#I personally have 0 interest in that so already I'm not excited

[kerubimcrepin]

Wakfu Manga - Tome 2, Part 1

Even the manga calls them friends!! He is impressed by their bravery and exploits, and it IS natural that he should join forces with them, at least to understand Jiva's strange behaviour.

Personally, I just think he wanted to go on an adventure with Yugo, Amalia, and Eva, but needs to justify it to himself in some more professional and cold way.

Standing there so cutely...

[casually sits on a rock in a cool pose and doesn't talk to anyone or socialize, just staring awkwardly, like a true warrior with 0 social anxiety issues.]

He's so funny, I can't do this anymore.

Show-off.

Casts a sidelong Judgemental Gaze about their landing.

Lands perfectly, just like a cat. Catboy.

Sorry to keep screenshotting panels where he says Nothing, but the longer he does that, the more awkward it gets. Truly, he is a king of socialization.

Of course Joris would be interested in steam engines... It's cute to see him be excited.

Joris puts his hands in his pockets. We now know that his pants actually have pockets + that Joris puts his hands in those to strike a casual — yet still cool looking — pose. You're welcome.

Very Kerubim-core pose of him to do.

Firstly, this is a very good drawing. Secondly, Joris is very serious about travel preparations. Thirdly, he and Eva once again show themselves to be the two sane people of their respective groups.

Besides that, he addresses the multiple elephants in the room: it's bad that a person who is already close to a god even more power, and she might not keep her promise, and even if they use the dofuses against her, they are still probably toast.

Basically, Joris's outlook is one of very realistic pessimism.

Amalia asks him before anyone else. She really looks up to him :)

I'm sorry for being unable to stop screenshotting him. The art of this manga is wonderful. I also love the very cautious way he approaches this interaction. fsjfgsdfa.

Of course he wants to take care of the equipment.

[casually leaves with the group while not looking at anyone and trying to walk as far away from others as he can]

I;'m insane.,

An interesting note: Joris did not walk together with Ruel, Yugo, Adamai, and Pinpin to try his hand at taming the shushu — but he is also not present anywhere near Amalia or Eva. Now me pointing out that he was walking a bit away from everyone seems a bit more poignant.

This guy left them all to quietly go cook some food.

VERY big page for Joris fans. He seems to have been making well-done dragoturkey and soup. While wearing a cute apron. (I really don't think he expected anyone to walk in on him... jgkdsfg. Judging by the size, it's something he brought with him from home.)

This confirms that: Joris likes meat well-done, Joris wears aprons, Joris likes cute aprons, and Joris is used to spats with shushus that control environments and furniture and attempted to use that skill here.

VERY big for me, as a fan of the friendship between Joris and Amalia&Eva. The way they giggle at his misfortune, and the way he doesn't take it to heart... sfgjsdf

This is why I really like the manga, as a fan of Joris. There's a very friendly and domestic side to him shown here.

The way he just Copes and sets the burnt dragoturkey on the table anyway is so funny... He's very nervous about time, and planning, and he is willing to eat something very bad for that reason.

Also! He is helping the girls with their task, instead of trying his hands at taming the shushu — and he was doing this without telling anybody. I'm assuming it's a mixture of him being a friend to Eva and Amalia, of being used to cook for his family (he and Keke both do, but I think Joris does it more often), and just plain not wanting two people to do the job that would be more efficient with three.

Besides that, I just think it doesn't sit right with Joris, for two women (one of whom is pregnant) to do all the cooking.

He is so, so responsible. Also, "a little worried" and "we need to plan for Every Contingency" is a funny combo of words.

Once again, readers, he is "a little worried."

Also, hngnhn. He cares about Yugo's feelings a lot — and he trusts Eva and Amalia enough to say this to them.

Aww, Adamai's "hungryyyy..." is so cute. I'm assuming Joris fretting with the stove is probably him trying to clean it a little after it burned the food.

Joris once again being responsible and asking questions about things immediately.

Joris is the only one not eating or drinking, and while it is relaistic to think he might have eaten before anyone came, I think it's more in character to think that his reasoning is "DO NOT EAT. WE CAN'T LET PEOPLE KNOW YOU HAVE HUMAN NEEDS AND WEAKNESSES."

I'm trying so hard to come up with commentary to justify including so many images of him, but I am sad to say, the way he's drawn in this artstyle is far too cute. Just far too cute...

Notably, Joris is the only one who wasn't under the impression that Eva would be staying behind! (BASED, BASED, BASED BASED, B—-)

[94erz]

Having Never Let Go be the next BTS related release after the brilliance that was RPWP like… idk man. It’s like big hit said “don’t worry, we still here for mainstream pop, namjoon was just going a bender there, don’t mind him, everything is back to normal now.”

Which begs the question, what is this group even going to sound like in 2025? Because I still have hope Namjoon would regain control of the group sound but considering the commercial performance of all the member efforts during chapter 2, I fear we are going to get songs more in the vein of never let go…

I have a feeling it'll just be more of what we've been getting since 2020. I have no doubt that Namjoon will keep a strong hold on HIS music, as in the shit he writes himself along with the others, but we're also going to continue to get songs written by a team of various Western writers and handed to more Western producers to ensure BTS still has chart popular songs for the US. 'Cause with how anti-Namjoon ''ARMY'' are now I doubt they'll ever chart songs written by the members again. I think those days are unfortunately over where the fandom as a whole values the work put into the music by the RL, and instead values success and if that means supporting literal garbage music with their name on it then so be it. To a lot of these people as long as it's catchy and says all the right things, nothing else matters.

All the praise I'm seeing from some JK fans/ARMY on Never Let Go (here on Tumblr only) is about being told how much THEY are loved, as fans. They care more about the idea that the song is a ''gift'' to them and expresses his love to them that it's enough for the song to not only be good, but it's amazing, they love it. Whereas all the people I know who know music, like actual production and mixing and shit, they all agree this song is bad, it just sounds bad.

So the fandom is split, and the members are split, and the team at BigHit are split, and until something finally gives we're going to continue to get a mix of good music trapped as B-sides and then commercial hits solely for the purpose of chart success.

[britcision]

Alright fuckers I took another stab at it and did the thing, I may/may not finish the actual like, proportionate version one day but he needed to exist and hair hides all my arm related sins.

Please dear gods anyone whose art is even a tertiary focus Lycion NEEEEEDS a Knot All Men shirt I am beset by cursed visions but usually I write them or make cursed little dolls (yes there will be a cursed little Lycion doll with a cursed little shirt but the embroidery thread is fucking fighting me on Mithrun so I dunno when)

Also he has a smoothie

Because one of the many reasons I really do not draw much is I am aphantasmic and do not and cannot visualize so let me tell you every single aspect of this except the shirt just. Happened. What are poses. What are limbs. Bodies exist but WHY.

The shirt had to be a crop top tho for legal reasons that was extremely clear to me

(Hey fun realization tiny Lycion and I feel exactly the same way about all his lil elf limbs they're all wrong and we hate them WAS MY MISTAKE NOT TRYING TO DRAW HIM AS A FURRY. Fuck. I think furries are harder but I might try it.)

[mayoonn]

heyya! i saw u needing some1 to request so here i am 😈 imagine maki (from jjk) is from a family thats known for their alpha genes (yes. a/b/o universe.) and shes engaged with m!reader whom she thought is a female omega due to his pretty face + mid length hair. she couldnt do anything but froze infront of m!reader bcs she thinks that an angel has fallen (cheesy, i know.) but no, its not a fallen angel. ts a human being. maki is rough at reader first but cant help being smitten to reader liek shes ready to give the whole world for him. also could u add smut innit? any kinks r welcome ;) and and make maki a softdomtop!!!!@ im such a sucker for maki ong 😩 ANYWAYS have a great weekend :]]

Thank you, dear! Maki is so.. hfgghh ♡♡

I apologize if it's very late and if this story was a little rushed or doesn't make sense, I was in the hospital with my mom.. Don't worry, she is very well! She just had surgery (I'm suck at writing smut ಥ_ಥ)

(Male reader!!, smitten omega! reader, subbttm! reader, alpha! Maki, softdom! Maki, Maki has cock, reader has pussy and cock, feminization, nipple play, frottage, rough to soft vanilla sex)

Being an omega is a curse and a blessing for you at the same time, from getting special treatment to getting treated like a slut or an object sometimes. It was 0 to 100 real quick, you have to meet the right person or in this case, the right alpha. You were glad your parents weren't like those abusive or narcissistic as other Omegas are experienced before. You actually have a very decent and normal life, your parents taught you well especially about the alphas.

You believe that not all alphas are that horrible but often, you heard or even saw with your own eyes that you actually questioned yourself whether you should even mate with one. You are an independent, one truly rare to see in omegas so it's really a choice to have a mate. Your parents were worried that you'll end up alone all your life so they offered to set up an arrangement of alphas as your potential mate.

At first you were reluctant, you were afraid about your parents taste in alphas. Not that they had terrible taste, you were scared of what kind of alphas they are. You know how they can be but thinking of being alone for the rest of your life sounds depressing. You agreed nonetheless and your parents were very delighted. They were so excited that you were sure they already made a list..

For the first few dates, they were terrible. Just as you expected, one even sent death threats just because you weren't interested in.. "Open relationship". You frustratedly sighed when most of them were talking about themselves. Well at least you dodged big bullets there, you knew you'll regret when you mate one of them. Your mother comforts you, giving you hope to find a suitable mate while your father arranged your dates.

You were starting to give up until your father came in the room, running as he looked very very excited. You were skeptical, raising your brow at him and crossing your arm. You hoped it would be great news or you might as well give up on this whole mate thing. " well, you don't believe it but Maki Zenin accepted our arrangements! " your father exclaimed as both of you and your mother were shocked to hear this news.

Your face was flushed red as your mother hugged you, celebrating as if you actually achieved something. Well you did, Maki Zenin was a powerful woman and also her family was known for their alpha genes. You actually have a crush on Maki since forever, you didn't think this would've happened to you but it did. You have seen her fights, you even heard that she's actually very respectful and such a gentleman!!

If you could, you would be squealing right now like a high school girl getting love notes from her crush. Your father had told you the arrangement, usually date in the same restaurant as always on tomorrow night. You had to stay calm in front of your parents, you didn't want to look so excited when in the past, you repeatedly told them you don't even need or want a mate. It would be embarrassing, you went to your room and got your outfit ready. You even practiced in front of your mirror, you also don't want to be a stuttering mess in front of her, Maki Zenin! You pray that it'll end up well and you are happily married together and forever! ♡

Okay, maybe you were a bit delusional there.. The next day, you were waiting in the restaurant. You came way too early, you kept checking your hair and your attire. You actually did your best as much as you can, you want to impress her so hard.

➶➶➶➶➶٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭٭➷➷➷➷➷

After months of courting her, you were both engaged and it was actually going pretty well. The first date, Maki thought you were a female omega with how much you actually cleaned yourself very well. She was flustered when you confronted her that you were a male but hey, she really hit the jackpot there. The way you talk with your soft tone, your eyes fluttering at her, your attire almost seen as an angel that has fallen from heaven. It's cheesy, she knows but she can't help but flirt with you. Your blush compliments your skin so much

That night, after your wedding and on your first honeymoon night was the night you lost your virginity to her. She was glad and appreciated that you waited for her for a long time and she won't hold back. You weren't surprised that she manhandled you so much, it actually turned you on. You were both naked on the bed as she said in hushed words in your ear while she prepared your pussy and stroking your cock. She kept edging you, fingering your hole so fast then slowing down when you were so so so close to cumming.

"Aww, I'm sorry baby but I want you to cum on my cock. Hmm, so sweet, " she smirked as you arched your back in pleasure, your hand gripping on her hand while the other was holding her other hand. It was romantic to you, you thought it was because even though she's so mean and being so rough on your pussy but she is actually so sweet. You tighten your grip as you moan louder, begging for release. Then she stopped and slowly pulled out her fingers from your gaping hole, you huff and pant as tears swelled in your eyes. Your cock twitching so hard, it was painful to hold it in but anything for your lover.

Your hole is gaping as if it was calling for her, you let go of her wrist and wrapped your arm around her neck. Your lips hovering hers as you slowly leaned and kissed. Maki traced her hands on your body, slowly from your chest then on your curves. She gripped your waist and started to devour your neck, marking and biting that it'll leave bruises. You were sure that it won't fade for weeks, you love how possessive she can get.

"Ahh~.. M-maki, please~..," you don't know why you begged for but you really need her. You feel like your body is heating up like a scorching fire. Maki hummed while she gently bit your nipples, playing with your chest. You lightly moaned and your brows furrowed, both of your naked bodies were sweating like crazy. "Baby boy~ be patient, I'll be gentle with you, " she chuckled as she gripped your thighs and pushed up, rubbing her cock to your hole. Your legs twitch every time her cock rubbed your entrance, the head of her cock threatened to push inside. You whimpered and pleaded as you buck your hips but Maki gripped on your thighs.

Your hands gripped onto the blanket behind you as you watched her cock sliding onto your pussy until she finally pushed it in. You arched your back and your eyes widened, your hole clamping on her cock. "Relax baby~ shh.. Shh, relax," she grunt while she rubbed your hips. Your eyes shut, your knuckles became white and slowly getting used to her size. It was bigger and more painful than you expected your first time to be.

After a few minutes of staying still, Maki slowly thrust her cock. You moaned, wrapping your hands around her neck again and nuzzled your head to her neck. Your feverishly moan and gasped were clearly heard from her ear, she grunt as she started to thrust hard. The slaps and your girlish moans can be heard from outside the room, your legs twitch while her cock drilling your inside as if she was rearranged your guts.

You squealed and moaned, bed creaking from how hard she thrust. Maki holds your hand as she whispers sweet nothing in your ear. She growled and soon your release came, the Milly and sticky white substance covered both your stomach and hers. Maki thrust harder than before and you mewled, pleading for her cum as your eyes rolled to the back. Not too long after your orgasm, she came inside. You gasped, feeling your womb were filled and you were pretty sure that your stomach bulged out a bit. Maki lay down on top of you, her cock still inside as she kissed the hickeys she gave in your neck. You grunt when she pulled out, her cum oozing out of your hole and you were too tired to do anything.

She went to the bathroom and came back with a wet rag and water for you, she helps you sit up and clean your body. She kissed your shoulder over and over again as you hummed, this was the best night you will not forget ♡

[nieded]

#RAINBOWROAD for Rainbow Railroad Charity Drive Redux Pre-Orders are open!

I am so excited to announce that I am taking preorders for copies of the entire #RAINBOWROAD trilogy starting today! Preorders will be open starting today, February 14th (happy Valentine's!) to March 13th. It will close at 11:59 MST.

Please reblog so we can spread the news!!!!

>>PRE-ORDER HERE<<

This past summer, I did a print run of the first part of the series, Sit Tight, Take Hold and printed 94 copies for charity. Many readers asked for books 2 & 3, and I had many others express interest in a 3-part bundle who missed the first run. I've spent November, December, and January prepping the next parts for print, and I'm so excited to share them with you.

So, what is included?

Option for a 3-book bundle including:

Book 1: Sit Tight Take Hold 424 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x.93. Weight ~2 lbs Art by Blairamok (See cover art above)

Book 2: How do you solve a problem like Ezira?, Accept a Little Spin, and Oh, there's a long way to go 408 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x.93. Weight ~2 lbs Art by DustandHalos (cover art below)

Book 3: Fools Rush In and bonus content, 0-60 in 3.5 468 pages on matte 80lb text paper, color printing throughout. Cover has matte lamination in color. Dimensions of the book are 6x9x1.06. Weight ~2lbs Art by Pyracantha (cover art below)

PDF copies of all three parts

Option for a 2-book bundle including only Parts 2 & 3 + PDF copies. This is an option for people who already own the first book.

Limited option for Part 1 discounted damaged books (15 available). This does not include PDFs. These books have cosmetic damage to the covers from shipping. Damage does no affect the print quality of the text.

Limited postcards that were extras from the first run (only 8 available)

Remaining Corvette Crowley posters, including A/B grade options, 12x18".

$20 PDFs of all stories that will include all the formatting of the print run and cover art! (Screenshots from the PDF proofs below)

Where are the proceeds going?

Rainbow Railroad is a North American-based organization that works globally to ensure safety and asylum to LGBTQIA+ individuals. This is the same charity we donated to last time, and it was a resounding success. Last time, we were able to fundraise $1,600!

Continued FAQ below:

How much does shipping cost?

For US residents, bundles will cost a flat fee of $10. They will ship via media mail through USPS.

For anyone outside of the US, shipping has been estimated through the cheapest carrier, either USPS or UPS minus $10. Unfortunately, I cannot control the cost of shipping, and I know that it is extraordinarily high. The bundles will weigh anywhere between 4-6+ lbs, which is expensive to ship.

Wait, I'm from the US. Why am I paying more for Media Mail?

While Media Mail typically would cost $4-6, the increased price is to offset international orders, whose shipping will cost anywhere from $20-60 with the discount. I hope you understand. I want to make this as accessible as I can without personally eating any costs. I am not making any profit off of this project.

When do orders ship?

Once pre-orders close on 3/13, I will order the books. There is typically a 2-4 week turn around for them to be printed and delivered to me. I then have to package and ship everything from my house. I hope to have everything shipped 1 month after pre-orders close, but I am only human.

US mail should take 2-8 days. International orders can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks, so please be patient.

If you are only ordering a damaged copy or postcards, both of which have already been printed, I will ship those out sooner.

When do I get my PDFs?

The PDFs and book proofs are the same, and they are 90% done. PDFs will be delivered via email by me once pre-orders close. I am still doing small changes and edits to make sure they are perfect!

If I order a bundle, do I also need to order PDFs if I want digital copies?

NO! PDFs are included with the bundles and only the bundles. You will not have access to them immediately, only once pre-orders close and I email them to you! Like I said, they are 90% finished, and I am stilling making small adjustments. (Kerning, I loathe you!)

What percent of proceeds are going to Rainbow Railroad?

100%! This excludes the cost of printing and shipping. For reference, the first print run cost $1,254 for the books alone, not including shipping and packaging supplies. Anything remaining goes directly to charity. I am not keeping any costs for labor or making any profit on this.

Wait, there's bonus content?

Remember when I said I was done after the trilogy? Well, @tut557 popped into the Discord server and said, 'Hey, what if they played Mario Kart...' This spiraled into a long conversation about all the different media promos they might do, and then I spent this past November writing another 50k of the #RAINBOWROAD universe for NaNoWriMo. This is also available on AO3, and I will be posting weekly while preorders are open. You can find it here.

[jesswritesthat]

Iwaizumi Hajime: Brothers’ Best Friend

Fandom: Haikyuu!! — [ Masterlist ]

Summary: 2.5k, fluff

• It can be hard when you catch feelings for your brother best friend, but the least you can do is be mature about it and turn it into a game.

Warnings: a few insults

>>>>——————————>

Iwaizumi Hajime had been 5 things to you over the years, some you'd regretted, many you'd denied, but there's 1 he'd finally accept.

———

He was your ‘brothers’ best friend.

Even from a young age, Iwaizumi Hajime had always captured your interest - most would often sway towards Oikawa but considering he was your older brother figure as your families were quite close, you saw quite enough of him already.

To anyone, your favouritism was evident, including to Oikawas' parents who regularly took you to collect Tōru from his Volleyball club practices.

Gingerly you walked past the child players who varied in height but were all taller than you, some recognising you and side stepping so you could locate your targets faster.

All while Tōrus older sister filmed the humorous ritual. You strolled toward the familiar pair, Oikawa immediely breaking into a blinding smile and picking you up with a prideful greeting. Iwaizumi halted beside his partner whilst he lifted you (there was only 2 years between you but at this age you'd yet to grow).

However, it was not your brother you wanted - no, he held you in his arms only for you pout and kick in his grasp.

Adhering to his childish personality, the cute Setter scoffed whilst mumbling curses as he passed you to his best friend who had his arms open already, used to this familiar favouritism behaviour - a smug look sent to his partner as you settled immediately with a content grin.

Happily you allowed Hajime to manoeuvre you to a piggy back position and carry you over to your amused family.

"This'll be good blackmail in the future y'know, I think for all of you~" Tōrus sister finally pressing stop on the recording, you supposed that at her age she had it out for her 'siblings'.

———

He was a crush.

A phase you'd told yourself, just some ridiculous school girl crush that'd pass eventually because above all else, he was a good friend.

"Hi (Y/n), Iwaizumi is here y'know." Oikawas sister said it with a playful mirth to her silky tone, knowing smirk situated on her face upon seeing you light up.

"Iwa?! Really~"

"That's the guy you talk about, on the high school team with your 'brother' right?"

"Yes! You have to me him -them- c'mon." Eagerly you dragged your friend into the kitchen where the two volleyball players were conversing.

"Hey guys."

"Awh! Chibi-chan, did you miss me? I know I'm amaz—"

Fluently you ducked under his open arms, flying straight into the unsuspecting but easily prepared Iwaizumi who only groaned in reply.

"Tch, not as amazing as Iwa-chan apparently."

"You've grown (Y/n), and who’s your friend?"

"Yeah, that's how life generally works Iwaizumi, oh and this Yuki."

"Nice to meet you. Oi, careful, you sound like Crappykawa and one of those is enough thanks." Iwaizumi chided after introductions, leaving you shaking your head but excited to ask your next question.

"How was the game? God I can't wait to start Aobajohsai next year! I'll finally be able to watch you guys for real."

"We won 2-0. Next year you can come to our practices too. We still need a manager and since Crappykawa is going to be Captain, he might put in a good word."

"Not likely, especially since you'll take Iwas' side in everything." Oikawa sneakily replied, giving you a childish face which you naturally returned.

"That's because he's usually right Tōru."

Once finishing your conversation, you left for your own home like originally planned with Yuki, also glad she’d finally met the two most important people in your life.

“Wow, you’re big brother figure is really good looking~”

“Ew no, did you even meet Iwaizumi? He’s so cool, he’s the arm wrestling champion at Aobajohsai.”

“You know we don’t stand a chance, they’ll be thirds years whilst we’re first years.” She’d awkwardly added, but you remained charismatically confident.

“You’re not thinking ahead, I’ll have a chance one day but until then there’s a bunch of cute guys in our year.”

“Yes, speaking of, I finally got the courage to speak to Tadashi-kun today~”

———

He was a protector.

"Back. Off." Every word was deadly punctuated, standing as a warning all on their own without needed the back up of Iwaizumis dangerous glare.

"Who are you?!" The pestered had glowered, having followed you from your friends’ party that night.

"Take another step and you'll find out."

"Iwaizumi, it's fine— I can handle this." You had every intention to, but Iwaizumi stood protectively in front of you and fingers twitching to punch this scoundrel if he dared make a move to touch you, it was best to leave it.

"Whatever.” Then he was gone, storming off in the other direction much to your joint relief.

“(Y/n) you need to be more careful.”

“I was careful! That’s why I messaged Oikawa the second I noticed him following me.” Hold on, why the hell was Iwaizumi here then?

“Creeps will target students walking alone, especially ones like you.”

“Don’t you think I know that? I’m not and idiot an— what do you mean ‘like me’?”

“What? You’re, y’know— you’re ours!” He seemed stifled by his response but he couldn’t exactly tell you it’s because you were considered attractive.

"You can stop treating me like a baby, I'm 16 Hajime! I can take care of myself, besides..." There was brief hesitation but your emotions were too strong. "I need to get used to you and Tōru not being around, don't I?"

It was a low blow, you knew that, but had every right to be angry at both the world and him, especially with that bubbling feeling of betrayal being so fresh.

"What? So protecting you suddenly means I'm treating you like a child?"

"What else would it be?" You bit back again, knowing by this point you were only being hurtful.

"That I—" A pause.

"That I care about you dumbass, is that so hard to believe? I know you're growing up but that doesn't mean me -or Tōru- are gonna stop looking out for you just because we're on the other side of the world."

"Sure it doesn’t, I'm going home." Despite his words being full of honesty, you turned your back on him and started walking.

"I'll walk you."

"No, I'll walk myself thanks."

"It wasn't a request."

Eventually you arrived at Oikawas’ house, storming in and ditching your shoes in his porch - the pretty brunette heaving a knowing sigh. Oikawa would give you a minute, Iwa having now walked into the house moments after without a word, and that’s when Oikawa followed your path and hesitantly knocked on his own bedroom door for entry.

"Don't be mad at Iwa-chan."

"Yeah yeah 'he's only trying to look out for you' and 'Hajime is protective over people close to him', heard it all before Tōru." Came your muffled reply, face hidden in your arms on the setters bed.

"...Guess you have but uh, this is different."

"Tch."

"It's because he's going to miss you, our Ace won't ever admit that but it's true. Not seeing you and dealing with our chaos all the time will be weird for him. You were near the top of his list to tell once he’d made his decision about California y'know?" Tōru sat tentatively beside you, a reassuring hand patting your back in aid of comforting you.

"Doesn't make it hurt any less, finding out I'm not only losing my big brother but his best friend too."

"You're more upset about me though right?" There was a preganant pause, quite honestly you weren't exactly listening but it was enough for Oikawa to sit abruptly from the bed. "Right?!"

"Tōru!"

"Fine fine, I'm taking that as a yes, but anyway, Iwa-chan just wants to make sure you're gonna be okay in life before he leaves (Y/n)."

There was another silence, a quiet sob escaping you that you’d desperately tried to cover up.

"…Where were you? I needed you Tōru and you weren’t there…"

You felt him cease up, the pain laced your voice and he knew it was partly because it’ll be this way for the foreseeable future, but this time wasn’t his fault.

“Iwa-chan was here when I got your message, he was out the house before I could even put my shoes on. So I waited here for when you came back.” They really were the best team. “Anyway, I’ll prepare my sisters old room for you to stay tonight.”

Awkwardly you shuffled into the kitchen, finding the Ace situated at the table, already changed into a t-shirt and joggers he had here and tiredly brooding over some freshly made tea.

"Hey..." The quietened whisper from your lips surprised even you, let alone Hajime who looked up from his cup with a softening frown.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I um, I wanted to apologise. You were only trying to help and you even walked me home after I was a crappy friend so..."

"Anytime." There was a hanging silence again, hugging yourself a bit before the brunette awkwardly cleared his throat. "I uh, I understand you were upset, and butting in on the situation probably wasn't necessary so I'm sorry too. It just pissed me off."

"We're good then?"

"Yeah, we're good."

Pausing at the entrance, you sighed quietly - bare feet quickly tapping on the floor and before Hajime could check the origin you'd engulfed him from behind, arms wrapped around his chest and nose buried in the nape of his neck.

"I'll miss you too Hajime."

You heard his breath hitch, muscles tensing under your touch and tentative fingers gracing your own with a gently sigh.

Then you pulled away slightly, the same moment he'd looked back to you, gazes meeting for only a few sacred seconds like sharing a thousand words. Softly you smiled, both of you laughing as your fingers slipped from his figure and you'd walked back to the guest room. Only to find Oikawa sat expectantly on the bed waiting for you.

"You tell him?"

"Not quite. But I said enough."

———

He was a traitor.

Not a phase. It must be a familiarity thing then, Hajime had always been present in your life since you could remember. There wasn't a prolonged period of time when he hadn't been involved - at school, at home, with Oikawa, even on vacations, or via social media.

Maybe once he'd left, once he was no longer around, the constant familiarity wouldn't influence your feelings anymore.

For now though, when you were gifted a moment alone with him that’d likely be your last, you decided it couldn’t hurt to express your feelings. Calmly and nonchalantly.

"I like you Hajime."

"I like you too (Y/n)." He paused, soft and sentimental smile gracing his lips briefly as if resenting his next words. "But you know there's the age thing."

"I know, but I'm in it for the long game."

You could tell your confident statement caught him off guard, yes Iwaizumi knew the topic of conversation was to be handled with care but that didn’t mean he wasn’t perplexed by you.

"I don't want you to wait for me or anything, considering I'm heading to California."

"I had no intention of waiting, our paths will cross again. It's nice knowing you're out there, I'm out there, and we both know. That's enough." You shrugged, leaning back far too casually for the situation.

"Knowing we're both out in the world, I can play along with that."

"Besides, I'll win in the end Hajime."

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure."

There was a playful smirk on your lips as you sat up a little straighter, hands clasped and head tilted in curiosity. "Well, date me now?"

"No way."

"Okay, then date me later?"

"..." Despite his snapping reply earlier, he now furrowed his brows in thought. "You don't even know what we'll being doing in the future."

"You're not saying no."

"..." A flicker of realisation when meeting your competitive gaze.

"See." You smirked. "That's what makes so sure."

"The long game huh?" Iwaizumi smiled "Count me in."

Oikawa joined you both then, stepping out onto the field and standing before your sitting figures.

"I'm still going to hate you though." A playful punch hitting Iwaizumis’ shoulder as you rose to your feet. "For leaving. I can't hide those feelings very well."

"I know, and it's okay. Hate me for as long as you need to."

“You two done? Let’s go~”

However it was the text later that night which left you more confused than ever.

[ Iwa: Finally. ]

[ (Y/n): Huh? ]

[ Iwa: I didn't give you an answer earlier, so that's it. ]

[ Iwa: Date you finally. ]

[ (Y/n): What does that mean? Eventually??? Later??? Iwaaaaa!!!! 😭 ]

[ Iwa: You're playing the long game remember?  So you'll just have to wait I guess. Anyways tell Shittykawa he better be up early tomorrow, night (Y/n) x ]

[ (Y/n): Tōrus' right, you are mean! 💀 ]

———

He was a friend.

"Someone grew up good." Iwaizumi nodded to you in greeting when you’d shown up to Oikawas’ family home, yourself gladly embracing the former traitor.

"Iwa-chan! That's my little chibi-chan!" Oikawa was quick to chastise, even at your expense.

"Tōru I'm not so little anymore, I'm a grown assed human with a job and rent for crying out loud!"

"With a petty attitude to boot." Oikawa mocked, sticking his tongue at you like you were children again.

"Wonder who they got that from Crappykawa?"

"How dare you compare me to him Iwaizumi?! That's it, we're enemies now - prepare to lose."

"I just got back from California, can't we do things normally for once? Like unpack, then celebrate my graduation by going out for dinner together like old times?"

Yourself and Oikawa looked at each other with offended expressions, mirroring smirks etching onto your lips once you'd set your attention back on an irritated Iwa.

"Nope!" You devilishly grinned, Oikawa already holding up Mario Kart controllers as he finished off.

"We're going to my place to have a tournament, loser buys dinner!"

"Idiots."

“Woah, us ‘idiots’ threw you a graduation party. We’re the best friends ever, you should be thanking rather than insulting us y’know.” Oikawa pointedly corrected referring to the destination later tonight.

“Yeah, when Tōru got back from the airport, we even tried making you a cake!”

“Guys… thanks so much…”

“Iwa-chan, congratulations on your graduation.” Tōru proudly cemented, next you gladly followed. “And welcome home.”

———

He was the love of your life.

It was a beautiful summers night in Tokyo, and you'd come to congratulate Iwaizumi on his recent job offer as the Japanese Olympic Volleyball Teams fitness trainer.

You didn't think you'd be sitting beside him staring up at the stars though, a blissful warm breeze allowing you to truly feel the moment.

It seemed Iwaizumi was the same, content smile upon his face.

"It's nice to see you (Y/n), I'm glad you made it."

"Well it's easier when you don't have to catch a flight from the other side of the world." It was evident to whom you’d referred, his absence always being felt in some way.

"Heh, yeah I got to speak to him over video chat though."

"Ugh that means he didn't get the slaps he deserves." Was your witty reply, Iwaizumi laughing alongside you.

"Nah, but don't worry I managed to scold him for anything ridiculous he came out with."

"Like beating everyone?"

"Exactly. With the team I'm gonna train, I'll kick his ass." It amazed you, that even as best friends their rivalry continued into adulthood.

"I hope you both do well Hajime."

"Hm, I hope Japan and Argentina get to face one another most of all."

"You miss him."

"Yeah." A sentimental smile and Iwa turned to you. "And I miss you too."

The atmosphere once again settled into that of comfortable tranquility. You supposed there was only one last thing to say then.

"Well Iwaizumi Hajime, I have one last question for you tonight."

"I know, you've been waiting. So go ahead." It was a challenge, the brunette facing you with an expectant smirk that matched your own.

"Date me now?"

"Don't you remember? I said date you, finally."

"Finally?" You mimicked again, still not knowing what he’d meant by that phrase.

"Guess the long game is over now huh?" Iwaizumi shrugged nonchalantly, despite his mocking tone which only left you sarcastically retorting.

"Shut up asshole."

"It meant, I may not have been your first love (Y/n), but I have every intention of being your last." His sentiment surprised you, especially if this is the thought he had when typing that text all those years ago. "If that's okay with you obviously."

"It is Hajime, then it's your call."

"(Y/n), will you finally go on a date with me?"

"No." You'd said it proudly, Hajime only knowingly smirking. "You don't get to take the victory lap now. This is my game, and I asked you first. You owe me an answer."

"Ah man, it was worth a shot but the only true loss here is missing the chance to be with you so yeah."

"Don't get all sappy on me Hajime! It doesn't suit you."

"Hey! I said I'd date you (Y/n), aren't I supposed to be a little sentimental with that." Though he seemed confident, Iwaizumi hadn’t hidden his blush very well.

"You might want to make another call to Oikawa, I'm sure dating his 'Chibi-chan' will have him back here in no time. Don't you need his permission huh?"

"Already got it." Iwaizumi seemed smug about it, no doubt probably asking prior to this encounter since he already knew what you wanted to ask - but you had your own surprises.

"Funny, I did too."

"You asked his permission to date me?!"

"Duh, you're his best friend. I got permission before you even left for California~"Not explicitly, but you assumed Oikawa had always known how you felt.

"You really had me from the start didn't you?"

"Yeah, but you had me too Iwa.”

Iwaizumi Hajime was (and had been) your everything. But you were always his everything too.

<——————————<<<<

[ Masterlist ]

[frogchiro]

I NEED MORE STRAY CHILDE AND CAT READER

YOU ASK AND I SHALL DELIVER (also i'm turning this into a possible lil threesome bc i need and i have 0 selfcontrol ;;)

fem!reader, hybrids, suggestive content, love triangle, age gap but reader is explicitly stated to be an adult, implied chubby reader, jealousy and feels, a tiny bit of angst?? but it's woven in between fluff so it's okay </3 also my terrible grammar

okay soooo...i was thinking about a kinda 'lady and the tramp' scenario but with a little twist? where you, the prized kitty girl, belong to an incredibly wealthy snezhnayan noblewoman. she is already on the older side, she never married or had kids and while living a lavish life full of extravagant banquets, travels across teyvat, meeting the most interesting people, sometimes it does get lonely in a big mansion you know? sure there are the servants and many other people who'd be more than willing to converse with her but a jumpy mousy handmaiden or some boring sycophantic dignitary or two can only do so much to be considered 'good' company.

after much thinking and careful consideration, the woman decided on buying a cat hybrid. the hybrid breeding business was booming all over teyvat, it basically became a staple for the wealthy to buy hybrids, dress them up like the most beautiful porcelain dolls and flaunting them on various official occasions like banquets or balls.

there was a large variety of well bred hybrids, all from most perfect and long lineages that would put the family histories of most noble houses to shame. from bunnies through sables, foxes, peacocks up to horse hybrids but it still wasn't perfect, all of them were boring; well, until she met you. a catgirl with fluffy shiny (h/c) fur combed and groomed to perfection, pointy ears standing high and proud and a lovely fluffy tail swishing as if annoyed by the disturbance behind you. from the second she saw you, she knew that you were the one that would keep her company. you were a cute young thing, just over 16 years old and the perfect combination of politeness, shyness and sassyness, not overly clingy and desperate to be bought but also not rude or hissy. yes, you'd be perfect.

and so began your new life with your new owner in a completely new environment. sure, you'd miss the facility where you grew up in but you were also excited what your future would hold for you and judging by the lady who bought you, you'd never have to worry about anything anymore.

a few years passed in bliss. you were now just over 20 and you really grew into your new life. ever since the nice lady brought you into your new home or rather a small palace, you lived a life of luxury as the favorite (and only!) pet of her ladyship. you had your own room, own bed stuffed to the brim with pillows and topped off with a silky see-through canopy, all designed in a lovely and tasteful (f/c) palette. you even had a personal chef and groomer! after all the favorite kitty of the household had to eat the best food and have her fur shiny and not a single tangle in sight; yes, life was calm and perfect for you.

well...at least until someone barged in at full speed. it was a ginger stray cat hybrid who called himself childe, ajax for friends which he insisted on becoming with you. stray hybrids weren't a rare sight to be honest, especially in a big metropolis like the capital city of snezhnaya, but they usually kept to the more shady parts of the town, scavenging the dark alleys and slums for scraps so it was quite a fright when suddenly a big, rough looking stray jumped over the fence and right next to the spot where you were sunning!

after hissing and yowling up a storm you realized that childe had no real ill intentions but you were still miffed about the situation, why was he here? how the hell did he even get here?

after a sheepish explanation from the scarred hybrid that he was just scavenging the area for food and he got wind of a new smell he just couldn't resist and had to check out the source! he really didn't expect for you to be the source and before he could retreat he slipped and fell into your garden and here he was...ta-daaa!

you didn't really buy it, the ginger cat literally spelled trouble by just looking at him but you kinda felt a little pity on him; he was a stray for gods know how long and while he was well build and very big, judging by the growl in his belly he didn't eat for a very long time.

just because you were a 'high-born' and belonging into a aristocratic family didn't mean you were cruel or heartless so you told the man to wait here for you as you sneaked into the kitchens and loaded a cloth full of different kinds of meats, cheeses and fruit and brought them back to him to eat. your heart squeezed painfully at the wide eyes of the stray as you gave him the wrapped cloth and wished him well, telling him not the eat trash anymore and if he were hungry then to just come here and you'll give him food.

and so started the quite unlikely friendship between you and the big stray, ajax, and you had to admit that the once seemingly meek and sheepish cat was actually the biggest troublemaker you ever saw! as your friendship progressed his true colors shone through and gave him an entirely new but lovable personality. ajax was funny, smart, cunning and a major flirt, often teasing you and making moves on you, then laughing boisterously when you flushed and hissed at him with your ears pulled flat against your head.

he even showed you his den! after weeks of convincing you to give into his pleas of sneaking out for the night because 'he wanted to show you something' you finally gave into his pleads and went with him, anxious to be away from your safe mansion but also excited for the new possible adventure.

what ajax hyped up to be his 'incredibly cool and super comfy den' was actually an old abandoned barn on the outskirts of the town. you weren't really impressed and by the look of your sour expression childe sweated a little but pulled you after him while promising that it looks much better on the inside...it really didn't but at least the attic of the barn was kept well enough and judging by the neat circle of old blankets, furs and pillows this was where the hybrid made his den and to be honest....it really was comfy.

you began to sneak out almost every night to meet childe at his barn, at least it gave you the privacy and you didn't have to worry about any patrolling guards or stray servants busting your secret friend.

soon the old barn became your second home and the circle of old raggedy blankets and pillows your new bed. it was quite liberating in some way to roll around in the nest with ajax, the catboy nothing but accommodating and happy to have you here with him. he loved to see you smile and purr up a storm when your were rolling around and nuzzling the blankets simultaneously leaving your delicious scent all over his place which often led to...some unsavory activities after you left.

but could you really blame him?! how can he not rub his cock and cum all over himself when he has the image of your perfect soft body burned into his brain and various sinful thoughts are occupying his mind the second he gets a whiff of your scent.

it will always be a secret but his favorite fantasy is of you abandoning your life at the mansion and have you run away with him. the thought of having you here with him at all times, hunting and providing for you, returning after each successful hunt to you as you smile and lick his cheek, the tiny mewls of your kitties the only noise in the otherwise silent barn besides the cracking fire in the rundown hearth and your loud purrs.

but this is all it will ever be, a fantasy. he couldn't possibly ever ask you of such a thing, such a sacrifice to satisfy his selfish desires especially after all the things you did for him. he knew painfully well that you are way out of his league, basically a princess to his tramp self; but that didn't mean he still couldn't cherish you and every moment he shared with you! yes, he was content with what he had. everything was perfect....until it wasn't.

while your lady didn't exactly know the details of where her prized catgirl went off to, she had the vague idea that you were...disappearing for the nights and coming back ruffled and dirty like some common stray and it got her thinking...what if you were lonely? what if you were just seeking out the presence of another hybrid? it wouldn't surprise her really, after all she was the one to buy you in the first place to quell her own loneliness so how could she be so selfish and possibly neglect the feelings of her favorite girl! and she knew just the perfect resolution for the issue...

imagine your surprise when one beautiful winter morning when you came down into the salon stretching and yawning to check out the noises that seemed to go on since the early hours only to notice your lady sitting on the recliner with a...hybrid standing right next to her.

you wouldn't lie when you said that you almost turned on your heel and made a beeline back to your room and hide under the various blankets of your nest. this hybrid...this...monster wasn't something you ever saw, even in childe.

the cat hybrid appeared to be older, much older than you with long flowing and well kept white hair topped with two pointy white ears and a neat beard. the man was tall, so very tall, and broad; his thick chest and arms partially covered by the fur coat he was wearing, but the most prominent feature of his were his piercing gray eyes. the slitted pupils looking almost like tiny diamonds inside his eyes when his stone cold gaze zeroed on your figure and you suddenly felt so tiny and exposed in your nightgown and see-through robe; your tail swishing anxiously behind you as the man glowered down on you.

finally after what felt like an eternity, your lady noticed you and beamed, jumping up from her seat and inviting you over to introduce the mysterious man.

his name was apparently pierro and he was the new cat hybrid your lady bought in order for you to no longer be lonely, plus judging by his sheer size he could also be your protector.

while your lady was happily rambling and telling you all about the process and all the benefits of pierro being here all you could do was stay quiet, ears pinned flat to your head as you and the big man had a staredown with you quickly loosing. you just didn't understand it! it was all a big misunderstanding! you weren't 'lonely' at all but on the other hand you guessed you got a little careless and sloppy about sneaking out to meet with childe. getting a bit too comfortable was a big mistake and you could understand it coming off as 'feeling lonely' to your lady, she probably was thinking that you were sneaking out to search for other cat people and now you were stuck with the older hybrid. maybe it wouldn't be so bad? after all, pierro looks like he's an older hybrid even for your extended lifespans, plus he doesn't really look like the type to chase you around and play or bother you, if anything he was looking at you like you're the one to bother him in your own damn house! ultimately there was nothing you could do anymore, pierro was here already and it looked like he was staying so you guessed you just had to suck it up for a bit and hold off on meeting with childe for the time being.

and so pierro stayed in the mansion for good. a few weeks passed already and honestly? it was better than you expected! just like you previously presumed pierro didn't bother you or even try to interact with you, most times keeping just to himself doing gods know what and yet you felt his constant presence, like a phantom lingering around you and keeping a keen eye on you.

even with this strange feeling you came around, breaking the invisible wall and actually trying to get pierro to at least like you a little bit which, to your great surprise, wasn't difficult at all.

the big cat hybrid was actually very pleasant to be around; he was mostly either reading something or lounging around on a recliner or next to one of the enormous fireplaces in the mansion and it provided a perfect opportunity to get to know each other. he had a very deep, rough and rumbling voice that send pleasant shivers down your spine any time you heard it, plus he seemed to naturally run hot so lounging next to him in front of the fire during a cold winter night proved to be a wonderful experience, his deep rumbling purrs vibrating and lulling you to sleep.

he even started to slowly allow himself to become more 'touchy' with you! at first it were just short and stiff nuzzles, just to acknowledge your existence, then it slowly evolved into more lingering touches, insistently rubbing his head against yours, grooming your fur with his tongue, wrapping his tail around yours and even full on spooning you when lounging on a fur rug. the ultimate sign of trust was when one night pierro invited you to his chamber to climb into his nest to cuddle and bond and you won't lie when you say you felt a hot tingle in your lower belly when you climbed into the enormous wonderfully soft nest that was drenched in his scent and you felt the man slowly rub his cheek upwards from the base of your tail to your shoulders and bit down softly, his huge fangs oh so gently clamping down on the back of your neck as he slowly pulled your back snugly to his broad hairy chest and laid down with you, his teeth still holding you.

the gesture was an incredibly intimate one, reserved only for mates but it made you feel all giddy and tingly inside, quiet purrs from deep within your chest mixing with pierro's rumbles and combined with the cracking fire from the heart it made for a wonderfully cozy and intimate soundscape.

you let pierro take care of you, his teeth finally letting loose of your neck to gently lick it with his rough tongue and growling lowly when he felt your hips shift under his, pulling you even closer and crushing you against his chest. his darling little kitten seemed to finally be relaxed in his presence, something he longed for from the very beginning when his new owner introduced you to each other. you finally stopped to sneak out so much the more open you became with each other and you no longer smelt like that wretched stray, childe.

pierro growled under his breath at even the thought of that tramp getting close to you and thinking he'd have any chance with you while you had him. instead he continued to lick you, down from your neck and towards your delicious full breasts feeling particulary naughty and sneaking a quick suck or two to your nipples, an answering delighted mewl from you all he needed to know.

now that the stray was out of the picture he had you all to himself and soon he'd mate you. while her ladyship was sometimes annoying him he had to begrudgingly thank her for bringing you two together although perhaps not in the way she thought. maybe you will present her with a nice healthy litter of well bred kittens next year with him as the proud father? who knows; for now though he had a needy kitty to take care of and the night was just starting~

unbeknownst to either of you, a pair of deep blue eyes was glaring at you from the balcony of the room. childe was furious, basically fuming from the inside but not at you, no, never at you, but at pierro for even thinking of trying to take you from him and at himself for allowing this to happen.

a few weeks back when pierro was just brought into the mansion you did warn childe that you'll be unable to sneak out as often as previously due to your lady bringing another hybrid into the household and to avoid suspicion you had to drastically cut down on your time together. at first he thought it wouldn't really bother him, he was a stray and used to being alone, but after so many weeks of having you so close, keeping him company and just simply being there for him made him feel dangerously attached to you and the knowledge that you had to stay away from him for an indefinite amount of time made him feel miserable and to add salt to the wound you now shared a space with another hybrid, pierro, out of everyone.

he vaguely knew the hybrid before; tall and broad in statue, stone cold exterior, a permanent scowl on his face that never seemed to wither. according to rumors the old hybrid had a lineage that reached as far as back to the ancient khaen'rhian people, due to that (and from what childe was aware) pierro couldn't be technically owned by someone, he was always just...there. so it had him baffled when he saw the man strolling through the gardens, his piercing diamond pupils turning into slits when they zeroed on him and made a face that could be only described as 'disgusted pity'. childe then pulled his ears back, the fur on his back standing on ends and was ready to pounce on him but retreated last second when he saw your soft body coming up from behind pierro and rubbing affectionately up against him. the ginger hybrid would lie when he said that his jaw almost hit the floor when he witnessed the scene and his blood boiled at the disgustingly smug look on pierro's face when he wrapped his long fluffy tail around you and returned your gesture before turning you around and walking away from him place of hiding like he was some afterthought you shouldn't be bothered with.

seeing you with the big hybrid, pierro, was like putting salt in the wound that he created for himself. why couldn't he confessed to you earlier? was he really such a coward that he couldn't even express his love for the girl of his dreams? and now he had to watch you being all lovely and cozy with the big male while he was left standing high and dry, plus he just knew that the white haired hybrid would rub his triumph all over his face the next chance he got.

'but just you wait', childe thought with a bitter scowl. it was just the beginning as sooner the abyss would freeze over than childe would admit defeat. you'd become his mate and he'd win your heart.

just you wait

[daresplaining]

opinions on the red fist saga? :0

Resoundingly negative, unfortunately. I actually only just read it, because I was having a rough time with it while the issues were coming out and so decided to put it off until I was in a better headspace for it (or until I saw a preview for an issue that excited me and gave me the motivation to catch up, which is what happened with next week's anthology issue).

As I said, I disliked this story very much, so if you aren't interested in hearing me rant (perfectly fine! I wouldn't blame you!), read no further. I really hope you liked it. I really don't want to get you down if you did. This whole run was just the epitome of Not For Me.

Ahem.

The "Red Fist Saga" is, in my opinion, a flimsy "Shadowland" knock-off, centered around the abrasive, moralizing religious zealot who has been inhabiting Matt Murdock's body for the past few years. Elektra Natchios, an incredibly complex character whom I love dearly, had her backstory savaged to remove its autonomy and complexity (that's a rant for another post...) and exists in this story as an accessory to this Matt look-alike and as a handy target of his moralizing (at one point he comes to the revelation that this recent journey she has been on has been worthwhile because it was all about God saving her from her wicked ways!!, at which point I may have blacked out from rage for a few seconds). Matt and Elektra GET MARRIED, and the implications of this massive shift in their relationship are not explored at all. And phew...the less said about Sam Chung's single scene, the better. As was true throughout Zdarsky's entire run, Matt speaks and thinks in this story like he is reading a prepared speech at all times, making grand-yet-hollow pronouncements about the nature of good and evil. He doesn't sound like a real person, but rather like a robot that has been fed a steady diet of religious texts, along with a few surface-level social/systemic reform concepts. His personality consists of being alternately sad, angry, and making lofty proclamations about "fighting evil in the service of God's plan", and I just have no emotional investment in that. I'm not Catholic (and neither, until recently, was Matt Murdock, making this whole thing profoundly weird).

There were some cool elements to this story. I'm a huge Stick fan and I'm thrilled that he is finally back from the dead after all these years. I love Stilt-Man. I love Speed Demon (for some real Speed Demon goodness, go read Superior Foes of Spider-Man, one of my favorite comics of all time). Foggy had a few good panels. I got to read Milla's name; always a treat. Kirsten didn't actually die. Mike was...mentioned (I've already griped about his death; I won't do it again here). The twist that Foggy and Stick were actually already dead was effective and very cool and I didn't see it coming at all, so I will give full credit for that. And I'm someone who genuinely does enjoy Hand shenanigans. I love that stuff when it's done well. But the degree to which I could not stand this new Matt and did not care what happened to him or what he was doing, plus the fact that I had seen all of these plot points executed already, and better, by previous Daredevil teams, meant that this story was just a protracted slog through painful writing, past scene after scene that could have been so much better in the hands of a different creative team or centered around a version of Matt Murdock who was actually a compelling protagonist.

[moonliched]

Hello again dearest! In such a short time there are already two chapters? What, and what chapters they are! You really outdid yourself with those. I hope you won't mind me rumbling once again.

I love what you did with Y/n and bon-bon. The introvert that keeps a lot to themselves due to the way they were raised and what they experienced wanting to have time for themselves since their once oasis is now swarming with people and they feel like they might have lost one of a few friends they have. And the Ai that is separated from all and though he doesn't want to admit it is very lonely, wants to be included wholly in life of an only person he considers a friend and still figuring out feelings, boundaries and all. Bon-Bon is terrified of being alone again seen by everyone as nothing more but code. He got so scared when Y/n wanted to leave without him, imidiatly assuming he did something wrong. It's devastating that he thought It was some kind of sick blackmail. I understand him but y/n also needs private time, especially when they want to clear their head. It shows they really care about each other even though sometimes it's hard. I really liked what you are doing with it. This problem, dare is say conflict is in no way out of character for either of them. It adds to them a lot. But well I didn't expect less from you dear with developing relationships I'm your fic ❤️

It's cute how Sun treated Y/n as some stray cat. I adopted a very timid and fearful dog a few years back, and I laughed so hard when Sun said the same thing I was saying when I tried to comfort my dog. The "please don't run". Sun just saw a cool water puppy and went to adopt instantly lol.

Sun seeing a weird water puppy aviable for adoption -  : )

The weird water puppy appears to be fully sentient and can talk (although eats raw food -a little weird) -  :0 --->  : D

The image of Sun trembling with excitement is just so precious to me. I really like what you did with his character there. I said before that you are incredibly good in writing an interesting individuals with the others ( Especially Vanessa) but I have to say it again. You balanced him really good. He is still very giddy and easily excitable but he is not stupid. He is talkative and trusting but he can be ominous and kinda manipulative when he needs to. Not to mention bold and confronting - the scrabble with Moon. Although very considerate about well being of others - when he peirced Y/n's skin. Also sneaky little bastard knows exactly how to use his cuteness in his advantage. It amazes me how well such contrasting characteristics sit so well within one character. It doesn't feel forced or out of character when he changes attitude, everything goes smoothly and pleasant.  You did a great job darling!

Y/n gave him truth, raw fish and a few laughs and he is all in for a sleepover in their *ekhem* nest. Which from different sentences can mean a lot to a mermaid. I also think that y/n broke the barrier by showing them were they sleep. I think that for mermaids it's very intimate and private thing that not many may know about. As they said something might swim in and attack, it's better to keep the strangers away. That's also why I think Sun was so excited about seeing it - he saw it as a big step in the relationship he so desires. But who can blame him? Y/n pinned him to a wall like  a true Chad they are, Sun really felt that highshooler rizz. He had to reboot after lolol

Sun: it's okay, we are friends! Don't panic

Y/n swiftly pins Sun to the wall wrapping themselves around him in a protective grip

Sun: (squidward voice) Oh no they are hot

I love Y/n's and Sun dynamic! They match each other very well. They are very cute together. You are amazing! Their interactions are very pleasent to read!

I like that you keep good communication within them. From Moon confronting y/n about injuries on his Sun, and y/n explaining what happened. No lying, no place for insinuations. Because once again. Communication 👏 Is 👏 the key👏

- although he didn't do it first thing, shame on him, but we can all agree sometimes when we think the one we love has been hurt it's hard to control yourself. Especially when Moon started developing feelings for y/n, it must have been really confusing experience for him. Not only emotions from noticing the injury on Sun. But adding to that, hurt, sadness, anger, confusion and the feeling of betrayal that all clues lead to that someone that you care about did it. I can imagine it was awful and going by that his conversation with us was very calm. -

Y/n putting boundaries about what they not feel comfortable with and Sun respecting them ( as best as he can) I'd lovely COMMUNICATION PEOPLE look at Sun and Moon - bad communication = problems and hurt feelings. Not good. I hope y/n will teach them some healthy talking you go Queen. It's funny they sent them on a couple therapy trip together.

And Ohoho Moon you secretive little gremlin. Although I understand his concern af first, he might not wanted to inform Sun about it out of fear Y/n might be dangerous or not interested in contact with them at all, and wanted to save Sun from disappointment,  as we see he tends to excite too much and as we saw the idea of a new company is just making him explode with emotions. And also I can understand trying to keep someone you care about to yourself while you still try to develop the solid relationship with them. Although I do think Moon was a little selfish there. He has a lot of explaining and apologising to do when they get back home.

And oooo I love Sun and Moon's relationship! Although they aren't in their best moments now, you cwn still see the affection shine through. ya knooow, calling him his. Ya know. Also the soft shoulder bump Moon did at the end of the chapter and wrist grab so so so cute.

And ohoho I do feel the unnamed jealousy from y/n seeing the two as the romantic partners. It is not big, but it is there. I see it blooming jnto some future drama. I love your foreshadowing.

Lolol Moon was trying to give y/n raw fish at the beginning of the fic not because that was what he eats but because y/n tried to feed him raw food while he was trapped. Now he thinks they enjoy it like that. It's so funny to me. I am loving this. He was like weird flex but OK have some more. Oh lichie you are amazing and a genius I wasn't seeing that coming in any way. It gave me such a big surprise and smile!

I think Sun seeing them eating oysters raw and (in their eyes) not knowing what cooking is, will solidify this idea in their heads. I mean y/n didn't really tell Sun they know what cooking is. He felt he has to explain it to them. So as far as they are concerned humans eat their food raw. Oh I Love it. And what's funny it's kinda accurate with our mc, I mean they do have different taste being half water creature.  And ooh he will for sure be teasing Moon about being fed raw fish as a form of  revenge.

I started wondering how would they cook I mean baby boy what u cooking with? A gazer? What u seasoning with? A kelp? Where your stove at? This chapter had MANY big lore things dropped at us. Like the Sun remembering about walking, or something about the pictures he saw. I have no clue were will it lead but I am excited to find out!

I love how Eclipse is just vibing in the background. I don't know if you will introduce him to us in the future but either way it's very pleasent writing in both cases  - giving him his screen time, before he truly appears - giving us a lot of his character in the way. And if you decide to keep him in the background it's a nice world building, An addition that he is there just vibing and minding his own business. Doing mer stuff.

Moon sees an alien - tries to study them.

Sun sees an alien - tries to befriend them.

Eclipse sees an alien - nuh huh, I ain't playin with this, peace.

He is such a cute little big guy wondering around I love him.

I think it is very lovely that Sun has to now experience everything about y/n just like Moon has. He noticed them having second skin (although didn't comment on it) and unfortunately had to experience their softness and lack of scales. Better sooner than later seeing how energetic he is I wonder If he will ask Moon about his knowledge about us or will try to figure us out on his own like a little game of his.

I wonder what their reaction would be if Y/n let their hair loose. It could kinda imitate Sun fins in the way! And I imagine while out of the water they would be much longer than their braids! Creating the smooth curtain almost to the ground. And like when I think about it , it could be so magical for them that we can 'form' our 'fins' as we wish in a matter of seconds. One second in the water it's a magnificent crown around our head, next second it's a slick, long thing almost as long as our form. Moon saw us in the different hairstail yes but it was still tied up!

Oh! I love the way you represent their biological and cultural differences. It's such a soft and intriguing thing. With all characters being mesmerised by another. Wanting to get to know more about them and explore them. I really enjoy moments like that when little things as a cartwheel brought them so much joy. It is a very nice world building.

I am very curious what's the deal about readers name. Is it just a way to keep the story y/n friendly without an usage of a name? They can't pronounce it? Or is there something more to it? Is giving your name a big deal for a mermaid? Sun didn't give us his after all... Sun's reaction intrigued me.

And the idea of Sun dragging himself into Y/n's room is so funny and possible at the same time. Give him directions and, oh there he goes. On his way. I would love to see boys sneaking into Y/n room to have a slumber party, I think they would love blankets. Although I don't know if it will be possible to them to do so. Can you imagine being Roxy heading out to get a snack only for a big mermaid to drag itself rapidly into another hallway fallowed by another one.  Oh I Love it

I hope Moon and y/n will be able to mend what was broken. As much as I understand y/n, their attitude and conclusions that Moon tried to drown them I felt sorry for a guy. I don't know what was he planing but he seemed terrified when we recalled it as a drowning or a murder attempt. It's awesome they talked about it, and that he apologised! But damn fish boy I don't know how many shiny stones you have there but you better start packing an apology basket with oysters and all to bring back to them.

I loved your little memes at the end, as delightful as always. But now I can't stop thinking about future possibility of mer boys going into flirt frenzy trying to plafuly one each other up with flirting with Y/n.so precious. Ahh! I loved this chapter so much, I already read it twice, so much has happened and I'm loving it! I hope you have a good day dearest! Rest well you deserve it after giving us such a snack. Again hope you don't mind my rambling I just loved it so much and had to vent!

Kisses🌸

omg hello again! ahskdkjsjkdlejkdkdllsnkl i am being SPOILED by this massive ask, it's like a shopping binge receipt!

you're so spot-on, it's reassuring😭 i was worried the BON-BON scene would come off as one side being definitely in the right, the other in the wrong - when actually they've both got their baggage to work thru

i saw someone say that Sun was having his horse girl moment with Y/N and the oysters, and now i can't unsee it! Y/N gets oysters and Sun gets a free water puppy agsjsjshjsjshj

i'm trying hit good communication without slipping into therapy speak, like if everyone spoke perfectly and solved things logically there would be little plot imo😥 but also yayyy communication (when it moves the plot) all my homies like communication!

i got more food n cooking stuff coming up! very excited :3

regarding the name, Y/N is a reader insert character so no name will be written into the text. i haven't decided if this will be outright stated in the story just yet, but in-universe their name sounds extremely similar to a bad word in Sun and Moon's clicky mermaid language lol. like obv it sounds like clicks and chirps, but their name's direct translation would be a bad word. Sun hasn't passed along his real name yet bc of a few reasons: he didn't want his cool new nickname slipping away in favour of his normal real name, plus atp he still hadn't ironed out the issue of Moon's lies which had Y/N at the centre of them. he's not good at going slow, but common sense says to try to keep something back until he can figure out what's going on there, y'know? also, saying his real name requires gill usage which Y/N doesn't have. he's still going to try to teach them later tho lol - he's pretty optimistic💛

also, i personally refer to Y/N as Meryn (mer as in mermaid, and Y/N), to differentiate them from my other self insert characters

i can totally picture Sun and Moon trying to one-up each other without any stakes, maybe to see who can make Y/N the most flustered... hm...😋

you're welcome to ramble anytime you want, i love it (and everyone puts up with my rambles enough!) this was a dream to read!! i hope you have an amazing day💖✨💖✨💖✨

[vapolis]

honestly w/ how orla and jax sort of keep the merc at arms length........it makes me even MORE excited for their poly route. what happens when you catch feelings for the dog you trained to guard you? guard you house? what happens when you watch them conflate trained loyalty with love and you can't help but hope that the love stays? what happens when they start to care about you? so much so that it stops you doing the job youre MEANT to do for them? what happens when a guard dog turns into someone you love? and to top it all off, putting them in a city where its eat or be eaten, and how their seats at the top could be snatched from under them at any second, especially if they have someone they care about that much, so they cant protect the merc anymore? oh that dynamic is gonna be GOOD. Wanting to stay at arms length but falling face first into the merc. They are gonna be putting on that clown wig at the end of it all and I will CACKLE like a fucking WITCH when they do cause not only is it a tragedy but its FUNNY!!! and honestly? they did that 2 themselves by taking in the very hot sexy murderer and making them work for orla! karma got its kiss 4 yall in the most painful way possible, even if u come outta it w/ a lover who would kill 4 u without the promise of payment LORD i got rambley, my bad lmao! this is all just inferring about things uve said n shit so i could be DEAD wrong so take my shit w/ a pile of salt lol u know who I dont see anyone talking about? Echo. oh my g-d ECHO!!! UR TELLING ME MERC HAS THIS HOT SEXY WEAPONSMITH THEY GO TOO ALL THE TIME AND THE MERC FUMBLES THE BAG WITH A GRENADE??? merc.....honey.....ur rizz.......its only there when ur pathetic or unhinged bb girl.....but like entirely not the point, I love Echo! they seem so interesting, I hope the merc can do more jobs for them past the ones we already did/will do! merc kinda needs more work outside of orla if they plan 2 be even more messy than usual and get all up in ppls business lmao! Id luv some fun facts about Echo! Especially about what kinda weapons they like 2 make

reading all that... u GET me !!!! 🫂🫂

and this part especially: what happens when a guard dog turns into someone you love? and to top it all off, putting them in a city where its eat or be eaten, and how their seats at the top could be snatched from under them at any second, especially if they have someone they care about that much, so they cant protect the merc anymore?

LET ME !!! LOOK INTO YOUR HEAD!!!

as for echo... yeah frankly I'm disturbed that it's CRICKETS on that front from everyone 😔 they called you sweetheart!! and merc has 0 game!!

you will however see them around some more, since they're the only person merc can trust w some things to do w the jobs and the entire sword business.

as for some facts... they have cats, 3 of them, and they treat them like royalty. they ride a motorcycle, and they don't really respect jax and orla for... reasons.

their fave weapons to make are swords/katanas, but they're also a big fan of turning random objects like pens or shoes or even a lipstick into weapons. it's very fun to pull those out in a fight

[out-of-context-aro-ace]

How would you describe platonic attraction? For reference I am aplatonic.

Thank you for the ask! Had to think a bit about this hehe

Till I did a bit of research about platonic attraction and the aplatonic identity, and thought about it, I wasn't sure if I was aplatonic too or not

For most of my life, I didn't have friends, didn't know how important friends were, and didn't know how to make friends

And of the people around me (read: classmates) they weren't my "type", so I didn't even imagine them as potential best friends

So I didn't really want to be friends with anyone irl in particular (except for 3 people ig but I didn't know how to go about that so we never became friends)

It was only when someone showed some kindness to me or someone else, or showed some interest in my interests, or I just thought they were cool, did I want to be friends with them, but didn't know how. I assumed the opposite gender one was a crush but thinking about romance icked me out so that was confusing

But even that isn't tried and true. Some people are kind but too loud and energetic for me so they don't unlock my platonic attraction. I can call them my friend to get my parents off my back and not make the "friend" feel bad. But I would rather be alone and we'll definitely never get to best friend level

I'd say platonic attraction is when you want to be friends with this one person and "get butterflies in your stomach" thinking about being friends some day

Maybe you like their energy or confidence. Maybe you like reading their fandom analyses. Maybe you love discussing a show with them even though you both have differing opinions, and your discussions are just playful banter of why X is better. Maybe you both joke around like you're fighting but it's over a very ridiculous or fictional thing.

And, because of that,

You want to give them book and show recommendations. You want to share a post or series you think they'd like. You found this perfect post of their fandom and you want to share it with them.

You're planning on what to get them as a birthday gift even though you don't know their birthday yet. You think you find the perfect gift or have the idea for one, but you don't wanna weird them out because you're not at that stage yet.

You can imagine the two of you being best friends, or best friends in that niche (i.e. Diff types of friends: an irl friend, a writeblr friend, an artblr friend, a fandom friend, etc)

I don't think I'm aplatonic anymore.

These are the feelings I have when I find someone I want to be friends with (not always all of them).

Sometimes, I want to be friends but they don't keep the convo going right so it stops right there. The platonic attraction dies out and then I don't mind if I become friends with them or not but I defo won't be able to give them the same amount of energy and effort.

Sometimes, I'll want to be friends with someone, or I'll already be friends with them, and I'll just be really excited to hang out with them. Each message of theirs puts a smile on my face and I can't wait to read it. I think that's platonic attraction.

You don't need to feel this way for everyone or all your friends, you can still be friends without experiencing platonic attraction, and, theoretically, you can not be aplatonic and still go life without finding anyone who you feel platonic attraction towards.

I know my irl platonic attraction is 0, except for those 3 people I mentioned above, but I haven't felt platonic attraction with irl people in years because no one's my type.

I'm using "type" because it's easier. What I mean is most people irl are too social/loud/overstimulating for me, don't share an interest with me, or don't match my energy or lack of it.

You could have your own standards. Or irl might not be the medium for you. Like, messages from my online friends can get overwhelming sometimes, but I can just go offline and/or reply later. I can find someone who shares an interest with me relatively easily, and sometimes they'll share my excitement in their replies and the friendship blossoms. Sometimes they don't and so I just stick to the questions I had for them and only message them when needed.

Theoretically, you could go your whole life without feeling platonic attraction because you just naturally make friends and/or don't have a reason to not be friends with everyone

I assume that if I was aplatonic, I wouldn't feel such strong feelings about being friends with people

TL;DR ig: imo platonic attraction is when just thinking about hanging out and being friends with the other person gets you excited and you actively want to try to be friends with them. But maybe you don't because you're shy or don't know how

[chaosteddybear]

Things I want to know about my fellow writers!

Thanks for the tag @theemptyislost ☺️

I'm tagging @dmagedgoods @ineadhyn @mslanna @eve-is-random @scuttlingcrab @loveless-nameless-graceless-two (no pressure! And sorry to those who have been tagged already!) and you, dear reader! ❤️

Last book I read: 

The only one I feel comfortable sharing is Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney. I actually only just started it but I am excited! The others are mostly about mental health and such, and even the last smutty novel was very dark so this'll be a breath of fresh air I expect 😅

Greatest literary inspirations: 

I am so inspired by lmm that it's embarrassing. More at my core though, would be books from my childhood. They might have formed a little more about who I am than anything else. So for example Lemony Snicket is my heart, and those books meant so much to me that I am pretty sure they're the subconscious reason I love dashes so much, for example. Also the Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark series... I am still obsessed with the way they set a mood, the way they have a goal but never a conclusion, the creepiness and how they toy with various different ways to be terrifying.

Things in my current fandom I want to read but I don't want to write:

Pretty much anything Raphael (bg3)! I am so insecure about my ability to write Raphael...

Things in my current fandoms I want to write but I think nobody would be interested in them but me: 

More OC stuff. I find it easy to write "you" or canon characters if they're ones I know well and feel comfortable writing, it just flows. But I'm not inspired to write that stuff anymore even a little bit. I want to do OC stuff, but it's so scary. Writing plot? *shivers*. I don't know how to turn it into anything, it's all just chaos in my head, and my wrists hurt even thinking of trying to untangle it.

You can recognize my writing by:

Feral tone. Probably no plot other than using kink and power dynamics to communicate. I'm sorry, and also not sorry, it is what it is 😭

My most controversial take (current fandom):

Sometimes I like to think that Haarlep leads a cushy life and makes Raphael happy! I like to imagine Raphael keeps them safe and happy and clean too 😌 just two cozy lovers 😌

My top three favorite tropes: 

1. Regular person does something extraordinary, 2. Hero can't accept that they're a hero, 3. Misunderstandings, especially if it's two people who love each other but can't see that the other feels the same.

What’s your current writing mood (10 – super motivated and churning out words like crazy, 0 – in a complete rut): 

Honestly, a 2. I'd say 0 but at least I have WIPs I keep running through in my head, I just can't write them down, and I'm still RPing.

Share a random frustration:

I just hate when my ideas are too complicated to write down 😭😭 usually my brain is very stream of consciousness and I can just write it as it flows, but when I'm thinking in multiple directions, it all breaks and I can't get anything down at all.

[lonewolflink]

hi! before reading your fic I’d only ever watched one hockey match at my local mall (there’s an ice rink) and it shook me for real. after reading your fic my interest in hockey has resurfaced, but I have no idea where to start. any suggestions?

HELLO!!! i'm sorry this response is so damn late; it's been hectic af around here (here being...my life).

i am genuinely so excited that you're interested in getting into hockey. it is such a fun sport to be a fan of.

*warning*: this is a super long post, because i wanted to answer you thoroughly and make a list of useful resources in case anyone else reading wsc also wanted to get into watching hockey and wasn't sure where to start.

generally speaking, my recommendation is to familiarize yourself with the basic rules of the game, and then maybe pick a team to start following. being a fan is most fun once you start getting invested in the players on the team and know their stories, their connection to the community, etc.

—basic rules of the game—

there are some more (and less) useful guides online to getting into watching hockey. i'll link you a few; peruse at your leisure (and note that some of these posts are pretty old; they're still overall solid though).

(1) i think this short guide is might be the best place to start. it's just some guy on his own personal blog, i think, but that (weirdly) is what makes it a better take than more "official" sports journalism outlets.

(2) this is a really helpful (and fairly short) guide to the different zones of the ice and what they're called, and some other basic concepts of the game. i think it's directed at parents of kids who are starting to play hockey, but still super useful!

(3) this guide doesn't give a ton of detail but it's solid re: concrete basic steps to take to get into hockey.

(4) parts of this guide are outdated (e.g. brendan shanahan no longer runs the department of player safety and is instead the president of the toronto maple leafs) and it's a little pretentious in the way hockey fans can sometimes be, but it gives a sense of the flavor of being a fan of this sport i think.

(5) more on this below, but 2024 began with a bang, as the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) began it's inaugural (!) season. there are some differences between the NHL and the PWHL, some of which are covered here and here. if you're interested in watching women's hockey, that'll be useful!

—picking a team and how to watch—

[note: i am assuming you live in north america. if you do not, some of this might not apply, e.g. picking a favorite team based on geographic proximity]

if you're starting at a baseline of 0 hockey knowledge, you should probably know the names of three hockey leagues: the National Hockey League (NHL, the best men's league in the world), the American Hockey League (AHL, the NHL's minor league where their young prospects usually play for a few years before transitioning to the majors), and the aforementioned Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL, literally brand new as of a month ago).

NHL Recommendations

—the NHL is a great place to start for watching hockey, largely because it has the best players in the world so the level of play is extremely high and entertaining, and it has some really great personalities in the game right now. i watch the NHL regularly. —if you live in an area that already has an NHL team (or at least one within 2 hours of driving), i'd recommend starting out as a fan of that team. this is bc part of sports culture is to support your home/local team, but also because that gives you more opportunities to see your favorite team play in person. here's a list of all the NHL teams. —watching the NHL on TV or your computer is actually kind of annoying, because the league is run by a bunch of idiots in its bureaucracy. you can watch most games (but for some reason not all of them) if you have ESPN+. here's the nhl's official guide for how/where to watch. —i am a poor grad student so i use other...completely...legal...means to stream NHL games online. they are, as i just said, completely legal (...). but um. nonetheless, if you want to know how to find and use these means...maybe just...shoot me a private message. —if you don't have geographic proximity to any of the NHL teams, there are a few ways to pick a team to follow. some classics:

1. as you learn about hockey and watch some games, you might find yourself starting to have a favorite player. you can start with their team! [message me or send another ask if you want some recs for players to look into!]

2. pick the jersey you think is coolest. it's how kids pick their favorite teams half the time, so why not us? here's a link to an article that that ranks the current home jerseys of teams. i STRONGLY disagree with these rankings, but the photos of the jerseys are high quality so you can see them well. you can also see each team's away jersey and third/alternate jersey designs here.

3. pick a fun, up and coming team to follow. some notes on this: —for example, if i were you and could pick any team, i would probably not pick my very own favs the washington capitals. they were one of the dominant teams of the last 15 or so years because our captain is the greatest goalscorer of all time. however, he is now 38 (ancient by athlete standards) and the team is on its decline. —by contrast, a team like the edmonton oilers is super exciting to watch; they're considered current championship contenders because they have by far the best player in the world, connor mcdavid (aka "McJesus"). they're kind of a heart attack to watch because they have insane offense but not amazing defense, so they score a lot and get scored on a lot. they're a team with amazing history (wayne gretzky's dynasty oilers in the 80s), but were TERRIBLE for decades until mcdavid came around. he's trying to bring the franchise back to glory from the pathetic ashes it turned into. —then there's teams like the montreal canadiens or buffalo sabres, who have been really bad the last while but drafted a ton of great young players who are on the verge of becoming superstars. they'll probably not make the playoffs this year (and maybe not next year) but they'll be on the cusp soon and getting into a journey like that with a young team early on is super fun. —in general, teams i'd stay away from being a fan of, if you have a choice:

-washington capitals/pittsburgh penguins/st. louis blues (formerly top teams in the league, now on the decline) -toronto maple leafs (the most tortured fans (and also somehow the most annoying and entitled), don't join their ranks) -arizona coyotes/columbus blue jackets (disaster franchises (sorry fans of those teams! it's true!!) traditionally have been poorly run) -chicago blackhawks (they do have the next great superstar in connor bedard, but they've had some really messed up scandals in their organization and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth) -new york rangers/islanders (unless you're from nyc...don't)

—recs for current good teams if you want to come in when they're already hot, they're all pretty fun teams tbh: -carolina hurricanes -colorado avalanche (recent champions) -new jersey devils -florida panthers -seattle kraken -vancouver canucks -vegas golden knights (recent champions) -edmonton oilers

—recs for up and coming young teams that will break out in the next 1-4 seasons, i think: -anaheim ducks -buffalo sabres -detroit red wings -montreal canadiens (would be my pick, i low key love them) -ottawa senators

AHL Recommendations

it can be super fun to follow an AHL team if you happen to live near one. tickets to AHL games are SUPER cheap, and the arenas are smaller and more intimate. you get to see some really talented players early in their career before they become superstars, and this can also help you pick a favorite player to follow (and thereby, later, a favorite nhl team) for their career! i love going to AHL games, and did that a lot in high school.

here's the list of AHL teams.

PWHL Recommendations

tragically, i have been so busy in 2024 so far that i haven't been able to get into the PWHL yet. however, i'd really like to, once i have a bit more time.

because the league is in its infancy, there are only six teams: -boston -minnesota -montreal -new york -ottawa -toronto

they don't currently have team names outside of the cities, but i think those are coming next season. for myself, i already know i'm going to be a montreal fan (i lived there for 5 years, and montreal's hockey culture is in my opinion the best in the world).

the pwhl is great for many reasons. -first of all, women athletes. let's fucking go!!! -second of all, we get things like two fiancees playing on the same team (on the same line!!) and celebrating together when they score a goal. -third of all, women's hockey has traditionally had a different ruleset from men's hockey to discourage the more...violent aspects of the sport. but the PWHL...has been honestly violent af so far, at least from the highlights i've seen. could be that hitting is still against the rules, but seems like the refs don't really give a shit, so the games are bloodthirsty lol -fourth, and perhaps most importantly, it is super easy and convenient to watch the PWHL. they stream every (!) game on their youtube channel for free!

for more info on the season schedule and how to watch, look here.

also, speaking generally, i'll probably be reblogging some pwhl content on tumblr so you can peep some of the people i'm reblogging and poke around until you find a team or player you like! :)

OK THAT'S IT SORRY FOR THIS LONG ASS POST I JUST WANTED TO ACTUALLY DO YOUR QUESTION JUSTICE, HOPEFULLY I DID AN OKAY JOB!! PLEASE ENJOY YOUR HOCKEY JOURNEY!!!!!!!!!! <3

[byrdiboo]

There is no sexism in Ba Sing Se

By now I think everyone has their opinions formed about the live action ATLA remake but as a non-fan I figured I'd offer my two cents to anyone still on the fence or who might be interested in a slightly less biased opinion. To clarify, I don't hate the show, I actually like hearing my friends talk about the fan theories and how they thought the various heavy subjects are handled, I just never got into it myself. Because my partner is one of those people who did get into it, I've at least seen up to the point of Kyoshi Village in both shows (ep2 Netflix, ep4 original). One of the things I've seen most people excited about is the special effects, especially the bending. I will say, it looks...fine. I'm not up on my fighting styles but the choreography seems decent. The effects are nothing groundbreaking - we've had these water and fire sims for at least 10 years - but it's definitely not awful to look at...when you can see it. Way too much of the show (ie more than 0%) utilizes the inexplicably popular "someone forgot to turn the lights on when filming" lighting technique and "shakeycam meets too-many-cuts" editing with motionblur out the ass for good measure (some of the opening scenes are on youtube, judge for yourself). At least all two of the creatures we get to actually look at look awesome. Perhaps the biggest thing I've seen talked about is the changes to the characters themselves. I will start by saying the actors deserve no ill will, they're clearly doing their best with a subject they love and a script written by people who thought ATLA should read like GoT. Aang and the others have a few goofy moments thrown in to keep people happy but for the most part he plays the part of Main Character Boy while the others are The Support Characters, rather than three children in extraordinary times doing what they think makes sense. This is where my knowledge of Aang and Katara is lacking, but I do want to talk about Sokka cuz his changes (rightly) had a lot of people worried (and a lot of his character arc is pretty obvious from ep 1, rather than revealed past the point I've seen). They didn't just tone down his sexism, they removed it entirely, taking him from an obnoxious but teachable idiot to a generic annoying dudebro. Maybe this is just me, but I was endlessly annoyed that they took away his sexism without addressing the things that made him sexist in the first place. After being told by the leaderly elderly matriarch character about the fire nation attacks wiping out most of the village, we are told Sokka is how he is because he was appointed the village leader at 13 for...reasons. So the village is still sexist enough to declare a 13 year old boy leader over the woman everyone already looks up to, but this didn't affect his character in any meaningful way, I guess? And for those looking forward to the Kyoshi warriors, you can go ahead and put those hopes down. The warriors themselves get minimal action time before Deus Ex Kyoshi-ghost-possession (yes, really) deals with the fire nation attackers for them. As for the love interest, they took what was a solid moment of "sexist gets ass beat by woman, begs woman for training, learns woman can do stuff too, ends up liking and respecting woman so hard she reciprocates" into the most bland "popular girl falls for cute boy at school" complete with eyelash fluttering, shy-can't-look-at-yous, and the most vomit-inducing "training" scene I've seen in a long time. No lessons learned, no character growth achieved, but hey they got rid of sexism or whatever. All this to say, I'm willing to give live action some passes, but personally I don't think this one's even worth a hate watch. I won't tell you to hate it, it does have a few moments of brilliance, but they're the glitter on a turd imo and Netflix doesn't deserve to be rewarded with your watch time. Despite my misgivings, the show is (supposedly) still getting at least mixed reviews from fans and non fans alike, so if you've bothered to see it I'm curious what you thought the remake (or my impression) got right or wrong.

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

thanks for all the posts so far abt the poll results! i'm excited to see more in the future as well...

i'm really interested in the results personally bc i took the poll largely to help pad out your data-- theon is not one of my preferred characters from the series (although, like most asoiaf characters, there are lots of things i find interesting abt him and his character arcs), and i rarely care abt shipping him with anyone particularly, but when i do it is NOT based on complex character motivations usually, nor fandom flanderization. and it is SO interesting to see what everyone has to say abt theon and the opinions they have abt various ships, and the things they have created with fanon... it is so far from what i think about it's like a different planet, and it's great to experience smthn new!

no rush, but one data point i was wondering about was, is there any particular correlations with the "Fundamental Themes" question and people's favorite ships?

thanks again for running the poll (AND collating the data)! <3

First of all, sorry for taking so long to answer, last days have been a little troublesome, I haven't got to spend too much time on the internet and also I made a very stupid mistake when I started gathering data to answer this and realised way too late.

And thank you so much for having participated in the poll regardless! There was a small amount of people who, like you, weren't super invested in Theon but wanted to contribute to the data size and it was so interesting to compare their opinions to those of hardcore Theon fans.

To be honest, I have always thought that ships can be somewhat representative of the opinions on the character and themes surrounding them that a person holds and your question was something I had already started working on a while ago. I once ran a similar survey for another fandom and there too were correlations between subsets of shippers and fandom tendencies/interpretations.

This time, when it came to the themes, it wasn't as visible but it was more present in some other responses (ex. level of love for House Stark, concept of Robb as a gift, identifying with one of the demographics listed, dany-sansa standom).

I will sort this by shipper's choices instead of Theme's chosen to make it less confusing. Throbb shippers were the abundance in this poll so they are always the ones who gave the most votes to every single option for themes.

Also, please take into account that not both questions were answered by the same amount of people. Only 94 of the responders had answered both questions. The following is based on only those 94 responses.

Throbb Shippers' Choices (43)

Nr 1. Lack of agency, unwilling perpetual childhood, aimless ambition was chosen by 6/43 Throbb shippers ≈ 13,9%

Nr 2. Family issues, loyalty conflicts, inferiority complexes was chosen by 12/43 Throbb shippers ≈ 27,9%

Nr 3. Cultural duality, rootlessness, identity issues was chosen by 19/43 Throbb shippers ≈ 44,1%

Nr 4. Suffering, redemption vs irredeemability, accountability over past misdeeds was chosen by 6/43 Throbb shippers ≈ 13,9%

Thramsay Shippers' Choices (12)

Nr 1. Lack of agency, unwilling perpetual childhood, aimless ambition was chosen by 6/12 Thramsay shippers = 50%

Nr 2. Family issues, loyalty conflicts, inferiority complexes was chosen by 2/12 Thramsay shippers ≈ 16,6%

Nr 3. Cultural duality, rootlessness, identity issues was chosen by 2/12 Thramsay shippers ≈ 16,6%

Nr 4. Suffering, redemption vs irredeemability, accountability over past misdeeds was chosen by 2/12 Thramsay shippers ≈ 16,6%

Theonsa Shippers' Choices (10)

Nr 1. Lack of agency, unwilling perpetual childhood, aimless ambition was chosen by 0/10 Theonsa shippers = 0%

Nr 2. Family issues, loyalty conflicts, inferiority complexes was chosen by 3/10 Theonsa shippers = 30%

Nr 3. Cultural duality, rootlessness, identity issues was chosen by 5/10 Theonsa shippers = 50%

Nr 4. Suffering, redemption vs irredeemability, accountability over past misdeeds was chosen by 2/10 Theonsa shippers = 20%

Greysnow Shippers' Choices (10)

Nr 1. Lack of agency, unwilling perpetual childhood, aimless ambition was chosen by 2/10 Greysnow shippers = 20%

Nr 2. Family issues, loyalty conflicts, inferiority complexes was chosen by 0/10 Greysnow shippers = 0%

Nr 3. Cultural duality, rootlessness, identity issues was chosen by 6/10 Greysnow shippers = 60%

Nr 4. Suffering, redemption vs irredeemability, accountability over past misdeeds was chosen by 2/10 Greysnow shippers = 20%

Theyne Shippers' Choices (19)

Nr 1. Lack of agency, unwilling perpetual childhood, aimless ambition was chosen by 2/19 Theyne shippers ≈ 10,5%

Nr 2. Family issues, loyalty conflicts, inferiority complexes was chosen by 2/19 Theyne shippers ≈ 10,5%

Nr 3. Cultural duality, rootlessness, identity issues was chosen by 9/19 Theyne shippers ≈ 47,3%

Nr 4. Suffering, redemption vs irredeemability, accountability over past misdeeds was chosen by 6/19 Theyne shippers ≈ 31,5%

Personal observations and feelings:

I found it super interesting to see the majority of thramsay shippers (50%) pick Nr 1. Lack of agency, unwilling perpetual childhood, aimless ambition. Out of the subsets that voted for it they were in the lead (taking into account the proportions) and it makes a lot of sense to me, it wasn't a total surprise, but it was more than I expected. I thought Nr. 4, Suffering, redemption vs irredeemability, accountability over past misdeeds would be just as, if not more, appealing to them but I fully understand why; these are all themes that are connected to the canon Theon-Ramsay dynamic. The forced feminisation (lack of agency), the stripping him of his title of Prince of Winterfell (perpetual childhood), the "Why he had ever been born" (aimless ambition). I also find it interesting to see how one of the two smaller subsets of Throbb shippers chose this. I don't usually go for Throbb and in all honestly I sometimes find it vexing due to very different interpretations and the connotations of those, but seeing how there is a subset who had this combination (and was also rather critical of Robb) is making me more open. This is good.

Nr 2, Family Issues, loyalty conflicts, inferiority complexes, was chosen overwhelmingly by Throbb shippers. This wasn't a case like the rest in which they were in the majority simply because the Theon corner is filled with them. This was an extreme situation and one that backed up some of my thoughts regarding this subset of fandom. Out of the 43 throbb shippers that answered both questions, ~28% chose this option. As you can see above, there weren't many other contestants (~10% of Theyne shippers, ~16% of Thramsay shippers, 30% of Theonsa shippers). I don't think I should draw conclusions about the Theonsa and Greysnow shippers since sadly I didn't get many to answer the survey, but I wonder if the reason the both Stark/Theon ships have rather big numbers (given their proportions) on this chart is the same reason none of the Greysnow shippers and only a small amount of the Theynes picked it. Stark preference, show influence and maybe a slightly more conservative interpretation of Ironborn culture? The show scenes between Theon & Robb came to mind, and so did the more positive-presented affection Theon had for the Starks. I checked and many of the throbb shippers and two of the theonsa people who had this combination on the survey, first met Theon through the show and had more favourable views about House Stark and Robb Stark. Of course, there is always an exception to the rule.

I grew up in an environment in which engaging with literature in a self-indulgent way, like shipping things that would be considered contradicting or reductive to the themes, was seen as unserious and masturbatory, which wouldn’t be a problem on itself but I also grew up catholic so you can imagine the guilt I feel by seeing myself as a theyne shipper who has always felt ashamed of being one but also got extremely defensive about it ever since the entire narrative was given to another character and then I also started seeing Theon/child shippers express disgust at it for being a Theon/child ship, so yeah, I feel weird about shipping Theon and Jeyne but also fuck off (/lh/hj). And I think that at least a smaller part of that also comes from seeing how it is a dynamic that is often presented as wholesome and I do not agree with that. Had I submitted my survey response, I think I would have chosen Nr. 3, my second one would be Nr. 4 and I think that would be probably due to the Jeyne Poole and her narrative purpose. So, I am really happy and somewhat comforted by the Theyne subset voting for Nr 4. Suffering, redemption vs irredeemability, accountability over past misdeeds, since she is almost the narrative embodiment of the actually horrible things he has done that are never condemned by those who see him as a villain (rape of Kyra, offering Palla to Ramsay, the Miller's boys). Theyne fanworks often portray the two of them in a very sweet-fluffly-cutesy-manner, (absolutely no hate to anyone who enjoys it as such) and while I do enjoy those too, the portrayal of them as something purely positive often made me wonder if there was maybe some thematic dissonance between me and some of the other more popular shippers. I know this is mostly my raised-by-pseudo-intellectuals/catholic guilt speaking but I will allow myself to feel stupidly paternalistically relieved at this discovery.

Also, In case you needed to see the percentages by theme, rather than ship, here are the charts:

Again sorry this took so long! Thank you so much for asking and also your enthusiasm and kind words. It was really great to see this on my inbox.

[helinyetille]

Hey, it's the schnaul girly anon again 😅 I'm new to the fandom (like really new, couple of weeks 🙈) and my blog right now is something vastly different to Rammstein, that's why I choose to stay anon, so I don't mix them up. I'm actually so close to creating a new one for this new obsession, but I haven't had that final push yet 😅 I've been kinda stalking yours and and a couple of other blogs these past weeks and having the best time with all that new content, so thank you very much, haha 😁🥰 I kinda went from 0 to 100 really quick, now even writing fanfic (only for myself just yet) and getting tickets for two of their shows, I'm so excited about that omg 😁 so yeah, it's difficult to express all my feelings in this 'short' ask and I feel like I'm rambling already. Just know that you encapsulated my feelings about Schnaul perfectly in your answer. I love these casual touches here and there, with them being so comfortable around each other that they're not thinking twice about it. They're so used to it and them allowing us to see them affectionate like that, not bothered about what some people might say, I'm head over heels, I love it so much 😍😂 and about the boating... YES, they should definitely mix it up, get some new dynamics in there. Schneider's just too kind I guess 😇 and one last thing, I just found this, lost it again, spend ½hour desperately searching, thinking I'm already imaging stuff and then finally... Omg, I can't, they're adorable 🥹🥹😍 https://www.tumblr.com/abyssphilosopher/725538481293623296?source=share

Hey nonnie and thank you for reaching out again! ✨ Okay, wow, I have so many thoughts right now that I'm going to put everything under the cut as it also gets a bit personal.

First of all, I want you to know that your messages really put a smile on my face! I'm oddly flattered that you found my silly little blog worthy of stalking. I have started actively blogging here just a couple of months ago after a really long hiatus and even though I'm not new to Rammstein, I'm still kind of new to the fandom, so you and I are in the same boat (just like Paul and Schneider should be). I don't know whether you need words of encouragement to create a Rammstein blog, but I'll just say that the main reason I decided to blog again was interacting with people who share my love for this band. Sometimes I feel like a sad clown entertaining myself and myself only which is basically the reason why I made that gif with the sad clown Schneider for my header :D Sitting all alone while the party is raging, you know? So, thank you for sending an ask, and if you feel comfortable enough, you can always DM me. I'm not making any assumptions, but maybe it will help you to feel more welcome in the fandom 🌈

Secondly, I'm excited to know that you love these dorks so much ❤ It's so cool that you're going to see them live! And you have totally piqued my interest when you mentioned the fanfic, even though you are writing it just for yourself. I love fics, headcanons and, of course, thinking and talking about ships, hehe. Like, show me the prompt and my dumb ass will be instantly imagining her favourite idiots in different kinds of situations 😁

And finally, the video you have linked... OH MY GOD ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME? (pls don't stop) How fucking cute are they? How dare they be so adorable? Now I'm watching it on repeat because I'm absolutely mesmerized by the way Schneider is leaning into a kiss without stopping his drumming (well, no wonder here, baby still has to keep playing the song despite being showered with affection) 💔 Oh, and the fact that Paul is almost always the one initiating physical contact with Schneider makes me feral. When it comes to Paulchard, it feels like Richard is more often the one to initiate, but why does Paul's ass seem to be gravitating toward Schneider so much? Is Schneider really that much of a sun that he warps spacetime and pulls Paul toward himself? Yes, he is. The brightest of the stars but probably not the brightest when it comes to other things (100% affectionately) 💖

Welp, my reply turned out to be way longer than I initially planned. Sorry for rambling too much, but thank you once again for messaging me, much love to you! ❤✨