#I know I haven't been very good at posting my art lately and especially to Bluesky (it's because posting is a huge pain in the butt for me

[late-night-chai-latte]

New Blog!

Hello all!

I've created this secondary art blog to post spicier content. I understand that not everyone who follows my main blog is interested in that sort of stuff, and also, I don't want to put all my proverbial eggs in one basket (and then mysteriously have the basket wiped from the face of the planet).

In adhering to Tumblr's... puritanical policies, I will be posting full pieces on my Bluesky account, and linking them here!

[bingbongsupremacy]

Hey I saw your old post asking which fanfics you should do next. I know it didn’t win but could you please please please do “Tell Me You Love Me Again” with Eddie. Im in dire need of some good angst ❤️

Tell Me You Love Me Again

Sorry this took me so long to write! I have had some massive writer's block. Hopefully, this is okay!

Pairing: Rockstar!Eddie Munson x reader

Story Type: Angst

Warning: Y/N use, swearing, Eddie's a bit of a greedy ass ngl

Summary: You've been with Eddie since before he was famous. It used to be a loving relationship. As the years have passed, things have changed. Can you save the dying spark between you?

*Not Proof Read*

□□□□□□□

"Baby, you wanted to talk. Why are we just sitting here in silence?" Eddie asks with a grin. He casually flips through a music magazine, observing all of the new instruments for sale.

I take a deep breath. How do I even start this conversation? He's been so busy launching his band's new line of merch that I doubt this is a great time to talk about our relationship. Who knows when we'll have another opportunity? This is the first time I've been able to see him privately in weeks. I don't know how long I can keep harboring my frustrations.

"We do need to talk...here goes nothing." I sigh. "It's about our relationship."

Eddie pulls his eyes away from his magazine, his smile fading into a serious expression. "What about it?"

"I've been feeling very frustrated lately. I feel like you're never home, and I never get to see you anymore. I miss you." I reply honestly.

Eddie sets the magazine on top of the coffee table that separates us. "I know it's been busy lately, but it's great for us! Now I can take you anywhere you want to go. Name any place, and I can bring you there." Eddie's playful smile returns.

I let out a tired laugh. "Eddie, that's nice and all, but the problem is you don't have the time to take me anywhere I want to go. I just want you to dial it back a bit, please. Spend more time with me, and I'm sure Wayne would love it if you spent some time with him, too."

I'm not even sure if Eddie has time to call Wayne anymore. I might be the only one talking to him regularly.

"I spend plenty of time with Wayne." Eddie's expression is slightly offended.

"It's just the past year; you've rarely been back. Can't you take some time off? Cancel a few tour dates or reschedule some photoshoots?"

"I can't just abandon my career, Y/N. My band has worked so hard for this." Eddie argues. "It wouldn't be fair to the boys."

"What about what's fair to me, Eddie?" I let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not asking you to abandon anything, Eddie. I just think you should prioritize our relationship a little more. We barely see each other anymore!" My heart pounds. "When you're not on tour, you're constantly doing promotional videos or photoshoots. We haven't gone on a date in almost a month."

My flurry of emotions has caused tears to prick the back of my eyes. Fuck, I can't cry right now.

Eddie's shoulders are tense. His usual animated and playful exterior is replaced with a frustrated and angry one. One I rarely see, especially not when talking to me.

"That's part of the job. I'm a fucking rockstar, Y/N. I can't exactly blow off the world tours and photoshoots. My label and manager expects me to get shit out quickly. You don't understand! The moment I stop making songs and producing new shit, the moment all of this, " He gestures around the room to all of his expensive nicknacks and furniture. "disappears. I'll become irrelevant. My band will become irrelevant. This is my life, Y/N. And you're going to need to learn to accept it."

My frown deepens. "Do you hear yourself? How can you not see how greedy you're becoming? What happened to just loving music? Loving the art of creating, no matter how many people heard. When did this all become about money?" I stand up from my spot on Eddie's couch, needing to put some distance between myself and the man. I avoid making eye contact with him, knowing if I do, I'll burst into tears.

This room suddenly feels so suffocating. "Is this really all you care about? How many shows you can sell out? How deep your pockets can get?"

"For fucks sake, Y/N." Eddie groans as he leans back against his recliner. His head hits the back of the seat, an annoyed expression flashing across his face. "You're being so fucking dramatic."

I shake my head. "This is not what I signed up for. You are not the man I signed up to be with."

Eddie stiffens. Hurt crosses his eyes. His face turns stoic as he looks me dead in the eye. A dark anger replaces his hurt. "Things change. People change. Obviously, I've changed. If you hate me so fucking much, why don't you get the fuck out and find someone new? Someone who better suits your lifestyle since you're not happy with me."

I freeze. My heart drops at his bitter words. He's never spoken to me like this before.

He's so different than the man I fell in love with all those years ago. Life seemed simpler in Hawkins. I'd work the night shift at The Hideout and he'd play with his band. I was able to see him regularly while he was still able to do what he loved. No massive world tours to separate us for months. No partying until early the next day. Just the two of us, supporting each other and doing what we loved.

I feel my cheeks heat from embarrassment and anger. He's right. He's changed, and it's obviously been for the worse. "You know what, you're right."

Eddie's eyes widen slightly in surprise, like he didn't think I'd agree.

"You don't want to work this out like an adult, so I'm going to leave. We're done, Eddie. I can't do this anymore. I deserve someone willing to set aside time for me. I shouldn't be the only one giving 100% to the relationship. I need someone who respects me and what I need. You can't give that to me." I grab my purse from the couch. I pause right before I reach the door. " Eddie, " I turn to look back at the man.

He doesn't meet my gaze. His eyes are trained on his locked hands. He looks like he's in disbelief.

"I hope you find what you're looking for. Just know that you'll never have enough money or fame to please yourself. Materialistic things can only bring you so much happiness. You'll suffer until you realize that. I just hope it isn't too late when you finally do."

With that, I leave the apartment. As soon as the door behind me clicks shut, the tears begin to fall. I lean against the wall near Eddie's door and wrap my arms around myself for some sort of support.

I wish he loved me enough to apologize. I wish he would come out here, tell me he was wrong, and that he was going to try to fix things.

I finally garner the strength to push away from Eddie's wall and make my way downstairs. With every step, I think of new things I wish Eddie would do.

When I take my last step out of the apartment building, disappointment settles in my chest as I realize none of my wishes came true.

Eddie's a rockstar. He'll never love me as much as he loves his lifestyle.

I was stupid to think he'd always be the man I fell in love with in Hawkins, Indiana.

[inkbloto]

✌🏾😈🔮▪︎ Purgatorio Art Dump ▪︎🔮😈✌🏾

Heyo it's me, back at it again with another project.

Okay but in all seriousness, this has probably been the wildest one I've been on, but in a good + learning experience way.

I haven't felt very much into my original characters for a long time now, ( PacAU doesn't count it's more of a fan-work I'm obsessed with lol.) which I know kinda sucks to hear since some do like my other original stories + concepts but ngl the previous ones just didn't *CLICK* for me. Felt like I was more-so doing them for portfolio reasons rather then actually digging the "story/characters" Ya'know? Not to say I don't like em or will never return to them, but It just didn't feel like I was into it If that makes any sense.

I was in a slight funk during Febuarry + March and thought randomly one day about Bloto. My old persona Bloto ( who isn't my persona anymore and hasn't been for awhile btw ) was always kinda a blank slate of a character so I was like: " What if I made them have a human form to blend in with ppl. " so concept art started then boom lore and a story for it too SOOO now we are here. I also managed to slip in my crack-ship here somehow so bonus points.

I've kinda gotten hyper-fixated on this one as of late. Feels weird to say but I haven't felt this STRONG BOND ever since I created PacAU LOL. I have a sunshine son and night daughter now.

SO ANYWAYS, I recommend following my bluesky + main twitter for updates revolving around these guys but I will TRY to post more oc stuff here. DO NOT quote me on that though.

BASIC INFO TO KNOW FOR NOW:

Beatrix / Bloto: Beatrix is Bloto's human disguise they turn into in order to blend with mortals ever since they were banished from Montero ( The Daimon relam ) to the earthly-mortal one; Purgatorio, mostly referred to as Atorio. They were kicked out due to attempted murder of a friend who had betrayed them. . . Now they are stuck on Atorio with cuffs that can't come off as punishment, but it allows them to turn into a human while working as a art teacher and protector at a church+academy.

Dante: A close friend to Beatrix/Bloto who is into the paranormal and the supernatural while trying to solve his family curse. . . Maybe the mysterious but heroic Daimon in town can help him? He does not know Bloto IS Beatrix in the earlier parts of the story.

Jewels / Jezebel : A happy go-lucky Daimon who was banished for not performing their daily qouta, so she would be shunned to the human realm. Even so, she has never thrived better than before as fashion designer on Atorio referring to herself as Jewels. She and Beatrix/Bloto at first don't see eye to eye as polar opposites, but eventually become good friends. Especially after learning the two are both Daimons.

Father/Headmaster Donovan : One of the earliest Daimons exiled for unknown reasons and the man who found Bloto/Beatrix after their banishment. . . To not give attention, he raises them as his own as an act but clearly shows deep care for them. Runs a pretty normal church/academy.

Other character info will come out later as I'm drawing more stuff but that's basic info you have for now lolz.

[py-dreamer]

@dynamicsimp hope ya like it!

EYESHOT AU DITY

I literally did this in one day- help.

So yeah, I tried out the gosh-dang challenge and honestly?

Quite happy with how it came out! It was very interesting and actually very fun working on a piece with a monochrome pink palette!

Gosh, I haven't gotten to use my REAL lineless style (I use it for stickers but I haven't done any stickers in forever) where all the cel shading is real harsh and as it says in the title: no outline.

Lately, I've been more focused on lighting and texture in my digital works and just making everything 'softer' and more 'realistic' but dang, I forgot how much I missed just using my harsh and more cartoony style.

But because it looked good, here's the one with some light:

I am very happy especially since I do believe there is some improvement in the style.

(In that it doesn't look as amateur as when I first started out. But I think that's mostly cause I used monochrome here)

Does anyone else get that struggle? Feeling like you're not advancing then keep pushing yourself to change and improve but also really missing the original style?

Anyways some of y'all might be wondering where I've been for pride month....

I PROMISE IT'S NOT CAUSE I HATE PRIDE MONTH OR LGBTQ+ PLEASE PUT YOUR PITCHFORKS DOWN!!!!!

Mainly it has mostly been art block and just demotivation especially since I'm STILL WORKING ON THAT BIG PROJECT UGHHGHHHGGGHHGG.

(I'm not blaming y'all I'm just feral)

And just general procrastination.

BUT.

I do have another project in the works. So to any of my lovely marshiemallows who have seen my previous posts,

you'd know that I'm very...opinionated about Macaque. More specifically his attitude in canon and how the fandom treats him.

(Keep in mind the thing was planned before s5)

DISCLAIMER: Again, I do enjoy Mac's character. I just think he's a bit of a d!ck and kinda hates how a lot of the fandom (not all) brushes that over and throws the bucket of Wukong's sins down on the king's head.

(I also would not hesitate to wack him with a stop sign on the chopping block if given the chance /hj)

But without further ado I decided to do something other than complain and present you guys this:

Yay! So if you're into Macaca bullying, join the Mac bullying train! CHOO CHOO!

(also big thanks to @furornocturna for beta reading and helping with characterizations and stuff. There will be another post just detailing bout the fic later but yea go check them out, their work's great)

AND HAPPY ANIVERSARY TO DYNAMICSIMP FOR THE AU!

[tea-cake-and-sarcasm]

☆ TEA'S NEW AND IMPROVED INTRO POST ☆

Hello! You can call me Tea or Albert. Other nicknames are cool too! I'm a rather private person so neither are my real name. My pronouns are She/Her/They, and I am one of them queers. I mainly reblog, but on occasion you may see some of my incoherent ramblings, or even some of my art. I promise I will get to tagging all of these one day, but for now it will be like a fun little surprise whenever you find something of value here

Some quick and important notes:

I've had a major bot problem recently, so when following me please know that if you have no description, profile picture or title etc. I will block you. Even just one of these tells me you aren't a bot. Make a little post that says hello, and that's good enough:)

I will not be answering any donation asks

Here's why:

-I am a minor and therefore cannot support your cause even if I want to

-I'm literally broke

-My follower count is too small to argue I could promote the cause by answering, and many are in the same situation as me

-It sounds mean, but if I answer one, my inbox fills with 5-10 new asks, and I can't do that.

Tl;dr: I don't have money, and no way to give it if I did.

My interests!

Some favourites:

-Jujutsu Kaisen

- Moriarty the Patriot

- Death Note

-Persona (currently playing through 4)

-Ace Attorney

-Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (though I haven't finished it, so no spoilers please)

-Totk/Botw

-Saiki K

-Attack on titan

-Alien Stage

-Cult of the lamb

-Sky: Children of the light

-Neon Genisis evangelion

-Howl's moving castle

-Tokyo Ghoul

-Sherlock (The ACD books, though I've watched some of the BBC version)

-Portal

-Many many more, if you ask there's a good chance I will have at least heard of whatever you're talking about :)

Some Favourite Characters:

-N Harmonia (Pokemon B/W)

-Howl (Howl's moving castle, especially the books)

-Suguru Geto (Jujutsu Kaisen)

-Gojo Satoru (Jujutsu Kaisen)

-William Moriarty (Moriarty the patriot)

-Era of the Wilds Link (Botw/Totk)

-Misa Amane (Death Note)

Favourite Music artists:

-Malice Mizer

-Kikuo

-Maretu

-Cö shu nie

-Österreich

-All the persona osts

-Alnst ost

-Miracle musical

Progress on watching/reading things etc (LAST UPDATED: 22/5/25):

-Orv : roughly chapter 70, up to date with the webtoon

-Aot : early s2

-Persona 4 : Apprehending/rescuing the kid in the video game themed dungeon

- Bsd : S3 ep 4

-The Case Study of Vanitas : Episode 8

-ENA : episode 4 (I believe)

-Arcane : Just into s2

-JJBA : I think episode 11 or something of battle tendency

Some mutuals I care rather a lot about:

@sssssaaaaaaammmm - Evil Wizard @wondersoftheimagination - Parent of my late slug son (Rip Ryuzaki)

@y0url0calcryptid - Silly clown

@fearofgodandtolkien - someone I cannot imagine as a person, only as a whole forest

@mehtoohardtofindasuitablename - the owner of the most darling cat in the world

@liquidpaperfoundation1 - very wowzers type of guy

@numberoneah-duofan - I have never been bribed quite so much in my life as I have by this person in the last two years or so

@lara-prim07 - Satorboo <3

If you aren't tagged here I still love you I just don't want to be yapping too much, or I'm not sure about your thoughts on being tagged in this way :) any mutuals who wish to be added (or removed!) Js let me know!

Some trivia under the cut! (Idea from @y0url0calcryptid)

-My favourite colours are purple and red

-I LOVE BUGS

-I love steam trains <33

-My current manga collection consists of all tokyo ghoul, tokyo ghoul:re, volumes 1-17 of mtp, 1 tpn, 1 Mr villains day off, all death note, 2 jjk

-I'm stereotypically english, in a sickly victorian child kind of way

-my favourite animals are giraffes and crows

-when I was younger I really wanted to be an author, but I haven't written anything substantial for a good while, aside from assignments

-growing up I developed an obsession with poisons and diseases that was pretty cool

-chat I love trains

-I'm awful at all sport, but I do aerial hoop and silks, and i love swimming

-I love forests so much

-I play piano (~grade 3-4), but I've been meaning to learn electric guitar

-My spice tolerance (in a metaphorical and literal sense) is negative (stories or food)

-My MBTI is enfp (tragically the same as Shinji from nge)

-I'm a yapper :(

-I'm planning to make an oc masterlist soon!

[msgenevieve447]

(Well, I remembered my Tumblr password, so that's a good start?)

Hello to anyone who might see this little post.

It has been a stupidly long time since I logged into Tumblr, let alone made a post, so forgive me if I am slightly rusty. I have been thinking quite a lot lately about the Before Time, aka when fandom life was vibrant and dramatic and filled with creative people. Le sigh.

@scribblecat27 and I often still reminisce about the Saturday afternoons spent online once our respective chores were done, when we would swap fic and art ideas and overthink the latest Captain Swan content of the latest episode. I truly miss those heady days (even the drama, let's face it, sometimes especially the drama, lol) and I miss the people here.

I'm kind of rambling now, to be honest. Full disclosure, I haven't been writing, let alone reading any of my unfinished WIPs, and I have been very neglectful in replying to messages on here.

BUT -

I remembered my password, I logged on using my home PC rather than my phone, and I have replied to ONE whole message. Who knows what tomorrow might bring? Answering more messages? Re-reading the unfinished stories that haunt me to this day? LOL.

PS: After an anxious few weeks leading up to our national election, Australia's version of the US Democrats just got voted back into power in what might be called a landslide, so fucking hurray and what better way to celebrate than to rediscover a few things that used to give me great joy?

[violetasteracademic]

Yet again, a million years late but I cannot control when I must burrow in my hidey hole

2024 Fic Writer End of Year Roundup

Thank you for the tags, my beloved @rosanna-writer @foundress0fnothing @yourstarsmyscars

Answer and then tag three or more creators to keep the game going!

(If you're in my answers consider yourself tagged if you'd like to play!!)

1. How many words did you publish on AO3 in 2024?

This was my first year on AO3, and I posted 216,682 before the calendar year ended!

2. How many fics did you complete this year?

2, one longfic Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow and a one shot, Before the Night Ends, made specifically for my beloved @theseersgarden and some beautiful Elriel art she had commissioned by Lulybot! (This one may technically not be finished... we shall see)

3. How many in progress or ongoing fics did you start this year?

Four in progress, all three parts of Velaris Memorial Hospital (which is kind of like one big intertwined Feysand, Nessian, and Elriel AU) and another long fic, A Court of Twisted Fate

4. What was your favorite thing you wrote?

Oh this is so hard. Everything I wrote was what I needed in the moment, so it's difficult to disentangle myself. But I do think Me, You and the Moon Part One and Two from A Court of Twisted Fate was one of my favorite experiences writing. Also some of my favorite things I wrote haven't been posted yet, so I can't share yet!

5. What piece was your most experimental or different from your usual style?

Absolutely Velaris Memorial Hospital. I have been writing third person limited fantasy and sci-fi for well over a decade, and have followed that in my fanfiction. Writing contemporary romance or modern AU in first person perspective was not something I ever imagined doing, but it has unlocked something in me. I am a huge contemporary romance reader, but writing has been an incredible new journey and I have so much newfound respect for first person perspective!

6. Did any fics surprise you - either while writing or their reception?

Again, Velaris Memorial Hospital. It is by far my smallest readership (which I expected, I am new to the Nessian and Feysand arena and of course there's a huge variety of ship and character preferences. Not everyone is a fan of all three brothers and all three sisters) but it has wound up by far being some of the most engaged and supportive readers, and I have been absolutely loving writing for it!

7. Do you have a fic you wrote and loved that went under the radar? (This is your sign to reblog/repost it!)

Hmmm it's a bit hard to say, I don't have have that many fics out and not a super good sense of this yet. I do think my Nessian fic, The Albatross has my lowest metrics overall. And writing for Nesta and Cassian has also unlocked something very deep and inspired within me. But VMH is an enormous project and kind of choose your own adventure, so I hope it gets some more love in the long run!

8. Who is an artist that inspired you?

Literally too many to count but I have to give the biggest shoutout to @elainemg97. Her artistry knows no bounds, and she is one of the best Elriel eggs out there. She is always kind and encourages positive fandom behavior, and is so encouraging and passionate about helping other artists grow and encouraging them on their journey! @stickyelectrons has such a beautiful eye for color, I just love what she manages (especially for Lucien) and I'm such a fan of @santkazoya and @tealeaves-and-rosepetals

9. Who is an author that inspired you?

Literally way way too many to count. @yourstarsmyscars, @rosanna-writer, @foundress0fnothing, @nikachansstuff, and citizenofvelaris are not only phenomenal writers but inspired beta readers and I feel so lucky to know them. @bloomingdarkgarden and @tealeaves-and-rosepetals are magic and pixie dust, truly phenomenal writers but also so available to support other writers and brainstorm and daydream with. I definitely have a lot more fic to read, I write much more often than I read so it leaves me pretty behind. But I'm sure I missed some and there are so many exceptional writers in this fandom!

Oh also, @tswaney17 has stepped away from fic writing but I'm SO excited for her journey repurposing I Do Bad Things With You into an original story for publishing!

10. Who is a new author you discovered?

See all of the above, but a special shoutout to @jasmineandcedar who writes such lovely short form pieces for Tumblr and did a Shakespeare inspired piece that had my jaw on the floor.

11. Did you do any collaborations? How did it start?

Before the Night Ends with @theseersgarden! It started just with @theseersgarden brainstorming ideas for a caption for an artwork in process, and trying to come up with a title/head canon/sweet moment to describe the scene. And then it spiraled into, wait a min... there's a whole ass fic here.

12. What accomplishments are you proudest of?

It has been really awesome to see how well received Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow was. I try not to get too caught up in what fic is the most popular and whether or not I'm showing up on "best" lists, because art is subjective, and as I mentioned, I think some of my best work has had the smallest engagement. But Golden Doe in a Valley of Shadow was my first ever fic. I was a little baby on tumblr and thought maybe four or five people would read a few chapters. I had no idea it would take off in the way that it did, and it still stuns me to this day. Other than that, just writing consistently, and finding wonderful people who fill my cup and and are so supportive and encouraging.

13. What did you learn about writing or creating this year?

Fic writing is super different from original novel writing in a lot of ways, and I still feel like I'm getting my footing in a lot of ways. I find myself very often coming to my fellow writers being like- does this fly in fic culture? Am I overthinking this? But I think the heart of all creative writing is the same, which is trying to find the joy and a build a story that draws readers in and it's just a beautiful thing to invite people into the visions that take place in your mind, even if you are still learning and imperfect. Because you never know what will connect with someone. Also, shadows make great dildos.

14. Any advice you’d like to share with new or aspiring writers?

Don't be afraid of the work. Do not fear the muck. Lean into the trenches. I am a huge advocate for transparency in the writing process, and the writing world (fic especially) I think is extra guilty of uplifting the work that just flowed out of them and took no effort at all. Grabs face LISTEN TO ME. Your best work might be what you fought the hardest for. Your strongest scene might be the one that had you in a black pit of despair, extremely close to giving up. Writing is a craft. The only way to get better is to write, this is true. But many people write thousands and thousands of words and never improve, because of the notion that writing should be easy, that it can only happen when you are inspired and flowing and know what you are doing.

Do not fear the trenches. Do not shy away from the work. Not everything comes easily. That doesn't mean you are a bad writer or can't do it. DISPEL the ideas that writing should be easy or come naturally or not require deep effort and work.

15. What are your creative goals for 2025?

To focus back more on original work. I don't do well with working on more than one project at a time, and I really dug myself into it working on four stories at once. There is no room left for my novel writing, but I can't leave projects unfinished or they will weigh on me. Also continuing to figure out my place in fandom and sharing what I can while staying away from the things that drain me and take away my joy. OH and letting myself take more time. AO3 is an archive, the work will live on. Encouraging myself to be human and need rest and time away. It's so critical to detach from the need for a constant stream of validation, breathe, and focus on the work and your well being.

If you’re tagged in this, please consider yourself tagged for the game!

[abyssal-author-and-artist]

oh shit i just realized i forgot to post the trans dipper essay

oh well, better late than never!

Introducing - Why Mason "Dipper" Pines is Trans and Why that Matters - an essay I spent more time on than I did my actual college project today

Mason "Dipper" Pines from Gravity Falls is trans. Trans masculine, to be specific. Do I believe this was intentional? No. Do I believe that there's a seriously convincing case to be made? Fuck yes.

So first off, he's just like me frfr, which is pretty compelling in and of itself. But that's not enough for a whole essay, so we move onto our second point - character designs. Dipper is designed like, well, like every modern-era trans man I've ever drawn who isn't goth. The shorts, the one shirt in the one color, the absolute insecurity. He even does the hunch of the back! Also, I think I heard somewhere that the vest is to make his shoulders look broader, which I'm not entirely sure is canon but I am accepting this whole-heartedly. It's such a trans move of him. He's too young (and it's summer so it's too hot) to wear a dysphoria hoodie so he picked a vest. (I say too young because dysphoria hoodies usually cover your chest and Dipper and Mabel probably haven't hit puberty.)

The second part comes directly from science. According to this article, and many others, sex in identical twins is complicated, but most identical twins will be born the same sex. There are cases where this isn't true (which might be the case for Mabel and Dipper) or they might be fraternal, which is also pretty likely. However, looking at them when they were younger (and listening to their very similar voices), it's likely they were identical and both girls. That's not to say I dislike trans Mabel - every trans woman I draw dresses like her, so I do love her being trans as well and them hitting the age of like. 10. and swapping genders is incredibly funny and adorable to me.

So, we can't reliably use the aforementioned evidence, then, can we? After all, identical twins can be different sexes, although rare, and we don't have any proof they are identical beyond their visual (and when they were younger, audible) similarities. Well, first off, I'd say that's pretty compelling evidence already. In a cartoon, especially one as detailed and beautiful-looking as Gravity Falls (the art is good and I will die on this hill), visual language makes up for a lot. And Alex Hirsh has gone on record saying that he very much wanted Jason Ritter and Kristen Schaal for Dipper and Mabel respectively, to the point where he would have canceled the show if Kristen hadn't signed on, so I wholeheartedly believe every character (with the exception of Grenda and any other characters who had last minute va's picked) had their voice actors picked very specifically. I can't find whether Jason Ritter voiced younger Dipper, though, so that's a dead end.

Now, that's all well and good, but it's a lot of visual language, isn't it? Why don't we move into something more based in the writing itself?

So the first and most prominent example of Dipper being transgender is the episode Dipper vs Manliness. You know it, you probably have emotions on it, it's the episode where Dipper is trying his hardest to be a man's man. The episode was supposed to be about toxic masculinity and how to be a real man is to stick to your morals. It's a good lesson and in my opinion, holds up even in 2024. Pretty good. Does a great job of what it wants to do. Now, Dipper vs. Manliness has been dissected to hell and back already as a transgender allegory, so I'll keep this brief: the episode centers around Dipper being mocked for not being manly. While Mabel and Stan still see him as a man, albeit an effeminate one, it gets to Dipper. He proceeds to do anything to prove himself a real man. If viewed as a trans allegory, Mabel is teasing her brother and not realizing how deeply it actually hurts him (whether accidentally because she fails to realize how insecure he is over it or because she hasn't been there before, depending on how you want to headcanon it). As for Stan, I like to pretend he's supportive but regularly forgets Dipper was ever a girl, so he makes a serious slip up because of that (and/or he's regurgitating stuff said to him. That hits harder if you also headcanon trans Stan, which I am warming up to). Dipper proceeds to try and prove himself a man, crying when he takes even one more blow to his self esteem/sense of identity as a man, and eventually gets comfort from his family when they realize just how BADLY they messed him up. He is affirmed as a man and the episode ends. Everything that can be said, has been said - including that you don't have to act toxically masculine - or even masculine at all - to be a real man. Remember this part, it will be important later.

So, other trans moments for Dipper come a little sparser. Dipper vs. Manliness is the example for a good reason. But still, there's other moments. The short Voice Over from one of the short story compliation episodes is another one that's commonly referenced as a metaphor for voice dysphoria. Yes, Dipper's voice is cracking in ways common for a cis pre-teen boy his age, but the pitch and tone of his voice can also be seen as his more feminine voice peeking through. Taking the potion can be seen as taking testosterone or other hormones. Granted, this falls apart when you consider that Dipper is later discouraged from taking the potion, because that could be read as Dipper being discouraged from transitioning, but on the other side of the spectrum, it could be read as Dipper being affirmed as a real man despite his voice. From that perspective, his family prevents him from taking (possibly dangerous) homebrewed hrt. Also, the euphoria he gets when it does change his voice is just. Absolutely adorable.

Now, my favorite resource for Dipper acting trans is in the episode Headhunters. He's asking Manly Dan questions and Manly Dan calls Dipper a girl. And MAN the discomfort on Dipper's face. He immediately attempts to correct Manly Dan, but is shut down and the episode moves on. I think that for such a short moment, it does a good job of making Dipper seem trans, though. He is called a girl and feels extreme discomfort around it. He does not like being called a girl. He is not a girl. But he's not shocked or surprised or even really offended - he's resigned. He's used to being called a girl. Sure, he hates it, but he doesn't cry or scream or anything. Sounds to me like a trans man who's absurdly used to being misgendered but still hates it. That pain never goes away, but sometimes all you can do is flinch in discomfort, try to correct and move on, like the episode does.

For a (mostly humorous) video of more of Dipper acting trans, check out this video.

So I think we've made a pretty compelling point for Dipper Pines being trans masc here. Looks pretty good, yup, this is a great essay, let's wrap it up. Oh? What's that? The name of this essay?

Why Mason "Dipper" Pines is transgender and why that matters.

Well, let's dive into section two of this essay - why does Dipper being trans matter?

Someone could easily say it doesn't matter. Just fun fandom headcanons, that's it, wrap it up now. Nothing more to say. Dipper is trans and that's just a fun reading of his character.

But I don't think that's the case. I think that Dipper being trans means so much - to trans fans of the show, to fans who have never seen or spoken to trans people before, and to queer fans of Gravity Falls and similar shows. (I personally am a Steven Universe fan who really valued the representation there, so Gravity Falls and all it's queer coding means a lot to me.)

First and foremost, I'm not going to keep you in the dark as to why you're remembering my earlier point. As a recap, it was this: Dipper vs. Manliness, and by proxy, Gravity Falls as a whole, says that you don't have to be traditionally masculine to be a real man. For a show that spends a lot of time mocking a kid commonly headcanoned to be a trans man, that says a lot, and a lot of stuff I think more people need to hear.

You do not need to act like your gender to be your gender.

You do not need to present like your gender to be your gender.

You do not need to fit some rigid box that society enforces to be who you are.

If you are a man, you are a man, trans or cis, regardless of how you act. (And the same goes for women and nonbinary people! You don't have to fit a mold.)

You don't owe anyone anything.

You don't owe people masculinity. (Or femininity or androgyny for that matter.)

I think that's part of the reason Dipper vs. Manliness ages so well. Dipper reads as trans, especially to queer fans, and his story in that episode tells us that we don't have to be someone we're not for people to take us seriously as who we are. At the end of the day, the really masculine thing is staying true to you - a sentiment echoed and reversed in The Last Mabelcorn, where the most feminine thing you can do is to stay true to yourself. I can't find it right now, but I could swear that there's a That GF Fan video explaining my point a little better. The point is, there's nothing that makes you more of whatever your gender is than staying true to yourself.

Additionally, if Dipper really is trans and someone sees themself in him, that can help them explore their gender or explain it to other people. Young kids who have never interacted with trans people before can see Dipper and grow up to connect the dots - or grow up to have him crack their eggs.

I know I'm new to the fandom and I was already out before watching the show, but he really helped me explore my gender. I like dressing like him - he's very relatable, even though I'm old enough to be in college now. I see him as a very anxious, slightly paranoid trans kid, and I see a lot of myself in him. He has a lot of issues, and a lot of issues that aren't trans specific but definitely hit harder when you are trans. He makes me feel seen on a level that I never thought a cartoon character could do.

Honestly, here would be a good place to put a rant about representation in kids media - queer kids under the age of 12 exist and struggle. I liked a girl (before realizing I was trans) in fifth grade, so about 9 years old. There are kids who experiment with their gender when they're younger than that. We're here and we exist, and every single time a character in children's media is made and is prevalent, another kid is able to really see themself.

That's really the point of this section. Dipper is trans. That matters. People - mostly queer kids but people of all ages - see themselves in him. He's here and we see him as queer because it's validating. It feels so good to hear Stan affirm him at the end of Dipper vs. Manliness, because it proves that at the end of the day, you don't need to present as super masc or femme or androgynous to be who you are.

Gravity Falls, through coding Dipper as trans, sent a message:

You are seen. You are loved. You are valid.

Thank you for reading this all. Trans Dipper means a lot to me, and I love writing him and seeing him in general. I want more of him because Dipper being trans means the world to me.

I love you all. Have a wonderful day. Remember to stay true to yourself.

[wrenhavenriver]

Top 5 video games released within the last 5 years? 👀

oughgh this is rough, a good amount of my gaming time is me going back to my Old Reliables, many of which are pushing a decade at this point if not longer. that said i'm sure i'll hit post on this and then immediately go oh my god i forgot--

1 - Lies of P: good god is this game satisfying, i know "pinocchio bloodborne" is such an absurd thirty-seconds'-notice elevator pitch of a concept but it fucking works and made me Feel Things? astonishingly good soundtrack that i have listened to probably a hundred times over while studying, beautiful art design, and fluid combat with a huge amount of customization potential by way of the weapon mixing/matching system, legion arms, grindstones, fable arts, and quartz upgrades. please please please @ the fromsoft fans who haven't already, give pinocchio souls a chance (the DLC's due out sometime this summer!!)

2 - Baldur's Gate 3: look, i can't not put it on here. dnd style combat/rules in general are a baffling mystery to me but i've still sunk a colossal number of hours into this game and it's 95% down to the party members and the chance to get into their heads in their origin playthroughs and find all those tiny little unique dialogue choices and interactions you only get with character X in situation Y if they have subclass Z and the planets are aligned and you turn your screen upside down

3 - Ghostwire: Tokyo is one of those games that i'm always hesitant to actually recommend to people--it's a lot like Vampyr 2018 in that something about it grabbed me by the throat, but i recognize that it's still an objectively tedious game where a good amount of your time is spent running back and forth between areas you've already been to and having to kill far too many respawning mooks along the way, and for many people this means it'll wear out its welcome pretty early on (especially with some of the achievements, which take runtime padding to some egregious levels). that said: you play in a gorgeously rendered version of tokyo populated by some of the coolest and/or creepiest creatures from japanese folklore, the two main characters are squished together in one body á la cyberpunk 2077/venom and very snarky about it, and combat both looks and feels cool as fuck. plus the overarching theme is about confronting and processing your grief so that you can somehow live again, which will always be catnip to me.

4 - Control is from late 2019 so i'm counting it okay. insanely stylish game where the setting itself is very much a Character in its own right. this blending of like...retro bureaucratic aesthetic with sleek futuristic sci-fi horror elements is off the wall cool. also i love jesse and emily and simon and ahti all dearly, god bless

5 - if i'm counting one 2019 game then i'd be absolutely remiss not to include Disco Elysium too. best game for forcing you to experience the full spectrum of human emotions and some known only to stick bugs a minimum of one time every hour. "am i laughing or crying" yes. you are experiencing catharsis, do not resist. kim kitsuragi is here.

[bijoumikhawal]

Books I am planning to read- tagged by @amarocit

1. Imagined Communities by Benedict Anderson. I was recommended this by my good friend @2percentsugar after he read the two essays I've put out so far on natiophagy. I suspect that the "global" analysis is probably gonna disappoint me somewhat but it seems interesting

2. Nations and states: an enquiry into the origins of nations by Hugh Seton-Watson, picked up a pdf for similar reasons to the above through a commie pan-Africanist library that had the former

3. Folktales of Egypt by Hasan M. El-Shamy. I got this book last year and still have only partially read it. Finding any book discussing Egyptian folktales is really difficult, due to a lot of academic focus being biased away from doing so. I like folklore and fairytales a lot (I grew up with the Grimms and Stories for Children by Singer, as well as a few other anthologies). The trouble is I want to post some of these online and I have to type them out manually when I do! It ends up distracting me.

4. Egyptian & Sudanese Folk-Tales (Oxford Myths and Legends), retold by Helen Mitchnik. Not ae excited about this one the way I am about El-Shamy's. He includes ethnographic and contextual info about the storytellers he interviewed and pretty directly transcribes what he was told. This is a "retelling" by an outsider thar doesn't include that information. Still might be fun.

5. Ghost Riders of Upper Egypt by Hans Winkler. I got this as part of my research into and theorization about adorcism in Northeast Africa, but put it off because it's not about zar (my specific interest area) and because I found out the author was a German in the 1940s (and while no one wants to detail what he did, yes, he was)! I have read some of it and know its got useful information but I'm not especially happy about it.

6. Chromophobia by David Batchelor. I was recommended this as part of a discussion about white supremacy, art, and fashion. It's quite concept I'm familiar with, but I'm curious to see what insight an academic analysis has.

7. Seth, God of Confusion by H. Te Velde. I've gotten interested in dissecting Set like a bug and the Chaos (sometimes feminine and full of raw power) vs Order (masculine and needs to control power) dichotomy since finding out pagan Egyptians occasionally conflated Set with HaShem, especially in Late Antiquity. This usually wasn't positive, as by this point Set wasn't viewed as a nuanced figure, but i love taking my shame and turning into something to strut around in. Also because I dislike dualism and wanna break it with a hammer.

8. On My Right Michael, On My Left Gabriel: Angels in Ancient Jewish Culture by Mika Ahuvia. A lot of people claim "angels aren't important in Judaism" to differentiate from Christianity, but that blatantly isn't true. I know a bit about Apocalyptic literature and modern folklore, and hope this will be another addition to all that.

9. Ban of the Bori. Part of my zar research, as zar was very directly influenced by Bori during the 19th and early 20th century (to the point where "zar-bori" is used to refer to a broader adorcist system stretching across Sahelo-Saharan Africa). I started this, but the writing style is insufferable to read so it's one of those academic books that takes me forever to finish.

10. The Arabic Hermes: From Pagan Sage to Prophet of Science by Kevin van Bladel. I like reading about syncretism!

11. The Devil and the Jews by Joshua Trachtenberg. I've been recommended this but haven't read it yet, and it is relevant to some Thoughts I've been Thinking

12. Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible. I agreed to help with a midrash for every parsha project, so I've been reading multiple versions of the parshas I think I'll have Ideas on and the different takes people have to respond to or just to help me get the juices going

13. Qemant: A Pagan-Hebraic Peasantry of Ethiopia by Frederick C. Gamst. An Ethiopian friend of mine has mentioned the Qemant a few times and I want to know more. TL;DR is that they're an ethnoreligion that seems to have split off from Judaism before monotheism really took hold (?).

And I'll cut it off here because we don't need to be here forever.

Tagging @2percentsugar @wanderingwriter87 @knivesandteeth @tokidokifish @idonotbitemythumbatyou @subatoism @lorenzobane @fatalism-and-villainy and anyone else who wants in!

[ofgodsandllamas]

People I want to get to know better

I got tagged by @gummilutt - I hope you don't mind, but I'm posting this from my main account rather than my sims finds side account hehe!

Last song: lol it was Chuu's Heart Attack, which was much needed because today has been SOOO stressful and just LONG and I just needed something cute and fun to distract me for a few moments ;~;

Favorite colour: It's so hard to pick a favorite color, but if I had to pick anything, I'd say some kind of shade of cyan-y blues and dandelion type yellows! But also mint green-blues? These are the colors people most associate with me, too, so I think they're good ones to name!

Currently watching: I've really gotten into Dropout stuff lately so I've been watching a lot of Make Some Noise.

Last movie: Uhhhhhh. Good question! I don't really watch movies much, tbh. I'm more likely to watch a series than a movie and idk why! ADHD quirk?

Currently reading: A Darker Shade of Magic, but I haven't been reading in the last month or so. My attention has diverted once again which.... tbh not a surprise. I'll get back to it, though.

Sweet, spicy, or savoury: All of them! And honestly I think it just depends on the mood. Sometimes you just need something sweet - like right now I am, inexplicably, craving maple glazed donuts. Why? I just am! But I never turn down spicy queso birria tacos! And savory is just always good, it's comforting. And when you balance them all in a week, well, you're eating well aren't you? I know some people have strong feelings about certain flavor profiles but I like them all!

Relationship: I have been married for 12 years (13 soon!) which still sounds mind blowing when I put numbers to it - but we've been together over 15 years! Not to be sappy but idk where I'd be without him; he's a wonderful support system and has been a really big help over the last decade, especially as I sorted out a lot of mental struggles and I don't think a lot of people would have the kind of patience with me that he does.

Current obsession: I am very much back in my TS2 fixation mode. I think for a lot of us, our game and hobby fixations cycle - for me, my art phase will return, my reading phase will return, I'll be back to obsessing over Fields of Mistria in time (March my beloved), but TS2 has its grips in me again - so much so that I've finally been working on cleaning up my god forsaken cc folder and getting rid of my duplicate files and merging things so that it can load and run faster. It's incredible lol.

Last googled: the sims 2 userstartup lmaooooooooooo something was wrong with mine, a typo or something SOMEWHERE and my aliases were not working so I said HECK IT and yoinked someone else's that they graciously shared LMAOOOOO

Currently working on: Aside from work burnout (;~;) and trying to deepclean my house post winter depression funk and finally getting tired of the state of things, I've created a new sims hood that I'm really fond of so far! I didn't want to go QUITE BACC style this time - I wanted to have pre-existing lots that the families can visit and once I've finished overhauling my defaults (a project I keep putting off....) I'll generate some townies (unless I decide I actually want to create a bunch of sims to townify....?) so that there's more than JUST my playable sims but I'm just really excited about a new hood to play with new, fully randomized sims and seeing what they get up to! I've got some community lots yet to build and one more house to build (and one more yet to decorate) so it's still plodding along but it's just really fun taking my time and getting things set up, even if I'm itching to PLAY. I've never really gotten into the weeds of decorating a neighborhood with the hood deco but treating it like a miniature or toy house is so fun!

Idk who to tag because I'm so inactive here anymore and feel very out of touch with ANYONE and also a lot of people have already been tagged, so sorry if you've already been tagged of you're like "wait who the heck is this?!" lol no pressure! @bunsim @romysims @shadysentinel @enelea @emperorofthedark

[lemurious]

how did you first get into ancient rome? you've been putting SO MANY really cool comics and posts about it all over my dash that i'm like, i need to get more into this, but it just feels like there's so much stuff that i don't know where to start (ignore my copy of spqr that's been sitting my shelf for the last year 😭)

Thank you for asking! So, I've always been mildly interested in Ancient Rome and Greece, and then was looking for a new language to learn a couple of years ago, and started playing with Latin on Duolingo (which is actually terrible, not recommended at all...) and got completely hooked in spite of the limitations of Duolingo! Then went through various Latin courses until I found the wonderful Satura Lanx (highly recommended if you want to learn Latin), meanwhile getting deeper and deeper into Roman history, especially the late Roman Republic (think Marius through Octavian).

SPQR is very much a classic, but it actually didn't quite click for me for some unfathomable reason - I am loving Mary Beard's Emperor of Rome right now... I enjoyed Tom Holland's trilogy (Rubicon, Dynasty, Pax), though I would recommend it only as a starting point because it is fairly superficial and has a tendency to interpret statements from ancient historians as facts... I loved Mike Duncan's The Storm Before the Storm, about Marius and Sulla - it might be a good start? Anthony Everitt's Cicero was also very clear and informative. And honestly, I am absolutely loving the primary sources (I will talk your ear off about Sallust's Bellum Catilinae), though granted I am finally at the level where I can read them in Latin :D

If you are more into podcasts, I have thoroughly enjoyed Dan Carlin's Hardcore History series on Rome (disclaimer - he is not a historian, and he is very much into military history, fortunately, so am I): Punic Nightmares, as well as Death Throes of the Republic. Mike Duncan has The History of Rome podcast, which is quite highly regarded, but I haven't had a chance to listen to it.

For historical fiction, I would recommend Steven Saylor's Roma Sub Rosa, which is a mystery novel series set in the late Republic that openly addresses slavery, has non-heterosexual characters, etc. Catilina's Riddle is especially good because I am clearly biased and I loved his take on Catilina. A lot of people enjoy Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series, but it felt too drawn out for me.

Honestly, though, the most important part is to explore and have fun! History, literature, primary sources, fiction, Tumblr community, it is all part of enriching ourselves, finding new inspiration, connecting with people, and often, creating new art... and always feel free to throw me random Roman ideas! Or, perhaps you'd feel like joining the tiny fandom and writing some fics? :D (The fandom would be blessed by your talent!) Enjoy! <3

[come-away-with-me87]

The Art of Love Chapter 10

Chapter 9 here

******

Warnings: This chapter is a lil angsty. Also, sorry for the long delays in posting chapters on this. I've been going through it lately, I'm just not my best self atm. But I promise to finish this story to the very end. Also, I haven't forgotten the two Aizawa requests I received; my hope is to write at least one of them this weekend when my brain is hopefully refreshed. As always, thank you for reading <3

******

You and Shouta went on various dates over the course of the next few weeks.  You went out to eat at a few nice restaurants, you went to a cat cafe where you both discovered your mutual adoration for cats (as well as coffee), he came over to your house, where you cooked him dinner a few times.  You two had not put a label on your...whatever it was you were doing, nor had you slept together yet.  You weren't quite ready for that step, and something told you Shouta wasn't ready yet either.  All you've done so far was kiss, and that was okay with you.  Things were going well.

By getting to know Shouta, you also got to know Eri better, especially on the evenings where you would go to the Heights Alliance campus to visit him.  You sat in on one of his training sessions with her; the patience he demonstrated was very admirable.  You could tell he was a man with a heart of gold with the way he acted towards her.  Eri also seemed genuinely happy to have you around.  At school, she seemed to blossom into a whole new girl.  She became better friends with Hana, and started interacting with other students.

Her artwork at school even became brighter and more colorful over the course of the weeks; no longer were they just shades of purple, green, and black.  Over the course of those few weeks, you also got to meet Izuku Midoriya, who you could tell Eri absolutely adored.  Izuku came with Mirio one day after school to pick Eri up, and you could've sworn two celebrities just walked into the classroom with the way she reacted when she saw them.  You remembered the story Shouta told you about when Eri was rescued; this Izuku and Mirio were her saviors.  You pulled Izuku and Mirio to the side that day saying, "Mr. Aizawa told me her story, and I can't thank you both enough for what you did to save her from that awful fate."  

One Friday evening after work, you had no plans.  You decided to pick up some sashimi from one of your favorite restaurants, and you made your way home to have some you time. You got home, put on your most comfortable pajama set, poured yourself a glass of wine, and sat down in front of your television with your sashimi.  You were flipping through channels, when you came across the news channel with some breaking news.  The League of Villains had teamed up with the Meta Liberation Army, and renamed themselves The Paranormal Liberation Front.  This could not possibly be good.

You texted Shouta telling him to turn on the news.  He just replied, "I'm already watching."  You thought to yourself again how this could not be good.  You had a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach; something bad was going to happen.  You texted Shouta again, "what does this mean?"  He responded back, "I don't know yet, but it can't be good."  For Shouta to say that meant it was a serious matter.  You decided to flip the channel to something a little more mindless, something that didn't make you think.  There was a reality dating show on, so you watched that for the remainder of your evening instead.  

Around 11:00pm, you found yourself starting to get tired.  You had a date with Shouta the following day; you two were going on a picnic at a nearby park for lunch.  So you decided to call it a night and go to bed so you could be nice and refreshed for your date tomorrow.  You did your usual nightly routine of brushing your teeth and washing your face, then made your way to bed.  You were more tired than you realized, and you were pretty much out the moment the head hit the pillow.  Unfortunately, what followed after you fell asleep were a series of lucid nightmares.  

Your first nightmare was your memory of the hospital that Kento was in when he was attacked.  You were standing over his lifeless body in the bed in the hospital room, feeling heartbroken, yet numb.  You knew you were dreaming, so why were you living this moment over again?  You looked around the room to see if you could find a way to wake up, and when you looked down at the bed again, this time it was Shouta's lifeless body laying there.  You still knew you were dreaming, but you clasped your hands over your mouth to stifle yourself from screaming.

Suddenly, you were no longer in the hospital room.  This time, you were at a funeral.  It was set up very much like Kento's funeral, but there was something different about it.  When you looked at the body in the casket, you once again saw Shouta's body laying there.  The people and faces around you were all blurry; Shouta was the only one you could see clearly.  In your nightmare, you were in a never ending loop of being in the hospital room, then at the funeral, then back in the hospital room, then at the funeral again.  And it was always Shouta's body you were seeing.

The nightmare finally ended with you waking up in a cold sweat and hyperventilating.  You had to get up from your bed, go to your bathroom, and splash some cold water on your face.  "It was only a dream," you told yourself.  You looked at your phone; at that point, it was 3:00am.  You went back to bed in an attempt to fall asleep, but you were wide awake at that point.  You tossed and turned for the remainder of the night, thinking about the nightmares you had and what significance they had.  Why were you seeing Shouta's body?

Around 6:30am, you finally got out of bed, giving up on the idea of trying to fall back asleep.  You couldn't help it, but you thought there had to be some sort of significance behind your nightmare.  Shouta was a pro-hero; he would be able to protect himself and those around him.  But at the same time, he wasn't invincible.  You've heard of pro-heroes dying all the time.  At that point, you put on a pot of coffee, sat down on your couch, and pulled out your phone.  You texted Shouta and lied, saying "hey Shouta, I'm not feeling very well today, I'm not going to be able to make our picnic date. I'm sorry."

******

To be continued...

******

Tag list: @lili-pond ; @jaguarthecat ; @big-denki-energy ; @ivydoesit23 ; @salientseraph ; @dreamofkaty ; @simp-hub ; @bluebreadenthusiast ; @fuzzyfestcat

[saccharinescorpion]

Oooh would love to hear more about the older shoujo works you've been reading lately! /gen

Princess Knight: finally finished the omnibus my boyfriend bought me ages ago. very neat to finish a Tezuka work and one of the grandmothers of the entire medium

The Poe Clan: bought the first volume, one of those aforementioned "omnibuses that could double as a weapon," i'm halfway through and really digging it so far, Moto Hagio's art is incredible

Fushigi Yuugi: a few chapters in, "original isekai" jokes aside this is probably the most "teen girl fantasy" of everything i've been reading recently, with the cute boys and "escaping my stressful life" situation. i like Miaka a lot and actually like her dynamic with Tamahome, and i'm really curious as to how Yui is going to factor into the story

Basara: i like Yumi Tamura's art a lot and i've read a bit of Don't Call It Mystery and have really wanted to read some more, and i think it's cool that she's done this kind of big dramatic post-apocalypse epic, but i'm a few chapters in and i dunno, it's probably not going to be for me, especially now that i reached the "hot springs" chapter and now know who the love interest is going to be lol. i've heard good things about 7 Seeds and going purely by the description i feel like i would be more interested in that

Neighborhood Story: i like Ai Yazawa's art but again i don't know if this one is going to be for me. i still want to give it a few more chapters

Phantom Thief Jeanne: i LOVE this setup and i enjoy the characters. i got the sense from other's comments that Chiaki was going to be a lot more unbearable but ehhhh he's not so bad really? conversely i feel like i should like Miyako and Maron's relationship more but somehow it feels like they kind of dropped the ball on establishing their friendship- AND SPEAKING OF DROPPING BALLS LMAO, this is so nitpicky but i don't like the running gag where Miyako constantly drops balls (??) on Maron when she's annoyed, a subgag of that thing where 80% of these manga has one character smacking another for the dumbest possible reasons. and before you say anythiiiiing i'm not saying it's problematicccccc it's mostly just dumb and annoying. also lmao at the fact that Miyako's dad is drawn as an ugly chibi in the manga but in the anime he's just a normal dude???? ok lol

Pretear: i'm reading one of those mid scanalations i mentioned earlier lol. i'm enjoying it but more than that i want to watch the anime specifically which seems like it kind of a more "complete" version of the story? also i'm happy to read this one because Pretear is one of the first magical girl animes i heard about other than Sailor Moon (in a now-defunct American anime magazine lol)

speaking of magical girls i so badly want to read Rayearth and Sugar Sugar Rune but i think i'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy physical copies, i tried a scan for SSR and the translation was annoyingly bad

haven't touched the manga yet but i've been loving the Dear Brother anime and recently started watching Glass Mask with my boyfriend too

this one is way too new but it's worth noting, Kageki Shoujo was basically what sparked this recent shoujo kick for me, damn what a good series (and is also very heavily inspired by older shoujo series so hey! full circle!)

[quetzalpapalotl]

do you have any transformers fic recs? i started looking for fic recently but found it hard to find stuff i liked, and you seem to know your stuff, so... any faves you wanna shout out..?

Hi! If by knowing my stuff you mean being extremely pedantic and having strong opinions on lore and contiuity mixing and characterization (especially regarding Optimus) the yeah.

Always love to shout out my faves. Since you didn't specify anything you want, I'll just try to give you a wide range in hopes you like something. But let me know if there's something in particular you're looking for. I haven't been reading TF fic lately, too focused on TGCF fic, so maybe I also need recs, but here are some from the top of my head!

Remember to check tags and warnings before reading.

the land of the living series by @megatron-fucks was a vague G1-ish continuity that got soft retconned into being strictly IDW1 that only diverges in how the Cybertronia presence on Earth went. Anyway, the first fic Lesser Evil is about the Matrix forcing a sparkbond between Megatron and Optimus and them dealing with the aftermath of this horrible violation and figuirng what it means for the war. Not usually a fan of sparkbonds, but I really love how it's used here to create conflic and even in its sequel Peace is a Dead Rat, it's not used as a get out of jail card to solve conflict. Ruin's prose is great and she has a way of portraying Megatron that's hard to describe, simultaneously pathetic and irrational but also a force of nature so sure of himself that seems to make perfect sense. And her Optimus!!! I love him so much, she really manages to capture all aspects of him, the good and the. Series also includes a really good Pharma fic.

Read everything by Ruin, really, but I also want to mention a new and dreadful form, which is about the megops eating Primu's spark to adquire the power to defeat Unicron, they bleed, suffer, are transformed and have pnp sex while they're at it. Again, the prose is amazing and the fic hits all of the right spots for me.

The Art of Kneeling (and Stabbing Yourself in the Back) by @soundwavereporting a fic about how IDW1 soundop are tragically suited to enable each other's worse traits. There isn't much stuff out there with them, but this fic makes up for it by sheer quality and Getting It.

Escape Velocity byt trajectory. A fic that explores the IDW1 Combaticons dealing with their shadowplay and Blast Off's betrayal post-canon. Really thoughtful characterization, the sort of very questionable relationships where it's like, this is the best we can expect from this people. Oddly heartwarming and a great way to fill fulfilled after that storyline got cut short.

leave my lips charred by oriflamme. The IDW1!Arcee fic. Ok it's more like IDW1 to the left, but still, it explores Arcee's past and I have added so much of this fic into my personal headcanons. Especially love the portrayal of her relationships with Galvatron, how despite him being... Galavtron, he was there and it contextualizes Arcee's canon complicated mourning.

Keep It Secret, Keep Him Safe by not_whelmed_yet. Backstory Chromedome fic that seeks to answer what was Prowl trying to blackmail him with that. It's satisfactory without completely recontextualizing the CDRW relationship the way the scrapped plot of CD knowing about Dominus and needling Rewind would have. Also featuring Chromedome's previous conjuxes and it makes sure you really feel for them before their deaths.

To anyone stupid enough to actually think the war is over by @polyhexian. Absolutely fascinating interaction between Prowl and Brainstorm. Two guys that hate each other, but have surprisingly many things in common and Chromedome to link them. Also Nate has written a lot so really check out their stuff, especially if you want more CDRW, they've done like, 1/4 of all of it. And omg, their Whirl fics.

Half a Same Mind by @honestlyvan When I say no one gets TFP Bulkjack and Wheeljack like Van, I mean it. Read all of their stuff while you're at it, but the tension and reward of this fic is aaaaaaaaaaaaaggggh. It's so carefully constructed, the soft melancholy, the they both know that they know where they stand but still remain mmmmmm, just read it!

Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me? by @sroloc--elbisivni. I'm always reccomending this fic as my absolute favorite portrayal of TFP!Orion. Just how Megatron realizes that there is more to him than he previously gave him credit for while you the reader can actually see how this is a person that will one day become Optimus Prime, the soft doomed megop and that end that shows Megatron does get Optimus better than anyone.

A Miracle Opened Wide by neveralarch. Vague G1-ish continuity where Ratchet offers to spot Jazz so he doesn't hurt himself while trying kink. Jazz fails at communication and it's really cute, I love him, his overcompetence backfiring and making him too paranoid. Also I just love everything it does with not-sticky truly robot sex, always good to read. Also, it's hot.

Right now I'm following Rhinestones in lieu of Diamonds by fowo which I'm really loving!! Vague continuity where Megatron having lost his sense of meaning now that the war is over end up in a support groups. Then Optimus shows up and naturally, he can't be chill about it. Optimus tries to be the bigger person ofc but he is also weird about Megatron. Absolutely adore the characterization and there's hardly anything I love more than taking the war away from these two and having them deal with the subsequent crisis.

You should also read Come here, baby, tell me that I'm wrong by me!!! A fic about IDW1 Optimus and Whirl having a... complicated relationship. I think it fucks hard. Also completely canon compliant bc it's me we're talking about. Also also, you can look at my tf bookmarks from my Ao3 and see if there's anything there not mentioned here that interests you (tho I always forget to bookmark alas OTZ)

Have fun and let me know if this was helpful, if you want!

[forever-will-last]

hellooo do you have recommendations for cadina fics? I love "a thousand pictures in my mind" and I'm also reading "mirror me back" and "get in, loser" but I want to start reading more!

I DO!!! I made a post about this a little while ago so I'm just gonna borrow that same list again I made. I admittedly haven't been reading too much lately (I have been working on the Cadina Week content NONSTOP since the last update of a thousand pics basically) but here is my list!!! Both get in loser and mirror me back are actually on it already but I'm just going to send the list as is!!!

cadina fic recs (first, some ones from my friends, and then many others i heavily recommend, in no particular order):

Get in, Loser! We're going... to fall in love? - SUPER cute slow burn made by the incredible amazing talented stunning @16sydd16. Genuinely one of my favorite Cadina fics of all time.

ANYTHING by the Cadina Captain herself, Chisamaya. Maya's been holding down the Cadina fort for YEARS and has 13 INCREDIBLE Cadina fics on her AO3. She's also on Tumblr @chisamayas and posts super cute fanart of Mean Girls and Cadina all the time! My personal favorite fic of hers is Collared (very smutty pet play fic) and I will live and die a Collared stan.

can i come and sweep you off your feet? - super adorable (and angsty at some points, especially for poor regina) fame AU by my very talented friend ninesixtheenths / @girlkisser-wieners on Tumblr! i absolutely also recommend her rugby fic, which is rejanis but is 10/10, as well as her regret indie band au fic.

(mean girls) series by anonymous - this is from another friend of mine who posts these anonymously instead of tying them to her account. there are SO MANY good ones in here including a soulmates au, a superhero au, and some GREAT character studies of both regina and cady. there are a few rejanis fics in this series too but they're all phenomenal.

okay onto fics that aren't from my friends but i heavily recommend, in no particular order:

Mirror Me Back - okay i know i said no particular order but this one's a lie. if you haven't read MMB yet, stop what you're doing and read it right now. it's very smut heavy, however, this is genuinely the fic that got me into writing for this fandom and it is one of the best fics i've ever read across any fandom. every day i perform rituals for an update /j

On Predators and Pack Dynamics - omegaverse fic that is genuinely incredible. obviously very smut heavy but i love the characterization of them here.

if i could tell her (how she's everything to me) - role reversal & arts high school AU from 2020 where cady is the popular one and regina is a little socially awkward. very cute, very sweet, very fun.

Pretty Girls - mean girls 2024 rewrite where cady and regina were anonymous pen pals before cady moved to evanston. really loved this one!! one of the first i read in the tag.

To You, I Can Admit That I'm Just Too Soft for All of It - grad school au that i absolutely LOVE. the chapters are unordered snippets but they are so cute and fun. the author also does some social media stuff with it, i believe on tumblr, so it's a cute little tie in!!

you would find her in a polaroid picture - SUPER good college au with gymnast!regina!! genuinely recommend anything this author writes tbh i adore their stuff!!

i choose you and me, religiously - once again recommending anything this author writes as well. SO talented. this one is a slow burn idiots in love au and it's just. chef's kiss. muah. i love it.