#I'm sure no one will read all of this but here it goes

[metanarrates]

Hello. Sorry if this a stupid question u can ignore if u want.

How can someone get better at media analysis? Besides obviously reading a lot.

Im asking this bc im in a point where im aware of my own lack of tools to analyze stories, but i don't know where to get them or how to get better in general. How did you learn to analyze media? There's any specific book, essay, author, etc that you recommend? Somewhere to start?

I'm asking you because you are genuinely the person who has the best takes on this site. Thank you for you work!

it sounds like a cop-out answer but it's always felt like a skill I acquired mostly thru reading a ton, and by paying a lot of attention in high school literature classes. because of that I can't promise that I'm necessarily equipped to be a good teacher or that i know good resources. HOWEVER! let me run some potential advice to you based on the shit i get a lot of mileage out of

first off, a lot of literary analysis is about pattern recognition! not just pattern recognition in-text, but out-of-text as well. how does this work relate to its genre? real-world history? does it have parallels between real-life situations? that kind of thing.

which is a big concept to just describe off the bat, so let me break it down further!

in literature, there is the concept of something called literary devices - they are some of the basic building blocks in how a story is delivered mechanically and via subtext. have you ever heard of a motif? that is a literary device. it's a pattern established in the text in order to further the storytelling! and here is a list of a ton of common literary devices - I'd recommend reading the article. it breaks down a lot of commonly used ones in prose and poetry and explains their usage.

personally, I don't find all the literary devices I've learned about in school to be the most useful to my analytical hobbies online. motifs, themes, and metaphors are useful and dissecting them can bring a lot to the table, but a lot of other devices are mostly like fun bonus trivia for me to notice when reading. however, memorizing those terms and trying to notice them in the things you read does have a distinct benefit - it encourages you to start noticing patterns, and to start thinking of the mechanical way a story is built. sure, thinking about how the prose is constructed might not help you understand the story much more, but it does make you start thinking about how things like prose contribute to the greater feeling of a piece, or how the formatting of a piece contributes to its overall narrative. you'll start developing this habit of picking out little things about a text, which is useful.

other forms of in-text pattern recognition can be about things like characterization! how does a character react to a certain situation? is it consistent with how they usually behave? what might that tell you about how they think? do they have tells that show when they're not being trustworthy? does their viewpoint always match what is happening on screen? what ideas do they have about how the world works? how are they influenced by other people in their lives? by social contexts that might exist? by situations that have affected them? (on that note, how do situations affect other situations?)

another one is just straight-up noticing themes in a work. is there a certain idea that keeps getting brought up? what is the work trying to say about that idea? if it's being brought up often, it's probably worth paying attention to!

that goes for any pattern, actually. if you notice something, it's worth thinking about why it might be there. try considering things like potential subtext, or what a technique might be trying to convey to a reader. even if you can't explain why every element of a text is there, you'll often gain something by trying to think about why something exists in a story.

^ sometimes the answer to that question is not always "because it's intentional" or even "because it was a good choice for the storytelling." authors frequently make choices that suck shit (I am a known complainer about choices that suck shit.) that's also worth thinking about. english classes won't encourage this line of thinking, because they're trying to get you to approach texts with intentional thought instead of writing them off. I appreciate that goal, genuinely, but I do think it hampers people's enthusiasm for analysis if they're not also being encouraged to analyze why they think something doesn't work well in a story. sometimes something sucks and it makes new students mad if they're not allowed to talk about it sucking! I'll get into that later - knowing how and why something doesn't work is also a valuable skill. being an informed and analytical hater will get you far in life.

so that's in-work literary analysis. id also recommend annotating your pages/pdfs or keeping a notebook if you want to close-read a work. keeping track of your thoughts while reading even if they're not "clever" or whatever encourages you to pay attention to a text and to draw patterns. it's very useful!

now, for out-of-work literary analysis! it's worth synthesizing something within its context. what social settings did this work come from? was it commenting on something in real life? is it responding to some aspects of history or current events? how does it relate to its genre? does it deviate from genre trends, commentate on them, or overall conform to its genre? where did the literary techniques it's using come from - does it have any big stylistic influences? is it referencing any other texts?

and if you don't know the answer to a bunch of these questions and want to know, RESEARCH IS YOUR FRIEND! look up historical events and social movements if you're reading a work from a place or time you're not familiar with. if you don't know much about a genre, look into what are considered common genre elements! see if you can find anyone talking about artistic movements, or read the texts that a work might be referencing! all of these things will give you a far more holistic view of a work.

as for your own personal reaction to & understanding of a work... so I've given the advice before that it's good to think about your own personal reactions to a story, and what you enjoy or dislike about it. while this is true that a lot of this is a baseline jumping-off point on how I personally conduct analysis, it's incomplete advice. you should not just be thinking about what you enjoy or dislike - you should also be thinking about why it works or doesn't work for you. if you've gotten a better grasp on story mechanics by practicing the types of pattern recognition i recognized above, you can start digging into how those storytelling techniques have affected you. did you enjoy this part of a story? what made it work well? what techniques built tension, or delivered well on conflict? what about if you thought it sucked? what aspects of storytelling might have failed?

sometimes the answer to this is highly subjective and personal. I'm slightly romance-averse because I am aromantic, so a lot of romance plots will simply bore me or actively annoy me. I try not to let that personal taste factor too much into serious critiques, though of course I will talk about why I find something boring and lament it wasn't done better lol. we're only human. just be aware of those personal taste quirks and factor them into analysis because it will help you be a bit more objective lol

but if it's not fully influenced by personal taste, you should get in the habit of building little theses about why a story affected you in a certain way. for example, "I felt bored and tired at this point in a plot, which may be due to poor pacing & handling of conflict." or "I felt excited at this point in the plot, because established tensions continued to get more complex and captured my interest." or "I liked this plot point because it iterated on an established theme in a way that brought interesting angles to how the story handled the theme." again, it's just a good way to think about how and why storytelling functions.

uh let's see what else. analysis is a collaborative activity! you can learn a lot from seeing how other people analyze! if you enjoy something a lot, try looking into scholarly articles on it, or youtube videos, or essays online! develop opinions also about how THOSE articles and essays etc conduct analysis, and why you might think those analyses are correct or incorrect! sometimes analyses suck shit and developing a counterargument will help you think harder about the topic in question! think about audience reactions and how those are created by the text! talk to friends! send asks to meta blogs you really like maybe sometimes

find angles of analysis that interest and excite you! if you're interested in feminist lenses on a work, or racial lenses, or philosophical lenses, look into how people conduct those sort of analyses on other works. (eg. search feminist analysis of hamlet, or something similar so you can learn how that style of analysis generally functions) and then try applying those lenses to the story you're looking at. a lot of analysts have a toolkit of lenses they tend to cycle through when approaching a new text - it might not be a bad idea to acquire a few favored lenses of your own.

also, most of my advice is literary advice, since you can broadly apply many skills you learn in literary analysis to any other form of storytelling, but if you're looking at another medium, like a game or cartoon, maybe look up some stuff about things like ludonarrative storytelling or visual storytelling! familiarizing yourself with the specific techniques common to a certain medium will only help you get better at understanding what you're seeing.

above all else, approach everything with intellectual curiosity and sincerity. even if you're sincerely curious about why something sucks, letting yourself gain information and potentially learning something new or being humbled in the process will help you grow. it's okay to not have all the answers, or to just be flat-out wrong sometimes. continuing to practice is a valuable intellectual pursuit even if it can mean feeling a tad stupid sometimes. don't be scared to ask questions. get comfortable sometimes with the fact that the answer you'll arrive at after a lot of thought and effort will be "I don't fully know." sometimes you don't know and that can be valuable in its own right!

thank you for the ask, and I hope you find this helpful!

[reocidal]

stardust — r. itoshi

PAIRING: rin itoshi x fem!reader

CONTENT: actor au, fake dating, hurt/comfort, swearing, depressive spiral, might be ooc!!

WORD COUNT: 2.8k

NOTE: @choccorin i love u, enjoy!

it starts off pretty harmless, this agreement. you've known rin for a while now, the longest out of anyone he's in contact with in the industry these days, so it's obvious that he'll come to you when he needs help. in this case, the problem here is his fans.

rin itoshi shoots up to stardom out of the blue, all golden champagne and party streamers and hordes of screaming fangirls scattered (generously) around the globe. he's not a bad actor, not at all, but no one really expected him to be as popular as he is now.

not that he goes viral for his acting — not at first, at least. it's actually a low quality video posted onto twitter by a fan that does the trick; she doesn't expect her innocent six-second recording to break containment like this. but rin, with his pretty face and long lashes and perfectly fitted dark clothing, bathed in some gala's brilliant lighting, somehow manages to capture the hearts of a few million people that night. and when they find out that not only is he gorgeous, but he's also good at what he does? jackpot. the fame he's suddenly achieved is nothing if not terrifyingly overwhelming.

however, despite the massive growth of followers that he experiences overnight, you know that you'll always love him more. and that is precisely why you say yes to what he asks of you.

you remember that day embarrassingly well, down to the fine details, like how your phone's battery was at 37%, and how rin'd had a queer expression on his face, not really his usual deadpan look, but not really anything else either.

"date me," rin itoshi tells you.

"excuse me?" this isn't happening, right? you've been horrendously in love with him for a few years now; surely this isn't how things are going to go! but even then, you're not sure if fate is on your side or not, because he shakes his head and continues, and dashes all your hopes in an instant.

"i'm not in love with you or anything," he clarifies. "i just need a fake girlfriend so some of these crazy people leave me alone."

"ah," you manage to say. you should refuse, tell him to find someone else. you've read enough romance novels to know exactly how this plays out, and just how painful it'll be for you. not to mention the fact that he's literally just told you that he doesn't have any feelings for you, to your face. everything tells you to not do it, but when have you ever been able to say no to him? "sure."

his lips curve into the briefest of smiles as he hears your answer. "thank you. we'll discuss this later, okay?"

"sure," you repeat, ignoring the way your stomach does an unceremonious flip at his smile. he nods and gets up, and you watch him leave, leave you behind, just as he always has.

and so it begins.

the routine the two of you follow is easy to slip into; acting like you're in love with him isn't difficult either, especially when you are in love with him.

to his credit, rin treats you perfectly on his part. despite keeping you at arm's length off-camera, he treats you like a princess otherwise, apologising a few hundred times for the media outrage caused by the reveal of your "relationship". and while it does hurt to be so close, yet so far from the one thing you crave, the way you're getting to see a softer — although probably fake — side of rin, and how he's treating you almost makes up for it.

and inside, everything stays (almost) the same, perfectly platonic and unchanged.

and the fangirls (somewhat) die down out of respect for his new relationship, so that's good, too. keep winning, rin itoshi.

you're scrolling social media one day when you stumble upon a video that's slowly but surely gaining more and more traction. it's about you and rin — specifically, your relationship. the person speaking breaks down every (visible) aspect of it, and comes to the conclusion that the two of you must be gaking things. the thought of this assumption (although true) becoming more widespread terrifies you; the last thing you want happening is rin's career being damaged like this. he's barely in his twenties and there's still so much left for him to do. you can't let him lose just yet. so, with shaking fingers, you send the video to him. rin leaves you on seen, but the next time you're seen in public together he kisses you, and your relationship is viral again, and you question your friendship for the very first time.

another day, another rich-people party. it's the usual, really, for you and rin — even though neither of you are particularly fond of this setting — as the two of you linger in a somewhat secluded corner of the room. rin's hand rests lightly on your waist just in case anyone turns their attention to you, but his mind seems to be elsewhere as he stares into the crowd. a sudden flash of light catches your eye, and you whisper-yell at him urgently. "rin."

he doesn't react, eyes still blank and unfocused.

"rin!"

he blinks, realising that you're talking to him.

"yeah?" he leans down to hear you better, face dangerously close to yours.

"cameras," you hiss.

his brows raise ever so slightly in understanding. "okay. can i kiss you?"

"what?"

"for the cameras, obviously," he deadpans. "i saw the video; surely you sent it to me for a reason and not just for me to watch, right?"

"right."

rin's hand leaves your waist so he can cradle your face with both hands and angle your face up. there's a guarded look in his eyes, something you can tell he's hiding. you don't know what, though, and it's not like you get any time to even think when he finally, finally leans down to kiss you. every thought in your brain evaporates into stardust as he presses his lips to yours. in front of you, a camera shutter snaps, but you can't really find it in yourself to care when all you can think of, all you can feel is the press of his lips on yours.

it takes exactly twelve sleepless nights after this (you've kept count) and one (1) conversation with your best friend to realise that this whole fake dating thing is taking a — negative, obviously — toll on your mental health, even more so as the lines between platonic and romantic begin to blur.

you'd thought the relationship was just for show. so why does rin bring you flowers on a bad day, even when there's no media around to see? he treats you like his girlfriend at home too, now, and it confuses you. rin itoshi is not your boyfriend, so why are you always in his clothes? and what's with all the physical contact? not that you mind, of course.

he's just gotten too absorbed into this relationship, you tell yourself. he doesn't know what he's doing to you. but you don't speak up about it, either. you let it continue.

but regardless of whose fault this is, the uurt that grows within you stays raw and heavy. he just has to be the one thing you cannot have, and it really is impossible to not fall for his (unintentional) boyish charm and the quiet concern he displays — for you and you only.

it's a particularly rough day, even worse than usual — which is concerning, considering that almost every day in the past two weeks has been the exact same level of bad, when everything comes crashing down. it's been terrible from the morning and you haven't even gotten out of bed yet, even though it's almost three in the afternoon. you're drifting in and out of unconsciousness; everything around you and your thoughts and feelings are all coated in an uncomfortable haze.

a tentative knock on your door rouses you awake and you blink. why's there someone in your apartment? is this a break-in? who could it possibly— oh. rin.

your mind flashes back to a certain moment a few months ago, so fast it gives you whiplash. you're half-collapsed onto a bar stool by your kitchen counter, rin kneeling in front of you as he examines your bruised ankle.

"you should really be more careful," he murmurs, and your heart aches at the tenderness in his tone as he gently presses the icepack against the bruise.

cold seeps through your ankle as he holds it there, and eventually you wince; he must've gotten distracted and forgotten to pull away.

"i'm sorry, i'm sorry," he whispers, uncharacteristically nervous and breathless. the apology forces itself out of his mouth, words tumbling over each other in their haste. "did i hurt you?"

you shake your head, and although he sighs disbelievingly, he does not argue.

"how do i return your key?" he asks you as he's about to leave. you're a bundle of blankets on your sofa, unable to move, so he's locking your door for you. your best friend's coming to take care of you soon — she also has a key to the apartment, so you'll be fine. besides, it's an extra one, anyways.

so you take a deep breath and hope you won't regret it when you wave him away with a laugh and tell him to keep it. he nods, although expressionless, and says a simple, flat bye before he leaves. you wonder if you're delusional or if the tips of his ears really did turn red when you told him to take the key with him.

your best friend is halfway across the world right now; it's obvious that it's rin who's standing outside your bedroom door.

another knock. rin clears his throat, like he's about to speak; you narrowly beat him to it. "don't come in, i-i'm okay!"

"oh."

you cough a little as you speak, wincing at the dryness of your throat and how rough your voice sounds.

"you don't sound okay," he adds a moment later, painfully stiff. "you weren't answering your calls or anything so i got— i mean, i came to check up on you."

"i see," you respond quickly. why is it so awkward today?

rin clears his throat again. "are you sure you're okay?"

your throat tightens; you do not respond — you cannot respond. rin reads your silence perfectly, almost too well. he does not speak again, but you hear a single step (forward?) outside your door. and the doorknob twists, and the door creaks open.

you are buried in an unkempt mess of bedsheets and blankets. when rin finally sees you, his eyes widen.

you burst into tears.

rin has never been good at comforting people. today, he doesn't even know what's wrong. unsure of what to do, he just stares at you owlishly for a moment before taking a hesitant step in your direction. when you don't stop him, he moves closer. and when you nestle into his side as he wraps his arm around you, he deduces that he must be doing something right.

the warmth of his presence is unfairly comforting; you cannot help but lean into him, breathing slowly becoming calmer as his thumb rubs circles into your shoulder.

eventually you stop crying, though not without the embarrassment of having a whole entire mental breakdown in front of your beloved rin itoshi, about said beloved rin itoshi.

rin lets the silence stew for a second or two; you feel him swallow from where your head is now tucked in the crook of his neck.

"what was that all about?" he pulls back slightly, loosening his hold on you as you stiffen at his question.

oh. well, now or never, right?

"rin," you begin. "i don't think i can do this fake dating thing anymore."

"oh. why not?"

he's quiet, but there's no particular inflection or change in his tone.

you shrug. "it's not working for me anymore, i guess. too busy these days."

he opens his mouth to speak, then exhales slowly instead. "okay."

"cool."

"okay," he repeats. "then we'll end the agreement tonight."

"why tonight?" confusion colours your tone as you finally look up at him. when his teal eyes meet yours again, his lips twitch into a small smile.

rin works careful and methodical, starting the cleanup from one end of your room. technically he's still your (fake) partner, and you've done so much in the public eye — the amount of pictures of you and rin scattered across the internet borders on obscene — so surely you can let him do one little thing in private, right?

"let me do this for you, yeah? you've done so much for me these past few months, let me pay you back."

it's mortifying, but you let him fix up your room anyways. and when he leads you to your bathroom, you follow along obediently, watching as he fixes the water temperature and leaves you to clean yourself up while he prepares something for you to eat.

the hot water washes away a surprisingly large amount of the discomfort you've been feeling as of late, and it's like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders by the time you see rin again.

long-limbed 6'1" rin itoshi, dressed fully in shades of black and blue, rin looks incredibly awkward and out of place in your kitchen. it's a quaint little place, decked out in pink and brown hues, but a total contrast to him. it makes you let out a little huff of laughter, and you swear rin smiles when he hears it.

there's a plate of your favourite food placed in front of you; rin sits downon the chair opposite you.

"eat. there's something i want to talk to you about."

anxiety pools in your stomach — there's no way he knows, right? you should've never done this; you're no better than all those fangirls he'd been trying to get away from in the first place. and if he knows this, he— wait, is this his way of saying goodbye? it makes sense now — anyone would feel the same after a betrayal of trust like this.

he lets you finish eating before—

"i lied. to you. i'm sorry."

what?

he refuses to meet your eyes, gaze fixed on the table of front of him. the tips of his ears are very, very red.

"about what?" you manage to ask. this is not how you'd expected this to go.

"i, um." he's half-hiding his face with a hand; what you can see nonetheless is flushed, like he's running a fever. except he's not ill, just shy. really, what's happening? "i didn't need— fuck, i shouldn't have listened to shidou, i knew it was stupid!"

"rin?"

"ugh. i just— iaskedshidouforadviceandhesaidthebestwaytoknowifyoulikemebackisthisandi'msorryididn'tmeanforyoutogethurt—"

"wait, like you back? as in you like me?"

"oh." well, now that he's said that out loud now, what's next? he can't exactly take it back, can he? but to his surprise, you look pleased. like you wanted this. "um. yes."

"oh! rin, don't apologise!" you exclaim, much to his chagrin. (are you patronising him right now?) "i also have some explaining to do."

he cocks his head in confusion; you can see the question marks hovering above his head.

"you didn't exactly hurt me by fake dating me or whatever; i was sad 'cause you were sending me a bunch of mixed signals, y'know."

"huh? i was?"

"yeah? you said you weren't into me, but then you did all sorts of stuff that implied that you did like me."

"that's cause i do like you though."

you choke.

he seems to have regained composure again as he raises a brow at you. "you don't like me, though?"

"i do!" you squeak. "i've liked you this whole time— wait, you said it was shidou who told you to do this?"

"mhm, why?"

"he knows i like you, though!"

rin grits his teeth, pushing his chair back as he gets up. "no way, that fucking bastard… i'm going to go kill him right now."

"wait, rin."

he pauses. "what?"

"can you kiss me again, but for real this time?"

his eyes widen, just a little. "oh. okay. yeah."

when rin gets to your side of the table, he just stands there, staring down at you with unbridled adoration in his eyes, all the feelings that he no longer needs to hide. you recognise it now — it's that same look from the night he'd first kissed you. all of this almost overwhelms you, and in the end the only thing you can really muster up is a simple "hi."

rin smiles, fingers gently tilting your chin up. "hey."

and when he bends down to kiss you, it's even better than the last time. because this time it's real.

800 follower event.

© reocidal 2025.

[yumeka-sxf]

Relatively short new chapter today, but still a lot to unpack! While we didn't get a ton of Melinda lore yet, as the majority of the chapter was Loid saying things to try and win her over, I found it interesting to see insight into one of his "fake" therapy sessions.

As usual with all the conversations he has with people in his "Loid Forger" persona, if the topic gets heavy, he'll end up saying things that are, what I believe, what he truly feels. This is usually preceded by him dropping the forced smile and showing a glimpse of a more thoughtful expression, for example, in the below panel when Melinda comments on how strong and "lively" she thinks Loid and Yor are. He then goes on to tell her that there's no crime or shame in not being strong enough.

While it is debatable whether he's being genuine here or not, I can't help but be reminded of similar conversations he's had with Yor in the past...way back in chapter 14 where he told her how tiring it can be to put up a facade all the time. And then much later in chapter 86 where she tells him, in her own way, that he doesn't have to be strong and "perfect" all the time.

I'm probably reading too much into it, but it's just something that came to mind 😅 But on the topic of Melinda saying they're "lively," the word she uses in the Japanese version in 健全な ("kanzenna") which is more like "healthy, sound, stable, etc" (the first kanji is "healthy/strong," and the second is "whole/all.") So yeah, a slightly different nuance than "lively."

I also smiled when I saw that Loid still calls Yor "Yor-san" in his thoughts ❤️

It wouldn't be a SxF chapter with at least a subtle hint at something "darker" going on or has gone on...in this case, we hear a bit of Melinda's thoughts about the post-war time.

But the big shocker was obviously the final page where she claims that Donovan is an alien. I checked the Japanese version to make sure, and she does indeed use the term 宇宙人 ("uchuujin"), which is "alien" in the traditional sense.

Upcoming plot twist...this previous Endo art for short mission 10 will turn out to be canon 🤣

Joking aside, I don't think that Donovan is literally an alien, as mixing a truly sci-fi element like that into the world of SxF would be too jarring. So probably something that Donovan has done made Melinda come to that conclusion. As for what it is about him that that would make her think this is debatable - his involvement in science experiments/Project Apple? If he actually has the ability to read minds, is this the explanation she's come up? Or maybe he wants her to think this for some reason? There's also a theory that she doesn't actually believe he's an alien and is only saying it to test Loid in some way. Whatever the reason is, we'll have to wait until next time for more answers!

[chenlezip]

tell your friends ♡

PAIRING : fratboy!haechan x reader

SUMMARY : you tell your friends you hate him but you can't get enough.

WARNINGS : smoker!reader + smoker!hyuck (my baddd), swearing, not proof read.. idk what else ngl.. >_<

A/N : literally just got this idea because im listening to music while writing and.. chase atlantic came on, heard that line and thought, hell yeah i know what i'm gonna write. also lil smau? idk? im also really craving a sex on the beach now.. *lets out a heavy sigh* beggars can’t be choosers..

might make a part two, who knows? let me know :3 i just wanted to post this and see how it goes .

and… here you are, stood outside a random club waiting for your friends to come meet you. you were clad in a cute jean mini skirt, a bralette with a small cardigan on and knee high boots; obviously paired with cute accessories and having your hair done nicely, what if you saw a cute boy? you had to be prepared.

as you waited, you had a look at all the people who were heading inside, they were dressed just as good. i guess this club is where all the attractive people go, huh? you thought to yourself before you noticed one man who looked oddly very familiar. fuck, it’s haechan.

haechan noticed you out the corner of his eye as he waited outside with a friend, smirking and nudging the boy beside him, eyeing your direction. the boy looked over and noticed you, he looked stunned almost, immediately turning back around to haechan and whispering. you wondered what they were talking about but before you could go over, you heard karina screaming your name.

“y/n! oh my god!” she smiled as she ran toward you, engulfing you into a tight hug. it’s been a while since you’ve all seen each other so it was nice to finally get to hang with your girls again. “i’ve missed you guys so much, ugh.. you all look so good!”

“as do you!! i can’t wait to get fucked up tonight, i’ve already pre booked a taxi so do nottt worry~ i’ve got us covered, it’ll be coming 2am so we should leave early just to make sure we get it alright,” giselle explained to you all as you nodded in return, “i can give you some money toward it when i’m not wasted - just let me know, okay?” you smile as she shook her head.

“no need y/n, it’s my treat, come on!” giselle dragged you and the girls inside, sitting in a booth and scouring through the drinks menu. “i don’t know what to get.. everything sounds good,” ningning mumbled as she looked at the rest of you, “anyone know what they’re getting?”

“i’m just gonna get a sex on the beach - always my go to,” you spoke up as you waited for the others to be done deciding. once you all were, you ordered and had them delivered to the table, thanking the waiter who brought them over.

──── ୨୧ ────

you excuse yourself from the girls for a moment, wanting some fresh air and to light up a cigarette. you were dying for one and the alcohol in your system wasn’t helping your case either. as soon as you stepped out the club, you felt the night air hitting you and you let out a soft sigh. the wind made you feel a little bit more sober. you spark up a cig and place it between your lips, inhaling and breathing in the smoke. oh, how you missed this.

“got a spare?” you recognise that voice from anywhere. you gaze up and see haechan standing just opposite you, a lazy grin on his face as he stared you up and down. you just give him the one you were just smoking and spark up another. “thanks.” he says as he leans against the wall beside you.

“no problem,” you respond coldly as you look away, trying to find anything other than him to look at but you can’t help your eyes from wandering back.. he looked good tonight. his floppy brown hair was slicked back nearly, his golden skin glistening under the street light that was outside the club, a leather jacket and his white shirt adorning his body. you swore to yourself the last time you saw haechan that you still hated him.. but he knows otherwise and deep inside, so do you.

“still claiming you hate me then?” he eyed you, turning to lean on his shoulder now. you cough, “what?” you didn’t expect him to ask you that out of the blue. “you tell your friends you hate me but i know you can’t get enough, y/n, you’re not very secretive with it, huh?” he blew smoke out into the air. you focused on the way his lips parted a little, his jaw.. his adam’s apple.

you shake your head, “you’re seeing things lee donghyuck, maybe you should see someone for these delusions?” he just laughed in your face and threw his (your) cigarette to the ground, “yeah.. maybe i should, huh? but i won’t if you come crawling back again tonight,” he says before stepping on it to put it out properly and walking back inside the club. you go on your phone after he’s left and quickly type something on twitter, posting it to your private account.

you decide to head back inside and you just can’t seem to get your mind off of him, your eyes wandering around the club to find him. you see he’s got a pretty girl slung around him, she’s pressing her body up against him. never mind, you definitely hate him, why were you even starting to like a frat boy anyway? hello?

[bugbachelor]

when it comes to the Trix's looks the general fandom interpretation that Stormy is the least feminine style wise out of the Trix continues to baffle me. because there's a lot of things canon is very vague about, but this is one of the few instances where canon is doing the exact opposite and Yet it's still such a common interpretation

to be fair, i think people tend to take her more abrasive louder personality and then draw from it that she should also be the most practically and sporty dress wise in the group and so on

and as a hc it's whatever, it's just really one of those instances where it's clearly the opposite in canon and people seem to genuinely gloss over it, when it's arguably such a funny aspect of her character

Darcy is the one that's always dressed the most practical on top of her hippy inspired fit. she's the only one wearing pants, both in her witch and civillian outfit. (she also knows how to ride a hoverbike for some unexplained reason. which the winx had to slowly learn in s3. some not elaborated skill going on here)

Icy's style moves closer to the preppy, formal ranges, with her collared top - tight skirt - high boots look. the tied back (up) hair also helps. and also the cape. she's got a cape in her witch form, can't stress enough how much of a fashion choice that is on her part

and Stormy's look is just giving summer party. like, it is. you've got a lot of flowy and wrapped fabric, and her open heels (which are a statement piece when your entire power is wind and storms and your signature fighting style consists of rain, lightning, and tornadoes)

out of them Stormy is dressed the most feminine And impractical at all times. ranging from being completely committed to skirts/dresses to preferring the party club look when her whole bit is hostile weather

actually, it's not even just a Trix thing i think Stormy is just genuinely dressed kind of not occasion appropriate even for a witch in general

this is apparently the general cloudtower/witch fashion

and Stormy pulls up to the wannabe goth convention with her breezy, flowy summer fit with ribbons both on her skirt, top, And on her open toed summer heels. those especially are kind of a bizarre choice on her part, since the predominant fashion trend seems to be boots, ideally pointy. kind of a mix between what Icy and Darcy are wearing. absolutely no one is wearing sandals or even open heels, style wise they're much closer to something Stella or Flora tend to go for even

Stormy is just fully committed to her sunny weather fit which i kind of have to respect

but i'm also mildly intrigued about the why of it? is that her genuine style preference and she just gives absolutely no fucks about what's in or expected witch fashion in general? or is the perpetual good weather fit some inside joke to her with her powers literally being 'bad' weather?

logistically in universe though, would there be some line you shouldn't cross with how much your shoes can look like you bought them from the same store Stella goes to? especially with how image focused and competitive the cloudtower environment seems to be. or would her style just read as completely out of fashion at cloudtower and this is just current fashion trends? we'd never find out because even if people Would have thoughts about it they would definitely not be voicing it to a senior classmate that's one of Griffins top students and can summon actual tornadoes. at that point you really could just do whatever you wanted (which, i mean the Trix already do that)

the take away just ends up being that Stormy clearly doesn't care about a) expected witch fashion, and/or b) what's weather appropriate. and yeah, does fit her character, i think she really would just do whatever she wanted and if that's the ribboned summer shoes that's what it is

(also, sure the flowy ribbons are a kind of funny fashion choice for her, but also, given how wind makes up almost half her powers, they're kind of a good one. those have to be so fun when you're walking or flying around and wind is blowing them everywhere. i get her)

[keelt9]

Paper 3

Masterlist

A/N: Happy New Year! 🥳 I’m sorry for the delay, but here is the final paper. 

The support has been amazing, I hope you enjoyed this, because I really have so much fun writing it. 💙

Thank you so much for reading.🍒

The first phase was quite simple, most of the work will be in charge of Isabell and Gonzalo; Max only has to focus on racing.

With the excuse that Gonzalo will cover the races after the summer break, he pretends to watch all of them; every Sunday his sister-in-law without knowing will be softly bombarded with images and the voice of Max.

As Isabell anticipated, the first months she fought for barely put attention to anything related too, until Brazil where after a few races where Max wasn't at the podium, he came back in an unbelievable drive.

"Are you sure she said that?" Max covers his left ear trying to hear among all the noise of the club.

Isabell sighs. "Max I was next to her, I swear she said that." 

Max smirks, unable to comprehend how a few words, not even from the person you want to hear, cause these feelings in him.

"I'm sorry but can you repeat it?" He sounds stupid he knows that.

"I told you, he won. He's totally unbelievable." Isabell said for the third time.

Max scoffs as he sees Daniel rolling his eyes among the crowd. 

"We're such good plan makers." Isabell giggles. "Keep enjoying the night Max, we're in contact."

However, the little elf always has her ways to take him by surprise.

After Qatar with the Champions secured Max is on cloud nine in less than a month he will meet her again.

After the celebrations Max leaves one day after.; with an awful hangover as goes to the airfield, Isabell's phone call distracts him from his headache.

"Isabell hi, wha..." She didn't even let him end the sentence.

"Hey, Max, by any chance is there something symbolic between you two?” Max can clearly hear, she closes a door.

“What?” He sat inside of his jet trying to forget the headache. “Partners in crime are supposed to tell even the smallest detail.”

Isabell chuckles. “You’re doing your part, this is on me.” The silence that follows from Max, was enough for Isablle speaks one more time.

“We need to do something. She's convinced of giving a chance to John." Max is dizzy but he never heard that name. 

He covers his eyes, trying to clear his head. "Who?"

"John, the boy I talked to you about." Max's mind clears, like someone throws at him a tray of cold water.

"The one who confesses..." He simply can finish that phrase.

"Yeah, that one." Isabell cleared her throat. "Listen, I don't know what happened but… Don’t worry, ok? Just give me something and I’ll be able to handle this.”

Max's head spins around this time, unsure if it’s totally for the alcohol or the way to remember something in this state is more difficult.

A couple of seconds later, he knows what to do. “Just make sure she sees a video when I tell you, ok?” 

“Am, ok?” Isabell is about to say another thing until Max hears Gonzalo calling for her with what you can hear a crying baby in his hands. 

“Let me take charge of this Isabell, I bet someone needs you more than me.” Max giggles.

“At this point I think both of you could need the same person. Wait a second.” Isabell mentioned, before screaming. “Hey! Sis! Someone is looking for you.” 

Isabell tends to do this for Max, if she can help him to hear her, she will gladly do.

“Hi, baby girl.” It’s still unusual to hear her, her voice doesn’t change so much, but you can notice, the little girl is already grown up. “Your dad is being bad with you?” 

Noah laughs. “Come on! When you’re here, she forgot she had lovely and amazing parents.” Gonzalo jokes making everyone giggle.

“Santa won’t bring you anything this Christmas.” Max smirks but even now, he refuses to imagine her, he wants to see her face to face. “Right Noah?”

“Do you mind? I have to make an important call, could you…” Isabell said like she isn’t in the middle of a call. 

She laughs. “Another one who won’t have a present under the tree.”

Isabell laughs as Max hears steps getting far away. “Sorry Max, but…”

“I let you know about the video, now go, I bet you’re in the middle of a reunion.” Max takes his bottle of water to open it.

“We keep in contact Max, thanks.” 

Max drinks his water with one thing in mind, he just needs to go back to the basics.

“What?” Max takes the things he will need for the video. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Abu Dhabi is the last race; with the Championships secured he is just there to enjoy what he can the last race. 

One of the girls brings a thermometer as the other girl grabs the phone trying to figure out what he just asked. 

“Come on, girls, this isn…” The other put the thermometer on his mouth, waiting with her arms crossed. 

“You think we should call a doctor?” The girl with the phone shakes her head. “He could have something contagious.” 

That makes everyone laugh as the beep announces it’s time to take it out. All normal, he doesn't have a fever.

“Ok, can you repeat it one more time Max?” Max scoffs and rolls his eyes.

“I want to do the marketing thing, you know with all these.” The two girls looked at each other in disbelief. “Please.”

The girl with the phone speaks trying to find sense to all he’s saying. “It’s a Christmas thing, it’s originally planned for…”

“I know, but it’s been a tough year, it would be nice, right?” Max smiles at them. 

“Ok, likes are likes.” The girl with the phone gave him the last instructions before starting recording.

It’s a 30 second video that could easily be published without someone editing it, Max said what he must, however he put his little touch on it.

“Can I see it?” He asks by the time people start to spread searching for the next victim. 

The girl gives him the phone, as he nods.

Max has a Christmas hat and a pair of navy blue gloves. He wished merry christmas and a happy new year, full of love and peace hoping all their wishes make it true.

Waving both hands with gloves at the end of the video.

“That friend is that special, huh?” The girl asks him, seeing how his face turns in a soft pink. 

Max narrows his eyes, giving the phone to the girl. “You never wear gloves Max.” 

He opens his eyes, is that obvious? “I’ll let you know when we post it, I hope this works to get closer to her.”

Max takes the gloves and the hat, hoping the same. 

 >It works!

Isbaell texted him a day after the release of the video. She doesn’t have a clue of how but with the topic in the air about spending Christmas in Benasque like the old times, her sister agrees to go one more time.

Isabell by accident let her phone replaying the video as they were having lunch; that night her sister said the most simple thing.

“I want to go too.” Winning the eyes of all her family. “It would be nice, like when we were kids.”

That’s all Max needs, from that moment on, all is on him.

With a stunned expression from his family he let them know this Christmas he will spend it in Benasque.

“Max…” Victoria thought it’s the same reckless decision every year. “It’s been almost a year, and no one contacted you, so there is a big chance she has already forgotten it.”

Max shakes his head, taking another bite of his salad. “I know.” 

“Then why?” Victoria let her glass on the table loudly, making her brother look at her.

“I believe in the big guy.” Max points the fluffy toy of Santa Claus in the Christmas tree. 

Victoria covers her face, knowing this is useless like every year.

Max arrived one week earlier to make all the arrangements he needs, going one side to the other; a lot of the people of the town look at him like he’s totally crazy and other like he’s seeing the little kid who used to be dragged for his little friend as she they keep rambling about the most silly things.

As Isabell said, they arrived on the 22nd of December, the first day all would be casual, like years ago, just with a few people added to the plan.

His little elf spent the first day making a new tour, changing the order of a few places she used to visit, with different hours. In each one of them a warm welcome waits for her all saying the same, it’s nice having her here one more time.

The second day, she made a short one this time with baby Noah, showing the palaces where she and her mother used to play and spend time when they were kids.

Here is where the owner of the clockmaker's workshop made the special intervention, mentioning like some things are destined to be.

Finally the 24th of December it’s the day. 

“Are you sweating on the snow?” Louis asked him, waiting to make his special performance.

Max scoffs smiling, but yes, his hands feel wet. “A little bit?” 

Louis nods, as they sit in front of the big old clock. “Is she what the old people call, true love?”

Max narrowed his eyes, such a deep question for a 7 year old boy. “My mom said that from my dad and my dad said that from my mom. So I guess if you’re doing this for a friend, it must be, right?”

Max doesn’t have time to answer because the lady of the bakery appears on the corner with a beanie on her head, his little elf already passed by and bought her favorite cookie, white chocolate chips.

“That's my sign, good luck sweaty man.” Max giggles, if Santa can’t bring what he wants for Christmas, he and Louis' mother already made a deal.

Louis runs to the bookstore as Max runs to the other side ready to take his place.

Max can picture the sequence, Louis with one blue paper in his pockets, will found the girl wearing a blue navy coat and a cookie in her hand; he will wish her a merry Christmas giving her the paper, claiming if she wouldn’t mind to take this to the old clockmaker's workshop, knowing she’s stubborn for making people wish true, she would open it, and will read it.

 >Please go to the funny tree.

The funny tree is an old tree in the limits of the town, with a big twisted trunk and a lot of branches. Since they found it, swear in spring this must be insane, full of green leaves all over the place.

She will turn around to ask him how he knows but the kid will be running to the bakery for his dozen cookies.

Max moves around the tree with trembling hands pressing together, putting in his pocket just for a second later taking them out, unable to stay calm.

Not everything goes according to the plan.

Max hears a shaking breath while he is at the back of the tree, raising his eyes he finds her with a shock expression on her face. 

Max curses inside because he wants to surprise her.

“Little elf.” Max said feeling all the energy of his body drained in a couple of words.

She’s beautiful as always, the red tones of her face due the cold already there, her big eyes looking at him; her lips that used to be with a soft pink, now are a little bit red too. She’s taller, not more than him but the old little girl is far gone.

“Max.” She said as a smile formed in her face. 

Max, along 10 years, believes there isn’t another sound in the world that he loves more than her laughs. Now, the simple way his name sounds in her voice makes it a tough competition. 

She laughs at the fact Max is frozen in his place in front of a tree with Christmas lights around dry branches. Like always, she takes the initiative and runs to him to hug him standing in her tiptoes; her arms around his neck hiding her face on his shoulders. 

“It’s actually you.” Max's brain stops working and he curses himself inside, by the fact it took him 1 minute to move his arms around her waist.

It’s surreal having her one more time, like this.

“Fuck! I miss you like hell.” He said, hearing her giggling. “I’m so sorry for not coming that year but I was so busy, it was my big chance and all of us believe leaving the UK it's a stupid decision but I came the next year and you…”

She grabs his face, crashing their lips in a soft peck.

“Why do you always say so much when all you h..” Max doesn't waste any second more, he is sick of it.

He grabs her face but this time his kiss is demanding, showing how much he missed her all these years… and how much he loves her. 

With her face between his hands and a big smile on both faces, so close to each other, Max whispers to her lips.

“Like I suspect…” She narrows her eyes. “It’s always been you.”

She giggles, throwing her arms around his neck one more time. “What a relief because this will be so awkward.”

Max smiles, giving her a peck. “I’m Y/N, by the way.”

Louis is right, this is what true love feels; for Max, now has a name, Y/N.

Max nods repeating the name over and over again, like he could forget it. 

“You’re still frozen hands.” She said as Max put his hands in her pockets pulling her closer. “Can I ask you something?”

Max nods with a glimpse of fear in his eyes. “How?”

“12 paper wishes, a few streams, a reporter, a whole marketing team, a duo of helpers….” Max raises his eyebrows “And a baby.”

Y/N eyes wide open. “My sister? Do you… She isn’t…”

“She wanted me kind of far away…” Max sees her biting her lip. “I was willing to do it. I got it, she only wants the best for her little sister.”

“Although…” She raises her eyes and tingles her fingers with Max inside of her pocket.

“It took me a while, I'm not going to lie, I want to make sure to make the right decision for both of us.” The golden lights that reflected in her eyes made Max’s heart beat like crazy.

“Then I came back here…As you did after snowing in Rome, like me every Christmas, and I realized what you do, as always first.” It was a charming feeling having a clear image of the face from this wonderful woman sitting in front of T.V watching him race every week, probably rolling her eyes at every rage attack he had.

“That I love you.” A trembling breathing begins unsure from who came first.

“M..” He can't resist, having her so close it feels breathtaking. 

He takes one hand out of her pocket to grab her face and kiss her.

“Why? I mean how can you trust me so easily?" Y/N observe right to his eyes with a pledging expression.

Max licks his lips. "You didn't even know who I was and you kept encouraging me, you watched all my races, fought to keep all our promises, worried about me even in the slightest things... You keep me warm and make me believe in magic from an early age." 

Y/N chuckles as her free hand rests on his neck. "If that's not love, I don't know what the hell is that?" Y/N clicks her tongue.

"You could lie to me." Max laughs, resting his forehead against hers.

"Do you see that?" He closed his eyes after seeing the backpack next to the tree.”You’ll have a lot of red these days, believe me.”

“What?” Y/N perks at his back, seeing the black backpack.

“I’ll write to you every day.” The tears form in her eyes, Y/N swear Max moved on from this bond many years ago, this is something she didn't even dare to dream. 

“Or… You know, just in case I can steal you for a couple of days.” She grabs his jacket. “You could read it to me.”

Max remembers the day where they sat in front of the old clockmaker's workshop, as he read to her Christmas stories, with the firm purpose that a little of the Chritsmas spirit caught him.

“Deal.” Max sighs. “Do you think I can steal you for more than a couple of days?” 

Y/N raises her eyebrows tilting her head. “You  know…”

“I have never been to Monaco.” Max surrenders her waist with his arms giving her a peck.

“I can give you a small tour.” Y/N grabs his face, giving him a peck. “Let’s go, we’re on time.”

“For what?” Y/N careness his hair. 

“Write a wish for Santa Claus.” Max hasn’t realized it’s been a while he felt this way, so lighter and in calmness.

“In a pretty paper?” Max chuckles, nodding before pressing her against his chest, connecting two hearts. 

The old man observes the other side of the street, what used to be two small kids, one boy looking so marvelous to a girl who is writing every letter so carefully; now it turns into a man and a woman writing face to face with a smile stealing small kisses every time their eyes meet. 

He leaned on the counter next to the big Santa Claus. 

“It’s a secret between you and me, but let’s be honest, we started all this.” The old man smirks when he sees Max and Y/N folding their papers. “And your magic mailbox.”

They cross the street to open the red mailbox, put their wishes in, then waving their hands to the old man in his classic red velvet suit. 

Now they’re the young adults that go down the street holding hands hoping a Christmas wish comes true.

“Merry Christmas kids.” The old man whispers and sees Max’s left hand on Y/N pocket, as he takes the box inside. “Just a small glance.” 

The old man smiles while folding the papers one more time. These wishes…are so precious.  

[bitchslapblastoids]

Do you have any dnp fic recs that feel like home? Any length or topic, just those kind of fics that reading gives you the feeling of being home

wahhhh this is so sweet. asks like this always make me wish i used bookmarks on ao3 more. i'm forgetful about them and it always bums me out that there's no way to see every story you've left kudos for. (ok after typing that sentence, i went and installed a script that does show you the fics you've left kudos on as you scroll through your reading history, but it's definitely not perfect, so i can't rly recommend). i also don't re-read fic all that much; the few major re-reads that i return to semi-frequently and that truly feel like coming home bc they're so familiar are from diff fandoms. and truthfully, i don't actually read all that much phanfic. i'm so particular and have to be in just the right headspace for reading fic and have to have just the right stretch of time laid out in front of me and blah blah blah. which is to say, i feel like my recs can get repetitive because i know there are so many works i haven't explored yet, and i always have back-catalogues or new works that i want to catch up on.

but! here's what i put together: New horizons by @cityofphanchester. i'm sure i've recced this before, but I feel this fic in my bones and I think about it so, so often. it feels so cozy to me and i feel really at home in the author's writing style. i'll also add envelop the lonely places, which is literally about dan coming home from tour. it takes my breath away. and and the days after that, which is about phil visiting dan on tour. also lives in my bones. both feel like i, the reader, am coming home to their relationship.

@alittledizzy has countless fics that are so domestic and lovely, but i'll rec two bedrooms, in which dan goes to florida with the lesters. it's a fic i think of often and that makes me feel warm even though dan's fully experiencing a crisis in it lol.

@bassband's not in nottingham is also about dan finding a home in phil and ooooooh boy does it fucking get to me.

i'll also add an islet fic, because their work is all so lovely: make the yuletide gay (haven't read that one in a while but it still gives me a fuzzy feeling when i see it, so i'm gonna trust my gut)

here's a lovely one by dandrogynous that is so sweet and home-y: just need a light

@calvinahobbes has so many sweet fics, but here's one that has an especially soft space in my heart: bright

and honestly as silly as this sounds, i re-read bits and pieces of like a bowl of oranges sometimes. when i'm able to quiet my inner self-critic, their love story makes me feel very warm and at home in my own verse.

hope this scratches the itch you're looking for!

[straightforthefl00r]

I desperately need someone to write a Nishinoya x reader!! I'm feral for that little ray of sunshine and cannot for the life of me find any fics with him 😭

I AM SO SO SORRY FOR LEAVING THIS ASK FOR MONTHS!!! MONTHS!!! IN THE INBOX. i really struggled writing for noya but i ended up writing smth that i thought was cute with this ask!! thank uu for the ask anon :)

will be taking reqs later this month so talk to me pookies lol masterlist here!!

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bsf!nishinoya who has a crush on you and is trying to ask you out in the most creative way possible…

hiding (obviously) behind a corner, nishinoya all but whispers, “do you think they’ll notice, ryuu??” tanaka obediently shakes his head, “no, no! you were very sneaky in putting the box in their bag, they’ll surely see it.” noya agrees, thankful for the reassurance. he snuck a box of your favourite pocky into your bag with a note inside, saying to meet on the rooftop. 

bsf!nishinoya whose reasoning was cliche? of couse not! classic? hell yes

“what on earth are you two doing?” a voice deadpanned from behind them. ahh. tsukishima. the beanpole. noya put his fingers to his lips and shushed him. tanaka slapped him on the shoulder and jovially explained to him what they were doing. whilst he was explaining to their beloved underclassmen, noya was solely focussed on you. he could see you laugh brightly from where he was. you were having a conversation with yachi, talking animatedly. your passion for the things you liked were so cute!!

bsf!nishinoya who started shaking tanaka by the arm in pure excitement as you reached for your bag…

you took out a box pocky form your gym bag. a look of surprise graced your features as you took out another box, identical to the previous one. two boxes of pocky. “well, would you look at that?” said tsukishima and he dryly added, “i don’t suppose you saw the other box when you put your confession box in.” noya’s face morphed into one of worry, but then back again. “this might be a blip in the plan, but they still have the confession. they just have to eat both of the boxes of pocky. duh.” he muttered underneath his breath, reassuring himself yet again. 

bsf!nishinoya who almost goes catatonic, when he sees you giggle and hand one of the boxes of pocky to yachi and walk away. 

bsf!nishinoya and tanaka who basically sprint like they never have before to yachi as soon as you were out of sight.

bsf!nishinoya who snatches the box of pocky out of poor yachi’s hands, like a rabid dog.

bsf!nishinoya whose hands tremble as he opens the box. please, please please not be in here, please please–

bsf!nishinoya who suddenly notices what he is actually doing and starts to explain-apologising to the girl, because to yachi, it looked like she was just mugged for her breaktime snack by her upperclassmen for seemingly no reason at all. 

bsf!nishinoya who finds the love note that was meant for you resting his hands and just stares at it for a solid minute, contemplating whether he should just confess to you outright, there and then.

bsf!nishinoya who hears his phone go off.

bsf!nishinoya who sees your name at the top of his phone with a text that reads – ‘meet me on the rooftop yuu :D’ .

bsf!nishinoya who leaps into the air, hair messy, with sheer relief and a new found confidence.

bsf!nishinoya who is determined and ready to spill his honest romantic feelings to you and is rushing to the school roof.

bsf!nishinoya who doesn’t know that you also have a box of his favourite flavour of pocky and a confession of your own to go with it… 

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[marauding-almond]

I have been absolutely OBSESSED with the thought of kiwi Remus recently because it works so well and i cannot get it out of my head, so here are a bunch of headcannons (pre-Hogwarts - I'll do Hogwarts and post-Hogwarts in seperate posts because it'll get too long otherwise)

Lyall and Hope met in London, Lyall was Welsh and Hope was kiwi

Hope gets pregnant and Lyall doesn't want to be a father, so they break up

Hope goes back to New Zealand and Remus is born there

Remus grows up in a small town in the South Island, I'm thinking Dunedin, or perhaps Wānaka (mayyybe Invercargill)

He grows up with his mom in a small house on a hill looking out to the water, a little on the outskirts of the town

Remus is still a werewolf; he gets bitten by an rogue werewolf on night when he's around three or four, but Hope manages to deal with it

She locks him in the back shed for the full moons, but as soon as dawn awakes, she's there with bandages and chocolate fish and hugs

It's hard, especially the first one, but they manage it, and Hope makes sure that Remus knows he's not a monster and still very loved

And the worst that happens the neighbours occasionally mention the wolf howls once or twice

Their neighbours, a middle-aged couple with no children, love them, especially Remus

They always give him a slice of cake when he comes round, and Hope a basket of cherries or something

They have a few sheep, and Remus loves going there and helping with the lambs, running with them in the paddock

He's a classic kiwi kid, spends almost all of his time outside, climbing trees and running barefoot, large rimmed hats, shorts all year round, constantly kicking off his shoes, always a bit of a burn on his cheeks because he's always forgetting to put on sunscreen (despite his mum's best efforts)

He takes the bus every morning to get to the local school

The school's only got a couple dozen kids, but the teachers are nice and Remus likes it, he loves learning, loves reading, especially

He's a quiet kid, doesn't have that many friends, but he's happy to just climb up a tree and sit there with a book

Hope is a bit of a hippie, and she goes round a lot of protests for Māori rights, queer rights, etc

The locals don't love it (it's the 60s), but she just rolls with it

She makes sure to teach Remus fragments of Māori, as much as she knows, which isn't much, but it's something

She can also see that her son's queer, even before he tells her, and makes sure to let him know that queer people are perfectly fine, and that she loves him

She struggles a bit financially, working at the local dairy and not earning all that much, but she grows a veggie garden and makes it work

And every summer, she makes sure to take at least two weeks off work and the two of them go off in their dingy caravan, put the Beatles on the radio, drive for a while and settle in some place to camp

They go walking and swimming and just enjoy nature for two weeks, every summer

Remus absolutely loves it, he'll go swimming every day, even if it's cold and raining

Hope also passes on to Remus her love of birds, teaching his all the native one's names, in English and Māori, as well as he love for baking, spending hours in the kitchen together making cakes and muffins and biscuits

And Remus is very happy and Hope is very happy

[this-hopeless-war]

i haven't been online so here's some headcanons idk if i've posted before im eepy

(tw talking about sh, kinda dark so don't read if that's triggering, that part will be at the end and separated so you can easily skip it)

Ace fucking loves snow

Dallas has shitty vision but he doesn't want nor can he afford glasses (and let's be honest, he'd break em within a day)

When Pony turned 15 Soda started teaching him about cars and etc, when pony was 16 he got a job at the DX 

Due to them working together Pony started to like Steve more

Darry hates when it rains because it means he can't do his roofing gig and he'll come home stressed/grumpy over missing a day of his paycheck

Dally can go a scary long time without sleep, he'll be up for 2 days straight and still be socializing and shit

Dally and Two-Bit once had a drinking contest that didn't end well for anyone involved 

Two-Bit took high school drama (thinking about this is genuinely how I get through the day at school)

During the week Pony was gone, Soda vented to Steve a lot, they honestly grew a lot closer

The first time he was alone after Pony and Johnny got back, Steve cried from relief

⬇️warning here's where talk of sh starts (also added some resources at the end if you read them then feel distress😨)

Steve has had issues with sh (OUGH I love him)

And because of it being in an environment where mental health isn't really talked about at all or very understood, he doesn't really know that sh is, like, an actual thing, he just considers it a way to take out emotion when fighting isn't doing it

And no one ever really acknowledged it (they can see scars on his arm)

Though i'm toying around with headcanons for a bit in my head where (TW) he relapses at the back of the DX after a REALLY bad night where his dad said and did some not-so-handy-dandy things and Soda walks in (Spoiler alert: Steve gets a hug and cries but Soda doesn't cause he thinks he should be tough abt it or something, when he gets home he does though)

After that Steve is at the Curtis's even more and Soda even goes over to the Randle's a couple times cause when Steve is feeling really horrible he calls him up

I also have vague ideas for a bit with Evie

Where she, like, does smt abt it cause she's worried and he's always dodged questions

not 100% sure how it'll work yet though

This is a post of a list of hotlines for the USA, if you found this triggering or are in distress in general please message/call one

⬆️There are help lines everywhere, please done hesitate to search up the numbers for your country and call/text them

And here's just some websites or apps that can help you in times of distress

Have a handy dandy day!

[fiddlesix]

These Are Not Your Stars (ao3)

Three years after Ford falls through the portal, he travels through parallel timelines, and sees his life pan out in all the ways it didn’t. He lands himself in one timeline, in 1986: a universe where he is missed but does not belong, because this is not his Fiddleford, or his Stanley. And these are not his stars.

Inspired by the ‘A Better World’ page from Journal 3.

Tags/info under read more

(Character study on Ford in the portal, looking at different timelines of his own life. He ends up in a parallel timeline where Fiddleford and Stan are attempting to rebuild the portal, a timeline that eventually becomes the “Better World” in Journal 3. Thirty years later, Ford finds himself back home, and tries to adjust.)

Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, Fiddleford H. McGucket/Ford Pines, Ford Pines & Stan Pines, Alternate Timelines, Alternate Dimensions, Character Study, Ford Pines' Portal Adventures, The Portal (Gravity Falls), Post-Portal Ford Pines, Alternate Universe - A Better World (Gravity Falls), Old Fiddauthor, Post-Portal Incident (Gravity Falls), Bill is mentioned but not present

This is also a thank you to readers on there is a light that never goes out, in case any of those readers are here on my slightly-abandoned tumblr. I'm not sure if I'm certainly wild about this one, but if you want old man fiddauthor and to think about portal Ford with me, take a read!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/61970902

[buckandbobbyweek]

FAQ

What is Buck and Bobby week?

This is a week dedicated to Buck and Bobby from 911 and celebrating their father-son relationship. While a popular relationship, it's not a relationship that people often write about. So, with this event, we make sure there are plenty of new fic for us Buck & Bobby lovers!

What is the schedule?

Today (January 4th) the poll to vote for which month to fo Buck & Bobby week went up and goes for 7 days.

After there will be a poll to determine which week it will be, also running for 7 days.

Once we have a date, I will start working on a form where you can submit prompts and share this. This will be open for around a month. Less depending on how much time is left until the chosen date.

Once the form is closed, I will make a new form where you can vote for your favorite prompts. In the end we need 21 word/trope prompts (example: hugs, navy seal buck, hurt/comfort) and 10 sentence prompts (example: "did you steal my hoodie?", "what do you think you're doing?", "have you eaten yet?")

Depending on how many prompts and the results of votes, there could be a third form with the winning prompts to narrow it down more.

Then I'll make a post with the winning prompts and you can start writing!

And then we'll have Buck and Bobby week :)

Are there any rules?

AI is NOT allowed. Use of AI will end with your posts removed from the AO3 collection and being blocked on Tumblr. AI is theft.

This is to celebrate the father-son relationship between Buck and Bobby, NOT romantically. Romantic fics between them will not be included or reposted.

No abuse or SA taking place between Buck and Bobby. You can for other characters, but PLEASE tag accordingly! Use warning in both the warning section and the tags. I also recommend putting these warnings in an author's note and while posting on Tumblr. These are topics a lot of people want to avoid.

If a fic includes bashing of other characters, please tag accordingly as well. And, obviously, no Buck or Bobby bashing. (It would be preferable no bashing at all, but I'm not going to forbid or restrict you from writing it if you want to.)

No stealing, duh

I can't think of anything else, I try not to limit things. If you have a suggestion, let me know.

Do I have to sign up?

Nope. You can just post when it's time. Of course it's fun to let people know you're participating, but that's completely your own choice.

Can I be anonymous?

Sure! I do have to say a lot of people avoid anonymous fics because a lot of times they're very triggering or hateful to people. But if you don't feel comfortable using a username, it's a great way to still share your work. And I'm sure plenty of people still read anonymous fics.

Do I have to do all days?

Nope. While that is the most fun, if there's only one day you have time or inspiration for, that's amazing as well. You can skip days you don't want to do. It's completely up to you.

Is it limited to fics?

It's not! You can use any form of creativity. Think of:

Art

Playlist

Video edit

Picture edit

Moodboard

Podfic

Poetry

Anything else creative you can think of.

Is there a minimum or maximum word count?

Nope. No restrictions here either. This means you can also submit snippets. Or a full on novel with 100k+ words. Every number is allowed :)

How do I get it into the AO3 collection?

The collection isn't created yet and will be around a month before the event. Once it's created you can find the option 'post to collections / challenges' right underneath 'associations'. In this you search for the name, which I'll post on here once it's created. Once your fic is posted it'll be added to the collection.

I've never posted on AO3 before and don't know how.

I'm planning on making a quick tutorial soon, either on here or on @911buddieweek in which I'll explain the meanings of each parts, like ratings and warnings and the most used meanings behind them. Keep an eye out! If you want to know before I post, you can send me a message.

I have a different question

Don't be afraid to send an ask or message! I'll try to get back to you ASAP. I don't have tumblr notifications on, but I'm chronically online so I'll hopefully see it quickly. (I do like in Europe so if you're not European we might have a different timezone. But you can send it any time you want and I'll see it when I wake up.)

I hope this is enough info! And I'm very excited :)

[oflights]

Bloodweave Inn New Year’s Prompts Day 2: Growing Old Together

written for @bloodweaveinn’s New Year’s Prompt Challenge! I rolled a 2 this time, which means my prompt was Growing Old Together. i wasn't really feeling it until a little while ago and just kind of knocked this out in 20 minutes lol. i'm a little late but oh well! it was fun.

enjoy just under 1k words of extremely sappy established bloodweave, post-cure for astarion's vampirism. 😌

“Is that a gray hair?”

Astarion’s outraged cry draws Gale out of his reading, and he looks over the top of glasses at him with a slightly distracted “Hm?”

“Look!” Astarion insists, jabbing his finger at both the mirror—where his reflection can now be found, and though it’s been nearly a year since finding Astarion’s cure, Gale still can’t help looking upon it with pride and affection—and at the top of his head. “I’m going gray, Gale.”

Gale blinks at him, then squints. Astarion huffs automatically, an instinctive response to Gale squinting and a result of the Great Glasses War of 1494 DR, which Gale had summarily lost.

Eager to draw Astarion’s attention from his squinting—gods forbid he make Gale get a thicker pair of lenses—Gale hastily says, “Astarion, your hair is already gray. What are you talking about?”

Astarion gasps. His eyes, luminous and green-gold, as pride-inducing as his reflection, go very wide.

“How dare you. My hair is white blond! It’s platinum! It’s not gray, you heathen.”

“My love,” Gale says soothingly, setting his book aside and holding out two placating arms. “Come here. Let me see it.”

Grumbling, and with one more pouting glance into the mirror, Astarion slinks over, as graceful and lithe as ever. He fits himself into Gale’s lap with fluid motions Gale could never hope to replicate, and he butts the crown of his head into Gale’s chin, not unlike a cat. Gale hides a grin over the top of his head.

“Look. It’s awful.”

Gale truly cannot see any bit of what has Astarion so upset, but he kisses the crown of his head anyway, taking off his damnable glasses with some relief. “It’s not awful,” Gale says into Astarion’s beautiful, soft hair. “It’s lovely, because it’s on you, and you are the loveliest elf I’ve ever seen.”

“Just the loveliest elf?”

“Being. Humanoid. Immortal or mortal.” At that, Gale tips Astarion’s face up by the chin, gazing down at him adoringly. “You are as gorgeous as the day I met you. Gray hairs and all.”

“Hairs, plural? Did you see another one?” Astarion scrambles to get up and go for the mirror again, but Gale draws him into a kiss first, sighing as he settles down in his lap again.

“What’s so bad about grays, anyway?” Gale asks when they break apart, smiling when Astarion, eyes closed, chases his mouth a bit. Astarion huffs, the scent of their shared dinner—some nice, bloody red steaks; Astarion still has a taste for it, and he’s as bad as Gale is about eating his vegetables—hitting Gale’s nose and making it wrinkle. “You like my grays, don’t you? You certainly admire them enough.”

As if to prove Gale’s point, Astarion’s hand goes up into Gale’s hair, sifting through what are surely more bountiful gray streaks now. Just as there are more wrinkles in his face, more pronounced crow’s feet and laughter lines, and a softer, chubbier frame as their adventure days have fallen behind them. Astarion has lavished each of these features with so much love and approval that Gale has had barely any room to ever feel self-conscious about them.

“Of course I do; your grays are beautiful,” Astarion says. “You’re aging like a fine wine, my dear, and I’m—well, I’m just aging, aren’t I?” He says it like it’s just occurred to him, a bit wondrous, and also a bit sullen.

“Of course you are, though much, much more slowly than you seem to think,” Gale says. “Slower than I am, naturally. We both know this. It’s a good thing, isn’t it? Part of your cure?”

“But I’m no distinguished professor like you; my looks are like your brains,” Astarion tells him. “I don’t think I’ll be able to handle it when I start looking like Jaheira, gods.”

“Jaheira is beautiful—oh, stop, you know what I mean,” Gale says as Astarion scowls. “And you are much, much more than your looks. Which are still beautiful.”

“You have to say that. Your opinion is biased.”

“Is my opinion not the most important, after yours?”

Astarion eyes him carefully, as if genuinely judging Gale’s sincerity. Gale tries not to huff back at him—he’d put a garlic sauce over his own steak tonight, which Astarion still doesn’t care for.

“You’re certain you’ll love me even when I look like a withered old crone?”

Gale tips his head back. “Astarion, I’ll love you until the day I die. And not to be depressing, but you must understand that I’ll be a withered old crone long before you will. I probably won’t live to see you that old.” He strokes the back of his hand over Astarion’s face, the lines that are there, and feels a bit of sweet, sad longing over that fact. He sees it reflected on Astarion’s face, in the sudden droop of his ears. “So don’t worry—I’ll be old and wrinkly and gray all over, and you’ll still be my pretty young thing.”

“Gods, you’re right,” Astarion says, aghast. He settles further into Gale’s hold, shaking his head. “We’re going to have to do something about that.”

“About what?”

“The whole thing where even though I’m cured of vampirism, you’re still going to die first. I don’t approve of that. That’s our next project. Ugliness notwithstanding—I do want to grow old with you.”

Warmth suffuses Gale at that, and he places another helpless kiss in Astarion’s beautiful, soft, and yes, gray hair.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Gale says, and he picks up his book again and starts squinting down at it, his love in one arm.

“Gale,” Astarion murmurs against his neck, breath ghosting out against the old bite scars.

“Hm?”

“Put your glasses on.”

With a laugh and a sigh, Gale complies; he supposes they both have their vanities.

[windstir]

idk if i've said this here but i really like how gilbert is portrayed as a victim despite everything ... he's TRULY not a perfect person, he's the kind of person that makes you say "okay he does do shitty things he needs to sit down what's wrong with him" and makes things worse for everyone around him MULTIPLE times, he hurts the people who care about him in some way (carl and serge being my main examples, there was genuinely no reason to be doing allat but also does he really know any better???? he's stunted to hell and back in various areas and advanced in areas that he can't even PROCESS properly because of the constant enabling and trauma. he's off the rails, he's awful, his intentions a lot of the time are to HURT -carl- and to push people away in the worst ways possible because he's either scared or angry -serge-)

anyway, abuse victims in media are portrayed as characters who do No Wrong a lot. characters that are gentle, and whose trauma made them softer, who are kind despite it all, who want to be better than the person who hurt them and stuff. you know the deal.

and it's not bad! trauma presents itself in a miriad of ways and that's just how things are, the environment and beliefs are what end up making the change (an abused child without a support net outside of their abuser won't have the same development as an abused child who does have SOMETHING or SOMEONE to hold on to)

gilbert, clearly, is out for blood. his own and someone else's.

because, technically, that's how he was raised. and auguste managed to make an environment that enabled those harmful behaviors (because they were enabling his own!)

when angry, gilbert explodes, he breaks whatever is in his path, and his intentions are to hurt, to break, to cause damage to anyone. auguste taught him that, auguste exploded towards him a lot, gilbert says it himself, he says that auguste would beat him up when he was angry, and those would be the only times he felt loved (it's also shown that auguste would sometimes be kind after he beat him up, but i don't think he mentions this)

(from the backstory chapters):

bonnard: are you sure you can talk like that about him? he's your guardian

gilbert: i just wanted to get his attention. i have to take drastic measures ... or he won't even touch me.

bonnard: what do you mean?

gilbert: when i make him angry (see how he's blaming himself? he's a child here, he's 9!) he treats me with so much violence that i feel like my head is going to be ripped off (because auguste shakes him around violently)

bonnard: i didn't know he was sadistic!

gilbert: and even then ... i prefer that more than when he comes up to me ... but then walks away without trying anything.

sex and assault have also been used against him when angry, too.

so that sort of explains (BUT IT DOESN'T JUSTIFY) why he thought "oh i can do this to carl because i'm mad at him and because i know he wants me so bad anyway. then if it goes badly i can probably apologize to him and it'd be whatever." because that shit has been happening to him FOREVER. and he's been taught to think it was okay.

reading the scene again, you see he's taunting carl, saying that CARL is who wants this, and that this is his opportunity to do whatever he wants and satisfy that need to "possess" him

it's hard to explain a lot of things, but one thing that's clear is that he's using the language auguste and his abusers have used with him before ("you want this, so do it") and he thought carl might've followed along ... then he laughs when carl hits him, saying (direct quote): "hah ... i guess there's still space in you for god. that's great, cling onto him, protect him ... make sure i don't possess you ... make sure the devil (gilbert) doesn't possess you! make sure to tell that to serge, too. he's your best agent, your chosen one. but he needs to know that it's dangerous to get close to me! because I'M the devil that threatens to devour his pure heart! and if he gets close, he'll end up hurt."

a part of me wants to think he's projecting some of his own feelings towards his own abuse, because later on he does admit he feels trapped in his situation, he admits he just let people hurt him because he didn't know any better, stuff like that.

anyway, oof. he's portrayed as the biggest and main victim in kazeki despite it all, unlike auguste, who is very clearly the antagonist in everyone's lives despite him ALSO being an abuse victim (CSA and abuse in general from his adoptive brother)

i think it's nice that he's still seen as a victim despite that, because in the end all of this happens when gilbert is a child, a 13 year old, very poorly socialized and extremely mistreated and dehumanized throughout his life and stuff ......

it's really hard to explain how i feel about gilbert (despite me LOVING his character and feeling a sense of connection) without making it sound like i'm defending his actions because he's genuinely awful sometimes lol what am i even saying atp

[rei-ismyname]

This is good stuff. As much as I dislike Doylist explanations for things like this, I think it has to at least be considered that none of them were intended to be clones - and the retcon, while pretty slick, possibly leaves a hole or two for close readers.

Emma says in this same issue that the entire crew of the Agnew was doing the red triangle protocol. That doesn't preclude them all from being clones, but I think it makes it more likely.

Here's the thing - does he actually need a witness? I'd assume ORCHIS would have ways of verifying what was happening - if 'humanity's last hope' suddenly self destructing isn't proof enough for them. Same goes for proving it to a court etc, though he implies that he admitted to it, then we saw him give himself up. You'd think he'd want to avoid forensics of any kind too, as the deeper people dig the more likely his web of lies is to unravel. Creating people out of nothing, especially military officers, is pretty much impossible these days. I'm not sure which legal persons he's charged with killing, though destroying the Agnew would be enough.

I read it as Charles expecting blind Scott's trust, playing on their history together, and badly misreading the room. He wanted it both ways, but Scott flat out refused and Charles didn't explain further, except for 'making him watch.' Uh huh.

Totally agree that it's a ridiculous plan with zero upside. He infiltrated ORCHIS to stop Enigma - a necessity. I feel like he went deep on sunk costs based on his guilt instead of any strategic concerns, and probably never quite got out of his post-Gala mindset. Growing a beard on Krakoa and waiting to die, thinking he'd just killed 250K mutants. As soon as Sinister reveals himself he's ready to jump off the ledge to take Sinister out. Going to shoot Moira as a child. Actually shooting all his allies.

He'd given up one way or another and cooked up this martyr plan that sounded a lot better on paper. As he tells Sally, 'as long as I'm in here my children have a chance.' He was even willing to let Logan kill him, which doesn't help anyone. I think Mags has him pegged (because he has the inclination too, as does Logan) - 'no more martyrs.'

Probably not related but did the X-Men even have a softball field? I can only remember a baseball field. Not sure if that's meaningful, or a mistake Gerry Duggan made during the time crunch.

It's Scott that says it, too. Probably a mistake, or I'm wrong.

I'm not sure if "made me watch" is meant literally, as Scott is in the area and physically watched it go down alongside the rest of his space team. Due to her own omnipitence I think Jean knows but is refusing to indulge Xavier. Even if the FTA Infinity comic reveal is a retcon, the conversation at the end of X-Men #35 still works to convey that she knows his shit and is refusing to step in for him. That said I got the impression that he meant it when he admonishes himself for trying to explain himself and leaving the clues. He spends most of the Forever and RoPX going 'oh they're better off without me :( '. This comes off as pushing them to cut him off rather than putting in the work to improve. It also means he's still controlling why it's happening, rather than facing the consequences of his unplanned fuck ups.

Maybe it's just me, and I admit that I'm always inclined to read Xavier's actions in the worst light possible, but I actually do think it's literal.

If you look at the pages from Fall of the House of X #4:

So we have Xavier pulling Scott into a psychic mindscape that resembles the old mansion.

Scott, admittedly, is pretty angry about the whole "Did you join Orchis" thing.

Then we get this:

Tangentially, notice the commander? I don't think he's a clone. The others, sure. But that guy is talking, responding emotionally, and freaked the fuck out.

They show him again in another flashback somewhere else but I've been unable to find it.

Unless the series addresses it at some point, I'm always going to kind of believe Xavier murdered that guy.

So then we get this:

Scott's not looking at the window when it explodes. He's clutching his head and yelling at Xavier to stay out of it.

I guess it's kind of ambiguous, but the way I'm reading the panels, Scott didn't just see the ship blow up from space in the last panel. I think he saw what we saw in the previous page.

Maybe Xavier didn't mean to do it*, but to ME, it looks like Xavier somehow took him along when he commanded the clones to act.

Scott would have the right to be furious either way, but I did read this as literal. (*And honestly, purposeful. Though I'm not sure what Xavier thought he was gaining there.)

--

As for Jean, I do think you're probably right that she knows. But I think that she's not going to get involved until or unless he asks her directly. Which would involve Xavier having one of those conversations that he really doesn't want to have.

But I will try to be fairer to Xavier, I think he has conflicted impulses. I do think on some level, he thinks he's sitting in Graymalkin to save them. And I think that he does believe not telling them is the best option.

But that's the problem with Xavier. He does a lot of very cruel things for what he thinks are very good reasons.

[bayetea]

seeing non-black people critique rick's portrayal of black characters is interesting sometimes. only like 30% of the critiques I see make any sense to me to be honest