#help i'm falling down old ships and characters i loved and i'm finding i love them just as much still

[maranull]

I'm listening to Neeko and Nidalee's voicelines.

Neeko also hitting on Nami was unexpected but she's so right for it.

I love her voice and accent so much. So much. SO. MUCH.

*sees a kitten* "Oh, so cute. Neeko wants to lick it." Girl what are you on. Also, same.

Oh my god, Nida's voice is also... hmmmmmm ❤

Nocture: "This world will know darkness." Nida: "You mean night time?" dhasjdhgasjhfgjdsfhg

Your honour, I adore them

[hearts-are-connected]

Dang it, I love this ship and I love the enemies to lovers trope. I get that a lot of people see them as a surrogate father and daughter relationship, but it feels like a been there/done that kinda thing.

As much as I love that trope, I'm also a little tired of it. There's only so much Last of Us style found family I take after seeing it for so many years.

The thing I love about VaultGhoul or Ghoulcy is the idea of Lucy breaking down of Cooper's walls while he helps build hers up.

Is he incredibly cruel to her and those around him in the first season? Yes, extremely

Does he need to chill out and find some of his humanity that's been buried under 200+ years of wasteland survival and bitterness? Yes

Who can bring that needed direction to his life while learning the ways of the new world she finds herself in? Lucy MacLean

I know that the canon ship of the show at this moment is Lucy and Maximus, and as much as I love him, I find the pairing obvious and kind of boring from a story telling perspective. I loved it on my first viewing, but upon re-watching the series, I wasn't as behind it as before. I see their relationship, kiss and all, as a kind of first fling for the both of them.

While it doesn't diminish the care they show one another, there's not a lot behind them as a couple. Now I know that some people might turn around to say how she and Cooper spent less time together than her and Max, but I guess the thing I look forward to is seeing what their relationship brings with the second season.

I feel like Max and Lucy will have a great friendship and I'm interested to see where the Brotherhood fits into their dynamic as well.

With Cooper though, I find his story so tragic, as it's supposed to be. He's your standard hardened survivor who only looks out for himself that's now stuck with the happy-go-lucky main character, however, she's not that character anymore by the end. She's still going to be the Lucy we love, but she's changed by the end. While not losing her compassion and some optimism, I think Cooper is going to bring out a harsher side to her as we saw when she bit off his finger.

I want to see her building up her walls and learning when to let them down. How to truly survive while still bringing her own energy to the wasteland and people around her. I want to see Cooper regaining some lost humanity while learning to truly care for another person again. To see the two of them as eventual equals in one another's eyes as they continue on their journey as reluctant allies.

I also want to say that I'm personally kind of tired of the 'age gap' argument. We have stories of teenagers falling in love with hundred year old vampires. So can we just drop the age gap thing?

As long as they're both consenting adults who understand what they're getting themselves into, who cares about an age gap.

Does it truly matter in the scheme of things when we're talking about a world with cryo-stasis and super mutants?

I personally don't think so.

I don't know if anyone will even bother reading this entire thing, and I know I went on a little long, but I wanted to write down my thoughts on the whole shipping situation with the Fallout TV show fandom at this moment.

I'm a VaultGhoul shipper and I can't wait to see where the second season takes our main trio of characters.

[tiredtxmblrvet]

Fic Rec Friday

Thanks again to @mediumgayitalian for the idea!

Below are 5 fics I've enjoyed this past week/recently.

IT'S A SCREAM, BABY! by @rosyredlipstick

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45360994

Summary:

It’s June 1984, Prince is at the top of the charts, and Nico di Angelo has spent the last three weeks scratching at mosquito bites and herding around a group of elementary school kids—and somehow it’s been the best summer of his life. - “Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake!” Jason yelled over, ever-polite.

--

Okay I'm back with another Rosy rec. When I tell you this story literally captured me within the first paragraph and held me in a vice grip the entire time. I literally started the beginning and went "now this is how you start a story" and then couldn't put it down. This is a horror/slasher AU, but none of the major characters die! It's a love letter to a lot of horror films, so if you're in to that sort of thing, I'd totally recommend. Or if you're like me and don't really watch horror, I'd still recommend because it's that good. Also once again Will and Nico's dynamic is top tier in this fic, and I really love Will's POV.

The Other "Heroes" by SirOliverSurface

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29528811

Summary:

Percy Jackson had seen weird before. Swimming in the River Styx to gain invincibility to fight the Titan lord of time was "weird". Getting your memory wiped by the goddess of marriage and family in a gambit to unite Greek and Roman demigods was "weird". Having a spiritual attachment to blue food was... well... completely understandable, no matter how much Leo joked about it. But this? This is "weird".

When a battle goes wrong, and magic goes wild, the son of Poseidon and Hero of Olympus finds himself dumped in a world that seems strangely familiar. The Greek Gods are still around, the old myths were really true, all seems well. But one thing has changed: the people he's come to love. And it doesn't take long for him to figure out that these new faces all miss someone else, too; Hero of Olympus, and daughter of Poseidon, Percie Jackson.

--

This is Percabeth centric, with Solangelo as a side ship, but this story is so good. Granted, I'm only about 150k in, but the writing has captivated me, and the adventure our heroes go on is fascinating to me. Plus I just love the "other" versions of all the heroes. Will I ever be able to finish it? Maybe in 2 years, but hey! It's my go-to fall back on fic when I'm running out of things to read. (It's 1.2 million words!)

August by CordeliaRose

https://archiveofourown.org/works/49031647

Summary:

Somehow, Nico's life only gets more confusing after he defeats a primordial Goddess.

Will Solace accounts for about 90% of that confusion.

(A journey through August, and all its ups and downs.)

--

I just had to rec this story, as I am about to re-read it only a couple of weeks after finishing it the first time because it's just that good. This follows the rest of August after the end of BoO, and the way Will and Nico's relationship develops is just absolutely stunning. Also Nico and Will are autistic coded in this story and it just makes me beyond happy.

peach tea by ghosttotheparty

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48987730

Summary:

He sits up after a moment, but Nico doesn’t let go of his fingers, so he lifts the arm that’s awkward between them and sets it behind Nico, leaning back to rest on it. Nico just looks at the tapestry.

Will brushes his thumb over the side of Nico’s hand gently. His skin is soft. Nico’s fingers tighten on Will’s. It kind of feels like neither of them wants to move. Will doesn’t mind.

or; Will falls in love with the new kid.

--

I love the way ghosttotheparty writes intimacy, just, warm, soft, fragile moments that have such a wonderful air to them. I'm not usually one for high school AU's, but I love their characterization of Will and Nico so much that I just had to try this story, and I'm so glad I did. There's a particular scene where Will helps Nico down from a panic attack, and it just made me want to cry it was so well done. Just a lovely story.

Safe (better keep that thought to yourself) by @buoyantsaturn

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42721455

Summary:

Nico figured he was probably overprepared, but it was better to be safe than sorry, especially when leaving his child with some guy he barely knew and a kid he’d never met.

God, he hoped Will wasn’t some kind of psychopath. 

--

I'm back again with another one of CJ's lovely works. I'd been looking for a cute Parent!Nico and Parent!Will kidfic, and this story absolutely delivers. The way that both Will and Nico stumble around each other is so endearing in this story, and their kids are JUST the cutest!! I absolutely recommend this story.

--

Okay that's all! I'll probably keep doing this until I run out of fics to recommend. Have a good friday lovelies!

[aurorawest]

Bargain of Blood and Gold by Kristin Jacques - 3.75/5 stars

Reminiscent of Jordan L Hawk's Widdershins series, but with vampires and werewolves. Also takes place in Maine, which isn't a very common setting. Unwittingly, I bought the second book in the series months ago, and I realized as it got to the top of my TBR that I didn't have the first book! I had to scramble to order it and I was happy I enjoyed it since, obviously, I already have the second book.

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa - DNF at pg 2

Captive Prince by CS Pacat (reread) - 5/5 stars

Prince's Gambit by CS Pacat (reread) - 5/5 stars

Kings Rising by CS Pacat - 5/5 stars

I think I loved these books even more on my reread.

Gravity by Tal Bauer - 4.25/5 stars

Probably my favorite hockey romance that I've read.

The Modern Mythos Anomaly by Juniper Lake Fitzgerald - DNF at pg 132

I actually liked the story, the characters, and the writing in general, but this book just needed another few edits to slim it down a bit.

Lose You to Find Me by Erik J Brown - 4.5/5 stars

Leeward by Katie Daysh - 4.5/5 stars

The blurbs on this book are hilarious, because they're all like, tall ships people, and then Mackenzi Lee, hailing it as a lovely queer historical romance. This was a really lovely book and I'm excited for the sequel. Also hoping for more kissing in the sequel since this was a serious slow burn.

Riley Weaver Needs a Date to the Gaybutante Ball by Jason June - 3.75/5 stars

Starseer by Katya Hernández - 4/5 stars

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala - 5/5 stars

I loved this book so much!! Oh my god. Super funny, very romantic. It revolves around cosplay which is of course a special interest of mine.

Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo - 4.5/5 stars

Flying Without a Net by EM Ben Shaul - 2.75/5 stars

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (reread) - 5/5 stars

Striking Distance by Sarah Rees Brennan - 4.75/5 stars

I didn't expect to like this as much as I did. The graphic novels were good but changing to a novel format allowed for much deeper characters. Surprisingly devastating and also really funny.

The Old Haunts by Allan Radcliffe - 4/5 stars

The Gay Best Friend by Nicholas DiDomizio - 5/5 stars

Main character is the best friend of both the bride and the groom, and everything surrounding the wedding becomes a train wreck beginning on the weekend of the bachelor party, when the bride asks the MC, Dom, to keep tabs on the groom for her. As someone who is extremely conflict avoidant with friends but not family and romantic partners, I heavily related to Dom. There's also a romance that I really loved.

Romance Languages by AJ Truman - 4.25/5 stars

I think this was my favorite of the South Rock series. It deals with some more difficult topics—Julian's self-loathing over his body image is heartbreaking (and relatable), and Seamus's guilt over the way his gambling addiction hurt his ex was very well done. I'm a sucker for stories where a character learns to ask for help, not to mention difficult parent-child relationships, and this had both. I also appreciated Julian's arc re: sex and virginity.

Darkhearts by James L Sutter - 5/5 stars

Another bandmates-in-love treasure, with a twist—the main character, David, left the band right before they got famous. He ends up falling for one of his ex-friends/bandmates after they reconnect. The author is a musician himself, and it definitely shows (in a good way). I'm really a sucker for The Burdens of Fame, which this book definitely had, but there's actually a really good arc for David and how he deals with his jealousy and resentment over being left behind. Plus he wants to be a carpenter rather than go to college, which was cool.

Brute by Kim Fielding - 4.25/5 stars

We Could Be So Good by Cat Sebastian - 5/5 stars

What can I say about this book? Why was it so lovely? Why did it make me feel so much? Why can I not rate things higher than 5 stars? It's a million stars in my heart. Aside from just being a gorgeous mid-century America m/m romance (my favorite), this one features an Italian-American main character. The stuff with Nick's family was spot-on. I just loved this book. I felt like I was wrapping myself in a big, comfy, historical gay romance blanket.

Drowned Country by Emily Tesh - 5/5 stars

The sequel to Silver in the Wood. Had a very mythic and sort of folk horror vibe. This one is from Henry Silver's POV instead of Tobias Finch's and takes place two years after Silver in the Wood, which is time that Henry has mostly spent sulking in Greenhollow Hall, sans Tobias. Really highly recommend this duology. Emily Tesh is a treasure.

The Alchemy of Moonlight by David Ferraro - DNF at pg 11

[2manythoughtz]

Damon Vs Stefan, But They’re Both Toxic

One of the most popular debates on the internet ever since the first season aired is: which Salvatore brother is the best love interest? But is it really up for discussion?

(before reading, this is only my opinion based on my knowledge of the series, I'm not trying to hate on the characters or the series)

Most movies and series have their fanbases discussing many topics which can lead to real divisions among fans. The hottest topic you can ever discuss with another fan is probably what’s the best ship (romantic couple) or love interest.

The biggest example is probably the Twilight Saga which has people still arguing whether the best love interest is Edward or Jacob.

Speaking of supernatural romance, The Vampire Diaries is still to this day one of the most popular TV series, with eight seasons and two spin-offs, it quickly became revolutionary.

Seeing how people still talk about it, I wanted to compare the Salvatore brothers and explain why they’re both terrible choices. To do so, I will focus on both of them singularly so that, even if you haven’t seen the series or you don’t remember it that well, you can understand my point of view.

Stefan

I’ve seen so many people arguing that Stefan is the best love interest because he’s “the good one” and his love for the protagonist, Elena Gilbert, is so pure. 

While I can see why one would think that he’s not as “evil” as his brother, I wouldn’t say that he is good. In fact, I think he’s just as bad as Damon on so many levels.

But let’s take it from the start. We meet Stefan immediately in the first episode, he’s portrayed as this mysterious, good-looking and emotionally unavailable guy who was extremely acclaimed in every 00s movie. He’s enrolling in the same High School as Elena, and we can see right there that he’s not like any other boy in that school.

In fact, he’s a vampire and he’s decided to study there just to meet Elena. Why, you would ask. Well, because Elena looks exactly like Stefan’s old lover Katherine. Funnily enough, a few seasons later we find out that Stefan never truly loved Katherine, they had their share of fun and he cared for her, but once he realized what she had done to him, he immediately resented her. 

Elena and Stefan fall in love and they help each other whenever something goes wrong, which happens very frequently. Because of that, they get separated and their love slowly fades away as they break up after a year together. 

Elena gets with Damon, but we’ll talk about that later, and Stefan has some up and downs before falling in love with Caroline. Their relationship is peculiar in a way, at first they both push each other away, then get together, then push each other away again and then get back together again. 

Spoiler alert: Stefan dies in the end as he decides that he wants to sacrifice himself to help Elena and Damon live a happy life together as they wanted. 

So, as you can see, he seems like a very gentle and honorable guy, but there’s more to be said about him. 

Stefan is a ripper, he can’t control himself around blood and ends up losing his humanity as he slaughters and eats every human along his path. He’s known for killing entire villages, spreading chaos and fear. Sure, one might excuse him because later on it’s revealed that he got that gene from his mother. 

But let’s put it this way. For Stefan blood is like alcohol for an alcoholic, they may not know what they’re doing when they’re drunk but that still doesn’t excuse their actions, the same goes for our vampire. 

Stefan is a hot mess as a vampire, he’s a ticking bomb and only has two regimes: he either feeds on animals, which results in him being way too weak, or he drinks blood and goes crazy.

Not to mention, the young Salvatore isn’t exactly an angel. He’s done many wrongdoings throughout the series but they’ve all been forgiven just because he’s Stefan and everyone likes him, only in the last season he finally realises everything that he has done once he becomes human, a big foreshadowing of his death in the end. 

He’s still manipulated and killed people because they were getting in his way, but maybe that doesn’t really count as toxic seeing as most characters in TVD do so without any problem. 

So let’s talk about his attitude throughout the 8 seasons. Stefan has had a few love interests after Elena broke up with him, that wasn’t necessarily his fault since he had been compelled by Niklaus to turn off his humanity, but even after regaining his humanity, he seems off and distant. 

After Elena, Stefan is confused and doesn’t really know what to do. But just as he was about to get over her, his brother gets sucked into another dimension (so much happens in TVD, so I hope you can keep up with me) and he decides to just leave everything behind and get a new life and a new girlfriend.

That doesn’t go too well since the girl dies soon after, he was never really into her and never opened up about anything with her. 

So later on he realizes that he’s in love with Caroline, what a surprise, but the two of them cannot be together yet. Once they actually become a thing (it takes a while), Stefan’s first love appears and Caroline is very jealous.

Does that stop Stefan from running away with his first love and having a relationship with her as soon as he’s in danger? Nope, he does leave Caroline without saying anything and spends years with his first lover. 

Not to mention, as soon as he gets back in town he gets dumped by the girl and he goes back to Caroline. She accepts but tells him that he can’t run away from her anymore.

He kind of runs away again? He proposes to her but he’s also wanted by the Devil to work for him, so he turns off his humanity and leaves Caroline… again. 

See a pattern here?

In the end, as I said, he sacrifices himself for Damon and Elena… right after marrying Caroline. 

Now, I’m not saying he’s the worst person in the whole series, but I must admit that his relationships were all very weird and superficial. He never really got in-depth about his feelings with anyone a part maybe from Elena. He always sacrificed himself for Elena, which was cool when they were together, but after breaking up my question is… why? He gave up on his brother when he thought he was dead, but never gave up on his ex-girlfriend? 

Let’s see it from Caroline’s point of view. Her boyfriend took his sweet time to realize that he liked her, he left with his first lover, proposed and then immediately un-proposed since he worked for the devil, he had a full debate about whether he should’ve married Caroline and after marrying her he basically kills himself for his ex… 

As I said, I don’t think he’s exactly good. I personally think that he’s very toxic in his ways, we just learn to ignore it throughout the series because he’s always painted as the best brother. But to be fair, even if he had stayed with Elena things wouldn’t have gone any better between his blood problems and tendencies to sacrifice himself for anything. 

Damon

Let’s talk about the older brother.

It’s fair to say that most people love Damon even if he’s the bad boy, or maybe they like him because of that. 

I honestly think that he’s had a big character development in the first 3/4 seasons, but after that, it got really boring and repetitive. At least, unlike Stefan, he learned to value himself and those around him. 

Damon is presented to us as this jerk and heartless older brother whose only goal in life is to torment Stefan for everything he’s done to him. That promise gets forgotten very quickly in the series, but that’s a different topic. 

I personally cannot stand Damon in the first 2 seasons. He’s so exaggerated in every way, he’s made out to be this big bully who kills without remorse and sleeps with everyone. 

He literally kills for no reason if not for fun, but everyone gets over it very easily, if not for a few times when they kind of point out to him that he’s not the best person ever, but what really ticked me off was the way he treated Vicky and Caroline.

Vicky’s death is something spoken about every season with her making an appearance every single time. So many things would’ve changed if she hadn’t died! And Caroline… well, I just felt sorry for all the abuse she had to endure and that everyone ignored once she became a vampire.

Can we also talk about the fact that Damon is like 25 (ignoring the fact that he's been alive/dead for 170-something years) and sleeping with Caroline who’s 17 while having a crush on Elena while she’s also 17? Yikes.

He’s very determined to find Katherine, his only true love who is later revealed to be a traitor and a liar. Everything Damon has done to get her back means nothing and the worst part is that Katherine has always been in love with Stefan and Stefan only. 

Once his love dream gets destroyed, he focuses on Elena full-time. He seems to be dependable on his love interest, meaning that he lives his life based on that only. 

And his personality doesn’t really change when he turns off his emotions so there’s not much to compare him to, if anything it just makes it worse because it means that he’s always so bloodthirsty and perverse in a sense. 

He doesn’t really have any relationships other than Elena and Katherine, he does hook up with many people throughout the series but it’s nothing more than sex most of the time, except for a few women he befriended.

The only good development he had was about caring for his friends other than his girlfriend. But that doesn’t cancel the fact that he was willing to kill and actually killed Elena and Stefan’s friends for nothing. But yeah, there isn’t much to say about Damon since his main problem is killing people here and there and his obsession with his love interest.

But even that doesn’t stop him from sleeping with other people while being deeply in love with Elena or Katherine, although this is a bigger problem in movies and series, cheating is so normalized that people don’t even think about it anymore. While one could discuss that he didn’t really cheat since Katherine was allegedly blocked under a church and Elena was asleep and couldn’t wake up. But is it really a good excuse? I mean, if his love for her was so deep that he wanted to become human and spend the rest of his life with her, shouldn’t he only want to sleep with her?

As per toxicity, in his relationships, he’s pretty stubborn and easily irascible. He’s Stefan’s opposite, so while he’s understanding and open to confrontation, Damon tends to think that his opinion is always correct and there is no other way until proven wrong, and even there he won’t admit that his idea wasn’t the best. I think it’s safe to say that he has some anger issues, every time he has an argument with someone or feels threatened he goes rogue and unleashes his anger on people. 

He’s not the nicest but as I said, that doesn’t mean much. He might not be as nice as Stefan but that doesn’t make him worse, to be honest. 

So in conclusion I don’t think that there’s a better choice, both brothers helped and ruined Elena's life in many ways. Both of them had this superhero complex and wanted to sacrifice themselves all the time, they could’ve just come up with another idea or something half of the time but they didn’t. And every time Elena got in trouble it was mostly because of them, because someone wanted to get revenge on what they did in the past or simply to hurt them and she was the perfect way to do so. I’m also pretty confused by the fact that they fell in love with Elena just because she looked like Katherine at first, Damon’s infatuation is plausible since he was head over heels for that woman, but Stefan? He never really loved her, so why approach Elena in the first place?

Like most stories with supernatural characters, vampires are not the healthiest partners. Stefan or Damon? That’s not an easy decision, but not because they’re both amazing people, although they did care for Elena till the end. They’re both toxic and difficult to deal with but maybe that’s exactly what made them so memorable and acclaimed by fans. No matter how cold and scary they could seem, they had a sweet side of them with the people they really cared about.

Which brother do you prefer? Let me know!

[somewhere-on-knowhere]

@malvo-ish Starbula bingo for you! :D

Unsurprisingly, I LOVE THEM. The ship that brought me out of a looooong writing retirement because I love them that much xD

Long ramble/essay below!

I actually started shipping them in the months leading up to Vol. 3's release as a crackship, thinking about how cute it would be if Nebula developed a crush on him, but also angsty because she is once again going after the love/approval of someone who prefers her sister over her. So when I saw the opening of Vol. 3 for the first time, I straight-up had an out-of-body experience for a second because it was exactly what I wanted but thought would never happen xD Like, I thought we'd get a couple of friendly interactions between them at best! And then the shippy moments just kept happening! (The sound I made in my quiet-ass movie theater when the "it sounds more like her" scene happened will haunt me for the rest of my life xD)

But yeah, I love everything about their dynamic in the movie. The old married couple bickering, the way they can communicate without words, how they take care of each other. And I genuinely feel like they could be really good for each other once they take the time to get over their respective issues on their own. Both of them are learning to love themselves, doing things that will help them grow and become better versions of themselves, and at some point down the line, I like to think that Nebula will know better how to deal with her feelings for him, and Peter will become open to loving someone new.

Their relationship is just, a combination of so many things that make my head go brrr. Like, just the idea alone of Nebula falling in love with someone is really interesting and something I didn't think would ever be explored, and it shows how far she's come since GOTG1. I usually don't care about romance in the MCU but in this case, it's a great direction for Nebula's arc if you ask me. Also, the DRAMA. Because I find a lot of the appeal of Starbula comes from both characters' relationship to Gamora. They both loved her and she loved both of them, so they probably connected over their shared grief, and once romantic feelings emerged between them, they'd retreat from it at first.

Like, this is all headcanon now but Nebula might see it as betraying Gamora if she were to act on her feelings, not that she even knows how to do that. And Peter would have a shit-tonne of trouble moving on from Gamora. And I think both of them would have this lingering fear that their feelings weren't genuine. Nebula might think her crush is a result of her still feeling like she has to compete with Gamora and prove someone will choose her over her sister. And Peter might assume his feelings for Nebula are just him projecting his love for Gamora onto someone connected to her. I know these are very real criticisms of Starbula but like... if they could get over these things, I think that would be the ultimate sign that they're getting over their issues related to loving and being loved; kind of a perfect conclusion to their healing arcs?

Idk I love that these two make me think like this xD I haven't spent this much brain power on something in many years, hence why I can't stop writing about them (I've got like seven WIPS now help). I adore them both and they deserve happiness and love, and I want them to love each other. And it'd be great if a future movie or special explored that, but if not I'm more than happy to rotate them around in my head and draw my own conclusions. That's the beauty of how open-ended GOTG3 is. <3

[matan4il]

Why I will never give up on Canon Buddie..... Listen I am just a little straight girl who grew up on romance novels. You want Eddie with a women. Well, I mean Vanessa was perfect if you were a writer.

One dare I say she was a better version of Anna and 2 with a little manipulation she could be the girl version of Buck. I mean no one ever could, so don't come for me with pitchforks I just meant in general. She was beautiful, fun, a little heartbroken and didn't add stress to Eddie. Telling the story?? So easy it's a tale as old as time. She shares his culture so let's fake date to throw our tias off. Become friends. Maybe meet Chris. Maybe hesitate to do more because she's jaded and worried it won't work out and how will that effect Chris. Like I have seriously read this story a million times yet the writers never pull the trigger.

My second thing. Again I am a moderately attractive straight single girl. It is not that hard for me to find a relationship. I can throw a rock and find companionship you know?? No disservice to us straights it's just facts. So the fact that the writers intentionally get this wrong while being so loud about the couch screams volumes to me. Especially when you couple it with the fact these 2 do not wing man for each other, talk about sex lives and only refer to the significant other to tell them to dump them. That is the loudest part about their living in each other's back pocket BFF forever relationship. I mean Eddie couldn't even process Buck taking care of himself.

In conclusion 911 if you want me to stop shipping them this all on you. I mean I will never stop. But you could at least try!!

Awww, Nonnie! :D Welcome to the hopeless romantics club! We got comfy cushions for you, as well as cookies. ;)

Regarding Vanessa, yeah. I have seen plenty of rom coms that start off with the exactly interaction she and Eddie had. He's not ready, she's not ready, they come to the date with the intent to let each other down easy, and when they realize they were never an option for the other person, it intrigues them. It could have easily developed in the direction of "instead of going through this repeatedly, how about we fake date to get our Tias off our cases?" and slowly falling for each other. TBH, I wouldn't have been surprised if that's what 911 would go with, since so many shows would. I'm glad it didn't, that the point really was to help Eddie progress on his romantic journey rather than set him up with yet another LI.

I agree with you! I already thought it was eyebrow raising when 911 let Buddie be single throughout the entirety of s3 and a respectable chunk of 4a. Now in s6, they're both once again very single. And we're talking young, good looking, heroic firefighters. It should not be hard for them to find romance, yet out of almost 5 seasons of them being on the show together, roughly 2.5 they spend with both of them being single men. When they're the only single members of the main cast! That is VERY unusual, it's not the route most TV shows would take with their only single characters, you know? That Buck and Eddie are directly responsible for this state of double singleness a part of the time just makes it all more hilarious. XD

I've said it before, I will always ship Buddie. Which means as long as the show is on air and both of their characters are alive, I will hope for canon Buddie. But even if that doesn't happen, Buddie is canon to me. The show has written and filmed their epic love story, and I can't unsee that no matter what. In my head, it will always be just a matter of time before these two morons figure it out.

Thank you so much for this ask, lovely! Have a wonderful day. As always, my ask tag. xoxox

[twothpaste]

wellll i gotta ask about our boy Bronson wiiith 12, 21, 25??

YEAAA BRONSON!!!! (Putting answers below a readmore because they're long 🕺)

12. What's a headcanon you have for this character?

I assure y'all I'm very normal and not at all unwell regarding All The Shit I Made Up About Bronson. The blundering apocalyptic naval admiral who accidentally got his own fleet destroyed, defected like a coward, and never faced the consequences. Who tried to make amends by serving as the White Ship's captain, but never washed his hands of blood. Dude who has no clue how to navigate grief, 'cause he couldn't face it himself when folks who trusted him died on his watch. So wracked with subconscious guilt he just wants to stuff his head in an amnesiac hole and spend the rest of his days as a humble bumfuck Nowhere blacksmith. Again, normal about Bronson. Nothing to see here.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

I love making him lowkey pathetic when push comes to shove. He's a capable leader if things are running according to plan, an easygoing and sensible person generally, people do respect him, etc. But when faced with truly difficult dilemmas, he ends up floundering uselessly. Falls back on old habits, like feigning control over the situation, trying & failing to order people around, throwing up his hands and hoping everything works itself out. There's several situations in TSS where Bronson, despite all his barking bravado, is clearly the least effective team player - and it cracks me up! (Deep down, after a lifetime of shit flyin' disastrously off the handle despite his best efforts, he's painfully aware of how little control he really has… 🥲)

I'm having a hard time thinking of anything I don't like about writing him. He comes off a little stiff & stagnant sometimes I guess (granted I've been writing him at the grizzled & curmudgeonly age of 61 dfgdfhg). Not certain I've managed to convincingly convey the value he brings to his community, since he's often bumbling about, or giving lukewarm advice. In TSS I wanted him as a sort of linchpin, holding the whole operation together with his steady & familiar presence, even though he goofs up a lot? I've def had a lot of moments with him where it's been hard to thread that line, and I'm not sure I pulled it off. But even still, Bronson's never been unfun to handle as a character ❤️

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

When I first played Mother 3 as a clueless little 17 or 18 year old, Bronson was one of the few Tazmilians who really stuck out in my mind. He leaves a pretty strong impression in Chapter 1, huh! Still in high school, I was embarrassingly bad at relating to or connecting with adult characters. But even back then - and definitely now - I think what I liked about him was how flawed he is, how human his writing felt. Dude tries so hard to help find Hinawa, ends up too late, and absolutely blunders like a jackass when it comes time to relay the news. He fucks up royally by throwing Flint in jail, too, but you can tell by the way he talks to Flint that he bears no ill will or animosity. Puts up no protest against the Pigmasks & Tazmily's industrialization, but he's one of the few villagers who remains neighborly as ever toward Lucas. He's really just some guy tryin' his best to do right by his community, handling shit in the only ways he knows how. His failures are so honest, I can't really bring myself to blame him too harshly. Throughout the game he always somehow feels like a trustworthy ally, even when he's just lounging on the beach while the world goes to hell. The most lovably ineffectual Real One ever.

[oscconfessions]

To the anon who made the anti-ship ask, I agree with you on some level.. but also don't?

Now, I’ll give you credit. I do personally enjoy most wlw stuff from the osc. So I might have some baises here. I do get where you're coming from when it comes to shipping.

But at the same time, I think the reason you don't see that many anti shippers in the tumblr/twt community is because most antishippers in the osc (Who doesn't actually even use that title) are 10 year old boys on some big osc youtubers community tag.

And a lot of oscyt who do fall under the line of anti shippers are just very immature individual who are stuck in the echochamber known as the community tab of youtube who would most likely be as immature if they were shippers) but that still doesn't help out in the image

Basically most anti shippers in the osc don't actively want to critique and rant on ships like you do, most osc anti shippers don't really know how to even analyze the writing (Ex. "team that loses = bad writing")

TLDR: Anti-ship discoursein the osc, (FROM WHAT I KNOW) is very very stupid and usually very very petty

I do agree with you the more shippy sides of the osc are very allergic to non-ship dynamics, but

*Epic cowboy hat going down*

Look, I've been in the same situation as you, so many characters I like get stripped down to some basic garbage personality, tha lacks the nuance they have in canon. And then it’s all I see of them, I only see people portray them that one way and I can’t escape it. I feel it’s also shoved down my face.

But now, and this is where you might lose me, and where my take might become ass.

IF you want anti-ship osc content you need to make it yourself, even with all the haters.

I wanted more content that noticed the characters actual personality, so I started posting analises, I wanted to find people who shared my takes so I started looking around for people(THIS was actually way easier due to me making content, since those people KNEW my takes)

I'm sorry to say it, but people who like shipping all the characters together won't suddenly stop posting that content or posting more platonic content of osc characters because you don't like ships. Whilst it sucks that you feel like you have a place in the osc, a lot of the people came here wanting to ship stuff, a lot of people enjoy doing that just as much as you enjoy antishipping

BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY

If you want more platonic osc content, if you want MORE anti ship content you'll need to make it yourself, if you want to stop having ship content down your tags then block as many ships you know of. (Again I'll give you credit this ain't fool proof), Your confession is true I do agree with it. I know you might feel forced to ship things, but I’m telling you right now as a person who's been in a lot of /fandoms that are big on shipping, no one is forcing you. And I think you understand that. But forcing yourself to like shipping isn't good. But then again I can't really blame you (god this is way to long)

BUT AT THE SAME TIME, If you want to have a space for platonic osc dynamics THEN YOU CAN’T EXPECT PEOPLE WILL MAGICALLY KNOW YOU WANT THAT IF YOU DON’T TELL THEM. I’m sorry to say this (because I’ve done this before) But especially on the internet people don’t know what you want.

And looking at the response your ask got, THERE IS A AUDIENCE FOR IT. Even if it isn’t big, people do want to see that!

YOU KNOW WHAT! If you make a blog or whatever about divorces and platonic osc dynamics, I will be your number one supporter! KEEP ON DESTROYING RELATIONSHIPS, GO FOR IT! HAVE FUN!

- a certified yapper (PS TO any people who are really into shipping who would attack this person for having a blog about antishipping, your as bad as the oscyt 10 year olds)(I sorry if this is mean I'm going insane, have a lovely life etc))

.

[mye-chi]

So for completely unrelated reasons I've jotted down every character I could think of who's had a romantic moment with Aphmau including each individual scene. Each were chosen because they've either:

canonically have crushed on her at any point in time

regardless of other whether it can be defined as solely romantic, has flirted with her or expressed interest in dating

is given a "ship tease" moment where, even if there's no pay-off, clearly was meant to be romantically charged

overall, their relationship or actions cannot be written off as platonic

Predatory interest shall be excluded (as in its considered creepy within the narrative, for example balto's flirting in pdh or mys garroth/laurance stalking her, as opposed to say gene or travis which is treated as romantic) along most of the non-consensual kissing scenes.

If anyone wants to add onto this then please be my guest! Anyway, in no particular order...

1. Garroth

Her soulmate who finds her in every universe yet is destined for an unrequited love (its not cute every time but what is an aphverse fan if not delusional?)

Revealed to be the reincarnation of Esmund who was previously inlove with Irene

Gifted her a wedding ring and a wreath of flowers [Water Cats]

Stood on an alter with her and implied he was going to offer he'd like to one day marry her [Wedding On The Docks / Sacrifice Made]

The Catching Scene™ [Fallen Angel]

Immediately took off his helm for Aphmau after previously struggling with it [Guard Upgrades]

Not technically romantic but man Aphmau was going through it trying to get Garroth back from the sleep dimension. Kept trying to sleep to see him and mentioned how much she missed him :(

They hugged. The circumstances were romantic and she was dressed as his dead brother but I needed to archive it [Zane LIVES]

You ever think about how in Rebirth, Garroth swore he'd protect Aphmau and afterward she tells him he "looks familiar" because she's reminded of Esmund doing the same. You ever— [New World]

Blushed while holding her hand [The Village of Pheonix Drop]

Went on a haunted house date with her which ended on Aphmau falling ontop him, implication he would've tried to kiss her if not interrupted [Haunted House and Fall-ing For You]

Fainted after she wore Lucinda's witch dress [Happy Halloween!]

"A-absolutely, I mean like in the way I'm thinking of which is not to say I couldn't protect you and a family NOT THAT I'm thinking about that kind of thing but like in the future when things get better with Zane and all that crazy stuff is over..." [Dinner After Movie]

Tried to marry her [Find Your True Love]

Kissed her multiple times but those were all non-consensual so we're just going to squeeze past that

2. Laurance

Less of a horrendously down bad loser compared to Garroth but only because he's better at hiding it

His introduction began with confessing his love [The Admirer]

Convinced Zane that he was instead engaged to Aphmau and called her "the love of his life" [The Baby Shower Pt. 2]

The Table Scene™ [Guard Upgrades]

Jokingly asks if Garroth is coming between their marriage [Another Statue?]

"HAVE AT YOU POISON IVY THIS CAMP SPOT IS PERFECT FOR A ROMANTIC EVENING!" [A Friend In Need]

Laurance tells Aphmau she looks beautiful in a moonlight and she mistakes him for trying to kiss her [A Magical Showdown]

"I am a Knight of Shadows... I remember that you were my light in the darkness, for that I want to thank you. Even if you don't end up with me... if I lose you to someone else... ..Please don't leave me? I just want you in my life, even if you are a star I'll never be able to help shine." [The Smile of Alexis]

Aphmau waltzed down an aisle in order to kiss Laurance [The Vows We Take] — this was non-consensual and is problematic under scrutiny... but also incredibly iconic for every nine year old who watched it so I'm slotting it in anyway.

This was apparently our casonova's first kiss [My Golden Friend]

Aphmau rushes into him and he falls ontop her, blushing madly [They Travel From Far]

"You can lean on my shoulder :3" [The Wind At Sea]

Pinned her to a tree. Yeah. [Sons of Pheonix Drop]

Waited for her after detention and offered to walk her home which she accepted [Alone With Him]

Went on a park date together [Weekend Friends]

Carved out a heart inside a pumpkin for her and then winks [Happy Halloween!]

3. Zane

Genuinely funny how Zane went from Jess ironically shipping them to being a contendor for Aphmau's biggest simp

Stood together under the mistletoe and Aphmau kissed him on the cheek [How The Zane Stole Christmas]

Upon seeing her in a maid costume, stuttered while calling her cute [Maid For The Job]

The two of them had to pretend to be a couple [Don't Tell Mom! Pt. 1]

During this time he said she looked like an angel in her new dress [Don't Tell Aaron! Pt. 2]

Upon Travis implying he was also inlove with Aphmau, Zane said he only wanted to be her "one and only friend." Sir a few sentences before this you wanted to fight to the death for her. [Aphmau In Love]

Blushed alongside Aaron when Aphmau wore a revealing cosplay (the other boys were unphased) [A-Con 2016]

Zane has a flashback of being a baby and he remembers being held by Aphmau, then blushes. [Laurance's Baby Brother]

The two of them share a hug, which Zane later declines when Kawaii~Chan asks for one [Aphmau In Trouble]

Technically not romantic but Aphmau's "biggest fear" was marrying him, and thus we have an image of these two kissing at their wedding [Haunted House]

Also not technically romantic but Kawaii~Chan outright asks Aphmau if she'd date Zane if he wasn't evil [Slumber Party!]

4. Dante

Look at my children I love them so much

Malachi created an illusion inwhich the two of them shared a kiss [Our Fears]

Not romantic but he stated the two of them "could've been something" if he didn't currently see as a sister (and didn't have like an entire family but okay) [Puppy Love]

Jessica wrote smut of them. Which is like, good for her, y'know? She's an adult woman and it's her own characters I genuinely don't see the fuss. Atleast this Aphmau was an adult.

5. Travis

Revealed to be the reincarnation of Enki who was inlove with Irene. Unlike Garroth it doesn't necessarily mean he's inlove with Aphmau but like... everyone is inlove with Aphmau.

His introduction was immediately flirting with her and trying tricking her into kissing him (considering the inspiration for his last name and the other dialogue options were urging Aphmau to kiss him I'm assuming this was meant to be a "playful" hence its slot) [Cursed At Sea]

*He kneels down and kisses Aphmau's hand.* "Aphmau, I humbly ask to become a loyal guard to the Phoenix Alliance." [The Divine Relic]

Upon Abby proposing it, Travis agreed that Aph and him should date [Mr. and Mrs. Travis]

6. Katelyn

LITERALLY LOOK AT THEM

"The only thing I have love for is punching things... that and Aphmau... I'm her protector afterall." [Spa Day]

Lucinda ask Katelyn if she is jealous she's holding Aphmau, which Katelyn becomes flustered and denies [The Girl's Contest]

An episode later she pretends Aphmau is her girlfriend, agrees to kiss her without hesitation, and tells her to "pucker up, gorgeous" [Aphmau In Love]

Their "compliment fight" which was just shamelessly flirting with eachother [Kai's Angel] 7. Zoey

She was literally her wife

Awaited at the docks with Levin to greet Aphmau when she came back to Pheonix Drop [Coming Home]

She took care of the children with her

Fellas is it gay for a woman to give up her immortality for another woman? [Welcome To Pheonix Drop]

8. Gene

Was clearly jealous during the music video [You Will Always Be The One]

Sylvanna introduced him as the "perfect man Aphmau could date" [Mommy's Surprise]

Said it was nice Aphmau wanted his company. She was the first one he felt comfortable enough to talk to about his kitten dying [Zane's Rival]

After her dog transformation was undone, Aphmau fell ontop of him [Barking Up The Wrong Tree]

Went on a movie date in the Upside Down universe which ends in a kiss [Evil Aphmau]

look at every single minigames episode he was in

9. Kai

This guy speedrun the "Viable love interest to Aphmau" -> "Create a reason he sucks so that he doesn't get in the way of Aarmau" pipeline 😔

Literally every episode he was in was ship bait until its randomly revealed he liked Katelyn, and "he can't take Aphmau romantically because finds her annoying but wants a girlfriend anyway."

Justice for guy

10. Reese

I couldn't find an image of him with Aphmau sob...

Its revealed he's inlove with Aphmau and Polly [The Hot Princes]

Quite sure Modzilla was too but I'm not willing to check

11. Brenden

Best friends 💕💕💕

Anyway you can imagine how much I started to writhe on the floor having Brendan flirts with Aphmau. Like he's done it before but this particular scene made me wince and therefore I needed to archive it [The Big Move]

13. ...Ein

I'm not listing anything for this guy

Genuinely nothing against you Ein enjoyers you guys deserved so much better than that "red herring" incest subplot

[saryasy]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

hi jo!!! thank you so much and to @writerkenna and @livingincolorsagain for the asks! okay let's see in no particular order:

1. 500 Days of Winter, M, 16.7K

In a small, dark room in the middle of nowhere, just outside Bucharest, two bodies intertwine. The chorus of sounds and three little words plays over and over and over again. They don't let go for one second.

Tomorrow the world will come knocking at their door, their lives will be turned upside down, but for now, they have each other, and for now, that's more than enough.

Or, the story of Sam and Bucky, and the five hundred days that bound them together.

okay I lied I'm starting with quite possibly my favorite fic I've ever written. I've put a lot of work and care into this one and I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. helps that I was possessed at the time and wrote it quicker than I ever would

2. my struggling form, my willing soul, T, 2K

It was hard, being back into the cold, gray world that was his New York apartment.

Sometimes, his eyes would look around frantically, searching for a sound that rang through the stillness. Only for him to realize that the sound came from within; an old memory, laughter and music, dancing, kids running around. A tender touch to his neck. A satisfied smile of finally being home. Eyes as beautiful as the sunset they were watching, just as striking, just as deep.

He could look at nothing else till the day he died, and would die happy and sure that he’d seen the most beautiful sight this world had to offer.

the first fic in my inspired by Hozier series! it was born into existence through sheer stubbornness (and my deep need to do a bucky character study) I kept listening to the song (which I still fucking love) and reading the lyrics and then this happened and I couldn't be happier

3. darling, i’d go through it again (if i could hold you for a minute), M, 1.8K

There’s an irritating feeling in his chest, making it harder to breathe. It was like this when he first stayed home and Sam started going on missions alone - well not exactly alone, but without Bucky. It took some time, but he got to a better point where he could actually breathe while Sam was away.

This is different, though. This isn’t the tightness of chest he’s come to be on familiar terms with, nor is it the forceful beating his heart has gotten used to dancing to.

He wants to voice it, to let it out, but when he goes to, the words lodge in his throat.

another one from the series and my first MCD! I really liked playing with the fantasy elements in it too

4. for all of the things i am (not), G, 1,8K

‘You’ll find the one,’ people like to say, but the thing is, he already has. He was lucky enough to find him in the scorching desert heat; blond locks that looked like they were on fire, a pair of green eyes so captivating, you couldn’t help but follow them everywhere, and a smile that could bring the proudest men to their knees. He found him, but he slipped away from between his fingers in the darkness of the desert sky as he sank to his fate. Forever falling, forever gone.

Or, Sam's grief catches up with him.

had to throw in my only gen fic up to date and ngl I wanna write another one. unfortunately the engagement with these is quite low I find myself leaning towards character studies with background shipping. but yeah would love to do it again

5. Firsts & Lasts, T, 613

You never know that your last time is going to be your last.

Or, Sam considers his lingering feelings for Riley, and his developing ones for Bucky.

look I have such a soft spot for samriley, I love writing them so fucking much. the tragedy is oh so gorgeous. I really hope to write that samriley idea I have one day

[monthgirl]

what's your favorite happy tree friend?

I don't have a single favourite... I have six favourites

I love these characters based on them having the most interesting personality's that click with me and the most fun episodes. sniffles and flippy got the most lore behind them. for flippy, I'm a sucker for softies with dark sides and good tragic backstories. that and I just feel bad for him cause all he wants is to live a normal peaceful life and have healthy and sincere friendships with his buddies. plus there's still a lot of mystery around him like what happened after tiger bomb, how he get his hands back and did the war die with the general or did general lieutenants (possible) carry it on? what caused the war? was flippy conscripted or did flippy join on his own accord.

Flips, Flakes and Cuds were my first favorites then sniffles, giggles and lastly Lumpy. Not going to lie I was a lumpy hater but then I saw non-senseology art and the episode all flocked up where lumpy saved a baby bird out of the kindness of his heart. I decided to re-examine his character... and man I was wrong about him. he's actually a really fun, charming and very sweet character. I love his road runner and wildly coyote dynamic with fliqpy.

Also, off subject on subject some once asked if ship lumps and flippy/fliQpy. to which my answer is nah I don't see them like that. I see them more as brothers well found brothers and bests of friends bffs, kind of like cuddles and flaky who I also view in a sibling like relationship. honestly I'd put the ship in my neutrel tier/not into it but chill about it.

-------

oh hey this is also a chance for me to do a shameless plug in for some fanfictions I'm writing soon.

Operation baby sitter - starring cub and fliqpy, co staring shifty and lifty.

 pop direr need to find a babysitter after a bad inspection from child protective services after handy the babysitter accidental caused a house and badly hurt himself. pop must find a new sitter quickly or lose his son. burning through his friend lists unable to help, finds only one tree friend available.  meanwhile the raccoon brothers are planning to do a home alone style robbery around town and pops house is next on the list.

Astrel friends - starring cuddles and death

-after dyng cuddles enters the astral plane as a wandering ghost, he follows the exploits of several characters and is hunted by DEATH himself, eventually floating up to space and beyond, where the golden elder god lurks.

(splendont) makes a cameo

-Smarty hooves starring sniffles and lumpy

One day, Sniffles, nutty and Lumpy are butterfly fishing at butterfly Fields, looking for the many butterfly to catch and having fun together. While hunting, Sniffles notices that Patrick is running towards a sign that says "DANGER CLIFF" and tries to warn him. However, Patrick does not pay attention to where he is going, Sniffles tries to grab him to stop him from falling but gets pulled over with him off of the cliff. Nutty rushes down to the bottom of the cliff shortly after, hoping to find Sniffles and Lumpy, but just discovers the tops of there heads have been smashed open. they are taken to the hospital with mole as their brain surgeon, puts their brains in the opposite bodies.

Suddenly, Lumpy's brain starts working in ways it never had before; he seems to be interested in nature, art, science, and almost any music, yet egoistical and condescending. while sniffles becomes clumsy, stupid, goofy and humble.

-Army Locker staring flaky, cuddles and flippy

Cuddles and Flaky come over to flippys house to make a pie with him , but he's not home yet. Bored waiting for him, Cuddles sneak into Flippy's house check his old army gear that he's doesn't anyone touch, despite flaky warning him that probably a bad idea, become trapped when he comes home, and witness his odd behavior when he's alone.

-Funky die pie - disco and giggles

When Giggles accidentally lets Disco eat an exploding pie, she feels guilty and resolves to make Disco's few remaining hours left in the world enjoyable by finally going on a reluctant date with him.

Happy tree friends presents: a hand in horror - Handy, disco, lumpy, flippy/fliqpy, Giggles

Handy receives a hand transplant from the recently dead veteran bear Flippy/fliqpy, who die in a shoot with the police which possesses him and makes him go on a murder spree.

[cheetahing]

on fandom and writing.

so that meme about showing how many fandoms you've written for is going around bsky and i assume twitter and here's mine:

the way i put it on bsky is that my purview is narrow and my start up cost is high. two of those (yowapeda and all out) are only in there as part of multi-fandom drabble dumps from the bygone saso days; chyf and oofuri i did at least write short (<1K) pieces for chocolate box. the last three are the main fandoms i've produced for in the last decade or so. daiya for about three years 2014-2018, bad buddy from late 2022-mid 2023 or so, and now mlc from april 2024 on.

i hope i'll be able to hold on to mlc for longer than i was bad buddy but i think i will -- i've been able to find enough community that i think it will stick for a while. part of that is the leap of faith that is the dihua discord server, but finding any cdrama friends at all has been a journey since my old circles are all dwrp and sports anime.

fandom for me is inherently a social activity or i would just stay in my corner and enjoy by myself like i do for most things; the main thing that motivates me to become active in a fandom is the desire to talk to someone about it. the desire to write may or may not be there without having someone to talk to, but even a little bit of encouragement goes a long way, so just someone saying "yeah i'd read that" was enough to get me to commit to my usual fic meme bullshit and that, i think, also helped find some more people to talk to, or at least interact with on some level.

i'm actually a very introverted person but i've been spending a lot of energy trying to foster a friendly environment on the server and hopefully in this space, though i can't see how well that's working as clearly. i gather the energy to throw myself at new people approximately once a decade lol so it's a little surprising that i'm managing so quickly after flaming out in my last fandom but mlc and dihuas in particular have been really welcoming.

anyway, this was supposed to be a post about writing. writing is pretty difficult for me in many ways, but it's also just. sort of what i do. so if i love something enough to want to talk to another human about it, it's not a stretch that i'll eventually want to create for it too. granted, for me, this is often expedited if i get bitten by the ship bug. i did actually watch mlc when it aired last year, but didn't really look into fandom or fic for it until earlier this year and sort of got delayed-reaction thunderstruck by dihua, which has so many elements that i love in a ship. the tension! the fondness! the trust and knowing! i should have known i was a goner but i didn't until i was falling headlong.

according to ao3 i've produced about 16K of mlc fic since april of this year. now, i know that's not a not for some, but to contrast my highest production year was 24K in 2015, so, for me: quite a lot! especially within that time period. i'm slowing down now/it's getting harder again but i don't plan on stopping so we'll see what my count is by the end of the year.

like many writers, i battle with self-confidence and mlc fic in particular has been a weird struggle for me. my writing hallmarks from previous fandoms have been atmosphere and poetics, succinct characterization, and imagery. for mlc fic i feel like i'm at 1 out of 3. i think (hope!) my character work is still good, but i feel like my writing for this fandom has been so plain. i want to write pretty things for this ship! i will keep trying. i may just need to eat more poetry and spend more time violently throwing myself around when trying to write, but hopefully i will manage at some point.

this post actually started with me thinking about why i choose to make my fic meme/drabble dumps chaptered rather than posting them individually when visibility/feedback/attention are unfortunately so important to me. every kudos, comment, tag comment, reblog, rec, etc really means a ton. writing is something that takes up a ton of energy and sometimes it can feel like you're pouring a whole lot of it out and not getting any in return and, for me at least, that's what burn out feels like. at the same time, like. in the end you're always writing for yourself so you sort of have balance that with how feedback or lack thereof makes you feel.

fic meme does get posted separately here on tumblr so maybe with that i get a little best of both worlds? i don't do it on ao3 because it would just straight up make me feel crazy to have literally 100+ 300-700ish word long ficlets scattered across my account over the decade, all needing titles, so my need to have things organized and in their place wins out over the need for validation there.

i don't know where i was going with this anymore tbh, but thanks if you read it! also thank you thank you thank you so much to those of you who take the time to read and respond to fic in some way, whether it's reblogging with tags, leaving comments, or just hitting the kudos button. i really can overemphasize how important these thing are as a fic writer.

[thejournalisttintin]

My second updated Tintin OC

This is Hanna Ravenswood, Maxine’s younger sister. She's currently a student studying performance arts in London, with the hopes of becoming an actress or singer.

Some more info on Hanna:

Hanna was born a year after Maxine, having been born in 1914.

Unlike her sister, Hanna preferred a more quiet life. But when opportunity knocks, she is more than willing to take the risk.

Both her and Maxine had lost their parents during WW1, and they were both placed in an institutional orphanage.

Some time after Maxine had left the orphanage, Hanna was adopted by her aunt Juliette Houghton. They live together in a beautiful country house some distance away from the London city.

Only Hanna and her aunt Juliette were told about Maxine’s decision to draft herself into the Royal Air Force. She protested against Maxine’s decision, but decided that she wouldn't get in the way of her wanting to be recognized for her efforts.

When Maxine came back from her service and moved in with her sister and aunt, she and Hanna both made a pact to never reveal that Maxine secretly went to war in disguise.

As Hanna was attending secondary school, she started hearing about Tintin. Since Maxine traveled a lot during her training missions, she often had many run-ins with Tintin during his adventures.

Hanna had never met Tintin once in her life; the only time she met him was when she got a letter from Maxine saying that she needed some help down in San Theodoros. With permission from her aunt, Hanna left for Brussels.

Hanna continued her education some time later, heading to college in Bristol to study performance arts.

Here’s another thing I am also reworking.

Back when I used to post my Tintin OC fanarts on Deviantart, I once had a phase where I shipped Hanna and Chang as a couple. Here’s some of my old ship art of them (excuse the shit quality; these are old, from way back in 2014-2015):

As I'm getting back into the comics, I'm slowly starting to lean more towards shipping Tintin and Chang as a couple, especially after seeing some beautiful art of Tintin and Chang by @professorcalculusstanaccount.

So I thought of an interesting concept to incorporate in Chang’s character (TW, I think?, for a slight mention of homophobia):

While Chang studied at a university in London, he met Hanna in one of his classes. He was studying photography, while Hanna was studying performance arts. She and Chang were best friends, and soon they started dating for about a year.

But over time, Chang frequently visited Tintin in Brussels on exchange. At this point, he and Tintin started to develop a romantic connection.

Eventually, Hanna started to catch on. Sometimes, she and Maxine would visit Tintin and Haddock in Brussels from time to time. And in some cases, whenever Chang would visit Tintin, Hanna saw the signs that they were indeed forming a romantic bond.

One time, while visiting Tintin in Marlinspike, Hanna pulled Chang aside and decided to tell him. Instead of confronting him, Hanna was a lot more understanding. She told Chang that she knew about Tintin falling for him, and he deserved to be with him. She didn't want him feeling like she's in the way of their new relationship, and thinks that she'd be better off letting him love whom he truly felt happy with.

When Chang asked what would happen between him and Hanna, Hanna assured him that she'd find someone else. Which might take her a while, but you know, plenty of fish in the sea.

So, to put it more lightly, Hanna and Chang had a soft breakup. No full-blown arguments, just more "we should see other people" kind of stuff.

And when people soon knew about Chang and Tintin being together, Hanna has had to fight off at least one or two people who were against their relationship. Particularly in Chang’s side of the family, with some of his relatives in London trying to persuade Hanna to get back together with Chang, even if she’s already made it clear that she wants Chang to be with Tintin…

So that's all you'll need to know about Malina's sister Hanna.

[krankittoeleven]

Master Post

Time for a new one of these because my formatting was all jacked up on the old master list and editing it was Hell. :/

About Me: They/Them, Old, You can call me Steph, Lucy, Lou or Stuff.  Hey you also works. ;)

About This Blog: A general fandom blog for most of my fandom creations, the stuff my friends create, and other fandom reblogs. Most active fandoms at the moment: Assassin's Creed, JJK, Good Omens, The Sandman, Fallout 4, RDR2, Final Fantasy ++++

SIDEBLOGS:

@madeofloveandpeace - my Trigun reawakening requires it's own sideblog, my writing, gifs, and edits + reblogs @thekinginmellowyellow - here there be the horrific, the terrific, the fantastical, the supernatural, the magical and the mythical, most of it fictional but some of it real.

OTHER PLACES:

krankittoeleven - AO3.  As a note I do not plan to lock my fics, I didn’t make an AO3 account until I started writing fic again, so I get lurking for whatever reason you have.  I’m not gonna let techbros ruin your fun or mine. ;) (YUP that’s it, I’m not anywhere else.  Well, Discord but I don’t use it much right now.)

I am trying to get better about using #my vip and #my fic tags for my stuff for easier browsing, but it’s only a recent thing so not much there yet. LOL

FAN FIC LIST:

CURRENT WIPS:

Water of Life - AC Valhalla Ubba/Vili w/mention of past Eivor/Vili. Explicit. Norway behind him, Vili tries to carve a place for himself in England while coming to terms with the things he left behind. Befriended by Ubba Ragnarsson, Vili's life heads down a path he wasn't quite expecting as he traverses the war ravaged lands of England in the company of giants. (13/16)

ALL COMPLETED WORKS BELOW THE CUT

COMPLETED WORKS:

ASSASSIN'S CREED VALHALLA:

Ubba/Vill:

Slow Life (Explicit) - Post-game, Alternate Timeline.  Ubba reflects on a long friendship that is turning into something else.

Eivor/Vili:

Order from Chaos (GEN/PG-ish) - My "how they meet" fic.

Midnattssol (Explicit) - Vili finds out he is going to England with his father and has to tell Eivor.

Gefinn Óðni (GEN/Mature) - Directly follows Midnattssol. Eivor works through Vili leaving.

Euphoria (PWP/Explicit) - Eivor/Vili. A quick PWP.

Other Ships:

A Blood-Dimmed Tide (Explicit) - Havi/Ivarr, implied past Eivor/Ivarr.  POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR the Sciropescire Arc. Ivarr meets someone familiar after the Sciropescire Arc.

TRIGUN:

VASHWOOD:

Series: Let Me Rearrange the World (For You) [ONGOING]

But Like a Refugee - Explicit. A Trigun 1998 Fix-it Fic. Temporary Character Death, Violence, Gore/Blood. Hurt/Comfort, Falling in Love, First Time, Happy Ending. There are things that Wolfwood wants, but they are things he doesn't think he deserves. At least not in this life.

The Orphanage at the End of the Lane - Mature, Trigun 1998 Post-canon, Wolfwood lives. Mild Violence and Blood. Hurt/Comfort, Introspective and Retrospective, Established Relationship, Wolfwood teetering on starting a cult of one. Wolfwood & the gang travel back to December to take back what's his.

ONESHOTS:

Sweets for the Sweet - Teen, Trigun 1998 but could be any canon. Pure Fluff. Hurt Comfort, Gift Giving, Kissing. Someone keeps leaving donuts for Vash. Who could it possibly be? I'm sure no one has any clue at all. ;)

MILLY WOOD:

Incentive - Teen, Trigun 1998. Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss. Wolfwood and Milly have a chat before he leaves the caravan and Milly gives Wolfwood some incentive to cross paths with them again.

GOOD OMENS:

J is for Jealousy (That Green-Eyed Monster) (Teen) - Pre-relationship Aziraphale/Crowley. Aziraphale helps a mortal, Crowley is jealous, and a fern tries to start a revolution.

THE SANDMAN:

1989 (GEN) - pre-relationship Dream/Hob.  While trapped in his prison, Dream thinks about an important day he is missing.

Thanks for checking out my blog! Hope you found something to enjoy!

[judgementdaysunshine]

Hi, and Happy early birthday! If you're still doing matchups, could I get a Star Wars ship for a male and female character?

Idk what all info you need/want for these, so if you need more, feel free to dm me

For appearance: I'm a chubby bisexual female with dirty blonde hair with teal tips, and brown eyes. I tend to wear black clothing or some with black on it though I will wear colors other than black, black is just what I prefer.

Personality wise: I'm shy, introverted, tend to overthink and be insecure about things. I some anxiety, mainly social anxiety. I tend to be quite around those I don't know or unsure of, and once I'm comfortable around someone, I will be more outgoing.

My interests are: Mortal Kombat, Marvel, Horror Slashers, Undertale/Deltarune, One Piece, JJBA, Pokemon, Animals, Drawing (somewhat), and somewhat into R6.

I am also pretty close with my family, or at least on my mom's side anyways.

I kind of want to get into Star Wars as I've only really watched the first two of the newer ones, but that's about it. I figured this matchup might be a good way to get me into it. Hopefully one day I'll get into it enough to at least make one OC. Then again, I have so many OCs, so I don't really know.

Hopefully this is good, but as I said, feel free to dm me if you need or want anymore info.

I hope that you have a wonderful day/night, and birthday. 💙

Thank you and of course hon! 🥰 I first ship you with Obi wan Kenobi! 🤍

He makes sure that you feel safe with him from making tea and calmly talking to him telling you old stories of the Jedi and Sith and of the temple

He can never not see your blonde hair as long strands of yellow clouds with your teal tips being the ocean underneath the clouds and your eyes as milky golden honey

He always likes going with you whether the two of you walk around the temple, occasionally travel to your home planet of Kashyyyk,or to one of the spots you found hidden in or near the temple

Anytime you're drawing he always watches you draw whether it's a plant,droid,one of the clones,a animal,Padme,or somewhere of the temple but the drawings that take his breath away when he randomly finds them are drawings of him from being deep in thought,being frustrated by Anakin,or asleep to smiling,laughing,and his mullet length hair flowing in the wind

He always finds you black clothing whether it's an all black robe or a black and multicolored outfit he always finds you something with black in it to wear making you smile

He always holds you whispering words of comfort to you when you're depressed always saying how much you mean to him rubbing your back or arm

Sometimes people who first meet you or who don't know you will ask him why you're always so quiet but he just chuckles explaining that you need to be comfortable for them to be more talkative

He holds your hands gently whispering whenever you're anxious having you sit down and breathe slowly until you are okay again just holding you afterwards until you both fall asleep

Next I ship you with Leia Organa! 💛

She always holds your face in her hands whenever you're anxious grounding you to her and helping you breathe until you tell her you're safe and ready for a nap or to just listen to her read

She always enjoys that she was special to you that you acted a certain way with her than everyone making her heart swell and explain to others how to get you to talk to them but not forcing you

Your eyes make her feel like she is in a dream with how beautiful they were but when they were in sunlight she just stared combined with your smile it made her fall in love all over again every time

Your hair makes her think of the vanilla flowers she would find and keep from the forest near her home in Alderaan when she was a child such a beautiful yellow with a shade of brown on the green vines and darker yellow in the middle

When you're depressed she always stays with you even if you don't harm yourself or anything of that matter she wants you to know that she truly loves you no matter what

She loves hearing stories of your childhood on Corellia with your family and enjoying the stories she would tell you of her upbringing on alderaan laughing and smiling

She always smiles when she finds a drawing of her that you did of her sleeping,laughing,or being goofy with your group of friends making her day even better than it was before

Anytime she would see any clothing with or all black she gets it surprising you with it and flowers or leaving it somewhere in your room with a little live note attached