#aka: INSANE chemistry

[laurelwinchester]

the daisy jones and the six full trailer has me out here acting fully unhinged on a wednesday. so ready to make this my entire personality and annoy everyone who follows me ❤️❤️❤️

[mezzo-morte]

Being a Mulder/Scully shipper (aka everyone except Chris Carter) is such a profoundly confusing experience.

You get gaslit by the showrunner himself because for the first 6(?) seasons the characters are platonic. You get six years of them glancing at the other's lips, standing and walking so closely they're always touching, you get tender touches and warm embraces, you get forehead kisses, you get displays of jealousy and one of them even admitting to being territorial. You get this as soon as the damn pilot.

You get Mulder speaking into Scully's hair, you get Scully cradling and singing to him, you get Mulder making a scene threatening to fight anyone in sight when Scully is returned to the hospital, you get Scully wanting to have his child of all people.

You get that the connection is so profound they only trust the other and would (and have) gone to hell and back for their partner.

You have all of these feelings culminating in the intense way in which they gaze at each other, both directly and when the other isn't looking.

Then you have the actors, who were so horned up and fed up with the tension they went off script and made out like that, the same actors who did photoshoots in bed and kissed at award shows and interviews despite never being together, despite the characters never being canonically a couple. You get David, who when asked if he played it like he wanted Scully, he said he simply played it like he cares about her input and you get Gillian, who kissed David in the mouth before turning to kiss her husband when she won an emmy in 1997.

It's clearly love and although the absence of romance and sex don't make a connection any less legitimate or meaningful, I just don't buy it that there was never supposed to be an attraction from the beginning. That they remained friends for that long.

And still you're left questioning if it isn't all just projection because the two actors are so insanely attractive you can't help but want to see them in a sexual setting. If it's all just two good friends having so much chemistry that it makes it easy to come off as romantic. You're left to wonder if you have just been so blind in your own personal life that you have never so much as seen that kind of connection in marriages, let alone with coworkers. That perhaps you've just never had the fortune of having such a special connection with your platonic friend that you make out just for fun. You're made to believe that what you're seeing isn't desire but a deep understanding and care for the other's well being and happiness.

What is the truth. It's out there and at this point I have to believe it's all a ploy from the shadow government and Old Smokey himself to cover up what everyone already knows. The evidence is right in front of us and they keep trying to veer towards a specific answer and call bias if you don't agree.

[happyhauntt]

— april fic recs, brought to you by happyhauntt.

it's that time again! a wee fic rec post for a few of the fics i read in april that altered my brain chemistry!! i've put a lil comment next to each rec because honestly writers don't get praised enough for their work these days and i wanted to show my appreciation for these talented souls!!

criminal minds.

➡ spencer reid.

in every other life by @irndad. notes: adorableness incarnate honestly.

trouble almost all my life series by @januaryembrs. notes: might honestly have to put this on every masterlist til the end of time.

forgiven by @reiding-writing. notes: um HOW DARE YOU i sobbed my way through this

grishaverse.

➡ kaz brekker.

breakfast by @sophierequests. notes: look i'm a simple human i see badass characters and i fall in love

➡ jesper fahey.

i'm your gal by @atlabeth. notes: NOT ENOUGH JESPER FICS and this one is GLORIOUS

star wars.

➡ poe dameron.

the f-word by @the-little-ewok. notes: i reread this constantly pls it's so good

moon knight.

➡ marc spector.

i should've been there by @januaryembrs. notes: not em out here ruining my life and making me sob AGAIN you simply never miss

9-1-1.

➡ evan buckley.

take my hand by @redocity. notes: cute cute cute cute cute

emergency room by redocity. notes: the ANGST i feel well-fed

won't say i'm falling by @borntobewondering. notes: this was DELICIOUS

➡ buck / eddie.

a bleeding sun on a silver screen by @hoediaz / rarakiplin on ao3. notes: i was fully choking back sobs while reading this. i binged this fic in less than 24 hours and it has changed something fundamental inside me. i will never be the same person again. i'm billing you for my therapy.

good luck, babe by @hattalove. notes: i cackled my way through this, potentially the funniest shit ever.

hate to say i spent it all on masquerades by hattalove. notes: i sobbed and sobbed and sobbed while reading this. this fic is everything to me, it should be required reading for all my friends who want to understand me, it is beautiful and magical and i want it tattooed on my face.

don't wanna let you love somebody else but me by @shitouttabuck / fleetinghearts on ao3. notes: sheer adorableness i will well recover from this!!!!

tried and true blue by shitouttabuck / fleetinghearts on ao3. notes: SCREAMING I'M SCREAMING I MAY NEVER STOP SCREAMING

like a dog with a bird at your door by shitouttabuck / fleeting hearts on ao3. notes: iconic. truly iconic. quite possibly one of my fav fics ever written.

let the world have its way with you by shitouttabuck / fleeting hearts on ao3. notes: you don't understand how hard it was not to include every single one of shitouttabuck's fics on this list and there will almost certainly be more in future but i just want them tattooed on my forehead i feel insane

i have dreams where i kiss you and it's pink by shitouttabuck / fleeting hearts on ao3. notes: the cutest and i mean THE CUTEST shit ever

all my shattered oaths by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels on ao3. notes: i sobbed. i sobbed so hard i think i burst something honestly. everything from this author is immaculate but THIS is the holy fuckin grail and i will truly never be the same again.

let my ink stain your pages by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels on ao3. notes: castle au CASTLE AU i'm a sucker for a castle au and this is EVERYTHING

even in winter there is eranthis by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels on ao3. notes: i think about this fic daily.

your love is an oil slick by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels on ao3. notes: this is everything this is EVERYTHING to me i will reread this weekly for the rest of my life

even the darkest night by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels on ao3. notes: stardust au STARDUST AU aka my favourite movie and my favourite ship combined into a fuckin masterpiece

curl up in my heart and let me keep you by letmetellyouaboutmyfeels on ao3. notes: soft sweet my brain is mushy and i adore this

hoping it gets to you by @bucktommys / hammersmiths on ao3. notes: cute adorable stunning MAGNIFICENT

you're my whole house by @/bucktommys / hammersmiths on ao3. notes: THIS FIC OUT HERE MAKIN ME SQUEAL AND KICK MY LEGS

left unsaid by c_m2 on ao3. notes: this is mcfuckin adorable i'm crying buck deserves everything in the world

say yes to heaven by dylaesthetics on ao3. notes: okay full disclosure this made me cry so much i threw up. also it hit some pretty intense trauma for me. still so glad i read it because it was also kinda healing. and i want everyone else to suffer like i have because fuck i suffered.

if i need to rearrange my particles, i will for you by dylaesthetics on ao3. notes: author you will always be famous bc you're knocking my emotional stability OUTTA THE PARK

honestly, truly, completely by dylaesthetics on ao3. notes: simply fuckin adorable

feels like magic by 42hrb on ao3. notes: there's nothing i adore more than an urban fantasy au and this one is EXQUISITE

fallin' into your ocean eyes by princessfbi on ao3. notes: okay every part of this au is absolutely fuckin perfection i am so deeply in love with it

until now by tearsthissideofheaven on ao3. notes: a reincarnation au??? it's like you know how to ruin my life

if i never hear your voice again by @actualalligator. notes: disability rep!!!! brilliant writing!!!!

life sure can try to put love through it by @capseycartwright / wafflesofdoom on ao3. notes: ahahaha ruin my life why don't you

sometimes its hard to see what the future holds by @/capseycartwright / wafflesofdoom on ao3. notes: olympics buddie au??? didn't know i wanted it but now i can't live without it

all good things come to an end (but it's not the end) by @/capseycartwright / wafflesofdoom on ao3. notes: i will, in fact, devour every buddie!fwb au ever written but this one is especially great

you smiled and it was the most beautiful thing that I'd ever seen by @/capseycartwright / wafflesofdoom on ao3. notes: coffee shop!buddie have become everything to me wdym

it's funny 'cause i've always dreamed of me and you by @/capseycartwright / wafflesofdoom on ao3. notes: yes i did sob my heart out reading this and i'll do it again

'cause darling, you're the one by @/capseycartwright / wafflesofdoom on ao3. notes: icymi i think this author is the best author to ever exist and i want to devour everything they write forever

i don't think that we should have friendly sex, anymore by @/capseycartwright / wafflesofdoom on ao3. notes: !!!!!!! that's it that's the note. brain: faye you can't put this many fics by the same author on one masterlist. faye: bET-

still i call it magic (when i'm next to you) by @clusterbuck / lecornergirl on ao3. notes: urban fantasy is, in fact, my shit.

(this kiss is) something i can't resist by @/clusterbuck / lecornergirl on ao3. notes: NO BC THIS HAD ME CACKLING AND ALSO IT'S BRILLIANT

give me five more minutes, baby (i'm not finished loving you) by @/clusterbuck / lecornergirl on ao3. notes: fake dating or immaculate writing??? both

cuffing season by @/clusterbuck / lecornergirl on ao3. notes: i am still laughing at this and i may never stop

[b1asho]

Round one of the species introduction!!!!

Prectikar Master Post:

Here's some info on them, and if you want to see some other drawings I've done of them (albeit some occasionally older n crustier ones), check out my deviantart: https://www.deviantart.com/blasho

Anyway:

Prectikar are a large sentient species, usually standing at around 8-9 feet tall when fully upright and weighing anywhere close to or upwards if 1000 pounds

They are covered in feather-like fur (or is it fur-like feathers? They're occasionally branched like feathers, and all have quills, but some are more hairlike) due to the cold climate they evolved in, though length and thickness of it now varies by region.

They are omnivorous, and while they have many traits to help them hunt and kill, most of their diet tends to be plants.

Originally rush-down predators, they use their considerable strength to move in quick bursts and their specialized tusks to either ram prey to death or gouge into it as they grapple it.

Their jaw strength is also insane,with their skull actually sacrificing brain space in favor of it, which helps them eat pretty much anything they come across. They pay a lot of attention to food and cooking because of their high calorie needs and very sensitive nose/tongue.

They have manganese as an oxygen carrier is a result of the scarcity of other metals in their environment and potentially because of its general affinity for oxygen.

This causes their blood to be an amber/orange brown and shades of pink depending on its exposure to oxygen.

Through a network of cooperative bonding and other adaptations (like better oxygen retention in muscles and the easily carried size and longevity of the molecule) they’ve managed to bring this manganese transport molecule close to hemoglobin in terms of effectiveness, though they can also make use of manganese’s catalyst properties to temporarily push it to bring lots more oxygen to their tissues at a time (used for short bursts of speed and strength that allow them to take down large prey and plants for food).

their large body size (selected by their colder environment) lets them use their own high body heat to keep the O2 fixation and liberation going in their highly effective lungs.

An extensive understanding of their internal chemistry is unknown (aka gatekept by their colonizers/"uplifters" who ill get to later) but it seems like they also have a network of bacteria in their body just to manage the more reactive and damaging oxides that form, and to remove/convert the spent manganese into connective tissue and aid in bone maintenance.

They have higher calorie needs from keeping up the body temp and recycling/removing all that stuff, alongside just being big in general. Alongside a lot of sleeping, they also basically just eat all the time (compared to other species) to compensate, though their mammal-like fat retention and other metabolic adaptations for scarcity mean that they can handle long periods without resources(though this causes increasingly compounded problems for them)

Some other downsides include low tolerance of changes in oxygen levels (particularly low) and temperature levels, and poor adaptation to environments outside of their biosphere/without all the microorganisms since these things upset their delicate balance.

(part of why so many tribes were nomadic was/is to chase temperate and ‘warm’ seasons, even though to us that’s still cold. Prectikar living in human dominated areas often just take a lot of supplements with beneficial bacteria in them to cope with thr lack of that in their environent, and any food printers need an 'ink' cartridge containing these things or else theyre basically useless.),

They also experience faster general wear and tear from having constant complex and intensive chemical reactions(sometimes with dangerous chemicals) going on in their bloodstream and tissues.

( I’m not a biochemist, so if there’s any glaring issues with this then just explain it away to yourself with ‘they have a gland for that’ or ‘just don’t think about it actually’ which is what I did. I just wanted the fun color with a metal that can reversibly bond with oxygen :). )

They have one nasal passageway for smell/air and a second, bigger cavity for just vocalization (which they can’t breathe in from as easily).

This second cavity is between their first set of eyes, and has a phonic lip structure inside to produce higher pitched sounds.

The upper nasal opening has muscled nostrils that act as lips to further help control sound. The noise coming from here sounds very high to them, but to us it sounds like a nasally human voice, broken uobhere and there with squeaks, buzzes, and clicks).

They can pitch this nose voice very high, closer to dolphin-like clicking noises but not quite echolocation level.

Their throat vocal cords by their air sac are very long and thick, used for making very deep noises that carry long distances.

However, the vocal control they have through their mouth is very poor due to this and the inarticulate lips and tongue they have, and due to the more limited air they can bring in and out of it, so when speaking only through their mouth they sound a lot like seals or dogs and can only really go in short bursts before having to refill the sac.

Most of their languages are spoken with the nose and mouth sounds in tandem, where the high and low mix to make a more even sounding voice.

It’s fairly easy to understand them, but nearly impossible for us to truly speak any of their native languages, and if they wanted to they could also just start making sounds we cant hear.

They see it as strange that humans and other species speak with a single tone without difficulty.

The red flaps pictured on the drawing of their mouth and nasal passages can be moved to seal off the passage and direct airflow elsewhere.

The big red one in their throat acts as a “diaphragm” to fill and empty the air sac (which is left over from when their digestive and respiratory tracts were more connected like ours, but time in the water heavily shifted it to a more ‘blowhole’ type outline to help them breathe and vocalize from the surface).

The other flap by the air sac and its vocal cords moves upwards to block off the digestive tract whenever the mouth or nose is opened to allow air to be drawn in by this diaphragm.

The two red flaps making a pinched shape can move independently or with the other red flap, but never at the same time with each other. The main airway is always separate from the digestive tract, though the flap to the middle, non vocal nasal passage can be moved so that it’s a part of either the vocal nasal passage to draw in air or the air sac part to act as another resonance chamber.

Air can be drawn in by the diaphragm via open mouth and through the nose via open top red flap at the same time, and can be released at the same time, resulting in their near continuous double speak sound they use for their own language.

Their characteristic large tusks are retractable and housed in a cone-shaped bony socket on the side of their jaw.

A muscle is attached to the bony root of the tooth, and pushes it out. As it slides towards the front of the mouth, the cone socket narrows and wedges a protrusion on the tooth into a hole in the socket, and then the muscle stiffens, locking it in there.

When the tusk retracts, the muscle quickly jimmies the tooth forward then draws it back to get it out of the hole, and then pulls it back into the wider part of the socket.

This is mainly because their tusks are ever growing (but very slowly) but not great at self sharpening, and are their main weapon in self defense and hunting,so it seems this just happened to keep them safe.

If a tusk is broken, as long as it was not cracked at the root, it can be regrown with extensive time in the socket, but otherwise they stay safely stowed in da socket where the majority of its sharp edge can stay protected from chewing and other mouth stuff. Tusks won't start growing in until their teenage years.

They are primarily bipedal/ quadrupedal and switch between the two occasionally.

Knuckle walking helps distribute their top-heavy weight and give them more balance for long and short distance, while walking upright gives them better visibility, less stress on their neck/upper back, and quicker but unsteadier movement.

Their gallop/sprint utilizes both arms and legs to propel them forward in a gait halfway between a bear and a gorilla (since their big mid arms are set like a bears) to overtake prey after an ambush or drive them into the rest of the pack waiting elsewhere. Quad walking also helps them get around in buildings meant for species half their size.

Their hands are some of their only places without hair, but as they age, they loose it on their arms and face too.

Prectikar have different uses for each of their pairs of limbs, and have for all stages of their evolution.

The front ones specialized for grappling prey and grabbing things, and so have a ‘sprawling’ shoulder position like humans and have hands with relatively nimble fingers, the outer two are angled inwards but can also move in a pamprodactyl ish fashion (which acts as their version of a thumb, and lets them switch from big to little grabbing motions) .

Their mid limbs used to be wings with hands, and still have a basically zygodactyl finger position that was helpful for holding onto branches (with the backwards facing finger), but over time they have been converted into terrestrial knuckle-walking limbs, with the one that swings back and forth being brought forwards to walk or swung back to adjust grip on big things they want to move or for balance on unstable terrain like ice . The fingers on this one are big and clumsy, pretty much only useful for digging, walking, or slashing.

Their back limbs also used to be for grasping but were mainly counterbalances, but have now turned into plantigrade walking limbs (and much like humans, that’s pretty much all they use them for). All have nonretractable claws.

Prectikar are viviparous and usually give birth to litters of up to 8.

They have a specific mating season, where their dimorphic traits will become more pronounced.

Males in rut will shed the feathers on their throat sac region and it will become a bright ambery yellow color, and they will also grow in longer feathers on their butt region (in a fan shape for display purposes. The dont have a true post anal tail like humans).

They will also develop some of that pinkish orange/yellow on their chest skin. Females go throguh estrus cycles and will also grow a more prominent butt feather crest, as well as some very long feathers around their neck, shoulders, and abdomen for babies to hold onto.

Their skin patches turn a much brighter shade of yellow to help direct newborns to where they can feed from. Once they give birth, they will start making an oily and thick secretion across the skin patch which is collected into a divot which the infant licks from. Part of why the babies hold onto them is so they can constantly lick the 'milk'so they can grow.

Newborns come out blind and hairless, but quickly grow in a thick down and open their eyes so they can climb on mom.

Once they're weaned, they'll drop off and use the muscles they gained hanging on and climbing to start moving with the adults. They grow very fast, and canes are a common sight in teens to help deal with the rapid bone and muscle growth.

Usually, it is only during this season where chest/skin related nudity standards change to be more conservative, since showing those colors means youre down to fuck and so doing that is usually restricted to in private with their partner or for bachelors.

They have very strict binaries for sex and gender based on this seasonal divide and religion.

Most tribes show gender identity through a piercing on their lower nose for male or chin for female (so dont worry, the main guy up there is showing some male presenting chest outside of the mating season, so hes fine).

Normally, only some cultures pierce their ears, which are like if owls had a little mobile flap of outer ear to swivel I stead of their whole head. Very little of it is actually flesh, and the sound is mainly captured by the feathers around it.

While they have a reputation otherwise, Prectikar are highly social within their tribal/family groups.

They regularly allogroom, greet each other with hugs, and usually travel in sibling groups. Households are multi generational.

They have a reputation as standoffish or irritable because they take things very differently and have other standards/specific body language truggers. also most other species treat them differently/with fear by default.

their upper pair of eyes is larger and focused on long distance vision while their lower pair is for close up vision, creatign a bifocal effect for them when using both at once.

Aaaaaand that oretty much everything, I think. I'll post some other arts related to them soon, but consider this the Master Post on the things you should know about them!!

[carpettmuncher]

fic recs

aka, i read too much fic and need to share my favorites

gorging myself on you, still can't get enough (insatiable) - sobsicles

i love this so much. casual confessions from dean. insanely horny and conflicted cas. grocery store confessions <3

rating: M

how we're stuck in entropy - shineforthee

unfinished as of now, but worth it imo. sam makes a deal for cas' life and dean has to grapple with grief and mourning. amazing commentary on grief and dean's mindset, and great destiel

rating: E

don't stop, don't slow - hedderstheowl

trans cas and cas being so surprised by how good sex is with someone he loves

rating: E

love's such an old fashioned word. - hedderstheowl

same author as above bc i cant get enough of their fics. i LOVED this concept and characterization of cas. cas gets revived but doesnt believe hes out of the empty, and treats the world around him accordingly.

rating: E

ignite your bones - ilovehowyouletmefall

such powerful storytelling and writing. loved this front to cover. dean kills sam to get the world back- the remaining of tfw 2.0 grapple with the after effects. dean deals with grief, homophobia, and cas' confession.

rating: E

this whole trilogy but namely sam winchester, ally at law - alittleduck, amidsizedfrog

sam wants to be an ally soooo bad but dean refuses to be an acceptable queer. love this characterization so much

rating: T

the cheapest room in the house - biggaybenny

dean downloads grindr for cas to meet guys and gets jealous when cas talks to guys. angst with a happy ending

rating: E

psalm 40:2 - unicornpoe

cas time travels to meet dean pre-hell. pre and early seasons dean my beloved <3

rating: E

benedictions - kalmialatifolia

priest cas and writer dean. unfinished but i think about this fic at least 3x a week. if you enjoy fleabag, youll enjoy this fic. if you enjoy priest porn, youll enjoy this fic. cannot recommend this enough

rating: E

everyone knows the year doesnt stop until april- fleeceframe

first of all, go check out this author right now i love ALL their fics, but this one stuck with me. early seasons destiel. cas has so much love he doesnt know what to do with it. case fic

rating: M

gold in the edges of our vision - sewingnatural

i fucking love this so much. absolutely amazing religious imagery and symbolism. dean and cas share peaches on a roadtrip and are in love about it. fic that convinced me to go on a roadtrip this summer

rating: T

juxtaposition - rhinestoneangels

this fic is short and amazing. interesting prose, dean in hell, religious imagery. mwah love it

rating: G

where the heart is - goldenraeofsun

claire fic of all time if i do say so myself. claire time travels to s7 and hunts with dean before making her way home. i adore this one so much

rating: M

here, bullet, here - a_good_soldier

dean and his relationship with violence. contains pre series dean and post-canon destiel. named from a poem, this one hits you right in the heart

rating: T

use cinderblocks to build a stairway - pollutedstar

dean, sex work, ptsd, and self worth. heed the tags!! heavy fic but thoroughly enjoyable

rating: M

the soul burns brighter than the sun - wow_thisiswheremylifeis

post-canon fix it. cas escapes the empty and effectively breaks it, while telling everyone but dean that hes alive. they grapple with their relationship and fixing the empty. love it!!!

rating: E

let's take a drive - sobsicles

another sobsicles fic because theyre all 10s. jack reverts to baby age, cas is protective, dean and cas have a complicated relationship. amazing fic with amazing feels. best tag ever: maybe we're all a little scared and that's okay

rating: E

the eye is a mouth. - zeke21

dean, sex work, god, a study on the relationship between all three. fucking amazing fic, really nailed chuck's presence in this. go check out this authors other works too, they're all mind blowing

rating: E

asterism of an f-series ford pick up - disabled_dean

altered my brain chemistry a little bit i think. cas and dean go on a roadtrip and dean is exceptionally horny about it. dean is not normal about love and thats okay

rating: M

maybe i like pleasure pain - tothewillofthepeople

another one that wrecked me entirely. one of the best cas centric fics out there, this fic focuses on cas' recovery post-empty. lovely dialogue and imagery, just amazing all around

rating: M

wyoming, january 1996 - luulapants

THEE dean 17th birthday case. fucking amazing storytelling, takes johns journal entry and runs with it.

rating: T

between sex and death and trying to keep the kitchen clean - ftmsteverogers

jupernatural, kid jack, post-canon fix it with empty confession misunderstanding <3 love it so much, this author is so talented :)

rating: E

[ezra-editss]

So.. I just watched X-Men: First Class (haven't seen anything else yet) and WTF ARE THEY INSANE?! I knew people were shipping them, but I didn't expect this. How did they make Erik say and do all those things that were the most stereotypical lovestory shit I've ever seen and then the word "brothers" suddenly come out of this man's mouth. PLEASE TELL ME NOONE ACTS LIKE THAT WITH THEIR BROTHER. Also why did Charles kiss this random woman, that barely had a personality and we didn't even see for most of the movie (or I just didn't notice her), in the end. Did they feel like there wasn't enough romance in this movie? (If she's an interesting character later, I apologize. I don't dislike her it just pissed me off that they had no chemistry.) (It's scary posting in fandoms I just joined, help)

Also please tell me y'all know about Peter by Taylor Swift, bc this has to be their song if they don't have one yet.

"Are you still a mind reader, a natural scene-stealer, I've heard great things, Peter(Charles), but life was always easier on you than it was on me"

"And I won't confess that I waited, but I let the lamp burn. As the men masqueraded, I hoped you'd return with your feet on the ground, tell me all that you'd learned, 'cause love's never lost when perspective is earned."

(I'll make an edit as soon as I'm emotionally stable enough, aka maybe never (probably next week))

(Sorry this is so messy, it's 10am and I haven't slept yet)

[actual-changeling]

Welcome back to Alex's unhinged meta corner! I am fuelled up with coffee and my adhd medication, so this is about to be a RIDE.

Apologies in advance, since this post will probably get quite long and also scientific at some point, but I will try to keep it as plain and easy to understand as possible. Combine two of my special interests (Good Omens and chemistry) and you get absolutely insane infodumps; it's a blessing and a curse.

As always, this is simply a theory, and maybe I'm wrong, maybe we'll never find out. But it's an option, and I have canonical proof.

There have been endless theories about why the Gabriel-Hiding-Miracle (which I will shorten to GHM) set off alarm bells in heaven and reached a strength of 25 Lazarii. Are their half-miracles really combined that strong? Does it depend on their relationship or love?

Well, today I am here to tell you that, actually, there is no such thing as "half a miracle".

We are going to have a closer look at miracles themselves, but the first important thing to keep in mind is that most of the time, Crowley and Aziraphale are incredibly unreliable narrators and have barely any inside into how heaven and hell work. Remember, they have been on earth since 4004 BC, they are certainly not used to any of the internal routines and functions.

They can tell us all kinds of things, but that does not make them true.

Now, miracles!

Both angels and demons are capable of performing them, though they only seem to be counted as actual miracles when they happen on earth, seeing as they measured in Lazarii.

One Lazarus equals the miracle power it takes to bring one human being back to life—the consequence is that miracles must be bound to the earthly plane, since that is where their unit originated from. When they are performed in heaven or hell, they are still miracles in a broad sense—celestial beings using their powers—but not in a way that ascribes to the measuring system.

Neil once answered an ask about Lazarus as a unit, and he stated that miracles tend to be measured in Centi- or Millilazarii (mostly the latter), meaning that the GHM was about 1000x as strong as your usual, daily miracle. The labeling also tells us that the scale for Lazarii is the same as the metric one.

If we treat Lazarus as a base unit, we need to find a way of defining it that is unique to this specific unit.

Globally, we have a collection of agreed-upon base units, the SI units (coming from the French Système international d'unités, aka International system of Units). Those seven are second, metre, kilogram, ampere, candela, kelvin, and mole, and every single one has a very specific definition—they are too bloody complex. None of them can be expressed with one of the other SI units, which gives you great definitions such as these:

A little excursion for those that are interested: For a very long time, the kilogram was defined by. well. A cube. The "true kilogram", which is still in a vault somewhere in Paris. However, you can probably imagine why basing a unit on a physical objects isn't a great idea long-term, so back in 2018, the kilogram was redefined, along with three other units.

Now, all SI units are defined by natural constants, not physical objects, making them accurate and (more or less) absolute.

Back to miracles!

The reason I am telling you all this is that we need to find such a basic definition for miracles, too, or at least an approximation.

My proposal is that a miracle itself is the force exerted on matter by a a celestial being. That force is then measured in Lazarii, with one Lazarus being equal to the force required to bring one person back to life. This is where it gets a bit tricky because how do you visualize that kind of force?

Matter cannot be destroyed only created, so all the particles currently making up our bodies will continue to exist long, long after our deaths. Meaning when a person dies, the amount of matter that was them is still there, the consequence of which is that their body can be recreated at will. Now, souls seem to be separate from matter, making them metaphysical and thus irrelevant for this conversation. I am going with the assumption that once a body has been recreated, the soul can be put back into without additional cost in miracle power.

There might be another base unit hidden in the metaphysical, but that's a conversation for another time.

All of this amounts to one fundamental hypothesis:

A miracle is either done, meaning matter gets changed, or it isn't, meaning matter remains unchanged.

There is no in-between stage here, a "half-change" is not possible, either you exert a force on particles or you don't. What kind of change that is might not be tangible for us, but a change is a change.

When Crowley and Aziraphale try to hide Gabriel, they change the way he gets perceived, how others perceive him, aka they change the way his presence is processed.

The closest thing to compare it to, in my opinion, is the superior mirage—the Fata Morgana. At its core, it means that light bends as it passes through air layers with different temperatures; your eyes perceive the bent light rays and your brain processes them accordingly. You see images that aren't actually there.

Celestial beings look at Gabriel but see something that isn't actually there, so the "true" image remains hidden.

If we stick to this metaphor, then Crowley creates a mirage for any ethereal beings, and Aziraphale creates one for occult beings. The creation of that mirage is one miracle—not half a miracle, but ONE singular miracle. Both of them change matter, and both of these miracles can exist independently of each other.

Crowley and Aziraphale could have created their mirages on their own, meaning that two miracles were performed, not two halves of one miracle.

If you listen to the sound of the miracles, you can hear that it's different from the other ones they have performed on their own, with the "combined" miracle having two sound peaks instead of one. Tumblr hates it when I upload audio files, so have it like this.

In order, the miracles are Aziraphale lowering the chandelier and moving the shelves, Crowley removing the paintball stain, and the GHM.

IF they had both performed half a miracle, the end result would have been one miracle, meaning it should have sounded like any other—but it didn't! Two connected sounds, two simultaneous miracles.

There is still one thing left to talk about, which is the power of their miracle. Here is where my previous definition of Lazarus as a unit comes into play again.

Heaven measured a miracle power of 25 Lazarii aka a very high amount of force exerted on matter. You might think Alex, if they both performed their own miracle, how come that the alarm bells rang?

If we keep up the mirage metaphor, we can explain that! Crowley's intention was to make it so that ethereal beings cannot perceive him, so his miracle changed matter in a way that aligns with ethereal perception.

However, Aziraphale intended to change matter so that occult beings cannot perceive Gabriel, meaning his miracle changed matter in a way that is adapted to occult perception.

This is where science comes into play again!!

You see, particles aren't just particles, they are waves too. Wave-particle duality describes exactly that, e.g. an electron being both a particle and a wave at the same time. A connected theory to that is the Uncertainty principle, which describes the inability to measure the exact value of two different properties at the same time.

Or, to put it more plainly, if you try to figure out the exact position of a particle, its momentum becomes blurred, unclear. If you then focus on the momentum of the same particle, you can no longer describe its exact position.

You are probably looking at me now, thinking where the fuck are they going with this and why are there suddenly so many principles of quantum mechanics in a Good Omens meta post???

Crowley changes matter in way A.

Aziraphale changes matter in way B.

Those changes can co-exist, like an electron being a particle and a wave at the same time. However—and this is scientific theory adapted to celestial miracles—when an angel looks at Gabriel, then they are focusing on state A. When demons are looking at Gabriel, they are focusing on state B.

Focus on A and B becomes blurry. Focus on B and A becomes blurry.

Maintaining that double-state requires power though, because compared to wave-particle duality, these states aren't natural, they're inflicted—matter was changed. It's like the matter around Gabriel is flickering between those two states, a light switch trying to find a neutral position when there is only on and off.

How do we measure that power? In Lazarii.

The miracle energy that heaven measured is not that high because they each performed half a miracle and combined it into one, it is that high because they each performed one miracle that stands in opposition to the other; as a result, two different states need to be maintained at the same time, meaning the manipulation is ongoing, meaning it needs a fuckton of power.

If you want to keep balancing your light switch, you need to keep trying, you need to keep up the pressure, otherwise you either click it off or on. Same thing with the hiding miracle.

Twenty-five Lazarii.

The power you need to exert on matter to reshape twenty-five people—or to continuously hide one being from two opposing observers with rapidly-switching state changes.

While I think the whole "it's because of love" theory is fun and cute, scientifically it really doesn't make much sense because their powers have rules similar to our base units, so me must approach and treat them as such.

With that, thank you to everyone who made it this far and managed to survive our little excursion into the field of quantum mechanics.

Questions, thoughts, additions, etc. are very welcome!

[minimarvelh]

It was Friday, so that meant only one thing: movie night!

They set up on the Avengers floor, Nat brought everyone popcorn while Clint and Sam fought for a spot in the middle. (like always)

Peter didn't care about the spot , he was going to lie down where Tony sat with his head on his lap as the man will gently stroke his hair. It was their routine and he fucking LOVE it.

Tony always chose a place in the corner - he didn't care if someone was looking at them, but he wanted some privacy, cherishing their moments of affection and didn't have desire to share them, especially not in front of everyone in the room. Was he jealous? He didn’t know but hey, everyone is a bit jealous and has attachment issues, right?

After a few minutes, they finally settled down and their show choice was unsurprisingly Doctor Who.(thanks to Gen Z teen Peter Parker, who is always looking edits on TikTok and sending them to Tony, who is considering his preferences)

While Clint and Nat were discussing something about the movie's collusions, Bruce and Tony were cogently discussing the reality of magical things in the show.

Peter really fought for his life and tried not to fall asleep, feeling that it was quite a strenuous task for his body. He was really tired after his last patrol(three robberies in row I’m sorry???), and besides, it was a Friday night. He really relish this night with the Avengers, but the school managed to get on his nerves in the last 5 days. And Tony's methodical, quiet voice lulled him, forcing to close his eyes.

Peter sighed heavily fighting the sleep Cupid when he felt the ringing vibration of his phone in his left pants pocket. Today, Ned has a family evening, vague remembered Peter, and he wholeheartedly promised his friend to be his life support and be online in case of some emergency. Unfortunately, Ned's parents divorced and the boy was naturally very anxious, so it was very hard for Ned to process all of that. Especially when his parents were fighting, which happened quite very often, especially when they were in the same room. Peter had seen it before and didn't want to see it again, sympathizing with a friend who goes through it more often than he should.

Peter very reluctantly took out his phone, squinting at the harsh light of the screen. On the screen of their chat with Ned, a bright link to the browser was highlighted. He cocked an eyebrow skeptically, for some unknown reason tapping on a link that should never have opened in his browser because it looked too suspicious and maybe it has viruses. But remembering that Ned was a fucking computer genius and wouldn't give his phone viruses…hopefully, maybe thing that Peter did or rather didn’t do, to speak exactly 3 days ago forgotting about their lego evening, was not left behind for Ned and he decided to take revenge with viruses)

"What are your chances of being Tony Stark's son?"

He snorted, immediately covering his mouth, from such a stupidly worded question. Like, the chance of anyone becoming Tony Stark's son is about 0.00001%. Genius loves and protects his personal space too much and even if we assume that one day he will have a kid (because in Peter's not modest opinion, Tony would be a great father), it will be his biological child, not an adopted one. That is, everyone's chances are approximately one to infinity. (although Peter always knew physics poorly and was more into chemistry, so an error in calculations is possible)

It was just an online fan quiz for probably those other geeks and fan nerds who were willing to kiss the ground Tony Stark walks on. (aka Peter)

But the site surprisingly showed interesting statistics with an insane number of views and if they were not just bots, it was really impressive. 101,678 people passed the quiz. Peter was ready to whistle if he was not afraid to get the unnecessary at this situation attention from the Avengers. He weighed all his options, cautiously peeking out from under the phone to see if any of the Avengers were paying attention to him. The observations were comforting: everyone was staring at the screen of TV with strong interest.

Peter just became curious: how well he really fits the role of Tony Stark's son, according to the creators of the test.

In fact, to be really honest, this question had a really long time make Peter worried: from the very moment he began to notice that his relationship with Tony was growing from blind adoration of an idol to adoration of him as a person, as his mentor, as one of the closest people in his life.

Ned knew this, saw Peter's distress and tried to reassure his friend, promising and even swearing to him with all his Lego sets that Tony also saw Peter as his son.

"Lol, he works with you until night doing stupid projects for our school, goes to parent-teacher conferences and builds Legos on the weekends, do you really think he treats every intern or avenger like that?"

"Maybe he just likes building Lego sets" Peter asks uncertainly, wringing his hands in alarmingly energetic way.

"Okay You didn’t give me another choice…I'll have to hack F.R.I.D.A.Y to find footage of Tony building Legos with Steve or Wanda.But I can tell you even without hacking: there won't be any. And I wonder why…"

Thinking about his actions for another second, Peter presses "start".

1. Imagine that you had the opportunity to choose your evening activity (who formulates the question like that?) What would you do with Tony Stark?

Peter noticed how Tony tightened his grip on his hair as if trying to pull him as close to him as possible. Probably something disturbing happened in the series, but he had a more serious question to think about.

Surprising himself, he took this question very earnest, mentally asking himself: "What could we do in the evening with Mr. Stark". There are a lot of answers: from a marathon of Scooby-Do to a hide and seek with dum-e.(don’t judge them, dum-e really deserves to play games too)

Therefore, Peter decided to focus on the answer options presented in the quiz itself.(very awful decision, really)

a) jointly come up with innovations for Stark Industries

b) talk about science

c) order dinner from a restaurant and eat

d) cook dinner yourself and watch the series together

Of all this, Peter was leaned more on the answers b c and d, which they usually combined. Coming up with innovations for Stark Industries was usually done between other engineers and Stark, who then shared ideas with Peter. Because Peter was more into chemistry and biology than physics, he sometimes didn't understand the innermost technologies and found it difficult to develop something genius between patrols and school. That's why Stark usually just brainstormed with Peter.

There was not one perfect answer, but remembering that in fact they always order food from restaurants... After thinking a little more, Peter tapped on this answer, feeling excitement mixed with anxiety.

And what if he does not fit the role of his son?

2. What present would you give Tony for his birthday?

• Phone • Suit • something for the house •

None of this was suitable answer at all: the only thing that came close was something for the house: the old man's penthouse used to be too dark, but now with the help of him and Pepper and the "something for the house" it was much more cozy, 10 blankets and 23 stuffed toys form Star Wars along with 13 vanilla candles obviously did the good job.

Phone..who came up with this test? Giving a phone to the number 1 phone manufacturer in the world?!? Tony has a billion suits. Peter personally preferred when Tony walked in his home clothes (he even a little bit hated suit- it was not the same hugs as in the hoodies - why can't we all go to the meetings or school in pajamas??)

Peter, remembering how Tony promised to buy him a Guinea pig for 4 months anniversary "returning in time after patrol" and wanted to choose some answer like pets but there was any so he stopped at "something for the house" because the question was “for Tony”.

3. "Would you try to pass this test if Tony were not a playboy genius but just an ordinary person?" Yes No

Peter honestly doesn't know…Of course Peter doesn't love Tony for his money, not at all…he loves him for the sense of safeness he constantly feels around him, for the hugs and long deep conversations, for the time they spend together and the warmth that Stark radiates.

He pressed "yes" without the slightest conscience.

The next 10 minutes were spent in serious concentration, pondering over the questions of this stupid test, which for some reason he took too important.

Confidently clicking "yes" on the last, 25th question, the screen crackled and gave him the answer.

"Thank you for passing our quiz, but unfortunately you would not be able to become Tony Stark’s son", Peter accidentally said this out loud in a very tragic voice without noticing it.

“You know you don't have to pass tests to be my son", the man’s serious voice made Peter almost shudder. God, did he really say that out loud? Please bury him somewhere for the rest of his life , he is not ready to face Nat, Cling, Steve and obviously Tony after a moment of shame.

A snoring was heard from the other end of the sofa, and turning his eyes to the direction of the snoring, Peter saw the sleeping Sam, Nat, Steve and…well, everyone. He couldn't even tell who snorted, they were cuddling in such tightness (but he'd bet on Clint) . Turning his eyes above, Tony looked at him warmly and at the same time seriously, wanting this kid to understand it.

"You know this kiddo? " Peter smiled happily, blushing a little.

"Yes, dad ."

[cruyuu]

OK so it wasn't just me who thought that Yuuji and Sukuna went on a hiking date

Im sorry but if Yuuji was a girl (or Sukuna) this would be 100% considered romantic and atp im rolling with love

These two idiots will be the end of me i swear LOL

Hii anon!

You're not alone! That chapter lowkey read like a date and like Yuuji really wanted to change his mind before the end and also get to know him more, learn more about him while baring parts of himself he never bared to anyone else (like sheesh... that's pretty deep). He was hoping for an equal exchange (I bare out my heart, you bare yours) but Sukuna wasn't giving anything (even him recognizing hydrangeas got brushed off as Megumi's memory... why is he so afraid of admitting he likes flowers smh)

It's really funny because with them every single thing works somehow? Like there's a solid basis for every interpertation regarding their relationship. Do you see them as enemies? Do you see them as reluctant friends? Do you see them as soulmates? Do you see them as two parts of a single soul? Do you see them as each other's curse? As each other's salvation? Platonically or romantically? Do you see them as lovers? Do you see them as reincarnated uncle and nephew? Do you see them as ??? aka "I don't even know"? All of those are correct interpretations because the ground work to cover all those explanations exists. That's why they're like crack cocaine to me. They are many things in a single package. Mirrors. Foils. Twins. Equals. Opposites.

Objectively— it's true that Yuuji chased Sukuna around, trapped him (frantically) in a domain so he could parade him around his hometown and get them to hang around (while Sukuna, unnaturally, obliged). It's true that Sukuna, no matter how much he claims he doesn't care, cares about him in a weird way. It's clear because he acts a lot more differently with Yuuji than he does with the rest (plus him being the only human for Sukuna who's different than the rest... you already know what canon said lol. I'll get carried away). It's undeniable that there's something very special between them. That's canon! So seeing chapter 265 as awfully romantic isn't a bad interpretation. Their relationship is just... undefined. They're weird and tied to each other, in a love-hate relationship <3

Now personally, I see them in many different aspects. I love them as a ship, platonically, romantically, as die hard enemies or whatever. Their dynamic is the highlight of jjk for me because nobody does it like them. Their chemistry is off the charts and they match each other even if they're so different from each other. Idk I'm insane.

Im sorry but if Yuuji was a girl (or Sukuna) this would be 100% considered romantic and atp im rolling with love

Well, they are a bit iffy to ship to a lot of ppl because Yuuji's a minor (even tho he lived through hell and back at just fifteen and is more mature than actual adults in this manga) and because of reincarnated incest (uncle and nephew) which is invalid if you apply the logic of reincarnation– Yuuji doesn't have Sukuna's twin brother's soul, after all, (He's a completely different one. Biology doesn't equate soul sharing lol.) so it's not just about heteronomativity. After all, people have latched onto other m/m ships without problems but consider these two not shippable even if canon ties them together again and again and they embody good tropes and their relationship is 101 how you can write some damn good tragedies or redemption arcs (because their dynamic and them as characters just work so well together that it's insane).

As somebody who really doesn't care about all the problems this ship carries (because I see them as characters in a fictional world), all of that is irrelevant to me because I, like you, am rolling around in love and screaming into the void because Gege finally brought them together again. That was all that mattered to me! Now I'm excited for what's to come and am really curious how jjk will end.

They'll be the death of me as well. I'll miss them a lot once jjk ends :( Thank you for the ask!

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week's writer spotlight feature is: @kkpwnall! They have eight Stranger Things and Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson works on archive of our own!

An anonymous nominator recommends the following works by kkpwnall:

driving in your car

love is like ghosts

where's the spark?

if it wasn’t for bad luck i wouldn’t have luck at all

wanted: pool boy at the vampire mansion

KK's works have a consistent feel of genuine, heartfelt, human connection. Whether it’s a big, dramatic scene as the climax of a slow, delicious build-up of tension, or a mundane, slice-of-life tidbit, the characters always feel true to themselves, and their voices are perfectly nailed each and every time. And by that I mean, you can literally hear the dialogues in the characters’ voices—they’re THAT good. KK explores classic Steddie themes in their longfic Driving In Your Car, and they have a handful of wonderful one-shots and two-shots, each and every one of them delving into how much these boys love each other for who they are. In short, KK’s body of work feels like a love letter of the characters. If you love Steve and Eddie, chances are you’ll love their fics. - anonymous

Below the cut, @kkpwnall answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie? 

They’re such a compelling and complementary pairing. Like, it seems like an opposites attract / odd-couple pairing on the surface, but beneath each of their exteriors, they’re so similar. They’re dork4dork, loser4loser, idiot4idiot, they’re both huge nerds but in different ways. They want and need and express affection through physical touch and words of affirmation (I mean, just look at the walking through the forest scene!) Plus they just have this insane chemistry that any time I think “there’s no way they did that, it’s all in my head”, I’ll go back and watch those scenes again, it’s just like “no, this absolutely checks out, they are so into each other from the word go”. And they’re just made for each other! I mean, come on! Matching scars? Nail bat and nail shield? Jock and nerd? They’re two halves of the same coin! What I really love about them too is that they’re both Just Some Guy, they’re silly, goofy, dorky guys! But mostly, I write steddie because it makes me happy and really satisfies part of my brain like nothing else. 

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

Other than “Eddie Munson Lives” hahah, I’ll try just about anything written or recommended by a beloved mutual. Mutual pining, fix-it’s, missing scenes, and first kiss fics are top tier for me, and right now I’m really partial to fluffy romcom fics. If it’s got good flirting and banter, it’s got me hooked.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

My absolute favorite to write is mutual pining (aka the love is requited, they’re both just being stupid). Miscommunication is a close second, the kind that can’t easily be resolved with just a sticky note on the fridge. Whether it’s mishearing something or misunderstanding something (even the character misunderstanding their own feelings!), I find it super compelling to write. But for a specific scenario, my favorite will always be Steve having a bad time at a party.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

It’s impossible for me to pick just one, so I have to recommend 3 of my friends: Anyway It’s About Old Friends by @fragilecapric0rnn, and wanna be the only one for miles and miles (except for maybe you) by @judasofsuburbia, and everybody else (everybody else looks like they’ve figured it out) by @heybluechild. Anything by these fine folks is just fantastic, they’re all incredible writers and dear friends!

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’d really like to write more AU’s! I’ve been tossing around ideas for college-aged+ aus (writing them a little older), 90s aus, a cowboy au… Mostly I’m just excited to keep writing them!

What is your writing process like?

Ahah it’s not much of a process. I write down every idea I have, no matter how small it is. Sometimes it’s a line of dialogue or a moment of a scene, but it all goes into the notes app and percolates in the back of my brain for a while. Eventually that dialogue or scene might coalesce into something bigger on its own, or combine with other snippets, and then ya got yourself a stew!

Do you have any writing quirks?

I really love writing dialogue, it’s my favorite way to get inside their heads, especially trying to balance what they say or don’t say, vs what they actually mean. I also love adding little details to fill out the world and the scene. It might not be necessary, but it feels like it brings everything together for me. And I like treating writing a fic like building a puzzle, trying to figure out just the right way to get all the pieces to fit together so the whole thing really sings.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

I’m still playing around with what I prefer. With driving in your car, I started out by posting a chapter only when the following chapter was completely written, so I’d always have one in the tank. But that got to feel too much like I was just sitting on chapters for the sake of sitting on them, so I started posting each chapter as I finished it and felt good about it. I don’t do super well with a schedule for posting fics, I’ve got too many deadlines in my life as it is haha.

Which fic are you most proud of?

driving in your car, for sure. It’s my baby, my magnum opus, my kitchen sink fic (it’s got everything). It’s got so much of myself in it, it’s very personal, and very near and dear to my heart.

How did you get the idea for driving in your car?

I wrote a long post about this when the idea was just starting to percolate, but the long and short of it is I wanted to read more fics that reflected my own experiences as an older teen growing up in a suffocating small town, where really the only option you have is to just pile in the car with your friends and drive around aimlessly, because that’s the only way you can get any freedom or privacy. I wanted to see what life was like for the fruity four trying to get back to “normal” while also trying to deal with the fact the world almost ended AGAIN, and all their complicated messy feelings for one another.

What inspired love is like ghosts?

Like many people have guessed / suspected, it’s very much inspired by Buzzfeed Unsolved / Watcher Ghost Files, and a loving homage to ghost hunting shows. I’m a huge scaredy cat when it comes to anything horror, but I love a good ghost hunting show. The study room setting is also inspired by the miniscule closet-sized study rooms in the library at the college I went to.

What was your favorite part to write from love is like ghosts?

Parts of their make out scene was the first snippet I wrote and the one that really got the whole ball rolling with that fic, to try to figure out who this Steve and this Eddie are, and what would have to happen lead them to making out that hard in the study room. It was also the first steamy spicy almost-smutty scene I’d written, and it was so fun to learn how to write like that!! I also just love their banter in this fic, they’re both so sassy and ridiculous and completely gone on each other.

How do/did you feel writing where’s the spark??

Ooft this one was a doozy. This is actually the second draft, and the only time so far I’ve all but completely scraped the first draft and rewritten a fic. The first draft leaned really heavily into the loneliness of the holidays, my playlist for it was all of the most maudlin holiday songs, and it really started negatively affecting my mood and mindset. But I got some really great advice and help brainstorming from dear friends, and turned it around into a fic I’m really happy with. The holiday blues are still present, but there’s so much more love there now, and that’s really what the fic is all about.

What was the most difficult part of writing where’s the spark??

Finding that balance of holiday blues and love was really tricky, and I wrote for a lot of characters I hadn’t tried writing before either. From a technical perspective too, it was a big challenge to figure out how to keep the fic moving, and the party moving around Steve when all he wanted to do was wallow.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

It’s so so hard to pick just one, but I love how this line in love is like ghosts turned out: And Steve is dumbstruck, kiss-drunk, half-fucked.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I have a holiday exchange fic coming out soon (hopefully before the holidays, fingers crossed), and I’m excited to dive into my prompt for lex’s winter fic challenge soon! I’d love to get the last chapter of driving in your car ready to share by the end of January. And there’s a secret [redacted] au I’m co-authoring with a very special friend that I would absolutely love to write in the new year!

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Just that I love this community so much. I’ve made so many incredible friendships because of this show, and I’m so grateful to be a part of this little corner of the internet. I never shared my writing publicly before finding the steddie community, and I’ve been really overwhelmed and delighted by the response to my writing and art (especially to be nominated to do something like this!! Truly an honor!). I was, at best, a casual Stranger Things fan before season 4. I wasn’t even going to watch it when it came out. But then I saw all the gorgeous fanart and gifs, and started reading headcanons, and had to check it out. I’m so so glad that I did, my life has changed so much for the better.

Thank you to our author, @kkpwnall, and our nominator! See more of @kkpwnall's work featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer's Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[the-words-we-sung]

Discovering Young Royals

So now that I've lurked a bit around the Young Royals fandom I wanna try and be a bit more active ^^ It feels a bit weird to arrive so late because it seems like everything has probably already been said >< So I hope my little thoughts here and there won't just be redundant for fandom people! I've been thinking about it and I think I wanna write my thoughts, and questions and various comments about the show, probably going episode by episode! And I'll add some pretty pictures (I should learn how to make gifs :o)

For tonight though I'll just write up kind of my first thoughts and reactions while watching the show for the first time ^^

ᴥ I'm not proud of admitting it but I started watching the show because I was a bit bored, a bit sick and wanted to kind of "hate-watch" something >< I thought it would be a very elitist kind of show with insufferable royal people! Boy was I wrong...

ᴥ Wilhelm is a cutie pie and made me love the show so much, almost right from the start. His image of angry teenage prince got replaced so fast by just the reality of an anxious (soft) boy, in the span of an episode! His interaction with Simon at the end of episode 1 sealed the deal for me...

ᴥ The show is so so so well made!! It's beautiful and the music is absolutely phenomenal!! All the young actors are incredibly talented (and gosh is Edvin so very good ><) and it's just such a pleasure to watch :o

ᴥ I love love love how "real" it feels!! The actors look the good age for their characters, they look so fucking real, like I 100% believe that these characters are teenagers! I love the choice of not putting lots of make up on them and letting them keep their "real" skin. It's so freaking refreshing!! I don't really know of other shows who do that!! (Also I come from the Glee fandom so: the actors playing teenagers were definitely not looking like teenagers, they all had flawless skins and were ""perfect"" (aka in the beauty standards) looking so having skinny boys and girls with different and real-looking bodies feel so good! Maybe the difference also comes from the fact that Glee was a US show and YR is a Swedish one?)

ᴥ I feel very lucky that I was able to watch season 1 and season 2 back to back! It must have been so hard for you guys to wait for season 2 >< And I'm lucky again that season 3 will probably be there in not too long!

ᴥ August is such a well written character!! A truly interesting "villain" who makes me feel almost some sympathy at times o_o

ᴥ I have very mixed feelings and complicated thoughts about Sara...

ᴥ The chemistry between Edvin and Omar is insane.

ᴥ Yuk Marcus!

ᴥ But all the love for Felice <3

ᴥ And Omar is the prettiest human being ever. I am now officially a fan. (He gives me SO.MUCH gender envy...........)

These were all kind of scattered thoughts going through my head while I binge-watched the show the first time!

(Also it made me want to learn Swedish so I've started doing that on Duolingo and I'm now obsessed with this language xD (But gosh, pronunciation is a nightmare...) So if any Swedish people wanna chat, I need training :p)

Gonna stop there for this freaking long-ass post and keep my rantings and chattiness for another post :D

[dangermousie]

I decided to sorta-rewatch Gong/Jade Palace Lock Heart which I am old fogey enough to have watched as it aired back in 2011.

The time travel/transmigration ban is thanks to the success of it and BBJX one-two punch combo. Tragic but almost worth it because two dramas are both huge huge faves. Where BBJX is a moody tragic masterpiece, this is just insanely addictive fun.

In the event you were not (1) watching cdramas back in 2011 (2) did not watch this since (3) weren't around when I posted about this before, JPLH centers around our awesome heroine Qing Chuan, who is a modern day owner of an antiques shop and a huge Emperor Yongzheng fangirl, who falls through time and ends up in the Qing Dynasty, during the time of Kang Xi's sons' fight for the throne, a fight that she knows and is happy Yongzheng eventually wins.

She meets and has some epic interactions with hunky YZ, then merely the Fourth Prince (played deliciously by young Mickey He - as always with plenty of chemistry with Yang Mi; they were a tragic OTP in Schemes of Beauty some time before JPLH, the chemistry is still there.)

Today's censors would collectively immolate themselves rather than release this drama - Four is ruthless and scheming and fine with murdering his brothers (and others) on his path to the throne (so like the historical YZ.) There is no noble "I care for the people" from him or anyone, they just want power. He does develop a soft spot for our plucky FL and she has an epic crush on him but...wrinkle. Her endgame OTP is not this gentleman. It's this one:

The immature Eighth Prince, loser in the battle of the princes, her bete noir in the palace and one who is here confusing one of his brothers who does not understand that his bullying is a bizarro form of flirting that even he doesn't get, not a genuine desire to harm.

One of the things that this drama, bubblegum tho he is, ahistorical tho it is (QC teaches one of the concubines to get into Kang Xi's favor by rollerskating!) gets is how bloody and murder-happy that world is. None of these people blink at murdering, maiming or otherwise damaging others

Did I mention that JPLH is a Qing era AU of Boys Over Flowers, btw? With our FL as Makino, Eighth Prince as queued Domyouji and Four aka Yongzheng as an extremely homicidal Rui. I have said it before and said it again - this is the first BOF adaptation that actually makes sense to me in power and character dynamics because of course period absolute royals are gonna be insane, bloody, and get everyone to obey.

This drama has the old school cdrama delicious vibe (that Dashing Youth brought back) of starting light and then descending into hell. It's the best. I love how long it takes Eight to win her. I love the ship and angst and happy ending and why it makes sense for her to take so long to realize it's him she loves (look at his initial behavior, look at her being a time traveler etc.)

This was my first Qing era drama actually. When I looked at Feng Shao Feng not just with the queue but unbound loose hair (with the half shaved look) and went "you know, I don't know if it makes sense, he looks FUCKING HOT" I should have known I was a goner for period cdramas, if I wasn't before.

PS I am old enough to remember FSF and YM having hordes of RPShippers. Oooooold.

PPS Equivalent of Rui's violin:

[alvivaarts]

About Separate Ways (Spoilers)

Wow, guys. I was super excited to get gameplay footage/input from friends about Separate Ways (too broke to own the base game myself) to put into my longfic, but aside from some super cute Luis/Ada moments, I am... dissapointed.

Capcom hire me, at least I can keep the plot consistent because what the actual fuck.

Will discuss below to avoid spoilers (much more story than gameplay, but gameplay wasn't great either), but I'm not going into insane detail save for some things. READERS BE WARNED!

I'm also specifically looking at this through the lens of my own fanfic, Simulation Swarm, which is my take on how Las Plagas works and infected!Leon (in addition, infected!Ashley and a lot of Leon's unacknowledged trauma and relationship issues throughout the game series). I was majorly excited about Separate Ways because it implied that Ada also gets infected- which I really want to still implement even if it changes a LOT of major things about the fic.

I'll go over the good stuff first. AKA, stuff I'm keeping, and not retconning.

1- Luis' characterization was still amazing. It was really nice to see his character balance out Ada's, how he's still as chipper as he can be. Additionally, it's VERY clear how much he cares for Leon and Ashley alike, and he goes out of his way to get Ada the suppressant and still respects her throughout that process. 2- Pesanta/IT/U-3's design with slightly more of a scorpion shape. That was sick! 3- The fact that Ada was aware of most of Leon's movements and a lot of what happened, and in a way was following him around and handling things he couldn't/wasn't aware of. * 4- Ada didn't help Leon into the chair, Ashley did. But that scene isn't even shown. 5- Luis and Ada def had chemistry, and it was so cute!

Well! Short list. Now for the bad stuff. AKA, shit I'm retconning/ignoring/pretending never happened (most of the DLC).

1- Ada's infection is weird as fuck. She got... shot? And infected? And then, infuriatingly (because I've spent WAY too much time thinking about the physiology of Las Plagas and researching w/ the help of others how the infection would work) PUKES UP her plagas?!?!? HELLO!? This in particular drives me insane because like. Las Plagas nests and develops behind the sternum, between the lungs, where it can attach to the nervous system along the spine. It is TOO BIG for a human body to fight against, it's growth shoving lungs out of the way is why people cough up blood. It's nowhere near the throat or stomach and clearly it's extremely well engineered/evolved for human hosts not to end up in conveniently the wrong location. And if she did puke it up, at that point, miraculously, after two days? Her intestines are fucked. She's dying of internal bleeding. I don't fucking care how much of a bad bitch Ada is because at that point Wesker wasn't gonna help her. The fuck? Capcom, know your own lore challenge. 2- We got NO backstory, not even HINTS about Ada's past and origins. Again. 3- * Seriously made Ada's character into a very flat character and removed a lot of the urgency/clear want for her to help Leon from the original DLC. Seriously, she does not gaf about anything but her mission and making it more convenient for herself. Everything she does to help Leon is sheerly coincedence- which, honest to fuck, does not line up. Especially considering she appears to completely lack empathy until... uh oh, Wesker wants to kill a bunch of people? Like sure, she has that BRIEF conversation with Leon in the boat but like... what happened to the people she has history with, the people she could've ABSOLUTELY been saving to spite Wesker and allow her to have her own motives until whoop-de-doo, uh oh, gotta stop a genocide! Be so for real. 4- Bonus: After Luis helped her and she'd made the deal to get him out, he, still dying, calls her with a warning about Krauser. It took a long time for him to die. She SHOWED UP after witnessing the fight and pretty much just... left him. Despite all of that. Which I get from a 'not fucking with canon' standpoint, but seriously. 0 effort. 5- Krauser literally fucking gets away when she fights him???? 6- Wesker keeps making appearances. For some reason. It's not even clear why, he literally just shows up to be intimidating and to threaten Ada into doing the job but like. At that point, honest to fuck, he could've done it himself? Also it was majorly hard to empathize with Ada considering we STILL KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER OR HER MOTIVATIONS. 7- Luis has no distinct fire trauma. (Okay. Revoking this after the discussion, I just had a no media literacy moment after everything I was taking in. Luis' response was actually pretty good and honestly? Should be appreciated. Though it does bring up another point- while I love Luis, I guess I was walking in with it more being an expectation for it to be 'Ada's Story'. We didn't get that, though the Luis background was great!) 8- Ashley's interaction with Ada was a single line asking for help and Ada just. Walks off.

Anyway, everything I've seen first hand and have discussed with others has left a sour taste in my mouth. Boo, @Capcom. Good thing I can make up my own stupid little stories and pretend that none of that happened.

[jinkiesmariz]

Okay so I started watching mod mod world (more specifically I got through all of void paradox and felt the chemistry in my brain shift and I am insane) and let me tell you who my faves are besides Polly and Laila, BEVAUSE my boytoy scientist lover boy and beloved son Tommy have made me scream and cry and lose my mind over there not being a season 2 I’m genuinely so upset

So to commemorate this take my doodle dump I decided to do instead of my very important comms hahahahahahjajajahahahahahahaha

First is like headshot of Modzilla aka Monty aka loml and then mother son shenanigans

[matthew-macfadyens]

The Rogue is The Master Theory

the recent episode altered my brain chemistry and i am literally going insane of how many connections Rogue have with The Master it's not even funny anymore.

When we first see Rogue the song was playing "Bad Guy" I feel like this is way to on the nose. Like why play a song about being a Bad Guy if Rogue is intended to be a good guy? ( he's not) I did some research of what the role Rogue does in dnd (i don't play dnd only bg3) here what is says "A rogue is a sneaky person who has tricks up his sleeve, not like a magician, but like someone who would steal your wallet or cheat at cards." If you search up on Google of what rogue means, it says "a dishonest or unprincipled person." (Rogue is a liar liar pants on fire)

Also Rogue could be a reference to the band Rogue Traders the band who made the song Voodoo Child (Vote Saxon, I guess)

The Master is also notorious as a "Rogue Time Lord."

Why choose a Kylie Minogue song? Remember Astrid that kissed Ten? (that's her)

Next is an another song "Poker Face" this again feels like is way to on the nose because Poker Face literally means "an inscrutable face that reveals no hint of a person's thoughts or feelings." I feel like this alludes to Rogue wearing a Poker Face

When 15 first entered Rogue's ship he literally commented how "Messy," the ship was. Same interaction when 13 and her fam visited "O's" house and Graham commented how messy the house was inside of Dwahan!Master disguised TARDIS

Inside the ship we can see Rogue messing with the console that eerily looks like the TARDIS'S console room. The TARDIS could literally be disguised as a ship. Similarly what happens with Dhawan's!Master's TARDIS disguised as the house from the Spyfall episode.

The Master is also known for cosplaying/roleplaying someone else aka Agent O so why couldn't he act again but this time a different disguise, as Rogue. "Look for the Spy!Master." to "Look for the Dungeon!Master." (if he wants to continue with the dnd theme)

And they both had similar lines when they both entered the TARDIS for the "first time." Dwahan!Master: "Shut up." Rogue: "Oh my God."

Plus the TARDIS immediate dislike to Rogue? not because he's a bountyhunter (She loves Jack and River. Maybe because she knows that's The Master who threatened to turn her into a black hole?)

Also how did Rogue travel to 1813 if he's doesn't have a time machine (aka the TARDIS disguised as his ship)

but hey, it's just a theory, A FILM THEORY! Thanks for reading! Alright this is what my brain mustered up with the Master!Rogue theory while watching the episode multiple times now my brain is fried. if you have other mentions/clues that Rogue is The Master please comment I would like to know. This is basically merged from other theories I've read here so sorry for any repetitions it's my first theory.

[fridgrave2-0]

alright, I watched the holy trinity aka tgwdlm, black friday and npmd. here's my highly subjective opinions about them !!

first of all, I like all of them, but some more, some less. I'm not dissing or hating any of them, and pls be chill if you like it more than I do

the guy who didn't like musicals: plot 6/10. very simple and basic, still nice though. if I had a nickel for every time I saw a plot with alien possession and blue shit, I'd have two nickels. which isn't a lot, but it's weird what it happened twice. paul and emma are cool, little cute couple. songs 5/10. sorry I have to be honest, but it was insanely hard for me to watch tgwdlm and pay attention when they start singing, what is an issue for a musical. sometimes I was even thinking about skipping them (I know it's a crime I'm sorry). most of the songs I forgot right after they ended, but two of them are SUCH bangers what they kinda overcompensated my experience. yeah I'm talking about "join us and die" and "let it out". they fucking killed it.

total: 5/10

black friday: plot 8/10. i enjoyed it so much I can't even describe. most of the characters are charismatic and likable as fuck and I cried like a bitch from tom's song in the beginning. everything about lex, ethan and hannah is a chef's kiss, I was SO invested. and LORE. so much lore I needed that. songs 6/10 HEAR ME OUT! i loved them, I cried at them, I enjoyed them, but personally I don't find them catchy. i don't want to relisten them like actual song in a playlist. would I want to hear them in the musical when I'll rewatch it? absolutely. besides that? not my cup of tea.

total: 7/10

nerdy prudes must die: plot 9/10. unpredictable, crazy, wild, funny. i loved every second of it, every character and every twist, even if I unwillingly spoilered ghost max thingy to myself. maybe it's my hyperfixation talking, but this is the only musical in the trilogy which I want to study with a microscope and rewatch forever. it's the best thing what happened to me in 2024. max is my bbg, pete and steph are fucking cute, grace is a menace and I love it for her, richie is a second bbg, ruth is my queen. minus one point only for max's dad existing, I hate his guts (and maybe for not giving bryce more singtime she's so good omfg. but about it later). SONGS 11/10 HOLY SHIT. the last time I could've relisten all the songs from the musical over and over again was hamilton and npmd just destroyed it like the nuke. the vocals, the music, the lyrics, it just changed my brain chemistry. i was listening to the npmd song for fucking hours in a row while drawing and i wasn't sick of it later. THE SUMMONING god the summoning holy shit!!! highschool is killing me, literal monster, hatchet town, COOL AS I THINK I AM, JUST FOR ONCE-- I just love all of them so much I can't.

total: 10/10

now it's nightmare time 🔥🔥🔥