#I will be mad if the writers didn't think of writing them a song

[fabiolajyx]

✨️ Me manifesting a Gil and Olivia duo in tomorrow's episode ✨️

[miwiheroes]

okay time for my rant

i feel kind of upset that i know that a lot of people will be disappointed with season 5 byler because they have this one view: past byler moments need to be referenced.

assuming that it is endgame (bc yeah ofc it is), i don't think that will be enough for everyone, which i totally get <3 like if they do it in a poorly written way (i.e. no depth into mike's queerness or a cheating plot on el) i would totally get not being happy with it. but i know that some people will think that it's not that good because they may not reference past byler moments??

like some things that i've seen people hope for are understandable. for example, wanting a kiss with heroes in the bg, or wanting a mention of the painting. those make total sense because the writers set those things up in a way that implies it'll be referenced later on.

some things i just don't stand by. for example, wanting them to show ANY reference to them meeting each other for the first time, any reference to the crazy together scene. those are already canon moments. it's almost as if people needing these scenes to be referenced is a kind of insecurity in the existence of those scenes in the first place? like we need to them to be rehashed in order to make them like- double canon in a way?

now, i totally get wanting this to happen. for the reasons i have just expressed and the fact it would be really cool. but what i don't get is: saying that the new season's byler would be poorly written without a reference to a past moment.

i can almost see it now, post byler endgame, people getting mad there was no reference to their first meeting, people getting mad they didn't reference 'lets start a new party'. them saying it was poor writing. me going:

honestly......... i think it would be better written if they didn't reference these. More specifically, if the miwi flashback isn't them meeting each other for the first time, i would be equally as excited, because it means a NEW THING for us to reference, a new thing for me to explore in analysis.

the writers will hopefully give us some new lines. new soundtrack songs. new things to analyse and make memes about. i don't neeeed them to say they're crazy together for the third time*.

so if i catch anyone calling writers who have made an effort to create new, romantic, beautiful scenes that deepen the complexity of byler's relationship bad writing just because they didn't reference old moments, i am going to have an aneurysm <3 and then giggle in heaven, because why ur working urself up over literally nothing, i'll be sat, positive and happy, looking at fresh and new things to obsess over.

if you feel attacked by the post, im sorry, i just want to get you guys excited because no matter what we are getting new byler content, new lines and new complexities. sorry for making u feel bad in the future for criticising writers for taking the hard way out, and writing new lines LMAO

and in the possibility that they do reference these old moments, i'll also be happy, i just hate the idea that some people won't be happy if they don't do it, if that makes sense

*if you're wondering what the second time is, it's when mike gives will that post it note with the line on it.

[mehkers]

Triworlds (Excluding Luke) react to MC having a shrine of them

Alrightyyy, it's here!

Maybe one day when I learn more about Thirteen, Mephisto, and Raphael I'll include them as well Warnings: nothing , fluff, teasing

Part one, part two (ur here) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Diavolo

He decided to visit the HoL (House of Lamentation)

It was an excuse to run away from Barbatos and meet his right hand man, Lucifer, under the pretense of delivering some 'important' papers

It was a list of places in the human world he wanted to visit

Lucifer was busy scolding Mammon and the Anti-Lucifer League though

Dia wandered around the place and came across your room, sooo he decided to peak in-

He swears it was an accident how he ended up looking in your closet and finding the shrine

POV: You accidentally trip and find a shrine in your favorite human's closet they made of you

Nah, he was checking your closet to see your size since a ball was coming up and he wanted to secretly order you a designer outfit

Diavolo didn't have much of a reaction

He was confused, but since he's the prince of the devildom, seeing shrines in his name weren't uncommon

Coming from you tho.. his heart did flutter

During RAD, Diavolo def called you to his office to check what that was about

"I didn't mean to snoop, but I couldn't help but notice you made a shrine of me. Oh don't worry, I'm not mad. I'm more amused, and curious as to why you made one?"

Hearing your confession did make him laugh, but he quickly stopped when he noticed you looked like you were on the verge of tears

Dia still didn't understand

Buuut, you will catch him sending many lavish gifts your way

He's started to invite you to the student council more often now, and you have a position there (I don't think you have one in game, it was never mentioned)

Congrats!

You flustered the Prince of Devildom and now he doesn't know what to do!

"I still don't understand your motives behind it, but.. I must say, it does make me feel giddy. Haha! Does that sound weird coming from me?"

Barbatos

He sighed

Barbatos was not ready to conduct a cleaning check

The brothers usually live in a dump, but since you arrived, they've managed to keep it clean

He thought so

Until he saw a huge rat walking out of the house from the front door

Thankfully, he was greeted with the sight of a well kept house

Barbatos walked around and surveyed the place until he reached your room

Barbatos will admit, he was curious to see how a human's living space would look like

It was relatively normal

And your space was clean

He found a lot of Mammon's belongings strewn around

he was the most surprised to see a shrine in your closet you made of him

The Prince of Devildom's butler

He's considered the second most powerful demon, but no one paid much attention to him

So in turn, he decided to pay you more attention

With time, he noticed how you'd always sneak glances to him

This made him feel a tad more.. possessive

C'mon guys, he's a yandere at heart (did you hear his song??)

"While I was cleaning, I found something interesting in your room. It's a shrine of me. I was not expecting to find that, but don't misunderstand, I welcome such attention since it's from you~"

He'll smile and look so understanding that even if you deny, you'll end up confessing

He's secretly so prideful that he go the attention of the human that every demon coveted

He's soooo sweet tho

Always inviting you to come to tea parties

Looking out for you

Sending exotic tea, or coffee, or any other drink of your preference to you

"Allow me to worship you now."

Simeon

He decided to join Satan and Belphie's book club

Turns out it was a ploy to get more members into the Anti-Lucifer league

While it seemed interesting, Simeon was too tired to deal with shenanigans after not sleeping for 2 days straight

He's out of his writer's block, and has been writing nonstop

The exhaustion finally reached him

You allowed him to rest in your room for sometime since he basically looked dead

The sleep deprived angel was ready to fall to his knees and pray to you

He laid in your bed for sometime, but for some reason sleep was not reaching him

He sat up and observed your room, smiling softly

Since he couldn't sleep, he decided to pick up a few things and fix up your room

He opened your closet and looked through your clothes, taking it upon himself to fix up your closet

That was when he saw the shrine

:|

:O

:D

He's over the moon

Dancing on rainbows

Singing at the top of his lungs

A bit weirded out, but nevertheless

You noticed he was more chippy than usual

Always calling you over to the Purgatory hall that the demon bro's started to get suspicious and put a ban

"Sad we can only meet in at RAD. By the way, I.. uh.. never mind! Luke misses you, we should meet in the marketplace some time."

fanfictions

just

self inserts

He feels like such a creep, but- his writing skills have finally come in handy

He's so shy

Solomon keeps teasing him about it

Will use any reason to hold your hands

"Ah! Don't trouble yourself, let me help with that. And.. I'd like to come to your room again, if you wouldn't mind? I want to spend more time with you."

Solomon

This shady bastard-

He could become the new Avatar of Pride

And he's about to make it everyone's problem

Solomon was just dropping off some extra notes he'd taken for the hexes and curses test

And your closet was wide open

There was no way he couldn't have seen it

It was like you left it there for him to see!

So, you wouldn't mind if he took some pictures, riiight?

NEW MESSAGE: 20 photos from Solomon

"Wow, never knew you adored me this much ;)"

He's flustering you sooooo badly

Using this to his advantage

He's a bit more soft though

And, he's a lot more protective

He's always calling you cute nicknames ever since that incident

He doesn't announce it to the entire world

But everyone basically knows how hard he's fallen if they see the way he acts around you

Always has a hand on you

Waist, hand, shoulder, head

"My darling apprentice, shall I remind you of your embarrassing little secret, or will you shut up and admit you love me~?"

Fuck, I wrote way too much. I got too excited and used up too many creative juices by the time Solomon's turn came 😭 Well, hope you enjoy it! If anyone wants to request, my ask box is always open

I was gonna do Luke as well, but I'm lazy and idk it might be a bit weird- Soooo, I might make a special post dedicated to the cute angel cuz he deserves as much attention!

[serxinns]

idk if u do angst or not but i love me so good angst so if u dont mind can u do some kiribaku x reader angst plz i would love that thx like they cooking for kiri and bakugo and bakugo complains about how little reader dose and kiri agrees cuz they just kinda stay at home and clean do the laundry and so like after he says that she gets mad so the next day she does nothing and like just reads like doesn't cook for them that night doesn't do there laundry and doesn't clean the house that day and at first bakugo's mad about it and kiri doesn't know what to feel and this go's for a few day and kiri and bakugo have to do everything and the see how hard it is and apologizes to reader! i think it cute

thank you plz dont feel like u have to! i love ur writing

*evil laughter* you fool I AM THE IDEAL ANGST WRITER AND IM A KIRIBAKU FAN IM A YUZUYA FAN AFTER ALL 😈

You were humming along to your favorite song as you were carrying 3 baskets of both your husband's clothes "That's About all of them" you huffed in relief you then grabbed and poured all the bleached cleaning chemicals in there and the clothes and turned on the washing machine "ok so I cleaned the room unclothed the sink and the toilet went and got groceries what else..." you were thinking for a while until a delight smell met your nose

"Man whatever Kats is cooking must be good I might sneak a bite or two.." a mischievous grin started forming on your face you crept out of the laundry room in the halls to where the kitchen to hear Kiri and Katsuki talking, you leaned your ear closer and it seems like they were talking about you

"And then when I came back I saw y/n tried and laying on the couch sleeping like a layout sloth with MY favorite chips in hand! " You giggled as you heard Katsuki angrily rambling on to his other lover Kiri about you slacking off thinking he was still holding a grudge about the snack incident"God I wish she could just do SOMETHING around the house rather than clean and BARELY cooking shes so..LAZY" "bakugo don't be so mean but yea I kinda agree I wish she could do more in the house rather than clean.."

Your heart stung at that very moment tears started to swell up in your eyes you had to carry Kiri's 2000-pound dumbbells when it was delivered at his home which bruised your hands and arms pretty bad, another time you saw permanent stainsmon Akatsuki's hero suit due to a battle with a notorious villain and decided to spend all your savings try and get it off, the more rambling they went on about you being "Lazy" the more angry and hurt you were

You then ran up the stairs and stuffed your face into the pillow and cried softly were you not working hard enough? After all the bruises cuts and money worth nothing? Were you actually Lazy? Thoughts swirled around your head and you lost your appetite you didn't feel like sleeping with them so you grabbed a pillow and blanket and slept in the guest room for tonight, you locked the door making sure they wouldn't barge in

Suddenly a knock on the door alerted you "Hey baby you there why are you in the guest room?" Kiri asked concern filling his voice but you ignored him getting the pillow and putting it on your head, Kiri tried a few more times getting more worried for you so he quickly ran down to get Katsuki about the situation "hèy blast y/n locked herself in the guest room... I think they're ignoring me" katsuki rolled his eyes while brushing his teeth getting ready for bed

"She's probably in her "dramatic bitch phase moods" or whatever she calls it she'll prob get over it in the morning," he said waving it off "but it feels like shes mad at us.. I think we should-" he was cut off by katsuki kissing him on the lips "El they'll be fine I'm sure of it plus she'll prob crawl back into bed without us knowing in the middle of the night now good night" katsuki pecked kiri on the cheek and jumped into bed Kiri took one last Glance in corners and slowly climbed in the bed feeling a bit empty even katsuki felt it so he clung onto Kiri but it was still empty and cold without you

The next morning they woke up and there was still no you, katsuki glanced at the space and rolled his eyes maybe you are mad.. or you woke up early to cook breakfast? Katsuki then took a shower and then got ready, you normally already had his warm dry clothes in the drawers but to his surprise, they were all soaking "Y/N!" He yelled out stomping around to hunt you down for this cruel prank but to find out you already left without their breakfast... only but a note and plain grain cereal saying "Here's your breakfast breakfast 😁"

Katsuki was stunned knowing that you would go all out making them a big breakfast with their drinks and everything decorated Kiri followed behind him yawning he glanced at the table and looked a bit worried "Katsuki what if we did make her upset" Katsuki groaned at his boyfriends whining and turn towards him "she's not mad she's probably was too lazy to do it and even if she was she can't go that far we can outlast her rebellion" he said with confidence

It's been 2 days and it's been hell you weren't lifting a finger for them and both of your boys weren't too pleased with that, katsuki wasn't used to washing clothes so he accidentally mixed the colored clothes with the white clothes which stained some of the white clothes to his annoyance, Kiri was freaking out that there was red hair dye left and he had hero meaning to go and his hair was almost turning black he begged you to go to the store but to his defeat you just stared at him and politely said no and got back to your reading

Katsuki was getting enraged by your sudden behavior so he confronted you with a beaming glare "Oi what's with this shitty attitude your pulling?" "Blasty no!" You tilted your head innocently at the 2 Men "What do you mean I'm doing something" You were about to go back to your read when Katsuki snatched the book and slammed it on the counter you glared at him "I had enough of this shitty attitude woman you have been doing less and less work each day and we're paying the consequences"

you scoffed "But is this what I am right a Lazy bum" Katsuki was about to question you about your statement but then it hit him..the memory of him and Kiri talking about you... "you heard our conversation" you looked over to him as your eyes narrow "at every single last word" Kirishima swelled up with guilt avoiding eye contact with white katsuki was still glaring

"Listen, baby, we're sorry it won-" "Oh don't give me that half ass apology you're gonna have to work for it BIG TIME" "Oh please like we deserve your forgiveness just because you're not doing much" You laughed sarcastically and got in his face

"I bet your ass wouldn't last a week without me doing the housework" "Fine winner gets to use the others credit card for the day and make them breakfast in bed for almost a week" "what!? Bakugan I dont think-" "Deal" you cut off Kirishima as you shook hands with the blond "what have I gotten into"

The next few days were hell! Most of Kiri and katsuki's colored clothes were bleached due to Kiri accidentally putting them in the colored clothes rather than putting them in the white clothes all their clothes were full of dye stains that day while you happily shopped you some clothes,

Katsuki, on the other hand, was worse he didn't have any time to make breakfast or lunch so he went on for the day cranky and hungry having to eat cheap instant ramen in his break and was questioned by fans on why was there Clear dye stain on his suit and kiri got laughed by both his friends and in the agency about his hair drooping and all black colored making his fans chased after him with questions or stating they liked his hair red which was to his annoyance

You watched as the two boys struggled with doing their jobs as you sat there secretly giggling to yourself and talking with your friends on the phone like a form to brag it to them

"Katuki im gonna apologize it's getting too much..." Kiri told Katsuki as he was struggling to mow the lawn (you also do that) "Are you kidding you giving up that easily because she was a" "No Bakugo because I know to feel what's it like its hard, look at you, your struggling to turn on the lawn mower your clothes are stained and we haven't eaten no good meals in over a week I'm tried katsuki and you are too"

katsuki stood they're quietly he didn't wanna admit but it was true it had been torture without you hell even if they kept going like this the whole house would be a disaster but not inky that their relationship would be stained and he didn't want that he truly loved you two even if he doesn't show it and he doesn't mean or intentionally wanna hurt you was he really taking it to far? That's what he made his final decision

"Fine.." Kiri turned slowly turned into smirk a bit "what was that couldn't hea-" "I SAID FINE DONT PUSH IT YOU DAMN ROCK" he chucked putting hands up in defeat "alright alright I heard you thr 1st time kats!" He chuckled as both was finding a way to make it up to you when you got home

You arrived at your home signing it's been a long day for you even tho you barely did anything you had a lot on your mind wondering was too far but were still confident that they needed to learn their lesson!, you got to your doorstep seeing a note that said "come in there's a surprised" in both Katsuki and Eljirou handwriting you raised your brow a bit but curious to know what was the surprise about

You slowly open the door revealing a fancy dinner table with all your favorite foods' petals on the floor what's next to the dish is a small gift right beside it "You look over to see both Your husbands' faces guilt written all over, you narrowed put your hands on your hips pretending to not be happy "so what's all this" katsuki sighed knowing that you were still mad at them which was reasonable "an apology i-no we're sorry for what we say I know this isn't much" you glanced I silently "but we also ran a warm bath for you with your favorite show recorded-"

you cut the men off by tackling them with a hug happy tears fllow "I COULDNT DO IT ANYMORE I HATED THIS CHALLENGE" Kiri's face was starting to swell up in tears as well "ME NEITHER" Both you and Kiri cried dramatically while Katsuki stood there genuinely smiling and chuckling a bit

"What are you laughing at blasty" glaring playfully at the blond who was on the edge of wanting to bust out laughing at his partner's dramatic performance

"Nothing" he smirked he was just glad everything was back to normal "So who wanna watch (favorite show)"

[thebluester2020]

I wonder how sdv bachelor's would react to you getting mad at them for forgetting your (relationship) anniversary?

Getting Upset At SDV + RSV Bachelors For Forgetting Your Anniversary (For the Umpteenth Time And You Decided To Leave Them For It)

Warning(s): Angst (Especially on Shane's part lol, I'm a hater), No happy endings, Reader goes in on Shane and Alex in their individual parts,

Side note(s): Ik you were probably expecting something decently light anon but I just remembered that I haven't ratted on Shane in a minute so I thought some good ol' fashioned angst was in store.

Also, I picked who I wrote angst for because I teared up thinking of writing angst for my favorite emo or writer. Still, though, I hope you like what I've written anon (and sorry it took so frickin' long 😔)

Shane | "Another Bottle"

You were so excited for tonight, you could hardly stand in place as you waited for Shane to get home!

Tonight would be your third year with Shane. A year that (in your mind) would symbolize the trials and tribulations the both of you had gone, as well as shared with one another. And for the last week or so, Shane had been talking almost non-stop about the plans he had for the both of you at the end of the week! He hinted at eating some fancy dinner cooked up by Gus at the Stardrop Saloon, and although he didn't mention it verbally, Shane had been spending a lot of time with Elliot lately.

The two had almost nothing in common so, butterflies erupted in your stomach at the thought of the extra things your husband was preparing for you.

Shane had also mentioned taking a walk on the beach at the end, and once the night had concluded? A nice wine on the porch whilst listening to a playlist of you and his' favorite songs.

All of it was straight from a dream, a fairytale even that...admittedly, you thought would never happen. Especially since...he had forgotten your first anniversary, the second one too—but, you were nothing if not forgiving.

You had to be.

Your husband dealt with a lot. He had mental health issues as well as a drinking problem that he was still fighting to curb to this very moment! When you married him—nay, when you first started dating him. You knew that you would have to be patient and constantly show him that you were with him through thick and thin, come Hell or high water. You'd stand by Shane's side and walk with him through any troubles he may have faced or had roaming around in his head.

Therefore, that's why, as soon as the clock in your shared bedroom ticked to five o'clock. You practically burst out of your bedroom and out to the front porch to wait for Shane like an eager dog waiting for its owner to return home after a long day! In any minute, he'd walk through the small gates that led onto the farm's property...maybe with a bouquet of flowers? A tired expression at first perhaps? One that would immediately melt away at the sight of you like it always did...you couldn't wait to see for yourself.

Six O'Clock

You had decided to sit down on the steps of the porch, constantly standing in a pair of heels was bound to hurt your feet sometime or another as you continued to wait for Shane to go through those gates. He must've been held up at work, maybe spending a little extra time getting your date ready! Something.

Anything other than the thought your mind was threatening to settle on.

No, anything but that.

He was late but you were going to have patience, after all, all the best things in life were worth waiting for, right? You were willing to bet that he was going to appear at any moment now.

Eight O'Clock

You had lost the bet with yourself, that much was obvious as you quietly took off the outfit you had put together for tonight and debated whether you should simply take a shower and go to bed or if you should comfort yourself over a nice glass of wine. On one hand, you wanted the former, anything that would help you forget this night but...this time? You just couldn't bring yourself to do it.

This would be the third time that Shane had forgotten your anniversary. Last year, you had let him slide with his excuse that he was caught up at work, even though he worked at a grocery store and the place had a set time for when it closed! The second year, that time around, Shane had claimed that Jas suddenly wanted to spend time with him! You wouldn't have minded Jas tagging along for your anniversary date, she would have made it more lively, so that year as well, you let it slide.

This time though...as tears started to well up in your eyes and your chest tightened. You didn't know if you had it in you to let another anniversary slide.

And that's when you heard the front door open and close.

Even from the bedroom, the scent of alcohol was strong and all too familiar. The lazy movement of Shane's footsteps...the way he groaned and grumbled drunkenly in search of you.

He had forgotten your anniversary...all so he could get drunk?

You saw red. "Where were you?" You immediately questioned your husband when you rounded a corner and into the living room.

There he was, lying down on the couch with the stench of alcohol radiating off of him. You clenched your fists so hard at the sight, that you almost worried they'd bleed. "Out." Shane finally answered.

You could feel a vein threaten to poke out as he slurred his words.

"Out?" You said in exasperation.

"Yes, out."

"I thought you were trying to quit drinking," You stormed up closer to him. Shane barely even flinched, you were hoping he'd give you something, anything that said he had remembered your anniversary but was just too drunk and stupid to remember it. "Why—"

"I needed a break from work!" He grumbled. "Get off my back."

"But—" You took a breath. "Shane." You continued. "Our anniversary...you—you promised." When that word made its way out of your mouth, Shane could barely give you the decency to look embarrassed. To look ashamed that he would miss his only spouse's birthday. The one person who had stuck with him through everything, listened to him when he was at his lowest, had made sure he was at Dr. Harvey's in a heartbeat the second you noticed he was too drunk to even stand. You had even gone out of your way so many fucking times to make sure that you had did some things for him, anything that made his recovery easier and swifter.

And what could he do to thank you?

Easy, begin to fall asleep on the couch whilst he still smelled of alcohol. Even as tears started to burn your eyes, he still couldn't wake up for you.

So, you decided that was that.

You wouldn't go through this again for a fourth, fifth, or even sixth time in a row!

You were done.

"...I guess you were right before Shane," You said to his passed-out form.

"You are nothing but a drunk. And that's all you'll ever be." You continued with venom dripping from each word before you stormed off to your bedroom. Immediately, you tore open the closet before you practically ripped and tore his clothes from the hangers, snatching pants and everything else he owned from the drawers and other places he kept his things before you carried them all to the living room before dropping it at his feet.

Still, he barely moved an inch aside from snoring obnoxiously.

You wanted him gone first thing in the morning and you wouldn't hear another half-assed apology or even an excuse that he was "still healing" or "just had a momentary relapse". It was a fine fucking time to have a relapse on the day you were looking forward to for an entire week! And you absolutely hated him for it.

But...soon you'd have your peace back, free of any disappointments too.

Once he was up and gone tomorrow.

Alex | "High Ambitions"

Alex's gridball career had been going extremely well as of late.

You always knew that his efforts, the constant hard work he'd put into the sport, would pay off one day. You always told him that! You just wished that...it wasn't at the expense of you sometimes, compared to how he was when the two of you first started dating, Alex was gone almost all the time. From sun up to sun down, he'd either be training or taking a bus down to Zuzu city at the crack of dawn in order to train further with his coach!

You didn't have enough fingers to count how many times you woke up by yourself. The spot where Alex should have been cold and empty, but Alex had promised you that he wasn't letting his ambitions and his budding career get in the way of you two! He'd always come back and hug you, stating that you were the reason why he was playing in the first place and trying to make it big.

All so that he could fund and take care of the both of you, deliver you a lavish lifestyle that would allow you to have more time to do the things that you and he liked to do rather than most of your day being spent with farm work and running around! And while that was all fine...your current lifestyle, was something you enjoyed.

And you enjoyed it even more when you did it with Alex.

Yet you had bit your tongue and nodded your head, you were happy for him and wanted him to succeed! So long as he didn't forget about you, you were happy and content. Besides, you'd have all the time in the world to make up for lost time with him tonight! It was your anniversary and the second he got back from practice, you wouldn't hold back from being a little greedy with him.

At least...that was the plan.

Until two hours went by.

He was supposed to be home at 8 o'clock.

Now? It was just barely reaching 11:00pm. And as the minutes continued to tick by, your anger at your husband only grew. He promised you that he would be home on time, that he wouldn't let practice take over you being his number-one priority. Clearly, that was one huge lie. However, as you heard the rapid jingling of keys at the door all of a sudden...you couldn't even find it within yourself to make up an excuse for him like you had many times prior.

No, it was clear where his priorities were as of lately.

And you weren't a part of them in the slightest.

"Y/N!" Alex called out as soon as he entered the house, his eyes quickly finding you sitting on the couch. Back straight and eyes forward, you hadn't even reacted to the sound of your name aside from a brief glance over your shoulder.

Oh, he knew he was in trouble.

"Sorry," Alex said bashfully, flashing you a boyish smile that would always do just the trick of melting your heart a little in the past. "I got caught up with practice, I scored three touchdowns today!"

"Do you know what day it is today?"

His eyes widened a little, his mouth opening to ask you to clarify as he desperately racked his brain. Only then, did horror wash over his features the second he remembered. "Y/N...I'm so sorry-"

You suddenly stood up. "Don't bother," You said sharply with a sigh. "It's the third time you've missed our anniversary!" You laughed emptily.

"All for fucking gridball practice. The same thing you told me wouldn't get in between us."

He rolled his eyes. "You know this is the one thing I've been working towards my entire life." Your husband huffed. "Why can't you be happy for me? I'm doing this for the both of us!"

"The both of us?" You scoffed. "You're doing this for you. I told you the second you started practicing to not let sports come between us, to at least take the time to remember me!" You shouted as you quickly got in his space, your chest heaving as your hands found their way to your hips.

"And what do you do? The exact opposite."

"Well, what about you?"

Oh, he was not placing the blame on you.

"You're always working on the farm, that or rushing off to the mines for the third time in a night!"

"How the- that's not the same! And besides, you're barely here to begin with! I'd rather be in the mines with the ghosts to keep me company than lay in an empty bed for the fourth night in a row!"

Your husband only blew you off with a scoff at your words, turning on his heels to walk away from the conversation. And that single act, it only made the pain worse. So much worse that...you couldn't even believe that you had married him in the first place. In the beginning, you were absolutely smitten with Alex, admiring his determination for gridball as well as his drive to be the best at it! Even now...you still want to support him at it, see him become the very best but...not at the detriment of you.

Not at the detriment of your marriage.

If he couldn't be bothered to remember the simplest things about you such as an anniversary.

Then it was best if you left the picture completely.

You took a deep shaky breath. "...Pack your bags tomorrow Alex." You said, your breath barely above a whisper but still loud enough to where Alex stopped in his tracks completely.

"What?"

"Pack them," You repeated. "You want to focus on gridball? Fine, but it won't be with me playing second fiddle to it." Then, you turned around to walk to the bedroom and shut the door behind you.

[dootznbootz]

Hello. I honestly don't know how to prep this but uh, why do I feel like MM's Circe had so much potential? Like, MM did the lazy thing that is "making Circe's life a living shit show because that's the only way her actions would be justified" which... Is the annoying thing most modern interpretations do.

One good example would actually be EPIC: The musical. But in EPIC it only works because Circe isn't exactly a vocal point. And Circe having a motive plays into a pretty big theme of the show (Specifically in the song "Monster" where Odysseus is basically just... Contemplating everything)

But when you have 400 paged book, focusing around Circe, you have so much potential to focus more on the godly elements of these people. Someone else has said this before but ama say it too. The Greek gods had REASONS for acting the way they did. Zeus misused his power, that's what a king does. Artemis's wrath was unmatched when you wronged her, that's how nature is. Hades took a young girl from her mother, that's what death does.

And I'd like to add some of my own.

Aphrodite is a completely morally gray character, that's how love can be, it can go againts you sometimes. Dionysus was all over the place, sometimes good sometimes terrible, that's what madness is. Hermes is swift and a trickster because that's what people we deem 'messengers' can be like, via rumours.

When you notice these complexities to the characters, you start to realize. Circe misused her magic on innocent people for entertainment, that's what black/evil magic does. But at the same time, she helped Odysseus. Because even evil magic, or the 'worst possibilities' can be useful sometimes.

I think it is SUCH a missed opportunity MM didn't focus more on this aspect. Because that would've made for such an interesting story an unique story. Most of these modern retellings try to push modern ideologies on ancient works, which doesn't work. No retelling tries to tell these stories in a ancient Greek perspective (which is actually fairly easy you just have to do your research)

And with an author as skilled as MM is, I'm sure she could do it. But honestly, I don't think her writing is good in the perspective of Greek mythology. She could probably do a great modern story but let's face it, that wouldn't get as much money.

A story focusing around a goddess, and what it means to be a divine personification of nature and a concept, not to you but to the humans you exist for.You can really focus a lot on that and it could be such an interesting story.

All of these writers to me just seem like they're exploiting Greek mythology, which bugs me. If miller wanted to tell these stories, she would've told THE stories with her own twist. Not completely change them to the point they lose their charm.

If miller couldn't do that, if she wanted to write a complex feminist character she wouldn't have chosen Circe.

Something I really admire in your work is how you characterize these guys. It's obvious you're extremely passionate. I also love how you give Penelope clear flaws. You don't have to mortify everyone else to make her 'stand out' or to be 'more likable'. I really love your fic and I'm wishing you nothing but success in the future! :D

Anyways, enough about MM's book.

What do you think is one of Penelope's favorite little quirks od Odysseus', like something he does she finds really cute? :)

I hope you find pretty flowers today and get a sweet for free, dear anon. This ask made me so happy as it's like, perfect. As you gave a Circe rant that will be fun to dissect but also gave me a silly lil question for me to feast on and for the balance and the silly and I love it. You also sent it at the perfect time as I was getting a wee bit sad about how women from Greek Mythology get treated by retellings and fandoms. This really cheered me up 🩵

And thank you so much for the sweet compliment! It means so much to me that you love my silly lil guys as I love sharing them! And don't worry I am working on stuff! ;~; I know I'm taking a while but I am!

I'll do the cute stuff Penelope loves about Odysseus :P

(I do have them "mirror" each other a lot with "like-minded" so they often have SOME similar traits in some ways that both find endearing about the other. (both love watching the other brainstorm/think/swindle/winning/etc., both love (and are sometimes annoyed by) their stubbornness.) Stuff like that :D Also in general. Thank you, Anon. You've made me realize I've been going a wee bit too crazy with Penelope and kind of forgot about Odysseus.

1.) This is a past post that goes into it more but she just adores his freckles. She has counted them and memorized them. She's going to kiss every single one. He mostly has them on his face and shoulders but they are peppered a lil everywhere (he gets it from his mama). She uses the freckle pattern he has across his nose as "stars" for her tapestries.

Rando: Hey, that's not how the stars are mapped. Penelope: They're my stars, asshole >:(

She has to do a "recount" when he returns as some of his "stars" are covered by scars now :')

2.) She loves his hair and how well-groomed he usually is. He also is a bit like a cat in how he loves being pampered. (lil post about that) She loves scratching at his scalp and at the tiny hairs that are at the back of the neck. She loves the pretty grays he has when he returns as well :') She really loved how he looked without and with a beard. (It doesn't end up growing too long anyway)

3.) He's very warm. She's not really affected by temperature too much (she's used to freezing rivers and she herself is naturally cold. Her average temperature is colder than the average person. She only really has to worry about "drying up".) she loves his warmth. She wraps herself up in blankets while he's gone despite not really needing them sometimes as...she misses her furnace. (also his snoring) He also wraps himself in her blankets while away but sadly wakes up to them tossed about because he gets too hot. He needs his lil iceblock wife.

4.) She just adores his big laugh. The laughing so hard you cry one. Hearing it was kind of a "...Okay, I wanna hear that again." for her.

5.) He tends to bite his lip. Sometimes it's endearing and hot but he also will often rip at them. She tries to help him with this habit by distracting with kisses...Though with her teeth, it doesn't always help. Fun fact: For their first kiss on the lips, they were so stupid excited that he knicked himself on her teeth. She felt awful but he just kissed her again. It was bloody and bad but they were so happy. His bad habit returns when he's away because he's not getting his kisses 😔

6.) He whistles while he whittles often.

7.) So ancient Greece had yo-yos (probably in Odyssey but I'm getting silly with it)...and Odysseus is a nerd who WILL do tricks with them. (they can be made with wood and string so... odypen lol) He has fun trying to show other people how to do it too. It's a nice fidget. (modern day he would have definitely been that guy with that rubix cube lol)

8.) So Penelope is better at getting more for less, (lowering prices) and Odysseus is better at giving less for more. (selling shit for good things) They both can do it but they have their strengths.

9.) He got big eyebrows and with his weird "face shifting" thing he inherited from Autolycus, he can make a lot of silly faces.

10.) He tends to make sandcastles whenever he waits for her at the banks of rivers.

11.) He's a "heavy stepper" when he's not sneaking. It's not because of his scar. He just likes walking like that. :) Not so much "stompy" but she finds it cute that she knows it's him coming based on the footsteps she hears.

Some things that annoy her >:3

She's incredibly ticklish and he's not so much and he keeps doing it. STOP IT >:(

So she's smaller than him in mine and in general, he loves draping himself across her (he's like a cat remember?). Most of the time she loves that weight as she loves him and he's a warm weighted blanket. Though while she's strong, he'll sometimes be a brat and put so much of his weight on her just to mes with her. (mostly when they're young and dumb. not so much after he returns)

(Not this big of a size difference ofc but you know >:) )

Those are some and I have more rattling around in my head but I wanna finish this ask and I gotta do some shit :')

Thank you again, Anon. This made me happy <3

[therecordconnection]

Some Thoughts Regarding James Somerton

I know I'm rather late to the conversation and some of these points may have already been talked about in some form elsewhere on the site, but if you don't mind, I have some thoughts of my own regarding the subject of hbomberguy's latest video and I would like to take time to voice. This blog is normally dedicated to music and music writing, not posts about disgraced Youtubers, so I apologize for the detour in regularly scheduled programming.

First, I think it's important to make the distinction that Somerton isn't just a case of "problematic Youtube guy got owned... twice" but rather a genuine case of academic dishonesty, which is several grades above youtuber drama. This isn't something like Tati Westbrook getting angry at James Charles for sucking dick and cock at a birthday dinner. This isn't Ethan Klein and Trisha Paytas or whomever having beef. It's not Charlie Critikal talking about some stupid drama of the day or someone just using Youtube videos to say a bunch of gross and problematic stuff. No. This is a fucking grifter who not only lied, cheated, and stole his way to the top, but also did it by using a vulnerable community that has long had their voices snuffed out and their history completely rewritten or wiped from existence altogether. What history he didn't plagiarize, he twisted and outright lied about. He just made shit up to suit his own gross agenda.

A lot of things about James Somerton left me absolutely livid, and I admit that I didn't even know who he was until hbomberguy's video. I think what makes me the most mad is that I went to undergrad and grad school with a number of jackoffs that were just like him. People that didn't give a shit about the art of writing and research and just treated academia and the pursuit of knowledge and how to critically engage with art and media into a stupid game that only chumps take seriously. Somerton pisses me off because I AM a writer. When I write the Ranting and Raving series of posts on here, that stuff doesn't just fly out of my ass. I have to sit with a song, study it, research it, and make sure I know what I'm talking about so I don't look like a clown. I also have to make sure that I link and credit where I'm getting information from. It's not just important for my own satisfaction, but it's important for anyone who stumbles upon a post on this blog and takes time out of their day to read it and/or reblog it.

I think that's the part that makes me the most mad. That he and Nick Hergott have so little respect for the work that goes into researching and writing about a topic that other people are really passionate about. Spending time with something, studying it, and figuring out an interesting and unique perspective on it is a great feeling. Sharing what you find or how you see something with others and having them either like or reblog your work is an even greater feeling. That's my writing that somebody enjoyed and thought was worth sharing with others. Fuck fuck fuck Somerton for thinking you can take a million little shortcuts to get to that result.

While I'm on the topic, I don't think Hergott gets a pass for Somerton's actions. I've seen some people make the argument that he isn't complicit and there's a chance that he genuinely had no clue that Somerton was doing this... but I don't buy it. There's no way he didn't know and wasn't in on it in some capacity. Even if he wasn't, as Todd in the Shadows pointed out in his video on this situation, Nick is, whether you like it or not, an accomplice to Somerton's lies and he is complicit in the blame, due to his name being included in the "Written By" credit of a lot of those videos with Somerton. The way I see it, I find it hard to believe that he couldn't have known. I imagine part of Hergott's signing on with Somerton was that in the event that shit hits the fan, Hergott would be used as a fall guy to help deflect accusations of plagiarism.

To return to Somerton, in a way, he's almost worse than AI/Chat-GPT because, really, an AI has no morals. It can only do what someone punches in and tells it to do. Somerton is a guy who does have genuinely insidious ambitions and knows fully what he's doing. That shit about "only the boring gays who didn't mess around in the eighties survived the aids crisis" is the wildest and grossest accusation I've seen about gay people in some time. The wild takes about the Nazis (especially all the wrong things he said about fitness relating to Nazis) should also raise a lot of red flags. I'll say this though, I don't blame anybody in the slightest for not fully realizing Somerton was saying shit like that or doing all of what he was doing until hbomberguy and Todd presented it a certain way and made it all very clear. It's easy to not notice it when Somerton buries it by ripping stuff off from other, better writers. So, if you were someone who was a big fan and was genuinely shocked by the things Todd had to fact-check and debunk and worried that you're a bad person for having not caught any of them, trust me, you're not. Nobody should blame you for not catching it. <3

While I'm ranting about this, I want to say that Somerton's patreon grift was really gross to see exposed as well (through Dan Olson's really great thread, which can be read here). I understand the allure of wanting to buy expensive gear and thinking that's somehow needed in order to make Good Content™️, but there's a stark difference between someone saying "I think I need to shell out a little money in order to get something of higher quality" and "I need to have the appearance of looking like my stuff is being made with high quality stuff." As someone who has been experimenting with trying to turn his writing into video, I did some audio tests this weekend and realized that maybe (just maybe) the old Turtle Beach microphone my brother left behind when he moved out isn't going to cut it. If I want to record something I can be happy with, I'm gonna have to bite it and look at getting something decent, but somewhat affordable from a Best Buy or something. You don't need the best tech in order to make something great, but you can't use copper tools forever if you have the means to be able to enjoy using iron ones, you know?

Somerton's grift reminded me of guys like Onision and Spoony. Grifters who looked to Patreon and other creator donation sites for an easy pay day and would bitch and cry and complain that it's your fault when they don't get it. Somerton making poor financial choices ON TOP of it being money that he scammed from a community of people that were looking to invest in a voice that they genuinely thought was speaking for them in a meaningful way, only makes the grift more disgusting and foul. Even if he's just "some Youtuber," Somerton still had a responsibility to his audience to present queer topics in an ACCURATE manner. He didn't and we all have the right to be angry with him about it. This isn't just silly youtuber controversy, this is academic dishonesty in it's purest form and if it gets you expelled from any college program, it should get you expelled from being able to show your face on Youtube as well, which is how Somerton's story will end.

I've been on the internet for many years. I've seen some of the worst, most problematic creators of all time find a way to bounce back from all kinds of controversy and find some kind of success again. I don't think that will happen for Somerton. Not one bit. What he's done is something you can never come back from, no matter how much you try to reform. If two different youtubers can make two completely different videos about why you suck, I don't think there's any recovery. What happened this weekend is a now classic episode of World's Most One Sided Fist Fights Caught on Film.

This post has gone on for a while, so let me wrap it up. I mean this without hyperbole and without exaggeration: James Somerton is a disgrace to both media criticism and the art of video creation. I genuinely hope he remains propped up as a cautionary tale of what can happen when you fully decide you have absolutely no respect for the Humanities and decide that lying, cheating, and stealing your way to the top, all while scamming and being incredibly shitty towards a community that has long suffered and is STILL suffering greatly to this day, is better than any kind of academic honesty. I understand that Somerton is just "some youtube fraud" to some people, but the problem lies more in what Somerton's actions and motivations represent. I really think hbomberguy's video on plagiarism is going to do a lot of good. It's going to help a lot of people avoid doing it as well as help people become more aware of what it really looks like and all the damage it can do.

Thank you for your time.

P.S. It doesn't really need to be said at this point, but make sure you support the queer voices and writers that did the work Somerton thought was good enough to just copy and paste into a video. They're the ones that suffered the most through all of this and my heart goes out to them, from one writer to another. <3

[pisshandkerchief]

Okay tysm I know nothing about this stuff but I’d love to hear about it. I feel like because the movie was really unengaged with the actual politics in folk music at the time and it made it really unclear how much Bob Dylan himself was engaged in the politics so I’m wondering 1 how political he was in the first place and 2 if his political engagement changed when he moved away from folk music because they definitely acted like playing electric guitar meant not doing political stuff anymore but also acted like he just liked the music more/ wanted to be disruptive so did his politics change? Was the story of the movie really ‘Bob Dylan stops caring about civil rights because he gets into the kinks yay’ because that definitely doesn’t sound right but all the politics were so vague and surface level that the political side of people’s motivations felt really unclear

rubs my hands together in a delighted fashion. ok this is a question I can actually somewhat answer for you so let's get into it.

No, his politics didn't change because he moved away from folk music. there's two things it's important for you to know: one, Bob Dylan didn't start with folk music. He was into early rock and rhythm and blues first. this guy wasn't listening to Woody Guthrie from day one, he was listening to Elvis and Muddy Waters and Buddy Holly and Little Richard and Lead Belly. He only came to folk music later, which people at the time tended to forget about. Rock was his true passion at the start. Two, Bob Dylan never identified himself as a political song writer. He always said he didn't write about politics, he wrote about his own core values and the things he saw in the world. I'm watching a documentary about him rn called No Direction Home, and in it he says something along the lines of "you can care about a group of people without making it a political thing". I love his music and it's influenced me a lot, and I think he's a fascinating person, but I'm not a huge fan of Bob Dylan's politics myself, because I think he's always been a bit wishy-washy about what he actually believes. I understand why people were mad at the time, because he wrote all these moving songs about the civil rights movement and then when confronted about them later he always hedged and claimed he wasn't trying to be political even though at the time he clearly was. I think he's more of a liberal than a true leftist. There were real leftists in the folk revival, and they were people like Phil Ochs. In the end Bob really was in it because he wanted to be famous. I think he believed deeply in the civil rights movement because he admired a lot of black artists and truly thought that racism was nonsensical, but beyond the surface level he wasn't an activist and he never tried to present himself as one, he had that role forced upon him by people who saw him as one and wanted him to be the face of a generation and he was always very opposed to that idea, and eventually it made him cynical. I suppose his political engagement did change when he moved away from folk, because he did stop writing as many overtly political songs, but not immediately and not as drastically as people made it out to be. Bob Dylan is a complicated person who a lot of people tried to box into being one thing or the other and in the end all he really wanted was to get out of those boxes. It's difficult to know what was going on in his head because for years he was a very private person who very intentionally worked to make sure nobody knew his true thoughts on anything.

To put it simply, yes, when he went electric he stopped writing music that people could see as overtly political. But I don't think his beliefs changed. I think it's an early case of people having a parasocial relationship with their favorite celebrity and painting him as more leftist than he really was. He wasn't a political activist, he was a performer. And he never pretended to be anything else.

[sissylittlefeather]

It's time for a new series! Introducing:

This is the Story

A/N: This is my first experiment with an OC! Her name is Grace Dubois (doo-bwah) and she's a writer and single mom of 6-year-old Wendy. I hope you all love her! The story takes place in 1973. I don't want to say much more and give anything away!

Word count: 2.5k

Warnings: not really any yet. There's some cussing and smoking. This'll heat up eventually. I promise.

Song inspiration:

Here we go...

Grace is half asleep in the meeting with her editor. Her daughter, Wendy, was up sick all night and she didn't get much rest. But the editor doesn't really care. He expects her to function at 100% no matter what's going on at home, and usually she can manage, but today is a struggle.

"I need you to do the Elvis Presley book."

Surely, she didn't hear that correctly.

"I'm sorry; you want me to do what?"

"You're going to ghost write the Elvis book. No one else wants it. And there's agreement from the higher ups that he might respond better to a woman." She rolls her eyes. She's always getting assignments that are supposed to be better for a woman. Just once, she wants to be assigned based on her abilities and not what's between her legs.

"No, Frank, I'm not doing it. I need time to finish the novel you originally hired me for. I don't have time to follow a washed-up rock star around."

"That's too bad because I've already told them you're doing it."

"Frank, what the fuck?" She doesn't have the energy to hold back her anger. And she's known Frank long enough to know he knew she'd be mad.

"I'm sorry, kid. They think this'll be a real money maker and somebody has to do it."

She rubs her temples and closes her eyes for a second. It's no use arguing at this point. Not if he's told the big bosses that she'd do it.

"How long is it going to take?"

"He's in Vegas now. They want you to follow him until he goes back to Vegas in January." She glances at the calendar on the wall. It's August 6th.

"You want me to follow him around until January?!"

"It's what they want, sweetheart. You're going to be at their beck and call until this is done."

"Fucking great." She says under her breath. Hopefully, the nanny can travel with her to what she assumes will be Vegas and then Tennessee.

"When do I start?"

"They need you in Vegas this weekend."

"FRANK. IT IS TUESDAY."

"I'm sorry; you know how these kinds of things go." She huffs and gets up out of the chair to walk out.

"Grace, just be careful. He's apparently pretty difficult to work with. Keep your distance." Frank looks at her softly. He's been somewhat of a father figure to her since she started at the company.

"Oh, don't worry." She says as she walks out. "I want nothing to do with Elvis Presley."

******

"You're doing the book, my boy." Colonel Parker says firmly. Elvis slams his Pepsi on the table.

"No, I'm not." He glares at the Colonel.

"This will make it snow for a long time to come, boy."

"I don't care. I'm not telling some stranger about my personal life. It ain't happenin'." They stand in opposition for a while. Elvis knows he will eventually give in because he trusts the Colonel to make the business decisions, but he wants it known that he is not a fan of this idea.

"Can I at least bring the ghost writer in for you to meet? It might change your mind."

"Fine. I'll meet the guy. But this doesn't mean I'll do it." The Colonel walks out to the little lobby where Grace is sitting and asks her to follow him.

Elvis is looking out the window thinking about what it would mean to have someone write about him. There is so much going on in his life right now that he doesn't want the public to know. Telling it all to some stuck up, big city guy in a suit is about the last thing he wants to do.

"Here is the ghost writer." The Colonel says to get him to turn around. He does and has to hide his shock.

She's a woman.

And not just a woman. An attractive woman. Maybe a little old for his taste, and probably married, but it'll be nice to have something to look at through this ridiculous experience. He's thankful for his sunglasses as he runs his eyes over her from top to bottom, taking her in. Her almost-black hair is tied up with a forgotten pen shoved in the top of it and her black-rimmed glasses make him think of a librarian. She'd be more attractive if she'd unbutton the top few buttons on her shirt and reveal more of her olive skin, but he likes the way her brown pencil skirt hugs her hips. He also can't help but notice her calves and ankles, wishing he could see the rest of her legs and feet without the heels she's wearing.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Presley." She extends her hand to him awkwardly.

"Oh, you can call me Elvis, honey." He puts on his normal charm and takes her hand.

"Please don't call me honey. My name is Grace Dubois." He's a little caught off guard by her chill and he pulls his hand back quickly. He's not used to women who don't fall into giggles or tears or screams in his presence.

"Okay, Grace Dubois. So you want to write a book about me?"

"Not particularly. But it's what I've been assigned to do." He suppresses a chuckle. He likes her spunk, but he's still annoyed at the idea of her writing about him.

"Come sit with me. Let's get to know each other before I agree to do anything." He walks over to a little couch and pats the seat beside him. She sits in another chair on the other side of him instead. He sighs and turns to face her. Her attitude was cute at first but now he's getting irritated by her refusal of him.

"If you're gonna be learnin' all the intricate details of my life, I think I'm entitled to some information about you too."

"What do you want to know?" She answers curtly, hoping he won't ask too much.

"Well, are you married?" He doesn't see a ring on her finger, so he has to ask.

"No."

"Divorced?"

"No."

"How old are you?" Now she's getting really annoyed and he can tell.

"I'm 35, but I'm not sure that's pertinent to our task here, Mr. Presley." She's older than she looks. He would've guessed somewhere between 27-30.

"Call me Elvis, please. I'm just tryin' to gather some background information. Wait, you're 35 and you've never been married? What's wrong with you?" Her eyes flash with anger and her cheeks turn red. He realizes he's gone too far, but it's too late now.

"What's wrong with me? I've been focused on my career. You married a girl 9 years younger than you. What's wrong with you?" She asks, crossing the line with him too. He feels his anger rising as well.

"There ain't nothin' wrong with me, honey. You're the one that's been too busy workin' and actin' like a man to find one!" Her mouth drops open. He instantly regrets saying it when he sees that her eyes get glassy and wet.

"I don't think this is going to work out, Mr. Presley." She stands up and turns to walk out.

"Call me Elvis, please." He curses under his breath when he realizes she's headed to the door. "Wait, honey don't leave, I'm sorry."

"Don't call me honey, Elvis!" She turns back to him and hollers as she opens the door. She slams the door and he hangs his head and sighs deeply. The Colonel is not going to be pleased.

******

What an unimaginable ass. Once the door is closed, she stands in the little lobby breathing heavily and trying to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. She always cries when she's mad and it drives her crazy. Colonel Parker comes around the corner when he hears that she's walked out.

"What happened?"

"Nothing. He's an asshole." She knows she shouldn't say it, but she's still pretty worked up. The Colonel sighs and shakes his head.

"I'm sorry. I'll talk to him."

"Do whatever you want. I'm leaving. I'll send a new author as soon as possible." She gathers her purse and heads for the elevator. They've paid for her to stay here at the International, so she heads straight to her room.

She left Wendy at home with the nanny while she's in Vegas for now, so it's just her in the suite. When she gets there, she kicks off her shoes and lays down on the big bed. She finally lets the tears from the afternoon fall, getting makeup all over the pillowcase. But she doesn't care. She just wants to go home.

******

"What did you do to her?" The Colonel hisses.

"Nothing! I just... I asked why she wasn't married."

"My boy, how is that any of your business?"

"If she's gonna ask me a bunch of questions and follow me around, I should get to know about her."

"That is not how this works." Elvis nods his head. He knows he's messed this up. He thinks about her dark eyes and how they were full of tears when she left him. He didn't mean to make her cry.

"I'll fix it. I'll get her back here and do the damn book." The Colonel smiles and claps him on the back.

"I knew you would, my boy!" Elvis drops into the chair she had been sitting in and looks out the window again.

******

When she wakes up the next morning, Grace's plan is to head straight for the airport and get the hell out of this town. Instead, there's a knock on the door. When she opens it, all she sees are flowers. The hotel attendant can barely carry the vase as he stumbles in and sets it on the table in her room. It's an obscenely large arrangement. He laughs.

"Someone has an admirer." She gives him a couple of dollars as a tip and he ducks out of the room. She most certainly does not have an admirer, so she grabs the card quickly and rips it open.

"I'm sorry. Please come back.

- Mr. Presley"

She rolls her eyes. Surely he doesn't think this will work. Then again, it would be easier to just do the job than to try to argue with Frank or the higher ups about why she won't.

And it is the slightest bit charming that he signed it "Mr. Presley" after their conversation yesterday.

Maybe she'll just let him call her honey.

******

There's a soft knock on the door and Elvis gets up and walks to it, opening it slowly. He was hoping it would be her, for his own sake, after he promised the Colonel he would fix it.

He takes her in again as she walks past him. Same hair and glasses, no pen this time, but she has on light blue bell-bottom dress pants and a pinstriped button down with the sleeves rolled up. Again, he wishes she'd undo the top buttons and kick her shoes off, but he's not sure why. She is not his type at all.

"So you decided to come back." He says it playfully, trying not to push her too hard.

"I did. My editor didn't give me a choice." She lies a little, not wanting him to get the wrong idea. "Thank you for the flowers."

"You're welcome hon- uh I-I mean, Grace." She actually smiles at him and he's a little stunned, both by the fact that she smiled and how beautiful she is when she does.

"I was rude yesterday. I shouldn't've asked those damn questions."

"It's nothing. Let's just try to start over." He nods and sits down in a chair, gesturing for her to sit in the other one. He knows better than to attempt the couch this time. She sits in the chair and pulls a small notepad from her bag. She reaches up to her hair to grab the pen but it's not there.

"Ah, damn." He suppresses a chuckle at the endearing scene and reaches over to the table and grabs a pen that's sitting there. He hands it to her and she clicks it, ready to take notes. They both sit in silence for a bit.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say here." He opens his hands awkwardly like he has nothing to offer.

"Well, start with telling me why you want to have this book written."

"I don't."

"Okay. Well, what are you trying to say with the book? What message do you want to send?"

"No message. I don't want the damn thing written at all." She sighs and puts the pen down, looking up at him.

"Then what are we doing here, Elvis?"

"Hey! You called me Elvis." He smiles warmly, and for the first time, she notices that he's actually quite handsome. She shakes her head a little and tries to refocus.

"I was brought here to write some kind of book about you. I doubt they're going to let me leave until I do. So you're going to have to tell me what you want it to say." He turns and looks out the window, not sure what to do. He knows he's going to have to tell her something, he's just not sure what. Should he talk about Vegas? Priscilla? The international tour that might never happen?

She's surprised by how quiet he is when it comes time to talk about himself. She figured he was arrogant enough to have no trouble gushing about how great he is. But this is something different. He seems almost shy.

"How about this: start at the beginning. Just tell it to me like a story and I'll ask questions when I need clarification."

"At the beginning? You want to know about all that?"

"I'm not a journalist, Elvis. I'm not here to print your dirty secrets in as few words as possible. I'm an author. I want to tell your whole story in a way that lets people know you the way you want to be known."

He searches her face for evidence of manipulation or mockery and finds only sincerity. That's something he's not used to in the slightest.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"You obviously don't like me. Why do you care what story I tell?" This is a deeper conversation than she expected from a washed-up rock star.

"Because I'm an artist, Elvis. When you do a show, even one you don't necessarily want to do, you do it well don't you?" He nods.

"I know what you're sayin'." There's a strange moment of connection and understanding between the two of them, maybe even mutual respect.

He takes his sunglasses off and pulls a cigarillo out of his pocket.

"Is this going to bother you?" He asks as he lights it.

"Not as long as this doesn't bother you." She takes a cigarette out of her purse and leans forward for him to light it. Then, she picks up the pen to take notes again.

"I recorded my first song for personal use. I never intended to release anything..."

******

Stay tuned for chapter 2!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @elvisfatass @elvisalltheway101 @ashtag6887 @aliypop @your-nanas-house

Want to be tagged for this series? Let me know!

[babyleostuff]

For a prolific writer like you ( and I know you've got mad skills because I like a stalker went through your blog and with each ask you write good stuff, hitting the feelings right and all) do you have a book recommendation? Your discography of writing is so vast and profound and for each character ( and we all know there's 13 reactions you have to nail every time ,)you must have read an ocean fill to be deeply inspired to write this well.

Sincerely how the hell do you nail quality WITH quantity this well ?

In other words... you're Uhmazeing

first of all THANK YOU SO MUCH this literally made me go 🥰🥲🥳😍💜🥹. complements like these always make me shed a tear (in a good way ofc).

AND DO I HAVE A BOOK RECOMMENDATION??? OH HONEY I DO!!!! (literature and writing are basically my whole life).

you didn't specify which genre you're interested in so let me give you some options <3

CLASSICS

picture of dorian grey, dracula, psycho, animal farm, pride and prejudice, little women, the handmaid’s tale

CRIME/ MYSTERY

the only crime and mystery i enjoy reading is sir arthur conan doyle and agata christie, so sherlock holmes and hercules poirot is just chefs kiss (and their books are such wholesome, short, to the point novels that i can’t imagine someone not liking them)

if i had to pick my fav tho „then there were none” has to be one of my all time favourites, it’s so so good

FANTASY (ISH)

the song of achilles, the invisible life of addie larue, a court of thorns and roses, electric idol + radiant sin, the ex hex, kingdom of the wicked, these violent delights, serpent & dove

SPORTS SERIES

(F1) dirty air [don’t get discouraged by the first book], (hockey) off-campus, (american football) the wall of winnipeg and me [not that huge fan of this in particular, but idk maybe you like american football]

OTHERS

the housekeeper and the professor, a little life, the secret history, if we were villains, a dowry of blood, little fires everywhere, radio silence + loveless

TIK TOK (it hurts me that a genre like that even exists)

twisted series, check & mate + the love hypothesis, the spanish love deception, love redesigned (an actually good tik tok(ish) book), kings of sin series, dreamland billionaires series, archer’s voice

i think that’s the best i can do for now (and i realise that not all of those recommendations are masterpieces and classics of literature, but sometimes you just need a book with bad writing and poor plot).

i hope you’ll find something for yourself! 🫶🏼

[kaija-rayne-author]

Review 10.3 of Dragon Age Veilguard

74 hours in, 72 playtime

Obligatory disclaimer, feel free to jump to the cut if you've read it.

Something came to my attention. I need to make it crystal clear that I utterly love the diversity in DAV. It's fantastic. I'm also a heavily left leaning, non-binary, queer as fuck reviewer, editor, and author.

I'm on media blackout while I play this, so I'm only getting second-hand info on how awful it is right now in the DA Fandom. Please be safe and take care of yourselves. Arguing with incels and white supremacists is completely pointless. They sea lion worse than an actual sea lion. Your mental health is important.

Though, every single time the anti-queer brigade comes out for a new DA game, I sit there thinking 'have you bozos ever played any DA game, like, ever?' My guess is nope.

Spoilers for Dragon Age Veilguard

Section 10.2 here.

So. I didn't want to play tonight, didn't really have the energy. But I legitimately fear if I don't play for even one day, I'll drop it and not come back. I have ADHD, its a strong possibility, and I still want to see what happens in the story for myself.

I hereby announce that I am, in fact, Eating Crow. Game Lucanis is way better written and developed than in his intro story.

And Lucanis did let Emmerich help, after all. Plot hole taken care of.

That's it? That's all we get about The Titans? After all the previous foreshadowing, we get a single companion quest to find out and resolve (completely unrealistically) the entire issue of The Titans? Are you seriously kidding me?

I need a stronger word than flabbergasted.

Discombobulated. I'm discombobulated at the sheer level of mishandling so many incredibly important aspects have been treated to in this game.

Yes, it's nice to get confirmation about my guess to the history of Titans and Elvhenan... but are you seriously fucking kidding me?

Lucanis talks about coffee more than we get something as important as the Titans settled.

Anywaaaay.

Called it on the identity of the Gloom Howler. And the 'reason' for Isseya to be doing the exact opposite is 'she's been driven mad by 400 years of guilt for following orders'? Edit, it's been pointed out she's suffered the blight for 400 years, too. The blight, in the Lore, basically makes creatures start digging out dragon/arch demons. Because all they can hear is 'the song'. There have been speaking hurlocks working for the benefit of the unblighted. There's the Architect, who keeps showing up and is sane. If directly opposed to anything mortals would want. There's no support in the Lore for blight making someone mentally ill. I truly just feel it's bad writing.

That is so over the top ableist I'm not sure if I can describe it in small enough words why we shouldn't say grief and guilt makes us fucking mentally ill in a dangerous fashion! There isn't a mental illness that I'm aware of that includes a person completely reversing deeply held, sacred beliefs so they do the exact opposite of what they've previously sacrificed so much for.

Crazy and mad both mean mentally ill. That's why calling Isseya mad or crazy is ableist. Isseya would protect those griffins, She’d very possibly steal them to protect them from the wardens. I could see where, out of fear, she'd decide that the Wardens weren't worthy of the griffins after all.

What I cannot see is her sticking a knife into the skeletal remains of a 400 year old arch demon dragon and actually finding liquid blood. That's some foolish jurassic park nonsense. Thinking maybe she got it from the blood marrow? That's dried and almost dusty within a century. Or turned to a rocky like consistency. I don't care how magical the creature those bones came from was, that's just not happening. It's ridiculous.

What I cannot see is her then using that to infect the griffins she fought so hard to save from that very fate.

Last Fall wasn’t my favourite of the books. But both the writer and the character Isseya deserve fucking better than what the end of her story will likely be. I can think of two ways that dumpster fire could be satisfactorily fixed, but I have zero trust in the Bioware writers anymore, so I highly doubt they're going either direction.

And outright stating that too much emotion makes us dangerously mentally ill... I've always said Bioware had ableism problems. I've said they need to hire diversity editors.

I'm utterly appalled that they thought that whole storyline was even remotely okay on any level.

So. Do I have this right?

The Evanuris did lots of bad things. One of the worst was severing the Titans and the dwarves from their dreams.

The Evanuris bound themselves to high dragons, blighting them, and they did this for more power.

The blight is somehow The Titans' or dwarves or both severed dreams? If that's the case, the blight should now be receding or cured because the Titans have been 'fixed'. In a completely unrealistic and ridiculous manner that does a disservice to the whole damned Titan Evanuris war, but hey. I'm used to bad, nonsensical writing. Especially in this game.

Solas made the veil to imprison the Evanuris? Bad side effects. Which, in the Lore, include the death of magic in THEDAS and the eventual death of the realm itself. But we're apparently conveniently brushing that under the rug of bad writing to drive through a story that makes no sense.

He tied the veil, their prison, into their life essences.

So the theory they seem to be going with is that by killing the arch-demon dragon, the Evanuris will become mortal.

They were mortal before they bound dragons to themselves for more power. Mythal was mortal. She was murdered. (Oopsie, even bound to her dragon.) But the Evanuris, the first elves, didn't age and were eternal. They could be killed, sure, but just regular living, even inside a prison, wouldn't have killed them. So why exactly would all the other Evanuris be dead? Just killing their dragons wouldn't have killed them. If they were somehow dead... Wouldn't that have thinned the precious veil that they've spent three games, numerous books etc. stating was thin and as full of holes as my grandmothers crocheted doilies?

Somehow, the veil is completely all better now and holding back a world of blight that never existed in the fade except maybe in the black city? We've been to the fade several times in this game and seen no blight.

How exactly is the blight the corrupted dreams of dwarves or Titans? Does that make any sense to anyone else?

Does that mean that Genlocks (blighted dwarves) dream?

And the veil is what separates the world and magic/dreams/world of spirits?

If the so precious veil is tied to the life energy of the Evanuris... and the veil was created to contain them... what exactly is going to happen to said veil when those Evanuris die?

Either I've figured out the end of the story, or found plot holes the size of Texas if they try to say that veil is still in place once Gilly and Eggy are dead. (Why again are there only two Evanuris left? Have we gotten an answer to that? That makes any sense?)

They've made the answers to everything too pat and yet so convoluted they're tripping over things they've said are fact in this very game.

I just... how? Why? What the actual fuck? How is the writing in this so reprehensibly bad?

I can write better stories in my sleep FFS. And have. One of my published novellas was a dream before I wrote it down. And at least everything makes sense in it.

Section 11 here.

[sunnysidesevenup]

Ngl after i asked that I just stared for a good 5 minutes cringing to myself ANYWAYS

Idk if you're much of a panic at the disco fan but. I was listening to a song when you posted your Tilly art (which looks great by the way I love it 👍) and it kinda made me think. Hm.... Man. Tilly kinda gives me the same vibes as this album they have called pretty odd.

I dont know exactly how much he fits the lyrics to some of the songs but the actual sounds they have. Like. They taste the same idk how to explain it they're very vibe-ful. Although part of this might also be that the album cover reminds me of Tilly somewhat as well? In a way I can't exactly describe? The colors speak to me. In ways I can't transcribe because it's a brain special 😞 (album cover for reference)

Some of the lyrics to their songs are somewhat nonsensical (but they mostly make sense if you're good with figurative language, I'm not that great most of what I know is from reading other people's descriptions) and iirc Tilly is partially based on the Mad Hatter, which is another reason I can make a connection. I tend to associate the mad hatter in particular with that whimsy wonderland way of speaking. Mostly though there's one song in particular that makes me think of Tilly, which is "The piano knows something I don't". It's hard to explain in one sentence so I'm gonna like. Make a paragraph for each set of lyrics in particular I wanna emphasize for Tilly. I'm so bad at explaining things but I hope this all kinda makes sense

"I won't cut my beard and I won't change my hair/ It grows like fancy flowers but it grows nowhere/ My hair, my hair." <- this reminds me Tilly mostly because of what it actually means. "I won't cut my beard and I won't change my hair" is meant to represent someone being resistant to change, or refusing to change themself in some way. "Flowers" in this case refers to bad habits of any kind. By using the word "fancy" to describe the flowers, it gives the impression that the "bad habits" in question are actually something that's desirable. The reason they're desirable is because the songwriter (Ryan Ross iirc) bases a lot of his lyrics off his own experiences, and by going through bad things is able to write more profound lyrics for his songs. So when you put it all together; His bad habits are something that can be good, because they help further his career and the music he makes. But by refusing to let go of them, he's also unable to actually grow and change as a person.

"If I could build my house just like the Trojan horse/ I'd put a statue of myself upon the shelf/ Of course, of course, of course." <- this one is kinda harder for me to connect, mostly because I don't really know how to interpret it? I don't think others really know how to interpret it either, but I'm gonna go with the best explanation I've found. "If I could build my house just like the Trojan horse" is obviously a reference to the Trojan horse, where Greeks gifted the Roman's a big horse as a "gift" that was actually filled with soldiers to ambush them. People seem to have mostly interpret this by taking the word house and seeing it more as an overall representation of the writer's life, and how his life is full of surprises- So, anyone who would enter and try to become part of his life wouldn't know what to expect. This reminds me of Tilly because he's a known liar, and as you said in your last post he even lies to himself. So, how could anyone else know what to expect if Tilly himself might not even know? "I'd put a statue of myself upon the shelf" is (I didn't fact check this) a reference to an old Roman practice where people used to put small statues of household gods on their mantle as a means of worship. So, the writer is worshipping himself as the God of his own household. This kinda reminds me of Tilly because of how you tend to portray him as someone with a large ego or high sense of self importance, hence him being the God of his own household

The first verse like..... Kinda hard to connect to Tilly, at least for me. I'm gonna try my best but. It's mostly written in reference to the writer's girlfriend at the time, who was a dancer. In the verse he compares her to things like smoke from a cigarette and steam, things that don't last very long. This is taken as foreshadowing that their relationship doesn't last very long, just like the smoke and steam. I'm gonna connect it to Tilly through the argument he had about playful land with Fellow- Not only does Fellow now work for someone that Tilly doesn't like, Fellow even said himself that Tilly is a burden. If Tilly is causing problems for the people he cares about, then whatever relationship he had with them isn't going to last very long.

The next set is kinda long so I'm just gonna explain the overall verse and cherry pick lyrics if I need too. "Everything's gone missing/ I've lost more songs to floods." In this line, "songs" could represent good things in his life, and by extension how they're disappearing from the writer's life without him knowing why. I don't really know how to connect this to Tilly it just feels right to me 😞 I can smell him in the lyrics..... he's there, he exists..... "The piano knows something I don't know." This line comes down to the fact that the writer plays most of his songs on a piano, and by extension also tells his stories to it. Therefore, since it knows most everything about him, the piano might know the answers to all his struggles, and if he plays enough songs on it he might figure out what those answers are. While I don't think that Tilly has any physical version of the piano in this case, I think it's kinda more of a mental thing if that makes sense? His only dream in life is to finally not have to scramble for money, and maybe one day after all he's been through, he'll finally figure out what the answers to solve his struggles is. Another interpretation that I like is how pianos are generally seen as something beautiful and likable to most people, but the writer doesn't find himself likable. "I've lost more songs to floods" can give the suggestion that he might be forgetful, and he even compared himself to old crows in the verse, something that would be weak and struggle flying. He's not confident in himself, and is therefore envious of how well liked the piano is. This reminds me of Tilly because of that one post you made where you talked about his personality more in depth and mentioned how he would rather die than let anyone know he was secretly a caring person, and how he himself genuinely doesn't see himself as a good person of any kind. While maybe not envious of others who could be good people, maybe it's more like if he was a better person he could be of actual help to all of those that he tries so hard to help already.

How I look try to make all the connections

NSXUSKMWJDJD anyways thank you for graciously accepting my ramblings. I was possessed by the yapping demons and you happened to post at the same time that I was listening to that song and I was like..... Wait a minute....

AMSHSNHSBSGSHSH OMGGGGGG THE ANALYSIS SKHSN losing my mind rn actually. adding this song to my Tilly playlist. Okay let’s talk about this song and lyrics now too because I’m gonna add my thoughts hehe. this is going to be an equally long post akshsnhsgs my bad

I actually think the first verse (the one about the writers girlfriend/the one you struggled to compare to him) is the MOST Tilly verse but in an interesting way. It compares the girl to not long lasting things like you mentioned, “She’s the smoke; She’s dancin’ fancy pirouettes. Swan diving off of the deep end/Of my tragic cigarette.” and this is just. SUCH a Tilly line. Mostly through the thought process that he fully believes he’s probably going to die young but wants to “enjoy” life, so it’s kind of a burn bright/burn quickest type deal. Actually a LOT of the songs I have for Tilly have similar comparisons!! I also give him a lot of songs that are about dancing/him being a dancer, both literally and metaphorically.

AND ALSO NOW YOUVE GIVEN ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT MY TILLY PLAYLIST. SINCE ITS LIKE THE MOST HONEST INSIGHT INTO HIM LMAOOOO

I’m going to separate this into sections and give each section it’s necessary trigger warning, so people can read what they want out of this lol.

FIRST: the foxglove songs:

These are just, the MOST foxglove coded songs possible. So let’s overanalyze them!!! cw for vaguely suggestive stuff in the first song.

I like to think that the verses are interchangeable about who is talking about who, but my personal favorite interpretation is the first verse is Fellow talking about Tilly, and the second is Tilly talking about Fellow. I think the first verse kind of speaks for itself so let’s talk about the second.

“You can’t tie me down / but you can tie me up” Obviously this could be seen as solely suggestive but I like the idea that this is Tilly actually lying, in an attempt to deny that he’s actually attached in some way. Also yeah, suggestive still lol.

“She on an ego trip / baggage in the trunk” << Tilly talking about Fellow during Playful Land. Following this up with “the love we make is poison / it’s like my only vice.” this is the ONLY person Tilly has ever gotten genuinely attached to, and it HURTS. He doesn’t know how to handle something like falling in love, thus “it’s like my only vice” when Tilly’s entire life is a complete mess. He considers falling in love the truly horrible decision among all the decisions he’s ever made. And in this case the “made me an offer I can’t refuse” in the chorus is about him coming to live with Fellow again.

The true part of this song that fits them so well is the chorus. “Pretty please come on over and ruin my life / take my hand while we dance on the edge of a knife” is SUCH a good line for them. Both of them equally consider the other as a large change in their lives, and while “ruin” is not the correct word it’s probably the sentiment that they would express.

Pork Soda is absolutely a song that fits them during their time separated from each other lol. I mean, just listen to the song and think about it from the view of Tilly thinking about him not seeing Fellow ever again, which is what he fully believes 😭 and then vice versa with Fellow thinking about Tilly.

I mean, they are very similar people on a certain level, which is why a lot of the songs I pick out for Tilly can be interchangeable as to who is talking. It’s something I personally like about them.

Honorable mention in this section:

^^ Tilly thinking about Fellow again.

CW FOR THIS NEXT SECTION: suggestive themes, abuse, SA, in general just nsfw themes so please skip if you’re not comfortable with that.

Now for songs specifically that I think fits Tilly’s trauma and/or survival methods.

This song fits perfectly for Tilly talking about/to every rich asshole he’s gone after to sleep with and then steal from. It’s both the things he’s saying to them (flattery) and his honest thoughts during it. Especially all the lines of reassurance (“you’re younger than my dad, it’s okay”) and the kind of smug aura about it. He’s having fun not because he enjoys any of it, but because he actually really hates them and he enjoys lying to them so blatantly and having them fall for it. I like that the song also makes reference to them being “evil” “I saw the devil in your eyes” because that’s definitely how Tilly views them. Like, I know that’s not really the intended interpretation of the song but lol I can twist the lyrics for my oc’s if I want.

Okay now this is the song for all of those trigger warnings haha,,,, ONCE AGAIN. TW FOR SA AND ABUSE. also blunt talk of some nsfw stuff

Obviously the intended purpose of this song is NOT meant to be depressing but, uh. Yeah I listened to it and I definitely think it’s a song that fits how Tilly ended up doing what he does now—in the sense that the lyrics are actually people talking to him, and then later he starts singing them back. Especially the “Nobody’s gotta know / you do it like a pro” Line just SCREAMED this interpretation to me.

I don’t go into depth about Tilly’s trauma surrounding this because obviously it’s a super sensitive topic but it IS a core part of his character that he’s experienced this and continues to. While, yes, what he does now is TECHNICALLY consensual he does not like the people he sleeps with, nor do they care what he wants during it anyways. And he did not start out doing any of this consensually.

It’s a bit depressing because ajhshshsh I really like this song but I can’t get this interpretation out of my head. Accidentally rewrote the intended purpose with my character lore 😭

OKAY END OF THAT SECTION. To get past the depressing stuff uhhhh here is just some more songs that fit him. I won’t ramble about them unless I’m asked because this is pretty long already lmao.

[buckets-and-trees]

Hi and happy weekend! I was wondering if you would be willing to open your creative process a little. You are publishing a lot of incredible stories at an amazingly fast pace, and I am curious about how you are able to keep both the quality and the quantity at this level?

Would you be willing to share what a typical writing week looks for you, and if you tend to finish writing any longfics before you start publishing them? How/how much do you typically edit; do you have a workflow of several steps including outlining, a first draft, and edit rounds, or are you more "go with the flow" type writer?

Anyway, you're an incredibly talented writer and amazing!

Stella, it's been a hot five minutes since you sent me this ask, but I'm finally here to pounce on it now! The past few weeks have been on and off with my brain energy, and I've been working to keep to my twice-weekly posting schedule with my self-imposed Countdown to Chris-mas and keeping weekly updates for Red, White & True, and I know those aren't mandatory things, but... even a posting schedule actually goes into part of the method to my madness.

THANK YOU for the compliments! I do know I'm writing a lot this year - mostly since summer - and it's absolutely not always that way. Plus there are people who I feel like write way more than me/more quickly, and I just have to remind myself that that's them and I'm me, and even my own muse has come and gone. From 2005-2008, I wrote A LOT of fanfic, then from 2008-2012 I wrote a little bit of fic here and there. In 2013, I started working on an original story concept more diligently than I had before.

Then I wrote two fics between 2014-2016, and then nothing until 2021. I dabbled just a little bit in 21, and then in 2022 I realized I had really lost almost all my hobbies, so I went on a journey to reclaim hobbies in my life. That summer I decided to start writing just an hour each evening - and that it was okay if sometimes writing was "writing" (rereading what I'd been working on, researching elements for my ideas, adding to an outline, writing down bits of dialogue or storylines that I didn't have a purpose for yet but that I liked the idea of). That got the wheels going.

I don't adhere to strict every night writing anymore, but I do write most nights. I now find it a way to really unwind while also indulging in the energy you can get from creating something. I also write a lot on the weekends. I have very little social life right now. It's half something I've chosen, half friends moving/getting married/having kids/some differences in political beliefs and our lives just drifting.

Long fics... The only chaptered fic I wrote a lot of in advance was Chosen, and that was because I'd written the story up through the content of chapter 5 and say how high up I was in the word count and hadn't even gotten to the main action yet, so... I decided to break it up into chapters and start posting. Devour and Warm Shadows I knew would be series, but I didn't write chapters in advance, only had an outline, and those both took a year to finally complete. Most of my series started off with only one story or drabble, and then I got an idea to go back to with a couple or AU.

The inspo? It can come from anywhere. Songs, watching a show or movie and liking that genre, experiencing something in my own life that I think should go into a fic... Sometimes asks have inspired story ideas. I also really enjoy participating in challenges! Some of my friends and mutuals around here host writing events and those prompts can be motivating and/or inspiring. Sometimes a bit of riffing with @vonalyn, @stargazingfangirl18, @biteofcherry, @witchywithwhiskey, @navybrat817, @vesearlee...

And then my actual writing? Not super organized. Some people use software or apps specifically for writing, and I'm just mildly ghetto and use Word, a private Discord server, and Apple's Notes app. Word is for actual writing. On my private Discord server, I've got channels for each thing I'm working on, and that's typically where I dump inspo (photos, links, etc), and sometimes I'll write actual story bits there if I'm typing on my phone (because I don't love Word or Google Docs typing on my phone). Apple Notes is where I outline because I can bring it up across devices from my phone to my laptop to my work desktop, which makes it easy to just dump an idea into the outline so I don't lose it and then can go back to whatever I'm doing. Sometimes my outlines have quick records of dialogue that I work out in my head.

OH MY GOSH, THIS GOT/IS GETTING SO LONG, I'M SO SORRY!

Last is just working on a schedule now. In summer 2023, I relized that I had signed up for three challenges AND was part of a community with monthly writing events AND had a few friends hosting writing events, and I realized that if I wanted to have any chance of getting done all the stuff I wanted to do, I needed to map it out - especially due dates and where I could double or triple up on common themes/ideas. It totally revolutionized how productive I was that summer. I'd never been that prolific, and I didn't hit EVERY goal or deadline, but I hit so much more than I would have simply because I made a plan. I like lists, I liked the challenge of trying to make the deadlines, and because I liked the ideas that I had dreamed up to try and make it all happen, it was a huge amount of fun.

That died off in the fall, and more in the winter. Spring this year I realized I really wasn't writing as much (and I did move/was busy February/March), so going back into summer, I thought about that again. I didn't make the elaborate spreadsheet list like I had in summer 23, but I had Hot Bucky Summer to get me back into that groove, and then I decided to do my own Countdown to Chris-mas thing since I felt like I'd done SO MUCH for Hot Bucky Summer and wanted to pay attention to the CEvans characters. The spreadsheet scheduling specifically came out again because I wanted to try and balance out the characters and new fics versus sequels in the schedule of posting.

Having the list now has been helpful in keeping my writing going because instead of trying to think about what I want to write, I just look at what I thought I wanted to write, and then go to the notes I may or may not have, and then type away at the story. I give myself liberal permission to switch things up - Viking Steve wasn't on the list for Chris-mas when I made it in September, I got the idea/itch for him on a Thursday night, thought about him Friday and Saturday, started workig on him Saturday/Sunday and then I think finished him late Monday night? And so he bumped Tattoo Ari and Curtis back a week and one of my other Steve ides off the 12 weeks entirely.

Lastly, you asked about editing. I like the spelling and grammar help in Word. I do tend to do a lot of re-reading when I'm writing, because I'm typically writing a chunk of story each day, so I have to go back and review where I left off from. I've worked with a beta/editor or sometimes just asked for someone to read something to check that it's on track only a handful of times in this fandom era (in my 2005-08 time, I had three beta readers who ended up some of my best online friends, and they whipped me into writing shape). Part of it is that I want this to be my hobby. I don't want to take too much of it too seriously. But some stories I either have some doubts/know I need feedback OR feel like it's so important to me that I want another set of eyes on it to make sure it's living up to its full potential.

tl;dr I am half planned, half vibes. I have a schedule right now because I want to sty on target in somehow trying to write all the ideas in my head. Ideas can come from anywhere for me. I'm enjoying the ride right now, but I don't expect it to last indefinitely.

And, genuinely, I decided to just brain dump my chaos because hopefully anyone else writing or thinking about writing sees that there's NO ONE WAY to write, even for one author.

OMG SORRY AGAIN THIS GOT SO LONG - probably could use an editor scenario here, but ASKS ARE FOR FUNZIES!

THANK YOU AGAIN, STELLA, FOR ASKING/SORRY FOR THE ESSAY YOU DIDN'T ANTICIPATE RECEIVING IN RESPONSE!!!!

[fragilefirstchance]

So, I don't usually like to write analysis of my own writing*, but my most recent chapter - Part 6, Chapter 10 - includes a thing that I've kind of been thinking about. The following includes spoilers! (*this is a very funny joke that my longtime commenters will laugh at, seeing as how about half of my responses include an HTML details tag with an analysis of my own writing)

Tourist Traps!Ford Pines + Religion

Spoilers below the cut.

Something that attuned readers may notice is that my version of Ford is abnormally... not angry. Like, he gets real mad and all, but after we cross his character turning point in part 4 or so, his main emotions are fear and sadness. This is in distinct contrast not just to Stanley, but also the TV show version of Ford.

Part of this is probably just my limitation as a writer -- I'm more comfortable writing fear than anger -- and part of this is because Will is the Anger Management Character™, but most of this is because of how I'm portraying Ford's emotional disorder. Basically, the entire story arc is about him coming to terms with his PTSD. The way I write him, anger was a trained response and not natural to his personality. This isn't out of nowhere. In supplemental materials that show the Stan twins as children or teenagers, Stanley is the hothead, and Ford is a lot more likely to withdraw in the moment and stew with a long-term grudge.

Tourist Traps Ford was a tearful, sensitive kid, and this was badly discouraged. The Pines family saw anger as an acceptable "manly" emotion and crying as unacceptable and "childish," so he had to learn to suppress most of his emotions aside from anger. When he becomes more mentally healthy, he unlearns this trained behavior: he becomes less angry and more sad.

That said.

As my very astute readers may have noticed, we do see genuine, unfeigned anger in Chapter 10 whenever we touch on one specific topic: religion.

Ford has complex/childhood PTSD. I don't think anyone is surprised to hear me say it. Moreover, he didn't realize that he had childhood PTSD until recently, and even then, he mostly contextualized it as the result of bullying instead of as persistent emotional abuse in the household.

The thing is, Ford was consistently treated as the "sensitive" kid -- and he was! He was sensitive! He did get upset over relatively minor infractions, he had trouble handling his emotions, he responded to conflict by becoming overwhelmed instead of responding directly to the conflict! That in and of itself isn't a problem. Those emotionsand behaviors are pretty normal and common, and if you're a kid who leans a bit sensitive, then usually it's helpful to have a trusted adult who will affirm your emotions, teach you to manage them, and help you understand which stimuli deserve your current emotional reaction and which ones don't. Ford didn't have that. Ford was consistently told that his emotions were unreasonable, to the point where he never formed a good mental framework for when it is appropriate to get upset.

This is where his atheism comes in.

When you always feel like your identity is under threat and are constantly trying to suppress the vague discomfort that brings, you can sometimes latch on to one thing that's a "reasonable" thing to be angry about. This is the one thing that, no matter how much people try to imply that your emotions are disproportionate, you know it's not just you.* (*Mind you, it doesn't actually matter if you're correct. You only have to know that other people could back you up. In fact, I think this is one place that bigotry can rear its ugly head: I was once gaming with a guy who people wouldn't listen to when he tried to say that their singing Disney songs was bothering him, so instead he implied that it was just a cringe thing women did. Sexism was his fallback because he didn't think his feelings had sway. Bigotry gives people a framework to discourage behavior. This is one of many reasons why people do heinous shit.)

For Ford, atheism is his "one thing." Ford is an atheist, and he knows other atheists who are intelligent and well-educated people, and he knows that religious people tend to act unfairly to atheists. He sees religion as an anti-academic superstition, which means that he doesn't feel the need to question that he's right and they're wrong. He feels confident that his atheism is a well-thought-out and defensible position. So, if other people want to steamroll over his thoughts and feelings in general, then he can't fault them; but if they want to attack his atheism, then he has it on very good authority that they're the ones in the wrong.

Ford can't fault his family for calling him weird, or saying his career is stupid, or saying he has no social skills. If they ask him why he doesn't have a wife he risks serious repurcussions for honesty. If he's quiet all dinner or won't eat the food or can't make eye contact, well, he's the one who's being rude. Yes, it makes him upset when Shermie treats him this way, but that doesn't mean Shermie is wrong. It just means that Ford is "sensitive."

But he's allowed to be an atheist, and if Shermie is a dick about it, he's allowed to be angry.

[aliypop]

Return To Sender : Chapter 4

Word Count: 2,123

Writers Note: Alright, here's part 4! @sissylittlefeather, you'll love this!

Warning: Language / SLIGHT SMUT

Pairing: POC OC x Elvis / OC x Jerry

Plot: It's 1968 and Natalya Dyer a divorcee and single mother is tasked to interview Elvis and Cecelia Presley at their humble mansion Graceland about their spicy relationship only to learn more about them as people.

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Taglist

@darkmoviesquotespizza

@sissylittlefeather

@richardslady121

@thegettingbyp2

@presleyenterprise

@dkayfixates

@rjmartin11

@thetaoofzoe

@your-nanas-house

@zayurir

@60svintage

@sillybookmarks

@leapresley

@everythingelvispresley

@dreamondina94

@elvismylove04

@pocketfulofpresley

@elvispresley1956

@poeandmoonknightgirl

Memphis August 1968

"Sorry, we're late..." Natalya whispered, walking up the steps to pick up her son. "No worries, Nat. Elvis and I were still up." Cecelia mentioned as she led her to Jesse's bedroom, "What were you two doing still up?" She didn't mean to say it, but it happened, "Reading, Sometimes Elvis has trouble sleeping, so I'll read to him until he falls asleep." Natalya nodded as she smiled. Every time the Presleys talked, she wanted to have just an ounce of their love for each other. "Was he good?" She asked as Cecelia smiled. "Perfect. Anytime we're here. And you want us to watch Jericho. You let us know." Cecelia winked, "You mean it?" 

"Nat, when you become a friend with us, you become family,"

"Really..." Cecelia nodded, 

"Next week, the girls and I are hanging around here for a girls night,"

"And Elvis?"

"He's having a boy's night, though sometimes we impose." She chuckled as Natalya smiled and hugged her. She finally found people who made her feel like she belonged, 

"Thank you for everything..." 

"Of course,"

"Say, could you keep Jericho next week, say. Friday?"

"You and Jerry, huh?" Elvis smirked.

It was Friday, and Jericho was running around with Elaine and Jesse as Cecelia had been writing songs and business proposals. "Hey, honey?" Elvis said as Cecelia looked up, "You're not still mad at me, are you?" Cecelia glanced at her husband and then saw the look on his face, "Disappointed, yes. But mad at you, no." She took his hand and kissed it,

 "I'm sorry I peaked and found the gift you got me..." 

"It's okay," Cecelia laughed, "I shouldn't have gotten so angry." Elvis kissed her cheek until they heard glass break, already knowing it had to be either Jesse or Elaine who broke it. 

"Jericho did it!" was all they heard as Cecelia laughed, "And to think we wanted a third child," Elvis commented. However, on Audobond, Natalya was getting ready for her night with Jerry, which a part of her had butterflies about, and the other part said he was just a good friend, that was until he knocked. Jerry was standing there casually with the summer wind in his hair. 

"I bought Rosé." He smiled,

"I have strawberry ice cream." She smiled. as he walked in. Her house was enchanting. There were pictures of her and Jericho, her degrees on the wall, awards, and such, 

"I see you're very accomplished," He mentioned, 

"Yeah! An overachiever." She mumbled,

"Nah, you're smart."He smiled, "I like that,"

"Uhm, so you hungry?"

"I could eat," Jerry smirked. She wasn't used to compliments anymore, as he could see, but she deserved it,

 "So, how was your day?" Jerry asked, standing in the kitchen with her,

"Well. Jericho said he wanted to be in little league football." She laughed, "So I said. Well, I don't know, bud," her hands moving with her words, "But Jericho looked at me with those sad little eyes and," She looked at Jerry as he laughed, "Am I talking too much about him?"

"You're good. I played football as a kid, so if he needs any coaching, I could help." He winked, and she felt her heart race.

"That's kind of you. Jericho also has this father-son day coming up and..."

"I'll be there. Elvis is going anyways, so." Her knees were weak as she struggled to open the can of marinara sauce, a knife in her hand as she tried to pry it open,

 "Here, let me." Taking the jar from her, he twisted the lid and gave it back to her. It had been too long since she had someone do that for her, "Thanks..." She blushed, taking a whiff of his cologne as she was dizzy with desire, but she couldn't. They were friends and nothing else. 

After dinner, they were in her living room watching TV and putting her articles together, "I was thinking for the cover we have Cece El." She smiled as Jerry agreed, "Yeah, I like that. They're rarely on a cover together," he smiled, drinking his wine, 

"Exactly, then... Open with their interview!"

"Nah nah nah, page 7 interview, make the people work to read it." He added, "Page one should be all about you as an independent magazine, your mission." Jerry smiled as Natalya nodded,

 "You believe in me?"

"With all my heart, kid." He turned to look at her. Her body was on fire, "I-I see..." She blushed, knowing it was the wine, "It's hot in here. You want ice cream! I need ice cream..." Rushing to the kitchen she made a bowl and plopped a heavy amount in as she stuck two spoons in it. Jerry was laughing, he could tell she was into him, and he knew he needed to up his charm. As she sat back down and placed the bowl down she felt something wet on her body as she groaned,

 "Great... I wasted the wine..." 

"Not really..." Jerry smirked,

"What do you mean?"

"I could lick it off you..."

"You wouldn't..." She felt his tongue on her neck, "Dare..." her voice was breathy. 

"I might..." His fingers fiddling with the zipper on her skirt as she tried to fight it, his scent wafting back into her nostrils as she bit her lip, her brain was on fire saying that they were friends until she felt his mouth licking the access wine off her stomach, slowly, her eyes focusing at how he was between her legs, 

"You like that, huh?"

"Oh, eat me..." She blushed,

"As you wish," He smirked, feeling how wet she was getting, taking her panties off her as his mouth was on her clit, "Oh God..." Her eyes closed, and her body melted in pleasure, she hadn't been touched in so long. It felt like heaven just to have him under her skirt. She could feel his tongue lapping at her slick folds and her back already arching up to give him more access.

"Fuck... Jerry..." his fingers were inside her, plunging into her gushing wet cavern as he twirled his finger across her G-spot, causing her to writhe in pleasure, her legs shaking as if he'd had fucked her entirely, 

"J-Jerry!"

"Hmm..."

"Right there!"

"Like this?" Speeding up his fingering as he heard her gasp and mewl and moan, his thumb twirling her clit as he could hear her getting closer, 

"Baby, please!"

"Baby, huh..." That southern smirk on his face as he brought her to climax, crawling over to her to kiss her lips. The kiss was drunken, needy, wanting, yet savory as he bit at her lip, 

"Pants off now..."

"Hmm?"

"Now..." She smirked as he winked, Jerry could feel his pants tighten at the tone of her words, as he watched her lick the spoon covered in ice cream Jerry could tell right away what she wanted, taking him from his pants, Natalya had a tinted blush on her face as Jerry giggled, he felt like a schoolboy again,

 "What's funny?" She asked,

"Watching you blush." He grinned, "Nervous?"

"I know what I'm doing..." Natalya smirked, taking him in her mouth as she felt him hit the back of her throat a little,

 "Let me adjust for you." He moved as she tried again, Jerry groaned as he felt the cool sensation of the ice cream on his shaft, she could taste his skin and the strawberry as she bobbed her head in rhythm to whatever song was playing on the TV commercial in the background. Jerry held her cheek as he felt her tongue on the tip slurping around the base, her eyes focused on him as he bit his lip. Natalya could feel him throbbing between her lips the more she slurped and popped, she was driving him crazy, and she knew it.

 "Nat~" He moaned, his eyes fluttering as her hands twisted around him, she could feel him getting closer, and pulling away she added more ice cream in her mouth to hide the salty taste on her tongue. 

"Shit... Did you just..."

"Mhmm..." She winked,

"Damn you, Dyer." He laughed, 

"You started it, Schilling..." 

"So, uh... advice?" Natalya asked. It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon with Rosa, Daphane, Carlotta, and Midge as Cecelia was in the kitchen grabbing drinks, "On what?" Midge wondered,

"Yeah on what?"

"So... You all know Jerry and I have been hanging out," Natalya said as Rosa giggled,

 "Goodluck I dated him and-"

"You messed it up by going back to Scotty..." Midge added, "Continue Nat," 

"Well, do friends lick wine off you and then give you mind-blowing head..."

"NO!" Cecelia interjected, 

"Says the girl who said Elvis's cocka-cola fell inside her back in 55..." Carlotta grumbled, 

"You're just jealous..." Cecelia huffed, setting down drinks, "Mai-tai, an old-fashioned, metropolitan, and a lemonade for me." 

"Y'all ever get drunk, and land with your face in some really good muff..." 

"No..." Joe looked up from his beer as Red and Sonny laughed, Charlie blinked and Cheryl smirked, "Yes..."

"Jerry what the hell..." Elvis sighed, drinking his Pepsi-cola almost as if he were disgusted, "Two things E, ice cream blow job." Jerry smirked as Elvis blinked at him, "Oh come on E, the number of times I've walked in on you and Cece on set,"

"Well was it with Nat..." He asked as Jerry's smile widened, "Hell yeah, my boy, my boy," Elvis smirked. 

"I mean it kinda fell in my mouth..." Natalya blushed, "Sure it did." Cecelia laughed as the rest of the girls did, "But, it felt so good like I need more of it."

"Southern men are like that," Rosa added as Daphane agreed, 

"Really?"

"Married nine years with two kids, yes." Cecelia chuckled as Carlotta sighed. It wasn't that she didn't like this talk. She just didn't like her talking about Elvis,

 "Carlotta, you okay?" Rosa asked

"Yeah..." She nodded in response, 

"So, I invited Jerry to the kid's father-son lunch," Natayla smiled as the girls grinned, 

"And..." Midge smirked,

"He invited himself. I know I keep saying Jerry and I are friends but..."

"But E, There's something about her," Jerry smiled, "She's so amazing, and I wanna do anything to keep her happy," Jerry said as Elvis nodded,

 "Well, then do so." He shrugged. The men then stopped talking as they watched the kids playing football. Jerry watched Jericho who was struggling as he walked over to him, 

"Jesse I'm not good at it ok..."

"Yes, you are." Jesse smiled,

"No, he's not." Elaine teased holding the ball, 

"Is too!"

Is not!

"Is too!"

"Hey, what's going on here?" Jerry asked squatting to their level, 

"I'm not good at football." Jericho pouted, "So, you're gonna quit before you start?" Jerry asked as Jericho shook his head in agreement, 

"No, see things like this take practice..." He smiled, 

"They do?"

"Yes, Jesse they do."He sighed as he then turned to face Jericho, "Listen, we don't give up okay, no matter how hard anything is, we don't give up."

"Okay..." Jericho nodded,

"So you know RCA's having a gala and-" Cecelia paused as she looked out in the backyard and saw the boys playing football, "Did Jerry just tackle Elvis..." Cecelia turned to look at Natalya, "I find that attractive..." Natalya smirked, the two walking outside to watch, "FOUL!"

"What Cheryl that ain't a foul!" Elvis grumbled,

"That's ten points to team Hound Dog," Cheryl smirked, 

"Yes!" Jericho grinned high-fiving Jerry, 

"You two wanna be cheerleaders?" Elaine asked 

"Sure why not!" Natalya smiled, the rest of the women stood by the fence and watched, the final round was getting heated, and team Tiger Man was losing horribly, "Okay team, here's the play, Jericho you're going to take down Charlie, I'll throw the ball and Jesse..."

"I'm gonna take down my papa,"

"Exactly,"

"What if I can't..." Jericho got nervous, "Then be like Joshua and take down that wall..." Jerry ruffled up his hair as he laughed, 

"Okay," Jericho winked. The game was getting intense the girls were worried as Elvis twisted his ankle and Jerry on the ground, it was left to Jericho to sprint the ball to the other side, 

"GO JERICHO GO!!!" Natalya shouted as he carried it to the other side, 

"I DID IT! MAMA! MR. JERRY I DID IT!" Jericho grinned as Jerry picked him up on his shoulders "Yeah you did!" Jerry smiled, Natalya's heart fluttered as she almost kissed Jerry,

"Honey!"

"Oh, dear are you okay!" Cecelia ran to help Elvis up, "Mmhmm, Spranged my damn ankle," He sighed,

 "My poor baby." She grinned, "Can I get you anything..."

"A bath with you in it..." He winked, 

"Are they always like that..." Natalya whispered,

"Yeah..." Jerry laughed, 

CHAPTER 5 MAYHAPS?

[eisforeidolon]

Yes, when the actors are doing cons (or interviews), it's a performance and so they may very well exaggerate or even lie. The problem is that some people in fandom - definitely hellers, but not just them - will take that and run with it to the point of 'everything I want to believe is true and everything I don't is a lie!'.

Of course there are some things we can't know how true or not they are, but the reasonable way to evaluate has nothing to do with personal biases and making up justifications why an actor is only being 100% truthful when they say the things you like. There are a number of questions we can ask to more objectively consider the relative truth value of a statement.

Let's take Misha's claim that RC's song Watching Over Me is about Castiel as our obvious example.

First question is, "What was literally said?" Fandom tends to share their interpretations of what was said instead of facts, so the first check is to see what literally came out the actor's mouth. He did more or less say that, but he claimed Jensen told him one of the album's songs was about Castiel but he had no idea which one. It was fans who filled in the blank of what song it supposedly was. It's also reasonable to consider that Steve talked in a stream about writing most of that song and referred to something else as the inspiration.

Second question is, "Does it make sense given what we otherwise know?" While songs about fiction are sometimes a thing, does it sound reasonable Jensen would write not a song about some other media he's a fan of, not a song about his own character or the show as a whole, but a song about Castiel? Considering how he actually talks about Castiel in the show as a sometimes brother sometimes tool side character outside the main focus of Sam and Dean? Considering his visible annoyance when shippers try to make everything he says about Castiel and their ship, and how he has explicitly stated multiple times he did not play into that and doesn't see it as part of Dean's story? Does it make any sense that if there was a song about Castiel, Misha wouldn't know or care which one? No, it makes no sense outside of heller fantasies that Jensen is an obsessed teenage fan girl in lurve with Misha just like them.

Third question, "How generally reliable has the source been on the past, and what would they get out of lying?" When we tell a story, details can get mixed up in but if there's underlying truth there, the fundamental point of the story isn't going to change and other involved people will agree as to its general truth. Sometimes fans want to quibble over and dissect minor discrepancies when they want to find quote unquote lies, but with Misha? That's not really a factor, because he will completely change his story from con to con and he will frequently be contradicted by other involved parties. Examples: When he both said he knew and didn't know he was coming back in season seven. When he claimed Jimmy was going to be at the Roadhouse in the original finale script as a fakeout that Castiel was there, then changed to it being actually Castiel there for a reunion. When he said Jensen and the writers were playing into D/C back in the earlier seasons and Jensen and Singer both said that was bullshit. What would he get out of lying? The vast majority of his fanbase have made it clear they only care about him and Castiel in regards to shipping him with Jensen/Dean, and they will blindly believe whatever validates that and get mad at everyone else for what he's told them is totes true. It's happened over and over for years. So Misha is grossly unreliable, has a history of dishonest pandering on this subject in particular, and definitely has reason to lie and think he'll get away with it.