#i could honestly list out a dozen more but this is already getting very very long please forgive me ;^;

[mamirhodessxox]

Could you do a first date hcs for Seth Rollins pls? ⭐️

First Date <3

Seth Rollins x Fem!Reader

Contents: Fluff, mentions of beer, the cute regular stuff ya know?

🏷️ list: @alyyaanna @ginswife @coolpastelartshoe @greatkoalawizard @cokolin044 @kotoriarlert @alicerosejensen @bunnybot55 @mini-rhodes @southerngirl41 @harmshake @femdisa @kabloswrld @claymoresofinfamy23 @bones-rhodes @cococodysleevlesshoodie @edtomh

{~I'm very serious with you guys interacting with my writing!!!! it would make me so happy & excited, the more comments & reposts the more inspiration i have to write :) likes and comments are strongly appreciated so please COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMEENNTTT the more comments the more content <3!!!~}

-Seth & You are two very simple compatible people, The two of you met when you volunteered as makeup and hair help for the wwe ladies when they were short on makeup and hair artists, he would usually spend his free time in whatever room you were doing hair in just to wither watch you or chit chat & this eventually turned into attraction & you two both agreed on taking things very steady

-He didn’t want to immediately start of with a glitz and glamour for a 1st date because that is stressful to get ready for on the ladies part, you two are into the easy fun stuff & what is more fun that an in town carnival? Exactly.

-Seth is the type of guy to be very proud of being able to pull any kind of woman so he definitely proudly shows you off, holds your hand, wraps an arm around you, feeding you personally because why are you as the love of his life putting in work? Exactly stfu.

-If you got a snow cone that wasn’t the flavor you expected it to be and it genuinely tastes awful to you he is already switching cones, luckily for Seth he eats anything so he has no issue trading snacks

-Seth once made the mistake of bringing his beer onto the ferris wheel and once it started up it shook a little bit and it freaked him out and he ended spilling his beer all over his shirt so he had to walk around with a carnival bought t-shirt that was the most embarrassing thing wver

-When you two go on any of those carnival rides he holds you extremely close in the assumption you might get hurt & honestly, he would rather die in a gorilla pit than you get a singular scratch.

-He’s the type of guy to impress you with winning 10 dozens of stuffed animals at the carnival games instead of impressing you with the riches, every-time he wins a teddy bear he immediately gives it to you “I just won this thing are you in love with me yet or what” “yes baby I’m very much in love with you.”

-One mistake you do make though is play a competitive game with him, don’t do that, like ever, he is easily competitive and will make it a goal to win.

-He really likes fire work shows so when the event is closing up you two would sit in the back of his car in the trunk and watch the fireworks and just cuddle while he’s internally freaking out. He has the biggest crush on you if you haven’t already noticed.

-later in your guy’s relationship he hates secrets or having to keep a secret, Seth is a total blabber mouth so if he thinks he’s in trouble over anything he immediately runs to you or calls you in the middle of the night and starts word vomiting over the most stupidest thing he did “I just stood next too Liv Morgan & I was like omg her hair looks good what if the love of my life Y/N did it and i was staring at her hair for too long & She glared at me and now she probably thought I was being some weirdo fucking creep but I swear I wasn’t I WAS JUST TRYING TO OBSERVE WHETHER OR NOT YOU DID HER HAIR I’m sorr-“ “Seth, it’s 4 in the fucking morning GO TO SLEEP-“

Manirhodessxox’s Masterlist

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

Pls More general sfw headcanons of cooper and reader? Ghoul or pre war whichever you prefer honestly.

General SFW Prewar!Cooper Howard Headcanons 2

(I'll do some Ghoul SFW in a follow-up; this got away from me a little.)

Clearly he enjoys film and theatre, but he has a fairly secret soft spot for musicals. Pretty much any musical will pique his interest, and you'll spend a fair few date nights out seeing shows. You find it very endearing that he wants to share his interests with you. He's got an especially soft spot for some of the older, cheesier musicals though; hope you're ready to see "Brigadoon" like a half dozen times! He's got that one on tape.

"Old Yeller" is banned media in the Howard household (as are most things about dogs who die), as well as books like "The Velveteen Rabbit", which he read to Janey when she was four and never truly recovered from. Coop cries like a baby every time and gets so embarrassed. You once asked Janey if she'd ever seen it, and she tells you, rather conspiratorially, that she once watched it at a friend's house.

The old man actually cries quite easily when he's moved by something. He'll try to hide it away, but every once in a while he fully loses it (tbh it's the 'child death' type stuff that really upsets him; to this day, he's still a little mad at Barb for showing him "Bridge to Terabithia" on family movie night and thinking he would like it). You think it's the sweetest thing and you always reassure him that it's nothing to be ashamed of.

I imagine that, like a good, engaged father, he takes a particular interest in Janey's likes and hobbies; if you ask him what she likes, he can give you an entire list of things you can engage with her on, every single one of them accurate and up-to-date. If Janey really likes a book series, he'll read it (or maybe listen to it if he's short on time). If she really likes a band, y'all have fun at the concert! Every group comes through LA so you may be going to several concerts a year eventually. He even knows who her favorite member is! He only falls in love with you more when you do the same with her.

He's a true romantic at heart; despite being really torn up about the divorce and thinking he'll never fall in love again, he does, and hard. It's not long before he (unbelievably, to him especially) finds himself wanting to propose. He waits a while, though, wanting to feel out the dynamic between you and Janey, worrying about how Barb will feel when she ultimately finds out. He doesn't want to be married to her anymore, but he still cares for her, and he doesn't want to hurt her.

I'd like to think that he and Barb had a pretty nice, large wedding (as I've said before, likely at an older age than many of their peers, even if, canonically, it seems they were already dating during Cooper's military service; they both strike me as the type to want to wait until they were better established to actually marry). Not anything too crazy, but since Cooper's career was really starting to take off, she did want to use the wedding as an opportunity to rub elbows, so there were quite a few people in attendance that he flat-out didn't know. It didn't bother him much at the time; Barb always loved an opportunity to network and Coop could never deny her anything. But, given a chance to do it over, I think he'd do things differently.

With you, he'd wanna go to the courthouse. He'd be happy to have a nice, private ceremony eventually, maybe a little vow renewal for your one-year down on the beach in Mexico or something. But when you get legally married it'll be at the courthouse, just the two of you and Janey. You wouldn't have it any other way.

You try your best to keep it under wraps, but, well...marriage licenses are a matter of public record, and there are people whose whole job is to unearth things like that. The fallout (ha) from it may be stronger than you anticipated, but, at the end of the day, you have one another, and you're happy with that.

[whoistartaglia]

hello! i love how laid-back yet endearing your work is. you’re my favorite tumblr page because of that 😁 i was wondering if you could do ayato/thoma/heizou/diluc/childe or any other male character for that matter finding out that their significant other doesn’t believe in marriage. i feel like the characters i listed would be much more marriage-oriented if that makes sense 😅 although i’d be very honored if you wrote this request, you don’t have to at all so you shouldn’t have to apologize about it :) once again, i love your work! i hope you have an amazing day!

s/o who doesn’t believe in marriage.

when i tell you i sprinted to write this. also you are so sweet thank you for the request!

including: ayato, thoma, heizou, diluc, childe.

warnings: gender neutral reader.

ayato.

“i just don’t believe in it,” you said, a little nervously. you knew that ayato was a traditional man and had probably already envisioned his proposal and wedding to you already. if marriage was something he truly wanted—

“but you still want to stay with me?” ayato asked. now he sounded like the nervous one. 

“yes? yes, of course,” you reassured him. “just because i don’t want to get married doesn’t mean i don’t want to be with you forever.”

ayato nodded, and although he felt a little surprised and maybe even disappointed, it wasn’t like he needed to get married to you to cement your love. as long as you with him, ring or not, that was really all that mattered. 

thoma. 

“okay.”

you blinked. tilted your head. waited for thoma to continue, and when he didn’t you repeated yourself: “i said i don’t want to get married.”

thoma looked up, confused. “and i said okay?”

“you’re not like upset or anything?”

“no?” thoma questioned. “why would i be?” 

“no reason… i guess.”

truthfully, thoma didn’t really care either way. not the apathetic way, though. if you did want to get married, he’d be all for it, and if you didn’t, he’d respect that as well. 

he just to be with you. 

heizou. 

“i don’t want to get married.”

heizou looked up, a slight panic in his eyes. you continued, not noticing his eyes widdening as you did: “we’re not going to have a wedding, or even an eloping, because—“

“you don’t love me anymore.”

“wh— what?” you asked, breaking off from your planned explanation. “what made you think of that?”

“you don’t want to get married to me because you’ve fallen out of love with me, and now we’re breaking up.”

“no! what?” then you paused and thought about what you said. i don’t want to get married. but heizou must’ve added the to you at the end. 

“i meant… i don’t want to get married to anyone. not that i just don’t want to, to you.” heizou’s face collasped in relief. once the misunderstanding was settled, he was honestly fine with it. 

diluc.

“weddings are expensive anyways.”

“diluc… you could literally own all of monstadt?” you asked. after telling diluc you didn’t believe in marriage, he told you he was slightly disappointed, but accepted it nonetheless. but then he made that comment, and you were left scratching your head. 

your partner blushed the red of wine. “i am not that— whatever. i’m just saying, even for a man like me, weddings are terribly expensive.”

you were inclined to agree with him, but you were still sure diluc would pay for a dozen weddings and have money left over. 

“are you sure you’re not just saying that to make yourself feel better?”

“maybe. but then again, at least i’m only paying for one wedding now.”

“whos?”

diluc’s mouth set into a grim line. “kaeya’s.”

childe. 

childe wouldn’t lie and say that he wasn’t surprised when you off-handedly said you didn’t believe in marriage. he might ask why and get you to reconsider, but in the end, he supposed marriage wasn’t a dealbreaker. he was still your partner, and as long as you wanted to be with him until the end, he was fine with it… except he might try one more time. 

“are you sure?” he asked. his voice had that playful lilt to it that promised of headaches to come. 

“yes,” you replied, feigning exasperation. “i’m sure.”

“okay, okay. but if you want to get married, we could always do it in the zapolyarny palace.”

“and have your weird work colleagues watch us the entire time?” no, no thank you. 

[thegirlwhorideslikeasamurai]

Superfluous writing update

Calling this superfluous because it's about a story I've decided not to publish, but it's a writing update nevertheless and while I'm deeply dissatisfied with the result, I can still use it for my YOI canon/post-canon series.

The (first) draft of my Vitya backstory, which I've started writing during my Easter holiday, is finally finished. A part of me kept hoping that I might change my mind because it had some highlights like the origin of the bondage lilac fairy, but unless I invest an unholy amount of my time in the revision, it's not going to become a story that anyone would be interested in reading because for all I know, it doesn't match people's expectations about Viktor's past at all. In addition to that is this draft a big construction site.

Here's what imho makes the story unappealing and/or screams at me to be fixed:

Baby Vitya obsessing over a late famous Russian ballet dancer, who I thought would be an amazing idol for him and inspire him to become the kind of skater we see in YOI - no actual story here, just a loosely connected series of events.

Early teenage Vitya still obsessing over his ballet dancer and experimenting with feminine styles and being very stubborn about it despite everyone criticising him - still no actual story here, though, and his arguing with Yakov is becoming repetitive.

A very lenghty part about his first love that was mostly self-indulgent because I knew I had to end it eventually - actual story here for once, but let's be frank: who does even want to read 8 chapters about Viktor/OC?

A first Olympics that very likely is not at all like what Sayo and Mitsurou had in mind for the movie because my Vitya is still trying to get over his heartbreak. Note that I never aimed for that because this project is the result of smaller details I've invented for my series, but the result is far from what I had in mind and although that's part of a natural writing process, the result is extremely dissatisfying.

No drama revolving Viktor's decision to cut his hair because I believe that it was just him getting tired of his long hair and reinventing himself/crafting a new persona.

Poorly fleshed out programmes (there were just too many and I was too busy jotting the story down).

Appearences of real-life figure skaters who competed at that time because I was too lazy to invent OCs for anyone who is not Stéphane Lambiel.

Poorly researched Russian culture (I was too preoccupied with turning post-Soviet Russia into a country that is compatible with the world of YOI than looking into such details).

No teenage Viktor meets teenage Yuuri because during the time the story is set, they never skated in the same category due to their age gap: when Yuuri discovered Viktor, he was 12 and Viktor on the verge of entering seniors, and by the time the story ends, Yuuri has just reached the minimum age to enter seniors.

Honestly, I don't see the appeal in any of this, even if I fix the issues, shorten the lenghty parts and connect the scenes in the first half to an actual plot. It will take months until I will have time for such an endeavour and it will take even more months to turn this clusterfuck of a draft into something readworthy, and by then here will already be dozens, if not hundreds of Young Vitya stories written by people who will likely do a much better job at it than I could ever do.

Why is that even important to me? My stories are very dear to me and posting into the void just hurts. So far, I didn't have any luck with stories that are basically Viktor without Yuuri. This one was especially precious to me because it's a coming-of-age/coming-out story. Since the movie was cancelled, I also feel that expectations for this kind of story have skyrocketed because YOI fans crave to get their Ice Ado in one or the other way. Last but not least, this draft needs an unholy amount of work, and given all the reasons I've just listed, it just doesn't feel worth the effort at all.

So yeah, I wrote a story I've been burning to write since I had the idea back in January, and for the first time in 15 years of writing fanfiction (and 10 more years of writing), I've fucked it up. I now have 115k of backstory I can use in my ADTLTBA-series to flesh out Viktor, which is ridculously much for a backstory. On the pro-side, I now can rest assured that this story will never be abused to hate on animation studios and I'm just emerging from two very intense weeks of writing, which I haven't had since last NaNoWriMo.

[elvenbeard]

Today's modding shenanigans!

Today I wanted to test out ACM a bit :D I think I'd most enjoy using it as an additional tool for making custom outfits and seeing how different item appearances work together, less as my primary tool to creating custom outfits as such (also, it is a bit buggy for me and I can't seem to export appearances reliably for some reason).

Since you can alter custom appearances with it too, though, you could definitely mod one "base outfit" and then change the colors spontaneously for a different vibe (for example, I could make an apperance for Kerry wearing one t-shirt and then change the shirt decal or color on the fly in game without cluttering his .app file with a dozen different appearances that are virtually the same just different colors!). Wondering though if there exists a resource that lists every item's appearance names (cause some are super specific and hard to guess, like... instead of "black" or "smiley-face" you have appearances like "6th street" or "black_capsules") for this purpose... and if not, I'll probably make one just because I would find it useful to have xD

Also, ACM is really neat for taking off Kerry's jewelry on the fly for certain pics XD Or changing nail colors and things like that! In all these regards this is a super useful resource as is already, but I'm excited where the mod makers will take it :D (also... random sidenote, but can we talk about Dante for a moment? I'm a little bit in love, and I need his shirt not only for Kerry but also for Vince XD).

Then some silly behind the scenes stuff xDD @netcess said that Reed really needs a party outfit with a cool hat, so I put something quick and simple together for her and... I wanted to take a pic and as I went into Photomode, Vince spawned straight across from Reed and looked so disappointed at him partying without him when so many pressing issues are at hand XD Just really fun little moment I wanted to capture, intensified by facepalm XD

Honestly he rocks it XD Might make a recolor to fit his suit when the mood strikes xD

And finally: who wore it better? XD

(giggling and kicking my feet at how his hair and beard match now :3)

No but I actually tried my hand at editing this hair mesh for Kerry, cause it was clipping a bit here and there! This is done super quick and dirty like... In theory I know I could export his headmesh and then fit it exactly to that, but for now this aint so bad already actually! :D No more clipping into the side of his head and the hairline in the front looks better. I left out Johnny's hair cap and all that because I wanted to go for a really really short, very freshly shaved look for this like...

Something he would've done at the end of his tour right before coming back to Night City. Keeping the long hair consistent for all concerts. And as I said, I 100% get why he has that look, like... It has old, seasoned rocker vibes, it's so much less clean and more himself than his 2077-appearance like... natural hair color, not styled at all, embracing himself again with the whole "I'm gonna name my next album "Kerry Eurodyne" and go back to my roots thing, he looks like he just came off stage, sweaty and tousled, so... yes!! I do love it for all those reasons, but idk... I feel like, it's also at the same time something low maintenance that he doesn't have to pay a lot of mind to, escaping into his music and career after apparently losing V. And I think with the tour over and with getting V back so unexpectedly, he'd change things up a bit again. It's a concert/tour look for me. And this style is also low maintenance, while still Kerry, still rebellious, but a little more cleaned-up, in control of his life, if that makes sense?

@pinkyjulien sorry for stealing your tags from my other post, but you put it into words so well, on point!!

Especially your last point, cutting/shaving your hair to mark a new beginning is 100% such a thing he'd do!! So yeah, I think I'll stick with this for his two-years-plus-four-months-later look xD

[blainesebastian]

blowin’ smoke (ccg universe)

words: 1,401 ship: austin butler x reader summary: (Bri requested) can I request some Austin smoking/vaping whatever it is he does in CCG universe 👀 notes: probably occurs between pt6 and 7 of ccg--not wildly important but just figure earlier in their relationship, while Austin is still on set for Elvis. you also could read this without any context of ccg, if you wanted warnings: shotgunning  tag list: @killerqueenfan, @karamelcoveredolicity, @elizabethrosecresswell, @gigisworldsstuff, @stylesmendeshearted

The stress, anxiety and toll of being in a film that has so much riding on it is something that you can only imagine. They mix with the positive emotions too—the excitement, thrills and passion but that doesn’t make it any less overwhelming. Your dream is to write, to actually put something down on paper that makes people feel and you hope to do that one day in which it can successfully transfer to screen. You’re not about to stop holding your breath, writers are a dime a dozen in this industry. But you definitely find yourself some nights, on your very tiny balcony of your apartment, drinking a tall glass of wine as you consider what your future might be (or sometimes worse, what it might never be).

Everyone has their own set of vices, so it doesn’t surprise you in the least that Austin smokes every so often.

He doesn’t do it a lot—he’s not a singer outright or anything, but he also knows how important it is that he maintains his voice for this role. He is in the recording studio and singing live and the drawl he’s worked so hard to perfect is nothing he wants to mess up. He had to hire a dialect coach in the first place and honestly, he might have to hire another one at the end of the film to ‘un-Elvis’ his voice.

Though, to be fair, you actually kind of like it…and wouldn’t mind in the least if it stuck around.

While the concept of Austin smoking doesn’t surprise you, it’s something you have to get used to when you see it. It just…Austin feels like someone who wouldn’t have a nasty habit, though you can’t outright say that drinking a half a bottle of wine isn’t either. Regardless, you’re not about to judge him or nag about it—the smoke makes you sneeze sometimes and you’re not a fan of it sticking to Austin’s clothes. He knows better than to try and kiss you afterwards too, even though that’s not something you can always hold up.

The man himself is addicting.

Stepping out of your car on a cooler night, you promised Austin that you’d meet him at a bar he’s hanging out at with a few castmates. It’s later than you wanted to be out, but, admittedly you were trying to wait until most of them had gone home already. Your relationship with Austin isn’t public and while he doesn’t seem to care if some people he works with knows about it? you’re a bit uneasy. Austin’s a private person, he’s not about to shell out his business, but…it can be happenstance that a few other people from set have wandered to the same bar Austin and his castmates are at. Happens all the time, the bar is pretty close to set.

While hanging around Austin sounds nice for a few beers, keeping your hands and mouth to yourself will prove to be the more difficult thing.

Pulling your sweater tighter around yourself, you should have worn an actual coat, a soft smile tugs the corners of your mouth as you stroll up to the bar and see Austin outside of it already. He’s leaning against the brick wall near the front door, black jeans and a black leather jacket that goes far too well with the inky darkness of his soft curls. His eyes feel so much of a sharper blue because of it. He’s got his hands cupped around his mouth, lighting a cigarette, the warm orange glow of the embers flickering a moment before they disappear.

He takes in a long drag and blows the smoke out, turning his head a little and spotting you. He gives you a soft wave with his hand, reaching for you once you’re close enough to wrap an arm around your waist. Glancing around, you figure the street is pretty empty—

“Paps aren’t out,” He assures and he seems pretty confident, “Sometimes my agent will ‘leak’ out spottings or my agenda.”

You raise your eyebrows, “And they don’t catch on that you’re not actually there?”

“Sometimes I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.” Austin smirks, licking his lips as he taps ash off the cigarette.

Humming lightly, you lean into his side, “So your agent is like Gossip Girl.”

A laugh tumbles out of his chest and he shrugs his one shoulder, squeezing your hip. “Not as glamourous.”

Pulling a little away from him, you look towards the entrance of the bar as it opens but no one you recognize comes out. These people don’t give you a second glance, which is actually kind of comforting. Running a hand through your hair, you debate whether you want to grab a beer and tug Austin back inside or just head home. There’s always the great idea of getting late night food and wandering back to his trailer.

The wind changes direction and you crinkle your nose as a small cloud of smoke lingers around you. Austin moves his arm and dissipates it with his hand, “Sorry, I know you it bothers you.”  

“It’s alright,” You smile a little, “I’ll live.”

And the thing is, which is probably so messed up to think about? Is that with this whole black on black look, the booties, the leather jacket, the dark waves in Austin’s hair, the whole smoking thing is kinda working for him. It’s utterly distracting to watch his lips wrap along the canister, slender fingers with a few rings pulling it away to tap ash off.

Austin notices you watching but he misreads your thoughts, “Have you ever smoked before?”

“Yeah, I mean—handful of times in college,” You shrug, “Maybe once in high school.”

Austin smiles, adjusting his leaning on the brick wall, “Oh so you’re a rebel?” He teases, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Why couldn’t you tell? Thought it was pretty obvious.” You throw back with a grin and he chuckles, stealing a quick kiss to your cheek.

There’s this thought lingering along the iris of his eyes, you can see it, contemplation as he turns the words over in his mind before he finally says it, “Have you ever done shotgunning?”

You narrow your gaze, “I am not about to do that with you.”

Austin chuckles and geez is he a bad influence. You roll your eyes, trying to pretend you’re not going to do this even though you think both of you realize you’re going to. It’s not even that big of a deal, him blowing smoke into your mouth. Doesn’t work as well with cigarettes as it does other things you can smoke but…the effects are still there, the sensation of drawing smoke, the feeling of his lips on yours. Heat begins to gather between your legs as you consider it and you blame the draw of Austin’s entire being, the want to have him that much closer.

Biting the inside of your cheek, you know he already has you, “You’re the worst.”

Austin hums, shrugging his one shoulder as he lifts the cig and takes a small hit. Leaning down, he cups your cheek and you open your mouth slightly as he moves to kiss you. There’s a smoldering ache that happens in your lower belly, seeping downward, and you breathe in as Austin blows.

Your eyes kinda water but you give yourself kudos for not automatically coughing, letting the smoke settle in your lungs before blowing it out. Your head spins, it’s definitely a small rush from the nicotine. Austin looks far too pleased with himself, running his thumb along your lower lip as he drops the cigarette and crushes it with the toe of his boot.

Before you can say anything, he leans down to kiss you again, properly this time. His lips move along yours and neither of you seem concerned at pulling away any time soon. Once you do, he brushes your noses together in a bunny kiss.

“Trailer?”

You run your hand along the lapel of his leather jacket, nodding, “Read my mind.”

Austin smiles, moving to slide his jacket off so he can wrap it around your shoulders. You lean into the warmth of it surrounding you, his arm settling along your shoulders as you begin walking. Taking a small breath in, you catch the scent of leather, Austin’s cologne, and a twinge of smoke.

--

Took a slightly different take with your request but I hope you still enjoyed it! thanks to anyone who reads, comments, likes or reblogs. Appreciate you!!

[sterek8nights]

The Sufganiyot Thief

Well, I made the prompt list/bingo card, and then was immediately struck with an idea. It changed a little in writing it, but it's cute and fluffy anyway. (Might write the other version anyway? Idk.)

Anyway, here's Sterek family Hanukkah fluff. For the squares/prompts: sufganiyot and with kids

On ao3 here

***

The sound of a tiny giggle alerted Derek to the possibility of shenanigans afoot, so he followed the sound through the house and to the source, only to find that Some

Stiles had beat him to the scene.

He stood hovering in the doorway between the dining room and the kitchen, watching as Stiles sat on the kitchen floor holding a wad of paper towels in one hand, and a half eaten sufganiyot that was absolutely dripping with too much jelly in the other.

Sat across from Stiles was Lilah, Erica and Boyd’s four year old daughter, who was also covered in jelly and sugar crystals, a fistful of what was once an overfilled donut, and was now mostly mush and a blindingly bright, jelly-painted grin on her face.

Stiles is clearly trying to suppress a laugh, and Derek can't help but smile.

“Uncle ‘Tiles, the suf– the sugan– the donuts are really yum! Sorry I eat one without askin’ first. Please don't tell mama, she'll be upset I forgot my manners again,” Lilah said, grinning. Her puppy eyes were legendary, and there was no way Stiles was going to be able to say no.

“It's okay, peanut, as long as you let me clean you up, and promise to ask next time, we're all good,” Stiles replied, eyes darting to Derek and then to the counter before adding “And after we clean up, you can keep me make a new batch of sufganiyot,” Stiles said, over-enunciating the last word, smiling when Lilah mouthed the word along with him.

Derek's eyes went to the counter, and he noticed the donut massacre that had apparently resulted in the current sticky state of the entire kitchen, and its occupants. A dozen of the donuts they'd made that morning were in various states of smushed and covered in jelly, the jar open and half empty, with what appeared to be handfuls of preserves plopped on the plates of sufganiyot and the countertop. He felt his eyebrows climb, and Stiles snorted and looked up at him.

“Hey, Der, can you take the Lilah monster up to the bath and get her changed? I need to uh, hose down the kitchen. And also myself,” he said around a laugh.

Lilah looked up at Derek then, her smile growing somehow brighter, and stuck her sticky arms out, wiggling her fingers at Derek. “Uncle Derek! We're gonna make more sufganiyot, hurry let's go!”

With a mild wince, Derek reached out to his jelly covered niece and scooped her up, making sure to be silly about it just to hear her laugh. “Here, I saved this for you!” she said happily, and before Derek could ask what she meant, she shoved the mangled donut she was still holding into his mouth. Derek could only chew it while Stiles cackled.

“Than’ kew,” Derek mumbled through the half chewed mess, swallowing with a brief frown that he quickly forced into a smile so Lilah wouldn't get upset. It wasn't hard with her jelly smeared grin beaming at him.

“‘Welcome. Now hurry, the Honka party is only soon!”

Later, when he and Stiles are very carefully showing Lilah how to properly fill the sufganiyot, he meets Stiles’ gaze over Lilah’s head, and they share a smile before going back to supervising a very serious four year old pastry chef.

“So, Der, I know what I want for next Hanukkah,” Stiles says nonchalantly while handing Lilah a filled syringe of jelly.

Derek is intrigued, because after almost a decade together, it is paradoxically harder to find gifts for each other. “Already?” 

“Yep! How do you feel about a sufganiyot thief of our own?” 

Derek looks up, startled, and finds Stiles’ eyes again. He's smiling softly, not a trace of a joke in his expression, and Derek feels a smile paint itself across his face.

“Yeah, I think that sounds like a perfect gift,” he replies honestly, already picturing next Hanukkah, with an extra member of the pack.

They stare at each other for a long moment, until Lilah breaks it with a serious sounding “As long as they don't steal my sufganiyot! Hey, I said it right, didn't I?” 

They both laugh then, quick to praise her determination to get the word right, and full of joy for the present and the future.

And also, donuts.

[quinloki]

"I think that's a great fic idea" good news, it is, or something very similar. Inspiration is very clearly taken from @/turtletaubwrites series Numbers Game. The reader is a financial advisor who worked for Buggy, who then ends up under Croc and Mihawk because Buggy gets in trouble for ignoring her advice and fucking up the financials. Not trying to start anything, I don't think it's stealing to riff on smth but people should maybe be a bit more up front abt where they take inspiration from. At least give the OG a shout out lol

This is one of those things where there’s not an easy cut and dry answer I can give you or agree with, and I’m going to do my best to lay out why that is.

Is it possible the idea came from the person you’re referencing, but looking at the interactions for the first chapter I don’t see Alexa anywhere, not in the likes or comments.

I don’t even see anyone I follow in there either - which is to say that fandoms are HUGE and we don’t actually all know one another. (And that’s not to say there isn’t overlap in moots, just not with that particular story.)

Now, it’s possible there’s proof somewhere, but my point is that it is statistically just as possible that it’s just a similar idea. I wrote Quicksand’s reader as being a good office worker and coordinator - they weren’t specifically the accountant, but that could also be where the idea came from.

Reader being a competent and useful person makes sense when you’re talking about the Cross Guild. Neither Crocodile nor Mihawk are particularly patient people, and Buggy is enough frustration/comedic relief on his own.

If I shouted out to everyone who had inspired every part of what I write I’d hit tumblr’s post character limit before I got to the story itself. There’s a balance in there somewhere but it can honestly be case by case.

Despite your claim of not trying to start something it very much feels like you are, and while I appreciate you wanting to see credit given where it’s due, inspiration is so interwoven and complex, it’s hard to say exactly where an idea comes from for someone. So I’m going to assume that the vibes are unintentional - I’m sure you very much mean well. (If clarification is needed I’m not experiencing any negative emotions as I say this. I’m worried the vibes are there, but I will believe they were not meant.)

Heck, I had a story idea for a Eustass kid story I was (still am) excited about and when I shared it with my friends someone mentioned it was similar to something Mombat on Wattpad had wrote. And they’re right! The setup of the reader was similar - but I didn’t scrap the story idea because the story itself is going to be different.

And I know it is gonna be different, cause I had read that story by Mombat with my own eyes! And honestly it’s very likely where the inspiration sparked, even though I didn’t consciously make the connection until someone said something.

But there’s bound to be a lot of similar ideas in a singular fandom, because we’re all working with the same source material.

Now, I appreciate the intent, cause we all wanna look out for one another and such, but calling out possible sources of inspiration is maybe a bit much. Though I will say if there’s a dozen points of commonality, then it’s probably worth the mention.

here’s a bit of food for thought - Eustass Kid calling the reader Mouse is something I’m fairly well known for, and it wasn’t even my idea - and the friend I picked it up from had picked it up from someone else. Kaku calls reader Filly in most my one-shots but that’s from another friend. Penguin and Shachi calling reader lil’ Shoal was all my idea, but also I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else thought it up too.

Now, my long and exhausting reply aside, I do want to thank you for putting turtleaub on my radar. Her writing looks wonderful and I love how organized the blog and posts are. I am delighted to have something new to read even if my to read list is painfully long already. And there’s a possibility of making a new friend somewhere in there too \o/

[pbandjesse]

I'm writing this post really late because Evan and Noelle are here and we have been having such a nice time hanging out. It's been a really fun evening. I didn't feel amazing at points. But I powered through and emotionally I am in a great place.

I slept. Fine. Last night. I would wake up a few times. Had weird dreams. But I woke up alright.

I got washed and dressed and me and James gathered ourselves to go to the market. And today was going to be a surprisingly stressful and chaotic day.

We all knew there was multiple things happening. Besides the farmers market, there was a clothing sale on the pier, and then later in the day the funk festival was happening.

But everything, very quickly, became a bit of a mess.

When we got there we were confused as to why there was a tent set up in the parking lot. Not with the farmers market. And we found out from Ginny that some people had come by to start setting things up at 630am. What?? The funk festival wasn't supposed to start setting up until noon. But that apparently didn't matter. Because they all started showing up and causing a huge mess.

The organizer started caution taping off huge section of the parking lot. And we are like what are you doing?? Meril had to step in and forced him to take it down, only for him to do it somewhere else. Then dozens of vendors are loading in during our market. Turning out vendors and customers away from the parking lot. They were mad at us and we were like you are hours early!! The organizer also just was the type of person that doesn't take no for an answer and will keep asking until he gets what he wants and it was just. So stressful. I was really glad I wasn't in charge today.

I had my table going, and I had a table with BMI information. And while it wad very busy I was not getting many sales. That was alright. I was getting paid to be there today and I was enjoying talking to people about the museum.

I would also get a ton of knitting done. Which was great because I accidentally left my pick tool at home. James brought me a letter opener and that worked well enough until right before I finished my 6th square and I broke it. Disappointing. But I appreciated them helping me out.

They were very stressed. Vendors had been coming in from the music festival and demanding their money back but the event hadn't paid the museum yet, plus it also wouldn't be out responsibly??? Talk to the event coordinator?

It ended up getting so bad that Paul and Beth had to come in and Jesse had to leave his vacation to come back to town to help. Like the stress was so bad on Meril she cried! That's not fair! She's so strong!!

So it was really bad at times. Thankfully I was able to mainly stay out of it. I was having a good day beyond all the craziness.

Ann would have to leave a little early to go to a baby shower. So I became in charge for the last hour or so. I would have to coordinate moving some cars that parked in loading zones. And smooth out some stress with our vendors. I tried to make some connections and traded out business cards. Honestly I was having a pretty good time. And thankfully my car was not blocked in at all. I was starting to not feel good so I was very happy when everyone else was able to get out and I could leave too.

I went to say goodbye to James. They told me more of the nonsense they had been dealing with. And I was off.

I went to the grocery store and got a few things. Stuck to my list. Spent $25. But I felt like I got a lot for my money. And then I went home.

Not a moment to spin. I was falling apart slowly.

When I got back here I would put my food away. I had queso and guacamole and chips. I sat on the floor of our bedroom and cleaned up my cuticles. And eventually would lay down. I took my medicine early because I was already feeling so bad.

I would fall asleep eventually. But I didn't feel better when I woke up. So I kept resting.

James would get home and would be very frazzled because a car cut them off and caused them to snap their bike chain and really scared them. But they would cool off and calm down.

I would sip water and try to gather myself. Because Evan and Noelle would be here soon!

And then they were here. I was so happy to see them. And show them our house. We finally exchanged Christmas gifts. Only 8 months late. And it was so fun giving them the tour. We would all sit in the backyard and talk and it is always just so comfortable with them. I hate that we barely get to hang out and I really hope we can do it more often because they are just really fun.

James would suggest we go to Mathews. And it was such a good call. I was only able to eat a little bit I have leftovers now so that's good. I was enjoying the company and the conversation but I was struggling. My stomach just hurt so bad and I just desperately wanted to be horizontal. We would get our leftovers packed up, and Grace, the waitress that always is so nice to us, gave us a free cannoli which was so sweet of her.

We drove home and I was right. Almost as soon as I was laying on the couch I started feeling better. It took a while but I would be okay.

We sat down and showed them the slideshow of Africa and told them all about the trip. And it was just laughs and questions and storytelling. I was having a great time.

James has made jello eggs last night so we had those. Evan was like. I remember these?? Why?? And texted his mom and his grandma used to make them for Easter! Just like my mom. It was fun sharing that.

We would open gifts and played with sweetp and it was just a really lovely night. They have to leave in the morning. Busy bees. But I am so greatful that they were able to come even just for the evening.

We stayed up talking until 11. But now we are all winding down. James got the guest bed set up and I'm going to go grab a shower now. Tomorrow should be a nice restful day. I hope it is. And I hope I don't feel so poorly.

I hope you all have a good day. I love you all.

Good night!

[earthbovndmisfit]

I hate it when Speedwagon is dismissed as a "useless" character, he's a badass in his own right but he just didn't expect the sudden supernatural stuff. dude got caught in a genre shift and was wrong genre savvy 😭

Fair warning: This is gonna be long. Ngl, whenever I see anyone claiming that Speedwagon "is useless" the only thing that tells me is that these people only skimmed through parts 1 and 2 and are just using the FuNNi MeEmz as reference and are most likely just parroting what they picked up from that.

It's honestly sickening how a big chunk of the jojo fandom still discredits Speedwagon and everything he does from the start, also ignoring a large part of his character/personality in the process (turning him into a "soft uwu pure and innocent blushy scaredy crying boi uwuwuwuw" when in reality he's a ruthless crime lord from the worst and darkest pits of London who the first thing we see him do in canon is try to kill Jonathan), and then reduces him to a "hehe funny meme" without even realizing he's been a key character from the start and who is also one of the most important characters in ALL of the JJBA universe from part 1 to, at the very least, part 6.

But really, just to list some of the many things people seem to love to "forget" Speedwagon did:

He saved Jonathan's life plenty of times throughout all PB. Just to mention a few: -Like when he stops the dozens of deadly criminals who were already in line to kick his ass in Ogre Street (Jonathan was NOT a hamon user yet, so he would have gotten killed shortly after had it not been for Speedwagon ordering his men to leave him alone) -When he unveils Dio's plans and stops Jonathan from getting closer to Dio who was ready to stab him and kill him on the spot. -When he shoots Dio in the face, stopping him once more from killing a frightened and literally petrified Jonathan. -After this whole fight is over, it was Speedwagon who -despite his broken arm, broken ribs and punctured lung- carried a unconscious and heavily injured Jonathan to a hospital (otherwise, he would have died then and there from his many untreated injuries and bleeding wounds if the fire didn't get him first). -The whole "abs scene" where he thaws Zeppeli's arm. People misread the fuck out of the relationship between Zepp and Speedwagon and the hostility there always was between them (I blame the translations for this, as they usually tone things down A LOT and sometimes completely get rid of their mutual mocking and trashtalking) and, as a result, people also misread the fuck out of this scene as well, without realizing that Speedwagon wasn't doing this as an "uwu gay romance moment" with him or to save Zeppeli in particular, but that he was doing this and putting all the trashtalking aside for a moment just to save Jonathan who was about to get squashed like a mosquito by Tarkus and Bruford. Speedwagon was fully aware that he couldn't do anything to save him due to his lack of hamon, but he KNEW that Zeppeli could and was literally the only one who could do it, and so Speedwagon did what he could to save Jonathan's life, even if that meant stepping in for the guy who has been treating him poorly and mocking him for his criminal backgrounds ever since they met (I've mentioned this before but, yeah, this is an inherent trait of Speedwagon when someone he loves is in danger, as we see him do this whole 'side with your rival/enemy for the greater good' again later on in BT as well). -During the aftermath of Jonathan's battle against Dio in Windknight's Lot. Speedwagon, along with Poco, is the first to rush to Jonathan's side when he passes out and falls to the ground. Speedwagon immediately pulls him to his lap, making sure he's okay and that he isn't seriously injured and protecting him, keeping him safe from the remaining zombies that were still left in the chamber and, possibly, the rest of Dio's castle and that Straizo and Tonpetty -being the remaining standing hamon users- were getting rid of.

-

Speedwagon also guided Jonathan to Wang Chen's shop and helped Jona get the antidote he needed to save George. According to what we're told about Wang Chen, he was scummy enough that he most likely wouldn't have given the antidote away easily to Jonathan, meaning that Speedwagon forced him to do it.

That said, Speedwagon also helped Jonathan capture Wang Chen so he could testify against Dio before the authorities (we literally see him holding Wang Chen like trash in the manga lol).

Spw also unveiled Dio's evil nature as well as his real plans and intentions, saving Jonathan's life in the process, as mentioned some points above.

Speedwagon was also Jonathan's confidant from the beginning and viceversa, and this shows up in the way they treat each other as well as the way they address each other (some of which sometimes gets lost in the translations but that I more or less explained in a separate post), as well as in some of the things Jonathan says in some of his inner monologues, and it's also implied in a lot of Speedwagon's and Jonathan's lines and actions. There is even further proof of this in Battle Tendency, as we are told at one point that there were things that Speedwagon and Jonathan knew and shared between them but never with anyone else, not even with Erina.

Speedwagon also gathered and confirmed the information on Dio's whereabouts that the hamon gang needed, saving the whole group some precious time and, as a result, saving innocent lives.

He also provided Jonathan with the experience and heart/emotional support that he needed from the very first moment he joins him and until the very end, and this is implied even in BT, and it has also been confirmed in some of his bios.

He fought AND killed zombies along with Jonathan and Zeppeli despite Spw not having any supernatural powers, using his brute force and a sledgehammer only, further proving that he's pretty good at combat and at using different kinds of weapons (guns, knives, and now sledgehammers, too)

As stated earlier, he also thawed Zepp's frozen arm and "unlocked" the man's hamon so Will could save Jonathan, who was about to get ruthlessly killed by Tarkus and Bruford

He also took care of an injured Poco during the fight in Tarkus' chamber while also ensuring that the kid didn't recklessly step into the battleground again and possibly hindering things

Picking back one of the points mentioned earlier: He took care of a heavily injured (sometimes unconscious, too) Jonathan plenty of times, making sure Jonathan was as safe as possible at all times every time this happened.

Adding to the emotional support point: It was heavily implied that Jonathan and Speedwagon spent a lot of time together before, during AND after the whole (mis)adventure against Dio, meaning that they did a lot of healing and mourning together, especially once everything was over.

And it's also important to add to all this that he never lost his "badass" side, since he kept on fighting fiercely from start to end. He was also foul-mouthed and brash all the time (even if translations often portray him all "posh" and proper for literally no reason??), snapping and biting back every time Zeppeli tried to give him shit and mock him, and so on.

In other words: he remained as fierce and badass as he always was from the beginning, channeling that energy into helping Jonathan and succeeding at it despite his limitations as a regular human with no supernatural powers and proving to be self-sufficient most of the time (and with Jonathan taking care of him every time Speedwagon happened to need some help or someone to heal him).

And all this is covering part 1 only. Part 2 and those 50 years in between parts have their own points as well and, sadly, people too misread that and reduce it all to "all he did to help was toss money endlessly at the Joestars lol" without realizing that he literally raised George and Joseph, for starters. Whether you ship Jonawagon or not, it is an undeniable fact that Speedwagon was literally their 2nd dad, and this is shown in how both kids loved him and saw him as blood-related family, with Joseph even referring to him as "Grandpa Speedwagon" (something that the translations took away and changed to "Uncle Speedwagon" for some reason?? i don't want to say "straightwashing" but it's a possibility) and literally risking his life just to investigate what happened in reality to Speedwagon (who everyone believed was dead at the time) and retrieve his body, shedding tears of genuine joy when he learned that Speedwagon was alive, and doing all this without even waiting a second more for the Foundation. Joseph even says it at some point: Erina and Speebs are his only family. He's a key character in Joseph's life and development, and very likely the source where Joseph learned how to be the loving dad he was to Holy later on, and a loving grandpa to Jotaro as well. Same for George II, even though we don't get to see much about him or his life.

Speedwagon also always looked after those kids (and here we can count Lisa Lisa, Holy too as Speedwagon also got to meet her), as well as after Erina, always providing them with everything they may have needed at any point, especially after the Foundation was created and help could be provided in many many different ways. And this can be attested in part 3, with the Foundation sending special doctors and all the best they had to take care of Holy when she was apparently ill, making sure she would survive, or when they replace Joseph's prosthetic hand, showing that this has always been a thing, even if that sometimes means crossing countries just to aid any of them.

Speedwagon also moved all his influences and used his power (including those nexus he always kept with the crime world) to hide Lisa Lisa from the law and make sure she lived a peaceful life without fearing getting caught by authorities after she'd avenged George's death.

And, of course, there's the massive efforts done by his Foundation to investigate supernatural phenomena and keep the world safe from it, creating special teams and providing weapons and equipment designed specifically for this goal. Also, there's the massive improvements they did in regards to healthcare, technology, as well as the conservation of wildlife around the world, making this planet a better place for everyone.

So yeah. To wrap this up:

Screw that shitty take that he's "useless" or that he "only threw money at the Joestars". Same with the "pure innocent soft blushy scaredy crying boi uwuwuw".

[orionsangel86]

16 17 and 24 for the Choose Violence asks if you haven't answered them already

Oooh good choices!

16. You can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterisation, trope, headcanon, etc)

One of the reasons I love fantasy is because I adore all things fantastical. The Sandman speaks to my soul with its dark fantasy and magical stories and interesting non human characters. So I have never been able to really understand when fans take those characters and put them into an alternate universe where they are human, with no magic involved, working in cofffee shops or as high school teachers. I'm can't get into these types of fanfic tropes no matter how interesting the premise may be. That being said I applaud anyone who can take a character called "Dream" and "Morpheus" and make him a normal human. I love seeing fans call him "Murphy" and figure out how his spookier and clearly supernatural traits can be converted to weird human traits. I also love how autistic fans find representation in him. I may not be interested in such tropes, but I love that fans are creative enough to transform imo a super difficult character and see beauty in mundane ordinary human life.

17. There should be more of this type of fic/art

LUCIENNE X GAULT PLEEEEAAAAAASSSSE

I love all the creativity in this fandom, i love all the Dreamling fic writers and artists and I am very much one of you with my obsessive Dreamling brain being unrelenting. But I would love to see more of Lucienne and Gault tentatively exploring a new relationship in the Dreaming.

I wish I was a talented artist or could devote more time to attempting fic writing (perhaps I'll attempt some drabbles for different rarer ships but don't hold me to anything. I get huge anxiety with fic writing and put too much pressure on myself).

24. Topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

You know what I'm actually struggling with this one. Sandman fandom has been amazing. I could list a dozen different topics for Supernatural, or Our Flag Means Death, but I honestly haven't seen any actual "discourse" in Sandman fandom (maybe because I quit twitter before I ever got into the fandom so haven't seen what its like over there? Lol).

I know there are people who get annoyed about the popularity of Dreamling - which is fair because its huge, but I think everyone is being really respectful. I did see some comments anticipating that Dreamling shippers may start hating on canonical love interests like Thessaly or Hob's girlfriends Audrey and Gwen. Well Thessaly deserves the hate, but not for being a love interest and hopefully anyone with critical thinking skills would know that. And Hob's gfs arent in the show yet but when they are I'm hoping that fandom won't go all 2014 on them. From what I've experienced so far I doubt they will.

Doing this thing with a positive twist:

[regicidal-optimism]

3, 14, and 41 !!

3. Describe the creative process of writing a chapter/fic

First, the idea. Then the sitting on the idea, usually for a couple of weeks at least but I've written things the day they occurred to me and I've written things after playing with related concepts for years. Then the getting a flash of inspiration at one in the morning and writing up a paragraph and sending it to the discord server I have that only I'm in. Then the deciding that yeah, okay, I'm gonna do this properly; then the going through my title doc for a list of potential titles, which is part of how I figure out what sorts of tones and themes feel right. Then the outlining, where I put down the notes I want to hit, the scenes I have ideas for, the arc I want to follow. Then the actual writing, which I do sort of scattershot; a lot of the time I start with disconnected exchanges or single lines that I flesh out into scenes over the course of several weeks. Every time I open a doc I go through and reread and often edit everything I already have; I also edit the outline as I go, and I have fics where the outline has been redone five times. Finally, sometimes but not always (and usually not in DSMP fandom, sorry my love but I just don't expect you to be familiar enough with the characters to catch the problems I care about here), I send the first draft off to my beta, do another round of edits taking their feedback into account, and hit post.

14. How do you write emotional scenes? Do you ever feel what the characters feel? Do you draw from personal experiences?

Sometimes! I try not to feel what the characters feel, honestly, I have gotten very bad character bleed in the past (although it's more common in glowfic and RP than in solofic, for reasons I could expand on if asked). I don't draw on personal experiences deliberately very often, and when I do it's usually less about emotion and more about sensation (not that these are always separable-- I have absolutely had to ask myself very seriously whether I was really afraid of something or if I was just cold).

41. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

If I really like a fic I reread it. Sometimes over and over and over again-- there's fics I've read dozens of times, there's fics I used to reread annually. Some fics are one-and-done but if I really love something, why get joy from it just the once?

[quickdeaths]

💋 Is there anything you never get tired of? Something that'd always lift your mood? (no you cannot just say yuri and/or girlkissing as an answer, we know that)

🕶️ Describe a trend of your fandom(s). Is it different than others, rp wise? Any quirks between fandoms, for multis?

🛒 What's on the list? Any plots or ideas? Something you wanna write?

💋 Is there anything you never get tired of? Something that'd always lift your mood? (no you cannot just say yuri and/or girlkissing as an answer, we know that)

literally so rude to restrict me like this oh my goodness smh. Well, in an RP context, I am always cheered up by getting replies back, or getting things in the inbox, etc. It's nice to feel the gears in my brain turning and churning out new ideas, and even though writing is sometimes time consuming for me, I am always glad to have something to sit down and write. I do a lot of solo writing as well, and the thing I like about RP is the collaboration and the sense of excitement that comes with seeing what my partner has written for me, and what that can spark for me to write for them in return.

I also always smile at the random ooc chatter - all of it, honestly, but as it relates to RP in specific, just the little 'this reminded me of your/our muses' kind of stuff. Random social media posts that fit The Vibe, kiss fanart that sort of looks like the characters, whatever it is, it's nice to know that someone is going about their regular day and then sees something and goes "oh this reminds me of this RP thing with Bryn so I'll send it to her." It's very sweet and it always gives me a mood boost.

🕶️ Describe a trend of your fandom(s). Is it different than others, rp wise? Any quirks between fandoms, for multis?

The biggest thing about DR specifically, in comparison to some of the other fandoms I've been in, is how WILDLY centralized it is (or at least, how it seems to me) around a small group of characters. I think it's normal for some characters to be more popular than others, but in every other fandom that I've personally written in, I've seen way more diversity of characters being portrayed. For example, I wrote a lot in the Fire Emblem: Three Houses fandom for a while on my other blog, which is a game with 25ish "main" characters and maybe an additional 15-20 secondary characters, and in the time I was there, I saw almost every one of those characters written by someone, and even characters that I would consider unpopular written by multiple people all the time.

With Danganronpa, my experience has been that there is a core of maybe a dozen or so popular characters (most of whom are male characters) who get written a ton, and then the rest of the cast is mostly not written. I think that's sad given how the franchise has so many characters who are very interesting, or could benefit a lot from being lovingly written by someone with a vested interest in fleshing out their lore and story. I think maybe the way that Danganronpa the game handles the player's interaction with the characters (FTEs are player-driven, so if you aren't interested in a character up front, you might never learn more about them due to not seeking them out) and the fact that the nature of the killing game means characters get unequal screen time due to, you know, dying makes people gloss over a number of characters, which I think is a shame.

🛒 What's on the list? Any plots or ideas? Something you wanna write?

Hahaha I mean you and I have a long list of things and ideas already, don't we? Beyond that, though, I am interested in doing more ship stuff, but it's difficult because I am admittedly someone who is slow burn and not quite aligned with a lot of popular shipping norms. I'm also interested in incorporating queerness as a topic in-character, letting characters talk about their experiences and ground them a little in those experiences and feelings beyond just handwaving away "well it's escapism so it's fine."

Eventually, it would be nice to use more of my characters, as well - more threads with some of my secondary or request-only character, in situations or canons where it makes sense for them to be there. Then again, it's gotta be the right vibe for me to sustain writing those characters and being passionate about the interactions, so I'm reluctant to push them forward for things. At the end of the day, I'm less interested in writing specific things than I am in writing interactions that have the sort of long-term character and plot developments that really get me invested.

[aaronafgash]

10 NEW SONGS - 4/7/24

First off, to my DOZENS of fans, I want to apologize for missing my Friday deadline - between shooting multiple Bucks & Brewers games, editing photos from said games afterwards, seeing Sampha live in Madison on Friday night, and trying to prepare for starting a new job tomorrow, I've been busy. But I should have allocated time to my devoted readers. Please accept my apology and enjoy what was actually a good week of tunes! I’m honestly burnt the fuck out so we’ll see how articulate I'll be, but at the very least, you’re getting a list of new music.

1. Connect - Vampire Weekend

This is so wonderfully weird and perfect. (I think the drums are the same ones that they used in Mansard Roof back in 2008?) I noted their use of piano in one of their earlier singles, but this is next level - I had no idea Ezra could play like that, wow. (Specifically at the 3:30-ish mark in the song ... I'm blown away.) Ethereal and jazzy and groovy and everything I could ever ask for in a Vampire Weekend song in 2024.

2. All Falls Down - Lizzie McAlpine

As noted in this blog previously, I love a lot of Lizzie McAlpine’s music, but it’s usually slower and sadder and more emotional. But this? This is a BOP. I had no idea she was capable of making something like this but I’m so glad she did. It reminds me a ton of something that we would have heard on Clairo’s Sling. (Caroline said “Kacey Musgraves” - that too!).

3. 86Sentra - NxWorries 

This is a perfect blend of Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge's skill sets - so smooth, so catchy. An absolute vibe that I’ve already listened to so many times. I really appreciate how short it is but how much content Anderson ".Paaks" into his single verse (get it?).

4. B2b - Charli XCX

Not her strongest track ever, but just a solid, catchy, good Charli song. The production outshines her - especially in the second half - but I’ll never be mad listening to this.

5. After Hours - Kehlani

A clubby Kehlani song with a strong chorus and a catchy beat? Sign me the fuck up! It'll be tough for her to top 2022’s criminally underrated blue water road, but this is a step in the right direction.

6. OKLOSER - Doja Cat

Say what you will about her antics … Doja makes good music. And this is quintessential Doja - a great, pop-rap beat, with catchy ad libs and fun verses. The batch of new songs on the bonus version of Scarlet was hit or miss for me, but this landed.

7. Comin’ Around Again - Amber Mark

Just a great, sexy R&B song. Love the contrast sonically between the quieter, lowkey verses and the bigger, wider choruses.

8. Takaramono - Mei Semones

I don’t have the words to describe this one. If you like songs with multiple time signatures, languages, genres, and just a general “I have no idea where this is going next" vibe - this is for you! At the very least, I think you just have to acknowledge that what Mei Semones is doing is completely unique and original.

9. Todavía Viva - Khruangbin

Smooth, sultry production, and a rare Khruangbin song with vocals! (Honestly, I don’t know their music well enough to know if this is fully true or not, it just feels like most songs I hear by them are fully / almost-fully instrumental.) I love this and it feels primed to be sampled for a West Coast-esque hip-hop song at some point.

10. Can You Look In The Mirror? - Fabiana Palladino

Daughter of legendary bass guitarist Pino Palladino? Signed to Jai Paul / A. K. Paul’s record label? Now HERE’S a nepo baby we can all get behind! On the real, this song is great, conjuring up brief moments of ‘80s / ‘90s Prince vibes.

[luckydxy]

9. Shoutout a blog/muse you’re loving lately (u said send u 9 so I did)

Munday Asks ;; Accepting

You've fallen into my trap!!! You!!! You're first in line! Cat I've swooned over the detail, effort, & love you put into Helena before - but I wanted to point out once more how much I adore your work! You're very articulate & you clearly put a lot of thought into the content you produce. I remember your greenhouse breakdown post & I still think about it a lot- I can't imagine how much time you put into that. I also recognize your support of everyone else in the rpc!! It's noticed & welcome when you go through my posts & I know you do the same for others. You're a cool cat & Helena is a treat too!

@ulfhrafnx

LADY LADY LADY I ADORE YOU !!!! I TREASURE YOU !!! You've stuck with me through so many phases & you've dealt with so many of my bastard muses. You're always the first one to support every single bad decision I've made on here & are always the first to offer me comforting words when I've fallen into a bad rut. You & Lira make my heart so happy & I wish nothing but the best for you. You've been a long time buddy & your pressence is so so so important to me!! <3

@leondxs

ASHLEY YOU'RE NEXT MWAHAHA ! You're another long time dash buddy. I've witnessed you & Leo change so much over the past few years & I hope I get to see you through many more! You've been through a lot & I just wanted to take this opportunity to say that I'm SO PROUD OF YOU!!! We all have our bad days but I'm overjoyed that you've pushed through them & gotten to where you are now. Please give Noodle & your babies a kiss for me, I adore them so much & I care about you too. Leo is a staple on my dash & I forever want to torment that nasty icky bastard. I love him.

@paddyfuck / @aworldofyou

YOU TWO ARE A DUEL PACK I'M SO SORRY HELLO HI I LOVE YOU AS WELL!! Hannah I've known longer & I have so much fun memeing around with you & being able to share our love of Oblivion together <3 & MEL YOU'RE KIND & THOUGHTFUL. You're a doll & I'm glad we've been chatting too!!

@yellowfingcr / @voidrevelation

HEYSEL MUN YOU'RE A LIGHT. A JOY. YOU BRING SO MUCH FUN & MISCHIEF WHEREVER YOU GO!! Your sense of humor is impecable & your selection of muses are just as grand. I appreciate your love of frogs & the color yellow & fun & how you really pull the soulsborne rpc together. I feel like I'm not alone when I say your pressence on dash is special & I hope you're having a wonderful day / night!

@gvildmastcr

KRIS YOU'RE NOT ACTIVE RN BUT I'M CALLING TO YOU THROUGH THE ABYSS. I just want to say hello & I love you too &&& I hope you're well &&&& I love our shared love for that stinky traitor rat-bastard Mercer Frey. Thieves Guild forever.

[bigskydreaming]

Okay, so you know “Justice League meets Batman’s kids, who they’d previously been unaware existed” AUs?

So picture that.....but this time, instead of them just having no knowledge of any of these other Gotham vigilantes at all....the Batkids all migrate to various cities as they get older and become known as their protectors - Dick in Bludhaven, Tim in San Francisco, Cass in Hong Kong, etc....

Meaning they’re all established figures, the Justice League are aware of them as solo local heroes who stick to their cities and so they just don’t interact with them much if at all, or else some are members of team lineups but are particularly vague about their histories or life outside of the team’s adventures....

So the big reveal isn’t that they become aware of all these other Gotham vigilantes all at once....its that some big conflict or whatever requires a huge team up of all available heroes, and in the aftermath, they figure out that like.....despite being known as solo heroes who work alone or loners outside of their team settings, 80% of these heroes all not only seem to already know each other, they seem to be related.

And so naturally they all turn to Batman, who has profiles on every known hero and they thus figure had researched these individuals too and just never mentioned this little detail, and they’re like, “Did you know about this?”

And then Nightwing turns to him too, arms crossed and is like, “Yeah Dad, did you know about this?”

And the infamous Red Hood is all: “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have never met any of these people before in my life. Lives? Whatever.”

And then Red Robin moodily grates out “I have no siblings.” Since he’s nursing a grudge since Dick and Jason broke into his apartment the night before and replaced all his custom Red Robin gear with Darkwing Duck merchandise and his vengeance will be swift and also totally disproportionate because things escalate quickly in this family, that’s true in every universe.

Cass meanwhile has deftly skewered Jason’s lie by walking over to him and brazenly patting down the man with many many guns with no fear whatsoever. He squawks and futilely attempts to bat her hands away as she riffles through his many pockets, but he doesn’t seem shocked, just annoyed. Eventually, she pulls away and triumphantly reveals a box of Hello Kitty themed band-aids.

“So these are yours then? Just for you?” Black Bat asks smugly. Red Hood squints at the box.

“What the fuck? How long have those been in my jacket? Why are those in my jacket? Did you freaking plant them in my jacket just on the offchance you could at some point in the distant future use them at my expense?”

Black Bat frowns, puzzled. “Yes?”

“Oh come on, Dead Hood,” Spoiler says with an exaggerated toss of her head meant to convey she’s rolling her eyes beneath her own mask. She skips her way across the room to Black Bat and then drapes herself languidly all over the smaller woman. Who in turn doesn’t so much as twitch beneath the sudden added mass as Spoiler holds out her hand towards the box of band-aids. 

“One please. I have a boo-boo,” she says with easy familiarity straight into the intimidating cowl of Black Bat. Only then does she deign to finish her train of thought with Red Hood.

“I mean seriously, are you saying you don’t have potential blackmail set-ups, pre-rigged releases of incriminating material, and a random assortment of traps, pratfalls and mortifying scenarios in place for the express purpose of being able to humiliate any and all of your siblings at any given moment, without any need for additional prep time?”

“Is this true, Little Wing?” Nightwing whirls on the larger Red Hood with a faux-scandalized gasp. The founder and leader of the Titans, formerly the Teen Titans, renowned for his stratagems and calm competence when directing squads of supers in the heat of battle while he keeps pace with nothing more than naturally acquired acrobatics and a utility belt that apparently uses the same technology as Wonder Woman’s invisible jet....now appears to be....staggering with the back of his hand pressed to his forehead, moaning about how he felt....faint? 

What is happening right now, several dozen superheroes want to know. Is this a drill? Are they supposed to be checking for signs of a mental ambush from undetected psychic saboteurs? Did they all hit their heads at the exact same time and are now experiencing some kind of shared mass concussion?

Look, that wouldn’t be the weirdest thing to ever happen on the Watchtower. 

“Have I failed you so utterly?” The veteran child hero bemoans with a dramatic twirl - that when contrasted with his stern demeanor of a mere ten minutes ago - makes the fears of telepathic infiltration seem less paranoia and more....concerningly probable. “Did you learn nothing from me? Did you learn nothing from B?”

He stops and jabs a finger up at the sky. “Quick, everyone! What is the very first rule of Living While Batty?”

As if by rote, over a half a dozen voices chime in from all over the room, causing various heroes to jump. Spooked by yet more and more vigilantes joining in some kind of mass recitation like they and they alone have some kind of clue what the hell is going on and everyone else just hadn’t been invited to the party. Which is just rude, honestly. Nobody likes feeling like they weren’t invited to the party. Not even superheroes. 

“If you’re not going to bother preparing for every possible contingency and at least six impossible ones, you might as well just stay in bed.”

Even the Red Hood joins in the Illuminati chant or Cub Scout pledge or demonic ritual or whatever the fuck that just was, though his slumped and exasperated posture gives away every hint of sulkiness his headgear otherwise would have kept safely hidden. He’s surprisingly more...expressive, than most who’d only known of him by reputation had expected him to be. The day continues to yield surprises.

“Of fucking course I do,” he growls out, snatching the box from Black Bat. She doesn’t even fight to hold onto it, just lets it go with a knowing smirk. “I wasn’t surprised by the idea of it, I was just surprised she bothered with such a weak effort. Like yeah whatever, actually those could be mine. I use those all the time at home. So what?”

He aggressively yanks one of the band-aids out of the box, fumbles with the peel-off strips with one hand and he roughly rolls up the sleeve of his jacket with the other. Then just slaps it on his forearm and raises said appendage high, showing it off this way and that. “See?”

“Oh yeah, for sure,” Signal drawls from the other side of the room, nodding his head approvingly. “Totally convincing. Nice job walking that one back, you really showed them.”

Red Hood’s head snaps in his direction with ominous intent. “Watch it, Day-Glo.”

Signal just snorts.

“Yeah, like I’m gonna take constructive criticism on my name and costume from a dude who’s spent the last several years calling himself Red HOOD while running around in a freaking HELMET.”

“Its not meant to be literal, you fucking pedant.”

“So wait, its not literally a helmet? Huh, does it at least protect your head literally, or just like...symbolically? Like if Bane were to clock you across the head, would your concussion just be a metaphor? What’s the treatment protocol for a metaphorical concussion? Fluids, bedrest and a philosophical prescription of two chapters of Chicken Soup for the Soul as needed?”

“Laugh it up, KC and the Sunshine Band,” Red Hood bats back. “You just got yourself disinvited from Thursday night’s poker game.”

Signal just grins and folds his arms over his chest cockily. “Please. You’ve been looking for an excuse to ban me for weeks, cuz you know until you can prove I’m using my ghost vision to cheat, you can’t actually bring suit against me for it in Family Court.”

“That, and also Family Court isn’t a real thing, you toddler. Stop validating Wing-a-ding-ding’s obsession with Shitty TV Nostalgia and just call it that thing where Oracle traps us all in a room until we settle our latest fight without anyone getting stabbed.”

“Yeah, but like, say that five times fast,” Spoiler pipes up. “Its just not practical. Family Court’s way easier.”

“Says the one who’s not even in our fucking family.”

“And yet I grace you all with my sublime presence anyway,” she blows a kiss at him, beatifically unbothered. “You’re welcome.”

The Red Hood scoffs and rounds on his heel, zeroing in on Batwoman in the far corner.

“Hey Auntie B, my siblings are all dead to me and I just helped stop an alien invasion so I deserve nice things like a fun Saturday night. Can you get me into Dad’s fundraiser so I can crash it? He won’t put me back on the list until I promise not to bring any C-4 with me and I won’t promise not to bring any C-4 because he should just trust me that I won’t when I say I’m not gonna and he won’t trust me that I won’t until I admit I shouldn’t have brought any to that sting last month where three tiny little yachts blew up through barely any fault of my own, and I’m just not gonna do that ever because I have convictions and I feel I shouldn’t have to be punished for that. Y’know?”

Batwoman blinks at him. “Kid, I’m not gonna lie to you. You’re my nephew and I love you, but I stopped listening three seconds into all that.”

“Ugh, fine. Can you help me crash Dad’s event tonight so I can teach him a lesson about why he should just trust me not to make a scene so I don’t have to always make a scene to make a point.”

“Tempting as you make that sound,” she says wryly, “I have a strict policy for dealing with you lot and your......everything. I only worry about tolerating one of you at a time, and there’s seven of you, and seven days in the week. You each get your own. You know perfectly well its Robin’s day today. You get me on Tuesday, just like always.”

“Auntie B, we’re not like other families, are we?” Red Robin’s delivery is sarcastically childish and his question clearly rhetorical. Most of his attention is fixated on whatever it is he’s doing with his wrist-mounted computer. 

“No sweetie, we’re all severely fucked in the head and a little bit too comfortable with that.”

“Just checking. Oh hey, Hood, I just emailed you a patch for the hole in your firewall I exploited when replacing all my shit using your accounts just now.”

“You did what?”

“Used your accounts to pay to replace all my stuff that you fucked with last night?” Red Robin says slowly. “Did you not realize that I’ve been sticking within ten feet of you for the past five minutes just so I could clone your devices and do all that while BB and Spoiler kept you distracted? I gotta say, bro, I feel like that’s on you then.”

Red Hood swivels his helmeted head in the direction of the aforementioned two. Black Bat waves. Spoiler shoots him an utterly unrepentant thumbs up.

“You’d side with your ex over me? That’s what its come to?”

“My only allegiance is to chaos,” Spoiler says brightly. Black Bat shrugs.

“Plus he bribes better.”

“Hateful,” Red Hood points at Black Bat, moving on to level the same finger at Spoiler, who curtsies in acknowledgment: “Hateful-er.”

Then the finger rounds the bases to aim judgmentally at Red Robin. “Hateful-est. And that was all Nightwing’s idea anyway, not mine.”

“Oh, I assumed as much,” he says casually. “Your idea of a prank tends to have more of a Carrie vibe. Or be a literal literary reenactment.”

“Its called an homage, 4chan.”

“Whatever, plagiarist. And anyway, I couldn’t go after ‘Wing for payback on this one. He used an Immunity card. If you didn’t want me getting back at you, you should have used one too."

Red Hood looms aggressively. Red Robin ignores willfully. Round and round they go. Superheroes who can survive excessive G-Forces are getting dizzy just watching them have a largely motionless stand-off. That shouldn’t be how that works, but whatever. All the most infamously reclusive and isolated heroes in all hero-dom are apparently part of the same one big reclusive and isolated family of fucked up weirdos and they’re all officially bonkers. Nothing makes sense anymore. Reality broke. Try another stall.

“Okay, but see, in order to have an Immunity card, I would have to participate in one of you losers’ stupid Immunity challenges,” the Red Hood drags out with exaggerated patience. “And I’m just not going to do that, on account of those all being fucking stupid. You see the problem there?”

Red Robin just shrugs. “I don’t know what to tell you, bro. You can have principles or you can have an Immunity card. You can’t have both.”

Meanwhile, on another side of....the same room.....look, its like, an octagonal room, probably. It has a lot of sides. Robin fends off questions from an aggrieved looking Superboy.

“You never told me you had a bajillion brothers and sisters!”

“Yes but I never said I didn’t either.”

Superboy rolls his eyes. “Oh yeah, so I should just assume everyone I meet has a bajillion secret brothers and sisters?”

“Well clearly it would have worked out in your favor in this instance if you had, now wouldn’t it?”

“Assuming of course that you can trust what has been said or implied here today and I am actually related to any of those numbskulls. Which I am not actually admitting to,” Robin tacks on hastily.

Superboy eyes him dubiously. “You joined in the same creepy chant all the others did and then got super self-conscious and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Which uh. I did.”

“First off, your interpretation of body language is abyssmal. I do not get self-conscious,” Robin says with a delivery that probably could have benefited from being a little less self-conscious. “And second....that proves nothing. I guessed what they were going to say.”

“Word for word,” Superboy says super-skeptically.

“I’m very good at guessing things. You know this.”

“Okay. Guess how much I believe you right now then.”

Robin glares and folds his arms grumpily across his chest. 

“And what was that anyway? Was that like....you guys’ family motto or something like that?”

“Oh no,” Spoiler pipes up. “That’s much shorter.”

Superboy balks at that. “Wait, you guys actually have one of those for real?”

“Yup,” Steph says, counting out the words with her fingers. “He who laughs last....probably works for the Joker. So tranq him just to be safe. See? Only sixteen words. The first rule of Living While Batty is way longer, and what we said was just the abridged version. You should hear the original, before Black Bat put her foot down and refused to memorize it unless sizable edits were made.”

Superboy hovers between her and Robin now, both in mid-air and on the verge of taking Spoiler’s words as an invitation to hear just that. A low growl arises from Robin’s direction.

“Must you?” He asks the older vigilante, with a most put upon expression.

She looks at him pityingly. “Do you actually need me to answer that? Like, we’ve met, right? Hi, I’m Spoiler.”

“Wait, so Robin said that I just never specifically asked him if he had a bajillion brothers and sisters, and that’s why he didn’t tell me, so that means he wouldn’t have just lied and there’s not some code of secrecy that flat out forbids telling other people stuff, right?” Superboy realizes excitedly.

“Yes, excellent direction. Go on,” Spoiler says, steepling her fingers. Robin buries his face in the palm of one hand.

“Soooo, what other stuff could you tell me about Robin’s super top secret family that I wouldn’t think to ask about but that he would tell me about if I knew what questions to ask?”

She claps once, lightly but with emphasis. “Well done. You’ve passed the first barrier. Untold secrets await you behind just a few more.”

“I’ll get you for this,” Robin vows calmly. She waves a hand at him.

“Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you do it before January 1st, remember? You’ve promised retribution like ten times already this year and those don’t roll over, y’know. Rules are rules.”

“Enough!” Thunders a voice then, from the front of the room. Well one of the fronts anyway. Like sides, it has a lot of them, but this is the one where Batman’s standing. All eyes snap to him. Which is kinda just what eyes do when Batman says stuff like that. Its like his superpower, except he doesn’t actually have superpowers, which is what makes it scary. But where the snapping of the eyes (directional) is usually followed by Batman saying something else besides just “hey look at me,” here he pauses in the wake of his own call to attention’s waning reverberations. Uncharacteristically silent.

Not that, y’know, he’s normally Mr. Talkity Talk, but usually his silences feel like he has the words to fill them, he’s just withholding them. This though, this feels more like he doesn’t have any words at all. And he’s as confused by it as any of them, and most everyone else is confused by Batman being confused, and its this whole trickle down economy of confusion and its wrecking havoc on the value of the golden silence standard.

Of course, not everyone present is rendered spellbound with confusion.

“C’mon B,” Nightwing cajoles, leaning forward and practically radiating delight. “I think you know what you have to do now. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. Its not likely to come around again.”

Red Hood snickers beneath his helmet and chimes in. “Yeah Pops, go ahead. You do this and you’ll actually have my respect for a whole twenty four hours. No, wait. Sixteen. No! Eight. Yeah, eight. Still a good deal.”

“Carpe diem, B,” Red Robin grins, leaning back as if to enjoy the show.

“Hey! Infringe on my trademark one more time, dude,” Signal throws a faux-glare at the former. Red Robin just quirks an eyebrow.

“And what, you’ll start saying Yum every time you eat a burger? Oh no. I’m hoist by my own petard.”

Signal flips him off with a grin and then redirects his attention back to Batman. “Yeah seriously though B, you kinda gotta do it now. Because if you don’t do it, then you’ll forever be the guy who didn’t do it, and you don’t want to be that guy, do you?”

“Yeah you really don’t want to be that guy,” Spoiler shouts out. “Nobody likes that guy. He’s the worst.”

“Do it, do it,” Black Bat starts chanting beside her, steadily picking up speed and volume. Several others start joining in. Even Robin appears to be slightly anticipatory, albeit trying very hard to hide it.

Batman sighs, and somehow everyone manages to hear it. Stills. Waits for....something? Nobody but them seems to have any clue what, but the air is thick and heavy with portentiousness. Something is about to happen, and all most of the heroes present could say for sure is it was something they never would have in a million years seen coming.

Finally, Batman straightens with the resigned air of a man about to have oh so many regrets. He crosses his arms, shakes his head, and in an absolute deadpan monotone, says:

“You are awful children. You know you’re killing me. You’re killing your father.”