#i wrote whole essays about them in tags

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

W 2022 roku na moim blogu pojawiło się 4499 postów

O 2379 postów więcej niż w 2021!

244 utworzone posty (5%)

4255 zreblogowanych postów (95%)

Najczęściej reblogowane blogi:

@lucy-shining-star

@okgal21

@lieutenant-amuel

@da-boy-o-kultur

4491 moich postów w 2022 miało tagi

#reblog – 4214 postów

#tumblr meme – 934 posty

#shitpost – 357 postów

#my post – 235 postów

#dracula daily – 212 postów

#tumblr – 181 postów

#encanto – 165 postów

#eoa – 150 postów

#elena of avalor – 143 posty

#writing – 141 postów

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#and its not separate like in the previous seasons but its more of a spectrum where they lean more towards formality or casualnes when needed

Moje najpopularniejsze posty w 2022:

Nr 5

I can't stop thinking about just how much older than everyone Cupid is. I mean she herself said that she's 'as old as teenage love' which even if you ignore my crack theory is probably just an elegant way of dodging an answer, but imagine if it's true. She's been alive for most of human history, the world of the myths is probably one of the oldest in the land of stories, Ever After wouldn't exist without myths and Cupid has been there for all of this.

And now she just attends school like a regular teenager. Even though she's probably older than Grimm, heck older than his whole lineage. And sure, time on Olympus probably flows differently, she hasn't really felt all these millenias, and with how gods' 'biology' works she probably actually is this 16/17 (I wouldn't be surprised if a god's physical age depended strictly on their mental age, since they're immortal and can shapeshift) but even then think just how long has she been a teenager.

I wonder if she sometimes feels lonely because of that. Sure she takes part in her friends life, sure she experiences all the 'normal teenage stuff' but she also... will never grow up, not really, and at the same time she's already more grown up than they all combined, and she knows that she can't stay in one place forever, because her friends will age and pass away, and she simply won't, not anymore...

78 notek (opublikowanych w 8 kwietnia 2022)

Nr 4

Leaked photo of Cupid explaining her family tree in Blondie Branches Out

79 notek (opublikowanych w 10 kwietnia 2022)

Nr 3

I'm in Cupid mood lately so another headcanon:

Since all her life before coming to EAH she had spent between immortal gods and undead monsters she has... no idea how mortality works. I'm not sure she even fully grasps the concept. She saw people spilling their guts all over and surviving being eaten and is friends with a girl who unattaches her limbs on regular bases what do you mean being stabbed with a knife is dangerous???

125 notek (opublikowanych w 4 kwietnia 2022)

Nr 2

MINA NO DON'T EAT HIM

174 notki (opublikowane w 4 listopada 2022)

Mój post nr 1 w 2022

I wasn't the only one who thought about that while reading today's entry right

307 notek (opublikowanych w 5 listopada 2022)

Zobacz Przegląd roku 2022 już teraz →

[leather-field]

three healers

[djsangos]

//who are THESE fresh squids?? (made here)

okay these guys might not get a mention on this blog for a while- if ever- so i'm gonna talk about them now bc i've been rotating them in my mind for a while

these are captain's siblings! the ones they left behind when they were 14 to run away to inkopolis. captain certainly isn't proud of leaving them behind at ALL, in fact the one thing they wish they'd done differently is taking them with them, even if it would've been damn near impossible to take care of 2 younger siblings all on their own away from home when they were already struggling to take care of themself. they have no idea how their siblings fared with their neglectful ass father after they left, but pierce (right) was only a year or 2 younger than them, so they hoped he'd be able to leave soon too- taking harper (left) with him

so yeah harper (left) i think is probably around 16 or 17 now, having been 7 or 8 when captain left. since she was pretty young she didn't really know exactly why they left, and they didn't tell her either, so i'd say she probably resents them for it. she's a hotheaded edgy teen, classic rebel, you know the deal.

and then there's pierce (right), who's around 21 or 22 now, so he would've been 12 or 13 when they left. even if they didn't say a word to him before packing their bags and hopping a train at the asscrack of dawn, he knows exactly why they did. because being a kid and not only growing up, but having to parent your 2 younger siblings in your father's place, is hard. he basically had to take on their role as caretaker of harper when they left, being the second oldest, and that's how he realized. he doesn't resent them exactly, but he does wish they'd at least said goodbye. he's an outwardly chipper guy, and puts on a brave face even at the worst of times.

and they both did eventually get out of that house- pierce didn't leave as soon as he turned 14 like captain did (though cod, he wanted to) but when harper was old enough to be left home alone he got a job and saved up what he could to get himself and his younger sister out of there. and then when harper was 12 and he was 17, he got them both out of there. they might have gone somewhere else first, but i wanna say they probably ended up in splatsville, living in an apartment together with pierce doing what he can to support harper through school, and she does some turfing herself to help with rent and save up her own money so she can get her own place eventually.

i feel like the reason they probably haven't run into captain is that captain lives in inkopolis and only really goes to splatsville to visit rookie, and the last time they saw their siblings, neither of them were fully transformed yet, and they aren't so easy to recognize anymore themself. so if they've happened to pass each other on the street, it'd take more than just a cursory glance to realize just who they're passing. so it could definitely, and likely will, happen eventually. who's to say.

[ritzcrackee]

ruehob tragedy ruehob tragedy ruehob tragedy

[feketeribizli]

For the OC thingy:

🎮

💯

🌈

🤍

🎂

🤔

thank youuuuu ill be sooo insufferable about them sorry

🎮 three favourite hobbies?

hosszú: its more like his lifes passion but he loves collection rocks and minerals and all that. an actual hobby of his would be gardening :-) he also does a bit of arts and crafts here and there, anything to do around the house

ficsúr: can cooking be considered a hobby lol they love doing that. they diy clothes in their free time and they also picked up beadwork recently, making jewels for themselves and friends

💯 three random facts

hosszú is ambidextrous, he did ballet when he was a little kid and his favourite musical artist is stevie nicks. ficsúr speaks fluent romanian and conversational french they picked up for shits and giggles, they have a "h*rry p*tter scar" on their forehead from the time they fell down a set of stairs lol and they are bad at winking

🌈 sexual orientation/gender identity and pronouns

hosszú is a homosexual man going by he/him pronouns and ficsúr is a bisexual nonbinary guy using they/them pronouns :-) theyre both very comfortable with their gender and sexuality

🤍 three neutral/questionable traits

hosszú: he has a bit of a saviour complex... not sure what else to say i dont even know what to consider a neutral trait if im being honest

ficsúr: theyre too neutral at times lol very dont care didnt ask L + ratio attitude going on here

🎂 whens their birthday, how old are they, signs, tarot cards etc etc

hosszú: june 29th! cancer sun, capricorn moon and aquarius rising. he was born in 1999 so hes twenty-four this year and apparently his birth cards are the moon and the hermit but idk what that means. this is fun so i looked it up and his planet is uranus. im not that big on astrology but i think he fits the typical traits of his signs

ficsúr: february 14th hehehe. aquarius sun, gemini moon and aquarius rising (gay as fuck for a man to be an aquarius). theyre a 2000 kid and apparently they have the same tarot cards? idk how that works lol their planet is mars whatever that means. i think they fit the general traits of their signs too but someone whos into astrology can chime off if they want to 😁👍

🤔 some quirks and mannerisms

hosszú picks at his skin when hes nervous/anxious/etc, he always tries to match his steps to ficsúrs and as a white noise hes often humming or murmuring to himself

ficsúr grinds their teeth 😐 theyre also a chronic arm/leg shaker, always in motion and always making some kind of sound like tapping with their fingers or said teeth grinding

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Thoughts on Geoffrey x Antoine?

Ooooo

Okay, so I'm not quite sure whether I ship it or not, but I can definitely see the potential!

I think there are two different possible dynamics that interest me

1. They kind of have some similar background with them both having once loved Sally, with them both being sons of high ranked men who worked for the King, and with them (at least for a time) being orphans. They also both have a dislike for Sonic during early Archie (and I do mean dislike, cause I'll be real with you. Sonic and Antoine in early Archie didn't even give off the impression they secretly cared for each other). So, personally, I kind of think it would be neat if they kind of bonded over this? I know that they canonically don't really respect each other during this period, and Antoine is cowardly, but I just think it would be funny if they both nurtured this mutual dislike towards Sonic and messed with him a bit. I think there's interesting potential in the idea of the two of them working together to rise up the ranks while sort of...kicking Sonic from above and on the way up, so to speak. Toxic bitches, you know?

2. Whoo boy. Pre sgw Ian Flynn era. To be more specific, the Antoine who disliked and distrusted Geoffrey from the start and delighted in sentencing him x traitor Geoffrey. Antoine wants to beat him and serve justice so badly. Geoffrey is getting his enjoyment out of evading going to jail, annoying Antoine, and taking jabs at his honor and his father. Enemies to enemies with a complex relationship. Things can range from Antoine being annoyed/pissed while Geoffrey is enjoying it to Geoffrey and Antoine tearing each other apart for taking a shot at Antoine's father and taking a blow at Geoffrey's wife and her memory/wishes respectively.

So basically, toxic workplace partners who better each other and bond over what they have in common, or enemies whose relationship ranges from "you wanna fuck/kiss me so bad it makes you look stupid" to "they're literally tearing each other apart with their words and claws"

You get me?

ㅤ

Thanks for the ask anon! If you have any futher questions regarding either or both of these two, or if you have any other ship inquiries, feel free to send me another ask🥰

[clumsyclifford]

hi clumsyclifford

so i've been reading your fics and also ask responses and i feel like u would understand this so i am .. going to ramble a bit? just because maybe you understand these brain worms etc. feel free to ignore, i just don't have any fandom friends to properly discuss this with lmao

do you find writing hurt/comfort gets more difficult the older you get? i'm a hurt/comfort writer through and through, but it was way easier when i was like 14 to write about 'deep stuff' and think nothing of it. it was cringe but i was free. now i'm 20, and i want to write hurt/comfort but i'm somewhat afraid of it?

like as adults we still deal with these things, but i find myself wanting to avoid them because it feels childish. it makes it more interesting to write about, but i can't help but feel childish when i want to write about certain topics (u kno. depression. relapse. alcoholism. the full works). and i worry that it comes across immature to others, despite the fact im literally an adult lmao

you have a really nice way of going about angst in your fics, and i want to too. idk i just thought it'd be cool to waffle on about maturing in fandom and what that does for writing and interacting etc. but maybe it just seems extra HAHA i'm just bored and wanted to talk abt it

hey hi hello! took me a minute to get to this, because i wanted to give it a proper answer.

this is a really interesting question i'm glad you brought it to me!!! i'm also intrigued by what you said, because i actually have found it to be the opposite. now, to be fair, i have had a semi-charmed life, so i don't have experience with most of the really hard-hitting heavy angst topics and i have relied on what i've read/seen/learned about for writing those things. because of that, though, i think the "angst" i was writing when i was a kid was wayyy off the mark, and probably hella unrealistic, because i just didn't have the experience to draw from, and i didn't have the perspective to like...fully understand how to write something i didn't know about.

as an adult (or at least more of one), i think i'm much more capable of writing good angst, because i can understand things like: nuance. individual differences. human behavior. moral gray areas. the complexity of the human experience. etc. i've learned, for example, that two people can have the same exact problem and handle it in completely opposite ways, and that knowledge has allowed me to take liberties in writing while also staying conscious of what is in the realm of a "realistic" representation of any given conflict.

another part of being able to write better hurt/comfort, though, is that i really understand a lot more what constitutes as "comfort," and how that can be just as nuanced and complex as the "hurt" part of things. people are comforted by different things. in different ways. by different people. one person may want hugs, one may want to be left alone. one may say they want to be left alone but in reality want hugs. and furthermore, sometimes "comfort" doesn't actually mean "the problem is solved." sometimes it means "let me share this burden." sometimes it means "crying about it is better than not." sometimes it means "the problem hasn't gone away, but i can distract you from it for right now." sometimes it means "i can't help you, but i can help you get help." et cetera et cetera!

i can see where you're coming from, because there are pitfalls in writing hurt/comfort that younger writers do tend to fall into (simply by virtue of not really knowing better), like, for example, thinking that if the "hurt" is alcoholism, then the "comfort" is sobriety that sticks the first time. but! we know that things are not always so neat, and that makes us capable of writing way more interesting stories, because they aren't open-shut, "here's the problem and here's how i fixed it" cases. things don't often get tied neatly in a bow. some of my favorite angst i've ever read or written had ambiguous endings where you didn't know if the problem would be solved in the long run, because that's life! some problems are chronic and incessant; some come and go. some remain a looming presence over your shoulder, presenting an imminent threat to your fragile peace of mind. and many of these don't have an easy fix, which is why they're so interesting and fun (and sometimes challenging) to write about. but i think that as long as you're aware of how layered and complex these things are (which it sounds like you are), you probably won't come across as immature while writing about them.

and by the way, caveat to the above: sometimes "comfort" does mean "the problem is solved," and that's just as legitimate as any of the other shit i said! sometimes it's as easy as saying "person A needs X, and person B has X." whether X is a hug or the thing they need to hear in that moment or a fuckin letter from their past self or just a glass of water, sometimes person B can solve the problem. it happens in real life all the time, and it's not immature to write it in a story. so basically what i'm saying is: as long as you remember that the human experience is messy and complicated and weird and nuanced, you're golden.

[randomuzerthelozer]

Do you ever make a full on essay post about something happening that proves a point you had, but then you realise you miss read the post you got the orignal info from and basically your full entire point falls apart(EVEN THOGUHT YOU CAN CLEALRY TELL YOUR ON THE RIGHT TRACK)

(IF YOU WANT TO SEE MY POINTS INA SAMLLER WAY GO INTO THE TAGS I WENT INSANE BRO)

[paganinpurple]

AO3 Etiquette -UPDATED

Based on both decent and not so decent replies, I have made some changes to my original post below.

It would seem a whole new kind of AO3 reader/writer is emerging and it is becoming clear not everyone quite understands how the website community works. Here is some basic guidance on how most people expect you to go about using AO3 to keep this a fun community archive that funtions correctly:

As well as likes, kudos is for when the story was interesting enough to make you finish reading. If it sucked or was badly written, you probably left. If you finished it, you liked it - so kudos.

If you really liked it, you should try to comment. It can be long and detailed or a literal keysmash. Writers don't care, we just love comments.

No critisism unless the author has specifically asked or agreed to hear it (so use your notes to say if you want some constructive feedback). Even constructive critisism is a no-no unless an author note tells you it's okay. No, posting it online is not an open invitation for that. Many people write as a fun hobby or a way to cope with, among other things, insecurity and just want to share. Don't ruin that for them. I've seen so many authors just stop writing coz they can't handle the negative emotions the critism brings, and it's only meant to be a fun thing shared for free (pointing out tagging errors is not included in this).

Do not comment to ask the author to write/update something else. It's tacky and off-putting and will probably have the opposite effect than the one you want.

There is no algorithm, it's an archive. Use the search and filter function to add/remove the pairings/characters/tropes etc. you want to read about and it will find you the fics that fit the bill.

For this to work, writers must tag and rate stories. This avoids readers finding the wrong things and missing the stuff they want. I don't care how cringy that trope is in your eyes - it gets tagged.

The tag exception is if you don't want to tag a million things or spoil your story, you can rate it as "chose not to use warnings," and maybe tag the bare minimum.

Don't censor tags. How can someone exclude a tag if the word isn't typed out correctly? There are no content bans for terms so don't censor them.

If the tags are mostly content/trigger warnings, especially if they are things considered very fucked up or graphic, you might want to use "dead dove - do not eat" to ensure people know that you're not messing around with tags and what they get is exactly what you've warned them about.

Character A/Character B means a ROMANTIC or SEXUAL relationship of some kind. Character A&Character B is PLATONIC, like friendship or family.

Nothing is banned. This is an rule because banning one thing is a slipperly slope to banning another and another, until nothing is allowed anymore. Do not expect anyone to censor for you. Because of the tags system, you are responsible for your own reading experience.

People can create new chapters and sequels/fic series any time after they "complete" a story. So it's considered perfectly normal to subscribe, even to a finished story. You can even subscribe to the author instead just to cover your bases.

Do not repost stories or change the publishing date without an extremely good reason (like a complete top to bottom rewrite or an exchange youve written for going public). It's an archive, not social media. No one cares what's the most recent, only what fits their tag needs.

Instead of deleting a story you wrote if you hate it - consider making it anonymous or orphaning it so others can still enjoy it, without it being connected to your name anymore. If you still want to delete it, fair enough.

It's come to my attention that metaworks ARE allowed on AO3, which is something I wasn't aware of. So if you do post an essay or theory, please tag it as such so others can choose to search for it or exclude it. Art is also allowed.

The only reason this archive works is because NON ONE PROFITS. Do not link to your ko-fi or patreon or mention monetary gain in any way or you violate the terms and risk having your account removed. If anyone does link, it leaves the archive open to people claiming it's for profit and having the whole thing removed.

I KNOW there's plenty more I missed but I'm trying to cover most of the basics that people seem to be struggling with.

I invite anyone to add to this, but please explain, don't berate.

[musical-chick-13]

I hate Raúl/Sofía :)

[infamous-if]

Dec ✮ 12 ✮ 2024 – update

Part of me hates doing these mostly because it's a whole lotta nothing and me just repeating everything I said the last update (lol) but I do like doing it because I like keeping people updated, even if it's a non-update. I may sound like a broken record (pun not intended) but I know a lot of people don't catch my updates every time so it's nice to just keep people informed yk yk

✮ — Part 2 + rewrite

Fun fact: I had written an entire essay about my excitement for the rewrite and chapter 3 and beyond but it got too long!

It boiled down to me wondering why I'm so excited for this rewrite and realizing it's because I feel comfortable enough to approach it with complete creative freedom. I wrote the first iteration of the demo with the constant worries swimming in my head like "I hope people understand what I'm trying to say here" and "I hope this situation is being read the way I intended for it to be read." And I think I sort of had those thoughts tenfold while writing Part 2. If you paid attention, you can probably see where I was trying to shut down certain discussions in the narrative lmao

Recently I had a tiny epiphany and reminded myself that it's not always about what I intend to write, but what is being understood by each reader. And yes this is basic writing 101 but let me have this moment of clarity okay. Embracing that means I can proceed with Infamous without holding back and sticking to my guns in regards to what I want for this story aka I'm just going to write what I write and like....not worry about the rest you feel (while of course integrating the common critiques and suggestions and improving on the things Infamous falls short in—I am not Shakespeare lmao)

ANYWAY my point is that I'm excited to fix up the demo !!! and just go back to it with complete confidence in myself and write whatever the heck feels right to me (and write the rest of the story lolol) and return with a better story than I have now for everyone!!

✮ — December will be for

planning what I'm going to improve and squeezing that in a reworked outline so it can flow much better narratively.

Outlining Chapter 3 and hopefully have the bare bones first draft drafted up which is mostly just be writing blocks of descriptions

I'm not sure I'll have anything substantial to justify looking for beta testers so soon yet but maybe!

work on my spice writing babey writing/reading spice makes me actually physically recoil but im determined to get better! which reminds me to finish the 6k follower gifts!

And also take a small breather because I am moving!

✮ — Patreon

I've already mentioned this on Patreon and a few times on here, but I do want to reiterate that Patreon content is coming out in bulk this month, in case anyone was wondering why I'm not posting as frequently. The content is still the same in terms of the quantity, it just won't be released every few days! thank you guys for being understanding of that <3

✮ —

My activity has is decreasing little by little due to my move but I do read every question and try to at least answer one question a day. I get quite a few mentions lately so I have to sort through those since I do get tagged in things, but I miss them due to my notifications. Usually I hope for the best and hope tracking the tag puts it on my dashboard <3 im not ignoring anyone!

That's all for now! Hope everyone has a happy December and Happy Holidays!

[homosexualworkaccount]

Jason Todd’s “Replacement” nickname for Tim Drake, Origins and Popularisation

So, making a 2500-word essay on how a fanon nickname that only me and like two other people care about is not how I expected to spend my time in between exams.

A lot of Batfam fans are very, very much aware of the fanon “Replacement” nickname Jason has for Tim, and a lot of us very, very much hate it due to the connotations of fanon characterisation that it has. I don’t personally, I think it’s an alright enough one that fits into the established canon ones – but to be fair, I haven’t read the comics in a hot minute, so my memory could be screwy.

I got curious one day on where the nickname came from when a user on TikTok mentioned that it might’ve originated from a Batfam incest fic (They weren’t too sure and told me to take it with a grain of salt) – so shout out to them for starting me down this rabbit hole! I looked over on here and saw that notion repeated, though no one could pinpoint me to a specific fic beyond “It was popularised from a Batfam incest fic.”. I also saw a few people say that it was derived from canon, which piqued my interest further so I decided to go down a rabbit hole of fandom history purely for some fun.

The aim of this essay is just to clear up some misconceptions around the origin of the name, all fun and no harm. Don’t send harassment to people referenced in this either over a silly nickname, it's been well over a decade since they wrote the works used here.

Preface

Alright, first things first – all sources are going to be ones that were published after August 2005, the official date the first issue of Batman: Under the Red Hood was published, where Jason was established to be alive again.

While there could be a chance that the nickname was derived from a website/fanfiction before 2005, it’s highly unlikely due to the fact it was only popularised in the early 2010’s, and well, because Jason was dead and no one gave a shit about him. Also good to remember that most websites that ran before 2005 are defunct and purged from the internet now, particularly fanfiction websites (such as Quidzillia) due to various issues (taboo, copyright, costs to run ect).

Small note to make again – the Batfam fandom was fairly small at the time, the more fandom-y part of the DC community usually sticking to their own websites like Quotev, Quidzilla (again, defunct now), AO3, Fanfiction.net, LiveJournal and independent websites (again, defunct) while the rest stuck to discussion sites, so the entire fandom functioned more as a insular community from what I could tell. I will be working with the assumption that the nickname was created on one of the larger platforms, as any other platform didn’t have large enough influence to popularise the nickname.

The nicknames that I specifically looked for was simply Jason calling Tim Replacement in place of his actual name. Something like “Replacement Robin” was on very thin ice, but still counted as an offshoot. Anything else was off bets.

This whole thing will be split into a few sections to make some things for myself easier. Preface, Sources, Pre-cursor Fanfiction, Fandom Opinion and Language, First usage, Popularisation, Conclusion, Questions, Final Notes.

Sources

Fanfic.net – Created 1998, was and remains one of the larger fanfiction sites. Note; Fanfiction.net had various periods of time where there were large scale purges of fanfictions that held more mature content. Most notable instances were in 2002 and 2012.

Archive Of Our Own – The holy grail for my research. Created in 2008. For the information I got from there I used the search filter Date Updated, tagged Jason’s and Tim’s individual tags and followed from there.

Live Journal – Created 1999 and was used as one of the larger sites for fandom and fanfiction. Was used by DC fandom goers regularly so I used it to get an idea of the fandom at the time.

Tumblr – Created 2007. Theres various people on here who have compilations on DC timelines and comic sourcing that helped me correlate fandom growth with specific comic releases (Shout out to @ectonurites for their meta posts and timeline posts, they were a major source for this!). Dogshit filtering system, so I couldn’t find posts pre 2012 about DC.

Note; Quotev and Wattpad weren’t used in this as their filtering systems don’t account for searching for older fanfictions, so sadly had to be discarded as most fanfictions between 2006-2010 on those websites are now very difficult to find.

Pre-Cursor FanFiction

So, before we get to the actual first proper use I could find of “Replacement”, I first want to mention a fanfiction that had something very similar that I think would be important purely for archiving reasons around how the nickname came to be. And also because it fits the nickname criteria I mentioned earlier.

Published on the 29th of November 2006, last updated on the 28th of November 2007, was the fanfiction My-Enemy-My-Brother on Fanfiction.net by user theunknownvoice – featuring the first use of Jason referring to Tim with a nickname including replacement, Replacement Robin. Kudos to theunknownvoice, they created the very first nickname that would kickstart the rest.

While Jason doesn’t explicitly refer to Tim as Replacement – the main subject of this essay, it comes very damn close, so I wanted to include it. There is a part where Jason repeats replacement in his head multiple times, and I think he’s supposed to be referring to Tim, but the sentence isn’t very clear on that part, so I won’t count it, but it is important to acknowledge.

Though this isn’t the fanfiction that influenced the development of Replacement. This fic had barely enough reach to influence any future works years later. I couldn’t find any connection with this work and later works that officially did just have Jason call Tim “Replacement”

Fandom Opinion and Language at the time

I promise this is important and that I’m not a pretentious linguistic, English isn’t even my first language.

I like to think we all know how fandom discussion just seeps into fanfiction (See; the nickname green bean for Deku from MHA leaking into fanfiction) so I just want to quickly point this out.

Discussion around the two blew up after Jasons return in late 2005, people going “What does this mean” and “What does that mean for Tim”. Through the few posts I could dig up from this time and up to 2011, it seems people came to the conclusion that Tim was Jason’s replacement, and that their dynamic was Jason dealing with the fact that he had one. You can definitely see that in some of the posts and fanfiction written at the time that usually had Jason dealing with Tim being his replacement.

(Just a few examples from LiveJournal but more like this are still floating around, if they aren’t deleted anyway)

It’s very likely that the authors themselves engaged in similar discussions/had independent thoughts that ended in the same conclusions, seeping into the fanfiction itself later. In the comics pre-New 52 I couldn’t find any major instance of Jason explicitly referring to Tim as his replacement (only implied through speech), so this was mostly contained in fandom discussions from what I can tell. (Note, this was probably similar on comic discussion websites, but I couldn’t find any that still exist pre-2007, so I’m going to assume literacy skills are not any better on those sites. See; Batman dick riders)

The fact that Tim is explicitly described as having replaced Jason, and sometimes as “Being the Replacement” on posts/fanfiction definitely had a hand in the creation and popularisation of the nickname, influencing the fan content made around the two.

First usage of Replacement

Cain! Cain! Is the first use of the nickname Replacement really from a Batfam incest fanfiction?

Nope, thank God.

After filtering their character tags together on AO3, going to the oldest page and clicking through over 10 pages, reading every single fanfiction on each one (yes, even the weird ones, I was dedicated) I found the first instance where Jason explicitly refers to Tim as Replacement, that still exists today anyway.

Published on the 24th of January, 2009 by user shiny_glor_chan, is the fanfiction Four Calling Birds, a fanfiction detailing Stephenie Brown returning from faking her death (a whole headache from the comics that I can't be arsed to explain) and getting to meet Jason and Dick for the first time. Genuinely sweet, and a corner stone of fandom history, officially. Hip hip Hooray! Congratulations shiny_glor_chan.

I tried tracing to see if this person had any other accounts that I could find to see where they got the nickname from, but it seems it’s mostly a nickname they thought up out of the fact that they had consistently wrote Jason explicitly stating that Tim was his replacement

And reading through several more pages of fanfiction again, feeling like I want to bleach my eyes out, I found the second instance of the nickname being used. Published on the 26th of May, 2010 by user axiel-neesan, is the fanfiction The Only Piece You Get, where Jason basically acts as Tim’s cabbie and bonds with him. Another corner stone of fandom history, hooray.

These two authors are completely unrelated and have no connections to each other besides both frequenting LiveJournal, having taken prompts and having friends from that website, despite having no accounts I could find. I personally think they had a similar train of thought of “Huh, that would be a sick ass nickname.”. Chances are that axiel-neesan saw shiny_glor_chans fic and got inspired as the fandom was dead small on AO3 at the time – around 20 pages worth of fanfiction from 2008-2010 (And thats being generous if we’re counting now deleted ones)

These two fanfictions are immensely important because it’s the only early instances I could find of the nickname being used, and for about two years after the nickname pops up occasionally – but by no means was it popular, or even regularly used, I had to look for the fanfictions that used it.

Props to shiny_glor_chan and axiel-neesan! I pray that you two don’t see what the fandom thinks of that nickname now.

Popularisation

Early 2012 saw the proper explosion of fandom for the Batfam, and by extension the nickname.

By this point there were so many fanfictions that I couldn’t read them all, so I started picking random ones that tagged Jason and Tims relationship, platonic or not. Pre-April-ish of 2012 the nickname popped up every other page or so, but sometime after mid-2012 the nickname was in almost every fanfiction that I skimmed through – so that’s its official growth period.

Why though? Several factors probably.

The New-52 was in full swing by this time, DC massively promoting the reboot to get new fans interested, so people picked up comics from there. Young Justice – the more mainstream exposure of DC to surface level fans aired its second season in April of 2012, introducing people to Tim Drake and his story and getting them interested. Fanfiction and fandom as a whole was becoming less taboo and more accepted in fan spaces, so encouragement to write it was much better than it was in the early years of the internet (Example; Teen Wolf’s production team)

As for a specific catalyst for the growth of popularity for the nickname? There might be something worth pointing to.

Kudos for @ectonurites for helping me on this (Hi Sam! I was anon!) and giving me a publishing date on Tim’s and Jason’s first New 52 interaction – Red Hood and the Outlaws #8, published on the 18th of April, 2012. It features an instance of Jason and Tim interacting in a very friendly and familial way, Jason explicitly calling Bruce their Dad. Compared to their last major previous interaction of Jason leaving Tim for dead, fans of the two who enjoyed the more familial potential (and tragically, romantic potential) took it and ran with it.

All of these combined in some way to contribute to the popularity of the nickname in mid to late 2012, and lead to it’s infamy in DC fanfiction.

Conclusion

In conclusion, how do I think the nickname came to be?

I think it’s a combination of factors that led to it’s creation. As already established people very much did see Tim as Jasons replacement at the time, and the language could have shortened down from “Tim replaced Jason” to “Tim is Jason’s replacement” to “Tim is the replacement” which I think could be the train of thought the 2006 author went down to create the nickname Replacement Robin.

This definitely influenced the AO3 writers as shiny_glor_chan was present on LiveJournal at the time (where this language was very prominent), so they were already down the line of thinking this and probably went “Huh, replacement is kinda a funny nickname” and added it. As already stated, I think axiel-neesan probably had a very similar train of thought or may have seen shiny_glor_chan’s fic and was inspired.

And from there people saw it, used it in their own works, getting leaked over onto LiveJournal, which was the main website for prompt sharing, getting used a decent amount there before the explosion of fandom in mid-2012 that lead to it’s regular usage in fan works.

Questions

So, is the nickname from a Batcest fic?

Nope! The nickname mostly makes an appearance in platonic fics between Jason and Tim, it’s actually a chore to find it in their romantic ones, as in I think I found one instance of it being used somewhere in late 2010 but I can't think of it in a fanfiction that predates that. All early uses of the nickname were in platonic fics between the two.

I think this rumour is based around three fanfictions specifically on Ao3 that people are pointing to, I think, no one seems to be wanting to name names. They’re the ones that pop up when you search Replacement in the word search after tagging Tim Drake and Jason Todd together.

Wings to Fly. Published October of 2012. Jason Refers to Tim as Replacement. Jason/Tim

Replacement. Published 2009. The title implies it’s referring to Tim, but Jason never explicitly nicknames Tim replacement, the narrator only calling Tim “His replacement”, him being Jason. Jason/Tim. Non-con

The Replacement. Published 2011. Can't figure out if the title is supposed to refer to Tim or is simply just titled that for the sake of it. Jason talks a few times about Tim being his replacement, but the nickname never makes an appearance. Jason/Tim

Does the nickname have any bases in Canon?

From what I can tell, no. I haven’t read all the Batfamily comics Pre-New 52, or from after Batman: Under The Red Hood, I mostly stray towards Hal Jordans comics lol. I don’t think theres any major instance where Jason talks about Tim replacing him by specifically using replacement or replacing (It can be inferred from his speech sometimes, but Jason’s relationship with Tim was much more complex than that. I’d recommend reading @ectonurites metas about the two to get a better idea) Theres a few instances in 2015 post-New 52 reboot where Jason says explicitly that Tim replaced him, but that was way after the nickname was popularised.

Red Hood and Arsenal #7 (2015)

Final Notes

That’s about it! That’s the result of my month long dive into almost twenty years worth of DC fandom history as a fun side project. Please don’t harass anyone linked here, this was just project to pass the time and not a call out post for anyone that did contribute to the popularisation of the nickname.

Feel free to ask me anything else about this or any other DC fandom history and I’ll try to research it!! This was genuinely a fun thing to do to pass the time and work out my research muscles.

[umbrify]

hello i saw u tagged jimmy solidarity on that "free my man he did none of that. he did a bunch of other shit though" post and i am incredibly compelled by the implications here. please may i have an essay on the subject

YOU MAY.

Okay so we’re gonna be specifically talking about Empires SMP Season 2 Jimmy (henceforth, Jimmy,) and the way he conducts himself, how those actions reflect on him, versus how he sees himself (and how the fandom sees him in turn). Welcome to my Ted Talk.

The most important thing to understand about Jimmy is that he lies. He lies about everything, and convinces himself that his lie is true to the point where he really thinks it is. Take, for example, a moment in Sausage’s episode 41 [full exchange from 9:10 - 19:37] where Jimmy kills Sausage, and then when Sausage, followed by fWhip, return to Tumble Town to discuss the murder, Jimmy blatantly lies about the altercation to fWhip, claiming “[Sausage] came over, and he assaulted me, fWhip!” Jimmy insists that it was Sausage who physically started it, despite that being completely untrue. Jimmy then goes on to deny having killed Sausage Sausage at all, sounding affronted at the idea and demanding to see the player head that drops on death. fWhip asks how many levels Sausage has, which is none, and Jimmy claims that Sausage must have used all his experience. Jimmy denies and lies, and when fWhip goes looking for Sausage’s things, finding them in Jimmy’s storage, Jimmy acts shocked, saying “I think I’m being set up! […] I’m gonna leave this conversation, you do what you gotta do, but I don’t think I’m the bad guy here.” As if Jimmy didn’t explicitly kill Sausage moments ago!! As if it isn’t his fault!!!

And the problem here, the core problem, is that so many people just… believe him. They take Jimmy’s words at face value and assume that he’s always a reliable narrator in his own stories, despite the fact that it couldn’t be further from the case. The issue is less that people assign New and Different problems to Jimmy, more that they strip him of any wrongdoing at all, making him out to be some sad little pathetic wet cat who didn’t deserve it. And— don’t get me wrong, he is extremely sad, but he also did it to himself.

I think one of the more interesting ways to illustrate this, is to talk about the way Jimmy perceives himself. From the start of the season, he always insists on being called “The Sheriff.” He’s not Jimmy, he’s The Sheriff, and throughout the season, he can be seen constantly insisting upon and chasing after that title. He wants respect— or, his version of respect. What he really wants is a yes man. This difference can very clearly be seen in the way he treats the two deputies he had throughout the season.

When fWhip was the deputy, it’s because he wanted to be. He sought Jimmy out because he wanted to be Jimmy’s right hand man, and Jimmy let him. fWhip consistently referred to Jimmy as The Sheriff, upholding Jimmy’s version of the laws as best he could. And, there really is something to be said about the fact that fWhip, as a goblin, inherently didn’t understand the concept of arbitrary laws, or that sort of morality at all, and was only one, upholding it because he cared about Jimmy, but two, treating the laws as Jimmy treated them— i.e, making a shrine for that which Jimmy made a church for, but that’s a whole separate essay that I want to write at some point. Either way, he was good to Jimmy, though their time together was short. He made Jimmy a home away from home in Gobland [fWhip episode 8 timestamp 20:28] and helped Jimmy win the court trial by serving as his lawyer in the case against Joel [Trial best seen in Jimmy’s episode 10 starts at 3:03]. After fWhip was fired, he went around Tumble Town noting down a bunch of “laws” that Jimmy was breaking. I wrote a whole post about this set of interactions already [here] but the short version is this: In fWhip’s episode 12 [5:54], he goes around and marks down all the laws that he’s saying Jimmy is breaking around Tumble Town. […] Of the seven instances that fWhip writes down, SIX of them almost directly relate to Jimmy not taking good care of himself or his empire. To me, it almost reads more like he cares about Jimmy, and is worried about him.

All this to say, that fWhip didn’t Respect The Sheriff as much as he Cared About Jimmy. And that’s an important distinction— he cared about Jimmy, the person. He had this whole veneer of respecting the laws— laws that he didn’t really understand— because he cared about Jimmy. And Jimmy fired him for a prank— one that wasn’t specifically targeted or malicious— because he saw that as Disrespecting The Sheriff. He didn’t want someone who Cared About Jimmy, he wanted someone who Respected The Sheriff. And fWhip wasn’t that.

Enter Scar.

During the Hermitcraft crossover, Scar started gunning for the position as deputy because he wanted the shiny deputy badge. That was it, that was the reason, and Scar acted accordingly. Everything was about acting like he Respected The Sheriff, even when he was blatantly breaking one of the core laws, wearing another player’s hat— both the sheriff hat [Jimmy episode 19 4:07] as well as trading away a sheriff hat, and being seen wearing one of Scott’s Chromia hats [Jimmy episode 22 14:27]. In this episode, Scar backhandedly compliments Jimmy, “oh, you’re just a… cute big guy, aren’t you?” to which Jimmy seems uncertain, asking “I’m real big, right?” to which Scar says he is. Jimmy then asks him about the Chromia hat Scar wears, and Scar tells him that he traded one of the sheriff hats to Scott. Jimmy gets upset at Scar, but before he can get properly mad, Scar distracts him by showing off a new section of Tumble Town that he made. Scar wears the mask of respect for just long enough to get the badge. When Jimmy gives him the badge, he says he has something else that he wants to give Scar as well. “I have found something real special for you, real special.” Scar says “I already got something special, this badge.” Jimmy says “you mean our friendship?” Which Scar dubiously agrees to. This is the last time Jimmy sees Scar before the hermits leave— Scar got what he wanted, and that was all. And yet, Jimmy hired him, because Scar put on the show. Scar was his yes man, Scar Respected The Sheriff, even if he didn’t Care About Jimmy.

He does it to himself, Jimmy does. He pushes away anyone that tries to care about him as a person, and surrounds himself with people that will be his yes men, his little sidekicks, anyone that holds the sheriff title in high regard. It’s why he takes so well to the Old Sheriff, who treats the sheriff title with the same reverence that he does, respecting the title of sheriff without actually respecting Jimmy much at all.

The thing about Jimmy is that he causes his own problems, and they’re all his fault. Yes he is crushingly lonely, and filled with self hatred, but he actively surrounds himself with it. It’s not that people are just inherently mean to him, he is almost asking them to be, by pushing away anyone that seems to care about him as a person.

I think, as my final note here, I wanna bring up a moment from Jimmy’s finale, episode 38. He and the Old sheriff, as they’re making their way to the Nether portal, discuss how fWhip only ever referred to himself as goblin fWhip, never as king. Jimmy says “I don’t think he ever held himself to the regard of being a king, and that— d’you know what? That sucks. He was my deputy for a while, he didn’t really think much of himself, I’m not gonna lie” [9:19]. I just find it interesting, that Jimmy says that it sucks how fWhip never called himself king— a title ostensibly higher than sheriff— and that fWhip was only a deputy. As if he thinks that fWhip could’ve been king, perhaps was worthy of the title, and just never took it— that he sees the taking of a title such as that to be so important, when for fWhip, it never was. I dunno, I just think there’s something to that. I think it says something about Jimmy and about the importance he places on titles that don’t really matter.

Jimmy ran away, in the end. He and the Old Sheriff ran far away from everything they ever knew. fWhip stayed, choosing to live out his days happily in the empire he helped to found. fWhip never took the title of king. Jimmy thinks he should’ve.

Isn’t that something?

[gadriezmannsgirl]

Nothing's Going On -P.G

Warnings: A bit of mature content, nothing too explicit (IT'S SAFE FOR EVERYONE TO READ)

Summary: Your boyfriend catches you reading fan fictions of him and teases you about it

It had all started as a joke. You knew your boyfriend's fangirls wrote some fictions about him (You knew because you also read in your 1D times, Niall Horan's and Louis Tomlinson's fanfic, you could imagine). One day, you were chilling around watching IG when you stumbled with a reel

It had said *POV: Imagine your boyfriend Gavi braging to his mates about you* and there was this video of him talking with Pedri, Balde and Ansu while the author of this edit, edited what they were saying with subtitles underneath.

You awed, it was cute.

Have you heard that saying curiosity killed the cat? Well, that was you at your best moment.

You went in your laptop and opened Google, by the tags on that video you decided to put in the browser *Pablo Gavi x Reader*. Tumblr inmediately appeared with a hundreds of blogs.

You created an account x and started reading.

You gotta admit, these girls had their imagination on the highest level, inventing these amazing stories, backgrounds, edit along with everything else... And you couldn't even know how to start a simple essay

You laughed at some stories, you fell in love with the majority, you felt lust while reading others, hell you even cried with the heartbreaking ones, or what they liked to call Angst. You even found a PEDRI X READER X GAVI POLY

"These girls are crazy in the greatest way ever" You murmured shaking your head

Being on your world, you didn't noticed when your boyfriend came home from his training and was crunched down behind you

"What are you reading?" You heard his voice ask right next to your ear as you yelled out scared

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL-? PABLO!" You shut your laptop down as your hand went to your chest "YOU ALMOST GAVE ME AN ATTACK"

"You're reading fictions about me?" He asked with a smile as you looked at him dead in the eye

"...No" Your doubting tone made him laugh a little

"Why are you doing that?"

"OK, I WAS READING FANFICTIONS ABOUT YOU! IN MY DEFENSE... Your fans are really skilled and lots of them like our relationship" You nod

"Is that it?" He asked laughing

"Ok, an edit appeared in my IG feed so I saw it and curiosity got the best of me. I have spent the whole afternoon reading these things, they're fucking amazing and absolutely gorgeous. There are some other that are way to explicit but still they were sent by God because Gavs... They're incredible. And the angsty ones? OMG...! They are a blessing and- hijo de tu mamá, ¿Te estás burlando de mi?" (Son of your mother, are you laughing at me?)

"You know you've the real Gavi one and that you get to experience the fluff, a few fights and the sex, all of that in reality?"

"I do! But they're amazing" You opened your laptop and showed him another fic. This one was fluff and smutty

After some minutes reading it you were the first one to talk

"See?! It's so well written and the structure, their beggining, the middle and the end it's so precious... Some of these would do great as real writers; don't you think so, baby?"

You turned around facing Gavi who's expression was unreadable "Love?"

"You're right they're pretty amazing" He nods "On the other hand, way too explicit, it feels a little uncomfortable reading all those things about myself and at the same time boosts my ego up" You roll your eyes "Good side of this is that, I can try and do all these things they write, to you" You clenched your tights feeling hot all over your body

"Now?"

"Now" He said as you both jumped off of the couch into your shared bedroom. Laptop and fanfictions long forgotten

Yes, it may have been a bit embarrassing for you the fact your boyfriend saw you reading fanfiction of him, but it was definitely worth it.

°°° °°° °°° °°°

Tag list: @gaviypedrisbride

[leviismybby]

Once a thief, always a thief

Pairing: Levi Ackerman x reader

Warnings: Angst, fluff, there's a lot going on, it's very bittersweet.

A/N: I wrote this while doing my essay today, the idea seemed too good to just let it go, let me know if I should do a part 2! :))

Taglist: @the-milk-anon @youre-ackermine @levisbrat25 @yakaaamoz @levisgreyeyes @notgoodforlife @ackermendick @laraackerman If you want to be tagged just let me know!

Levi's eyes followed as the scouts trained, every single one trying to impress him more than the other. Next to him, Miche is doing the same, hawk-like eyes watching their every move.

"Levi." He hears Erwins voice behind him, already on alert by the sound of it. Levi turns around to face the blond man, arms crossed against his chest. "We have a problem I'd like to discuss with you."

Without a word Levi follows Erwin to his office, something is telling him that it's about you, again. As they enter his office, he sees Nile sitting in one of the chairs visibly upset.

Levi sits down opposite Nole, his face stoic. Once everyone has settled, Erwin turns to Nile, already annoyed with the man. "So Nile, please repeat to captain Levi what the issue seems to be."

"Name has stolen from us again, this is the fifth time in three months. She needs to be put behind bars for good." There isn't any mercy in Nile's words, you had been a pain in his ass for a while now.

"Why are you telling me this?" Levi almost scoffs the words out, he would lie for you again however this time, he really doesn't know where you are.

"You have lied for her before, I have no reason to see why you wouldn't do it again." It was about a year ago when you had stolen a pretty expensive necklace from one of the nobles, when shown a drawing of you, Levi lied that he didn't know you. Too bad for him, Nile had already caught on by then.

"I have nothing to do with her anymore and I don't fucking care that she stole from you. Train your dumbass soldiers better and maybe they would be able to stop one woman from stealing." But you're a tough cookie, always have been since Levi met you all those years ago.

You used to be kids in the underground, Kenny had thought Levi many things but not how to properly steal, Levi got that from you. Somehow, be it luck or skill, you always got away with it. He remembers when you stole a whole bag of fruits from smugglers without being seen, that was the day he was introduced to apples.

The two of you grew up together and he watched you grow into a woman. When you were taken by the scouts you took it well, even got praised by the commanding officers for your impressive stealth, until Furlan's and Isabelle's deaths.

That was where you snapped and the next day you vanished. Levi lost it all in a span of two days but he grew from it, learned to adapt to the scouts, and became humanities strongest soldier.

As soon as he heard that there was a mysterious robbery in a dress store, he knew it was you. He knows you like the back of his hand.

Arrogance was always your big problem, how many times has Levi had to save your ass because you were too stubborn to quit?  He could count on his finger just how many times he lied not only to the military police but to Erwin as well, all to keep you out of trouble. Yet you always manage to get yourself into bullshit and Levi is getting tired of it.

"How about we set up a trap? What does she like Levi?" Erwin turns his attention to Levi, noticeably curious about what his answer will be. "I don't know, anything that can make her a bit of money."

A lie. He lied again. You loved diamonds and different stones, you kept a shelf in your old room full of them.

"Something from the king, perhaps his robe, that would be worth a bunch on the black market." Of course, all of these suggestions by Erwin are for the benefit of the scouts again. If his plan works, he will be awarded by the government.

"The king? What makes you think he would want to help?" Nile's body is now tense, even though he wouldn't want the king involved in all of this.

"A skilled thief is on the loose, she got past your security what makes you think that she can't get through to the king?"

"The king doesn't interest her, trust me. She is skilled but she never bites off more than she can chew." Of course, you hated royals and their selfishness for normal people, while they starved, the king and his men ate like pigs.

"So what do you propose Levi?" Erwin's eyebrow slightly raises, he is interested in hearing what Levi has in store.

"We wait. She will strike again I'm sure."

Levi doesn't want to complicate things, he simply doesn't want you to get caught by the government. If it means that he has to come up with a plan alone, then so be it.

__________________________________

And so it was, Levi waited for three hours to see if you would be interested in the new jewelry shop that opened not far away from the capital of Mitras. It was dark, only moonlight illuminating the empty streets, the smell of after rain was present, creating an unusual atmosphere.

No matter how many times he has told himself to hate you, to forget you, he couldn't do it. You were his first everything after all. How many times has he hoped that he would see you somewhere happy possibly married and even with a baby in your hands. Levi would hate that man with his whole being but he would know that you are safe.

All of that is far from reality, Levi knew that you never even thought about marriage let alone a child. You weren't mature enough for those things no matter how quickly you had to grow up and fight for survival.

Finally, he sees a hooded figure climbing down from one of the buildings onto the roof of the jewelry shop. Every one of your steps is calculated, at the moment when you concentrated the most is where Levi had caught you off guard.

Suddenly you weren't walking anymore, instead grunting in pain as you felt your arms being pinned behind your back. You tried to wiggle yourself out of the grip but to no avail.

"Name stop." You stop moving, eyes going wide. Levi. When he sees that you have relaxed under his touch, he slowly lets you go making you know that he can catch you should you try to run.

You get up from the ground, taking your hood off. "Heh, I should've known you would be tracking me. I felt eyes on me for a while now."

"I wasn't tracking shit, I just happen to know you." As blunt as ever I see. "Good for you then. Now please excuse me I have a store to rob."

Just as you were about to walk past him, Levi grips your arm halting you in place. "Are you an idiot? Can't you see that it's a trap?" Damn it. He wasn't supposed to tell you that. It was what Nile came up with after he had left Erwin's office.

"No kidding." You smile sarcastically, breaking your hand away from his grip. "You knew."

"Of course I did. A new shop opens out of the blue in the middle of Mitras, do you think that I'm stupid?" Your voice is raised and you don't even notice it. For all that you thought would happen in the future between you and Levi, this wasn't one of them.

You have always thought that he would be your partner in crime for life, it seemed so before anyway. But things have changed, he has changed.

"So why the hell are you here? Do you want to get caught?" The answer was no and yes, no you didn't want to get caught, yes because you wanted to see if the military police have learned from their past mistakes.

"Even if I do, what about it? I'm just a thief aren't I?" Levi scoffs at you, after so long of not seeing each other, he thought you would at least be more responsible.

"Don't test me name." He says eyes searching yours. it's clear that whatever happens on this roof tonight, you two are far from over.

"Or what? You're gonna scold me?

"I'm trying to protect you. You brainless idiot." Levi almost spits out those words, how can't you see that he has been doing it the whole time?

"How nice. Somehow everyone you tried to protect is now six feet under." Those words make Levi's eyes shoot open, you don't seem to realize what you just said until you see Levi grow mad.

Before you can move, your back is already harshly pinned against the stone wall, breath is almost knocked out of you. Levi's hand is gripping your shirt, pulling it up until your noses are almost touching.

"How childish do you have to be not to understand that I have saved your ass so many times? Do you even know how close they were to locking you up? Do you know what it means to be behind bars as someone who is from the underground!?" His voice is harsh but he isn't yelling, it's a mixture of hurt and worry.

"And why do you even do it? I didn't ask that from you! You just joined the scouts, you didn't even try looking for me after I left! Do you know how hard it is to see you after all this time?" Levi softens his grip when he sees that your eyes have been filled with tears.

"Let me go Levi!" A tear rolls down your face, Levi is frozen, stuck between his heart and mind.

"Levi! I said let me g-" Lips suddenly crush to your own and you blink. Without much hesitation, your hands are in his hair and you are kissing him back.

Neither of you are thinking, the only thing you're focused on is Levi. You have missed him so much. His hands run down to your waist, pulling you closer to him.

And you let him, let him savor this moment while it lasts. Your hands wander from his hair to his neck, tongue entering his mouth. Levi moans softly, kissing you passionately.

You're teenagers again, the same ones that clumsily had their first kiss, the same ones that used to cause trouble.

Levis hands move down to your hips, squeezing them, a moan escapes your mouth when Levi pulls away and starts kissing your neck.

"Levi...." You take his face into your hands, kissing him once more before pulling away. "Not here and not now..." He nods, aware of his surroundings again. Pulling away from you, his cheeks grow red.

"You should go. The military police could be here any minute." You nod taking the opportunity to kiss him again and he doesn't budge, fully accepting your kiss.

"Here is my address." You slip a piece of paper into his belt before putting your hood on and running in the opposite direction.

Levi is left on the roof, mouth agape, still trying to process what just happened. Only when he hears footsteps is he brought back to reality.

He will make sure to see you again, he takes the paper from is belt but notices that one of his knives is gone, Levi smiles slightly.

Once a thief, always a thief

[psychhound]

ttrpgs in the classroom (part 4)

howdy!! back again after,, a time away (grad school is insane <33 save me <33) for a long overdue classroom post!!

so this one is about our first big essay assignment, the personal narrative essay! we'll actually be going over a number of games for this one!!

the assignment:

write a 900-1200 word personal narrative essay by playing a solo journaling ttrpg and reflecting on the experience using the prompts provided

the prompts:

What memory surfaced while you were playing the game, and why do you think that is?

What was your main emotion while playing, and where do you think that emotion came from?

What story from your childhood did your playthrough remind you of, and how did you come to know that story?

How did playing through the game inspire you? Is there a change you want to make in your life because of this experience?

Did playing through the game remind you of a success or failure from your real life, and if so, how did playing help you reflect on this?

the games: (as presented on the assignment sheet)

The Lighthouse at the Edge of the Universe by @lostwaysclub

You are a lighthouse keeper in the far reaches of space. Every day, there is work to be done to maintain your lighthouse, safeguarding passing ships from the edge of the universe. Log your observations, maintenance, and events while facing threats like emotion-driven weather.

Yourself

You have just discovered that you are a changeling: something between human and fey. Over five acts, you will reckon with this new discovery, and let your feelings shift and grow.

Snow

There’s something on your mind. There’s snow in the driveway. As you take the time to shovel it out, you think through and process your situation, whether mundane or life-altering.

Long Haul 1983 by @seanpatrickcain

You are a long-haul truck driver making a journey through an empty but dangerous world. Each day, you face a long, lonely highway filled with threats—whether mechanical, supernatural, or psychological. Each night, you make a payphone call to your most important person and leave them a message, though they never pick up.

Last Tea Shop (CW: death)

You own a tea shop on the border between the worlds of the living and the dead. As people pass from the first to the last, they stop into your teashop to have a drink and talk with you.

&

village witch - which was not on the assignment sheet but one student asked special permission to play this one after we listened to an actual play podcast that played this game (alone at the table by @ladytabletop) and the themes of the game really spoke to her

(if folks know other tumblrs for the creators feel free to tag them!!)

the results:

i was really really happy with these essays overall. the students wrote about some very impactful memories and emotions, and all seemed to get a lot out of playing

i had a lot of essays that came back and said "i never thought i'd be a gamer but i really enjoyed this" or "i didn't think i would get anything out of this experience but it really moved me". i was particularly happy with the essay from the business major that said "this was way better than being on my phone" considering these are 18 year olds still adjusting after years of the pandemic and leaving home for the first time and also this was homework

the most popular game played was last tea shop, and i had a mix of responses of "this made me realize how much i value my friends" to "i really need to value my friends and memories with them more" to "i really want to make more friends". i also had students who said this game helped them process grief over losing loved ones

long haul was also a popular one, and i got my most descriptive writing out of this game. it was interesting who the students chose to make their calls to, as well as what they chose the threats to be. one student got a bad ending and decided to play the whole thing again so he could make it home

the students who played lighthouse found it really soothing, as the game intends, and said it was a good way to process things that were on their mind after some of them had rough days leading up to playing (one student said he had to start over because he almost fell asleep on his desk after the game was too relaxing)

and with snow, none of the students chose to meditate on things directly from their lives, but all ended up finding that they had unconsciously put things they needed to process into the game and found new perspectives on them from playing. the kids who chose this one were the most surprised at what they got out of the experience

no one ended up choosing to play yourself, so i may switch this one out for future classes

the reason i chose these games in particular is that they all have an element of choice, and they all deal with emotions in some way. i thought this was a really successful first assignment and was glad the students all seemed invested and excited to play more after this