#also what is my fave series right now and why is it twins

[pharawee]

[nenoname]

Gravity Falls DVD Commentary Highlights

(just a huge, and I mean huge, dump of random quotes that stuck out to me, which I sorta separated into characters+their relationships and it's probably gonna be obvious that Stan is my fave lmao

I dunno how to make this legible for anyone but whatever, just take all these rando character tidbits. Stan Twin pranks! Sonployee essays! The concept for a post-Weirdmageddon episode that Alex insists is just too miserable but I want it anyway! The Pines family making me cry!)

Stan

"We love the idea of Stan [in Boss Mabel] having a minute to uh, having a context where we want to see him be his worst self and seeing his big brash personality in like a setting that everyone can understand, because the Mystery Shack is a little bit ungrounded because he's in his world of his characters, but seeing him out in the outside world is funny weird."

We really enjoyed the fact that he's as awful as ever and he's rewarded for it. We like those anti-morals where Stan uses his terribleness to succeed incredibly well.

I think it was a little hard for people to understand in the writer's room at the beginning of the series was that, even though Stan is following a lot of these tropes of being a miser, he's not grumpy. Like he actually loves being himself. He really revels in it like even though he's got some kind of sorrow inside, his kind of day-to-day like he's more about just the uncle who loves to hear himself and make dumb jokes than he is somebody who's mean or cruel or cynical per se.

The [NWHS] storyboards managed to make Stan this awesome action hero while still keeping him Stan. Like I like the fact that he steals a wallet in the middle of it. He steals a wallet, he smashes somebody against the wall, he sasses him but he also has this just great Inception moment. And it's because we're building to a big question about “who is Stan?”, I felt a moment of seeing him be kind of awesome further increases your “who is this guy?” He keeps going back and forth between like “oh geez my back” and you're like “all right that's the Stan I know” and then like “whoa, he just did an awesome jailbreak! Is he some kind of super villain? Who is he really?

There's more of Ford in Stan than I think Stan realizes that I think only comes out in certain moments.”

Why did Stan keep a clipping of himself titled “grifter at large”? I think he thought he looked cool in that picture. “You know I kind of have a Clint Eastwood look in this grifter at large photo. I think maybe I'll use this as an About the Author one day. I gotta hold on to this one. You know what, I'm a criminal but I'm a nostalgic criminal! Loving the past is my greatest crime now!”

I know how Stan feels in this [Principal talking to his family] scene, when somebody comes in and says like “You know what? There was a race you didn't know you were running and you're already behind, way behind.” 

And you know even though Stan is a guy who looks like he's having a fun time, I always, in my gut, thought of him as somebody who is a huge well of sadness, a loss of human connection. And that need to please, that trying to get laughs from the crowd and constantly telling dumb jokes and you know putting on a big show in the Mystery Shack, he's trying to get from them the affection that he never got from his family and lost with his brother.

Stan has been waiting for years to have a reunion with his brother. He's always felt like a screw-up. Stan once again had an idea of how he thought things were going to go. He thought that his brother was saying “I need your help” for the first time. He's going to go up there, they're gonna have some drinks, they're gonna catch up and instead he ended up shoving his brother into another dimension and running out of food and money. It's sort of his worst nightmare. But this was Stan's entire character, from the very beginning of the series, was built around this idea that he's living with this tragedy. He's a guy who outwardly seems like he doesn't appreciate family but in fact wants it more than anything in the world and feels like maybe he's not worthy of it and would do anything to prove that he is.

Seeing Stan figure out what he's good at felt important to me. Like he's never been good at anything in his life and he makes a stupid hokey joke and it suddenly turns into a profit. I felt like without [showing how the Mystery Shack was created], I was missing something and understanding why he would do this, how this would be the solution to his problem.

We would like the idea that Stan appears to win through dumb luck, that it's sort of Intelligence versus Guts but Stan wouldn't actually bet everyone's life on a dice roll. He's a cheater! At the end of the day, I believe Stan has been thrown out of Vegas for counting cards and for weighing dies and I believe he could con his way out of any game, particularly for an obnoxious wizard like this. The idea that Stan would gamble everyone on pure chance is like no. No, he's got a plan. This is the guy who escaped prison using gravity leaps, he's got a way out.

The one big thing [The Stanchurian Candidate] does is really highlights Stan's inferiority complex compared to his brother. Part of what he's doing is he's trying to be an important man here and this episode is actually a pretty good setup in many ways for Weirdmageddon Part 3. When we see Ford they're all going on this rescue mission to rescue Ford and this episode shows you just how much Stan wants to be the hero like the reason that he can't shake Ford's hand when they're in that circle.  The cold open of this where he sees everyone loves Ford and now that Ford's back, he's the best. Stan's like “well, how about I run for mayor!” It's just to boost his ego and make him feel better about himself.

Dipper and Mabel

“Straight man protagonists are really hard to write because every other character had a comedic hook. We understand that Soos is kind of this weirdo, his brain is in another place. Mabel has this exuberance and sees the best in every situation and is very creative. Stan is a crooked conman. Dipper is… the normal guy and a character like that can often feel like they don’t have agency, start to feel just reactive.

Waddles is Mabel's only love that lasts the summer. Mabel is very prone to love at first sight and Waddles is able to love back with Mabel's degree of love.

[In Sock Opera] Mabel's in love with Gabe, Dipper's in love with the Author and they're both willing to do something crazy to get get closer to that thing

There kept being layers of adjustment to make it, “okay what would it take to get Dipper to make a deal with Bill?”  1: He would have to not understand the rules of the deal. He's been tricked, he thinks he's just giving a puppet, he didn't know was himself. Classic genie rules, you get what you wish for in a way you didn't expect.  2: There's a little ticking clock that just started, which if he doesn't do it by now, he's gonna lose all this.  3: Bill rightfully points out that Mabel has been kind of not sacrificing for him and he maybe needs another ally right now  4: He was sleep deprived and actually you'll notice that Dipper blinks right before Bill arrives and that's our way of suggesting that that countdown might not have even existed

I think Dipper and Mabel are of equal exact intelligence but Dipper's insecure. He sees his accomplishments as a way to make himself better and thus is motivated to focus on things that are accomplishment type things. And Mabel is very confident and likes having fun and when she's having a good time, she has a little tunnel vision for the people and the things around her. That's one of her biggest flaws. She's actually really, really sweet when she notices and understands your pain but not when she's doing a bit, when she's doing a scene, when she's doing a gag.

Ford

Originally [the fake Author] looked a little bit more like an oddball wacky inventor and I felt he had to be pretty idiosyncratic. There's certain color things about him you'll notice. He's more or less got the color scheme of the Journal, you know maroons and golds, so that you kind of feel instinctively like maybe that's him. A lot of these motifs though we would end up using in Ford's design, as well the gloves and the coat and all that but much cooler later on but preparing you, it's Ford Lite. 

Now this is there's no logical reason that Ford would break [the warnings about the portal] up into all these books this way but up until this point he's been shown as this sort of all-knowing mysterious Puzzle Master that it felt appropriate, even though it's not logical.

It works for the storytelling so when Ford wrote that, that's when he was super sleep deprived. He realized that Bill had betrayed him, he was starting to have a hard time differentiating between fantasy and reality, he was losing sleep and scribbling all sorts of lunatic serial killer looking stuff about the end of the world.

In Time Traveler’s Pig, we see what should be a young Stanford Pines even though again, the design's a little off but we knew big sideburns, bushy hair. Although that Stanford looked a little bit more swole than this guy and that's one of the what we thought were very subtle clues in season one that helped a lot of fans figure figure everything out way too soon.

[Using the memory gun on the agents scene] needs to show that Ford's really awesome and so we could get rid of the agents and show that Ford can pretty much handle anything that Stan can't and also call back to our memory ray all in one.

There was a lot of fan speculation when we first met Ford. Generally when television shows introduce a new mysterious character late in the game, they turn out to be a villain like 9 out of 10 times. They turn out to be a villain or they're there to get killed off to show the stakes of something and like we could have made Ford evil but I always felt that that would be less interesting. The point that I was trying to get to is that Stan and Ford had this relationship that fell apart and it was both of their faults and I thought that if I'm Stan, I'd be more frustrated if Ford is actually a good guy. It would drive me insane if he's pretty reasonable, pretty rational, better at me than everything.

So we've flirted with this brief moment where it seems like he's a villain and we worked really hard to make it so that like his eyes are being covered by the reflection of the light. His dialogue is ambiguous enough here that for a moment you believe what Dipper believes, which is “maybe he's possessed by Bill.” You just saw him shaking Bill's hand, what is he supposed to believe?

I like that Ford has this photo with him, he had for a really really long time all the way through multiple dimensions. And he's probably told himself- I almost imagined if McGucket found that photo in his coat while they were working on the portal or something, like “What's this here?” and Ford would say “oh yes, that's a photo of a very important moment! That's when I…  that's when I first decided I want to be an inventor!” There would be no reference to the real reason he's keeping it. “This is me and my brother.” It would be like, “oh yes I was thinking about science as a horizon, a frontier to reach towards– you know like a boat, like a ship, like science! It's about science!”

Soos

You choose family. That you create over the course of your life and if that somebody earns being your family, like the Mystery Shack. These kids and Stan, they’re Soos' family and he's happy about that.

I feel like Soos gained something out of [Blendin’s Game]. He gains the knowledge that like “I'm tired of thinking about this man who I'm missing, who doesn't care about me. I'm going to concentrate on the people in front of me, the people that are my true family.”

Soos is a fan of the show even though he's in it. He's a big fan of Gravity Falls and [NWHS] killed him.

I always knew what I wanted Soos’ end to be Soos running the Mystery Shack. I imagine that Soos is actually way better at giving tours than Stan is because he loves all that stuff truly and he believes it. That's part of the difference. Stan’s like “um, all right suckers, this stagnant puddle is the befuddle puddle!” while Soos is like “yeah, one time I looked in there, I think i saw like a cyclops dude. Like, I really think I saw one! Like it might have been a reflection combining my pupils, but like?” and people are like “Whoa, really??”

McGucket

They hired a bunch of people and then they erased their memory. That’s my explanation for why there's like such amazing inventions that would take whole teams of people. McGucket secretly hired a number of contractors and erased their minds. Like I think of McGucket as being like a really sweet nice guy completely in over his head who just like “oh well, once I've erased one guy's mind, I gotta erase ten more guys’ minds to cover it up” and it just sort of builds into like “I guess I'm kind of this kingpin of crime and I'm starting a cult I didn't mean to. Whoopsy daisy!”

When we get to Ford and see their backstory and see their relationship, it just makes all the stuff that happens with the portal and what happens with Ford and all that more poignant that he had someone there who was not only his friend but also a voice of reason and telling him to stop and that he wouldn't listen to him, as opposed to Ford being down there on his own with nobody to bounce off, anybody to say “hey wait a minute, is this a good idea?”

“McGucket was the assistant and he was maybe this assistant who was sort of put upon and Ford kind of brought a college buddy together with him. You know Ford as somebody who lost Stan, and even though he rejected his brother, he kind of needs that other person and he tried to find that in this kind of sweet prodigy and he just pushed him too far.

[The test scene] is meant to show sort of what it was that McGucket needed to erase, what it was that drove him to madness. It was partially seeing the Nightmare Verse and the way it messed with his head and also partly just realizing that this thing has apocalyptic consequences and he doesn't want to be a part of it. And if he can't destroy it or talk Ford out of something, he can forget about it.

Because If Ford's weakness is pride, McGucket's weakness is weakness. He's got a kind heart and he can't stop people, he can't destroy things. I mean he should have basically knocked Ford out with a wrench and take this thing apart piece by piece. He's the one who understood how to build it but I think he's kind of a follower and I think he's the kind of person who could get suckered in by a cult leader. He’s the kind of person looking for instruction and he really respects Stanford and can't bring himself to uh, he's like “I just got out of a bunker! I don't want to go work for another guy down in another bunker! This is my third doomsday cult this year!”

Stan and the kids

Stan and Mabel have such a different life perspective it seemed natural that at some point they would get to a major conflict

Seeing Grunkle Stan and Dipper bond like, I sort of believe that both of them are bad with women and both of them would rather believe there's a giant conspiracy than that they have they just can't get ladies 

Can this idea about Mabel's relationship with Waddles actually reveal a rift between Mabel and Stan where Mabel and Stan actually get along pretty well in the series you know? When they they're both such strong stubborn personalities that when they conflict, they conflict hard like in Boss Mabel. But this idea that Waddles is sort of a metaphor for what Mabel loves and Stan loves Mabel but he doesn't really think that anything she thinks is necessarily smart or right. He loves her like “guys she's my sweet niece but she doesn't know anything you know? She doesn't know anything about a pig” She forgives a lot with Stan but like Waddles sort of represents like the purity of her deepest love and the idea that Stan would threaten that is genuinely a shock

In the previous season it ends with Dipper giving up his journal and there was a lot of argument about “oh is it lame if he just gets his journal back?” Another thing we struggled with, we knew that Stan knows the importance of this journal he wouldn't give the journal back to Dipper so it was a bit of a convolution we'd written ourselves into a corner. We wrote ourselves out, we said “okay he's photocopied it. he's giving it to Dipper because he knows that Dipper's really precocious and he'll never stop asking.”

“We knew that we wanted everything to come to a head when the kids are going to discover Stan's secret and they're going to discover it in such a way that they only get little bits and pieces and they have to decide for themselves based on the limited information. Is Stan's a good guy or if he's a bad guy? Ultimately that decision will be a decision of heart versus mind. And Dipper's mind, Mabel is heart and they're fighting with the scraps of information they have.  Should we trust our heart about how we feel about this guy over the course of the summer and everything we've been through or should we trust the clues? That seemed like a believable way to get Dipper and Mabel to begin a rift between them that is resolved by the end of the series.”

The way Stan acts in [NWHS] is like, to me part of what feels so grounded about it is like I'm a child of divorce and like I know that when parents or parent figures know that hard times are coming for the kids. They kind of lay it on thick they're like who wants ice cream you know what I mean? Like Stan being extra nice to them at the beginning is like it's kind of a realistic thing that that adults do when they know like big changes are coming.

I felt it was really important that we added the scene where they're at maximum bonding. They're up on the roof, they're shooting firecrackers. Stan knows in his heart that when his brother arrives everything is going to change in ways he can't predict and he's really savoring this moment because he knows, even if things goes completely smoothly, which they don't. the kids are still going to be mad at him, especially Dipper for basically lying.  They had this big meeting after the end of Scaryoke where of course Dipper also crossed his finger but Stan crosses his fingers and says “oh I'm telling you everything” and he knows that the kids are not going to be happy about the fact that he's been keeping this all from them because they've done amazing things together already and he should have trusted them before now. 

This act break is them saying, “wait, Stan might be a random grifter who maybe killed our real uncle!” That's pretty heavy for any show let alone a cartoon show.

What that would mean for them if all this stuff is true is so much further than just like, “oh he lied to us about a couple things.” It's just like, “no he's straight up just some random dude that we don't even know uh and the guy that I've been pining for this whole time is dead!”  We really try to stack the deck so it's like Mabel's perspective and Dipper's perspective are both kind of racing to see who gets in front and there'll be a moment where it's like yeah you kind of buy with Mabel she feels good about about Stan and then this scene is the most you’re ever with Dipper where we discover this huge crazy curveball and this feeling that you have looking at this newspaper and looking through these fake IDs this is how Dipper feels all the time.  If you want a window about what it's like to be Dipper, this moment where a giant conspiracy reveals itself out of little pieces and seems to suggest that no one is trustworthy like that's that's where Dipper lives and this to him confirms every bit of suspicion and every bit of paranoia he's ever had and he's willing to run with it. 

I love these characters so much that, for me I was like “I need to see Stan saying goodbye to the kids at that bus. And I don't want him to be some guy who isn't Stan, who doesn't even remember the kids.” That would be really dramatic. It might make you cry more but to me it doesn't actually mean anything. Their relationship which they've built, he was willing to sacrifice his memories to save them. That's how much they meant to him but because he was willing to do that, I think he deserves to get him back.

Stan and Ford

But I think Stan's hope is, that in Stan's mind this is going to play out one way which is that; he's going to free his brother, his brother's gonna come out of that portal after 30 years. Stan's probably imagining that Ford is weak, emaciated, wrapped in a blanket, that he'll stumble forward, through a beard. through blurry eyes, he'll be “my brother, is that you?” He'll embrace Stan, he'll hug him, he'll say, “all these years I thought I was goner but you saved me! I was wrong to mock you, I was wrong to call you the stupid twin! Dad was wrong about you! You're the greatest man and let's be friends again and who are these niece and nephew?” Like that was what Stan was kind of hoping. He knows it's there's a million things that could go wrong, including potentially the destruction of this dimension, but he so desperately needs to believe that he can make up for the problems of the past. He's hoping for this but he knows that things are going to change

When I started the series, I always knew Stan had a twin but all I knew about Ford from the jump was that he's everything Stan Isn't. So Stan is a guy with a huge chip on his shoulder, he's kind of a loser at life. There's somebody who is a winner at life or at least was a winner in all these ways that Stan wasn't.

We realized that in order to bring out the maximum amount of frustration in Stan, [Ford] needed to have a bit of a heart. Like here we see him being kind to the kids, he's not he's not all bad which is what's so infuriating to Stan. The idea that he would quickly get along with the kids when he can't get any respect from them. Ford is designed for what would bring out the most amount of conflict in the family. What would be Dipper's hero, what would be Stan's rival and who's somebody that we could empathize with. I mean, it’s  hard to empathize with a character that comes out and punches one of your characters in the face, basically before he almost says anything.

You see that at this age, that all the stuff [in their room] that would cross over, that would appeal to both of them. It's not just like “there's science stuff here” and then there's “what Stan would be into.” but no, they both like all this.

There was also a version [of ToTS] where early on, they'd rigged the school water fountain. They did sort of like a caper, it was science and a scam together when they were in elementary school but we decided to save the science for the science fair stuff.

We played around with the idea that you would see them working together doing little science games or pulling little pranks. There was actually a scene that some of it was even storyboarded where they're in a treehouse together and Crampelter and his friends have tracked them down and are begging for their lunch money and Stan and Ford have used their jerkiness and geniusness to rig up like a water balloon throwing machine that knocks Crampelter in the head. I remember him saying, “oh no, my old-timey paper crown!” We were really hanging a lampshade on all these sort of Little Rascal cliches.

Ford's not a villain. You know he's getting in Stan's face and saying “I want my life back” but hopefully by the end of the episode even though you don't root for his perspective, you understand his perspective where it's like Stan ruined his science project, Stan shoved him into the portal, Stan took over his house. He’s not completely unreasonable to want it back and he's not completely unreasonable about his request. He says “okay you've got till the end of the summer” and Stan's little look there tells you everything you need to know about how he feels about the situation.

We needed pressure to be at the point where Stan and Ford recognize their lifelong rivalry and Ford does a sincere apology to Stan and almost more importantly, he acknowledges Stan's intelligence. He says “you wouldn't have fallen for Bill's nonsense.” He recognizes that his brother has a kind of intelligence he doesn't.

I always imagined that as kids, Stan and Ford were like this dynamic duo. They were getting into scrapes and like planning pranks and with Stan's creativity and Ford's genius that they were an unstoppable awesome team, before life turned them against each other. I imagine that as kids they were always swapping glasses and tricking their parents so that they could get double presents. And this is a move they did back in New Jersey constantly. We had to figure out who's gonna make a sacrifice and how and even though it's Stan who agrees to be “I'll be the one erase my mind, it's fine, it's worth it”, it's a sacrifice for both. Ford at this point is willing to get his brother back and he has to lose him again. 

Stan and Ford, when they can finally work together, do bring out the best in each other. They just have been missing it for so long.

Post-mind return, Stan and Ford get along and that scene where they both threaten the bus driver gives a hint of what would happen if their powers were combined. We've never seen them working together as adults, they would be a really formidable duo.

Pines Family

[The Blind Eye has] such a great scene between Mabel and Wendy. We don't have a lot of scenes that are just them hanging out and she can kind of be like the cool older sister. Mabel's so obsessed with boys and Wendy's just like "yeah, whatever. They're a dime a dozen."

“in the storyboard, the postcard that Soos is holding up from New Orleans actually said Vegas and at the last minute we got really worried that people were gonna see that and think that that was a clue that Stan was Soos's deadbeat father. And because like our audience, we've trained them to look for clues and to connect dots, they start connecting dots that are not connected. And I called a late retake because, and I see people be like, “wouldn't that be cool if Stan was actually Soos's father” and I hate that headcanon. Whoever's listening and you think “that's a great idea!”-- that's a terrible idea!! Because it means that Stan ran out on his kid and then came back in his life. And weirdly pretends to not be his dad. It flies against the moral of this entire episode which is like, you know this guy who is Soos’ blood relative like cast him out and didn't come back and didn't make time for him and all these people did. These people are Soos’ real family and to say “Stan would be Soos' real father more if he was genetically–”, I'm like “no, no forget that!” Like relationships are about what you do. To me friendship is thicker than water and family is something you can create so I really didn't want anyone to think that we were suggesting that because to me, it actually wasn't just the wrong idea, it was like thematically against what the show's about.” "

"[In NWHS] Every character faces their worst possible choice, which is “Mabel must choose between Dipper and Stan” and “Soos must choose between Stan and the kids,” like “guard that thing with your life. I'm not going to explain to you why.” I believe that Soos would do anything to guard Mr Pines's secrets and these are the only two characters that could possibly make him doubt Stan, these two kids that he loves so much."

"For [DD&MD], you want to set it up as being like [Ford]'s like the coolest toy that's down in the basement that Dipper really wants to play with and he is not allowed to play with him."

"The first three quarters of the series are sort of about Dipper's crush on Wendy and this final quarter is sort of about his crush on the Author. He's such a fan of this guy and he's so used to being denied that which he's a fan of and he's never found anybody who cares about his nerdy stuff. Mabel doesn't care, Stan doesn't care, Soos cares but on a different level. He's so hungry for the approval of somebody like Ford This idea that they would bond over a nerdy board game felt like sort of the way to do this big idea in a sort of grounded way that I like better than like Ford presented Dipper with the Five Trials of the Genius Boy. “I passed these when I was your age! Can you do it too?” and it's like nope he just likes the same dork game that he does."

"The arrival of Ford is creating the two sets of twins starting to pair off between the Brainiacs and the Maniacs"

"Actually I enjoyed that [Ford putting the die in a cheap plastic case] got a little bit of a reckless side because it shows you the Stan part of him. The Stan part of Ford, the little bit that likes a little bit of danger, he likes a little bit of risk. If he would show that side, it would be in when he feels at ease, with a kindred spirit. Around Dipper he’d be like “isn't this pretty cool?” He'd never be that irresponsible around Stan.  I like that Dipper is sort of a little bit of a Achilles heel for Ford as well. Ford has certain blind spots and Dipper exacerbates some of those just because he's willing to encourage, he's willing to “yes and” Ford towards whatever dumb idea he might have."

"Dipper, Mabel, Stan and Ford, they're all characters who need each other. Without Dipper, Mabel's just in a fantasy land. Without Mabel, Dipper is just sort of just spiraling into misery, spiraling into his own neurosis and not being pulled into those social situations, not growing as a person."

"You want [Stan] to be true to our various awful grandfathers, so I feel like for the most part you know that [being shitty to women] a plausible thing for Stan to do, that you only forgive because you know he's not a role model. Nobody wants to be like Stan. The kids never look up to him. The only person who looks up to Stan is Soos and Soos is enough of a comedy character that you understand the joke is “oh this guy thinks the worst way to live is good.” And then at one point you realize why. We made it clear why Soos looks up to Stan is because he gave him his job. He gave him a father basically, he’s essentially Soos’ father. And of course Stan who's had a life of just chaos and disappointment, the only person who would be a surrogate son is [Soos] but also Soos has the biggest heart in the world. So only the biggest heart in the world could forgive all of Stan's many flaws and also if Soos can love Stan, then maybe there's something in there worth loving, then maybe we can too."

"Stan, even when he's sweet, he still has to threaten to murder his niece and nephew."

"I do think the value of [Stanchurian Candidate] is that we're learning just how important it is that [Stan]’s seen. At this point, the kids have become a surrogate family. At the beginning of the show, they were just kind of a little nuisance and then he kind of tried out getting the family from them that he never got from his brother and the idea that he would lose them to his brother is his greatest nightmare and the only way he can really express that is by trying to be impressive to them and trying to be his brother's rival."

"Ford offers Dipper this apprenticeship because Ford sees Dipper as somebody who's special like himself. That Ford's great flaw is arrogance. He believes that there's special people and everyone else and that you can be held back by your siblings. That human attachments are actually weaknesses. The song and dance that he's giving Dipper right now is the exact song of dance that he gave McGucket back when they were younger which is like “sure you could continue working on your job and computers but you and me are different. We're better than everyone else, we have a path that no one else can understand. Only us can do this.” And it’s a very seductive idea for Dipper but he starts to be a little insecure here. He’s kind of “I can't believe it” and he's sort of right to be suspicious because Dipper is a smart kid but Ford's projecting. Ford loves Dipper because he sees someone who tell him yes to everything. He'll never challenge him and if Dipper had taken Ford's apprenticeship,Dipper probably would have gone the way of McGucket, turned into a kind of insane paranoid hermit with no friends, just kind of losing his mind. Like it's a seductive offer but also ultimately Dipper needs to learn not to try to grow up too fast."

"This entire time Dipper's been having this journey of self-discovery and seeing his future as this wonderful thing that he can't wait for. Mabel has been, piece by piece, seeing her idea of the summer fall apart."

"As Ford and Dipper's relationship grow stronger, Stan and Mabel also find much more sort of connection. They both feel like the sibling that's getting kind of sidelined."

"I think [amnesiac!Stan] would be hardest on Soos, second hardest on Ford but Soos would show it. Probably third hardest on Mabel, fourth hardest on Dipper just because where their hearts are. Dipper's not heartless, that's a testament to just how heartbroken those other characters are."

Series goal+ The Finale

"So our idea was; the memory gun can erase a concept as designated by the dial. It stores it. It records you and it keeps that recording and that if you watch that recording things start to come back a little bit, that it hasn't actually completely erased it from your mind. It's more sublimated somewhere where it's really really hard to reach and in the series finale, my concept of Bill is that; if he hadn't gotten in all those forms and fought Stan, Stan is the one that destroyed Bill. Were it just the mind eraser itself that he would be sublimated somewhere but he was weakened in the mindscape and destroyed in the mindscape. But Stan's memories were being sublimated and by looking at the scrapbook in the same way that McGucket's memories come back, they start to come back to the surface."

"I think part of what makes [NWHS] work also is that it has the strongest ticking clock. Yeah, I mean. it has a literal ticking clock. Also the sun is going down it's also, the town is starting to drift apart as the characters are starting to drift apart. There's just such a sense of Doomsday and even though we have like a three-part apocalypse, to me nothing feels as apocalyptic as this episode now."

"The entire purpose of [ToTS] is that Stan and his brother have had this huge rivalry that remains to this day and threatens to tear apart Dipper and Mabel and briefly does, and then Dipper and Mabel are able to find their way together, which is meant to repair Stan and his brother's past."

"Here we're teeing up the rest of the conclusion of the series which is just “whoa this is different. The status quo is shifted and is it going to shift us?” and that was the mission of this entire story was shift. Shift things such that it pits Dipper and Mabel against each other so that they can ultimately make things right and fix their uncles’ trauma in the process."

"“Let's try to set things into motion such that all of these characters who we love, who love each other are placed at maximum odds”. So Ford's entire existence in the series is basically a wrench in the relationships between Stan, Dipper and Mabel, that Stan has had a sibling who he didn't get along with and they've grown up having this horrible rift. Dipper and Mabel are these two twins who love each other but are very very different and are at this sort of volatile growing up moment where if something goes wrong could they turn out like Stan and Ford."

"[The convincing Gideon] scene works for me because it sort of represents the full completion of Dipper's Wendy Arc. Even though he's talking about Gideon and Mabel, he's really talking about himself. That idea that you can't force someone to love you but you can strive to be someone worthy of loving. It really does come down to like be the best you, you can be and the right person will see and feel that."

"It was gonna be W1, W2, W3 and then some kind of goodbye story. I remember it being something vaguely about some sort of other time travel. Bringing Blendin back because he just kind of vamoosed in the middle of this big story. There was that discussed like time traveling back to the first day when the kids arrived. The challenge was thinking of a valuable arc. So like each episode needs to have like a new problem and a new resolution and I was trying to brainstorm what's something that could feel valuable for like a final episode after the apocalypse, after Stan's mind has been erased and he's in the process of getting it back. "

"The thing I remember I wrote one out it was it's the last day of summer. Dipper and Mabel are packing uh they're planning to go home, they're feeling like nostalgic, they kind of don't want to leave. Blendin shows up and he explains that there's all these time bubbles left over, these weird anomalies because of all the time business and what Bill has done and just to watch out and be careful. Then Dipper and Mabel actually accidentally trip into one of these bubbles that are sent back to the very first episode or actually beyond the first episode, their first day in Gravity Falls um and somehow this was meant their character arc was to go from being like a little sad that they're going to leave Gravity Falls to seeing what it was like on the first day. When they were scared to be in Gravity Falls. The idea is like their first day they're like “oh Grunkle Stan, he's this weird old man and we hate living in this house and like we missed our place of comfort back home! And this is a kind of scary new adventure that we don't like.”  The kids see their own growth and realize like “the way we felt about going to Gravity Falls like we don't think we can handle it, is how we feel about leaving.” That feeling of going into a new experience means that something new and exciting is going to happen you're going to grow. There was some thought that maybe over the course of that episode, Stan would get his memory back and something that the kids had done in the past would help him in the present, get his memory back.

"What's supposed to be happening here isn't that Stan's entire memory reappears in an instant. It's supposed to be a couple days of work and we see the beginning of that process when he looks at the scrapbook and then we're kind of jumping ahead a few days. maybe a week of just intensive memory therapy with Stan before he gets there."

"When we were trying to crack the half hour episode after Weirdmageddon, it felt like we were just kind of wallowing and Stan not having his memories. It was a very depressing thing. And we didn’t get to have Stan for the last episode, which was like “it's a great it's great i think you get the emotion like in this episode. It tears you apart when you see it. You could last a little bit longer on it. But going much longer, then you just feels like well what are we doing? Why are we just kind of wallowing in our own sorrows for no good reason.”

"When we had discussed the idea of an episode beyond this episode, a fourth episode, it was basically 20 minutes of [amnesiac!Stan]. This is so intense, you might think you want it but good lord, this is enough."

"Bill singing “We’ll meet again” was something that just felt like the perfect reference because this is kind of an ending about endings in a lot of ways and we know we know Bill's going to be defeated. We know that people like Vill and have grown attached to him and for him to sing “We’ll meet again” is sort of the perfect mysterious way to say like “I might be going, I might not be going.” It’s a reference to Dr Strangelove, a movie that famously ends with nuclear apocalypse and the song “We’ll meet again” so it's for those pop culture savvy. It's already tinged with a kind of a fear and an irony and the apocalypse built in, so it's perfect on a number of levels."

"The concept of the Zodiac as existing in our current canon is this idea that the prophecy was that friends and enemies would need to come together, seemingly impossible alliances would need to be made to stand up to Bill for this prophetic moment. You know that characters like Gideon who was who used to be an enemy, characters like Pacifica, like Robbie, that we've reached the point where thanks to the kids’ kindness and growth, they are now friends with Pacifica, they've resolved Robbie's jerkiness, they've helped McGucket with his memory. They've even overcome this issue with Gideon in W1 and so it seems like friends and enemies have all been restored, leaving only one thing which is Stan and Ford have to shake hands. And their pride once again is what dooms the entire world but they get so close."

"It's clear Stan, even though he's being stubborn here and holds things up, he's ready to do it.  He clasps Ford's hand and then Ford can't help but correct his ignorant brother with something that doesn't matter at all after professing how important all this is and how important it is to put pettiness aside, he's the one who ends up being petty in the end."

"I like that Stan [during the deal] is just thinking “all right, think white, think white, think white.” He's like “think about nothing but sitting on your lazy boy.” "

"Stan and Bill had never interacted in the series up until this moment  because he had just been taken over when he was asleep. We'd seen a lot of Ford and Bill, but Stan and Bill has never happened. And Bill sort of represents all the mystery and weirdness, and Stan is the guy who just wants to have a good life and protect his family. He's the one who never invited Bill in but he's willing to take Bill out."

"If Mabel's going home with a pig, Dipper's going home with this symbol of his friendship with Wendy. And even Stan he's wearing that Mabel sweater. That's a visual symbol of; he's softened up, he's embraced family, he doesn't need to be the tough guy all the time."

[cryptidwrestling]

I need to sleep. I am putting way too much thought and upset energy into a scripted sports soap opera 😂😭 Anyway

Some Of Cryptid's Current Thoughts And Feelings™ On The State Of Her RAW Faves

1) Liv Morgan's booking.

Ya'll. I'm a Rhea simp/stan and a person second, anyone who's been on my blog for more than thirty seconds knows this 😂 And I've also made it no secret I, for the most part, am actually still enjoying the Liv v Rhea feud. So all that being said, what the fuck is going on with Liv's booking.

I know she's a heel and part of a heel faction and in-ring bullshit is the name of the game, but the fact that neither of her title defenses have been won clean (granted, she didn't technically win the Bad Blood one anyway but whatever we all know that ending was botched and she was supposed to technically win) and 9/10 times she runs from Rhea when confronted. They're making the Women's Champ look weak.

Liv can be cunning and vicious, we've all seen it; for fuck's one of my favorite theories that I'm willing to die on the hill of is Liv still just using Dominik as a pawn and is gonna drop him the moment she realizes he doesn't fit in with her plans anymore. Book the feral Liv if they're gonna keep this storyline going.

2) Finn v Damian

I mentioned this in a another post but I feel like the reason they weren't pushed as hard is because they didn't want to risk something forshadowing the PunkIntyre feud...And if that's the case, they shouldn't have had Finn turn yet. With this theory in mind, and tbh even if NOT true this would have still worked, the tldr in my head is

-Dom's turn should have been the same

-Have Finn, and the rest of the JD stick around and the rivalries be Dom v Damian and still Rhea v Liv

-Bad Blood rolls around, Dom and Damian have a match, and Finn's turn comes in the form of him and the JD assisting Dom.

-The Finn v Damian feud kicks off the same night Punk v Drew ends

There was NO REASON to have Finn turn and to wait this long to really start doing something with it. I still standby my opinion if done right, this rivalry could still be AMAZING...But it doesn't change the fact it has lost a LOT of momentum going the way it has.

3) Rhea Currently Standing Alone

To a degree, I get it. Her and Damian agreed to do their own thing because he's done with the JD (as far as he thinks.) and they're in different divisons but he would/will always come if Rhea called. I'm not a fan of how fast they split them up as a team-again, wave two of the Terror Twins shirts had barely shipped when this happened-but this segement was okay. It was sweet and mutual.

THAT SAID.

Rhea is currently in a 2v1 (not counting Dom cause I have little hopes of us ever getting a sanctioned match with them cause ✨intergender✨🙄) rivalry. Liv has Raquel...Who the fuck does Rhea have? Tiffy? Maybe, but we can't even say that for certain because as it sits right now, they're on different shows. Show borders are just currently being blurred in, assumingly, prep for Survivor Series.

Why the fuck does Rhea currently have to stand alone.

4) Jhea

THIS KINDA PIGGYBACKS OFF MY LAST PARAGRAPH AND IS THE ONE I REALLY DON'T GET??? Okay, yes, it was probably supposed to be something cute and just for fun to fill time while the other main storylines Rhea and Jey are/were in moved along. But if that was the case, why did ya'll move it to the main stage and not just keep it in backstage segments? Rhea during a preshow interview, I think it was Bad Blood?, said Jey showed her what a real man was like. Not to mention Jey coming to Rhea and Damian's defense or Jey agreeing to tag with Damian cause he "can't say no to Rhea." Why the fuck would you plant seeds like that on screen, on the main stage, and then just??? Drop it??? I don't get it???

5) JEY MOTHERFUCKING USO'S 28 DAY REIGN

I'm gonna make this one short and sweet cause you can literally see all my posts directly below this word vomit and see how mad I am 😅 But, in short; Why. Why not wait until after he's done with the Bloodline to give him a title? Why not have this same set up but give him the title ages ago. Give him a decent title reign with the same ending. Predictable at that point sure, but okay...What is the fucking point of having him, a fan favorite who everyone was cheering the house down the night he won, get his first solo title ever after fourteen years...Only to give it back to Bron less than a month later?

Bron is a GREAT preformer, do not get me wrong but making this...I don't want to say newcomer, but newer star a two time champ in his lesser time with the WWE just doesn't sit right with me.

I know Jey was gonna get involved with the Bloodline story at some point. I know it would have been hard to impossible to book him in a Smackdown story as a RAW champ...They could have done in without stripping his first non-tag title from him in under a month. We could have gotten crashout Jey going after Solo and Co without what we got tonight.

[megamindsecretlair]

🎃 🦇 trick or treat! 🧛‍♂️🦇

You've completely rotted my brain with vampirism and I'm having another vampire phase now because of you bestie...

So.... what are your favourite vampires and or vampire books, films, shows etc.?!

Any spooky inspirations for your amazing Tyrone vampire au?

I LOVE YOU! HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Whew, this is a semi long one! Happy Halloween, im sorry I'm late, but I had to think! My recall is ass 💀🤣

Oof, im all over the place. But I'll have to credit Sherrilyn Kenyon on getting me into the sexual side of vamps. The Dark Hunter series remains one of my faves, I've read almost up to ...book 32? Book 33? I lost count. But the author started going through issues with her ex who was coming after her books so she started publishing the same story from different perspectives and i zoned out. Might be time to zone back in 🤔

Of course, have to credit the GOATS - Vampire in Brooklyn and Queen of the Damned. Im now obsessed with the idea of smashing the two together and fuck it, might be my second vamp novel. I'll see what shakes loose 💁🏽‍♀️

First off, Black vamps? Yassss. Black vamps in a position of power that was not "earned" after centures of racism or struggle or Black trauma porn? Double yasss 🙌🏽😩 (I haven't read the Anne Rice books so I could be wrong about my queen but ehh, no one pays me to be right 🤣)

Vamp Tyrone takes some inspo from this. The way the teeth are, the complete devotion to one person and one person only 🤌🏽 the whiff of toxicity 🤣 idk, something about the push and pull between Max and Rita still fn eats 😩🙌🏽 corruption kink for the win 🙌🏽😩 also Dracula fits here too, with Gary Oldman but Ill also take the Luke Evans version 🥵

Can we collectively say fuck Julie Plec? All that aside, this was my shoooowww. This and Originals. The Mikkaelson family 🥵🥵🥵 while I don't bring up the concept of doppelgangers in Vamp Tyrone, I am obsessed with twins, doubles, clones, etc. And obvs that fit with Tyrone.

And lastly, ik ik. Listen, everyone needs trash in their faves and I was, am, and still will be obsessed with this trash ass series. I mean, we can collectively say fuck Stephanie Meyers weird ass, but I love this series and I don't have to defend it 😌

Again, obsessed with the thought of a vamp waiting for their forever partner, the inherent romanticism of vampirism, and the flirt with disaster and death and melancholy that always speaks to me. You can probably guess that Edgar Allen Poe is a fave of mines too 🤣 certified emo over here 😌😌

Theres a lot of things that went into my version of vamps. They can't go out into sunlight, they need blood to survive, they can tolerate normal food but it does nothing for them, they have some decorum now because of technology but Black vamps are on top.

I really dislike going to hunt for a vampire story only to find that white people are vamps and Black people are vampire hunters. Who decided that? Why is it always like that? Why can't I live my best Black vamp life 😩😩😩

And special shoutout to Vampire Academy as well. Is it cheesy? Sure. Am I obsessed? Yes. I'm behind finishing the series chuz the author pissed me tf off in book 3 🤣🤣🤣 she's on a timeout.

Thanks for asking beautiful 😍

[klugenjoyer]

thjoughts on clive. love from clive

Long post inkoming

Omd guys it's my twin?!? Anyways oh boy I h-h-HATE that guy... He's so 🤢🤢🤢UGGLY and B-BAD😡😡😡

Okay but in all seriousness bro I adore him more then y'all could know. Well uh ppl who follow this hmmm mysterious anon who I definitely don't know now know what the degree of Clive brain rot I have (can't mention it here but if you know you know). But like

I knew Clive would get me as soon as I found out who he was. So for context, Luke is the reason I started playing the PL series. Anyone who knows me personally would know how me bait Luke is, I am VERY predictable. So when I learned there was this guy who had the grand plan of pretending to be Luke from the future to infiltrate Layton's life I was like oooo boy (also yes I unfortunately didn't get to go into UF blind) . What rlly marked my Clive journey's real start was definitely learning his name. Clive Dove. I got the spoiler of bruvs name from when my dear mutual reblogged q picture of him with the Clive Dove tag on it and I was like "bro... HIS NAME IS CLIVE?!?!?!?". Then the devolvation into madness really started. Uh insert discord screenshots

When it comes to head cannons though I will definitely say we all know Clive is trans fr. When it comes to my specific trans HCs for them I really enjoy transfem Clive (its a comfort hc 4 me) but when I'm doing stuff like officially like my official HCs that I stick closer too transmasc Clive. Why? Layton parallels. My whole life is fighting to make as many parallels between the two as I can mate it's a problem. It's just too interesting to me.

Other HC wise uhhh CLIVE HAS FRECKLES FIGHT ME I love planting subtle inconsistencies between him and Luke sm.

When it comes to drawing Clive I will definitely say I do enjoy drawing him more than Luke namely due to him having a tie😱😱.

My biggest struggle in drawing him prolly uhhh the freckles I curse myself with along with just his color palette ig. I can never decide how dark I want his hair to be. But tbf I do just have inconsistent coloring in my art sooo what can you do.

Other stuff to talk about with this awful man.... OH RIGHT! I'm STILL not over him being British Yuri Lowenthal like bro💀. It's so bad randall is also British Yuri Lowenthal like stawppp💀. Anyone who knows about me and my interests knows that I have a trying relationship with Yuri Lowenthal. Clive atp is prolly my fav Yuri Lowenthal character but I don't think he can take up the og for my fave yuri lowenthal voice performance (I LOVE YOSUKE!!!!)

If I'd have to pick like my favorite Clive thing... Probably still Sallufix's 'This Hurts' animation holy shit that thing is so good. The fact that tumblr user sallufix is my mutual still baffles me I am so in love with and enchanted by their work like hold shit they are like... The Clive drawer of all time to me. Also uh he made Envicto and I am obsessed with that man to no end no one even knows.

Anyways funny pictures to leave this post off with

This first one is my fave, it's my banner on my alt I still haven't used yet 🤎

Secondly we have this screen shot of someone saying "why would Goro Akechi lie" which I replaced with Clive dove (the I get in ubers and start lying one was also originally Akechi). May I note I'm surprised but also glad that I don't see many Clive Akechi parallel truthers

And finally the picture that I made to match with my friend the other night because we thought it was funny idk

[skylarkking]

Let us know lil bit of your goblin. Info. Also, your fave bots.

Ah yes, you wish to know about Gröb

So obviously they are my sona for online stuff, but they have a little history behind them.

And it's a dumb one.

I used to do minecraft YouTube videos, and my old account was GoblinMonarch. Why Goblin Monarch? Because the one session of DnD I attended I created a goblin character who had no idea who they were and needed the party's protection. Turns out they were royalty among the goblins and yeah, basically Anastasia but green. The YouTube account wouldn't go anywhere, really, but Gröb would remain. Over time, I would add my actual features to it (the shaved sides, blue/green hair, piercings, ect), and now Gröb and I are one in the same.

I usually draw Gröb without other accessories aside from the piercings, hand bandages (homage to the DnD look), and what have you, but as of late I've added my wheelchair and rollator to them whenever Gröb is standing or you see their full body.

As for my favorite bots that would depend on the series.

For TFP it has to be Ratchet (although I love almost every rendition of this milf lol)

Tfa has to be either Prowl, the Jet Twins, or my beloved twink Optimus

Armada has to be Starscream because his personality in this series is *chef's kiss*

G1 is a tie between Skyfire and Skylynx

Beastwars/beastmachines would have to be either Ratrap, Inferno, or Dinobot

MTMTE is SO HARD to choose but I think Whirl is in the highest spot right now

RID 2015 is Grimlock (I actually love this goofy ass version of the dinobot because I like big dumb cuties)

RID 2001 has to be Sideswipe and his obsession with red sports cars

Energon is definitely Ironhide because I wanna squish his face

Cyberverse is a hard tie between Soundwave and Hot Rod

Aaaaaand what little I know of Reascue Bots would have to be Blades

[Questions? Intrusive thoughts? Drop em in my ask box!]

[imperial-nuisance-rudje]

Time to start a series of EW effortposts, i guess.

Note that I got sick (AGAIN) and had pretty bad weather-based connectivity issues since i took the earliest of these screenshots, so my memory will be pretty shoddy.

Anyway, postin'.

I've already hollered about the twins' shitty dad so I won't reprise that, instead skipping forward to when you pick who visits you. I've been too busy moving MSQ forward to re-check everything, but given my faves it's probably not shocking that i chose...

Estinien.

I didn't get most of his little speech, but he just wanted to express support and a desire to protect in his cute, awkward way.

Also, jfc if a character as pale as Shayun is nearly invisible due to the cutscene lighting, anyone with darker skin is just going to be a shadowy blob.

Anyway, Estinien flees.

Out the window. You know, as you do.

Also if I hadn't established that Shayun and Estinien are just utterly incompatible this cutscene would have had me making jokes, but no it's just more autism to autism communication.

There's a couple cutscenes I didn't grab establishing both what people are thinking about the Garlean prisoners as well as setting up ominous shadow effects on people.

Which Erenville seems to be able to sense? Not sure if it's a nod to how Viera are typically very magically sensitive in other FFs or just Erenville being sensitive to changes in his environment, since the former hasn't really been established in 14.

Anyway!

So Thavnair has a mild case of the Armageddons (as in, the weather is literally "Apocalypse")! I'm sure it's fine, says the dog sitting in a burning house.

The dungeon wasn't anything special, but the final boss is incredibly fucking rude to the photosensitive--one of its attacks causes the whole screen to pulse red or blue as the tell, and it's really bad to look at. Not quite Paradigm's Breach tier, but at least on the level of World of Darkness. Very nasty.

I still murdered the fuck out of it, of course.

Ahewann trying to convince Vrtra that his fears are unfounded and revealing himself as the true leader of Thavnair would only help.

I can't remember the lead-up to this, but Estinien refuses to let a troubled member of the First Brood pass by without getting into position for Dragon Therapy.

I think investigation into why people were transforming into monsters happens after this? Which, uh, leads me to a major issue I had.

So. Ahewann's death.

Besides being another victim of the two-for-one deal that is Endwalker (if we'd had an expansion+patches to come to know and care deeply for him, his death would have hit MUCH harder--as it is it feels like he jobbed), it's also just really badly blocked out. The last time the WoL has a case of the Glueboots this severe is when Asahi is beating the shit out of Yotsuyu, and it feels just as bad now as it did then. If they didn't want to have the WoL have to pause and attack bc of job reasons (tbf the correct distance for one job to feel right is different from another, so i don't blame them), they at least should have put them further back.

It's just way too obvious that Ahewann died entirely due to authorial decree. It doesn't feel like a natural outgrowth of the events of the cutscene. Given how little time we've had with Ahewann, it also feels like a cheap move for free emotions!

I do not like Ahewann's death.

Oh yeah, and afterward catboy proves that he is also the Crystal Exarch so anyone who thinks i should chill over things the Exarch did can shut it, the game itself says they're the same person now.

Final WoLshot for this post, bc the next post is a behemoth and will need every last bit of image space I can give

that's right it's time for

DRAGON THERAPY WITH DR ESTINIEN (vrtra edition)

[mystiquewanderlust]

KOREAN DRAMAS MUST WATCH [PART 1]

Alchemy of Souls 🔮

SEASON 1 & 2

Genre: Historical Fantasy/Action/Adventure

Rating: 100/10

No. of Episodes: S1- 20, S2- 10

Date Watched: June, Dec 2022-Jan 2023

WARNING: A LOOONNGG REVIEW

Ahhh I cannot! I cannot believe that it's overrrr! This series may be one of my favorite, if not the most fave, korean fantasy drama to date. The plot and the twists are so spot on. I really love how this drama was created from the production, the casts (Naksu at the beginning of S1 AHHH), the costumes and the plot. It keeps you wanting more. And oh, not to mention the handsomeness and beauty of the casts!! Naksu and Seo!! Season 1 is all about our main lead--Naksu--who turned out to be a victim only of our evil antagonist, finding her true self instead which took turn from its original plan of revenge. I saw only some few action scenes unlike in Chinese dramas where fighting scenes are indeed very satisfying.. so yeah it was quite a downfall from the thrill I felt from Naksu's fighting scene in the beginning. But yeah, since she was in a different body which embodies no powers at all, it was quite obvious that there won't be that much fighting scenes even for the guys. Chinese dramas influence is real!!

But then in Season 2, mygoodness.. I can't even remember a satisfying fighting scene which used Tansu or whatever power they have. All swords and that, nothing carved in my memory at all. Also, this time, the story focuses on Naksu--who's real name is Cho Yeong--who were Jin Buyeon now--finding who she really is.. again, as her memories where wiped out by Master Lee.. and Jang Uk being a hunter of soul shifters to atone for the sins of whoever, I forgor haha. Anyways, the ending of Season 2 was super satisfying. I was so relieved, knowing how kill joy the writers of this drama is! I can't still forget about Scarlet Heart OMGGG..

Season 3? There definitely should be! The season 2 ending gave us a LOT to think about that this series is not over YET. And here's why:

1. The last episode first and foremost showed us that Maidservant Kim was pregnant. Yes, this is something to add to the next season definitely. 2. Next, the 2nd Jin daughter and the leader of Songrim (sorry forgot their names), got twin boys. And it was said that Jang Uk and BJinyowonuyeon plans to have a daughter as their firstborn. Isn't this something to anticipate for?? The next successor ofJinyowon and the incredible divine powers. Not to mention that her father also possesses the ice stone. Imagine the immense powers their kids will have! 3. The very charming Seol will head Songrim with its recruitment with his so-called new system. And there were two mages with great potentials in becoming the next high-level mages that will eventually surpass even Jan Uk's level. Imagine?? A definitelymust watch! 4. Master Heo's granddaughter who had a crush on jang Uk and became the kontrabida in our eyes, evantually had this very mysterious "handsome" man who was said to be as handsome as Seol. Imagine!!! I am getting the chills even thinking about who this mysteryguy is. I mean, is he good or bad? Hmmm! 5. The episode ended with our favorite couple Jang Uk and Buyeon looking for the relics that escaped. Like 32 escaped and they only captured 12 so far. So imagine what their next adventures would be! This is what we all will be thrilled to watch definitely!6. And of course let's not forget about our very charming the crown prince--I mean King. Well, it's match-making time! Who did Buyeon chose as his future Queen?? It was Buyeon who suggested potential queens so it's a must watch!Ahhh the thrill the next season would bring. So why end this series when there are still lots to look out for? Right?

So please Netflix, let there be season 3!

Under the Queen's Umbrella ☂️

Genre: Historical / Drama

Rating: 12/10

No. of Episodes: 16

Date Watched: Feb 17-18, 2023

A Netflix original.. again--so what do I expect?? Of course it is a superb drama! I am so not new with the palace twisted plots about revenge and fighting for throne. I mean, brothers filth theor hands with blood just to be the King or Crown Prince.. and this is what this drama is all about. I said I wasn't new in all these, right? But heck, watching this drama.. it was like watching an unfamiliar plot for the first time! THE QUEEN!!! I cannot.. she is AWESOME! To be honest, she was the reason why I backed out from watching this drama few months ago. Like seriously, she creeped the hell out of me. She just looks so intimidating! Srsly! But then two days ago, I saw a short clip from this drama wherein the Crown Prince was changing his clothes and then the Crown Princess suddenly barged in, seeing his nakedness (just topless, ehem) ...ahhh! And he is sooo handsome! So yeah, my weakness was kinda shaken and pushed me to watch the entire drama.. WHICH I REALLY THANK FOR BTW! And I am not exaggerating with the capital letters. She is the best Queen I have watched ever. Like Queen MOTHER to the highest level. She earned my respect, really. Because of her, many wrong doings were corrected and she saved a lot of lives.. not only her family and the King btw which is a very though thing to do honestly if the Queen isn't headstrong and witty. Being in the palace entails guts and more guts.. but of course, a ton of brains too. Those two things should be solid to be able to survive the evils of the palace.. which she succeeded in doing. The fights between princeses and concubines are such a terrifying thing to watch, but it was kinda okay with this drama compare with the other dramas I watched. (Nothing beats Yanxi Palace in Queen vs. Concubines btw.. NOTHING!) And speaking of.. The Queen is a Korean version of Wei Ying Luo.. such badass female leads. Femme fatale!

Another kudos to K-drama and Netflix collab 💖

[hotdamnhunnam]

My beautiful brilliant bestie Laur 🥹

I am so full of love for you and for this story and for everything we’ve been through on this journey and tonight I decided that I don’t want my praises on your fics to be contained to our DMs anymore!! Now that I’ve come out of my tumblr ghost phase, it’s only right that my effusive reactions to your fics should be shouted from the rooftops, so I’ve dug them all up, and am going to be reblogging them in the coming days ✨

I’m calling it the Laur love tour 💗

Here’s what I sent you when I first read Breathe 3 sooo many months ago! (I’m starting with this chapter because my reactions to Parts 1 and 2 were mostly just inarticulate keyboard smashes about how happy I was to have found such an awesome twin Hunnam hoe 😅)

I love you so much and can’t wait to dive headfirst (or 🐱first?) back into this incredible series as soon as I’m in the right place for it. There aren’t words for how much I adore it 💖 But nonetheless of course, below the cut are an absolute shit ton of words 🤣

………………………………

OKAYYYYY so I already read Breathe 3 last thing before bed and first thing when I woke up this morning, and I think I’m going to reread it again now so that I can gush about specific things (lol ‘gush’ in more ways than one 🤣💦) and quote some of my fave lines back to you!!

UGH THAT FIRST SCENE when he sees her in the gym and is all smiling and sauntering and drawling and winking and eyebrow-lifting and exuding BDE is hot as FUCK (and thank you for mentioning how good his ass looks!! 😋🙏🍑). And of course thank you for all the references THROUGHOUT this chapter to how he is literally dripping with sweat. They were so vivid. I died DEAD. 🥵💦💀

The foreplay between them in the gym is fucking AMAZING?! “watching you like his prey” MMHMMM OKAYYYY. Also I used to do a lot of yoga so I appreciated the descriptions of how certain poses can really put one’s body on display 🧘🏻‍♀️🤸🏻‍♀️👀😂

“he didn't know what the fuck he was doing” – I LOVED this moment of the captain departing from his characteristic deliberation as she brings all of his walls crumbling down and the fact that he *knew* from the moment he saw her that she would be his undoing?!??! Crying screaming swooning!!! 😭😫😍

Ok at this rate I’m just going to quote the whole fic 😆 Let me keep rereading and try not to rant about every little thing.. Oh but their first kiss had me fucking DRIPPING 💦 And the “Yeah?” that he breathlessly mutters?!?!! WHY IS THAT A WHOLE DAMN KINK ❤️‍🔥

“Jesus Christ, look what you're doing to me” — but LOOK WHAT YOU’RE DOING TO ME MISS LAUR 🫠 The trail of soft golden hairs and her reaction to his HUGENESS 😩🍆 Then the way his iron head HAMMERS her and your description of “his lower abs and coarse hairs around his cock rubbed against your clit” like I have a whole kink for his pubes lol and you’re hitting me right where it hurts WHY U DO DIS. 😵💘

Then “We’re going to my place”— “I'm not nearly done with you”—just run me over with a fucking truck why don’t you 🙃🛻

They’re just so painfully eager for each other and it pulsates through every word of this chapter and it’s so HOT I just CANNOT 🔥

And the little touches of sweetness and softness?? The nose-rubbing when he says he’ll be all-in 🥹 I’m so in love with ALL OF THIS 💗

“godly flesh”—yes indeed ma’am—and I came when he saw the mess of her panties and said “God damn” 🫠🌊

“dark glare from him as he loomed above you”—DOM!WILL CUMMING THRUUUUU 😈

I LOVE how you convey her submission and worship of him!! You KNOW that’s my jam and this whole bj scene is straight outta my dreams. Again with all the bits about how good his sweaty body feels and smells and tastes and everything I’m fucking bursting at the seams 🤯

You’re truly INCREDIBLE at showing what a sex god he is through every word of this—“you appreciated every muscle working and straining to provide you every bit of pleasure he could”—SOO GOOD

And then THIS SHIT—“It was becoming compulsive, needing to feel and taste his sweat on your lips, tongue and skin, the scent of his exertion nearly overpowering that of your sex that filled the room, each breath you worked to take leaving you even more breathless as you desperately tried to fill your lungs with it”—I’ve reread that line like several hundred times ughh it hits me to the core of my soul and is fucking exquisite 🤩

Then THE LAST FIVE PARAGRAPHS GODDAMN MURDERED MEEE like omggg the purity and intimacy and that last line specifically had me feeling all of the feelings and my heart exploded for him almost as hard as my 🐱 fuck like HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT THIS. I am going to sue you for damages. 😩❤️‍🔥💔

Okayy so there was the play-by-play 😅 Hopefully that wasn’t too incoherent or anything and conveyed at least some of what I’m hoping to convey!! Hands down the best tumblr fic I’ve EVER read, I can say that with full confidence without even having Part 4 yet. I could keep going on and on but in con-fucking-clusion THANK YOU for this beautiful blessing of a fic, and I cannot wait to read more of your writing about our favorite ironheaded dick!!! 🍆🥰💗

Breathe

Part 3

Pairing: Will 'Ironhead' Miller x female reader

Words: 5.9k

Warnings: Rated E, 18+. Unprotected intercourse. Swearing. Public sex. Oral sex (M receiving). Too many mentions of his sweaty body 🫠💦 Slight dom/sub dynamics.

Summary: You're back at the gym attempting to distract yourself from thinking of Will, your conversation from the night before weighing on your mind, but it turns out Captain Miller has even less restraint when it comes to you than he thought he did.

A/N: The smut is finally here, and it's really long. That's what she said.

Part 1 Part 2

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Coming to the gym at this time of day was bliss. Hardly anyone was ever here - having already rushed after work so they could get home to their families - leaving you without distraction to focus on your routine and enjoy this time for yourself.

It seemed like when you were here you could really shut your mind off and just be; no work, no stress, nothing filtering in or out that was worth a second thought.

Lately it had been very different, though, and today was the worst out of all of them. You still couldn't keep count of your reps to save your life, your mind completely occupied by Will. Getting through work was bad enough, every thought regarding your job followed by one of him, and now you knew it was impossible to rid him from your mind.

You did your best not to continuously glance around the gym in hopes of seeing him, but there was no use denying you were craving to lay your eyes on him again especially after last night, his powerful words playing on repeat.

“I want you.”

Regardless of wanting you, he had made it clear that he wasn't acting on it, so you needed to do your best to lay these feelings to rest and work on self-preservation.

You placed the dumbbells you had just finished using back on the rack and grabbed a disinfectant towel to wipe them down, switching out for a heavier pair in hopes that struggling through a little pain would help set you straight.

Just as you vowed to forget all the ways he made you feel, you caught in the reflection of the mirror in front of you the Miller brothers walking in through the front doors.

Blue eyes instantly locked with yours, and the slight smile tugging at his perfect lips had your heart leaping into your throat and your stomach fluttering with excitement and arousal as it always did whenever he was around.

You cursed to yourself when he started sauntering over right when you started into your first round, doing your best to focus on your form and not let his presence disturb you too much.

"Hey," he drawled, placing his hands on his hips.

"Hey," you panted, attempting to limit the amount of effort showing on your face.

"You been here long?" Will asked, looking around before peering at you from under those long, blond lashes.

"Uhh, not really, no," you huffed, dropping your weights and smoothing your hair out of your face, taking the opportunity for a rest before your next set. "I'm almost done with this and was going to do the stairmaster before doing a long stretch. I'm still sore from the other day."

You gave a small laugh, watching the side of his mouth turn upward, his eyebrows lifting in amusement.

"Maybe I'll join you for that stretch," he spoke, his voice low. "I've gotta help Benny and then he's heading out for training."

"Well, you know where to find me."

"Okay." He winked at you, sending a pulsing need straight to your core, the sight of his ass in his shorts as he walked away not helping your case.

In a fury, you picked up your dumbbells and powered through your last sets with more energy than you had ever had, putting your frustrations to good use.

The music in your ears was louder than it should be, using it to drown out all the thoughts you were having, each step on the circulating, automatic stairs working to take you to a place that maybe didn't include him. It was helpful that the cardio machines were all facing away from the weights, so even though you knew he was somewhere behind you, you had the view of the night sky and streetlights to look at instead of him and his brother lifting what always looked like more than double your bodyweight.

Punishing yourself for what crossed your mind after that, you pushed the button to increase the incline as well as the speed, needing to use this burnout to displace the buzzing in your mind.

After another five minutes you turned off the machine, feeling the effects on your legs and glutes tenfold as you lowered your feet back onto the floor, the tremble in them almost too much as you were forced to climb back up to wipe down the stairmaster.

As you walked toward the open section where you would perform your stretches, you glanced over to see the Miller's hard at work; sweat dripping off of Will's nose as he spotted Benny through a heavy set of bench presses.

"Okay, that's good, Benny," Will told his brother, helping him replace the barbell back on the rack after he completed his final rep. "You're gonna be too gassed to spar tonight."

Benny sat up and checked his watch, "Yeah, I should get over there anyway. You hanging out here for a bit?"

Will craned his neck to look over a machine, spotting you on the floor with your legs in a precarious position.

"Yeah, man, I'll see you at home," he nodded.

"I'm going for beers after, so I'll be in later," Benny explained, grabbing his ball cap out of Will's out-stretched hand to place backwards on his head, doing a poor attempt at keeping his wet, longer tresses contained.

Inhale. One, two, three. Exhale. One, two, three.

You repeated this with each movement, flowing through a relaxing vinyasa, feeling your muscles lengthen and stretch out that held onto the warmth from your workout to make it all feel that much better.

For the first time in what seemed like forever, you were only focused on your breathing, not having to consciously remind yourself to do it, your rhythm slow and controlled.

You transitioned from downward dog into chaturanga and back again, peddling out your heels alternatively to stretch your hamstrings and calves, indulging in the sensation of your tight muscles loosening up.

Continuing this a few more times, you prayed that a view of your ass sticking up in the air would draw over Will's attention, and while in your last downward dog, you glanced through your legs to find him sneaking a peek as he jogged on the treadmill.

Tucking your lip between your teeth to stave off your smile, you moved forward into a plank, holding position and breathing through for a minute before folding into child's pose, then up into table top where you slowly rotated your head from side to side. You arched your back, exhaling as you felt relief in your spine in cow, then rounded it up into cat, each exchange between the two poses putting you perfectly on display.

You wouldn't hesitate to admit you were holding your poses longer than was necessary, the wind-down from your intense workout feeling almost as rewarding as knowing there were a set of blue eyes locked on you; anything to tempt the man watching you like his prey.

Will always had a plan. Everything he did was deliberate and carefully executed, but as he slammed the stop button on the treadmill and dismounted it before it even had the chance to stop and walked over to you now, he didn't know what the fuck he was doing.

He couldn't take it any longer, seeing you bent over like that on the mat, stretching your nimble limbs that he kept imagining tossing about and manipulating into different positions; the walls of composure and collection he worked so hard to carefully build up crumbling to the ground because of you.

No one else had ever made him feel like this, making him want to lose control, and everything in him knew you would be his undoing the moment he laid eyes on you.

You had finished your show for him and were making your way toward the change rooms, making Will take a quick scan of the gym as he followed, spotting one guy who had recently come in and started his workout over on the far side, and a woman who conveniently carried all her belongings with her moving contentedly on an elliptical. There was only ever one staff member on shift at a time - tonight a teenage kid whose face was glued to the screen of his phone - and otherwise the gym was dead.

Within a few long strides, Will was behind you, his stealth catching you by surprise when he gently took hold of your elbow and made you flinch and pull it away instinctively before clasping your hand to your chest, your laugh and smile only increasing his ferocity.

Your expression quickly shifted into curiosity, tilting your head slightly as you must have registered the hormones pouring off of him, knowing he had no way of disguising the dark look in his eyes or the way his body worked to lean close to yours.

Will held his breath as he let what little patience he had left give you some grace, waiting and watching as your eyes fell from his down to his lips, your pulse quickening in your neck a cue that everything in you knew what was about to happen.

You met each other without hesitation, lips crashing against one another furiously, the first taste making you moan loudly and him growl appreciatively, taking only a couple of sloppy, hasty kisses to find a tempo that already had Will hard and you desperate for more.

He walked into you, forcing you back against the wall, the air in your lungs blowing out as you thudded against the painted concrete blocks.

His hands cupped your face and he pulled away for a moment, wanting to check that he wasn't getting carried away in everything he was wanting.

Your lips couldn't look more inviting, glistening with his saliva, already slightly puffy from his beard roughly moving against them, and the look in your eyes told him everything he needed to know; you were done waiting and were ready for him, whatever the consequences.

He narrowed his eyes, still searching yours for a firm answer, and breathlessly muttered, "Yeah?"

You nodded in return despite how firmly he was holding your face, your own 'yes' dying on your lips as you leaned forward and kissed him hard, your hands reaching up to claw at his damp t-shirt.

You knew Will would taste and smell divine, but it was impossible to fathom him being this craveable, the more your tongue probed and rolled against his, the more you knew you needed to have your mouth on every inch of him.

Your hands slid down his chest to his waistband where you slipped them up beneath the hem of his shirt, skirting them upward to feel the smooth skin covering the ripples of thick muscles and flesh. He groaned into your mouth, the rumble of his low octave reverberating through you to increase your desire to please this man even more, making the wetness between your legs match the amount of sweat that coated the rest of your body.

Your fingertips easily slid across his torso on account of his own layer of sweat, and you could taste it on his lips with each kiss; being able to experience this raw, accelerated version of each other all the more alluring and empowering.

The sound of a heavy weight clanging against metal brought you both back into awareness of your location; the hallway leading to the change rooms not the most discreet choice for your heated make-out session.

Will cast a hungry glance at you and nodded his head toward the men's change room, thinking it was more likely for a man to be less offended in walking in on anything than a woman.

Having dreamt of this for longer than you could imagine, you pushed your inhibitions aside and followed him willingly, your arousal spiking as you abandoned all modesty.

A guttural sound that you knew was meant to be a chuckle tore past his lips as he backed you up against a set of lockers, the steel against the exposed skin under your sports bra making you jolt forward into him.

"Jesus Christ, look what you're doing to me," he whispered before capturing your lips again in a needy kiss.

Your fingers danced across his torso again, under his damp shirt, following the trail of soft, golden hairs that started below his belly button and continued beneath his shorts.

Will tugged at your bottom lip roughly with his teeth as you dared to explore further, his breathing increasing with his lust, his impatience for you to take him in your hand growing along with everything else.

Continuing to kiss you like he was trying to steal your air, he hastily tore his shorts down over his ass, grabbing your hand and shoving it down the front of them where you eagerly took hold of his swollen cock and stroked it appreciatively.

A long moan that turned into a whine blew past your lips, having assumed from all the times you had stared that he would be big but didn't think he was this huge, your fingers closing around his thick girth as you moved up and down his generous length.

Your core ached and throbbed with a need to have him buried inside you and stretching you out like never before, your skin tingling with what felt like electricity at the anticipation of it.

Will knew it was risky, aware that anyone could walk in at any given moment, and even though he had done a thorough evaluation of who was currently in the gym, that someone new could show up and head right into the change room where he was about to fuck you without care of anyone seeing. It wasn't like him to be so careless, but for the first time since the Publix incident, his basic instincts were taking over, clouding his mind and betraying his control.

The way you were working his dick had him on the brink already, and in a rageful haze he shoved his fingers in the waistband of your leggings and peeled them down your thighs, doing the same with your slick-coated panties next.

The tight spandex of your leggings had your legs trapped at the knee, hardly allowing any room for you to spread your legs apart, and after swiping his long fingers through your soaked folds and up to lubricate your swollen clit, Will took hold of your ass and your hip with each of his hands and drove his cock into you.

"God, you're so fuckin' tight," he growled, pulling all the way out before slamming back in again, filling you to your deepest point where you cried out and clawed your nails into his shoulder.

He hammered you recklessly, the control he had over you and his unrelenting thrusts the only thing he did have control of, the rest of him lost and consumed by your panting, open-mouthed kisses and your wet pussy encasing him like a vice.

The door of the locker supporting you made noise with every thrust, his force amazing you and sending you closer to your climax each time, the sensation of his long, hard cock dragging in and out tightly against your walls making you fall faster than ever.

You did your best to move along with him, cursing the restriction of your pants that trapped your legs no further than hip-distance apart, but Will made up for it with the motion of his own hips, rolling up into you so his lower abs and coarse hairs around his cock rubbed against your clit with perfect pressure and tempo.

"Fuck! Will!" you screamed, burying your face in the crook of his sweaty neck, attempting to quiet yourself as you plummeted into ecstasy.

Feeling you clench around him and soak his throbbing dick only made him work harder, fucking you violently to carry you through your orgasm, aiming to intensify and extend it as selflessly as he could.

The sounds pouring from you and the way your body shuddered and quivered in aftershocks sent him barrelling into his own orgasm, and borrowing confidence from you, he let himself give in to his release.

"Cum in me, Will, please!" you begged, holding onto his frame desperately, rocking your hips against him to aid in his pleasure.

"Fuck!" he roared, bucking into you wildly, supporting your body with only his cock and one of his hands as he slammed his other against the locker beside you, his aggression spurring you into a second climax.

His hot seed filled you and coated your overly-sensitive lips and clit perfectly, transitioning you from one orgasm that hadn't ever died down to another, even more intense one.

Will didn't stop moving in you until he knew you had ridden out every second of your high, and as you both began to quiet yourselves from your pleasure, he kissed you ardently, his hand reaching up to hold the back of your head to keep you securely against his mouth.

Despite wanting to stay buried inside you but becoming aware of your situation again, Will slipped from you and pulled his boxers and shorts back up, watching as you slid your panties over your perfect thighs to re-cover your even more perfect pussy, the way your leggings hugged your curves nearly making him hard again already as they smoothed along your gorgeous skin.

He looked from you over his shoulder and then back again, licking his lips before he spoke in a low tone.

“We’re going to my place,” he instructed, giving you no choice, “I'm not nearly done with you."

You grinned when he turned his back to you, taking your hand to lead you through the gym and out the doors quickly and efficiently, the Captain in him shining and making you burn with desire to see everything he was capable of.

His house wasn't more than two minutes away from the gym - much to your approval - even knowing he was driving his truck faster than the speed limit permitted and was likely taking the fastest route he had figured out ages ago.

You sat leaning against the passenger-side door, eating him up shamelessly as he drove, admiring the veins in his arms and hands that rippled through his tattoos, the focus straining on his still-sweaty face as he concentrated on getting you home as quickly as he could.

The traffic light ahead turned to yellow, making Will's cheeks flinch as he clenched his teeth out of frustration, his dire need to get to you again filling you with fresh want that complimented the swell of your ego.

“What happened to self-control…only doing the things you're supposed to be doing?" you asked, your voice sultry and barely recognizable to your ears.

He gave a sly, sideways glance at you, his fingers tapping the dash as his hand hung loosely over the steering wheel, his eyebrow cocked on his forehead as he caught the cheekiness in your question.

"Or not trusting yourself?" you boldly continued, his silence prompting a false confidence in you.

The light turned green and he let his foot off the brake, letting the truck roll forward before he eased on the accelerator.

He turned his head to look at you fully this time, his eyes alight with something playful that made your stomach flip.

“I never said I was good at following those rules.”

Even in his rush to get you home, Will drove with precision, only driving a little more recklessly when he turned onto his street and sped toward his driveway, pulling in and slamming his pickup in park while reaching up to hit the button to open the garage door on the visor above his head.

You made to get out, your hand pulling on the handle to open your door, only to be stopped when you felt Will's hand grip around your other wrist to pull you back, his lips crashing against yours as soon as your body twisted toward him again.

Your kiss slowly broke, his lips still brushing yours gently, his voice low when he muttered, “I still don't trust myself with you.”

His nose rubbed against yours back and forth before he pulled away a little more, a stormy colour tinting his usually lighter blue eyes.

"I told you I would be all-in, and I meant that.” He looked at you seriously, and you wondered if this was the same look he gave fellow soldiers after delegating a command. "This is your time to go if you don't want it."

You felt your voice catch in your throat, your lungs struggling to find air, but somehow managed to speak with surety, committing yourself completely.

"I'm not going anywhere, Will."

Making it inside the house was a blur and became almost impossible, the inability to keep your hands and mouths off each other making the distance from the truck to the door further than it was.

Will blindly found the door knob and twisted it, kicking it open with his foot so forcefully it thudded against the wall with a bang, the sound lost on both of you.

The smell of the house was somehow familiar, lingering with traces of the scent you now knew was his, along with a faintness of laundry detergent as well as what you only assumed was the Miller brother's dinner from last night.

As curious as you were to look around and see what the walls that made up Will’s home contained, your priority was to satisfy your curiosity in seeing the body you had imagined naked so many times in all its godly flesh.

Will hesitantly paused in kissing you when your fingers skirted along the hem of his shirt, lifting his arms up over his head to allow you to pull the drenched cotton off of him, a playful smirk tugging at his lips once he was able to see you again.

In utter amazement at his form that was the perfect combination of toned muscle and thick skin, you smoothed your hands up his stomach to his pecs before going further to the wide column of his neck where you pulled him down slightly in order to kiss him more. He hummed into your mouth, relishing in how good you tasted and felt on his tongue, his whole body still charged and buzzing from finally being able to put his lips on yours.

You felt yourself starting to become hyper-aware of every part of his body that contacted yours, and feeling his fingertips wedge under the band of your sports bra, you were ready to fall apart right then. The sweat that saturated the already tight-fitting garment made it difficult to remove, but Will made it seem effortless as his hands stretched it away from your clammy skin and peeled it over your head. A hungry growl reverberated through him as he took in the sight of your bare chest, appreciating the soft curves of each breast with his slender fingers before plucking and twisting your stiffened nipples between them.

You moaned, closing your eyes and tipping your head back, the goosebumps that poured out over every inch of your skin reaching your scalp where a shiver shot straight down your back.

"Will…" you breathed, praying he would never stop touching you.

The sound of his name coming from your lips like that made him feel feral, and there was no more time to waste in getting you fully naked so he could fuck you again and feel every part of you on him.

His lips dove to your neck, kissing you roughly while his hands traveled down your waist where his fingers took hold on the band of your leggings sitting snugly against your waist, a growl vibrating through him as he stripped them down your legs.

As gracefully as you could, you reached down to peel them away from your ankles, holding onto his broad shoulders for support as you did, the way the damp material clung to your skin not making it an easy task.

You stood in only your soiled panties, waiting for him with bated breath to rid you of those too, thankful when he made it his priority. His fingers grazed over your barely-covered pussy, and he huffed a shaky laugh in feeling how saturated the thin cotton was, his mouth covering yours in a claiming kiss as he pressed his thumb on your clit and circled it over top of the fabric.

You pressed yourself down on his hand, needing more friction, rolling your hips slightly to make the wetness lingering from the quickie in the gym spread more across your aching sex.

Will could hear his blood pounding in his ears, ready to cut loose everything he was trying to restrain, the soft moans pouring from your sweet lips making him rip your thong from you, the sight of his cum settled in the crotch of it and glistening on your pussy satisfying his most savage needs.

"God damn," he growled, seeing the mess he made of you drop to the floor heavily, your feet stepping out of them carefully before he grabbed under your bum and lifted you up, carrying you quickly to his bedroom with your legs wrapped around him.

Setting you down, he pushed the door closed so hard it slammed, returning to you in a rush to consume all of you, his tongue tangling with yours again as he held your chin to deepen your kiss.

You felt desperate to have him naked, the tease you got of him at the gym simply not enough, your want to memorize every inch of him overpowering and all-consuming. Your hands pushed against his chest, silently telling him to back away, your interruption resulting in a dark glare from him as he loomed above you. Swallowing, your mouth already watering at knowing what you were about to witness, you tugged at his shorts, the brisk motion making his hard cock spring free and bounce up and down in the most alluring way.

Tilting your head up to capture his lips again, both of your hands moved between your bodies, gripping one around his shaft and the other cupping his sack. You massaged him gently, increasing your pressure the more the movement of his lips increased in fervor with yours, his hips bucking into your hands slowly as you worked him. His skin was hot and damp, the sweaty, musky scent potent and making you drunk on him and eager to taste him.

Will still held your face, carefully prying you away from him with a sigh, his hands shifting to run over your hair to the back of your head where it all met in a ponytail, pulling at it slightly to tip your head back. His lips peppered along your throat as he slipped your hair tie down and out of your hair, letting it fall freely onto your shoulders while the elastic dropped to the floor. You whined when he raked his fingers through it, your nipples hardening even more at the sensation, unable to believe the reactions he so effortlessly brought out of you.

Stilling your strokes on his throbbing dick, you opened your eyes and kept them locked with his vibrantly blue ones, slowly dropping to your knees as you let your hands trail down his thighs, squeezing the vast muscles of his quads.

Maintaining your eye contact, you hoped you conveyed your worship of him, ready to submit to him and his every command, the flex of his cock and the appeasement on his face telling you you were.

Before you even dared to put your lips to him, you breathed in, inhaling deeply to capture as much of the smell of him that you possibly could, the intoxicating mix of his sweat and cum and your own tangy scent making you shift on your knees, trying to allay the ache between your legs.

"Don't even think about touching yourself," he barked, his hoarse voice making you hold your breath in shock that he somehow could read your mind.

You smiled slightly, looking up at him again as you brought your lips forward, teasing the tip of his cock back and forth to coat them with the precum that leaked from it. Parting them more, you let his head spread them open fully, giving little resistance as he pushed into the heat of your mouth, his legs tensing beneath your palms while you whined as you took him to the back of your throat.

He tasted better than you had imagined, the saltiness of his sweat and his cum the best thing your taste buds had ever experienced, your eagerness to keep sucking on him clear in how you expertly swirled your tongue around his length, your head moving in a precise rhythm with aim to wreck him.

Will's breathing was already ragged, feeling like he could explode at any moment, his mind split between fucking your mouth until he came down your throat and nearly choked you or prying you off of him so he could finish in that tight pussy of yours again.

"Jesus Christ, baby," he groaned, moving his hips in tempo with your head, your hands wrapping around to grab his ass to encourage him to do so.

Looking down at you, he nearly fell apart, seeing your teary eyes still locked on him faithfully, spit seeping from the corners of your mouth, turning into more of a mess with every movement along his throbbing cock.

"Up," he strangled out, his voice hoarse but still clear in his demand.

You continued as you were doing, applying more forceful sucks to his head, your selfishness outshining your obedience.

"You heard me."

His words washed over you like a drug, the look on his face tempting you to risk defying his order again, but ultimately did as you were told and released him with a crude 'pop', a sated smile dressing your lips that Will wiped clean with his thumb.

"Sorry," you cooed, still smirking at him as you stood.

"No you're not," Will half-grinned, shaking his head slightly.

He swallowed your laugh as he covered your mouth with his again, demanding full access to it with his tongue, making you feel weak in the knees, your previous cockiness vanishing in an instant.

Will walked forward, guiding you to the edge of his neatly made bed, continuing until your knees contacted the mattress and forced you to sit, moving yourself backward as he crawled on top of you.

His thigh wedged beneath yours, pushing it upward with easy force so you opened your legs wide, his dick nudging against you as he nestled himself between your welcoming spread. Rolling his hips so he slid through your slick folds, he continued kissing you fiercely, his hands smoothing up your legs and sides while pinning his full weight on you; choosing to paw at every part of you he could rather than support himself above you.

In one slow motion, he pushed into you, stretching you and filling you completely, his growl of approval drowning out your broken whine of pleasure bordering on pain. His lips abandoned yours to dig into your neck, pressing against your tender skin roughly, his beard both scratching and tickling you as he began thrusting in and out.

Each drag of his cock within your walls was hard, but deliberate, and carding your hands up and down his back, you appreciated every muscle working and straining to provide you every bit of pleasure he could.

Close to the brink, you matched his movements as best as you could, aiming to meet him each time his head blew against your g-spot, the way he found the perfect angle to ruin you making you see stars.

The way your voice sang his name and how your nails dug into his back, shoulders and ass in turn was wrecking him, breaking him down piece by piece while turning into the only sound he ever wanted to hear again.

Sensing your quickly building climax, Will pushed on, encouraged to make you fall apart as intensely as you deserved by the way you squeezed around his length in a strong, calculated pattern until you no longer could and gave into his assault.

The bedframe adopted the same motion demonstrated by your bodies, rocking steadily over the worn, hardwood floor and creaking as its limits were tested just the same as yours.

The sweet song he had been making you sing was quickly exchanged for a scream, your body taken over by that addicting, blinded ecstasy as you convulsed and tensed under his ministrations that he didn't relent on, pummeling you further into euphoria as you coaxed out his own end.

Will shoved his tongue back into your open mouth, seeking to take as much from you as he could, his hips thrusting into yours violently as he pulsed inside you to fill you once again. He gradually brought down his movements, expending every ounce of that dizzying high, effectively stealing your breath as he sought to find his own air.

Your chest heaved under his, feeling your nipples graze across his pecs with each rise and fall, his skin alight as your hands easily moved across his slippery body.

It was becoming compulsive, needing to feel and taste his sweat on your lips, tongue and skin, the scent of his exertion nearly overpowering that of your sex that filled the room, each breath you worked to take leaving you even more breathless as you desperately tried to fill your lungs with it.

There was no hurry in pulling out of you now, the need to indulge in you for as long as he could being the only thing that mattered to him. Your kisses eventually slowed, becoming lazy pecks against each other's swollen lips, cheeks and neck, your fingers raking softly through his wet, messy hair and over his forehead that dripped from his efforts.

A slight disapproving groan rumbled through him as he slipped out of you, but the smile that reached his clear, blue eyes replaced any sort of disappointment he felt as he looked down at you laying perfectly under him, and he wondered if all of this was a simple fabrication of his imagination.

You smiled back at him, continuing to smooth your finger tips along the lines that surrounded his eyes and creases that flanked the sides of his mouth, admiring every bit of emotion playing on his face as a sort of bashfulness hinted on his features brought on by your attention.

"You're incredible, Will," you praised, the desire to exalt this man as much as he deserved coursing through your veins.

He huffed a disbelieving laugh, nestling his face into your neck where he rubbed it back and forth as if he was using you to scratch his beard, prompting you to wrap your arms around his torso to keep him close to you.

"I mean it," you assured, your eyes closing at the sensation of his exhale blowing out over your dewy skin.

Will didn't dare open his mouth to speak, worrying if he did that his voice would give away everything your accolades brought out in him, the fear of falling too hard and too fast mixing in with his instinct to do exactly that.

---

Part 4

Taglist:

@sotwk @dailydragon08 @sunnys-day @thedreadandthefugitivemind @glassgulls @littlenosoul @blairsanne @glitterypirateduck @momia2910 @maggotzombie @rmwarn90 @paintlavillered

[kythed]

GWEN’S MUST-READS

(if you like haikyuu you have to read these at least once before you die)

how to paint the sun by @/voxamcris. I recently had this suggested to me, and yeah it changed my perception of atsumu! he’s written so beautifully broken here, and reader is just developed enough but not overly so. historical au! really great, really well-written.

patches of light by @/miyachondria. yuki (author of how to paint the sun) actually recommended this to me! and oh boy, it made me tear up, which almost never happens now. a twist on your typical forbidden love trope — so much yearning. I physically could NOT stop reading once I started! another historical au, done super tastefully. starring the miya twins.

diner dynamics by @/wackatoshi. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it many more times, but winter is MAGIC. I love everything she writes, so it was hard to just pick a few favorites. this one is a diner au with none other than futakuchi kenji! I fell head over heels for that sucker after reading this — the dialogue is the real star here!! you can taste the rivalry/attraction/hatred/affection through the screen.

under control by @/wackatoshi. again, winter does an excellent job of pacing a classic friends-to-lovers plot line. I really loved the extended metaphor, and it’s written from semi’s perspective, which was cool. really enjoyed his characterization! super sweet.

heartbreak highway last one by @/wackatoshi. the PROSE here is just,,, yeah, it’s awesome. it hurts so good, if you know what I mean. heartbreak never felt so nice.

in orbit by @/neonghxst. probably my favorite atsumu fic on here! I’m usually too impatient to read through a whole fic series, but I binged every chapter for ‘in orbit’ in one sitting! reader is a fully developed character, which I’m usually not a huge fan of, but el did it so tastefully! the character/relationship development had me stunned, honestly — it’s like experiencing an entire life in one fic. you can tell a lot of love went into the writing, too.

inflammable bridges by @/revasserium. another author I really admire! a true master of prose. honestly, the stuff rain writes is publishable. if she wrote a novel, I’d be first in line for a signed copy! this fic is another atsumu one, and it lends this delicious complexity to the idea of love changing as you change too. there is one (1) slightly nsfw reference (not explicit, but be warned if you’re sensitive to that).

finality by @/revasserium. so much YUM! fwb-to-lovers, I very much enjoyed seeing our dear hajime being a lovesick idiot here. a short read, but you get reader and iwa’s whole dynamic and it’s just very cute, please read.

soundtrack of the universe by @/revasserium! I fell in love with noya after this one! I find him really hard to write (and I suspect that’s why there are few fics for him), but this is super well done and paints him into such a pretty character! this fic is also such a mood booster — I reread this when I’m down and it always does the trick HAHA

scintilla by @/star-puff. newest addition to gwen’s fic faves! I couldn’t stop reading once I started — “scintilla” is a raw, tender love story between a girl who’s broken and a boy who’s learning to love her. mainly starring (a very well-characterized) sakusa, and a little sprinkle of atsumu. one of those fics that plucks you right out of this reality and plonks you into another one. I think I sat in silence for at least 15 minutes after finishing. that’s how good it was.

these are just my personal all time favorites! I have other recs under the tag gwensficrecs, so you can look there too! I might keep adding to this post too, because I’m sure there are others I just can’t remember 😭😭

[iliveiloveiwrite]

Millie’s Massive Fic Rec Post

To celebrate 700 followers I’m showing all the love, people. What you’ll find here are fics that were sent to me who I agree deserve a bit more love as well as fics I’ve read and adored. They’re split into characters so all you need to do is scroll to find your fave and bask in its glory. There is some swearing but it’s only because it’s the only way I know how to express my feelings. This is also my thank you to each of the authors involved for taking the time out of their day to write these fics for free. There are also some authors I know I’ve forgotten and I am so so sorry if I have, I promise you it wasn't intentional, I love you all very much.

As always, I love and appreciate you all. Let’s get started on this ridiculously long post!!

Harry Potter:

Don’t Walk Away - @kalimagik - THE ANGST. I was on the edge of my seat through it all; I knew what was coming but did I look away? No. I was completely sucked it and that ending... oh my god, I was broken. If you’re looking for an incredibly written piece of angst that has you in tears, then this is the fic.

Dandelions - @lupins-sweater - The first post of A Very Harry Potter Summer and it was kicked off so brilliantly!! This fic had me wishing for my very own Harry to take morning walks with. It’s so wonderful; it has you wanting a summery morning and dandelions to make wishes on.

Always You - @bl597 - inspired by Louis Tomlinson’s song Always You, so I was already sold on that front. It’s an angst piece - Harry pining from afar, regretting his decisions but with a happy ending. I love that it's written from his perspective, that he realises what he’s done. I really do love this fic, and I aim to work my way through her masterlist!

The Truth Behind The Kiss - @justauthoring​ - the anticipation from the first sentence, I was on the edge of my seat. I loved every single word of this fic, it’s written so well. I just, I need you all to read this fic bc it is SO GOOD. Harry, Triwizard tournament, feelings, fluff - it has it all. 

For how long? - @siriusly-addicted-to-writing​ - It seems for Harry fics I am drawn to angst even though I write nothing but fluff for him. This fic is no different. Dani, this fic is wonderful, I love it. You capture the angst brilliantly! Go read this everyone!

Ron Weasley:

“can we pretend I never said that?” - @hello-everyfandom - I love this so much! Ron calling himself ‘the snog master’ had me snorting out loud - it’s great. And then the dialogue continues to be brilliant. I really enjoyed this fic! Ron needs more attention people!!  

Crossing Lines - @kalimagik - ADORABLE. CUTE. WONDERFUL. Oh, Ron. Everything about this fic is marvellous. The relationship between Ron and the reader, the realisation, the meddling. It was perfect, so so perfect.

birthday - @lupinsdarling - FLUFFY AND CHAOTIC AND I LOVE IT. Why oh why doesn't Ron get more love? Why doesn't this fic have more attention? It’s so fluffy and Ron is so bloody cute that my heart physically hurt while reading this. It hurt because it was so PURE.

Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley:

Girls in one room - @eleven-times-lively - Hermione x Reader - oh my god I snorted at Ron, I love it. And the fluff? There’s so much fluff, I can't deal with the fluff. If you’re going to read a Hermione fic, read this one!

just as lovely - @vanillann - this is so pure! it’s so wonderful, and the relationship between Hermione and the reader is so cute! 

Hug ur friends drabble - @firewhisky-kisses - Ginny x Reader - it’s the cutest thing I’ve read, oh my god, is it cute! I love everything about this, Steph is so talented! But I go into that further down.

Neville Longbottom:

Never the Bride - @obsessedwithrandomthings - Dee’s fic reads as a rom com, it’s so brilliantly done. By the time you're at the end, you feel as if you’ve just watched a two hour rom com and need to squeal into your pillow because of the feels. I love this fic.

Moonlight Swim - @kalimagik - Neville. Oh, Neville. This fic stole my heart and it won't give me it back. The idea of a moonlight swim with Neville? Here for it. And the confession? *chefs kiss* incredible. 

Healing - @firewhisky-kisses - I cannot put into words how much I loved this fic,. Steph is just so incredibly talented and writes Neville so wonderfully. Healing is the first fic of two and that second part had me in happy tears because Neville deserves the world. I go back and reread this a lot when I need to boost my emotions, so thank you for this Steph.

Good News - @peachesandpinks - Let me explain something here, Ron repeatedly and without fail hypes up fic writers to the point where she makes me cry happy tears at her comments. Her writing (and I'm going to swear now) is fucking brilliant. I love it, I adore it. Ren has a way with words that I only hope to master. This fic? Marvellous, magnificent, wonderful - pick a synonym and go wild. It’s so sweet and wholesome - what more could you possibly want other than to be on her taglist?

Tally Marks - @obsessedwithrandomthings NEVILLE WITH TATTOOS PEOPLE! NEVILLE! WITH! TATTOOS! Do I need to say anymore? Yes? Okay. Dee is a fantastic writer but she writes Neville perfectly. We have had many conversations about her love for Neville and her love for him shines through in this fic. She writes with such care and I love reading everything.

Draco Malfoy: 

The Purist - @mxl-foy - This series is so good. Like, so good, that if it was a physical book, it would be sat on my shelves. I would religiously check her account every time I came onto Tumblr to see if a new chapter was posted, and if there was, you best believe there was a happy dance. It’s so incredibly thought out and plotted. And there’s going to be a part two! It’s so great!

Notes - @malfoys-demigod - This is so sweet! I live for fluffy Draco as you all know if you read my Draco fics, but I adore reading fluffy Draco as well. This fic is so adorable, I love it! 

Always so Cold - @teheharrypotter - Five times Draco gave you his sweater and the one time you accepted. I love these sort of fics, they’re my indulgence fics. Jealous!Draco is one of my favourite things to read as well. and he’s so dramatic. I couldn't ask for more in a fic, definitely one of my favourites. 

the distance between us - @sdicapriox - This is a genius idea. I love this idea, and I love how it was executed. Almost 10k words of brilliance. I love the reader and her first letter to Draco and her entire personality - fish funeral? genius. I really like how you portray Draco and the effort you put into his internal monologue, it really is something excellent. The ending as well, I won't spoil, I just urge people to read this. 

Heartbreak - @slytherinprincess03 - you have to have a little bit of angst in a Draco fic rec right? This fic has it but the ending is perfect and fluffy, gah! I love it!. Not to mention, Draco is such a gentlemen in it. I can't wait to see what else you write, lovely!!

Hardly A Date - @fanficflaneuse - I love this fic. I love it so much. I tend not to read sibling!reader but I adored this. The relationship between Harry and the reader, and then Draco and the reader. It’s amazing. I could rant for hours and hours about how much I love her work - her series are out of this world and she captures Draco’s character perfectly. 

George Weasley:

Red with Rage - @kalimagik - AGH ANOTHER OF MAGGIE’S FICS. The prank? Genius, and that end line - incredible. Her characterisation of the twins is so good, I love reading her fics. She deserves more than 300 followers! So if you don’t already follow her, go now!

When Everything Changes - @strawberriesonsummer - Based on the song Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. This is so pure, it’s so fluffy. George is adorable in this! I can't wait to read what else you write for George!

Come back to you - @dreamer821 - JJ, JJ, JJ. Ugh, this fic is a work of art and George is so bloody caring. I mention this a lot but the relationship between George and the reader is so important to get right and JJ does it flawlessly. My heart hurts for this fic and that last line, LOVE IT. I live for how JJ writes George, I could read her work all day. GO READ HER STUFF, YOU WON’T REGRET IT.

Fred Weasley:

The Right Bird - @dreamer821 - I’m not only just involving this because it was used in my writing challenge but oh my days, it is so wonderful. The relationship between Fred and the reader is just *chefs kiss* perfect. JJ has such a way with words and I just love how she depicts Fred.

Lost, are we? - @prongsies - I think I’m going to make my way through your masterlist because I loved this so much. The teasing was so cute, and Fred helping her at the beginning? Ahhhhh brilliant. 

Watermelon Sugar - @prongsies - COMPLETING THE FINEST SERVICE TO THE HP FANDOM AND WRITING FICS INSPIRED BY FINE LINE - I SALUTE YOU. This is so good, so so good. The references to the song are used so well and that little bit of fluff at the end? Amazing. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to put the song on repeat now...

Percy Weasley: 

Nothing We Can’t Forgive -  @firewhisky-kisses - This series really does showcase Steph’s talent. She’s an incredible writer and this fic deserves all the attention it can possibly get. It’s the first Percy fic I’ve ever read and I’m already planning a reread. Steph captures Percy’s character flawlessly whilst also depicting his healing in a manner that is so relatable. I’ve linked the masterlist because once you start reading, you won't want to stop. 

Sight is Relative - @hufflefluff-writer - This fic has a blind reader which I think makes it all the more beautiful. Amelia’s characterisation of Percy really is wonder, she captures him brilliantly. The fic after they eat is quite literally breathtaking. The description of colours, the dialogue - it’s fantastic.

Hufflepuff!Reader Headcanons - @soft-nerdy-wolf - I loved this from the beginning where the reader was already helping Percy out of his comfort zone by disregarding curfew. Then the further, I read, I loved more and more because of how fluffy it is! And the confession? So so sweet! This needs more attention!

Bill Weasley: 

Estrellita - @fanficflaneuse and @hufflefluff-writer - It is a fic inspired by the Sound of Music, what more could you possibly want? It’s so delicate and incredibly written by two extremely talented writers. The relationship between Bill and the reader = adorable. The whole series is so fantastic, I’ve linked part one and you’ll find the rest on Amelia’s masterlist, which you’ll need because you’ll be reading the entire thing in one sitting, I swear.

Charlie Weasley:

As Family the First Time - @kalimagik - you’ll have noticed that Maggie features a lot here but that’s because she is so damned talented that I adore most of her fics. The first Charlie Weasley fic I read and I fell in love. It’s just so fluffy and humorous with features from the whole Weasley family. Basically, by the end of it I was ready to raise dragons in Romania with a certain Weasley.

Meeting the Weasleys - @soft-nerdy-wolf - This made smile all sorts of stupid. From the beginning, I wanted to own Hepaestus (the perfect name for a dragon in my opinion - Zeus’ own forger, amazing.) And the fluff with Charlie straight after? I love, love, love it as well as the fun relationship they have. And the pranks with Fred and George? Ah! I just love.

Dragons blurb - @hufflefluff-writer - I know it’s only a blurb but oh my god, I loved it, I love it. Jealous!Charlie and a buttload of fluff - the best to boost your mood.

Cedric Diggory:

A Ghost Story - @wondernimbus - So beautifully haunting. Ysa has a way with words that make you feel as if you're physically there, living the fic alongside the characters. There aren't really any words to describe how talented Ysa is - all I can do is urge to read her masterlist and discover for yourself. 

My Boys - @potterverseimagine - Cedric and dogs - I am in love. This fic is so sweet and pure and playful. Playful Cedric is so great omg and this fic is full to the brim with it. I just... ah I love this so much. AND HE’S ALIVE. I LOVE FICS WHERE HE’S ALIVE. Thank you for this!!

It’s a Date - @angelinathebook​ - Lena, this is so good. You need to write more Cedric! Ah, I hate those boys so much but I love Cedric!! This is so good! Cedric needs more love 100% - if you haven't read this already, you need to read it now!!

Sirius Black: 

Lost Time - @obsessedwithrandomthings - Reader standing up for who she loves against Bellatrix? Yes, we love that. Slow burn romance with Sirius? I love that even more. Dee never fails to astound me when she writes Sirius, and I know she won’t fail to astound you too. Seriously (lol), go through Dee’s masterlist, read her works, you won't regret it. She’s the loveliest.

Our Godson - @nebulablakemurphy - Christina is so talented. The letters!!! Are so good!!! AND WHEN THEY FINALLY MEET? My heart! Christina, it's as if you broke it and then rebuilt it again all in the span of 2.8k words especially with that ending. I love this fic, and you will love this fic. 

Curiosity - @siriusly-the-best-gryffindor​ - I don’t know what else to say that I haven't already said in my reblog but I love this fic. I am heavily pierced and heavily tattooed and I love seeing a reader as the same. I love all of this fic, it 100% needs more love!

The Jimmy Jab Games - @im-a-writer-right​ - A Sirius fic inspired by Brooklyn-99. I loved every single chapter, it made me so happy. And that final chapter, I was smiling like a fool throughout. Sirius is a dream through this, and that bet? I love! I’ve linked the masterlist because you won’t want to move as you read.  

Secrets and fears - @firewhisky-kisses​ - Steph does it again with the masterpieces. Honestly, I squeal a little whenever I see her in my notifications with a new fic because everything she writes is stellar, and this is no exception. If you’re going to read anything tonight, let it be her masterlist. If you haven't read her latest Sirius piece as well, you are sorely missing out. 

Remus Lupin:

Protect - @obsessedwithrandomthings - Oh man, this one hurt. There are so many feels to this fic, so many layers. The enemies to lovers? Amazing. That ending as well - so fucking good. Like everything Dee writes, so fucking good.

Sleeping Beauty - @poppin-potter - This is adorable. There’s no other words for it. The relationship between the reader and Remus is so cute, I was smiling all the way through it. Not to mention the relationship between the reader and the Marauders, so bloody good. And that ending? It was so peaceful, like I was reading and I was like yeah, I would’t mind a piece of that.

Pain of reality - @heloisedaphnebrightmore - I had to involve some Remus angst, and oh my word. You smashed my heart into pieces in the beginning and had put it back together by the end. Heloise is an incredible writer, so so talented. This is a Remus fic you cannot miss out on!

Bruise and Scars - @peachesandpinks - Soulmate AU and Marauders Era Remus. What more could you possibly want? It’s poetic. If you look to my Neville section, you’ll see why I love Ren’s writing so much but let me tell you, I am a SUCKER for Remus. Always have been, always will be. You will not regret reading this fic or any of Ren’s fics.

Nights like These - @teheharrypotter - another fic in A Very Harry Potter Summer and the description in this fic is so good! The way the summer night described has you feeling every moment of it. And the conversation between Remus and the reader is so beautiful, where they touch upon their grief. It’s a wonderfully written piece of work.

James Potter:

Numb Love - @heloisedaphnebrightmore - Unrequited love is like my guilty pleasure because I love the angst of it, and this fic. Oh this fic, it destroyed me and I loved every single minute of it. How this fic doesn't have more notes, I have no clue. It’s a masterpiece of emotions. 

Reading between the lines - @approved-by-dentists - ohhh this fic is great, I love the flirtation between the reader and James in the beginning all the way to end. It was one of the first James fics I read (I’m late to the party, I’m well aware) and omg I love it. Just go read the fic!

Book-thief - @wondernimbus - I’m going to repeat my words from earlier, there are no words to describe Ysa’s talent. James Potter and a bookshop and I was sold. She captures his character so brilliantly. Just... go binge her work.

Summer revelations - @pregnant-piggy - I keep saying this about all the fics I put on here but I love this fic! I love it! First, I love James. Second, I need those muffins - seriously, where can I get these muffins? And their realisations and confessions! It’s such a pure fic, I’m absolutely in love with your portrayal of James.

Newt Scamander:

Cheeky Niffler - @eleven-times-lively - reader is an archaeologist - from that moment, I was sold. I loved reading this, I loved the idea and I love Niffler as it is! I always need more Newt in my life and this is perfect.

Online Love - @strawberriesonsummer​ - Modern AU! I really loved this idea, I love the idea of Newt with a phone and ringing the wrong number. It’s such a wonderful fic, I haven't read Newt in so long so this was such a lovely one to read! I can’t wait to read what other Newt fics are posted!

desire - @blisfvll​ - I am a huge fan of their works; their Draco fics are incredible and their Newt fics are just the same. This had me feeling all sorts of emotions, and I loved every second of it.  

You stared Newt right in the eyes. - @fantasticnewtimagines​ - I didn't know what the title to this was so I just type out the first sentence, I hope you don't mind! This is a delicious piece of angst with a lovely, happy ending. I adore this piece so much because it conveys so much. I love it!!

MARVEL:

I want to take a moment to appeal to the followers of mine who also enjoy reading marvel. @shaynawrites23​ has started to write some marvel fics and even entered my writing challenge and her fics definitely deserve some attention! She’s a wonderful writer and her fics are so cute! If you’re a fan of Bucky, you’ll love these fics!

Catty

Soulmate

Rosy Proposal

[katierosefun]

i originally had a september wrap-up post queued but then tumblr fucking ate it, which made me very angry because i didn’t want to re-type the whole thing, but i’m procrastinating, so here i am, re-typing the whole thing of all the things i watched/consumed over the month of september, even if it’s a little late: (it’s fine, i didn’t watch a whole ton of stuff except...a lot of kdramas lmao. oh, and visions.) 

k-dramas: 

beyond evil 

okay, so i think this has been on my rec list for literally forever now, but...besties, i’m on my fifth watch of this goddamn show in the span of maybe two months, so if that doesn’t tell you how much this show has been a comfort/eating my brain lately, idk what will. 

i literally never shut up about this show, but if you’ve somehow been missing from my blog for a little bit, a quick summary: lee dong sik (played by the ever-wonderful shin ha kyun) was accused of murder + kidnapping a few young women, including his own twin sister 20 years ago. he’s lived a pretty quiet life on his own, and now 20 years later, his whole world is turned upside down again when hotshot new inspector han joo won (played by the talented yeo jin goo) comes into this little town. when the murders start up again, these two are thrown into a hellishly complex mystery. will throw you in for a hellish loop. i think my thoughts best summarize this show as come for the murder mystery, stay for whatever the hell joo won and dong sik have. 

okay, but all joking aside about how much i love joo won and dong sik (because...i truly do love them), this show was incredibly healing. once again: this show has quickly become a comfort show, basically to the point where i just watch it whenever i feel down (which happens to be a lot these days). idk man. humans aren’t meant to carry burdens on their own and all that stuff. sometimes u just need to remind yourself that. 

the crowned clown 

so, after watching beyond evil the fourth time, i realized that maybe i wanted to watch some of the actors’ other works. that was how i found myself watching the crowned clown, which...is an excellent kdrama now available on netflix (also on viki for free, just as beyond evil is). honestly, it’s been a hot second since i’ve watched historical dramas (saeguks), so i was a little unsure what to expect, but this show. bro. this show reminded me just how much i love historical dramas, because the court politics? the costumes? the music? the acting? fantastic. 

basically, this show is about the young clown (ie. performer) ha seon (played by yeo jin goo) who now has to replace the king, who might be like...two seconds away from snapping (if he hasn’t already). the reason they’re able to do this is because they look exactly identical despite not being related. 

this story is honestly wonderful. i loved it, and it’s an interesting way to look at the story behind the actual king (because. apparently this king was a real person, and i think his story has inspired quite a few other korean movies/shows). i thought yeo jin goo was brilliant in this show, and it’s really no surprise he became the youngest person ever nominated for a baeksang award because of this series. i was truly blown away by just how versatile he proved to be of an actor, and his dynamics with the other characters (the queen, the secretary being my fave, as well as the old eunuch jo), i just...bro. i’ll admit i wasn’t the biggest fan of the romance (don’t get me wrong! it was sweet!), but i think that might have been because this was so court politics heavy, and i adored it for that. if you’ve never watched a historical drama but want to and just don’t know where to start, i highly recommend this. 

d.p. 

bro....this show was dark. i watched it all in 2 days (pretty easy to do, considering it’s 6 episodes and maybe 40-50 minutes long per episode), and i needed to lie down. this is just one of those shows that i feel is...very important to watch, even if the content matter isn’t very bright. 

basically, dp is about two deserter pursuit officers: ahn jun ho (played by jung hae in) and han ho yul (played by koo kyo hwan). deserter pursuit officers are basically people who chase after people who deserted their military post--and for those who don’t know, being in the military is mandatory for men in south korea. this is the result of the armistice between the north and the south--basically, since north korea never agreed to an actual peace treaty, south korea is constantly under threat of war, which is why men need to serve at least a few years. (this is why a lot of actors + kpop band members often take breaks from their careers--to fulfill their military service time. because yup, even celebrities aren’t exempt from service!) 

anyways, this show really doesn’t pull back their punches. major trigger warnings for things like intense harrassment, suicide, domestic violence...it really does capture just how dark life can be, and also how toxic the military can be for men. because of that, i felt this show was incredibly well-crafted, incredibly nuanced, and in the end, i just felt sad. that said though, there was a hopeful ending, and i’m glad that this show was renewed for a second season, as i think this show is just...really important. 

squid game 

okay, so i don’t want to be that person, but your girl was watching squid game right after it came out, so i was here before the hype train--but okay, okay, i digress. (i am glad that this show is getting hype. i feel it’s very important that people watch this show.) 

if you haven’t noticed how squid game’s climbed to #1 on netflix worldwide (i think, anyways), well, then...buddy. squid game is about a bunch of people who have the chance to earn lots of money by playing what seems like innocent children’s games. (spoilers: they are far from innocent.) 

this show scarred me, to be honest. i needed to watch something lighthearted after this, just because it was so intense. lots of trigger warnings for blood and gore, as well as just. losing faith in humanity. but also, like dp, i felt this show was necessary. it was incredibly well-constructed in that it showed just what desperate people will do in order to survive, as well as exactly what a terrible capitalistic society will do to the working class. it’s depressing and sad, but also incredibly chilling because like. you can’t help but watch the characters and think, but would i do the same thing? i just want to pay off my own debt and take care of my family. wouldn’t i do the same thing? 

i won’t say more of this show for fear of spoilers, but. let me just say. that i really am glad this show exists. i hope people actually notice what the fuck it’s saying about our current system too, because hm, maybe i just want to suck the fun out of things, but there’s something very disturbing about how people are already cute-ifying this show (ie. “this is what i would wear to the squid games! :D” and “look at these squid-game inspired cookies! :D”, as if this show didn’t just deliver a heart-crushing message about capitalism + how the wealthy fuck over anyone who isn’t the 1% BUT ANYWAYS) 

tv 

star wars: visions 

lately i’ve been feeling weird about star wars for lots of different reasons which i don’t particularly feel like addressing today, but. visions really reminded me why i fell in love with star wars in the first place. i think for starters, well. it’s no surprise when i say that i felt an intense amount of joy of seeing east asian cultures so beautifully incorporated and respected in this show (no surprise seeing that this show was literally crafted by japanese anime studios), but like. it really was. a beautiful thing. i cried at least once per episode, either because i was so in awe of the animation and the themes or because i was just in awe that this thing exists. 

i think my favorite episode had to be the village bride--there was something so incredibly powerful about seeing someone who looked a bit like me say i am a jedi. what an iconic line. what an iconic story about a sad traumatized gal deciding to step up and fight, actually. peak star wars. 

but besides all that...i really did feel like...this show captured the beauty and essence of what makes star wars actually good. the themes of good versus evil, a lot of stuff between siblings (bro....the twins and lop and ocho FUCKED ME UP), choosing to have brighter and better days ahead (the village bride, the ninth jedi, the duel, tatooine rhapsody)...like, i really loved how each episode really took everything that was good about star wars and just turned it into something even more beautiful. this series will stay with me for a long time, i think--and i am very grateful for the people involved in this project for reminding me why i fell in love with this universe in the first place. :”)

[alwaysupatnight]

I was tagged by @astarkey!! 🥰

How many works do you have on AO3? 10

What’s your total ao3 word count? currently it’s 70794, but it might be more if I can ever finish this post amaru oneshot I’m working on for @yossariandawn. It was supposed to be a paragraph, but it’s currently 1600 words and therefore more than long enough to post on AO3 once it’s finished.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Wild Youth

Giving Up the Ghost

Got My Love to Keep Me Warm

Living Dead Girl

Daddy AF

Do you respond to comments, why or why not? Yes, I usually respond to all my comments right away, unless I forget and then too much time passes and then it feels weird. 😅 I like to acknowledge my readers and let them know I appreciate their support! And to answer any questions they have or just to engage in conversation. lol I’ve made friends from hijacking the comments section on other authors’ fics before too. And I always love to hear from y’all!!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? I think the twins-verse and Touch series will probably have the happiest endings since they’re the fluffiest fics I’m working on. Also Losing My Cool is supposed to get really smutty in the upcoming chapters and I can’t imagine those two wouldn’t be happy after all of that. lmfao

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I think probably my Beth fic. And Wild Youth. We’ll see about the culebra Seth fic...

Do you write crossovers? Not lately... back in the day I did wanna write a twd/fdtd crossover though and sometimes I still do. lol If anything it would probably just be a twd AU because I’m not in twd fandom anymore. I’m not against adding in cameos though. :P

Have you received hate on a fic? Not since I posted on ffnet like almost a decade ago lol Haven’t gotten any hate on any of my AO3 fics though

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Yes... lol not in a while though... I have a few fics I’ve been meaning to work on. culebra seth is supposed to have some pretty explicit smut eventually, and the sex fails fic too... I hope my smut writing skills are decent but I really don’t know. I guess it’s still pretty tame? WHATEVER I JUST DON’T SEE SETH GECKO AS BEING VERY ADVENTUROUS IN BED OKAY. HE LOOKS LIKE THAT BUT HE’S SO VANILLA. 🤣

Have you ever had a fic stolen? YES 😤 This was a few years ago, but my first ever sethkate fic -- Got My Love to Keep Me Warm -- got ripped off by another sethkate author *cough* the_stargazing_dreamer *cough* Their fic is still up on AO3 too (ch35 of the glimpses oneshot series), forever taunting me and an eternal reminder of that horrible experience. I contacted the author about it back in the day and they went and changed SOME things, but the plagiarism is still pretty obvious imo. 😒 I really loved their fics up until that point too but now they’re forever boycotted. IF YOU DELIBERATELY PLAGIARIZE SOMEONE ELSE’S WORK YOU ARE A SHITTY PERSON OKAY IDGAF. But just so y’all know, I may occasionally post short works or excerpts of my writing here, but ALL of my writing only goes on my AO3 account under the name alwaysupatnight. So if you see something of mine that is somewhere NOT here on my blog or on my AO3 account, please let me know!

Have you ever had a fic translated? nope

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, but if anyone wants to write something with me I’d be into it!! Although I wouldn’t be able to guarantee I could FINISH anything 😅 my abandoned wips still haunt me to this day

What’s your all-time favorite ship? I feel like whatever I’m currently shipping becomes my all-time fave... lol I’m gonna go with SethKate for this answer though. I haven’t moved on from them yet, and I lowkey hope I never do.

What’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Ideally, I’d love to finish all my wips but I realize that would take me several lifetimes... 😅 I’m still dedicated to finishing the culebra Seth fic. And probably also the cruise fic I came up with back when I first joined the fandom. The whole story is there in my outline and everything. I just gotta write it. 😩

What are your writing strengths? I like to think I’m really good at dialogue and keeping everyone in character. Also, I’ve been told I have really good diction by multiple people. I think I’m okay at writing action scenes too.

What are your writing weaknesses? Basically all the stuff that comes in between the dialogue and action lol so like description and PLOT and FEELINGS 😑

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I’ll only do it if I’m confident that what I’m translating is accurate. Otherwise I’ll just summarize it in English lol

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Samurai Champloo. no you can’t read it IT’S AWFUL 🥺

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? I think my favorite thing I’ve EVER written might be this little ficlet I wrote for the Borra fandom back in the day [here]. my favorite thing I’ve posted on AO3, however, would probably be the Touch series fics. THEY’RE SO FLUFFY I LOVE THEM. they make me so happy 😊

I’ve been away from home for almost 2 weeks with oftentimes not great internet, so I’m not sure who might have already done this, but I’m tagging: @imaginedfables, @tiesthatbind1899, @milkshakemicrowave, @sandalaris, @justjstuff, @worthallyourgalleons and any of my other followers who write fic!! 😊

[harrysweasleys]

one. thousand. peeps.

oh, my god. so, i still can’t get over the fact that 1k of you follow me. like, my blog is such an inconsistent mess of emotions and ideas — i am so so so grateful. never thought i’d get here, especially since my blog is so new and fresh.

for my one thousand followers event, i’ve decided that on top of doing a writing event (which i will post soon), i am going to do a fic rec post!!!🤍

all of the writers on here are phenomenally talented and have inspired me in so many ways, which is why i feel like giving them recognition for their work is what i should be doing as a thank you for helping me become the writer i am! i wouldn’t have gotten this far without these wonderful blogs and i want to give them all the love in the world, and to thank them for their support and their fantastic writing that blesses my feed every day. OBVIOUSLY this isn’t everyone i’m a lil forgetful so i wish i could give credit to all the brilliant fics i’ve read out there, but worst case, i will do another fic rec!!!

without further ado, here we go! (also sorry it’s not arranged by character my mind is a mess)

fic recommendations 

faking it by @blisfvll ( draco malfoy x reader)

I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR FAKE DATING TROPES OML. idk what it is about said trope that gets me so riled up but i am obsessed. this fic one of the cutest pieces of writing i’ve ever had the fortune of reading. bless your eyes and your mind by doing the same.

cookie by @obsessedwithrandomthings (fred weasley x reader)

uh, i went into this thinking ‘oh this has a cute title i can’t wait to read it’ and actually had my heart broken??? oouufff. listen, if you want a good cry, this is where you should go. angst is written beautifully and you develop an emotional connection with the reader right away.

late night help by @wand3ringr0s3 (fred weasley x reader)

literally cheeky freddie owns my entire heart and soul like, i actually can’t get enough??? also you should follow haley bc she always posts such wonderful fics and i am obsessed. don’t mind me fangirling over here.

sun by @pit-and-the-pen (draco malfoy x reader)

listen. LISTEN. i fell in love with this from the first few sentences. angsty draco who doesn’t want to accept love? ugh, i’m all in. draco owns a huge soft spot in my heart and therefore, any chance that i can get to see him be loved, i. will. take. it. thank you for blessing the world with this fic, kaylah.

sunkissed by @ickle-ronniekins (George Weasley x reader)

oh. my. fucking. god. i have gone back to read this fic maybe eight or nine times and i actually cannot get enough. erica has a way with words that makes anyone fall in love. she paints a picture so beautifully and her portrayal of the twins is always so in character. literally, just binge her entire master list. just do it. ALSO... SHIRTLESS QUIDDITCH AT THE BURROW. NEED I SAY MORE?

dandelions by @ickle-ronniekins (fred weasley x reader)

and here’s another erica fic! this is the first fic of hers i ever read and inspired me so much. not only is it THE CUTEST SHIT you’ll ever read but it’s actually in my top five fave fics. like. i can’t get enough. it’s just too good for words, my friends.

we’re only getting older, baby by @writesowhatnext (george weasley x reader)

so this is actually a four part series but holy shit. ok. listen. her entire masterlist is pure perfection and i cannot get enough. first stumbled upon her fics months back and she just continues to produce excellent fics. there is magic in her writing, i tell you. anyways, this series is classic enemies to lovers and is written so, so brilliantly, it would be a shame to miss out. do yourself a favour and binge it (also her masterlist bc goddamn.)

you were down for forever by @writesowhatnext (fred weasley x reader)

SORRY IT’S HER AGAIN BUT OH MY GOOSHHHH. actually sobbed like a little baby while reading this and will not hesitate to admit that. the writing... oof. can’t even begin to tell you how beautiful it is. literally read this maybe five times bc i stared up at the ceiling afterwards and just took in in this beautiful fic. all i can say it: read it.

little bit jealous by @wand3ringr0s3 (george weasley x reader)

listen, idk what it is about a jealous george that gets me so hot and bothered but here we are. this fic is real cute!!! haley’s writing is adorable and also, should i say it again, jealous george?????????

skin by @angelinathebook (draco malfoy x reader)

oof, lemme tell you i am a sucker for soulmate au’s. especially when one soulmate isn’t exactly fond of the other. and this fic delivers everything i’ve ever wanted. it’s done really brilliantly and also, lena has a great masterlist that you should definitely binge.

tease by @theweasleysredhair (george weasley x reader) NSFW

OH. BOY. so... a flustered, sexually frustrated george who can’t keep his hands off of his girlfriend???? yes, please. chloe’s writing is pure perfection and you will not regret reading any of her work. she’s got a gift! also she writes the twins so in-character???????? magical.

dear george by @thoseofgreatambition (george weasley x OC)

NOW. GUYS. quite possibly one of my fave oc fics of all time. it’s a multi-chapter on-going series but oh, my gosh, is it ever written brilliantly? such talent. such a gift. bless leeann for bringing this to my life. that’s v dramatic but y’all, just read this. FANTASTIC. MASTERPIECE. also, this series is such an aesthetic. love more than words can say.

[gffa]

I was talking with @himboskywalker​ about Tolkien and fandom and fic, because I’m always curious where people’s “area” of the wider Legendarium are at, whether they’re a fan of the Dwarves or the Humans or the Elves or the Valar or what!  (As a surprise to absolutely no one, the Elves are where my heart is at, where I very much love the Noldor, but if you give me a choice I’m going to run over to that Sindar-centric fic every time.) Which got us onto the topic of fic recs, where, yes, I’ve done a LOT of Tolkien fic recs but I tend to read something of a wide variety and this is a list specifically aimed at those who are familiar with the wider Tolkien world, but haven’t really read much fic and want to know where to start! Other Recs First: - If you haven’t gotten further into Tolkien’s work (like say beyond the movies), I’ve done something of a primer here, which includes fic recs and brief explanations and links to videos that help explain some things.  It’s not as hard as it seems to get involved, honest! - Some other fic recs here, as an addition to the above. - My Tolkien blog (which I haven’t been on in awhile, though, I haven’t let it go in my heart yet) has, I’m not kidding, A LOT of fic recs, I did recs regularly for about three years, so it’s almost as massive as my collection of SW recs. If I Could Only Pick Three To Start You With: ✦ And What Happened After by thearrogantemu - This is the fic that took me from enjoying the Silm characters to diving face-first into really loving them, because it wove such an engaging story about the characters sailing to Aman at the end of LOTR, where various characters you wouldn’t think interacting would be as meaningful as they are, but the fic absolutely sells them on it.  Frodo and Feanor having a conversation about language?  Sam and Maglor sharing a boat to the West?  These things are amazing, as this is a fic about healing and what it means to sail into the Undying Lands.  Also, it has a Feanor and Fingolfin reunion that literally put tears in my eyes. ✦ Interrupted Journeys by ellisk - I’m generally not someone who does a lot of rereading of fic just because I have so many new ones to get to, but I’ve read my favorites in this series (parts 3 to 5 are my sweet spot especially) probably four times through now because “Elfling Legolas growing up in Greenwod with a whole cast of characters around him, as the Shadow so very, very slowly creeps towards them” may sound somewhat simple, but the worldbuilding here is off the scale.  The weaving in of how much the First Age and various Elven politics influenced Thranduil’s ruling of a Silvan people is a major theme, but it’s also good parents raising that precious Elfling right and he and his cousins+friends getting into all sorts of mischief, so it’s balanced between humor and drama in the exact amounts I want.  You can skip the first two fics and jump into the third if you like, which is when Legolas is introduced, but I enjoy the whole thing. ✦ Return to Aman OR Quenta Narquelion by bunn - I can’t pick between these two, they’re both incredible.  Return to Aman is basically “Elrond grabs Maglor and drags him to Aman with them” and it breaths such incredible lift into all the characters of Aman, it doesn’t negate the terrible things the Feanorians did, but neither does it negate Elrond’s love for them and his biological family, too.  It’s another fic that’s about healing and forgiveness and it made me glow to read it.  Quenta Narquelion is basically “Feanor refused the call of Mandos after he died and everything started to snowball from there” and it’s an absolutely heartbreaking look at all our Problematic Fave Feanorians and how they were once good people trying to do the best they could, but bit by bit they slipped into the dark.  It’s especially amazing for capturing the complexities of Feanor, as he hovers over his children as a spirit and it really brought me around on his character. The Silmarillion and other First Age Batshit Faves: ✦ The Starlit Sky by Cirth is the fic that really made me get the potential of reading about Maedhros and Maglor raising Elrond and Elros, where it does such a fantastic job of showing that there was genuine affection there, even the midst of all the angst and trauma and pain.  You really get why Elrond could never give up on them, after reading this fic. ✦ In Courts of Living Stone by ncfan - “What if Maeglin never left Nan Elmoth and instead, several decades later, found himself on an errand to Menegroth and developed a relationship with Finduilas instead?” isn’t a fic I expected to capture my heart, but boy did it ever.  Beautiful characterization and beautiful writing, it really captured my imagination, but also gave me ALLLLLL the Maeglin feelings, as well as made me pine that this Finduilas couldn’t have been more common in fandom. ✦ naught but the shores and the sea by ncfan is more of Elrond and Maglor, where it’s an AU that has Elrond finding Maglor after the disastrous attempt to recover the Silmarils and I loved it a lot. ✦ The Crane Wife by Trebia is one that takes an underused character from Tolkien (Lalwen, in this case) and breathes this incredible life into her, gives her personality and joy and sorrow and meaning and, look, any fic that can convince me that Thranduil would marry a Noldo and utterly believe it, you know it’s well-written! The Second Age Is Kind of Quiet in Fandom But I Love It Regardless: ✦ The Art of Long-Distance Grandparenting by Kazaera is a lovely and bittersweet (but mostly lighter in tone) fic about the separation of the Sea between family members and does a wonderful job with Idril’s character, as she tries to stay connected to her grandchildren while being so distant from them and unable to see them, unless they choose to come to Aman.  There’s joy to be found here and it’s a lovely read. ✦ Relativity by French Pony is a lovely look at the final meeting between Elrond and Elros and strikes the right amount of bittersweetness, where it’s awkward and difficult and heartbreaking, but also feels natural and like this was how it was meant to be.  I had many, many Elven Twin feelings during the whole thing.  (I like all their fic, they’re worth checking out their other stuff for, too!) ✦ A Thing or Two About Elrond by Crookneck is a series of fics about Elrond and the various relationships he has--with Celebrian, with his children, with Gil-Galad, etc.--and I remember being really charmed by all of them and how much shit Elrond has seen over the course of his life. The Third Age, Lord of the Rings Version: ✦ Boromir's Return by Osheen Nevoy - This one is sort hard to summarize, but it’s basically “Boromir lives, makes a friend, and slowly changes everything about the LOTR plot”, but it’s so much more than that, where the worldbuilding is phenomenal, the pacing is incredible, it made me fall in love with Boromir as a character all over again, it contains probably the best portrayal of Denethor I’ve ever read in fandom, and I really loved the OC and so on.  It’s utterly engrossing and honestly I cannot recommend it highly enough, even if you’re not usually into this sort of thing. ✦ The River by Indigo Bunting is a fic where Legolas and Sam get separated from the others for a brief time and I love fics that take two characters who don’t interact much, throw them into an intense situation, and sees what happens.  It’s not precisely a light-hearted fic, it’s very intense, but it’ll make you fall in love with the sheer good in both characters and the friendship they develop.  It’s brilliantly written and I cannot recommend it enough. ✦ A Bit of Rope by Aiwendiel is a fic where Gandalf doesn’t fall at Moria and it changes everything--not necessarily for the better.  The slow, creeping sense of things changing, things going just a little bit worse here and there, until you realize how much darker the Fellowship’s journey could have been, was brilliantly done, and one I thought did justice to the idea, it’s not grimdark, there’s still light and hope here, but it makes you feel like, oh, maybe things happened as they did for a reason, even as hard as that seemed sometimes.  Gorgeously plotted and utterly engrossing. The Third Age, Mirkwood Version: ✦ daw the minstrel has an entire series of fics about Legolas growing up in Mirkwood and there’s absolutely a reason why she was one of the most well-known authors in that corner of fandom.  Her ability to create new characters (including two brothers for Legolas) was incredible, I cared so much about the family dynamics and got swept up in the drama (which was in a very loving family, but Legolas was definitely a mischief-seeker) and they’re fantastic.  If you find yourself in something of a stretch with too many OCs and your attention wavers, you can always skip around, they don’t have to be read in order and a lot of the non-canon characters can be skimmed over, imo. ✦ In a Field of Blood and Stone by ScribeofArda is so much better than what The Hobbit movies gave us of the Battle of Five Armies, it does such beautiful justice to the complicated character of Thranduil and Legolas, not sacrificing the warmth there for how difficult these times are and the war they find themselves in the middle of.  This Bard is also really engaging and fun to read--I read pretty much the entire novel’s worth in, like, a day or two because I could not put this one down. ✦ Swordplay and Swimming by cliodna_bright has an incredible meeting where Thranduil comes to visit Rivendell, runs into Elladan and Elrohir, who are young enough that they speak without thinking, and it’s not precisely a humor fic, but I was screaming the entire time because it’s so sharply written and so absolutely delightful, I LOVE IT. ✦ Deep and Crisp and Even by rivlee made me fall in love with how Elves and humans may look very similar, but there’s this sense of otherworldliness to the Elves, as shown through Bard’s eyes when he has a meeting with Thranduil.  Beautifully written and just the right amount of atmospheric. The Fourth Age Where Everything Actually Does Mostly Work Out: ✦ Far Horizons by Bodkin is the Fourth Age fic of my heart, where the various Elves that we came to know in Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are all in Aman and decide to build their own realm there.  Which is difficult because Elven Politics even just amongst themselves, much less clashing with all the established politics of the other Elven realms in Aman!  But it’s a light-hearted fic (for the most part) that’s about healing and moving forward, balancing their ties to their history versus that Middle-Earth changed them, and I love it for soothing my soul.  (Thranduil sailed, you can’t tell me otherwise!!!)(Bonus moments of Glorfindel being pretty hilarious.)  I like all of bodkin’s work, but this one has a special place with me. ✦ Age of Healing by trollmela is one where Maedhros and Legolas have a conversation in Aman and it’s about the bittersweetness of healing and how difficult it is, taking two characters who would never have met in canon and weaving something entirely engaging and poignant out of it. Collections That Span The Ages: ✦ This Taste of Shadow by Mira_Jade - This is a collection of dozens of various shorter stories (or sometimes 10k “ficlets”) that you can largely skip around in if you have specific characters you like or you can just start at the beginning and read through.  It contains looks at pretty much everyone, from Maedhros to Galadriel to Thranduil to Elrond to Caranthir to Glorfindel to the Valar, etc.  I’ve enjoyed pretty much everything I’ve read in this collection! ✦ Fiondil's Tapestry and Tales from Vairë's Loom by Fiondil are in the same vein and I have really enjoyed everything I’ve read from both of them!  I especially remember that there was one chapter that had a scene between Thranduil and Cirdan and thinking, ahhhh, why has no one ever written that before!? as an example of the neat things it does.  But also lots about Elrond and Glorfindel and the Valar and so on! This probably doesn’t feel like a super extensive list, but those collection series will give you an excellent spanning of Elves, Humans, Dwarves, Hobbits, etc., not just the same central characters, but giving time to a lot of lesser focused ones as well.  Like, I feel I’ve read a fair chunk of Elwing fic, but I couldn’t point you to a specific one in my list of recs, which means I’m pretty sure it was in the collections ones or else she got some good scenes in one of the Aman-based fics, so I swear the above is at least a solid place to start for dipping one’s toe into Tolkien fic. AS ALWAYS, OTHER PEOPLE’S RECS ARE WELCOME, god knows I haven’t read anything in the last two years (and will have missed a lot even before that) and so I always need more recs, too!

[telamons]

can you tell facts about yourself? reading your tags make me curious

this ask has been in my ask box for quite some time now, sorry. I don't know what kind of facts you expect but since I'm deep in my gaming mood with the blizzcon i guess I'll just share with you some gaming facts (mostly):

- I never played Mass Effect as F!Shep. I know that it's the version that is considered Canon within the ME community (and I respect it) but -bless Jennifer Hale nevertheless- to me the only default Shepard will always be its male version. And I swear it's not because of the Shakarian bromance.

- I hate Nintendo and I just want it to disappear and burn in hell, like Disney. And I hate myself even more for buying their consoles for my sister and some of their games (okay that's only Fire Emblem and a few Mario games but it pains me to even give them 1€, they fucking don't deserve it).

- While I always scream about how much I love Hien in FF XIV, my fave character is and will forever be Alphinaud. My dear son.

- I have a lot of controversial opinions, like Dead Space 3 and Resident 6 are two of my favorite games. Or the DmC reboot was a good game.

- I own more than 1000 games,if not a lot more. But I'm a cheater, there's a huge number of games that I own on various supports. Like RE4 that I bought.... 5 times. Or the whole ME trilogy that I bought on every support. Or RE6 that I own 3 times. Don't ask me why I do this, I don't know.

- Emet Selch is the best FF antagonist. Screw Sephiroth and Kuja (i still love you guys).

- I'm mainly playing on PlayStation consoles. But I play on everything. Consoles (both Microsoft/PlayStation or even Nintendo... At my biggest demise), pc and smartphone.

- I used to be a very competitive player back in my Uncharted 3 multi-player days. Did lots of world tournaments with my team and it's probably the greatest memory I have. I was also ranked 93th in the world ranking on tekken 6 on x360 like a millenia ago. Lili rocked 👍🏻

- Two out of my three tattoos are video games related. I have Sic Parvis Magna (a quote from the Uncharted series) written on my left arm and Ashe's tattoo from Overwatch on my right one.

- Black Flag was the best Assassin's Creed and the series died with it. Though ironically my fave assassins were the Frye twins.

- I don't think I've ever told anyone but I used to be addicted to video games to a serious degree when I was in middle school. I won't go into details because that's not the point here but despite my addiction that nearly got the best of my mental state back in the days, video games are what saved me, literally. I'm very dedicated to the topics about video game addiction because as a former addict, I know what it feels like because I've been through this and if I can help people in need, I will do it. I would like to add also something important: video games helped me to control my anger and violent behavior.

- I cry a lot over fictional characters. But who doesn't?

- When I was younger, I built a shrine in my room for dead characters. It all started because of Zack Fair. Bless that man. It was mostly a box with dead characters names written on paper near candles, and I prayed to them but I don't remember when specifically. I think I had decided different dates but I'm not sure.

- While I can understand why people are against it, I'm actually all for remasters and remakes.

- My first video game crush was Juto from MC II. A character that obviously no one knows.

- I hate what Naughty Dog has become. I miss the days when Amy Hennig and Christophe Balestra were still here. Everything changed because of Druckman and well... I don't like it. While he did excellent work on TLOU1 and U4, I just can't stand the guy.

- I once finished a game without actually looking at the screen, not even once (okay that's a lie, maybe 10 minutes). Context: I was trying to play Layers of Fear 1 but that shit was so scary that I couldn't even play the game without shaking like hell. So I asked my little sister to guide me through the game while I was controlling the character, as I was hiding in my blanket. That was a funny experience tho, we laughed a lot (I know you won't ever see this but love you, baby sis, you're the best)

Wow, that's horribly long, I'm so sorry. I didn't think I'd have this many facts to give about myself. Hope it's enough for you tho.

Thank you for the ask, whoever you are! o/