#When you add ships to the mix it gets crazy!

[darkcrowprincess]

My two modes of favorite batman/batfamily fics:

I either like found family with hurt comfort with fluff or just pure soap opera drama with a happy ending.

[inklore]

THE ANGST OF BEING IN AN AGEGAP-SHIP WITH JOEL.

I'm talking pre-outbreak here, but you can fully imagine post outbreak Joel because it still stands that the relationship would have so much angst to it!! 

The minute it starts happening, the minute Joel feels that pang in his heart or that twitch of want in his cock, he knows he’s fucked. It doesn't matter if you add a shared history into the mix (dad's best friend, neighbor, etc), Joel knows he needs to keep his distance. 

He doesn’t have time for the mess that could come from it. Doesn’t have time to think about how he hasn’t felt like this in god knows when—where he can’t get you off his mind even while he’s working, a song coming on the radio, and he wonders if it would be your thing (would you like it? would you dance to it? for him? with him?).

How do you take your coffee in the morning? Do you take it black like him, or do you like that iced coffee that he just can’t seem to get into? 

What do you smell like when you’ve just gotten out of the shower, and how can he make it linger for days so he can be even more consumed by you? Maybe it would stop his heart from squeezing in his chest every time he sees you. Every time you give him that sweet smile that makes him want to say fuck it and have you. 

He thinks he might be crazy. Maybe he’s been out of the dating pool, hasn’t felt this attraction in so long that maybe he just doesn’t know how to act. 

But then he catches your eyes lingering on him—the smile you bite away as you turn your head. The sheen that comes across your eyes when you’ve caught him staring. The way being in the same room as him makes you fidgety. The hard swallows, the tapping fingers, the pressing of your thigh—he knows he’s not crazy because you feel it too. 

And it’s even more reason for him to stay away. 

To just live with wrapping his hand around his cock at night, thinking about you. He doesn’t need the real thing. 

He doesn’t need to feel your lips around the head of his cock, where his palm twists and pulls. He doesn’t need to feel your body underneath him as he presses your legs to your chest, leaning down to claim your mouth—his tongue lapping up every weak noise you make. 

And he most certainly does not need to come inside of you. on you. down your throat. 

Coming on his stomach with your name bitten into his tongue is enough. Should be enough. 

But it’s not. It’s so far from being enough that when the dam breaks, you’re both flooded with every missed chance and opportunity, and what if that you spend hours in bed. 

Hours of Joel between your legs—his mouth pressed to your clit as he sucks and rolls his tongue, switching between strokes and presses of his fingers, trying to figure out what you like until he’s got it down. Until you’re coming against his mouth, your fingers pulling at strands of his hair. making him want to stay down there longer just to hear you come like that again. To feel it. 

Hours of Joel trying not to come down your throat as you let him buck his hips up into it. The underside of his cock rubbing against your tongue, the side of your hollowed cheeks, the tip hitting the back of your throat making you gag around him—and Joel never thought seeing your eyes full of tears could look so hot. 

Hours of Joel spreading you out on your back, legs open and pushed down against the mattress as he watches himself pump in and out of you. 

Hours of Joel pulling your back into his chest, cuddling you from behind—a respite the both of you think until he’s fucking you again. Wrapping a hand around your jaw to bring your mouth to his. 

Both of you losing track of how many times you’ve come. 

And after that first night, it’s constant. 

If Joel ever thought after having you he’d feel normal again, he was dead wrong.  

He doesn’t think he’ll ever feel normal again. 

Not when it comes to you. 

But then doubt sets in. After months, after hearts have fallen, and Joel really knows there’s no going back from this. From you. That he’s actually in love with you; he doesn’t know if he should be. 

If the two of you should keep sneaking around like this. He doesn’t care who knows. Couldn’t give a shit, really. But he’s not stupid. He knows what some people will say. How they will react. He can take it. 

It’s you he’s worried about. 

Not that you can’t hold your own, but it’s not something you deserve. A judgmental eye towards an amazing woman doesn’t sit right with him. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks of him, but you’re good. Too good for this world, he thinks sometimes when he’s watching you sleep. 

Thumb resting against your chin as he counts your breaths. 

And when he brings this up to you, when he tries to put an end to your relationship to give you an out, it blows up. It makes him feel that pain of heartbreak he thought he remembered but feels fucking debilitating now. The tears in your eyes now only making his chest ache. Only making him want to punch something, someone. 

"I won’t hold you back.”

“You deserve better.”

"Darlin', please understand.” 

“I'm sorry. I'm just tryna do what’s right.” 

"Fuck, I love you.” 

Your cheeks burn under his palms when he grabs them to bring your mouth to his. The kiss filled with more passion than Joel thinks he’s ever felt in his lifetime. The salty taste of your tears licked away by his tongue. Kissed away by his lips at your cheek as he murmurs, "I ain’t goin nowhere; I'm here. Come on, that’s it,” as he strips you bare and slips inside of you. 

The strokes of his cock slow and hard. Gazes held and filled with love. Moans, grunts, and whimpers bit and marked into skin—into Joel’s heart. 

"I'm all yours. You’re mine.” He whispers against your lips. The hand around your throat is gentler and softer than it usually is. Rubbing a soothing circle against your heartbeat as the other hand moves between you to pull your leg up. Opening you and pushing your pelvis up to have your clit rubbing against him at just the right angle, matched with how deep his cock fucks into you, makes you whine into his mouth as you come. 

“My girl, my girl,” Joel mumbles softly against your skin after you’ve both come down. His lips at the back of your neck. Arm keeping you flush against him, like he refuses to let go. Like he’s stupid for thinking it was ever possible he could. 

[realmsalot]

I've been obsessed with Relativity Falls au for some reason lately so of course I've been turning around my own version in my head lately. And with Fiddleford I keep flip flopping on who I would switch him because there are many good options. Like

Fiddleford <> Pacifica:

This seems to be the most popular option, I've seen many old woman Pacifica designs, but I personally cannot see McGucket be the snotty rich kid that Pacifica was at the start. I CAN see how he could be rich (Tate McGucket probably invented something and got a lot of money for it) but CAN'T see him be anyway snotty about it. I think the best way to make Fiddleford fit this role is through a series of misunderstandings. He is trying SO HARD to be nice to these twin brothers who are spending their summer in Gravity Falls and he just keeps messing up. He tries to make a robot to help them out but it end up turning evil and they assume that it was ment to sabotage them from the start. He tries to have a nice conversation with them but because he's rich he's just out touch enough to come off rude and show offy. FIDDS IS TRYING TO BE NICE FROM THE START!

Fiddleford <> Candy

It is easily the second most popular option here. There really isn't much to say with this one it's probably the one that makes the most sense. I can easily see Candy going to Backupsmore and telling Dipper/Mabel about the weird things shes seen in Gravity Falls. The idea that Stanley and Fidds became friends first before Ford and Fidds is interesting. My main grip with it is that if we're going with the version where Dipper is swapped with Ford, it implies that Mable and Candy never really became friends in this universe, which I find really sad. Honestly I think that the main reason this swap exists in that context is because of that one episode were they go on a road trip and Candy got crush on Dipper mixed with fact that many people ship FiddleAuthor.

Fiddleford <> Soos

Hear me out, hear me OUT! I've seen a few versions where even when Soos' Grandma is swapped with Soos, they also add Fidds as a handyman at the Shack anyways. But why not go the whole way, ya'know? Soos was a friend that Dipper met and shared a dorm with in Backupsmore. Soos was still older than Dipper. Soos and Melody were already married with a kid on the way, and Soos was also Gravity Falls' local handyman. He decided to get college and get like a mechanical engineering degree or maybe a trade in something there because even in the small town of Gravity Falls technology was only getting more and more complicated and Soos wanted to be able to keep up so he can keep making money for his family by fixing things. During their time at Backupsmore, Soos would tell Dipper about some of the crazy things he's seen living in Gravity Falls, and that inspires Dipper to go study it after college. And then the rest of that rolls out predictably. I can easily (and sadly) see Soos becoming the local kook. I imagine that it will also be much sadder for the locals to see Soos acting up because many of them have memories of him coming to fix their microwaves and stuff. And as for Fidds, he's the Mystery Shack's handyman. You can make him around the same age as the Stan twins, we know that in cannon that Soos started working there around that age, so he doesn't have to be Soos' cannon age. I think this works best with Dipper and Ford switching places because in cannon Dipper and Soos were friends, so it kinda easily transfers, ya'know. I've put a lot in this one.

And uh yeah that's my incoherent ramblings...

[bloodykora]

Thonking hard about Buggy and long haired Buggy especially. Like I don’t mind the stylistic choice in the LA but maaaaan, maaaaaaaan. There’s the obvious stuff like playing with his long hair and braiding it but my mind keeps going back to Head!Buggy and you and it’s just a bit of time to kill before you get anywhere and you were honestly just supposed to watch him so he doesn’t get snatched up by a seagull and something and you both agree this doesn’t mean ANYTHING (he’s gonna develop a soft spot for you and ONLY you out of all the straw hats immediatly), but it’s so damn boring out here and you have some hairties you found somewhere and just… You using Buggy’s head like a hairstyling toy and just braiding it for him or putting it into little buns, clipping it out of his face so it doesn’t get into his eyes etc.

Sanji passes you once and is about to say something but Buggy just gives him a glare that’s all „Got something funny to say punk?“ and he just shakes his head and moves on.

(You forget one tie in there before he reuinites with his body. A simple little thing with two skull beads. He initially keeps it because he actually feels it suites his style but he developes a fondness for this little thing in particular that he doesn’t allow himself to think about for to long)

This is so much longer then I thought it would be so I'm putting it under read more but like yes.

- No cause I absolutely agree, love his long gorgeous hair. I like to think his hair isn’t thin either, its a good mix of thickness but not to the point of curly. He’s got the nice ‘wave’ going. Did you know that in his hat, there are small braids in the hair coming out of it in the LA.

- It didn’t take long for Buggy to start complaining about the heat and it didn’t take you long to get fed up with his complaints

- You kept looking at how his blue hair kept draping over the side of the barrel he was on, and how his bandana has not moved a inch since he was taken out of the bag on the ship

- "Let me do your hair." "No." "Let’s continue then to sit in almost complete silence, would you like to play cards? Oh, wait. You have no hands. What about I Spy? I spy something blue."

- Just making fun of the his situation until he caves in to let you, he says to stop your whining but in reality he could really use the scalp massage

- Putting a crate behind the barrel or something so you can sit and do it. It’s softer than you had thought it would be, and you could see small braids near his bottom layers.

- "Did you do these?" "Huh? I can’t really see the back of my head, you gotta be more descriptive." Holding one of them out for him to see. "Oh yeah, adds a nice touch to the hat when I’m performing!"

- The shed though, his hair would shed so much. You’d be pulling blue hair strands out of your clothes for the rest of time. And they’d get everywhere on the ship too.

- You could hear him sigh in relief when you first start brushing through it, and you felt relieved knowing those knots have been eradicated.

- First thing you do is just a little bun so his neck could get some fresh air for once and then it evolves into the craziness.

- Buns, pigtails, high and low ponys, 1 braid, 2 braids, fishtails, french, dutch, braiding 2 pieces and then wrapping it around his forehead like a crown. Favourite would be doing 2 french braids at the top of his head til it's the bottom and then putting the hair tie there so it becomes a fancy low pigtail.

- "I can't believe how pretty you are with your hair, not very fair to the rest of us good sir." You joke out, meaning it though. "I've always been pretty!" You snort at his reply not knowing how warm his face had started feeling.

- Every pirate has a niche collection, yours? Your hair pin collection. To die for. You have been collecting hair clips and such for this exact occasion. Butterflies, wooden, yellow, purple, bobby pins, bows, ribbons, flowers. The whole works.

- Buggy even thinks about asking you to join his crew just for your hair decoration skills.

- One time you even trim his dead ends for him, and some of his front pieces to frame his face more.

- He got so used to it that if you didn’t approach him with a brush in hand first thing in the morning that he would start asking for you saying how he needed his royal brushing. (He’s totally not worried at all sometimes when you take too long, ha that would be. Ahem.)

- Sometimes he’d even doze off, but would swear he was just resting his eyes.

- A few times someone would stop to glance at you two but never intervene, except Luffy. He was always in awe. Sanji had voiced his concerns for you but never says anything in front of Buggy, you could never see but the two men were death staring each other every time they passed.

- Word spreads through the crew and even though none of them had long enough hair to do or in Usopp’s case, has been doing it himself this whole time. They do come to ask for little clips here and there, Luffy wanting one for the string on his hat so he has something to fidget with, (Nami wanting some to wear with her different outfits later on), Usopp wondering where you got heart ones so he could get one for Kaya, even Zoro wondering if you had one he could wear for Kuina’s memory on special occasions.

-You knew you were nearing Coco village, you had overheard Buggy talking to Usopp about it. How they should be there within the day. You settle for a low bun that curls up right beneath his cap.

- "No beads today?" "Well there is some on the tie but you can’t see it, I was thinking that it would be a more relaxed day. I got some stuff to do around the ship."

- Everyone is so caught up in Nami that by the time things have cooled down you realize he’s gone, no more blue hair to twirl around your fingers.

- The clown realizes too, fiddling with the tie in his hands. Burying the longing deep down, hoping he never sees you again but praying he might get a glance of you once more. He takes it out if he knows he’s about to raid somewhere to avoid breaking it.

- Tears apart his quarters if he misplaces it, someone has almost lost a hand because it fell off a table. 

[rose-tea-and-strawberries]

I watched the episode of House of Mouse where its the Christmas special and Pete's in and that got me thinking-

I cannot remember if you've already made a post regarding Christmas at the HoM, so consider this in September:

Since it's implied Christmas doesn't exist in TW, let's say Yuu starts making gingerbread cookies out of habit. And after that, she is halfway through the pudding when she realises that Christmas, in fact, has never been brought up before amongst her friends.

A quick check later and she leaves the pudding to set while wondering where she's going to find the occasion to give her friends holiday treats.

So sometime before Christmas she brings the cookies and pudding over to the HoM after wrapping them up fancy for her work family-

Only for Pluto to flaunt his special sugar-free gingerbread biscuits in full view of the villains' table.

And then Maleficent calls Yuu over to ask where did Pluto get such cute cookies with pine trees piped all over them-

Yuu, most likely: 'I made them myself for Christmas :). But Christmas doesn't exist in TW, so I couldn't think up a special occasion to give my friends Christmas treats :(. Especially considering all the effort that went into the cookies :( Jamil wouldn't call that cost-effective :(

Jafar is internally cursing out his protege, while Maleficent and the Queen of Hearts immediately start trying to convince her to make their twisted versions cookies :) and only their versions :) no, shove off mal, she's going to make dear riddle cookies that don't break any rules whatsover :) not your grandson :) sod off you hag :)

Anyway, I was going to add something about a kiss under the mistletoe but it's not even November yet so I'll save it until then

Please don't let this ask get eaten-

Hi!

Wow, I am loving these House of Mouse!AU asks. Life has been crazy these past few months so coming back to Tumblr to see that people are still interested in this really makes me smile 🥰

I remember writing something about that special last year that was kind of similar to what you said - I love the fan trope where our/Yuu's world's holidays/traditions don't exist in twst. The angst and fluff potential is just so good (I remember there was this one episode of Winx Club where the fairies try to cheer Bloom up by having a christmas party but they misunderstand everything and Stella interprets 'christmas cheer' as 'a christmas cheer' like the type cheerleaders do and I feel like that's the kind of endearing shenanigans you'd get in NRC)

I think that's what makes the House of Mouse so neat - it's kind of like a best of both worlds situation where there is a mix of both fantastical Disney magic and parts of our world (so Yuu can feel more at home, in a way)

Okay but back when I was in another fandom, I wrote a christmas themed drabble where a character made personalised gingerbread people for his entire class where he decorated each biscuit to look like them and I think that's definitely something Yuu would do (as well as the usual christmas themed ones, of course - she likes to go all out like that)

But yes, I see the shippers using this as a way to sail their ship. Yes, of course they want to throw a christmas celebration as a way to make Yuu happy - but it wouldn't hurt if they indulged in some light trickery now would it. Cue cartoon shenanigans where everyone is sabotaging each other, leading to total chaos and a Yuu that is both frazzled and totally oblivious.

"C'mon, Jaffy - just 'cause your little protege doesn't appreciate Yuu doesn't mean you have to ruin things for us. Where's your christmas spirit?"

"You don't even celebrate christmas!"

"Neither do you!"

Not to mention all of the animal companions that want special christmas treats as well (much to Pluto's irritation and obvious jealousy)

Thanks for the ask ♡

[rippersz]

𝖰𝗎𝖾 𝖲𝖾𝗋𝖺, 𝖲𝖾𝗋𝖺

───※ ·❆· ※───

───※ ·❆· ※───

(An OC/Named Reader x Larissa Weems one-shot) (Bittersweet/angsty. Possible part 2 depending on feedback.)

Summary: Odette sends a letter and it ends up in the wrong hands.

───※ ·❆· ※───

‘January 11th, 2023

Odette,

I am terribly sorry to inform you that the letter you sent to a woman named Mirabelle did not end up in her hands. I believe the mail carriers fell short along the way and got it mixed up within my pile of documents; thus my wayward response to you. Considering the nature of your words (I must admit I read them - my actions were caused by split curiosity and confusion), I suggest you re-envelope and reseal your letter before sending it again. I have slipped it in with this one. And if you choose to listen to me, then we shall both hope your sentiments arrive to Mirabelle in a timely fashion with no surprise stops along the way. Until then, someone must tell her that she is a very lucky woman.

And that I am very sorry she broke your heart.

Happy New Year Odette. Be well, Larissa W.’

‘January 18th, 2023

Larissa,

Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness. I am far sorrier than you are. Obviously if I knew that was going to happen, I would not have let it. Okay that doesn’t make much sense, but I’m sure you know what I mean. I think. Hopefully? Anyway, thank you very much for sending the letter back. I gave myself some time to think it over and did as you suggested. New envelope, new seal, new everything. Except the perfume on the letter was different. Are you wearing Jean Paul Gaultier? It’s very nice. Mirabelle may appreciate the mix of scents (I’m wearing Marc Jacobs - Daisy), so at least she’ll get something out of it. The words, on the other hand, I’m not so sure. That ship sailed a long time ago - I’m just not the type to give up easily. That’s a big flaw, I think. Oh well. I guess rambling’s a flaw too. And here I am. Forgive me?

Thank you again. Happy New Year. Odette’

‘January 23rd, 2023

Dear Odette,

Please don’t apologize. It wasn’t your fault, as you know. And if I knew the letter did not concern me at all, I would not have read it. But, I’m sort of glad that I did. It was perhaps one of the best letters I’ve ever read in my entire life. Are you a writer, by any chance? If not, you should consider becoming one. The rambling could add a nice personal touch - it’s not as big a flaw as you think it is. It certainly introduced me to your keen sense of smell. Speaking of which, Daisy is wonderful. I may have a roll-on tube of that somewhere. Otherwise, you’re correct. La Belle was released in 2019, it has become my new personal favorite. Are you a perfume collector? Or perhaps a bloodhound? I jest, I jest. Though I do appreciate the follow-up. If Mirabelle doesn’t appreciate your love, I may have to send her a letter myself. That being said, please let me know what she says? If it isn’t too much of an inconvenience.

Be well, Larissa W.’

‘January 29th, 2023

To Larissa,

You are far too kind. I write in my free time, yes, but I’m not sure I’m good enough to become a writer. However, your support still means a lot - even from all the way in California. Quite a long way, right? Crazy how paths cross. Anyway, I’m not a perfume collector, no. But my friend, Cassie, wears the same kind. I know for certain that she’d say you have good taste. And I’d agree. That bloodhound comment was funny. I know you can’t hear my giggling, but trust me when I say I am. I wish I could be as witty, but I don’t know what to say. My humor is typically made up of making fun of people. Do you have a guilty pleasure I can harp on? An embarrassing secret? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours. And as soon as I get something back, I’ll let you know. Don’t start writing just yet.

Best, Odette’

‘February 5th, 2023,

Odette,

Telling you my secrets already? My, I believe we’ve skipped a few steps. What happened to a favorite color? A favorite memory? An age or profession, perhaps? If you couldn’t tell by now, I am still jesting. One of my guiltiest pleasures, though you may find it juvenile and silly, is the fact that I am a huge chocolate fiend. Many of my coworkers are aware that the best drink to buy me is a hot chocolate - hold the whipped cream. I am watching my figure after all. And because I pity your lack of matched wit, I’ll tell you that my biggest secret is the fact that I quite enjoy Taylor Swift’s music. Don’t ask me about my favorite song, I don’t think I could choose just one. Oh is that- is that the sound of your giggling? Maybe I can hear it from here, Ms. California. Now it’s your turn to hear mine. In the meantime, enlighten me on what you write about. I’m thinking poetry and free-form, with a focus on romance. I do a bit of writing myself from time to time, but it’s always in a diary. Never further. Perhaps you can do both of us justice and contemplate publishing? I’ll be the first to run to the shelves.

I hope you are well, Larissa W.’

‘February 13th, 2023

Dear chocolate fiend,

White. My first trip to New York City after Mirabelle. I arrived in the afternoon, went to see a movie, grabbed dinner and headache pills on the way back to my hotel room, and couldn’t sleep for the entire night. So I went out at 3 AM to see Times Square. It was only a block away and let me tell you, Larissa, it was beautiful. It was unlike anything. I felt safe for the first time in a while - beneath all of those lights. I was invincible. Not even loneliness could touch me. 27 and counting. Secretary. And potential writer. Someone I met recently has been trying to push me further into my hobby- to really adopt the lifestyle. You wouldn’t know them, though. Them? They/them? Please correct me if I’m wrong, Larissa. These letters wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable if I was calling you something you weren’t. As for me, I go by she/her. Mirabelle did as well. Does? Did? I’m not sure - I haven’t heard anything back yet. But that may be for the best. Horrid segue here (shame on little writer Odette), but Taylor Swift? Wow, I must be giggling quite loudly. HA HA HA HA HA!! HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE!! I swear that one day I’ll get a laugh out of you as well. In the meantime, as you say, I’ll happily inform you that you’re a psychic of some sort. Yes, I write poetry and free-form romance. Novels have never been my thing though. But if I did write any, I’d have to say psychological horror is a favorite. I may give it a crack if you’d edit for me? Unless you’re terribly busy, Ms. Vermont. Then please don’t worry your pretty little head.

I hope you’re ‘weller’ than I am, Odette

(P.S. Happy Valentines Day)’

‘February 19th, 2023

Dear sweet poet,

Do forgive the late response. Work has been keeping me busy; but if you’re serious about editing, I’m sure I can set some time apart for you. That memory of yours does sound quite glorious - nearly heavenly. Such freedom is a dream for many people, myself somewhat included, so I admit I’m the tiniest bit jealous. However, I could always visit the city in the summer. Times Square is already calling my name… maybe I’ll even see a certain 27 year old stranger there. Maybe we could even grab hot chocolate. But I suppose you’d rather enjoy your independence. That being said, you are quite correct - they/them is one of my preferred pronouns. Much like yourself and the mysterious Mirabelle, she/her is another. And I’m glad we both agree that these letters are quite a treat. I have not had a pen-pal in quite a long time. My old roommate and I used to talk after we graduated, but times change. Much like they did for you and Mirabelle. I believe I may have loved my roommate in that way, too… but it’s as I said. Then again, she was always more of a psychic than me. I just got lucky. As for the answers to my questions, I’m quite sure none of those were secrets. Unless, of course, your favorite color is known only by myself. In which case, I’d consider myself lucky again. But either way, come to the table please Odette. Tell me yours - but only if you wish to.

Weller is not a word, Best, Larissa W.’

‘February 23rd, 2023

Dear Larissa,

Weller is a word if I want it to be. That is my secret. No, but in all seriousness, you’re correct. Fair is fair. So I’ll grant you this: I’m a redhead. Ugh I know! I know! It’s terrible. Horrible. I’m sorry. If you find that you can’t stand me anymore, I understand. A writer, secretary, AND a redhead? What’s next? An FBI agent? I can’t disclose that information. Speaking of which, you have yet to answer your own questions. All is fair in love and pen-paling, am I right or am I right Larissa? It’s okay. You can admit it. I’m right. Just like I’m right in saying that your roommate made a big mistake if she’s not with you now. Speaking from experience, love like that is not something one finds often. I’d say I’m glad you experienced it, for it has its good moments, but I know that the ache can be bad. Quite bad. Not to worry, though! If you figure you want to send her a letter, you may get a pen-pal out of it. Kind of neat, huh?

I’m sorry she broke your heart, too. What a foolish woman. Tsk tsk.

Best, Odette’

‘February 28th, 2023

To the resident redhead,

How could you betray me like this? A redhead? On the other side of these pages? I feel scorned. Scorned and touched. Very much like a writer to offer comfort for an offhand comment. I appreciate the sentiment more than you know. And just for your information, Ms. I’m-Always-Right: Silver. Getting my teachers certification and celebrating with a few friends before life pulled us in different directions. It was a wonderful night. I haven’t laughed so much since - and that was quite a while ago. 32 next year. Principal. I do hope that was enough to sate your burning curiosity; I’m sure you can be at ease now. And since I do so enjoy meeting you halfway, I’ll tell you that I’m very fair-haired. Very. Perhaps one day you’ll see. Until then, don’t let the curiosity kill you little cat.

Best, Larissa W.’

‘March 5th, 2023’

‘March 12th, 2023’

‘March 16th, 2023’

‘April 14th, 2023’

‘May 21st, 2023’

‘June 9th, 2023’

...

And the months went on.

And on.

And on.

And every few days, another letter came. Another letter went. Another letter was written. Another letter was sealed. Another letter was received. Another letter was cherished. Kept. Forever a lovely memory. Larissa and Odette went and went and went- on and on and on- exchanging and smiling as each paragraph grew in length. From this to that and whatever else they could find to think about; they formed a banter and connection like no other. Poking fun, making jokes, referencing previous letters, gossiping until their hearts were content. Purring within their chests, eagerly awaiting another letter. It kept their days moving. It kept their souls dancing. From miles away, they cheered each time they saw the thin familiar scrawl of Larissa’s writing and the loopy tilted words of Odette’s penmanship. At one point, they even tried copying each other’s style. It was hilarious. It had both of them laughing at the same time - and later doing it purely to mock. Such things, little but large, were frequent and lovely. One time, Odette mailed a perfume scent strip of her new favorite; and Larissa, never one to be outdone, sent a roll-on tube of La Belle. Odette got so ticked off she made her promise that they stick to letters and paper only. Larissa, usually a stubborn soul, agreed. That was their dynamic. Their push and pull. Their agree to disagree. Never did they fight; rarely did they not see eye to eye; and constantly did they playfully argue. It was small things- small insignificant little things- but they moved the conversation along. And it made them smile. It made them laugh. And during the hardest parts, the parts in which life pinched at their skin and dragged at their souls, it made them cry. It made them weep. It made them open up. It led to Odette confessing that Mirabelle had left her and it led to Larissa confessing that Morticia had left her as well. Two women, two ships in the night, both of which got away. And not gently, not two slow drifts into the night, but a harsh yank. Morticia left school with a man on her arm and Mirabelle returned to California one day from a business trip in France with a ring on her finger. The two of them agreed that it was funny how life likes to slap lovers in the face. That it was funny how life likes to get in the way. And enjoys ending good things and ruining them. Taking them away too quickly. With no warning at all. Without a single goodbye.

The last letter Odette sent was on October 28th, 2024.

Larissa hadn’t responded to her previous one. Or the one before that. And eventually, after much contemplation, she gave up. It wasn’t healthy- worrying so much. Odette figured that perhaps, finally, her worst fear came true and that Larissa realized their little arrangement was more odd than she thought. That she knew virtually nothing about Odette, not even her last name. And that she didn’t find her amusing anymore and didn’t want to associate with her anymore and didn’t want to even say hello. Or goodbye. Or anything in between.

It broke her heart a little bit.

Okay it broke her heart a lot a bit.

The radio silence left Odette living on autopilot for weeks. Months. Nearly half a year. She’d get up, check her mailbox, and go to work - only to come home, check her mailbox, and go to bed - just to do the same thing over and over and over again. Day and night. Night and day. It was worse than Mirabelle. It was worse than anything. No amount of teenage angst or familial grief could get over the deep void left within her soul once those letters stopped coming. Once the friend she found by accident, the kindred spirit she stumbled upon, the woman she lov-…. well. Once that one person decided never to write again.

Though like most difficult things that left her raw, Odette’s heart began scabbing over. She cleared her desk, packed away the special pens she used, put the paper neatly into a box, and tucked the leftover Larissa letters away right along with those sweet memories. Then she put them into the back of a closet she rarely rifled through… and tried to forget it was all there. The La Belle, which she rarely touched, was hidden in her pajama drawer at the very back- wrapped up in old T-shirts she no longer wore. And every other thing that existed around her, that reminded her of Larissa, was pushed out of sight. Out of sight and out of mind. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight, out of mind. Out of sight… out of mind.

The company was celebrating her 5 year anniversary. They wanted to fly her out to Vermont. Jericho, Vermont. To have a little vacation there. To enjoy life. To fucking torture her.

She almost didn’t go. She almost canceled entirely. She almost quit her goddamn job because that was the same job she had when she first met Lar-…..

But she went anyway. Vermont was large enough. She’d be fine.

And she was, much to her surprise. She was entirely fine. It was a beautiful change of season; the air was crisp, the trees were changing color- morphing back into sunny greens. The world enjoyed its rain as April introduced May to Jericho and as the year of 2025 blossomed into being. Odette spent her days reading, taking walks, basking in the beauty of the log cabin the company rented for her. It was truly lovely. Truly a dream come true. And she didn’t even think- didn’t even wonder- about the other ship that got away from her. That barely even brushed past her, or lingered, before parting the water and skating away into the night all those months ago.

It was blissful. It reminded her of New York. Of that freedom- that independence- that song within her soul, dredged up from the depths.

But there was one thing.

One tiny little thing.

One little reminder that never left her. That she didn’t let go of.

“Hot chocolate, no whip, for Odette?”

A small smile grew on her lips as she slid out of the booth and made her way up to the counter. The young man met her eyes, returned the smile, and gestured to the warm cup on the counter with a nod of his head.

“Thank you lots.” And with that, she retreated to her booth.

Hot chocolate.

She wasn’t going to give up hot chocolate, let alone any chocolate at all, just because a distant soul enjoyed it. The whipped cream was something she wanted, but… old habits did always die hard, didn’t they? Oh most definitely. And as Odette reclined against the comfortable seat, eyes tracking the screen of her work laptop, hot chocolate firmly placed on the coaster to her right, she lived up to that sentiment with no room to spare. Leaving work at home was hard. She dove into it some time ago; dedicating more time, thinking, and hours into the well-oiled machine of her job just to distract her from everything outside of it. When she was there, responding, taking calls, managing dates and meetings and this, that, and the other, the world fell silent. Into a distant buzzy din. Into a land of muffled sounds and unimportant chatter - like her head was dunked under water as soon as she opened her emails. To a certain extent, it was calming. Repetitive and not at all that difficult after she figured out a proper routine; the worst part was dealing with those who couldn’t write properly. And in the professional world, that was rare. Well- if a person wanted to keep their job of course. And she definitely wanted to keep hers. It was fulfilling. Enriching. She made some friends, she shook some hands, she reassured her bosses. They knew she was reliable. Friendly. Odette never faltered. And they counted on that. Counted on her. Gave her the time of day. Responded when they could. Cherished her like a human. Like a friend. Unlike-

“Larissa? Hot chocolate, no whip?”

Odette blinked.

The muffled bubble popped. The world flooded back. She looked up from her screen.

Was she going mad? Crazy? Bonkers, finally? After all that time? Had she misheard? Maybe the young man said Patricia. Or Melissa. Or-

“Larissa! Hey, long time no see!”

Larissa.

Odette turned around in her seat so fast, she nearly broke her neck. She shuffled to the end of the booth, peered around the side, eyes wide and hands gripping the edge of the table… only to feel her excitement die as soon as it existed.

Of course. Foolish her. She didn’t know what Larissa looked like. She never got a proper description. Never got a photograph. Or a phone number. Or anything at all. Just a P.O. Box and a state. Just… nothing.

“Hello Jerry, it has been a while, hasn’t it? How are you?”

No, she- well she did get something. She got little things. Details. Odette’s brow furrowed as her eyes, hazel and starry and glazed over with apprehension and fear and admiration and horror, ran up and down the woman’s body. She was tall. Larissa never mentioned tall. She was curvy. Larissa never mentioned curvy.

‘I am watching my figure after all.’

…She was stylish. Larissa never mentioned style and fashion.

“Oh I’m good, I’m good. What about you? How’s the semester going?”

“I’m well, thank you. It’s… well it’s definitely going, Jerry.” They shared a laugh.

She was English. Larissa never mentioned being English. She wore gloves. Larissa never mentioned gloves. She-

Wait. Semester?

‘Getting my teachers certification…’ ‘Principal.’

Odette felt her heart drop.

But-

“I’m sure it is! I- oh shoot. More customers. Sorry, Larissa. Can we catch up later?”

“Of course Jerry. You know where to find me. Until next time.”

Hazel eyes watched the stranger wave. Then turn around.

Oh.

Dear lord…

She didn’t recognize her- not really- but the fair hair, which only registered then… and the silver jewelry. And the… the…

Odette watched as the woman walked past. She watched and she felt her heart in her ears- pounding, clawing, dancing- as she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. So deeply. So deeply it made her lungs ache. So deeply it made her soul tear in two.

La Belle.

Odette had never packed up her things so quickly. She never slammed her laptop closed so fast, never slid it into her bag so messily, never threw the bag over her shoulder or shoved her wallet into her pocket or grabbed the hot chocolate with such vigor ever before. Not once in her life. And rarely did she act so impulsively- not after Larissa. But seeing her then, somehow knowing deep within her soul that it was her… it broke- snapped- the thin resolve of Odette’s sanity and sent her flying out of the Weathervane like a bat out of Hell. She was burning up inside. Electric. Her eyes held fire and ice and so much warmth, so much desperation, that she nearly toppled over herself in her hurry.

The woman- Larissa- was a fast walker. Her long legs took her far as she distractedly typed on her phone with one hand and held the cup of hot chocolate in the other. Odette, being short and clumsy, was red and out of breath by the time she got close enough to call out her name. And call, she did. Call, cry, silently plead, she did.

“LARISSA!”

It was loud. Like a roar. Like a harrowing yell. Like something that held months and months and months of pain and sorrow and grief behind it. It instantly made her throat hurt, running it raw in only a second, but she didn’t care. She didn’t care at all. Not when her voice got Larissa to stop in her tracks and turn around, eyes searching and confused.

Of course, as to be expected, she had no clue who she was. Not even an inkling. Larissa got no description either - not even a photo. All she knew was that Odette had red hair. And that a woman with red hair was storming toward her, all fucks thrown to the wind, sneakers smacking the pavement hard as she stomped down the sidewalk. Larissa looked utterly puzzled, slightly mortified, entirely put off by the sight of such a determined stranger. Like she wasn’t sure if she had done something wrong and if she had, she wasn’t sure how to fix it. But Odette would tell her. Odette would make it known.

“What the fuck?” was the first thing out of her mouth.

A rather harsh introduction, but necessary nonetheless. She didn’t even really mean to say it, but the surprised widening of Larissa’s eyes had a twisted spark of satisfaction spiraling up within her soul.

And her outburst, naturally, meant many things. Not just ‘What the fuck?’ but ‘What the fuck? Why did you disappear? What did I do? Did I hurt you? Did I say something? Did something happen to you? Do you feel sorry? Do you miss me? Do you wish you responded? Do you hope to never hear from me again? Did you always know this would happen? Did you ever even bother to think that you should tell me you’re that beautiful? What the fuck, why are your eyes so blue? And why are they piercing? Staring at me? Heavenly and deep and never-ending? Like.. oceans… and why are your lips so soft looking and plump and red? Where did that scar come from? Do you hate it? Do you know that I like it even though I’m only seeing it now for the first time ever? Did you always wear your hair like that? How long does it take you to get it like that? How does it feel to take it out after a long day? Did you know your makeup is flawless? And that your jawline is magnificent? And that you’re so tall… and you look so strong… inside and out… and why the fuck did you not mention you were British? English? What does it matter? Just what the fuck? Why the fuck? How the fuck? What the fuckity fuck?!’

But overall, it only meant ‘What the fuck? Why didn’t you say goodbye?’

“I beg your pardon?”

Unfortunately, Larissa could never read minds. Or hearts. So the vague pangs of longing, like old rusted blood, only ached harder as the taller woman blinked and frowned.

A blush painted Odette’s cheeks. Right. Somehow, along the way of admiring, she’d forgotten. Larissa had no idea who she was.

“Um.” Clearing her throat, she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. Suddenly, things were very awkward. Terribly awkward. So horribly bloody awkward. It was a wonder if Larissa could feel the odd lull in conversation, the sudden dousing of Odette’s flames, but it didn’t really matter. If she wanted to, Odette was sure that if she chose to walk away, if she chose to take one last look before turning around and never coming back, then Larissa would never know. Then she’d just be another story. Another odd memory to tell her children one day, if she ever wished to have them. In her letters, the taller woman admitted that she didn’t think she ever would. But Odette always had a feeling that she’d be an amazing mother. Looking at her then, taking in the perfect posture and the crisp seams of her clothing, the feeling became fact. Larissa would be the best mom.

Funny that… there was a time, long ago, where Odette fantasized about making sandwiches for picnics and uprooting her entire life. Just to see the proud smile on her pen-pal’s face as her child grew and grew and grew and flourished. And maybe even ended up calling her ‘mom’ one day too.

But as Larissa wrote once upon a time, things changed. Time went on. And that was how it was.

So she could turn around. She could very well wrench herself from her spot and drag herself back the way she came. She could apologize, tell her she was mistaken, and that she was sorry - and then she could walk off into the sunset and pretend nothing ever happened. She could burn the letters. She could burn the very memory of her. She could forget the name ‘Larissa’ entirely and all would be left to rest. And that would be that. Que sera, sera.

But Odette was never the type to give up easily. Mirabelle, wherever she was, could attest.

So instead of abandoning ship, she powered through.

“It’s Odette,” came her firm tone. She straightened her back and tilted her head to look up properly, trying to stand tall in the face of heartache.

But heartache didn’t recognize her.

“Have we… met before?” Larissa blinked, turning to present her full attention.

Odette flushed red. Angry. Sad. Liberated.

“Have- have we met before?” She repeated, scoffed, outraged by her old friend’s obliviousness. “Just how many Odettes do you know?!” Her hands ran to her hips, firmly rooting themselves there as she began tapping her foot and glowering.

Such a display had Larissa scanning her from head to toe, desperately scrambling for understanding and recognition. The loose T-shirt, the black leggings, the sneakers, the hazel eyes, the pretty features, the freckles, the plump cheeks and curved body, the bag on her shoulder, the hair on her head. Red. Fiery. Standing out against the blue of the sky like a stain on white fabric. Messy curls and natural red red red.

Red… red…

Odette watched as Larissa froze. Her lips fell open, her eyes widened, she could practically see the way her heart stopped in her chest.

She remembered.

She remembered.

“…Odette?”

The shorter woman nodded, slowly feeling the anger and excitement drain from her body. It was fun being anonymous for just a moment. It was fun being the only one that remembered - having the chance to feel properly scorned and betrayed. But that didn’t last very long. The come down was harsh. Quick. A fall from immense grace. Especially when she saw the tears. They welled up in Larissa’s eyes, glossy and wet, making those sapphires shine. So swift they were. So rapid. As if sparked by Odette’s very existence.

Though maybe Larissa wasn’t the one that was tearing up. Maybe it was just her. Maybe the haze of the world, growing slightly blurry, was caused by the water that threatened to fall over her own lashes.

“Yeah.” It was all she could think to say.

For even with all of her passion, even with her love of words and her many discarded story drafts (all coincidentally started in the year 2023), even with whatever eloquence she was naturally born with, Odette couldn’t come up with a single meaningful thing to say. There was much, of course. But none of it fit. None of it made sense. Everything that lingered on her tongue, finally unlodging itself from the stickiness of her throat, was too heavy. Too heavy for the moment. Too heavy for the sidewalk. Too heavy for the side of the street. Too heavy for Jericho. Out in the open. Vermont. Miles away from home. Too close too close too close. Too much all at once. Maybe running after her was a bad idea. Maybe taking the vacation was even worse. Maybe sending that letter to Mirabelle in the first place was the poignant moment in which she should have changed her mind and threw it away when she considered it.

But she hadn’t.

And so there she was, staring up at Larissa, suddenly helpless. That ship that passed her in the night all those months ago had come back around; except that time she had stumbled upon it herself. And she wasn’t entirely sure if she was grateful- or terrified. Maybe the ship hated her. Maybe the ship would crash into her and ruin her and maybe the ship would begin shooting cannons. Maybe the ship would continue right past her. Maybe the ship would-

-hug her?

Odette blinked, very much unsure of what was happening as soon as she felt the comforting weight of long arms pushing themselves under her biceps and interlocking behind her back. La Belle and the soft clean smell of faded shampoo filled her senses. Her nose. Her lungs. Her eyes. Her heart. And soul. Part of her was so confused it wanted to grasp Larissa’s shoulders and shove her off. And the other part of her, the part of her that had dreams about receiving another letter from the one that broke her heart, wanted to give in.

‘That ship sailed a long time ago - I’m just not the type to give up easily.’

Odette’s arms pressed against Larissa’s waist. Their holds were odd, skewed by the cups of hot chocolate they held and the other items in their grasps. But nonetheless, it was… it was unlike anything. Each breath died on Odette’s tongue. She felt the atoms in her brain disappear. Like they never existed at all.

“I’m sorry.” It was said so softly, she was near certain it wasn’t uttered at all. But then Larissa was pulling back, hands shaking as she brought them to her lips. “I’m sorry.”

There was grief in her eyes. A sadness that not even the most haunted of poets could explore, nor understand, nor emulate. It gleamed. It cut Odette in half. It had her taking steps back, suddenly unsure. Suddenly disoriented.

“What-… what happened?” She was breathless, bewildered at the sight of regret swimming in Larissa’s eyes.

The taller woman opened her mouth… then hesitated. Her gaze burned through her old friend- then twitched away and ran over the world around them. The sidewalk, the street, the shops, the Weathervane, the town itself. They were out in the open. And their… reunion… was too good for that. Too painful for that. Odette watched as Larissa’s lower lip quivered; as the thoughts ran through her mind at the speed of light. And before she even spoke, she knew what she was going to say.

“Please, come with me,” her voice was soft. Silken. Heavy with guilt. Pouring with unspoken words.

It was Odette’s turn to hesitate. Years… nearly. However much time. She didn’t really know. She stopped keeping track once she realized she was losing sleep over it. Hours upon hours of sleep. It affected her work - it affected her body. It slit the throat of her life and dragged it through dirt. ‘It’ being the silence. ‘It’ being the goodbye that never came. ‘It’ being Larissa, Larissa, Larissa.

The same Larissa who held an apology wound up in her lungs. The same Larissa who looked down at her as if she couldn’t quite believe she was real, standing before her, breathing and living. The same Larissa whose shaking hands held a cellphone and a cup of hot chocolate that was swiftly running cold. The same Larissa with the same shining eyes that glistened with tears and crackling memories and affection, warmth, that seemed so out of place. Years without the comfort of that dove-like soul… years without the… the love? Love? Is that what they had? Perhaps it was too little too late to wonder. Perhaps Odette was just dipping into wishful thinking. Giving into the dreams she repeated over the years. With every word, every breath, every letter - she found herself begging. Pleading. ‘Please. Please please please invite me to Vermont. See me. Know me. These pages are killing me.’ All of it secretly scrawled between her slanting lines. Running in circles behind her hazel eyes. Displayed for Larissa, even though Larissa did not exist before her at the time.

Not like she did in that moment. In Jericho. In tears.

“Let me explain, Odette. I meant- I… just- give me a chance.” Larissa blinked her tears away and straightened her shoulders, tone growing desperate, body growing tense.

Never before did she sound like that in their letters. But never before did she leave Odette for so long. Interesting circumstances… Funny how life ended things so quickly. Funny how life brought out the truth in a person when they felt themselves tugged at a loss. Pushed to their knees. Though she said she had an explanation… and her old friend had never been a liar.

“Okay,” Odette breathed, clearing her throat. “Okay.”

“Really?”

‘Yes of course, really,’ Odette thought, looking at her with a mix of surprise and anger and devotion. ‘What are you, mad? I’d never just walk away. I’d never just give up. I can’t help myself. I never could. You know this. You know me.’

───※ ·❆· ※───

I quite enjoyed writing this. Might take a break from writing 'Heat' and 'To People Watch One Person' for a bit- same with requests. For the foreseeable future, whatever comes to mind will be written. I've started watching GOT again... and a certain Ser of Tarth has strummed the strings of my heart {as always} so maybe expect something with her? Dunno. Either way, thank you for staying with me. You mean the moon and stars, believe me. - Ripley x

───※ ·❆· ※───

[theleastprofessionalchef]

Ah jeez, I started making this post end of May and saved it as a draft so I could come back with the recipe, and fully forgot to do that for uh. Yeah. A long time. I've since made a few more batches of successful mead, and have a couple more fermenting right now! I'll reblog with pics of them later.

Well! better late than never. Leaving what I'd written initially unchanged, so-

-

Two months apart - start and end - my first successful batch of mead! I've tried a handful of times over the years, but had an unfortunate habit of doing... SOMETHING wrong each time that resulted in lightly sweetened cleaning alcohol 😅

But finally, a success! Real mead! Sweet, but not too sweet, and boozy enough without being straight up moonshine

Recipe:

Roughly three pounds of honey

3? 4? Of those little mandarin oranges, quartered

1 packet ale yeast, I used this

Various whole mulling spices, I used a stick of cinnamon and a few cloves this time, but I've also tossed in cardamom pods and anise occasionally, maybe a couple peppercorns. Go wild

So much filtered/distilled water. So much. Like two gallons?

I'll be real folks, I used a cheap shitty online guide that I don't remember the link for, that said it was a good basic way to learn how to make garbage mead and that any brewer worth their salt would cringe at. It is also coincidentally the same guide I used years ago in the aforementioned cleaning alcohol incident; I haven't changed what I used or did, so I honestly don't know why that came out bad and this good. Shrugs! Yeast can't read.

Dissolve the honey in warm/hot water. Not boiling- you don't want to kill the yeast when you add it in. Think a nice, warm shower. Stir it well, add the oranges and spices, and mix in the yeast until also dissolved.

Load it all up into a large glass container like the one pictured. I ordered a carboy online for this, which is the 'proper' thing to use, but you can honestly get away with an old milk jug you've thoroughly cleaned and sanitized, if you again, don't care about it being the highest quality. Carboys come with the fermentation/filtration Thing on it to let gases out and nothing in (the little doohicky plugged into the top of the lid) but you can also get away with stretching the mouth of a balloon over where the lid would go and poke a teensy hole in it with a needle. The goal is to let the gases that build up during fermentation escape the container, but not to let outside air in.

Fill the container the rest of the way up with water, but leave a couple inches of space on top. This thang's gonna bubble like crazy once the yeast start feeding, and you don't want it to overflow and make a mess of your cupboard.

Put it in a dark, cool space, and wait a few days!

It'll bubble a lot those first days; DON'T mess with it. Leave her be. Let her have her hot girl summer. After a few days, maybe a week, it'll calm down a bit; now you can top off the water supply.

Fast forward uhhhh two months or so, and it's done! There's a more legit way to know for sure when it's done that involves watching the tiny bubbles that form near the top as part of the fermentation process, and figuring out when they'll stop, but I'm impatient and don't know jack and am here for a good time not a long time.

Enjoy mead! And maybe do some better research than I did if you want something fancy.

OH AND FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DO NOT STIR IT WHEN YOU GO TO DRINK THE FINISHED STUFF

You'll want to scoop the fruits and spices off the top and then siphon it off into another container, or do what we did and simply ladle it off the top (because on a ship of 10-13 sailors, 1 1/2-2 gallons of mead won't last longer than an off day), and NOT drink the detritus off the bottom. You can kinda see it in the picture above. It is not like unfiltered apple cider. That stuff tastes gnarly.

Do not shake the mead before drinking.

[roo-bastmoon]

The Long Game

First, let's acknowledge some major mismanagement by BigHit. Then, let's talk about what I think *might possibly* be their long game.

These are just guesses I have right now--I'm not stating facts and my opinions are subject to change as new info becomes available. But come with me for a few minutes...

In early 2022, Jimin's mail was "omitted" four times by BigHit employees, which lead to late insurance premium payments, which led to an on-paper "seizure" of his apartment. The press sat on that news for three months until the day his With You OST dropped and the scandal overshadowed his release. Jimin went to ground, avoided all social media for months. At this time, Jimin's personal information was leaked on the internet, and that was the last time we saw Jikook hang out alone that we know of.

Now in 2023, since Jimin's album FACE dropped, we already know about the sabotaged sales and streams by Hanteo, Billboard, YouTube, and Spotify. There was the issue with his in-ears not working properly during an encore. On top of all that drama, BigHit didn't get all the physicals shipped in time, they didn't playlist his songs for several days, they never sent his songs to radio (that we can see), they made one tweet to acknowledge Jimin's #1 on Hot100 but nothing else--not even a cake like the other solo albums got, they didn't let him film more than two music videos when they did that for their new groups, the press releases about their stocks going up after Hot100 also credited their new groups, and Jimin only had 9 days of uninterrupted promo between other members' works.

Now I am not a conspiracy theorist. I well understand that the military enlistment compressed schedules, and that each member had say in their creative works and promotions. I'm not a manti. But none of the above is a good look. Add up all those fumbles together, and you could make a solid case for mismanagement.

And now today, we see PD Bang on the cover of Billboard (which, OF COURSE, mentioned Blackpink in the same breath).

JUST LOOK AT THE WAY THE STORY IS BEING SHAPED FOR AMERICAN READERS. You see what's happening here? You think SM is gonna get a cover story for their side of the corporate shakedown?

And then there's this little gem:

"If your question is about the possibility of creating an artist like BTS again, the answer is no. However, if you were to ask whether there would be a K-pop artist from HYBE that tops the Billboard Hot 100 chart, my answer would be yes. [Jimin became the first BTS member to achieve this as a solo act on April 3 when his single “Like Crazy” debuted at No. 1.] The experience of managing BTS and operating different labels gave us access to powerful networks, infrastructures and experiences. With these, HYBE can repeat its remarkable results with the help of talented artists.

Okay so before everyone starts rioting online, take a moment, pause, reflect, think about what all might be going on here, behind the scenes, in this very political world of the music business.

Do I think Bang PD screwed Jimin over to score points with Billboard? No, I do not. But neither do I think Jimin's solo effort is anyone's priority but Jimin's.

"HYBE is primarily focusing on leveraging its accumulated expertise in managing and producing acts that consist of multiple members, rather than solo artists or mixed-gender groups in K-pop."

I think no one ever expected Jimin to make it to #1 on Hot100 and industry insiders felt pretty sure the West wouldn't let him stay in the top 10 the next week. Why? Well, partially racism. But mostly it's bad for their bottom line.

If your entire business model is that people pay for radio play and that gets them on your private chart and the private chart leads to more advertisers and awards... and then someone comes along and DOESN'T pay to play and gets to the top of your chart? Nobody needs you. So you HAVE to sabotage them. You absolutely have to change your rules. (I'm just sitting here waiting for Jimin to release his other songs so that Billboard can change their rules to say you can't be on Hot100 if your name starts with J- and ends with -imin.)

Now, it might have been satisfying for us as fans to see BigHit come out swinging and put Billboard on blast for his sake and ours. But they have ZERO. LEGAL. RECOURSE.

Billboard is privately owned and they can make whatever rules they want. They are part of a larger media company that has connections to every media outlet; no one is gonna publish an exposé any time soon, I promise you. We got exactly ONE English-speaking website to write about it and that was it. Everyone in the industry knows what is going on, and no one has the power to do anything much about it.

So what does that mean for the future?

Well... Bang PD just recently paid a HUGE mark up of $26 million to buy Trevor Noah's home out in LA.

And now he's on the cover of Billboard. WHY? Neither of these things will result in any immediate payout for him.

It's a long game.

And frankly, a very old and honored way of doing business. It's how they went up against the big three and it's how they are gonna go up against the West, I feel it in my gut.

Bang PD is getting a home on US soil. He will be paying US taxes. He's making in-roads by being nice with Billboard folks. He's making contacts; he's already had phone calls with Pharrell and Bieber and Grande and Laroi. Some of those are already shaping into collabs. We already know Hybe has set up shop in the US with Scooter at the helm.

Meanwhile, BigHit is adjusting in real time to the new rules around the charts (culling is happening to Yoongi too, so they changed up the check-out process of the BTS US Store). Suddenly there's plenty of focus on promoting via TikTok and other viral social media. They are dipping their toe into AI. They are discussing their own in-house ticketing option. This company is looking toward the future and hedging its bets.

Do I know with any certainty what's up their sleeve?

Absolutely not.

Do I trust any corporation very much?

Nope.

Do I have faith in BTS?

Probably more than anything else in my life, at this point.

So while I have no insider info, I just feel like the company is making very intentional and methodic footholds into the West. They are not complaining or screaming or suing or threatening anyone. They are not badmouthing competitors or whining about unfair deals. They are laying ground on complicated, political in-roads, one step at a time.

The Expo is in 2030. I'd wager by that time, BTS will have conquered the West and have some radio play.

And I think the company believes that in order to do that, they have to make their new groups profitable while BTS serves. They have to survive for the next two years.

When BTS is back, and their dues have been paid, I think they will be unstoppable. I hope they get to work on solo projects AND group projects. I think they will take over every corner of the world, if managed properly.

They just need to do it in a way that also assuages the Western music industry. The American Powers That Be have a chokehold on music and they will demand their pound of flesh somehow.

I strongly suspect BTS will never pay to play. But they will build relationships and find a way to become so interwoven in the cultural fabric that to deny them a place in Western spaces is to be left behind. And they will do it politely, and gently, and come out smelling like a rose.

So before you go off on social media and scream the walls down about neglect (and there WAS some, in my opinion) and abuse (we don't really know that), just take a moment to consider--if they had no legal recourse against Billboard, how can they beat them at their own game?

The best way to defeat an enemy is to make them a friend.

I'm just guessing here, but I think if fans stay loyal, BTS just might have the last laugh, here. I think they got radio scared as hell.

It sucks that Jimin didn't get fair treatment at this time. He is my bias and I feel it like a knife to my own heart. But he DID make history with his #1 and they can never take it away.

So I say give it time. All the people sniggering at him and BTS right now are going to sing a different tune in the future.

My best guess is that this is a long game, and it will require sacrifices that are totally unfair, but in the end... well, as long as BTS has ARMY, they cannot be denied.

Apobangpo.

[cosmical-flowers]

Helloo!! I was thinking about your dangan au and I had this MASSIVE idea

I don't know if you are planning to add Nazumin in the second game, but if you do, let me give you an idea for his execution.

His motive would probably be something like Sayaka, for the fellow Ra*bits members. Maybe the monoshoji (if I wrote it wrong pls tell me :( )would tell him that Tomoya (if he is in the older game) has been executed/killed, and the only way he can confirm it is to kill someone. Or maybe they'd tease him with shu's execution and drive him crazy until he decides to murder someone.

And for his execution, I feel like since Nazu has a lot of trauma of being controlled and feeling trapped, they would force him into a small locked room and tie him with strings just like a marionette then slowly pull them from all sides so that he gets slowly ripped off and in the middle of the dark room before he dies they show him the execution/death as a fulfilment of his last wish.

Also a quick question, is the au based on the same idea from the last chapter in drv3 or just a mix of the second and first games? And are there any ideas you have that you can spoil us with them a little? I'm just overly curious LMAO

IM SO GLAD PEOPLE LIKE THIS AU RAHHHH!!!! Tomoya is in the game im currently writing, so possibly for the second game Nazuna can be added! Im thinking it’s gonna be a mix of the second and first games, maybe a possible idea where it ends up like the last chapter in the 3rd game. But mainly with the lore I have so far, it’s gonna be similar to the first game!

The Nazuna execution … owaugh. I like the similar motive idea that you had! Im thinking for the first chapter in the second game, that would be the motive. And the execution is such a great idea! I was also thinking of another execution where he’s placed in a small crate and shaken around a lot, like he’s being shipped somewhere. At the end of the execution, it would be hinted that he was literally shaken to death and was made into fried rabbit! (cough cough, Mondo’s execution, cough cough)

Im 100% considering a second game as well because of how many people like the first one. Maybe when im done with the journals for the first one I can post possibly a cast list!

[leprechaunbitch]

I swear I can not be the only one here who thinks that now the fandom won't kill you for liking an unpopular ship. That we should absolutely be making some, or make cursed/crack/weird ship pairing ideas more popular. But like, make em make sense, you know?

I'll bring up a few examples I drew in my last post and some other weird ideas I have to throw into the mix/some I've seen. Feel free to add your own! (Don't do anything illegal guys—)

1. Like Science x Epic unitonally makes sense. It's just scientist x scientist. Spasifically one of them is fucking crazy (looking at you Epic).

Like how funny would it be to have Epic do the most crazy ass expermanets and Sci just making sure everything doesn't EXPLODE. LMFAO

2. Another one is Fresh and Epic. Do I need to explain this to you. It doesn't even have to be a romantic ship. It can be 100% platonic. Ppl are missing out on the BS they'd do just because they're bored. (Ik this one exists. Please give it more attention).

3. Horror and cross. I have seen this ship before, but like, barely. I think it's really cute since horror is basically an abused puppy. Cross is also basically an abused puppy. Plus, there's like an underlying theme that horror gets neglected the most and cross is the only person in the group, whose empathy and compassion are still in tact.

Those are the ideas I can think of rn.

Also, I feel like I'm going crazy bc there is this one sans called Time!sans who is NOT time kid sans. I swear he exists he appears when I look hislm up, but istg no one else has heard of them and I need to know if they actully exist—.

[pictuajjx]

Pressure update how we feeling guys?

I feel like a lot of people have different or mixed opinions about the update… Like I really like it in my opinion :( I really love painters new voice, it’s like trying to be all sappy while covering up the fact he’s probably depressed from being stuck in containment for so long (also, I saw somebody say this in the server! I thought it was a really cool idea, his paintings starts to become a more watered down ai drawing every time he makes a new one because he’s slowly becoming depressed). I really love his old and new voice

I also like the new entities. I didn’t get to see them yet though. The suits are awesome!!! :D

I feel a little silly because majority of the people don’t really like the update 😭 like how Sebastian’s being ruder (I think it adds some character) but also because like the new drama thing? I didn’t even know what was going on until like when I woke up @_@ like apparently one of the devs was complaining about the deaf mode I think but I was super upbeat for it since I can’t hear 😭 (it’s like the first thing to get me dead LOL) and then the self-shipping is like kinda silly because how are you going to switch up by saying “you can self-ship” to “no self-ship” because your marriage joke went too far ,, the reason why I bring this up is because the Sebastian’s ring update

Idk I feel like it’s gotten a little out of control 😓 like the server is a bit overwhelming too but I guess that goes for all servers

Genuinely I really like the update and I hope they continue with the deaf mode thing :(

EDIT: things are like crazy so far and I still feel conflicted and confused.. but most I’m not on neither side because I just don’t know. I’m sticking my butt out of that one

ALSO!! I tried the deaf mode :D not perfect but it’s good and I like it, it helped me a bit

[luimagines]

Fairytale AU (600 follower raffle)

Our first place winner was @ice-cream-writes-stuff!

They asked for some headcanons of Dink overhearing Reader talk about some of their fairytales only to send the boys and reader into the stories!

I.. was told to add some royal au in the mix... But that was forgotten for some of the boys ^.^*

Regardless, I hope you enjoy this!

Masterlist

Content under the cut!

Hyrule

Did someone say Encanto?

Check it

He’s the only in the group that can cast magic spells

Now flip that on its head

Everyone in the group, in this family, has some magical ability, but him

And you’re missing

And no one will tell him anything

He has to find out how to break the spell of the story

While also making sure that his friends and family keep their powers so that he doesn’t break the fourth wall

AND going on a mission to find you throughout the house because… You couldn’t have gotten far

Right?

But no one has anything to say about you, and it’s hardly anything nice

He has to figure out what your power is and how to get it to help him fix everything 

And then…. Well… no more magic

Hyrule is crushed, to say the least

He’s usually the one to fix everything

Magic is his specialty

How is it that he only seemed to make things worse time and time again?

How does he even come close to comparing with his friends and fellow heroes even in a fairy tale

Hyrule goes away

It’s a shame he can’t remember how the story ends

If only you were here to tell him, to show him the way, to point where he went wrong to begin with

Turns out, you knew the whole time that it was fake- such was your “power”

It seemed like you could tell the future and were shunned for it

You watch from a distance to make sure that Hyrule is taken care of

You can’t show up just yet to fix it…The story isn’t done…

Wind

This one is a bit obvious

At first Wind thought it was a dream

Him and his buddies, sailing the open seas just the sake of it?

He knew he would never see his friends as the crew, so naturally he must be dreaming

That doesn’t mean that he can’t have fun with it though

Until the ship finds itself in one of the biggest storms Wind’s had to face to date

He gets thrown overboard

And Wind swears that he sees you through the water but he can’t kick himself to the surface

He’s not strong enough

His vision goes black

He wakes up again on sand

He thinks he can hear you singing

Where are you? Where did you go?

Come back!

He tries his best to fid you

At he knows what to look for

Wind thinks that he finds you

But you don’t say a word

This is when he wishes that he knew sign like some of the others

You would be able to communicate better.

But at least you’re happy to be around him

That is until…someone that looks similar but not quite… but with your voice starts trying to distract him

Wind can’t seem to break away from their grip

Who are they? What is this?

Why is he now only realizing what’s going on?

Sky

He had no clue what on earth was happening

He thought that he was in a different Hyrule entirely

Sky was just trying to figure out what to do

He was chilling in the forest trying to get his bearings when he heard you

Strange, you sound so peaceful in what he would assume would be a panic inducing moment

He needed to be calm

Together you can figure out how to get home and how to get to get back to the others

Only to quick realize that you don’t recognize him

Sky can feel his heart rate rising

This isn’t good

He needs to keep an eye on you

He can’t lose you or else there’s no way he’s going to be able to face the rest of the group with his head held high

Only to immediately lose you

He tries to get back but he’s kidnapped

The Master Sword is going crazy and Sky knows that it’s because he’s surrounded by darkness

He’s freed by some familiar sounding fairies

But he can’t focus on it

Fi is trying to tell him something and he needs to figure out where you are

Only for a massive dragon to come and try to fight him

Sky’s never had to fight a dragon before and he doesn’t feel comfortable with this concept

Only until he slays the dragon can he get close to you and break the curse

Strange, this is really similar to that story you told him a few days ago

He fells the dragon and makes his way up the tower

He needs several moments to catch his breath

He sees you and his heart drops

Why is another one he cares about in a cursed sleep?

Legend

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, who is the saltiest one of all?

From riches to rags, he might just be Snow White

He’s a good kid, don’t get me wrong

But after he’s learned the story, he’s not exactly inclined to take the part of the stepchild of a evil and vain monarch

Hits a little closer to home than he’d like 

That being said, he’s smart and cunning and quick on his feet

If only he still had his items

When he has to run from for his life from a familiar looking hunter, he hopes to find the group of seven people to help him finish the story and get back home

And back into your arms if he’s lucky enough

So when he comes across a small cottage filled with the other seven faces he didn’t think he would see here-...

Let’s be real

He would be tired of the story as it is

So to see his friends again is both a relief and a pain in the neck

Especially since they seem to have no idea who he is

And they don’t know who you are either

Speaking of, if the rest of the group is here, where are you?

The story continues as he expects

Then comes time for the poison apple

And well….. He hesitates

The Evil Monarch then can figure out that he’s smarter than he at first wanted to believe

Only for Legend to bite into it

He falls

He’s buried alive

Legend will wait for you to finish the tale then

If not, then he’ll have to be content with having his love in his dreams

It’s not like it would be the first time 

Four

Four was intrigued greatly when you mentioned that you had your own stories about heroic mice

He had never heard of the one called Despreaux

He expected as much

So when he gets tossed into a portal after you and he finds himself stuck as a Minish

Well he has some questions

And when he learns that soup has been banned- he has even more questions

He needs to find you

It a bit hard to get around the place when you’re just a mouse though

He finds a needle and tries to wield it like a sword

It’s not what he’s used to but it will have to do

That being said he tries to be friendly with all the other rodents he meets

Minish tend to be quite hospitable and helpful

Maybe it’s the same case here

It is very much not the same case here

Four didn’t know how he got into so much trouble so quickly

He doesn’t even know where his friends are

He doesn’t know how to save the princess

Four is even more terrified when he learned that he has to save you

You’re about to be eaten alive by rats

Your father is about to go crazy because of the rats and soup

And how does a world like this even work?

Four rushes to go save the day

He goes to speak as kindly as he can with your father

Four can’t undo all the damage in one day

But he’s about to risk it all for you to come out of that alive

Four is going to need as much help as he can get

Time

Now when you told Time about a Prince that turned into a frog, he was amused

Now that he himself is the frog, he is less so

He has a hard time trying to figure out how to work his new body

And he thought he was down with the unwilling transformations on his body

He tries to find you and the group

He’s quick to put together that this is very similar to the story you told him

He finds you dress to the nine

His heart gets caught in his throat for a moment

You’re beautiful

Well, if he just needs a kiss to get back to normal then so be it

Only you don’t remember him

Odd

He gets a kiss anyway

Only for you to be turned into a frog as well

…Well this isn’t how the story went

Time takes your screaming and rage and tears in stride

He knows that this is technically his fault but he has no idea why that happened to begin with

He also no longer knows how to go on with the story

You were the one that knew that would have happened next

He’s going to have to take on this challenge on with different eyes

And he hope that you would be willing to stay by his side until he figures everything out

He can’t use his sword

He can’t use his masks

He’s smaller than he’s accustomed to

And he turns his back for one second and next thing he knows is that you’re both being hunted for sport

This is going to get messy

Twilight

How about Beauty and The Beast?

This boy was hooked

Did he take it personally?

Oh, you bet your bottom dollar he did.

Total self projection.

So when he finds himself separated from the group, tossed through a portal and in a suddenly very similar situation to the beast of the story-

His self esteem plummets

He knows exactly what to do!

At least in this form, he’s able to speak

So! All he has to do is earn a true love’s kiss to break the curse

And then the story ends happily ever after

And then he can go home

Maybe

He thinks so anyway

It’s all he has to go off of

But maybe certain words get into his head

A beast

Why is he a beast?

Again and again-

Surely this must mean something about him on the inside must be beastly for nearly every situation he’s been in to reflect this

He needs to make sure that Dink doesn’t touch you though

He’s never been more afraid for your safety than when the wolves attacked

So Wolves are just more bad news, huh?

He takes a bad hit

Bonus points if you’re memory has been wiped and you’re just living out the story as intended

Twilight really can’t stop his loved ones from getting their memories wiped, can he?

Warrior

At first, Warrior didn’t even realize something was wrong

He went about his business and did his work

He didn’t even notice something was amiss when Zelda said that she was going to host a ball

He felt a bit weird when she said it was to find him a partner

Warrior didn’t want to admit it but he didn’t want to think about right now

But if the Queen says so, he can find a way to postpone his marriage

He goes along with it for the most part

He’s bored

And then, he looks up

He sees you

You look exquisite

He didn’t know you were here!

He forget everything in the moment

He has to know!

He has to dance with you at least once tonight

Warrior proceeds to have the best night of his life

Only for you to run away…and leave your shoe behind

That can’t be!

He has to find you again! He has to dance with you again

Or at least hold your hand once more

Warrior doesn’t even think to look for the rest of the group

Nor does he see the similarities in the stories that you used to tell the others when it was time to call it a night

Warrior tries his best to figure out where you would have went

It seems as if that you vanished overnight

All he has is the shoe that you left behind….

He’s a bit desperate but it’s the only plan he has

Wild

A princess locked away in a far away tower

Why does that sound so familiar?

He listens with full rapt attention and pays attention to every little detail he can

Then comes the moment when he’s tossed through the portal and separated from the group

Wild gathers all the courage he can muster and goes forward

It’s the only thing he knows how to do

So when he finds an abandoned tower in the middle of the forest he’s traveling through, he fills a bit bitter

Sarcastically he calls out, “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!”

Only for a long cord of… something to fall out of the small window at the top of the tower

His heart sinks with dread

With no clue what to do otherwise, he climbs up and enters the towers

He finds you

At first he’s elated to be reunited with you… until he realizes that the rope he used to climb up… was your hair

He recognizes that this isn’t his reality in the same manner that someone reacts when ice water gets poured on them

He nearly falls out of the tower backwards until you pull him back in for safety

Wild still needs to find the others

So while you assure him that you’re safe in the tower, he promises to return

Each time he manages to track down one of guys from the group, he comes back to you 

It’s takes a long time before he can pinpoint where everyone is

He manages to evade the “witch” time and time again

Until he comes up with no warning, having figure out how to climb the tower with the support of the hair rope

He’s going to convince you to come with him this time

He’s tried in the past but you’ve always turned him down

But now that the whole group has been found and in one way or another they’re together again if they don’t remember everything

Wild knows he can fix this

Only this time, someone else is in the tower

[zelda-photography]

TOTK Trailer 3 Analysis

Alright, let's do this. There was a whole lot in this trailer, and just so you know i'm not going to be dissecting every second or everything that made me go 'oh cool!' Like, the rocket is way cool but I won't be providing a picture. Anyway, without further ado, here we go!

I really liked seeing the little robot guys doing stuff on the island, especially this little one fending off a chuchu :D I think it adds a lot to the understanding of the role of these robots

Not sure what's up with all the mushroom stuff but I love it! I like seeing that the villages are going to be changed :D

Yay, settlements! People trying to move into this area! A shame that the castle is gone now. I also really like the birds on the old fountains.

Big round rock is very interesting. It reminds me of the speed boost things in skyward sword, so that's my theory on what this one does.

Big thing rising from the Gerudo desert. It's probably going to end up just being Ganondorf's castle, but I really hope it's Arbiter's Grounds because that place horrifies and fascinates me.

Presumably a back shot of Ganondorf, and I gotta say I love his hair all glowing and crazy like that. He seems to be watching something explode, but I'm not sure what? Baby theory with the only proof of 'idk it'd make a modicum of sense', maybe it's the great plateau he's destroying?

Putting these two together since they seem to go together - ways to get below ground? Very interesting. Not psyched about having to wear the lame lava armor again, though. (and when I say go together, I realize this is probably an underground cavern in the Eldin area and not in Lanayru)

Flying ship flying ship let's go!!! Looks way cool and makes me wonder who is manning it. Robots? Monsters? The Zonai???

Floating balls of water are cool, but more than anything make me wonder if there will be a better swimming mechanic, maybe even diving?

Mostly took this picture because I like the red bird outfit Link is wearing. Presumably it'll slow his fall more than other clothes, but I also like the reference to the crimson loftwing.

Finally, the being we've been seeing on the wall carvings and ruins. What's her deal? Is this what all Zonai look like? She looks rad that's for sure. I've heard some people say she looks like a lizard, but personally I think she looks more like the three dragons.

At first, this is kind of a boring shot, until I remembered that Hyrule castle probably was very much destroyed in the final battle of BotW. Was it repaired? By the little magic sparkles around, I'd guess either Zelda is repairing it with magic, or this is some kind of memory.

Finally, the girl. Strange dais she's standing in front of, I'm so worried for her.

The Baby! Teba really said 'I'm too old for this shit' and is having his baby fill in for him! Rip Teba you were, well, a normal guy opposed to all the other champions. Here's to your cool kiddo.

I think I said this in my analysis of the last trailer, that I thought Link's vehicles would be able to transport Hylians, and I feel soooo vindicated right now! Yes, helping the citizens! I love it!

This is ridiculous and I love it. Just us with our dumb machine against a bunch of monsters. Reminds me of that woodcutting machine from beauty and the beast, I think because of the little arm making kind of chopping motions

BIG FUCKING MONSTER ATTACKING THE LITTLE BABY! I'M SO EXCITED FOR BOSS BATTLES NOW!

No idea what the little magatama is still other than 'probably what they mean when they say tears'

I have mixed opinions on ganondorf's design, but overall I think I like it :) He's green still, which is a little weird, but I guess he is technically a zombie, and damn did he rehydrate well.

Putting these two together to make a point (may also make it it's own post too) that I think Zelda isn't just wearing the above woman's outfit, I think the above woman is Zelda, the one from 1000 years ago. (I'll also mention now that what if the male voice talking to Zelda is some version of Ganondorf?)

At one point I was going to make a video about TotK theories, and one involved getting to fight with civilians. It was more of an escort idea in there, but hey, still looks exciting! I love all these people who are stepping up to the plate and aren't just going to let another calamity hit them!

Riju haircut! Sidon is King! Kind of weird that we say three of the four races, really hoping the gorons are doing okay. I'm really excited to see how the powers and strengths of the allies have evolved. From the footage, you already get the idea that Riju has started to use Urbosa's lightning powers.

Gleeok! We've all seen him coming, but hey, he's officially here! That's pretty rad!

Hard to see, but we're getting more of the wall mural thing, this time featuring ganondorf. I hope this thing will be, like, a physical thing in game so we can look at the whole thing.

And finally Zelda. My bets are that she's a) going to be found sleeping on that thing, very similar to Zelda 2's ending or that b) she's going to end up being sacrificed on it :(

[whoseyscientist]

BEST BATMAN FICS I’VE READ 3 BRUCE WAYNE FOCUSED

Hihoo Here’s some more crazy good batman fics with a particular focus on the sad angsty man in the bat suit because I love him so! Mix of gen/batfam and shipping stuff cause I just wish him well in life c:

As I was making this list I realised alot of them were one-shots huh the more you know- mix of mainly one-shots and the occasional epic lengths lol

= General/ Batfam =

Nominal

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8613352

Don't ask why Batman is sad unless you're willing to give him the time to consult his spreadsheet.

(legitimately?? funniest batman fic I’ve ever read, one-shot) 

The Jason Project

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19899613

Jason had just wanted to see his autopsy report, he had only wanted to know what information Bruce had about his death. And when Bruce hadn't given it to him, he had stolen it. He hadn’t meant to stumble upon the bucket list of a dead child and the footage of a grieving father crossing one item after another off the list.

(^ short, sweet and very emotional)

More Precious Than Gold

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13273611/chapters/30371190

Most dragons sleep on their hoards.

Bruce's hoard sleeps on him.

Or: Bruce is a dragon. Predictably, he hoards orphans.

(so, so goddamn cute, two shot)

Manor-Dad lets me drive the Batmobile

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19002637/chapters/45125308

Bruce had two options when Dick found the Cave. 1) Tell him the truth. 2) Go along with Dick’s excited “You’re dating Batman!” until he figured out the truth.

Several children later Bruce wished he’d gone with option 1) or he wouldn’t have to deal with all his kids believing he and Batman were separate people. Yes, even Damian.

(Unfinished but still so very funny, crazy good fic)

dad time

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20434550

five times the justice league misinterpreted batman's actions + one time they absolutely did not

(Bruce just proudly showing off his kids in League business is so canon lmao, one shot, also this author in general has some quality batfam content legit)

Cingulomania (Sometimes, Dad Needs a Hug)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29690424#main

‘Right,’ Tim said, in the voice he used on missions, ‘we’re going to have to call in an expert.’ * ‘Hey guys!’ Dick said, voice slightly crackly over Tim’s phone speakers. ‘What’s up? I’m not supposed to visit until tomorrow - is something wrong?’ - Something is seriously not right with Bruce. They’re a family of detectives and no one can figure it out. It’s kind of embarrassing.

They’re all starting to get worried. - (Sometimes, Bruce needs a hug.)

(^ Feeding my bruce is touch starved agenda quite nicely, one shot)

A Hero Lost

https://archiveofourown.org/works/40358904/chapters/101096682#workskin

When Jason Todd died on that fateful April day, Bruce was tempted to just... stop. To let the world know he was Batman, and that it'd just lost a hero in Jason Todd.

And so he did.

It didn't keep him from mourning the death of his son.

Or: Bruce quits being Batman in the wake of Jason's death, tells the world who he is, then retires to Montana and slowly finds healing. And when Jason comes back to life six months later, and Talia tells him 'you remain unavenged,' he can't find any evidence to support that, so he goes home.

(^ Truly, truly beautiful, it’s a short read but very much worth it)

In For a Pound Series

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17558375/chapters/41378861

25 is too young to be a Dad. That's what Bruce thought when Talia dropped off this baby she claimed was his. Add to that a jealous 11-year-old Dick, and Bruce has his hands full. What does one even do with a baby? Why does this baby scowl so much? And when on earth is Talia coming back?

(^ Very good series with some very fun batfam shenanigans)

Matches

https://archiveofourown.org/works/8074405

What in the hell kind of name for an alias is Matches?

(one-shot, silly, very funny dialogue- bruce is so awkwardly charming I love it)

= Shipping =

Whoever Falls First

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7679041

"There's more kryptonite out there. When the Superman returns, there's going to be an all-star battle royale in the criminal underworld. Every megalomaniacal freak will want a piece of it so they can get a piece of you. And some of them will manage. They'll weaponize it and won't hesitate to use it against you, and when that happens I will not have you flailing around like an idiot."

aka: Bruce teaches Clark how to fight.

(have I recommended this before? I can’t remember, either way it’s immaculately written, superbat one-shot)

pull out the pin

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42361755

Revulsion curled in Clark’s gut, instinctual and sudden. He knew, without knowing how, that the creature wearing Bruce’s face was not Bruce.

“Oh boy,” Not-Bruce cracked its neck, turning its grin on the rest of the group, “You do not want to be in this head, let me tell you.”

(superbat and sooo good, also do yourself a favour and just read all of this authors stuff, its always a banger)

Dilectus Meus Mihi...

https://archiveofourown.org/works/301669/chapters/482974

Clark Kent has lost all his memories of being Superman, and Bruce Wayne must retrain him in the use of his powers. But his super-powered identity isn't all he's forgotten...

(two shot, fun and sweet, just superbat falling in love again <3)

my body is an orphanage (we take everyone in)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/12683415

He can stand in a room with the League members and receive surreptitious glances from each one of them individually, each one of them trying to communicate with the intensity of their eyes some sort of camaraderie with Bruce, us against the world, which would be funny, would be far less bitter and ironic, if he wasn’t so desperate to affirm with each of them in turn, yes, you are my friend, for better or for worse.

So he lets them have sex with him because it seems like that means a lot to them.

(^ ace bruce!- incredibly bittersweet with a very sweet ending, poor bruce man :c)

ship-to-ship combat

https://archiveofourown.org/works/39666915/chapters/99302841

"Clark. What the hell is this," Lois asks, staring at Clark's Bruceman WIP folder. Clark's first instinct is to fly away, but that would still leave his fic on display for her to see. His second instinct is to blast a hole straight through his laptop screen with his heat vision, which isn't much better.

Clark, in an attempt to make some spare cash, unintentionally stumbles into the world of superhero fanfiction, becomes a prolific writer for Gotham's OTP, and tries his best to fend off rival fans who want him to convert to superbat instead.

(^ i really just assume everyones already heard of this one cause it’s just- really well written but its superbat and bruceman(LOL) it’s un-finished but hilarious and surprisingly real and emotional)

as to which may be the true

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7880368/chapters/17998981#main

It isn't difficult to go on in the wake of Superman's death. His resurrection, though, poses a problem—especially when it turns out there's no such thing as the right moment to explain that Martha Kent's obnoxious billionaire friend? Is also the man who tried really hard to shove a kryptonite spear through Clark's face.

(I love post resurrection content it’s so good, superbat)

Nine Tenths

https://archiveofourown.org/works/426785

In which the man who's faster than a speeding bullet is pretty slow on the uptake. Bruce corrects this problem the only way he knows how: by being smarter than the average bat. Stark is more than willing to lend a hand.

(this is so cute, gotta love some jealous superbat, also Clark being the one that hates a random hero for literally no reason is fucking hilarious I love it everytime lol)

Remembering Normal

https://archiveofourown.org/works/11494842/chapters/25786338

Hal Jordan is a totally normal alpha, and definitely NOT gay. At all. Like, even a little. Except there was this once. . .

(steamyy, this author has such an insane grasp on bruce and hal as characters its actually insane, their lvl of dialogue is something I aspire for, batlantern)

Late Night Talks

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34941634

Two-face's new partner looks a lot like Bruce Wayne. Surely that doesn't mean anything...

(Twobat, oneshot and the first introduction I’ve ever had to two face/matches malone)

[jadedrrose]

A Coincidence

This is my @onepiece-blorboexchange’s Secret Santa event gift to @owlight! I had a lot of fun writing this, so I hope you enjoy it, Owl! <3 Happy Holidays!!

Warnings: Lots of fluff, gender neutral reader, though AFAB is implied (reader shares the girl’s quarters with Nami and Robin, but it’s mostly bc who would wanna sleep with all the crazy Strawhat boys? Def not me)

This entire plan was so nerve wracking, you thought you were going to explode. In a good way? Maybe. You also felt giddy and excited, a blush rising to your cheeks every time you thought of what you were going to do tonight.

You wanted to propose to Robin. Rather, you were going to. But being on just a ship, there wasn’t much room to escape your girlfriend; you knew she was catching on and would maybe even figure it out if she ended up talking to you. So far, today you hadn’t really seen her. You wondered what she was up to.

The plan so far had gone smoothly. You had to confide in Sanji about the plan, as you wanted him to make a special dinner for just you and Robin. You requested that he make her favorite meal, sandwiches. But of course, you thought just a sandwich was too simple. So you’d asked your crew mate if he could make a sandwich board, where the two of you could have multiple types along with many toppings to choose from. You’d also requested a cake for after dinner.

Then you had to talk to Nami. You wanted Robin to dress nice (not that she didn’t already) for the dinner. You’d asked that she come up with some reason to get her dressed up. Nami gladly accepted your request, but not before squealing and getting excited at your news.

Then, there were the ones who couldn’t know. At all. Luffy, for one. The guy couldn’t keep any secret, even his own. If you or anyone else let it slip to him that you were going to do a surprise proposal dinner, he would scream the words back at you in excitement, therefore letting the whole ship know.

It wasn’t that you didn’t trust him, but Zoro. He tended to be a bit forgetful (especially with the way he’s constantly getting himself lost), and would probably accidentally say something.

The other boys, you weren’t really sure. Franky could keep a secret, probably, but you had no real reason to let him in on it. You didn’t need to tell Usopp because you were certain Nami would be gossiping about the whole ordeal with him. But you didn’t really mind. Brook? He’d end up spying on you or Robin the rest of the day and ruin it. You weren’t too sure about Chopper. Much like your captain, he was childish at times and would probably say something by accident while fooling around. But you did trust Chopper, a lot. In the end, you decided to just forget about telling anybody else. Two (three?) people were enough, especially with all of you confined to the ship.

Then you needed to somehow set up the scenery without exposing the whole thing. You figured you’d tie it all into Christmas since the holiday was only a few days away. Nami ended up helping you with that. The two of you set up a table in the garden, putting red and gold dishware on it on top of a satin table cloth. Nami put decorative lights and ornaments on her trees, and you placed light up-garland around the entire garden. When the two of you finished that, you then needed to come up with a way to get yourself ready, since all three of you shared a room. Nami decided on asking Robin to go up to the bath with her so they could just have girls time, and when Robin would inevitably ask why you weren’t joining, Nami would say that you were too tired and went to take a nap. It sounded good in theory, you just hoped Robin would actually say yes to the bath in the first place.

You briefly went into the kitchen to see how things were going. Sanji was mixing the cake ingredients, prepping it for baking. You eyed over all the ingredients poured out onto the counter, pausing on the sugar. “Don’t add too much in, you know she doesn’t like it very sweet,” you told the cook.

“Yeah yeah, geez, y/n, you act as if I’ve never even met her before. I know everyone on this ship’s exact tastes, what they do like, what they hate.” He replied as he mixed up the batter.

“Who have you supposedly never met before?”

Your eyes went wide at her voice. Her warm, gorgeous voice. One side of you panicked over what she may have overheard, the other side swooned over the idea of hearing her say vows to you, in that perfect voice of her’s. Shaking your head, you turned to see her.

“Oh, Robin! Coincidentally enough, it was you,” you spoke, trying to save yourself. “Sanji’s making everyone a cake for the holidays, and I just wanted to make sure it wouldn’t end up being too sweet.”

You glanced over to Sanji who just hummed, seemingly surprised at how quickly you recovered there.

“How kind of you, my love,” Robin praised, a smile on her face.

You blushed, becoming flustered all over again.

“What are you doing in here anyways, Robin?” Sanji asked, seeing you struggling to control your face.

“Oh, I just came in to grab some coffee. I’ll be out of your way in a couple moments.”

“Ah, I don’t mind, Robin-chan. You could never get in my way.” Sanji mused.

“Have you forgotten that I’m y/n’s? You don’t need to continue with the silly talk,” she giggled.

You thought you were going to pass out. Normally you wouldn’t react to her remarks like that, but given your plans for tonight, and just how head over heels you currently felt, everything she did or said had a stronger effect on you.

“Well. I’m going to go shower quickly,” you said, thinking of any escape. “I’ll see you guys at dinner, or whenever we next run into each other.”

“Okay, y/n. See you then,” Sanji said, winking at you. Of course… it did just look like him normally blinking, but you could tell the difference at this point. His winks always lasted longer and his face was more expressive.

“Bye, my love,” Robin spoke as she stood near the coffee machine, watching you closely as you left the room with a wave in her direction.

—

You were able to shower and get ready without any interference. Everything about the more difficult part of the plan was going smoothly by some miracle. You knew that you were running out of time before Nami and Robin would be back from the bath, so you hurried when getting yourself ready.

You did your normal routine just with a few extra steps added in so that you’d be all dressed up for the occasion. You put on an outfit that you’d picked out for this specific night on the last island you’d all stopped at. Looking yourself over in the mirror, you tried to control the sweat forming on your brow.

“It’ll all be fine,” you tried convincing yourself, “Everything will go smoothly…”

But what if Luffy got to the food before you and Robin could? What if Zoro had stolen all the available alcohol and left you with not even wine to share with your girlfriend?

The ‘what ifs’ kept popping up as you left the room and went to the kitchen to meet Sanji. He was already waiting for you so the two of you could get the food taken up to the spot you’d prepared.

You must’ve checked over the table thirty times before finally deciding everything looked neat and fancy. Then you sat down, and began to wait for Robin.

You fiddled with the ring that sat in your pocket, hoping she’d at least like it. You’d looked over all the jewelry she owned and tried your best to find something that you knew she would love. Even if you were pretty confident, you still had some self-doubts.

Then, you heard it. The chatter of her and Nami speaking to each other as they headed up to the garden.

“Oh, what’s all this?” Nami exclaimed, pretending as though she hadn’t helped you set it all up.

“It would seem the garden’s been decorated,” Robin observed. Then her eyes landed on you.

“Y/n?”

You smiled at her sheepishly, feeling a deep blush creep onto your cheeks as she gazed at you.

“Hmm, seems real romantic. Guess I better leave you two alone then!” Nami said, waving to you and running off. Though you had a feeling she’d be watching.

Robin sat down across from you, a smirk on her face. She was wearing a black lace dress over a deep colored purple long sleeved shirt. She also had some black heels on, making her even more tall than she already was.

“You did all this?” She asked, folding her hands under her chin.

“Yeah… wanted to make a nice dinner for us. Well, Sanji made the food… I set it all up,” you explained. “Shall we eat?”

“Of course, I’m starving anyways.”

The two of you ate, and during that time you noticed Robin had a smug look about her. Like she knew something was up.

You knew that if she kept looking at you like that, you’d eventually break. So it was best to get on with the plan before you were a nervous sweaty mess.

“Uhm, Robin?” You started, getting her attention.

“Yes, love?” She smiled at you through her wine glass.

“Well,” you started, realizing you hadn’t prepared a speech. “You know I love you. Really, I have since we met. Even if you were technically the enemy then,” you giggled. “But, considering that was years ago now, I figured it was time we uhm… took the next step?”

“What do you mean by that?” She asked. But you could tell she’d figured it all out by now. She was simply playing along.

“Robin,” you pulled the ring from your pocket and took one of her hands, placing the ring into it. “Will you.. uhm, m-marry me?”

Damnit. Why’d you have to stutter?

It didn’t help that she started giggling. Her other hand lifted to her lips as she continued to laugh, shaking her head.

“Oh y/n, of course I will. But it’s such a coincidence,” she spoke, moving her free hand down to her skirt, pulling something from her pocket.

A ring. That was clearly of your taste, clearly meant for you.

“I had the same idea, darling. In fact, I was going to ask you tonight, too,” she smiled. “But I decided to wait it out once I caught you and Sanji in the kitchen earlier.”

“Y-you knew?” You stammered, face turning red.

“Of course I did,” she giggled. “But it’s so endearing. That you did all of this, just for me. Thank you, y/n.”

As you recovered from the shock that she knew all along, the two of you exchanged the rings and slid them onto each other’s fingers. It was then that you heard a squeal from not too far away, seeing Nami jumping up, Usopp beside her, clapping.

“Oh those two…” you rolled your eyes. “Of course they were spying.”

“That’s alright, I don’t mind,” Robin said.

A moment later, Nami was up in the garden, ushering for you and your now fiancée to come on down for cake.

The whole crew was waiting for the two of you, and they all jumped to greet you with hugs and words of congratulations.

“Woohoo! Let’s have a banquet for this!” Luffy shouted, using his power to wrap his arms around both you and Robin.

“But Luffy, we just ate!” You protested, squished between him and Robin.

“Then eat again!”

You rolled your eyes at your captain’s antics, as he let go finally.

“I think it’s time for cake, then,” Sanji said, presenting the cake you’d requested. “Robin-chan’s favorite, and of course, y/n’s too, since Robin had asked me to do the exact same thing.”

You turned to Robin then.

“Did you?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “It seems we had the exact same idea of a proposal. I’ll take it as a sign we’re meant for each other, hm?”

You blushed, shyly looking to your feet. “Yeah… I suppose we are.”

The immature bunch of the boys all started yelling out things like “ew, get a room!” but it was all lighthearted fun. You could only imagine how they’d act at your wedding, now.

[haztobegood]

✨ Twenty Questions for Fic Writers ✨

Thank you @reminiscingintherain for tagging me!

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

67, soon to be 68 with the Trick or Treat Fest ficlet I've written!

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

359,280

3. What fandoms do you write for?

One Direction. I've written some 1d rare pairs which adds BBC Radio 1, Music, Fashion Model, and Actor RPF to my fandoms list in ao3.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Nailed By Louis, Not Another Lonely Christmas, All That You Need, The Prince and The YouTuber, Take on Me

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Not right away but I do respond. I read them as soon as I see the email notification, but I wait to respond until I need a boost. It's so nice to reread every comment in my inbox as I respond.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Surprisingly not the one that ends with MCD! My angstiest ending is a 500 word girl direction ficlet The Phantom Heart.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I love happy endings so it's tough to pick! I'm going to go with We're Getting Better With Time because it's about second chances, so the ending feels like a new beginning for their love.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

The closest thing I've gotten to hate was a tweet about Premier Fantasies where someone was appalled by the Harry Styles/Ted Lasso pairing. It wasn't aimed at my writing, just the choice in pairing, so I took it as a compliment that I could write something that shocked people.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do write it, but not as much as I used to. When I started writing I felt so much pressure to add smut into every fic because it gets better engagement, more hits, etc. But the more I've written, the less I care about the numbers.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've written a couple of crossovers! Premier Fantasies is Harry Styles in the Ted Lasso universe, which was crazy just because of the pairing. I had a lot of fun writing dialogue for Ted in this one. The craziest plot-wise is Love and Other Antidotes, which is a One Direction take on Emperor's New Groove, and features Kronk, Disney style hijinks, and Harry as a little cow!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. I think short fics and rare pairs tend to be stolen less often, so so far I've been safe.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I don't allow translations, but someone did post a translation of one without asking. I have mixed feelings about translations.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have not. I feel like as a capricorn I would want to have too much control over the story for it to be a good idea.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I read and write Larry fics the most, but I also love Niall/Greg James as a pairing and think their dynamic is so underrated.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

My very first fic. It's a werewolf pack fic I started plotting in 2017. I didn't get very far before hitting some major plot holes that I was too inexperienced as a writer to be able to fill. I have grown so much as a writer since then that it wouldn't be the same fic with the same purpose as when I started writing it.

16. What are your writing strengths?

My biggest strength is that I write for myself. I love writing short oneshots even though long fics are get more kudos. I adore the humor of crack fics, even though angsty fics get more hits. I will tackle any new rare pair I want, even if I'm the only person that will read it.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I am a creature of habit and my habits have been disturbed. I'd worked hard to develop a habit of writing a couple of times a week, and it was going so well. But after moving and other life changes in the last year, it's been difficult to find the time or energy to write. I wish I could flip on the motivation like a switch.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

There are a couple of books I remember because of the author's use of code switching throughout the dialogue, and I think it can be really powerful for some stories. But since English is my native language, I would only use it for my own writing if it added to the story, and if had the time to properly research and get it reviewed.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The phandom in 2016 but I didn't post it back then. One Direction was the first fandom where I shared my fic.

20. Favourite fic you've written?

I'm going to do this by category because I can't choose only one:

Larry fic: We're Getting Better With Time Girl Direction fic: Close Our Eyes (Pretend We're Miles Away) Rare Pair fic: Now All The Clouds Been Lifted Ficlet: Through the Static

~~~~~

Tagging: @allwaswell16 @hazzabeeforlou @beelou @evilovesyou @uhoh-but-yeah-alright @kingsofeverything @banaanipoika9 @justanothershadeofblue @disgruntledkittenface @zanniscaramouche