in season one. My issue is that there is no consistency between the characters as they were presented in season one and how they behave in season two.

Alicent that put herself between a dragon and her son, that replied “you imbecile” to his question of “do you love me?” now offering up his head.

Aemond that toasted with his brother at the expense of his bastard nephews, and looked on in annoyance as Helaena danced with one of them, burning and torturing his brother and manhandling his sister.

This isn’t character development, it’s character assassination. Where is the family unit that closed ranks and defended one another when Viserys demanded to know which of them called Rhaenyra’s sons bastards?

The writers tore up the script for season one and said “actually, they all hate each other”. I don’t recognise these characters. They are trying to make the audience hate Aemond when he is the only one with any integrity, still fighting for his family’s cause.

And Daemon - Daemon’s defining quality has always been his ruthlessness, how cutting he is. They’ve softened him up to make Rhaenyra’s cause seem more sympathetic. Give me back the man that sat at the top table during a wedding feast and called Lord Royce an “old bronzed cunt”, the man who single-handedly took on the Crabfeeder’s army rather than accept help from his brother.

They’ve destroyed so much potential with the insistence on creating good guys. The whole appeal of the Dance is that everyone is shitty. We could have had that with the foundations that were laid in season one. I am so disappointed.

I'm annoyed that we didn't get to see Rhaena actually claim Sheepstealer, and when she does finally encounter him she reacts with wide eyed surprise? Girl, you're really shocked that you're seeing the creature that you've spent the last however long tracking and almost died of exposure for? That's like me looking around the supermarket for grapefruit and then screaming when I find it. That could have been way more badass, I'm not annoyed that they sacrificed Nettles' character for that.

What was the point of Aemond burning Sharp Point? Visually, it was stunning, but what purpose did it serve? Was that in place of him burning the Riverlands? We didn't even get to see him do it, just the aftermath!

Helaena telling Aemond how he dies, as well as Daemon seeing his own death were such dumb moves. Those deaths would have been epic for people who haven't read the book, and now they are spoiled. I am also now sceptical as to whether we will get Alysmond or not. It seems like they've stripped away the very foundation that made that pairing by making Helaena a seer and giving Daemon such a tight knit bond with Alys.

When I first read Fire and Blood I was very much Team Black. What brought me to neutral ground was watching season one and seeing how Team Green were fleshed out and made more complex. Season two has undone all of that. It feels almost like they are trying to turn the characters back to their book counterparts, but are making them into caricatures of themselves in the process.

They could never make me hate Aemond, and I think the only reason for that is Ewan's incredible performance of the character. He adds so much nuance to a personality that the writers are actively trying to destroy. I think if it were any other actor playing Aemond, I genuinely would not enjoy the character.

Anyway, so I'm not ending on a bum note, here's what I've enjoyed this season:

The acting - the cast have been absolutely phenomenal, every performance has been a joy to watch, despite the weak writing.

The lesbian fan service. I very much enjoyed the Rhaesaria kiss, though I am annoyed they never developed that any further. Sharako Lohar also - I know the character is a man in the book and making her a woman is very fan servicey, but I enjoyed her immensely.

Tyland Lannister. He has provided some much needed comic relief this season, whether it's being bullied by Aegon and Jaehaerys, terrorised by Aemond or mud wrestled by pirates, he's fun to watch.

Team Black - I was kind of "meh" towards characters like Baela and Jace in season one. I've grown to appreciate them so much more in season two, and I think that's because of the acting. Bethany and Harry have done an amazing job.

The dragons! I've enjoyed seeing them all, the designs for all of them are so interesting and I really like how different they all look. Caraxes will be my forever favourite, but Syrax has also stolen my heart this season, because of her cute little Boglin face.

I think that's it? My expectations for season three are low, so hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised. I will be knocking around in the meantime, writing fics as always! Lots of love to you xoxo

#asked and answered #🦋 anon

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candied-boys · 11 months

Text

Another - Rio x F! Reader Part 3

When Emma chooses another, Rio has to go home without her... But there's more awaiting him than just forgotten memories...

Themes: hurt and healing, facing the past, learning to love again, aka angst with a happy ending!

Warnings: angst, Rio route spoilers, eventual smut, written from Rio's POV

Part 2

Not only did you not love her, you treated her so unkindly that she’s visibly nervous around you, and you dragged her into your most heinous act. She should despise you as much or more than you despise yourself, and yet all you can sense from her is a heartbroken desire to be accepted.

In your self-centred ways, you've neglected the one question you ought to have asked from the start.

“Did you… ever… love me?”

You can't bring yourself to meet her gaze, choosing to linger instead on the golden petals before you.

“I still do… very much…”

The crack in her tender voice tells you what awaits should you dare to seek her eyes. Coward that you are, you don't.

“Why? I'm a terrible person. I'm distrustful, hateful, vengeful, rude, scheming, and selfish. I'm basically a murderer. What ever did I do to attract you?”

A sniffly giggle chimes in the breeze, one more refined and elegant than that of her daughter, but unmistakably the same.

“What's so funny?” you ask, finally turning your gaze back to her.

“You've become much more self-aware over the last three years. You never would have admitted such things before — though they're all true.”

“So, you agree then? I'm awful. There's nothing about me worth loving.”

“On the contrary, what you mentioned has never been anything but reasons for me to love you more.”

“What are you talking about? Have you hit your head as badly as I have?” you find yourself asking seriously as you reach for her shoulders and turn her to face you.

A little startled she blinks nervously at you before glancing at your grip on either side.

“Uh, my apologies. Do continue… if you please,” you mutter and drop your arms, returning to fiddling with the daffodil.

“Well… I suppose it sounds ridiculous the way I phrased it, but… I believe the only reason you ever lashed out or let such dark feelings taint your heart was to mask the pain… When everything you've ever cherished has been taken from you, there's nothing left to lose… Truly, I believe you've never been anything but kind and caring deep down.”

Thoughts you're certain you've never told a soul. Memories branded on your heart in places you try to hide even from yourself. Fears and motivations you didn't understand until you were forced to face them when Silvio abruptly appeared a month ago.

Answering the shocked query of your brows, she declares with scorn, “I am your wife, Your Highness. How could I not know? Do you think I’ve been spending my days at court simply watching the sea roll in and out? What do you think Her Majesty and I spoke of all these years I've been Her attendant? To whom do you imagine I have been paying attention if not my betrothed?”

The pain that lapped at her eyes mere seconds ago has turned into surging waves of indignation, yet you can't resist the smile that washes over your features in response. At the same moment, your daughter comes running back, no flowers to be found, only insistent demands for ‘up’.

Bringing her into your arms you tell the little girl, “You know, bambina, your mother is a very perceptive woman. I don't think you or I will get away with much of anything as long as she has her eye on us.”

A bashfully averted gaze is all you catch before you rise and suggest continuing the walk through the rest of the gardens.

Little did you know that afternoon would be the first and last chance you would have to play freely with your daughter for quite some time. Royal duties, politics, visits, and excursions quickly submerged you from dawn ‘til dark thereafter. Though you may be able to get three times as much work done in a day as anyone else, you cannot - despite your best efforts - make meetings with others end thrice as quick.

The first few days after that you had tried to visit Valerie, but found she had already been tucked in for the night. Afraid of waking her with candlelight you didn't ask to see her in spite of the unfamiliar longing that nagged at you. By the second week you had come to accept that the life you'd forgotten had always been soaked with futility.

The only one usually still awake by the time you finish is your mother. Grateful for whatever time you can spend by her side, you visit every night. Weeks pass talking about your childhood memories, her life after you disappeared, the woman and child you left behind, your experience abroad, and eventually the heartache you brought home.

“Mother, I can't help but wonder… why am I the only one who married? Isn't it improper for a younger sibling to marry before the eldest? What happened? Why would father marry me off first when there's no clear political advantage?”

“Valerio… you were the one who wanted to be married. You fought with me, pleaded with me to let you wed…”

Memories billow with a sudden gust of old fears. You had always been afraid the next attempt on her life could be the last, so you had asked your mother to set you up with someone she liked. You had wanted to give her peace of mind that you would be taken care of. Most of all, the thought of not having her blessing on your wedding day had been unbearable.

“I tried to convince you to marry for love; begged you not to put yourself in the same position as your father — a wife unloved and a mistress cherished. You balked at the idea of ever repeating his mistakes and promised me that you would stay loyal to whomever I selected.”

How naive a heart that has yet to know love can be. Never had you imagined yourself capable of the powerful emotions now buried within. You had genuinely believed that, simply because you did not disdain the maiden she recommended, you liked her.

From there you had assumed a thing called love would blossom. However, you belatedly understand that because you had simply believed tolerance to be the limit of your affections, you made no further effort to deepen the connection.

Part four

🧡🫣🧡Tag list: @drachonia @outtayourmouth @maries-gallery @lamiefromage @tele86 @queengiuliettafirstlady

#ikemen prince #ikepri #ikepri rio #rio ortiz #ikemen prince rio #ikemen prince rio ortiz #ikemen rio #ikepri fanfic

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snowflakechallenge · 9 months

Text

Meet the Mods!

Akamine_chan created The Fandom Snowflake Challenge back in 2012 as a way to remind herself “why I loved fandom so much”. Over the years the challenge itself has come to mean a lot to many of us, so by way of introduction some of the mods for this year have written about what The Fandom Snowflake Challenge means to them and why they are excited about it.

Muccamukk: Mucca mostly writes fic and reviews, usually in western media fandoms, and can never turn her back on a kink meme. She's been participating in the Snowflake Challenge off and on since year one, helping mod for the last five, and there still hasn't been any cake.

Misbegotten: I'm Misbegotten and this is my second year as a Snowflake mod. Fandom has been my happy place for many decades. My sad place too, but what's life without variety?

Sparrow2000: Hi I'm Sparrow2000 on LJ, DW and A03. I've made my fandom home in the Buffy 'verse for the last 20 odd (sometimes very odd!) years and it's where I write. I read in any fandom that catches my eye and I'm an avid reccer because I believe spreading the love keeps our fandoms alive. I've taken part in the snowflake challenge every year since 2014 and it never fails to energise my fandom joy. I'm thrilled to be helping out behind the scenes for the third year running and can't wait to see how everyone expresses their own fandom love this year.

Tjs_whatnot: Oh Snowflake, how I've missed your optimistic and cheery fandom energy! I've exhausted those resources pretty early on last year, so a refill is in desperate need! I've been part of the Snowflake family for ages now but I learn something new each year, so it's a new challenge each time. I can't wait to get reacquainted with the other old timers and meet some new, fun fandom faces. LET'S DO THIS!! ♥ ♥ ❤ ❤

Queer_scribbling: Hello, I'm Briar. I've participated in the Snowflake Challenge the past few years, but this is my first time helping out as a mod. For me, this challenge is a welcome reprieve from the doldrums of winter, and I hope the sense of community - lurkers, likers, commenters, and more - will help all of us to start 2024 on a high note.

Summerstorm: Hi! I'm Lix, and I'm back as a Snowflake mod after a few years off. These days, my fandom participation is mostly reading fic, playing ttrpgs (new this year! because I finally got good meds! I use a calendar now entirely to keep track of games?), and screaming on Discord about actual play shows, but I care a lot about those three things. Fandom is a load-bearing pillar of my life, and honestly I don't know what I'd do without it.

Pebble_in_a_lake: Hello! I'm pebble, a lifelong sci-fi and comic book fan. I've participated in snowflake challenge several years now, but this will be my first time pitching in as a volunteer. I love the fun and positivity it brings to the community each year as everyone shares their love for their different fandoms. Whether you're participating, commenting, or lurking, I hope you all have a very fun time. :D

Spikedluv: Hello to all returning and new Snowflakes! I love Snowflake and I’m thrilled to be part of the group bringing Snowflake to you again this year. The best thing about this challenge is that it reminds me of all the great things about fandom. The feeling of community. The comments and feedback. The squee that comes with discovering new fandoms and new fic and new friends. And while Snowflake only lasts for one month, these are things we can take with us into the rest of the year. As I’ve said previously, Snowflake has taught me that I need to be the change I want to see in fandom and gets me pumped up to go forth and be a more active participant.

Seleneheart: I love Snowflake because it is such a marvelous way to start the New Year - to know that I''m not a lone voice crying out in the wilderness, that there's hundreds of people who love fandom and they are all right here!

This is my sixth time to be a mod for Snowflake, and every single year I've come away with new friends, new ideas, and new connections with old friends. Some people I see all the time during the year, and some I see only during [community profile] snowflake_challenge - all of you warm my soul. I can't wait to get started!

Pronker: Hello there, I'm Pronker (DW, FFN, tumblr, twitter, theforce.net and AO3) and this is my second time modding in seven years' participating in the best challenge ever. :) I love to launch a new year with fellow fans' enthusiasms and creativity. Favorite fandoms: Hogan's Heroes, Penguins of Madagascar, Star Wars, Constantine, Greek Mythology, Star Trek TOS, Laredo, and my very first one, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. See you soon!

Dizzydrea: Hi everyone! I'm Dizzydrea on DW and AO3. I've been in fandom for over 20 years, so I've seen some stuff. I only found out about Fandom Snowflake a few years ago, but I look forward to participating each year, though this is my first year as a mod. I'm a writer, up to about 50 fandoms now. I read a lot, too, and I like to comment as a way of paying it forward. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with this year.

Cornerofmadness: Hi everyone! I'm excited to be back for another round of Fandom Snowflake. I'm Cornerofmadness on DW/LJ/AO3. I've been around fandom for decades, since the paper zine days of the 80s and 90s and been in online fandoms for more than twenty years so I've seen a lot, the good and the bad. I think that's the thing I like best about this challenge is we see so much of the good here. I'm probably best known in the Buffyverse, Fullmetal Alchemist, Prodigal Son and now The Owl House but I've had a toe in many fandom waters and hope to dip them into many more.

Vriddy: Hi! I'm Vriddy, a huge fan of Fandom Snowflake since I discovered it a couple of years ago and very excited to be part of it from the volunteer side for the first time this year! I'm mainly in anime fandoms at the moment, and looking forward to sharing all kinds of fannish joy with everyone this month. Such a wonderful way to start the year, I hope you all have a great time, too!

Tellshannon815: Hi again, back for another round of Snowflake, looking forward to seeing what you all come up with, discovering new fandoms, and hopefully making some new friends!

Turps: Hi, I'm Turps and I've been taking part in Snowflake since the very beginning and joined in as a mod a few years ago, and enjoyed the process so much I'm back for more.

Snowflake always gets my fannish year off to a great start, but what I love the most is how low-pressure it is. Some years I've managed to complete every challenge, and others only a couple. Sometimes I've done a challenge but not linked at the comm, and that's fine.

I've made some good friends due to Snowflake Challenge, but also see and read posts from people I only see once a year, and I love that. It's like meeting old friends who I have a quick natter with before heading off into the virtual distance, and I'm looking forward to doing that again.

As you can see the challenge means so many things to the mods, and to everyone who has participated before, and will hopefully also be meaningful to anyone joining us for the first time this year. You’ll find us all wading through comments, welcoming everyone, answering questions, keeping the peace, so if you need anything, don't hesitate to flag one of us down.

Tomorrow starts the first of the fandom challenges, so hope you all are ready for some fun times! Feel free to do any challenge that strikes your fancy (or all of them), or leave a comment on someone else’s challenge response at anytime.

#meet the mods #snowflakechallenge2024 #modpost

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geralts-yenn · 10 months

Text

~ 💖 ASK GAME 💖 ~

I got tagged by the lovely @littlefreya - thank you dear! Loved your answers ❤

📷 What’s set as your phone’s lockscreen? A winter landscape in pastel colors

🍫 Cheese or chocolate? I can't eat either of them, but if I could, I think I'd choose cheese over chocolate

✨ Do you have any nicknames? No, in high school some friends tried to make "Nini" a thing but I was not a fan

🎵 Last song you listened to? Teardrop - Massive Attack

✏️ Have you ever written fanfiction? Started writing 18 months ago - changed my life

😏 Are you on discord? 24/7

💛 Do you have any piercings? Had ear piercings, would love to have more, but I'm allergic

🐰 What do you think says the most about a person? I always watch out how people treat animals. Also, if someone is rude to retail workers or staff, it's a red flag.

🍪 If you were a cookie, what kind would you be? lol, idk, an oreo? dark and hard on the outside with a soft core

🐶 Are you more of a dog person or a cat person? Both! I always had cats and thought I'd always be a cat person. But then we got the most precious little baby puppy and I absolutely adore her. She's not a puppy anymore but never stopped being the cutest little baby 😍

🎧 Headphones or earbuds? Both 😁 Headphones for sports and when the family is too loud, earbuds for at work when I still need to pay attention to others

🌼 What’s the last thing you said out loud? "Damn, dog, it's just a vacuum cleaner, it won't eat you!"

🙃 What’s a weird fact that you know? lol, that chickens DO have a navel. Had a heated argument with my Dad about that. Sweet memory ❤

🦉 Are you a morning person or a night owl? Is 3am morning or night?

🧸 Favorite place to nap? The hammock in my garden

🏳️‍🌈 Are you a member of the LGBTQIA+ community? I identify as pansexual heteroromantic

🦋 Describe yourself in three words. enthusiastic, awkward, introvert

👖 Jeans or sweatpants? Jeans

🥤 What’s your go-to Starbucks order? Believe it or not, I've never been to a Starbucks. But I drink my coffee black

🧡 A color you can’t stand? Every color has its own beauty

💎 What’s your most prized possession? My house?

☕ Coffee or tea? Both - lol, I'm really good at making decisions 😁

🦖 Favorite extinct animal? Ichthyosaurs - First fossil I've ever seen and combines my love for the ocean and dinosaurs

🌙 How long have you been on tumblr? A year and a month - yes, I'm a tumblr baby

🌴 Desert island item? A lighter

🐸 Describe your aesthetic. Ugh, these are really difficult! Industrial pastel?

🔮 What’s your dream job? Photographer!

💙 Relationship status? So very much in love - for almost 20 years now 😍

🌿 Describe your favorite outfit. Wide black shorts, sage green top, gray cardigan, barefoot (I need summer!)

🎤 Is there a song you know all the lyrics to? lol, is there a song I DON'T know the lyrics to?

🤎 What color is your hair? blonde

💌 Do you talk to yourself? I do right now 😁

💄 Do you wear makeup? If I feel like it, I love wearing makeup, but I'm also comfortable going out without makeup

🌸 Best compliment you ever received? "I wish there were more people like you"

💞 @ your favorite blog. @raccoon-eyed-rebel

No pressure tags: @ellethespaceunicorn @peyton-warren @gummydummy19 @mayloma @cardierreh15 @liveoncoffeeandflowersss @martha-oi @lostforparadise

#tag game #yenn's personal shit

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lovova · 9 months

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I see artists doing little showcasings of what they've accomplished creatively in the last year, decided that looks fun, and decided I'd do for myself an little inventory of what I've written in the last year as well, based on archive posts and what I can recall (I specify 'what I can recall', because I was not keeping track of when I did or did not update my main fanfic "Video Game Cruelty Potential" so...guestimates for that fic! I have 36 chapters, I can probably guess it was updated at least every other month) ~ So! For 2023: January: Did a fan-fanfic for my friend Lex called "The Other Rooms" where I explored off-scene implications of his cool-ass fic Room No.5 February: Created an alternate version of VGCP called "VGCP: Characters at their best" where I tried to explore some of the chars in the same setting being more well adjusted. I haven't gotten very far in it, but I am determined to get back to it this year! Also probably updated VGCP March: Did two short Kaito stories, an Oumota called "Playing with Phobias" where Kokichi messes with Kaito and a Saimota called "Luminary Hero of the Track Field" where Shuichi worries over Kaito's enthusiasm to sports while sick. April: Started what was MEANT to be a multi-chaptered Homestuck!V3 Kaito fic called "The Devotion of the Luminary of Skaia", but I haven't gone back yet to figure out what happens next yet. Thinking about it now, I think I was to make it a three chapter fic, but I just need to save some space to go back and outline it someday. VGCP? Maybe? May: A short Oumota piece called "Carnation: Please Handle Gently" that I got some awesome art commissioned for by the incredibly talented Ere. This short story inspired me so much that I'm actually basing a new original novel on the same concept~

June: I (believe) this was the month I finished Kaiden! An omegaverse original story I was writing and posting to Kindlevella. I am super proud of finishing that piece, and while I want to go back and create a more refined second draft before selling it as an Amazon book, I still LOVE this version as well. Very proud~ And VGCP!

July: Two Oumota short stories, "Touring Mortality" and "Execution Failed". Touring Mortality was especially fun to write, though I was amazed at the positive feedback Execution Failed got. It was very uplifting XD This was also the month I (re)started my original story "Pearls and Shackles". Also probably VGCP August: More Pearls and Shackles, more VGCP. September: Pearls and Shackles! Probably more VGCP! Can't remember! October: Can you guess? PEARLS AND SHACKLES! VIDEO GAME CRUELTY POTENTIAL!! November: This was a purely Pearls and Shackles month, and that was because I dedicated NANO (National Novel Writing Month) to finishing it. AND I DID! It super needs a second draft, its not ready to show off, but it EXISTS! So hell yeah!

December: A funny short V3 story called "Soulmate Goose of Enforcement!" I had a lot of fun collaborating with this one with Lex, and am hoping to do a chapter 2 with another great writer added to the mix too, Andromebaa. I also started the first two chapters of a new novel manuscript, a Hanahaki story about a pair of lesbians struggling with love in their own ways, but both trying their best! And, also, I updated "Video Game Cruelty Potential"

Did I overestimate how often I updated VGCP this year? Underestimate? I have no idea, that fic is almost 300,000 words long by this point, let's call an update every other month a generous average of how often I add to it. Other then VGCP, I did 8 Short Fanfics, finished a book, started and finished another book, and started a third book. And I'm not counting stories I had to write for my school year. Just ones I did out of the passion in my damn heart.

So, yeah! I'm pretty proud of this year, it was a good one. I hope anyone reading this had just as good a year! Writers, steal this idea, go looking back the year and brag about what you accomplished! You deserve it!

Have a good 2024 everyone!

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sunbeamah · 2 months

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How many crying and screaming do you think will occur when the Kusozu brothers react to the current manga JAJAJAJ

also the Sukuna uncle thing lmao

SO MUCH...

(I'm so sorry it took me so long to answer this ask!!! thank you so much for sending it and for reading :)) I'm sorry I didn't include the exact up to date version, I started writing this with the Uncle reveal in mind and forgot about... the tragedies </3)

((also everyone disregard the cup thing, i hallucinated sukuna holding a cup when he admitted his... relations... to uraume, and by the time i realised i should look it up to make sure i wasn't talking out of my ass, the discussion was already written.......... pls forgive me orz))

Sukuna put his phone down onto the table slowly. He even patted the darkened screen in an uncharacteristic show of... Whatever emotion he had going on. His expression was completely, carefully, blank-- and his eyes were unfocused. As if his mind was somewhere far in the distance.

"... So." Kechizu said, oddly despondent. "... What did everyone think of the chapter?"

"................. I think we need to find this Gege person." Choso said. "I just want to talk to him. I don't even know what about. Something.. Anything."

"Oh, hold on." Eso said. "I think he's coming back."

"Which-- Yuuji or Suku?" Kechizu asked. Then he looked at the twins. "Oh."

"HIS UNCLE?!" Sukuna screeched, the carefully blank facade cracked and destroyed. "LIKE-- ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?! HIS UNCLE. I'M YUUJI'S. UNCLE... WHAT KIND OF AN UNCLE--!"

"I think he's gonna be a minute." Eso said. "Want some chips?"

".. I don't think I've got much of an appetite right now." Kechizu said. "How's Niichan?"

Eso glanced over at Choso, whose head was still in his hands.

"Well, he's stopped shaking, so that's an improvement."

"Really? It only lasts 2 minutes now, wow..." Kechizu said.

"I can't believe you're not crying, actually. Usually--"

"I know what usually happens!" Kechizu snapped, almost reaching Sukuna's volume. He was still screaming, too, so it was pretty impressive. "I'm okay this time... But..."

"It's only because you saw the spoiler three days in advance, huh?"

Kechizu slumped forward with a pout.

"How did you know about that?" He whinged.

Eso leaned back in his seat with his arms crossed and eyes closed, a smug, contented little smile decorating his face.

"I read it over your shoulder. You rolled around on the ground for three minutes and then just lied there for a while. I joined you, but by the time I woke up you were gone." Eso said. "Oh look, Yuuji's found some words."

"SO AFTER ALL THAT!" Yuuji interrupted, and Sukuna paused to let him speak. "AFTER ALL THAT PAIN AND SUFERRING. HE JUST GOES. 'Oh yeah! I'm his Uncle! I've known this whole time!' AND ONLY ADMITS IT PRIVATELY, TO HIS PARTNER, WHILE DRUNK-- IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING?!"

"HOW WAS HE DRUNK?!"

"THE CUP--!"

"THAT'S TEA!"

"IT'S SAKE!"

"IT'S TEA YOU IDIOT LOOK AT THE FORM OF THE CUP, IT'S CLEARLY A YUNOMI MEANT FOR HOT DRINKS, AND IF IT WERE SAKE HE'D DRINK IT FROM A SAKAZUKI CUP BECAUSE HE'S FROM THE HEIAN PERIOD, OR FROM AN OCHOKO 'CAUSE THEY'RE COMMON OR FOOTED CUP FOR HIS HANDS--"

"WHO. THE. FUCK. CARES?!" Yuuji snapped. "THIS WHOLE TIME, WE HAVEN'T BEEN TWINS, OR STRANGERS, HE'S BEEN MY UNCLE AND HE'S STILL TORTURING ME?! HOW CAN YOU, AS A THOUSAND-YEAR-OLD KING OF CURSES, BEEF WITH YOUR TEENAGED NEPHEW?! THERE WASN'T ANY PART OF HIM THAT THOUGH-- 'oh, let me take him under my wing, and care for an nurture him, y'know, since we HAVE THE SAME SOUL! I could be a mentor or even just show him the love I never got-- NO, HIS FIRST COURSE OF ACTION WAS TO RIP MY HEART OUT AND TOSS IT ON THE GROUND-- IN FRONT OF MY BOYFRIEND! WHO HE'S WEIRD ABOUT, BECAUSE HE'S BEEN WAITING TO STEAL HIS BODY SINCE WE FIRST MET!"

Yuuji's rant was cut off by a sob, and he turned so quickly Kechizu worried he'd get whiplash-- to find Sukuna hiding his face.

Yuuji put a tentative hand on Sukuna's shoulder.

"Shut up!" Sukuna snapped.

"I didn't even say anything!" Yuuji said defensively.

"And I didn't torture you! And I'm not weird about your boyfriend, I hate your boyfriend 'cause he's an asshole that doesn't deserve you!"

"...... Of course you didn't torture me! That ain't you, that's our Uncle! And-- we can agree to disagree about Megumi... Just this once..." Yuuji said.

Sukuna froze for a moment before straightening up, leaving his hands cupped on the table as he stared at Yuuji searchingly with a frown.

"... What?" Yuuji said eventually.

"......... You said....... He's our Uncle."

"..... Well, yeah." Yuuji said. "He's our Dad's twin brother. So he's our Uncle... Isn't that what it says--"

Yuuji made to pick up his phone, but Sukuna grabbed his fingers to stop him.

"But. He's me." Sukuna said.

"... No." Yuuji said. "'Cause you're my twin. Not Dad's. So."

Sukuna blinked a couple times.

"We have the same name?"

"So you were named after him." Yuuji said.

"We have the same surname too?" Sukuna asked.

"He married a Ryoumen."

"......... So he's." Sukuna started. "Not me."

Yuuji hummed in consideration for a moment, before nodding once. Decisively, and a little hesitantly, like he was sure of his answer, but not of why Sukuna was asking.

".... Huh." Sukuna said. "I never thought about it like that."

They paused for a moment, and Kechizu glanced between them rapidly, trying to read their expressions.

"... So. I never did all those horrible things to you."

"Nope."

"And everything that's happened isn't my fault."

"Nope."

"........ So whenever you don't want to do the laundry, you can't say 'ohh, but you know, you punched me in the manga last week' and 'ohh, you treat me so terribly no wonder you killed me in the manga' and--"

"Okay well that's a separate matter--!"

"NO IT'S NOT!"

"Wait--" Kechizu said, blocking out the twin's argument and turning to Eso. "It didn't it shock you? I feel like it's pretty shocking! I threw my phone across the room! We've been hiding the hole in the wall from Niichan for half a week now!"

"Of course it shocked me. Why do you think I slept on the floor for thirteen hours?" Eso said, somehow still smug.

"It was that long?!"

"Hey..." Choso said shakily. Sukuna quietened down and Kechizu uncurled from his embarrassed ball to pay attention to what he had to say.

Their big brother turned to them with an unreadable expression and red-rimmed eyes.

"What do you mean there's a hole in your wall?"

Kechizu and Eso paled, sharing a glance that screamed 'we're screwed!' and gulping simultaneously.

Shiiiiit...

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ahiddenpath · 3 months

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For the fanfiction ask game: 17, 18, 25, 49, 51!

Citrus! Thank you so much for the asks! If anyone is looking for Digimon Adventure and 02 fanfics, you can read mine on FFN or on AO3 if you are logged in <3

17.) Do you have a writing routine?

A few years ago, I was big on finding a place with a closed door and lighting a candle (partly for vibes, partly to discourage wandering off). But these days, I try to be as informal as possible, so that it's easy to write anytime, anywhere. Sometimes, all you can do is get 15 minutes of copying edits into your draft or jotting down ideas, and those 15 minutes are way better than nothing.

18.) Do you enjoy research? Which fic of yours required the most research?

I enjoyed research a lot more about 10 years ago. Search engines are a nightmare these days! I tried to research courtship in Japan and France in the 1930s for Puits d'Amour, and there is. Nothing. Searchable on Google in English for anywhere except the states and the UK. I ended up purchasing some books on the history of courtship that are, sadly, still very US and UK oriented, and just. Making it clear in my fic that the countries portrayed are fictional, largely in part bc I just could not get my hands on the info I needed.

I did some medical research for Seeking Resonance that was really interesting for me at the time, and oddly, came up in my career just last week! I was floored lol!

25.) What’s your favorite part of the writing process (worldbuilding, brainstorming/outlining, writing, editing, etc)?

I seem to be comparatively light on the worldbuilding and outlining. I love writing because flow state feels amazing and I love editing because it's challenging play. Often, I find that what I want to say evolves from the moods and ideas that occur during flow state. It's been interesting, because over the 12 years of publishing as ahiddenpath, I can see reflections of what I was dealing with personally at the time, and how I resolved that strain with the story. Of course, this kind of writing demands more editing later, as it's so freeform. But I enjoy editing, and I believe my love of writing and need to write are strongly connected to the fact that I use writing to deal with things, to understand myself, to challenge myself, and to grow.

49.) What fic of yours would you say is the best introduction to you as a writer?

How I write and how I think about writing is always changing and evolving, so I suppose my more recent fics? But for the digimon fandom specifically, I usually say After August. Like most of my stories, it's a character-based drama. Specifically, it's about the Adventure Chosen dealing with the loss of their partners and the difficulty of shifting from life as a Chosen in the Digital World to life as kids on earth. Each of them copes in a resoundingly individual way, and they reach out to one another to offer what comfort and support they can.

My works tend to be about people grasping for self-growth and dealing with their demons. They usually aren't plot heavy, although I've been pushing myself to explore plot-based stories recently.

51.) Does what you like to write differ from what you like to read?

One of my closest friends has a master's in literature, and she obligingly wrote me a list of what is... How do you say this? Expertly??? Considered the best literature available in the English language. I've spent the last several years feasting on that, hoping to learn and grow. So, um. My writing can't compete, lol!!!!!

But lately, I've gotten back into reading purely for fun, rather than growth/challenge/experience. I devoured three modern Greek myth retellings in like a three week span, and I have another waiting at the library for me to pick up! Typical, lmao!

The sudden contrast made me notice that, at the risk of sounding snobbish, books written because the narrative is fun, imaginative, and joyful to behold are a different experience than books that encapsulate some aspect of humanity with painful, exquisite, brutal clarity. It's like, hello reader, would you like enjoyment or an existential crisis???? It's been a privilege and a joy to grow from these uh... Literature degree required reading list books. But man it's fun to eat a novel like it's cake!!! OM NOM NOM MORE PLEASE!

I'm not sure if that answered the question at all, but I guess recently I am trying to explore books that I find delightful rather than personally challenging.

Thanks for the asks friend, they were a great distraction from some difficult stuff <3 I really appreciate it! I'm happy to take more if anyone is interested.

#ask hidden #writing #writing questions #fanfiction #fanfiction ask game #digimon #digimon fanfiction #digimon adventure

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qprsmackdown · 1 year

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IRL/OC Bracket FINAL: C & G vs Michael and Mantis!

C & G propaganda:

Ok so these next few paragraphs are copy pasted from what I wrote on queering the map. Hope it makes you cry :) (Entries were written around mid-2020, with the last being written in 2023)

My school had a field trip to this park, my best friend and I found a quiet spot under some trees. I set up the blanket/mat I had brought, she propped up an umbrella. We laid down beside each other face-to-face. That was the first time I ever felt tempted to kiss someone. To this day I consider it as one of my gayest moments (right next to asking her out and later on asking her to be my qpp on a ferris wheel XD)

November(?) 2017 - We were talking about your maybe-crush on a friend when you mentioned that you used to have a crush on me. I confessed about my past crush on you too and started flirting with you. "Have you moved on from her? Will you be my girlfriend? We don't have to put a label on it or anything yet we can just-" "Yes" We dated for a month (full of silly puns and cheek kisses and gifts from Japan) before we broke up (can you blame us? we were twelve and our dads found out) but you're still my very best friend. I love you G - C

February 2020 - Day of the school fair, I had everything planned for a perfect day for you and me... until you brought along a classmate who had no one to hang out with and you were too kind to say no. We went on all of the rides, the three of us, and you mentioned how you have always wanted someone to dedicate a song to you at the song booth. I went out to reserve one, and then I stayed with you until both of you had to leave for your shifts. That's when I put my plan into action. I reserved a sunflower at the Lovebooth (I knew you liked sunflowers because of a certain character (the roses were way too romantic anyways)) and when you came back we got into line at the Ferris wheel with our other friends. While waiting my dedicated song finally played, and you turned to me with nearly the happiest smile I've ever saw on you. When we were getting closer I went to get my reserved sunflower, but the line was slow so I ended up asking my aunt to hold it for me. When the line was nearly there I got it back from her and our other friends helped me to hide it (Your sister wanted to ride with us but I told her my plan and she changed her mind). You got on and as you turned to face me I held out your sunflower. When we got to the top of the Ferris Wheel I asked what I had been planning to ask you for a week. "I don't know much about it yet, I still have to research more but... G, would you be my queer platonic partner?" You smiled the happiest smile I've ever seen on you that day. G, we haven't talked much since quarantine started, but I want you to know that I love you. I'm not sure what kind (romantic or platonic) but I know that you have a special place in my heart. I can't wait for this to be all over and for us to be by each other's side, drawing and reading and just talking about the things we never share with anybody else. I love you - C

July 2023 - The school fair was over 3 years ago, can you believe? So much has changed since then, quarantine happened, we were reduced to online classes, and I ended up moving to the States for a chance of a better life. We kept in touch, of course, through messages screaming over fandoms and platonic marriages on minecraft servers (how dare you for suggesting that before i knew abt cbeeduo >:( ) and like 5 meet ups over the summers. But it wasn't enough, and timezones and a desire for a more physical (in a actually there beside you sort of way) relationship eventually culminated in you asking to break it off two weeks before I met up with you in the Philippines. God damn it G, why didn't you wait? I had it all planned in my head. The night of my debut, as all my guests were leaving, I would take you to a private corner where we would talk, and I admit to you that yes, maybe my feelings for you turned out more romantic than I initially thought, but with the physical distance it wasn't right for us to pursue something of that nature, especially as I had wanted to try dating in college and didn't want to end up hurting you. I would say I love you and maybe leave you with a kiss, and that was how we'd gain closure. Well the kiss didn't happen and you laughed when I scolded you for not waiting before you admitted that yeah, you felt the same way but also agreed that our level of commitment wasn't right for us, not anymore. You promised me that if by the time we were done with college we were both single we could try again, but I won't hold you to that. G, thank you for being my bestest friend and first love, and I'm sorry that life didn't work out the way we had planned. I love you though, whether romantically or platonically, and I hope you're happy with where you end up in life - Yours always, C

anddddd that's it! veered a little romantic at times, but whats more queerplatonic than a relationship that blurs the lines of platonic and romantic eh? at the end of the day, we're still best friends and we care for each other deeply, even if we no longer officially label it as a qpr. hope our story made you cry >:D

More C & G Propaganda!

Michael and Mantis propaganda:

we're both boygirls and girlfaggots and boydykes, you literally cannot get queerer than this. gay in every direction

we're also both autistic and have adhd. leads to some fun conversations where one of us listens intently while the other is going off about whatever interest they've got the brainworms for at the moment and it's the most fun i will ever have (common topics are: good movies, tragedies and shipwrecks, cannibalism, the absurdly powerful dnd podcast just roll with it, and many more)

we're long distance and we really need this win bc the earth is literally homophobic and keeping us apart and making us sad :(

michael has this whole mushroom/lichen/microorganisms/rot thing going and i have the space thing going and they're essentially the same things but on different scales (life and death and life in death etc etc), so we're thematically compatible. we were made for each other frfr

uuhhhh mental health improvement i guess

we tricked at least three people into thinking we were dating before we actually started dating. not on purpose

we started dating on april fools! that's fun!

same trauma and same issues. we get a lot of mileage out of relating to each other

i keep breaking my sleep schedule for him

uhm. also. we're really niceys and cool and stuff :3

More Michael and Mantis Propaganda!

#qpr smackdown #qpr tournament #oc/real life qpr bracket #mod zazie

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