#Honestly why am I ever surprised this is just what these writers do

[imminent-danger-came]

2x03 and 4x03

Mei: “If I know the Monkie King, which I don’t, his lesson isn’t going to be as simple as just hearing, it’s some sort of twist. Maaaayybbee, it’s about listening good! You know?”

MK: “Isn’t that the same thing?”

(2x03 Pig Pong Panic)

-

Azure Lion: “If your bonds of friendship are as strong as you say, then you will always find your way back to one another.”

MK: “Alright! Find our friends, beat the curse, and get back to the good old fashioned story of the week!”

MK: “But where to start...”

Mei: “You’re a big brained boy when it comes to the legend stuff, got any idea of what chapter the JourNeY to the WeeSt we’re in?”

MK: “Uhhh I kinda just skip to the parts with Monkie King in them, but it’s fine, everything will be fine!”

Guard: “Did ya hear?”

(4x03 The Great Tang Man)

-

Not gonna lie gamers. I don’t exactly know what this one is trying to say. Like, it has to do with MK’s lovely ‘smartie kid’ arc (which tbh starts all the way in 1x10, I need to write a meta for it some time), BUT LISTENING?? HEARING??? AN “IF” STATEMENT??? MK’s “hand out” position and “finger on chin” position are swapped chronologically, not to mention they’re mirrored, and we all know how I feel about that.

I’ll put the scene (and lowkey a mini-meta) under a readmore, but during Pigsy and MK’s climatic ping pong fight this happens:

Mei: “You have to truly learn to listen”

Tang: “His hunger for the win! It’s insatiable.”

Pigsy: “I won’t stop.

“I can’t stop.”

“I’ll NEVER STOP!”

MK: *Gasp!*

“That’s what Monkie King meant!

MK: “Not just super hearing, but actually listening to what people are saying! I have to listen!”

LIKE. WHY SHOW THOSE SCENES.

Originally, I had assumed that this scene was for the shonen anime joke—this ping pong game is already so over the top, and having the hero make a climatic realization during it works super well. I think it’s hilarious every time I watch 2x03.

However, referencing 2x03 in 4x03 has made me totally reconsider the validity of this scene for like, character progression.

MK is of course terrible at listening. He assumes double meanings and doesn’t truly “listen” to what people say, just what he chooses to hear. I think 3x03 “Smartie Kid” has a great example of this:

MK: “Meeiiii, Monkie King needs to recharge after his fight with Ne Zha! He’s in no state to waste his time on mere mortals—especially now that I don’t have my powers.”

Pigsy: “Woah. He told you that?”

Obviously, Sun Wukong didn’t actually tell MK that. MK has seriously low self-esteem, and that seeps into how he interacts with others.

So, when MK hears “If your bonds of friendship are as strong as you say, then you will always find your way back to one another”, he assumes that means getting back to his “monster of the week” adventures, but it doesn’t. He’s permanently changed (4x07 hahahahahaha), and as we all know, part of the Hero’s Journey is the hero never returning home (*cough cough* 4x01 “But maybe this is the point in our hero’s journey where things get a little bit, darker. *cough cough*).

It’s definitely all tied together, but I’m not sure I grasp it entirely yet.

And then there’s the scenes from 1x09 and 1x10, which sure do imply...something. Currently I’m thinking the line “Ah, ya did it bud, you remembered what I told you” has everything to do with it, and everyone’s little speech about being MK’s team. They’re both scenes where MK truly listened to the people around him, which is a rarity around these parts.

And, you know what was another instance where MK truly listened?

[avelera]

I’m curious, how much control do you think Viktor was in in season 2?

I have tried to analyze this but am honestly stumped. Because on one hand it is clearly his intentions and logic being used. Since the beginning he has been wanting to heal people afflicted in Zaun (while it was also to cure his illness I don’t doubt wanting to help those in need was a legitimate motivation). He does immediately go to heal people in Zaun and all the conclusions he jumps to through the season do seem perfectly reasonable for him. He was the type of person who didn’t even conceptualize in season one that something like the hexclaw could be used as a weapon. That and the hexcore showing that he was a pacifist to the point of it being a massive blind spot to danger. So it makes sense being shot by Jayce of all people while in his eyes he was healing people would cause him to go all glorious evolution mode as a natural progression of his arc.

On the other hand he definitely didn’t come back right. The show makes a point to show in season one that the hexcore has some level of physical control over him, and even when going to heal the shimmer addicts he is following Sky’s voice. The writers also confirmed that it indeed was not Sky and was the hexcore manifesting his guilt to push him towards to glorious evolution. And his emotions definitely seem to be muffled and unexpressive. I know this part is joked about a lot but honestly even the fact that he chokes Jayce is surprising because he is consistently characterized as a pacifist to the point of it being a fatal flaw. He doesn’t even commit an act of violence in a show filled with fight scenes until the second to last episode, let alone against Jayce of all people. I think the last thing season one Viktor would do is intentionally cause physical harm to someone, hence why it is only at the part where he is the farthest gone.

Basically if I had to guess I’d say it’s like 50/50 level of control, but you have written some great character analysis so I’m curious what your thoughts are as to how much of season two was Viktor and how much was the Hexcore

Honestly, Anon, I'm wrestling with this on almost a daily basis myself when I write fics. It's definitely not helped by the fact they avoided a lot of exposition in S2 in favor of pacing (the slower pace of S1 allowed for a lot more signposting and exposition of what was going on, I think somewhat to the detriment of S2) and the fact that we don't really get much of Viktor after he stops being the Machine Herald, because to my eyes that's the first time we see the real Viktor all season and it would be nice to get him to express some contrast with what came before (though of course it would ruin the pacing of a perfect moment).

I think you basically nailed all of the points of confusion. I've ever considered tracking all the points where his voice warps for clues, because I think there is something to be gleaned from how and when his voice distorts, but in what direction is also a curious question.

Was saying "affection" kept them together more or less than what Viktor would have said to Jayce? Would he on his own have said love? Or would he, in his infinite shyness, have not dared to mention emotion at all, because Viktor is an expert at pushing those closest to him away and hiding his own emotions? Was that the Hexcore trying to drag Jayce in closer by calling it affection, or push him away before it could gain strength by lowering Viktor saying "love" down to just saying "affection"?

On the other hand, during the Herald's villain monologue at the end in the Astral Plane, his voice is distorted for almost every line except, "This senseless waste," which does feel like a sincere Viktor line, perhaps the only one that is truly him that whole time, including when he said he was pleased to see Jayce, in that horrible mocking tone. Could that not be the Hexcore speaking there?

I'll offer what I think is happening:

In order to chart "What is Hexcore" vs. "What is Viktor" it's less useful to look at Viktor's motives than the Hexcore's.

The Hexore wanted to expand its influence. It wanted to become powerful enough to have its own army and to destroy the civilization around it as other versions of the Hexcore have done throughout history. I believe it reached those goals by posing them as things Viktor, on his own, would want to do like help the needy, thus hiding its ends inside of Viktor's motives.

Note too that people who have dosed up on Shimmer are more susceptible to its molding.

Hence we can assume that the Hexcore, in the guise of Sky, using Viktor's guilt about her and his own failures to help the undercity, guided Viktor down to the Shimmer victim encampment specifically.

Viktor is not a mystic. The most mystical thing he says in S1 is that the Arcane speaks through mages. But the Hexcore is a magical artifact. Something like the Hexcore also destroyed a civilization centuries ago, and the figure in Heimerdinger's memory looks like Viktor when he's cloaked.

So personally, I think we can ascribe any mysticism to the Hexcore's influence too. That means the Cult, for example. Also Viktor's, "You need not suffer anymore," and kind of making them all genuflect to him, feels very OOC and just plain wrong for Viktor.

Whereas Viktor in the Astral Plane feels like real Viktor. Even the fact that when we show his point of view out into the world he is himself in a field of stars, seeing the real world projected in front of him like Plato's Allegory of the Cave gives the impression of imprisonment, like he's looking out through the windows of his own eyes to a shrouded world he can no longer directly touch.

And note, for example, that Sky/the Hexcore doesn't want Viktor to heal Vander. That's all Viktor. I believe the reason is because it doesn't want to run out of energy too quickly.

Basically, I think the Hexcore is stringing Viktor along there as Sky, giving him a little terrarium of stars to play in, while using him as a vessel of assimilation under the guise of healing. These are on both sides, inner and outer, things that Viktor wants to do, so he's seduced. He doesn't fight it.

I also think at a certain point, the Hexcore Viktor gains enough power to be able to impact people who aren't dosed with Shimmer. I think this comes later though, which is why it's not interested in Jayce at first but it is interested in assimilating him later. At that point, again, those motives align with Viktor's own sincere desire to see Jayce again (maybe he's sick of all the hippies in the commune lol) and the Hexcore is happy to get rid of someone who could conceivably stop it.

But note, the Hexcore is still playing along with Viktor. It could forcibly assimilate Jayce, but Viktor wants Jayce to choose his side willingly, so it holds back. In part too because that disappointment is what fuels Viktor to give himself over the Hexcore's goals entirely and ask for Singed's treatment with Apex Shimmer. At that point, as the showrunner noted, it doesn't need the guise of Sky anymore, it doesn't need to string Viktor along anymore. He's bought into the idea of forcibly assimilating the world if he can't get Jayce to join willingly.

I also heard an interesting theory that I'd like to factor in: basically, until he gains access to the Anomaly, Viktor doesn't have the power to strip himself of the Hexcore's influence or overcome it. That's why there's no point in Jayce trying to get through to him sooner, it wouldn't do anything because Viktor would still be trapped in its web.

Once they have the Anomaly, Viktor as an ascended being can strip away the Hexcore's influence. And that's why I lamented that we don't get more of his thoughts in that scene. Because I think an interpretation can be made that the Machine Herald look is just the human form of the Hexcore, using Viktor as a vessel.

Once that outer shell explodes, it really is Viktor again, with all the power of the Anomaly and Jayce's rune at his disposal. Now he and Jayce can work together to reverse the damage, free all the trapped souls from the Hexcore's web, and save the day. But we see that only then Viktor is able to view his own actions as himself, and he's horrified. There I think we get Viktor's one true, sincere reaction to everything that has happened up to that point and confirm that, yes, while the Hexcore interwove its seduction through Viktor's motives, none of this is what Viktor wanted. The ultimate outcome was the Hexcore's goals.

Quick Doylist addition: I also think there's definitely a draft where it's all Viktor getting controlled, but the writers know that can be kind of boring. It's better when characters take action and make choices, rather than being controlled. So I think that's why they settled on a combination of "The Hexcore's end goals, but Viktor's underlying motivations being twisted to support them."

[mythicmanuscripts]

PLEASE more aemond PLS i am on my knees begging for scraps. ur one of the only writers who actually GETS him

Thank you so much!! One of the main reasons why I started this blog is because I couldn’t find much content of Aemond and how I picture him so this means a lot!! I have a few little ideas that aren’t really long enough for full imagines that I’m just gonna babble on about here for more sub!Aemond content :)) also, you guys are more than welcome to send more requests and to send more specific requests!! Anyway, here’s some random disjointed sub!Aemond babble

I didn’t intend for this to all be SFW thoughts it kinda just happened?? Honestly I have no idea how but yeah this is all SFW, I am happy to write more NSFW though! So if you have any ideas for NSFW sub!aemond then let me know :))

————————————

The first time you ever give Aemond anything resembling an order is at your first dinner after your wedding. Aemond is stiff and formal, barely entertaining conversation, you get the impression that he wishes he were anywhere else.

There’s a pitcher of wine next to Aemond, and you ask to have more wine. You say this out loud, and as expected a servant immediately takes the wine pitcher and fills your glass. You thank them, but then to your surprise when you look back at Aemond he looks angry, and maybe even tells the servant to get lost?

So now obviously you’re beyond confused and you ask him what’s wrong. Which leads him to blush. BLUSH?? And he softly mumbles something that sounds an awful lot like “you asked me to do it and they did”

You press him and eventually realise that for whatever reason, Aemond thought you were asking him to refill your glass and he’s upset that a servant did it before he could. Which… you’ve never been so confused in your life because you what?? He’s barely even speaking to you and then he’s upset he couldn’t fill your glass?? He’s upset he couldn’t do that has always been the servants job?

So without thinking you get up, put your now full wine glass on the cabinet and grab an empty one. You sit back down and ask Aemond to fill your wine glass. You expect him to roll his eyes but he immediately takes the wine pitcher and fills your glass and then gets up and carries the glass to your side of the table, putting it down for you.

You thank him, and to your shock he… smiles?? So then you decide to lay it on thick and say “thank you very much Aemond, I appreciate it” and then he just… actually starts a proper conversation with you and seems very pleased with himself??

So after that you start experimenting, asking Aemond to do things for you, thanking him when he does and praising him and well, he now follows you around everywhere you go and will fire any servants who dare to try and do whatever you’ve asked him to do.

————————————————

When Allicent first met you, she was beyond relieved because she very quickly realised how much influence you have over Aemond. She thinks that she’s finally found a way she can control Aemond and ensure he behaves and does what she wants.

Unfortunately she very quickly realises how wrong she was when she tries to form some sort of pact with you and you shoot her down immediately. You tell her that you have absolutely no interest in being a tool for her to use to control Aemond.

And well, now allicent is in even worse a position because before Aemond would at least mostly listen to her and now? Now Aemond doesn’t even look at her, nevermind speak or listen to her.

Aemond gets all the love and affection and guidance he could ever need from you. Allicent could be on fire next to him and he wouldn’t even notice.

————————————

The first time you suggest kneeling for Aemond, he’s mildly offended. He thought you understood how much he needed to be cared for and loved and never degraded and now you want him to kneel for you?

But, Aemond trusts you and he knows you always know what’s best for him so he agrees to try it once. You put a pillow down on the floor in front of a chair by the fire in his chambers. You sit down on the chair with a book, and have Aemond kneel on the pillow. You let him rest his head on his inner thigh.

Within 2 minutes Aemond is obsessed. He just…. He feels so safe?? You’ve got your hand in his hair, the fire is providing warmth, and it’s just the two of you. Very quickly he closes his eyes and just lets himself drift, the sounds of the fire and of you turning pages lulls him into this calm, almost half asleep state.

So obviously from there kneeling for you becomes common place. And maybe he even starts to tell you things while he kneels? It’s like once he’s there, his head on your thigh, all nice and safe, he’s able to just vent and complain and tell you everything that’s been on his mind.

As much as Aemond loves hearing your counsel and always asks what you think of things, you don’t give him any advice while he kneels for you. That’s not the time, he only wants to be allowed to vent and feel safe when he kneels.

And then maybe you also start reading to him? And god Aemond is just in heaven, not a single one thought in his head. He vents to you, gets all his frustrations out and then gets to just close his eyes and listen to your voice until he’s about to fall asleep right there. Then you help him up and crawl into bed with him, he’s asleep before you can even blow out the candles.

———————————

[lvis44]

Senna or Superman // LH44

Lewis Hamilton x Reader

Warnings: Language, Angst, Talk of this seasons difficulties, Suggestive dialogue, (Felipe Massa jump scare mention), Not Edited

Word Count: 4.3k+

Summary: Brazil 2024 was unforgiving, but amidst it all some greatness can still be achieved.

Notes: Hey y'all, like I said, I was feeling like typing and needed to work on something different for a second and I think I can speak for all of us that today had me feeling all of the emotions. There's definitely some angst in here but a lot of it is just absolute fluff and reader being an absolute Stan of her boyfriend, bc who wouldn't be if they were dating Lewis Hamilton, lets be real. Also, I've said it once I will say it again, I cannot follow a tense to save my life to ignore that. Kisses xxxx!!!

I am not a professional writer and all of this is a work of fiction and is strictly for fun. Enjoy! xxx

You hadn’t gotten much sleep and you were feeling it as you sat in the back of the Mercedes garage. Lewis had been hyper and full of anxious energy when he returned to the hotel last night. He had spent most of the previous day bobbing around the paddock like an energetic child, complaining about the delay in qualifying and trying to convince anyone that would listen to him that they should be sent out to try and put a lap together. He’s in Brazil, he wants to put on a show, but he’d been forced to wait much to his dismay and that had left you having to deal with him. He had been hyper after being so ready to go but never getting the release from his adrenaline and also annoyed that the sport had changed so much, yapping on about how when he first got to F1 they would have sent them out and that danger and adrenaline is a key part of the sport. You tried incessantly to get him to chill but you really had to just let him wear himself out, much like an actual child. It wasn’t until later in the evening, laying against his chest after finally convincing him to try to get some sleep, that you really got the answer to his emotions.

~

“I’m so excited and honored that I’m driving the MP4 tomorrow, but I’m also nervous. I was so prepared to do it today but having to wait, delaying the gratification, it’s really getting to me.” Lewis whispered into the comfortable silence, surprising you with the unprompted admission.

“It’s even more iconic to do it on race day.” You told him softly, rubbing your hand against his warm chest hoping to lighten the weight of whatever way playing in his mind.

He just hummed in response, evidently deep in his thoughts, his arm tightening around you ever so slightly.

“It’s understandable that you’re nervous Lew, you’re driving a piece of history, not just history to the sport but to your own personal journey and career. You’ve been asked to drive your idols car, the man is the reason you found your calling. Superman or Senna, right?” You kept your voice quiet, realizing that he needed to talk this through a bit more but not wanting to disrupt the peace that had settled around the two of you.

He smiled down at you as he heard the last part of your statement, chuckling lightly,  “Superman or Senna, yes indeed.” He trailed off for a moment, the soft smile lingering on his lips as he stared at the ceiling, almost as if reminiscing over those years when those were his two goals in life, back as a young boy in Stevenage. “What’s kinda funny is that it’s not that I’m really nervous about driving the car itself, like I feel confident in that part, I feel like I’m more than capable. It’s that I’m nervous that I don’t deserve this or something, this is a big deal and I would never want anyone to regret this decision or something. I honestly don’t even really know, like I don’t know why they would regret it I just, I don’t know. Just not really sure I’m worthy of this.” He finished his rant, letting out a deep sigh.

Hearing his thoughts caused you to sit up, no longer caring if you broke the peace in the room. You stared directly at him, eyes locked with his that were evidently startled at your abrupt departure from your cuddle.

“Lewis, I need you to listen to me. They chose you, Senna's family specifically chose you and asked you.” You started, poking him in the chest for emphasis before putting the same finger over his lips to shush him when he tried to argue. “They could have asked any of the other drivers on the grid, they could have asked a retired driver, they could honestly have asked whoever the hell they wanted, but no they asked for you. Not the current reigning champion, not the owner of the car, not even a Mclaren driver. They asked you, not only because they recognize your talent but because they see him in you. They see the love and respect that the people of Brazil have for you and they see you return that tenfold. This beautiful country made you a citizen for a reason, they see you carry that flag with the same pride as your own. Lew even Felipe Massa said that you deserve to be the one to drive that car and isn’t he like literally suing you right now?”

You finally let out a huff before the both of you erupt in a fit of giggles, Lewis forcefully pulling you back down to him to wrap you tightly in his arms. 

“I didn’t know he said that, honestly rather shocking because yeah, pretty sure he is. But ya know, I heard he’s running out of money.” His lips hold a smirk as he looks down at you before you’re both consumed by another fit of giggles. “Thank you,” He whispers once you’ve both calmed down, his lips against your forehead, “I needed to hear that. You know I get too much in my own head sometimes. Still have a hard time believing that all of this is real after everything I’ve been through, where I came from, ya know?”

“I do,” You say, tilting your head up to press a soft kiss to his lips, “you’re allowed to still revel in it, even after all this time. It truly is mental, even if it’s been this way for a while now. And by the way, I’m pretty sure the only reason they would ever regret letting you drive that car is if you crash it into a wall and break it, so just don’t do that and I’m pretty sure everything will be just fine.” You giggle, giving him another kiss.

“Well damn woman, no pressure or anything.” He fakes offence before splitting into a grin with you.

“Hey,” you say, your voice softer again, “I know I’m biassed and all, but know that I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this honor and I am so incredibly proud of you. I’m not sure I’ll be able to hold back the tears when I see you in that Mclaren tomorrow. You are an incredibly blessed man but you do not take it for granted and I am honoured that I get to see how incredible you are every single day, as a driver, as a partner, but most importantly as a human. Let yourself enjoy this Lew, you deserve it and I will be there watching in awe.”

“I love you so so much.” He says, his voice thick with emotion as he pulls you impossibly closer to him.

“I love you too,” You tell him softly, placing a kiss on his chest where he has squished your face into him, “now get some sleep, you have to be up in a few hours for that stupid early morning quali.”

~

Lewis had left early in the morning, sneaking out of bed around 3:30 to get ready. Only waking you accidentally when he placed a soft kiss on your forehead as he was leaving. He was apologetic, telling you to go back to sleep and that he would see you at the track. Not that you were able to get much more sleep, needing to get up and get ready yourself if you wanted any chance of making it there on time. When you had finally arrived to the garage, you made sure to perch yourself in the back, trying to stay out of the way of all the busy people rushing around you.You only got to see Lewis for a brief moment, only having enough time to give him a quick kiss and send him off with a final good luck encouragement. It was pointless though, you both knew the car wasn’t going to perform to Lewis’ liking. If anything it had somehow gotten worse for this weekend. 

As you sat in the garage watching on you couldn’t help but cringe. Lewis was battling with the car, not even making it out of Q1. You knew his mood wouldn’t be amazing when he finally made his way back to you after going to be weighed and speak to the media. You watched the next session, baffled by the sheer chaos unfolding and you couldn’t help but pray that the race would end up being better. The grid was out of position and red flags were being thrown left and right. You let out a sigh when you saw your man finally enter the garage, his helmet still on. He stopped momentarily to speak with some of his engineers, shaking peoples hands and thanking them for their hard work. He finally locked onto you, gesturing for you to follow him as he made his way to his drivers room. When you walked in behind him you could see how heavy his shoulders were. His helmet had been discarded on the bench beside him but he still hadn’t turned around.

“Hey, we knew it was gonna be shit, right?” You said quietly, putting your hand on his damp back.

“Yeah, we did. I’m just so ready for this season to be over.” He finally said, letting out a deep breath as he turned to face you.

“We’re so close babe, so so close. And for now we get to take a little time away from this devil of a car.” You told him, wrapping your arms around his neck as his hands found your waist. Not caring one bit that he was soggy from the rain and the sweat, just content to be with your guy.

“Still got a race to do hun.” He reminded you, kissing his teeth.

“Oh I know, but let’s not think about that right now. I was talking about you getting behind the wheel of a Mclaren MP4 for a little while instead.” You smirk, leaning up towards his now smiling face.

“A proper race car.” He says, his smile threatening to split his face.

This is what you wanted, you wanted him to revel in the joy, revel in the honor of driving such an incredible car. Enjoy being behind the wheel of a Championship winning car once again even if it was only for a few laps and unlike the cars he was used to winning in. 

“A legacy meant for a hometown hero to carry on, and a race car meant for a World Champion. It’s been waiting for another great to stretch its legs and they found just the right Brazilian for the job.” You whispered to him, your faces incredibly close now. 

“If you keep talking like that I might end up locking you in here.” His voice is teasing as he wraps his arms around you.

“As much as I desperately want to say yes to that, I do believe you have something to get ready for.” You sigh, pulling back and patting his chest.

“I do, but we’ll use it for motivation later, I might need it.” He says as he peels himself off of you, his voice is playful but you both know he’s dead serious.

“The second we leave this track, I am all yours for as long as you want or need.” You promise, watching as he starts to change and prepare to go meet the Mclaren mechanics that have been looking after the historical car.

You sit in a comfortable peace for a while, occasionally exchanging words about little things that don’t really matter that much, just enjoying being in his space. You know that when the day is over you will have a full debrief, all of the frustration that he’s setting aside for this moment will inevitably bubble up once he’s in the safe privacy of the two of you alone, but for now you entertain his small talk and let him start to get excited about his incredible moment as he gets himself ready. When he’s ready he turns to  you with childlike excitement bubbling at the surface and you can feel your heart swell.

“This is a good look for you.” You tell him, eyeing the all white suit with the Brazilian flag at his waist.

“I’m still mad I can’t wear his actual helmet.” Lewis grumbles with a shake of his head.

“I hate to say, I actually agree with them on that one babe, let’s keep your head safe, yeah?” You laugh.

“I know I know, don’t think it would even fit on my head anyway.” He playfully groans, making his way over to you.

“I like the special helmet for this weekend though, it’s still a tribute.” You remind him, knowing he’s half joking but wanting him to be fully confident when he steps out.

He nods, taking a moment to admire you before he’s pulling you close and landing his lips on yours in a kiss that takes you by surprise with its force.

“Thank you, for everything,” He starts when he finally pulls away, his forehead resting on yours, “for reminding me that I’m allowed to revel in this, for keeping me grounded,for letting me be excited, just for everything.”

“Hey, that’s why I’m here. You do the exact same for me when I need it, it’s why we work so well.” You say quietly, your hand coming to stroke his beard gently.

“If I don’t get to see you before I get in the car, just know your words from last night are gonna be in my head the entire time. I’m gonna let myself enjoy this, let myself feel this. Nothing else about today matters other than honouring and paying tribute to my childhood hero and getting to live out my childhood dreams of driving the car that made me want to start racing around the circuit that introduced me to another home.” His voice holds excitement and certainty as he speaks that makes you want to cry and kiss him all at once.

You’ve never been quite so proud of the man in front of you. Yes, you’ve cheered for him since the beginning, before you even met him. You’ve wept when he’s broken records and won each and every championship. Yet nothing quite compares to seeing this amazing moment and knowing just how much he deserves it, knowing that there is no one better to hold this responsibility and honor. There is no one like Aryton Senna and truly there never will be, and there is no one like Lewis Hamilton and there truly never will be. 

“You know you’re doing for millions what he did for you, right?” You whisper, hoping he knows just the level of inspiration he gives to everyone watching him, young and old alike.

“I know, and it’s amazing to be able to do that.” He says, his smile warm.

You don’t say another word, giving him a long kiss, feeling connected to him in a way you both need in the moment, albeit for much different reasons. You are pouring every ounce of pride and amazement into the kiss, hoping he can feel it, while he is absorbing the love and reassurance that comes with your touch, letting himself feel his greatness and humble himself all at once. Finally there is a knock at the door, signalling that he really needs to get going, causing you to part from each other reluctantly. 

“Okay, I gotta go do the most amazing thing of my entire career.” He says with a smile, “Be here when I get back?”

“I can’t promise I won’t be sobbing out near the pit wall but I will definitely find you, promise.” You laugh, giving him one last kiss before he grabs his helmet and makes his way over to the media garage where the incredible car is being stored for him.

It takes you a little while to get out to the pit lane that is already lined with people. You wish you could be closer, see the car up close but this isn’t your moment. Today is for Senna's family and the people of Brazil, you are just lucky enough to be able to witness the incredible moment in person.You know Lewis is somewhere down the pitlane, most likely trying to stay calm as he geeks out over the amazing machine he is about to drive. He has driven one of Senna’s cars before, but not in a long time, and not in this setting, not with this honor and audience. You also know that no matter how many times he may have had the privilege of being around and driving incredible race cars, he is a racing driver through and through and the excitement will never change. While you’re standing there smiling to yourself, thinking about how excited Lewis must be and taking in the incredible aura of the crowd, you catch sight of the live stream playing on the jumbotron. There he is, getting in his idols car, you watch as he takes a moment to really take it in just before he’s being strapped in. It’s funny to you to see him surrounded by Mclaren mechanics again, to see the goodyear tires you remember from your first ever F1 races. Then they’re rolling him out and the crowd gets their first in person glimpse of the car over the wall and the cheers echo through your soul. It takes a few more minutes for them to be ready and the atmosphere is building with anticipation but then they start the engine. The first rumble sends a chill down your spine and silences the track. The sound of the V10 roaring to life evoked a visceral feeling from you, bringing back memories of why you fell in love with the sport as a child in the first place and you could only imagine what the emotions coursing through Lewis in that moment were. You saw him shake his head in disbelief as he revved the engine and you could just picture the boyish grin that would be covering his face at that moment. Then it cut, he stalled, and you heard the boos and wanted to run and protect him. You knew it wasn’t his fault, and realistically you knew the crowd wasn’t booing him, they were booing the disruption of the soundtrack that was the incredible V10 engine and you also knew Lewis was smart enough to know that as well. The mechanics were quick, getting the engine back up rapidly and soon enough Lewis was headed out toward the track. He took a moment, the mechanics meeting him again and you prayed that everything would go to plan, this moment was too important to everyone for anything not to be perfect. And then you saw him, speeding past you in Senna’s Mclaren down the pit straight. The spray of water adding to the moment as he waved at the fans who were evidently stunned at the spectacle in front of them. Their recently adopted hero bringing them back to a moment with their lifelong hero. You couldn’t hold back your tears as you watched him complete lap after flawless lap, handling the car like he’d been driving it for years. You could only imagine what the emotions flowing through his body must be, so incredibly grateful to be able to witness the moment. When you saw him stop to grab the flag your tears picked up, watching the beauty of the moment as he completed his dream of waving his new country's flag as he drove his idol's car with no hands around the wet track. Everything about the moment was pure poetry. 

By the time he parked the car on the grid, you were sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the entirety of Sao Paulo. You watched through teary eyes as Viviane went and spoke to him as he collected himself in the cockpit. You could see her thanking him and you knew that he was thanking her just as profusely. You tried to dry your eyes as you watched them pose with Senna's helmet while Lewis sat in the car, but they came back quickly. You finally managed to pull yourself together just a little bit as you watched him pose with flag but the second he knelt down next to the car as if to thank it for everything it had done for him and his idol, you lost it again, You couldn’t help but laugh at yourself just a bit, your emotions were definitely getting the best of you. You could see the emotion on Lewis’ face as he too pulled himself together to get ready for the interview. He was beaming, eternally grateful for the opportunity. You listened as he described his love for Brazil and the love he has received from the fans, you could hear the emotion thick in his voice the entire time, even through the incredible joy that was paired with it. You knew he meant it when he said it was the ‘honor of his career’ and you were certain this would be a moment that neither of you ever forgot. Everything about it was purely beautiful, seeing everyone pause for something so meaningful, you weren’t sure you had ever seen the sport so at one in your entire life.

When you saw him finally making his way to the pit lane you scramble to try to pull yourself together, hoping to be somewhat emotionally sound when you went to meet him in his drivers room, but he found you first, a strong arm slinking around your waist before you were being crushed in a tight hug. When he finally let you go you took a moment to take him in. The emotions were written all over his face, the weight of the profound moment sinking in for him as the joy was palpable. He took in your state, his eyes softening, knowing that every emotion on your face came from your love for him and your love for the sport.

“C’mon, lets go be alone for a second.” He said softly, guiding you toward the garage.

When you were safely inside his drivers room you turned to him, your words dying on your tongue as they didn’t feel enough to express just how proud of him you were. Instead you opted to grasp his face in your hands and kiss him, hard, tears falling down your cheeks as you did. When you finally parted from him you saw that the smile had never left his face.

“I think you’re more emotional about that entire thing than I am.” He teased you softly, wiping a stray tear from your cheek.

“Stop it,” You laughed, swatting at him pathetically, “I’m just so proud of you and so happy for you. I can only imagine what that meant to you.”

“Yeah, it was surreal, never had so many emotions at once. It felt incredible, it truly felt like a dream come true.” He said as he placed his hands on your waist, pulling you toward him.

“I was right you know, there was no one more suited for that than you.” You tell him softly.

“You were absolutely right, that felt perfect, Viviane was so kind and so grateful, I will never forget this.” He sighs and you can tell the weight of the weekend is leaving his body with it.

“Nothing else that happens this weekend matters, okay? This was what it was all for.” You assure him, placing your hand on the side of his neck.

“Thank you, you’re right, that was truly the only reason I am here this weekend, none of the rest matters in the slightest.” His eyes are soft as he melts into your touch.

“I know you said you wanted to be Senna or Superman but I think you may have achieved both just now. You are more than a hero to just about everyone here, me included.” You tell him softly, staring deep into his eyes as you do.

“That means a lot, I felt it while I was out there. It was a crazy feeling, getting to be that for everyone.” He says earnestly.

“You do it way more frequently than you think, even if you haven’t been feeling it lately.” You assure him, wanting him to know just how much you mean it.

He doesn’t respond but you can tell he’s just taking it in as he lets out a breath and traces circles on your hip. He’s a confident man, cocky at times, but even the strongest of soldiers can be weak in the face of defeat.

“I know you are a natural born competitor, but let's make a deal that your only objective today is just to come back to me in one piece. That’s all I ask of you.” You say after a moment, listening to the rain pickup against the roof.

“I will absolutely come back to you, but I ain’t making any promise about not also trying to pull that tractor as far forward as I can.” He laughs, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Okay fair enough, just need you in tiptop shape to be my superman when we get back to the hotel tonight.” You smirk, pinching his bicep.

“Well when you put it like that why don’t we just leave on a high note and head back right now?” He asks playfully, pulling you closer to him.

“I’m down, but you’ve gotta go keep being both Senna and Superman.” You giggle.

“Okay, I’ll do my best, but I’m still holding you to that even if this race is shit.” He says, pinching your bum.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

[viviennevermillion]

With an s/o who is a writer

notes: so we have this now

contains: character x gn!reader, established relationship

characters included: leona kingscholar, rook hunt, idia shroud, malleus draconia

warnings: none

dark content creators & consumers do not interact

Okay so Leona is like, the last person in the cast who'd be into creative writing if it wasn't for the fact that he was dating a writer but he's supportive. He's got the spirit. Even if he has different priorities.

Literally comes into your room, sees you sitting at your laptop and working on a story and he's like: "Are ya winning?" He pulls a chair next to yours and rests his head on your shoulder, looking at your draft with you. "Tf am I supposed to be winning?", you chuckle and ruffle his hair, gently scratching his ear in the process. "I don't know, the recognition of the internet people or something. You were the one who said 'Spite can be a great writing motivation' if I recall correctly", he shrugs and presses a kiss to your cheek. "It's not a competition, you know?", you laugh and get up, shoving your chair to the side to sit on Leona's lap instead.

He doesn't mind just wrapping his arms around your waist and letting you sit on his lap while you write. He'll read along and rest his head on your shoulder from behind, wrapping his tail around you as well. Now you have a clingy oversized cat attached to you while you work on your latest project. Congrats. He probably falls asleep halfway through, not that you'd mind.

It took a while for you to feel comfortable to show Leona your writing, because the second prince of Sunset Savannah could be quite the judgemental person. Leona would never mock anything you cared about as soon as he started dating you but seeing his demeanor towards other people still made you hesitate. But Leona has been supportive of you ever since you talked to him about your passion, even if he doesn't quite get it. Honestly be glad Leona isn't someone who'd ever start writing because he's inspired by you, he would turn this into a competition.

If you post your works online, Leona makes an account on whatever platform you post them on solely to follow you and support you. If you work on something for several hours and get less notes than someone with two paragraphs Leona is more frustrated than you.

He originally just wanted to support you but he finds himself surprised at how the plot of your stories actually intrigues him and he's curious what happens next.

If you write poetry, he's less involved. He just doesn't get poetry. He's like "why don't they just say what they mean?"

If you ever get Leona to write anything it'd be literate roleplay. Only joins because you asked him but gets really into it halfway through. Wants to make his character cool and wants him to fight the other characters. He's like "this is my character, he's a king and he can do whatever he wants-"

Leona's stylistic device is using poetic descriptions in the same sentence with words like "bastard" and "shitfaced" and he somehow manages to actually pull this off

You took him to tabletop night with Idia and Azul once and he got himself perma-banned from Board Game Club because he fucked with their nerves so much that they never wanted to see him there again.

He's worried you might be mad at him at first. "Nah it was kinda funny", you reassure him, "though if we ever do this again it should probably just be the two of us..." Leona chuckles and pulls you close, pressing a kiss to your temple.

Rook writes poetry himself and he loves the arts so he's so on board with this.

But, listen. Rook is that one reader every writer wants but few of us actually get. He reads literally anything you write ever and he responds by sending you like a whole essay of his thoughts on the characters and the plot in depth and how it made him feel.

"Beauté", Rook tears up and pulls you into a hug, kissing your forehead enthusiastically, "I must thank you, mon chéri / ma chérie, by sharing the work you put your heart into with me and presenting me with the result of your creativity and passion; you have made my heart feel a little more complete and my mind more enlightened. Because you have chosen to let me view the beauty that is your prose and poetry, every day I get one step closer to truly call myself le chasseur d'amour! Truly extraordinary!" He takes your hands into his and looks deeply into your eyes as he tells you this; like he's confessing the full extent of his love to you. He cups your cheeks and kisses your lips softly, trying to convey all the feelings that overwhelm his heart and that words would never do justice to you.

He will gush about your works to Vil and Epel so much that they are tired of hearing about it.

He’d be happy if you tell him your thoughts about his poetry too. He writes a lot of it but he doesn’t really have anyone to talk about it with because most people just don’t get his poetry. But if you keep an open mind and give him some appreciation for what he wrote, Rook is so thankful and excited.

He’s so excited for anything new you write. “Feel free to notify me immediately once you’re finished with your newest chef-d'œuvre, even if it’s the middle of the night and I am asleep”, he smiles at you and kisses your hand. 

He’s not kidding, btw

He wakes up in the morning to see you snuggled up against him and he gives you a kiss on the forehead, waking you up softly. “Ugh…just 10 more minutes”, you groan and bury your face in his chest. Rook chuckles and runs his fingertips up and down your back. “You seem very tired, mon cœur”, he whispers and presses a kiss to your lips. You kiss back gently and wrap your arms around him. “Were you working on your newest oeuvre d'art until late at night again?”, he asks and shakes his head. He loves everything you make but he’d rather have you well-rested and comfortable. You confirm his suspicions with a tired nod. “Well, did you finish it?”, he asks. “Yes”, you mumble and try to hide from the rising sun by burying your face in his neck. “Didn’t I tell you to wake me up, so I can read it?”, he gets up and turns on your laptop, carrying it over to the bed so you can enter the password. “I thought you were exaggerating”, you shrugged and opened your finished project. “When have I ever exaggerated?”, Rook asks and wraps an arm around you while his eyes wandered across the document, “you should know best that all I express towards you is nothing but raw, unfiltered honesty.” You sigh. “Right, you have a point.”

Getting to read your newest work literally makes his day. Rook is your biggest fan definitely.

Okay you can't tell me Idia doesn't write fanfiction or at least read it. That man has been through every genre of fanworks.

You write? He admires that. You write fanfiction? Even better.

Send him soul-crushing angst of his favorite characters please, his reactions are so funny. He's like "why would you do this to my poor otaku heart HEFHHSJEHFHSBFDBSNFXNNENNSNR 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭"

He will literally commission you or request from you to write his ideas and surprise him with something he'd love.

He'd be like, kicking his legs and text you his live-reaction.

Idia is one of those people who request from you and make it so hyper-specific that you need to read into the lore of an entirely new game or anime just to even understand what exactly he wants. He'd send you "Can you write angst with this character if his love interest had the blood curse from the hit-game 'Below the 2nd Temple' but if the blood curse made you seek out the 5 goblets of wisdom and then drop dead. What would be their reaction to the one they love dearly leading such a pitiful existence? Oh and can you make the dragon from the sequel 'Below the 3rd Temple' appear at the end when the love interest runs out of horvathian gemstones?" and you sit there like what the fuck did he just say????

He's like "oh it's all on the official forum lore section" as if you're going to read in-depth lore for a game you never played just to write his angsty crossover AU.

"Why don't you write it yourself at this point?", you look at him and sigh. "But I love your works", Idia wraps his arms around you from behind and kisses your cheek repeatedly, pulling you into his lap.

He will absolutely try to bribe you into writing it. He'll offer you kisses and a nice, warm bath and a massage....whether you fall for it is up to you.

But he's so happy when he gets the final result. He geeks out about it to Azul who understands even less about the request than you when you first started working on it.

Idia would also do semi-literate and literate roleplay with you online.

Overall loves that you're a writer and will support you whenever you need it. Idia can actually be pretty creative himself so when you struggle to continue and lack an idea, he might just deliver exactly what you need.

Malleus has read many books throughout his lifetime. Be it biographies, fiction or textbooks about all kinds of topics. Most of them were outdated and the writing style of the novels he’s read has long since gone out of fashion. 

Malleus is mostly unfamiliar with the modern way of writing stories. Hell, many of the things he’s read have been written with a magical pen and ink. The Briar Valley castle libraries contain many books that are unique and don’t have any other copies in the whole world. The newer ones were written on a typewriter. 

He’s super interested when you tell him you write as a hobby for the first time. He’s seen many printed books since coming to Night Raven College but watching you just pull out your laptop and write a whole story in just a couple of hours is fascinating to him. He lets you sit on his lap and wraps his arms around you. He rests his head on your shoulder or against your head and watches as the words just seem to spill onto the pages. He reads along and asks you a couple of questions in the meantime, still being careful not to distract you though. 

“Why did the king say this to his daughter?”, Malleus asks with a surprised expression, “is he hiding something?” You chuckle. “You’ll find that out in about five chapters”, you turn around a bit to be able to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Malleus smiles and puts his hands on his hips. “And when do I get to read those?”, he asks and you let out a sigh. “Only god knows”, you bury your head in your hands, “if the heavens decide to randomly inject me with whatever writer steroids I was on when I wrote the first three chapters, it might be tomorrow after an all-nighter and an unholy amount of coffee. If things don’t go well it could be next New Year’s Day.” “But it’s January…”, Malleus sighs.

He’s always the first to witness all the frustrations that come with being a writer. He finds it amusing but he also hopes you always find the motivation and productivity you want. 

If you write poetry, Malleus always reads it with great interest, trying to search for messages within the lines. Before the two of you got together, this was how he’s been trying to look for hints of your feelings for him.

He’s so unfamiliar with the modern world that sometimes he finds out way later that something you mentioned in your works is in fact not a fictional thing you made up. He’ll smile at you and tell you how creative you are for coming up with all this fantastic and wondrous stuff and then you rent an apartment with him to stay at during your fourth year internships. “Wait, you’re telling me roombas are real???”, he just stares at the little apparatus cleaning your living room floor in awe. You raise an eyebrow: “You thought they were fake?” He just stares at you with a slightly confused expression.

Malleus is actually pretty easily motivated to write something himself. And he’s good at it too, given his eloquent way of speaking and writing that has been taught to him at a young age due to him being a prince. He has so many in-depth thoughts, it’s pretty easy for him to make detailed descriptions of something and bring a story to life. He projects a lot too. Like, you know him too well and you just know exactly where the lines in the story about the lonely gargoyle just wishing for a friend or for anyone to care about his feelings come from. But that’s a conversation for another day. 

[bryszket]

MAEJ TIME. IT IS MAEJ TIME.

Social media is always fun, as I'll have to try to condense into two sentences why one of our books just HAS to be read by someone, so thank God for tumblr, where I get to have as many sentences as I want and go into the nitty-gitty a bit.

I haven't talked much about publishing on here, but I started this project (aka tRaum Books) with a friend in 2021, as a labor of love and as a venue to put out the types of books that even indie queer presses (probably) wouldn't touch. Because they were too risky (in theme and/or length); because they were queer and/or trans in a way that wasn't necessarily validating or relatable, because they slipped between genres, or were written by someone with too low of a following to net a guaranteed readership. I've never embraced the 'publisher' role and to the end, consider myself an artist and writer: of things that are too X for this crowd, and not Y enough for the other. This is not meant to be a pissNmoan. I get it. Our money is limited, our time even more so, and it makes perfect sense that someone would want to dedicate their time to a book that can clearly outline what the experience will be. That just happens to not be the type of writing I produce or what I am drawn to. I like to be surprised and am often drawn to books that surprise me and cannot be summarized easily.

So that is the type of work I have sought to put out. The hard-to-pin-down. More accurately, I should say it is the type of work that has found me, because our press notoriously has never had an open call for submissions. Books just find us when the time is right.

So I had come to Dale Stromberg's high-fantasy MAEJ not as a potential publisher, but as a beta reader and I still remember vividly my first impression of being blown away by the sheer attention to detail, the pure CRAFTSMANSHIP of the story. As intricate and precise as one of those handmade wooden puzzle boxes. But I also remember another impression: a certain sorrow from thinking, man. There is nobody on earth who would ever publish this. Not because it isn't excellent, amazing, in turns difficult and also fun to read (MAEJ is all of these things). But because it requires an immersion and trust from the reader that I believe many (if not most) simply do not possess anymore. The most powerful publishers could weave their marketing magic and get people to buy it, but the amount of readers who would actually make it to the end (if we say a book being read, not just a book being bought, is the goal)--so, such a reader seemed rare.

More simply, I felt like I had been allowed to witness some rare endangered species of a book--the kind everyone online bemoans nobody publishing anymore, yet few would honestly want to confront.

Both a relic and a touchstone. A vociferously political book that didn't sermonize--the message was baked into every magical tile paving those fictive streets. I knew then that i wanted to try to help publish the book. If the author wanted to deal with small press, that is (which many times, let's be honest, could be bestowing upon a book's forehead the kiss of obscurity).

There is not much a tiny publisher like myself can bring to a book's release that the author could not do themselves (given some investment and time and oh yeah, patience). Much of us have limited reach, and again, MAEJ was not the type of book that I felt would automatically pique the interest of many of my followers. What I could do though is help the author along in what is sometimes so hard to do for your own fiction. I could go out and yell, yo, you should really really read this. If you enjoy high fantasy, an effortless gender subversion, and prose infused with a magical playfulness. If you like to try to recreate the reading experience akin to being ten again and curling up with a huge tome of an adventure, and letting the outside world slip away. YOU NEED TO READ THIS.

Those who push past the initial resistance will be rewarded handsomely by the final grand mosaic Stromberg creates of what seem at first a plethora of chaotic, colorful tiles. It is indeed a rare and complex, awe-inspiring thing of beauty. And if you read all that and say, okay cool dude, but what the fuck is it ABOUT? (Fair.) The book is about 200293903203402023 things, but the main story-line is about four women of vastly different backgrounds who come together and try to challenge who is sacrificed to keep their magical matriarchy running.

Order your own physical or ebook copy of MAEJ. Grab a free ARC copy of the book. Add MAEJ on Goodreads.

I want to thank the author @dalestromberg for his patience with working with me. I know that dealing with me is often chicken-fried chaos, so thanks for coming along for the ride. I want to thank @zillanovikov. While she was not directly involved in this project, nobody can ask for a better writing and pub buddy and I'm really grateful to know her.

I want to thank @flameswallower for writing one of the best reviews of MAEJ ever. Not only are they an inspiring writer, but a vocal supporter of small press, and another author I am happy to have gotten the chance to work with.

And @baconorigami for all his support. <3

And to thank you, dear readers! To those of you who boost our posts, collect our books, leave reviews--engage. You make it all worth it. <3<3<3

[skimmingmilk]

I was reading through comments on "Sharing is caring but we never learned how" and it was nice knowing I wasn't the only one who cried a little reading it lol.

Anyway, I just wanted to ask, have you ever gotten emotional writing scenes in your fics and does it ever surprise you when other people get emotional from your writing!

Love your writing by the way, I can't say it enough <3 Hope you're doing well

You definitely weren't alone, anon! I almost couldn't believe that so many people really resonated with that fic. I'm really happy it moved people the way it did <3 Myself included xD

I have cried while writing so many times. It's almost a guarantee with every fic. A few specific instances off the top of my head...

Definitely in "Sharing is Caring," I got really emotional when I wrote the scene with Tails waking up to Sonic sleeping on the floor by his bed with all the sick supplies <3

Cried so much in "Put Your Friends on Shuffle" (I know, I can't explain why the Sonic Shuffle fic had me in tears, but it did, lol). I wrote it in one sitting and the whole writing process was like a fever dream, just me crying in the club at 1am

In "An Unstoppable Force Between Static Stars" - at the end of Knuckles's part in chapter 3, after he's found Sonic and Tails, he just punched me right in the heart. I was legitimately sobbing as I typed up his section. I also teared up in the final scene of that same chapter, when Tails was hoping this was all a bad dream that he'd wake up from. I've cried in other parts of this fic, too, but they haven't been posted yet ;P

"Where Water Wears Away the Stone" also brought me to tears when Sonic's thinking about what he'll have to do if he never finds Tails

And "Chart a Course to Second Chances" - all three chapters ruined me on multiple occasions xD I had to write my own AU of chapter two just to cope lol

I know I've made myself cry and given myself emotional gut punches where I just need a minute while writing other fics, but those are a few of the moments that stick out the most right now. I am so not normal about these silly cartoon talking animals <3 But I know if a scene brought me to tears in the middle of writing it, then it's probably a winner xD

I often like to say, "if I'm going to make myself cry, I'm taking you all down with me" >:3

But in all seriousness, I wouldn't say it surprises me that people get emotional while reading at this point, though it did in the beginning. I already knew I tended to be an emotions-heavy writer, but I genuinely didn't think my fics were going to appeal to anyone in the Sonic fanbase aside from me, let alone affect people so deeply. The surprise more comes from how real it can feel to some readers. How certain feelings or scenarios actually apply to something someone's currently going through or that they've experienced, and that the fics validate them or comfort them in a way. Which is honestly why I want to share my writing with people <3 It makes it all worthwhile to tell a story that is meaningful to even just one person.

I really appreciate the question, thank you! <3

[cruel-kaya]

I just stumbled across this blog page, and I'm gonna say it, you're cringe as hell. Why the heck would you rant about your things and problems and issues here on a social platform? Seriously? You call this place your safe place?Dude(sigh), you're so delusional.

I wish I would never meet people like you in real life because you're weird. Like, c'mon, what's with all those cringy romantic posts? Ewww.

And your hands are so ugly. They have hair; you could have at least shaved or waxed them. I mean even if you had done so, they are still ugly. I, as a guy, shave my hands, and honestly, my hands are better than yours. I bet no one is ever gonna kiss those ugly-hairy-fat hands.

Now I guess all your feminist friends gonna spam this post. Well, women. ☕

And I get it, you're one of those pick-me girls. Seriously. Just keep your fantasies to yourself. Ewwwww. 🤮🤮 (Nevermind I'll come back to see if you replied or not, and I suppose people like you won't reply to this without cursing, it would be quite a surprise if you didn't swear. Let's see.)

Hello sir , how free you must be to actually type all this , I mean kudos

Also please I don't cuss , when I didn't cuss to those weird anons I got then this is somewhat only a cringe anon

Alsoooo you noticed my hands ? Wow to say the least I have quite ok-ish hands you don't need to worry though cause my husband will embrace me the way I am

Delusional ? Khayalon ki duniya me rehti hun sir ji of course i am delusional (I am a writer duh)

Cringe romantic posts ? I hope your wife wouldn't be a hopeless romantic

My feminist friends ? They are the best thing ever happened to me but men with fragile egoes like you can't stand brave women like them (Mard jaat ugh ☕)

And maybe I am a pick me , maybe I am not a pick me but that should be least of your concern, this is my blog I'll post whatever I want , you keep your opinion to yourself

Block me or if you have the guts then come from your real id , I will do the honours of blocking you myself

[rius-cave]

The reason why I think killing off Adam permanently is a huge mistake is the fact that he deserves redemption the most. Out of all Hazbin characters, he's the one who deserves to be redeemed, both literally and figuratively in the viewers' eyes.

He's been introduced as an utterly obnoxious, narcissistic and egoistic asshole, with literally zero obviously positive qualities expect maybe him being a funny guy?? Although his humor was built around vulgar and sexist jokes so it's debatable. He was clearly meant to be an antagonist and that only, kinda like the Vees (although that has room to develop yet, and certainly gonna in s2). No concrete reason was stated as the motivation of his behavior, we can only assume things but it's clear there wasn't much thought, he just wasn't destined to be explained and redeemed. He's just like that.

And that's the big issue. He's kinda portrayed as he's always been like that (why Lilith left him etc). But there's the fact that he's in Heaven. How could he be in Heaven if he's a guy full of negative traits, shitty behavior and issues like narcissism (or even a potential god-complex)?? I don't think it would be possible for such problematic people to pass divine judgement and become winners, not even if said person is the literal first man and hasn't eaten the apple. Yes, we see how lenient Sera is with him about the whole extermination and his behavior, I wouldn't be surprised if Heaven has always been just as lenient, but I don't think they could've determined if he got to Heaven (especially since even Sera doesn't know how people get there).

So what's the point of saying all this? That he HAD to be better at some point. He had to be as "pure" and good as it leads one to become a winner. And that automatically means something had to change that later on. Be it the treatment Heaven gave him, how he's been praised as the first soul to get there, the perfect man, or some kind of untreated trauma from earlier (being abandoned, betrayed, etc) or even just seeing what humanity became (disappointment). I absolutely believe this would be reason enough to give the guy some development and redemption. He was caused to become what he is now by other people and circumstances in some sense, and he, unlike any actual sinners!!!, was actually "good enough" for Heaven. He made mistakes, he had flaws, but he wasn't all bad despite being portrayed like that, he wasn't hopeless, and him being an angel was the proof of that.

But even if he didn't get redeemed, he would've absolutely deserved atleast some character depth and an explanation of why he is like that. Sadly, that obviously wasn't Vivzie's goal, and probably won't ever be. (I still do have a slight hope that Adam will come back in some way once, though that's mostly just desperation on my part and me being delusional lol)

Wow anon, you really went off here. I understand. I also have Thoughts™

See, I am in a bit of a difficult position, because I see most things as, well, as they are. On one hand, yes of course I believe that Adam absolutely deserves a redemption story, or if not that, at least more story, ya know? On the other hand, I understand Adam's narrative purpose for the show and what the big picture is. I also understand the writing flaws of the show and how maybe one explanation is just that, the writers don't have that big of a scope in mind lol.

But also there are limitations that are outside of their control. Adam could honestly easily have a complete season to himself with how much potential as a character he has, but Hazbin Hotel is not about him. Yes, it's about redemption, but it's not about his redemption, you know?

And let's be honest, most of the potential that fanon usually attributes to him is mostly based on the real biblical character that he's "based" on. If he was just a shitty angel with a shitty motive with some shitty beef with Lucifer and hell, I don't think as many people would've cared this much about him. But I also feel like Adam being THE Adam from the bible was more like.... An adendum. Like they knew they wanted a main angel antagonist, and then just went "oh wouldn't it be cool if it was Lilith's ex husband too lol" and then rolled with that.

As for Adam being a good person once, trust me, that is also my headcanon, it's one of my favorite headcanons in fact, but... I wouldn't be surprised at all if it wasn't like that.

I think Adam was a good person once because of all the reasons you listed, but one of the reasons why they made Adam such a shithead is, yeah so he can work as a fun villain, but it's also to shed light on Heaven's hypocrisy and the fundamental problems of the system. It also serves to highlight how ridiculous Heaven is for allowing someone like Adam in for being privileged from the start, but not allowing the people in Hell who are arguably not worse than Adam. Adam isn't only a villain, he's also showcasing the issues of Heaven and their double standards.

And on the subject of the writing process, sometimes for shows like these, it's completely possible that the writing team is aware of how good of a character Adam is, it's highly likely that they've seen the sinner Adam AUs and all the love he's gotten since the show ended, and some of them probably agree that it would be an awesome story! .... But they still had to choose not to do it.

Again, at the end of the day, Adam is not a core part of Hazbin or its themes. Sure, he could represent redemption, but we're also kinda doing that with Angel and Pentious and maybe with other characters. They can't tell EVERY character's story because that just goes outside of the scope of the show. So, they need to prioritize Angel, or Husk, or maybe even Alastor if he gets some sort of redemption too. The show has a set of main characters and it has to put them before the villains, specially when they didn't even know if they'd get a season 2 (or how many more seasons they're going to get). The main cast is already a bit underdeveloped and I can't imagine them cutting even more of that for the vulgar, genocidal villain.

It's hard being an Adam fan that also has a vague idea of how shows and writing work lol

[thesolaireslawyer]

Chamomile Daisies

{TW: Curs1ing, Lasko's rants- um.. candle wax.. uh- Lasko gets called airhead like quite a few times honestly- he also gets called airboi huxley and Damien being too cute- ( voice mails ) A tiny bit of yelling (the word murdered) Guy, an unhealthy amount of knowledge about pizza I'm not kidding... and finally I'm not a great writer.. but I'm trying and learning lmfao- Gavin doing freelancers voice mail(do what you want with that information )- I threw in some guy and honey- the blue is Lasko's rambles }

this got very long for some reason

WC: 2022

This is one of the dumbest things you could think of Lasko. And I mean dumb- like it isn’t even scientifically proven to help you with your rambling.. Well, you can’t say that because every person is different... So what affects you could also not affect the rest of the population.. And empowered and unempowered are different entirely so could DNA have anything to do with it? And I'm doing it again..all fuck it I’ll get to 2 of them. 

  Lasko makes his way over to the cashier, maybe this could work. God, he’d hoped it’d work. The first date was already fucked up..he didn’t want to mess up the second one. He pays and walks out of the store. His place was right around the corner.. Maybe the candles weren’t necessary... But Lasko wanted to make sure nothing went wrong this time. 

               Just thinking about what happened at Max’s made him drop his keys. Damnnit bending down to pick them up. He groaned at the thought of a repeat because of anxiety.. Lasko pushed the thought aside and placed the candles on the tabletop. Where did he put his clothes for the night? The airhead sighed and walked into his room. Going through the mess on the floor. Was that it? No, that’s not dark enough to cover stains.. That's not it.. No.. no.. no..no.. YES, that's it!  Lasko smiled as he pulled up a light turquoise heavy shirt! Unbuttoning his grey work shirt, with the same small smile on his face.. Maybe with the help of these candles, he could stop being so nervous and have a nice date with his dear.

Wait what would be the most effective way to burn the candles? Maybe he could melt them down in a pan well.. Rather a heatproof container… let's be real here he’s not gonna wanna clean that... Like you, how annoying would it be? Scraping the sides.. just sounds like too much work. It could stop with burning you know? Perhaps.. What would be the other method.. I could try a microwave.. Of course, I’d have to cut them in half… they're pretty long candles after all… I was thinking to myself.. Did I ever think about what scent I bought..? What if it smells bad?? Dear god, what am I gonna do fuck.. shit .. mother fuc-.. 

Lasko began buttoning his shirt over his white t-shirt. He walked out of his room, walking to the dryer. Now that he was actually in the kitchen and laundry room. He could try on his pants or well put them on he already knew they could fit. Now that he was dressed ( a few hours in advance ). He grabbed a pan, and a heat-proof container (a small one), and he finally opened the bag and looked at the candle. 

Chamomile Daisies that seem like a nice smell.

Didn’t dear say how much they loved the smell of flowers? Or was it the morning dew smell on the flowers? Was that just a them thing or it is because they a water elemental? I mean they never really said anything about liking flowers.. Did I miss something? Wait have they ever dropped any information about liking flowers..? Should I get some flowers? Just in case.. Maybe I should text them.. ? NO surprises are better.. Right? Actually no. The last time I did that I was completely soaked in water… alright.. Pants on.. Stove on..now.. Should I put some Oil in there? No.. I don’t want to clean the pot more than I already have to. 

As the airhead watched and waited for the candles to melt. His phone rang. It was dear.. Why were they calling? What was going on..? WERE THEY CALLING TO STAY THEY CANCELED?  No silly Lasko. LASKO PICK UP THE PHONE DAMMIT! Right. Right, answer the phone! 

‘’ Hey Dearie! I was just checking up on you! ‘’

D-d-dearie?! That’s new!? 

‘’ H..Hey Dear-r! I'm doing fine! ‘’ 

‘’That's great to hear! I can’t wait to see you, I just wanted to make sure you’re not overworrying… you’re not right? ‘’ Dear asked waiting to hear his response 

‘’ y..y-y-..yea! I'm o-..okay! N-..not worry-ying! A-at all! ‘’ his voice was a dead giveaway. Dear sighed on the other end of the phone. ‘’

'' Dearie..no..Lasko please don’t worry yourself too much.. Alright?’’ 

‘’ right.. I..-I’ll try..my dearest..’’ Lasko looked at the boiling pot on the stove.. The wax was red with light blue accents.

‘’ Lasko? You there?.. Lasko…?? LASKO!! ‘’

Dear’s yell caught poor Lasko off guard. He dropped his phone and in that moment our dearest Lasko forgot that he was an air elemental or at least for the right objects. See he used his magic to catch his phone just before it hit the stove? Wait, where was the candle wax? As Lasko looked up. Dear still on the phone trying to get his attention he saw the pot of wax fly in the air. And practically in slow motion watched it fall landing on the counter, wall, and the floor it also landed on his shirt…His shirt!?. Wait.. his.. His.. his what..HIS FUCKING SHIRT! SHIT..SHIT..SHIT.. THAT’S NOT GOOD

‘’ HEY DEAR I..-ILL C-..C-CALL YOU B-BACK! ‘’ as much as the poor airhead wanted to answer his Dear’s questions. He hit the red button faster than normal. 

Good job Lasko.. Now Dear is more than likely upset with me. And now I have to deal with all this wax. I knew I shouldn't have brought those damn candles! But No.. Lasko wanted to be calm..But NOOO Lasko wanted to do this and that!.. Goddamnit.. I’m like this because I wanted our second date to be better than the first one.. Fuck.. maybe…perhaps freelancer.. Would have any idea of removing wax..from he looks around everything.. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm.. Afraid my deviant..~ can’t make it to the phone right now~~ They’re busy at the moment.~~ But please.. Leave a message..~ make it worthwhile..~~ 

‘’ hey Freelancer.. When you get the chance.. Could you um.. Call me back.. i .. m-..may or m-..m-may not have gotten.. W-wax on my c-clothes.. ..f-f..or my date.. Please ca-call back! ‘’ 

~~~~~~~~~~~

Sorry Dames! Huxley Just record the voicemail, please!.. Right, right! Sorry Dames and I can’t come to the phone- Leave a message and Dames and will get back to you! HUXLEY IT'S YOUR PHONE!! An-  

‘’ Hey Huxley.. Um- whenever you g-g…get the chance.. Could you um.. Call me back..I need some help..I may have or hav..have n-..not gotten wax.. everywhere..? ‘’ 

~~~~~~~~~~

It’s Daimen. I'm afraid I can’t answer the phone.. Leave a message.. Not a long one.

‘’ o-oh.. Straightforward.. U-uh… um. I- I need some h-help with a.. Waxy situation.. ‘’ 

~~~~~~~~

Well as another hour passed, no one seemed to get back with him, well Damien sent him a text about wondering what he meant by straightforward. Lasko tried to explain it.. But Damien didn’t understand how it happened.. But tried his best, to help.. Thanks to his help he got the dried wax off. But the shirt itself was stained.. The red on the shirt made him wanna cry. Red is already a hard color to get out of clothes, and his shirt being blue did not help.. Honestly, it looked like he murdered someone- not the point! He frowned and picked up his phone again. Dialed a number and sighed..it rang once.. Then twice and then eventually someone picked up. 

‘’ Lasko what happened earlier!? You hung up so fast..I thought I did something- ‘’  Dear sounded sorrowful and it hurt Lasko a little. ‘’ No dear, you do anything.. I.. may..have messed something up.. ‘’ that last part left the Airbois mouth almost inaudibly.

‘’ messed what up Lasko? ‘’ it was dear’s turn to be concerned

‘’ Well..I wanted today’s date to go smoothly and not a repeat of what happened at Max’s..’’ dear cringed at the thought.

‘’ yes..what happened..? ‘’ 

‘’ a-and.. we..ll I heard- ab-about.. the-these..ca-calming c-candles..an..d ki-kinda.. Spilled.. The w-wax.. Ev-everywhere.. in-.. Including the-..the shirt.. F-for t-tonight..’’ Lasko managed to stutter out. 

‘’ Lasko.. Dear.. y-you did…wh-at..? ‘’ dear said holding in snickering

‘’ Are you laughing right now!? ‘’ Lasko seemed more shocked than surprised. 

‘’ AHAHAHAAHAAHAHAAHAHA Lasko im sorry! I-..Just.. I ‘’ Dear could barely hold in their laughs. And Lasko entirely lost his nerve and decided to join in the laughing. 

‘’Lasko.. Listen I’ll cancel the plans and you can just come over here.. ‘’ Dear says small giggles in their sentence. 

‘’ Dear! I couldn’t just, didn’t that.. Like I already messed up the first date and now I'm ruining another one! And I just don’t think it’s fair.. That you have to cancel our plans- ‘’ Lasko attempted to ramble on but dear interrupted him. 

‘’ Lasko Dearie.. I love.. That you don't want to quote on quote to ruin another date.. But I just want to spend my time with you.. So come over and bring the shirt.. ‘’ though Lasko couldn’t see his dear’s face he knew they were smiling.. And smiling hard. 

‘’ fine.. I’ll be over in a few ‘’ Lasko responded.. Giving in. Perhaps this is better than embarrassing himself at another restaurant.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And I know I feel so bad because I ruined our first and now the second date! I just don’t know how I let this happen. Dear, I feel so bad.. Like really bad.. Maybe I shouldn’t have come over.. Look Dear, I'll just put the shirt in the wash and I..i- Lakso stops mid-sentence losing his train of thought.. His dear looked so nice.. They always looked nice whether it was nice clothes or just a plain T-shirt and shorts. Like what they were wearing now, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 

‘’ well, Dearie! Your shirt is in the wash! I used a little magic to make sure the bleach didn’t ruin the whole shirt. ‘’ his dear smiled pulling out their phone. 

Lasko rubs the back of his neck, chucking ‘’ well I could leave once it's washed.. ‘’ Dear glared back at Lasko.. Scarying the power airboi- ‘’ w..w-w.well..i-i..cou-could..j–just s-stay! ‘’ Lasko stuttered out.

‘’ well good! I'm ordering some pizza for the night.. Lasko was a little nervous, but for once his poker face held. Theirs no way it could be the same waiter from before right?

~~~~~~

‘’ hey the pizzas here! Do you wanna go get it? ''Dear looked at Lasko with puppy dog eyes. As if begging him to get the pizza. Lasko wondered who taught them that as he went to open the door. 

{ Lasko is about ramble about the preparation of pizza feel free to skip- }

It. Was. The. Same. Guy.         

  Fuck

‘’ um.. Order for a D- oh.. It’s you- ‘’ guy started with a faint laugh

‘’ Y-Yea.. Haha me woo! ‘’ Lasko was losing him as he grabbed the box of pizzas. 

Did you know pizza could be sold fresh? HAh.. it’s a really funny process actually.. You can even get it whole or portion slices. Though the methods vary. That and have been developed to overcome challenges! Like preventing the sauce from combining with the dough! Because who the hell wants soggy pizza am I right?? HAhah, dealing with eh crust is another hard thing to deal with! Like the methods had to change often because the crust… could become rigid and who wants that? Not me and I'm sure not you! H-h-ha that’s even if you like pizza- l-..like a lot of people who work at their job d-d..-don’t like what they do..l-l-l..like there are a lot of things i..-I don’t like about my job but..but it’s a job you-..you know.. Haha?  

Dear taking notice of the situation.. Giggling a little and going to interrupt Lasko and the pizza guy. 

‘’Lasko go put the pizza on the counter please. ‘’ lasko sighed in relief before disappearing into the other room. 

‘’ sorry bout that- here take this for your troubles..’’

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

‘’ HONEY GUESS WHAT I GOT TODAY!!!! ‘’ Honey turned around to greet their very happy lover tonight.. ‘’ Yes Guy ‘’ 

‘’ I GOT A 150$ DOLLAR TIP ‘’ honey nearly spit out their drink

(@laskosprettygirl this is the Fic.. I hope it was worth the wait- )

once again my Adhd brain made this take harder than it needed to- I hope this lives up to expectations! and have a good day or night!

[starstruckodysseys]

20 questions for 20 writers !!

thank u to @localdisasterisk for tagging me in this! i honestly do not know how many writers i follow so um. ill tag my pibe fic besties @wheelsupin-azarathmetrionzinthos @angelwiththeblue-box @fatestitcherr @incorrect-play-it-by-ear and the rest of u can fight amongst yourselves

1. how many works do you have on ao3?

48. i don’t know if its more concerning that almost half of them are from the past five months or that almost half are play it by ear. its the same almost half but still

2. what’s your total ao3 word count?

143,389. woof

3. what fandoms do you write for?

obviously play it by ear. everyone knows that. also d20 occasionally and project sekai. unfortunately

4. what are your top five fics by kudos?

toya and mizuki’s step by step guide to romancing a shinonome — i will be so real with you guys i specifically crafted this one to be popular. and then i fell in love with it along the way. but it did start as a science experiment

let me take you with me (just like this) — WHY. this is my second pjsekai fic and my fourth fic ever posted. it’s not at all reflective of my current style. help

kiss it better — yeah. same issue as the other one. this one’s better though lmao

say you miss me (say you want to kiss me) — honestly? just impressed a honakana fic made it up this high. love my girlies

the moon is crumbling (but that’s okay) — yeah everyone pretend to be surprised the ruikasa fic got this high up. it was a new concept for me, though, so i’m pretty proud of that

5. do you respond to comments?

i used to, but not really anymore unfortunately. to be fair, i will point you all to the fact that most of my recent fics are pibe, and then to the discord where we all scream about them together

6. what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

i don’t usually. write sad endings. bc i don’t like them. okay that’s not true i just usually don’t. i guess the moon is crumbling?? if i had to choose?? it’s more bittersweet than anything, but people did say they cried, so…

7. what’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

99.9% of my fics are getting together fics. it’s just the same ending a million different ways. you tell me

8. do you get hate on your fics?

not publicly!

9. do you write smut? if so, what kind?

i would simply be too powerful if i could. this is for your safety actually

10. do you write crossovers?

in the sense of characters across universes/media interacting? no. in the sense of “i am going to put my blorbos in every single other setting i slightly enjoy”? absolutely. putting them under a microscope. researching and recording how they react to their surroundings

11. have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge!

12. have you ever had a fic translated?

i simply do not think there is a demand for my fics in other languages. not in like a depressing way, it’s just that i’m writing for like five people including myself, so. yknow

13. have you ever co-written a fic before?

no, but if someone wanted to… 👀

14. what’s your all time favorite ship?

i’ve never written for them (yet, at least), but by sheer volume and span of time i have to say souyo persona4. my silly boys. i’ve never scoured the entire tag for a ship multiple times on ao3 like i have for them. i have so many thoughts about them that have never seen the light of day but they exist!!

15. what’s a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

stares awkwardly at feed your anger like fire… i’ve tried!! but it turns out that sometimes you get stuck on clothing designs and stop writing and then lose passion for the project and then stop updating for three years because you were too ambitious and also you hate your old writing style. not that i would know anything about that

16. what are your writing strengths?

i think i’m really good at dialogue, or at least banter. unfortunately this makes me very judgmental but that’s not important. also i can create a vibe well i’ve been told

17. what are your writing weaknesses?

in general? i SUCK at character description, or at least knowing where and when to place it. i also always worry about characterization and if my characters sound too similar

18. thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

i used to read so many fics that centered around using another language (shoutout bmc fandom when i was. in that. a dark period of my life, but alas) and honestly if it’s done well i think it’s cool!! i’m not going to get into the intricacies of bilingualism on account of being an english only speaker but it is rad to me

19. first fandom you wrote for?

wrote for? probably warriors. yes the cats. i had a whole fanfic for my oc. shoutout to… honestly i don’t remember her name but she was a real one! wrote for and posted is another story, by which i mean i don’t remember At All. probably bandori tbh, bc i don’t remember if i posted fanfic on my wattpad

20. favorite fic you’ve written?

either the venn diagram of curses and crushes (which is still my favorite fic title ever) or soaking in the glory. one of them is a 3k word expedition into the play it by ear canon space and the other is a 7k word fever dream i went into a fugue state to write in two days. honorable mention to the like the sweetest cup of chai series which i hold so close to my heart. silliest besties of all time

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @estrellami-1! Most of their works are on tumblr, but they have three on Archive of Our Own in the Stranger Things fandom. You can find all of their tumblr works here.

@finntheehumaneater recommends the following works by @estrellami-1:

If I Should Stay

(Push Away the) Lonely Times

Soft Touch Baby

I’m nominating them because they are just a delight to talk to, and such a creative writer. Honestly, the way they describe things is beautiful and I can see it so clearly in my head. Any character they write is written to PERFECTION. They’re one of my favorite tumblr mutuals…ever :) - finnthehumaneater

Below the cut, @estrellami-1 answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

Short, funny answer? Hyperfixation. Longer answer… it just works in a way I don’t see many pairings work. Maybe I’ve just got blinders on, I don’t know, but nothing about their canonical personalities have to change in order for them to be together.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

This is like asking who my favorite kid is… I like SO many, it honestly might be easier to ask what I don’t like! I tend to like the softer things, though; hurt/comfort (emphasis on the comfort), found family, fluff, things like that. I’m a sucker for anything soft and slow, which @ghosttotheparty does an AMAZING job at.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

Again, anything soft and sweet! I tend to read what I write and vice versa… though I’m also an avid smut reader, and I’ve only felt brave enough to try writing it more recently. I think writing smut isn’t really my thing, but I am glad to have tried, just to say I’ve done it. But hey, never say never; it could happen one day!

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I can’t possibly pick just one!! @pukner has some AMAZING things, specifically the two series off-script and always burning, world keeps turning. I’m also obsessed with anything by @ghosttotheparty, as stated earlier, and anything by the amazing @steddieas-shegoes.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

Honestly, probably 70% of what I write never sees the light of day. Not for lack of want, but because I lose inspiration halfway through. So with that being said, I think I’ve written all the tropes I’d like to; I just haven’t published all of them. Fingers crossed, though; I still have all those docs, and I do go back to them sometimes, so hopefully inspiration will strike again!

What is your writing process like?

In all honesty, I don’t really have one. I tend to start at the beginning and let the characters take over, which means even I am surprised by some of the things I write! One such example is the relationship between Steve and El in If I Should Stay. I never thought they’d get that close, but here we are!

Do you have any writing quirks?

Unless it’s considered a quirk to write alone in my room at night, in complete darkness, with only my phone screen for light… then no. I don’t think so. Although I have definitely noticed I make the faces the characters do, to make sure I’m describing the right thing! 😂

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Since most things I write never get posted… I honestly don’t know! Probably on a schedule, considering I’m not finished writing If I Should Stay yet, but I’m not super picky; nothing else I post is on any sort of schedule, though that may be just because I mainly post one-shots.

Which fic are you most proud of?

Honestly, it’s a tie between If I Should Stay and Falling. If I Should Stay because I never expected to stick with it this long—I’m working on part 61 right now—and I’m exploring a lot of things I haven’t before. Falling because to this day, nothing I’ve done has come out like that. It was effortless in a way I never expected it to be, in a way I’ve never experienced before, and I think the results speak for themselves; it’s one of my most-liked fics, clocking in at just over 4k notes on Tumblr and 6.6k hits on ao3, most of which happened in the first week of it being posted!

How did you get the idea for (Push Away The) Lonely Times?

In all honesty… I don’t remember. Probably a combination of “what if Steve had Good Parents” and “what if Steve and Eddie were childhood friends” Tumblr posts!

When writing If I Should Stay, what was something you didn’t expect?

Like I said earlier, Steve and El’s relationship was a surprise. As was Alli, actually; I had no plans for a sister, but then I saw a “Steve has younger-brother-to-a-sister-energy” Tumblr post, said, “you right,” and proceeded to write her into that very next part.

What inspired Soft Touch Baby?

I swear I’ve got the worst memory… I honestly don’t remember. It was one of my firsts, and at that point in time I hadn’t even seen the show yet, so I wasn’t super confident in the fic, but damn if I didn’t have the balls! Looking back on it now, it isn’t my favorite, but I think it’s important to know where you came from, if only to see that it’s not all in vain, that even I can see how much better I’ve gotten.

What was your favorite part to write from (Push Away The) Lonely Times?

Probably the entirety of parts 3 and 4. I love Jim and Hopper’s banter, and I love Jim’s internal monologue in 4 as he’s taking care of Steve. I love exploring characterizations like this!!

How do/did you feel writing Soft Touch Baby?

As I said earlier, I don’t love it now, but I do like it for the starting block it is. I do remember, though, while I was writing it, I was feeling so smug; I thought I was writing the equivalent of the goddamn Mona Lisa. Laughable, really, which is another reason I don’t delete/orphan it. It helps keep me humble, to an extent.

What was the most difficult part of writing If I Should Stay?

Honestly? Posting the first part. I thought it was a throwaway thing, something that came a dime a dozen, something that everyone and their mother had already written. I posted it far too late at night (or was it far too early in the morning?) because I decided I didn’t give a shit, and woke up to an overwhelmingly positive response. To this day, I’m blown away by the attention it got! My taglists hit 100 people in just 4 days!

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

Honestly, pretty much the entirely of Falling, and to a lesser extent, Because of You. In the former, it’s the whole Apollo/Dionysus banter, the way Eddie says Steve’s eyes are hazel and his hair has gold, the way he calls Steve sunshine boy, and the not to me, not if it’s you line. In the latter, it’s Steve saying, “…Because I trust you. I feel safe with you. I believe you’ll take care of me, because you’ve already proven you will.” I imagined him almost upset when saying this; louder than normal, very emotional, just trying to get Eddie to understand. It’s a very raw line, Steve’s being very open, and in the context of the fic, it’s kinda groundbreaking for him, and Eddie knows it.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

I think I’ve shared something about most of the ones I’m excited about… all of this will be after I finish writing If I Should Stay, but I have a fae!Steve fic that I’m working on, one where Steve goes deaf (very heartbreaking and emotional and real and so, so much love and family), and I’ve got a lavender prom idea I’m working on, in which Steve and Robin are Platonic soulmates, Steve has an unfortunate crush on Eddie, and Robin’s got an equally unfortunate crush on Vickie. It’s a No Upside-Down AU in which Steve decides to host the first(?) lavender prom at his house. It’s not called a lavender prom, obviously, but I do have something of an idea for a nod to the name. Here’s a snippet, if you want, because I actually am really excited about this one:

  Robin dramatically drapes herself over the foot of Steve’s bed and sighs. Dramatically. He quirks a brow, but otherwise doesn’t react, just keeps trying to focus on the same page he’s been trying to read for what feels like the past ten minutes.      She sighs dramatically again. Somehow it’s even louder than before.      He drops the book and looks heavenward for a moment. “What’s wrong?”      “Prom’s coming up.”      Steve’s nose wrinkles. It’s all anyone’s been talking about. “I know.”      “I’ll have to dance with a guy.”      “You don’t have to.”      “There are rumors, Steven. Rumors,” she hisses, rolling over to stare at him.      “Okay, so dance with a guy.”      “And what happens if he tries to make a move?”       “You reject him? Politely?”      “Steve.” She says his name like he’s an idiot. He’s used to it. “The entire reason for a girl to dance with a guy is because she likes him. I’ll be back at square one.”      Steve sighs, thinking. Truthfully, he isn’t really looking forward to prom, either. After his fall from the social totem pole, he puts a lot less stock in what people think of him, but even he has some societal norms to adhere to still. Societal norms like dancing with a girl when there’s a certain guy who’s been circling his mind instead.      “Okay,” he says, thinking. “Do you know anyone else who has the same problem?”      “Besides you? I can think of a couple of people.” The way she looks at him makes him think they’re thinking of the same person, and he’s suddenly struck once again with gratitude that she’s his friend.      “If you talk to him, I’ll talk to Vickie.”      “I will kiss you. Very platonically. On the forehead.”      He laughs. “Okay. I’m thinking, what if I host something here, the same night as prom?”      “I’m thinking there are a few people who would be really grateful.”      They share a smile with each other before Robin grabs the book. “Okay, where are you, I’ll read, you listen.”      “I love you,” he tells her seriously, moving to lay next to her and look at the page she’s looking at. He points to a section and she nods, tracing her finger down the lines as she reads.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

A VERY big thank you to whoever nominated me!! And a great big thank-you-I-love-you to anyone who’s stuck with me and my writing thus far. I appreciate each and every one of you! ❤️ And, if you’re someone who’s waiting on me to answer an ask, I swear I haven’t forgotten! I’ll get to them all… eventually!

Thank you to our author, @estrellami-1, and our nominator, @finntheehumaneater! See more of @finntheehumaneater’s works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[the-starry-lycan]

Starry’s Fanfic Year In Review!!!!!

got tagged by @smaller-comfort and I'm gonna tag @boltslutters @lostsoulofdragon @neoyi-backstreetback for this, as well as anyone who wants to pawticipate!!!

Number of stories posted to ao3: 35, holy bones!!! Given this is my first year ever posting, this is an awesome number!

Word count posted for last year: 124,187… so dang, not bad!! I wrote quite a lot, it seems.. at least in my own opinion. There’s also my unpublished fic, which adds to that number significantly.

Fandoms I wrote for: Sea of Stars, The Messenger, Subnautica, Transformers (several continuities), Trigun, and Honkai Star Rail.

Pairings: VashWood, MegOp, ProwlBee, Reshorul, RatioRine, Al-An/Robin.

Stories with the most kudos, bookmarks, comments/threads: Wise Man’s Folly, and your patience a virtue are two of the really famous ones in terms of most kudos and hits. Chrysopoeia is one that’s had a lot of comment interaction, same with A Glass Golem’s Adventures in Throwability.. but a certain octoberfic I have on anon takes the cake for comment threads! And thank you to all those who interacted on that one :3 it gives me a lot courage to keep writing!

Work I’m most proud of and why: I think I’m most proud of Wise Man’s Folly, because I feel like I really wrote well the trauma that some of the characters experience, get the storyline going, and got that tasteful, emotional smut to hit just right. The love’s strong with that one!

Work I’m least proud of and why: I.. might actually think Chrysopoeia. I’m a little insecure about how I portray Aephorul there, and I feel like the fic’s too long, like it dawdles on it’s purpose. Hope to finish it soon and be done!

Share or describe a favorite review you received: There’s a good several pawfuls on my sabo sexyfic that I really loved, but one I’d like to reminisce on was from Wise Man’s Folly, where this sweet person gave me such a wonderful review on both chapters! I go back and read the comments I get pretty often, so thank you to everyone who comments on my work!!

A time when writing was really, really hard: Christmas was tough because I didn’t really have any time to write undisturbed, as I’m kind of a secret writer to my family.. but finals and uni admissions earlier in spring was also a very tough time because of the sheer amount of stress on me.

A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:  I have really enjoyed writing Ninja, from the Messenger, as I feel like I can write him well AND convey that which I want to. He’s a fun character, what can I say!

A favourite excerpt of your writing: I have a couple, hehe, but here're the ones I happen to like a lot.

"Your beautiful smile, that one that seemed so genuine when you were drunk and when I bundled you up? As though you cherished to be held for every moment? You wanted so badly for me to sleep with you.. ..but was it simply that closeness you craved?"

"...as though Aephorul wanted to draw Resh'an into the depths of himself, absorb him until the two were one, silent and writhing and perfect."

How did you grow as a writer last year: I've honestly gotten a LOT of bravery as a writer, pushing boundaries to discover what I like and to write more of what I already do enjoy! In fact, sharing my work was a biiiiig step in my growth as a writer, and I am really proud of this.. not to mention happy for all the support I've gotten from my readers!

Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): I've had a lot of positive influences from my friends, both online and irl, as well as my readers and the Sabotage Studio fandom as a whole! A particular friend has helped me with ideas and some bravery with my transformers fic, so thank you!!

Anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: Very probably? I know I definitely put in my fics some of the stuff I learn from uni and that I'm generally passionate in, like my biology and chemistry stuff... psychology, too, but that's just 'cause I like psych! (and it's on the MCAT..)

Any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: I really do wanna finish up certain unfinished fic from last year, namely ones like Chrysopoeia and the sabo sexyfic, just so I can tie up all my loose ends. Cell Block Tango's a fun one and I do wanna write for that just because it's a fic I'm excited to write for!

As for new stuff, I am planning a LOT of transformers fic for this year, ranging from my empurata!Prowl AU to some variegated TF fics of all continuities! I also have a couple of Hellboy (comic & movie) fics I wanna get out, and some Ace Attorney and Trigun things while I'm at it. So.... LOTS of things for the new year!

[gt-ridel]

writer truth and dare game: 🍬🦋 and 🎨

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character As much as I love Uncle Ingo as a concept, If we're going directly off of the game, I don't think he really cares about us any more than the average hisuian rando. ( ཀ ʖ̯ ཀ) 🦋 ⇢ share something that has been on your heart and mind lately I've been in a pretty poor state lately, so there's nothing from my heart I'd especially like to express just now. It's mostly gloomy. ╮(╯∀╰)╭ But one thing that I have been rotating in my noggin lately is starting a Patrion, since my teaching work has dropped off dramatically and I could seriously use the money. Unfortunately, I don't think that I have anything of value to offer. (:,з」∠) 🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it LITERALLY impossible to choose. What a demented question! But here are a few artists whos work I admire! NOTE: I'm pretty sure none of these people fall into this category? But just in case, I shall reiterate. I do not care about fictional drama, or if someone creates art of kinks or whatever that I don't personally like/approve of. That is literally none of my business. As long as they are not drawing child porn or something, I don't want to see your callout post. BE TOLD. In no particular order: #1 @cloudy-dreams has such a soft and appealing art style. I could look at it for hours! Her art tastes like marshmallows, and you can't change my mind. She's one hundred percent of the reason I got into Welcome Home, even though I usually like to wait until projects like this are finished before investing my time into them. #2 @nosnexus has been consistently creating INCREDIBLE Dimension 20 fan art, which is what first drew me to their account. with vibrant colors and lots of attention to small detail, both in character and background, they are WELL worth checking out! #3 @grassyneptune draws THE most beautiful Half-life character portraits I've ever seen. I wish I could do line and color work like them. *dreamy sigh* #4 @critterbitter gives every character SO much expression in their movements, they even made a gosh darn lamp instantly recognizable as a sassy mean girl. I am forever surprised and terrified by the sheer volume of quality art they manage to create in such a seemingly short amount of time. Honorable Mentions: @fronomeeps has a deceptively simple style, but once again captures a lot of character in seemingly few lines. @choochooboss is not afraid to take on complex pieces with dynamic angles and detailed backgrounds. @waywardstation moves away from the traditional anime look in their PLA art, and instead injects a style completely their own. Are they a professional illustrator? I'm not sure. But they sure could be. There are SO many others. Honestly, I could go on and on and on. But I should probably wrap the post up. Hope these were more or less satisfactory answers!

[centercitychronicals]

Center City Chronicles: Tzu-tza X Anya

So in an effort to make sure I write this whole book out, I'm gonna be posting chapters here. Hope ya'll end up enjoying the story, it's my Lemurian universe I'm trying to flesh out. I'll still be doing Oc x reader posts in between when I get writer's block with the series though.

18+ story, but this first chapter I don't think would be considered NSFW, but I still am putting a cut to stay consistent since next chapter gets slightly steamy. Also feel free to comment constructive criticism, It'll help me make this enjoyable for all of ya'll reading this for the long run!!

Chapter 1 Tzu-tza

Tzu-tza’s tail wrapped around the rolling chair’s leg in his excitement. Today was to be the day that he was moving ground cities… ok so it was only going to be for a month, but he had high hopes that it would end up being permanent. He spun in the chain while he waited for the holo vid connection to finish trying to connect to Anya’s. 

“Anya…”, he sighed dreamily. She was to be his mate or well, wife in human terms. She was human after all and he was trying to make a point of incorporating the terms of her people into his vocabulary, but he still liked the term mate more. It felt more significant that the description that pulled up when you searched for the word wife. 

As he continued to daydream about her, the chime of the holo connecting made him jump and nearly topple from his chair as he flinched backwards, and then scrambled to both fling himself to face the holo vid and right the chair before he fell.

“Snnck,” Anya made a sound, trying to keep from snorting at what he was sure was what she saw on screen. Just seeing her, and hearing her mirth kept him from feeling too embarrassed by the situation.

“Anya! You uh…” He cleared his throat and steered the conversation away from his moment of clumsiness. “How are you on this fantastic day, love?” He beamed at her and she mirrored his happy expression while he leaned in, staring at her lovingly. 

Honestly, how did he ever get so lucky as to meet her on the dating nexus. Out of all the humans still alive after the invasion that had rocked both their worlds, he had found her. ‘Anya…’, he thought to himself happily as he waited for her to recount her day so far.

It was early in the day, so he was sure not too much had to have happened yet, but he still wanted to check in on how she was since last night. Was he clingy? Sure maybe some people would think that way, namely the females of his race, but Anya was different, she didn’t mind if he clinged a little… or alot at times.

“Good so far, finished packing this morning so I should get there by the time you get through your side of customs. What about yours Tzu-tsa?” He would never get over hearing her say his name. Alot of his fantasies were just of hearing it sighed from her lips.

“Fantastic! I’ve been packed since last night, aaaand…” He drew out the word as he bent over to open his duffle bag and pull out a fabric wrapped gift, before sitting back up and showing the small bundle with a grin. “I have a gift for you.” He finished, hoping she would be happy to know he was bringing her something. 

“Oh Tzu-tza, you didn’t have to do that.” She said, face falling slightly and he swallowed, not sure why she wasn’t excited at the idea of getting a gift. His eyes darted to it quickly and his smile lost a bit of its luster. Was it too small? Is it because he ruined the surprise of bringing a gift in a roundabout way?

“I wanted to,” He tried to reassure her, “Really, I just brought it up because I didn’t want to forget to give it to you if I got carried away when I see you later today. Do you not… want it?” He trailed off, second guessing the gift idea. 

“Oh no no. I actually love that you got me a gift, because I’m bringing you one too. I just don’t want you to feel like you had to go out of the way for me.” Anya said softly, her features brightening back to her earlier expression and Tzu-tza felt relieved that he hadn’t done something wrong with bringing the gift up via holo. Though he didn’t like that she thought he went out of his way to get her one.

“Oh good, I was worried… I mean good about you wanting the gift, not that…” He was munching his tail fur with this. Why did he still get so tongue-tied around her? Sighing, Tzu-tza slumped in his chair slightly. “Sorry, I suppose I’m just nervous since we finally get to meet in person.” He admitted softly and Anya’s expressions softened so that she smiled lovingly back at him at the admission.

“I know saying, “Don’t be” probably doesn’t help, but there really isn’t any reason to be worried Tzu-tza.” She began and it only slightly helped his nerves, but he appreciated her attempt. “Though I’m a bit nervous too.” She whispered conspiratorially and winked in a way that had him snorting and relaxing further.

After that, a few hours went by as they chatted about any and everything before Anya had to reluctantly hang up so she could start heading to customs. Tzu-tza sighed as the connection ended and he stretched, popping his back and then tail, since it was an extension of his spine and also liked to kink up on him when sitting still for too long.

Looking around at his small apartment, he couldn’t say that he was going to miss it. He was met with four corner posts of cement, and whatever metal they used to construct the small dwelling, to help hold up the weight of the many floors above him. It was his, and he was grateful to have had it, but it wasn’t a home. Not really anyways.

At one point he had tried to decorate, but it was pricey and honestly he had never felt like wasting his credits on this place. His species female’s were so few now that he knew he had no chance with one of them. Nor did he really want to have had a chance.

They were larger than him, than any of the males of their species really, and highly aggressive. It was why they were out, above ground, on the ruins of Earth helping the human military defend the underground cities that everyone just shortens to the term ground cities, not wanting to be reminded where they lived. 

It was a quirk picked up from the humans, since his species was more than comfortable living below the surface. But the humans are who they all liked to follow along with in many of the trends. What with it being mainly the males of his species left, and almost all of them were enamored with the humans.

Slowly he got up and double checked his bag to make sure everything he was bringing with him was in there. Happy that he had everything he wanted to keep in the immediate month following today, he left his apartment with a grin. 

Here and there he saw males with their children, and he hoped to be like them one day. Anya having children didn’t really matter to him, sure he hoped she would have them with him one day, but if they never had kids? Well he would just doubly spoil her. But still, a small male with tiny toes and her adorable rounded ears would be a delight. Or even a spitfire of a daughter with talons would be just as charming.

Though, honestly, if they ever did have kids before above ground was safe, he would probably prefer daughters. A daughter would be able to protect herself a lot easier than a son would, but he didn’t like the idea of her going to the front lines if that was the case. Regardless, he would ultimately be happy with however their life turned out, because he would have a loving mate to call his own, and he was sure they would be mates. Because he had never loved anyone like he already loved Anya.

Lost in thought he didn’t realize how fast he made it to customs, and once he did? The nerves set in, hard. While he was elated to finally cross over from his ground city to the one connecting both his and the human’s ground city together. He couldn’t help the way his heart began to beat, nor the way his palms began to sweat.

What if his height actually ended up bothering Anya afterall? He was used to the attraction standards being an almost 180 from what the humans had. What if she saw him and immediately thought having a taller mate was grotesque? While he looked similar enough to her species, as humans and lemurians were close enough genetically that they were practically cousins. 

Plenty of hybrid children had already been born already from mating between the two species these past few years. Yet still he was a good foot taller than her at 7’1 and she being 5’6. He wasn’t used to that, and while he found the idea of a shorter mate charming - definitely all the easier to snuggle and love on - he also knew that human males didn’t normally have that sort of height advantage on their females either.

Pursing his lips he shook his head to try and clear his worries away. There was no use panicking over this, if she didn’t want someone taller she would have brought it up by now… he hoped at least. Then slowly, he made his way to customs.

[newx-menfan]

Thoughts on Cerebro Podcast:

Readers paying attention to nothing except X-Men is kind of brutally true 😂🤣 (I do read other comics…but X-Men is the only book I consistently read…)

Apparently one of the writers cats is very vicious! (I think it’s Jackson’s )🙀😾😹

Was kind of apprehensive when the podcaster mentioned not being a fan of NYX or NXM:AX- NYX I at least get…but I kind of am surprised they weren’t a big fan of NXM…honestly this is the same problem with “Xavier Files” for me; they write it off as “gimmicky” or “commercialization” or “a Harry Potter knockoff”, instead of admitting that NXM really was a great predecessor of Gen X and NM and fit really well with what Morrison had developed. I would say NXM was the only x-book that ever fully “felt” like a true blue “school” book and that the characters felt more realistic because they were flawed and more nuanced than a lot of previous teen characters 😒

Don’t agree that all the NXM should necessarily “break bad”- it makes sense more for someone like Hellion, (who went through bodily harm repeatedly, was heavily “shunned” by adults or labeled as a proto-villain, and was already pretty naturally rebellious) than a lot of the other NXM characters. Like I don’t envision Indra or even modern day Elixir turning because of their personalities…MAYBE Pixie because of Limbo influence? Even Surge, for example, as angry as she is…I can’t picture it working narratively as well.

Agree with the Podcaster that in a lot of ways these characters work in a new title because they feel “college age”- they’re not too young that you have to write a YA/highschool book and can feature broader themes…but they’re also still a “hip” and “young” age…

Brought up what I have been saying for years- that the NXM represented cultural crisis like climate change, 9/11, recession, ect… basically general disenfranchisement caused by modernity…and that they still work for that feeling and are basically the “millennials” of X-books

Kamala WAS editorially mandated 

I feel better hearing it described as “older Bendis” kind of book- as negative as I feel about Bendis, I did really enjoy his “street vibe” with Jessica Jones and Miles and miss those kinds of books. I miss books like “X-Factor Investigations” or the original “NYX”…

Really thrilled to hear Hellion is their favorite lol! (Although Hellion is pretty much EVERYONE’S favorite lol😜)

Really agree with the note that Hellion’s BIGGEST flaw isn’t that he’s wrong, but that he’s arrogant and condescending about it (it’s also TOTALLY why I think he’s an ♈️ and not a ♌️ )

Same with the “he’s not a BAD kid, he just comes off as bad”…

Agree that Laurie Collin’s COULD have made a really cool villian…although I really liked that despite her power set, Laurie WASN’T evil….also objectively…I’m more excited about it being Empath, because as everyone KNOWS, I REALLY wanted the Hellion v. Empath smackdown 😂🤣🤣

F***…. Might need to go back and read “Hellions” now 😂🤣🤣

The writers are obviously going to address the Sophie-Prodigy moment and Laura and Kamala (I have said this with Surge/Dust AX storyline…but again…there’s a difference with writing a problematic scene to explore a real problem vs. being racist/sexist/ect…) 

Really sad to hear the Surge hate ☹️, especially since the writers are obviously doing the same “learning moment” with Sophie and David….again, I would ARGUE the whole point of that original story WAS that Surge was wrong…but whatevs

The “shippers” commentary made me laugh 😂🤣

Liked the conversation around the local feel/geography (I was actually really excited when the “Vessel” at Hudson Yards popped up in issue #1)

I actually DIDN’T think about how Sophie MISSED Decimation…which actually makes it even MORE interesting!… Hellion AND Prodigy are definitely going to give Sophie a piece of their minds though lol

Sophie and Kamala being in the same boat (both didn’t experience THE BAD ERA of X-Men) and learning from one another sounds like it will be really interesting! I am actually MORE excited about Sophie than I was previously after listening to this podcast episode!

The statement about Empath being “Emma’s greatest failure” because you can’t really humble or nudge that character was an interesting way to look at Manuel and I am interested in seeing more of this play out

Sounds like Anole is going to be the one that gets arrested (1:11.45)

The idea of Emma constantly talking shit about Carol Danvers cracked me up 

Dante, David’s boyfriend will be heavily featured in issue #6; also I really appreciated the discussion around Dante, in general 

It does sound like no one should get super attached to any ship from this podcast ep lol

Not sure I care for “Kamala= Superman, Laura=Batman”….but whatevs

Feel super empathetic to Kelly needing to get off the call for his wife- it was super nice of him to do this podcast interview and congratulations on the new addition to his family!! ❤️

Everyone already knows this by now but QQ was originally meant to be “The Krakoan” in the first pitch…honestly it’s for the best because I am picky about my QQ representation…

Hellion commentary (1:27:15)- because THAT’S the most important lol

Totally agree that QQ was a million times better as an antagonist and they (cough…Aaron…cough) ruined a great Morrison character 

Kind of hope they didn’t JUST choose Julian because he’s a “white male privileged character”- Julian definitely IS that, but there’s also plenty more layers TO Julian…

This whole podcast episode is a love letter to Morrison and I LOVE it 😂🤣🤣🤣

Quentin DID steal Julian’s thunder and I am GLAD someone fucking SAID IT! 😂🤣🤣🤣🤣

Calling me out on my Hellion grievances lol - yes, yes I AM that bitter lol

Again- I actually don’t see Surge and Wallflower going evil; Wallflower because she saw how her father’s abuse of his powers affected her mother, and Surge, because I think Noriko is too loyal and dependent on others ultimately…. Julian makes sense because he’s always been a pretty independent thinker/ stood his ground when he thought he was right and always had a “damn the consequences” attitude. Julian IS loyal…but his need to do what he saw as “right” often trumped that loyalty- remember him turning on Emma to defend Laura! (might do a bigger write up on this later!)

Hellion got his hands back…but it sounds like they’re going to tackle THAT story on page possibly

I agree that Hellion TOTALLY would have gone through the Crucible as well- while I LIKED Julian’s prosthetics and what they represented…the truth is Julian more or less SAID he wanted them HEALED in “X-Men: Legacy”…it wouldn’t narratively make sense for him to pull a “Karma” and keep them

Kind of do hope we see Julian MAKING telekinetic floating hands as a fight move…

I agree that Hellion would be angry over the loss of Krakoa…but I actually think, after years of Hellion “wanting fame and glory”…after years and years of trauma and abandonment…receding into the background, having his friends alive and back…might have been a relief to him. While Hellion DEFINITELY IS arrogant…I do think he learned his lesson that there’s a negative to “fame and glory”…

Really pleased to hear Lanzing say he wants Hellion to be a bigger character and kind of push back on the “Hellion is just taking QQ’s original role’s place”- I know I am going to get flack for saying this from QQ fans… but; Hellion is more interesting than just being the ANGRY REBELLIOUS FASCHIST KID. QQ’s original anger didn’t have the layers Hellion does. While there’s definitely some egotism and arrogance there….Hellion WENT through a lot of trauma and isn’t entirely WRONG to be angry at the X-Men….Hellion I would argue ALWAYS had a complexity that QQ never did, because Julian was more emotionally intelligent than QQ (and that WAS kind of the point of Kid Omega…his intellect didn’t match his emotional intelligence! He WAS a more realistic take on the kid who is too smart for his own good!)

Glad to hear him mention Laura specifically!

the 7 train IS objectively terrible lol

This *might* be the book where Kamala’s family finds out she’s a superhero…

I agree with the writers and liked the Aamir moment- I think it does highlight that it IS easy to play into stereotypes and discriminate…especially when there’s propaganda actively reinforcing it…

Kamala is apparently going to get an X-verse version of “the Trumper relative” 😳🤣🤣🤣

G Willow Wilson run shoutout ✊✊

Couldn’t say much about the new “Quiet Council”….but they’re all “failed, used, and taught by Emma Frost”…

“Emma is the educator that matters”- truth!…although this DOESN’T highlight her legacy in a particularly nice way or bode well for the new generation of students 🤣🤣🤣

“Why would we STOP” commentary about Krakoa and the freedom they once had is great!

Calling attention to Hellion AND Esme not having the Empath power effect over them in the art (although the cuckoos powers often show up as pink as well)- won’t confirm or deny Empath controlling them

There isn’t a “Cut and Dry” villain in the book apparently (Ooooohhh! I love that! I really DO hope we get Magneto levels of ambiguity with all these characters!)

Agree that the artist did a great job with Empath’s character design and harkening back to the 80’s! (Technically Empath’s hair color changed depending on the artist- sometimes it was a dirty blonde, sometimes brown…also I could totally see Manuel dyeing his hair to match Emma…so…)

Kind of wonder if Firestar OR Magma will pop up… one of my FAV issues of Uncanny X-Men WAS the one where Empath and Roulette manipulated Warpath’s grief over Thunderbird and Firestar…

The commentary ON Empath and the relationship of psychology to power sets was really excellent!! (1:52:05) [I ADMIT IT NOW- I MIGHT NEED to EAT CROW and read “Hellions” 😂🤣🤣] 

Possibly WILL be in conversation with Eve Ewing’s Emma book… (I really WOULD like to see a dive into Emma constantly trying to “undo” the past with new students, and how it’s NEVER about Emma trying to do “right” by these kids…as much as Emma USES her students as martyrdom…the truth is, much like Xavier, it’s ALWAYS ABOUT her ego…that’s why she does it…) [I KNOW people hated KYOST’s take on Emma back in the day…but I would argue that they weren’t entirely WRONG that Emma’s actions are complex and not ALWAYS altruistic…]

….It KIND OF IS Emma’s fault, people 😂🤣

Not sure I love the idea of the cast growing…but we will see…

Lanzing and Kelly MIGHT be on again! 

Thought about making a Greg land joke with the Spider-Man plug…but I won’t be petty….

Overall- I feel better about this book; it DOES seem like the writers are putting A LOT of thought into this book and aren’t just doing things without thinking about it deeply first! I definitely think this is going to be one of the strongest X-book we’ve gotten in a long time and I am PUMPED! 

(Also I may have to listen to CEREBRO Files more- the commentary was really great 😂🤣🤣)

I know I may regret it…but I am REALLY feeling optimistic about this book!!