#i had so much fun backreading

[beauleifu]

Yo beau do you have more photos of the unhinged discord??(it's pretty funny lol)

hehe

you may or may not be in the discord but either way i SERVE (behind everyone's backs yessir <333)

[kitakami-zorua-kin]

Ok so text has no Intonation so I'm assuming please correct me if I'm wrong? It Sounds a bit like you'd wish Russet wouldn't let himself go so much and use the skills you seem to think he has more, to try and reach his potential? I know you hate him but have you ever considered helping him? I'm speaking solely of considering. Like imagine he approaches you and asks or something.

On that account what do you reckon would need to happen for you to start forgiving him, like if he was seriously having a change of heart and wanted to make amends, what would need to happen? I'm asking this as a person who once went through something similar and I'm curious for others' perspectives.

Also unrelated to this just for fun, what are your favorite battle, non-battle and general favorite Pokémon? Also favourite legendary?

// no worries for the late replies thing, time zones are a thing, its seven in the morning here right now, I just ask stuff when I'm on.

//man I love this Kieran he such a little shit but he also cares a lot though he would probably set himself aflame before admitting that, GUH I hope you'll do another event where he gets a role, later maybe when Russets story has progressed and our favourite edgy champ has had so character growth, I wanna throw some of the things he said, so I said too, Infront of his feet and see him react to it. Also Russet backreading this is gonna be a field day of emotions for him huh? I mean how can onion boy care so much while not caring at all, as he says, hope Russet gets the context.

... It's just infuriating that he doesn't try at all. There's a reason Carmine insisted he go to BBA. He's got this... infuriating innate talent, same as that stupid Dragon Tamer friend of his. They both just waste it - don't develop it all. When you have to fight for every scrap of power, people like that are enraging.

... forgiving him? can i do that...? ... He'd need to stop lying, first. I don't know if it knows how to do that.

... I like Furret. that... seems to be a constant. ... as for battle pokemon, I really like Crimson - my Incineroar. And... Legendaries... I've always like the Ogre - Ogerpon. but... aside from that... Russet liked the Unovan Dragons, a lot. I liked when he'd talk about Reshiram.

[dont-offend-the-bees]

Payneland Week Masterpost!

Thanks so much everyone who's been reading and commenting on my fic this week, it's truly meant the world to me! 💛 I thought I'd get them all together with links to related works in one post for ease of finding/ reading! 😊

(Please note that my Ao3 works won't show up for you unless you're signed in!)

Day One: Language of Love

'Cause You Cut Through All the Noise

AKA the one where Edwin soft-doms Charles out of a negative self worth spiral

Ao3 / Tumblr

Day Two: Myths & Legends

Though We're Strangers 'Til Now

AKA the one where Edwin and Charles are Ariadne and Theseus

Ao3 / Tumblr

Incredible gifset by @every-moment-a-different-sound

Day Three: Love Confession/First Kiss

I Got Sunshine in a Bag

AKA the one with pocket dimension confessions in script format

Ao3 / Tumblr

Day Four: Domestic AU

Something I Can Turn To

AKA the one where they both survive and escape to build a little life together

Ao3 / Tumblr

Adorable art by @yasartmeme

Day Five: Case Fic

If the Shoe Fits, Then I Won't Try It On

AKA the one where they take the disguises on their inaugural undercover case

Ao3 / Tumblr

Inspirational fic by @wordsinhaled

Inspirational gifset by @every-moment-a-different-sound

Day Six: Free Day

Spinning on That Dizzy Edge

AKA the one where Charles tries to distract Edwin from his piano

Ao3 / Tumblr

Day Seven: Soulmate AU

Lived My Whole Life Before the First Light

AKA the one where Edwin finds the colour in the world when he finds Charles; and loses them with him, too.

Ao3 / Tumblr

Beautiful gifset by @mellxncollie

Again, if you've read and in any way interacted with my fic this week, THANK YOU!! And enormous thanks to my insanely talented collaborators and inspirations!!! If you read my fics make sure you go and give their contributions some love, too! They deserve all of it 💛💛💛💛💛

Massive huge thanks to the Painland Week organisers, this has been such a great event I've had lots of fun and made some amazing friends 😊

In a week or so once I've caught up on a LOT of backreading, I'll do a rec post of my fave stuff that other people have been making! 💛

[astronicht]

oh, I'm a bit late to this because I'm backreading your Fellowship liveblog, but there's been a lot of scholarship done on Tolkien's use of astronomy! Kristine Larsen has a whole lot of journal articles on it though a lot of them are related more to the Silmarillion

No such thing as late, here! And thank you so much for this fun info i am reading the first article of Larsen's I came across ("The Sun, the Son, and the Silmarillion") and I'm laughing a little bit because I once had an old professor despair at the lack of academic work on early medieval cosmology. BUT LO AND BEHOLD, in Tolkien scholarship, people are out there doing it! Right now!

It's not the same thing, ofc, and Tolkien isn't actually trying to recreate early medieval cosmologies, so much as recrafting and reworking them and putting in something of his own. Still! While i am definitely more wobbly on Norse stuff, I have never seen, taking an example from this paper, anyone suggest that a viking cosmology might have something to do with the shape of a ship! (Which I am learning today that Tolkien used, not for Vikings ofc but for Middle Earth). Again, maybe this is a known thing I don't know about, but I have read lots of musings about the importance of the shape of a ship (turns up a lot in Norse grave archeology) and many more musings on how hard it is to picture a Norse cosmos, and I feel like I should have considered these two things together! At least once! Neat stuff.

(I personally like the suggestion (made by an unnamed Icelandic scholar noted in Neil Price's The Children of Ash and Elm) that the world-tree (a central-pillar motif) is tied to the image of the Milky Way stretched across the sky. If you've ever sat out on a floating dock under a nearly unpolluted night sky in northern Ontario (a very similar environment and latitude to Scandinavia), this starts to make sense, whether it's actually historically substantiated).

Anyway, thank you a bunch for this!

[zeebreezin]

Uno Reverse Carding the same pair back into your inbox with 44. A kiss out of Beverley hubris.

Oh noooooo now I have to write Vincent, the horrors, how could you eeeeeever do this to meeee (guy who is lying voice) (Spiritual follow-up to this last bit of art)

44. A kiss out of Beverley Hubris

The meeting was a dry thing, really. A bunch of officers in a room yammering about plans concerning the state of affairs. ‘74 had, after all, been a good year so far. Recruitment was high, as Vincent Beverley had happily explained, and the probable uptick of dissent from the fresh faces had been dealt with quickly and cleanly. His smile dripped with confident charm. A clever twist of a word or two even got a few chuckles out of the senior officers, quickly stifled as things moved on. The subtle disregard for decorum was something he’d earned, in their eyes. A privilege paid for in brand new bright eyed faces and more than a little blood.

Besides, the meeting was little more than a formality, really. A little recap for the Commodore and any officers who’d spent time away. Something he’d usually accept with a sigh. Today, though, Vincent had to smother a dash of excitement as he laid out the current policies for helping their newly enlightened find their footing.

Not because of the topic, of course, but rather because of who was listening.

Sub-Lieutenant Roberts sat dutifully, across the long table, neatly tucked to the Commodore’s side, jotting down notes. The man hadn’t made eye contact with Vincent since that night, brushing past in an all too professional manner. It would’ve been one thing if he’d just been acting like nothing had happened between the two of them - but the artificial distance was, admittedly, amusing. After all, squeaky clean Sub-Lieutenant Elias Roberts, the former cabin boy of the Commodore himself had seduced a married man! Nevermind the rest of it - nor the amount of people in this very room who’d been talked into Vincent’s bed at one point or another. Isobel had found the situation quite amusing, when he’d told her.

He had to have a little fun with it, really.

Vincent sat down to listen to whoever was talking after his section of briefing was over, with a respectful nod towards the Commodore. The meeting wound down soon after. Vincent half-listened, and occasionally scrawled down his own notes. Occasionally licking the nib of his pen. Occasionally sparing a glance towards Roberts, a practiced look of professionalism on his face all the while. It was all set up, really. Those casual glances, a little backreading of his previous notes, his smile widening just a tad when the Commodore gave his closing remarks. It built a simple picture of each and every onlooker. Vincent Beverley was, after all, not a subtle man. Not here, at the meeting room table, where he was the slightly foppish recruiter whose eccentricities were overshadowed by results. It was a comfortable self to wear. One that was expected. So, of course, when the meeting ended and the officers were just beginning to clear, no one batted an eye when Vincent spoke up.

“Excuse me, Commodore Sir- would you mind if I held up your Sub-Lieutenant for a moment? I've got an update on something for him.” Vincent addressed the Commodore directly, the easy smile on his lips matched with a practiced look of respect. The pleasantries flowed freely, of course - and it was clear that Vincent had needed to speak with the man.

That was the other blessing when it came to long, excruciatingly dry meetings like this. People tended to clear out quickly. Soon it was just Vincent and Roberts in the room, the chatter of the other officers fading off into the distance.

Vincent kept his face as it was - light, charming, and on the edge of too casual. “I won’t take up much of your time, Roberts.” He said, waving a hand aimlessly as he circled the table. “Just a quick word and I’ll be on my way.”

“Very well, what is it?” Roberts was, as usual, to the point. He was also, as usual, unsubtle as Storm himself. Even now, Vincent could see him trying to assess the game that was being played as he approached Roberts’s side. But what reason could he have to protest the rendezvous? Everyone had seen him ask - and there would be questions if he returned with nothing new to say to his beloved commodore. It was a cruel thing, really, to trap a man like Roberts under his own responsibilities.

Crueler still, perhaps, was how Vincent leaned in, suddenly pressed against him, lips barely a breath from Roberts’s ear.

“I just wanted you to know that you’re not subtle, Elias.” Vincent whispered, mirth clear in voice. “You can’t avoid me forever, not in this town. What happened that night ruins us both if it comes out-“ The lie threatened to pull his smile wider, but his voice drew just a little less confident, a little more afraid. “So know that I won’t bite if you draw a little closer.” Vincent pressed a kiss against the side of Roberts’s cheek as he pulled away, a hint of tender desperation in the action. It seemed like a break in the persona, a gap in Vincent’s ever joyful self. Fear of being exposed, of harming his wife, of losing what he had - what did Roberts see in it? Vincent wished he knew. An act is only as good as the audience’s interpretations.

Vincent’s eyes were fixed on the doorway as he stepped out of Roberts’s space, pulling a sheet of paper from the table and handing it to the Lieutenant, before they snapped back up to make eye contact with the man. “-also, I have here the reports on those newcomers you asked for? Much of the usual, but well,” Any sense of vulnerability fell away in an instant, as the usual charm settled back into place, fast enough to give a less familiar conversation partner whiplash. “Let me know if you’ve any follow-ups you want conducted, hm? There’s not much else for me to be focused on, at the moment - so really, I’m all yours. Be seeing you, then?”

His casual tone was unfaltering as Vincent offered a slight nod, before he heading off, strolling into the Geode’s halls without truly expecting Roberts to respond. The look on his face said enough. Vincent knew he was flirting with disaster. But well… he was allowed a little fun, sometimes. He couldn’t wait to tell Isobel all about it.

[comphy-and-cozy]

yay finally caught you when your requests are open!! I still have so much to backread (🙈) but how about cheek kisses with nolan patrick? 🖤

anything for you sweet pea xo

I changed up the format for this a little bit, with a series of snippets instead of a full blurb! hope you enjoy 🤍

Prompt: Cheek kisses

Pairing: Nolan Patrick x Reader (f)

Word Count: 833

Warnings: Just absolutely disgusting fluff.

On a first date

The pink tinge of his cheeks as he drives through the snow is sweet, and you aren’t sure how much of it is from the cold or from nerves.

You were surprised when Nolan asked you out on a date, never thinking that the soft-spoken curmudgeon could ever have that kind of softness in his heart. What surprised you even more was the thoughtfulness he showed, planning a date that was surely out of his comfort zone — an arcade and mini-golf.

He wasn’t perfect, but truthfully, you found his quiet demeanor incredibly charming, and the more time that passed, the more he loosened up, cracking dry jokes and even poking fun at you when you sent your ball flying into the pond.

“I’ll walk you in,” he mumbles, and you have to hide your smile as you hop out of his car, the warmth from his body shielding you from the breeze.

The tell-tale anticipation sets in as you approach your front door, digging for your keys in your purse. This is it.

“I had a really nice time, Nolan,” you say, looking up at him through your lashes. The flush in his cheeks darkens as he shifts nervously on his feet.

“Me too,” is his quiet reply. Then, as if he’s mustering his courage, he leans forward to press a kiss against your cheek. It’s warm, though you can’t tell if it’s more from his lips or the heat in your own cheeks.

When you finally get inside, your cheek is still tingling from his kiss, and you can’t stop smiling. Maybe, you think, it’s just Nolan.

Holding the door open

“You look incredible,” he murmurs, heat radiating from his eyes as they scan over your body. It’s been two months since your first date, and though you’ve been on several since then, he seems to be just as captivated by you now as he was then.

“Thanks, Nol,” you smile. “You do too. As always.”

With a blush, Nolan helps you shrug your coat on before leading you out the door. Once you approach his car, he shuffles forward to open the door for you, and you smile at him, offering a kiss to his cheek as thanks.

Your heart floods with butterflies when you see the dopey smile on his face as he jogs around to the driver’s side, wings beating even more rapidly when his hand reaches over the center console to grab yours. For a quiet grumpy gills, he sure does love affection, always wanting to have some part of you touching some part of him.

When he presses his lips against the back of your hand, you think to yourself that you don’t mind it one bit.

Before bed

The warmth of your blanket is comforting, your boyfriend’s arm slipped over your shoulders even more so as he gently strokes circles onto your arm. The volume on the TV is turned down low, the play-by-play announcers talking softly as the camera pans over the players on the bench.

“Babe, go to bed,” Nolan says with a chuckle. “You’ve yawned like, three times in the last five minutes.”

“But I wanna see the end of the game,” you say sleepily. It’s not often he is home at night for you to fall asleep in his arms on the couch, so you don’t want to take the moment for granted, even if it’s something as simple as watching a hockey game.

“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow,” he promises. “Now, go.”

It’s with another nudge that you finally heave yourself up out of the warmth of his arms, leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek. “Goodnight, Nols.”

“Night, baby.”

Playing video games

You’re on the couch, snuggled up in your blanket with Charlie in your lap when your phone buzzes on the table beside you. Sacrificing the warmth of your cocoon, you stick your arm out to grab it, surprised to see a text from Nolan.

[Nolan 💖:] can u refill my water bottle please

[Nolan 💖:] im in the middle of a game and I can’t leave or I’ll die

Rolling your eyes, you chuckle to yourself as you gently slip out from underneath Charlie’s head, doing your best to avoid disturbing him, though he looks up at you with curious eyes.

“Sorry, buddy, your dad is too busy gaming to get his own water,” you say apologetically.

Padding into the office where Nolan’s game system is set up, you sneak behind him to grab his Hydroflask off of his desk. He doesn’t even notice you, eyes focused on shooting his target, his headphones blocking out all sound.

When you return a few moments later with fresh water and fresh ice, you press a kiss to his cheek to let him know his water is waiting for him once he’s done. With the split second he has, he turns his head to peck your lips, murmuring a “Thank you.”

[marymunchkiin]

Ik you’re getting a lot of asks and stuff but OHHHHH MYYYYY GODDDDD I MISSED YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!! How’s life

HIII BAAAAABE!! OMG I MISSED YOU TOOOOOO, HOW'VE YOU BEEEEN!!! 🥺🥺 I never forgot about you and everyone here! Even in my darkest time, I remembered the people who made the happiest and that's all of you here 🥰 I'm still getting up to speed backreading messages but thank you so much for checking in! Appreciate it, really, you're so sweet! 🥺

Life done fucked me up that's for sure. Work especially drained me so much that I had undergone an identity crisis/depression during the last few months last year going into December...but Star Wars brought the light back into me and I am slowly regaining my love for it in baby steps--especially with that sexy Bad Batch trailer up! 🤯💗

Tho I do have a few fun clone-related updates irl that I'd like to share with you! 🤗 One is that I got into reading ALOT of those wearing-your-clone-boyfriend's-helmet fanfics and I err...I kinda splurged and bought one! 🤣

Above pic for reference of what it looks like 🥰

The other fun life update is I got the ball rolling on that ARC Trooper Fives cosplay and got me the cloney boots ready so far!

I CAN'T TELL YOU ENOUGH HOW VERY EXCITED I AM for this armor set!! I will try to capture photos and videos for you all when I finish 🤣 It looks a little big but that's alright since I want to bulk up the armor to match his TCW body build 🥰

Love you lots! xoxo

[sharkneto]

was backreading old asks and im curious if theres any early thoughts regarding SM v. number, knowing what we know now with chapter 9 now being out: is there anything in the update thats causing you to have to rework things? you mentioned number still fails to stop the apocalypse incident in his timeline - do you think his reset would go smoother than in SM? feels like theres more to account for now, with henderson being completely gone but the commission being invoked in SM for the first time

Number vs his apocalypse week! I'm happy to talk about that one, generically :)

The thing with Number is he's completely independent from the events of SM at that point. He's on a whole different path than that Five, thanks to JT but mostly because of the events of HIT. The new SM chapter has given me ideas to play with more than things I need to rework. Almost all the reworking I've had to do on the bit I've worked with that fic, to be honest, was 1) the realization that no one in HIT fucking told Number that Reggie kills himself and 2) how close he's kept the apocalypse to his chest. So he's pretty sure he's already taken care of the apocalypse with having helped Viktor figure out his powers in a safe, supported environment, but then Reggie still fucking dies at the same time. And, maybe that's just Reggie's time, but Reggie has also still set up the little mystery to get the Umbrellas to work together to stop the apocalypse (...that Number already stopped. Probably. Totally.). So he's got to chase that down to make sure, but he also still hasn't told his siblings about the apocalypse (why worry the siblings over something he's stopped, why put that in Viktor's head), so he's also dealing with it in true Five fashion - inefficiently and suspiciously secretive. So some similar vibes to SM apocalypse weeks, there. I'll put a WIP snip at the bottom for this vibe because I think it's fun.

I've got general beats in mind, have a plotpoint I adore that causes Number so many goddam problems that I don't remember if I've talked about on here or not so I'll keep it vague in case I haven't. I haven't settled on if Number stops his apocalypse or not on the first try, but it for sure is not the easy skate he was expecting it to be (and it really should have been). The world wants to end on April 1st, and life (death?), uh, finds a way. Fives must always have a terrible time during the week leading up to April 1, 2019.

If Number has to do a reset, it will come with its own problems, but it will absolutely be smoother than SM Five's. Number just has so much more information to work with the first time around, and he has a real handle on time travel. There is also no Commission to interrupt him in any way, thanks to their deal with Five at the end of HIT. That said, having fewer unknowns doesn't mean he's going to juggle the pieces correctly. He's still a Five and they are still the Umbrellas.

Anyway, WIP Snip -

Allison pauses in the doorway on her way through to the entry, not expecting Viktor to be in the living room. He's standing by the bookcases and hasn't noticed her yet, his attention on a book in his hands. She’s just about to announce herself when Five appears by the bar with a whumpf.

His gaze passes over her, and he just barely nods an acknowledgement to her before his focus lands on their brother. Viktor turned at his entrance, his back now to Allison. “Hey, Five,” he says.

“Viktor.” A beat passes as Five’s gaze flicks to the book in his hands. It jumps back to Viktor’s face, and then his expression does… something. Softens, maybe. Allison can feel her eyebrows rising as she thinks she categorizes it – is Five trying to show sympathy? Empathy? What is that? It really makes him look a little constipated. Still ignoring her, he asks Viktor, “Are you doing alright?”

Viktor shifts a little. “Yeah, Five. I’m still good. Just like when you asked me before. And the time before that. And the one before that.”

It’s another excruciating pause as Five considers that answer. Then he jerks a nod and the weird expression slips away and he’s back to haughty and judgmental. “Good.” He turns to the bar and reaches over to snag a small bottle of something clear.

Viktor takes a half step forward. “Five—” He’s cut off as Five disappears in flash. He sighs. “He’s so weird,” he says, loud enough for Allison to clearly hear it. Then he glances over his shoulder at her, mouth quirked up in a conspiratorial little grin.

Allison blinks at being acknowledged and pulls a smile on as fast as she can. She hasn’t talked to Viktor one-on-one in over decade, since he was still Vanya. She’s got a general idea of the things she needs to talk to him about, but hadn’t been expecting this to be the moment she ran into him. “Yeah, I don’t know why I thought he’d get more normal with age.”

Viktor snorts a little laugh and turns to fully face her. “No, that ship really sailed once he figured out the time traveling.” He softens a little and adds, “He means well, though. Usually.”

“Yeah,” she agrees, although she’s not sure if she does or not. She commits and steps into the room. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to sneak up on you, I didn’t think anyone was down here.”

“You didn’t. I heard you coming down the hall. I wasn’t sure if you were going to stop in, though.”

Right. Viktor has crazy sound and hearing powers. Not the useless little Seven they grew up with.

Allison immediately chastises herself for the thought. Viktor was never useless; he was just different (she kicks herself again – that’s not really any better).

The silence has stretched just long enough to be awkward. Viktor shifts his weight again, adjusting his grip on the book in his hand. Allison can just see the cover enough to recognize it – Extra Ordinary. She swallows her spike of venom back down.

Casting about for something – anything – to talk about, to push them past whatever this is, her mind replays the weird little interaction she just witnessed. “I thought he quit drinking?”

Viktor shrugs. “He did. For a while.”

Allison nods.

It hangs between them.

“I don’t think it’s as bad as it was back…” he trails off, fingers tightening again over Extra Ordinary.

“Sure,” she rushes to add. She doesn’t actually want to talk about their brother’s drinking problem. “And, I mean, it’s a funeral, so… people drink.” She’s already had a couple, more than she probably should have had; she’s actively trying to better herself for the courts and Claire. There’s no one here, but it’s still not a good look to get drunk at her father’s funeral. “How are you doing with it all?”

His mouth lifts up again in a small smile. “Like I just told Five, I’m fine.”

She forces a quick, humorless laugh. It sounds as stilted as it felt. “Yeah, good point.” She thinks again to the brief, odd interaction. “How many times has he asked you?”

“That was like the fourth in the past two hours.”

“What is that about?” It’s distinctly anti-Five, and him being actively involved and worried about other’s emotions was not the development she expected to come out of the past decade. Even being aware of other’s emotions would be a big step.

“No idea.” His expression falls as he gives it a second of thought. “I don’t know. Maybe he thinks it’s harder on me because Dad drugged me.”

Allison blinks at the blunt referral to the power-suppressing drugs she only learned about a couple hours ago. Something odd flashes over Viktor’s face, too, as he says it, and his gaze gets sharper on her, almost searching. Unsure what that means, she hesitantly asks, “Is it?”

The look passes. She almost wonders if she imagined it. Viktor shakes his head. “No. I don’t think so, anyway. He sucked but it’s weird that he’s… gone. It felt like he’d be around forever. But… I gave up on any answers or closure with him a long time ago.” He punctuates the point with an exaggerated shrug.

Allison nods. Her own feelings on Dad’s death are complicated. Probably yet another thing she’ll have to untangle with her therapist. For now, she’s happy to leave them knotted and neutral. “Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Silence lapses between them again, almost comfortable. Her mind flits over categorizing who has it hardest over Dad’s death. She immediately discards herself – she’d had a strained but surface-level positive relationship with their father, if the training and abuse were excluded from consideration. Viktor took himself out of the running. Diego is actively throwing as much of a party as he can get away with. Klaus… is Klaus.

She pauses to consider Ben. Dad broke Ben. There are less blunt, probably more correct ways to think about that, but it is the truth. She wouldn’t blame him if he joined in Diego’s celebration attempts, but he’s been nothing but his usual quiet voice of reason as his fiancé flitted around behind his chair. So not Ben.

It's Luther, probably. He lived with Dad the longest, had still been working for him up until his death, had talked to him only last week. He’s trying to turn Dad’s very normal heart attack into a conspiracy, give it more meaning than it has. And it’s certainly not Five—

Five who hadn’t disagreed with Luther’s insistence that Dad’s death wasn’t natural. Five, who argued with Dad every single chance he got, pushed as many boundaries as he could, who pushed himself to the brink in training sessions and – it seems – even now in his career in academia.

Who has asked Viktor four times if he’s doing alright.

She furrows her brow as that conclusion settles. That feels much more like Five than an angle of empathy and altruism. Glancing up, she meets Viktor’s eyes. His brow is similarly furrowed. He just barely tilts his head, confirming that they’ve been thinking on the same trajectory.

“Do you think Five…?” Viktor starts.

“…is projecting?” she finishes.

That sits between them.

Viktor forces a scoff. “No. No way.” As Allison raises an eyebrow, he insists, “He hated Dad.”

“Yeah. They had a weird relationship.”

“All they did was fight. When we got the news he died, he called me to ask if I wanted to grab a celebratory drink when he got into town for the funeral.”

But he still came to the funeral. “Exactly.”

They process it all for another long second. Viktor slumps slightly. “Ugh, there’s no way I could get him to talk about this.”

Allison shakes her head in agreement. There’s not a therapist alive that could get Five to process his probably very messy, very complicated, very fucked up feelings about their dead father. In some small part for how similar he ended up to him.

That’s another uncharitable thought she forces to the back of her mind, into the dark recesses with her ones about Viktor.

That’s not what she’s here to talk about, to dwell on.

[cdroloisms]

to be more srs vault made this poll bc a convo we had while cheering me up from a pretty shitty few days, and while I wasn’t as online today as I would like watching my friends fool around on the dash has just been. So much fun to backread. ilu guys 🥺🥺🥺

[kingwithpaintedfingers]

An Update on the Status of My A03 Fics!

Hihi! I have no idea if anyone who follows this blog reads any of my fics on AO3, but if you do, then you might like to know what the heck is going on with my fics, and why I haven't posted any updates in over six months.

First of all, I am alive! I wrote a lot of fics in the summer of 2022 when I had just gotten active in a fan server on Discord where there was a lot of encouragement to write fanfiction. In the spring of 2023, I started a medical assistantship course, and in order to keep myself focused in class, I turned off notifications for the server. And then I just kind of...didn't turn them back on???? In my defense, I was intimidated by the amount of time it would take for me to backread everything I missed, and that eventually snowballed into me just no longer looking at that server. I should honestly become active in it again, because it did a lot for my writing productivity. I also have a lot of hobbies both in real life and on my computer, and those take up a lot of my time as well. So that's why I didn't post much last year and haven't posted anything yet this year.

But I want to let you all know, that I do fully intend to complete the fanfics I have already started on AO3, and I do intend to write the sequels I promised a year and a half ago.

So without further ado, here is a status report on the incomplete fics and series I have on my AO3:

How to Live With Fire: One of my most popular fics! I have two sequels planned, and a rough idea of what I want to happen in each of them. Both of them are probably going to be only a few chapters long. The delay on this one is mostly on Part 2, since Part 2 has only the vaguest ideas of what I want to do with it (how Mortarion and Vulkan become a longterm couple, and how their legions react to this change). The trouble with this one is, I haven't read any Salamanders novels, let alone ones that take place during the Horus Heresy. I think I will at least have to read Deathfire for this one. I am praying that I don't have to read Vulkan Lives, since I understand that one has less tasty Salamanders content than I would like, and way more John Grammaticus than I find tasteful. But I will still try Deathfire at the very least, if I can find a physical copy at the library or a used bookstore or something.

A Matter of Trust: Another one that's going to end up being a trilogy. I have figured out what happens, now I just need to read the Plague Wars trilogy, because those events are going to be kind of important to the rest of the plot. Again, I'd like to read physical copies of the books so that I can flip through them easily. I'm going to see if I can find copies of the first two novels through the local libraries. Fingers crossed!

Until the Bitter End: Ohhhh, this one's gonna make me cry...this one is mostly hinging on me rereading The Buried Dagger and taking notes. Much lower barrier for entry for this one, since I've read it so often that I mostly remember where to find the events I'm looking for.

Lantern and the Child: This one is going to have like, a billion chapters. It's going to become episodic for a while, but I'm looking forward to it. In this case, it's a case of figuring out which characters I want to introduce. The idea of it being episodic is kind of exciting for me, because it feels like it will be a fun thing to do, and because it goes along with a writing conceit that my co-creator and I have for this AU, that it's the events of a theoretical (very dark) Pokemon anime.

This Once Nearly Was Mine: This one should literally be the easiest one to complete, I am ashamed that I haven't finished it. There's only one chapter left, and I don't even have to come up with all of the events. Again, this one is going to dip into Horus Heresy events that I haven't actually read, but I think I've heard enough from osmosis that I can skip most of it. I just need to, y'know, actually sit down and fucking write it.

Deep's Embrace: I've got an outline! And I've even got some scenes written out! As I type this post, I am preparing to submit chapter 2. I'm having a lot of fun with this fic, as you could probably all tell.

Anyway, that's basically it for now. If you have any questions, please let me know! And if you have any friends who you know enjoy my fics but aren't following me or aren't on Tumblr, please link them to this post so that they know just what the hell is going on with me.

[cringecannon]

ohoohho you're back!!! been backreading everything <3

anyway pls give more dominant gortash. brat-tamer (more like breaker) gortash my beloved

As an advisor for the Grand Duke, you had a front row seat to the weasel's whole shitty charade. You never made a true stand against him because you didn't have a death wish, but you were as verbally repulsed as you could get away with. Honestly, you weren't entirely sure why he hadn't forced a tadpole into you yet. The few advisory meetings he did hold were all just for show, and as the only person not under his control (literally or willingly), you took it upon yourself to be a minor nuisance.

You lounged lazy in your seat, swirling a chalice of wine as he discusses his brilliant new crime prevention plan. You skim the propaganda poster he's handed out, making a game out of how loosely you can hold it before it slips from your hands.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see everyone else around the table has focused on you. You hadn’t noticed the sudden hush that fell over the room until now. Adjusting your chalice slightly (you had been using it to block the sight of him), you find the Arch Duke watching you expectantly. Ah. You've been formally asked a question. How cute. You ask what you've missed, and his smile doesn't falter as he repeats himself. You've been abnormally quiet. He's just curious what your thoughts are on his proposals.

Looking back to the poster in your hand, you read more intentionally. Frankly, it's a joke. You’re honestly a little offended he even put this in front of you. Outwardly you shrug, unimpressed, and crumple the paper up a bit before dropping it onto the table. It's ambitious.

Is that all? Usually you have so much more to add.

He’s watching you carefully, and you give him nothing to work with but a shrug. You ask if he’d like you to warn the morgues in advance that half the city will be under their care in the next six months, or if it should be left as a fun surprise.

You swear you see his gauntlet twitch, fingers tightening around his quill. Satisfaction blooms in your chest. You love getting under his skin. He stares at you, face unreadable. It pains him that you think so little of him. He stepped up to save the city, and his criminal policies will ensure the city stays saved.

You laugh quietly, rolling your eyes. They’re criminal policies, that’s for certain. Murmurs break out among the advisors, and Gortash’s eyes narrow.

If you have something to say counselor, speak plainly.

You glance over, searching his face to see how much further over the line you should go. It was a clear warning, but you’ve never taken kindly to being threatened. You sit up in your seat, clasping your hands together and smiling politely back to him. I have no other comments, m’lord. Just a quick question; how much longer will this meeting take? I need to order a few thousand more axes. I’m not sure our current executioner’s supply will be adequate for your plans.

Gortash seethes and you lay your chin on your clasped hands, smiling as serenely as you can manage. You’re the only one in the room who doesn’t jump when he barks for everyone to get out, immediately. You don’t bother getting up, not at all surprised when he specifies that you are staying here.

The door slams shut on the last advisor, and you find yourself alone with the Arch Duke. You weigh your options in your head as he walks around the table. As much credit as you try to give yourself, you can’t take him in a fight. You might get a few bites in, maybe even take out an eye, but his watchers would turn you into a red smear on the wall before you could do anything lethal. You just have to play nice, get back on his good side. Should be easy enough.

He sets his hands on the back of your chair, pushing it in until you’re forced to sit up straight. Why do you think he keeps you around? An interesting question. You hazard a guess that it’s because of your stunning good looks. A small, polite chuckle from behind you. Close. You entertain him, he tells you. His hands slip to your shoulders.

It entertains him that despite how little power you have, you think you can talk to him like you’re better than he is. His fingers dig into your skin and a small feeling of unease settles into you. It entertains him that you dance around and laugh like this is all some big comedy you’re in. One hand moves to the back of your head and you only have a second to prepare before your face makes contact with the wood table, your vision flashing bright white and then black. You can’t open your eyes, and you’re not entirely sure what exactly hurts. The chair is yanked from under you and you struggle to stand, your legs uncooperative. His hand holds your head down, forcing you to stay bent over. You’re vaguely aware of him pressing himself against your ass, but you can’t bring yourself to care all that much.

Listen, and listen good. His gauntlet slips under your clothes, scratching at the skin of your hip painfully. He’s had enough of your games. He let you run off leash for far too long, and it’s time for him to rectify that mistake. He grinds against you, using one foot to kick your legs apart. You stay as still as possible, eyebrows drawing together when his hand slips between your legs. The gold claws painfully drag against the inside of your thigh, and he leans over your back to murmur into your ear. He will bring you to heel. No matter how long it may take. It’s his solemn vow to you. Bend… or break. He’ll be satisfied either way.

[straycalamities]

I wasn't around much during the 2012 fever, so I wonder: did Entre date anyone else besides 12? I saw him being constantly shipped with 72 and Swag but I think Swagtre was only canon during Truffula Flu. Perhaps there are more ships I'm not aware of

mainverse entre has only dated two ppl (unless im forgetting some obscure shit i said) and that was some girl when he was like 17/18 or whatever that his mom forced him to. and then 12

entre's thing was always that he was too focused on his aspirations to really think about romance or sex and anyone who kept up with him for a while (or backread) can remember about how often he rebuffed the idea of him getting intimate with anyone at all

he DID have senpai crushes on 72 and swag tho (and maybe someone else i forgor) and it's very strongly implied that the feelings towards 72 toed the line of romantic (especially if you attended the tinychats) but entre didn't know how to recognize those feelings, he's never really had them

12 was an accident LMAOOO he just got too into the conversation and suddenly he's agreeing to a date??? and then he ended up really liking him so they've stayed together since. he likes that theres not a big like...demand for his time and attention. 12 Understands exactly what entre's going through and gives him his space and such and yet they do give each other special attention when they're feelin it. its very casual and entre likes that but it also fulfills his emotional needs when he needs that too. idk obviously we dont show a lot of that on the blog (mostly bc i respect that 12's mod isnt rly up to updating him and i dont wanna be pushy U__U its fine tho bc entre gets along just fine on his own whims)

entre is my shipping bicycle tho so 8) ive shipped him w many -lers through the years and still do (and even teased a thing w a norma in some tinychats way back in the day) so theres a lot of ships floating around out there and even more in my head

i think the main ones that were a fandom thing are like seventre, 12tre, inktre, bittre, rocktre, and swagtre

but ive seen ppl joke or "what if" about others too and i cant remember all of them

and yeah swagtre is only canon in truffula flu tho he did have a crush on him and 72 in weehawken (to mirror mainverse)

and speaking of weehawken, the revival last year had him kinda B) hitting it off with a certain other -ler (EDU why's it empty >:O whatever here's a post of his mainverse self)

whats funny is i was like adamant on not shipping on the blogs LMAOOOOO i look at past me and POINT! AND LAUGH! FOOLISH!! JUST HAVE FUN IDIOT. i mean obviously i lightened up overtime but for a while i was like so strict man. and for what

[be-the-glenn-to-my-maggie]

I see u sometimes reblog stranger things stuff, was wondering if you can share some opinions on it? Any strong opinions on the mileven vs byler war

Lol I knew somehow when I put on my Stranger Things sweatshirt today that I would get this ask lol. Super fun question, thanks for asking! I love talking about any of my other fandoms. I've been pretty involved in the Stranger Things fandom from the jump, I liveblog every new season which you guys do not have to worry about for a while but you can totally backread my ST tags (melissa liveblogs st and melissa on stranger things) for my content or feel free to blacklist if you don't want to see it. I was also active in a few discords for Stranger Things and It, so if you were in any of those you might've seen me around. Met some great people, a few of which are still active on here @sorenserotonin and @milfnightshade loyal mutuals 🫡 who I always appreciate. I'll tag them in case they feel like returning to discussing Stranger Things with me like old times lol.

As for byler and mileven, I don't have super strong opinions. The two mutuals I tagged are both byler shippers (actually I forget if Deidre is, I'm pretty sure). EDIT: DEIDRE IS NOT! I personally have always been into mileven, they were the heart of the first season to me in a way that's really unmatched. The following seasons they have had their really moving moments, particularly for me the third season, but never the same spark as that first season. I do think they are endgame though, because that's just the path the show is on. I don't think the narrative makes sense without them, and wether that is effective writing is a whole separate post. That being said, I will always always never have beef with an lgbtq ship in any fandom, unless it's with a very unhealthy character and I think the ship is straight up abusive. Fandom is a largely queer space because we create the content we lack. That's important and should be respected regardless of ship wars (and I'm a person that gets into those lol). I have a dear friend who will ship anything as long as it's two women, even if they never interacted. I've never understood this. I want the writing to be strong and the relationship to be healthy. But I understand why she feels the way she feels and I'd never judge her, that's what fandom is for.

Some other Stranger Things opinions; I think the writing really has suffered since the first season. It is still a great show, but they struggle with consistency in their characters which is a huge issue for me. They also cave to fandom, which is another huge pet peeve of mine.

I also think Billy Hargrove is one of the most damaging popular characters in a long time, in terms of fandom and the impact on culture. I might just be biased however, I'm on some Billy fans blocklists.

This season was the best one by far since the first. I know that's a hot take, but I think it's true.

Max and Lucas were the only characters who were effectively developed and utilized this past season, which was a breath of fresh air for them to not waste Caleb McLaughlin again.

I do not like Jonathan Byers, but that being said the time for stancy has long come and gone and returning to it is insane.

Oh, final take, we've been giving the Duffers far too much credit for Robin as a character when a lot of it should go to fav nepotism baby Maya Hawke.

[iasmelaion]

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. Spread the self-love ❤

I've been out of town since Friday for a wedding, and now I'm battling jet lag, so I declare tumblr dashboard backread bankruptcy, and I have no idea who's already done this or not! So I will pass it on to anyone who feels like being excited about and proud of their fics!

My list, split between my account that's actually clearly linked to this username, and the side account that's not (it isn't, like, secret at this point, I just don't really want to make the link super obvious for easily-overwhelmed-by-too-much-social-media interaction reasons.) Also these are just my favorites right now.

only a full house gonna have a prayer (17776): I had a ton of fun writing this Yuletide treat, and I'm still really proud of nailing the voice and general vibe of 17776 here. Also very pleased with my title choice, even so many years later!

the pleasure principle (The Good Place, Eleanor/Tahani): god, I had so so much fun with Eleanor's voice in this Yuletide fic. I think this fic is pretty damn funny--I made myself lol multiple times while writing it!--and sexy too, and I just really enjoyed playing around with The Good Place's style of humor, and Eleanor's dirtbag-with-a-heart-of-gold nature.

god loves everybody, don't remind me (MCU/Black Panther, Erik Killmonger fix-it fic): I worked SO HARD on this one for SO LONG, lol. I'm very proud of it, and while I wish I could have done it even better justice, particularly prose and voice-wise, I'm still 100% satisfied with the structure and arc. It was my first time writing time loop fic too, and oof, it was hard, but I stuck with it and I'm still proud of it! Also Erik is absolutely my poor little meow meow and I knew my ideal version of this fic and/or a redemption/restoration arc for him would not exist unless I wrote it, so I'm proud of myself for following through despite how long it took.

you're already home and you don't even know it (MCU, Sam/Bucky): With a lot of my writing, I set out with a particular thing I want to try or improve or play around with, and with this fic, it was trying to cram in as many ways for these two to say or show "I love you" without ever saying the actual words to each other. I think I was really successful at that, and at showing tenderness and intimacy, while also totally indulging myself on the h/c and "they're so IN LOVE" fronts.

if I'm gonna get back to you someday (MCU, Steve/Bucky): I was so pleased to finally find a home for the punchline of a "clusterfuck of Steves" here, lol. But also, I just really enjoyed writing this and playing around with AU versions of Steve, while also wallowing in some angst with Bucky. Also, I went ALL IN on the water imagery here, and I'm still really pleased with the continuity of that throughout the fic.

[monterraverde]

// honestly a very deep and well thought out take on rika, it's v clear you've worked on things for quite some time n it makes your portrayal rly stand out!! always a pleasure seeing different takes on characters beyond their base- ✨

//Had to backread on my blog a bit, but it's been a year and some change we've been here now. Coming up on her anniversary of moving to Kanto very soon (early june)

So she's absolutely had a lot of time to cook, and I have my entire group of friends to thank for that honestly. She's developed a lot on her own, but the deeper stuff comes from conversations she's had with Red and everyone else. She's a group effort as much as she is mine.

Her universe is also considerably more hostile then the usual canon, so she had to adjust differently. I do love seeing other takes on her, it's fun to let the shards interact, cuz there's some where she just sits and smiles because at least she's happy in one universe.

I am rambling so much LOL but YEAH THANK YOU!!!

[msmargaretmurry]

I have read all your hockey fics multiple times and was desperate for more yourblues, so I decided to give your One Direction fic a shot, and I should never have hesitated, it was SO GOOD. MY HEART. Full disclosure this is the first One Direction fic I have ever read (I am not a 1D hater but I am also not a 1D fan, I think I was about the right age demographic they were going for but it somehow passed me by and I would be hard-pressed to name all of them or more than two of their songs), so I have no comparison, but it was just. So good. It made me care about them so much and I wanted to give both Harry and Niall hugs throughout this. Also loved the song components! So well done. I just want them to be happy.

(And not to bring things back to hrpf, but the whole second chance romance thing kept making me think of McStrome and that was an additional source of delight.)

oh anon, this is so nice ❤ i had a lot of fun writing that fic, i'm glad you enjoyed it! i'm going to tell you a secret: i was never in 1d fandom either. full respect to those who were, because they truly lived through the wars, but when one direction was happening i was a) mostly only listening to pop-punk music from mid-sized bands and b) already uhhh in hockey fandom. i just live here. i've always been here.

anyway the point is i could not name all of them either and had knowingly heard maybe two songs. and then for some reason in the midst of peak pandemic lockdown i read this fic (i really don't know why i did that, i'm not usually someone who reads fics for fandoms i'm not it) and it just? did something to my brain? and i spent the next year of my life locked in my house devouring every piece of one direction content i could find. i was on a little break from hockey at the time because the bubble season stressed me out too much so i needed something to do with myself, i guess. i was watching every youtube video. i was backreading my former-1d friends' tumblrs. i was buying shit on ebay. and i wrote that fic.

honestly it all kind of feels like a fever dream now. like, i'm pretty proud of that fic but i also regularly kind of forget about it? lmao. that whole phase is just kind of lost in the void in my brain where i put all the lockdown stuff. but i am proud of it!! i'm so glad you enjoyed it!

re: the mcstrome of it all, i DEFINITELY remember thinking while writing it "hm this really is just tnno remixed for different guys huh" so you are spot on 😂