#another day another pretty girl gifset

[aashiqeddiediaz]

Hi!

I was just wondering if you have a tutorial on how you created this effect in your gifset, it's something I'd like to try but have no idea where to start. Your set is so pretty! Any helps appreciated x

https://www.tumblr.com/tawaifeddiediaz/712911415428743168/ill-take-you-with-me-then-well-both-die-you?source=share

Hey Nonnie, thank you! This is super late, but I don't actually have the psd for this set anymore (I delete them as soon as I post them), so we're just gonna wing it with a gif I made the other day. I think this ask is about the text, but if it's anything else, just drop me another line and I'll get to it when I can!

I'm pretty sure I got this tutorial from the wonderful @eddiediaaz but I then turned it into Lazy Girl Hours :)) anywho, here we go!

We’ll be making this gif:

This tutorial assumes basic knowledge of gif-making, Photoshop, and coloring. I’ve only described the typography tutorial in this, but you can reach out if you have any questions.

Tutorial under the cut:

Couple things to note beforehand:

There is a lot of trial and error involved when doing any sort of effect, and this is no exception! You might have to play around with the colors and the settings before you find something that looks good and readable and that fits your set!

This text effect works better on big gifs (540px width).

For this, I find that a simple font works better than a fully-cursive one, but play around with what you like. The boxes may need some adjusting if you use a font with too many tall or tail letters (i.e. text where all the letters aren't on one uniform line - that's why capital letters work so well.)

Movement works really well with effects like these, but again, it depends on your gif + readability. If you have a blended gif, it may take a little more trial and error.

I work in frame animation for all my text effects, but this works just as well in timeline as well.

We’re going to start with this gif:

First, I like to put my text on the gif. You can obviously move this around later so don't worry too much about how it looks right now.

The dialogue is "Just don't feel it." "Feel" is one of those Big Words for this quote, so I'm going to emphasize it with cursive text.

I am using Moon for the sans serif text, and Santa Fe Spring for the cursive text. Keep both of these in white for now:

Next, we're going to use the rectangular marquee tool to draw our rectangles around the capital letters (we're not touching the cursive text right now). I just eyeball this, and then try to center it as much as possible.

(The rectangular marquee tool has a keyboard shortcut of M, and it's the second tool in that little toolbar on the left of most people's Photoshop.)

This is what that'll look like:

Next, we're going to go down to the icons at the bottom right of the layers panel and select the half-black half-white circle > Color Fill.... You should get a color dialogue box. Choose your color - I'm using #8d0000. Then, we're going to move that layer below the corresponding text layer, and set its blending mode to Difference. This is what that looks like (click the image for better quality):

I'm going to repeat that with the other two boxes as well, using the same color. The boxes will look different with the Difference blending mode because of the shadows underneath.

For example, the box with "it" looks like a solid red square because it's against a completely black background, while the other two have some blue shading to them since there are some highlights behind them.

This is what my gif looks like now:

Next, I like to go The Lazy Girl™ route and put all three color-fill layers into one group underneath all the text layers. This just lets me edit the drop shadow of all three of them at the same time.

Right-click the group and open up the Blending Options. In Drop Shadow, these are the settings I'm using. The drop shadow color is #0c6477:

(Note: uncheck "Use Global Light" especially if you're working in frame animation to make sure all the drop shadow has the same angle on all frames.)

This is what my gif looks like now:

Now that we've finished that, time to move on to the cursive text.

I usually match the cursive text to the palette of the rest of the text, and since the drop shadow is our "accent" color, so to speak, I'm going to use a lighter version of that color. I am also going to add a drop shadow for readability.

The color I used for the text is #acfffe and I actually ended up adding two drop shadows, just because I needed something subtle that doesn't overwhelm the text, especially since it's a delicate font. Here are the settings for both layers:

And here's what my gif looks like now:

Now, before we move on to the lines, just check the adjustment of all these text layers, see if there's anything you want to change. It's easier to change now than after the lines are added, since you'll most likely have to redraw them if you move the boxes after the fact.

To draw the lines, we're going to use the Line Tool. I just freehand all of this, and I try to go from center to center of the boxes when I can. It all depends on your angles.

My lines are 2px thick, but you can change these depending on your preference. Here's what mine look like right now:

We're going to do the same lazy hack that we did for the color fill, and put all three line layers into a group. Move this group below the text layer and the color fill layers. The reason for this is so that the lines look like they're coming seamlessly from the box, rather than from on top of them or something.

Then, set the group to opacity 50%. I like more subtle, simple looks in my gifs, so I don't like super high opacities.

And that's it! This is our final gif:

Some final notes:

Absolutely play around with the blending modes of the color fill layers for this effect. These two gifs are the exact same color we've been using, just two different blending modes. You can see how drastically different they look. The first one is Linear Dodge (Add) and the second one is Vivid Light:

It can change how your gif looks in a BIG way, so play around with it, see what you like, especially if you don't really like the "two toned" thing going on.

Sometimes, I also like playing with the width and height of the text in the font settings, making it shorter and wider, or making it taller and more compact. You can play with the letter spacing as well. The world is your oyster, etc etc.

One other thing I've started doing is erasing the lines with a big brush, just to fade them from his face a little, like this:

To do that, use a layer mask on the line layer folder, and a brush that's 0% hardness, and at least 200px big. For this gif, I also changed the opacity of the lines back to 100% so the fading effect is a little more pronounced:

(this gif isn't the best example for this, but oh well. Anywho, hope this helps, Nonnie! Let me know if you have any questions.

Enjoy!

[deepdeanvsweston]

Detective gang and their tumblr blogs

Daisy's blog: dykes4detecting

- has one blog for absolutely everything she posts, and it's all a pretty pink colour

- does also have a rarely used sideblog for fashion

- occasionally makes alarming but nonchalant posts like 'someone threw me into the Nile yesterday lmao'

- but in the tags of the same post it'll be the most devastatingly tragic admittance of feelings you've ever seen like #it was so scary though... #im scared of showers now because of it and it makes me feel so stupid #like getting my feet wet gives me heart palpitations wtf???

- also makes posts like "you'd think people would put a little more effort to kill me considering the effort I put into stopping exactly that" and nobody can tell if she's shitposting or not

- reblogs a lot of historical lesbian content and the occasional Killing Eve gifset

- also reblogs poetry, especially sapphic obviously

- posts her own blackout poetry which is quite popular

Hazel's blog: woctordatson

- back when she was 12/13 Hazel had an entirely BBC Sherlock themed blog which was in fact actually popular and well known, in tumblr anyway

- did not change her blog name from this phase

- used to write Sherlock/Watson fanfic and post it

- (Daisy brings it up every so often and when she does Hazel tells her she wished she'd drowned (jokingly ofc))

- now has several blogs for different things because she likes having everything organised

- one of the blogs is called a-stamp-a-day where she (you guessed it!) posts a stamp a day, and a little bit about it

- (I hc Hazel to collect them and have a focused interest in them)

- another blog is poetry themed, and she ofc reblogs all of Daisy's blackout poems

- reblogs a lot of those gif stimboards (visual stimmer fr fr)

- LOVES the haiku bot

George's blog: beetles-and-boatles

- posts a lot about the Mary Celeste which are half detailed research posts and the other half is just 'the mystery of the Mary Celeste lives in my head rent free'

- may also post about other unsolved mysteries too

- made one joke post about Daisy acting like he didn't know her and posting 'ok so in December the Guardian says this girl died after a cult member threw her overboard a boat in Egypt and yet the BBC had an article last week reporting how she was at her father's funeral??? I have Questions'

- however it blew up and now Daisy Wells is lowkey an unsolved mystery tumblr superstar. George finds this hilarious

- also posts pictures of his pet beetles and infodumps about them

- very very very occasionally makes an incredible vague post about his crush like 'he adjusted my school tie and I leant into his hand,,, having a crush is horrific'

Alex's blog: spaceistrans

- says he doesn't have a doctor who blog but so clearly has a doctor who blog

- has doctor who quote "In 900 years of time and space, I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important" as his header

- draws a lot of cute little pride icons, especially aromantic ones that are fairly popular

- also posts a lot about space like "there's an eclipse today!!!" and then he makes a post of the times in different countries you can see it

- reblogs all of George's unsolved mystery researched posts with super supportive tags like #this is so well researched!!!

- has a scheduled post each month that just says 'fuck you mom' (Daisy spam reblogs this every time it shows up on her dash)

- reblogs a lot of dw fanart and gif stimboards

[crystalelemental]

Shifting gears, there is another game I finished playing a few weeks ago actually. I didn't talk about it because at the time, my intent was to complete the other routes and then discuss in more depth. That is not happening. Game's long, I needed a break, we're talking about just the one I did.

Shin Megami Tensei V Vengeance! I have...a complicated history with this particular series. It's short history, but still complicated. A high school friend I hope to never see again was super into it, and convinced me to give it a try when the newest one, SMT4, came out. I hated it. I can't even tell you all the reasons I hated it because I barely remember anything about it. Could not name a character, could not tell you anything about the story. I do remember feeling like the difficulty was bullshit, and being mad that cool monster designs had to go away because early demons don't keep up anymore, but the point is I have not looked favorably upon it.

"So why they hell did you buy another one?" This is going to sound insane, but I was playing Digimon Cyber Sleuth/Hacker's Memory and some of the setup and structure pinged as like...oh man, this is how I was supposed to approach that old SMT game. I bet I could play those and be good at them now! I also kinda blame @sinisteapot for posting a gifset of Agrat around that time. I know what I'm about. So I decided hey, if I find a copy, I'll give it a shot. And wouldn't you know it, games were actually in stock at GameStop for once. Sometimes miracles do happen.

I actually asked sinisteapot about the game prior to buying, and was told that it's mostly running around the desert listening to really good music, and kinda went "Okay, so it's a bit open ended like." What I was not ready for was 90 hours of a single route because I kept fucking around in the desert listening to really good music. Seriously, have you heard this shit? I think I spent two days worth of hour-long commute to and from work with just this one on repeat after reaching this zone. The music is very good.

Plot and character-wise, I actually had a pretty good time. I don't have a ton to say, in part because I only did one route out of apparently six, but I do like the characters we meet. Tao is my girl, I find her absolutely fascinating. Yoko's fun and honestly the funniest character in the game, always a treat when I jokingly say "kill them" when talking about there only being one way to deal with bullies and that's exactly what the character says. I actually find Dazai interesting despite him being kind of a piece of shit? Like, I had pegged Atsuta as the one about to go off the deep end about needing to be strong above all else, only for Dazai to be the one to snap about power being justice and whatever. Did not expect it to be him right away but the progression tracks.

For context, the route I cleared was Canon of Vengeance Law. It works out pretty neat for the most part. I really liked what the game was doing all through the Qadistu sequences. My wife played Canon of Creation instead, and honestly a lot of the sections feel hollow without their presence, it's just not quite as fulfilling? That said, I feel like the final area kinda drops off a bit. It's less interesting without the Qadistu, we kinda backpedal into the Lucifer stuff despite him not being present or significant at all for the game thus far, we kinda lose track of Mastema despite him being set up as a problem, and they killed Nuwa off-screen which is bullshit. I do like that the decision between Tao and Yoko at the end is made for you based on all your decisions to that point, and I greatly appreciate that the two of them stand completely opposed without it being like...I don't know the word I want to use here, but it's nice that they like each other as people. They're not just constantly antagonistic and awful and you have to pick the waifu or whatever. You're kinda just around while they have their clash of ideals. Which is nice.

But forget that nerd shit! It's time to finally answer the question of whether all these years have made me good at SMT!

No. They did not. I turned the difficulty down to Easy at the Namaah/Glasya-Labolas fight in Tokyo. I couldn't do it. I think I could now, but I couldn't at the time. I do have a bit more familiarity with its game, and I think I can talk intelligently about it, but...I am not good at it. I actually couldn't beat the superboss of the menorah quest. I couldn't do it. Like, could not. I tried and just got my shit blasted repeatedly. I have one idea, but...I'm not about to do it.

Anyway! The Press Turn system is neat. Each party member gets one action, but you gain more actions by striking an enemy weakness or landing a critical hit. Press Turns work by setting up your four blue circles. Getting an extra turn makes one flash, while not landing one consumes the left-most circle, flashing or otherwise. What means means is, your first and third slot need to land those conditions to get the full 8 turns, the other two can be more support-centric. As a result, I had my Nahobino set up with elemental coverage, and a third demon who did basically the same for most of the game. Agrat wound up my second slot because she can crit magic and hits 12 times with her signature move, which is great odds for another action, while my fourth was the sort of pure support.

However, you can also lose turns! When you miss, or an enemy negates an element, you lose not just your action turn, but another turn as well. If the enemy reflects or absorbs, you lose your entire round. I really like this system, because it makes AoE magic a serious consideration. There are several bosses and considerations where you want the AoE effect to hit the multiple targets in tandem, but there are several situations where you might aim for a weakness in a cluster, hit the AoE, only to find one enemy can negate it. The negation takes priority. Which means AoE, unlike most games where the AoE is a straight improvement over single-target, this game actually makes both valuable. Meanwhile, missing is absolutely devastating, and it makes the buff/debuff to both Accuracy and Evasion as a single stat incredibly powerful. This might be the only time I don't completely hate evasion mechanics in a game, because there's a sense of cost/benefit, and means of mitigating those detriments.

For most of the game, elemental damage felt ideal. Almost everything has a weakness, and as long as you're willing to use Spyglass to reveal the full enemy profile, you'll be fine. In fact, using items is hugely important here. Spyglass also reveals their attacks, so you can change up your party to not be weak to the elements they're throwing around. With the right spread, you can go from getting stomped to completely blasting the boss away. With the ability to apply another demon's traits to your own, you can really get crafty with your approach.

But. The last like two or three hours feel like the game suddenly pivots on a dime, into situations where enemies are immune to basically everything. And now your intended solution is Almighty damage. Which...generally fine? I guess? But truth be told, it feels like late-game Nahobino wants to go Strength. Your best Almighty attack is a high crit Strength-based attack. While your best magic move is great and pierces so no one can steal your turns, that means a lot less when you can't crit with it or strike a weakness. So you really shift into wanting to crit all the time, and the entire spread of skills feels like it needs reworked. I also got to learn that 99 is apparently not the stat cap. So my decision to evenly spread my stats was, in fact, ill-advised. Oops? You can adjust your stat allocations, and this combined with another full playthrough to get High Almighty Pleiroma again was my solution to that superboss, but it feels like more than I want to deal with.

I also feel like it's a bit mean to have the shop never sell MP recovery items. Maybe this is skill issue, but I feel like I am constantly running out of MP at every boss fight, even easier ones that we had no trouble with. My damage output was just never impressive at any point. Maybe I set myself up wrong, I honestly don't know. I think the fact this game is pretty open-ended and lets you explore a lot is the only reason I can beat it. You get a lot of these...magatama things, that will drop money, glory, or instant level items for you or your demons, and I got...quite a few for me. So I was at least a little overleveled the entire game, because I'd get all those resources and be really insistent on completing the demon compendium. But hey, at least I can over-level to solve a problem? I appreciate it. Though I like to think by the end I had it; I beat Shiva's optional quest like 8 levels below him, that has to count for something, right?

As for the demons...okay, look. I am still a bit sad about how they fall off. I attached really hard to demons like Mermaid and Muu Shuwuu, and they just...cannot keep up forever. Which is lame. I did always find someone new, and at least by Agrat I could just Grimoire her to keep up. But it is at least slightly frustrating to me that many of my favorites are like...temporarily good and then need to be fused off. I also don't love that there are "accident-specific" fusions that are completely random. I couldn't get a single one despite my best efforts. My compendium will never be finished.

The broad takeaway is that I actually had a lot of fun. This is a really interesting game that I...wish I had more to say about? I dunno, it's weird. I like it, I had a good time, but I struggle to find anything particularly clever to say about it? Maybe that's fine. I'm overthinking things again. Good game, fun time.

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Wednesday, September 25

Another student hands Buffy another flier. GIRL: Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal savior? BUFFY: Uh, you know I meant to and then I just got really busy.

~~The Freshman~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

BtVS Double Drabble: Overworked by badly_knitted (Buffy, Willow, Xander, PG)

Head over Feet by Rippertish (Buffy/Giles, T)

[Chaptered Fiction]

I'll Get You, My Pretty... - Ch. 1-5 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, M) COMPLETE!

Hello, Darling - Ch. 9 by Spikelover4ever (Buffy/Spike, M) COMPLETE!

Omission - ch. 16 by toutes_les_routes (Riley/Spike, Buffy/Riley, E)

Book Stew! - ch. 8 by MGAllan (Michael from Gingerbread/Lance from The Pack, G)

You Can Keep All The Rest, Buffy Summers, She's Ours (Eventually) - ch. 3 by Anne_Hathagay (Buffy/Willow, Willow/Tara, Buffy/Tara, E)

Slayer No More - ch. 24 by jsaint34 (Buffy/Oliver Pike, Vamp Willow/Vamp Xander, M)

Infinitely - ch. 71 by Laragh (Willow/Tara, M)

Should I stay or should I go? (Part one) by prose-for-hire (Spike/reader, unrated)

Soul Mate Magic - Chapter Six by emma-m-black (Giles/OC, M)

Unholy Matrimony - ch. 3 by CheekyKitten (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

Out of this World, love... - ch. 11 by Miss Kitty (Buffy/Spike, PG-13) French, COMPLETE!

Heart of Stone by Claire (Buffy/Spike, G)

A Sword in the Man - ch. 5 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, PG-13)

Champion Of War - ch. 4 by Desicat (Buffy/Spike, NC-17)

[Images, Audio & Video]

Meme: [Textposts] (Buffy/Spike, worksafe) by paperpuzzles

Meme: RUPERT GILES + text posts (Giles, worksafe) by clarkgriffon

Cartoon: Paul Gadzikowski's The Hero of Three Faces by paulgadzikowski (Angel, worksafe)

Artwork: She's Finished Now by quartersety-of-a-holsety (Willow, worksafe)

Artwork: Hyper fixated on Spike from btvs awhile ago and finally finished this drawing! by wtv-my-current-hyperfixation (Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: Drew some of my OTPS... by doesimmons (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: [also episode review] Buffy, the vampire slayer: Bewitched, bothered and bewildered by onedrawsoverthecuckoosnest (Cordelia, worksafe)

Artwork: [also fic rec] Burdens to Blessings: by SlayrGrl recced and artwork by o-cm-draw-o (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: Drew our Slayer, Buffy Summers by verytoastyghost (Buffy, worksafe)

Collage: Collage #175 by thedecadentraven (Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: Supernatural 1.11 // Buffy the Vampire Slayer 2.22 by wozardofiz (Buffy, worksafe)

Gifset: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 2.10 | 9-1-1: 6.12 by sophsun1 (Buffy, Giles, worksafe)

3D artwork: Faith Lehane as a Ghost Angel by jade-frankenstein (Faith, worksafe)

3D artwork: Buffy Summers as a Vampire by jade-frankenstein (Buffy, worksafe)

Fanvid: Stick Season - Xander & Anya (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) by TheOverLookedOne (Xander/Anya)

[done in copics] by Lee Xopher (@leexopher) (Buffy, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Prophecy Girl, S01E12 by ravenya003

The Initiative and Pangs by mothmans-wedding-photographer

PODCAST: Episode 75: A New Man (w/ Katie Kaisershot) by Gym Was Cancelled: A Buffy Podcast

[Recs & In Search Of]

Fic rec: [Buffy/Spike, M] Close to Home by Sigyn recced by flowspuffy

Video recs:Angel/Cordelia vid by Billy Grayson and Buffy/Spike vid by Crista Grym - both recced by apachefirecat

Video recs: Angel/Cordelia videos by Love Bites recced by vampandvisiongirl

Spuffy fic recs: Fic recs in tags and replies: please drop your fav Spuffy fics so I can distract myself. by spuffybot

ISO: Particular-Employ326 seeks fanfic recs for pro Cordelia AU of Angel Season 4

[Community Announcements]

LONELY PROMPTS WEEK :: 25 SEPTEMBER § DAY 3 by comment_fic

LONELY PROMPTS WEEK :: 26 SEPTEMBER § DAY 4 by comment_fic

EVENT: Elysian Fields Anniversary Event Details!!! by elysianfieldsarchive

EVENT: [all fandoms] HALLOWEEn HEXATHLoN 2024 👻 October 26-31th by witchesnet

First Bingo: We have our first full BINGO!! Big congratulations to: Melon by Harlow by Fanged Four Family Bingo 2024

PROMPT: Angel has a human descendant by BuffyverseKinkmeme

PROMPT: Holden Webster, vampire therapist by BuffyverseKinkmeme

PROMPT: Spike/Riley, Surviving by BuffyverseKinkmeme

[Fandom Discussions]

What If: There was no Eve? by nightshade and November

BUFFY FANDOM I WOULD LIKE TO ASK A QUESTION. [S1 new viewer] Giles is hot, right? by valhallavalkyrie9

I just started watching "Angel" (Angel the series), and now I wonder how a soul works. by trealtox

You know, technically, Spike never actually said that he and Angel were intimate only once. by thequeenofsastiel

they [Angel and Lindsey] should've had massive spuffy-style house-destroying... by soupforsoup

buffy is literally the show ever it has schlocky horror and funny looking puppets and ... by pinesorneedles

cordelia telling angel he should smile more by dykemarcille and inquiryminded

From s06E11 Gone XANDER, "Still trying to mack on Buffy? Wake up already. Never gonna happen!" by desicat-writer

I love that when Angel knew Spike was about to be [in ATS S5] by thequeenofsastiel

Honestly for me the most heartbreaking part of Fred and Wesley's story .... by thequeenofsastiel

[can't believe how many details i forgot, doing a ATS rewatch now...] by paarthursass

[Buffy and Faith becoming cops in the comics] by oveliagirlhaditright

i think jane espenson is my favorite writer on buffy... by lesbianmarrow

the only reason anyone would willingly choose to live in sunnydale... by comradesummers

when the hero falls in love with the villain she is falling in love with the darkest parts of herself... by atlasshrugd

POLL: Who is the better whumpee? [Spike or Angel] by just-a-little-whump

POLL: is she autistic? [Anya] by is-your-blorbo-neurodivergent

POLL: AO3 Femslash Top 100: Round 5 [Tara/Willow vs Warrior Nun couple] by ao3femslashtop100-tournament

POLL: AO3 Femslash Top 100: Round 5 [Buffy/Faith vs Killing Eve couple] by ao3femslashtop100-tournament

Faith's turning to evil is just a metaphor for addiction? by debujandobirds

I've just rewatched I Will Remember You and forgot how heartbreaking it is (Angel 4x08 spoilers) by atomic_mermaid

Iyari Limon is gorgeous as Kennedy [and Kennedy talk] by raccoon_smh

[zombie apocalypse team roles] by Historical-Capital43

Omg it took me a second to recognize Emma! [Emma in new show Agatha All Along] by ronsip101

Forever thankful that Buffy wasn't a "not like other girls" type character by New_Mycologist_3002

Dawn stunt double by Far-Pin9382

Angel’s funniest episodes? by entitledtwit

Harmony’s disposition in [ATS] season 5 by DevilManRay

I’m actually a little annoyed about Knox by DevilManRay

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[petrichoraline]

girl you're stressing me out because of how stressed out You sound!!! take it easy, watching a show or reblogging gifsets is not a job or anything breathe pls

imagine how tired we are..imagine how tired we are!!

lmaoo I am fine but it's been a thing on this blog to complain about it for like..so long. like for over a year now so i don't really think of it as something people would stress about, I just kinda assume it's a me thing that people are aware of and when I make the occasional post of this nature it's just "oh she's at it again" hahah

the only reason I'm so comfortable complaining about it is because I know for a fact other people have gone through it and it's just not fun. the fear of missing out can get a bit too overwhelming when all your mutuals are watching the latest releases and making long-ass analyses and pretty sets as soon as the episodes drop and that fomo comes on top of the natural wish to keep up with the thing you actually enjoy watching. there is also the stress people who write said analyses and create said gifs can go through which is separate from the casual fan's and that stems from the fact most interactions happen within hours of the release so you can feel pressured to put your posts out asap so they actually get some attention. not everyone goes through this but many, myself included, do.

posting on here and talking to other fans is very fun and it can make my day and in order to do that I have to be at least a bit up to date with current shows and post about them which is one of the reasons having things pile up is stressful - the amount of things to watch gets real overwhelming real quick when the list is longer. not to mention its a bit hard to enjoy something when you know you have a bunch of other things waiting in line.

i also have sets ive taken as requests which is why i stress about them not being ready. and i stress about asks because they're anonymous and idk if the person /people who sent them will get the response at all.

ive been through this before, I had burnout so bad I didn't want to watch or do anything for months, that's why I try not to take it too seriously, i even stopped participating in tag games (another source of big discomfort because I love them and I want to thank everyone who includes me but I let them pile up) because i am just like this, I stress by myself easily about things others find silly and i work on it by myself too.. I know it's not a job and I don't treat it like one cause yall are not paying for my danmei novels but i don't like leaving things undone, it's the pea under all the mattresses that keeps me up lol

[dyed-red]

Your Dean meta re: Hollywood Babylon is also something that we see when Sam and Dean are in prison. Dean’s happy to integrate and socialize (though there’s no real project in sight except the accumulation of cigarettes lol). Happy (belated) Birthday to our social king, DW! 👑 & Happy Wincest Wednesday to you! My on-theme q is: how and where do you think Dean learned his social skills given that the family was so insular?

so clearly this ask is from january and referencing my tags on this post, sorry i took a million years to get back to it!

for interested parties, the context is that it's a gifset of how much dean seems to be enjoying himself being a film crew PA in the episode Hollywood Babylon, and the tags are all about how he enjoys teamwork and community.

and to your question -- i think it's a function of a few things, but most critically, dean's family wasn't so insular. not at the times he was learning these formative social skills.

dean was raised pretty 'normal' until four and a half or so, and in that early development period, would have probably had play-dates with other toddlers and kids, maybe would have gone to a daycare sometimes or a day home, been babysat with other kids, might have started pre-school.

he also was in the regular school system, not home-schooled, so would have had habitual interaction with kids his age. we also know that he and sam had babysitters and such growing up, probably especially in those early years, and that might have meant being around people his age and probably a whole slew of ages. all of which is conducive to developing decent social skills.

dean also has a strong emotional intelligence and he intuitively understands people. sam does as well, although they use their emotional intelligence in different ways. but the ability to read people's emotions means that dean is able to observe patterns for how they respond to each other and adjust his social approach accordingly through trial and error learning. dean's smart, he's not the type to make the same mistake twice, so he'd figure out quick how to charm people and to get what he wants.

which - he'd have had to learn. cajoling teachers and caretakers and all the rest into a sense of security to protect his family's secrets is something that was pretty important. looking after his little brother was pretty integral. learning to manage his father's moods was unfortunately a critical skill he developed as well.

he also would have learned through the media he consumed, at least implicitly. how the guy gets the girl by being charming and confident, so that he could act it even if he didn't feel it. how the innocent act works. how to look tough when he doesn't feel it. dean loves westerns (and scooby-doo and horrors and plenty more), and there are a lot of social scripts to be gleaned in media.

interestingly i think dean's seeming arrested development in some areas is actually arrested at points of early teen and early adult development, rather than early childhood development. he's got the ability to work with others as a team and get along and charm people and all the rest, he's got the independence from the middle childhood period down pat, but he struggles with the social separation of self from family that tends to happen as we shift our reference groups from family/parents to peers in our preteen and into our teenage years. the way he seeks approval from his father and from father figures and authorities speaks to a youth he doesn't have, never had, but this takes him a long time into adulthood to start moving past.

that is where his social immaturity looms the largest. that and his inability to be vulnerable and authentic but that's a pretty reasonable survival tactic in his life and another lesson he would have missed in the transition into early adulthood. i.e., when he was too busy being a parent to a preteen brother to work on his own shit.

(i resist the parentification of dean to some extent because i feel like people take it too far, but i think it's somewhat fair to assume that when dean hit his preteen and teen years, john probably felt comfortable being gone for longer and longer periods, because there was someone old enough to look after the younger kid. like i don't believe john would ditch the boys for weeks when sam was 4 and dean was 8, but we know he'd ditch them for days if not weeks when sam was 8 and dean was 12, over xmas no less, so i think dean's social development really stalled in his teen years into scripts and patterns and inauthenticity then, because that's all he had the resources to learn and it worked mostly well to very well. )

(and then as he ages we get glimpses of him learning/yearning for that social experience he was denied, like working as part of a crew of peers or fitting in with a larger group. and all people need that to some extent and it's healthy to fulfill our belonging needs, but we see dean especially enjoy it because it was missed, for him, so it's a deeper itch he's scratching. he's awkward about it and resistant because it's uncomfortable, but once there he's in his element and it feels good.)

[lynne-monstr]

hi blog, here we are on the last day of the year. I guess it's time for the obligatory reflect-and-look forward rambling.

the good: i accomplished some big goals this year.

top of the list was finally renovating my apartment. i am so much happier every day living in a space I like. it was also terrifying because (other than the down payment on my apartment) it's the most money I've ever spent on something. but I finally did it and I'm proud

long fic! not only did I finish posting de-aged ywz this year (my longest ever fic!!) but I also finished off my old shadowhunters case fic AND wrote another long not-a-ghost fic! a good year for long fic, and I'm so pleased about it

I was able to fly home many times this year to see my new nephew

read a lot of good books

the not-so-good: mostly in relation to my job. I am constantly torn about whether I should leave and go somewhere that pays better. but on the other hand, I (usually) have a pretty good gig where I work remotely and don't work much more than 40 hours a week. those perks are worth it but this year was rough and stressful and I need to decide whether this job still works for me.

goals for next year:

keep writing. maybe finish up a bunch of my wips that have been languishing

write some filthy porn

get back into making gifsets

I've fallen off the wagon with my investments so I need to tidy up my brokerage account and invest more. I hate doing it but a girl's gotta retire someday

travel more. I miss traveling

I hope 2023 is kind to all of us! 💙

[anime-to-the-t]

Hey I recently finished watching casshern sins after you reblogged that gifset the other day, and it was pretty enjoyable! lots of wonderful environments. anyway i was wondering what were some other shows you feel are underrated? Hope you're having a good day ^^

I'm glad you liked it! I feel like there are a lot of Mech anime that are under rated. Code Geass used to be more popular but these days its not really, same with Ghost in the Shell. Then another that practically no one has heard of is Sky Girls, which is one I remember enjoying a lot back when I was younger.

[kmze]

Your fav music moment on tvd,if any?

There was one that I always found intriguing.In 6×14,when caroline was ,rambling to Stefan, about all the books her mom wouldn't be able to finish reading before she died & Stefan said he was happy to take the responsibility because he had probably read all the books(Brag!),the song playing in the background was Sweet Ophelia by Zella Day.This song is about loss of innocence and compares it with Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet.Zella has said that she wrote it when she felt betrayed by the guy she lost her virginity to.What do think this meant for Stefan & Caroline's relationship?

This is the part they played on the show 👇🏿

Believe me now,you're too young,girl

Cherry Pie with your gold curls

Growin' up like a grapevine

Wrapped around you in due time

Oh-ah, oh-ah

Oh-ah, oh-ah

Oh-ah, oh-ah

Oh-ah, oh-ah

Sweet Ophelia

When young blood escapes

Vows that break

Go up, up away

Sweet Ophelia

When young blood escapes

Vows that break

Go up, up away

Up, up away

Up, up away

Great questions Anon!

My favorite musical moment is Steroline's reunion kiss in 7x22 with Aquilo's Silhouette playing, I even made a gifset back in the day as to why! The 7x22 kiss mirrors their 6x14 kiss and I felt like the scene was filmed that way because it was basically saying that after all that shit they went through that season they still found their way back to one another and can go back to the start.

I can remember being nothing but fearless and young We've become echoes, but echoes, they fade away We've fallen to the dark as we dive under the waves

The first line describes them pretty perfectly as vampires and the next two lines are kind of about how they were separated for three years and they fell into the dark (aka Caroline hating him). And through all of that they still found their way back to each other because they always find their way back to each other and that's what these lyrics represented.

As if you don't remember As if you can forget It's only been a moment It's only been a lifetime But tonight you're a stranger Some silhouette

I especially love that it's called Silhouette because both kisses have that silhouette look to them, because when they kiss they become one some silhouette.

Oh that's really interesting about Zella Day's Compass I didn't know that! The connection to Hamlet seems really intentional too as foreshadowing especially if were looking at Caroline as Ophelia, these lyrics describe her well:

Believe me now, you're too young girl Cherry Pie with your gold curls

I think the connection comes from what happens to Caroline in the following episode because when Ophelia's father is murdered and Hamlet "rejects" her she goes mad and eventually kills herself. When Caroline's mother dies and Stefan "rejects" her she shuts off her humanity. It's also a really nice tie-in that Zella Day's Hypnotic is used in 6x17 I always love when they repeat an artist for Steroline like Aquilo, Lights & Motion and Amy Stroup.

I also think it was intentional that they talked about Jane Eyre in that scene (and I know LOL at Stefan he's so pretentious sometimes) because that foreshadowed what was going to happen with their no humanity arc. Here's the meta on it which is really interesting. Obviously it's not a complete retelling but I think it was intentional. Also this post talks about my Odyssey theory lol, and you know I read Circe by Madeline Miller (fantastic book btw) a few years ago and I've decided I stand by that theory (I was just wrong about the FF but whatever)! Plus since sirens were introduced the following season and Enzo used the Odyssey to clue Bonnie in on what was going on.

[gild-and-fire]

Nothing but Strawberries, Sue Zhao

[matan4il]

Buddie and clothes in 513

Right, I don’t usually write about clothes in my weekly Buddie meta posts. A part of it is that I think some choices are very meaningful on the show, and some might be random. Like name meanings, some are SO important (like Evan, from the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning ‘God has graced’, there is so much to unpack there! Or even his nickname ‘Buck’ bringing up the image of an animal with such formidable antlers that it can seem quite intimidating, but in reality most of the time it’s pretty docile, timid even. Still noble, and it’s worth acquiring its trust), but some aren’t (Carla, which comes from the Germanic word for ‘man’. I... don’t think 911 is trying to tell us Carla is secretly a man). Sometimes the clothes choices do strike me as VERY meaningful (like when we see Eddie wearing his nicest clothes for Buck in their flirtatious kitchen scene in 309). I thought 513 was one of those cases, however, I already crammed so much into my weekly meta for the ep, that I left out the topic of clothes.

But then the beautiful @mytherapybuddie​ and a lovely anon who signed their ask with “- forever screaming” asked me to write about this, so here we are.

TBH, the first thing that grabbed at my brain was Eddie’s shirt in the breakdown scene. Listen, I’m an army vet (service is mandatory here) and those specific shades of faded green are hardwired into my brain. This is def an army-colored T-shirt, possibly even an actual one left from his army days (I too still have some army clothes that can double as civilian ones and which I wear on occasion). So of course I noticed that!

And my first thought was the show really wants to give his army past presence in this scene. But as it continued to play out, I also thought back to a gifset I made showing Eddie self-hugging in moments when he needs comfort, but can’t ask for it. It’s such a clear gesture, because not only does Eddie cross his hands in front of him, he’s also hunched forward just a bit, almost like he's stopping himself from going into the fetal position. When I made the gifset, I already noticed the repeated use of these shades of green during the break up with Ana and the talk with Bobby, but the breakdown scene really brought it full circle. In all of these scenes, Eddie is wearing his psychological “armor”, that “tough guy” mentality his dad first drilled into him and the army later reinforced. This is the only way he’s been taught how to deal with emotional pain, so that’s what he’s clinging to.

But the presence of this same color in Eddie’s shirt during the breakdown is even more heartbreaking, because that makes it clear that the army isn’t just the place that provided Eddie with his “armor”, it’s also a big part of the reason why Eddie needs one. It’s a bit like that girl in a Swedish children’s book (not sure what they called her when they translated the book into English) where she puts a tin can over her head to protect it in case she falls. Of course because she can’t see where she’s going with a tin can over her head, she stumbles and falls. She sits up and takes off the tin can. “See?” She asks her friends triumphantly. “Who knows what would have happened to me if I hadn’t put it on?...”

Then another thing that really stood out to me about these three scenes is that in the first two, Eddie is self-hugging after the conversation is over. But during the breakdown scene? He first confesses to Buck what’s wrong with him, next he self-hugs, but then they talk. And by the time they’re done, Eddie’s hands are down, they’re not a barrier between him and the other person anymore, he’s open and raw and vulnerable, he’s cried in front of Buck, allowing him to see Eddie doing exactly what everyone taught him he must never do, not even when he’s alone. The complete trust here leaves me SHAKING (and the way it’s been A JOURNEY, as I said in the 513 meta. Eddie didn’t call Buck over, but Chris did. And Chris could do that because Eddie HAS trusted Buck with his kid, over and over again. Buck is there for him, because Eddie has chosen repeatedly to allow all three of them to become one family unit. Before the scene is over, that indirect trust through Chris becomes direct trust in Buck, because Eddie could have calmed down after his breakdown, he could have gotten upset over how Buck saw him, he could have kicked out his best friend and pretended none of this had happened. Which would have been more in line with what he was taught to do. But he doesn’t. He trusts Buck fully). And even though Eddie trusting Buck and talking to him has not yet resolved anything, it does have a healing quality all on its own and leaves Eddie, for the first time, being honest and not having to self-hug in the last shot of the ep.

How about Buck’s clothes? He comes into Eddie’s house wearing a combination of very vibrant red and dark blue.

These are two of the three basic colors, and as such, they clash dramatically. Shows are much more likely to dress characters in a bright, basic color together with a neutral one, like black, but instead here they chose to have Buck wearing these two conflicting colors. Why? Maybe to express his inner turmoil when he sees Eddie falling apart. I think Buck has always looked up to Eddie, it’s both why Buck in 201 was both so intimidated by him and, after just one compliment, so taken in by him. So I think this is a truly difficult moment for him as well, and he was probably understating it when he said that Chris wasn’t the only one who was scared.

But at the same time, I also thought that the contrast serves to make the red even brighter. Chris is also in a really bright color in this scene, specifically yellow, which is the third basic color.

That made me consider that maybe the show wanted to demonstrate how together, Buck and Chris complete each other in this scene. They both work together to help Eddie. The yellow choice for Chris also reminded me of the tsunami. He was literally this sunshine kid that cheered Buck up, especially in 302, and made him feel like things can get better even when the present appears grim. But then Chris and Buck both being in these colors also contrasts with Eddie, whose T-shirt is a very faded shade of green. Almost tired (interestingly, the clothes soldiers wear to battle are called ‘fatigues’, actually coming from the word for tiredness). Depressed people, who are struggling to hold on, drowning in their pain, are often shown in such muted colors (just think of Maddie in 512, for example). The vibrancy in Buck and Christopher’s clothes might mean they represent the appeal of life for Eddie in spite of everything, their call for him to try even when he’s so tired, to just keep swimming.

IDK, this is all from a very personal perspective, based on my wild associations. There are so many different, valid interpretations, my word is def not the Gospel Truth. But thank you so much for reading! And for any show of support, it’s always so appreciated. xoxox

(if it’s okay, I also wanna take a second to do a small shoutout to the sweet @judsonryder​, @evaneddie​, @aa-lionheart​​ and @buckleyirondad​​. You helped me with Photoshop and my confidence about using it, so I could edit some screencaps to add to this post. Thank you all for that! xoxox)

[assortedfruitsnacks212]

Index - Billy Hargrove

Fic Series

Lost Boy (post-S3 AU, angst, horror, found family, eventual Billy x El) - in progress

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

It's been over two months since the Battle of Starcourt. Billy Hargrove survived, but he's not sure he should have. Scarred in body and mind, he has no idea who he is anymore. He spends his days drinking and fighting until Neil, incensed by his son's behavior, throws him out of the house.

Hopper and El come to the rescue, taking Billy home to live with them. Their compassion is unnerving... and exactly what he needed. However, as he adjusts to his newfound "family," he realizes something isn't right. He still feels the Shadow's call, urging him to kill.

Little does he know the Shadow doesn't need him to obey. It has another piece on the board, waiting to strike.

Worship The Flame (post-S3 future AU, Billy x El angst, fluff, smut) - in progress

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

It's May 1989. After three years in California, Billy returns to Hawkins for Max's high school graduation. He thinks he'll find everything—and everyone—as he left them. Turns out time has moved on in Hawkins, too, and a certain "little girl" isn't so little anymore. Now that he's back, she's desperate to prove it to him.

Too bad he swore he'll never fall for her. And if he does, there's no way her police chief father won't find out.

Oneshots

Enemy Of My Enemy (Eddie & Billy as awkward allies, pre-S3)

Billy Hargrove's been one of Eddie's best customers all year. Today though, when he shows up to the clearing with a black eye and stitches, Eddie knows this drug deal's gonna be different.

Fuck ‘Em (Eddie & Billy friendship, short S4 fix-it)

In the aftermath of the battle against Vecna, Eddie has an awkward heart to heart with Billy Hargrove.

She Knows (Billy & El one-sided friendship, short post-S3 AU)

Eleven tries to talk to Billy after the events of S3. It doesn't go well. Alternatively: Billy is scared to death of a teenage girl.

Have Mercy (Billy in Russia AU)

He’s been in Kamchatka for weeks now. The Russians, it seems, find him endlessly fascinating. They’ve dragged him to that small underground arena so many times he’s lost count, setting forth challenge after challenge. Bend this. Break that. It’s getting repetitive and, honestly, pretty boring.

All of that changes when they issue a new challenge—one that tests his humanity instead of his strength.

Amerikanyetz (Hopper finds Billy in Russia AU)

In a secret bunker in Kamchatka, Hopper finds another American prisoner. Someone who shouldn't be alive.

To My Younger Self (Billy & Hopper friendship, post-S3 AU, short letter fic)

From an AU where Billy survives Starcourt with major PTSD.

After an especially difficult week, Billy finds something on the dash of his car: a plain envelope with the words "To Billy, from Hopper" scrawled on the outside.

My AO3

My Art On Etsy

strangerthings4theories (Billy-centric theory blog)

Bileven Meta

Why I ship Billy x El

Billy and El are mirror images of each other

The phone booth: El hears Billy’s call for help

El is coded autistic

I’m not a perv for shipping Bileven. You’re just an asshole

The way this fandom dehumanizes El really gets to me sometimes

"What does your 'strawberry ice cream' tag mean?"

Bileven Extras

This gifset from The Boys perfectly captures the Bileven dynamic

“El would love Billy like a sister!”—I'm about to start making fun of y'all 🙄 (thread fic)

A years-long fight (thread fic)

Top ten Bileven songs

Bileven playlists

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, March 2nd - Part Two - Not the Fiction

FAITH: Not getting tired are you? I'm just starting to feel it. Faith and Buffy fight some more. They fall together through a window, landing on a terrace. While Faith is recovering from the fall, Buffy handcuffs Faith's right wrist to Buffy's right wrist. Faith tries to pull away, but cannot. BUFFY: Stick around.

~~Graduation Day Part 1 ~~

[Images, Audio & Video]

Story banner: New Banner Art #14 by veronyxk84 (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Gifset: NO LONGER IS BUT ONE CHOSEN. THE POWER ITSELF BECOMES THE CHOSEN ONE… AND THE ONE WHO CHOOSES. by onegirlinallthewrld (Buffy, Kendra, Faith, worksafe (canon violence))

Gifset: AMBER BENSON as TARA MACLAY Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 4.16 "Who Are You?" by whaitsyourchildhoodtrauma (Tara, worksafe)

Gifset: 2.15 || 6.21 by detectivedawnsummers (Larry, Oz, Willow, worksafe)

Gifset: Stick around! by bocadelinfierno (Buffy/Faith, worksafe)

Gifset: someone asked me to describe home... by andremichaux (Buffy/Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: Spicy by isevery0nehereverystoned (Spike, worksafe-ish)

Artwork: Spikesperimenting by isevery0nehereverystoned (Spike, worksafe)

Artwork: newsprint study assignment: heads at front view by final-queer (Buffy, worksafe)

Artwork: Flat color commission... Promoting the idea of another crossover: RWBY and Buffy the Vampire Slayer! by rainbow-zebra-art (Buffy, worksafe)

Manip: It's A Rom-Com! - Ch. 2 by all choseny (Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

Manip: It's A Rom-Com! - Ch. 2-3 by all choseny (Buffy/Spike, Buffy/Angel, worksafe)

[Reviews & Recaps]

what would you say are some opinions of yours that have changed with your last rewatch? answered by sulietsexual

In Reptile Boy, once again the Angel relationship takes a step forward... by inconsistentlywrittensoul

Continuing on my Buffy book kick, I just finished Paleo. Set in season 3... by deep-aural-fixation

WTF!!! [ATS 4x08 Habeas Corpses reaction] by _morethana

PODCAST: 1.9 The Puppet Show by Once More: A Rewatch Podcast

[Recs & In Search Of]

Collection of Spuffy fic recs: Theme: Early Seasons. Our current features are set before the heavy angst began. featured fics by elysianfieldsarchive

[Fandom Discussions]

What if the show starred Faith, not Buffy by Illyrian

What If: Faith had arrived instead of Kendra by nightshade and others

31 Days of Buffy started by nightshade

Which Characters Deserved More Screen Time - Or Less Screen Time? by hoponlilmama

The hardest part about S6-7 is...missing S1-5 Buffy Summers by primal_slayer

Do angels (the species) exist in the Buffyverse ? by Witty-Lime631

Psychic Hunter [why do we never see pure Psychics] by Mika95

What scene solidified a character as your favorite? by PristineSituation498

What’s your darkest Buffy headcanon? by Eagles56

What's Dawn's Birthday? by SecretlyASummers

How Buffy Inspired Me to Write Again by cjinbarrie

Am I the Only One who thinks it's wierd Spike and Angel don't use boxing that much? by novavegasxiii

Did Dawn ever have it out with Willow? by Unable_Earth5914

Do you think they changed Buffy's character a little bit to make the good girl bad girl contrast with Faith? by debujandobirds

Questioning the logic of the rules The Wish. by bkern2

Which character's growth/development is underrated, and which character's is overrated? by PristineSituation498

“I saw a dummy, it gave me the wig — there really wasn’t a story there.” [The Puppet Show] by jm_leviathan

What was the point of the Anointed One? by SaintedStars

Buffy beating up __ is pretty bad [Spike] by Eagles56

Bad lines with good deliveries? by SafiraAshai

Gunn's introduction is legendary. by Cicada_5

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

Producers Guild of America (PGA) Awards: [BTVS Executive Producer] Gail Berman accepts the Norman Lear Achievement Award from SMG via redditor Excellent-Durian-509

People Magazine: Emma Caulfield Ford [Anya] Shares Multiple Sclerosis Journey via dontkillspike

Submit a link to be included in the newsletter!

Join the editor team :)

[lilacerull0]

🌻Amy Pond Unrelated Media Universe🌻: The Official Masterpost

This one is for the time travelers!!!! I'm putting this madness together in celebration of these wonderful people: @leavethepastouttopasture @jonismitchell @mikaelson @robarazziofficial who are always welcome to submit their ideas/posts (though you are all making my days so much brighter just by being here) I intend to track down and archive every Amy Pond cameo that graced art history here (the girl is time travelling and chatting with Emily Brontë right now, as we blog) Here's what I've got so far! (my vortex manipulator is kinda rusty which means that I am meant to update this frequently) *more under the cut*

So far Amy Pond has been spotted in:

🔮Poetry🔮

1. Mad Girl's Love Song - Sylvia Plath; The Stolen Child - W. B. Yeats; Ophelia - Arthur Rimbaud

2. The Window - H.P. Lovecraft (bonus)

📝Prose📝

1.) Wuthering Heights (Emily Brontë):

First, a scrapbook of thoughts: part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4; part 5

A series of museum exhibitions (the artist: @leavethepastouttopasture): part 1; part 2; part 3

Movie screens (the director: @mikaelson): a gifset, a short film

2.) Eva Luna - Isabel Allende

3.) Coraline - Neil Gaiman: part 1; part 2; part 3

4.) The Shining - Stephen King: part 1; part 2; part 3 (references to The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson)

5.) The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson: part 1; part 2; part 3

6.) Dracula - Bram Stoker: part 1; part 2

7.) The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath (+ Cassandra Cameo)

8.) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

+ Amy's Bookish Life Insights (her potential reading list that is, by @jonismitchell)

🎸Music🎸

Amelia Jean - Jack's Mannequin

Summertime - My Chemical Romance

Florence Welch

The Bomb - Florence Welch: visual

South London Forever - Florence Welch: visual

The Fog - Kate Bush + some ideas

Amy Pond meets Pretty. Odd. (Panic! at the Disco) 1) 2)

Hallelujah - Panic! at the Disco

When The Day Met The Night - Panic! at the Disco

HOUSE OF MEMORIES - Panic! at the Disco

Burning Down The House - Talking Heads

Garden Song - Phoebe Bridgers

Amy Pond + The Album That Never Was (Cricket & Clover - Panic! at the Disco)

One: Amy Pond: The Concert (playlist by @jonismitchell)

Two: Amy Pond: The Concert (playlist by yours truly + visuals to accompany the experience)

Three: Amy Pond: World Tour (playlist by @mikaelson)

Amy Pond + Songs/Spotify Inspired

📜Mythology📜

Cassandra (Greek Mythology): part 1; part 2; part 3; part 4; part 5; part 6; part 7; part 8

Helen of Troy/Cassandra (Greek Mythology)

Pandora's Box (Greek Mythology)

Elektra, Introduction by Anne Carson

🌻Paintings🌻

Another Exhibition!

J. W. Waterhouse's (+ J. Everett Millais) Ophelias (you know Billy Shakes ;)

Art History Textbook + Wuthering Heights (yes. again)

💫The Ultimate Amy Pond Unrelated Media Post💫

[obsessivedilettante]

Just another twitter refugee wondering if it’s time to dust off an old forgotten friend or if social media is just... not happening for me. (Can you even give up social media in this day and age?)

I fell more and more into twitter the last few years because I lost my interest in most popculture-y things that would normally be an excuse to be here. Who cares about gifsets when you’re wondering how you’re going to make through each day. I even stopped watching kdramas. Gasp, the horror. 

Life was overwhelming to the point where consuming entertainment like it’s my job was just too much to handle.

I abandoned tumblr because I hated the mobile version. Twitter was easier to use on my phone. So I don’t know what’s going on here anymore. I don’t even know if I belong anymore. (Insert Mean Girl’s Damian gif, “She doesn’t even go here!”)

Twitter was easy because I didn’t have to participate or consume or check in except for a random few times a week. There are some great people on there that I could follow to keep abreast of the normal news, the things that didn’t make me even more exhausted, fearing for the future of my country or the world.

There was a small friendly niche that I’d lazily carved out years ago and it was nice to occasionally look into their lives and see that they were doing well, or struggling, or doing well after struggling. It kept me grounded, without requiring anything more from me than doomscrolling.

Nostalgia keeps calling, though. A simpler time, when social media wasn’t fully weaponized. When we could find likeminded people who share enjoyment of a thing, then yay, let’s be best friends now.

I don’t have any thoughts worth sharing. No one needs to know my opinion about tv shows I barely watch and remember even less. No one needs to know my thoughts on politics or geopolitical warfare. No one needs to know how furious I am about FIFA’s unscrupulous ways and that I refuse to watch the World Cup even though I really, really want to. And I’m not sure if I have the attention span to figure out what interests me these days, to find a new coterie of best friends. 

Hmmmm. This sounded way more dramatic and depressing than I meant it to be. Apparently my inner livejournal teen angst has been dying to be set free. I mean, my life is actually pretty good! I currently have the best job I’ve ever had in my life! I own a home! I am doing things with friends! Next year has a lot of exciting things going on and bucket list items will be checked off! Lots of things worth every exclamation point!

I just hate billionaires ruining the few things that keep me sane in these chaotic times.

[sidekick-hero]

"What is Mordor?"

So, @lengthofropes posted another gorgeous steddie gifset and I loved the idea so much, I had to run with it. Inspired by this post. (steddie, 2.5k, slightly nsfw)

„So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” Eddie doesn’t know her all that well, but he gets the feeling that the tone of sarcasm she is aiming for falls somewhat flat, the words not even close to carrying the necessary bite for it. She sounds rather tired, done. It’s been a long day for all of them.

Robin still seems to take her remark somewhat seriously. At least enough to add “If he even has a heart.” Which Eddie is doubting very much. If Vecna has a heart, it must be black and shriveled up like a prune. Ebenezer Scrouge in really fucking ugly.

Steve, bless his heart, gives his best to impersonate a golden retriever with his confused head-tilt and this goddamn yellow sweater, which looks so soft. Eddie’s hands itch with the urge to touch, to pet. Maybe even call him a good boy, Jesus Christ. He never had a thing for cluelessness before, but despite Eddies best efforts to not let it get to him, Steve Harrington is pushing buttons he didn’t even know he had. “A stake? Like a vamp? Is he a vampire?” Eddie wants to smack himself – or Steve – in the face. Good thing you’re pretty, Harrington.

Red must think the same, given the annoyed look she is shooting Steve. “It was a metaphor.” The Duh goes unspoken but very much heard. Eddie likes her.

“Bullets must work on him, right?” Even though he does not have much experience with killing – contrary to popular belief – he is pretty sure bullets are a bulletproof way to do so. Pun definitely intended.

Well, Lucas also has a point, when he suggests just chopping the bastard’s head off. Eddie likes the idea. Usually, he is not big on violence. Too many times he had been the punching bag. But for what he did to Chrissy, Vecna deserves to suffer. Pity Wheeler must choose this moment to come around with her stupid logic. What a killjoy.

“Yeah, I’d say all of the above, but we can’t do any of that ‘til we find a way into the Upside Down.”

Apparently, everything would be so much easier if they had the magical girl with her superpowers here. At which point his life had become a fucking Marvel Comic he can’t really say but he honestly regrets all the life choices that led him there. As much as he loves fantastical stories and adventures, he very much prefers them to stay in the make-believe realm of things, thank you very much. Also, what is up with Henderson, pacing like a caged animal? “Hey, uh, Henderson’s not, uh, cursed, is he?” Aiming the question at Steve, who is something like the closest thing to a Henderson expert he could find at short notice.

Steve looks slightly surprised at the thinly veiled worry in his voice. “Cursed? No, no. No. He’s fine.” And here he is, Eddie “The Freak” Munson. Being reassured about the well-being of one of the little shrimps he had taken under his wings by no other than King Steve himself. He wonders, not for the first time, how much stranger things could become. Steve carries on. “Mental? Absolutely.”

As if to prove him right, Dustin chooses exactly that moment to yell a resounding “BOOM!” that has them all turn around to him in shock. He then starts to spurt some semi-scientific spiels about compasses and magnetic fields and power sources. Eddie does not really try to keep up, had learned that Dustin enjoyed feeling superior and explaining things to them in a rather annoying know-it-all tone way too much anyway. What he does get is that Henderson has found a way to the Upside Down. The demonic underworld. Oh joy. And he wants them all to follow him there. Steve is not a fan of the idea, which is not so much a surprise in itself. His reasoning, however, somewhat is. “Hey, hey, hey, hey! Eddie’s still a wanted man. We can’t just go for a hike in the woods!” If Eddie didn’t know better, he’d say Harrington cares about his safety? Nah.

Dustin at least is convinced that killing Vecna is the key to saving both him and Max. And so, it is on Eddie to decide. Shit. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

 Smart little fucker, using the nickname to drive home what is at stake for Eddie here. And now everyone is staring at him. It really is on him. Whatever he says would decide their next steps. He has no idea how the others do it, how Harrington does it, because, according to Dustin he is usually the one running head-first into danger. They should ask him, not Eddie. He is no Aragorn, no Frodo. Certainly, no Samwise, the pilar of strength his friends need to fulfill their life-threatening mission. And yet, he knows what he must do.

“I say you’re asking me to follow you into Mordor, which, if I’m totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea.” Steve is looking at him, nodding encouragement in his direction. Eddie does not know why, if he doesn’t want all of them to go, or if he specifically doesn’t want Eddie to go but either way it is too late. Eddie had made up his mind. “But, uh, the Shire… the Shire is burning.” And with that he gets up from his crouch. “So, Mordor it is.”

Everyone seems to take this in stride, Dustin jumping up and down like they were heading for a great and fun adventure and not to their almost certain deaths. Well, everyone except Harrington, who does not look happy. At all. When Eddie looks him in the eyes, they clear a bit and the confused retriever-look returns. "What is Mordor?"

Was this guy for real? How is someone like Steve friends with a nerd like Henderson? Eddie’s sure he’s missing something here. “Jesus, Harrington.” He couldn’t help the disbelieve in his voice. “Didn’t you read Lord of the Rings in high school?” And maybe it’s mean of him to make it sound like Steve was a total idiot for not knowing lord of the rings but how often has someone like Eddie the chance to have one up on the most popular guy in Hawkins? He should have known it couldn’t last.

“Uh, no, I had sex in high school.”

Game, set and match. Because what is he supposed to say to that? Good for you? I know, I heard all about it? You’d still know what Mordor is if you had had sex with me? So, he says nothing, just gives Harrington a long, heavy look before purposefully striding over to Henderson, who is leading the way to their – he might have already mentioned it – almost certain death. And if he is thinking about Steve and sex and Steve having sex, then that is his business and his alone.

2 months later

They had not walked to their certain death. Well, Eddie had come pretty close, true. Too close for comfort, actually. But I told you so does not seem such an important thing to tell everyone when he is just glad to be alive and in one – if badly scared – piece. Something he has to thank Steve Harrington for. Harrington, who had carried his dying body back into their dimension and driven him to the hospital like the devil himself had been on his heels. Eddie does not remember much and thank God for that. But he remembers whiskey-colored eyes staring into his, begging him to stay, please with a look of such utter despair that Eddie was not sure if his lungs had not collapsed because breathing had been somewhat impossible then. He had blacked out mere seconds later.

They had managed to put him back together and to clear his name. They being some non-descript government puppets. He doesn’t really care one way or another. What he does care about is that everyone has made it out more or less okay. Red and him had taken the brunt of it, with Max having several broken bones and some severe damage to her eyesight. The doctors are still not sure whether her sight will ever be the same as before. But they are alive and awake and out of the hospital. That has to count for something.

What Eddie also cares about is that Steve “The Hair” Harrington has visited him every single day during his six week stay at the hospital. Sometimes he would come in the early morning before his shift at the Family Video store – still standing but mostly out of business while most of the city was still dealing with the aftermath of Vecna’s defeat. Other days, he would sneak in at night, Like a ninja, I told ya, and sit at Eddie’s bedside until Eddie could no longer fight the need for sleep. Steve would be gone when Eddie woke up, but the air would still carry his scent. Sandalwood and something earthy. It was the only proof that these nightly visits really happened, and on his not-so-good days Eddie would still doubt they were real sometimes.

The same way he would still doubt that Steve Harrington, wet dream of a considerable number of this city’s citizens, really did kiss him on the day he was finally allowed to leave the hospital. And that the same Steve Harrington had kissed him again when he had helped Eddie settle into the new trailer that he and his uncle had been issued by said government puppets. And then again the next morning, when they’d woken up together in Eddie’s bed, on his still stain-free-mattress, limbs tangled together, and morning breath forgotten.

Eddie wonders if he had in fact died that day in the Upside Down and this is the afterlife. Not necessarily what he would have expected. Nicer, in a way. Steve is really good at kissing, his lips so, so soft. And those noises. They are what makes him believe that this must be real – no way his brain could come up with something so sweet, so delicious as those noises Steve makes in the back of his throat or deep in his chest whenever Eddie so much as touches him in a certain way.

Like he’s doing just now, fingertips dancing over Steve’s throat; no real pressure behind them, more like an afterthought then any real intent. Still, the keening sound that leaves Steve’s lips is enough for Eddie to lose the script for a while, fingers pressing down firmer before his lips follows them.

He can’t help himself but use some teeth at the delicate skin over Steve’s Adam’s apple. Steve almost throws him off the bed as his hips shoot up, seeking pressure. His hands bury themselves in Eddie’s hair, his grip almost painful but oh so good. Eddie grins against his skin. “Someone likes a bit of pain with their pleasure, huh?”

Steve glares at him. “Shut up, Munson.” The effect is somewhat ruined when he honest to god whimpers as Eddie presses a hand to his groin, which jumps eagerly against his hand like a golden retriever greeting their Master. Such a good boy, he marvels.

“I don’t know if I like your tone, Stevie. You should be nicer to me if you want me to take care of this.” He grinds his hand down against Steve’s erection. Another one of these desperate noises.

“Please, Eddie, I’ll be good, I will be so good – just, please, please – “. More please spill from his lips as Eddie slithers down his body until his face is level with the considerable bulge in Steve’s jeans. He takes a second to press his whole face against it, relishing in the way Steve trashes and sobs and pleads with him to do something. Oh, I will do something, Stevie boy, he thinks.

His fingers work open the button of Steve’s jeans before his eyes find Steve’s. They shine wetly and his look is a bit wild, but the smile he gifts Eddie when their eyes meet is softer than it has any right to be. Eddie is almost sorry about what he is about to do. Almost.

He uses his teeth to draw down the zipper, never breaking eye contact. Steve’s head drops back onto the pillow as he lets out a soft, disbelieving Fuuuck. Eddie’s chuckle is quiet, almost inaudible. He’s so tempted to just go to town on Steve, make him see stars and hear him fall apart on his hands and mouth. But Eddie still has a score to settle.

Eddie takes Steve out, holding the length in hand and just looks at it for a moment. He sincerely hopes he gets another chance to play with it soon. He leans closer, lips almost touching the shiny wet head. Above him, Steve is holding his breath in anticipation, body unnaturally still as he waits for Eddie’s lips to close around him, to take him into the wet heat.

“You know, I just remembered I never really answered your question.” Eddie is so close to Steve’s raging hard on that when his breath hits it, it slightly jumps in his hand. He looks up at Steve, who gives him his best albeit slightly frustrated golden retriever look. “What question?” he asks when it becomes clear that Eddie is not planning on getting on with it sometime soon.

“You asked what Mordor is, silly. And I never explained it to you – which was rather neglectful of me, just leaving a curious mind in the dark like that. I hope you can forgive this rude behavior; it had been a long week, you know?” Steve stares at him with wide, unbelieving his eyes before dropping them down to where Eddie was still holding his neglected erection. “Anyway, Mordor. It’s actually a place, a bad place, hence the comparison to the Upside Down, and – “.

And so, Eddie starts to explain about Sauron and Isildur and the Rings of Power. He talks about Smeagol and Bilbo and Gandalf, his face never leaving Steve’s lap and his eyes never leaving Steve’s. Who is still staring at him, mouth slightly agape in utter disbelieve that this was really happening. After five minutes or so Steve utters “You got to be kidding me. Are you serious right now, dude?” and pushes his hips more firmly in Eddie’s direction. But Eddie would not let himself be deterred. He caries on, talks about the fellowship and elves until Steve has enough.

He grabs Eddie by his upper arms and hauls him upwards before flipping them, effectively pinning Eddie underneath him. Before Eddie even has a chance to come back from the shock, he has Steve’s tongue in mouth. The kiss is demanding, rough. Almost aggressive. The slight smile against his lips however is not. Between one stroke of his tongue and the next, Steve breathes into his mouth “I had that one coming, hadn’t I?”