#10/10 dynamic absolutely zero notes

[chstart]

it's always soooo funny to me that apollo genuinely looked up to phoenix despite the disbarment & only-three-year career,, only to then finally meet his hero & find out he's extremely punchable 👍

[salisburyliam]

My WORST to BEST ranking for Heaven's Secret 2 LIs

Oh boy I finally did it!!!! never want to read this book ever again, lmao

NOTE 1: We all know that HS2 has its flaws —S1 feels like a fever dream— but personally one that really irks me is not being able to choose whether or NOT you want to marry your LI. I mention this because many LIs routes are (negatively) affected by this sudden marriage imo

NOTE 2: Winchesto you deserve so much better than Rebecca.

7. Dino - He's never been a character I've been particularly fond of, but at least in HS1 he had some narrative importance (the dynamic with Lucifer was a lot of fun too). His relevance in HS2 is, well, zero & I personally don't feel the chemistry between Vicky and him at all. That being said. Of all the LIs, the only one with whom the wedding makes absolute sense is with Dino - he's 100% husband material.

Being good should not be equivalent to being boring… but in Dino's case, it is. 4/10

6. War - His dynamic with Vicky is… okay-ish? I guess??? They are a hot couple (I personally love his design & his laugh is sexy af) but the connection is lacking & there is no emotional intimacy whatsoever. They keep saying they're in love but are theeey? You don't know each other. Also, if you decide not to k*ll him and don't romance him later in s2 he's literally just a background character. 

I don't think this man is ready to be a husband - he should get therapy first. 5/10

5. Hunger - If it were a matter of rating characters, Hunger would be in the top three. His first appearance is one of my favorite scenes in the book along with the board game moment, lmao. But if it comes to rating him as a LI… The relationship feels rushed, to say the least. Marrying a character who appears halfway through the second season makes no sense at all - their wedding scene is just weird.

You guys met like five episodes ago. How about we start by dating first? 6/10

his smile is unsettling lol 4. Malbonte - Replaying this book so many times has made me really appreciate Malbonte. A soldier who will do whatever it takes to win. I love how everyone assumes that he always, always, has a plan (he usually does). But as a LI? His main emotion is rage and pure indifference. As a husband for life, I don't understand how that could work: I can imagine Vicky asking him how his day was and Malbonte's only response being '….' 😐🙄 Go boy give us nothing!

Seriously though. I really love him as a character, but he needs to join War in that therapy thing. 7/10

3. Astaroth - The first interactions are awful & personally his sprite doesn't help either (he's literally a male M*ley Cyrus) but he has so much chemistry with Vicky, it surprised me. Their relationship feels organic as you progress, but just like the rest of the characters that appear in the second book, it all feels rushed. The wedding option should ONLY have been available for characters that appeared in the previous book - with new ones it just feels unearned.

Still, it had potential. 8/10

2. Mimi - The only female LI (how's that legal) and one of my favorites. tbh I think she's TOO good for Vicky??? lmao. A character who is impossible not to adore (even judgy Rebecca gives her approval), in-laws anyone would love to have, and a route that is equal parts endearing and passionate. I confess I kinda miss her sprite from the first book tho

The only reason she's not at the top of the list is the motherf*cker below. 9/10 

1. Lucifer - Simply put, they feel like soulmates (he was my LI in the first book so that also plays into it). I haate his behavior in S1, but even with that rocky start the dynamic between Vicky and Lucifer is, and will always be, one of my favorites. They have everything: chemistry, banter, passion, vulnerability moments... I love the contrast of the Lucifer from HS1 with the Lucifer in the final episode. That's growth.

I sincerely hope the third book focuses on their married life and, hopefully, Lucifer being a girl dad 😍😍 10/10

CREDIT

[blindbatalex]

bruins hrpf recs from the server #2

this week, the theme posed to the server was: ✨ a fic that surprised you (in a good way) ✨

a dream is a wish (your heart makes) by @cokehead-zeroed || marcheron || 1,003 words || reccer's notes: it's so cute it surprised me by making me go head over heels for a concept in just 1k words AND develop what felt like a very strong 'brad' voice in so few words as well, something i did not think was possible

and it was all orange by @blindbatalex || marcheron || 2,736 words || reccer's notes: i. laughing. i was laughing so hard at this, but at the same time it was actually lovely hurt/comfort

commitment ceremony by @sphesphe || marcheron || 1,577 words || reccer's notes: i was surprised/delighted with the way the woke-up-married trope interacted with the marcheron dynamic and then by the dynamic itself. just an absolute adorable fic all around

leave an imprint (on my skin) by @cokehead-zeroed || Marchy/Marner || 2,733 words || reccer's notes: I had never considered this pairing before but this fic made me fall in love, I walked into it skeptic and wary and walked out of it a believer

It's Not a Crush! by PartTimeMurderMuffin || Marchy/Sway || 5,818 words || reccer’s notes:  I honestly didn't expect to see this pairing at first (yes even tho I ship Brad with basically anyone on the team) but yea it's so cute

Signs Point to Yes by @siterlas || Marchy/Bergy/Sid || 6,990 words || reccer's notes:  when i first saw this i thought what is the polar bear doing in arlington texas but i was very pleasantly surprised and i loved the way the three of them just meshed with each other throughout the summer. 10/10 chef’s kiss

so i'll watch your life in pictures like i used to watch you sleep (and i'll feel you forget me like i used to feel you breathe) by @munch4march || marchy/segs (past) || 3,659 words || reccer's notes: i ended up in this story by accident and via not reading any of its tags but i was so glad that i did, because what a beautiful take on failed relationships and love that lingers and all the ways it is and isn't enough

Red Dust by Aaron_The_8th_Demon || marcheron || 69,350 words || reccer's notes:  they did an amazing job of covering medical issues in this I was extraordinarily impressed by it and then even more impressed when they told me they weren't in the medical field they just did a shit ton of research for it (even came up with a reason for space pneumonia based on real pneumonia????!!!) and while the surprise of the fic was something they built up to beautifully I still didn't fully expect it because i was like there's no way they're actually gonna do that and then *they did it anyways*!

turn them inside out by insunshine || Gregory Campbell/Daniel Paille || 5,418 words || reccer's notes: I just wanted to peek into the soupy tag to see what was available for him, expecting pretty much nothing and I got a story that made me feel a type of emotional tenderness like my feelings had been put through a wash/dry cycle

What I Want and What You Give by waffles_007 || marcheron || 27,964 words || reccer's notes: the premise itself was so surprising and there's so many lil surprises for the characters throughout. it's QUITE a fire fic

[painted-bees]

5 of the character dynamic ask game for the hi-note trio <3

A has to get B a [birthday/christmas/whatever] gift. right now. what would they get? how long would they spend thinking about it? RIGHT NOW! For Raf, this is a no brainer: Waddle Dee/Kirby merch for Margie and a sushi dinner for Cortes. Easy, zero thoughts needed. He's got this shit on lock. Tess would give Raf an absolutely perfect, uninterrupted, "basically dead" 10 hour nap and Margie would get a jar full of oyster pearls. Also easy, no brains required. Margie would... Like--right now? Like NOW now??? She has no money!! And even if she DID have money, there's nothing she could buy that Raf couldn't just buy for himself! No, uh--no...it's gotta be a thing money can't buy. But--sexy stuff isn't really his thing, so it can't be that...uh, uhhh... And omfg what does she even get TESS?? Margie would...not get them anything. Not on time. But then, months later, she'd eventually drop an hour-long track on Raf. Basically like an album in of itself, but following a single theme/narrative, returning to certain motifs/melodies throughout, and without any breaks--because again--it's just one song, no separate tracks. It's a song that starts with a kind of...up-tempo energy that slowly winds down and mellows out as it progresses; a lullaby. Specifically, one for him to listen to when he's away, or while she's away. So that she can be right there with him, in the music, no matter what. For Tess, well...for her gift, Tess just wanted to be involved in making the Raf lullaby track! And so--that's what she got!

[ultimateaclrecovery]

Tidbits from a week visiting with family (I’ve been here since Tuesday night and won’t leave until next Tuesday)

-I forgot how humid Michigan is I am dying. It was 70% humidity here and I am just dripping. Also my mom leaves the ac set to 78 so sometimes I start sweating just sitting inside which is something I no longer tolerate in my own house (my parents have more than enough money to lower the wc but my mom grew up poor and thus is aggressively frugal)

- my mother got me my favorite kind of donuts

- I’ve always kind of been the spoiled baby of the family which was delightful when I first would visit after college but i haven’t figured out how to shift the dynamic now. My brother and his gf will always cook dinner one night when they here and sometimes will but truthfully would rather not (I like that visits home have always been for extended potatoe time) but I don’t like being shown up by my brother and I want my mom to not have to do everything

- my dad is really struggling with his health. He has Parkinson’s and he’s been slowly declining for years now but he was hospitalized with a uti back in June and just hasn’t really recovered. He no longer even leaves his room for meals and has a commode in his bedroom. He does leave the house roughly once a week for his doctor appointments and pt but otherwise basically just goes from bed to chair to commode.

- my mother has switched from taking hour long walks around the neighborhood to doing the exercise bike down stairs to not be too far from him too often (though she does still go to church and the grocery store)

- I worry about how much my mom is a full time care taker and how hard it is for my dad to slowly loose his independence

- my mom went to a wedding and got my brother to come stay with my dad. They didn’t ask me. And like my brother is unemployed and has no pets or real responsibilities or obligations so it makes sense to ask him. And my dad often needs help with tolieting and maybe it’s easier to have your same gender child help. Or he just seems more helpful. It’s obviously easier for me to not come back and stay and caretake but I also feel bad for not

- they changed all the chairs out at church and it was very unsettling

- my brother quick mid “poetry for neandthrals” game today, a game simile to taboo but you can’t use multi syllable because he couldn’t think of good enough clues and his gf wasn’t guessing things good enough. This man is 34 years old. He also is the worst manplainer of anyone I’ve ever interacted with it and constantly tries to talk as though he’s the smartest person in the room and how it’s so sad that most people can’t be bothered to think this deeply. While he’s never worked a full time job or done anything of note 🙄 he does at least do the dishes every night we’re here. And to his credit he is often correct about whatever theory for the board game he’s currently going on about but he is absolutely insufferable about and has zero tolerance for anyone getting anything wrong ever which makes him obnoxious to play with.

- I’ve knitted half a sleeve of my sweater finished two books, slept 9-10 hours every night, eaten all the cookies and yummy snacks my heart could desire so it’s not all bad.

- and helped my mom set up the new computer, got the printer back online and transferred her files over (though it did take me several tries oops) so I haven’t been a complete potato

- anyway being home is weird

[botanikos]

SHIPPING INFO. answer the following for your muse(s) so people know how shipping works on your blog.

what’s your OTP for your muse(s)?

Stolitz, obviously. Though I am also biased by saying I will also always readily pursue what I have with Horus & Stolas [ @sxlinvictus is stuck with me forever ].

what are you willing to RP when it comes to shipping?

As far as tropes go, I am open to most things. I am a slut [ affectionate ] for fluff and domesticity, but angst is also my game! I love friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, forced proximity, fake dating, etc. The options are endless!

are you selective when shipping?

I can be. If I can't personally see our muses becoming romantically [ or even just sexually ] inclined, I'll be hesitant and/or let you know it's not going to work out or that I'm not interested. It's nothing personal! I just go based on how my Stolas feels or would approach the matter. On most occasions, I am heavily chemistry based. However, there are some instances where I'd be willing to just jump right into things! Especially if I've had enough interactions with my partners both or either ic or ooc!

Also worth noting — my portrayal will not show interest in women. Sorry, ladies. He will appreciate and compliment them, but there will be zero attraction.

Who are other muses you ship your muse with?

This is a very good question! I will be honest, I never considered anything outside of Stolitz originally, excluding possibilities with Dae's muses as we discuss them. Mostly because I just wasn't sure where I stood on the matter or how Stolas would respond! But some interactions with others have me thinking. . . Broadening my horizons. . .

I would be open to exploring things with: Better Than Blitzo Guy [ why doesn't he have a fucking name?? ], Lucifer, Angel Dust, Andrealphus, Lucifer [ Netflix and probably to be an Exclusive ], Alucard/Adrian from Castlevania, and others idk I just can't think of it without like, prompting or scenarios. . .

I actively/passively ship my Stolas with Blitzo, Lestat [ @this-savage-garden ] and Walter [ @lapetitemxrt ], and Roy [ @flamesignite ]. But these are exclusive ships! I will not pair him with any other portrayal of these characters.

how often do you like to ship?

I love shipping! If it's not already obvious, I'm telling you right now!!! Good soup!

are you multiship?

100%, absolutely! Every ship is verse separate and occurring outside of others unless specified or agreed upon by any/all involved!

what is your favorite ship in your current fandom?

I love Moxxie & Millie so damn much — but if the question is muse specific, then Stolitz, of course.

finally, how does one ship with you?

Tell me! Tell me you're interested and if you have any ideas/desired interactions to get things going! 9/10 times I am willing and absolutely delighted to do so! Also, memes are a great jump into any dynamic! I will say, however, it helps to have interactions prior and/or chatting ooc! If you don't tell me or tag me in a post about wanting it — I won't approach you about it! Even if it's a ship I am interested in. Just slam that shit in my face! Let's goooo!

Additional notes:

Just because I have an interest in shipping with a character does not mean I will seek it out or expect it with you and your muse! Also, I am 100% down for unrequited feelings.

[chaifootsteps]

So uh... I saw the new Hazbin trailer and... I have notes:

1) Where is Alastors radio voice crackle?!? It's there doing the commercial, but then he actually talks and it's like... it's just a regular voice... and then it's back at the end. Like... is it just when he's using his powers or?? The radio voice was one of the best parts of Alastor!

2).... I'm just gonna say it, Angel sounds more bland than a fart consisting of nothing but rice cakes. There's zero emotion. There's nothing. I feel absolutely nothing. Micheal brought so much life to Angel. Everything he said was entertaining and dynamic. Now it sounds like the voice actor just wants a paycheque.

3) The song sounds like a bad Disney song. I won't say it. "Is this the thanks that I get" bad, but it's bad. Like, straight to DVD cashgrab bad

4) I hate Husks voice.... that's it, I just... personally don't like it.

5) Why is Cahrlie freaking out about people eating each other in that one clip? Charlie, you've litterally grown up here... shouldn't you be used to this shit?? You're acting like some9ne who just got to hell rather than the princess of it.

6) They're kinda making it obvious that Sir Pentious is gonna join the main cast. Like, before I thought that was just a theory, but Viv just went "Nope! He's a main character now, surprise!!" Like... why not keep that a secret for the actual show??

There's probably more that others will point out, but I just woke up and I don't have the energy for this.

These are good notes, Anon. Agreed and also 10/10 for the fart analogy.

That's how I'm always going to remember this Angel, as a rice cake fart.

[zahri-melitor]

Newish Comics:

Batman: The Brave and the Bold #14: I am largely uncompelled by this set, but I was amused that they had to specify "look! This Barry/Iris story takes place before we break them up! Because we want fluffy Barry/Iris!"

Also charmed that in the Black and White story at the end with flashbacks to previous events there's Bruce as Tengu in KnightsEnd! That's a bit of a deep cut I wasn't expecting.

Green Arrow #13: Williamson please learn to pace a story at some point. That said, I was very fond of seeing Roy and Lian snuggled up together, and Connor and Mia hanging out together. Also Williamson finally acknowledged Sin's existence for the first time? I think? in this comic.

I also note Williamson is on team "we like Jade" rather than on team "Jade's a villain who's done a bunch of irredeemable things" (Which. Both positions are perfectly acceptable, but does give me a bit of an 'of course you're like that' for a guy with a known tendency to prioritise biological relationships)

The plot is ridiculous but it's editorially mandated, everyone is about to go into their Stupid Eras for the next two-three months.

The Flash #10: speaking of editorially mandated storylines...I was snorting at 'make Ollie and Barry punch each other', in terms of Ollie was doing everything but shouting what his name was and Barry was going ??? mystery guy who is not Bruce.

Jai is great in this issue. Wally is busy ascending into a higher plane of existence, still, and I am waiting until his brain comes back online and the various creepy higher dimensional beings stop trying to brain wipe him and use him as conduit, as they will not enjoy him handing them their asses.

Please get Bart into a room with his friends so he can notice they're also young adults over 18 and stop reverse aging himself, he's drawn younger than Jai in this. Or actually address the plot point that Bart's currently making himself be the age he was when Max was his guardian, and what that means about their relationship.

Zatanna: Bring Down the House #1: oh this is fun. It's functioning as a Zatanna origin story, and a good reminder that Zatara is in hell.

And now a look at everyone losing their minds for the Event:

Suicide Squad Dream Team #1-4: super reluctantly reading this as lead in for Absolute Power.

I'm not sure if I'm more mad over how Amanda Waller is being villainised here or how they're characterising Lori Zechlin. Lori, what have they done to you?

As I scrutinise this, it's written by the actor who originated Nia Nal, and uh...it could use being less Nia's perspective v general Squad attitudes. It just feels very very righteous v Waller Being Evil For No Reason.

I dunno. I don't think Nicole Maines has enough experience or practice in writing for a shared property. Her Nia stuff on its own has been fine so far, but managing to write decent team dynamics for the SUICIDE SQUAD is something that takes a lot of skill and experience (given the number of strong personalities involved). It probably shouldn’t be handed to a writer who’s effectively never written a comic that doesn’t star the character she played on TV.

Absolute Power: Ground Zero #1: sigh.

This is not going to be a particularly compelling event to me.

Like hmmmmm part of me wants to point out that under a different storyline, Waller living out 20 years of peace in a virtual reality as a mother figure would be something that would affect her a lot, given her history.

Unfortunately, we are no longer in Suicide Squad 1987.

The Warlord #58: this week in Skartaris we don't see Travis at ALL. Guy who's cosplaying Travis is doing a terrible job of it, and pissing off Tara, who has been driven back into finding her childhood sweetheart Graemore attractive. We get a full retrospective of their childhood growing up together: Graemore was the son of a blacksmith and a tailor whose family were captured in warfare by Tara's father. Graemore played with Tara while his mother made swords for Shamballah and his father educated Tara. It's a very cute 'they grew up together' teen love story.

While all of this is going on Darvin the Thief goes to try and extort more money from the people on council paying him to hold Travis prisoner, and he suddenly realises where he's seen Joshua's weird bracelet before...on Tara's arm!

Surely this can only end well.

In the Arion backup, I am very slowly starting to get my head around how to fit Skartaris's ancient Atlanteans, Earth's ancient Atlanteans and modern Atlantis together. They do all come from the same group (which is what I expected) but it's definitely interesting in terms of the various interactions between magic and advanced technology.

(Now I actually need to read some more Aquaman to confirm my understanding, as it's still pretty vibes based right now)

[palfriendpatine66]

My dream is that you one day will write boiling rwrb au

Also I need to know all of your thoughts about the film

RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE MY BELOVED!!!!

In summary: I absolutely love it and have so many thoughts. But also I don’t see myself writing an obikin au for it. (Not to worry, I speak autocorrect 😉) Read more below the break

I adore rwrb. It’s my new comfort movie. I’ve watched it three times and I read the book after my first viewing.

The first time I watched in I could NOT believe how gay it was. Honestly I am still twirling my hair and kicking my feet that we get to have a rom com that is just SO!gay. I want more! And I’m really hoping that it’s popularity means we’ll get it

*side note for any of my younger followers: this makes me feel so old. But as a teen in the 2000s there wasn’t a lot of queer media readily available and what was definitely wasn’t showing or marketed toward teens. What I was aware of was adult dramas surrounding HIV/AIDS. Glee and Modern Family didn’t come out until I graduated. Stories like this would have been a game changer

Anyways: back to rwrb. I LOVE that it gets to unabashedly be everything that it is. Is it corny as hell? Yes! Is it tropey and over the top? Yes! Does it read like a fanfic? Yes! Is it fantastic that it gets to be all of these things that every!single! hetero romance/romcom gets to be while basically leading a pride parade through everyone’s Amazon Prime account? YES!!!

A short list of my favorite things about rwrb in no particular order:

All the star wars references in the book. They are nerds and they are my kind of people

Get Low is also my drunk jam. Yes I am the target audience. Yes I am ok with this

There’s a female president and vice president (girl power!)

The sex scene might just be the sweetest, most intimate thing I have witnessed with my own two eyes? It was so tender and so real

There was zero attempt made to pretend that they weren’t just copying the royal family and the fact that the movie leaned into it so hard is absolutely hilarious to me.

They’re also a biracial couple and they don’t shy away from Alex’s experiences as the son of an immigrant to the US (the book does more here)

The key stays on during sex, just hanging there bonking him in the face. 10/10. Hilarious. Kills me.

They do not shy away from gay sex happening and the boys are horny for each other. Like, we don’t just see them kiss once. Again, I’m old, but YES!!!!

I’m cutting myself off here but I could very much go on.

As for the possibility of an obikin au: I’m not going to lie, I thought about it. But I don’t think I see that happening from me.

The first reason is mostly how I write obikin. I don’t write same age aus because I can’t personally separate out their age gap and power dynamic from the other aspects of their canon relationship. I just don’t know how to make them work as peers. (Note: nothing against same age aus, I’ve read many that I’ve adored. I just can’t wrap my head around it to make it happen myself).

Secondly, I kind of don’t want to touch it? I realize I’m basically the queen of looking at a movie and thinking YES, but make it obikin! But I just went on a rant about how this movie/story feels special in that 1) it’s already queer and 2) is allowed to unapologetically be itself. And I don’t know that I want to change that

(Would I read a RWRB obikin au? Absolutely)

[beautifulpersonpeach]

You haven't answered my other V ask so you might be wanting to move on from this topic but I just have to ask. Don't you find 10 million USD on album sales excessive?? I'm talking about V's fanbase by the way. Isn't that money amount obscene to believe? Not to sound too conspiracy minded Peachy, but how can a kpop fanbase raise that amount of money? Can they do that through legal means or should sane people be worried? Also don't you think armys are acting irresponsible wasting that money on albums that they don't use when they could be using it for charity instead? I really respect your thoughts so I'm hoping to read your reply. Thank you in advance Peachy.

***

So... you're asking me how a fandom that raised $1 million USD in 24 hours for a Black Lives Matter charity with zero notice btw, how the fandom that raised $100,000 USD in hours for charity in Megan Thee Stallion's name, can raise $10 million USD over a three-year period for albums?

It's basic arithmetic, is it not?

I guess it seems like a lot of money for someone uninformed on just how big the k-pop market is and on how much k-pop fans typically spend on comebacks (note: solo fanbase funds for Seventeen and Stray Kids easily exceeded $15 million USD this year, and it's reflected in their album sales). Also, I'm not sure how long you've been following me Anon, but when I talk about the size of ARMY fandom in absolute numbers, when we discuss things like fandom dynamics that replicate those seen in political systems, or insane ticketing rituals that are more complicated than those used by the Bey-hive, and merch prices etc, what scale exactly, are you picturing when I mention these things?

ARMYs are a lot of people. Lol I'm not sure you understand. And many ARMYs in my circle are working professionals and audiophiles who didn't blink when it came up in conversation that I've spent > $45,000 on speakers. Not trying to be a bitch, but I do think it's important context to know the demographics of the fandom, and to know most ARMYs just buy one or a few albums for themselves. Those with the means carry the bulk of the donations, however ARMYs huge absolute numbers also mean even micro-transactions or donations from people who perhaps cannot afford more, are several magnitudes more than in other k-pop fandoms. The ARMY fandom is literally constantly growing, and that's why BigHit can realistically stagger seven solo debuts in a one-year period and all seven artists will still outperform active k-pop groups.

"Also don't you think armys are acting irresponsible wasting that money on albums that they don't use when they could be using it for charity instead?"

I'm not sure I like your tone here. (1) Because it's pretty clear ARMYs can damn well do what they want with their money. It's incredibly patronizing to presume to know what other fans individually value or to dictate how you think other people should spend their own money, to presume nobody here can think for themselves to know what and how best to spend their earned income. We're in a hobby space, anyone who's already opened a fan account/blog is already in too deep no point sugarcoating it. We're here because we want to be and are getting something we still deem worthwhile for our own pleasure. So what if we spend whatever the fuck we want on our hobbies as within what we deem as appropriate? And (2) ARMYs already and comfortably do both. There's no k-pop fandom that's as heavily involved in charitable causes as ARMY. Take it from someone who's been around. Do you think mobilizing a fandom of hundreds of thousands of people to raise $1 million in 24 hours would be possible if that culture and the fundraising channels didn't already exist?

And this was before Dynamite. Before 60% of the fandom that's already here, joined.

The only place I agree with you, is in that a solo fanbase was so involved and could raise that amount of money in the first place. Because giving influence to solos is just a recipe for disaster. In my experience, akgaes are just fundamentally less intelligent people. Akgaes and solo stans or people who lean towards solo stanning (not including casual fans), are also more reactionary and impulsive, verbally/emotionally abusive, paranoid and prone to conspiratorial thinking. These are people with nearly zero ordered thinking skills and unwavering tunnel vision. They won't think twice about applying blatantly illegal methods or acting rashly if it means getting the result they want. If there's ever a massive scandal on the fandom or BTS, I can almost guarantee you it will be because an akgae fucked up or went too far. Also, I'm actually not certain all the funds raised by Taehyung's fanbase did so through legal means. That's what I mean about solo stans. Too many of them are literally just that stupid. And I mean, just by virtue of being a C-bar, it's fairly common for some bars to be linked to members of wealthy/political families in China and SEA. There's only ever been rumours, but it wouldn't surprise if it were true that some money involved was made by illegal means.

Which is one reason I hold on to my hope that people will refrain from partnering with solos, regardless of how things evolve for BTS, but given the way things are going, by 2026 the fandom will likely be a 65 : 35 ARMY : solo ratio, from what I assume to be 90 : 10 now. It's kinda bleak actually. But it is what it is.

Jikook will still be jikooking anyway and the music will still be dope. So BTS and HYBE will keep getting my money.

[split-spectrum]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @thegreatwicked :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3? Three

2. What's your total A03 word count? Just over 65K

3. What fandoms do you write for? Just Star Wars, right now.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

I only have 3 total fics 😅 but I'll list them in order of kudos:

Water and Rock - Obi Wan x Reader, slow burn with smut

Four Hours - Din Djarin x Reader, basically a one-off but in two chapters, porn with minimal plot

Pretty Young Thing - Obi Wan x Reader, one-off, porn with almost no plot

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes! I really appreciate people taking the time to comment, so I certainly want to let them know 💜

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? In the Star Wars fandom, I don't have any multi-chapters with endings, so I'll say Water and Rock since it contains the most angst lol

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Pretty Young Thing is just shameless wish fulfillment on my part lmao

8. Do you get hate on fics? This is so funny and I'm glad I get a chance to answer it - yes! I've written for several fandoms in the past and had mild criticism, and a long time ago there was actually ~drama within the same realm as my work, but not directed at me. However! I very nearly stopped posting after only two chapters in the Star Wars fandom because I immediately got an incredibly rude DM right off the bat. Honestly, it stung to the point I wasn't interested in sharing more. But after that, I received so many other kind comments it really turned things around and made me want to continue. I'm so grateful for all the sweet messages and comments you guys send. It makes it fun to share, which of course is what fanfic is all about :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Absolutely, yes. I write F/M currently although in the past I've also written M/M. I just don't feel as comfortable or good at it. I like vanilla stuff for the most part with some kinks, but I'm not really into BDSM or anything that includes violence beyond mild things.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? I have, but not for Star Wars. In a past fandom, I wrote a crossover for Futurama that was very fun. Nothing smutty, just for laughs.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware. One of the funniest crimes, though, if you ask me. Not to anyone who's had a stolen fic. That must feel awful. But for the person stealing someone else's work and taking credit? What on earth could you be trying to accomplish with that?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yeah, I had a 30-something chapter AU once upon a time that was completely translated into Russian. I didn't even find out until a few years later that it was on a Russian website with like a devoted readership and the translator giving author's notes on what they felt I was trying to convey in certain chapters. It was overwhelmingly flattering, but also strange that the translator never tried to reach out to even speak to me about it lol. Still, an amazing feeling, that someone enjoyed my writing enough to translate it for others. Gets me choked up 🥲

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes, I was once a part of a 4-person google doc collab for a fic and it was unbelievably fun.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship? All TIME? That is a tall order. I have to cheat and give multiple answers, I'm so sorry. I think it was @pickleprickle who mentioned Diana×Worf from Star Trek TNG and I absolutely love them.

Ben and Leslie from Parks & Rec.

A niche mention, but: Aloy and Kotallo from Horizon Zero Dawn (the videogame). I am OBSESSED with their dynamic and clawing, gnashing, biting, etc that it's not canon.

And since I just finished the Chiss Ascendancy Trilogy: Thalias and Samakro girlies please rise up, I am so in love with them 😭

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Speaking of Thrawn... still have a fic with him on the back burner, and I don't ever know that it will get posted.

I also have a smutty Obi Wan one-off that was started ages ago, like 4-5 months ago or something and I'm about 50% sure it won't get finished but I really really want to. I keep coming back to it but never finishing which is VERY ironic considering it's... uh... it's edging.

16. What are your writing strengths? I feel like my answer to this could change based on the time of day lol but I will say I feel strongest when writing dialogue and I've had the most compliments regarding characterization.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Oh, where to begin? 😄 I definitely suffer from the classic overuse of commas. My setting descriptions leave a lot to be desired, and I really wish I made more use of similes. I once had my work described as "clinical" regarding an interaction between two characters. I like to think I've learned and grown since then, but I still find myself jealous of people who are skilled with real, fleshed out, poetic descriptions.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? All depends on the writer. I know people who are amazing at it, and it comes off as natural. Myself? Not so much. And I wouldn't care to attempt it, tbh.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Listen... it was a long time ago...

Inuyasha 🧍

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? My all-time favorite is from an old fandom I don't particularly like to engage with anymore, and it's sadly no longer posted for that reason. I will say my current favorite fic is Water and Rock and I can't wait to post the next update. :)

No pressure tags! @cosmicsierra @djarins-cyare @grapenehifics @firstofficerwiggles @spicemaidenfic @eveningserenityyy

[songofsunset]

Please continue updating as you go through One Piece. I'm a fan of it and I absolutely need to hear more of your takes throughout the series.

Hello!!! tumblr didn't show me this ask until now, but it is always nice to hear that I'm not being super obnoxious when yelling about stuff! I have just finished episode 29 aka the Baratie and Don Krieg and here are my thoughts so far (aka justice for Usopp and also more thoughts after that hahaha)

-Usopp was done SLIGHTLY dirty in the live action lmao- the romance was great and it was all a wonderful bit of the show but like, anime Usopp??? he is a strategic thinker (he made a fake army in the bushes to scare away pirates! he prepped the choke point with traps!) and a good leader (he is so good with the kids!!) and is an excellent shot (he gets to use his weapon in a lot more ways and places in the anime!!!) and he KNOWS he is telling lies and exaggerations and he is doing it on purpose, because it's fun and it makes life interesting, and also because THATS JUST GOOD DAMN CHILDCARE LOOK AT THIS MAN GO!!!!

and he KNOWS he's a bit of a coward, which is why his goal is specifically to become BRAVE, and he is PROUD of his pirate dad, instead of like, kind of sad and jealous, and when he goes out to sea he is following in his dad's footsteps on purpose because he respects and looks up to that man (ALSO the fact that Yasopp wouldn't shut up about his son to the extent that anime Luffy recognized him on SIGHT with zero other context??? that helps!!! that makes things slightly better!!!! Like he's a shit dad still but lmao)(side note: I carried around pictures of my nieces and nephews and would regularly accost people with them for most of middle and high school lmao, same hat Yasopp, same hat)

And he is ready to do anything to defend his village even if he IS scared, and he just wants them to be safe so he let's them believe he'd been lying about the pirates this time as well instead of trying to grandstand and get credit for defending them, and they like him and miss him when he isn't there and he's a PART OF THE COMMUNITY (childcare!!!! entertainment!!! a public service!!!!!)

and he decides all on his own to set out on a journey, and the fact that he goes with Luffy is just because they are friends and they want him there, not because he isn't taking his own agency to change his own fate and become who he wants to be!!!!!!!!!!!

In conclusion I liked LA Usopp well enough, but anime Usopp is one of my FAVORITES!!!!! My hope is that they were just setting up a relevant arc for him, and I do believe they could pull it off hahaha additionally:

-yeah, the very first thing Nami did when she met Luffy was feed him, she was never gonna get rid of him LMAO

-the Sanji and Luffy dynamic is SO different in the anime and the show, and I love what they did with Sanji in the show (in contrast to Usopp the WHOLE BARATIE got SUCH A DAMN GLOW UP oh my god, the actor is charming as hell, and they nailed Zeff, and damn the set is so cool) but also the slow dawning change on Sanji's face from 'who the hell is this weird chore boy kid' to 'i respect him' to 'im gonna go be part of his crew and also I would die for him' is fucking visible in real time over several episodes and I cannot get enough of it, absofuckinglutely incredible oh my god

-Let 👏Anime👏Zeff👏Eat👏His👏Own👏Leg

-shoutout to the LA for saving their set budget for the Baratie and doing Zoro's ENTIRE BACKSTORY on one single platform in the middle of the woods, super effective and I didn't even notice until the anime had us in an actual training hall and stuff xD xD xD

-"If i can hold more swords ill be stronger" ACTUAL FUCKING ZORO DIALOGUE OH MY GOD, shoutout to that baby hamster for holding like 10 swords the first time he ever tried to sword fight, he began as he meant to continue and I love that for him

-JOHNNY AND YUSAKU!!!!! ZORO HAS GODDAMN COWORKERS AND THAT IS PEAK FUCKING COMEDY OH MY GOD, THEYRE GREAT AND ICONIC AND THEY ARE ALSO HIS ACTUAL DAMN PIRATE HUNTING COWORKERS LMAOOOO

-Mihawk's fucking EVERYTHING, what the hell, i love him and also LMAO

-Extremely fucking hilarious of the live action to have Mihawk deal with Don Krieg practically off screen lmaooooo, and also I understand why that one fan in the LA reaction videos I watched was so excited to see Gin show up, what an extremely One Piece character

-Luffy is my favorite. He is a character of all time. Something is deeply wrong with this child and also I love him and that terrible terrible glint in his eye

[jojotichakorn]

For the ship ask game - kanthua The Eclipse and jimwen Moonlight Chicken :)

👀 considering our conversation about moonlight chicken, i feel like you are trying to expose me KLDFGJLKDFGJFDKJG still thanks for sending these in tho 🤍

kanthua

do i ship them, and why? big time yes!! thua is my favourite character from the eclipse, and neo always puts his entire actussy into bringing any character that he's given to life. thua and kan's respective arcs intertwine really beautifully as well, like they just Make Sense. and when their lips briefly touching makes all your insides do cartwheels in a way that few actual kissed have done, you know it's Serious.

canon potential: they are fully canon and i have absolutely zero notes in terms of how it actually happened. kan's mixed signals, thua's complex feelings about their dynamic and how he's meant to act, the whole bruce wayne thing, the way that any of kan's fears are forgotten when he gets protective or jealous, the fact that they get together after kan makes that leap and goes to the protest, etc. etc. and i really love the scene where they get together, because kan acknowledges where he fucked up. 11/10 canon dynamic.

opinions on fandom opinions: there's a lot of clownery at thua in general, i think, but in terms of the couple, i'm chill with everyone's headcanons about those two.

jimwen

do i ship them, and why? how shall i describe this... i don't ship them and don't not ship them, i'm just kinda 🤷‍♂️ ykniwm. just 🤷‍♂️.

canon potential: what can i say, i'm just not the biggest fan of this specific dynamic, where there are certain boundaries established and then the main character goes on trying to cross them. like i know, i know, the boundaries are there for a sad reason and everything ends well, but whenever the message does end up being "sometimes, not listening to what the other person says they want and don't want is the way to go", i'm like "huh?" 😭 also, the fact that they are trying to convince me that the age difference between them creates that big of a disparity, especially when 1) mix and earth look pretty much the same age, and 2) neither of them looks the age they are supposed to be in the series, it just does not land for me. i'm also not the biggest fan of the generation gap as a sweeping statement either, especially when we are talking about marginalised people, who often fall out of those typical patterns because they are directly negatively impacted by lack of progress. and, don't get me wrong, there is some truth to the problem of fathers and sons absolutely, shout out to turgenev, he's my man, but it's not that simple.

opinions on fandom opinions: i have not dived into the side of the fandom that's into the series at all, because - aside from heart and liming - i did not really like it. so can't really say what i agree or disagree with.

send me a ship, and i will tell you why and how i ship them

(list of dramas i've seen)

[dipstar1489]

Ranking Main AvM Ships + Purple

Do note that just because I portray these characters in a non-dating relationship doesn’t mean I don’t mind if other people ship them as long as it’s not my version. I will be elaborating how I view their relationships and my general thoughts on the ship.

Second Coming

Second Coming x Green: 6/10. Sorry, they just feel like besties. I can see where the ship is coming from though.

Second Coming x *any of the rest of fighting stick figures*: 4/10. They all just have a sibling dynamic with Second Coming.

Second Coming x Purple: 1/10. Second Coming was only stick figure who hesitated before going into the portal and understandably showed the least amount of trust in Purple. Could be friends if Purple got their shit together.

Green

Green x Second Coming: 6/10. They just feel like best friends to me.

Green x Blue: 9/10. They are a adorable ship and will always be one of my top favorites

Green x Yellow: 5/10. Eh. I view Yellow as aroace and having a sibling dynamic. Also, this exists?

Green x Red: 4/10. Again, this exist? Not something I see often.

Green x Purple: 8/10. I absolutely love this ship due to their dynamic, though I headcanon Purple as aroace who feels a third type of attraction and would be in a queerplatonic relationship. The one thing that’s holding this ship back is how often Purple betrays the group and lack of interaction. Get this stick figure in therapy and I could see it work.

Blue

Blue x Second Coming: 5/10. It’s alright. Not really my thing though.

Blue x Green: 9/10. YES!

Blue x Yellow: 5/10 Sorry I personally see them as adoptive siblings and Yellow being aroace with zero interest in people. I can see the chemistry though.

Blue x Red: 3/10. Where did you come from?

Blue x Purple: 3/10. I don’t think Blue fully forgave Purple for betraying her and is the second person to be skeptical of Purple. Not certain if I want to make them cousins or not too.

Yellow

Yellow x *any stick figure*: 1/10. While ships involving Yellow can be adorable, I view them as aroace with zero third attraction.

Red

Red x *any stick figure*: 3/10. While they did previously develop squishes (platonic crushes if I remember this correctly) to several of the stick figures, he currently sees them as siblings.

Purple

Purple x Second Coming: 1/10. Purple has constantly betrayed the group multiple times and Second Coming is only recently seeing them as an ally.

Purple x Green: 8/10. I absolutely love their dynamic but Purple needs to get their shit together.

Purple x Blue: 3/10. I feel like Purple is somewhat intimidated by Blue because she is a physical reminder of Purple’s dad. I also headcanon them as cousins too.

Purple x *Yellow and Red*: 2/10. Not enough chemistry to really ship it.

PolySticks: 5/10. Adorable ship, though I personally see them as a found family.

[unforth]

@sharkfish are you sure you want to know? You're going to hate it.

Okay so last year, @/selpuku, who is an artist for several fandoms I'm in, posted this

on Twitter. They specified in a second comment that they meant primarily Moshang, which is a ship between Shang Qinghua, who is a book author who dies, wakes up in his own book as a baby, and then grows up to adulthood in the book, so who is at least 50 years old probably older, and Mobei Jun, who is a character in the book and a very powerful demon who Shang Qinghua spies for and, well, there's too much to explain succinctly but there's probably a 30 year age difference but Shang Qinghua doesn't realize at all that Mobei Jun is (in canon this is) interested and it takes a while for them to figure it out. The power dynamics are complicated; Shang Qinghua is older and basically created the entire book verse, but in-verse he's fairly weak and Mobei Jun could pretty easily crush him like a bug if he wanted to (but instead, as the pic says, Mobei Jun wants to rail him so bad).

Anyway, so far, so fandomy and normal for fandom.

But then.

Someone Quote-Retweeted it to scream about how "reverse grooming" was not a ship dynamic and it was disgusting and all the usual anti crowd jumped on board. I've got OP for the reverse grooming post and basically all the other involved people blocked so I can't find many receipts now (and finding anything older than a day on Twitter is nearly impossible anyway) but in the replies to the "reverse grooming" post a whole bunch of people went off agreeing and sharing all the examples from danmei especially that they felt reflected this supposed dynamic where a younger person somehow "grooms" an older one into a relationship. They especially went off on Hualian, which is the relationship between Hua Cheng (an 810 year old super powerful ghost) and Xie Lian (an 817 year old super powerful god). Because they met when Xie Lian was 17 and Hua Cheng was 10, they are a ripe target for the dumbest takes ever. Antis split between what's going on here, it's usually either "its pedophilia because Hua Cheng was only a kid when they met" (never mind that they get together literally 800 years later) or "Hua Cheng is an obsessive stalker and his behavior is abusive" (never mind that between about the time when they're 23/16 respectively and 817/810 respectively they literally don't see each other for 800 years). Their actual dynamic is more like fan/celebrity, where Hua Cheng is embarrassed everytime his fannish behavior (note: no not Finnish behavior, autocorrect, lmao) is revealed, and Xie Lian is always super chill about it, and they fall in love, and happy otp feels abound.

So yeah people antis decided that Hualian was the quintessential example of this so-called "reverse grooming" dynamic since Xie Lian was obviously not an abuser but they're positive in their vibes read that the relationship is toxic so therefore one of then MUST be the abuser which means Hua Cheng must be the abuser. and there's also initially an age difference and since antis only have like three insults to hurl at ships they don't like and "pedophilia" obviously didn't apply (since Hua Cheng is younger) and incest didn't apply (since there's zero way they could be related) and grooming didn't apply (since Xie Lian didn't have a hand in raising Hua Cheng, though there are absolutely antis who think the opposite, that Xie Lian is the abuser of the two and is a groomer etc) anyway the point is if none of those is the problem it's time to invent a new term for what happened and that's "reverse grooming" where the younger one "grooms" the older one into a relationship the older one wouldn't have wanted otherwise.

Even quite aside from how utterly unsupportable this is in canon, it's still absolutely batshit. Of course it's possible for younger partners to abuse older partners and even manipulate them into relationships but even considering that, "reverse grooming" is still a batshit way to refer to such a dynamic.

Anyway this exploded on danmei Twitter, and beyond that even, for about a week.

Now you know. You're welcome. And sorry.

[littleharpethcrossfit]

Saturday,  14  January,  2023.... Warmup.....Bench Press.....Big Chipper.

The Weather-Lady predicted that we would enjoy a cold and clear morning, and she was correct.  But the cold didn’t keep over 25 of you from coming to play.  

Warmup #1 was led by the dynamic Warren G.  He also got you started on Warmup #2.  WG was in a hurry.

Warmup #2:

A  Familiar Partner Med-Ball routine

5  Exercises to get your Bench Press muscles ready. 

10  Chest Passes

10  Underhanded Passes

10  Right-Side Passes

10  Left-sided passes

10  Thruster-Passes

Strength WOD

Bench Press:     3 / 3 / 3 / 3 / 3 / 3       Get A 3-Rep Max

Dumb Bell Rows:       5 / 5     Super-Set  AHAP  Between 

Bench:

Shane=275     Bernie=245     WG=205     Scott=185     Ed/Coach/Nathan=165     Dyer/Tom=155    Smoothie=150      Timmy/Zac=145     Dana=140**     Rodney=135     Warren A=125       Joe  /Cheri/Kayla=95       Linda=90     Jansel=75     Yani=65     SC/Alicia/Lew and some others=no posting

Metabolic Conditioner

25  Pull-Ups

Run=200 / Row-Ski=250 / Bike=500m

10  Thrusters     ( E=95 / 75 / 55 )

Run=400 / Row-Ski=500 / Bike=1000m

10  Thrusters     ( E=95 / 75 / 55 )

Run=200 / Row-Ski=250 / Bike=500m

25  Pull-Ups

REST  5  MINUTES AND REPEAT  !!!

Games Ready:

Coach=26:50

ELITE:

Shane=22:49     Timmy=26:20

The Rest:

WG=20:35 (PJ)     Dana=21:39     Kayla=23:00     SC=25:00     Cheri=25:05     Linda=25:28     Smoothie=26:09         Zac=26:14      Bernie=26:18     Tom=27:07     Joe=27:28     Ed=27:32    Dyer=28:06      Rodney=29:40     Jansel=29:50    Yani=33:26     Warren A=PJ     Nathan/Scott/Alicia/Lew and others=no post

Notes:

S.C. brought Kayla, and Kayla brings others.  Kayla brings fun people, mostly.  At least 80% of the time.  Today Kayla brought a fun couple from Florida.  I signify “FUN” because they think your curmudgeon Coach is handsome, adorable, and a great Coach.  Jansel and Yani are both 1st generation Cuban’s and they even have authentic accents.  Yani has done CrossFit in her past, but Jansel proudly proclaimed to be a “cyclist” and that he thinks extra muscles would only slow him down.  That reminded me of THE FIRST DAY RODNEY.  They were awarded LHCF t-shirts and a Lifetime Free Membership was offered, but I doubt they will return, considering their Florida residency.

Do you know how many CrossFit Affiliates are on the island of Cuba ??  ZERO.  There are 48 in Middle-Tennessee.

Big Lew came to the early workout.  He is now 5 days post shoulder surgery and is sporting a sling.  He is under strict orders from SHE WHO MUST BE OBEYED to only ride the bike, absolutely nothing else.  I think he did 1000 calories.

The weather tomorrow will be much like today’s.  The early workout will be cold, but it is supposed to warm up to 55 degrees by the afternoon workout.  

Tomorrow at 0730 and at 1300.