#Submitted August 21

[anonpolls]

Anon’s note is below. It’s long, but important to them.

Anon: I ask because I have recently been getting anon hate for saying when I’m 18 I’m going into the military, at least long enough to have them for my college so I can get a degree, so I can get a high paying job. Or I’ll stay in the military, as they can pay very well if you work there long term.

I need a high paying job because I’m chronically ill, slightly physically disabled, my body is prone to producing cysts, and I have mental health issues that I’d like to get therapy to help with. Which would all add up to a lot of medical bills and possibly a good few surgeries, as well as the need to move out from a kinda toxic household, so I’ll have regular bills to pay, too.

I’m not sure if the people sending me anon hate are valid for their reasons or not. I also come from a family with a long history of work in the military, and it’s expected of me to work in it, at least for a little while.

I’ve been really stressing out about the idea that I’m a horrible person for doing this because that’s been an intrusive thought for me for the longest time. And the anons have been saying me working there is equivalent to killing lots of people in other countries, even if I don’t do it with my own hands.

-submit your poll!-

[extremetimedchallengeexchange]

Rules and FAQ

The fastest gift exchange around. Objectively a bad idea. 48 hours of hyperfocus.

Schedule: (All times in EDT)

Tag Nominations Opens, Discord Opens: 0:01 August 14

Tag Nominations Closes: Midnight August 20

A03 Sign Up Opens 0:01 August 21

A03 Sign Up closes: Midnight August 27

Creation Phase: Noon EDT August 31 - Noon EDT September 2

Treating Week: September 2- September 9

Discord Closes: Noon September 9

Everybody admires everyone else's work: September 2 - Ongoing

Rules

The exchange is multifandom, and open to artists, writers, and podficcers. Fandoms do not have to have a canonized Ao3 tag to participate.

You must be a member of the Discord, for communication purposes.

Once assigned, participants will have 48 hours to deliver their gift.

Artists are expected to deliver a decent sketch, Writers and Podficcers have a 300 word minimum

No AI-Generated content.

This exchange will be operating on DL:DR when it comes to what the mods will police and what we ask you to respect in terms of other people’s requests. The single exception is RPF, which has additional rules. 

RPF is allowed. Persons nominated for RPF must be famous in their own right and over the age of 18. Persons famous chiefly for their participation in facist regimes or as serial killers will not be considered for nomination. Mods reserve the right to reject RPF nominations in poor taste.

Original Work is allowed. Use the "Original Work" fandom. If it is important to you that a person within a specific pairing is a specific gender, make that clear within the tag, for example "Middle-aged King (M)/His Loyal Bodyguard (NB) (Original Work)".

As this is a 13+ exchange, there is no NSFW allowed, even if you’re sure that both you and your recipient are adults. This applies both to sexual content and to extreme (e-rated) gore.

To increase matching options, tags must be seconded (nominated twice) to make it into the tag set. Because of this, tag nominations will be collected through a google form.

You can nominate tags for up to ten fandoms, with up to twenty tags nominated in each.

You will have one week to submit relationships and characters to a tag set, one week to write your prompts, and 48 hours to deliver your gift.

Participants are required to request at least three fandoms (with associated prompts), and offer to create around at least three fandoms.

To help your creator out, you must offer either a list of likes or prompts that contains at least one element that works for each art form that you have opted into. If you opt into art, you must give at least one art prompt or art like in your signup, and the same for fic or podfic.

To increase matching options, at least one of your ships has to be either Gen (platonic relationship) or a single-character tag— just one overall, not one per fandom.

Please include anything you absolutely don't want to receive (Do Not Wants) in the Optional Details field in your AO3 signup. Only DNWs in the Ao3 signup will be enforced, and mods will not enforce DNWs that are overly restrictive, unclear, or used to box a recipient into a specific gift (i.e. "nothing gross", or "I don't want anything that isn't a space au with the mc's other major love interest dead off screen".)

This exchange uses Ao3's matching algorithm, and as such, you need an Ao3 Account.

Make sure the email attached to your AO3 account is one that a) you check regularly, and b) are comfortable with exchange mods seeing. You can verify your email here: archiveofourown.org/users/[your ao3 name here]/change_email

As per Ao3 and Discord’s TOS, you must be at least 13.

Links

Ao3 Collection Here

Tag Set Here

Nominate Tags [form available in the discord]

Tag Nomination Rules Here,

Discord Here

Things We Do Differently Than Other Exchanges Here

Intro to how to sign up for an Ao3 Exchange Here. Variant using a gifter letter here. A note on what Solo tags mean in practice here.

Sign up for Ao3 Here (there is a waiting queue.)

Additional Challenges (just for fun):

One Day: Fulfil your gift within 24 hours.

Word Count: Write 5k or more on a single gift.

Art: Produce a fully-rendered and coloured (lined if that's your style) art piece with at least two characters, or a 10-panel comic with clean pencils or simple inks, within the 48 hours of the exchange.

Multi-media: Fulfil gifts that meets gift minimums for two different gift forms— art, fic, and/or podfic.

Multi-fandom: Make gifts that meet gift minimums for 3 or more fandoms.

FAQ:

Why? Because it seemed like a terrible idea.

How do I sign up/How do I format tags/Are you using OR matching: Signup FAQ on the Ao3 collection Here)

Further Questions? Join the Discord Here

[hp-soulmates]

HP Soulmates Fest: R3D STRING EDITION

HP Soulmates Fest is back! Thank you to everyone who voted in the poll. This year we will be running HP Soulmonths with weekly prompts and an open AO3 collection. Feel free to combine prompts, swap prompts, or rearrange them. This will be a very chill round this year! We hope to encourage a wider range of soulmates tropes and ships. And, don't worry, the standard fest format will probably be returning next year! See the schedule and guidelines below:

💞 SCHEDULE 2024 💞

Soulmate AUgust

Aug 4-10: Red string | lightning era | fate Aug 11-17: Rival soulmates | rare pair | second chances Aug 18-24: Soulmarks & tattoos | marauders era | snitch Aug 25-31: Countdown clock | sapphic | butterbeer

Soultember

Sep 1-7: Sharing is caring* | Gaaaaaaay | discombobulated Sep 8-14: Platonic soulmates | older characters | annual Sep 15-21: Soulbonds & bonding | polycule | switch Sep 22-28: Reincarnation | next gen era | language of flowers

Bonus Prompts

WILDCARD: First words | cross gen ship | ghosts

*Shared dreams, thoughts, memories, emotions, pain, etc.

💞 GUIDELINES 💞

Participants must be 18+ and abide by the Three Laws of Fandom: DLDR, YKINMK, and SALS.

This fest is open to all ships, characters, and themes related to the HP universe.

Works must incorporate the concept of SOULMATES in some way. It can be minor or brief but must be present.

Works may include explicit, dark, or Dead Dove content as long as they are properly tagged and content warnings are utilized.

Works must be new and created for HP Soulmates Fest. However, feel free to combine this with other fests as long as it is also okay with them.

We are accepting fic, art, podfic, craft, meta, headcanons, playlists, moodboards, bookbinding, and a whole range of mediums for this fest!

WIPs are okay, but completed works are encouraged.

The use of AI is not allowed.

Prompts can be combined, switched around, or skipped altogether. The only requirement is soulmates!

When uploading, please add your work to the HP Soulmates Fest 2024 collection on AO3. This is an open collection and will open Aug 1. The collection will close Oct 31 to allow for any late entries.

If also posting on Tumblr, please mention us @hp-soulmates and use the tag #hp soulmates 2024. We will reblog!

AO3 Collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/HP_Soulmates_Fest_2024

Get creative, get inspired, get bonded! We can't wait to see what amazing soulmates creations are submitted this year 💞

— Your mods,

@anaxandria-writes, @drwhoisginnyholmes, @lumosatnight, @quackquackcey

[somedudenamedanthony]

CAN YOU MAYBE. Elaborate on the bridgella tower au idea 👀

Well, it's based on this post, which I initially posed on 16 August at around 9 pm (my self-imposed bed time) and I cannot actually remember typing. But I descided to post it because I figured the fandom might be interested in playing with this idea, as not a lot has been said about adult Bridgella up to this point.

Current working title of the fanfiction I'm writing in my notes app is "Your Word And My Word"

So the main premise is this: the coup happened, but Red didn't travel back for whatever reason (currently thinking she just froze up and forgot), letting Bridget and her army take over Auradon.

Bridget ended up imprisoning all of the royal families of Auradon, starting with the Charmings (obviously). She ordered for all who didn't submit to her will to be executed. Most of them went quietly, others didn't (RIP Snow White and Ben's parents), and at the end there was a lot of bloodshed, and somewhere in the confusion, Bridget had faked Ella's death while secretly transporting her back Wonderland, where she was locked in what I'm currently just calling "The West Tower" (Anod to myself about a small fic I scrapped that basically had that as the name of a spare bedroom/Red's time-out corner).

The main point brances off into a couple of different directions, but the main focus when I say "Tower AU" is Bridget and Ella and The West Tower.

Bridget, being not over Ella and their teenaged situationship (why Ella isn't dead), occasionally visits her. Mostly to try and convince Ella to accept her fate, occasionally to brag, sometimes to vent about her trauma (being gay in the early 90s). But it leads to them talking again. And with the talking, comes the old feelings they had for each other when they were young, bubbling back up to the surface.

Of course it's angsty, as Ella is worried about her husband and kids (who think she's dead and she has know idea how they're doing) but also she has to deal with years of internalised homophobia. And Bridget doesn't know how to process her feelings and ends up taking it out in all the worst ways.

Something, something, time goes on, and Ella is given slight freedom by Bridget (allowed to walk around the castle with card-knights escorting her), and meets Red. Red has her own whole thing quietly in the background (mostly shown through Bridget's pov) and might reveal the Charmings are alive. Who knows when, but it's an inevitable now.

Something, something, later on Ella and Bridget get into a fight as they always do, and they end up kissing, that then leads to sad tension as they're both horrified by it and so so in love. And later it leads to sex, which is this scene I posted on 21 August (yesterday at time of writing):

"I'm never going to let you leave me again." "Is that a promise?"

And that's where I'm at. It's all scattered right now, but yeah... I'll keep you guys updated if I descide to continue the fic, or if I get any serious ideas.

[hrpffandomeventblog]

WHAT TIME IS IT? IT'S SUMMER BANG TIME!!!

Welcome to the HRPF SUMMER BANG 2024: REWRITE THE ROMANCE!

Signups for writers are NOW through June 30th. Use this link if you want to sign up as a writer and/or beta: CLICK ME, BABYYYY

That link has all the details, but just in case you want to see it all laid out on this sweet post, keep reading! And please boost, sign up, and enjoy the STANLEY CUP FINALS

What? Rewrite the Romance! Choose a romance novel and re-write it to feature our favorite hockeys! You can stick as faithfully or as loosely to the original premise as you want. Make it AU or Canon Compliant or Canon Divergent, the world is truly your oyster!

Maybe this is your chance to adapt Pride & Prejudice into the Covid/Bubble Season Flames and Oilers romance epic we all never knew we needed. OR it’s your chance to put Miro and Roope and Esa and Jani in the Regency period searching for the perfect Mr. Darcy. Or maybe you read the back of a bodice ripper in the grocery store and said okay, but what if it was Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier instead?

Give us 5k (minimum) of romance and get paired up with an artist who will create two pieces of traditional art, digital art manipulation, moodboards or a video trailer to go with the story!

When:

Writer(AND beta) sign ups June 16-30

1st Check-In July 15-31

Claim Previews August 15

Artist Sign-Ups August 21-25

2nd Check- In September 15-21

Posting Dates October 1-10

Details:

Writer sign-ups: two week period for writers to sign up with their info. 

The questionnaire will ask if you need/want a beta, which MIGHT be available but not guaranteed. 

Beta sign-ups: anyone who wants to join into the event as a sounding board, editor or cheerleader.

Writers are not guaranteed nor required to have a beta, but we will try to pair folx up if interested.

The questionnaire will ask what involvement/style of editing and content you feel comfortable with.

1st Check in: emails will go out with a form for writers to let us know how they are feeling.

Writers can request assistance/support. Excerpts can be shared but are NOT required.

Claim Previews: Due from writers on August 15. This should be a 200(ish) word summary

Pairings and warnings should be listed. Writers can provide a 100 word excerpt as well. 

Blind claims: writers names will NOT be featured on claims.

Artist Sign-Ups: Four day period. Previews will be posted on August 21. Claims begin Aug 22

Artists are committing to create 2 pieces of work for a single fic (or a single video trailer). 

Artists CAN sign up to do more than one collab.

Claims: Artists will submit their claims. Sign-ups are on a first come, first serve basis.

2nd Check-In: emails will go out to collab teams asking how folx are doing.

Creators can ask for assistance/support/moderation. Excerpts can be shared but are NOT required.

Posting Dates!: As the season gets under way, we can celebrate with all the amazing work created!

Collab teams will post between October 1-10.

[lokiusbang]

Sign ups for the Lokius Reverse Bang are open

We’re looking for artists, writers, beta readers and pinch hitters to join this event to celebrate 1 year since Loki season 2 finale aired.

This will be an artist-led event. Artists will create 1 or more pieces of art. Writers will claim art and collaborate with the artist to write a fic based on the art.

Sign up form.

Rules

sfw and nsfw allowed

artists and writers of all levels welcome

dual sign ups as artist and writer are allowed (but you can’t write fic for your own art)

no ai art or fic allowed

Lokius must be the pairing for your art and fic

canon compliant, canon divergent and AUs allowed

no ship or character bashing allowed

canon-level violence and major character death allowed

art or fic around non-consent, underage and dead dove may not be suitable for this event; please speak to a mod to discuss.

Artists

You must complete at least 1 piece of finished art for the Reverse Lokius Bang. You can submit up to 2 submissions to be claimed. Each submission can contain 1 or multiple art pieces. Your art must be able to be shared digitally and must be created specifically for the event.

Types of art allowed:

digital art

trad art

comics

gif sets

vids/edits.

Other artforms not listed above may be suitable for the event. Please contact mods to discuss.

Dates:

16 June—artist sign ups close

30 June–7 July—art submissions

20–21 July—claims period

28 July—teams confirmed

25 August—check in

22 September—check in

20 October—check in

9–20 November—posting period.

Art must be either a rough sketch or a storyboard by submission.

If you want to collaborate with another artist as part of the reverse bang, please contact mods to discuss.

Writers

You must write a complete story of at least 5,000 words that’s inspired by the art. There is no maximum word count but all fics must be published within the posting window.

All fics must be beta read and must be posted onto the Ao3 collection.

Dates:

30 June—writer sign ups close

14 July—claims preview 

20–21 July—claims period

28 July—teams confirmed

25 August—check in

22 September—check in

20 October—check in

9–20 November—posting period

If you want to collaborate with another writer to write your reverse bang fic, please contact mods to discuss.

Beta Readers and Pinch Hitters

Beta readers will help writers polish their fic. Each writer will have different requirements and may ask you for different things. These may include spelling and grammar, story flow, vibe check, sensitivity check, or cheer reading. Writers and Beta Readers can pair up before or after artist/writer teams have been created.

Pinch hitters will step in if an artist or writer has to drop off. They may have to pick up things last minute. This may happen at any point after the teams have been created.

Dates:

11 August—Beta reader and pinch hitter sign ups close

All dates may be subject to change.

See Lokius Reverse Bang FAQs and Rules.

Discord

The Automat server is hosting this event and will have special event channels for the bang. You can join this server with or without being part of this event, and you don’t need to join this server to be part of the event.

Questions

Send us an ask or email lokiusreversebang@gmail.com to speak to a mod.

And finally, please reblog to help reach more people interested in Lokius. Thank you.

[fromshadowstosun]

ANNOUNCING BLACKSUN WEEK 2024

AUGUST 18-24

Maybe they're your OTP, maybe they're your crack ship, maybe you wish they had a long-lost sibling AU, maybe you feel they're platonic soul mates, whatever you feel, this DRAMA-FREE event is for you!!!

dividers: @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

RULES:

This is only to appreciate the characters' relationship only! This is NOT your chance to hate on other ships

NO other ships (submitted work must contain Blake and Sun only)

NO double dates

NO other characters (this is the time to explore how they are when it's just them, not around other people)

NO ai-generated final work

NO "x reader" (I can't believe I have to say this)

NO nsfw

MUST use the hashtag to be reblogged: #blacksunweek2024

Acceptable submissions:

Playlists

Moodboards

Picrew (must be linked and credited)

Original artwork

Original writing (poem, fanfic, drabble)

Handicrafts

Photography

Cosplay

Video edits (do not utilize other people's artwork in videos without their written approval)

Animations

PROMPTS: (optional)

Aug 18: Movie Night

Aug 19: Ocean

Aug 20: Unspoken Words

Aug 21: Favorite Things

Aug 22: Quotes (can be from the show or from some other media)

Aug 23: Cozy

Aug 24: Fireworks

If for some reason your post isn't reblogged, kindly @ me in the replies and I'll make sure it makes it here!

[halfusek]

Something inky this way comes! The Ink Demonth emerges once again!

The Ink Demonth is a 31-day event dedicated to the game Bendy and the Ink Machine (and other games associated with the Bendy universe). It’s based on daily themes. As long as your creation involves elements from the game along with any interpretation of the respective day’s theme – it counts!

You don’t have to create something for each day, make as many creations as you’d like. However, if you manage to do all 31 of them, you can submit a form to receive a little gift (drawing request)! In the form, you will have to provide a link to each of your posted event submissions (it doesn’t have to be Tumblr, just a site that’s publically accessible!).

Here is the link to the form (it will be opened from September 1st to September 30th):

Tag your creations with #The Ink Demonth and #Bendy and the Ink Machine. It’s important if you want to have your entry reblogged by me, which I’m going to do to everything I’ll see in this tag. (So don’t @ me, just tag it with the event’s tag and the game’s name. It’s possible that your post may not show up in the tags, if you notice that I’m not reblogging your entries for a longer while, feel free to DM them directly to me on Tumblr. My focus will be mainly on Tumblr, I may interact with posts on other sites but it is going to be with whatever I run into, as this event is Tumblr-focused. Feel free to post on other sites too, though!)

(Due to special circumstances in my life I might be especially slow this August with reblogging stuff, so if you notice that I'm not reblogging anything at all, I might just be having a busy day and will get on it when I'm free! <3)

(And, though I think it goes without saying, if I notice a post containing something I consider harmful content, I will not reblog it and will warn the creator of such content that, depending on the case, they cannot continue to take part in the event with content like this or perhaps even not at all.)

Remember to tag only the finished entries, so the tag isn’t clogged with WIPs!

You can create whatever you’d like! Draw a picture! Write a fic! Do a video edit! Take a cosplay photo! Anything you can come up with that is a creative interpretation of that day’s theme!

(Don’t try to „cheat the system”, though – don’t submit a, let’s say, straight line for each day, I will notice this kind of spam and remember: spamming is a terrible sin. You can make an entry that covers a few themes but as long as you don’t create 31 things, the gift will not be granted to you.)

The event starts on the 1st of August and ends on the 31st. Although, don’t worry if you’re too busy in August, late entries are always welcome! (…for reblogging, as for drawing gifts I’m going to give all of you an extra month, so if you’re aiming for that, the end of September is your deadline.) (I usually also give an extra month before for preparing during July but this year I’ve been too busy to make it for July so apologies!)

Why in August? I figured that since August is the month on Joey’s calendar in his apartment and August is the month during which BatIM takes place, it should be the one! 

Please, make sure to tag appropriate trigger/content warnings!

Thank you for taking your time to read this. Reblogs are appreciated in order to get the word out.

Have fun everyone! 💛🖤

You can view the text version of the full month under the cut~

1. Pencil

2. Friendship

3. Creator

4. Choice

5. Benevolent

6. Machine

7. Flow

8. Pen

9. Failure

10. Creation

11. Reason

12. Angel

13. Children

14. Puddles

15. Color

16. Legacy

17. Eye

18. Purpose

19. Ghost

20. Factory

21. City

22. Radio

23. Contraband

24. Keep

25. Cycle

26. Demon

27. Pit

28. Devour

29. Meat

30. Duck

31. Revival

[quinns-shadowy-arts]

Steve's Perfect Mixtape

Day 8 of @steddielovemonth‘s Steddie Love Month Event!   Rating: General CW: None Tags: Getting Together, Love Confessions, Eddie’s a Romantic, Tooth Rotting Fluff. WC: 1,308 Prompt: “Love is the perfect mixtape”; Submitted by @thefreakandthehair and “Love is the heartbeat I can feel when I hug him”; Submitted by anonymous  

Eddie’s been thinking about this for months. He’s had the small cassette tape tucked into the depths of his dresser drawer since March. He started making the mixtape the same week he found out when Steve’s birthday was.

It was the night of January 24th. Big, fat snowflakes were falling from the sky. Steve and Eddie were sitting on the living room floor of the Munson’s new trailer. They were passing a joint between the two of them, relaxing and listening to some of Eddie’s tapes. They were sharing secrets and stories, lips loose from the weed. 

“I’m going to be 21 in April, isn’t that crazy?” Steve had asked. Eddie didn’t really think that was all that crazy if he was being honest. 

“I was supposed to be in college right now. Studying to take my dad’s spot as CEO or whatever.” Steve had looked over at Eddie before looking back up at the ceiling. Eddie’s heart squeezed at the thought. 

“Do you- Do you wish you were in college?” Eddie asked, looking at the slope of Steve’s nose; straight and gorgeous. Steve looked back over at Eddie, taking a hit of the joint he’d been hogging, before responding.

“I used to. I felt like a failure for not being accepted, still sorta do. But I’m happy now that I didn’t. If I hadn’t been rejected from all the schools I applied for, I wouldn’t have Robin. I wouldn’t have worked at Scoops and wouldn’t have ever met her, y’know?” Eddie nodded. Steve made eye contact with Eddie and kept going.

“I wouldn’t have met you either. I’m happy here, with you. I would kill to be here with you, sitting on the floor and shooting the shit, rather than at some stuffy school, studying for a boring future that I don’t even want. I’m more than happy, here with you.” Steve smiled at Eddie. Eddie pulled a chunk of hair in front of his face, trying to hide the heat spreading across his face.

“Aw shucks, Stevie.” Eddie teased. Steve chuckled at Eddie’s theatrics.

“When is your birthday?” Eddie asked, still holding the hair over his face. 

“April 17th, 1967. You?” Steve quirked his eyebrow at Eddie. 

“August 8th, 1966” Eddie responded.

The next day, Eddie was brainstorming things he could get Steve for his birthday. He toyed around with the idea of something sportsy, maybe some compression socks or something. But that felt too simple and disingenuous. It was a gift you would get for a coworker, not a friend you’ve spilt blood and battled demons with.

Eventually the idea struck Eddie like an arrow. Eddie loved music, believed it was one of the best ways you could connect with someone. You could learn a lot about someone from their music taste. So Eddie started crafting Steve's Perfect Mixtape™.

He spent weeks choosing the songs, listening to Top 40’s pop songs to assemble the perfect selection of songs. After choosing what he deemed were “the best songs” (and Steve’s favorites of course), he listened to them for hours on end, trying to figure out the perfect order. The order that would flow into itself in the most satisfying way. 

By the beginning of March, he had perfected the tape. He had finally recorded all of the songs down onto one tape. He had labeled the tape as what it was, “Stevie’s Perfect Mixtape”. It held Steve’s favorite songs, such as “Head Over Heels” by Tears For Fears and “Sunglasses at Night” by Corey Hart. He tucked the tape into his dresser, hoping to keep it safe and secret until Steve’s birthday.

Finally, Steve’s birthday had come. Steve planned for everyone to come over, nothing too extravagant. He used to throw absolute ragers, back when he was King Steve, but he much preferred the simple hang outs with his closest friends. 

Eddie dug the tape out from the back of his drawer and wrapped it in some wrapping paper he found in Wayne’s closet. He tucked the cassette into the pocket above his heart. He hopped into his van and drove over to Steve’s house. 

Steve’s party was chill, including only the kids and older teens. They hung out in his living room, songs flowing from Steve’s speakers. They all played games and ate pizza, the older teens drinking mainly beer while the youngins drank soda. The party continued on until the late evening. Everyone would’ve stayed longer, but the gremlins had school and everyone else still had curfews. 

Robin had gone with Nancy, Mike, and Lucas while Jonathan and Argyle carted Will and Dustin home. Which had left Steve and Eddie alone. Steve was happy to have the company still, wasn’t exactly looking forward to falling asleep alone. Eddie still hadn’t given Steve The Tape yet, had wanted to wait until they had some privacy. 

“Hey, Steve?” Eddie called out. Eddie stood in front of the couch while Steve was in the kitchen. Steve walked into the living room at the sound of Eddie’s voice.

“Yeah, man? Is everything ok?” Steve’s eyebrows were furrowed with concern. 

“Yeah, everything’s ok. I just had a present I needed to give you.” Eddie said. Steve’s concern melted away, making him look light and happy. 

“Oh, you didn’t need to do that.” Steve said, but he smiled and walked towards Eddie. Eddie reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the little wrapped rectangle. He handed it over to Steve. Steve grabbed onto it and started pulling away the wrapping. 

“Is this a mixtape?” Steve looked up at Eddie while tugging the last remaining half of paper off. A note fell to the ground as he did so. Steve looked down and picked it up, tucking it underneath the cassette tape as he read off the song list.

“You put “Bad Boys” on here?” Steve smiled up at Eddie. It was one of Steve’s favorite songs, he had only told Eddie about his love for it, 

“Yeah, I know how much you love Wham!, and it reminded me of us a little bit” Eddie smiled at Steve, it was one of Eddie’s favorite songs now too. Steve finished reading off the list before pulling the note out from underneath the tape; he unfolded it up and began to read it. 

As Steve read through the note, Eddie’s heart had started to pump at top speed. He pulled a lock of hair over his face, trying to hide his embarrassment. Steve’s wide smile morphed into something smaller; something private and sweet. He bit at his bottom lip, tears springing to his eyes. After a couple of minutes, he looked up at Eddie. 

“Do you really love me?” Steve’s voice wobbled with emotion. Eddie nodded,

“Yes, Stevie. I really love you. I understand if you don’t feel the same way, I just needed to let you know. You deserve to know that someone loves you.” Tears trickled down Steve’s cheeks, his smile remained on his face.

 He pulled Eddie into a hug, Eddie’s head landing against his chest. Steve’s hand held Eddie’s head in place, his face pressing against the top of Eddie’s frizzy hair. Eddie could hear the rapid thumping of Steve’s heart against his ear. He listened to the rhythmic Thump thump thump of Steve’s heartbeat while Steve pressed kisses against the top of his head. 

“Thank you” Steve whispered out, voice overflowing with emotion. He squeezed his arms tighter around Eddie. 

“I love you too, for the record” Steve smiled even wider, even though Eddie couldn’t see it. Eddie turned his head and kissed at the spot above Steve’s heart. He pressed his ear back to Steve’s pec. He listened as Steve’s heart calmed down into something tender. 

Ba-bump   Ba-bump   Ba-bump

Both their hearts thumped with love, full of affection and joy. This really was the perfect mixtape. 

[steddieunderdogfics]

STEDDIE UNDERDOG JULY CALENDAR

A new month is here!! Time for more challenges, themes, and writer's spotlights!!

Upcoming Challenge Mondays:

7/1 -- Fics with character names in the title

7/8 -- Fics with 7/7 chapters (complete)

7/15 -- Fics inspired by other fics (in fandom or outside of it)

7/22 -- Fics posted Summer 2023 (June - August)

7/29 -- Fics in Non-English Languages (includes translations)

Upcoming Writer's Wednesdays:

7/3 -- @fragilecapric0rnn

7/10 -- @judasofsuburbia

7/17 -- @cchapsticck

7/24 -- @ataliagold

7/31 -- @steddieasitgoes

Upcoming Theme Weekends:

7/6 - 7/7 -- Hurt/Comfort

7/20 - 7/21 -- Slow Burn

Friday July 26th is @spicysix's Mod Spotlight day! You can submit questions here.

The Last Friday of every month will have a new calendar release!

CHECK OUT OUR LINKS BELOW TO PARTICIPATE!

Nominate an author for WRITER'S SPOTLIGHT here!

Vote on our next THEME WEEEK here!

Suggest a CHALLENGE for Challenge Mondays here!

Submit a fic through our ASK!

You can see our previously recommended fics here!

[anonpolls]

Thanks, Anon!

-submit your poll!-

[jeffffffffest]

JeFFFFFFFFest 2024 Gift Exchange

This exchange is for fanworks based on Jeff Satur’s music videos and related media.

‘Related media’ includes characters such as the rain god from Jeff’s Halloween fan art Instagram post, or the fallen angel from Call Me by Fire. A resource list with links to media will be available in the Discord server (link to join).

While all Jeffs may be used as visual/auditory/character inspiration, characters from acting roles (KinnPorsche, He She It, Ingredients) are not the focus of this event. Crossovers such as Kim/Sunshine are in the spirit of the event, but a direct KinnPorsche fanwork is not.

Why JeFFFFFFFFest?

Is it because of all of the Jeffs possibly named Jeff? Is it because that’s how we’re feeling after each new release (F!)? Is it because they represent all of the Fun Fabulous Fanworks we’ll be creating? Yes. (There are eight Fs for Space Shuttle No. 8, if you care.)

This exchange is open to all types of fanworks, including text, visual art, audio, and video. The sign-up form will prompt you to list which types of fanworks you’d like to offer and receive. Everyone will be matched with a recipient who meets their fanwork types and prompts as closely as possible. Assignments will remain private until the collection is revealed, so please keep that information secret from your recipient!

You are only required to create one fanwork, in the medium of your choosing. If your recipient requests visual art or written text, you can choose which type of fanwork to create based on their prompts and what inspires you the most. If you’re inspired to create multiple fanworks, that’s a bonus, but not expected or required.

Once assignments are sent out, a channel will be opened in the Discord server for people to share their prompts if they choose. You’re welcome to create additional fanworks as 'treats' based on those prompts and submit them to the AO3 collection. There’s no limit to how many prompts you can fill or how many works you can create!

After the reveal, there will be a 'remix round' for fanworks inspired by the posted exchange works. This is a free-for-all where anything goes! You can make fanvids inspired by art, record podfics of written works, or anything else that inspires you. You can opt out of or limit your participation in this round with a permission statement.

Both the 'treat' and 'remix' rounds are completely optional, and as such we encourage you to create anything, no matter how small or how unfamiliar you are with that form of fanwork! This is a great place for fanworks like moodboards, fanmixes/playlists, and anything else that doesn't fit in the main gift exchange. Of course, large prompt fills are also welcome!

Rules

Please bring complaints or concerns privately to the exchange mods; we're here to help make this a positive experience for everyone! A complaint form (anonymous by choice) can be found here, or feel free to reach out to a mod on discord or tumblr. Respect all DNWs (including requests for no NSFW content) and include appropriate content warnings in posts and discussions; when in doubt, at a minimum, AO3 warnings should always be tagged/warned, or talk to a mod if you're unsure. To ensure that artist credit is always appropriately given, the use of AI and/or gifting AI-generated content is strictly prohibited.

Bigotry and harassment of any kind will not be tolerated. Respect and be mindful of all fellow community members.

If you have questions for your recipient or about the exchange in general, please contact one of the mod team. If you need to drop out for any reason, please let the mods know as soon as possible. Your moderators for this event are @airgiodslv, @mousydentist, and @shubaka (on discord and tumblr).*

*To the best of our knowledge, none of the mods are secretly Jeff.

Schedule

Sign-ups:  June 1-20

Assignments Out:  June 23

Check-in: July 21

Deadline:  August 4

Pinch-hits:  August 5-11

Reveal:  August 12

Remix round: August 12-25

For the most up to date information, please refer to this blog (posts tagged #logistics) and/or join our discord server. Also, we're aware that things happen! We want to make this event as fun as possible, so if you ever feel overwhelmed, please talk to a mod at any time about an extended timeline or enlisting a pinch-hitter. The pinch-hitters have from August 5-11, so please let us know ASAP if you need support.

Our AO3 collection is here. Links to fics and posts made on other sites (eg, tumblr, twitter, archive.org) will be reblogged/cross-posted to this blog. If you don't want your gift to be on tumblr, please reach out to a mod ASAP so we can make other arrangements.

Sign-up Form

The sign-up form can be found here! Reminder that sign-ups will be open until June 20th.

Happy Jeff-ing everyone! 🪐

[inceptiversary]

Inceptiversary 2024 Masterlist

July is almost here, and we are so excited!

The Inception fandom currently has two chat room servers:

Inception Chat (Slack)

You’re Waiting for a Train (Discord)

Jump in and say hello! If links are expired, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Inceptiversary mods for assistance.

Below the cut is a list of all the events that will be taking place this year! Most events run from July 1 to 31, but some are starting earlier and some are running a little longer. Make sure to read the descriptions for each event and don’t hesitate to reach out to us with any questions!

Inception 30 Day Challenge (@inception30daychallenge)

The Inception 30 Day Challenge is a set of 30+ questions and prompts about Inception, its characters, and you! They’re meant to inspire some reflection and creativity about Inception, whether it be through a simple text post, art, music, recs – anything goes! And there will be prizes! Visit the @inception30daychallenge​ blog for the full list of questions!

InceptionArt (@inceptionart)

A blog to celebrate all the wonderful art created by the Inception fandom! Feel free to share inception art with us, either your own or others’, by reblogging (not reposting!) the artwork and tagging the inceptionart blog!

Arthur/Eames Last Drabble Writer Standing (@aeldws)

Signups open June 21 through June 28 or all 10 slots are filled. A weekly elimination drabble challenge where all works must fit a given prompt and feature Arthur/Eames as the main pairing. This year’s AELDWS will run for seven weeks, from June 30 to August 11, with a maximum of 10 participants. Prompts are posted on the @aeldws blog Friday at 1AM EDT, and drabbles are due Tuesday at 1PM EDT. Voting will take place Tuesday night through Thursday night.

Inception Auction (@inceptionauction)

Donate fic, art, services, crafts etc. to raise money for a charity - then let the bidding begin! Accepting offers: June 6 - July 6 Auction open to bids: July 8 - 23 Winners notified July 25 Proof of donations due July 31

Inception Big Bang (@inception-bigbang)

Posting date July 31 An author and artist collaborative event. Authors anonymously submit fic summaries, and artists claim their favorites and create art. Claims ended in early June. First check-in for participants is July 1. Second check-in for participants will be on July 15.

Inception Kitties (@inceptionkitties)

30 days of InceptionKitties means 30 questions for the 30 days of Inceptiversary before we draw a random winner on the 31st! A fun question will be posed to the InceptionKitties community each day, and all our cat parents have to do is reblog the post and share their response! There’s no signups or obligation to do all 30 questions. Pick and choose at your convenience! But anyone who tackles 15 days of questions gets entered into the draw for a small prize!

Inception Positivity (@inceptionpositivity)

Submissions open June 24 until July 28. Inception Positivity is a place to send love and kind thoughts to Inception fandom friends anonymously and receive some love in turn. People submit kind messages via Google form and these are turned into colourful posts that are posted on the blog.

Inception Quiz (hosted on the @inceptiversary blog)

July 16 - July 30 Test out your Inception knowledge for a chance at winning some prizes!

Inception Watch Parties (@inceptionwatchparty)

Watch parties will be hosted starting July 1 on the You’re Waiting for a Train Discord server. See above for invite link to the server or contact the watch party mods. For the full schedule and list of films that will be viewed, visit the @inceptionwatchparty​ blog!

Inception Watch Party Bingo (hosted on the @inceptiversary blog)

Come join our annual Inception Day watch parties and play bingo for prizes! Grab a bingo card ahead of time by emailing inceptiversarymods @ gmail . com and enjoy!

[nimonabigbang]

Revised Nimona Big Bang Schedule

Based on feedback we received from the Big Bang Participant Survey and the latest writer and artist check-ins (all still open for responses), we have adjusted the event schedule.

We will start revealing fanworks on October 5th and will release one project per day to allow each project some time to shine. Projects that need a little extra time can be released later, and we will release incomplete projects (multi-chapter WIPs, projects with less than two art pieces, etc) later in the release window. All project team members must be on the same page about the release date. More details are in the email we sent out on August 28th.

8/10-8/18: Check-in #4 — should be 75% done with all fic and art to stay on track for an early October release date

8/18: Writers should be in contact with at least one beta reader

8/25: Writers should send half of their fics to beta readers to stay on track for an early October release date

9/14-9/22: Check-in #5 — For projects to be ready for release October 5-13:

writers should be 100% done drafting fics

complete fic drafts should be sent to beta readers for review

artists should be almost done with all art

9/14: Suggested date for writers to send full fic drafts to beta readers to stay on track for an early October release date (please allow a minimum of one week for betas to beta read 5k words and consider the schedules of your specific beta readers)

9/27-9/30: Check-in #6 — This is the last check-in that will be sent to all project teams. We will confirm if the project team is ready for a reveal October 5-13 or planning on a later release date.

9/28: Last day for submissions for final fanworks that can be released starting 10/5 through 10/13:

finalized fics (beta'ed and edited) added to unrevealed AO3 Collection

two art pieces (or one more elaborate art piece) submitted on Drive/via email

links to fanart ready so that writers can embed art in their fics (with credit)

10/5: First fanworks released (one project/day)

10/4-10/7: Check-in #7 sent to incomplete projects; if done can be released starting October 14

10/11-10/14: Check-in #8 sent to incomplete projects; if done can be released starting October 21

10/18-10/21: Check-in #9 sent to incomplete projects; if done can be released starting October 28 and can also potentially release multi-chapter WIPs with at least one chapter done or fics with only one standard art piece

10/22-10/28: Check-in #10 sent to unposted, incomplete projects; if done can be released starting November 4 and can also potentially release multi-chapter WIPS with at least one chapter done, fics without an art piece, or art pieces without a fic

11/9: Last fanworks released based on current number of projects and the one project/day schedule

[lonestarflight]

On October 4 , 1967,"NASA informed the Boeing Company that it was terminating procurement of 10 S-IC stages, S-IC-16 through S-IC-25. Boeing had submitted a proposal on July 3 and an adjusted proposal on September 20 covering the necessary supplies and services for fabrication and delivery of the stages."

-MAF, Historical Report, Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 1967, p. 28.

These were for the second production run of the Saturn V, possibly corresponding to Apollo 21-30 and later two were planned to launch Voyager 1 and 2. The long lead items for S-IC-16 and S-IC-17 had already started when the decision was announced and any materials already gathered were scrapped. Although NASA concluded to lobby for funding for SA-516 and SA-517 (along with Saturn IBs SA-215 and SA-216) until August 1968.

Note: photos are not of S-IC-16 and S-IC-17.

NASA Doc: link

source

[lokiusbang]

Calling all Lokius artists

We’re looking for you to sign up to the Lokius Reverse Bang, an artist-led event to celebrate 1 year since the Loki S2 finale aired.

Artists will create 1 or more pieces of art for the event. Writers will claim art and collaborate with the artist to write a fic based on the art.

Sign up form.

Please tag your artists to let them know of this event.

Artist requirements

You must complete at least 1 piece of finished art for the Reverse Lokius Bang. You can submit up to 2 submissions to be claimed. Each submission can contain 1 or multiple art pieces. Your art must be able to be shared digitally and must be created specifically for the event.

Types of art allowed:

digital art

trad art

comics

gif sets

vids/edits.

Other artforms not listed above may be suitable for the event. Please contact mods to discuss.

No AI art is allowed in this event.

Dates

16 June—artist sign ups close

30 June–7 July—art submissions

20–21 July—claims period

28 July—teams confirmed

25 August—check in

22 September—check in

20 October—check in

9–20 November—posting period.

Art must be either a rough sketch or a storyboard by submission.

If you want to collaborate with another artist as part of the reverse bang, please contact mods to discuss.

See FAQs and rules for the Lokius Reverse Bang.