#i know it is quite obscure a fandom

[romances-not-tragedies]

Heads Up Seven Up

Thank you @winterandwords for the tag!

Time to switch gears from the usual, yes? Here is from my WIP (definitely still in progress) Jo Gar fanfic (I decided to add the last line because it is relevant):

Once out of the building and onto Escolta, Jo took a calesa that would take him inside of Binondo. While in the vehicle, he began formulating questions he would ask, search for streets to walk to ponder and investigate. Miguel Chua was being searched both by his boss and his family and it would have been difficult to find out who to tell any discovery first if he did accept both. But the choice was not difficult to make, for Adalberto Chua had the decency to show him how his brother looked like unlike his most recent boss. Jo Gar closed his eyes as the calesa wheels rattled to Calle Salazar, to the diner where the missing mestizo and his friend used to eat dinners, but he was not sleeping. His mind was awake. And he knew one thing: The game is on.

Tagging @avoidingcertaindoom, @laplumedemaureen, @radiowrites, and @kaylinalexanderbooks but this is also an open tag for those who want to participate.

Happy writing!

[nostalgia-tblr]

started reading about the shakespeare authorship thing and the first argument from a literary person to say Willy S couldn't have written them is "he didn't go to university," at which point i went "oh wow i didn't realise THIS was the level of 'evidence' people meant"

[silverspleen]

I regret to inform you that not only does Call of Duty Modern Warfare have lore but it has TRIPLE lore based on if you're talking about the original universe, the reboot universe + multiplayer, or the mobile games and comics, all of which run on their own little lore pockets and all of which induce a level of madness in online fan communities that must be hyperspecific to 'conventionally popular usamerican military propaganda that can be easily molded into yaoi.'

Video Games Fictional Characters

Honestly? We brought this list back out of our own need to know whether Astarion or Gale would come out on top.

Astarion | Baldur's Gate 3

Sonic the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog

Simon "Ghost" Riley | the Call of Duty franchise

Shadow the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog

Gale Dekarios | Baldur's Gate 3

Shadowheart | Baldur's Gate 3

John "Soap" MacTavish | the Call of Duty franchise

Karlach Cliffgate | Baldur's Gate 3

Lae'zel | Baldur's Gate 3

Lamb | Cult of the Lamb

Narinder | Cult of the Lamb

Wyll Ravengard | Baldur's Gate 3

Phoenix Wright | Ace Attorney

Sans | Undertale

Miles Edgeworth | Ace Attorney

Halsin | Baldur's Gate 3

William Afton | Five Nights at Freddy's

Link | The Legend of Zelda

Tav | Baldur's Gate 3

John Price | the Call of Duty franchise

Kim Kitsuragi | Disco Elysium

Harrier "Harry" Du Bois | Disco Elysium

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick | the Call of Duty franchise

Daycare Attendant | Five Nights at Freddy's

Mario | Super Mario Bros.

Aventurine | Honkai: Star Rail

Malleus Draconia | Twisted Wonderland

Belphegor | Obey Me! Shall We Date?

Kirby | Kirby

Leon S. Kennedy | Resident Evil

Papyrus | Undertale

Amy Rose | Sonic the Hedgehog

Sundrop | Five Nights at Freddy's

Medic | Team Fortress 2

Springtrap | Five Nights at Freddy's

Siffrin | In Stars and Time

Moondrop | Five Nights at Freddy's

Michael Afton | Five Nights at Freddy's

Dr. Ratio | Honkai: Star Rail

Scout | Team Fortress 2

Kris Dreemurr | Deltarune

Boothill | Honkai: Star Rail

DogDay | Poppy Playtime

Neuvillette | Genshin Impact

Akechi Goro | Persona 5

Frisk | Undertale

Enver Gortash | Baldur's Gate 3

Gabriel | ULTRAKILL

Arthur Morgan | Red Dead Redemption 2

Kurusu Akira | Persona 5

Sniper | Team Fortress 2

Spy | Team Fortress 2

CatNap | Poppy Playtime

Rouge the Bat | Sonic the Hedgehog

Minthara | Baldur's Gate 3

Princess Zelda | The Legend of Zelda

Furina | Genshin Impact

Azul Ashengrotto | Twisted Wonderland

Leona Kingscholar | Twisted Wonderland

Yuu | Twisted Wonderland

Knuckles the Echidna | Sonic the Hedgehog

Scaramouche | Genshin Impact

Ignis | Final Fantasy XV

Kaveh | Genshin Impact

Flowey | Undertale

Spamton | Deltarune

The Dark Urge | Baldur's Gate 3

Lilia Vanrouge | Twisted Wonderland

Heavy | Team Fortress 2

Alhaitham | Genshin Impact

Wriothesley | Genshin Impact

Jamil Viper | Twisted Wonderland

Idia Shroud | Twisted Wonderland

Jade Leech | Twisted Wonderland

Floyd Leech | Twisted Wonderland

Pearl Houzuki | Splatoon

Marina Ida | Splatoon

Luigi | Super Mario Bros.

Noelle Holiday | Deltarune

Maya Fey | Ace Attorney

Chara | Undertale

Soldier | Team Fortress 2

Vil Schoenheit | Twisted Wonderland

Lucifer | Obey Me! Shall We Date?

Leshy | Cult of the Lamb

Mammon | Obey Me! Shall We Date?

Melinoë | Hades II

Silver the Hedgehog | Sonic the Hedgehog

Tails the Fox | Sonic the Hedgehog

Cloud Strife | Final Fantasy VII

Sylus | Love and Deepspace

Goat | Cult of the Lamb

Sebek Zigvolt | Twisted Wonderland

Sephiroth | Final Fantasy VII

Ace Trappola | Twisted Wonderland

Zagreus | Hades

Klavier Gavin | Ace Attorney

Maria Robotnik | Sonic the Hedgehog

Metal Sonic | Sonic the Hedgehog

Riddle Rosehearts | Twisted Wonderland

Tada! This is a returning list!

Want to discuss the finer points of your Tav? Or swap Astarion fanfic with fellow readers? Here are some Baldur's Gate 3 Communities to get you started. Not a BG3 fan? Find a Community for your fave, or create one yourself. The sky's the limit.

[demaparbat-hp]

Hiya!! 👋🏼😄 How's it going? Your fashion taste for Zuko in a Modern AU seems to be artsy, or maybe "formal" is the word. That shirt he wore when he gave Sokka romantic song advice looked Versace🧐. Anyway, I was wondering how you came up with it, he always struck me more as the type that didn´t care much about fashion, so I'm curious about other´s opinions and heacanons about it. And do you have any other fashion headcanons for the rest of the GAang? Also, their music tastes. How did you come up with them? Especially Katara's! 😍

Hello! As it happens, I have a lot of Thoughts and Feelings™ about this, so I'm leaving these over here, and the rest of my ramblings down below the cut!

Let us begin with the Gaang, shall we?

SUKI always struck me as that Pretty Girl from the Gym. She is so incredibly fit it isn't even funny. She could kick anyone's ass, and we'd all thank her. She has this casual gym style that somehow always looks glorious on her, as it should! Comfy yet fashionable clothes for a nice workout or a day in town.

Her music tastes are basically any and all power songs from the eighties and nineties. (Eye of the Tiger, anyone?) She also enjoys metal via Toph, and bands like BSB, NSYNC, or Boyz II Men with Katara. My girl has a very eclectic Playlist and we all love her for it.

SOKKA is That Guy™. Loose T-shirts and shorts everywhere he goes, no matter the weather. He's stupidly into fashion but it doesn't show! At all! And everyone teases him about it. His closet is about 90% Cactus Juice merchandise, hence the "it's the quenchiest!" shirt.

His fashion and music tastes are pretty much the same. He loves poetry but isn't really into lyrics. He'll misinterpret just about anything you place in front of him. His Playlist is mostly vibes and tiktok songs he kind of enjoys. He isn't really into music...at least not as much as his sister.

AANG owns exactly one hoodie, one pair of shorts, and one beanie (THE beanie). Oh, and the crocs—don't forget the crocs. Somehow, he's always wearing the exact same outfit. Every. Single. Day. Ancient Gaang lore suggests that the day Aang goes out without his beanie, it's the end of the world.

His Playlist is the poppiest, most bizarre thing ever. Every single song is Happy by Pharrell Williams levels of happy. Yet sometimes, among the bouncy dance-to songs, you'll find the strangest of things... (He does know what Good Day by Twenty One Pilots is about. That's the reason he likes it so much, actually. And it's so weird.)

KATARA is all about sundresses and loose pants. The epitome of comfortable loveliness. Light fabrics in blue shades, careful embroidery, delicate shoes, and little to no accessories—hers is a simple, yet quite adorable, style. She just needs to add more colors to her usual palette...

She is, first and foremost, a Florence + The Machine girl. It's the Dark Goddess of the Sea vibes, to be honest. Florence Welch is her idol and yes, she will fight you about lyrics interpretation, and win. It may not seem like it, but her music tastes are also very varied.

She draws a little from each member of the Gaang, so you'll hear her humming along to Gorillaz (where did you even find out about them, Aang?), The Weeknd (I...don't think this song means what you think it means, Sokka...), and Hozier (Zuko why did you dedicate Talk to me, Zuko WHAT DID YOU MEAN BY THAT).

TOPH...ah, lovely girl. I'll summarise everything about Toph’s fashion sense in two words: comfort and rebellion. Stuffy dresses forced on her by billionaire parents? No thank you! Give her tank tops with loose shirts and short pants. Bandaids shared with Aang, bracelets from Katara, and even piercings she got in tandem with Sokka. Shoes? What even is that?

Something I love about this fandom is our collective agreement that Toph is into the dirtiest, heaviest, most ear-splitting and soul-crushing death metal of all times. Her Playlist is full of the most obscure names to ever exist, and she can and will blast through your walls with the sheer volume of her speaker.

Zuko. ZUKO.

Even in a modern AU my boy must suffer. That being said, I envision Tales from the Couch as—well, exactly what it is: an ATLA modern AU. While there is not a war to fight, and a lot of plot lines are discarded or expanded upon, much about the core story remains the same.

This is my way of saying that Zuko still goes trough his redemption arc, and it reflects on his fashion choices.

The way you described it works perfectly because of one single reason: in this AU, Zuko is an artist. He had to suppress his love for writing and drawing because of his background and the expectations Ozai had for him (taking over the family company), and a very large part of his redemption arc directly affects his relationship with art.

In the Couch equivalent of S1, Zuko has fallen out of Ozai's graces, and is desperate to protect his place in the company and the Kasai household. He's pretending to be someone he isn't and trying to live up to his Father's image of a perfect heir while still being somewhat cut-off financially, and it shows.

He's all about imposing long coats and a semi-formal style, imitating what he knows Azula and Father would respect. He's striking and sharp and dark. But no matter how he dresses or carries himself (that air of cold superiority and arrogance)—it won't help him when he needs it the most.

In S2, Zuko has hit his lowest point. He's officially disinherited and tossed away by his father, and would be out in the streets if it wasn't for Uncle Iroh. He goes from sharp, high-tailored outfits to old second-hand clothes that hang loosely on his frame. He starts smoking and cuts his hair off, forgoing the undercut for the first time in years.

But then...Father accepts him back. When Zuko returns home, it's with respect to his name and a very high position in his father's company. He's finally the perfect Kasai heir, dressed in overly expensive suits and finery, even at home... But Father forbids him from wearing Lu Ten's earring, and Zuko can no longer recognize himself without the familiar glint of gold dancing on his peripheral vision.

When Zuko leaves the Kasai name behind him and goes back to living with Uncle Iroh...he's finally at peace with who he is, and what he wants in this life. The sharp edges aren't gone (they'll always be a part of him, after all), but now they're dulled by looser clothes and softer hairstyles.

He's an artist, and for once in his life, he is determined to pursue his own ambitions. Zuko's outfits may not be designer-made anymore, but he takes what he has and makes himself look like he wants to look, like the person he wants to be.

He doesn't read fashion magazines or keeps up to the latest trends like Azula does. He's just...Zuko. And his newfound confidence makes everything he wears look like it belongs on him.

As for music...well, Ursa raised a literature boy.

He loves lyric-heavy music and natural voices, be they soothing or powerful. Dissecting song meanings and possible interpretations with Katara is one of his favorite parts of the day. They're both very passionate and strong-minded individuals, so it stands to reason that their debates can get quite...heated.

Zuko's Playlist is both incredibly eclectic and somehow very...him. There's a common thread that binds together every song and artist he likes, and he's hilariously unaware of this. To take a look into his Playlist is a higher honor reserved only for those closest to him.

In the wide spectrum of things, it is no wonder that Zuko is, first and foremost, a Hozier man. But though Andrew is his God in all aspects of this life, there's someone else that has had a huge impact on him...

Two someones, actually.

Zuko refuses to tell anyone how he got into Twenty One Pilots, but it's kind of a moot point when the beginning of his obsession is nothing compared to everything that came after. They have just about the right amount of everything that makes Zuko...well, Zuko. The poetic lyrics, the soothing or raging music, the heavy, intensely resonant themes...

Up there, in the second artwork, I placed an album cover behind each period of Zuko's life. The election of these records is intentional, as I feel like their general themes work incredibly well with Zuko's arc and growth.

Blurryface in S1. For the demons within us. For giving a name to our fears and shame.

Trench in S2. For escaping the confined walls of a depression city, and fighting to understand the depths of the map of your mind.

Scaled and Icy in the first half of S3. For returning to places you had left behind. For convincing yourself and everyone around you that you're fine, that you're perfect, even though everything is crumbling inside...

Clancy in S3. For recognizing that you can backslide, that you can have fears and shame and pain—but you're shaping yourself with each step you take. For knowing that seeking help from others is okay. Nobody learns to walk on their own.

(And, in the end, you'll always be better than the person you were yesterday. If only because you're still here. You're still alive. You're still yourself.)

.

Overall, I rambled a bit too much, don't you think?

If you made it all the way down here—thank you so much for reaching out and being interested in this crazy AU! I hope you enjoy these ideas and tell me some of your own ❤️

[sakurapika]

A (possibly) helpful guide to the Nikki-verse for Infinity Nikki Players

❄️Updated December 28th

Although it’s not at all necessary to know the lore of the previous games (Love Nikki, Shining Nikki), here is some info that you might benefit from if you’re joining the fandom with Infinity Nikki!

❄️General Info:

Love Nikki, Shining Nikki, and Infinity Nikki are all stand-alone games with self-contained stories, but they have some commonalities that I will get into later.

Love Nikki (LN) has a 2D art style, and is where many of us "veteran" players began our journey. Shining Nikki (SN) has both 2D and 3D art. Both of these games are stunning, so check them out!

Before Love Nikki, there were two other dress-up games in this series that did not involve being transported into a magical world. They were called NikkiUp2U (released 2012) and Hello Nikki (released around 2016). These games are more obscure, with the latter currently only being available in China, so not much is known about them to international fans.

The developers of the game are Chinese, so expect to get a lot of goodies around Lunar New Year and other major Chinese holidays!

According to Hello Nikki, our main character is around 19 years old. In Shining Nikki, she talks about how she used to go to college before getting transported to Miraland. Her birthday is December 6, which is why Infinity Nikki came out last week and why we got a free outfit (we’ll get a new one every year!)

Nikki's Chinese name is Nuan Nuan, how cute!

Momo claims he’s not a cat, but a member of the “Momo Clan” (LN). He was a little annoying in Love Nikki, but he’s more endearing in later games.

Nikki and Momo are the only recurring characters in the franchise.

The biggest advice I can give as a veteran is: Don't bother with trying to make a visually cohesive outfit for styling battles unless you have a lot of clothing. We've all tried it. It won't work. For now, just layer on everything that has high stats. You're always free to wear your fashionable outfits during regular gameplay, and "glow up" your favorite clothes when you have enough resources, so that you can make better outfits for later battles.

I've seen a lot of people in other places asking about whether the Nikki games will have more androgynous or masculine clothing, and they probably will! It took a while for these clothes to appear in LN and SN, but there are definitely several options out there, from ouji fashion to streetwear to military-style outfits. Read about the seven nations below to find out more.

A lot of people also seem curious about representation for people of color. Unfortunately, the options can be quite limited, as it took a while for textured hair options to appear for players in Love Nikki, and I'm not quite sure about the situation in Shining Nikki. Different cultures are represented in Miraland (as explained below) but they still have their limitations. With Infinity Nikki being more oriented towards an international fanbase than previous games, though, perhaps the developers will be encouraged to branch out more.

❄️Worldbuilding

The world that Nikki has been transported into is called Miraland.

Miraland is composed of seven nations, each with their own distinct fashion style. That means that if you do not like the style of clothes we’ve been seeing so far in Infinity Nikki, do not worry! They’ll have everything eventually.

For some reason, they changed the names of the countries in Infinity Nikki, and I’m not sure why (I’m going to keep mixing them up…). Below, I’ve listed their LN/SN names first, and their Infinity Nikki names second.

The seven nations are:

🎀Lilith/Ninir/Heartcraft Kingdom: In the older games, it was known mostly for fairytale-inspired clothing and lolita fashion, with the occasional “pastoral” suit. It looks like Heartcraft Kingdom in Infinity Nikki has been leaning more into the pastoral aesthetic, but Nonoy’s outfit seems to be in the lolita style. Also, the suits we have been crafting so far for catching bugs and petting the animals is at least lolita-inspired. (People who wear lolita fashion, please correct me if I’m wrong, but I think the Chinese version of this fashion is a lot more loose with the rules than the Japanese version I am more familiar with). This kingdom is always the first to be introduced in these games. Expect drama to follow whenever we get introduced to the royal family of this kingdom…it always happens. Nikki's first friend is always from this kingdom--we started with Bobo in Love Nikki, then Joy in Shining Nikki, and now Nonoy in Infinity Nikki.

🐉Cloud Empire/Lanling Empire: Known for traditional and modern Asian fashion. A vast majority of the fashions are going to be inspired by Chinese fashion, so if you’re a fan of period dramas or xianxia, you’re in luck! Aside from hanfu and qipao, they also usually have some representation of other East Asian cultures, featuring several kimono and the occasional hanbok. (Due to some controversies in Shining Nikki relating to conflicts between China and Korea, however, I’m not sure if the developers will continue to add hanbok in future games). Love Nikki also included some outfits for Chinese ethnic minorities like the Miao, and Vietnamese ao dai if I remember correctly. All games also have at least one Peking Opera costume—it’s like an industry staple. Overall, Cloud Empire is usually the second kingdom to be introduced in the game, so I’m sure we’ll see it pretty soon. Maybe we’ll go along with Tan Youyou, depending on how the story will go.

👠Apple Federation/Starhail Federation: Known for streetwear, high fashion, and casual clothing (like what you’d wear on an average day). I think Dada and Bebe’s outfits would be classified as Apple, even though they live in Heartcraft. Unlike the rural towns we have seen so far, Apple tends to be a very urban, city-based environment, filled with spies and shady businessmen. Nikki's girlfriend, Kimi (from Love Nikki), is also from here.

👑Pigeon Kingdom/Twinmoon Kingdom: Known for European fashions, including fairy costumes, witch/sorcerer outfits, Rococo dresses (with long skirts, compared to the lolita style in Lilith/Ninir/Heartcraft), and anything else you’d expect to see in a Western fantasy or period drama. Funnily enough, there is always at least one scene in the Pigeon Kingdom that has to do with a cathedral, so expect some fashions with gothic and Catholic-inspired imagery as well. Some of the inhabitants who live there are elves and fairies, like Timis. Although most of the ability outfits we have so far look like they're from Lilith/Ninir/Heartcraft, the "purification" outfit strikes me as something more typical of Pigeon.

⚔️North Kingdom/Empire of Light: A cold country best known for winter clothing—heavy scarves, overcoats, and hats—as well as military attire. There is also at least one "ice queen" style suit in every game. If I recall correctly, this kingdom has been having civil wars since Love Nikki, so expect a lot of action in this area. I suspect that Bettina is from here, but I'm not sure yet.

🐪Wasteland/Terra Alliance: The original name of this country sparked a lot of controversy, so I'm glad that they have changed it. This kingdom usually has desert-themed clothing, ancient Greek/Egyptian clothing, clothing inspired by nature, bohemian clothing, South, and Southeast Asian clothing (the cultural representation isn’t always the best, unfortunately…but I am optimistic that Shining Nikki and Infinity Nikki are more culturally sensitive than Love Nikki).

🤖Ruin Island/Whaleport: A mysterious island that features “futuristic” or sci-fi inspired clothing. In previous games, we have seen medical doctors with dubious legitimacy, scientists who experiment on themselves (?) and androids, so I’m curious to see who we’ll meet this time. Many players from the previous games who liked this style have felt that the developers often neglect this kingdom, unfortunately.

❄️Story and gameplay advice

Without spoiling the older games, I can say that, generally...

Most of the story is based on conflicts between different characters and sometimes different kingdoms. These problems, as mentioned before, are solved through styling battles.

Infinity Nikki seems to be going for a cozier vibe. However, both of its predecessors have sometimes gone into dark territories, featuring themes of war, violence, and betrayal. (I may or may not have cried over the death of a certain someone in Love Nikki...)

Therefore, dramatic things could very well happen in Infinity Nikki. I'm not saying that it can't be your comfort game if that is what you are hoping for, as the other games can still also be light, funny, and cozy. I just want to warn more sensitive players who might not be expecting it from a dress-up game.

When I first wrote this guide, I initially thought that the miracle outfits were like the "lifetime suits" of previous games, where crafting them was optional and not necessary to progress through the story. However, this seems not to be the case. Nevertheless, take your time while crafting them--there's no need to rush.

I'm not sure how f2p-friendly Infinity Nikki will be, but I haven't spent anything on either of the other games and I've been able to buy many of the suits I wanted. Just make sure that you budget accordingly and remember that if you want one suit but can't afford it at the time, another suit with a similar aesthetic might come out in the future. Also banners can re-run!

Keep an eye out for redeem codes! These are often posted by the game's social media, and you can get a lot of free stuff.

The fan-favorite kingdoms are usually Lilith/Ninir (Heartcraft) and Cloud (Lanling), followed by Pigeon (Twinmoon) and Apple (Starhail). The other three tend to get neglected, so if you like the sound of those the most, I'm sorry... :(

The last two sections include speculation, trivia, and an explanation of some inside jokes from the other games. Feel free to skip them if needed!

❄️Continuity and Fandom References to Other Nikki Games

Like I said earlier, the Nikki games can all work as standalone games, and the only returning characters are Nikki and Momo.

However, I've added this section to discuss possible theories and connections, as well as catch others up to speed on some of the inside jokes and characters that we Nikki veterans like to talk about.

If you keep hearing names like "Bobo," "Lunar," "Kimi," and "Nidhogg," these are characters from Love Nikki.

Bobo and Lunar are some of the first characters we met in LN. Kimi is the closest character we have to a canon love interest for Nikki. All of them are fan-favorites, so we're hoping to see any references to them in Infinity Nikki as well.

I can't say much about the very controversial and very popular Nidhogg without spoiling LN, but at least you now know where the name is from.

In Love Nikki, there is a "blood curse" that prevents people from using violence. Therefore, people often resolve conflicts by entering styling battles and destroying each other with the power of a good outfit.

Never ask a Love Nikki player what happened in Chapter 15.

Shining Nikki takes place roughly 700 years before Love Nikki, where there is no blood curse (which means certain people have managed to commit certain crimes...). Several SN characters are the ancestors of, or otherwise related to, LN characters.

Nikki veterans often like to make references to Ashley, Lilith (the person), Joy, and Qin Yi. These are all Shining Nikki characters.

So far, we haven't seen such a connection between old games and Infinity Nikki, so a lot of people suspect that this might be an alternate universe. When more about this version of Miraland is known, I might make another post.

❄️My predictions for future updates

Every time we enter a new country in Miraland, we will have new ability outfits to craft to fit the style of the new setting. This is because most of the outfits we have so far look like Lilith/Ninir suits in previous games, with very few influences from other nations.

The next country to be introduced will most likely be Lanling. I originally thought that they'd let us visit Lanling in time for Lunar New Year, but with the scope of the story, I think it may take some more time before that.

The next big update will be around Lunar New Year, where they'll probably hold some five-star banners, give free diamonds as a login event, and make a new short story, if they celebrate the same way as in Shining Nikki. They're probably also going to give us another free suit. (I hope it's Legend of the White Snake themed, since next year is Year of the Snake!)

Then, we'll probably see the equivalent of the Apple Federation, followed by Pigeon Kingdom.

We will get a new version of this stunning dress. It's called the Star Sea and has shown up in every game so far. I'm actually surprised we haven't heard about it in Infinity Nikki yet.

Please let me know if this guide has been useful, and if there's other parts of the games you'd like me to cover!

[rebelliousstories]

Can I request suggestive headcanons for Remy, Logan, Wade, and poly Logan & Wade reacting to his shy gn s/o immediately covering their eyes while apologising profusely because they accidentally saw him half-naked because he was changing clothes please?

Walking in on Their S/O Changing…

Fandom: X-Men

Request: Yes by Anon

Warnings: Suggestive themes, Brief Strong Language, Fluff

Word Count: 1,043

Main Masterlist: Here

X-Men Masterlist: Here

Logan Howlett/ The Wolverine

* Okay, so keep in mind that this man has been alive for more than 200 years. He’s seen a lot. He’s done a lot. There is not much else that can surprise him in terms of learning new things

* However… You can still surprise him

* I completely see him as a man that would just casually steamroll past the fact that you were only in your undergarments. He’s not phased, nor does he care.

* Logan will definitely take the time to ogle if he gets the chance, but he’s aware there is a time and place for that.

* “Hey, we were out of beer so I took the truck to go get some… oh shit.” And with that, he was speechless. Logan’s eyes would trail up and down your figure, even though part of it was obscured by the tshirt that was pressed against your body

* Silently, he would stalk closer and closer to you, never once taking his eyes off of you. His hands would gently pull the shirt away so he could get a better look. Feather light touches would cascade themselves down your arms, and chest; all the while his eyes would drink it up

* Picking you up, he walked over to the bed while holding you and pressing his nose into the crook of your neck

* “What about the beer?”

* “Forget the beer.”

Wade Wilson/Deadpool

* Oh, the beloved merc with the mouth. How do I say this gently? He will both make you love and hate him walking on you. It all started because he had gotten you a new suit that he wanted you to wear.

* Wade had begged and begged you to wear it, but there was no appropriate timing to do so. It had gotten to the point that he had accepted that you weren’t going to wear it. But when you finally had been worn down enough, he got super giddy at the prospect of you wearing it. But you had taken too long in his mind which prompted him to take matters into his own hands.

* “What’s taking you so long, angel cakes? Oh, hello.”

* “Wade! Get out!”

* Throwing things does not deter this man, oh no, my friend. For when he gets a glimpse of you, half undressed with the suit on the bed, he’s gonna need his special sock. Wade is frozen in a state of bliss and was unable to move himself. Not until you forcibly pushed him out, and shut the door on him. When you had finally put the suit on and came out to show him, he was still unable to form complete sentences or even words at you.

* Safe to say, you had finally silenced “the mouth”

Remy LeBeau/Gambit

* Ah, Le Diable Blanc. See, I know, you want me to come on here and talk about how big of a flirt Remy is. But no! That boy is a southerner, and southern men are raised to be gentlemen. I truly, in my heart of hearts believe, that if Remy caught you changing, he would blush and book it out of there.

* Hear me out! Just, imagine it, okay…

* It’s late and Remy hasn’t come home from his night out playing cards. The hour was nearing one in the morning, when you finally decide to call it a night, but you’re unable to fall asleep quite yet. Fearing that you’ll have to spend another night watching horrible late night reruns in the motel, you began changing into one of his tshirts to sleep in when you heard the door open. Struggling to get the shirt over your head to have some sort of coverage, you weren’t quite fast enough.

* “Ooh, I tell you cher, it was a goo- oh lord have mercy.”

* And like that, the door was shut again. Maybe you let out a squeak, maybe a gasp. But either way, your ragin’ Cajun was outside the room, breathing heavily and holding it shut. After a few minutes, he pressed his ear to the door to hear inside.

* “Cher, you dressed yet?”

* “Yeah. You can come in.”

* When he does, you’re already under the covers with the remote to the tv next to you, looking at the door. Gambit just grabbed his change of clothes that didn’t smell like sweat, alcohol, and smoke, and went to change in the bathroom. When he came out, he assumed his place with you in bed. On his back with you tucked into his side.

* Although, the only mention he ever gave, was a whisper of, “You look real pretty under all that, cher. Like an angel sent straight to save ol’ Gambit.”

Poly! Wolverine and Deadpool

* Prepare for trouble and make it double! Two lovers with a regenerative healing factor that makes snarky comments? Sign me up!

* This is definitely happening after a morning food run. You’re living with them, and Mary Puppins, and Blind Al, and Wade decided that today was the day for donuts and good coffee. Logan was thoughtful enough to leave a note on his side of the bed stating where they were going and that they would be back.

* This left you and the dog to get ready for the day by yourselves. After a lengthy shower that you didn’t have to share, you had made your way into the room to get some fashion advice from the sweet little pupper.

* “Okay girl. Do we go with the yellow dress, or the red dress today?”

* There was a noise, and two men bumbled into the room.

* “Avert your eyes, sweet summer child. But you should just forgo the dress. And the under garments while you’re at it.”

* “Can you go five minutes without something becoming sexual?”

* Wade gave an mhm while shaking his head, and turned back to his partner. Logan had to do a double take at your state, but there was appreciation in his eyes.

* “Can you two give us girls some privacy?”

* Logan had to drag his counter part out of there even though he managed to break free from the mutant’s hold on a number of occasions. As he left, the Wolverine sent an affirmative grunt and nod towards the red dress in your hands.

[oscconfessions]

the ii-confessionlings

I've been observing this growing population of ii related confession blogs, and it is truly fascinating. I love it. Here are all the ones I am aware of at the moment.

The Lovers:

@iiposblog - Positive confessions blog! YOU STARTED THIS

@ii-peak-confessions - Proton of the atom trio. Very positive.

@ii-joyous-confessions - Joy!!!!

The Haters:

@ii-evil-confessions - Electron of the atom trio. Very evil.

‎

The Neutrals:

@ii-neutral-confessions - Neutron of the atom trio. Very neutral.

@ii-neu-confessions - Another neutral confession blog. /neu

@ii-neutral-poster - Not really a confession blog, but still makes the list. This is really getting out of hand /neu

@ii-nothing-confessions -

The Religious:

@ii-holy-confessions - Confessions of the holy variety.

@ii-satanic-confessions - Confessions that do not make that holy mark.

@ii-purgatory-confessions - We're not quite holy yet!

The NSFW:

@ii-freaky-confessions - NSFW. Not a joke blog.

@ii-downright-devious-confessions - NSFW. Joke blog.

The Character Specific:

@ii-apple-confessions - appel

@ii-nick-le-confessions - nick le???????????

@ii-zoetrope-spinning-confessions - every confession spins his head more.

@ii-mephone3gs-confessions - it's so good to see you!

@ii-meeple-confessions - all meeple stuff!

@ii-fan-confessions - fan

@ii-box-confessions - box

@cheesy-confessions - cheese

@ii-stevecobs-confesssions - i fucking hate this corn

@ii-trophy-confessions - tropy

@ii-tissues-confessions - tisue

@ii-mephonex-confessions - did you hear that?

@ii-mic-confessions - michael phone

@ii-lightbulb-confessions - log by bulb

@iipepperconfessions - pepre

Wait, This Isn't II:

@osc-plurals-confessions - General OSC confession blog related to plurality!

@ii-confessio-wait-wrong-show - bfdi.

@obscure-object-show-confessions - Obscure object shows!

@obscure-osc-confessions - If you want to send an ask to one of these blogs I want you to send it to both of them. it would be a really funny prank.

All About Emotions:

@iisadconfessions - i miss mepad. i miss him a lot

@ii-hungry-confessions - for when youre hungry and an ii fan!

@ii-confusing-confessions - In case you're perplexed, which i bet you are.

@ii-jolly-confessions - Christmas may be over but that hasn't stopped anyone before!

The Animals:

@ii-meow-confessions - who let a cat loose in the ii tag!!!!!!

@ii-woof-confessions - who let a dog loose in the ii tag!!!!!!

@ii-fish-confessions - blub blub

The Fandom Related:

@ii-ship-confessions - Ships! I know you guys have LOT to say on those. Maybe even too much!

@ii-crossover-confessions - tired of just ii? start mixing other stuff in with it!

@ii-darkfic-confessions - for confessions about the dark, gorey fics about characters getting murdered and the likes!

@ii-oc-and-fanfic-confessions - what if ii was your own thing? Get transformative!

@ii-headcanon-confessions - For the little bits we like to add on in our heads.

And all the others:

@iii-confessions - confessions about ii's most controversial season!

@ii-queer-confessions - gay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

@ii-gay-confessions - payjay more like payGAY. more like GAYGAY. gayjay

@ii-therapy-confessions - please

@ii-brainrot-confessions - lord almighty...

@ii-confession-confessions - confessions about the confession blogs. we're gonna need it after all this

@ii-silly-confessions - Get silly!

@ii-stupid-confessions - Get stupid!

@ii-dementia-confessions - ??????

the ii fandom is having a really normal time after that finale, huh.

Please tell me if I'm missing anyone! -🫒 (@knightobreath)

[olderthannetfic]

hi, as someone who is tragically gen Z and only ever read AO3, can I ask: what was so great about LiveJournal? Like, I know that there were fics posted there (and I've even read about the "purge", so I get why it isn't used anymore) and that it was sort of a forum-type thing. But what I don't understand, wouldn't Tumblr fill in the latter function? How was that site any different? I see a lot of people reminiscing about it and I'm confused

--

A big factor in LJ's greatness is timing and nostalgia.

It was genuinely great, but it wasn't quite as great as all of the Lo, shall the Golden Age ne'er come again? posts suggest.

LJ arrived at a pivotal time in the development of the internet both in terms of technical stuff and how many people had access. Many fans who are now in their thirties to fifties first discovered fandom through LJ and many were at a time in their lives when they were feeling energetic and up to making lots of new friends—and to figuring out how to make a site work for them.

I got on LJ in 2002 when it required invites. Fandom arrived in droves in 2003, first via coordinated campaigns to get invites to key people and then when LJ opened up free account creation to everyone. Back then, LJ's features sucked. It was impossible to search properly, among other things. At its height (2005-7, let's say), there was a reasonable site search, and fans had developed all sorts of community resources for finding each other.

People often remember this phase but not the early days of suckitude.

This development parallels how Tumblr used to not have that private chat feature and how a lot of fuckyeah[whatever] type tumblrs have helped curate the site and make it much more usable for fans. Fandom draining away from LJ after strikethrough also parallels people draining away from Tumblr after the purge.

There are people who talk about Tumblr the way my cohort talks about LJ...

And to the shock of no one, they are people who came of age on Tumblr, who found fandom via Tumblr, who were on Tumblr during pivotal times in their lives and ones when they had energy to make friends and figure out how a site worked.

Those same Tumblrites are now making all the same geriatric-sounding posts we LJers do about how other sites lack the required features to be good for fandom while missing that 90% of tumblr's "features" at its height (2012-2016, let's say) were actually fan-created and were basically the same as any fandom newsletter or links page or all the versions of this kind of personal curation stretching back to long before the internet existed.

What life phase you hit a site at matters.

--

With all of that said, no, LJ was not a forum. It was a blogging site with threaded comments.

The key point to understand is that conversation was always happening in a specific person's space. Unlike on a true forum, people were in the comments on a particular post in a journal owned by another fan. (On a forum, there's the first post in a thread, but it's still more of a communal space with less of a hierarchy.)

Overall, the LJ format can have a feeling a bit like you're over at someone's house for tea. There's more of a sense of intimacy and also behaving yourself in front of community members.

Tumblr being obscure and impossible to find anything in does give it some of the same vibe relative to Twitter, but it's still part of modern social media that tries to shove every rando into the face of every other rando.

But it wasn't just vibes: LJ also had robust privacy features where you could lock a post to this or that group of friends. You could moderate your comments section properly. Tumblr has far fewer controls to force people to behave or leave on a technical level.

--

The biggest thing many people miss about LJ is the threaded comments. At least by late LJ and on Dreamwidth, you can expand and collapse threads, making it far easier to deal with a massive comments section. But more than that, things are properly threaded with multiple levels of hierarchy that are all easily visible in the same place.

On Tumblr, it used to be extremely difficult to find all of the actual commentary on a post. Nowadays, it's far easier, but you still have to scroll chronologically, and multiple versions of a post with a long chain of commentary may be much more divorced from each other than what would happen in a LJ comments section.

--

But could we use Tumblr pretty much how we used LJ?

We could.

I do.

--

The key things that people tend to miss about LJ, aside from the younger and more excited version of themselves or the friends they've lost since then, are:

Heavily text-based

It may sound odd on the modern internet, but there are a lot of people whose brains don't like or handle an image-heavy site well. They were everywhere in SF book fandom. They were everywhere on the early internet. Today, they're hanging out on Dreamwidth and still going to their SF cons. They're usually not on Tumblr.

You could follow the discussion

Threaded comments help, but a lot of it is about having some place you can check for updates. It wasn't actually that easy to follow big LJ discussions unless you were subscribed to comments and reading along as things were happening instead of coming along after the entire mass of comments had been left.

The tone of the discussion is intellectual and one's enemies are "idiots", not "problematic"

All this requires is a penchant for longwindedness and an itchy blocking finger to remove anyone slinging ad hominems from the comments section.

On tumblr, it's as simple as conversations happening in the replies on a popular account and that person not tolerating suibaiting and threats.

(And make no mistake, a lot of LJ discussion was in the comments on popular accounts, not spread equally between everyone's.)

It does require that multiple people like that tone and want to engage in that way, but lots of people do want to.

--

These days, I interact with tumblr by checking my askbox and reading my activity page. The vast, vast majority of my posts are ones where I'm the OP, so if I block someone, they're booted from the discussion entirely.

For me... yeah, Tumblr functions almost exactly like LJ.

Also like LJ, while I'm hosting the conversation, if you hang around, you'll see the same people again and again in the comments. They may or may not also host that kind of conversation in their space, and there's a larger pool of lurkers who have some notion of which people count as regulars. Other people are watching from the shadows, enjoying or deriding the takes of the usual crowd.

People presumably do like reading my lengthy commentary or they wouldn't be here, but my tumblr wouldn't be popular like this without a healthy pool of other people who chime in regularly. It's not just that there are more people: it's that you see the same people over time. There's a bit more sense of place and community than on some parts of the internet.

--

So, in my opinion, the failure to just recreate LJ fandom on Tumblr was a skill issue.

Threaded comments were great, but LJ culture came from mailing lists, and mailing lists had the same issue as tumblr with the diverging threads.

We solved that back then by clipping out only the parts we wanted to respond to (you'd write "snip" around the quotation to show it was incomplete). We solved the smaller LJ issue by linking to other posts we were referencing and doing discussion link roundups. We solve it on tumblr by, again, linking to what we're talking about and even quoting multiple reblog chains in our own reblog of just one chain.

--

Tumblr's technical features and even general crap-ness aren't really the problem. 90s and early 00s sites regularly went down for periods of time unthinkable today.

The missing piece is people.

When one is in an active fandom with others who curate or with friends who let one know what's up, a site with imperfect features is easy to figure out and retrofit for fandom's needs. When one already feels out of touch and is between fannish passions—or at least fannish passions anyone else cares about—seeing the potential in a new site is hard.

--

Threaded comments are different and better.

LJ's built-in way to see everyone's blog in your own style was better. The automatic timestamps and the ease of seeing a paginated archive of an entire blog was better than tumblr's endless scroll and lack of clear date labeling. But some of that can be fixed with xkit or knowing your way around tumblr well.

A lot of it is nostalgia for the lj era and a refusal to take the time to figure out how to use tumblr in an oldschool internet way.

--

So by all means, people, weigh in about what made LJ great or how the culture felt at the time...

But if I see one more god damn response going "You can't have a conversation on tumblr!" in reply to my tumblr, which contains nothing but conversation, I am coming for you.

[beifong-brainrot]

Something I've always loved about atla is how it handled scars, particularly Zuko's facial scar and Aang's lightning scar.

I've probably spoken before about how, as a burn victim with a ton of skin grafts on my legs, torso and hand, Zuko really was the first character "like me" that I saw on TV. It was, as you can guess, quite a momentous moment for kid me. Which is probably why I'm so disheartened on the live action show shrinking and toning down Zuko's scar significantly.

Too often scars, especially burn scars are seen as gore or body horror and too graphic to be seen on TV that isn't horror or related genres. And often scars, especially facial scars are reserved purely for villains and are used as a signifier for 'evil'. A trope that you'll find is still alive and kicking even today even in big franchises.

And while Zuko does reinforce this trope to some extent, I think it was subverted enough for it to have irs own merit. Atla also steers away from the scars=evil narrative, by having a lot of "good" characters have scars too like Bato and Song. This helps destigmatise scars as a whole, making Zuko's 'scarred villany' seem like a more individual case.

In Atla, scars are more the trademark of victims rather than villains and this rings true for Zuko too.

Zuko is a victim of the Fire Nation in the sense that the Fire Nation's values of war, strength and honour facilitated Ozai's abuse of him, particularly the scarring.

Zuko's scarring does follow a very established trope of a son being scarred by a father, which is surprisingly prevalent, especially with burn victims. Seriously I collect these men like pokemon. This tropiness isn't a bad thing, since I think it leads to us very quickly sympathising with him. I certainly did, since his experience mirrors my own.

The scene of Zuko's scarring is also particularly special, due to it being rather unique, because it isn't quick or an action scene, nor is it shown as an overly gory horror scene, despite it being, well, horrific.

It's... tasteful. Or at least, as tasteful as the scene of a child getting scarred by their father can be, I suppose. It doesn't linger on the violence, but also doesn't sugarcoat it. The scene of Zuko's scarring, and the events leading up to it also give us a good exposition to his better qualities, like his compassion, and a good explanation for why these qualities stay buried.

I can understand why some people in the fandom believe that Zuko's scar symbolises his 'worse side', but I actually believe its the opposite. Very often, when a character has a 'split down the middle' type of scar, their scarred side represents their worse half, like with Two Face from DC.

Because Zuko's scar doesn't symbolise his allegiance to the Fire Nation, it symbolises the fact that he failed to live up to the Fire Nation's standards. It's a physical reminder of the time Zuko actively defied the Fire Nation's standards and mindset.

We get a lot of nods to Zuko's scar aymbolising disgrace and failure to uphold ehat the Fire Nation expected of him. It's literally a physical blemish upon his 'honour'.

This is especially noticeable when Zuko's appearance is contrasted with Ozai, who exists as sort of the human stand in for the Fire Nation's imperialism. For most of the show, we are not shown any of Ozai's features, his face being obscured by shadow or out of frame.

We finally see Ozai's face, it's when Zuko is seeing hik for the first time in years. And Ozai looks so similar to Zuko. An unblemished, perfect, complete Zuko, so to speak. In Zuko's fever dream, where we see an unscarred Fire Lord version of Zuko, he looks exactly how I imagine a younger Ozai would look. I also love that Zuko's adult design seems to lean into this similarity.

Furthermore, Zuko's scar is used time and time again as a way he connects with victims of the Fire Nation. People who don't know him, like Song and Jet, assume him to be another victim of the Fire Nation, citing his scar as the reason why. Which is half true, Zuko is a victim of the Fire Nation, just not in the way they think.

Jet: I think Lee would make a good Freedom Fighter. He's just trying to find his way in the world, like us. Smellerbee: You don't know anything about him, Jet. Jet: I know he didn't get that scar from a waterbender.

One person who doesn't connect to Zuko over his burn scar is Katara. I love the scene of Katara and Zuko in the crystal catacombs. It's a profound scene and one that always makes me a bit emotional, especially in the wider context of atla, a subject I've touched on in this post.

However, the handling of Zuko's scar in this scene is especially dear to my heart. I strongly remember that, when Katara offered to heal Zuko's scar, I actually got scared and upset. I was terrified of Zuko's scar being erased, of the connection I felt to him snuffed out and one of the best parts of his characterisation being erased.

But that's not what happened, and the scene is amazing on that front and all others.

We learn that Katara asscociates Zuko's face with the Fire Nation, which makes sense, since he's been kinda clingy for the entire 1st season. Katara denies it having to do with anything with Zuko's scar.

Katara: It's just that for so long now, whenever I would imagine the face of the enemy, it was your face. Zuko: My face? I see. [He touches his scar.] Katara: No, no, that's-that's not what I mean.

The Katara lover in me believes her. As a a member of the Sothern Water Tribe, she probably has seen many burn victims. And her pursuing healing would also probably lead her down the route of normalising and understanding burn scars.

However, I would not be surprised or disconcerted if the scar did have something with Katara perceiving him as a villain. After all, to a lot of people, scars and "ugliness" denote moral ugliness. The very obvious fire asscociation probably doesn't help someone traumatised by the Fire Nation too. It is a sad fact of life that even those who know better subconsciously react to people with scars and other "deformities" with disgust and distrust.

We also see Zuko explicitly give us the rundown of his previously unspoken struggle with feeling like his scar is defining him as a person.

Zuko: It's okay. I used to think this scar marked me. The mark of the banished prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever. But lately, I've realized I'm free to determine my own destiny, even if I'll never be free of my mark.

This is something I can relate to as someone with prominent scarring and I'm sure we all sometimes feel defined by things outside of our control. Sometimes It's hard to seperate your identity from your appearance. And it's even harder to seperate yourself from events that influenced you so harshly.

As I previously highlighted, Zuko's scar relates strongly to his failure to adhere to the Fire Nation's ideals and conventions, his failure to be the perfect prince of the nation. And while to us, that is a good thing, to Zuko, at least at first, that is a very, very bad thing.

To Zuko, the scar is a symbol of his flaws, and a just, if not harsh punishment for his percieved transgression. He sees it as a brand, denoting his mistake and shame. He sees it as the physical manifestation of what his banishment and scorn from Ozai means.

It's only when he begins growing as a person away from the Fire Nation's influnece, that he starts to realise that the scar is just a scar. It holds no power over him. And while he relapses for a moment, "demystifying" his scar allows him to do the same to the event of his scarring. It allows him to look back at that moment and not see righteous discipline, but rather see it for what it was and go "hey wait a minute that was actually fucked up.". Which allows him to look at The Fire Nation's conquest of the world and go "hey this is also fucked up.", when the lessons he's learnt in the Earth kingdom finally click.

I believe this is why we see Zuko almost purely from the side of his scar in the scene where he confronts Ozai, especially when it's contrasted with Ozai's unscarred eyes.

Zuko's scar, like many scars in fiction, symbolises imperfection. But rather than an "objective" imperfection, as most fictional scars do, Zuko's scar symbolises his imperfection through the skewed and biased eyes of the Fire Nation. It's a nice subversion of the trope that usually encourages us to equate beauty with goodness and ugliness with evil.

Side note, I know I've been using the terms "ugly" and "ugliness" to talk about scars. I just wanted to note that I don't think scars automatically mean someone isn't attractive/scarred people are ugly. But in a lot of media, scars are seen as gross and ugly, which is why I've been using these terms.

I like that Zuko defies this trope by being drawn as very attractive with his scar, and even being seen as desireable in canon.

Even though it does loop back to the 'attractive=good' symbolism, I don't think it totally invalidates the story Zuko's scar is telling. Plus it WAS an ego boost to child year old me who thought no one whould ever love me bcs I looked like a burnt chicken nugget. So I'll let it slide.

I love Zuko's scar, and I love how it seamlessly fit into the story, while also subverting tropes and invalidating stigmas towards scarred people. It's probably one of my favourite, if not very personal aspects of the character.

I do however, also want to analyse and go over Aang's scar from Azula's lightning and I plan to go over it at a later date, since this post is getting a bit long and overwhelming.

Toodles!

[cece693]

A Bright Place in the Dark

pairing: spencer reid x gender neutral reader tags: first impressions, reader sees Spencer as innocent and too good to be true, pre-relationship, all knowledge of this fandom comes from Tumblr fics and personal opinion, not fact checked

By the time you arrived at the Behavioral Analysis Unit, you were practically reciting facts about Dr. Spencer Reid in your head:

Over 187 IQ

An eidetic memory

A heart too big for a world as harsh as this

Those whispers, however, never prepared you for how human he would be. No legend of brilliance or office gossip about his quirks ever quite captured the softness in his eyes, or the halting way he spoke when he was nervous.

Your first day at the BAU felt like entering another planet. The bullpen buzzed with conversations about suspects, horrifying details of cases, and the flickering overhead lights seemed to spotlight every anxious beat of your heart. And then you saw him—a lanky figure hunched over a precarious tower of files, as though he didn’t know quite how to balance them against his chest.

You caught him looking around, scanning for an empty spot to set the documents down. Except he chose the worst possible moment to shift his weight; the top of the stack slid, pages scattered in every direction.

Dr. Spencer Reid froze, a rush of panicked words tumbling out of his mouth. “Oh no—sorry, sorry. I’m usually not this clumsy. Statistically, people trip at least—”

You bent down to help, offering a friendly grin. “Hey, it’s okay. It happens.”

He paused, as though your small kindness were a revelation. Slowly, he lifted his gaze, and for a split second, you glimpsed the vulnerability behind those gentle hazel eyes. When you straightened up with an armful of papers, you noticed the shy half-smile tugging at Spencer’s mouth. His cheeks had gone just a little pink, and he quickly busied himself by reorganizing the files.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, more subdued than before. “I’m Spencer Reid, by the way…Dr. Spencer Reid. You must be the new profiler—”

“That’s me,” you replied, introducing yourself. “It’s my first day, so I guess we can both say it’s a learning curve.”

He nodded, an anxious laugh slipping out. Then, as if remembering his role, he cleared his throat and motioned to the files. “These are some old case studies. We…we keep them around for reference, though I try to digitize them in my spare time.”

“Sounds fascinating,” you said. And you meant it, curiosity tugging at you like an impatient child. “I’d love to take a look sometime.”

His eyes flicked from the pages to you, wide and a little uncertain. Then, almost imperceptibly, relief smoothed the lines of tension on his forehead. “Sure. That’d be…good. Really good.”

In the following days, you quickly learned that your new job was every bit as tough as everyone warned. Each morning, the team assembled to face tragedies as mind-boggling as they were gruesome. Photos, crime scene details, and psychological autopsies filled your laptop.

Amid all the darkness, there was always him, moving through the chaos with a gentle sort of efficiency. Spencer held a wealth of knowledge in that brilliant mind, quoting statistics, classical literature, and obscure references effortlessly. Yet, you noticed how he spoke as though he feared his own intellect would push people away.

You tried to reach out, offering a smile or a small joke whenever he started rattling off something about “differential equations” or “geospatial profiling.” Each time, his shoulders would relax a fraction, as if he was grateful someone was listening rather than judging.

It wasn’t long before you started working late alongside him. You’d catch Spencer hunched over his desk, stacks of books and case reports spread in front of him, a half-full mug of coffee growing cold.

“Hey,” you said one evening, easing into the adjacent chair. “Mind if I sit?”

He lifted his gaze, blinking as if coming up for air. “Oh, of course, sure.”

Silence settled, filled by the low hum of the overhead lights and the distant clatter of a cleaning cart in the hallway.

“How do you handle it?” you asked, your voice quiet. “All the darkness?”

Spencer leaned back, momentarily lost in thought. “I—well, I guess I try to understand it. If I can figure out why someone does something terrible, maybe it’ll help prevent the next tragedy. At least that’s what I tell myself.” He gave a self-conscious shrug, eyes darting away. “I’m not sure if that’s the best answer.”

You offered a gentle smile. “It’s an honest one. And I think that’s what matters.”

As weeks turned into months, you and Spencer found yourselves gravitating toward each other. Lunchtime in the break room became a quiet sanctuary, where his commentary on quantum theory or historical murder cases was punctuated by the sandwich you’d share half with him because he often forgot to pack lunch.

He’d fret, insisting you didn’t need to share, but you found a simple joy in seeing his face relax when he finally took a break. Sometimes, a ghost of a smile would linger at the corners of his lips afterward, as if he was unused to anyone caring enough to notice his hunger.

You don't know exactly when your interest in the doctor turned into adoration, but perhaps it could be pointed back to when the team was out on a case and you were stuck trying to piece together a spree killer’s timeline. You hit a wall and decided to take a short break—heading to the building’s small courtyard.

Outside, you found Spencer leaning against a concrete pillar, lost in his own world. The afternoon sun gleamed off his hair, painting him in soft yellows and gold. For a moment, you hesitated. He looks so peaceful. But then he glanced up, and the sun highlighted the hope in his eyes. He waved you over.

“Hey,” you said quietly, sidling up next to him.

“Hey,” Spencer replied, his voice warm.

You stood together, the hush of traffic and a distant bird cawing filling the space between you.

“I was thinking about that timeline you mentioned,” he began without prompting. “If the unsub is traveling by bus, then the times might not match traditional driving estimates, and—” He stopped himself, a self-conscious smile forming. “Sorry. Work brain doesn’t really shut off.”

You laughed softly. “Don’t apologize. It’s actually pretty helpful. I think I’ll re-examine the public transit schedules as soon as we go back inside.”

His gaze lingered on you for a long moment. Then, so softly you nearly didn’t hear, he said, “I’m glad you’re here, you know…with the team. With me.”

Warmth flooded your cheeks, and you hoped he couldn’t see it in the bright afternoon light. “I’m glad, too.” Silence settled, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Sometimes no words are needed to enjoy someone's company—so, as you stared at nothing in particular, you developed the courage to ask Spencer out.

“I, uh, know it’s not exactly typical, but I was wondering if maybe you’d like to grab dinner sometime? Outside of the office, I mean.”

The request hung in the air. Spencer blinked, seeming to mentally catalog the entire situation. You could almost see the wheels turning behind his eyes.

“I-I’d like that,” he finally answered, voice a little too fast. A delicate pink brushed across his cheeks.

You had heard the rumors. You’d been told about his genius and his gentle heart—how he deserved the world, though the world often failed to deserve him in return. Watching him now, shoulders slightly hunched as he mentally rehearsed how to do something as simple as dinner, you couldn’t help but think:

If the world won’t cherish him…maybe I will.

He deserved that much, at least. And from the way Spencer offered you a shy smile—a small piece of his guarded heart—you knew he was willing to let you try.

[overwhelmed-alien]

“Overwhelmed”

Inspired by a random tiktok I saw today at work (I was working really hard, promise!). Yet another take on the recurring theme in the TG:M fandom of Jake having crap parents. Also just a shameless, self-indulgent “hurt Jake a bit so Bradley can hug the shit out of him” guilty pleasure. Because Rooster looks like his hugs could end wars and bring world peace.

TW: an ED is eluded to but not really expounded on. Vague mentions of dissociative behavior. And Jake’s crap parents, and the consequences thereof. But in the end Rooster makes up for all the bad.

You don’t grow up the way Jake Seresin did and still have the ability to react to situations normally.

His parents weren’t violent. They weren’t physical. He didn’t get beaten or neglected. This was how he justified his childhood. At least they didn’t hit me, right? It’s fine.

The frantic drive for perfection stemmed from something different. Something more subtle than a smack to the face. His mother’s offhand, biting comments about his weight. His appearance. His father’s deep sighs when he brought home an A-. When he didn’t score the winning touchdown. When he was accidentally outted. Little niggling things that, through the years, piled up like bits of rubble and built a wall around his heart, but unfortunately left his nerves frayed and exposed and vulnerable.

“You’re getting those pudgy love handles again, Jacob, maybe you should lay off the carbs. You’re so much more handsome when you’re thinner.” He’d ended up in the ER after fainting at school, the third day he’d eaten nothing.

“How do you expect to get into an Ivy League with grades this disgraceful, son?” He didn’t think a 94 was disgraceful. It was the highest score in his calculus class. He’d ended up in the ER after fainting at football practice, the third day he’d stayed up all night studying instead of sleeping.

“This room is a pigsty, Jake. You’re going to have to get rid of some of this crap.” The shelf of trophies. The little stuffed Bear his grandmama gave him. The poster of some obscure Dallas player. He’d learned that material objects held no value, even if he cherished them. A barren room couldn’t be cluttered and unsightly, and perhaps in an empty room there would be a little space for affection some day.

He’d learned that to be the best of the best meant sacrifice. It meant there was no room for hugs. No room for cheat meals. No room for fun or for love. That greatness was always just there, an unreachable, unattainable goal for everyone else, yet always expected of him. That love was very much conditional, only given when he did his part, and never received because he never could quite meet the goals placed before him.

Failures like him didn’t deserve love or kindness or compassion.

So when Bradley - sweet, endearing Bradley, who’d been raised by a mom so loving she practically glowed - began to shower him with warmth and affection that hadn’t been earned, he didn’t understand. He didn’t know what to do.

At first he balked. He dug his heels in and fought meanly. The resolute confusion he felt under that warm honey gaze made him upset and uncomfortable. It angered him.

It angered him when Bradshaw bought him the little stuffed rooster “because this place needs some kind of personal touch, Seresin, damn.” But “things” were bad. Things sitting around meant clutter, and clutter meant he didn’t deserve love.

It angered him when Bradley started bringing him doughnuts or chocolate with his coffee every morning “because you need a little sweetening up, sourpuss.” Sugar meant more time spent at the gym. Another night with no dinner, because the more weight he gained, the more value he lost.

It used to anger him when Bradley would wrap his whole body around him like a clinging, weighted blanket when he’s shaking to pieces with anxiety, when his mind is telling him he sucks, he’s unlovable, he’s a piece of shit nothing who would never amount to anything.

He used to hate that. Until…

Bradley is at war with Jake’s beautiful, self-depreciating, self-destructive brain. He hates the taunting voices that he knows sound like Mr. and Mrs. Seresin echoing constantly in that pretty head of his, telling him he’s not good enough.

Jake has always had walls. He’s always seemed spiky and snappy and unapproachable, even the moments he’s writhing in pleasure underneath him, he’s something far away, incorporeal, like a mirage in a desert.

It starts to make sense when Bradley meets Jake’s parents at a banquet. The awful, hurtful, stinging things rolled off their tongues as easily as they roll off Hangman’s. There was a difference, though. Every biting comment Hangman uttered in the air and on the ground was a push to do better. A round-about, waspish way of saying “hey, I know you’re better than this, push yourself harder and do what needs to be done”. Bradley saw his cocky aggression for what it was: a plea. Do better so you don’t die.

The words he heard Jake’s parents say clearly said something different. They said - politely, with no regard or hesitation or aggression - we know you can’t do any better, son. Because you don’t have it in you. Because you just aren’t good enough.

And when Jake -because he was Jake then, not Hangman - beautiful, larger than life Jake Seresin curled in on himself, eyes unfocused, hands trembling, arms hugging his own sides in his sharp dress whites, simply nodded in silence, Bradley saw red.

This was Jake. This was THE Hangman, one of the youngest Top Gun graduates ever, the top one percent, one of the best aviators the Navy had to offer, untouchable, heroic Jake. Jake, who’d just gotten an award, the same as him, and while Mav and Ice had gushed and beamed over him, over their entire squad, Jake’s parents simply dismissed him. That was the moment Bradley was called to a new mission, the most important one he’s ever done: to smother Jake with as much love and affection as he could muster.

A car door slammed outside, harder than usual, jolting Bradley out of his reverie.

It had been three years since that award ceremony following the Mission. Two since he presented a ring got a teary “yes” in response. One since the happiest day of his life, when Jake Seresin became Jake Bradshaw. In those three years there were dozens of therapy visits and arguments and make-ups, and an all-encompassing collection of the sweetest, most joyful moments in Bradley’s life. The highs were so high, the lows were still low, but they were manageable now. Jake still shook to pieces sometimes when Bradley lost his temper, raised his voice. But now he saw it for what it was - an argument, all couples argue occasionally. He knew now that it wasn’t Bradley hating him, or leaving him, or withholding affection because he didn’t deserve it. Bradley was trying, too. He was going to therapy, too. The arguments were few and far between these days, and these days Bradley was pleased he saw glimpses of a fierce, self-assured Hangman in them, especially when he knew he was right and Bradley was wrong (which was often enough, Bradley could admit). Their home was pleasantly lived-in and cheerful, not the sterile wasteland Jake’s house used to be. It still held warm touches from his mom and dad when they’d lived here decades ago. Little knickknacks Jake first tolerated, now cherished. The little stuffed rooster bought when they weren’t even dating yet had a permanent home on their couch in the living room, just because. They had tried, hard, and they had finally succeeded.

Bradley knew his husband was having a hard time with this new class. Hell, they all were, but Jake took it to heart. On his way out he’d caught a glimpse of Jake tearing down the hallway to Cyclone’s office, blond hair in disarray. He’d had a flustered, frustrated look about him that Bradley was seeing more and more lately. He was going to have a chat with Beau next week. This batch of kids were giving Jake hell. He gave as good as he got in front of them, he WAS Hangman after all, but behind closed doors that far-away look was beginning to come back. Bradley didn’t remember ever being that young and dumb and cocky, although when he brought that up to Mav the old man had laughed his ass off. But beyond that, he was sure jealousy was making them meaner. Hangman was more of a peer than an instructor, at least in age, and he was still simply the best. Bradley would be damned if he lets a bunch of snotty baby pilots undo all the hard work they’d done.

He had come home early - Jake stuck in meetings the rest of the evening and then running a few errands after - and had started a simple chicken and rice and veggie dinner he knew Jake would eat this late without balking too much. He still didn’t eat enough to satisfy Bradley. One of his love-languages was food, second only to touch. But they were working on that, too, and making great strides. God, he was so proud of him. Of them.

He heard a muffled thunk on the deck beyond the kitchen door. A curse. Another. “Bradley!”

He reached over and turned the stove off, moved the pot to a cool burner. “Roo! Shit, B please!” Bradley opened the door immediately and stepped out onto the deck.

One might think that affection could potentially be a finite thing. That once it hits the precipice it might just begin to dwindle, to fizzle out into nothing. Maybe into resentment or indifference. But every single time Bradley Bradshaw laid eyes on this amazing, beautiful man, he could feel love and affection bubbling forth from what was certainly a bottomless well deep inside him. One day he was going to simply burst from it, and he was okay with that.

“Oh, honey,” Bradley cooed gently. Jake was on scuffed knees on the top step, open briefcase dumped out onto the deck, the broken latch lying uselessly beside it. The uniform he’d picked up from the cleaners was on the ground in a rumpled heap. He was a shivery mess, hands almost vibrating as he tried to collect the flurry of paper scattering in the warm ocean breeze.

He looked up at Bradley with sad, defeated eyes that threatened to spill over. His voice, as strong as ever these days, warbled a bit. “I’ve had a really shitty day.”

“Come’ere sweetheart,” Bradley reached down and hauled him into his arms. Arms that wrapped fully, bodily around Jake and squeezed just the right side of too tight, the mess on the deck forgotten for a time. Bradley’s warm hand guided Jake’s pinched face to hide in the crook of his neck and then stayed tangled in his hair, hips starting a gentle sway that Jake naturally fell into. The sigh that followed came from Jake’s toes, deep and rattling. And then he melted against him. Into him. He simply held his precious boy for a while, guiding him in a sweet almost-dance on the deck in the quiet twilight of their back yard. “I’ll get this stuff, baby,” he murmured into Jake’s ear after a while, kissed it. Jake melted even further. “Why don’t you go grab a quick shower, huh? Then we’ll curl up on the couch and watch that crazy show you like so much.” He felt the beginnings of a grin against his neck, one of the cute ones that crinkled his cheeks. “I made some chicken and rice, I’ll fix us a bowl and get the tv ready. What season are we on, hmm? Forty two?”

That did get a chuckle out of Jake. He sighed again, this one more of a gentle release, and pulled away from the safe haven of his Roo’s neck, swiping at his eyes. He made no move to back out of the arms still caging him in, still holding him together after he almost fell apart. Like always. “Season twelve. Housewives of Beverly Hills isn’t that crazy. They make me feel normal.”

“You are normal, honey.” Bradley smiled down at him and dropped a quick peck to Jake’s pout, running fingers through the tousled, gorgeous blond hair. “You’re the most normal housewife on the block, I guarantee it.”

A strangled guffaw burst out of Jake’s mouth and he began to laugh in earnest. Bradley followed, dropping a few more quick kisses to his husband’s face, making sure his mustache tickled.

Jake no longer had that haunted, spaced out look in his eyes. No longer quivered with anxiety and frustration. “Just for that I’m stealing your hoodie again.”

“Baby, I’d be worried if you didn’t. Now scoot,” he said with a quick swat to Jake’s backside. Jake grinned and swatted him back, but did as he was told, easing the sliding door back to go inside.

“Hey, J?” He called after him, and waited until Jake turned back to him. “I love you, sweetheart.”

Jake’s smile reached his eyes. “I love you, too, B.”

…Until. Until a honey warm, raspy voice finally overwhelmed and drowned out the cold, biting ones in his head with so much love he thought he might burst from it. Until he finally started believing he deserved it.

[doyouremem8erme]

i need there to be more NEW amphibia fans so i can be the one to explain the ancient fandom things to them. arm/eye theory. in the episode commander anne, . true colors fiasco (i got here right afterwards but i still know the lore). pickle kebab marshmallow. the night. night!marcy. night!marcy being canon (darcy). ive never seen a fandom so obsessed with symbolic foreshadowing. the entire summer after true colors. knowing the prophecy wayyy before it was revealed in the show bc it showed up written in runes much earlier. november 13. king andrias cup size. canon barreleifdrias. "bisexuals wear denim jackets"/"stay tuned". darcycoreverse (ok that one is an obscure niche tumblr thing and im quite biased due to starting it but im still saying it). thinking marcy would get saved in fight or flight when we first got the summaries. you had to be there. you just had to be there.

[sgiandubh]

As a woman who devoured 6 seasons of Outlander in 3 months

I find that Sam was very brilliant in his performance in the first season

Look at him here, even his voice was different and masculine

I don't know why in the following parts he was pulled into the artificial performance style

Even his tone of voice was changed to a ridiculous tone

I find that Sam's creativity was killed and Jamie character was made ridiculous as they presented him to us

Yes they succeeded in that.. But they couldn't change him, he is the crazy chemistry between Sam and Caitriona behind the scenes .

Dear Creativity Anon,

Bearing in mind I distractedly watched the first episode of 7B and not at all the second one, I think this calls for a more nuanced approach.

I do agree with you S was stellar all the way up to Season 4, when things started to spiral downwards, somewhat. I think it's obvious and I don't think we do him - or ourselves, morally speaking - any favors trying to put on a brave face and ignore facts. While C was, in my humble opinion, the weakest link in Season 1, she slowly started to be more comfortable with Claire and have a better understanding and intuition of that character from Season 2 onwards, only to accompany S down the drain at the same above mentioned point on the show's timeline. I am sorry if that sounds brutal to some - blind, enamored fangirling never quite did it for me, but constructive critic is always my cup of tea.

We could probably spend the rest of the night debating reasons and consequences, Anon, much of which are well known - and carefully denied - by many in this fandom. And while many might ascribe the 'new', later seasons S to an older JAMMF character he doesn't seem to master as perfectly as young, fresh faced JAMMF, I agree with you that he looks perfunctorily disinterested too many times for my liking. But then so does C, a woman her Stans worship the earth she's treading upon all day long, while nastily belittling her co-star and - remember, ROFLMAO - Partner Everyday. In a nutshell, the older JAMMF is a formulaic shadow of the fascinatingly versatile younger self and the older CEBRF is a frowning matron, with a passion for ether and terrible, terrible pitch. This is why I have always said I would like to see them both being offered the opportunity to create totally new characters, in totally new projects that would send them out of their respective acting comfort zones. That would be the real litmus test, Anon: not the feisty matriarch in Belfast, nor the endearingly stolid paramour in Love Again. They can do better, that much we know and they deserve better.

When a good, gifted actor suddenly starts to mix things up and lose it, there might be other reasons at play. And I know I will irritate many and I don't care if I do, to be honest. I am still amazed at the complete lack of discernment of this fandom's Stans. They seem to ignore the crucial accountability of that increasingly ineffective army of scriptwriters, producers (we both agree them being Exec Producers is little more than an incentive, with little real leverage on creative decisions) and directors - Matt who? directors XYZ who? And God forbid we'd bring into the mix Gabaldon's increasingly verbose, mediocre output and questionable narrative choices. Her complete lack of historical sensitivity: painting a dull Paris background while she was sitting on a cultural goldmine. Her obsessively cheap sensationalism: raping and uselessly traumatizing ALL of the main characters (why? is happiness that boring? and if so, what does this tell us about their creator?). Her abusively interspersing the intrigue with uninteresting, obscure botanical references, while forgetting to properly tie in the narrative lines. So much so, that I began to increasingly find disagreeable to continue reading the books, from The Fiery Cross onwards. Throw rotten tomatoes at me, if you wish, but I think life is too short for bad literature. So many other formidable things to read, so many other worlds to discover - why would I, as a reader, give this contemptuous, megalomaniac lady my time and my patience, when I have Tiziano Terzani's wonderful travelogues begging for my attention, on my nightstand?

You might ask, with good reason and common sense, why am I still committed to watch the show. And the answer is simple, Anon: when I start something, I strive to properly or at least decently finish it. And despite all the #shitshow, the cruelty, the childish lies, the gaslighting, the traculas and xenas and trolls, I am still here for that love. This, Anon, is something that nobody could ever take away from Those Two, spare perhaps their lesser selves (and that is nobody's business). But I am not worried, in that department - just aware and perhaps a bit cynical, too.

[chocobje]

Hi hello hi…gives you my silly flower girl Valla

She’s one of my main ocs for DW!! I love her a lot and put a lot into her character and lore, honestly she’s my favorite lmao

Lorewise she’s actually Dandy’s older sister, and is based off of the mentor/older character archetype in kid shows, and is significantly older than what I headcanon the other mains are (She’s in her 30s, others (excluding Pebble) are in their early-mid 20s.) Her niche is painting, specifically ink painting. In-universe though, she did have a pretty successful spinoff focused on her called “Valley Flower,” which actually boosted her popularity quite a bit!

In-lore, she tends to not want to be the center of attention as much as her brother. Unlike Dandy, who’s implied to dye his petals, she doesn’t. She’s well…a “wallflower.” Hence her passive! She does love Dandy a lot though! Their relationship is very

Her and Dandy do gain a more strained relationship during the Ichor Operation though, as he won’t tell anything, and she just wants to know what’s going on... I do love me some sibling angst, after all. She also has a secret passive, which gives a 15% discount on Dandy’s Shop, along with some special dialogue.

Twisted-wise, her mechanic is that when she spots a Toon, she’ll veil herself in a cloud of Ichor and beeline for them. The main cues on where to spot her are her eye (which isn’t obscured) and her sound cues and footprints. Shes strategically hunting you, and taking her time doing it. She reveals herself when she either loses the player or hits them successfully. This has a 20 second cooldown.

Now in Panic Mode, she will start to go into a rage, inflicting Dread 2 on all Toons. (Decreases Stamina Regen by 50%, but Increases Speed by 25%) Any Toon she hits will take double damage, as she’s tired of playing around. Her twisted design has a few callbacks to Dandy’s, and I based her slightly off of a panther since I see Twisted Dandy often be depicted as a cat or lion a lot in the fandom and I love it. They be kitty-core to me

Okay yap seasion is now over, Ty for letting me yap about my silly flower lady

THIS IS SO LATE I'M SO SORRY!!

Dandy and Valla are both just giant cats actually /j /silly

Siblings who are polar opposites is just *chef kiss*

Poor her tho doesn't know Dandy is secretly at fault for everyone turning into monsters n such,, What a conversation that might have been between the two of em...

[cilil]

Hi, do you have any advices for budding writers on AO3 or here?

Hey! :)

I've given this some thought and compiled what I hope might be some helpful pointers, but if there's anything else or anything specific you want to hear more about, feel free to ask again. Also I'm assuming this is about the amazing craft of fanfic and not, uh, building a platform or whatever (I wouldn't be very helpful with that, I'm a nobody x)).

Share what you feel comfortable sharing.

So since you're asking about budding writers on AO3 and Tumblr, I take it you're at a point where you feel comfortable sharing your writing online, which is amazing. Nevertheless, I feel the need to once again mention (just for anyone who may be in the same or a similar situation) that it's completely alright not to be comfortable with it (yet) or not to share everything you write. I share almost everything simply because I'm annoying and it makes me feel accomplished and since I've grown pretty comfortable with it, I might as well; but not everyone feels that way and feelings also change. It's completely alright to write just for yourself or a small circle of friends.

Don't worry too much about "being good".

I will be the first to admit that I deeply relate to struggling with perfectionism when it comes to writing (and other creative pursuits). However, as someone who's been reading fic for many years, tends to be into quite niche and obscure things sometimes and is rarely spoiled by big fandoms' abundance of food, I want all writers, especially new ones, to know that you don't have to write the most amazing, perfect, publishing-ready pieces. What matters is your passion and creativity, which will show in your writing regardless of skill level. Not to mention that fic is free and in fact a tool for many to experiment.

That's not to say you can't strive to improve or be good - by all means, I find it admirable if you want to hone your craft and make progress as you continue to write. Just don't let perfectionism ruin your fun and stifle your creativity.

How to get better without trying overly hard.

Aside from just writing, writing and writing (that is the most important part though), how do you improve without making it a point to do so? Well, if it works for you to read/watch guides or you enjoy specific writing exercises, that's great, but one thing that I find gets overlooked a lot in writing spaces is simply: Reading. Just reading for fun.

I find that I often discover little things in other people's writing that I really like and then I think to myself "wow, that's really neat how they did that, maybe I could take a page out of their book" (pun intended) and make it a point to pay attention to these things when I write. Essentially, it's like creating a nice patchwork blanket which is your style, made up of your own voice and preferences as a writer and cool stuff you picked up on the road.

Let me just name some examples, which, yes, are also an excuse to shamelessly blow some writer friends of mine a well-deserved kiss of appreciation. @sauron-kraut writes incredibly polished short stories with beautiful wording and atmosphere that have a lot of little hidden things to discover and dissect, and I want to steal her ability to set the stage and hide those easter eggs. @a-world-of-whimsy-5 is an absolute legend when it comes to writing medieval and medieval-adjacent stuff, and I learned so much from her fics. @i-did-not-mean-to has a way of writing with such esprit and wit that I always end up in a good mood after, a style of narrative voice I've adored for over a decade, and I've greatly improved my humorous writing in particular thanks to her. @crackinthecup has the marvelous ability to craft extremely emotionally evocative scenes, which have encouraged me to be more courageous and experimental in my sentence melody and structure. @tragedybunny has a way of writing that reminds me of coming home to a warm and comfy place, and I will find out how she did it and how I can do it as well.

So as you can see, it can be super helpful to compare notes with your fellow writers. Never be discouraged by someone else's ability; instead learn and expand your own.

Feedback, criticism and community.

Let me just get one thing out of the way: You don't have to take criticism from everyone. Or at all. As far as I understand, the fanfic community has come to to agree that we're doing this for fun and don't give criticism unprompted/when we aren't sure it's wanted or welcome. As a general rule: Take criticism from those you would also seek advice from. Ask for feedback if you feel comfortable, and if not, that's a valid boundary to have and I will gently smack anyone who presumes to pick apart writing that was made for fun and generously shared with the community for free.

The community aspect, however, should be taken into account on other fronts. While I won't tell anyone they have to interact and believe that, in an ideal world, everyone's writing would just speak for itself, it is helpful to engage with the community. Things you can do (both on Tumblr and AO3 if also applicable/possible) include: Respond to people interacting with your works, interacting with other people's works (for example while you're doing your reading sessions and looking at other writers' styles) and just overall being present, being talkative, going with the flow.

Again, this is not a must. But I will say that pretty much all of us want positive responses and interactions on their work and that just won't work if you expect everyone to show up for you all the time and never show up for anyone else. Engagement, passion and community are our "currency" in the absence of money and reciprocity is an important element of that. A lot of friction and complaints in the fanfic community regarding lack of interaction or entitlement are rooted in misunderstandings of this fundamental principle.

But don't take this in a cynical manner. Seek out what you enjoy, share the joy and passion and you'll make friends just accidentally - which is the part that I find makes fandom on AO3 and Tumblr so much fun! (I don't even want to be a "traditional" author anymore, I want this instead😁)

Find your groove and groove along.

Lastly, make sure your writing is fun for you or else it'll become a chore and eventually get ruined for you as a hobby. This is unfortunately a continuous task as your needs and interests shift - for example you might be in the mood to do an entire drabble challenge one month and during another month you feel so drained that you couldn't do another one. Or you might want to write something different for a change. Or whatever it may be.

Either way, one recent lesson I've learned is that I got too tied up in obligations and it left no space for spontaneous inspiration, so I never got to write what I wanted to write in the moment and it pushed me quite close to burnout. Do yourself a favor and always hold that space for yourself. In practice, this could for example mean that you do one event and on the side write this cool new idea you had, instead of doing three events - which is fun and games until it starts getting too much and you don't have time for your passion projects.

Finding your groove also includes the whole technical aspect, such as which writing programs you use, which device (or none at all), where you write, how to make yourself comfortable, how to get in the right headspace for things. I would also like to encourage all of you to be a bit crazy and whimsical about this: For example I've gone to the perfume store, picked out a scent for a specific character in a specific scene and sniffed it while writing the description several times now. Do what it takes. And say goodbye to your squeaky clean search history - you will research some weird stuff just to get that one line right.

So yeah, these are just my random thoughts on fic writing and what has been helpful in order for me to have lots of fun with this hobby. Happy writing!

[canmom]

Hello! I absolutely love your blog, everything from your festival recounts to animation analysis and programming (one of tumblr's recommended posts was the one where you made your own rasteriser, and I liked your attitude in what I've read so much that I'm gonna attempt to conquer my 3-year-long grudge against using opengl during college and do something similar now that I'm a bit older and have no deadlines :D).

But anyway, I have 2 questions (sorry if there's easily accessible answers, tumblr search is not helping): 1. During your animation nights, does the screen stay black while everyone watches their own video while you provide commentary? I haven't caught any yet but maybe someday! And 2. do you have any youtube channels or just one-off video essays that you like that also cover animation/directors? Or, even programming lol.

Sorry for the long ask have a nice day!

hiii! i'm very touched that you like my dorky eclectic blog <3

For the Animation Nights, I just stream the video over Twitch from local sources on my computer, typically by playing the video in mpv and recording it in OBS. This is obviously not ideal from a video quality perspective, but it's the easiest way to watch video in sync without making everyone download files in advance. Then we all chat in the Twitch chat box (in large part to crack stupid jokes, it's not that highbrow lmao). I've gotten away with it so far!

As for youtube channels, I can recommend...

anime production/history (i.e. sakuga fandom)

SteveM is likely the most sakuga-fan affiliated anituber. He makes long, well-researched and in-depth videos on anime history, usually themed around a particular director or studio.

Pyramid Inu might be my fave anituber - very thoughtful analysis of Gundam, obscure mecha anime and oldschool BL and similar topics. tremendously soothing voice too.

The Canipa Effect does excellent deep dives into the production of specific shows, both western and anime. I appreciate the respect he gives to the Korean animators of shows like AtlA in particular!

Sean Bires's 2013 presentation on sakuga is pretty foundational to this whole subcultural niche, and a great place to get an introduction to the major animator names to know and significant points in the history of anime. unfortunately a couple of the segments got slapped down by copyright but the rest holds up!

animation theory (for animators and aspirants)

I'm going to focus here on resources that are relevant to animation in general, and 2D animation. if I was going to list every Blender channel we'd be here all week :p

New Frame Plus is one of the best channels out there for game animation, describing in tightly edited videos how animation principles work in a game context and analysing the animation of various games. highly recommend

Videogame Animation Study is similar, examining the animation of specific games in detail

the 'twelve principles of animation' (defined by Disney's Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas) remain the standard approach to animation pedagogy; there are various videos on them, but Alan Becker (of Animator vs Animation) has quite a popular series. I haven't actually watched these but many people swear by them! Dermot O'Connor expands the list to 21. Note that some of the terminology can be a little inconsistent between different animators - c.f. 'secondary motion'...

Dong Chang is an animator at Studio NUT, who produces a lot of fantastic, succinct videos on standard techniques in the anime industry, timesheet notations, etc. etc. Studio Bulldog, a small anime studio, are a good complement; they focus more on douga than genga and are generally a bit more traditional.

programming

big topic here, I'm going to focus on game dev and tech art since that's my field. but also some general compsci stuff that's neat

SimonDev - graphics programmer with a bunch of AAA experience, fantastic explanations of advanced optimisations and some of the more counterintuitive aspects of rendering

Acerola - graphics programmer who makes very detailed guides to a variety of effects with a very rapid and funny 'guy that has seen monogatari' editing style. When he's good, he's really good. His video on water is probably the best one I've seen (though I can recommend a couple of others).

TodePond - the most charming, musical videos about recursion and cellular automata you've ever seen. less programming tutorial and more art in themselves.

Ben Eater - known for his breadboard computer series, a fantastic demonstration of how to go from logic gates up to the 6502 with actual hardware. worth watching just for how clean he puts the wires on his breadboards like goddamn man

Sebastian Lague, Useless Game Dev - both do 'coding adventure' style videos where they spend a few weeks on some project and then document it on Youtube, resulting in a huge library of videos about all sorts of fascinating techniques. great to dive into

Freya Holmér - creator of the 'shapes' library, makes videos on mathematical programming, with gorgeously animated vector graphics. Her video on splines is a particular treat.

There are definitely many more channels I can recommend on these subjects, but I'll need to dig into my history a bit - unfortunately I need to rush out right now, but hopefully that should be good to be getting going with!