#3&quot

[fuckdamn]

it’s time to expose myself

[wornoutspines]

Navigating Knowledge

Knowledge can be a double-edged sword. Netflix's #3BodyProblem reminds us to tread carefully in this #QuoteOfTheDay ⬇️

“Be careful with what you know. That’s where most people’s troubles begin.” – 3 Body Problem

[craftystampin]

You Can Create It - International Challenge & Inspiration - July 2023

You Can Create It I’m so excited to be part of the international “You Can Create It!” group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators.  The group was started by German demonstrators Anja Luft and Heike Fallwickl as a challenge to see what different and beautiful projects can be created from the same list of just a few materials. Every trimester there are 4 monthly envelopes plus an extras envelope.  Each…

[minnesotafollower]

The Prayer Jesus Taught: “And forgive us for our debts as we forgive our debtors”   

On March 19, 2023, Rev. Dr. Tim Hart-Andersen, the Senior Pastor at Minneapolis’ Westminster Presbyterian Church, delivered the fourth of his five sermons on different passages of the Lord’s Prayer. [1] This sermon was on the following portion of the third sentence (in bold) of that Prayer: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is…

[cool-wilson-david]

SocialAgency360 Agency by Godswill Okoyomon Review

SocialAgency360 Agency by Godswill Okoyomon Review

SocialAgency360 Agency by Godswill Okoyomon – SocialAgency360 is an All-in-One cloud-based Social Media Agency App that creates everything for you to Start, Grow, Deliver and Manage a full-blown Social Media Agency in just minutes. SocialAgency360 Agency by Godswill Okoyomon. Find Clients on-demand using with Robust Lead-Gen engine simple search plus close clients in minutes using our tested…

[musicarenagh]

RIAA Diamond-Certified Rapper Roddy Ricch Shares Latest Single “Stop Breathing”

RIAA Diamond-Certified Rapper Roddy Ricch Shares Latest Single “Stop Breathing”

Roddy Ricch, who is well-known for his ability to create enormous bangers and captivating melodies, has released a new song called “Ghetto Superstar,” in which he asserts his position in the music industry. This song, which features G Herbo and Doe Boy, is a proven chart-topper that has the potential to put you into a tizzy and get the party started in full swing. It is heartening to see that he…

[peaceofheartpeacefulmusic]

Chillout Love Beats Lofi [ lofi music for relax/study]#shorts(#POH_PM124)

[rageserenity]

It's 2024. Are you still thinking about movieverse!Cherik? Because I am.

For the past several months, there's only been a very slow trickle of posts/fics in the xmcu cherik tag. Let's try to breathe some life back into this incredible pairing!

With one clear winner of my poll, here's thirty prompts for the thirty days of April. (This is a super chill, laid-back event---do these in any order, interpret them as loosely as you like! Create in any medium! Fic, art, gifs, meta, incoherent screaming about the otp…all winners in my book.)

The only rule here is to cherik too close to the sun. Alright. Here are the prompts.

Mutual Pining

Doesn't really even need elaboration! Write that horrifically slow slow-burn. Gif every time McAvoy made insane fuck me eyes on screen. Make a playlist of songs about impossible love.

2. Alternate Meetings

There are endless quotes about how these two complete each other in a way no one they'd met before or after ever did. How else could they have met?

3. Erik Has A Telepathy Kink

This is basically canon. Let my boy get freaky!

4. Canon Fix-It

All the times Fox fucked it up. There are endless options.

5. Hurt/Comfort

Put them in that Situation. Put them in that Blender. Break them apart and put them back together ❤️‍🩹

6. Canon Compliant

Draw that missing scene! Gif your favourite cherik moment!

7. Beach Divorce

Make it worse. Make it better. Show it to us exactly how it was. Break it down in a 3,000 word meta. Go wild!

8. Domestics

Sometimes you just want to see them doing normal couple things. Erik put the gun down.

9. Found Family

The real heart of x-men!

10. Time Travel

There are SO many possibilities here. Stick them in a time loop. Give them a chance to change their past.

11. AU

Love a good AU!

12. There Is Only One Bed

Had to get this one in here. What better way to amp up the tension?

13. Genosha

By some miracle, cherik actually did end up together at the end of 2019s trash bag disaster Dark Phoenix. We aren’t making a big enough deal about this.

14. Declaration(s) of Love

Who says it first? How do they say it and when? Have they said it…without saying it?

15. Jealousy

Need I say more.

16. Reunion

These two have absolutely no chill.

17. Soulmates

Classic prompt, had to get this in here too.

18. The DOFP Aircraft

The TENSION here. Break it down for me. How does Charles feel about his injury? How does Erik feel about his injury?

19. Gay Mutant Road Trip

You already know.

20. Body Swap

SO fun when people have superpowers.

21. First Kiss

When? How? Who initiated it?

22. The Mansion

Mansion!content is a genre of its own.

23. Conflicting Ideology

Give me your theses. Who’s right? Can they ever reconcile completely? Write a fic where it drives them apart.

24. Sebastian Shaw

A trope unto himself.

25. Team As Matchmaker

They had to have known something was going on, didn’t they?

26. Cooking

Charles deserves a good meal. Also, imagine Erik using his powers in the kitchen. The sheer domesticity…

27. Hurt No Comfort

Plenty of scope with these two 🥲

28. Growing Old Together

Giving Sirs Ian Mckellan and Patrick Stewart their props as well!

29. Making Up

*pushes chess board across the table* sorry babe

30. Charles Xavier Did More For Mutants Than You'll Ever Know

Rising to each other’s defense. Only I can insult this man.

I will be tracking #revivecherik to reblog stuff! Here’s a fic collection for the same. Let’s get this ball rolling! Please feel free to send me an ask if you’ve got anything to say! And most importantly, let’s all have fun 😁

*I know a few of you preferred something like a gift exchange because of the commitment factor—I’m super down to organise a tiny one for the handful of us! If this promptathon doesn’t flop horribly, we can hopefully do a whole bunch of stuff :)

If you read this post all the way through, please reblog for reach! Thank you! Hoping you participate come April.

Shoutout to @inmymagnetoera for reaching out and helping with this!

[directdogman]

random DSaF thing I'm not sure if people picked up on.

Something significant about the DSaF 3 phones that popped into my head while I was writing the last post comparing Peter's DSaF 2 and DT incarnations that I didn't bother mentioning bc it was long enough

Harry and Jake are actually parallels to Steven + Peter respectively with a few major differences applied. (warning a LOT of text:)

Both Harry + Steven are generation 1 phones. They're both shown to be fairly by the book and are able to completely turn off their empathy when situations call for it. Both are completely disconnected from their former identities in a way that the other phones aren't. To further cement this connection, Harry is even shown to be the one that sent Steven to the factory. If an employee dies in your restaurant, Harry's response to it is pretty much what Steven's would've been.

Ultimately, he is a company man, like Steven. Just like Steven trying to save himself by any means necessary in DSaF 1, his confrontation in DSaF 3's evil route specifically talks about how much you've cost him and while he clearly feels disgust with you, he more so drills the futility and sheer callousness of what you're doing in rather than really tries to make you feel bad for the bad things you do. He speaks to you like you're more of a failure than anything else. You're not HIS employee, but as the former head of the franchise, speaking to the person who just killed it for the final time. He focuses on what you specifically took away from him, turning the conversation back to himself. His final words are a cold goodbye. His response to your actions is close to what Steven's could've been in this situation.

Ultimately, he's even more of an insider than Steven and someone with more of a direct connection to the cycle of misery that occurred at Freddy's. Basically, several of Steven's defining qualities are amped up in different ways.

Peter on the other hand, is not a company man. He's a gen 2 phoney, more in touch with his personal identity and in the good ending of 2, even escapes in order to reunite with his old lost family. He's generally a chiller boss than Steven, clearly caring more about the well-being of staff/customers than making the company happy.

Jake, similarly, also is in touch with his personal identity. Like Peter, he escaped in order to find his family, but as his backstory scene in 3 points out, this didn't go to plan. Jake, on the surface, seems like a polar opposite to Peter in how overtly cynical he is, a word he deliberately uses to describe himself in his DSaF 3 callout. However, this actually masks something that's more evident if you listen to him in certain key scenes.

Jake cares about others. A LOT. I based his characterization on a George Carlin quote: 'Scratch [the surface of] a cynic and you'll find a disappointed idealist'. It shows what Peter could've been if he'd never reconnected with his family or been able to correct any of the ills he came across. Someone who was worn down by life and put up walls as a result. But, the underlying care is still there and affects his decisions/words at key moments.

If you read his equivalent callout in 3 very carefully, there's some pretty strong parallels to Peter's callout in 2. He notably drills home the fact that you abused the trust of customers so you could feed like a monster. He mentions having higher hopes for you, hoping you were going to be someone better. Even after all Jack's done, he still expresses shock that he feels no remorse at all. His scene ends with a much harsher line, commanding Jack to never contact him again, akin to Peter's closing line in the equivalent 2 scene.

Also, notably, he breaks the no cursing Phone Guy rule in the scene. His reaction if an employee gets springlocked at your location is also noticeably more Peter-esque, remembering what he went through and not wanting another person to turn out the same, in contrast to Harry deciding to just go by the book, a decision that directly led to the creation of Steven pre-DSaF 1.

Okay, that's about it. I bet there's people out there who caught this (knowing me, I've said all of this before and forgot about it) but I figured a few people might find it interesting regardless. thanks, everyone!

[rayclubs]

Which tf2 merc do you think gets mischaracterized the least?

Good question! Let's do a rating.

In my opinion, there are three aspects to characterizing someone.

Facts - you have to get basic character backstory right. This includes all objective canon truths, events, and, well, facts about said character.

Behavior - you need to understand how the character acts, how their interpersonal relationships function, what they're like in their day-to-day life. This is the nitty-gritty of fanfic and fanart, this is dialogue, line-to-line characterization.

Integrity - you need to understand the character's core beliefs and principles, what their values are and how they view the world around them. This isn't something you can easily quote or point to as a mistake in fanfic, it's more of an overall idea of a character.

Each of these is going to be worth up to three points, with zero for terrible characterization that gets everything wrong. This would ideally total to nine points. I'll be awarding an additional bonus point for character interpretation that doesn't make me scream "he would not fucking say that". Let's go.

Scout:

His backstory is fairly simple. He has an absent father, half a dozen siblings, and a crush on his boss who doesn't reciprocate. People mostly get this right, except they also call him a virgin despite the fact he canonically lands the fried chicken queen, and seems to do it with ease. 2/3.

His behavior is also mostly portrayed accurately, in that he's loud, obnoxious, self-absorbed, and can be kind of a dick, though not completely without endearing qualities. The fandom is, admittedly, guilty of making him more insecure and self-conscious than he actually is, to amp up the drama. 2/3.

His core values, however, are completely off. The main interpretations I see of him are "depressed Scout", "homophobic Scout", and "baby Scout", neither of which is true to his character. This is a grown man with a force-a-nature complex. The homophobia is just projection and internalized prejudice, but that phenomena is too complicated for me to dissect here. I talked about it before and might make another post later. Anyway, 0/3.

Scout does not get a bonus point. He would not fucking say "poggers" but he would say "daddy-o".

Overall characterization score: 4/10

Soldier:

Very little is known about Soldier's backstory so there isn't really any room to be wrong about it. What we do know is also vague and unreliable, so it's open to interpretation. Given how little room for error there is, I'll give him a 3/3.

His behavior is completely off in most cases, often shown to either be overly aggressive or so dumb you start to question how this man functions in his day-to-day life. Canon Soldier has plenty of endearingly stupid moments but a lot of them can be read as deadpan jokes on the character's part, and many turn out to be secretly clever moments, such as him infiltrating the robot base with a goofy cardboard disguise. Likewise, canon Soldier has plenty of aggressive and mean moments, but he's not cruel and very clearly not a threat to his teammates, which isn't captured at all in fanworks that decide to go that way. 0/3.

Soldier's core ideals are mostly captured well, as in - yeah, he calls people communist as an insult in fanfics. I feel like he should mention God more often than he does in fanon, it's, like, one of the two ideologically meaningful things he ever talks about. The importance of "America" as a concept to him is mostly preserved but left unexplored. 2/3.

Soldier does not get a bonus point, he would not fucking say [homophobic slur] yet here we fucking are.

Overall characterization score: 5/10

Pyro:

His backstory is nonexistent yet people still fuck it up. His technical knowledge is clearly extensive and impressive, as shown by the complexity of his weaponry - which, mind you, looks HAND MADE - but people treat him as if he's altogether incompetent and maniacally stupid all the time always. He also ran an engineering company for hell knows how long and people just forget about it because they're allergic to adults or something. God this pisses me off so much. I mean for fuck's sake, people act like his full job description is "Pyromaniac" and not "Pyrotechnician". I'm so tired. 0/3.

His day-to-day characterization and dialogue is also completely off. People treat him as if he's INCAPABLE of communication, make him obsess over childish things he's only shown a moderate liking to in a manner that's borderline creepy and insulting, and take away his whole entire agency in everything he ever does. I will literally not give y'all a single point, you do my man Pyro so dirty. 0/3.

His ideology is complex and vague in canon, and I don't blame people for getting confused by such things as Pyrovision, but FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. In my time on Ao3 I've seen animal Pyro, cryptid Pyro, monster Pyro, alien Pyro, evil mindless maniac Pyro, incompetent baby Pyro, nonbinary Pyro (HENCE MY PROBLEM WITH THE HEADCANON, do you see how it looks next to all these other interpretations?) but I've rarely, if ever, seen competent adult Pyro with actual hopes and dreams and agency. 0/3.

Pyro does not get a bonus point because he would not fucking say "uwu" but he would say "fuck", let Pyro say fuck.

Overall characterization score: 0/10 are you fucking surprised

Demoman:

Oh poor lad what have they done to you. So, Demo's backstory is arguably the most detailed and fleshed-out in the entire canon. Too bad nobody fucking read it. Admittedly, in the recent years I've seen people mostly manage to remember he has several jobs and is overall a competent and successful man, but it's rarely - if ever - explored, I've seen exactly one fic where the author bothered to explore what one of his other jobs might be (and it was not a good fic for many other reasons, don't ask me for a link), and it honestly feels like people don't want to dwell on it? Like, they mostly mention it to fill a quota, y'know? Here, I'm not racist, I've acknowledged one of this character's achievements, leave me alone. Also the subject of him being fucking adopted as a kid never comes up. 0/3.

His day-to-day characterization suffers a lot because people think alcoholism is the most morally repugnant thing that can ever happen to a human being. This man honestly barely even has a presence in the fics he's in. Are you wondering where Demo is? Well, he wasn't there! He was BUSY! He couldn't come! There is a handful of writers who bother to write his actual inner monologue and point of view, and this point goes out to them only. Also there was a pretty good Boots and Bombs fic in which Demo was a dick to Soldier but then got better, and it stuck with me. 1/3.

His core character is fucked up by fandom because he's either all flaws or not allowed to have any flaws, and there's no in-between. Ever since I joined the fandom I've seen a lot of critique floating around, and people mostly seem to listen and realize they've been mistreating the man for long enough, but it created a whole separate problem of Perfect Demoman which is bland and boring. People don't want to write an offensive caricature but don't feel like fleshing him out either, so they just make him great at everything and never let him fail and grown in ways that are meaningful. Except that one fic I mentioned earlier, but I've already awarded a point for that. 0/3.

Demo does not get a bonus point. I couldn't find a meaningful example of bad dialogue because, like I said, he has no presence in any of the fics he's in. He would fucking say something.

Overall characterization score: 1/10 and honestly it's too generous on my part.

Heavy:

Okay so Heavy's backstory really confuses people. I've got like a dozen asks in my inbox when I called his father a revolutionary AND a counter-revolutionary. Wait till I call him a royalist, it'll blow your tits clean off. I don't feel like explaining the history of the communist regime in the USSR on this post, let's just say people are mostly faithful to canon but don't really "get" Heavy. 2/3.

His day-to-day characterization is plain bad. He's treated like a mother hen to the mercs when he's more of a stoic friend with a mean streak and a crude sense of humor. I think the main problem is the dialogue, people just can't give him the dignity of speaking in an intelligent manner. It's honestly also pretty bad in the comics. 1/3.

His core ideals are fine, if oversimplified. He's not a complicated man, he loves his family, his guns and his doctor. People rarely give him any more depth than that but it's not offensive to his character or anything. I feel like he should have more political opinions than people give him. I also feel like people make him way more protective of Zhanna's romantic pursuits, to a creepy degree. I mean, yes, he's annoyed by her marrying Soldier, and seems horrified for a brief second, but it's not like he's against it or anything, he's just kinda surprised? Anyway, 2/3.

Heavy does not get a bonus point because he would not fucking say "da". Pizda.

Overall characterization score: 5/10

Engineer:

Yeah people mostly get him. He's got 11 Ph. Ds. Some treat him like he grew up as an actual cowboy or something but most remember he's a nerd. I'd actually give all the points here because Engie's backstory is NOT complicated. 3/3.

His dialogue and day-to-day characterization is also okay, though people really mellow him down a lot. I had a bit in one of my fics where he said something like "let's teach those sumbitches how the real killin' is done" and like three different people commented on it saying they liked or were surprised by his mean energy. It's not even that mean, I think it kinda shows my problem with his interpretation. 2/3.

I asked about mischaracterization once and a lot of people replied "Engie is the most mischaracterized because people treat him like he's good but he's actually evil" which I think pretty much covers it? It's hard to write someone who is not implicitly strictly good or strictly evil. Engie treads this balance really well, I'm actually convinced his demeanor is not a facade, he is nice at times and mean when he wants to be. Fanon Engie can only be one of two things and neither is right. 0/3.

Engie gets a bonus point as an exception. I actually can't tell why, people just have his voice on-point. Is his accent and manner of speaking really that easy for you? I struggle to write him a lot. I think he should say "bitch" more.

Overall characterization score: 6/10

Medic:

People focus on the fact he lost his medical license more than on the fact he HAD a medical license in the first place. Other than that he really doesn't have a backstory. I dislike that people try to give him a sad one, I think he grew up loved and maybe even a little spoiled, but I can't fault others for not following my headcanons, so. 2/3.

His dialogue is the WORST because it's written phonetically. His goofy yet self-confident energy isn't captured well at all. The best I can put this is "people wife him" but it sounds kinda mysogynistic so really I'm at a loss. Submissivepilled breedablemaxxer. 0/3.

His core values are also all over the place. The complicated thing about writing Medic is that he actually doesn't come with pre-packaged drama. His backstory is vague, his demeanor is optimistic, his vibes are fun, and the worst thing that happened to him in canon was working with the classics for a bit - people amp it up to squeeze hurt out of it, which is fine, but not many people actually like going there. Thing is, fanfic writers aren't that good at writing drama when it hasn't been established before. They have to warp his character, make him edgy, self-conscious, or plain mad evil without redeeming qualities. I remember really struggling with my big Medic fic because I wanted it to be dramatic but had to put a lot of work into actually building up the emotion, because Medic is fine. He's fine. He's alright. He's fine. He's doing well. 0/3.

Medic does NOT get a bonus point, he would not fucking say "babygirl" and I'm not even sure if he would say "yass queen slay" I'm SORRY

Overall characterization score: 2/10

Sniper:

People mostly get his backstory right, probably because it's the most well-explained in the comics and it gets the most "screentime". It's also literally a Superman parody which is funny and memorable in concept. 3/3.

People can't find a good balance between stoic professionalism and social anxiety. I think Sniper is actually pretty simple, in that he's a little self-conscious which pushes him to actively better himself as a professional, but also makes him a little awkward so he comes across as standoffish and a little mean. He's a solid bloke that's balanced and feels real. Fandom has to go for the extreme every goddamn time with him. It sucks. 0/3.

People kind of get his drama, his relationship with his family and whatnot - mostly because a lot of us losers can relate, I bet - but, again, go for the extreme in making him anxious, whiny, and sad as a wet kitten. Unless it's a porn fic in which case he's an absolute freak that growls at people. I don't know what it is about Sniper that makes him so difficult to characterize. Manic pixie dream boy. Dark and moody lover love me like no other. 0/3.

Sniper does NOT get a bonus point because he doesn't say "cunt" nearly as often as he should. Also send me asks about my Sniper takes I want to stir up some shit.

Overall characterization score: 3/10.

Spy:

The only piece of his backstory we actually know is that he fathered the blight of the earth that is Scout TF2. 3/3.

His obnoxious and insufferable demeanor is mostly captured well. A lot of his portrayals aren't nearly as classy as people think they are, but that's because most authors are themselves proletarian, myself included, which is fine. Not many make the effort to pepper his speech with French words it would actually be natural for him to say, and blame it on the nonsensical complexity of the French language, but I'm not buying it as an excuse. 2/3.

His core values are off in regards to Scout - he's often portrayed as soft, mellow, overbearing, and critical of Scout's love life to either a comical or an uncomfortable degree. His fandom portrayal often also lacks the self-confidence he's demonstrated in the comics. Spy is not above strangling a man with a chain that holds the shackles around his ankles, he wouldn't consider it a blow to his dignity to fuck any of his coworkers either, come on. He's also funny and goofy but the fandom tends to neglect that. 1/3.

Spy does not get a bonus point because he would not say "perchance" but he would say "your mother".

Overall characterization score: 6/10

The final scores are:

Spy - 6/10

Engineer - 6/10

Heavy - 5/10

Soldier - 5/10

Scout - 4/10

Sniper - 3/10

Medic - 2/10

Demoman - 1/10

Pyro - 0/10

There we go! Pyro is the most mischaracterized, Demoman is a close second, and nobody is characterized well. Cheers!

[enjoythesilentworld]

💜💜

X Me    (“Simon, my back really hurts after rowing practice. You think you can give me a massage?”)

hello anon <3 so, at this point we've learned that i'm incapable of drabbles. i hope this little 1.5k ficlet lives up to your expectations with that beautiful quote you've provided xx

also, i wondered how i was going to do this prompt without making it very horny. and, well, it's definitely horny, but also has some fluff sprinkled in! (very fade-to-black M-rating)

A not-so-short, but straight to the finally-falling-into-each-other, friends to lovers AU.

~

“Simon, my back really hurts after rowing practice. You think you can give me a massage?”

Simon lifted his gaze from where he’d been hunched over his laptop and found Wille standing in the entryway to their apartment. He was slightly sweaty and frowning, uncomfortably rolling his shoulders, but Simon could see the slight smirk hidden in his features, the challenge.

Things had begun to shift between them lately. Simon first met Wille in the freshman dorms on the first day he’d arrived at university. Nearly four years later, after many late night study sessions and trips to coffee shops and video game competitions, they were best friends and still lived together. The thing that had shifted was the fact that, since one month ago, both of them were finally single at the same time.

Either one or both of them had been in some kind of relationship for the past few years, and about a week after Wille ended his last fling, things began to change. He and Wille had always been more touchy than a typical friendship, but it was never weird for them. There was a certain blurry, invisible line they never crossed, but Simon never saw it as anything other than platonic. That was, until they were both single and suddenly the way Wille brushed past him in the kitchen with a hand to the small of Simon’s back or the way Simon sometimes curled up into Wille’s side on the couch had a very different undertone. Then, there was the time two weeks ago when they’d both gotten a little drunk at a party and danced together, a little too close to be casual. Or that other time one week ago when they’d gone out to dinner with friends and sat pressed up against each other in a booth and Wille put a hand on Simon’s thigh, a little too high to be friendly.

It was like they were playing a game, amping up the tension that had been building between them for— Honestly, for the last four years. If, on that first night in their shared dorm room, Wille hadn’t disappeared to go to some party with a cousin of his and hadn’t come back in the morning covered in hickies, things probably would’ve started between them much earlier.

Simon already felt like he was going to burst at the seams, and so it was really very cruel of Wille to return from rowing practice looking like that, asking Simon to do that, and doing a real terrible job of hiding the fact that he knew exactly what he was doing.

“What?” Simon asked, feigning cluelessness.

Wille took a few steps forward and dropped his bag on the floor. With a dry mouth, Simon watched him interlace his fingers behind his back, the damp, almost see-through material of his T-shirt stretching as he did.

“I think I might’ve pulled something,” Wille said, voice strained as he lifted his clasped hands, traps and upper biceps flexing with the movement. He pouted at Simon. “Please?”

Simon swallowed and kept his eyes locked on Wille’s, even as the man reached down and picked up the hem of his shirt, using it to wipe his sweaty brow. In his peripheral, Simon could still see the revealed expanse of skin.

He managed to keep his tone relatively casual, eyes flitting back down to his laptop, as he said, “Yeah, sure. But only if you take a shower first. I can smell you from here.”

“You’re the best,” Wille grinned and saluted Simon before heading to the bathroom.

The moment he heard the shower turn on, Simon stopped pretending to click away on his laptop and dropped his head into his hands, exhaling a long, suffering sigh.

It would be fine. Simon would pull himself together and give his roommate, who he was maybe-not-just-friends with, a massage and it would all be fine. He would not lose this game they’d started.

Because he needed to do something with his hands, and because he’d abandoned all hope of focusing on his essay any longer, Simon went to the kitchen and quickly made a smoothie for Wille. He knew that, after a rough practice, Wille was always too tired to make real food and would just end up having chips, which was not a very good post-workout meal.

The shower shut off just as Simon was cleaning out the blender. He whirled around when he heard the bathroom door swing open.

“Where do you want me?” Wille asked from the doorway, still damp, hair dripping, and nothing but a towel around his waist. His smirk softened to an adoring smile when he saw Simon approaching him, holding out the smoothie. “Oh— You made that for me?”  

“Yes. You need real nutrients, Wille. That’s probably why you hurt yourself.”

Wille snorted and took the smoothie, giving Simon a quick peck on the cheek. His smell, fresh and soapy but still so Wille, overwhelmed Simon’s senses.

“God,” Wille moaned, licking his lips. “This is delicious. Maybe I should start neglecting my health more often. I swear your smoothies are better than mine.”

He would not lose this game.

Simon rolled his eyes and knocked his shoulder into Wille’s as he brushed past. It left a damp mark on his shirt.

“Come on. It’ll be easiest if you lie down,” Simon said, letting himself into Wille’s room. “Do you have—”

“I’ve got this?”

Wille had followed after him and was holding out a half-empty bottle of massage oil.

“Right. Perfect,” Simon murmured, taking the bottle from him.

Wille took another big sip of his smoothie, then deposited the cup on the nightstand and lay down across the bed. His feet dangled off the edge. He sighed happily and shifted a bit, back muscles flexing, and half buried his face in the pillows.

Tentatively, Simon knelt on the edge of the bed. “Where?”

“Between my shoulder blades,” Wille said, voice muffled. Simon’s eyes tracked the bulging of his triceps, the rippling of his obliques, as he bent an arm at an awkward angle to gesture at the area.

He nodded then, realizing Wille had shut his eyes and couldn’t see him, stuttered, “O— Okay.”

With slow, careful hands, he pumped out a bit of the oil onto his hands and lathered it together between them to warm it up, then leaned forward and spread it gently across the expanse of Wille’s broad back.

He would not lose this game.

To keep his head, Simon focused on the feeling of the knots under his fingertips. There were a few along the bottom edges of his shoulder blades, and he also noticed that one side of the muscles along his spine were slightly more raised than the other. He ran a firm thumb over a spot of tightness and Wille punched out an exhalation.

Simon froze. “Did that hurt?”

“Yes,” Wille chuckled tightly. “But it’s nice.”

When Simon didn’t move, Wille added, “It’s okay, Simon. You can press harder. It feels really good. Honestly, a bit of pain makes it better.”

So he wouldn’t have to think about the double meaning of those words, about a very different context in which Wille could be saying them, Simon started again.

He would not lose this game.

He worked the heel of his hand over the tighter spots, pausing occasionally to add more oil. Starting near the base of his spine, then smoothing it up, up, up to right below his neck, then out across the top of his shoulder.

“Thank you for doing this.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I am,” Wille said softly, “really grateful for you. I’m really glad you’re in my life.”

Simon smiled down at the side of Wille’s head, the way his face smushed into the pillows, the way his eyebrows drew together and he bit his lip as Simon worked over a particularly tight spot.

Voice tight, he mumbled, “I just love you, Simon.”

“I love you, Wille.” His hands slipped slightly, and he felt his cheeks flame with the words. It felt different than all the other times they’d said it. To hide how much his heart had soared at the exchange, he sassed, “Except you owe me after this,” then dug his thumb deep into a knot.

“Whatever you—fuck.” Wille’s fond words broke off into a heated moan and he arched slightly into Simon’s touch. “Fuck that feels so good, Simon.”

The tender moment was definitely lost, and the sounds shot straight to Simon’s groin. His resolve was crumbling.

“There?” Simon asked quietly, rubbing his thumb over the same spot.

“Th—yes. Right there. Shit.”

Wille stopped biting his lip, stopped muffling his groans, as Simon worked over the taut muscles. Right where Wille had indicated, then slowly moving down his back, over smooth, oiled, beautiful skin.

His fingers hesitated at the edge of the bath towel that still covered Wille’s lower half.

“Simon,” Wille breathed, tone almost pleading.

“Can I take this off?” he asked quietly, thumbing across the fluffy fabric.

“Please.”

Simon was plenty happy to lose this game.

[arson-09]

Why AcoMaF is a subjectively BAD BOOK

Point 1: feels like a different series

Acomaf does NOT feel like a sequel to acotar. The main reason being your introduced to a whole new cast of characters without warning. Typically, in a series your introduced to your main characters in the first book and the cast that will come and go throughout the rest of the series (ex pjo, six of crows, the cruel prince) you get new characters introduced at some points but you already know all the really important people. in acomaf though we basically forego the og acotar cast (which was small) and given a HUGE cast of important characters. Along with a new, large plot that really didn't get footing in acotar. The only thing that carries over between the two books in Feyre. Tamlin and the spring court hardly count in my mind cause its so drastically different from how it was written in acotar

point 2: characters, their motivs, and their writing

I can go on for AGES about the character assassination of Tamlin. Sjm completely re-wrote his character. There was no actually foreshadowing for this behavior in acotar and i will talk on this more in a later point. But back to our main girl Feyre. Feyre wasn't horrific in this book (shockingly) however she frequently states things that aren't true. Example, she says that "He [Tamlin] hadn't tried to kill her [Amarantha], hadn't crawled for me." which is false. to quote acotar "I found Tamlins eyes- wide as he crawled towards Amarantha, watching me die, and unable to save me while his wound slowly healed, while she still gripped his power." I could also cite early passages where Tamlin is BEGGING Amarantha to stop hurting Feyre. We are told why in acotar Tamlin couldn't fix everything (giving reason to Feyre having to do the trials etc etc) however this is promptly forgotten in acomaf to villainize Tamlin and give Feyre some sort of motive. A completely unnecessary thing. SJM can't commit to what she wrote previously, having to retcon things instead of thinking up some other motivation or reasoning. Its frankly lazy and makes the story feel cheap. I made many highlights in acomaf where something is directly retconned.

point 3: SJM and writing anger issues and mentally ill characters.

This will mainly focus on Tamlin as his character and his issues are quite personal to me.

Tamlin is written to have anger issues. these are vaguely hinted at in acotar when, after Rhysand comes and threatens the shit out of everyone Tamlin orders everyone to leave the dining room and then takes his anger out on the furniture (that is what is hinted at anyway) and then in acomaf these outbursts of anger are amped up. And used to go "look! he's actually evil and a bad person!"

As someone who has anger issues, a short temper, whatever you want to call it, finds this really disheartening. It's clear to me that sjm doesn't actually put thought or care into writing characters with tempers. Its also extremely biased as Rhysand is written to have a short temper however this is never a problem, but it is with Nesta and Tamlin. Now this is not me excusing abuse, but a character having anger issues does not equal abusive and bad like the acotar fandom heavily does with Tamlin. In general Tamlin's character is so dissolved in acomaf its just sad. SJM didn't even try to write a convincing character descent. At some point in writing acotar she fell in love with Rhysand and decided she wanted to change the love interest. (she had done this before in throne of glass) and while that's fine choosing to use Tamlins anger issues and protectiveness to attempt to write an antagonist was a cheap cop out. She couldn't even commit to making him an actual villain. Shes just capitalizing off of mental issues.

[craftystampin]

Stampin Scoop Hello, Irresistible and More Online Exclusives Suite Episode 156

Stampin Scoop Hello, Irresistible and More Welcome back for part 2 of the Stampin’ Scoop show featuring the Stampin’ Up! Online Exclusives with lots of Hello, Irresistible Collection samples. Stampin’ Up’s just dropped a new line of “Online Exclusive” products. Tami and I shared a sampling of them in our pre-order haul last month but now we’re able to share them all! And in addition to the hot…

[beevean]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.comingsoon.net/tv/features/1352249-castlevania-nocturne-interview-kevin-kolde-and-adam-sam-deats-on-season-1s-ending%3famp

Good morning! Have a feast!

oh joy.

I think the Abbott is a great character, and a gray and complex character. [...] With the church, priests were being guillotined and everything else. [...] he’s reacting and doing what he must to survive and what he genuinely thinks is right, but it’s obviously so messy.

Guys, there is a difference between being complex and messy, and not making any sense. A priest who denounces the Revolution because it's "godless" but then allies himself with cruel murderous vampires with plans of making a queen vampire ascend to goddess status is not complex, he's a giant idiot.

"we we look at the French Revolution from our perspective" it was barely a footnote. Stop promoting Nocturne as this amazing fantasy story set during the French Revolution when you guys couldn't even be bothered to realize bread was nearly unaffordable and thus Tera, supposedly a common woman, couldn't offer it to guests.

One of my favorite parts of the series, honestly, is Richter having to come face-to-face with a possible future for himself is obviously a hallowing experience for him and is a big part of his character growth.

Juste is kind of a mirror for Richter because it’s where Richter may end up if he loses himself and becomes defeated.

...

....................

Juste exists solely for Richter to be like "eww no I don't wanna be like that".

Juste exists solely as a warning. Don't be too traumatized, or you'll become a nihilistic hateable fuck.

Juste. Juste Belmont. The Successor of Fate. The man who first grappled with the weight of his legacy. You killed off Maxim and Lydie without any thought just to shoehorn him into the "cynical mentor" stereotype regardless if it fit his character, instead of truly building up from the harrowing worst ending. He was included in the show to be shat on, for Richter to get over his trauma in one episode - or, to quote the article, "finally get his mojo back".

... yeah I'm just going to move on before I explode. "I love HoD" my entire ass.

"This was our chance to actually harmonize some of the things that were developed later with Harmony of Dissonance" oh you think you're so funny aren't you

an opportunity to show something that we didn’t really get to see that much in a lot of Castlevanias, which is that Juste is the first Belmont that can use magic, right?

Oh, is this why Juste is completely useless in unlocking Richter's magic, and he has to remember the woman who mocked him for not being able to use magic to have his badass moment? Huh uh. Please, you just admitted Juste's narrative role was to be pitied and looked down on as a warning to never become like him.

"[Alucard's return] was built in as we laid out what the first season was going to be. It was always there." I had no doubts.

The path of him finding himself when he’s in this totally new, different distorted form is really interesting. I think there are also some elements that speak back to Castlevania Season 3 and some of the conversations that Isaac has with his night creatures.

Season 4, actually. You're referring to Isaac's speech about how Night Creatures don't have to be tools of destructions just because they were made for that purpose. Which is not a bad scene in theory, but the problem is that Night Creatures in Nocturne are not the same as in NFCV. In the latter, they are truly mindless, except for FlysEyes because he used to be a philosopher so he's much more intelligent than the other souls (whatever, this is the canon explanation) - Isaac was, what else, mostly talking about himself allegorically. But in Nocturne, probably because they were created with a stupid DEVIL FORGING MACHINE, it's clear that the Abbot has little control over his own creatures. Like, Edouard is not particularly special in that regard, it's the Abbot that sucks lmao.

anyway I'm going to speedrun HoD, bye

[ardentpoop]

JACK KLINE, for the fic ask thing, jack kline

hi :3

so this one is again not an actual wip just a concept I wrote down when I was being eaten alive by s13 lmao. like the early samndean and jack dynamic makes me SICK I need to play with it . especially bc the rest of the season disappointed me so badly by veering off every which way to avoid the frightful endeavor of focused character development.

I really want to contrast the early sam-and-jack-alone moments where they’re cautiously getting to know each other w/ the atmosphere shift that happens when dean walks in. I want to dig into sam’s emotions here specifically bc jack’s introduction to the Home creates sooooo much opportunity for sam to rethink certain behavioral patterns he’s fallen into with dean for the first time in years! like sam would have that new-parent thing going on where he’s terrified of fucking jack up as badly as he was fucked up by the OG winchester household, and dean would exacerbate sam’s anxiety like crazy every time he opened his mouth lmao. that teeny tiny moment from “the big empty” where dean rudely says to jack “what took you so long” and sam gives dean that blink-and-you’ll-miss-it disapproving glance…. except way amped up <3

also I made a note abt jack’s self-harm scene (with the knife) bc I want to explore how sam would respond if dean told him abt it in his characteristically blunt way. I did write out a placeholder dean quote in service of this lol essentially I want him to call jack “defective” or something similar and for him to attribute the Defectiveness to lucifer in no uncertain terms, and I want the association to make sam Violently Unwell.

last thing I’ve got here is that I NEED to tease out jack’s hidden resentment for dean somehow. like obviously jack loves him and is in awe of him and is much more motivated to try to impress dean than to try to impress sam bc dean is The Man Of The House however the part of jack that’s afraid of dean is being pressure-cooked alongside anger and frustration . and I think it would be very fun if the lid popped off. maybe there’s blood! maybe sam’s powers reactivate. anything could happen.

[dre4ml4nd-st4rlight]

Punk rock band mate alter request by @cupofmoths . Hope you enjoy !! Glad to have been able to add another member to Disgrace :3

｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ ｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ ｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆ ｡･::･ﾟ★,｡･::･ﾟ☆

「 ✦ Base ID ‘ s ✦ 」**

╰┈➤ names : sInNner , MAyhEm , CHiv , rAmoNA , sPikE ,

╰┈➤ ****Pronouns : any prn , it/its , rock/rock , sin/sins , amp/amps , met/metals , punk/punks , fire/fires

╰┈➤ Titles : LoRd of MAyhEm , CHivalRouS bASsTarD , Leader of Disgrace , puNkrOt , gOd of puNk

╰┈➤ Genders : agender , transgender , transfem , dykefem , musiccomfic , metallian , musicstimic , loudmusicgender , impurnalcravic

╰┈➤ Orientations : lesbutch , lesdyke , biles , autophile , sapphophilia , hybriphilia

⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ other id ‘ s ๋࣭⭑ ꩜ ˎˊ˗

☾ Cis - typing quirk ( chaotic capitalization of letters ) , musician ( singer , guitarist ) , anger issues , hypersexual , autistic , ginger , 5’9 “ , 25 , Musician , Guitarist , cross dresser ( for fun / on occasion ) , piercings ,

⟡ Trans - gender ; male to ( xenic ) female , male to nonbinary , addict / permahigh ; crystal meth + ecstasy + nicotine + weed , Perma-stimming , transage ; born 1983 + Perma 1980’s + 1990’s + young to old ( 25 - 30 / 32 ) , nonhuman : rock angel + God ,

ᯓ★ 「 ✦ Roles + Alter Functions ✦ 」. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

emotional processor , alemetive , persecutor , sysadult , sensual reliever , reliefmate , artisan

MAyhEm’s role is to process any anger the body / headmates may experience ( whether it sPikE’s anger or not ). Amp does so through music ( writing it , playing it and listening to it ) , distraction ( being loud / chaotic ) , and occasionally through self harm ( any kind, not just physical harm ) . Sin can also help to create new alters - it can help them form by helping them explore different aspects of their identity ( typically through music + tattoos )

⋆.˚✮🎧✮˚.⋆ Interest and misc details ⋆.˚✮🎧✮˚.⋆

favorite colors : Red , fire colors , Black , grey , gold + silver

Hobbies + Interest : Music ; playing it, making it ( bands of interest : acdc , Metallica , guns and roses , kiss , maneskin, other bands of that genre I’m not familiar with hehe ), listening to it. Gardening + flowers ( like a calming past-time ) , Glampunk styles , old cars + motorcycles , racing , tattoos ( looking at / doing ) , pissing people off , making a statement , rallies , pride fests , parties , shows , preforming , loud noises , doing hair and makeup ; specifically for preformance .

they stim by : singing , dancing , playing with their hair , texture seeking ( they like very rough textures like rocks + asphalt ) , rocking back and fourth

Is the lead vocalist of the band Disgrace , loves to hang out with their bandmates and is in a sissasystem with them

sin loves to tattoo punkself other members of the system , their skill helps them in creating others .

CHiv is very chaotic and loud , met loves to break out into song and dance at any given point , will sing along to anything , and will argue with anyone about anything they feel so inclined to . They are similar to this quote from Brennan Lee Mulligan ; “ You can count on this , I will die on any hill “

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾

── .✦ Photos + Aesthetic hoard

face claim

aesthetic hoard