#still a lot to do but we've also done a lot so keep going fandom!

[mayasdeluca]

Source: @SaveStation19 on Twitter Grand Gestures are in progress of being planned to happen after the holidays

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[yayakoishii]

Please please please!! Sanji x reader request during whole cake island where sanji and reader were already a thing prior to the event and how torn up sanji is over it. Especially if they still hadn't said I love you yet and sanji is realizing that yes he loves reader and wants to marry them but he can't cause he wants to protect them and everyone. Reader having a similar realization/crying to the crew about it and Luffy going, nope this is happening I'm a captain and I'm marrying you two (let's pretend he learned captains can marry people from shanks but he still doesn't know what marriage is just that he can do this so he wants to do it)

Yours To Love | Sanji x Reader

Fandom: One Piece

Pairing: Vinsmoke Sanji x GN! Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Genre/Tags: Angst, Fluff, Happy Ending, Love Confession, Spoilers for Wholecake Island arc

A/n: I hope I'm not too late anon!! I think it's been a week or so since you sent this, so I hope you get to see this <3 I really sat down and wrote this in one sitting like a possessed person hahahah~ Thank you for the request and I hope this is to your liking (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠) I tweaked your request very very minorly but I enjoyed writing it a lot!

Also available on ao3!

Seeing Sanji again was like seeing the sun after weeks and weeks of never-ending rain.

It hadn't been more than a week or two since you had separated in Dressrosa but being a part of the strawhat crew meant you could never catch a break for too long. When you heard what Sanji had done from Nami and the others, a small part of you hurt that maybe, just maybe, you weren't enough for Sanji.

The next moment you had discarded the thought completely and felt horrible for even thinking that way about Sanji. You knew he would never lie to you. You knew, more than anyone on the crew, just how much he truly enjoyed being a part of the crew. Your insecurity over how Sanji and you hadn't yet spoken of love made no difference to the fact that Sanji would never choose to leave the crew.

Maybe he didn't love you back but he loved the crew. So him choosing to go to the tea party where he would be married off was a sign that he must believe either that he can: (a) handle it by himself and make it back no problem, or (b) the situation was dangerous and he wanted to take care of it himself in a way that wouldn't harm the crew. You were more inclined towards b, considering this was Big Mom and Germa 66 that were being talked about.

You wanted to go get Sanji back too but the rest of the crew who had fought in Dressrosa was going to Wano and you were probably expected to do the same. But Sanji was still your boyfriend. He was yours, and he was going to get married off to some girl you had never heard of before today, and your heart refused to accept it. You refused to let him go. He was yours to hold, yours to keep and yours to love. You would get him back even if you had to fight Luffy to join them.

Thankfully, you didn't have to fight him at all. When you meekly suggested joining them, your captain had just tilted his head in confusion and said, "Huh? What do you mean? Of course you're coming. I was going to take you along the whole time."

And now half of the crew was here in Totto land, and Luffy had just defeated Cracker and Kingbaum was taking you three to the castle where Sanji was supposed to be. Instead, you had stumbled across Germa 66 midway and after days, you were finally seeing the face of the man you loved so deeply that it hurt.

"We've come to take you back!" Luffy was hanging onto the coach while you and Nami were still on the running Kingbaum and you could make out Sanji's face from a distance. You were smiling so hard upon seeing him look okay. He wasn't hurt. Good. Suddenly, he turned and kicked Luffy off the coach and you gasped.

"Hey!" Nami was equally shocked. "What was that for, Sanji?!"

"Get lost," Sanji said, his face unlike any he had ever shown the crew, "you miserable inferior pirates."

You considered the possibility that it could be a Germa clone. But there was no way they would take a close to the tea party when they already had done the effort of getting the real deal to come there.

"My name is Vinsmoke Sanji and I am a prince of Germa kingdom!"

He had never told you that in the few months of your relationship. You knew there was something he wasn't telling you but you had never pried because you knew that the reason Sanji wasn't mentioning it was probably because it was something that didn't matter. Germa was supposed to be a thing of his past– and it was supposed to stay there for the rest of his life. Except it had come back, like cockroaches are apt to do, and brought a storm into your lives.

You just stood there, listening to Sanji make claims that were like stabs to your heart continuously. For your situation, your mind felt thunderously calm. You were noting the laughter of his ‘brothers’ in the back, the way Sanji was staring with steely eyes at Luffy and hadn't met your eyes even once, the rigid muscles of his face as he spoke about how he would be getting married to Big Mom's beautiful daughter.

Maybe someone would say you are in denial, but you refused to believe it. Sanji was spouting a load of bullshit and it was making laughter bubble up in your throat. You only kept it down because this wasn't the time or place for it. The Sanji you knew would never say these words, unless he believed it was the only way he could keep you all safe.

"Don't get involved! I'll drive him off."

You couldn't say a word as you watched Sanji and Luffy start fighting. You had never thought you would see this one day. Your heart was hurting and your mind was a huge mess of thoughts but all you could focus on was how much Sanji must be hurting.

He must be wanting to come back home to the Sunny with you. He had told you in the dark covers of night when you two had made love, that there was no place more appropriate than with the crew that he thought of when he thought of the word ‘home’. The boy who had said that to you could never say these words and mean them. He would only say it if it meant protecting his home and his crew.

You watched as Luffy didn't hit back even once and kept taking hit after hit. Silent tears were already streaming down your face from watching Sanji's emotional hurt and Luffy's physical one. You wished this was a nightmare.

When Sanji knocked out Luffy, you finally exhaled and slowly walked over to him. Nami had already gotten past you and slapped him in the face, saying goodbye to him. You stared at Sanji when you were close enough. His head that had turned from the impact of Nami's slap didn't turn to look at yours, as if you were invisible. You let out a shaky exhale and smiled weakly at him.

"I guess," you swallowed as you placed a gentle hand on the cheek Nami was slapped and watched him flinch just slightly under your touch, "even if I said ‘Come back home with me, Sanji’, you wouldn't change your mind, huh?"

He still wouldn't look at you and he didn't respond, but his hand came up to rest over yours. He gave it a gentle squeeze, the way he always did when he would apologise to you for anything. You told your aching heart that it was fine. This wouldn't be the last time you see Sanji.

"This is farewell then," you said quietly, just low enough for only him to hear as your hand slipped away. "I hope you are happy wherever you are. Because if you were doing this for us, then you should know that we'll never be complete without you. And, foolish as I am, I won't be happy without you."

You turned away without looking at him and instead walked back to Luffy and Nami, your eyes threatening to spill tears you did not wish him to see. If this was truly the last time you would see Sanji, you wanted his last memory of you to be of you smiling at him.

You heard Sanji get back up and the carriage drawing away. Luffy got up and started shouting again. Your lips quivered, your back to the road as you looked at your captain. "You can kick me all you want, but you're the one feeling the pain!"

For all his idiocy and no brain cell moments, you knew how well Luffy knew all his crewmates. He may not show it most days, but he understood you all the best. You watched him scream some more, crying harder and harder until he ended with, "Without you, I can't become the pirate king!!"

They were gone after that and in the silence, you could finally feel the flood of thoughts wash over you once again, one thought the most prominent of all. You truly loved Sanji. You had never told him but you loved every inch of him, more than you had ever realised until this moment, when your heart was afraid that it would never be able to tell Sanji this.

"I don't know what I should do," you mumbled, covering your face in your hands. You could feel Nami's comforting arms around your shoulders. "I love him. I love that idiot. Who cares if he's a prince, a beggar or even a Marine?! No matter what he is, in every universe, I would still fall in love with him. I love him so much and I have to stand and watch him marry someone else, all while I keep thinking that it should be me. I want to be the one next to him on the altar and I've, I've lost my chance to tell him."

"No, you haven't," Luffy said firmly from where he was lying. Your tears were starting to dry up and you turned to look at your captain. His face was determined. "Sanji will come. And you will marry him."

"How are we gonna do that, huh?" You chuckled wetly as you settled down next to Luffy.

"We'll get him back and you'll ask him to marry you," Luffy said simply, "and then he will say yes and then, I will marry you two off."

"You'll be our officiant, Luffy?" You giggled. You didn't know what it was about him, but Luffy could make you believe in the most impossible of things. There was already a big part of you that felt at peace from his words. It would work out somehow. If it's Luffy, then anything is possible.

"I heard of it from two of Shanks' crewmates as a kid," he said, giving you a wide grin. "I didn't think I'd ever need to do it but I've looked into it ever since you two started dating. It was getting a little boring waiting for you two though. I was going to ask you two to marry if you took any longer."

"Oh god," you wheezed, feeling insane for laughing at this moment. "That would have been hilarious. A crazy story to tell if someone asked us ‘who proposed’ and we would have to answer ‘Luffy’!"

Your words were cut off by the arrival of clouds from Big Mom's rage. It was time for you to get Sanji back.

•

Pudding's words should hurt somewhere, Sanji thought to himself absent-mindedly from where he was hiding. He had brought the flowers and he had tried to convince himself that his marriage with Pudding could make him happy and it would keep the crew safe. But, she didn't love him the way you did. She could be the kindest, nicest person in the whole world, but she wasn't you.

You, who had seen him through his worst, who had personally tended to his wounds both physical and emotional, who had looked like a heavenly being under him, who had smiled at him despite his secrets, who understood him on such a fundamental level– you were the apple of his eye, the love of his life.

Pudding's words should have hurt but they didn't because he knew that her opinion of him had no impact on your opinion of him. And even if the whole world hated him, you never would. Sanji had thought that this would be where you draw the line. That you would finally get fed up with him and leave. No one even stayed with him in the first place and you had done it for so long that he was afraid you would leave. What he had done at this point would have been enough for anyone else to get angry and slap him.

And yet, when he had seen you there, he knew he couldn't look into your eyes. One look and his resolve would crumble. Because there was no mistaking what he felt towards you whenever he looked into your eyes that seemed to hold the whole world. He truly loved you from the bottom of his heart. There was no one else in this world who he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

It had to be you. It could only be you.

And yet, he didn't have much of a choice in this whole matter, did he? Sanji just walked away, thinking and thinking about what he should do.

About how he could get back home to you.

•

When all was said and done and all of you were back on the Sunny, making your way to Wano, Luffy just placed a hand on your shoulder and said with his most serious face, "You better do it fast or I will do it on your behalf."

"Shut up," you weakly punched him in the shoulder and rolled your eyes– but your heart was happy. Neither you nor Sanji had talked about anything the whole time you were escaping. You had just hugged him silently and he had done the same; you knew there would be time to talk later. And that time was now. "Sanji?"

"Hm?" Sanji looked up from where he was cooking in the kitchen. After hearing the mess the crew had made with cooking, he had slipped back into his role as always. The sight of him chopping vegetables on the kitchen counter of the Thousand Sunny made your heart warm up. "Sweethea–(y/n)."

He switched from the endearing term to your name, looking nervous. He was probably thinking about how he didn't deserve to call you that anymore, huh?

"Am I no longer your sweetheart?" You asked teasingly as you crossed over to stand across the counter from him. He looked at you, scared yet hopeful. "Did you change your mind about me after seeing, ah, Pudding, wasn't it?"

"No, my love!" He cried out, hands shooting upwards to take you into his arms but he stopped just in time. He didn't know if you still wanted him to touch you. Somehow, it felt like the two of you from all those months back, when you hadn't yet started dating. "This whole time… I couldn't think of anything but how I have wronged you the most out of everyone. I do not feel worthy to be on the receiving end of your love."

"Shouldn't I get to decide that?" You retorted, leaning over the counter. You grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close. It had been too long since you had kissed your golden boy. "If you're the one I love and if you're the one my heart has decided it wants to marry, then you're already worthy, silly boy. You aren't a man until you realise that you're worthy of all the love in this world."

You ended up saying it all in a teasing manner but you could see the shock in his eyes at your words. The silence stretched over the kitchen awkwardly and your smile wavered for a second.

"You better say yes," you huffed to yourself, "because I don't think Luffy made a plan for you refusing my proposal."

Sanji was confused for all of one second before he was nodding, gently pushing aside the vegetables he was cutting so he could slide over the top of the counter to you. He cradled your face in his hands, holding you reverently as he placed kisses all over your face. You flushed under the attention, feeling home at last.

"This feels too much like a dream," he admitted, knocking his forehead on yours. "That you would still want me, that you would still love me… Despite all my mistakes, in spite of how I've wronged you, you're still here."

"I love you with all my heart," you admitted to him. "I love you for who you are Sanji, flaws and all. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. If, if you happen to feel the same…"

"Don't be silly," he interrupted you, so unlike himself. "If I shouldn't doubt my worth, you shouldn't doubt my love either. I may not have ever said it before this, but I truly do love you so much."

Sanji pulled you into a kiss and you let him, your arms tightening around his waist. You had been so wrong back then. You had been scared that that would be the last time you're seeing him but right now, you knew that this was the start of seeing Sanji every day for the rest of your lives.

"C'mon then," you giggled after the two of you had made out for a while. "Gotta tell Luffy."

"Why?" Sanji was baffled. "What's Luffy got to do with any of this?"

"Hey now, our captain kindly offered to marry the two of us off, you know."

"He what?!"

"He was also ready to propose on my behalf. You better be happy I beat him to it."

"I don't even know what to say."

"Just let me do the talking, how about that?"

"But of course, sweetheart! ♡"

°•❀•°

All likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated! ♡

★ Taglist:

@phantasmagoricalzenith | @secretlife028 | @100520s | @toertchen | @suga-tofu | @theluckyplaces | @luvfzw | @katiemrty | @writingmysanity | @akaashi-todorki | @yuninha2004

if anyone wants to be added or removed, lmk!

[guardian-angle22]

maybe you’ve already done this but I would love to know your top underrated tarlos moments

Thank you for asking! I did make a set once for my favorite background moment. That set is here. I do like that one!

As far as underrated, I think that can be tough with a fandom like ours with as much hiatus time on our hands as we've had... because I think we've hyped up about every possible tarlos moment we possibly can. 🤭

HOWEVER, I can't leave you empty handed here. So! here are some of my Top Slightly-Maybe-Underrated Tarlos Moments:

Carlos Being at Owen's Remission Cake Celebration. Something about the exchange between TK & Carlos at the beginning of this scene just always strikes me. Carlos says, "It's cool your mom came down here for this." and TK says, "It's cool you did. Thanks for being here, babe." and something in his face after that exchange just says to me that he's not used to having a boyfriend show up for things like this. So it feels like a subtle but big moment for them!!

TK & Carlos Shopping at the Farmer's Market. There's something very domestic and sweet about the two of them walking through the farmer's market together swinging their tote bags, buying flowers, sniffing random plants, checking out the local jam offerings.

TK & Carlos Cuddling on the Couch. Much has been said about the cuddling specifically in this scene, the equal opportunity big/little spoon situation. but also I just love the thought of them doing this regularly: cuddling up in front of the TV at the end of their shifts, decompressing, and telling each other about their day and their struggles. encouraging each other. and then also cuddles.

Holding Hands at Owen's Intervention. The tone they kind of took this scene in with the music and editing made it seem less serious, but I feel like the situation would've been very stressful for TK (especially as someone who had been on the other side of an intervention before like he said) and I love the silent support Carlos offers here and the way he tucks his fingers into TK's sleeve.

TK Sleeping on Carlos as He Works. This probably isn't underrated but. it's one of my All Time Favorite Moments and therefore it makes this list. Here is a set I made for it awhile ago that I still really enjoy. The way TK tries to get Carlos to stop working in the middle of the night and when he realizes that's not going to work, he says okay. I'm gonna sleep right here and be with you then. He said I'm not going to sleep alone ever again if you're here so MAKE ROOM, BABY!

Carlos Keeping His Eyes on TK. not sure how else to describe it tbh, but just the way Carlos zeroes in on TK taking the phone call at the end of 3.07... it's like he always has a feeler out for what TK is doing at all times, even when surrounded by their friends. I truly wish we got to see the aftermath of that phone call. the way Carlos would've taken care of TK in that moment.

Scritchy Scratches. that's it. send tweet.

Soft!Dom Carlos Backing TK Up. listennnn this scene might be talked about a lot. but never enough. the gentle dom carlos of it all truly eats at my brain constantly. the way he backs TK up, reigns in his spiraling and calms him down with just a couple words and grip of the neck. I cannot.

TK Offering Carlos Back Rubs. another instance of TK waking up because Carlos isn't next to him. recognizing that Carlos needs comfort and offering to rub his back, like he's probably been doing for multiple nights now. it's just another sweet look into the way they comfort and support each other that might not get fully shown but is still there.

The Wedding Leg Grip. this is my Most Favorite of all the gifs I've made for the touch series. idk what it is about this particular gesture, but the way Carlos grabs TK's leg will forever be famous to me and we should be talking about it every week.

[feathernotes]

With tumblr news circulating about the Skeleton Crew shift, and the eventual shut down (albeit a slow death, it could be years), I've been thinking about the lifespans of older websites that still exist today. A lot of them (in fact most) are run by community volunteers who rely on yearly fundraiser efforts, word of mouth, call to actions that bring attention to its importance... And i'm reflecting on what that all truly means in the end, and what we, as The Internet Explorers, should consider for long term. I don't think the Internet with its many sites ever promised 'long term' to start, it was always experimental, ephemeral, in the moment- and could break when the lights just couldn't stay on. But it's also important that we archive things, leave a mark on the work we've done- Memories of good times (and bad times) on sites who hold thousands upon thousands of clicks, downloads, shares, and browsing. It makes me think: What are we missing out on, and what is to come?

We're never going to be able to predict our futures as far as a websites lifespan goes, its fate lies in the hands of those who deem it 'worth it' or not. But what we CAN do, is archive our memories and revisit the past to learn FOR the future. And I think it's about time we start to prioritise making funky websites free from the hands of folks who want to profit off of our works- Create spaces dedicated to your fandoms, your muses, your recipes, your cats and dogs, you art, writing, music , and so much more.

I've been seeing more younger folks start to experiment with Neocities and that gives me hope. Or more and more folks who want to host their webcomic on Comic Fury . Hell, AO3 is a classic example of resilience in the face of constant change. Celebrate inide sites- create your own. Use RSS readers to keep up with your faves, read webcomics on their own sites. It feels bleak because we want to reach people and communities- but remember that WE are what they make. It has to start with us, and with how much the net is shifting into algorithm hyper profit based experiences, I think it's time to reflect what we truly want our browsing time to be like.

[dduane]

Hello! I was wondering if you’ve shared your ao3 account? Like, have you acknowledged “this account is mine,” or do you keep it personal? Totally respect if you keep it under wraps I just wanted to know if I’m missing something. Hope my wording of this makes sense!

No, it's OK, I get it. You're asking "Have you publicly ID'd a given AO3 account as yours?"

No, and I'm not going to. Because it contains fanfic I've written for pleasure—exactly as I started writing it in my teens—and I have no desire to have that publicly connected with me.

Leaving the usual legal concerns aside (and not being even slightly concerned that a judge would fail to find the fiction "transformational", if the truth came out in a court of law) a significant part of this effort is about answering the question: "What would happen if people read fiction of mine and they didn't know Diane Duane was responsible for it? What would their reaction be?" That urge to discover whether the fiction stands on its own, without the inevitable shadow cast by one’s reputational backstop, still comes up for me in some moods. So when the itch to write fanfic comes up, I scratch it. And all I can say is that, by and large, the results have been satisfying.

Frankly, it's a ton of fun. There's no one to satisfy (at the most immediate level) except me and the local embodiment of the Creative Urge. No one will ever accuse me of "just churning [this] out for more $$$$", because there is no $$$$. And there's room to stretch further and harder than I might normally do in my public work (because there's more forgiveness for failure: and in the arts, I think, failure is absolutely one of the most effective ways to grow). Whatever comes back to me in return for this work—and it is work, some of the hardest I've ever done—is in the form of raw appreciation. So, people, on behalf of my colleagues, let me just say: comment on AO3 fics, yeah? You don't have to be fulsome about it. A word or two will do. And bestow kudos where you may. It's all an AO3 fanfic writer asks.

...And of course some people will say: "Are you off your rocker? You're traditionally published for decades, you have awards, you've been on bestseller lists, how can you not be sure that what you're doing's any good?" ...But you know, no writer is sure all the time. All of us wake up in the middle of the night some time(s), thinking "I'm not sure I've still got it..." and squeezing our eyes shut in terror of future reviews containing the horrible conjecture that Maybe We Never Really Had It To Start With. When you've spent a significant portion of your lifetime making stuff (up) out of nothing, the horrible suspicion that maybe it really has been nothing all the time—I mean, nothing nothing—is unavoidable.

So sometimes some of us want to go out in disguise (and I don't mean paid pseudonymic work: that proves nothing in this particular arena) and see how we fare. I know other traditionally-published writers who've done this—names that would surprise you—and who, by and large, have done it for the same reasons. We are the dark figures, hooded and cloaked, sitting in the shadows of some of the more prominent fandoms that express themselves on AO3; eyes glinting in the firelight, enjoying the reactions to the stories we've got to tell.

It's not bad here, in the shadows. For one thing, you're in a better position to appreciate the figures moving in the light. There's a lot of extraordinary talent on AO3 (and elsewhere in the online fanfic world), sharing stuff with us out of their own hard work and from their own urge toward grace. It's a privilege to read them. (Some of them are better writers than I am. I appreciate them: and comment, and leave kudos, because that's how appreciation is concretely shown. And I take notes.)

Beyond that, there's nothing much to add except that I have no plans to stop. And also: that I think kindly every single day of the very small and exclusive group of people who know "who" I am on AO3, and have kindly kept that data to themselves. Your confidence honors me, friends. May the Work do you honor in return. :)

And now: I owe you all an update, so you'll have to excuse me while I get on with it. :)

[sepublic]

The Owl House's Ending Anniversary...

So it's officially been one whole year since The Owl House ended.

One year ago, I wondered how I would move on. How I would keep going. But I also knew I would, no matter what, because time keeps going on. Things will eventually pass, they always do, that's how so many moments and days for me have gone. Even entire periods of my life.

So I'm not surprised how things have gone on since then; I still had plenty more things to say about TOH, and I still love it just as I have. I've gotten new hyperfixations, and even returned to old ones as some of you can see with recent posts, so it's only a matter of time before TOH circles back again.

And man does it feel so slow, only to feel so brief, it really feels like this anniversary has snuck up on and surprised me! And once again, we have some other, appropriate event lined up; A solar eclipse on this anniversary! Luckily there's no sigils nor coven heads gathered to make me worry. But dang, it was raining in Connecticut when Luz returned there, and it was the rebirth of Jesus when Luz was resurrected.

Makes me wonder if anyone of the Boiling Isles, justifiably, has had PTSD from solar eclipses, and dreaded any that showed up, despite knowing it couldn't happen again. People must've held their breaths the entire time during the first eclipse, panicked at even the slightest fatigue, and then it passed and they realized it really was impermanent and over. And that there was another step towards moving on, which I guess I can relate to now, though this is something I'm much less happy to see gone.

I think a lot about how TOH has influenced both me and my writing, how I approach characters and stories now. I've found myself gravitating more and more towards personal, character-driven stories and situations now. I still have a bit of a taste for grander-scale stuff, but TOH was special for me in that it feels like the first time I really got and understood a show and its characters from the ground-up as I experienced it all in real time. The first time I truly grasped themes and character arcs and could make reasoned predictions based on those, some of which came true! It really feels like THE big start of my media literacy in a way?

It's been fun looking back at TOH as a 'whole' work more or less to reevaluate, and learning other things behind-the-scenes about the show. We've had a few more livestreams and stuff confirmed. Dana's done more drawings, including on her Patreon.

I haven't been writing as much TOH stuff lately, and tbf I've already said soooo much. I might have other, new things to say later down the line, and I do have a few thoughts I've written in notes that maybe could be fully-fledged posts in their own right. I've found comparisons to protagonists of other media, like Miles Morales, or Arin from Ninjago.

The Owl House still is and will probably always be something truly special to me; It feels like my first real fandom experience. My first time understanding and learning a show, appreciating it as it develops and even as I speculate. It broadened my tastes and horizons, my ability to participate with others in stuff.

I miss it; I miss new episodes, new developments. I'm still agonized over things that could've been, things I would've loved to see more of. I'm apprehensive over whether we'll get that Raeda prequel because I don't wanna get my hopes up. Plus Dana needs a well-deserved break and is trying and experimenting with new, different things. And I get that.

It's bittersweet, it's scary, it's freeing, it's sad, it's happy. I've gone so far, this show and fandom has gone so far. And it'll keep going, it has to, time keeps marching on. Luz had to lose her father Manny, process that, but still keep going and must be surprised looking back how much she's adjusted since then, how much she's still grown and gained and learned, while still holding him dear; The same applies for the Titan and the magic she once wielded. With grief and acceptance being a core theme in this show, I'm not surprised that it prepped up the viewers to do the same, and now we have.

And you know what? I'm gonna keep going on, like Luz Noceda, possibly my favorite protagonist of all time, one of the greats and a huge inspiration now for how I really want to write and focus on my own protagonists, too. I'm gonna keep doing this like it never ended. The rate and frequency might fluctuate, but every now and then I'll have things to say, and stuff to drop by and check, such as with the tag and the occasional trending post, others' reblogs, and so forth.

So again, thanks to Dana and the crew. Thanks to Luz Noceda, Eda Clawthorne, King Clawthorne, and the other many, many characters! Luz's story is one where it feels like the show really is about her at its core and wraps around to her, and I want to do a story one day that accomplishes the same feeling. And as I see how Dana has been inspired by past influences, I can't help but look forward to future generations and stories that will themselves have been inspired by The Owl House, I know I've been already, retroactively applying it to things that were already fairly compatible to begin with, and really needed the fresh breath of new inspiration.

I'm repeating a lot of the same things I've said last year. Will I say the same stuff another whole year from now? I'll see. But until next time... BBBBYYYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

[sarahjtv]

My Hero Academia Chapter 430 Spoiler Talk: The True End of An Era (Part 1)

This is it, the final chapter of My Hero Academia. A series 10 years in the making has finally ended. It's really insane to think about. This series has done so much good for a lot of people despite the fandom's flaws. MHA was both people's introduction and even reintroduction to manga and anime. It's bittersweet to write about the final chapter, but I will do the best I can to honor the series I love. This is going to be a very long one. Also a lot of screaming.

Now, please, if you want to wait until the official translation releases on Sunday, PLEASE TURN AWAY NOW! Save this post and come back to it on Sunday when everyone has read the chapter. I will be using spoiler hashtags for this, so if you end up spoiling yourself because of my post, that's on you. THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING:

Here we go. We first start off with our Final Color page for the series! It's a gorgeous double-page spread featuring all Class 1-A (Now 2-A) kids that we've grown to know and love throughout the past 10 years including Shinso, Aizawa, and All Might of course. Izuku Midoriya AKA Deku, our beautiful MC who I will miss with all my heart and soul 💚, is leading the page and his friends towards the bright future they all fought so hard for. It's a wonderful way to conclude the series and I will make sure to get a high-quality version of it to use as my computer wallpaper.

The final chapter is titled "My Hero Academia" because of course it is 🥹. This was truly My Hero Academia.

OH FUCK WE GET A TIME SKIP TO THE FUTURE SOMEONE HOLD ME 😭

KOTA IS THE THE UA HERO COURSE AND IZUKU IS HIS TEACHER IT'S SO PERFECT FOR HIM!!!💚😭 I BET MR. AIZAWA AND ALL MIGHT WERE BIG INSPIRATIONS FOR HIM TO TAKE THIS PATH 🥹

IT'S ONLY BEEN 1 PAGE AND THIS CHAPTER HAS ALREADY ENDED ME IT'S SO JOEVER FUCK

BTW, Deku is saying a more optimistic version of the "Not all men are born equal" narration he told us at the beginning of the very first chapter of the series. Very nice way of bringing the story full circle.

Ok, the next 2 pages have a lot of things in them, so I'm going to try to sum it up as best as I can:

Izuku finally came home to see his mother, Inko, at their apartment and she looks happy 💚

All Might is out of his wheelchair and helping old Gran Tarino walk with a cane (how he still survived I have no idea).

All the kids running in their gym clothes in what looks like their second Sports Festival (god, what I'd give to see that in its entirety).

Miriko is very happy with her new prosthetics including one that looks like the Bullet Bill from the Super Mario series.

The kids struggling taking either mid-terms or finals written tests. Bakugo is still using his left arm to write, so I assume his right arm is still barely usable.

Shoji and Kota shaking some prominent mutant's hand I assume from their contributions towards the war.

Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods working together as usual!

Tokoyama meeting up with Hawks.

KOTA AND ERI HOLDING HANDS AND GETTING READY FOR SCHOOL WITH MADALAY'S APPROVAL THAT'S SO FUCKING CUTE 😭❤️🤍

Endeavor being followed around by his sidekicks and Hawks.

Aizawa and Present Mic visiting what I bet is Shirakumo's grave 😢

The fan translator says that the kids finally meet Melissa from the first MHA movie! We don't see her face, but I'll take what they say is truth.

Spinner's book selling and Compress reading it in jail.

Bakugo going through rehab to get his right arm back!

Deku and Ochako spending time in the snow.

OUR KID'S GRADUATION OH MY GOD MOST OF THEM ARE 18 THERE AND THEY'RE OFFICIALLY PRO HEROES I'M SO FUCKING PROUD OF THEM 😭❤️ Interesting though since none of them really look much older except for maybe Iida and Shoto, but it's hard to tell from the scans. And Bakugo and Monoma keep the crazy graduation tradition of blowing things up as their goodbye present to UA!

And finally, we see the embers of One For All slowly fade away in Izuku's hand until there's nothing left...

Oh, god. The time skip takes place 8 YEARS in the future geez. So, if this is 8 years since we left the kids in Class 2-A, they would be about 24-25 years old now damn. We're actually going to see them all grown up that's crazy.

The next page shows us a middle school class very similar to how we saw Deku and Bakugo at the very beginning of the series. The teacher asks them what they want to do in the future and we get to see small glimpses of other characters now such as Hatsume who has her own lab (go, girl!), and LaBrava who seems to own a company with Gentle!

The main kid we focus on in this class is Dai, the young boy with dark blue-ish dotted hair who was looking at the All Might statue in Kamino before the first war started (I don't blame you for forgetting; I had to look him up too). He says he wants to be a hero, but everyone else says that his Quirk is too weak for him to become one. Despite that, he still goes to the All Might statue (which sounds like has been rebuilt) for inspiration. Sound familiar? 🤔

Next we see Shoji accepting a prestigious award for his efforts in resolving mutant prejudice-based incidents! He looks SO BULKY HOLY SHIT DUDE 😳 And his hair got longer to the point of putting it in a ponytail! Also, Koda and the glue Class 1-B kid (I think his name is Bondo or something) are there to congratulate him too! I bet you that Shoji making it to the top 10 in the final popularity poll helped Horikoshi give him a little spotlight and it's a good way of following up on what happened after his bout in the Final War.

Next up, we see Ochako, Tsuyu, Momo, and Iida visiting schools across the country! Ochako has also set up a Quirk Counseling expansion project that's become one of the most essential things in the future society!

Ok:

1: It's hard to tell with Iida, but the girls all look slightly older especially with their hair being a little longer.

2: Their future costumes look great! It's not a 100% match to what we saw in Endeavor's vision, but it's still great! Iida's armor got more detail to them; Tsuyu's frog goggles got gogglier?; Momo is finally coving up her cleavage and showing less exposed skin took you 10 years, but you finally got there, Horikoshi; and Ochako's got updated headwear, the two dots on her outfit are side-by-side instead of on top of each other, and her collar thing looks similar to Deku's hero mask which I know was intentional.

3: Good for Ochako for doing something about Quirk Counseling. Definitely inspired by what happened with Himiko Toga. I hope this means that we won't have another incident like Toga had and that kids are now able to get help with their Quirks as opposed to being villainized. I hope Ochako's making good money out of this too for her family like she originally intended.

We also see a teenage Eri going to her music club with a guitar on her back! She has a normal girl's sailor uniform, so my best guess is that she's either still in middle school (I think she would be 14-15 at this point) or she's not in UA like a lot of us thought. Either way, she wants to pursue music instead of Hero work so I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't go to UA at all. It also looks like her horn did fully grow back, but whether her Rewind Quirk still works the same is up in the air.

And we see that Mr. Aizawa is still working at UA, BUT HE CUT HIS HAIR SHORT 😭 WHY DID YOU CUT HIS BEAUTIFUL, LONG LOCKS, HORIKOSHI??? OF ALL THE PHYSICAL CHANGES YOU GIVE OUR CHARACTERS THIS IS THE MOST DEVASTATING 😭

*BREATHS* But, he shows Deku and us a video of Bakugo SCREAMING AT A CIVILIAN FOR FILMING HIM TOO CLOSELY 😂😭 PLEASE NEVER CHANGE, KATSUKI BAKUGO 🧡 I'm also really glad he still got to be a Pro Hero despite his injuries.

AND NOW WE SEE MY SWEET FAVORITE BOY, SHOTO TODOROKI WHO CUT HIS HAIR A LITTLE SHORTER!!! I DON'T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS, I LIKE HIM BETTER WITH SHORT HAIR AND STILL LOOKS LIKE THE BEAUTIFUL PRETTY BOY HE ALWAYS WAS! STAY PRETTY, SHOTO!!! 🩵

Anyway, Shoto patrols day and night and is very nice to his fans! Kind king 👑! He's also become his own man to the public now as he's barley called "Endeavor's Son" anymore. That's a real relief because I know for a fact that that was haunting him for years. Also, there's a chance he'll pass Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, and even Mirio in the rankings! I'm so proud of my fave! 🩵❄️🔥

GAH! I'm actually hitting a world limit here! I have to make a Part 2!

[svt-hari]

17's ROOM — 9th anniversary

TAGLIST: @ateezjuliet . @itzynabi . @justmochi . @enhacolor . @allthings-fandoms . @mingis-wrld . @zwiehe . @sxeetmelody . @nvmbheart . @magical-spit . @smoooore . @cosmicwintr . @lillijay . @peppercane . @aysxldea  . @angie-x3 . @choielyssa . @peachyaeger . @ cheolsboo . @pinkbrries . @moonlight-additions . @treehouse-mouse . @httpuji . @yoonkooksbaby4 . @sparkwrldsz . @sosongwonderland .

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WHAT DOES SEVENTEEN MEAN TO YOU?

"i always say this but seventeen is my lifeline."

VISITING THE PAST ROOM

"That's me on the screen." Seungcheol starts as he steps into the room.

Hari steps into the room, trailing right behind Seungcheol, eyes growing wide at the memories that stand right before them.

"Hey, this is exactly like EXchange... I love it!" she gushes as she walks to the pictures and postcards hanging from the ceiling.

She carefully looks around and finds hers immediately and takes a look:

Today's the day I get to finally debut! Although this is a different route that I was imagining, I hope that everyone will love and support us! It's been a rough five years but we did it!

"Wow, we have so many albums." Jeonghan exclaims as he looks at the display in front of him.

Hari turns around and takes a look, amazed at how there's one of every version for each album in the display. Hari sticks by herself as she takes a look at everything one by one, feeling a wave of emotions going through her.

It's been a roller coaster just for Hari herself and it's amazing how she's stuck through it all. She's sure that she would've given up if it weren't for her members, family, and friends.

"Let's go, we're all done." Jeonghan says in a hushed tone, reaching out for her hand.

She reaches for the edges of his sleeve and follows the others out back to the door.

TALKING SEGMENT

Hari sits in between Woozi and Seungkwan and listen in to the ones who brought in what they wanted to bring, nodding along to what they were saying.

"Hari said she also wanted to bring all of the rings. But decided not to just in case we lose it when we're talking." Joshua adds, chiming into Mingyu's comment to DK.

She nods, "Yeah, the rings would've been nice to bring."

9 LEGENDARY TALES

"What's nine legendary tales?" Mingyu asks, emphasizing on the nine.

After explaining what the content was, Joshua chose the keyword, "travel".

"Oh, so things like TTT, In the Soop, Nana Tour, etc." Woozi clarifies, soon after.

"Nowadays, I keep rewatching those old videos." Chan adds, "It's been fun nowadays."

"Me too! I've been rewatching In the Soop a lot. It's so healing." Hari pipes up, adding onto Chan's conversation.

FINAL MENT

"Okay, let's wrap this up by saying a few words for our ninth anniversary!" Seungcheol starts, gathering everyone's attention.

Everyone goes around in a circle until Hari's turn, as she's the second to last to go.

"Well, it's been nine years. I still feel like we just debuted yesterday but here we are. We've worked so hard to get to where we are and I honestly know that if it weren't for Carats, we wouldn't be here. I hope we can continue to work hard and have fun to show you guys everything that we do. Thank you Carats for everything and I love you guys."

[divineerdrick]

Homestuck: Beyond Canon Upd8 for 413

Happy 413 everyone! We knew we were getting something today, as James announced that earlier. This time, it's an extensive news posts with notes from the whole team. Looks like we've got a few comic pages as well. Let's see what we got!

James: I can definitely relate to what James is saying. Homestuck and its community helped me keep going when it seemed like there genuinely wasn't a path forward. Obviously it hasn't always been sunshine and rainbows, but I do still feel there is a lot of genuine goodness and greatness in our little corner of the internet.

And yay! James is an Aradia fan!

Kim:

Kim is one of the people who grew up with this comic. I honestly can't imagine what that must be like. Although I had a lot of media I enjoyed at 13, I don't feel like any of it had the kind of impact on me then that Homestuck had now. It's not like there wasn't anything good on, either! It was 1993 when I was 13, and WB and Disney were at their apex. But Homestuck hit different. I honestly can't imagine what it was like being able to relate to those kids like they could be your friends in another life, growing up along side them.

Miles:

A beautiful mindfuck is a great way to describe it. Honestly the somewhat over the top, trollish, insincere seeming way that Miles is writing shows a great love for Homestuck and the project in and of itself. The love honestly does come through.

Chumi:

Chumi appears to be even younger than Kim, though I could be wrong there. And she also grew up with it, if maybe starting a couple of years into its run. But it goes a step further for her. Homestuck is her formative fandom. And again, I can't imagine what that must be like, let alone now creating art for it.

Andi:

Andi is another member of the team to have grown up alongside Homestuck. It makes sense that this would create the most talented and passionate people to work on the project. Like many fans, though, they also had Homestuck influence their identity and help them feel safe in discovering who they were. It will always be important we have people like them keeping this fandom alive.

floralmarsupial:

While the way Homestuck inspired me was different, she too was drawn in and influenced by the very artistic questions Homestuck posed. Looks like James has managed to put together a team that has all been impacted by Homestuck in subtly different ways. And I'm totally here for it!

Haven:

Oh wow! Coming in on Murderstuck! Ouch! Still, the effect Homestuck has had on them is very obvious!

It's nice to hear more from each voice behind the project. I'm glad they took the time to make this celebration a bit more personal. But with all that said and done, it's time to read an Upd8!

There is so much to talk about just from this image.

First off, this is the most like Bro that Dirk has ever looked. And it's not just the fact that we've just got a plain white silhouette with shades. There is a lot of chaos in this panel reminiscent of Bro's apartment. That outfit has absolutely never looked wackier. The anime ninja aesthetics combined with the pooffiness of those shorts is already crazy. But the Kamina cape in this looks more cliché villain than anime hero.

While we can't currently see one of the monitors, we absolutely can see that Dirk has been keeping track of our Meat crew. My guess is that the other monitor is Deltritus.

Also we get a throwback with some orange drinks floating about.

Dirk is, of course, being suitably condescending here. After all, in his mind this is the only way to make the narrative matter, to make anything that we'll give a shit about. He probably knows we still enjoy the "narrative kiddy pool" but he's counting on us truly getting invested in what he has planned.

Wow! Nice frame break! Also this art slaps!

Apparently Rose and Terezi are still a thing. Dirk only seems to partially approve of this. From his perspective, the relationship is a very Rose thing to do. And Rose doing Rose things is important to him and his plans. He also appreciates that Rose doesn't have infinite patience for the finetuning that Dirk could spend a literal eternity on. It keeps him on something resembling a schedule.

So are we going to see these "scions" of theirs?

I like that there's an obvious sea horse in that test tube. Also, outside of Hero mode Dirk is still sporting his character features at least. He hasn't slipped into being a full guardian yet.

Well fuck. That might just be the hardest anyone has ever "spoken too soon."

Hell yes! Adult Terezi is awesome! Also, she's not getting rid of her facial features any time soon!

I hope I didn't jinx that . . .

I'd forgotten Terezi can hear Dirk's narrative. She's also very much on the "Get on with it!" train. Dirk was planning to skip ahead anyway, but of course he wants to unveil his creation first.

So Terezi will be the one that actually makes sure the new session happens. I'm surprised Dirk is allowing that. I can definitely get why he doesn't want it automated.

I can honestly believe that Dirk really does care about his creation.

And I can honestly see Terezi playing the long game. I'm honestly curious why she wouldn't, beside Dirk's fuckery.

Ouch.

Also, damn this art is so fucking good!

We've seen the way Terezi can let what she sees as a mistake eat at her. We've seen how far she'll go to fix it. Is John's death doing that to her? Is even this older, seemingly more jaded Terezi unable to let something like that go even with what's at stake?

Or could she possibly be letting Dirk think that's what's going on? I really kinda hope that's it.

Now that's just being mean pretending you don't know what she meant by being in her "CH4MB3RS", Dirk.

Apparently Dirk still has a mouth when he needs to.

FUCKING!!!

DAMN!!!

That's an interesting way of showing them speaking at the same time. Kinda like it.

Okay. That is some legitimate Bullshit. I like that even Dirk calls it out as such. That is a ton of power to just flex like that. His reasoning is sound, but even he knows he's partly doing it because he can.

Wow.

There is so much to potentially read into this moment. On the one had, this might be a genuine Rose moment. Even if Dirk has been manipulating her a lot, this version of Rose might genuinely be appreciative of what they're trying to do.

The other possibility is that Rose is manipulating Dirk this time. There've been hints, and I find it hard to believe otherwise, the Rose is aware Dirk has been manipulating her somehow. She may not have figured out how he's doing it, but I feel she knows. As an ascended Seer of Light, her ability to read the most fortuitous path is literally godlike. I can't imagine that definition of fortune including one where she keeps losing more and more agency. So this might be a moment where she's telling Dirk what he needs to hear to stop him from stealing more from her.

The worst part is he genuine believes that.

[bunny-j3st3r]

The situation revolving around Frost-can-bite

I'm not the type of person to make a call out but the actions taken by this indvidual and just how far they went to keep up this facade can not be looked over.

This is more of a warning for anyone who may ever have the pleasure of interacting with them in the future.

Under cut is the explanation

EDIT: I don't want to bring attention to this situation by reblogging this and adding on things to it, so it feels easier to edit with additional info that has come to light.

I do not want them chased offline, do not harass them either this is to only bring awareness so people, adults specifically can block them.

They did things to me and my friends that was fucked up and it is only recently we have realized things they did was uncalled for.

Please just approach them with caution, they still are allowed to have a space here but not within adult spaces.

I was told by someone that they had remade these two accounts are what we know off, I have blocked both of these accounts as well as ppl who were affected by him.

If you are in the smile for me fandom and see them trying to engage with adult content just block them and move on.

around three months ago I made a TADC server for adults only, it was a public server made by me and a friend as a space for adults as many current discord servers cater to minors and adults, I was aware of lot of adults felt like they didn't have a space for themselves.

In enters Frost.

Frost at the time had told us they were 19, even providing ID evidence so of course we weren't going to question it, we trusted them.

Over the past few months many of me and my friends became inceadbly close to Frost, we discussed parts of ourselves to them that we've never really shared.

Frost was even the first person I opened up about just how bad my mental illnesses are, we dicussed nsfw topics with them, we had drawn nsfw with them and even provided them nsfw art and fics.

In those few months we all cared for Frost so much that we considered them a close friend to everyone, I had even had plans to ask them to mod the TADC server with me as I had just had that much trust and faith in them.

And then a few days ago the news all came stumbling out.

A situation arose and out of nowhere Frost told me they were in fact not 19, that they had gone far enough to photoshop there own ID just so they could gain our trust. They were 15.

They were 15 pretending to be 19 in an adult server so they could see nsfw content.

Not only that but many other adults had jokingly sexually flirted with Frost and they had flirted back, as we assumed of course they were 19.

I didn't know how to respond, I just didn't believe it at first and I was dissocitating as I began to inform my friends. It felt like I wasn't even there, that I was looking at someone in a dream and that I was going to wake up and tell Frost about the very silly dream I had, and I kinda still feel like that now.

Not only did they lie about there age but they also tried to implicate two people that I will not name in there actions. Only when I caught them in that lie did they admit to not telling the truth and that these two people had nothing to do with it.

I'm not sure what there thought process for that was, I don't know if they were trying to drag them down with them or what?

Many of us still feel very numb and I can't speak for everyone but I know my trust has been completely and utterly shattered that I don't know if I will be willing to accept people outside of my social circle for a very long time.

I'm making this post because Frost decided to delete all of there socials, including discord informing me and only me they were deleting.

So after I tore through them I made sure everyone else got there say in before Frost tried to run away with there tail between there legs.

They don't seem to be fully aware what there actions have done, all they get away with is running away and knowing people are angry at him, while the rest of us have to deal with these lingering and disgusting feelings we've been left with.

For three months, he could of at any time admitted the truth, but he continued to engage in nsfw content, even engaging in conversation about why minors should not be in adult spaces.

The disgust and the hurt I feel over this is just... I don't even know, I've never felt so angry and violated before and that's saying something.

Although they have deleted I'm making this post as awareness.

We think that Frost may decided to try and come back once they think the heat has died down under a new account and I am posting this as a warning to any adults with adult fandom servers to PLEASE be aware of this person in case they decide once again to lie to worm there way into spaces they don't belong.

We have been violated and our trust broken and we've been made to feel like groomers because Frost wanted to see porn.

I will be posting this as a link in my pinned post.

So Frost if you are seeing this, I don't care how sorry you are, what you fucking did was unforgivable and I refuse to let you do that to another group of people.

We think Frost may reappear under any username with either the word Frost or Berry in it.

Frost also does not like to reblog a lot but they do like to mass like posts (not sure how helpful it is but you know.)

Frost also has a very distinct style that can be caught out easily if you think they are trying to get into an adult space.

I will post an example below.

Frost's white board style.

As you can see they have a very distinct art style and the same for there regular art

PLEASE

PLEASE be aware of these styles or names they might be under, please do not allow yourself to build up a close connection like we did.

Frost I don't think I can ever forgive you, I wish I had never met you and the only good thing that fucking came out of you was that I made friends with someone amazing and you absolutely do not deserve them.

I hope for your fucking sake we never see you again.

Edit: I am still mad at them, I still don't want them near me or my friends.

They can have there space online still, they can do whatever the fuck they want but they need to leave adult spaces alone.

Frost if your poking around on another account, seek help, please get acutal help.

I am not saying this in a mean way I am saying this in a hopes you realize how you treat all of us was fucked up and you can learn and maybe not treat your friends the same way you did to us.

[genericpuff]

What the actual fuck are they thinking-

Okay, the caption might seem overblown but... this is not good.

The main LO subreddit has been closed for weeks now. It closed due to the API protests but considering the options in the community poll were to either "stay open indefinitely" or "stay closed until the decision is reversed", there's a tinfoil hat theory going around that the single mod that overlooks that place saw the API protests as an "easy way out", especially considering how hands-off those mods are. By the time the main sub decided to take part in the protests (after the height of the protests were over) it had already been stated by u/spez that they were not going to reverse the decision. Essentially, the LO subreddit is done.

Do you know what's been happening since it closed? Activity in ULO has been skyrocketing, but we've also been seeing a lot more discourse from people who have been forced to stomach the ULO content after having their main community shuttered.

Listen, I've got a lot of issues with the main sub and the things they've done over the past year. There are definitely some really shitty folks in there who have ruined things for those who are just casual readers by just being way too protective of this comic. But that doesn't mean the main sub shouldn't exist. The main sub, as dead as it was by the time it closed, was still an option for people who didn't want blind praise or relentless criticism/shitposting. Though there were people who tried to gatekeep the shit out of the main sub (attempting to make it a "positive vibes only" space) the main sub was never explicitly designed for only praise, and by the time it closed, it was seeing a lot more balance between praise and criticism (to no one's surprise, because criticism has become a lot more mainstream in the LO fandom, simply due to the comic's undeniably tanking). All that said, it made for a nice middle ground. Even I enjoyed going in there and reading people's takes on new episodes every week, whether or not I agreed with them. ULO was not designed to be the only route for discussion concerning LO, it's very specifically run for one specific purpose and that purpose will not line up with those who are now without a space.

Without the main sub, there are people with nowhere to go. Some people casually grin and bear it through ULO, others have gone to /r/LowSodiumLoreOlympus, but considering how dead that sub is also, it's clear the popular opinion is swaying more towards criticism. I can't imagine what it's like to be a community refugee right now.

So what does that leave for those who don't want to use ULO? The Facebook groups, and the Discord. The Facebook groups are probably the most accessible communities - not everyone uses reddit, not everyone knows how to use Discord, but everyone uses Facebook.

So the fact that the Facebook groups aren't going on a small break, but are going on their own 4 month hiatus?

Not only does this further reduce the options for fandom interaction, but this is terrible for the comic. Hiatuses like this can kill long-term retention, and fandom communities are often the best way to keep that retention on some form of life support.

Think of it this way - if I didn't have the ULO community, I probably would have dropped off LO ages ago, cut my losses, moved on. But it's the fact that I have a community to keep in touch with and have fun with that keeps me on this series. This goes the other way as well, into the casual and praise communities - while I'm sure many will still eagerly return in October, for those who are more casual readers, Lore Olympus will essentially be out of sight, out of mind. And that is NOT something you want to happen to a comic that is already losing traction.

I genuinely do not know what Rachel is thinking closing these groups. And yes, I am pointing to Rachel on this decision because she literally runs the official LO Facebook groups. LO going on a mid-season hiatus over the summer when HALF OF HER DEMOGRAPHIC IS HOME FROM SCHOOL is already such a huge risk that will likely kill her numbers; but to go and cut off her official groups from being able to stay connected and talking about the comic during the hiatus, on a platform OCCUPIED BY THE OTHER HALF OF HER DEMOGRAPHIC, LITERALLY ADULT WOMEN ?? What is that supposed to achieve? If she wants to give her mods a break, sure, okay, do that for a few weeks, but four months? Is she so allergic to fans being able to theorize or "figure her out" (because god knows Rachel doesn't like being predictable) or, god forbid, is she worried about giving them too much "freedom" to reflect and discuss the comic during this time without the weekly dopamine distraction hits that they actually stop and realize how shitty the comic is right now?

All I can say is, as much as we're theorizing that LO is going to be getting a 4th season, I really do hope this midseason hiatus is its last. Whatever life this comic has left is being choked out by Rachel and Webtoons' own hands.

And when it does go out, it better go out with a bang. That's the least it can do for itself and its community at this point.

[freefromthecocoon]

I understand your thoughts about negative person. And I kinda agree. but I don't understand why me or anyone else should be satisfied with what was done in s1 DD? They purposely baiting Daryl and Isabelle. Zabel, Norman or someone else was fine with that. and maybe you like it or are satisfied with it or you blindly don't notice it - but it's not going anywhere...It's there on the screen. and people, ordinary people, noticed it. Do you think Carol and Melissa need to be involved in this kind of story over and over again? If she's okay with it, then it only means that we've been worrying for nothing all this time. and Kang, enemy #1, did everything that our beloved EP liked. and that means one more thing...which is not so positive. that we just didn't listen to what they were trying to tell us. and we were manipulated. which lead to nothing. and it still leads to nothing and according to your thoughts we should blindly follow. and not to do work on mistakes when we were so deceived before

Hello to my new follower who followed me from a random account shortly before I got this ask. I won't name the account here but it seemed to be a fairly random account. So I will address your concerns.

"Do you think Carol and Melissa need to be involved in this kind of story over and over again? If she's okay with it, then it only means that we've been worrying for nothing all this time. and Kang, enemy #1, did everything that our beloved EP liked."

In everything I have read by people who were in attendance for the episode and in all the videos of the panel I have seen, Melissa seems completely at ease with everyone that was on the stage and hell she even posed for pictures with just she and David prior to the event.

I have included a clip from Melissa herself on the panel on Saturday.

Melissa voiced the frustrations that so many of us have felt over the years, that because of the bigger picture of TWD, it wasn't deemed important that Carol's traumas were properly addressed. David went on to say that he spent a lot of time in discussion with Melissa to make sure they advance the character of Carol and not keep her stagnant.

Gimple and Kang were in charge during all of that period. Gimple oversees the bigger universe, but thank God during the time that Season 2 filmed, he was busy with TOWL on which he was the showrunner.

Anon, I am not sure if you watched Season 1 or not. I have read accounts by people who were in attendance and watched the premiere. They all say that it sets up a parallel of Daryl's journey in Season 1. I truly hope that after all of this is over with you can sit and watch every season and see how it perfectly tells their story.

The shipbaiting was clearly there in Season 1 and no one can deny that, but no, I did not..not "blindly notice" some of the beats in Season 1 that disturbed a lot of the fandom. But I also DID notice the subtleties in the story telling of Daryl wanting to return home to Carol which were undeniable.

Everything I know about 201 from video clips I have seen that are floating around...from song choices to flashback memories, point to canon for Caryl. But if we have misread all of it and you and those who have chosen to look at the negative possibilities are correct. And we have been "deceived" as you say, just know that Melissa would be in agreement of friend-zone Caryl. If that is true she will have participated in the deception of all of us just as much as much as you all claim that Norman and the rest of TPTB have So my question to you, Anon, is that if that turns out to be the case, will all of you go after Melissa like you did Norman and TPTB or will you just admit defeat.

I don't recall suggesting that someone should blindly follow anything, but I do trust Norman and Melissa, if it turns out we were wrong about romantic canon, I will be disappointed, but I do not believe that is something we will have to worry about if I am being honest.

I hope you have a lovely day and I hope all of our Caryl wishes come to fruition.

[delicious-p4ncakes]

ok so I'm still confused regarding this omocat situation especially because

1) further proof is required

2) there are a lot of holes in the story

3) both melon and omocat have done bad things from what we've seen

but I do think it's completely ok to keep enjoying omori, like even Melon has said so in their twt, this thing just blew out of proportion because someone on the dev team made a rude comment to Melon while explaining their side (uncalled for tbh) and Melon decided to actually scale things up (idk what their end goal is tbh, like they blocked omocat and didn't accept the money when offered and also said they don't want money so I legit don't know how this is going to end)

if you feel like you can't support omocat anymore after everything is cleared up/ you genuinely feel bad and can't bring yourself to interact with the fan base that's totally understandable, I mean everyone has their boundaries. I'm not really that much into the fandom, I mostly stick to drawing the characters and watching gameplays so to each their own, I guess

[voylitscope]

Stucky Recs: Brooklyn Stories for Brooklyn Boys

It's Brooklyn story time.

Obviously, a lot of Stucky fics are technically Brooklyn stories. Theoretically, all pre-canon fics are Brooklyn stories.

But. I have weirdly specific rules about it for the purposes of this rec list. To be a Brooklyn story, Brooklyn itself has to be part of/very relevant to the story somehow. Brooklyn can't just be the setting/location. So, as an example, a fic Steve and Bucky spend the entirety of inside their pre-war apartment is a story that takes place in Brooklyn, but it is not a Brooklyn story.

These twelve fics are Brooklyn stories.

Note: As part of my personal campaign to combat the persistent idea that every great fic in this fandom was written in 2015, I'm now marking recs of fics written post-2016 and recs of fics written post-Endgame.

Canon Brooklyn Boys

🚉 Nice Work If You Can Get It |  reserve | Mature | 12,900 words|

Hi, have you read this delight of a pre-war fic featuring Steve and Bucky befriending showgirls? Because if you haven't, you absolutely should. I always enjoy a pre-war fic that leans heavily into Steve's art as a plot point, and a Steve who hangs out backstage at a theater and gets paid to draw posters/fliers? I love it. We've also got a Bucky who spends a couple thousand words trying to understand why Steve spending so much time with very pretty showgirls and drawing them bothers him so much, and then another several thousand words actively pining (while working at a theater!) after he figures it out.

Quote:

Bucky resists the urge to drop his head into his hands and mope. Instead, he gathers himself up, and splashes cold water over his face at the kitchen sink. He pulls the dingy quilt off their sofa, grabs his Luckies, a book, and the mug, and takes himself out onto the fire escape.

Outside, he curls up with his back against this crumbling brick, and his workboots against the iron railing. He tucks the blanket around himself to keep the chill at bay, lights up a cigarette and wills away lingering arousal that won't quit. The cold air feels good on his hot face, and the coffee mug feels good in his cold hands. The cigarette smoke tugs the chilly air into his lungs with each drag, and he wishes he could burn his feelings away.

Williamsburg and the Domino plant feel very distant even though he’s still sore about the whole thing. He’s sore about Steve and he’s sore about Louise, and he’s extra sore about wanting Steve all to himself for reasons that go well beyond friendship. He's sore all around, right down to his heart.

🚉Ill With Want |  thedoubteriswise | Mature | 26,99 words | *Post-2016 Rec*

This is a pre-war gem, and it's one of my very favorites. It's sweet, aching, and laced with humor, and the Bucky voice, the Bucky and Steve dynamic/relationship, and the overall characterization are just beautifully done. Honestly, I've read this fic a few times, and I think I love it a little more every time I do. Featuring a Steve who both makes and teaches art, a Bucky who tries and fails miserably at not being desperately in love with Steve, a late 1930s Brooklyn gay bar Bucky visits with wide eyes, parties and classrooms filled with Brooklyn artists, a very earnest conversation over library books about Watson and Holmes' possible feelings for each other, and Steve getting paid to draw porn.

Quote:

Bucky’s stupid with how much he wants him, too crazy over his long eyelashes and narrow hips to read anything clearly. Is Steve thinking about kissing Bucky too, or does Bucky just wish he was?

He pictures confessing, but all he can imagine is Steve rejecting him.

The thing is, he knows how kind he’d be. He’d tell Bucky how much he cares about him, how flattered he is that of all the guys Bucky’s fucked up heart could want, it landed on him. He’d say how much he wishes he could give Bucky what he wants, and he’d mean it, because Steve loves making him happy. For all his piss and vinegar, Steve’s the gentlest guy on earth when he’s got someone’s heart in his hands. Bucky should know; that’s where his has been for as long as he can remember.

Bucky would nod and try to brush it off, act like it’s nothing but a crush that’ll go away with time. He would have a definitive ‘no,’ and maybe he could move on, but it would be like having his heart cut out with nail scissors - slow, careful, and excruciating beyond belief.

🚉Painted in Indigo | nekare | Mature | 11,031 words

Another charming pre-war delight. I really enjoy the way Steve's thought process is written here, and I love the dynamic between Steve and Bucky. This fic features a lot of Steve, who knows how he feels about Bucky, trying to puzzle out and rationalize Bucky's actions in a way that makes them completely platonic. Because obviously, they must be, right? Also featuring a revelation on a sunny birthday afternoon in Prospect Park.

Quote:

He’s rougher with the bruise high on Steve’s cheek, clearly still mad. When he reaches his split lip though, his touch gentles, dabbing at it until all the blood is gone, but instead of moving his hand it stays there, thumb moving until it’s resting against his mouth, so softly Steve can barely feel it. When he looks up, Bucky is staring transfixed at his fingertips on Steve, his own lower lip between his teeth. He looks a bit dazed, and the full weight of his attention makes Steve’s heart quicken.

He smells good, slightly sweaty and a bit sweet from the peach canning factory he works in. Steve will never breathe a word of it, but he’s absurdly fond of these moments, with Bucky so close in between his legs, his hands soft on Steve’s hair as he moves his head. Sometimes he forgets himself, probably muscle memory from being with some girl, and he rubs little circles on Steve’s neck, and Steve will invariably end up squirming with want.

“What,” he finally says when the moment stretches for too long.

🚉Take Your Time Coming Home | odetteandodile | Mature | 13,047 words | *Post-2016 Rec*

Technically, this is a pre-war AU and not quite canon. Or, maybe it's more like canon divergence preventing them from becoming inseparable as kids, but leaving them both in Brooklyn and hyper-aware of each other, and having them still end up obsessed with each other, living together (and inseparable) by their early twenties. Can canon diverge two decades before canon actually starts? Is that a thing? I have no idea, but I absolutely love this fic. Featuring many discussions of 1930s Brooklyn gay bars, falling in love through letter writing, a very uncooperative bed, a highly memorable birthday celebration, ID porn, and the unfairly charming and adorable mental image of kid Bucky being amazed by scrappy and angry kid Steve, even when they didn't know each other.

Quote:

“Oh Steve,” says a soft, deep voice above him—decidedly not his mother’s, “you idiot I told you to stay dry…”

It takes a few more moments for Steve to process that there is a cool, soothing hand on his forehead. But it’s not his mother’s smooth, slim one, but large and calloused…

The dream finally fades entirely, his still feverish brain slow to find the line between it and reality. But once it does, he forces himself to open his burning, bleary eyes. And he immediately wonders if he actually has awoken, or if the scene around him is just a new product of his sick-addled hallucinations.

There’s daylight in the apartment, and he’s shivering under only one of the four blankets he’d initially fallen asleep beneath.

And Bucky Barnes is sitting beside him on the edge of the bed, a hand on Steve’s forehead and a look of deep concern across his face.

🚉Three White Horses | magdaliny | Mature | 16,601 words | *Post-2016 Rec*

Moving from Pre-war to this canon divergence post-TWS fic. I should note that this one isn't a light read. However, that's primarily because this fic allows Steve to be really, really not okay. This fic sits with Steve in low and depressed places and stays with him as he hits rock bottom. It doesn't turn away. It's brutal, but gorgeous too. It's heavy, but it gives Steve, and Steve's grief, the respect they deserve. And, eventually, it pulls him out. Steve's devastation has him running home in this fic, and Brooklyn serves as both a hideout and a painful reminder of the things he can never get back. The depiction of Steve and Bucky's relationship, both in Steve's memories of the past, and in the place this fic eventually ends up, is stunningly beautiful. (There's a happy ending here.)

Quote:

Steve, still too sweaty-palmed to tear anything up without sticking to it, had set a fire on a broken plate with one of his asthma cigarettes and was feeding it strips of paper. He'd glanced over to find Bucky looking more miserable than any human being has a right to look, talking as evenly as he was, and Steve had almost put one knee in the fire trying to reach him.

“I don't wanna lose you too,” Bucky'd said, high and off-balance, when Steve grabbed his arm.

Steve had apologized and hugged him hard enough to hurt them both, and Bucky'd ended up taking him to bed. They hadn't slept. In the morning Steve had felt bee-stung, battered: but thawed out. In the Arctic there's whole months where the sun doesn't come up over the horizon, and in real life that first day is probably just a momentary sliver of light, but Steve didn't know that at the time, and he'd imagined a luminous dawn. Moments later he hadn't needed to imagine it any longer, because there wasn't anything in the world more luminous than Bucky's face, barely awake and entirely uncensored: his eyes when he looked at Steve.

But Bucky isn't here.

(Note: I debated properly putting This, You Protect in this post. But A) it straddles the line of qualifying as Brooklyn fic for the purposes of the list, and B) it's such a beloved fandom classic that I feel pretty sure the large majority of people have already read it. That said, if you haven't read it, you very much should.)

Brooklyn Shrunkyclunkys

🚇Beyond the Yellow Book Road | crinklefries | teen | 30,057 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

This is a very, very pretty fic, and Steve and Bucky are very, very cute about each other in it. It's a heartwarming read and one of those specific sorts of Shrunkyclunks where meeting Bucky brightens a recently brought-out-the-ice-Steve's whole life in all of about an hour — where it changes Steve's whole life within a few weeks. It's one of those fics where Steve is still trying to make sense of the 21st century, and it's meeting Bucky that helps more than anything else. Featuring books, flirting, slow burn, snow, and some slow dancing.

Quote:

Slowly, Steve stops needing an excuse to come back. He treads the quickly familiar streets up through Williamsburg as often as he can—during the week, on the weekend, before missions, and definitely after missions.

He’s passing by after grabbing brunch with Natasha and Clint one day—apparently the future is obsessed with mashing breakfast and lunch foods together and drowning both with a side of mimosas—and sees a new display of books in the window. He goes in.

“Buck?” Steve calls, before even looking for him. “What’s the Golden State killer and why is it the ‘Hot Staff Pick of the month’? Also is the pick hot or is the staff hot? It’s very unclear.”

“Both, Steve,” Bucky says, coming down the stairs at the back of the store. He has a rubber band in his mouth and he’s putting his hair up. Tendrils of curls hang loose, framing his face, and Steve feels an almost indiscernible lurch in his chest. “The correct answer is both.”

🚇Not In The Answer But The Question | aimmyarrowshigh @aimmyarrowshigh | Teen | 27,382 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

Steve's difficult relationship with being both Steve Rogers and Captain America, and his ability to possibly reconcile those things while still letting any Steve show through is always one of my favorite things to see tackled in fic. This fic does it so gorgeously. This is a Steve who starts this fic so lost, but who is able to find bits of his past and of himself — who is then able to find a real direction, a purpose, for his future. There's so much warmth and hope in this fic, tied to an incredibly kind and gently encouraging Bucky and the relationship they slowly and satisfyingly build.

Quote:

Natasha climbs one of Steve’s legs like she’s a boa constrictor. “You seem happier.”

“I’m a happy guy,” Steve says, deadpan, as he tries to shake her off.

“You’re a terrible liar.” Natasha manages to get onto his back and starts to slam her elbows into the top of his head. “You’re a lot of things, Rogers, nice things, even, but you’re not a happy guy.”

Steve’s ears are ringing by the time he flips Natasha off his shoulders and onto the mat.

He kneels on her sternum.

“Maybe not,” he admits. “But nobody asked Captain America to be happy.”

🚇Love Thy Neighbor | hermionesmydawg | Mature | 7,842 words

A fic featuring a Bucky and Steve who annoy each other at first. It lasts less than a week. Nomad Steve is a Brooklyn vigilante. Bucky's a nurse whose new neighbor is a hot irritating vigilante who is making Bucky think there might have been truth to those Captain America rumors after all. Such a fun read. I also really appreciate that at one point in this fic, an injured Steve seeks out his new neighbor and is like, "I've seen you in scrubs are, you a doctor?" When Bucky says he's a nurse, Steve tells him that's better.

Quote:

He helps walk Steve the short distance to his apartment. The idiot didn't even lock the door, what the hell is wrong with this guy? "I'll check on you after work tomorrow. Try not to get shot or stabbed in the next twenty-four hours, okay? I'd hate to have to threaten you with a lamp in my underwear again."

"You threatening me with a lamp in your underwear was basically the highlight of my year, but I'll be on good behavior."

Bucky blinks. That's it. That's all.

"G'night Bucky." Then Steve's closing the door in Bucky's shocked face, because he's just not good at this. Snark he can do all day but that was genuine, maybe.

Modern Brooklyn AUs

🏬If This is as Far as We Go | BeauRadley | Mature | 124,186 words | **Post-Endgame Rec**

You know how sometimes a fic hits you a lot harder than you think it will? This fic is about a Steve and Bucky who were totally just friends with benefits. No feelings involved! So now things have ended and they're completely fine, of course. Which — 10/10 tropes I am always here for. Sign me up. This fic, though, is also about a Steve who has shut down more than he realizes, and who has built walls around himself made of his own guilt. (Wow, what a Steve thing to do!) This is about pain Steve isn't even letting himself acknowledge, but that's keeping him away from so many things — Bucky, Brooklyn itself, and his own happiness. it's a huge journey for Steve, who, honestly, starts this fic in a pretty terrible mental health place. It's incredibly well done, and the ending really got to me. There's also a fantastic, hard stuff handled really well, Bucky family subplot.

Quote:

But Bucky turned right, leading straight in that direction instead of left, the way Steve had come. It made sense, of course. Right took them into the heart of the neighborhood, to the cluster of coffee shops and diners, bars and bakeries, that made up the fabric of the place.

Bucky started walking, shoving his phone, keys and wallet into his pockets as he did so, but Steve stood for a moment, debating. He couldn’t pass up this chance with Bucky, the only one he might ever get, but passing his mom’s apartment?

Bucky looked over his shoulder. “You comin’ or what, Rogers?” he asked, a little impatiently.

Steve opened his mouth, closed it again. Tried to form words. He didn’t want to sound pathetic, refusing to walk past his childhood home like it still had some power over him, like he was weak. “I…” he began, and then understanding seemed to dawn on Bucky. His expression, before a little disgruntled, softened.

“Hey,” he said, and his tone was kind. “I forgot. First time back here since your mom, yeah?” Steve nodded, not trusting himself to speak in case he started to cry.

🏬6 Avenue Local |  mambo | teen | 10,630 words | *Post-2016 Rec*

Listen, it's a childhood-friends-Steve-and-Bucky surprise reunion on the subway. They also go to Coney Island! A fun as hell one-shot with plenty of feelings, really great banter, and a generous pinch of Bucky angst. Really delightful and really charming.

Quote:

Steve snorts. “Yeah, I’ve got a boiled chicken breast in my pocket right now,” he says. “Want some?”

“Depends — which pocket has it been in?”

“Front left,” Steve says.

“Then nah.” Bucky picks up his milkshake and starts sipping it through the straw.

“And why’s that?” Steve asks, curious about Bucky’s logic here.

Bucky puts his glass down and swallows. He gesticulates with his hand while he talks; the movements are achingly familiar to Steve. Even if Bucky’s appearance has changed, this hasn’t. Bucky had always been a storyteller with a dramatic flair. Everyone’s eyes would be on him when he started to speak. Only Bucky Barnes could make a conversation about pocket chicken and make it interesting. “If it’s in the front pocket, it’d be lukewarm. Back pocket? It’d be warm. Simple as that. I don’t want to eat lukewarm pocket chicken. Warm pocket chicken? I could be convinced under the correct circumstances.”

🏬A long way from the playground | tesselated | Explicit | 27,366 words

One of the things I adore about this fic is that Bucky's POV voice thinks about things like how, these days, he only sees Steve, like, once a week, most weeks, and how he misses him, okay? And Steve and Bucky have conversations about how sometimes, they hang out but there are other people there too, and ugh, they miss being roommates. Which is exactly as weirdly codependent and obsessed with each other as I like my Steve and Buckys who grew up together to be. There is also a lot of Becca Barnes in this fic, and I always very much appreciate that. Plus: It's fake dating! For Becca's wedding!

Quote:

“Hi, Steve. Please eat something, you’re making me weak just looking at you.” Bucky’s mom says, but she grins at Steve while she says it.

Steve grins sheepishly and picks up a plate from the kitchen counter, piling brisket onto it dutifully.

Bucky’s family love having Steve at family functions as much as he enjoys being there, and a main reason is that he is a scrawny empty vessel for them to place their ill-founded worries about their own children starving into. Steve, bless him, has never fought it, always nodding seriously as if he agrees that if he doesn’t eat another serving he may actually die.

🏬Last Train Home (series) | sparkagrace @sparkagrace | Teen | 20,470 words | **Post-Endgame Rec** A series and not a single fic, but Very Brooklyn and Very recommend. This is a modern Steve and Bucky who fall for each fast and proceed to be the sweetest and most romantic about it. I love this series and the way it shows this relationship in moments, both tiny everyday ones and massive big deal ones as these two fall even harder and join their lives together. It's a complete delight and never fails to be incredibly heartwarming.

Quote:

Since that night in the bar, everything with Bucky has felt so surreally right. He knows his friends accuse him of falling fast occasionally, but this time there’s something stirring in his gut that’s telling him that he was meant to be at that bar that January night. He was meant to witness Bucky on a terrible date with someone who only sounded good on paper and checked all the right boxes, but wasn’t the right person at all. His mom likes astrology and believes in things happening for a reason, something that Steve used to struggle with believing in too, but he can’t deny that maybe there is something up there that set this collision course for them to meet.

Steve has fallen fast and he’s fallen hard, and reasonably it could all end tomorrow, but Steve also knows that this is forever.

(Somewhere, deep down, he thinks that Bucky might feel the same way too.)

Bonus:

👕Thursday Nights with Bucky Barnes | Ellessey | Teen | 4,662 |**Post-Endgame Rec**

Truly, we're so very fortunate to have fics in every trope/au type imaginable in Stucky fandom — Including ones that don't really show up in other fandoms. I don't mean the obvious ones like Shrunkyclunks/Shrinkyclinks here. No, I mean, I have personally read at least four fics about Steve and Bucky meeting and then hooking up at a laundromat. And, while this is not, you know, never a thing in other fandoms, I feel like that is a disproportionate and oddly large amount to have accidentally run into. I have to think this is, at least in large part, connected to the Brooklyn thing. Which is why, even though it doesn't technically fit my rules, I'm sticking a very fun example of a laundromat fic on this list, featuring a grouchy skinny Steve and charming as hell Bucky, who is hopelessly charmed by Steve at first sight.

Quote:

"You're… how are you asking that?" Bucky says, sounding genuinely baffled. "You're gorgeous, you teach little kids, save the planet, befriend curmudgeonly old men—" "Berate strangers for cleaning too much…"

Bucky grins and shrugs his big, perfect shoulders. Steve is fighting such a losing battle here. They're standing so close together now that he has to look up, which he hates, as a rule. But Bucky's pecs are at eye level, and then the stubble on his jaw, the little shadows below his broad cheekbones, and that lock of hair curling over his forehead are all happening above that, so… what the hell. Looking up isn't so terrible.

Up next: Cabin and small town recs.

Fic Rec Series

[icedbatik]

get to know me game (I was tagged by @rimouskis and @sportsthoughts ... thank you both!)

do you make your bed?

Yep! In part because I like having a nicely made bed, in part because I use my bed as my design board/work space when I'm quilting. And, in part, because it's an easy way to have some small bit of tidy space in a house that has too much stuff. (My core being is "neat freak" but my reality is "please pull a truck up so I can toss stuff out the window".)

what's your job?

I am a newspaper copy editor/writer.

if you could go back to school, would you?

It depends. Would I need to keep working? Would it put me in debt? I like learning, but I already don't have enough time in my day to do everything I want to do. If I had to write term papers and study for tests while working a full-time job and still taking care of my household (groceries, laundry, meals, yardwork, running errands, all the other odds and ends involved), I think I might crack.

can you parallel park?

Yes, though I rarely have the need. (If you follow the instructions carefully, it's amazing how well it works.)

do you think aliens are real?

IDK. I accept the reasoning that it's unlikely we're alone in the vastness of the universe, and that it's a bit arrogant to think we're the only ones. But I also think it's unrealistic to assume others take a form we'd immediately recognize. And, if there is intelligent life out there, why, exactly, would it mess with us?! Have you seen us lately?!

can you drive a manual car?

Yes. My brother loaned me his pickup truck to drive after I graduated from college. (He didn't need it at the time because of his job.) The idea of not having to make a car payment was great incentive to learn.

guilty pleasure?

I'm not sure I feel guilty about any of my pleasures. But they include Tumblr/fandom, writing fic, Pens hockey, quilting and a daily mug of good-quality hot chocolate.

tattoos?

I have a permanent spot on my skin from when I accidentally stabbed myself with a pencil as a kid. I'm pretty sure that's as close as I'm going to get. (Mine is big enough and dark enough that doctors routinely panic when they see it, thinking it's skin cancer, until I remind them we've had that conversation before.)

favorite color?

black with all the bright colors, particularly the off colors (fuchsia, turquoise, teal); and all the blues that make up the ocean (There's a reason why batik is my favorite type of fabric. Solid colors aren't nearly as interesting as lots of colors playing together.)

favorite type of music?

The most straight-forward answer is rock, particularly classic rock, though I like a lot of different types of music on a song-by-song (or artist) basis. Most country music doesn't do much for me. My last two musical purchases were Disturbed's cover of "The Sound of Silence" and Sufjan Stevens' "Illinois" album, which is the basis of "Illinoise" the Broadway musical.

do you like puzzles?

I guess you could say that, since I quilt and "Tetris" is my favorite video game.

any phobias?

I'm not into snakes. I'm trying to do better about not panicking over them, but I still have absolutely no desire to see them, whether in my yard or in a photograph.

favorite childhood sport?

Riding my bike.

do you talk to yourself?

Of course. (At least, that way, I know someone is listening to me!)

tea or coffee?

Nope. I prefer drinking clean water to dirty water. (The idea of having a cup of tea is appealing, but the reality has never done anything for me.)

first thing you wanted to be be when growing up?

A photographer.

what movies do you adore?

"Dave" and "The American President" are both older movies but they have lead characters (Kevin Kline and Martin Sheen Michael Douglas, respectively) who are kind of my fantasy president. Can't find funding for this program that helps children? No worries. We'll just stop paying $500 for a screwdriver we can get at the hardware store for $5 and use the leftover $495 (per screwdriver) on food programs and after-school programs and utility-assistance programs. It's not that hard.

I'll tag @pr-scatterbrain and @maljic and @ehghtyseven and anyone else who wants to play. (Maybe I want to know you and just don't realize it yet! )))

[slveepyscwrs]

You want ACTUALLY obscure ship dynamics inspired by small fandoms WITH prompts for each of them to help you write? I got you bestie:

I get the frustration. You want to explore a new ship dynamic to practice your romance writing skills, but you can't find anything aside from the same old.

If that sounds like something you struggle with, here are some ship dynamics that are criminally underused because I've either seen it in a fandom that's teeny-tiny, or I thought of them myself and I haven't been able to see it anywhere.

(Disclaimer: Some of these MIGHT be slightly popular already, so don't go saying "erm actually I've already seen this trope used a bunch of times." I'm not saying that these ideas haven't been used at all, I'm just saying that their popularity is very less compared to some other tropes. I'm also not trying to judge anyone who likes popular tropes.)

Be sure to tag me if you use any of the prompts included here!

Teacher x Teacher. Blame Mr. Ajayi x Mr. Farouk from Heartstopper for my obsession with this. I know, Heartstopper itself isn't a small fandom, but this shipping trope is. Student x Student has already been done a gazillion times. Student x Teacher... uh... not everyone's cup of tea. Teacher x Teacher has a lot of opportunities for fluff and angst, and is also good practice for writing older characters.

(+ Bonus Points if the students notice and try to get them together and/or just sit there confused because how the hell did we get here?)

Prompt Ideas:

"It's 10:00 P.M., and you're still grading tests? Nope, I'll handle them, and you need to go home and rest."

"This is the third time this week that you've been crying in the teacher's lounge. That's it, tell me the names of the kids that I need to give a piece of my mind and extra homework to."

2. Childhood Enemies to Lovers. Before you say, "Wouldn't that just count as enemies to lovers?," the vast majority of enemies to lovers that I've seen involve A and B meeting when they're already teens/young adults.

We love childhood friends to lovers. We love enemies to lovers. Why not have both?

The media that I got this trope from is a BL drama called "We Best Love." If I gushed about how much I love this series and how it lives rent-free in my head, this post would last forever.

(+ Bonus Points If they realise that they never really actually hated each other, it was just a silent lie they were telling each other throughout their childhood.)

Prompt Ideas:

"You couldn't even let me have the slide for five seconds when we were kids. Why are you doing all this for me only now?"

"Wait, don't tell me you're still holding grudges from when we were literally in diapers?"

3. Okay guys today we've gathered to come up with a plan to get these two gosh darn idiots together. I don't really know how to describe it other than that. I also don't recall seeing it any of my fandoms, mostly from my OC stories.

However, I don't know if it's just me, but I LOVE seeing the ship's friends getting involved in having the ship sail successfully. We Stan supportive friends, and the comedy that comes with such situations is a surefire way to keep readers hooked.

(+Bonus Points if two of the friends slowly realise their feelings for each other WHILE doing their shenanigans to try and get the main ship together. Extra Chaos.)

Prompt Ideas:

"What are you suddenly doing here?" "[Friend] sent me." "That's weird, [Friend] sent me too." "Wait..."

"You're telling me that they still didn't realise they have feelings for each other? Ugh, fine, I guess it's time for Plan B..."

I have a lot more of these, but this post is getting too long. If you want to hear more about lesser known tropes, please show some love to this post!

Love,

Your Gay Writing Bestie