#absolutely gonna be making a lot more stuff for this series the second i finish the rest of the art i need to make

[michellekyura]

gifts you them i doodled while working on other stuff

[the-64th-gamer]

I FINISHED MLP YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!

(Started December 3, 2022 - Ended January 1, 2024 - 413 Days)

Am absolutely mindblown to see such an amazing series go through 9 seasons and literally continuously keep getting better and better!!!!!!!

Its been very cool binging it so quickly compared to most old fandom members watching it through syndication. Similar to when I rewatched SU there's such a difference seeing ideas and characters evolve at normal pace than to sit there for years brewing in fandom content that makes you expect them to go a different path. Lots of what I've heard be controversial things like Slice of Life and Starlight in general were some of my favorite parts of the show!!

Fav episode is The Perfect Pear, I was spoiled William Shatner was gonna play someone in the series and was SO FUCKIGN EXCITED when I realized it was him and in such an amazing episode!!!!! The ending was so fucking sweet omg.

Second fav was Slice of Life cause I get it was fanservice but on its own it was a great change of pace in the season to focus on background and side characters!!! After that it feels like they focused on background characters way more and it was very rewarding.

Seeing ***every single shot of Derpy*** was the funnest part of the show, I have personal screenshots of every single time I spotted her and stopping in the middle of songs or big fights just to scream and snapshot them was such a fun scavenger hunt. It made me go NUTS to see them do actual stuff on screen (ESPECIALLY THE SCENE IN BEST GIFT EVER WHEN SHE FINALLY GOT TO SPEAK IN FOREVER). It was also hilarious to see all the error derpies with fucked up colors and hair!!!!! It stopped in the later seasons except a time where she had a purple eye in a single shot, and one where she had big mac's face???? I was having a blast.

Similarly I was also just watching every single background character all the time every time, got to figure out which ponies would be used for which locations, when they'd appear in other places, which special ones could show up anywhere, which ones would do funny stuff, seeing new super cute background characters come in like Sweet Biscuit and Rainbow Stars!!! As someone hyperfocused on stupid stuff this was so fun watching the background nonstop.

Favorite season was season 6 or 7. Starlight was a great link for the episodes and it was the most normal seasons while the writing had gotten really good. Season 8 and 9 are still super good and I love that they were so willing to be bold and change things up a ton to keep interest, but 6 and 7 are closer to the usual baseline episode stuff so they're the best to go back to if I wanna rewatch.

I think the early seasons were still looking for a longterm identity for the show but I think starting season 5 it became this really great constant escalation of things. I really expected the show to just linger around the same ol' topics but it it kept changing the characters lives, the plot, and circumstances a ton while developing old characters and introducing new ones! Out of everything I've watched so far it was like the most masterful way to run a longterm series I've seen. Never felt burnt out or that anything was dragging, but also never felt like it ever lost its core identity!

Season 9 also was just a masterclass on ending a series, every single episode focused on bringing back some side character to give them an interesting spin, or conclude some arcs left behind. There were maybe one or two normal episodes but even those didnt feel like filler! I think the show was at its best throwing new ideas out and then taking a break with a standard friendship problem episode in a normal location. After watching it I don't think there was any missing thread or interesting thing they didn't try out! (Though also the series is formatted well enough they definitely could have continued making tons of standard episodes)

I can't remember if it was season 2 or 3 but I think when they first started introducing like regular songs to non adventure/important episodes it was really off, didn't really mesh well having the show be so musical, but they definitely incorporated it better as they went along and its kinda crazy it worked out well.

BTW I've steered clear from almost all opinions on the show outside of what Ray tells me so I dont know what of my opinions are universal to the fandom, but holy shit the season 8-9 intro sucks so much ass, all of the timing is COMPLETELY lost, theres that stupid school zoom out shot thats just maud hitting a rock in the middle of the road as it slowwwwwly pans, the backgrounds are way too visually noisy in the classrooms and the castle and its just an absolutely horrible nightmare that was thrown together in a day.

But yeah great show favorite show best show!!!!! I now get to see a decade of fan content and reviews and discussions n such!!! I watched some that were time appropriate for the current season I was watching to avoid spoilers but nows time for the floodgates!!!!! I'm glad I'll be able to hold onto my opinions now though and seperate them from anything I'm gonna further see discussed by all the old fans. I'm sure there will be tons of complaints I never considered but as I see it now that was a perfect run of television that I love very dearly!!!! Its certainly changed my life going forward lol.

[redr0sewrites]

i wanted to kinda talk about my opinion on some things related to Ana Huang and the romance genre in general- sorry for the rant!!!

finished king of sloth by ana huang and urgrhrgrhrhrh i actually really really enjoyed it!!!! (i say that ab everything i read tho tbh, i've just never been the type who criticizes the media i consume so PLEASE don't ever base ur opinions off of mine :)

my post isn't about the book specifically or even the author. i lowkey have a bone to pick and its NOT with ana huang or the book but moreso the reaction i've been noticing about the book (specifically from people who have been making fun of it and/or people who read it)! this isn't meant to start discourse or anything but i am open to polite discussion about some of the points im bringing up. this is generally focused around ana huang but also a lot of majority-feminine centric media has this same problem.

anyways, i'm gonna try to express how i feel as best i can without being rude or offensive ajshsjs-

it just lowkey irks me that sm people have been hating on ana huang now that she's getting attention, and since she's a romance writer, her fans and fanbase is mostly women and/or girls, (which is totally ok)!! however, i genuinely feel like this is just another barbie movie or sarah j mass or taylor swift scenario where the second something/someone that a lot of woman like starts to get publicity, people (mostly men) start excessively hating on it.

i have genuinely seen sm people dissing not only ana huang but her writing as well. now i don't know much about her as a person and i know that a lot of people are flawed so if she's genuinely done something wrong PLEASE lmk, i don't keep up w that stuff. and hey, maybe you just didn't like the book and thats ok too!!! its totally valid to not like something, but to make fun of an author and the people who enjoy her content just seems.. ehh.

a lot and i mean a LOT of people claim that she's only popular because of her smut but i actually enjoy her books more than just for the smutty/romance aspect. maybe that's just me, but i genuinely find it interesting and a lot of other people i know also enjoy it for the plot. and if u are reading for the smut that's ok as well, this is a totally safe space, and nobody should judge u on your reasons to read a book. the books are INTENDED to be fluffy and spicy and overall are just fictional romantic stories. they're smutty, funny books, not the bible. it shocks me how much people make fun of them.

i just keep seeing this trend of people negatively nitpicking anything and everything about authors and their writing ESPECIALLY when its romance and it just rubs me the wrong way. ive seen a LOT of people upset about huang including cameo's of her other characters in her latest book, and if you don't like those other characters so much then why... are u reading it??? THAT SOUNDS SO MEAN IM SORRY but its just so strange that people are upset about her including her own characters from her own series'?

its just disappointing that whenever someone or something becomes popular, there are always people who are just trying to be negative and diss it along with the people who enjoy it. i'm NOT making this post to be rude or offensive to people who genuinely don't like the author or the series, ur absolutely entitled to ur own opinion!!! however i have just seen this link SO MANY TIMES of people suddenly disliking something/someone bc a lot of woman seem to enjoy it and it just makes me a bit sad and disappointed.

(also side note can men stop hating on the romance genre and books they haven't even read? please??? can feminine people like anything anymore??? romance exists as such a successful genre bc the majority of readers are WOMEN who have to create fictional scenarios about being loved by seemingly "unachievable" men that are literally just doing the bare minimum. women fantasize about being treated with BASIC HUMAN RESPECT as though that isn't the standard, bc honestly, it isnt.)

THIS POST IS NOT MEANT TO EXCLUDE ANY OF MY FELLOW NON-FEMALE/NON-WOMAN OR GENDER NON CONFORMING FOLK WHO ALSO ENJOY ROMANCE!!!! THIS IS JUST A GENERALIZATION BASED ON THINGS I HAVE NOTICED, AND I AM NOT EDUCATED/HAVE A DEGREE ON THE MATTER!!!! THIS IS SIMPLY AN OBSERVATION!!!!! IF UVE READ THIS LONG, MWAH MWAH MWAH!!!

[eutravels]

Rani Takes on the World : Beyond Bannerman Road (1)

After watching the minisode from 2020 called Farewell Sarah Jane, you can't help but think you want to see all these characters back. Lucky for me, when I saw it, this boxset had just come out, and I have to say I was impressed.

Every story is different and better than the last, the characters' evolution is perfectly managed considering the big gap between the TV show and the events from these three stories. It really has the ambition to be a true successor to the Sarah Jane Adventures by putting Rani as the front woman and working on very qualitative scripts.

I honestly cannot wait for the next one to come out and I sincerely hope it catches up on the high expectations this boxset helped build within me.

Here is a story by story review, beware some spoilers here and there, even though I made my best to make it spoiler free.

Here Today

I only have one word for this one: wow. First of all, the time loop is well executed and the urgence of the situation is very well conveyed by the twists, the characters and the music.

I can't not mention the jaw-dropping scene at the end of the first time loop. Absolutely chilling. You have to listen to it to understand how much of a shock it is.

You don't have a second to yourself when listening to this one, the story just takes you and you have to get along.

Destination: Wedding

I'm not gonna lie, it was kind of hard for me to get into this one at first but in the end I loved it so much more than the pilot! You can easily guess the solution to the mystery but never without a doubt.

Gita is just the perfect comic character, every single sentence of her is an instant punchline, and she's also got a lot of heart.

Rani seems to be kind of in a young adult life crisis, because once again she's comparing herself to her same aged peers, even more so in this one with the pressure of her mother onto her. These are themes that resonated with me a lot since I am approximately the same age as Rani is supposed to be in this and I actually am going through all of this.

Also, I wasn't sure I understood it correctly in the first story but now it's clear: Phoenix is a non-binary person! Yay! And they're dating Clyde, a major character!

In the end this one was pretty enjoyable even though it had a lot less action and tension than the one before, but the character work and the mysterious plot make it an absolute banger!

The Withching Tree

Wow, this one was definitely my favourite! So chilling! I started listening to it during a night road trip and it was really frightening!

The plot twist is really surprising and every new happening is a shock.

I really liked that this episode was kind of an episode of Rani's podcast, I hope they do that on the second series as well.

It was very well orchestrated to make the tension build up to the great reveal, which is so satisfying to listen to. Honestly a great piece of drama.

This is the first time I had heard about Tyler Steele because I didn't listen to any of the Torchwood stuff, so at first I was like "Who does he think he is? Why is he so ok with aliens?" but then I looked him up and it made a lot more sense.

I also loved that the Blue Box Files were being mentioned since I'm also currently listening to Doctor Who Redacted so it was a really nice touch from Big Finish to make Rani and Samira talk about them!

[carverl]

I've been rewatching the Indiana Jones films and decided to rank them from least favourite to my absolute favourite, I'd like to note that despite what negative things I may have to say I don't think there is a bad movie in this franchise which is kind of a miracle. I love all of them to some extent, this series means the world to me, and I feel the entertainment industry is lucky to have it.

5. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I really love the first two acts of this movie; the 50s setting is fun, Harrison Ford is great as ever, Cate Blanchett plays a great villain, the action is fun and energetic, and despite how much of a shitty person Shia LaBeouf is his performance as Mutt Williams is honestly really great. Then they get to the jungle in the second half and it all starts to fall apart. The car chase is pretty terrible, the giant ants are creepy but kind of just meh and the conclusion feels very underwhelming. I will say that I don't agree with the criticism that there being aliens is a bridge too far, it's about as plausible as any of the other supernatural stuff so it doesn't feel out of place to me. Overall a fun movie just a bit messy in its third act. 6/10

4. Dial of Destiny

I was so anxious to watch this one, all I'd heard from people was that it was terrible and another wasted legacy sequel, so imagine my surprise when I sat down to watch it and found it's actually brilliant. It feels like a proper finale to the series and does a lot of interesting things with Indy and makes him more compelling in this film than he's been since Last Crusade. Mads Mikkelsen plays my favourite Indy villain in Jürgen Voller, who is intimidating yet ever so slightly campy. I love him, and his plan is so bonkers and off the wall it's amazing. Helena is a brilliant supporting character, and I love how she's kind of like a young Indy with her own version of Shortround. The overall message of the film plus how it deals with Indy's age and the ending made me cry, I felt it was truly something special. That being said, I didn't like the CGI young Harrison Ford at the start of the movie, as well as how a lot of the once practical stunts are now completely CGI, but that aside I love this film. 8/10

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark

The classic that started it all, I'm not gonna say much about this film mainly because I feel like out of all the films I have least to say about this one. It's really great with phenomenonal action, music, acting, and pacing. An adventure for the ages, everything that could possibly be said about this movie has been said. It's a masterpiece. So why is it not at the top? Mainly cause I like the next two more, nothing against this film but I feel later entries improve on what's already there. Still the most quintessential adventure film of all time. 9/10

2. Temple of Doom

My hot take is that Temple of Doom is better than Raiders and I will die on this hill. This movie is a thrill ride from start to finish with some of my favourite characters in the whole franchise; I love Shortround and think he's a great sidekick to Indy, I love Willie she's such a great comedic foil and her line delivery never fails to crack me up, Mola Ram is basically the devil himself with how genuinely evil he is compared to the other bad guys he seems to be relishing in his evil. The camp fun of this movie mixed in with genuine horror imagery and elements make it utterly unforgettable to me, I know for some people it's too mean spirited but I kind of love that about it. Harrison Ford is so great here too, he is an absolute delight in this movie in every scene. The action is unmatched in the rest of the series here with the mine cart chase and bridge collapse being series highlights for me. Overall, it's just a brilliant bit of fun that while not being very deep has such great entertainment factor that I adore it. 9/10

1. The Last Crusade

I must have watched this on VHS so many times as a kid, I was constantly rewatching Last Crusade so I have a nostalgic bias for this movie, but so what? This movie means so much to me personally, its themes of obsession and fatherhood are beautifully executed. Getting Sean Connery, James Bond himself, to play Indy's father was a genius move by Spielberg the presence of Henry Jones sr elevates this film to the stratosphere for me. The story and characters are absolutely perfect, the action is as great as ever, the character of Indiana Jones himself is at his peak in this movie with how we learn so much about his past with that incredible opening sequence with young Indy. My only slight criticism is that the main villain, Walter Donovan is the weakest of the series, but even that's made up for by Elsa, who plays the role as both villain and love interest brilliantly. I love this movie to death. 10/10

"Indiana, let it go."

[whumpsday]

A lot of people writing vampire whump look up to you, do you have any people you look up to/any series that inspired K&J?

oh that's so sweet!! yes SO MANY.

Of Vampires and Men by @whumpy-writings is undoubtedly my biggest inspiration in terms of vampire whump and honestly probably writing in general, and let me know it was ok to go non-chronological. there’s books coming out for it next year and my finger is already hovering over the preorder button AND YOURS SHOULD BE TOO

Ash & Callum by @whumping-every-day ​ actually gave me the original idea that morphed into kane & jim, it was what made me go “wow i wanna make a vampire whumpee”

Vampire Carlo AU by @deluxewhump ​ more amazing vampire inspo!

Pet Kasia AU by @whumpzone ​ huge whumper-turned-whumpee inspo for kane like SO MUCH, and Tomas and Rowe in general was the first whump series i ever got into

Hazeshift by @whumpwillow ​ got me into whumper-turned-whumpee in the first place!

also this isn’t a whump series, but the anime The Case Study of Vanitas by Jun Mochizuki was also a huge inspiration for K&J!

those above are all the series that inspired K&J specifically, but here’s some more that inspired me for whump writing in general:

i’ve looked up to all of @whumpshaped ‘s writing forever, particularly Dollhouse and one-off drabbles (not to mention us being besties now <3) AND ALSO the whumper Grace from this inspired Becca from my soiree au that i am absolutely gonna finish i promise

Star Wars Rip Off by @lumpsbumpsandwhumps / @showrunnerihardlyknowher was something i was into before ANYTHING else on this list, before i got into whump, kind of an early indicator of “hey it’s okay to write darker stuff” that has inspired me to write darker in turn

Brody by @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi was the second whump series i got into after Tomas and Rowe and had a big impact as well

i prob wouldn’t be writing K&J or whump at all without the inspiration of these authors!

[greenjokwe-blog]

Monthly Greej Media (February 2024) - Month of Scrambling

Sometimes I forget that February is the shortest month. Even when it's a leap year (which I only just barely noticed happened this year), a single day can be the difference for me on whether or not I write about something here or not. Especially this month, where I decided that I would take up several long media properties... while also not having the dedication to go through them at a constant rate to actually get close to finishing them. It's been a weird month.

Because of this, there isn't going to really be much in terms of video games for me to talk about. There's a few films I want to cover (and some I'm probably gonna save for a later point... again... maybe), but truth be told there isn't actually that much interesting in terms of new games for me, unless I wanna parrot what I wanna say last month (played a lot less of those two games though, even). I was going to have two shorter games beaten by the end of the month, but I was only able to beat one of them in times for this. There's a good chance that if I don't decide to talk about the other game next month though, I'll just make a short post about it at some point.

The one game I JUST managed to finish, is Earthworm Jim: Special Edition for the Sega CD.

I've been pretty public about my enjoyment of the Earthworm Jim series for a while, but I think I'm not as vocal about how my enjoyment basically EXCLUSIVELY comes from Earthworm Jim 2. Specifically the Genesis version, which was the one available on the Wii Shop Channel, but any of the non-GBA ports are good. Learning about the Special Edition was wild to me, which I had previously had no idea existed, as my general EJ1 experience mainly came from attempts to play the original Genesis version and falling off after a couple of levels... and replaying the old demo on the apple store on my old iPod Touch back in the day (which I'm 90% sure that version is lost media now?). Anyway, hearing about the "superior" Sega CD version of the game made me curious, and as someone who has never really beaten a game for the Genesis addon before (the closest example is Sonic CD, and that was the updated Whitehead rerelease), I thought it'd be a fun idea to boot this version up. I'm glad I did, cuz this definitely heightened my opinion of the game.

There's a lot of reasons why the Special Edition is the superior version of the game, from beautiful animations and visuals (which, when testing around with CRT Filters via Reshade like I have for the past month, are EXTREMELY visually impressive and basically look HD), an improved soundtrack, and just generally more content and levels. What I think absolutely sells it though, is that the overall game experience is just BETTER here, compared to the other version. Obviously nicer visuals and sound will do numbers in terms of making the game feel better to play, but I'm mainly talking about the game's flow and pacing itself.

Level order has been changed, new levels add a more interesting difficulty curve than the previous versions, and there are new secrets to find, including all-new secret paths that are not only loaded with rewards for the betterment of play but are just generally better than what was in the original game, it's a vastly better experience. Don't get me wrong, there's definitely some stuff here that's kinda stinks up the experience (that last level especially can blow me), but compared to how I previously viewed this game? It's much better now. I still wouldn't consider the first Earthworm Jim better than the second one even with this version, like a large portion of people (mainly... what I'd describe as "oldheads" but I mean this is Earthworm Jim we're talking about) seem to believe, but I at least get the logic when people believe that. Also like, Earthworm Jim 2 is one of the most creative platformers of all time so it's like, kinda hard to beat that. What went from a difficult recommendation from me went to something absolutely worth checking out.

But uhhh... Yeah that's it for video games. Like I said earlier, there's a little bit more to talk about for films this month, so I guess I'll start with... uhh... So uh... Oscar season is happening, right? I wouldn't really be able to tell for myself but from what I've heard 2023 has been a good year for movies, so I decided to make it fun for myself and make sure this year I've seen at least half of the best picture nominees before the show starts (not really that hard, but I've never done it before). It succeeded, although I'm still debating as to whether or not I should watch some of the others as well to make it fun for myself (namely Killers of the Flower Moon and Anatomy of a Fall). I thought it was a good time, while the film was just barely still in theatres over here, to watch one of them on a brand fancy new screen at a local theatre. That film, of course... was Poor Things.

Oh boy.

Oh boy.

This ones gonna be... difficult to talk about for me, for a large, LARGE variety of reasons. One of which I might cover in a future blog post, but let it be known that I did NOT expect the kind of movie this was when going in. I knew about the sex symbolism, for sure, but to the level that it was...

OK, I just wanna say that I do appreciate what the films going for. It's weird. Weirdest film I've seen in theatres, and by far the most adult. And a lot of the subjects in this film are not being discussed at all! It dares to actually talk about shit like how women get taken advantage of by men and patriarchy, the conditions of sex work, and the failure of society to not protect women who aren't seen as perfect or exhibit traumatic responses in the real world! However, the actual result of these subjects being discussed... eh...

I will say that it does get the some of the points across well by the end, the second half manages to do a good job of making sure it's messages are sent. Although at this point... the film feels like it kinda needs to come to a halt to do so? A little? Also there are some implications here and there... weird one to chew, not sure how well some of these are gonna be seen generally, sometimes feels contradictory sometimes it lands perfectly into its message about women's choices. But overall, I still think I'm glad I saw this film, even if it made me feel like that one scene in Taxi Driver (even though I saw it alone). Weird and interesting, glad to support this kind of cinema, even if I don't know whether or not it'll grow on me as time goes on or I'll just start to resent it more. We'll see I suppose.

The last film I saw before the Oscar's was one I decided to watch at home, and that was The Zone of Interest.

Holyyyyy. What a film. I'm gonna be very short about this one because I feel like this is a film you need to experience for yourself but put simply: A film with pure vision. Pretentious arthouse indie cinema used as malice. Abhorrently aesthetic-focused to its favour. Exists only within frame but ALWAYS vividly presented outside. A film with a very clear, ageless message that defies all conventions to proceed, but still feels especially required and relevant in the current climate. A one-note experience, but that note is an unforgettable drone that lasts long after viewing. Perfect cinema. It's also the weaker of the two Jonathan Glazer films that I've seen. How the fuck does this man do it.

But yeah... Jesus. That shit bummed me out. A great experience, but a drowning one. Anyone want a pick me u- oh god damnit.

Saw this at the beginning of the month, so my review is gonna be a bit hazy, but I do think it says a lot about me that this was the film that I enjoyed the most out of everything I have seen so far this year. This year being y'know. The past two months. Not in terms of releases this came out in 2016. Whatever.

God this film is sad. It's so fucking sad. Manchester by the Sea is a film that should not be watched unless you are either currently depressed or ready to be depressed. However, that being said, it also manages to be such an realistic portrayal of suffering and grief that I absolutely fell in love with it. The film not only looks beautiful but feels it as well. I've heard complaints ranging from that it glorifies trauma or that it represents it's symptoms as "personal failings", but I think it rounds around to me to represent something truly human and honest with itself. There are the occasional times in a couple of scenes where it takes the safe route of modern storytelling for my liking, and there's definitely other issues (mainly the sound design, if you know you know), but there are few films that feel as groundedly sad and wonderful as this one does. Even if it's extremely sad and bittersweet, there's something reflective I got from this film that almost made me feel... Weirdly satisfied? Very strange thing to say, I'm aware, especially if you've seen the film and know what I'm talking about. Maybe I just like movies set in Boston Massachusetts. But god damn... what a film. Highly recommend if you can handle fucked up dark trauma films.

Anyway, last up, music!!! Still not a lot to say here, so I think I'm just gonna post the chart and dip I think. A couple of these were new listens for me (aside from Friko being a brand new release, the Allman Brothers Band and David Kauffman albums were my first time hearing them). A vast majority of them I went back to a few songs often but only just went back to the album now. Some of these I just haven't heard since ages ago. So yeah, that's it. Cya either next month on in an extra post I make in a week or so, we'll see what happens first.

[daisy-bugs]

9, 23, or 24 for the ask game!

Hello, hello!!

9. How do you worldbuild?

I honestly haven't done nearly as much worldbuilding in my fics as I do in a lot of original stuff I write, I think mainly because I don't write many AUs that are in different settings than canon. I do still love a good bout of descriptive writing, though, so I'm gonna go off a little on this one lol!

I like to run through each of the senses one by one, depending on which I feel would be most significant. There isn't really an intentional formula to it, but I tend to start with what I deem the most Powerful sensory call (usually it's sight, sound, or smell) for the setting, then the more average ones, then finish with the second most interesting. That's something that varies scene by scene and also by character, and I don't always include all five.

As for the imagery itself, I like to use words that are concise but vivid! I also like to describe the smaller things in the scene, too, to help it feel more alive. It could be characters in the background interacting with things, a faint breeze, a hint of a smell, anything small that feels more alive.

I'm working on a Gemfalse Knights AU right now and there's lots of imagery and worldbuilding in it; if that's something that interests you, keep an eye out! :)

23. What work of yours would you like to have the biggest impact on the fandom?

Of the ones I have currently posted, I'd have to say Copper & Candles technically. I want to finish that set up because the final work in the Waxing Crescent series is going to be Something. That I already know. Overall, if I ever post it, I would LOVE for Arms Tonite to make a bit of a splash.

24. What work would you like to talk more about?

I have answered this before with Copper & Candles and that's very true, but I would also love to talk more about The B.E.S.T. Potioneers Ever because it involves some of my absolute favorite Minecraft headcanons I have!!

[sinkableruby]

So, how did you end up stumbling into Monogatari as a series? And who would you say was your Favorite character before Ougi filled that spot? I'd love to ask more about Ougi but, y'know, personal spoilers and all.

oh oh oh yes i have an answer for this one

actually the answer to both is nadeko!! you are right that ougi is my all time fave but nadeko was acc my fave before them and still holds my second place slot!! talking about it below with spoiler talks of otorimonogatari

similarly to you i stumbled upon it in my teens like a while back. my first impression was like the memes and stuff of course with renai circulation and what not. which led to me seeing a comparison video of renai circulation and mousou express, which is super interesting and cool even without context. and scary for that matter mousou express is kind of terrifying. it leaves an incredibly lasting impression, and it certainly did on me back then. of course it helped that i like the songs too. i also saw a clip of her in medusa form which was intriguing (and also i love the design of it). this on its own though was not enough to get me to watch. actually no wait i think i tried to watch it but the order was so confusing that i started with like nise by accident somehow and i had no idea what was going on so i quit lmao. but i was still curious about the series partly due to nadeko and partly bc it was like one of those big shows that you hear about yk

then fast forward a while, i hear the kizumonogatari movies r comin out so im like fuck it lets watch even tho i have no context. luckily they turned out to be prequel stories and my experience was not totally ruined by this move lol. of course, they were really good, those movies are amazing. so now i was like more invested in the story, but only by a little bit more. the final push i needed to actually try to watch (again) was ultimately because i was so curious about nadeko. tbh she was also the reason why i finished the series in the first place. monogatari on first watch for me was overwhelming and very dense (i mean, its a dense show), and before otori i actually wasn't enjoying it like a LOT, especially not with all the weird bits the series likes to throw at you. not to say that i disliked it, it just wasn't like amazing to me. of course now i feel differently and love the early parts of the series very much too, but first watch was slightly rough at times and took me a while to complete. learning what was gonna happen with nadeko was a big motivating factor for me.

but then when i acc got to otori i was like HOLY SHIT ITS ME lmao. i mean id already liked nadeko the best from the very little id seen of her and the fuzzy spoiler memory of vaguely what was going to happen in her arc. but man otori was so good and resonated with me so much, every single moment of it was so gripping to me. i loved the stark contrast in nadeko's perspective from araragi's (esp noticeable in how she sees her classmates), how it's already set up at the very beginning as a story where she Gets Worse so there's a feeling of profound dread surrounding it, her outburst at school (my jaw actually dropped at the "shut up!" i was so shocked and then hyped lol), just like everything about kuchinawa, the incredible ost (not to mention that op of course). ougi actually did contribute to the enjoyment bc she brought up such interesting ideas at the beginning and is generally such an enigma, but shes not the focus here right now i just cant help but bring up ougi in any situation. but yeah otori hands down one of my favorite arcs, one of the ones i still go back to rewatch frequently for the profound effect it had on me and the comfort it brings

its like what you were talking about with hanekawa. nisioisin truly did an incredible job with his characterization to make so many very true-to-life and nadeko is absolutely no exception, she is very relatable to me. i've got a lot of experience in life being shy, quiet, socially anxious, generally anxious lol (although not anymore!), and as 'the sweetheart who can do no wrong', so it's very much nadeko's specific brand of avoidance and like... 'outward-facing personality management' that resonates with me, if that makes sense. i was completely aligned with her during that whole watchthrough of otori in terms of feeling how she felt. i was seeing myself reflected back at me from the screen lol. of course we have lots of differences too but the similarities were really capturing to me on my first watch through and kinda catapulted me to finish the rest. her later appearances only added onto my appreciation of her too. i'll leave it there though since you don't know so much about that yet. when u get there ill probably have more to talk about. but shes a wonderful character love her very much.

also. ghh. i wish i could say more about ougi. you have no idea. im so curious to see what you will think of them. im practically vibrating with how much i want to talk about them (a constant state of being for me). but i wont say anything yet. i will be Hush...

[maybeimamuppet]

2, 5, 9, 11, 16 for the fic asks?

hello darling friend tysm for the ask!!

2, will you participate in any fandom exchanges or fic challenges, etc?

if i’m asked to absolutely!! i think they seem so fun but being in smaller fandoms i think they’re a lot harder to figure out. i’ve actually considered forming a few of my own for like halloween or the holidays and stuff but i’m kind of the only cadnis writer still somewhat consistently active and everyone else who writes for mean girls is into very different things (which is great we love to see it but it makes group stuff hard lol) and matilda i haven’t checked up on in so long i have no idea what’s going on in that little corner anymore whoops

5, which wip is first on your list to complete this year? will you post a snippet?

we are continuing my beloved series of ‘someone has to write all the cliche fics for this ship and by golly it might as well be me”! from the looks of things the first one to be finished will be a college au (professor/student) that i’m honestly really proud of. i’ve been hammering away at it for a while lol. but we also have a few more like that and obviously plenty more that aren’t that i’m not gonna spoil just yet but i’m very excited for them :)))

“As long as I’m your professor, this can’t happen, no matter how badly I want it to,” Cady says with a sniffle. She gently presses a kiss to the corner of Janis’ lips before she pulls away and takes a couple steps back. “I’m so sorry, Janis.”

Janis watches her go for a minute, barely feeling the frigid rain slamming against her face. Cady hunches in on herself and clicks off. “What about when you’re not my professor anymore?!”

Cady freezes and turns to look at her. “What?”

“Once I graduate,” Janis begs. “Can we be together then?”

“…Technically, yes, we could,” Cady says. “But-”

“Wait for me,” Janis says. “Please.”

Cady bites her lip, but she nods after a second. “Okay.”

“You will?” Janis asks, finally feeling hopeful enough to smile for the first time in what feels like years.

“I’ll wait,” Cady agrees. “If you’re willing to do the same. Come to me once you graduate, and… we’ll see what happens. Okay?”

“Okay,” Janis says, smiling around a sob. Cady does the same before she continues walking away.

unproofread snippet brought to you by maybeimamuppet :)

9, short term goals… what do you hope to complete this week or in january?

i’m really hoping to have that and the next chapter of pt done by the end of the month!! my third writing birthday is at the beginning of march and i’m really hoping to have a batch of fics ready to crank out by then :)) matilda is kind of wonky for the time being bc i have very few wips and i need time to sort through which requests i can actually do/want to do so they might be a while but focusing on my meanies for a while will be a nice change i think!

11, would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

i don’t think i do!! at least not in fics lol i’m good with my romance and family fluff sorta genres i’m in but i am trying to write a few publishable like real actual books that are a little different so we’ll see how that goes!

16, do you have one fanfic that you wrote a ton for, ages ago, but never posted? will this be the year come hell or high water that it WILL get finished and posted?

UHHHH honestly most of my wips are kinda like that lol. i hyper focus on one and then get bored with it and move on to a new one and herein lies the cycle of Big Issues. so i have a lot of like half-done oneshots (including requests i literally got in 2021 and am sobbing trying to get done i feel so bad). i do have an entire folder of ‘unpublishable fics’ that will never see the light of day. they’re mostly just writing exercises but some of them are just really embarrassing so most of them stay there lol. and i have a multi-chapter The Good Place au i started years ago and couldn’t figure out other than the title but i only wrote a couple scenes for it but that probably also won’t ever see the light of day. ce la vie ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[miyukihoshizora]

So! FFVIII! Finished it yesterday, loved most of the last stretch! And it totally comes appart the second you think about it too hard!

First what I liked:

Squall and Rinoa, obviously. Their dynamic and respective growths mirroring each other. One who shuts off the world and one who forces herself to seem like this dizzy social butterfly, both because they are terrified of being hated. Their friendship very organically evolve into a romance and the best scenes in the game like the space rescue are always between these two.

Quistis was also the teammate I felt got to do the most. Started off as a mentor, before realizing the mantle of leader was not for her and learning to put her full trust into something other than her instincts. She also had the emotional intelligence to dodge a love triangle when she felt that shit arrive lmao.

The game is also full of really cool setpieces in general. The space rescue, the Gardens themselves, the Lunatic Pandora... And of course, Ultimecia's castle! I absolutely loved the whole dream sequence at the end, how it communicated without words on all of Squall's fears and how Rinoa became the reason he learned to enjoy his life. How he clung to her image like a lifeline even if the time distortion + GF poisoning tried to take it away from him (as it did with Ultimecia if you subscribe to the U=R theory). Like god damn, this was strong stuff.

Speaking of! I'm actually shocked Ultimecia being Rinoa is just a fan theory Square went out of their way to debunk because it seemed so obvious to me from the get go and I wasn't even aware of the theory until I looked into it. I find it weird they decided to just say no to the whole thing instead of keeping it ambiguous, as the game does, because thematically, this makes it a really powerful story, and Ultimecia a much more sympathetic baddie. Like damn, you can do so much with Griever being all she has left of her knight, while her refusal to let go of it twisting her memories to the point she can no longer recognize him when he comes to her from the past, as she wanted. Respectfully gonna kill the author on this one.

Now for the less good stuff... The orphanage plot twist, obviously. Doctor Odine's whole deal. The Norg stuff. I imagine the fact this plot is held together by duct tape is like, the popular opinion at this point. The best parts of this game kind of mostly work in a vacuum.

Also, well... Zell, Irvine and Selphie don't really have any arc to speak of as far as I can tell. Which is a bit disappointing, compared to VII, I wish they all got to do a lot more. They are still my babies but I really didn't care for them as much as I did the other three, and that Is a problem in a seried that lives or die by how much you engage with its characters.

Oh and bro, Seifer. I jokingly compared him to Draco Malfoy and just like Draco they totally half assed his part in the plot. He had strong momentum as a rival character in Disc 1, but the fact Rinoa stops having feeling for him the second he does his heel turn, and that he just wanted to be Ultimecia's knight, regardless of whether it was Edea or Rinoa, TWO WOMEN HE LOVED, is completely ridiculous. He also got a total anticlimax with the most heavy-handed Gilgamesh cameo, and then Fujin and Raijin (the best part of this stupid plot thread) just redeem him off screen where he goes back to Balamb and never gets any comeuppance for actively trying to destroy the world, like, what the hell even was that.

Oh yeah also the gameplay system is jank and I only started having fun with it when I broke it.

That about sums up my thoughts. I'm really happy of my experience with this game, and to finally be done with the Playstation era!~

My X replay is next, and then I'll probably hop straight onto XV.

[bendingwind]

For the writing meme! :)

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

:D

This got long so I'm putting it under a cut.

8. What project(s) are you currently working on?

I have just like an insane number of Bleach plotbunnies running around freely in my brain these days, but right now I'm mostly focused on three four stories; One is a pre-relationship Renji/Rukia story I've been talking about, The Most Eligible Bachelor in the Seireitei, in which Renji becomes very popular among minor noble houses as a prospective match. It's not really about that so much as it is about Renji and Rukia beginning to mend and rebuild their friendship in the wake of the Soul Society arc, though, under the shadow of the upcoming war. With a little jealousy in the mix. I think I'm going to finish this one today or tomorrow, edit Sunday, and post sometime next week hopefully.

The second is an Ichigo/Orihime story from Ichigo's POV that I'm still hashing out. I had an outline all prepared and then you actually reblogged something that made me rethink the whole thing, so that one's back in the drawing board stages lol.

I'm gonna preface this next one with the disclaimer that there is no combination of Rukia, Renji, Orihime and Ichigo that I don't ship.

The third is one I may not ever post, because I kill Renji off in it (not a spoiler, the entire topic of the finished prequel is Rukia mourning) and it makes me very very sad. In it Ichigo dies unexpectedly in his 40s and a proactive local Shinigami sends him to Soul Society via konsō, causing him to lose his memory, and Soul Society being what they are, nobody can seem to find him despite his massive spiritual energy. Everyone mourns and eventually moves on, and the story starts after Orihime dies of old age and joins Squad 11 (this is hilarious to me and makes absolute sense in context of the story and is one of my favorite parts) and she and Rukia rekindle their friendship. It starts out Rukia & Orihime, becomes Rukia/Orihime and eventually becomes Rukia/Orihime/Ichigo. There's a possible Byakuya/reincarnated!OC!Renji story sequel in the mix as well I think? There's also a much!older!Karin/Toushiro story that I vaguely want to write in that universe, which is a ship that I don't generally like unless you give Karin like forty years at a minimum to marinate.

I'm also planning to work soon on a Rukia & Orihime story in which Rukia asks Orihime about her feelings for Ichigo and why she's never acted upon them. It focuses a lot on how Ichigo protects everyone and Orihime wanting to be the one to protect him.

(I'm also vaguely trying to figure out my headcanons for Byakuya/Hisana and Ikkaku/Yumichika because I really want to write some stuff for them, but I don't have anything really concrete there at the moment)

(ALSO I can't remember if it was you or polyna who headcanon that Renji had a gruesome crush on Ikkaku back in the day but if nobody else is going to write it I WILL)

----

16. At what point in the process do you come up with titles?

Sometimes I have a title going into a story, and sometimes I write a line in the story that I immediately know is going to be/inspire the title, but more often than not I finish a story up, slap a Hozier lyric on it, and call it a day 😅

----

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

I don't think I'm likely to ever finish this little series of micro-vignettes about Isshin and Ichigo so I'm just gonna use this as an excuse to post what I do have written!

****

It’s a bad idea for a hundred thousand reasons, Isshin thinks.

Their child will be an abomination in the eyes of some, an unholy amalgamation of shinigami and quincy and hollow. He knows the stories from history as well as anyone, and even they do not describe this thing that the two of them have created.

But Masaki places his hand on her belly and he feels the baby kick, and he sets his apprehension aside for the sake of the smile that graces her lips.

****

Ichigo is an entirely normal little boy, Isshin tells himself. So what if he turns his head when ghosts pass by? Children are sensitive to that kind of thing regardless, aren’t they? 

Masaki thinks he can see them, and frowns every time it happens. It was inevitable, she says quietly-- even if he were just quincy, it would be expected.

Isshin hopes she’s wrong. He wants their little boy with Masaki’s clouds of orange hair and his eyes to grow up safe and sound and normal.

He knows better, but he’s always been good and lying to himself.

****

He catches his son talking to the ghosts sometimes, as he grows a little older. He’s a happy child, as prone to laughter as he is to tears, all skinned knees and sticking weird shit in his mouth if they take their eyes off of him for a moment.

He resigns himself to this one quirk of his son, who is sweet and perfect and otherwise remarkably normal. He shows no signs of quincy powers, and Isshin learns to count his blessings.

“Dada,” Ichigo calls, and he stands.

“What is it, my son?” he booms, and Ichigo giggles and toddles towards him.

[slytherinbarnes]

Hiiii! Really random, but I want to start a x reader rewrite of a show and I was wondering if you had a few tips for how you did sub Rosa? It seems like such a big project but fun at the same time and I want to attempt it but I don’t really know how to go about it lol!

Sub Rosa is absolutely stellar by the way, I’m literally in love with it! I’ve only gotten to the second season because I found your account only recently and I’m very late to watching the 100 but I obviously had to get into the fanfiction! I’m hoping to find more The 100 writers and fics as well that I love, but I haven’t had the time until now! Well this got away from me a bit, but if you have any tips, thank you! If not or anything, you’re still awesome and I hope you have a good day!

omg heyyyyy babes!! first off, thank you for your kind words!!! you dont even know what you just activated bc i am a certified type A virgo 😅 i talked about this a little bit when i first finished publishing sub rosa so ill link you to that post here. this shows some of the notes, outline, maps, etc that i kept up with during the course of writing!

for me, i started with an outline of all 100 episodes and the basic summary of what happened. then as i rewatched the show and figured out where i wanted la lune, i would put that in that episodes notes. i'd also jot down any questions i had about where people were or what was going on bc one thing about the 100 is everyone is gonna be in 10 different locations lmao. so i had to decide if la lune would be by herself or with this group and that group. that was the main thing that really helped me with this undertaking!

also depending on what series you're writing for, i love things like maps and such. it just helped me a lot to visualize how long it may take the characters to get to certain areas in the show. this is ovi dependent on the fandom though!

other than that? my main advice is probably to just reread your chapters as much as possible! i would do this to make sure i didnt accidentally leave a plot line open or unfinished, and to make sure everyone is where i want them to be and that i know where all special items may be (like la lune's necklace). stuff like that isnt a big deal to everyone but it really mattered to me! also tracking injuries and scars! you cant have someone get beat up in chapter 3 and be running perfectly in chapter 4. i mean, you can lmao, but i guarantee someone will point it out!

i think that's everything?? if you have any more questions, please feel free to ask bc sub rosa is my magnum opus and i will take endlessly about the process to anyone that asks lmao. have a good day bb and good luck writing!!

oh i also have a 100 rewrite directory! a few links may be broken bc i havent updated it in a bit, but it may help you find a more writers you like! that can be found here!

[withacapitalp]

✨ 2022 ao3 wrapped ✨

thanks @hexmionegranger and @thefreakandthehair for taggin meeeee I love you both!!!!

I’m also so ready for 2022 to be overrrr but I did have a good fic writing year… I’m so sorry for how dumb these are about to be 

Works Published: 24

Word Count: 340186……I need to resort my priorities lmaooooo

Hits: 173947 (If I think about that number too much I’m gonna throw up so I’m not going to LMAO)

Bookmarks: 3726

Most popular by kudos: So it’s actually Concerns which is so funny because I would’ve been sure it was a Stranger Things fic! For Stranger things it was Scrapes, Sprains, and Headaches. That’s the second part of my A New Perspective series, and one of my favorite ones I’ve written. It’s a Lucas and Steve first aid fic from Wayne’s POV generally all the stuff I love most! 

Most hits: Another not ST fic! Okay! Well this one is Not Again it’s an Omori long fic I started and abandoned (so if you go read it I’m sorry there will not be an update) I honestly forgot that I was one of the bigger(ish) omori writers right at the start. ST isn’t even number two because that’s Things Done for Love aka my magnum opus but I’ll talk about that one later. ST comes in third with Well, I’ve Been Afraid of Changin’ which is the getting together fic for A New Perspective

Longest: Things done for love BY F A R It’s 118k it’s not finished. Like I said Magnum Opus lol I love that fic so much but it needed to be put away for awhile because it’s my therapy fic and it’s like…..heavy and hard to write but I do rec reading it! It’s my baby. The second longest is ST tho! It’s The Weeks After which is the second part of my Days, Weeks, Months series! If you like Stoncy, that’s my stoncy series and it’s one of my all time favorite things I’ve written. It didn’t get a ton of traction, but I still really love it. 

Shortest: I’m so sorry that none of these are ST omg. There's four shorter ones in other fandoms then Princess, which is honestly one of those fics that made me cry. It won’t be the fic I put down for that category, but I really loved writing it, and I would love if y’all went and read it!!!

Most comments: LMAO this is ST it’s my Stranger Things Daily Drabble! I’m going to take this time to not talk about the fic, but just to thank the handful of people who comment on pretty much every drabble I do. I wait to see you guys in my email and I literally get so happy every time I do!! Obvi you don’t have to comment on every chapter, but even just the little hearts I get or the wow I loved this one make me feel so :DDDD Even if you just comment on the occasional drabble that made you feel any type of way I’m always so so grateful!

Fic that made me cry: I actually cried while writing Princess obvi but I got close while writing House and Home! I put a lot of my own thought processes into it while I was writing, and a lot of the personal stuff I feel into how Steve is reacting. Like being elated and then just having all of this shit hit you all at once I also cried writing Let Me Just Hold You Now, butI'll talk more about that later

Fic that made me smile: How to Rehabilitate a Jock actually makes me smile a ton! I just think it’s going to be a really fun story and has so much heart and seeing how much you guys have liked it so muchh has been so heartwarming!! 

Gifts: Let Me Just Hold You Now!!!!! Okay so I’ve written other gifts, but this one was just so!!!!! I wrote it for @hotcocoaharrington 💖💍I worked so so hard on it knowing Mack was going to love it and knowing that I was going to get to be so :DDDDD when I finally got to hear what she thought and it was so awesome. Anyway 10000000/10 would write fic for Mack again. (And I already am lmaoooooooo) but she doesn't need to know about that one

Events: Oh god pls dont mention events I’m still working on my fic for @thefreakandthehair I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorrrrrrryyyyyy

tagging: (with absolutely NO pressureeeee) so many of my faves have already been tagged I know but!! @strawberryspence @eddieunbanished @maxinemaxmayfield @kerlypride @gothbat99

[tractorbeamofwoe]

Hi do you think you’re done with writing or do you think you’ll ever come back to it? If you do pick it back up again who would you write for?

Hey, thanks for asking :)

This is gonna be a long ass answer so strap in lol. I’m not done with writing at all, or at least I don’t want to be done. There is still so much I want to say and get out there that I want to share with you guys. I still have so many WIPs and I’d preferably like to finish them before I die lmao even if you have to wait 40 years. Ik I’m kind of on a hiatus rn as far as writing goes (or at least writing for catfish anyway) but actually I am still writing behind the scenes. I do try and add to WIPs and chapters and I’m still having so many ideas. But it’s a long slow process and I just never feel like I can get these WIPs to a good enough standard to post them, or find the motivation/inspiration to finish them. You have no idea how much I’d love to continue Tyrants and the things in my head I have planned for it, but I’m just finding it super difficult and I feel awful for kind of abandoning you guys and abandoning all these projects for months at a time. I mean hell some of my fics haven’t been updated for at least a year. Maybe I need to bring back WIP weekends, if that’s smth you guys would like?

So to answer your first question, no I’m not done and yes I absolutely would love to come back to it when I’m in a better place. I’m also super super busy rn with final exams coming up and I’m starting uni in a few months too so lots of preparation going into that as I’m moving into an entirely new city. I’m just super tired all the time and I really do not write well when I’m tired I have all these thoughts but I get two sentences in and I’m out like a light.

To answer your second question, I truly don’t know tbh my fandoms have changed so much since I started this acc there’s so many people I would have loved/would still love to write for but I feel like obviously I have followers from a specific target audience it’s very hard to move into something else. Like I don’t wanna make people unhappy by writing other stuff yk? Basically I just don’t know what sort of reaction my writing will get (I mean the interaction on my fics are already bad as it is, I dread to think what it would be like if I posted something that appeals to absolutely none of my followers lol).

Ik I said I’d write some Stranger Things stuff and I actually have been! I’ve written a good chunk of the first chapter of a series I wanted to start, but again I just struggle to find inspiration anymore to finish it, but once I do I’m really really excited for people to see it. I’m still really into britpop too and I’m sure some of my mutuals absolutely wouldn’t object if I wrote about damon 😂 but I’ve just never really committed to getting any ideas down in writing yk? But I also kind of wanna move away from rpf sort of only because I find it kind of limiting with what you can do because there’s like an unspoken line you shouldn’t cross yk? Whereas fictional characters can kind of have endless possibilities. Especially ones that have their own universes and rules etc. And ik there’s nothing stopping me from writing AUs cause I’ve done several but idk it’s just not really quite the same. I kind of struggle with making original characters too which is not a handy weakness at all when writing series.

But ya then there’s the part of me that’s like hm I would’ve liked to have done some resdogs stuff, some bullet train stuff cause god knows there’s not enough fics of my fave films out there it would just be purely self indulgent tho.

but I also have like Leon Kennedy brainrot and my mate’s just gotten me on the mf wilbur soot/mcyt hype train which is a whole other can of worms I won’t get into in this post

But obviously I won’t do any of that until I finish all my old WIPs and requests for catfish, inhaler and Sam 💀💀

So basically if I came back it would be more of the same for a while and then suddenly just go completely off the rails. If you made it to the end I admire your patience I hope this wasn’t too boring to read. Love ya <3

[aaronhotchstan]

Too old for this...

A multi chapter series I finished on A03 a while back and just decided to post here. My will they?/won't they? multi chapter slow burn about an Italian stallion and the emotionally stunted Bossman. There will be cheesy tropes and team created chaos so please stick around for the ride.

Aaron Hotchner/David Rossi

Additional Tags:

Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Fluff and Angst, Alcohol, Drunkenness, Fluff and Smut

Chapter 1: The oracle

He knew he should be listening to Garcia's story about the stray cat she had discovered in the bushes of her apartment building. He should be because it was definitely on the more interesting side of office chat but he wasn't. Instead he was watching his boss, and old friend Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner reaching for a jar of instant coffee (the good stuff the man hid at the very top of the cabinet where only he could just reach at a stretch). Dave couldn't stop himself from staring at the way Aaron's shirt became untucked at the back from his outstretched position revealing a sliver of midriff.

Now Dave knew too well that he was a grown man with plenty of experience considering his three ex-wives and the sight of a sliver of midriff should not enrapture his attention so completely. But the man he was ogling was one of the most private, and put together person in the world. The sight of him showing just the tiniest bit of skin was almost scandalous to Dave and he couldn’t peel his eyes away.

“Is there something wrong with Hotch?”

Garcia startled him from his Aaron watching, catching him off guard. He cleared his throat and pushed down the blush that tried to appear on his cheeks.

“No Penelope Hotch is fine as far as I know.” He said as casually as he could.

There was a look of worry on Garcia’s face that turned into suspicion as she looked back at Rossi questioningly.

“Really sir? You have been watching him a lot lately. Is he sick? Is it the internal damage form Foyet? Will Derek have to take over things while he recovers?” She spoke a mile a minute, panicked and hyper.

Dave couldn’t blame her, he had watched Hotch collapse at the round table, he had been the first to his side cradling his head and trying to get him to respond. It was terrifying seeing the man that was always so strong and unshakeable leading the team one second then unresponsive on the floor the next. He knew it had scared Hotch just as much to have lost control of himself and feel his own body’s weakness for the first time since he had recovered from the stab wounds in the first place.

“Penelope he is absolutely fine. Healthy as a horse, nothing is happening to him and he will be fulfilling all his duties as Unit Chief. Okay?” He tried to reason with her before she tackled the man in a hug thinking it would be her last.

She took a moment to calm her breathing and feel her heart beat slow down to a normal pace. She watched Hotch continue to make his third coffee of the day before she turned back to David.

“Okay, I’m so glad the Bossman is okay but that doesn’t answer why you’ve been staring at him so…OH MY GOD!” Penelope squealed with glee beaming at him.

Dave felt his heart stop.

“Penelope, shhh!” He desperately wanted to keep this conversation private if it was going in the direction he suspected it was.

Penelope grinned at him like the cat who had caught the canary and leaned in conspiratorially.

“You like Hotch” She stated grinning from ear to ear.

Dave sighed, the conversation had lead exactly where he thought it would.

“Okay fine. I like Aaron. Happy?” He whispered back to her.

“Happy? I am ecstatic, you guys would be so so so cute together. When are you gonna tell him?” She was positively beaming at him.

He sighed again, more audibly this time.

“Penelope that’s the thing. I can’t tell him, he has barely started dating people again since Haley. Besides I don’t even know if he likes men and even if he does that doesn’t mean he likes me. Then there’s Jack he has to think about I just can’t take a chance and ruin our friendship.” He could feel the despair spread from him to Garcia and felt bad for unloading the thoughts that had been keeping him up at night for far too long.

Penelope seemed to think on his words some more watching as Hotch walked back up to his office, coffee in hand. She thought about how lonely he must be, always trying to stay on top of his workload and still be there for his son. She thought about the many times he had put the team first, never seeming to give it a second thought. A look of determination took over her features.

“You both deserve to be happy sir and I am going to find the perfect way to help get you together!”

Before he could even begin to tell her that was crazy and to please just forget this entire conversation she had jumped up from the table and flew toward her office in a blur of bright pink and orange. Dave stared at the chair she had just vacated trying to fathom how screwed he was now that Penelope Garcia was going to play cupid with him and Hotch. He almost laughed as he thought about the schemes she must already be drawing up in her lair. He gulped down his coffee and retreated to his office where he planned on hiding for the rest of the day. Maybe this whole thing would blow over. Maybe Garcia would get bored of this project before too much damage was done. Who was he kidding though Garcia won’t stop until both men put their feeling out in the open and Dave couldn’t do much to stop her without revealing his feelings either way.

He sat at his desk and mused on the fact that this whole mess was caused by his wandering eyes and his strange obsession with his uptight boss’ barely exposed midriff. He really had it bad for his friend, he was a mess and he was getting sloppy if Garcia the only member of the team who wasn’t a profiler had called him out on his crush.

He was doomed.

Read the rest of the story here:

Chapter 2