#definitely not an experience I had with the other parts of ‘superwholock’ back in the day

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

You don’t understand, when I was at my worst with my depression, and every time I looked up at the night sky and grew scared of how small we are, how alone we might be, how short our time is, how I couldn’t comprehend infinity, how everything will end eventually, how everything I see way out there is long gone, I would panic. I would break down. The stars themselves scared me. But one day doctor who was put on Netflix and a comment on a deviant post reminded me of a deal I made with another user. If I watch doctor who they’ll watch the time travel show I thought was cool. I watched it on a whim, I’m not sure I’d even encountered it much on tumblr yet. But it made me feel less small. I began to actually look at the night sky without abject terror. I thought about how if you looked at it more like, idk, a learning adventure? When you heard new things about it, it wasn’t as scary. Something that could inspire writers to create such adventures and have normal people characters tag along… I got less scared. When everything started being galaxy print I thought it was pretty and not horrifying. It’s long been a trendy pattern of the last decade or so, perhaps a bit less, but I still see cool looking art inspired by images from space telescopes that were made to have different colors for invisible wavelengths so that humans could see… idk. It makes me happy. It’s like I’m less scared, and now I don’t even feel like I need there to be life on other planets for me to stop feeling alone, because there is so much life on this one! Even if I was the only human on earth, I still wouldn’t be alone just from being on this life filled planet. And I’m not the only human.

That’s not an experience I’ve had from many stories, it was one of those things that you encounter at just the right time for your view of the world to be changed for the better. Something that lodges itself inside of you and makes you better than you were before. I’ll always remember it fondly because of that. I know there is a lot I never watched and maybe one day I’ll catch up, but the fact is that what I DID see was enough to change me as a person. To make my existential dread just a little bit less all encompassing and inspire more curiosity in me.

[running-tweezers]

You know, I never really talk about the specifics as to why I’m so cautious about fandom and what I get involved in on here. And also as a result why I’m often really scared to interact with people. But I was recently talking about my experience with a friend and doing a lot of unpacking with myself. And as tough as it is, I think I want to share, in case it might help someone.

CW: threats of death and sexual assault, unwanted romantic/sexual advances, suicide, toxic relationships

I will try to make this as concise as possible but no promises lol

It was around 2014. I was about 19/20. I had recently started being more active in a fandom that will remain unnamed. This fandom was by far the biggest one I’ve ever been a part of, but not a big super fandom, like Superwholock or Marvel or whatever was big at the time. And this piece of media was everything to me. I kept up with new content religiously. I went to conventions. I cosplayed. I have beloved memories with irl friends attached to it. It brought me such genuine joy, and there’s a part of me that’s sad it’s been so poisoned for me that I can’t look at anything related to it anymore.

I was just starting to dip my toe into the online fandom aspect of things, and I was looking for people to follow. I saw someone make a post about my favorite character, and I agreed with the take so hard, it was as if I wrote it myself. So I followed instantly. Not long after, that blog followed me back, and sent me a DM. We’re gonna call him G.

G introduced himself and asked me if I followed him because I read his fanfic. I didn’t even know he wrote fanfic. Turns out G was a WAY bigger deal in the online fandom than I realized. He had written what was, at the time, the longest running piece of fanfiction for this fandom. He was what some might consider a “Big Name Fan”. I was so shocked that someone that big wanted to follow me, a tiny blog who was better known for posting about musical theater before getting into this fandom.

We talked about my favorite character for a while, and then started talking in the DMs more regularly after that. I was so excited that I was making a friend within this fandom. And someone so well known! It was crazy! I did read his fanfic, it definitely wasn’t for me, not my cup of tea, but that was fine! I didn’t need to tell him that, that would be rude! So I lied, and told him I loved it. I also told him I loved one of his favorite ships, even though I was pretty eh on it, didn’t care one way or the other. But I couldn’t hurt his feelings! This was a new friend!

That was mistake number one, but also maybe what ended up saving me.

After a while, our conversations turned a little more personal, talking about our lives outside of fandom. That’s when things started getting weird. G seemed like he maybe wanted something more than friendship. I was pretty clear that I was in a serious relationship at the time and not available (which was true, that relationship is now my wonderful husband) and he would back off a bit. But soon he was back on it again, reblogging my selfies with strings of heart eye emojis, sending me ask game responses straight up telling me that he thought I was hot and he had a crush on me, basically pushing things as far as he could without crossing a line.

Never once did I consider unfollowing him, or blocking him though. Because after we became friends I started to see that G was not afraid of calling people out. He had enough sway that he could turn a large swath of people against someone if he talked shit in a post. And honestly, he was ruthless. If I turned him down outright, or stopped talking to him, that could be me he went after next. Thats when I became absolutely terrified of upsetting him. So I kept putting up with his advances, kept praising his fanfic I didn’t like, kept talking all about this ship he loved, kept listening to him talk shit about people who didn’t agree with his opinions, kept talking to him like we were buddies. But I was scared.

It wasn’t until much much later down the line that realized I was essentially in a controlling and abusive relationship with this guy. The fact that it was platonic and not romantic (at least on my end) clouded that for me in the moment. My life revolved around online fandom, the drama, the discourse, and making sure my opinions lined up with his so he wouldn’t get mad at me.

That’s how it went until shit eventually hit the fan. I was gone for a while and I couldn’t get online for a week or so. I remember worrying that he was gonna get mad that I wasn’t answering him. So when I got the chance to go online again I went to check. And G was gone. Account deactivated. I was so confused, so I went digging in the fandom tag.

Turns out G had been exposed for sending very detailed and personal death and rape threats to people who didn’t agree with him. People who didn’t ship his favorite ship. People who didn’t like his fanfic. He had been sending these threats the entire time I knew him.

I have never felt such retroactive fear in my entire life. I was one of the people who didn’t agree with him on everything. I didn’t ship his favorite ship. I didn’t like his fanfic. I just lied and said I did to placate him. If he was sending such detailed and personal death and rape threats to total strangers on the Internet, I cannot imagine what he might have done had he found out I also didn’t agree with him. Someone he thought was his friend. Someone he was obviously romantically and sexually attracted to.

And I realized that just because he deactivated his account, that didn’t mean he was gone. He could very easily make another account. He could find me again.

That filled me with such dread that I quit tumblr. I left this website and fandom entirely.

The next year was what I consider one of the worst of my entire life mentally. Not all of it was because of this, but I think this experience, plus a lot of things about fandom/tumblr culture in general at the time were definitely the one jenga block I pulled that knocked the whole tower down. I ended up trying to take my own life that year. Fortunately that didn’t happen and I got help that I desperately needed.

I debated coming back to tumblr for a long time. I was gone from online fandom for 8 years. And I missed it. It wasn’t all bad. I missed the joy it was capable of bringing me. So now that I’m nearly 30, I decided to come back so I could join the Redacted community, because it had become such an intense hyperfixation. I figured I had grown, and I knew how to set boundaries and control my time online now. And for the most part I have. There are for sure still times where I see things within this community that trigger old feelings, and sometimes I wonder if coming back was a mistake. But for the most part I’m really proud of myself for coming back and making the experience of being part of a fandom a positive one again.

If you feel like fandom is becoming a place that is hurting you, PLEASE. Set boundaries. Take control of your time online. Nothing and nobody in any fandom is more important than taking care of yourself and your mental health. It may seem so incredibly important but at the end of the day? It’s only tumblr. There is a great big world out there and this is a teeny tiny slice of it. Don’t let that tiny slice ruin everything else, ok? If I can help one single person by sharing this, it will have been worth it.

[valentinesparda]

you know what. I know I keep saying I want to experiment with my art style a couple of times and after a while of thinking about it off and on (like. several years) but it's because I realized that like. I've experienced and put myself through a bunch of psychological bullshit in regards to how my art and the style I've had to develop is perceived. I started out drawing cartoony styles and eventually when I started to get into anime in the mid 2000s I started emulating the styles I liked. naruto in particular definitely helped me start to draw more, and then atla, and copying images in game informers of like the trauma center games and such, and when I got to art class in high school I had my teacher tell me that yeah you can draw cartoons but you can also do realism, and I think if you're gonna continue doing art you should stick to realism. standard fare for a child raised in the 00s

but the worst offender is when I became active on the internet

i love drawing what most people would consider anime. I'm also really good at realism as far as I can tell. there's no need for me to have to choose to survive as an artist but like. I went through a phase of no longer thinking anime and video games were cool and became your typical superwholock blogger, and then came the MASSIVE wave of realistic or semi-realistic styles becoming what everyone wanted to see, and I feel like part of that has to be from other kids that experienced their art teachers telling them that cartoons and anime would never serve them as an artist, and then a large part of it came from the fact that anime was never really cool

but anyways, there was a very big boom of the only popular fanarts you ever saw were the hyper realistic types that were massively detailed and I was gaslit into believing that yeah, I can't have fun with my art, and if I do then it has to be proportionate to real life and always has to be palatable to the main audience of "don't have fun with your art" unless you're mimicking a Hanna Barbera cartoon and had plans to make art a job or you could only ever make money off of your art and don't forget to do commissions or sell your art or you aren't a Real Artist, so I've done so much work to learn anatomy and lighting and all of that just to come right back around with the set of rules but now I can break them

so I'm so happy that I get to be in a time now where yeah there's still the majority of artists that have only ever developed a hyper realistic style and that's okay, but now it's more acceptable to have fun with your art, have it be scratchy and disproportional and give them big anime eyes and don't worry about etching out details for everything. I never felt like I was happy with making my art look real and I want to go back to my roots of cartoons and anime and scribbling with oil pastels and never using watercolor correctly. I got so boring with my colors and my poses for the past seven years specifically because I just wasn't ever happy with anything I made and I want to make things that make me happy, and if the first step was to only draw selfship art then like, so be it, because that's where I started too

trust me I'm not knocking anyone for their art styles but I am saying that there shouldn't have to be a single road you have to take to become palatable as an artist, the only thing that matters is if art is fun for you, if you're making things you like, and god dammit, you do NOT have to sell your art to be a good artist

[afishlearningpoetry]

Still seeing people call us a cult in 2021 😑 🚬 Is there anything that broke this blogging website's brains more than a 2010s BBC show?

Tbh and I’ll get to why it connects to what you’re saying but what really broke this website’s brains is the crab bucket culture of disposability and cycle of online abuse that it nurtured for years until it spread to the rest of the internet... like the early social justice awakening to the yfip blogs and call out posts and anonymous stalking and commenting (that carried over partially from livejournal/older fandom, tbf) that’s translated into like, faulty, second-hand sourced fanwiki websites tracking the perceived dancing with the devil transgressions of some person, a random stranger essentially, has made in their online life, and for what reason, really? For what purpose? Like I think a lot of us gained some awareness at a certain point that these tactics were thinly veiled guises to harass and take personal shots at basically random people for mostly petty reasons (clearly plenty of people are pretending that’s not what it is and went back to it), but I also wonder what it did to the brains of like the youngest people on here, who started using the website since they were children, not just high school age or close to, but even younger people.

That frame of mind is everywhere now, especially with younger fandoms, not just on here. Twitter is pretty terrible. I was watching the Mask Off video from Lindsay Ellis recently and it’s just horrifying to me the way this website essentially birthed that form of harassment. Every step of the way, the way that she (and Natalie, in her own video) detail how it happened is absolutely identical to how it happens on here, except it’s happening in daylight where public figures are in the same fight-to-the-death arena as the rest of us, which is what makes it easier to articulate. This is not to dismiss anything someone like Lindsay has to go through, considering what she disclosed in the video and that she’s been harassed by the alt-right for years, but she also has enough of an online standing to publicly face those charges and refute the majority of them. Like Natalie also said, but what happens to someone else? Someone with no name, or social or financial security, and that’s basically what I’m getting it. That kind of online abuse happening over and over and over and over again trickles down to everybody else. That’s what broke people’s brains. That’s what ruined this website.

And it isn’t just the reactionary, cringe culture post-fandom nihilism that shifted into online culture in 2016 and onwards (I’ve mentioned this before, like, the constant jokes about bad and infamous moments from tumblr), but harassment that still happens on here. You can accuse people of being a pedophile with no credibility, harass them about their eight year old fandom history, or dox and shame them out of public life without much effort, granted there are enough people willing to hop in the crab bucket with you. It has nothing to do with genuinely caring about anything but being an asshole. So for most of that to be distilled into people hate following tjlc (which was named such as a self-aware joke) for literal years when it was largely one of the most fun, positive, creative and dedicated fan spaces I’ve ever been in, and then finally having the wind at their backs to essentially cut everyone down and collect some heads because series 4 finally got the critical backlash they were waiting for to do so with widespread permission (they tried this with series 3, but it just didn’t take because the quality was too consistent), is severely aggravating.

I’ve had plenty of other, smaller negative experiences on here, whether they be trends or staples, and I’ve certainly contributed, but there’s always been enough good for me to stay. But after series 4 that was no longer the case. I just hit a breaking point where I couldn’t be as personally invested anymore, it got so bad. As much as I still want to come here for specific reasons and contribute what I can, I have a lot of trouble engaging with anything because I’m ready to see any new blog or topic I follow to dip into those same habits all over again, which is inevitably what happens. To watch anti-intellectual post-fandom nihilism — and if you’ve been here at all between end of 2016 to now you know the kind of attitude, posts, rhetoric and style of speech, and blogs I’m talking about — kind of dominate this website, has been a large part of why I only pop up sporadically. After Nov. 5th it’s been ironic watching so many people I’d describe that way unironically get into the paranormal show again. Not because I think that’s bad, I follows blogs that talk about it and think it’s cool, I made an edit at the time, or that anyone should be “above it”, we’re on tumblr after all, but because that kind of venomous behavior is still there underneath, like we’re not all also blogging specifically about superwholock shows.

A few months ago when someone accused me of being part of a q anon-level conspiracy and that we’re all “monsters of your own making”, this being before the capitol riot where dozens of members of the US house were nearly murdered en-masse, one of the things they said was that we couldn’t admit that our show was bad, but it was fine what they were doing with the other show because they were just having fun, and that we couldn’t, I don’t know, do anything or whatever about it until we were ready to admit our show is also bad. Which is a pretty revealing look into how that line of thinking, all the way from the early tumblr days, to other places like twitter, all the way back to here again has evolved despite staying the same. This bizarre blend of ironic detachment, self-deprecation, moralizing over a show’s perceived wrongdoings as perceived personal transgressions, bullying, rumors, fan wikis, and years of witnessing or being in on online harassment rewiring people’s brains to the point where not only is it impossible to do anything without jumping through twenty mental hoops before you do it, it’s essentially a both a constant threat and entry-level trial by fire into having any kind of existence in an online fandom space.

Of course it’s not just the barraging from people on here that’s contributed to that kind of culture, it’s everywhere else, because it spread everywhere. Think pieces by people not involved in the space, summaries of what happened mostly written by people who were hate following it to begin with, academic papers by ex-fans, faux-investigative pieces from wanna-be media critics trying to canonize their version of what happened into definitive internet history after preemptively blocking everyone involved so no one can respond to what they say — it’s extremely exhausting every step of the way. I can’t blame ex-tjlc people for just abandoning this place or any online space completely, because it’s still relentless four years later, and if the initial experience of series 4 wasn’t already distressing enough, whatever you think about it now, everyone’s faced the same challenge of being gradually smothered into relinquishing any ties to it through that cycle of shame that’s been perfected and streamlined right down to quick and recognizable beats on this website for over a decade.

[musical-chick-13]

About that “Chibnall killed Doctor who post”

I’m kinda on the inbetween of that arguement, I remained a fan of Doctor who throughout this Chibnall era, but I definitely think Chibnall isn’t as good of a Doctor who writer as RTD or Moffat.

I think literally any episode he did (keeping the original concept) could’ve been done better with RTD or Moffat.

E.G. I really liked the Concept of the Timeless child and I the episode itself was pretty good, but I think if RTD had worked on series 11 and 12, the timeless child thing would’ve been something similar to bad Wolf, with a lot more hinting and build up throughout the series.

But again, I still watch it, and I’m still a fan since there were some good episodes in Chibnall’s era. But I am excited for RTD’s return.

Hey, fellow Doctor Who fan! Thanks for the ask! (And for being respectful and descriptive while sending it. I love, like...actual fandom dialogue and idea exchange, and I am always down to talk about Doctor Who.)

I'm sorry this response got so long (turns out I love to ramble about TV I follow), so I'm putting the rest under a "read more."

I totally get why people are excited for RTD coming back. Personally, I just like the characters and acting more in the other eras (sans Martha, who is my favorite companion forever and ever, but I still didn't really like the way Ten treated her?). They spoke to me in a way that many in RTD-era number one just...didn't? I'm not completely sure why, so I guess I'll have to work on figuring that out, haha. But I primarily care about characters/character arcs when I watch something because I've been a Theatre Kid™ (and later a Theatre Adult™) my entire life, and the reason why is because I like getting into the heads of fictional people and figuring out where they emotionally end up. Foreshadowing and plot concepts are often secondary to me. But for people who value those things, absolutely I get the love for RTD because he was (and likely will continue to be) good at it.

I think, ultimately, a big part of the problem in terms of how the Chibnall era was received stemmed, not just from genuine criticisms of or objections to the show, but also the fact that many fans would take every opportunity to talk about how every single thing was completely awful with no redeeming qualities and deserved no chances. People who stopped watching the show would still talk about it, even though they hadn't actually seen what was happening, and despite me seeing a lot of discussion about how people were willing to accept some of RTDs (and even, occasionally, Steven Moffat's, though that was far less common) because they got value out of enough other things in the show. But I...haven't seen the same grace extended to the Chibnall era. There were some episodes that fell flat for me, but I think Ryan's arc of learning what he wants and accepting the beauty of a life on Earth, and Graham's reflection on grief, and Yaz's ill-advised devotion and mental health struggle backstory, and everything about Thirteen, and everything about Sacha Dhawan's portrayal of The Master ultimately mean more to me than the episodes I find less-than-stellar. But many times when I've tried to go into Doctor Who-related tags or look for video essays on YouTube or skim the official Facebook page for news, I just see an avalanche of content about how the whole thing is worthless and we should throw it all out. Add in the fact that there were some infamous plotlines and fandom drama in the "Super" and "Lock" parts of SuperWhoLock (which as a totality has recently made the shift in cultural perception to "Cringe™"), which bled over into assuming Doctor Who would follow suit, and there's a lot of negativity that unfairly skews the perception of what people's relationship to and opinion of the show are. Many times, the people who hate something are the loudest about it. And a lot of times, that dissuades people who genuinely love the thing from talking about how much they love it. (Or, at the very least, prevents those talks from getting traction, because people who hate things, in my experience, are...very adamant about running people who disagree with them off of public platforms.)

I can get why the Chibnall era wouldn't hit as well for some people. And if it's not someone's thing, that is completely fine. (God knows there are lots of things that aren't for me.) I think, though, that if someone decides something isn't their thing, it's better for everyone for them to say, "Hey, it's not my thing" and watch something else that is. I don't think continuing to talk about how much they hate it is very helpful to anyone involved. Obviously people can vent and make posts about their feelings on the show, but there's a line and I've seen a lot of people (in unprecedented numbers) cross it. And, ultimately, I think that is the thing that's the most responsible for the public negative reactions to Chibnall.

[majesticnerdynerd]

Reichenbach Falls Recap 2020

Hello! Since it is December 31st of this tomfuckery of a year, I decided to make a post about something that brightened my days since the 25th of May, my fic Reichenbach Falls that keeps me company every day which I love very much. Never ever would I have thought I’d come up with a 300-chapter a.k.a. 3 works in 1 fanfic. And yet here we are! 

I wanted to reflect on how the initial writing process went, then the posting, and how it evolved until today. 

So, Reichenbach Falls. It is a Gravity Falls Sherlock AU, but as I plotted more and more, it evolved into the monstrosity of SuperWhoLock. 2012 called that they want their Holy Trinity back, but guess what? I may be late to the party but I still groove! It will mostly be SuperLock once it really gets off in further episodes later on, but the SuperWhoLock episodes? Y’all won’t see the crazy stuff coming.

Now: the origins. As I mentioned above, the 25th of May 2020 is when I speed-wrote episode 1 of RF. The original document was 13k words long and mere 3 chapters, and I have a policy of writing on and on until it is needed to start reviewing. Upon said reviewing in the last week of August. It was a lot of work; since then I had decided to have each episode be split into 5 chapters, so I had to add 2 and review the new stuff. Today, episode 1 - Pixie Cut is the longest I have so far with 30k words. However, that may be soon overcome by episode 8 or 9 or even 10 - I noticed that episodes down the line are quite elaborate as I write them, which I suppose is good? I mean, it gives us more lore and interactions!

After writing all summer on speeds similar to those of Mr Krabs on methamphetamine (and my friends Bee @jasombee​ and Dee @ipromiseimnotaspy​ can attest to that), I suddenly found myself facing September 1st. The day I published Introduction to the characters and chapter 1 of ep. 1. And guys, the reception and feedback I got at the beginning? Still mindblowing to this day! 

And I am incredibly grateful for everyone who clicked, gave kudo, commented, or subscribed to the fic, because I honestly didn’t think that a Sherlock AU that is taking on its own life and consuming mine would get much attention. But it did! And it’s all the more exciting to be able to share the story of John, Irene, Sherlock, Greg, and Mrs Hudson with anyone who joins the ride!

But the special thanks belong to Bee and Dee whom I mnetioned above as well. Bee took her time to bless Reichenbach Falls with fanart of the Colour Wheel, and Mary, John, Irene, and Sherlock. And there will be more for some other important peeps, too, eventually! And her art is gorgeous, so she definitely also deserves some serious love. Dee took her time to read the episodes I put in front of her and gave me first-feel feedback as a reader, which I value so much! She also prohibited me from spoiling her the plot twists, so she’s a bit of my lab rat to see her reactions, while Bee is my sounding board and helped me flesh out the overarching plot across the full 3 works and she also graciously helps me smooth out details regarding the crossover bits. Oh, and Dee also made moodboards for Sherlock and Irene! Thank you girls, I don’t know what I’d do without you.

We also got a SuperLock episode, which actually took a lot longer than I liked to write in July. It was the first passing introduction of the Winchester brothers, and I have to say that I’m satisfied with it. The original episode was 22k words long, the present posted one stands at 25.888 words. The Winchester brothers will be vital to the plot and very relevant as the story progresses, so it’s definitely not the last time we saw them in ep2 Gloria Scott! And I mean it, did I mention there’s a lot of lore? :)

This fic has its own memes in my gallery, because me and my friends couldn’t help it, and somehow, a twisted impostor spirit of Niclas Cage and ghoul Freddie Mercury ended up as parts of the plot in their respective episodes. What can I say, this fic is full of surprises even for me as I write :D and there’s a lot more to come as we unravel the many mysteries of Reichenbach Falls and its origins!

Honestly, it’s such a blast to write this. I never thought I’d set out to write a project this big. I have a shcedule I try to keep to, posting on every fifth day of the month. Season 1, Deja Vu, is roughly plotted out, but I’ve discussed this on my secondary blog where I had a nice chat with Iris. Season 2, name of which I won’t disclose yet because that is 1 year in the future in terms of being posted, is also plotted out roughly, but I give myself enough free leeway so as not to feel restricted or suffocated by my own expectations. Which works out, because I always improvise on the whim as I write, and it’s all the more fun!

And the people who reached out, even those who didn’t or lurk, I love you. You’ve made this experience of posting fanfiction all the more exciting and I can’t wait to show you all there is. Thank you <3

The primary ship is, of course, Johnlock, but I don’t stop there either ;) but other ships are a surprise for now!

Also, here’s something I find quite funny: almost 4 full months of Reichenbach Falls being posted and it reached a beautiful number of hits.

Do you see that?

Oh yes. It’s all coming together. What a way to end 2020. Crowley shall enjoy the ride as well, because we’re on our highway to hell! (wow it rhymes)

Seriously, though. Thank you for tagging along. 

I’ll see you on January 5th with episode 6

Happy New Year!

-Vee

[thepokyone]

Superwholock Extravaganza: Eleventh Doctor Edition

Gif not mine

Pairing: Eleventh Doctor x Reader

Content/Warnings: fluff; angst

Set post Sherlock’s fall

Words: 3856

A/N: Part 3 of my Supernatural Extravaganza is here! I hope you all are enjoying this miniseries, as I’m having fun with it. The last pairing will be with Sherlock, so stay tuned!

Episode 3: Itsy-Bitsy Spider

“So, where should we go?” The Doctor asked enthusiastically, bounding around the TARDIS console. Sometimes you wondered if the man ever got tired, with how much energy he always had. “Earth, alien, past, future, what do you say?”

“Surprise me,” You said to him with a smile, legs dangling back and forth from where you sat on the railing. “Are we going to get Amy and Rory?”

“I figured this one could just be the two of us! Is that okay?” He asked with a dazzling smile.

You sent him a matching one in return. “Of course! I love spending time with you.”

“Oh, brilliant!” He said, somehow getting even happier as he turned back to the console. “I know just where to go! Here, pull that lever!”

You hopped off the rail, pulling the one he pointed to. “Do I get to know where we’re going?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise,” The Doctor said as the TARDIS settled. “Now, just close your eyes and -”

Ring. Ring. Ring.

You blinked. “Is that the phone?”

“Why yes, I do believe it is!” He said. “Probably just Amy, I’m sure she left something on the TARDIS again. Hello!” His eyebrows quickly drew downwards, and you had known him long enough to know what that meant. Someone was in trouble. “What? No, no, we weren’t doing anything very important. We’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone and clapped his hands together. “So, Y/N, bad news. We’re going to have to go on a surprise adventure some other day, there’s a bit of an emergency in London. Bit ahead of your time, this London, but unfortunately you’re not allowed to get the new iPhone.”

“I didn’t want -” You sighed. “Never mind. Who was it, anyways?”

“An old friend!” The Doctor said happily. “You’ve never met him, but he’s really quite brilliant. Almost as smart as me, and twice as observant!”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” You said with a smile as the Doctor pulled levers and pushed buttons around the console. “Who is it?”

“Only the most famous detective to ever live!” The Doctor said, giving your nose a tap as he went by. “Sherlock Holmes, of course!”

“Who’s Sherlock Holmes?” You asked, scrunching up your eyebrows. “I mean, he sounds familiar, but…”

“Oh! Right, you came aboard a bit before his rise to fame.” The Doctor twiddled his fingers upwards for effect. “Really, brilliant, a bit rude though! Rude, but brilliant. Brude? Rilliant?”

“Doctor?” You interrupted, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips. “I’m sure he’s waiting.”

“Yes! Right!” The Doctor said, doubling back to grab your hand and pull you out of the TARDIS. “Here we are! 221B Baker Street, home to the most brilliant human mind in the world!”

“You flatter me, Doctor.” The door opened, revealing a tall man with pale eyes and a mop of dark curls. He wore a long blue trench coat, which reminded you of the coat the Doctor wore in his tenth regeneration. “Please, come in. Something has happened, and this seems to be more of your area.”

“Well, what sort of thing?” The Doctor asked, following Sherlock inside. “I love things! All sorts of things. Odd things, normal things, stuff-that-happens-only-on-Tuesday things -”

“Doctor,” You interrupted his excited rant.

“Yes! Right!” The Doctor said brightly. “Sherlock, meet my companion slash girlfriend, Y/N Y/L/N.”

“I had deducted,” Sherlock stated, looking unfazed by the Doctor’s rant. You wondered how long they had known each other (and how you hadn’t known that they knew each other). “Pleasure.”

He led you upstairs, through a door and into a sitting room. A blond man was in an armchair, reading a newspaper, and glanced up when the three of you entered, his eyebrows flicking upwards. “Sherlock?”

“John, this is the man I was telling you about. Doctor, Y/N, meet my friend and flatmate, John Watson.”

You and the Doctor gave identical, awkward waves. John returned with one of his own. “Hi.”

“Hello!” The Doctor responded, not missing a beat. “I’m the Doctor! The last time I saw Sherlock, he didn’t have an friends. Good job!”

Sherlock gave the Doctor a look as said man gave him two enthusiastic pats on the back. “Right. Anyways, Doctor, I didn’t just make a social call.”

“Of course not, you never were one for human interaction,” The Doctor said, pulling out his sonic screwdriver and wandering around the apartment, still talking as he took readings. “So, what seems to be the problem?”

“Moriarty,” Sherlock said gravely.

“Oh,” The Doctor breathed. “Oh, now that is interesting.”

“What’s interesting?” You asked. “Who’s Moriarty?”

“A genius, just like good ol’ Sherlock here,” The Doctor said, smacking his screwdriver in the palm of his hand. It seemed to be acting up. “An evil one, at that. What’s this, 2014? He’s been dead for, oh, two years ago now.”

“Then explain to me, Doctor, how two days ago he showed up in my living room,” Sherlock said.

The Doctor’s eyes widened. “Did he really? Where was he sitting? What did he want?”

Sherlock nodded towards where John was seated. “He sat right there. Moriarty said he had, and I quote, ‘moved on to bigger prey’. I suppose he found someone smarter than me - in his eyes, anyways. Because, Doctor, let’s face it. There is no one smarter than me.”

John snorted. “Great, Sherlock. Very humble. I’d say the only one smarter than you would be the Doctor here.”

“You know what the oddest thing of all is, Doctor?” Sherlock said. “Something I have absolutely no explanation for?”

“What?” The Doctor asked, his interest peaked.

“His eyes,” Said Sherlock simply. “Before he left. They turned black. Completely. He steps out of the flat, and then he was just,” Sherlock snapped his fingers. “Gone.”

The Doctor’s brow furrowed, deep in thought. “Oh, you do have a bit of a problem on your hands, don’t you?”

“What are you thinking, Doctor?” Sherlock asked, pacing back and forth. “Moriarty died. I saw it, there’s no way he could have faked that.”

“No, no, of course not. Bullet to the head? He’s definitely dead. So they question is… What was in your house?” The Doctor asked, sonicing around John’s chair.

“Doctor, I don’t know,” Sherlock stressed, looking displeased to utter such words.

“That’s a first,” John muttered.

The detective sent him a glare before continuing. “Otherwise I wouldn’t have called you here.”

“Right!” The Doctor said, clapping his hands together. “Right. Y/N, you haven’t said much, what do you think?”

“Me?” You repeated. “Doctor, I don’t know -”

“Oh, come on!” He said. “It doesn’t hurt to have a second opinion. Or third, in this case.”

“It’s going to sound stupid, but when Sherlock said the thing about his eyes, being black - my first thought was demon. Like in the movies,” You said with a grimace.

The Doctor froze, turning to look at you. “Say that again, but slowly.”

“I said, my first thought was demon. Like in the movies.” As someone long used to the Doctor’s oddities, you found no point in asking why.

“Oh, Y/N, you’re absolutely brilliant!” The Doctor exclaimed, kissing you in his excitement before bolting out the door. He popped his head back in when he realized you hadn’t been following. “Well, come on! We have a trip to make!”

“What?” You asked as he disappeared once more. You shot Sherlock a confused look before chasing after him. “Doctor, wait up! What do you mean, we have a trip to make? You can’t actually believe it was a demon! Doctor!”

You finally caught up to him, slipping into the TARDIS and pulling the door shut behind you. He shot you an excited grin. “Oh, the eyes were the clue! I can’t believe I missed the eyes! Off we pop!”

“Where are we going?” You asked as he danced around the TARDIS console, the time-traveling box wheezing to life. You grabbed the railing to steady yourself, and the TARDIS settled after a few more moments. “Doctor!”

“Demons!” The Doctor said, flinging open the door to the TARDIS. “I need to consult a professional!”

“Doctor, demons aren’t -” But he had already disappeared outside, and you hurried after him, beyond confused. “Doctor, what’s going - oomph!” In your rush, you had ran straight into a man who easily towered over you. “Oh, I’m so sorry!”

The man chuckled. “It’s alright, don’t worry about it. You okay?”

“Yeah,” You said. “Nothing bruised but my pride.”

“Oh good, you found her!” The Doctor’s voice distracted you. He was half-jogging over to you, followed by a man slightly taller than him who was dressed in flannel. “Sam, Dean, meet Y/N, my companion slash girlfriend!”

You weren’t sure which one was which, but the shorter of the two raised his eyebrows. “Of all the men in the world, and you choose to date him?”

“Well, he has a certain charm,” You said with a shrug. “So, are you Sam or Dean?”

“Dean,” He answered, flashing you a movie-star smile. You blushed in spite of yourself, causing the Doctor to frown. “Sammy here is my younger brother. So, Doctor, what can we do for you?”

“Bit of a demon problem, actually,” The Doctor said, quickly losing his frown. “Over in London. You have heard of Sherlock Holmes, I’d imagine?” Dean said no at the same time Sam said yes. “Most famous detective in London. Now, I wouldn’t call for just anything, but said demon has come back wearing the skin of his old nemesis, Moriarty. Died a couple years ago.”

“You came to the right hunters, then,” Sam said with a slight grimace. “We have a bit of experience with demons.”

You glanced confusedly at the Doctor. “Wait, demons are real? Seriously?”

“Yes, yes, it’s all real, basically every legend you’ve ever heard is real, do keep up,” The Doctor said. “So, boys, mind taking a quick vacation to London?”

The brothers glanced at each other and shrugged. Sam answered. “Sure, Doctor, we just need to grab our gear then we’ll meet you at the TARDIS.”

“Brilliant!” The Doctor said with a giddy smile. “We’re parked right over there!”

“Other way,” You said, nudging his arm in the right direction.

“Yes, right, over there!” The Doctor said. “Just making sure you remembered. We’ll meet you there, Winchesters!”

Dean gave a half-salute as the Doctor grabbed your hand and pulled you back towards the TARDIS. “Interesting family, the Winchesters! Clever, too, in their own way.”

“It’s all real?” You repeated. “All the legends about werewolves and vampires and witches and stuff - they’re all real?”

The Doctor nodded, giving your hand a squeeze as the two of you walked back into the TARDIS. “Yes, it is a lot to take in. I was in a bit of shock myself, when I found out.”

“I had no idea,” You said, still in shock. “And Sam and Dean, they, what? Hunt those things?”

“Well, someone has to do it,” The Doctor said, standing awkwardly by the TARDIS console. “They’re good at it. And not bad looking, either.”

Now that got your attention. You wondered what reaction the Doctor was looking for, and shrugged. “Yeah, I guess.”

The Doctor pouted. “More attractive than me?”

“Doctor,” You said with a grin. “Are you jealous?”

“Oh, no,” He said, shaking his head. “Just curious. For science.”

You refrained the urge to laugh, knowing how the Doctor tended to be. “You are jealous! Doctor, believe me, you have nothing to worry about. I prefer aliens to the supernatural anyways, I think.”

“You, ah, you think?” The Doctor stuttered as you grabbed his suspenders.

“I do think,” You affirmed. “Do I have to prove it?”

“Does it involve kissing?” He asked, looking both flustered and pleased.

“I do believe it does,” You said, pulling him down to press your lips to his. You felt his chest hum happily and smiled against his lips. After several moments you parted. “Good enough for you, Doctor?”

“Oh, yes, um…” He stammered, cheeks slightly pink. “I may need a reminder later, though!”

“Whatever you need,” You said with a wink, causing his cheeks to darken more in color.

The Winchesters opened the doors to the TARDIS at that moment, and Sam gave a cheeky grin. “Hope we aren’t interrupting anything.”

“Nope,” You said, waving them inside. “Feel free to set your bags down wherever, just be warned that they’ll probably roll around when we travel.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, we’ve traveled by TARDIS before,” Dean said, swinging his bag down from his shoulder and on to a chair. “It was a while back, though. Dear ol’ Doc looks a bit different now.”

“How’d you know it was him, then?” You asked curiously. The Doctor’s eleventh regeneration looked nothing like his tenth, much less his ninth.

“Anyone that dresses that oddly has got to be the Doctor,” Dean said, causing the Doctor to give a pout. “Seriously, though, who else travels around in a blue telephone box? We saw you all arrive, and were headed your way before you bumped into Sam.”

“Literally,” Sam added, causing you to send him a sheepish smile. “So, we’re headed to London, you said?”

“To visit the great Sherlock Holmes!” The Doctor said, the TARDIS humming to life. “Apparently, Moriarty is back from the dead!”

“As a demon?” Dean clarified. “I didn’t realize hell let them topside so soon.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Sam said. “Moriarty’s back, and from what I’ve read, that’s not good. He’ll be even worse as a demon.”

“I bet the bastard will give Crowley a run for his money,” Dean said, re-shouldering his bag. “C’mon, let’s get this over with. Sam has got a knife that’ll gank the demon, if we can get close enough.”

“Good, good!” The Doctor said. You had never heard him pleased about killing anything, though you supposed demons fell under a different category than alien. “Here we are, back at 221B! Come come, Sherlock is waiting!”

“Is he always this…” Sam trailed off.

You smirked. “Hyper? Yeah.”

“Wow,” Dean muttered, before following after him. You came last, shutting the TARDIS door behind you and giving the box a pat before going in to 221B.

“Good, you’re back,” Sherlock said, eyebrows raising as he caught view of the Winchester brothers. “Who are they? Americans?”

“Professionals, Sherlock. Professionals!” The Doctor corrected. “They can help with our little demon problem, that is, if you can get Moriarty back here.”

Sherlock pursed his lips. “I can try.”

“Do you really think this will work?” You asked the Doctor dubiously. The Winchesters were setting their devil’s traps, several of them littered throughout the flat. Moriarty wouldn’t be able to walk through to door without being caught by one.

“I would think so,” Sherlock said. “Hope so. Hopefully. It will hopefully work.”

“That’s very comforting,” Sherlock said. “But we still don’t know how to get him here. I don’t think he has a cell phone anymore.”

“You’re going to summon him,” Sam said. “If he’s a demon now, he can’t refuse.”

“Oh,” John said, looking as if he’d rather do the exact opposite. “Great.”

Sherlock was finishing the chant to the summoning spell. You and the Doctor were hidden in John’s room, waiting for Dean’s signal. The Winchesters were hidden just out of sight in the hall, where they’d be in easy striking distance. You had to admit, the six of you made a pretty good team. Though you still weren’t sure how okay you were with the whole supernatural thing.

“Sherlock!” A giddy voice not belonging to any of the members of your party said. “You called! And to think that I thought you didn’t know how! See, always impressing me. Unfortunately, I’m still not interested in my game with you. Not anymore. See, I’ve moved on to bigger things. Greener pastures.”

“I know what you are,” Sherlock said calmly. “I want to know how you got out so quickly.”

“What?” There was the sound of shoes against the floor. “See, now how could you know that? I was assured that you didn’t! How interesting. Have you got other friends helping you, Sherly?”

“Do you see any?” Sherlock asked, sounding unruffled. You wondered if anything could rattle the man.

“No,” Moriarty half-sang. “But that doesn’t mean nobody is there. Say, Sherlock, I must ask, I’m simply dying to know. Well, not really dying, but you get it. I have to ask: have you heard of a man called the Doctor?”

“Only in passing,” The detective said. You heard more movement as the two conversed. “Why?”

“Sherlock, I know how you are. You want to know who I think is smarter. Smarter than you. Smart enough to outthink me!” Moriarty giggled. He really was crazy. “And this man, the Doctor, the man from another world - from the moment I heard about him, he had my attention. Can you imagine, after so many centuries, the things you would see? The things you could learn? The cleverness you’d gain?”

The Doctor gave a quiet scoff, and you sought his hand, giving it a squeeze once you found it. He didn’t let go after that. You tuned back in to the conversation. “Your game is over, Moriarty.”

“Come now, Sherlock, don’t be like that,” Moriarty pouted. “Don’t be like that. The game isn’t even about you anymore, why should you be concerned?”

“Because there’s a demon walking around,” Sherlock said. “The demon of Jim Moriarty. And that, I think, is more dangerous than the you that was human could ever be.”

Moriarty gave a dark chuckle. “Here’s the thing, Sherlock: I was never very much human to begin with. After all, remember your first case. I did start rather… young. The demons only had to torture me for a day, before I took the knife and got my own hands dirty. I did that for centuries. And for me to find out that it had only been, what, a few years here? Of course I was pleased. It meant you were still around. Not that I cared very much, as I said, the game isn’t about you anymore. Jim Moriarty doesn’t even exist anymore, not in the literal sense. I just liked this meat suit so much, I had to -” Sherlock started chuckling. You could hear the anger in Moriarty’s voice. “What? What’s so funny?”

“It’s just, Jerry was it - oh, no - Jim. You see, Jim, you’ve just walked straight into our devil’s trap,” Dean said.

“The Winchesters,” Moriarty spat. “Funny thing: you don’t know Sherlock. At least, that’s what the word on the street is.”

“Maybe you should spend more time finding information out for yourself,” Sam said.

“Before we kill you,” Dean said. “There’s someone we want you to meet.”

You nudged the Doctor out, knowing that was your cue, and you followed behind him into the living room. Moriarty wasn’t exactly what you were expecting. His eyes were pitch black, like Sherlock had described, and everything about him was a bit like a snake - poised, tense, and ready to strike at any moment.

“Doctor,” Moriarty breathed. His eyes cleared, going back to their normal, dark-colored irises, and somehow that was scarier than the demon eyes. Because these eyes felt like they were cutting you, dissecting you, cataloging your every weakness. And there was nothing you could do to stop it. “You’re younger than I expected.”

“Not really,” The Doctor said, walking carefully around the devil’s trap. “You see, after a while, a long life isn’t a blessing. It’s a curse. Because you may get to live, but everyone you love, everyone you care about, or even remotely like - they all die. Then the game is really over, Jim, for real, because there’s no one left to play the game with. It’s only you, staring at the smoldering remains of humanity. And then you will wish you stayed on that rack instead of taking the knife, because now, it is just you.”

Moriarty gave the Doctor a scary smile, one that said he could care less. “Oh, you’re wise, Doctor. But I will be too. I will stand, staring at the smoldering remains of humanity, and laugh. Because none of you were really that spectacular. You just thought you were.”

“Bad news,” Dean said, stepping into the circle. Sam did the same, grabbing Moriarty and easily restraining him. “You won’t be around for the end of humanity. You won’t even be around for the end of the day. We may not be spectacular, but you are less than that. You are a demon, a monster. You are nothing.”

And Dean plunged the knife into Moriarty’s chest.

You were leaned against the TARDIS console, reading the manual. You had already said farewell to Sherlock and John, and had dropped Sam and Dean back in the Americas with the promise that the three of you would keep in touch. The brothers were actually pretty cool, supernatural stuff put aside. The Doctor had disappeared after that. In fact, you noticed he had seemed quite shaken up ever since Moriarty, which was unlike him. Sighing, you pushed yourself off the console, setting the TARDIS manual on the seat in favor of finding the Doctor. It had been several hours since everyone had parted, and you decided that was a long enough span of time to leave him alone.

You found the Doctor in his room. He was laying face-up on his bed, just staring at the ceiling, though he glanced over when you entered. “I thought I locked it.”

“The TARDIS likes me,” You said, offering him a smile as you padded over to the bed. “Doctor, what’s wrong?”

He heaved a sigh, looking like he didn’t want to talk about it, though when you sat down on the bed beside him he seemed to realize you weren’t going to go away. Sighing again, the Doctor sat up, scooting over so that he was next to you by the edge of the bed. “It’s just something Moriarty said. About staring at the remains of humanity and laughing. And it just made me think that I could end up like that.”

“But you won’t,” You said instantly, grabbing his hand. He stared down at your entwined fingers. “You want to know how I know?”

“Yes,” He said, glancing over at you.

“Because you’re sitting here, worried about it. Because you’re so compassionate that you would jump back into a crumbling pocket universe to save a being that had attacked you. Because of the shine in your eyes when you get excited and the tears that you cry when people die and you believe that somehow, it’s your fault, even though no one can save everyone, Doctor. Not even you,” You said. “That’s how I know you won’t end up like Moriarty, Doctor. You’re too good.”

“Thank you.” The Doctor gave you a genuine smile, looking reassured, and he pressed a kiss into your hair.

You returned his smile. “Of course.”

[nyhne]

11 new things

Well, you probably know the drill by now. Tagged by @lordsardine thanks! C: 

1) Do you have something (like a pillow or a stuffed animal) you can’t sleep without? Nothing that I can’t sleep without, but I’ve had this handmade blue whale that I got from a friend (she’d made it for a school project lol) in high school. Since I’ve had him he travels pretty much everywhere I go (for extended periods of time), but he mostly just chills in my bed. Right now I also have a Pusheen plush that was uh my makeshift pillow this summer because literally didn’t have a pillow lol

2) What’s your greatest regret?

Damn dude okay well one of them is definitely that I didn’t learn Mandarin when I was younger (like a child/kid-younger). Part of this is on my parents for not pushing me to do it more (which of course could have come to mixed results lol) but it’s also definitely regret on myself. Although I definitely acknowledge that my angst about wishing I had learned it comes more from like...my own self-induced societal pressures? Such as feeling very self-conscious about the fact that I’m ethnically Chinese but don’t speak Chinese or have a significant connection to my “root culture.” For honestly 97% of the time, my adoption isn’t something that bothers me or even comes up in my considerations, but on matters about my Chinese heritage it’s a huge source of self-consciousness. So while I definitely think knowing Mandarin would be super useful, I also acknowledge that this regret is influenced by a lot of other factors that aren’t about actually wanting to. 

3) What piece of media holds the most nostalgia for you? Hmm probably my DS or my Gameboy SP? Definitely lots and lots of memories of playing them in the car, in the airport, at home, late at night, ect. Especially with the SP, there’s a bit of a stronger muscle memory associated with it.

4) Were you ever in the superwholock fandom? Just the Sherlock fandom lol I actually was interested in getting into Supernatural, but I’m straight up lazy about watching TV, so I never bothered. I also got out of the Sherlock fandom after the second season lol

5) What was your dream job when you were a kid? I never had any super big aspirations, but when I was in middle school I did go through a phase of wanting to be a chef lol Which I’ve always been interested in cooking, but I do think that period influenced some of my love and mentalities about food and cooking today.

6) What was your first ship? Maybe Zutara? Just because that was like the first “non-canon ship” that I actually pursued fanmaterial for

7) What is something that’s happened to you that sounds made up but isn’t? There are some experiences in Europe that still sound dreamlike to me (in a fond way) even now- like sitting on top of a fortress with friends in Luxembourg or spending New Years in Vienna. But if you want an actual answer (and this is actually somewhat relevant to you because it happened at school lol) I’ve had a few odd experiences with the neighborhood/streets behind my university, which I’m somewhat convinced is a liminal space. The school is in a very wealthy area of DC and behind the dorms are a lot of multi-million dollar homes (many owned by diplomats). So in some ways it’s a very nice, safe area, but even during the day it’s always had an eerie feeling. Especially when I lived on campus, I liked walking late at night, and I’ve had a few experiences back there when I was with a friend that we’re both convinced was something not natural. I won’t elaborate here since this is already long but yeah, that’s like my only “ghost story” I’ve ever experienced in life. 

8) Favorite meme? I honestly don’t even know where to start there are just SO many good ones. Maybe in terms of usage, one I like using a lot is the Emphasized Points(tm). I use that all the time lol it’s probably obnoxious 

9) If you could become fluent in three other languages than what you’re already fluent in, what would they be? German, French, and then beyond my talk about Mandarin from earlier, Spanish. I don’t know if I’d ever be interested in learning Spanish “institutionally” (unlike with German and French where I really do enjoy sitting down looking at the mechanics of it) but there are so many Spanish-speakers in the US that it almost feels ignorant to not try and learn it. Especially at the restaurant, where the kitchen staff is all Hispanic (even the German chef lol she picked up Spanish at some point which is honestly so cool) I honestly feel kinda ashamed that I don’t know how to speak their language? So I’m trying to make more of an effort to pick up stuff there.

10) Favorite video game? Cop-out answer, pokemon lol specifically Ruby or Mystery Dungeon Blue. Oh wait, honestly Star Fox Adventures will always have a big special place in my heart. Damn the signs were all there when I was younger that I’m furry trash lol

11) When I was in elementary school, this kid named Sam, who I barely talked to, one day came up to me and told me that since all the stupid squirrels were being hit by cars, by processes of natural selection, a master race of smart squirrels would arise and take over the world. Thoughts? I honestly laughed so hard at this. It made me think of the guy who was my drivers ed teacher who was like I don’t feel bad if I hit birds when I’m driving because they have the whole goddamn sky and they chose to drive in front of my car five feet off the ground that’s natural selection at work 

Tagging @erengelion @eunnui​ @gummyboots @lithugraph @niniel-kirkland @theonecalledcris @the-plague-doctors​ C’:

1) Do you like giving/receiving flowers? 2) Is there a particular, niche thing in your field of study (or outside of it) that you’re really interested in? The biology of male seahorses in August? American consumerism trends in the 20th century?  3) What are some of your “go-to meals”? This isn’t meant as a shaming or comparison, but when you run out of new ideas what are your favorite go-to’s? It can literally just be ramen (but which kind) 4) Name at least one animal you’re passionate about and why 5) Do you believe and forgive and forget? Both, neither? 6) What is one thing that makes your home feel complete?  7) Give me a favorite band/song and why because I need new music lol 8) What is one thing you take for granted? 9) Do you think you are becoming your parents? How do you feel about it? 10) What is one “hip trend” that you feel like you were doing before everybody else?  11) What are you supposed to be doing right now instead of this quiz?

[oscarlovesthesea]

11 facts meme taggity thing + 16 facts about me or whatever these things are called

the amazing @gay-trash-cats always tags me in things and then I forget which is how I ended up owing them 27 facts about me. Let’s see! (This thing was so long I needed to make a cut :O)

1.I love my friends, online and real friends alike. They’re amazing people and there is almost nothing I wouldn’t do for them (almost because I’m excluding stuff like genocide or killing a kitten? sorry friends I love you but cats are the best)

2. my favourite sport has always been horse riding and I’ve done it for 9 years, even doing competitions at national level. between studying a lot and not really having the money for it I haven’t been riding in like 8 months now which is probably the longest I’ve been without it in years and I am actually feeling like I’m going through withdrawal. 

3. speaking of riding, the first horse I ever really got attached to was this tiny and full of rage Shetland called Caramella (Candy). The two horses who taught me the most were called Perla (Pearl) and Daimon. When I started competitions I first had a crazy pony I loved very much called Asterix, then moved on to this super sweet mare called Ghira, then to a black cutiepie (who was probably the best one in terms of technical abilities) called Kibor. The only actual horse (meaning, not pony) I’ve had for long was a beautiful mare called Actionmaid Z, but since her name was too long I called her Arwen.

4. in 9 years of riding, I’ve only had one bad fall, from this huge horse called Amadeus - it was before I got Arwen and he was scared of everything and definitely too big and strong for my tiny arms, so when a car passed in front of us (the car, funnily enough, contained my best friend’s boyfriend) and he got scared I just splattered to the ground, cracking a few ribs. I’m an idiot and I just got back up and completed the jumping routine I was doing ignoring the fact that I could barely breathe, which probably made it worse, but at least I didn’t go through “fall induced trauma” or whatever. i swear i’m done with the riding facts

5. my friends Clelia and Ionita are horrible people who got me into anime and then told me all the characters who died in Death Note when I was only three episodes in. I’m still not over it.

6. I’m Italian even though my skin is like a ghost’s . I was born in Rome but I moved into the countryside when I was about four, which was possibly the best decision my parents ever made. I still live really close to Rome though so I still go at least once a week.

7. I am currently living in Scotland, near Edinburgh, where I’m staying with a host family. I arrived about four months ago and I’m going to stay at least until June and I’m loving every second of it.

8. I have a dangerous addiction for brownies, crisps, parmesan and ham. I’m serious, I need help.

9. In theory, I speak Italian, English, French and Spanish, but even though I can understand and make myself understood I’m not really confident about my Spanish and my French.

10. To be honest I’m not really confident about my English either especially because when I’m tired I tend to mess up the grammar and mispronounce things

11. which reminds me, I find it incredibly hard to say the word ‘references’. I don’t know why.

12. I love acting and I’m a huge theatre nerd. I’m going to apply for an acting academy this year even though I’m definitely not gonna get in but one at least makes a nice experience right?  but it took like five different people to convince me to do it.

13. my musical taste is the weirdest shit because it goes from Italian folk music from the ‘60s/’70s, which is what my parents made me listen to as a child all hail Fabrizio de Andrè to musical theatre with little to nothing in between.

14. my favourite musical is Les Mis (as pretty much everyone who has opened this blog even just once knows), followed by Next to Normal and Jesus Christ Superstar. I do love Hamilton but I can’t manage to choose where to rank it.

15. I can’t stand love stories. Meaning, I can’t read a book where if you take away the love story you have nothing, but I do enjoy them if they are of some addition to the plot. At the same time, pointless romanitc subplots are the least interesting thing in the world (I’m looking at Sharon Carter in Civil War and pretty much every James Bond movie ever made).

16. Shinya Hiiragi is my actual son and I’m going to protect him.

17. I actually have a full battalion of fictional sons and daughters that I adopted because I just have mum instincts with anyone and  anything. I think the latest addiction was Ciel Phantomhive.

18. Every year I take part in a Harry Potter themed camp which is a lot of fun because we’re all friends and huge nerds and we just love each other. I went for the first time at the first edition of it when I was 14 or 15 and it probably changed my life.

19. there I met my friend Franz who is like a big brother to me and looks A LOT like Shang from Mulan.

20. I am the actual definition of mum friend which is pretty fun but also a bit stressful lol

21. my favourite character from Les Mis is Enjolras because I see a lot of myself in him. There is also a bit of Jehan Prouvaire in me and I guess some Combeferre as well.

22. throwback to those good old times when the SuperWhoLock fandom seemed to rule Tumblr, I actually wrote a SuperLock fanfiction on an Italian website. I only need to publish the last chapter which is already half written, but the thing hasn’t been updated in two years.

23. I don’t really play videogames but I bought Life is Strange about a week ago and even though I’ve only had time to get to the beginning of episode 2, I’m really enjoying it.

24. I am currently reading Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and I’m loving it. Aziraphale is the cutest thing, I swear but sometimes I feel like I’m reading a Castiel/Crowley crack fic. The book is amazing though!

25. I’m definitely a cat person and my biggest aspiration in life is living on my own, on an island, with infinite amounts of tea and cats everywhere.

26. My grandmother was a quite renowned writer in Italy (at her time), and her books won quite a lot of awards. My mum is a writer as well but she doesn’t really feel confident about it and has never published anything but i’m determined to get her books published because they’re great and she deserves it.

27. I am a huge nerd and I can’t choose a favourite between sci-fi and fantasy. I love space facts but I also LOVE dragons and unicorns (dragons especially. I have a collection.)

Ugh, I didn’t think I was going to manage to come up with enough stuff... whoever has read everything will be given a virtual toast, I swear. I’m tagging @unicorn-gureshin, @gureshin-trash, @sjexokm and @sparkleofstardust. Enjoy!