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[caimeoz-art]

I'm back on my bullshit btw

Clyde is by @pastraspec :D

[prettieinpink]

 ♡ PRETTIER HIERARCHY ♡

HAPPY 1.2k+ TO PRETTIEINPINK! Thank you guys for the support, here’s a lil gift from me to you. 

If you don’t want to read all of this, I created a hierarchy of everything you need to do to glow up, right at the end!!! But I recommend reading everything first &lt;3

I’ve been trying to ‘glow up’ like forever, but there was no actual content out there that helped me glow up. Most people sugarcoated, or their lifestyles of glowing up just weren't sustainable for me. So, I created this post for everyone planning to glow up or maximise their prettiness! 

DISCLAIMER – THIS POST IS NOT DETAILED. I wanted to do a simple outline to give you guys an idea of what to do to maximise your pretty. A little help to plan, especially as we enter 2024, but I’ll expand on these individual topics in the future. 

GRADE 1 – HEALTH

Being healthy can make you SO pretty. Being healthy is the foundation. There are other ways to be physically healthy, but after doing these 4 the rest usually fall in place.  Here are some simple ways to become healthier, and then eventually prettier!

HEALTHY EATING.

 I'm not going to go super deep into this, as no diet fits everyone + Please consult with your doctor before taking any extreme advice. Though, I'll tell you a bit of things that helped me !!

Stop drinking soda. Please, it's so unhealthy and it's full of so many sugars. Even the ones that are 0 cal, have weird chemicals that I don't trust. Many more alternatives taste just as good, like coconut water, herbal drinks, smoothies etc! Especially because nowadays most large calories and sugar intakes are from sugary drinks 

Stop restricting, moderate it. I am a big fan of dairy, yoghurt, milk, and cheese, I love it all. However I acknowledge that dairy isn’t the healthiest, so instead I always ensure I'm eating in moderation. E.g I put a tablespoon of shredded cheese in my omelettes instead of a handful. You will enjoy healthy eating so much, but only if you're not restricting. 

Have one serving of fruit, vegetables, or both with each meal. It provides so many good nutrients, makes you fuller and keeps you hydrated. Measure with your palm to ensure you’re eating enough. 

Know that just because one food has fewer calories than the other, does not mean it is the healthiest. I struggled so much with this, especially because many weight loss accounts will mention this, but it is so wrong. White bread has fewer calories than brown bread, but brown bread is higher in nutritional value. 

Plan snacks. Planning snacks for throughout the day, instead of spontaneously eating is so much better. I recommend this for anyone who gets hungry during the day but not enough for a meal (like me!)

Drink more water. Not 1L a day, because it is so much more ideal for you to have a glass of water with each meal + when you feel thirsty. 

Start educating yourself. This is as much as I can tell you, im not a nutritionist or a dietitian but if you plan to ensure that healthy eating becomes your lifestyle, educating yourself is essential!! 

EXERCISING.

Once again, I'm only going to go surface level with this because it is only based on my personal experience + Consult with your doctor before doing anything extreme. 

Start aiming for 5k+ steps. I see a lot of people advertise 10k+ steps as the standard, or what's active, but it's not sustainable If you're a busy person with a sedentary life or a beginner at exercise it is gonna be hard to sustain that. But walking is so good for you and simple too.

Join your local sports! Such a fun way to socialise while still exerting energy. 

If you can't do that for whatever reason, there are many ways to exercise at home. Research and pick a workout that you like and is sustainable. E.g. jump rope, pilates, home exercises, weightlifting, biking

Start standing more, it exerts energy. While very little, it still is very good. 

That's it, but remember to always start small with exercising, and RESEARCH!

BETTER SLEEP

To me, it doesn’t matter how much sleep a person is getting, but much more rather the quality of said sleep. So, here are some tricks and tips to get better at sleeping!!

Investing in a good quality pillow is so good for your sleep, the more comfortable you are, the better + it reduces the chances of poor posture or hump necks 

Research about different sleeping positions, as some positions at night promote back pain, difficulty breathing or poor posture. 

Start sleeping in complete darkness. Remove all sources of light or invest in good light-blocking curtains OR binders. Though, binders seem to be much more effective but are more pricey. If you cannot do either of that, buy a good sleeping mask. 

Sleep in the cold. Your body easily falls asleep if your environment is cold, and you’re less likely to wake up in the middle of the night. 

It is ideal for you to stop using devices an hour or two before bed, but if it is not sustainable for you, wear red blue-light-blocking glasses instead of clear ones. Red ones are more effective. 

Avoid large physical or mental tasks before bed, use that time to unwind and tell your body it's time to go to sleep. 

Avoid napping for longer than 30 minutes, or it can disrupt the sleep you have at night. 

Go to sleep at similar times every day. If you go to sleep earlier or later than this, you will ruin your sleep schedule and feel groggy. 

I expand more here. 

ORAL HEALTH

This is a step many people will neglect, but the most important in my opinion. Your teeth are the only body part that fails to regenerate after a certain age. Here's how I take care of mine!

Brush your teeth for longer. Brushing your teeth should not be a sped-up process, put actual thought into it. 

Start flossing. Floss removes plaque, and reduces the chances of your teeth yellowing! Do this ideally after each meal.

Brush your teeth before you eat. Brushing my teeth is the first thing I do when I wake up because brushing your teeth is supposed to protect your teeth from the food, not wash away your food. 

If you have the means, buy an electric toothbrush, as this gets in the little nooks and crannies that a regular one cannot. 

Use a tongue scraper or your toothbrush to get rid of any bacteria on your tongue. 

Use straws to drink coffee or any heavily coloured drinks. This avoids the premature yellowing of teeth. Make sure you put the straw on the side of your mouth to avoid your teeth. 

Use good mouthwash. A total game-changer, makes your breath fresher and your gums healthier. 

If need be, definitely use a purple teeth serum as a whitening treatment.

GRADE 2: STYLE 

I do not mean literal clothes and style, that's in grade 3. This is all about basic grooming and such. This is 2nd most important, especially if you're somebody who’s never been invested in beauty.

SKINCARE 

Get a basic skincare routine, cleanser and moisturiser.

If you have other skincare concerns e.g. dry skin, hyperpigmentation, acne, or blemishes, invest in a serum. 

Avoid touching your face frequently.

Wash makeup brushes & pillowcases often.

Dermaplaning to help skincare absorb better. 

Use sunscreen!

HAIRCARE

 Invest in a good shampoo and conditioner for your hair type.

Use a good hair oil, it doesn’t have to be for growth, but just for nourishing your scalp

Sleep with a good quality bonnet on.

Find which type of hairbrush works the best on you!

Use warm water to remove product build up and dirt, but use cool water to rinse.

Buy spray suncsreen to put on your scalp during hot weather.

Once again, research. Hair is just too much of a broad topic for me to thoroughly talk about.

EYEBROW & LASHES

Trim your eyebrows regularly to avoid too many stray hairs

Tint your eyebrows and lashes. If you already have dark eyelashes and brows, try a lighter look. I seem to prefer a dark brown look to a black 

Invest in a good lash & brow serum or use any oil

Don't use Vaseline on your eyelashes.

 Limit how much you wear mascara. 

I talk more about this here. 

BODY & HANDS 

Have a daily shower routine which consists of washing, exfoliating and moisturising your skin. 

Using scented products is such a game changer, smelling good is like being a magnet 

Doing manicures, my routine is a cuticle scrub, file, buff, polish, paint then cuticle oil. 

Shave on the areas you want to. Having smooth skin is nice, but to ensure your shave lasts longer, watch a video. 

I post about creating a good shower routine here. 

LIPS

Invest in a good, portable lip balm. I prefer the ones that burn your lips to give it a more fuller effect

Make your lip scrub. Sugar, honey and turmeric are my go-to. Helps remove dead skin.

If you have hyperpigmentation around the lips, use glycolic acid, only a little.

GRADE 3 – FASHION

My favourite grade, because it is so fun and focuses more on the aesthetic side of things. However, they're not essential, which makes it all the more fun!

CLOTHES 

 I have a post about wardrobe essentials here. 

Find out about what season colours you are. This helps with using colours in fashion to enhance. ( if you don't like your colours it is okay, it doesn’t change much if you do not wear them) 

Figuring out your undertone colours for jewellery. 

Figure out what works for your figure. Experiment with necklines, bottom length etc. 

Find out your general style too, what you feel confident in and more assured. 

MAKEUP

Research and only watch tutorials of women who look like you (trust me). 

Dear Peachie has a bunch of videos of how makeup works, for beginners to more advanced artists!

Then make your signature look for every using your knowledge. 

FRAGRANCE 

Invest in a good eau de parfum and eau de toilette. Cheap fragrances suck. 

Invest in a good-scented lotion. My favourite brand is Vaseline.

Using a good nice fabric softener for laundry makes you feel and smell fresh

Using an expensive scented body wash doesn’t matter, invest in a good body lotion. 

HAIR STYLING 

Hairstyles that enhance your face shape, not shield it. 

Having a simple signature look for everyday

Experimenting with your hair is ideal, but if you can't for whatever reason once again research.

GRADE 4 – PERSONALITY

The way you seem to others can make you so much prettier. Fake it till you make it as always~

POSTURE

Having good posture makes you stand out, makes you look prettier and is generally good for your health

Chin is parallel to the floor, shoulders are down and relaxed, rib cage is elevated, pelvis is tucked in, your knees straight and flexed, and the weight on your feet should be in the center.

You can stretch for good posture, there are many videos on this on YouTube.

Ensure your sleeping position is promoting good posture, not poor. 

Buy a back brace to reinforce good posture.

BODY LANGUAGE

Learn how to move your body during conversations to seem more self-respected and confident.

Train your facial expressions for different situations, but especially for taking photos.

There are tons of books and videos on this, won’t expand because this is all about how you want others to perceive you. 

ELOQUENCE

Improve the way you communicate with others. Be fluent and clear to understand 

Expand your vocabulary, know how to substitute words on the spot and make sentences. 

Knowing what to say in like any and every conversation makes people like you more, and the best way to be more eloquent is just practice. 

There are so many good books about this.. read.

GRADE 5 – MIND

Personally, having a good mindset does boost your self-perception of your prettiness + being happier in general makes you more inclined to take care of yourself = being more pretty!!!

MENTAL HEALTH

Start journaling as a way to organise your thoughts and to truly analyse your emotions. There are a lot of journaling prompts on Pinterest and such!

Meditation as a way to clear the mind when needed is so good. There are a bunch more meditations for other purposes though like body image, productivity, focus or just general relaxation.

Go to therapy, or just have at least one person you can talk to when life becomes tough.

Cut back on social media. There's misinformation, trolls and a lot of content that isn't nourishing your mind. 

Get some sun! Simple and doable, but has a huge effect on the body. It can improve the current mood. Wear sunscreen. 

Start learning how to process situations, instead of bypassing the emotions that come with them. 

Start surrounding yourself with like-minded people. Seriously, being around people who are just too different is draining. 

MINDSET

Embrace growth and reject all forms of comfort. Being uncomfortable with something is growth. 

Don’t do things because you ‘have’ to do this, do them because they benefit you and see it in that way. E.g ‘I’m going to clean my room because I deserve a clean place to rest and work’ instead of ‘I have to clean my room’

Become detached. Stop letting everything that happens in your life affect you, start observing instead of consuming. 

Self validates yourself. Tam Kaur did a wonderful video on this that I think everyone should watch.

Stop believing that everything and everyone is out to get you. Your subconscious mind believes this, do not feed it, starve it.

There's a lot to say about mindset, but I recommend watching some mindset YouTubers who explain everything in depth.

and now,,,, here's a ANOTHER gift from lanny because u read her post. And liked it. And reblogged it. And followed her.. pleaseee

[psychicreadsgirl]

Pick a Dish: Your Relationship Dynamics with your next S/O

Pick the picture that draws you most. If you can't decide between 2, then look at the 2 readings. Remember, this is a general reading so take what resonates and leave what doesn't behind.

#1

Very relaxed, kind of lazy. Stay at home dates - a lot of Netflix and chill vibes. Almost literal couch potatoes at times.

You two will feel comfortable with each other really fast. You two won't be scared of sharing your "bad" sides like farting in front of the other or telling them how bad your arm pits smell etc. You also will feel comfortable wearing just casual stuff or PJS or home clothes with them. You won't really feel the need to put on makeup or dress up much for your S/O.

You two will feel like good friends, in fact, almost like best friends. You two will either be very clingy towards each other or will lead very independent/almost separate lives, mostly bc of your work/school or some other uncontrollable situation.

You will both help out each other and listen to one another. There's a lot of positive energy between you two. And a LOT of lazy chill energy - which is fine too. Just be careful of your health - still important to exercise and eat healthy.

Some people may feel like you two are like those super old married couples, but you both feel that's ok.

For some there may be a long distance relationship for you two or it will become one after dating.

#2

You both like to keep things fresh and spicy. Expect lots of surprises and fun. I see both of you travelling a lot together and you might even be the couple that quits their jobs and becomes vloggers or quits their jobs to start some other biz etc. Somehow being together leads you two to create something together, whether it be a career/organization/a place/other friendship maybe. There's some "expansion" or creation aspect to this union.

You will find each other to be very funny and will enjoy spending time with each other. You will have endless of things to talk about--likely one of you will be more chatty and the other just more quiet.

You two don't seem to place that much emphasis on material things in life. You enjoy doing activities together -- not necessarily the fact that you two went to some "fancy" restaurant. You both don't really care about luxury goods or brand names. You both would rather spend money on more practical things or entertainment like travel, movies, vacations, etc.

For some of you you might be polar opposites with the other person so inevitably there may be times where you two will definitely butt heads. However you two will make up usually by some physical touch or sex.

#3

There'll be some traditional undertones to this relationship. Perhaps both of you come from very strict families or one of you does or maybe you/they/both have traditional values. Maybe you two were set up by your parents.

There's going to be some element of cultural significance/foreign element too. Perhaps you both enjoy different cultures' foods. Maybe one of you comes from a multicultural family or has lived abroad in many different places. Maybe one of you is fluent in multiple languages or has many different friends abroad. Maybe you guys even are from 2 different countries.

Oddly there's a mix of non-traditional/traditional elements to this relationship. Sometimes that might make for a very interesting dynamic/relationship. Sometimes it might lead to conflict/disagreements because there are 2 different, sometimes opposite views in play.

There's likely going to be someone's parent that disapproves of this relationship for some reason.

I don't see this relationship as one that's particularly easy, in the sense that there are a lot of factors that are out of your control, which try to break you two apart or cause you two conflict. Whether you and your s/o will be able to work with each other to overcome those will be up to both of your efforts in the relationship.

This relationship will also be a meeting of equals, so you both will be quite "equal" in the sense that there won't be a power imbalance. You both could be equally smart or equally foolish. You both could make similar amounts of money too.

#4

This will be a rather chaotic yet dynamic pairing. Somehow there'll be a lot of gossip/news or something related to your relationship. Perhaps this is some office romance that's a bit judged on (i.e. you are dating your boss) or maybe you two seem like such an unlikely pair that people kind of just assume the worst about you two.

I see a strong physical attraction. Sometimes it might even seem like that physical attraction triumphs other parts of the relationship. There will be a lot of physical touch and bedroom activities. If you've never had your 1st sexual experience, then your s/o will likely be the more experienced one. It's not to say that they have fooled around with tons of people out there, but they will have had more dating experience than you.

It feels like one party will be more mature/experienced, while the other seems to be more naive/innocent/inexperienced. There may also be an age gap at play and this age gap can be quite big. Possibly for some of you, this will be the relationship after you've ended a long term relationship or marriage. Possibly for others, your s/o might have been previously engaged or married. Your s/o might even have married more than once before.

This relationship may also have a bit of like..parental feeling? Getting the sense that 1 of you might suffer from issues related to your parents and somehow your s/o kind of takes on the role of a parent that you didn't have. Some people might feel like your s/o is like your nanny sometimes or butler? One of you will definitely be the one that does a lot of acts of service.

#5

There's a very youthful feeling about this relationship. It might even be the 1st relationship that you'll ever have. There's that puppy love/1st love feeling. If it's not the 1st relationship, then it might be that rare serious relationship that you have.

There are very deep feelings within this relationship from both sides - more emotional than physical. Not to say that physical affection doesn't exist here, but you two will feel very emotionally connected with each other. You might even feel like they don't even need to talk to you and they get how you feel and vice versa. I don't see that a lot of communication is needed between you two. Somehow one look or some behaviour will just let you or your s/o know what's going on.

There can be some feelings of possessiveness/obsession with this relationship. 1 of you or both will be rather possessive. That can be bad or can be fine, depending on how it plays out. The possessiveness can sometimes turn into deep obsession/jealousy, which would not be great.

You might feel in this relationship that without your s/o you are incomplete. You feel like your s/o truly understands you. It's possible that 1 of you have had a traumatic childhood/past or both of you have and you two bond because of this. Or one of you will be very empathetic and understanding or somehow maybe even have an occupation as a therapist/healer/doctor that can help your s/o.

#6

Wow there's something really forbidden about this relationship. You or your s/o might both be already in relationships or even in a marriage but somehow you two are very drawn to each other. The lust/attraction is irresistible and even if you or both are already in relationships, you both will still date. Another possibility is that you two are dating when you're not supposed to be like the school/company won't let employees date or you're dating your best friend's ex partner. Or you two come from 2 different religions/ethnicity that traditionally have hated each other. Other possibilities in rare cases could be like incest or bordering incest (i.e. you are in love with your step sibling who doesn't have any blood relations with you or you are in love with your cousin etc). In other rare cases, you may be dating a well-known public figure secretly.

There's a lot of intensity with this relationship. The physical affection/passion is definitely there. There may be like a lot of angst too or suppressed feelings or you know in movies etc where there's a lot of sexual tension but then someone comes and interrupts and so the sexual tension has to be cut short? Something like that.

This relationship while intense may end rather abruptly or have many make ups and break ups. Somehow you both continue to be drawn to each other.

For some there may be some toxic stuff in this relationship - I see a lot of arguments and shouting and then shortly after there'd be intense makeup sex or kissing. A lot of times the physical side of the relationship will dominate everything else, which isn't so good, because the problems of this relationship don't go away.

For this relationship to work, both will need to recognize the issues and want to change and also realize that communication is very important. For some, this relationship will inevitably end for various reasons.

Because of the forbidden element to this relationship, inevitably there can be many misunderstandings and complications.

This relationship, however, will be one that you will definitely always remember - probably the one most dear to you.

[chugging-antiseptic-dye]

Seventeen as Chinese Idioms 🥢 :

Scoups: Love the house with its crows (ài wū jí wū) Meaning: Loving people as they are/ with their flaws Scoups is the epitome of fully and utterly loving someone. Flaws? Weaknesses? Those are what makes you who you are. If those were 'fixed' you would not be the same person to him.

Jeonghan: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind (tángláng bǔ chán, huángquè zài hòu) Meaning: Not realizing the hidden danger when focusing on small gains Jeonghan is someone who looks at the big picture in any situation. He is always ready to threaten, cajole, plead, adapt, compromise, etc. to achieve his goal. Here, he is the oriole or the hidden danger. He waits till only one move will ensure his victory.

Joshua: When the sandpiper and the clam fight each other, it’s the fisherman who benefits (yù bàng xiāngzhēng, yúwēng dé lì) Meaning: To take advantage of a situation/conflict Joshua works harder and smarter. Why bother to get into a troublesome situation when he is going to win either way? He values his peace way too much. If you watched nana tour, you would see that both him and Jeonghan wanted to destroy Mingyu's meringue but when Jeonghan splashed a tub of water on Mingyu, Joshua just ran away :3 He is not getting into a fight, thank you very much.

Jun: A crane in a flock of chickens (hè lì jī qún) Meaning: An astounding person in a room full of mediocre ones Three words can explain this idiom perfectly: Jun's stage presence. Even if we forget everything else, his stage presence is out of this world. Carats are so lucky that Jun chose to debut in Seventeen instead of becoming a full-time actor.

Hoshi: A lion uses its full strength even when hunting a rabbit (shīzi bǔ tù, yì yòng quánlì) Meaning: Giving your best effort in everything Hoshi gives 200 percent energy in everything. Dance practice? Stage performance? Going seventeen episode? Some random skit? Tiktok challenges? He never underestimates anything related to his career as an idol and he even gives his all into having fun. He is one of a kind.

Wonwoo: Those who eat with one chopstick will stay hungry (yòng yīgè kuàizi chīfàn de rén shì è de) Meaning: Finding balance in life It's one of my favourite Chinese sayings. Food is meant to be eaten with two chopsticks and life is meant to be lived in a measured way. Nothing too extreme or too unbalanced. And Wonwoo is someone who understands how to balance his public life and private life. He surrounds himself with lots of hobbies and yet no one will catch him slacking when it comes to his career.

Woozi: Having love, drinking water will fill you up, without love, eating food will leave you hungry (yǒuqíng yǐnshuǐ bǎo, wúqíng shí fàn jī) Meaning: Love makes everything bearable Jihoon has so much love to give and it shows when he looks at his members and in his songs. He is the epitome of sharing hardship and happiness together. He is not afraid to work from the bottom if it is for someone/something he loves.

Dokyeom: Freezing into three feet depth can’t be done in one day (bīngdòng sān chǐ, fēi yī rì zhī hán) Meaning: Taking things step by step/ Rome was not built in a day If this idiom doesn't describe Dokyeom, I don't know who else it does. He has been constantly taking vocal lessons for more than ten years. He practices his vocal exercises everyday. Dokyeom does not give up nor does he rush. He improves at his own pace.

Mingyu: Fall in the moat and you’ll be wiser next time (chī yī qiàn , cháng yī zhì) Meaning: When one makes a mistake, one knows what to avoid Here, I was leaning more into how Mingyu wants to experience everything even once. Maybe some of them were bad experiences or maybe in hindsight he realized that some of them were mistakes. But I don't think he still regrets anything though. He lives in the moment.

Minghao: Cherish a broom as if it was gold (jiā yǒu bì zhǒu, xiǎng zhī qiānjīn) Meaning: Appreciating small things in life Minghao's mindset of finding joy in small things is one of my favourite things about him. His aura screams contentment and mindfulness. I truly believe that he, literally, cherishes his broom/vacuum as if it was gold.

Seungkwan: Three parts fate, seven parts hard work.” (sān fēn tiān zhù dìng, qī fēn kào dǎ pīn) Meaning: While destiny is written, it still depends on you Everyone knows how hard Seungkwan promoted Seventeen when they were rookies. He is the personification of hard work. Fate has nothing on him. He would fistfight it if he could.

Vernon: Pretending to be a Pig to eat a Tiger (bàn zhū chī lǎo​hǔ) Meaning: Hiding one's real strength Most of the time Vernon trends for being funny or for 'Vernon-ing' but not for his skills or talents. I am not saying people don't appreciate him or that he is actively hiding himself. It's just he is not known for them. He writes, produces, sings and his rap flow is so unique. He was almost in the performance unit!! Man is so underrated, I swear.

Chan: Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons (wòhǔ cáng lóng) Meaning: Talented people hiding from view Chan has a Santa alter ago and his magic bag is hiding all the skills Chan has. Cause what do you mean he can act, sing, dance, rap, be a professional comedian AND play the piano. He is chronically offline because his real life goal is to be the best in everything!! Every new thing I learn sends a shock to my system.

[absolutebl]

TOP 10 BL Trends of 2023

This is just me with my analysis hat on. 

1. 2023 = the year EVERYONE went outside their lanes

Everything went topsy-turvy this year in BL. 

For example, Korea gave us agonized yearning and outright queerness (The 8th Sense, The New Employee) while Japan served up soft office workers and tender family (Our Dining Table). 

The BL world went askew for a while, especially in the spring of 2023. 

Not that we still didn’t still get Korea’s soft angsty bubbles or Japan’s “what are you doing and why does it hurt?” kink-fests. But there were quite a few BLs that made us chronic watchers sit up in confusion and wonder if Korea was dabbling in Taiwan’s territory or Japan in Thailand’s. Then they fudged the kisses and we were like... okay, back in familiar territory. 

In contrast, Thailand stayed course-correcting for the damage they’ve done in the past with tropes (2022) and self referential meta criticism (2021), but also almost aggressively returned to their BL roots after last year’s series of shockers. Certainly, they are reexamining those roots, transplanting some, aerating others. But they really went back to classic Thai university and high school BL and pulps in a big way in 2023. 

Taiwan is always difficult to gage because they produce so few but they seem to have stuck with what they do best with no deviation while producing more this year than they have in ages. I’m happy for that, why change a good thing? But there is a tiny part of me that really wants them to hit it out of the part with a quality piece soon. For me, We Best Love still reigns supreme, but I would really like the HIStory franchise to give us that level but longer - like a happy version of Your Name Engraved Herein. I think Taiwan has the chops to give us something as good as The 8th Sense or Old Fashion Cupcake but in their style, and I would like to see them exercise their talent for good rather than just profit. 

I know, what a very odd thing for me to say. But if any BL is going to break into the mainstream American market, I genuinely think it’s most likely come from Taiwan. 

Vietnam and the Philippines are falling behind, in general. They just didn’t bring out very many shows in 2023, and what the brought out tended to fub the endings. This is forgivable in Japan (because of their style and quality) but not what watchers want in the lower production value propositions. In other words, if you do a pulp, you can’t mess up the ending (by romance standards). that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. 

2. The Office Romance Dominated

After years of Thailand serving us an endless (and slightly bland) buffet of university (and a few high school) BLs, this year Korea was basically like...

Ofiice. We like the Office. It’s cheap to film we can use grown up actors, acting (mostly) their actual age. 

And yeah... it totally worked. 

To be fair, Japan has always given us office live action yaoi from the beginning (they had the source material) but this year everyone else, including Thailand, seriously started playing in this setting. 

3. Boys Danced with Boys

The darling @heretherebedork​ was a big fan of this one, and I rather like it myself. Prior to this boys dancing together was very very rare in BL, but this year we got way more than our fair share. It was lovely. 

Never Let me Go

My School President 

Bed Friend 

The Day I Loved You 

Step by Step

Be Mine Superstar

Tie the Not 

Dangerous Romance

I think there were a few more. These are the ones I remembered to write down. 

4. Getting (even more) Meta With Tropes 

BL has been getting more and more meta over the past few years but this year they really focused in on tropes specifically. Calling out their own biggest and most favorite tropes in a massive way, especially Thailand and especially GMMTV. 

Like they tunneled in on damaging tropes with Bad Buddy and the like over the past 2 years, and now they are just having fun with us. 

I mean they just started the dancing trope and already they are calling it out? That’s like rapid-fire regurgitated meta there, GMMTV. 

5. Cameos are the norm now 

Taiwan has always loved cameos but in the past the other countries have been show and steady with only one or two a year. (Unless Japan does a parody.) 

This year Korea got in on the game.

Korea rarely starts trends but they do adopt smaller and lesser known existing ones and make them super popular. 

This year they did that with cameo couple appearances, even borrowing a few of Thailand’s pairs (TutorYim and MaxNat traveled north). They did it so much I stopped tracking. Love Class 2, Why R U?, and Jun & Jun were the heaviest hitters. 

Taiwan, of course, came back swinging. Kiseki was the gum-ball machine of pair cameos. (In Taiwan mafia = gay.) 

6. We are entering the cross pollination age

The number of remakes picked up or started this year was startling, not just countries revisiting their own content (Thailand, Japan) but countries revisiting OTHER countries stuff.

Lemme explain...

Korea has started remaking Thai content (Why R U?) alongside cameo'ing Thai pairs.

Thailand is doing Korean IP (My Dear Gagster Oppa) and has 2 Chinese ones slated for next year. 

GMMTV acquired a lot of Japanese IP (Cherry Magic, Ossen, and My Love Mix Up) - and then had problems distributing it. 

This is probably the most surprising trend for me. Especially the Japanese stuff. I would have thought these properties well outside of Thailand's price range (even GMMTV's) not to mention Japan’s legendary IP issues (I swear I typed this pout before the pulled TayNew’s excellent Cherry Magic). 

Also why not option some of the older popular manga instead? Bet that's much cheeper. (I did see a NEW Thai translation of Finder into Thai, which is 90s yaoi, so I have my fingers crossed on that front.)

I shouldn't be too surprised. 

Thailand is running out of y-novel content. Their publication industry is just not robust enough (I was just talking to a friend about this at length recently). But I didn't think they had the funds to option, especially from Japan. 

Perhaps the option deals are for peanuts?

7. Korea got cheeky

I’m not sure quite how else to put this. 

After finally figuring out boys can kiss, Korea started to do not just higher heat but playful higher heat, with more aggressive word play and linguistic innuendo, like they are entering their racy rom-com teenage years (Why R U? Love Class 2 and Jun & Jun in particular.) 

I guess: Welcome to your BL teens, Korea? 

It’s cute of them. I am very much enjoying it. 

And now that comedy is warming them up, we get to see them play with actual queer burgeoning physicality in shows like The 8th Sense. 

It’s nice. I like seeing Korea stretch its wings. They still stick to their bubble, but that bubble seems to be expanding. 

8. The Amnesia Trope is back

And I, for one, would prefer to forget about it. 

9. BL got trendy 

I’m not quite sure how to articulate this category but basically we started seeing a lot of “modern” romance trends out of the west (like a/b/o) show up in our BL. Not a ton and sometimes quite small, but there has a been a steady rise of things like: no seme/uke, femme gay, out gay, condom use, messy gay. 

We also got an increasing range of sub genre frameworks (like mafia, office setting) that’s moved BL pretty firmly (even in Thailand) out of school and into the workplace, whether actual working is involved or not. 

It’s not to the point where it feels like we get more non-school BL than school BL (if I include all countries in this assessment).

Japan, in classic Japanese fashion, quietly started moving in the opposite direction. It’s what they do. 

10. The Vampires are coming 

This is an announcement trend, which I don’t usually report on but it’s so CLEAR. 

So last year we had a spate of announcements of possible Omegaverse (2 from China, 1 from Japan, 1 from Thailand - the only one that’s happened). 

This year we got 5 Vampire (or vampire-esk) Thai BLs announced including one from GMMTV. 

Whether all 5 will actually get made is unlikely, but having had (basically) none prior to this (Kissable Lips), I’m pretty confident that we will get at least 2 of them. And I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one other country made one as well. (Side eyes Taiwan with interest.) 

Final thoughts

It feels like we are also seeing a decline in BL (both by quantity and quality) from Vietnam and the Philippines. As you all know, I don’t track or really watch either of these two very closely. But it feels like, now, no one else is either. 

I think we have likely seen the BL heyday already in both places and their industries are now on the decline. 

We might be witnessing a thinning in the players in the BL field. 

FYI we had approximately 

136 BLs in 2023

Previous Years

2022: 117

2021: 95

2020: 62

2019: 40

2018: 30 

2017: 44 (China’s last gasp)

2016: 27

2015: 17 (50% micro)

2014: 17 (50% micro)

And that’s it! Let me know in the comments if you’ve spotted any additional trends you want to call out.

Last year, 2022′s trend report

2021′s Trend report

Last Year’s Stats & Predictions

(source) 

[20dollarlolita]

joke's on you; I don't know what you're doing.

context 1) at some point in my store's history, someone who works here out up a "service dogs only" sign on our front window

Context 2) we have a customer, who spends a lot of money with us, who is so allergic to dogs that she once injected herself with an epi-pen and sat outside the store wheezing and waiting for the ambulance she called for herself.

Context 3) I have a coworker who loves flexing the rules on people and making them do what she wants

Context 4) I have been bit by service dogs (or "service dogs", not my place to determine which as long as they answer The Two Questions) in our store who have never interacted with wheelchairs before. No hard feelings as the dog thought they were protecting themselves or their humans from a scary indoor car that's getting way too close for comfort, but it is never a fun incident report to file.

Customer comes in to pick up an item she ordered. Says she wants to apologize because last time she brought her dog.

Me: oh wow why's she apologizing instead of being mad?

Customer goes on about how she's brought her dog in over 50 times and never had a problem. Goes on about how her dog is about to pass the service dog test (does not go into where or what test) but keeps failing because she loves her mommy too much. Continues at length about how she doesn't want to make anyone unhappy.

Me: something feels off about this but I'm not sure what.

Customer continues about how she was just shocked because there was no way she could have known because it was never a problem before

The voice of Bob Dylan in my head: and you know something is happening here but you don't know what it is.

My confused ass mentions how some workers in the store get very serious about our front door sign as we've had major accidents involving ambulances and blood.

Customer sighs, shuts up, and leaves.

Me: very confused.

Me, on my lunch, three hours later: OH I GET IT, she's doing that bullshit thing my grandma does where she apologizes to show how wrong and stupid someone was!! Hahaha jokes the fuck on her, I absolutely did not understand at all that it was what was happening!

So customer service tip, always take customers at face value, because a review of "I fake apologized to the girl and she didn't react like I wanted her to" doesn't get much traction with higher-ups. Neither did, "I told them it was fine when they asked me if they were all right to do their training exercise in the aisle I was shopping in, but they should have understood that I was being sarcastic." But that's another story for another day at work.

[wisteriasymphony]

The discourse around Adrien having lean muscle reminds me of a similar discourse around a show called Hyouka. The thing is that the main character mostly stumbles around his house ( for the most part) and feels like there’s no value to doing anything at all— might I add he’s very much committed to this bit and sees everything in a nihilistic philosophy ( he’s not into sports or anything physically strenuous either ) So in no manner did it ever make sense for him to have muscles ( lean muscle ) in your typical anime sauna episode , and thus the discourse. The difference w Adrien at least , is that he is required to do various physical activities , however, he happens - or happened, to be on a strict diet, so all these athletics would probably only make him more puny. I mean Joan of Arc bullied him about his puniness . TO BE FAIR, he’s seen in s5 to be doing a lot of jogging and he’s no longer modeling so one can assume that his diet is over ? unless he’s willingly continuing this diet . this was a longgg rant ending with a fic recommendation that I think does kind service to this discourse and Adrien angsters in general:

“ Finish Lines” by Talik_Anis

Oooh! I've heard good things about Hyouka.

The exercise in s5 does make sense, but at the same time, it's just cardio and we don't really have any impression yet that he's doing more than just jogging? I think the main issue is moreso that people would've wanted to have the impression that he was no longer sticking to the same regiments he had pre-s6, and that kind of crushed it. It would be fun to explore why he would willingly continue his diet maybe for not-great reasons. Either it's out of guilt for not trusting his father, or desperately clinging onto routine in a period of change, or an act of self-harm.

As for Finish Lines: Ouuuhohooouguuggh... FUCK. YES. I was grinning like a madman while reading this. Is Talik_Sanis open to being friends. I would like to be friends with them :3

Here's a link to the fic for any interested followers. It is ~3k words, so very short, but SUCH an angsty little character study. This, "Pyro, Pyro, He Never Did Mean to Arson", and bugstung's "Visage" have to be my top three for Adrien character studies, though the final one is also very much a Felix study in its own right too.

[janecafe]

saw a post on my "fyp" today about this tarot reader talking about "God is just yandere?".

here's my personal opinion about it.

so, here's the story---back in my high school days, we used to study the diversity of religions and their practices. it is a very important factor for teenagers who are starting to deal with the real challenges, obstacles and struggles to build a stronger foundation of belief. at this case of subject, i learned that everyone have their own religion beliefs, values and practices. it allow me as a student myself that not everyone have the same beliefs as you but it allows me to be broad minded about everyone else faith and principle.

it taught me to be open-minded, flexible and innovative. it taught me that it was not religion that will save you to have an eternal and eternity after life but the faith you have. so why there're many assumptions of beliefs on today's, it was because of humans with their three factors of needs: (1) cultural adaptation (2) personal meaning and (3) connection.

but here's the another real deal, why does God allow you to suffer?

let me summarize this and make it personally as human fabricated. in my personal opinion, how can you learn from something if you won't suffer? you know why because it was for your own growth and development character. i take myself as an example, when i was a child it's hard for me to write my name because sister it was so long, imagine writing the whole name "elora jane marie". who would name your child like that? of course my parents! that was the first struggle and suffered i ever experienced as a child whose at learning phase, i even got used to crying and hit up at the hand with my mother. another example, you as a kid learning on how to walk--- why you need to get suffered from bruises and wounds before you can master walking, it was because for your growth support.

without learning = no personal growth.

in this kind of community it's very important for oneself to undertake their personal faith rather than being influenced by someone's opinion, that's how a spiritual journey must be. personal and factual.

why don't you let others opinions take a chance to take over your faith, principle and beliefs?

setting aside the religious beliefs and values, let the human actions and thoughts explore itself.

what factors influence what you desire? that is all beyond your control. your wishes, cravings, and choices to appear a quiet individual, yet you didn't select any of them on your own. it's not about God, it's about you as an individual in the society.

your choices = your consequences.

perhaps, exercising free will is simply like taking on the accountability for your choices. that's how essentially of what it is and technically speaking. therefore, as a human you can select the outcomes you wish to face. you can decide the price you will pay, but you can never avoid paying a price. all of your actions — and your apathy — have repercussions. therefore, it's not just about having the freedom to do what you desire; it's about being mature enough to accept responsibility for your actions. however, that post is about in spiritual language, that can also talk about "prove yourself to God" — or in another side, what's your own inner moral sense/feeling of purpose. whichever one you choose. it's the identical concepts. it's not about proving yourself to God rather i take it as proving myself to a better level of myself.

that’s the reason, in the biblical narrative, God granted humans free will, resulting in adam and eve's expulsion from the garden of eden. it was the initial result. the first ever sin in the bible.

thus, free will does not equal freedom from consequence. grasp this concept, and you'll soon realize that taking responsibility for your actions and deliberately opting to do what is right and what's the good forms foundation of morality that is gonna leads to a meaningful life.

otherwise, i don't care if you make fun and criticize me or this post as long as i know myself better than anyone else. i won't let someone's beliefs and opinion to be changed from someone else's post in the internet to lead my personal behavior and morals. my life, my decisions. this post is not proving that "God is yandere" nor proving a point why "God is not yandere" rather it was an enlightenment that your spiritual journey is one's own and true-to-life.

good day and spread positivity! 🍀

[numberonetacostan]

I like to think Taco has a deep-seated fear of being forgotten, not because she craves attention, but because she believes that if people forget her, she’ll lose her sense of self. This fear stems from her childhood (came up with this mid season 3 so like, i know they don't have childhoods) , where she was overshadowed by more popular objects and always felt like she had to stand out to be noticed

To cope with this, Taco often makes bold statements or does outrageous things to ensure she’s remembered, even if it means causing trouble. Underneath her wild antics, she’s constantly seeking validation that she exists in the minds of others, whether it’s through her chaotic actions or loud personality. Deep down, Taco just wants to feel important and valued, even if she doesn't always show iy

Hey Ze!!!!^^ Welcome back, and thank you for sending in another ask!!!! :) Onto your last one for now!!!!

That's a really interesting way to look at her character!!! And a way in which her time in the woods when everyone went on without her becomes even worse!!!^^ Thinking of childhoods and pasts for the cast members is quite a fun though exercise, even if they don't actually have backstories like that.

I can see her really needing that validation from the people important to her, post-canon. She needs to know she's doing well to soothe her own worries and paranoia about being outcasted again!!! She would very much want to feel important and valued by the people she cares about <3.

[red-pill-to-swallow]

How to be attractive to men and my goals

Hey babes,

like I said – I want to incorporate RPT (Red Pill Theories) into my daily life immediately.

A few things that every women within the community seemed to be content with were:

1. You are never finished with glowing or leveling up. Never stop learning. Never stop trying to better yourself.

2. Pretty privilege is real.

I agree that pretty privilege is very real. I mean, I get affected by pretty people like everybody else, even if I don’t do it on purpose. It’s just something that is ingrained in our brains and I need to learn how to take this to my advantage.

I think I have a decent starting base, because I’m a skinny white woman in her twenties with long blonde hair. I am not really tall – even short men are at least 5-7cms taller than me – but I’m also not extremely short.

I have a petite frame but my body-shape is something between an hourglass and a peach. My face is average – I don’t really have striking features or am a natural beauty model – but my features also aren’t hideous. It’s really just something you can look at without thinking too much.

On a scale, I would rate myself a 5,5-6/10 on an average day and I guess that’s great!

But how can I make myself look better on a daily basis? I really took hours to research how I could make myself more attractive to wealthy and high value men.

Obviously, no man is like the other and every man prefers something different. One man might like tattoos and piercings while another man with the same social status thinks they are hideous. I don’t want to completely change who I am and I don’t want to spend thousands of dollars for it.

However, I really like this whole clean girl and old money aesthetic that is going viral on Tiktok right now – and I think those two aesthetics could fit me and my personality really well.

Most wealthy men seem to like this traits in women:

1. great skin without obvious pimples or enlarged pores

2. long and healthy hair in a natural color

3. straight white teeth

4. clean nails on both hands and feet

5. hairless legs, armpits and at least trimmed pubic hair

6. wearing clean and wrinkle free clothes without any holes

7. wearing a nice smell that is fitting to your overall appearance

I think those are the basics and they can be achieved by almost anyone. If you can’t afford braces make sure that your teeth are always perfectly brushed and that you’re keeping up with your dental hygiene in general.

In fact – if you have problems affording certain beauty procedures, research how to get as close as possible to them with DIYs.

For years, I always wanted to be the mysterious woman in the room. The woman with a dark aura, the woman that doesn’t speak much and remains most of her life a secret.

Well, I am not this woman even if I’m trying very hard. It would be an act that I would put on and I am sure that everyone in the room would notice.

I am naturally very bubbly and I love having conversations with people in general. I would also say that I have a broad knowledge on different topics and that I’m able to talk to almost everyone.

I am also very welcoming and I enjoy making people laugh and have fun in my presence. I tend to have strong opinions and I’m not afraid to take on a discussion.

With everything that I know about myself now, I made some points that I need to tackle in order to level up:

1. stop oversharing. Being bubbly is great but not everyone needs to know everything about my business. Sometimes it’s just better to be silent and to listen.

2. start with exercise again. I am happy with my weight but I am extremely weak and I have almost zero muscle mass. My breath is getting heavy if I have to take the stairs and my legs start to hurt after roughly 15 minutes of walking. I plan on going for a walk every day and doing pilates 3x a week.

3. start doing my hair and makeup again. My hair is long and blonde – so it is an eyecatcher. It’s also very healthy but I usually just throw it up in a bun or in a clawclip, so no one is really seeing it. I have multiple styling tools at home and I need to start using them. The same applies to makeup. I have so much great stuff that looks really beautiful and natural but I am just too lazy to use it. I plan on taking 20 minutes every day to do my makeup and to suck it up – because I usually always do a double cleanse at night, so it’s not really a struggle to take it off in the evening. It’s just inconvenient in the morning.

4. taking better care of my skin and of my dental health. I have high quality skincare and I love doing my skincare but sometimes I’m just too lazy. Let me just say that it doesn’t happen often – but still too much for my liking. Also my dental health – I need to make a dentist appointment asap. I think the last time I went was around 3 years ago!

5. buying better fitting clothes. I don’t like shopping for clothes but it is what it is. Right now I only have cute lounge sets for being at home but when I go out I usually only wear jeans with a basic top and sneakers. I want to look more polished and feminine. I want to stop wearing jeans and focus more on pants, skirts and dresses. Also literally any other shoes than sneakers.

6. go out more. I’m your typical homebody. Movie night? Reading a book? Ordering food? Count me in! I always have fun when I go out but I’m still mostly at home and I want to change that. I want to have a group of like minded friends that want to hang out with me. Maybe even at home. Lol.

I really thought hard about those six points but I think those are the first things that I need to tackle down.

In the end – I was asking myself: what could I do to feel the most comfortable with spontaneous outgoings and meeting new people?

It came down to wanting to look my best. Obviously. I want to make a good first impression and maybe even profit off of pretty privilege.

I’m sure we all know those times when we’re dressed like slobs and suddenly an opportunity to go out arises and we decline because it would take hours to get ready.

That’s the reason why I want to get ready in the morning – so I would only need to touch up if anything came up.

see you soon!

[queenxxraccoon]

Speaking of female characters in The Outsiders, what do you all think their clothing styles and personality would be like? Characters we’ve read about or watched in the movie, what kind of depth do you think their characters have? I’ll try to give an idea of what I think. I also will say I don’t like a decent percent of the female characters bc of things they’ve been described to have done. Although Angela is the MVP we love her. @nexternalknowsthingz @thatonetotaldramaguy weigh in on this in curious.

Cherry: A girl a really tries to please both sides, can come off as arrogant and selfish but is forced to go along with what she is told (Socs forcing her to treat Greacers like trash). She although has a fiery side to her and has a big belief in her moral values (stuck up for Ponyboy at the drive in) she’s not perfect but I think she definitely tries and has good heart. 6/10 (God I hate her a lot though 😭)

Clothes:

Marcia: A genuine girl, shes very shy and polite. She can be sassy but also classy. Definitely also defends her friends like Cherry and is a real girls girl. Definitely also keeps out of trouble, she doesn’t trash Greasers but can believe some can be erratic or spontaneous into doing bad behavior. Doesn’t condone it but doesn’t make you feel bad for it. 8/10

Clothes:

Beverly: Now, forgive on this, but haven’t seen the musical so I don’t her personality at all. But she seems like she would take no shit. Think of Bubbles from the Powerpuff Girls. Very demure, very mindful, but will bust you right up side the head if she thinks you acting up. I can also see her being a bit of a toxic friend who uses people as stepping stones. 3/10

Clothes:

Evie: Steve’s gf. Not much is told about her in both the in the book and movie but let’s be real, she’s dating Steve. (I personally ship Soda and Steve but if we’re going cannon…) I definitely she a loving girl but someone who can PARTYYYY! A friend who would give the most amazing advice, definitely the girl who like knows what you like before you telling her, example:

Evie: “What you want to eat?”

Friend: “Idk I’ve never ate here before.”

Evie: “I bet you’d like (random food and drink combo)

You order it and you fucking love it. She understands ur taste. 10/10

Clothes:

Sylvia: Oooo hold me back I’m gonna beat this girl up. Similar to Beverly but way more toxic and isn’t afraid to show. Bev would work behind backs and in the shadows, but Sylvia would just be a brat and absolutely bitch to your face. She wants to demolish your self esteem. Katy Perry’s song Hot and Cold (idk I don’t listen to Katy Perry lol could be the wrong song name). Like one minute she could be super sweet but then tear you down the next. Constantly keeps you on your toes and gaslights you till you cook

S/O (Prob past Dallas): “Hey I’m leaving to hang out with my friends.”

Sylvia: “You never talked about them, who are they? Where are you going?”

S/O: “I talked about hanging out with them this morning.”

Sylvia: “No you didn’t, stop lying. Maybe you should get your brain checked because you’ve mentioned them before. Are you gonna go cheat on me with them?” Etc. Not a good time, -10/10

Clothes:

Sandy: Well, she’s not good either. Definitely a little spoiled. Would def manipulate Soda into believing he was a bad bf bc he didn’t do one really small thing for her like pull her chair out in a restaurant for her. 😒 Miss literally cheated, got pregnant and left Soda. (Or Soda got her pregnant? Can’t remember lol) But I feel overall she’s very bratty and not fun to be around. 3/10

Clothes:

Angela: This bitch! WE LOVE HER!!!!!!!! Comes in clutch. Someone talking shit about someone she loves, smack to the face. Don’t like the way ur acting, ear gets pulled. She wouldn’t do this unprovoked either, like she would need good reasons. Def a lover to her friends and a fighter to her enemies. I also believe that she’s into exercise or weight lifting. Honestly in my opinion def the energetic on steroids version of Evie. 1000/10

Clothes:

[mecachrome]

Hi k! Glad you’re back! I was wondering, now that Oscar has taken another step this year, what you think he will want to focus on/you think he should focus on in the future re improving as a driver? He’s the first driver that I’ve followed since their rookie season and it’s been exciting to see the momentum this year so far.

hi anon!!! sorry for the late reply >__< this is a wonderful thought exercise though hehehe oscar has been progressing at such a commendable rate and ia it's been wonderful to witness :') tbh in 2025 the sample size is still too small to make any sweeping arguments but we can take it race-by-race and attempt to lay out his weaknesses anecdotally...

back in the day i actually wrote up a 2023 retrospective to dissect how we approach rookie performances & specifically mclaren's expectations for him as a rookie, which i felt were important to contextualize relative to dr's woes and the under/overhype for him entering f1 thanks to the drama surrounding his contract:

i think this is still a decent way to frame the axes of development for a driver because it's easy to say that at the end of the day, pace and race craft are all that really matter (actionably true in many circumstances), but there are so many intangibles necessary to attain these targets. knowing this, i think oscar's always had really remarkable self-awareness and accountability, which in turn allows him to learn at a fast rate and rarely make the same mistake twice... which i think will always be the most impressive thing about him! just like, not only consistency at its face-value meaning, but also consistency in terms of continuous learning and maintaining a drive to keep improving linearly. the only problem is that f1 is such a variable sport that this alone isn't enough to get you up to speed with something as tricky as tyres in only a handful of races, due to the myriad of conditions that influence how you learn a track, so he really did need the entirety of 2023 to properly hone his weaknesses in tyre management and race pace...

anyway i feel like the big narratives for oscar were tyre management/race pace in 2023 and especially in 2024 quali pace... which is fun to see because i do believe that he improved majorly in management by 2024! so seeing those incremental gains over the seasons has been really rewarding. i have no delusions over his competitiveness vs. lando during this time (21-3 quali h2h in 2024), so i feel like for him a big thing really was just learning how to put together that proper quali lap—he's had the pace on different occasions but would always drop the ball when it really counted, so i wanted to see him improve on that. which... i think he has so far, but it's still too soon to make any sweeping statements! overall though i'm very very glad he finally got that first pole and successfully converted it too T__T

looking at it race-by-race:

australia: a really solid performance overall MINUS the grass moment, but you see this is a tricky one because i could be like "well i think he needs to be better in the wet and not make these mistakes" but it's also like... idk sometimes shit happens you know? like there's obviously a spectrum in evaluating Error Proneness, wherein there's crashing/causing a red flag/dnfing and then there's having 30+ consecutive finishes and one wet-weather incident that still ends in a p9 finish with an extremely committed last-lap overtake as the cherry on top. so obviously you wouldn't want these things to happen, but in the grand scheme of things is that something he needs to regularly focus on or improve? idk!

china: kind of impossible to have notes on this, just a solid weekend overall which is esp heartwarming after how much he struggled here in 2024!!! great quali with two laps strong enough for pole and then comfortably in the lead from start to finish... honestly couldn't ask for more.

japan: considering the nature of this track and its lack of raceability for the current gen of f1 cars, the finishing order was determined by quali which in turn was determined by oscar's middling s1. so i suppose if anything we can once again point to needing to maximize quali potential here—max is just suuuch a machine when given the opportunity and i think there's always that little bit more to eke out that oscar hasn't 100% optimized. this is obviously anecdotal though... but either way i'm sure he himself is like "well obviously i want to qualify on pole every race weekend" just as like, a base fundamental of competitiveness, although whether that's the driving mentality he actually practices with himself is another question. well tbh this is also a reflection of where the mclaren is as a car itself—because oscar's personal philosophy that he's mentioned before is he calibrates his expectations to the potential of the package and is appropriately celebratory of his achievements relative to their scope of possibility so NOW i do believe he comes in every weekend like this car should be on pole so i should put it on pole! Next! which means every time he loses out to lando or someone else he probably does on some base level think to himself well this is something i need to keep working on and get better at. obviously i don't think he's bad at quali and he's seemingly improved significantly in pace since 2023/24, but that's not the ceiling being set for mclaren right now. So!

bahrain: similar to china but with more general excitement 🧡

saudi arabia: honestly overall really impressed with oscar this weekend because this track was pretty favorable to rb and max's avg race pace was actually marginally better and like yes i think oscar could have/should have gotten pole but i appreciated that he showed off his strong race craft/commitment/ability to weather and overcome 1st lap fuckery... like genuinely quite touched by how he got through that first corner and didn't let himself get bullied by max's you-or-me attitude at the apex LOL.

thinking about all of this it's like... oscar's season has honestly been soooo good so far that anything he needs to work on is frankly anecdotal and marginal and likely dependent on what he and the team specifically pinpoint weekend by weekend. SO FAR THAT IS! i'm sure as the season progresses there'll be larger moments of weakness and insecurity that appear, and there'll probably be results much worse than we've seen atm... well i'd prefer if that weren't the case but i'm just saying that the sample size is simply too small for me personally to sit back comfortably. but otherwise i really really like everything i've seen over the past 5 races T__T sure, he could be putting together perfect pole laps but overall he's managed to get his glaring pace issues behind him while still remaining calm and collected and knowing when to take necessary risks and make Big Overtakes without jeopardizing his race. sob!!!

let's revisit this in a few months tho 😖

[antonymphdraws]

Dandy's World OC: Rugby the Football

Bio and details below!

“Rugby is a confident, boisterous, and fun loving Toon that loves to get out there and get active. They encourage children to exercise, as well as teaching them good sportsmanship. ”

Full Name: Rugby the Football

Species: Football

Gender: Nonbinary (They/Them)

Dandy Store Quote

“Hey it’s Rugby! That Toon’s always on the move!”

Requirements

840 Ichor

Use active abilities 30 times. 

Appearance

Rugby is a brown football with a white bandage on their face. They wear a green short sleeved sports jersey, with the sleeves being white and having two green stripes on them, as well as a white stripe on the bottom of the jersey. The jersey has the number “84” on it in white letters. They also wear a pair of green shorts. 

They are seen holding a soccer ball under their arm in their full icon. 

Personality

Rugby is an energetic and confident Toon with a love of sports, exercise, and generally having fun, especially with others. Then have a can-do attitude, and never backs down from a challenge, even if said challenge can cause detriment to them. 

They do have a sense of sportsmanship, having a very strong stance against cheating and unsportsmanlike behavior. 

Rugby can unfortunately be overconfident and rarely hesitates on things, leading them to underestimate a situation or take precarious risks. They also tend to be quite the showoff. 

Stats

Rank: Uncommon

Health: 3 Hearts

Skill Check: 1 Star (Size 50/Value 1)

Movement Speed: 4 Stars (Walk 17.5/Sprint 27.5)

Stamina: 5 Stars (200)

Stealth: 2 Stars (5)

Extraction Speed: 3 Stars (1.00)

Ability

Touchdown! Active

This Toon does a slide tackle which acts like a dash. If they slide into a Twisted(s), they’ll stun the Twisted(s) for 5 seconds. Has a cooldown of 35 seconds. 

Dialogue 

Finishing extraction

“Score!”

“Done and done!”

“Nothing but net!” 

Descending to the next floor

“Put me in, coach! I’m ready!

“Whooo! I’m pumped!”

“Let’s get down to business!”

Activating Touchdown!

“GOAALLLLLL!!!”

“Heads up!”

“Here comes the pitch!”

Interacting with Toons

Rugby: “Up and at em, Astro!!” Astro: “Oh! Rugby…” Rugby: “C’mon! Keep your eye on the ball, we still have a couple floors to go!” Astro: “Ah right…s-sorry…”

Poppy: “Heya Rugby, what’s your favorite sport?” Rugby: “Oof that’s a toughie! But I gotta say, soccer!” Poppy: “Oh really? I thought it’d be football. Rugby: “It was football. But that’s the sport I lost my tooth in so it’s second place now.” Poppy: “Oh…”

Rugby: “Yeah…But on the bright side, I get to do sweet slide tackles now!”  Gigi: “Yo, Rugby! I dare you to run laps 50 laps around the elevator, I’ll- Rugby: “Say no more!” Gigi: “I didn’t say what I was gonna give you if you did…” Rugby: “No need! You say my name, and “dare” in the same sentence and it’s on!”

Shotson: “Rugby…Don’t you get tired of getting chased by the Twisteds?” Rugby: “You kidding? I could do that all day!” Shotson: “Well, I advise you to NOT do that all day…”

Shrimpo: “I HATE SPORTS!!!’ Rugby: “Don’t think you’ll be saying that after a game of tennis!” Shrimpo: “I HATE TENNIS!!!” Rugby: “Tsk tsk. Such a killjoy…”

Twisted Rugby

"This Twisted’s thirst for action translates into their devious method of hunting Toons: Slide tackles, which they do in a straight line of sight. They make Toons dizzy, so run like crazy and hide if they spot you. ”

Rank: Uncommon

Speed: Above Average

Attention Span: Below Average

Detection Range: Average

Twisted Rugby is a roaming Twisted that mindlessly wanders the halls. Upon spotting a Toon, Twisted Rugby will try to slide tackle them during the chase. If they manage to tackle a player, the player will be struck by Confused II for five seconds along with losing a heart.

Twisted Research Trinket: Coach Whistle

Trinket Category: Movement Speed

Gives a 10% run speed boost to all Toons in the round but decreases your stealth by 5% .

Trivia

Rugby is the first Toon to be addressed with solely they/them pronouns. 

Rugby is the fourth Toon to use they/them pronouns. The others being Teagan, Looey, and Stitch.

Rugby is named after the sport of Rugby. Which is a sport commonly played in Europe that served as a basis for American football

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 30/09/2024

Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix)

Season 4 Episode 1 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume AI

Ripped by beardfear

Last week, for my "Character Archives" series, I finally pulled the trigger with the aptly-named [FILE-07] and wrote about the SiIvaGunner channel's mascot: Grand Dad. The funny Flintstones have been there since the literal first day of the channel's life, in a way representing everything that the team has aimed to achieve for the channel during its run. Yet one part I only briefly covered in the aforementioned post was the very fascinating evolution that Grand Dad as a channel meme has undergone over these past eight years. To outsiders to the channel, it may appear as if we've been laughing at the same tired joke for close to a decade - yet as things so often are on SiIvaGunner, the truth is far more densely layered, and arguably even more stupid. And in my eyes, no rip on the channel better encapsulates that ongoing growth than Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), a time capsule of almost five years by now.

Back in the beginning of Season 1, the appeal of Grand Dad as a meme was incredibly simple to understand: You expect one song from clicking on the video, and are instead met with one of the most globally recognizable melodies in the world. It's not that the Flintstones melody has some sort of inherent comedic value to it, like with The Nutshack and rips like Too big, huh, my nuts are too big how about that, nor is Meet The Flintstones the kind of piece to really evoke fierce emotions the way Snow Halation does in rips like Violet Snow Memories. As the very first joke made for the SiIvaGunner channel, the appeal in Grand Dad lay almost entirely in the novelty of the melodyswap alone. You as a viewer will be aware of The Flintstones theme, and you may even be aware of the Vinesauce bit that inspired the channel - and from that, the surprise of hearing the tune from a video game song you weren't expecting to, most often done with surprising authenticity to the game being ripped, was the extent of the bit.

The problem here, as you might already be able to tell, is that this joke is very reliant on the first impression, the initial surprise of not expecting the funny Flintstones to show up. That kind of surprise is something the team would continue finding new ways to evoke even in these first few months of the channel's life, resulting in a huge amount of all-time classic, inventive Season 1 rips like the great seaweed, Be Cool, Be Wild, and Be My Girl, and of course: Athletic Doctor. Yet as these kinds of new and fun ways to surprise people kept being explored, Grand Dad rips still kept coming - it had become a fun exercise for new rippers to learn, a simple melody to play around with. And even just a few short months in, I distinctly remember the reactions toward these rips beginning to feel more...tepid. Within the team, legendary rippers like Triple-Q had gone vocally against leveraging the joke further: all of which slowly escalated into the meme becoming derided as played out and tired. We'd get phrases like "Funny 7" and "Epic Flintstones" tossed around in an ironic tounge-and-cheek fashion, forever immortalized into the rip of Season 1's finale, Epic Flintstones. It felt as if, across the channel's nine months, Grand Dad had now lived a sufficient life, going from hero to the channel, to a bit of a punching bag, but one we were still left sad to see go.

And then the channel...y'know, continued.

With Season 2, as I've covered on posts like ULTRA S+G, the channel was now taking itself and its lore just a little bit more seriously. Grand Dad was still a little bit of a dated thing, yet with the notion of the channel's fate hanging into balance, he came to be as a sort of symbol for the channel's spirit, an icon to rally behind. By the time Season 3 rolled around, all of these views on the meme had wholly coalesced into outright ironic reverence. Videos like Unusual Circumstances and tons of rips made during the Nostalgia Takeover (see Fragile Snowman (Remastered)) in particular emphasized just how bizarre the fanbase's supposed adoration of Grand Dad and the funny number 7 was - and we the fans nodded, laughed and agreed! We all knew Grand Dad wasn't *genuinely* all too funny anymore, but somewhere in that storm of irony-fueled laughs it felt, at least to me, as if we sort of forgot the importance that Grand Dad was meant to hold on the channel, the ways in which it so beautifully encapsulated everything the channel stands for. And that's when this story takes an interesting turn.

In April of 2019, Season 4 of SiIvaGunner was officially well under way - and all eyes were, of course, on the newly-announced King for Another Day Tournament, covered on posts like Theme of HOBaRT. This month in particular gave us the first-ever real "SiIva Direct", a spoof on Nintendo's series of video announcement reels, only now of course focused on activity on the SiIvaGunner channel. It was as mentioned mainly focused on reveals for the still largely under wraps tournament set to come later in the year, yet amidst all those reveals and the announcements of some albums, one of the headlines stood out amidst the rest: The announcement - a week ahead of its release - of a lone high quality rip. That, of course, being Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix). Now remember, this is still the same channel that releases on average six of these videos a DAY - and all that this announced rip was explained to be was a basic, ancient, old-ass, everyday Grand Dad rip. Surely, we all thought, there was a twist ahead: this rip was going to have a character reveal for KFAD, or this rip was going to be the start of some larger ARG, or contain some sort of crucial lore!! Even as the Direct ended, it stayed in the back of my mind...

And then the day came, April 7th. Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), as scheduled, lands right into our laps. And, shock and awe: It is quite literally exactly what it was advertised as. Waluigi Pinball, from Mario Kart DS, with the melody swapped to the Flintstones theme. Just the same as it had been as far back as Season 1. The drop of this video wasn't really hyped up more than its announcement, it wasn't as if this was the only video to drop this day, but it still felt like a lot of eyes were on it, yet the reaction wasn't really angry, or even tepid, so much as it was just a fair bit baffled. "I like how we all expected something huge but it's just a normal decent rip", writes one commenter: "I knew that there wasnt gonna be any special joke", writes another: Largely, though, people were of course dropping in a lot of ironic excitement for the rip, feeding off of the reputation Grand Dad had gotten. It was like Season 1 had never left! Or, well...

...the thing is, when you listen to Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), when you give it a genuine listen, you realize just how far the channel has come since Season 1. Sure, its grown in more extravagant, ambitious ways as well, but in Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), all SiIvaGunner viewers got to oh-so-subtly notice just how much better the team had gotten at ripping even the simplest of concepts in the few years since the channel's inception. A good number of early Season 1 like the original release of Violet Snow Memories were once taken down from the channel due to their off-key sound, and even the ones that stayed are often noticeably rough in sound, sufficient in getting the joke across yet failing to really stand up to any scrutiny. We'd seen rips get bigger and bolder, projects growing to the scope of projects such as The 2:28 Collab and SNES Mini Circulation - yet in a way, it was as if we were missing the trees that built this forest. In Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), the melody swap plays along to a melody so erratic in tempo, with such strange instrumentation, to where you just KNOW right off the bat that a less experienced and less knowledgeable ripper would have made this sound completely off-kilter back in the days of Season 1. Yet the ripper behind Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), beardfear, only got his start on the channel just a few months prior toward the end of Season 3, doing simple melody swaps much in the same vein as the ones Grand Dad had inspired hundreds others to do back in the channel's humble beginnings. The spirit of Grand Dad, even though all the mockery and irony surrounding it, was still continuing to inspire new rippers on the channel. It still so concisely and effectively represents everything that SiIvaGunner as a channel and as a team aims to achieve - and I feel like with Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), tongue-in-cheek as it were, we got a gentle reminder of just how much this ancient meme really means to all of us. From my perspective, seeing this unfold, this was the first point at which we began to start actually...like Grand Dad again?

It wasn't as if we automatically began finding the meme as funny as it had been in Season 1 or anything, nor did all of that lighthearted irony-posting really ever cease. Yet in the years since, in Season 5 and 6, it felt as if we'd all come to understand just how important Grand Dad as a figure is to the channel. By the time Season 7 was declared to be an entire YEAR dedicated to the guy, all hints of the irony that used to dominate discussion in the comments on Grand Dad rips felt as if it had completely disappeared. So many years had passed, not just since Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix), but since the days when the meme had even started becoming derided to begin with, to where it just felt normal to present and view Grand Dad as a figure worth celebrating on the channel. He's the one who started it all! He's the most clear-cut embodiment of what the channel represents! But more than that, I feel as if by Season 7, we had all begun to realize just how far the channel had come, just how many years it had now been trucking along for - and just how impressive it was that it could all still be traced back to that one little melody.

The very next year after Waluigi Pinball (Beta Mix) released, at the SiIvaGunner team's 2020 MAGFest appearance, they held a special panel detailing how to get started in high quality ripping. Named High Quality Ripping LIVE!, it was a setup that let fans in the audience request simple rips for members of the team - live on stage - try to create as fast as possible. It was through first seeing this event that everything just sort of clicked together for me, in realizing how important Grand Dad as a figure still is for rippers in particular. I imagine it can be easy to feel lost in the excitement of rippers contributing these out of this world projects to the channel, yet as we learned back on Welcome to 2021! They finally invented summers that hurt motherfuckers😂 only at sonicforces​.​com - the main point of ripping, in truth, is to just let the imagination run wild and to have fun with what you're doing. That fun, be it ambitious or silly, all has to begin somewhere: and for rippers all across the team, rippers from Season 1 all the way to Season 8, those first steps taken into the hobby begins with FL Studio, a video game track of their own choosing, and the vision to recreate that iconic sequence of 15 notes.

[sun-marie]

9, 10, and 12 for the oc asks!! Any OC you want (or Lydia :))

-rookamell

thank you for the ask @rookamell!!! For this one I think I'll go with my Tav, Zephyr Skybreeze, from BG3! and then I'll do Lydia after for funsies ;)

Zephyr Skybreeze:

9. Are they based off of you, in some way?

Hm, kinda but not really? I think Zephyr is a lot of things I wish I was (level-headed, disciplined, smart and learned, determined, buff, etc.), but we do share similar values like the importance of non-violent solutions and strong familial connection! Also a footnote in her larger backstory is that she was bullied as a child for being Different™, and that part is somewhat based off of my experience 🥲

10. If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person? 

Honestly, a great deal of her character. I made her with the Intention of romancing Gale from the beginning, and wanted to create someone who was very similar to him, but just to the left (Both extremely knowledgeable and educated, but he got his education from a formal wizard's school while she got she got hers through ancient monastic training, both can command elements like fire and lightning but he uses the weave like an art medium while she uses ki like a dance partner in need of guidance), for that Chemistry. This has, however, motivated me to develop Zephyr, apart from who her LI is, more than some of my other OCs, since I don't want her to just be "Gale's Wife", so stuff like her family history, her pride in being a citizen of Baldur's Gate, and her secret anxieties that she keeps a tight lid on with a myriad of mental and physical exercises were created with the direct intention of fleshing out her own character more <3

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

I'm gonna say probably the blue streaks in her hair, which I had to develop my own new brush in CSP, consisting of a small group of parallel stripes, to properly convey. To communicate her biracial wood elf and air genasi heritage, she has auburn hair at the roots that fades out to sky blue, something easily done in game but tricky to communicate in art:

Challenging, but also fun :3

Lydia Laidir:

9. Are they based off of you, in some way?

Nope! The fun in playing Lydia, for me, is playing a character who is completely different from me, from her background to her reactions to her values. I relate to her a lot, but her character is not consciously based off of me.

10. If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person? 

answered here <3

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)? 

 HER TATTOOS, oh my god they're so pretty in the game and they look so cool on her but oh my GOD do I hate drawing them. Most of the time I just do like, an approximation to get the idea across, but if it's for a really nice piece I'm doing for myself, I'm not above ripping the tattoo texture directly from the game with the Frosty Editor and laying it on her. Those kind of intricate little designs are not my strong suit 😅

Questions About Creating Your OCs

[takaraphoenix]

Camping & Bonding (Part 3)

Tags: m/m, Erica Lives, Boyd Lives, Jackson Doesn't Leave, Pack Mom Stiles, Pack Feels, True Mates, fluff, hurt/comfort, camping, mutual pining, m/f

Main Pairing: Derek/Stiles

Side Pairings: Scott/Allison, Boyd/Erica, Jackson/Lydia

Teen Wolf Characters: Mieczysław 'Stiles' Stilinski, Derek Hale, Erica Reyes, Vernon Boyd III, Isaac Lahey, Jackson Whittemore, Lydia Martin, Cora Hale, Scott McCall, Allison Argent

@writersmonth Prompts Part 3: flame + forest

Summary: Stiles thinks the pack should go camping, as a bonding exercise. Much to his surprise, Derek agrees with his plan. So the pack goes off into the mountains to camp together.

This Fic on AO3 | This Fic on FFNet

Stiles Summer Stories 2024

--

Part 3: The Bonfire

Dinner was a huge success. Everyone huddled around the bonfire, the flame throwing that soft glow that set the mood. Laughter and conversation filled the space between them, shoulders bumping, arms wrapped around each other. And after food, there had to be dessert, of course. Who would Stiles be if he hadn't brought marshmallows, crackers and chocolate, after all?

"Here," Derek offered Stiles a smore.

He'd been making multiple ones at the same time, handing them out to the entire pack. Stiles found himself happy to accept the treat. The bonfire painted beautiful shadows on Derek, the shadows of his lashes dancing over his cheeks. It made his Sourwolf look unusually soft.

There was laughter and there were stories. Surprisingly, Boyd told the best ghost stories, he really knew how to deliver them. And if Stiles ducked just a little closer to Derek, the Alpha at least didn't seem to mind, or notice. Stiles munched on another smore and enjoyed the closeness and warmth from his Alpha. He may not have werewolf senses but he still relished in Derek's scent.

"We should do this more often," Allison smiled. "Though I'll come hunting with you tomorrow."

Derek hummed softly. "We used to do this, when I was young."

"I remember," Cora whispered. "Faintly. But… it was nice. I remember dad's barbecue. Mom and the other older wolves would go and hunt, and dad would prepare dinner."

"Yeah?" Stiles kept his voice gentle, trying to get the Hales to talk more.

They so rarely brought up their family, their old pack. Especially not in a positive context. Filled with pain and grief, maybe. But they rarely shared good memories. Stiles wanted to hear every good story they had, he wanted to know everything that made Derek happy.

"Why didn't your dad go hunting with the rest of the pack?" Scott asked confused.

"Our dad was human," Derek replied, his eyes on the bonfire but the look very far away. "There were multiple humans in the pack, mates to the wolves and children who took after their human parent. Dad took care of them, made sure they'd feel bonded with the pack too."

Stiles blinked in awe. He hadn't known that Derek and Cora's father was human. The Alpha Mate had been human? Was that a thing? Sure, he knew the pack valued him, but at times, he still felt a distance. There were things he just couldn't do, or feel, because he was human. But if someone who had the second highest rank in the pack – higher than the right or right hand – could be human? Then maybe the difference between werewolf and human didn't matter all that much.

"Going out to hunt together was actually an exercise in coordinated attack too, on top of being a bonding experience," Derek whispered, the far-away look turning more sad. "Mom… always knew how to make the work and training aspects fun. I just…"

Without thinking on it, Stiles reached out a hand to rest on Derek's arm in comfort. He knew where the Alpha was going with this. He thought he wasn't as good an Alpha as Talia, couldn't live up to the Hale legacy. And maybe he wasn't, but he was on his way. He was working on himself. Becoming a better Alpha, the longer he was one. With Stiles' help, he'd started teaching the betas how to control themselves without pain, by finding their own anchors – the way Stiles had helped Scott channel his love for Allison as his anchor. Derek wasn't a bad Alpha, he was just someone born to be a beta, who had never been taught to be an Alpha, and he had been raised in a pack of born wolves, so he struggled to relate to the ones who'd been turned through the bite. Derek turned to look at Stiles with soft, warm eyes and the smallest hint of a smile.

"We could make this like a once a month thing," Isaac leaned back, looking up into the starry sky. "Going away for a weekend to go camping together."

"That sounds like a good idea," Lydia agreed.

Lydia, who'd argued against camping and sleeping on the ground with insects all around. But she too could see that this meant something to Derek. They all could see it. The closer their pack grew, the more in tune with each other did they get. Jackson, with his arm around Lydia, hummed his agreement, Boyd and Scott voicing their enthusiasm for the idea, everyone else smiling in encouragement and confirmation at their Alpha.

"It's getting late," Derek cleared his throat and got up. "Let's clean up and head to bed. I want to go on a morning run with you at sunrise."

They all worked together cleaning up and putting all the left over food away so it won't attract any wild animals to their camp ground before each duo headed into their tent. Which was when the challenging part started for Stiles. He tried not to look at Derek while the Alpha got changed because werewolves could smell arousal, and instead focused on getting changed.

Once in his shirt and sweatpants, he settled in, burrowing deep in his sleeping bag. His eyes were on Derek though, the older man laying so close. There was something near domestic to getting ready for bed and turning in together like this and Stiles' heart was thumping like a rabbit. He shuddered at the cold of the night. Right. Because sleeping in a tent in the forest during autumn might not be the greatest idea ever. He pulled his sleeping bag closer around himself.

"You're cold," Derek noted, eyebrows furrowed.

"Amazing observation skills, Sourwolf," Stiles gave him a deadpan. "What gave it away? The way I am burritoing myself into my sleeping bag, or the shivering?"

A soft, annoyed growl and an eye-roll was all Stiles' hard-worked sarcasm got him though. It said a lot about how far they'd come that all Stiles got for being obnoxious was mild annoyance and that Stiles fully stopped feeling threatened by any kind of growling happening.

"C'mere," Derek huffed and lifted his own sleeping bag.

It took Stiles embarrassingly long to piece together what Derek was suggesting because his brain fully refused to believe that was actually happening. "Do you want to cuddle with me?"

The look Derek gave him at that should actually physically hurt, it was quite impressive. "You're cold. I'm not. Wolves run hotter. You can also stay over there, freezing your ass off, if you prefer."

"Oh, hell no," Stiles huffed and dove straight for the Alpha.

He gave a content little sigh as he snuggled up to the living radiator known as Derek Hale. Wolves really did run hot. Squishing his cheek against Derek's chest, he did his best to press up against Derek for maximum heat exposure. Derek made a small noise that Stiles couldn't really tell what it meant before he wrapped his own sleeping bag around them both.

And this totally wasn't weird. It wasn't. Not at all. Pack cuddled all the time. They had puppy piles during pack nights, when the wolves returned from their run they'd all huddle together in the den in an entanglement of limbs. Just because this was only Derek and Stiles, all alone, did not make it weird, it was just like pack cuddles. Nothing weird going on at all. No, sir.

"This was a good idea, Stiles," Derek's voice was… warm. "Thank you."

"Thank you, huh," Stiles grinned a little. "Gotta mark that down in my calendar."

Derek heaved a sigh at that. "Shut up, Stiles."

"See, now that's more like the Sourwolf I know," Stiles snuggled a little closer. "Night, Der."

Derek tucked Stiles under his chin, arms around him. "Good night, Stiles."

/break\

Running wild in the forest had felt so good. He loved doing it at the preserve, but here, in the mountains, mapping a territory he wasn't familiar with yet, and with his pack at his side, it felt different. Hunting down their dinner himself. They needed to do that again. And bringing the game to his mate, if Derek was able to turn into a full wolf he would have wagged his tail in excitement when Stiles praised him for bringing him the deer. Human Derek simply grunted.

It hadn't even hurt to talk about his family, like it usually did. There was just… warmth, in sharing this with his pack. Happiness. It nearly felt like healing. Like he was finally reclaiming what had been taken from him – his land, his home, his pack. He was on the right path. A big part of him still wished he wouldn't have to, but the other part knew he couldn't change the past and that clinging onto it and onto the pain wasn't going to do him any good. His betas had shown him that. By trying to cling to how things used to be, he had alienated them and nearly lost them.

He did come to regret Stiles' sleeping arrangement choices though, because when they headed into their tent, Derek found himself all alone in a small, enclosed space with Stiles. Sleepy, cute Stiles, shivering, cold Stiles. And being unable to watch his mate shiver close by, Derek had offered Stiles to sneak into his sleeping bag. Just to keep Stiles warm, because he didn't want the human to catch a cold. Because Derek was being a good Alpha these days. Good Alphas didn't let their pack members freeze. If his inner wolf was purring happily and if Derek slept better that night than he had since the fire, then that was between him and his inner wolf.

Waking up surrounded by Stiles' scent, with his mate safely tucked against his chest, was the best feeling Derek could imagine and he wished every day could start like this. He wished Stiles could be his. But Stiles deserved so much better than what Derek had to offer. Though he was working on himself, he still struggled with communication, he still growled more than he talked, snapped when people didn't understand the things that were natural and obvious to him. He was still plagued by his past, by his survivor's guilt twice over, by all the trauma he'd been through. That was too much to burden anyone with. Why would Stiles want to be stuck with all of that. With him.

"Mornin', Sourwolf," Stiles' voice was rough with sleep.

His nose rubbed against Derek's collarbone, making Derek shudder at the skin-contact and at how cold it was. He instinctively pulled Stiles closer to warm him up more. Derek wanted to stay in this moment forever, the soft noises of the forest waking up outside, the morning chill in the air but the warmth of his mate on his chest as they slowly woke up.

The moment was destroyed by Scott opening the tent. "He—ey, Derek, what about the ru-"

The beta abruptly stopped talking and stared at them in mild bewilderment. Because they were cuddling. Because that wasn't something Derek and Stiles did. Should do. Reluctantly, Derek let go of his mate, allowing Stiles to sit up and stretch. His shirt riled up just a little, revealing a sliver of pale skin doted with moles that Derek had not yet gotten to see.

"Less chipper this early in the morning, Scotty boy," Stiles yawned. "Go and put that energy into hunting down breakfast. No, not hunt. Don't bring me raw meat for breakfast. How about you round up the other puppies and make sure they're all awake and ready because the way I know you guys, Erica is probably still asleep and Jackson is still doing his hair, so no point in bothering Derek yet. Make sure everyone is ready by the time Derek joins you. Shoo, now."

Scott gave them one last doubtful look but then he simply obeyed. Something that was affecting Derek more and more the longer it went on. Stiles commanding the betas. It was marvelous now naturally Stiles took over his role as Alpha Mate without even knowing. Derek's inner wolf was whining happily and practically begging for belly-rubs from Stiles. And that, Derek was never going to admit. Instead, he turned to get changed.

"Speaking of hunt. I didn't know you could take apart a deer."

"C'mo—on. Sheriff's son!" Stiles motioned vaguely. "In a small town! With a forest!"

"Flailing disaster who keeps falling flat on his face," Derek argued dryly. "Would not trust with a gun or a knife. Much less both of them."

Stiles narrowed his eyes in indignation but he knew Derek was right so he didn't argue, making Derek smirk. Beyond the way Stiles complimented him as a leader, Derek loved their banter the most. He loved how Stiles had never, at no point in their relationship, backed down from him. Even when Derek had still been a stranger and a danger, Stiles had been filled with snark. Derek loved it. Derek loved Stiles.