#and us is a very large part of the fandom smh

[brekkie-e]

Hey so, while I can agree that varric is nice, not all of us want to fuck him? Some of us, while it's gut wrenching, do actually love the solas romance.

The post was a joke.

Though. This one’s hard to let slide. You see, I have a crippling case of what is in these here parts referred to as lesbianism. So to tell you the truth, dear. I don’t want to fuck either of them. But I apologize for making a post that was not catered specifically to you.

I don’t even think I implied that I, myself, would romance him were he an option. Simply that it would be one of the most popular ones if it were available to players.

That being said, the fun of these games is to make characters and tell their story. So, personally, I rarely pick my character’s romance based off whom I myself would personally be dtf for.

I stand by my statement though. If Varric could fuck, we wouldn’t be in this situation. We wouldn’t be in a lot of situations. Maybe BioWare wouldn’t be an on fire dumpster.

[diorngl]

Dear Jimin fans,

I could start with a hundred disclaimers but I will not. My greatest hope is that in all these words, you will see a modest heart who wishes to help. This is written to those who are PJMs/Jimin fans, if you're not and you want to read this - that's fine too. Maybe you are a casual fan and are interested to understand, this may help and I'll be happy if it did. But really this is for those who claim being PJMs/Jimin fans.

It has been a few years since I discovered him. I was scrolling through Youtube, and there popped up a video called 'Blood, Sweat & Tears'. The thumbnail caught my eye, so I clicked on it. I saw a person. No, a creation of art. Who is he? I was shocked, then I was overwhelmed with admiration. I remember just sitting there in awe, replaying those first few seconds over and over again, trying to comprehend that what I was seeing was real. I looked into it, stumbled upon other people who felt the same way when they saw him and knew immediately. It just resonates, doesn't it? There was no confusion for me. I know real talent when I see it. My eyes were only on Jimin.

As I started to watch more content about him: Official bangtan bombs, vlives, fan cams, my admiration only kept growing as it became clear that not only he is a one in a lifetime performer, but he's the kindest, most emotionally intelligent and in a world where those qualities are very rare, it was amazing to me to find someone so genuine.

But unfortunately, not everyone values that. It became clear very quickly to me that the fanmade content that involves him across various media platforms is not made with the intent of keeping Jimin's feelings, boundaries, and best interests in mind.

From BTS introduction videos painting him as insecure, weak, needy, clingy, overly emotional (as if being in tune with your feelings is a bad thing smh) and cheerleader to the other members, to videos with titles like: "Jimin is a freaky bitch" "Jimin is a pervert" "Jimin is a flirt" and things of that nature. There is something very mean spirited about the way they portray him.

Naturally, I was uncomfortable with seeing this and as with everything I see, I questioned it. Is this really true? Where is this coming from? And why doesn't anyone do anything about it? I didn't understand why a fandom who claims to love him so much, would let such defamatory content not only exist, but gain so many views. We're talking million of views for each video/content with these titles.

I mean, ARMY have been known to threaten creators for less awful things than that. So why were they so silent? While it's expected to see all sorts of things about celebrities online, in none of those cases was there such a movement of misleading, misinformed content about an artist from their own fandom, from inside the fandom. You would expect such malicious and defaming content from haters, not people who claim to be fans of the group that person is a part of.. It’s almost as if, he’s not part of BTS. But it was ten times worse because he was, he IS a part of BTS but is treated like an outsider, with the attackers pretending to love him, but end up using their closeness to him as “fans” to twist his words, use his caring nature and vulnerability against him, knowing where to hurt him the most. I was overwhelmed by sadness. What has Jimin ever done to deserve this kind of hatred? I didn't understand why this is happening. I just knew something's not right. This is wrong on so many levels.

Once you get even slightly closer to the fandom, you soon start to realize that Jimin is.. Well, to put it bluntly, not respected or seen properly for who he is by a large majority of the ARMY. And this is why respect is so important. One can be “loved”, but not respected.

The issue is most of them don’t appreciate him for him. They only appreciate him in relation to the other members. As a mirror or a magnifying glass of some sort to amplify the other members existence and talents. He is a human being with his own thoughts, feelings, goals and dreams. He is not anyone’s cheerleader or hype man.

Jimin is often the one who brings new people to the fandom, but before you know it, ARMYs are already bombarding those new people with “oh but this member is better” “wait till you see this member, now HE is the one you’re gonna love more”. Meanwhile, the other members can be praised without any of those ARMYs jumping in like they do with Jimin. He is treated like a rival. The double standards are real.

One of the breaking points for me was the DTs. The amount of indifference from armys about the threats was appalling to witness, reaching the boiling point when Jimin had to answer a journalist about his own DTs in a press conference, and instead of questioning why would Hybe approve such an insensitive question to be asked (and it's been confirmed by a journalist that the company does in fact have to approve questions beforehand), armys reaction was "aww he's worried about us", choosing to willfully ignore the gravity of the situation and instead use Jimin's politeness as proof that he's "okay" and doesn’t really care about it.

Narratives are extremely powerful. They can completely change your view on someone, sometimes indefinitely. Most people take what they see at face value, and if you're not one to dig deeper into the "why" of the matter, you WILL be affected by it and tailor your behavior towards that someone based on that narrative you were fed with. And that’s exactly the case with Armys, who brainwash other Armys/casual listeners with misinformation and harmful narratives about Jimin as we speak.

I've always been conscious of how harmful false narratives can be, but it cannot be more true than in Jimin's case. Almost everything about the trajectory of his career particularly following the rise of BTS to a global status, is tainted by this underpinning cord of a love-hate relationship from ARMYs, who's backhanded compliments towards Jimin and attacks on those who dare to praise Jimin or stand up for him could not even begin to hide their inner disdain, lack of respect and jealousy they feel towards him.

I would say many of us who care for Jimin would have trouble defining ourselves in the beginning. In that first stage you would question everything you learned about the group and the company. About this “family” narrative you have been spoon fed with all this time. You will be left confused, frustrated, and exhausted when seeing that Army/Bighit do not share your wishes and dreams for him, and you will find yourself more often than not feeling hopeless in the face of this seemingly unchanged reality.

As you start to notice the injustice towards Jimin from his work environment, you will evaluate constantly if it’s worth it to get invested in someone who might never get the happy ending you so wish for them. Questioning whether or not you will get to see this amazing person flourish and bloom into the best version of himself. I think what makes it even worse is the lack of permission we, Jimin fans have to simply exist. How many of us can not only be awaken from the propaganda but also have the courage to shout it out loud? It's a rare individual who has that kind of self awareness to discover they are PJMs or a true Jimin fan in a herd mentality environment such as the ARMY fandom, and even more so than discover it, but to be one publicly.

It would be easy to reaffirm what you already know; that being a Jimin fan means feeling left out, misunderstood, and vulnerable to attacks on your character but I noticed that the conversation always ends at a shallow point of view. Even we as Jimin fans don’t dare to dig deeper, usually repeating what’s already been said, but lacking the motivation and resolve to make a change where it really matters.

I noticed we are mostly very private people, we’re not as loud as other “solo stans” nor do we really have a large presence on social media. I believe we do see everything, but due to how all this hatred that is being directed at Jimin and by extension - towards us as fans makes us feel, we’re more comfortable being in the shadows in fear of the attacks, and while that’s not inherently a bad thing at times as self protection is important, we tend to miss out on important details such as how and where exactly these (false)narratives begin and grow due to our fear and lack of presence in certain areas online. We have certain blind spots sometimes. Thus we end up puzzled as the propaganda gets bigger and bigger each day, harder and harder to contain, let alone control. There are many ways of improving situations like these or at least, make the online space more comfortable for us, and in turn - for Jimin himself.

Now, I’m not gonna lie to you and pretend it wouldn’t require some work, which is why we need to be committed to changing the existing situation. There will be ups and downs, and not everything will go smoothly.

Armys are NOT going to change. And it will be useless to try to get them to. I understand some of us are angry, hurt, and even traumatized by their behavior but looking for their validation, asking them to be “truly OT7″, and waiting for them to suddenly change is a waste of time and somewhat pathetic to be honest.

In order for people to even reach the point of loving Jimin unapologetically, it usually requires them to challenge not only their negative bias towards him but also why they think and believe the things they do. It requires people to look inside and ask questions about the things they see and are presented with in terms of the content they watch.

The double standards, the internal misogyny that makes Armys dislike Jimin, the justification and normalization of erasing/discrediting him, all of that operates under the guise of you not being able to think for yourself. Applying critical thinking and stop fearing backlash is the only way to break free.

My goal here is for Jimin fans to expand their space, and reach a point where it doesn’t matter anymore whether we get the permission to be Jimin fans from others, we will just be our own entity. The difference should be in our approach. As we are already demonized for standing up for Jimin, which puts us in a disadvantage when it comes to the image other people have of us, we have to move somewhat differently because whatever we do - we will not get the same reaction as other stans will. They will never give us the benefit of the doubt, they will assume, judge, and allow attacks on our name - just like they do to Jimin.

We’ll have to move in silence, be more organized, and respond instead of react. Just like how armys are the face of BTS, and how BTS are pretty much disliked because of their fanbase - everything we do will reflect on Jimin himself. It shouldn’t really be that way, but the reality is people will try to use that against him whether it’s fair or not. They villainize us to prove that their false narratives about him are true.

It’s all good and well to call out armys on their behavior, but the likelihood of them understanding your point is close to zero because the issue doesn’t affect them. They are less likely to listen, much less care about anything affecting Jimin or his fans. And while the image and reputation of Jimin fans according to armys is always villainized, it doesn’t have to be like that for casuals/locals.

Our safest and most effective bet is to focus on new people, locals/the general public. They are less swayed by fandom antics, but to do that we have to reach them at the right time. Before they get sucked into the rabbit hole and invited into the Army fandom. It will be hard but it can be done. It’s only a matter of keeping our finger on the pulse of things and using our presence to course correct their path when learning new information about Jimin.

Because that’s usually the point where everything goes wrong; New people find themselves enamored with Jimin and wanting to find out more about him, only to then be exposed to the false narratives armys have created of him, resulting in a loss of respect and those new people’s eventual withdrawal from liking him.

I’ve been observing the online space for a long time, and have garnered some knowledge about the process of how people get into this space, how they eventually turn against Jimin, or vice versa. It’s a very messy process and not always so clear, but once you recognize the pattern of the ways these antis make new fans lose respect for Jimin, you also start to understand what needs to be done for those people to reconsider their decision and preventing them to believe the false narrative about him.

As we make the steps for the narrative to improve, the false narratives around Jimin fans will hopefully lessen and we will have our voice, whether people like us or not. The goal is to reach a point where it doesn’t matter anymore what people try to do, Jimin will always be supported so that his (solo)career will flourish smoothly.

Narratives are indeed powerful, but not impossible to change. I want more people to know the sides I have seen of him. Like his maturity, emotional intelligence, professionalism, open mindedness, his respectability, and so much more. The sides that for some reason, a large group of people are desperate to hide and erase in order for him to stop "standing out" in a positive way.

This is a Jimin dedicated blog to share thoughts, and discuss particularly on the Jimin misrepresentation going on mainly on Youtube and other social media platforms, but more importantly than just simply discussing it, actually do something about it. Again, talking is good, but actions make the difference.

[clownsuu]

SORRY FOR SENDING ANOTHER ASK SO SOON But I'm genuinely curious, do you have any OCs of your own that you draw, or do you just draw fandom characters and friends OCs?

A bit of a more specific question too, do you have any characters or something you unintentionally created just doodling or when burnt out? I created a character to draw when I'm frustrated with how my art is turning out, frustrated with anatomy, or have no ideas. Its something good to have 👀

(I would share him but I don't want to send you art in your asks that has nothing to do with you or your designs NDSKJAD)

I have seen your earlier ask, I might give it a good ol doodle for it- but for now this gives me an excuse to talk about some of my dumb ass characters hddhJDDH-

[cracks my knuckles and breaks all my finger bones]

(old art)

(long post)

I have a bunch of ocs that I have made in the past that aren’t fandom related- I have some I really like- but they are fandom related so I won’t show smhh- but anyway here are a few of my personal favorites-

Example one being Jack (yeah same name smhhh) he is part of a item head universe Iv created- and of course, as he looks it- is a party of a scheme-y and shady casino (no affiliations to Cuphead hfhdJDHD) He is the owner, but is stuck in a bet with a owner of a bank, and completely fucked himself over with- Jack is in denial really he does not like to be played like a deck of cards smh

(Human) Douglas- aka the “nasty big tid dude that no wonder is a character I made”- is the bank owner- really fucking scummy and cheap- rules the city despite being just a owner the bank- disgusting fucking man who smells like pennies and orphan tears-

Yeah I really enjoy those two- I also have a few more characters from this little universe I made like the mayor, Ignis, but I ain’t gunna go too far unless someone is curious lmao- but anyway, I don’t quite have characters that I accidentally unintentionally made, but I do kinda have support characters I doodle every now and then when I feel like absolute shit-

They had a name- but I completely fucking forgot JDHDGSHS- but we call them Arson Moth- They are a god of void who used to be extremely large and in charge, but somehow became small and marketable plushie sized- making them extremely irritated and upset, specially when people treat them like a soft plushie (because, yknow, they are smol and really soft-) so in revenge, the cause acts of arson and violence because fuck you hffhJDGDGD- i rarely doodle them, but they are fun to draw when really sad or frustrated cause- yknow-

Very angi small mans hdhdDH-

This, is Heart- A character of mine that I personally feel is a emotional support character I have smh- I have created him far before Sun/moon came out, but he has almost the exact same personality as sun does- (and pointy nose hffhDHDHD) They are part of a universe of personified organs that work in a “human system”, and he is the most emotional character of them all smh- the heart does what the heart does, which is be chaotic and just does anything that makes themselves and others happy- also gets into arguments with Brian (Brain)

(Fuckin nerd-) those two argue a lot- Brain wanting to have the system work in a orderly fashion, and heart wanting everyone to just be happy and motivated-

He gives me brain rot I love this dumbass so much- drawing him always makes me feel better smh- their anatomy doesn’t really matter either because they aren’t human, they are Heart-

[writing-by-gayrainbowbridge]

Ketchup And Tabasco Chaos

Inspiration From This Gorgeous Fanart Made By murdermuffinloki:

⚠️Warning: Minor Language⚠️

Enjoy 💚💚💚

(Please Check The Pinned Post On My Tumblr Page To See If There Are More Parts To This Story)

"Pass the ketchup."

President Loki frowned deeply, glancing at Sylvie who was stirring the pot of...whatever it was they were making for dinner. President Loki hadn't been paying too much attention when Sylvie suggested they cook for Loki who was still upstairs asleep in their room.

Somehow, Loki had got some Midgardian illness and only Sylvie's assurances that Loki was going to be fine that stopped him from destroying the entire Midgardian population.

"Can I get a please?" President Loki said pleasantly, taking joy in the way Sylvie glared at him. It was no secret to any of them that President Loki desired to cause trouble at any given moment.

"I'll stick this spoon up your ass if you don't give me the ketchup in the next ten seconds," she told him, President Loki scowling at her copy of the pleasant smile he had given her a moment ago.

They both knew she would do it too.

President Loki snatched up the ketchup from the countertop with an aggravated sigh. But then a devious smirk spread across his, glancing at Sylvie who was looking back at the pot, hand held out for the ketchup. "Are you sure you want the ketchup?"

Sylvie clicked her tongue. "Yes, I'm sure. Now give it to me."

President Loki's smirk widened. "Well, if you insist..."

He popped the cap off and just as Sylvie turned to look at him with a frown on her face, he squeezed the bottle, ketchup sauce spraying everywhere. The cabinets, the floor and all over Sylvie's blond hair was covered in a coating of ketchup sauce who gasped, an outraged look taking over her face.

President Loki only smiled, tilting his head to the side. "Oops."

"That's it!" Sylvie hissed, grabbing the nearest ingredient which happened to be spicy tabasco sauce and President Loki's eyes went wide as he got a face full of Tabasco sauce.

He shouted as some got into his eye that felt like it was suddenly on fire and squeezed it shut, resisting the urge to rub it. That would only make it worse, he knew.

Sylvie grinned savagely. "I hope it never stops burning, you stuck up bastard!"

President Loki growled low in his throat but Sylvie didn't back down like Loki would have. She was very stubborn like that. "You have until the count of five to run."

Sylvie stepped closer, right up in President Loki's personal space. Despite her short height, she was still rather intimidating when she wanted to be, so much so that President Loki had to resist the urge to step back.

"Or else what?" She hissed out, deadly quiet.

President Loki glared but Sylvie glared right back and they were both sure a real fight was about to break out any second when a voice cut through the heavy silence.

"What in Asgard is going on in here?!"

President Loki and Sylvie turned their heads towards the sound of the voice in unison just as Loki walked around the corner and froze, staring wide eyed and speechless at the mess of the kitchen. He looked tired though and guilt rushed through both President Loki and Sylvie as they wondered if they'd woken Loki up from all their yelling.

"Well, um..." President Loki bit his lip, glancing at Sylvie.

Sylvie looked at President Loki, having no clue what to say. "We just, uh..."

Loki sighed, crossing his arms over his chest, giving them both disapproving looks. "Can you two please not use ketchup and tabasco as murder weapons?!"

"We just wanted to make dinner for you," Sylvie and President Loki stated at the same time, making them glance at each other again.

Loki's expression softened a little. "I appreciate the thought but it would be great if you two could stop trying to murder one another every minute."

That was fair. The pair did quite literally try to kill each other every other day.

"Well, he/she started it!" Sylvie and President Loki protested at the same, pointing at each other.

"Well, I'm finishing it!" Loki snapped before coughing hard, putting a hand over his mouth. He clearly still wasn't well enough to be up which only added onto the pair's guilt. "I'm going back to bed. Clean this mess up and when you're ready to be civil, come join me. I require cuddles and comfort but I will not deal with you two's banter."

With that, Loki turned and left the kitchen, leaving the pair to stare at the spot he had been standing.

"This is all your fault," Sylvie grumbled, waving her hand and vanishing the mess from all the surfaces of the kitchen and herself though she left President Loki to deal with his own mess himself.

"All you needed to do was say please," President Loki muttered. He was going to need a shower since he knew not how to vanish messes like Sylvie and Loki did.

"And that warrants you spraying ketchup all over me?" Sylvie gritted out.

"Don't act like a saint. You're just as bad, dousing me in tabasco sauce!" President Loki muttered.

Sylvie looked like she was going to strangle him any second now before she sighed, all the fight draining out of her body. "Why do we always have to fight?"

President Loki thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "We're different from one another. We're bound to clash. Though I suppose we could try harder to get along. I'd rather this relationship to not be ruined."

Sylvie nodded, leaning against President Loki who instinctively wrapped his arms around her. "Try harder. I can do that."

President Loki hummed softly, pressing a kiss to her now clean hair. "Let's not leave our god waiting. You know how fussy he gets when we leave him alone for long."

Sylvie had no arguments there.

Once they'd finished making up what President Loki found out to be pasta apparently, they headed up to their room (Sylvie had forgiven President Loki enough to clean the tabasco sauce off him thankfully).

They quietly slipped into the room and smiled at the sight of Loki under a large amount of blankets, very obviously curled up in a ball.

He blinked his eyes open when he heard them come in and narrowed his eyes at them suspiciously. "You two had better be done fighting."

"We've agreed to try harder to get along more often than not" President Loki promised as he sat on the bed and helped Loki sit up who whined and protested but brightened when he saw the bowls of pasta balanced in Sylvie's hands.

"Good. I'm glad," Loki muttered, taking the bowl Sylvie handed him eagerly. "Thank you for the dinner."

Sylvie kissed his cheek. "Just get better for us, okay?"

Loki nodded, putting a forkful of pasta into his mouth and closed his eyes as he hummed in pleasure.

President Loki and Sylvie smiled at each other from either side of Loki who leaned into President Loki's side.

Get along. They could do that.

No problem.

...

@murdermuffinloki Those two are going to give Loki a migraine, smh 😂

@girl-with-many-fandoms Hope you like Sylki (I know lots of people don't ship it so I'm like ???) with some President Loki thrown into the mix XD

[lilikags]

ೃ‧₊› a b o u t  t h i s  p o s t° ➮ Pairing: Miya Atsumu x reader ➮ Oneshot ➮ Tags: fluff ➮ Word Count: 2182

A/N: This is for @serowotonin​! [for Luna’s Valentines Day collab] Ik I said I was doing Atsumu bc “I was bored” but I always say “imagine being bored” and truly, I haven’t been bored for so long. I forgot that this was for the collab for a fat moment then when you saw the preview I was like, “Wait- no- it’s a surprise.” 

Premise: You and Atsumu are cleaning out the apartment, when you find a few letters you thought you would never see again… 

“Oi, (y/n), look at what I found,” you heard Atsumu say, leaning over the contents of a drawer he had been sifting through. 

“What?” you walked over to see what he had found. The two of you were cleaning out the apartment, as you were going to be moving out soon. Atsumu had a habit of keeping things that connected him to an important memory of his, unless he wanted to forget it- and this was one of them. You didn’t know he kept them- actually, it did make sense of him to, but you had simply forgotten about it and you somehow expected the same for him. You looked down to see what he had in his hands, and your face literally went emotionless as you saw the letter in his hands. 

You really didn’t mind the letters, for the most part. Actually, they held dear to you. However, that first one… you were grateful for it, but you also remembered just how bad you wanted to buy a grave space and bury it for eternity back then... 

Miya Atsumu.

This was a dare. This is a love letter. For Valentines. Happy valentines day. If you have extra chocolate, send me some. 

Sincerest thanks, (y/n). 

Atsumu usually threw away the letters he received every Valentines. It wasn’t that he was trying to be rude; it was just that there were too many letters for him to read (and reply to), so he usually just threw them out. Osamu often teased him for this; he boasted that he at least read his letters.

“Oi, ‘Samu, look at this one,” Atsumu called out to his brother. 

“What?” Osamu looked at him, with a face of disbelief. “Yer actually lookin’ at them?”

“Nah, not really, but this one’s hilarious,” Atsumu laughed. 

“Okay, not funny, keep yer lame humor to yourself.” 

----------------

“(y/n), truth or dare,” (b/f/n) asked. 

You smiled, “Dare.” 

“Hmmm… alright, send a love letter to Miya Atsumu- it has to be at least one line long.”

“I’m- okay then.” 

You brought out a piece of paper, wrote the first things that came to mind, and once you reached one line, you stopped. You folded the paper and grabbed whatever envelope you could find and sealed it with tape. The dare required actually giving the letter, much to your dismay, but it wasn’t like you could back down from a dare. After all, it was (b/f/n), and the nonstop teasing would definitely occur if you failed to complete the dare. 

Dearest (y/n), 

I did in fact receive your rather interesting letter, and I have decided to bring you some chocolate as you wished. I wish you, as well, a very happy valentine’s day this year.

Most sincerely, Atsumu. 

Atsumu was intrigued enough to write a reply; in fact, he decided to write in the most formal way possible. He knew from the letter that you were either a tsundere or someone who was actually dared to do so, and decided that it would be fun entertainment for the both of you. 

When you received the letter, you were surprised to see a reply. It was known he didn’t send out replies, yet you had received one. As you read it, you felt a need to reply; you’d simply feel bad if you didn’t. However, what was there to talk about? How the chocolates were good? He had stuck it on your first period desk, out in the open. And you also sincerely wondered what was with the overly formal tone. You do remember writing the most shitty letter you’ve ever written to him, and that volleyball-obsessed dude just writes something formal to you? Baffles the mind.

Well, then, if he was going to reply, you would too. 

Miya Atsumu,

Thanks for the chocolate- your fans make pretty good chocolate, I have to say. Bet I could make better chocolate than ya, ‘cause all ya focus on is just volleyball. Anyways, what was with the overly formal tone- ya like me or somethin’? Would be funny if ya did and I turned ya down. XD  

(y/n) 

You never really thought of Miya Atsumu, but this really sparked your interest. It was amusing, his reactions. It was definitely something you didn’t expect- you actually didn’t expect a reply at all. The reply you received was definitely out of the ordinary as well, one you never thought a hotshot volleyball player would write. It seemed he was interested in you in some ways- and you as well. 

(y/n),

Pfffft, you think I might like ya? I just thought yer letter was interestin’, that’s all. Ya really think I can’t make chocolate? Bet I could make better chocolate than ya, I’ll show you. I make you chocolate myself and we’ll see how it tastes. Just you watch, I’ll make ya say I make the best chocolate ever! 

Atsumu. 

You saw that in your shoe locker the next morning- and everyone saw it. You were beginning to regret actually replying to him, but there was no backing out now. (b/f/n) really hit the goal here, for her. People were probably talking about it. It’s always some event that involves romance that catches everyone’s eye. And since it was just after valentine’s, everyone would automatically assume it was a love letter. In reality, it was simply a little bit of playful banter. 

You wondered if people actually knew who it was. You hoped not; it would gather way too much attention for your liking. You’d have an entire fanclub after you, and it was definitely (b/f/n)’s fault that you got into this entire mess. You had absolutely no idea if anyone saw him slip that into your shoe locker, since it had probably been there for a good hour or so before you and most of the other students got there. In any case, there was nothing you could do about people knowing things they already know, so you headed onto class. It was exam week, and you sighed; it would be a long day. 

When you arrived at homeroom, you were not-so-pleasantly surprised with what you found at your desk. You just wanted a quiet day; go to school, take the tests, and get out so you could relax at home. But no, you just had to see this and you knew there was a thing called rumors you had to deal with. Well, you could just be like “whatever” and not care, but you definitely knew who’d be after you, for real. Atsumu’s fanbase was quite scary, and definitely large- a group of people one would regret messing with. 

“Ugh- what am I going to do with this chocolate now, he gave me a lot yesterday…” 

“(y/n)! Oiiii, you got chocolate?! From who from who-”

“(b/f/n), if you say a word, you are going to be dead to me.”

“...” she looked away, but then turned to you again and whispered in your ear. “So, Miya Atsumu, who has a fanbase, likes you.” 

“I’m- no-”

“But what I’m seeing says otherwise?”

“Ugh, you’re coming to my house and you are going to pay for that dare.” 

“Oh ho ho, seems like I started something…” “Bet you did.”

Pisshead Atsumu

LMAO bet ya didn’t make the chocolate, yer terrible at lying <///3 seen this chocolate before. And like wtf you put a box of chocolate on my desk with YOUR NAME on it. Ya know that people will do a thing called assuming things, right? Smh, think before you act. Anyways, I’m counting on ya to fix up this mess.

(y/n)

When you finished class, the first thing you did was write the note. You were absolutely paranoid with this mess, and you were going to have Atsumu fix it. Yes, you did technically initiate contact first, but that was (b/f/n)’s fault and this could’ve avoided this if he hadn’t pulled off a whole stunt. 

It was already around 6 when he saw the note. A small smirk filled his expression, he was so sure that he would be able to get a good reaction out of (y/n). It was written on scrap paper, the back of a phys. ed worksheet. You wrote it in a rush, very obviously. That wasn’t really what caught his attention though; he was puzzled as to how he would fix this. Tell his fans to fuck off? Osamu would tease him for eternity.

“Oi, what’cha starin’ at?” he heard Osamu nag. “Mom’s waitin’ for us for dinner.”

“Hey, ‘Samu…  ya know how to fix this?” 

“... ARE YOU AN IDIOT- YOU ARE AN IDIOT.”

“I AM NOT! YOU ARE THE IDIOT HERE!” 

“SAYS THE ONE WHO GOT INTO A MESS LIKE THIS!” 

“Oi, ya shouldn’t be fightin’ at this hour,” the two heard Kita say, as he gave them a certain look. “... ‘m sorry…” the twins apologized.

Even after a fulfilling dinner made by their mother and a nice, hot shower, Atsumu still couldn’t think of a solution. Osamu almost snitched on him, but he decided that there was enough on their mom’s plate of problems at the moment. 

“What if ya said you were dating?” Osamu offered. 

“HAH?! ARE YA INSANE?!” Atsumu yelled at him.

“That would explain what happened at valentine’s.” 

“But there’s nothin’ between us-”

“Yer fanclub wouldn’t really believe anythin’ else.”

“Yeah…” 

(y/n),

Can we meet when practice ends at 6 on Thursday?

M. Atsumu.

“... I’m- Is he just going to apologize then run away? Tch.” you sighed. You had the idea that Miya Atsumu was overconfident and carefree, but not to this extent. The least he could do was fix this- he had power over his fandom and what people said about him, unlike you. You had to go, it wasn’t like you really had much of a choice if you wanted to talk it out and fix it. 

“Hey, (y/n) are you and Atsumu dating?” one of your classmates asked, and a bunch of others hovered around the table, waiting to hear a response. (b/f/n) had told you rumors had spread around the entire school; you figured that would’ve happened. Any topic related to the twins spread like wildfire, especially the blonde-haired one. 

“... Can you not try to pry into my private life?” you replied, which you instantly realized was exactly a wrong answer to give. This implied that you were in fact dating Atsumu secretly, and you just made your life 10x worse. You figured you should just tell everyone what had happened, then the blame would be on (b/f/n)- it should preferably be placed on Atsumu, since he started it, really. 

When you met him at 6pm, you expected no contribution from him. Instead, you were met with a solid plan for something you weren’t really happy about, but it seemed the easiest to convince the public of a story they put out. 

“(y/n)... let’s tell them that we’re dating.”

“Hmm… well, they already think that…”

“I’m sorry… I wasn’t thinking…” “It’s fine. All we can do is move forward, I guess.”

“Yeah… ‘Samu gave me this solution; it’s all I have, I’m sorry if it’s-”

“It’s fine. Let’s go through with it. Just protect me from the crazy fangirls; that’s all I want.”

“Ya.” 

“And we’ll need to put together a coherent story; what’s yer number?” 

“Ahaha, seriously, maybe (b/f/n)’s a prophet. She told me that she was aiming for somethin’ to happen between us,” you commented, remembering what happened years and years ago. 

“Ya were just so unnecessarily worried about the fangirls,” Atsumu mentioned. 

“Oi! Yer fangirls were hella scary back then…” 

That night, you stayed up coming up with a story, which ended with the two of you breaking up so that you could go on your separate ways again. However, the story didn’t last too long, as (b/f/n)’s parent’s investigations went a little too far and spread the truth a little too much. (b/f/n) is one thing, but you had almost forgotten her parents were another, seriously. They’d been a little busy over the last few years, thus the lack of investigations of local drama, but they had been doing so for decades, what could you expect from them? 

Nothing was Atsumu’s fault to the fanclub, unless he seriously convinced them that it was. You were guilty until proven innocent. Unbeknownst to you until after, he gave them a whole (to be honest, not-so-great) speech on how he kind of went too far with the joke, but also placed the blame on everyone else for assuming things. People were absolutely ridiculous; their ideas and their insane imagination should learn that the left side of the brain exists too. 

“Funny how we met again after college, after all that time.”

“Ya… a real wonder” 

Another A/N: OMG THIS IS MY FIRST TIME WRITING FOR ‘TSUMU FORGIVE ME IF I WROTE HIM LIKE, WRONG IN THIS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

『••✎••』 Extra Info * ˚ ✦ ⇢ If you would like to read some of my other works, find them here! * ˚ ✦ ⇢ Taglist: @serowotonin​ @luna-la-ley​ // send me an ask if you would like to be added!

[cutekitten6]

My thoughts on The Letter For The King (netflix)

this will be structured in three parts: what i liked, what i disliked, what could be improved. Warning: CONTAINS SPOILERS

What I liked

Our main character, Tiuri, is the best protagonist. He has had a difficult background and has a little bit of an identity struggle, but through his journey he becomes more and more clear in how he defines himself. He is so sweet and kind and only wants to do the right thing.

That magic is established as a purely Eviellen thing (aka a part of the black culturof the show). It’s not alluded to, it’s merely a fact.

Diversity. I love Iona, our asian girl, Tiuri, our black boy, and Jussoldo, our resident gay couple. None of it felt forced nor was it villainsed. They simply were.

Queen Alianor being queen without any question. She inherited the throne from her father and it is hers. She was inquisitive and charming, and quite daring romantically.

The chase scene in that very clearly Lord of the Rings-type field. It was not only beautiful but thrilling.

Magic horse. Or, not really magic but a damn smart horse

Arman giving Tiuri his peptalk about how Tiuri is a good person and it doesn’t matter if he’s not the Chosen One, what matters is that he is a good person and actively does good deeds.

Jussipo and Foldo’s campfire talk and kiss, and the implication that they did not sleep at all but talked all throughout the night. Their faces with Piak woke up were hilarious.

Iona and Jaro’s relationship from “I fucking hate you” to “I still fucking hate you but fuck if anything happens to you I will feel guilty.” Very fun. It’s like if the Hound and Arya liked each other from the beginning.

What I disliked

Lavinia pt 1. She was interesting at first, but when they were establishing that her town is full of selfish people and people who will weasel their way for money, it just ruined her. She was so selfish, so money oriented, and just so opposite to Tiuri that it really irked me. Tbf she does improve the more she cares for Tiuri, but still.

Lavinia pt 2. I did not like that she was actually the Chosen One. It makes absolutely no sense for her to be the magical savior of prophecy; not when magic was established as purely Eviellen. There was no explanation as to how or why she has powers, unlike for Tiuri.

Bury your gays. This has been shouted from the roof tops in this fandom already, but wow was it truly an unnecessary death. Not only did a gay boy die, but Lavinia (who, in literally the episode before, used HEALING MAGIC to save Tiuri) did absolutely nothing to try and save him. She only watched as he died. -10/10.

The climactic face off between hero(es) and villain was SO FUCKING LAME. They are just staring at each other, using their “powers” but like???? LAMELY. It seemed like they were trying to mimic Aang vs Ozai’s final fight with the darkness and the light fighting, but my god was so so lame. The music, unfortunately, was not as strong in that moment either.

What could be improved

I think 6 episodes were not enough. There were too many things that were unexplained or needed time to develop. 8 episodes could have been ideal.

First, Iona’s betrayal. It felt like it came out of nowhere, or at least out of very petty spite. She decides to call up the authorities because, what? Arman forgot she was an orphan? Nah nah nah, I need more seeds to be sown to believe it. Sure there was what Jaro said to her after the avalanche, but even then she has the same level of “i hate all of you” as before their quest started. Instead we should have seen her get more and more fed up with the group, or feeling more like an outsider.

Second, what the hell did Viridian do to Alianor??? He turns her eyes black and we see absolutely nothing. The next we see her she’s completely fine? Um, no. Either 1. show us what conversation went down between him and her, or 2. give us a small clip of her alone where her eyes turn black again, to make it clear she’s still under his influence.

Third, Piak should have died instead of Jussipo. Tumblr user @thylovelylionheart wrote about this and I agree 100%. You can find it here. Not only does it make sense, but it also brings a clear flashback to when Jussipo/Piak said that their parents would kill Jussipo if Piak was hurt. Parallel that, not Jussipo’s lyric about their[Jussoldo’s] love being carried to the grave smh.

Tiuri should still have magic. Not only is he a shaman’s son, but his mother knew that he was destined for something large. In the last scene we see her in, standing up on the stands as Tiuri is knighted, she looks unhappy. Why? Also the bird flock??? it needs a bit more explaining.

Having more episodes would then invest us with Tiuri’s mother. Alianor said she would still protect her even after she went to the summit. But then we never see Tiuri’s mother in danger?? It would have brought more stakes to the journey, at least for the audience, to know that Tiuri’s last life line could be hurt, even if he didn’t know.

Heck, we could spend an episode with everyone separated again. Lavinia goes off to find her road. It would give us more time to settle for the idea of Lavinia being the Chosen One, since the reveal would still be ep 5. We could have her be alone and meet someone who, idk, shows her the light (haha). Think Toph and Iroh. She’s still selfish but cares for Tuiri, but is not wired to be a savior. So she gets help from, let’s say the Father Monk from the mountains, who helps her prioritise that even if she doesn’t want to save the world, saving one person [Tiuri] would be enough. And she turns up at the palace FOR Tiuri, not because she suddenly gained morals. it makes more sense in terms of how her character development played out.

The final episode should have been a final battle. That’s it.

Overall: The Letter For The King is a meh show. It’s gorgeous and the first 4 episodes are thrilling and exciting. But the show drops the ball in eps 5 and 6 in a way that really ruins the fun you’ve had. Should you watch it? Maybe.

[serenedash]

I started rambling about my experience with kh and then it turned into khux and then it just turned into me rambling about Ryou and my art journey????? enjoy I guess,

it’s very long but there’s art in there :)

It’s funny to think about my kh journey as a whole tbh, I grew up watching my mom play video games, which included kh1 and 2. I wasn’t allowed to play the playstation2 we owned BUT I did have a gameboy so the first game I played was CoM (after my mom finished it ofc,) so I guess you could say I’ve always been passionate about kh “””side games””” lmao but I did fall off of kh very quickly bc again, I wasn’t allowed to play our PS2 and also I Am A Terrible Gamer I’ve Never Finished CoM I’m sorry you all had to find out like this, but then 358/2 came out when I was in middle school and!!! I didn’t care and I didn’t play idk why lol

Anyway, fast forward to high school I’m like 15 and my older sister, who HAS been keeping up with kh, has a wallpaper on her phone of roxas and ventus. And bc I haven’t kept up I say “nice roxas wallpaper” and she says “thanks but it’s roxas and ventus” and I proceeded to get so mad that I was determined to prove to her that her wallpaper was just roxas twice and then I fell down the BBS rabbit hole and suddenly I was reading about vanitas and then I’m reading the fan translations of the BBS novel and I’m crying??? I am sobbing???? and that’s how I actually got into kh for real lol we are vanitas stans before we are people,

It’s so funny how I thought I was some kh super fan, knowing all this stuff that I spent so long reading and rewatching cutscene movies, but I never once, SOMEHOW NEVER ever came across khx. It’s so absurd and bizarre I seriously have no idea how I never once encountered khx prior to khux. I suppose that has to do with the fact I wasn’t involved in the fandom? In early high school I had stepped away from fandoms as a whole and I didn’t have any interest in really posting content or interacting with fans anymore bc of how burnt out I was from a previous fandom,

but khux released! and I was so hype and excited for it! on launch day I was a senior in high school, I had ran around to every “nerd” and weeb I could find in school to ask them to join my party and fun fact about me is I have crippling social anxiety I literally refuse to start conversations irl so holy shit I was OUT HERE doing the MOST

My player just originally had my name (Matt) but everyone in my party had fun names so Ryou was born! High school was one big yugioh phase for me and ryou bakura is one of my favorite characters ever so it was just the logical name choice lol I quickly started creating Ryou, the character, as well. I was also leaving my homestuck phase and that + vanitas obsession made This character design (art circa 2016)

If y’all are familiar with my kh oc’s you might notice that keyblade now belongs to my kid Monty LOL

Anyway that got scrapped quickly for the chip and dale outfit (which is where Ryou’s trademark goggles are from <3) Goggles have been a staple of my character designs for a LONG TIME so like, it had to be done, (that’s a separate ramble about a separate oc tho)

OG Ryou was an interesting guy; he was a young party leader with this overwhelming responsibility on his shoulders bc of his status as a party leader. In his original story, he also struggled heavily with darkness, much like Terra but for Ryou it was more that the darkness was controlling him and not like a source of power like it was for Terra

A big part of early Ryou I kept, however, was the crushing awareness of loss. One of my party members (the strongest one at the time,) had left without saying a word and I was very confused and hurt. This was around the time the ephemera plot was happening so I decided to incorporate it into Ryou’s story; having him experience losing a friend to darkness since it’s so normal for wielders in Daybreak Town to just disappear, and this would unintentionally become a theme for both me and Ryou as khux friends would just randomly disappear.

I was desperate for khux at this point and I decided to watch the fan translations for khx and GOD, god, was I obsessed. I couldn’t stop thinking about the foretellers. And I’m not going off about that here bc I already did that, but I actually started entering fandom again! I did it slowly, I started on tumblr before this blog was made altho it was me sending anons to the few khux related blogs I could have lol a friend convinced me to get twitter where I got involved with the ffxv fandom, which led me to the kh fandom and eventually the khux fandom there which is what REALLY got me going on khux.

I joined discord servers, most of the servers I’m in are khux related, and from there I joined the khux oc rp (shout out to anyone there who might be reading this lol here’s some art from the beginning of the rp,)

It’s SO FUNNY how the RP influenced me so heavily. I hadn’t RP’d in YEARS, I used to have a strict no oc rp policy, but here I was? And the funny part is, I had barely developed Ryou. I had scrapped his original story and all I had was POST WAR Ryou so I literally had to reverse write him; I had only ever written him as a depressed, guilt ridden adult, but it was a fucking blast and I have such fond memories of this rp when it was active,

But anyway, this encouraged me to get more serious about art! I started drawing, writing, cosplaying, and roleplaying when I hadn’t done any of that stuff in a very long time. The first time I ever drew a background was for a deviant art khux competition actually LOL

also! I always think extremely fondly of the drawing I did of Aced in the keyblade war. It was also one of the first backgrounds I ever drew and it felt like my real starting point in the khux fandom. It got a ton of notes on here and someone wrote a tiny fic in a reblog which just made me SO HAPPY like it really felt like people were noticing me :) I was going to draw a matching Ira but!! I just never did!! One day tho, it’s on my art bucket list to redraw this along with Ira,

Aside from my personal growth, khux was great for my social life ngl, I made SO MANY friends online and got to meet a ton of people irl over the years! It’s crazy to think about all the people I now know and talk to? It honestly makes me really emotional. I’ll never forget taking the train into NYC and meeting up with discord friends. Going to conventions and talking with people about the latest khux update? Absolutely insane and those were some GOOD TIMES, if I thanked every khux friend or even just person who made an impact on me then we’d be here for a LONG TIME,

Fun fact, for my Lauriam cosplay all I needed to buy was the wig I just owned his outfit LOL also? Probably retiring that cosplay ngl people treated me like absolute garbage when I wore him and it led to a lot of confidence issues for awhile ngl. That’s probably one of the only memorable negative experiences I have with khux; it was great when khux people recognized me but for kh fans that weren’t in khux? They were FUCKING MEAN??? fuck kh fandom at large, I only care about khux fandom,

This leads me to another huge part of my experience in khux fandom: THEORIES!! I used to write SO MANY and oh my god my brain was so full all the time. It was a huge appeal for me in the fandom; I had been previously writing theory posts in the RWBY fandom and it just migrated over to khux for me lol I had done a ton of theorizing around Lauriam tbh, it was really the only reason I liked his character at all bc initially I did not care about the dandelions, anyone who wasn’t Skuld I was like “please leave Now thanks”

A funny part of khux fandom I never intended to be apart of is the MEMES, I really only started doing memes as stress relief bc college had me so busy all I had time/energy for was these quick little shit post drawings.

The first meme I made, file name “invi despair” LOL we need to get her a girlfriend smh anyway, I think in my senior year of college I did a bunch of rapid fire memes all in one month bc the stress of finals was getting so bad afdgfhdgf as far as I know my impact on this fandom will be my memes bc all I do now is enter a kh/khux server and introduce myself and I go “yeah I draw art. here’s a meme” and everyone goes OH YOU, honestly I am nothing if not a clown

I’ve talked so much idk where I’m going with this. Khux is just a good game even if the gameplay actually kind of really sucks yknow lol but it was the first game I played where I like, REALLY got into the meta and the mechanics. I used to read so much on the mechanics and watch youtube videos on which medals were worth pulling for. I was never a whale or a top player exactly, but I could rank well if I tried lol I’ve made it to the top 100 for solo rankings, my party has made it to top 10, and in pvp I’ve made top 300. I’m not the highest level in my party but FUCK do I know how to manipulate this game LOL

And with all that hard work, the strategies, the theorizing, the content I’ve made-- it’s been my life for 5 years. I’ve logged into khux almost every single day. At the end, I have logged 1820 days in khux out of 1910 days. Kinda crazy. Crazier I’ve never spent money on khux either lol the only “money” gone into it was one time my mom gave me a google play store gift card and I used it on my birthday for a VIP xemnas medal which eventually made it to regular pulls anyway but it was nice and a little treat :)

I’m not a gacha fan, I don’t care for it, so I don’t think I’ll be touching another gacha again. But for kh? This was pretty fucking awesome, even if it sucked a lot sometimes LOL It was worth it for the people I’ve met most of all I think. I would honestly be a completely different person without khux and that’s REALLY insane to think about.

[lilhawkeye3]

This Ohio discourse has got me dying to create discourse about every other state now hehe so I officially present:

Hawk’s review of 36/50 US states!

In alphabetical order because that fuckin song “50 nifty United States” has been stuck in my head since fourth grade.

Arizona: Phoenix is hot. Can’t believe y’all choose to live in a place that gets haboobs. Saw Sen. John McCain in the airport. I feel that sums up the state well. 4/10

California: as a resident of the state of Oregon, I’m legally required to say fuck California😌 unless anyone else talking shit about Cali and then we got your back😤 SoCal vs San Fran vs Northern Cal are totally different worlds though. 7/10

Colorado: damn idk how y’all breathe there, them air is thin. But really pretty out there! 7/10

Connecticut: oh my god fuck New Haven. And Stamford, and Hartford, and— Yknow what? Let’s just toss the whole state into the Sound. For real, traffic is the WORST here and I’m so sorry that y’all gotta live like that. 3/10

Delaware: I cannot believe this is considered a state. There’s no difference between Delaware and Maryland/Pennsylvania. 1/10 should not be a state

Florida: “the only hills in Florida are the highway ramps and the Matterhorn!” —the shuttle driver at Disney World. He was right. Shit is flat as fuck here. And hot. And humid. The Gulf Coast is nice? But tbh it’s just all very touristy which is kind of a bummer. 5/10

Georgia: ...I can’t with the humidity or thinly veiled racism. But y’all got nice peaches! Also Black Panther filmed there so thank you for blessing us with that. 6/10 for fruits

Hawaii: okay pineapple farms are cool. Tbh I just feel really bad for how much mainlander/tourist bs all the islanders put up with. Ik price of living is v high and keeps going up. That said I did love Hawaii... although I was stung by a jellyfish. Hate those little bastards. 8/10 for wonderful people and nature

Idaho: as an Oregonian I’m required to also say fuck Idaho 😝 you da hoes. Okay for real tho southern Idaho has become v white white and kinda scary tbh. The northern part of the state is pretty chill tho. Also Oreida kettle chips are partly made in Idaho so I gotta give you half credit for that. 4/10

Illinois: at least you’re not Indiana. 4/10.

Indiana: I never want to step foot in Gary, Indiana again in my life. (Passed a Mack truck hauling a race car to Indy 500 though so that was cool.) 2/10

Iowa: I almost moved here. I’m so glad I didn’t. Why are the Quad Cities actually a group of five towns? I hate that. Also the roads were all cement, felt like driving on a sidewalk. Was also interesting because the second we got out of the city proper, it was just... corn fields everywhere. 2/10 y’all raising children of the corn.

Kentucky: I really don’t have anything to say about Kentucky. I thought the trees were pretty? 5/10 yeah idk

Maine: my relative has totaled two cars by hitting moose in Maine. Maine scares me. Or rather, the moose do. Also the lobster roll hype is real. And the coast truly is beautiful. 8/10 but an extra point for the moose bc I hate that relative so 9/10

Maryland: oh god Baltimore. Also I’m blaming you for the DC traffic because it’s on the land you gifted them. 3/10

Massachusetts: Patriots fans are the worst NFL fans (the racism is real, especially after fans burned the jerseys of Black players who knelt for the anthem). Liking Dunkin’ Donuts is not a personality trait. The North End in Boston is truly the best place to get pizza in the entire country. Western Mass is not the same state. And the Cape Cod bridges give me nightmares. 5/10 but cause I had to pay taxes two years and it really is Taxachusetts, knocking it down to 4/10

Michigan: it’s a lot bigger than I initially thought. 5/10

Minnesota: it’s Canada but in the US. Pretty driving through the southern part. Cops suck tho. 5/10

Montana: okay Montana is downright gorgeous. (Except Billings. Sorry, Billings.) I must include a photo. I wanna get a cabin here and just exist. 8/10

New Hampshire: can’t decide if it hates Massachusetts or wants to be Massachusetts. All it knows is that it’s better than Vermont. Which... y’know, valid. (If you wanna see NH culture watch North Woods Law tbh). 4/10

New Jersey: why are there so many goddamn highways in this state? Also there are more places to weekend trip than the Shore or the Poconos. Although you do have people pump gas for you just like Oregon, so... that’s valid. Things my friends have added: Newark airport is cursed (valid), the jughandles are nightmares (true), pork roll/Taylor Ham is good and so are bagels and New Jersey pizza (allergic so idk), and everyone is split on whether the shore is actually decent or not 😂 I give it a 3.5/10 out of spite

New York: NYC is fun, Upstate is MASSIVE but really beautiful. Long Island is... yeah I don’t have anything nice to say about Long Island. 8/10 For NYC, 6/10 for Upstate, -2/10 for Long Island, gives us an average of 6/10

North Carolina: very good peaches. Isn’t South Carolina. Keep it up👍🏽 6/10

Ohio: I already told y’all how I feel about this flat ass boring state. I feel no need to slander it any more lmao. 3/10

Oregon: she flies with her own wings, mi amor🥰 to list all the reasons I like Oregon (and the issues too bc it ain’t perfect), I would need a whole other post. I’ll just leave you with this picture I took of Mt. Hood, the queen of our Cascades. 11/10

Pennsylvania: so apparently PN is three states hiding in a trench coat like NY. There’s upstate, philly and Pittsburg. Personally I think they’re just trying too hard and wanna get the same recognition as NY. Meh. 5/10

Rhode Island: THIS FUCKIN SHAM OF A STATE Just merge it with Connecticut and be done with it!! It’s tiny. Providence sucks. There’s nothing unique about this state that you can’t find in Southern Mass (except MA has cheaper taxes so y’all come to work and shop in MA anyways smh). Also the fingers are really annoying to drive down to get to some beach areas haha. 2/10 you’re barely better than Delaware.

South Carolina: my Black father was invited to a party celebrating General Robert E Lee’s birthday. So... 0/10

South Dakota: very gorgeous, didn’t realize the Missouri River went this far west, but VERY LARGE. I mean it looks big on a map but then you get there and... yeah. No speed limit on highways is a great time though. And the Badlands have mountain goats! 6/10 bc while pretty, living there seems really hard. (Picture is me in the Badlands).

Texas: gave us Juneteenth and Beyoncé and JJ Watts. Thank you Texas. But is very big, got independence from Mexico to keep slavery (yikes), is like 97% private land (yikes) and is like the second or third largest state. Very big. That said, everyone I’ve ever met from Texas is lovely. 6/10.

Utah: Other than Idaho, this is the whitest state I’ve been to. Or it feels that way. Like a, the people crossed to the other side of the street and held their bags because I’m brown, state. And I don’t ski so I can’t even say that’s a good thing (I fell off the ski lift the one time I went, long story). Yeah 0/10.

Vermont: wants to be New Hampshire or Canada and can’t decide which. So it’s just kinda there. Pretty hills though. 3/10

Virginia: let’s be real we all forget that Virginia exists west of Richmond. Nova is a beauracratic and traffic nightmare and half our neighbors had to pass security clearance checks. Hampton Roads and beach area is a tourist and mosquito nightmare. But there were dolphins and I made snowmen on the beach. Good times. 6.7/10

Washington: again, legally required as an Oregon resident to say fuck Washington because it’s all your fault we now are getting a toll on the I-5 border. But you’re better than California. And the Sound is really cool for fishing, love Wicked Tuna. And the fish market. Best salmon I’ve had. Eastern Washington... y’all got Spokane but the rest is kinda sparse. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 8/10

Wisconsin: cheese is actually good. Again, pretty state, much larger than I initially thought. 7/10

Wyoming: this was the ONLY STATE I lost cell service in when diriving cross country. Kinda surprised it wasn’t Montana, but no, it was Wyoming. Views are gorgeous though so I was distracted either way. 4/10

Thank you for joining me on this cross-country edition of Tea Time with Hawk. Please respond with any reactions, corrections, addendums about any and all of the states mentioned. And thank you for taking part in this wholesome Clone Wars fandom discourse with me 🥰💕

DISCLAIMER: THESE RATINGS ARE ALL A JOKE PLEASE DO NOT ACTUALLY GET MAD ABOUT IT

[maguayans]

Hi ! So I just wanted to say that I love your banners and I was wondering how you were making them? (Don't hesitate to keep your artistic secrets, we writers are allowed to ^^)

hey, agnes! i hope you're well and having a great day/night! and thank you so much! i'm glad to hear you love them. there's no secret, really. those banners are pretty much average compared to what fandom creators make.

anyway, which banners are we talkin' about here? stills or GIFs? i'm not very good at explaining these kinds of things but i'll try my best.

i made sure to cut. otherwise, it'll takeover the entire dashboard.

FIRST, SOURCES:

pexels - for free gorgeous stock photos. read license. other sources: pixabay, unsplash (but i use pexels a lot. it's a gem.)

dafont - for fonts. demo versions (non-commercial/personal use only) read notes from authors.

okay, here we go. i'll try my best on this part. hopefully, the photos will make it easier to understand.

open editing software. i use photoshop cc 2019.

customize the settings for new document. [Click on "Create New..." > A new window pops up. > Customize Setting > Create]. i don't have a fixed size for my banners as long as it looked like a banner. but my recent setting was 1920x295px; 300dpi (which i have to adjust when it comes to making gifs.)

open photo file. [File > New > Choose Photo > Open]

click/hold + drag on the photo to copy it to the banner file. photos from pexels have large sizes and higher resolutions. since i download photos from there, i'd have to transform it to make it fit on the canvas of the banner.

add text [Choose Text Tool]. i customize more of the text with Layer Style. [Right Click on the Text Layer > Blending Options > Layer Style window pops up] On Layer Style window, one can add colors, shadows, glows, and more.

the text was supposed to be "enchanted." SMH

once satisfied with the text position and applied styles, i merge all the layers. [Click Shift + Click last layer to select all layers.] incase something doesn't work out, i make sure to duplicate all the layers then group 'em. [Shift + Click on last layer to select all layers. > Right Click > Duplicate > Group] then i drag the group layer to the bottom of the layers and disable visibility. i make sure background layer is unlocked so you can move another layer past it.

adjust colors and more [Filter > Camera Raw Filter] a window pops up and that is where i adjust the colors and add filter. camera raw filter is only on photoshop ccs, i think. i'm after this tool that's why i'm using cc, haha. if I'm feeling a little lazy (which is, uh, every time, i go to the presets tab then choose a preset good for the banner. If it ain't workin' I go back to the basic tab to adjust exposure, temperature, tint, and more.

save [File > Save as... > Edit File Name + Choose File Type > Save]

GIF Banners. things, uh, get a bit tricky when it comes to making GIFs, especially if one is not familiar with the tools and stuff. and my process is a MESS. but i hope this was comprehensible, insightful and helpful if you're thinking of making banners for your blog ♡♡♡. i really think i'm not the right person for this kind of stuff, lol.

[cescalr]

9 and 23 for the ask game please 😊

9: Are there any fics you'd love to see but don't want to write yourself? What are they?

Ooh, um... I'm not sure! Something substantial for Cursed 2005, maybe, like a crossover with buffy or teen wolf or something, with jimbo as the pairing from cursed and idk just something interesting (please no b*angel or st*rek or st*dia), or a time travel fic for Supernatural that involves Dean as the POV but absolutely zero, nada, nothing of (even hints) De*tiel or winc*st, that's 100% a fix-it fic (bc my mans deserved a lot better than that ending smh. And so did Jo, and Anna, and Lisa and Ben and Charlie and Benny and- ).

23: What's one piece of advice you would give to anyone who wants to start writing or posting their writing online?

Hmm... Just go for it? Like, write whatever comes to mind and post it. And keep doing that. Over and over again, because it's all the same thing - practise. If you can't think of an idea, there's no reason not to go trawling for prompts. I've got this list of 200 prompts, can't remember where I found it, but it's really useful if I'm stuck. But yeah. Find some time, any amount of time, whether its 5 minutes or five hours, and write what you can, as much as you can, whether it's ten words or 10,000, or more or less, it doesn't matter. Just get words on screen (or on paper, if you prefer.) And then... post it. If the main issue is getting the courage to post it, don't read back over it. That's when the nervousness rears it's ugly head. Just post it. Straight up. Type right into the Ao3 doc and hit post if you have to, just... find a way to minimise the amount of time you give yourself to get all worked up about whether it's 'good enough' or not. It won't be perfect the first time you write something - nothing ever is. Everything requires practise. And each time you post something, you get better at it. It gets easier. If proofreading is the bane of your existence, just post it and come back later to fix any issues. If titling it is a problem pick a random word or a song lyric or hell, a sentence from the fic, anything at all. 'Working Title | Stiles POV All Human AU Stira Fic', even. Just. Anything. You can always change it later. Summaries an issue? Grab the first paragraph. Grab the first sentence. Put 'Stiles POV all human au, stira focus.' as the summary. Who cares? You. Can. Always. Change. It. Later.

That's the great thing about fic. Changing everything later is possible. Nothing here is permanent. If you aren't happy with something, that doesn't matter. So long as it's out there, you can get feedback (because often, we don't know why we aren't happy with something - outside help is always invaluable). Being scared of criticism is half the problem, for a lot of people... but - not to sugar coat - it's necessary. And, just to note, in my 10 years of fanfic writing, I have never, ever, gotten a single malicious comment. Not. Once. It's much rarer than people think it is. And even if you do, you can always delete it. Put comments on moderation, turn them off, if it's the main issue. Gather your confidence at your own pace - but don't forget feedback is necessary for improvement. Eventually you will need to accept it's going to happen - it's not an attack on you. It's an attempt at help. We're taught in school to consume media critically, and those who internalise that will comment constructively. English class can leave an impression - the worst thing is to take any of it personally. Having a negative mindset (they hate it) versus a positive mindset (they want me to improve at this thing I enjoy doing, they're trying to help, they're being supportive) can make all the difference.

Eventually, you'll need to turn those comments back on. But you don't need to take anyone's shit, hence why moderation is a thing. There is a difference between constructive criticism and hate - but it's rare you'll get the latter. Tone is hard to convey in text form; benefit of the doubt is the best way forward.

Make sure you've got friends/mutuals you can ramble with about your fics. it's genuinely the most helpful thing. Give them snippets, do the whole cheerleader routine for each other. It's great. Brainstorm with each other. Not necessarily doing collaborative fic (though you might find that's what works best for you!) but just, geeking out with each other. It makes a huge boost for your ego, and that's useful for your confidence when it comes to posting things. But also, if you trust them, it makes taking their advice easier.

Sometimes, it might feel like two steps forward and one step back. That's great! It's still a step forward. Go at your own pace. The worst thing you can do is rush yourself and burn out. If it takes you a year to update, it takes you a year. I assure you, the readers will still be there, and they'll be happy to see the update. Nobody's going to hate you for taking your time. Prioritise your health. I promise it makes your work better if you're in a good place, and you don't have too much on your plate.

Though, having said that, if you find you work best with about twenty wips all at once updated every week, then go for it! Like I said; your own pace. If a schedule helps you, have one. If it doesn't, don't. I don't have a schedule. I have about 40 wips posted, and a few that aren't yet. It can take me a year to update, or I'll do four in a week. People are pleased either way - what matters is that you wrote something, and it exists, and other people can read it. Isn't that awesome? You've made something. You've made a mark. Someone's happy because of you, because you wrote something they like. Who cares if there's twenty typos and you use the wrong you're* (*or equivalent in your language, ofc) - you can fix that later. And it didn't stop that person's enjoyment of the first fic you ever posted, which might not be as good as your future fics, but it's still special. It's still yours.

Prioritise the thing you want to prioritise. Plot, relationships (of any nature), whatever. Prioritise that. The rest will fall into place. Personally, I prioritise characterisation. interpersonal dynamics follow, part and parcel of character exploration, then plot, as an extension. Do what suits you. And people don't tend to mind very much about any of these. If characterisation matters to you not one whit, just put OOC in the tags and be done with it. Plot doesn't matter? Perfectly fine! You don't want to write ships? Nobody's forcing you. Do what you want. It's just fanfiction. That's kind of the point. There's no need to feel pressure to write a certain thing. I'm in a lot of fandoms with a lot of very large ships. I'd get a lot more readers if I wrote st*rek, or d*stiel, or whatever, but I don't, because I wouldn't enjoy it. Write what you want to see. What you want to read. That's the best advice I can give. If you cry at your own fic, perfect. If you laugh at your own fic, brilliant. If your own fic leaves you all giddy like, grinning wide, amazing. It's gonna give someone else that reaction, too.

Hits, kudos, comments - they're not everything. Ao3, for harry potter, has 5000 pages of fic, with some of the tags I don't like excluded. It's not a case of people not liking your fic - it's a case of people not finding it. Don't worry. Recognition will come with time. Also, the ratio for fics is kind of awful, anyway. Comments and kudos vs hits is always poor; 2%, 5%, 7%. Don't worry too much about it. If people read it, it's likely they liked it. A lot of people are just lazy, and don't press the kudos button. A lot of people are incredibly nervous, or don't know what to say, so they don't comment. Another thing; some of your fics are going to be more popular than others. This is normal. Fandom size, fandom activity, content of fic, tags - prevalence of fic type, etc etc. One of my fics has around 15k notes. the rest are all below 6k. the runner up is a whole 10k below that fic. This is to be expected, and it's nothing to tear your hair out about. Write, first and foremost, for yourself. The rest, as always, comes later.

Really, tldr; you can always fix it later. the rest comes later. recognition comes later. the best thing to do - the first thing to do, the only thing to do - is just start. Post something. Anything. And go from there however you wish.

In 2016 i had zero subscribers on Ao3. I've got 72 now. These things just take time. In 2016 i'd written 30k words. I've written 1.2 million now. These things just take time. Through fandom, mostly fanfiction, I've gained people I'd consider friends. I think it's a really cool endeavour, and I think - for your confidence, peace of mind, and social sphere - it's also a really positive one.

[nabrizoya]

Cover thoughts: Chain of gold = Jesse's locket. Appears on COI cover. So maybe Chain of iron = bracelet will appear on COT cover?

Oooh, this is interesting! Let’s rewind a bit. 

Chain of Gold is titled so because of the many gold references that the book makes throughout the plot. For an elaboration, see this post here. While my opinion is that Chain of Gold comes from the fact that we get to see the wonder of Cortana, a golden heirloom and a legendary sword (which also makes it a prime reason why it is burning Cordelia, imo), we do get to see the contribution Jesse’s golden locket makes to the story. 

And it appears on the TLH2 cover. 

Assuming the same logic, it makes sense that we may see the bracelet on CoT/TLH3 (also going by the presumption that it will be Grace on the cover aah), it is a strong possibility and anon, you’re damn clever bro. 

But my two cents are this- the fandom is largely under the impression that the bracelet will be off of James by the end of the book. Cassie did mention this somewhere in one of her asks that-

Book 2 will explore Grace’s abilities and powers and how she uses them. 

Book 3 will explore Grace’s childhood and the origin of her powers.

So, the bracelet’s appearance on the cover of tlh3, while can be expected, doesn’t seem like a possibility to me. I say this because-

Jesse will be resurrected by the end of TLH2. And his character arc needs to be developed since he will no longer remain a ghost. 

Belial mentions that he’s not done with Jesse. There’s some shady shit that has been attempted that lead to Jesse’s supposed ‘accident’ in which he died.

Grace’s growth/redemption will be explored, especially if James is removed from the restriction of the bracelet (which is the common notion so far).

The bracelet is not a minor contributor to the plot (all or most of James’s actions, in response to Belial, are the responsibility of the bracelet) in comparison to the locket. 

(Going by the logic that what is of small importance in the previous book will become a great part of the story that follows).

And this, somehow, ties up with the idea of ‘Chain of Thorns’. (Do I make sense? I hope I do.) 

Then if it is indeed not the bracelet that doesn’t appear on the cover of TLH3, then what will? 

I’m assuming it can be the gun because Tatiana has plans to demolish the system in the Adamant Citadel, thereby rendering all shadowhunter weapons useless. The runes will fail to work because the power in the steles is not refreshed, seraph blades will no longer light up when the Angel’s name is evoked. That leaves with Christopher’s scientific approach, magic and stealth when dealing with demons. 

(Not to forget that James can use the gun, something that shadowhunters usually cannot use to finish a demon or simply use).

But then again, if it is going to be guns, how will it reflect on the cover, assuming it is going to be Grace? If it’s not Grace, then the general idea about the ‘Thorns’ part of the title? The guns don’t add up. 

Could it be steles? Grace is not a shadowhunter in the complete sense what with the lack of training she has had. Or the education as that of a shadowhunter, which Grace is not likely to possess. Could this be a reference? 

Otherwise, since the locket is playing a major* role in the TLH2 plot (by that, I mean that the locket is being given more importance here), and the bracelet becoming more or less a side character in the pool of weapons and tools and objects, it can still appear on the cover. 

*correction made here. check notes. 

I think I left you as confusing as you were at the start. Or I may have just added to your confusion smh. :/ You make a keen observation, anon. Very smart. Thank you for sharing this! <3

[iamanartichoke]

honest question, why are people now saying Loki NEVER faked his death? Tom Hiddleston confirmed that Loki canonically did fake his TDW death (I guess it was the best Loki could do in that situation, he didn't want to go back to jail) during the pre-IW cast interview, it's on youtube... he also mentioned that Loki is redeemed anyways now because he saved his brother's life in IW

I’m so glad Tom did that whole Pinter event and blessed us with these glorious gifs, because this 

was my EXACT reaction upon receiving this ask, lmao. 

The question of whether or not Loki faked his death is such consistent wank in this fandom and I do understand because the canon narrative doesn’t make it explicitly clear when it should have. That’s a failing on the part of Ragnarok, largely, because when Thor says, “You faked your own death,” Loki doesn’t argue or explain. He couldn’t have argued, really, because Thor had him backed into a corner - Thor was furious and unlikely to believe Loki even if he denied it, and Loki at that point looked 500% done with Thor’s sanctimonious tongue-lashing anyway, so it wasn’t really the opportune moment to get the whole story. The problem is that Ragnarok didn’t take advantage of what was an opportune moment (the elevator scene, if nothing else) to have Loki say, hey, you know, actually … 

But I digress. 

“Fake” Death #1: Thor 1. 

I know you talked about The Dark World, but I do feel like I should mention Loki’s “death” at the end of Thor 1 because that tends to get lumped in with Loki’s supposedly fake deaths and establishes this idea of a precedent where Loki just tries to get out of sticky situations by faking his death. People use that as evidence that Loki intended to fake his death in TDW because “he’s done it before.” But he hasn’t. Loki let go of Gungnir with the intention of killing himself. How he survived the fall into space, we don’t know because no one has ever told us, but everything leading up to that moment (Loki’s actions, his pain, his sense of betrayal, his devastation at Odin’s rejection, the look on his face) culminates in him letting go with the intention of falling to his death. That he survived is irrelevant when it comes to the question of “faking” his death - you don’t ask someone who’s sitting in the hospital after slitting their wrists why they faked their death, you know? It amounts to pretty much the same thing. 

“Fake” Death #2: The Dark World. 

Tom Hiddleston’s statement is tricky because you’re right, he does say that Loki faked his death. And I’ll admit, I was totally about to be like, yo, that’s not what he said … but he did say it. However, it’s not as straightforward as “yeah, Loki totally faked it, haha, what a trickster.” It’s more layered than that because what he said is more along the lines of Loki’s death was real but somehow Loki survived it and that’s the trick no one saw coming. 

Here is a link to the Empire interview where he talks about it, dated April 30. (16:40 specifically, you’re welcome.) He says, “Loki’s death on Svartalfheim was written as a [real] death and Chris and I played that scene for real. That was meant to be [his redemption because he] saved his brother [and] Jane Foster and in the process sacrificed himself.” In other words, when they filmed his death scene, Tom’s performance was 100% genuinely given with the understanding that Loki was supposed to die there, that’s it, game over. 

He goes on to say, “in test screenings, the audience didn’t accept it … it was a very strange and almost unanimous resistance to it … so they [ret-conned it to be]  another shape-shifting, mercurial trick on Loki’s part and he’d actually pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes, including Thor. It’s such a great twist, and I didn’t even know it was a twist.”

So what happened here is that they intended Loki’s death to be real, his death scene was real, and it was only later when they realized that the audience wasn’t willing to let go of Loki that they rewrote it so that Loki survived. Hence, Loki faked his death. 

Okay, fair. 

Now, this is all fine and good, except for the fact that this doesn’t match up with the canon narrative. Loki’s illusions aren’t solid and have never been solid. In Thor 1, he uses doubles on Jotunheim and later on the bridge during his fight with Thor, which disappear as soon as they’re touched. In Avengers, Thor hurtles right through an illusion into the cage on the helicarrier, which dissolves on the contact. (The illusion, not the cage.) In The Dark World, Frigga’s illusion disappears when Loki goes to touch her  (after his hands go right through hers). Finally, in Ragnarok, it becomes a big plot point that Thor keeps “testing” whether Loki is actually there or not by throwing solid objects through his illusions. 

Loki’s illusions not being solid and disappearing upon contact has been consistently established from the very beginning of the Thor franchise. 

Here is Loki’s death scene from The Dark World. Starting at 2:09, we see a very real blade impaling Kurse at Loki’s hand. Kurse turns around and then impales Loki on the same blade. Loki’s body doesn’t shift, shimmer, or otherwise do anything to imply that it was an illusion or a double. Nor does he disappear. That blade really goes right through him (twice, if you count when Kurse throws him back off of it again - which, ouch), and Loki supposedly succumbs to his wounds. 

If this was an illusion, then established canon would have dictated that the illusion would have disappeared right about then. BUt it doesn’t. So the audience is left to assume that this is the real Loki and this was a real injury. The writers/directors retconned the death based on audience feedback, but they only retconned it by showing Loki on the throne in the end. They didn’t rewrite the actual death scene, they didn’t make it obvious that it wasn’t Loki getting stabbed or that Loki was shape-shifting in some way, they didn’t change a single thing about this scene, which was written and acted as a real death scene. If they wanted Loki’s death blow to have been faked somehow, they had every opportunity to make that clear. 

So because they didn’t do that, the audience is left with the implication that Loki truly was injured, severely injured, but didn’t die. And when he didn’t die and Thor just left his body there, he took advantage of the situation. That’s the twist. Not the death blow itself, but what happened afterward. 

Plotting to fake one’s own death is not the same thing as taking advantage of a fatal blow turning out to not be fatal. And the trickery comes in because Loki didn’t make any effort to tell Thor he survived, because he took Odin’s place, because he let everyone keep on thinking he was dead when he wasn’t. So, what Loki really faked was the “idea” of his death. But the injury, the sacrifice, the intent to die - that was all real. 

One thing to support that the death was real but the trick was taking advantage of it is the Thor Ragnarok novelization, which to my understanding is much closer to the original TR script (before all the improvising and rewriting). When Thor discovers Loki’s alive, he says something like, “Only you would make a mockery of your own sacrifice,” which implies that Thor’s interpretation of the situation isn’t so much “you faked your death” as “you sacrificed your life for me and did a good thing and turned around and undermined it, smh Loki.” Which - you see how that’s different, right? 

This is probably a much longer explanation than you asked for, but I think the question warrants it. Loki’s TDW death is one of those wanks that keeps on giving, because the source material is so unclear on which interpretation is correct. 

I think the real issue about it isn’t so much the murky explanation on whether or not Loki faked his TDW death, though - it’s more that the people who say “omg Loki faked it!” are saying that to undermine Loki’s character, Loki’s redemption, and Loki’s sacrifice because they are determined to see him as nothing more than a two-dimensional villain. So the Loki stans shout back that, no, Loki didn’t fake his death, he just let Thor believe he was dead, which isn’t the same thing. It’s an effort to take back Loki’s integrity and complexity as a character - it’s not so much ignoring statements like Tom’s as it is not taking those statements at face-value. Did Tom say Loki faked his death? Yes, he did. Did he mean that Loki intended to do that all along bc he’s just a simple trickster villain trying to get one over on Thor? No, not even a little bit. 

I … hope all that made sense. Or some modicum of sense. Merp. Anyway, thank you for the ask! 

[multsicorn]

a very very long list of maybe wip’s

Since I'm working on setting up a binder of WIPs for myself - here are all fifty-nine of them.  All are Check Please: mostly Jack/Parse, most of the rest Parse-centric, most of the rest Jack-centric, but a few random other fics too.  Quite a few of these are only ideas, but most (~75-80%, at least) have anywhere between a few hundred and a few thousand words written, and some have considerably more.

Votes or encouragement as to which particular fics I should work on are very much welcome!  And in fact a large part of the point of posting this.  Pleaseee tell meeee what you want to seeeee.

JACK/PARSE IN THE Q

golden haze -  Kent was Jack's first real friend, ever.

crash into me - Jack likes crashing into things.  Kent likes being crashed into.  Checking practice, kind of, Jack/Parse style.

one warm line - Parse wakes Jack up one night in the middle of their Q years, throwing pebbles at his window.  They're going for a ride.

i'm so high - Jack and Kent hook up for the first time at a party when they're smoking weed, when the smallest touches feel like so much.

the beat of the tambourine - Parse picks up a girl for Zimms.  For a threesome.  Before they're together, back in the Q.

closing the guest room door - Alicia walks in on Kent blowing Jack.  It's the first time it's happened, too.  The Zimmermanns hadn't known anything about any of this, but now they do.

beneath the waves - There are two attractions in Rimouski: the Juniors ice hockey team, and a maritime museum.  Jack kind of wants to live on a submarine.

edge of glory - Kent kisses Jack high on adrenaline and the win, feeling unstoppable.  They only have thirty-four days together, but they start out pretty great.

ace kent fucks jack - Kent doesn't care that much about fucking, but he cares too much about Jack.

don't make promises - Kent visits the Zimmermanns after Jack's out of rehab, and Jack scares him even more.

JACK/PARSE CANON DIVERGENCE

find your lips in the streetlights - Kent and Jack run away from the mounting and dangerous pressure of the Q.  And Jack almost dies from benzo withdrawal; nice move?

what's the multiplier for i love you - Parse has a career-ending injury at seventeen.  He ends up going to Samwell, and starts managing the hockey team there before Jack even shows up.

one skate in front of the other - In which Jack wakes up from his overdose to find out he's still been drafted in absentia.  To the Las Vegas Aces, third round.

different verse same as the first - Jack manages to get through Draft Day successfully.  He ODs about a year later, at his first NHL awards; Parse still finds him in the bathroom.

JACK/PARSE POST CANON ISH

jackparse goat fic - Kent is outed during Jack's last semester at Samwell.  It's a spark that makes Jack talk to him again: and again, and again, with starts and stops along the way.

bitty's bad bakery - Turning a profit doing something you love is really freaking hard.  Just cause Bitty's good at baking doesn't mean he'll be good at running a bakery; and Jack can only finance it for so long, no longer.  Cue Kent the accountant showing up to help.

max assholes au - In which Jack marries Bitty with Kent's spunk still in his mouth.

we're pining friends - In which Jack and Parse become friends again, and Jack's so not thrilled with Parse's boyfriend.

jackparse valentines - Jack and Parse on Valentine's Day, at eighteen and again at twenty-eight.  Sweet but not too sweet.  Just right.

developing - Jack likes taking pictures of Kent.  Kent is curious about why.

may the bridges i have burned light my way back home - Jack's nearing thirty.  His performance is flagging, his boyfriend broke up with him, and now he's at Kent Parson's thirtieth birthday party, wondering how else his life could've gone.

JACK/PARSE AFFAIR REVEAL VERSE

conference room fuck - You can't put Parson and Zimmerman in a room together.  But if you do, you can't keep them from fucking.

you wouldn't cheat at cards (i would if i could) - Jack continues to cheat on Bitty with Parse throughout the summer after Jack and Bitty come out to the whole wide world.  At the NHL awards, at Parse's summer place in New York, at Jack's birthday.

under the rainbows - After coming out to the whole wide world on live TV in June, Parse comes back to the Aces in September.

tinfoil crowns - A look at the meltdowns of Hockey RPF fandom, as Jack Zimmerman comes out, followed by Kent Parson, followed by Parse and Zimms getting back together, after all!?  How crazy it must be when the tinhatters are right.

letting them see your hands - In which Shitty works through his feelings about Jack cheating on Bitty, and Shitty and Lardo discuss their relationship, too.

waking up to shape the land - When Jack comes to Vegas to play the Aces - and, by the way, see his boyfriend - he's woken up by Kent's nightmare.

functional exes - After Jack cheated on Bitty with Kent, and it all blew up spectacularly; after some damanged friendships were restored.  Jack and Bitty are both there for Shitty's wedding.  Bitty's a pro at keeping things civil; Jack… wants to apologize?

JACK/PARSE IN TOTAL AU'S

the hockey prince - Jack is a Prince; Kent was his best friend, and his right hand man.  Till Jack disappeared in mysterious circumstances, and Kent may or may not be to blame.

ai romance - Jack is an AI that was always meant to drive a robot.  Parse is, well, a parser.  The part of a computer program that takes in and processes input, before it passes it on to the real heart of the program.  A part which, it turns out, can't work right without its parser after all.

cult au - SMH is a cult house!  That's why everyone there has to always be happy.  Pies make people like you; flip cup is a good fill-in for a hippie ritual; and no wonder Jack cut off everyone he used to know when he joined.

cut the legs off the whales - Jack and Parse were soulmates.  Jack died for three seconds, and now they're both stuck with half a broken bond, with all the luck at hockey - or at life.

JACK/PARSE NON-ENDGAME

you're still my patron saint - Jack's OD is fatal.  Kent's got the biggest chip in the world on his shoulder.  Hockey killed his boyfriend, and he wins the Stanley Cup, and then he comes out, furious.

progress report (i am missing you to death) - AKA 'five times Kent tells Jack "I miss you," and one time he doesn't.'

P(B)J

can you say menange a trois - Zimbits porn featuring dirty talk about the absent Kent Parson, because Bitty's 'Kent parson. Wow.' face reads easily as 'dead from too much hot.'

married in vegas - Jack and Parse get accidentally married after a Falcs/Aces game, cause you've just gotta have the trope when in Vegas.  Starts with Jack still in love with Bitty, not sure where it was supposed to end up.

scalene - Jack and Parse aren't fighting over Bitty.  They're fucking over Bitty.  I mean.

awful threesome - Parse guilts Jack into letting him visit Providence after Jack and Bitty come out, and Parse gets hit with redoubled specuation.  Then he hits on Jack and Bitty, cause why not, and they, surprisingly, take him up on it.  This isn't a good idea for anyone.

PARSE CENTRIC GEN

butterflies fly away - Kent moves into Vegas.  His sister flies out for a few days to help.

the one that saves me - When he first comes to Vegas, Kent's shit at taking care of himself.  Maybe he can take care of a cat instead.

PARSWOOPS 2K18

parswoops in providence - Swoops is standing between Parse and the door to the worst life choices.

two aces in the hole - Parswoops in which Parse and Swoops are both ace (and get together, romantically), cause thinking about a dumb pun accidentally gave me feelings.

parswoops post year three - How can Swoops tell his best friend he likes guys, when said best friend is the only reason he figured it out?  Also, still isn't over his last best friend yet.

PARSE/RANDOM DUDE IS THE AO3 TAG FOR PARSE/HAPPINESS

parse slash scraps - There's something nice, Parse thinks, about having a friend like Scraps, a friend who thinks you're the smartest, coolest, handsomest guy in every room.

by the scruff - Kent really wants to pick a fight.  Alexei Mashkov won't give it to him.  But… that kind of is a fight, right?

makes no difference who you are - Parse wishes on a star: to talk to Jack again.  Chowder wishes on a start, that same night: to know what it's like to be on an NHL team.  They wake up in each others' bodies, and have to find a way to get back.

a pretty good genie - Shitty is the best genie, okay.  How'd Parse get one of those anyway.

players gonna play - In which Kent Parson bonds with Gus Kenworthy over adorable pet pictues at the Olympics, and then they hook up.

the aces' flyboy - In which Kent tweets a request for a date to the NHL awards, and picks up a local dude who responds.

MORE JACK CENTRIC FIC

quiet kid - Who the fuck prescribes benzos to a thirteen-year-old kid, anyway.

what if i ruined your life - Visiting Uncle Mario, in the late 00s, Jack hates Sidney Crosby.  (I can't resist the fourth wall.)

jacklardo - Lardo hooks up with some dork named Jack at her very first college party.  They're better off as friends; he was hot, though.

jackshit - Jack and Shitty hooked up as freshmen.  What else do you want me to say.

tie down the jesses - The newest Falconer needs to learn a lesson.  Needs to learn his place.

dirty boys - You're not supposed to look in the locker room.  Don't bring it onto the team.  Oh, and stay faithful to your boyfriend.  But Jack's always wanted what he can't have.

ZIMBITS

i like when boys stop by  - A rough fill-in of the conversation that decides Bitty's staying with Jack for the summer that surely must've happened.

how do you make it for real - the zimbits coffeeshop au for fandomtrumpshate that i've been struggling with for over a year now.

HOLSOM & RANSKOV

and go seek - When Ransom's crush on Alexei Mashkov turns out not to be unrequited, Ransom and Holster are pushed to reevaluate their relationship, too.

BITTY???

bitty in the echl - Being captain of a pretty decent NCAA team gets Bitty a surprise job offer post-graduation from the Worcester Railers.  His relationship with Jack bends and breaks under the stresses of their dual hockey careers, but there's a familiar face in Bitty's new life.  He never thought that he'd see John Johnson again.

[whopooh]

Miss Fisher and the plight of miscommunication – February’s trope challenge

Does this whisky glass imply drinks, or something else, Miss Fisher?

You remember I couldn’t help but write a post about the soulmate trope of January, because it was so much fun and gave food for so much thought. The same really proved to be true for the miscommunication trope, so I decided to write about that one too. I remember that when the trope was announced, @quiltingmom was not the happiest in the fandom, fearing all the angst that would come up with this trope. She even taught me that “smh” means “shaking my head”. So, I decided to do the organisation of this post in a @quiltingmom proof way, by ordering them after their amount of angst, starting with the lightest and going to @ladyroxie. (I’d love some feedback from you about where you draw the line between nicely angsty and too angsty in this line!)

This is actually a very reasonable way to structure the stories. The nice thing with miscommunication -- apart from it fitting Phryne and Jack and their way of behaving rather well -- is that it can take turns in very different directions. The plot itself is usually one of comedy – in that classic sense of the word, which means the ending is happy – since miscommunication really needs to be cleared up for the story to feel completed. But that gives ample opportunity for different roads to be taken -- and very different length of fic -- between the start and the happy ending; I have made a division into humour; humour with an angsty part; angst light; and angst. (Here is the full collection.)

I am delighted that the February fic covered all of these possibilities, and in so many different ways. The wonderful humour part saw @olderbynow’s “Across Frayed Wires,” where Jack gets a message from Hugh over a very bad line. We are given the internal view of a delightfully overthinking Jack that tries very hard to not think about a certain lady detective, but when the message says “alarm” and “Fisher” he cannot help but associate this to Phryne. The message 

made no damn sense at all, but still had Jack’s heart climbing into his throat as his mind helpfully supplied filler words that essentially translated the sentence into “Miss Fisher has done something reckless again and is in danger.” It was the sort of phone call he spent half his days expecting, of course. 

Unfortunately for Jack, when he stumbles into Wardlow he instead disturbs Phryne in the middle of a tryst with a lover, and the mortification of Jack and all his awkwardness and thought-processes are adorable.

More humour and teasing with regard to their sexual relationship is present in @loopyhoopyfrood’s “Mistaken”. This is an original take, set before the timeline of the episodes, and gives us a sweet and fun and mistakenly heated encounter that is completely packed with misunderstandings, and poor Jack gets pushed into doors no less than two times by a very insistent Miss Fisher. A third teasing with the sexual theme is sassasam/@phrynesboudoir's “Miss Communication” that is set after the last episode. Phryne writes from England a rather juicy letter to Jack, that also quotes some of his own not completely innocent phrases from an earlier letter, but puts it in the wrong envelope. The exact look on Aunt P’s face when she reads that scandolous letter we are left to imagine from the line “with eyes almost bulging from their sockets.” Jack, poor duck, on the other hand, receives a letter that talks about embroidery.

A final predominantly humourous fic is @ollyjayonline’s “Nine times out of ten”. It is a delightful story of Phryne deciding to play match-maker and implicating Jack in that, while on the boat back home to Australia. It is rather emma-esque in the way her plan goes rather wrong, the girl Jack was meant to pay attention to suddenly interested in him and not in the original beau she was aiming to make jealous. Suddenly they find themselves in a situation where Jack has to play the role of not wanting Phryne, and Phryne the role of trying to get him – all while they secretly have an established relationship, that is still a bit shaken by the roles they play. It’s a wonderful way of contrasting their true relationship with the fake one and with what the people around them are believing about them. Above all there is a delicious tension – her decision forcing Jack to play a part, and then she herself not being sure when he is playing and when he’s sincere. Phryne faces emotional turmoil and realisations, while the humourous aspect is still the main one.

From this, the step is not far to @flashofthefuse’s “Mistaken relations”, that I decided to label as the first humour with an angsty part. The fic introduces an embarrassing moment when Phryne thinks Jack has asked her to come over, and while she has decided to surprise him with hardly any clothes on, he comes home with another woman. Awkwardness ensues and Phryne is thrown off-kilter a little bit, feeling unsure and a little bit jealous, but at the same time knowing she has no right to be jealous. And incredibly sweetly, what really annoys her is that “he was laughing, Mac. Before he opened the door, I could hear him laughing.” Phryne and Jack are so acutely aware of not pressuring the other that they completely fail in communicating what they want. Jack’s sister – because that’s the mysterious woman – asks him:

“So, you’re not worried about her?” “Because of this? No. I worry about her getting herself arrested, or possibly shot, but this kind of thing? No.

Of course, the readers just want to tackle Jack at this point, but he perseveres, and it’s probably lucky he has a clever sister. She has the same no-nonsense take on things as her brother, at least: “I hope I get another chance to meet her while I’m here, preferably fully clothed.”

In @firesign23’s “As stimulating as black coffee”, Jack has followed Phryne to England just for them to realise that they aren’t working, sexually: 

It’s fine,” he said. “You just surprised me.”  “I’m aiming higher than fine, Jack.”  The man actually pouted. “Well, I certainly wasn’t achieving it.” 

They have a wonderfully ridiculous argument and part ways, which is a very fun turn of the reunion in England -- of course that’s not the end of it though. 

@promisesarepiecrust “Maybe more?” is a lovely short take on the question of Phryne and marriage, as she wakes to a note left by Jack that seems to say “marry me?” Phryne is rattled: “When she’d first read it, she couldn’t help the words that left her mouth: first a curse, followed by “Oh, Jack, no— why would you do that?!”” As the trope is what it is, maybe he didn’t exactly – and it plays out in a lovely way.

Phryne is Very Angry.

The final humourous fic is @jeneenp/collingwoodgirl’s “Licence to Thrill” and its theme of overhearing. Without him noticing, Phryne overhears Jack talking with colleagues, and is appalled as she realises he is talking rather demeaningly about her. Everything she ever thought about him crashes down completely, the betrayal is enormous, and she walks into his office and hits him hard in the face. Jack’s reaction is wonderful – without taking his eyes off her, he asks the other policemen to leave them alone:                                        

For nearly a full minute, there was nothing but silence. All three men appeared to have been turned to stone by the furious goddess that stood before them. It was only when Jack reached up and, unbelievingly, dabbed at his cheek that she was reminded he was still flesh and blood. “Collins—” Jack growled, his eyes never leaving hers. When Hugh didn’t move, Jack barked again. “Both of you! Out. Now.”

And Phryne “found it largely reminiscent of a hostage negotiation. It was immensely satisfying.” What follows is a delicious conversation where he tries to understand her fury, she slowly realises that they had actually been talking about something completely different from what she’d gathered, and an equally delicious making up.

In the category angst light I place three fics. @suigeneris221b‘s “Someone is waiting” gives us Jack finding out through the newspaper’s gossip column that Phryne has married in London. He decides to immediately repress all his feelings until he can go home and have a breakdown in peace. It’s both humorous and angsty, and Mac’s telegrams to Phryne asking what the heck she is doing are great. As the trope is miscommunication, we probably shouldn’t take the newspaper’s story at face value, and we get truly wonderful interactions between the triad of Phryne, Jack and Mac while trying to make it all right again. Something similar can be said about @whopooh’s “I’d know you anywhere,” where the slightly angsty misunderstanding instead stems from Jack being feverish after a knife wound, mistaking people for each other. Again, Mac is a solid rock for her BFF Phryne. In @missingmissfisher’s “A thousand times over”, the misunderstanding evolves from Phryne having received a faulty message, which makes her walk in on Jack having dinner with and comforting Rosie, and this then leads to several disastrous attempts at contact between the two. Finally, in a lovely turn, Jack manages to communicate through the flower language, but it wouldn’t have worked out without the translation help from her solid friend Mac, educated in the natural sciences.

Finally, the end of the spectre: the angst proper of miscommunication, which obviously can be rather heavy. In @rositalg’s “Old Habits Die Hard Holding On” Phryne and Jack have just about started a relationship, and in a clever twist the fic in one single scene explores three things: Jack’s fear of Phryne wanting other men, the fear belonging to the threat of a serial killer in a case, and Phryne’s fear that goes back to her backstory with René. There is a flinch in the fic that is really devastating. Two fics deal with mistaken news of death: comeaftermejackrobinson’s “The tell-tale heart” explores a possible parallel to “Blood at the Wheel” – if it was instead Phryne who at that moment in time would receive a message that Jack had died, and also discovering that he had put her down as ‘next of kin’: “He had listed her as his next of kin and had never said a word about it. She could have killed him for putting her through this, really, had he not been already dead”. @omgimsarahtoo’s “In the Next Breath” explores the Phryne receiving mistaken news of Jack’s death when they are already in an established relationship -- the feeling of loss is acute:

Her head swam, and when she dropped her hand from her eyes, she could see Dot’s concerned face, black spots swimming through her field of vision. Ha, dots on Dot. The thought made her huff out a laugh, and she clapped a hand over her mouth, horrified.

Only minutes after the news, Jack comes home to a devastated household, and acutely heightened from the thought of the loss are Phryne's emotions and the feeling of making love to him.

The last fic is the most angsty one, @ladyroxie’s “Between the Shadow and the Soul”. In this multi-chapter case fic, Jack disappears on his way to England without a trace, and as Phryne doesn’t even know he decided to follow her, it takes time before anyone starts to miss him -- a nightmare in itself. Jack has been badly injured by a person who steals his identity to travel, and when Phryne finally realises he’s gone missing, she investigates, takes help from an old friend in England, and goes to Egypt to try and find him. It is very suspenseful and the question is if she’ll manage to find him, and in time. Jack’s injuries here were so brutal that @221aubrina in “The Library” – which here can serve as a sweet appendix to the trope – wrote a wonderful meta story about the librarians that take care of all the ‘Jacks’ that have been out in circulation among the fanfic writers and have been damaged. After @ladyroxie’s fic, the librarians check the injuries and note:

“Yeah... he'll need a good deal of extra time and care in The Restoration Lab." Norton shook his head. "Huh. Pretty bad then, eh?" Harris nodded to his colleague. "We might have to bring a couple of the other copies out before this edition's fit to be checked out again, if it ever is." "Think he might have to go to the Special Collections Wing?" Norton queried.

Thus we can, even in this journey towards more and more angst, end on a humorous note.

This was the February trope, and I look very much forward to reading stories of March’s trope, “Bottle episode”. 

[laufire]

lesbian mary au

At one point, in large part influenced by my frustration with certain trends in fandom when it comes to lesbian headcanons, I started turning into this one; which would be pretty much the opposite of those: Mary as a lesbian doesn’t erase any romantic pairing the fandom finds threatening, and the fact that she’s had relationship with men can’t be turned into something “cheeky” she’s done for kicks or convenientseduciton (the Cool Lesbian Femme Fatale trend I’m hating lately): it’s nothing less than a goddamned (well, godblessed, actually) tragedy. It’s horrifying, violating, and awful in every way. There’s no way to handwave it or make it fun. It’s hard but cathartic to think about, in a way.

So yeah, the story would start at the end of s11/beginning of s12 with a resurrected Mary. I don’t know how much I’ll use of the actual season, tbh. S12′s plot just... it’s bad. It’s just bad xD. So I might pick and choose what I want to keep, what I want to throw away, etc.

For example, the one thing that could’ve improved Lily Sunder’s episode would’ve been Mary’s presence on it?? How could they not see this?? Smh. However, although it might be prudent to keep them for some plots, I’m tempted to throw the BMOL away, or at the very least completely change that plot in other ways xDD

Sam and Dean have a (partially?) off-screen debate-slash-fight on whether to tell Mary about the cupids and Heaven’s intervention in her life (among maybe other information about John, who she’ll have to deal with too). You can easily imagine who’s for and who’s against lbr. This conversation is what makes Mary look back on her life with different eyes. It’s not a shippy story -although I don’t rule out some f/f interactions where Mary deals with things in maybe not-so-healthy ways-, but about Mary coming to terms with what’s been done to her.

I feel a bit bad about saying this (me, the MILF enthusiast!!), but the plot would’ve worked so much better with the younger Mary’s actress. It would’ve highlighted how bonkers the situation between her and her grown-asf sons was, how young she’d died, etc. etc. So that’s who I imagine in this WIP, and who I want my readers to see.

Send me a potential AU and I’ll tell you five fun facts that would happen in a story.

[the-jennnster]

SAVE WAYWARD SISTERS

I’m sure that if you’re a fan of Supernatural and have been any part excited about Wayward Sisters, you’ve heard the horrible news.

The CW did not pick it up.

But

This is the Supernatural fandom. We are hunters and monsters and demons and angels in our own rights. We are fighters. 

This is not the end of our fight.

We can still let the CW know just how much this show means to us in many ways, let them know that we need this show (more than The Vampire Diaries universe needs another spin-off smh).

There are three ways you can do this, as of today.

1. Sign this Change petition. As of the adding of that link, the signatures were topping 10,100. Let’s see if we can double that number, eh?

2. “Give feedback on a show’s content” at the CW website here. I have yet to do this part myself, but trust me, it’s definitely on the docket.

3. Email mark.pedowitz@cwtv.com and (respectfully) tell him how much Wayward Sisters means to you. Now this one, I’ve already done.

Dear Mr. Pedowitz and the CW family, I'm a huge fan of your long-running show, Supernatural, despite only having been watching it live for a matter of weeks.  But in those weeks, spending time online with other fans, looking at the stars' social media accounts, and just in general being a part of this utterly amazing fandom, I've noticed there's one thing that almost everyone has been excited for. Wayward Sisters. You see, a large part of this fandom is female or female-identifying and even the ones who aren't understand just how important strong female representation is.Wayward Sisters has that representation. The women who were featured in that show are brave and powerful and loving and flawed. They aren't two-dimensional, they aren't meant to be love interests and love interests only, they aren't the damsels in distress. These women are a family, a family of beautiful, broken people who need each other and support each other and do a damn good of saving others too. This... This is the female representation that we need on TV. We need a motherly figure who's not afraid to let her girls see her vulnerable and know how scared she is for them. We need a bubbly personality who can also break because of everything's she lost. We need a bad-girl-turned-good, thanks to the love of this mismatched family. We need a girl who needs to do good, despite all the bad that follows her. We need a girl who's sacrificed the life she always knew for what she knows is right, albeit not entirely willingly. We need a girl who's terrified of herself, but is willing to use her own power to help her family. We need these women. We need this family. Being a corporate exec, you might not have the time to look down at all us little fangirls and realize how much this show means to us, but that's why I'm writing you this email. Because you and coworkers need to know.This show hasn't even aired yet and already this fandom has developed an irreplacable connection to these women, because they are flawed and broken and imperfect. Because they're just like us. And everybody loves to recognize their own personal struggles onscreen, whether or not it's the very first thing you see.

So, thank you for listening, and I'm begging you. Please reconsider your decision to go through with Wayward Sisters. This show means a lot to all of us.

This fandom is Wayward AF. I know we can do it!