#otp: a different kind of rush

[chrysalis-the-butterfly]

My Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss Shipping Tier List

Hazbin Hotel Ships

Huskerdust - Angel Dust and Husk. My Hellaverse OTP! I've talked about them at length in my Huskerdust analysis post. Long story short: they're not perfect people, but they could be perfect for each other. They've both been through bad times and done bad things, but there's a chance they could change for the better now that they have each other. And that's why I love thinking about them together.

Chaggie - Charlie Morningstar and Vaggie. They're a sweet established couple, and it's cute to see how they'll take any opportunity to hold hands or hug or brush hair off each other's faces. Plus, I'm a sucker for pairings where one person is a grump and the other is a ray of sunshine.

Emilute - Lute and Emily. They're both angels, but very different in looks and personality. One is dark-skinned with pastel clothes and compassion for Sinners; the other is pale-skinned with black clothes and a dedication to eradicating Sinners. Emily would want to help Lute see the light, whereas Lute would try to make Emily cross over to the dark side... @carpp had made some great fanart of the two of them, which made me love the pairing!

Emilette - Emily and Velvette. I started shipping this thanks to @dallina17 and their posts on the pairing. I think it's interesting that Emily and Velvette both have musical moments where they stand up to authority figures (Sera in "You Didn't Know" and Carmilla in "Respectless", respectively), but go about it in different ways (appeals to morality vs. brash rudeness) and with different motives (concern for others vs. self-interest). That's got me thinking about what would happen if the two women ever met. Also, Black sapphic solidarity for the win!

MollyBomb - Molly and Cherri Bomb. I just think it would be funny if Angel's sister and Angel's best friend ended up dating. It's as simple as that!

CherriSnake - Cherri Bomb and Sir Pentious. Their shift from rivals to crushing on each other felt a bit rushed, but I'm intrigued to see where this relationship goes and what impact they might have on each other.

StaticNeedle - Niffty and Vox. I've talked a lot about my headcanon that Niffty and Vox were married in life. It stemmed from realising that they both died in the Fifties, and kind-of spiralled from there. It's probably the rarest rarepair I ship.

StaticMoth - Vox and Valentino. To be honest, I struggle to wholeheartedly ship Valentino with anyone, given his ... everything, but he and Vox would make a fascinating villain couple. One is camp and sexy and does whatever he wants, and the other is a sleek businessman who's obsessed with projecting the perfect image. Opposites attract, I guess?

Seramilla - Sera and Carmilla. Shoutout to @seramilla for getting me interested in this! I can definitely see the appeal of two mother figures on opposite sides of the afterlife finding common ground in their protective nature.

Zestmilla - Carmilla and Zestial. This ship is kind-of "meh" for me, but it is intriguing that Carmilla and Zestial seem so close with each other. I wonder how that happened?

Alzy (platonic) - Mimzy and Alastor. The way Alastor talks to and about Mimzy, and even the way he smiles around her, is different to how he acts around everyone else. The fact that they were friends in life and this friendship has carried over into death is really fascinating to me.

RadioRose (platonic) - Alastor and Rosie. I like how Rosie highlights a different side to Alastor compared to Mimzy, given that Rosie also seems to have a scheming nature. She's like a work buddy to Alastor, except they have a shared interest in eating people.

Lucilith - Lucifer Morningstar and Lilith. I'd like to find out more about their marriage and what caused it to fall apart.

Baximi - Crymini and Baxter. Neither have appeared in the show (yet), but a furry character and a fishy character falling in love has a cool star-crossed-lovers vibe to me.

Helluva Boss Ships

Owling at the Moon (platonic) - Loona and Octavia. Sarcastic Chorus made a really interesting video about how they differ and what they have in common. They're from opposite sides of the track, but both have daddy issues (to put it mildly), so they both could use a friend who understands.

Fizzmodeus - Fizzarolli and Asmodeus. I think the fact that I already love Roger and Jessica Rabbit made me more willing to accept another pairing with a clown and a sex symbol!

M&M - Moxxie Knolastname and Millie. I'm a sucker for married couples who don't completely hate each other.

Sallie Mayday - Verosika Mayday and Sallie May. One is a celebrity, the other is a country girl. It's another opposites-attract concept that I enjoy.

Marberry - Mrs Mayberry and Martha. This feels like "enemies to lovers" taken to the extreme, but hey, I'm here for it!

Stolitz - Blitzø and Stolas. I'm not sure how I feel about them as a couple, but I do enjoy reading and watching other people's analyses of the ship and of each person's shortcomings.

Colleenie - Collin and Keenie. They're both angelic sheep who seem like they're meant to be parallels to Moxxie and Millie, which intrigues me. If only Keenie treated Collin better...

Characters I Don't Really Ship with Anyone

Hazbin Hotel: Adam, St Peter, Odette Carmine, Clara Carmine, Arackniss, Travis, Katie Killjoy, Tom Trench, the Egg Boiz, Fat Nuggets, KeeKee, Razzle, Dazzle

Helluva Boss: Cletus, Deerie, Stella, Andrealphus, Paimon, Joe, Lin, Cash Buckzo, Barbie Wire, Mrs Knolastname, Crimson Knolastname, Striker, Chazwick Thurman, Beelzebub, Vortex, Mammon, Robo-Fizz, Glitz, Glam, Arick "Burnie" Burnz, Wally Wackford, Loopty Goopty, Lyle Lipton, Agent Two, Agent One, Ralphie, Counselor Jimmy

[annerbhp]

So who remembers the Four Seasons Landscaping press conference debacle of November 7th, 2020? You know, the one held across the street from the sex shop. And the endless memes after of “imagine your OTP: who owns the landscaping company and who owns the sex shop”?

Well, yeah, I wrote this thing for it a long while back. And yes, of course I made Harry work at the sex shop and Ginny at the landscaping company. Decided I should just schedule it to post on the next November 7th. Enjoy!

Come Again (Harry/Ginny, meet-cute, Harry works at a sex shop, bad flirting, Ginny’s into it anyway, non-magic world, Teen, no content warnings. Other than, you know, sex shop inventory!)

Harry glances up from his magazine at the sound of the shop door opening. He cursorily looks over the customer—young woman, mid-twenties, red hair, short, athletic build—before returning his attention to the magazine. He’s noticed most customers don’t particularly like the feeling of being watched. Some people flee immediately upon catching him watching them. Especially women.

Sure enough, out of the corner of his eye, he can see her slip down the aisle furthest from the cashier counter, the one full of costumes and larger objects far too difficult for anyone to steal.

“Harry?”

He looks over at Tara near the breakroom at the back where she’s pulling on her coat. “Are you off?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she says, swinging her purse over her shoulder. “Are you sure it’s okay if I take Tuesday morning off?” She’s biting at her lower lip, as thinking his offer was somehow a trap. He wonders what kind of shit she had to put up with at her last job. Or it could just be him. Maybe she’s still trying to get used to him as their manager or something.

“Yes,” he says, forcing his voice patient. “Go get your tooth looked at. I’ll cover the shift, no problem.”

“Thank you,” she says in a rush. She glances over, catching sight of the ginger. “Want me to cover this one before I go?”

“I’ve got it,” he says, and it occurs to him that maybe she’s more nervous about leaving him to do the shift on his own than she is that he’s going to get mad at her for taking the time off.

He’d be offended by that if he hadn’t spent the last three weeks completely in over his head. But he’s starting to get the hang of it now.

Tara waves and leaves out the back.

“So you’re the owner then? You don’t look like a Luna.”

He turns to find the customer standing in front of him. He glances at the big sign out front declaring this store as Luna’s sex toys and more store.

“What? Oh,” he says. “No. I’m just filling in for her for a few months. She’s out on maternity leave. Twins.”

“Ah, so you’re just the understudy,” she says.

“Something like that.”

Pull yourself together, Potter.

“Then you’re…” She waves a finger around in a circle, encompassing the whole store. “In the business?”

He laughs. “No.” He realizes a moment too late how bad that sounded, and rushes on. “She was going to have to shut the shop down or cut her time home, but I’m between careers at the moment, so I figured I could cover for her.” He has no idea why he is spilling his life story out at her, and he considers that maybe Tara had seen what he hadn’t when she’d been so reluctant to leave him on his own. “It’s been a bit of a learning curve, I admit. Though mostly it seems to be about putting customers in categories and treating them accordingly.”

Her eyes narrow, as if sensing an insult towards the kind of people who might come to a shop like this. “Meaning what, exactly?”

“No,” he says, desperately trying to backpedal. “It’s just… Look. It’s like setting expectations? There’s people who come for joke gifts, the people who pretend they are here for joke gifts because they are too embarrassed to want to buy something, the people who know exactly what they want and get right to it, and the people who are here because of rebounds. Each kind of person would prefer to be treated differently: ignored, helped, given stern looks. So it’s just about figuring out which kind of customer they are, so I can make this easiest for them.”

The customer is now frowning at him. “You know that still sounds kind of creepy, even if it makes sense.”

“Studying people is kind of my thing.”

She only looks more alarmed.

“Not in a creepy stalker way! Or in a ‘I want to draw your picture’ way. I was a profiler. You know, criminals?”

“Ah, so now the customers are criminals.”

He would think he just can’t win with this maniacal customer, but she was smiling now, clearly teasing him. “Only if you try to walk off with Gary shoved down your shirt,” he gamely replies.

She turns to follow his gesture, letting out a low laugh at the sight of an enormous oversized novelty cock with a face on the tip. It’s not a ‘I’m nervous and about to break down into a fit of giggles’ laugh either, so Harry is pretty sure this is a customer who won’t mind being offered help.

“So is there anything in particular I can help you find?” he asks.

“You tell me.”

Said in any other tone, that might sound like a come on, but it was more challenging than coy. “Excuse me?” he asks.

“Am I here for a joke gift? Profile me.”

He looks her over, eyes lingering on the details. A new sweater (he could see the strip where the sticker had been removed very recently). Her hair looked freshly cut, the way she touched it said it was not the length she was used to, maybe having cut it off recently. There was the slightest indentation on her ring finger, a faint tan line.

“You’ve recently broken off a long-term relationship, either started when you were both very young, with someone who likes vanilla sex that you found boring, or with someone who was offended by the idea of you using any toys because it felt like cheating and made you get rid of them.”

She stares back at him, eyes wide.

He said it all without thinking, really, just speaking as it came to him, these thoughts about who she was that he might come up with about a case.

“Sorry,” he says, certain he’s just cost Luna a customer. “I’m sure I’m way off.”

“No,” she says, “you’re annoyingly on-point.”

He winces, realizing that’s probably even worse.

Definitely time to try to make a tactful retreat, if at all possible. But before he can back away, she’s speaking again.

“I used to have a Shibari before he made me toss it. Any thoughts on what might be like that? Only better. And bigger. Longer battery life.”

“Uh,” he says, floundering for a moment. Then he walks over to a shelf, pointing at a slim lavender-colored wand vibrator. “I can tell you the mini halo is really popular. But Luna always says it depends on what you’re looking for, not what other people want.”

Her eyebrow lifts, and it occurs to him that he has basically just asked for detail about her sex life. Yup. It’s possible he’s out of his element. He ends up texting Luna, for some reason not wanting to lead this particular customer astray. Not just because she seems pretty great. She deserves to get what she wants after all! Everyone does!

Getting tired of the back and forth, the customer eventually just grabs his phone and texts Luna directly, debating the finer points of the Soul Sucker. The woman’s smile—stupidly lovely, really—No, not appropriate, Harry!—is wider and wider as she gets into a really long exchange with Luna. Ending with a gasp of adoration when Luna apparently texts a picture of her sons.

The text exchange eventually dies down, the customer giving Harry a bald, assessing look.

“What?” he asks, refusing to shift back and forth on his feet, reminding himself of his long career as a criminal investigator—which would mean more if he hadn’t burned out and left with no real plans for anything else he’s going to do instead. Other than manage a sex toy store, apparently.

“She wants to know how you’re doing,” the woman asks. Her eyes narrow as she studies him a bit longer, and, shit, she should consider a career as an interrogator. She nods her head, like coming to a decision and then starts typing away again, this time narrating as she does.  “Approachable, only slightly creepy, blushes at a minimum, non-judgmental, but needs an education.”

He lets out a startled laugh, not offended in the least. Actually a better rating than he’d expect. “Trust me, every day in this shop is an education.”

Her eyebrow lifts. “I can only imagine.” She hands his phone back and sweeps up the Soul Sucker and the mini halo too.

Harry helpfully points out the displays of various lubes, letting her head over there by herself as he steps back behind the counter.

A guy comes in then, picking up a pre-order which is thankfully much more straight forward, a package already put together by Tara before she left.

By the time he’s done ringing him up, the woman has made her final selections, putting them down on the counter. He scans each one, slipping them into a bag without looking at them. Not his business!

“And with the five percent break up discount, that comes to….”

“Discount?” she asks. “I don’t need your pity.”

“What?” he asks, feeling like he’s messed up yet another thing. “No, seriously. It’s a thing.” He flips the card with five different set barcodes on it, handing it over to her.

You’re better off without them! – 5% Never too late to figure out what you like! – 5% Congrats on embracing your sexual identity! – 5% You’re a few bucks short, but still deserve joy – 5%

She looks at him in surprise.

He shrugs. “Luna.”

She seems to relax then. “Which one am I getting?”

“Does it matter?” he asks.

She lets out a huff. “Guess not.” She hands over a credit card and he really does his best not to look at her name or anything, but it is sort of a part of credit safety? Or something?

Ginny Weasley. Is her name. It sounds vaguely familiar, though he can’t quite place it.

She signs the receipt, and he passes over the bag. “Have a nice day,” he says, almost automatically.

“Oh, I’d better,” she says, lifting the bag.

He really tries not to blush. He really does. Professional, Potter. Real professional.

Only then she’s giving him a wink and walking towards the door. “Let me know if you ever need help with landscaping,” she says, “so I can return the favor.” 

Harry pauses at the strange words, frowning, resisting the urge to look down at his body.

She’s definitely laughing at him now. “The landscaping company next door? Weasley’s Landscaping? It’s where I work. The family business.”

“Oh,” Harry says with a sudden rush of understanding. She works right next door. Where he will likely see her. Again. Quite often. “Right. I definitely will.” 

“Great. See you around.”

He can’t help grinning. “Come again!” he calls out after her.

He can hear her laughter as the door shuts behind her.

It takes Harry a while to realize he’s humming as he starts taking stock of the strap-ons inventory.

Just another lovely day in Luna’s shop.

[bludpudding]

what are your favorite fics featuring boyd characters?

listen now I am personally not a writer but I do work in character design and world building. I’ve helped my babe @breedaboyd out with a few different fics now and I’ll be real he truly brings the magic to my visions. obviously I’m biased but our joint projects are some of my favorite fics of all time I cannot plug them enough

our two most notable works are:

Safe Haven - Donald Pierce has never had a heat, what with him being a late-blooming Omega. Maybe he can make the best of a bad situation when his heat finally hits and an unexpected hero comes to the rescue.

I am so in love with Kurt Ackerman it’s not even funny. precious gentle giant guard dog. but I will step aside for Don’s sake. konnie otp they are married in every universe

The Angel and the Preacher - Nick Reiner is a preacher at the local church. Ryan (aka Miracle Guy) is a fallen angel-come-superhero. In an effort to quell his homesickness, Ryan stumbles into the church but accidentally initiates the final fall of Preacher Nick. Soon, their world devolves into fire, passion and blood. It's only by nightfall that the two men manage to affirm and accept their blossoming bond before facing the dawn together.

chariot wrote some bomb ass poetry for this one I still lose my mind over it

some bonus art of ryan !! boyds are always so fun to redesign

here are some of chariot’s solo works that I think about a LOT:

Pupinthian - Morpheus turns the Corinthian into a kind of man/dog hybrid. It's not too bad. [AFAB!Cori ☓ AMAB!Reader]

Like Cats and Dogs - You decide you've been out of the dating game for a little too long and decide to go for a night on the town to see what you can find. You end up getting a little more than you bargained for in a tall, blonde Adonis of a man who crosses your path.[Intersex!Cori ☓ AMAB!Reader]

Take Your Silver Spoon, Dig Your Grave - Ten instances where Johnny and Cal crossed the line of MC president and mechanic, drawing inspiration from the music of the time period. [AMAB!Cal ☓ AMAB!Johnny]

Wishful Sinful - Professor Stephen Tynan is your Human Sexual Behaviour Professor and you've had your eye on him for quite some time. Realising this isn't the most appropriate setting to be crushing (hard) on a person, you decide to ask if you can switch classes. But will that make any difference? And what will Professor Tynan have to say about your intentions on leaving his class? [AMAB!Tynan ☓ AFAB!Reader]

His Little Dove - While walking back from another town, a snow storm hits and you have no other choice but to rush into a mysterious, nearby cottage despite rumours of a terrifying beast lurking the area. Did you make the right choice? [AMAB!John McBride ☓ AFAB!Reader]

My Love, Mine, All Mine - Tooth-rotting fluff + Valentine's Day with Mo Lundy [AMAB!Mo ☓ AFAB!Reader]

[augustjustice]

20 Questions for Writers!

I was tagged by @ataliagold; thank you so much!! 💛🖤

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

45 at present.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

418,048 words

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now I write for Stranger Things, predominantly Steddie. From 2019 to summer of 2022, I was very deep in the Gotham fandom and wrote for that mostly (it's the thing that actually got me back into writing, and really into posting my work for the first time).

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

After School Special (Stranger Things)

Everything is Different the Second Time Around (Gotham)

The Second Hand Unwinds (Gotham)

Sights On Someone Else (Gotham)

Only Fools Rush In (Gotham)

5. Do you respond to comments?

I always do, even if it's just a quick thank you in response to extra kudos. Comments mean the world to me, one of my favorite parts of fandom is getting to interact with the community that way.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Easily The Punchline, which is a Gotham spin on the comic The Killing Joke. If you tackle Batman and Joker's relationship, there's bound to be some angst, and the Gotham backstory really adds an even more bittersweet twist.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Most of my finished fics have happy endings 😂I'm a fluff girl primarily. Mer-May I Have This Kiss? which I co-wrote with @inkfowl has a very prototypical happily ever after ending, which I'm a sucker for. Honorable mention to my transfem Stevie fic Pretty in Pink, too, since that fic is basically fluff all the way through.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I've got some weird spam-y comments on occasion (in at least one instance, from a person who did that to many others throughout the fandom), but thankfully no real hate.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Haven't published much of it, although I'm hoping to complete something for the upcoming Stevie Week. By far my smuttiest fic is (I'm the New Cancer) Never Looked Better, You Can't Stand It which is nearly 20k of Penguin/Riddler suit porn.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I've written some crossovers that exist within the same broader universe, so Gotham fics that draw on other Batman media, or my Smallville/Gotham crossover that also uses certain elements of broader DC comics canon. I'd like to write more, though! I've got an idea for school guidance counselor Steve meeting with teens in other supernatural dramas like Buffy, Supernatural, Teen Wolf, etc. No idea if I'll ever get around to it, but I think it would be fun.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have! A few folks have asked to translate my Gotham fics. Always very flattered when people are interested in doing that.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

@inkfowl is my co-writing buddy in the Steddie fandom! We've done a lot of writing/roleplay together, including our long, ongoing Study Buddies series.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

My current favorite is, obviously, Steddie. Clex (Clark Kent/Lex Luthor, specifically in Smallville) was baby's first OTP and so will always hold a special place in my heart. And Sterek gets an honorable mention, too, as it had me in a chokehold in the fandom days of old and is one I remain extremely fond of.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you will?

I hope that the muses grant me inspiration at some point so I can go back to Wouldn't Catch You Hung Up on Somebody that You Used to Know which is my Gotham/Smallville fic with Clex, Batjokes, and a sprinkle of Superbat. I'm not in the frame of mind for it right now, but that fic is basically my ideal DC crossover future fic. I'm also holding out hope that I might get back to my sort of Legally Blonde college Steddie AU Better Than That, but that remains to be seen. I'll admit, I wasn't entirely certain where that fic was headed, so I would have to try and plot it out before picking it back up.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I would say I'm good at descriptions, particularly capturing visuals and setting tone/atmosphere. People also often compliment my ability to write banter between characters, which is something I definitely enjoy.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm so not a plot gal; I'm much more interested in just writing slice of life glimpses of characters or deepening character interactions, so I think I'm definitely weaker there. Also, while people have told me I'm good at making characters sound authentically in-character, I can really get in my head about that, which is a struggle at times.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm woefully monolingual, so I would definitely be reluctant to do this unless I knew someone who spoke the language and was willing to help me out.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

If we're talking about the first ever fanfic I wrote in my notebooks as a preteen and never saw the light of day, then Disney Channel and other more obscure kids shows lol. The first fic I published to AO3 was for Teen Wolf.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Following trend, I'm gonna do top 5.

Only Fools Rush In, even though it remains unfinished, is my Gotham magnum opus, and I would be remiss not to mention it. It picks up right after the series ends (pre-finale flash forward) and continues the story from there. This was really a chance for me to explore a lot of the things left unsaid in the show proper.

Got Your Mother in A Whirl (She's Not Sure If You're A Boy Or A Girl) is the first Stranger Things fic I ever started wayyyyy back after Season 2 aired and was abandoned before evening finishing the first chapter for years until I got into the fandom again after Season 4. I'm very touched by the way people have responded to it and feel proud of how I captured Steve's feelings while discovering their genderfluidity (and in something I started long before I fully realized I was somewhere on the nb spectrum myself!). Plus, I got to write Stevie and Dustin's sibling dynamic, which is always a favorite of mine.

Got You By My Side This is just a sweet post-S4 one shot, but I feel like I really captured exactly what I wanted to about Steve and Eddie's newly forming relationship with it.

this gun's for hire, even if we're just dancing in the dark An alternate universe first meeting between Oswald and Ed in Gotham, and I'm honestly still pleased with the atmosphere and vibes I was able to capture with this one. It's also brimming with a particular brand of belligerent sexual tension that I live for.

you wanna feel how it feels? (let's exchange the experience) My Steddie bodyswap fic! This is a recent one and still very much ongoing/in the early stages. But it's a fic I've wanted to write for ages now, so I'm very excited to have it underway.

I'm no pressure tagging @eriquin @tinytalkingtina @formosusiniquis @lingeringmirth @momotonescreaming

@chierei @inkfowl @arcanemoody @afoxnamedmulder and anyone else who sees this and wants to join!

[musingsofvenus]

Inspired by the first prompt from a height difference OTP prompts list and made for the lovely @the-most-pathetic-edge-marquis! I was originally going to make this a kind-of follow up to To All the Monsters I Loved Before, but it didn't fit the bill. This is some sort of Twilight AU-- a short & cheesy moment that exists outside of canon. 💞

Jacob rushes to the front door after he hears the doorbell ring. As soon as he swings open the door, he’s greeted with a DVD case held inches from his face. 

“Tada!” Bella exclaims, grinning ear to ear. Her cheeks and ears are bright red from the cold air.

Sunday afternoons were reserved for their weekly movie night session.  

Every week they switch between who gets to pick the next movie to watch. Their typical choices of movies quickly devolved from Bella’s favorite Jane Austen adoptions and Jacob’s classic spaghetti westerns to the most outrageous B-movie horror flicks they could find.

This week is Bella’s week, and she chose a movie called ‘Suburban Sasquatch.’ From the DVD’s cover art alone, Jacob was sure he wouldn’t be able to make it through the first five minutes without hysterically laughing at the poor production quality.

Jacob plucks the DVD from her hands. “Well hello to you too, Bells.”

Bella snickers, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Hello, hello,” she says belatedly. She rests her chin on his chest. For a few seconds, Jacob is flustered into silence by the cute gesture. And Bella, watching him closely, wiggles her eyebrows like she knows. Because of course she knows. 

“Your ears are turning red,” she sings.

Jacob covers his traitorous ears and averts his eyes. “They are not!”

Bella falls into a fit of giggles that makes Jacob grin. “Are you gonna let me in before I freeze to death?”

Jacob clears his throat. “You have to pay the toll to enter,” he intones.

Bella releases him to shoulder off her tote bag. She holds it open to reveal several soda cans and an assorted variety of popcorn and cookies. “I come bearing snacks.”

Jacob squints at the contents of her bag. “That’s not enough to cover the toll, Bells. I do accept bribes, though,” he says, tapping his lips with his pointer finger.

“You don’t have to play this game to get me to kiss you, you know? I like kissing you.”

“And I like messing with you.”

“Jacob, come on! It’s really cold,” Bella whines. “I don’t have werewolf powers to keep me warm, unlike some people!”

Jacob opens his arms and sweeps Bella off her feet. “Personal space heater, at your service.”

“Jake! Put me down!”

“How am I supposed to kiss you from all the way down there?”

An indignant blush colors Bella’s cheeks. “Maybe you’re just too high up!”

“If you say so. Now about that bribe-”

He barely gets the question out before Bella leans in to kiss him. It starts off a bit forceful on Bella’s end because of her lingering frustration before she starts to relax. The kiss was just turning soft and sweet before Bella’s hand tangles in his hair, no doubt in an attempt to pull him closer. 

Jacob obliges her wordless demand until her fingers brush against the back of his neck. He abruptly pulls away from the kiss with a yelp.

“Your hands are like ice, Bella,” he complains, setting her back down on her feet.

Bella rolls her eyes. “I wonder why, you jerk!” She crosses her arms with a scowl. “You’re lucky that I love you,” she grumbles under her breath.

“What did you say?” He teases, poking her side. “I couldn’t hear you from way up here.” 

Bella huffs, looking up at him while a blush spreads across her cheeks. “I said, I love you, you giant idiot.”

Jacob pretends to contemplate her words, nodding to himself. “Yep, I think that just about covers the toll.”

“You’re not saying it back?” Bella pouts, poking her lip out and everything.

“Oh, come on, Bells,” Jacob chuckles, grabbing her icy hands and peppering them with kisses to get rid of the cold. He pulls her into the house. “I love you, too. You know that.”

[iloveyou-writers]

the other day, i wrote down my prompt for my otp on my twitter and had thoughts of writing them down once i'm free. i was excited to see this prompt fleshed out into a real fanfic. my friend was excited too that she qrt-ed it and tagged my other friend and asked her to write it. so i started to think, "maybe, it would be a better fic in her hands. she's funnier, she wrote better than me, and she's definitely more creative than me." also, the story would be way more interesting with some spicy scenes and i'm not comfortable writing those kind of scene, while she's really good at it. it brought me down since i already think of this prompt like my kid and i don't want to hand it over to anyone. like i've thought of some scene i want to include in the story yada yada yada. i know i'm being selfish (since there's a possibility that it would be on my list of prompt that would never see the light anymore) and i probably painted my friend who tagged my other friend in a bad light through this but... idk. i feel sad to just imagine it.

hope you're okay with reading this long rant and if you need to knock some sense out of me, please do so. i also think i need to get myself together T_T

My dear, sweet anon friend. I feel your pain. It is so hard to have an idea that you're so on fire for and know that you sharing the idea with another that would create something from it could potentially do it better than you.

I hate to admit how many times I have struggled with the envy of having an idea I was incredibly excited about and having someone else take the idea and turn it into something that took off.

I have had negative interactions with people that I have felt the envy of this happening with.

I will say it's perfectly natural for you to feel this way.

It could also be potentially damaging if you react in a negative way due to these feelings. Personal experience, don't act on these feelings.

That said, you could both create from this prompt idea. The fact that you already know they would take it in a different direction than you, that you recognize they have talents you don't... I guarantee there are things you'd do that they wouldn't too, that would make your writing stand out too. There is no reason you two couldn't share this prompt baby and create two amazing pieces of writing from it.

Sharing doesn't mean that you don't get to create. You could still make your ideas and still keep your baby, your fire, your passion... and your friend could have fun with it too. You two could chat about how you did it differently. This could be potential to bond with the friend that could possibly write from the prompt.

But there's also a possibility even if you did give them the prompt that they wouldn't want to write it, so this whole worry could be for naught. :)

Just consider it. In the end, it's your choice and you don't have to feel bad for not sharing the prompt. It's your prompt. Do with it what you wish to. But just remember... there is no shame in creating something similar to your friend. You two could bond closer as writer friends from writing something from the same prompt. There are endless possibilities. It all lies in your hands. <3

Take your time, don't rush into a choice.

I wish you well.

💚

[autumnslance]

Year of OTP - February 2023 - Linkpearl

(Prompt post here. Wolcred, early relationship, Stormblood Patches between 4.2-4.3, 1150 words, 2 images.)

When Aeryn answered the chiming linkpearl, Thancred’s familiar voice crackled on the other side of the line. “I received your letter.”

She smiled, setting her pen in its well and leaning back in her desk chair. The muted morning sounds of Kugane filtered in through the room’s single window along with gray, pre-dawn light. “Might I expect a response in kind?”

“Most assuredly.” He paused, and then in anticipation of her next question said: “Call me sentimental, but I also wished to hear your voice.”

The expected blush warmed her face as a giddiness rushed through her, as if she were some young schoolgirl; Aeryn still wasn't quite sure how he elicited such responses in her. She also didn’t know what to say to that, so shifted instead to, “What time is it there? Have you slept?”

A self-deprecating chuckle came from the other end. “I wasn’t certain you’d be awake yet, though your habits suggested otherwise and so I took the chance. It is rather late here, as mine own habits tend to keep me awake, but I do intend to retire shortly. I’m even laying in my bunk, lest you’re wondering.”

In her mind’s eye she could see the old monk cell in Rhalgr’s Reach that he had claimed, away from the other Scions and officers in the main halls of the former temple. The level Thancred had chosen required scaling a broken wall as if it were a particularly uneven and rickety stair; most people weren’t aware of it, hidden off one of the side passages, away from the main bustle of the Resistance headquarters. He had set up camp in the austere room, only a few comforts available.

Aeryn had spent a small handful of nights there in recent moons, curled up with him for warmth and companionship. Her blush warmed and spread as she recalled their last night together there, involving far more than simply sleeping.

Such things were still so strangely new—but now here they were on opposite sides of the world again, speaking over a faint connection.

“So you’re using your special pearl, with a mostly-secured channel, for a bedtime call?” She tried to sound teasing.

“Reckless, I know, but the aether currents were forecasted to be good for it. And I was prompted by a lovely memory of you sitting at the window wearing only my shirt as you read a book.”

Her blush flared again and she suppressed a nervous giggle. “Really?” She tried to sound deadpan, but just barely failed.

“Really,” he replied lightly, and then came a sly “What did you think I was going to say?”

“Considering it’s you, it could have been anything. But I cannot be too surprised, you’ve ever been fond of ladies’ aesthetics.”

Thancred laughed, the sound popping along the thin aetheric link. “I certainly cannot deny that. And it was a very pretty ‘aesthetic’, your long tan legs against the pale cloth, and the faces you make when reading, mouthing the lines to yourself.”

“I do not make faces nor mouth the lines.”

An amused, choked snort came from the other end. “You very much do, my dear, and it’s quite endearing.”

Something flip-flopped at how he said ‘my dear’. She would have to interrogate that later. “If you say so; no one else has commented on it.”

“They’re not typically watching you read fiction. Nor, I suspect, do they watch as closely as I do.”

“You are trained for it,” she conceded.

“A definite bonus of my profession. And certainly helps the imagination while you’re in the East again and I yet remain in Gyr Abania.”

“How are things there?”

“Mm, I’ll save those details for my report and letter. I’m far more interested in what you wore to bed.”

“What?”

“Did the connection break up?” He teased. “I asked what you’re wearing.”

“My undershirt and sleep shorts, what else?”

He chuckled in a way that sent another sort of heat down her spine and she still wasn’t sure how he did that. “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected differently.”

“I’m about to wash up and get dressed for the day, actually.”

“Now that’s another lovely image, water pouring over your bare skin—”

“Thancred!” She hissed, face feeling fully on fire now. “You remember at least two other people have access to this supposedly secure line?!” It had been his idea to keep the recent shift in their relationship secret—not to mention she had no wish for Riol and especially not Alphinaud to hear such things.

“Only if we connect them, and I also doubt either will call for us at this hour.” His pitch lowered. “Hence my taking the risk to call you for more personal reasons.”

Aeryn found herself crossing her legs as more of that other heat pulsed low in her core at his tone. “You’re incorrigible,” she said. She almost wished she sounded sterner.

“So I have been told,” he replied. The connection cracked and wavered, and she heard his grunt of annoyance. “And there go the currents; our time is woefully coming to an end.” He sounded further away and scratchier now.

“It was nice to talk even briefly,” she said. A wicked thought came to mind; he deserved a little payback for his teasing, didn’t he? “Though I may have to please myself now before getting ready for the day.”

There was a brief pause, and she thought she’d already lost him when he laughed again. “You minx! Now there’s an image to take with me into sleep!”

She dropped her head to her arms on the desktop, resigned to looking and feeling like she had thrown herself into Hell’s Lid. “Then I hope you have a good night, and I look forward to your letter.”

“Indeed; I’ll be in touch again soon, darl—”

A staticky hiss, and the link dropped.

She bit her lip at the cutoff word, the way he had been saying it causing another flip-flop. He left her so off-balance. Though she had to admit liking that feeling more than she had ever expected.

Sounds of others in the halls of the Ruby Bazaar made her sigh and stand; time to wash, get dressed, eat breakfast, and see if either Nashu or Jenomis had any news while waiting on word from Hien.

And try not to be distracted by thoughts of the man waiting for her back in Eorzea; these rare, tentative moments of communication building the yet-fragile frame of this new stage in their relationship. Aeryn did not mind it—mostly, as she attempted to douse some of her heated reactions from just his voice and words—as it gave time and patience to whatever this was becoming.

Still, she could admit to herself at least that she was eager to conclude their business in Othard and return home, where she could be with Thancred, instead of reliant upon letters and linkpearls.

--

((Some headcanon applied, but mostly linkpearl lore (up through HW) can be found here and I extrapolated off what little we have.))

[galwithalibrarycard]

My New Who watchthrough has now reached well into the second half of Series 7, and it’s time for some Opinions:

- I’m gay for Clara Oswald already. Also I crackship her with Amy Pond and I will be reading all the fanfic.

- I don’t care for River Song.

- Okay, no, hear me out, River’s an interesting character and I like Alex Kingston, but I can’t stand how her entire character bit is a constant smug-ass “I know something you don’t know”, and her whole arc felt kind of anticlimactic. Also, I don’t buy for a second that she and Eleven have an actual romantic relationship. I don’t see the spark. It’s all offscreen if it happens at all, so I don’t care. Bringing me to…

- Eleven/Amy/Rory OT3 is the superior ship of the Smith years. Platonic found family or romantic messy awkward polyamory, either way they’re very sweet together and I’d rather watch them than River any day. You can also have asexual Eleven in there, which I can really see why people headcanon. I want to call them “ot3: the power of three” but I feel like the threes sound redundant. Oh whatever, I’m calling it, that’s the ship tag I’m using.

- If it wasn’t for the weird Doctor/River romance, you could totally say that River’s Time Lord DNA makes Amy, Rory, and Eleven ALL her parents, and I’m annoyed that canon makes it more than a little weird to consider that headcanon concept, because it could be cute in another world.

- I like the Ponds a lot, but I have to say: Amy and Rory’s ending felt like such an arbitrary “we’re obligated to make the separation from the Doctor permanent, what monster can we use to do that?” ass-pull of a writing choice. In my head, Amy and Rory’s arc ends with them staying on Earth in 2012 at the end of The Power of Three and enjoying the mundane life they built together. Just say the Doctor sends them postcards and visits offscreen once in a while. The characters don’t have to be walled off from the Doctor forever just because the actors never want to come back to the show. I really like the idea of them choosing their own life outside the TARDIS, almost Martha-style. (Gotta love Martha!)

- It feels cheap to take Amy’s kid away and then not bother to give her an emotional arc dealing with that trauma. Same for Rory, for that matter. I bet someone could write or has written some extremely deep fanfic about that. I don’t know that I want to read it but I want it to exist, if that makes sense. And I would’ve liked to see more of it onscreen.

- The episode with the Gunslinger is OOC garbage, the Doctor would never use a gun, learn the show’s lore, Steve.

- So many little “what straight white man did this???” moments in Moffat era. It’s like going on a nice walk and then every once in a while you find yourself walking through a surprise cloud of gnats. (Not that Davies era was completely blameless either but damn.)

- Eleven’s “retirement” and hopeless disillusionment in The Snowmen feels like a flat, rushed, emotionless retread of the far superior arc of Ten going dark and mad with grief and his god complex across his last four specials. Ten did it better.

- Speaking of which, godDAMN the Tenth Doctor’s send off was good. I miss him forever and I need all his audio dramas and tie-in novels yesterday.

- While we’re on that, I have FEELINGS about Tenrose and Tentoorose and how they’re the same exact ship but also two completely different ships, but I’m still tagging them both as “otp: I believe in her” and no one can stop me. (They could have had a house with a mortgage AND still traveled in the TARDIS on weekends, I’m just saying.) (They are PEAK ROMANCE and I’m never recovering.)

- Lotta concrit here but that being said, I really do love Eleven, he’s a sweet adorable lil bean. I’m gonna miss him so much too. Can’t believe I only have a handful of his episodes left! There’s so much good stuff in here, truly. Vincent and the Doctor! The Power of Three! 🥹 I also really liked Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, even though the longer you look at it, the more Problems you see. Those are my standouts off the top of my head.

- We are now well into the era of New Who I’ve never seen any of and know basically nothing about, so no spoilers please!

- I’ve also never seen any of Classic Who, so be aware of that. There’s a lot I don’t know.

- (I already do kind of pre-ship Twelve and River in a totally superficial way, just because, to quote Bones, “they are the exact same level of hotness.” I just think they’d look good together, and sometimes I’m basic like that. I know she has an episode with him, that’s the only thing I know about that era, so we’ll see.)

I’m all-in on this fandom now, for real. And I still have so much to catch up on! So, is it too much of a line to say Allons-y? (I still like it a little better than Geronimo!) 🤗🪐👽

[banannabethchase]

My predictions, because I have some batshit crazy ideas:

Beneath a cut, because. Well. You know how much I ramble.

Zero Hour

Yuta vs. Hook - Hook wins, but Yuta beats the shit out of him at the end of it. Danhausen comes out to make the save, but Yuta beats him up. And then Danhausen challenges for the Pure Rules title.

Willow vs. Kris - ONLY IN WRESTLING CAN AN OTP FIGHT EACH OTHER. Stokeley is gonna corrupt Kris against Willow, but not until the women's tag belts are announced will he make his final move. Stokeley, secretly working in the background for the Renegade Twins, will unleash his final blow right before the finals of the women's tag titles tournament, causing Staturday Nightingale to lose, and triggering a full on battle between the two of them, likely culminating in match for the women's world title (RoH, probably.)

20 Man Battle Royal - Okay. I got 3 ideas: Sara's dream book, the best story, and what likely will happen.

Sara's Dream Book: Bucks and Hanger come back. Bucks sabotage everybody else to get Hanger to almost win, then Hanger steps back and lets someone else win but leisurely jumping over the top rope when it's him vs. the other person. "I'm above this championship," he says, taking the mic during the other person's celebration. Offical Superdick Party debut, official heel turn, official idiots.

The Best Story: Only 19 people are in or around the ring. Toward the end, a guy in a hoodie, with his face slightly obscured, shows up. It's Jack Perry. He wins, and cashes in the "any time" clause during the Christian vs. Copeland match.

What Likely Will Happen: Midcardapalooza. A very fun, non champion level person like Komander, AR Fox, Kip Sabian, or Andretti win to create a fun flippy match with the winner of Copeland vs. Christian that they will ultimately lose.

Main Card

Eight Man tag (Jericho/Sammy/Darby/Sting vs. Ricky/Bill/Takeshita/Hobbes) - I really. Look. Lot's of stuff about this match is convoluted. It's mean to take the place of the tag belts, which I understand, but they should have bitten the bullet, dropped the Jericho/Golden Jets story completely, and provided a title chance to an actual tag team.

Eight man tag (Bryan/Claudio/Mark/Danny vs. Lethal/White/Rush/Brody) - I think the BCC and friends win, but I think this may lead to Danny being inducted into the BCC. Otherwise this match is kind of weird. However, it means that everyone in the C2 got a match on the pay-per-view, and I like that.

Andrade vs. Miro - Look I KNOW it's all about Miro's redemption or whatever, but he's pissing me off lately and I want Andrade to win to show that CJ's management is effective. But I also think it could be cool for Andrade to lose, to show that a lack of CJ's management causes him weakness. It could develop a more introspective story of talent vs influence that could be approached by both Miro and Andrade in different directions. But it's wrestling, so I doubt the nuance necessary for the storyline would be possible.

Swerve vs. Dustin - Yeah sorry Dustin. Swerve is gonna KILL you. Super sad to hear about Keith's injury. This match was going to absolutely BANG and him being unable to finish this storyline is a heartache.

Julia vs. Abadon - SPOOKY SHENANIGANS! I hope Skye gets out there and she and Julia do some MK Ultra tag level nonsense. Give me shenanigans. Give me lesbians. I love it.

Copeland vs. Christian - You already saw my idea for Perry, but here I think Copeland wins by pulling unexpected allies out of his back pocket.

Eddie vs. Mox - EDDIE BETTER FUCKING WIN THIS. He deserves to be a three belt holder, to hold up RoH, to continue his work. Mox may be my first AEW love, but Eddie. Eddie deserves it.

Toni vs. Riho - Mariah May shenanigans result in a Toni win, but perhaps Riho has an original in the wings waiting to save her. Crossing my fingers for a Jamie return PLEASE.

MJF vs. Samoa Joe - Joe wins. MJF is injured, shit goes down, the Devil and his goons interfere, and Joe is our new World Champion. We also, we gotta, reveal the Devil.

[chiefbeifongcanrailme]

15, 18, 19, and 30 for Lin and Zek!

15) Why do they like each other? Because it's very easy to like each other. But really, from Lin's perspective, Zekou is a kind, friendly gentleman who eases himself into her life. He moved at her pace, letting her take he time to trust him and relax in his company instead of rushing himself into her personal life like most people do. Zek admires the fact that Lin is honest to a fault. She's sweet and caring in her own way, her company is isn't overbearing and they can spend time together without having anything to say to each other. Plus it helps that they're both hot af.

18) Evening rituals? Post retirement, Zekou mostly spends his day engaging in different hobbies or projects he takes on. But come evening, when Lin gets home (yes, one of his projects involved creating a work-life balance for his girlfriend), they sit by the radio, listening either to a probending game or just some music- whatever the mood is while chowing down on some takeout or whatever cuisine Zek had been experimenting with that day. Some nights, they'll go out and meet Bumi and other mutual friends from the United Forces (someone's always visiting Republic City) and others they get cozy in bed; either with a book or getting frisky with a back massage ;).

19) How are they at parties or gatherings? Mostly with a drink in hand. Lin isn't super social but she'll make small talk with whomever she is introduced to. If nobody's talking to her, she'll just sit by the bar, nursing her drink. Zek, on the other hand, is far more social than her. When he's not busy being the life of the party, he'll come sit by Lin and keep her company- telling her tales of the people around them (even when they're in Zaofu, Zek has gathered more tea on the metalbending clan than the metalbender herself).

30) When did they realize they loved each other? Following canon, I would say the end of book 3 episode 2 for Zekou and the end of book 3 for Lin haha. For Zek, it was soon after he hooked up with Lin- in a "you just know when you know" kinda way. He liked Lin to begin with, they'd become friends after all. He cared for her too and of course, she's gorgeous and it would take an idiot to not notice that. But knowing Lin, he knew better than to make a move. Until it just sorta happened. Thereafter, he knew he was in love. Lin probably felt something a little bit after that. She noticed a change in his demeanor and took that as her cue to bolt. She buried herself in work and flew all the way to the Earth Kingdom to protect Korra instead of facing her new feelings. But once she was back, after Zaheer was arrested, the first thing she did was get to Zekou's house and confess that she reciprocated his feelings.

Ask me about our OTPs!

[harryissuchalittleshit]

Hey girl!! I'm new here to ur blog and I'm curious Abt ur ships and headcanons for Harry Potter characters? I love ur Harry and Weasley takes but I want to know all ur ships lmao I was looking to see if u had a pinned post but I don't so I figured I'd ask 💕

Hi! Welcome to my blog and thank you for asking about my ships, I have a lot of them and I'm going to try and link some of my stories from Ao3. I put everything under the read more as it turned out to be a lot longer than anticipated!

Bill/Fleur - I ship them in a sort of toxic downfall(?), they're just the kind of couple that I see rushing in too fast and then not dealing with any of their trauma.

Victoire/SJ - they fell in love while Victoire was visiting her grandparents in Paris, he's a few years older and super sweet and doting on Victoire. They have a great relationship.

Dominique/Lorcan - more of a friends to lovers story, but involve an unplanned teen pregnancy, a family tragedy, and also lots of cousin drama, they somehow make it work.

Louis/Anamika - I really adore them, both of them are so quiet and shy despite being on the younger side of their ridiculously big families. They find a peace and love in one another that I find so refreshing and honest.

Percy/Audrey - one of my top Weasley couples! I just simply adore the pair of them, Percy is so sweet to Audrey, her shoulder to lean on while the world pushes her down. And Audrey is the complete opposite of her quiet and studious man, but that's what makes him love her more.

Molly/Artie - they're not exactly a match made in heaven, but they are a second chance romance. They loved one another at 15/16 and they come back to each other again at 20/21. Sometimes mistakes happen in life and sometimes you wake up after a night of partying married to your ex-boyfriend.

Lucy/Devon - She's a nervous wreck at her best and he loves her despite her self-doubt. They care so deeply for one another and she gets more and more confident with him at her side.

George/Angelina - They're resilient, the couple that can manage anything as long as they're together. A sweet pair of soulmates that saw each other at eleven and never looked back.

Freddie/LeeAnne - Another pair of soulmates that met each other young and who love one another so deeply and completely despite the hardships it causes.

Roxanne/Sean/Sasha - Roxanne has been through everything, she has been through so much pain and Sean helped her get through it. Sasha helped her see the light after so much pain and their love is so true and sweet after everything that has happened.

Ron/Hermione - what can I not say about this couple? I adore Romione and think that they are such an amazing couple that have gone through so much together.

Rose/Scorpius - my first OTP in the next generation, I just love the thought of their family dinners. They're definitely a couple that go through lots of ups and downs, but that never lessens their love for one another.

Hugo/Lyla - I love them so much, Hugo is so wild and Lyla is so anxious, but when they come together they manage to become something so entirely beautiful and happy together.

Harry/Ginny - I do love a couple that find each other over and over and over again. They're a couple that love one another in every moment and I love writing them.

James/Marci - coming soon, Nano2023 project

Al/Maggie - they were toxic young couple at 17 and grow into a beautiful and ridiculously loving couple at 21. They go on to become a staple at Hogwarts as DADA professor and Hospital Wing Matron.

Lily/Ryan - She's a bit of a wild child and he's able to wrangle her in, they have a mutual love of music and dancing, and they find each other in their darkest moments.

Draco/Astoria - we love couples that grow and learn from one another and they do that over and over and over again!

Padma/Theodore - a rarepair but a good pair, they come together despite their differences and they are such good parents to any child that comes through their home

Susan/Dudley - my first real rarepair, I love them so much and the story I’ve created for them means so much to me. They found each other over and over again and they found love even during a rainstorm.

[riddles-n-games]

You know, someone once pointed out and I can’t remember where, maybe on Goodreads or tumblr, that the possibility of a third book’s release was an uncertainty once upon a time and while I like The Final Gambit, when I think about it now, I see it somewhat differently. In all honesty, I would have been fine with it ending at The Hawthorne Legacy, maybe with a disappointment of sorts but it would have been fine. No, not just because my otp got together. I’m saying it because when I look at the series as a whole maybe it should have stayed at a duology. I feel like The Inheritance Games and The Hawthorne Legacy feel much better intertwined and connected than with The Final Gambit in tow. I actually enjoyed the mystery of Vincent Blake, Tobias Hawthorne’s mysterious past, Eve’s involvement, and the culmination of Toby’s heritage in the last book but somehow, the mysteries being tied by games and everything in the first two books felt like they were crafted in a specific way that just made TFG look like an outlier. Maybe it’s the fact that THL is set right after TIG making the flow feel continuous with that rapid succession but TFG is then set almost an entire year after the sequel, making it feel off. It makes me wonder, why did it take so long for Eve and Vincent to make a move? Was it only because they knew Avery’s inheritance date was growing near so that’s why they infiltrated then? Or was there another motive, one we will never know about? What was going through JLB’s mind at the time of writing the book? Did she feel rushed or felt that she couldn’t get everything as fleshed out as she wanted by the deadline which meant some important details were just dropped? 

For those who might say that the mysteries didn’t feel like they made sense in TFG or weren’t given a set up in previous books, there most certainly was as there were so many things things still left with open endings and surrounded by multiple speculations. The biggest question marks were still about Toby, where he came from, etc., etc., and that’s something I was interested in getting answered other than the meaning of the gold disk. Perhaps some of the explanations brought to light about these things that were previously shrouded with mystery were letdowns (the disk kind of being one for me) but at least we got some answers. Maybe some will be leftover for The Brothers Hawthorne, I won’t claim to know. Essentially though, I think that this is one of the rare instances where I felt that the first book of a series and it’s sequel were up to par in equal measure based on theme, mood, storyline, and character developments among other things. But that’s just me. And now that I wrote this, I kind of miss my first read through of TIG and THL along with the first rollercoaster of emotions, thoughts, conspiracies, everything. 

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic The Hedgehog

do I like them: More than I used to.

Still not one of my all-time favourite characters, but the problems plaguing his portrayals in adaptations have helped me better appreciate his game self. @greenyvertekins has also changed my perception on him for the better.

5 good qualities:

He's more caring and considerate than his devil may care demeanour would have you believe. Too bad non-fans, and just as many actual fans, don't realise this.

Inspires other characters for the better, not because he sets out to change them, but because he's just a positive influence that way.

Generally chill, and capable of keeping his main focus on what matters.

Smarter than one would think. He may not be a genius on the level of Tails and Eggman, but he's a fast learner, and very perceptive.

Doesn't let anything keep him down. He sets out to do what he wants, then he goes and does it. It's Sonic's world, and we're just living in it.

3 bad qualities:

He can be rather groan-inducing sometimes, even in the games that are hailed as his best portrayals.

With rare exceptions, adaptations have not been kind to him.

His snark directed at Eggman makes it easy for fans to think this means Eggman is a joke who should be replaced with other villains. Not technically Sonic's fault, but it's still something I have to put up with. D:<

favourite episode/etc: Sonic is a unique character in which my favourite moments don't really extend to entire games, but rather specific moments across different games. That's not a knock against the character, it's just me noticing a trend. (Compare this to Eggman for example, where I can credit entire games, such as S3&K.)

With that in mind, Sonic has had many great moments over the years, many of which delving into what makes him tick and how he perceives the world around him. As much as I poke fun at the mountain of handkerchiefs moment (disclaimer: poking fun at it =/= hating on it), I do really like the ending of Secret Rings, thanks to the snappy contrast between his ruthlessness with Erazor and his empathy for Shahra.

But among all of his shining moments, I've always had a soft spot for the intro in CD, because although he doesn't say a word, it's just so cool, and it gets Sonic down perfectly.

otp: No comment.

*coughs loudly over the sound of clopping*

brotp: Tails, who else?

That said, I also really like his friendship with Blaze.

ot3: Oh look, fairy dust.

notp: Sonegg.

The moment I see that shit, I'M OUTTA HERE *jumps offscreen, Game Over*

best quote: I could quote the speech he gives to Merlina in Black Knight, or his final moment with Blaze in Rush, or even his short yet sweet summation to Shadow about who he is in SA2.

But for the sake of being a jackass, I'll go with this.

Mr. Principles would never have been this thoughtful.

head canon: When the hayfever kicks in, Sonic still insists on doing his morning run.

Cue the sight of him sneezing every ten seconds as he sprints across Green Hill.

[sabrinaacarpenters]

Thoughts on s2?

im very 50/50 on it to be honest, there were some parts that i really liked but all in all i liked season 1 so much more

i loved that they changed alina's ending, i hated how the trilogy ended and i'm book m/alina's number one hater so i did not give a fuck that they broke them up tbh. i was fine with them in the show in s1 but in s2 they bored me to tears and they got together way too fast in my opinion. also i think she had way more chemistry with nikolai so even though zoyalai is one of my otps i don't mind that if the show gets cancelled they're kind of endgame here, since i'll always have the books. and i'm so here for dark!alina!!

for the crows part, i loved the kanej scenes from the books even if they were completely out of order lmao but amita and freddy has amazing chemistry so i ate up all their scenes i think wesper was very rushed, i don't like how they made them sleep together prior and i think their dynamic is the most different from their book counterparts, but if we don't get s3/a spinoff at least they're endgame now one of my biggest gripes with this season is NOT ENOUGH HELNIK!! i truly hoped that even though we wouldnt get the ice court heist they would break matthias out of hellgate in the second part of the season in like individual storylines for them, even though i did not like how quickly kaz took down pekka, freddy's performance was amazing in episode 4, truly one of the highlights of the season for me. and my girl nina had so many amazing scenes this season i was very happy for her. i think jesper was a bit sidelined this season compared to the previous one, but i loved the dream/hallucination scene with his mom and it was great to see him embracing his powers; its going to be interesting how the heist plot changes now that he's not hiding it wylan is very much still a blank slate which i like, bc thats similar to how it was in the first book. matthias being plagued by sex dreams was basically the only thing he had going on but you know what im not complaining lmao inej already leaving to hunt down slavers was a change i did not like, and what was that look between her and tolya??? i was bamboozled. i also feel like they erased a huge part of her backstory and trauma, which i hope they'll rectify given the chance, my insane conspiracy theory is that tante heleen isn't actually dead and she'll show up at the ice court

killing david was sick of them tbh and i hate it but still the biggest crime was putting zoya in the ugliest baby pink gown they could find in the last ep. they truly did my girl so dirty

[canon-can-fight-me]

AAAAAH HAPPY ANNIVERSARY YOU TWO!!!! ONE OF MY OTPS I LOVE Y'ALL SOSOSOS MUCH <3333

HI THREEPIO!!! Okay so, you know how when humans are in love they get butterflies and blushy and shaky and stuff? How does Rina make you feel since you're a robot? Like do you start steaming? x3 And what does she do that flusters you the most without her realizing?

Thank you for your kind words, Nick! I truly I appreciate it. ☺️ (Kaiyo taught me how to use these little emoticons, though I’m still getting the hang of it.)

As for your question…ahem. Well. It’s quite difficult to explain, but…in the way that human heartbeats accelerate, I feel this rush of electricity throughout my circuits, an almost tingly feeling that runs through my entire body. While I do not technically steam when flustered, I will admit that at times it certainly feels like that. Though more accurately I would say my circuits tend to whir faster, and as a result I tend to emit more heat than is normal. While I admittedly find myself worried by many things, the nervousness she makes me feel is an entirely different experience. One that I’ve become rather fond of.

Now, for your second question, she is rather cheeky and so most times I’m flustered by her are because she is actively trying to get such a reaction from me. However, there are rare times when she just wants affection from me, typically in the form of a hug or just to lie her head in my lap. There’s a certain way she looks at me that admittedly flusters me, and I do believe in those instances she isn’t even trying to.

Oh, Kaiyo wants me to add that everything she did before we started dating seemed to fluster me.

…Excuse me? That is simply not true! I admit some certain things may have elicited such a reaction from me, but “everything”?

[madridismodelcorazon4ever]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Hey there! I'm sorry for taking so long to answer, I've been away and only checked Tumblr in a rush.

Actually, I haven't had asks for a long time so this is really nice, thank you for the question!

Gotta say my top changes depending on my current obsessions haha but once I fall in love with a character, they stay in my heart forever.

Here comes my top 10:

1. Chu Wanning from 2ha/Erha (The Husky and His White Cat Shizun). Where do I start with Chu Wanning? I was never able to properly express everything this man made me feel along the journey that 2ha was. He is, imo, what makes the story so lovable and memorable, so unique. Cold and aloof but at the same time gentle, kind and eternally selfless, Chu Wanning is a dream character that changes the way you perceive things.

2. Lan Wangji from Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed - Lan Wangji is my first danmei love and has a special place in my heart. The fact that Wang Yibo plays him in the drama can only make his character more special for me because even though I love him in the novel, I adore him in the drama! Yibo's charm is unparalleled.

3. Kagome Higurashi from Inuyasha - my childhood sweetheart! So brave, smart beautiful and kind (she is, in fact, way too good for Inuyasha, I've always said that... but it is what it is I guess). She deserves the world! Kagome is the one who helped Inuyasha grow into a real man, make friends and become more understanding with people around him. Props to the best girl ever!

4. Eiji Okumura from Banana Fish - the definition of an angel boy! Eiji is to me what he was to Ash in the anime: a balm for the soul. He soothes everyone around him and allows them to be themselves without restraints. I loved him since the first moment I saw him!

5. Sunja from Pachinko - a female character that stayed with me for a long time after finishing the book. Sunja fell in love with Hansu - a proud and rich man who already had a family of his own. She was left alone with a kid, struggled and raised her children by selling kimchi on the streets of Japan (Sunja had one more kid later on with another man, pastor Baek who did what Hansu never dared to - married Sunja and formed a family with her). Throughout her journey, she never gave up and sacrificed many things for her family. She is kind, fierce, brave and unwavering.

6. Hua Cheng/Xie Lian from Tian Guan Ci Fu/Heaven Official's Blessing - just can't choose between these two. They're amazing characters individually but together they're perfection! They're also my favourite danmei otp so far and I guess their obsession for each other only makes them more appealing. I adore how Hua Cheng respects Xie Lian's opinions and decisions even when he doesn't agree with them and how Xie Lian saw right through Hua Cheng and didn't misjudge him like everybody else. Once again: perfection!

7. L from Death Note - a favorite since childhood. Death Note has been incredibly dear to me ever since I was a little kid. I admired and was fascinated by L's intelligence and diligence, he was an unbothered king from beginning to end! His "fights" with Kira were legendary and made the story an unforgettable masterpiece.

8. Sam from Lord of the Rings - everybody loves Sam but let's be honest, who wouldn't be in love with such an outstanding character? I have to say Frodo is a close second fave from LOTR and now that I'm an adult and see things in a different light, I'm in love with Sam and Frodo's relationship. Who needs a spouse when you've got such homies? Lmao! They're both (along with the other members of the fellowship) the heroes of the story. Sam was especially dedicated and loyal and also said one of my favorite quotes of all time: "There's still some good in this world, Mr Frodo. And it's worth fighting for!"

9. Nana and Hachi from Nana - again, I can't choose between the two heroines of this iconic anime. They're strikingly different but compliment each other perfectly. And let's get real - their relationship was the best thing of the story. Sorry guys, but the girls got the upper hand in Nana! I loved Nana and Ren but unfortunately, their bond was very toxic whilst Nana and Hachi developed a healthy and happy relationship throughout the tale. Still bitter about the ending of Nana though...

10. Rukia Kuchiki from Bleach - another childhood sweetheart. Rukia made me watch Bleach and as a kid she was a role model for me. She's one of the best female characters ever created and I love her for being so brave, strong, witty, persistent and understanding. She's Ichigo's (the protagonist) pillar and strengthens him whenever he's down. As a young girl, I must say I shipped them together but nevertheless, I'm happy with how the story ended because Renji has always loved her (and protected her too, in his own way).