#do i really want to get back to being heavily invested in the love lives of fictional characters?

[jiarkives]

can I please request some cassian (acotar) x reader fluff? maybe he's been away on a long mission and he's finally home with his mate and he can't keep his hands off of her because he missed her so much ... (it can get smutty if you want) thank you!! xx

clingy

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚ summary — your mate gets even clingier after being apart from you.

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚ character — cassian (a court of thorns and roses)

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚ content — fluff ; written with fem!reader in mind

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚ notes — thank you for the request! i hope i did your idea justice hehehe also the ending is kinda wack jdhdhdhdhd my hand was on autopilot basically

~

Mor, Amren, and Nesta all looked annoyed, Feyre and Elain looked... uncomfortable, at most, while you could only smile awkwardly as you sipped your tea soundly, smacking your lips for effect as you put the cup down. “Lovely weather today, am I right?”

“Oh, cut it out!” Nesta grumbled, crossing her arms on her chest as she glared at you. Well, not at you, but rather at the male beside you.

“Aren’t we going to address the elephant in the room?” Mor spoke up as her eyes fell on your mate whose arms were wrapped around your waist and his face burrowed into the crook of your neck, his eyes closed. One would think he was asleep, but if they would looked closer, they would’ve seen the shit eating grin plastered on his face.

(The sisters were definitely rubbing off of the inner circle, especially with their figures of speech which were definitely confusing at first for the immortals.)

“Is that what you’re calling me now? An elephant?” Cassian picked his head up briefly from your neck to address the females in the garden with you. “I bet I could beat those creatures in a split second. Am I right?” He turned to the sisters with a cocky smirk, his eyebrows wiggling.

All of them ignored him, only looking at you with exasperated expressions. Feyre sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, Amren shook her head, Elain tried to look busy, while Nesta and Mor were practically fuming.

“You do understand the concept of a girls’ day, don’t you?” Mor addressed you, her eyebrows pinched together.

“Yes, of course–”

“Then tell this big, dumb pile of muscle to let go off you and fuck off.” Nesta glared at Cassian who grumbled and tightened his hold on you.

“I’m sorry, I really am.” You sighed. “He had just come back from Windhaven with Az earlier at dawn and hadn’t let me out of sight since, but we’ve already had this day set even before their mission and I didn’t want to cancel last minute...” Your words slowed at the last part as you smiled sheepishly. “But maybe I should’ve just cancelled...?”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t be a bother,” Feyre, ever the mediator, immediately stepped in before Mor and Nesta could blow up even more. “So let’s just continue as planned, but with Cassian here, who I’m sure will behave.” She looked over to Cassian, her gaze stern and receiving a mock salute in return from the male. “See? No need for rescheduling.”

Cassian turned to Nesta, sticking his tongue out at her like a toddler, but immediately stopped and hid his face back in your neck when Feyre uttered his name in warning, causing Nesta to smirk at him smugly.

You could only sigh heavily as your mate’s arms wrapped impossibly tighter around you.

Cauldron, this was going to be a long day.

~

It was, in fact, a long day for the lot of you.

Cassian, despite Feyre’s words of warning, decided to be the most annoying little shit (affectionate for you, derogatory for the rest) during your time together.

He was a busybody, of course he was more invested in the gossip than all of you were. But not only was he gossiping harder than a teenage girl, he was acting like a lovesick teenage boy too.

He wouldn’t keep his hands off of you, even going as far as teasing you with his hands trailing where they shouldn’t. You weren’t able to focus properly on your girls, having to swat at his hand every time.

Then, the girls’ love lives were brought up. Mor was talking about the female she recently met in the city when Cassian interrupted her, “A female? What’s her name? Where does she live? Do I know her? Does Rhys know about her—”

“Mother above, Cassian!” Mor groaned out. “You’re impossibly annoying, leave me alone. Gods.”

You had quickly apologized to the girls with a promise of making up to them another time as you stood, pulling your mate up with you and winnowing into the house Rhysand had gifted you two in your mating ceremony.

As soon as you were standing in the comfort of your own home, Cassian’s smug, cocky smirk softened into one you were used to seeing on him when you were alone.

“Finally.” He groaned in relief, his hands finding their way to your hips to pull you flush to his chest. “I’ve been waiting all godsdamned day, sweetheart.”

Then, his smirk returned as he lifted you in his arms.

“Now, let me show you how much I’ve missed you.” He pushed your bedroom door open. “Properly this time.”

[haeryna]

i feel like reader (especially after being called princess and the two working together to tear down her walls) would be in a dilemma— like a few things came out of them abandoning her but one being just this indescribable feeling of rage and hurt

so upon being in their hold and touch and suguru endearingly calling for her to hear them out, part of her wants to fold SO bad but the other part of her wants to stay unreasonable and not hear them out because it’s just so much easier to be angry at them and paint them as the villains in her life, if she does accept their apology she knows that feeling won’t go away— she’d have to come to terms with how bitter of a person she really was (i mean rightfully so, they did screw her over)

also bless u and ur writing— i don’t see many poly! satosugu x reader stories with a plot that has me biting my finger in absolute investment LMAO love uuuuuu 🫶🏾✨

ANON THANK YOU you perfectly summed it up !! i wanted to write a story where there was a difficult decision that had to be made, with several catalysts involving how everything went down. (splitting this so that it doesn't invade people's feeds with a wall of text LOL)

satoru's "coming out" to his parents: mine were so homophobic that i didn't come to terms with my own sexuality for a long, long time, so i empathized with the sheer panic and trauma that gave him. you don't make rational decisions when your parents are beating the shit out of you, and you also don't make rational decisions when you're 16 years old.

suguru choosing to leave reader behind: they could only withdraw so much money with the limits satoru's parents had placed on his bank account. they had to have enough to eat, to rent an apartment, to actually get away. they had to choose a place far enough so that satoru's parents wouldn't follow, which brings me to

retaliation: there's a unique kind of fear, when you're unsure if someone is hunting you down. there's a kind of terror in realizing they can track you. it's why they got rid of their phones, and immediately upon signing to the same company, received heavily protected ones. only people who had their number could reach them, or even respond.

"they could have said something:" again, they were panicked, satoru had just been beaten by his literal parents, and they were trying to flee as fast as possible. in the moment, they could not have and would not have been able to do that. as alluded to before, they did not live a comfortable life in asia. the beginning was rough as they scraped by. it wasn't until satoru began auditioning that things started looking up for them, and if you're into the kpop scene, you know how brutal training is. suguru ultimately spent all his time caring for satoru and working on the side until he also made it big.

"and what about after?:" honestly sometimes, when you know you fuck up, but you feel like you can't do anything about it anymore? that was them. and you can be upset with it all you want, but it had gotten to the point where they genuinely thought you would never be a part of their lives again. yet the chasm in their chest grew larger and larger, until they realized they couldn't continue on unless they know they at least tried.

that's not to say reader isn't in a predicament as well, like you mentioned nonnie. leaving hurts, and abandonment is worse, so it would be far easier to paint them as the bad guys. it doesn't matter what their intentions were. to reader, they left her alone, and now they're suddenly back for unknown reasons? reader is also not the most stable of mind right now (real); she's working two jobs on top of taking care of her sick parents. for the past five years, she's had to be the one taking care of herself. now satosugu need to prove that they WANT to be the ones taking care of her. i've been in this situation before, as the left party (who eventually ended up forgiving the leaver), so i hope that will help to incorporate realism into the situation.

and i'm glad you like the plot/understood the nuance of the situation! i'm grateful to you and your ask anon, thank you for allowing me to go in depth into the situation <33 i love you too!

[tabithatwo]

i humbly request some of your jackienat thoughts at this time

I am humbly providing many many days after you asked!

Jackienat in canon: god I’ve talked about them at length before but there two as individuals are my little sweetie snookums lovebug angels (I love all the yellowjackets but god god god I love them); they are the two girls who I believe are the most invested in the team as a whole. I think they would’ve been amazing co-captains side note (not me suddenly considering writing a short little au something about them being captains together GOD). I think that it’s been said very well by many people, but they are so tethered. They want what’s best for all the girls, they love hard, and they do NOT get that energy in return enough. I don’t really understand why people come to the conclusion that they hated each other. I DEFINITELY don’t get why people come to the conclusion that they hated each other PRE crash, because there’s nothing negative show between them when we DO see other girls be bitchy to Nat and make fun of Jackie’s earnestness, but it’s never these two against each other. Nat is very vocally anti freeze her out, everyone knows innately that Jackie would be without even asking. I’ve spoken about their fight at length before, so without getting too far into that I will just say I think the way it escalates and gets so emotional and personal is very very telling. I don’t think they’ve fought before, Nat is clearly more emotional than when the other girls are cruel to her which I think means she didn’t expect it from Jackie, Nat hits back with a threat/fights back instead of brushing it off like she usually does. I think it’s fucking tragic that they fought and never got to reconcile, because they both are the type to hold guilt and sadness over that shit. Them teaming up at doomcoming against the crazy, the way Jackie would’ve lived if Nat were home for her and Shauna’s fight, the eulogy Nat gives Jackie when she takes her bones to the plane. They are just tragic and beautiful and we’re robbed of the chance to be truly close friends, because I really do think that’s the trajectory they were on.

Jackienat platonically: oh GOD do I love them. I can’t wait to explore their dynamic in we practice resurrection every night. I talked a lot about how I think they’d be close above but I also heavily hc that jackienat and shaunalottie each made out at least one party in high school respectively. They are so special to me. Sweet girls with huge hearts and very curated protective exteriors beloved beloved beloved.

Jackienat romantically: I love it so much. I am a jackieshauna and lottienat at heart (clearly lmao) but I LOVE them as a stop on the way to those endgames. I think they’d be surprisingly soft and sweet as a pairing and I think that they’d be able to help each other through the ummmm tougher times of shauna and lottie’s less than ideal behaviors lol. (I LOVE BOTH SHAUNA AND LOTTIE DEEPLY but they have some very rough tendencies that would be hard as their partner and I think some commitment issues/stumbling blocks to get to a healthy (healthy for yj) relationship status, just objectively lmao). Jackienat is hot and fun and kind and loving and the type of young dyke relationship that leads to really close lifelong friendship no one can ever change my mind on that <3 they should kiss <3

[turvi]

Happy 400 followers!! Oh my gosh you are so talented. I haven't seen another writer with your style and that makes you so unique you deserve so much more attention!! [talk about underrated 🙄] but the good thing is [and sorry if this seems selfish 🤭] I get to be one of the few people who is a dear friend and reader. 😌😅 congratulations, I'll be so excited to see more people be invested in your rare talent because you deserve the stars and the moon!! 🥹 🎉💗

The Lawn Gnomes: Send a prompt, au, and your favorite character and she will pen down a nice crisp story for you. We can't promise it will be good but it will be better than her college thesis

AU: Roommate AU

Prompt: “Do you know you're pretty” 

And of course draco because I love him so freaking much 😩

babe you are making me cry but thanks for your amazing words... I appreciate your love and support so I hope you like this..

Draco was fuming when he found out he had to share a room in his apartment. But times were tough and as much as he hated to admit he needed a roommate so he could split the rent. His parents were still wealthy but they were too facing the repercussions of the recession and had to him to self-sustain.

If anyone hated the recession more it was Draco because now he had to share a space with a stranger. Blaise and Pansy decided to help him to find a roommate because as much as they loved him, he was being snobby and arrogant to any potential roommate. He would pinpoint their flaws, and make up some weird excuse why they will not be a good roommate.

A week later a very exhausted Pansy showed Draco a profile. Draco spent the whole night trying to find flaws in her. But he just couldn't. Even her name was beautiful. Y/n L/n.

Y/n moved in quickly without a peep. Her room needed repairs since no one had been there for a while. But she didn't complain. Draco was surprised she really meant the words "you won't even realize I am here" because Draco wouldn't realize when she was home and when she was not.

So Draco went out of his way to stay in the living room only because he still needed to keep an eye on his new roommate. No other reason.

Her bright smile and how sweetly she would say his name would be the only thing he could think about. But he would immediately shake his head thinking it would shake off the warmth growing in his chest.

But soon the weather was changing. The wind was getting colder. This was the time of year Draco hated the most. The temperature change would always cause Draco to fall sick.

Blaise and Pansy came to check in with him and were surprised at his changed demeanor towards Y/n. He was..softer. And their eyes widened when they saw him smiling. But couldn't help but smile too when Y/n brought soup for Draco.

Soon both excused themselves looking at how Draco and Y/n were stealing glances. When they left Y/n brought more soup for Draco. Draco could practically hear his own heartbeat when he saw Y/n sit on his bed.

When Draco didn't move to take the soup Y/n joked "Do you want me to feed you?"

Draco chuckled. He missed this feeling. Even if he was sick he missed falling in love. He had the feeling he was becoming bitter. The feeling of love returning back to him like an old childhood memory.

Draco looked at her longingly. How this girl had managed to make space in his heart so quickly. He kept looking at her his heart happily skipping at the sound of her laughter when out of the blue he said "Do you know you're pretty?"

He heard her breath hitch. Cold be damned he got closer to her. "I am really sick right now but I also want to kiss you"

Y/n chuckled again blush spreading across her cheek, he couldn't help but softly caress her cheek. Before he could say or do anything he felt her lips on him. He was having difficulty breathing because of his blocked nose but his greedy heart only wanted to feel her lips on his for a few more minutes.

He was heavily breathing as they broke from the kiss. Y/n ran her hand through his blonde hair making him groan. "Thank you for being so nice to me"

"I think I could say the same" she giggled as she pecked his lips. Draco put the soup on his nightstand and lay on her lap beaming as she kept massaging his head. He felt his own heartbeat and smiled. Yeah, he could be here for a lifetime.

A/N: Again thank you for the request and thank you for your words I am glad you love my writing. I hope you like it (considering how much time it took). REBLOGS AND COMMENTS ARE APPRECIATED

[mochiwrites]

ALWAYS FEELIN' A BIT INSANE ABOUT SONGBIRD!! 💥💥💥💥

Currently very invested in the Scar character development, he's very silly and I am obsessed with how you write him. Eating ur writing, I literally never shut up about it heryehur

He has so much depth to his personality. His struggle with identity, hiding the truth, opening up to others, traumatic experiences, etc. His complicated relationship with Mumbo as they walk on their tip-toes wondering what happened to get them to this point... His love for Tubbo and his hate for humanity. His conflicting emotions about death. His ever-changing view of Grian and what made him so worth it when nobody else caught his eye. The fragile concept of simply being himself and not the monster people think he is. He's so WONDERFUL AAAA!! *shakes you*

EEEEEEEEE YAY :D

scar has easily become one of my favorite songbird characters. he's definitely rounded out a lot since the start of songbird and I'm so !!!!!! about him -- and now that arc 2 is finished, I can actually talk about scar's character arc because GOD DOES IT MAKE ME INSANE. OKAY.

I remember being kinda nervous about introducing scar way back when in welcome to the circus, because I wasn't sure how he'd be received -- I mean, he's basically introduced as an antagonist right away, and he feels so different from his typical characterization. well. he's not that different, but I certainly lean wayyy more into the intimidating, scary image. and when you don't know a character's motivations for that... depending on the writer executes the writing, you could either be Incredibly interested, or you could write it off as out of character/bad writing. so welcome to the circus was absolutely a HUGE gamble. hell, everything that followed was a big gamble!

but I am so happy with how scar's development went. I think I could've added maybe one or two more one shots right before enchante to add a bit more pacing of scar's development, but overall I really am pleased with it.

arc 2 was heavily focused on scar and his betrayal (which like,,, yeah, obviously @ myself GJFHJFG) my biggest goal when writing arc 2 was showing the readers that there was more to scar than just his cold personality. that there was a reason for his behavior. it's kinda similar to how mumbo was first introduced. mumbo was off as well, though granted his true personality came about a lot quicker than scar's did.

so this arc was about exploring scar's character (and his understanding of/warming up to grian) and his growing internal conflict between betraying grian and mumbo and keeping tubbo safe. I really wanted to get across that at first scar had no remorse for what he was doing. but when he started getting to know grian, being given his kindness, when scar started to let down the walls around his heart, that's when the guilt kicked in.

I love scar's whole battle with his identity -- it's one of my favorite pieces of his character, and something that'll be explored a TON more in arc 3 (and perhaps the reason why that battle is there to begin with 👀) the way I've always looked at is: scar isn't human, but he's not quite fae either. so he's had to carve out an identity for himself; the grim reaper, a monster, it's all the same to him. he's not just standing at the cross between two worlds. he's carving a path between these two worlds -- he's creating a third world, specifically for himself

and I think scar's struggle with his identity is something the fandom as a whole doesn't touch on nearly enough as we should. scar is a man who's constantly wearing a mask, and that mask is everchanging. there's some seriously fun concepts to be played with there! which is exactly what I want to explore in songbird and this upcoming arc.

I also feel really insane about all of the backstory crumbs I've left in arc 2 for him. this one in particular drives me crazy:

( it's from the weight of living chapter three in case anyone is wondering :3 )

if you've ever seen in anime where a character has like. some ominous shadow figure looming over them and they look really afraid or panicked, that's exactly the kind of image I was picturing when writing this scene. and that's kinda what happens here! (one day when mumbo and scar's backstories are revealed, I would love to like. comb through songbird for all of the crumbs I've dropped and explain them)

but scar's character is so complex, and I think that's what makes him so fun. he doesn't operate on human morals, but he very much does have human emotions and a human heart that he buries and AUGH!!!

and I can't talk about scar's character without mentioning enchante, because C'MON. IT'S LIKE. THE SONGBIRD SCARIAN FIC HFGJDFGHJ

enchante is SUCH an interesting turning point for scar and grian's dynamic. mumbo and the boys have been kidnapped, scarian are forced to work together and they don't entirely trust one another, and they're running on limited time. and it's through this situation that they're forced to learn about each other. scar learns just how far grian's kindness goes, how he views the world. and grian starts to get some insight into why scar behaves the way that he does.

we see scar step in to defend grian against taurtis the first time under the guise of being offended at taurtis' bad negotiation skills, and not even knowing himself why he steps in! it's the first time scar sees the depth of grian's humanity and his guilt and his care for the ones that he loves. and then in turn, grian learns why scar is so apathetic and uncaring and there's some sort of understanding the two of them reach. it drives me SO insane fae. I cannot express.

AND THE GRIM REAPER STUFF MMMMMMMMM WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO THAT. IT'S GONNA BE GLORIOUS. I've got some scar story that are gonna make people go INSANE when I drop it. it makes me want to gnaw on my arm man

songbird!scar is just so delightful to me, and I really love writing him a lot. his relationship to mumbo and then to grian is SO fun to examine, and we'll definitely be doing more of that in arc 3. I'm really glad that people love him as much as I do because <3333

[cnwolf-brainrot]

How do I get my au to become popular like yours

ALRIGHT, I’ve got a lot to say here!!

FIRST OF ALL, THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE I CAN GIVE: Don’t write for popularity. Seriously. I know that’s cheesy, but I’ve tried it before and it’s just draining and fruitless. If you’re writing an AU, or a fic, or anything random related, you should be writing it because it’s something you wanted to see. When starting Weapon by Name, I wrote the first five chapters with no intention to post it at all, it was purely because I wanted to read it. We have the canon writers to give us stuff that’s written for popularity; if you’re writing fanfic, you have the freedom to cater to the audience of you, so embrace that!!

That being said, I do think I have an idea of some factors that have brought Weapon by Name to the position it’s in. So, here’s what worked for me!

CONCEPT

If you’re making a Marvel AU, something that I’ve noticed is that AUs that are more grounded in canon tend to do better. For example, I actually wrote a IronDad and SpiderSon fic at one point, which theoretically should have done well because that was a super popular dynamic. However, the fic was a Peter Pan AU, and had a ton of additional worldbuilding that I think made a lot of people skip over it. On the other hand my GotG fic where the only change to canon was that Floor lived ended up doing pretty well. I think I’ve noticed that as a trend; people seem to like AUs that are close enough to canon to be easily recognizable, probably because this makes them a bit easier to initially grasp and get invested in. Things like “Civil War BUT Hulk is there” or “Daredevil BUT if Matt lost his powers” are more likely to get hit then stories that are so heavily AU that the characters look more like OCs. This can change based on the fandom you’re in, but I think it’s relatively true for Marvel AUs!

CONSISTENCY

Once you have your idea, you want to establish consistency. If you’re consistent, that means you’re reliable, and that means people will come back to your story. WbN has slowed down a lot now that I’m back in college, but during the first month or so I was putting out a new chapter every two to three days and I think that is a huge part of the reason that it started to gain a following. It gave people a reason to check back with the story, and to do so frequently. A big thing that helped me with keeping consistency was to establish an editing buffer; I’m actually writing the story about five chapters ahead of where I’m posting it! This buffer gives me time to ensure quality, cohesiveness, and also gives me an update to fall back on if I really need it!

TIMING

This is where I got flat-out lucky. I had no idea that the X-Men fandom would get such a resurgence when I started posting WbN. I started posting it because X-Men ‘97 had rejuvenated my love for the characters, and I quickly found out that I wasn’t the only one feeling that way. That initial wave gave the story a bit of a boost, and then by the time Deadpool and Wolverine came out the fic had ten or fifteen chapters; the perfect amount of there being enough to read, but not too much to be overwhelming. I think that’s where a lot of the attention came from, and that was just pure luck with the timing.

INTERACTION

Now while timing may have gotten some interest, interaction is where you go from “interest” to “community”. If you want people to interact with your work, interact with them! Reply to any comments you get! If you get fan art, link it in the story! If someone reaches out to you, respond to them and chat (I got out of my comfort zone and replied to a few direct messages that I got as the story gained interest, and holy cow I’m so glad I did because I met some of my favorite people on the internet)! The reason that Weapon by Name got to a moderate level of “popularity” is because people started talking about it, and the more that people talk about it the more people it will reach. Your audience is important and valuable, so make sure you treat them as such, no matter if you have two people reading your story or two hundred.

Speaking of, you have to keep going no matter how “popular” your AU is. That’s why it’s so important that you write something you want to read, because there is always a chance that you do everything right and then your story is still lost to the depths of the internet. I’ve had that happen more times than I can count. However, you have to keep creating; you never know when someone might find your story, and if you have a good amount of content out then they’re more likely to stick around. Most people would be more likely to click on a multichapter fic with ten chapters than one with only one. You have to love your story, and you have to keep writing; worse case scenario, finish it because you want to see the ending, even if it never gets “popular”.

There are other factors to what goes into a “popular” AU, of course. I do think that quality matters, and I do think that WbN’s quality is one of the reasons people are coming back to it. The way you present your story (through tagging, description, summary, etc) also can be a huge impact on whether or not someone will check out your work. Style matters, voice matters, character choice matters… but at the end of the day, this isn’t something you should be writing for hits and kudos. This is fandom. You should be writing a story for yourself. Don’t get discouraged by a lack of hits or attention. Just keep creating; you never know when things might work out in your favor!

[homoeroticgrappling]

Forgive me if this is self indulgent and sappy, but I just wanted to share some serious personal appreciation for RJ City, more under the cut. I got into wrestling by being invited by a close friend to watch AEW with them, and one of the first major reactions I had after thinking I could get heavily invested in it was to see RJ City and yell "GILDAR??" at an alarming volume.

At the All In welcome event in London, I chatted with people in the queue about how I wasn't allowed to watch wrestling when I was younger but I loved Splatalot and how excited I was to find out my favourite defender was the dashing host with the most for AEW. So many people in the wrestling community have fond memories of growing up watching the Hardys, Punk, Sting etc. For me I didn't have that but I did make sure I was sat in front of the TV for every episode of Splatalot and being around 13/14 it was one of the very last things I felt able to enjoy wholeheartedly in the way you love things before you're told you're "too old" to be so openly enthusiastic. At one point at a friend's house we tried to dress up as our favourite defenders, I may not have had the rippling muscles or quick wit but I had long dark hair and access to eyeliner so that was good enough for me to get my Gildar on, we threw tennis balls around her living room until we were forced to stop (sorry to Katie's mum and her Galileo thermometer, a casualty of our enthusiasm). Although it probably wasn't considered very cool to be doing that as a teenager, I remember laughing until we had stitches and talking about the previous day's episode on the hour long walk to school, I was thrilled to see a familiar face when I started my journey into being a wrestling fan. It was like showing up alone to a party where you expected not to know anyone and being terrified about if you'd fit in, then being pleasantly surprised and relieved to see an old acquaintance standing by the punch bowl.

Nostalgia goggles can make for disappointment when you revisit things through the eyes of an adult but watching RJ's work with AEW, he was even funnier and more engaging than I remembered, his hair more lustrous, and he had a magical ability to play off literally anyone you put him with. Watching Hey! EW became my favourite way to learn about the people on the roster as a new fan, and it became routine to tune in to RJ Makes Coffee In His Underwear. As I branched out further I found his work with Olde Wrestling was delightful, and if you haven't seen RJ City: Wrestling Raconteur I highly recommend it. The recently uploaded David Arquette Got Me A Talk Show is also a blast and well worth a watch! He's been a huge part of one of the most engaging storylines in AEW right now with Toni Storm and his increasingly frequent appearances on TV have been delighting me to no end.

I've had friends say to me that if RJ City was a real place, I'd own a vacation home there and I'm only half sure they were joking. When All In at Wembley was announced and discussion started about who'd be on the card, the first thing I said to a friend was "RJ better be there" and when I got to the All In welcome event I was more excited to see RJ on stage than anyone else at the event, I have the messages to friends to prove it:

When he mentioned Splatalot on stage at the welcome event I popped HARD and after getting back from All In, I decided to shoot my shot (not really expecting much because y'know maybe he doesn't want to be associated with a show he did years ago when he's got so many more current and impressive career things going on? He's currently crushing it with Hey! EW and Timeless Toni so maybe he doesn't want people messaging him about his stint as a handsome viking)

Not only was he willing to help, he really went above and beyond despite a (presumably) very busy schedule and was a total sweetheart about the whole thing and even threw in some stickers! I now have to get a frame to display this in a suitably prominent place on my wall

So thank you RJ City, for being even cooler than 14 year old Rowan thought you were (also I was right about you being the best defender, Gildar > Thorne my sister can go suck eggs)

[confusedstories]

Liam Lawson | My angel

Obsessive Liam Lawson

Your mine, All mine

______________________________________________________________

You were excited to see Daniel back. Everyone was. You had been watching him race while growing up. You really looked up to him and were so happy when you got the offer to work for team AlphaTuari in 2023.

Don't get it wrong, you loved working with yuki and Liam too, but you had grown with Daniel as your idol. Posters and handed down signed caps ran your life. Any time F1 was on you would force your family to watch it in the living room.

So, it really wasn't your fault that you wanted to celebrate Daniel being okay and racing again. Of course you were upset for Liam, but right now it was a celebration, of Daniel come back and Liams little time as an f1 driver. You would try to cheer up Liam later.

You were too invested in the upbeat Australian to notice the annoyed one in the corner of the room. You were focused on his bright, happy smile, as he hugged each team member. You couldn't help but smile more as Daniel wrapped his arms round you with a smile of his own. He expressed his excitement to fully use the rest of the season to his advantage.

However, Liam noticed it all. The smiles and the hand placements. In truth they meant nothing. Daniel was happily with Heidi and you loved their relationship. You were also only 20 so you were logical, he was only your idol. But, Liam saw red as the other Australian seemed to have your heart.

By now you had stepped away from Daniel and stood kind of awkwardly by yourself. You weren't that extroverted and now felt heavily out of place. You slipped to the corner next to Liam, who's heart fluttered as you smiled brightly at him. However, he showed no reaction to you out of annoyance.

Still, he forced a fake smile to his face. 'I'm sorry Liam. You still did really well!' You said. Liam only knocked. 'Sorry, Y/N, I have something to do.' He smiled as he left. Left by yourself, you made the choice to move on and start some work you had to do too.

[aceredshirt13]

We'll never get a third Ritchieverse Holmes movie. But if we somehow did, this is what I like to think should happen.

I would absolutely love for the inciting incident to be that, since the reason Holmes faked his death was because he wanted to keep Watson and Mary safe, the reason he has returned from faking his death is because that backfired and Watson and Mary are very much not. Why aren't they safe, you ask? Well, because Moran is on the revenge trail. Typically, he didn't have much personal investment in the killing of his targets, but we all saw how absolutely furious he got when Watson nearly killed Moriarty and escaped with Holmes. Now Moriarty is dead, and Moran has no job, no purpose, no one in the world - nothing, save for anger and grief. He cannot kill Holmes, because he does not know Holmes still lives. But if Holmes took the life of the only person Moran ever cared about, then even if he's not around to suffer for it, he will do the same to him.

Except, naturally, Holmes is around to suffer for it, and this cues the ending scene of the movie where Holmes coyly reveals he's alive, and would pick up right from there. There would be action! There would be shenanigans! Holy hell there would be character drama! Watson and Mary are absolutely going to beat Holmes's ass within an inch of his life, but also Watson is so, so very glad to have him back... Mary's not forgiving him ever for what he put Watson through, but how can she - how can they - bring themselves to be fully angry when he went through this to the end in an attempt to ensure their happiness? Especially when, if one considers the reason he closed his eyes to be for Watson to be the last thing he saw if he died, Holmes wasn't even completely sure he'd successfully fake his death... And they can't just unpack that while sitting in a house somewhere talking about their feelings, because Moran and the remnants of Moriarty's wide-reaching organization are very hot on their heels.

How does the movie progress? Well, I'm not entirely sure. I would love for Moran to get betrayed by those he conspired with, and be forced to work with Holmes and Watson (and Mary, who is adamantly refusing to let these two do all this on their own when her life is as endangered as theirs) on some level, thus forcing everybody - including Moran - to actually talk to each other. I also want to show that Holmes is beginning to get tired of all this - he loves the adrenaline, he loves to exercise his genius, he hates being bored, but he's also tired of the people he cares about constantly being in danger because he knows he can't always protect them. He knows that, because of what happened to Irene.

How does the movie end? Well, I can certainly tell you that. As a significant portion of the fanbase and Jude Law himself will tell you, the Ritchieverse Holmes movies come off very, very strongly as romances. In most cases, I am not the sort of person who advocates for any given ship in a medium to be acknowledged as canon just because a lot of fans like it, especially since that can often lead to disastrous results... but Christ alive, these movies are leaning so ridiculously hard into Holmeswatson vibes that I can't imagine it was an accident. And, well, part of the reason I want Moran to figure so heavily into this movie is because I think there was quite a bit of potential exploration of what exactly his relationship was with Moriarty just in the few tidbits you saw of them together... perhaps through a few flashbacks sprinkled in after Moran confesses what they really were to each other. Because if there's one thing I love, it's parallels. Watson and Moran, the military veterans and crack shots who are so very attached to the often-difficult genius masterminds they love. Unlike the singly-devoted Moran, Watson's affections are torn, because he adores Mary with everything he is, and is constantly fighting himself and pretending he can give up Holmes for her even though he can't imagine a life without both of them in it - but he is no less devoted for it. In different ways, they both cannot see a way forward - Moran cannot without Moriarty, Watson cannot because he cannot choose. So, in terms of an ending, I want Moran not to have to be killed by our heroes, or die in some sacrifice, or take his own life. I want him to have to live, without taking revenge. To figure out some kind of life, now that he's been spit out by the Queen's Army, and has lost the new life he was given now. It's more interesting, and less cheap, especially if this movie serves to build up and add depth to his character. And as for Holmes and Watson, well, it's not 2009 or 2011 anymore, so what's to stop your loose action movie adaptation of century-old, now-public domain stories from just going ahead and having them admit they love each other? (Or, potentially, having Mary admit it for them, to one of them, because she is sick and tired of their bullshit?) Why not let them, after all this is over, finally, finally share a kiss?

And as for the epilogue, I think it would be super fun and endearing if it cuts to Watson and Mary finally moving into that country house in Sussex together. He and Mary love each other, they're happy, they'll do so very all right. Then they get a knock on the door to find that the old woman who lives in the house next door has come to bring them a housewarming gift.

Except it's not an old woman. It's Sherlock Holmes dressed as an old woman. He has gone into early retirement to keep bees, and he just so happens, by pure coincidence, to have bought the house next to theirs.

Watson and Mary are exasperated. Then they probably think it's really funny, while still being exasperated. And ultimately, what Watson needs to realize is that there is something in this world that is insistent upon keeping these three together. If all of them can put up with each other - as they have shown they can just manage to do, this whole movie - and if all of them care for each other - as they have shown they undoubtedly do, for this whole movie - then no matter what he was sure was the "correct" and "right" thing to do before, he does not, and has never had to choose. Holmes doesn't have to steal him away from Mary any more than Mary has to steal him away from Holmes, because the great lesson of the Ritchieverse Sherlock Holmes movies ought to be that sometimes, polyamory is the best solution. And they all live in Sussex together, and quibble incessantly, and remain there for the rest of their days.

P. S. The number one thing this movie is absolutely, positively not allowed to do is kill off Mary. I don't care if she dies offscreen in the books, these movies did not have so much of their character conflict be Watson's inability to choose between her and Holmes for that to conclude with the immensely cheap act of offing her - not to mention that that would mean killing the only remaining major female character left in the series, and that these movies are so far removed from the ACD canon anyway that they can literally do whatever they want.

P. P. S. I don't have anywhere else to put these since I'll certainly never finish an entire screenplay concept for this without help, so here are a few disconnected, inaccurate-screenplay-format snippets using this idea that I jotted down on my phone way, way, back. Enjoy?

~~~

Opening shot: pigeons.

It’s early morning, and a man sits on a bench with a small bag of birdseed. He takes a handful of it, and reaches out to them. They flock around him with enthusiasm, some perching on his arm and hand.

The pigeons know him, clearly. It is SEBASTIAN MORAN.

He turns to look over his shoulder.

Moran: Hey, Professor, do you -

He stops. There is no one beside him.

Something hardens in his face.

He continues sprinkling birdseed. But his movements are listless, and it is clear the act no longer brings him much joy.

~~~

Holmes: It appears that Moriarty’s death, while ultimately a public service to the human race, has unleashed a far greater and more unpredictable danger to you than I could have imagined.

Watson: A danger?

Holmes: Indeed. And so long as I was believed to be dead, I was sure you and Mary would be entirely safe from it.

Watson: What - ?

Holmes: But I am now very much aware that that isn’t so, and so I have returned.

Watson: What danger, Holmes?

Holmes: Sebastian Moran.

Watson: Sebastian Mor- What, Moriarty’s right-hand man?

Holmes: The very same.

Watson: But why would he come after us? His superior is dead, he hasn’t got any orders -

Holmes: This has absolutely nothing to do with orders, Watson, and everything to do with the precarious and emotional nature of the human condition.

Watson: For the love of God, Holmes, can you just explain -

Holmes: I mean to say that this is entirely personal. Moran did not just work for Moriarty, he cared for him. Though to what extent, I haven’t the slightest idea.

Watson: For Moriarty?

(A disbelieving chuckle.)

Watson: Delusional bastard. I can’t imagine Moriarty cared for a soul in the world.

Holmes: And he may not have. How fallible man is, hm?

Holmes: Nevertheless, I believe that the colonel is seeking revenge. And if he cannot get it on me, then he will not stop until he has slain everyone I have ever cared for.

Holmes: Thus, my return from the grave. But I’ve already said that, haven’t I?

~~~

Holmes: No. No more deaths. No more lives lost because of me.

Holmes: …Not after Irene.

~~~

Moran: You should have died like the dog you are.

Holmes: Perhaps I would have, if I hadn’t known that Moriarty’s dog still lived.

Holmes: I had - foolishly, perhaps - thought that were I to die, Watson and Mary would be safe. A life for a life - my life, for Moriarty’s. No more.

Holmes: But you weren’t content with that. Were you?

Holmes: You wouldn’t stop until you’d killed everyone that meant something to me, even though I wasn’t there to see it.

Holmes: What will you do, if you succeed? What will you have left? It’s not as if revenge will bring him back.

Moran: You’d do the same if you lost your bloody Watson, wouldn’t you?

(Holmes is, rarely, silent.)

Moran: …And I don’t know how to do anything else.

~~~

Moran: …You’re wrong.

Moran: Nobody was kind to me. Not until I met the professor.

Holmes: But of course. It behooves a smart man to take good care of his tools -

Moran: You don’t know anything! It was real, what we had!

Moran: …It was real. I know it was. Because he told me that he didn’t even want to like me, at first, let alone…

(He trails off, as if thinking better of it. But then he shakes his head with a bitter chuckle.)

Moran: …What’s the point? I’ll hang for all the murders I’ve done. Another felony won’t mean much.

Moran: I loved him. And you’re the reason he’s dead. So I’ll kill everyone you love, and then I’ll kill you, or I’ll die trying.

~~~

Okay, that's it. If for some reason you read this far, thanks for sticking around! And if you have any personal thoughts on a third Ritchieverse Holmes movie, I'd absolutely love to hear them. See ya!

[crimsonxe]

FF7 Rebirth spoilers below the cut:

I don't have a clue wtf just went on with Cloud deflecting Masamune but also not leading to Aerith's death but not. Its a such a bullshit thing that tries to have its cake and eat it too; but at least the other Aerith is still technically alive waiting to be woken up in one of the multiple worlds. And I guess "ghost Aerith" is technically still around too. Regardless to the "Aerith has to die" crowd: FUCK YOU. The reality is that she didn't actually need to die, there's not a damn thing that required that outside of edgelord incel shitbags that have a death kink. Which ironically fucking enough the ending of Rebirth even backs up cause there's even fucking LESS shown as to why she died. She sure as hell isn't going to be stopping Meteor nor would that require her dying; instead she does so because incel shitbags wanted it & the OG game did it. Interesting originality be fucked, instead stick to the same goddamn bad end route bullshit as the OG game. I'll stick around to see the trilogy finished, but I'm openly stating now that I'm 1/3rd checked the fuck out. Also just going to put this out there: don't even mention Cloti anywhere near me cause that's been thoroughly ruined and I don't look forward to whatever happens in part 3. And just ftr no I'm not a Clerith and actually ship Cloti in OG, but not in the R-trilogy where Aerti has shined far more via their closeness.

Hope it was worth it writers, you had the chance to actually do an interesting alternate route that rewards people that have been hoping for a "good end route" and who liked/loved Remake for its unique interesting new storyline. But instead chose to throw it away in such a bullshit manner to appeal/line up with the same shitheads that bashed Remake for daring to do its own thing; or to repeat the same goddamn story as before rather than forge a new path. And I can't stress enough how the way it was done is such a shitty ass manner. Either Cloud deflects Sephiroth's sword and Aerith lives or he fucking doesn't and she dies; either fate is changeable or its not; either there's a multiverse of unlimited potentials including Aerith living or there isn't; etc. Fuck 5% of Rebirth, the other 95% is great. Such a goddamn waste. If Nomura is the one responsible for Remake's "fuck Fate, let's make our own path" aspect, then plz let him be the main one heading up Part 3 to try to course correct back from the betrayal of the concept that Rebirth's last 5% did. Show the timeline where Cloud did indeed save Aerith and have that Aerith join the team; have them break Fate instead of treating it as some immutable thing cause fuck that; and no more bullshit like having someone block a strike then having the story backhand via shitty ass reality rewrites (a la Masamune stuck in the ground to the side from an unharmed Aerith that suddenly is reality warped to have blood on it and Aerith being hit with a phantom stabbing cause "Fate"). I'll easily take Remake's vision over Rebirth's last 5% (I have to stress this cause 95% of Rebirth is fantastic, its only the last 5% that is incel edgelord nihilistic garbage to justify killing off a character cause "that's what happened in OG".

And let me be clear on this: my anger isn't where it should be which at Sephiroth as the one that did the deed as the villain aka proper narrative writing. My anger instead is aimed at the bullshit method of how it was done, which isn't how a narrative should come across. All I see if the very blatantly check off box that was bent to reach. Remake was 95% good, 5% mindblowing and getting me heavily invested; Rebirth 95% great, 5% bullshit and throwing away an entire section of investment. I really am having to work to give a shit about the remaining characters, cause the writing's failing caused that level of collapse.

Since this is the rant post: While I give credit for mostly shying away from sexist incel tropes in regards to the femme characters; don't even think for a second I didn't notice the little things that are there still. Shiva having jiggle physics; and even Tifa being hit with them during particular side quests. Edit: So from what I've gathered the main case of Tifa having them is a matter of you're expected to have her swimsuit on at that point, instead of her regular one; so while still annoying cause jiggle physic shouldn't be there at all its at least not in defiance of her sports bra that'd be more egregious.

I'm fucking done.

The really infuriating part is that I'd STILL give Rebirth like an 8/10 or even 9/10; cause as I've repeatedly mentioned 95% is just THAT damn good.

[jacksprostate]

boss pls elaborate on the songs you used.!!!

- superfan anon

Warning: under the cut is a lot of rambling with only mild incoherency!

So like I said it's sort of chronological...

How to Boil an Egg is very much her discontent building up in her current life. All the lyrics are spot on lol it was an easy pick I stole from my friend. Most of these songs I stole from my friend

Cubicle is again that sense of displacement and upset that drives her to develop someone that gets her... She wants someone to do anything. Push tacks in her eyes. Bring her into their nest and regurgitate worms in her mouth. She wants to be led somewhere, away from the void of fucking nothing that is her life right now

And Breeding is also so spot on haha. Only edit required is change Barack Obama to your president of choice during her lifetime. Trying to procreate without fucking and breeding <- trying to make Tyler, tbh. And of course the opening brings to mind the space monkey and 30 yr old boy thing. That in itself I have thoughts on how it would get inverted for female fight club but that's neither here nor there.

Pedestrian at Best is them living together.... Pretty much the verses are the narrator, self critical and lost and a mess, and the chorus is Tyler — all that but confident and a bit of a shithead.

It won't be with me on my deathbed, but I'll still be in your head

Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you

Tell me I'm exceptional, I promise to exploit you

Like. It hits that aspect of Tyler so well. In contrast, verse:

I'm resentful, I'm having an existential time crisis

What bliss, daylight savings won't fix this mess

Under-worked and over-sexed, I must express my disinterest

The rats are back inside my head, what would Freud have said?

So. Yes it's Them :) (and of course, something to be said about how Tyler parts are really just the narrator's grown projections etc)

Wonderful Hell — Oh you wanna start a revolution and destroy the world so bad haha fight club fight club perhaps even Project Mayhem.. in an idealistic way

Dogma literally just sounds like Tyler lecturing lol

Chamber for Sleep (Part Two) OK so THIS one I feel is a little more opaque in the connection but also works REALLY well if I explain a little. It's the narrator... Especially during Projrct Mayhem, when she's losing Tyler's attention. She wants Tyler's attention so bad. She wants it like she died and Tyler cares. Grieve as if I died and I'll become a fragment in your mind <- she does not know Tyler is a fragment in hers... She wants so bad to mean more. I'd like to love me like you seem to, how do you hang this heaven over me <- Ok fundamentally even though Tyler treats the narrator shitty sometimes, even in base novel like... what Tyler does is ultimately all for the narrator. Creating this heaven for the narrator. No matter how twisted. Even in the book, Tyler's big martyr thing — it's because the narrator wants to die and doesn't want consequences. With feamle fight club, too, a big part of my little canon for it is that Tyler really invests in the narrator developing her own strength. Tyler wants her strong. Hungry. Tyler feeds her meals with protein and carbs and cares for her like a lover. But Tyler also abandons her. Tyler has close little conversations with Marlon that the narrator just barely can't hear but sre loud enough to keep her awake all night hearing how Tyler's relationship with someone in this house is deepening, and it's that undeserving fake, Marlon, not her. She wants to be more important to Tyler SO bad. 'Braid my hair to yours and drag us blind' come on. No matter how short Tyler's hair is that's Them. + Nail me to the bed

Relating to a Psychopath — a lot like Pedestrian at Best's chorus... sort of making Tyler into this extremely confident and charismatic heavily flaky and flawed idol. Constant back and forth between the narrator being good company and mocking the narrator for caring about her so much.

Glass House — god, this song. As my friend said, 'the narrator after realizing Tyler is basically a brain parasite'. Obsessed with this song in general and also specifically for them. I have nothing to say you can only experience it

This Tornado Loves you <- like I said earlier... everything Tyler does is really for the narrator, at the end of the day. Even if it hurts. Like a tornado. But also, reflectively, the narrator now feels this way about what she's done to everyone around her.

Horseshoe Crab is her in the psych ward.... She's unfamiliar to herself. She's learned, but god. Nothing is the same. Especially not her. Wishes she could do it better. Be better. For her? Tyler? Marlon? The women in fight club? Probably all of the above. She's dissociated from herself.. a bit lost. So much learned, but lost. This is the song that inspired me to make the playlist.

And then you cycle back.

[pinkheichou]

"What's the worst thing you ever did?" (Ereri/Riren)

A little something I wrote for Christmas. Enjoy!

[Read it on Ao3]

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

"What's the worst thing you ever did?" Eren casually asked as he was taking another bite of Levi's self-made fruit cake. Their Christmas dinner was over and they had settled for a dessert to finish off the cozy night. Snow was piling up outside, but the married couple was inside with a fire glazing in the hearth.

Levi and Eren had married in August. The honeymoon phase was long over. The honeymoon love had also passed. They were now living a settled and peaceful life and sometimes Levi acted as if he was already an old married man, ready to give advice to younger people. Perhaps that's why Eren wanted to spice things up out of the blue. Trying to find out if Levi had any hidden secrets from the past he didn't know about. Of course he knew much about his husband. But not everything.

"Hm?" Levi's fork stopped midway. He wasn't sure, if he'd heard Eren correctly. Did he really ask him something just now?

"What's the worst thing you ever did?" Eren asked again—in exactly the same way, safe for his mouth being full of cake this time.

"How did you come up with such a question right now?"

"It just popped into my head. Might as well ask." Eren smirked. "You got something to tell, eh?"

Levi sighed. "I hate this."

Eren's ears perked up. His eyes widened excitedly. "Oh, I'm already invested!"

"I didn't even tell you anything yet."

"Tell me."

Levi thought about it. He then grimaced. "I don't wanna."

"Ohhhhh. It's that bad?! You have to tell me!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm your husband."

"Weakest reason ever."

"Because I love you."

"That's why it's better if you don't know."

"Oh my god, I want to know. I need to know!" Eren was banging one fist on the table enthusiastically. "Levi, tell me!"

Levi sighed heavily. He should have said 'no' instead of hinting at the thing that came to his mind after he'd heard Eren's question. "It's so bad—"

"Tell me."

"—I don't wanna remember it."

"You already are. I'm dying to know, you know?"

"It's so bad." Levi insisted. "I feel every ounce of regret when thinking back to it.

Levi rarely regretted something. Eren knew that. So it must be that bad, huh?

"There was one time," Levi commenced, totally forgetting about the fruit cake, "where I came back from a party at college. And I was totally stoned. I was still a virgin back then. And that day I kinda was horny. It must have been the blunt I smoked. But I was so stoned. And horny. Extremely horny."

Eren held in his breath. He was anticipating the rest of the story. He'd already heard of guys being so horny that they punched a hole in the wall and fucked it.

"I didn't know what to do. At that time I wanted know what it was like making out and sleeping with something. I don't know. Just stuff like that."

"Understandable."

"No." Levi's eyelids fluttered absentmindedly. "You don't get it. I was home, at my actual home. Lying there on the floor. Horny and all. Some time later my uncle Kenny came home from work. I didn't really register that. I couldn't really figure out that it was him. I was out of my mind. My head was empty and full at the same time."

"You're making it so difficult to stay calm. Tell me what you did."

"I'm dreading it. I don't wanna utter it out loud."

"It was that that that bad?"

"You don't get it. I was horny. And there was something in the same house as me. In the same room actually."

"Oh my... god..." Eren had a weird feeling.

"I stood up, went up to him, didn't listen to anything he said. I couldn't. I didn't know what he was saying."

" You fucked your uncle?!" Eren bit his fist, this time his eyes were widened in terror.

"No!" Levi had his eyes closed. He couldn't look at his husband. "But our lips touched. Before I knew what I was doing, I was kissing him. With tongue and all."

Eren's mouth was agape. He had expected anything but this. Levi – the calm and collected and gentle Levi – had actually done such a...

"Is that why he kicked you out for good?" Levi was raised by his uncle until his college years after his parents had died in an accident.

"He didn't kick me out. I left home after he tried to force me to continue his business. Didn't want that because it seemed to be a shady one for me. But he kicked me in the face that day. With hands and feet. I wasn't feeling high anymore. Or horny. He quite literally kicked me back to my senses. And that's when I realised what I had actually done."

"Oh, this is actually bad." Eren had abandoned his piece of cake.

Levi, however, had resumed eating his share. He had told Eren his worst mistake in life and now he felt like he could function like a human again.

Eren was watching him. He had put on a crooked smile." You... slut..." he said, but didn't actually mean it.

Levi glared at him.

"Besides the beating, how did your uncle react to it?"

"When I was sober again, I told him that I had not been in a sane state of mind due to the drug I had taken. He didn't give a shit about that. Threatened me to rearrange my organs, if I ever were to fuck up this bad again. However, I think he didn't take it that personally anymore in the end. Probably got him thinking about the things he did when he was young. I, however, can never get over this. It was my first kiss, you know?"

Eren didn't know if he should laugh or feel empathetic. "My deepest condolences." he said, sarcastically.

Levi glared at his husband again. He never thought their first Christmas together would end up like this, but at least Eren knew about that incident now. A trauma shared is a trauma halved, right?

Thinking about that, Levi raised a brow. "By the way... What's the worst thing you ever did?"

There was a pause. Eren had finished eating his cake and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

He chuckled.

And then stood up.

"I'm not gonna tell you." He winked as he left the room.

Levi watched him leave, dumbfounded. No way, Levi thought, I got tricked by him?!

[solarwynd]

Some pjms are immature and let their own desires and assumptions overtake. A lot of them need to remember jimin is a grown man and not their friend. They create ideas of him based on their own interpretations and run with it. It starts with his career. Jimin is not a clueless person. Yes he can get screwed over and he has by his label during his solo era but he's not a child that has no idea what choices to make and he's not miserable. Some solos love playing managers or think they know better than him. Even the art cover for closer than this, which is usual hybe work they were ranting about it but how about letting jimin decide what he wants to do? Idk but I feel like out of all pjms nitpick so much while other solos just eat everything up. Of course we aren't a cult and we don't have to like everything but let's have boundaries and respect him. Also, people need to know the difference between art interpretation and a real person. Saying Jimin's art is queer coded or even interpreting things in that way to is one thing but it's another to make statements on his life using that. We don't know him and it's unfair to speak on someone's private life without their consent. I say this as a queer person. However one express themselves isn't a sign to state things for them. And no I'm not saying he's straight and I'm aware of the bisexual coding. But that still isn't enough for me to speak on the life of a man I don't know. And using the he can't come out argument for me also doesn't work because not everyone even wants to come out or even tries to. As a queer person myself maybe my expression shows in ways I'm queer because it happens for some and it doesn't for others so once again not denying anything but I'm not asking people to speak on it without my consent just because of the way I express myself. That's the thing consent is a big thing with things like this. I know people are curious and I'm not saying this to come at harmless queer fans. But it's not all of us and too many are overstepping and treating him like a fictional character. I'll say it's especially white queer fans and it reeks of racism and western centric ideas targeting East-asian men. And the confirmation bias is a big thing. If you look for something you will find it. Like jimin himself said in his doc filter wasn't about himself personally and just a concept while some were asserting it is to make statements about him personally. I wouldn't care if it wasn't becoming risky for him. Some of the things people were saying on Jimin's behalf regarding his sexuality and private life he never disclosed to us ahead of his enlistment were disappointing to see because it's all projection and some move like they want it to have negative repercussions for him in real life just to validate their ideas. Let me not get into the fetishizing and overly sexual lens with which all of his interactions with men are seen it's like they can't see jimin in a normal lens or let him have male friends or interactions without legit sexually harassing him over it. And I single out pjms because that's his solo fandom and I expect them to be better but this is heavily on armys/shippers too. I hope everyone takes a step back and stop being so invested in Jimin's life while he's enlisted. Because stanning should be a hobby. It's not trying to live through someone else's life. I forgot to add: there's so much biphobia it's awful to see. Because it's really both queer/gay and straight people never acknowledging bi people. It's not lost on me how people react at the idea of jimin being with a woman or even reinforcing mlm stereotypes on him based on his appearance. All because he's a pretty man. Anyways this ended up being too long but I hope for a fandom cleaning in these 18 months and for everyone to get in touch with reality. For everyone's sake and for Jimin's especially. He deserves better and respectful fans and I know he has to talent and potential to have a long and thriving career as a soloist-the best out of korea - when he comes back. I hope fans can support him the right way.

.💯

[cheddar-baby]

So prefacing this with no one but me cares but i've got beef with the new reboot of the Cube movie

Maybe its because im canadian and i cherish the cube series for being one of the only good horror movies to come out of canada but i personally love the series i think cube, cube 2: hypercube, and cube zero (to a lesser degree) are masterpieces of dumb horror shlock. The beauty of the cube series is that you're just plopped into this giant nightmare lifeless metal box that has traps randomly placed throughout it maybe with a little puzzle for you to solve along the way. The cube is not a character its just sorta there and the movie functions as a vessel for fun trap ideas, your characters are disposable and we know very little about them. Its an ideal dumb horror movie. Cube 2: hypercube is the jason in space varient where theres just like future space magic but its the same you're just in a giant cube that just functions on its own and is just kinda there killing people for no reason.

Now my problem with the remake... They leaned so heavily into it being some sort of character drama that the cube itself was just kind of forgotten about. They seemed so invested in building these characters that they didnt want to kill any of them off. There was very little imagination in the traps it was just kind of like 3-4 picked from the original movie but with meh cgi. Super quick they found 2 seperate ways to avoid the traps entirely so from that point on there was really no traps seen. The movie became just a vessel for this singular guy to get a strange redemption arc for not managing to save his brother from killing himself because a small child just decides hes mad at him and blames him for his brothers death, immedietly tossing himself into a trapped room to get back at him. Also theres a woman they introduce at the start who you forget is in the movie because she has a single line of dialog and then from that point is barely if ever on screen who is later revealed to just be the cube and she has magic mind palace powers. But onto my reasons for disliking this change. I really feel like the original cube film is a really clever critique of capitalist beurocracy in that the cube is just this monolithic object. It is an insane massive structure that no one knows how it really got there who built it or why, it is just there, no one really controls it. Its just this immovable object that just functions totally independantly and does not feel or care. People are placed into it against their will by unseen forces and then are unceremoniously killed and disposed of. Its an endlessly moving and restructuring beast that seemingly has no end.

But the reboot takes this and gives it a face as this random quiet lady who is doing some sort of squid games game but we never learn her motives and it kind of seems like shes just oblivious to everything. She has 0 stakes in anything happening and is just there. But the cube now has rooms that beam into your brain and show cinematic recreations of your traumatic memories (just for a single guy in a room full of 3 people) onto a wall projector. Seemingly to teach you that being a child in a traumatic situation is your fault and you should repent for not being perfect. It really muddles the themes of the original to the point it feels like a saw movie thats confused about itself and what its doing. It also brings into question why have so many people in the cube if its just a vessel for a single person to get some character arc? Are the rest of them just disposable? Do their lives not matter? What is this trying to say? Its just all so strange and muddy when the base concept of the cube movies is so stripped down and simple. You literally just need people to traverse a giant cube and get senselessly killed in fun and interesting ways and there you go. Somehow this new movie managed to mess that up and it hurts me as a cube lover.

[busaikuknee]

a quick look back at january 2024

This year, I've decided to start keeping record of what matches I watch/what my reactions to them are, something that I'd done previously but had dropped for 2023. I'm trying out using a spreadsheet instead of a purely text document for this one. Beyond being much more pleasant for me to scroll through, this has the added benefit of letting me crunch numbers. While I don't think a lot of the nitty-gritty statistics will be of interest to anyone but myself, I thought it might be fun to do some kind of end-of-the-month write-up. Maybe I'll do one for each month, who's to say.

Anyway!

BROAD NUMBERS I ended up watching 64 matches this month, 50 of which took place this month. A large portion of those were from ittenyon week. I was kind of worn out after that and had other things I wanted to focus on, so I haven't been keeping up with anything consistently other than DDT, which made up a third of what I viewed this month. This will probably continue into the future; I have some backwatching plans. Tied for second place are NOAH and Dragongate, which also tracks. I really need to catch up on NOAH, I've barely seen anything from it since The New Year. I've also been pretty hit-or-miss with Dragongate, but I've really been enjoying getting more into it. It's fun! There are plots going on that I'm kind of invested in! Shun Skywalker is there, being the most normal man who's ever lived! Good times.

MOST APPEARANCES THROUGHOUT THE MONTH In terms of "matches that I watched this month," Danshoku Dieno and HARASHIMA tied for first place with five appearances each; for "matches that took place this month," Dieno and Hideki Okatani tied with four. As he made it to first place in both categories, that makes Danshoku Dieno the inaugural Spreadsheet Champ!

I think this is going to be one of the more interesting things to keep track of throughout the year- based on the metrics for this month, I'm going to guess that it's going to bias heavily towards people who appear often in undercard multi-mans.

MATCHES THIS MONTH I don't consider myself much of a writer nor someone with taste, so this isn't a "best of the month" list or a collection of thought-out analysis. I'm just going back through the month's viewing and picking a few things to chat about.

ULKA SASAKI VS TAKASHI SUGIURA (NOAH, JAN 1st) Spent the entire match being wildly jealous of Ulka Sasaki's hair. I have actual thoughts about the match itself—I thought it was a pretty solid showing considering it was Sasaki's first singles match and I'm definitely interested in seeing how he grows from here—but my most substantial takeaway was "Maybe I should dip-dye my hair."

KENOH VS MANABU SOYA (NOAH, JAN 1st) I've tried typing something up about this multiple times, but I feel I can't articulate my feelings properly. I'm just going to leave it at "go watch Kenoh vs Soya." Amazing performance from them both.

KAZUCHIKA OKADA VS BRYAN DANIELSON (NJPW, JAN 4th) Worked for me in all of the ways their first singles encounter didn't.

SHINGO TAKAGI VS MASAAKI MOCHIZUKI (DRAGONGATE, JAN 10th)

LUIS MANTE VS JACKY"FUNKY"KAMEI (DRAGONGATE, JAN 11th) Mante apologizing to the audience for the violence he's inflicting on Kamei and not to Kamei himself…fascinating.

HARASHIMA VS TORU OWASHI VS KAZUKI HIRATA (DDT, JAN 14th)

MAO VS BRYAN KEITH (DDT, JAN 21st)

I'm sure that Okatani vs Sakaguchi will also make this list, but I missed seeing it live and have been saving it for when I can really sit down with it. Maybe I'll watch it tonight. Additionally, while I've limited the formal list to matches that took place this January, I'd also like to recommend Tanahashi's two appearances in DDT. Very fun, very interesting to see how strongly the audience reacts to asshole heel Tanahashi.

That's it from me for now. If there are any matches you particularly enjoyed this January, let me know! I love hearing about what stuck with people. See you next month!

[letyukisayfuck]

to add to my complaints-

it feels like the anime is trying to coast by on a familiarity it hasn’t earned, without doing anything to endear me to characters that feel like their haruhi-chan variants; which works fine in a parody series (i love haruhi-chan! i do!) but does absolutely nothing to get me invested in an actual story about these characters-that-work-best-as-jokes

(when they’re not parodies, they’re altered for no reason than to further the plot- haruhi has MUCH higher emotional intelligence and tact than she should at this point in her development (or lack thereof), seemingly just because it’s convenient for allowing the actual romance to progress; she should be a lot more insensitive and tactless if she hasn’t had any of her canon experiences)

and because it’s calling back to the original quite a bit, i’m judging it a lot more harshly than i would if it were a wholly original series (or an actual fanfic- this is still a commercial anime series, people were paid real-world dollars to make it).

like, yeah, i’m a die-hard harukyon enjoyer and probably the #1 haruhi defender, but i went into this knowing that it’s not about her and that it’s not about them; and that was something i did go in with an open mind about!

but the moe-blob that is yuki-chan isn’t engaging as a character in her own right, and it’s hard to root for her not because she’s inactive but because she’s uninteresting. so she doesn’t feel familiar, and she isn’t engaging in any way- i don’t particularly empathize with her motivation, i don’t really care what happens with her because from where i’m standing there’s nothing to care about: she doesn’t have any standout traits other than staying up late when she shouldn’t and being awkward/anxious.

honestly, i just don’t think a story set in a disappearance-esque world that’s a low-stakes fluffy romance story works very well. in general, i don’t think removing the supernatural from haruhi completely does anything particularly beneficial to the characters, world, or story.

and how heavily it draws on disappearance is very much an issue, to get more specifically into why its reliance on familiarity feels like a bad thing. disappearance is the thing people generally think of when they remember haruhi at its best (well, for the light novels it’s usually surprise, but more people have seen the anime and so disappearance comes to mind first)

and disappearance is a phenomenal story. it sets a very high standard that this show (and likely the manga it’s based on, but i’m probably not going to go and read it) was absolutely doomed to never live up to.

it’s probably fine if you want something light and fluffy and low-stakes (and full of fanservice. there have been moments where i had to actively avert my eyes. repeatedly.), but it’s not what i want out of anything haruhi-adjacent.

also making a haruhi-adjacent romance story and not going the ‘batshit insane shoujo’ route was absolutely a missed opportunity, with or without anything supernatural going on.