#i was doing this tumblr movie meme & the questions lead me to him

[missholson]

Ralph Bates, 1970

© Mary Evans / StudioCanal Films Ltd [X]

[brian-in-finance]

Killing Our Darlings: A Fandom Expert on Why We Urgently Need to Get to Grips With the Hate Engine

With two of the pop star’s films on the horizon, we appointed a Senior Harry Styles Correspondent. Several exhausting months later, Sacha Judd concludes it’s time for Hollywood to get to grips with online conspiracies—and audiences to find new ways to approach films soaked in manufactured scandal.

Don’t Worry Darling, Letterboxd’s most anticipated film of 2022, finally came to cinemas last week, claiming the US Box office number one slot and topping this platform’s most popular rankings by the end of opening weekend. Anyone buying a ticket for the debut public screenings was inevitably either doing it because or in spite of the drama surrounding the film’s release.

I was definitely in the latter camp, going with two friends I met at Harry Styles’ first solo show in New York in 2017 and have been fandom besties with ever since—because what else do you do when you’re reunited with your fellow Harries after three long pandemic years than park up in recliners at Alamo Drafthouse to watch him in his first starring role?

Styles, famous in fandom for his rambling interview answers, was mocked relentlessly by Film Twitter for saying that Don’t Worry Darling was a movie that “felt like a movie”, and though it’s not at all what he meant, once you’ve seen a film soaked in so much manufactured scandal it’s hard to not reach the conclusion that it’s just a movie.

Florence Pugh and Harry Styles as Alice and Jack Chambers in Don’t Worry Darling.

Visually, it’s absolutely stunning to look at, with an incredible performance by Florence Pugh in the lead. It’s also so refreshing to watch something that isn’t yet another piece of franchise IP, or yet another prequel, reboot or sequel. But ultimately it’s just a film—there’s absolutely nothing about it that warrants the space it’s taken up in the discourse and no way to get back the brain cells wasted on all that spilled tea. How does anyone even watch a film critically (or uncritically) when there’s so much noise surrounding it?

It was a question that loomed large earlier this month at the Toronto International Film Festival. I was there in my newly-minted role as Letterboxd’s Senior Harry Styles Correspondent—a joke that became decreasingly funny as the hot takes and breathless explainers spilled over from Venice across every conceivable media outlet. There to promote his other new movie, My Policeman, you got the sense that Styles’ appearance was being tightly controlled. Questions for the press conference had to be submitted in advance, before anyone had even seen the film. On the red carpet, the stars didn’t speak to the media at all.

“What was it like??” my friends and fellow fans asked me. He’d sat across from me, after all, mere meters away. But the photos on Tumblr were clearer than the ones I snapped, the video from the Twitter livestream just as good. There really isn’t any insider access granted by a press pass when the fans are having the same or better experience, at the same time—ready to publish their own critiques before you even get out of the theater.

Emma Corrin, David Dawson and Harry Styles at the TIFF premiere of My Policeman.

Asked at Venice about the tabloid speculation surrounding Don’t Worry Darling, director Olivia Wilde said, “the internet feeds itself, I don’t feel the need to contribute, I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.” There’s certainly been no better recent example of fandom, celebrity gossip, and film discourse combining into an ugly ‘well-nourished’ ouroboros than what’s unfolded over the last few months surrounding this particular movie.

You could look anywhere and find headlines promising the “truth about the drama”, memes, and endless TikTok unpackings. One friend even sent me a Powerpoint presentation someone had shared in her book club. The hot takes eventually simmered down to reflections about how enjoyable it all was, post-pandemic, to engage in “harmless” celebrity gossip again.

Harmless, reputationally, for Styles, who I watched quip about spitting on Chris Pine the following night at his show during a sold-out residency at Madison Square Garden. Harmless for Pugh, certainly—who became the internet’s “queen of quiet quitting”. Harmless for Pine, memed endlessly for his dissociating stare. Beneficial, even, for Shia LaBeouf—now cast in a Coppola film as part of an ongoing redemption tour. But for Wilde—one of a tiny handful of female directors to be greenlit on a second project—none of this seemed very harmless at all.

Director and actress Olivia Wilde on the red carpet at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival.

In watching all of this unfold, all I could think was that we are overdue a reckoning with the way the online environment is allowing misinformation, conspiracy theories, and outright falsehoods to be increasingly weaponized against women in cinema. And the Hollywood engine is beyond overdue in getting to grips with fandoms and the power they wield, even after over a decade of toxic hate and harassment being leveled at artists of color, widespread blowback over casting choices, and the inability of studios to protect their stars.

While a number of commentators rightly identified the misogynistic tilt to this whole affair, the rapid cycle of takes overlooked one crucial point. All of this happened to Olivia Wilde simply because she’s dating Harry Styles.

It helps to go back to the beginning and understand how we found ourselves in this particular mess. The rumors about the Don’t Worry Darling set didn’t start with TMZ or Page Six. They didn’t even start with the earlier gossip blinds shared on anonymous Instagram account DeuxMoi. They started on Tumblr and they started in the One Direction fandom.

To grasp what’s happened to Olivia Wilde online, you have to grapple not just with what may or may not have happened on set. She and Pugh may have fallen out for any number of completely justified reasons and it would never have resulted in the kind of digital hyena-pack that’s waited to consume Wilde at every turn. We would likely never have heard about it at all, if it weren’t for a dedicated subset of Styles’ fans.

Styles meets fans in Toronto ahead of the premiere of My Policeman.

Hating Olivia Wilde is an example of the depressingly common venom leveled at the romantic partner of a star with whom stans have a parasocial relationship. Styles has been notoriously private about his personal life, saying in interviews that regaining his privacy was paramount to him after five years of intense scrutiny as a member of the world’s most famous boyband.

And yet, all of the women with whom he’s been linked over the years have been subject to the same outrageous levels of hateful conduct and harassment. Styles, speaking to Rolling Stone last month alluded to this, saying “Can you imagine going on a second date with someone and being like, ‘OK, there’s this corner of the thing, and they’re going to say this, and it’s going to be really crazy, and they’re going to be really mean, and it’s not real.… But anyway, what do you want to eat?’ ”

These so-called fans are happy to dig through years of social media posts to find ways in which a romantic partner has been “problematic”, dismissing French model Camille Rowe for “supporting serial killers” (she dressed as Sharon Tate for Hallowe’en) and British chef Tess Ward for being fatphobic. In the eighteen months or so that Wilde and Styles have been seen together, Wilde has come under an even more intense array of criticism. The ten-year age gap between her and Styles makes her “predatory”. Her shared custody of her children with former partner Jason Sudeikis has been interpreted to mean she is a bad mother who routinely abandons her kids. She is “unprofessional” for embarking on a relationship with someone she met on set.

For the fans spreading these talking points, finding reasons to justify their toxic behavior is critical—that way they can deny that this is a case of, “if I can’t have him, no one can”. It’s not that they don’t want Harry to find love, it’s just that this woman (and the one before her and the one before that) is obviously completely unsuitable.

“But anyway, what do you want to eat?”

For Styles though, the problem is exacerbated by a core group of conspiracy theorists who have plagued his fandom since One Direction was first formed. Calling themselves Larries (after the portmanteau Larry Stylinson), these fans believe that Styles has been in a closeted gay relationship with former bandmate Louis Tomlinson for over a decade. No amount of denials from either man (or any number of people close to the pair) have dissuaded this group, nor the fact that Tomlinson is in a long-term relationship with a woman, nor that he has a son, nor even that Styles and Tomlinson haven’t been seen in the same room for over six years.

All of this nonsense seems “harmless” on the surface—just another example of toxic behavior in niche corners of the internet providing hilarious fodder for the group chat. And yet film and television stars are increasingly dealing with baseless conspiracy thinking taking on an ugly and outsized importance. Benedict Cumberbatch’s wife, director Sophie Hunter, is regularly accused of faking her pregnancies, being a drug user, and worse. Outlander star Catríona Balfe has spoken out about conspiracists (who think she is secretly dating her co-star) casting doubt on the paternity of her son, and even harassing staff at the church where she wed in an attempt to prove her marriage was a sham.

Harry’s own mother Anne, sharing a proud Instagram post this week praising the film and Olivia’s achievement, was so drowned in hateful comments that she posted a follow-up in her stories. “If you can’t say something nice,” she said, “don’t say anything at all. I’m astounded and saddened by the vitriolic comments… If you don’t like me, don’t follow me”.

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places.”

This behaviour by “tinhats” (as they’re known in fandom—a term first coined to describe fans of The Lord of the Rings who were convinced cast members were in secret gay relationships, unable to declare their forbidden love) has at its core the idea that everything is a stunt constructed for media consumption. Every paparazzi shot is staged; every time we see a star in a public place it’s “for promo”.

If you genuinely believe Harry Styles is gay and not allowed to come out, then every time you see a picture of him with a woman, you can assume it’s fake, that the woman concerned is being paid or getting something out of it for herself and thereby “profiting” off his closet. If it’s a stunt there’s no obligation to like this woman—in fact the opposite. You’re justified in thinking of her as a villain and behaving accordingly, as viciously as possible, something Alice Marwick has dubbed morally motivated networked harassment. Regardless of who gets hurt in the process.

On Tumblr, Larries tag their posts with an increasingly hateful taxonomy: “Don’t Watch DWD”, “Olivia Wilde is a Narcissistic Asshole”, “Fuck You Olivia Wilde”. Meanwhile, these same fans are keen to promote My Policeman at every opportunity because it’s deeply unthreatening to their false narrative. Styles’ co-star is Emma Corrin, with whom he has never been romantically linked. Styles himself is playing a closeted gay man, something they think is true in real life. “Michael Grandage seems like such a professional and competent director,” they say, as if the implications were not obvious.

Olivia Wilde at work with colleague Chris Pine.

Maintaining their ongoing hate campaign against Wilde puts stans in what should be some awkward spots, given the demographics of Styles’ fandom (female, progressive, queer). They side with Wilde’s former partner Sudeikis in their split, revelling in Wilde being served papers relating to custody on stage at CinemaCon, despite it being a cruel and humiliating tactic deployed against a woman in a professional setting. While they won’t come right out and say that LaBeouf is a hero, the glee with which his side of the story was received was a sight to behold. Even aligning yourself with alleged abusers is okay if it’s against a woman who isn’t what you want her to be.

Worse still, Media Matters found that right wing sites exploited the situation, amplifying the hateful content and using terms like “commie whore,” “Hollywood harlot,” and “bimbo” to describe Wilde, “eager for the downfall of women who are outspoken on progressive issues” (and for the income that clicks on these stories generate).

If all of this seems familiar, it should. We are only months from an unrelenting news cycle that painted Amber Heard as an unsuitable victim, reduced her defamation trial to popcorn emoji and endless memes, and cast anyone with a TikTok account in the role of expert commentator.

And none of this might matter, if the pernicious behavior of these conspiracists stayed in the pettiest corners of the internet, but in this case it broke containment, bubbling up through the gossip blogs and tabloids, repeated over and over until lies ossified into “facts” that even the trades were credulously republishing seemingly without any scrutiny at all.

People close to the Don’t Worry Darling project describe it as “famously untroubled”. The cinematographer Matthew Libatique has described it as “one of the most harmonious sets” he’s worked on. Forty members of the crew put their names to a statement saying all the stories were false. But it’s too late. The truth is boring: far better to green screen some cast photos behind you on TikTok and boldly state that Gemma Chan was pressed into service by forces unknown to keep Wilde away from Styles on the Venice red carpet.

Don’t Worry Darling cast members Nick Kroll, Pugh, Pine, Wilde, Sydney Chandler, Styles and Gemma Chan in Venice.

Even in writing this piece, I don’t get the luxury of just writing about the film (which, for the record, I enjoyed)—or about Styles’ performance, or Wilde’s directorial vision. No one does, anymore. Every review is forced to reference the ugliness and give further column inches to the opinions of people who genuinely don’t deserve them. I’ve chosen not to rate the film on my own Letterboxd because I know stans have been trying to identify my account.

I’ve been lucky enough to watch Harry Styles perform over the years at venues all over the world, including the Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the O2 and the Hammersmith Apollo. At every single show he encourages his audience to “feel free to be whoever you want to be in this room tonight.” The crowd always goes wild. It’s an invitation to participate in something so filled with joy and abandon. To dance and sing your lungs out and watch your fave do the same.

His exhortation to “treat people with kindness”, however, seems to fall on deaf ears when some of his stans are back behind their keyboards again, filing half-star reviews on Letterboxd before the film has even come out. It’s depressing to see a film-reviewing community being used in this way. Letterboxd HQ confirmed to me that Don’t Worry Darling has been one of their most heavily moderated films this year: online reviews yet another cudgel deployed against women in cinema, again and again.

It’s easy to enjoy Florence Pugh iconically wielding her Aperol Spritz, Chris Pine drifting drama-free above the fray, and ultimately Olivia Wilde is successful and seems unbothered and doesn’t exactly need our help. But if we let ourselves continue to be led around by conspiracists with axes to grind, we’re allowing a set of tactics to flourish that will continue to have dangerous consequences, something I’ve spent more time than I’d like to digging into over the last few years.

“Do you even know what the Victory Project actually is?”

Already the post-opening reviews of Don’t Worry Darling are making sly—or even overt—reference to the fact that the scandal may have helped the film, giving fans and the media alike fuel for future fires. Indeed, the distribution chief for Warner Bros suggests that “the background noise had a neutral impact” (financially, he means). But conspiracy thinking isn’t fun or neutral or harmless anymore. Believing everything you see to be constructed or manipulated is a dangerous onramp to far more significant political movements—something, ironically, that is explicitly raised in the film.

Celebrity gossip can—and should continue to be—a delightful, empty-calorie snack. But only when we take the time to think about where it’s come from, why it’s so popular, and if there isn’t a toxic amount of poison hidden inside. When the industry is still stacked so heavily against the very small number of women who have risen to the point Wilde has—her film taking in an above-forecast $19.2 million at the US box office opening weekend, and becoming one of the widest openings by a female director ever in the UK and Ireland—we should be interrogating much more closely the motivations of the people who seem ready, willing and eager to tear her down.

‘Don’t Worry Darling’ is in cinemas in the US, UK and Ireland now and opening in other regions over the coming weeks. ‘My Policeman’ opens in US cinemas on October 21 and streams on Prime Video from November 4.

Note: All bold text and pull-quote styling is Brian’s.

Letterboxd

Remember… it’s sad, because you meet the loveliest people who are fans of the show and they’re super supportive and they do the nicest things—and then you have that little thing, which just taints it. — Caitríona Balfe, Vanity Fair, 6 January 2022

[warsinmyhead]

I posted 206 times in 2022

That's 126 more posts than 2021!

93 posts created (45%)

113 posts reblogged (55%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sovrumana

@starsmaligned

@warsinmyhead

@rpmemelibrary

@seoulxsinners

I tagged 206 of my posts in 2022

#warsinmyhead - 202 posts

#meme - 45 posts

#rp meme - 44 posts

#sovrumana - 43 posts

#[ ask: ah do i have to kiss and tell? ] - 40 posts

#[ ask: what does a demonic fox say? ] - 39 posts

#[ ask: want an answer? here's one ] - 39 posts

#[ ask: you sound like my mum with all these questions. ] - 38 posts

#[ meme: let's play a game ] - 36 posts

#[ ooc: test muse ] - 29 posts

Longest Tag: 123 characters

#[ ooc: but his mother won't let him be a total asshole if she's present – she didn't care either but death is sad period. ]

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

OPEN

“Tell me again what you want me to do?”

Seb has the other’s phone in his hands, turned horizontally, with the back camera facing the other person. 

“Is this for that one site TikTok or something? Or is this IG?”

5 notes - Posted April 16, 2022

#4

CLOSED for @notfrsale​

[ SMS: Are we still on for the movies today? ]

[ SMS: I’m cool with seeing anything except the blockbuster that has Mies Roussard as the female lead. ]

[ SMS: Did you want me to grab any specific snacks? ]

6 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

#3

CLOSED for @sovrumana

[ SMS: Congratulations on joining the global team. ]

[ SMS: How do you feel? ]

[ SMS:  I have a feeling they’ll send you on a trip to visit all of the branches: HQ, New York, Germany, Seoul, etc. ]

8 notes - Posted May 30, 2022

#2

                                          Where do you run?

IND. MULTIMUSE RP | SEMI-SELECTIVE | MULTI-VERSE | MULTI-SHIP | AU FRIENDLY

                                            ask | bios | rules

8 notes - Posted March 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Morning Routine Asks

About what time does your Muse get up at?

Are they an early riser or likely to hit the Snooze button?

What kind of alarm do they use to wake up with?

What does a typical breakfast meal look like?

Are they the type to exercise after getting up or do they try to wake up by making breakfast?

Do they need noise like music or complete silence as they start their day?

What is their breakfast drink of choice?

Does your Muse take their time to get ready or do they zip through their routine to get to work on time?

How long do they take in the bathroom?

If they have a roommate or someone who stayed over, do they try to be a gracious host (ex. Cook breakfast, let them use the bathroom first, etc.) or do they focus on themselves and apologize later?

Are they usually on time to work or are they running late?

Does the routine look different on weekends or holidays?

Is your Muse a creature of habit when it comes to morning routines or are they different every day?

9 notes - Posted April 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[friendrat]

I posted 2,995 times in 2022

That's 2,904 more posts than 2021!

169 posts created (6%)

2,826 posts reblogged (94%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@taleweaver-ramblings

@kanerallels

@o-lei-o-lai-o-lord

@lady-merian

@so-prickly-pear

I tagged 2,539 of my posts in 2022

Only 15% of my posts had no tags

#dracula daily - 245 posts

#dracula - 206 posts

#bwahahaha - 166 posts

#miraculous ladybug - 159 posts

#art - 145 posts

#miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir - 118 posts

#adrien agreste - 100 posts

#memes - 100 posts

#language warning - 95 posts

#writing - 90 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#my husband wasn't able to join the military because doctors prescribed him a seizure medication to help him lose weight when he was a teen

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Old theory I never posted here:

So my kids were watching the Magic School Bus. It happened to be the Inside Ralphie episode, and I noticed something a bit odd. Anyone who's watched that show knows that Ms Frizzle always dressed to match her field trip. And at the beginning of the episode, she is dressed just how you would expect for a day that they would be studying how the human body fights infection... except she was dressed that way *before* she got the call that Ralphie was sick! Which means she had to have known in advance that he was sick.

It reminded me of one of the books I read where she goes on vacation to Egypt, and hijacks the tour after the tour guide mysteriously and suddenly contracts laryngitis. She then proceeds to take the entire plane of tourists back in time.

All this makes it look suspiciously like she can make people get sick. And that means that she most likely made Ralphie sick for the purpose of the field trip.

135 notes - Posted November 10, 2022

#4

My husband just pointed out that when referring to Adrian's different personas, we shouldn't call him "civilian Adrian", we should call him "House Chat", and I have never heard anything so brilliant before. Petition to call him House Chat.

198 notes - Posted February 19, 2022

#3

Ok Tumblr, I'm in a debate right now about The Sea Beast.

A bunch of people are saying that it doesn't make sense how the royalty of the kingdom is making money of of the hunting industry, but I thought it was kinda obvious how it worked? I think it's twofold.

First, they are clearing trade routes. That opens up the doors to more foreign trade. Some people are arguing"well that benefits other kingdoms too". Which is true, but doesn't prove that they aren't getting rich from it. 🙄 History people. Open trade routes leads to wealthier kingdoms and better lives for the common people.

Second, I think the next logical assumption is that they are making money off of the sea beast horns. Yes, they tell the hunters to bring them back as proof of their kills, but what really happens to them afterwards? You can't tell me all of them end up in their museum/private collection. Not given the number that the hunters brought back from a single voyage. Also, look at how many real world species have been hunted to extinction over horns, tusks, and pelts. Add that to the time period meaning that they had inferior medical knowledge as well as more superstition (which is also seen in the movie, so I'm not just guessing based on the time period), we have a recipe for those horns to be used for any number of things including medicine and magical totems.

So there we have it. An exclusive resource (we don't hear of any other kingdoms being built up by hunters, although I could be wrong there... but we do know that they have the *best* hunters, which means they still would have the best supply), and clear routes to trade that resource (among other things). That's how the kingdom got rich on the blood of sea beasts. Am I off my rocker? Maybe. I just took the unanswered question in the movie and applied what I know about the real world to it. It made sense to me.

Any other theories? Am I wrong?

216 notes - Posted July 12, 2022

#2

The pep talk I didn't know I needed today

348 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

All of the modern takes on Dracula really make me wish they would make a mostly true to book adaptation that is a horror comedy, with things like Dracula having sudden costume changes while pretending to be his own staff, trying to knock the crucifix off the wheel in order to steer the ship, and the people of Whitby chasing him around as a dog. Just all the collective hot takes on what's going on with this story that make us, the modern readers, laugh, presented in a glorious cinema quality film.

1,877 notes - Posted August 9, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sketchguk]

Hi Hi it's 🍰 anon! How are you?? I have updates about my crush but it's not so good 😭 we hang out a couple times after I sent you asks but our conversation was so dull 😭 even in texting we don't know what to say after talking about normal things like how are you and about our day :( I don't know if this is because of our age gap?? Do couples with age gap also find it difficult to finds topics to talk about :( I don't know how couples handle it when they start talking less 😭 because our lives are so different..... But I feel bad because I really like him but he's probably bored talking to me 😭😭 or maybe he's not interested in talking these days idk 😔

Aaah I have question for au based on this 😂 do soonyoung and mc fight sometimes after the relationship?? What things do they usually fight about? -

I sent you one more ask asking how are you and what you're doing but I forgot to put my emoji 😂😂😂😂 - 🍰

Hi hi ! I've missed you and your updates <3 I hope that you are well !

I've always found it a little difficult to talk to men, especially when they're outside of my age group :-( Maybe he's busy these day, you never know!!

Think about the stuff you talk about with your friends and apply it to him perhaps ! Casually bring up something in your daily life, and I'm sure y'all can expand on it. The most mundane things can always lead to more. Tell him about the dream you had the previous night, the food that you made for dinner (and the meals you would love to eat/cook), the random fact that you learned and how cool it is (!!)

Ask questions, even if they're super random. Jump from topic to topic just so y'all can have something to chat about !! Sometimes, I'll even see Tumblr or Twitter posts that make me go "OJO, I need to talk about this with someone!!!!"

Idk if ya'll are comfortable sharing personal things with one another (family, childhood, desires, morality, outlooks on life, etc), but I'm sure you can have a little dip into those conversations. There's always a lot to unpack, and it helps to grow closer to someone ! Soo, don't stress too much about what to say because then we end up overthinking :') Send some memes here and there if you have to LOL

I guess it's easier to text him as you would an internet friend. Perhaps there's less pressure in that. I'm perpetually in the "talking" phase with all of my mutuals, and I'm basically dating all of them at this point (confirmed).

Also, idk how comfortable y'all would be with video calling each other. I feel like that's superrr different from texting, and it's an efficient way to get to know one another. All of my friends who date, they always get on FaceTime with the person they're seeing. I have never *not* seen them text exclusively. Sometimes, they call everyday, and sometimes it's in the middle of the week. And if you don't particularly like this idea, to lessen the pressure, something that I do with my Tumblr friends is watching movies/tv shows on Discord or FaceTime ! Idk if that's something that's possible for y'all given your schedules, but it's a nice activity to try out

Ah YES, Soonyoung and mc definitely fight when they are in a relationship. That has always been their defining characteristic. If anything, they're more like disputes. Perhaps the one thing that they argue about the most is the fact that they don't make time for one another :/ They're always busy, and their schedules hardly line up. They each want the other to make compromises, but it's very difficult because they're both passion driven ! They end up settling for being in one another's company (despite not having their partner's undivided attention). It sucks, but it's what they have to deal with. They also have to realize that their partner isn't choosing to study/work instead of being with them. If they didn't have deadlines, they would certainly be all over one another

As for me, I'm here as usual ! Decomposing in my bedroom !! Although I will admit that I'm in my Rory Gilmore era. I've knocked off 4 books from my tbr in the last week (mostly because I didn't hit my reading goals for April, and I tried to close the gap a little bit LOL). It's also aapi month ! And every year, I dedicate it to reading books from aapi authors. In general, I do gravitate towards these books, but I always make sure to celebrate especially in May !!

Oh and my degrees came in the mail 💛 I'm having my graduation ceremony in June yippeeee. Although I'm not sure if I'll attend because my one (1) friend said he doesn't want to go LOL. But still, I want to dress up and take pictures :') If my mom won't be proud of my accomplishments, at least I can try to be proud of myself. I'm also waiting for the school of education to share the details about our department commencement hehehe

[i-want-my-iwtv]

I hope the rumours of Louis being a brothel owner aren't true, but if they are I can sort of see why they're going for this route? I mean, with a black Louis they can't have him being a slaver anymore, so maybe they're trying to find something that is also morally reprehensible for him to be.

TL;DR: My kneejerk reaction was to be saddened, and I don’t like that this is starting up, and will continue to fuel, fandom drama. Ultimately, if we want peace, we’ll embrace the fact that the existence of this adaptation doesn’t take away from the existence of the books, and it also doesn't mean we have to acknowledge it.

It makes me wonder whether AMC wants us to make a storm about this. We’ll see...

After all, what makes this adaptation any more important than the graphic novels of the ’90s, the graphic novel Claudia’s Story, movie!IWTV, or movie!QOTD? In fact, many fans here on tumblr consider VC to be a trilogy only!!! and don’t accept the majority of the PUBLISHED CANON so what makes anyone think we have any obligation to swallow this AMC adaptation as some kind of gospel?

I see movie!QOTD as a buffet of ideas carried in an official fanfiction work, and I don’t accept as my headcanon the various things it changed about the books that I didn’t particularly like, such as merging Magnus and Marius (which, IMO, effectively made both characters more morally reprehensible). I accepted the things I did enjoy, like casting a Black/POC actress to play Akasha. I see this AMC adaptation as a buffet of ideas, some can be taken, and some not, it’s just another official fanfiction work.

[Anon, I need to catch other ppl up on the information, too.]

Deadline.com informs us that in the AMC adaptation for Interview with the Vampire, Jacob Anderson has been cast as Louis. I'm not familiar with him, but it looks like he’s a successful actor, from Game of Thrones and other things, he’s also joining Series 13 of Doctor Who. I’ll have to check him out from an acting standpoint!

Aside from his talent as an actor, this is by far the most controversial thing that's happened in VC fandom recently. I've been thinking about this for a few months now, talking about it privately online and offline, still gathering my thoughts. So this post is not engraved in stone, it’s initial thoughts on this.

I’m glad to see ppl talking about it and I’m sure we’ll have more public discussions. I’m trying to discuss it very carefully, but also, this is an entertainment blog, my opinions are mine alone, and I’m not looking for dogpiling on anyone, I have no obligation to respond publicly or privately to anything. Plenty of other ppl have differing opinions on this. So take all of the following with more than a grain of salt, I’m not being salty, I’m providing the links to the little info we’ve seen pulicly, I’m giving my initial thoughts, and I’m also trying to add a little levity because ultimately, again, this is an entertainment blog, and I try to add a little humor to help with such serious topics, humor can help ppl talk about controversial things.

-----

The casting of a POC/Black actor (I’m sorry I don't know the preferred terminology, let me know if you know what Anderson prefers) confirms at least one part of theilluminerdi articles that stated that Louis’ race will be different from the books. I didn’t post about these before bc I wasn’t sure how reliable theilluminerdi’s sources are (and I'm still not sure), but this was one major aspect that theilluminerdi announced before Deadline did, so now seems to be the right time to share those articles. For now, you can go check them out yourselves rather than have my reposting of the information, trigger warning: mentions of sex workers and race in the changes to the canon story of Interview with the Vampire.

>>>theilluminerdi articles from May 21, 2021 and July 15, 2021:

www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/05/21/interview-with-the-vampire-amc

www.theilluminerdi.com/2021/07/15/interview-with-the-vampire-amc-2

^Meme of Dr. Ian Malcom from Jurassic Park reads: “Your writers were so preoccupied with whether they could that they didn’t stop to think if they should.”

I’m using that meme with a little levity here, clearly an AMC adaptation of vampires in which the producers/writers have chosen to change the race of a main character (arguably the original protagonist of the series) isn’t in the same VICINITY as the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park that broke out of containment and killed visitors to the park, but John Hammond’s intention for the creation of that park was very good, as I assume this race change was intended. Time will tell.

“But with this place, I wanted to show them something that wasn't an illusion. Something that was real, something that they could see and touch. An aim not devoid of merit.”

“Creation is an act of sheer will.” 

- John Hammond, Jurassic Park

Race is a more complicated subject than ever, so for AMC to make this bold change, I hope they have POC and Black writers on staff and are handling this very carefully. Even then, no racial group, including POC and Black people, are a hivemind, disagreements are bound to happen in the writing room, whether in good faith or bad. People have different intentions and motives, compromises will probably be made with the story in many ways, we all know how it goes with collaborations; the end product is a shared vision among multiple creators. This could be a potentially controversial adaptation, I don’t know whether they’re aiming for that or not, but with the elements it has so far, it seems to be headed that way.

Here's a comment by "Angellus" on the 5/21 article. It's undeniable that there's going to be the accusation of racism thrown at anyone who has any negative view of this change, regardless of their reasons. I find it unfair and narrow-minded that any negative response is automatically assumed to be coming from a racist point of view. To say that changing Louis' race is unequivocally an improvement fails to take into account how that change has a Domino effect on all of the other parts of the story. Not the least of which is that, if he is still a slaver/slave holder/plantation owner/(insert your preferred term) that adds a whole new racist element to his owning Black/POC people, even though, apparently there were Black/POC plantation owners. 

Not the least of which: How will this change impact his relationship with Lestat? Particularly when Lestat has the added issue of being described in those articles as having “mind control abilities” and “insistent that he gets what he wants and when facing rejection,” a terrible combination in terms of consent, even in a relationship of the same race, let alone invoking Caucasian/white dominance over Black/POC people, AND Lestat being the catalyst to Louis’ questioning his sexuality:

Lestat is insistent that he gets what he wants and when facing rejection, petulance can quickly turn to ruthless rage which causes frenzied acts of horrifically brutal violence. Lestat also has mind control abilities. Lestat initially infuriates Louis, but this soon turns to fascination which leads Louis to question his religion and sexuality. 

^Screencap reads: "I love how racist everyone is in the damn comments, this doesn’t pervert the story you’re all racist and it’s disgusting. I’m looking forward to it, I hope you keep crying your salty racist tears asswipes."

It makes me question whether Angellus truly believes what they wrote, if this is an ideology, or a troll. I would suggest their use of the term “pervert” is correct though, pervert means: “alter (something) from its original course, meaning, or state to a distortion or corruption of what was first intended.” That’s what this race change does, factually. Although, in this context, “distortion or corruption” carries a negative connotation. It would take a lot to show how this change does not meet the definition or “to pervert,” though.

I hope the rumours of Louis being a brothel owner aren't true

I agree 1,000%, I was hoping that these were just rumors. But, aside from the race change, if this were the only change, I find Louis being a brothel owner to be equivalently morally reprehensible to being a slaver/slave holder/plantation owner/(insert your preferred term). Ideally, they’d change his career to something that doesn’t involve benefiting from the bodies/labor of others in any morally reprehensible manner.

I mean, with a black Louis they can't have him being a slaver anymore, so maybe they're trying to find something that is also morally reprehensible for him to be.

He might still be a slaver. Who knows. Being morally reprehensible as a mortal man didn’t seem to me to be crucial to the story, but they still could have chosen something better. It seems to me like they want a brothel so they can have eye candy for an audience who want to see sex workers, maybe full frontal nudity. 

-----

What also gets my attention is that Anne and Christopher Rice have not yet posted publicly about it, which leads me to believe that this change wasn’t their choice. They take every chance to brag when they’re proud of something, every chance to crowdsource about casting ideas or which VC books Anne’s fans liked best, etc., and in this case, as of Aug. 31, 2021, (and to be fair, maybe I missed it), I haven’t seen either of them post about this on the official VC FB, Anne Rice’s FB, Annerice.com, Christopher Rice’s FB, or christopherricebooks.com. If it had been their choice, I think they would have gladly trumpeted their credit by now, but maybe they’re waiting to do it in a specific venue. Time will tell.

[sqbr]

Dreamwidth update: Meme from tumblr

Tagged by @elwing and also I think @phlebasphoenician ages ago but I was really tired that day and forgot until now. last song: The Devil's Part, All Our Exes Live In Texas. The problem with this band is I like their songs (so many weird breakup songs!) but I find Australians trying for a Folksy American Vibe annoying on principle (idk maybe this is unfair and that’s just what aussie folk sounds like). I have to admit this one is pretty good, though, with an enjoyably creepy, femslashy video.  last movie: Probably 'Seeing Red'. I liked it, for all the reasons mentioned previously! currently reading: Devil Venerable Wants to Know by Cyan Wings, a Chinese m/m xianxia romcom. This question usually trips me up because I tend to either finish books in a day or so, or give up entirely. But I've been stalled halfway on this one for a while. It's a fun premise: the amoral immortal secondary romance lead of a cheesy romance novel comes across a copy before he meets and falls for the heroine, and is horrified. Both because his love leads to him dying at the hands of the heroine's dickish boyfriend and his second in command going mad with grief, and because becoming such a mushy pushover feels preposterous. He decides the best solution is to (a) get the heroine to find a different better boyfriend and/or self actualisation (b) get to know his second better and encourage his mental health. His idea of 'helping' involves a lot of like...pushing the heroine off a cliff to speed up her arc etc which is darkly funny, and there's some great amoral female characters who are enjoyably femslashy with the heroine (she just keeps being so NICE and they DON'T UNDERSTAND and also it's not like they care or anything but her boyfriend is a DICK and she can DO BETTER). And it has a lot of fun poking at genre conventions. But the romance between him and his second is VERY slow burn and the rest of the plot is a lot of amusing but repetitive silliness. It it was half as long I probably would have loved it, as it is...maybe I'll finish it one day. Comment at dreamwidth

[kanene-yaaay]

Go Virge, go!

Kanene’s note: TODAAAAAAAAAY IS A SPECIAAAAAL DAYYYY!!! DO YOU KNOW WHY?? THAT IS RIGHT! BECAUSE TODAY IS @why-not-a-tickle-blog BIRTHDAY!!!! Gooooosh!!!! I know I already did a whole speech before, mah friendo, but you’re just so amazing and lovely! Aaaaaa I’m happy for being your friend! <33

Okay, I got a little carried away! Enjoy the gift! x3

Warnings, fun facts, random things and stuff:

* This characters don’t belongs to me! They all belong to Thomas Sanders and his series Sanders Sides!

* This is a SFW Tickle-Fanfic, so, if you don’t appreciate this kind of content, please, look for another blog. There are a plenty of fabulous arts in this site!!  ^w^)b

* Oneshot. Something around 3.800 words.w-)b. Lee!Virgil and Ler!Patton in Human AU.

* Sorry for any spelling, pontuation and grammar mistakes! Any and every advice is very very welcome! \(-w-)/

* Since  it’s a gift: Essa fanfic não será traduzida, mals. Thankys for reading, my lollipops, especially you, Livvy!! Have a wonderful and incredible day just like you! 

[~*~]

Patton was confused. A lot.

 And that wasn’t even a whole brand-new thing in his life.

 Patton got confused quite frequently, being honest.  

He got confused when he accidentally fell asleep on the couch and woke up four hours later with all his house painted in the dark of the night and without a single drop of memory about where he is or who he is for some minutes. Patton got confused when his attention was caught in some adorably adorable video of kittens being the best thing in the world and quickly ran to Virgil’s room just to show them to him, not understanding why his friend can’t stop looking at him quizzically until Virgil finally asks why does he has a spoon in the knot of his cardigan and Patton jumps because HIS COOKIES ARE IN THE OVEN AND HOW MUCH TIME HAD PASSED-

 Oh. Wait. That is not what he was talking about. Focus, focus!

 Anyway. Life is confusing, feelings, thoughts, actions, trying your best, keep going, look at the refrigerator just to realize you have no idea of what you were supposed to be searching in the first place, humans…

 Yeah, especially humans.

 Patton stared at the figure of his friend laid on the couch, absently looking at his phone while a piece of smile adorned his face. The movie both decided to watch paused in the background as the one currently in the kitchen waited for the popcorn get ready, his hand held lightly his chin and a frown rest peacefully in his features, mirroring the same expression he always saw on Logan every time he was confronted by a problem whose solution seemed impossible to find.

 It was The Pose of all the incredible genius in the world, right? Therefore, in some moment about now the answers of all his questions should magically pop before him, unfolding and refolding in logic patterns just like in all the mystery series and books.

 Right about noooow…

 …

 Now?

 …

 Well, it didn’t work.

 Patton pouted, turning to pour the warm and probably delicious snack in big bowls that both would pretend they wouldn't be able to finish before even getting in the middle of the so expected movie. He grabbed the bowls and headed to the other room, reprising the entire day in his mind, a faint echo of Logan saying that could help basing his decision.

 Everything started in the morning with Patton arriving at their breakfast table only to find Virgil, but not his usual Virgil.

 That was a Virgil without his hoodie.

 Not that it was a totally strange thing! Usually by his free mornings he would prefer to wander in the house on his comfortable pajamas, however the thing today is… he wasn’t on his pajamas. He was prepared to fight the world – actually Virgil was just going to work, but he said this sounded more badass - on his black Slipknot shirt, jeans and the hoodie nowhere near to be seen.

 Besides that, today was predominantly cold. Cold enough for the one wearing glasses end up missing his favorite cat cardigan by the time he arrived their house, searching for the so dearly craved cloth in every little corner until Patton came across the scene of his friend - his best edgy, lovely friend cutely wearing it and being equally playfully bratty when tried ask it back, pulling out his tongue out as his form dazed in a chase the moment Patton’s promise of ‘physically fight for it!’ – which was a lie, obviously. He gave up the vestment the very moment his eyes locked in a Virgil playing with the cat ears sewed in it – flew from his mouth.

 And, after getting tired out, they cuddled! Okay, this wasn’t nearly a strange occurrence between both, albeit was one of those rare moments when Virgil was the one who initiated it, laying on his lap with a pout and a sharp look, as if he dared the other to say something (and Patton didn’t!! He swears!! Squeals. Do. Not. Count. As. Words.), feeling comfortable enough to even start a Poking War as they were accommodating themselves on the cushions, rays of giggles, squeaks filling the place for some heartbeats before both decided to metamorphose their last bit of routine into a movie night.

 Which was exactly what they were doing!

 Now, don’t get Patton wrong. He was absolutely delighted by everything! Knowing Virgil felt comfortable, safe enough to act nonchalant around him was so heart-warming he could almost feel himself melt in happiness!

 ….But…

 But there was this signal in the back of his mind. A particularly different gleam in the other’s eyes he had already seen before, however couldn’t quite place its meaning yet. Some words unpronounced amongst his lightly snarky demeanor. Some little thing that made Patton feel playful and happily bubbly as well, except he couldn’t really grab the exact information, the exact why or the exact memory.

 Not yet, at least.

  [~*~]

  Virgil was about to fucking quit it.

 No, actually, he was about to fuck quit everything when he woke up of his incredibly, horrible, wonderfully teasy tickle dream. The tingles of the dreamy tickles still ghostly buzzing on his body as he quietly giggled, burying his face in the pillows and kicking about everything on his bed, eyes firmly closed as the memories bathed his mind in a flow made to increase awfully his lee mood.

 And then one of his favorite artists posted some new things on Tumblr, which obligated him to see all their new posts and, who knows, accidentally click in the tag ‘My arts’ of them, which end up with him re-finding other works he had already forgot about, path that consequently leaded to some more reblogs and therefore another bunch of tickle blogs which, of course, made his lee mood at work almost unbearable.

 At least he had the cold to blame if someone questioned about the persistent blush spread on his features.

 After everything, finally: The calm and quiet of home, broken by his determined decision to try to make – somehow - Patton tickle him. His friend was soft and playful by nature, and he already knew Virgil liked tickles (quite of an interesting story involving a meme, a movie and the power going out. Heh. Do not ask about it.) so, I mean, the worst part was already gone, right? It wouldn’t probably be that bad. Virgil would just act naturally, smoothly following a few advices he found in some blogs discussing this topic and hope, for the sake of his life, the Universe wouldn’t follow Murphy's Law for ONCE.

 Of course, that didn’t happen. OF COURSE.

 Virgil tried first to be a bratty. He stole Patton’s cardigan and even ran across the house in an attempt to maintain his new possession. He stretched while laid in Patton’s lap: no hoodie, ticklish spots right there. In the last shot he even let himself giggle every single time his mind wandered to the dark corner designed especially for the subject. The one wearing smudged make up even started a poke war!! A poke war!! What kind of poke war doesn't evolve to a tickle war where he would, so sadly and despise his best efforts, lose spectacularly??

 He crossed his arms and DID NOT pout, blowing grumpily some strands of hair that fell in his vision’s field.

 “I would sell my soul for a tickle.” Virgil growled, his usually careful façade crumbling under the quite persistent thoughts of fingers spidering on his ribs, counting each one of them before lazily dragging the tip of the nails to his quivering tummy, dancing and poking unbothered by his squi-

 “What was that?”

 Virgil squeaked, jumping some centimeters in the air when the voice of his approaching friend filled the room, the words getting stuck in his throat, his head shooting in the other’s direction, wide eyes.

 “What.” He eloquently offered.

 “I was too far, didn’t hear what you said, sorry. Could you repeat, please?”

 Virgil tried – failing - to not blush. Patton was… actually being serious, right? That wasn’t any kind of tease, even if the traitor little demon he usually called brain unhelpfully unlocked all the memories of all the tickle fanfics he read that began with that exact same words. “Nothing. It was nothing.” He promptly ignored the way his voice came out slightly high.

 “Oh, okay!” Patton kindly smiled, putting the popcorn on the coffe table and looking for some space on the couch to lay down while Virgil pressed play, the show’s opening quickly filling the air and silence hanging between both. Patton stopped. Suddenly Virgil felt a shiver run across his whole body, his gaze turning to his friend, only to find the one wearing glasses staring at him intently.

 “You like tickles.”

 The word only was enough to jolt his body back to a sitting position, butterflies starting to wake up, proceeding to fly the most desperate as possible in his stomach, his brain fuzzing, crumbling for answers of How and When and What the Fuc-

 “What? NO! I mean, yes but how- when did you just…”

 “Oh!” Patton gasped and Virgil felt his whole face in flames once the realization of the shiny gleam in the other’s eyes, almost as literal stars shining, hit him. Maybe… Maybe something he had done before finally work? “That is why you initiated a Poke War? Were you trying to make me tickle you? Vee, you just needed to ask!”

 Yep. No. Nope. No way. That was definitely worse.

 Virgil tried to hide himself in his hoodie, deciding he could very much rather perish in his Lee Mood than stare at the pure love and awe gazed right in his direction. His lips curving in a shadow of a smile for a second when he pressed himself further on the furniture, noticing with a grumble leaving his mouth the only armor he owned was the cat cardigan. Hood pulled up and his face firmly pressed on his knees, he ignored the way his excited giggles started to bounce and dance in his throat, resulting in his own body bounce a bit.

 “Knock knock…” Virgil felt a light tapping on his knee.

 “Fuck off.” The hissed answer ran without letting he even think about it, too much occupied in pretending to not notice how much this position left his entire tickl- I mean, sensitive torso vulnerable and how much not seeing what was happening increased second by second the tingles and shivers crazily racing in his skin.

 “Gasp! Virgil!” The one dying in the cat cardigan internally rolled his eyes at the literally audible gasp his friend vocalized, almost being able to see the playful mood taking over his expression as it always has when they swore around him. “I should tickle you for this, Mister Potty Mouth!” Yes. Yes!! Come on, come on! “But I won’t.”

 Hey now, what.

 “What?!” His head shot upwards absurdly fast, a fact which, obviously, he would deny it to the end of his living and non-living days.

 “I don’t want you to feel like you have to hide or ignore your desire for tickles every time you have them! Especially…”

 ‘Please – see? I know how to use some freaking good words. - Please don’t say what I think you’re going to say, Patton. You’re cool, you’re a funny guy, you have good intentions but you have any ideas of what the fuck will happen??’ Virgil found himself almost pleading, the sentences already running in his head, but his lips firmly gripped in the fear to let out more than these simple words.

 “… Since I’m totally okay in tickling you! Oh, wait. Did you just squirm? Aww, Virgil!! That is so, so adorable! You’re blushing, too! Awwwwww!!! Okay, okay, okay, I’m… Imma gonna die of cuteness. You’re truly the most precious being I’ve ever met!!! Wait, what I was just saying…?” 

 ‘I will die! No! I’m already dying! See? You already accomplished what you wanted!! Let’s move on to the next damn part!’

 “Oh right!” Patton lightly hit the side of his head. “I’m glad to tickle you! Truly! All you have to do is…”

 ‘Dude, Patton, Pat-Pat, Popstar don’t…’

 “Ask me! Please, please, please!!” Virgil stared him dead in his eyes, crossing his arms, his cheeks so hot that he was surprised his face didn’t melt yet. “Aw, don’t give me that look, kiddo!” Virgil just narrowed his eyes further. Patton pouted, his ‘Puppy Eyes’ expression – more like an unfair weapon - showing and nailing cracks on Virgil’s resolution.

 They stayed like this for a while, until Patton abruptly lifted his hands, his fingers wiggling on Virgil’s direction, the movement so out of blue that catched his friend out of guard, a true yelp jumping from him before he grumpily growled and let himself fall on the cushions.

 “I can’t.”

 “Of course, you can, kiddo! I’m rooting for ya! Wanna see?” And then he started to fold and unfold his fingers, approaching them to Virgil inch by inch “Go Virge, go! Go, Virge, go! Goooo, Virgeyyyy, go!” Inch by inch. Close and then even closer. The boy with a wobbly smile in his face felt like he couldn’t tear his eyes from the movements, the butterflies seeming to freak out in his stomach in the rhythm of the cheers.

 He hides his face behind his hands. Patton was going to be the end of his existence.

 “Stohop it.” Dammit. He was breaking.

 ‘Come on, guy! You can do this!’ He internally whined.

 “Ooh, is that a beauty giggly giggle what I hear? The cheering should be working then, don’t you think?! We believe in you, Virge-poo! And we can’t wait for when we…” Virgil dared to spy the scene between his fingers, only to see Patton’s hands barely touching his sides, his fingers positioned in a claw shape. “… getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha, getcha!!” They suddenly moved, clawing unbearably away and terribly close at each couple of words.

 No. Virgil did NOT squeal nor squirmed closer to the fingers. Fuck you. Nobody asked. That is none of your business anyway.

 ‘Just… just don’t think about it! Pull it off. Like… I don’t know! Like a stupid band aid!’

 “It is going to be so much fun! I didn’t even tickle you yet and you’re already giggling excitedly! Think in all your wonderful, beautiful laughter flying everywhere when I finally tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle you silly!! You’ll be giggling up a storm! Happy gasp! Pun inserted!”

 Virgil obligated himself to take a deep breath and not stare the warm, teasy hands which were oblivious of the intern turmoil caused as they rested on his sides. Their tips very lightly, almost impossible to feel and – even more difficult to ignore - poking the ticklish skin, as if they simply couldn’t bring themselves to stay still. The one laid on the couch and yet hiding his face felt the urge to kick just to get off all the pleasantly nervous energy building up in his body.

 “Virgey-wiggly-wiggley…~”

 “TICKLEMEPLEASE!”

 Patton squeaked excited, the teasy grin immediately giving space to the joyful smile. “Of course!” He grazed his fingers up his sides to his ribcage, the nails lightly drawing circles around each one of the ribs, receiving a quick tasering in the middle of them before going up to the next one, letting for a piece of moment Virgil’s bubbly and more high-pitched giggles fill the room alone.

 The cat cardigan owner ran the tip of his fingers up and down, up and down, up and down his sides, watching in complete awe the way the other squirmed at each infinitesimal move. He stopped the movement on his right side, his eyes gleaming behind the lenses as accompanied Virgil adorably wiggling away from the reminiscent tickles, as if he tried to escape from the evil fingers scribbling in that exactly spot which connected his left side to his tummy and leaded cute, sweet titters escape from his gigantic smile.

 A devious plan shinned in his head.

 Patton ceased the tickling in order to give him a breath, smiling at the pout that didn’t take too long before blooming in the other’s features.

 He quickly poked his left side, immediately hearing quiet, bubbly giggles dance across the air as Virgil wiggled to his right, only to be warmly welcomed by scratches of one single finger on his lower back, making his breath stop so fast a snort escape. Virgil widened his eyes, his hands automatically clapping in his mouth at the same time a big, gleaming grin took over Patton’s expression. They stared at each other, fingers never stopping, squirms never ending.

 “No.” His voice was slightly wobbly, giggles beginning to intertwine his words as his friend scribbled softly again. “No no no! You are a- dON’T!- such a dork!!! No!!”

 They initiated the cycle again. Every time Virgil squirmed to escape from the left tingles to the right tickles one more finger was added to the attack, soon leaving the blushed poor victim kicking sporadically when the ten fingers resumed their light, tickly attack. “I’m going t-t-to kick you!!” and then was subdued to the snorts and squeals painting his fast titters.

 The one who wore the cat hoodie which moments before had slipped from his head in the ““fight””, now showing clearly the red strongly flaming his cheeks and the tip of his ears shook his head from side to side, the frown he tried to form being immediately won by the smile taking over his features. Virgil let himself embrace the feeling completely over, laughing freely, almost doesn’t believing this was actually happening.

 That it didn’t matter how much he tried to escape nor squirm, the tickling just followed his movements, just as all his (fake) protests didn’t stop the excited, evil teases pouring from the other’s mouth. Not to tell how only the big, happy gaze from Patton was definitely not helping in the slightest his current state at all!

 He was certain. There was no way out of this. He was going to melt and   d i e.

 And he was loving every single second of this.

 “Aww! Tickle, tickle, tickle, Virge!! Look at the happiness shining in your face!! Someone really, really loves some tickly-tickles, am I right? But don’t worry, Virgey-wiggley! I will give you all the tickles you could ever want! Like here!” He booped Virgil’s bellybutton “Here” A couple of fingers slid on his waistline “And here, and here, and here and everywhere!” Fingers flew quickly, traveling on his hips, collarbone, sides, behind his ears…

 The incapacity to know where Patton would strike next killed every single drop of coherent thoughts of his mind, which could only focus on the tickling and how much it was unbearable and everywhere and it  t i c k l e d . His giggles grew to chortles, his hands flying from his own face to lightly push Patton’s, dislocating his glasses and freeing surprised chuckles mixed with his own squeaks.

 “Virgil!!” Patton ceased the playful attack in order to retire the other’s hands off his face, before both knew they’re wrestling, laughter cutting their acts and weakening their movements. “Virge!! I will go to another spot this way!”

 In a blink of an eye one of his friend’s arms hugged his sides and Patton felt a malefic grin crawling his lips without even noticing its presence. Very much different from Virgil, who in the same heartbeat realized his mistake, using the opportunity of the instant of distraction to lightly push the cookie lover off him, quickly dashing across the house. All his instincts gleaming and sparkling the sign of ‘Survive’ in his veins.

 The only reason of what Virgil forgot about the numbness from spending so much time laid on his legs, resulting in trips that definitely made him lose some crucial speed as he encircled the couch, capturing with the corner of his eyes the scene of Patton jumping of the cushions and following his escape route. The crackling dancing in the air owned by nobody specific.

 His heart beat faster, the joy raced his nerves and made his tummy tingle in advance just for imagining the exact moment where two arms would hug him firmly yet gently from behind and his ears would be set on fire the very same moment Patton would say-

 “Gotcha, Giggly Storm! I gotcha, gotcha ya!!” Patton dug his thumbs right above Virgil’s hips, the remaining fingers clawing the poor, sensitive skin in his back, leading belly laughter to took over his friend’s sentence, his knees buckling and legs uncontrollable kicking as Patton sat with him on the floor, pressing his back on his chest and resting his head on his shoulder.

 “Patton!! Pahahatton, come on, no!” Patton just hummed, two fingers calmly walking on Virgil’s waistline. “Don’t you dare!! Don’t you fuckin- gah!” The nails began to slid in the length of the belly, going from a side to another as elected soft snorts and bouncy giggles.

 “Tickle, tickle, tickle, Virge!! Did you thought you could run away from the Tickle Monster? Poor unfortunate soul ~. Now the Tickle Monster has to give you a bunch of more ticklish tickly tickles just for this, don’t you think?!” And then Virgil felt the tickles speed up to scribbles and clawing and wiggles delivered in every inch of his tummy. Going in random patterns, drawing forms on his sweet spot, up and down, from a side to another, over and over again. Quick enough to make him sporadically squirm and kick, a rain of squeals, yelps and squeals flowing from his lips, yet soft and light enough to let him rest his head on the other’s chest and just enjoy the feeling.

 “Awww! Look at how much shaking your tum-tum is! It is probably so happy in receiving its so much craved tickle tickle tickles, right, Virgey-poo?” The answer was only a blushy Virgil hiding his face on Patton’s neck, giggling nonstop.

 “Nonono!! It’s not!” And, if that move only led to a now very exposed neck to be gifted with some special scratches? They both pretended it wasn’t on purpose.

 Patton just rolled his eyes, playfully exasperated, quietly chuckling when the other jumped with the quick squeeze delivered on his hip.

 It didn’t take long before Virgil let out his first ‘Stop’, which Patton happily obliged, don’t having the heart to move when he realized Virgil’s breath becoming calmer, his eyelashes closing as he snuggled closer to the one wearing glasses.

 The duo knew very well they would probably regret napping on the hard, cold floor later, yet none of them managed to bring themselves to care, especially when Virgil’s quiet snorts with the second tickle dream of the day lullabied Patton to an equally peaceful dream.

  [~*~]

  Random non-said thing: Patton only remembered that information because the movie they’re going to watch was one of the trilogy they were watching when Virgil gathered up enough will to tell him he likes tickling.

[thelivebookproject]

Talking Books With @jeblaguejeblog!

[What is this and how can I participate?]

Important note: I haven’t changed or edited any of the answers. I’ve only formatted the book titles so they were clearer, but nothing else. Because I’m incapable of shutting up, my comments are between brackets and in italics, so you can distinguish them clearly.

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

[Image description: a square titled “Know the blogger”. Name & pronouns: Zoe, she/her; country: United States; three adjectives to describe her: curious, analytical & prone to crying /end]

1. What is a thing you don't like about reading?

There’s nothing I don’t like about reading a good book, but one thing I don’t like about books is how hard it is to pick the good ones. There’s a lot of luck involved! I‘m really into movie trailers (and movies, but especially trailers - I have a whole list of trailers that were better than the movie: Blinded By The Light, Big Miracle, Murder on the Orient Express). I like trailers because they’re an art form in and of themselves, but also I feel like I can always tell if I’m going to hate a movie by watching the trailer. I don’t think you can do that with a book - you just have to start reading and hope that you don’t hate the characters or the dialogue or the author’s worldview. I hate it when I’m really excited to read a book and then I finally get it and it’s...unreadable. It’s so discouraging to me to have to give up on a book, but I firmly believe life’s too short to read books you hate.

[This is such an interesting point of view! Do you think that book trailers would help us choose books better? I rarely if ever watch movie trailers so I’m not sure I agree with that haha. It’s true that there’s a lot of luck involved in choosing good books, but for me reading reviews is a good way of knowing if I’m going to like a particular book or not. And when it turns out you do love one, the feelings of being lucky and extreme happiness are unmeasurable!]

2. Last time you researched a writer's Wikipedia page to know something specific about them?

I was playing Trivial Pursuit and there was a question that referred to Edgar Allen Poe as a “pre-Civil War writer,” which I thought was weird because I don’t think his works are particularly rooted in the lead up to the Civil War. So I looked him up to see if he wrote a bunch of stuff about abolition that I didn’t know about. (He did not.)

3. Do you mind typos in books?

YES if I find more than one I feel personally betrayed.

4. First book that comes to your mind when I say "autumn"?

Autumn to me means thrillers set in high school/college - the first one that comes to mind is Truly Devious, which (autumnal bonus points) is also set in Vermont!

5. How did you get into booklr?

I’ve been on Tumblr since 2008 so who knows what I’ve been up to since then. I probably got into bookblr by following a bunch of Jane Austen meme blogs, but it might also have been a situation where my finger slipped and I accidentally followed a bookblr and then one thing led to another and suddenly I was following a bunch of book blogs. (This has happened to me with other tumblr communities - lawblr, for example, even though I’m not a lawyer.)

Free space!

I have a mostly personal blog where I complain about work (hmu if you too like to use a tumblr as a public journal, I love 2 make new tumblr friends!) but I love giving personalized recommendations (for books, or movies, or tv) based on hyper-specific questions about what you like or don’t like, so if you’re in a reading rut come @ me.

You can follow her at @jeblaguejeblog.

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

Thank you, Zoe! This was really nice.

Next interview: Saturday, 3rd of April

[littlemissagrafina]

Comfortember Day 16. Protective

You Know Each Other? Yeah, We're Dating

@comfortember

Read On AO3

Peter hadn't known that a single comment on a Tumblr post could lead to this. Could lead to such a close and real relationship. He hadn't known but he is so grateful that it did.

He knew that people would say it was just young love, that it wouldn't last and that he and Harley didn't know what they were talking about when they said 'forever'. But they did know. They felt it with every message, every video, every call.

It was a connection that had happened almost instantly. They started talking on Tumblr after Peter had roasted someone who was spouting very distasteful views in the replies on a post where the OP said they had finally come out to their family and they were happy because they were accepted and supported. Said post turned out to have been posted by the one and only Harley Keener. Harley sent Peter a message, thanking him for jumping in to defend him even though they didn't know each other.

Peter answered with "Nobody should be put down and hated for who they are. I was just doing what I hope someone would do for me."

After that they started speaking once in a while, interacting on posts, tagging each other in games and asks as they got to know each other more and became closer.

Eventually they started talking on Discord instead of tumblr messaging. The change of platform seeming to boost their relationship a bit more with them now talking everyday. They shared parts of their lives, sending each other pictures and memes. They both favoured spamming each other with wholesome posts that they would find sometimes.

Harley sent Peter a selfie, saying that he wanted Peter to know what he looked like so that he had a face to connect the person to.

Peter loved that Harley trusted him enough to show him who he was and he said as much. But he also said that he wasn't ready to do the same.

Harley's answer was what made Peter realise that he had a crush on a boy that lived hundreds of miles across the country.

Harley had said, "That's okay, city boy. You don't have to do anything that you aren't comfortable or ready for. Oh! Ya wanna see my latest potato gun Mark?"

The text was so Harley that Peter couldn't help but smile. There was a seriousness to it from Harley recognizing and respecting Peter's boundaries before Harley diverted to something lighter.

It was a trust and openness that Peter only shared with a few people and it meant the world that he could have it with Harley as well.

---

When Peter eventually did feel comfortable to show himself to Harley, he decided that the best way to do it was a video call. They had called before but never video and he wanted to actually see Harley as face to face as they could get living so far apart.

What Petet didn't expect from the call was Harley's reaction. The other teen had blanked when he saw Peter, mumbling that he was cute before a flush spread across his cheeks when he realised that he had said it out loud.

"S-sorry." Harley had stuttered nervously. It was so endearing and unlike Harley but it made Peter happy to realise that maybe he wasn't the only one crushing on someone who lived more than ten hours away.

Peter opened his mouth to say that it was okay but he was cut off before he could by Harley speaking again.

The blue eyed boy fidgeted slightly, not quite looking at Peter. "Peter, I really like you. Like, like you. And I really don't wanna ruin us or make things weird but I didn't wanna hide it either. Seeing you just made me want to say it more and I'm really sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything."

Peter had gasped at him, a slow, shy smile spreading across his face. "You… you like me too? I was so worried that I was the one who would mess things up but we actually both like each other!" Pete had murmured shyly but excitedly and Harley's face had lit up.

"Yeah, I like you! You're just… you're Peter and you make me feel happy and that I can be me."

"You make me happy too." Peter smiled back. It was entirely too sappy and felt like it was from a movie scene but it was a moment that was theirs.

It was Harley's turn to get shy now. "Do you- would you maybe wanna try and be together?" He asked before rushing to speak again. "I know it'll be weird and hard at times but if you want to, I'd really like to try."

"Yes," Peter had beamed. "I'd love to try!"

And so they did.

It was strange to Peter how little actually changed between them. They still talked like they did, they still interacted and did things as together as they could online but they just felt closer somehow. They didn't change, they just became more in a way they didn't know how to explain.

Harley and Peter just both wished they could actually see each other in person. The calls and messages were amazing but they wanted nothing more than to finally be able to just hug each other and do things together.

It would be a surprise to them both that that wish would come true a lot sooner than later.

---

Harley was excited. He hadn't seen Tony in years, not since just before the Accords happened, but the man had surprised him and told him that he had called Harley's mom and spoken to her about Harley coming up to New York for the summer after school finished.

Not only was he excited to see Tony again, he was excited about Peter. Peter who lived in Queens, in New York. Peter who he could finally meet for the first time in person.

He couldn't wait.

---

Tony had it all planned out. He was going to fly Harley out on one of his jets and Happy was going to pick him up and bring him over to the tower.

He would show the kid his room that had been made up when Tony had made Peter's for him. They would eat dinner before they could disappear to the lab and tinker until Peter would join them after his evening patrol so that Tony could introduce them.

Although neither Peter or Harley knew that the other would be there that night. They knew of each other in passing, of course, but Tony hadn't told Peter that Harley was flying up (and neither had Harley, who wanted to surprise his boyfriend).

So you could imagine Tony's surprise when Peter walked down to the lab and all but froze when he spotted the other teen.

"Harley?!" Peter had yelped, surprise written across his face, at the same time that Harley did.

"Peter?! What are you doin' here?"

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Rose Hill."

"Yeah and you're supposed to be in Queens where I was going to surprise you later but now it's ruined." Harley pouted.

Before either of them could carry on with their back and forth, Tony broke out of his shock and spoke up. "Wait, you two know each other?"

They turned to him, speaking in sync. "Yes. He's my boyfriend."

"So lemme get this straight," Tony said, ignoring Peter's mumbled I'm not. "You, Mr. Potato Head Keener, are in a relationship with my kid and didn't tell me?" Tony felt his protective side surge to life. It wasn't like Harley was a bad guy, not at all, but he was still dating Tony's kid and no matter how much he liked him, Tony still worried.

Harley smiled sheepishly at him. "In my defence I didn't know that he was the Peter that you always speak about."

"Me neither." Peter piped up. "I only realised that he was the potato gun dude from the Mandarin thing now when you called him the nickname." He turned to Harley. "Okay, I don't know how I didn't connect that last part, you speak about potato guns way too much."

Tony could only watch in slightly disturbed horror as Harley looked at Peter with what could only be heart eyes personified. "Yeah, you're pretty oblivious though, Darlin'."

"Whoa whoa whoa, can we get back to the part where you're dating my kid?" Tony felt like his brain was about to short circuit. Maybe he should have gone to sleep when Pepper actually told him too.

Harley looked at Tony, softening when he saw the obvious bewilderment and slight hardness in the man's eyes. "I won't hurt him. I can't promise that I won't accidentally or inadvertently hurt him but it will never ever be intentional. I never want to hurt anyone that I love, least of all Peter." Harley said firmly, a fire and determination in his eyes.

It gave Tony pause because he'd seen the same look in Pepper's eyes. They're so young but they already found their one.

It scared Tony but he was also grateful that they had found who they found. The both of them could and would definitely be good for each other, he couldn't deny it.

Realising he had been quiet a bit too long, Tony answered Harley. "I know, Harley, I just worry. I don't want either of you to be hurt in this."

Peter suddenly surged forward, pulling Harley with him so that he could hug his dad and boyfriend at the same time. "We know, Mr. Stark. Thank you for caring."

"Ditto." Harley murmured from where he was tangled with Peter and Tony.

"Always. I love you too, you know that right?"

"Yeah, we do."

Tony stood, content to hug the two boys he had come to care for much more than he had ever thought he could. Eventually they drew away from the hug and Tony looked at them.

"Now that that bombshell has dropped, you wanna get to tinkering?" He asked them and laughed when a chorus of Yes's rang out.

Peter dragged Harley to his workbench, immediately going into a mile a minute explanation about one of his projects laying on the workspace. Harley would chime in occasionally with a question or suggestion but otherwise he listened intently to Peter.

The heart eyes still firmly in place.

Tony rubbed a hand over his face. This wasn't the weirdest thing to happen to him but it was definitely up there.

Well at least I don't have to worry about them getting along, Tony thought to himself.

[krenbotvt]

What The Fans Of (Almost) Every Scarecrow Design Are Like Just by Surveying Rogue Tumblr for Approx: 5 Months. (Not in any particular order. Also this is a meme.)

Year One: You probably needed a childhood to relate to/needed a justifiable reason to stan one of Gotham’s biggest criminals. (but if your childhood involves being half-eaten by crows i am VERY concerned)  BTAS: The gateway drug Scarecrow. You’re probably a gremlin, and also really like the Dork Squad(tm)  TNBA: He’s under-appreciated, and you know this very well, but you’re also thankful that you get some of the coolest artwork of your favorite spooky boy. (Also the voice. 11/10 you want him to read sleepy hollow to you.) TAOB: You are one of the only 3 living fans of Adventures Of Batman Scarecrow, but you give absolutely no shit. You love that uncanny valley, near on clown-like scarecrow, and i feel bad for you, because you’ll probably never get art of them. Super Friends: I...Wow. Y’all really do exist... Galactic Guardians: YOU GUYS ACTUALLY EXIST TOO??? BATB: JAZZY. You like his hat, and his voice. You also probably enjoy a lot of older scarecrow designs as well. You get sad because you wish there were more content.  The Batman (TV series): PFFT HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA (But seriously though, you poor, poor things...There, There...) Assault On Arkham: AA Scarecrow in an otherwise good movie. Basically, you’re sad he didn’t get more screen-time. At this point, just stan: Arkham Asylum: ABSOLUTE GOBLIN OF A HUMAN. One of the gateway drug Scarecrows that lead you to The Rogues fanbase in the first place. You either love the serious artwork of him, love him drawn/written as a gremlin, or are STILL offended by his lack of footwear. Either way, you adore him and will remind everyone of it. Arkham Knight: OH FUCKING BOY. This can go one of two ways. 1.You love his writing (or don’t, but still stan), his poetic dialogue and his voice, and you also love how much he hams up the fear factor. You probably adore every artwork of him you see, and you REALLY love reading any fan-written material of him. You have many headcanons, and probably have googled A LOT of stuff to make them more genuine.  Or 2. You are very, VERY horny... (But as a good friend once said, “these are not mutually exclusive.”) Nightwing And Robin: Aw, y’all are so cute! Here, have some tea with the SF AND GG Fans, I think they have Earl Grey over in the CORNER OF IRRELEVANCY. (But I feel bad for y’all too.) Unlimited: BEEF BOY. You’re either in the group of people that love Scarecrow designs that use scythes, or you like how strange, yet fun his appearance is. Most art of him is super colorful too. There aren’t very many of you, but the amount of you that I’ve seen seem like super cool people. You all probably also enjoy the next one: Batman/TMNT: You knew the movie was a wild ride from start to finish, but you love it. You probably also like birds (I know, really obvious.) There aren’t many of you, but you like the idea of a corvid-like Scarecrow, and you wish for more. Or...You may be a furry that also likes DC stuff, and that’s ok too! We too also oddly love that weird ass cobra joker anyways.  Salecrow: You love his rhyming (which is arguably the best thing about him), but are also annoyed by the fact that most content of him use the same 3 images every time. You’re probably in the same boat as all the other scarecrow fans that genuinely want a proper medieval themed version of him. If you write/draw him, you’ve googled endless nursery rhymes. Its like Dr.Seuss up in this bitch. Also, them hands. Blackest Night: Chances are you’re still amazed that your favorite bag-headed master of fear even HAS that thing. You REALLY want him to wear that damn ring again, and will probably pay an arm and a leg to see it happen in a form of animated media. You also have very interesting artwork/writings of him. And your head canons are outlandish, but in the most fun way. (Seriously though, Hatter with a ring, huh...) Injustice: You either love the concept of The ScareBeast, or you’re here for the fact that hes voice by FREAKING ROBERT ENGLUND. Admittedly, you probably aren’t all too good at fighting games, but you still insta-lock him despite that.  The Dark Knight: Cillian Murphy portrays the character rather well, but you either are unnerved by his strangely dreamboyish face, or would wish for a slightly older actor. But!!! Despite all that!!! You love him, and probably still quote “WaNnA sEe My MaSK???” (Although I see some of you get absolutely tired of that lol) I don’t see any loyal fans of him, but everyone seems to agree that he’s not too shabby (heheh... shabby...) Gotham (Tv Series): ...Hello? Where are you guys? I KNOW you exist! Show yourselves! Jokes aside, you either love him or hate him. Live action scarecrows seem to be a hit or miss for some.  Harley Quinn (Tv Series): Softies. You adore everything about him. His dialogue, his humor, his very surprising accent, and his, albeit a stretch, questionable sexuality implications. Most art of him is very wholesome and good, probably because you’re STILL not over...Well... Maybe its better if I not mention it (all fans of him are the “If I see anything happen to them I’ll kill everyone in this room and then myself” meme.). Detective Comics: Hroo Hraa, my friends. Hroo Hraa. Whether it’s his “Queer grasshopper leaps” or his strange laughter onomatopoeia, you can’t get enough of his antics. Nothing beats a classic, and the fact that there are still many of you that are fans of him makes me smile. New 52/Prime Earth: One of the few scarecrows that greatly changes his childhood, but you welcome the idea of it. He’s a very unsettling looking guy, but you’ll remind everyone that his writing makes up for it. He’s mostly treated like a semi-C tier villain in the continuity, but every time you see him you’re like “!!!!!!!”.You most likely have a list of every issue he appears in so you don’t have to suffer, and your heart still breaks when you read the scene with him and that one girl. (He said he was sorry, guys.) Batman:Hush: 2 and a half sweet and savory minutes of this guy, only for him to get kicked in the face? Nay, Nay, you say! A crime, you holler! You go to your keyboard to tell your friend about how good his character design is, and how well animated he was, but alas they say “that’s nice, bud.” Blast it all... The Lego Batman Movie/Lego in general: Our boy at his most gremlin. Sure, you know this is a 99% children’s medium, but that doesn’t stop you from smiling like a dummy every time you see him. He’s funny, he’s delightful, and he has... a weird obsession with planes? What is it with them and putting him in planes? Maybe he got a pilot’s license before he attended university? What a smart little block person!  Obviously, I left out quite a few here, but these seem to be the most popular. There are SO many comic renditions of him, so It’d take my forever. (My poor fingies already hurt!) But please enjoy this silly little thing :’] 

[kmomof4]

For the fic-writer meme: all of them! 😁 and if you wanna pick five to ask Hollye, I’ll ask the other five lol 😂😘

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Our secret is out!!! Yes, @hollyethecurious you were right! We conspired to get you to answer all 10 of the questions!!! There is more than one way to de-fur a feline, dontcha know! 😁

Anywho... Hollye also asked for #6, and @snowbellewells asked for 5, 7, 8, and 10.

I’m sorry it took me so long to get to these. It’s been a busy week and I really had to think about some of these! But without further ado, here we go! Under the cut, unless Tumblr ate it.

1. What’s your personal favorite thing you wrote this year? 

My personal favorite fic I wrote this year is a tie between Of Darkness, Vampires, and Soulmates, The Moon... Tells the Sea, and State of Emergency: Code White. The first two both written for last summers CSSNS. I don’t have to tell you, Kayla, how much I loved your artwork that inspired TMTtS, but that fic was just so EASY to write. Your artwork just told the whole story and all I had to do was write it down. I want to say that it only took me a couple of weeks to write, once I really sat down and started writing, in the midst of lockdown and the school year coming to a close. And then had to wait like 6wks or something to post it!!!! That was REALLY tough!!! ODVS is a favorite because I loved the premise so much and how hard it was to actually write it. I started working on it in earnest in November of last year, but didn’t finish it until April. I came dangerously close to giving up on it several times but @hollyethecurious and @profdanglaisstuff were the ones who made sure I didn’t. So just by sheer fact of what it took me to finish it makes it a favorite. And finally SoE: CW was a favorite because I wanted to write it for a year before I finally sat down to do it. And while it was hard in that it was entirely out of my own head, I was so happy with how it turned out.

2. What’s your least favorite thing you wrote this year?

Least favorite fic was probably Chosen, Protected, & Saved, written for the CS Movie Marathon.  I wasn’t finished with it when my posting date came around, and so I feel like the ending floundered a bit. I wasn’t overly thrilled with it.

3. Which of your fics was most different from what you usually write?

I will have to say Of Darkness, Vampires, and Soulmates, linked above. Just about everything I had written up to that point was inspired and/or heavily influenced by some other type of media, either book, movie, or show canon. This was really the first fic that came entirely out of my own head. I don’t really count Arise, My Love because it was basically PWP, just with vampires. This was the first fully fleshed out and plot driven fic out of my own head. There we go, that’s better. It was also the darkest thing I had, and still have, ever written.

4. Which of your fics this year was most successful?

By kudos on ao3, The Moon... Tells the Sea, linked above, sitting at 75. I’m not gonna try and determine the most successful on Tumblr...

5. Which of your fics do you wish was more successful?

I wish that Of Darkness, Vampires, and Soulmates, linked above, had been more successful. Of all the fics I’ve written, that one was the hardest and took the longest to write. So I wish that more people had read and enjoyed it. But I also know that supernatural and vampire fics aren’t on a lot of folks “must read” lists, so I try to keep a balance between that wish and that knowledge.

6. What’s your favorite piece of dialogue you wrote this year?

Off the top of my head, I’d have to say this scene from Ch2 of Chosen, Protected, & Saved, linked above. This scene in the movie, The Golden Child, is what inspired the entire fic.  

Emma and Killian somehow made it through customs with the dagger after arriving back in the States. The only thing they could figure was that since the dagger itself was magical, it was magically shielded from anyone but magic wielders.  As they exited the arrivals gate, he startled when he spied the man from his dream, the Dark One, coming toward him followed by several Boston police officers. He sauntered towards them, making a show of the gold tipped cane he carried. He was dressed differently than in his dream with a long greatcoat, in what looked like crocodile skin. Killian felt a chill run down his spine. The coat matches his smile, he thought.

“That’s the man. Killian Jones. If he doesn’t return my property, I want him arrested.”

Killian’s heart raced. He drew Emma’s attention to their adversary as his mind furiously tried to figure out how to get out of the coming confrontation. An idea came to him suddenly and he elbowed Emma, whispering to her to let him do the talking.

“Welcome home, Mr. Jones. You have something for me?” he asked, holding out his hand with a smug smile on his face.

Killian stared into the face that he had only seen in a dream. He looked at Emma, naked fear on her face, at the cops behind the Dark One, and then back at the man or demon before him. He couldn’t help the smirk that broke over his face as he anticipated playing the Dark One like a fiddle.

“I’m sorry, Rumple,” he loudly lamented, reaching for the lapels of the man before him. The Dark One stared at him, utterly taken aback. It only took a moment however, before his face grew red with extreme irritation as Killian released him and turned toward the crowded terminal. “Everyone,” he shouted, drawing the attention of all the people hurrying to catch their flights, “I should be punished. I have stolen from my brother, Rumple.” The Dark One’s jaw clenched with annoyance as Killian continued with his theatrics. Emma looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. “Officer,” he continued, pointing at the officers behind the Dark One, “It is your duty to take me in. Please,” he moved toward them holding his wrists out in front of himself, “I am ashamed of myself. I should be arrested.” He walked down the line of officers. “I should be flogged. I don’t deserve to walk among free men.”

Killian repeated his tirade until the Dark One grabbed his arm, motioning toward the officers in a placating manner. “Let me have a word with him, please.”

Killian felt himself being pulled away from the officers, so he turned his attention to Emma and raised his voice once again.

“Emma, I am a swine. You must know what kind of man I am, before we go any further in our dalliance. I am a wretch. I don’t deserve to live.” He winked at her and saw her fear and confusion morph into reluctant amusement. She shook her head as the corner of her mouth lifted in half a smile. He finally turned toward the furious Dark One before him.

“How long do you think you can keep up this miserable masquerade?” he hissed, his eyes blazing with his wrath.

“Well, until I get arrested.” He grinned cockily at him. “Or until you realize the rules of evidence in this country.” The Dark One raised his head slightly and Killian could just see a trace of unease in his eyes. He turned serious. “See, if I get arrested, they take me and put me in a jail cell. And then they take the knife, because it’s a stolen object, and they put that in a little room, and they put ‘Exhibit A,’ a little sticker that says ‘Exhibit A’ on it.” He mimed putting a sticker on something. “And the knife sits in a room and I sit in my room until the trial commences. And that can be anywhere from a month to a year. So if you get me arrested, there’s no telling when you will get your knife.” Killian broke into a wide grin at having the upper hand, thoroughly enjoying himself as he watched a vein pulse in the Dark One’s forehead. He could just imagine what the demon’s blood pressure was at this moment.

“You have no idea who I am, have you?” he sneered.

“Why, yes,” he exclaimed. “You’re my brother Rumple!” He let out an amused chuckle as the Dark One struggled to keep his rage under control. “Look, I know exactly who you are,” Killian’s eyes turned hard and his easy going smile disappeared, “Dark One.” The man before him nearly turned white in fury. Killian’s heart skipped a beat, but he plowed ahead, his own anger coming to the surface. “But, here’s the thing. I. Don’t. Care.” He punctuated each word with a poke to the demon’s chest. “I do care that you kidnapped Henry, though.”

“I could destroy you,” he snapped his fingers in the air, “just like that.”

Killian’s eyebrow raised in bored amusement. “Well, we’ll see about that.” He turned and looked back over at Emma and the officers still waiting off to the side. “Look, I am not going to be giving you this knife. And you do not want to get me arrested. And I will find Henry,” he sneered and snapped his fingers in the Dark One’s face, “just like that.” He patted the demon’s cheek. “See you soon.” He turned back toward the crowd, all smiles and held his arms out as if he wanted to embrace them all. “My brother has forgiven me! Emma, Brother Rumple has forgiven me!” He turned back to the seething Dark One and clapped him on the shoulder in an awkward embrace. “Dear Brother, thank you, thank you, thank you.” He then kissed him loudly on the cheek in a final taunt before releasing him and leading Emma into the crowd.

7. What’s your favorite piece of description or narration?

@searchingwardrobes betaed The Moon... Tells the Sea, linked above, and she told me that it was the most descriptive thing I’d ever written. That comment put me OVER THE MOON. And when I went back and read it the other day, I had to agree. I spent a lot of time describing the woods, Emma and Killian in their wolf forms, and just the general setting. It was so gratifying to hear that from a fellow author that I GREATLY admire and enjoy. I am also very proud of the Prologue of Chosen, Protected, & Saved, linked above, when I described Henry’s room before he is kidnapped.

8. Which fic this year was most fun to write?

I’d have to say that I had the most fun writing either The Moon... Tells the Sea, linked above, or the second chapter of Somewhere Out There. They were both relatively easy to write and I loved how they both turned out.

9. If you could go back and change something about one of the fics you wrote this year, what would it be?

I would change the circumstances around posting Chosen, Protected, and Saved and I’d probably work on the final battle more. I just wasn’t that happy with it.  

10. What, if anything, are you going to try to do differently in your writing in the new year?

I’m gonna try and make more time to write. Since writing Chosen, Protected, & Saved, linked above, I’ve hardly written anything. I love reading and flailing more than anything so writing is very easy to set aside when I’ve got a lot of reading on my agenda, but I’m also bad about putting it on a back burner when RL comes calling. I think just setting the boundary of “I’m gonna write for one hour today” would go a long way toward keeping my mood up and help me get the fics I’ve got notes on in my docs actually written and posted. So we’ll see how that goes.

Thank you all for the asks @allons-y-to-hogwarts-713, @hollyethecurious, and @snowbellewells! Love y'all!!! 😘

[the-a-word-2214]

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ:

The Singer

Anthony Ramos x OC

Warnings: Swearing

A/N: Here’s the finale! Thanks to @charming-charlie ing-charlie for writing this one. I’ll probably write more series in the future but I think I might take a little break after this one. If anyone ever wants to collaborate on anything in future, feel free to message me! I’m always open to new ideas.

902 words

Chapter 8: We’ll be alright

It was quite a few months and Scarlett didn’t hear anything from the stalker after that weird message. The media seemed to die down on their relationship for a while, but then it picked back up again when news that Hamilton was going to be accessible on a well-known streaming site. All the sudden, everyone had interviews and press to do, Anthony included. He did several promos at the apartment, often talking about his experience and what life was like when he was on Broadway. He shared stories and secrets from the show to several different talk shows, including MTV News, E Network, and TMZ. He spoke with Kelly Clarkson, Jimmy Fallon, and Josh Horowitz as well.

Scarlett would end up listening to some of his interviews, but soon, he started repeating the same stories and sharing the same memories. It seemed as though the talk shows used the same questions over and over. How Anthony was getting through it with a smile on was amazing to Scarlett. She felt like she would be annoyed by the constant repetition of questions and comments. He spoke with Renee and Leslie, reminiscing on their time from the show. He laughed at the dumbest jokes but Scarlett could tell he was enjoying himself. She watched him from the doorframe. He was in a room all by himself, sitting on their couch. A bookshelf of trickets and junk was behind him. While it wasn’t the most ideal background, it worked. Then again, there wasn’t any other room that could provide Anthony with the privacy he wanted and needed when participating in the interviews. The Hamilton virtual press tour lasted two, maybe three days of just non-stop talking and answering questions. Anthony took breaks to eat and sleep, but then he was back at it and doing his thing. Scarlett had to admire that. There was finally a break in between interviews and Anthony shut his laptop. He rubbed his eyes from exhaustion and let out a sigh of relief. His mouth was hurting from constantly being stretched into a smile. His voice was slight hoarse because he just finished singing Alexander Hamilton for a fan on John Krasinski’s show, Some Good News. He didn’t warm up beforehand and was feeling the aftereffects of improper throat care. He pushed the laptop off to the side and stood up. His legs were falling asleep from his laptop being in his lap. His balance was a bit wobbly as he walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Scarlett was there, at the table, on her own computer. She could not help but read reviews and blog posts about the Hamilton film being released online. “Look at all of the new fans you are getting,” Scarlett said with a smile when she saw her slightly disheveled boyfriend approach her. She was proud of Anthony and the journey he experienced.

The reviews were glowing. Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, and YouTube were all alight with new posts, videos, and memes about people enjoying the movie. Lin had warned both Scarlett and Anthony about the surefire online chaos that was going to explode. Anthony took it all in stride and Scarlett could see that he was very happy. Hamilton was a huge part of his life and he wasn’t going to dismiss that. He could use the opportunity to plug his latest album or movie role, like some of his co-stars were doing, but he wasn’t. Instead, he was trying to keep every interview strictly about Hamilton and his overall performance on and off stage during that time. He grabbed the laptop from Scarlett and looked at her screen. She had several tabs open, each leading to a different website that had something about the Broadway film. Reaching over, he grabbed Scarlett’s hand and squeezed it tightly. “You know you’re the best fan there is, right?” he asked her with a smile. Her support really helped him be the man he was today, and he owed a lot of his success to her. In fact, he mentioned her in a few interviews to prove it. “I’m your number one fan,” Scarlett replied while closing her laptop shut. She squeezed his hand tightly within her own and leaned over the table to give him a quick, unsuspecting kiss. Her phone as blowing up, but it was from the original cast of Hamilton. Lin created a group chat to discuss the interviews and press timeline. She loved reading how each cast member was handling themselves during this time. Anthony was very active on it, mostly making fun of Oak and Daveed though. Last Scarlett remembered, Daveed’s background during his interviews was a huge conversation in the group text.

They were going to be alright. She knew that. Their relationship was up and down but they somehow always emerged victorious and stronger than ever. She had no idea where they would go from here, but she was excited to find out. “I don’t need anyone else but you,” Anthony said against her lips. At that moment, all was well. They were okay. It wasn’t a life Scarlett thought she was going to be living but she could not see herself being anywhere else. With Anthony Ramos by her side, she felt unstoppable, and she was so excited to see where their journey was going to lead. The future looked bright for both of them.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧*:･ﾟ✧ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ:

[bapydemonprincess]

Grellrin and Sebamey for the ship asks!

Yoooou got it honey! 🖤❤️💖

Grellrin:

Who always wins when they play Trivia Crack: Ah yes, everyone doing this ask meme will get this reference, totally... >___>; I had to look it up, myself and it’s a basic trivia with friends thing on a mobile app. Uh, so, I think Mey and Grelle would both be neck in neck with this in a modern au... Although I think history stuff is more Grelle’s than Mey’s and Mey would be a bit more better at Entertainment than anything else. But when it comes to stuff like that overall they both are very good and both very competitive! However in the long run, both don’t like seeing their girlfriend lose TwT Its never fun and they don’t like rubbing it in for each other!

Who laughs when their partner trips on something: Uhhh, neither, probably, they are both big worry warts about each other when one has the slightest accident! They’d never laugh at each other!

Who would drop ice down the back of the other’s shirt as a joke: Er I can’t see either of them doing this really, maybe Mey once? But only if she and Grelle were very very close at that point and she knew it wouldn’t be taken badly! XD;;

Who spoils the ending of books/movies: Well they both TRY their hardest not to, but we all know both ladies are big blabber mouths if even a tiny winy hint of an exciting thing comes their way. XD It’s very much torture if they are watching something, but one of them has seen it already! But they DO love seeing the other’s reaction to said thing in certain points they know about and have been anticipating their lover reaching!

Who always posts a picture of the other as their MCM or WCW: YRHEYDTFUYG ��� another thing I had to look up boy howdy 😂😂😂😂 Since it stands for “Man Crush Mondays” or “Women Crush Wednesdays”, the latter would be used in this case, and I mean... well... duh, probably both! Though I think Grelle is likely more vocal about how much she loves her Mey Mey on social media than Mey. uwu (Mey likely uses insta acc. for it’s original purpose, to take pretty pics! But doesn’t do twitter really..)

Who eats the last piece of cake in the fridge before the other can have it: htjftuygiu I can see Grelle being the sweets hog more than Mey, she likes sweets on occasion, especially holidays and stuff, but Grelle loves them more! A guilty pleasure I think of the red head! And really, Mey doesn’t mind TOO much, she just sasses her a little! >:3 (Which sometimes leads to some interesting scenarios involving convos like “Oh, I’ve been so naughty haven’t I~? W-will you... be punishing me for this?” “G-GRELLE STOOOP!” “WHAT?! I must PAY for my crimes! Oh, please be gentle~” “UTDyktfuygiuh 🙈🙈🙈 ” 😂😂😂)

Who obnoxiously celebrates Monday Punday every week: (Wow... that’s a thing. An actual thing. Unbelievable. 😒 ) This is.. definitely neither girl’s thing. XD

Who makes loving hack posts on the other’s Facebook/Instagram/Tumblr/Twitter etc: Uhhh neither??? They are very loyal and sweet and loving and are NEVER that way to each other TwT (these questions really really don’t fit these two, do they 🙈)

Who has to beat their partner in every game: Again, neither girl is like that TwT

Who keeps their partner up half the night talking about random stuff: Well, I think this only applies on rare occasions when one- usually Grelle I think - has dealt with a bad day, and can’t get to sleep, and thus Mey Mey doesn’t MIND staying up and listening to her, until she likely wears herself out. ;w; BUT also maybe, more in canon verse, Mey might stay up all night and need to talk and just cuddle too, because of her past as “Owl”, and thus the nightmares she sometimes still has on occasion, so she can’t get sleep. 😭

Who eats too much garlic and tries to kiss their partner anyway: jyfygiuhoij I can only see this weird idea happening if one of them is like drunk a bit and they’d had maybe a meal with garlic bread and they are all lovey dovey and maybe also wanna thank the other for the meal and date!! XD But I can’t choose, because they both are silly, cute drunks, probably. >w< (Mey just gets there FASTER ;3 )

Sebamey:

Who always wins when they play Trivia Crack: Sebastian probably is better overall at such games, but he never EVER rubs it in with Mey Rin, and finds himself going a bit overboard with praise when she does win XD He’s such a sweet dork.

Who laughs when their partner trips on something: Definitely neither in this either! If Sebastian actually ever trips (which is RARE), Mey Rin is way too full of WORRY to laugh!! And if Mey Rin trips, Sebastian is VERY quick to scoop her up and make sure she’s alright!! ;w;

Who would drop ice down the back of the other’s shirt as a joke: Again MAYBE Mey Rin would try, she’s a bit more childishly whimsical and prone to enjoying tiny little pokes at her love, but only ONCE or TWICE >w>;;

Who spoils the ending of books/movies: Definitely neither with these two, they LOVE seeing each other’s reactions to things!!

Who always posts a picture of the other as their MCM or WCW: ykutgiyuhoi I definitely don’t think either are into this, unless pressured online to do it by friends XD Since Sebastian is definitely a very private guy unless its things like opinions on media and politics, he probably WOULD only do it once, and obviously it would be Mey >w< He loves his girl! (Again like with the Grellerin answer, Mey’s not into this stuff either!)

Who eats the last piece of cake in the fridge before the other can have it: As I cannot see a human Sebastian even being into sweets that much at all, it’s likely obviously gonna be Mey! >w< (”Oh my, wherever could that last piece of cake gone that Agni specifically gave to us, hmm?” “Uh- Um... I-I dunno..” “Oh? Are you suuure dearest? You have been going through some cravings lately, and you did eat most of the cake in the FIRST place..” “I- I... Ohhhh, Sebastian!!” “Oooo, dear oh dear, my little Mey has been a naughty girl, whatever shall I do~?” “S-Seb... Seb-! N-No! No not the sides! NOOOO!!! HEEEHEHEHEEEE~!!!” )

Who obnoxiously celebrates Monday Punday every week: Well, I’m sure we know by now who would REALLY, TRULY be into such a ridiculous thing...Pffft, but let’s see if the stupid dork GETS AWAY WITH IT WITHOUT MEY SHUTTING HIM UP EVENTUALLY. >:3

Who makes loving hack posts on the other’s Facebook/Instagram/Tumblr/Twitter etc: Neither would be into that!!

Who has to beat their partner in every game: Again, neither! They’re too soft for each other to be even a little mean like that!

Who keeps their partner up half the night talking about random stuff: Again, likely Mey in this too, in modern au and canonverse. Especially since I can totally see human Seb as a bit of a light sleeper, bordering on insomniac. TwT He’s just like that!

Who eats too much garlic and tries to kiss their partner anyway: Uh, probably a drunk Mey Mey, and Seb doesn’t really mind since his girl is too cute when drunk OR sober! >w<

[roadsterguysblog]

Meme: Your Ships

Tagged by the inimitable @norwegianpornfaerie

Tagging anyone who wants to do it!  I love to see these!

Pick your top 10 ships before reading the questions.

1: Stony

2: Spones (TOS)

3: Lucky/Bigman

4: Rimmer/Lister

5: Lenny/Mace (Strange Days)

6: Loge/Mime (Wagner’s Ring)

7: Garak/Bashir

8: Blackwood/Ironhorse (WotW TV show)

9: Kimble/Gerard (1993 Fugitive)

10: Bradford/Zhang (Xcom)

1. Do you remember the episode/scene/chapter that you first started shipping 6?

Oh goodness, this is a Cradle Ship for me.  I’ve been a fan of the Ring since literally as long as I can remember - the Pierre Boulez 1976 Ring was the same year I was born, so I can’t remember a time I wasn’t familiar with it, and didn’t think there was something going on there.  Then the 1991 Met Ring came out, and I was all DEFINITELY.

The bit that does it for me is the bit in Das Rheingold when Wotan is finding Mime’s troubles to be damn funny, and Loge is being very solicitous of him.

2. Have you ever read a FanFiction about 2?

I’ve read a couple of little fluff pieces, but most of the fic is Spirk, and what of it that has Spones is almost all Triumverate.  I remember writing for the Spiced Peaches ezine back in the day and there not being much...

3. Has a picture of 4 ever been your screen saver/profile picture/tumblr?

If only pictures of 4 existed!

4. If 7 were to suddenly break-up today, what would your reaction be?

Utter lack of surprise.  They’re both such garbage dumpsters of train wrecks when it comes to emotional intelligence and communication!

5. Why is 1 so important?

Because it has so many flavors that mean so much to me.  Two in particular - MCU!Stony is all about Tony trying hard in all of the worst ways, and just paving his own road to hell out of his own good intentions, and failing to have emotional intelligence and failing to communicate well, and falling victim to his own insecurity.  AA!Tony is also insecure and bad at communicating, but he gets just enough of it that he and Steve actually talk, and work through their various civil wars, and can show each other how much they love each other.  (Also, the plotline in AA when Tony is taken over by Ultron and Strange has to send him to another dimension, and he wanders for untold time until they’re reunited, and the nature of the reuniting - it’s so many of my kinks, done so well.  I’m SO mad that the series seems to have been cancelled.)

6. Is 9 a funny ship or a serious ship?

Why not BOTH!  Like the movie, it’s completely serious, but still has moments of true, real humor.   

7. Out of all of the ships listed, which ship has the most chemistry?

Lenny/Mace.  Part of it is Angela Bassett, part of it is the writing and direction, but everything about their relationship is so real and so hot.  I don’t have a lot of het ships, but holy hell THAT one.

8. Out of all of your ships listed, which ship has the strongest bond?

Oh, Lucky/Bigman for sure.  You can’t get Bigman off of Lucky with a crowbar.  He has an almost comical need to be with Lucky, to do things for Lucky, to sacrifice himself for Lucky.  Lucky is his everything.  

9. How many times have you read/watched 8’s fandom?

WotW is my guilty pleasure.  It’s not good, it’s terrible, in SO many ways, but I just love the idea, and the dynamics of Ironhorse and Blackwood.  They only released the show on DVD in the early 2000s, so there was a while where I didn’t, but now, every once in a while, I’ll pop back for an episode or a moment that I hold dear.

10. Which ship has lasted the longest?

In canon?  Rimmer/Lister.  In my own brain?  Mime/Loge, see above for About As Long As I’ve Been Alive. :)

11. How many times, if ever, has 2 broken up?

It’s hard to think about them being ‘together’ in a meaningful fashion, due to the complexities of the canon and cultural differences, and I also see it as being a fairly one-sided ship.

12. If the world was suddenly thrust into a zombie apocalypse, which ship would make it out alive, 2 or 8?

They’d both make it out alive in very different ways.  Spock would be very logical in his approach to survival, Bones would grumble and complain about that while working on a cure; he’d come up with one, test it out on himself, get saved from himself by Spock, and they’d fix the Apocalypse.  Blackwood would have the Spock rationality and the Bones desire to come up with a cure, and Ironhorse would protect him to the end of the Earth and beyond while he fixed the Apocalypse. :p   

13. Did 5 ever have to hide their relationship for any reason?

I mean, they’re a biracial couple in America, so yeah, there’d be some ugliness here and there - like, I can see them keeping it quiet at a traffic stop.  They spent a lot of time hiding their relationship from themselves, but after the events of the movie - well, it’s not like race relations and police brutality got better in LA.

14. Is 4 still together?

Always and forever, despite the smeghead’s best efforts to throw a spanner in the works of everything good.

15. Is 3 canon?

In my head.  I’m sure Asimov didn’t mean it that way, but he was a sexually assaulty twit, so I don’t care.  His 1950s-era insecurities and gender assumptions lead him to write an INCREDIBLY homoerotic series of kids’ books, and I’m there for it.

16. If all 10 ships were put into a couple’s Hunger Games, which couple would win?

If there are no rules and it’s no holds barred, I think it comes down to Garak/Bashir, Lenny/Mace, and Bradford/Zhang.  I think the last would come out on top, because with the other two, there’s somebody idealistic interfering with the gloves-off brutal tactics of the other, but with Bradford and Zhang, they’re both brutal tactics when push comes to shove.

17. Has anybody ever tried to sabotage 10’s ship?

Reality and canon? :)  And the ending of XCom: Enemy Within, if you send Zhang out on the final mission...

18. Which ship would you defend to the death and beyond?

Hell with it, all of them.

19. Do you spend hours a day going through 1’s tumblr page?

Not every day.  Every once in a while, I’ll end up in a Tumblr rabbit hole of them.

20. If an evil witch descended from the sky and told you that you had to pick one of the ten ships to break up forever or else she´d break them all forever, which ship would you sink?

I think it’d have to be Stony, because Tony is so good at messing it up all on his own, even without those stakes...!

[thatlittledandere]

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 31 and 40 for that shipper ask meme (sorry for picking so many but those questions are GOOD)

You're right, they absolutely are. I'm sorry in advance that this is gonna be LONG and I'm on mobile so I can't even add a read more;;

1. Talk about the first ship you ever had

So I'm SURE there were relationships I was invested in in movies and cartoons I watched as a child (I've always been a sucker for romance, even though there was that period when I didn't want to admit it) but I can't remember anything from very far back;; So it was either Ron and Hermione from Harry Potter or Ichigo and Masaya from Tokyo Mew Mew, whichever I read first.

2. Talk about three of the most important ships throughout your life

GOSH. You can't do this to me. I guess Romione because it was the time in my preteens when I was becoming more aware of... stuff, in general, abs the two cemented my love for friends-to-lovers. Then Ioryuu, because I've never been AS invested in and passionate about a ship before and likely never will. Nothing can compare to that intensity and ngl I miss it;; I miss the genuine hype I felt in my heart that made me interact with people and make things. So many things. I honestly can't think of a third one with such a lasting impact, sorry;;

3. What's your current OTP?

I imagine Souyo scenarios in my head every night before falling sleep and every morning after waking up, this is not a joke not an exaggeration. I still feel a little traitorous saying this on tumblr but their dynamic IS somewhat similar to the way I see Ioryuu so-

4. What's your current NoTP?

I don't think I have one? I have dislikes, some of them strong, but I don't see any of them often enough to be, like, actively angry. I have better uses for my time than willingly exposing myself to stuff I don't like.

5. Do you have any poly ships?

Not generally, juggling two characters is enough work lol. The only poly ships I've ever really actively shipped are Niels, Duncan and Natalie from the web comic Niels And the Gang by humon and Kinatsuen from Boueibu, but neither are actively on my mind much these days.

8. Have you ever shipped yourself with a character?

BOY HAVE I EVER. I've seen someone on tumblr have a side blog for self-shopping and not gonna lie, it's an excellent idea. My late teens were spent reading character x reader fics on Quotev and I started my fic career with the same genre. I don't really know what to do with myself when I DON'T actively ship myself with a character, which is my state of being now that Yosuke surpassed Yoosung as my favorite character;; Ibushi and Yoosung are the biggest ones but man oh boy I have shipped myself with characters from early age and I'm showing no signs of stopping! There's a reason that I main dating sims.

15. Have you ever "shipped at first sight"?

Not for long. I SUCK at forming first impressions. Usually if I start thinking I'll ship something, I end up not being so invested in it after all, and instead shipping something I swore off at first lmao. Which leads us to...

16. Talk about a ship you initially disliked

As a rule of thumb, all of them. I don't understand HOW it keeps happening but somehow almost all the ships I truly care/d about (that I didn't start shipping through osmosis before knowing them in the source material) started out as something I thought I "wouldn't be able to get behind." Gajevy. Shikatema. Sasunaru. Doctor/Rose. Karabita. Atsutodo. Kiribaku. Yoozen. Enatsu. Freaking IORYUU. EVEN SOUYO. IT'S BEEN YEARS I REALLY SHOULD KNOW THE PATTERN BY NOW

17. Talk about a pairing you've stopped shipping romantically

Like, I started to think they're better as friends after all? I guess NaLi. Then again, I mostly only shipped them out of spite in the first place because I wanted a counter for N/a//Lu, which I never liked at all;;

20. Talk about a ship you feel alone in shipping

Now this time I can say for sure that there isn't one. I can't come up with ships myself and stay on board if there isn't content for it, canon or otherwise;; It's not a conscious decision or anything, it's just how my mind works. I get attached to stuff by exposure, whether from fans or the source material, and if the source material has enough content for two characters for me to pick up on and become interested, it's guaranteed to be enough to become a somewhat popular ship.

21. Is there a ship you just don't get, but have nothing against?

Actually... That's the extent I go to with notp'ing these days. I'm passionate about the right to ship whatever you want so by proxy I can't have anything "against" a ship, even if the sheer thought of it existing makes me nauseous. And I know how to think from points of view other than my own, so I can usually see the appeal, even if it appeals to me personally less than eating dog shit while walking barefoot on rusty nails that are also on fire.

That said, the only ships I have on my Tumblr blacklist are Yoo//ra/n and Suza//lu/lu because they're both popular ships for characters whose tags I am/was following and therefore get suggested a lot even if I want following anyone who ships then. Oh, and all B/LMa//tsu ships! I generally can't feel good about incestuous ships, but can and will fight for their shippers' right to do as they please as long as they stay respectful. (never saw blmatsus who weren't respectful. saw a plethora of anti-blmatsus who were absolute demons. actually the reason i moved away from the last remnants of my anti mindset was that i didn't want to be associated with THOSE anti-blmatsus, when the shippers they wanted dead were all such sweet people. food for thought.)

22. Which of your ships have the best chemistry?

All of them?? Lmao I don't understand this question, isn't shipping all about liking the chemistry between characters? Or the potential for it I guess, in which case the chemistry is whatever you want it to be, which is great B) I'm sorry I keep accidentally dodging questions I'm bad at choosing examples from a long, unordered list

23. Which of your ships deserve better writing?

Hhhhhhh I shipped Jerza for years and was still unsatisfied with their ending, Jellal didn't get to heal enough and we didn't really see them working through their past in an effective way and getting comfortable around each other. It's like they were supposed to be friends to enemies to lovers but the last part didnt really develop and their relationship stagnated at the stage were they were both just permanently awkward out of regret, and couldn't bring themselves out of it even though everything was forgiven forever ago. Or I've forgotten a lot of stuff that happened. Very likely. Is your a case of bad writing or good writing not working out the way I wanted it to? You're asking the wrong person.

25. Have you ever shipped a pairing before you even started watching the show/movie simply because of gifs/graphics or similar?

EYUP. Harumichi was my otp for like a whole year before I saw a single episode with them lol. It was crazy, but it was REAL. I've also went into shows already paying attention to things I knew my friends/people I follow shipped, kind of hoping I'd get into it.

26. Have you noticed a pattern in your shipping? Is there a romantic dynamic I'm writing these questions down from screenshots and I cropped the rest of this one out by accident rip

Eeeh I go for the obvious. Best friend pairs, obvious pining, some rivalry with sexual tension, though I don't really know what to do with those. Then there's the fact that I never see it coming sick Persona 5 reference bro and start shipping the couple I thought "should just be friends" at first. This is more about my relationship to the ships than their dynamic but it's very constant...

27. Is there a ship you've shipped for most of your life?

Hmmm well I got into HP and started shipping Romione sometime in mid elementary school so it's definitely been more than half my lifetime since, but I don't really know if I "ship it" anymore. I didn't start disliking them or anything but for me, "shipping" is an active intrest in a fictional relationship, so if it reaches the stage where I like it, in theory, but I don't have the feels, it doesn't really count. That's why I can say I like ships without shipping them. It's gotta be actively on my brain, man.

31. Talk about one of your favorite headcanons for a ship you love

I haven't mentioned Kannao once, which is criminal. So here's some of what I imagine their future to be like :D I've been getting new Persona followers recently so here's something for you to unfollow me over lmao

So first of all I ignore the canon that Naoto goes back to the city for her detective work after her first year of high school, shhh she stays in Inaba, only taking the occasional jobs. She and Kanji start dating during the spring break before their second year and get more comfortable with each other, so that the next summer they're still cute and very much themselves (which means somewhat reserved) but not as awkward anymore :) I haven't thought about what happens after they graduate but they get married in their early 20s and have a son <3 (Chie and Yukiko adopted their daughter only slightly earlier. They may or may not have had a bit of a competition going on) ((yes Souyo are very much together but if they end up having children I haven't thought about it it's later))

Kanji manages the textile shop and Naoto helps when she's free from detective stuff. They live in Inaba but Naoto is away quite often for her gigs;; She takes up a few jobs less when Kouta is little though so he wouldn't feel less close to his Mom than his Dad.

Both Kanji and Naoto suffered from unfair expectations growing up, so they try their best to make up for it with Kouta's upbringing. They want him to feel comfortable being himself and free to express himself the way he wants; they make sure he knows he'll always be loved and supported, and to never be ashamed of who he is. As a child it doesn't even occur to him that many social norms and social expectations exist, because Naoto and Kanji pretty much let him do whatever as long as he isn't hurting himself or anyone else. They might go a little overboard though, giving into Kouta's whims without much consideration at all. The Amagi Aunties enforce rules and keep kids grounded in reality much better lmao

40. If you could change one thing about your otp, what would that be?

HMNGHNMHGNMGH I WAMT YOSUKE'S INTERNALIZED BULLSHIT ACKNOWLEDGED!! It's there AtlUS!! Stop pretending oh my god.... I love the Dancing All Night story mode (so far. I am by no means done); Yosuke gets cool moments and Yu's internal monologue really shows how much he appreciates him. The dynamic is so much better than with a silent protagonist, and thank god they didn't go with the tactless anime Yu (as fun as he is). I know there are a bunch of nods to the cut romance across spinoffs but mannnn... I wish they were more serious about it. At this point it's not even that far-fetched to think Yosuke has feelings for Yu that he may or may not be aware of, and I know that Yu as the player character can't be too tied down to one option in canon, but still... Even the clown gets tired of jokes at some point. One can dream.

40 ship questions