#lmao there isn't one season two is better let's be real

[all-that-jazz-93]

Season two is better

[doux-amer]

I can't believe I had such a massive headache and my eyes felt swollen all day because of the amount of crying I did this morning through the post-match farewell ceremony. I had to stay offline because everything would set me off, and like a fool, I just went on Instagram, thinking I'd be okay because I watched everything and for the new stuff, I could scroll past them and see them another day. But of course I cried again. The only way I'm getting through this week is because I have an overwhelming amount of work that's going to increase once the work week actually starts.

[songbvrd]

ok but i've been thinking more about eddie cheating arc and it actually makes so much sense (aside from just being fucking hilarious that he's cheating on his ex-nun gf he already avoids for two men with the doppelganger of his dead wife)

but here's the thing. eddie has objectively dated women who he has no reason not to like. they're women who are objectively good for him and for his son. ana was a teacher, who christopher loved, who genuinely seemed good with him, and yet, at the prospect of it becoming too real, he abandoned ship (there's other stuff with her, but the show didn't acknowledge that from eddie's perspective, so i'm not referring to it either). with marisol, despite the actress being just objectively bad, there's no reason for him not to want to be with her. she has been cool w his hot and cold behaviour, she's clearly good with chris, and she clearly likes him. and yet, eddie clearly doesn't want to be with her (as evidenced by him constantly asking her to babysit so he can hang out with tommy or buck or kim lmao, literally anyone else).

like, in universe, these are two women who are beautiful, patient and care about his child.

and yet, eddie can't let go of shannon. because eddie doesn't feel the way he's supposed to feel about these women and there's an easy excuse to explain it. he never got over his son's mother. the problem, of course, being that he wasn't actually happy with her either. they were just kids themselves when shannon got pregnant, and for the majority of their relationship, they were avoiding each other. they were constantly fighting/disagreeing and their last encounter before her death was literally her leaving him again (not shannon bashing, i like her, but it's hard to deny that they were dysfunctional as hell, and not actually happy together, despite the fact that they did actually seem to love each other).

but for eddie, if you're trying to avoid reality, what better way to do it than to hide behind 'the one who got away'. a woman who can never prove his hypothesis wrong because she's gone. whilstever he can explain it away as 'it's because of shannon', he never has to confront the possibility that there's another reason why he doesn't feel what he thinks he should feel for these women.

so then he sees shannon (kim). and shannon is his scapegoat. shannon is the reason he can't make it work. so in theory, seeing her again, in his mind, it should "fix" him, right? except, it can't. because he was never actually happy with shannon, and regardless, this isn't shannon. he says he wants to nest, and i do believe that's true, but he also can't go through with something he doesn't really feel, clearly, so he sabotages it. so he's going to throw himself into it, sabotaging his relationship with marisol at the same time.

and when he tries again with kim, and it still isn't working, eddie's going to break down, because there's another reality he has to address. shannon isn't the reason it isn't working. it was an easy excuse to hide behind, but it isn't about her. eddie breaks down, pushes everyone away, struggles to deal with what tthat means for him.

but the truth is, it isn't working because it isn't what he wants. it's what he THINKS he should want. now, obviously, buddie is what i'm getting at here, but this conversation isn't even necessarily about buck. it's about eddie as a whole, and what he's hiding from.

wham bam, thank you ma'am, gay eddie realisation arc season 8.

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

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

Thank you so much for sending me this!

I am proud of so many of my fics and I'm not even fully sure how to go about this, so... I guess I will just make one rec from each of the fandoms I have written for?

(Warning for some blood in gifs below - but generally there is blood and violence in this fics anyway, so...)

From DC Titans:

No Place Like Home on AO3 - Gar Logan x Fem!Powered!Disabled!Reader x Jason Todd. Friends to Lovers. (Poly Soulmates). Smut, Angst, Hurt and Comfort with a Happy Ending. 90k across 7 chapters. When Jason leaves the Titans broken and battered, he gets set on a dangerous path. It's up to you and Gar, the two people who care about him the most, to bring him home.

Oh, another day on the assembly line, everybody better march in time,

Cause the factory don't care why, you been sayin' coulda, shoulda, woulda.

(There's no place like home. There's no place like home.)

If I could recommend one singular fic and say 'this fic encapsulates my style and summarises everything I am proud of when it comes to writing fanfiction' - this would be it.

I have so much to say about this fic and a lot of it I probably have already said it - but basically, this fic is the reason I started writing. I started writing long before I actually wrote this fic, but everything I have ever sought in terms of creative satisfaction came from this fic. This feels like my orgasmic climax in terms of creating things.

And if this fic is something I could be buried with, I would be proud. If this fic is something that people remember me for, I would be so fucking proud. (Which is not likely, because it's from a very small fandom and I know people are gonna remember me for fics from bigger fandoms that are way more popular, and I wish I could shove this fic in the faces of people who read my other popular fics and make them read it lmao.)

If for some reason I had to quit writing right now - I would be most proud of this singular piece. Especially because so much of this fic, the characters, and the dynamics has been inspired by my real life relationship with my lovers, and the reader character was inspired by my struggle with disability and coping with the loss of control as I became more disabled over time - but having my lovers there for me made that loss of control easier to swallow. It's about how trauma can ruin you and letting someone love you when you are broken is one of the hardest things you can do, but one of the most radical and most rewarding. If you ever liked my writing and my style, even if you don't like Titans - please go and read this.

From The Walking Dead:

(I know this gif is sad but it fits the fic so well.)

Hold Me Tight Or Don't on AO3 - Glenn Rhee x Fem!Reader x Maggie Greene. Established Poly Relationship. Smut and Heavy Angst (No Happy Ending). Set during Season 3, Episode 4. 7k (Oneshot). You are bitten by a Walker while trying to help get Glenn and Maggie to safety, and you are facing your last hours of life. And in those last hours, you only have one wish - to have sex with your partners one last time. Luckily for you, they would do anything for you, and they can’t help but to oblige.

Oh no this isn't how our story ends,

So hold me tight, hold me tight. (Or don't.)

This fic has had some more attention lately, since I have been wanting to write for The Walking Dead again, and I just really want to re-state - I fucking love this fic. This idea came to me so randomly and struck me like lighting and I am so happy that this fic came to fruition. This fic represents so many things that I am excited about writing - poly relationships, relating the themes of sex and death, sad endings (I weirdly prefer writing sad or melancholic endings instead of traditional happy ones).

I am really proud of this fic. If you can handle angst, you should go read it.

From Criminal Minds:

From Your Lips on Tumblr - Jennifer Jareau x GN!Reader. Established Relationship. Smut, Hurt and Comfort. Set during Season 2, Episode 15. 3k (Oneshot). After JJ is attacked by dogs on the Hankel farm, you take the time to check on her and distract her flustered mind with a loving touch.

So, most of my Criminal Minds fics have done really well and don't need to be recommended just because it's a really popular fandom, but JJ fics don't really do well? Idk why she's not a popular character?

But I love this fic. I had so much fun working on this fic, and working in the religious references and imagery from the show - this fic was just so much fun for me. And I think it needs more love.

From The Last of Us:

IFHY (I Fucking Hate You) on AO3 - Abby Anderson x Fem!Reader. Enemies with Benefits. Smut and Angst. Set during the main events of Part II. 8k (Oneshot). You and Abby truly hate each other. So when you find Abby handcuffed inside an elevator, instead of being kind and just letting her out, you make her pay a certain price for the key.

I fucking hate you - but I love you.

I'm bad at keeping my emotions bubbled.

You're good at being perfect, we're good at being troubled.

There are so many fics from TLOU that I loved writing and that I'm really proud of, but this one really caught my eye on the list. I love writing about conflict, and I really love writing reader characters who are so bitchy and just cause conflict. (Maybe it's because I'm so nice irl and I never cause conflict, I get out all my internal chaos in writing characters who shit disturb and cause chaos all the time.)

I loved writing this because it's so non-traditional. It's not sappy, it's not romantic - again, it has a really melancholic ending. The characters are so toxic for each other (which is also something I love writing - because it's horrible for relationships irl, but for fiction it's so interesting to explore and observe).

I think this is one of my best, most interesting fics and I really loved doing it.

From Harry Potter:

King For A Day on Tumblr - Poly!Golden Trio x Fem!Reader. (Fem!Reader x Ron Weasley, Harry Potter, and Hermione Granger). FWB to Poly Lovers. Smut (with slight Angst). Set during Deathly Hallows. 22k (Oneshot). While Horcrux Hunting with your closest friends, the dangerous influence of Slytherin’s Locket causes Ron to snap. And it turns out - he brings on something that everyone in the tent really needed.

You told me think about it - well I did.

Now I don't wanna feel a thing anymore.

I'm tired of beggin' for the things that I want.

I'm over sleepin' like a dog on the floor.

Imagine living like a King someday - a single night without a ghost in the walls.

I have spoken about this fic at length, and how this was a spirtual awaken for me - if No Place Like Home was a culmination of everything I am as an artist, then this fic is an echo of those things. Again, I fucking love writing about poly relationships - and I think this fic has one thing that was missing from No Place Like Home. And that is exploring each individual thread of a poly relationship and how someone interacts with each person in the relationship outside of the poly group functioning as a whole. That is definitely a strong suit of this fic.

Also it's amazing filthy nasty smut, which is something I love writing, and something I am really talented at.

From Stranger Things:

I'm Still Standing on AO3 - Nancy Wheeler x Fem Disabled/Chronically Ill Reader. Best Friends to Lovers. Angst, Smut, (slight Fluff). Hurt and Comfort. Happy Ending. Set during Season 4. 37k across 3 chapters. You start having horrible waking nightmares, but you don’t want to worry your best friend Nancy by telling her. She’s already occupied trying to chase down a trans-dimensional killer wizard, and you are convinced that the two problems aren’t possibly related.

There's a cold and lonely light that shines from you,

And you wind up like the wreck you hide, behind that mask you use.

This fic is so interesting.

I wrote this fic shortly after Season 4 came out - and even though I had a few fics for Stranger Things that were pretty popular, everyone just collectively ignored this one? And I know for a fact that it is because Nancy is the love interest. I know that if I had picked Steve or Eddie as the love interest for this fic, then this fic would be just as popular as my other ST fics - but because the subject matter is so deeply personal, I connected with the scenes of Nancy kicking ass at the hospital and worked from there.

(And tbh, if I had to choose a male love interest for this concept, I probably would have chosen Billy, because I relate to him on so many deep personal levels.)

Literally everything in this fic is very personal to me - this is all about my own raw traumas. From the abusive father to the extreme medical trauma to the strained caretaker mother, to the older sister who distances herself from it all - even though this is set in the universe of Stranger Things - this is the story of my life. And idk if I would have wanted it to be a more popular fic, because it is so personal? But I am upset that I worked so hard on it and so many parts of it are so raw, and nobody really saw it. I am upset that I had the bravery to post something so personal and it was just - crickets.

There are so many parts of this fic that I am so insanely proud of. The horror sequences are something that I worked so hard on - not just with the emotion of translating my own trauma, but I wanted to make something honestly scary and I wanted to pay tribute to the tension and emotion and visuals of all my favourite horror media - including Stranger Things and the beautifully tense horror aspects of Season 4. And this is another fic that I feel truly, absolutely represents me as a person to my core. And I feel like it's worth reading if you wanna know more about me and who I am.

(And lastly)

From misc. horror fandoms:

No Brainer on AO3 - Derek Cho (Steven Yeun) x Fem!Reader x Melanie Cross (Samara Weaving). Co-Workers to Lovers. Smut. Based on the film Mayhem from 2017. 7k (Oneshot). When you are the last person alive with an elevator key that Derek and Melanie desperately need, you agree to make a trade. Turns out, when what you're asking for is a threesome - you don't drive too hard of a bargain.

This is one of my favourite fics of all time. This is proof that I do not write for popularity - this fic is written for a fandom on AO3 with a total of five fics FIVE (including mine) and 2 of them are about characters from other media experiencing the plot of this movie as an AU, and mine is the only fic that is x reader. So I didn't just fill a niche - I looked where there was no niche and I dug a hole.

But like - Steven Yeun. Yes, I fell in love with Glenn from TWD, but this is a movie where he is also covered in blood, and rather than being Glenn's meek, reserved self (which I love) - he is outraged and swearing and killing and it makes me foam at the mouth. And I am already in love with Samara Weaving from The Babysitter - so this is literally a killer combination.

My bisexual ass did not even finish the film before I was typing out this fic on my phone.

And I am so happy that I wrote it - because sometimes you just need a self indulgent, blood covered smut.

And you guys can read it too if you want <3

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About Shinsou

*Note: Lmao, do I tag this as Anti Shinsou or Pro Shinsou??*

Despite being a pretty popular character overall, Shinsou seems to be under a lot of scrutiny with my fellow Bakugou antis. And I understand why. Our first introduction to him isn't a pleasant one; he's first shown taunting Class 1A about being attacked by villains (a generally traumatic experience) out of jealousy. It's also been noted that Aizawa spends more time training him than his actual class (though, this is more of an issue with Aizawa than Shinsou). Personality wise, he (subjectively) isn't pleasant or very entertaining either.

I'm impartial to him myself as I don't love him or hate him. He's just... there really (a fate many characters suffer). But you know what I think of when I think about Shinsou's character? Wasted potential.

My Hero Academia is constantly tossing the term rival around the show. There's the rivalry between Izuku, Bakugou, and Todoroki which is why they became the main trio (don't @ me for this I'm speaking technicalities here). There's also the infamous (one-sided) rivalry between All Might and Endeavor, a driving force behind not only Endeavor's actions against his family but a large part of the overall plot of the show.

When I first watched the Sports Festival and Izuku's match with Shinsou, I was positive they were setting them up to be rivals.

No, I don't mean the "rivalry" Izuku has with Bakugou (Bakugou stans don't @ me). I don't mean the friendly rivalries he has with Todoroki or Iida either.

I mean a straight-up rivalry. Where they don't become friends. Where they don't get along with or like one another (maybe a grudging respect at the most). I was sure Shinsou was going to be someone to constantly challenge Izuku; not only on a physical level, but ideologically too.

The Sports Festival partially set this up by calling attention to the similarities between Izuku's past and Shinsou's. While Izuku was discriminated against for his lack of quirk, Shinsou was treated differently and outcast because he had a "villainous" quirk. But they take on two different attitudes. Shinsou is bitter and full of contempt while Izuku was optimistic and determined to help a world full of people who shunned him. The show was deliberately setting up parallels between them.

But this dynamic is almost non-existent. Whatever interaction they do get is towards the end of the manga (Shinsou was introduced in the Sports Festival, an extremely early part of the series and in the show he's non-existent until season 5). And there's none of the previous complexity there was before.

Even if Shinsou was unlikable overall, it might have been worth it for him to be Izuku's real rival. His opposite not only in personality and attitude, but also heroics. Izuku can rely on his strength and the powers OF A give him, Shinsou would have to rely on his skills and brain. Their quirks are somewhat opposite to one another (at least in how they use them). Seeing them have to work together even though they'd usually approach things differently would have been way better than what we usually get.

I think that dynamic would have been a lot more interesting to watch than the trio or whatever you can Izuku and Bakugou (I will not refer to them as the Wonder Duo because wtf is that).

What do my fellow antis think? Would Shinsou have been a good rival if written well enough? Is there anyone else you would have preferred? Personally, I'd take anything over Izuku and Bakugou.

*Note: While we're on this topic, I think Monoma could have been Bakugou's rival. Someone who's calm and collected to contrast Bakugou's temper and whose quirk can easily rival his. I would have preferred that over subjecting Izuku to abuse under the guise of rivalry. I really wish Horikoshi would have kept them separate and allowed them to grow as heroes on their own without their toxic, codependent relationship. Maybe I would have tolerated Bakugou more. Monoma also isn't bothered by Bakugou so he wouldn't have had to go through the same thing Izuku did*

[bonefall]

Bone what herbs should be used for a funeral

(CONTENT WARNING: DEATH AND DEAD BODIES. DECAY. BLOAT. STINK. MAGGOTS, EVEN. MORTUARY THINGS.)

Quick answer: Fennel, valerian, catmint, so the mourners can still safely 'share tongues.' Mint/Lavender if the body isn't looking so fresh. Vinegar, salt, herb oil, a very creative flower arrangement if it's yikesy.

Mortuary student answer:

Depends really, what state did they find the body in?

If they died in-camp, then they can just use any nice-smelling herb. The remains won't be stinking unless they were already smelling bad when they were alive.

At this stage I would avoid the canonical lavender and mint, since it's shown that they like to "share tongues" with them one last time. Those two herbs are poisonous! Instead, go with fennel, valerian, and catmint if there's enough to spare. Fragrant flowers that can still be consumed without harming the mourners.

Now if they died away from camp? They might have been laying there a while.

Generally after about 2-ish hours, the corpse will be in rigor mortis (depends on the temperature tho, heat speeds up decay). At this point there's no smell, and they can be brought home and mourned just like a cat who died in the camp.

You can expect the body to stay fresh about 1 - 3 days, depending again on the season, but you're gonna start noticing the belly begin to bloat.

And THIS is where you're going to have bigger problems to patch up, and you're gonna smell it before you see it.

The biggest one is going to be the maggots. There is no getting around this; a forest is full of flies. A single day after a fly lays its eggs, you will see the little noodles doing their little noodly things.

They're doing their job breaking down organic matter is all!

No need to be afraid of them. If the body needs to be stored because you're pending a funeral, just bust out those mint and lavender herbs I told you to put aside earlier. Those are insect repellents-- but it will mean they can't do the customary 'sharing of tongues.' Chives and other onion-relatives could also be helpful here

If the maggots are already having a party, clean them off. I mention that ShadowClan can ferment vinegar-- that would be super helpful. Just take a mossball of it and wipe lmao. They want to set up shop near orifices and exposed wounds so pay attention to those areas.

The vinegar will also help with the smell, if there is one (if you found the maggots after they JUST hatched, about 1 day post-mortem, there might not be a stink yet.)

But you might be past just dealing with a couple maggots. You might be looking at decay. In a cat with all that fur, you're going to notice the rotten smell before any visible symptoms... but when moved, the side towards the ground's going to be wet and gross. Probably ant-y.

First visible symptoms are fur starting to fall off, bloated belly, the eyes might be gone.

Now if you're dealing with that, you're pushing it. It's probably going to be better to get them in the ground quick instead of horrifying the mourners. But okay, let's say it's not SO bad yet that you can't carry them by the scruff anymore...

But let me tell you buddy, if you go to drag them by the scruff and the skin comes off. Give Up! Just Give Up! They are LATE for dirt duty!

But you may be able to bring some of that bloat down with salt to dehydrate them, but you'd need a lot of it. I also hope you have vinegar because you're really going to want to neutralize that smell, especially if you can't spare like half a pound of salt.

Lastly, I wouldn't even JUST gather flowers for this one, crush your herbs up and get a REAL smelly oil. Bathe them in that.

I'd get creative here too, get some fresh plants to cover up anything that's poking out you don't want being seen, like bones or muscle. Bring attention to the parts that you WERE able to restore, or aren't so bad yet. If something important is missing, like a leg or a head, gather up some dirt and cover it in flowers to give the appearance of them still having it.

[douwatahima]

Oooookay. So I finished my seventh watch through of season 2 yesterday and I finally feel equipped to give my personal ranking of all 18 OFMD episodes. No one asked for this but here it is lol. Also I gave them all a score out of ten and tiered them all by said score because I'm very normal. LET'S GO.

6/10 - These Are Kinda Meh

18. 1x02: A Damned Man - To me, this is the most forgettable episode of the whole show. I mean, it's not awful or anything (it's still OFMD), but I have literally nothing to say about it. It's just kinda there.

17. 2x06: Calypso's Birthday - There's things in this episode I like (everything with Ned Lowe is good imo), but the whole party sequence, which takes up about half the episode, feels so empty to me. At first it didn't bother me that much, but then Samba revealed what the original plan was and knowing that at one point this episode had a plot has made the incredible lack of one we got soooo much more noticeable.

16. 1x03: The Gentleman Pirate - Introduction of Spanish Jackie, Magic Man, Ed and Stede meeting for the first time, there's definitely good stuff here. However, it gets sooooooooo much better than this.

7/10 - Good and Fun, Just Not My Fave

15. 2x07: Man on Fire - There is so much in this episode I like. Ed and Stede having breakfast in bed makes me feel insane. Stede and Zheng fighting ruled so hard. FRENCHIE SCHEMEING WITH THE CREW!!! The biggest thing is that there's so much in this episode that nothing really gets room to breathe. With like…five more minutes this episode could've been peak.

14. 1x06: The Art of Fuckery - This falls under the category of "episodes that are good, but there are others I like way more". The bathtub scene is of course peak, but in a season with some really incredible stuff this episode doesn't particularly stick out to me.

13. 2x04: Fun and Games - Same as the previous episode. I love the whole "Seabird" sequence, Ed and Stede's little heart to heart, and of course Anne and Mary's everything, but there are so many more episodes I love way more.

8/10 - I'm Incredibly Fond of These

12. 1x07: This is Happening - Fun fact I originally had this in the last category but then I remembered the co-captains scene and I knew I had to bump it up lmao. There's soooo much peak OFMD in here. The snake scene! Lucius calling Ed out!!! The previously mentioned co-captains scene!!!!! The only reason this isn't higher is because around my…fifteenth rewatch I found myself kinda getting bored with the Jim's nana subplot (sorry Jim).

11. 1x01: Pilot - OHHHHH I AM SO FOND OF THE PILOT. There's definitely some clunkiness in this episode imo (it is the first one after all), but the feeling I get when I boot up this episode is unparalleled. Frenchie starts singing and my heart soars. Also the entire "High on a Rocky Ledge" sequence is beautiful even all these months later.

10. 1x08: We Gull Way Back - 90% of my love for this episode is that I find Will Arnett very funny. This episode also gave us "The Chain" sequence including the foot touch heard around the world. ALSO ROOM PEOPLE!!! I love this one.

09. 2x01: Impossible Birds - The biggest fault of this episode is that it premiered alongside two of the best episodes of OFMD ever and this one slightly pales in comparison. That being said, it's a very strong season opener. Also, I am personally obsessed with the "Strawberry Letter 23" sequence. AND THE CAKE TOPPERS I CAN'T BELIEVE I ALMOST FORGOT THE CAKE TOPPERS!!!!!

08. 1x04: Discomfort in a Married State - I AM SOOOOOO FOND OF THIS ONE. The way the first half of the episode parallels Ed/Izzy and Stede/Mary only to spend the second half juxtaposing those two relationships against Ed/Stede? Masterful. The way Ed and Stede's relationship develops so naturally? Beautiful. THE LIGHTHOUSE SCENE? INCREDIBLE. WHAT AN EPISODE!

9/10 - I'm Genuinely Mad These Didn't Make Top 5

07. 2x05: The Curse of the Seafaring Life - The way this episode had me giggling and kicking my feet in real life after I first saw it. There's nothing not to like here. Ed and Fang fishing, Lucius and Pete getting engaged, THE SUIT…all incredible. Not to mention we got "you wear fine things well" version 2.0 with the best kiss in the whole show!

06. 1x05: The Best Revenge is Dressing Well - I love everything about this one. Ed and Stede at the fancy party, Lucius kicking Izzy's ass with the power of polyamory, Frenchie and Olu scamming racists…when I think of quintessential OFMD, this is the episode I think of. And of course the original version of "you wear fine things well" lives within my very soul.

10/10 - I Feel Mentally Ill About These Ones

05. 2x02: Red Flags - To start off, I really liked getting Lucius back and his whole subplot with Stede was really really great. Now that that point's out of the way HOLY SHIT EVERYTHING WITH ED IN THIS EPISODE WHAT THE FUCK. THE SCENE BETWEEN ED AND IZZY IS LITERALLY GOD TIER. ED PAINTED THE BRIDE TO LOOK LIKE HIMSELF AND I STILL HAVEN'T RECOVERED. "RUN FROM ME"? LIKE...IN GENERAL??? CRAZY. AND THEN ED SAYING "FINALLY" WHEN HE GETS THE CREW TO KILL HIM? INSANE. THEY WERE INSANE FOR THIS.

04. 1x09: Act of Grace - I mean, listen. I've talked about this a lot but it bears repeating. Staying up until 2am to watch this episode when it premiered and seeing Ed and Stede ACTUALLY KISS changed me as a person. I am different because I experienced that. Not to mention the rest of this episode is peak. Ed calling for the act of grace, the crew voting Olu as captain, the entire "Perfect Day" sequence, just incredible all around.

03. 2x08: Mermen - God this show can do a good finale. I will never stop being bowled over by how much I love this one. The "Moscow" scene? Sexy as hell. Ed and Stede reuniting and Ed telling Stede he loves him? I've watched it three thousand times. THE LETTER? THEY WROTE THEIR NAMES ON EACH OTHER IN PERMANENT INK!!! Also, even though it's highly controversial to say, I thought Izzy's death scene was very very good. Not to mention the entire last few minutes set to "The Times They Are A-Changin'" makes me feel so incredibly soft. I love OFMD soooooo much.

02. 2x03: The Innkeeper - Listen. If this whole episode sucked but it still included the mermaid scene I would still have it this high. That being said, this whole episode is sooooo incredibly good. The opening sequence with Zheng manipulating the rival captain is so well done. Ed in the gravy basket is crazy from beginning to end. Stede plotting to get the crew to safety is peak Stede and I love it. And somehow, after all of that, the episode also ends with one of the most incredible sequences I have ever seen. Watching a man who thought he was fundamentally unlovable get brought back to life because of how much he's loved while "This Woman's Work" plays in the background will follow me forever. Just…some of the most beautiful shit ever put to film.

1000/10 - THE GOAT NO OTHER NEED APPLY

01. 1x10: Wherever You Go, There You Are - I AM SO SERIOUS WHEN I SAY THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE EPISODES OF TELEVISION OF ALL TIME. The way Ed and Stede's plots through this episode are juxtaposed against each other makes me feel feral. The way that Stede is so out of place and closed off from his family while Ed is actively healing and bonding with the crew ONLY FOR THESE TWO PLOTS TO FLIP WHEN THEY EACH TALK TO THE PERSON WHO REPRESENTED A NONFUNCTIONING RELATIONSHIP TO THEM ALL THE WAY BACK IN EPISODE FOUR! THE WAY MARY AND STEDE GETTING TO TALK AND BE HONEST AND LET EACH OTHER GO ALLOWS STEDE TO FINALLY GROW AND BE HAPPY WHILE IZZY HANGING ON TO THAT TOXIC RELATIONSHIP WITH ALL OF HIS MIGHT AND NOT LETTING ED GROW AND CHANGE WITHOUT HIM FORCES ED BACK INTO THE PITS OF DESPAIR!!! The entire "Avalanche" sequence breaks my heart in the absolute best way and seeing Ed do all this terrible shit with no more spark left in his usually super expressive eyes hurts so good! And then, of course, there's my favourite part of all. Seeing Stede, a man who has been so lost and unmoored, row out into the ocean looking more settled than we've ever seen him while Mary says he's now free and that freedom coming completely from Stede realizing he's in love with another man is something that feels so personally assuring to me I can't even fully express it. The entire "Miles from Nowhere" sequence is incredible to me (and to this day that song is thee OFMD needle drop in my opinion) but that part especially is my favourite thing this show has ever given me hands down. Thank you David Jenkins for my life.

[crehador]

quickfire thoughts on fall 2023 now that everything i'm watching has had at least three eps out

EXCELLENT

sousou no frieren: still very easily anime of the season, beautiful in visuals and in story. a quiet, subtle look at loss and grief, and life continuing beyond that. the structure is working perfectly imo, it never feels like there are too many or not enough flashbacks, i feel connected at all times to both the present day party and the himmel-era party

migi to dali: still doing an exceptional job of balancing creepy and funny, i said before that the only thing i can think of with a remotely similar vibe is the movie hot fuzz and while i think there's a different flavor of comedy here, i still stand by that (and that's a compliment bc hot fuzz is an excellent movie)

kamonohashi ron no kindan suiri: although i wouldn't say this is mind-blowingly outstanding in any single way, it's very well-done in just about every conceivable way and comes together as an extremely solid series

BORDERLINE EXCELLENT

overtake: after four episodes i'm so tempted to put it with the 'excellent' shows but have to admit it's just not objectively on that level, it is subjectively one of my current favorites of the season though. silly at times, fairly simple story, but really effectively done so far

ADORABLE

s rank musume: feel like this one is largely going to slip through the cracks because it looks like your typical fantasy-action/adventure series, but doesn't stand out in that genre. the cute/soothing family moments are what stand out to me, but understandably that's not what most viewers of the genre are looking for. remains to be seen if a more action-y plot will build up, have doubts about how effective that will be

yuzuki-san chi no yon kyoudai: VERY CUTE with some very real moments and struggles, the cr subs debacle in the first ep however did it no favors

atarashii joushi wa dotennen: VERY CUTE i almost wish they'd cast literally anyone except umechan for shirosaki bc with him the similarities to cool doji danshi are just too much lmao however umechan is in fact perfect for this character so why not let him play it twice i guess

hoshikuzu telepath: moe yuri that isn't afraid to say rocket science is for autistic lesbians, what could be better?

wataoshi: YURI OF THE SEASON SORRY HOSHIKUZU TELEPATH HERE'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE BETTER i actually would put these two on a similar tier but wataoshi gets the edge for me because rae is so unapologetically, exuberantly gay and that is just so nice to see

SEQUELS

houkago shounen hanako-kun: tragically only four half-length episodes but it's nice to see these kids again, ogata megumi's hanako voice just hits in a way the jjk yuuta voice doesn't, for me, so very glad to hear it again

arknights s2: i'm liking the art even more than i did in s1? not sure if it's actually changed/improved, and imo s1 was already good, but anyway just really enjoying seeing all the faves moving and speaking!

spy x family s2: still cute of course what more can i say

b-project s3: MAN I'M TORN i don't dislike this season (we are getting so many kitakore shots) but i am so stressed out for tsubasa and i just want to see her catch a break! i'm sure the season will end in an uplifting way, but all the stress she's under right now makes me want to punch things

dead mount death play s2: it was good and is somehow still getting better, s2e3 which just came out is one of the best yet imo

GOOD FOR THE ACTION BUT NOT TERRIBLY MUCH ELSE

undead unluck: i kind of... don't like anyone here lmao but the over-the-top, high-octane action is not badly animated, it's just not gripping me on any level beyond that. it does however have the op of the season

ragna crimson: again it's failing to get me really invested in the story/characters but the action is not bad i guess, cast for this one is absurdly stacked so i'm not going anywhere

shangri-la frontier: this one's doing a GREAT job with its pacing and action imo, it's introducing the game mechanics in a way that doesn't feel too fast or too slow. only issue is there really... doesn't seem to be any stakes? like at all? which is not a problem for me personally, it just feels a bit like we're waiting for another shoe to drop

WATCHABLE BUT...

bullbuster: i'm kind of vibing with this after three episodes but i really can't imagine it finding an audience, it's not mech enough to really appeal to mech fans and it's not... typical office drama enough to appeal to typical office fans. it's a strange little combo that just happens to work for me, personally

NOT GOOD BUT I LOVE IT

kawagoe boys sing: this is a ridiculous series, i would say not as wild as number24 but kind of getting there. like number24 but more vanilla, less homoerotic. i loved number24 and I'M LOVING THIS TOO there are some genuinely interesting characters already and though i still currently want to punt kick that teacher into the sun i remain cautiously optimistic that he'll see some character development. at some point. maybe

NOT GOOD. JUST NOT GOOD. SORRY.

bokura no ameiro protocol: really feels like some late-2000s/early-2010s male wish fulfillment dramedy. lots of weird and unnecessary het nonsense going on. honestly would consider dropping if it were 24 episodes but since it's only 12 i guess i'll stick it out. for kimuryo. who is unfortunately playing such a rancid character

[petitmimosa]

I think they said the whole "cheating" plot wasn't going to be in season 3 but even if it's not I still don't buy Belly leaving Jere for anyone let alone Conrad he's the most toxic trash that the show had to white wash to make him "likable" trying to give some of Jere's qualities from the book and still failed miserably I still don't see a reason why anyone would want him he's so bland and boring. I would say that whole book 3 isn't canon I don't recognize Belly or Jeremiah in it felt like two different characters will their names but not their personalities Conrad on the other hand was the same we knew from the first two books except they tried to give him pov that he always loved Belly and try to white knight him when I don't believe he ever did love her it seemed to me that he only goes after her when someone else gets with her like she's an object which is funny because the conrad stans always claim Jere is in competition and only after Belly because of his brother but I think it's the only way around. I hope Jenny makes Jelly endgame Jere always felt like the male lead to me it would give her redemption after the failure that third book was still wish we got more romance between them in the first two as well didn't like how obsessed Belly was over Conrad that was more of a idealized crush which was a dream and not real whenever Belly saw the real Conrad she never liked what she saw lol I think that also clouded her feelings for Jere because she did get Jealous of Taylor and wanted to take her down I guess she never realized it in the books. Speaking of the books I love the conrad stans whos excuse is read the books conrad is better there I'm like I have read the books that's why I hate conrad lmao he's even worse in the books while Jere is the best in both show and book. Sorry if this got too long I needed to get my thoughts out I really hope Jelly is endgame in the show it would makes no sense otherwise since Conrad belly ship has no development and is boring.

Hiii! Let me just say: yes.

I do hope they don't make him cheat because everyone (except the bonrad cult) will agree it would just not make any sense. Writing wise, they'd make fools out of themselves and with how popular the show is, I think they wouldn't risk it? Also just to put it out there, Jere doesn't cheat. At least for me he doesn't. And it drives me mad how the Bonrad cult will use this storyline to make Jere the worst villain ever when Conrad did Nicole SO DIRTY in season 1. He led her on, used her and trashed her as soon as he saw an opening with Belly. But that's okay because? Bonrad? Kay. This is your glorious ship? A girl blindsided by her crush and said crush using her feelings for him whenever he feels like it? You can give him all the romantic lines you want, actions do speak louder than words.

They're trying to give him some wit but when you have Gavin opposite someone it just fails miserably. Let Conrad be his broody, pouty self. Own it at least.

A lot of people do say/feel that book 3 doesn't resonate with them because the writing and the direction they took make no sense. WHY would an author, who's supposed to love her characters, destroy one of her three mains like that? Just to have her ship as endgame? There are so many ways to turn the story around and do it right. At least when you're a good writer. Maybe it all comes down to this?

They'll make Bonrad endgame. They won't change the ending and that's really too bad because what did we see from them? Toxic behavior from Conrad, sad pining from Belly, a few flashbacks where it's all rainbows and turn to shit in two minutes because Conrad is a selfish entitled boy who believes he can do as he pleases no matter the consequences on people. While with Jere we see them blossom all the way. It's just bad writing I hate it. There are times it feels like I'm just hate watching every episode ahahah.

And I don't hate Conrad. I can't connect with his character and hate how hard he's shoved down our throats because he's ENDGAME SO WHO CARES ABOUT THE REST? It doesn't work like that people.

They'll have two endings if they're smart. But that's a huge if. Jenny is too hardcore Bonrad to have the show end any different. There'll be backlash though and it may be mean but I can't wait. I'm tired of shows pleasing the twitter stans in fear of being hated on even when it's the correct and sensible writing choice to do.

[ambitionsource]

I found ambition when looking for Jack and Eric fanfic on ao3. I genuinely thought it was it's own show with characters who just happened to have the same name as my two bmw favs (I didn't watch gmw and for my own sake I probably never will because they do my babies; jack, eric and angela, so dirty, and I knew of certain things namely Lucas Maya Riley I didn't know enough for it to make me click). I had no clue what I was getting myself into but then I started reading. I'm so beyond glad I did, I've loved every second, every laugh and every tear. Ambition is the show I wished I had as a teen (instead I had glee... and Riverdale... that says enough...) but I'm glad I found it when I needed it, as I face the same challenges the gang has been facing in season 4 as they move on from triple a and onto life in the real world. I like to believe the stories we need find their way to us, the characters we need to meet come to us, thank you for bringing all the characters but especially Jack, Charlie, Nigel, Asher and Jade to life, joining them on their journeys throughout the show and seeing parts of myself - good and bad - reflected back on me has helped me in ways I'll never be able to put to words so I'll simply say thank you. That's the power of good writing, it leaves the reader changed, the writing in ambition is incredible. I've been invested at every step, hooked by every twist. Ambition feels so real, so poignant, the characters feel like real people, it is so true to life in all it's complexities and in all it's ugliness and beauty. It's raw and it's human and it's about community and hope and it's about flawed people who make mistakes but are still worthy and deserving of love and who are trying to do not only do their best but do good and it's the story I desperately needed. I just wanted to write a wee note to send some appreciation to you all for your incredible work and everything you do to bring us this brilliant piece of work.

If the multiverse is real there's a universe where I follow Dylan Orlando on yt and TikTok and debate and jokingly bicker with Nigel about Shakespeare and am mostly likely a techie, I'm kinda sad that I'm not in it lmao but I'm glad and so grateful in one where I found your story. Looking forward to the rest of season 4 and in time season 5, it's going to break my heart to say goodbye but that's how you know that it mattered, if it hurts to let it go.

{backpedaling to bmw for a sec, BLESS YOU FOR WRITING THE WRONGS. I loved the Shawn Angela storyline in season 1 and honestly it healed a part of me that bmw/gmw broke. Without a doubt ambition did it better. I love when they pop in and they have some of my favorite lines. Shawn absolutely kills me, to paraphrase ; "oh yeah I could be jack, authority baby" destroys me every single time. I adore his dynamic with the techies too and Jack. Speaking of Jack, I am on my knees praising y'all for Jack and Eric, so rarely are older couples in teen/ya shows given such depth and it's even rarer to see a queer relationship between two men in their 30s/40s. Their relationship isn't perfect, it's flawed and complicated and there is so much love, their journey so far has been beautiful. It's rare for older characters especially teachers and parents to be treated as three dimensional and as complex individuals, they're typically just the joke or unreasonable antagonist, not in ambition. They are just as complicated and as real as our mains and I love that}.

omg hi! hello!! welcome welcome to the ambition family! full disclosure when i got the notification in my email that i had an anon on this blog i always lowkey dread it's going to be something harsh -- because internet -- but this message was the absolute opposite and the most lovely of surprises. i don't even know where to begin, but you wrote such a thoughtful and packed note here so i wanna address it all in turn -- please bear with me for the long response!

(though if you've read all of ambition up to this point, you're probably used to my writing being way too long. ahaha.)

first off, i wanted to highlight, underline, emphasize in bold what you said here: "I like to believe the stories we need find their way to us, the characters we need to meet come to us..." because you quite literally put our mentality about creating the show into words (beautiful words at that). that is near word-for-word the approach esther and i have taken with this show basically since its inception when we started writing it for ourselves -- we never ever expected it would reach as many people as it has. and we think of it that exact same way, that those who are meant to discover ambition will find their way to it (and its never too late to dive in). so it's so special to me to see you say that, to reflect that sentiment back to us, as like... proof that it is true. this series has brought a specially strange and wonderful cohort of readers together and it is always amazing when another one pops in to make themselves known. so thank you, thank you, for taking the time out of your day to share that with us. and again, welcome!

secondly -- HELL YES TO FINDING YOUR WAY HERE BECAUSE OF JACK AND ERIC! as someone who admittedly has grown less than fond of bmw in the intervening years (does our version of ct show that a bit... oops lol), jack and eric as a duo are still who holds my heart because they were that iconic in the source material of yore. i typically just tag them because they are so central to ambition (though as you probably noticed, i don't tag bmw as a fandom -- at this point i wouldn't tag either show honestly since its so like it's own thing but i have to unfortunately lmao), but i had considered not doing so because i didn't want to clog up the jeric tag but now i'm so glad i do, because look what a lovely little happenstance of bringing you to ambition it fostered!!

(also, you're correct. don't watch gmw. i enjoyed my time with it back in the day, it's cute, but there are better shows and the fandom was absolutely horrible. basically everyone who was there will attest to that LOL. that's partially why we emphasize that at this point ambition really is its own thing, because it's so far removed -- and clearly you can vouch for that now 😊)

and thank you for your kind words about how we write jack and eric -- we 100% agree that adult characters on young adult dramas tend to be useless at best and downright vile at worst (hellooo mr schue, speaking of glee), and we wanted them to be fleshed out and flawed and featured just as much in their own right. plus not only do they have a great relationship with each other that we enjoy writing (enemies to friends to lovers done right, if we do say so ourselves), they have such incredibly important dynamics with others (lucas and isa being the obvious ones) that it's impossible to think of the show without them. so it is SO great to hear such specific praise for them from a reader! and i love that you shouted out a shawn line, he is an underrated gem in the ambition story world for sure (and allowing him and angela their due was very satisfying for us, yes, hahaha).

lastly, can i ask, are you a writer too? because the way you phrased this is absolutely gorgeous and i want to just. hang it up on my wall and hold it close to my heart forever: "joining them on their journeys throughout the show and seeing parts of myself - good and bad - reflected back on me has helped me in ways I'll never be able to put to words so I'll simply say thank you. That's the power of good writing, it leaves the reader changed, the writing in ambition is incredible. I've been invested at every step, hooked by every twist. Ambition feels so real, so poignant, the characters feel like real people, it is so true to life in all it's complexities and in all it's ugliness and beauty. It's raw and it's human and it's about community and hope and it's about flawed people who make mistakes but are still worthy and deserving of love and who are trying to do not only do their best but do good and it's the story I desperately needed."

like legit, that means so so much to us. it's so heartening to see readers engage with the material so deeply AND come away from it with exactly the themes we set out to explore -- community, love, complexity, humanity, faith, failure, rebirth. so thank you, genuinely, for taking the time to send us this wee little note. it is incredibly kind of you, and we're so glad you found this series and get to take the journey with us.

enjoy the rest of the season to come, and please feel free to pop in at any time ✨

-- Maggie

[talkingbl]

Actually Unpopular BL Opinions pt. 2

So, people are doing this again.

If you haven't seen my first Actually Unpopular BL Opinions, click here!

Since folks wanna do this again, I'll bite. Remember, these are just my opinion--opinions which are fluid and open to change as circumstances change. Anyway, here they are:

Jaechan acting in Semantic Error doesn't = queerbaiting.

I actually agree with folks that Bad Buddy got boring in the latter half of the story. Looking back at the second part of my post on Bad Buddy, I'm realizing that the latter half of the season was a subpar, lackluster, overly contrived, terribly paced mess. Stuff seemed to just happen for no reason and the chemistry started to waver a bit because of it I think. Now, I'm not one of those people who thinks Ohm and Nanon never had chemistry just because Nanon came out as straight (which, lmao to the idea of coming out as straight and also to those who thought he was anything but despite him constantly telling y'all he was only into women). But, I do think that at certain points their chemistry felt more platonic than romantic (but honestly this just added to the overall chemistry for me as I think most good couples have a friendly chemistry in addition to the romantic chemistry). I also want to be clear that I never really felt sexual chemistry between the two and I think that's why some people believe they lack chemistry.

Currently, the only 2 popular BL actors I ever want to hear sing again are Billkin and Jeff. Nunew might get a pass every now and again. Everyone else, kindly stop.

Most Japanese live-action BLs are not interesting in the slightest. Actually, I'll take this a step further and say most Japanese BL manga I've read aren't particularly interesting either. It's so strange too because I like certain anime (AOT, JoJo) but I just can't get into the BLs.

Even though I liked it, KinnPorsche is overrated. There, I said it. Now that I said it, let's be clear about something: KinnPorsche didn't 'fall off' like Bad Buddy the way people are claiming, nor is the acting, production, etc. egregiously bad. It is the plot that was extremely convoluted, had no real goal, and relied mainly on cheap/nonsensical plot twists, BL tropes, and sex in lieu of a coherent story. The story is somewhat like Check Out if Check Out was actually entertaining and well executed. But I don't wanna get into this one too deeply as I haven't done a write up on it yet.

Never Let Me Go looks like the best BL of 2022 (I don't consider Not Me 2022).

We Best Love is so incredibly difficult to get into. I don't feel the chemistry between the leads, I'm not sure what the storyline is, the acting isn't great, and the production isn't the crispy high quality I'm used to. Idk, I just don't get the hype.

Fish Upon The Sky is GMM's most all-around entertaining BL after Not Me and Theory of Love.

I don't know if I'm just letting his performance in Bad Buddy affect me, but I can't bring myself to watch anything with Jimmy in it. I am literally not watching Vice Versa because his acting style really bothers me.

Story-wise, Young Royals is better than any BL I've watched thus far ,with the exception of Not Me. I know this is the hottest take on planet earth, especially because I loved ITSAY, but understand I'm not saying overall it's the best, I'm saying the story/plot is the best combination of interesting and well executed.

Don't Say No wasn't good or interesting and the only thing that saved it was LeonPob. Actually, I have to do a write up on this one because I have much more than can reasonably fit here.

Heartstopper is for them kids. I tried episode 1 and just could not get into it. That doesn't mean it's bad, just that it's for them kids.

[kosi-annec]

[HAIKYUU!!] Season 2 episode 5

Now that karasuno has their secret weapon back on the team, shits bout to get real for the other sch teams

Hol up she still here lol??

HELL YEAH LETS GO GINGER! SHOW EM UR SPEED

oop he still closes his eyes, thought he was past that now

OH SHIT- LEV ACTUALLY BLOCKED IT, AND HASN'T EVEN BEEN 5 MINUTES. Hinata really should learn to keep his eyes open

"what's read blocking again?" Bruh 😭

Well fuck, he sucks at understanding the terms n shit of volleyball, but he's good

I thought for sec that hinata was like overthinking shit cuz they lost a point twice to Lev, but nah that ain't his style, he's too tenacious to be put down like that. Kageyama is hella confused tho lol, which is fair

UHHH HINATA??? UH OH my guy was way too into it

... sorry old man, ya lost me a bit there with ur evolution talk...

EYO KAGEYAMA hun ya gotta trust your spikers, you may be the one prepping the shot, but in the end the spikers are the ones shooting for it, so trust ur lil guy

They've finally realized that they gotta chnage things up, or else they'll never beat the bug leagues. OH THAT'S WHAT THE OLD MAN NEKOMA COACH MEANT OK

Damn wasn't expecting that motivating speech to come from u, mr. Advisor, but also not surprising

Yeah, hinata can't keep doing those quick attacks blind, cuz how else will he notice that it'll get blocked? And kageyama i dont doubt that ur ability to read hinata's skill level is wrong, but you also can't just tell him no without trying, there's a reason for practicing isn't there?

I forget sometimes that the quick attack is called that for a reason, the show's just been giving us a slightly slowed down version for the sake of watchability

OOF- welp got a new protagonist i guess, really switched out the mc for a background character

God i love hinata's ability to just befriend everyone, including his supposed rivals HSKHSKS

Love how mr. Advisor (yea i ain't memorizing the name lmao) is being optimistic

Hhhhh oh boy... He does need to practice being able to keep his eyes open tho, he can't keep going in blind forever

Oof, there it is. That's the thing, hinata can't keep relying on his setter to give him a perfect shot, if he does then he himself won't ever get better with his own skill

Gotta say the animators made how physical fights happen irl rather realistic, not every fight is just punch and kick, most of the time it's mainly grabbing and pulling and shoving at each other

HHHHH HINATAAAA THESE TWO BETTER MAKE IT UP SOON OR SO HELP ME

Oh right asahi never met the two of them the first time they arrived, so he never actually got to see what they were like in the beginning stages

"could hinata be one of those spikers?" Well yeah he's the protagonist lmao

[desertgremlin]

And speaking of Elliot, I think he is a foil for Sean. Elliot has really killed a lot of his own humanity at this point. He is so much more sassy and abrasive than he was last season, and I kind of love it. Like, Elliot is actually a bad ass and I think he is who Sean thinks he is. Maybe that's why Sean was so clingy with him last season, who knows. But Elliot has really changed a lot. I was worried that he was gonna be a "bad" guy this season, seeing the path he was going down last season, but he is kind of a rogue. He sees what this world is like and he is just like, "Fuck all y'all." And he is right. He tried to do good and it got his coworker killed and him as a hitman. I think there is clearly still some good in him, it's just hanging on by a thread. But he is actually smart and uses violence in a calculated manner. He is so done that he doesn't even let the intimidation faze him. I thought it was so funny when he was working with Koba and Koba was asking him questions and Elliots responses were, "I don't fucking know." Such an attitude! I loved it. And in turn, Koba was shocked and he was like, "Wait, you're not mad at me, are you?" Like he didn't like that he couldn't control and manipulate Elliot. And that's exactly how Sean needs to be. Elliot isn't petforming. He hates almost everyone right now and has everyone reason to feel that way. He's had to do horrendous things for these people and does not like himself at all for it. All he cares about is his father. So he has nothing to prove. In that sense, he is very much like Lale. Neither of them like themselves and it's because of the things the thought they needed to do to survive. And it's so funny that these are the two non-family members Sean has clung to the most. He scared Elliot before he revealed himself but didn't kill or hurt him. And like, instead of shooting him on the spot when Elliot ambushed him, Sean asks him to join him. Girl, what? He almost killed you! Multiple times! The least you owe him is an uppercut. But he was just like, "Help me or get out of my way, please!" As much as I was disappointed that Elliot refused, I don't blame him. I would look at Sean too and be like, "You are pathetic, dude."

I am SO into this Sean/Elliot dynamic!! Like, they're on the same side but also not. They've both got different reasons for wanting to take down the Investors. It's great, I'm into it.

Elliot has had his Neo-seeing-the-Matrix type moment where he's like you all think this gang shit is the be-all and end-all, fuck you guys. He's ascended, he is indeed beyond it all. Like we mentioned in that last ask about family - he doesn't care about taking down anyone anymore, he just wants his dad safe and out of there.

He's so real. I love him for it.

Elliot and Lale are becoming my faves because of what you mentioned, they're doing what they're doing to survive. And I think that's why I was so intrigued by Floriana. She was out there trying to hustle up a better life for herself and her kid. I loved when she told Marian something like: I've lived through war, this doesn't phase me - paraphrasing really bad from memory.

I've also got a soft spot for Luan, couldn't tell you why. Poor guy keeps getting kicked while he's down.

And yeah, Sean clearly recognises the real ones, he's just got not much to offer them in return, lmao.

All I'm gonna do tomorrow is binge the second half of the season. I adored this in depth chat about GoL bestieee. Your mind is unparalleled!!

[sugurugetofavoritemonkey]

Training (Armin Arlert x Reader).

✵ Pairing : Armin Arlert x Female Reader (use of she/her pronouns and female genitals)

✵ Summary : You need help in hand to hand combat and Armin is more than happy to help.

✵ Word count : + 2,3k. 

✵ Warnings : There’s like one spoiler maybe for season 1, fluff I think?, smut, fingering, dirty talk (idk if I missed something oops), armin could be a warning on his own tho.

✵ Note : I wrote this with an Armin after the time skip in my head (even though before could totally work) so I see Armin in this like someone who gained confidence and uses it at his advantage, cuz he’s a smartass and a cocky one.

@alert-arlert​ (don’t be too mean to me if it’s bad but don’t tell me it’s good if it isn’t lmao mwah <3)

ENJOYY!! <3333

It was time to train. 

You were all outside, waiting in the field, pairing by two. Jean, Sasha, Connie, Mikasa, Armin and you. 

And to your dismay you were paired with Mikasa. You didn’t hate her, not even a bit, she even was one of your closest friends. She just happened to be much stronger than you.

Being given that today was the hand to hand combat training, you weren’t the most at ease. You already trained with Mikasa before, she was sweet to you, trying not to hurt you too much, escaping the attentive gaze of Levi, who was watching you train to make it look like you could give a few punches to her. But to no use, you weren’t weak but everyone knew that you needed to learn some skills and confidence to be able to surpass yourself. 

You were brought out of your thoughts when Mikasa gave you a light punch to your shoulder, almost making you fall. 

“Come on, wake up and try to give back the blow I gave you”. 

And you tried, taking a few steps forward, launching your right fist to her jaw, too slow. She had already dodged your move even before you could get close to her. She gave a kick to the back of your left knee, this time, efficiently making you fall forward, face first in the dirt. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to kick you that hard, let me help you” 

As Mikasa helps you get up, you can’t help but let out with a light laugh, “Yeah, you really aren’t aware of your strength Mikasa, a few more punches and it was the end for me”. 

She smiles at you while you rub your nose, checking if you didn’t bleed, again, but hopefully she “tried” to be gentle with you. Gentle really wasn’t in Mikasa’s vocabulary, you thought.

“You know what? I’m sure with a few lessons you could get better with some time.”

Your face lightens with curiosity, “You think you could help me with that?”

“I’m afraid I can’t, Hansi wants to see me to test the new thunder spears with them, but I know someone who could help, Armin. Maybe he isn’t as strong as I am but I guarantee you that he knows how to fight, and much more than you think, and I know that you are pretty close...”. 

Your cheeks start to heaten up at the last few words she lets out. It was true. Armin and yourself were getting closer each time the two of you could see each other, starting to know the other one like the back of the hand.

You seems to consider her offer when you voices to her, “That would be great but I don’t want to disturb him..Maybe he has other stuffs to do...”

When Mikasa sees your hesitance, she immediately says, “Listen, he’s over there, why won’t you ask him right now? You have nothing to lose.”

She was right. You had to get better at melee combat, there will be soon enough another very important mission for Paradis, you couldn’t lose the chance to gain necessary skills, and, maybe...Maybe you wanted to get even closer to the blond boy.

He was always nice to you, patient and attentive. These past few years, you have learned about all the countless things he knows. And you had done the same with him. Armin and you were known to be inseparable. 

At lunch time, the first one between the two of you to get a spot at a table would wait for the other, keeping a reserved spot close to them. 

You've even already slept in the same bed. 

When your nightmares would get too real, you did get out of your room to enter the male’s dorm and sneak in Armin’s bed. Waiting for his arms to envelop you, whispering words of reassurance in your ear. 

You almost were like a couple, except the fact that any of you didn’t really made THE move. More time passed and more the both of you could feel the tension building between each other. So maybe a little lesson with him couldn’t hurt. 

As you approached the blonde boy, you could feel your palms starting to get sweaty, your pulse quickening. And what if he says no? What if it’s just in my head, you thought. 

Finally in front of him, you gathered as much courage as you could and hoped that your voice would be as steady as possible. 

“Hmm, Armin, can I ask you a question please?”

“Yeah sure darling” 

Your body immediately stiffens, Armin loved to call you by little nicknames. The first time he did was out of the blue, you were talking about some book you two loved and he didn’t think much about it, just wanted to call you that. 

But when he remarked -and this smartass did notice it far too quickly- that everytime he calls you by one, you become flustered and more shy than usual, he couldn’t get enough of it, getting drunk on the fact that HE was able to earn this cute reaction out of you. 

“Can you help me train at hand to hand combat please? I need skills and apparently you could help me with that”, but when his big ocean blue eyes start to look at you, you lose all confidence, “ But if you can’t, I mean it’s okay, I will just, you know-”

He cuts off your incoherent babbling, answering “Of course I can, what kind of friend would I be if I’m not helping you with that? We can start tonight if you want, just after dinner. We will have the field just for us”, he finished, giving you a big innocent smile but the last words he gives you resonate differently in your head. You brush this out of your mind and thank him, agreeing on the time and giving him a short hug.

“Come on hit me, love”

He was teasing you, and he knows it oh too well, the little smile on his face is a proof of it. 

You two were at it for almost one hour of pure exhaustion, well, especially for you. Armin, on the other hand, wasn’t even out of breath.  

You were currently letting out heavy breaths, your hands on your knees, trying to gain some more force deep down from your body. You were even beginning to think of a strategy, to at least give it one hit. Armin didn’t let you the chance to think about it, launching forward with his fist to your face, luckily, he was way more easier to dodge than Mikasa, or so you thought. 

When you thought that he was aiming for a punch at your pretty face, he was in fact aiming to entwine his arms around you, Annie’s style. He was proud that the strong woman had taught him a trick or two before getting into her ice cocoon. One arm above your left shoulder and the other below your right armpit, he then locked both of his arms behind your head to finally put you on the floor, all the weight of his body on yours. His legs on each side of yours, caging you in. 

“I won”, and you swear as this sentence pours out of Armin’s mouth, his pretty blue gaze transforms into a darker one with a raise of a corner of his pinkish lips. 

And it is only now that you state the fact that Armin isn’t all innocent, that he totally knows what he’s doing. Everything was meant to prove it to you. 

The teasing, the pet names, the proximity, the smile and… his bulge that is starting to grow on top of your thigh. 

While you were lost in your thoughts, you didn't notice the way his hand had moved on top of your throat, not choking you but putting just a light pressure on it, letting you know the presence of his hand. 

After a few seconds of the both of you looking at each other as if whole galaxies were in your eyes, Armin broke the heavy silence that had settled in. While his face just gets incredibly closer to yours, to the point where you can share Armin’s heavy breath with yours, you hear the distinct but small words. 

“Please, kiss me”, and it’s the first time, since the beginning of the training that you can hear him beg. And of course you oblige, you just can’t refuse the invitation of his soft-looking lips, that begins to part just a little, like if he was still begging. 

You just have to raise your head a little to press your lips against his, kissing him with so much force you think you could break a muscle, and Armin gives it right back at you, stronger, needier. And you swear that the vulnerable side that you saw from him just mere seconds before has already disappeared, giving life to a confident Armin, one that you can’t seem to have enough.  

Pressing his tongue to your lower lips, Armin forces it between your teeth when you take too much time, to his liking, to open your mouth for him. As he begins to explore your wet cavern with his tongue, you can’t help but to let out a small whimper of pleasure, not wanting to hide anything from him. 

After putting some distance between your mouths to let you gain some air, he whispers to your ear with a voice that you don’t recognize, a voice that isn't owned by the silent and shy little Armin that you know. A voice darker but still laced with usual calmness and patience that only Armin owns here. 

“Do I already have you wrap around my finger, like an obedient little thing?” 

And there was again the sweet little smile he wore oh too well, laced with mischief. 

You don’t have the time to answer anything, as the hand on your throat starts to trail down on your breasts, tummy and then stop between your thighs, fiddling with the waistband of your pants.  

“Can I, pretty girl?”, and you quickly nod at his question, without even thinking twice at the demand, both of you wanted this moment to happen for so long, too long to even remember when was the first time that your feelings started to grow for the blonde boy in front of you. 

His cold hands reach directly into your panties, not losing any time by removing your pants, just wanting to feel you around his fingers as soon as possible. 

Armin couldn’t wait any longer, how long has he been waiting to do that? How many times did he touch himself to the thought of you? How many times did he look at you like there was not tomorrow? He wanted to give you as much pleasure as he could ever give to you. 

His fingers started to dive into your folds, feeling your wetness slide between his fingers with ease, letting out a little laugh, Armin voices out to you, “I had no idea I could make you that wet like this”, he closes the gap between you to whisper against your trembling lips, “And without even touching you”. 

Whines of desperation start to pour out from your lips, making Armin kiss you as hard as he could to silence you, plunging two of his fingers at the same time. 

The sudden intrusion makes you arch your back in pleasure, and it’s the only encouragement Armin needs at the moment to thrust his fingers deeper and faster, wanting to see you come undone under him. 

As your pleasure starts to build up in a record time, you reach out to grab Armin’s shirt, too lost in pleasure to even speak up, rather letting out some incoherent babbling that seems to be pretty amusing to Armin. 

As he adds a third finger to stretch you even more, he states while biting your lips playfully, “Are you gonna cum for me Angel? All over my fingers? I know you can do it, you’re such a good girl. Go on”, as he whispers the last part into your ear, trailing love bites along your neck, it’s the last encouragement that you need to get to your climax. 

Letting out a few cry and whines of pleasure, Armin speeds his fingers to help you ride out your orgasm. As he senses your inner walls starting to relax, he withdraws his hand from your pussy and inspect the substance on his fingers to the dim light of the moon. He seems in an inner debate with himself as to decide if he should let you taste yourself on his fingers or do it himself. The debate seems to short out rather quickly as he put his three fingers in his mouth, looking at you with his dark gaze. 

He decides not to be too selfish and lower his head to give you one long, messy kiss. And hearing your little moans when you taste yourself on his tongue is the best reward he could ever get. 

While he helps you to fasten your pants back in place and put both of you on your feet, you can’t help but notice the bulge he has between his thighs. And you start to feel bad with the fact that you were the only one to get to cum tonight. 

When you put your hand on his boner, he put his hand on yours gently, telling you, “What do you think of carrying on this little training session in one of our rooms? Maybe I could help you learn one or two things? Love”, he smiles, a little blush creeping up on his soft cheeks. 

Maybe it’s never too late for you to gain the upper hand on Armin. 

Maybe.

[amporella]

Style for that sweet looking ship post please!

I also got an ask with style from two anons, so tysm to all three of you <3 here it is!

Who was the one to propose:

Probably Stan, tbh. Stan wants to get married ASAP after they graduate high school (he just loves kyle sooo much he can't help it), but Kyle's like 'but I don't want to be 19 and married!' So he makes Stan promise that he won't propose until a) they're a little older and b) they've talked about it a little more. Of course this goes in one ear and right out the other, and Stan lasts like another year before he breaks and ends up proposing anyway. Kyle playfully holds this over his head for probably the rest of their lives (even though he's absolutely THRILLED when Stan does propose, the waterworks kick in big time), and they get married really shortly afterwards (Stan takes Kyle's last name or they hyphenate), love is real

Who stressed more over wedding planning:

Kyle. Marrying Stan is just such a monumental thing to him (like, he's marrying the guy that he's been bffs with since diapers?) that he doesn't know if any wedding can really live up to the actual concept. Stan reminds him that it's ok if the wedding isn't perfect and that their actual married life is the really important part, and Kyle manages to avoid becoming a bridezilla.

Who decorated the house:

Both of them; Kyle contributes more when it comes to actually picking out the stuff, but Stan probably picks out more of the colors/a few odds and ends that they might need.

Who does the cooking:

Stan's a way better cook than Kyle is, so he does most of the cooking - plus, he's a vegetarian, so it's just more practical for him to cook his own vegetarian recipes than have Kyle do it. He makes sure to drag Kyle in and help him, though he just ends up sitting on the counter and taste testing whatever Stan's cooking most of the time.

Who is more organized:

Kyle! He's super meticulous about that sort of thing.

Who suggested kids first:

Stan. He wants a huge family and Kyle manages to talk him down from five kids to two. They're both very protective dads (follow that egg <3)

Who’s the cuddler:

Stan is sooo clingy. He's like a giant puppy. Whenever Kyle gets sick Stan is bound to get sick a week after because he can't let go of him, even when Kyle has a temp of 101. Kyle thinks it's very sweet, even if it makes their lives during flu season way harder lmao.

Who’s the big spoon/little spoon:

Stan's the big spoon like 90% of the time. He's got them broad arms that Kyle really likes to be held by <3 beefy Stan rights.

What’s their favorite non-s/xual activity:

Literally anything that they can do with each other, tbh. They'd probably have a good time filing taxes if they were hanging out while doing it.

Who comes home dr/nk at 3am:

Stan :( He never entirely stops drinking, but it gets a lot better by the time they're in their late 20s/30s, and it gets to the point where if he drinks, it's most likely with Kyle at home.

Who kills the spiders:

Stan insists they put them in a cup and bring them outside (he'd be happy just leaving them, but Kyle doesn't want spiderwebs in the house). Kyle smashed a few when Stan wasn't there, but ended up feeling so guilty about it that he ends up bringing them outside too.

Who falls asleep first:

Depends on the night! Kyle probably has a more taxing job and is more likely to just collapse from exhaustion when he gets into bed, but there are days that Stan does the same thing.

A head canon:

Stan drinks out of the milk carton/any drink carton he can get his hands on. This drives Kyle absolutely nuts.

Do they have any “rituals”?

Board game night! Especially when they have kids. They devote a solid few hours every Friday to board games, and Stan mercilessly (yet very nicely) beats Kyle the majority of the time. Kyle spends a lot of excess time reading over manuals to try and beat him, but never really manages to do it consistently. Stan lets him win sometimes and pretends that he doesn't.

Who has the most patience?

Stan. Always Stan.

[drabbles-mc]

Hi if you're still taking headcannons I'd love one about an unser and chibs friendship.

Maybe set after the end of season 7. Chibs is the prez but Juice is still around and now accepted into the club.

I could just see them sitting around a fire, joints in hand taking about Jax and the past.

Unser: 'Weren't that guy a lunatic lol'

Wayne Unser. My favorite grumpy old man who deserved better.

The thought of him and Chibs having this interesting sort of, like, symbiotic relationship, is so intriguing to me. Unser isn't a cop anymore, doesn't really do much with the police department. Things with the MC are quieter now after Jax's warpath ended, and the club isn't getting into nearly as much trouble as they used to. They don't really need Unser around to do their bidding, but the men who are left have grown kind of attached to him, so they still let him hang out at Scoops with them. They found him a better spot for his trailer (and a better trailer).

He and Chibs get along well enough. Neither of them are overly chatty, and both of them are pretty grumpy, so they do well together. They both mumble and grumble about the young bucks prospecting and patching into the club. Every now and then when something from the past gets brought up by kids who don't know any better, they share a knowing look. They don't talk about it much, though. Unser had his love for Gemma, and Chibs has his own different love for Jax. That pain doesn't go away. But there is something in knowing someone else who carries that kind of pain with them who gets it but doesn't make you talk about it. Sometimes things will happen, someone will say or do something and they both have that same conflicting feeling of thinking that Jax should've seen how much better things got, but also knowing that the man he was at the end of it wasn't someone who could've enjoyed the payoff.

Once in a while Chibs will ask Unser why he doesn't get out of Charming. Unser waves him off with a grunt, "What's the point of it now? Clock's gonna run out soon." And Chibs just laughs and shakes his head.

When Chibs gets on a real rant, Unser has to fight for his life to try and keep up with what the man is saying. Chibs is mumbling and talking and yelling at a mile a minute because someone did something stupid, and Unser doesn't really know if he's supposed to be responding or what. But when Chibs finally stops and takes a breath and looks over at Unser for a response of some kind, the man just shakes his head, "I didn't understand a goddamn thing you just said."

Wow why do I kind of adore these two hanging out together now?

(I didn’t see any gifs of Chibs and Unser together. But you know that Tig plays translator for Unser when necessary lmao)