#i wasn't deep in the fandom i just enjoyed them on the show and read a few fics

[thebroccolination]

Playlist Meme

Tagged by @nejineeee!

Rules: You can usually tell a lot about a person by the type of music they listen to. Put your playlist on shuffle and list the first 10 songs, and then tag 10 people.

By Your Side - Jonas Blue, RAYE

Bittersweet Symphony - The Crown Soundtrack (they did a special remix for the trailer and it's all cinematic and atmospheric)

Free Them (feat. Teddy Swims) - ONE OK ROCK

โชคดีแค่ไหน (The Luckiest Boy) Boy Sompob

Somewhere Only We Know (feat. Darren Criss) - Glee Cast

Escape This Moment - Lightscape

Let Me Let You Go - ONE OK ROCK

I'm Alive - Celine Dion

Drove You Away - Fly By Midnight

You Set Me Free - Michelle Branch

[m-musings]

HIII

im actually so excited omg i dont wanna sound mean actually the opposite but you write for a couple of pretty dead fandoms and im just so happy to see new writers for them.

can i request hcs for rotg (either jack frost, or bunnymund, or pitch, whoever you like. maybe the three of them??? idk go nuts show nuts) with a grim reaper reader? thanks! :D

Headcanons: Jack Frost, Pitch Black and E. Aster Bunnymund with Grim Reaper! Reader

A/N: anon I'm dying at go nuts show nuts, that's the funniest shit i've read in a while but anyways yeah, all 3 sounds good to me lmao. also, I wasn't sure if you wanted platonic or romantic so i just kept it on the friendly side, i hope that's okay!

NOTICE (7/10/24) : NO LONGER WRITING FOR ROTG

Word Count: 450 Warnings: mentions of death/ dead people

Jack:

Jack is a bit wary around you at first simply due to the nature of your job.

But once he sees just how gentle and kind you are with the souls you reap, he's back on board with getting to know you.

As he gets more comfortable with you, he'll definitely make fun of you like he does with the other guardians but he does it with love!

Jack will occasionally accompany you when you're reaping a younger soul. His presence seems to calm them down if they begin to panic, even if they sometimes can't see him.

If you ever get a break from reaping, he will invite you to participate in one of his famous snow day snowball fights as a way to forget about the sadness that sometimes comes with the responsibility of being a being of death.

He's still the excitable and reckless Jack Frost but when you're around, he's more mellowed out and - forgive the pun- chill to hang out with.

Pitch:

Pitch is intrigued by you from the start.

While he may control people's fears, it is a rare occasion for him to actually interact with one, let alone one as important as the personification of death itself.

He knows just how powerful a reaper can be so he is always sure to treat you with the respect you deserve.

The one time Pitch tried to convince you to join him against the Guardians, it ended with a scythe pointed at his neck and a stern scolding from you, so he doesn't bring that subject up around you anymore.

Pitch actually enjoys spending time with you though, he feels that your presence is much more tranquil and calm than that of the other spirits he knows.

He can be maniacal and full of himself but deep down he has a strange admiration for you and the job you do.

Bunnymund:

Bunny has known you for a long time and has come to highly regard you as an ally.

You two mesh well together, because without the deaths you take watch of, he wouldn't be able to help bring new bouts of life into the world.

He refuses to see any of the souls you may bring around The Warren though, it makes him kind of squeamish.

He will occasionally help you wrangle up a lost soul or two but it's very uncommon for him to be around during the actual reaping.

Bunnymund and you do spend the most time together just because your roles are so interconnected with one another (Guardians of Life and Death and all that).

All in all, You and Bunny are very close knit and have a great respect for one another.

[fortheloveofkonig]

Hello, hope you are having a good day/night

I was wondering if I could request Ghost x Male reader: reader is having trouble sleeping due to maybe PTSD so he starts over working around base and working more but forgetting to take care of themself. Reader pass out from exhaustion?

Summary: Your nightmares have been plaguing you again recently and in an attempt to make them stop, you busy yourself with other work rather than rest. Ghost seems to take a notice to this.

Note: I honestly had to stare at this a few times because I know I can do this because...well, relatable but it's scary to write for the first time in a new fandom. Thanks for requesting though! I hope you enjoy it ^^

Content: Mentions of nightmares, implied PTSD, not proofread, this is so short? I'm so sorry! Fluff!?

Word Count: 836

Ghost x Sleepless M!Reader

Nightmares are not unheard of for you. They've happened for a long time at this point and each time they show up again, they never get easier to deal with. How were you supposed to deal with them? It's not like with any of the mechanisms you use to rid of them ever help you, as shown by tonight's restless night of moving around because of an overwhelming background fear of the moment you close your eyes for too long.

After a while of your tossing and turning, you sat up with a huff and ran your hand over your face. Another sleepless night, so you figured you may as well just get up and do something. You made your way to the armory to clean up some of the weapons.

It started as small errands like that until you decided to take on extra paperwork as well as looking over training. It took a few days for anyone to notice that your duties seemed to have multiplied as well as the bags under your eyes.

Ghost was the first to notice. He's dealt with many of sleepless nights himself so recognizing someone else who seemed to be avoiding every possibility at a chance to catch some shut-eye was not very hard to do. He didn't know if he should say something, it wasn't really his place to speak up about your sleeping habits but he also had a deep care for you.

It wasn't until you were the one that approached him that he was pushed to say something.

"Hey LT.!" Your voice was upbeat, too upbeat, as if you were trying to feign that you were well rested and energized.

Ghost lifts his head up from the papers he was reading, only responding with a soft hum as acknowledgement. He figured he knew where you were about to take this.

"I know that you are usually looking over the training and I was wondering-"

"No." He cuts you off.

"What?" You stood back in shock and cross your arms, "What do you mean 'No.'? You didn't even hear what I was going to say."

He lets out a sigh, "I know what you were going to say and I said no. You need to stop taking on everyone's work load."

A huff comes from your mouth as you start to retort but Ghost puts up his hand, which halts any words from coming out of your mouth.

"Rest is what you need to do."

You let out another annoyed huff and turn to leave the room, "but why would he ever listen to me" is the last thing you heard him say as you left for the gym.

You actually spent a good bit of time doing your routine. Stretching, jumping jacks, weights, sit-ups, pull-ups, all of that jazz. Now it was time for the beloved push-ups.

1...

2...

3...

It took an hour for someone to find you but Ghost was the one who walked into the gym to find you snoozing on the floor in his usual spot, to which he just lets out an annoyed sigh but had a disguised smug smirk underneath his mask.

"I told ya, should've went and slept." He says while making his way over towards you.

He assesses the situation figuring that it would probably just be best to pick you up and take you to your bed, rather than waking you up with the chance of you fighting rest again. He bends to pick you up and once you are in his arms, you mumble something indeterminable and grab what you can of his shirt into your hand to which he lets out a soft silent chuckle, but his chest moves silent so that's what sleep deprived you believed it was.

It took only a moment for Ghost to arrive at your bed and he started to softly put you on the bed. Much to his dismay, you didn't let go of him. In fact, your grip just got tighter.

When he reached his arm up to remove your hand, now basically fully bent over the bed just so he doesn't wake you by ripping your hand away, you opened your mouth to quietly mutter, "Stay.."

It took a moment for him to process what you just said but when he realized that your grip was not getting looser anytime soon, he let in and pushed you over some.

"Fine, but only until you are asleep and you can't let anyone know I gave in this easily." He mumbled under his breath and stiffly got onto the bed next to you.

You hummed in acknowledgment before scooting closer to him and laying your head on his chest. After a little while he seemed to lose the tense feeling in his body and relaxed as he watched you fall asleep on him. He didn't see himself being able to move anytime before you woke up from this slumber so he just got himself comfortable.

"Goodnight sleepyhead."

[ageless-aislynn]

Title: “15 Minutes” (9/?) Author:  @ageless-aislynn​ Characters/fandom: Master Chief John-117/Reader, Halo the series Summary: You're in peril but don't be afraid, help is near. Series: How to date a Spartan (without even trying) Rating:  T (PG13) Length: 2,568 (this chapter, 22,261 total so far) Spoilers: Set in the Silver Timeline of Halo the series, not the games or novels. Though we began with the events of Halo 1x06, there will be no more show spoilers. We are still firmly seated in the AU Warthog, merrily driving out to places where there’s only a passing nod to canon. 😉 Trigger warning: claustrophobia Disclaimer: Definitely not mine but I do enjoy borrowing them just for a bit! 😉 A/N:  Text is both here in this post or available at AO3, however you like to read. Halo season 2 has finally arrived! However, this fic continues to zip along in the AU Party Warthog, so, while we began with season 1 way back when (and you’ll see a few more things from s1 along the way 😉), we’ll not be venturing into s2 territory at all. Unless s2 is going to take some verrrrry interesting twists, lol! Chapter 10 is in progress by hand but I hope to have it ready soon. 🤞😣🤞 The tags have been updated for hurt/comfort starting with this chapter. If you read, I hope you enjoy! ⭐💖⭐

Taglist: @pinheadbanger​ @mysardencut​ @laurenstacy610​ @sporadicbelievernightmare​ @ultrablackwidower​ @bxmxtx​ @jellotherelol

If you would like to be tagged in my John/Reader fics, just let me know! I also write John/Kai, John/Cortana and Kai/male Reader, so I’m glad to tag you for whatever you’d like. If you would like to be removed from the taglist, also feel free to let me know, no harm, no foul. 😉 💖

Halo fic masterlist ⭐

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8

Trigger warning again: claustrophobia If you need to avoid the actual scene, skip the entire first section but there will be a lot of mentions of it again through the rest of the chapter, just so you're aware. I don't want to cause any distress to anyone so if you'd like a recap of what happens in this chapter, feel free to contact me here and I'm happy to oblige so you can stay in-the-know without reading something that could trigger a bad reaction. Stay safe, my friends! 🤗

You tried to gasp in a breath but there was a weight pinning you down. Smoke burned your lungs and your eyes. Your left arm couldn't move but you were able to bring your right hand up to wipe your face, trying to clear your vision. The only light in the rubble came from a shower of sparks a few feet away, emitting from a panel half-ripped from the wall. There was very little to orientate yourself by.

"Hello?" you tried to call but you couldn't take a deep enough breath to yell. The muffled ring in your ears told you that at least one of your eardrums had ruptured.

Evaluate, you thought in the tone you used when triaging patients, shoving down a wave of panic. You tried to squeeze out from under whatever was pressed across your back. No good, too much weight.

There wasn't a tremendous amount of pain but you worried at the numbness from your waist down, behind whatever was restraining you.

Evaluate.

You tested moving your legs, your feet, your toes. It felt strange but yes, you had movement.

Spinal cord potentially compromised but not severed, you diagnosed as clinically as possible.

Something overhead gave an alarming groan.

Alert help. Report your position.

"Hello? I'm by the crane operator booth. Can anyone hear me?"

You couldn't get the volume you wanted and you automatically tried to inhale deeper. You couldn't and had to fight another wave of panic. The animal part of your brain wanted to claw the twisted metal of the deck, trying to squirm free, but when you twitched, something above you groaned again.

You had no way to know how perilous the collapsed structure was. A wrong move could bring it all down.

A fresh wave of smoke irritated your nose and you coughed weakly. From far away, you heard the muffled sound of a woman saying your rank and last name.

"Here," you choked out. "I'm here."

A blue light shimmered a few feet away, the lower half of a blue-tinted woman, her upper body phased through the rubble. Then she shrank until she fit the space, adjusting like a camera lens. A hologram.

She repeated your rank and last name. "We have your location," she said, your damaged hearing distorting her voice. "Sit tight, a rescue crew is on their way."

You tried to respond but the smoke triggered more coughing, so you nodded.

"I'll stay with you for as long as the holo-emiter holds," she said, gesturing towards the ruined wall panel that continued to spark.

"Thank you," you managed to say. "Casualties?"

She glanced up and away as if receiving new information. "Reports coming in of injuries but no fatalities. Your alert gave enough time for almost everyone to get clear."

"Good." You made yourself slow your breathing down, taking shallow breaths since you couldn't take deeper ones. For a moment, your head swam and it felt like the floor tipped. Your fingers scratched for a hold on the crumpled metal.

The sound of your rank and name cut through the terror. "You're all right," the woman assured you. "You're not falling. Try to stay still. Silver Team will be back on site in a few more minutes. John will be here soon."

It gave you something to focus on other than bring trapped. The way she knew that the mention of John would comfort you, that she didn't call him Master Chief like most people did, even the mannerism of how she'd looked away, like someone was speaking in her ear...

"Your name wouldn't be Ms. Classified, would it?" you asked haltingly and tried to smile.

"That's... not inaccurate," she said and maybe it was your blurry vision but you could've sworn she gave you a fond smile, like she knew you. "I'm not supposed to tell my name."

You tried to say it was all right but couldn't draw enough breath.

"Ah, screw it," she said. "What are they going to do, fire me? My name is Cortana."

You must've blacked out because the next thing you knew, she was kneeling next to you, her small holographic hand resting atop your outstretched arm as she repeated your rank and name.

If you could get a breath, you needed a good, solid breath. Your chest instinctively fought to expand but couldn't beneath the pressure bearing down on your back. Something above you slid and the pressure abruptly worsened. You clawed, you fought, you struggled to breathe. To live.

"John, get here now! The support beam is failing!"

"Not his fault," you tried to say. "Tell him. Not his--"

Metal screamed and everything went dark.

You woke, grasping at nothing. You still couldn't get a deep breath but this time you were on your back and it felt like someone had laced a corset brutally tight around you.

"Easy there. You're all right," said a deep voice.

Your vision swam and then Spartan Vannak-134 appeared out from the dim lighting. You were still clawing at the air, trying to sit up, and he caught your hand a little awkwardly in his much larger ones.

"Where?" you gasped.

"You're back on Reach, in medical."

Once he said it, details emerged like a black and white picture filling in with color: the beeps of the monitors, the distinctive antiseptic smell. Your hearing was still deadened but not as much as before, meaning they had already begun healing therapies on your eardrums.

Anything you might've wanted to say dissolved like sugar on your tongue before the words could be spoken. Your head seemed too full. I'm drugged, you thought and that was the last thing you knew for a while.

Voices drew you from the murky depths and you tried to open your eyes but couldn't.

"Hold her hand," Vannak said in a quiet rumble. "She likes that."

A new hand gently folded around yours and your fingers instinctively gripped hold.

You woke, feeling the phantom press of metal bearing down on you, forcing the air from your lungs. You tried to sit up, your limbs flailed, uncoordinated and leaden. A second hand closed around yours and a feminine voice began to softly sing, a lullaby in a language you didn't recognize.

The room was blurry but you caught a glimpse of red hair -- Spartan Riz-028. You went under once more, dreaming of music that soothed your fears.

Later, there was a new voice to lure you up from the sticky darkness.

"Poor little thing. She looks so small."

"She'll heal. Hold her hand, it helps."

At some point, you jolted awake to find your hand cradled carefully within Kai's.

"Hey," she said, sitting up straighter in the chair next to the bed. "You need anything?"

Your head felt less stuffed with cotton than before but now that cotton seemed to have been transferred to your mouth. "Water?" you croaked.

She jumped up and returned shortly, carrying a cup with a straw in it. You intended to sit up but a searing pain in your ribs immediately convinced you that was a bad idea and you let her help you by holding the straw to your lips.

"Slowly," she advised.

Once you'd taken a couple of sips, you mumbled your thanks then promptly passed out.

You thought you'd closed your eyes for a brief moment but when they fluttered open, it wasn't Kai sitting in the chair, holding your hand.

As soon as John knew you were awake, he was on his feet, carefully brushing the fingertips of his free hand along the curve of your cheek.

You mouthed his name.

"Rest," he said. "I'm here. You're safe."

For the first time in what seemed like forever, you truly felt as if you were. Your mind let go.

"And how's our favorite mech, the Hero of the Pit?"

"That's not a very heroic name," you confessed, smiling as Maria and then Jamie entered medical.

You were sitting on the side of the bed in generic gray scrubs, waiting for Dr. Savannah to give you final instructions before your release. It had been two days since the explosion. Your hearing had, thankfully, returned to normal. The rest of you... not so much but you were on the mend.

They both gave you careful hugs.

"You look a lot less like you were squashed by a building," Jamie said sincerely and Maria punched his arm. "Hey, that was a compliment!"

"Don't make me laugh," you begged, holding your left side. They'd fused your broken ribs back together but the tissue damage would take longer to resolve. Still, aches, pains, limited motion and all, you knew you were very lucky.

"I hope they're giving you a nice vacation, at least," Maria went on.

"I should be ready for light duty in a week."

"Technically, I said we'd evaluate you for light duty in a week," Dr. Savannah corrected as she entered. "Afraid your friends will have to catch up with you later."

They said their goodbyes and, as they left, you started to stand. The doctor quickly said, "No, you don't. I don't want you walking on that leg."

"It's not broken," you argued.

"Not anymore," she countered. "Stay put. I got you a ride."

"I don't need to be wheeled back to the barracks." You tried to keep your tone confident but the truth was even that little bit of exertion had left you feeling twinges all along your left leg. Your left shoulder throbbed with each heartbeat.

"Well, good thing you're wrong on both counts," she said, winking. "And here he is now."

John came through the door, dressed in his undersuit as if either about to head to the Brokkr stations to have his Mjolnir mounted up or returning from having it removed. You didn't even realize you'd moved to rise again until Dr. Savannah put a practiced hand on your good shoulder to keep you down.

"I'll be sending PT to you twice a day, starting tomorrow," she said. "They'll help you to get your strength and mobility back. Around that, rest. Catch up on your reading, watch some thoroughly trashy movies, and keep your feet up. Not too far up, though. Nothing too strenuous. Make him do all of the work."

That got you to look at her and she waggled her eyebrows.

John cleared his throat slightly, a faint but definite flush creeping up from his collar. "Yes, ma'am."

"All right, see you back in a few days, sooner if anything else develops. You know what to watch for."

It wasn't until she stepped back and John approached that it clicked.

"You're going to carry me?"

"Yes, ma'am," he repeated in a murmur that shivered straight down your spine.

Since your left side had taken the brunt of the damage, he put your right to his chest and cautiously picked you up in a bridal carry. Despite the care, being moved set a thousand things to hurting and your breath hitched as he straightened.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," you said, your tone tighter than you would've liked. You thought, I hope nobody sees me being toted around like this, but, as soon as you left medical, you realized that no one was actually looking at you.

I think if Master Chief offered to drop me and pick up any marine, ODST or officer in this hall, they'd be hopping into his arms before I even hit the floor!

At the first turn he made, you realized the rest of it. "This isn't the way to the barracks."

"Nope," he said and you knew him well enough now to see the hint of a smile in his eyes.

You didn't have to wait for further clues, there was only one place, then, that he could be taking you. "How many strings did you have to pull for this?"

"Not as many as you might think," he demurred. "Your actions saved lives."

And they could've blamed you for failing to make sure a bomb hadn't been sent to the Pit in the first place. The curly tailed Warthog had been your responsibility, after all. You'd been curtly informed of all that when they'd debriefed you the first day you'd had your eyes open for more than 15 minutes.

You doubted they'd told that to John, though.

When you reached his room, he maneuvered so to get his thumb on the panel without jostling you too much. The lights came on as he took you through the doorway and then he paused.

"Kai," he rumbled, shaking his head. "She said studies show people heal better with color. I should've known she'd overdo it. Say the word and I'll have her in here clearing this out."

"It's your room," you said, "but personally, I love it."

The duvet on the bed and the pillows on the couch were now a rainbow of jewel tones. A tapestry with a field of sunflowers dominated the wall at the foot of the bed and you could've sworn there was a dusting of diamond glitter shimmering on every wall, sending tiny holographic rainbows through the air in all directions. But the main thing that caught your attention was overhead.

"She put up stars," you said, brightening.

"Ah, that one was actually me," he confessed. "You seemed to really like those in her room so I thought..."

You stretched up in his arms, inhaling a little sharply at the stab of pain in your left side, and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I love them, John. Thank you."

A short time later, you found yourself lying on the bed in the darkened room, looking up at those stars. John had profusely apologized for not being able to stay after getting you settled in. He'd turned down the bed so you wouldn't have to, had put your padd close at hand on the nightstand to the right along with a bottle of water and a couple of emergency ration packs in case you got hungry before someone bought you a meal. He'd even procured you a set of unthinkably soft civvies to change into, exactly your size and in your favorite color.

You couldn't imagine that a Spartan had ever taken care of a sick or wounded person before, other than in a battlefield triage situation, so he'd probably found a checklist from somewhere to guide him. His earnestness to make sure he'd done everything right sent warmth flooding through you.

Before he left, he'd paused to kiss the top of your head.

"You know," you said, lifting your chin, "my lips aren't broken."

He hesitated. "The last time I did that, an entire base fell on you."

"Only the warehouse part," you said dismissively, "and there was absolutely no correlation, I promise."

He tried to smile at that but his eyes still showed concern.

"I promise," you repeated more seriously and he exhaled as if about to make a tremendous leap. His kiss was so soft and gentle, it was barely more than a whisper against your mouth.

Once he had left, you'd considered taking Dr. Savannah's advice and watching a holo, reading something on your padd, or doing any number of things to pass the time but ultimately, you'd wanted to appreciate his handiwork.

After all, it wasn't just anybody who could say a Spartan had literally hung the stars for them.

[olderthannetfic]

My experience with shippers has been such a mixed bag.

Sometimes there are those "controversial fandom takes" threads and some comments go like this:

"Shippers are the worst. They only care about their romance and never talk about anything interesting in the story outside of that!"

Which will be responded to with either:

"There are lots of ways to enjoy content, mind your business!"

Or

"Shippers are the backbone of a fandom. We can discuss the intricacies of the work AND be horny at the same time!"

I'm sure that's true, but that was rarely how it went in the fandoms I was part of, unlucky bastard that I am. Out of the languages I can understand, I only saw a few times fans engaged in discussions about several topics concerning the show or the book. The rest were either quiet or balls-deep in messy shipping behaviour that is often criticised.

The irony is that it was always the shippers who got angry when people complained about them being "that kind of fan" who would engage in huge blown-out public arguments online. The last time I saw it happen, a group got super angry when a random person online, who none of them followed, criticised their favourite ship in the quotes of a tweet that wasn't theirs. It was a dumb criticism from a person who didn't understand the characters nor cared to understand the chemistry that fans of that ship see. Very stupid and, to me, easy to ignore. But the shippers got so angry that the fight spread outside of their bubble and more random people got involved. Eventually, their fight reached a big artist from that ship and that person shaded their holy war by saying: "I love [pairing] as much as you guys do, but fighting over this is so unnecessary. Ignore them and stop doing this shit! How tiring and boring that this always happens!" and it eventually stopped. Later, I caught one of them wondering if the artist was talking about them, afraid they would get blocked for bringing toxicity to the artist's page, which I found out is something that the artist does to curate their online experience. You know, like a sensible person.

I wish I could say they were teenagers, but they were between 22 to 29 years old.

And let's not talk about the civil wars. God forbid a ship be interpreted in a way that the others dislike, or explored in darker and more controversial themes!

I just can't wrap my head around the behaviour of getting into fights with strangers on twitter dot com or anywhere on the World Wide Web because someone out there said something stupid about a thing I like. Why do some people get so aggressively defensive rather than just blocking and moving on? Maybe throwing in a "spoken like a true tasteless bitch" if feeling particularly vexed?

I'll never say shippers are useless fans like some say, but they can be some of the most consistent shit-stirrers in fandoms. My biggest struggle with them is that the crazy shippers aren't vile in the same way that some fans can be when a black woman is cast for the role of a character that isn't black, for example. They are vile in the way that they will send death threats to the directors, the animators, and the actors if their ship isn't made canon by the end of the story.

At their best, shippers can be some of the most engaged and passionate fans anyone could have the pleasure to find in their fandom. But at their worst... man...

--

I'll eat my hat if like 90% of people reading here don't ship a bunch of ships.

[eisforeidolon]

You seem to have been in the fandom for quite some time and I was curious has the factions in the fandom always been at odds with each other in regards to the actors and the story of SPN? It just seems like the hellers are trying way to hard to take over this show and it irritates me that they insist on a story moving forward that looks drastically different from what we got from this series. I really hope if there is a continuation of some sort that both Jared and Jensen stick to this story being about these two brothers because I would hate to see that diminished by delusional fans with an agenda to just win and prove themselves right. Misha continues to frustrate me with his pandering and now Jensen is having to try and navigate "gotcha" questions to prove his character is actually bi. It just seems like some fans are not enjoying this show for what it was and now I am in the camp of hoping no reboot happens. Maybe J2 can do something else together. I would enjoy anything at this point to get away from Destiel and crazy shippers.

Someone else may be able to give a more thorough picture with detailed history, because I haven't been here the whole time, just since about season 8 or so. The general impression I've gotten from my own observations and previous discussions on the topic is that it was a cumulative thing, though.

A lot of people are squicked by incest and RPF, which is entirely fair. So there was a certain portion of the audience prior to season four that was desperately looking for something to ship that wasn't either of those things. Then Castiel came along and stuck around for more than just one or two episodes, and they were off. Obviously there was some shipwarring over that. No fandom over a certain size is actually very peaceful and there had already been some back and forth between Samgirls and Deangirls over who was The Worst or The Woobiest in the early seasons. But it started out as just typical shipping stuff at the beginning. You know, writing fanfic, making gifsets, talking up certain scenes, enjoying the shipper teases, coming up with wishful scenarios that could happen. Just shipping something that isn't canon which fandom has been doing basically forever.

Except somewhere along the line, some of those shippers started to take their own fan activity way too seriously. It wasn't just an interesting possibility to read that scene as intimate, the writers totally intended it as intimate, how could they not? That joke? Wasn't really a joke, it was the characters' hidden feelings trying to come out. All those things that could be very, uh, creatively associated with sexuality/a romantic relationship? Were secret signals for the Real Audience aware of the Real Story that had to stay hidden for now for Reasons, but would obviously be Endgame! No one they acknowledged the existence of cared about Sam & Dean & the family business anymore. Except maybe a couple lingering creepy wincest shippers, and ew, nobody likes them! It just kind of built on itself over time. It wasn't as intense when I joined the fandom as it was by the end, because each secret hint they convinced themselves was actually there, each lie and misleading hint Misha told them? Built on itself to where they convinced themselves they had a mountain of evidence rather than a house of cards that was all jokers scribbled on by a five year old.

I don't know exactly why it happened or what any more specific tipping points may have been, although it has been a more general trend for fanon ship shippers to get very demanding of TPTB as those people have become more accessible on SM. Still, I don't know of any faction that are still going nearly four years after their canon ended like hellers are. Is it the conventions? Is it that they were already talking revival as it ended? There are some interesting questions there, but I don't think anyone has really delved deep into all the specifics of the whys and wherefores.

Regardless, I really don't see any universe in which Jared and Jensen agree to a continuation that isn't about Sam & Dean, given everything they've ever said about those characters and their story. I can't even see any kind of additional attempt at a spin-off including D/C. It's just not a canon thing (according to anyone who hasn't been shown to have a hidden agenda). Even Castiel's final scene interpreted as romantic? Is just about Castiel's feelings, not the ship being a thing. Jensen may have decided it's not worth trying to talk people out of their wild interpretations, but that doesn't mean he's actually decided they actually know the show or his character better than he does.

On the other hand, I don't see any continuation that doesn't involve hellers eagerly convincing themselves they're getting secret signals through Dean's eye blinks up until the very last second that the ship will happen ANYMOMENTNOW! And then wailing in bafflement about how they could be so wrong and screaming about homophobia before self-soothing each other that surely it will be canon next time. Surely the Sam & Dean show has to stop being about Sam & Dean sooner or later. It's not like not having a revival is going to stop them, clearly.

I'm not actually against a revival, I'm more ambivalent, but I would actually rather see J2 together in something else given the choice. I don't really need more SPN, especially SPN of the same caliber as the last several seasons, and I think it would be really interesting to see what kind of dynamic they'd have together as entirely different characters.

[kanmom51]

Hi! I've been following your blog for a while. As a longtime ARMY and someone who (wants to) believe that jikook is real, your posts never fail to give me the flutters.

Did you get a chance to see Jimin's choreography practice sketch yet? (spoiler: jk shows up hehe)

Whenever I see jikook interacting (and especially in recent years), it always feels and looks like it should be something kept private. Idk. I'm parasocializing third-wheeling lmao. The way they can't stop smiling at each other. The way their hands reach for each other like second nature. The way jk speaks to jm; I know little about the nuances of korean informal/formal language, but even then their tones are what make the difference to me. Language barrier or not, it's hard to miss how jk speaks to jm, which is so different from how he speaks to the other members. And all this, out of a less than 1-min interaction between the two (maybe I'm also projecting lol)

Ever since jk's suchwita live, I've plunged neck deep in jikook feels. Jk didn't have to make a live centered around jm, but he did. He didn't have to watch 2 diff versions of set me free pt 2, nor watch the bts teasing jm compilation, all in front of us; but he did. He did, and it's been wreaking havoc on my heart ever since. That must mean something, because jk doesn't do this for the other members. It goes beyond fanservice because as you already mentioned, he wasn't paying much attention to ARMY during the live. We weren't the focus; jm was.

I'm not delusional - at least, I don't want to be delusional. I've said this to myself many times since 2015. I enjoyed their dynamic together, but as time went on, the dynamic began to shift. Each year it became less funny and more real. Certain moments, like hickey gate and rosebowl, seemed straight out of fantasy. And even looking beyond them, the reactions of the other members are also very telling.

I don't remember why I wrote this anymore lol. I'm just glad I don't seem to be alone in thinking they're real. And thank you for your hardwork and content! I always enjoy reading your thoughts on our favourite black and white + sun and moon + 5813 + you-are-me-i-am-you couple💜🌙☀

@theblindjassassin I do apologize for taking such a long time to get back to you. But I didn't forget you.

Everything you wrote is just IT.

You are not delusional. We here, us, are not delusional.

Those parts of the fandom that love calling us that, they are either colour blind (can't see the rainbow), or delusional themselves wishing upon a non existent romantic relationship between either JK or JM and another member (never happened, ain't happening, and ain't ever going to happen).

I'm happy you did put your thoughts to paper, so to speak, because it's lovely to read these kind of posts every once in a while, helps us refocus, remember, reminiscence.

[dragonydreams]

No Crisis, Only Calm (Redux) - Buck & May

Title: No Crisis, Only Calm (Redux) Fandom: 9-1-1 Rating: General Audience Pairings/Characters: Evan "Buck" Buckley & May Grant Tags: mentions Evan "Buck" Buckley/Tommy Kinard, Coming Out, TV show recs, pseudo sibling bonding Summary: May shares with Buck the magic of Heartstopper after Buck tells her about his date with Tommy. Timeline: post 7x05 Word Count: 1,633 Disclaimer: I claim no ownership over these characters. I am merely borrowing them from Reamworks, Brad Falchuk Teley-Vision, Ryan Murphy Television, and 20th Century Fox Television. Betas: Thank you to @medieshanachie for looking this over for me. Author's Note: This idea popped into my head after seeing an article about Heartstopper S3.

Author's Note 2: I wasn't satisfied with the first version of this story so I reformatted it and expanded it. I'm much happier with this now and hope you enjoy it too.

Read on AO3

Are you on shift?

The text popped up on Buck's phone and he couldn't help smiling at it. He didn't hear from May as much since she'd started college, but she has been checking in more since the lightning.

Not today, Buck responded. What's up?

His phone lit up with May's face as he was alerted that he had an incoming video call. He immediately accepted. 

"Why were you being weird Saturday night?" May asked before he could even say hello.

Buck did a wonderful impression of a fish as he stared wide-eyed at May. He nervously licked his lips before he asked, "What do you know about Saturday night?"

"Eddie texted me to ask if I knew why you were acting weird."

"Why would he ask you that?"

"That's what I said!" May exclaimed. 

"And it took you a week to follow up with me?"

May rolled her eyes. "I had classes.  And study groups. And homework. So much homework."

"Well, Eddie and I have talked since then and he now knows why I was acting weird," Buck said, hoping to end this conversation. It wasn't that he didn't want May to know about Tommy. He actually kinda wanted to shout from the roof to tell everyone about him.

"...and?" she prompted. 

Buck took a moment to decide if he wanted to tell her. He hadn't told Bobby yet, but he could trust May not to gossip. If he asked her not to, at least.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before answering. "When I saw Eddie, I was on a date. With a man. But I was caught off guard and reacted badly."

"Since when do you date men?" May asked. 

"Since Saturday," Buck said, wincing slightly.

"OMG, was he your bi-awakening?" May squealed, excitedly.

"I suppose you could call it that," Buck admitted. "He kissed me the Thursday before our date and it felt like the whole world came into focus." He could feel himself grinning like an idiot as he remembered the kiss.

"How far down the research hole did you fall after?" 

"Not very, if you can believe it."

"I'm having trouble believing that," May teased.

"I know, it's very not me. Then again, so is being into men." He paused to think about what he'd just said. "Although, I guess that is me, now."

While he'd been speaking, May was obviously looking something up on her phone. 

"In that case, go watch this," a text with a link popped up for a trailer, "and then call me back."

Buck clicked on the link after May hung up on him and watched the clip about two teenage boys in England falling for each other - one was gay and the other was bi. Apparently it was based on a graphic novel. 

As soon as Buck finished watching he called May back. "How did I not know about this?"

"Because you weren't seeking out queer YA shows?" May suggested. "But you should watch. The episodes are only like half an hour each."

"I guess I know how I'm spending the rest of my day."

Buck watched May look away briefly and bit her lip before meeting his eyes again. "Want some company while you watch?"

Buck blinked back the sudden moisture in his eyes. 

"Yeah, I think I'd like that."

"I can be there in an hour. With ice cream," she said.

"I'll be here."

"I'll see you soon," May said before ending the call.

Buck stared at the phone for a minute, moved by May's offer to share this show, which she obviously enjoyed, with him.

~~*~~

Buck was sitting at the kitchen table when there was a knock on the door 58 minutes after he'd hung up with May. Now that May was going to introduce him to this show about a bi-awakening, as she'd called it, he was curious about what else was out there. 

He'd found the expected "Could I be gay?" quizzes, but he already knew the answer to that question. He still loved women, but he was also definitely attracted to men. Which made him bisexual, or pan, but he thought bisexual was the right word for him.

He went to open the door and May was grinning at him as she held up the bag with ice cream in it. 

"You know, I don't think I've ever actually been here before," May said as Buck held the door open for her. "This is nice."

Buck blinked as he closed the door and realized that she was right. "Well then, it's about time. It's a loft so the tour will be quick. This is the kitchen, bathroom is over there," he pointed to a closed door next to the stairs, "bedroom is in the loft, and living room is this way." He led her through to the room in question.

May took the ice cream out of the bag and noticed that Buck had already set out a couple of spoons and glasses of water. The show was pulled up on the TV, just waiting for them.

As she made herself at home on the couch with one of the pints of ice cream, May said, "So, tell me more about this guy that turned your world upside down."

Buck felt his cheeks heating up as he settled next to her with the other pint. "Well, Tommy's a firefighter with Harbor. A pilot. He's actually the one that flew us to rescue your mom and Bobby."

"Hold up," May said, sitting up from her slouch and holding out her hand. "You don't mean Tommy Kinard?" 

"Uh, yeah," Buck confirmed. 

"Damn, Buckley. He's fine," May said. "I mean, he's old enough to be my dad, but damn."

Buck felt his face flush again as he couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, he is." 

"So how did you go from him helping to rescue Mom and Bobby to him kissing you?" May asked as she settled back.

"Well, uh, I guess both Eddie and I wanted to get to know Tommy better after he helped with the rescue. Those two started spending a lot of time together and I guess I got kinda jealous. Like Eddie was replacing me? But also because he was spending all this time with Tommy. Things got a little out of hand at this pickup basketball game and I got Eddie hurt. Later that night Tommy came over to tell me that he wasn't trying to come between me and Eddie and I told him that I just really wanted to get to know him better. That trying to get his attention was exhausting and then he kissed me." 

Buck took a big bit of ice cream after he finished word vomiting all over May. 

"Wow," she said. "That was a lot."

"Oh, and after making sure I was okay with the kiss he asked me out for Saturday."

"And you didn't spiral after that kiss?" May asked. "That seems like something that would cause you to spiral."

"Yeah, I was kinda surprised about that myself," Buck admitted. "But it was more like a puzzle piece finally turning the right way to fit in a hole in a larger puzzle. Everything just felt right. Settled in a way that I've never been in my life before." 

"That sounds wonderful," May said, in awe.

"It is. Of course then Eddie and Marisol showed up at the restaurant Tommy took us to on Saturday and I was so surprised that I went all dudebro and told Eddie we were just two guys hanging out and were gonna go pick up some hot chicks later."

"You. Did. Not."

"Oh, I did. Tommy was not amused and instead of going to a movie after dinner he got an Uber home by himself. Just left me in front of the restaurant."

"Can't say I really blame him," May said. 

"Neither could I. But I told Eddie and he convinced me to call Tommy. Luckily he agreed to meet me for coffee and I invited him to be my date at Maddie's wedding."

May's eyes widened. "You're bringing him as your date to your sister's wedding? Way to come out to everyone at once."

Buck shrugged. "This is who I am. It shouldn't matter if I want to bring a man as my date instead of a woman. I'm happy and that's all that should matter. If anyone has a problem with that, that's on them, not me."

"I am loving this attitude," May said. "And you're right. It doesn't matter."

"Just, uh, I haven't told Bobby yet, so for now can you not say anything? I'd rather he find out with everyone else."

"Of course. So just me and Eddie know?"

"Maddie knows, too. It was kind of an accident, but she does know. I let the pronoun slip when I was talking about my interrupted date to her."

"How'd she take the news?"

"You know Maddie, she was totally supportive. Surprised, but supportive. Eddie, too."

"And now me," May said. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

"Thank you for sharing this," he gestured to the television, "with me."

"Is that your way of telling me you're talked out?" May teased.

"Yes, but I also want to see this show," Buck said.

"Then let's watch. It's been a while since I did a re-watch," May said. 

"How many times have you seen it?" Buck asked.

"A couple," May answered. "It's a really sweet story. Lots of good queer representation."

"Is this your way of trying to tell me something?" Buck tentatively asked.

"No, I just like watching all kinds of love stories, not just heterosexual ones," May said. "But thank you for asking."

"Anytime," Buck said. 

He grabbed the remote and hit play.

Link to trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrK4xPy4ahg

[thisisapaige]

Tagged by @mercurialkitty. Thanks! This was fun :-)

20 Questions for Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 59

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 645,479

3. What fandoms do you write for? Just Supernatural. I have the brainworms and they are in the shape of Thee One and Only Castiel.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

stay, In Just Saying It, Non Solum, Still Waters Run Deep, Sleeping Together

5. Do you respond to comments? Most of them. I do get kind of overwhelmed (with love and joy) if someone comments on all the chapters as they read, so I'll often reply to their final comment. And if the comments are rude, I ignore them (doesn't happen often, but it has).

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Thee fic that started it all: Empty Spaces. A bold choice for my first posting, lol. At least I wrote a sequel? :-P

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Probably Something Blue. I wrapped that up with a bow. As a commenter wrote, "Holy happy ending, Batman!!!!!"

8. Do you get hate on fics? Mmmmm, not sure I'd call it hate but I did have a commenter who wasn't happy with the direction The Angel went in. Thankfully, they figured out the fic wasn't to their tastes and decided to leave halfway through.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yeah. It's fun to write but, whew, very difficult to edit, lol. As for what kind... somewhat-idealized- romantic-everyone-has-a-good-time-and-feels-their-feelings kind of smut, I think. Most of the time... Murder the World was a lot more angsty.

10. Do you write crossovers? Nah. I don't really have the fic bug for other fandoms.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yup! A couple in Russian and one in Chinese.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No. I don't know if I'd be able to. I don't think I'd be a very good partner :-P. I don't even like a beta to look at my stuff 'till the draft is done and I read it though a couple times.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? It's the DeanCas of it all.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? The Path of the Righteous Man (my reverse verse fic) is like, my white whale. I keep going back to it and never adding a single word. The block is strong on that one.

16. What are your writing strengths? Introspection and action. Both are sooooo fun.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Dialogue. UGH. Dialogue. How do people talk? Hell if I know.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Sure. My monolingual ass won't, though.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Posted? SPN. Written on loose leaf paper as a tiny child, which has been lost to the ages (thank goodness)? Final Fantasy VII.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? This is a mean, mean question. I cannot chose one! I cannot! So have a selection (answer subject to change in 30 seconds):

stay for being my fix it that allowed me to continue enjoying the show after that fiasco of an ending.

The Angel for being the fantasy epic I always wanted to write.

insi(de an)d outside for being some of my strongest writing.

Still Waters Run Deep for being my first bang and also because I have prints of the art reafre made and that still blows my mind.

Something Blue because it took me on a very personal journey (and also I just posted it so it's fresh in my mind).

I *could* probably post most of my fic, honesty. I like my stuff. I wrote them for me, after all.

Tagging: @angelcasendgame @hornystiel @wormstacheangel @bloodydeanwinchester if you so chose to participate!

[variousqueerthings]

i find it easier to talk about aroace themes in doctor who than in good omens, because i know there was quite a fraught anti-aroace read of the characters that at best ignored the fanbase that was aroace and generally treated it as non-queer in concept -- heck, I wasn't and I'm not even really in in the fanbase (except as extension of doctor who and david tennant and generally enjoying it) and I had to unfollow a heck of a lot of blogs because of a sentiment that was very dismissive of ideas around non-(cis)gendered-allosexual-amatonormative reads of the characters, because it was considered "copping out" of Real Queer Reads of the text, and only really accepted it as Really Queer once The Kiss happened -- so I can only imagine how much it must have sucked for aroace fans of the show who were actively engaging with the fandom and felt that alienation x 1000

and it's interesting because The Kiss does not in fact make the characters less able to be read from a non-(cis)gendered aroace perspective, it's just that kisses are one of the acceptable shorthands for alloromantic allosexual textual reads, so The Kiss in fact makes people less likely to engage with complicated reads of the text (I say like that was happening in the first place), not because it doesn't work, but because amatonormativity accepts only certain semiotics of relationships as "real" or "valuable" while other relationships that don't fulfill these criteria are "merely good friends" and good friends... is ostensibly a non-queer thing to be (does not tangent about relationship anarchy and religious themes, slaps wrist)

all that being said, crowley and aziraphale absolutely do exist within an asexual aromantic agender (aspec) framework, and amatonormativity especially does shut down a lot of the interesting ways one can engage with these characters and the text that they interact with because of their non-normative place within any of the three worlds that are depicted in the story (heaven, hell, earth) -- they do not perform roles that are easily definable, or even acceptable, in these spaces. they get read as queer multiple times in both s1 and s2, but in ways that are simplistic to who they are and what their relationship has been up until that point. that boxing in is one of the reasons they struggle to find words during the last fifteen minutes of s2, because there are only so many "correct" "allowed" ways to relate to one another, and none of them fit, beyond the fun little word "us." which was who they were from s1 already, when they ostensibly weren't queering the text enough -- all of this is ironic because it's how they're treated in the text and by audience

unsure yet if I will talk about it more, because I think... it is still fraught. but I am thinking more about how I read from the framework of aspec experiences and the ways people have blind spots about their own especially amatonormativity, but also allosexual and cisnormative reads that play into how queerness is allowed to exist onscreen only if fulfilling specific semiotic criteria, and not as something that's actually deep and interesting, like theme or story structure or character arc

[readreactrant]

Why is episode eleven of Oblivion battery actually so fucking GOOD!?!?!

We've got one episode left and I'm practically begging for someone, whoever the fucking hell is in charge to go "Oh my bad, we've actually got 24 eps scheduled not 12 oopsie"

I'm having way too much fun watching, wish i had screencaps from all my favorite moments this episode but i was just so enraptured I forgot I was gonna have to say something. Too lazy to go back now so we just make due.

Chihaya and Todo have been my favorite characters since day one and believe me why I say I expected the most generic ass template backstories for them that would be rushed through just to make space for Kei and Haruka.

I would have been fine with that cuz I simply enjoyed seeing them on screen, the whole team is a delight but what the show does super well in my opinion is mixing in the goofiness with such heavy themes. Yama's deep seaed insecurities, Kei's amnesia, Todo's yips, Haru's subtle devastation at losing a part of his best friend...it all blends together so well and pulses with a kind of refreshing look at the challenges I see faced by teenage athletes in sports animes.

Usually it's all just, become stronger, play better, beat rival, prove mean team wrong (which isn't bad, I'm a knb fan, I follow blue lock and I'm at S2 of haikyuu so I do not be minding) but here it genuinely feels like I'm watching te characters go through these changes an explore their relationship with base ball and their teammates. The sport has hurt them so much but they love it despite all that and I think that's the real pull of the show.

I don't know if it's okay for me to call Chihaya's struggles body dysmorphia and eating disorder but that hit the close to home I felt shock. Of all things that could be his backstory i wasn't expecting any of that but it was handled so well I felt near tears.

Y'all I love him so much.

And he and Todo look so fucking GOOD together especially when taunting Kei I CAN'T.

It kind of just reminds me of Free, no overly elaborate life stakes competitions, just drama, angst and beautiful character work.

All in all, good fucking show, hope they stick the landing in a way that'll make me say "Fuck exams I'mma read the manga now." That's all I want but it's so busy. I frankly expected I'd hate this more than wind breaker but I'm only going to talk about that elephant in the room after episode 13. Bucchigiri made me lose fate in mappa but they pulled through with this one.

Is the Oblivion Battery Fandom alive? Or even a thing? Let me know I don't want to be left alone and obsessed after next Tuesday plss TT

[outrunningthedark]

Honestly, you have a healthier outlook on Buddie than most. If it happens, great. We all win. But people in fandom just need to be more realistic in general. We are not the GA. A majority of the GA probably loves their dynamic as friends, and doesn't read more into it.

Well thank you. 😘 I fully, and freely, acknowledge that I was much more passionate about the possibility in season four (my first with the fandom) and season five (Eddie wasn't gonna date again, I knew TayKay's days were numbered, BL died before it ever really took off), but honestly? The most fun I've had as a viewer was during this past season. I wasn't watching episodes with the hope that the interviews were a fraction of or a twist on the truth. I wasn't trying to figure out when and how "couch theory" would finally reach its conclusion in a way that benefited Buddie. I wasn't thinking about Eddie getting into dating again leading to a coming out so that 9-1-1 could pull off a "Buddie speedrun" after the changes from 6A to 6B (which we later learned was due to the show leaving FOX). There's nothing wrong with doing all of those things and still accepting whatever really happens on screen, but let's be honest, so many in this fandom get so attached to their headcanons that they do not know how to enjoy the show or the fandom experience unless things go exactly how they envisioned. If your happiness is taking a hit because you got your hopes up about a fictional, fanon ship...it's time for a break. Maybe permanently. And just to support your thoughts on the GA (which I share), I think a BIG problem this fandom has is that they struggle with separating the two groups. "Buddie has to happen because nothing else makes narrative sense." To who? Those of us that automatically watch their scenes through a queer lens (because many of us are)? Those of us that find meaning in clothing or props? Those of us that can automatically make a connection between something Buddie does and something one of the het couples did? Buddie makes narrative sense to us because we started looking for it. The GA? Your mom and dad and aunt and uncle and grandparents? It's not that deep for them.

[annabtg]

In continuation of this post, @apalapucian wanted to know how getting into HP fanfic after HBP came out ruined DH for me. Let me count the ways:

(cut for length)

1. After HBP's release, there were a ton of theories. Being in the fandom meant I was now exposed to all sorts of fics and meta. Many of the theories came true, such as Snape actually being a double agent and working for Dumbledore. I don't think I would have seen it coming, so that was a big reveal that was "spoiled" for me by fandom and lost some of its glamour in the book.

2. Being exposed to theories and then getting into the whole fanfic mindset led me to develop a whole Book 7 in my head (as any good fanfic writer is wont to do). I didn't finish writing before DH came out - which then led me to losing interest over time and never finishing it - but the whole plot of it, Harry defeating Voldemort etc, were very clear in my head, and frankly, a lot of it I believe was better than what we ended up with.

3. After HBP, I became very invested in Remadora, got into the fandom, read and wrote fic, participated in fests, the whole deal. There was so much creativity in that part of the fandom - prequels, stories parallel to the books, stories speculating about their future - and we got a wonderful wealth of complexity, of deep and nuanced characterizations, of stories ranging from cracky humour to heavy angst.

Then DH comes out. They get married immediately, they have a child, then they die. I HAVE SO MUCH BEEF WITH ALL OF THAT. It's a lazy repetition of Jily's story that's supposed to work as a parallel, but what it really does is take two characters who we have already met and know, and force them into a function that doesn't fit them. I spent two years with fic where Remus was a man struggling with his feelings of inadequacy, working through his issues, finding support in a wonderful woman that he loves, and what does DH give me? Wham bang we're married now! I may not have the right to call Remus and Tonks OOC in DH, since it's their canon characterization, but I was super disappointed in how their arc played out. I understand that Remadora is not the focus of the book and they're just a plot device so that we get an orphan who gets the childhood Harry didn't, but man. Getting invested in them just to have it all blow up on my face. Not fun.

4. Same with Snape - a fascinating story of a double agent who's fooled everyone becomes reduced to "he did it all for love". There's a lot to be said about the intent behind it, I can see some merit if I squint, but again, I expected something more original, and I'm also not particularly satisfied with the execution of what we actually got.

I could probably think of more to say, but that's enough to allow me to stop here and summarize:

Overall, getting invested in fanfic, which explores the characters in depth, created in me expectations that DH was not able to hold up to, because it was not meant to do it. DH was not there to get Remadora through a long and hard relationship journey nor was it there to psychoanalyze Snape. These characters were only there to serve Harry's story.

To be entirely fair, I think it wasn't only the fanfic. There are probably more reasons I didn't enjoy DH so much - I was a little older than the target group; JKR probably wrote the book in a rush; I read it in the original English first, whereas the translations are better quality writing, etc. DH isn't bad, but fanfic showed me it could have been done so much better! And, as a story, it could have been so much more.

Thanks for the ask! 😘😘

[missdeepend]

The Fairy Tail Fandom is so Powerful

I should first start by saying, Fairy Tail was my first anime other tahn the one episode of AoT that turned me away from anime and the few scenes I watched as a little girl of Pokemon, Sailor Moon, and Beyblade. It was the first show I sat down and watched and felt completely moved by with everything going on and it came at a very crucial point in my life. So there I was, roughly 13-14 years old (Almost 10 years for me now) sitting in computer class when I decided to take a "which anime are you quiz". This quiz was going to be my shot at getting into anime again. If I enjoyed it, anime was meant for me and if now, well that was that. So I took the quiz and my answer...was Fairy Tail. I can't tell you how I watched it for the first time, most likely through Netflix or even some other website but I did and I fell in love. It was everything I could ask for and more. The characters- I loved. The story- I loved. The artwork- I loved. It felt like a show made for me.

Now back then Little Deep End here had a small group of friends and shortly after the 3 other girls loved it too. We would always joke about the characters and, well, Gray being naked. It was something we bonded over and expanded out into other manga until eventually... I had to move. The last thing I had gotten from them was a picture of Gray with the words 'naked popsicle' written next to him. Something I kept until around my senior year of high school when I decided to let it go from its prison of my jewelry box.

But there I was, the new girl in school and well it wasn't the worst. I made friends and we bonded over things but I never met anyone with the same passion for this show in person as I once had with my previous friends. Well, that was until I explored Wattpad. Oh boy.

It was on here that I dove into the Fairy Tail community head on. I had already created ocs to join roleplays, with my proudest being Setsuko Rin- who at the time was just another ice mage. I read all the stories about Nalu, Gruvia, Gajevy (I wasn't too much of a Jerza fan but you get the point). It was like a safe haven. I couldn't discuss my passion for Fairy Tail with anyone else but these people but I didn't mind.

This all has a point I promise. Fairy Tail brings out something in its fans that not a lot of fandoms have and I think it has to do with the themes of Fairy Tail. Yes we may feel lonely in person but the guild was somewhere where the least welcomed were welcomed. Those that are outcasts with no friends and those that were the most popular could all come together and talk about how much Fairy Tail changed their lives.

I'm not going to lie and say that Fairy Tail hasn't had its moments in the show and that the community is perfect. However, I will say that you could mention Fairy Tail to any fan and they would welcome you with open arms. I feel like this show teaches a good level of respect and kindness that people aren't used to seeing within fandoms anymore. I can't even tell you how much it warmed my heart to see all the videos standing up for Fairy Tail within the last few years coming out to shut down the negativity it was getting and the people standing up and celebrating its return with 100 Year Quest.

It really goes to show you that a fandom like the Fairy Tail fandom is truly something else. Not to mention Todd Haberkorn being the best voice cast for Natsu there ever could be and same for Cherami Leigh as Lucy. Honestly all those actors both in the US and Japan (as well as the others worldwide) deserve so much praise for growing with us. Even if we shouldn't have been watching some of those scenes that we were at our age.

Anywayssss I just wanted to ramble a bit because this community does warm my heart. But I'll see you all later in the Deep End!!

[sandu-zidian]

I'm sorry if you've answered this before but I'm super curious and I wasn't able to find the answer easily. Would you mind sharing your favorite Jiang Cheng ships? (I'm a huge Jiang Cheng multishipper and I've loved all the content you've come out with but I was curious if maybe there were Jiang Cheng ships that you don't often post about that you also like and how high the ships you have posted about rank 😀 I'm also a tiny bit curious about any Jiang Cheng ships (if any) that you might dislike altho you don't have to share those if you'd rather not lol im just curious about your opinions)

Hello! Don't be sorry! I've never really talked about JC ships in full before, and even if I have, I don't mind answering again <33

I'm gonna be honest, I find it really hard to say for certain what my "favorite" Jiang Cheng ship is. For one, my enjoyment of Jiang Cheng is first and foremost about his character as like, playing important thematic work and in this mindset I'm like ship neutral and don't need ships to have a fun time haha. I started as a hardcore aroace!JC lover, especially since I'm also aroace. My entry into JC ships came quite a bit later into my time in this fandom, so even if I say a ship is my favorite, just know that like, I'm not really a die hard fan of any JC ship. He's my blorbo because I think he's a bit fucked up and pathetic and already has enough baggage from platonic/non-romantic relationships.

Currently, I would say zhancheng is my favorite given the fact that I am like, knee deep in the AO3 tag for it LMAO. And also this is probs the ship that I have posted about the most! Which isn't saying a lot, but it is the most! I also was really into xicheng a bit back but it's taken a backburner recently, though I do still enjoy it. I've also read some mingcheng as well. I enjoy sangcheng but I haven't actually taken the time to read sangcheng-centric fics as of yet and I need to actually use the otp: true on AO3 for that ship. I also enjoy chengqing but like strangely it's not a ship I've taken the time to read fics for either. Another one that needs the otp: true on.

(This is me showing my ass as a bottom!JC enjoyer. Much respect for top!JC fans though!)

The only Jiang Cheng ship I don't really like is like, any ships with other generations, especially the juniors. Like I'm sorry those are teenagers... It's funny as a joke for juniors to have like puppy love crushes on Jiang Cheng, but I can't with them actually being in a relationship together. I'm a bit more accepting of JC shipped with older generation characters but in very limited scopes/premises where JC is much older when he meets the love interest than like. A teenager.

I also waffle on chengxian because I very much came into the fandom viewing them as brothers and that has stuck hard for me even though like, yeah they're not actually related but I guess chengxian kind of come packaged with pseudo-incest vibes that like, I find hard to navigate personally. I do like zhanchengxian but again I waffle with how I feel about chengxian. I am first and foremost a Yunmeng Shuangjie fan, and then maybe chengxian. Maybe.

There's also just like, other Jiang Cheng ships like chengyao, chengxuan, ningcheng, etc. that I don't not like, but certainly don't spend much time actually thinking about. Except for chengyao -- every so often I'm reminded of this ship and extract great amusement from just picturing the kinds of neuroses they give each other if they were ever in a romantic relationship together. I've certainly seen a few rarepairs for JC that I think are rad. There's someone on here who ships QS/NHS/JC which like, good for them I see the vision.

So yeah, this was long. TLDR zhancheng is my current fave and focus. I enjoy xicheng, mingcheng, sangcheng, and chengqing. Don't like JC shipped with people of different generations, and chengxian is like, in a nebulous place in this lineup and I am more likely to view those two as familial than romantic. Other JC ships are fine, but I don't think about them much.

[thestobingirlie]

The thing is with the basketball stuff, it wasn't even from a Steve hater (debatable tbh) but from a steddie shipper lol.

I was like telling them about s2, and they were like, well, Steve's obviously lying in his essay, lol. Anyway, idk why, but this pissed me off so bad because the fandom makes Steve's character worse than the show did. I could write essays on how I hate Steve's progression post s2 and how it was ooc for him to act in certain scenes for the purpose of comedy instead of giving him depth.

Like their whole spiel was like Steve only played basketball bc his dad was on the team when they last won a game. Making Steve want to impress his dad but as always fails, instead of giving him a thing he's good at for once (like it's canon before s4 that he doesn't completely suck). Like, fr they claim to make it better but not really, they can't even admit that the show purposefully makes Steve look extra pathetic for comedy. And they just add to it instead of correcting the mistake. I swear if it was Eddie, they would correct mistakes left or right. Ironically, they were also annoyed with "wrong" headcanons for his character, but the same logic is never applied to Steve. I need to chill lmaoo it's not that deep, but idk it was one too many stupid take I read

yeah that makes sense with the conversation happening a little while ago. this fandom (and steddie shippers especially) loves making steve seem lesser than the other characters.

anyway, steve’s become more and more of a comedic relief character, and that comes with a lot of inconsistencies with his characterisation. which is annoying for a few reasons, but the biggest one (for me) is the way people jump on these inconsistencies to hate steve.

i think the obsession with making sports something that steve hates is an extension of that whole… alt is so much better and queerer, and jocks are all horrible people, etc etc. so, of course steve can’t actually enjoy basketball!! it has to be something forced onto him. he’s terrible at it! he wishes he could be like eddie!

(i do find it ironic the way people jump to eddie in the first episode as being ‘ooc’ when that’s… literally the real eddie. who isn’t on the run and traumatised. like, they see that as inconsistent, and just totally dump it and pretend it doesn’t exist, but anything to do with steve? nah, that’s just an excuse to mock him.)

it’s always deep to me <3 lmao