#i wrote it way back in. march. 2020

[azulpitlane]

crush l ih6

summary: in which comments isack made on lewis hamilton’s daughter’s old instagram posts resurface

masterlist

yourusername march 2020 montauk, ny

liked by lewishamilton, isackhadjar and 8,739 others

yourusername officially licensed and two weeks off of school...life is good

view all comments

user imagine being lewis hamiltons daughter and being able to just drive around the hamptons for fun😔😔😔😔

user omg we got off school too!!

yourbff shoutout to covid🙏

yourusername fr!! i lowkey didnt study for that math test we were supposed to have on thursday

lewishamilton be careful driving!! especially in downtown

yourusername yes father, you only told me a million times already

user i want her life so bad

isackhadjar are you doing anything fun in these two weeks?

user please tell me im not the only one stalking her account after that twitter thread showing isacks comments on her old posts went viral

user YES!! i thought it was fake but hes really here😭😭

user omg i am too and im getting second hand embarrassment… this boy has NO game

yourusername march 2021 new york, new york

liked by lewishamilton, nicorosberg, and 8,128 others

yourusername quarantined birthday this year

view all comments

user nico still likes her pics💔💔💔

user im pretty sure he's her godfather so it makes sense

user the twilight cake is so real

isackhadjar happy birthday!! hopefully you still had fun even at home

user this is giving lando tweeting at carlos back in 2012

user he was crushing soo bad😭

user bro took being team lh too seriously and was literally trying to be a part of the family

user LMFAO his comments are so sweet and innocent though🥲 its kinda cute

yourusername december 2021 abu dhabi, uae

liked isackhadjar, lewishamilton and 10,739 others

yourusername its okay guys, hes still the father of two of the coolest kids so hes a winner forever

view all comments

yourbff are you implying roscoe is your brother?

yourusername well yes my dad birthed him

yourbff im-

user its still fuck the fia and verstappen though liked by author

lewishamilton true❤️ liked by author

user she was probably in attendance to see her dad win😭😭😭 this race was so rigged and unfair!!

yourusername straightened my hair for it and everything💔💔💔 (still very proud of my dad tho)

isackhadjar the final few laps were insane! can't imagine what it was like to be there

user LMFAOOO

user another one, thank you

user im gonna let these slide cause he was only like 17 when he wrote these

yourusername september 2022 new york, new york

liked by sebastianvettel, lewishamilton, and 19,402 others

yourusername proud to admit that my dad chose my outfit

view all comments

user using her nepotism to get into ny fashion week...honestly i respect it

user omg she's slowly becoming a fashion icon like lewis, name a more iconic duo!!!

user imagine being styled by THEE lewis hamilton

user the way the older drivers are always in her likes is so cute! i know they don't play about her

isackhadjar amazing🤩

user this might be the worst one...he wanted the effin cookie so bad...

user its also the last comment he made😞 he got tired of the no response LOL

user he still likes all of her photos to this day though!

-

-

isackhadjar

liked by liamlawson, yourusername and 153,425 others

isackhadjar miami weekend🇺🇸

view all comments

liamlawson was the first picture taken before or after you face planted?

isackhadjar can we please move on from that? PLEASE

user liam should not be making me laugh this hard😔 im a fake lawson hater i fear

user thanks for falling🙏 its now one of the most iconic f1 moments on history

user HADJOINTS!! I THINK IT WAS BECAUSE OF THE GREAT FALL OF 2025

user Y/N IS IN THE LIKES

user SHE FOLLOWED HIM BACK TOO

yourusername amazing🤩

user OH MY GOD IS SHE QUOTING ONE OF HIS OLD COMMENTS FROM HER POSTS LMFAO

user SHES SEEN THE THREAD😭

user this is hilarious, i know he's probably freaking out

-

-

yourusername

liked by isackhadjar, danielricciardo and 382,492 others

yourusername miami weekend

view all comments

user i was so happy to see you back in a race😭 we missed u

user the caption is the same as isacks ajskhasjd is she soft launching or just fucking with him ?!?

user need the wag detectives to find out if thats isack on the last slide NOW

user does she know team lh and hadjar fans have come together on twitter to investigate if they're possibly together?

lewishamilton 🖤 liked by author

user okay drama aside, where the hell have you been and why is this your first race appearance in almost three years?

yourusername babes i have a job now🥲

user so you're capable of responding to this comment but not the other ones🤨

yourusername 🤐

-

isackhadjar

liked by yourusername, yukitsunoda and 292,038 others

isackhadjar thanks twitter for exposing me twice in a row. it really paid off.

view all comments

yukitsunoda there's no way.

user I WANNA KNOW WHAT LEWIS' REACTION WAS

user he actually did it...he has joined the hamilton family...

user this is inspirational af. never give up on the girl of your dreams guys😭😭

user youre telling me she saw him fall flat on his face and thought yeah thats my man🩷

user this actually frying me cause what if they get in a fight then he has to race against her DAD

user are you going to take her last name when you get married?

user when their kids ask how they met they're gonna have to say through instagram comments😊

yukitsunoda how???

liamlawson bro im asking myself the same thing. it might be ai...

isackhadjar ITS NOT ?!? @:yourusername BACK ME UP

yukitsunoda its been thirty minutes and she hasn't responded...mate this isn't looking good for you

isackhadjar SHES LITERALLY RIGHT NEXT TO ME

user the way she liked the photo too but is ignoring his cries for help in the comments😭

-

yourusername

liked isackhadjar, pepemarti, and 937,184 others

yourusername his boba eyes and obsession with me have captured me

view all comments

user THE LAST PHOTO LMFAO

user hello isack and miss hamilton, i am coming forward to say that i was the one that posted that twitter thread😀 i personally would like an invitation to the wedding

yourusername noted📝

user OMG

user wow she actually makes him look tall

user obsession is definitely the right choice of words

user WAIT I LOVE THIS SM

user he's a lot bolder than i thought, dating his idol's daughter is crazy

user no cause how did he manage to do that😭

isackhadjar @:yukitsunoda @:liamlawson

yukitsunoda it took you five years, don't try to flex right now🙄

user IM DEAD HE CLOCKED HIM

isackhadjar i told you to delete the last photo😣

yourusername YOU LOOK SO CUTE THO

nicorosberg when's he coming over for dinner?

yourusername next weekend??

danielricciardo im coming too

sebastianvettel ill bring the wine

yukitsunoda can i come too and bring liam?

lewishamilton yes! we'll all be there saturday night!

yourusername YAY IM SO EXCITED

isackhadjar hah...me too...

user OH MY GOD ISACK IS PROBABLY SHITTING HIMSELF RN

user y/n and isack being the reason for a brocedes reunion is sending me

user oh to be a fly on the wall for that dinner😔

-

[halorvic]

December 30, 2024

Arijit Chakravarty: “Learn to live with it,” for other diseases doesn’t mean the same thing as we have applied to COVID. When we say we must learn to live with leprosy, we don’t mean let’s make sure everybody has leprosy. When we say we must learn to live with malaria, we don’t mean let’s make sure everyone gets malaria as often as possible, let’s keep mosquitoes lurking in our tanks outside our house. No one says you must learn to live with tuberculosis. Let’s let it spread as much as possible and see how that goes. No, we suppress those diseases every step along the way. We suppress dengue. We suppress tuberculosis. This whole idea that learning to live with the disease means permitting and encouraging its rampant spread and rapid evolution is just so many levels of stupidity that I don’t have a word for it.

Benjamin Mateus: I’d like to know your thoughts on Trump and RFK Jr., his choice for secretary of health? RFK Jr. has been at the head of vaccine disinformation and anti-public health policies. They are calling for ending any cooperation with the World Health Organization. These will have immense consequences for public health globally. These are political questions, but often I hear scientists do not want to engage in political questions and feel uncomfortable about it. Can we avoid the political implications?

AC: Look, it’s not that I don’t want to get political. It’s that if I was going to get political, I don’t know who to hold up as an example. There’s not a government in the world that has handled this correctly. There’s not a party in this world that’s handled it correctly. It’s all different flavors of stupid. Pick your poison. The Democrats went out of their way to normalize mass infection. They went out of their way to lie about the vaccines and say, “If you’re vaccinated, the pandemic was over.” That was completely unnecessary. It was completely at odds with science. Then you have Trump in the first Trump administration saying, “Why don’t you drink some bleach?” It would be a comedy if the consequences weren’t so grave. Frankly, wherever you go it’s like this. You look at Canada’s Bonnie Henry (Canadian epidemiologist and physician) in British Columbia. On day one she insisted that the kids wouldn’t get infected. Then she went and published a paper, put her own name on it, bragging about how herd immunity has been achieved because 90 percent of Canadian kids have been infected. In the UK you had the hearings on the public health response by the UK government. They noted that the government failed to act quickly. There was no clear policy approach, and they even abandoned contact tracing in mid-March of 2020. They even said that masks don’t help stop the spread and the virus wasn’t airborne. It’s a disgrace. Politicians worldwide have decided that they can brazen out their way through this. And the reason for this is they’ve been advised by a certain set of scientists, a relatively small number of scientists, who have essentially sold out. There are tens of thousands of papers, if not hundreds of thousands of papers, on the risks of COVID. You could literally find thousands of scientists who would be willing to go up in front of the House of Representatives and testify that getting COVID repeatedly is bad for you. Where are those scientists? Nobody’s listening to them. They’re listening to the scientists who whisper in their ears and say that everything will be okay. Ryan Gregory and I wrote a Substack blog post a while back called Calm Mongering where we talk about this—that people have weaponized the logic of science in the service of propaganda by saying, “that’s just a hypothesis.” As soon as you bring up a risk, these “experts” shut down the conversation about the risk by saying we’re not sure that’ll happen. But in fact, that’s an inversion of the precautionary principle. And it’s a lot of the tactics that were used by the merchants of doubt during the tobacco era. The merchants of doubt were a subset of a very small number of corrupt, well-connected and well-funded scientists who went out of their way to make public statements that were at odds with the body of literature that was coming out on lung cancer and tobacco. And we are seeing the exact same thing again. Big tobacco sponsored a bunch of corrupt scientists to create a counter-narrative to reality. This time around, who’s playing the role of big tobacco? It’s the politicians and governments. But the exact same thing is playing out. That nexus between this group of corrupt scientists and politicians who are actively funding their work is a global phenomenon. Unfortunately, I hate to say this, but it’s going to take reality breaking through to solve this. They’ve been very effective at convincing people that this is not a problem you need to worry about.

[swanwonyoung]

my simple wonyoungism routine ᡣ𐭩

‧₊˚ ⋅ ☆ 𖦹 ׂ 𓈒 ೀ

hello everyone ! i was writing about what i want to keep doing in march, and since i fully came back to wonyoungism, i wrote what i want to keep doing and what i don't, i also wrote a mini guide on paper, that helps me know what works for me, and i thought about sharing with you guys, i hope it's easy to understand and that you like it 🧸ྀི xo, sunny.

ᯓ★ what works for me in wonyoungism ★ᯓ

waking up early and going to bed early is helping me maintain the routine i want and is helping me build the habit of having discipline;

basic skin care routine, washing my face 3 times everyday (or more if needed), moisturizer helps me a lot too, sunscreen i forget sometimes but i'm trying not to, because it's the main step everyone needs, i don't do a lot, but exfoliating once a week and using the face moisturizer already helps me to have a nicer skin;

writing, journaling, just putting my thoughts on paper helps me maintain mental clarity instead of getting worked up over anything;

lucky vicky mindset, this one changed my life and i'm not even joking, i started 2025 like someone so much more positive and i've never been like that, and now I'm only getting better at it, i can't even think about being negative, i already consider this a lesson that will pass and i'll learn more about myself, it really helps;

stretching, at any time actually, when waking up, in the middle of a task, in the afternoon, before going to sleep, any time, after all it helps me to get rid of the tension that my body may be feeling at the moment;

studying ! even though i graduated from high school in 2020, i never stopped studying, and i even started studying other languages, making it an official part of my routine for 3 years, because before i studied randomly, this helps me to always be up to date and pay attention to everything.

"But... is the routine already finished?"

"What do you mean with you don't do a complete routine where you don't have time to rest?"

"Where are the 10 skin care steps?"

well, i know some people see those toxic wonyoungism routines and think that everyone in wonyoungism does this kind of stuff, actually that was one of my purposes in writing this post, to bring back the essence of wonyoungism and remind people that not everything they see on the internet is real, there will always be a good and bad side to any aesthetic/trend, as it depends on the person who is practicing it.

and many people on the toxic side created a version of wonyoung that doesn't even exist, they took the strawberry and milk scene and made that "her routine", EVEN when she was still on izone she said that teenagers (like she was) shouldn't go on diets, they created a routine where people have to wake up super early, not sleep properly because some people have difficulty, anyways, they created a bunch of lies and made people follow the same toxic routine.

and this kind of routine was never part of my wonyoungism and I don't even support it, i believe that we should all be free to make our interpretation of something as long as it doesn't harm another person, and my wonyoungism is not just about glow up or lifestyle, it also involves my mental health and my mindset.

and now we finally found the part i wanted to talk about, what i think inside and outside of wonyoungism and what effect it has on my life :

I think that being negative instead of positive only hurts me, so i try to see the bright side of the situation or how i can turn it into something good, instead of going back to the old habit of being negative;

With wonyoungism I see my routine as something more fun and worthy of being romanticized, but without going overboard! And that helps me move forward every day;

I take everything Wonyoung says and try to adapt it to my reality, and it helps me see the world in a way i didn't see before, it happens almost every day;

Even when I do pilates or workout at home (i recommend hinafit on yt, I think about what this will bring me and what this will help improve in my life, for example, the disposition and energy I need to help me move daily;

To study I always think about what I want for the future and how this is helping me a lot right now so this future can actually become real, and this motivates me to be better and learn a lot;

I have a flexible routine, so I can be productive every day in different ways that don't tire me out;

but have a specific time to wake up and sleep so that my body and mind get used to it (6 am club 🎀) and i'm feeling way better now;

I could even write more about it , but as I mentioned, my routine changes every day, but I try to have some fixed things in it that I like to do every day, even if it's at different times, and I'm slowly getting back to my simple workout or Pilates routine, because I had my wisdom teeth removed and couldn't do much.

If you're confused, here are some things I like to do (almost?) every day:

to dance (trying to create my choreographies);

sing (and attempt to write songs);

to write (journal or anything);

learn japanese or korean (or any other i want to);

stretching;

listen to music and study anything i want;

learn about fashion, personal growth, self-love, self-respect, habits, routines, and more;

obviously i watch my favorite kpop groups on youtube, but when i want motivation i watch ive's content;

i like watching documentaries, films and series, and getting a lot of my knowledge from the;

stay silent and think, without using my phone or watching TV, i just like to stay silent and think about everything (this is how the inspiration for my posts begins);

leisure time: playing games on my phone, or the sims 4 on the video game, watching videos on YouTube (not kpop), dancing and singing a lot, lots of things ngl;

and while I was writing my mini wonyoungism schedule for this whole year, I had this reflection here:

Instead of regretting what you didn't do (whether it was the day before yesterday or years in the past), start doing what you need or want to do right now, Don't put it off until later, because you're disappointing the person you're going to spend the rest of your life with, yourself.

written by swanwonyoung on tumblr 🦢

[f-t-e]

I started watching SUPERNATURAL in November 2020. I know, I know. My partner and I had been isolating alone since March. The timing felt right. I went though a wild amount of upheaval and trauma over the next year and SPN was there for me through it all. It was THE show at THE time and it kept me afloat when I needed it the most. Since November 2021 I've written just about 110,000 words of SPN fanfic, a number that seems unbelievable to me, and that too has been a real blessing to my creative life, no matter what haters say. (why didn't I write my own novels in that time? Because I have a hobby, Karen, and I love it.) And I've read about 500000x that much fanfic, which has been the biggest blessing of all. (ETA: oh right, if you want to read my fic, you can find my stuff here, I wrote a fic where Dean reads books. Lots of books.)

I know I'm a nobody in this fandom but I thought on this, our #DestielDay, I would submit my own humble rec list. I've curated this very deliberately: every fic here has just about 4000 hits or less (most under 3000) and all were published in 2020 or after. So, sort of a rec list for some lesser known and newer fics, something you maybe haven't stumbled on yet. Especially thank you to @jewishcharliebradbury, her rec lists gave me a place to start back in the day and I have tried to model the depth and quality they brought to their lists. I tried to link to everyone's tumblr, but if I missed one, let me know.

Most of all, thank you to everyone who has EVER created something for this fandom, from 2005 to 2023. I am so thankful and, honestly, honored to be among your number. You're not supposed to be cringe and say a show saved your life...but SUPERNATURAL saved me, it really did. See y'all when the movie/reboot drops, to quote Ryan Gosling in The Notebook: IT WASN'T OVER, IT STILL ISN'T OVER. And I'm glad.

-----

Finale Fix-It & S15 and Beyond

What The Moon Was Saying by Amiril (@runawaymarbles)

This is hands-down one of the coolest “Dean Rescues Cas from the Empty” fics I have ever read and the concept is brilliantly structured to mirror the literal and metaphorical things Dean needs to give up and let go to get free. Every scenario is very satisfying and they make sense, is there any better feeling? Dean is very open in this, but in a believable way that still has edges. And, oh, the reunion is so good. Plus all the family stuff. Just excellent, exactly what you want in a fic like this: lovely, well-written, smart, fulfilling, all the pieces clicking, the show but better.

Awake and Annoying by skycruise

I love the use and passage of time in this one, it has some real impact, and I love the way Dean gets into the Empty (so smart, fits just right) and what I REALLY love in this one is the way it lets Dean be really clear-eyed and honest about his relationship with Sam, both the strengths and the weaknesses. And the last line, very clever and moving inverse of one of fandom’s favorite things. 

Living the life you chose by allthismusic

THEEEEE post finale Sam Winchester-Outsider-POV this fandom needs. Sam is absolutely awesome in this, the most believable, loving, realistic mix of “I knew all along” and “I had no idea” versions of Sam, landing somewhere I think that’s really true and in character. It fills in and develops so many gaps and silences in what the show let Sam know in the absolute best way. Best Brother Sam is a weakness of mine and he really shines here, there for Dean in the best ways but also coming into his own, I love it so very much. (this author also has a very great 2022 Big Bang fic, hugely recommend that one too.)

your ear to the wound that whispers by EmandFandems (@lazarusemma)

Who doesn’t love a HANDPRINT FIC?!? And boy this is such a good one. It follows Dean and his thoughts on the handprint from the first touch all the way to fixing the finale and it simply buzzes with longing and desire, tenderness and rawness. It’s great insight in lot of ways into Dean’s journey. It’s short but fulfilling and oh that very perfect last line. (this author also has a lot of great Jupernatural content.)  

Somewhere Off in the Dark by magickastiel 

Another awesome fic that traces Dean’s shifting/growing feelings for Cas from when he shows up in his hotel rooms to a HEA fix it after canon. Dean, again, is handled so deftly in this one, his confusion and sorrow at all the times Cas is slipping away from him all the way through the things he won’t let himself know. He feels really true in this one, sharp and tender in the best Dean ways. Also it has an agonizingly romantic end, you love to end up there.

Pins and Feathers by theskywasblue (@buttherewasnogod)

This author has so many freaking good SPN fics, omg it was almost impossible to pick just one to include on this list. Go treat yourself with their entire list because there’s so much good stuff there! But this one, oh I am a sucker for a finale fix-it that lets Dean be this tender. While I LOVE fics where he just jumps right into Cas’s arms (and write them lol) I also feel like this is so true to Dean too: that “maybe I misunderstood, maybe I shouldn’t say anything, maybe he doesn’t still –” And on top of all that, it’s a “they go the beach” fic and it gets the details of it so right, sand in your toes and all. Tender, amazing slow-burn, real, hot, full of heart and longing and everything unspoken and just waiting. Very satisfying!

i loved you first by kalmialatifolia

A set of four short fics that create an entire world of feeling and emotion. These feel like little whispered stories told under the covers, very atmospheric. There’s one very sexy one, a haircutting one (so good) and they’re just intimate. All together a great set and did I mention they’re in the “Cas saves himself” genre which is mmmm an underrated treasure.

no other faith is light enough for this place by anonymous 

A fix-it fic that has a particularly unique and beautiful visual of both how and why Cas comes back. The mechanics behind it are fairly standard but the way this author creates the visual of it, the sheer emotion and force behind it and how it happens, it really stood out to me and stuck with me. It’s Dean being brave enough to really feel and the way that just blossoms – lovely, aching, full-tilt wonderful.

 no proof, one touch by TakeThisWaltz (@watchinghimrakeleaves)

One thing I absolutely cannot get enough of is fic where Cas is hiding out from Dean in heaven. It just hits. And the only thing better is Dean chasing him down and the WAY he does it in this fic, methodically and – well the method (sobs) it is so endearing and OBVIOUS and gives Dean a chance to shout in all the best ways. This one is just real sweet and kind of goofy and if they have to be in heaven, I want them to still be these same two dorks.

Stay by redbrickrose

This is a post S15x18 from Cas’s POV and I think it’s very true to where he would be in the moment of getting yanked out of the Empty: resigned, hesitant about what he has in front of him, still a little in shock. And then. And then. Sweet and simple and Dean gets a chance to say, say, say it. This author has a good post series AU and a lovely little spate of S15 codas, all good. And then wrote this in real-time in the week after 15x18 Despair and right before 15x19 Inherit the Earth aired (could you just sob over the possibilities?!) and then hasn’t wrote anything since and that’s a shame but, like, yeah I get it.

like a one-two punch by Muir_Wolf (@muirmarie)

Don’t you love a short fic that feels like it’s a whole novel? This goes AU after 14x20 Moriah but it is a truly delightful twist on how Chuck could’ve reacted there and it makes Dean sharp as a knife, which is one really resonant image woven through this fic. Great imagery here and so many clever solutions for the lazy plotting of S15, including simply one of my all-time favorites in any fic ever solutions to Cas’s deal (genius) and getting rid of Chuck. Brilliant like a puzzle box yet still full of so much fucking joy.

maybe i like pleasure pain by tothewillofthepeople (@kvothes)

The fact that this was written in October 2023 and is so agonizingly good fills my heart with joy and tells me Destiel will never die lol. Cas, in particular, is great in this – he’s having a hard time adjusting to being in a body and with all the fuzz of the world. I love fics where Cas struggles with coming back from the Empty and this uses a really unique approach to it: Cas facing sensory overload and not knowing how to feel but wanting it all. Lovely, hot, Dean is just right in this too.

Earlier Canon (pre S15)

Proverbs 13:12 by starlingcas (@angelcasendgame)

Many might say I am biased because Renu has beta’ed everything I have written in the SPN fandom and they can read my brain and make everything I write better. But it’s not just that. Renu has done something beautiful and delicate in this fic, which is about Dean and Cas getting trapped in a net together (forced proximity trope, yes please) and weaves a web of its own; pulling you in just as they are pulled together. This is set mostly in early S14 (before fixing the finale in the most heart-healing way) and captures that feeling so well. There’s so much that’s unsaid between them yet still conveyed and Renu absolutely nails that, along with the tender longing that was always there. This is a fic to relish.

you may tire of me (as our december sun is setting) by deludedfantasy

You know how the show just sometimes is like “uh so anyway uh then Cas…uh…left.” and it just doesn’t make one lick of sense? FINALLY FINALLY a fic where Dean says “I’ll go with you,” and then goes because he actually would do that. This is a post Tombstone fic so it is exactly where/when he WOULD go and it is tender and hesitant and aching in just all the ways it would be between the two of them at this time. It’s about needing to keep someone in sight, it’s about having another chance to say something so important, it’s slow and soft and just right for the characters in this place. I could read this one about 100 times.

the anatomy of flightless birds by cowlovely (@dollhousemary)

This fic is basically the way you feel when you get all cozy and snug underneath your favorite blanket. This is a domestic-life-in-the Bunker S9 fic where everyone behaves like they are in character and not just like they have to get Cas off screen because the writers panicked. You’ll just want to curl up in this fic and savor it the way you wrap your fingers around a hot beverage on a very cold day, there’s no better way to describe it.

virtue by JenTheSweetie

I think I’ve read this about 100 times and it still gets me everytime? It’s a five things fic about Dean and Cas hooking up and it’s all you’ve ever wished for. This is set in an amorphous S8 and it is not just agonizingly hot but also romantic and very funny. It feels really in character! Sam is hilarious, Dean is clueless but bowled over and letting himself be swept up, Cas is delighting in every second and smarter than he lets on and it ALL feels fated and lovely and sexy and just splendid. (this author only has 3 SPN fics but they are all so good and if you try sometimes, well you just might find is an absolutely brilliant deconstruction of Dean learning the differences between “needing” and “wanting.”)

Romance at the Motel 6 by shelia_amour 

This fic makes me feel like Stefon from SNL. This fic has everything: Cas and Sam pretending to be married, just the right amount of jealous Dean, Dean randomly pretending to be married to Cas, Dean realizing maybe this isn’t so fake after all, motel vibes, Cas in Dean’s clothes, Cas getting bee slippers. If you are not sold on this already, we are very different people. So good, aches just right. (set in a kind of “whenever” of canon, but I like to put it somewhere in S8.)

que sera sera by Purple_Starflower (@hauntedpearl)

The epitome of how fanfic unfolds for us all the things that COULD happen. You can’t PROVE to me Dean and Cas never snuck off to snuggle and feed Dean’s touch-starvation early in S13. I had to check when I finished because I just couldn’t believe this fic was under 4000 words because it feels so full of touch, longing, the things unspoken, and all the ways Dean was reaching, reaching, reaching. The best kind of ache, and everything by this author is lovely. 

the hard edge that you’re settling for by lesspopped (@trekkiedean)

This is some S10 Demon!Dean that made my stomach hurt and my heart ache and I absolutely loved it and I absolutely hated it and it all felt so REAL with who Demon!Dean was and could have been. There’s a TW for mildly dubious consent in this, but to me, Cas was so agonizingly true to who he was/where he was at this point in canon too. This fic is gloriously, claustrophobically intimate. I say unbearable because as a reader you know that this closeness, this intimacy, is what Dean wants/craves/deserves but can only give himself as a demon and the author does an exquisite job at getting all that across. Hurts so good! 

four of swords by sundryvillians (eurythmix) (@perenial)

Can the world ever have enough post 12x12 fic? The answer is, of course, no. Dean and Cas bake bread and in the soft space of creating something with their own hands, get so close to the words Cas said. It’s about healing and anger and making something just because you are so tired of everything breaking. If that alone isn’t enough to convince you, let me also throw in this is another one of those “possible off-screen moments in canon” that gives them something honest and tender and raw and it feels so very possible. 

Fifteen Prayers From the Faithless by koyas_cat

Short, achy, that sweet sting. A set of prayers for Cas from the beginning to the end, full of all the things Dean doesn’t let himself say outloud and just reflecting the changes in their connection over alllll the years. So good.

[yanderenightmare]

since u have a large following, i wanted to ask about the first few months when u started. How many followers in the first few months do u think is good for a blog that js started? Is it natural to not attract ad much as others?

I get demotivated when i see other people have big numbers in following while I only have a few 😅 ik i probably shouldn't be dumpin this in ur ask box but I think I need advice, so feel free to ignore tis if u don't wanna answer.

Anyway, love ur work SO MUCHHH

My Tumblr Journey

Hmm, well, you know, your following increases based on how often you post and what you post, so it's going to be very different for everyone.

But I'll explain what I've done, starting from the very beginning, and maybe it might give you some insight and help you out!

♡ In the Beginning!

I made my first post on June 22nd, 2020, and got my first thousand followers within 113 days after that, then another thousand in the following 69 days.

Back then, I only posted fandom works, solely yandere BNHA.

It was a time when BNHA was extremely popular. Season four had just finished airing, and the anime-only fans had been introduced to Hawks for the first time. So, my popularity really rode on that wave.

♡ Part Two of The Beginning!

Shortly after that, in 2021, BNHA had its fifth season featuring Deku getting his additional quirks, and on top of that, the villains got their very own arc. My Hero was really popping off and coming into its own as one of the best animes of all time. And you know I was continuing riding the wave.

Simultaneously, season one of Jujutsu Kaisen finished airing in March of that year. And, of course, I jumped on the trend and made my first JJK post in May when it was just starting to heat up.

After that, I also started branching out into other fandoms—though still kept mainly to BNHA.

♡ 2021 COLLECTION FULL

♡ Crappy New Year!

2022 was a really shitty year for my Tumblr. I was busy in my final year of high school, then went straight to University and got busy making friends and all that stuff.

And yet, despite all that, this is the year I made 10k! Woohoo!

♡ 2022 COLLECTION FULL

♡ The Year of JJK!

Ever since watching season one, I'd bought all the manga and was fully caught up. Then, season two started in July, and you know I and every one else was eating it up.

Satoru Gojo had fully become my new favorite character, often joined by Geto, knocking Bakugou out of the number-one slot—while Mahito challenged Shigaraki for second place.

All in all, it was a really good bounce back from 2022.

♡ 2023 COLLECTION PART ONE♡ 2023 COLLECTION PART TWO

♡ The Year of Inserts and My Best Year Yet!

This is the year I started writing primarily inserts.

Fanfic writing had become a little stifling and repetitive, so I found it really liberating to be able to write what I wanted without needing to cater it to a specific character.

And I couldn't be any luckier how well you all responded to it. I made a ton of new followers, reaching 20k and almost 30k in the same year!

The response was, in fact, so good that I even published a book with only OCs—Marie's Collection of Erotic Thrillers.

However, with that being said, I think writing for a fandom really helps you get started. Because you'll be able to use the fandom tags, which in turn will help people find your writing.

That's what I did, though, so I can't really speak on what it would have been like if I only wrote inserts and OCs from the beginning. However, I know of other authors here on Tumblr who've taken that route and have blown up almost overnight!

So, there really isn't any right or wrong way here.

♡ 2024 COLLECTION PART ONE♡ 2024 COLLECTION PART TWO

♡ NIGHTMARE'S HELPDESK

[louisupdates]

TELEGRAPH INDIA 10.3.2025

Former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson described his debut concert in India as “mind-blowing”. The 33-year-old singer performed at the Lollapalooza India 2025 music festival in Mumbai on Sunday.

"India, I had no idea what to expect, but you turned up in full force. From Doncaster to Mumbai. F**** mind-blowing. Thank you," Tomlinson wrote on X on Sunday, thanking fans for their love and support.

The concert at Mumbai’s Mahalaxmi Race Course saw Tomlinson performing songs from his One Direction days like Where Do Broken Hearts Go and Night Changes, alongside his solo hits such as Written All Over Your Face, Out of System, Saturdays, Back To You Now, and We Made It.

Tomlinson announced his debut gig in India way back in January. "India is going to be special. It’s somewhere I’ve dreamt of playing for a long time," he wrote in a post on X.

Popular British boy band One Direction, formed in 2010, comprised Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and the late Liam Payne, alongside Tomlinson. The members went on an indefinite hiatus as a group in March 2016 to focus on their individual careers.

Tomlinson released his debut studio album, Walls, on January 31, 2020. The album debuted at number four on the UK Albums Chart and number nine on the Billboard 200. His second studio album, Faith in the Future, was released on November 11, 2022. The album featuring three singles — Bigger Than Me, Out of My System and Silver Tongues — debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number five on the Billboard 200.

The third edition of Lollapalooza India 2025 is promoted and co-produced by BookMyShow Live, the live entertainment division of BookMyShow, along with global producers Perry Farrell and C3 Presents.

LINK

[mjjune]

A Personal Update

I usually only post these newsletters on substack and patreon, but because you've likely noticed I have not been active on tumblr in... well... months, really, I thought I was share it here as well.

I am going through a deeply personal shift in almost every aspect of my life, and since it has not only impacted me but my readers, my tumblr and my newsletter, I thought I would take this week to reframe for myself everything that has happened.

This year has been the second worst of my life so far (and to be frank, if it doesn’t get better, will probably end up as worst). My father was in and out of the hospital for 6 months straight with cancer treatments and near-death experiences, my previous job’s productivity standards became entirely unethical starting in Jan/Feb, and my boss slowly starting to gaslight and abuse me over it for months…

It became clear, through my neglect of my own life, my hobbies, my blog, this newsletter, and my writing itself, that I needed to change. It hit me about a month ago that I hadn’t written anything since about March. No brainstorming, no word vomit “outlines”, and I hadn’t even read anything. My reading challenge for the year is empty. I have not finished a single book since January.

The only other time I went this long without writing was, you guessed it, the worst year of my life. In 2021, I did not write from January through November, and then I exploded in writing. That’s when I finally wrote and finished a first complete draft of AVOF’s sequel.

This time, it fortunately didn’t take me 11 months to realize what was happening. About a month ago, I hit rock bottom. With my father being a full month out from any life-threatening incidences—he’s finally turning around and improving now—the effects of being in a constant state of fight or flight for 6 months combined with my job’s new 100% productivity standard just demolished me.

So, I applied for a different job. I restarted therapy with a new therapist. I put in a short notice, meaning I am now blacklisted from ever working for that company again. I’m taking a $13k pay cut, but this job offers significantly more time off, less rigorous hours, I design my own schedule, and allows me to be much closer to my parents, who are still adjusting to my dad’s new post-cancer normal. (I’ve also managed to score a much larger apartment!)

There is something poetic about this shift all happening literally a month before I begin releasing AVOF. In all the stories I have written, this is the one I always end up coming back to. When I am down, when I am alone, it is Danny and Lara and Helio that remind me I’m not.

It is this, actually, that made me realize I was in a state of burnout. Every night for five years, I have thought about Danny and Lara and Helio. I imagine scenes already written or AUs or probably-canon-but-will-never-exist scenes as I drift off to sleep.

I had not been able to do this for 6 weeks. I was so burnt out, and frankly depressed, that even my most beloved characters were lost to me. This was the final straw, the trigger that made me realize this was not something I was going to be able to move past; that I needed to get out.

In a way, they have saved me again. I thought Danny and Lara had already saved me, back in 2020-2021 which were such difficult years for me. The story has been written, completed, for years, and I thought its impact on me was over. I thought it was out of me, finished, and had become something to be shared with others.

I see now that stories can continue saving you even long after you’ve written them; even when you are no longer the same writer anymore. Funnily enough this epiphany is not dissimilar to what Danny experiences in book 2, though that’s still a long ways out from being shared with you all.

It is quite fitting that, as I realize this, as I feel closer to Danny than I have in a really long time, is when I will begin preparing his story for release.

Something something... fate... something something lol

If you’re still reading, thanks for sticking with me. I know this was a more personal post, but hopefully it didn’t bore you too much.

There is only one more substack before AVOF starts releasing on Patreon!! Check them out if you're interested!!

PATREON

SUBSTACK

~MJ

AVOF TAGLIST: (message or comment below to be +/-) @aritany @artbyeloquent @ashirisu @bebewrites @ceph-the-ghost-writer @cljordan-imperium @elijahrichardwrites @eventideintrigue @faithfire-writes @flowerprose @garthcelyn @ghafasinej @jezifster @knosium @isabellebissonrouthier @lexiklecksi @little-mouse-gardens @malimaywrite @sarahlizziewrites @sm-writes-chaos @the-inkwell-variable @thyroidhormones @tracle0 @vacantgodling @void-botanist @vollzz @wildswrites

[brian-in-finance]

Caitríona Balfe says she is so open and free. She talks about her life and posts photos with her brothers. Why does she avoid talking about her husband? Sorry, I'm new here.

Welcome to Mordor, Anon. 😂

I’m curious about the “photos with her brothers” you mentioned. I found one, an oldie, but goodie.

Instagram 11 April 2014

If you’re referring to The Irish Yank Foundation run in Monaghan 🇮🇪 on New Year’s Day this year, she was photographed with the same brother, but posted no photos herself.

Does she “avoid” talking about her husband? Or does she talk minimally about him?

In May 2016, on SiriusXM, Caitríona said, “Some things are just for me.” For the most part, her family/personal life is one of those things.

However… she does talk about/mention her husband more often than his critics think. 😉 And, for anyone who is counting, we’ve now heard her say “Tony” four times. 😂 Here’s a wee sampling, 24 examples, of husband/Tony talk, from September 2017, to April 2025:

We met through friends in the UK and I'm very happy. He's from a small family and when I bring him to Monaghan, he's fine for a few days and then he finds the big, noisy Balfe family a bit overwhelming. I have more stability in my life now than I've ever had. Irish Daily Mail Weekend Magazine 30 September 2017 / Print

• • •

As for my more private life, frankly I'm not interesting so I don't like doing selfies, my partner is super private so he isn't on any social media and doesn't want to be so nothing is said about him. So yeah, that's naturally how I am!

And she hasn't ruled out an upcoming wedding in Ireland - the actress is recently engaged to intensely private music manager Tony McGill, but plans for the nuptials are still undecided. Would she consider coming back to Ireland to tie the knot?

“If you put a sun lamp over it, yeah l'd love to!" she laughs. Wedding planning is not really her thing however, and doesn't garner giddy chats and wishlists.

"I would just love to have all of my friends and family and have a great party," she clarifies when coming across as less than enthusiastic about planning her perfect day. "I think the production side of it is just too much like work!" Irish Tatler July 2018 / Print

• • •

Photo: VENTURELLI/WIREIMAGE

It happened over the break. I’m very happy, People 7 January 2018 / Print

• • •

Screenshot: RTÉ

I met him through one of my best friends, which I think is the best kind of introduction you can get. The Late Late Show 16 February 2018 / TV show

• • •

Gif

Irish Film & Television Academy Awards 22 February 2018 / Awards show

• • •

(about being less predisposed to nostalgia) Oh God, my husband would not agree with that!

(about Australia) I actually got engaged in Australia. In Byron Bay.

(about dungarees) I have a few and my husband has regularly asked me when I wear them, “Oh, are you going off to fix something?" Is It Just Me? 4 November 2019 / Podcast

• • •

He's not a music producer, by the way. I just have to do this... He really hates this because he manages bands. He's in artist management. One person wrote it and now everybody does. Check Your Local Listings 5 February 2020 / Outlander premiere

• • •

hubby made pasta! (and I'm still cleaning up 🤪) Twitter 20 March 20 / Social Media

• • •

Oh, God no. I mean if you ask Tony, he was like, "How can you learn pages and pages of dialogue and yet you will never get a lyric to a song right?" She’s A Rec 2 April 2020 / Podcast

• • •

People can say whatever they want about me, I don't really care, but when people go after the people that we're with—when they go after my husband, or the people that [Sam's] dating-that's when it gets really hurtful. You realize that because of the career that you've chosen, other people in your life are getting hurt, and they didn't choose any of it. That's when it crosses the line. Harper’s Bazaar 10 May 2020 / Print

• • •

I feel very lucky that through this show I met the love of my life, so that's made me much more of a romantic, to be sure.

I managed to squeeze it in on a weekend during production but it was beautiful and I had all my close friends and family there.

It’s also very important that your career not be your only thing, so I feel very lucky that I’ve found someone who makes me very, very happy.

My husband has known Sam since we started dating and he understands the situation very well.

I try not to read too much of the fan whispering and all of that stuff.

It’s important to me that people in your life who are not part of your work are not harmed by your job and what people say about you. Irish Mirror 1 June 2020 / Print

• • •

… they're using us in some way to work out something that's actually very sad and very hurt within them. And if I try to approach it from that side, then I know it's really not about me, but when it affects my husband or people in our lives, well, then, you get a little bit like grr... So, occasionally you might zip back, but I try to not. Gold Derby 4 June 2020 / Video

• • •

I've been with my husband for six years. Thanks A Million (Recorded November 2020) 5 January 2021 Podcast

• • •

We are so grateful for this little soul ....that he chose us as his parents. Instagram 18 August 2021 / Social Media

• • •

My husband, Tony, and I and our son are slightly nomadic. We split our time between Glasgow and London. When I'm working on Outlander, we're in Glasgow. Wall Street Journal 16 November 2021 / Print

• • •

"Belfast" went into production last October with serious safety protocols in place, and the opportunity to get back to work couldn't have come at a better time for Balfe. She had spent the past four months holed up in her Glasgow apartment with her new husband, Tony McGill, and she was so excited to shoot the film that she missed the pair's first wedding anniversary. Los Angeles Times 22 November 2021 / Print (Caitríona also talks on about securing the role in the film while planning to celebrate their first wedding anniversary)

• • •

Right now my husband and my son, that's my home, and wherever we go, we'll always have that. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert 12 January 2022 / TV show

• • •

Through one blurry eye, I nudged my husband, he said, “Congrats," and we both went back to sleep. Associated Press 3 February 2022 / Video

• • •

For me home, now, is where my family is. Our Place In Space 2 July 2022 / Video

• • •

We were talking, me and my husband and a friend of his who's in the hospitality and drinks business, and we were talking about the Arts and how it's been so underfunded here, abroad, everywhere I travelled. Governments are slashing support for the Arts left, right, and centre, and we were talking about "what if we did something where we could use a percentage of the profits to give back, and that the whole ethos of the brand would be that it's about getting artists to help?" We would fund them, we would support them, and in their turn we could have artists use their art and promote it. The Staff Canteen (Recorded 8 March) 11 April 2023 / Podcast

• • •

Fan: Do you and Tony share the same musical tastes?

Caitríona: Do Sam and I share the same music...

Steve Himber: No, Tony, your real husband.

Caitríona: Tony? Yes. Sam? Definitely not. The Highlanders 7 20 July 2024 / Fan convention

• • •

I had an amazing day. We were in London. We had just wrapped a couple of days before. My husband took me to an art show, then to a three-hour lunch, and then to the theatre. It was heaven. Live With Kelly & Mark 18 October 2024 / TV show

• • •

Access Hollywood: Who’s your biggest fan?

Caitríona: I hope my husband.

Critics Choice Awards 7 February 2025 / Awards show

• • •

My husband is my IT guy. I'm like, Tony? And he's like, have you pressed Return? Fox 5 Good Day NY 5 April 2025 / TV Show

• • •

Remember the time BIF would never get back? 🤣

[tearitar]

PK2025: 03. Kiss on the Ear

Pridekisses - Prompt List 2025

Hades (the game) - (Aphrodite/) Ares/Achilles (/Patroclus) - rated: G Note: a longer take on a drabble I wrote back in 2020.

-----

On the eve of battle, the servant girl who dresses Achilles is beautiful. There is a softness to her that glows warm, a pink brightness to her cheeks and bare breasts. When she touches Achilles, her fingers feel like Patroclus brushing down his side and arm. Achilles would have loved for her to stay the night, but she leaves him with only low teasing words in his ear that make his thoughts as insubstantial as mist.

He stands in the middle of his tent with adoration in his eyes. The servant girl lets out a breathy laugh as she throws one last look over her shoulder.

Even the sharpness of her gaze reminds him of Patroclus. Pointed like his sword, his teeth and nails and wit. Achilles’ heart flutters, but before he can beg for more of her time, she’s gone.

In the morning, the quartermaster comes into his tent without being ordered, dressing Achilles in gleaming robes and armor. His skin is dark and there is a striking redness in his eyes that Achilles can't help but stare at.

The quartermaster dresses him for war, but Achilles swears there’s a softness to his touch. A burning hand runs down Achilles’ side and up his arm, stopping at his shoulder to rest there. The weight is as heavy and consuming as gravity itself, and when the quartermaster leans his head close, Achilles can see himself in the man’s eyes, the morning sunlight reflecting the image of him as a glowing, bright spark of pink.

“Patroclus,” Achilles murmurs, because the man’s touch and smile reminds him so.

“Even now, you think of him,” the quartermaster tuts, but his voice is fond. “She’s certainly had her way with you.”

Somehow, Achilles knows he means the beautiful servant girl. He shakes his head, as if trying to clear it, and words tumble inelegantly from his mouth, “She left before-”

The quartermaster stops him with a kiss at his ear. It sears like a flame licking upon Achilles’ skin, stealing his thoughts away—though, he thinks, perhaps not his thoughts but someone else’s light and breathy, teasing words.

The quartermaster inhales, a rumbling satisfaction in his throat.

“She has given me a gift, I see. And you were her messenger,” he says, amused, and then his voice lowers with unmistakable hunger, “I owe you a boon.”

The hand on Achilles’ shoulder drops down to his spear, though Achilles doesn’t remember ever picking it up.

“A boon?” Achilles repeats, the blood beginning to thrum in his veins.

The quartermaster doesn’t tease like the servant girl. They kiss, and Achilles abruptly hears the sound of battle preparations; horses neighing, marching footfalls, a beating drum. It sounds just like the satisfied rumble of the quartermaster. 

The quartermaster’s hand rests over Achilles’, and Achilles’ grip on his spear tightens.

“Grant me a boon that will lead me to victory,” Achilles says, suddenly bold, but the quartermaster seems to find pleasure in it.

“Such guarantees will not satisfy the Fates,” the man laughs, and gives Achilles’ ear one last kiss and a whisper, “I will grant you a boon that will keep you fighting.”

The quartermaster is gone before Achilles can refuse.

He stands frozen until the tent flaps open, morning sunlight pouring, and Patroclus walks in to check his armor.

[lostinhistory]

After 529 days on the run, Australia’s favourite fugitive has been caught at last.

Valerie the miniature dachshund, who went missing on Kangaroo Island way back in 2023, has been rescued by conservationists.

“Kangala Wildlife Rescue is overjoyed to announce the successful rescue of Valerie,” the group said on TikTok on Friday night.

“After weeks of tireless efforts … by volunteers and partner organisations Valerie has been safely rescued and is fit and well.

“We are absolutely thrilled and deeply relieved that Valerie is finally safe and able to begin her transition back to her loving parents.”

People have been trying to find Valerie since she went missing in November 2023, when her owners, New South Wales couple Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock, were holidaying at Stokes Bay – home to one of Australia’s best beaches but also farmland and dense scrub.

Valerie escaped from her pen at their campsite at Stokes Bay before running into the scrub. The pair searched for her with the help of locals but to no avail.

the adorable fugitive

Then, in March, reports began coming in that Valerie had been spotted. One picture appeared to show the dog’s oversized ears poking above some paddock stubble.

Kangala Wildlife Rescue volunteers used surveillance, traps and lures to try to find Valerie. They captured a video of her, but she remained at large.

Stokes Bay locals like to point out their island is six times bigger than Singapore. It’s also much wilder – a place where a couple can walk alone on a pristine beach, whales visit, trees grow bent over from the wind, and bushfires occasionally raze the land. Much of it remains untamed, remote.

So the residents are somewhat bemused at the way Valerie’s story has spread around the world. The New York Times reported on the elusive dog, still apparently wearing her pink collar. In the UK, the Times wrote of her dodging snakes and eagles, and the Independent commented on her “remarkable resilience”.

“Kangaroo Island is known for many things … dogs that survive for 500 days is not what you expect,” resident and animal lover Louise Custance said in April.

“I think people just want to have a good news story; otherwise, everything’s so sad. The last global headline that Kangaroo Island made was the [2020] fires.”

Now, after an estimated 1,000 hours of volunteer effort and more than 5,000km travelled around the island searching for her, she was snared in a search operation using cameras and prepared traps.

“There were many challenging moments over the past month,” the group said, “and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who played a part in bringing Valerie home.”

[english-mace]

You know, I'm going back to poetry. I have to; it's my only home in the horrors, in the wordlessness. In the screaming.

I'm going back to this one, that I wrote March 15th 2020:

we are become molluscs, in a way, curled up soft and moist within our shells / I try to think of us as coral because the alternative is to wake in the night as red blood cells

And I'm going, in fury, back to June 28 2022, back to this one:

to open myself to the horror is to let the sea rush in. / for the pearl must grow, or so we’re told, regardless of the oyster, and if it rips the thing apart so much the better.

And then, in the end, I think of Julia Rios' particular vision of a magazine home only to the hopeful, and go back to:

shh, love, hush; you will dream again soon, and your skin will settle around the constellations of your bones, and all the humming galaxies will tumble down to sleep until your skull has formed a cradle of their fears.

fuck this, fuck this, fuck everything about this, fuck this selfish horrid insular little world that shreds us when we dare to hope - but care all the fucking harder about each and every one of us, our loves and friends and neighbours, the children, the despairing, the elders. care out of spite. care fierce and furious.

and make art despite them. make a world despite them. because we can. they know we can. and it fucking terrifies them.

don't let the ocean take you.

[muna-lesbians]

March 21, 2020 - British GQ

It's Sunday morning when I speak to MUNA down the line from LA. Lead guitarist Josette Maskin is drinking coffee in sweats on her sofa, while vocalist Katie Gavin is on her way to a composting workshop at a local library – possibly the most LA thing I’ve ever heard. In other words, they’re kicking it.

But that’s fair enough. 2019 was a big year for the electronic pop trio: they released their vibrant second album, Saves the World, and embarked on a 17-date tour of North America, plus two triumphant London shows at a packed Village Underground. ‘We’re not from London, but it felt like a homecoming, because London as a city has seen us grow so much as a band,’ says Gavin. ‘Everyone in the crowd was singing every verse.’

All of the members of MUNA are queer, an integral facet of the band’s DNA. After the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, their soaring track I Know a Place became an unofficial anthem of resistance for the LGBTQ community, sung at vigils by grieving fans. ‘We didn’t write the song for it to be a way to remember the people who died,’ says Gavin, ‘but the fact that’s what it’s been used for is an honour I don’t think we could have imagined.’ Although at first MUNA were wary of being labelled a ‘queer pop group’, they’ve leaned into it. ‘A lot of our story has been about learning to accept the responsibility,’ says Gavin. ‘We love our community and want to be put to use.’

To be silent in the age of Trump would have felt like complicity. ‘We do live in hell, to be frank,’ says synth player and guitarist Naomi McPherson of the president. They regretted not making a political statement ahead of their appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in 2016. When the opportunity to perform on the late-night institution came around again a year later, Gavin wrote an extra verse for I Know a Place, with the lyrics ‘He’s not my leader, even if he’s the president’. The verse has become a fan favourite, bellowed by US crowds in defiance of the racist, sexist Trump. ‘We do the extra verse when the spirit strikes us,’ explains Maskin. ‘For when it feels right.’

Being a political band in the era of Trump is a heavy mantle to bear. Although MUNA don’t plan to stop engaging politically, ‘We want to make music about pleasure and fun also, in opposition to the constant news cycle and oppression we feel,’ says McPherson. Besides, writing music about queer love and desire is an inherently political act. ‘Right now we’re writing straight-up sexy songs,’ says Gavin of the band’s ongoing studio time, ‘but the fact they’re about the relationships we engage in, and to be a queer woman openly singing about desire, is political. It doesn’t matter what we write, everything we do is political and personal at the same time.’

I ask MUNA whether they feel queerness has been appropriated to shift product, in the same way big brands bastardised feminism to hock scented candles and self-care bath foam. ‘I feel like any radical movement is at risk of being commodified and sold back to us,’ says McPherson. ‘That’s been happening for years since Pride became a corporate event. They put Che [Guevara] on T-shirts!’ But MUNA feel that, on balance, any representation is better than none. ‘Visibility is important,’ Maskin adds. ‘It can mean a lot to some kid somewhere to see queer people represented.’

Speaking to MUNA, it’s clear they’re genuinely good friends. They formed in high school (not at a college party, as is often reported). “We’re definitely homies,” McPherson says with a laugh. ‘Jo and I live together, so we spend every waking minute in each other’s presence.’ They recently went roller-skating for Gavin’s birthday: she’s a good skater, the others less so. That strong base helped MUNA when they were coming up in the industry. ‘We’ve always had the privilege of having each other as protectors,’ says Maskin. Having creative control is of paramount importance – they stand in opposition to the high-polish, PR-workshopped pop bands dominating the charts on any given day. ‘We wouldn’t have been able to exist as a band unless we were the ones controlling and making what we do,’ Maskin says.

When the band toured with Harry Styles in 2017, they saw up close the effects of international celebrity on an individual. ‘When we first met, I felt a lot of concern for him,’ says Maskin. ‘It’s such a crazy life he lives. But he takes it in his stride – he’s such a nice person and really cares about his fans. That level of fame is insane and unfathomable!’ But as MUNA continue to carve out a special place in the hearts of their fans, queer or otherwise, global fame looks set to be coming for them, whether they like it or not.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Alex Samuels at Daily Kos:

President Donald Trump has made one thing clear: Any Republican who questions his agenda—constitutional or not—is disposable. Just ask Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. In a scathing and long-winded Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump blasted Massie as a “simple minded ‘grandstander’” after the congressman criticized Trump’s bombing of three nuclear-weapons-related sites in Iran, calling the strikes unconstitutional. Massie had also teamed up with Democrats to introduce a war-powers resolution aimed at limiting U.S. involvement as tensions between Iran and Israel have escalated. Trump, unsurprisingly, wasn’t in the mood for dissent. “Massie is weak, ineffective, and votes ‘NO’ on virtually everything put before him (Rand Paul, Jr.), no matter how good something may be. He is disrespectful to our great military, and all that they stand for, not even acknowledging their brilliance and bravery in yesterday’s attack, which was a total and complete WIN,” Trump wrote.

“Massie should drop his fake act and start putting America First, but he doesn’t know how to get there—he doesn’t have a clue!” he added. “MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!” In response, Massie didn’t flinch. He joked on X that Trump had “declared so much War on me today it should require an Act of Congress,” adding the self-congratulatory hashtag “#sassywithmassie.” And in interviews, Massie has made clear he’s not backing down. “I didn’t think he would let neocons determine his foreign policy and drag us into another war,” Massie told Fox News Digital. “Other people feel the same way, who supported Trump—I think the political danger to him is he induces a degree of apathy in the Republican base, and they fail to show up to keep us in the majority in the midterms.”

Massie doubled down on CNN, warning that Republicans could lose their congressional majority if Trump drags the country into war. And he might have a point: While numerous GOP lawmakers initially opposed getting entangled in a wider Iran-Israel conflict, many have since fallen in line. But public opinion isn’t so unified.

[...] Some GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, have raised concerns about Trump’s strikes, such as whether they’re constitutional. Legally, it’s murky: Trump didn’t get congressional approval before ordering strikes, and since the Constitution grants Congress the sole power to declare war, many Democrats and legal experts argue the move crossed a legal line and amounted to an unauthorized act of war. Still, for Trump, Massie is an easy target. He’s one of only two House Republicans who voted against Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” And Trump labeled him a “grandstander” as far back as March 2020, when Massie opposed a COVID-19-related relief package. Trump even called for his ouster from the party—before endorsing him again in 2022. This time, though, forgiveness doesn’t seem to be on the table. 

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) could be facing a Trump-backed primary challenger over his criticism of war against Iran and votes against GOP policy priorities.

See Also:

HuffPost: Trump Kicks 'Pathetic' GOP Lawmaker Out Of His Movement: 'MAGA Doesn’t Want Him'

[twopoppies]

Hi Gina, I hope you're well. I think I need a little comfort here, do you also have creative blocks for a long time? I have a fanfic and the last time I managed to write something was in December 2023, and it makes me feel horrible because it's as if I had no commitment to my readers for not publishing anything; I want to write - I really want to, but I just can't. Does that happen to you too?

Hi darling. If you look at the dates I have posted my fics, you'll see my looooooong periods of writer's block. It is very normal, and I'm sure there are different reasons it happens to people.

I like to think part of my issue is that I really want to publish things I feel proud of at the moment. And there's so much I want to write that I don't think I'm capable of doing as well as I want to. And I get into my head too often. And I am weirdly inspired visually, so often I have a vision of all aspects of a story but no real story (if that makes sense). So... yeah.

To make you feel better. Here's my timeline (you're doing way better than I am. LMAO!)

Whoever, However 9K – March 27, 2020

gathered on wings 33K – May 24, 2020

An Invincible Summer 45K – July 14, 2020

You can see they were getting longer, I was trying to learn how to do different things with each one, but I also had a ton of ideas from years of reading and having no outlet. So, the first three came fairly quickly.

Then we hit writer's block, and I couldn't think of a thing until almost a year later.

Literally Making Love 30K – April 14, 2021

Then, again, I must have started three or four different fics and got stalled at various stages. Finally, I wrote something fairly short, but I was happy with it. It only took me 9 months. LMAO!

Hike Up Your Skirt (And Show Your World To Me) 18K – January 27, 2022

And then I went back to those four unfinished fics, added three more I haven't been able to finish and moped about my writing for THREE YEARS before I published again.

all the sins you didn't have 100K – January 5, 2025

So, my suggestion is to see if you're able to figure out what's keeping you from writing. Try to write every day (or as close to it as you can manage), even if you only can spare 10 minutes. Just get into the habit of doing it. Some days you'll write shit. Once in a while, you'll write something amazing. And at some point, you'll string all those amazing bits into something you want to share.

Your readers will be there. They want to read something you're proud to show them. Personally, I don't feel compelled to post to just fill up space. But do what motivates you the most. Maybe find a writing partner. I know I wouldn't write a thing if I wasn't always talking about writing with mine. Or join a writer's group. Or even a book club where you can really parse what you love about other authors' writing.

Try not to beat yourself up.

I hope something here helps a little. 💗

[painterofhorizons]

A Year in Writing: 2024

Reviews for 2020 (222k), 2021 (205k), 2022 (95k), 2023 (20-30k?)

Total wordcount as of Dec. 31: 74.090, which is a monthly average of 6174 words. So 74k is nowhere near close to the 200+k that I used to do, right? But don't be fooled, it's AMAZING 74k, because after two years of utter struggle I am finally having fun again with writing! So 74k might be even a bigger win than the 200k I used to do. Big Win. Like, Big.

General review: Remember (you don't, neither did I, but my last review clearly states it) how I wrote in my yearly writing review last year:

The blorbos might even be knocking at my door again - quietly and very politely, but I can see them. So, here’s hoping.

And boy. Little did I know.

So, this has been a very good writing year. Don't ask me what was going on in march and april, I honestly have no idea. Zero. No memory. As opposed to former years it was not like some big scary thing going on, I guess I was just busy with work maybe? Not feeling it? Who knows? Even better: who cares? Because bitch, I came back strong!

First of all, I did start tracking again, which now gives us nice statistics. And I set a monthly "goal" of 5k, which is something I can do, but like not as an actual goal but more as a number for tracking. And despite these two blurry nonexistent months I did that great.

But it's not about numbers. It's about being back in my since-I-can-think-favourite-hobby and outlet, and I am having fun with it again. There has been plenty of days when I didn't write anything, and I only wrote when I felt like/inspiration hit. But more often than not, when it hit, it HIT.

And I have to give a big shoutout to @kyratittyfish for this. (Which was already mentioned as a highlight in my 2022 review! Love ya, friend. <3) A lot of these words would not have happened if we didn't have that amazing Berlin trip in May with all the ideas that it sparked and if she wasn't such an amazing encouraging friend who always supported my late night "listen, what if..."-messages. Who always went all in "do tell me more about it" and "I like how you think" and I don't think I have to tell you, but that is fuel for writers. So the biggest part of these words would not have happened if dear Kyra wouldn't have supported all those small and huge what if's I have encountered this year. You know who you are, girl. (And then we met again and went on a fabulous winter island trip which has been another highlight of this year for me. <3)

So yeah, very good year, after two very hard years. Here's hoping for 2025.

Things posted: Plenty! Which includes two oneshots finished and posted on AO3 (a James/Steve ME3 banter and a James/Shepard post war scene) as well as a couple of WIPS from the post Akuze fic that has basically been my main focus this year (with a side of post war angst and some ME3 smut, mind me), which was tense knees, about cake, TBI, sleeping in the Kodiak, jello, two aces in disguise, post akuze promotion, sign language, James wrecks his knee, Corporal Giles, being stuck.

Things I would like to do next year: Write? Ehehehehe. Well, I would like to bring those MANY many many words of post Akuze notes into something I can start to post on AO3. That would be cool. As much as I love the fic, it's giving me a little trouble in terms of putting all those notes and ideas into one form to publish a fic with it. I would like to do that soon. Also, most recently the blorbo sleeper agents from 20 years ago woke up again, so maybe we will also see some King Arthur (2004) fic next year? Who knows?

Most important: take it easy and have fun. That's what I wanna do writing wise next year.

Since the Corporal Giles mini WIP was my most popular things this year, have it here once more.

“How’s Giles doing?” It’s a macabre question to ask, but it cuts to the chase. Shepard shrugs. The answer is as simple as fucked up. “Better.” Well, obviously Giles isn’t better. There’s no way he can get better, because he’s dead. He’s rotting in the dirt of Akuze, eaten alive by thresher maw acid, cowering behind a rock right next to Reda. He’s taken most of the hit, and she hasn’t (still got enough damage to need a trachea transplant and eighteen percent third degree burns on her skin, but she’s alive and he’s not, so that’s that). Corporal Giles won’t get better. But he stopped haunting her every single night, and every single minute of the day, and every single art therapy session. Because he’s the only thing of Akuze she remembers and while she’s bad at drawing, she’s apparently gifted in the horror genre, and she’s gotta draw something. Maybe she’ll draw something else tomorrow. Or maybe she won’t. Because Giles is better, but he’s still dead.

[watsondcsj]

SINSON IS JON KENT

Not metaphorically. Not philosophically. Canonically. Solicits dropped last week, and to my dismay, the description of Sinister Sons #6 mentioned no addition of a third kid joining the story as I had surmised previously. It took me a bit to figure out what it meant, but we got there. I have been convinced since March 2022 that DC was eventually going to pull the old switcheroo and reinstate the better™️ Jon Kent into the main canon after Tomasi's Superman & Robin Special gave us a really strange and kinda stilted adventure of Jon and Damian in the Fortress of Solitude. That book took me two months to figure out what it was saying: two versions of Jon Kent were coming. I didn't know when. I didn't know how, but I knew this promise would be upheld.

1. Vibe Check

Ever since Bendis was on the outs in 2020, DC has hinted very un-subtlely that everything he and Dan DiDio had planned was going out of the window from Drake to 5G. Super Sons megafans might remember that one time Bendis tweeted that your favorite comics were ass and the upcoming Legion book was the second coming of Christ. They might also remember that Challenge of the Super Sons opens with an inside joke mocking that very same tweet.

But Tomasi wasn't alone. Bendis himself would bemoan the future in his Justice League run, implying that nothing he had planned would come to pass.

The wheels of change were turning even back in 2020/2022. I was so confident in this that I wrote a gigantic essay (that I won an award for) before Dark Crisis had released, and I listed all of this out and much more before. At the time, I was convinced that we'd have two Jons by the time Dark Crisis ended. Alas, it's two years later, and no such luck. I still stand by the premise of that essay; that Superman: Son of Kal-El was an apology to readers for mistreating a fan-favorite character. I was incorrect in my assumption that the teenager Jon Kent we'd been told was the same one that had left Earth with Jor-El in Bendis's Man of Steel mini was actually the New 52 Superboy or his original, Jonathan Lane Kent. Although we have yet to be told his full name since Bendis essentially became the DC Comics showrunner, we are still supposed to assume our newest Superman is Jonathan Samuel Kent, but I know better. He's not the Jon born during Convergence. Son of Kal-El showed us he was born in the Fortress of Solitude like they showed off in Superman Reborn, not the Flashpoint Batcave. It's important to distinguish that these two are different and distinct characters. Really, the fact that Zod's son Lor hasn't found himself aged to match the newest Superman gives me suspicion enough that something is up.

2. "Last we left off..." - Matthew Mercer

Since I published my essay, Jon has been busy. He got his dad back. He announced he was going steady with his boyfriend to the entire world. He got his secret identity back. He went to another Earth to fight his tormentor of five years. Everything's coming up Milhouse for Jon.

And I'm bored.

Jon hasn't done anything self-motivated for what seems like years. No, it literally has been years. His boyfriend came to him and instigated their relationship. He didn't do anything to get Clark back. He didn't do anything to resolve anything with Ultraman. He left the man who brought him to that Earth in the Phantom Zone and was cross-faded back to his own after waggling his finger disapprovingly at the Injustice version of Clark. His scrappy impishness has left. His devil-may-care attitude towards his own safety is gone. Thankfully, Dan Jurgens and Lee Weeks made a sequel series to their mini that introduced Jon in the back-ups of Action Comics.

Lois & Clark: Doom Rising is in many ways Jurgens and Weeks' response to Brian Bendis' Superman stories. Set some time before the Kents moved back to Metropolis and well before his fateful encounter with Jor-El, Jon is approached by a mysterious space person who asks him to join them as they go into the cosmos to right wrongs, but instead of sitting idly as it became clear his life was in danger, Jon attempts an escape. Clark is kept occupied by a big bruiser so he can't come to Jon's rescue, but with Lois' help (incontrast to the complacency Bendis wrote for her) Clark eventually takes chase to rescue their boy. I got a lot of joy from that story. It also gave me another reason to believe my theory was still valid. After crash landing, Jon rescues his fellow survivor from the fiery wreckage but is severely burned in the process. I ask you: How can a boy who spent five entire years in a volcano prison leave unscathed if mere fire messed up his arms? (I'd also like to ask Bendis how his power of flight was sapped immediately under the volcanic ash plume but remained invulnerable for all five years, but I digress.)

The mini also ends on a line fit for canned laughter to follow as Jon says, "Awesome! Maybe I should get kidnapped more often!" in response to getting bacon and pancakes for breakfast as he returns home. They knew what they were doing. I admit that on its own, these things may not be indicative of anything. It may be the whims of Jon's creators to let off some steam and DC's corporate offices obliging, knowing there is an audience for the younger Jon Kent. Or that's what I would have said if the other story DC published starring the older Jon Kent didn't have a few nuggets of its own.

Tom Taylor wrote Adventures of Superman Jon Kent as a kind of epilogue to Superman Son of Kal-El to mixed reception to put it lightly. I'm not here to talk about the climax of the final issue as tempting, as that may be. Instead, I want to focus on the beginning when Jon is in the company of Val-Zod, the Superman of Earth-2. Jon states that he knows that Val is from another Earth because he can see the differences in his molecular structure. I believe this is a useful tidbit for later when Jon needs to identify his double is not from a different Earth than his. Then when they get to the Earth they've tracked Ultraman in response to Jon asking why they needed him specifically and not any other Jon in the multiverse, Val says that time is a constant across the multiverse which calls into question how Jon was thrown backward in time to an Earth-3 with a Crime Syndicate that the audience had seen die. Then, as if to disperse any lingering theory that Jon may be the son of Ultraman and not a true son of Clark Kent, Tom has Jon say, "I was never your Jon!" Finally, near the end of issue 5, Jon says he's been practicing sneaking up on Damian for years (plural) while holding the Lasso of Truth when he should only have had a single year between meeting Damian and getting lost in the vastness of space. Another potential plot hole if this were the same Jon that we knew before, which I hope to have convinced you at this point that he's not.

3. Pavlov's Orphan

And now to substantiate my Sinson claim. I suppose all of my previous theories have been fueled by vibes, but this more than the others feels that way, yet it feels the most salient. So, who is Sinson? He thinks he's the abandoned son of Thaal Sinestro left on some rock out in space. That's probably not true, just based on how much we've dwelled on how much Sinson wants it to be the case, but also because Sinestro already had a secret child that he hid out in space. Soranik Natu was created by Geoff Johns during his time on Green Lantern, but her big backstory reveal was handled by Peter Tomasi, notably one of the creators of Rebirth's Super Sons and writer for Sinister Sons. I find it very unlikely that he would purposely reuse a plot point he had already visited for another child of the same character. What's more, Sinister Sons has taken inspiration from the classic Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. Sinson is in an orphan situation like when Oliver gets to London. He's encouraged to steal to line the pockets of the adult giving him food and shelter. This guy is called Nagaf, which is Fagin backward if you change a letter to avoid being dangerously close to a slur. Oliver Twist ends with Oliver going to live with a living relative he didn't know he had, another reason that Sinson likely isn't Sinestro's kid.

Nearly unprompted, Nagaf tells the boy that he was left at his orphanage six years ago by a woman who said she'd be back without leaving a name to call him by. "Oh, shoot. I guess that means he can't be Jon," is what an IDIOT would say! Two things: nothing is saying that that planet makes its full revolution around its star at the same rate as Earth does and in a metanarrative sense, six years ago irl from 2024 is 2018 which is the year that Bendis was Coming. Between Son of Kal-El, Lois & Clark 2, Superman & Robin Special, and Challenge of the Super Sons, all of those writers have more than happy to reply in kind to Bendis' multiple in-comic responses to fan discontent for his work. This would be Tomasi's third time and rightly justified since Bendis' infamous tweet directly insulted his work, and Tomasi clearly wasn't too happy about the decisions made when he was removed from Superman.

One of the more blatant times Tomasi would voice his dismay was later in Challenge of the Super Sons when Jon makes a comment that he didn't "instantly forget" some mental torture he went through in a subtle jab at the writing of the current Superman Jon Kent's ability to compartmentalize his own trauma. Really, this pair of panels may have held more foreshadowing than I initially caught.

So then why does Sinson look like he is from Korugar? My guess is he suffered some burns escaping from his volcano prison. Jurgens left us that little nugget last year, and his Jon certainly wouldn't have just sat in that crater for five years before trying to escape. Why doesn't he have the powers of a Kryptonian? When Lor-Zod gets to the planet Sinson lives, his Kryptonian powers disappear quickly. Why doesn't he seem to remember anything about who he is and where he comes from then? Why does he think his father is a villain? I'll say amnesia and mixing his time with Ultraman with Nagaf telling him he was from Korugar, but Sinson has more pathos hidden deep in his subconscious that betrays his true self.

Sinson chooses this name for himself which could be a really on-the-nose descriptor of his truth that he is Sinestro's son or it could be Jon's impetus for leaving with Jor-El coming out, that there is something wrong with him and that's why the Teen Titans rejected him. To this point, throughout the backups in Green Lantern where he was introduced, Sinson has soliloquies revealing that he begs to be taken seriously by his peers. When he overthrows Nagaf, he quickly builds a Sinestro Corps from his fellow orphans and paints big ol' "S" shapes on all of their chests (and shoulders like the current Superman family's jackets). He is good with technology enough to build a taser and a rocket, which again Jon is also known for. The opening scene even parallels Superman #8 with the boys using that sci-fi engineer zappy stick to make or fix something. He's able to futz with Lor-Zod's Kryptonian space pod very easily which presumably would not be easy for a boy who is unfamiliar with that flavor of technology. He has an affinity with dogs which Jon is known to have. He's cocky and fallible like Jon. He's got long hair like Jon, though much longer than the last time a story was published about him. All of the issue covers give him glasses that he doesn't wear in the story proper as if they're trying to imply that this is a secret identity i.e. Clark Kent. Sinson and Sinestro are not drawn with the same shaped ears in the mini, either. What I think is most significant, though, is that throughout the backups, Sinson acts more similar to Batman than to Sinestro. He's not going around causing fear to assert his dominance over the seedy underbelly he's robbing. He's righting wrongs. He's stealing drug money to skim creds off the top for his rocket, sure, but he's also returning organs to the hospital they were stolen from. This is the work of a kid who wants to do good, but his words do not match his actions. It's going to take a journey inside a giant TIME-TRAVELING SPACE WHALE (wink wink nudge nudge) to sort it all out. The cover and solicit for the sixth issue promise as much.

I didn't even have time to mention this time the chalkboard in Flashpoint Beyond that Jeremy Adams worked on promised that a supposed "he" would find "his son" and that the Time Masters were warned not to interfere, or that the recent Flash issue 797 implied that the Super Sons cameoing in the issue were from the main universe and had just finished their battle with Rex Luthor in Adventures of the Super Sons and how important that mini is to the continuity of this theory. I also could have brought up that every Tom King miniseries since Batman/Catwoman has led to an element he wrote end up in the main canon of the DCU, and that he's currently writing Super Sons in the backup feature of his Wonder Woman run. Everything is coming back around, and I feel confident we'll see its fruition come June or July.