#getting christmas out of the way so i can finally focus on whats REALLY interesting here

[fruitybashir]

two small chapter two teasers for the lovely people who follow me here hehehe ✌🏼

[tddyhyck]

what’s your fantasy? [ z.cl ]

pairings ⇢ chenle x afab!reader

word count ⇢ 2.9k

warnings ⇢ 18+, smut, pee/omorashi, established relationship, dom/sub dynamics, no foreplay, kink discussion, kink discovery, spanking, riding, unprotected sex/creampie, pet names (baby/puppy), foot fetish (mentioned), drinking

playlist ⇢ smoothie_nct dream / water_ten / water_tyla

masterlist

a/n ⇢ i wrote this in less than 24 hrs pls be kind 😭😭 also i think i might do a bonus/part 2 lemme know if you’re interested

you weren’t really sure when chenle started being more obsessed with your liquid intake, maybe a month ago or so? he’d always been the first to say you were dehydrated if you didn’t feel good. he would pour you a glass of water and pat your head waiting for you to down the glass. he’d call you a good puppy and have that smug little grin when you started to feel better.

but lately. lately he’s been almost trying to drown you. he’d bring you fancy juices to try or make cocktails for you after dinner. and you didn’t mind, you definitely didn’t mind being spoiled. maybe that’s all it was, a new way to spoil you.

chenle did know when it started. he could pinpoint the exact moment the switch flipped. it was almost 4 months ago since it happened and he felt crazy for being obsessed but he couldn’t help it.

it had been a long day of shopping for christmas gifts, spending way to much time on your feet carrying bags and boxes around. finally when you had both checked everything off your lists he decided to take you to a cocktail lounge somewhere you both could relax and unwind. he mainly went because you had been talking about trying this place out. he wasn’t planning on drinking and didn’t think you would get a drunk as you did but you were slurring and leaning on him as you walked to the car together that night.

it was windy and blowing your skirt up making you giggle as you leaned into him.

“hold m- hold my h-and,” you hiccuped holding your hand to him and he grabbed it while tightening his arm around your waist as you walked.

“i think you had a little too much, baby,” he sighed, opening the car door for you. you pouted up at him with hair in your eyes and something made his heart ache with how pretty you looked.

“nope i want you,” you slurred, poking his chest. “to make me a dirty martini.” you hiccuped but wagged your eyebrows as best you could.

“how about i make you an ice water,” he grinned as you got in the passenger seat. you pouted at him your legs were spread as the wind blew your skirt showing your panties. he raised an eyebrow as you groaned about wanting a martini before shutting the door and hurrying to the driver's seat.

when he got in you were still talking about the martini and doing a poor job of begging him to make one. he let you ramble as he started the car and pulled onto the street towards home.

“pleaseee - pretty extra please make me one,” you were grabbing his arm now.

“no can do, baby i’m making you a nice big crisp glass of water and you are going to drink it all for me,” he told you, coming to a stop light. suddenly this reminded you of the overwhelming need to pee.

“i need to pee,” you whined.

“can you hold it baby, we're almost home,” he said, eyeing you from his seat.

“gotta go so bad,” you whimpered, reaching your hand between your legs to cup yourself hoping to keep yourself from going. chenle had to pull his eyes away from you the desperation in your voice made him tingle for some reason. but he couldn’t focus on that, he needed to get you home. he heard you whispering to yourself that you could hold it, you could do it. your leg was bouncing and your left hand was gripping his arm, the nails digging in.

“it’s okay baby, we’re almost there,” he soothed, running his hand over your shaking leg. he hadn’t realized that he was practically speeding but he was already pulling into the parking deck finding the closest spot to the door. he got out quickly running to your side and helping you out before dragging you into the building. he hastily pressed the elevator button as if it would come faster. eventually it dinged and he rubbed your hand as the door closed.

“i can’t i can’t i can’t,” you moaned, bouncing beside him one hand between your legs. your knees were weak and you felt yourself squatting beside chenle while you pressed your legs tightly together.

“so close baby, just a little more,” he said, pulling you back up to stand just as the doors opened. you both ran down the hall and chenle typed in the passkey as fast as he could before pushing the door open. you barreled in kicking your heels off before running to the bathroom not even worrying to shut the door. but then just as relief washed over you, you realized your mistake.

“fuck no, fuck,” you whined, holding your skirt up as hot piss dripped out of your panties.

“you okay,” chenle said before stopping and staring. your wet eyes looked up at him tears of embarrassment slipped down your hot cheeks.

“shhh, it’s okay,” he walked over to you rubbing your back as you pressed your face against him. you were still peeing it felt hot pressed against you in your ruined panties.

“it’s so,” you sniffed. “embarrassing,” you cried into his stomach.

“it’s okay baby. it’s just you and me,” he said, petting your head before tilting your chin to him. “don’t cry.” he leaned down and kissed your forehead. you had finally stopped peeing and chenle helped you up and out of your soaked panties and with the rest of your clothes before getting you into the shower.

he let you shower before taking your soiled clothes to the laundry. he felt more embarrassed by the fact that he got hard while watching you pee and knowing you wet your panties made him even crazier. he didn’t let you know he had gotten off with the image of you holding your skirt up and filling your panties.

that was when it started for him.

he wasn’t really doing it on purpose. well he kinda sorta was. he liked spoiling you but spoiling you with the chance of you pissing yourself was a bonus. and you weren’t complaining about it so it was probably fine right? he definitely wasn’t telling you that was what he wanted he wasn’t even sure if you remembered, but it was all he thought about he’s fucked you in those same panties 10 fold imagining you filling them before he presses into you getting his cock warm and wet with every thrust.

you had wondered why he had been fucking you in your panties he normally wanted you completely bare for him. you didn’t mind it though you liked how animalistic it seemed, he couldn’t even wait for you to be naked before he ravaged you.

today wasn’t any different, chenle had come home with a new fruity drink for you to try. and you didn’t hesitate to gulp it down because it was undeniably delicious. he smirked at you across the bar as he stirred food in a pan, the straw in your mouth as you casually slurped the purple liquid.

“do you like it?”

“mhmm, so sweet,” he smiled down at the cutting board.

“why are you getting me so many drinks lately?” you asked with the straw between your teeth.

“i just see stuff and it makes me think of you,” he said nonchalantly.

“you’re just the cutest,” you sigh, looking at him dreamily and he rolled his eyes playfully.

“gotta keep you hydrated, baby.”

“unhuh,” you eyed him curiously as the last of your drink bubbled through the straw making you pout. he watched you at the sound.

“what,” he said, putting his hands up in surrender.

“are you sure that’s why?”

“why else would i be buying you a drink?”

“i dunno, you just look guilty.” you raised an eyebrow feigning seriousness. but somehow what you said made him feel guilty.

you didn’t dig any deep or tease him anymore, just watched him cook before setting the table and eating with him. you did eye the large glass of water he poured you along with a glass of wine.

that night you and chenle talked, sharing the last of the wine while you snuggled on the couch.

“what’s something you want me to do but you’re too shy to ask?” you looked at him before downing the rest of your wine before setting the glass on the table.

“you do everything i like and want. but i,” you sigh looking down.

“hmm” he questions.

“i like when you use your feet on me. i’m not saying i’m a foot obsessed person. but i just like the way it makes me feel powerless with you,” you started off strong but finished shyly.

“baby just say you want me to step on you,” he laughed lightly. you whined into his neck shaking your head.

“maybe a little,” you whisper.

“you’re so naughty,” he groaned, leaning his head back as his hand slid up your ass.

“what’s your fantasy? what can i do for you?” you asked, peeking up at him while you fiddled with the hem of his shirt. chenle gulped.

“don’t take this the wrong way. but i want you.” he paused.

“tell me i wanna do it,” you said eagerly. he leaned closer lips grazing your ear.

“pee on me,” he whispered. you gawked, taken aback by what he said. you were sure it would be something less, messy. but it almost made sense for him.

“is this why you’ve been getting me drinks,” you laugh.

“maybe,” he looks away. “but i like spoiling you too.”

“what made you want me to, you know.”

“do you remember when you almost pissed yourself a few months ago?” you groaned covering your face. “nuhuh.” he pulled your hand away and stared at you. “it was so hot you were so desperate and needy, fuck. just thinking about it.” he grabbed your hand bringing it over his already hard cock. you gasped before biting your lip looking up at him innocently.

“please,” he whispered to you.

“it’s so embarrassing.”

“i like it when you’re shy and embarrassed. such a pretty puppy.” he knew what he was doing using puppy to get you to cave. and you wanted to and now talking about pee made you realize how badly you needed to. so you were shifting on him before he pulled you onto his lap. you whined feeling his cock press into you.

“you need to stop wearing these flimsy little skirts,” he said, flipping up the material peeking at your dampening panties.

“and these cute little panties.” his fingers grazed the material and you knew he could feel the wetness because now he was smirking at you.

“you know you make it seem like you don’t want to but you’re so wet, puppy.” you whimpered, bringing your hands to cover your face but he pulled them away. one hand holding your wrist and the other gripping you hips.

“feel how hard you make me,” he moaned as he grinded against you, his hard cock pressing against his zipper. you stayed quiet but moved your hands to release him from his jeans. he watched and you delicately unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans before tenderly gripping his cock letting the head poke out of the waistband of his boxers.

“need you,” you whimper, your hand still fisting at his cock as precum beaded at the tip.

“how bad,” he asked, looking up at you curiously. his fingers teased along the hem of your panties and you wanted him to shove his hand in and touch you.

“so bad.” he smirks at you, fingers dragging down to graze your clothed clit, making you quiver.

“i know you need to go. been filling you up all night for this.” you whined, looking away from him.

“hmm, gonna piss on my cock baby?” you whimpered. you did need to go but you really didn’t want to make a mess.

“lemme,” you mumbled, standing up on weak knees and pulling his jeans down his legs, leaving him in his boxers and tshirt. he looked like a god, leaning back, staring at you with this look of power on his face that made you feel so weak. he groaned when you straddled him and rubbed yourself against his cock.

“don’t make me,” you whined. “so embarrassing.”

“but you need to go so bad, baby,” he replied, pressing a hand against your tummy, making you pull your legs together around him.

“i need to but i can hold it,” you say mainly to yourself.

“just fuck me i can hold it,” you blubber tugging at his boxers ready to pull your panties aside and let him fill you up.

“you really think you can hold it while i fill up your pretty little cunt,” he teases, fingers tickling under your shirt and up your chest. you nodded harshly.

“i can i can do it.” you yelped when his fingers tweaked your nipple bending forward pressing your hands on his chest. he smirked up at you as his thumb brushed your hard nipple, his nails grazing the sensitive skin.

“so if i hold you like this,” he says, moving his hand down to press against your tummy while the other holds your hips in place. you’re squirming when he says, “ while i fuck you, you can hold it?”

“hnngh, wanna hold it. wanna be good and hold it,” you slipped deeper the need to go overwhelming you.

“let go puppy,” you whimpered. not realizing you were but when you felt the familiar warmth you sobbed grabbing at yourself to stop. and you did hold yourself back from letting it all go. you couldn’t see the large wet spot in your panties or feel the way it had started to drip out. but chenle did, he could feel the warm liquid slowly dribble onto his cock making precum pump out of his cock.

“no, no no,” you whined. chenle pressed your tummy again.

“you’re such a good puppy. let go for me.” he groaned.

“want your cock, i can - let me - i can hold it,” you whimper, pulling his waistband down letting his cock free beneath you. lifting your hips as you pulled your panties to the side before sinking down with a groan.

“fuck puppy,” he moaned, leaning his head back but keeping his eyes on you. you did your best to bounce on his cock but you were so full your legs were quivering.

“so full,” you mewled, he reached up pushing your hair out of your face before gripping your hips and fucking back into you harshly. you felt like you would burst any second you couldn’t tell if it was from the need to pee or the need to come. you held your hand over your clit rubbing circles as chenle watched you.

“so fucking good holding it for me, puppy.” he stared at you listening to the sounds of skin slapping filling the room along with your whimpers. watching your lashes flutter against your cheeks and one hand gripping his shirt the other circling your clit. you looked so fucked out so perfect for him.

“so pretty baby, all for me.” you whined down at him, your arms feeling weak from holding your body up.

“so much. can’t hold it.”

“let go, puppy,” he said, pounding into you hard and fast. you couldn’t do it anymore couldn’t hold it in so you let go. relaxing as you let the warmth pour out of you. chenle stared between you watching the hot piss gush from you onto his skin making him groan. your fingers still circled your clit making the liquid squirt onto his chest and stomach and he felt so close to the edge.

“such a good, puppy, so good. so fucking good.” he found himself gripping you tighter and fucking you harder your cunt pulsing around him.

“so close,” you whined, working your hand faster, your stomach full of pleasure instead of the pressure. the mix of release and the building orgasm was too much.

“cum for me, pup,” chenle moaned, thrusting into you faster. you groaned at his words letting your orgasm flood over you, pee still pouring from you as your legs shook and cunt tightened around chenle.

“fuck,” he cursed as he came a moment later filling you up with hot cum. your cunt still pulsing around him as he finished. he stared up at you seeing the last dribbles of pee drip onto him as you slowly continued to rubbed your clit. your hair was a complete mess and your eyes closed and he loved it and wanted it forever.

“you’re so fucking hot,” he groaned, rubbing his hands over your hips.

“it’s so messy,” you finally said, opening your eyes looking at the puddle on your couch.

“lemme see?” he asked, lifting you up off of his cock. he quickly spun you a hand on your back to bend over so he could see your messy cunt. your hands held yourself up as he leaned forward gripping your cheeks pulling them apart to see your puffy hole watching the cum drip out.

“so fucking sexy,” he smirked slapping his hand on your ass making you whine.

“it’s so messy,” you say, turning back to face him.

“but you liked it,” he grins, making you nod shyly.

© tddyhyck

[savannahsdeath]

heyy! this is my first time asking a request but can you do more mafia ellie? i love her sm omg 🤭

MAFIA!ELLIE X READER

mdni please<3

warnings: 18+!! mentions of ellie not having time for reader;(( finger sucking? cum eating just smut and ellie ending up shoving her fingers in your mouth because .

writers note: inspired by @seattlesellie 's fic though hers about abby 🤭(read it here) .. i found it days ago and just couldnt get this out of my head goshhh and finding it again was so hard !!

: ̗̀➛ "yeah, good fuckin' job." ellie mumbled in a raspy whisper.

you could see her arm muscles tense as her grip on her phone tightened. you bit your lip and threw your head back, leaning it on her shoulder.

it wasn't supposed to be like that. not at all.

: ̗̀➛ she told you she has a day off - well, she's her own boss, so she could have one any day, but her job is hard to take a break of. there's always some problems or complications. or unexpected calls, like this one. of course, she apologised a hundred times before picking it off (not really, she just murmured a half-assed 'sorry, babe'), but it didn't make it any less annoying.

: ̗̀➛ so you ended up pressed against her chest with legs spread wide open, making room for her right hand, which, much to your surprise, didn't slid out of you.

"ellie—" you let out a desperate mewl, feeling her fingers slow down as her focus shifted to the person on the phone.

she shushed you, planting a loving kiss on your neck, which only added fuel to your neediness.

"i know." she whispered, curling her fingers inside of you to prove her point. she straightened up as if whoever she was talking with could see her previous posture. "uhh, yeah... could you repeat?"

her every move would force a sound out of the back of your throat, every touch of her lips on your neck whenever she wasn't the one speaking left dark marks on your skin. you held onto her hand, digging your nails into her forearm what didn't bother her at all. being silent wasn't easy, it took lots of self-control which disappeared in ellie's presence.

: ̗̀➛ it was even harder when the "good fuckin' job" turned out to be something more like "fucked job". that's when you finally earned her focus. her fingers found the perfect way to calm her down, take some anger out and let her listen to your beautiful moans. you really tried to be quiet, but all you could do is purse your lips, what only muffled all the little whimpers.

"look, if you don't figure it out till tomorrow, you're fucking dead." she hissed, her frustration spreading through her whole body - from head to toes.

you felt the electricity cumulating in her fingers, you felt how mad she was. oh, yes, you felt that.

"i—" you whined, tugging on her arm to get even more of the attention.

"hushh..." she clicked her tongue, turning back to her phone. "i'm not kidding. your wife's gonna get your head as a christmas gift, if i'll feel generous."

every single word that escaped her mouth caused another gasp from you, because you didn't really listen to how harsh her statement was, you just enjoyed her raspy voice which was perfectly sychronised with her fingers. when she spoke slowly, her movement would also slow down, and, oh, how much you wanted to beg her to hang up.

"i don't care— no, shush, shut up." she hissed, but you felt better at the thought of you not being the only one who has to stay quiet now. "i have no idea how you'll do it, but you will, or i swear to god i—" her slim digits digged into you as she kissed your cheek, mumbling a tired; "fuckin' idiots" close to your ear while pulling away.

the man on the phone must start to get nervous, as his pathetic voice was now audible even for you. he kept apologizing and rambling nonsense, though ellie wasn't really interested in his excuses. plus, she had other things to do.

she used the little break as much as she could, pumping her fingers in and out of you and even slightly withdrawing her phone from her ear so she could listen to the sticky, dirty noises. nuzzling her face in your neck, she let out a long hum, either satisfied at the sound or to make the poor man think she cares. maybe both.

eventually, she continued her conversation. not forgetting about a disappointed, dramatic sigh first, of course. "any last wish?" she asked with an obvious smirk.

his voice raised even more, now not only apologizing but begging her for forgiveness. ellie never hurt any of her 'workers', unless they were traitors, so the fact that he took her seriously seemed unusual and, at some point, hilarious.

: ̗̀➛ you were so close, finally, after minutes of this torture - of your satisfaction disappearing for a few seconds just to come back... just to leave again, making your neediness take over. you bit your lip and looked at ellie, plopping your head on the crook of her neck. she felt how fastly and roughly you exhaled against her collarbone, grinning in amusement. you shifted, pressing your back even harder to her chest so you could feel it raising and falling as she breathes. your eyelids fell, making you get lost in a dark maze of every possible sense but sight.

"ellielliellie!" you whined, her name rang out in the dense, cold air.

your voice could be definitely heard on the other side of the phone, though the man didn't even stop his panicked rambling, what probably meant he was too busy to notice it.

she tsked as your throbbing walls clenched around her, her soaked fingers dripping on her palm. the ache which was persistently located somewhere deep in your body, maybe in the core of your bones, and didn't want to let go of you finally subsided. your hands almost unconsciously rested against your sides and as you opened your eyes you could see little moon shapes left on her forearm, where your nails digged into her.

it took you by complete surprise, not giving you time to react - though you wouldn't do anything anyway - before your pornographic moan got cut off with her digits sliding inside of your mouth. your saliva pooled down as your teeth grazed her flesh; salty and,, callous. her palm rested against your chin, forcing you to keep it raised.

"el—luhh" you tried to mumble but it came out as nothing like your girlfriend's name. it was slobbery, unclear and— disgusting.

she turned back to her phone, making you only able to guess what her expression was but she was, without a doubt, smirking. your tongue flopped flat beneath / against her fingers, earning a hum from ellie. as your pouty lips closed around her, her digits moved in deeper, causing you to gag for a second.

"c'mon, you'll live." she rolled her eyes, and you weren't sure which one of you is she talking to now - you, or the man who thinks he fights for his life, when in reality his 'threat' doesn't even listen to him?

your view range was violated by her grip, but you could see how unbothered she was through the corner of your eye. you could feel it - feel that her thighs don't tremble and clench, or that her breath is steady and deep, unlike yours.

as she shoved her fingers almost knuckles deep in your mouth, she spread them as if to gesture scissors and you swore you can read her mind, so you twirled your tongue around them, cleaning them up. your own juices got replaced with just as messy saliva, which small droplets cumulated in the corner of your lips. you couldn't help but suck on her digits, and the action itself made your eyes watery.

"you'll stay silent now, 'kay?" she spoke up in a mocking tone, and you couldn't tell who is she talking to again - no matter which one of you it was, you knew she wasn't asking and you hoped that the man realizes it too.

still, you nodded, making her whole hand follow your movements, what almost felt like she's the one controlling your body's reaction.

"of course you will." she cooed in a serious voice, though there was a different undertone - laced with taunting sweetnes.

✧˖°

[alwayswriting101]

Can you recommend some Florelia fanfics please?

So this is actually a terrible question to ask me because I think all Florelia fics are amazing just by the nature of having my OTP 😅.

But here are my general recommendations:

Literally anything and everything by @florelia12. All of her work is fantastic x1000, But Moonlight & Monsters has literally changed my life. I love this fic (and all her fics) soooo much. She is also a (obviously) a massive Florelia stan. AO3 page

The Florelia chapters in Winx Club One Shots by SeaEmerald (chapters 2, 5, and 6). Oh my God is their writing incredible. Very highly recommend all of their fics, if you're interested in other couples/fandoms.

A Natural Fit: Soulmates AU. Also anything by QueenofHufflepuff. I love their writing style to the point where it's inspired my own fics!) They also go under Matrices and Vectors on ffn.

All the Petals Fall by @lynpheas. I swear to God this fic made me quit writing because like what point is there in writing when a fic this good exists 😭😭😭. Also recommend all of @lynpheas works but not all of them are Florelia. AO3 page

Black Sky by SilverSongstress. I cannot emphasize how epic this story is. There's lots of Florelia conflict (that doesn't really get resolved by the end (at least to my memory)) and I was okay with that! There are some issues re: formatting but it's truly a very strong story.

Lunar Rainbow and Under the Cherry Blossoms by Roxy Fan 4 Ever. Literally love these fics so much. So romantic!

The Neighbor by libra986. Now I actually don't remember shit from fuck from this fic, but I remember being OBESSED with it...do with that what you will...

High Temperatures . I like this one.

Six Years, This one is just so nostalgic for me, I think it was one of the OG Florelia fics 😭. I can't tell you how much it PAINS me the sequel is unfinished.

I Promise, Courage from the Heart, Save Me, My Turn to Save You, and Remember Me by Lill2350. Again very nostalgic fics! I think they have a few more Florelia fics as well.

Living a Dream. Very Cute fic.

Chastity Slightly NSFW so don't open if you're at work or underage. But I thought this was a really cute/romantic fic.

Style by KinkyWings. I think this fic is really, really cute. The author has other fics based on more...untraditional pairings (and fics that are definitely NSFW), but I really like this one.

Waned Worries. Why did this person orphan this account 😭? Really good oneshot.

Kamilia has written a bunch of Florelia stories, too many to list and many of them NSFW in one way or another, but check them out if you'd like!

Flora's Christmas. Just a cute Christmas Time Oneshot

As an aside: here are some fics that I tend to really enjoy that focus on Flora or (mostly) Helia as individuals and not as a couple.

Retired, Falling, and The Moonlight Project by @redemptionarcsucker. Their characterizations of Helia are unmatched. And their writing is impeccable! AO3 page

Also @floralovebot has really great Flora/Helia/Florelia headcanons/characterizations on their page.

A Conversation Between... Literally, love this fic with every beat of my heart since I read it years ago. This fic actually focuses mostly on Stormy but Flora has a lot of characterization through her.

The Meaning of the Color Black and Inspired by Kikurukina Bal Des'cagel. Fantastic Helia centric stories by a fantastic author. They have also written on other pairings.

Names. A random, unromantic one shot but I really like the concept.

Never Have I Ever and A Specialist's Journey by QueenofHufflepuff. I've already raved about them in the rec above. Really amazing work. The former is Flora based and the latter mostly Helia based (from what I can remember).

The Shimmering Sunflowers. I am a big fan of fics where Flora is a big sister to Miele.

And finally, I always recommend The Great Witch Rebellion, Brothers at Arms, Band of Brothers, and Bonds of Brotherhood by tearsinrain These fics are focused on the group as a whole and are basically rewrites of the main storyline, but these fics are fantastic. I would bind them into a book if I could. The characterization of Helia (who unfortunately is not really featured in Brothers at Arms), is amazing. And the Florelia scenes that are available are really amazing.

I am a big, big fan of Florelia. If I could fit every fic featuring them onto this ask, I would, but unfortunately, I can't! But if anyone has any additional recommendations please feel free to add! I'm sure there are some stories/authors whom I loved but might have missed, but this is a very general list.

[lemotmo]

In case you want it. 😊

Q. No Christmas episode. So everyone's timeline was wrong. Why such an early mid season break?

A. Actually, anon, the only thing about Christmas that l predicted was that Christopher wouldn't be back before then. And Eddie leaving for Texas in the mid season finale would still make that accurate since it would happen before Christmas. It is a very early break, but really only by two episodes so its not actually that far off. I also don't understand people who thought the Eddie stuff was going to be stretched out over many episodes. This show doesn't do that. The longest stretch would be 3 episodes at the most. They did Buck's story in one frigging episode. The Eddie part would not be what gets stretched out. The Buddie stuff is where you would get the stretch, if it happens, because anything that happens there would happen in the background over multiple episodes. So it would basically be the C plot in the background over roughly a handful of episodes. Like nothing I said changes just because the finale is after episode 8 instead of 10. Eddie was never going to get a multiple episode focus to tell whatever story for him kicks off in episode 6. He will be the focus of 6 and most likely the B or C plot of 7 and 8. That's it, and that's well within the norm for this show. They aren't going to give him real world time to work things out. It will be in television time, which moves much quicker. The only thing that changed today was episode 9 will now be after the break. And episode 8 is definitely ending on a cliffhanger. Like nothing changed today. Yes we will have a good idea about where the Eddie thing is heading after episode 6, and I still feel like it's a sexuality arc, but we still know nothing until episode 6 airs. Today changed none of that. I will admit that I'm surprised there's not a Christmas episode but it doesn't really change anything. We have to see what episode 6 brings, and we knew that yesterday. We are all anxious to know, trust me I get it. I'm tired and I want answers. I have also been very forthcoming regarding my trust issues with Tim. But even though the man doesn't always make the best storyline choices he's never been intentionally gross. And the way everything has been done on the Eddie/Ryan front so far would be the ultimate gross move on his part, and ABC's, if they didn't do what they have very intentionally made it look like they're doing. And they have all chosen their words and framed it very intentionally. They know what most people think it looks like. Does that mean they won't end up being gross? No, but he has never intentionally been that and I don't see that starting now.

I do want it. Thank you Nonny!

This makes sense. I don't have it in me to add a lot to this ask, since I'm very tired at this point and I need some rest. 🥱

Thanks Ali for being the voice of reason. 🤗

IMPORTANT! Please don't repost this ask and/or a link that leads straight to my Tumblr account on Twitter or any other social media. Thank you!

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[tinybirbwrites]

Guilty Pleasure (Dick Grayson/Reader)

Hello, hi. This started as a vent fic, then it became super silly and fun and longer than expected. No warnings except for some swearing, just silly fluff and crack. Reader is gender-neutral. Also I had Gotham Knights Dick in mind while writing, the game really grew on me lmao.

You often wondered whether Dick had a sixth sense for your mood. Each time you were upset about something, he would either somehow end up finding out about it, or unknowingly comfort you in some way. 

Watched a sad movie while Dick was away? Look at your phone; Dick either just sent you a meme, pun, or a sweet little message to brighten your day. Unhappy about what you saw in the mirror? Just you wait; Dick always seemed to have a heartfelt compliment ready for you. Lonely? Worry not; Dick already made plans to come over and glue himself to you for several hours.

This time was no different. Just twenty minutes after you saw something hurtful on social media, Dick plopped down next to you on the couch and wrapped a casual arm around your shoulders. 

“Hey, wanna watch a dumb movie together and cuddle?”

Hell yeah.

-

The movie did turn out to be super dumb—a crazy woman summoning the spirit of her dead killer husband into a fake christmas tree, who then goes on a murderous rampage as a christmas tree? Really? But it was exactly what you needed at that moment. 

You were crying and laughing through the stupidity of it all, switching between actually paying attention because of what was happening or because Dick was actively commenting on it, and thinking back to the post you saw that upset you in the first place. Dick didn’t ask, but he kept giving you comforting squeezes and rubbed slow circles over your back the whole time. 

As the credits started rolling and you finally got over how weird the movie was, Dick stroked a careful thumb over the tear-trails on your cheek. “Alright, well, now that we’ve gone through all five stages of grief together… You wanna tell me about it?” 

You leaned back with a shaky exhale. “Well, you know how I like to read and write fanfiction?” At his nod, you continued, “Well, there’s a subgenre called ‘reader inserts.’ They’re… basically exactly what the title implies. They’re written with you as the main character, and most of the time it’s with a romantic plot point at the focus. It’s something I like to consume for comfort, because it feels nice to read about yourself meeting your favorite characters and interacting with them, doing things together that you’ll never be able to in real life, right? And there’s a lot of well written fics out there that I enjoy a lot, but of course, as with everything, there’s also not so good ones. And the tragic part is, the not so good ones are the only thing that other people who aren’t interested in this subgenre see and know about, so reader inserts get a pretty bad rep. And I get it, I’ve also seen the bad ones, and there’s… a lot of porn, too. I understand it can be frustrating to see when you really don’t want to, but shaming people for writing and reading it just… hurts, you know? It really hurts.”

Dick was silent for a while, frowning. “Sadly, there’ll always be people who get upset about things they don’t like or don’t understand. Some are mature about it, and some aren’t. I’m guessing you saw someone complaining?”

You sighed and nodded, tiredly rubbing a hand over your forehead. “Yeah.” You didn’t feel like elaborating on what the person said specifically, it would only upset you more. Maybe you’d sent a screenshot to Dick later, but right now you just wanted to forget about it.

Dick hummed. “I’m sorry you had to see that. It really sucks when you’ve gotta deal with people hating something you love and care about. And I know it’s easier said than done, but… don’t focus on that negativity. Focus on the good stuff. You’ve talked about getting a lot of positive feedback on your own writing before, yeah? Focus on that. People love what you write, and you love other people’s writing, that means there’s a community where you can all share what you love with each other, and that’s a beautiful thing. Some people just aren’t into the same stuff, they don’t get it, so sometimes they’ll complain about it to feel better. It’s hurtful, yeah, but remember that they’re not targeting you specifically. It’s their problem, the issues often lie within themselves. From what you said, it sounds like they’re just shitting on something they don’t wanna see because they don’t like or care about it. They’re not offering constructive criticism, so really, you don’t have to concern yourself with them. Try to distance yourself from their words, be proud of what you do and who you are. Okay?”

You mulled over his words for a moment, digesting them bit by bit, and eventually, you managed a smile. “Yeah, okay.” You turned your head and leaned closer to him, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek. “Thanks.”

When you looked at him, the expression on his face was almost shy. “You’re always welcome. I’m just glad I could help somehow.”

-

Days later, Dick came to you with an excited smile on his face, and you watched as he sat down and pulled out his phone. “So, since you told me about reader inserts, I’ve done some research to better understand what you meant. I wanted to know more about what you enjoy.”

Oh no. “Oh. Really?” you said, a lot calmer than you actually felt.

He grinned, unaware of your growing horror. “Yep! So, I wasn’t sure what to look for at first, but eventually I searched for reader inserts that included some of the media I personally enjoy. I found a few I actually liked a lot! But, uh, I get what you meant with there being a lot of porn.”

You hid your face in your hands with a chortle, feeling heat quickly traveling to your cheeks at the mental image of Dick reading smut fics out of pure curiosity to learn more about what you were passionate about. “Yeah…”

Suddenly, Dick brightened. “Also! You won’t believe it, but I found a lot of Nightwing reader inserts! Some got recommended to me because of my search history, and I got really curious, so—”

OH NO.

“I was so amazed at how many there are! Ah, of course, lots of porn too. Can’t really fault anyone for that, I mean, I know people love my butt, so it only makes sense. Still, feels kinda weird. I started reading a few because I just couldn’t help it, and isn’t it kind of funny? It’s like a story about me making out with myself! Anyway, I found a few really good ones, a lot of them were from the same author—”

Oh God, please, anything but this—

Dick scrolled through his phone for a moment, then turned it around to show you what he found. You felt your soul leave your body.

It was your very own profile picture that stared back at you. 

It was your blog. 

It was your writing. 

Your Nightwing fanfics. 

He went on, completely undeterred by your stunned silence. “I know it sounds kind of narcissistic of me to say, but you should totally give this person’s stuff a read! They’re really good! I felt weirdly immersed, reading about being in love with, well, myself. Pining after… myself. Never thought I’d feel so strongly about that, but here I am. There’s one story that I’m hoping will get a second part some day, actually. I’m thinking I should maybe leave a comment. You think it’d be too much to do that with my Nightwing account?” 

Oh. Oh, thank God. Dick didn’t know it was you.

You subtly cleared your throat. “Uhm. Yeah, I think commenting as Nightwing would be a bit much.”

It was an older account—you actually hadn’t uploaded anything for a while now, but most of them were about Nightwing.

It had started off with the usual go-to scenarios of Nightwing saving reader while on patrol, something he’d actually done for you a few times now, which was what inspired you to scroll through the Nightwing x Reader tag in the first place. Then you decided you would give in and post some of your own for the public to see as well. Anonymously, of course. You’d never pin your actual name to that particular guilty pleasure of yours. 

The more you wrote, the more you started to wonder about what if scenarios. 

What if Dick Grayson was Nightwing? You’d noticed that they shared a lot of similarities; a love for puns, a charming smile, a kind heart, perfect hair, and, uhm… A nice body, too. You’d never written out this theory for the public eye, but in your head, you’d started imagining Dick being the one behind the mask, which fuelled your writing even more as you poured your feelings into them. 

You knew it was kind of a No-No to write about actual, existing people. It wasn’t something you usually did, either, nor were you very proud of it. But you just couldn’t help it—you’d been pining after Dick and Nightwing separately for years now, venting about it in the form of self-indulgent writing, until you eventually figured out they were both one and the same person. 

Of course you’d fallen head over heels in love with Dick, it was practically impossible not to; He had a stupidly big heart and a stupidly big butt. Finding out these two ridiculously attractive and caring people were actually one guy? That only served to intensify your feelings by, like, a hundred.

You hadn’t mentioned this realization to Dick, but it got more and more difficult not to as time went on. Until finally, one day, Dick confessed his vigilante identity to you, stating he trusted you and felt it was only fair if you knew. He felt bad about having to lie to you and keep making up excuses about his bruises and why he had to cancel plans every time something big happened that Nightwing had to take care of.

You were too scared to tell him about your feelings, especially after realizing you’d been writing reader insert fanfics about him all this time. It was one thing to just imagine Dick being Nightwing, but it was another to actually know it was him. You were lucky and very happy to even be friends with this amazing guy, and you weren’t about to ruin that by confessing your shameful sins to him.

You knew it was extra weird to write not only about an actual person, but about your friend. You’d never written any smut—that was something you just couldn’t let yourself do, it felt too wrong, even before you found out about Dick’s secret. 

You knew he took all the sexually charged comments on his Nightwing persona in good stride. He actually seemed to glow from all the praise, even feeding into it by laying on the charm extra thick sometimes when on patrol, always insisting Nightwing should never wear a cape so his precious butt wouldn’t be covered up. You also knew that he himself as Richard Grayson was a very popular guy, handsome and charming, a “well dressed golden retriever,” as some people liked to describe him. 

But you also knew that there was a line, and you felt like you were definitely crossing it by writing reader inserts about your best friend and crush. Though you did stop writing them after finding out about who Nightwing really was—it just felt too weird to keep posting more at that point.

Argh, who were you kidding? Either way, it was definitely still weird that you hadn’t immediately deleted your whole blog afterwards. It didn’t matter that Dick was currently unknowingly blowing up your phone with excited comments and likes on several of your Nightwing x Reader fics. You pulled it out and glanced at your screen as it lit up. Ah, he was also sending you all the links so you could read them for yourself. 

Is this how Dick felt when people talked about Nightwing in front of him, not knowing it was him they were talking about? You certainly felt like you had a top secret persona now. 

Despite your conflicted feelings on the matter and the rising shame in your chest, you couldn’t help but smile at Dick’s genuine enthusiasm. And his comments were all very nice, too. 

Maybe… Maybe he would be okay with it, knowing it was you. Maybe he’d laugh about it. Maybe he’d even be flattered. You knew it would be impossible to keep this to yourself forever, especially since Dick was so easy to open up to. But not now. Definitely not now.

-

A few months later, Tim mentioned your username during a group conversation. In his defense, he probably thought it was common knowledge—you knew he wouldn’t reveal something as big as this on purpose if he thought it wasn’t a big deal. You were using the same username for several other accounts on other websites as well, all connected to your second email address, the one you hadn’t shared with Dick or the others, so you hadn’t actually expected them to ever look into it and find out.

How very foolish of you. You just hoped Tim hadn’t read any of your fanfics as well.

While you’d tried to appear calm and unaffected on the outside, you could feel yourself slowly dying on the inside, melting from the sheer amount of mortification you were experiencing.

You couldn’t look Dick in the eyes ever since. 

While he hadn’t mentioned anything directly, you could tell the clogs inside his head had already turned enough for him to connect the dots. He knew. Fucking shit, he knew. 

Several days went by. You kept casually sending messages to him, sharing memes and other every-day things like always, and he did the same. But you could tell he knew and wanted to say something, but didn’t because he could tell you were highly uncomfortable with him knowing. 

He was nice like that. Goddammit. 

And then, one evening, as you contemplated finally deleting your whole account and sending an official apology to Dick (you would definitely have to do that, you just didn’t know what to say and where to start), your phone lit up with a new message. 

From Dick. 

You stared at the notification for a long moment, dreading what you’d find once you opened it, until your eyes started to burn and you had to force yourself to take a few deep breaths and calm down.

Don’t jump to any conclusions now, you told yourself. Just open the damn message and see for yourself.

You procrastinated by going to the bathroom first. Then walked around the kitchen in search of something to eat, only to realize you were too anxious to actually eat anything. 

So you took your damn phone and clicked on the damn notification, holding your damn breath as you read Dick’s messages. 

(Dick) 21:32 : Hey, so, I had some ideas for a sequel regarding your last Nightwing story

(Dick) 21:33 : Hear me out

(Dick) 21:35 : What if Nightwing went over to reader’s place

(Dick) 21:35 : and then…

You waited for him to elaborate, maybe send a GIF or something else, but he wasn��t even online anymore. You frowned and started to type a hesitant, confused response, when there was a sudden knock on your living room window, making you flinch and shriek, almost dropping your phone in the process.

Looking up, you saw Dick in his Nightwing suit outside your window, grinning and waving at you. 

You blinked at him for a moment, then quickly walked over to open the window. “Wha—”

“You haven’t posted in a long time,” Dick interrupted you with a smile. “I thought maybe I could help inspire you.” 

“Ins— Inspire?” you repeated, stunned.

You stepped back a little when he started climbing through the window, taking in his appearance with a sense of awe. You’d seen him as Nightwing a few times now, but you never quite got used to it. He was a sight to behold—he always was, whether he was wearing the suit or just his regular clothes, but having Nightwing standing in front of you in your own home always felt a little unreal. It was so form fitting, showing off his muscles and curves, and the mask hiding parts of his face had its very own appeal that you could hardly put into words. 

“I noticed a theme while going through your stories.” Dick’s voice pulled you out of your stupor, and you quickly shut your mouth, only now realizing you’d been gaping at him the whole time. 

You cleared your throat. “A theme?”

“Yeah.” He stepped closer to you, slowly, as if he wanted to check whether you would move away or not. “Nightwing and reader never actually kiss in any of them.”

You thought your heart was going to burst out of your chest. Then you realized he was waiting for you to say something.

“Oh, uhm. Yeah. I, uh. I just felt kind of weird about that. At first I was just scared you’d maybe find out about my stories some day and be weirded out by them, but later on after you told me about being Nightwing, I also just— It felt wrong to write about kissing you because it felt… too personal? And then I just kinda stopped writing them entirely.”

“Mh-hmm,” he hummed understandingly, stepping even closer, close enough for you to smell his cologne and minty breath. “Not to force my own interpretations onto your writing or anything, but I think Nightwing would definitely be very much into kissing the reader. And seeing how strongly the reader feels about him, I’m guessing it’s something they would want, too?”

You gulped, then managed to croak out a weak, “Yeah.”

He smiled and leaned closer until the tip of his nose shortly brushed yours, pausing for a moment to give you the chance to pull away, then gently pressed his lips to yours. Your breathing hitched, an electrifying sensation running through your whole body, starting from the points where he was touching you. His hands were on your arms, slowly rubbing up and down while he moved his lips against yours just as slowly. Your muscles couldn’t decide whether to stay tense or relax and melt against him, so you did a weird combination of both. 

Unsurprisingly, Dick was a very good kisser. 

After a long moment, he eventually parted from you, leaning back a little to take in your reaction. You couldn’t help but let out a breathless little laugh, stunned by what just happened, and so very fucking happy.

Dick chuckled too, hands gently squeezing your upper arms as if he wanted to hug you. “Was that okay?”

“Absolutely,” you said, without hesitation. “I’m sure all the fics probably gave it away, but I have feelings for you. Strong ones.”

“Well, I didn’t want to make assumptions based on fiction alone,” Dick smiled. “But I’m glad, because I feel the same way. About you, I mean.”

Your chest warmed at that. Then you chuckled, an idea hitting you. “What, you don’t want me to write Dick Grayson x Nightwing fanfics next?”

He opened his mouth to retort with something sarcastic, but then his eyes widened. “Oh my God, that’s actually a really genius idea—”

You chortled and knocked your hand against his strong chest. “No, it really wouldn’t be. What if people connected the dots and found out because of it?”

He pouted. “Alright, fair point. But maybe you could write them just for me?” Aaand he was using his puppy eyes on you. Go figure. 

“I’ll think about it,” you gave in. Only a few people were strong enough to withstand Dick Grayson’s charm, and you certainly weren’t one of them. “But, I gotta ask… Weren’t you super weirded out when you found out that I wrote all these stories? Didn’t it make you uncomfortable?” 

If you ever found out that a friend of yours was writing romantic reader insert fanfics about you and publishing them… Well, you didn’t know what it would feel like, but it was definitely weird.

Dick chuckled and shook his head. “If it were someone else I knew, then maybe. But I know you—you’re one of my best friends. Knowing you wrote them, it just… doesn’t bother me at all, no. I understand why you wrote them, I understand why you published them, too. And why you stopped.” He shrugged. You felt a weight fall from your shoulders at his words, finally feeling yourself relax against him. “Anyway, did I manage to inspire you? You gonna write a kiss for part two?”

You snorted, then hummed, pretending to think for a moment. “I don’t know, I think I’ll need a bit more to really get the creativity flowing.”

Dick’s smile turned knowing. “I’d be more than happy to help.” And then he kissed you again, and it was even better than the first time.

[miloscat]

[Review] Sonic R (PS2)

Peak Saturn vibes.

I’ve now got much more Sonic experience under my belt. I’m thrilled that I can now have informed opinions about the series! But now it’s time to play some spinoffs from over the years that I’ve always meant to try out. First up is the franchise’s first racing game… that people really like (the Game Gear had the two Drift games but it doesn’t seem like they made much of an impact).

British studio Traveller’s Tales had proved themselves with the isometric game Sonic 3D Blast so Sega commissioned them for an original title for the Saturn. As it turned out this would be Sonic’s only full new game on the system as the highly anticipated 3D debut Xtreme never came to be, and the only other titles were a 3D Blast conversion, the Mega Drive compilation Sonic Jam, and a cameo in Christmas Nights. I played the version included in the Sonic Gems Collection on PS2, which is based on the enhanced PC port.

Sonic R is an unconventional racing game in that, while it still plays not unlike a standard kart racer, many of the characters are on foot, and the game includes platforming and exploration elements. While I’ve played other games that include some of these ingredients like Rayman Arena, Beetle Adventure Racing, and arguably Sonic Rivals, the mix is intoxicating here, helped by excellent track design and immaculate vibes.

Rather than multi-track cups, you just play each track on its own. Well, there's only five tracks total and one is unlockable (a consequence of a quick development turnaround) so it makes sense. You can go for first place but the more satisfying goal is learning all the side paths and shortcuts. These dense little environments, designed by Sonic Team, have depth to make up for their paucity, and finding their secrets (in the form of tokens and Chaos Emeralds) unlocks new racers and the final Rainbow Road-esque track which is more a victory lap to speed around with your overpowered unlocks. Rings scattered around can be paid to open doors or enhance your boosts, and item tokens can help a bit but there's nothing as unbalanced as your typical Mario Kart game.

The racers have an interesting amount of variance to their stats. For instance, Tails is slippery and nimble while the Egg Robo has much more inertia. Sonic double jumps, Knuckles can glide, Robotnik in his hoverpod can shoot homing projectiles (they're not very debilitating), while Amy uniquely drives a car(!) which funnily enough is relatively slow but gets a boost on cooldown. Along with Metal Sonic, R introduces new counterparts in the form of Metal Knuckles and the fan-favourite Tails Doll. I would have liked to see them go all-out with even more characters but it's a decent selection and acts as a pretty good send-off to the Classic era before the characters got redesigned in Adventure. These low-poly renditions are just adorable!

Another way of remixing the racetracks is a weather system that changes the lighting and conditions. It makes the inevitable replays that much fresher, and of course the smooth tunes will draw you in as well. Veteran composer Richard Jacques nails it with a catchy Eurobeat mix, each track accompanied wonderfully by vocals from TJ Davis. It's a transportive soundtrack that gives the game a singular feel; this is truly what video games were made for. I was shocked to learn that this game's music is considered divisive! It's great!

Anyway, I had a breeze with this one. I did turn the difficulty to easy so I could focus on the exploratory aspects without worrying too much about winning (you do need to place well to keep the emeralds and unlocks), and I have no shame. Sonic R is a lovely little treat. This is Sega at its best: experimental, collaborating with international partners, and with vibes off the charts. Also, the framerate is rock solid which I've learned is never a guarantee with Sonic games. I know that later British-developed Sonic racing games are also excellent, but in between I still need to investigate the Riders series of hoverboard racers. Until then!

[nextstopwonderland]

Hi!!! Can I request 21 “Staring into each others eyes” with Bryan/Yuta, please? 🥺✨✨

Anything for you, Lexie 😘 (Bryan/Yuta my beloved)

Oh look it’s another take on The Red Rocks Date by yours truly.

I’ll show you a place (713 words)

Yuta didn’t really meditate much before meeting Bryan. Claudio would tell him how Bryan taught him years ago, and how it really can help.

Mox has no interest in meditating and Regal, when he was around, thought Yuta’s time would be better suited on the mat.

But Bryan would just look at him, with an expression he couldn’t quite read, and say, “When you’re ready, let me know.”

It felt a little like a test, but Yuta wasn’t sure for what.

Lots of things feel like that with Bryan, and Yuta craves to be passing each and every one. He’s felt reignited by Bryan’s recommitment to them. Has heard Bryan say he loves him, multiple times now.

(Has wanted to know exactly what that love entails.)

And so when Bryan tells him he’s going hiking Yuta jumps at the chance to go. He gets one on one time with Bryan, but it’s never truly private. This feels like it could be a turning point.

It’s everything he hoped, Bryan talking quietly, seeing him so in his element — focused on nature but also focused on Yuta. Asking him questions, wanting to listen.

It’s after Yuta films him for the Okada promo — something he feels so honored to have been able to do — that he gathers up the courage.

“Teach me? How to meditate?”

Bryan smiles at him like Yuta just bestowed the best Christmas present.

They sit a little ways off the path, in one of the few shaded areas. There’s no one around them right now, only the sound of a crow in the distance.

“I’ll walk you through a basic meditation practice. You comfortable?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Find your posture. Rest your palms on your thighs, face up or down, whatever’s comfortable.”

Yuta does so, face up.

“Now close your eyes, and just listen to my voice.”

Yuta doesn’t mean to shiver, but he can’t help it. Bryan’s voice is so soothing, washing over him like a gentle breeze.

He follows the guidance: find a memory, an image, hold onto it, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Focus only on the place in your memory, let it fill you up, ground you. Breathe in for four, hold for four, out for six.

It only lasts about five minutes before Bryan pulls him back, tells him to lock the memory away, tells him to come back slowly, open his eyes.

He isn’t prepared for Bryan to be looking right at him as he does, and realizes Bryan must have been watching him this whole time.

It’s like he falls right back into that place he was in, looking at Bryan. Unsurprising since he’d been the subject of his focus.

He’d chosen the first time he ever saw Bryan walk into the AEW locker room, the moment when he’d dragged a hand through his hair, looked over at Yuta and smiled at him, warm and bright.

“Love at first sight,” Kris had said later that night. Yuta had snorted in reply, saying “I’ve seen him for years now, have the DVDs to prove it.”

“Not the same.”

And maybe she was right, because he hasn’t stopped looking at Bryan since. Has wanted his attention, focus, smiles, slaps, whatever he could get.

And now they’re looking into one another’s eyes, all alone amongst the Red Rocks and Yuta wants — he wants.

“What made you finally ask?” Is the first thing Bryan says.

Yuta shrugs, never breaking their gaze. “Just wanted to know. To be… closer.” He flushes as soon as he says it, awkward and fumbling.

Bryan quirks an eyebrow. “To your inner self?”

Yuta bites his lip, and shakes his head. “To — you.”

Bryan’s smile is a slow, revelatory thing, starting out as surprise and then turning softer.

He reaches out a hand, the two of them sitting crossed legged only a few inches apart. Yuta grabs it, letting out a breath as Bryan squeezes his palm.

“I’m glad,” Bryan says, pulling Yuta closer to him, their eyes still searching one another’s. “That you asked.”

Yuta only closes his eyes when Bryan’s lips meet his own, like a firework going off inside him.

He breathes out and kisses back.

He thinks maybe this’ll be a new memory for his next meditation.

[ridiasfangirlings]

munashiro at christmas but Adolf gives himself as a gift for Reisi (it could be in a sexy way or not).

I’m trying to think of a way this could be non-sexy without it being a cheap way to get out of giving a real gift XD Imagine this as a post-ROK thing where Munakata has made his interest known but Shiro is taking things very slowly, because he feels like his main focus should be on seeing his duty through as Silver King and personal relationships need to take more of a back seat. He’s not completely overlooking his own needs, it’s more that Shiro can see that the destruction of the Slate has the potential to throw Japan into chaos and as both a person who originally ran away from his duty and also the best friend of Kokujouji Daikaku, the man who sacrificed so much in Shiro’s place to keep the Slate controlled, Shiro should also be the one to handle the aftermath. Munakata disagrees with this, feeling that he and Shiro can at least share this duty together, and while Shiro appreciates that he feels like at least in this immediate aftermath he can’t focus on his own feelings right now.

So then Christmas comes and Shiro and Munakata are planning to spend it together for the first time. Shiro has been wracking his brain for what kind of gift he can give Munakata, discussing with Kuroh and Neko what would be a good gift for the King who has everything. Kuroh is aware of how close Shiro and Munakata have become and he mentions that in this case a gift from the heart may be best, something to show Munakata how Shiro really feels. Shiro realizes that he never did give Munakata a proper answer to his feelings and decides it really is time to do something for himself again. As he and Munakata are exchanging gifts imagine Shiro just holds out a hand to Munakata and says ‘I wanted to give you..me, I guess.’ Munakata looks curious and Shiro says he’s been so focused on being the Silver King, making up for what he ran away from, and Munakata’s supported him all the way. So now, with things calming down and having finally time to confront his own feelings, Shiro is giving himself to Munakata — his whole self and his heart, if Munakata is still willing to accept them. (Also he bought Munakata a puzzle too just in case, Munakata laughs and leans in for a kiss as he says he will take both presents, if that is all right.)

[jon-withnoh]

Hello! Hope this isn't a bother, but do you have any tips for thinking up plots? I mean for the whole story. Reading Nie Wirst made me want to try to write something longer, but I'm a bit lost since all I've ever written are short one-shots or drabbles. Again, hope this isn't bothering you, feel free to ignore it! Also, this goes without saying but I'm looking forward to the sequel if you do write it

Hi! I love this question, thank you for asking it 😊 I'm pretty sure you'd get a variation of answers depending on who you ask, so my way might not necessarily work for you. (I'm thinking of this as a fun Pick&Mix of things that work for me and might work for others.)

My strategies differ for different kinds of writing. When I'm working on a poetry collection, it sometimes takes years to accumulate enough individual poems that fit together for me to start working on the arc or through-line of that collection. This just for context, since you did ask me about prose.

Whether for fanfiction or original fiction, I've found that I can only keep up my motivation for a longer piece if I am absolutely obsessed with it. Was wird aus uns was born from the immediate aftermath of me seeing Rebecca in Vienna, reading the book and pretty much every single fic on Ao3 and just needing those two fools to be okay. That one really came out of pure obsession. Nie wirst Du was a lot more considered and since the plot is quite complex, I did plan things ahead of time.

I'm going to try and sum up some of the things that I need in order to sustain my focus for a longer piece of writing under the cut!

I need to be absolutely obsessed with the initial idea. No matter how interesting a concept or fic idea is in theory, if it doesn't have that spark of obsession I might toss it around in my head for fun, but I won't actually write it. If an idea doesn't grip me enough that I'm constantly looking forward to the next plot point I'm "working towards", then I'll get bored and abandon the piece. This is especially true for fic. For Was wird aus uns, the first plot point everything was moving towards was their first kiss. Then Christmas, and then, finally, Danny's collapse and the changes that it brought. With Nie Wirst Du, I was constantly hooked, tbh. It's a little bit like a soap opera in that it has many twists and turns, very complicated relationship dynamics and many big feelings. Some plot points I was working towards there were the tea party and the costume ball. Once I knew what the fallout from the ball was going to be, I had a much better idea of how things would continue to escalate develop.

I figured out how I need to approach plot. A friend of mine is a hardcore plotter with detailed outlines, diagrams and everything. I used to try and approach plot like that with the result that by the time I'd thought everything through, I was bored and didn't actually write the story anymore. The thing I do is apparently called pantsing. It means I know the inciting incident of the story, maybe a few major plot points and I have at least a vague idea of how I want it to end. There is an overarching structure, but it's loose enough that it keeps me interested. I can decide to add or take away smaller plot elements without having to do major rewrites.

There needs to be a drive to the story. I need a sense of movement when I'm writing. Even if a story is set entirely in one place, there needs to be some undercurrent of change or development. If the story feels static, I don't have any way of getting a character from point A to point B.

I write the things I want to see. If you find yourself looking through Ao3 thinking "I wish someone had written about xyz", then that might be a sign for you to write the fic you're looking for! For example, I needed a happy ending for Danny and Ich, so I wrote one. Then I became really interested in learning more about Rebecca as a character. Who is she outside of the stories being told about her? To find that out, I needed a story where she was alive and since I didn't want to write a prequel, the idea for Nie Wirst Du was born.

I hope this was somewhat help or at least interesting! It also really helps to have a person who's just as excited about your story idea as you are. They might ask you questions you hadn't considered and give you a whole new insight into what you're writing. Feel free to ask more questions about this if you want. This was really fun!

[nottawriter]

20 questions game

Thank you @luthordamnvers for the tag!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Individual stories: 10 (some are series and 1 translation)

2. What’s your total AO3 words count?

Individual stories: 337,399

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Supergirl- Primarily, Arrowverse with the main focus on Supercorp, but other ships as well

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

PRIDE and Prejudice (Super gay retelling of the classic), Tell Me It’s Not Too Late (Post-S4 finale), I Believe in a Thing Called Love (Entire Season 6 episodic rewrite), Wouldn’t It Be Nice (50 First Dates Movie AU/Continuation), What Has Been Lost (Human/Original AU Series).

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

Usually. I appreciate getting the comments, so I try to repay that effort.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

When She’s Gone, the Darkness Comes

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

PRIDE and Prejudice… though it could be said Lena and Kara both get very happy endings in Speak Now (18+ Explicit Sexual Content)

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really “hate”

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

See Question 7 lol… I do have smaller sex scenes in other fics, but nothing that compares in scope

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

My Human/Original AU Series is an amalgamation of original story work with various locations, character names, character descriptions, and/ or conversations, pulled, used, and/ or referenced from throughout all of the CW Arrowverse and DC Comics Universe, though primarily Supergirl. It’s not really crazy, but it is intricately woven throughout the storyline.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, my I Believe in a Thing Called Love into Spanish.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Not yet, but I’m not opposed.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Supercorp... There are others (Avatrice, Caitvi, lots of wlw really), but nothing compares to the hold they still have on me.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I plan on finishing all of my actual WIPs that have writing associated with them. There are a couple of WIP ideas I have that I’m not sure I’ll ever get to… A Christmas fic, one loosely based on the movie D.A.R.Y.L., a couple with other main relationships

16. What are your writing strengths?

No idea… Someone once told me they love the way I sometimes write a singular scene from different POVs, telling the story in pieces to eventually for the whole… Not sure that’s a strength. I guess plotting out the story details then?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Lol stealing @luthordamnvers‘s answer: Actually writing.

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

English is the only language I really know, so in the past when I’ve needed to write in a different language (I’ve done Spanish and Icelandic), I used Google translator- which I now know is kind of bad at what it’s supposed to do. I need to ask a native speaker to check on the Spanish I’ve done, but I don’t know any Icelanders. For Kryptonian, I use the Doyle dictionary but I don’t know if I do the grammar/ syntax right or not.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Supergirl/ Supercorp.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oh, this one’s hard… Um, I like a couple of my fics for very different reasons, but I guess the Human/Original AU Series is the one that’s taken the most effort and I’m most proud of… It also started as my first, so you can see how I’ve grown as a writer as it continues which is fun/interesting/embarrassing for me lol

Tags, but no pressure: @casualsavant @itsalliebitheway @fyonahmacnally @natalievoncatte @villainousunsub @vox-ex

[twistedtummies2]

The Seventh Doctor - Worst to Best

Now that Christmas is over, let's focus on an anniversary I sadly neglected to acknowledge earlier in the year, and must acknowledge before the new year begins: 2023 marks the 60th anniversary of one of the longest-running television programs in history, that sci-fi camp classic, Doctor Who. Anybody who knows me knows that I love this series, both in its Classic and its "New Who" eras. The chances are also high that, if you know that, you know who my favorite Doctor is: Sylvester McCoy, the Seventh Doctor.

The Seventh Doctor was the last of the Classic Doctors, before the "bridge" that was Paul McGann's Eighth, and the beginning of New Who with Christopher Eccleston as the Ninth. To this day, he remains a slightly polarizing take on the character: for a long time, people seemed to greatly dislike number seven, but over the years he's gained more and more of a fanbase, with a lot of people claiming him to be one of the very best versions of the character out there.

Over the course of McCoy's three seasons - the final ones of the Classic show before it went on a LONG hiatus, to later be revived - the Seventh Doctor evolved in an interesting way. For his first season, the character is a more comical Doctor, somewhat clownish in nature...but even then, signs of his later development slowly began to take shape. By the end of his tenure, Seven had gone from one of the lightest takes on the character to arguably the single darkest: he could still be very funny, with a Vaudevillian sense of humor and style and many typical eccentricities, but he could also be ruthless, manipulative, and borderline sadistic. He was the Chessmaster Doctor: a master planner who could out-think his enemies sometimes several moves ahead...and yet he also loved playing the spoons and wearing silly outfits. Go figure.

I thought it would be fun, with the show nearing its 61st year - and having seen not one but TWO new canon Doctors added to the lineup this month alone, via Fourteen and Fifteen - to go over my thoughts on my favorite Doctor and his time on the show, in all its ups and downs. Over three seasons on TV (I'm not touching the audio dramas or anything else here), McCoy's Doctor had twelve separate stories/serials. So, today, I am going to rank them all! Let's waste no more time (or space), these are the Seventh Doctor's Episodes - From Worst to Best.

12. Time and the Rani.

It grieves me to say that the very worst of the lot is the Seventh Doctor’s debut/regeneration episode. In my opinion, this is the single worst introduction any Doctor has ever had, and it physically hurts me to say that since it is the first episode for my favorite Doctor. The first season of the McCoy era was sadly not very good, and I think that’s why some people have a hard time warming up to him and his Doctor. When the 24th season began, the show was going pretty much fully for comedy; it had some dark edges, but it was mostly playing itself almost as a space pantomime. That wouldn't be so bad, but the writing wasn't very good, and the production values were at an all-time low, both of which stymied its potential. “Time and the Rani” is the worst of the worst, for a very simple reason: if this was the only Sylvester McCoy episode you ever saw, you wouldn’t have any clue about what made this Doctor special. With every other Doctor’s big debut – no matter how good or bad the episode may be – you can at least say you get a sense of what this Doctor will be like. With McCoy, in his first appearance, he feels like a watered-down mish-mash of various other Doctors before him, and rather dimwitted. The only scene I really like is one where the Seventh tries on his new costume, but even that scene is basically a riff on a Fourth Doctor sequence. If you want to get a start on the McCoy era, don’t start with his actual debut; it really isn’t worth your time, and you can probably imagine better intros/regeneration tales in your head than this gives.

11. Delta and the Bannermen.

This story is pretty bad, too, but it’s not AS bad as “Time and the Rani.” This was the third serial from the first McCoy season, and it features the Doctor and his then-current companion, Mel Bush, being invited to participate on a holiday tour in 1950s Wales, by pure luck. (Trust me, pure luck is what gets Number Seven through most of his first season.) Less lucky is the fact that a fugitive extraterrestrial named Delta – the last of her kind – is also on the tour, trying to escape from an army of brutish killers called the Bannermen. Throw in a couple of bungling redneck CIA agents (yes, really; I’d be angry if it weren’t for the fact, as an American, I have no right to complain) and references to Disneyland (again, yes, really), and you have this episode. Admittedly, some parts of this episode make me laugh, and the overall direction doesn’t make the Seventh Doctor look like a total idiot, which is a step up from the previous pick. I also like the character of Ray – a motorcycle gal who basically became a prototype for the character of Ace (more on her later) – but it’s not enough to save this story, which mostly comes across as equal parts boring and obnoxious. A most unpleasant blend, indeed.

10. Paradise Towers.

Of all the bad McCoy episodes, this one is the LEAST bad. It ALMOST works. This was the second serial of the first McCoy season, and, much like “Delta and the Bannermen,” it starts off with the Doctor trying to do something nice and pleasant with Mel, only for things to go to Hell in a teapot once they actually arrive. The Doctor takes Mel to a resort called “Paradise Towers,” which was made to provide people with peaceful relaxation and fun, as any proper resort would be. However, multiple conflicts have led to Paradise Towers becoming the epicenter of an effective civil war between several groups. What was once a happy and beautiful place is now home to cannibals, killer robots, Space Nazis (the Seventh Doctor faced Nazi-esque characters quite a lot; these ones are called the Caretakers), street hoodlums, and a vaguely Lovecraftian psychic abomination. The only one who doesn’t get involved in the violence is a single peaceful soul named Pex, who many defame as a coward. The concept has the potential to be a really twisted, imaginative story, but all of the varying plotlines don’t mesh well, and, again, much of it is played for absurd comedy, which really deadens the effect, in my opinion. True, this is kind of a crazy idea, but it could have been so much more than it was…in fact, that basically sums up a lot of this first season in general: it could have been so much more.

9. Dragonfire.

“Dragonfire” is the last serial of the first season, and it is also the best serial of the first season…which isn’t saying much. It’s…just okay, really, but that’s better than the other three. Once again, the Doctor tries to take Mel somewhere nice (this time a sort of space mall, in a place called Iceworld), and once again, shenanigans ensue. This time, said shenanigans involve a lost treasure, references to “Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark,” and “Alien,” and the villainous Kane - an icy antagonist who frankly could give Mr. Freeze a few lessons in frostbitten fiendishness. It also features one of the most infamously silly cliffhangers in the show’s history. What really makes this serial work though are our three main characters: with this episode, McCoy’s Doctor finally starts to evolve a bit more into the character we know and love from later appearances. It also features the return of the loveably roguish con-artist, Sabalom Glitz, who had previously appeared a couple of times during the era of the Sixth Doctor, Colin Baker. But the true point that makes this work are the two companions involved: this is the last story we get with Mel, and the first story featuring Ace. Mel is (or, at least, was) one of the worst companions in the show's history, in my opinion, but I actually kind of like her in this episode, and while her departure makes absolutely no sense, it's legitimately sort of sad to see her go. Ace, meanwhile, is my favorite companion in all of Doctor Who (just as McCoy is my favorite Doctor), so seeing her arrive on the scene is a blast. It's their combined presence, above all else, that makes this story worth seeing.

8. Silver Nemesis.

The 25th Season of Doctor Who - McCoy's second - was where the show REALLY started to take off, and it might actually be one of my favorite seasons in the entire series. Having said that, "Silver Nemesis" is what might be called "the worst of the best," just as "Time and the Rani" is "the worst of the worst." Intended as a celebration of the show's 25th Anniversary, the serial features the Doctor and Ace having to deal with three different factions of antagonists: a group of Neo-Nazis from contemporary times, a witch from the 17th Century, and - as you can see her - the Cybermen, one of the Doctor's most long-running and infamous monster antagonists. All three warring factions are trying to gain control of a living statue, called Nemesis, which apparently can grant whoever wields it immense destructive power. The Doctor, it's revealed, is the one who apparently CREATED Nemesis, and must now find a way to keep this mysterious creation out of the hands of his enemies. The episode does some interesting things - most notably with it really playing up the Doctor as a mysterious figure, in a way that hadn't been done in a very long time, if ever before - but ultimately, it's tonally scattershot, the pacing is a bit off, and most of the villains turn out to be shockingly ineffectual. The story is also basically a giant ripoff of "Remembrance of the Daleks" (more on that later), featuring a lot of similar plot and thematic elements throughout, which definitely deadens the impact. It's not necessarily a TERRIBLE story, as it has a great cast and a lot of cool scenes and ideas, but it's definitely on the lower end of "meh," in my opinion.

7. Ghost Light.

Believe it or not, I actually had a hard time choosing between Ghost Light and Silver Nemesis. It is potentially unbelievable because most fans agree that Ghost Light is a better episode than Silver Nemesis; many call this episode a triumph of the era, with the other as one of its weakest pieces. In some ways I agree, but in other ways…I won’t say Silver Nemesis is superior, because it isn’t, but I feel this episode is SLIGHTLY overrated. This was a serial from the 26th season – the Seventh Doctor’s third and final season in the series. “Ghost Light” is a three-parter, and – in my opinion – it truly could have benefited from having a fourth section. The first two thirds of the serial are quite brilliant: the story is a really great one for Ace, as it taps into dark elements of her past, and the style of this tale is absolutely DRIPPING in Gothic Victorian atmosphere. It deals with scientific and philosophical concepts of evolution, change, and social status, and blends elements of various classic stories together, such as Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, The Island of Dr. Moreau, and a heavy helping of H.P. Lovecraft's works. I love the style, the atmosphere, and a lot of the concepts presented…but the problem lies in the execution. The first two parts move at a decent pace, but in the third part, everything feels very rushed. It becomes REALLY hard to follow what’s going on, and lots of things feel underdeveloped, as well. I also feel that the reveal of one of the main antagonists – Light – is a little underwhelming; the character is supposed to be an awe-inspiring presence, like some sort of avenging angel, but the performance and especially the costume design make him feel less intense than he should. It’s still a good story, but I don’t think it’s the masterpiece a lot of people seem to claim it is.

6. Battlefield.

In a weird way, "Battlefield" is one of two episodes where you could arguably sum up the reputation of the Seventh Doctor and his era - with fans, that is - in a nutshell. This, and another story I'll get to later, used to be considered pretty bad eggs on the whole...but nowadays, people have a lot more respect for them, and several folks I know (or just know about) have labeled them as being among their favorites. I definitely have a soft spot for this one, myself: "Battlefield" features the Doctor facing off against a legion of dark knights from another dimension, where the legends of King Arthur are real, and the Doctor himself - apparently - is Merlin! The issue is, the Doctor won't become Merlin until a later regeneration, so this is - confusingly - his first time meeting any of the Arthurian characters: most notably the main villain of the story, the mysterious Morgaine. To try and deal with the problem, the agents of UNIT - an elite military group who are a recurring presence throughout Doctor Who - are called into play. This brings back the Doctor's old friend and companion, The Brigadier, in his final appearance on the show. While the episode is not perfect, there's a LOT to love here: I love seeing the homages to earlier eras of the series, with the return of the Brigadier and "Bessie" (which I can only describe as the Doctor's equivalent to the Batmobile), and I love the thematics and motifs of Arthurian myth and legend. The supporting cast is great, and we get one of the best-looking monsters in the series, courtesy of a demon known simply as "The Destroyer." Definitely a fun outing that deserves more credit than it sometimes gets.

5. Survival.

The final episode of the Classic era. While not a perfect way to cap off the show as a whole, nor McCoy's central tenure in the program, "Survival" is, nevertheless, hardly a bad note to close on, either. The story focuses on the TARDIS Team returning to Ace's hometown and time period: then-modern-day Perivale. The Doctor and his companion soon discover that a bunch of people around town have been mysteriously disappearing. It's revealed they are being transported to a mysterious alternate dimension, known only as "The Planet of the Cheetah People" (yes, that's really what the monsters are called). The Cheetah People are half-human, half-cheetah beasts who hunt people for both sport and food; those who don't end up as cat chow end up slowly turning into Cheetah People themselves, their aggressive instincts and more animalistic desires coming to the forefront. Wrapped up in all of this is the Doctor's arch-enemy: the Master, who has taken control of the Cheetah People, but is also trying to find a way to escape their world before he becomes one of them. This was one of actor Anthony Ainley's best outings with the Master (he's my favorite person to play the role), and it was great to see him go up against my favorite Doctor. It's so strangely fitting that the final episode of the Classic era featured the Doctor going against his arch-enemy for what was, at the time, perceived to be the final time, and I'm not sure how planned that fact was, based on what I know of the production history. Regardless, while this episode is a bit silly in places, it's mostly a really great and surprisingly dark story, dealing with some interesting themes and philosophies, and having some fine action sequences to its credit, as well. If you were only to watch this one episode, and no other, from McCoy's era, it wouldn't be a bad choice.

4. The Happiness Patrol.

This is the other episode I mentioned, alongside "Battlefield," where you can kind of see it as a (likely unintended) symbol of the Seventh Doctor's era as a whole. At the time this story came out, it wasn't much liked by the public, and there are still those who don't especially care for it...but nowadays, generally speaking, respect for this story seems to have grown quite a lot. It's not perfect, but it's definitely a highlight of McCoy's time in the series, and for good reason. In this story, the Doctor and Ace travel to a human colony in the distant future, called Terra Alpha. The place is run by Helen A: a parody of Margaret Thatcher herself, played by Sheila Hancock. Helen A has declared that no one is allowed to be sad: people must wear bright colors, tell silly jokes, only listen to cheerful music, and generally always behave like everything is sunshine and rainbows. Anyone perceived to be a "Killjoy" faces one of several horrible punishments: one is being shot down in the streets by the titular Happiness Patrol - her special police squadron. Another is being sent to "The Waiting Zone," which is Terra Alpha's equivalent to jail (and where you can be killed by either trigger happy guards or rigged arcade games). Finally, there's being forced to pay to suffer the wrath of the Kandy Man: a self-aware robot made almost entirely out of sweets, designed as a parody of Bertie Basset. The Kandy Man either experiments on people in his laboratory, feeding them candies that are so good they literally make you die of pleasure, or drowning people in boiling hot syrup via an execution method called "Fondant Surprise." The TARDIS Team must find a way to dethrone Helen A, destroy her minions - especially the Kandy Man - and give Terra Alpha the right to be unhappy again. I love the paradoxical nature of this episode, with things that are bright and colorful being made wicked and nasty, and with the whole premise focusing on letting people feel sad rather than joyful. The story plays off the idea that happiness and sadness are "two sides of the same coin," and that neither emotion can exist properly without the other. There's a lot more I could say, but this description is already getting too long; basically, if you like things such as "We Happy Few" or a certain episode of "Fairly Oddparents," this may be a story you enjoy, as well.

3. Curse of Fenric.

Many consider this to be the single best episode of the Seventh Doctor's era. I obviously do not agree with this general feeling, but I also can't deny this serial is a great one. "Curse of Fenric" was the debut story of Season 26, and it is one of the darkest stories in all of Doctor Who history. Ace and the Doctor arrive near a military base in the heart of World War II, where English and Russian soldiers are working together. While trying to solve the mystery of some mysterious relics found near the base, military personnel seemingly awaken a race of creatures called Haemovores, which I can only describe as "squid vampires." The Haemovores can only be held back by one's faith; the stronger the exhibition of faith one has in something, practically anything, the better it wards them off. The Haemovores, it's revealed, are just pawns in the game of Fenric: an entity of pure evil older than the universe itself, which apparently has faced the Doctor before. It's revealed that Fenric is not only involved with these beasts, but that many past events from the past two seasons were actually part of an elaborate scheme the evil entity was concocting to get revenge on the Doctor. I love so much about this story: I love its themes of faith and doubt. I love its dark setting and even darker storytelling elements. I love both Fenric and the Haemovores as monsters/villains, and I love the fact this story ties a lot of past threads together in such a subtle way. I especially love what this episode does for Ace, as a character, and how it shows newer, even darker dimensions to the Seventh Doctor that we hadn't seen before, and which have now become central to who he is in years since. I may not think it's the perfect masterwork everyone else does, but it's hard to think of anything particularly wrong with it, either; definitely one of the Seventh Doctor's crowning moments.

2. Remembrance of the Daleks.

If I had to choose one episode of the Seventh Doctor's era that I would call the definitive story - meaning, if you are going to watch only one episode, this would be the best one to see to give you an idea of everything great about it - that would undoubtedly be "Remembrance of the Daleks." This was the debut of Season 25, and going from "Dragonfire" to this is like switching a lightbulb: it is ASTONISHING how much the quality of EVERYTHING about the show seems upped, right off the bat, in this serial. The Doctor and his Companion, the supporting players, the writing, the visual effects...everything here is a MILLION times better than ANYTHING in Season 24, and it's the story that officially cements the kind of Doctor Sylvester McCoy's would really be moving forward. The plot has the Doctor returning to where it all began: Coal Hill School and Trotter's Lane, the setting of the very first episode of the very first serial in Doctor Who back in the early 60s. He and Ace discover that a Dalek civil war has broken out - between the gilded Imperial Daleks, and the more rugged-looking Renegade Daleks - and both sides are fighting to gain control of a piece of Time Lord technology, known as the Hand of Omega. If either side can take the Hand, they'll basically become Gods, and we obviously can't have that. However, it's revealed the Doctor was somehow prepared for all this, and has devised an elaborate plan to outwit the Daleks at their own game...the problem is that he wasn't expecting two warring factions, and he has to make sure the wrong set of Daleks don't interfere with his scheme. The episode has great action, great philosophies and themes, a few surprising twists and turns, and a surprisingly somber and ambiguous ending. It also features what many consider to be the most iconic scenes/moments for both the Seventh Doctor and Ace alike.

Greatest Show in the Galaxy.

While "Remembrance of the Daleks" may be the most definitive episode of the Seventh Doctor's era (and I would argue it and "Curse of Fenric" might be candidates for the technical best episodes), it's not actually my personal favorite. That goes to this story: "Greatest Show in the Galaxy." The plot begins with the Doctor and Ace getting intergalactic junk mail, tempting them to visit the Psychic Circus on the desert planet of Segonax. It's ultimately revealed, however, that some mysterious force is controlling the circus performers and workers. This force - which I shall not name here - seems to literally thrive on entertainment itself, and so the performers are forced to bring anybody who attends from the crowd into the arena to perform, in order to save their own skins. Because as soon as you stop being even remotely entertaining, you die. I love how the episode is more subtle with the Doctor's chessmaster ways here; he's not exactly planning everything out in advance, but he's also not totally hapless throughout the story either. It's somewhere in the middle, and it's hard to say how much of what happens was something he expected or not. The supporting cast is also great, from characters like Mags the Werewolf, to the insufferably geeky Wiz Kid, to one of the greatest oneshot villains in Who history, the devilish Chief Clown, played by Ian Reddington. The whole serial seems to be a subtle riff on Doctor Who ITSELF, and how it was being perceived by critics, producers, and fans alike at the time, which makes it pretty interesting once you see it from that perspective. Even without that idea in mind, however, it's just a fun, somewhat surreal story that really shows the strength and fun of McCoy's Doctor, gives a little bit of depth to Ace (not as much as some later stories, like "Fenric" and "Survival," but still), and provides plenty of memorable moments. It's not necessarily the best, it's not necessarily one I would suggest as the first and only story people watch...but without a doubt, "Greatest Show in the Galaxy" is my favorite Seventh Doctor Episode.

[glitch-pep]

Mina's parents Intro

Sooo... you might be wondering... who are these characters, and where are their heads?

Well, the answer to those and many other questions is under the cut.

[Background taken from Ed Edd n Eddy.]

When it comes to Ed Edd n Eddy we have never seen any of the parents entirerly, the most we've seen was Ed's mom from the neck down. So, I've only designed Mina's parents from the neck down.

It's quite silly but I think it also adds a sense of mystery to it. Not even I know what their faces look like, because I've never thought of it.

I'm not gonna give them any names either, I'm just gonna call them "Mina's mom" and "Mina's dad".

I like to stay true to the show for stuff like this, in the same way Mina doesn't have a last name because the kids in the show don't have them either. They mostly never mentioned this stuff because the kids are the main focus, but I still find it interesting.

I'll give ya some info about her parents, and you can fill in the blanks yourself if you want.

Mina's mom is basically the most known parent in the entire show because Mina keeps mentioning her just as much as Eddy mention's his brother. Although, while Eddy keeps talking about his brother in a good light which we eventually find out isn't true, Mina keeps talking about her mom in a more bad light, but as the show goes on we'd slowly catch onto the fact that Mina's mom is an incredibly nice person.

I like to imagine that it's the little details that give it away, like Mina's lunch having her name written on it with hearts around it, which her mom made.

Mina's mom genuinely loves Mina, but she's very concerned about her as well. I mean a child spending the entire day in front of the TV really isn't a healthy hobby.

Which is why she keeps tyring to get her interested in different stuff to get her out of the house more often, which is difficult considering how difficult Mina is.

And this leads to the famous "Mina's mom getting mad at Mina" which Mina tries to avoid at all costs.

It isn't the yelling and messy type of mad, but more of the quiet type. Mina's mom can be genuienly terrifying when she's just looking at her in silence.

And Mina loves her mom as well. But currently she's far too grumpy to admit it.

As for her mom's personality besides being a nice person... I'll just say that she's the kind of person that walks through an IKEA for the entire day carrying 5 bags and she's still enthusiastic and full of energy after it.

Also, I've said it before but she works at a cosmetics shop.

Also, another important thing is that Mina's mom and Jonny's mom are bff's, so that's why Mina and Jonny have to spend a lot of time together (besides because they're cousins). I imagine that the two families often have lunch together or that they celebrate Christmas together, that kinda stuff.

And, finally, onto Mina's dad.

A very mysterious figure as he'd maybe be mentioned once or twice in the show by Mina.

Him and Mina basically always have silent solidarity going on. Whenever he gets home Mina moves over on the couch so that he can watch TV with her, without saying a word to one another which they prefer.

He's known as the electrical wizard of the culdesac, the other neighboors always call him to fix stuff for them. (mostly because they know he'd do it for free)

He works at an electrical shop, where they sell parts for things but also stuff like toasters, washing mashines etc.

As for their marriage It's basically those tall and short person relationship dynamics. :'D

I also keep imagining him buying flowers for her and cute little gestures like that.

I can also imagine that the other adults in the culdesac are secretly jealous of them...

Like how can someone have a such nicely put together life without a million problems?

Behind their backs they probably gossip about how they're faking it and that there's something bad going on behind the curtains, which makes Jonny's family the only one that's truly loyal to them.

And that's about it! I really like the designs I came up with. If anyone can pinpoint what I did with them you'll get a gold star. >:]

[beardedmrbean]

Hey it me, zoomer Huey, I saw the post saying about the young gamers retro revival

But how retro because this book..

https://www.tumblr.com/gsirvitor/742534236498804736

Also yes people halo is going to be 23 this fall so it’s a retro game

Yes, don’t have to deal with horrific live service and micro transactions but the thing is….economic reasons

Like I been getting into kingdoms hearts and final fantasy….but I was a Xbox player so they are new ports in the ecosystem

And like I said, AC red will probably be a huge entry point for a lot of new fans. So it very likely they will be curious what the game Easter eggs are about so I will gladly help them get say get the Ezio Collection if the European Templars have dialogue mentioning they don’t want another Borgia fiasco since the game take places in the 1580’s-90’s and during this time many Templars went to the new world or other places to escape the “Dark Age” of the Templars order where it’s was about gaining power for selfish reasons rather further their causes

And about retro games, um…the same way a adult might want to watch old classic movies

Now I watched Fox’s miracle of 34th street a couple of years ago on Disney plus (actually I often use these streaming services to watch old shit like the muppet show) despite being at my depress state, I couldn’t help but smile at the Santa in it

It like for me, I found the Santa that inspired the ones your generation, my generation, and all those in between the Santa we had when we were kids. I’m glad the actor got the Oscar. And I’m more glad Hollywood graveyard help find his lost vase and people came to celebrate the actor new home. With him Unknowingly inspired the Christmas magic we love

Sorry using that as example

Also a lot of young gamers….were often too poor, too young, didn’t have enough resources when these old games came out. So we are interested in what these games that older gamers talk about even if we don’t have the nostalgia for it

Like Xbox Backwards Compatibility library….can someone please make a deal to bring the one transformers or marvel games back on it? Anyways, I’m 24 now, so there a lot of old 360 and og Xbox games I didn’t okay that I use bc for

And modern gaming, ugh feel like it intentionally designed for Twitch streamers and YouTuber gamers. Ugh halo infinite mp made just drop it all together

Oh gaming companies, a lot of modern gamers have JOBS so we might invest in a 1 or 2 live service games. Hell ac red might have a 3-4 live services era (ac Valhalla had 2 years of support) but I’m mostly invested in single player games

Well I’m autistic and I work 10 hour and 4 days a week work schedule. I am not interested dealing with try hards

Like I don’t understand this shock? Ac red is dead ass the only triple a gaming I’m probably going to be paying at launch at full price while the upcoming Star Wars game I’m probably going to get on sale

I feel like people are so focus on young people who refuse to consume pre 2012 media. There are those with a mentality that can stand old shit.

Hey it me, zoomer Huey, I saw the post saying about the young gamers retro revival But how retro because this book. gsirvitor/742534236498804736 Also yes people halo is going to be 23 this fall so it’s a retro game

I think the first post your talking about was one I put up, I go with most anything PS2 on down for consoles, some PS2 aren't really "retro" but the divide for me is mostly based on hotfixes and micro-transactions so like Sims2 is the right age but i shift round on the retro bit since you could buy skins and such still gonna be retro I think.

Online games you could play for free online are retro too, but everyone will define it in their own way too so no hard and fast rules for me.

Like I been getting into kingdoms hearts and final fantasy….but I was a Xbox player so they are new ports in the ecosystem And like I said, AC red will probably be a huge entry point for a lot of new fans. So it very likely they will be curious what the game Easter eggs are about......... And about retro games, um…the same way a adult might want to watch old classic movies

Classic and retro work together in tandem a lot, there is a difference but I don't want to tangent too far into that.

Now I watched Fox’s miracle of 34th street a couple of years ago on Disney plus (actually I often use these streaming services to watch old shit like the muppet show) despite being at my depress state, I couldn’t help but smile at the Santa in it

Watch some Mr Rogers, it's a soothing balm on depression, won't make it go away but at the end of a episode or two you'll feel loved, man you've never met in your life but you know he loved you, just the way you are.

Also a lot of young gamers….were often too poor, too young, didn’t have enough resources when these old games came out. So we are interested in what these games that older gamers talk about even if we don’t have the nostalgia for it

Nostalgia isn't required for retro, good games are good games.

Like Xbox Backwards Compatibility library….can someone please make a deal to bring the one transformers or marvel games back on it? Anyways, I’m 24 now, so there a lot of old 360 and og Xbox games I didn’t okay that I use bc for

If I'd had the money to get one of the first gen PS3's I'd have gotten one since they were built to still run PS1&2 games as well, once they took that away I had no desire to get the thing. Wii was great because you had the Wii shop for the older games and it also played GC games, Wii shop games weren't too pricey either.

And modern gaming, ugh feel like it intentionally designed for Twitch streamers and YouTuber gamers. Ugh halo infinite mp made just drop it all together

I've noticed that with some, they dial back the graphics and all that good stuff so they stream well, or at least leave the option of that. I figure as long as everyone is happy.

Oh gaming companies, a lot of modern gamers have JOBS so we might invest in a 1 or 2 live service games. Hell ac red might have a 3-4 live services era (ac Valhalla had 2 years of support) but I’m mostly invested in single player games

That's really all I do, even when battle net was going strong I still didn't sign up for D2 on there except rarely.

Like I don’t understand this shock? Ac red is dead ass the only triple a gaming I’m probably going to be paying at launch at full price while the upcoming Star Wars game I’m probably going to get on sale

Blizard had it right with World of Warcraft, at least at one point. The were selling the game disc for like $5 with a 2 week subscription make their money in the long game, not sure if anyone is doing that kind of thing anymore but they should be.

I feel like people are so focus on young people who refuse to consume pre 2012 media. There are those with a mentality that can stand old shit.

I love seeing people get into the games and stuff I enjoyed when I was younger, watching through the X-Files with a friend who's never seen it before and it's great seeing it through the eyes of someone who hasn't watched it.

Same with nerding out about games, as you've seen me do with FFVI here previously.

Most people that matter feel the same, so don't worry about any haters, they aren't worth your time or thought.

[fueledpurelybyspite]

Different uses for different needles

summary

It's now three in the morning, and Xavier finally has the piercing he'd been thinking about for the past three weeks and a very self-satisfied girlfriend.

'Watch out Wens, you'll have to chase girls away from me with a bat now' He jokingly tells her.

He expects jealousy, instead Wednesday still looks like a cat who got the cream, amusement giving her face a sinister allure.

'Wouldn't be the first time'

Xavier almost asks, he really does. But this moment is so precious he doesn't feel like he needs to know what poor girl incurred in Wednesday's wrath before.

He takes her in his arms from behind, resting his temple on the top of her head.

'Thank you, Wens. I love it'

'Don't let it go to your head, I only did it because that's the only way I can legally stab you'

Or

Headcanon that Xavier eventually picks up tattooing and becomes well known in the school as the person to go to for beautiful designs specially made for all kinds of outcasts.

Wednesday is the only person he tattoos for free. What the others don't know, however, is that to pay back the favor Wednesday decides to do his piercings

*

Sirens have thick skin.

Their scales are hard to get through with the needle. And if that weren't enough, he has to be careful of what inks he uses, lest he accidentally damages the protective layer they develop in their early childhood in order to protect them from the frigid currents of their native waters.

It's tricky, maddening work. But Xavier still feels that it's worth it when he can get the mighty Kraken curled around Kent's arm to open his jaws and swallow the tiny ship still healing on his wrist.

'That's so awesome, dude' His friend's comment is filled with wonder and youthful bravado as he twists his neck to take a better look at his new ink, laughing like a kid who's managed to sneak an early peak of his Christmas presents.

Xavier grins back at him even as his focus fades and both the fresh and previous tattoos go still, the tiny ship once again reappearing on Kent's skin.

'Interesting' Wednesday's voice is low and distracted as her eyes trail the drop of crimson blood running from his upper arm to his elbow, gaze transfixed on it with eerie curiosity. 'Now we know for a fact that your drawings can interact with each other, even on skin'

She's perched on the arm of one of the couches they've recently managed to put in the Nightshades' library, back perfectly straight and a heavy notebook balanced on her knee.

Theoretically speaking, it would be easier to do this in his shed, what with not having to sneak inks and needles inside the school and everything. But after the cops came bursting through the door and messed everything up, Xavier finds himself even more protective of that space than he already was.

Ironic, really, that even after everything that happened Wednesday is the only one who's granted access.

'Yo, Addams, remind me again why you're here' Kent turns in her direction, half playful and half annoyed.

Rather than answering, Wednesday keeps her attention on the blood weeping from the fresh wound before lifting her gaze to his, black eyes blown wide and the chilling hint of a smile at the corner of her lips.

If he weren't so enamored by the sight of her, Xavier would laugh at Kent's visible shudder. 

'Jesus, you're sick' is the last thing his friend says before getting up and rushedly going for the door.

He stops only a second to shout from halfway up the stairs. 'I gave the money to Ajax earlier, by the way, he said he'll bring it by your room later'

'Thanks, man' Xavier answers, but he's distracted. His nightmarish girl has shifted her attention on him, cruel smile and crueler eyes alight with the closest thing to genuine excitement she ever allows herself to show.

It's not unusual for her to sit through his tattooing sessions. Never talking, never speaking, never judging or engaging. She just stays, and she watches. A dangerous little shadow lurking in the corner of his vision at all times.

'I have another idea for you, wanna see?' He always feels like he needs to lower his voice when he's talking to her. Maybe it's instinct, maybe it's learned behavior, like using exclusively hushed tones the moment you step into a church.

One of her brows arches high on her disgustingly pretty face. Asking is below her, and so she never does. It's Xavier that comes up with designs for her, that takes time out of his school work and already fucked up sleep schedule to work on them until he deems them worthy.

He fumbles to find his sketchbook, the good one with the black leather cover that he exclusively uses for her. He skips through pages and pages of agonizing studies of her hands, the faint hint of different facial expressions, mugs of bitter coffee, and even an embarrassing recreation of the black cat costume she wore during her first time competing for the Poe cup.

He doesn't bother hiding it. Sure, he's kinda always a bit scared for his life, but it's not like his pining is a secret. Even someone as emotionally dense as Wednesday has picked up on it by this point.

Finally, he stops to show her the few simple letters he dreams of marking into her skin. he knows it's a bold move, and a very, very risky one. Because this time the design it's not simply about Wednesday, but in some way it's about him too, about the way he sees her, anyway. What she is to him.

He's half expecting her to break a few of his knuckles for the sheer audacity. Instead, she just looks at him intrigued and faintly surprised, her head tilted slightly to the side as she asks him 'Where?'

He smiles brightly at her and tells her when to come by.

*

He feels a little euphoric, having Wednesday lie down on the cheap mattress in his shed in the dead of night, shirt off and hands over her chest for modesty as she waits for him to bring a needle to her moonlight-pale skin.

They are breaking so many rules simultaneously that he doesn't even know exactly what their punishment would be if they were found out.

'I half expected you to propose to do a third one to keep this two company' She says, brushing one of the two ravens caught in flight just under each of her collarbones with the tip o her finger. 'Then they would officially become an unkindness'

Xavier's face stretches in a lopsided grin, throwing her a glance as he readies everything he needs.

'Ravens mate for life' He looks around making sure the fresh needle is within reach 'wouldn't want it to get crowded. Although-' He applies the stencil on her skin with careful, precise movements. A playful glint coming forth in his eyes. ' I guess some little ones are bound to come around, sooner or later-Ah, fuckin-Wens!'

She kicks him in the side so hard it sends him falling on his ass over a few cans of paint scattered on the ground. Laughing only makes the pain worst, and yet he can't bring himself to stop, wiping tears from his eyes with latex-covered fingers.

'I'm going to castrate you with my bare teeth'

'Hey, don't threaten me with a good time'

This time Xavier manages to dodge her blow, barely.

'Alright, alright. I'm done fucking around, sorry' But he's still laughing and she's still scowling at him.

No matter, Wednesday lies back down with the promise of violence in her eyes, eyeing the needles with newfound interest. But then she huffs and relaxes, looking like someone who's about to get a spa treatment instead of a tiny needle stabbed in their sternum a thousand times.

'You know the drill, this might hurt a little' Xavier says, focused and ready to get to work.

'I'm counting on it'

*

'Xavier? Xavier-Wake up'

He comes back to reality with a jolt, the Wednesday in his dreams replaced with the Wednesday sitting astride his legs, with hair falling out of her braids and smeared dark makeup under her wide eyes. Her stoic expression does very little to hide her restlessness as she scans his face in open judgment, like he's the crazy one for sleeping, in his room, in the middle of the goddamned night.

Xavier wants to laugh, and yell at her, and maybe kiss her for good measure. Is she wearing his shirt?

'You look a mess'

'You're pretty like a girl'

He frowns. There's too much to unpack in that sentence for his two-and-a-half am brain.

'Addams, what. the. fuck.'

Xavier couldn't agree more with his roommate at the moment. Ajax's exhausted grunt comes from all the way across the room as he fumbles with the blanket to cover his ears.

Wednesday throws his sprawled form a condescending glance as she answers him. 'You do realize that me being here means Enid has the room all to herself, right?'

A beat of silence as Ajax registers her words, then before Xavier can bat an eye the covers are on the ground and his friend has a hand on the door handle, the other rushedly fixing his beanie over his snakes.

'Thanks, Wednesday!'

'Whatever, no debauchery on my side of the room'

Xavier looks up at her with a knowing smirk. 'Boy, has that ship sailed'

'do you want to die?'

He doesn't know how people can avoid someone like Wednesday. She makes him laugh so much, with her quick wit and dry humor, and (mostly) empty threats.

He knows his eyes are too fond for her liking when he answers her. 'What do you want?

'I want to pierce your ear'

Aaand now he's confused again, awesome. Xavier imagines that for Wednesday everyday conversations must feel like talking with a bunch of obtuse apes. 'You, wait-what?'

'did you hit your head? I said-'

'No, no, I got it. But why?'

For a second Wednesday's eyes shift on the phone on his nightstand, then she lowers her voice, bringing her face even closer to his.

'I've seen you look at pictures of it on your phone- It's a kind way to say she'gone through his phone, he knows. Wednesday wouldn't be caught dead openly looking at a tecnology device in public, not even someone else's-, right here' She touches a point high on the shell of his left ear. 'I want to do it. I let you do tattoos on me all the time'

'You let me?' She's the only one who he draws and works for free, and yet, somehow, in her head, he's the priviledged one for getting the honor of marking her skin.

He hates himself a bit because, deep down, he agrees with her. Goddamnit.

'Of course'

Wednesday twists on top of him to get something out of her bag. When she turns there's a brand new piercing kit in one of her hands. A tiny, beautiful, stainless steel ring in the other.

Xavier sits up to examine the items. He smiles warmly up at her, his batshit crazy, unpredictable, weirdly thoughtful girl. Who wants to play it cool but got so excited about finding a way to return his devotion to her that she couldn't wait for the morning to come.

I love you, he thinks. And it catches him so off guard his brain shuts down for a moment. He didn't expect this revelation to come to him in such a mundane moment, not after all the dangerous, life-threatening events they've been through together. And yet it's right there, clear as day. An impossibly familiar truth, lurking in the back of his mind just waiting for the right moment to strike.

I love you, he thinks. But it's the middle of the night and they're just kids. Plus, Wednesday has a very sharp needle in her hands that he'd rather not have stabbed in his eye.

So instead Xavier shakes his head without dropping her gaze, smiles, and tells her 'Free of charge?'

Wednesday rolls her eyes, exasperated, and he knows he's done for.

*

There's a surprising amount of blood for such a small wound. Still, the hole is clean and the process quick and painless.

It's now three in the morning, and Xavier finally has the piercing he'd been thinking about for the past three weeks and a very self-satisfied girlfriend.

'Watch out Wens, you'll have to chase girls away from me with a bat now' He jokingly tells her.

He expects jealousy, instead Wednesday still looks like a cat who got the cream, amusement giving her face a sinister allure.

'Wouldn't be the first time'

Xavier almost asks, he really does. But this moment is so precious he doesn't feel like he needs to know what poor girl incurred in Wednesday's wrath before.

He takes her in his arms from behind, resting his temple on the top of her head.

'Thank you, Wens. I love it'

'Don't let it go to your head, I only did it because that's the only way I can legally stab you'

He looks at her reflection in the mirror as one of the ravens flies from her collarbone to the word freshly tattooed on her skin, perching on the first of the four gothic capital letters.

On her sternum, right in the center, the ultimate proof of his devotion, his claim on her looks back at him.

'Muse'.

[bettsfic]

I'm really enjoying your craft essay commentary! I have to read more in 2023, too. If you have anything in mind, it would be cool if you posted the list so we could take a look and join you! (Or if anyone has recs?)

i honestly wish i was one of those people who could make a reading list and make my way through it, but since reading is my job, when i read for fun it has to be either 1) entertaining, and/or 2) enriching, and it's surprisingly rare how few books there are that seem to fit into either category. which has nothing to do with the books and everything to do with my weird personal tastes.

but! here's what i'm hoping to make my way through in the coming weeks.

novels/memoirs

return of the king (re-read) and maybe some other tolkien stuff (i went on a used book store spree recently)

in the dream house by carmen maria machado (a christmas gift from @significationary!)

furnace creek by joseph allen boone (just preordered it in paperback)

the last 3 books of the neapolitan quartet by elena ferrante (i already read my brilliant friend)

the last samurai by helen dewitt

the color of sin and father of lies by janet inglis (these were very hard to get my hands on; i don't think they're in print anymore)

the locked tomb series? at least, another attempt will be made. the first time i tried gideon the ninth, it uh. didn't seem like my thing. but enough people have rec'd it that i'll try hard to stick with it.

maybe i'll finally read mdzs

i'd also love to pick up some classics that i'd intended to read for my comps, or maybe take a crack at smiley's list of 100 novels

nonfiction

authoring autism (this is going to take me a while, because it's a little over my head and also a very emotional read for me)

both tin house writer's notebooks

13 ways of looking at the novel by smiley

anatomy of criticism by frye (i think)

mystery and manners by o'connor

my narratology and rhetoric books (there are 2 narratology books that are based entirely on foucault so i'm gonna have to read him too probably)

and i have a bunch of other craft books on my shelf, plus a lengthy craft book purchase list, which i'm not letting myself touch until i've made a dent in what i already have

what i would love more than anything is to find a book or fic i can't put down, that i read until five in the morning and then pick up again as soon as i wake up (entertainment). or i'd like to find a book that's maybe not super interesting on a conflict level but which is so beautifully or weirdly written that it either teaches me something new about writing, or does one thing so remarkably well i might want to teach it in a class one day (enrichment).

last year, the best thing i read was a 700k fic that's not even on ao3 anymore, that was both entertaining (so sickeningly dark, with such high stakes) and enriching (i learned a goddamn ton about scene-level pacing and honestly just what it means to stare the present moment in the eye? i still can't even articulate exactly how masterful it was on a scene level). i also read when meat loves salt by maria mccann, which should have been a slam dunk for me (gorgeously written, historically accurate, extremely fucky gay relationship), and i did really like it but i read it in fits and starts throughout the year because it couldn't seem to keep my attention for long.

i thought the problem was that i was poorly medicated so i couldn't focus on anything. but now i can focus on stuff and i'm still putting down most of the books i pick up out of sheer disinterest. so i'm hoping this year i can kind of target that problem and figure out what my deal is, or find a way to reliably find books i know i'll like.

i always appreciate recs of the "this is the most exceptional thing i've ever laid eyes on" variety, so if anyone's got any of those, i'd love to hear them.