#will be reblogging periodically until sunday

[placesyoucallhome]

Pictomancer art party!

Come in your pictomancer (or viper!) glams to celebrate the new classes!

Where: Mateus, Mist, Ward 26, Plot 15

When: Sunday, January 28th, 6est

(Also to be posted on twitter with tag #pictomancerparty)

[medievalandfantasymelee]

COME ONE, COME ALL to the MOSTE ILLUSTRIOUS TOURNAMENT of the FINEST, the MOSTE PUISSANT and HOTTEST MEN MEDIEVAL MEDIA HAS TO ITS CREDIT.

Our Noble and Worthy contenders have come from 128 Properties throughout the land and stand numbered at 296, out of some 400 submissions.

A complete list of our Noble and Worthy Contenders may be found here.

A summary of The Qualifying Round Matchups may be found here

THE TOURNEY IS UNDERWAY!!!!

Our contest began with a Qualifying Round, which consisted of 148 matchups. The Qualifying Round did not follow any kind of bracket or draw, however beginning with Round 1, every subsequent round will.

A complete list of Matchups in this the Qualifying Round may be found HERE.

The First Round of Competition shall commence on Sunday, the 29th of September.

This round shall last seven days and consist of ten Tilts (polls) per day of competition posted at half-hour intervals beginning at 4:00 PM by the reckoning of Eastern Daylight Time.

We have also completed voting for the first round of the Queen of Love and Beauty Mini Tournament. The Queen of Love and Beauty holds the honour of presenting unto the winner of the Tournament his Champion's coronet. It is a mini-bracket capped at 72 contenders. Polls for the Queen of Love and Beauty will be posted following the conclusion of each round of the Tournament proper until a Queen is chosen.

Oft Asked Questions

“Who is this ‘Master of Revels’?”: T’would be I, your servant. Humble host and facilitator of this fair contest.

“Isn’t this a medieval tournament? Why are there Tudors/Borgias here?”: The Medieval Period is generally agreed by historians to span the years AD. 500 to AD 1500. However, the Renaissance period is a little fuzzier. The Renaissance was not only a period of history, but a cultural movement that kicked in earlier in some places than in others. One looks at Cesare Borgia and can immediately identify him as belonging to the Italian Renaissance. However, you look at the span of his life and it does fall within the late 1400’s—so still what is commonly considered the Medieval period. The Renaissance was a period of transition, so clean cutoffs aren’t always easy to reconcile. Vestiges of Medieval sentiment persisted in England up to the reign of Henry VIII, and it’s for this reason I chose to stretch the definition of “Medieval” for the purposes of the tournament to include the period of Henry VIII’s reign (because English history is what I’m most familiar with.)

“Wait! My Medieval Hot Man isn’t here! Can I still submit him?”: First we advise you to check to make sure that your man isn’t here. It's linked above too, but here is a complete list of our 296 contenders. If he’s not there, then sadly he was not submitted and, as the Tourney is underway, he cannot be submitted now.

“Why is Blank here, he’s not medieval!/Why isn’t Blank here he is medieval!”: The definition of a “Medieval Man” for the purposes of our tournament is “Any male character in a piece of live action visual media in which the Primary Action takes place between the years of AD 500 and AD 1550 (or a Fantasy property that emulates that period).” We define Primary Action as “at least one half-hour of a film, or three episodes (or the equivalent time) of a TV series. (Unless it is an adventure-of-the-week style show in which one episode’s story is set in the medieval period, as in the case of Doctor Who: “The Robot of Sherwood”).

“I have propaganda I would like to submit – how should I do that?”: If you are submitting text propaganda or pictures, send us an Ask. If you have a YouTube video link, you can send that in Ask form also and we will embed the video in the answer. If you have gifsets, meta or other posts here on Tumblr that you think are good propaganda, tag us (@medievalandfantasymelee) and we will reblog it. If you send us links to the post in an ask, we will reblog the post you’ve linked and tag you (unless submitted anonymously), but the ask will be deleted, largely to keep the feed streamlined.

“What makes for good text propaganda?”: Simply tell us why you think your character is hot. You may praise his physical attributes, his chivalry (or villainy), personal qualities such as valour or intellect – anything that you feel exemplifies his hotness. Please do not submit fanfiction as text propaganda.

An addendum to the above: Please remember that we are voting for the characters not the actors, so propaganda about personality and personal qualities should be centred on the character, not on the actor (but you can praise the actor’s physical hotness in the role all you like). Accolades won by the actor for the role are welcome. Anecdotes about the actor’s portrayal are also welcome, but anecdotes about the actors’ lives that do not relate to their portrayal of the characters or work on the properties are not admissible propaganda. 

“What makes for good visual propaganda?”: Any picture/gif/video of the character that you think he looks especially hot in is good visual propaganda. Please do not copy and paste gifs off of tumblr unless you have the express permission of the original poster to do so. If there’s a gif or gifset here on tumblr that you want to send as propaganda, tag us in it (@medievalandfantasymelee) and we will reblog it. Please do not submit fan-art as propaganda (official paintings such as those done for vintage movie posters are acceptable, though).

“Can I submit counter-propaganda?”: We will not accept any propaganda that openly trashes a contestant or the actor that plays him. However, we do not discourage Comparative Propaganda – that is to say, propaganda weighing the qualities of a contender and his opponent against each other in a respectful manner.

“Why is HE here, he’s committed atrocities?!”: We are not here to judge the morality of a character, only his hotness. Whatever atrocities (and we mean “whatever” – side-glance at Ramsay Bolton) the character has committed do not prevent him from competing in the Tournament. If his crimes impact his hotness to you, then feel free to vote for his opponent (and if his opponent has committed atrocities as well, then, I guess feel free to skip that poll entirely.) If you think a contestant has committed atrocities but aren't absolutely certain, please don't talk about it in reblogs or in the comments on a poll, lest a hazy memory unfairly sway the voting public. (But atrocities you know for certain he's committed may be discussed freely - that's just an aspect of the character.)

“What is the Near Misses Pile/Tourney?”: The Near Misses Pile is what I’ve christened a small heap of characters who were submitted but who failed to qualify. The Near Misses Tourney was a mini-bracket held in the week leading up to the main tournament in which all 21 non-qualifiers were pitted against each other to determine who was the hottest reject. Kala Bhairava [Ram Charan] from Magadheera (2009) won that worthless honor.

“I have Hot Romans and Musketeers I’d like to see compete!”: Hold that thought. After the Hot Medieval and Fantasy Men Melee concludes, a new tournament will be held for another time period. Either we will host a Hot Men of Antiquity Tournament (which will accept male characters from any movie or TV show property set before AD 500), or a Hot Renaissance Men Tournament (which will accept men from any property set between AD 1480 and AD 1640. Which will be held first will be determined by popular vote. (In the meantime all ye Musketeer enthusiasts can get your fix over at @hotmusketeerspoll )

"Will there be a Hot Medieval Ladies Tournament?": It's unlikely in the foreseeable future, because we already have two full Men's tournaments planned following the conclusion of the Medieval Men Melee. (See above)

“My question isn’t here/I’m confused about something.”: Send me an ask!

All propaganda is submitted by the voters and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Master of Revels or The Hot Medieval & Fantasy Men Melee

ADDITIONAL NOTE: I do not choose the pictures featured in the propaganda sections, and I only use pictures submitted by voters. If you think that a contender you support is poorly represented, it is not my fault and it is up to you to change that. It is not my job to choose propaganda of any kind for the Contenders and I only work with what I have been given.

[codywanaufest]

AU Fest 2024 Posting Period is Live!

Hello my lovelies! Happy Sunday!

From now until June 29th, you are welcome to post all created works to the AO3 collection. Reminder that the reveal day is June 30th!

Once the 30th hits, please post your wonderful creations to tumblr (if you would like to), and I will reblog them*. I can't wait to see what wonderful AUs everyone has created for Codywan this year!

@swfandomevents for visibility

*Karma is doing an emergency move at the end of June/beginning of July and may be slow reblogging things. Please be patient if reblogs do not appear immediately once the event closes.

[guardianbingo]

Guardian Bonus Bingo FAQ

Welcome to Guardian Bonus Bingo!

This is a very low stakes, low pressure fest meant to be fun and inspire more Guardian fan creations. Whether you’re returning after having participated in the original Guardian Bingo or are joining for the first time, we’re happy to have you here!

How Does It Work?

We’ll issue five prompts over ten weeks (one new prompt every two weeks), starting on June 9.

Prompts go out every other Sunday and you’ll have two weeks in which to create a fill. Then a new prompt will be issued. This cycle repeats until we make it through all five prompts.

We’ll also have an amnesty period at the end for prompts you might have missed earlier in the fest.

What Do I Earn By Completing Fills?

A sense of accomplishment, the adoration of your fellow fans, and the fun that comes with creation.

Completing all five earns you a bingo, a badge created by the amazingly talented @highlynerdy, and your name on a shoutout post at the end of the fest.

Can I Fill Multiple Prompts With A Single Work?

Maybe. The single work will need to be composed of multiple parts.

As one example, a multi-chapter fic where each individual chapter is inspired by a different prompt would work. A one-shot would not.

Similarly, multi-panel art with each panel inspired by a different prompt would work while a single piece of art would not.

If you have something in mind but aren’t sure, check with a mod.

Is There A Signup Period?

Nope. You are welcome to join at any time up until the end of the amnesty period.

What Works Are Accepted?

Pretty much any new creations, including, but not limited to:

Fanfic

Fanart

Edits/Gif Sets

Vids

Moodboards

Playlists

Rec Lists

FanARTifacts (tangible creations, crafts, etc.)

Podfics (with original author’s permission and a link back)

Translations (with original author’s permission and a link back)

Meta Analysis

If you have another idea, check in with the mods but it very likely works.

What Are The Length/Content Requirements?

None! This is meant to be fun, not stressful.

Want to write a 100k multi-chapter epic? That’s a tall order for ten weeks, but we’re cheering you on! Want to only post drabbles? Also wonderful!

The same applies for non-fic creations.

The point is to make stuff, not worry over min/max requirements.

Is This Fest Novelverse or Drama?

Either or both! It’s totally up to you. All prompts will work for both.

What About Ships And Ratings?

All ratings and any ships (or no ships) are allowed, though works should be appropriately tagged.

Crossovers, Derivatives, Other Priest Novels, And RPF?

While the fest is Guardian themed, all are allowed. Just tag appropriately.

How Do I Interpret The Prompts?

However you wish! They're meant to be a source of inspiration and a starting off point. You can adhere to them as strictly or as loosely as you'd like. Follow your muse and have fun!

Can I Use A Creation For This Fest And Another One?

So long as the other fest has no objections, you are good to go!

Ok, So What Isn’t Allowed?

Old works previously posted

Plagiarized works

Harassment/abuse of other participants

Sounds Great! Where Do I Post My Creations?

The AO3 Collection

Tumblr – Tag @guardianbingo in your post or DM us for a reblog (you can also tag it #guardianbingofest but Tumblr’s tags are very wonky so that might not work well)

If you happen to post elsewhere (Dreamwidth, Twitter, etc.), then you may submit a post on Tumblr if you’d like us to reblog your creation. You do not have to be on Tumblr to participate.

Will The Mods Keep Up With My Fills?

No. Since people may be posting on platforms other than Tumblr, it’s up to participants to keep up with their fills so we don’t miss anyone.

If you’d like to claim a badge and a bingo shoutout, please complete the fills reporting form.

What If I Still Have Questions?

Ask away on Tumblr, or email guardianbingofest@gmail.com

Email may get a faster response.

Fest Coordinators

Logistical Coordinator & Primary Contact - @tehfanglyfish

Graphic Designs and Badges - @highlynerdy

Original Guardian Bingo Prompt Coordinator - @sasamelons

[electricea]

posting this a week before but from next thursday, august 1st to sunday august 4th, i will be away at my family's cottage - since there's a shortage of beds up there, i may be staying at my uncle's cottage during that time which has wifi access - it's not 100% confirmed yet but if i do, i will be able to at least chat and chill with people on discord as well as reply to IM's. everything coming out during that time period will be from my queue, so if at any point, you post a reply, it'll just have to wait until i'm back home, same deal with any asks that happen to be sent. i like to think i'll be able to get a lot done, but i do work monday, tuesday, wednesday and then leave thursday afternoon, so we'll see - definitely hoping week 2 of deadpool and wolverine will have calmed down some. i'll reblog this post closer to the day of my departure and during. love you all and thank you for being patient. 🌻

[merpmonde]

Sangaku Sunday #2

As the tags in a reblog by @todayintokyo indicated, I waffled about what we'll do in this series in the first post without really defining its main object!

Sangaku are wooden tablets on display at Shintô shrines or Buddhist temples in Japan, featuring geometry problems and their solutions, usually without proof. They started appearing in the Edo period, a particular time for the Japanese people and Japanese scientists. The votive role of these tablets has been debated as far back as the Edo period, as indicated by Meijizen who wrote in 1673:

"There appears to be a trend these days, of mathematical problems on display at shrines. If they were true votive tablets (ema), they should contain a prayer of some sort. Lacking that, one wonders what they are for, other than to celebrate the mathematical genius of their authors. Their meaning eludes me."

I feel the debate on their religious role is overrated. If you look at some food offerings at shrines today, I don't think you'll find a prayer on the bottle of tea or pack of rice, as the prayer is made at the time of offering. It likely is the same for sangaku tablets, which went on display with other offerings. But, as Meijizen hinted, they did have another purpose.

Until we expand on that, below the cut is the solution of last weekend's problem.

Place the point H on the line between A and C1 so that the distance between A and C1 is equal to r2. As the lines (AC1) and (BC2) are both perpendicular to the line (AB), they are parallel, and since AH=BC2=r2, HABC2 is a parallelogram with two right angles: it's a rectangle.

So the length we want, AB, is equal to HC2. The triangle HC1C2 has a right angle at the vertex H, so we can use Pythagoras's theorem:

HC1² + HC2² = C1C2²

In this equality, two lengths are known: C1C2=r1+r2, and

HC1 = AC1-AH = r1-r2 (assuming r1>r2, if not just switch the roles of r1 and r2)

Thus, HC2² = (r1+r2)²-(r1-r2)² = 4 r1 r2 after expanding both expressions (e.g. (r1+r2)² = (r1+r2)x(r1+r2) = r1² + 2 r1 r2 + r2²).

Taking the square root yields the result.

[use-your-telescope]

When Everything's Made to be Broken - Chapter 16: We Don't Know What We're Doing

Summary: Amidst the day to day, Theo and Loki continue to learn new things about each other, including some interesting details about how they view relationships.

Author’s Note: First, I am so sorry this is so late!! I had planned to post on the 28th, but I ended up having some (good) things come up that took up my weekend and meant I didn’t have time to get this to a point I felt was ready to post. I foolishly thought I could have it ready by Tuesday, then by Friday, then Sunday, then accepted my fate and admitted I just wouldn’t have time until this weekend to get this chapter wrapped up and posted (shoutout to a work trip last weekend for making this take an extra week!) I shared a note about the delay on tumblr, but figured I’d share it here so I’m covering my bases.

That being said, spring is a crazy time for me work-wise, plus I’m finishing my second master’s degree this semester (after a two year hiatus!), so this will probably not be the only time things get a bit delayed. I’m pretty sure I will have the next chapter ready for next Sunday (the 24th), but the week after that has some work stuff going on, which means the following chapter would be posted on March 9th. Anyways, thanks for your patience, and hope you enjoy <3 reblogs are always appreciated, and lmk if you want to be added to tag list!

Word Count: 6,789

Song: Amateur Lovers - Switchfoot (Bonus Song: Passing Through A Screen Door - The Wonder Years)

Everyone I know Needs love like drugs Like a common cold We could never shrug My baby and me We're missing the same stuff We've all got a disease Deficiency of love Every day we still try Every night we still cry Driving home on the 805

Months after Theo first promised Loki that she would hang out with the other Avengers, she could not deny the truth: Loki, the little shit, was right.

Unintentionally agreeing to “family night” opened the floodgates of invitations to hang out, and other than the period of time where everyone’s moods plummeted from the string of unpleasant anniversaries, Theo found herself becoming more and more fond of the colorful collection of superheroes that she lived with, and it seemed like they accepted her with open arms.

Even worse, Loki was right and he knew it.

Every time Theo caught him watching as Wanda braided her hair or Yelena talked her into trying (and absolutely sucking at) Call of Duty, Loki cocked an eyebrow and shot Theo the most smug, self-satisfied smirk. When he wandered into the lab and stumbled upon Theo and Helen working on new medical technology with Bruce and Shuri, a downright devious glint flashed in his jade eyes, and his jaw flexed as if he bit back some snarky comment about Theo’s voluntary presence. When they went out as a team and it came to light that Natasha had done Theo’s makeup, Loki bit his lower lip to stifle a snicker. 

On that night, Theo had just finished up working in the emergency department; after showering and changing into an old set of Duke sweatpants and a shirt she stole from Chris the last time she stayed at his apartment, Theo made her way out to the living room with a book in hand.

The sight that greeted her was one she often found at the end of the day: Sam, Bucky, Yelena, Natasha, and Steve sprawled out on some of the more comfortable seating options, clad in sweatpants and worn t-shirts after what was likely a long day of training and briefings. A video game that Theo vaguely recognized, but not enough to identify, broadcast itself from the television screen, displaying a mix of desolate space-esque scenarios and scifi combat. 

Sam sat on the edge of the couch cushions, leaned in towards the television screen with a video game controller clutched in both hands, focusing so intently on the screen that he stuck a bit of his tongue out as he mashed buttons on the controller. 

On another couch sat Yelena and Natasha, with Bucky sandwiched between the two widows. Yelena and Bucky alternated between shoving fistfuls of popcorn into their mouths and shouting at the television as an explosion flashed on the screen, while Natasha sat with her legs curled up under her, sipping a glass of merlot as she occasionally teased Sam about dying in the game.

“Theo, hey,” Steve waved from the other side of the living room, where he stretched across on the couch with sock-covered feet propped up on the coffee table. 

“Hey,” Theo waved as she took her usual seat, curling into the corner of the couch. “So, which game is this?”

“Halo–” Yelena replied between mouthfuls of popcorn, “— Genetically enhanced super soldiers fighting aliens.”

“I thought the point of playing video games was to take a break from reality…” Theo glanced around the room. “How is ‘genetically enhanced super soldiers fighting aliens’ any different from what we already do?” 

“It’s fictional.” Yelena shrugged, despite the knowing grin she wore.

“Hey, bird brain, don’t you have something to ask Theo?” Bucky threw a piece of popcorn at Sam, bouncing a fluffy kernel off Sam’s head; Sam scowled, but kept his eyes on the screen.

“Ask me what?” Theo glanced between the others expectantly, her pulse quickening ever so slightly. 

They must have been talking about her… But why? 

“Fuck! I was so close!” Sam groaned as a message flashed across the television screen stating his team lost. He tossed the controller at Bucky, who effortlessly caught it in his non-vibranium hand. “You try.”

“Is anyone going to tell me what I’m supposed to be asked about?” Theo repeated, her chest tightening as she tried to guess what they wanted. She couldn’t think of anything that she did recently to raise any suspicions, and the way Bucky brought it up made it sound like it wasn’t anything serious…

“Dammit Buck, I was gonna ask her when it was just the two of us.” Sam glared at Bucky, who was too busy setting up the next round of whatever shooting game they had decided on for that night.

“Okay, now I’m just getting nervous.” Theo tried to laugh it off, but it didn’t do much to cover up her ballooning nerves.

“Nah, don’t be - I just need advice… ” Sam rubbed his face with both hands, conveniently hiding any clues Theo might have gathered from his expression. “... Dating advice.”

“Dating advice?” Theo’s brows shot skyward as she echoed Sam’s message back to him. 

“Yeah. There’s a hot doc that you work with, and I want to see if she’s interested.”

Well, that certainly changed things.

Theo struggled to keep her cool, cheeks and jaw tensing to prevent a grin from curling up her lips... 

.. What were the odds that Sam shared Julie’s crush?

“Thing is, the only way I ever run into her is when I need to get patched up —“ Sam continued, “— not exactly great for getting to know each other...”

“… So you want my help getting close to her?” Theo ventured, her mind running wild with possibilities. “Who is it?!”

“Oh hell no, I’m not telling!” Sam laughed sheepishly, “Not until I know if she’s interested too!”

“How can I help if I don’t know who it is?” Theo pointed out, “it’s not like all doctors are the same! What works for Julie won’t work for Helen!” 

If Theo didn’t know any better, she swore she saw Sam’s cheeks flush at Julie’s name; then again, that might have been in her head.

“Watch him when he’s in the ER,” Bucky commented, not missing a beat even as all of his attention seemed focused on the video game. “You'll know in two seconds.”

“As much as I don’t want you to need to go to the ER, now I’m curious - maybe we can beat you up a bit during training so you need to pay a visit.” Theo teased, smirking at Sam. Yelena laughed, offering to beat him up, while Natasha and Steve exchanged knowing glances.

“Not you too–” Sam groaned, before pointing at Yelena and Bucky. “ – that’s the same thing these assholes recommended!” 

“Because it’s good advice!” Yelena huffed, crossing her arms. “You want to see her? That’s how!” 

“Oh come on, you really think that’s my advice?! I’m not that terrible,” Theo scoffed, feigning offense. “My first piece of advice would be to talk to her and see what she likes outside of work, then figure out a way to ask her to hang out and do something she enjoys. But unless you tell me who it is, you’re going to need to work up the courage to stop by the ED specifically to talk to her, or you’ll have to wait until you actually have a reason to get patched up.”

Sam let out a sharp breath, shoulders slumping as he narrowed his eyes at Theo. “And if I tell you?”

“Maybe I can help — invite them over when we do a movie night or something,” Theo offered, this time not bothering to hide her smile. After all, Theo was not above a quid pro quo - she gets to satisfy her curiosity, and Sam gets a chance to talk to whoever he’s crushing on. Win-win, really.

Sam narrowed his eyes at Theo. “… Let me think about it.” 

Theo stood up and stretched her arms overhead; since it seemed like Sam had put an end to the conversation, it was as good of a moment as any to step away for a moment and get herself some water. As she sauntered towards the kitchen, she called over her shoulder: “Your choice, but it doesn’t have to be hard!”

Conversation continued among the others as Theo entered the kitchen, voices laughing and chattering over each other so Theo couldn’t make out what anyone said. 

Theo moved on autopilot as she found a glass and added some ice from the freezer, mind spinning as she tried to recall any details from past interactions that would help her figure out which of her colleagues caught Sam’s eye. Even as she moved to the sink to fill her glass, her thoughts remained so occupied with the new mystery that she barely paid her surroundings any mind.

“You feared the Avengers would never trust you, yet Wilson trusts you enough to seek your guidance in matters of the heart; I dare say that your concerns were unfounded.” A low voice spoke from just behind Theo — a smooth baritone that she recognized anywhere, even if it startled her so badly that she dropped her glass and nearly jumped through the ceiling from shock.

A flash of emerald shot forth. Loki caught the glass just before it clattered into the sink, all the while failing to stifle his laughter at the string of curses that fell from Theo’s mouth.

“Can’t you just say hi like a normal person?!” Theo pressed one hand to her heart in a feeble attempt to settle her racing heart, all the while glaring at Loki.

“When such amusement is a possibility? Absolutely not.” Loki grinned, offering Theo her water glass. She snatched it from him, taking a quick drink of water before turning back to the sink and topping it off.

For a moment, Theo considered finding some way to fuck with Loki so he couldn’t gloat so much, but after Loki had a difficult month (between the shitty anniversaries and Thor nearly dying, calling it difficult was probably an understatement), Loki needed the chance to loosen up and laugh. Besides, he was the first friend Theo made when she moved into the tower, and even if she wouldn’t admit it outright, Theo was grateful that Loki had been right. 

So, she simply rolled her eyes and smiled. 

“You’ve not responded to my original comment,” Loki pointed out, smug satisfaction dancing in his tone.

“Sam’s interested in one of my colleagues,” Theo attempted to brush off Loki’s observation, her cheeks burning as they undoubtedly flushed.

“I heard…” Loki leaned back against the kitchen counter, a lazy smile dangling on his lips as he looked at Theo. “Still, he trusts you.”

“Not enough to tell me who it is,” Theo grumbled,  setting her water glass on the marble counter as she pretended to pout so she could cross her arms. “How long were you lurking there?”

“Long enough,” Loki simply shrugged, eyes twinkling from the reflection of the kitchen lights as he looked at Theo. “The exchange reminded me - are you still courting your gentleman caller?” 

Theo couldn’t stifle the snort of laughter that escaped from Loki’s unironic use of the term “gentleman caller;” she slapped both hands over her mouth, entire face now aflame with embarrassment from the ridiculous sound.

Loki tilted his head at Theo’s reaction, brows furrowed in a silent question. 

“Am I supposed to ignore the fact that you just used the term gentleman caller?” Theo finally managed, still chuckling as she repeated the term.

“Is there another term I ought to use?” Despite the neutral tone of Loki’s reply, his cheeks took on a faint shade of pink that stood out against his porcelain skin. “Or am I to presume you are no longer courting him?”

“I’m still seeing him, but I don’t think that ‘gentleman callers’ exist in modern day dating,” Theo couldn’t wipe the smile off her face from hearing the term in daily conversation. “Feminism and all that.”

“Ah, yes, forgive me.” The flush on Loki’s cheeks grew more noticeable. “Nonetheless, you are still courting him?”

“Yeah,” Theo nodded. “Why?”

“You’ve not spoken of him in quite some time.” Loki shrugged; the gesture looked like an attempt to be nonchalant, which matched his tone, but something about the movement seemed a bit… forced.

“You were busy supporting Thor, and I was busy supporting you, so it didn’t seem like the thing to discuss at the time.” Theo offered a sheepish smile as she explained her reasoning. “Besides, it’s nothing serious.”

In response, Loki leaned away ever-so-slightly, narrowing his eyes with a slight frown as he studied Theo.

“What?” Theo tensed as heart quickened in her chest, confused by Loki’s reaction.

“Midgardians often speak of love at first sight; after quite some time, your feelings for the actor seem ambivalent at best, yet you continue to court him,” Loki remarked slowly, continuing to look at her with a perplexed expression. “It’s rather odd.”

Odd - with a silent sigh of relief, Theo relaxed, her shoulders dropping ever so slightly. 

“I don’t believe in love at first sight – that’s lust,” Theo winked, shaking her head. “We’re just having fun and enjoying each other’s company, that’s all.”

“I see,” with a nod, Loki hummed to himself. “Do you foresee the relationship turning into something greater?”

“I don’t know,” Theo shrugged. “Never gave it much thought, if I’m honest.”

As she answered the question, a thought occurred to her: Loki asked about her dating life, but Theo never asked about his… 

“Speaking of dating, did I see you bring someone up to your suite after Stark’s fundraiser a few months back?” Theo cocked a brow at him, a sly grin spread over her face. “What’s going on there?”

“Rest assured, I’ve not kept any partners from you,” Loki replied with a smirk of his own. “I am… not one for attachment, shall we say.”

“So she was a booty call?” Theo giggled, earning a venomously dirty look from Loki. “Well, what would you call it?”

“I prefer to have companions for a single evening,” Loki dryly answered, a pale pink blush returning to his cheeks. “It’s less complicated that way.”

“Is that so?” Theo teased, her grin widening to the point that her cheeks hurt as Loki’s blush grew brighter.

“Yes –” Loki’s explanation took on an edge of defensiveness as his expression teetered on the verge of a scowl.  “It’s not as uncommon as you might think, particularly among our peers.”

Theo barely managed to keep a straight face, all-too-amused by how quickly Loki became flustered.

“Civilians do not understand the nature of our roles, so relationships that are not between two agents or established prior to one becoming an Avenger are practically doomed from the start,”  Loki continued. “Having seen the effect of those failed relationships on others, I have chosen to refrain from courting anyone.”

Theo’s stomach lurched at the observation, her prior amusement vanishing in an instant. She quickly grabbed her water glass, taking a long sip of chilled liquid to ground herself before the implications could make her spiral.

“That being said, physical desire is a near-universal experience, or a need, if you will—” If Theo’s expression shifted, Loki must not have noticed; the usual glint of something clever returned to his eye, as did a wry smirk. “—And sometimes our needs… Well… They need to be satiated.”

“Can’t fault you there.” Theo covered up her discomfort from Loki’s earlier comment with a smirk and a wink of her own. She started towards the living room, glancing back at Loki over her shoulder. “Some of us are hanging out in the living room. You want to join?”

Loki nodded, pressing away from the counter and following Theo into the living room. 

Amidst a chorus of greetings directed at Loki, Theo took her usual seat, but this time stretched her legs out across the cushions so there wasn’t room for anyone else to sit. She looked up and grinned at Loki, who stood in front of the couch like he was about to take his usual place beside her.

With narrowed eyes flitting between the seat and Theo, Loki arched one brow in a silent challenge. Theo simply widened her grin, curious to see what would follow.

To Theo’s surprise, Loki didn’t say anything; instead, he picked up both of Theo’s legs, moving them out of the way so he could sit down; once he settled into his seat, he placed both of Theo’s feet on his lap, as a result returning Theo to her initial position. He capped off the response by flashing an impish grin at Theo, a sort of silent taunt - “you thought you could try me? Foolish mortal.” 

Other than a suspicious glance exchanged between the widows, it didn’t seem like anyone even noticed the exchange between Loki and Theo.

Despite Theo’s playful behavior, Loki’s comment about relationships doomed from the start lurked in the dark recesses of her mind, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it. Even as she forced herself to pay attention while Sam and Bucky explained the rules of the particular type of Halo match they selected for the evening, Theo couldn’t shake the vague uneasiness that the comment initially instilled within her. 

A good night text from Chris, something which usually made Theo’s heart flutter in her chest, instead filled her with dread. However, Theo kept her discomfort close to her chest, acting like nothing was amiss as she replied to Chris, wishing him a good night. When Theo returned her attention back to her friends, she tucked her concern away behind carefully crafted smiles and quick-witted comments with such practiced ease that it should have been concerning. 

Only when she had retreated to the privacy of her suite, after turning out the lights and tucking herself beneath her thick, plush comforter, did she allow the matter to crawl out from the shadows and capture her attention. 

When Theo accepted the offer to go on a date, she hadn’t even considered that the difference in careers/experiences would influence their relationship, or the special considerations that she needed to make. Given her career as a doctor, she was used to missing holidays, birthdays, and special occasions because of work. Chris had, up to that point, seemed perfectly fine with that. With healthcare privacy laws, it wasn’t odd for Theo to avoid talking about work with other people, and that naturally flowed into her relationships, another thing that Chris never seemed to mind. He didn’t care that she never brought him up to her suite, and that they always stayed at his apartment. 

Maybe she was overthinking it - they never said anything about getting serious. Besides, she didn’t know the circumstances of the failed relationships that Loki referred to. Other factors could have impacted those relationships. 

Still, the idea of Chris inevitably being hurt because of Theo’s lack of foresight left a bitter taste in her mouth. The last thing Theo needed was to hurt anyone else, but time and time again she made the same mistakes, and innocent people were caught in the crossfire.

Staring up at her ceiling, Theo drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Up until that night, she had no reason to worry about the future with Chris. He hadn’t made any indication that he wanted to pursue a long-term relationship. At that point, they were more of a situationship than anything - they didn’t change their lives for each other, they simply saw each other when it was convenient. That was okay. Theo was fine with that. 

Hopefully Chris was alright with that as well.

You tried to play it down But it never stuck I tried to bail this town I'm getting no such luck, yeah When nobody's around I keep my eyes on the clock There ain't a cure I've found In all my times around this block Every day we still try Every night we still cry We’re driving home on the 405

Between the overly loud sounds that Midgardians called music, the throngs of sweaty people, and the sharp stench of alcohol, Loki vehemently regretted allowing Maximoff to convince him to partake in this particular outing.

One of the local bars, the Hi-Lo, hosted an event they decided to call “Emo Night.” Maximoff’s explanation of “Emo Night” conveniently omitted that the “music” was far too loud and the quality of “singing” was questionable at best. Quite frankly, the quality of the scratchy, sometimes guttural noise could hardly be classified as singing, yet the people around them “danced” all the same - that was, if one could call shoving each other about in a sweaty horde dancing. 

Theo informed him the correct term was “moshing,” but Loki felt “barbaric stumbling” would be more appropriate. 

Some of their entourage seemed right at home. After freeing himself from the Winter Soldier’s programming, Barnes had grown fond of the loud and angsty racket. Maximoff had a penchant for live music, though this escapade made Loki question how the Scarlet Witch defined music. Though Wilson did not seem invested in the performance, he seemed quite comfortable with the strange cacophony – particularly strange given his typically warm and straightforward nature. 

Others, however, shared a response akin to Loki’s. Rogers hung back near the bar, nursing a bottle of beer with ear plugs in as he watched the scene unfold with an openly perplexed expression. Romanoff sat on a bar stool beside him, maintaining her usually neutral expression while drinking some sort of dark-colored cocktail from a cheap plastic cup. Despite shifting his appearance to look human, any passerby could have concluded that Vision’s presence in the midst of the drunken chaos was not natural. Amidst a sea of dark, casual clothing, Vision wore a pastel blue sweater and well-tailored pants. The android’s complexion lacked the flush of alcohol and the sweat from ‘moshing;’ combined with his lack of movement and mild expression, only emphasized the utterly strange nature of the event. Had it not been for Maximoff’s presence in the crowd, the android would undoubtedly have chosen a different location from which to observe the spectacle.

Until that evening, Loki assumed Theo would not be at home in such a ruckus - though she had performed in similar venues prior to becoming an Avenger, her musical prowess seemed far more advanced than this drivel. 

Yet, to Loki’s shock (and concern), Theo also claimed to be a fan of the so-called music; though she initially stood beside Loki as the so-called band performed, after bobbing her head to a couple of songs she disappeared into the sea of people as they jumped and screamed incomprehensible lyrics off-key.  

Left by himself in what might have been his personal hell, Loki cursed Theo for abandoning him, only to chastise himself for such a thought; after all, Theo had attempted to warn Loki of what he would experience. 

Earlier that afternoon, when Maximoff said “You’ll love it Lokes,” to which Loki rolled his eyes — it didn’t matter how many times he told Maximoff, she insisted on calling him Lokes — Theo couldn’t hold back the snort as she countered, “Given your thoughts on Tony’s music, you’ll probably hate it. But hey, you’ll probably enjoy the people watching.” 

Theo was not to blame for Loki’s current predicament; if anything, the only person Loki could truly blame was himself. After all, he was the one who accepted the invitation. 

The sound of distorted guitar shook the walls, his shoes stuck to the floor, and he couldn’t tell if he smelled stale beer or body odor - or both - but the scent was utterly repulsive. There were far too many people packed into such a small place, and they were drunken imbeciles. Even if he wanted to people-watch, it was too chaotic to tell what was going on. With the unnecessarily loud noise coming from the stage, a conversation would be near-impossible, no matter where he stood.

Then again, now that he was alone and everyone else was distracted by other things, no one would miss him if he left. Loki glanced over his shoulder at the exit, debating whether or not he should attempt to slip away at that moment, or wait until a break between songs.

The collision of another person bumping against Loki’s hip interrupted Loki’s train of thought. He whipped around, ready to unleash a series of insults at whoever dared to run into him, only to find Theo standing before him with two identical plastic cups in hand, both filled with a dark liquid similar to what Romanoff drank. The insults died on Loki’s tongue as she offered him one plastic cup, glancing down at the cup and then back at Loki before mouthing “for you.”

Loki lifted the cup and sniffed the drink; the saccharine scent of Midgardian soda intertwined with a spicy, sharp scent akin to some sort of Midgardian alcohol filled his nose, which he quite preferred to the establishment’s fetid aroma. However, Midgardian liquor would not be enough to dull his senses and render the evening tolerable; a tense chuckle – hardly more than a puff of air – escaped him at the thought.

When he looked back at Theo, her previously free hand now dangled a steel flask between two fingers for Loki to see, as if she could read his mind.

“Spiked with Thor’s whiskey,” Theo called out over the music, “You look like you need it.”

Loki rolled his eyes, schooling the discomfort from his face as he took a swallow of the beverage. 

As if the Norns recognized Loki’s frustration from the inability to converse, the ending of the next song brought a short break in the music - just long enough for the performers to switch instruments - after a relentless barrage of sensory overload, the lack of screeching instruments filling the air was a blessed reprieve. 

“Honestly, how can anyone enjoy such nonsense?” Loki leaned in towards Theo, still forced to raise his voice in order to be heard over the hollering from the inebriated audience. “It’s horrendously loud, the musicians are off-key, and the technique is terrible.”

Theo failed to bite back a grin, unfazed by Loki’s ire. “It’s not about perfection, Lo.” 

“Lo?” Loki raised an eyebrow at her. 

Theo faltered, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. “That’s okay, right?”

Loki sighed. “It’s—”  tolerable, at the very least  “—fine.”

Begrudgingly, Loki suspected that there were many things he’d allow Theo to call him that he wouldn’t allow anyone other than Thor to even consider.

“It’s about the feeling behind it. It helps us deal with the bad shit, like anger and sadness —“ Theo glanced toward the stage, then back at Loki. “— Life isn’t perfect. Music shouldn’t be perfect either.”

Much to Loki’s dismay, the band’s vocalist approached the microphone and announced the start of the next song.

Theo, however, lit up, practically glowing despite the dark venue.

“Listen closely to the lyrics—“ Theo instructed (via shouting) as the first chords and the drunken ruckus of the entire venue singing off-key slammed against Loki’s ears, “this is a good example!”

Had anyone else made the request, Loki would have outright refused; however, Loki trusted Theo enough to comply, and begrudgingly put forth a concerted effort to listen closely. 

A few lines in, Theo joined in singing:

“The highway won / I’m listening to traffic reports one on one, coming quietly undone / I was born to run away from anything good / an escape artist’s son / sun drenched pavement in my blood / the first thing that I do when I walk in / is find a way out for when shit gets bad, and…”

Theo kept eye contact with Loki as she sang along; a wistful look in her eyes made Loki recall some of the emotions he’d buried from his younger years. An uncomfortable void swirled in his chest as he stood amidst what he might consider to be the first tier of his personal hell. 

Yet, the song barreled on and Loki forced himself to continue focusing on the lyrical content. Though the writing was not Shakespeare by any stretch of the imagination, the lyricism surprised Loki with its complexity and depth. References to historical events - the Cold War scares of the sixties - interlaced with references to the lingering sentiment within tragedy led to commentary around existential anxiety, loneliness, and the fear of not fulfilling one’s potential.

Loki glanced back over to Theo, who continued to watch him while singing along. She flashed a small, almost sheepish smile as the song reached its bridge:

“Jesus Christ, I’m twenty six / all the people I graduated with / all have kids, all have wives / all have people who care if they come home at night / well Jesus Christ, did I fuck up?”

Even in the poor lighting, Loki caught a glimpse of something painful behind Theo’s expression as she uttered the phrase ‘did I fuck up?’ The expression, however, was fleeting, replaced with a different sort of intensity as Theo locked eyes with Loki for the final chorus:

“I've been looking for tears in the screen door / and I’ve been waiting for another disaster / but I was kinda hoping you’d stay / I was kinda hoping you’d stay / I was kinda hoping you’d… stay.”

Though the song concluded, neither sorcerer made any effort to look away; something unspoken and inexplicable held them in place, frozen in a moment despite the chaos and discord of their surroundings…

… Until said chaos and discord quite literally crashed into them. 

Some drunken oaf had been shoved from the crowd and into Theo’s side, knocking her off balance. Theo let out a shriek of surprise as she stumbled forward in an attempt to not crash into Loki or spill her drink.

Without a second thought, Loki practically dove to catch her before the horde could trample her in their ‘moshing,’ even though it made his drink splash out of the cup in the process. Ignoring the liquid dripping off his other hand, he hoisted Theo up by her elbow and pulled her into his chest to steady her, at least until she regained her footing. 

Yet, when he felt her weight lift, he hesitated to let go.

“Are you alright?” Loki leaned down, close enough that his cheek brushed against Theo’s temple as he spoke into her ear. 

“Yeah, I’m good.” Theo tilted her head back, the soft skin of her nose brushing against the crook of Loki’s jaw as she replied; the sensation sent a pleasant chill down Loki’s spine. “Thanks!”

Theo stepped back, and Loki forced himself to let go; though they met each other’s gaze again, this time neither of them allowed the moment to last. 

Stifled by the sheer volume of the music, the only conversation between Loki and Theo until the end of the event consisted passing comments from time to time - Theo sharing thoughts on a particular song, Loki offering to bring Theo a refill when they both finished their drinks, or one of the pair pointing out something particularly amusing.

Between comments, Loki often caught Theo singing along, though she did so in a far more discreet manner than anyone else in the venue. Despite Loki’s best attempts to focus on Theo’s voice, the sound was lost in a swell of drums and guitars and other voices. The effort invested into trying to hear Theo successfully distracted Loki from the disdain he held for everything else about his surroundings, though it did nothing to dampen the disappointment when he could not hear her far-more-melodic voice floating through the air. 

Perhaps if Theo was the one singing them, or the one playing the songs on piano, he might enjoy them more.

After far too long, the return of overhead lighting and disappearance of musicians from the stage confirmed that the event had finally drawn to a close. Wrangling the various members of their entourage required a bit of teamwork and effort, but it was not long before the Avengers exited the establishment and felt the blessedly cool air of the city against their skin. 

It did not take long before the Avengers split into smaller groups along the sidewalk, a mixture of varied walking speeds and small conversations naturally pairing certain avengers with others. Maximioff and Barnes led the group, laughing and singing along to themselves as they stumbled along. Close behind, Vision and Wilson kept a close eye on their companions as they chatted with Romanoff and Rogers.

From the back of the group, Loki observed his surroundings while relishing the quiet of night. Quiet, of course, was relative - in a city such as New York, the bustle of traffic remained such a constant that it turned into white noise with due time. Strangers occasionally passed on the sidewalk, barely giving any of the Avengers a second glance as they ventured to mystery destinations in the night. 

Farther ahead, a beggar sat near an alleyway, his back against a dumpster so thoroughly covered in graffiti that it would have been impossible to guess its original color; as groups of people passed without paying the man any mind, Loki couldn’t help but notice the man’s resigned sadness.    

“... You survived.” The comment, clearly directed towards Loki, drew his attention from the beggar, though he did not catch the full remark. 

“Pardon?” As Loki replied, he glanced over to find Theo walking beside him, somehow managing to keep pace despite her much shorter stature.

“So, you survived Emo night,” Theo repeated with a coy grin. “How terrible was it?”

“It is certainly not how I would choose to spend my time,” Loki dryly replied. “Nor is it something I would have expected you to enjoy.”

“Thought I had more cultured taste?” Theo teased, bumping Loki’s hip with hers as they strolled along. 

“Clearly I was mistaken.” Loki chuckled and shook his head. “Tell me you do not subject your actor to such nonsense…” 

“You think I can walk into a bar with him and not be swarmed?” Theo cocked a brow as she looked up at Loki. Despite the amused smirk she wore, something bittersweet lurked beneath her gaze. “Even if he could get in without drawing attention, I think the internet would drag me for bringing him to a place like that.”

“Drag you?” Loki echoed, hoping Theo might clarify what she meant by such a term.

“Chew me out. Chastise me. That sort of thing.” Theo sighed, looking ahead once more. “It’s not exactly a luxury hot spot; I’m guessing Chris’s fans would think this kind of place is beneath him.”

“What would he think?” 

“I couldn’t see him having fun, but I don’t really know,” Theo admitted with such nonchalance that it almost seemed odd. “He seems too happy to really get the appeal.” 

Loki froze in place, struck by Theo’s answer. Yes, Loki had endured hardships that others might not understand, but no one could truly exist without heartache, could they? 

Theo stopped a step ahead and glanced back at Loki. “What?” 

“I–” Loki faltered, grasping for the appropriate response. “Surely he has experienced emotions other than happiness?”

“I mean, sure?” Theo glanced ahead at the rest of the group, then back at Loki. “Look, we don’t really talk about shit like that, but I don’t think he’s ever had a bad thing happen to him. If I ever got the crazy idea to talk to him about a bad day at work, I don’t doubt that he’d listen and try to make me feel better, but I doubt he’d really understand.”

“The more you reveal about your relationship, the less I understand the appeal.” Loki shook his head and started forward once more. “I thought that Midgardians valued love for the emotional connection, and yet you seem all too content to avoid emotions in your courtship with the actor.”

“We connect in other ways.” Theo’s tone held a certain cheekiness to it, which she paired with an equally cheeky grin. “I could tell you about the se–”

“– No, I think I am quite alright –” Loki replied rather sharply, cheeks burning as he forced images of Theo in a compromising position from his mind. The last thing he needed was to linger on such inappropriate thoughts, particularly with another Avenger.

“– Hey, you were the one who said everyone has needs –” Theo pointed out, far too self-satisfied in her response, “I figured you’d get it.”

“I do not need the mundane details to understand the appeal of physical intimacy.” Loki scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I simply do not understand why you bother with the rest of the courtship if you’ve no interest in further commitment.”

Theo did not have an immediate answer; she drew in a breath as if to speak, but remained quiet. 

By that point, the pair had walked far enough that they were about to pass the beggar Loki had previously noticed; at that point, they were close enough that Loki could clearly make out the creases of age and weathered skin, as well as the faint wisps of silver where a once robust head of hair likely sat. The man’s earlier melancholy lingered in Loki’s memory, and sentiment tugged at Loki’s heartstrings, compelling him to do something. 

All it took was a twitch of Loki’s fingers to conjure some cash in hand; if nothing else, Loki figured the man could use the money for a night of shelter and a warm meal. Yet, before Loki had the chance to acknowledge the man, Theo had already greeted the man by name, then crouched down so she was at eye-level before she extended some sort of plastic card to him, saying something Loki didn't quite catch. The man, however, grinned at Theo, his smile highlighting gaps where his teeth had fallen out at some point, before thanking her for her generosity.

Dumbfounded, Loki offered a quick greeting and extended the cash, which the elderly man thanked him for, though it was not with the level of warmth that the man exuded when he spoke to Theo.

The moment they were not within earshot of the man, Loki turned to Theo. “You know him?”

“Before I was an Avenger, I played a lot of shows in this area,” Theo explained with a small shrug. “Greg used to be the janitor at one of the local bars, but since I last saw him, he had to quit because of some health problems that left him unable to work. Between the treatment and the lack of income he couldn’t pay rent and ended up on the streets. 

“I didn’t find out until a couple weeks ago, when I was walking home and I recognized him, so I stopped to talk to him and learned about what happened. I told myself that the next time I saw him, I’d put Tony’s insane bank account to use and give him enough money that he would never have to sleep on the street again, and he wouldn’t have to worry about making ends meet The card has contact info for some people who can help him with the logistics.”

“Awfully generous of you,” Loki remarked.

“Hey, you didn’t even know him, but you still gave a bit of cash too,” Theo pointed out with a soft smile. “Most people would have ignored him.”

“Yes, well, back to our previous conversation–” Uncomfortable with the direction with which Theo took his remark, Loki quickly diverted the conversation. “–You never answered my question.”

“What question?” Theo glanced at Loki as they rounded the corner, Avengers Tower stretching into the sky ahead of them.

“Why bother with a courtship if you have no intention of pursuing a serious relationship?”

 “You’re reading too much into this,” Theo laughed nervously as she shook her head. “It’s not that I refuse to be in a serious relationship - I just like to go with the flow.”

Yet, contrary to what Theo said, a familiar melancholy in Theo’s eye said otherwise - the same melancholy he caught when Theo sang, ‘the first thing that I do when I walk in is find a way out for when shit gets bad, and / I’ve been looking for tears in the screen door / and I’ve been waiting for another disaster…’

That look in Theo’s eye told Loki everything he needed to know.

We don't know what we're doing Let's do it again, yeah, you know We're just amateur lovers With amateur friends I can tell you what you're thinking now Before you think it you can settle down Our lovin' isn't gonna burn us out We don't know what we're doing Let's do it again Yeah, let's do it again

[palmviewfm]

hi,  friends  !  we  just  wanted  to  inform  all  of  our  members  and  let  everyone  know  about  some  changes  that  we  have  been  making  to  the  group  at  the  current  moment.  we  have  also  updated  our  rules  page  to  reflect  the  changes  !  if  anyone  has  any  questions  or  concerns,  then  you're  welcome  to  send  us a message  !

our activity checks will now be done every sunday! we ask that you make at least 3 ic posts to 3 different muns. if you don't meet the activity requirements, you'll have 48 hours to do so or you will be unfollowed. and as always, if you need more time, then please get in contact with us!

max limit time for hiatuses will be two weeks. once you come back from your hiatus period, you'll have 48 hours to post afterwards. if you need an extension of your hiatus, then we ask you also come to us about that!

while we do have a spot for open starters to be posted within our ooc discord server, we now also have a starter blog for you to tag your starters with and we'll be sure to reblog the posts for you once we see it! you can now find the blog at @palmviewstarters.

acceptances will now be done on a rolling basis until we reach our mun cap! then the apps will be added onto our app count until a slot has opened up!

members will still be allowed to have up to five characters within the group. however, you may now apply for two characters at once. after that, you must show consistent activity for two weeks before picking up additional characters. ( this doesn't apply to those who already have multiple characters before this rule was set in place! )

[taichixmimi]

WELCOME TO THE THIRD EDITION OF MICHI WEEK. ☆彡

THE EVENT

This event has been organised as a dedication to Michi. Michi is the shipname for the pairing of Taichi Yagami and Mimi Tachikawa from the Digimon franchise. It’s a fun way to shine more light on this underrated but wonderful ship. It will take place from September 25 to October 01, so mark your calendars.

THE PROMPTS

Monday, September 25: TIE THE STRING aka soulmates/roommates au

Tuesday, September 26: POUR THE COFFEE aka office/shops au

Wednesday, September 27: STRIKE THE POSE aka celebrities/idols au

Thursday, September 28: DEFEND THE WORLD aka superheroes/spies au

Friday, September 29: UNDER THE SEA aka pirates/merpeople au

Saturday, September 30: RESET THE TIME aka time period/time travel au

Sunday, October 01: EXPLORE THE UNKNOWN  aka free choice

THE GUIDELINES

There are guidelines to ensure this week runs smoothly, so please be sure to follow these:

Be sure to use #michi multiverse as one of the first five tags and/or tag with @taichixmimi! That way it’ll be easier to find your post and reblog it here for all to enjoy!

Everyone is free to chose any kind of art form: edits, gifs, fanfiction, fanart, fanvideos, cosplay, etc. Creativity is always encouraged!

You can add other ships and characters, such as their digimon partners. Just be sure the focus remains on Taichi and Mimi.

This does NOT mean you can bash any other ship or character. This event is meant to celebrate Michi, but not at the expense of others. Spread love, not hate.

You can submit more than one entry per prompt if you want to.

Early submissions won’t be accepted. So please wait until the new prompt has been posted on the taichixmimi blog.

Late submissions, on the other hand, are welcome.

Last but certainly not least, HAVE FUN!!!!!

For more guidelines concerning this event, please check out this page.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I’ll do my best to help you out.

Love, Zoe

[jeongtokkie]

💜Hi everyone! I've had this idea for a while and finally have the time to organize an event like this! I hope it will be a great way to get to know someone in the armyblr community that you may not have had the chance/courage to talk to (like me, being shy) and bring a little joy to someone with whatever you create for them. I want to host an ARMY secret gift exchange for valentine's day/February. 💜

💜 How It Will Work:

Before Monday, Jan 23, please fill out this form (no emails will be collected). The few days following the form closure, I will send everyone an ask/dm with someone to make a gift for and some the information they provided in the form (biases, fav eras, etc). You will then be able to anonymously message your person to get to know them better and figure out what kind of content you want to make for them. Do not reveal yourself to them until you post your creation. The posting period will be from Monday, Feb. 13 to Sunday, Feb. 19.

💜 Guidelines:

All age groups are welcome, though I will do my best to pair minors with minors.

Fill out the form (here is the link again)

You must be able to create some sort of BTS visual content (gifs, graphics/gfx, edits, moodboards, icons, art, etc.) No nsfw please!

Please reblog to encourage more people to join.

Please make sure your ask box allows for anonymous messages, so your secret valentine can message you! You may want to leave a specific signature or emoji so your recipient knows it's from you.

Please message your person to get to know them better. You can talk about your biases or favourite era/MV; anything so you can cater your content for them.

When posting your gift, please use #2023armysecretvalentine and @ the receiver. I will do my best to reblog them all and also create a masterpost!

[mistynatweek]

Prompt voting has closed, and our prompts have been chosen! Our winning prompts are:

Sunday, October 1st: Fake Relationship. Misty and Nat pretend to be in a relationship for some reason (e.g., to get access to something, to ward off unwanted attention, make out to throw someone off, etc.). Submitted by two anonymous users.

Monday, October 2nd: Awkward Situation. Misty and/or Nat are caught in an awkward or embarrassing situation (e.g., one of them leaves an embarrassing voicemail, they are caught in a moment of intimacy, one witnesses the other breaking up with their partner, etc.). Submitted by two anonymous users.

Tuesday, October 3rd: Forced Proximity. Misty and Nat are forced to spend time together in some form (e.g., handcuffed together, physically or magically bound, locked in a room, snowed in, on a captive date, trapped in a perilous situation, etc.). Submitted by medusa on discord/twitter, and four anonymous users.

Wednesday, October 4th: Bed Sharing. Misty and Nat are forced to share a bed. Submitted by two anonymous users.

Thursday, October 5th: Mutual Pining. Misty and Nat both pine for each other, but the other one doesn't know. Submitted by two anonymous users.

Friday, October 6th: Jealousy. Misty and/or Nat are jealous (e.g., because the other is trying to make them jealous, because they perceive a romantic threat, there is a love triangle, etc.). Submitted by four anonymous users.

Saturday, October 7th: Alternate Universes (AU). Misty and Nat in a setting other than the canon Yellowjackets universe (e.g., different time period AU, canon-divergent AU, mirror universe AU, fairytale AU, role swap AU, etc.). Submitted by four anonymous users.

You are now welcome to start working on your creations! Please remember that while you are welcome to work on/finish them early, you may not post until the appropriate day. If you are interested in participating, please read on below the cut for important information and links.

If you are interested in or planning to create some form of fanwork for MistyNat Week, please note the following guidelines on how to participate.

Anyone is eligible to participate in MistyNat Week. You don’t need to have declared participation or registered in any way. You do not need to be on tumblr, and if you post off-site, please just drop a link in the submission or ask box to have your creation featured here.

While the admins go by EST (and posts will be reblogged based on that time zone), you are welcome to begin sharing your creations as soon as the even begins in your local time zone.

When you post your creations, please either mention @mistynatweek and/or use the #mistynatweek tag. We will also attempt to track the main #mistynat tag, but only those creations tagging us directly are guaranteed to be reblogged. If you tagged your creations appropriately and you haven't seen us reblog it within 24 hours, please contact us via ask box to make sure that we've seen it (since tumblr tags/mentions can be so finnicky!).

You do not have to participate in all seven days to participate at all. Everyone is welcome to pick and choose the prompts you like/are inspired by. You are also welcome to create multiple creations for a single prompt, and combine prompts as you see fit.

There are no minimums/maximums for participation.

You may make late creations and post them any time after the day of the prompt has passed (e.g., post a Day 1 creation on day 3, or a day 4 creation three days after the event has ended, etc.).

Creations can be stand-alone, or they can be connected, either by content or by post (e.g., you can make it a multi-chapter fic with each chapter being a prompt, or you can make a post that just collates all content).

We do have an AO3 collection for this event, and you are encouraged to post any applicable creations (fic, art, edits, etc.) to the collection.

There is no content restriction, but please tag your submissions with any necessary warnings/ratings/etc. to keep this a healthy environment for all!

You are welcome to collaborate with others if you so choose.

Creations must be made specifically for this event. You may not add on to a pre-posted fic/art/etc. to fit it to the prompt. However, if there is a project you’ve been working on and it has not been posted prior to October 1st and happens to fit one of the event prompts, you may post that work for this event.

If you would like to participate, but don’t want to make a fanwork or don’t know how, there are plenty of other things you can do to be a part of MistyNat Week! Below are a few suggestions:

Betaing: If you are interested in volunteering to be a beta between now and the end of the event, please let us know and we will add you to our resource list. When you send us a message (ask/IM/submit) please give a little bit of info about what you will/won’t beta, and an estimated turn-around time.

Consultants: If you are interested in helping others either learn a new skill, or possibly serve as a sounding board for ideas, let us know and we will add you to our resource list. When you send us a message (ask/IM/submit) please give a little bit of info about what kinds of stuff you can help with (e.g., photoshop, music suggestions, video editing, etc.).

Creating Tutorials: This event is obviously first and foremost about celebrating MistyNat, but it can also be an awesome catalyst to learn a new skill or pick up some new tips. If you’re feeling uninspired by the prompts but still want to participate, tutorials can be a really helpful thing for those wanting to get their toes wet.

Promotion: It seems a bit obvious, but people need to know the event is happening to be able to participate! Spreading word of the event to other sites or on your own blog will help generate excitement and let newcomers know about MistyNat Week! You can promote this event by reblogging our posts, but you are also strongly encouraged to make your own, if you would like!

Cheerleading: Making fanworks can be hard, and staying motivated is crucial! If you would like to volunteer as a cheerleader please let us know and we will add you to our resource list. When you send us a message, please share any specifications you would like to (e.g., what platforms you use, what kinds of fanworks you'd like to hear about, availability, etc.).

Further Prompting: Maybe you have a plot bunny but no time to write it. Or you see a screencap that is just perfect, but don’t like making graphics. Send them in, and for those creators that are just a bit stuck, maybe your specific prompt will get their juices flowing!

If you still have questions and have not already done so, please check out our FAQ guide, or send us an ask with any questions. Please also join our discord if you have not already done so; it's a great community, and we'll be running some fanwork-creating sprints and events to help us all stay motivated over the next few weeks!

Have fun preparing your creations, and we can’t wait to see them!

[marveltrumpshate]

THE CREATOR SIGN-UP PERIOD IS NOW OVER.

Over the past two weeks, we received an incredible number of responses—Marvel Trumps Hate 2023 has 151 fabulous creators participating and a whopping 257 auctions for all of you keen bidders out there to peruse! 🎉

Thanks to everyone who signed up to create something—we value each and every one of you. We’re touched by your generosity in donating your time and creative efforts to raise money for great causes. Thanks also to everyone who supported and assisted us with signal boosting sign-ups—we appreciate your help in making this auction happen. We’re sure your favorite superheroes would be proud of you.

To ensure that everything runs smoothly during Auction Week, sign-ups are now closed. We’re sorry if any of you missed the cutoff, but we hope you’ll join us as bidders instead!

Remember, Auction Week will begin at 12 AM ET on Sunday, October 22 (what time is that for me?) and run until 11:59 PM ET on Saturday, October 28 (what time is that for me?). We look forward to seeing creators proudly reblogging their offerings and people eagerly bidding on auctions in three weeks’ time.

Everyone should have received a confirmation email apart from a few last-minute sign-ups; it can take a few hours for some people to receive the email so if you signed up today, you may have to wait. However, if you signed up over a day ago and don't see the email in your inbox or spam folder, contact us at marveltrumpshate+creators@gmail.com. Remember that you have until October 8 to review your information, submit any final changes, and if you didn’t participate as a creator in Marvel Trumps Hate 2022, send us your banner images. Please do so ASAP so we can resolve any issues that come up in a timely manner.

We’ll have more information for everyone soon, so follow us or keep an eye on our Tumblr or Twitter to stay posted. Thanks again for helping us make the 2023 round of Marvel Trumps Hate a reality!

As always, if you have any questions, contact us directly. We’re always happy to answer queries or allay any concerns you may have.

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

TROPED TIMELOOP

Welcome to TROPED TIMELOOP, a special TROPED Multifandom Fanfiction Challenge!!! This will be a traditional four-round, but with a timeloop-y twist! Every round will have a theme and four tropes, but with the added requirement that you must include the Time Loop Trope! Let’s see if you’re up to the challenge and join us for this special event!

How It Works:

This is a Multi-Fandom Event & No Sign-Ups are Required! If you would like to participate, we’d love to have you! Just take a look at our prompts when they are released right here on the TROPED tumblr, and get to writing! You will submit your fics to an AO3 Collection that is linked in our reblog!

The Writing Periods will be on a rolling basis, with new TIMELOOP prompts dropping between the Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox! If you are inspired for a round later in the event, you can still submit a fic to be included! We will simply drop the next prompt, but nothing will officially close or end until the end of the full Writing Period, on September 23rd! Fics will be accepted into the official collection for the entirety of the event! **You will write four or more (4+) separate fanfics inspired by each round, but you do not have to participate in each and every round.**

Read and Review! Once you’ve submitted your own fic, take a look at the others in the competition! Please try to read as many as you can! Take some notes, and leave some kudos/comments for the authors! This is not a requirement for participation, but it is highly encouraged and helps make TROPED build a strong community!

Voting! For this challenge, we have decided to host a more objective voting-style for you. We will have the Longest Fic, the Shortest Fic, the Most Timeloops, and other Objective ‘Challenge’ Winners for each round and for the event overall.

TIMELINE:

Writing Period Dates: June 21st - September 23rd!

Round One Prompt Released: Wednesday, June 21st at 12:00am

Round Two Prompt Released: Saturday, July 15th at 12:00am

Round Three Prompt Released: Tuesday, August 8th at 12:00am

Round Four Prompt Released: Thursday, August 31st at 12:00am

End of TIMELOOP Writing Period: SATURDAY, September 23rd at 11:59PM PST / SUNDAY, September 24th at 2:59AM EST

Winners Announced: September 24th!

*All times are in Eastern Standard Time (EST) unless otherwise specified!

Rules:

If you are a veteran to our TROPED Challenges, the rules below are mostly the same as before, but any newbies joining the fun should definitely take a look below!

This competition was created to get creative and put out different fics into the world, and to create a fun, positive fandom experience for everyone! In order to ensure that we achieve that goal of a positive experience, here are a few rules and guidelines that must be followed! The requirements for the fics entered into the competition will be:

Must include Characters from your specific chosen Fandom

Must fit the Theme of each round! While this event is all about the time loop trope, each round will have a clear cut theme for you to use in your fics!

Must use ALL of the tropes selected for each round! We have selected four tropes to go with the time loop trope. Explanations for these tropes will be released in a Google Doc for you. Don’t forget: Part of the fun of TROPED is taking the prompts and turning them on their head! Our definitions are baselines for what the trope or theme MUST include, but it’s just a starting point! If you have an idea for a trope or theme, and you aren’t sure if it fits, please message us!

There is NO Word Count Requirement. You may write as much or as little as you like as long as you incorporate the prompts, including the time loop trope!

All ratings G through E are welcome! Please be aware that some fics may not be everyone’s thing! Write what you like, but the challenge is public so just keep that in mind! Since we are requiring Smut in one of the rounds, please be sure to follow the TROPED rules that pertain to romantic/sexual relationships in your fic. (No rape. No incest. No underage. No negativity. No plagiarism.)

Links for this event can be found in the reblog!

[inklings-sprint]

Inklings Sprint; what is it? (What is a productivity sprint?) And what will this look like. Dates and times to be determined, suggestions are welcome. (Though if you are suggesting a time and date, I will either need your time zone. Or for you to convert yours to Central Standard time. I’m Canadian, if you weren’t already aware, so location based, I’m currently the same time zone as Saskatchewan just to give a location based perspective for time zone. So I know that makes it hard for the Aussies and Kiwi’s out there. But hopefully I might be able to work out some time that might line up for you as well.)

Anyways…

What is a productivity sprint?

For those who are unfamiliar with this surprisingly helpful technique/tool/trick, let me explain a little bit more in depth for you. Productivity sprints consist of a series of short work periods followed by a short break. So each work period is the sprint part. Doing this with a partner or a group of people, means that during the break, we can share our progress with each other and give one another with encouragement, before going back to work. We keep each other accountable for getting work done. (I know this doesn’t necessarily work for everyone, but it definitely helps for me. Particularly even just to get started to focus in on writing.)

The Inklings Sprint and what it will look like.

So the Inklings Sprint is a series of productivity sprints that I will host. I’m hoping to plan three or four different times during the run of The Inklings Challenge of these. I've called it the Inklings Sprint, mainly because that's what I will be working on. I will be working on my Inkling's Challenge story; BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO. Anyone who wants to participate is free to. You can work on any October challenge that you want, house work, work work, school work, drawing, sewing, crafting, anything that YOU want to get done.

I will post a bunch of reminders leading up to the start of the Sprints. Always on this same post so that all the information is in the same place. So this might be one of those times that you might actually want to turn on notifications for a particular post. In the hour leading up to the start of the first sprint I will start a bit of a countdown until we start.

So the sprints will be in ten minute increments, looking something like this example below.

Start at 1pm sprint ends at 1:10, break for ten minutes and see how everyone is doing then;

Start next sprint and 1:20pm ends at 1:30

Break

Start 1:40pm ends 1:50

Break

Start 2pm ends 2:10

Going for however long we want to go.

🌻🌻🌻You do not have to start right at what the chosen start time is and if you join late, you could even decide to write on what I call the break. Also, staying to the end is not necessary. The sprints will run for an hour at the minimum and can keep going beyond that if we have time. It’s about what works best for you and being able to encourage each other.🌻🌻🌻

Also, in relation to giving an update, (if you choose to do so), it can be a word count, line count, something completely different, however you want to measure your progress. I highly recommend doing some form of this just so we know that you’re participating.

Another thing to add, is that you don’t need to wait for the break to end to get going again, if you find that the break is too long.

(Each update can either be by reblogging this post, or just in the notes.)

The important thing for this is to have fun and get some work done.

So look at your calendar and see what times that you might be available to try, let me know and I will try to slot something in that works for me and you. Most likely times will either be in the evening during the week for me, Saturday evening, maybe sometime on Sunday, but not likely with it being Sunday (but for you guys on the other side of the world, I might be able to do a later at night Sunday to give you a chance) and then Monday I’m typically off, so something might be able to be done throughout the day then. But again, give me dates and times and I can try to make up a bit of a schedule. (Changes can be made and altered as needed, but a basic schedule should be ready for Oct. 1 when the challenge begins.)

[hollywoodfamerp]

FAMERS!

We have some exciting news that we want to share with you all and we hope that you find excitement in it with us. After some discussion and adjustments made to the previous way we have done them in the past, we are excited to announce that we are bringing back MEMES! We do know that they have been highly requested by members and we hear you. We discussed some things about the old method and wanted to renew it with a trial run of this new version of memes. Since there have been some reservations about bringing them back in the past, we want to note that to participate in memes, you must read this post to its entirety so that you know what has changed!

GENERAL NOTE ON MEMES:

Please make sure you are following hfrpfanmail. That will be the account where we post memes so if you want to partake in them, you must be following that blog.

Memes will only be done ONCE a month as it will take time to prep memes for the team. Memes will have a sign up period of 72 hours which will be from Friday at 10am -Sunday at midnight EST the weekend before the meme starts. If you do not sign up during that time period, you can’t participate in the meme for the week.

Memes will run for ONE WEEK. That means that the list will be posted Monday after the sign up weekend and will run until midnight EST on that following Sunday.

During this trial period, we will only be allowing THREE FCs per mun to sign up for the meme.

SIGN UPS:

As noted above, sign ups for memes will begin on the Friday before meme week and will run until that Sunday at midnight EST. The meme that will be in play for the week will be posted on the sign up post. You cannot sign up after that time period has ended. To sign up, you must comment on the post that hfrpfanmail posts for the meme. Again, you can only sign up THREE of your FCs per mun.

MEME WEEK:

On the Monday following the sign up weekend, we will post a master list of those that signed up to participate in the meme that differs from the sign up list post (blogs will be tagged to make it easier for people to send out asks). During the week, the list will be reblogged as a reminder to send out memes. Please remember that the same rules as our old meme method apply that if you signed up multiple FCs for the meme, you are to send out THREE asks to every person. We highly suggest keeping track of those you send out to as we want to make sure that everyone gets the appropriate amount of asks for every meme. Keep in mind, sometimes asks do get lost because Tumblr is the best at eating them. If you want to check if someone got something from you, feel free to message them. It’s better to be safe than sorry!

EMOJIS:

When you have completed the meme, meaning that every person on the list has an ask from your FC(s), you are to go back to the masterlist post and comment an emoji of your choice to show that you are done sending out asks. If you have multiple FCs signed up, please do the following when commenting:

FC 1: (emoji) FC 2: (emoji) FC 3: (emoji)

This will signify to the team that you have completed the meme and we will mark it down. Please do NOT comment an emoji if you know you did not send out to everyone on the list. If you do not comment the emoji(s) by Sunday at midnight EST of meme week, we will count this as you did not send out to everyone and you will be messaged accordingly to not participate in the next meme. MAKE SURE YOU COMMENT YOUR EMOJI(s) WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE MEME.

HATEFUL ASKS:

While we do not foresee this being an issue, we have to note that if we find that hurtful or hateful asks are being sent out for memes, we have every right to discontinue doing memes until further notice. We do NOT condone any hate and bullying here at Hollywood Fame so we will pause doing memes if we are informed of any asks of this nature. Our members' well-being comes before any sort of event or meme we may be doing. Please be mindful and courteous when it comes to participating in the memes.

We know that emergencies happen during the week and if they do, please be sure to message us so we can excuse you from the meme and take your FCs off the list. Communication is always key for us so we know what’s going on. If you are taken off the list for the meme and people have already sent you asks, we just ask that you delete them as it’s not fair for asks to be answered but not given out to everyone.

If you have any questions about this new process of doing memes, please be sure to ask us! We are happy to answer and clear up any confusion you may have. We are so excited to be able to bring this back for your enjoyment! Let’s work together to make this happen!

PLEASE LIKE THIS NOTICE WHEN YOU HAVE READ IT AND UNDERSTOOD IT TO ITS ENTIRETY!

[vinmauro]

make me write: 5k edition

hey hi hello it's been a while! tbh i've been in a gif rot hell hole and while i still have a couple of sets i need to do (about 4 in total) i kind of have an itch to write. and since i can feel some of my life returning to normal i figured i'd start up one of these again!! yes. they're the same wips as they have been because ya boi (gn) here has not posted anything in a while. or finished anything. and i'm already thinking of rewriting the third part to tied me to you for the 2nd rewrite. sigh. help a friend out pls<3

acey’s poll breakdown

this poll is to determine which of my wips will be worked on for 1 week for a goal of 5k

in case of a tie, i’ll split 2.5k between both

the writing won’t start until sunday 12 am and will end the following sunday 12 am (est)

you may (and it’s highly encouraged!!) periodically message me for snippets of which won

you may reblog and random people may vote idc

if you’d like to do this, may i point you to the original poll post that i’m basing this off. but also feel free to do what you want bc, after all, this is for fun!!

the wips

another life

pairing: eddie munson x nancy wheeler prompt: things you said when we were on top of the world plot: musician!nancy wheeler & actor!eddie munson are getting a divorce! read all about it on page six. in an era of social media and high expectations, two people fell in love with versions of themselves they no longer know or recognize.

city lights

pairing: eddie munson x nancy wheeler prompt: things you said when you thought i was asleep plot: affectionately called bartender au where nancy is a bartender, currently lost and trying to find herself in the new city she’s been living in for the past year. eddie is a musician in this but not terribly successful, playing small clubs here and there. there’s a past. this one is the closest to being finished, not quite 5k left so if this wins, the rest of the count will go to 2nd place.

tied pt 3

pairing: steve harrington x chrissy cunningham prompt: things you said when you thought i was asleep (pt 4 will also be this one) plot: the third part is supposed to go to new years 1990/1991. i just need to figure some shit out so make me figure shit out faster.

before sunrise au

if this wins, i'm proof reading it and giving 5k automatically to the second place winner. it is a stargyle fic based on before sunrise that i wrote, finished, and abandoned because i did not feel like i wrote it well.